Yeah, we’re all sick of the Pacers. I will be visiting with them tonight at Madison Square Garden when they destroy the New York Knicks in Mike Woodson’s final game, and I will close this paragraph by reminding y’all that I picked Indiana to win the NBA championship. I even went on the BBC prior to the season and advised 120 million viewers to place a wager on them when the odds were between 7-1 and 12-1. Something tells me Ladbroke’s has
He is the greatest Turk since Kamal Ataturk! OK, maybe that’s pushing it a little too far. But Turkish native Omer Asik is a better-than-serviceable legitimate NBA center, and there is one NBA truism (centers always get paid) that goes hand- in-hand with another: Centers have high value on the trade market. No doubt Rockets GM Daryl Morey will be asking for the moon and stars in an Asik deal, because that’s what he learned from making so many trades with the New
It is never a good thing to have a zero in your record at this point of the NBA season — unless, of course, that zero is in the loss column. For the Utah Jazz, that goose egg is in the win column — and nobody wants to be the first team to lose to them. So as tough as things have already been, they are about to get tougher for Tyrone Corbin’s young team. That topic, and plenty more from around the
There is a temptation to put Andrew Wiggins and Jabari Parker on this list after what we all witnessed last night in Chicago. Think about it: Every NBA team – great, good or bad – had scouts and player personnel in attendance at the State Farm Classic, where Wiggins’ second half-heroics for Kansas outshined Parker’s 27-point effort for a Duke team that apparently has hired Andris Biedrins as its free throw shooting coach. Even the most diehard NBA fans couldn’t help
There is a lot of excitement in the Bay Area regarding the Golden State Warriors, who are atop the Western Conference alongside the San Antonio Spurs — their opponent tonight in a nationally televised game. (The Warriors are 5-point underdogs, which seems a bit much for me. I also like the over 204 — not that I am wagering or anything.) The missing link for this team has been Andre Iguodala, whose offense has been spectacular for a team averaging more than
Folks are not panicking in Miami just because the Heat are not atop the Eastern Conference standings. But they are taking a closer look at the Indiana Pacers, who entered Wednesday night’s game against the Chicago Bulls as the last remaining unbeaten NBA team. Heat fans remember that the Pacers took the Heat to seven games, and they realize that Indiana’s new, deeper roster is going to make the Pacers a much tougher out next spring — especially if a Game 7
Back in 2008, I covered the U.S. Olympic team in Beijing, where Jason Kidd was the No. 1 point guard, Chris Paul was No. 2 and Deron Williams No. 3 — but it was a close contest between CP3 and DWill. They were considered equals then, but Paul is already having the type of season that shows why he has grown into the better player — and why he is the more popular of the two (having Blake Griffin as a
The Indiana Pacers have the best record in the NBA, 2-0, after defeating the New Orleans Pelicans and the Orlando Magic. So my suggested plan is working perfectly for them. In our massive season preview package, I picked the Pacers to win the championship but said they MUST have homecourt advantage for a possible Game 7 against Miami. Only way they can do that is by making Miami chase them throughout the season. So far, so good. [Read more…]