One of the most intriguing elements of the NBA playoffs is what the spotlight reveals about certain players – especially those who weren’t expected to be in the spotlight at all. We expect established superstars such as LeBron James and Kevin Durant to welcome the pressure of the postseason and elevate their play. That is part of the reason they are among the game’s best players. It is also not that surprising to see very good players such as Stephen Curry and
How is this man not an All-Star? Stephen Curry scored 54 points, the most in the NBA in more than six years. He hit eleven 3-pointers on 13 attempts. With David Lee suspended for the previous night’s wrestling match, Curry played all 48 minutes and very nearly won the game singlehandedly. [Read more…]
(This is another in a series of 30 guest columns that will run in October, when optimism reigns supreme across the NBA. The theme will be “Five Reasons to Feel Positive About … ” We encourage you to follow the authors on Twitter and visit their sites. – CS) The Indiana Pacers went into last season following the NBA lockout hoping to be a playoff team in the Eastern Conference. That goal proved too modest for the Pacers as several new faces
The Dwight Howard saga finally came to an end on Wednesday, at least for the Brooklyn Nets. After much anticipation of a possible trade between the Orlando Magic and the Nets, talks completely broke down and the one team that Howard desired is the only team that now appears to have no shot at acquiring the prized center. See how it broke down, along with a lot of official free agent signings in today’s news: Chris Sheridan explains the only way
Tonight is the NBA draft lottery, which is one way to build a team. The other way is free agency, which starts in just over a month. Many teams positioned themselves for this summer, expecting Dwight Howard, Chris Paul and Deron Williams all to opt out and become free agents. But Howard and Paul opted in, and now there is money to spend on a significantly weaker but nevertheless strong class. A handful of teams could be very active this summer. Among playoff
Derrick Favors, tipped here yesterday because Al Jefferson is away this weekend, scored 23 points and grabbed 17 boards in a spot start. Get Favors in your lineups again today, and file away the knowledge of how good he will be in the future. I never expected Richard Jefferson to get 38 minutes in his Warriors debut. RJ was ice-cold (2-14) but this doesn’t bode well for Brandon Rush, who can safely be cut. HOU @ LAC: We expected Goran Dragic would
Happy St. Patrick’s Day! It’s not the NBA, but “Irishman” Kyle O’Quinn, wearing green, led Norfolk State to an enormous upset of Missouri in the NCAA tournament yesterday and is now on my draft list next season. In more current fantasy news, Zach Randolph is back. Finally. After injuring his knee in just the fourth game of the season, and teasing his owners for the last couple of weeks, Z-Bo returned by scoring 25 points and grabbing 9 REB, in
Josh Smith is a good real-life player, but an even better Fantasy Contributor.