Mid-way through the fourth quarter of last night’s Thunder/Rockets game, Oklahoma City was up 15 at one point and for a minute Houston looked like they were just trying to stay in touch. Russell Westbrook (29 points) was slashing to the cup, Serge Ibaka was knocking down mid-range jumpers and Kevin Martin was pump-faking everyone in red to stick wide open threes. It was about to be bad for Houston. But then a crazy mix of James Harden (36 points), Patrick Beverley and Carlos Delfino happened, Read More »

After having one of their family members break his leg in half right in front of their bench, it was only fitting that this tournament, this season would end with the Louisville Cardinals winning a championship for the school (its first in 27 years), for Rick Pitino (who found out yesterday he’ll be inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame), and for Kevin Ware (for obvious reasons). Read More »

There may not be a fan as buoyant about this season than Spike Lee is about his Knicks. The creation of a Brooklyn-New York rivalry, with the Knicks taking Round III last night at Madison Square Garden, coupled with the surprise of the Eastern Conference-leading Knicks, has the filmmaker reveling every time he’s shown on TV. In time for the five Christmas Day games, including Knicks at the Lakers, a new NBA ad caught up with Lee to reminisce about his favorite Christmas game. One that was fit for a King, and one that just so happened to pit Knicks vs. Nets. Read More »

NBA 2K12 won’t stop with just a few basketball legends. They’re going all out this holiday season, giving us everyone from George Mikan to Jamal Mashburn. It was recently announced that 2K would be offering a special mode – called the “Legends Showcase” – for download at some point soon where gamers would have the chance to hit the blacktop in Times Square and play one-on-one, H-O-R-S-E, 21 and any other number of games like two-on-two teammate challenges against some of the best the NBA has ever seen. We knew that. Now we also know what players will be in the add-on. If you didn’t think you would be purchasing the “Legends Showcase,” this might change your mind. Read More »

This is the first post in a three-part series we will be running today on the best decade in NBA history. Was it the 1980s? The 1990s? Or the 2000s? Can you make the arguments that one of the earlier decades was even better? Sure. But not likely. Can you make an argument that one of these three was the best ever? Of course. And that’s what we’re doing…

The 1980’s was a wild decade. Bon Jovi dominated the charts. Wall Street was booming. I was conceived. But other than all that great stuff, it was the best decade for the NBA. If the 1970s had the best style of basketball and the ’90s featured the best players, the ’80s was the happy medium between the two. Although I was only alive for one year of it, I know that 1980’s basketball was a beautiful thing – a true incarnation of American glitz and glamour that defined the decade. Read More »

Upon leaving New York City for All-Star Weekend in Los Angeles, we knew there was a very good possibility that either the Knicks or Nets would pull off a deal, most likely involving Carmelo Anthony. But what transpired last week for both New York teams (yes, the Nets will soon be in Brooklyn) has been nothing short of astounding. Read More »

Blake Griffin is a beast. But you already knew that. Hopefully by the end of Friday night, those who don’t have NBA League Pass and have only been exposed to Blake Superior’s rookie brilliance got to see how beastly DeMarcus Cousins and John Wall can be … For the second straight year, the Rookies beat the Sophomores in the All-Star Rookie Challenge, but this may have been the first time it wasn’t an upset. Blake did his thing, finishing with 14 points in 13 minutes, pretty much all of it on dunks. Read More »

’Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the League, Not a player was playing, not even Jeff Teague. The matchups were set with the rivalries ripe, Some were historical and some were just hype. “Now, Kobe! now, ’Bron! now, Dwight and KG! On, Amar’e! on, Rose! on, ’Melo and KD! From the start of the game! For every loose ball! Now dunk away! Dunk away! Dunk away all!” … Can you tell we’re excited? With no NBA games on the docket last night, we had all day to think about the storylines for today’s action. Read More »

When we talk “rivalries” in sports, the first question that needs to be asked is the following: Have both teams been competitive during the same established period of time?

The answer, of course, when it comes to the Knicks and Celtics is “No.” We are not talking about Boston vs. New York, which has been dominated by Yankee/Red Sox in terms of a sports rivalry with sprinkles of Jets/Patriots and even Giants/Patriots (Super Bowl XLII) recently mixed in. Read More »

We’ve been spoiled the past two years with ridiculous Hall of Fame crops: Michael Jordan, John Stockton, David Robinson and Jerry Sloan in 2009, followed by Karl Malone, Scottie Pippen and the 1992 Dream Team in 2010. With that said, this has now opened the door for superstars left on the ballot to finally break through. Today, NBA.com’s Scott Howard-Cooper unveiled the nominees for the 2011 Hall of Fame class, but we’ll leave it up to you to decide. Here we go: Read More »