And if you saw their last meeting, you would know why.

It used to be all that mattered when the Clippers played the Lakers was whether Jack Nicholson bothered to show. In their second meeting this 2012 NBA basketball season, it just didn’t matter no more.

This one clearly mattered. By the final period, there threatened to be more technical fouls and near-fights than basketball plays. The basketball wasn’t that bad, either. Spectacular, actually, if you are measuring intensity. The Lakers will measure it any way you want. Led by that old hand, Kobe Bryant, the Los Angeles Lakers prevailed in a rough and rugged fourth period to win, 96-91.

Coming into this game, the Los Angeles Lakers had lost four of their last five games, including one to the Los Angeles Clippers. The Lakers play four of their next five games on the road and could ill afford to head that way with another loss to the Clippers, which would be four in a row, including two in the preseason.

With only one more meeting in the Hallway Series in April, the Los Angeles Lakers would have lost a season series to a team in its division, and with it possible playoff positioning.

Again, the Lakers took care of all that…

Read More » Lakers – Clippers Rivalry in the NBA just got awesome

No question. But if their loss to the Bucks is an indication to the kind of heat Miami can dish out, then LeBron is in trouble.

Miami Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra predicted before Sunday’s game against the Bucks that the team with the most energy would likely win. “This game won’t be about the schematics,” Spoelstra said in the opening remarks of his pregame news conference.

“It will be about a team that’s had a day off and a team that played last night. Who can bring a higher motor and more activity consistently will win this game.”

He was correct. The Bucks outhustled the Heat, which had trouble executing basketball fundamentals such as passing the ball. The Heat had 22 turnovers, recorded just nine assists and scored just 82 points, their lowest output so far this 2012 NBA basketball season.

So Spoelstra gave his players an off day Monday to rest their bodies and prepare for what will surely be an emotionally charged game Tuesday. The Heat plays host to the Cleveland Cavaliers, the team LeBron James used to play for, which went 1-4 against the Heat last season.

Monday was just the Heat’s second off day this season and first since Dec. 26, the second day of the season.

“I love days off; I’m sure everybody does,” forward Chris Bosh said. “When you’re going for seven or eight…”

Read More » Can LeBron James bring the Heat to the Cavaliers?

With D-Wade still reeling, this will be a test for the Heat alright.

The Miami Heat begin their homestand starting Tuesday as they face their first big test of the 2011-12 NBA basketball season when the San Antonio Spurs pay them a visit.

You know the Miami Heat is in for one tough outing whenever Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra admits to addressing the next three home games as a singular unit at any time. ”We talked about it, and it’s the only time I’ll talk about the week,” Spoelstra said Sunday. ”I think it was important for us to settle ourselves and understand where we are.”

Well, they are currently sixth at 8-4 in an Eastern Conference that looks as top heavy as the Western Conference used to in the heyday of the San Antonio Spurs and the Los Angeles Lakers, the first two opponents this week.

The San Antonio Spurs come first, Tuesday night. The Heat knows something of the Philadelphia 76ers, the third guest in the homestand Saturday, from dismissing them from the first round of last year’s playoffs. The Sixers still look young, but they are 10-3 after beating Milwaukee on Monday.

Meanwhile, the foibles of a three-game losing streak occupy the Heat’s attention. ”It kind of happens like that,” Heat forward LeBron James said. ”We have our rough games, then teams start to come into our building, and we figure out a way to fix it.”

”The Spurs are playing great basketball, even without…”

Read More » Miami Heat to be tested by Spurs, Lakers, and 76ers

Yes, they are that good these days.

The Miami Heat (8-1) holds the best record in the NBA and leads the league in scoring and field-goal percentage this 2012 NBA basketball season. It seems the juggernaut that everyone envisioned when Pat Riley combined the talents of LeBron James, Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade finally is taking shape.

Even with Dwyane Wade missing significant time with a foot injury, the Miami Heat has maintained a level of excellence that seemed unlikely for any team considering the shortened training camp and grueling demands of a truncated, 66-game schedule.

Familiarity among teammates, points in the paint and the transition game have all been contributing factors to the Heat’s dominance to begin the season. Oh, and one other thing, LeBron James has been playing like he invented the game.

But whereas it’s easy to point to the offensive superlatives the Miami Heat has for its early success, the team’s company line remains unsurprisingly consistent. Its ethos is defense, and, given a rare practice day amid this hellish schedule, you had better believe that’s where Spoelstra will focus his energy.

“It’s because of our defense,” LeBron James said of the Heat’s impressive start. “We’re able to get stops and get out and run and use our speed to get fast-break points or get on the other end and create things offensively because of our defense.”

“That’s what it’s all about here. We preach defense every single day…

Read More » What has gotten into LeBron James and the Miami Heat?

Let me explain.

In case you didn’t know, Andrew Bynum is having one heckuva’s start to the 2012 NBA basketball season, posting Dwight Howard – like numbers that is quickly putting him right up there among the elite centers in the the league.

And who’s taking credit for the success Andrew Bynum is having right now? Kwame Brown. You know, the biggest draft bust in the history of the NBA back when he was drafted as the overall no.1 draft pick of the 2011 NBA draft. And in case you were wondering, he’s a bigger bust than Darko Milicic. (I still can’t get over that…)

When the term “Draft Lottery Bust” is used, Kwame Brown often pops into basketball fans’ heads. But, if what this dude is blabbering about is true, then maybe his true calling is in coaching. Brown, who parlayed being the No.1 overall pick by the Washington Wizards into a lucrative but uninspiring career, is taking credit for helping one of the most improved players in the NBA this season.

While Brown struggles along with his sixth franchise, Andrew Bynum has quietly grown into the player Los Angeles Lakers fans hoped he would be many years ago. The 24-year-old center is averaging 19.6 points and 15.8 rebounds as the second option to Kobe Bryant on most nights this season.

Is Bynum’s success because of the two-plus seasons he spent with former Lakers teammate Brown? The Warriors backup, while admitting Andrew has “grown into his body,” dropped the early favorite for 2012′s outrageous quote by an NBA player to the Los Angeles Times’ Mike Bresnahan.

“That was my young fella,” Brown bragged of Bynum…

Read More » Kwame Brown thinks Andrew Bynum is his bitch

Because the last time the Heat were on the court, the Hawks handed them their first loss of the season.

Yep, Miami got their very first loss of the 2011-12 NBA basketball season and for those of you counting on a perfect campaign for LeBron and the rest of the boys, well, you can kiss those dreams goodbye.

But that loss wasn’t about the Miami Heat unable to finish the game, it just so happens that the Atlanta Hawks were that good, at least against the team many say THE team to beat in the East.

Yes, the Atlanta Hawks are afterthoughts of the Southeast Division no more. Gradually improving in each of the past four seasons, Atlanta delivered a statement game Monday, handing the Heat its first loss of the season and handcuffing the Heat offensively at AmericanAirlines Arena.

One night after winning by 39 points, the Heat lost to the Hawks 100-92. The Hawks (4-1) have yet to allow more than 100 points in a game this season. LeBron James led the Heat (5-1) with 28 points on 11-of-18 shooting but didn’t receive much help from Dwyane Wade, who was 4 of 17 from the field for 12 points.

Wade added 10 assists, but it wasn’t enough to crack the Hawks’ zone defense. The Heat jumped to an 18-8 lead in the first quarter…

Read More » Can the Pacers take advantage of the Heat?

And since he wants to be traded to New Jersey, this game on Thursday night is one interesting matchup indeed.

The most intriguing games on the Orlando Magic schedule have typically involved the Boston Celtics, the Los Angeles Lakers and the Miami Heat. This 2011-12 NBA basketball season, that distinction belongs to the New Jersey Nets.

Dwight Howard’s desire to be traded to the New Jersey Nets has transformed Thursday night’s Magic-Nets matchup at Amway Center into a must-see game.

Asked why he’s interested in the Nets, Howard responded, “We’re not talking about the Nets right now. We’re talking about the Magic. That’s the team I play for. There’s no need to talk about any other team, who is interested in them or not. So I’m not going to get into a discussion about it.”

But while Dwight Howard does not want to talk publicly about his future, basketball fans in both markets are watching his every move. In the second half of New Jersey’s 106-70 home loss to the Atlanta Hawks on Tuesday, Nets fans inside Prudential Center in Newark chanted, “We want Dwight!” or “We want How-ard!”

Howard acknowledged he watched some of the game, but he claimed that he had his TV set on mute and…

Read More » Dwight Howard leads Orlando Magic against NJ Nets

Yeah, and they need a lot of retooling to do before they face the red hot Thunder team from Oklahoma on Thursday night.

After an emotional start to the 2011-12 NBA basketball season on Christmas night, the same night they got their NBA championship rings, they were blown away by last year’s runners-up as the Miami Heat simply blasted them for all four quarters.

A slight speed bump perhaps coming out of the gates? Surely, losing to a team as talented as the Miami Heat is no reason to panic just yet. After all, it was still the first game of the 66-game season.

But after the Dallas Mavericks lost yet again, to a Denver Nuggets team that is still searching for that one big star looking to carry them over the hump, they just have to panic now.

In case you missed it, the Denver Nuggets opened their season with a performance that sent a clear message to the rest of the NBA but it’s not about them though. It’s about the Dallas Mavericks.

The reigning champions have quickly become a team everyone wants to play. There’s no telling which is worse right now, their offense or defense, their conditioning or chemistry, as they were drubbed for a second straight game, losing 115-93 to the Nuggets on Monday night.

“We look old and slow and out of shape – a bad combination…”

Read More » Dallas Mavericks slumping out of the gates at 0-2

It’s a whole new era in New York people.

After the New York Knicks kick off the 2011-12 NBA basketball season in style, beating their rivals Boston Celtics 106-104, this year’s Knicks team are looking mighty fine as they welcome their campaign with a whole lot of confidence.

There was joy again at Madison Square Garden on Sunday, a blend of holiday cheer, pent-up expectation and the thrill of the NBA’s belated return after a long, strange off-season. The joy gave way to anxiety, then a bit of nastiness. But it ended with a final burst of merriment and the New York Knicks got a 106-104 victory over the Boston Celtics in the NBA’s first game since June.

Carmelo Anthony, playing in his first opening day as a Knick, scored 37 points, including the go-ahead free throws with 16.3 seconds left. The debut of the Knicks’ towering new frontcourt was a success, with Amar’e Stoudemire adding 21 points and Tyson Chandler providing just enough paint presence to make it all stand up.

Along the way, the Knicks built and squandered a 17-point lead, lost Iman Shumpert to a knee injury and, most significant, got the attention of a Celtics team that played without Paul Pierce.

”We showed something today,” Carmelo Anthony said, adding later, ”This is a new beginning for us.”

Anthony carried the Knicks for long stretches and was dominant when it mattered most, scoring 17 points in the fourth quarter. He was efficient, too, going 10 for 17 from the field and 13 for 15 from the line, while grabbing 8 rebounds. His only blemish was in the turnover column, with five.

The Knicks were fortunate to get the victory after giving up…

Read More » NY Knicks play the Golden State Warriors

And if the Heat’s season opener in Dallas was to tell us anything about this team, Boston is in for one tough night.

The Miami Heat opened up the shortened 2011-12 NBA basketball season with style and conviction. On the night that the Dallas Mavericks received their championship rings, they got more than that when the night was over. They got a Christmas beating to boot.

Yes, the Miami Heat looked mighty impressive on the NBA’s Christmas opener, spanking the Dallas Mavericks 105-94. Yeah, trust me when I say that the final score don’t do justice how lopsided this game was.

On Tuesday night, the Boston Celtics are coming to Miami to face this year’s Heat team. And in case you missed Miami’s opener in Dallas, let’s just say it will take more than Kevin Garnett’s antics to get the better of this team this time.

For one, LeBron James was simply on a roll against Dallas. Minutes after Dallas unfurled its 2010-11 championship banner in a pregame ceremony on Christmas Day, the best basketball player on the planet unleashed his fury as the Heat dismantled the Mavericks, 105-94.

Sure it came six months too late but it was at least a measure of…

Read More » LeBron James and Heat welcome the Celtics in Miami