A year can make an enormous difference in the perception of an NBA team. Last summer, the Washington Wizards had the same backcourt of John Wall and Bradley Beal but they were faced with immense pressure of having to make the playoffs to save the jobs of head coach Randy Wittman and general manager Ernie Grunfeld. Before the season began, Grunfeld made what many perceived as a panicky move and sent its first round pick to Phoenix for Marcin Gortat, who was
Everything is bigger in Texas. Including losing streaks. And the Philadelphia 76ers are on the verge of the biggest losing streak in NBA history. After a couple of relatively narrow losses in which they were more competitive and provided a smidgen of hope for their suffering fans, the Sixers are back to normal and getting clobbered again. Philadelphia is up to 25 straight losses as it prepares for Thursday’s game at Houston. Another loss will tie the 76ers with the 2010-11 Cleveland Cavaliers for the
Thursday in the NBA meant trades, at least it normally would. It was the trade deadline after all. Trade activity started slow, but picked up as the deadline drew near. A total of nine deals went down Thursday, add the two that occurred Wednesday and a total of 11 occurred before the clock struck at 3:00 PM. If you’re looking for all of the details, SheridanHoops has plenty of trade deadline coverage. Sheridan: Trade Analysis As Deadline Day Deals Go Down Schlomo: Trade Deadline
The Washington Wizards are the NBA’s Rorschach Test team. Coldly visualize last season’s 29-53 record. In the context of a fifth straight year without a postseason appearance, we’re talking demolition time. Yet others – most notably, the team’s ownership – warmed to the clear improvement over the second half of last season after ingloriously bottoming out early on. Washington kept its primary core of players and inked some – including point guard John Wall – to lucrative deals. Coach Randy Wittman and
Monday night Twitter blew up over the Big Sean song “Control” featuring Kendrick Lamar. Though it was Sean’s song, Lamar stole the spotlight spitting venom in two verses meant to put many of Hip Hop’s best rappers on notice while raising the bar of excellence expected of rap MCs. Tuesday, the song was still the subject of many discussions—even among sports circles, garnering TV time in conversation on ESPN’s Numbers Never Lie. The constant hype had to bring about someone’s eventual lyrical response. Enter
There is, of course, the old adage that titles are not won in July (the Heat in 2010 being the clear exception) but several moves were made on Tuesday that could quietly alter the regular season standings out west next season. We’ve also seen shooters get large contracts this week like, it seems, never before. Those are the main two storylines from the July 2, but there’s a whole lot to get to before we all take a nice break for the
The 2013 summer of free agency has officially begun, and it has been a chaotic 24 hours, to say the least. Players all around the league have been on the phone or traveling to find their next destination. The biggest name – Dwight Howard – is still in the process of meeting various teams, while the other big name in Chris Paul has already made the decision to stick with the Los Angeles Clippers. Those are just two of many, many
Tick-tock, tick-tock … less than six hours left until teams can contact players and free agency begins. Check out Moke Hamilton’s top 50, and the podcast where Moke discusses what could happen with them, to get ready. One thing we probably won’t have – to the massive relief of probably everyone in the world – is an immensely protracted drama regarding Dwight Howard’s next destination. The All-Star center will only visit five teams, and hopes to have decided by the time