It is one of the iconic moments we remember of Michael Jordan — his game-winning playoff shot to beat the Cleveland Cavaliers, where he is fading left but is able to hang in the air until Craig Ehlo slides past. He buried the hero shot under pressure…
Kurt Helin
In a kind of washout of a first round of the NBA playoffs, the Clippers vs. Grizzlies has been the only series completely watchable for anyone other than diehard fans. (The Oklahoma City wins over Dallas were not bad, but that was a sweep.) This series…
There were times when Baron Davis was as good a playmaker, as good a pure point any guard in the NBA — remember how he played when he led Golden State to the first-round upset of the Dallas Mavericks? He had the gift of court vision, and even in his …
Here is why I am convinced not even the Jazz think they are going to come back from 3-0 down to hand the Spurs a historic upset. Look at what Utah big man Al Jefferson said to the San Antonio Express-News. “I just think we’re playing against a team…
When the Lakers traded for Ramon Sessions, the thought was long-term not short. They knew he could opt out at the end of this season and become a free agent and that they might have to pay to keep him. But the surprising play they have gotten from Jord…
Mike Malone has been one of the hottest names among NBA assistant coaches for years — his experience is why Golden State made him the highest paid NBA assistant coach at $750,000 to come in and be on the bench with the inexperienced Mark Jackson last…
The Dallas Mavericks are going to get a little playoff money — not much at all considering their first round sweep — but Lamar Odom isn’t going to see any of it. Mavericks teammates voted not to give Odom a share of the team’s playoff money, re…
“We’re talking ‘bout practice.” Few phrases have ever become as iconic in the sports world — and bled over into popular culture — like what Allen Iverson said at a podium in Philadelphia a decade ago today. Today is the 10-year annivers…
It was a shortened, condensed NBA season, followed by a playoffs so far filled with blowouts — of both knees and games. Everything has felt different. So, should this year’s champion have an asterisk after it? LeBron James says no, reports ESPN. &#…
With Baron Davis out, “Jeremy Lin Watch 2012” is on in full force for the Knicks as they head into Game 5 in Miami Wednesday. Lin has been working out, but when coach Mike Woodson spoke with reporters Monday it didn’t sound like Lin would play, b…
Here is our daily look around the NBA — links to stories worth reading and notes to check out (stuff that did not get its own post here at PBT) — done in bullet point form. Because bloggers love bullet points. • I did not see it live, but it did …
Apparently the Charlotte Bobcats coaching job is in a lot more demand than I expected… that or right now it’s the only job out there so nobody will burn that bridge. Some bigger names than one might expect have been thrown out there to take over th…
Ray Allen has now rolled out there for two games on that bum ankle, played 56 minutes and knocked down 11-21 shots. Not bad, not bad at all. So maybe he doesn’t need that offseason surgery he was going to get. At least that’s what he’s thinking, …
We already talked about this over the weekend — Oklahoma City sweeping Dallas out of the playoffs was the end result of moves owner Mark Cuban made last summer. (Well, that and Oklahoma City is a very good team.) They didn’t have enough support for…
When Baron Davis went down it looked bad. The video of the injury is at the bottom of this post but don’t watch it if you are squeamish. Davis suffered a dislocated kneecap. He’s done for these playoffs and frankly this could be the sad end to his …
Sorry Bulls’ fans, But Game 5 against the 76ers Tuesday could look a lot like Game 4, just with different logos on the floor. And that’s not good. Joakim Noah will be out for Game 5 Tuesday due to his ankle sprain, reports K.C. Johnson of the Chica…
The way he has been playing lately — all season, really — I didn’t think I could like Chris Paul more. Then he brought his son up to the podium with him after the Clippers Game 3 win, had him make his Blake Griffin face and… I like him …
It doesn’t change the big picture – the Heat are still going to win this series and there are still questions about the construction and future of the Knicks. But for a day the Knicks got a measure of redemption — the Knicks made the big plays la…
After going without one for a year, the Portland Trail Blazers finally seem serious about getting a general manager. Maybe so Paul Allen can fire him in a year, too, but for now they are going after some. Here is a run down of the guys in consideration…
The theory going into this series was that the Knicks would win a game or two simply because Carmelo Anthony and maybe J.R. Smith or Steve Novak would just get hot. But the Heat’s defense this series has doused any spark before it could catch fire. T…
The old model wasn’t going to work anymore. Mark Cuban has read the new CBA that the owners and players signed off on after the lockout, and he saw the increasingly punitive taxes and penalties on big spending teams. He looked at his business model o…
It’s about history and connection in a city that really gets those things. Philadelphia 76ers fans are starved for a championship, but that is not happening this year. But new owner Josh Harris and CEO Adam Aron know that it’s going to take more th…
In a game that was decided by one point, you can look back at a lot of little things and say “this was the key” to the Clippers taking a 2-1 series lead. But this steal and dunk by Blake Griffin at the end of the first half was a key couple…
I’d say that the torch in the West has been passed, but that’s not what it felt like. It felt like James Harden and the Oklahoma City Thunder grabbed the torch and ran off with it. Harden scored seven in a row — and had 15 of his 29 points in the…
Another small-market NBA team is on the market, but this owner is working to find a successor who will keep the team in place, not start another controversy about moving. Minnesota Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor told the Associated Press that he is loo…
This is a real long shot, but after watching his team try to slow Rudy Gay last game Clippers coach Vinny Del Negro is good with long shots. Del Negro said he would not rule out playing Caron Butler, the small forward with the broken hand that was supp…
Ray Allen is back for Boston. Allen is a go for Game 3, A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.com confirmed it on twitter, something a number of reporters were speculating would happen after they saw Allen go through warmups. Allen is a creature of habit — fe…
Yes, I’m sure their real tight. Probably get together for a barbeque with their families after the season. Pound a few beers and talk about the good times. Anyway… Dwight Howard went for a walk in Beverly Hills today, and if you do that and are a c…
We all saw the NBA finals last year. We all know the knock. We’ve all heard the jokes. Why would LeBron James be a great hockey player? There’s no fourth quarter. Funny. Except, this year LeBron James has been the best second quarter player in the …
The Lakers present nearly every team they face with a matchup dilemma — do you put your biggest players out there and try to match their front line size, or do you go small and try to run them out of the building. Denver is down 0-2 to the Los Angele…
I’m not going to pretend to know New York Post columnist Phil Mushnick. All I know is he has been a columnist at the Post forever and a day, and that you don’t write for the post unless you have an edge. But I have no idea about him as a person. I …
Does anybody really know what to expect for Game 3 between the Bulls and Sixers? Would it surprise you to see the Bulls and their defense return to form, shut down the Sixers and scrape out an ugly, gritty win? Would it surprise you to see Lou Williams…
UPDATE 1:40 pm: It’s official, Ryan Anderson is your NBA’s Most Improved Player. As I said below, Anderson deserves some kudos for continuing good production this season as his minutes jumped from bench guy to starter. Not everyone can do t…
Not sure this really helps much, but it’s not like things are going to get worse. Amare Stoudemire took part in drills with the Knicks Friday morning and coach Mike Woodson expects him to play in Game 4 Sunday, tweets Howard Beck at the New York Time…
One year later, the New York Knicks are in exactly the same place — about to be swept out of the playoffs in the first round. At the end of a roller coaster year in New York where there was “Linsanity”, where Mike D’Antoni was out and Mike Wood…
Last June, the Dallas Mavericks and Miami Heat were the two teams left standing on top of the NBA mountain. They were the two teams that made, it, that advanced to the NBA finals. Dallas, as we all recall, came out on top. Last July, these two teams st…
Here is our daily look around the NBA — links to stories worth reading and notes to check out (stuff that did not get its own post here at PBT) — done in bullet point form. Because bloggers love bullet points. • Jeremy Lin has a special jersey ma…
This summer, Luol Deng will be the face of British basketball. The Olympics are coming to London and that means Great Britain got a spot in the Olympic basketball tournament along with powers like the United States and Spain. Deng is going to be out in…
The fine folks at NBA.com put together a blooper reel from this past season, and it seemed like the one thing that might make Mavericks and Knicks fans smile today. So here you go. I mean, it’s got Dwight Howard eating a cookie, Blake GriffinR…
This draft is not deep with international talent. It’s deep, loaded with homegrown talent here in the states, but this is not a deep year on for the players from overseas. Still, 17 players declared for the draft the NBA announced, and you should get…
Sure, he’s saying what a lot of players are thinking. But you’re not supposed to say it. If you’re an NBA team in the playoffs and someone asks you who is going to win the title you name your team. So, for example, if you’re Jerry Stackhouse an…
To me this was the dunk of the night, an impressive, powerful reverse jam from J.R. Smith that ignited the Madison Square Garden faithful and inspired the Knicks to… well, it did get the crowd fired up. Smith had a couple of impressive dunks in t…
We learn in today’s edition of PBT Extra that Tiffany Simons is not a Celtics fan, we peak ahead to the idea of a Bulls vs. Celtics second round, and we talk about why the Lakers may want to hold off celebrating their easy wins over Denver so far…
Anthony Davis could go straight from winning a national championship with Kentucky to winning an Olympic gold medal with Team USA. Davis, along with Oklahoma City guard James Harden, has been added to the pool of potential candidates that could be sele…
It was what made Dallas’ run to the championship last year so special — at the end of games they always seemed to make the right play, Dirk Nowitzki always seemed to hit the shot. In two games against Oklahoma City, it has been the opposite. In Gam…
