The Philadelphia 76ers aren’t even the best tankers in their own division these days. After the Sixers boosted their record to 5-28 with a win over the Cavs, the worst team in the Atlantic — and the entire NBA, for that matter — is undoubtedly the 5-32 New York Knicks. The Knicks have now lost 12 straight, and dealt away both Iman Shumpert and J.R. Smith to the Cleveland Cavaliers on Monday in a deal aimed solely at cap relief (Smith has
It’s still too early to push the panic button, but the situation in Cleveland is becoming more troubling by the day. The Cavs are now 18-12 after an embarrassing home loss Sunday to outmanned Detroit. That record that places them as only the No. 5 seed in the mediocre East, which is hardly what LeBron James envisioned when an apparent “super team” was formed over the offseason with James, Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love. Anderson Varejao, one of the team’s only reliable big men, was
Let’s start with the obvious: Josh Smith is not going to be claimed on waivers. It’s true that Smith, 29, won’t be able to sign anywhere until 5 p.m. Eastern time on Wednesday, when the league office will announce if Smith was claimed in the waiver process. But the only reason Detroit cut Smith, even with over $35 million in guaranteed money still owed, was because they couldn’t find a taker to trade for him at that contract. In other words, no
Indiana owner Herb Simon would approve of the team re-acquiring former Pacers guard Lance Stephenson in a trade, The Indianapolis Star reports. [Read more…]
A fire sale could be poised to begin in Brooklyn, with former All-Stars Deron Williams, Joe Johnson and Brook Lopez all available in trade discussions, according to multiple media reports on Tuesday. [Read more…]
Russell Westbrook is back and possibly better than ever, and now the long climb officially begins for the Oklahoma City Thunder as they attempt to re-insert themselves as a contender in the loaded Western Conference. In Friday night’s 105-78 home rout over the Knicks, Westbrook put up 32 points, eight assists and seven rebounds in 24 minutes — making him the first player in the shot-clock era to score at least 32 points and eight assists in a timeframe that short. [Read
The Brooklyn Nets are 5-8 and trending in the wrong direction, having lost six of their last seven games. And coach Lionel Hollins seems very willing to hold players accountable for that slide, even in public settings. Starting center Brook Lopez is averaging just 5.4 rebounds in 29 minutes, and lately, he’s found himself benched in fourth quarters, including Saturday’s 99-87 loss to the Spurs in San Antonio. Both Lopez and Hollins have been visibly frustrated by things. [Read more…]
We are less than four weeks into the NBA season. And while it is a small sample size, it is large enough to determine whether teams are off to good starts or bad starts. The bigger question is how long can these teams sustain their starts? For that, we have brought back the Three-Man Weave, where three Sheridan Hoops staff members answer three questions. Making his Weave debut is columnist Ben DuBose, who also handles our Tuesday blog. He was able to