16. Houston Rockets – Tyler Zeller, C, North Carolina The Rockets struggles to replace Yao Ming have been well documented. Having swung for the fences with their previous pick, Houston can play it safe and take Zeller. The 7-footer moves well for his size and has good hands and is efficient in the post but lacks the high-end upside to be an elite starter at his position. 17. Dallas Mavericks – Terrence Ross, SG, Washington The Mavericks need to infuse youthful talent on
31. Charlotte Bobcats – John Jenkins, SG, Vanderbilt Jenkins is one of the top shooters in the draft and the Bobcats sorely lack talent. If Jenkins falls to the second round, he is a steal. 32. Washington Wizards – Will Barton, SG, Memphis Barton can give the Wizards the spacing they need to allow John Wall to slash. Another wing that could easily go in the 20’s. 33. Cleveland Cavaliers – Festus Ezeli, C, Vanderbilt Cleveland has no true center on their roster, and Ezeli
Back in January, our hall of fame writer Mark Heisler wrote about the possibility of Phil Jackson becoming the coach of the New York Knicks after having lunch with him, and Chris Sheridan thought they should at least make the phone call to inquire about the availability of the accomplished coach. Turns out, Jackson never did receive that call. In a recent interview he did for “HBO Real Sports”, he had plenty to say about the state of the New York
Game 2 of the NBA Finals is in the bag, and here we are, left without a basketball game until Sunday night. Luckily, we have news for you to read about, from LeBron James’ clutch play, Russell Westbrook’s demise, Tony Parker’s brawl story and more. An epic battle has taken shape between LeBron James and Kevin Durant, writes Adrian Wojnarowski: “These are the Finals everyone wanted, the moments of truth for Durant and James that shape the sport’s history, that make
The reputation of an NBA player can be an incredibly fragile thing in the playoffs. You can go from being an absolute hero to a total scapegoat, game by game. Just ask Russell Westbrook. In the past, Westbrook was the target of criticism for shooting too much, not playing enough like a point guard and not getting the ball enough to Kevin Durant. Most of the complaints seemed to disappear this season when the Thunder catapulted their way to the Finals because more
The countdown to the NBA draft is now inside of two weeks. Workouts are taking place at gyms all around the NBA. Promises are being made, trades are being discussed. Some players are seeing their stock rise, others are falling. This going to be a very deep draft, especially at the big man positions, which is quite a contrast to last year when it was more or less a point guard-dominated draft. So as we count down the days until June 28
OKLAHOMA CITY – The Miami Heat’s lead was down to 4, the shot clock was at 5 and Shane Battier was about to set a screen for Dwyane Wade at the top of the key. But he slip-screened, backed up, got his hands ready, set his feet and let the ball fly. “I was just trying to get it on the rim, to be honest with you,” explained the do-it-all forward. “The shot clock was low, (Kevin) Durant was in my
