Byron Scott didn’t sign up for this. And if the Cleveland Cavaliers’ collapse gets much worse, future franchise building block J.J. Hickson won’t re-sign up for it, either.

The Cavs’ losing streak stretched to eight games last night when they were routed in Oklahoma City. Seven of the losses have been by double-digits, and four have been by at least 20 points. Read More »

If you watched no basketball over the weekend, this is really the only play you need to see. I might like Russell Westbrook‘s reaction the most.

Weekend Wonder: Deron Williams was hot this past weekend, averaging 33 points, 1.5 rebounds, 7.5 assists, 1.5 steals and 3 threes in two games. He shot 54 percent from the field and 90 percent from the free-throw line during that stretch. Williams is scoring four more points per game this season compared to last season and has upped his shooting form the field and free-throw line. In other words, he remains the second-best fantasy point guard in the game today. Read More »

Ranking the NBA from worst to first…

30. Cleveland Cavaliers (7-17) Last week — Lost at Philadelphia, lost to Chicago, lost at Houston, lost at Oklahoma City They could snap this eight-game losing streak at Miami on Wednesday. And Brett Favre could go one week without appearing on SportsCenter, and Mel Gibson could actually respect people who aren’t like him. Read More »

Just like when the Pacers go to The Palace, it’s become standard for any Knicks/Nuggets game at MSG to come standard with an air of hostility. Yesterday’s noon tip-off not only had that intensity — Amar’e Stoudemire and Ronny Turiaf each picked up a technical foul in the first half, Amar’e and Nene had an elbow exchange right before halftime that nearly sparked a brawl, and then Nene was hit with a tech in the final seconds of the game when he accidentally/intentionally tried to make Turiaf’s face look like Ben Roethlisberger’s — but it also had a playoff-caliber atmosphere and highlight-worthy finish … Read More »

If Jazz/Mavs had been played on Xbox Live, Jerry Sloan would have shut the game off midway through the first quarter and switched to Madden. Running an absolute clinic in offensive execution and shooting, the Mavs were up 26-4 after six minutes, getting (and making) whatever shots they wanted while the Jazz were getting 24-second violations and bricking point-blank looks … But that was right around the time Deron Williams said “F*** this,” scrapped the whole “distributor” thing and went into get-buckets mode. Read More »

During last night’s Lakers/Bulls game, Jeff Van Gundy revealed that Tom Thibodeau, a former assistant of his, is surprisingly particular about his clothes and can bench 350 (easily the strongest coach in the League). The other thing Thibodeau can do is coach defense, which he did amazingly well as his Bulls held L.A. to just 84 points in an upset win. Oh, and Chicago also has some kid named Derrick Rose. He’s aiight … While it took a while for Chicago’s offense to show up, the defense was able to shut down the champs for long stretches as L.A. fell into some familiar bad habits. Read More »

Something hit me this morning while I watched a trailer for Hugh Jackman‘s upcoming Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em Robots movie. (I hear Ryan Reynolds is working on a Slinky biopic for Summer 2011.)

As much as writers like using inhuman metaphors to describe elite athletes, be it cold-blooded snakes or steel-veined robots, what makes clutch performances so impressive is that these are real people stepping up their already world-class talents to another level when many would fold under a fraction of the same pressure. Read More »

There really haven’t been any big trades this season, so hopefully this deal stirs the pot. According to Steve Kyler of HOOPSWORLD, the Suns and Pacers have held informal talks about swapping Earl Clark and Solomon Jones. Here’s how it would break down: Read More »

When you work in an office, you have to love when UPS and FedEx come knocking at the door. And this morning was no different. Our friends over at Gourmet have partnered with Heienken to create their first official collaborative sneaker. (The Nike SBs were unofficial and still the one of Nike’s most popular sneakers ever.) As you can see, the shoe reflects the likeness of both brands: clean, understated and bold with the highest quality. Check ‘em out after the jump. Read More »