With only four teams remaining in the NBA Playoffs, it means a few “contenders” have already been eliminated from title contention. The offseason is the time for these teams to retool to prepare for deeper runs next season. The Houston Rockets were one of the surprise teams of the 2012-13 NBA season. After pulling off a blockbuster trade with the Oklahoma City Thunder to acquire James Harden they landed a true superstar — something they haven’t seen since Yao Ming was on the roster. Read More »

Elite basketball players are physically evolving faster than any creature to ever walk the earth … and the next level of the species has arrived. Meet Giannis Antetokoumpo, an 18-year old, 6-10 Greek point guard with Nigerian roots. Recently discovered by NBA GMs, he could suddenly end up being the No. 1 pick in the NBA Draft. Read More »

Kyle Lowry doesn’t just have a chip on his shoulder. It’s more like a granite boulder weighing him down with bad luck, bad fate, bad juju or whatever superstitious doggerel you subscribe to. Whether it’s injuries or backups or injuries leading to backups, Lowry has consistently been barred from the elite point guards club he so clearly deserves to be included in. At this point, it’s not just his defense or his penetration or his efficiency as it is how genuinely hard Lowry plays on a night-to-night basis. Read More »

Even during the apex of Linsanity last year, Jeremy Lin always had a problem coughing up the rock. With New York in 2011-12, he committed 3.6 turnovers a night despite playing less than 27 minutes. Much of that had to do with his role with the Knicks – they were asking him to do so much, probably too much that inevitably he was going to make mistakes (For comparison’s sake, Lin’s usage rate dwarfed other high-volume turnover guards like Steve Nash and Rajon Rondo). Read More »

Give NBA uber-dork Daryl Morey some credit. The Houston general manager somehow took the Rockets through the final bitter months of the Tracy McGrady era, beyond the retirement of Yao Ming, and even on past the whole Dwight Howard saga. All along, the Rockets stayed competitive. No one’s talking championships in H-Town, but they’re always a solid team, and that’s more than the have-nots in Charlotte, Sacramento and New Orleans can say. Read More »

The Brooklyn Nets won’t be blaring “All of the Lights” as their theme song this season because, among other things, they’ll only be using some of the lights in the brand-new Barclays Center for BK games. And they’re special lights. We knew for a while that the Nets would use theatre-style lighting, which is what the Lakers and Knicks use, the kind of lighting that dims the crowd and puts the floor on an imaginary stage by highlighting the game. Read More »

We can’t wait until the season — training camps, even — begins and we can mention something about Dwight Howard that involves his game, not Orlando. His back rehab is what really has us the most interested right now because the Lakers need all the time together they can get to build the elusive chemistry every great team needs. Read More »

For every loser, there must be a winner. Yesterday we brought you the top 10 winners of NBA free agency, and so today we’re bring you it’s counterpoint: the top losers. For what it’s worth, some teams really did try to win (Toronto), while others reminded us why the owners need to be protected from themselves. All in all, it was fun – the topsy turvy he said/she said emotional chess match of Jeremy Lin‘s restricted free agency, the more simplisitic, checkers-like decision of Deron Williams. But with a heavy heart, we bring you those losers. Read More »

Houston Rockets GM Daryl Morey joined the “The J&R Show” with Josh Innes and Rich Lord on Sports Radio 610 in Houston on Thursday after Jeremy Lin’s introductory press conference to discuss the Rockets and the team’s future. The interview was pretty innocuous to start, but Morey insisted that the hosts throw him some tougher questions. That’s when things got a little feisty. Innes badgered Morey on the team’s .500 record over the last few seasons – not bad enough to gain any top draft picks, but not good enough to contend for titles, either. Innes then pointed out that the Rockets are far from title contention, and here’s how Morey responded: Read More »

We were in the house Monday night as Team USA barely survived an exhibition against Brazil. And while we weren’t in the house last night against Great Britain, we could’ve guessed what would happen: pure domination. The national team won by 40 and dominated the second half so thoroughly, we thought someone should’ve instituted a mercy rule. Deron Williams (who missed one shot) and Carmelo Anthony led the way with 19 points a piece as the game dwindled into an all-out evisceration in the third quarter. Great Britain’s head coach, Chris Finch, said before the game he figured his guys would be nervous and intimated at first, but would eventually settle down. That was wishful thinking … Read More »