The events during All-Star Saturday weren't very exciting. Surprisingly, the most exciting event
might have been the Skills Challenge. The Skills Challenge had a ton of talent and there was good
effort by each participate.
The players in the Skills Challenge were Kyrie Irving of the Cleveland Cavaliers, Rajon Rondo of
the Boston Celtics, John Wall of the Washington Wizards, Russell Westbrook of the Oklahoma City
Thunder, Deron Williams of the New Jersey Nets and Tony Parker of the San Antonio Spurs.
Everyone is overlooking the Atlanta Hawks this season. They didn't do much in the offseason but
now that the regular season has started, Atlanta is on fire. After beating the Washington Wizards
by a final score of 101-83 on Wednesday, the Hawks are now 2-0 with a total margin of victory of 54
points.
To the surprise of no one, Blake Griffin was a unanimous selection to the All-Rookie first team
for the 2011 NBA season. Somewhat surprising is the fact that John Wall wasn't a unanimous first
team choice he got 28 of 29 needed votes. The other three players on the first team were DeMarcus
Cousins, Gary Neal and Landry Fields.
For one night, at least, the Miami Heat were able to ignore the issues surrounding the team and
come together on the basketball court. Playing the Washington Wizards without John Wall, the Heat
were able to win by a final score of 105-94. LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh all played
well for the Heat in the victory.
John Wall, the first pick of the 2010 NBA Draft, is already tearing up the NBA. The rookie guard
for the Washington Wizards had his best game yet on Wednesday in leading his team to a 98-91
victory over the Houston Rockets. In 42 minutes, John Wall had a triple-double of 19 points, 13
assists and ten rebounds.
The Orlando Magic were undefeated in the preseason. On Thursday, the Magic showed that their
preseason play wasn't a fluke. In John Wall's debut in the NBA with the Washington Wizards, the
Magic easily prevailed with a 112-83 victory.
Dwight Howard led the way for the Magic, scoring 20 points, grabbing ten rebounds and blocking
three shots.
If you like basketball, summer league is always a fun thing to watch. Most of the players are
going all out to put food on the table; there aren't many egomaniac superstars coasting through a
contest. It's just good, hard fought, competitive basketball even though the sloppy play and
unending fouls can ruin the rhythm at times.
Last month, the Washington Wizards made John Wall the first overall pick of the 2010 NBA Draft.
On Sunday, Wall played his first pro game in a summer league contest against the Golden State
Warriors. The 19-year-old point guard started off the game sloppy but quickly flashed the potential
that makes scouts drool.
Prior to Thursday night, Kentucky never had a player selected first overall. When the Washington
Wizards picked John Wall, that changed. And Kentucky's night was just beginning.
Image: Reuters
In the first round, Kentucky had five players drafted (John Wall, DeMarcus Cousins, Cole
Aldrich, Patrick Patterson and Daniel Orton) to set a new record.
The 2010 NBA Draft is almost here. Who is your favorite team going to pick? You'll find out
officially on June 24th at 7 p.m. ET, however here is an early look. Tell us what you think of
EveryJoe's 2010 NBA Mock Draft where we cover the first round of the draft.
The latest NBA collective bargaining agreement will include an amnesty provision that will allow
each team to waive a player and erase the contract from their salary cap. Who are the best NBA
amnesty candidates? Here is our look at the top ten.
1. Rashard Lewis, Washington Wizards
Although massively overpaid, Rashard Lewis can still play.
Javaris Crittenton is a free man. For the time being, at least. Javaris Critten was freed on a
$230,000 bond on Tuesday. The former NBA player has been charged in a murder of 22-year-old
woman.
According to police, Crittenton was shooting at a man who had previously robbed him and
accidentally hit Julian Jones.
Once upon a time, the Los Angeles Lakers were high on Javaris Crittenton and viewed him as a
legit NBA player. In fact, some Lakers fans compared his ability at a young age to one Kobe Bryant.
However, those thoughts are a distant memory as the 23-year-old is currently wanted for murder in
Atlanta, Georgia.
Gilbert Arenas, who was recently traded to the Orlando Magic from the Washington Wizards in
return for Rashard Lewis, has wasted little time getting his new fans excited. In a recent game
against the New York Nets, Gilbert Arenas hit a shot from the opposite free throw line at the
halftime buzzer.
The Orlando Magic have revamped their roster. On Thursday, the Magic showed exactly what they
may become when their offense exploded and left the Spurs helpless. The Magic easily defeated the
Spurs 123-101. Entering the game, the Magic had lost eight of nine, while the Spurs were riding a
ten-game winning streak.
With the NBA season set to begin on Christmas Day, let's take a further look at the basketball
landscape. We already looked at the NBA power rankings to see the best teams in basketball. Now,
let's look at the worst. Here are the top 10 worst teams in the NBA headed into the 2011-12
season.
Now that we know the order of the 2011 NBA Draft, it's time to start the predictions. While this
draft is considered weak, especially in the lottery, there are some teams that should really be
able to help themselves most notably the Cleveland Cavaliers, who have the first and fourth picks
in the draft!
Who will be in the NBA slam dunk contest? That question has a new answer as of Thursday. Since
Brandon Jennings is dealing with a foot injury, he has been replaced by DeMar DeRozan of the
Toronto Raptors. DeRozan came in second place last year in the NBA Slam Dunk Contest behind Nate
Robinson.
In addition to DeRozan, this year's dunkathon will feature Javale McGee, a center for the
Washington Wizards; Serge Ibaka, the shotblocking bigman for the Oklahoma City Thunder; and Blake
Griffin, the NBA Rookie of the Year.
United legend goes courtside at Wizards home game against Toronto
From our friends over at Comcast SportsNet, below is footage of Jaime Moreno attending last
night's Washington Wizards v Toronto Raptors NBA contest. Special thanks to the Wizards for
honoring the former Black-and-Red striker, who recently completed his fourteenth and final D.
The 2010-11 NBA schedule was released on Tuesday. Although the season is a couple months away,
the release of the schedules has basketball junkies anticipating a number of interesting matchups.
LeBron James in South Beach? The Lakers going for the three-peat? Yeah, it's going to be an
exciting year.
Hilton Armstrong of the Washington Wizards committed a dangerous flagrant foul on Monday night
against the Miami Heat. With Joel Anthony going up for a dunk, Hilton Armstrong pushed him to the
ground. Thankfully Armstrong avoided injury. Video of Hilton Armstrong's flagrant foul can be seen
below.
Yesterday, we showed the video of LeBron James bumping Erik Spoelstra, the head coach of the
Miami heat. Today, LeBron James denies that he hates Spoelstra and says that he didn't bump him on
purpose. The Heat, who have a record of 9-8 after beginning the season with championship
expectations, play the Washington Wizards tonight.
Yao Ming is injured again. The Houston Rockets center, who missed all of last season after
breaking his foot, suffered a strained tendon against the Washington Wizards. The injury is to his
left leg. The Rockets have to be worried, especially since the broken foot that kept him out last
season was his left one.
Gilbert Arenas was on his best behavior at the start of training camp. Known for his fun-loving
ways, the Washington Wizards guard was all business. Unfortunately, Gilbert Arenas' good behavior
didn't even make it ot the start of the regular season. Arenas was caught lying once again and the
Wizards were forced to fine him.
Rick Carlisle, the head coach of the Dallas Mavericks, fainted at practice on Friday. Although
he was carried off in a stretcher, 50-year-old coach says that he's fine. Carlisle reports being
lightheaded before fainting but everything checking out once he got to the hospital. He'll take the
weekend off a precautionary measure.
It's getting scary in South Beach. Even after forming the amazing threesome of Dwyane Wade,
LeBron James and Chris Bosh, the Miami Heat continue to add pieces. The latest two players to sign
up for the potential dynasty are Mike Miller and Udonis Haslem.
Miller is the knock-down shooter this team will need.
Tuesday night at the Verizon Center, the Washington Wizards will honor Ben Olsen after
the third quarter of its game against the Philadelphia 76ers. D.C. United fans wishing to attend
can purchase $14 tickets to the game in honor of the Black-and-Red's legendary #14.
To purchase:
Click here
Enter special offer code "dcunited"
Buy tickets
If you're able to attend, this is a great opportunity to honor one of the most celebrated
players in club history.
United goalkeeper Milos Kocic and midfielder Ben Olsen took in the Washington Wizards-Miami Heat
game last night at the Verizon Center. Unfortunately, the Wizards lost 93-89 despite Gilbert
Arenas' 32 points.
With David Beckham playing his last match for the LA Galaxy in the MLS Cup final, there is a lot being written about whether his six years in America have been a success for him, the league and the sport. The answer appears to be an easy "yes" all around, but for Beckham himself, this time has definitely been greatly productive if only because he comes away from it with basketball legend Michael Jordan as his personal concierge.
Going into the 2011 NBA Slam Dunk Contest, Blake Griffin was the overwhelming favorite. In his
rookie campaign, the Los Angeles Clippers forward has thrown down some of the most epic dunks ever
seen on an NBA court. While Blake Griffin, as expected, won the 2011 Slam Dunk Contest, the best
dunker on the court was actually Javale McGee of the Washington Wizards.
Dwight Howard had a winning putback layup for the Orlando Magic in their 100-99 victory over the
Washington Wizards. Howard finished with 32 points, 11 rebounds and two blocks as the Magic
improved to 12-4 on the season. Usually, Howard leaves it up to his teammates to take game-winning
shots. This time, the burly bigman decided to take matters into his own hands.
Gilbert Arenas loves to talk. Gilbert Arenas loves to blog. But if NBA commissioner David Stern
has his way, Gilbert Arenas will love silence this season.
In an attempt to distance the NBA from the ugly gun incident that led to a 50-game suspension
for the Washington Wizards guard, Stern has told Arenas and Ted Leonsis, the owner of the Wizards,
to shut up.
