The Los Angeles Clippers entered this offseason needing more outside shooting and a reserve big who can score. One need down, one to go. In a three-team deal reported by Yahoo! Sports, the Clippers landed guards J.J. Redick from the Milwaukee Bucks and Jared Dudley from the Phoenix Suns. The Clippers sent young point guard Eric Bledsoe and veteran forward Caron Butler to the Suns and a second-round pick to the Bucks. The Suns also sent a second-round pick to the Bucks. Redick received
There is a sneaky, devious way that the Los Angeles Lakers can re-sign Dwight Howard, continue to pay Kobe Bryant the NBA’s highest salary and create even more cap room for this summer and next summer. Use the amnesty provision on Bryant. Yes, Lakers GM Mitch Kupchak said in the days after Bryant tore his Achilles tendon that using the one-time provision – which 15 teams still have at their disposal – on the face of the franchise was not under consideration.
Younger NBA fans have been spoiled by Game 7s. Tonight’s showdown in Miami between the Heat and Spurs is the third Game 7 in the NBA Finals in the last nine years. Prior to that, there had been just one in the previous 16 years. Game 7’s are like tax returns, pizza and sex; they’re never really bad. But they can be really good, and as Game 7’s go, we haven’t had a really good one in a long time. [Read more…]
The San Antonio Spurs are crowding the paint and daring LeBron James to take jumpers. So why doesn’t he? Through the first three games of the NBA Finals, James has yet to score 20 points. It’s his longest such postseason streak since the 2011 Finals vs. Dallas, and we all know what happened there. If James doesn’t want that to happen again, he has to stop worrying about efficiency and start worrying about the Miami Heat falling into a 3-1 hole. He
NBA TV’s airing of “The Doctor” on Monday night had to be a treat for many young basketball fans who never had the privilege of seeing Julius Erving play, I am not one of those young fans. In fact, here is how old I am. I saw Doc play. In the ABA. With the Virginia Squires. [Read more…]
The San Antonio Spurs might be in trouble. On the surface, things appear to be OK. The Spurs have executed their defensive game plan, which is to turn LeBron James into a passer. They have prevented the Miami Heat from turning either game into an extended relay race. And most important, they secured a split of the first two games as the road team, which is practically mandatory in the 2-3-2 format of the NBA Finals. Beneath the surface, however, the Spurs
Tonight in Miami, LeBron James has another “Decision.” This one is not about where James is going to play, however. Tonight is about how he is going to play. And this decision is tougher, because he doesn’t have days to think about it. He has about an hour, tops. [Read more…]
The Memphis Grizzlies and Indiana Pacers have gotten this far in the postseason by winning at home. But the San Antonio Spurs and Miami Heat are going to the NBA Finals by winning on the road. The Grizzlies and Pacers were very good home teams in the regular season. Memphis was 32-9 and lost just once at FedEx Forum after Feb. 8. Indiana was 30-11 at Bankers Life Fieldhouse and went more than two months early in the season without a home