nba Page 517 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights

The Reason To Love Joakim Noah, In One Meaningless Play
Here's a play from the end of of last night's Bulls-Warriors game that's really nothing special at all. The game itself wasn't all that interesting—the ever-overmatched Bulls hung around for as long as they could, scrapping out points like a mid-major college team, before eventually being overwhelm...

Charles Barkley Tries, Fails To Pronounce "Jonas Valanciunas"
I don't know how either, but I know that's not it....

Grizzlies To Give Fans Neck Tattoos With None Of The Permanence
Grizzlies forward James Johnson has a huge neck tattoo dedicated to his prematurely born son, Naymin. He's also been a superb role player appreciated by Memphis fans, so what better way to celebrate Johnson than with a (temporary) neck tattoo giveaway?...

The Dunk Contest Field Has Been Announced, And It's Not Terrible
ESPN's Marc Stein has the scoop on which six players will be competing in this year's dunk contest, and it's actually a pretty strong field. Paul George, John Wall, Damian Lillard, Harrison Barnes, Terrence Ross, and Ben McLemore will be this year's competitors. ...

This New NBA Stat Is A Huge Step Forward For Basketball Analysis
This morning on Grantland, Kirk Goldsberry introduced the stat Expected Possession Value Added (EPVA), which he developed with some colleagues as part of a Sloan Conference paper. EPVA still needs some work, but it may represent an enormous development in NBA analysis. Here's why....

Kyle Lowry Gets Boned By Terrible Foul Call, Runs Right Off The Court
Some serious bullshit went down at the end of last night's Raptors-Kings game. With 28 seconds remaining and the Raptors down by six, Kyle Lowry hit an incredible three-point shot that was inexplicably waved off by a referee who thought Lowry kicked his leg into the oncoming defender as he went up ...

Lakers Beat Cavs Despite Having Only Four Eligible Players
The Lakers started tonight's game in Cleveland with only eight available players. That dropped to six when Nick Young and Jordan Farmar got hurt, and four when Chris Kaman and Robert Sacre fouled out. They still won, 119-108....

Chris Kaman Just Doesn't Give A Shit
Empty seats on the bench mean that Chris Kaman gets to lie down for a second during the Lakers-Cavs game. He fouled out after 14 minutes of action. The bench-couch looks comfortable, honestly....

The Durant-LeBron Arms Race Is Real—And Statistically Unprecedented
We mentioned this back in November, but LeBron James and Kevin Durant—the two best basketball players in this galactic quadrant—are outdoing themselves in 2013-14. Here are some per game lines:...

Lance Stephenson Leaves Game After Making Impressive But Dangerous Shot
Lance Stephenson's writhing layup probably wasn't worth the two points—and the foul—but it was fun to watch. You can't tell if the crowd is saying "Ohhh" for the shot or his fall. Thankfully, Stephenson didn't look to be seriously hurt....

Joakim Noah Takes The Time To Properly Curse Out The Refs
Joakim Noah suffered a mini-meltdown after being ejected last night against Sacramento, but he's a master craftsman, and so wasn't about to leave the court without individually telling each ref what he thought about them....

Derrick Williams Attempts Ill-Fated Off-The-Backboard Dunk
Garbage time is usually an opportunity for NBA stars to draw from the grab bag of Globetrotter tricks. Derrick Williams tried a pretty mild off-the-backboard dunk maneuver. It didn't go so well....

Randy Foye Buzzer-Beater Sends Color Man Into Song
Here's a feather in your cap, Denver! The Nuggets came back to beat the L.A. Clippers on a deep, three-point buzzer-beater. Matt barnes actually put the Clippers up two on a three-pointer of his own with 6.2 seconds left, but Randy Foye ended it with this dagger which sent Scott Hastings into a Foy...

San Diego TV Station Airs Unsettling Photo In Super Bowl Weather Forecast
San Diego station KUSI's evening news tonight followed in the footsteps of most local broadcasts in previewing the weather for Sunday's Super Bowl. Where KUSI differed from those other stations is in their choice of graphics: a bizarre image of Green Bay Packers center Scott Wells holding a baby wit...

Luis Scola Wins Game By Inbounding The Ball Off Paul Pierce's Ass
Depending on your point of view, this is a pretty brilliant way to end the game. With .4 seconds left, the Pacers had possession at midcourt and a slim 97-96 lead. Instead of trying to find an open teammate, Luis Scola saw Paul Pierce had his back to him and simply threw it off Pierce's ass, starti...

UFC 169 And The Art Of Negative Marketing
Originally published at Nerd Raft....

Brooklyn Nets Hold Kevin Durant To Just 26 Points
And Scott Brooks held Durant to just 3o minutes. Still, everyone in Brooklyn, even the Nets, watched Kevin Durant in awe. Minus context, his line—26 points, 3 rebounds and 7 assists—sounds just OK. His numbers in Brooklyn were not nearly as impressive as they had been during the 12-game streak where...


