When Dwight Howard left the Los Angeles Lakers and bolted to the Houston Rockets, we heard and saw the reactions of plenty – perhaps most notably from Kobe Bryant, who immediately unfollowed his former teammate on Twitter upon hearing the news. The one person most relevant to the situation that we’ve yet to hear from had been Mike D’Antoni, whose offense was cited as a critical reason for Howard’s desire for departure. So what did the coach think of his time
Let’s preface this scouting report with some harsh realities for Trey Burke: A point guard renaissance has taken over the NBA. The point guards whom we typically think of as “league average,” and who probably would have been considered league average several years ago, are actually something quite different these days. Take a player like Jrue Holiday as a prime example of how deep the position has become. I wrote a raving column about Holiday’s development in late March and prematurely anointed him as
With defensive tenacity and a punishing, menacing front line, the Indiana Pacers have reached the Eastern Conference finals. But if vanquishing the New York Knicks in six games seemed like a tall task, their path to the NBA Finals seems preposterously gargantuan in comparison. To defeat LeBron James in his prime and the Miami Heat in a best-of-seven series is akin to defeating a Michael Jordan-led Bulls team in his prime. James is the best player in the world. He has several
What is the ceiling of Washington Wizards point guard John Wall? When Wall entered the league as the No. 1 overall pick of the 2010-2011 Draft, some believed he may become one of the best point guards to ever play the game. Yes, the hype was that strong. And why not? He had incredible athleticism, size, played defense and displayed the ability to find teammates. In his second game ever as a Wizard, he quickly showed promise with 28 points and nine assists
Dwight Howard dominates the paint on both ends, Kobe Bryant plays less than 30 minutes for the first time this season, Steve Nash runs the offense with precision, the defense has its best game in weeks and the Lakers run away with a 20-point win in their Sunday home whites. So, everything’s back to normal again in Tinseltown, right? Who cares that it was against the Cavaliers, who lose three of every four games they play? Or that Cleveland was missing Anderson Varejao, their best
The long-awaited debut of Amar’e Stoudemire (6 PTS in 16:41) was dissected by Chris Sheridan and STAT will need to do much more to satisfy Knicks fans and his fantasy owners. [Read more…]
Happy new year, everyone! 2012 ended with a colossal upset, as the Charlotte Bobcats actually won a game after losing 18 in a row. [Read more…]
The NBA is a strange place sometimes. As this blog goes to press, the Bobcats and Rockets are undefeated, while the Lakers and Celtics are winless. We’re not even a week into the season, of course, but all 82 games count the same. Nick Gibson was a witness to James Harden’s 45-point outburst in Atlanta last night, and it’s up to the boss where to put The Beard in the debut of the MVP race rankings on Sunday. Also on Sheridan Hoops,