NEW YORK — One playoff victory, not to mention an 18-6 finish to the regular season, was enough to earn Mike Woodson some long-term job security. As expected, the Knicks signed Woodson to a multi-year contract Friday, apparently never showing any interest whatsoever in Phil Jackson, a member of their last title-winning team in 1973 who has won an NBA record 11 championships as a head coach. Jackson likely would have been interested, as you can discern from reading this Mark Heisler
In today’s NBA, you won’t wake up one day and find yourself winning championships. The 2008 Boston Celtics were an anomaly, and their three main cogs each endured years of heartache and growing pains before they became champions. That’s why the rise of the Oklahoma City Thunder has been interesting to witness. Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook are in just the fifth and fourth years of their respective careers, yet for the second consecutive season they find themselves poised to battle for the
// Frank Vogel made a major mistake last night, IMHO. I compliment him for everything he has accomplished this season, I admire his youthful enthusiasm, but I question his wisdom today — the day after Indiana’s season ended in a Game 6 loss at home in which the Pacers never fully took advantage of the big-man advantage they had with Udonis Haslem out serving a one-game suspension. With exactly 3 minutes left in the first quarter, Vogel subbed out David West,
Reader Zach was the first with the correct answer to last week’s edition of The Bernucca List. The list was “players called for 10 or more technical fouls this season.” This week’s list is a pretty tough one, so we will provide a hint: It has to do with the playoffs. Think you know the answer? Go ahead and post it in the Comments section or Tweet it to me. First correct answer gets a shout-out next week. The Bernucca List Carlos Boozer Manu Ginobili Richard Hamilton Stephen
Amarillo Slim at the 1974 World Series of Poker
Dwight Howard has spoken, and it should be noted how polite he was to the paparazzo from TMZ.com who caught up with him in Beverly Hills. To surmise, Howard says he was sorry to see Stan Van Gundy and Otis Smith lose their jobs, he warned that ESPN has an interview in the can is now outdated — ” A lot of stuff has changed since then” — and made a prediction on who will win the NBA championship. He likes the
When is the last time we saw the combination of a shooting guard and a small forward completely and utterly dominate a game the way Dwyane Wade and LeBron James did on Thursday night? His Airness and Robin Scottie Pippen certainly come to mind. Back in the 90’s, the NBA and its fans saw Michael Jordan and Pippen display unparalleled athleticism and skill that allowed the tandem to terrorize their opposition with incredible offensive games. Longtime Pacers fans, along with Larry Bird – now the
