Category: General NBA insight

Carmelo Anthony scored 21 of his 33 points in the first quarter, and the New York Knicks beat the Nets 104-95 on Wednesday night in their last trip to New Jersey.

Continuing his torrid stretch without Amare Stoudemire and Jeremy Lin, Anthony hit his first six shots in front of the usual pro-New York crowd that will become an all-New York crowd next season, when the Nets move to Brooklyn.

The Nets once hoped to have Anthony in the lineup when they got there and he is showing why lately, surpassing 30 points for the third straight game and the sixth time in nine games this month. He shot 11 of 21, going 5 of 7 on 3-pointers, and finished slightly ahead of the NBA-best 32.1 points he was averaging in April.

Tyson Chandler added 18 points and 10 rebounds for the Knicks, who won for the 15th time in 20 games under interim coach Mike Woodson and remained in seventh place in the Eastern Conference.

— Reported by the Associated Press

The Charlotte Bobcats appear to be a collision course with NBA futility.

The Bobcats lost a franchise-record 17th straight game 75-67 to New Orleans Monday night and took a step closer to finishing the season with the worst winning percentage in league history.

If the Bobcats fail to win any of their remaining games they’ll finish with a .106 winning percentage, which would be worse than the 1972-73 Philadelphia 76ers, who finished 9-73 for a winning percentage of .110.

It would seem Charlotte’s best shot at a win is next Monday at Washington, the second-worst team in the league. However, that same Wizards team just throttled the Bobcats by 28 points in Charlotte last week, so the reality is Monday night might have been their best chance to win a game.

”The whole year has been frustrating but this game was more frustrating because we really got ourselves up for this one,” said Gerald Henderson, who finished with a game-high 27 points. ‘

— Reported by the Associated Press

If you were able to jump high enough to look down at an NBA rim, here is what you’d see.

(Though, as you can see behind the glass, the basket has been collapsed to be removed from the court.)

Photo taken by InsideHoops.com editor Jeff Lenchiner.

While the NBA studies putting sponsor logos on jerseys, the Development League is placing them on their teams’ uniforms in the playoffs.

BBVA’s logo will be featured across the back of all jerseys during the NBA D-League playoffs, the league announced Monday. It’s the first time a marketing partner will have brand exposure on a D-League jersey other than adidas, the league’s official outfitter.

— Reported by the Associated Press

Jameer Nelson scored 21 points and the Orlando Magic clinched a playoff berth in the Eastern Conference with a 100-84 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Sunday night.

Orlando led from wire-to-wire despite playing without star center Dwight Howard, who has missed the last four games with a herniated disk in his back.

The news the Magic made the postseason took a back seat to the team’s injury list, which seems to grow by the day. Howard and forward Hedo Turkoglu (facial fracture) are sidelined indefinitely. Coach Stan Van Gundy said before the game he’s preparing to play the rest of the regular season and the playoffs without the two players.

— Reported by the Associated Press

LeBron James had 29 points and 10 rebounds, Dwyane Wade added 28 points and nine boards, and the Miami Heat beat the New York Knicks 93-85 on Sunday to clinch the Southeast Division title.

Chris Bosh finished with 16 points and 14 rebounds for the Heat, who pulled away in the fourth quarter of a possible playoff preview. Miami is second in the Eastern Conference and New York came into the game tied for seventh, although they fell back behind Philadelphia after the loss.

Carmelo Anthony scored 42 points for the Knicks, but had only two baskets in the fourth quarter, perhaps tired after playing 43 minutes. New York had its nine-game home winning streak snapped.

— Reported by Brian Mahoney of the Associated Press

The Los Angeles Sparks are expected to select Stanford’s Nnemkadi Ogwumike at No. 1 overall. She led the Cardinal to consecutive Final Fours, losing to eventual champion Baylor this season.

Ogwumike would join a crowded Los Angeles frontcourt that includes Parker, veterans DeLisha Milton-Jones and Ebony Hoffman, second-year center Jantel Lavender and fifth-year center Nicky Anosike.

”Assuming that that happens and I end up in L.A., I think I’m looking forward to playing with a lot of experienced posts,” said the 6-foot-2 Ogwumike, who averaged 22.5 points and 10.2 rebounds this season. ”I can still elevate my game at this point, but I think it will be good to see what I can learn from people.”

The Sparks, who have a new coach in former Atlanta assistant Carol Ross and added former All-Star Alana Beard, also have three of the first four picks in the second round.

After Ogwumike, this year’s draft will be wide open. Miami’s Shenise Johnson, Tennessee’s Glory Johnson and Shekinna Stricklen, Notre Dame’s Devereaux Peters and Natalie Novosel, and Miami’s Riquana Williams are among the top players available. Ohio State’s Samantha Prahalis and Connecticut’s Tiffany Hayes could also be picked in the first round.

— Reported by the Associated Press

Chris Paul had 28 points and 13 assists, and the Los Angeles Clippers beat the Golden State Warriors 112-104 on Saturday to close within a game of the Lakers for the Pacific Division lead.

Blake Griffin added 20 points, DeAndre Jordan 18 and Mo Williams 14 in the Clippers’ third straight win and 11th in their last 13 games. They are also chasing the idle Lakers for the third seed in the Western Conference with six games remaining.

The Clippers’ 36 wins are their most since they won 40 games in 2006-07.

— Reported by the Associated Press

Lakers coach Mike Brown left Staples Center shortly before tipoff Friday night for undisclosed personal reasons.

Assistant coach John Kuester coached Los Angeles’ game against the Denver Nuggets.

Brown is in his first season with the Lakers (37-22), who are in first place in the Pacific Division. He attended his regular pregame media gathering about 90 minutes before game time.

— Reported by the Associated Press

Nothing crazy here. Just a simple, cool photo I took a few minutes ago of a basketball hoop in NYC.