NBA Columns

Iverson's a walking contradiction
"For A New Yorker who three years in a row purchased season tickets a section removed from the 76ers' bench just to be assured of the opportunity to be entertained by Allen Iverson whenever in Philadelphia, it's distressing to see his career tumbling (bouncing outta Graceland) so unhappily and dishonorably. Two seasons ago, Iverson was an All-Star, averaging 26.4 points for a Nuggets team summarily swept by the Lakers in the first round of the playoffs. Since, if you're scoring at home or sponging off someone else, he's been run out of more towns — Denver, Auburn Hills and Memphis — believe it or not, than Larry Brown. Sad to say, in actuality, Iverson quit his last two pit stops. The same ..."
N.B.A.'s Old Reliable Very Much in Vogue
"With the basketball in his hands, Orlando's Jameer Nelson performs the two-man two-step that the Magic and the entire N.B.A. have sought to perfect. His eyes dart, his mind absorbs, his feet react as his teammate Dwight Howard sets a pick and rolls to the basket, initiating a chain reaction designed to produce defensive mayhem. No other play in the N.B.A. creates such havoc, no other play is used as often. The basic pick-and-roll is the bread and butter of the N.B.A., with two teammates working in conjunction on offense, with one player dribbling the ball and the other standing still and trying to block the path of the ball handler's defender. As all hoopsters know, once the pick, or ..."
Gasol now just one of the guys
"It happens to all of us at some point, usually on a schoolyard, and usually during recess or lunch. A boy or a girl, whichever applies to you, starts picking on you for seemingly no reason. Only there is a reason, but it doesn't become evident to you until you're in your mid-20 s. Jest, infinite or otherwise, generally means exactly the opposite as what it seems, indicating affection rather than derision. In team sports, it is something of a rite of passage. The butt of everyone's jokes often tends to be the most popular guy on the team. All of which means congratulations are in order for Lakers forward Pau Gasol, and not simply because he is set to make his season debut tonight against ..."
Evans could provide answer to Raptors' defensive problems
"Reggie Evans, the Raptors power forward, has made a career of sneaking up on people. Barely recruited out of high school in football-first Florida, he went undrafted from the University of Iowa. But when he makes his regular-season debut for Toronto, it's safe to say he'll get his share of pre-performance fanfare. Twelve games into the season, after all, the Raptors are a study in extremes."
In NBA lore, Nelson never comes up short
"Mr. NBA was in town last night. Well, he is. This was career game No. 3,380 as a player and coach for Don Nelson, and that's No. 1 on the all-time list. He has been a part of the NBA since 1962. We could concoct a pretty interesting list of all the "pre-this'' and "pre-that'' things that beginning 47 years ago would include, but one thing it might not encompass would be a more bizarre coaching circumstance than the one he finds himself in right now, when, thanks to injury (knees, wrists, shoulders, groin pulls), illness (the celebrated H1N1 business afflicting C.J. Watson), and just plain discontent (Stephen Jackson, dispatched, after much wrangling, to Charlotte), he finds himself in ..."
Rondo quick to forget
"When it comes to shooting, the last thing an NBA player wants to do is think. Particularly to a man in a slump, a mind is a terrible thing. So it was that Rajon Rondo fiddled with his free throw release after Tuesday's practice. He might have said he wasn't concerned, but he'd missed nine straight coming into last night's game against Golden State. And when he clanged another and failed to complete a three-point play in the second quarter, the streak was at 11 and the NBA record of 13 consecutive misses, held by Chris Dudley, was in sight. The Celtics guard ended the madness by finding the strings with 4:28 left in the third quarter of the eventual 109-95 victory. That he went on to miss ..."
Encouraging signs for a night
"Nothing good can come of drawing definitive conclusions before Christmas when it comes to the NBA. The game-to-game pronouncements that characterize the way we assess the NFL's 16-game sprint simply don't work in professional basketball, with the necessary ups and downs of its interminable marathon season. When the Cleveland Cavaliers lost their first two games of the new season, NFL-style wisdom was that Shaquille O'Neal was a bad fit and Mike Brown might need to be the first coaching casualty. Then the Cavaliers won eight of nine, five straight and the folks so worried about Cleveland looked at its standing near the top of the Eastern Conference and said, "Oops, sorry." The Washington ..."
This is Dirk's team, pure and simple
"Win, lose or draw, the Mavericks' fate lately always seems to come down to Dirk Nowitzki. And as long as he's on, the Mavericks can lack all the style points in the world and still have a great chance to win. The game in Milwaukee proved it. Wednesday night's 99-94 victory over the Spurs reaffirmed it when Nowitzki tipped in the basket that ended up getting the Mavericks to overtime. The Mavericks slogged around for three quarters, couldn't find the basket with a GPS and basically looked like they should be losing instead of up by four points, which they were. But while the Mavericks go along through this early season, the only real constant has been Dirk. No matter who's hurt or who's ..."
Warriors put the 'free' in free fall
"The Warriors have reached a fascinating stage in their development, one you rarely see in even the most enfeebled sporting franchises: They are renouncing their worldly goods, one bit of bric-a-brac at a time, with the apparent goal being to have no earthly encumbrances to prevent them from their ethereal reward. Well, OK. There's the money. But players? Pfah! A mere trifle. The truck has been backed up and parked, flashers on, and the onloading has begun. Stephen Jackson is gone, in exchange for Vladimir Radmanovic and Raja Bell's medical bills. Monta Ellis might be next, and if the Warriors are as eager to shed him as he is to be shed of them, that would happen within a week, two at the ..."
Don't stop at retiring Jordan's 23; there's Bird, Magic ...
"LeBron James says he is going to stop wearing No. 23, and he wants the rest of the league to stop wearing it as well. Apparently, it's not enough that Michael Jordan has been inducted into the Hall of Fame and has inspired a generation of kids to shave their heads and wear baggy shorts just to "be like Mike"; it's not enough that he has truckloads of money and six MVP trophies and every year somebody is prematurely tabbed as the "next Michael Jordan," and he is a world-wide brand, and his statue stands outside the Chicago arena. He deserves more recognition than that, according to James. "I just think what Michael Jordan has done for the game has to be recognized in some way — soon," James ..."
A.I. the answer to Magic woes
"Be bold, Orlando. There's no satisfaction in second place. Been there, done that. Isn't that the first loser, anyway? Break free from your image as a goody-two shoes franchise run by the Amway king, and bring some attitude into the huddle with the dysfunctional king of the NBA. Sign Allen Iverson. The Answer is your answer. Anybody else know of another 10-time All-Star and league MVP who is available at the moment? Cheap, too. We're talking Dollar Store prices in the NBA economy, because Iverson becomes an unrestricted free agent tonight after his release by the Memphis Grizzlies. All Rich DeVos has to do is cut a check for $1.8 million, take a deep breath, and not get too caught up in the ..."
When Hayes out, problems arise for Rockets
"The Rockets played with their usual heart, energy and unselfishness. Those things may be their trademark. They can beat almost any team when they're perfect. That is, when the perimeter shots are falling, everyone contributes and the lack of size isn't exposed. This was one of those nights that reminded the Rockets what they don't have and that there are going to be occasions when teamwork and passion can't overcome size and strength. The Rockets have known this fact since the first day of training camp. They held out hope Joey Dorsey would emerge as a contributor around the basket, but that hasn't happened. So Rockets general manager Daryl Morey spends a lot of time attempting to add a ..."
Source: Sixers discussed Dalembert deal before season
"Something's changing tonight. Maybe the 76ers' starting lineup. Maybe the substitution rotation. Maybe a couple of players' positions. But apparently not the roster. A three-way trade scenario involving the Sixers, the Sacramento Kings and the Boston Celtic that turned up yesterday on ESPN's Web site turned out to be old news, at least according to a source familiar with the Sixers' situation. The source said the deal, which would have sent Sixers center Samuel Dalembert to the Kings, was discussed before the start of the NBA's regular season. The source said the various contract numbers all worked, but nothing ever came of it. The specifics had the Sixers acquiring Tony Allen and Brian ..."
Brown faces difficult task of keeping Jackson happy
"So eager was Stephen Jackson to leave the Golden State Warriors, he was on his way to an airport for a Monday flight to Orlando to hook up with his new team less than an hour after getting official news he had been traded. Eight hours later, his new coach, Larry Brown, put him in the Charlotte Bobcats' starting lineup and played him 45 minutes against the defending Eastern champs. Jackson never has asked more from his team or coach than a chance to win and contribute big. The Bobcats lost in Jackson's first game, but Brown's decision to force-feed his new star into his lineup the day he arrived was coaching brilliance. Brown received an important ally on a Bobcats team that now looks ..."
Will the trade help? Nope, but at least it's finally done
"It shouldn't be long before Warriors fans grasp the truth about Monday's trade, that it won't get them even an inch closer to the fringe of playoff contention. The Stephen Jackson deal was about saving money, and it was about revenge. The fact that it's being celebrated, a job well done, says all you need to know about this desperate franchise. Make no mistake, it was the best they could do. NBA insiders wondered why the Warriors didn't hold out for a trade with Cleveland, as it likely would have cleared even more cap space than the $21 million saved in the exchange with Charlotte, but Jackson would have loved that deal. He's going to despise this one. No matter what Don Nelson, Larry ..."
Evans near top of class of 2009
""Spectacular," Paul Westphal praised. "Unbelievable," Pete Carril marveled. "He was on fire," Tyreke Evans exclaimed. Brandon Jennings erupted for 55 points against the Golden State Warriors on Saturday - OK, it was against the Warriors - but it also was only the third week of his NBA career. See what Ricky Rubio is missing? Jennings on fire. And then there are all the other rookie point guards who already are contributing, emerging, presenting a strong argument that lead guards collectively represent the class act of the Class of 2009 … at least while injured Blake Griffin remains sidelined. Jennings. Evans. Ty Lawson. Jonny Flynn. Eric Maynor. Stephen Curry. Jeff Teague. The best of the ..."
Allen Iverson isn't the answer for the New York Knicks, but who else these days?
"It's kind of sad that the Knicks are thinking of signing Allen Iverson. He'd be good at the box office and would help a team that can't shoot, doesn't play hard on most nights and needs players who can score. Trouble is, he'd be arriving about 10 years too late to make a difference. But if he were to come to the Garden, it would be particularly sad for Iverson. The Knicks wouldn't be a much better fit for the Hall of Famer than the Memphis Grizzlies. And how did that work out? So well that Iverson is free to negotiate with 29 other teams. The same 29, incidentally, who did not want any part of his services over the summer. The Grizzlies, as lost a franchise as David Stern has in his ..."
Trade brings major talent, major risk
"Stephen Jackson is the best player the Charlotte Bobcats have ever had. He also is the most troubled. He was rehabilitating his image and developing his game in Golden State. And then, as the Warriors devolved from interesting and exciting to mediocre and confused, he signed a huge contract extension. Once he had it - $28 million for three years - Jackson decided he wanted to escape. He probably decided before the contract, but now it was official. He wanted to play for a contender, and he made sure everybody knew. Jackson got in a war with the Lakers' Kobe Bryant during a preseason game - he said Kobe elbowed him - and yelled at coach Don Nelson. After being slapped with a two-game ..."
Warriors ship Jackson to Bobcats
"STEPHEN JACKSON HAS fled the Warriors as part of a four-player trade Monday with the Charlotte Bobcats, who don't exactly evoke the championship criteria Jackson pleaded to join in the summer. Out goes Stack Jack and backup guard Acie Law. In comes Vladimir Radmanovic and Raja Bell. The Warriors are off to a 3-6 start. So are the Bobcats. Give it a year before Jackson is demanding a trade again. Give it a day or two or a few months before this backfires on the Warriors, simply because nothing ever goes right with that frustrating franchise. Getting rid of him was a must considering how vocally disgusted he was with the Warriors. The sooner the better that it took place. But the ..."
Drama queen role fit for King James
"Perhaps a Nike representative whispered into the ear of LeBron James and told him that all this talk of his impending free agency comes across as being disrespectful to his teammates and to the Cavaliers organization. Other than the Witnesses living in the Cleveland region, no one is apt to be in a rush to buy shoes from an out-of-touch narcissist. Whatever the deal, the narcissist finally - and thankfully - decided that enough is enough with his free agency obsession last week. His teammates know too much already. They know he was all gushy on his last visit in Manhattan, where the Knicks are clearing salary cap space to make room for him. They know he is big buddies with Jay-Z, the rap ..."
It would be silly for NBA to retire the number 23
"I believe Michael Jordan to be the best basketball player in the history of the game. I do not believe it follows that the NBA should permanently retire his number. Should that get me kicked off the Good Ship Michael? LeBron James apparently thinks so. James says he'll stop wearing Jordan's old number and is urging other NBA players who wear No. 23 to do the same in honor of MJ. If the Cavaliers superstar had his way, the league would permanently take Jordan's number out of circulation, the way Major League Baseball has done with Jackie Robinson's No. 42. It's a gracious gesture by James, the young luminary paying homage to his elder. But the idea of honoring Jordan in this way reminds me ..."
Ragged Lakers are well off-pace
"This is when the Lakers should be cleaning up, not scraping their egos up off the floor. During a stretch in which they will play 17 of their first 21 games at home, they should be resting Kobe Bryant in the fourth quarter because they have put the game out of reach, not because he aggravated a week-old groin strain during the first quarter and had no reason to risk making it worse. The Lakers' 101-91 loss to Houston on Sunday in front of an unhappy crowd at Staples Center was their second in a row and third this season. That, in itself, is not a problem. The problem is they followed a putrid, franchise-worst second half at Denver on Friday with a ragged first half Sunday -- and let that ..."
Kevin Durant can't score if he doesn't shoot
"Kevin Durant banged in a 14-foot jumper with 4:25 left in the game. One of those roll-around, rattle-around shots that falls when a guy can't seem to miss. It gave Durant 40 points on the night and cut the Clippers' lead to one. But Durant stayed stuck on 40 as the Thunder lost 101-93 Sunday night at the Ford Center. You can't score if you don't shoot. Down the stretch of yet another close game, the Thunder failed to get its franchise player another shot, save a 25-footer on the meaningless last possession. The Thunder lost for many reasons. Pushed around by the bigger Clippers. No answer for LA's two-man game of Baron Davis and Chris Kaman. Horrid shooting for much of the game. But still, ..."
Lakers are flexing their star power
"Someone sent this out via Twitter on Thursday, shouting all the relevant info in all caps, apparently so excited that the words tumbled out in the wrong order: "RON ARTEST BIRTHDAY PARTY ADDRESS NOVEMBER 14TH: CLUB EMPIRE 1716 N. CAHUENGA BLVD. LOS ANGELES, CA 90028." Who did it? Artest, himself. Artest is insanely interactive with fans via Twitter and wants to meet them in person, too. Mere minutes after Artest finishes talking to the media in the postgame locker room, he is communicating with his "Tweoples" and offering more details. Or he will express lament that a fan didn't pick up the tickets he left. Or he will ask for suggestions for his birthday party theme: "What would be cool ..."
Remember the way Iverson was, not the way he is
"It's much better this way. The Memphis Grizzlies are coming to the Wachovia Center on Friday, and Allen Iverson most likely won't be with them. He has taken a leave of absence to deal with some personal matters that might also involve some basketball matters, such as the fact that he's no longer starting. It would have been an awkward return for Iverson, and everyone involved. So it's better that 76ers fans, whom Iverson enthralled and enraged for 10 1/2 seasons before his December 2006 trade to Denver, remember him from the one and only time he came to the Wachovia Center as a member of an opposing team. And it's better that they remember his many highlights during his time as a Sixer. ..."
Brand dilemma requires Jordan to be delicate
"When Eddie Jordan became the 76ers coach, he said that his Princeton offense would fit Elton Brand, and that it would enable the Sixers to have three prolific scorers with Brand, Andre Iguodala and Thaddeus Young. Jordan cited his success in Washington with Gilbert Arenas, Caron Butler and Antawn Jamison, as well as in New Jersey when Jordan was the top assistant when the Nets reached the NBA Finals two years in a row with Jason Kidd, Richard Jefferson and Kerry Kittles. It hasn't worked out that way with the Sixers. Brand is averaging a career-low 9.7 points and 5.2 rebounds per game. This from a player who averaged 20.3 points and 10.2 rebounds per game before signing a five-year, $80 ..."
In trying to honor His Airness, is LeBron's aim off-target?
"Granted, this is not an image any reader should have to visualize, but in honor of Michael Jordan, I will no longer wear Hanes or any other underwear. In Greek mythology, Nike is the goddess of victory. There was no god of overpriced shoes until Michael Jordan came along. LeBron James seems to have confused that kind of ground breaking with the pioneering that gave baseball reason to retire Jackie Robinson's number in every major-league park. The Cavaliers superstar plans to stop wearing No. 23 and switch to No. 6 next year out of respect for Jordan after wearing No. 23 all these years out of ... uh ... respect for Jordan. (We can assume by switching to his Olympic jersey number that ..."
Knicks are a laughable New York sports myth on the brink of expiration date
"The reality is as grim as the season: They are not the New York Knicks and haven't been for a long time. They are not the Knicks and the idea that the Garden is still some kind of mecca for pro basketball - why, because Kobe and LeBron each show up for a concert event every year? - is just another romantic New York sports myth. Yeah, it's still the mecca and Isiah Thomas just had a few bad breaks when he had the run of the place. We shouldn't even call them the Knicks anymore, we should call them what they are: The New York Expiring Contracts. And, let's face facts, just what we've seen in the first 10 games of the season has Knick fans thinking those contracts can't expire soon enough. ..."
Knicks only work hard at not trying
"They're awful. There's no other way to describe the Knicks . They set a franchise record Friday night by losing for the ninth time in 10 tries to start a season. That's quite a feat, considering that the first time they ever took the court, the White House was occupied by Harry S. Truman . But here's what's most alarming in a season that is already in the toilet: The Knicks failed yet again to play hard during a 121-107 defeat to the Warriors , so the fans were right to shower them with boos when they walked off the Garden floor. Almost every time Mike D'Antoni talks about changing his lineup, he talks about the need for speed. But the only things piling up fast are losses during ..."
Heat shows it can be more than competitive this season
"Ten minutes. That's all it took. That's the world in which we now live. Ten minutes, and it had spread like a pandemic, with NBA fans and players scrambling to type Twitter tweets and embed YouTube video and update Facebook pages, all so you could see what they couldn't believe they just saw. They had just seen the soles of Anderson Varejao's shoes. That was caused by Dwyane Wade dribbling down the right side, veering into the lane, shifting from right to left and back to right, taking off, kicking out, climbing, climbing, climbing, slamming, sending Varejao sliding back into the stanchion, heels over curly-permed head. Wade then stepped over his victim and stormed off, first silent and ..."
David Aldridge is the versatile insider
"David Aldridge is busy working the phones and talking to players, general managers and coaches about what is going on in the NBA. He is the "NBA Insider" for TNT, NBA-TV and he writes the very popular "The Morning Tip" for NBA.com. Aldridge is one of the most respected people who covers the NBA and we talked about what it is like to be an "insider" as well as the many roles he serves as a member of Turner Sports: JW » How does an "insider" work? Aldridge » First of all, you have to develop trust over a number of years with players, coaches and front office people. They need to know that what they tell you will be reported accurately, fairly and timely, without ever burning any of your ..."
Things really as bad as they look for Knicks
"Sometimes, a team can puzzle you, can perplex you, can turn your insides out and your outsides in. The Mets have done that to you a lot the past few years. The Jets have done that to you the past few decades. Your heart tells you one thing about them, your eyes quite another. There is nothing so ambiguous about the Knicks right now. There is nothing bewildering or baffling about them. They are simply an awful basketball team. They are outmanned. They are outgunned. They are a beaten-down eight-track player in an iPod world, an analog throwback in an NBA that went digital years ago. You want to be angry. You want to be appalled. You want to be disgusted. And then you take another look at ..."
Hornets firing of Scott predictable
"To Bee, or not to Bee. Hornets superiors maintain Byron Scott became the NBA's first head coaching casualty yesterday because the offensive predictably, stagnation and susceptibility to being bullied so evident in last season's first-round playoff exit in five mostly non-competitive games to the Nuggets carried over into the preseason. And it then carried over into the 3-6 regular season, punctuated by Wednesday night's 124-104 phlogging in Phoenix. Though all of the above is indisputable, what sealed Bye-Ron's fate in the Bayou; New Orleans was the 1-8 Knicks' sole conquest. Somebody had to pay for such barefaced ignominy, because the Hornets are over the luxury tax and optionless, 10 ..."
Phoenix's big-top antics come to a stop against Lakers
"The NBA's traveling carnival came to town Thursday, tilt-a-whirl breaks and cotton candy shots everywhere. It rolled in here after owning Boston, owning Miami, owning Philadelphia, turning the early season into its own Disneyland. "This is a fun team," chortled the Phoenix Suns Leandro Barbosa early Thursday evening at Staples Center. "We play fun basketball." Then the diamond-studded locals wandered in, wise to the midway and wary of the rides and unimpressed with the barking. Three hours later, the fun ended. Three hours later, the NBA's traveling carnival had been reduced to a collection of creaky metal and cracked mirrors in a church parking lot. Lakers 121, Suns 102, and let's not get ..."
Brand an early concern for Sixers
"IT'S EIGHT GAMES into the season, hardly enough time to have a full grasp on this 76ers team. We all know it has a new coach, a general manager about to celebrate only his second anniversary with the team, and a roster devoid of an upper-echelon player. Yet, the first subject that pops up through e-mails, phone calls and text messages is the same: Elton Brand. The generously listed 6-9 forward was brought in here, courtesy of an $80 million, 5-year contract, as the biggest free-agent signee in the summer of 2008. He wasn't thought to be the missing piece that, say, Moses Malone was to the 1982-83 team that won 65 games and strolled to the NBA championship. But it was assumed that Brand ..."
Global warming
"It wasn't like the Milwaukee Bucks woke up one morning with "We Are the World" stuck in their heads and decided to make the Bradley Center a global melting pot. They tried to work the international cachet / marketing angle a couple of years ago with Yi Jianlian, and you saw how that turned out for them. But on Aug. 18, when the Bucks sent Amir Johnson and Sonny Weems to the Raptors for Carlos Delfino and Roko Ukic, they suddenly became the league leader in foreign players with seven, almost half the full 15-man roster. An Argentine in Delfino and a Croatian in Ukic. An Australian in Andrew Bogut. A Turk in Ersan Ilyasova. A Cameroonian in Luc Richard Mbah a Moute. And a couple of Dutchmen ..."
Are the Jazz becoming a bad joke?
"Maybe it was one of those laugh-or-cry situations, and perhaps it was no big deal, really, but with two minutes left in the Jazz's humiliating loss to the Celtics on Wednesday night, Andrei Kirilenko sat on the bench, busting out a big grin, yucking it up. What was going on out on the court wasn't particularly humorous, the Jazz down 20-plus, unless you were a Celtics fan laughing straight in the faces of the hapless visitors who were to competition that night what a baloney sandwich is to fine cuisine. Turns out, the Jazz are much worse than what we thought they were. We thought they were exactly what they were last season, a marginal playoff qualifier that won 48 games. It was a ..."
Raptors line up to get aches, pains treated
"It wasn't the lights finally going on defensively in the second half against the Chicago Bulls that earned the Raptors a break from practice Thursday. It was all those ice packs going on. Coach Jay Triano shortened the Raptors' scheduled practice dramatically, in advance of the long flight to Los Angeles for Friday's game against the Clippers, because the wear and tear of an NBA season was leaving its mark(s)."
Raptors need Evans on the court
"The Raptors got on the plane to Los Angeles, apparently walking behind a fife and a drum. They're so banged up, they're even short one coach on the four-game trip that begins Friday against the Clippers. They're missing assistant coach Reggie Evans, basically the sartorially challenged member of the staff. While Jay Triano's entire staff looks sharp right down to the necktie, there's Evans, by comparison, looking something like an unmade bed. He's not a coach, of course."
LeBron-Dwyane matchup shows Heat season has meaning
"Ten minutes. That's all it took. That's the world in which we now live. Ten minutes, and it had spread like a pandemic, with NBA fans and players scrambling to type Twitter tweets and embed YouTube video and update Facebook pages, all so you could see what they couldn't believe they just saw. They had just seen the soles of Anderson Varejao's shoes. That was caused by Dwyane Wade dribbling down the right side, veering into the lane, shifting from right to left and back to right, taking off, kicking out, climbing, climbing, climbing, slamming, sending Varejao sliding back into the stanchion, heels over curly-permed head. Wade then stepped over his victim and stormed off, first silent and ..."
Hawks' Johnson would fit Garden
"I know Knicks GM Donnie Walsh hates all the talk about the summer of 2010 and coach Mike D'Antoni has his hands full just trying to win a game these days, but the rest of us are left to deal with the reality that this Knicks season is all about next season and the free agents who will be joining the team. Hot stove basketball doesn't end just because the Knicks front office wants it to or because LeBron James has come and gone, already having made his only appearance at the Garden this season. Each visit by a prospective free agent is significant given the fact the Knicks should have enough cap room to sign not just one, but perhaps two high-profile players. That's why Joe Johnson was ..."
Wolves coach looking for growth
"My new approach to watching the Timberwolves is to concentrate on just one thing. Trying to grapple with the big picture can lead to a severe migraine or perhaps even nausea. So I'm focusing on one target while waiting for the Wolves' three-year — or is it five-year? — plan to kick in. On Wednesday, as the Wolves got hammered by the Portland Trail Blazers, that target was Nathan Jawai. The big Australian is very Oliver Miller-like, or maybe Stanley Roberts-like, in terms of heft. It's physically impossible for his shirt to remain tucked in. He's also very polite, saying "sub please" when checking in at the scorer's table. Best of all, he has an interesting shot that never seems to get more ..."
Raptors feed off DeRozan's high energy
"Excuse Toronto's basketball fans for their rare moment of raise-the-rafters ecstasy Wednesday night. No league championship was won. No division-winning banner was raised. But DeMar DeRozan, Toronto's rookie swingman, did jump and hang and throw down an actual, highlight-reel-worthy slam dunk at a key moment in a 99-89 win over the Chicago Bulls. And given how long it's been since the Air Canada Centre witnessed that kind of baseline-commanding statement from a high-flyer on the rise – given the Raptors' recent employment of rosters favouring jump shooters to the exclusion of high jumpers – DeRozan might as well have brought home a world freaking title."
Lawson quickly making impact
"Buck O'Neil, the old baseball sage, famously talked about "that sound" - the bone- chilling crack of Babe Ruth's bat, a sound O'Neil experienced just two other times, from Josh Gibson and Bo Jackson. Nuggets forward Kenyon Martin spoke softly Monday about "that speed" - the in-his-prime pace of point guard Jason Kidd, a speed Martin has experienced again this month while trying to keep up with teammate Ty Lawson. "The kid is able to play," Martin said of Denver's rookie guard. "I played with Jason Kidd, man. Moving that ball, it was unbelievable. (Lawson's) strength is getting the ball up the court, getting into the gaps, making plays." With Lawson coming off the bench, and all-star ..."
Miami Heat-Cleveland Cavaliers matchup more than a game
"Dwyane Wade and LeBron James sharing the same court. It happens on the U.S. Olympic team. It happens when the Heat play the Cavaliers, like Thursday night. Imagine if it happened all of the time, right here in Miami, the NBA's two brightest, in-their-prime superstars joining forces to make the Heat an envied and perennial league power. ``We're playing fantasy basketball right now,'' Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said Monday when the notion was put to him. I wasn't sure if that was Spoelstra dismissing it, or dreaming it. Either way, in this case the leap from fantasy to reality isn't so far-fetched. Could it actually happen, Dwyane? You and LeBron together in Miami? ``It really could,'' said ..."
LeBron's destination? He's not talking
"Let's start here: No one knows what they're talking about. No one. Not the unnamed agent who says LeBron James is going to Los Angeles or the columnist who says he's staying in Cleveland or the league source who mentioned Minneapolis -- Minneapolis? -- or the reporter asking James right now if Dwyane Wade was really, "selling you on the beautiful city of Miami?" Ten feet away, across the locker room, sat the remnants of yesterday's Heat prize. Shaquille O'Neal's folded Cleveland jersey and Size 23 sneakers awaited him before Wednesday's game against Orlando. Here stood today's next Heat hope, it's prime one for next summer it now seems, putting his two cell phones that buzz constantly in ..."
Equation changes, Ginobili doesn't
"His agent was talking earlier in the day, about how it was just a matter of waiting. "We can't push it," Herb Rudoy was saying. "When they are ready to talk, they will talk." So he waits, as does Manu Ginobili, as do the Spurs. And probably every night, the equation changes. But something isn't changing, and that's Ginobili. He followed a 36-point game against Toronto with a more cautious game against Dallas, and the motivation had little to do with his pending free agency. Anyone who knows him knows that. There are other sides to this, and Dallas has one. Erick Dampier has another year left on a contract considerably stronger than his game, but he has to meet an incentive to trigger that ..."
Lakers' Pau is soft and smart
"You won't be seeing Pau Gasol's season debut real soon. "Christmas?" Phil Jackson suggested in apparent jest Wednesday. Jackson's way is always to deflect touchy subjects with humor – except when it comes to Gasol, the coach loves to brandish his needle anyway. Jackson is secure in his knowledge that Gasol isn't injured anymore. The MRI doesn't show any more damage to his right hamstring, after all. And Gasol's gentle gestures and shooting touch have perpetuated a career-long speculation that he's soft. Well, he has indeed played soft at times, including in the failed 2008 NBA Finals, but bear in mind that he was out there against Boston back then on a bad left ankle, which was hurt in ..."
Golden State Warriors are on the verge of another massive meltdown
"For Warriors fans, the 1997 NBA All-Star Game was a cruel joke. Eighteen months after the first Don Nelson era had begun to implode, they were still getting dust in their eyes. The team had been gutted in a flurry of rash decisions and lousy judgment. Reeling after seasons of 56 and 46 losses, it sat 17-29 at the break under coach Rick Adelman. Yes, the Warriors had a player on the Western Conference All-Star team - Latrell Sprewell. When Sprewell showed up in Cleveland for the event, he found no fewer than five former Warriors there to greet him. Chris Webber was there. Having struck the spark that burned down the house by refusing to play for Nelson, he'd been traded to Washington. A ..."
Sure, Bobcats are bad, but it's hard to tell just how bad
"NBA teams play 82 games, so not every one can be a referendum. Was Charlotte's domination of Atlanta last week indicative of the quality of basketball it offers or was Tuesday's performance against Orlando? The Magic ran to a 22-point second-quarter lead and handled Charlotte 93-81. If the Bobcats had a flaw, Orlando exposed it. And the Bobcats have flaws. Although they have three players 7 feet or taller, only Gerald Wallace can or will post up. And Wallace, 6-7, doesn't post up often. DeSagana Diop, 7-0, appears to have been born without instincts. Nazr Mohammed, 6-10, hit some baskets in the lane. Starting center Tyson Chandler's line sounds like something Duke fans would yell at a ..."
Cleveland just might be the answer
"Idon't believe for a second we've seen the last of Allen Iverson. He may contemplate retirement. He might remain on this mysterious personal leave for a while. But Iverson, even though he has more mileage on him than a soccer mom's 1990 Volvo wagon and all the dents as well, has plenty of basketball left in him. Surely, the last line on his hoops résumé isn't going to be three games played for the Memphis Grizzlies. Iverson-in-Memphis was terribly misguided from the time it was conceived, as was his statement the day he signed, "God chose Memphis as the place that I will continue my career." Iverson, not God, made that mistake. He should never have signed with the Grizzlies, though Iverson ..."
Iverson's act shows he's no Ginobili
"Tony Parker and Tim Duncan were out for the Spurs' game against the Toronto Raptors on Monday night, but when it came time for the opening tip, Manu Ginobili was in his customary spot the past two seasons: on the bench, awaiting opportunity to impose his will on the game. Ginobili's will produced 36 points, eight assists, four blocks and an important victory for the Spurs. Ginobili is the best player since John Havlicek to willingly accept a bench role. Havlicek never started for the great Celtics teams of the 1960s and '70s, but his role was the template for the league's Sixth Man Award. Havlicek is in the Hall of Fame, and if the totality of Ginobili's career, NBA and international, is ..."
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