Looks like the greatest NBA All-Star campaign of all-time worked! It’s just been announced that Kevin Love has been named by Commissioner David Stern to replace Yao Ming in the 2011 NBA All-Star Game. In case you were wondering, it’s up to Gregg Popovich to determine who replaces Yao in the starting lineup. I guess he had the Numb#rs… Read More »

After seeing Kevin Durant talk to the future, Amar’e Stoudemire shooting in an empty gym, Steve Nash practicing back home in British Columbia, and Chris Paul running in high school, check out the last “Encouragement” spot starring Stephen Curry. Watch as a young Steph shoots with his father, Dell Curry, when he was on the Raptors.

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It all started with a text message from a random number about two weeks ago. The message I received went something along the lines of, “Jack, this is Nike. There’s a 2-on-2 tournament during All-Star weekend. Winner gets $2,000. Do you want in?”

Of course I want in. What kind of a basketball-writing hack would I be if I didn’t want in – plus the rent in L.A. never comes easy, so I could use the extra coin. But that’s beside the point; I have and always will be down for any opportunity to hoop. Always. So I said yes, emphatically – like the kind of reply text that wears out your character limit with exclamation points and winking smiley faces – and I was in the Nike system. Read More »

Some surprising news hit campus this morning: North Carolina junior point guard Larry Drew II will transfer from the university, Coach Roy Williams announced Friday.

“This morning, around 9 o’clock, I got a message to call big Larry,” said Williams at his Friday press conference in reference to Drew’s father, the head coach of the Atlanta Hawks. “At that point he informed me Larry was leaving, and we had a long discussion, most of which should be kept private.” Read More »

I don’t remember the exact moment I decided to join the Blake Griffin bandwagon, but I do know it was during his amateur days, long before Timofey Mozgov got a whiff of Griffin’s crotch as a pro.

But I do remember when I, while maybe not exiting the bandwagon, at least looked into distributing Settle Down pills to my fellow passengers: It was the first time I heard Blake placed ahead of Shawn Kemp in the annals of all-time NBA dunkers. Read More »

If something like this was happening in New York City or Chicago all of America would be up in arms and the entire hunt squad would be out in full force. I am not sure how we did not notice these people completely vanish from our lives — I hope at least their families have.

These are not missing children or women; I am talking about the missing NBA superstars that have been kidnapped. The thing that makes this even crazier is that it is being done in broad daylight and on national TV! These players need to create a club, join a support group, create a Facebook Page and band together to get their freedom. Or at the very least all join the NBA’s All-Mandela Team. Read More »

I promise I’m not being a hater.

I understand this is the second column I’ve written arguing against Kevin Love as a 2011 NBA All-Star despite his leading the League in rebounding and putting up better overall numbers than the ground-bound Western Conference power forward I wanted to see get a ticket to L.A.: Zach Randolph. But having K-Love miss out on his first All-Star nod this time has nothing to do with preference. It’s about the rules. Read More »

Buy Low: Monta Ellis didn’t make the Western Conference All-Star team, and that’s great news for his fantasy owners. While it’s true that Ellis has struggled with his shooting lately, it’s also true that he’s the kind of player (with the type of rabid fan base) who is likely to use this kind of “snub” as fuel. He should proceed being the top-20 player he’s been all season long soon enough, with some extra firepower in his veins. Read More »

Have you heard of Derrick Williams? Maybe you have. Better yet, have you seen him play ball?

Maybe not, because it’s likely the forward from Arizona plays past your bedtime — I’m talking to you on the East Coast. To be fair, that’s if he’s on TV at all, because to watch the Wildcat forward even in the state of Arizona is chancy given the limited TV contracts. Okay, that’s an issue for another day, so I digress. Read More »

This type of play looks like it should be in Mike D’Antoni‘s offense.

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