There has been plenty of concern since the summer on whether Derrick Rose would be able to regain half the form that made him the MVP of the league a few seasons ago. The point guard was selected to play for Team USA in the FIBA World Cup, but was noticeably ineffective despite playing against mostly inferior competition. After his breakout performance against the Cleveland Cavaliers on Monday, the concerns are beginning to subside. Despite losing 107-98, Rose looked dominant on the
There’s no getting around the fact that injuries are a part of basketball. Whether it’s something as minor as a thigh contusion or something devastating as a broken bone, it’s the frustrating aspect of playing a sport that most simply can’t avoid. Having to sit and watch while everyone else plays can become particularly difficult if the injury is a lingering one, and Nick Young of the Los Angeles Lakers appears to be having a pretty tough time at the moment.
Jimmy Butler of the Chicago Bulls is known for his tenacity on the defensive end. While he is capable of producing on the offensive end as well from time to time, that’s not exactly what he’s known for. Perhaps the latter is something he’s looking to change heading into this season, because the shooting guard has been a standout on offense during the preseason. In five games so far, he has averaged 18.6 points on a whopping 60.4 percent shooting from
The NBA has been considering, or at least entertaining the idea of finding ways for the regular season to be shorter in some way to help prevent its valuable players from being too worn out. So in Sunday’s upcoming preseason contest between the Boston Celtics and Brooklyn Nets, the league will try out a 44-minute game for the first time ever just as a simple sample to evaluate. Here are the details, from ESPN: The contest will be four minutes shorter than
If you were to create the most perfect basketball player, who would it be and what skills would that player have? That probably depends on whether you ask a small or a big man. If you asked a big man, they’d probably say something like Yao Ming’s height with Shaquille O’Neal’s strength, along with Wilt Chamberlain’s offense and Bill Russell’s defense. If he can also shoot like Dirk Nowitzki? Forget about it. Ask a more guard-oriented person and they might tell you a
The New York Knicks brought in Phil Jackson to oversee all major activities as the president of the team last season. Jackson then brought in his former player Derek Fisher over the summer to be the new head coach moving forward. Put the two together and what we can expect from the Knicks is this: a good amount of the Triangle offense and plenty of movement without the ball. At least that would seem to have been the plan heading into
Newest Golden State Warriors guard Leandro Barbosa found a clip of one of his devastating crossovers in national competition and was more than happy to share it with his fans: [Read more…]
Every team has its own local broadcasting duo (and sometimes trio) of play-by-play announcer and color commentator, and that can be good or bad, depending on which team you’re supporting. There are virtually neutral announcers like Mike Breen (New York Knicks) and Eric Reid (Miami Heat) who call the games as fairly as possible, but most around the league are naturally biased in favor of the team they cover. [Read more…]