Beast of the Night: Danny Granger shot 50 percent (12-24) from the field and perfect (5-5) from the line on his way to 31 points, 2 threes, 16 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal, 2 blocks and 4 turnovers. The double-digit boards were out of the ordinary as Granger seems to be dealing with a sore heel quite nicely. He’s still a DNP risk but his owners have to be enjoying the ride so far. 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: James Johnson, Taj Gibson, Jannero Pargo, Derrick Byars

Lost: Ben Gordon, Tim Thomas, Linton Johnson, Anthony Roberson Read More »

The Big Three had the night off Tuesday (as did Mike Sweetney, so maybe that’s like The Big Five), leaving Rajon Rondo and Rasheed Wallace to carry the load in the Celtics’ win over the Nets. ‘Sheed posted 20 points and nine boards before tweaking his ankle in the third quarter, taking turns shooting Yi Jianlian’s face off and beasting Ed Najera in the post; Rondo had 18 points and 13 dimes and took over in the fourth quarter. Big Baby helped seal the W by showing some vertical and swatting Courtney Lee on one of NJ’s last possessions, then getting a key offensive board on a Rondo missed FT in the final seconds. Read More »

The second game of the NBA preseason, Bulls vs. Pacers, kind of flew under the radar for a few reasons: Nobody cared as much because it wasn’t the debut for the League or the replacement refs, it was on a Friday night when people had better things to do, and the most notable “new face, new place” involved was Bulls’ first-round pick James Johnson — only the most generic (at least in name) first-round pick in this year’s rookie class. Johnson was terrible, by the way, going 1-for-6 from the field and fouling out in 20 minutes … Derrick Rose had 17 points and three assists in Chicago’s win, while John Salmons and Luol Deng (3-10 FG, 9-9 FT) scored 15 apiece. Read More »

You might remember USC’s Leonard Washington as the guy who committed one of the dirtiest plays of the year last season, running down the court and hitting Blake Griffin square in the junk. But today, the 6-7, 230-pound sophomore was told that he won’t even have a chance to get back on the court and redeem himself until 2010, after being declared academically ineligible for the first semester. Read More »

With just a under a week before the 2009 NBA Draft, after numerous individual workouts, teams are starting to figure out who they can see hanging out in their locker room and wearing their jersey. As long as unknown draft day promises don’t surface, this is how we see it all shaking out.

1. L.A. Clippers — Blake Griffin, PF, Oklahoma Team USA has already planned on inviting him to Las Vegas after the Draft and they know the type of talent they’re getting. Whether or not the Clippers keep or trade this pick, one thing is certain: Blake Griffin is going to be the No. 1 pick. Read More »

Going into this year, DeMar DeRozan was supposed to be the next O.J. Mayo — not because he and the possible NBA Rookie of the Year play anything alike, but rather because DeRozan was supposed to follow a similar path as his USC predecessor: one-and-done, a quick Big Dance appearance, and onto the Green Room. Read More »

When USC lost freshmen O.J. Mayo and Davon Jefferson to the NBA Draft this past summer, they were able to ink blue-chip prospects DeMar DeRozan and Percy “ Lil’ Romeo” Miller to fill their void. Little did they know they would also be welcoming home former SoCal standout Alex Stepheson, who transferred back home to Los Angeles to be closer to his family. Read More »