Last season, the Atlanta Hawks were one of the NBA’s best regular-season stories, winning 60 games. This season, they needed almost 60 games to remember what winning is. After their best season since moving to Atlanta nearly 50 years ago, the Hawks have spent most of this season spurting and sputtering. They got off to a 7-1 start, which many took as a good sign considering they were a measly 7-6 out of the gate last season. There was a six-game
It’s a busier-than-usual NBA Thursday with eight games, and we may not see as many lopsided high scores as last night. Several teams are in desperate bids for playoff positioning. [Read more…]
The first-place Cavaliers visit the second-place Raptors tonight in the highlight of an eight-game NBA slate. Toronto has won nine straight at home and 17 of 20 overall — the best stretch in franchise history — to close within three games of the conference leaders. [Read more…]
Former NBA Executive of the Year Mark Warkentien once told me a story about this time of the season. Warkentien often traveled with his teams during the season and came to practices both at home and on the road. But not in the days leading up to the trading deadline. While with Denver, Warkentien was on the road with the Nuggets and sitting in the hotel lobby one morning before practice. It was a couple of days before the trading deadline. A
This week, while NBA coaches pick the All-Star reserves, the NBA will pick the All-Star coaches. Neither task is as easy. David Blatt’s dismissal as coach of the Cleveland Cavaliers has added a bizarre twist to next month’s All-Star Game in Toronto. The Cavs have the best record in the Eastern Conference, which means their staff was on track to coach the East All-Stars. But Blatt has been replaced by Tyronn Lue, who will coach just five games before the deadline of
Where has Timofey Mozgov’s playing time gone? Just over a year after being traded from Denver to Cleveland for two first-round picks, the 7-1 Russian has played at least 20 minutes in just 14 of his 37 games this season. Averaging just 17.8 minutes, Mozgov has reached double figures in points just seven times and has yet to record a double-double. He is playing strong defense when given the opportunity, but it just doesn’t seem like there’s enough court time for him. It’s all the more
On a fairly quiet NBA Tuesday, DraftKings is making noise with some terrific prizes. If you’ve already signed up, there’s a $400,000 contest that pays $50K for the highest score and a guaranteed $350K to almost 32,000 other winners. Entry fee is a mere three bucks per team, but if you’re new to DK and make a minimum $5 deposit, it’s free! [Read more…]
Launching a seven-game road trip, Golden State edged Utah 106-103 on Monday to remain unbeaten. Tonight in Charlotte should be a slightly easier task. Al Jefferson (calf) is out, giving Cody Zeller $3800 an opportunity. Kemba Walker $7500 and Nicolas Batum $7400 are the safe plays, Jeremy Lamb $4800 the value pick but it’s hard to recommend them. [Read more…]