When I read about the issue of resting players in preparation for the playoffs, it reminded me that I miss Wilt Chamberlain, who certainly would wonder what blockhead came up with the notion that players need rest. Rest has been a regular story line for the Golden State Warriors during their pursuit of the best regular season record in NBA history. At 72-9, they need only a victory Wednesday over a struggling, injured Memphis team – which has lost nine of
The Most Improved Player Award did not irritate me until the seventh year it was awarded. That was in the 1991-92 season when Pervis Ellison won it. Three years earlier, Ellison was the No. 1 pick in the draft. To reward him as the most improved because he played well after underachieving for two years seemed to violate the spirit of the award. He was supposed to be good! In his defense, Ellison was bothered by injuries, but while he was
The juxtaposition was dramatic, but not reflective of the big picture. About 20 hours separated the images of Tim Duncan in San Antonio and Dirk Nowitzki in Dallas. The contrast could not have been more striking. Duncan is a master at the art of poker face. But as he sat on the bench in the second half of the Spurs’ victory over Golden State on March 19, it did seem that a little bewilderment, or at least surprise, could be detected. That
SAN ANTONIO — The challenge posed by a team that is 56 games better than .500 and chasing history is profound. An opposing coach must have a masterful game plan, cleverly and skillfully juggle his personnel and perhaps come up with a surprise or two. You wouldn’t think that could be accomplished by sitting a man who is arguably the best power forward in NBA history, but that’s exactly what Spurs coach Gregg Popovich did Saturday night. Tim Duncan played only eight
The Spurs have carved out a unique reputation for themselves. Because of their history the last two decades, we have come to expect greatness from them — and then when they produce it, we’re somewhat surprised. While comparing and contrasting some of the Spurs’ statistics, I stumbled on one that should qualify as amazing: When using 36-minute projections, Tim Duncan is the 12th leading scorer on the team. Yes, that is correct. Eleven Spurs have averaged more points per 36 minutes than Duncan,
By now, the Golden State Warriors should be accustomed to the scrutiny produced by their championship last season and their pursuit of 73 victories this season. Everything they do is magnified, which was evident again on Sunday. Their bizarre loss to the woeful Los Angeles Lakers generated great debate throughout the sports world. On ABC, it was announced that no NBA team with 55 victories had ever lost to a team with 51 losses. So that is the biggest regular season upset
Of all the superlatives that have been used to describe Stephen Curry this season, the best may have come from Dallas Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle, who in late December compared Curry to Steve Jobs and Bill Gates. “They changed our everyday life,” Carlisle said. “Steph Curry is changing the way our game will be played in the future.” Two months later, Carlisle had proof when Mark Cuban, his boss, said it is time to begin considering change. “It’s not long before the discussion
Basketball is one of those rare professions where at an age like 37, people talk about you like you are 80. In some ways, an older player does resemble a senior citizen. Compared to his peers, he’s not as fast, can’t jump as high, is not as agile and doesn’t shoot as straight as he once did. But we found another connection between old basketball age and old age Sunday night after the Lakers lost to the Bulls in Kobe Bryant’s final