Say what you will about the Heat’s rebounding problems against bigger teams such as Indiana this season, but the Heat’s turnovers are reliably the larger indicator for its wins or losses. That’s why its 102-89 loss to Indiana was a little worrisome even if LeBron (28 points) and Dwyane Wade (17 points) sounded afterward as if they’d just lost a charity game, insisting it’s no big deal at all. Read More »

The past year was a good one for LeBron James and the Miami Heat. Championships. Rings. Respect. Fear. They hogged all the goodies. Christmas day was no different. Yesterday’s NBA Finals rematch in Miami between the Heat and Thunder was a rugged, physical battle. The refs were letting them play from the jump, and the physicality and a lack of superstar whistles got to the big names early. Read More »

Christmas is here — a day that’s known for giving, receiving and family by most people. But for losers like me? It’s basketball time. This is an honor for each team that is playing in a Christmas Day game, meaning that for one reason or another, you’re what the people want to see around the league. And I’d say that the teams featured this year represent just that. Read More »

For as much work as Santa Claus put in last night, the sports world was undeniably quiet on Christmas Eve. Yeah, we were all busy watching Elf for the fifth time this week, and you were probably finishing off your seventh cheesecake of the holidays. But the NBA? College basketball? They were silent. We’re about a quarter of the way into the NBA season, and nothing is decided yet. Read More »

Sometimes we wish the NBA was more like the NFL. In football, you must bring your best effort or you’ll be left looking like Mark Sanchez on Monday Night Football, getting your skills compared to Uncle Rico from Napoleon Dynamite. Read More »

With so much softness leaking into the modern game, we’re always anxious to annoint the next great rivalry. Where is the next Bulls-Knicks going to come from? Or the next Sacramento-Los Angeles? Everyone loves when players get a little nasty, and last night in Boston, the Celtics and Nets put on the first real throwdown of the season. Late in the first half, the Celtics weren’t getting any foul calls, and were getting run off their own floor. Read More »

Were you watching Boston/Brooklyn tonight when all hell broke loose? Near the end of the second quarter (with BK putting it on the Celts), Kris Humphries delivered a hard foul on a Kevin Garnett drive to the basket. Rajon Rondo immediately got up in Humphries’ face, shoved him, and then things got nuts. Read More »

Do positions even matter anymore? They feel arbitrary. Shooting guards and small forwards should be wings or swingmen. Power forwards and centers should just be bigs. Most of the time, those are the terms people within the sport use. But for fans and the media, having specific one through five positions help to make sense of it all. Read More »

There are already inklings from management, trickling out of Bay Area reports, that Steph Curry‘s rolled right ankle Friday night is not as serious as it looks. But don’t let out that breath all the way, Warriors fans, because if he can get his ankle rolled at a standstill by someone stepping on it, this could happen all the time. Read More »

In their last preseason win over Memphis, Kirk Hinrich morphed into a red-faced monster for a five or six minute span of the third quarter, and while he had the whole crowd in the Windy City on its feet, they have to know it’s not always going to be that easy in the CHI this year. Luckily for Bulls fans, Derrick Rose told ESPN Chicago he’s not only ahead of schedule, but also that he plans to come back when he’s ready to play as opposed to sitting out the season. Read More »