All the San Antonio Spurs could talk about last season was avenging their 2013 NBA Finals loss to the Miami Heat, especially the heartbreaking loss in Game 6. The Spurs made sure it didn’t get to a Game 6 in 2014 as they dominated the Heat in five games to win their fifth championship. Tim Duncan, who many assumed would retire after his fifth title, now enters the 2014-15 season looking for a ring for his other hand now. The Spurs brought
Lets talk about the New York Knicks. By now, you all know that Phil Jackson fired Mike Woodson and hired Derek Fisher after failing to entice Steve Kerr to take the coaching job. You also know that the team’s roster still has plenty of familiar faces that played a role in what turned out to be a disastrous season last year, along with some key additions – most notably being Jose Calderon and Sam Dalembert. Carmelo Anthony, of course, re-signed with
In the summer of 1996, the Los Angeles Lakers made two moves that forever altered the organization. In one offseason, L.A. acquired shooting guard Kobe Bryant on draft night and signed Shaquile O’Neal via free agency. In the years since, the Lakers have won five NBA championships. That includes a three-peat with the combination of Bryant and O’Neal intact, and another two with the former leading a new set of stars. For all of their differences, one thing can be said unequivocally: both
If you remember watching Drazen Petrovic play the game of basketball, consider yourself lucky. Unfortunately for me, I don’t have those memories. A native of Croatia, Petrovic played college ball at the University of Zagreb in Yugoslavia. He was drafted in the third round of the 1986 NBA Draft by the Portland Trailblazers. Petro, as he was called my most, became a fan-favorite wherever he played. For the Blazers, and later in New Jersey when he was traded to the
NEW YORK — The draft lottery will remain the same. In somewhat of a shocking development Wednesday, a proposal to alter the formula for determining the top of the draft order failed to draw the 23 votes needed to pass. The vote was reportedly 17-13 in favor of changing the system, with the “No” votes being cast by Phoenix, Philadelphia, Oklahoma City, New Orleans, Detroit, Miami, Milwaukee, San Antonio, Utah, Washington, Atlanta, Charlotte and Chicago. Under the proposal that failed to gain
Should we really be surprised that the league’s most interesting general manager chose to take the path of higher risk, higher reward? That’s where the Houston Rockets, led by daring and analytically driven GM Daryl Morey, enter the 2014-15 season. When we last saw them, contention didn’t feel far away. In the first year of the Dwight Howard-James Harden foundation, the Rockets went 54-28 in a loaded West and secured home court advantage in the first round. That was in line with preseason
Over the past summer, we learned just how big of a Kobe Bryant fan Brandon Jennings truly is. The Detroit Pistons point guard received plenty of criticism when he openly stated that Bryant is greater than Michael Jordan, but that hasn’t stopped him from showing unwavering loyalty to his favorite player of all-time, and that trend continued on Tuesday after reading the controversial ESPN article about why Bryant is going to be the reason for the Los Angeles Lakers’ downfall.
The Orlando Magic just secured the future of their post position for the foreseeable future, agreeing to a 4-year extension worth $54 million with their talented, young center, Nikola Vucevic. The extension serves as an early birthday gift for the Montenegran native, who turns 24 later this week. Yahoo! Sports NBA writer Marc Spears tweeted out the details of agreement. [Read more…]