The Lakers and Pacers tilt last night in L.A. was so bad it was almost comical. There was Dwight Howard missing clutch free throws and laughing about it. There was Joey Crawford making awful calls left and right. There was Indiana fumbling away nearly every opportunity to close the Lakers out. There was Kobe attempting to win the game by himself. In the end, George Hill (19 points) hit one more big shot than Bryant, and Hill’s high underhand shot off the glass that dropped in with .1 seconds left won it for the visitors, 79-77 … Read More »

As the first month of the NBA season comes to a close, player values are starting to fall in place. Of course there are some exceptions, like if some of these players just happened to start off ice cold or riding a hot streak. However, by Thanksgiving, statistics begin to even out. The early hot streaks dissolve, and the underachievers slowly work their way back into the fantasy hierarchy. Here are this week’s top risers and fallers in fantasy basketball. Read More »

Back in the preseason when the Lakers had all five starters together (a rare occurrence, we know), there were stretches where they were cooking better than Walter White on Breaking Bad. Mike Brown‘s failed experiment hid for a time what we saw once more Sunday night at Staples Center: In barely third gear, this team is dangerous once again. They had 40 points after one quarter without Steve Nash, who was off doing Gangnam Style, a Dwight Howard (28 points, 13 rebounds) who claimed afterward he’s still at best 80 percent healthy and a Pau Gasol who hasn’t decided to really play. Read More »

It’s too early in the season to say for certain which teams will and won’t make the playoffs, but we can confidently say some teams are still a lock, or they’re going to at least be in the running as the season progresses. One team that’s almost certainly going to miss the playoffs again, and will probably not even contend for a final spot in the Eastern Conference – at least not yet – are the Cleveland Cavaliers. Read More »

Pau Gasol, we hope you surround yourself with protection tonight. You might turn up along the rocks in the Pacific Ocean tomorrow morning, courtesy of a crazed Kobe Bryant. Down two on the last possession last night against the Spurs, Gasol couldn’t find anyone to pass to. Instead, he launched a moon shot from the corner. Even as he was shooting it, Bryant (28 points, eight assists) already had his palms out in the ultimate “WTF ARE YOU DOING?!” stance. Read More »

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It’s a new season in the NBA, the Heat and LeBron James have new championship rings, and yet nothing has changed. You still got the haves and the have-nots, which was easily apparent switching back and forth between the freshman ball (Wizards/Cavs) and the varsity (Celtics/Heat). The fans still don’t understand the concept behind the MVP chant (Seriously? In the first game of the season?) And Kevin Garnett is still super ornery. Read More »

Slightly less complicated than ranking the best centers in the NBA is determining who should and who shouldn’t be called a center.

In this faster, more fluid and more versatile NBA, where more coaches are using three-guard lineups and embracing “small ball,” players once pegged as power forwards are not only playing center, but they’re also admitting it. Yao Ming is out, Chris Bosh is in, and suddenly the stigma of the center as a lumbering behemoth quarantined to the low post is gone. Read More »

By now, I’m sure you’ve seen the videos. In this era of technology, Twitter and 24/7 highlights, you probably heard about it not long after Pau Gasol felt it. It gives you an idea of how we value excitement in sports. The Clippers lost last night, Kobe Bryant hit a game-clinching shot and Andrew Bynum was going to work, and yet this morning it’s been all about Blake Griffin un-manning Gasol twice. As we wrote in Smack, he murdered him early, resuscitated him and then killed him again. Twice in one game he smashed all over the Spaniard. Kendrick Perkins and Timofey Mozgov breathed a sigh of relief somewhere. Read More »

Forget Steve Nash and Baron Davis. Jeremy Lin is taking over NYC. The Knicks survived New Jersey 99-92, and it was their popular bench warmer who had the city juiced. Deron Williams (21 points, 11 assists), the former best point guard in the world, was getting worked over by Lin (25 points, five rebounds, seven assists) down the stretch. Jumpers. Pick-n-rolls Everything was out of wack for New York. Carmelo (3-for-15) couldn’t make a shot, and Amar’e Stoudemire wasn’t much better, but Lin was pulling out reverses, and after a three-point play, Tyson Chandler was doing the Brandy Reed celebration from back in the day … Read More »