Lob City’s a Laker town again, if only for a night in this upside-down season where the Clippers are the supposed juggernaut in town. With Andy Garcia looking on with an, ahem, obvious Lakers’ interest, Metta World Peace was as much a factor tonight as he hasn’t been the rest of the season. His physicality and hesitation three, his only bucket of the night, with 3:30 left capped an 11-4 run and the Lakers put the game away from there, thanks to two key plays from Andrew Bynum (19 points). In the closing seconds, he caught a lob from Kobe and finished, and then snuffed DeAndre Jordan‘s layup. Was this truly the night the big kid finally grew up? Read More »
Late last week, Miami Dolphins receiver Brandon Marshall declared his intention to try out for either the Denver Nuggets or the Miami Heat should an NFL lockout go down in 2011. He made it clear he wasn’t joking by saying, “Not pursuing — I’m going to be on an NBA team. Seriously.”
This raises an interesting question: Which NBA players can say with equal confidence that, should they choose to, they will compete in the NFL? Read More »
Timing is everything. LeBron James bought a full-page ad in the Akron Beacon Journal, thanking his hometown fans, friends and family. “For all my life, I have lived in Akron — and for that, I am truly a lucky man,” the ad reads. “It was here where I first learned how to play basketball, and where I met the people who would become my lifelong friends and mentors. Their guidance, encouragement and support will always be with me. Akron is my home, and the central focus of my life. It’s where I started, and it’s where I will always come back to. You can be sure that I will continue to do everything I can for this city, which is so important to my family and me. Thank you for your love and support. You mean everything to me.” Read More »
While most NBA free agents this summer have been working out deals, Rafer Alston has decided to spend his summer vacation a little differently: He’s coaching. The New York City streetball legend has been on the AAU circuit coaching the New York Panthers. Last week at the Desert Duel Memorial Basketball Tournament in Gilbert, Ariz., Coach Skip and his squad (led by blue-chip prospect Maurice Harkless) took home the crown. Read More »
Fresh off his first NBA All-Star season, Zach Randolph wants a contract extension. He has one year left on his deal with Memphis at $17.3 million. He’s also a suspected drug trafficker without a great track record as a teammate and has a penchant for piling up stats on lousy teams. So basically, the Grizzlies will probably give him five years for about $75 million.
All jokes aside, Z-Bo’s value may be higher now than it ever will be again, so he’s looking to cash in before the predicted lockout in 2011. Read More »
Yeah, we’re talking about That Dude in Miami, but no, it’s not Rick Ross. For a brief moment on Sunday, Dwyane Wade took LeBron‘s spot as the NBA’s biggest lightning rod for criticism before avoiding the full brunt of an big controversy … Wade was initially quoted in an interview saying, “If we lose a couple in a row this season, it will be like the World Trade is coming down again.” Not long after that hit the airwaves, though, the news source in question retracted and admitted Wade was misquoted. Read More »
Kenny Smith has become one of the most visible NBA experts in the world. The 10-year NBA vet won two championships with the Houston Rockets after getting drafted No. 6 overall out of North Carolina, but his fame has grown more recently as a studio analyst for TNT. Smith and Charles Barkley have helped make “Inside the NBA” a must-watch on the schedule for a lot of basketball fans.
A few days ago I got up with Kenny “The Jet” to talk about his new promotional venture with Taco Bell, his favorite NBA rookies, and growing up playing ball in New York City: Read More »
If you’re in New York City tonight, it’s well worth your time you head up to Harlem to check out the opening night of EBC at Rucker Park. Playing in NYC for the first time in four years, Larry “Bone Collector” Williams will be joined by Rafer “Skip 2 My Lou” Alston and Darryl “Showtime” Hill as they take on the Angie Martinez All-Stars featuring Adris “2 Hard 2 Guard” DeLeon (2010 Nike NYC Player of the Year), “Jiggy” Josh Watkins and Jersey’s Finest. Read More »
Late in the first half of last night’s Cavs/Celtics felony, when Cleveland was still in the ballgame, Mo Williams hit a three at the same time Big Baby fouled Anderson Varejao under the boards to set up an unconventional four-point play.
While the refs were sorting out the call, the ball landed in the hands of Jamario Moon on the Cavs bench, and he suddenly broke into a little AND 1 Mix Tape, Harlem Globetrotters-style series of ball tricks. At the time I texted one of my boys: “Was that J.Moon’s future flashing before our eyes?” Read More »
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