The only thing seemingly happening more often than freak injuries through the playoffs first two days are blocked shots. We saw Roy Hibbert sending away all sorts of shots from the Orlando Midgets. Kevin Durant somehow had four of them. And Serge Ibaka was just… Serge Ibaka. But only one guy this weekend tied the NBA Playoff blocked shot record, and that was Andrew Bynum. By the four minute mark in the third quarter of the Lakers’ blowout win against Denver, 103-88, Bynum already had seven rejections and before the night was over, he not only had a triple-double (10 points, 13 rebounds, 10 blocks), but he had also broken the franchise playoff record and tied Mark Eaton and Hakeem Olajuwon for most blocks ever in a playoff game. Read More »

With only a few games left on the slate it’s looking like LeBron James will be our MVP for 2012. His main competition, Kevin Durant, has surrendered, recently quoted saying:

“He [LeBron] deserves all the love [for MVP], He’s playing phenomenal basketball. I’m just trying to get better every single game and trying to help my team as much as I can. I’m just blessed to be in that conversation.”

Here’s what the Top 10 MVP Candidates looks like today: Read More »

You see that? That’s what all those people in Boston and Minnesota used to talk about; what all those people in Utah still talk about. Last night, that was Al Jefferson showing his entire skill set, showing why he should be right up there in the discussion with Andrew Bynum and whoever else you think might be the second-best center in the NBA behind Dwight Howard … In a game the Jazz needed to win to clinch the final playoff spot in the West and eliminate the Suns from contention, Jefferson put up 18 points and 16 rebounds to go with four assists and two blocks. Read More »

The regular season is coming to an end and the playoffs are right around the corner. The last few weeks in this MVP race are the most important, as each superstar works to put their team in the best position to contend in the Playoffs. For Dwight Howard and Derrick Rose, the MVP is the least of their concerns. Both players are usually top candidates in the MVP conversation, however they both have gone through rough times this season and are focused solely on the playoffs. Read More »

Three-thousand miles away and two big games to start a Sunday afternoon. … Jeff Van Gundy isn’t coming through that door wrapped around someone’s ankle, and Allan Houston won’t be joining, either. Still, that can’t temper a playoff matchup we’d love to see that was previewed Sunday: Heat vs. Knicks. The Garden has seen its high points this season (think Linsanity and ‘Melo’s Easter blowout) but we’d love to watch this series once it gets back to the World’s Most Famous Arena after how Sunday’s game looked until late. Read More »

Friday the 13th used to be known for harmless bad luck, but thanks to a psycho with a hockey mask and every movie studio deciding they have to release horror flicks on that date, now it’s become synonymous with blood and torture. Always thinking marketing, the NBA had its bases covered last night, Friday the 13th — giving a lot of unlucky fans a lineup of boring blowouts that were murder on the eyes … It was so bad we resorted to math: The average margin of victory for last night’s 12 NBA games was 15.6 points; four games reached 20-piece status; and one of them was a 38-point laugher that shockingly involved the Wizards … Read More »

Beast of the Night: Monta Ellis finished his big night with 35 points, six rebounds, 10 assists, four steals and three three-pointers. He shot 56 percent (14-25) from the floor and 80 percent (4-5) from the free-throw line, and had five turnovers. This was a nice bounce-back game from his 9/1/7 clunker on Monday. Ellis’ fantasy value has dropped since he arrived in Milwaukee, but he’s still a solid source of points, assists and steals. Read More »

The Los Angeles Lakers steamrolled the San Antonio Spurs last night mainly because of the rebounding effort of Andrew Bynum, who pulled down 30 rebounds. Interviewed after the game about his monster rebounding effort, Bynum seemed not to care, focusing on his poor shooting instead. Read More »

Kobe who? If you would’ve told us that Bryant was going to sit out a game in San Antonio against the red hot Spurs, we would’ve said Gregg Popovich would’ve been pulling out the victory cigars early in the fourth quarter. You can’t fault us though because no one, repeat NO ONE, could’ve expected Andrew Bynum to set an NBA season high and in the process nearly outrebound San Antonio by himself: 33 to 30. The big man also chipped in 16 points, and with Pau Gasol putting in a quiet 21 and 11, the Lakers completed dominated inside in their blowout win. Read More »