There’s no grander stage than Madison Square Garden, and Derrick Rose shined like stars should in NYC as Chicago bounced the Knicks, 105-102. The basics first: 32 points, 13 assists. What left you gasping: a blow-by Toney Douglas dunk in the third, a deke of Tyson Chandler at the rim a little later. The capper, however, was a layup where he avoided Chandler, Amar’e Stoudemire and Jared Jeffries driving through the lane while playing hide-and-seek with the ball around his head. Read More »

Lob City’s a Laker town again, if only for a night in this upside-down season where the Clippers are the supposed juggernaut in town. With Andy Garcia looking on with an, ahem, obvious Lakers’ interest, Metta World Peace was as much a factor tonight as he hasn’t been the rest of the season. His physicality and hesitation three, his only bucket of the night, with 3:30 left capped an 11-4 run and the Lakers put the game away from there, thanks to two key plays from Andrew Bynum (19 points). In the closing seconds, he caught a lob from Kobe and finished, and then snuffed DeAndre Jordan‘s layup. Was this truly the night the big kid finally grew up? Read More »

Amar’e Stoudemire knew exactly what he was doing when he signed with the New York Knicks. He was going to bring some Hollywood back to the Big Apple. With cameos on everything from Entourage to Sesame Street, STAT will take his talents to TV Land this evening, guest starring on The Exes. Read More »

If you’re LeBron, what’s the point? He could afford to be passive last night because Chris Bosh was getting busy in the fourth quarter of Miami’s 92-85 win over Cleveland. Kyra Sedgwick went off for 17 fourth quarter points, and had two of the biggest buckets of the game: a three-point play off the dribble and then a pull-up J in the closing minutes. His two free throws with 55 seconds left put Miami up eight, icing the win. It wasn’t so much that Bosh didn’t get help. ‘Bron had 18. But Bosh took the Cavs’ best punches all night, drawing foul after foul and finishing everything. Read More »

It wasn’t like we were the only ones to say the Sixers were for real this year. Everyone was saying that, and the numbers backed it up. They were No. 1 in offense and defense – at the same time – for a while this season, and were dominating people at home. But last night, they ran into a real title contender, the Miami Heat, and the Sixers got blitzed worse than anything we’ve seen all year from the Ravens. Even without Dwyane Wade, the Heat won because they dominated on the glass and LeBron (28 points) was an absolute savage on the pick-n-roll. Whenever he got into the lane, it was an automatic bucket. Read More »

Thank you NBA fans. You’ve officially destroyed any drama that I ever got out of the All-Star voting. Not that it really matters. Almost every year, you can bank on certain names garnering the most votes and a starting spot in the Sunday capper of the best midseason weekend in basketball. Kobe Bryant could do his whole “watch what happens when I don’t shoot, world” routine for four weeks straight, and his fans would probably declare he’s the best passer in the world and should be in the game. LeBron James could act like a train off its tracks, and keep up that weird “I’m here, but don’t ask me to do anything heroic” face he’s had on since last June, and fans would still call him the most talented player in NBA history. Blake Griffin could blow out his knee or decide to never dunk again as long as the refs continue to screw him (Watch him complain on every call. Hubie almost had a heart attack last night: “GET BACK ON D! YOU GOTTA GET BACK!”), or he could have both happen, and Quake would still be in February’s ultimate showcase. Read More »

Ranking the NBA from worst to first …

30. Washington Wizards (1-12) LW: 30, — Well, at least John Wall finally had a big game yesterday against Houston (38 points) because I was beginning to believe that the rest of the guys had brainwashed him. Read More »

Right before Christmas, Lou Williams found himself in an attempt to be robbed at gunpoint. Luckily for him, he was able to use his celebrity status to avoid any harm. This situation got us to thinking, what if Lou Will had any of his basketball buddies with him? Which current athletes would make the best bodyguards? Although Shaq might have topped this list if he was still playing, there’s still plenty of security to be found in these ten players. Read More »

At the start of every NBA season, all we hear about for weeks is “X player gained x amount of muscle,” or “X player lost x pounds, so look for him to break out!” It gets a little nauseating after awhile and it isn’t until players step foot on the hardwood that you can really notice any change. John Hollinger tried to save us all some time by tweeting: “I’ll save everyone else the trouble for their training camp reports: Every NBA player is in the best shape of his life. Except Eddy Curry.” Read More »

If there was one player I wished I had been more like growing up, it’s Tony Allen. Not the line drive shooting part. I’m talking about the ruggedness, the defense, the “time to grind” bloodhound that never stops. Tony Allen isn’t a star. He’ll never be one. But even before Memphis… for Boston fans he was rather unique. Six long years, playing nearly the exact same role with the exact same PT every season. He wasn’t supposed to be a good enough shooter or decision-maker to make it full-time, and even when he was looking like he might finally make it, he went out and dunked during a stop in play, tearing up his knee in the process. Read More »