Elie Seckbach, the Embedded Correspondent, brings his exclusive video reporting to FanHouse. Check back regularly for more videos.
For the most part, NBA preseason games don't carry much weight, but on Oct. 20, the Los Angeles Clippers will take the Staples Center court to face one of the best teams in Europe when they meet Maccabi Tel-Aviv.
It will be the game of the year for thousands of children as the Clippers are donating all the money generated from that night to the world's largest orphanage, Migdal Ohr. Based in Northern Israel, Migdal Ohr takes care of more than 7,000 orphans. But the Clippers are not the only ones doing amazing things for the orphanage. Two days prior to the Clippers' game, the New York Knicks will host a similar event to benefit Migdal Ohr.
Ricky Davis no longer plays for the Heat; he's been a member of the Clippers since the beginning of the season. But in any uniform, Ricky can now be categorized with a single word: victim.
That's one way to look at it I suppose, as we received word that Davis has been suspended by the NBA for five games for violating terms of the league's drug program.
It's not like Ricky has had anything better to do lately, so you can hardly blame him. Since November 22nd, Davis has been out with a knee injury, and his return was slated for sometime in January. The suspension won't begin until Davis has been declared "physically able to play," so once it begins, it might last until February. Which would probably be just fine with the Clippers.
Despite L.A.'s obvious lack of depth, they have plenty of people to fill in at the guard spot, and it's not like Ricky was much help when he was playing for the Clips earlier in the season anyway. Davis averaged only four points per game, while shooting just 28 percent from the field.
Davis' absence has allowed rookie Eric Gordon to find his way into the starting lineup, where he's been performing far better than Ricky was. There isn't a team in the league that would look at a suspension like this as a positive, but where Ricky Davis is concerned, it's certainly not going to have a more negative impact on the club than his play on the court ultimately did.
Elie Seckbach, the Embedded Correspondent, brings his exclusive video reporting to FanHouse. Check back regularly for more videos.
Millions of Americans were very excited about the victory of President-elect Barack Obama, and that included many of the NBA's players. In this video we hear from the players about what the victory means to them. Al Thornton tells us the results brought him to tears, while Stephen Jackson says he is excited, but regrets his great-grandparents aren't alive to see this day. We also hear from Tim Thomas, James Singleton and more, while another player says he is now interested in visiting the "Black House".
Elie Seckbach, the Embedded Correspondent, brings his exclusive video reporting to FanHouse. Check back regularly for more videos.
Clippers rookie Mike Taylor has been a basketball star his entire life. In fact, he is in the history books as the first D-League player to get drafted by an NBA team.
Recently, Mike was visiting South Central Los Angeles to hand out food to needy families. While there, he got an earful from a young fan. How did he deal with it? Find out by watching this exclusive video, after the jump.
Elie Seckbach, the Embedded Correspondent, brings his exclusive video reporting to FanHouse. Check back regularly for more videos.
Like the election itself, it's one of those topics where everyone has an opinion, where everyone's right and no one's wrong: Who is the best player in the NBA? In an effort to find out, we polled the experts themselves and talked to NBA players from around the league, including Amare Stoudemire, Eric Gordon, Steve Blake, Al Thornton, Ricky Davis (who had a surprising, yet smart, choice) and more. Some of the picks are expected, and some are sort of out of nowhere. But they're all worth checking out.
Watch the full video, chock full of "expert" opinions, after the jump.
Ricky Davis is a Clipper. Say it with me. Ricky Davis is a Clipper. Rolls right off the tongue, doesn't it? Ricky Davis is a Clipper. It just feels so right.
Davis signed a two-year, $4.7 million deal. He can opt out after the first season, but c'mon, this isn't the time to start talking about that, is it? It's a time for celebration! If ever there was a union guaranteed to last forever, well, that'd be Marko and Adriana, but Ricky Davis and the Clippers are a close, close second.
Why were the Clippers so interested in Davis? GM Elgin Baylor explains:
"With his ability to score and shoot from the outside, it's really going to open up the floor for us, particularly our low-post players," Los Angeles general manager Elgin Baylor said.
That's right! Ricky Davis, making his teammates better since ... well, just now.
In all seriousness, Baylor may be onto something: LA's bigs include Chris Kaman and Marcus Camby, a couple of guys who will have maybe five plays called for them all night long. This team can afford bringing a gunner off the bench. With Baron Davis running the point, the Clippers should be getting up and down the floor in a hurry, and Davis is certainly athletic enough to keep up.
Pat Riley doesn't even have time to coach the Heat these days, but he's making time to respond to some derogatory comments that Shaq made about him and his former Heat teammates. Riley called Shaq's recent criticisms of him and the Heat "sad," and I'd have to agree. Shaq basically blamed Riley for the Heat's current situation, saying he refused to be the scapegoat when Riles was the one with all the power. Shaq then had this to say about his current situation, backhandedly slapping Riley in the process:
"I love playing for this coach and I love playing with these guys," O'Neal told the Globe. "We have professionals who know what to do. No one is asking me to play with Chris Quinn or Ricky Davis. I'm actually on a team again."
It's not surprising that Shaq would bash his former team after he's long gone, because that's what he's done his entire career. He bashed Penny Hardaway after leaving Orlando, bashed Kobe, Phil Jackson, and Jerry Buss after leaving the Lakers, and now he's doing the same to the Heat. So this isn't news, but it is needless. The Heat are the worst team in the league; I don't recall anyone specifically blaming Shaq for it. It was a combination if injuries to him and D. Wade, along with some poor roster moves that left the team in it's current, league-worst situation.
Riley's response, one that questions why Shaq would bother to do this, is a refreshing one.
Alternate title: "Where Chris Quinn playing 48 minutes happens."
Technically speaking, the Raptors 96-54 win over the Heat last night will go down as an official NBA game, but there should be some kind of star next to it in the history books. Let's face it, the Heat aren't even trying to field a competitive team anymore. Pat Riley had just seven players dressed last night, including maybe two (Ricky Davis and Mark Blount) who even hard-core NBA fans could reasonably be expected to pick out of a lineup.
And guess what? It's only going to get worse: Udonis Haslem will undergo season-ending ankle surgery this Friday. Starting in his place last night was Earl Barron, who shot 1-10 from the field in 34 minutes. Replacing Dwyane Wade, who's already been pardoned from participating in this train wreck the rest of the year was Daequan Cook, who shot just 3-19. Not surprisingly, the team's 54 points on Wednesday marked a franchise low, as did their .256 field-goal percentage.
Shawn Marion ("sore back") and Jason Williams ("jammed thumb") also sat out with minor ailments -- what's the over/under on them being ruled out for the year? I'm going with five games.
The "good" news is that the NBA has awarded the Heat a waiver to sign a 16th player, which only means they'll be giving one more unrecognizable face a 10-day contract. That might make practice more competitive, but it'll do nothing for the actual game.
Just a couple of ago, it seemed as if the only way the Heat could turn around their fortunes would be if they could somehow convinceShaquille O'Neal to retire, relieving them of the burden of paying him $40 million over the next two years and freeing up precious salary cap space. And yet, in the blink of an eye, Pat Riley was somehow able to convince Steve Kerr to roll the dice and take a shot.
Nobody could have predicted that, right? Actually, maybe we just weren't paying close attention. Ira Winderman of the Sun-Sentinel points out Riley has been pulling tricks like this for a few years now:
He made Brian Grant's contract disappear, when it appeared an impossible dream.
He made Eddie Jones' money vanish, when that appeared unfathomable.
He unloaded Antoine Walker the day after an NBA scout said no one could unload Walker. ... [In] his role as Heat president, he has made more money disappear than Enron.
To refresh your memory, Grant was was making about $13 million a year when he was traded to LA to get Shaq; Jones was making over $14 million a year when he was traded to the Grizzlies for James Posey and Jason Williams, key pieces in the Heat's 2006 title run; and Walker was making over $8.5 million when he was dumped to the Timberwolves in a package for Ricky Davis, who's filled in when Wade has been hurt, and Mark Blount, the new starting center.
Yes, Riley makes mistakes (he's the one who gave Grant, Walker and Shaq their huge contracts) but he's cleans up his messes better than anyone in the league.
For the most part, NBA preseason games don't carry much weight, but on Oct. 20, the Los Angeles Clippers will take the Staples Center court to face one of the best teams in Europe when they meet Maccabi Tel-Aviv. 
Millions of Americans were very excited about the victory of President-elect Barack Obama, and that included many of the NBA's players. In this video we hear from the players about what the victory means to them. 
Elie Seckbach, the Embedded Correspondent, brings his exclusive video reporting to FanHouse. Check back regularly for more videos. 
Like the election itself, it's one of those topics where everyone has an opinion, where everyone's right and no one's wrong: Who is the best player in the NBA? In an effort to find out, we polled the experts themselves and talked to NBA players from around the league, including 
Alternate title: "Where 
Just a couple of ago, it seemed as if the only way the Heat could turn around their fortunes would be if they could 
