Archives › Kurt Helin
-
Philadelphia fans are not fair-weathered about Allen Iverson — they love him. At times during his years with the team it was tough love. But in the end Iverson did all you can ask of a player as a fan — he gave it his all every night. Iverson left it on the floor. He…
-
Right now, Lamar Odom is the Dallas Mavericks draft day trade bait — they are going to be shopping him and his $8.2 million contract around. And there will be interest because Odom can be bought out by June 30 for $2.4 million — that’s a big savings. If nobody else buys him out, Dallas…
-
It wasn’t pretty, but Sixers think Game 6 win a thing of beauty
May 23, 2012, 11:45 PM EDT
If beauty is in the eye of the beholder, for Philadelphia 76ers fans Game 6 Wednesday night was Kate Upton on the beach in Fiji. For the rest of us — especially Boston Celtics fans — it looked a lot more Joan Rivers. But what matters to Sixers fans are the results and the 82-75…
-
Russell Westbrook joined Erik Kuselias and Adrian Wojnarowski on NBC’s SportsTalk today to discuss how the Lakers didn’t talk that much trash, how the Thunder don’t think they’ve accomplished anything yet and how the Spurs make you think the game. The Spurs and Thunder tip off the Western Conference finals Sunday in San Antonio. The…
-
Report: Magic to talk to Shaq about GM job. Worst. Idea. Ever.
May 23, 2012, 7:36 PM EDT
So, Orlando, you’re trying to make yourself relevant and convince Dwight Howard to stay (that ship has sailed) or new free agents to come in? This is not how you do it. It’s the opposite of how you do it, actually. In the next week the Magic might meet with Shaquille O’Neal about their open…
-
Heat’s Haslem suspended 1 game, Pittman 3 games for flagrant fouls
May 23, 2012, 6:37 PM EDT
Udonis Haslem has been suspended one game and Dexter Pittman suspended for three games by the league for fouls in the Heat’s Game 5 win. Haslem will sit out the key Game 6 in Indiana Thursday. Pittman deserved it for the vicious hit above on Indiana’s Lance Stephenson late in Game 5. His suspension was broken by…
-
For a guy who at various parts of the year sounded indifferent about being a Laker — “there’s a bank in every town” — on the day of his exit interview Andrew Bynum said he wants to stay a Laker. He will next season — the Lakers will certainly pick up his $16.1 million option.…
-
In just a little over two months, Team USA will tip off the defense of its gold medal at the London Olympics. Man, that is coming up fast. We got our first look at the schedule for the Games and Team USA’s toughest games of pool play will come at the beginning and end of…
-
Granger agrees with Bird that Pacers played soft. LeBron doesn’t see it that way.
May 23, 2012, 4:16 PM EDT
Larry Bird was pissed after the Heat came out in Game 5 Tuesday and steamrolled his Pacers. The team president broke out probably the biggest insult you can use in professional sports. Bird said the Pacers played soft. Wednesday, the Pacers agreed. “I agree with his assessment. We did play soft,” Indiana’s Danny Granger said…
-
There are a lot of things worth watching in Game 6 between the Celtics and Sixers. For one, Kevin Garnett has invited the considerable wrath of Philadelphia down on him, one of his tricks for self-motivation. It will be loud and angry in the building. All eyes will be on Brandon Bass to see if…
-
A Deron Williams and Kobe Bryant backcourt, with Andrew Bynum in the paint. That team could be very dangerous. Apparently, Deron Williams has thought about it. In an article where he says the Lakers and Magic need to do a Bynum for Dwight Howard swap, Sam Amick of Sports Illustrated drops some interesting knowledge about…
-
Few things can be counted on for a consistent laugh like the NBA All-Defensive team voting. It is always a laugh. This year it didn’t disappoint — somebody voted for Carlos Boozer. Yes, that Carlos Boozer. For his defense. But no complaint about the top vote getter, LeBron James. He was a defensive force this…
-
It’s still odd to think of the Clippers as a team that could enter next season as a contender — this has been the worst franchise in the league for decades. But Blake Griffin started to change the culture and perception around the team, then Chris Paul arrived before the season and added rocket fuel…
-
Report: Allen Iverson to attend Game 6 in Philly against Boston
May 23, 2012, 1:01 PM EDT
Allen Iverson — one of the most beloved Sixers — will be in the building in Philly Saturday night for what should an intense Game 6 against the Boston Celtics. It’s a game where the Sixers need to play with the fire that Iverson always brought to the court. Iverson’s attendance was first reported by…
-
Scott Skiles has an NBA coaching job. All he has to do is figure out how to make a Brandon Jennings/Monta Ellis backcourt work. And figure out how that backcourt is not going to become a major defensive liability. All while everyone knows he is a lame duck in the last year of his deal.…
-
After a one day hiatus, we return our daily look around the NBA — links to stories worth reading and notes to check out (stuff that did not get its own post here at PBT) — done in bullet point form. Because bloggers love bullet points. • That’s Adam Morrison to the right, going with the…
-
Things between the Pacers and Heat have gotten chippy, like a good playoff series should. They don’t like each other. The Pacers came in with a “nobody respects us” chip on their shoulder and stood up to the Heat. Indy got under Miami’s skin. The Heat responded with a couple of blistering wins and some…
-
This much was clear from Miami’s thrashing of the Indiana Tuesday night — with Danny Granter the Pacers may not win but without him they are doomed. Granger sprained his ankle just 3:11 into the third quarter when he landed on LeBron James’ foot following a three-point jumpshot attempt. He rolled his ankle and instantly…
-
Jerry Sloan really does desperately want back into coaching. So much so he’s willing to take on what is arguably the worst job in the NBA right now — the Charlotte Bobcats — and will interview for the spot, the former Jazz coach told the Salt Lake Tribune. (The Charlotte Observer also had the story.)…
-
Sixty guys with a dream. The names for the NBA Draft Combine to take place in Chicago have been released. These are the guys who will be measured, weighed and in most cases put through drills to test their speed, agility and shooting. I say in most cases because, like the NFL draft combine, some…
-
Larry Bird is never a guy to pull punches. After the Pacers got run out of the building by the Heat Tuesday night the Indiana team president didn’t hold back speaking to Mike Wells of the Indy Star (via twitter). Larry Bird: “I can’t believe my team went soft. S-O-F-T. I’m disappointed. I never thought…
-
Miami came out with some real fire in Game 5. The kind of passion we have expected of them from throughout the playoffs… and the last finals for that matter. Apparently it took the Pacers getting under their skin to do it. But Miami crossed the line a couple of times. There was the flagrant…
-
Update: Police say OKC shooting not tied to Thunder game; Arrests made
May 22, 2012, 9:45 PM EDT
UPDATE #4, May 23, 11:26 AM: Police have made a second arrest in the case, a 17-year-old minor. The first arrest was of 19-year-old Rodney Hill. No charges have been filed but both are being held on the complaint of shooting with intent to kill. UPDATE #3 9:45 PM: Oklahoma City Police have made an arrest…
-
PBT Extra: Talking Magic, Celtics, Durant in clutch, and Lakers
May 22, 2012, 7:41 PM EDT
We were all over the map today on PBT Extra — from Stan Van Gundy’s firing and what it means to the Magic, to the Lakers next steps. As for Durant being clutch, he is good late in games. He’s also great in first, second and third quarters. The best players at the end of…
-
Game 4 was what Heat fans expected this team to look like — LeBron James and Dwyane Wade were each an unstoppable force and played well off each other, the Heat played suffocating defense, and a role player (Mario Chalmers in the first half, Udonis Haslem in the second) stepped up. But can they duplicate…
