*College basketball is here (unlike the NBA), and this year might be one of the best in recent memory. The powerhouse is back, while the Cinderellas believe. That’s a deadly combination. We know some of y’all have been asking for some previews. We have you covered – the top 16 teams in the nation will be previewed individually in the next few weeks. After we broke down Florida this morning, we’ll keep this going with No. 9-ranked Memphis (ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll).*Read More »
Derrick Rose is going to win multiple championships. That’s straight from the MVP’s mouth. Doesn’t it really feel as if Rose won the MVP like five years ago? Between the lockout, Capital Punishment and Kevin Durant becoming the story of the summer, D-Rose became lost in the shuffle. He likes it like that though, and will probably remain mute until next season officially starts. But he did give us a taste of the competitiveness that has Chicago looking pretty good for the next decade, telling HoopsHype that he will win multiple titles, and has no doubts about it. Read More »
Is anybody getting tired of how over-the-top and dramatic some of these writers and other media types have become during the NBA offseason? With Chris Paul as the latest center of attention, we keep reading and hearing terms like, “destroying his legacy” and “throwing everything away” when it comes to CP’s latest drama with the Hornets. SETTLE DOWN. We can list some potential legacy-destroying and image-trashing acts that guys like Magic, Kobe, Jordan, Karl Malone and Bird have committed over the years, but here’s the truth of the matter: Read More »
Now that the parade is over and the euphoria has settled, it’s time for the Lakers to take care of business and tend to their aching bodies. The post-’chip injury report out of L.A. begins with Andrew Bynum, who pretty much played on one leg throughout the playoffs. AB had his right knee drained again yesterday (about 2.5 ounces of fluid), and will have surgery this summer. Luke Walton is weighing whether he should have back surgery, Lamar Odom has a bum left shoulder, and Adam Morrison missed almost the entire season with a — oh wait, he wasn’t hurt … And as you already know, Kobe Bryant‘s limbs are being held together with electrical tape and grocery-store brand sticky soda right now. Read More »
Although the Chicago Bulls easily dismissed the Philadelphia 76ers in the 1991 Eastern Conference Semifinals, 4-1, Sixers forward Armen Gilliam was giving both Scottie Pippen and Horace Grant fits in the post. But as Phil Jackson wrote in Sacred Hoops:
In an inspired moment, I decided to throw Scott Williams, then an untested rookie, at Gilliam, and it worked. To keep Scott from losing his composure in the closing minutes of the game, I told Jordan to keep his eye on him. From then on, Scott, who like Michael is a North Carolina alum, became Jordan’s personal project. All because I refused to play the game by the book. Read More »
If Paul Pierce considers the NBA Finals his stage to prove he’s the best player in basketball, he only has between two and four more chances to re-establish the position he earned in ’08, when the Finals MVP declared himself the League’s top dog.
Three games into the 2010 Finals, Pierce is struggling. In Game 1 he put up a team-high 24 points, but since then has averaged 12.5 points on 30 percent (7-for-23) shooting from the field. In last night’s Game 3, while Ray Allen was playing like Ray Romano, Pierce needed to step up and deliver in crunch time. Read More »
Why the Lakers won: Depth. Contrary to what you may have seen in the second and third quarters, the Lakers are not a one-man show. Kobe Bryant didn’t score for the first 10 minutes of the fourth quarter, but L.A. maintained its lead thanks to Derek Fisher, Lamar Odom and Pau Gasol (mostly Fisher) hitting big shots. In the first quarter, when Ron Artest sat down with foul trouble, Luke Walton replaced him and surprisingly didn’t get shredded by Paul Pierce. And during the big four-minute run in the first half where L.A. built an ultimately insurmountable 17-point lead, everybody from Shannon Brown to Jordan Farmar to Andrew Bynum got buckets. That’s eight guys who made a positive contribution out of the 10 Lakers who played. Read More »
It’s almost impossible to watch an NBA game these days without seeing a T-Mobile commercial. But featuring the personalities of Charles Barkley and Dwyane Wade, I’m not complaining. Tonight, they’re launching a new 30-second spot during Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals with two new additions: the Walton Family (Bill, Adam, Nathan and Chris – with a family shout out to Luke) and the Barry Family (Rick, Scooter, Jon, Brent and Drew). And we’re told that this is the first time in 10 years that the Barry Family have all been together. Check out the sneak peek below.
After the success of Stephen Curry this season, and watching his flawless jumper that has been passed down from his pops (Dell Curry), this got us thinking: If there were a father/son 2-on-2 tournament with current NBA players and their former NBA dads, who would win? You might already know the champ, but the competition would be fierce. Put it this way – Steph & Dell didn’t even make the Top 5. Read More »
I’m one of the biggest Kobe fans there are (along with 25 million other people). I’ve taken Kobe in the Kobe vs. LeBron debate every single time and yet, when I was finishing off the last drops of my Busch 40 the other night at the Village Pourhouse, I somehow knew that Kobe was going to blow it. Read More »
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