The NBA features an 82 game season. As such, some weird stuff is going to happen. The Clippers will beat the Celtics. The Kings will beat the Suns. And often times, they're simply the result of back-to-backs, injuries, or that most crucial of variables: a bad shooting night.
But tonight was kind of different. As Robin Williams once said (yeah, I'm quoting Robin Williams, you got a problem with that?), "It's not the end of civilization, but you can see it from there."
Okay, two lottery (most likely) teams beat two perennial contenders. Your average bizarro night. But there were things in these wins that forecast the future.
The Rotation is a weekly study on the NBA by one of our All-Star voices. In rotation this week is Brett Pollakoff, who talks to Nuggets coach George Karl and some of his players about whether the refs are short-changing Carmelo Anthony.
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* "During a recent trip to Toronto earlier this month, Matt Bonner talked with the media about how the combination of his grandfather - a 'Newfie' as he affectionately referred to him - and his wife being from Canada has led him to feel a strong connection to this country. Bonner also recently discovered that he has some cousins who are Canadian. Because of these factors Bonner has decided to file the necessary paperwork to gain his Canadian citizenship. Not only that, but he's also expressed a strong desire to play the Canadian national team." -- Hoops Addict.
Shaquille O'Neal stunned the world (in a "wow, now I remember why I freaking love Shaq" kind of way) when he broke out in freestyle dance with the JabbaWockeeZ during the All-Star Game lineup introductions. But he wasn't the only one breaking it down with the hip-hop (?) stars (??) over the weekend. Turns out, Kevin Garnett and Kevin Durant both got down too.
Via NESW Sports, courtesy of Mission G ... who has yet to offer me a G Blogger package. Ahem ... No, seriously, Gatorade folks. Hit me up. I'm easy.
Every night there are some stupendous, silly, stupid, or downright outlandish individual lines from around the "lig." Doing Lines lets you know which one tops the list.
Andre Miller didn't move at the deadline, despite Philadelphia's season not living up to expectations and Dre due for July free agency. To be honest, there didn't seem to be as much interest in Miller as you would have predicted. Perhaps that came from the Sixers shutting down inquiries. It's easy to see why when Dre goes off as he did Saturday, whipping out 30 points, nine rebounds, two assists and no turnovers.
FanHouse's NBA Guide gives you a daily look at all the games that matter ... and some that don't.
HEADLINER Oklahoma City at Golden State, 10:30PM ET
Dr. Lawyer Indian Chief of FreeDarko has dubbed this the 2009 version of Charlotte vs Atlanta. If you've read FreeDarko's Macrophenomenal Pro Basketball Almanac, you know the import of Charlotte vs Atlanta in past years. With that, understand the implications here. Strange things bound to happen, people.
Every night there are some stupendous, silly, stupid, or downright outlandish individual lines from around the "lig." Doing Lines lets you know which one tops the list.
I don't mean to disrespect Dwight Howard, but he didn't exactly have a great All-Star Weekend. I mean, consider the two lasting images of Howard from the festivities: getting teabagged by Nate Robinson, and getting nutmegged by Shaq. That's not stuff you'd want to put on your Hall of Fame highlight reel, you know?
But Howard took out his frustration on the Bobcats Tuesday, whipping out a stunning 45 points, 19 rebounds and eight blocks. Orlando needed every bit, as the starting backcourt (Anthony Johnson, Mickael Pietrus) played awful on both ends. Charlotte's Raymond Felton went off for 22 points, 10 rebounds, five assists and nary a turnover.
PHOENIX -- It wasn't "one of those" weekends for the NBA All-Star game. Nobody shot anybody (that we know of), there weren't any amazing plays in the All-Star game, and the biggest storyline was two players that we, as the media, have hyped up as hating each other reuniting for co-MVP awards. But the weekend did give us some highs and lows and, all in all, was a pretty good time in the desert.
NBA fans have been waiting for an All-Star Weekend HORSE competition for years, but the first few minutes of this year's contest had me wondering if it would fall short of the hype.
Fortunately, after getting warmed up with a handful of boring corner threes and mid-range jumpers, Joe Johnson, Kevin Durant and O.J. Mayo reached into their bag of tricks and broke out an array of shots that included everything from between-the-legs left-handed layups to loooong three-pointers from the first row of the grandstand behind the court.
The NBA finally decided to bring back the HORSE contest, and this one should be a fun way to start off the night's festivities. Join us as we wait for TNT to get through Inside the NBA and get to HORSE, which should start around 6:15 PM ET. Your 2009 TNT HORSE Contestants: Joe Johnson, OJ Mayo, Kevin Durant.
After last night's 46-point explosion from Durant in the Rookies-Sophomores Game, he has to be considered the favorite. Durant showed incredible range and versatility and is absolutely incredible to watch. Johnson and Mayo should be able to give Durant a very solid push, though. Join us at after the jump for a LiveBlog-O-Rama-Rama brought to you by your momma!