The last time Rudy Gay posted up Evan Turner, the Sixers appointed nerd damn near ripped Gay’s arm out of his socket. That was back in 2011, and since then, Gay, Zach Randolph and the Grizz can’t go a week without someone pointing out that their marriage is doomed for failure. This time, the Gay-on-Turner post-up worked out a little better in Memphis’ three-point win in Philadelphia. Read More »

Boston coach Doc Rivers set the scene after his Celtics’ dramatic double-OT win over Miami. It’s Sunday afternoon, the NBA’s first national matinee game of the season, and the Celtics are prepping to play Miami when the team doctor pulls him aside right before the game. Everyone’s already gone through the walkthrough and looked fine but Rivers gets the word: Rajon Rondo‘s out. No, the doc says to Doc: Rondo’s OUT. Read More »

It’s a new day in Washington, D.C. They finally have a real basketball team. In last night’s 93-83 win over Atlanta, John Wall played for the first time this season to a standing ovation. Then he went out and put in 14 points and four dimes in 20 minutes off the pine. He was also a catalyst in the game’s biggest stretch. With both teams in a daze to start the fourth, Wall came in and had back-to-back double-pump buckets in the lane that woke the Wizards up. Read More »

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Hopefully you didn’t start throwing back cold ones too early in anticipation of the holiday yesterday, or else you probably missed some really good basketball. Case in point the battle in Florida between the Magic and Heat, which felt like an intra-squad scrimmage because so many Miami “fans” infiltrated the Amway Center. But there was one big difference: the game’s intensity was bordering on Duke/North Carolina levels. Read More »

It was mid-August when the world passed judgment on the Orlando Magic and their trade of franchise center Dwight Howard. We killed them for receiving bit players in return, as well as for the direction the team was heading. Some thought GM Rob Hennigan was too young and maybe even in over his head. Read More »

One day after New York stayed as the NBA’s last unbeaten team by being selfless and smart (and ridiculously accurate from range), Memphis usurped the Knicks as the NBA’s best team right now by luring them in, then springing the trap. Start spreading the news: Memphis, owner of a seven-game win streak, is mowing down the league’s best teams like the hero of a Tarantino film. Just 10 percent of the season in the Griz are 7-1, but it’s still apt to be cautious about being too effusive with praise. Still, how can anyone deny these signature wins the Griz have just rattled off in their last three games: an 18-point win over Miami, a 10-point win in Oklahoma City and Friday night’s 105-95 win over New York that wasn’t as close as the score looks. Read More »

On the day that Chicago’s most famous face took center stage in the presidential election, the Bulls beat down the undefeated Magic, 99-93. Over the final five minutes, the Bulls closed the door with some ferocious interior defense, forcing guys like Big Baby into impossible shots, and on the other end, Joakim Noah (20 points, nine boards, five blocks) and Taj Gibson (playing over Carlos Boozer to end the game) provided some offensive highlights. Read More »

Thirty names. The best 30 names. The dramatic summer of 2010 crafted the landscape of the NBA, when LeBron James and Chris Bosh landed in Miami, Amar’e Stoudemire joined up with the Knicks and fans everywhere started burning jerseys at an alarming rate. The following two summers lacked the same drama, and honestly, it would be foolish to expect another 2010 summer anytime soon. Those two-to-three months were game-changing. Read More »