NBA Tipoff: Start of the Season Proves Older Teams Will Struggle
December 31st, 2011 by John Nizinski No comments »
The lockout has caused this NBA season to be shorter but more compressed. Teams are going to have many back to back games and sometimes back to back to back. This favors the young athletic teams, because older players need more time to recover.The start of the season has shown older teams, that would usually succeed in a regular spread out season because of their age and experience, are struggling.Begin Slideshow
New York Knicks vs. Sacramento Kings: TV Info, Live Stream, Spread Info and More
December 31st, 2011 by Patrick Clarke No comments »
The star-studded New York Knicks (1-2) will continue their Western Conference road trip on New Year's Eve in Sacramento when they take on the Kings (1-2).Both teams have lost two in a row after opening the new season with wins at home. Carmelo Anthony leads the Knicks in scoring with 25.7 points per game, while Kings' shooting guard Marcus Thornton is already averaging more than 20 per game. Where: Power Balance Pavilion, Sacramento, CAWhen: Saturday, Dec. 31, 2011, 8:00 PM ETWatch: CSNS or stream live with NBA League PassListen: Sacramento: KHTK 1140 The Fan New York: WEPN 1050 ESPN RadioBetting LineKnicks -1.5 over Kings, according to covers.com.The Knicks have to be favored in this matchup. They've yet to get things going in two road games against the Warriors and Lakers, and the Kings provide a porous defense for New York to exploit.Over/Under: 196, according to covers.com. The Knicks' problem has been scoring ...
Ranking the NBA’s Best Lineups Based on Colleges
December 31st, 2011 by Jacob Rude No comments »
As an avid basketball fan, it's always fun come NBA draft time to see which college players turn into studs and which college programs produce the best talent. I've had many a debate with friends and family over starting fives in the NBA from each college. I finally decided to sit down and rank those squads. This is only a current list of players in the NBA.Begin Slideshow
NBA Schedule 2012: Chris Paul & Blake Griffin and Best Young Duos Worth Watching
December 31st, 2011 by Nicholas Goss No comments »
As the NBA season heads into 2012, there is a ton of excitement for teams with young players who play an exciting brand of basketball.The Los Angeles Clippers' star tandem of Chris Paul and Blake Griffin is one of several young duos worth the price of admission every single night. These two players excel in the open floor and excite the fans with exquisite passing and thunderous slam dunks.Let's look at the best young duos in basketball that you must watch this season.Note: To qualify for this list, each player had to be 26 years of age or under. 1) Russell Westbrook and Kevin DurantOklahoma City Thunder star Kevin Durant is the best player in the NBA and has led the league in scoring the past two seasons.Thunder point guard Russell Westbrook is becoming a superstar talent himself, and both of them are so exciting to watch.Westbrook is a scoring guard ...
Kobe Bryant: Mamba Will Have Few Options with a Trade Demand
December 31st, 2011 by Brian Mazique No comments »
If the Lakers struggle, will Kobe Bryant want out? That is one of the biggest questions surrounding the Lakers franchise right now. With the acquisition of Dwight Howard in doubt, the Lakers face an uncertain future.Kobe is an old 33, because of minutes played (over 48000 in his NBA career) and injuries. He is smart enough to know, he has only two to three years left at a high level. Does he want to spend that time re-tooling with the Lakers?The Lakers have begun to play better after they started the season 0-2. A crushing loss to the Bulls on Christmas Day was followed by a defeat at the hands of the Sacramento Kings. They have now won two straight, a blowout victory over the Utah Jazz and a 17-point spanking of the defensively-challenged New York Knicks. The Lakers have always been a good defensive team, but Mike Brown is making ...
Killer B’s! Boston Bruins Win Season Series Against Toronto Maple Leafs
December 3rd, 2011 by Cory Ducey No comments »
The Toronto Maple Leafs head to Boston for their fourth meeting against the Boston Bruins.So far this season, the Bruins have won all three meetings rather convincingly, outscoring them 19-5 and look to feed on a very successful November, having won 25 of a possible 26 points.James Reimer, Toronto's starting goalie, was finally back between the pipes after a lengthy recovery from concussion-like symptoms. The Leafs are looking to their young net minder to make the difference...that and their Dad's.Several Dad's of the Leafs' roster were in attendance, and they looked to cheer on their sons to victory.Reimer was playing solid as the Bruins sent down a relentless amount of pressure. Bruins Captain Zdeno Chara was matched up with former Bruin Phil Kessel.Kessel was going into Boston for the 16th time as the league's top scorer and points leader, with only two goals and six assists for eight points.It took ...
New York Islanders Injury: Niederreiter Leaves Game with Concussion Symptoms
December 3rd, 2011 by Billy Smith No comments »
New York Islanders forward Nino Niederreiter left Saturday's game against the Dallas Stars, after being hit by Dallas' Mark Fistric in the first period.The Islanders have stated that Niederreiter won't return to the game and will be re-evaluated. Niederrieter, who was the Isles' first pick in the 2010 draft, received a pass from forward Matt Martin near the side boards, and was hit by Fistric who appeared to hit up high on Niederreiter. Nino Niederrieter has appeared in five games this season while scoring one goal and playing mostly on the third and fourth line.Losing him would be a big blow to this team, which has already lost goaltender Evgeni Nabokov, forward Jay Pandolfo, and defenseman Mark Eaton for an extended amount of time.Read more NHL news on BleacherReport.com
NBA Rumors: Warriors Need to Make Tyson Chandler an Offer He Can’t Refuse
December 3rd, 2011 by Austin Green No comments »
The Golden State Warriors are in the running for big man Tyson Chandler, and they need to do whatever it takes to get him to the Bay area.The unrestricted free agent has said that he doesn't expect to return to Dallas, which means the Warriors should jump all over him.ESPN's Marc Stein tweeted earlier that they are one of the most serious contenders for his services. Chandler would provide the Warriors with exactly what they need to return to prominence. They haven't advanced past the conference semi-finals since 1976, but the addition of Chandler would immediately make them contenders out west.The 29-year-old 7-footer is a straight up animal on defense.He didn't block a ton of shots last season (1.1 per game), but his sheer presence is immeasurable.The sight of Chandler roaming the lane is terrifying for opponents. Even the world's best slashers (like LeBron James and Dwyane Wade in the Finals) ...
Philadelphia Flyers: Comeback Puts Veterans in the Spotlight
December 3rd, 2011 by Dan Kelley No comments »
Here's what's wrong with the Philadelphia Flyers: a struggling franchise goalie, a defense plagued by injuries and an offense heavily dependent on inexperienced players. Friday night’s game against Anaheim was a microcosm of the Flyers’ season thus far, and if the end result is an indication of things to come, the Flyers will certainly take it. The Ducks opened the scoring with a goal that net-minder Ilya Bryzgalov would like to have back, as his premature poke-check attempt on Anaheim’s Andrew Cogliano allowed Cogliano to poke the puck between Bryzgalov’s legs. While Bryzgalov has not been bad this season, the Flyers have found themselves losing leads and falling behind on shots that the City of Philadelphia expects the Russian net-minder to save. His lack of flashiness has put more pressure on the defense to tighten up and force low-percentage shots that Bryzgalov can handle more easily. Enter a third defensive ...
NBA Trade Rumors: Would Dwight Howard or Chris Paul Be Better for Lakers?
December 3rd, 2011 by Michael Mill No comments »
When it was announced that the 2011 NBA season would tip off on Christmas day, the excitement quickly grew across the nation.With that excitement came offseason rumors and speculation of who could be on the move and where they could land.The two biggest names that have been brought up in rumors are Dwight Howard of the Orlando Magic and Chris Paul in New Orleans.The biggest stars have seen their names thrown around to the biggest teams, including the Los Angeles Lakers.There has been talk that one of the two, if not both, could potentially end up on the same team with Kobe Bryant.Forget the big three in Miami. Can you imagine a team with Bryant, Howard and Paul?That's a big three worth talking about.However, as nice as all this talk and speculation may seem, it's highly unlikely that the Lakers could bring in both of these highly touted athletes.That doesn't ...