Suicide lines: No-nonsense Cats, J-Rich's All-Star goal, Melo ...
(Wed, 07 Jan 2009 05:40:24 PST)
Each weekday morning, BDL serves up a handful of NBA-related stories to digest with your crawfish etouffee...

Hornets find footing in West race with Lakers
(Wed, 07 Jan 2009 04:17:00 PST)
Chris Paul and David West have the Hornets believing they can challenge the Lakers.

Rockets Team Report
(Wed, 07 Jan 2009 02:10:05 PST)

The Rockets were on a good roll through much of December. They blew out the Nets on the road, their most lopsided win of the season, to move to 19-9. The offense was clicking. They had not lost consecutive games since the fourth and fifth games of the season, and even then, it took Portland Trail Blazer Brandon Roy's last-second, 31-footer to do it.

They have lost six of eight games, with a season-high three-game losing streak and season-high five-game road losing streak.

If they are unsure why things changed, there can be no doubt about how.

The defense has fallen apart, with teams making 49.5 percent of their shots in those eight games.

"Our defense is really...

Rockets F Artest out with injured ankle
(Tue, 06 Jan 2009 16:28:35 PST)
Houston Rockets forward Ron Artest missed his second straight game with a sore right ankle, sitting out Tuesday night against the Philadelphia 76ers. Artest is averaging 16 points and 5.5 rebounds for the Rockets. He stretched his ankle on the court about an hour before tip, but was not healthy enough to play.

Power Poll: It's official ... NBA no-longer two-team show
(Tue, 06 Jan 2009 12:07:53 PST)
One thing that seemed certain before the season started was this: Every week, when formulating the poll, the...

BDL NBA Power Rankings: Bringing in the New Year
(Tue, 06 Jan 2009 07:50:11 PST)
The BDL NBA Power Rankings combine two parts Cactus Juice with one part flippant observation to create the most...

Growth is a slow process for Oden
(Mon, 05 Jan 2009 04:52:00 PST)
Patience is a necessity for the young Blazers center, who continues to adjust to life in the NBA.

McGrady, Artest held out vs. Hawks
(Sat, 03 Jan 2009 17:05:11 PST)
Tracy McGrady missed Houston's game against Atlanta on Saturday night because of a chronically sore left knee, and sixth-man Ron Artest was sidelined by a swollen right ankle. Brent Barry started his first game of the season, replacing McGrady. According to coach Rick Adelman, Houston might give McGrady more time to recover by resting him on the second game of back-to-back nights.

Rockets' McGrady, Artest sit out vs. Hawks
(Sat, 03 Jan 2009 16:44:01 PST)
The Houston Rockets are without injured starters Tracy McGrady and Ron Artest for Saturday's game against the Atlanta Hawks.

Raptors F Jermaine O'Neal out again with sore knee
(Fri, 02 Jan 2009 16:12:35 PST)
Raptors forward Jermaine O'Neal missed Friday night's game against the Houston Rockets because of a sore right knee, the second consecutive game he has sat out. O'Neal is averaging 14.2 points and 7.0 rebounds per game. A six-time All-Star, he missed three straight games in November because of injuries to his left knee and ankle.

Rockets sign C Mutombo
(Tue, 30 Dec 2008 14:14:01 PST)
The Houston Rockets on Tuesday found a veteran backup for Yao Ming, re-signing center Dikembe Mutombo.

BDL NBA Power Rankings: Look who's looking up
(Tue, 30 Dec 2008 11:05:38 PST)
The BDL NBA Power Rankings combine two parts champagne with one part flippant observation to create the most...

NBA Power Poll: Lakers bump Celtics from top spot
(Tue, 30 Dec 2008 08:26:42 PST)
Who deserves to be at the top of the latest NBA Power Poll? The Christmas Day game tells the story.

Report: Mixed results from NBA player charities
(Sun, 28 Dec 2008 11:50:25 PST)
NBA players who set up charitable foundations don't always contribute as much as expected because of poor management and the high cost of fundraisers. The analysis was made by The Salt Lake Tribune, which studied tax records filed by NBA player charities. It analyzed 89 stand-alone NBA player charities and published the results in a series of stories Sunday.

Rockets F McGrady, Jazz F Boozer out Saturday
(Sat, 27 Dec 2008 17:54:01 PST)
The Houston Rockets and Utah Jazz both were without star players for Saturday's game.

McGrady out, Jazz trio doesn't travel
(Sat, 27 Dec 2008 17:11:34 PST)
Houston Rockets guard Tracy McGrady was inactive Saturday against Utah with more soreness in his left knee, while the Jazz were again playing without Carlos Boozer, Mehmet Okur and Paul Millsap. McGrady, the Rockets' second-leading scorer, sat out for the eighth time this season with the injury, the effects of offseason surgery.

Rockets F Artest out Friday vs. Hornets
(Fri, 26 Dec 2008 17:18:01 PST)
Houston Rockets forward Ron Artest is not with the team Friday night as it gets set to take on the New Orleans Hornets.

Stojakovic, Armstrong, Artest all out
(Fri, 26 Dec 2008 16:50:57 PST)
Ron Artest missed the Houston Rockets' road game Friday night against the Hornets, who were also short-handed. Artest had a sprained right ankle, Rockets officials said. New Orleans was without swingman Peja Stojakovic and reserve center Hilton Armstrong. Stojakovic remained sideline by back soreness for a fifth-straight game.