Has anyone benefited more from the arrival of Jeremy Lin than Landry Fields? Since J-Lin showed up, Fields has been rejuvenated, and seems to be on the receiving end of most of Lin’s assists. Landry is playing with confidence and aggression and it shows in the highlights he’s been racking up over the last two weeks.

This dunk on Kris Humphries last night might be the best thing Landry’s ever done: Read More »

Amar’e said afterwards he had “no doubt” Deron Williams came out with something to prove in MSG against Jeremy Lin. On second glance, we should’ve seen it coming. Williams basically flipped on a group of reporters earlier during Linsanity because no one wanted to talk about anything other than the new Knick sensation. He dropped 38 points with eight triples in New Jersey’s shockingly easy 100-92 win. Carmelo Anthony returned (as did Baron Davis) and yet the only one who mattered was Williams. Read More »

One night after being Mr. Clutch, Chris Paul blew it last night and he knew it. CP3 threw the ball away with only seconds remaining because he was fearful of being called for a backcourt violation and the Spurs walked out of L.A. with a 103-100 overtime win. Too bad CP’s (21 points) turnover ended up right in the hands of Gary Neal (17 points), who’s suddenly become a smaller, less annoying version of Robert Horry. Neal banged the three to send it to overtime, and then in the extra frame, hit the game-winning triple in the final moments to lift San Antonio to their 10th straight win. Read More »

Just do yourself a favor and save the retirement home jokes for the NBA’s elite older players.

Before 35-year-old Chauncey Billups tore his left Achilles tendon on Feb. 6, he was one of a handful of guys proving NBA effectiveness isn’t tied to an age range. Even calling Phoenix’s Steve Nash (38) and Grant Hill (39) “effective” misses out that the pair are the lifeblood of an otherwise nondescript Suns season. You already know about the Celtics’ Big Three, highlighted by Ray Allen (36), who’d be my No. 1 pick to be voted most likely to play past 45. Read More »

Kris Humphries went “Keeping Up With Dahntay Jones” on a fast break to end the third quarter on Thursday in Indy.

The Pacers’ Jones was driving on the last man back, New Jersey’s Sundiata Gaines, with five seconds left in the third. He thought he had only one man to beat, but he didn’t see the trailing Humphries, who altered the ball’s trajectory into the floor instead. It was also a microcosm of the game, which featured all of seven fast-break points. Read More »

With Linsanity temporarily suspended, a nation turned its eyes to the next best thing: Bulls-Celtics. Paul Pierce came out on fire, knocking down his first three shots in Chicago, but it was Luol Deng (23 points, 10 assists) who capped the night for the Bulls’ 89-80 victory. He dropped 14 in the fourth quarter, with a huge three from the left corner (one of his six threes) to go up nine in the final minute. Since we brought it up, don’t overlook who fed him on that three — 10-day contract signee Mike James, who’s now with his 10th team (and also looks like Jason Weaver‘s father)… Read More »

Yeah, Blake Griffin is kind of good at dunking. Read More »

Ranking the NBA from worst to first …

30. Washington (0-8) Last Week: 30, — As we wrote in Smack, no one’s feeling sorry for the Wizards right now. You can’t have multiple players ready to stage a mutiny (Lewis, Blatche), guys who don’t always play hard (McGee) and other cats who smile during blowout losses. John Wall was supposed to make the jump this year. Who would’ve ever thought this team would be going backwards? Read More »

And we thought he was going for 50. LeBron James didn’t quite get 50, but he made every shot he took in the first quarter, scoring 22 points, and put Miami into a lead they would never relinquish. New Jersey lost 101-90 despite the most hated player in the NBA, Kris Humphries, somehow going for 25 points and 12 rebounds. In his first game back after missing some time with an ankle, James had 32 points and nine assists. Read More »

Up: Spencer Hawes is averaging top 10 numbers so far this season. Yeah, that doesn’t say too much, but his two-game averages of 9.5 points, 12.5 rebounds, 6.0 assists, 2.0 steals, 1.5 blocks and 2.5 turnovers, along with 56 percent shooting from the field and a perfect one-for-one from the free-throw line are impressive. If you say you saw this coming, I’ll call you a liar. But if you scooped him up, I’ll call you a savvy optimist. Hawes won’t keep this up for the whole season, but his current owners should squeeze him for all he’s got or shop him like there’s no tomorrow. [Sell] Read More »