The Denver Nuggets, a team that started the season with hopes of challenging the L.A. Lakers in the Western Conference and winning a NBA title, are on the brink of elimination in the first round. Denver is down 3-1 to the Utah Jazz and the pressure of getting bounced early in the playoffs has the … [Read more…]
Dirk Nowitzki calls the Dallas-San Antonio series a street brawl. Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said Game 4 was about as physical and hard-fought game he’s seen in quite some time. There were three flagrant fouls called, all in the second half. The fireworks started with 1:21 remaining in the third quarter when Richard Jefferson was called … [Read more…]
After winning his third consecutive NBA Defensive Player of the Year award, Orlando Magic center Dwight Howard has clearly established himself as the best stopper in basketball. Howard was second in the league rebounds (14.1) and fourth in blocked shots (2.3), and his presence in the middle allowed the Magic to be the fourth-best defensive … [Read more…]
A knee injury was not enough to keep Portland Trail Blazers guard Brandon Roy from missing the playoffs. Eight days after undergoing knee surgery to fix a torn meniscus on his right knee, Roy returned to the basketball court and played in a pivotal playoff game at the Rose Garden. OK, maybe it wasn’t quite … [Read more…]
Jameer Nelson is on a mission. His poor performance in the 2009 NBA Finals against the L.A. Lakers has fueled his desire to get back to the Finals and atone for his disappointment. In fairness to Nelson, he wasn’t healthy during the Finals and it showed. He failed to cover Derek Fisher late in Game … [Read more…]
LeBron James will likely collect his second regular-season MVP trophy in a few days, but according to TNT’s Kenny Smith, Kevin Durant will take away LeBron’s crown as the game’s best player three years from now. “In three years, he’s going to be the best player in basketball,” Smith said of the 21-year-old All-Star, who … [Read more…]
Trouble in Laker Land? If you decode Phil Jackson’s recent comments after Game 2 of the Lakers’ first-round series against Oklahoma City, you get the sense that there is a certain discord between the Lakers coach and superstar Kobe Bryant. When reporters asked Jackson if Bryant’s shooting performance – 12-for-28 in Game 2 and finished with 39 points … [Read more…]
Chicago Bulls forward-center Joakim Noah is not shy about his disdain for the city of Cleveland, and because of his recent comments he now has a big bullseye on his back. All throughout Game 2 of the Cavaliers-Bulls first-round series, a game won by the Cavs 112-102, Noah was showered with boos and chants of … [Read more…]
With one thunderous dunk, Andrew Bynum served notice to Oklahoma City and the rest of the league that his strained Achilles’ tendon is doing just fine. Bynum posterized Nenad Krstic in the first half of Game 1 in the Lakers’ first-round series against Oklahoma City, highlighting a strong start for the defending world champions that … [Read more…]
Carmelo Anthony may be Denver’s best player and Chauncey Billups is Denver’s unquestionable leader, but J.R. Smith may be the Nuggets’ difference-maker. Anthony dropped a playoff career-high 42 points in Game 1 against the Utah Jazz, but it was Smith who turned a close game into a 126-113 blowout in favor of the home team … [Read more…]