In a break with tradition, I am casting my NBA awards ballot after the 81st game, not the 82nd. It’s a rarity, but this season I will not hem and haw and sleep on it until the afternoon after the final day of the season. You’re welcome. I have been an official NBA postseason awards voter for nearly a decade, and it would have been longer if not for a rule at the Associated Press, where I worked from 1987-2005, forbidding
STORY OF THE DAY: When Jason Kidd demoted Lawrence Frank from the assistant coach position, it was assumed that there was a rift between them. While that’s all but true, it appears there was tension between the two the moment Frank agreed to join the team. Tim Bontemps and Fred Kerber of New York Post detailed what went wrong from the jump: One league source told The Post the Kidd-Lawrence union began on rocky footing. After Kidd’s very public courtship of Frank,
Who is crashing the playoff party in the East this season? Conventional wisdom says the two-time defending champion Miami Heat, Indiana Pacers, Chicago Bulls, New York Knicks and Brooklyn Nets are head and shoulders above the rest of the Eastern Conference and – barring a disaster – will secure the top five spots. At the other end of the conference, you can probably toss out the Orlando Magic, Charlotte Bobcats and Philadelphia 76ers, who could pool their rosters to come up with
Hello and welcome to the Evening News. As the Finals continue, we’ll keep you updated every evening. What’s happening today? Here’s the latest from around the league: [Read more…]
Hello and welcome to the Evening News. As the playoffs are now officially under way, we’ll keep you updated every evening. What’s happening today? Here’s the latest news from around the league: [Read more…]
Having coached high school basketball for the last two seasons, I have gained a true appreciation for the quality of officiating by NBA referees. Until this week. This was a bad week for the league and its referees, as the NBA admitted there were blown calls that changed the outcome of two games. [Read more…]
Now that Rudy Gay has finally been traded, who is the next significant player to go before the trade deadline? How about Atlanta Hawks forward Josh Smith, who thinks he deserves a max deal because, well, because he’s Josh Smith? The Phoenix Suns were highly interested in acquiring the services of Gay, but with that option out the door, their desires may be shifting towards Smith, according to Alex Kennedy of Hoopsworld: The Suns are pursuing Josh Smith, according to multiple league sources.
We all have a general idea of what Mike D’Antoni wants to do as the coach of the Los Angeles Lakers. Get them to score a whole lot more, for one. D’Antoni is a well-documented offensive wizard, so if anyone can figure out how to best utilize the endless amount of talent on the roster, it would be him, no matter what Magic Johnson wants to say about it. We don’t know, however, of his plans in greater detail – mostly because we