The return of Chauncey Billups on Wednesday night signaled a reason for optimism for the once-sagging Clippers. Even with a surplus of talent at point guard with minute-eater Chris Paul and Eric Bledsoe, Los Angeles needed to have Billups, its no-questions-asked leader, back in the lineup to show his teammates how to win, not only telling them how from the sideline. Read More »

With so much softness leaking into the modern game, we’re always anxious to annoint the next great rivalry. Where is the next Bulls-Knicks going to come from? Or the next Sacramento-Los Angeles? Everyone loves when players get a little nasty, and last night in Boston, the Celtics and Nets put on the first real throwdown of the season. Late in the first half, the Celtics weren’t getting any foul calls, and were getting run off their own floor. Read More »

With Mike D’Antoni literally sitting in Phil Jackson‘s old seat (and even walking like him) along the Staples Center sideline, the new Lakers era didn’t exactly start according to plan. They couldn’t make free throws (19-for-37). They couldn’t make shots. They couldn’t even stop Brook Lopez. But down the stretch, their defense was suffocating, and Kobe Bryant (25 points) hit enough free throws to hold off Brooklyn, 95-90. Read More »

The 2012-13 NBA regular season is finally upon us. For fans, this means it’s time to re-up on your team’s merchandise. Anyone can go to the nearest sporting goods store and pick up a brand new jersey or hat, but what about the unique collectibles that separate the dyed-in-the-wool fan from the bandwagon supporter? These can be found on eBay. In the days leading up to, and after, NBA tip-off, Bidding Basketball will scavenge the online auction site’s “infinite inventory of NBA junk” for rare, memorable and/or quirky basketball memorabilia from every team around the league. 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 »

There are already inklings from management, trickling out of Bay Area reports, that Steph Curry‘s rolled right ankle Friday night is not as serious as it looks. But don’t let out that breath all the way, Warriors fans, because if he can get his ankle rolled at a standstill by someone stepping on it, this could happen all the time. Read More »

The signs have been promising, but you never want to get your hopes up after ligament tears in a knee. Still, we’d seen Ricky Rubio‘s road to recovery and then him shooting a little (Minnesota die-hards will cling to anything that projects hope with Rubio, and that late-night show’s skit qualifies). To complete the hope triangle, let’s add in a third reason to believe Read More »

Not that Golden State’s big man tradition is lined with All-Stars, but former No. 1 pick Andrew Bogut could be the Warriors’ best big man since Chris Webber — if he can stay healthy. Bogut had ankle surgery April 27 to fix a fracture and in mid-August said he wanted to be ready for training camp. If he can go, it would be the first time he’s played as a Warrior since being traded from Milwaukee in March. Now, after an interview with the Warriors’ announcer, he says “I don’t anticipate missing training camp.” Is this reason to believe in Oakland or is it too much to ask? Read More »

Once the Chinese fans texted Kobe Bryant‘s team a 29-point hole, it was go time. That’s not quite the scenario you expect when you think of Kobe coming to the rescue, or any of his biggest crunch-time exploits that required his saving. But Sunday in Shanghai, in a celebrity all-star game where most of the players were singers, Bryant went off like his 81-spot against Toronto in ’06. OK, some context for that first sentence: Bryant was taking in part a promotional game for one of his sponsors during his tour of China and enjoying himself, according to his Facebook post Sunday about the event. Then, through a fan engagement scenario that seems straight out of SlamBall, fans sent enough texts to put one team 29 points down instead of nine. Read More »

Anybody care to explain why no other Olympian or group of Olympians is subject to as much scrutiny as the U.S. men’s basketball team? Whether Michael Phelps wins by a hundredth of a second or blows his competition out of the water, all that really matters is that he wins. If Usain Bolt wins by two strides or by the taco meat on his chest, a win’s still a win. Just take a minute and watch sports like gymnastics and diving this year; the U.S. can win bronze or silver and it’s still treated like an amazing accomplishment rather than a huge failure. Read More »