The NBA Finals are leaving the pizza oven of San Antonio and headed back to the cut-with-a-knife humidity of Miami with the Spurs holding a 3-2 lead. So which team faces more pressure entering Game 6 on Tuesday night? Are the Spurs – who absolutely had to win Game 5 and did – under the gun because they have to win Game 6 in order to avoid the specter of winning a Game 7 on the road, which no team has done
Manu Ginobili, San Antonio’s super sixth-man, started his first game of the season Sunday night in Game 5 of the NBA Finals. Ginobili’s designated role off the bench for all these years has always been a mystery. He’s a three-time NBA champion, has averaged 15 points, five assist and three rebounds in limited minutes over the course of his career, and will one day be inducted into the Hall of Fame. [Read more…]
Click banner to learn more about our SuperChat on Draft Night With less than two weeks until the NBA Draft, the rumors and speculation are coming from all over. According to sources, Cleveland has been warming to Alex Len as concerns about Nerlens Noel’s knee and whether he is the best fit longterm alongside Kyrie Irving have increased. [Read more…]
It used to be that the path from player to coach in the NBA required at least a couple of years as an assistant, executive or broadcaster. Not anymore. Jason Kidd has shattered that notion, making the switch from player to coach in less than a month when he was hired by the Brooklyn Nets, the same franchise he led to consecutive appearances in the NBA Finals 10 years ago. Kidd is one of the smartest players in league history, and has
The San Antonio Spurs are crowding the paint and daring LeBron James to take jumpers. So why doesn’t he? Through the first three games of the NBA Finals, James has yet to score 20 points. It’s his longest such postseason streak since the 2011 Finals vs. Dallas, and we all know what happened there. If James doesn’t want that to happen again, he has to stop worrying about efficiency and start worrying about the Miami Heat falling into a 3-1 hole. He
Until now, the Brooklyn Nets had been methodical and deliberate about naming a new coach. However, that all changed this week. Sources tell me that the Nets have offered their coaching job to Jason Kidd, their former star point guard and future Hall of Famer who recently retired. The Nets have an interview scheduled with Brian Shaw, but I am told that is just window dressing. They are talking contract with Kidd, who is in the process of building a coaching staff.
NBA TV’s airing of “The Doctor” on Monday night had to be a treat for many young basketball fans who never had the privilege of seeing Julius Erving play, I am not one of those young fans. In fact, here is how old I am. I saw Doc play. In the ABA. With the Virginia Squires. [Read more…]
Where have you gone, LeBron James? Before getting into the search for the Bron who averaged 30-8-8 in February, looking like a full peer of Michael Jordan, I’d like to make clear that I have nothing against the guy. This is important with so many fans who hate Bron, and so many press people who alternate between savaging him when he loses and prostrating themselves before him when he wins. Even if it means savaging him Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday and prostrating