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They're lurking. This time of year strategy can get really weird, with all kinds of stuff happening besides every team trying to win every game. Some teams are out of the playoffs and tanking. Some teams are trying like hell just to make the playo...

James Surowiecki of the New Yorker says it's time to legalize sports gambling: "The leagues insist that legalized betting will make people suspect that games are fixed, thus harming their brands. Yet in Vegas billions are wagered legally on sports ev...

Ensemble teams never work. Right? We know this. We learned this. Karl Malone, Gary Payton and the 2004 Lakers taught us this. The Miami Heat taught us this. The Boston Celtics ... oh wait. The Heat won a title. And, of course, so did the Celtics. Wel...

Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images If Dwight Howard's a Laker, the thinking goes, somebody must be blamed. Why not David Stern? Dwight Howard is a Laker, and that's prompting strong reactions. In Los Angeles, Steve Nash is grinning. Mitch Kupchak, ...

Brian Schmitz of the Orlando Sentinel: The Dwight Howard drama is over with Thursday's blockbuster trade (pending league approval.) Our National Dwightmare is over - at least that's what everybody says outside of Orlando. We know better. It will neve...

Greg Bishop of The New York Times: So what was Tuesday's game, then? An annihilation or an aberration? A statement or a mirage? For Pau Gasol, defeat provided an example of what not to do should Spain meet the United States in the gold-medal game in ...

Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald: The Miami Heat will open the season at home against Boston and play host to Oklahoma City in a Christmas Day NBA Finals rematch, according to several league sources who have seen the league's tentative schedule due ...

The NBA's Board of Governors is meeting in Las Vegas on Thursday, and a source with knowledge of the talks told ESPN.com the agenda includes votes on several rule changes, especially expanding the use of instant replay.

Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times: Blake Griffin received a diagnosis of a torn medial meniscus in his left knee and will have arthroscopic surgery, probably early next week, the Clippers announced Thursday night. Griffin will not be playing ...

Howard Beck of The New York Times: As the confetti fluttered and American Airlines Arena boomed, James cradled the Larry O'Brien trophy in his arms, his mouth agape, his eyes bright, his vindication complete. The greatest N.B.A. player without a ring...

Issac Baldizon/NBAE/Getty Images Kevin Durant and the Thunder don't need to change much of anything to be champions. MIAMI -- Kevin Durant was not just happy to make it to his first NBA Finals. He wanted to win, as he made abundantly clear after it...

Linda Robertson of The Miami Herald: In Game 4 of the NBA Finals, the Heat was down. But not out. The Heat stumbled. But got up. Miami's quest for a title became acutely painful Tuesday. But afterward, bliss. It took a collective effort - big baskets...

Ethan J. Skolnick of the Palm Beach Post: During a postseason with some potholes, Dwyane Wade has looked outward as well as inward - even taking a one-hour trip from Indianapolis to Bloomington during the second round to visit with his college coach,...

Mike Wise of The Washington Post: The great mano-a-mano duel between LeBron James and Kevin Durant was put on hold. This star-power series was reduced to who chipped the most paint off the rim and who would work harder and longer to cover their sudde...

Garrett Ellwood/NBAE/Getty Images One of the playoffs' most explosive scorers has yet to explode in the NBA Finals. The man can score YouTube knows James Harden well. The way he scores -- a delightful mix of explosive creations off the dribble a...

Doug Smith of the Toronto Star: The debate can rage about who should guard who and who should start and finish games and the intricacies of the defensive schemes employed by the Oklahoma City Thunder and Miami Heat in the NBA final. But the undercurr...