We mentioned it in Smack this morning – John Wall and Big Z sort of got into it last night in Washington. You can’t really call this a “fight,” because Zydrunas seems fairly amused by the whole thing and he doesn’t really fight back, even after Wall delivers a serious right-handed body blow to his rib cage.

Afterward, this is what Wall had to say about the skirmish: Read More »

Beast of the Night: LeBron James put up 35 points, eight rebounds, eight assists and five steals last night. He hit 75 percent (12-16) of his shots from the field, 77 percent (10-13) of his attempts from the free-throw line, hit a three-pointer and had five turnovers. James shot 58 percent from the field in March, easily his best monthly mark of the season. Read More »

What’s gotten in to JaVale McGee since he lost the dunk contest? When he’s not dropping triple-doubles or blocking Wesley Matthews and Blake Griffin, he’s busy beasting two members of the Heatles. Enjoy!

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Normally, starting Smack with a Knicks/Nets game must’ve meant that the rest of the league either had the night off or every other game just sucked. We could’ve started with all of the misplaced anger going around the NBA last night – guys were throwing bows, players were getting thrown out for grabbing their junk, there were punches thrown between announcers and fans. People were going harder than Malice on a solo cut, but we’ll get to it all after last night’s main basketball event from Madison Square Garden … 68 first-half points. To the Nets. Even Jay-Z would’ve had to laugh at that. Mike D’Antoni and the Knicks were probably laughing themselves. New York’s defense couldn’t have been more lax if they tried. Still, it was fun. Runs, highlights, the return of Deron Williams (22 points) Read More »

While at the Knicks-Magic game a couple nights ago, I was privileged to experience firsthand a rookie hard at work. No, it wasn’t Landry Fields‘ three-point, four-rebound performance in the OT thriller; I’m talking about work of a different variety. Away from the hardwood, in the Magic locker room after the game, 6-10, 255-pound rookie Daniel Orton – draped in his Sunday’s finest – was doing his best impression of Geoffrey, the butler from Fresh Prince. Not only was he cleaning out the locker of Gilbert Arenas, carrying Earl Clark’s tote bag and moving chairs out of the way for reporters, but he even waited ‘til the bitter end to collect Dwight Howard’s Louis Vuitton toiletry bag after he was finished his postgame interviews. A spectacle to say the least. Read More »

It’s the end of March. And though I send my humblest apologies to folks in Minnesota, Utah, Cleveland, Washington, Toronto, New Jersey, and Detroit – it’s just about time for us upper-crust NBA fans to leave your humble franchises behind and get ready for the big show. And while I absolutely empathize with any and all struggling franchises (I have watched the Knicks play for the last decade), I hereby render your 2011 season over. Enjoy your summer. We’ll see you in late June. Read More »

With the 2011 McDonald’s All American Game taking place in Chicago this week, we have our guy Austin Rivers (the No. 1 player in the nation) checking in. In his third video diary, Austin chats with us (in black tie) after being handed the 2011 Morgan Wootten Player of the Year Award.

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The ability to progress forward or move backward; the chess rook and the NBA rook both follow a similar path. With the regular season nearing its end, teams are either gearing up for the playoffs, fighting to get in or prepping for the NBA Draft. With that said, now may be as good a time as ever for teams to take stock on their first-year experiments and weigh-in on their overall impact. Although the Rookie of the Year is all but wrapped up for Blake Griffin, I decided to bestow some unconventional awards on rookies who – like the aforementioned chess piece – either made strides forward or submitted to retreat this season. Read More »

When you think of dunk contests, there are several years which come to mind. 1985, when MJ and ‘Nique battled it out. Or 2000, when Vince Carter turned it into a one-man show. Or 1998, when things got crazy in St. Louis.

What’s that? You don’t know about 1998? Aw, son. Let me tell you what went down in St. Lizzy. Read More »

I was certain I was right. He was young. He was wildly exciting. He got called a whole lot of names, like a lot of other young guys his age got called, and he was going to play for a man known for all of the best and worst in college hoops. But damn, son had game. The type of game that made you go hit up his YouTube mixes at random times. You didn’t realize what you were doing. You couldn’t help it. Yeah, that’s what they call an addiction.

I was convinced. I figured I had just seen the future best point guard in the world. Read More »