For the past two seasons there has been plenty of talk about LeBron bolting his hometown of Cleveland for the bright lights of New York City.

In his career, LeBron has been fantastic at the Garden. He’s averaged 30.1 points, 6.6 assists, 5.6 rebounds and 2.3 steals in ten trips to The Garden. In his last two trips to the Mecca of Basketball, he’s had a 52-10-9 game and a 50-10-8 game.

Needless to say, all eyes will be on LeBron tonight to see if he can put on another show on Broadway.

Also on tap for tonight, the undefeated Nuggets make their only trip to Miami to take on Dwyane Wade and the Heat; the Pistons look to continue their dominance over the Magic in Orlando; and the Suns try to outrun the Celtics in Boston.

Continue reading "LeBron Makes His Only Trip to The Garden Tonight"

The Lakers may be somewhat fatigued as they enter tonight's game coming off consecutive overtime games against Oklahoma City and Houston.  I wouldn't count on it, but if the Grizzlies can get off to another quick start and punish the Lakers physically with Zach Randolph and Marc, they could hang around.  They just have to be consistent and efficient on offense.  They absolutely must limit their turnovers because they are going to need all the extra possessions they can get.

Continue reading "Lakers loom as Grizz road trip nears end"

Last night I watched one of ESPN’s 30 for 30 documentaries. It was “Without Bias: The Len Bias Story” or something like that. It didn’t blow me away as far as storytelling goes, but it was well done.

Near the end of the program, the documentary quickly reviewed what happened the year Bias died. In 1986, the New England Patriots were stomped by the Chicago Bears in Super Bowl XX. The Red Sox blew the World Series against the New York Mets. And though the Boston Celtics won the NBA Championship that year, Len’s June death began the 1986-87 season. A season the Celtics were unable to repeat as champions without Bias.

Not mentioned by the documentary was the Boston Bruins. The Black and Gold lost in the Division Semi-Finals in 85-86 and 86-87.

Continue reading "Deep 86-ed"

We’ve seen this act before. Andrew Bynum, through the first five games, is averaging over 20-10, yet again.

It’s nothing new. For the third straight season, the young, potential stud, center for the Los Angeles Lakers has hit the ground running and has shown flashes of being an all-star caliber center in the NBA.

And, for the third straight season, Bynum’s great start may be overshadowed by, yet another, major injury.

With 24.7 seconds left in the Lakers overtime win over the Rockets last night, Kobe Bryant dished a perfect pass to Bynum under the hoop and he was fouled as he tried to convert the lay-up. It wasn’t an obscenely hard foul, but certainly one in which the Rockets were making it clear they weren’t about to allow Bynum to score without heading to the free throw line.

Continue reading "Andrew Bynum The Oldest 22-Year-Old in the NBA"

The Grizzlies led by as many as 13 points in the first quarter, but the lead shrank steadily from there.  Anthony Morrow tied the game with a 3-pointer at the 5-minute mark of the second quarter, and the lead went back and forth into the third.  The Warriors then pulled away with an 11-2 run late in the third.  Until that point, the Grizzlies had played a good third quarter by their standards.

Continue reading "Warriors 113 Grizzlies 105"

Congratulations to Austin Daye for his first points in his NBA career! What a good way to start off! Detroit's rookies are looking good out there; there's a lot of potential. Jonas Jerebko got to start in place of Tayshaun tonight and definitely took his role seriously. One question though, where is Dajuan Summers? Daye and Jerebko are getting a lot of attention, but have we forgotten about the other rookie the Pistons picked out? I'd like to see what Summers has in him.

Continue reading "Superman cant hold up against the Pistons"

Critics say Rondo lacks a consistent jump shot but I disagree. He’s basically money with that 15-20 foot baseline jumper. He’s not a three-point shooter but the C’s already have Ray, Pierce and Rasheed chucking the long ball on a regular basis. Furthermore, with Rondo’s speed, jump shots should be used as a last option anyway.  

What primarily concerns me is Rondo’s attitude and potentially divisive personality. During the course of his three-year career, he has engaged in numerous (and mostly pointless) altercations with other players. In addition, word is he is aloof from teammates and generally unresponsive to coaching or advice. That Danny Ainge and Doc Rivers actively shopped him this past off-season should speak volumes about management’s doubts and concerns. While supremely talented (I would rank him among the top-five point guards in the league), I think the C’s should have waited for the season to play out before making this kind of commitment to such a young and generally unproven player.

Continue reading "Cs Banking on Rondo"

After coming off the bench and playing just 18 minutes in the Grizzlies 127-116 overtime loss to the Sacramento Kings last night, Iverson dropped this gem to reporters after the game:

 “Go look at my resume and that will show you that I’m not a sixth man,” Iverson said. “I don’t think it has anything to do with me being selfish. It’s just who I am. I don’t want to change what gave me all the success that I’ve had since I’ve been in this league.” 

First of all, what did Iverson expect? He barely played in the preseason and then missed the first three regular season games with a partially torn hamstring. Even superstars would be eased back into the rotation after something like that. Iverson is far from a superstar these days. 

Continue reading "Allen Iverson Is Unhappy again"

Continue reading "Grizzlies fall in OT Iverson gripes"