With the 2012-13 NBA regular season over and the playoff standings set, it’s time to dissect the first-round matchups. From team vs. team to player vs. player to front-court vs. front-court, here are the top-five most interesting matchups for the first round of the NBA playoffs. Read More »

With the playoffs starting this weekend, we look to the only person whose opinion matters about each team’s playoff outlook: 2 Chainz. From the top-seeded Heat to the limping Lakers (sorry, Utah fans), we used the Tity Boi scriptures to find out how all 16 teams will perform this postseason. Read More »

Here we are, the day after. We’re posting this almost exactly 24 hours after Kobe Bryant’s left Achilles tendon blew up in Oakland. Deep into the wee hours of the night and all day Saturday, the basketball world online was all about Kobe, his injury and what’s next. As we’ve said here though, the only words that really, truly matter are his. In case you missed it, in the middle of the night, a few hours after he hurt himself, Bean (figuratively) put pen to paper on his Facebook page to vent. Pretty great stuff from our generation’s greatest player facing his basketball mortality in real time … And a few hours after his Facebook essay, Read More »

It was fun watching Craig knock Deebo out. And in the ongoing Lakers/Clippers rivalry, it almost feels like that scene is playing out again and again. Los Angeles will always be a Lakers city. Always. But presently, there’s no question which team is best. The Clips answered the call again in yesterday’s matinee, busting up their big brother, 109-95. Read More »

We’re already in the last month of the season, and while most teams still have around 10 games remaining, we thought it was time to give our seasonal awards before we get into the thick of playoff seedings and matchups (although, we’ve predicted those as well). So, without further ado, here are our picks for the All-NBA Teams, MVP, Coach of the Year, Rookie of the Year, Most Improved Player of the Year, Sixth Man of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year. Read More »

Despite the fact that they were the top seed in the weakest region of the NCAA Tournament, you could pretty much guess that Gonzaga was going to be the first No. 1 seed to get bounced. That scenario became a reality last night as the No. 9 seed Wichita State Shockers willed themselves to an upset vicory, 76-70, handing the ‘Zags their first loss in nine weeks … Gonzaga was in the driver’s seat deep into the second half, but WSU hit a stream of incredible jumpers down the stretch while flustering Gonzaga on the defensive end, exploiting a real weakness for the No. 1-ranked team in the country [They could have used some of this]. Gonzaga was basically playing 3-vs-5 on the offensive end, because David Stockton and Mike Hart rarely, if ever shoot, leaving everything to Kevin Pangos, Kelly Olynyk and Elias Harris to play against five guys. That might work when you’re beating up on the University of Portland, but that doesn’t fly in this setting. Read More »

You would think a hush would’ve rained over Cleveland. But on top of the constant hum, you could almost hear fans crying and wailing, and even Cleveland’s epic broadcast team sounded like they wanted to go lock themselves in a closet. It’s not every day you blow a 27-point lead… and it’s not every lifetime you can blow that lead against a team on a 23-game winning streak that has one of your city’s most hated athletes ever. Read More »

The NBA is notorious for having a small number of teams with realistic championship expectations. While nearly half of the NFL can claim to be in the running, the NBA normally only has a handful of true contenders. The Heat, Thunder and Spurs have all established themselves as frontrunners to be playing into June, but there is another interesting group below them of teams that have shown the capability of playing with the elite. Read More »

With New York mourning the 16th anniversary (are we really that old?) of the death of Biggie Smalls yesterday, the Knicks gave the city something to celebrate. But fittingly, on this day, they also announced another injury to a major star, one that might murder the rest of his season … J.R. Smith had 24 points, and Steve Novak added another 20 off the pine in New York’s 29-point dismantling of Utah, a game that was never close after the first quarter. Read More »

We can just imagine Memphis head coach Lionel Hollins shaking his head. So you’re telling me you’re trading Rudy Gay and our first game without him is against Oklahoma City? Yes, and it wasn’t pretty, a small Grizzlies comeback notwithstanding in the second half Thursday in OKC’s 106-89 win. Memphis tied a season-low by scoring 34 points in the first half and fell behind by 25 because of a combination of OKC being freakishly good and the Grizzlies playing with zero energy and looking like someone just kicked their dog. Read More »