Congratulations, New York. Your Knicks just set the NBA record with 13 consecutive playoff losses. Forget a championship. New Yorkers just want one playoff W before they die. Even with that one, it could be a while. Miami played possum through three quarters before exploding in the final 12 minutes and walked away with a 3-0 lead after a 87-70 win. In a weird way, LeBron James‘ foul trouble came back to help him. He stayed fresh. While everyone else was busy throwing body shot after body shot as if this was Fight Night Round 4, James (32 points, eight turnovers) spent heavy portions of the game on the pine, and then came back in the fourth quarter with eight consecutive quick points to give Miami their first cushion of the game. Read More »

In a calmer, maybe more reasonable world, the Miami Heat could lose a game like the game they lost to the Boston Celtics last night and it wouldn’t be a big deal. In that world, LeBron James and Miami fans could adopt the same attitude Kobe Bryant and L.A. fans have after every one of their high-profile L’s in the regular season: Don’t panic, it’s only (fill-in-the-month). This is bigger to them than it is to us. We’ll be fine in the playoffs. … But there are five diamond-studded reasons why a Kobe-led team gets that kind of leeway and a LeBron-led team does not. Read More »

Want to see LeBron James and Shane Battier in a wig? How about Pat Riley singing “My Girl”? Or Juwan Howard in a powerful duet with his wife? Battier was able to get a number of his teammates to support his Take Charge Foundation by taking part in a recent karaoke-based fundraiser called “South Beach Battioke”. The event raised money for college scholarships for Miami area students and as Battier puts it on the Take Charge’s website: “We are changing lives one (ahem, colorful?) rendition of Sinatra at a time.” Read More »

The Grizzlies should’ve just hit up a Super Bowl party early because Boston slapped them around all afternoon, winning their fourth-straight game 98-80 behind a throwback (24 points, nine rebounds) from Kevin Garnett and yet another, ho-hum 21 points from The Truth. Boston’s defense was suffocating, holding Memphis to under 37 percent from the field and under 20 points in every quarter outside of the third. And with Rajon Rondo (14 assists, his first game with double-digit assists since Jan. 13) really back, they had one of their best bucket-getting halves of the year (the second frame) … Read More »

If you’re a fan of Jackie Moon and Semi-Pro, then you’re going to love this. The Miami Heat will pay tribute to the ABA this season as part of the NBA’s “Hardwood Classics Nights” by hosting a series of 1970′s retro-themed games. Leave your Heat jerseys at home this weekend, because starting tomorrow night the Miami Floridians will take the hardwood at AmericanAirlines Arena against the Philadelphia 76ers. Read More »

Oklahoma City didn’t play Thursday, but try telling Thunder fans it wasn’t a victory. Guard Russell Westbrook went all Boomer Sooner by signing a five-year, $80-million extension. The deal brought praise for GM Sam Presti and hailed Westbrook, slammed for being a “shoots-lots” guard, for his unselfishness: “Instead, Westbrook delivered to his teammates, his organization and this city a blessed gift. Expansion of the Thunder’s window of opportunity to turn Oklahoma City into Titletown. … No promises beyond 2016, but until then, barring catastrophic injury, an oil-and-gas bust or general manager Sam Presti losing his senses, the Thunder is set for five years of excellent basketball,” the Oklahoman columnist Berry Tramel wrote. Read More »

So what did Otis Smith say? Or what did he do? Something happened. Something weird, because just hours after Dwight Howard basically came out and said “Look man, trade me. I’m not feeling like we can work things out. You and I don’t have a good relationship,” the big man is now saying he loves Orlando and doesn’t want to leave. Whereas Chris Paul had made it pretty clear he’s not trying to stay in New Orleans, Howard has been going back and forth for the past few weeks on whether he wants to stay or not. Read More »

Someone has to pay for Tyson Chandler, right? It looks like that someone in New York will be Chauncey Billups. With the Knicks apparently very close to signing Chandler, they need money for the deal with the Tyson, while still setting themselves up for a Chris Paul move [click here for what that might look like].

That leaves Mr. Billups to be either traded or waived as a victim of the Knicks’ Amnesty Clause. While Chauncey is reportedly not the least bit happy about today’s developments, it might end up working out for him in Miami. Read More »

There were rumors going around last night that it may happen, and Shane Battier just confirmed it on his Twitter feed: He will sign with the Miami Heat. A few minutes ago, Battier tweeted this (after telling his followers last night that he would have an announcement today): Read More »

Even so little as 12 months ago, who would’ve thought we’d be starting an edition of Smack talking about J.J. Barea? He’s a big part of the story, but so is Tyson Chandler and Caron Butler. The plot of it all: the Dallas Mavericks are breaking up the defending NBA champions. They haven’t had a shot yet to defend what they won so amazingly last summer, and here we are, with the once-reckless Mark Cuban now a part of this new age NBA where superstars team up together, and Cubes doesn’t overpay for big centers coming off career years. It’s too bad for Mavs fans that it’s looking like the one time he wants to be careful is the one time they really need his wallet. Read More »