It’s been five years since Chris Bosh found himself in a truly competitive race for a playoff spot. The 2009-2010 season, his last as Toronto’s franchise player and his last before having LeBron James as a teammate, saw his team finish 40-42 and a game behind Chicago for the 8th seed in the Eastern Conference. In his first year without James since that ’09-’10 season, Bosh and his teammates will now compete in a tight playoff race for the first time in half
Former NBA power forward Anthony Mason is in critical condition after suffering heart failure and a heart attack. Longtime New York-based NBA writer Peter Vecsey broke the news with a tweet around in the late afternoon. [Read more…]
The Charlotte Hornets got much-needed point guard depth on Tuesday in their quest for an Eastern Conference playoff spot by acquiring veteran Mo Williams from Minnesota in exchange for shooting guard Gary Neal and a 2019 2nd round pick. Charlotte can now start Williams at the point with Kemba Walker still out after undergoing knee surgery, and avoid using the much-maligned Lance Stephenson at the position. “Mo Williams is a proven NBA player who gives us additional versatility and depth in the backcourt, both
After the Washington Wizards ended a season-high five-game losing streak Saturday with a 37-point victory over the Brooklyn Nets, Marcin Gortat wasn’t quite ready to declare that their earth was back on its axis. “At the end of the day, it was Brooklyn, so we can’t get really excited,” he said. There’s nothing like perspective. And Gortat is right: One win against a plodding, tired team is nothing to get excited about. What the Wizards should be is concerned. Prior to the win
Why do doubts remain about the Atlanta Hawks? The Hawks are 40-8. They have lost twice since Thanksgiving. They have beaten Chicago, Cleveland, Houston, Dallas, the LA Clippers, Cleveland again, Portland, the Clippers again, Memphis, Washington, Toronto, Chicago again, Oklahoma City and Portland again. The Hawks just completed the best undefeated month in NBA history, going 17-0 in January. They have won 19 consecutive games, the fifth-longest streak in league annals. They have won 12 straight road games. What seems to be the
When you consider the number of basketball savvy writers on our staff and the number of opinions they have, it is obvious that we always go way too long between editions of the Three-Man Weave. But it is back. In this edition, we take a look at the bottom of the Eastern Conference playoff bracket, the sizzling Atlanta Hawks and perhaps the best Shootout field in All-Star Weekend history. 1. Assuming the six teams in the East above .500 make the playoffs,
Every team wants a player in the NBA All-Star Game. Just this week, Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban complained that the voting system is “absolutely, positively broken” and lobbied for the NBA to provide additional roster spots for reserves who may have been overlooked by the fans. His reasoning was that leading vote-getter Stephen Curry received a mere 1.5 million votes, which is a miniscule total when you consider the global, electronic balloting process. As he often does, Cuban made some good
In yet another drama-filled week in the NBA, Lance Stephenson has managed to find his way into the mix again. There have been plenty of talks regarding the Charlotte Hornets swingman’s future in recent weeks, most notably ending in his being dealt before the trade deadline. The Hornets have been playing much better basketball as of late, but it’s the opposite side of the coin for the Brooklyn Nets, who have lost eight of their last 10 games and have dropped