As much as I enjoy watching LeBron James at the peak of his NBA powers, as much as I enjoy watching the veteran Celtics come together since Rajon Rondo went down, as fun as it is to watch Carmelo Anthony drop 35-plus night after night en-route to his first scoring title, and Chris Paul continuing to be the best point guard of this generation, what makes the NBA so great night in and night out is everyone else. Read More »

With the NBA Playoffs less than a week away, the fans of 16 teams are prepping themselves for the excitement of the second season, each team just 16 wins away from calling themselves world champions. However, there are 14 other teams that will not be able to take part in the playoffs. There is hope though, because with every new season brings another 82 games where anything can happen and any team can make the rise from bottom feeders to playoff contender. Read More »

When Portland dealt Gerald Wallace to New Jersey/Brooklyn just a little over a year ago, it officially opened the door for Nicolas Batum. He’s taking advantage of it this season, putting up career-high numbers (14.5 points, 5.8 rebounds, 4.9 assists per game) across the board. It appears the Blazers went with the right man, as Crash has fallen off faster than anyone expected while Batum is still getting better. The two of them met at the rim last night. The outcome was predictable. Read More »

We recapped this wild finish already last night in Smack, but watching the final three shots of Portland’s 21-point comeback against Dallas is worth replaying. At least five times. Read More »

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Portland fell into a lull for a quarter and a half — usually a death knell against a team like Miami — but still knocked off the Heat, 92-90, because they awoke twice at key moments to get back into position to stuff the champs at home. The first came to end the third quarter to slice into Miami’s 12-point lead, and then another finished the fourth. Read More »

Damian Lillard is the best thing about Portland right now – and that includes its legendary breweries. It would be a big upset to see playoff basketball in the Rose City come May, but the rookie point guard is what is keeping that city’s hoops hopes from wilting altogether. Read More »

The Knicks have laid a tripwire around Madison Square Garden this season, staying undefeated there by springing a first-quarter trap on the Lakers en route to a 116-107 win. What brought this game to a near-blowout and a near-comeback was Carmelo Anthony. It must be frustrating for once-Knicks coach and now Lakers leader Mike D’Antoni to see how ‘Melo has changed since D’Antoni resigned, and it’s twist-the-knife cruel that after that pair’s time together was marked by inconsistency, ‘Melo’s smooth hand buried the Lakers for most this game. Read More »

Nicolas Batum came within a few tenths of a second of having his first game-winning shot beat Cleveland on Saturday night. When his putback in the first overtime was voided for being just late, he made sure his next try was clean. Batum’s three-pointer from the corner gave Portland a 118-117 win with 0.2 left in double OT. It’s a ridiculous shot because of how short it’s on his hands, looking more like a redirection than a catch and shoot. Read More »