Archives › Kurt Helin
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Record 84 international players on NBA rosters this season
Oct 26, 2010, 4:00 PM EDT
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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.
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‘Our Home Since 1866. Our Pride Forever’ That logo across a back-and-white Cleveland skyline picture is what will go up 10-stories tall across from Quicken Loans Arena (via WTAM). Right where the LeBron James Witness banner used to be. Just another reminder that things — and the focus — has changed this season in Cleveland.…
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Someone wants to stay in Denver: George Karl would like an extension
Oct 26, 2010, 10:19 AM EDT
George Karl doesn’t care that Carmelo Anthony’s extension sits unsigned, he wants to stay in Denver. He told FanHouse he wants a multi-year deal. “I don’t like being a businessman,” Karl said in an interview Monday with FanHouse. “But, if that’s what I have to be, I will be.” “I’m going to live in Denver…
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Udonis Haslem’s mother died this summer. Damn you, cancer. Monday afternoon, with the Heat’s 2006 championship trophy in the room along with just the players, Haslem spoke about it. Passionately. And moved his teammates. Haslem was close to his mother, he spent a lot of time by her side in Miami this past year as…
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There is basketball outside of South Beach and L.A.: 10 things worth watching
Oct 26, 2010, 9:17 AM EDT
Yes, the Heat have the three biggest stars we have seen on a team since the 1980s. Yes the Lakers are the two-time defending champs and may have more talent than any team in the league. We get it. You love them. We’ll talk about them plenty this season. But there is so much more…
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Where you should hang out if you think the Heat will lose tonight
Oct 26, 2010, 8:16 AM EDT
Whiskey Tango All-American Bar & Grill may serve my favorite drink tonight. Free. That is, if you think the Celtics can beat the Heat tonight. See Whisky Tango in Hollywood, Fla., is paying for your bar tab every time the Heat lose (via FanHouse). From the Web site of the tavern. “When you come to…
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It’s official for Heat: Joel Anthony, Carlos Arroyo named starters
Oct 25, 2010, 11:11 PM EDT
Joel Anthony and Carlos Arroyo just became the two guys every team is going to try to attack. That’s because Monday Heat coach Erik Spoelstra made it official and named Anthony the starting center and Arroyo the staring point guard for the Heat, according to Ira Winderman at the Sun Sentinel. Nobody sane is going…
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Alanis Morissette would call this ironic. She would be wrong (again). Poetic justice maybe. John Lennon’s Instant Karma would be a good fit. Not irony. Gilbert Arenas — the guy who said he was injured when he was not during the preseason so he could skip a game — may miss the Washington Wizards first…
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Blazers waive Jeff Pendergraph, keep Patty Mills on roster
Oct 25, 2010, 6:46 PM EDT
The ying and the yang, the sorrow and joy of the NBA roster cuts…. Just 18 days ago Jeff Pendergraph was a sure thing for the Portland Trail Blazers, a second year center who may not have had a guaranteed deal but a guy the team liked and was getting minutes. With Greg Oden and…
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Indiana looked for a way around this for the last few days, trying to trade away other assets to keep Magnum Rolle on the roster. Didn’t work out. So today, the Pacers cut the second round draft pick out of Louisiana Tech that they traded up to get in June, according to a tweet from…
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Hornets David West isn’t like everyone else, he’d rather wait to talk contract extension
Oct 25, 2010, 5:30 PM EDT
Players around the league are jumping at the chance to get a contract extension in under this Collective Bargaining Agreement. There are some, like the Spurs Richard Jefferson, that took less money this season to guarantee a longer-term deal now. The only prominent exception is Carmelo Anthony, and that is a sticky mess. And now…
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UPDATE 3:21 pm: He had it — Webster went under the knife Monday to remove part of a herniated disc in his back that had been giving him problems, according to the Star Tribune. No word on a recovery timetable, but four to six weeks sounds likely. Someone on the Timberwolves needs to pick up…
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It’s pretty obvious Kobe Bryant’s knee is still an issue. Him sitting out preseason games and saying it was 60 percent at the start of camp might have been your first clue (when Kobe admits he’s injured, it’s serious). Then there’s his shot — Kobe’s shot starts with his legs. (To you kids at home,…
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Yao Ming will start against Lakers, just as David Stern had planned
Oct 25, 2010, 12:50 PM EDT
The Lakers will hang another banner up at Staples Center and get some gaudy rings. But that’s not the only big storyline Tuesday night in Los Angeles — Yao Ming will be back on the court. Rockets coach Rick Adelman had a decision to make: He isn’t going to play Yao on both ends of…
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Heat make final roster cuts, Beverley and Butler out; Heat go big with Magloire
Oct 25, 2010, 11:57 AM EDT
It makes sense. If the Miami Heat have a real weakness it’s at the five — they need all the centers they can get. So when it came down to the final two roster cuts Monday, gone was point guard Patrick Beverley and injured forward Da’Sean Butler, according to a tweet from Ira Winderman. Staying…
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Grizzlies Marc Gasol sprains ankle, could miss start of season
Oct 25, 2010, 11:42 AM EDT
UPDATE 11:42 am: X-rays on Gasol’s ankle came back negative, so there is no serious damage. That’s good news, now it’s just a matter of healing and pain tolerance. No word yet on if he plays Wednesday, may be a game time decision. 10:59 am: Wednesday night, when the Grizzlies open the season against the…
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NBA Power Rankings, where the preseason games don’t matter. Sort of.
Oct 25, 2010, 11:28 AM EDT
Here are our rankings to start off the season. Preseason games do not matter, which is why the Lakers are still on top of this poll. Then again, we bounced the Magic up to No. 2 because of their undefeated preseason. So we’re not consistent. We’re clearly not in midseason form yet. 1. Lakers. Former…
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Shaq plans to ride Boston subway dressed as a woman. And play some basketball.
Oct 25, 2010, 10:43 AM EDT
Shaquille O’Neal is a hit in Boston. His big, playful personality has been embraced by the city — did you see how many people came out to watch him be a statue? Next up? Going on the “T” (Boston’s quaint subway system) dressed as a woman named Shaquita, he told WEEI. “That’s a good idea.…
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UPDATE 6:28 pm: With no trade to be made, the Pacers decided to cut Magnum Rolle lose. Which means they traded up to get a guy in the second round they then cut. 9:59 am: Welcome to cut-down day. Today is the day NBA rosters need to be at 15 for the season. The Indiana…
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Video: Clippers, Celtics discussions 'can't be wrong'
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Video: Elliot looks ahead to Game 6
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Video: The Hype: How much would you pay to punch someone?
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Video: If Heat lose, 'all hell will break loose'
