At some point during the fourth quarter, as the Hawks were getting all they could handle from the Rockets and seemed on the verge of their first home loss of the season, Dominique Wilkins said the same thing you’re gonna hear from a bunch of opposing team announcers about the Rockets this year: “This is a GOOD basketball team!” in a surprised tone … In what might have been the most entertaining finish of the year, Houston went up by seven midway through the fourth when Aaron Brooks dusted Joe Johnson on a crossover/hesitation along the baseline for a layup. Read More »
The game got me predicting and dreaming about a number of things. Namely, like how Carmelo Anthony will be All-NBA first team and how Chris Bosh really does get lost up in Canada. Read More »
30. New Jersey Nets (0-10) — During the lopsided part of the Pacquiao/Cotto fight, Jim Lampley enthusiastically said Cotto “almost landed a big left.” And he meant it in a good way. That’s how it’s been for the Nets; last week they almost beat Philly and Miami, so far the highlights of their season.
29. Minnesota Timberwolves (1-10) — The rest of November has them facing Houston, Denver and Phoenix at home, and the Blazers, Nuggets and Clippers on the road. It could be a long couple of weeks. Read More »
They’re panicking in Los Angeles. Or something close to it. While you could reasonably write off Friday’s blowout loss in Denver to tired legs from a back-to-back and the high altitude, there aren’t many excuses the Lakers can make after the Rockets (who were supposed to stink this year, remember?) went into Staples and thoroughly outplayed the champs … Trevor Ariza was the main story going into the game. He received his ‘09 championship ring in his first trip back to L.A. and was playing in front of his hometown crowd, but by the end it was all about Aaron Brooks. Read More »
If the Nuggets were aware that the majority of NBA experts had kind of written them off as a legit championship contender going into this season — mainly because they hadn’t made any major moves over the summer — last night’s Hulk-Smash of the Lakers on national TV was a definite statement win. Carmelo dropped 25 points in just 29 minutes on L.A.’s shiny new Ron Artest acquisition, as the Nuggets turned a close game at halftime into a rout when they held the Lakers to EIGHT points in the third quarter. By the fourth, J.R. Smith (he’s not “Earl” anymore) was dropping threes and annoyingly twisting the knife in a way only J.R. Smith can. Glad to see he’s officially back … Read More »
Beast of the Night: LeBron James scored 34 points and chipped in 2 threes, 4 boards, 7 dimes, 2 steals and a block last night as he outdueled Dwyane Wade. He shot 40 percent (8-20) from the floor, but the important thing is that he shot 89 percent (16-18) from the free throw line. It doesn’t matter what number he sports on his jersey – The King is a fantasy stud who makes you numb with his steady production of solid lines. Read More »
Think about LeBron James and Dwyane Wade on the same squad, forming what could possibly the most talented duo in NBA. Better yet, imagine them playing for the Knicks together or the soon-to-be Brooklyn Nets. It would be a marketing jackpot. Picture them running the break together, taking turns throwing lobs to each other. It’s good to dream, but does it make any sense? Read More »
During the ‘09 conference finals, Shaq showed up at one of Orlando’s home games against the Cavs, to the chagrin of a lot of people associated with the Magic. Last night Shaq was back in the building; this time wearing a Cavs uniform. Throw in the tension leftover from when Diesel was talking greasy about Dwight Howard and Stan Van Gundy last year, and you know the fans had a lot of venom toward Big Witness Protection. He played into it, too, doing stuff like leaving his hand in the air extra-long after a free throw. And the crowd was even more pissed when Cleveland walked out with a win … Read More »
If it was just a matter of picking him up and putting him in the mix, bringing in S-Jack would probably be a no-brainer for lots of teams (when he’s into the team and wants to be there, by all accounts pretty much everybody loves playing with Jackson). There’s one huge obstacle though. Read More »
Beast of the Night:Manu Ginobili was absolutely rabid last night, exploding for 36 points, 4 rebounds, 8 assists, 1 steal and 4 blocks, while nailing 6 threes and turning the ball over just once in just 32 minutes of work. He shot 53 percent (8-15) from the field and 88 percent (14-16) from the line. His owners have to be praying that Tim Duncan and Tony Parker take their sweet time recovering on the sidelines. Read More »
