They fetched donuts, they rode the pine at times and they got their feet wet. Now members of last year’s rookie class are ready to contribute. Of course we know that this year, Derrick Rose will continue his rise to that Deron Williams/Chris Paul point guard status and O.J. Mayo will build on his sensational rookie campaign. But there are several sophomores who have flown under the radar that you might need to start keeping tabs on. Here’s my five. Read More »
Even though there was no NBA game action last night, there was tons of activity in the League. As we mentioned yesterday in Smack, while there were certainly some memorable plays in the tune-up games, this preseason will be known for two things: a lack of “real” NBA refs and injuries. Thankfully the former has been cleared up after the NBA reached an agreement with the referees, but unfortunately the latter seems to be an overwhelming reality for many of the League’s standout players … On the eve of the season opener, which includes a matchup between the Lakers and Clippers in a battle for Los Angeles (well, not really), it appears the Clippers will be without their superstar. Announced late last night, Blake Griffin may miss up to six weeks with a stress fracture of his left patella. Suffered during the Clippers’ last preseason game against the Hornets on Friday, this is horrible news for the No. 1 pick and Rookie of the Year favorite … Read More »
While any casual NBA fan would be hard pressed to differentiate between Jarron Collins and Jason Collins on the street, it will make it easier when one of them is wearing a Phoenix Suns jersey. After being waived by the Blazers along with Ime Udoka in favor signing rookie Patty Mills, word out of Phoenix is that the Suns are very interested in signing the seven-footer. Read More »
Of the four teams that played in last night’s NBA preseason games, three were of the “new-look” variety: Orlando, Dallas and Detroit. Most relevant to the 2010 championship race, the Magic debuted Vince Carter in their win over the Mavs. Starting at two-guard next to Mickael Pietrus at the three and Rashard Lewis at the four, Vince scored 21 points on 7-of-18 shooting, 3-of-12 beyond the arc. Dwight Howard had 17 points, 11 rebounds and three blocks, and Rashard scored 18 with four threes … Dirk Nowitzki — looking like an awkward Thor with the long-hair/headband combo — scored 23 points (17-19 FT) for the Mavs, who were without Shawn Marion (rest) and Josh Howard (ankle) … Read More »
OK, so the Shaq and Terry Porter experiment failed and now the Phoenix Suns are back to runnin’ and gunnin’ full time. Over the summer, Steve Kerr re-signed the quarterback behind the seven-seconds-or-less offense Steve Nash, re-upped with Grant Hill and acquired two slim and athletic big men in Channing Frye and lottery-pick Earl Clark. Under coach Alvin Gentry (who was one of D’Antoni’s assistants in Phoenix), the team will try to trying to rewind time back to the 2004-’05 season and attempt to put up 115 or more points per game. Read More »
If you’re looking for one lap to dump all the blame for why the Suns didn’t even get a chance to get a “Gone Fishing” graphic, you’ve got options: Terry Porter for stubbornly sticking to a system that his star players never bought into; Steve Nash and Amar’e for stubbornly refusing to buy into that system; Read More »
The Hawks should have known Dwyane Wade wasn’t gonna have two bad playoff games in a row. After being held to 19 points in Miami’s ugly Game 1 loss, Wade came out last night with the Terminator scope on, and ATL didn’t help their cause by giving him some wide-open shots. In the second quarter Wade (33 pts, 7 asts, 6 threes) went on a run where he scored 13 straight points in three minutes, hitting up Flip Murray and Mo Evans for buckets. Read More »
Ever since I overheard Robin Lopez ask for a size medium t-shirt at the Dime/Levi’s Draft Suite, I’ve wanted to call out his manhood. Thankfully Shaq did that for me, albeit for a completely different reason. Before rehashing his speech to the media, O’Neal delivered something similar to this to Lopez in private. We don’t know what he and Lopez said behind closed doors, but here’s what he told the media.
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If Ohio State coach Thad Matta really did have an undercover plot to keep B.J. Mullens on campus for at least two years, it didn’t work.
Right before Siena ousted OSU in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, I wondered if Matta was purposely limiting Mullens’ playing time to drop his NBA Draft stock and squeeze another year out of the 7-foot center. Read More »
