In case you hadn’t heard, the Warriors retired Chris Mullin‘s No. 17 last night in one of the most drawn-out jersey retirement ceremonies we’ve seen. Too bad the night wasn’t all his. It’ll forever be remembered – tainted – by Golden State’s owner Joe Lacob getting the treatment from the Warrior faithful. At first, Lacob appears shocked. Then he gets annoyed. Then it looks like he’s ready to find his mama and shed a few years. Read More »

Actually, we’re not even sure we should call Orlando a contender after last night. They fell apart and surrendered to Carlos Boozer and the Bulls, 85-59. At home. With Derrick Rose in street clothes. Boozer had 24 and 13 while John Lucas III continued to play out of his mind, burning Orlando in the first quarter and finishing with 20 points in 21 minutes, and helping steer Tom Thibodeau to 100 career coaching wins. Thibs is also the fastest coach in NBA history to reach that milestone … Read More »

Monta Ellis is hoping for happy days in Milwaukee, so right after getting traded from the Warriors, he took out a full-page ad in the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel to tell Bucks’ fans how glad he was to be in their town. Read More »

The 3 p.m., March 15 trade deadline has come and gone as fast as your brackets will be busted by this weekend’s end. Most cats around the league can now breathe easy, knowing they haven’t been dealt and can focus on the remaining part of the schedule. Others, however, must deal with the reality they were shipped out like yesterday’s garbage. Either way, this a time for them to regroup and stop commenting on every rumor that appears on blogs and Twitter. Read More »

You can cut the Nuggets some slack if they weren’t really into it last night. They had a major trade during the afternoon – their prized offseason signing gone – and have the front office angling to bring Wilson Chandler back to Denver. So for them to give the best team in the West a game for at least a few quarters, they’ll probably take it. Eventually, the Thunder lit the spark with a 26-8 run between the end of the first half and the middle of the third, capping it with a huge Kevin Durant (24 points) dunk, another slam from James Harden (18 points) and a back-breaking triple from Russell Westbrook (23 points). Read More »

The Spurs are bringing back an old friend. The Warriors are showing the door to a brand new one. San Antonio spent much of the past two years looking for a way to unload Richard Jefferson, a forward who just never fit into Gregg Popovich’s plans. Now, Marc Spears of Yahoo! Sports is reporting San Antonio is finally sending out Jefferson in a swap for Golden State’s newly-acquired swingman Stephen Jackson. Read More »

After six seasons in Oakland with the Golden State Warriors, some things have changed: Monta Ellis’ body art, four coaches and a couple of uniform sets.

Count Ellis’ role as a playmaker as one constant in those seasons.

The guard is many things when he’s on the court, and a share-the-rock model of efficiency is not one of them. You knew that, and efforts by Keith Smart and Mark Jackson to improve his defense didn’t have much of an effect (your turn, Scott Skiles). Trying to play well together with Stephen Curry had as many head-scratching moments as game-changing ones. Read More »

David Stern, if you’re reading, please give us seven more games of this. Lakers. Grizzlies. In one of those back-n-forth games that causes your life to stop in its tracks for like 45 minutes, the Lakers rode Kobe Bryant and Andrew Bynum to a double-OT 116-111 W in Memphis. Down the stretch, Bryant (34 points) was either making perfect decisions with the ball or Bynum (37 points, 16 rebounds, three missed shots) was powering it through the rim, all while the Grizzlies resorted to chucking up threes (We’re looking at you, Juice) at a rate not seen since J.R. Smith was sampling Chinese food … Read More »

As we get closer to the NBA trade deadline, the chances that Dwight Howard gets dealt are quickly shrinking. The best deal New Jersey can offer without Brook Lopez just isn’t enough for the Magic to give up hope. Howard himself is blocking a potential move to Chicago, with his reasoning being the weather, and not being the top dog. And as far as the Lakers, it all depends on who you talk to. Some say Howard doesn’t want to be there. Others think he could make it work. Then there’s this: in the past few hours, reports have surfaced saying Orlando is discussing a monster deal to get Howard some help. What star would be coming to Disney World? Monta Ellis. Read More »

So you want Dwyane Wade taking the last shot huh? He finally did in Miami’s two-point overtime win against the Pacers last night, and made a game-winner. But even after that, Erik Spoelstra was asked who he had planned to take the final shot. His answer: “Whoever’s open.” That’s because LeBron scored the team’s final eight points, including a crazy three, to actually send it into overtime where Wade and Chris Bosh dominated. James and Wade combined for 55 points, and you have to feel bad for the Pacers, who led for all but 12 seconds out of the game’s last 18 minutes … Read More »