Rodney Carney‘s name has been swirling on my NBA radar ever since he joined Miami for training camp earlier this month. Carney’s addition to the Heat mostly brings back memories about his college career at Memphis, when he jumped over more things than Evil Knievel. He’s been mostly forgettable in his stints in the NBA — and is fighting for a roster spot as we speak — but one moment does leap to the mind. Yes, it’s the time he and Dwayne Wade had a “any dunk on me I can do better on you” moment in Philadelphia. Read More »

The Brooklyn Nets won’t be blaring “All of the Lights” as their theme song this season because, among other things, they’ll only be using some of the lights in the brand-new Barclays Center for BK games. And they’re special lights. We knew for a while that the Nets would use theatre-style lighting, which is what the Lakers and Knicks use, the kind of lighting that dims the crowd and puts the floor on an imaginary stage by highlighting the game. Read More »

With the college basketball season underway, the Championship Rounds of the 2K Sports Classic benefiting Coaches vs. Cancer begin on Nov. 17 at Madison Square Garden with Texas A&M meeting Mississippi State at 7 p.m. and Arizona facing St. John’s at 9 p.m. Why should you care? Let us tell you: Read More »

It’s a little early to break out the Run-TMC nostalgia — or even relics from the Baron/J-Rich heyday — but the Golden State Warriors are hot right now. Last night’s win over the Knicks puts G-State at 6-2 on the young season, as the team ranks 5th in the NBA in scoring offense while Monta Ellis is 2nd in individual scoring (27.1 ppg) and David Lee is 5th in rebounding (11.3 rpg).

In the visitor’s locker room at Madison Square Garden, I got up with some of the team’s key reserves — guard Reggie Williams, swingman Rodney Carney and forward Brandan Wright — to get a look inside one of the most interesting teams in the League: Read More »

It seems like the easier the opponent, the harder Team USA insists on making things for themselves. But at least they’re still winning, and usually by blowout margins. Yesterday’s World Championship matchup against Group B doormat Tunisia was supposed to be a harmless stomping — and when it was over, Coach K‘s team was up 35 on the scoreboard — but the lasting impression was that the most talented team in the WC field let a clearly inferior squad hang in with them for the entire first half (Team USA led by six at the break) and some of the third quarter before Eric Gordon (21 pts), Russell Westbrook (14 pts) led the bench mob in restoring order to the mismatch … Read More »

Over the past 15 years, the San Antonio Spurs have rarely missed on a player in the Draft. They discovered international players like Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker, and found the face of their franchise in Tim Duncan. So when the Spurs took little-known guard George Hill out of IUPUI with the 26th pick in 2008, people figured the Spurs were onto something. Read More »

Last year we debuted the “Highs and Lows” system — previewing the NBA season by predicting the respective ceiling and basement for each team. Same theme, different season…

Added: Jrue Holiday, Jason Kapono, Rodney Carney

Lost: Andre Miller, Reggie Evans, Donyell Marshall, Theo Ratliff, Kareem Rush Read More »

Before any of Friday night’s games tipped off, the big story of the day was Allen Iverson being shut down for the season, almost certainly ending his Pistons career. Joe Dumars said it was due to A.I.’s back injury, but we don’t know anybody who actually believes that. But whereas a lot of folks, including Mark Jackson during ESPN’s Lakers/Rockets broadcast, suggested Iverson might be quitting on the season, we think if anything it’s probably Dumars making that call after A.I.’s latest complaints about coming off the bench and the inescapable fact that the Pistons have played better without him … Read More »

After benching his starters for the entire fourth quarter of Monday’s loss to the Hawks, Kevin McHale might take it a step farther in tonight’s tip in Philly. According to the Minneapolis Star-Tribune, McHale might roll out a starting lineup consisting of the same reserves who finished the Hawks game: Read More »