The latest entry in the Lakers-Clippers rivalry was an exciting one. Though this was a back and forth game for much of the first half, the Lakers began pulling away in the third quarter. The Lakers would jump out to a 14-point lead thanks to a three-pointer from Lance Stephenson with 45 seconds in the period. Montrezl Harrell would cut the Lakers lead to 12 off of a layup for the final points of the third quarter.
The year is 2011. The NBA world is still shaking after LeBron James decided to “Take his talents to South Beach” and team up with Dwyane Wade and eventually Chris Bosh to form a big 3 that would ultimately go on to win 2 NBA Finals in 4 years. It was also yet another year of Carmelo Anthony making it to the All-Star Game. He was a starter for the Western Conference as a representative of the Denver Nuggets. Little did Nuggets fans know that he would be traded to the New York Knicks just 3 days later. And little did Nuggets fans know that he would be the last player to represent the team in an All-Star Game for 8 years.
As a basketball fan, I’ve always found the NBA All-Star Weekend to be one of the more interesting times of the year. It allows me to watch the top talents of the league play without putting me in a position to seriously root for or against either team. It puts all of the league’s best players in a one-game situation where it’s the best of the best against the best of the best. It immortalizes otherwise-forgotten players such as Jason Kapono and Jeremy Evans through the Three-Point Contest and the Slam Dunk Contest. But perhaps the most important thing it does is recognize, in a semi-official capacity, who the best standout performers in the NBA are in any given season.
We thought this season was already over. Prior to last night, the Golden State Warriors had looked unstoppable, going 13-1 in their last 14 games, and had been even more dominant (if that’s possible) than usual over the last month. Stephen Curry is a making a charge for MVP. Kevin Durant has been so unerringly consistent that the NBA world seems to have forgotten that he is having another sensational year. Klay Thompson can score 50 points while barely dribbling the basketball. They perhaps lacked a little depth and were vulnerable at center, but the small matter DeMarcus Cousins’ has solved that issue emphatically. In short, Golden State seemed a lock for the title.
The NBA trade deadline is just around the corner and the rumor machine is on fire. While most teams won’t make a deal, each will consider many options between now and the February 7th deadline. In a six-part series, I will provide one trade each NBA team should consider making between now and the trade deadline. The Southeast division is up next and here is a trade each team should make. Be sure to check out the previous parts on the Central Division and the Atlantic Division.
Here are my four takeaways from the Heat’s 105-89 loss to the Chicago Bulls.
The NBA trade deadline is just around the corner and the rumor machine is on fire. While most teams won’t make a deal, each will consider many options between now and the February 7th deadline. In a six-part series, I will provide one trade each NBA team should consider making between now and the deadline. The Atlantic division is up first and here is trade each team should make.
The Los Angeles Lakers had another gruesome week. They went 1-2 last week, the one win coming on Sunday against the Phoenix Suns. Good news and bad news for the Lakers. The good news was that Rajon Rondo returned to action; however, Kyle Kuzma did not play on Thursday or Sunday due to a hip injury.
The Anthony Davis trade season has officially begun. Davis’ agent, Rich Paul, informed the Pelicans that his client had no intention of signing a contract extension with them this summer and wanted to be traded to a championship contender, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported Monday. Davis is eligible for a supermax extension, which would pay him around $240 million over five seasons.
Here are my thoughts on the Heat’s 106-97 victory over the New York Knicks
The Boston Celtics ended last week with a 2 – 1 record. They had a solid week even though they had one loss because it was against the Golden State Warriors who are the best team in the league. They played well against the Warriors but just came up short due to some sloppy turnovers.
A huge ovation ensued from the remaining crowd at the Pepsi Center with 3:53 to go when word came over the PA saying: “Checking into the game, please welcome number eight, Jarred Vanderbilt.” This was his first action in 5-on-5 basketball since last February. 329 days ago. “I know he did not play until the end of the game and it was well in hand, but Jarred was really nervous about playing,” head coach Mike Malone explained. “He hadn’t played since last February. For him to get over that fear and to go out there and have three or four impactful minutes — I mean, that pass he made was an incredible pass — he showed you that in three minutes and 53 seconds he gets you three rebounds — he is a rebounding machine. I am happy he got those first-game jitters out of the way.” Vanderbilt finished his almost four minutes of play with one incredible assist in transition to Malik Beasley, he showed off his highly touted rebounding ability wrangling in three rebounds and the most important of all the stats, he scored his first career point, going 1-2 at the free-throw line. Vanderbilt summed it up saying “It was just amazing to get back out there and start playing again.”
The latest entry in the Lakers-Clippers rivalry was an exciting one. Though this was a back and forth game for much of the first half, the Lakers began pulling away in the third quarter. The Lakers would jump out to a 14-point lead thanks to a three-pointer from Lance Stephenson with 45 seconds in the period. Montrezl Harrell would cut the Lakers lead to 12 off of a layup for the final points of the third quarter.
The year is 2011. The NBA world is still shaking after LeBron James decided to “Take his talents to South Beach” and team up with Dwyane Wade and eventually Chris Bosh to form a big 3 that would ultimately go on to win 2 NBA Finals in 4 years. It was also yet another year of Carmelo Anthony making it to the All-Star Game. He was a starter for the Western Conference as a representative of the Denver Nuggets. Little did Nuggets fans know that he would be traded to the New York Knicks just 3 days later. And little did Nuggets fans know that he would be the last player to represent the team in an All-Star Game for 8 years.
As a basketball fan, I’ve always found the NBA All-Star Weekend to be one of the more interesting times of the year. It allows me to watch the top talents of the league play without putting me in a position to seriously root for or against either team. It puts all of the league’s best players in a one-game situation where it’s the best of the best against the best of the best. It immortalizes otherwise-forgotten players such as Jason Kapono and Jeremy Evans through the Three-Point Contest and the Slam Dunk Contest. But perhaps the most important thing it does is recognize, in a semi-official capacity, who the best standout performers in the NBA are in any given season.
We thought this season was already over. Prior to last night, the Golden State Warriors had looked unstoppable, going 13-1 in their last 14 games, and had been even more dominant (if that’s possible) than usual over the last month. Stephen Curry is a making a charge for MVP. Kevin Durant has been so unerringly consistent that the NBA world seems to have forgotten that he is having another sensational year. Klay Thompson can score 50 points while barely dribbling the basketball. They perhaps lacked a little depth and were vulnerable at center, but the small matter DeMarcus Cousins’ has solved that issue emphatically. In short, Golden State seemed a lock for the title.
The NBA trade deadline is just around the corner and the rumor machine is on fire. While most teams won’t make a deal, each will consider many options between now and the February 7th deadline. In a six-part series, I will provide one trade each NBA team should consider making between now and the trade deadline. The Southeast division is up next and here is a trade each team should make. Be sure to check out the previous parts on the Central Division and the Atlantic Division.
Here are my four takeaways from the Heat’s 105-89 loss to the Chicago Bulls.
The NBA trade deadline is just around the corner and the rumor machine is on fire. While most teams won’t make a deal, each will consider many options between now and the February 7th deadline. In a six-part series, I will provide one trade each NBA team should consider making between now and the deadline. The Atlantic division is up first and here is trade each team should make.
The Los Angeles Lakers had another gruesome week. They went 1-2 last week, the one win coming on Sunday against the Phoenix Suns. Good news and bad news for the Lakers. The good news was that Rajon Rondo returned to action; however, Kyle Kuzma did not play on Thursday or Sunday due to a hip injury.
The Anthony Davis trade season has officially begun. Davis’ agent, Rich Paul, informed the Pelicans that his client had no intention of signing a contract extension with them this summer and wanted to be traded to a championship contender, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported Monday. Davis is eligible for a supermax extension, which would pay him around $240 million over five seasons.
Here are my thoughts on the Heat’s 106-97 victory over the New York Knicks
The Boston Celtics ended last week with a 2 – 1 record. They had a solid week even though they had one loss because it was against the Golden State Warriors who are the best team in the league. They played well against the Warriors but just came up short due to some sloppy turnovers.
A huge ovation ensued from the remaining crowd at the Pepsi Center with 3:53 to go when word came over the PA saying: “Checking into the game, please welcome number eight, Jarred Vanderbilt.” This was his first action in 5-on-5 basketball since last February. 329 days ago. “I know he did not play until the end of the game and it was well in hand, but Jarred was really nervous about playing,” head coach Mike Malone explained. “He hadn’t played since last February. For him to get over that fear and to go out there and have three or four impactful minutes — I mean, that pass he made was an incredible pass — he showed you that in three minutes and 53 seconds he gets you three rebounds — he is a rebounding machine. I am happy he got those first-game jitters out of the way.” Vanderbilt finished his almost four minutes of play with one incredible assist in transition to Malik Beasley, he showed off his highly touted rebounding ability wrangling in three rebounds and the most important of all the stats, he scored his first career point, going 1-2 at the free-throw line. Vanderbilt summed it up saying “It was just amazing to get back out there and start playing again.”
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