Lost amongst all of the Sports Illustrated covers, ESPY interviews and polls proclaiming the Heat to be nothing short of sensational, the best team in Florida could still be the Orlando Magic. For them, this summer was more about curtailing roster losses and keeping their core together. With two straight trips to the Eastern Conference Finals, Dwight Howard & Co. have the foundation to contend for years. Read More »

What constitutes “news” these days? It was already getting hard to tell after the past week of one million made-up rumors and random speculation, but then this LeBron-on-Twitter thing hit yesterday and further confused the situation. If you haven’t heard, LeBron officially signed onto everybody’s favorite social media toy, and that development was actually reported by the Associated Press and other major outlets like a real-life “news” story. (Not that we’re claiming superiority; we’re all following @KingJames too.) Read More »

We knew the Magic were going to be looking for a point guard this summer with Jason Williams and Anthony Johnson as free agents, but I don’t think anyone saw this coming. According to ESPN.com’s Chad Ford, the Magic have signed Chris Duhon to a four year, $15 million dollar contract. With Jameer Nelson as the only other PG on the roster, this move shores up Orlando’s backcourt. Read More »

Jordan Farmar wants to be a starter. So far in his four-year career with the Lakers, he has averaged 6.9 points and 2.1 assists in only 18.1 minutes a game, failing to distinguish himself from aging Derek Fisher or raw combo guard Shannon Brown as L.A.’s point guard of the future. And yet Farmar still maintained throughout the season and immediately following the Lakers’ championship run that he’s looking to be the No. 1 guy somewhere — whether it’s in L.A. or not. Now that he’s a free agent, where would Farmar have a shot at getting his wish? Read More »

Good to know that a Nuggets/Knicks game at MSG can be entertaining and even playground-style competitive without innocent rich people getting trampled in the front row and Carmelo Anthony having to do a Floyd Mayweather Jr. impersonation … Instead of fighting, ‘Melo just got into a little harmless smack-talk with Danilo Gallinari. Not sure if you’ve noticed, but much like Andrea Bargnani, Gallo kind of snuck up on the League (as much as a guy playing in New York can do it low-key) as a legit problem for defenses. Read More »

Two games. If you were in the office pool to get action on the first time Tracy McGrady would start showing signs in New York of why the Rockets never trusted him enough to give him a featured role this season, whoever had “two games” gets the pot. In the second half of last night’s home loss to Milwaukee — the Knicks’ seventh L in a row, by the way — McGrady was noticeably limping around. After the game Mac admitted his knee had taken some punishment and he wasn’t sure if he’d be able to play against the Celtics tonight … On top of the knee issues, McGrady got his first taste of what it’s really like to be a Knick in the 21st century. Read More »

It took about 22 seconds for the wounded, jaded Knicks fans at MSG to fall in love with Tracy McGrady. As soon as Knicks/Thunder tipped off and it became obvious T-Mac was the best player on the team and genuinely psyched to be in New York, the crowd was his. McGrady dropped 26 points (10-17 FG) and 5 assists in what was the most electric NY home game of the year, blowing past defenders for and-ones, hitting jumpers off-glass, and making some sick passes … With eight minutes to go in the fourth, the Knicks were down four and the crowd started chanting “We want T-Mac!” Read More »

Beast of the Night: Stephen Curry blasted the Kings with 27 points, 9 rebounds, 6 assists, 3 steals, 1 turnover and 3 threes. The rookie stud is now averaging 28 points, 5.3 boards, 5 assists, 2.3 steals, 1.3 turnovers and 3.3 threes in his last three games and is clearly picking up the load with Monta Ellis out. Read More »

Steering clear of a competition with the Texas/Alabama national championship game, the NBA had just one game on the schedule last night, with the Bobcats visiting the Knicks at MSG. Not exactly the bright lights of a LeBron or Kobe appearance, not I’d Rather Watch ‘Man vs. Wild’ either. In fact, it’s not crazy at all to suggest both of these teams could wind up in the playoffs in 2010 … The Bobcats were up 10 late in the third, but NY put together a quick 15-0 run that bled into the fourth, highlighted by a couple of Nate Robinson threes, plus one play where he crossed up D.J. Augustin and took off from the dotted line, catching a dunk that would’ve been nasty if he was 6-foot-3; but was downright disrespectful considering he’s the size of a jockey … Read More »

Last week, a reader commented on my All-Star snubs-to-be post that Gilbert Arenas should start for the East at point guard. Even as an Arenas supporter, I laughed when I read that. But just as I was preparing to rip into the guy’s idea — keep in mind, this was before Gil slapped 45 and 13 on G-State on national TV — I realized that it’s actually not too crazy. Read More »