Danilo Gallinari’s season-ending injury this week put the Denver Nuggets in a club whose membership seems to get larger every day. Playoff teams missing key players. There are very few teams who will be at full strength when the playoffs start two weekends from now. But two of those teams are last year’s NBA Finals combatants, which could make for a relatively mundane postseason. [Read more…]
If you are an NBA fan, you should start rooting for the Milwaukee Bucks to snap out of their stupor and the Boston Celtics to stumble down the stretch. Because that will set up the first-round playoff series we all want to see. A slump by the Celtics and a boost from the Bucks over the last 10 or so games would drop Boston into eighth place in the Eastern Conference and a first-round matchup with the Miami Heat. And to paraphrase
After Friday’s dispiriting home loss to the Washington Wizards, Los Angeles Lakers coach Mike D’Antoni could not take it any longer. D’Antoni went on a wide-ranging rant against his team, targeting its lack of commitment and effort on both sides of the ball. He said the Lakers were “messing with the basketball gods” and called their championship aspirations “laughable.” Although D’Antoni mentioned no one by name, very few wearing the forum blue and gold appeared exempt. [Read more…]
I will be rooting for the Boston Celtics against the Miami Heat tonight. Having been a Philadelphia 76ers fan for nearly four decades, that’s a pretty big deal. Usually there are only three circumstances that can get me to throw my allegiance behind a team I have despised for as long as I’ve watched the NBA. 1. By winning, the Celtics would beat a team whose loss would help the 76ers. 2. By winning, the Celtics would get a tougher playoff opponent. 3. By winning, the
Less than three weeks ago, the Los Angeles Lakers were mourning the death of owner Jerry Buss, refuting rumors that Dwight Howard would be traded and staring down the draft lottery. With his team mired in ninth place in the Western Conference, Kobe Bryant defiantly told Sports Illustrated, “It’s not a question of if we make the playoffs. We will. And when we get there, I have no fear of anyone – Oklahoma City, San Antonio, Denver … whoever. I have
After the Thunder held on to beat the Clippers on Sunday, coach Scott Brooks praised the composure of Russell Westbrook, his often volatile point guard. There are two ways to look at this. One is that Westbrook is making the necessary strides to gain control of his emotions and make the proper play in big games. The other? When Westbrook is the tone-setter for your team’s composure, you may have issues. [Read more…]
When former AAU teammates Dwight Howard and Josh Smith were not traded Thursday, they made the offseason all the more interesting. Lakers GM Mitch Kupchak held onto Howard and Hawks GM Danny Ferry was unsuccessful in trying to trade Smith. And there is no guarantee that either player is sticking around this summer, possibly leaving $30 million on the table for a fresh start elsewhere. [Read more…]
Dwight Howard is the best center in the NBA. Yes, still. He also is (a) incapable of making an elbow jumper, (b) unreliable at the free-throw line, (c) susceptible to long-term injury, (d) hypersensitive to criticism from teammates and coaches, (e) more interested in becoming the next Bill Murray rather than the next Bill Russell and (f) wondering why no one has handed him the icon status he desperately craves. But the worst thing Howard is – and unlike the items above,