You can always tell when one of your boys got some the night before. He comes strolling into the apartment kitchen doing his best to conceal a smile, pours himself a big ol’ glass of water, leans back in a chair with everyone else staring and just starts chuckling. But damn, the way Andrew Bynum was cheesing last night after his hook shot in the lane helped knockout the Celtics, you would’ve thought he smashed Lauren London. He was hyped. And he should’ve been. Kobe Bryant, who scored 26 and hit a go-ahead pull-up in the final minute to help quiet the growing mass attached to the “Kobe ain’t clutch” bandwagon, overturned another play to tell everyone they should go inside to the Big Knee Injury. Read More »

Beast of the Night: James Harden posted 30 points, four rebounds, one assist, two steals, two blocks and four three-pointers last night. He shot 67 percent (8-12) from the field, 91 percent (10-11) from the free-throw line and had one turnover. Harden has been a top 25 fantasy stud so far this season, which is extra impressive given that he’s the non-starter in that bunch. Read More »

After Derrick Rose‘s step-back game-winner barely touched the net, the Bucks’ announcers said they thought it was the first jump shot he hit all night. But in Chicago’s 106-104 W, that’s all he needed. Rose had one of his better games of the season (30 points, eight rebounds and 11 assists), and canned the money maker directly in Brandon Jennings‘ grill as the buzzer sounded. It was actually the third time the two point guards had isolated against each other in the final minute, but the first time either of them hit the shot. Read More »

Contrary to popular belief, there is such a thing as an NBA player that doesn’t limit his music selection to Drake, Ross and Meek Mill. Matt Barnes might stick to 2Pac for his pregame routine, but the Sixers’ Evan Turner has slightly different tastes. Recently, he finally settled the long-time debate: the Backstreet Boys were, in fact, better than ‘N Sync. Read More »

Feeling great coming off NBA All-Star Weekend, the Philadelphia 76ers decided to punk their two rookies, Nikola Vucevic and Lavoy Allen, by letting them run out to the court in Detroit earlier in the week all by themselves. I love how they never turn around; so trusting! Read More »

NBA All-Star Weekend has long been a prime opportunity for ballplayers to showcase one-off player exclusive kicks. You will be seeing a lots of guys stepping it up with their sneaker game tonight throughout the weekend, and we’re looking to showcase as many as possible.

When you’re watching the the NBA rookie/sophomore Rising Stars Challenge, be on the lookout for Evan Turner‘s special edition Year of the Dragon Li-Ning Turningpoints. Read More »

We all know Blake Griffin is a rising star, but today it was announced the All-Star starter is one of 18 chosen for the 2012 BBVA Rising Stars Challenge during All-Star weekend in Orlando.

The Rising Stars Challenge is a switch on the former Rookie/Sophomore game, though it was still voted on by assistant coaches. Now, they’ll be mixed together with Charles Barkley and Shaq choosing and coaching the teams. Each squad gets nine guys.

Here are the players on the list: Read More »

Last night, Denver ran away from L.A. in the Staples Center because they dominated at points in the second and late in the third quarter. George Karl trusts his bench, almost too much in fact. His goal this year might be to coach this team like its intramurals. That’s just speculation, but with the way he hands out minutes, 11 guys all average double figures, we wouldn’t be surprised. Having a decent bench is always important, but it’s never been stressed like this. Five games in six nights will leave your team playing more up and down than a seesaw if the second unit can’t hoop. Read More »

There’s something purely Americana about the hometown kid making good in front of the hometown crowd.

Whether it’s David Freese blasting home runs to lead his St. Louis Cardinals to a World Series title, or Chauncey Billups going from prep legend to college superstar to NBA bust back to NBA superstar in Denver, or even Jerome Bettis winning a Super Bowl in Detroit in his final NFL game while playing for another team, we like these stories. In a sports culture where free agency and stressed-out GMs eager to trade make it increasingly tougher for fans to claim one group of players as “our guys” for any length of time, hometown ties remain nearly impossible to break. Read More »

The best team in the NBA against the worst. Blowout right? But Washington grew tired of getting jumped and walking around embarrassed the rest of the day. So they put together by far their best performance of the season in their surprising 105-102 win over the Thunder. On a night where Andray Blatche got booed in the pre-game introductions, and then booed again just three minutes in when he started his lackadaisical routine by shooting air balls, eventually everything turned to gold because John Wall took over in the fourth quarter. Read More »