Check out Washington’s Chris Singleton at the end of regulation of last night’s Wizards/Celtics game. With the Wiz down two, a broken play and a wildly-rotating Boston defense leads to Singleton rumbling from the three-point arc to the rim, with only Kevin Garnett in the way. Read More »

We don’t often lead Smack with the Pacers, but what transpired in Atlanta last night was too depressing not to. We found out yesterday morning that Danny Granger is now going to miss three months of action, and for Indiana, that’s a major loss. It showed in a 89-86 loss to the Hawks. After going up 14 in the fourth quarter, the Pacers’ offensive rhythm made us want to cry. They were more of a mess than Romney‘s campaign strategy. Read More »

The two winningest programs in NCAA history met in the N.O. Bayou last night, and when it was all over, one thing was clear: Kansas would’ve had to be perfect to stop Kentucky. The game didn’t really heat up until the second half, but we knew pretty early it was going to be a great game. By the game’s first TV timeout, there were already more highlights than all of last year’s title game. And when Kansas finally did make their push, in part behind Tyshawn Taylor (19 points), it was the sniping from Doron Lamb (22 points) and Marquis Teague (14 points) that put the kids to bed … Read More »

Weekend Wonder: Gerald Wallace averaged 21.0 points, 12.0 rebounds, 4.0 assists, 4.0 steals, 1.0 block and 2.0 threes in two games over the weekend. In this stretch, he shot 54 percent from the floor and 89 percent from the free-throw line, while averaging 2.5 turnovers per game. It’s only been nine games, but Wallace has averaged better all-around numbers (top 20 value) for the Nets than those he was putting up in Portland earlier this season. Read More »

Monday night belonged to the block shot artists — but who did it best?

Think of last night’s slate of games like a buffet line of blocked shots. You had your two-hand Bismack Biyombo variety to save the win against New Orleans to start things off. Move down the line a little later and Washington’s Chris Singleton came with the one-handed “long arm of the law” kind on Manu Ginobili at the rim, the kind where you see the ball freeze in mid-air. Check it out at play No. 7 below. Read More »

Brandon Jennings was content to wait. While the Nets came out hot Monday in New Jersey, Milwaukee’s oft off-target star found his stroke wherever he wanted as the game went on. Jennings stepped back for six threes on 11 attempts and had a game-high 34 in the Bucks’ win. He’s in the best shooting season of his career at 40 percent from the field (Progress, people. Progress.). While it’s progress that he’s better year-over-year, it’s still not good. It was nice though, to see his third night of 50 percent shooting or better this month, after not hitting that mark once in February … Read More »

Beast of the Night: DeAndre Jordan finished with 14 points, 14 rebounds, two steals and four blocks last night. He shot 78 percent (7-9) from the field and shot not free-throw attempts and had no turnovers. This was Jordan’s third straight game with double-digit rebounds. He remains a fantasy stud for owners punting free-throw percentage. Read More »

Back when Nick “Swaggy P” Young was still rocking a Trojans’ cardinal and gold uniform from 2004 to 2007, the USC athletic department was on top of the world. On the gridiron, the ’04 squad, led by Reggie Bush and Matt Leinart, cruised to the BCS National Championship. One year later, the Trojans returned to the title game where they fell to Texas.

Meanwhile, USC wasn’t doing too shabby on the hardwood, either. After finishing 12-17 during Young’s rookie season, the Trojans steadily improved, going 17-13 the next year. Then, in 2007, Young and Gabe Pruitt led the Trojans to its first NCAA tournament appearance in five years, taking them to the Sweet Sixteen. Read More »

It’s safe to say that the sneaker game has changed. Just as NBA players want to play in big markets, guys are bucking the trend and joining up-and-coming sneaker companies in order to make a name for themselves. First we saw this with the influx of Chinese brands such as Li-Ning, PEAK and ANTA, and have recently seen it from the likes of Under Armour and Above The Rim. Now, getting back in the game, is Spalding. Read More »

Last week, John Wall hit the streets of New York City to celebrate the release of his new signature shoe, the Reebok Zig Encore. After all the commotion died down, we got a chance to catch up with John to chat about his new kicks, the Wizards and Kentucky’s chances this season. Read More »