In all their years in the NBA, the Boston Celtics had only put together six seasons worse than the one they muddled through in 2013-14. The shattered remains of their former glory were cobbled into a team built to lose games and win ping pong balls in a draft allegedly top-heavy with potential franchise players. But 25 wins and the sixth pick later, the Celtics are setting forth on the slow journey upward. Their coach, Brad Stevens, having suffered through the
OFFICIAL: The #Warriors have relieved Head Coach Mark Jackson of his duties: http://t.co/o8FFN3tbWv — Golden St. Warriors (@warriors) May 6, 2014 Speculation met reality Tuesday afternoon, as the Golden State Warriors fired head coach Mark Jackson. Jackson has led the Warriors to the playoffs in consecutive years—with a 98-66 record over that two-year span, making him the first Golden State coach since Don Nelson to accomplish the feat. However, two years of on-court success—each slowed by nagging injuries—could not prevent team owners from
The NBA Playoffs have started. The first game of the day on Saturday saw the Toronto Raptors give the Brooklyn Nets a 1-0 lead in the series between the 3- and 6- seeds in the Eastern Conference. The Raptors committed 17 turnovers in a seven-point 94-87 loss. It was a physical contest, marred by 42 total fouls. However, if you thought the officials let loose with the whistles in the first game, you may have missed the second game. Game 2 of the
We are about to witness what may be a first in the long history of the NBA. For the first time, four of the league’s flagship franchises could well be out of the playoffs. OK, the Knicks aren’t technically out of the race in the Hindenburg Conference, but they have a lot of ground to make up on Atlanta – four games in the loss column with 13 to play. The Celtics, Lakers and 76ers all are making plans for the
Have you ever read something so intensely negative about someone that, regardless of how credible it is, you have a hard time dissociating it from your perception of that person? I’m not talking George Zimmerman or Woody Allen here, of course. More of a rumor, possibly not even based in fact, that just sticks around in the back of your mind forever. [Read more…]
With the midway point of the regular season approaching, we thought it would be a good idea to give the rookies a break and rank the sophomores for two reasons. 1. It is a nice change of pace and gives the reader something new. 2. This rookie class is god-awful and we are running out of ways to describe how bad it is. At the end of the season, NBA coaches are asked to vote for five players for an All-Rookie Team. We
Last week news broke that the Houston Rockets were planning to trade center Omer Asik by December 19th. Tonight, ESPN’s Marc Stein provided an update, suggesting that the Rockets already have a deal in place, but may hold out until the 19th to see if anybody can top it. [Read more…]
If the Boston Celtics are actually tanking, they are doing a really bad job of it. The Celtics played three very different kinds of basketball games over the previous five days – I was at two of them – that showed a lot about the way this team is operating. And giving away wins for ping-pong balls isn’t part of the plan. On Friday, Boston scored the first 14 points against Denver and led 39-15 after the first quarter. The Celtics nearly gave