There aren’t many small-market teams that have experienced a run of success like the Memphis Grizzlies have over the past half-decade. The Grizzlies are looking to keep the train rolling this season after an offseason which has perhaps been underrated. Most important, the Grizzlies locked up franchise cornerstone Marc Gasol for the long haul, ensuring they will have a chance to be competitive both now and likely for years to come – assuming Mike Conley, a free agent next summer, is
While point guard is regularly lauded as the top position in the league in terms of star power and depth, how about some love for the small forwards? Seven small forwards featured on this list participated in Team USA’s minicamp this summer. This list includes two MVPs, a scoring champion, a Defensive Player of the Year, a recently crowned Rookie of the Year, a “Greek Freak” and a Finals MVP. Proven veterans such as Luol Deng and Joe Johnson – as well as
Two points in time define the last several months for the Los Angeles Clippers. The first came in May, when the Clippers blew a 3-1 series lead in the Western Conference semifinals before falling to Houston. With DeAndre Jordan becoming an unrestricted free agent and Chris Paul pushing 30, there were worries that the proverbial window of opportunity for this team was beginning to close. That nearly proved to be the case over the July 4th weekend, when Jordan verbally agreed to
The familiar days of Kobe Bryant and Dwyane Wade leading the shooting guard rankings are over. In fact, Bryant, Wade and Monta Ellis are the only players over 30 to crack our top 10 rankings at the position. James Harden, Klay Thompson and Jimmy Butler are the new – and younger – top dogs at the position. DeMar DeRozan, Bradley Beal and Khris Middleton are three rising young stars listed that could vault within the top five by next season. Shooting guard is thin
Every four decades, the basketball galaxy is in alignment for the Golden State Warriors. And on cue, last season was one of those moments as the Warriors won their first NBA championship since the days of Rick Barry 40 years ago. Last season’s Warriors were a talented group, particularly deep and immune to significant health problems, which they managed to avoid. In a breakthrough season, Stephen Curry achieved NBA Most Valuable Player status. Even their postseason matchups seemed to be hand-picked. And they did all of this with a rookie coach, no less. Now comes
Point guard is the most important and deepest position in the NBA. How deep? Take a look at some of the players not featured in our top 10 rankings at the position. You won’t find Derrick Rose, the league’s youngest MVP four years ago. Over the past three seasons, Rose has missed 185 of a possible 246 games. Asking Rose to return to his MVP form is out of the question. Asking Rose to return to his All-Star form appears bleak, too. How about
At Presidents’ Weekend last season, the Miami Heat were in the running to make the playoffs in their first season following LeBron James’ departure. Chris Bosh told SheridanHoops after the All-Star Game that he was excited for Miami’s playoff push. Then came the shocking news that Bosh would miss the rest of the season with blood clots on his lungs. Without him, the Heat missed the postseason for the first time since 2008, the year before Erik Spoelstra took over as
This may become one of the most entertaining seasons in Utah Jazz history. The prospect of Quin Snyder coaching a talented young core led by growing stars Gordon Hayward, Derrick Favors and Rudy Gobert has elicited quiet whispers about making the playoffs. Will the Jazz’s supporting cast lift them up or let them down? What is GM Dennis Lindsey doing, and will his risks pay off in the long term? Basketball enthusiasts should watch the Jazz this season just to see how