Breaking down the first-week performances of the serious 2010 title contenders, Spurs announcer Sean Elliott messed up his words and said the Lakers took an “old-fashioned butt cooking” from the Mavs on Friday night. As it turns out, that was the best way to describe what the Spurs were about to do to the Kings on Saturday … Despite Sacramento starting probably the worst frontcourt in the League (Jason Thompson, Sean May, Desmond Mason), it was one of those nights where Tim Duncan didn’t have to do much and could let the smaller guys go to work. Read More »
Of the four teams that played in last night’s NBA preseason games, three were of the “new-look” variety: Orlando, Dallas and Detroit. Most relevant to the 2010 championship race, the Magic debuted Vince Carter in their win over the Mavs. Starting at two-guard next to Mickael Pietrus at the three and Rashard Lewis at the four, Vince scored 21 points on 7-of-18 shooting, 3-of-12 beyond the arc. Dwight Howard had 17 points, 11 rebounds and three blocks, and Rashard scored 18 with four threes … Dirk Nowitzki — looking like an awkward Thor with the long-hair/headband combo — scored 23 points (17-19 FT) for the Mavs, who were without Shawn Marion (rest) and Josh Howard (ankle) … Read More »
Today is a big day if you’ve been going through basketball withdrawal, as the first NBA preseason game tips off at 9 p.m. EST, Jazz versus Nuggets. Deron’s shakes against Chauncey’s shot, Carmelo’s O against Kirilenko’s D, Boozer’s excessive chest hair against K-Mart’s excessive tats — even if it’s only for a few minutes here and there before guys like Arron Afflalo and Kosta Koufos get most of the minutes, we’ve really missed the League. And if the backups do get a lot of time, that means we’ll at least get a good look at Ty Lawson and Eric Maynor … Kirilenko (quad), C.J. Miles (hip flexor) and Kyle Korver (knee) might not play, but Jerry Sloan’s biggest personnel problem will be figuring out what to do with Boozer and Paul Millsap. Read More »
While Dwight Howard takes a couple days to bask in the warm glowing warming glow of his first NBA Finals appearance — all before getting to the task of whipping himself into “Kill Bynum” mode — we still can’t get away from the LeBron talk. Even though it’s been standard fare for guys like Rasheed Wallace to get fined for skipping mandatory postseason press conferences, the League said they won’t fine LeBron for skipping his interviews after the Cavs were eliminated in Orlando. The reason? Read More »
When the TV broadcast is breaking out footage of Suns/Celtics from 1976, and the people you’re watching the game with are starting to cite the Syracuse/UConn six-overtime epic, you know you’re watching a classic NBA playoff game. Celtics/Bulls last night was simply incredible, going three overtimes before the Bulls pulled out the win to force a Game 7 in Boston. (Which, sadly, we can see being a Celtics’ blowout, but we’ll cross that bridge when we get to it.) … Read More »
When I first saw that work-in-progress headline for Brandon Jennings‘ Dime #46 cover, admittedly I thought it was a reach. But eventually I talked myself into it, and came to believe that Jennings’ groundbreaking decision to sidestep David Stern’s NBA age limit and still get money right after high school would reverberate on every level of basketball — from high schoolers being presented with another option besides college, to colleges having yet another competitor in the recruiting wars, to the on-court effects of the NBA introducing players with a unique background of having played American high school and international pro ball. Read More »
