The Most Improved Player Award did not irritate me until the seventh year it was awarded. That was in the 1991-92 season when Pervis Ellison won it. Three years earlier, Ellison was the No. 1 pick in the draft. To reward him as the most improved because he played well after underachieving for two years seemed to violate the spirit of the award. He was supposed to be good! In his defense, Ellison was bothered by injuries, but while he was
Can we now stop pretending that Anthony Davis is the second coming of Wilt Chamberlain? Can we now stop with the hyperbolic declarations that Davis is going to own the NBA in two years or that Davis is going to make the New Orleans Pelicans a perennial title contender? Can we now stop calling Davis a top-five player? Top-five players elevate teams by themselves. Top-five players assure their teams of 50 wins and playoff berths, regardless of circumstances. Top-five players don’t say, “We
All summer long, Eric Bledsoe and the Phoenix Suns refused to cooperate with each other. He wanted a max deal and the team had no interest in viewing him as someone worth that kind of money. Based on what was being said and done from each side, it appeared as though the two were headed for an ugly ending. Then came Wednesday, when the Suns could no longer deal with the risk they were putting themselves under by doing nothing with Bledsoe
There is a famous old adage that states: good things come to those who wait. Everything came full-circle for the Cleveland Cavaliers on Tuesday afternoon, as a year and a half long process had finally been complete: the pursuit of Minnesota’s All-Star forward Kevin Love. Love was officially introduced as a member of the Cavaliers, and will team up with fellow All-Stars LeBron James and Kyrie Irving to form, potentially, the most devastating trio in the NBA. [Read more…]
Day two of the 2014 Brazil World Cup may have had the most anticipated match of the group round. Spain, winners of the 2010 World Cup, had been selected to Group B with Chile, Australia and the Netherlands—the team they defeated 1-0 in the finals four years ago. That match was 0-0 through 90 minutes before the Spanish got the go-ahead goal in extra time. Their first match in this year’s World Cup? A rematch of the 2010 final against Netherlands. This matchup
I don’t like the NCAA Tournament. I don’t like that college basketball’s regular season provides little postseason incentive. I don’t like that the coach is a bigger personality than the players. I don’t like that the games are played on neutral courts. I don’t like that one bad game or bad call or bad break can end a team’s season. I don’t like that “close” becomes a synonym for “well-played.” And I don’t like that poor play determines the outcome much
Despite there being plenty of NBA action left in these remaining weeks leading to the playoffs, NBA players still find time to enjoy the madness that is the NCAA Tournament. After another day of exciting match-ups in the first half of the Round of 32, former college stars and players took to twitter offering support to their respective schools. Whether it was a win or loss, NBA stars have stood by the schools that they favor, offering congratulations to the
The Oklahoma City seem to be back on track after a rocky start when Russell Westbrook returned to the lineup after the All-Star break. [Read more…]