For a franchise that supposedly doesn’t have any money, the Grizzlies went all-out for their home opener. After introducing the Pistons to the theme from Beverly Hills Cop (cute), the Jumbotron showed a dramatic over-the-top video where Allen Iverson and Rudy Gay talked about “Grizz Nation” and defending homecourt. Then the DJ put on a Michael Myers/Halloween-inspired track, and the Jabbawockeez appeared at midcourt to dance. THEN they brought out Three Six Mafia, wearing Memphis jerseys and performing “Stay Fly” to bleed into the player intros, complete with smoke machines and everything else. 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…
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 »
Four words you’re going to hear more than “rumor” and “sign-and-trade” over the next 2-3 weeks:
It’s.
Just.
Summer.
League.
Remember that when you see some of the stat lines coming out of Orlando and Vegas from rookies and guys trying to shoot their way into the NBA. Yesterday the PTP’er was none other than Ryan Anderson, the Magic’s throw-in of the Vince Carter trade who dropped 33 points (11-15 FG, 9-9 FT) and 14 boards on the Celtics. Read More »
It’s never too early to start with offseason trade rumors, and two days after the Lakers recorded 2009’s crowning W, there were already All-Star and franchise-caliber players popping up in the rumor mill. T-Mac is at the center of a rumored deal to New York, which would include Larry Hughes going to Houston along with possibly Cuttino Mobley’s expiring contract. If there’s any truth to this, the biggest obstacle would be the fact that Cuttino is already retired and has a career-ending heart condition that everyone knows about. Read More »
Ask an old-timer about how much the NBA has changed, and all they have to do is point to this week’s biggest story leading up to the Lakers/Magic championship series. Almost 40 years ago, the Finals revolved around, “Will Willis Reed play?” Today, you can’t find anybody under the age of 50 named “Willis,” and now the big question is, “Will Jameer play?” Doesn’t quite sound the same coming out of Marv Albert’s mouth as the first one … Jameer did practice with the Magic yesterday, after which Stan Van Gundy said he looked good. Read More »
While Dwight Howard takes a couple days to bask in the warm glowing warming glow of his first NBA Finals appearance — all before getting to the task of whipping himself into “Kill Bynum” mode — we still can’t get away from the LeBron talk. Even though it’s been standard fare for guys like Rasheed Wallace to get fined for skipping mandatory postseason press conferences, the League said they won’t fine LeBron for skipping his interviews after the Cavs were eliminated in Orlando. The reason? Read More »
When the TV broadcast is breaking out footage of Suns/Celtics from 1976, and the people you’re watching the game with are starting to cite the Syracuse/UConn six-overtime epic, you know you’re watching a classic NBA playoff game. Celtics/Bulls last night was simply incredible, going three overtimes before the Bulls pulled out the win to force a Game 7 in Boston. (Which, sadly, we can see being a Celtics’ blowout, but we’ll cross that bridge when we get to it.) … Read More »
Though Dwight Howard said that “it wasn’t like I was out there trying to hurt anybody,” Commissioner Stern’s office has cracked the whip, suspending the Magic center for Game 6.
