Archives › Kurt Helin
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Kevin Durant is the second best basketball player walking planet earth right now. He leads the second best team in the NBA. He was second in the MVP voting last year and almost certainly will be again. He was the No. 2 pick in the NBA Draft (behind Greg Oden and his unfortunate knees). Durant…
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Chris Bosh as a basketball-playing space prince who saves the galaxy. In animated form. (VIDEO)
Apr 23, 2013, 2:37 PM EDT
I present this with little comment… because I really have no idea what to say. Maybe it’s because I’m sober while watching it. The 11 minute animated film “Adventures of Christopher Bosh in the Multiverse!” was made by Miami arts group Bleeding Palm for the Borscht Film Festival (thanks to Dan at Ball Don’t Lie…
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The Charlotte Bobcats were not going to win a lot of games this season if Red Auerbach and John Wooden rose from the dead to co-coach the team. There just wasn’t enough talent. But Mike Dunlap in his one year could not seem to reach what players he did have to the satisfaction of ownership…
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Celtics look to Garnett, Knicks look to ball movement to spark offenses in Game 2
Apr 23, 2013, 1:05 PM EDT
Game 1 of the Celtics vs. Knicks played to form — the Celtics’ physical and aggressive defense made it hard for the Knicks to score, but Boston struggled even more on offense putting up just 8 points in the fourth quarter and falling 85-78. But for the Celtics there was one real reason to be…
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What is the best kind of beer? Free beer. And Shane Battier just got a truckload of it. Literally. Back during the Heat’s 27-game winning streak Steve Aschburner of NBA.com wrote about the superstitions of the Heat players, because if “Bull Durham” taught us one thing it’s that you don’t mess with a streak. Shane…
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Vinny Del Negro just got the dreaded vote of confidence. His team is now up 2-0 in the first round over Memphis but there is still plenty of talk about the Clippers needing to get deep into the playoffs — such as the Western Conference finals — or his job could be in jeopardy. Of…
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In the face of Boston’s defense taking away their first option on Saturday, the New York Knicks offense often reverted to a lot of Carmelo Anthony and J.R. Smith isolation. Which isn’t good. The Knicks still won, but that was more about the inept Celtics offense in the fourth than what the Knicks offense started…
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After Nate McMillan was fired from the Portland Trail Blazers, he was still getting paid for a few years. He hasn’t jumped back into the coaching game because he hasn’t needed to, so he worked with Team USA this summer at the London Olympics and has enjoyed a little time off with family. But the…
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Paul George made a leap this season and people noticed. With Danny Granger basically lost for the year due to knee issues, George took on a larger scoring role with the Pacers — he used 23.5 percent of their possessions when on the court — averaging 17.4 points, 7.6 rebounds and 4.1 assists per game.…
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Phil Jackson tweets about Chris Paul’s shot, Jordan’s push off of Russell
Apr 23, 2013, 8:41 AM EDT
When Chris Paul made the game-winning shot Monday night to beat the Grizzlies 93-91, a lot of people pointed out on twitter that Paul got room to get that shot off by pushing off on Tony Allen to create space. They are right. Allen and Paul were physical on that play but CP3 was smart…
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Jamal Crawford’s wild run of 10 straight points vs. Grizzlies (VIDEO)
Apr 23, 2013, 8:11 AM EDT
There is a reason Jamal Crawford was in the running for Sixth Man of the Year — the guy can flat out score the basketball. And be impressive doing it. In the second quarter Monday night he rattled off 10 straight points, with a variety of amazing moves and shots. And it’s not like he’s…
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Chris Paul with crazy game winner to put Clippers up 2-0 (VIDEO)
Apr 23, 2013, 2:05 AM EDT
Chris Paul is a superstar. That right there is why you have superstars on your team. Paul got the ball out high with :13 seconds left in a tie game , had a very good and physical defender on him in Tony Allen, drove and was physical right back, got away with a pushoff but…
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Kobe Bryant doesn’t want his tweeting to be a story. And it was — they were putting his tweets up on the broadcast during the game. Players and Lakers coach Mike D’Antoni were asked about Kobe’s comments after the game. (And before you tell me this was a “media driven” story, we have done just…
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PBT Extra: Talking first weekend of NBA playoffs, Kobe’s tweets
Apr 22, 2013, 5:38 PM EDT
Honestly, I’m not sure how Kobe Bryant tweeting during the Lakers Game 1 loss to the Spurs became a story, but it did. Kobe’s says he’s going to shut down the in-game tweets, but as part of our discussion on PBT Extra Kay Adams and I talk about Kobe tweeting (she likes it) and the…
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David Lee played through back pain last two weeks, did that impact hip?
Apr 22, 2013, 5:16 PM EDT
David Lee had the NBA’s longest active streak of regular season games played without a playoff appearance (577) — until Saturday night. He started his first playoff game, suited up for the Warriors against the Nuggets. He lasted three quarters, at the start of the fourth he took an awkward step and ended up tearing…
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The Knicks have the NBA’s scoring champion at forward in Carmelo Anthony. Now they have the NBA’s Sixth Man of the Year, too. As we told you would happen earlier in the day, the New York’s J.R. Smith has been named the NBA Sixth Man of the Year. His strong end of the season —…
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How the KKK helped Earl “The Pearl” Monroe become a Knicks legend (and not a Pacer)
Apr 22, 2013, 2:31 PM EDT
If you talk about players I love to watch old footage of on YouTube, Earl “The Pearl” Monroe is near the top of the list. He had smooth one-on-one moves with a playground feel to his game that was very entertaining. He was a perfect fit in New York. Monroe has a new book coming…
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The guy many Lakers fans seem to want to blame for all the Lakers woes this year — head coach Mike D’Antoni — went on the Dan Patrick show this morning. They talked about Lakers’ loss to the Spurs in Game 1 and what needs to change for them going through the rest of the…
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Chris Paul sounds like he’ll be a Clipper next year, but Bledsoe will not
Apr 22, 2013, 1:05 PM EDT
Nobody expects Chris Paul to leave the Clippers. It will become a sports talk radio thing in some cities as we move closer to July 1 when he becomes a free agent, but everybody knows he’s going to re-sign with the Clippers. He may ask for changes around the organization to go with his new…
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There are still a lot of Allen Iverson fans out there, he remains an icon. There also are still a lot of people in the game who care about him. And they are worried about him. For the people who tweet me every time I write on Iverson and ask “why isn’t he back in…
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Even 1,300 miles away lying in bed, Kobe Bryant was still the story for the Lakers Sunday. Kobe watched the game just like you did… well, his house is bigger than yours and he had more painkillers in his system than you did (probably). But he watched it on television (recovering from a ruptured Achilles…
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While there were some other deserving candidates out the there — we’re looking at you, Jarrett Jack — the race for NBA’s Sixth Man of the Year was essentially a two man race. One that the Knicks J.R. Smith has apparently won. It will not be official until later on Monday afternoon but multiple reports…
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Bad trend for Boston: Knicks’ veteran bench mattered, Celtics’ didn’t
Apr 22, 2013, 11:00 AM EDT
Tyson Chandler, looking rusty after missing a lot of time with a bulging disc in his neck, wasn’t himself. The New York Knicks count on him to be a defensive force that owns the paint and get a few points off pick-and-rolls, but he wasn’t really doing either. So Mike Woodson turned to his bench…
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Kendrick Perkins leads fast break, throws alley-oop pass to Ibaka (VIDEO)
Apr 22, 2013, 10:09 AM EDT
You knew things were going Oklahoma City’s way when this happened. After Russell Westbrook makes an athletic play to make a steal, Kendrick Perkins picks up the loose ball and takes off on the fast break. So he can dribble, we learned. Then as they got close to the rim he threw the alley-oop to…
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Bucks’ Dalembert says he might switch sides to play for Heat next season
Apr 22, 2013, 9:49 AM EDT
Pretty much every NBA player about to be a free agent talks in vague terms about keeping their options open. They are going to go where the most money comes from and they don’t want to limit those choices. But have you ever heard a player on one side of a playoff series say he…
