NBA

Expectations are a funny thing. Did I say funny? Sorry, I meant to say that expectations are a cruel-hearted, unshaven bastard. Especially in the NBA. Early on, we cannot escape them. They’re with us always. Always, always, always. And they screw around with our power rankings. At heart, weekly evaluations should be impulsive and read [...]

LeBron James isn’t superhuman, he just plays like he is. The Chosen One has demolished opposing defenses on a nightly basis for over a decade. We’ve grown accustomed to it. Expect it. Assume it’s going to happen every second of every game. Understandably, all of us who don’t hate the greatest NBA player alive—sorry, MJ—were [...]

Right about now, I imagine Mark Jackson is blushing. David Lee, too. Andre Iguodala and Andrew Bogut should also be giggling. Stephen Curry, injured or not, might be chuckling as well. Gregg Popovich, the San Antonio Spurs coach who offers up compliments about once a decade, said the Golden State Warriors are for real, according [...]

Step aside, Russell Westbrook, Kevin Durant is smitten by Dirk Nowitzki. Speaking with reporters before the Oklahoma City Thunder defeated the Dallas Mavericks, Durant admitted to having a healthy admiration (infatuation?) for the 35-year-old Dirk, according to ESPN Dallas’ Tim MacMahon (h/t Beyond The Buzzer): Asked after Oklahoma City’s morning shootaround when he identified the [...]

Dwight Howard is a wanted man. Contract with the Houston Rockets aside, there are few teams in the NBA that wouldn’t welcome the arrival of Superman’s services. And the Los Angeles Lakers are one of them. Forget that they need rebounding and defense, they already know what it’s like to house Howard and they’ll want [...]

Hand it to Carmelo Anthony—he’s never afraid. Some people would be inclined to panic following the New York Knicks’ loss to the Charlotte Bobcats at home. While it’s still early in the season, the Knicks are 1-3, and 1-2 at Madison Square Garden. Not the kind of start you expect from a purported title contender. [...]

Can’t blame a guy for trying. Strike, that we can. This early into the season and with already so much speculation being flung around like poo in a monkey exhibit, we can blame everyone who forces us to endure another LeBron James free-agency question. Before the Miami Heat beat the Toronto Raptors, LeBron was, once [...]

Kyrie Irving has a great relationship with Cleveland Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert, but that’s all he’s going to say. Retaining the star point guard has become an obsession for Cleveland. That, and the media has helped bolster its important, even though it’s already incredibly important. Irving won’t become a free agent anytime soon, but he [...]

Zach Randolph would like to stay with the Memphis Grizzlies for a long, long time. Next summer, Z-Bo has a player option worth nearly $17 million he can pick up. If he decides not to, he will become an unrestricted free agent. Essentially, the choice to stay in Memphis is his, though not really. The [...]

Scottie Pippen believes in Derrick Rose. The point guard’s decision to sit out all of 2012-13 wasn’t popular. Or even close to accepted. Most understood why Rose didn’t suit up for the Chicago Bulls, but many of them didn’t respect it. A majority of Rose’s biggest critics have been silenced after the floor general exploded [...]