We are about to witness what may be a first in the long history of the NBA. For the first time, four of the league’s flagship franchises could well be out of the playoffs. OK, the Knicks aren’t technically out of the race in the Hindenburg Conference, but they have a lot of ground to make up on Atlanta – four games in the loss column with 13 to play. The Celtics, Lakers and 76ers all are making plans for the
As the All-Star break and Feb. 20 trade deadline draw near, it’s becoming increasingly clear to the neutral observer which teams are going to compete for the remainder of the regular season, and which teams are content on limping to the finish line. Their hopes will then rest on securing a high lottery pick in this, the much hyped 2014 NBA draft. It’s been a while between mock drafts here at SheridanHoops since Joe Kotoch’s ‘Very Early Mock Lottery‘ was published, and
CHICAGO — Three headlining freshmen. Three spectacular performances. Julius Randle? All he did was take his youthful Kentucky Wildcats and rally them with a dominant second half performance of 23 points and eight rebounds against Michigan State, one of the more consistently well coached and talented teams in college basketball. [Read more…]
Is Andrew Wiggins still the top pick in the 2014 NBA draft? Wiggins certainly was good Tuesday night, when the Windy City was rocking for the State Farm Champions Classic. But so were Jabari Parker and Julius Randle, who may have closed the gap on Wiggins. The event pitted Kentucky vs. Michigan State and Duke vs. Kansas – traditional powers from major conferences meeting on the hardwood in an early season measuring stick. But while many fans were entertained by the games and
Mid-October is not synonymous with the NBA draft. Basketball fans are usually starting to notice the NBA preseason and getting ready for the start of college ball. But unlike past years, there has been a greater focus on the 2014 NBA draft and the overwhelming star power it has. That is why “Tankapalooza” is already part of basketball lexicon. For a long time, this next draft has been called the Andrew Wiggins Lottery, and one year prior to the 2014 draft, the
It’s not uncommon these days for shoe companies to begin lobbying for the future signature of prized athlete. It happened with LeBron. It happened with Derrick Rose. Now, it appears to be happening with highly touted Kansas Jayhawks freshman Andrew Wiggins. Jared Zwerling broke the story for Bleacher Report. [Read more…]
Andrew Wiggins will not be taking his talents to Spain next summer. Unless … Well, first things first. Canada, which should have a team that can compete for a medal (maybe even gold?) by the time the Tokyo Olympics roll around in 2020 (Wiggins, Anthony Bennett, Kelly Olynyk, Andrew Nicholson, Cory Joseph; Tristan Thompson, all in their primes) failed to qualify for the 2014 World Cup by losing 73-67 to Luis Scola (28 points) and Argentina on Sunday at the FIBA-Americas Tournament
NEW YORK – When the NBA draft lottery ended with the Cleveland Cavaliers owning the No. 1 pick, most observers assumed they would take Kentucky freshman big man Nerlens Noel. But because Noel is not considered a dominant player or a presumptive top pick, there remains speculation that the Cavs might take Georgetown forward Otto Porter Jr. or Maryland center Alex Len — or consider trading the rights to Noel to Minnesota for Kevin Love. Kansas shooting guard Ben McLemore is also considered by some to be worthy of the