So, when exactly is the latest “new” Lakers season starting? At the end of the third quarter last night in Phoenix’s unbelievable 92-86 win, all was right in L.A. The Lakers shot 65 percent in the third quarter, Kobe was dishing (17 points, nine assists) and L.A. was up double-digits. Then, Dwight Howard re-injured his shoulder, Michael Beasley (27 points) took it back to K-State, and the Lakers started unraveling. Read More »

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On one hand, you have Sunday being defined by a Seahawks team coming out of relative nowhere to crush the 49ers and become the NFL’s hottest team. In the NBA, its best team right now is on just the same kind of roll — 13 straight wins after Sunday — and even though you can say we’ve seen the Los Angeles Clippers coming for a couple of seasons now, it’s still remarkable that they’re the class of the West. Read More »

If you would’ve told us at any point during the past year that Pau Gasol‘s job security in July of 2012 would be locked up, we would’ve laughed. It’s amazing how things changed. Now, it’s Andrew Bynum who has one foot out the door, a piece of meat being spun on a skewer for Houston, Cleveland, Orlando and anyone else who will take a moment to listen. What’s perhaps even more ironic is how Kobe Bryant – the same guy who’s averaged probably 5.6 glares a game at Gasol over the past two years – is saying he wants the big Spaniard around. In talking with reporters at Team USA practice, Bryant said, according to Brian Mahoney, “As long as I’m there, he’s going to be there.” Kobe’s reasoning? He would’ve agreed to deal Gasol for a young, big-time point guard like Chris Paul, but now that they have one of the better lead generals in the game, they don’t need to deal him. Read More »

The NBA’s MVP played like one in the first half. The NBA’s most veteran team stole away the second. Where does this leave the rest of the Eastern Conference Finals? Look, after how quickly the Thunder came back against the Spurs in the West, and now with Boston still winning in the East, you can’t blame us for being a little hesitant to answer the last question. But here’s what we have to say about last night, a game that was LeBron James’ (30 points, 13 boards) and Paul Pierce‘s (19 points) late. And we’re not saying “Good job! Good effort!” like that pre-pubescent Miami fan. Read More »

Do you think Greg Stiemsma had any idea this dime was coming? Rajon Rondo was on the ground, and somehow made a perfect pass in the lane with his off hand to his big man for the dunk. Unreal. But oh, I forgot… Rondo can’t shoot so therefore he sucks right? Read More »

Beast of the Night: Patty Mills finishes the wild 2011-12 NBA regular season with this honor, thanks to his 34 points, five boards, 12 dimes, one steal, one block and four three-pointers. He shot 56 percent (14-25) from the floor and 100 percent (2-2) from the free-throw line, and turned the ball over four times. It’d be a huge surprise to see him here ever again, but good for him and however many of his owners last night. Read More »

Weekend Wonder: Wesley Matthews averaged 23.0 points, 5.0 rebounds, 3.5 assists, 2.0 steals, 0.5 blocks and 4.5 three-pointers in two games over the weekend. He hit 50 percent of his shots from the field and 100 percent of his shots from the charity stripe, and averaged 2.5 turnovers in each of those games. Matthews has struggled with major bouts of inconsistency this season, but he’s still maintained top 60 value, mostly thanks to his strong three-point making (1.9 per game) and thieving (1.4 per game). Read More »

Three-thousand miles away and two big games to start a Sunday afternoon. … Jeff Van Gundy isn’t coming through that door wrapped around someone’s ankle, and Allan Houston won’t be joining, either. Still, that can’t temper a playoff matchup we’d love to see that was previewed Sunday: Heat vs. Knicks. The Garden has seen its high points this season (think Linsanity and ‘Melo’s Easter blowout) but we’d love to watch this series once it gets back to the World’s Most Famous Arena after how Sunday’s game looked until late. Read More »