A legend passed a legend in Boston tonight. Paul Pierce needed 10 points to move past Larry Bird for No. 2 in Celtics history but Pierce dropped him by the third quarter as the Celtics beat the Bobcats, 94-84. Pierce will never move past the man from French Lick in the hearts and minds of Boston fans, even with now 21,797 points, but tonight wasn’t just about the points for The Truth. He added nine assists and eight boards to go with 15 points. Is that how a Celtic captain does it or not? … You knew Rajon Rondo (14 assists and 10 points) was looking for Pierce every time down the floor, too, and the C’s were setting up sets for him every chance they got. Not that the Bobcats could focus solely on the record man tonight. The other Big Two, KG (22 points) and Ray Allen (17 points) kept the Bobcats guessing … Read More »

The Grizzlies should’ve just hit up a Super Bowl party early because Boston slapped them around all afternoon, winning their fourth-straight game 98-80 behind a throwback (24 points, nine rebounds) from Kevin Garnett and yet another, ho-hum 21 points from The Truth. Boston’s defense was suffocating, holding Memphis to under 37 percent from the field and under 20 points in every quarter outside of the third. And with Rajon Rondo (14 assists, his first game with double-digit assists since Jan. 13) really back, they had one of their best bucket-getting halves of the year (the second frame) … Read More »

Do you believe in Philly now? You should. The 76ers turned the stove temperature up in the third quarter and started grilling Chicago. It was like the visitors got caught up in a storm they couldn’t get out of. The defense was suffocating. Andre Iguodala (19 points) had a cuff dunk that only five or six people in the world could’ve pulled off. And Jrue Holiday (17 points) capped it all with a corner three right before the quarter ended. 26 to 11, they mauled the second-best team in the East in the third, and ended up winning 98-82. Read More »

Ranking the NBA from worst to first…

30. Charlotte Bobcats (3-19) Last Week: 29, -1 The worst team in the league. Bar none. Nine straight losses. Their only bright spot in all of this is Kemba Walker. In his last five games, he’s averaging 15.2 points, seven rebounds and five assists a game and had the first triple-double in his rookie class. Your turn, Ricky and Kyrie. Read More »

If you’re a fan of Penny Hardaway, it’s impossible not to consider what could have been. Penny was All-NBA First Team twice by the time he was 25. Who knows what heights he could have reached if only his body had held up?

That said, there’s no point to focusing on what didn’t happen at the expense of celebrating what actually did. Penny’s all too brief period atop the basketball world brought him a well-deserved enduring legacy, and his eternally cool Nike signature line and 1 Cent logo continues to resonate with sneakerheads of all ages. Read More »

By now you’ve seen LeBron James‘ latest signature shoe, the Nike LeBron 9. But we guarantee you’ve never seen it like this. Introducing the “All-Star” edition, made exclusively for King James’ eighth NBA All-Star Game on Feb. 26. Check it out: Read More »

Thank you John Lucas for getting in the way. LeBron James and the dunk of the season would’ve happened regardless, but you had to go and intervene. Not on purpose. It was quite obvious you never even saw him coming. That play might end up being the best dunk of James’ career. In 2020, it might not even be close. Read More »

If the Atlanta Hawks had been involved, they could’ve just called a re-do of the last minute. They really should’ve. Miami had an ugly missed shot and a turnover and were on the edge of falling behind for the first time all game. But Derrick Rose clanked two free throws, then got another chance after LeBron had clanked two freebies of his own, but was short on a floater. Forget the win/loss records, the Heat can hold the Eastern crown a little longer, 97-93. Read More »

We’d hate to be whoever New Orleans assigns to cover LeBron James on Monday. Two days after giving Bill Walker the business, LBJ continued his trampoline training today on Chicago’s John Lucas. With 5:06 left in the first quarter, LeBron jumped over Lucas, caught his alley-oop one-handed from Dwyane Wade and ripped the rim off. Lucas wasn’t even checking LeBron, who’d lost defender Rip Hamilton on his backdoor cut.

The catch-and-slam part of the play was so nice it didn’t register initially with ABC announcers Mike Breen and Jeff Van Gundy what LeBron had done — i.e. treated Lucas like a training box — to get up there. They joined Lucas, who’d had his back to LeBron the whole time, in wondering, what just happened? Read More »

I was joking on Twitter last night that LeBron could’ve dunked on Bill Walker 54 times and it wouldn’t change Skywalker’s opinion of him. You may not know, but Bill has been talking some junk about James for a while now, and you know he had to be feeling himself after he dropped 21 in Miami. He could overlook all the dunks. But this one? Just vicious. Why doesn’t James drive like this all the time? Read More »