You know the NBA season is inching closer towards us when Power Rankings start to make an appearance. Chris Sheridan published his first Power Rankings of the upcoming season today, so feel free to go there and let him know what you think of how he ranked your team (I wasn’t thrilled about where he put my Warriors). Also, see what we learned about the NBA in the summer of 2012 in Jan Hubbard’s column. In Tuesday’s news, you’ll find out
The Houston Rockets have dominated the off-season thus far with two trades in two days, as they continue to gain assets in hopes to make some blockbuster deals. Find out who they traded and what they plan to do, who the Warriors want and don’t want, Pau Gasol rumors, update on Knicks players plus much more in today’s news: After trading away Chase Budinger yesterday, the Rockets made another trade today, from Adrian Wojnarowski: “The Houston Rockets have traded center Samuel Dalembert
If there is one thing athletes and celebrities can learn from the mistake Amare Stoudemire made over the past weekend, it’s to utilize the “block” button when encountering an unpleasant “fan” on twitter. In today’s news, you’ll find out just how much Stoudemire had to pay for his short-sighted decision, the Rockets grand plan and their subsequent trade with the Timberwolves, changes in the Pacers front office and much more. Stoudemire was fined for the derogatory direct message he sent to a
The two best words in sports are Game Seven. When it comes to the NBA Finals, Game 5 isn’t too bad, either. Either one team has a 3-1 lead, which means the trailing team will scratch, claw, bite, fight and cheat to stay win. Or the teams are tied 2-2, which means both teams will scratch, claw, bite, fight and cheat to win. Our collection of the best Game Five showdowns of the David Stern Era includes three in which the series was
In any seven-game series, the biggest adjustments by coaches are usually made between Games 1 and 2. Those adjustments – and a sense of urgency – have contributed to some of the best Game 2 showdowns in recent NBA Finals history. As we will do throughout the Finals, we have compiled a list of the five best Game 2’s since 1984, when David Stern became commissioner (and the playoffs went to a 16-team format). In all five games listed below, the team that
Tonight is Game 1 of the NBA Finals, and the buzz is palpable. Can the Heat draw on last year’s disappointment as motivation? Is the stage too big and bright for the youth of the Thunder? Which team will get its vaunted transition game going? And if it is a one-possession game in the final minute, will LeBron James again become a shrinking violet or impose his newly indomitable will? We all want to see a competitive series with no shortage of spectacular
There are a variety of ways to quantify a player’s worth to his team, with a myriad of variables with which to play. One way is by utilizing NBA.com/Stats’ PIE (Player Impact Estimate)*, which measures a player’s overall contribution to his team. Perhaps not surprisingly, the Miami Heat’s LeBron James leads the league in PIE at 23.2 percent, and is the lone player in the league with a PIE above 20 percent. James is on pace to set new career