With the sudden end to the NBA lockout and abbreviated training camps rushing guys through to a regular season jammed with lots of games in short periods of time, I have no doubt that we’re going to be seeing an uptick in injuries across the League. There’s just no way around it. Injuries happen all the time, even when guys are in incredible basketball shape – the effects of a significantly longer offseason running right into an NBA season are going to take their toll on guys.

One of the first big injuries hit the Memphis Grizzlies over the weekend when they lost rising star Darrell Arthur, most likely for the season. Read More »

By the looks of this clip, it appears Kevin Garnett didn’t let his taunting skills get rusty during the lockout. Read More »

It wasn’t too long ago that Orlando/Miami was a big Eastern Conference tilt. Now, it’s simply a mismatch. With Dwight Howard (2-for-9, five points, six rebounds) going through the motions somewhat – let’s hope this doesn’t become a habit this season – the Heat toyed with Orlando for a while and then blew them away in the second half, winning their opening preseason game 118-85. Miami has a better, and healthier, supporting cast this year, but it’s still going to come down to the Big Three. And that’s bad news considering they look healthy, confident and comfortable, combining for 47 easy points. Read More »

It seems kind of crazy that a guy with serious back and conditioning issues can basically take his pick between the Knicks and Lakers, but that’s exactly the position Baron Davis found himself in heading into the weekend. After much speculation over the last few days, ESPN’s Marc Stein is reporting that Baron has made his choice: He’s going to sign with the Knicks. Read More »

New Jersey will be coming for that NYC crown soon enough, but at least for now, the Knicks are still the big brother. Even if it was preseason, New York gets bragging rights for at least a few more weeks, beating the Nets in Newark 92-83. While we can’t take too much away from a preseason game – c’mon, Renaldo Balkman led everyone with 20 – both teams got some nice contributions from their role players. Rookie Iman Shumpert (16 points) outplayed every other perimeter player for the Knicks, and rookie Marshon Brooks (10 points) and Anthony Morrow (15 points) put in work from the perimeter … At least offensively, Amar’e Stoudemire (10 points) and Carmelo Anthony (17 points in three quarters) looked pretty in-tune for the first preseason game. Read More »

The Boston Celtics just released a statement regarding Jeff Green:

Jeff Green will undergo surgery on Jan. 9 after an aortic aneurysm was detected in his physical. He will miss the 2011-12 season.

This is frightening on many levels Read More »

We mentioned it in today’s Smack, but it deserves it’s own look here: In last night’s preseason Wizards/Sixers game, near the end of the third quarter, John Wall dusted Evan Turner with a crossover and then unleashed hell on Craig Brackens.
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Didn’t we kinda sorta predict this? Stephen Jackson hasn’t been practicing up in Milwaukee because of some back spasms, but some are saying he’s been sitting out for entirely different reasons. Reportedly, Jackson isn’t happy with his contract, one that will pay him over $9 million this season and $10 million next season. He wanted an extension in Charlotte – as a 33-year-old, you know the guaranteed years are weighing heavily on him – and the Bobcats decided to ship him out instead of offering one. Jackson hasn’t said a word about it during training camp. Read More »

Oregon State Basketball hasn’t been relevant in two decades, since Gary Payton and A.C. Green played in Corvallis. After being No. 1 in the nation and a No. 1 seed in the 1981 NCAA Tournament, the program’s bottom was its 0-18 mark in the Pac-10 in 2008. That led to the hiring of Craig Robinson — brother to First Lady Michelle Obama — as their head coach, whose first recruiting class included athletic guard Jared Cunningham. Read More »

“He’s incredible. The Broncos gave him NO shot! They don’t believe in him. John Fox and John Elway are secretly hoping he screws up so they can point their noses up at fans and say ‘I told you so!’ Tim Tebow has the clutch gene. This kid is special.”

Forgive me for getting my Skip Tebow on for just a second but I had to vent. Tim Tebow may not be a great player in the historical sense of the word – we don’t even really need to argue whether he can pass well enough to make it longterm or if he’s simply a fad. Tebow has become the story of the NFL season because he’s done the incredible. He turned a weak Denver team in a probable playoff and division-winning group that has so much confidence trailing in the fourth quarter that teams should probably start thinking about letting them take leads. Read More »