Devastating. That’s how most basketball fans would describe this past week, particularly ones in the Lake Michigan area. First came the news that former MVP Derrick Rose of the Chicago Bulls was hurt again, the victim of a torn meniscus in his right knee. And now, All-Stra teammate and Most Improved Player candidate Jimmy Butler is out 3-6 weeks after hyperextending his left elbow. Bulls fans, and the NBA in general, have taken one giant, James Harden-sized kick to the man region.
The Oscars are over, and since I once again didn’t watch them or see any of the nominated movies, let’s get this Oscar-themed edition of the Most Improved Player Rankings under way! Because nothing says “entertaining column” like a bunch of misinformed pop culture references! As always, these awards are for the players in the “Rankings Academy” only, meaning they have to be in consideration for our table. The envelopes, please … Best Supporting Actor: Klay Thompson, Golden State Warriors. I mean, come on.
Once a year, we take a break from evaluating rookies and examine how second-year players are doing. This seemed like a good week to do that. Because our Rookie Rankings run every Friday, this week’s cycle saw just two actual games played due to the extended All-Star break. And no rookies from our most recent rankings played in those games. Yes, we knew the trading deadline also was this week. But we didn’t think that would impact our rankings of sophomores. I mean,
My Great Grandma used to have a small plaque that she hung on the wall in her kitchen that, like many things about her, I’ve never forgotten. “Ve get too soon oldt, undt too late schmart,” it read, though I’m not sure why it was in half-English, half-German. She’s not even German. I think she hung it there to explain things like this NBA season. Gram always did love basketball. OK, maybe not. But she did say her spirit animal was a bluebird, and
Each week here in our Most Improved Player Rankings column, we take a look at the guys around the league who have been balling unexpectedly well. It’s what we do. But when you take a step back from the box scores and look at the league from a macro view (another thing we do here at Sheridan Hoops–we’re deep), you realize there’s something more improved than Hassan Whiteside, Jimmy Butler, or even LeBron’s hairline in that Sprite commercial. The NBA itself. The league is having somewhat
The 2015 NBA All-Star weekend is approaching quickly. It will happen in just under a month, on the weekend of February 13-15th. Commissioner Adam Silver has decided to switch things up a little bit this time around. Take the Risings Stars Challenge, the concept that pits first and second-year upcoming talent in the League against one another on the biggest and brightest stage, for example. [Read more…]
Jimmy Butler is ruining the Most Improved Player Rankings. There, I said it. I’m sorry, everyone, but it’s true. Butler is running away with the award, and it’s only January. He’s running away with it like Secretariat at the Alameda County Derby. He’s running away with it like John Dillinger in a 1930s bank. It’s really not fair. Like, how am I supposed to make this column interesting when this guy is going out there and putting up 20.6 points, 6 rebounds and 3 assists per game,
After a busy Monday night, there are only two games in the Association this evening. In daily fantasy, the extreme of ‘too many’ PG (congrats if you backed Damian Lillard) swings all the way to ‘not enough’. Most teams will have at least one guy named Brandon. [Read more…]