So, the Heat have a winning streak going? I know, it’s been all over the press, which hardly signaled it was a big deal to me. Personally, after a lifetime in it, noting its tendency to, uh, get excited, if the press says something is up, I suspect it’s down. With the streak at 19 and the press hyperventilating about the 1971-72 Lakers’ record of 33 — another mere 14-game streak away – I presented my take in two words: “Heat this.”
This week, two of my former teams are having fabulous winning streaks. My Denver Nuggets just ended a 15-game run to finally get noticed in the West and my Miami Heat are still going at 27 straight as they approach the all-time record of 33 consecutive wins set by my Los Angeles Lakers. The great thing about an 18-year NBA career is that after playing on seven different teams, you always have one of your former teams to root for! At the end of
With the finish line approaching, there are still many details left to be ironed out, but a few things have become more clear for the NBA’s four California squads. The Clippers, once sporting the league’s best record, are now in a dogfight to remain in the West’s coveted top three, avoiding a brutal 4/5 battle with either Denver or Memphis. The Warriors’ swoon appears over, and their playoff-starved fans can comfortably look forward to the playoffs. The Lakers will be an 8-seed
For countless fantasy basketball owners, this is Week 1 of the head-to-head playoffs. Maybe your team has a bye (congratulations) or your league doesn’t use the most popular dates. For the majority of us, this week is sudden-death and tonight will go a long way toward deciding the result. [Read more…]
The best-kept secret in NBA scouting circles in a secret no more. Meet Giannis Antetokoumpo, a 6-10 point guard who already has signed to play professionally next season for Zaragoza in Spain. Yes, a 6-10 point guard, a Greek freak of Nigerian heritage who could end up being a first-round draft pick after putting on quite a show in the Greek national junior tournament attended by Bryan Colangelo of the Toronto Raptors and Masai Ujiri of the Denver Nuggets. [Read more…]
Here’s an underrated statement for this season’s version of the Los Angeles Lakers: they have not been the luckiest of bunch in terms of injuries suffered, from top to bottom. This team was tagged as the undisputed best team in the league before playing a single game together. Obviously, that has been far from the case. It’s easy to say that the team simply hasn’t gelled – which is true – but they certainly would have been much better than what
As the NBA regular season winds down and the playoffs approach, several teams are trying to get their teams in sync before the stretch run. The Indiana Pacers, who many believe are the only potential threat to the Miami Heat in the Eastern Conference are awaiting the return of forward Danny Granger, once the face of the franchise. [Read more…]
With the NBA playoffs right around the corner and the field set for the most part, seeding is about all there’s left to wrap up in the regular season (if you’re not the Miami Heat). One knock on the NBA — relative to other sports — is that there is not a lot of turnover. The playoff bracket in the East is set, with only Brooklyn replacing Philadelphia from last year. [Read more…]