Ray Allen and Paul Pierce put the ball in the basket, but the real MVP of yesterday’s Celtics/Magic Game 1 was Kendrick Perkins.

Playing on a sore knee, Perk had more combined turnovers and fouls (10) than he did points and rebounds (6), but Boston’s win hinged on his 1-on-1 defense against Dwight Howard. Coming off a series where he pummeled the Atlanta Hawks for 21.0 points per game on 84 percent shooting from the field (i.e., plenty of dunks), Dwight was held to 13 points on 3-of-10 shooting yesterday. Read More »

From the cover of Dime to the cover of GQ, Kobe Bryant has been everywhere lately. Except the basketball court. And it’s been killing him. Previously on his way to one of the most impossible Iron-Man like seasons in recent NBA history — playing through well documented injuries to his fingers, back, knees, shoulders and ankles — Kobe finally had to show human frailty and miss some games sandwiching the All-Star break, including the All-Star Game itself. (Kobe may be the only guy in the League who takes the ASG seriously.)

Last night he returned to the lineup, and in storybook fashion, dropped 32 points and the game-winner in Memphis. This entire season for Kobe has been a self-inflicted cross-examination of his toughness, but is KB24 the toughest man in the NBA? Read More »

Why would LeBron want to join the Knicks when he has such a good time destroying them? Hosting NY last night, ‘Bron turned in another “I own these fools” performance, dropping 47 points (17-31 FG), six threes, eight boards, eight dimes and five steals. Whoever Mike D’Antoni threw at him — Wilson Chandler, Jordan Hill, Jared Jeffries, Jake Sully, Jigsaw, etc. — got their eyebrows singed with a steady stream of jumpers. During one stretch in the first half LeBron scored 24 straight points. For anybody who still claims LeBron is limited to putting his head down and bull-rushing his way to the rim, watch this game … Read More »

Whether there’s any truth to it or not, Kobe Bryant has always been accused of trying to be Michael Jordan. When he chose #24, they said he was literally trying to one-up The G.O.A.T. When he plays hurt or sick, they say he’s trying to re-create the Flu Game. When he hits a game-winner, they say he swagger-jacks MJ’s celebrations. When he bares his bottom teeth, they say he’s trying to copyright his own signature “face,” since Mike already had the tongue-out thing. Last night in Chicago, Kobe didn’t have to try to be Jordan in the house that MJ built; you just couldn’t help but see the similarities. Read More »

Ever since last season, Shannon Brown has put on a show whenever he’s had the chance. Trying to reenact his poster on Mikki Moore, Jason Maxiell wanted no part of it, stealing the SportsCenter thunder.

Source: Ball Don’t Lie

It took about 47 and a half minutes for Don Nelson to really miss Stephen Jackson. In the Warriors’ first game since trading Capt. Jack to the Bobcats, they were actually hanging with the Cavs on the road last night. On a critical possession with under a minute to go and Cleveland ahead by four, LeBron of course had the rock, a situation where S-Jack would normally have been guarding him. This time, however, Nellie had to enlist Vlad Radmanovic for the job. (Well, he didn’t have to; Anthony Randolph might have been a better choice.) To the surprise of no one, LeBron scored easily, sticking a pull-up jumper for the dagger … Read More »

While the 2006 NBA Draft is not considered one of the NBA’s finest, it is still loaded with some potential NBA stars. And even in a time of financial crisis and thrifty spending owing to the Summer of 2010, it’s time to pay up or shut up before the deadline to sign any of these guys to a contract extension hits on October 31.

So far, No. 1 pick Andrea Bargnani (five years, $50 million), No. 2 pick LaMarcus Aldridge (five years, up to $70 million) and No. 6 pick Brandon Roy (five years, $80 million) have been the only guys to see the money, leaving guys like Rajon Rondo (21st pick), Rudy Gay (8th pick) and Tyrus Thomas (4th pick) waiting for an offer. 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: Ben Gordon, Charlie Villanueva, Austin Daye, Chris Wilcox, Ben Wallace, DaJuan Summers, Jonas Jerebko Read More »

While word surfaced this week that the Nets were among the teams interested in Glen Davis, one interesting trade proposal came to light: Davis, J.R. Giddens and Gabe Pruitt to the Pistons for Jason Maxiell and a first-round pick. Read More »

It’s not that I didn’t expect DeJuan Blair to throw his name into the ’09 Draft. I just didn’t expect him to leave it there so soon, immediately hiring an agent and not even allowing himself the option to go back to school. In the early stages of the early-declaration period, Blair’s move has been the boldest so far. Read More »