Monday night. 10 p.m. Eastern. Memphis Grizzlies. Phoenix Suns. Only one of them can make the playoffs. The Grizzlies will be coming off a game the previous night against the Lakers. If they win that game, they’re a game up on the Suns. If they lose, the two teams are tied. Phoenix has to be praying the Lakers get the win, because they’ve lost all three games against the Grizzlies this season, and they need to claim the eighth spot
I always get a kick at this time of year when a team when a deadbolt lock lottery pick is bounced early in the NCAA Tournament. We already saw Duke (Jabari Parker) upset in the first round. And yes, it was the first round, despite what the NCAA wants you to believe. Kansas (Andrew Wiggins and Joel Embiid) went down in the second round. Duke and Kansas had been both expected to play into this weekend. Neither did. So, the breathless question after
LAKERS TARGETING KEVIN LOVE ESPNLosAngeles.com’s Dave McMenamin: Timberwolves president Flip Saunders will do everything he can to keep Love, who is fourth in the league in scoring at 26.3 points per game and third in rebounding at 12.6 per game this season. And Minnesota will have the advantage of being able to offer a five-year extension, versus a four-year deal from any other team. But if Love makes it clear that he has no intention to re-up with the Wolves, Saunders will be
What are we going to say about Andrew Wiggins four or five years from now? That was the question I was asked tonight on AM1280TheZone in Salt Lake City, and I prefaced my answer with a few words of caution — keep as close of an eye on Jabari Parker of Duke as you do on young Mr. Wiggins from Kansas via Ontario. Parker may be the better prospect, even if my NBA draft writer has him slotted at No. 2 in our
Surprisingly, it has only taken one weekend of the NCAA Tournament to knock out my first four projected picks in the NBA draft. It has been six weeks since I did my last Mock Lottery, so expect to see a few changes in the positioning, but the personnel staying relatively the same. As I have mentioned previously, it is important to note that this list is purely based on the best overall current prospects. Once we know who is picking where
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
Not that anybody should care, but my bracket is looking pretty good. Not only did I manage to get through the first round without losing a Final Four team (one year I lost two on the first day), but I haven’t even lost an Elite Eight team yet. Of course, four of them still haven’t played their second game yet, but things are looking pretty good. Not as good as last year, when I called Louisville over Michigan in the
It’s mid-March, and that certainly means it’s time for the NBA to take a backseat to the NCAA Tournament, because, well, there’s just nothing like it. In the first day and a half we’ve seen four overtime games, two buzzer beaters and several other games come down to the last few seconds. Oh, and Duke lost Mercer. Mercer. [Read more…]