The Toronto Raptors had no intention of making the playoffs this season. Head coach Dwane Casey admitted as much earlier in the season, but the talent on the team turned out to be above average in an Eastern Conference that turned out to be historically subpar. So general manager Masai Ujiri sent the overpaid Rudy Gay to Sacramento on Dec. 8 with the team in first place at 7-12, and the Raptors have turned into one of the East’s best teams. Toronto
The Brooklyn Nets looked like a team needing as much construction as the Gowanus Expressway in 2013, but have cruised up the Eastern Conference standings like a driver in the HOV lane in 2014 as I outlined in my previous column. Meanwhile, the New York Knicks have made it easier for Carmelo Anthony to consider leaving in free agency. Before the Knicks and Nets hit the hardwood on Friday, I joined “Between the Lines” on WPRB 103.3 FM in Princeton, N.J., with
BOSTON — You don’t often hear his name mentioned on the list of potential, difference-making free agents this summer. OK, you never hear it. And that’s OK with Paul Pierce. “I can still play. I can still make a contribution,’’ he said. This is a man whose game may be on the decline, but whose confidence clearly is not. “I’m kind of lost in the shuffle right now,’’ he added. “You don’t hear my name out there. You hear Melo (Carmelo Anthony.)
By the end of 2013, the Brooklyn Nets looked like a team needing as much construction as the Gowanus Expressway. Since the start of 2014, Brooklyn has cruised up the Eastern Conference standings like a driver in the HOV lane. [Read more…]
Jimmer Fredette is exactly what the Chicago Bulls need right now, yet at the same time is exactly the type of player the Bulls usually look to avoid. It is this inherent contradiction that makes Chicago’s signing of Fredette so uniquely interesting among last week’s February buyouts since Fredette is the exact antithesis of the Chicago Bulls player we’ve grown accustomed to seeing over the last couple of years. Chicago as a team allows 100.6 points per 100 possessions, second in the
Before getting hitched, I lived with my future wife for a few months, then we were engaged for about a year and a half. We were told over and over: “It’ll be different when you’re married.” Then the day came, and guess what? Our routines were the same. We treated each other just as we had before. In that sense, absolutely nothing was different. But around us, context changed. People viewed our relationship differently. Making the bond official added a layer of obligation
Glad to see the Brooklyn Nets bringing back one of their New Jersey veterans. The fact that Collins has come out as homosexual means nothing to me, though I have no problem with other writers making a big deal out of it. What matters to me is whether the Nets will run a play for him. Why? Because back during Collins’ first stint with the Nets, they decided to run a play for him in his final game for the team in the
The Indiana Pacers knew something early Thursday afternoon that the Oklahoma City Thunder — and the rest of the NBA — found out late Thursday night: The Miami Heat are still the team to beat in this league. Period. [Read more…]