After losing four starters and their sixth man over the summer, it seems so unlikely insane that the Portland Trail Blazers are currently tied for the sixth seed in the Western Conference. The reason why Portland is the hottest team in the league aside from Golden State is the play of its backcourt of Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollum, which has quickly become one of the league’s elite guard pairings. The Blazers have now won 10 of their last 12 and
The stars are out on a 10-game NBA Wednesday, with the point guard spot particularly loaded. Kyle Lowry $8500, who triple-doubled on Monday, ranks only fifth on the salary list for his position. [Read more…]
After 55 games, the Toronto Raptors have the same 37-18 record that they had last year. So why will this team avoid the disappointment the Raptors had a year ago? The 2014-2015 Raptors finished the regular season 12-15 and were mercilessly swept by Washington in the first round. Toronto hasn’t won a playoff series since the 2000-2001 season, when this columnist was in the seventh grade. So why and how is this Toronto team a legit contender, perhaps the only contender, who
This week, while NBA coaches pick the All-Star reserves, the NBA will pick the All-Star coaches. Neither task is as easy. David Blatt’s dismissal as coach of the Cleveland Cavaliers has added a bizarre twist to next month’s All-Star Game in Toronto. The Cavs have the best record in the Eastern Conference, which means their staff was on track to coach the East All-Stars. But Blatt has been replaced by Tyronn Lue, who will coach just five games before the deadline of
There are two NBA games at 3:30 Eastern, with the Thunder huge favorites in Brooklyn and the Mavericks visiting Houston. The injury list, always important, is critical in that one. Dwight Howard (ankle) is out, so Clint Capela $6000 will start again, with Terrence Jones $5200 getting extra run. [Read more…]
We are back with a long-overdue edition of the Three-Man Weave, taking a look at the NBA All-Star Game starters. What did the fans get right? What did they get wrong? Should Kobe Bryant be part of the All-Star Game? And what does John Malkovich have to do with all of this? Let’s get right to it. 1. Which Eastern Conference player should have been an All-Star starter? [Read more…]
We have two pieces of news to pick apart today: The announcement that USA Basketball has released a list of 30 finalists for the 2016 Olympic team, and the “non-commitment” from LeBron James regarding whether he will be part of the party. And yes, it will be a party. The games are in Brazil, after all. And LeBron, whose non-commitment is disingenuous at best, does not miss a good party. So let me tell you a little story about the Brazilians. [Read more…]
Like millions of other Americans, I awoke this Sunday with a losing Powerball ticket. The $900 million jackpot will now move past the $1 billion mark by the time the next drawing is held in the middle of the week, and we all are going to have to wait to see if we become the next instant billionaire. Then, for someone, it will become a question of what to do with the winnings. Maybe become the next Mark Zuckerberg, and give 99