Things have changed in Rip City. For the Portland Trail Blazers, the 2013-14 season not only represented a return to the playoffs, it ended a drought of not making the second round that had lasted longer than a decade. Yes, the Trail Blazers got taken to the woodshed by the San Antonio Spurs in the conference semifinals, doing just enough against the eventual champions to avoid a sweep. But plenty of other teams got whooped by the Spurs, too. Winning against the Houston
The injury heard around the world has been Oklahoma City Thunder small forward and reigning NBA MVP Kevin Durant suffering a Jones fracture in his right foot. Durant is expected to be sidelined for somewhere between six and eight weeks, which means he could miss at least the first month of the season. According to Sam Amick of USA TODAY Sports, there’s a new complication: Durant doesn’t know if he wants to undergo surgery. Oklahoma City Thunder star Kevin Durant is still considering treatment options
We all know that LeBron James is from Northeast Ohio. Akron, to be precise, which is about 40 minutes or so south of Cleveland. Being this close to Cleveland, home of the Browns, you would think James would sport the orange and brown of the “Dawg Pound” on football Sundays. However, that is not the case. The Cavs star is a huge Dallas Cowboys fan. He has been known to show his support for Dallas throughout his first stint with the
It’s been a long, long time since the Washington Wizards were expected to be a top team in the Eastern Conference. But after defeating the Chicago Bulls in the first round of the 2014 NBA playoffs for their first postseason series win in nine years, the Wizards are entering a season with high expectations. How high? Well, there is some talk that after last season’s 44-38 mark, the Wizards could win 50 games – which they haven’t done since the 1978-79 season. Here
Despite the Orlando Magic becoming a better and deeper squad this offseason, a playoff push in the 2014-15 campaign still seems a step too far, even in the weaker Eastern Conference. GM Rob Hennigan has done a good job of moving on from Dwight Howard, creating a manageable payroll and rebuilding the Magic with young, exciting and athletic players. Orlando has 10 players on their rookie contracts, several of whom have already established themselves as legitimate NBA players. For now, those players
NBA MVP Kevin Durant is out indefinitely with a foot fracture. The Oklahoma City Thunder announced Sunday in a news release that their superstar forward has a Jones fracture in his right foot and that the typical course of action is surgery that requires six to eight weeks of recovery. However, the release also said that Durant and the team had yet to decide on a specific course of action and cannot yet provide a timetable. Here’s what Thunder GM Sam Presti had
The Denver Nuggets head into the 2014-15 season with ambitious goals. The Nuggets are built around a young core that won a franchise-record 57 games only two seasons ago, only to be derailed by injuries and eliminated in the first round of the playoffs. That early exit precipitated the departure of their GM and coach. Last season, the injuries kept coming and the Nuggets missed the playoffs for the first time since 2003, the year they drafted Carmelo Anthony. The core is
The split between LeBron James and the Miami Heat appeared to be both amicable and understood. In recent days, that’s come into question with Chris Bosh making headline-stealing comments. It started with Bosh telling reporters that he hasn’t spoken with James since the four-time MVP signed with the Cleveland Cavaliers, per ESPN. Bosh proceeded to tell Ethan Skolnick of Bleacher Report that recent Cavaliers acquisition Kevin Love would have to sacrifice to play alongside James. James has since responded. [Read more…]