With less than eight teams remaining in the NBA Playoffs, it means a few “contenders” have already been eliminated from title contention. The offseason is the time for these teams to retool to prepare for deeper runs next season. The Los Angeles Clippers were one of the better teams in the Western Conference all year. Read More »

The second round of the playoffs is underway and with only eight teams remaining, it means another eight have been eliminated from title contention. The offseason is the time for these teams to retool to prepare for deeper runs next season. The Denver Nuggets finished the year with a franchise-best 57-25 record and were the third seed in the Western Conference. Boasting a 38-3 home record, many felt they would advance to the second round simply by winning all of their home games. Read More »

Wrestlemania 29 is this Sunday night in NY/NJ, and it looks like the Clippers’ Ryan Hollins is already set to go. Check out what he did to the Suns’ Goran Dragic last night: The two get tangled up and Hollins slaps on a sleeper hold and keeps it there well after the whistle blows while he’s arguing with the ref.

It’s sort of amazing that none of the Suns are more forceful here, ripping Hollins off of their point guard. This earned Hollins a flagrant 2 … but that can’t be as hurtful as the disappointment in Ralph Lawler‘s voice as Ryan escalates the fracas: Read More »

No, that’s not a photo of forward Trey Thompkins looking on in terror at the horrifying former breakfast menu of Enes Kanter. No, Thompkins and Clipper teammates Ryan Hollins and Caron Butler all took a tour of Universal Studios Hollywood’s “Halloween Horror Nights” before the latter two boarded the team flight to China last week for exhibition games. Predictably, it’s hilarious to see them screaming — and also seeing Butler prepare for the frights by dancing his way through the haunted house. Read More »

Much of Spain’s talented roster has spent significant time in the NBA. They know mind games when they see them, and more importantly, they know how to play them. Of course, none of them are as affluent in playing possum as Gregg Popovich or Phil Jackson are. But that’s beside the point. They just have to be somewhat believable, and in an event like the Olympics where so much is on the line in so little time, that can make a Boris Diaw-sized difference. The two best teams in the Olympics square off today at 4:30 ET on ESPN2, and while it’s only an exhibition, it feels like so much more. Read More »

As long as Rajon Rondo doesn’t have to shoot with the game on the line, he’s good money. We’ve constantly heard that the Celtics’ point guard is the John Nash – the genius – of the NBA. Maybe he just really is that smart. The dude fouls the Sixers up three, and then watches as Lou Williams botches it by making both instead of missing the second. Then, Doc draws up a spectacular play and Rondo runs into the backcourt all alone for a touchdown. Evan Turner couldn’t catch him for a foul, and that was that. Rondo bamboozled Philly’s whole team; Game 1 to Boston, 92-91. Read More »

What we got on Friday night in MSG was a tale of two oddly similar yet completely different teams. Arizona has the hype, and the high ranking. They came in at 4-0 but still playing a little bit over their heads, a good team that appeared to be playing better than they actually were. On the other side was Mississippi State with enough talent that most experts see them as one of the most dangerous unranked teams in the country. Despite that, they started the year somewhat unassumingly. So if you told us pregame that the Bulldogs would finish with a flurry and take over the game late to win by 10, grabbing the 2K Sports Classic, we wouldn’t have been surprised. Read More »

The Cleveland Cavaliers won just 19 games last season, good for second worst in the NBA. They also dealt away their most promising big man before the lockout began, which is kind of a downer for fantasy purposes. While there are some things to get excited about — the arrivals of a skilled rookie point guard and a promising rookie power forward, along with the return of Sideshow Bob – this Cavs squad has “timeshare” written all over it. Put on your sad face as we dive into the fantasy prospects for Dan Gilbert‘s crew. Read More »

Unless you just came out of NBA regular season hibernation, chances are you saw Charlie Villanueva‘s on-court altercation with Ryan Hollins the other night. Yesterday, the NBA handed Charlie V a five-game suspension without pay for initiating the fight and attempting to escalate it by entering the Cavs’ locker room on two separate occasions following his ejection. That’s not smart. Read More »

The sequel never, ever lives up to the hype. The Godfather II. Jaws II. Even Caddyshack II couldn’t do it. Last night in Cleveland, the game was at least closer than the last Return of the King. But no one cared about that. They wanted fireworks. And got absolutely none (unless you’re a Cavs fan) … Despite nearly blowing a 23-point second-half lead, the Cavs held on to beat the Heat 102-90 to deny them a chance to move ahead of Boston and into second place in the East. The first time LeBron James came back to Cleveland, everyone was nervous he was going to slip up at a red light and some Cavs’ fan would pull up and get their Sonny Corleone on. This time, the reaction wasn’t nearly as antagonistic. Maybe that was because James didn’t show up for introductions. Yes, when they called his name, he was back in the locker room, waiting it out while his teammates had to soak in the boos. Read More »