If there were rankings for the NBA’s overlooked and underestimated, the San Antonio Spurs would be No. 1. They are the contender people love to forget. That’s not to say they aren’t respected. Four titles since 1999 and the potent management duo of Gregg Popovich and R.C. Buford translates to a substantial bottom line. But the last few years, it seems that when championship aspirants are rated, any mention of the Spurs is followed with “yeah, well … but … they
One of the minor effects of Magic Johnson’s revelation that he was HIV positive was that a new term was added to sports writing and we all had to learn how to spell it. Human Immunodeficiency Virus. Beginning with Johnson’s announcement that he was retiring on November 7, 1991, I wrote that term many more times than I would have preferred. HIV wasn’t supposed to be part of the sports section. It belonged somewhere else. Ultimately, however, the intrusion of HIV into basketball
The world champion Dallas Mavericks lost a game Friday night to a team that included starters Gustavo Ayon, Al-Farouq Aminu and Marco Belinelli, who sound more like 16th century explorers than fine basketball players. Chris Kaman and Jarrett Jack rounded out the starting lineup. Suffice to say no one was comparing the New Orleans Hornets to the ’86 Boston Celtics. The Mavericks season of transition to the future while attempting to compete for a second consecutive title has been uneven, to be nice,
Far be it for me to criticize the selection process for the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. I was once one of the 24 voters. I served a three-year term and kept my mouth shut. I know people on various committees right now and they keep their mouths shut. That’s the way the Hall of Fame wants it. If given the chance, perhaps I would change the voting procedure. Maybe make the panel more than 24 people. Make sure it
It is quite obvious that anyone reading this column is a basketball fan, and likely a serious one. Basketball fans are our people. If you’re looking for analysis of political races, that is not the strength of this web site. (And, by the way, some people who are sharp with political analysis should steer clear of sports to avoid embarrassing themselves.) Whether you are a serious or casual basketball fan, there is a must-see program still running on Showtime. If you haven’t
In the last week, Kobe Bryant became the fifth-leading scorer in NBA history and Paul Pierce surpassed Larry Bird and now trails only John Havlicek as the leading scorer in Celtics history. Although each achievement was exceptional, such feats are not allowed to stand on their own. Not in sports. When records are set, there is a larger discussion – is that player the greatest of all-time in that sport or for that franchise? And if not, it is absolutely mandatory
Although the Oklahoma City Thunder deserve the gushing praise that has been dispensed on their behalf, it would seem slightly premature to begin measuring for ring sizes. The Thunder are young and exciting. They have the youngest scoring champion in NBA history and he has a superstar guard as a sidekick. The third scorer has improved markedly from last season and unquestionably has star qualities. And none of those three – Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and James Harden – has yet to
In fairness to the basketball expertise possessed by Jim Dolan, trading for a superstar usually works out great for the receiving team. The cliché in the NBA is, in fact, never trade away a superstar because you can’t get value. The danger in analyzing trades that are not even a year old and involve key players in their 20s, however, is that change can occur unexpectedly. That was the case in 1971 when the Baltimore Bullets sent sensational guard Earl Monroe to