NBA fans do an awful job of protecting the image of their favorite sport. This is not the NFL, which has been America’s pastime for a generation and can do no wrong in the eyes of its fans. The only time the NFL has an image problem is when a storm affects satellite reception. This is also not baseball, which has a considerable image problem with its collection of prima donnas on PEDS. But it also has more than a century of
It is never a good thing to have a zero in your record at this point of the NBA season — unless, of course, that zero is in the loss column. For the Utah Jazz, that goose egg is in the win column — and nobody wants to be the first team to lose to them. So as tough as things have already been, they are about to get tougher for Tyrone Corbin’s young team. That topic, and plenty more from around the
You know the regular season is upon us when the TNT crew starts sharing their thoughts on who is primed to succeed and what teams will be most relevant in the upcoming season. Charles Barkley, Shaquille O’Neal, Steve Kerr and others had plenty to say about a number of topics with USA Today, and that’s where we’ll kick things off in today’s blog. Story of the day: Which team is good enough to take on the Heat this season? Barkley shared his
Of the popular meanings of the word tank, two have roots signifying damage and destruction. There is the blunt military vehicle, and the less subtle term that is popular in our contemporary basketball lexicon. The basketball version of tanking will unavoidably be a central theme in the upcoming 2013-2014 season. Compared to previous seasons, the 2014 NBA draft class is projected to be filled with All-Stars and franchise-changing players, headlined by Canadian wing Andrew Wiggins, who will play at Kansas this coming
Generations of fans know the Utah Jazz as a model of stability. They were raised on Hall of Famers John Stockton and Karl Malone, coach Jerry Sloan and super significant owner Larry H. Miller, the rock of the franchise. Miller kept the team together, mended issues with coaches and players and even took financial risks to purchase the team. When Miller died in 2009, the franchise slowly lost all the stability he imparted to it as the sole owner. It truly fell apart
There are less than a dozen games left in the NBA regular season, and the most dramatic race still going on is a five-team scrum in the Western Conference for three playoff spots. Those five clubs – the Warriors, Rockets, Lakers, Jazz and Mavericks – are separated by five games in the standings. [Read more…]
As expected, the Spurs atoned for one lackluster effort, but they lost Tony Parker (13 PTS, 7 AST) to an ankle injury. The severity is unknown; their MVP was carried off the court and will not be rushed back. [Read more…]
Dwight Howard is the best center in the NBA. Yes, still. He also is (a) incapable of making an elbow jumper, (b) unreliable at the free-throw line, (c) susceptible to long-term injury, (d) hypersensitive to criticism from teammates and coaches, (e) more interested in becoming the next Bill Murray rather than the next Bill Russell and (f) wondering why no one has handed him the icon status he desperately craves. But the worst thing Howard is – and unlike the items above,