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Before Ric Bucher left ESPN this fall, he tweeted one of the more interesting behind-the-scenes nuggets to take into consideration whenever Oklahoma City and the Lakers play. Bucher said that underneath the “We’re all friends!” vibe Team USA put out in winning gold in London last summer, Kobe Bryant was trying to create a wedge between Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant by telling Russ he deserved to be the team’s alpha male. The young OKC stars were wise to the Mamba’s plot then and apparently want to destroy L.A. each time they play the Lakers now because of what Kobe tried to do. Read More »

On his way to a triple-double tonight, Joakim Noah posts up on Kevin Garnett and makes an over the shoulder pass to a wide open Luol Deng on the baseline: Read More »

On the day that Chicago’s most famous face took center stage in the presidential election, the Bulls beat down the undefeated Magic, 99-93. Over the final five minutes, the Bulls closed the door with some ferocious interior defense, forcing guys like Big Baby into impossible shots, and on the other end, Joakim Noah (20 points, nine boards, five blocks) and Taj Gibson (playing over Carlos Boozer to end the game) provided some offensive highlights. Read More »

Friday meant the final day of the preseason, which means there are no more chances to prove why fringe players are worthy of making a 15-man roster. There are about three dozen guys or so around the league keeping their cell phones charged and nearby in the next 24 hours. Stressful? Yeah, we’d say so. Read More »

Do positions even matter anymore? They feel arbitrary. Shooting guards and small forwards should be wings or swingmen. Power forwards and centers should just be bigs. Most of the time, those are the terms people within the sport use. But for fans and the media, having specific one through five positions help to make sense of it all. Read More »

Even if James Harden wasn’t, we all had waited a long time for last night. Both Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook didn’t suit up, which meant the Beard would finally get a long-awaited chance to be the no. 1 option versus a top defense like the Bulls. Harden never really wanted this, dating all the way back to the draft when he reportedly actually wanted to be picked by OKC because he could fit in rather than dealing with the pressure of being “the man.” But anyone on the cusp of getting a max contract should be willing to test themselves. It’s safe to say Harden failed this one. Read More »

The Lakers confirmed Thursday what we knew for a while, that they’re building the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar statue. After publicly testifying how upset he was last year that he didn’t have his honor, he must be smug knowing on the same day the Lakers announced the move, he had a little bit of his spotlight stolen. The team’s also going to retire the jerseys of Shaq (No. 34) and Jamaal Wilkes (No. 52) on Nov. 16, the same day his bronzed likeness is unveiled. Read More »

Coach K looked for a reason to knock Team USA’s win over France in both teams’ Olympic debuts Sunday. He said they overpassed — as if 27 dimes on 31 buckets is a bad thing. Kevin Durant (22 points, 9 boards) led the squad and had a nasty dunk in the first quarter where he looked like he was about to take a Euro step from inside the free throw line and threw it down over two defenders instead. He kept the ball high over the top so they couldn’t swipe at it and it’s not far from there to the rim when you’re KD’s length. Read More »

The rich get richer. Luol Deng may not technically need his own personalized Nike jacket, but that won’t stop anyone from giving him one.

As part of Nike’s “Greatness” campaign, which celebrates commitment, dedication and achievement at the highest level, Deng was one of the British athletes honored with a personalized version of the Nike Sportswear M65 jacket. Read More »