LOS ANGELES — I tried to take a broader scope when analyzing Kwame Brown in my latest column, but here’s a little more from Phil Jackson on Brown … The gist of what Jackson told Brown in Honolulu at the start of training camp when they sat down for a heart-to-heart in part to…
January 31, 2008, 11:45 PM ET from Lakers: Locker Talk by Kevin Ding
By CURTIS ZUPKE The Orange County Register EL SEGUNDO - It’s plain to see that Tuesday’s game against New York is an important launching point for the Lakers’ upcoming road trip, but Coach Phil Jackson didn’t place that kind of emphasis on it. “No, not at all,” Jackson said…
January 31, 2008, 11:45 PM ET from Lakers: Locker Talk by Kevin Ding
DETROIT – Tayshaun Prince’s go-ahead 3-point shot with 4.4 seconds left held up for the Pistons, foiling Kobe Bryant’s 39-point effort Thursday night. Bryant couldn’t get the ball on the Lakers’ possession, denied by Prince, and the Lakers settled for Lamar Odom’s running shot that…
January 31, 2008, 11:30 PM ET from Lakers: Locker Talk by Kevin Ding
LOS ANGELES – The Lakers lost their fourth game in five outings, surrendering 41 points to LeBron James at Staples Center on Sunday. The game ended with neither Kobe Bryant nor Luke Walton able to get a 3-point shot off despite having a chance to tie. In a game Lakers coach Phil Jackson put great…
January 31, 2008, 11:30 PM ET from Lakers: Locker Talk by Kevin Ding
LOS ANGELES — Phil Jackson spent much of his pregame gathering with reporters just now fielding questions about his famous coaching tactics of splicing movies into game film and giving players books. He said he needs to hit Barnes & Noble in the next two days to prepare for the coming…
January 31, 2008, 11:15 PM ET from Lakers: Locker Talk by Kevin Ding
DALLAS – Kobe Bryant kept coming and coming, but he didn’t get much help. And it’s hard to beat an elite Western Conference team without much help. The Mavericks used their various offensive weapons down the stretch to hold off Bryant on Friday night. Bryant had 40 points, 10 rebounds and…
January 31, 2008, 11:00 PM ET from Lakers: Locker Talk by Kevin Ding
DALLAS — It’s possible that Kobe Bryant will be highly motivated to get the Lakers a victory in Washington on Feb. 3. That’s the deadline day for the NBA to determine who will coach the Western Conference in the Feb. 17 All-Star Game, and Bryant is hoping to drag a reluctant Phil Jackson…
January 31, 2008, 10:45 PM ET from Lakers: Locker Talk by Kevin Ding
DALLAS — So the Lakers’ last chance at a victory in this tough stretch of facing Phoenix, San Antonio and Dallas in a four-game span is coming up. Before we get off this notion of where the Lakers stand — now and in the future — with the Western Conference’s proven…
January 31, 2008, 10:30 PM ET from Lakers: Locker Talk by Kevin Ding
Seattle SuperSonics chairman Clay Bennett talked at sports business conference at Oklahoma City University, and said he believes the public should help fund an arena for an NBA team that relocates to that city. "Unlike maybe a handful of individuals building the building that would never see any…
January 31, 2008, 10:30 PM ET from Sonics Insider by Frank Hughes
DETROIT — The Lakers are still thinking of Shaquille O’Neal, even if the coaches voting for the All-Star Game aren’t. O’Neal’s streak of 14 consecutive All-Star selections ended with word of the reserves selected Thursday, and it doesn’t seem as if…
January 31, 2008, 10:15 PM ET from Lakers: Locker Talk by Kevin Ding
There will be some unhappy faces in the KeyArena crowd tonight as LeBron James will not play tonight, due to sprained right ankle. James tested his ankle during pre-game tonight but deemed but the Cleveland training staff deemed him not ready to go. Devin Brown will start in place of James. James…
January 31, 2008, 10:15 PM ET from Sonics Insider by Frank Hughes
Seattle native and Portland's team leader Brandon Roy was selected as a reserve to the All-Star game today, as reserves for both teams were announced. Roy already was heading to New Orleans as a member of the sophomore squad in the Rookie Challenge game, but will play on Sunday with the big boys…
January 31, 2008, 9:15 PM ET from Sonics Insider by Frank Hughes
Wow!Chris Paul and David West were just announced as All-Star reserves live on TNT. Chris Paul, we knew you were due. Congrats on your first, dude. I'm sure you'll be back for many more.But how about David West? Damn, I didn't see that coming. No doubt in my mind that he deserves it,…
January 31, 2008, 8:30 PM ET from Hornets247.com Blog
I don't know that point guard is the first position I'd address on the Bobcats' roster. I do know this: Earl Boykins is a player and the Bobcats' front office is trying. I talked with general manager Rod Higgins Wednesday,...
January 31, 2008, 7:45 PM ET from Bobcats: Inside the NBA by Rick Bonnell
Seattle's Wally Szczerbiak will sit out tonight’s game with a sprained right ankle, but everybody else should be ready to go. Expect Damien Wilkins and Delonte West to get more time with Szczerbiak out. And Cleveland’s LeBron James is a game-time decision, although I heard Akron…
January 31, 2008, 7:15 PM ET from Sonics Insider by Frank Hughes
The Pistons battle with female comic book villain Kobe Bryant and the Lakers tonight (7:30, TV20). For the Pistons, it’s their first game of a comfy five-game homestand, while the Lakers are playing their first game of a grueling 9-game road trip. The Lakers haven’t had very good luck…
January 31, 2008, 5:30 PM ET from Detroit Bad Boys
Most of you know this by now, but it looks like Pistons fans can finally shelve the “Chris Webber, yea or nay?” debate. From ESPN’s Marc Stein: Barring an unexpected change of heart, sources said, Webber will accept the invitation from former coach Don Nelson and former teammate…
January 31, 2008, 5:00 PM ET from Detroit Bad Boys
Arron Afflalo did not get invited to the Rookie/Sophomore Challenge. He was a bit of a long shot anyway (and is less of a snub than Al Thornton or Joakim Noah), but I agree with PistonsNation that he should have been considered ahead of Mike Conley: Mike Conley is a fine young player, but he’s…
January 31, 2008, 4:45 PM ET from Detroit Bad Boys
My defense of Morris Peterson was more popular than I thought it would be, getting linked by Truehoop and mentioned on The Basketball Jones podcast. So here's a little follow-up posting my full table of 5th options. Again, this list was created by taking the…
January 31, 2008, 3:45 PM ET from Hornets247.com Blog
Here's the story from Associated Press. SEATTLE -- LeBron James is questionable for the Cavaliers' game Thursday night against the Seattle SuperSonics, after spraining his ankle in the second quarter of a win over Portland. A team spokeswoman said James, the NBA's leading scorer at 30.1 points…
January 31, 2008, 3:15 PM ET from Sonics Insider by Frank Hughes
I chatted with Bobcats general manager Rod Higgins before Wednesday’s game in Sacramento, and it was clear Higgins hasn’t closed the door on making another deal before the Feb. 21 trade deadline. Don’t get the wrong idea; I don’t see...
January 31, 2008, 1:30 PM ET from Bobcats: Inside the NBA by Rick Bonnell
The Warriors won every quarter of this game except for the 1st. They still lost by 4 points. Preview/ Open Thread (185+ Comments) Yao maxin' and relaxin'. Final Box ScoreSo much for the dominance over the Houston Rockets. The Warriors snapped their impressive 4 game winning streak…
January 31, 2008, 1:30 PM ET from Golden State Of Mind
Ugh. While you wait for the traditional dope Atma recap on a not-so-dope-game, let's hop into the wayback machine and go to a time when things were better in Warriorland. See, now that C-Webb has joined the ranks again, many of us are filled with glimmers of hope. For as much as we cannot…
January 31, 2008, 1:15 PM ET from Golden State Of Mind
It's official. Can you believe Chris Webber- CHRIS WEBBER (!)- and Don Nelson- DON NELSON(!)- are both back on the Warriors? Someone pinch me. [photo: warriors.com] The golden welcome for our old friend resumes... after the jump! CWebb on the World Wide Web. Here's Webber's…
January 31, 2008, 1:00 PM ET from Golden State Of Mind
Yahoo! Final boxscore Lil things poppin'... big things stopping! Baron is able to score with the least amount of space available. I know this doesn't follow T.I.'s mantra, but it suits perfectly the Warriors take down of the #1 team in the Western Conference. The smaller…
January 31, 2008, 12:45 AM ET from Golden State Of Mind
Cleveland's LeBron James might be a little drained tonight at the Key after scorching the Portland Trail Blazers for 37 points and 14 rebounds, including the game winner with .3 of a second left to lead the Cavaliers over Portland, 84-83. James had 17 in the fourth quarter. Check out the highlights…
January 31, 2008, 12:30 AM ET from Sonics Insider by Frank Hughes
Rip Hamilton wants in on the three-point contest. From the Freep’s Krista Jahnke: “All that running around, that’s what I do,” said Hamilton, who entered Tuesday sixth in the NBA in three-point shooting. “I run around and shoot.” Usually, he’s running…
January 31, 2008, 06:15 AM ET from Detroit Bad Boys
From Saturday’s Detroit News: Rookie Cheikh Samb was back with the team after spending more than a week in Senegal, Africa, taking care of a passport issue. Samb will spend the next week or so getting back into shape and then is expected to rejoin the Pistons’ D-League affiliate in Fort…
January 31, 2008, 06:00 AM ET from Detroit Bad Boys
By Kevin Sawyer Well, the fans have spoken and have made their largely uninformed selections to represent their respective conferences in the NBA 2008 all-star game. Here are my capsule commentaries on the starters, and my votes for who should be selected as reserves. Eastern Conference Forwards…
January 31, 2008, 05:45 AM ET from Detroit Bad Boys
Kevin Sawyer predicted the All-Star rosters here on Monday, and today I did the same for the East at HOOPSWORLD.
January 31, 2008, 05:30 AM ET from Detroit Bad Boys
From the Freep: For the first 12 minutes Tuesday night, Rasheed Wallace looked like the late-January, hard-to-excite Rasheed Wallace. For the last 36, he looked like the Wallace who could be named an All-Star. Wallace finished with 24 points, 10 rebounds and three blocks — including a big one…
January 31, 2008, 05:15 AM ET from Detroit Bad Boys
The first quarter is almost over, but better late than never … The Pacers are without Jermaine O’Neal and Jamaal Tinsley, but so far it hasn’t mattered. Assuming the Pistons get back in the groove, they should have a pretty decent size advantage with the Pacers forced to play…
January 31, 2008, 05:00 AM ET from Detroit Bad Boys
With his dental and passport issues fixed, Cheikh Samb is returning to Ft. Wayne … Cheikh Samb, the 7-foot-1 center who was sent from the Detroit Pistons and played two games in Fort Wayne in mid-December before being sidelined with a broken jaw, is returning to the team. “We should have…
January 31, 2008, 04:45 AM ET from Detroit Bad Boys
A. Sherrod Blakely on why Arron Affalo deserves to be in the rookie/sophomore game during All-Star weekend. (Edit: fixed link)
January 31, 2008, 04:30 AM ET from Detroit Bad Boys
A fan’s eye view from press row. (via TrueHoop)
January 31, 2008, 04:15 AM ET from Detroit Bad Boys
3:21 left in the game tonight, the Hornets trailing by nine points. Baron Davis pulls up and sinks a long three over Jannero Pargo and Chris Paul. As folks start heading for the exits, I scribble down four words in my notes...Baron. Deep. Salt. Wounds.This game was strange in many ways. Firstly, we…
January 31, 2008, 03:15 AM ET from Hornets247.com Blog
Well, if Gordon, Deng, and Smith are out, and Hinrich and Nocioni don't play well, Bulls basketball becomes "where 67 points against the TWolves happens" Nocioni had an epic night in 28 'entitlement' minutes: 2-12, 7 points, 4 rebs, 4 fouls and 5 turnovers. I want him out of…
January 31, 2008, 02:00 AM ET from Blog a Bull
Warriors (W-L): 27-19 Hornets (W-L): 32-12 TV: FSN Bay Area Radio: KNBR 1050 Time: 5:00 pm PST When people say "everything is bigger in Texas," they weren't lying. Yao Ming looked as dominant as Ghengis Khan (or fill in another historic or contemporary Chinese icon or symbol…
January 31, 2008, 00:30 AM ET from Golden State Of Mind
Warriors (W-L): 27-18 Rockets (W-L): 24-20 TV: FSN Bay Area HD Radio: KNBR 1050 Time: 5:30 pm We interrupt your irregularly scheduled Chris Webber to the Warriors hype to bring you our scheduled coverage of tonight's matchup between the Houston Rockets and Golden State…
January 31, 2008, 00:15 AM ET from Golden State Of Mind
DJ Fuzzylogic will of course hit you with a fresh recap of tonight's Warrior splendor soon, but here's a quick intermission. Everyone's looking for a little bit of this tomorrow when the 2008 NBA All-Star reserves as chosen by the coaches are announced: Will these threads be BOOMing in…
January 31, 2008, 00:00 AM ET from Golden State Of Mind