Already this season, we’ve seen star players go down, and a part of me wants to say it’s the shortened season. But face the facts: Injuries happen every year. Ask Steve Nash. He’s been dealing with a back injury for 10 years. Then there’s Zach Randolph, fresh off a breakout season and playoff run last year, and yet hurt his knee and now may be out for the season. You can go down the line – Al Horford, Rajon Rondo, Chris Paul – they’ve all tasted the injury bug this year. Read More »

If you’re a fan of Penny Hardaway, it’s impossible not to consider what could have been. Penny was All-NBA First Team twice by the time he was 25. Who knows what heights he could have reached if only his body had held up?

That said, there’s no point to focusing on what didn’t happen at the expense of celebrating what actually did. Penny’s all too brief period atop the basketball world brought him a well-deserved enduring legacy, and his eternally cool Nike signature line and 1 Cent logo continues to resonate with sneakerheads of all ages. Read More »

I never called Nick Van Exel shy. Too many jumpers early in shot clocks proved he had no conscience. I never called him timid either. Too many arguments with Del Harris proved that. I also never called him faint-hearted. He had enough street cred to get name-dropped in a song by Jigga. I figured he had a little Cypress Hill in him when he shoved Ron Garretson into the scorer’s table. And busting out “the monkey” midgame, against the Jazz no less (I doubt anyone on that team had even heard of “the monkey”), should’ve been all the evidence needed to sum it up: Van Exel had himself some big ol’ Sam Cassell-sized balls. Read More »

At the start of every NBA season, all we hear about for weeks is “X player gained x amount of muscle,” or “X player lost x pounds, so look for him to break out!” It gets a little nauseating after awhile and it isn’t until players step foot on the hardwood that you can really notice any change. John Hollinger tried to save us all some time by tweeting: “I’ll save everyone else the trouble for their training camp reports: Every NBA player is in the best shape of his life. Except Eddy Curry.” Read More »

You had to know it would happen with 66 games in 120 days. Someone was going to fall off. Surprises are a double-edged sword; Somebody has to fall. Besides Miami – who despite the loss last night look like the runaway best team in the NBA – who else can you say has really been dominating? I’ll give you Chicago. But after that Portland has been blown out at home and on the road to two dysfunctional teams with superstars on the edge of town (Phoenix, Orlando). Denver is feasting on the weak but struggling against talent. Atlanta, who knows what’s going on with them? Read More »

If there was one player I wished I had been more like growing up, it’s Tony Allen. Not the line drive shooting part. I’m talking about the ruggedness, the defense, the “time to grind” bloodhound that never stops. Tony Allen isn’t a star. He’ll never be one. But even before Memphis… for Boston fans he was rather unique. Six long years, playing nearly the exact same role with the exact same PT every season. He wasn’t supposed to be a good enough shooter or decision-maker to make it full-time, and even when he was looking like he might finally make it, he went out and dunked during a stop in play, tearing up his knee in the process. Read More »

This all started with a collision. O.J. Mayo on Zach Randolph. Z-Bo went crashing to the floor in the same way Andrew Bynum seems to every spring, courtesy of a teammate and clutching his knee to his chest like he’s doing an explosive stretching warmup. At first it looked really bad, but Randolph made it off the court under his own power. What was originally labeled a knee bruise is now being reported as much worse: a slight tear of the medial collateral ligament in his right knee. Read More »

Minnesota has finally won a game. Dating back to the end of last season, the Wolves were on an 18-game losing streak before surprising Dallas yesterday, 99-82. For all of the highlights and optimism they’ve provided so far this year, it’s a little weird they lasted 294 days in-between wins, and it’s probably even crazier that when they finally did get the W, it came against the reeling defending champs. Minnesota didn’t just beat Dallas. They ran right through them. Kevin Love was the best player on the court, dropping 25 and 17 and even making five threes (Dirk would be proud with the way this man is shooting.). Read More »

Lamar Odom, Dwight Howard and Chris Paul aren’t walking through that door. The Lakers are what they are right now: an 0-2 team searching for a spark. They took a beheading at the hands of the Kings last night in Sacramento, 100-91 and while everyone wants to drive the stake into them after two games, maybe we should just give some credit to the Kings. Tyreke Evans (20 points on 13 shots) was a monster again last night, and Marcus Thornton (27 points on 13 shots) was dropping bombs on ‘em Outkast-style throughout the second half. Every time L.A. threatened, one of those two made a big offensive play, or DeMarcus Cousins out-hustled everyone in yellow for the ball. Read More »

Now that Christmas Day is here and all of your shopping and holiday partying is done, you have nothing left do but sit back and wait for the real gift of today – NBA games.

As you’re watching the clock tick down til tipoff, we have some holiday cheer to send your way, compliments of the NBA.

Here are some of our favorite videos of NBA squads singing Christmas carols throughout the years: Read More »