Archives › Kurt Helin
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It is hard to judge just how much Kobe Bryant is hurting. It’s because he doesn’t give in to his body, he just keeps pushing through the pain. He keeps playing, keeps pressing forward and pushing his team with a Terminator like will. He can be slowed by pain, he may miss shots with a…
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At last summer’s USA Basketball tryout and camp, some of the best players walking the planet were in awe of JaVale McGee’s pure athleticism. In a league filled with freak athletes, McGee stands out. Unfortunately, his mind and his game are a long ways from catching up with his body can do. But that athleticism…
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Every time he steps on the court in a road arena, LeBron James hears boos. That was to be expected in Cleveland. Everyone knew it was coming in cities such as New York where the fans wanted him and he chose to take his talents elsewhere. But it has become more than that — James…
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Halfway around the world, playing hoops in a coastal Chinese city most Americans have never heard of, Stephon Marbury is watching the NBA’s Collective Bargaining Agreement negotiations unfold. And he gets it, just check out this quote from a New York Magazine profile. “There’s definitely going to be a lockout in the NBA after this…
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Stoudemire says Suns contract offer made him feel “unappreciated”
Jan 7, 2011, 11:33 AM EDT
The fans in Phoenix appreciated Amar’e Stoudemire. They would chant “M-V-P” him (of course, fans seem to chant that for everyone now). He was part the most deadly pick-and-roll combination in the league and was at the heart of a team that had just advanced to the Western Conference finals in front of raucous crowds.…
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Tom Gores, a Michigan native worth an estimated $2.2 billion, will complete his purchase of the Detroit Pistons as soon as next week, the Detroit News reports. It may well take longer to complete the deal, but the goal is to have the sale done in time to present it to the NBA Board of…
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New legal filings against Clippers should make Blake Griffin cry
Jan 7, 2011, 8:44 AM EDT
Any time you feel yourself start to nod in agreement when someone says, “You know, with Blake Griffin and Eric Gordon, the Clippers are a team on the rise,” come back and read this post. ESPN got a hold of more legal filings in former Clipper GM Elgin Baylor’s wrongful termination lawsuit against the team…
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Games of the night: Dallas has injuries, what was Denver’s excuse?
Jan 7, 2011, 8:09 AM EDT
Before the season, if you peaked ahead on the schedule, this looked like an interesting Thursday night of basketball. Turns out, not so much. Thunder 99, Mavericks 95: Dallas has the much-discussed injuries to Dirk Nowitzki and Caron Butler. The effort is still there and while this is a deep team, there are limits to…
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If you take away one thing from the latest reports and rumors on a Carmelo Anthony trade, take away this — the saga will likely to drag out until near the trade deadline Feb. 24. That said, talks are still going on, as Chris Broussard laid out at ESPN. He says that just before Christmas…
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Charles Barkley says he did not get Suns tickets for Cam Newton
Jan 6, 2011, 11:27 PM EDT
UPDATE 11:27 pm: As expected, Charles Barkley went on a rant, something done at halftime of the Thunder/Mavericks game. We have transcribed it for you to make your life complete: “There was a report out today by some idiot, and I don’t know his name because I don’t blog at all, he accused me of…
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Memphis fines Tony Allen for fight, doesn’t mention O.J. Mayo
Jan 6, 2011, 11:25 PM EDT
The Memphis Grizzlies are trying hard to move past the fight between O.J. Mayo and Tony Allen fight over a gambling debt on a recent flight. In what the team hopes will be the final act it announced it has fined Tony Allen for his part in the altercation. The release does not mention O.J.…
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At $44 million, the Sacramento Kings have the lowest payroll in the NBA this season. Still, at the trading deadline they will be sellers with their primary motive is to keep costs down and preserve their cap space heading into the new Collective Bargaining Agreement, according to Sam Amick of FanHouse in a detailed post…
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It ultimately may be the smart thing for the Phoenix Suns to trade Steve Nash — if you are going to tear it all down and rebuild, you can jump-start the process by what you get back for him. But don’t expect Nash to push for a trade. Not in his nature. Look at what…
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Phoenix grabbed Gani Lawal in the second round this season as a project. Coming out of Georgia Tech he had all the physical gifts you want in a big man, but playing next to Derrick Favors on a team where the guards didn’t get him the ball in good position, it was a little hard…
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Larry Ellison — founder of Oracle and one of the richest men walking the planet — lost out on his bid to buy the Golden State Warriors last year. (Actually, his bid might have won but it was submitted after the deadline.) He still wants an NBA team and recently tried to buy the New…
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UPDATE 4:20 pm: Yao Ming released this statement after his surgery. “I’d like to thank everyone for their ongoing support. I know this will be another long rehab, but I’m looking forward to beginning my recovery. I will use this time to consider all of my options, and will make a decision regarding my career…
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Dirk Nowitzki sprained his knee against the Oklahoma City Thunder just two days after Christmas, and he will not be back on the court for the rematch Thursday night, making it six games he has missed with the injury. He did not take part in the team’s shootaround Thursday and according to reports just rode…
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Because the Cavaliers needed something else to go wrong this season… Daniel Gibson will miss the entire Cavaliers five-game, West Coast road trip that starts Friday, according to a tweet from Jason Lloyd of the Akron Beacon Journal. Gibson left the Cavs Wednesday night ugly loss to the Raptors after rolling his ankle in the…
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Latest All-Star voting has Amar’e Stoudemire, Derrick Rose on the bench
Jan 6, 2011, 1:50 PM EDT
What is the matter with New York? And what about you, Chicago? Not enough passion and votes there to push the very deserving Amar’e Stoudemire and Derrick Rose into All-Star Game starting spots in the Eastern Conference? Well, it’s not that simple, as they would have to unseat two popular Boston stars to get the…
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It’s not every day you see a major NBA star leaving Nike. But that’s just what Steve Nash has done, in a story found by Counterkicks (via SLAM). Nike confirmed in a statement that Nash has left them, ending a 15-year relationship between the two. Nash now is with Chinese brand Luyou. But Nash is…
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Last season, Wilson Chandler shot 26.7 percent from three and while he was a nice young player he was expendable as part of the Knicks future. No more. Chandler has worked on his shot, found a sweet spot in the left corner and this season is shooting 38.6 percent from three. In a Knicks attack…
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Jrue Holiday outdueled the celebrated John Wall Wednesday night. Holiday, the sophomore, put up 26 points and had 9 assists, leading the Sixers to a win. That got some attention, but this isn’t a one-time thing, in his last seven games Holiday has averaged 20.2 points on 56 percent shooting, and 7.4 assists. What happened?…
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Samuel Dalembert not happy with shrinking role, may seek trade
Jan 6, 2011, 10:32 AM EDT
In the Sacramento Kings last three games, Samuel Dalembert has averaged 10 minutes and 3.3 points per game. That’s primarily because rookie DeMarcus Cousins is tearing it up — he has averaged 22.7 points on 55.8 percent shooting over that same three games. Cousins is playing well and Cousins is the future, so he gets…
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For the entire fourth quarter of a close game Wednesday — a game Chicago lost — Carlos Boozer sat and watched. Coach Tom Thibodeau had benched Boozer, the Bulls second best player. And he was none to pleased about it, as ESPNDallas reports. “You got to talk to Thibs about that,” Boozer said. “That was…
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There’s an irony in how much time Phil Jackson and Lamar Odom had to spend Wednesday saying Odom’s new reality show is not going to be a distraction to the Lakers. But they both said it, as Brett Pollakoff reported at FanHouse: “Lamar usually doesn’t get distracted by things that are outside (basketball),” Jackson said,…
