What a rotten week for the Spurs — three straight losses, the last two in triple overtime. Damian Lillard (career-high 43 PTS, 6 AST) and LaMarcus Aldridge (32 PTS, 16 REB) were fantastic to own on Friday as each played over 50 minutes. [Read more…]
Why would the Spurs bother using their veterans in Philadelphia? Assume that Tim Duncan $8600, Tony Parker $7200 and Manu Ginobili $4900 will be rested, avoid using them in daily lineups and be sure to check for news later in the day to confirm my suspicions. [Read more…]
Of the eight teams that reached the Western Conference playoffs last season, six of them had at least one player among the NBA’s top-20 in win shares. The two playoff teams that did not have a player among the top 20 were Memphis, with stars Marc Gasol, Mike Conley and Zach Randolph, and San Antonio, who boasts the famed star quartet of Tim Duncan, Tony Parker, Manu Ginobili and Kawhi Leonard. Obtaining, maintaining and sustaining a roster with All-Star level talent
Orlando Magic guard Victor Oladipo is out indefinitely after suffering a facial fracture in practice Thursday. The Magic announced Friday that Oladipo took an inadvertent elbow to the face during a practice drill. The second-year guard will undergo a surgical procedure Saturday. There is no timetable for his return. Oladipo already was nursing a sprained MCL suffered in preseason that had prevented him from playing in any exhibition games. He returned to practice Monday, and the Magic were hoping that Oladipo could
The Denver Nuggets head into the 2014-15 season with ambitious goals. The Nuggets are built around a young core that won a franchise-record 57 games only two seasons ago, only to be derailed by injuries and eliminated in the first round of the playoffs. That early exit precipitated the departure of their GM and coach. Last season, the injuries kept coming and the Nuggets missed the playoffs for the first time since 2003, the year they drafted Carmelo Anthony. The core is
When it comes to trades, the 2014 NBA draft hasn’t been quite as nuts as last year. Nevertheless, there have been a handful of deals. Here’s a breakdown: Philadelphia 76ers trade Elfrid Payton to Orlando Magic for Dario Saric, 2015 second-round pick and 2017 first-round pick. Philadelphia didn’t need another point guard with Michael Carter-Williams entrenched at the position, and the Sixers are all about assets. Injured Joel Embiid went third and now Dario Saric will be in Turkey for the next two seasons.
12:12 a.m. Eastern -Billy King could not talk about the 59th and 60th picks on record but those deals should be finalized by the end of the night. Xavier Thames and Cory Jefferson, who were selected by other teams, will be Nets. 11:53 p.m. Eastern -Thanasis Antetokounmpo, the newest Knicks player. He hopes to bring energy and effort to the team, he told reporters. 11:44 p.m. Eastern -The Knicks just took Thanasis Antetokounpo, the older brother of Milwaukee’s Giannis. He played for Delaware in the
As someone who wrote these here blog things during the Dwightmare, I have mixed feelings on the incredibly protracted trade dramas that the NBA is so often subjected to. On the one hand, they take forever, they’re basically one big headache, they’re never resolved in a satisfying manner, and after about a week more people are talking about how they’re sick of hearing about the trade possibilities than are actually talking about said trade possibilities. On the other hand, they make