The Clippers haven’t been right for a while. Since they lost Chauncey Billups to his devastating injury, they’ve actually been below .500, much closer to the older Clippers than the team that was supposed to snatch Hollywood from their bigger brother. Luckily, they have Chris Paul. Three or four times this year, he’s bailed them out. He did it again in overtime of their 87-83 win over the Pistons. He started off the extra frame with two swagger-filled long jumpers, and then made the shot that broke Detroit’s back with 22 seconds left. Read More »

Beast of the Night: Kevin Durant was big again Monday night, finishing with 31 points, eight rebounds, four assists, two steals, one block and three three-pointers. He shot 53 percent (10-19) from the floor, 89 percent (8-9) from the free-throw line and had just one turnover. Durant is averaging a sick 29.3 points, 8.7 boards, 3.5 assists, 1.5 steals, 1.3 blocks and 1.8 threes in 12 games so far this month, making him the runaway No. 1 fantasy player in February. Read More »

Beast of the Night: Nick Young makes an unexpected appearance here thanks to his 35 points, three rebounds, two steals and seven three-pointers last night. He shot 71 percent (12-17) from the field, 100 percent (4-4) from the free-throw line and had one turnover. After starting the season on the bench, Young has managed to give his owners reliable value as a scorer and three-point maker. So far in February, he’s averaging top 25 numbers. Read More »

Wow. Nothing else really needs to be said at this point. Jeremy Lin has done some cool things, but last night he took it to another level, wetting a pull-up jumper in Canada’s face with less than a second left in a tie game. The swag was ridiculous; In the huddle before he closed the fridge on the Raptors, Lin told Mike D’Antoni to give him an iso. Then he went out and capped the best night yet of the Jeremy Lin tour with New York’s come-from-behind 90-87 win. Read More »

Beast of the Night: Stephen Curry finished with 36 points, seven rebounds, seven assists, two blocks and six three-pointers last night against the Nuggets. He shot 77 percent (13-17) from the floor, 57 percent (4-7) from the free-throw line and had one turnover. For the season, Curry is averaging top five numbers, which is a shade better than what was expected of him heading into the season. So long as he’s healthy, Curry will remain a fantasy beast. Read More »

A legend passed a legend in Boston tonight. Paul Pierce needed 10 points to move past Larry Bird for No. 2 in Celtics history but Pierce dropped him by the third quarter as the Celtics beat the Bobcats, 94-84. Pierce will never move past the man from French Lick in the hearts and minds of Boston fans, even with now 21,797 points, but tonight wasn’t just about the points for The Truth. He added nine assists and eight boards to go with 15 points. Is that how a Celtic captain does it or not? … You knew Rajon Rondo (14 assists and 10 points) was looking for Pierce every time down the floor, too, and the C’s were setting up sets for him every chance they got. Not that the Bobcats could focus solely on the record man tonight. The other Big Two, KG (22 points) and Ray Allen (17 points) kept the Bobcats guessing … Read More »

Catch. Shoot. Swish. That is all new Phoenix Suns guard Michael Redd did after he entered an NBA game last night for the first time this season. He has not suited up to play competitive basketball in 285 days, but tonight his shot was cash money.

Redd made a quicker than expected entrance after teammate Grant Hill had to leave the game early with an injury that caused him to miss the entire second half. After a quick appearance on defense Redd caught a corner pass from Steve Nash and knocked down his first three. In shootaround before the game Redd was shooting the ball from that same corner nailing shot after shot with no defense. Read More »

Just put Dwight on the line, right? That was Mark Jackson’s strategy on Thursday against Orlando and it seemed good for a while against the career 59 percent free-throw shooter. The Magic didn’t lead through the first quarter after going wire-to-wire against Portland in its own building the night before. Well, Howard’s not exactly Mark Price from the stripe but if you send a guy there an NBA-record 39 times (he made 21), he’s going to get his, anyway, and score with a stopped clock to help a comeback, too. That’s how Orlando held off Golden State, 117-109. Read More »

Last night, I watched my Sixers maul the worst Phoenix Suns team in recent memory. They’re just awful. Poor Steve Nash – after abusing Jrue Holiday the first handful of times down the court, disappeared into one of the least-effective performances of his career (four points on 2-11 shooting, one assist, six turnovers in 17 minutes).

Much of that can be blamed on a rotten supporting cast. Help is (sort of) on the way though, as the Suns just signed Michael Redd to a one-season free agent deal. Read More »

“Alas! How dreary would be the world if there was no Santa Claus!” Francis P. Church wrote those words in the New York Sun way back in 1897, responding to the inquiry of a young girl by the name of Virginia. Today, with the holidays in full swing and the (lockout shortened) NBA season set to begin, we wanted to take a look at the league’s most charitable on-court players – the ones you would much rather be playing with as opposed to against. Whether they are passing up shots in favor of assists, grabbing tough boards, playing tight defense, diving on the floor for loose balls, forfeiting minutes to youngsters and touches to superstars, or simply reveling in unselfishness and team leadership, these are the guys that will sacrifice and give of themselves for the betterment and happiness of their teammates and franchises. Read More »