If you are not moving forward, then you are going backward. And if you stand still, you will get run over. Those are two of my “Gonzoisms.” We are one month into the NBA season, and in my opinion the Cleveland Cavaliers need to take some risks and make a move or they will not get where they are trying to get. You want to win a championship in that town for the first time in any sport since 1964? You
The Brooklyn Nets are 5-8 and trending in the wrong direction, having lost six of their last seven games. And coach Lionel Hollins seems very willing to hold players accountable for that slide, even in public settings. Starting center Brook Lopez is averaging just 5.4 rebounds in 29 minutes, and lately, he’s found himself benched in fourth quarters, including Saturday’s 99-87 loss to the Spurs in San Antonio. Both Lopez and Hollins have been visibly frustrated by things. [Read more…]
Over the weekend, LeBron James called his slumping, underachieving Cleveland Cavaliers “a fragile team.” James is partially right. As a group, the Cavaliers aren’t dealing very well with the lofty expectations put upon them by pundits like me. Right now, they look like a typical front-running team that lacks mental toughness and gives in at the first sign of trouble. That was evident Saturday, when the Cavaliers sprinted to a 26-8 lead in the first eight minutes – and were overwhelmed thereafter
It all starts with LeBron James in Cleveland, and when the Chosen One comes out and says he is playing for a “fragile” team, panic buttons start to be pressed. We’ll see what kind of buttons coach David Blatt pushes Monday night against Orlando after saying he expects to tinker with his starting lineup, but this comes down to a bigger question: Why is LeBron James playing in November mode this November? It was understandable the last couple of seasons in
It’s been a tumultuous week for the Cleveland Cavaliers. After a solid four-game win streak against teams like the New Orleans Pelicans and Atlanta Hawks, the script has been flipped in Northeast Ohio. The Cavs are now on a four-game losing streak. An ugly losing streak. At times, we’ve seen glimpses of the brilliance of coach David Blatt’s offense. Unfortunately, at the same time, we’ve seen a nonexistent defense and a let’s-stand-around-and-watch-someone-dribble offense. [Read more…]
As you’ll probably notice from the headline, Andrei Kirilenko’s time with the Nets may be drawing to a close. What makes this interesting, apart from how good Kirilenko used to be, is that he turned down a sizable contract from the Timberwolves to come to Brooklyn in the first place on a veteran minimum deal. Kirilenko has barely seen the floor this year, and last year was easily the worst of his career, but you’ve got to imagine there’s an NBA
The NBA season is only 10 days old, but there’s been a lot to take in and observe. The “Big Three” in Cleveland have a big three losses against one just one narrow win. The Sacramento Kings didn’t get the memo about returning to the lottery. The Los Angeles Lakers are finding out that winless and glamorous usually are mutually exclusive. The New York Knicks look like a different team from game to game. Here are five things I’ve learned so far
After having missed the playoffs for the past four-straight seasons—ever since four-time NBA MVP LeBron James left home for the warm beaches of Miami to join Chris Bosh, Dwyane Wade and the Heat, and after surprisingly good luck in the past two NBA draft lotteries gifted the Cleveland Cavaliers with back-to-back top-overall picks, there may have been little hope for any monumental improvement entering the summer of 2014. That was, of course, before James made the decision to go home, rejoining