Beast of the Night: Russell Westbrook finished with a gaudy 38 points, 15 rebounds, 9 assists, 3 steals and 5 turnovers in a triple-overtime victory over the Nets last night. He shot 44 percent (14-32) from the field and 71 percent (10-14) from the line, but those mediocre percentages and the lack of a three-pointer aren’t too hard to forgive, given his other stats. He took over in end for the Kevin Durant-less Thunder, scoring all 13 of the team’s points in the final overtime period. Westbrook remains weak in threes and turnovers, but has still played like a top five fantasy stud so far this season. Read More »

Considering the violent and aggressive nature of football — American football, that is — it’s a wonder you don’t see more incidents like the brawl between Houston Texans receiver Andre Johnson and Tennessee Titans cornerback Cortland Finnegan that stole NFL headlines yesterday. The main reason? Helmets. If you noticed, Johnson and Finnegan didn’t really start throwing blows until they had each ripped off the other’s protective headgear.

NBA players don’t have to worry about breaking their hand on a plastic shell, which automatically makes for more fights in their sport. But for the most part, basketball players can’t fight. Here are the good, the bad and the ugly of some NBA brawls that stick out in my memory: Read More »

Weekend Warrior: Jason Richardson steamrolled through the weekend, averaging 34 points, 8 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal, 0.5 blocks and 6 threes in two games played. He shot 63 percent from the field and 50 percent from the free-throw line. Richardson’s been huge for his owners and has been putting up top-20 averages so far this season. Read More »

Raymond Felton could’ve gone to sleep immediately after the Knicks’ double-overtime win in Detroit — where he seriously did look like he was going to drop at any moment — and he would still be tired and sick. That’s what happens when you arrive at the arena with a stomach virus, then proceed to go out and play 53 minutes and put up 23 points and 11 assists. Felton’s jumper was off (5-17 FG), but he got into the lane and to the line like a slow-mo Derrick Rose, and ran the pick-and-roll with a Nash-like precision … For the Pistons, Tayshaun Prince could’ve packed ice on his entire body and he’d still be on fire. Read More »

Is everybody on the Nuggets on the trading block? Looks that way. After an offseason in which Carmelo Anthony and J.R. Smith each had more trade rumors attached to their person than tattoos, now Chauncey Billups‘ name has surfaced as a player Denver may be looking to deal.

Billups is 34 years old, he makes $13 million this season, and he’s struggling early (13.8 ppg, 4.7 apg, 34% FG) as the Nuggets have been unimpressive at 7-6 while the constant ‘Melo trade talk seems to sap the team’s morale. Read More »

As much as old-timers and basketball purists gripe about the lost art of the mid-range jumper or the simple bounce pass, nobody complains about the evolution of the dunk. Why would they? Everybody loves the dunk, and it’s no coincidence that most of the game’s last four decades have been defined by men who excelled above the rim: e.g. Julius Erving, Michael Jordan, Shaquille O’Neal, Kobe Bryant and LeBron James.

Thanks to the worldwide reach of the Internet and increasing stages for dunkers to perform, ranking the 25 best dunkers on the planet was bigger than just the NBA; college, high school, playground circus acts and overseas stars infiltrated the discussion. Read More »

I like to think of myself as an easy-going, friendly individual, but that doesn’t mean I like everyone – especially when it comes to fantasy basketball. Below is the result of my unrestrained indulgence in this resentful side of me: a quick list of some fantasy players that are overhyped, inconvenient and just plain unappealing. Read More »

If you’re in the latter half of your draft and can’t see your team’s flaws, you’re either in a shallow league, pulling off one helluva draft, or aren’t paying enough attention to your categorical strengths and weaknesses. Most of us, however, will notice the categories that appear to be dragging our teams down. While some of these areas are easier to make up for in the later rounds than others, there are plenty of lower-rung fantasy players who can help fill in the gaps. Here’s an overview of some players (listed in no particular order) who will be found in the later rounds of your drafts and can help you out in the specified areas. Read More »

So the Wizards have the ball in the final minute of a close game, and their point guard is slowly dribbling the clock down, figuring out where and how to make his move. “That’s John Wall, right?” somebody asks. “Nah,” comes the answer. “It’s Lester Hudson.” And that’s how you know it’s still the NBA preseason … In the first Madison Square Garden appearance for Wall since he shook hands with The Commish, the No. 1 pick put up 19 points, 5 boards and 6 assists and might have left actual burn marks on Ray Felton‘s shorts. But when the game went down to the wire in the fourth, Wall was on the bench while the likes of Cartier Martin and Landry Fields logged the crunch-time minutes … Read More »

As Week 1 of NBA training camp continues, we’re learning some things about the teams that will challenge the L.A. Lakers in the West. In Utah, Al Jefferson is looking less like Karl Malone and more like Carl Winslow, showing up to Jazz camp at 280 pounds when he was at 265 last year in Minnesota. It’s not exactly Mike Sweetney territory, but — as we were reminded in the conference semis sweep — the Jazz don’t have any margin for error if they’re seriously trying to knock off L.A. this time around. Read More »