It’s not personal. It’s just business. That’s one of the closing lines in a Boston Herald piece today on why the Celtics have to trade Ray Allen ASAP in order to A) put this Celtics season back on track and B) really set out to re-build the team around Rajon Rondo and Kendrick Perkins. And they couldn’t be more right – Ray must go.
Anyone who has seen the Celtics play over the course of the last few weeks knows that they are old, injured, slow, and in dire need of a dramatic shakeup. Unfortunately for Ray, he’s by far their best trading chip. Read More »
Call it a motivational tactic or simply of moment of brutal honesty, but Doc Rivers delivered what had to be a sobering blow for the Celtics yesterday: “One of the guys said, ‘We’re better than Orlando,’ and I said, ‘No, you’re not. They knocked you out of the playoffs last year.’ Orlando is better than us right now. Atlanta is better than us right now. L.A. is better than us right now.” (Notice how he didn’t include Cleveland, though.) … That quote was following Boston’s decisive loss to the Magic, one of just two NBA games on Super Bowl Sunday. Read More »
Every postseason there are players who make names for themselves with big shots and timely contributions. Daniel Gibson, Ben Gordon and J.R. Smith are guards that have made splashes, and in Gordon’s case, secured a big contract because of his playoff performances.
Sure these guards have been big, but despite the fact that undersized big-men usually get no love on Draft Day and fall to the second round, they are the ones who have proven to be the most valuable to teams making deep playoff runs. I left Chuck Hayes and Carl Landry off this list because I’m not convinced the Rockets will make the playoffs, and Paul Millsap didn’t make the cut because the Jazz are going to lose in the first round. Here are four undersized big men who will help their teams make deep playoff runs this year: Read More »
In the days leading up to All-Star break, you can always count on some of the vets who were selected for the game coming up with nagging injuries. If anything, it gives them a convenient excuse just in case they decide last-minute to skip the All-Star festivities and take the weekend for vacation.
So far you’ve got Steve Nash (back/abs), Paul Pierce (foot), Kevin Garnett (knee), Carmelo Anthony (knee/ankle), Dwyane Wade (back), Allen Iverson (personal), Brandon Roy (hamstring) and Kobe Bryant (everything) dealing with aches and pains, not to mention Chris Paul having already been scratched with a legit knee problem. Read More »
As the NBA trading deadline approaches, no name has been thrown around more than Amar’e Stoudemire. An All-Star starter two years running and once thought to be the future of the Phoenix Suns, now it appears certain that if Amar’e isn’t traded this month, he’ll sign with another team in free agency this summer.
Back in Dime #52 (Oct. 2009), Amar’e talked about facing criticism, injuries, falling short of a championship, as well as the trade rumors that have followed him for the last year. Read More »
In celebration of the NBA All-Star Game, adidas has introduced their lightest basketball shoe created to date in All-Star specific colors: the TS Supernatural Commander & Creator. Featuring a brand new technology that works to adapt to the natural motion of your feet when playing, Pure Motion ensures optimal traction and stability. And with these two versions and colorways, you get to look good too. Read More »
I’m sorry Celtics fans, but the Big Three as we know it could soon be coming to an end. Sure it will be incredibly hard – if not downright impossible – to replace the Hall of Fame trio of Paul Pierce, Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett, but a new day in Boston is upon us. And finding a new player to complete a trio that includes Rajon Rondo and Kendrick Perkins has to be priority No. 1. In order to make this happen, the following trade has to go down: Ray Allen for Kevin Martin and Andres Nocioni. Read More »
Score a few more votes for Lionel Hollins in the Coach of the Year race, because he may have just figured out the best way to guard Kobe Bryant at the end of a game. Last night the Grizzlies were up two on the Lakers with 21 seconds left when Mike Conley blew a chance to ice the win and bricked two free throws. Then it was Kobe’s turn, and as he was going into his move to get space for his trusty mid-range jumper over O.J. Mayo, Marc Gasol switched onto him. The 7-footer kept his arms up the entire time, and was quick enough on his feet to stay in front of Kobe long enough to force him to pass. Kobe did find Ron Artest wide open on the wing, but he missed and Memphis won. Read More »
Last night’s Hawks/Celtics game was about as close as you’ll get on TV to seeing good ol’ confrontational angry NBA action in-person without the actual risk of Jermaine O’Neal punching you in the face. We’re not sure if the Atlanta crowd was extra quiet or the court mics were just extra loud, but throughout the game you could hear pretty much everything Rasheed Wallace and Kevin Garnett were saying, especially ‘Sheed … Playing in the building he called home for about 20 minutes once upon a time, ‘Sheed was in vintage form: Yelling at every teammate, cussing at every opponent, and abusing every ref. Read More »
Late last night I was watching Rick Pitino weekly Louisville coach’s show — one of my favorite things about having 264 sports channels — when Pitino made a great point about defensive mentality.
Essentially, Pitino said, there are guys who get upset when they miss a shot, but aren’t nearly as bothered when they get beaten off the dribble. “We’re not going to be a good team until it bothers us more to get beat defensively than it bothers us to miss a shot,” he said. Read More »
