The second round of the playoffs is underway and with only eight teams remaining, it means another eight have been eliminated from title contention. The offseason is the time for these teams to retool to prepare for deeper runs next season. The Brooklyn Nets finished the year with a 49-33 record, good enough for fourth place in the Eastern Conference. However, their first-round opponent, the Chicago Bulls, surprisingly beat them at home in a Game 7. Read More »

Here’s the new reality: Do not make Nate Robinson angry; you will not like him when he’s angry. C.J. Watson got Nate angry in the first half of yesterday’s incredible triple-OT Bulls/Nets game with this altercation that very nearly erupted in an all-out brawl (and sent Robinson to the locker room to clean up a cut), sowing the seeds for an all-time Nate eruption later in the game: Read More »

Not everyone can be LeBron James. That’s okay, especially in the playoffs when just as many big games are determined not by the last shot, but by the defensive rebound or the charge or the swing pass or the block that set up that last shot. The club of playoff x-factors is long and memorable, and we’ll see some more names be inducted this year. Read More »

We don’t want to say we called it, but… we kinda did. After Ray Allen splashed his first shot of the season on a wide-open corner triple, we noted that he’s pretty much automatic from that area. If he gets a look from the corner, you might as well start walking down to the other end. Well last night in Miami’s wild 119-116 win over Denver (the Nuggets offense finally showed up for the first time this year), the Nuggets had a one-point lead in the closing seconds before LeBron James (20 points, nine boards, 11 assists) drove hard to the rim and found Jesus wide open in the corner. Read More »

We all know the Nets made moves this summer — both literally and figuratively. Even those who paid just minimal attention are aware of the Joe Johnson acquisition, the re-signings of Deron Williams, Brook Lopez and Gerald Wallace, and the big move to Brooklyn. What those who paid just minimal attention may not have noticed, however, is what the Nets were able to do between July 11th and September 11th. Read More »

The Lakers confirmed Thursday what we knew for a while, that they’re building the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar statue. After publicly testifying how upset he was last year that he didn’t have his honor, he must be smug knowing on the same day the Lakers announced the move, he had a little bit of his spotlight stolen. The team’s also going to retire the jerseys of Shaq (No. 34) and Jamaal Wilkes (No. 52) on Nov. 16, the same day his bronzed likeness is unveiled. Read More »

GM Billy King is calling them “the best backcourt in the NBA.” We’re calling them a probable playoff team. Joe Johnson just calls them “definitely” better than the Knicks. The venue: Borough Hall. Who: about 1,000 screaming fans. What: a rap cypher. Okay, so the last part isn’t really true. But that’s what it felt like. Someone should’ve just given Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz a mic because the dude was throwing more haymakers at the crosstown “rivals” than Eminem on “The Sauce.” At the rally to celebrate the new stars of Brooklyn, Markowitz instead took the chance to say: “For nearly 40 years the Manhattan Knicks have shown they can’t bring a championship to New York, so it’s going to take the Brooklyn Nets to get the job done. Read More »

It’s that time of year again, or rather, that time of year that comes around once every four years when the same question is asked and we have to converse on the same debate. Could this Team USA beat the original Dream Team, the only Dream Team that really counts? With so many bodies hitting the floor – Derrick Rose, Dwight Howard, Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh, etc., etc. – that they should come out to Drowning Pool this year, we thought this might’ve been the first year we didn’t have to hear someone drop the bomb. Of course, it had to come from Kobe Bryant. Read More »

Jason Kidd wants a team where he can win with a reduced role. That could still be the Mavericks, but the longtime Dallas point guard has also said today he’s eyeing another team once July 1 hits: The Bulls.  Read More »

No. No no noooooooo. Seriously, we had no other reaction to the news about Derrick Rose than that. It really makes us sick to our stomachs. We aren’t Bulls fans. We’re NBA fans, and with the reigning MVP now out for the reason with a torn ACL, everything has changed. The favorites are different, and most importantly, the East is now wide open. Can Boston win two rounds? Yes. Can they break Miami to go to the Finals? They definitely can. Read More »