In some respects, you have to understand where Allen Iverson is coming from. Going back to Little League and all the way through intramurals or whatever level you reached in your athletic career, we’ve all been taught that the best players start the game. Of course, it’s a little different in the NBA: If a coach really wants his second unit to have more offensive firepower or defensive stability, he might put one of his best five players on the bench, which is why Manu Ginobili and Jason Terry are annually up for Sixth Man of the Year.
That said, there are some backups who — forget what the coach might be trying to do — have no business being backups. And it’s not always because they’re so great, but that the guy starting in front of them shouldn’t be starting. Who should be taking a seat? Read More »
The New Orleans Hornets have been declining ever since their magical 2008 Playoff run where they were one game away from the Western Conference Finals. After a disappointing 2008-09 season and a 3-5 start this year, it looks like the Hornets aren’t going anywhere anytime soon. David West’s stats are down, Morris Peterson and Julian Wrighthave been horrible, Okafor is struggling to fit in and Chris Paul seems unhappy. While the blame can be passed around in N.O., Byron Scott will probably be the scapegoat. Read More »
At every gym and every park where there’s a basketball court, you’ll find that guy who’s saddled with a team of four bums. Whether he’s a point guard or a big man, a kid or a 40-year-old, you can often find him by his facial expression: Less of a boiling frustration and more of a miffed resignation that’s steadily losing its steam. He’s not mad anymore, just annoyed over something he can’t control; the only reason he’s not cussing the bums out and sucking his teeth every other play is because his teammates are his friends, or it’s just not in his nature to be a jerk. Read More »
Even though there was no NBA game action last night, there was tons of activity in the League. As we mentioned yesterday in Smack, while there were certainly some memorable plays in the tune-up games, this preseason will be known for two things: a lack of “real” NBA refs and injuries. Thankfully the former has been cleared up after the NBA reached an agreement with the referees, but unfortunately the latter seems to be an overwhelming reality for many of the League’s standout players … On the eve of the season opener, which includes a matchup between the Lakers and Clippers in a battle for Los Angeles (well, not really), it appears the Clippers will be without their superstar. Announced late last night, Blake Griffin may miss up to six weeks with a stress fracture of his left patella. Suffered during the Clippers’ last preseason game against the Hornets on Friday, this is horrible news for the No. 1 pick and Rookie of the Year favorite … Read More »
One sequence defined last night’s Lakers/Nuggets national TV preseason game: In the second half, after Kobe Bryant had already come out of the locker room with That Look in his eye, he pulled off his new favorite move on Kenyon Martin; getting him in the air with a pump fake and spinning a quick 360 to his left, dropping a jumper as K-Mart harmlessly floated back to Earth. Then on the Nuggets’ ensuing possession, Kobe jumped a passing lane and finished with a breakway one-hander, slapping on the bottom-teeth snarl as an exclamation point … Read More »
With points, rebounds and assists covered, let’s move on to discuss some late-round thieves who could help your fantasy team with a steals deficiency. Again, these players are listed in no particular order. There’s much room for discussion here, so please populate the comments section below with your reactions. Read More »
Whether you’re spending your valuable TV time or your valuable ticket money, when you settle in to watch an NBA preseason game, you hope everybody — or at least somebody — on the court treats it like Jason Terry did last night. In the Mavs/Pistons game that aired on NBA TV, Terry almost had you thinking something important was at stake. It seemed at every dead ball he was trying to hype up the Dallas crowd, raising his arms and screaming or doing his little “Jet” dance, and then between the lines he was locked in like it was a playoff game. Read More »
Who do you want your offense to run through with everything on the line? Counting down 30th to 1st (one per team), I’ve ranked the League’s go-to guys…
Whether it’s the Western Conference standings, fantasy drafts, NBA Drafts — really everything but the realm of media hype and endorsement deals — Chris Paul is never too far away from Deron Williams. On this list, CP3 sits one spot ahead of D-Will for a trio of reasons: Read More »
If this is the beginning of a trend, we’ll have to adjust that projected number of wins we had for the Memphis Grizzlies ceiling this year. When Allen Iverson sat out the first preseason game with a “sore hamstring,” we figured that was just NBA code for “I’m a 14-year vet, f*** a preseason.” As it turns out, A.I. really is banged up and will be sidelined for three weeks with a partially torn hammy. There’s a slight chance he could be back by the real opener, when the Grizzlies host the Pistons in what was going to be their biggest regular season game in maybe ever … Memphis beat the Thunder in last night’s exhibition, getting 22 points (13-16 FT) from rookie Sam Young and 18 points from Rudy Gay. Read More »
