Contrary to what Chris Webber said last night, the Celtics are not going to win the 2010 championship because they picked up Rasheed Wallace. While ‘Sheed will definitely play a role, Boston isn’t winning jack (or Larry) unless Paul Pierce performs up to Paul Pierce standards. Last night was vintage Truth, as Boston downed the Cavs in the opening game of the new season, a rare home loss for Cleveland. With a little over a minute remaining in the fourth and the Celtics up by four, Pierce (23 pts, 11 rebs) ran a pick-and-roll with KG near midcourt against LeBron and Shaq. Advantage: Boston. Shaq reached, Pierce teached, then stuck a jumper from the top of the key that was essentially the dagger. Read More »
Last year we debuted the “Highs and Lows” system — previewing the NBA season by predicting the respective ceiling and basement for each team. Same theme, different season…
Added:Shaquille O’Neal, Jamario Moon, Anthony Parker, Leon Powe, Danny Green, Coby Karl
Lost:Joe Smith, Ben Wallace, Wally Szczerbiak, Sasha Pavlovic, Lorenzen Wright, Tarence KinseyRead More »
Imagine the disappointment that swept across the NBA TV studios when they found out LeBron was sick and going to miss last night’s big preseason game between the Cavs and Wizards. No tense ‘Bron/DeShawn encounters, no real reason for highlight montages of LBJ taking Washington’s heart in the playoffs, no smooth segues to talk about Mike Miller wearing LeBron’s signature shoes. And to top it off, starting in LBJ’s place was Jawad Williams, who scored 21 points (4 threes) in his last Smack mention of the season, a Cleveland loss … Gilbert Arenas put up 18 points for the Wiz, while Miller scored 24 (5 threes) and Randy Foye scored 21. However, Antawn Jamison hurt his shoulder in the first quarter and didn’t return. Read More »
Back during his peak, one of the things we loved about Gilbert Arenas was that he’d randomly show up at D.C.’s famous Barry Farms court to play in the Goodman League, putting in work against the D.C./Maryland area’s best playground ballplayers with the same attitude that he’d go at Deron Williams or D-Wade on an NBA court. But then the injuries started to pile up, and even when he was healthy here and there, Gilbert understandably wasn’t as much of a presence on any concrete court while Kevin Durant took over the mantle as the NBA’s Barry Farms regular. On his way back from this latest injury, though, Arenas has not only looked like his old self indoors, he’s also back on the playground. Read More »
While it’s been speculated for weeks, a source in Cleveland is saying that the Cavs have finally signed Leon Powe. One of my favorite Celtics (if not the favorite) for the past couple years, if Powe can recover from the torn ACL in his left knee, he could be the X-factor Cleveland was looking to add this summer. Read More »
Everybody’s still waiting on Lamar Odom and the Lakers to reconcile — it’s like sitting through three seasons of “Flavor of Love” when you know Flavor Flav is just gonna stay with his baby’s mother in the end — but in the meantime, perhaps the second-biggest free agent left on the board is now off. Andre Miller agreed to a deal with the Blazers that is rumored to be worth $22 million over three years … Depending on what you think of Jerryd Bayless‘ game, point guard was one of the few weaker areas on a deep Portland roster. Miller allows Steve Blake to go from one of the lower-tier starting PG’s in the League to one of the best backups, and Bayless can step into that role of off-the-bench scoring combo guard that every team seems to need these days. Read More »
As much as we make summer league about the rookies, this year’s Vegas version was stocked with young “vets” whose play could be a sign of big things to come when the real games start. Nick Young, Anthony Randolph, Jason Thompson, even Adam Morrison and Marcus Williams all put in work, but when the VSL wrapped up yesterday, it was rookie Blake Griffin who was named MVP … Blake averaged 19 points and 10 boards in his five games with the JV Clippers, and in his finale put up 16 and eight in a matchup with older brother Taylor Griffin (4 pts, 6 rebs) and the Suns. We’re probably not going out on a limb saying that was the first and last game those two ever play where they’re across from each other in the starting lineup. Read More »
Although the ‘09 NBA free agent class isn’t as stacked as in years past — not to mention the League is being more thrifty than ever due to the slumping economy — teams still have holes they want to plug, and players have moves they want to make. Here, we break down all 30 NBA teams’ free agent strategy…Read More »
