“‘Melo has also been banged-up, but seeing as he didn’t make All-Star last year, I think he’ll go even if he doesn’t play a lot of minutes.”
That was me last week, the same night the All-Star rosters were finalized, wondering if there would be any rooms for alternates. Carmelo Anthony hasn’t played since then, however — missing Denver’s last six games with an ankle injury — making it a possibility he could skip All-Star if he’s not healthy enough by next week. Read More »
It’s safe to say that when the Grizzlies started the season, they (A) didn’t think that Zach Randolph would be an All-Star, and (B) didn’t think that they’d make the playoffs. But with (A) taken care of, it’s on to (B). With that in mind, you can understand why the Grizzlies – and the $3.2 million they have available – are looking to shore up their bench. Read More »
You know when you play basketball video games and press the shot button instead of the pass? Well, that’s kind of what happened to Rudy Gay last night against the Lakers. Up three with under 10 seconds to play in the first quarter, Rudy picks up the ball and lets it sail from way beyond half court. Missing terribly, Shannon Brown gathers the rebound, passes it up to Kobe in the corner and the Black Mamba nails the three at the buzzer to tie the game.
In the free cable TV classic Face/Off, John Travolta the FBI agent and Nic Cage the criminal switch faces (it’s complicated and corny) and go about their good guy/bad guy business while basically being the other guy. Last night was like the NBA version of Face/Off, only instead of Travolta and Cage, it was starring Kadeem Hardison and Dolph Lundgren. Blazers/Mavs saw one guy drop 52 points and absolutely dominate down the stretch, using awkward herky-jerky moves to beat his defenders between sticking jumper after jumper. Dirk Nowitzki? Nope. It was Andre Miller … Read More »
30. New Jersey Nets (3-40)
Last week: Lost at Phoenix; lost at Golden State; lost at Utah.
You know how some teams can play any style and win? The Nets have become adept at losing with any style. Last week they lost trying to run. They also lose in the halfcourt, lose when they go big, lose when they go small, lose with a youth movement, lose with vets, lose at home, lose on the road … their company softball team probably stinks, too.
29. Minnesota Timberwolves (9-36)
Last week: Lost to Oklahoma City; lost to New Orleans; lost at Milwaukee.
If you’re into moral victories, the Wolves can be proud of at least taking the Thunder and Hornets down to the wire. The talent and competitiveness is there; you just see the execution failures that come with a young team. Read More »
Last Friday against the Lakers, while the Knicks were pretending to be a feisty underdog capable of putting a scare into a #1 seed should they crack the playoffs — only to be exposed against the Mavericks in a 50-piecing two days later — the All-Star resume of NY’s David Lee was one of the night’s themes. At one point, ESPN’s Jeff Van Gundy said that players from sub-.500 teams should be banned from making the All-Star team, presenting one extreme in the annual debate over how important a team’s win-loss record should be for an individual player’s All-Star case. Read More »
Three straight L’s at home. Scalabrine calling himself a starter. Big Baby assuming the role of crowd-antagonizing Bad Guy. Yeah, it was definitely time for Kevin Garnett to get back on the court. The day after being named an All-Star starter to surprisingly little objection (so-so stats and 11 DNP’s), KG returned for Celtics/Blazers with plenty of pent-up anger to unleash … First half, Garnett (13 pts, 2 blks) was receiving an entry pass when he shoved Rudy Fernandez to the floor and got whistled for a foul. While KG was arguing with the ref, Andre Miller casually poked the ball out of his hands, so KG gave ‘Dre a forearm shot to the chest without taking his eyes off the ref or even breaking his sentence. We believe doctors call that the Bully Reflex … Read More »
Though it’s tough to cover everything in a concise manner, let’s attempt to traverse this broad topic by way of using a simple grading system. The first letter grade after each player’s name will be based on their performance thus far, in addition to how they’ve fallen short of, met or exceeded expectations; and the second grade will be based on their expected value during the second half of the season. Read More »
Nothing against LeBron, Kobe, ‘Melo and the rest of the usual suspects, but if the Hornets make the playoffs, let’s just scrap the voting process and hand the MVP to Chris Paul. With his team battling to stay above .500 and tied for 10th in the West, CP might be carrying a bigger load than any superstar — and that’s only a “might be” because of Dwyane Wade … Hosting the red-hot Grizzlies, Paul again had to dominate just for N.O. to squeak out a win. He took over after Memphis went up by nine with 4:30 to go, scoring or assisting 17 of the Hornets’ final 20 points. With 40 seconds left, N.O. was up one when Paul (21 pts, 13 asts) froze Jamaal Tinsley with a series of shakes and stuck a mid-range jumper. “You just don’t want Child Welfare to come and say anything about the way he’s shaking him!” laughed announcer Gil McGregor … Read More »
30. New Jersey Nets (3-37)
Last week: Lost to Boston; lost to Indiana; lost at L.A. Clippers.
Rafer Alston’s been sending letters to the guys, telling them what it’s like on the outside. It’s been good for team morale.
29. Minnesota Timberwolves (9-33)
Last week: Lost at Houston; lost at Memphis; beat Philadelphia.
In case you forgot Wayne Ellington was in the League, he had a couple breakout games last week. In the triple-OT loss to the Rockets (17 pts), he was called upon to take some crunch-time shots, and he delivered some of the time. Read More »
