Steve Nash’s unfortunate injury deprives Jeremy Lin the opportunity to learn on the court from one of the greats. Jeremy Lin now has some epic level shoes to fill. There was always a very real chance that Steve Nash may not get the opportunity to see any action this season. After all, in his two previous seasons with the Los Angeles Lakers, he has only managed to play in a combined 65 games — including a dismal 15
Every year, one of the more entertaining conversations around the NBA surrounds the race for the Sixth Man Award. While it’s never about the most shimmering and glamorous of superstars, the talk always turns to the most precious of commodities – a guy who can come off the bench and consistently inject life into his team. The award has gone to characters such as J.R Smith and Anthony Mason, stars such as James Harden and Kevin McHale, and champions such as Toni
The Phoenix Suns surprised everyone last season – including themselves – when they won 48 games and missed the playoffs only due to a couple of tough losses in the final week of the season. Goran Dragic had the best season of his career, Eric Bledsoe lived up to the potential his biggest fans envisioned and both Markieff Morris and Gerald Green were in the running for Sixth Man Award. Now entering their second season together – with a new key piece
Over the last 35 years, the Los Angeles Lakers have been the gold standard for success, not just in the NBA, but across the Big Four sports in America. That’s the big picture. Little picture? The Lakers last season set a new standard for futility: 55 losses, more than any other team in franchise history. Nearly from start to finish, the 2013-14 campaign was a disaster of injuries and ire, much of it directed at owner and basketball operations head Jim
At this time last year, the vibe surrounding the Sacramento Kings was overly positive. The Sacramento community had just found out that Vivek Ranadive was purchasing the team with intent to keep it in Sacramento, essentially saving the franchise from moving to Seattle. This all happened in the span of a couple of months, and when the fight to keep the team was finally won, basketball decisions had to be made. The ownership group, front office and coaching staff were assembled
What backcourt is considered the best in the NBA heading into the upcoming season? That’s the question in the minds of many this week, including the players themselves. For example, John Wall and Bradley Beal of the Washington Wizards openly stated that they are the best backcourt duo in the league on Tuesday. Dion Waiters of the Cleveland Cavaliers disagreed, word got back to Wall, and then the fun back and forth ensued between the two. Waiters got the final word,
Free agency has died down, the FIBA World Cup is in full swing and training camps open in less than a month, which makes it as good a time as any to look back at the NBA offseason and determine who were the biggest winners and losers. We didn’t limit ourselves to a round number. The list includes teams, coaches, players and even an executive. It is in alphabetical order and doesn’t have some secret analytic formula that determines the biggest
Is the white American player making a comeback this summer? All of the recent offseason buzz is centered around Minnesota Timberwolves All-Star forward Kevin Love and which team can put together the most appealing trade package to acquire him. Meanwhile, two of the top three salary bumps also went to white American players – Chandler Parsons and Gordon Hayward. As restricted free agents, both got max salary offer sheets and cashed in. So while white men can’t jump, they certainly can jump in