The Indiana Pacers find themselves in a unique position among NBA teams heading into the 2013-14 season in that there are very few concerning questions about what has to go right and what can possibly go wrong. Health willing, we know what can go right: Paul George breaks out, the bench produces, the Pacers have a realistic shot at being the best team in the NBA. But the floor? We saw that already. We saw a bumbling offense, a 29th-ranked reserve
This is how you know your star transcends the universe where it was created. LeBron James – two-time defending champion, four-time MVP, best player on the planet – was the topic of three different stories Tuesday. And none of them were about NBA basketball. Not one, not two … Three. [Read more…]
Training camps open in just over a month from now, on Sept. 28, so it’s time to start taking a critical look at the 2013-2014 NBA season. Plenty of players around the league are facing uncertain futures, with contract statuses to be resolved and career trajectories at stake. With that in mind, this post is the first of a two-part series of players around the league heading into make-or-break seasons of varying degrees. Jared Sullinger, F, Boston Celtics There’s no questioning his on-court ability,
The Dwight Howard signing had a humongous effect on the futures market for who will win the NBA title. And then it started a trickle-down effect. [Read more…]
It’s July 23, and a vast majority of the free agents have found homes, meaning that the player movement portion of the offseason has nearly come to a close. So most fans would love to see where their team stacks up, right? Right. [Read more…]
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
NBA free agency is officially in full swing. The biggest domino to fall in the first two days was also the leagues worst-kept secret, Chris Paul — No. 2 overall in Mighty Moke’s Free Agent Power Rankings — who re-signed with the Los Angeles Clippers. The Clippers aren’t done, though, and they made more noise today with a trade that has helped reshape their roster in a much needed way: shooting. [Read more…]