Nobody plays a make-or-break game in their season opener. The Clippers are not broken just because they lost to a bunch of journeymen wearing Lakers uniforms last night. The Bulls will be fine — but they got another taste of how far they have to go in order to be able to compete with the Heat. But that was last night. What about Wednesday? The Grizzlies-Spurs game represents Dave Joerger’s first game at the helm of an NBA team, and we’re going to
Yeah, baby. We waited all summer for this night to arrive, and the fun doesn’t end until the middle of June … at which time the fun begins anew with the strongest draft class since 2003 and the most star-studded free agent market since 2010. In the meantime, can the Miami Heat “three-peat?” Who is their strongest challenger — Brooklyn? Indiana? Chicago? And how will again Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett be different this season — other than having “Brooklyn” or “Boston” written across
NEW YORK — That there is a David Stern bobblehead. Every NBA owner received one last night as part of the farewell tribute to David Stern as he presided over his final Board of Governors meeting. Dan Gilbert joked that the head only moves from side to side. We are taking wagers on which owner puts his up for sale first on eBay. (My money is on Donald Sterling). Wouldn’t be surprised if Mark Cuban has already handed his over to his voodoo
I know a guy who used to work for the Houston Rockets back in the 1990s, when Hakeem Olajuwon was leading the team to back to-back titles and the team played at The Summit — a rickety bandbox that has been converted into a church in the years since the team moved to the Toyota Center. The guy tells a great story about a different era in the NBA, when money flowed as though it was wine at a toga party.
Ever heard of the Skirvin Hotel in Oklahoma City? It is haunted, and a good number of NBA players have reported paranormal activity while staying there. You know what else in Oklahoma City is haunted? The Thunder. And you know why? Because of the monumental act of stupidity known as the James Harden trade. That haunting will carry into the upcoming NBA season, and the Thunder will be nowhere near the top of the West, I state in this podcast with Sam Mayes and
It’s prediction time, and as I have always liked to say: Predictions are like armpits: Everyone has them, and all of them stink. Take it from a guy who picked Spurs in 7 last season. Yes, that one missed – but find me a guy who predicted that Gregg Popovich would have an extreme bout of cranial flatulence with the championship within his grasp at the end of Game 6, and then I’ll drop the armpit line. I still can’t get
(Folks, the news of Russell Westbrook being out for a couple months after knee surgery calls for an Oct. 1 revision. We published on Sept. 29, and should have known better. Something big happens early in ever October-CS). The beat brought us to East Rutherford N.J. this past week, where the Nets still have a practice facility (and yes, they still use it, making for a particularly brutal two-river crossing to get to the BK). Jason Kidd was the featured speaker,
The beat brought us to East Rutherford N.J. this past week, where the Nets still have a practice facility (and yes, they still use it, making for a particularly brutal two-river crossing to get to the BK). Jason Kidd was the featured speaker, and he spoke not in black and white – the team’s new colors – but in pink and vanilla. [Read more…]