Artest tries to convince the referees that he unintentionally elbowed Harden as he was celebrating his slam, but replays show that he intentionally wound up his elbow and wailed Harden on the side of his head.

World Peace was ultimately ejected from the game and will likely be suspended. Walking into halftime, Kevin Durant called the play “unfortunate” and “not a basketball play.”

It’s terrible. I don’t know how “World Peace” ever got back into the league. Clearly, he still doesn’t get it, and should be suspended the rest of the season + playoffs.

“What a disgrace.”

After taking an offensive rebound from Tiago Splitter and the Laker’s defense resetting, Ginobili saw a seam. And that’s all he needed.

Manu took the pass near half-court and in one motion, wound up like a pitcher and fired the basketball to Matt Bonner under the basket for a layup. Amazing.

Discuss Women’s Basketball in our forum

The 2.03m center, who led Baylor to the NCAA title earlier this month and was named the Associated Press Player of the Year, was among the leading candidates to fill the 12th and final roster spot in Geno Auriemma’s team but has cited an unspecified family illness and summer school classes as reasons for not being available.

Griner said: “Because of a family illness and my school schedule during the summer, I have told USA Basketball Women’s National Team Director, Carol Callan, that I will be unable to participate this summer with the 2012 USA Basketball Women’s National Team.

“I am disappointed that I will be unable to participate, but I want to stay involved in USA Basketball and hope to again have the opportunity to represent my country in future international competition.”

Had Griner been selected, she would have been the first NCAA player in the women’s team to play at an Olympics since the 1988 Seoul Games when Vicky Bullett (Maryland) and Bridgette Gordon (Tennessee).

Griner passed up the chance to turn professional and will play her senior season at Baylor.

She had played with the United States on their tour of Europe last season.

Griner has averaged 21.6 points and 8.6 rebounds a game with 594 blocked shots in her three years at Baylor.

She is the first NCAA player with 2,000 career points and 500 blocked shots.

USA Basketball executive director/CEO Jim Tooley said: “It’s unfortunate that Brittney is unable to participate with USA Basketball this summer; however, we have an extremely deep and talented USA National Team program and remain confident that we will field a very competitive team that all Americans will be very proud of.

“This in no way precludes Brittney from future USA National Team events; she is a young and talented player with a bright future ahead of her in international basketball and we look forward to her continued involvement.

“We wish nothing but the best for Brittney and her family.”

The United States have won gold medals at six of the last seven Olympics and will be aiming to finish top of the podium for the fifth consecutive time.

Other leading candidates to fill the 12th spot include Asjha Jones, Candice Dupree and Cappie Pondexter.

Jones and Dupree represented the gold-medal winning USA at the 2010 FIBA World Championship while Pondexter, a former WNBA Finals MVP with Phoenix, played in the title-winning side at the 2008 Olympics.

Read the full article at http://www.fiba.com/pages/eng/fc/news/lateNews/p/newsid/51255/arti.html

In his first season, through 35 games, Shumpert is averaging 9.4 points, 3.1 rebounds, 2.9 assists, and 1.9 steals.  His shooting percentage isn’t high, but the 21-year old brings a lot of intangibles to the game.

The 6-5 Shumpert has the long arms, athleticism, and basketball I.Q. that make him invaluable to the Knicks on both ends of the court.  His ability to run the floor, create his own shots and play defense like he wants to are three factors that the Knicks are missing.

You could say that he’s the X-Factor.

X-Factor—Iman Shumpert

By Keith Schlosser, KnicksJournal.com

Though they put forth a valiant effort against the league-leading Bulls, the Knicks were unable to snap what is now a six game losing streak.

Instead, the team will look to take advantage of the week ahead as they attempt to build up some needed momentum. In order to do so, a full team effort is necessary.

Lucky for the Knicks, they possess one of the NBA’s deepest rosters with a strong array of different talent. Of course, the team’s “Big Three” will be relied upon to lead the way. Carmelo Anthony and Amar’e Stoudemire bring explosiveness on offense, while Tyson Chandler serves as anchor of the defense.

That said, the team will surely look down its bench for more positive contributions. Which Knick has the potential to pace his team’s balanced attack as they look to resume their winning ways?

That might just be Iman Shumpert, who has represented one of the Knicks’ strongest defenders to date. Handling the pressure of guarding some of the league’s top players already this season, the rookie’s swarming intensity contributed to 2011 M.V.P. Derrick Rose’s less than stellar 12 for 29 shooting performance Monday night. Though the Knicks ultimately lost the contest, Shumpert’s defense helped keep them in the game.

Shumpert is beloved by many fans largely due to his tremendous versatility. At 6’6, the neophyte uses his rapid-fire quickness to keep up with a multitude of players of different shapes and sizes. Coming off the bench, he is often used in the perfect role necessary to throw off the opponent’s offensive game plan, preventing them from getting into any sort of rhythm.

Unfazed by steep challenges, Shumpert has proven his fearlessness again and again, as evidenced even more by his defense in the post on 7’0 former MVP Dirk Nowitzki during a matchup with the Mavericks last week.

While players like Steve Novak and J.R. Smith can hop off the bench, get hot, and fill it up on offense in a hurry, Shumpert fills the role of defensive stopper, with the potential of catapulting momentum in the Knicks’ favor. Even so, the rookie is by no means a slouch on offense. By forming strong camaraderie with the team’s point guards, Shumpert capitalizes on his athleticism to connect on a bevy of alley-oop passes to fill up the stat sheet.

In order for the Knicks to get things rolling again, everyone from A to Z will have to step up and play their role effectively. Of course, a big part of doing that is knowing what your role is. Though he’s young, Shumpert already displays the maturity to not only recognize his role, but to excel at it.

There’s still a lot of season left, but as the Knicks fight for a playoff spot, defensive intensity is sure to be crucial. This is where Shumpert may prove to be an X-Factor in the team’s success.

Lin is featured on the alternate cover – the other featuring Kevin Love and Ricky Rubio.

Here’s what SLAM had to say about their decision to put Lin on the cover, “…he earned himself a SLAM cover pretty much entirely because of how he played in his first seven NBA starts. On the surface, this is insane; generally speaking, SLAM covers are highly coveted and hard as hell to get, the domain of superstars who tend to be really greedy about sharing that space. How does anyone “earn” a cover on the strength of seven games?”

Read the rest of the post here.

The number one overall pick in the 2011 NBA Draft was born in Australia while his American father was playing professionally in Melbourne.

He has dual citizenship.

Irving was a leading player for the United States at the 2010 FIBA Americas U18 Championship for Men before attending Duke University for a year and playing for Team USA coach Mike Krzyzewski.

He announced his decision to remain with USA Basketball on Monday night after Cleveland’s 109-100 defeat to Utah.

“It was the right decision,” Irving said.

“I found out Coach K would be coaching (Team USA) in 2016.

“It made my decision so much easier to play for my coach again.

“That was the deciding factor.”

USA Basketball chairman Jerry Colangelo, however, told ESPN on Monday night that the coaching position for the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Games has not been “discussed at all.”

Irving, 20, is averaging 18.6 points per game and is a leading contender for the NBA’s Rookie of the Year award.

Read the original piece at FIBA.com

Last week, we went to the local pub to watch the Knicks take on the New Jersey Nets. We sat down next to an Asian family, who was also there to watch Jeremy Lin.

As the game went on, a man at the bar began cheering for the Nets. He exploded with a “YES!” and clapped intensely each time the Nets made a big play or went on a run.  He ended up cheering a lot that night — it was clear that the Nets had the momentum and the Knicks couldn’t find a flow.

The Knicks would ultimately fall to the Nets, a disappointing loss after their triumph over the NBA Champion Dallas Mavericks – a game that was nationally-televised the previous day.

Right as the game ended, the Nets fan stood up from the bar, faced our tables, and blurted out,  “You chinks can’t win two straight!” before turning and walking toward the front door.

After some initial shock, my sister and I followed him. What ensued was a little yelling and pushing that ultimately led to the man leaving the bar.

It was odd. Up until our confrontation, neither my sister nor I — nor the Asian family seated nearby — had any interaction with him all night. Yet this man, for whatever reason, couldn’t wait to tell us off and hurl a slur before heading for the exit.

Despite the initial feelings of anger and frustration, I’m glad this man did what he did. Reflecting on the incident, I now see his outburst for what it was: a reaction to Jeremy Lin’s breakout success and inescapable media coverage

Jeremy Lin has forced our nation to deal with Asian-Americans, and it has manifested itself in different ways. A Nets fan (or not) explodes with bigoted joy in a crowded pub in San Francisco. The onslaught of coverage has prompted visceral reactions: public figures airing their ignorance on Twitter, companies faltering despite their good intentions, and the media stumbling in their attempts to navigate uncharted territory.

The Jeremy Lin story is an amazing one, one that has had a much deeper significance than the NBA rags-to-riches narrative that we’ve read so much about.   Lin’s rise has given way to a national discussion on Asian-Americans.

Jeremy Lin’s experience with racism in basketball

Lin has struggled with more than just being undrafted prospect, being waived by two NBA teams, and sleeping on his brother’s couch.  He’s had to deal with a lifetime of battling stereotypes on and off the basketball court.

Lin has been candid about his experiences; referring to the racism he’s faced on multiple occasions.  As one of the rare Asian-American basketball players competing on a high level, Lin was presented with barriers that most in his situation weren’t.

“It’s a sport for white and black people,” Lin told the San Francisco Chronicle in 2008. “You don’t get respect for being an Asian-American basketball player in the U.S.”

Despite Lin’s accomplishments on the court, he has had to continually show that he belonged on the same floor as other similarly accomplished players.

“You can’t prove yourself one time. It has to be over and over and over again.” Lin recently told ESPN. “And, you know, it’s funny, people are still saying, ‘Oh, he’s quicker than he looks.’”

“And, I’m like ‘what does that mean? Do I look slow?’ Or, people are always saying, He’s deceptively quick, deceptively athletic.’ I don’t know if that’s just because I’m Asian or what it is.”

Not only did Lin have to prove himself to his peers, but he also had to endure racially-charged comments from fans.

“When it first started happening, I was in junior high and high school, I was definitely surprised and kind of shocked. The higher the competition got, the more racial slurs came my way,” Lin told NPR in 2010. “Fans would yell out ‘beef and broccoli’ or ‘sweet and sour chicken.’  Sometimes, I heard ‘Chinese import,’ ‘go back to China,’ ‘slanty eyes,’ ‘can you see the scoreboard’ ”.

And it didn’t stop there. The racial taunts continued into college, sometimes involving opponents.

“It’s everything you can imagine. Racial slurs, racial jokes, all having to do with being Asian,” Lin said. “I’ve heard it at most of the (Ivy League Schools), if not all of them.”

So the issue isn’t that Lin was simply overlooked. The problem goes deeper than his talent, or lack of talent.  Jeremy Lin was rejected for what he wasn’t and was ridiculed for what he was.

And when Lin’s NBA Cinderella story gained traction, we saw the same issues he faced in junior high, high school, and college being played out on a much larger stage.

Linsanity places spotlight on racism

As Jeremy Lin strung  together good game after good game, and the wins began to pile up for the New York Knicks, the media ate it up. Lin was finally succeeding on the highest level of basketball.

Though the scenery changed, the ignorance Lin had faced in high school gymnasiums hasn’t. Instead of fans shouting racist comments from the stands, it’s now public figures nonchalantly making racist statements on the national stage.

In a local news segment discussing Lin’s physical attributes, Greg Kelly, an anchor for the FOX New York affiliate, slyly asked, “What about his eyes?”  Jason Whitlock posted an insidious racist tweet based on an old stereotype of Asian male masculinity.

The ease with which their comments flowed demonstrated the pervasive racism and low-level ignorance that plagues Asian-Americans today.

Last week, the ESPN mobile site featured the unfortunate “Chink in the Armor” headline after the Knicks’ seven-game winning streak fell to the Hornets.

Later that week, Ben and Jerry’s began selling a limited-edition flavor in honor of Jeremy Lin. The flavor — “Taste the Lin-Sanity” — had three ingredients, two of them being lychee honey and fortune cookies which were supposed to honor Lin’s Chinese-Taiwanese heritage.

Stefon Diggs, a highly-rated Football prospect, tweeted a response to a Jeremy Lin fan. “Everybody need to get off Jeremy Lin egg roll and dumplings he’s good though.”

These tweets do not signify a country that is post-racial and these comments aren’t a result of institutionalized racism.  What we’ve witnessed in these controversial responses to Lin is the most basic level of ignorance akin to schoolyard name-calling.

Dumplings. Fortune Cookies. Egg Rolls. Jokes about Lin’s eyes. Emasculating comments about his penis size.

These are the types of ignorant statements that Asian-Americans have faced growing up in a country where we’re misunderstood and severely under-represented in the popular media.

Without Jeremy Lin, we wouldn’t be having these conversations about Asian-Americans. You definitely wouldn’t be reading this article.

And I would have never crossed paths with the Nets fan in that pub.

Much-needed visibility, understanding for Asian-Americans

Whether Jeremy Lin continues his trajectory as an NBA star or falls off the face of the earth, these last few weeks has given Asian-Americans much-needed visibility and has forced many to deal with Asian-Americans in a way that they’re unaccustomed to.

Without Lin, those old stereotypes and deep-seated ignorance of Asian-Americans would remain, surfacing in our everyday lives.

With Lin, Asian-Americans have the power of pop culture, which has been influential in quickly changing the social conscience and shifting our behaviors.

I don’t believe that any of these offenders consider themselves racist, but they clearly haven’t thought deeply enough about what racism is and how it may apply to other cultures. They’ve bought into a “lazy ignorance” — if no one is telling me it’s wrong, it must not be.

They know now. Many of those who have stumbled publicly were shouted down for the world to see (and learn from). Whitlock was trounced upon from all sides.  ESPN was quick to remove their headline, apologize, and fire the headline writer. Ben and Jerry’s reacted quickly to their misstep.  Diggs apologized and closed his Twitter account. The fired ESPN headline writer publicly apologized. Forums and blogs are on fire with opposing views.

The resulting coverage — both good and bad — was needed to create this space for dialogue the Asian-American experience. The biggest of the controversies ended as quickly as they came — with resounding confirmations that stereotypes and lazy ignorance against Asian-Americans is no longer fair game.

As Lin continues — with every contorting layup, crossover, assist, or dunk — he further captivates the nation to take notice of this twice-released, fourth-string, no-scholarship, couch-surfing, undrafted point guard who has completely changed the face of the New York Knicks.

Jeremy Lin also happens to be Asian-American.  Discuss.

T he Knicks defeated the Cleveland Cavaliers 120-103 on Wednesday. Lin finished the game with 19 points, 13 assists and just 1 turnover.

AJ Dimarucot, a graphic designer, has done some mockups of what a potential Jeremy Lin logo may look like.  From the NikeBlog:  ”The finished logo seems absolutely perfect, spelling stylized versions of “J LIN” and “JL 17″ while also celebrating Lin’s faith with a cross (made up with the negative space).”

Check out more mockups and designs here.

Four year agos, we posted a piece on Jeremy Lin and the discrimination that Asian-Americans  basketball players face on the court and off:

Lin has to deal with ignorance and insensitive comments normally reserved for a different era: “I hear everything: ‘Go back to China. Orchestra is on the other side of campus. Open up your eyes,’ ” Lin said. “They’re yelling at me before, during and after. I’m an easy target because I’m Asian. Sometimes it makes me uncomfortable, but it’s part of the game.It’s a sport for white and black people,” Lin continued. “You don’t get respect for being an Asian American basketball player in the U.S.”

We are happy to see that the discrimination that Asian-Americans face with is being surfaced and discussed as Jeremy Lin’s star has risen – even if it is 4 years after our post.

Here are some of the better articles we’ve read:

• Jeremy Lin, race and lessons learned (ESPN)
• Jeremy Lin and the limitation of the ‘hard-working Asian-American’ narrative (Capital New York)
• Jeremy Lin challenges stereotypes, as well as defenses (Washington Post)
• Knicks’ Jeremy Lin holds mirror up to America (Los Angeles Times)
• Asian-American Basketball Players struggle with Discrimination (Interbasket)

[Show as slideshow]

To see more images of Jeremy Lin during the NBA All-Star Weekend, visit MSG.com’s photo gallery of Jeremy Lin & Landry Fields at All-Star Weekend.

The 25-year-old guard, who plays for the New Orleans Hornets, says the aim is not only to claim one of three qualifying places for the Summer Games in London but to also promote the sport in his homeland.

“Personally, I think I should be the leader and the objective is to qualify,” Vásquez said. “I’ve had a chance to speak with some of my teammates in the Venezuela national team and with them, I share the same sentiment.”

“We’re full of hope and excited about playing in front of our fans and family.

“Néstor Colmenares, Héctor “Pepito” Romero and David Cubillán have told me they’re motivated and can’t wait to start the fight for the Olympic places.”

The OQT will be the most important basketball event ever held in Caracas.

“One thing I am convinced of is that whatever happens, the tournament will provide motivation for young basketball players and thus promote the development of sport in the country,” Vásquez said.

“I also hope that the event is able to inspire our government officials and motivate them to build courts that are not there, or fix up those in poor condition.”

The only time Venezuela have played at an Olympic Games was in Barcelona in 1992.

In the 12-team OQT, Venezuela will compete in Group B with Lithuania and Nigeria.

Should they finish in the top two, Vásquez and Co will take on Greece, Jordan or Puerto Rico in the Quarter-Finals.

The winners of the Quarter-Finals will advance to the last four and the two sides that prevail in the Semi-Finals will clinch spots in London.

The losers of the Semi-Finals will then play in the final game of the OQT and the winners will progress to London.

Read the original article at FIBA.com: http://www.fiba.com/pages/eng/fc/news/lateNews/p/newsid/50712/arti.html

Rubio smiled big and celebrated as fellow rookie Derrick Williams hit a tough layup and was fouled with 56.7 seconds remaining in the game. Check out Ricky Rubio’s cute, celebratory dance after Williams’ three-point play:

OLE OLE OLE OLE! Luke Ridnour hit a runner in the lane as time expired to give Minnesota a 100-98 win over the Jazz. Thanks to the Hoop Doctors for the .gif.

It’s hard to believe that it hasn’t even been three weeks since an virtually-unknown Jeremy Lin came off the bench against the New Jersey Nets and put up 25 points, 7 assists, and 5 rebounds.

Beginning with that game, the Knicks have gone 9-2. And in those 11 games Lin has become the focal point of the Knicks and a media darling.

Next up is the Miami Heat and Lin will be tested again. This time the challenge comes from Lebron James and Dwyane Wade.

Last night against the Hawks, it was fellow up-and-coming point guard Jeff Teague, before that, it was Deron Williams, the Dallas Mavericks, Tyreke Evans, Jose Calderon, Ricky Rubio and so on.

Every game there’s seems to be a new challenge and storyline for Jeremy Lin.

And after every game, whether it’s a win or loss, Linsanity or not, Jeremy Lin will get better. As Lin experiences new defenses designed to slow him down — he’ll learn from it. As he gets to know his teammates better — Jeremy Lin will can only improve.

Why? Because he’s just 23 years old.

I’ve read Jeremy Lin articles ad nauseum over the last few weeks and I am surprised to not have read any article that has mentioned this very-important fact for gauging Lin’s long-term prospects. Sadly, I ran across more articles about Lin sleeping on a couch (Lin has since upgraded to the W Hotel).

The naysayers (all four of you out there), like to point out that it’s only a few weeks and most of the wins are against subpar teams – true enough, but that’s the glass-half-empty perspective.

In those 11 games, Lin has averaged 23.9 points on 50% from the field, 9.2 assists, 3.9 rebounds and 2.3 steals. Not exactly pedestrian numbers.

(We’ll get to the turnovers in a moment)

The kicker? Jeremy Lin, all 23 years old of him, has a lot of games ahead of him. Not just this shortened-season, but in the rest of his career.

Given, Linsanity is about the here and now, but writers haven’t truly delved into the future of Jeremy Lin, instead they’ve focused on the present or the upcoming games. Rare is the article that talks about what Jeremy Lin will look like past the NBA All-Star Weekend coming up.

So if you’re one of these writers, analysts or sportscaster and would like to discuss Jeremy Lin’s future, please don’t forget to include one undeniable, important fact that all but guarantees that Jeremy Lin gets better – his age.

I can’t say it enough. Jeremy Lin is 23 years old.

The conventional wisdom has been that NBA players hit their prime between the ages of 27-30 – so why with all this talk about Jeremy Lin, are we failing to mention that, he has years to get stronger and smarter

Stronger and smarter, both of which will help him lower his turnover numbers – Lin’s biggest weakness thus far.

He has plenty of time to improve his “shaky” jumpshot and work on his ability to go left. And he’ll have ample time to further adapt to different looks and adjustments teams throw at him.

For a kid that came out of nowhere, was waived by two NBA teams, assigned to the NBDL twice, and navigated through a sea of stereotypes and racist comments on his way to the NBA, Lin has a fearlessness and unshakable confidence when he’s on the floor – as if Lin himself believed that all this “Linsanity” was meant to be.

He should have every reason to doubt himself, and yet, despite his humble comments off the court, he has shown a quiet arrogance on it. At the NBA level, confidence may be the most important attribute for success.

And that confidence? That will only get stronger too.

Did I mention that Jeremy Lin is just 23 years old?