There is one trade that can work, one fan base that would accept Iverson with (somewhat) open arms, one team that could slide him right into the starting lineup AND win some games in the process, one place where Iverson can work to rebuild his reputation and maybe even have a future beyond this season. Read More »
Is it possible the West is actually stronger than we all thought? No surprise that the Lakers, Nuggets, Spurs and Blazers have been solid, but not a lot of people expected Houston, Dallas and Phoenix to play so well coming out of the gate … The Suns are arguably the best team in the entire League right now, with Steve Nash putting himself in the mix for a third MVP and doing that thing where he makes fringe NBA players look like All-Stars. Last night Nash added to the resume, putting up 21 points and 20 assists in a come-from-behind win at Philly … Read More »
Breaking down the first-week performances of the serious 2010 title contenders, Spurs announcer Sean Elliott messed up his words and said the Lakers took an “old-fashioned butt cooking” from the Mavs on Friday night. As it turns out, that was the best way to describe what the Spurs were about to do to the Kings on Saturday … Despite Sacramento starting probably the worst frontcourt in the League (Jason Thompson, Sean May, Desmond Mason), it was one of those nights where Tim Duncan didn’t have to do much and could let the smaller guys go to work. Read More »
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, Madison Square Garden is my favorite place to watch basketball. The first time I’d been there was in the summer of 2003 when I was swindled by a scalper who sold me a fake New York Liberty ticket. Fortunately, a group of ladies had a soft spot in their heart for a naïve guy from Utah and gave me their spare ticket in exchange that I buy them a few beers. The second time was in 2006, where I caught a Knicks/Nuggets game that ended with the crowd chanting “Fire Isiah.” And the last time I went to a Knicks game at the Garden was last fall, which also coincidently ended with the crowd chanting “Fire Isiah.” 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 »
For the second day in a row, the two marquee teams at the FIBA European Championships didn’t look that good. Spain was upset by a scrappy Serbia squad over the holiday weekend, then on Tuesday they struggled again with a team they rightfully should have 20-pieced. Playing without Ben Gordon or Luol Deng (or Michael Olowokandi — although that’s probably a good thing), Great Britain gave Pau Gasol and Co. all they could handle, taking a brief lead in the fourth quarter before Spain (sparked by a Pau three-pointer) got it together in time to hold on for a win. Gasol dropped 27 points and 11 boards, while Rudy Fernandez scored 13 and Ricky Rubio added five points and six assists. In case you’re wondering, Rubio is starting at PG ahead of Raul Lopez. His regular competition, Jose Calderon, isn’t playing in this tournament … Read More »
Yesterday afternoon, a bunch of the crew was at the Cherry Hill (N.J.) Mall (about 20 minutes outside of Philly) to celebrate the opening of the country’s fourth House of Hoops by Foot Locker (the other locations are Harlem, Chicago and Los Angeles).
The celebration was done right, as Andre Iguodala, aka “Chief Blocka,” and Thad Young came through to talk about the Nike Hyperize shoe, The Hyperizers, and to answer questions from more than 100 local kids who, after taking part in basketball skills clinics in the morning, were brought in for the event. As you can see, ‘Dre was in his full Hyperizer getup. Read More »
Everybody’s still waiting on Lamar Odom and the Lakers to reconcile — it’s like sitting through three seasons of “Flavor of Love” when you know Flavor Flav is just gonna stay with his baby’s mother in the end — but in the meantime, perhaps the second-biggest free agent left on the board is now off. Andre Miller agreed to a deal with the Blazers that is rumored to be worth $22 million over three years … Depending on what you think of Jerryd Bayless‘ game, point guard was one of the few weaker areas on a deep Portland roster. Miller allows Steve Blake to go from one of the lower-tier starting PG’s in the League to one of the best backups, and Bayless can step into that role of off-the-bench scoring combo guard that every team seems to need these days. Read More »
As we said this morning in Smack, now that the NBA Summer League is over in Vegas, the next basketball we have to look forward to is the USA Basketball National Team Mini-Camp which opens Thursday, July 23. While none of the big names from last summer’s Olympic run are going to make the trip, some of the top young NBA talents will do their best to make it to London in 2012. Read More »
I was so impressed the first time I saw DaJuan Summers play, I had to remind myself to preface each bit of praise with, “Seriously, I’m not just saying this ’cause he’s going to Georgetown.”
(People who know me know I’m a G’town fan. No, I didn’t go to school there. But the Hoyas were my favorite team growing up, and since my alma mater, Seattle U, was D-2 when I went there, I wasn’t breaking any sports-fan rules by sticking with G’town as my squad.) Read More »
