They all count from here on out. Friday was the last day of NBA preseason action, with a nearly full schedule that included two national TV games: Hawks/Magic and Nuggets/Lakers … Orlando effectively ended their contest early, going up by 20-plus in the first quarter and capping an undefeated preseason with a near 40-piecing. Vince Carter dropped 26, hit all five of his threes, and was throwing down double-clutch dunks along the baseline while the Hawks basically watched. Dwight Howard put up 25 points, 13 boards and three blocks … Even more impressive about Dwight’s performance was that he managed to beast Al Horford. Read More »
The L.A. Times is reporting that Lakers assistant Kurt Rambis flew to Minnesota yesterday morning and is “likely” to be named the new head coach of the T-Wolves, with the only remaining obstacle being T-Wolves’ owner Glen Taylor signing off on the hire.
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Considering the level of celebrity involved, this D-Wade vs. Pat Riley game of million-dollar chicken hasn’t come close to owning the headlines like it would if Kobe and his front-office were at odds. (Good thing that’s never happened before.) If you haven’t been following, here’s the quick version: Wade’s contract expires in 2010, Riley wants Wade to sign an extension before then, Wade wants to make sure he’s not playing for a mediocre team before he signs anything, Riley says he won’t spend a lot of money to improve the roster until he knows Wade is committed. And aside from Riley making an honest run at Lamar Odom and showing interest in Allen Iverson, neither side has hit the brakes yet. Read More »
If you’re a Seattle Supersonics fan stuck in NBA purgatory waiting for somebody else’s team to come to town, the story breaking out of Memphis yesterday made you optimistic. If you’re a Grizzlies fan, it just made you shake your head. As reported in the Memphis Commercial Appeal, the Grizzlies fired their entire amateur scouting staff, and for the time being will only employ one part-time guy to scout international prospects. Total cost-cutting move (”I prefer a smaller group,” said GM Chris Wallace), although it’s not totally indefensible since Wallace and the coaches can scout college guys … Read More »
All this waiting and debating over Lamar Odom’s future, and he ends up getting about one Aston Martin more than Marvin Williams money? The biggest remaining free agent chip (again, all due respect to Allen Iverson) was taken off the table yesterday, as Odom agreed to a four-year, $33 million deal with the Lakers. That immediately puts L.A. back on top as the odds-on favorite to win the 2010 NBA championship, ahead of the Orlandos, San Antonios, Clevelands and Bostons who have spent the offseason making big moves specifically to topple Kobe’s squad. (Wish we could say the same for Denver, but they’re apparently in chillin’ mode.) … And speaking of teams not doing anything, what does the Odom signing do to Dwyane Wade’s psyche? Read More »
The summer league re-runs were fine, but nobody would’ve complained if NBA TV sent some cameras down to Vegas last night and aired the Team USA mini-camp exhibition game. Rudy Gay (27 pts) and Kevin Durant (20 pts, 8 rebs) were the stars of the show, with Brook Lopez (18 pts, 5 rebs) also turning in an impressive performance … There could be three or four spots open for the 2010 World Championship: We can see Boozer and Tayshaun being gently asked to step aside, Jason Kidd calling it an international career, and Kobe even taking a break after another long playoff run and finally getting that pinky fixed. Read More »
Good news for the Orlando Magic: Winning last night’s Game 3 puts you right back in the NBA Finals, and with two more home games in a row, in position to stretch this thing to six or seven games and pull off an upset. Bad news: You played about as flawless a game as possible (at least offensively) and still just barely got the W … Orlando came out scorching in the first quarter, hitting like 75 percent of their shots, but were still mostly playing from behind due to Kobe Bryant single-handedly destroying their defense. Read More »
To clarify: Our NBA Fantasy Finals have nothing to do with the stat-driven “fantasy basketball” you play online. We’re taking NBA Finals teams throughout history and pitting them against each other to see what you think would happen. Assume both lineups are healthy, and the older team gets homecourt. Today it’s Reggie vs. Clyde in what sounds like the World Series of Dominoes, but really isn’t …Read More »
When asked about Dahntay Jones sticking his leg out and tripping him during the third quarter of last night’s game, Kobe simply said, “Good defense” with a little smirk on his face. Mark and Phil Jackson weren’t so coy about it - both called it a dirty play. You be the judge…
