PHILADELPHIA—This was the night Philadelphia 76ers fans had longed for; a chance to shower their love on their new big man (didn’t quite turn out that way) while at the same time bidding good riddance to the player who had unwittingly become an eyesore to the local hoops community over the past eight years: Andre Iguodala. Who could have imagined that those MVP chants reverberating throughout the building in the closing stages of the Sixers’ opening night 84-75 win over Iguodala’s
(This is another in a series of 30 guest columns that will run in October, when optimism reigns supreme across the NBA. The theme will be “Five Reasons to Feel Positive About … ” We encourage you to follow the authors on Twitter and visit their sites. – CS) In the wake of the Carmelo Anthony trade and the departures of Kenyon Martin and J.R. Smith – the ending of the “Thuggets” era – Denver Nuggets vice president of basketball operations
When we wrote last month that the Western Conference playoff picture would be filled in by the Dallas Mavericks and Minnesota Timberwolves, it was assumed that both teams would have their alpha dogs at power forward. Now that Dirk Nowitzki and Kevin Love are both out until at least December, that picture could be changing. Nowitzki and Love both are top-10 players whose presence instantly legitimizes their teams as playoff-worthy, regardless of the other 14 players sharing a locker room and airplane with them.
You never quite know what you are going to find when you are surfing around the Internet early on a Sunday morning, but you always stumble upon something somewhat stunning. In this case, it was actual numerals in the box score next to the name Eddy Curry. E’Nourmous Tubolard actually took his warmups off in the San Antonio Spurs’ preseason opener, logging nine minutes and shooting 3-for-5 for seven points with two rebounds as Gregg Popovich’s team wiped out Italian squad Montepaschi
Northwest Division Fantasy Preview (Part I) Yesterday, Kent kick-started our week of division previews with the Atlantic. Today, I tackle the Northwest. The Northwest is a mecca for fantasy basketball players. The division has four of the NBA’s seven highest-scoring teams, and even the fifth (the Portland Trailblazers) finished in the top half. With new a coach and point guard in Portland, I expect all five teams to continue to push the pace in 2012-13. With all that scoring, the division gives fantasy
Pity poor Paul Allen. He only came in at No. 20 on the Forbes list of the 400 Richest Americans. But at least he’ll have something to hold over the heads of the other owners when they convene next month for the Board of Governors meeting in New York (then again, Allen– worth 15 billion– may not attend. He usually sends someone in his place). The only owner who can flex muscles with him is Mikhail Prokhorov of the Brooklyn Nets, with $13.2
21. Dairis Bertans, Swingman, Latvia, (Spurs own NBA draft rights) This versatile wing has been a leader for Latvia offensively, as a scorer and distributor. Bertans is a strong shooter, and can contribute in many ways, but it is tough to find a niche right now that could make him contribute right away in the league, and his defense certainly isn’t up to Pop’s standards just yet. With his natural skill set and athleticism, Bertans has the chance to make the
