After last night’s loss to the lowly Phoenix Suns and a Los Angeles Lakers win over the Portland Trail Blazers, the Dallas Mavericks have now been officially eliminated from the playoffs for the first time since 2000. That was so long ago, we’re not even sure Dirk could have grown a beard in an effort to spur the Mavs back to a .500 record. Read More »

On this night five years ago, the Boston Celtics ended Houston’s 22-game winning streak. They nearly did it to Miami last night, up 13 with only eight minutes left. But then LeBron James happened … In Miami’s incredible 105-103 win, James (37 points, seven rebounds, 12 assists) scored twice in the last minute – once on an inbounds play and another on a jumper in Jeff Green‘s face – and Boston missed a couple of gimmies before Paul Pierce was short on a wild three in the closing seconds. Read More »

The case of former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Alex Smith is peculiar, one where a former No. 1 pick languished, then found a career rebirth. And then, today, he was traded to Kansas City because Colin Kaepernick took his job with an out-of-nowhere run in December and January. In NBA terms, the only player eligible for such a career twist would be former No. 1 pick Andrea Bargnani — though he still hasn’t found the career rebirth part yet. Read More »

Say what you will about the Heat’s rebounding problems against bigger teams such as Indiana this season, but the Heat’s turnovers are reliably the larger indicator for its wins or losses. That’s why its 102-89 loss to Indiana was a little worrisome even if LeBron (28 points) and Dwyane Wade (17 points) sounded afterward as if they’d just lost a charity game, insisting it’s no big deal at all. Read More »

[UPDATE: ESPN is reporting that a deal has been reached. Marc Stein is saying that it's a three-team deal with Rudy Gay and Hamed Haddadi going to the Raptors, the Grizzlies get Ed Davis, Tayshaun Prince, Austin Daye and a 2nd Round pick, and the Pistons get Jose Calderon.]

The Rudy Gay trade saga now seems to be dragging on about as long as the whole excruciating Dwight Howard epic from last summer, doesn’t it? Now, it would seem, that saga may actually be close to ending.

The one team that seems to consistently remain in the Rudy Gay hunt are the Toronto Raptors and it looks like they may be about to acquire their guy. Read More »

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FRESH PICKINGS: Kawhi Leonard (56 percent owned in Yahoo!, 68 percent in ESPN) After singing Kawhi Leonard’s praises a few weeks ago, he did me dirty by taking a little extra time to heal his bum knee. Now back in action, he put up 17 points, four rebounds, two assists, five steals and three treys in his first start back. In fantasy, Kawhi is a steals specialist, and while he isn’t going to wow you in any other category, he’s not going to hurt you anywhere either. Read More »

Sometimes we wish the NBA was more like the NFL. In football, you must bring your best effort or you’ll be left looking like Mark Sanchez on Monday Night Football, getting your skills compared to Uncle Rico from Napoleon Dynamite. Read More »

On paper, there are better guard matchups tonight in the NBA. Ty Lawson and Andre Miller of Denver against Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili of San Antonio is one. Seen another way, Deron Williams vs. his Brooklyn coach, former point Avery Johnson (yesterday Williams became a critic of the Nets’ offense, in favor of his former Utah offense under Jerry Sloan) is another guard-on-guard matchup. It’s a bit unconventional, but it’s also become a must-watch as the Nets play the Jazz tonight. All worthy choices, and some you might have circled before the season even began. Read More »