LeBron James and Kawhi Leonard figure to be seeing a lot of each other over the next two weeks. That will be the small forward matchup in the NBA Finals. Just like last year, it should be a good one, because both players were named to the NBA All-Defensive Second Team on Monday. Neither the Miami Heat nor the San Antonio Spurs have anyone on the All-Defensive First Team, which was voted on by the media and has Defensive Player of the
As SheridanHoops own Chris Bernucca reported earlier, the Golden State Warriors have fired head coach Mark Jackson. Jackson’s dismissal has raised questions around the league. He helped lift the Warriors out of the NBA’s dark abyss, turning them from a 20-win team to a perennial 50-win team and playoff threat. After taking the San Antonio Spurs to six games in last years Western Conference semi’s, Jackson, with a talented yet precariously assembled roster, led the Warriors to another 50-win season and lost
Somehow, someway, these 2014 NBA playoffs just keep getting better. Nearly every game has come down to the wire, many going to overtime, and if they aren’t, than Kevin Durant must enforcing his will with an MVP performance. We were treated to three Game 6’s on Thursday night. Thanks to the basketball God’s we will be spoiled by three Game 7’s on Saturday. It can’t get better, can it? Only in the 2014 NBA playoffs can it get better. And it does. [Read more…]
By now, we all know that Phil Jackson is looking to make some major changes within the New York Knicks organization. He has fired Mike Woodson and his coaching staff, is making internal changes (or at least trying to do so with some resistance from Jim Dolan), has already stated that he will move forward with or without Carmelo Anthony, and will soon hire a new coach. Whether he’s doing everything correctly remains to be seen, but at the very least,
I was listening to P.J. Carlesimo on the radio yesterday morning (how many of y’all remember that he guided the Brooklyn Nets last season?), and he made a good point. Almost never is there an upset in a 4 vs. 5 series. The teams are usually too evenly matched. In this case, we have two teams that finished with identical 54-28 records. Houston gets the home court by virtue of winning the season series 3-1. And if they get past the Blazers,
It’s no secret that the Los Angeles Clippers and Golden State Warriors have a strong dislike for each other. It has been that way since last season when the Warriors became a relevant team in the Western Conference, and it continued into this season when Blake Griffin called the Warriors cowards. The two teams won’t even share a chapel together. That’s true hate. What no one could have seen coming, though, is Klay Thompson joining in on the fun, so to speak.
Transparency is a two-way street. For years, NBA media members – echoing the sentiments of its passionate fan base – wanted more transparency from Commissioner David Stern and his executive staff. Whether it was a lottery drawing, a suspension in the playoffs or a referee scandal, folks felt like they were entitled to an explanation. And they were. Stern grudgingly came around. He arranged for the media to meet with referees prior to the season about rules changes. He allowed the media
My ballot will be e-mailed to NBA headquarters late at night one week from today, and I will then publish all of my picks for postseason awards — as is my standard practice. But not every one of the 126 voters makes his/her selections public. At least that is the way it has been in the past. But this year, transparency rules. The Pro Basketball Writers Association and the NBA media relations office have come to an agreement under which all of