Iffy Lakers depth

Here was Kobe Bryant's summation of the Lakers' overtime loss to the Rockets: "It was a hard-fought game. They deserved to win it in regulation. We deserved to win it in overtime." Another reason the game was so close: very sketchy contributions from both benches. Houston's shot 1 for 9 (two…

March 31, 2007, 09:34 AM ET from Lakers: Locker Talk by Kevin Ding

Memphis pregame

Lots of stuff happening tonight. Ray said he will have surgery on both his ankles a week from Saturday -- and said the delay is because the doctor's daughter goes to UCLA and he promised her he would take her to the Final Four if the Bruins got there. Ray said he has a hard time with anastesia…

March 31, 2007, 04:19 AM ET from Sonics Insider by Frank Hughes

Miami Heat in Town

Tonight we play against the Miami Heat once again here at home.  They key to beating Miami is trying to find a way to slow down Shaq.  I use the term "slow down" because there's no way to stop Shaq from having an impact on the game.  He is too talented of a player.  Tonight you…

March 30, 2007, 9:14 PM ET from Mad Dog Blog by Mark Madsen

Warriors Roll Suns, Look at Playoff Spot

The Golden State Warriors manhandled the Phoenix Suns last night in Oakland 124-119 despite a late game push by Leandro Barbosa and Boris Diaw. What a way to drop a deuce on national tv Phoenix. Now, the Suns were likely looking past this game to tonights game against the Denver Nuggets who we…

March 30, 2007, 5:12 PM ET from The Rising Suns

Butch Carter would be an odd choice for Bobcats

Butch Carter? That’s the name floated for the Bobcats’ upcoming coaching opening, on Sports Illustrated’s web site. Ian Thomsen – an excellent writer-reporter – was told Carter will get an interview for the job. Thomsen is smart and responsible, so...

March 29, 2007, 11:06 PM ET from Bobcats: Inside the NBA by Rick Bonnell

Finding my groove

I had one of my best games the other night against my old college teammate Brandon Roy and the Portland Trail Blazers. I made eight 3-pointers and scored a season-best 31  points. The scoring wasn’t a career high (I scored 34 last season vs. Philly, and 32 against Cleveland. But the eight…

March 29, 2007, 06:08 AM ET from The GR8 Life by Nate Robinson

Cavs 93 Knicks 97

Again quick notes. * I’d like to write a program so that when I hit a key combination (CTRL-ALT-F1, for example) it spits out the sentence: “I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, the Knicks need to work on their last second plays.” This is the lineup Isiah had in for the…

March 29, 2007, 04:19 AM ET from KnickerBlogger.Net

nuggets pregame

Sorry no blog from minny, there was no wireless in the bowl where we were seated during the game. In Denver, Bob Hill talked a lot about his contract before the game, finally saying he thinks he deserves a shot to coach this team while it is fully healthy. He said he met with Clay last week, his…

March 29, 2007, 03:07 AM ET from Sonics Insider by Frank Hughes

LeBron preaches, Sasha raps and Cavs win

Indianapolis -- Beating a team that is eight games under .500 can't be classified as a great win. The Cavs will have plenty of tougher games between now and the playoffs. Still the 105-94 win over the Pacers got them...

March 28, 2007, 06:31 AM ET from Cavaliers Blog by Brian Windhorst

Bobcats should play to win

With Emeka Okafor back, there’s a good chance the Bobcats will do well in their last 11 games. I suspect that will lead some of you to complain the Bobcats should be tanking games to gather a few extra ping-pong...

March 27, 2007, 9:58 PM ET from Bobcats: Inside the NBA by Rick Bonnell

Tuesday (arena update)

Sonics had practice at the Target Center on Monday evening, unfortunately I missed it because my flights were canceled in the morning from Sea-Tac and I got rerouted through Chicago on a different airline, arriving in Minny at 5:30 last night. My understanding is there was not a great deal of stuff…

March 27, 2007, 4:53 PM ET from Sonics Insider by Frank Hughes

Orlando 94 New York 89

Quick notes: * When Curry had that “and 1″ with 2:00 left he actually got emotional and let you a loud yell. While I like seeing an emotion out of Curry that isn’t that sulking/whiney look when he doesn’t get a foul call or any penetrator makes him look bad (was that Dooling…

March 27, 2007, 4:38 PM ET from KnickerBlogger.Net

Wake me up When the Playoffs Start

So the Suns dropped another stinker in Sactown to Mike Bibby's Kings 107-100. The Suns have become way too complacent and they just don't have the fire that I'm used to seeing. Win one, they're back on track, drop a bomb and they're spiraling toward oblivion. Can't we just get the playoffs…

March 26, 2007, 5:22 PM ET from The Rising Suns

Kobe's hot streak amazing

I’m am simply amazed at what Kobe Bryant has done over the last week, scoring at least 50 points in four straight games. I don’t think people know just how hard it is to score that much. To average 20 points a game, you have to get five points a quarter, which might not sound that hard. But it…

March 26, 2007, 08:39 AM ET from The GR8 Life by Nate Robinson

Another great scene

So with the game so out of hand, I was looking around the arena at some other scenes and I notice this large fellow in the suite above Section 127. Upon closer inspection, it was Bill Russell, dead asleep, with his head on his chest, his wife nudging him a couple times to wake up. A few minutes…

March 26, 2007, 05:22 AM ET from Sonics Insider by Frank Hughes

Too funny moment

I dont usually blog during a game, but this was too funny. When Bob Hill sent Danny Fortson in the game, Gregg Popovich quickly went to insert Fabricio Oberto because he clearly did not want to get Tim Duncan injured by Fortson. Oberto clearly did not want to go in the game against Fortson, so Pop…

March 26, 2007, 05:12 AM ET from Sonics Insider by Frank Hughes

Save our Sonics gathering

I attended the Save our Sonics gathering at Touchdowns Bar and Grill in Renton on Saturday afternoon, and it was a good turnout that included Clay Bennett, Lenny Wilkens and Jim Kneeland, the team's spokesman on the arena issue. Also in attendance was Kathy Keolker, the mayor of Renton, Margarita…

March 26, 2007, 03:11 AM ET from Sonics Insider by Frank Hughes

Carter still stinging from jab by Jordan?

Vince Carter was pretty chilly Saturday night, when I asked him how he’d react if Michael Jordan recruits him in free agency this summer. I doubt that he would, Carter replied, and you could almost see his breath for the...

March 26, 2007, 00:24 AM ET from Bobcats: Inside the NBA by Rick Bonnell

NCAA Tournament Open Thread

My apologies for not getting an NCAA thread up earlier. Even though I have been mostly in and out of this weekend’s games I have seen any number of players that might look good in orange and blue. As the tournament draws to a close it leads to the inevitable questions about who will stay [...]

March 25, 2007, 3:53 PM ET from KnickerBlogger.Net

Underrated Brevin Knight comes up big

Stray thoughts from chilly Boston: Yeah, that Brevin Knight is a washed-up stiff. All he did in the fourth quarter was score or assist on eight of the Bobcats’ 10 baskets against the Celtics. He did all that with a...

March 22, 2007, 2:46 PM ET from Bobcats: Inside the NBA by Rick Bonnell