With two empty roster spots and in dire need of a point guard after moving Rafer Alston to the suspended list for the remainder of the season, the Heat made a move today by signing former Siena shooting guard Kenny Hasbrouck. While it might not seem like much, this is a great move. (And during March Madness no less.) Read More »

Pick the punchline. Either way, Quentin Richardson had been reduced to a joke going into this season. Having been traded four times in the summer of ‘09 before finally landing in Miami, Q-Rich was being treated like that not-quite-cute but available girl who’s “friendly” with everybody on your dorm floor: Useful for what you need at the moment (to dump a bad contract, to free up cap space, etc.), but nobody you feel obligated to claim and nobody you wouldn’t dispose of easily. Read More »

Regrouping is never easy after losing your team’s best player, let alone your franchise’s three big stars. Even so, Aaron Brooks has the Houston Rockets gunning for the postseason once again this season. With his team currently in 8th place in the West, Brooks (18.7 ppg, 5.0 apg) is getting serious All-Star consideration. In the current issue of Dime, he talks about setting himself up for this breakout campaign.

ROCKET SCIENCE

It would have been all too easy to write off the Houston Rockets as Lottery bait heading into this season. Read More »

Ranking the NBA from worst to first…

30. New Jersey Nets (3-37) Last week: Lost to Boston; lost to Indiana; lost at L.A. Clippers. Rafer Alston’s been sending letters to the guys, telling them what it’s like on the outside. It’s been good for team morale.

29. Minnesota Timberwolves (9-33) Last week: Lost at Houston; lost at Memphis; beat Philadelphia. In case you forgot Wayne Ellington was in the League, he had a couple breakout games last week. In the triple-OT loss to the Rockets (17 pts), he was called upon to take some crunch-time shots, and he delivered some of the time. Read More »

The fans in Oakland must be getting restless lately. Every time that it looks as if Donnie Nelson has his boys playing better basketball (consecutive wins against Phoenix and Boston in late December), an injury – or angry teammate for that matter – halts the train. Most recently, Anthony Randolph’s severe ankle problems have forced the young forward to miss upwards of two months. So, expectedly, the main draw at Oracle is usually the opposing team. Read More »

Ranking the NBA from worst to first…

30. New Jersey Nets (3-34) Last week: Lost to Milwaukee; lost at Atlanta; lost at New Orleans; lost at San Antonio. There’s no good reason to bury Terrence Williams on the bench right now. T-Will’s minutes began declining sharply in mid-December, and this month he’s been clocking only five minutes a night. The Nets aren’t going anywhere anytime soon; forget Trenton Hassell and Jarvis Hayes and get the rookie some experience.

29. Detroit Pistons (11-25) Last week: Lost at Dallas; lost at San Antonio; lost to Philadelphia; lost at Chicago. The 13-game losing streak is clearly making the Pistons’ announcers go crazy. During Monday’s loss to the Bulls, Greg Kelser described a basic one-hander by Chris Wilcox as “dunking history.” Read More »

It’s official, Skip to my Lou is back in Miami. The Heat just announced on their website that they signed Rafer Alston, who was released earlier this week by the Nets. Last season, the 11-year point guard was one of the key contributors of the Orlando Magic team that made it to the NBA Finals. Alston played the entire 2003-’04 season with the Heat, where he averaged 10.2 ppg, 4.5 apg and 1.43 spg. Read More »

It couldn’t have been a great past couple months for Rafer Alston. After helping lead the Magic to the Finals last spring, he was rewarded by getting traded during the offseason to the rebuilding Nets to play in front of a half-empty crowds every night. Fortunately for Skip, the 3-30 Nets put him out of his misery and bought him out today. Read More »

Ranking the NBA from worst to first…

30. New Jersey Nets (2-26) Last week: Lost at Cleveland; lost to Utah; lost at Toronto; lost to L.A. Lakers. This is not good for Rafer Alston. He’s 33 years old, shooting 34 percent from the field, and becoming a forgotten man in a contract year. And playing with this team, Skip is liable to age another four years before July 1.

29. Golden State Warriors (7-19) Last week: Lost at Philadelphia; lost to San Antonio; lost to Washington. Steph Curry and Anthony Randolph are like the young stripper in a gold-digging marriage with the dirty geezer. Just keep your eyes on the prize, do what the old man says, and soon enough, the keys to the mansion will be yours. Read More »

We argue. You decide.

AARON BROOKS (by Jack Jensen) How many people do you think were ready to throw in the towel after the Rockets traded away Rafer Alston last February in favor of their second-year point guard out of Oregon? I’m guessing more people than care to admit it jumped off the bandwagon and thought Aaron Brooks wasn’t ready to lead Houston anywhere. He’s too small, too inexperienced and not ready for what’s expected of a starter. Read More »