Trans. Apr 11 11:20 ET (Apr 11 11:20 ET ) I know, DeAndre Jordan. Your Los Angeles Clippers go out and set a franchise record for wins — 52 and counting, after Wednesday's 111-95 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves — and win a division title for the first time in franchise history, and all we can talk about is A) how shaky it all seems and B) how the Los Angeles Lakers, who you just beat by 14 and swept 4-0 this season, are trying to fight their way to an eighth seed. I hear you — it's totally unfair.
My suggestion: Make an even deeper run in this year's playoffs than you did last year, which will show everyone that you're for real and without-a-doubt more relevant than your fellow Staples Center tenants. That should get the conversation appropriately directed toward you guys ... for about five seconds, before we go back to talking about Kobe, Dwight, D'Antoni and Pau.
Best caption wins earplugs, which have to be more effective than your fingers. Good luck.
In our last adventure : I mean, it worked out OK this time, but still, you should say no when Greg Stiemsma asks if you want to see his "gum trick."
As it turns out, you can't write "Greg Stiemsma blows" in a headline. Duly noted.
Best caption wins a Stiemer-sized supply of Fruit Stripe gum . Yipes. (Also, not really.) Good luck.
In our last adventure : Photographers capture Kobe Bryant in the middle of changing into his Superman costume , except wait, that's Dwight or Shaq, and also Metta World Peace is now Wolverine , and ... you know what, screw it. Let's just retcon the entire Los Angeles Lakers into some sort of Amalgam -type thing that'll make this all easier and forgettable.
(Reuters) - Los Angeles Clippers forward Matt Barnes has been suspended one game without pay for striking Greg Stiemsma of the Minnesota Timberwolves in the neck, the NBA said on Friday. The incident occurred during the second quarter of the Clippers' 96-90 victory over the Timberwolves on Wednesday in Minneapolis. Barnes will serve his suspension on Friday night when the Clippers visit the Toronto Raptors. (Reporting by Steve Ginsburg in New Orleans; editing by Gene Cherry)
Feb 1 (Reuters) - Los Angeles Clippers forward Matt Barnes has been suspended one game without pay for striking Greg Stiemsma of the Minnesota Timberwolves in the neck, the NBA said on Friday. The incident occurred during the second quarter of the Clippers' 96-90 victory over the Timberwolves on Wednesday in Minneapolis. Barnes will serve his suspension on Friday night when the Clippers visit the Toronto Raptors. (Reporting by Steve Ginsburg in New Orleans; editing by Gene Cherry)
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) -- Los Angeles Clippers forward Matt Barnes was given a flagrant foul-2 and ejected in the second quarter against Minnesota on Wednesday night after delivering a forearm to Wolves center Greg Stiemsma.
No matter which players may be the on the sidelines nursing injuries, the NBA has enough talent to hold the attention of its fans. But there's no doubt that certain players are missed more than others, and that the absence of a particularly incandescent talent can be felt quite deeply.
So, ever since Minnesota Timberwolves point guard Ricky Rubio tore his ACL last March , many basketball fans pined for his return to the court. Few players in recent memory have been able to match Rubio's court vision. He finds angles that only become visible to anyone else on replay, and sometimes not even the first time. At his best, he makes fans reconsider what is possible on a basketball court.
On Saturday , Rubio played his first game since his injury, and it was a pretty big deal for a certain kind of basketball fan. The Target Center crowd cheered wildly when he got up off the bench to enter the game late in the first quarter. It didn't take him long to remind everyone why they were so excited in the first place. A few possessions into the second quarter, Rubio dribbled to the left side of the basket, waited for teammate Greg Stiemsma to get in position near the basket, and then somehow threw a bounce pass between his own legs and those of Dallas Mavericks defender Elton Brand. The crazy thing is, Rubio may very well top that in a few days. Suddenly, Minnesota is a League Pass favorite once again.
After the jump, check out video of the Target Center's raucous reaction to Rubio's return, along with some thoughts on what the Wolves can expect from him in coming months.
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) -- Luke Ridnour had 19 points and five rebounds, and Greg Stiemsma got the rout started with six straight points to end the third quarter in a 90-75 victory over the Orlando Magic on Wednesday night.
Stiemsma has signed with the Minnesota Timberwolves. The deal was done Thursday.
The Scoop:The 26-year-old Stiemsma was named the 2010 NBA Developmental League Defensive Player of the Year after he averaged 9.1 points, 7.3 rebounds and a league-leading 3.7 blocks per game for the Sioux Falls Sky Force. That's when he says he made the most strides in his professional career and gained the necessary confidence to believe he could stay in the NBA.
Brandon Roy is likely gone for good, so let’s remember his best times (Video) (Ball Don't Lie) (16 Days Ago | courtesy: Video (Ball Don't Lie) Sometimes a player exits the NBA on terms that in no way reflect his talent. As reported by Yahoo!'s own Adrian Wojnarowski on Friday, the Minnesota Timberwolves are formalizing the release of shooting guard Brandon Roy , effectively ending his career. After signing with Minnesota in the summer of 2012 , Roy showed little ability to play with his seriously damaged knees and managed just five games for 122 total minutes. It stands to reason that Roy will decide not to pursue another contract, and even if he did it's hard to know if any team would be interested in his services.
This is a sad moment for many reasons. Roy established himself as a star with the Portland Trail Blazers pretty much immediately upon his arrival in 2006, serving as the most dependable member of what many thought would be a championship-winning core of him, Greg Oden, and LaMarcus Aldridge. Oden's injury history is well-trod ground, but it's important to remember that Roy really was the player he was supposed to be — or better, even — for most of his first four seasons. He made three All-Star teams, won the Rookie of the Year award in 2006-07, and made two All-NBA Teams (second team in 2009, third team in 2010).
Focusing heavily on his "what if?" scenario neglects what was. Basketball fans didn't get all they wanted from Roy, but he accomplished a great deal before his knees broke down completely. We'll always be able to look back on the highlight mix at the top of this post, his last-gasp dominance of the eventual champion Dallas Mavericks for one game of the 2011 playoffs, or more personal memories of special plays. Roy's career is only a depressing tale if we choose to ignore what made his relatively brief time as a star so special in the first place. More...
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MADNESS!
