So you’re a fan of an NBA team other than the Cavs or T-Wolves (thank God) and you’re worried that your squad won’t be able to land in impact player in Thursday’s draft. Word on the street is that this year’s draft class is uglier than Shawn Marion’s jumper and conventional wisdom says that players drafted outside the lottery rarely pan out. Read More »

The last eight seed to win in the first round and also start the semifinals with another win? The 1999 New York Knicks. Memphis probably won’t repeat New York’s second round sweep of Atlanta, but Game 1 against Oklahoma City showed us the Thunder have to be nervous.

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Do not get Kobe Bryant fired up to the point where he wants to steal your soul. Just don’t do it. In an intense, physical game in L.A. last night, the Portland Trail Blazers awoke the sleeping giant that has been Kobe over the last few games and paid dearly for it. Portland was in control until the last seven or eight minutes of the game, when the tide started to turn. Kobe was the best he’s looked since hurting his ankle a few games ago and was more emotional than we’ve seen him in a long time, fist-pumping after shots and stops, extra animated when jawing with the refs, and he had a serious scowl going for the entire fourth quarter. The Lakers eventually took the lead and Bryant hit his patented right baseline, pullup fadeway over Brandon Roy to put them up six and essentially end the game. Bryant went nuts after the shot fell, high-fiving fans, fist-pumping, yelling, and almost ripped his off own jersey. Lakers color guy Stu Lantz screamed, “The best finisher in the game comes through in the clutch!” … Immediately after the game, a Lakers sideline reporter asked a still visibly agitated Kobe what he was thinking before that jumper. Read More »

Life is all about change, but there are still some things we always expect to be the same. I cannot imagine the day when Coach K leaves Duke. It will be surreal when Joe Paterno is not on the sidelines for Penn State. And I’m sure, for most of us, the same can be said for Jerry Sloan‘s absence from the Utah Jazz bench.

After 23 years in the same place, what could make the Hall of Fame NBA coch resign in the middle of a season? The rumors are swirling that Sloan’s relationship with Deron Williams was the culprit. Read More »

For about an hour, it looked like Tuesday would be the night that sparked 1,000 TV features and Internet columns about how the tides are changing in L.A., and the Clippers are seriously challenging the Lakers for local supremacy. The Clippers were outplaying the Mavs in the first half of a huge road game, while the Lakers had a dangerous Utah team on the schedule. The stage was set. But by the end of the night, status quo had been maintained … Read More »

“Either you define the moment or the moment defines you.” Clippers’ announcer Mike Smith put it the best you could and captured the way Eric Gordon (29 pts) went into straight beast mode during the fourth quarter of last night’s win over the Kings … After Sacramento had come all the way back from a 17-point deficit to tie it up with under a minute left, Gordon freed himself off a screen and laced a deep trey, serenaded by an epic “BIIIIIIIIIIINGOOOOOOOOO!!” from L.A.’s Ralph Lawler. Gordon rebounded a Sacramento miss, and after the ensuing timeout, the Kings completely fell apart. Read More »

Think the Bulls/Knicks rivalry is back? Check this.

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As the NBA regular season approaches, we preview the upcoming campaign with the “Highs and Lows” system — predicting the respective ceiling and basement for each team.

Added: Michael Beasley, Wesley Johnson, Luke Ridnour, Martell Webster, Anthony Tolliver, Nikola Pekovic, Kosta Koufos, Sebastian Telfair, Lazar Hayward

Lost: Al Jefferson, Ryan Gomes, Ramon Sessions, Ryan Hollins, Damien Wilkins, Sasha Pavlovic Read More »

Considering everybody on the roster is, like, 17 years old and has next to no experience as the go-to guy on a pro team, it’s easy to be confused as to who is The Man for the Minnesota Timberwolves. But whether you thought it was Mike Beasley or Kevin Love or Jonny Flynn (or that they should just bring back Latrell Sprewell and call it a day), nobody was looking out for Martell Webster. Coming off the bench in yesterday’s exhibition blowout of the L.A. Lakers in London, Martell dropped 24 points (8-13 FG) and looked like he was just casually shooting J’s in the driveway. Ron Artest was assigned to shadow Webster eventually, but L.A.’s defense nonetheless gave up a lot of open looks … Read More »

Leave it to the WWE guy to bring the hyperbole. Immediately after Team USA beat Greece in its last exhibition game before the World Championship, WWE-turned-ESPN talking head Jonathan “The Coach” Coachman looked right into the camera and said, “Team USA looking very sharp!” So we’re guessing he wasn’t counting the 17 turnovers, the 7-for-28 shooting outside the arc, or that the U.S. made Greek big man Kostas Tsartsaris (24 pts, 9-12 FG) look like a lighter, hairy, slightly less sweaty Patrick Ewing … But that’s all nit-picking. At the end of the day, it was a dominating 28-point rout for the Americans, who were led by Derrick Rose (13 pts) and Eric Gordon (18 pts, 4 threes). Read More »