Chandler says Marbury is still NBA material

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BEIJING _ That is the video from the Beijing Ducks’ third consecutive loss after their 13-0 start to the season, a game in which Wilson Chandler scored 44 points and grabbed 18 rebounds. (Shoutout to NiuBBall.com for the footage).

At one point in the game, Stephon Marbury told his coach he would defend Chandler.

Marbury, 34, is 10 years older, 6 inches shorter, and 15 pounds lighter. “Nobody asked me, but I have to do that. Because at the time my teammates were all out of gas. As the leader of the team, I have to stand out, to do whatever the team needed.”

His defense was good enough that Chandler uttered something that few in America would believe: “Stephon is still in great shape, I don’t think he has lost a step.

“If he wanted, he still can play in the NBA.”

Chandler’s coach, Jim Cleamons, agrees.

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Gibson: Bulls’ Mirotic Is Worth The Wait

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BARCELONA — In prison movies, when a freshly incarcerated inmate wants respect, he drops his tray, strolls up to the baddest dude in the cafeteria and knocks him in the jaw.

Real Madrid’s Nikola Mirotic picked out one of the biggest, baddest dudes in Euroleague and dunked on him.

The 220-pound Montenegran let out a yell as he threw the ball through the net and off the head of 350-pound Sofoklis Schortsanitis. Mirotic landed, shot a searing gaze at Big Sofo and yelled once more as he backpedaled toward halfcourt. By the time he crossed that line, any lingering notions that Mirotic was “soft” had all but evaporated.

But can the prospect the Chicago Bulls traded for on draft night make an impact in the NBA?

“No doubt,” says Martynas Pocius. He pauses, shakes his head, then again: “No doubt.”

Pocius, Nikola’s teammate with Real Madrid,  should know; he’s been within spitting distance as the 20-year-old has evolved from boy to man and man to monster in only 11 short weeks.

“His confidence has grown tremendously,” says Pocius. “And with that confidence, he’s been tearing it up.”

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Hamilton: Lack of assists and 3s killing Knicks

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After Carmelo Anthony gave a sold-out Madison Square Garden a great Christmas gift last Sunday, the Knicks have dropped consecutive games.

On Wednesday night, they visited Oakland and lost to Mark Jackson’s Warriors, 92-78. And Thursday night’s showdown in Los Angeles saw Kobe Bryant and the Lakers defeat them, 99-82.

During Thursday night’s telecast from the Staples Center in Los Angeles, TNT’s Reggie Miller and Kevin Harlan, while calling the game, had the following exchange:

RM: “What kind of basketball is this we’re seeing from the Knicks?”

KH: “It’s… Uh…’hard to watch’ basketball.”

Ain’t that the truth.

So far this season, Amar’e Stoudemire has looked slow and lazy. Iman Shumpert—injured in Sunday’s victory over the Celtics—has looked on from the sidelines. And Toney Douglas has looked for nothing but his own shot.

The single bright spot has been the individual greatness of Anthony.

Is it time to panic? Certainly, the team has gone through some awful stretches during games, but it’s still early.

So which do you prefer? The glass half full or half empty?

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Durant’s 3 at buzzer stuns Mavs

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That video is Exhibit A in the case for why Kevin Durant is going to be the MVP.

Five of the eight columnists here at SheridanHoops.com selected Durant as their choice for the league’s most prestigious individual award, and that buzzer-beating 3-pointer gave him his fourth 30-point game of the season and moved the Oklahoma City Thunder to 4-0 as they stunned the defending champs from Dallas 104-102.

It was the only close game on a night when there were six games played in the Association, including a 111-102 victory by Portland over Denver that moved the Trail Blazers to 3-0 — the same record as the Miami Heat.

OKC is the only team with 4 Ws on their undefeated ledger, and they got there with a thriller of a victory that sent the Mavericks to their third straight loss. Also, it should quiet the talk of the supposed dissension in OKC’s locker room between Durant and Russell Westbrook.

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Bernucca: Wanna keep Wall? Dump Blatche

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Andray BlatcheAndray Blatche is a knucklehead, and the Wizards better get rid of him if they want to keep John Wall.

It is becoming next to impossible to prevent NBA superstars from flying the coop. They want to play in more attractive big markets. They want to play alongside other superstars. They want to win championships. And of course, they want to get paid.

What they don’t want is to be stuck with a lottery-bound team. They don’t want to share a locker room with players who care more about MINs and FGAs than Ws and Ls. And they don’t want to have to answer questions from the media about why their teammates were fighting in public or blasting the coach on Twitter.

That’s where Wall is right now – stuck on a loser, sharing a shower with Blatche, whose latest display of immaturity could capsize another Wizards season just hours after it began.

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