When you make it to Game 7 of the Eastern Conference finals against the Miami Heat, you are an elite team. Period. But that does not mean you are a legitimate championship contending team. And if the Indiana Pacers are going to take that next step, they need to upgrade their backcourt in some way. George Hill and Lance Stephenson are nice players … but that’s the nicest thing you can say about them. When one of the other, or both, had
There is, of course, the old adage that titles are not won in July (the Heat in 2010 being the clear exception) but several moves were made on Tuesday that could quietly alter the regular season standings out west next season. We’ve also seen shooters get large contracts this week like, it seems, never before. Those are the main two storylines from the July 2, but there’s a whole lot to get to before we all take a nice break for the
Like LeBron in 2010, Dwight Howard is 2013’s Biggest Prize Welcome to the summer of “The Dwecision,” which is speeding along faster that LeBron’s “Decision.” Dwight Howard has alread met with the Rockets, Mavericks, Hawks and Warriors, and the Los Angeles Lakers get the last shot at him today. El Lay can construct a helluva team around him in 2014-15 if they amnesty Kobe Bryant. No, really. Howard has waited his entire NBA career to be in this position,
The Los Angeles Lakers, although they finished the season on a very strong note, have greatly underachieved this season. We all know this. For that, most want to blame Mike D’Antoni for his inability to make better use of the talent he has. Any time you have four Hall of Fame-level players on the same team (which doesn’t happen very often), you have the responsibility of doing big things. If you don’t, the blame goes on you. It’s as simple as
It was a wacky Wednesday in the NBA, with blowouts on some courts and futility on others. Tonight’s final two games of the first half are must-see TV. [Read more…]
When Deron Williams was first traded to the New Jersey Nets two seasons ago, he really didn’t have a whole lot of nice things to say about the situation. The team had no direction and Williams had no interest in being part of a rebuilding project, but fast forward to this preseason and the tone has completely changed. He is more than content with the teammates he now has, and seems to carry a certain level of pride about being
Early this morning in Shanghai, the Clippers welcomed Chris Paul back to their lineup and evened the two-game series with the Heat. Both teams will benefit from the unique experience and it was great for Chinese basketball fans. Fantasy-wise, it was a waste of time. Miami played “small” and had no answer for DeAndre Jordan, who was 8-8 from the floor with nine rebounds and a block. The Clippers are still using Willie Green (5 PTS in 16 minutes) as
(This is another in a series of 30 guest columns that will run in October, when optimism reigns supreme across the NBA. The theme will be “Five Reasons to Feel Positive About … ” We encourage you to follow the authors on Twitter and visit their sites. – CS) New city. New arena. New uniforms. New team. These aren’t your New Jersey Nets anymore. When the 2012-13 NBA season tips off and you see the black-and-white-clad Brooklyn Nets playing on their new