The San Antonio Spurs might be in trouble. On the surface, things appear to be OK. The Spurs have executed their defensive game plan, which is to turn LeBron James into a passer. They have prevented the Miami Heat from turning either game into an extended relay race. And most important, they secured a split of the first two games as the road team, which is practically mandatory in the 2-3-2 format of the NBA Finals. Beneath the surface, however, the Spurs
We know the Miami Heat have to be better in Game 2 of the NBA Finals on Sunday night. But can the San Antonio Spurs be better? The Heat’s issues have been well-documented. LeBron James needs to be more of a scorer. Role players such as Udonis Haslem and Norris Cole have to contribute more than the collective 6-of-15 showing they managed in the opener. [Read more…]
Does anybody really think Monta Ellis will get a max-contract on the open market, except Monta himself? [Read more…]
Every professional sport lives by the famous adage, “Coaches are hired to be fired.” It is well known that when things go south, it is the coach and not the players who get the blame and the ax. In the NBA, with 15 players collectively making somewhere north of $60 million in salary and being almost impossible to replace, it is no wonder that the coach and his assistants are the usual fall guys for poor performance. Few jobs carry so
It is almost as if Gregg Popovich and Erik Spoelstra knew this was coming all along and have been preparing for this two-week journey against each other for many, many months. Before we dive into our betting preview for the NBA Finals, it is important to learn how we got to this point. [Read more…]
This just in from Clipper Nation, where the home team can take its pick among top coaching candidates Lionel Hollins, Jeff Van Gundy, Byron Scott and Brian Shaw. And the winner is … Let me get back to you on that. No decision may soon be forthcoming from owner Donald Sterling, as none was for weeks after his people recommended firing Vinny Del Negro, a no-brainer they had set up that way with Sterling’s help. It’s hard to to handicap the Clippers with officials
Click banner to learn more about our SuperChat on Draft Night We are just weeks away from the 2013 NBA draft. It is June and now the pre-draft workouts go into full swing. Within the lottery, the big news is that Orlando has pushed Victor Oladipo ahead of Ben McLemore on its draft board. McLemore has yet to formally hire an agent and has been questioned about his ties to Rodney Blackstock. Orlando also has had conversations with the
Among the monumental sports topics that are debated everywhere – from local fine drinking establishments to radio and television shows where participants spend hours shouting at each other – is the issue of dynasties. In sports, identifying and labeling dynasties is a must. It’s part of our DNA. And then when a dynasty is established and accepted as fact, it must be compared to other dynasties. That is mandatory. It is what makes sports sports. [Read more…]