After a one-week wait, the NBA Finals are here. But that’s nowhere near as long as these teams have been waiting for a championship. For the Golden State Warriors, it has been 40 years since Rick Barry led them to what many believe is the greatest upset in NBA Finals history, a four-game sweep of the Washington Bullets in 1975. For the Cleveland Cavaliers, it has been, well, forever. The Cavaliers entered the NBA in 1970 and didn’t even make the Finals
As we count down to the start of NBA Finals, there are plenty of things to focus on: LeBron James building his legacy (he is no Jerry West), the battle of rookie head coaches Steve Kerr and David Blatt, the experience issue when it comes to having played in monster games before, be they NBA playoff games or FIBA tournaments (don’t forget that Steph Curry and Klay Thompson were members of Team USA last summer). But remember something that coaches always
It wasn’t that long ago when Golden State Warriors fans booed team owner Joe Lacob at Oracle Arena — at a Chris Mullin jersey retirement ceremony, no less. Lacob had failed to deliver on some bold promises at that point, and – coupled with the trade of local favorite Monta Ellis – he made for a convenient target at the time.’ A lot has changed in the Bay Area in the three years since, as anyone at Game 5 of the
It was supposed to be a stroll in the park for Cleveland. Then LeBron James $11700 missed his first ten shots and the extreme underdog Hawks had the lead. Then things got even crazier. [Read more…]
We learned a lot from last night’s opening game of the Eastern Conference Final. LeBron James $11400 got off to an excellent start (31 PTS, 8 REB, 6 AST) as the Cavaliers snatched away home-court advantage. Tristan Thompson $6000 gets a salary bump after a double-double in 42 minutes and J.R. Smith $4900 was unconscious, draining eight 3-pointers. [Read more…]
This is where DFS handicapping gets really interesting. It was easy enough to target Stephen Curry $10400 and James Harden $9500 last night as the Warriors edged the very stubborn Rockets, but not many touts or analysts expected Shaun Livingston $2600 (18 PTS, 7 REB, 3 AST) to be such a factor. He was on the Short List here and I hope you plugged him into your Tu-We lineups. [Read more…]
The NBA Conference Finals tip off tonight. DraftKings fantasy contests close at 9:00 Eastern but will not be decided until tomorrow night. [Read more…]
We’re down to the NBA version of the Final Four. “Daily” Fantasy Sports becomes a two-day event the rest of the way; DraftKings has set salaries for contests that close at 9:00 Eastern on Tuesday and conclude with Wednesday night’s game. [Read more…]