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Cleveland Cavaliers superstar LeBron James, who is almost as athletic as InsideHoops.com editor Jeff Lenchiner, recently claimed that a move he unleashed which appeared to possibly be a travel was a perfectly legal crab dribble.
The LeBron James crab dribble was against the Washington Wizards, whose players mocked the idea of a crab dribble in post-game interviews.
Below is a very funny crab dribble explanation video from a blog. Enjoy.
After winning about nine billion games in a row, the Boston Celtics have fallen to Earth, and recently made a thud so loud that Larry Bird is probably shaking in his grave.
Bird is alive and well, of course, which makes this all the more shocking.
Their first big loss came in totally honorable fashion, on the road in Los Angeles to the Lakers on Christmas day. Nothing wrong with that. It happens. Lots of teams lose to the Lakers.
Since then, it’s been a wild ride, with more crashes than anything else.
The very next day, on December 26, Boston lost in Golden State to the Warriors, 99-89. In that game, the Celtics were called for 31 fouls, hit just six three-pointers, and only connected on 17 of their 25 free throws. Stephen Jackson scored 28 and Marco Belinelli had 22. Kendrick Perkins was out for Boston.
Two days later, Boston traveled to Sacramento, and laid total destruction on the Kings, winning 108-63.
On December 30, the Celtics found themselves in Portland, facing a tough Trail Blazers squad. The home team won 91-86. Paul Pierce dropped 28 points in the loss. The Celtics as a team only shot 40.3%, hit just 3-of-14 three-pointers, but kept the game close thanks to 29-of-31 free throws. But Portland dominated the glass, winning the rebounding battle 44-29. The Blazers got a nice balanced effort, and they did it without star Brandon Roy, who was out injured.
On January 2, Boston hosted the Washington Wizards, and won easily, 108-83. This time, the Celtics shot 55.4%, the opponent 38.3%. And Boston nailed 12-of-20 three-pointers and easily won in the rebound and assist categories. Paul Pierce had 26 points, though just one rebound and one assist. No other Celtic scored more than 11.
On January 4, the Celtics were in New York to face the Knicks, and lost 100-88. They fell apart in the third quarter, scoring just 15. Kevin Garnett was almost invisible in the scoring category, shooting 1-of-6 for 6 points, 9 rebounds and 5 blocks. Paul Pierce stepped up delivering big in multiple ways. Ray Allen put up bricks. Boston as a team shot just 40.5% and hit just 6-of-25 three-pointers. The Knicks were 41.5%, but nailed 9-of-22 three-pointers (five from Al Harrington) and 23-of-28 free throws. Harrington finished with 30 points. Wilson Chandler had 31.
And yesterday, January 6, the Celtics visited the Bobcats in Charlotte and lost 114-106 in overtime. Charlotte totally dominated the extra period, scoring 17 super-quick points. Emeka Okafor grabbed 17 rebounds in the game. The Bobcats managed 48.1% shooting, totally defying Boston’s defense. And the Celtics again struggled from three-point range, hitting just 6-of-23 (Ray Allen was just 3-of-11 from downtown). The Celtics had lots of nice performances, though Rajon Rondo had an insanely awful 9 turnovers. The Bobcats’ offense was simply not to be denied this day.
Tonight, the Celtics are at home to face the Houston Rockets, then head to Cleveland for a must-watch matchup with the Cavaliers.
Then, things get easier, as they have two games against the Raptors, and two against the Nets.
Now this is awesome. As you know, Portland Trail Blazers center Joel Przybilla is having a terrific season and contributes more to his team than his stats (6.1 ppg, 8.0 rpg, 1.15 bpg on amazing 75.2% shooting) would suggest.
Przybilla is a pretty level-headed guy. But his grandmother-in-law Stella is mad and not gonna take it anymore.
The Minneapolis Star Tribune (Paul Walsh) reports:
An 80-something in-law of Portland Trail Blazer Joel Przybilla is mad at NBA Commissioner David Stern because the league fined her 7-foot-tall relative for his role in a shoving match with an opposing player last week. Stella Stawski, whose granddaughter is married to Przybilla, said this morning that it’s unfair that the former Gopher and Monticello (Minn.) High School center has to pay the league $7,500 for the physical to-do he had Friday with New Orleans center Tyson Chandler. Stawski, 83 and just a few inches over 5 feet tall, said she mentioned to a friend that she had a mind to fire off a letter to Stern but now concedes that it probably wouldn’t do much good… “The altercation started with the other young man,” Stawski, who lives in suburban Milwaukee, said this morning. “The first punch was done to Joel, not the other way around. … That was a totally flagrant foul.”
I say Stella should challenge David Stern to a game of one-on-one. Winner gets to decide whether the fine stays or goes.
The Memphis Grizzlies have waived forward Darius Miles, Grizzlies General Manager and Vice President of Basketball Operations Chris Wallace announced today.
In two games with Memphis, Miles collected two rebounds and two blocked shots in a total of nine minutes of action. The 6-9, 235-pound forward also served a 10-game league suspension, which concluded following the Jan. 2 game vs. San Antonio.
Miles was signed by the Grizzlies as a free agent on Dec. 13 after missing all of the 2006-07 and 2007-08 seasons following microfracture surgery on his right knee. The 27-year-old signed a free-agent contract with the Boston Celtics on Aug. 22, 2008 and appeared in six preseason games, averaging 1.8 points and 1.3 rebounds in 10.4 minutes before his release on Oct. 20.
The third overall pick in the 2000 NBA Draft became the first player in league history drafted straight out of high school (East St. Louis High School) to earn All-Rookie honors when he posted 9.4 points and 1.54 blocks for the Los Angeles Clippers in 2000-01.
The Bellville, Ill. native holds career averages of 10.6 points, 5.2 rebounds and 1.15 blocks in 27.6 minutes in 414 career games (190 starts) with Memphis, the Los Angeles Clippers, the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Portland Trail Blazers.
Memphis will play the New Jersey Nets tonight at 6:30 p.m. CST at the IZOD Center. The Grizzlies’ current roster stands at 13 players.
The AP reports: David West scored 15 of his 40 points in the final period to outscore Los Angeles by himself, and New Orleans beat Los Angeles 116-105 to snap the Lakers’ 15-game home winning streak. The Lakers led 92-89 entering the fourth quarter before shooting just 5-of-21, including 3-of-11 from 3-point range while being outscored 27-13… West shot 14-of-23 from the floor and 12-of-13 from the foul line in matching his career high. He also grabbed 11 rebounds as the Hornets (21-10) won for the 16th time in 21 games and avenged two losses to the Lakers in New Orleans earlier this season.
InsideHoops.com notes: Also for the Hornets, Chris Paul shot 11-of-24 for 32 points, 15 assists, no turnovers and 3 steals. Tyson Chandler had 12 points and 8 rebounds. Rasual Butler had 10 points and 6 rebounds. The Hornets shot 50.6%… For the Lakers, Kobe Bryant shot 14-of-22 for 39 points, 4 rebounds and 7 assists (4 turnovers). Derek Fisher had 19 points, 5 rebounds, 6 assists and 2 steals, though he took 18 shots. Lamar Odom came off the bench for a mere 12 points and little else. Pau Gasol shot 3-of-8 for 10 points, 8 rebounds and 5 assists. The Lakers shot just 41.9%.
The AP reports: Ben Gordon scored 24 points and the Chicago Bulls beat the Sacramento Kings 99-94 on Tuesday night to snap a three-game losing streak. The Bulls converted 33 of 36 free throws, but the three they missed nearly cost them. After making its first 29, Chicago converted just four of its final seven, allowing Sacramento to stay in the game. Drew Gooden had two of the misses, nearly spoiling a big return in which he had 18 points and 10 rebounds after being sidelined for eight games with a sprained right ankle… Kevin Martin had another strong outing for the Kings after scoring 36 against New Jersey on Monday and 45 against Indiana two days earlier, and Miller finished with 18 points and 12 rebounds. But the Bulls prevailed thanks to Gordon, Gooden and solid outings by Rose (16 points and eight assists) and Thomas (14).
The AP reports: Dirk Nowitzki made the game-saving plays on both ends of the court for the Dallas Mavericks. That was the easy part for the star forward. Just don’t ask the frustrated Nowitzki to explain how the Mavericks even got into the position that his blocked shot and go-ahead jumper were needed in the final minute against the short-handed and hurting Los Angeles Clippers. “Terrible. We had a good lead and we let up,” Nowitzki said. “They got whatever they wanted offensively. We couldn’t get any stops.” Until Nowitzki, who had 34 points, blocked a shot and then scored with 37 seconds remaining in a 107-102 victory Tuesday night… Eric Gordon, who scored 32 points, had a turnover on the next possession when the ball was knocked from his hands by Jason Kidd—though the rookie and his coach both thought there was a foul on the play.
The AP reports: Wins have been rare this season for the Thunder, so they wanted to celebrate after holding off the New York Knicks 107-99 on Tuesday night—after nearly blowing a 23-point, second-half lead. “We showed a lot of character,” said Oklahoma City forward Kevin Durant, who had 27 points and 12 rebounds… Jeff Green added 27 points for Oklahoma City (5-30), which shot 52.7 percent from the field and won for the second time in three games… Al Harrington scored 21 points and Chris Duhon added 18 for the Knicks (13-20), who were coming off a victory over defending NBA champion Boston. New York, which beat the Thunder by 10 points on Nov. 14, shot 39.8 percent. Russell Westbrook added 22 points and nine assists for Oklahoma City. David Lee had 14 points and 13 rebounds for the Knicks, his 20th double-double in the last 22 games and his 23rd of the season.
The AP reports: Randy Foye scored 23 points, including the go-ahead 3-pointer with 40 seconds left, and the Timberwolves weathered a late rally to beat the Memphis Grizzlies 94-87 Tuesday night… Al Jefferson added 19 points, 12 rebounds and four blocks for Minnesota. Craig Smith had 15 points, Gomes 14 and Sebastian Telfair finished with 10 points and nine assists. Hakim Warrick scored 22 points, and Mayo added 20 points, eight rebounds and five assists for Memphis. Marc Gasol had 13 points and Rudy Gay 12 as Memphis shot 42 percent, including 2-of-13 outside the arc (15 percent).
The AP reports: The Orlando Magic got the win, but Caron Butler got too many points for Stan Van Gundy. Butler scored 29 points, 21 in the third quarter, turning a potential blowout into a close game. The Magic held on for an 89-80 victory Tuesday night… Hedo Turkoglu led Orlando with 22 points as the recently energized Wizards (7-26) failed in their bid to win for the fourth time in six games… Orlando center Dwight Howard had his league-leading 25th double-double, with 15 points and 16 rebounds. Jameer Nelson added 14 points for the 27-8 Magic, who rebounded from their loss at Toronto on Sunday. Antawn Jamison scored 13 for the Wizards, who fell to 0-3 against Orlando this season.