As much as we want to give credit to Kobe Bryant for icing the Lakers win in Brooklyn last night, L.A. should throw the Nets a bone. Brooklyn did everything they could outside of express mailing the W to Hollywood. Down the stretch, the Nets endured a couple of bad shots from Brook Lopez – one was an ugly airball – on poorly executed plays. Then, Gerald Wallace threw away an inbounds pass. Read More »

So, when exactly is the latest “new” Lakers season starting? At the end of the third quarter last night in Phoenix’s unbelievable 92-86 win, all was right in L.A. The Lakers shot 65 percent in the third quarter, Kobe was dishing (17 points, nine assists) and L.A. was up double-digits. Then, Dwight Howard re-injured his shoulder, Michael Beasley (27 points) took it back to K-State, and the Lakers started unraveling. Read More »

The NBA All-Star Game is a showcase normally reserved for the great players who actually win games, and yet we haven’t heard one complaint about how Jrue Holiday is going to Houston next month. He’s been so good this season (remember, this cat is still only 22 years old) that everyone forgets his team kind of sucks. In a 17-point beating of New York, Holiday had 31 points at the end of the third quarter, finishing with a career-high 35. Read More »

The Clippers really don’t want to see the Warriors in the playoffs. We’d like it, but they certainly wouldn’t, not after Golden State beat them for the third time this season, 106-99. “There are shooters and then there are just the indescribable.” You could’ve hooked that phrase to Stephen Curry‘s after-shot prancing last night, but it worked with his shooting, too. Read More »

Even after Chris Paul’s right kneecap conspired to scratch Tuesday’s most intriguing point-guard matchup from the schedule — CP3 and the Clippers facing Jeremy Lin and the Rockets — the NBA still delivered a gem by giving us Ty Lawson versus Damian Lillard. In a style clash of playmaker versus scorer, power versus skill, fast versus fearless, the four-year vet Lawson got the best of the rookie Lillard, dropping 24 points and 12 assists as the Nuggets edged the Blazers in overtime. Read More »

The last time James Harden played against his old team, he had a nightmare game, a half dozen of his shots blocked back into his face. This time, he made his first shot in Kevin Durant‘s face, and was good enough to drop 25 points (still only 9-for-33 shooting against OKC this year). But while the first half played out like a tape from the old And1 video game, the second half became a mismatch, and the Thunder went on to win 124-94. Read More »

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Kevin Garnett swats away Brook Lopez’s shot and Paul Pierce dishes out the dime to Jeff Green who throws down the incredible dunk on the fast break in today’s matchup between the Boston Celtics and Brooklyn Nets. Read More »

There’s a clear line of demarcation when you can tell an NBA player has crossed the line into veteran territory: that moment they throw up attempts from every arm angle on the very hint of contact to get two shots on a shooting foul. It’s the moment they realize there’s no need to feign worrying your coach will get upset for drawing an opponent into a foul 25 feet from the hoop with a shot from the hip. Now, Brooklyn’s Brook Lopez was bumped into by Utah’s Randy Foye on Tuesday night, but like the best actors in the “in the act of shooting” genre, his resulting shot is hilariously out of step with a normal field goal attempt. Except, this one goes in — and gets called off, anyway. Impressive shot, Brook. Read More »

Currently, the Brooklyn Nets are tied with the Knicks for the lead in the Atlantic after winning their last three games (over New York, Portland and the Clippers). Much of their success can be attributed to Brook Lopez‘s excellent post play, which has translated into 19 points a game and over 54 percent shooting through the season’s first month. Regardless of Lopez’s goofy perm and laboring quickness, he’s managed to team with Deron Williams for some pretty pick-n-rolls to keep the Nets a threat in the paint, and his low post moves are effective, if not aesthetically pleasing. Read More »