Weekend Wonder: LeBron James put up 40 points, 3 threes, 13 rebounds, 6 assists, 3 steals, 2 blocks and 4 turnovers on Friday. He shot 59 percent (16-27) from the field and 83 percent (5-6) from the line, and sprained an ankle in the process. He sat out his first game of the season the next day but should be back on the court soon. Read More »

There were two primary story lines at work during last night’s Kings/Rockets game: First was the return of Carl Landry to Houston-slash-Kevin Martin facing his old squad. Second was Sacramento managing to win a road game against a decent opponent despite Tyreke Evans having the worst game of his NBA career, going 4-of-22 from the field for nine points.

Lost in the shuffle was that Luis Scola might have earned himself a new nickname. Read More »

When Carl Landry got traded to Sacramento, he made it clear that he didn’t want to leave Houston. But then again, just as his brother Marcus packed his bags in New York for Boston, he understands that it’s a business. But as the guys over at The Dream Shake pointed out this morning, Landry hasn’t given up on Houston just yet: He’s still wearing his old kicks. Read More »

A whole lot of things didn’t make sense about last night’s Grizzlies/Hornets game. It didn’t make sense that Mike Conley (26 pts, 7 asts, 5 stls) was sticking jumpers like Mark Price. It didn’t make sense that Darren Collison (17 pts, 14 asts, 5 stls) and Marcus Thornton (24 pts) kept playing like the best backcourt in the League. It didn’t make sense that Emeka Okafor had one whole rebound. It didn’t make sense that Aaron Gray and Hamed Haddadi guarded each other for about 10 minutes and the sport of basketball wasn’t set back 30 years. But most improbable thing, according to one Hornets’ announcer, was the shot that eventually won Memphis the game … Read More »

Ranking the NBA from worst to first…

30. New Jersey Nets (6-53) — Mad Dog Carter and the rest of the ‘73 Sixers might have to cancel that champagne-popping party. The Nets are 2-5 since the All-Star break, recording wins over the Celtics and the (maybe) playoff-bound Bobcats.

29. Minnesota Timberwolves (14-47) — A disappointing season gets worse for Al Jefferson, suspended for this week’s games against Dallas and Houston after a DWI arrest. On a less serious note, Al’s team has dropped nine of its last 10 games. Read More »

Two things that will make me angry enough to twist my face into a Kendrick Perkins scowl and start launching Mike Tyson threats: Any Houston sports-related headline that reads, “Houston, we have a problem,” and any Seattle-related story headlined, “Sleepless in Seattle.”

Stop it. The Apollo 13 launch was in 1970, a.k.a. FORTY years ago. The Tom Hanks movie (not Apollo 13, but the other one set in my hometown) came out in 1993, a.k.a. when Ken Griffey Jr. and Shawn Kemp were in their primes. Read More »

Buy Low: Carlos Boozer can breathe a bit easier now with his immediate future secure in Utah. Boozer has been relatively quiet in his last three games and the sudden emergence of Paul Millsap hasn’t helped. But this makes it an opportune time to swoop in with a cheap offer for any of his owners who fear that Boozer’s value is quickly eroding. Read More »

Tracy McGrady is finally a Knick, Nate Robinson is a Celtic and Tyrus Thomas has transformed from a sulky Bull into a brooding Bobcat. There were also a few odds and ends to note as the trade deadline passed, and it’s clear that fantasy owners have some work to do if they want to sort through the debris to separate the gems from the rubble. Let’s take a look at the notable fantasy implications. Read More »

So much for the Knicks not being able to land Tracy McGrady’s expiring contract, according to ESPN.com’s Marc Stein, the Rockets, Kings and Knicks have agreed to terms that will expand the Houston-Sacramento deal into a three-way trade that lands Tracy McGrady and Sergio Rodriguez in New York, Kevin Martin, Jordan Hill, Jared Jeffries and Hilton Armstrong in Houston and Carl Landry, Joey Dorsey and Larry Hughes in Sacramento. Read More »

The Cavs are locked and loaded for a solid run at the championship, a disgruntled former superstar finds a new home (and maybe another one before the day’s up), the Bulls are in an even better position to make a splash this summer and a perennial lump of dead weight now finds himself with 10,000 lakes to drown in. That pretty much sums up all the NBA trade action from Wednesday night into Thursday morning, in what has shaped up to be a trade season that has lived up to expectations so far. Here’s a quick rundown of the fantasy implications. Read More »