By this point, David Blatt’s journey – from the suburbs of Boston to Princeton to Israel, followed by a Magellanesque coaching journey around Europe, a Euroleague title with Maccabi Tel Aviv and finally landing a head coaching job in the NBA with LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers – is well documented. But what Blatt has learned along the way and what he brings to the professional game is more than worth chronicling. Maccabi Tel Aviv, Blatt’s former team, just completed its
As the New Orleans Pelicans enter a pivotal season in their potential progression to a playoff team, swingman Tyreke Evans appears to project as a reserve. The good news is that if Evans comes off the bench for your team, your roster is pretty talented. The bad news is that Evans has shown that he is a much better player as a starter. Evans’ first season in New Orleans was filled with adjusting to a new team and adapting to a new role off
In a day where all 24 teams played in the FIBA World Cup leading up to Thursday’s frenetic first round finish, it was The Manimal who again stood out in another Team USA victory. After a closely contested first quarter, Kenneth Faried helped the Americans (4-0), once again propelled by their big men, take the second and third quarters by a combined 26 points and defeat the Dominican Republic (2-2) 106-71 to advance to 4-0 and clinch the best record in
In a highly patriotic coincidence, Team USA was off on this Labor Day Monday as they prepare for Tuesday’s match with New Zealand, the only Group C team without a win here in this FIBA World Cup. Groups A and B played on Monday with the hosts separating themselves from the pack, one big upset, one huge Freakish dunk and an emerging dark horse for the all-tournament team. Group A Serbia (2-1) outscored Iran 25-13 in the decisive third quarter and defeated Iran
“I told him I want him to take over my Twitter,” Philadelphia 76ers General Manager Sam Hinkie joked to reporters about Joel Embiid’s Twitter feed in a Tuesday afternoon conference call. “I need to get my follower count up.” Hinkie addressed the media to discuss the recent three-team trade involving Kevin Love that saw Philadelphia acquire Luc Richard Mbah a Moute, Alex Shved and Miami’s 2015 first round pick (top 10 protected) in exchange for Thaddeus Young. Embiid has gained a lot
Team USA smothered the Dominican Republic at Madison Square Garden on Wednesday night, the inconsequential final score was 105-62, but the Americans didn’t have the tallest or most intriguing player in the game. In fact, the tallest and most intriguing player in Wednesday’s contest hasn’t even started college yet. Meet Karl Towns, the 7-foot-1 big man from New Jersey who plays for the Dominican team and will soon start his freshman year at the University of Kentucky as one of the top NBA prospects
A year can make an enormous difference in the perception of an NBA team. Last summer, the Washington Wizards had the same backcourt of John Wall and Bradley Beal but they were faced with immense pressure of having to make the playoffs to save the jobs of head coach Randy Wittman and general manager Ernie Grunfeld. Before the season began, Grunfeld made what many perceived as a panicky move and sent its first round pick to Phoenix for Marcin Gortat, who was
Golden State Warriors guard Klay Thompson has been the subject of trade rumors in the summer before he becomes a restricted free agent. The Warriors brass has refused to include the lesser acclaimed Splash Brother in a trade with Minnesota for Kevin Love, opting to keep one of the league’s most dynamic backcourts intact for at least one more calendar year. Just a year ago, the Los Angeles Clippers had another star player in the making in the backourt, Eric Bledsoe.