Archives › Kurt Helin
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What we learned about Houston — it’s all about the guards right now
Oct 27, 2010, 5:45 PM EDT
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Yao Ming looked rusty — which makes sense after 15 months away from the game at this level. He rushed shots and missed things that by Thanksgiving will fall. Luis Scola scored 18 but took 18 shots to do it, including going 2-for-7 on midrange jumpers he can hit. He didn’t look like the player…
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Wilson Chandler denies improper workouts, League investigating Knicks anyway
Oct 27, 2010, 4:14 PM EDT
In the wake of a report yesterday claiming a Knicks scout has conducted improper predraft workouts for several years, the league is now investigating the situation. That’s not a surprise, but the New York Post has confirmed it. Meanwhile, Wilson Chandler — one of the players the Knicks allegedly worked out improperly back in 2007,…
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Gilbert Arenas’ sprained ankle is not getting better — he was walking around in a protective boot Wednesday — and he will miss the first two Wizards games. At least. That according to a tweet from Michael Lee of the Washington Post. Arenas is going to see a doctor to see if anything more serious…
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On Nov. 6 last season the Memphis Grizzlies were in Los Angeles, falling to the Lakers. But what stands out in my notes from that game is just how awkward the Grizzlies locker room felt. Media were huddled around Allen Iverson, who had scored 8 points off the bench, dominating a corner of the locker…
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Phil Jackson sums up Lakers championship ring: They are “unwearable” and “terrific”
Oct 27, 2010, 12:45 PM EDT
Nobody knows more about NBA championship rings than Phil Jackson. He’s got 11 of them, he even designed one (the last title of the Shaq/Kobe three-peat). And he’s not a huge fan. Except when he is. “They’re unwearable. And I always think they’re something that should be able to be worn. “But seeing as Dr.…
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Tracy McGrady on 15-minute time limit. Was he playing more than that anyway?
Oct 27, 2010, 12:08 PM EDT
Tracy McGrady has had a couple of knee surgeries and played a limited amount of basketball in the last few years. It looked it in the preseason — he played in one of the team’s eight games, and just eight minutes in that. He missed practices due to “tired legs.” So it shouldn’t be a…
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Portland looks pretty good, Phoenix… they should get better. Right?
Oct 27, 2010, 11:43 AM EDT
The Phoenix Suns scored just one point in the final 5:43 of this game. That’s why the Blazers won 106-92 and the final score belies how close this game was for three-and-a-half quarters. What happened? Well, for the last half decade, when the game got tight and the defenses serious, Phoenix had one of the…
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Last season the Minnesota Timberwolves were Jonny Flynn’s team. Right now they are Luke Ridnour’s. Well, they should be Kevin Love’s but as Ridnour brings the ball up the court, it is he who decides who gets the rock. Ergo, his team. For now. Flynn has hip surgery this summer but was back on the…
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What was LeBron listening to in his LeBron Power Beats by Dre on the bus back to the hotel after an opening night loss? A little Wiz Khalifa, some J. Cole, some Jazmine Sullivan. His playlist right now is just one of the tidbits on LeBronJames.com, which relaunched officially this week — not so coincidentally…
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Leandro Barbosa trying to play through pain, put off surgery
Oct 27, 2010, 9:34 AM EDT
Leandro Barbosa wanted Toronto to be a new start for him. And on the court it kind of has been, he has been one of the bright spots for Toronto this preseason. But the past keeps haunting him. Last season he missed a couple months with a wrist surgery. Doctors took another look at that…
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Ring ceremonies are usually tedious affairs. Any event where everyone has to shake the commissioner’s hand is rarely exciting to watch. But the Lakers put a nice twist on their’s Tuesday, having the players introduce one another. It felt genuine. Take a look for yourself.
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Game of the night II: Lakers take trip down memory lane, including sloppy win
Oct 27, 2010, 3:14 AM EDT
Laker fans filled Staples Center to relive the glory of last year, to see the rings handed out and banner number 16 unveiled. They got that and more. They got the full Lakers treatment from last season (the regular season). They got the good and the bad. There was a half of sloppy defense, a…
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Not one technical was called on a player in the Celtics and Heat season opener. Two teams with guys known for lighting into officials. In the Lakers game Lamar Odom got called for an early offensive foul said, something to the referee but you could see him pause, and just think better of it and…
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In an interview with TNT before the Miami Heat’s season opener, LeBron James said the Heat are “the most hated team in the world” right now. Really? That’s a long and storied list. So we ask you: Who do you think is the most hated team in sports?
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I’m glad the NBA League Offices took the summer to focus on the important things around the NBA. Such as a new addition to the league dress code for players that bans the wearing of headbands upside down. Because that was a big problem. But it is part of the new league rules according to…
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It’s just not a good day for the Knicks. The latest news is that Anthony Randolph will not be coming off the bench for them opening night (Wednesday) after spraining an ankle, and that starting center Timofey Mozgov is questionable after injuring his hip in practice. (Both notes via the twitter account of Howard Beck…
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Chris Douglas-Roberts will miss the first month of the Bucks’ season after having to undergo eye surgery Tuesday. CDR was poked in the eye during a Sunday practice, causing the eye to swell nearly shut by Monday. The damage was severe enough to warrant surgery, noted HoopsWorld’s Alex Kennedy on twitter. It’s a setback for…
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We have a new low: Ohio radio station hires witch doctor to curse LeBron
Oct 26, 2010, 4:56 PM EDT
And now we have reached what we can only hope is the nadir of the LeBron James hatred. It’s probably not. Probably not close. Sadly. But we can hope. “Rover’s Morning Glory,” the morning show for WMMS-FM in Cleveland, hired a witch doctor to put a hex on LeBron. Said doctor used bones, blood and…
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Record 84 international players on NBA rosters this season
Oct 26, 2010, 4:00 PM EDT
Globalization has come to an NBA roster near you. The season opens this week with 84 players born outside the United States on NBA rosters, or about 20 percent. That is the highest number of international players ever in the NBA. There are 38 countries or territories represented on the list, and players are on…
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Report: Knicks violated league rules with improper pre-draft workouts
Oct 26, 2010, 3:00 PM EDT
The Knicks have tried desperately to escape their recent past, but it comes back to haunt them again and again. The latest — a Knicks scout and confidant of Isiah Thomas has run improper pre-draft workouts for the past four years, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo. Knicks director of East Coast scouting Rodney Heard…
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James Naismith’s draft of 13 original rules for basketball up for auction
Oct 26, 2010, 2:31 PM EDT
![Naismith4[1]](http://nbcprobasketballtalk.files.wordpress.com/2010/10/naismith41.jpg?w=200&h=170&crop=1)
James Naismith invented an elegantly simple game. Just 13 rules. The game has evolved. There has become amazing complexity to get to the simple goal of putting the ball in the basket. The rulebook is now painfully thick. But you can own the original, simple 13 rules. Ian Naismith, grandson of James, is putting the…
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Knicks put up Amar’e billboard right across from Nets Brooklyn construction
Oct 26, 2010, 12:58 PM EDT
Remember back in June, when the brash new Nets owner Mikhail Prokhorov put up a billboard of himself and Nets part owner Jay-Z overlooking Madison Square Garden. Underneath is said “Blueprint for Greatness.” The Nets real blueprints are being used for their new building under construction in Brooklyn, at the Atlantic Yards. Which is right…
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Charles Barkley has a couple words if you think he has a gambling problem
Oct 26, 2010, 12:01 PM EDT
Two years ago, Charles Barkley said he had probably lost $10 million gambling and that it might be a problem. That he liked gambling but had to learn to do so without losing so much money. Now he tells GQ that he doesn’t have a problem (via TrueHoop): “Yeah, I like to gamble. And I’m…
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Mock the Knicks for losing if you want, but not about their payroll
Oct 26, 2010, 11:31 AM EDT
The Knicks will probably win more than the 23 games they did two seasons ago in the last of the Isiah Thomas years. We’re predicting 38 wins this season, although we are admittedly an optimistic lot (just to balance out native New Yorkers). Whatever happens, the Knicks likely will lose more games than they win.…
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Tonight we put the preseason behind us for good and embrace the new season. But before we go, how about a quick look back at the top 10 dunks of the preseason? Just because the games don’t count doesn’t mean the dunks are any less fun.
