Category: NBA (Page 571 of 595)

Things were looking grim for the Bulls, but after a four game winning streak, including last night’s 99-92 win over the struggling Sixers, the eighth spot in the Eastern Conference playoffs is Chicago’s to lose. The Bulls made the playoffs last year, so the team’s play has been pretty disappointing for most of the season. Chicago is loaded with young talent and their recent resurgence has been led by Ben Gordon, Andres Nocioni, Luol Deng and Kirk Hinrich.

Four of the team’s seven remaining games are at home, including Saturday’s critical rematch against the Sixers. While games against New Jersey, Miami and Washington remain, the Bulls also face Atlanta, Orlando and Toronto over the last thirteen days of the season.

Think the Knicks are regretting trading for Eddy Curry in the offseason? Curry play this season has been adequate (14 ponts, 6 rebounds in 64 games played), but I doubt the Knicks are too happy with their decision to send their first round pick to Chicago for him.

Since the Knicks have the league’s worst record, their former pick has the best chance of landing the #1 overall pick. Granted, with the way the ping pong balls bounce, that’s never a sure thing, but the Bulls have a great shot at getting a pick somewhere in the top three.

Chicago couldn’t be in a better spot, considering their needs. They’ve been searching for a low post scorer for months, and there are four bigs at the top of ESPN’s draft board right now. Tyrus Thomas, Joakim Noah, LaMarcus Aldridge and Andrea Bargnani, along with small forward Adam Morrison, all could potentially go first in the draft.

I don’t know anything about Bargnani, but of the other four players, Aldridge is probably the best bet for the Bulls if they want an NBA-ready player. Noah and Thomas are pretty rough offensively and will need some work before they are capable of scoring consistently in the post. The Bulls wouldn’t want to take Morrison, as they already have the talented Luol Deng and Andres Nocioni at small forward. Aldridge had a decent low post game and has shown that he is deadly on the face up 15-18′ jump shot.

Would Isiah Thomas still trade away the Knicks’ first round pick if he knew it was going to be in the top 3? I think this is a case where he was hurt by his own optimism.

Amare Stoudemire went under the knife again, and will miss the rest of the season.

The 2005 All-Star underwent a procedure at Banner Samaritan Outpatient Surgical Center on Wednesday to remove debris caused by wear and tear on his kneecap. The resulting inflammation had led to the development of a cyst and pressure behind the joint.

The 23-year-old will be on crutches for seven to 10 days and will need six to eight weeks before he can resume court activities.

The Suns will have to head into the playoffs without their superstar center.