The Starting Five

(Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images)

RONDOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Rajon Rondo. All 53 minutes, 44 points on 16-24 from the field, 10-12 from the stripe, 2-2 from the arc, 8 boards, 10 dimes and 3 steals.

Damn. From the point guard position, the only two names who have approached those numbers, before Oscar of course, (regular season contest and just 4011 saw Wilt and Oscar go at it) go by one name…Magic and Isiah. Y’all let Steve Nash rob the league of two MVP trophies and Rajon Rondo makes history in almost every playoff game (he ain’t no slouch in the regular season as well) and barely gets a post season award mention? Whatever you’re smoking voters, don’t pass it because I don’t want any of that trash. Don’t give me the bs excuse that he can’t shoot either. He’s a point guard who guarded LeBron on game winning attempt. One of the best leaders the game has ever seen and definitely on a thunderous collision course for the Hall of Fame whether you write it or not. The messed up part is Rondo’s magnificent performance came in a loss. A hard fought loss. As usual, LeBron James (he called for the ball and did it with confidence on last shot) and Dwyane Wade were just too much and Boston took an L, 115-111. Miami leads the Eastern Conference Finals 2-0.

Read more »

(AP Photo)

With the New Orleans Hornets being awarded (and I use that term loosely) the number one overall pick in the NBA Draft next month, it looks as if Kentucky’s Anthony Davis will be selected by new Hornets owner David…I mean Tom Benson.

Davis has been lauded for being a game-changing player that doesn’t need to take a shot. Is Anthony Davis the beginning of a defensive revolution in the NBA?

Read more »

I think they made him angry last night…(what’s your caption?)

OKC tried the hack-a-Splitter after the Spurs rocked out like efficient robots and shot up by twenty. San Antonio’s rhythm was affected but not enough and the Spurs now have a 2-0 lead in the best of seven Western Conference Finals. It seemed that shots weren’t contested. Is it simply San Antonio is a better team or is it that the Thunder lack the true defensive intensity it takes to win late in the playoffs? Tony Parker went off and scored 34 on 16-21 shooting. Duncan stole time and put Serge Ibaka up on some kid’s laughing wall the kid won’t take down until he leaves for college. OKC got 88 combined points from Durant, Harden and Westbrook and still lost in a game the score very much could have been a lot worse. When the Spurs put up 120, pack it in and get ready for the next run because you just became their 20th straight victim in a span of 48 days. Ginobli had 20, Leonard had 18 and the old man Duncan after the jump had 11 points, 12 boards, 6 assists and 4 blocks.

Read more »

(Patrick Kovarik/AFP/Getty Images)

For the better part of her career, Serena Williams has been able to battle through the mental and physical bumps and bruises that have come with being one of the best tennis players in the world - male or female.

Yesterday, in the first round of the French Open, the dam broke.

Read more »

When it happened to James Toney, it was funny. Not because people being juiced is somehow hilarious, but because the common perception if someone is taking steroids is that they should look like this instead of like this. That part was funny.

When it happened to Shane Mosley and later Fernando Vargas, it became curious. But the old-fashioned boxing trainers, the ones who will tell you that you don’t really need to train with weights because it makes you muscle-bound and slow had this one ace in the hole: The fights they had when they took steroids were maybe, the worst of their entire career.

Now it’s not as funny. Now it’s not past-their-prime veterans looking for one more day in the sun. Now it’s young fighters - prospects still in a few ways. The question is this: What is going to be done about it? Moreover, what can we learn?

Read more »

(Getty Images)

I was still hopeful that he and Floyd Mayweather would eventually meet.

Former two-time WBO Welterweight Champion Paul Williams has been left paralyzed from the waist down following a motorcycle accident Sunday morning in Marietta, Ga.

He is listed in serious but stable condition at an undisclosed hospital.

Read more »

(Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images)

He who laughs last, laughs first?

Seven wins separate the Miami Heat from becoming 2011-2012 NBA champs after last night’s 93-79 win over the Boston Celtics in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals. LeBron James led the Heat with 32 points, 13 boards, 3 assists and 3 of Miami’s 11 blocks.

Read more »

(Getty images)

Best believe Black Pharaoh is telling The King the NBA is still his throne

Familiar foes meet in the East. In the Conference semis last season, Rajon Rondo dislocated his elbow in Game 3 and still led the Celtics to a 97-81 win after losing the first two games in Miami. Champion all universe heart stuff but it was the only game the Celtics would win and the Heat won in 5. In 2010, Boston defeated Dwyane Wade’s Miami squad by the same margin. With All Star Chris Bosh uncertain for the series (with that injury, I don’t see him coming back but I’m no doc), how with the Eastern Conference Finals shake out this year with a berth in the NBA Finals on the line?

Read more »

(Darren Abate/Associated Press)

Manu Ginobili broke through when the San Antonio Spurs needed it most. The veteran sixth man scored 26 points that included a 11-point fourth quarter (3-3 fg, 5-5 ft) as the Spurs rallied back to take Game 1 of the WCF from the Oklahoma City Thunder 101-98.

Read more »

Battle royale with these…

The NBA’s Western Conference Finals between the Oklahoma City Thunder and the San Antonio Spurs brings together two of the best teams record-wise in the NBA Playoffs thus far. Both times are a combined 16-1 heading into this series. One which could result in a changing of the guard as the Thunder look to become the new standard in the West with their athleticism and youth, punctuated by the duo of Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook. While at the San Antonio Spurs are expecting their bold moves in the off season to continue paying off great dividends as they look to extend their 18-game winning streak. Their aging, yet solid nucleus of Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili are healthy and more importantly – they are rested.

Read more »

(Photo: @jose3030)

Rajon Rondo continues his assault on the playoff record books as he recorded his ninth career playoff triple-double with scored 18 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists, tying Wilt Chamberlain and trailing only Jason Kidd, Larry Bird and Magic Johnson. Rondo outscored the 76ers 11-7 after Paul Pierce fouled out with 4:16 remaining, he even outrebounded the Sixers 3-1. As the Boston Celtics would hold off the Philadelphia 76ers, 85-75 in Game 7 of a grueling series.

The Celtics now face the Miami Heat in the Eastern Conference Finals beginning Monday night

Read more »

(Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)

Since his arrival in Miami LeBron James has become the target of the media, fans and even some of his NBA peers. The former Cleveland Cavaliers star utilized his free agent status to the max, linking up with Dwayne Wade in Miami to be joined later by Toronto Raptors free agent Chris Bosh.

I know it’s one think to dislike a team, but to hear and read some of the irrational statements being spewed about teeters on the edge of all out hate.

Read more »

The memories are coming back. Seems like Game 7′s are a must have in this rivalry…

Look, the Celtics are getting up there and that injuries are mounting doesn’t help. The Sixers capitalized by taking it straight to Boston. Philly had a 42-16 points in the paint advantage and beat the C’s 82-75. So, if Philly wins in Boston Saturday, will the TD Bank North Garden crowd shout “Beat Miami! Beat Miami!” if Miami finishes off the Pacers tonight?

Read more »

(Matt Slocum/AP)

Last night Allen Iversonreturned to Philadelphia to a maddening ovation prior to the Sixers Game 6 match up against the Boston Celtics. It was enough to almost take me there emotionally. Of course there are those that want to take jabs at his alleged financial troubles. As for me, I was just happy to see him in that red, white and blue once again.

Why do we love Allen Iverson so much?

Read more »

Photo Credit: NBA Entertainment\Getty Images

It really does seem like they’ve been doing this forever. Not this, mind you. Not this level of offensive excellence, but this quiet, understated march towards the Larry O’Brien trophy while the eyes of the basketball world are on flashier teams in bigger markets – like Lob City, for instance. Chris Paul having Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan as his personal dunk muses, capable and willing of ridiculous feats of aerial derring-do. And what did the Spurs, the habitually boring Spurs do to this team? The same thing they did to the Seven Seconds or Less Suns too many times to count. They dismantled them, broke them down with a minimum of fuss and a maximum of skill. When it was done, it was a sweep and no one was surprised, no one batted an eye and no one thought about it.

Read more »