It will be easy for Miami Heat fans to say that LeBron James’ absence cramped their team’s style. James sat for almost all of the last 7 1/2 minutes of Thursday’s NBA Finals opener, and the line of demarcation was too obvious. There was a 17-point swing following the moment when James first exited with leg cramps as a close game headed for a fantastic finish devolved into a 110-95 win for the host San Antonio Spurs. “With five and change (left),
It’s a good thing NBA media members voted for Gregg Popovich as Coach of the Year. Because if the San Antonio Spurs win the championship, we won’t want to look back at the voting 20 years from now and wonder how the man who pulled off perhaps the greatest single-season coaching job in league history didn’t win the award. I didn’t believe Popovich was the Coach of the Year. I thought the award should have gone to Jeff Hornacek of Phoenix, who
When the NBA Finals tip off Thursday night, each team will have one member of the All-NBA Teams announced Wednesday. The Miami Heat will have forward LeBron James, who was joined on the All-NBA First Team by forward Kevin Durant of Oklahoma City, center Joakim Noah and guards James Harden of Houston and Chris Paul of the LA Clippers. Durant, the NBA MVP, was the lone unanimous choice with 125 votes. James came up one vote shy. The San Antonio Spurs will
LeBron James and Kawhi Leonard figure to be seeing a lot of each other over the next two weeks. That will be the small forward matchup in the NBA Finals. Just like last year, it should be a good one, because both players were named to the NBA All-Defensive Second Team on Monday. Neither the Miami Heat nor the San Antonio Spurs have anyone on the All-Defensive First Team, which was voted on by the media and has Defensive Player of the
We have decided to bring back the Three-Man Weave, which we did for a while back in the day before the guest authors turned their answers into SAT essays. While emphasizing no extra page clicks and answers around 100 words or so, we address Paul George’s whining, Frank Vogel’s future and Serge Ibaka’s impact. [Read more…]
During the conference finals, prime time TV viewing in my living room is pretty much monopolized by me. In fact, this was an actual conversation a couple of nights ago. LOVELY WIFE: Is there a game on tonight? SNARKY HUSBAND: Yeah, it’s only about the 10th or 11th-most important game of the season, so I’ll probably be watching. Believe it or not, there is other programming I watch. And most of it has nothing to do with sports. Just not at this time of
Disgraced Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling has finally found a legal battle he is unwilling to wage. Banned for life by the NBA following published racist remarks, Sterling has decided to allow his wife, Shelly, negotiate a forced sale of the team with the league, according to published reports. This comes from Ramona Shelburne, the Clippers’ beat writer for ESPNLosAngeles.com: Shelly Sterling and her lawyers have been negotiating with the NBA since her husband was banned for life by commissioner Adam Silver
With the NBA still buzzing from Tuesday’s draft lottery and the anticipation of next month’s loaded draft, it is only fitting that we offer good riddance to one of the worst draft classes in recent memory. Among the 14 lottery picks of the 2013 draft, a staggering eight did not make the NBA All-Rookie Teams announced Thursday. They were top pick Anthony Bennett, No. 3 Otto Porter, No. 5 Alex Len, No. 6 Nerlens Noel, No. 7 Ben McLemore, No. 8