Is it just us, or has this been — from an injury standpoint — the most destructive NBA preseason in a while? Last year Deron Williams started out on the shelf, and of course Gilbert Arenas and Monta Ellis had their issues, but we don’t remember too many other notables beginning the regular season logging DNPs due to preseason injuries … One standout who’s absence will be very noticeable on Opening Night is Pau Gasol, who as of yesterday is expected to miss the Lakers/Clippers opener with a bad hamstring. Gasol and Andrew Bynum (shoulder) missed L.A.’s last two preseason games, but while Bynum said he’s going to play Tuesday, the Lakers look like they’ll be getting their rings with Gasol in a suit and Lamar Odom in the starting lineup … Read More »
With no more preseason games and just a few days until the NBA regular season starts, all that’s left to do is iron out some position battles and figure out who among the banged-up is healthy enough to suit up for Opening Night. There was an outside chance that Shaq, among others, would be suspended for the Cavs/Celtics opener after he left the bench during Mo Williams and Shelden Williams‘ altercation a few nights ago. But the NBA ruled that since the scrap happened technically at halftime, guys who left the bench won’t be punished … Read More »
With most of their guys back healthy from the flu and various other injuries, the Cavs smashed the Mavs by 30 last night at the University of Pittsburgh gym. (Since when do Cleveland teams get love in Pittsburgh?) Mo Williams had 16 points and 11 assists, LeBron put up 12 points on 3-of-13 shooting and seven dimes, and Big Z scored 16 off the bench … Dallas was the team playing short-handed, as Dirk, J-Kidd and Jason Terry were given the night off, and Josh Howard and Shawn Marion are still banged up. So the starting five looked like this: J.J. Barea, Matt Carroll, Quinton Ross, Drew Gooden and Erick Dampier. Pretty sure the Pitt Panthers squad would be able to give that lineup at least a decent run. Hell, put Sam Young and DeJuan Blair back on the squad and they might pull off a W … Read More »
Last year we debuted the “Highs and Lows” system — previewing the NBA season by predicting the respective ceiling and basement for each team. Same theme, different season…
Every day, more signs are popping up to tell us we’re getting closer and closer to the actual NBA season. Over the last week or so, we’ve watched guys going through the motions in practice (the “Real Training Camp” cameras never lie); Shaq throwing his old teams under the bus to hype up his new team; a valuable Kings player getting hurt; Vince Carter’s critics blasting him for shooting (and missing) too many jumpers; Gerald Wallace dunking on cats; some decent preseason games; a couple of fights and suspensions; and further proof that the Warriors are officially the Oakland Raiders of the NBA. Last night was another milestone, with the first nationally televised game of the year: Suns/Warriors on TNT. Read More »
Friday was supposed to be the glorious return of “Showtime” for one night only as the Lakers returned to The Forum, but the Warriors turned it into a Run-TMC flashback instead. Coming off an ankle injury he suffered in the preseason opener, Monta Ellis dropped 24 points and eight assists in the GS 20-piecing, while Kelenna Azubuike scored 18 and Anthony Randolph added 18 points and eight boards. (OK, so maybe it was more like Hardaway, Spree and Billy Owens.) … You think Stephen Jackson might be trying to get himself traded? He picked up five fouls and a technical in NINE minutes. Read More »
Between Stephen Jackson’s trade request, Anthony Randolph’s summer league breakout, and C.J. Watson’s incredibly over-covered free agent situation (all this for a guy who’s like two steps above the minimum salary?), we’ve been talking about the Warriors a lot this offseason. Things have been such a mess in the Bay lately that it’s been assumed Golden State will stink again, but in reality, they could be better than you think. Monta Ellis will be healthy from Day One, everyone in the organization is convinced Randolph is about to blow up, Andris Biedrins will get his nightly double-double, and Kelenna Azubuike is one of the better sneaky-good players in the NBA. Read More »
Not to take a dump on my colleague Gerald Narciso’s five trade scenarios for Stephen Jackson, but there’s one deal out there that makes almost too much sense not to happen — if in fact the Warriors are going to grant Capt. Jack’s request and send him to a winning team:
MIAMI gets: Stephen Jackson
GOLDEN STATE gets: Michael Beasley, Dorell Wright
For starters, the money works out. Jackson is due $7.6 million this season, while Beasley ($4.6M) and Wright ($2.8M) combine to make almost equal that amount. Read More »
