Archives › Kurt Helin
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The night that the lights went out in Orlando (and its new arena)
Oct 14, 2010, 11:33 PM EDT
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Preseason games aren’t just for working out kinks on the court. The Orlando Magic just turned on the lights and christened the new Amway Center a couple nights before, but Thursday night those lights went out. Literally. The main house lights in the arena dimmed for player introductions — as they do in all buildings…
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This time he’s not faking (we think): Gilbert Arenas leaves game with groin strain.
Oct 14, 2010, 10:57 PM EDT
Gilbert Arenas, meet instant Karma. Arenas suffered a mild groin strain and had to leave after playing just three minutes into the Wizards preseason game against the Milwaukee Bucks Thursday night. He did not return to the game. The injury comes just two days after Arenas admitted faking an injury so he could sit out…
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Players union to file legal challenge to new technical crackdown
Oct 14, 2010, 9:45 PM EDT
Well done NBA League office. You issue an edict on players complaining aimed in part to stop making referees the focus of games — and you take it so far you put the focus back on the referees. In the wake of players complaints about referees being told to hand out technicals to any player…
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Nuggets hire former Golden State GM Pete D’Alessandro as consultant
Oct 14, 2010, 6:40 PM EDT
The Nuggets have a couple of young bucks running their front office. There is Masai Ujiri, who got hired in the general manager role this summer (even though the formal title is vice president of basketball operations, he’s still a GM). But he answers to the guy with the ultimate power, soon-to-be-owner Josh Kronke, who…
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Last season: 42-40. They were average on offense, average on defense and had an average record — which is actually pretty impressive considering they had no stars to carry them. This was a good squad of role players waiting for a leader. Head Coach: Rick Adelman, who missed the playoffs last season for just the…
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Larry Brown has Allen Iverson’s back, says he deserves better end to his career
Oct 14, 2010, 4:11 PM EDT
Allen Iverson’s next game may be in Turkey. Not as part of the NBA’s preseason traveling road show (go globalization!) but as a member of a Turkey League team. Because nobody in the NBA will give him a shot. Larry Brown, the coach who got the most out of Iverson — by setting up an…
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Flip Saunders says Gilbert Arenas comments are “untrue.” Which is sort of untrue itself.
Oct 14, 2010, 3:07 PM EDT
Flip Saunders wants to put the idea that Gilbert Arenas conned him and lied to him so Nick Young could get a little more burn. That’s not how it went down, Saunders told ESPN Radio 980 in the nation’s capital (via Sports Radio Interviews). I talked to Gilbert at shootaround, he said his knee was…
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Kobe Bryant is shooting 14.3 percent in the preseason. Last night he said he felt better but he was 2 of 10. You don’t need those stats or any advanced ones to tell you he is not right — just watch him. Wednesday night Kobe came down on the break with the ball in his…
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Brandon Roy as Keyshawn Johnson: “I want the ball a lot more.”
Oct 14, 2010, 1:51 PM EDT
Two seasons ago, when Brandon Roy exploded onto the NBA scene the way those of us who watch a lot of Pac-10 ball expected he would, the ball was in his hands. You could define the positions however you want, Steve Blake was out there with him and may be the true point guard, but…
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We know what you really care about… Laker Girl Ashley is doing fine
Oct 14, 2010, 1:18 PM EDT
When you weren’t watching Kobe Bryant still looking a step slow and lacking elevation on his shots — he went 2-10 last night, now shooting 14.3 percent for all of preseason — you were worried about Laker Girl Ashley. She was the one that had Sacramento’s Carl Landry fall on her as Landry and Matt…
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The Sixers may be struggling to find an identity this preseason, but Jrue Holliday seemed comfortable against the Raptors. Holiday put up the rare preseason triple-double — 18 points, 12 assists and 11 rebounds. He was aggressive and attacking, and had just two turnovers. Yes, he played 46 minutes of a double-overtime game (Toronto won…
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Seems everywhere you look in the NBA right now guys are banged up and playing through pain, like you normally see in March. Not October. Add Rookie of the Year Tyreke Evans to the list, the Sacramento King guard drove the lane against the Lakers with 7:09 left, twisted his left ankle and came out…
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Tommy Heinsohn not a fan of the “stupid” new NBA technical rules
Oct 14, 2010, 11:20 AM EDT
Kevin Garnett got tossed last night for something said in a conversation with the referee during a technical foul shot. Well away from the play. Two techs right on top of one another. As you might imagine, old-school Celtics broadcaster Tommy Heinsohn was not a fan (thanks to Mike Prada of SBN for finding the…
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LeBron James sat out Wednesday night’s Heat preseason game, joining Dwyane Wade in some normally very expensive courtside seats. So how bad is the hamstring injury he suffered the game before? Not that bad, the team says. The Heat are just being cautious because it’s preseason, coach Erik Spoelstra told Ira Winderman of the Sun…
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Ron Artest’s YouTube recommendation of the day: wild animal fights
Oct 14, 2010, 9:45 AM EDT
Ron Artest did it all for the Lakers Wednesday night: 18 points on 7 of 11 shooting, 4 of 5 from three, plus he had four rebounds. More than that, he was the steady mature voice on the court, stepping up with Kobe Bryant still hobbled. Artest was directing guys in the offense. After the…
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Paul Pierce hits game winner so he can make postgame dinner reservation
Oct 14, 2010, 8:54 AM EDT
Who says veteran players don’t have motivation in the preseason? Paul Pierce lobbied to stay in the game then knocked down a 19-foot jumper with 8 seconds left to give the Boston Celtics 104-101 win over the Knicks in Madison Square Garden Wednesday night. Why would he do that for a preseason game? “I got…
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Just what the Sixers needed — another big man down. Marreese Speights left the team’s preseason game against the Raptors in the third quarter with what has been termed a strained hamstring, according to Philly.com’s Kate Fagan. Speights was trying to save a ball from going out of bounds when he stepped awkwardly. He instantly…
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Kevin Garnett tossed from preseason game for some magical words
Oct 13, 2010, 10:10 PM EDT
We don’t know what Kevin Garnett said to referee Kane Fitzgerald. If you’ve ever watched Bull Durham you can take a guess, but we don’t know. Whatever it was, it was some magical words that got Garnett tossed with two quick technicals from a preseason game against the Knicks at Madison square Garden. In the…
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UPDATE 8:30 PM: The Chinese Basketball Association has issued a formal apology for their players going off and beating the crap out of the Brazilian team. (Sorry Brazil, round one goes to the Chinese.) The entire Chinese team will have to attend good sportsmanship classes. Seriously. That is the punishment. A class. “The CBA apologizes…
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“Combo’s the word. Like a combo meal? KFC Combo meal. You gotta get a two piece, plus extra biscuits, to describe what he do.” —DeLonte West, trying to explain what Kevin Garnett brings to the Celtics (via CelticsBlog)
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UPDATE 6:40 pm: It’s official, the Hornets have announced they have reached a one-year deal with Congo Cash (although they refer to him as DJ Mbenga for some reason). No ring and a very different feel this year for Mbenga getting out of the Lakers spotlight, but you can bet the people in New Orleans…
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It just feels wrong. It’s not going to change things really; the Spurs will be the Spurs. Maybe even a little better version of the Spurs. But this starting five just feels weird: Tony Parker, Manu Ginobili, Richard Jefferson, Tim Duncan, DeJuan Blair. Coach Gregg Popovich has not settled on that yet according to the…
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Anthony Mason given hardest job in the world: Get Eddy Curry ready to play
Oct 13, 2010, 5:07 PM EDT
What’s the hardest job in the United States? President? Cleaning out sewers? Janitor at a porno theater? How about getting Eddy Curry ready to play basketball? That’s right up there, and with less chance of success. And that is also former Knick Anthony Mason’s new job, according to the New York Post. Mostly this is…
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Gilbert Arenas fakes injury to sit out preseason game, gets fined by team
Oct 13, 2010, 4:38 PM EDT
UPDATE #2 4:38 pm: Via Bullets Forever, here is Arenas’ statement to the media: “In hindsight now I would say yes. I wasn’t thinking this would be another media outburst. Everything that I do now is someone tit for tat trying to blow it out of proportion. Y’now at the end of the day Nick is…
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Get your 2011 Cleveland Cavaliers calendar — with LeBron on the cover
Oct 13, 2010, 2:29 PM EDT
Hey, Cavaliers fans, can you come over here for a second? Thanks, I just have a little salt to rub into that wound for ya… Oh, this pain was not intentional on the part of the company, but it is pain none the less. Those 2011 wall calendars you’re going to walk past in the…
