Stephen Curry has become a megastar in the NBA because there is seemingly nothing he can’t do on the court if it is skill-related. He is quite possibly the most gifted shooter in the history of the league, and recognized as one of the best ball handlers in the game right now. These things aren’t accomplished just by sheer talent and game experience. He puts in the kind of work that is necessary to be as good as he is before every game.
With the NCAA Tourament upon us, it seems like as good a time as any to remind everyone that there is a canyon between coaching in college and coaching in the NBA. There is more than a generation of evidence which clearly illustrates that any NBA team hiring a head coach directly from college is making a huge mistake. P.J. Carlesimo. Tim Floyd. Leonard Hamilton. Lon Kruger. Mike Montgomery. Jerry Tarkanian. Rick Pitino, who failed twice. Even John Calipari, who is
Why is the trade deadline different from all other nights of the year? It’s not. The West just got tougher. In the East, where there’s no life-or-death importance attached to getting better, the top teams sat this one out while the bad teams—your Knicks and 76ers—dumped, shut down or otherwise disposed of their best players in order to tank more definitively. [Read more…]
All-Star Weekend didn’t start out too well for my son, Andrew. On Friday morning, he had an argument with his first serious girlfriend a day before his first serious Valentine’s Day. With that hanging over his head, he had to go to work, where his primary job is to kick mallrats out of the store. And it was the last work day before the All-Star Game and we still hadn’t heard from someone who had said that maybe, just maybe, he
This deal has been brewing over the last week or so, but it has finally become official: George Karl is now the new head coach of the Sacramento Kings. There were some questions at first about the possibility when a report surfaced that DeMarcus Cousins’ camp was not in favor of the move (for what reason is anyone’s guess), and that was kind of a big deal given Cousins’ status as the face of the franchise. Nevertheless, here’s Adrian Wojnarowski of
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
Los Angeles Clippers star Blake Griffin was sent to the hospital on Sunday before their game against the Oklahoma City Thunder with an infection in his elbow. The Clippers team doctor noticed the infection in his elbow just prior to the game as they landed in Oklahoma City and had Griffin sent to the hospital immediately for further evaluation. [Read more…]
Just 52 games into the NBA season — not yet at the All-Star break, and the Orlando Magic have unloaded a sizable amount of talent. That’s coaching talent. Thursday’s breaking news was that of Magic CEO Alex Martins and GM Rob Hennigan had decided to cut ties with head coach Jacque Vaughn and assistants Wes Unseld Jr., Brett Gunning and Zack Guthrie. Assistant coach James Borrego will take over as interim head coach. [Read more…]