This past Friday when I was at Madison Square Garden to watch Knicks/Bucks, I got up with Milwaukee’s Jodie Meeks and Hakim Warrick before the game. With Meeks, a rookie from Kentucky, we chatted about his year so far, the rules of the road and his thoughts on John Wall. With Hak, a five-year pro from Syracuse, we talked about comparisons with Wes Johnson, the best pro advice he never received and his PlayStation addiction. Oh yea, and both of these guys think their alma mater (currently No. 2 and No. 3 in the nation) can win the National Championship. It all plays out in the interviews below… Read More »

Since hearing about the relaunch of NBA Jam, the talk of the office has been which players are going to make it in the game. As you know, the best part of NBA Jam back in the day was the player combinations. With that in mind, EA Sports has come through, giving fans the chance to select which three players from each team they would like to see represented in the revival. Read More »

When Blake Griffin went down for the season last week, there was a lot of disbelief emanating from Southern California. Whether it was talk of a curse or simply that the Clippers will never catch a break, it’s safe to say that no one knew how to stomach it. So searching for answers, I reached out to Steve Perrin (a.k.a. ClipperSteve), the brains behind popular Clippers blog, Clips Nation. Check below as Perrin sheds light on the injury, the curse and the fan reactions from Clips Nation. Read More »

The combination of Michael Redd going down with a season-ending knee injury on Jan. 10 and the mounting losses in Milwaukee, the Bucks were forced to acquire somebody who can help fill Redd’s void and hopefully provide the team with a spark going into the second half of the season. Yesterday, the Bucks signed free-agent guard/forward, Jerry Stackhouse, for the rest of the season. Read More »

Beast of the Night: Tyreke Evans had no problem overcoming Charlotte’s defense, finishing with 34 points, 4 rebounds, 7 assists, 2 steals, 3 blocks and 3 turnovers. He hit 65 percent (13-20) of his shots and 73 percent (8-11) of his free throws. The return of Kevin Martin hasn’t hurt his value much at all so far. Read More »

Phil Jackson is the king of the smart-ass, “Did he just insult me?” sneaky insult; Stan Van Gundy is good for more blatantly throwing you under the bus and making it work; Gregg Popovich will scream at you in front of 20,000 people but never lose your respect; and Mike Brown will get himself ejected in a minute going to bat for you — so long as your name is LeBron James. But you have to love the way Jerry Sloan gets it done: No games, no tactics, just telling it like it is whether he’s in a closed locker room or in front of a crew of reporters … Watching the Nuggets spend all night at the free throw line (41-of-49 FT) in Sunday’s win over Utah, most coaches would blame the refs. Sloan wasn’t going there. Read More »

When it comes down to analyzing past NBA Drafts, it’s easy to look back in hindsight and say who should have been picked earlier. The draft is pretty much a crapshoot and you never know what you’re getting until they’re in that uniform and actually out on the court getting burn. The list of second round players who GMs dropped the ball with is endless: Manu Ginobili, Monta Ellis, Carlos Boozer, Michael Redd, Rashard Lewis and Gilbert Arenas. Read More »

Beast of the Night: Aaron Brooks exploded for 43 points, 3 rebounds, 5 assists, 1 steal and 1 turnover, while chipping in 6 threes, shooting 47 percent (14-30) from the field and 75 percent (9-12) from the line. True, he was helped by an insane triple-overtime match, but Brooks has been having himself a nice 2010 so far. It’s still likely that he’ll hit a rough patch in the near future, but it’s clear that the little man won’t be flying under any radars next season. Read More »

Beast of the Night: LeBron James feasted on the Warriors, finishing with 37 points, 8 rebounds, 11 assists, 2 steals, 4 blocks and 2 turnovers. He chipped in a three-pointer, shot 52 percent (12-23) from the field and 86 percent (12-14) from the line. He’s The King for a reason. Read More »

Ranking the NBA from worst to first…

30. New Jersey Nets (3-34) Last week: Lost to Milwaukee; lost at Atlanta; lost at New Orleans; lost at San Antonio. There’s no good reason to bury Terrence Williams on the bench right now. T-Will’s minutes began declining sharply in mid-December, and this month he’s been clocking only five minutes a night. The Nets aren’t going anywhere anytime soon; forget Trenton Hassell and Jarvis Hayes and get the rookie some experience.

29. Detroit Pistons (11-25) Last week: Lost at Dallas; lost at San Antonio; lost to Philadelphia; lost at Chicago. The 13-game losing streak is clearly making the Pistons’ announcers go crazy. During Monday’s loss to the Bulls, Greg Kelser described a basic one-hander by Chris Wilcox as “dunking history.” Read More »