Trading a star core player from a contending team is not usually a popular move with a team’s fan base, but we’ve seen two such moves this season improve a pair of Western Conference contenders. The Oklahoma City Thunder have actually benefited from dealing James Harden to Houston, and the Memphis Grizzlies are 16-6 since trading forward Rudy Gay to Toronto in a three-team, six-player deal on Jan. 30, the latest victory coming on Marc Gasol’s tip-in at the end of
LeBron James scored 27 points, dished out eight assists and grabbed seven rebounds in Miami’s win over Philadelphia on Wednesday in the Heat’s historic 20th consecutive win. Only three other teams have won at least 20 straight in a single season (the Washington Capitols, who played basketball in the 40’s, won 20 straight spanning two seasons). Two other teams won 19 straight, and all six clubs that won at least 19 in a row had historically great players on their respective
At this point, chances are that you’re well aware of the Jeremy Lin story if you’re reading this article. If not, welcome back from Pluto. [Read more…]
Players, coaches and management often talk about the “little things” that win basketball games. These standard cliches and generic quotes lead to the rolling of many eyeballs around the world, but minute adjustments can actually make a difference in a team’s results and could even help change the public’s perception of a team. Case in point: The 2012-2013 edition of the Los Angeles Lakers. [Read more…]
Some would say that this year’s trade deadline was all about who didn’t get traded. Josh Smith will ride out the season eating conch salad in Atlanta. Boston’s legends will try extract one more extended playoff run, and Utah elected not to mess with its team on a winning streak despite a young core and two valuable assets on expiring contracts. But we’re here to talk about a select quartet among the 27 players dealt on Wednesday or Thursday from a statistical