NBA Central

NBA Retro Zapruder Of The 1985 NBA Draft Lottery

In the 80's hit movie Stand By Me, there's a scene where the four main characters, teenage boys (including a young Corey Feldman!), are sitting around a campfire and one of them (Gordie) tells a story about a fat kid named Lard Ass participating in a blueberry pie eating contest at the county fair. ... More >>

Rockets Close Out Home Stand with Loss to Pacers

If at the beginning of this seven-game homestand someone would ask the average Rocket fan what a good record would be given the teams on the schedule, most would likely want 7-0, but they would certainly settle for 5-2, which is exactly what they got after the Rockets went down to the NBA's league-l ... More >>

Rockets Make Winning Plays Late, Beat Spurs 96-95 on Harden's Late Jumper

It's been a while since Rockets fans have experienced something like this. For those of us who have followed the Rockets for 20 or 30 years, we can remember plenty of times they rose up to make big shots against the rival San Antonio Spurs...and quite a few that went the other direction. But, Sunday ... More >>

Seven ZERO Time NBA All-Stars Who Made More in Career Earnings Than Michael Jordan

I once had a boss who told me "The only thing worse than being underpaid is being overpaid." Looking back, perhaps he was trying to send a message to me personally, but the general message was this -- making too much money makes one utterly expendable. That's a fine notion, and in most walks of li ... More >>

From Five Straight Wins to Four Straight Losses, the Young Rockets Continue to Confound

I've mentioned in this space on numerous occasions that you have to take the good and bad with youth. It's exciting and fast-paced and fun, but it's also exceedingly frustrating. On a weekend that saw the Texans go out more with a whimper than a bang, it would have been nice for the other halfway de ... More >>

Open Letter to the Jerks Who Killed Someone Over a Pair of Air Jordans

Dear A-Holes, Well done. You have reached the absolute lowest point on the criminal totem pole. You are now ranked down there with people who steal Christmas gifts on Christmas Eve and worthless lowlifes who literally take candy from babies. You killed a guy over a pair of shoes. I must confess I ... More >>

Rockets 120, Bulls 97: Offensive Juggernaut Routs Another Defensive Powerhouse

Don't look now, but the team no one can see on Houston TV is looking pretty damn good right about now. Winning their fourth game in a row, which included routs over the Knicks and the Grizzlies, the Rockets beat one of the best defensive teams in the league, the Chicago Bulls, by 23, at one point le ... More >>

NBA Season Jump Starts with Spate of Christmas Day Games Including the Rockets

In 2011, Christmas Day was the literal start to the NBA season thanks to a lockout that kept the season from starting for nearly two full months. Most every other year, the season starts in October, but for the casual fan, it doesn't really get going until Christmas Day. With the NFL taking the day ... More >>

Phil Jackson Words Ring True for Underground Houston Rap

Context: That's The Fury God doing one of those radio-station freestyles that radio stations like to ask rappers to do. It happened right before he performed at The Box's recent Los Magnificos Custom Car Show, alongside four other underground acts. Why It's Important: Because it might maybe possib ... More >>

Beardsanity: Rockets Stars Inspire in Win, Team Still Has Issues (with Crazy Video)

So, this James Harden kid is pretty good. He torched the Detroit Pistons for 37 points, 12 assists (a career high), six rebounds and four steals on opening night and it appears he is everything advertised and more. No doubt he isn't going to go off for that kind of game every night, but he has insta ... More >>

Alleged Teen Rape Caught on Video

Eight is Enough: Rockets Logjam at Power Forward Dissected

As the Rockets head into summer league play with their ultra-young roster, a question has arisen among fans: what exactly are they going to do with eight power forwards? It's a valid question. They currently have eight guys who play the position -- some can split time at other spots, but more on tha ... More >>

NBA Draft Preview Via Prop Bets

I know some people are not all that fond of mock drafts. Me, I like mock drafts. In the same vein of enjoying takeout because I hate to cook, I like reading mock drafts, I just don't like constructing them myself. But somehow, some way I need to share some of my thoughts with you on this Thursday's ... More >>

Ask A Rapper: D-Risha Discusses Sports' Worst "Decisions"

The hip-hop world is a less than sensible place -- lots of times, you're even required to clarify when bad means bad and when bad means good -- so once a week we're going to get with a rapper and ask them to explain things. Something you always wanted to ask a rapper? E-mail sheaserrano@gmail.com. ... More >>

NBA Draft: Recent Stinkhole History To Enlighten Rocket Fans

Prior to Wednesday night's game between the Miami Heat and the Boston Celtics, the 27th annual NBA Draft Lottery took place, or as Rocket fans like to call it "a tradition like no other." For those Rocket fans, their 0.5 percent chance of coming away with the top pick gave the draft lottery a decide ... More >>

Hammered Miami Heat Fan Strips To Bra & Panties To Celebrate A Win (VIDEO Analysis)

I realize that, unless you're a member of LeBron James' or Dwyane Wade's immediate family, it's awfully tough to find a reason to root for the Miami Heat. While they're not the lightning rod for vitriol that they were coming off of LeBron's "Decision" in the summer of 2010, the Heat are still quit ... More >>

Jerry "The King" Lawler Piledrives Clipper Fan: Old School WWE Wrestlers for Each NBA Playoff Series (w/ VIDEO)

People laugh dismissively when I say it, but the more they can incorporate WWE performers and the general WWE "way" of entertainment, the more enjoyable other genres of sports will become. No, I'm not talking about the predetermined outcomes of matches (The NBA has already incorporated that aspect o ... More >>

Michael Jordan's $29,000,000 Mansion Is for Sale -- 6 Fun Facts

With his divorce over five years old and his kids now all grown up and college age, I guess it's time for Michael Jordan to officially pull up stakes in Chicago and sell the old homestead. And it appears he's doing just that, as Jordan placed his Highland Park, Illinois, mansion on the market today ... More >>

One Man's NBA All-Star Reserve Selections

Go ahead and chalk up the NBA All-Star Game taking place in a few weeks (Sunday, February 26, to be exact) in Orlando's Amway Center as the next "feels weird" moment of the NBA season. It feels like the season just tipped off a few weeks ago and yet here we are, about 20 games in, deciding who the b ... More >>

Rockets Announce 2011-2012 Schedule -- 6 Things You Need to Know

Kevin Martin: Not a big national-TV draw.​My excitement for the upcoming NBA season was moderately brimming before yesterday (due in large part to a $50 prop bet I placed a couple months ago on the season starting on or before Christmas -- CHA-CHING!), but two things happened yesterday. First ... More >>

30 Seconds with La Dispute's Jordan Dreyer

By fusing spoken word with an unrelenting punk-2.5 sound, La Dispute has won our allegiance. We gave singer Jordan Breyer the third degree in order to find out what we could from him in 30 seconds. Rocks Off: What is the worst song in the world? Jordan Dreyer: It's hard for me to say, really, be ... More >>

2011 NBA Draft -- 4 Winners, 4 Losers

Tough night for Dick Vitale​My fingers are still recovering from the lengthy (eight printed pages!) live blog I did last night here on Hair Balls, but the day after the draft necessitates some post-draft analysis. I've now had a day to sleep on it, and without further ado, a few post-draft tho ... More >>

NBA Draft Rewind -- 1986, The Worst Draft Ever

Plus the shorts sucked​As much as those who construct teams in sports would like to think that they have a formula and a blueprint that they can go execute with any team in any market and be successful, the fact of the matter is that even for the best personnel men in the best-run organization ... More >>

2011 NBA Draft -- The Live Blog

Keep coming back for the latest​The overwhelming consensus on the 2011 NBA Draft is that it's, by and large, a pretty underwhelming group of players, and it may quite possibly be completely devoid of future All-Stars. So why am I so excited about tonight's festivities? Because of all the thin ... More >>

2011 NBA Draft -- A Reminder of the Rockets' Purgatory

NBA Draft: Do Rocket fans have anything to look forward to?​In the second season of The Sopranos, after getting shot in the abdomen and nearly dying, Christopher has dreams while in a coma about going to a place where people die every day the same painful way they died on earth. Convinced that ... More >>

Five Former Houston Rockets' Garage Sales We'd Like to Attend

Pippen loved him some beanie babies.​With an NBA lockout looming this offseason, current players should take note of the financial misery of former Houston Rocket and future Hall of Famer Scottie Pippen. Once the right-hand man of Michael Jordan, Pippen has fallen into such difficult financial ... More >>

Detroit Pistons Mutiny (with Tracy McGrady video)

Practice?! We're talking about practice?!​If you're keeping score at home, Tracy McGrady has left scorched earth behind every NBA franchise for whom he has played. He left Toronto for Orlando just as his career was finally beginning to blossom, eventually wore out his welcome (amidst copious ... More >>

The Cool Kids

Year in Review Appendix -- Five More Stories For The Road

One more for 2010...​I love the last week of December. Between Gary Kubiak and the option to just pick out some category from the past year and recap it, it's ready-made content. Just add snark! So in the spirit of lazy "Year in Review" style posts (one of which I've already submitted today! ... More >>

Thanksgiving 2010: The Post Where We Get All "Thanky"

Thank you. Thank you very much.​As we prepare to gorge ourselves today on turkey (Cajun fried is the choice here), stuffing, pumpkin bread, and perhaps something green (maaaaybe, but probably not), I want to first thank all of you who stop in and read the stuff on the blog here, not just my st ... More >>

LeBron James: Hate Or Appreciate?

The hip-hop world is a less than sensible place -lots of times, you're even required to clarify when bad means bad and when bad means good- so once a week we're going to get with a rapper and ask them to explain things. Have something you always wanted to ask a rapper? Email sheaserrano@gmail.com. ... More >>

Tracy McGrady And His Tired Legs

Tip: Don't play in "tired legs" mode​"I have been working hard all summer to get ready for the upcoming season an am thankful that I landed in Detroit. I'm doing my workouts with my trainer Ben, and I am now able to finish full workouts that I wasn't able to do for the past two years. I do feel tr ... More >>

The Quotable Tracy McGrady: "It's About Winning."

Blame Canada....or PEDs​Well, apparently I've pissed off Canada.In a post that was largely meant to illustrate the cavalcade of clown that is Les Miles and make a salient point or two about the Houston Texans, the biggest reaction to yesterday's "5 Winners, 5 Losers" came from north of the border, ... More >>

Game Time: Trevor Ariza Trade -- Instant Analysis

Good trade for the Rockets​I was not writing for HoustonPress.com when the Trevor Ariza signing went down last year so you'll have to take my word for it -- I was very skeptical and surprised by the signing at the time. (Note: There are megabytes and megabytes of sound from me on the internal arc ... More >>

Game Time: Bryan Colangelo Calls Chris Bosh A Pussy

Chris Bosh, hit from all sides​Right now, the Miami Heat are 0-0 in the 2010-2011 season. We've learned nothing about them from a basketball standpoint. At this point, all we know is how this new marriage made in hell has been processed emotionally -- by jilted fans, jilted teammates, and jilted ... More >>

Game Time: Yao Ming -- My Career Advice

Yao: No sane person would retire from your gig​As NBA stars go, when healthy Yao Ming is a game changer. We all know this to be true. He's as skilled an offensive big man as there is in the league, he draws double teams, and what he lacks in footspeed defensively, he makes up for in effort and s ... More >>

Game Time: Tracy McGrady Has Unfinished Business (And Water Is Wet)

T-Mac is growling​"I have unfinished business...." -- Tracy McGrady, via Twitter on SaturdayYeah, I got that doozy on my Tweetdeck on Saturday and had to laugh. I wondered if maybe the Twitter universe had started up one of its viral bandwagon topics, where people start hurling their contribution ... More >>

Game Time: LeBron is Making Me A Texas Longhorn Fan

Kevin Durant -- the anti-LeBron​It's July, it's the All-Star break, the Astros have reached the "what P.R. grab can we make?" part of the season about six weeks earlier than usual, and if I may say, hiring Jeff Bagwell as hitting coach should have far-reaching ramifications on the ball club that w ... More >>

Game Time: LeBron James: The Decision -- You Suck, ESPN

LeBron is Cleveland's new "Cuyahoga River on fire"​"It's been a real humbling experience to be in this position." -- LeBron James on his self-requested, one hour made-for-LeBron TV special on ESPNIf you lived in Houston at the time, you remember September 13, 2008. That was the morning after Hurr ... More >>

Game Time: LeBron-athon -- Five Backstabbings That Will Get You Ready For Tonight

Anakin Skywalker: Thanks for nothing, kid​In anticipation of LeBron James' decision as to where he will ply his trade for the next few years, shares of MSG stock rose 6 percent yesterday for a period of time before settling back to where they were earlier in the day. The reason for the brief bump ... More >>

GAME TIME: NBA Draft: 8 Winners and 8 Losers

As in most things in life, Calipari is both a winner and loser​"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the 2010 NBA Draft..." -- David SternI'm not going to lie, those words give me a tingly feeling every year that I hear them. It never gets old -- like reruns of The Sopanos or seeing that Bree Ol ... More >>

Game Time: NBA DRAFT -- Worst Lottery Picks Of The Last 15 Years

cutline​As "must see" events on the sporting calendar go, the annual NBA Draft is highly underrated. If you ask the average sports fan his or her five most watchable sports nights of the year you'll probably get canned answers like the Super Bowl, a Game 7 in the MLB or NBA playoffs, and any inte ... More >>

Game Time: LeBron James -- A Lesson In Sales

Debase yourself, Cleveland​The older you get, the more you realize that ultimately every decision in life has a "sales" element to it. Getting married, getting divorced, having kids, purchasing a house or a car, choosing a movie, picking an appetizer,...whatever decision it is, there's some level ... More >>

Game Time: What If Gordon Hayward's Shot Goes In?

As sports fans, I think we probably let single events define players and coaches more than we should. In this era where we want to evaluate things quickly and neatly, it's always easier (and oftentimes, lazier) to just let one play on a big stage define somebody. It's clear, it's concise, it's also ... More >>

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