Yesterday, we broke down what a crowded field it is in the Western Conference when it comes to picking the seven All-Star reserves. There are easily 10 players who are worthy, maybe more. But what about the East? And let’s start with this quiz: Can you name the starting five on the best team in the East? In fact, can you name the best team in the East? It is the Atlanta Hawks who ascended to that position when the Toronto Raptors
New Year’s Day brought the latest round of All-Star balloting returns, and it’s a safe bet that the five leading vote-getters in each conference will remain there. Stephen Curry and Kobe Bryant lead the West backcourt, with James Harden trailing Kobe by about 180,000 votes. In the West frontcourt, Anthony Davis is a shoo-in, with Blake Griffin and Marc Gasol second and third, and Tim Duncan trailing Gasol by 55,000 votes. In the East, John Wall and Dwyane Wade are No. 1
The New Year begins with word that Cleanthony Early, Travis Wear and Quincy Acy have decided to give up pork as their New Year’s resolutions. A better idea might have been to play well enough to earn spots on next year’s Knicks team, which is the only thing New Yorkers want to talk about. Yep, just 10 short months until Opening Night, ’15-16. Around here, the idea of giving up bacon, one of the four major food groups, is almost as
I am not one to panic, but then again, I am not from Cleveland. But if I was from northeast Ohio, I have to admit I would be at least a little bit antsy about the state of the Cavs following their 23-point loss to the Pistons. Look, when you are getting booed on your home court just two months into what is supposed to be a special season, there are issues. When you are 5-5 in your last 10 games
Not many people expected the Cleveland Cavaliers to be sitting in fifth place in the Eastern Conference two months into the season. When you build a SuperTeam, 5th place is not where you set your sights … and Cavs fans are grousing about it. But when you have a new coach, two imported superstars who have to change their games, a franchise cornerstone (Kyrie Irving) who is not the franchise cornerstone anymore, there are going to be growing pains. And that
LeBron James pulled his jersey up over his mouth as he spoke to the players on the Miami Heat bench late in the fourth quarter of Cleveland’s Christmas day dud on Biscayne Bay, keeping the lip-readers out of the conversation. He id the same thing after the game ended when he spoke with Dwyane Wade, but his efforts at stealth could not elude the ESPN microphones. One snippet that was audible to the world was James saying he was making “like
Kind of funny to see so many teams supposedly lining up to get their hands on Josh Smith. One team’s $35 million piece of trash is apparently somebody else’s treasure, eh? Why a good team would want to bring in a player who has a high potential to poison the well is beyond me, but Smith will clear waivers on Christmas Eve and presumably will make up his mind on where his post-Pistons career will take him. Speculation in the mainstream
Been too long since the last MVP rankings, nearly two whole weeks. A lot has been happening during that time, and I have a few stories to tell — new and old, before we get into the latest rankings. This morning’s New York Times brings news that the United and Cuba will restore full diplomatic relations. But wait … no tourism for Americans, and no democracy for Cubans? Hey, you never know what kind of a surprise the Old Gray Lady