The Grizzlies should’ve just hit up a Super Bowl party early because Boston slapped them around all afternoon, winning their fourth-straight game 98-80 behind a throwback (24 points, nine rebounds) from Kevin Garnett and yet another, ho-hum 21 points from The Truth. Boston’s defense was suffocating, holding Memphis to under 37 percent from the field and under 20 points in every quarter outside of the third. And with Rajon Rondo (14 assists, his first game with double-digit assists since Jan. 13) really back, they had one of their best bucket-getting halves of the year (the second frame) … Read More »

At some point in the fourth quarter of Boston’s 91-83 win in Orlando – it might’ve been after another one of his threes or perhaps when he had a behind-the-back assist to Brandon Bass or even when he hit a technical free throw – we sat back and realized, “Damn, Boston is really going to win this thing,” and they did it because Paul Pierce turned back the clock with one of the most incredible comebacks we’ve ever seen. Early in the fourth quarter, Pierce had banged two straight threes and then hit a pull-up in the lane and suddenly it was a four-point game. Read More »

This might be the year Josh Smith finally makes the All-Star Game. We don’t want to jinx him – everyone knows the type of luck he has when it comes to this – but his game has matured, he has his body in the best shape it’s ever been in and the Hawks figure to be, at worst, a No. 6 seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs. Last night in Atlanta’s 92-75 drubbing of Charlotte to end the preseason, Smith had 21 points and six rebounds, hitting 10 of 15 shots in the game. Read More »

Doesn’t it feel like David West sort of belongs on the Celtics? He has a little dog in him, and maybe it’s just us, but he seems like a great fit up there. Luckily for Boston fans, Danny Ainge agrees with us, and as of now, the Celtics are on the verge of adding the former All-Star Hornet through a sign-n-trade. Adrian Wojnarowski reports that while it isn’t done quite yet (New Orleans is in limbo right now because they’re focusing on CP), it will be for three years and somewhere between $27-29 million and will probably have Boston send Jermaine O’Neal and one other player to the Hornets. Still, there are question marks. He’s 31 and coming off a major ACL injury. He also technically plays the same spot as Kevin Garnett, although those two could easily play next to each other. Read More »

Of all five teams that the New Orleans fiasco sort of screwed over this week (Los Angeles, New Orleans, Houston, the Knicks and Boston), it’s the Lakers who are probably hurting the most to get these talks kick-started and moving again. Lamar Odom isn’t feeling the love right now, and showed up for just a few moments during practice yesterday. So there’s no doubt in our minds that they’re working feverishly right now. The teams were given the green light to start talking again so all three are back to the negotiating table, attempting to tweak what they thought was a sure thing just a few days ago. Read More »

The Phoenix Suns remain an offensive machine in the NBA, which makes the squad likable for fantasy purposes. However, with the face of the franchise is slipping into the sunset as he approaches the deep end of his 30s, it’s time for the emergence of new stars in Arizona. A certain hammer of Polish origin will lead the way for this new movement in Phoenix. Read More »

We told y’all about the news earlier this week, but yesterday it became official: Shaq is a part of the squad at TNT and Inside The NBA. He’ll be a full-time analyst. Okay, lets take bets: who’s the first player he takes a shot at? Kobe? D-Wade? Steve Nash? And how often will they play that clip from the Barkley/O’Neal fight from back in the day? Once a show? We’re assuming C-Webb gets the boot, but that’s alright. He’s a better-than-good commentator who was being overshadowed in the studio. Read More »

The Big Three was down to the Chosen One for last night’s Heat/Pistons game, which naturally meant for LeBron James that the role of fourth-quarter hero would fall into the hands of — Eddie House? … With five minutes left in the fourth, the Pistons were up three before House tied it with a corner trey. A few possessions later, House hit an off-balance jumper from the wing. Then after Austin Daye’s triple with one minute left put Detroit up by one, House ended up with the ball in his hands with the final seconds ticking down. Read More »

Don’t call it a comeback. After beginning the season stuck in rotation purgatory with the Orlando Magic – he couldn’t break into a consistent role for the first third of the season – Mickael Pietrus was a piece of the deal last week between Orlando and Phoenix. And in just his second game in the desert, Pietrus pumped in a season-high 25 points for the Suns on Sunday afternoon against the Clippers. For someone who was a vital part of a championship contender the past two years, it was odd to find the Frenchman relegated to a garbage-time role earlier this season. Now that he looks to have found his legs in Phoenix again, we caught up with Pietrus to talk a little bit about his on-court style. Read More »

Though they signed contracts over the summer totaling about $286 million, and each is seen in some way as a franchise-changing superstar for their respective new teams, there has been a lot of nit-picking and hate spread around for Amar’e Stoudemire, Chris Bosh and Carlos Boozer before and during the season. But lately, all three fours have been killing it, especially Boozer. Over the last seven games – during which the Chicago Bulls have gone 5-2 without Joakim Noah in the lineup – Booz has averaged 26.2 points and 12.1 rebounds – including last night’s 31-point, 11-board effort in an overtime W against Detroit … Read More »