End of first quarter: Lakers 35, Celtics 14
LOS ANGELES - Lamar Odom is doing the basketball equivalent of hitting for the cycle. He got the first basket of the game on goaltending. Then he dunked. Then he laid it in. Then he hit a jumper. Oh, he also made a free throw. No word if Odom will be taking a penalty shot. After a dismal…
June 12, 2008, 11:45 PM ET from Lakers: Locker Talk by Kevin Ding
Sasha Vujacic’s 6/11 interview
Q. Do you feel like you found a rhythm? SASHA VUJACIC: I think the thing we have, every time somebody is going to come up like that. Yesterday I had the opportunity to fill in the game a little bit better than other players. My teammates gave me open looks, and I just felt like I…
June 12, 2008, 11:15 PM ET from Lakers: Locker Talk by Kevin Ding
Derek Fisher’s 6/11 interview
DEREK FISHER: I don’t know if relief is the term, but I definitely think we feel that we’ve taken a step in the right direction in terms of giving ourselves a chance to win a championship. I mean, if we don’t win the game last night, the reality of being able to win a…
June 12, 2008, 11:00 PM ET from Lakers: Locker Talk by Kevin Ding
Pre-game notes: Rondo ready, but what about Odom?
LOS ANGELES - After a disappointing Game 3 by Lamar Odom, it wasn’t a surprise that Coach Phil Jackson was asked about getting the forward going for Game 4. “One of the things they’ve been doing is neutralizing him on the defensive boards,” Jackson said. “He’s…
June 12, 2008, 10:45 PM ET from Lakers: Locker Talk by Kevin Ding
Phil Jackson’s pre-Game 4 interview
Q. With Tiger Woods playing right down the road, I’m just curious, do you get any sense at all that Kobe would ever like to try an individual sport where he doesn’t have to worry about teammates winning and losing, about anybody else, it’s all on…
June 12, 2008, 10:30 PM ET from Lakers: Locker Talk by Kevin Ding
All-time Lakers: Starting five revealed
You came, you voted, you commented. This is your All-Time Lakers starting five: Center: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Forwards: Elgin Baylor, James Worthy Guards: Magic Johnson, Kobe Bryant Pretty decent squad, eh? Lakers history is so rich and chock-full of Hall of Famers that all-time greats Shaquille…
June 12, 2008, 9:00 PM ET from Lakers: Locker Talk by Kevin Ding
OPEN THREAD: 2008 NBA Finals Game 4
With all the referee scandals going on and the alleged fixed games from the 2002 and 2005 playoffs, it makes you wonder even more how 'home court advantage' plays into this whole thing and the corporate NBA in shaping the outcomes of games and series. 38-10 free throw advantage for Boston…
June 12, 2008, 7:45 PM ET from Golden State Of Mind
More Melo/Billups rumblings
The Denver Post’s Woody Paige wants to swap Carmelo (… and Camby, Kenyon and Atkins) for Billups (… and Tayshaun, Rasheed and this year’s first-rounder), but ‘Melo’s agent continues to deny that his client is on the block.
June 12, 2008, 7:30 PM ET from Detroit Bad Boys
Portland may honor Porter
It’s a good time to be Terry Porter. Not only is he being considered for a couple of head coaching jobs, his former team is also thinking about retiring his number. (via TrueHoop)
June 12, 2008, 7:15 PM ET from Detroit Bad Boys
Rasheed present at Curry’s presser
Rasheed Wallace was apparently the only Pistons player to show up at Michael Curry’s introductory press conference. There’s no reason to attach any meaning to that, but all things considered I still found it interesting.
June 12, 2008, 7:00 PM ET from Detroit Bad Boys
More draft chatter
Danilo Gallinari’s first trip to the United States involved playing a basketball tournament in Charlotte in 2004. It’s probably a safe bet his next trip to Charlotte won’t be as the Bobcats’ first-round pick. Gallinari, a 19-year-old Italian pro, indicated...
June 12, 2008, 7:00 PM ET from Bobcats: Inside the NBA by Rick Bonnell
Michael Curry is saying all the right things
Keith Langlois has a solid round-up of all the inspirational soundbites from today’s press conference: Curry said he hoped he would “never get the chance to read one of you all say the team didn’t play hard, they pick and choose when they want to play, they play up to the level of their…
June 12, 2008, 6:45 PM ET from Detroit Bad Boys
Amir Johnson now realizes how productive he is
Remember that “Stat geeks love Amir Johnson” post from a couple of weeks ago? I’ve been sitting on this for a while, but before Game 6 of the Celtics series I asked Amir if he realized he was near universally regarded as one of the most productive players in the league. Not…
June 12, 2008, 6:30 PM ET from Detroit Bad Boys
Coming around on Michael Curry
When I first heard that Michael Curry was the front-runner to replace Flip Saunders, I was less than enthused. The guy has one year of coaching experience as an assistant, surely he’s not ready to take the keys, right? But the more I thought about it, the more I talked myself into liking it,…
June 12, 2008, 6:15 PM ET from Detroit Bad Boys
It’s official: Michael Curry is the new coach
Here’s the AP’s entire 12-word announcement: AUBURN HILLS, Mich. (AP) — Michael Curry will coach the Detroit Pistons says team exec Joe Dumars. WDFN confirms it (via TZ and Ballhype): WDFN broke the story that Joe Dumars has indeed hired Michael Curry as the next head coach of the…
June 12, 2008, 6:00 PM ET from Detroit Bad Boys
Celtics fans are sensitive
Bill Plaschke with the shocking update: Celtics fans are sensitive! This seems like a good place to mention that if I didn’t moderate comments, DBB would’ve been inundated with that kind of garbage for the past three weeks. (hat-tip to LawyerBoy)
June 12, 2008, 5:45 PM ET from Detroit Bad Boys
David Cook butchers anthem; Lakers call a real singer
Maybe somebody tweaked David Cook’s knee in Game 1. Maybe the newly crowned American Idol’s voice (like Lamar Odom’s game) just simply disappeared on him. Whatever the reason, Cook butchered the National Anthem before Game 3 Tuesday night. He sounded as if he had just run six…
June 12, 2008, 5:45 PM ET from Lakers: Locker Talk by Kevin Ding
Two to Tango
By: Kevin Sawyer While the David Stern wet dream plays out on ABC, we have bigger fish to fry in Pistonland. Joe Dumars has intimated major changes for next year, which gives us all the chance to play amateur GM. Well, if you wanna be a GM, you have to play by the rules. Sheed for LeBron? Not…
June 12, 2008, 5:30 PM ET from Detroit Bad Boys
Odd, unsourced rumor of the day …
… comes from Mark Kiszla of the Denver Post: It’s no secret NBA front-office executives have tried to measure if the Nuggets might actually be willing to part ways with the 24-year-old Anthony, despite assurances to his agent that Denver is not actively shopping the high-scoring…
June 12, 2008, 5:15 PM ET from Detroit Bad Boys
Terry Porter will be the new head coach … in Phoenix
ESPN says it’s already happened: Multiple sources told ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith that Terry Porter is the new coach of the Phoenix Suns. Suns general manager Steve Kerr called Porter on Saturday morning to offer him the job, and Porter accepted. A. Sherrod Blakely says it hasn’t…
June 12, 2008, 5:00 PM ET from Detroit Bad Boys
Thursday’s Layup Drill
Real life is keeping me away from the computer, but the internet doesn’t stop! A few topics worthy of discussion: All this Tim Donaghy stuff. I don’t really know what to think anymore. For the most part, I have a hard time believing there’s been some kind of league-wide…
June 12, 2008, 4:45 PM ET from Detroit Bad Boys
Lamar Odom’s 6/11 interview
LAMAR ODOM: We have to do it as individuals and as a team. We found a way, we proved to ourselves that we can win ugly games. I guess we have to take that positive from anything else that’s negative that’s happening. Q. From an individual…
June 12, 2008, 3:30 PM ET from Lakers: Locker Talk by Kevin Ding
Jordan Farmar’s 6/11 interview
Q. Great. How does it feel to be in the Finals? JORDAN FARMAR: It’s great. You know, I was born in Los Angeles. It’s a team I’ve loved watching and loving, so it’s really special to be a part of it and try to help.…
June 12, 2008, 3:15 PM ET from Lakers: Locker Talk by Kevin Ding
Pre-Game 4 poll: Will Gasol, Odom rise up?
The Lakers’ 87-81 victory in Game 3 brought a tremendous sense of relief to Laker Nation. But true fans — and the Lakers themselves — know they can’t win the NBA Finals without better production from Pau Gasol and Lamar Odom. Gasol and Odom combined for 21 rebounds Tuesday…
June 12, 2008, 3:00 PM ET from Lakers: Locker Talk by Kevin Ding
Modern media, Kevin Love, etc.
Stray thoughts on the Finals and the draft: Boston Celtics coach Doc Rivers made a great point Wednesday about modern media; that some of the same people who accused Paul Pierce of faking an injury, when he came up lame...
June 12, 2008, 2:30 PM ET from Bobcats: Inside the NBA by Rick Bonnell
Vinny's verbal seduction
It was only a press conference, but in the scope of what a coach can say about this team, Vinny Del Negro nailed it. He said the Bulls would play at a quick pace yet emphasize defense, specifically mentioned Thabo, Noah, and Tyrus as players he was interested in while with the Suns front…
June 12, 2008, 02:15 AM ET from Blog a Bull
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