Jimmy Butler is ruining the Most Improved Player Rankings. There, I said it. I’m sorry, everyone, but it’s true. Butler is running away with the award, and it’s only January. He’s running away with it like Secretariat at the Alameda County Derby. He’s running away with it like John Dillinger in a 1930s bank. It’s really not fair. Like, how am I supposed to make this column interesting when this guy is going out there and putting up 20.6 points, 6 rebounds and 3 assists per game,
One of the biggest knocks against the NBA is that when the season starts, there are only five or six teams that can truly win the championship, making the regular season and the early playoff rounds interminably tedious. Not this season. As we reach the midway point – 18 teams have played at least 41 games, another nine have played 40 – there are no less than a dozen teams with legitimate title aspirations, including a handful that haven’t been in the
Is Draymond Green worth picking as an All-Star reserve this year? By the typical numbers alone, there is no chance that the starting power forward of the Golden State Warriors would make the exclusive team: he is averaging 12.1 points on 44.4 percent shooting from the field, 1.5 3-pointers on 34.1 percent shooting, 8.1 rebounds, 3.7 assists, 1.5 steals, 1.5 blocks and two turnovers. Actually, those numbers aren’t exactly shabby. According to basketball-reference.com, there are only two other players in NBA history
Young players having the best seasons in their careers right before they’re due a new contract is hardly a new phenomenon, but it takes on new significance due to the NBA’s current economic situation. A likely escalation in the salary cap this summer will allow free agents to obtain more expensive contracts from a larger pool of teams with newfound cap space. A quartet of these young, emerging stars— Milwaukee’s Brandon Knight, Chicago’s Jimmy Butler, Orlando’s Tobias Harris and Golden State’s
On Christmas Day, there’s a huge guaranteed contest at Draft Kings. The $200K Holiday Classic will make someone $25,000 richer. [Read more…]
Will Anthony Davis $11400 return? It’s the critical question for Tuesday night. A chest contusion caused him to leave Friday’s game early and take Sunday off. His official status is questionable; stay on top of breaking news. [Read more…]
Various athletes gathered in Michael Jordan’s “The Steakhouse NYC” on a rainy Tuesday morning to promote a new form of collectibles released by Steiner Sports – leading producer of authentic hand-signed collectibles – called “In their Own Words”. When it comes to sports collectibles, we typically think of autographed memorabilia. Brandon Steiner, the C.E.O. of Steiner Sports, went further with the idea by having notable athletes describe an iconic moment in their careers – captured in photo – in their own
We all know what the Philadelphia 76ers are doing. Call it whatever you want – tanking, rebuilding, deconstructing, hoarding – the 76ers are openly, unabashedly and intentionally sinking to the bottom of the NBA, because GM Sam Hinkie has convinced ownership that is the fastest way to get back to the top. Hinkie has constructed a roster that is inherently non-competitive. The Sixers have the fewest first-round picks and the most undrafted free agents of any team. Their highest-paid player makes $6.6