The often monotonous 82-game NBA regular season has come and gone. The worst teams have finished playing and the best 16 teams (yes, that is being generous to the Bucks) advanced to the postseason, guaranteeing high quality, spirited basketball. The seedings and schedules have been set, and each conference has matchups that are incredibly intriguing. For each team in the first round, there is one player who has to emerge and play a key role for that club to advance. Let’s have a
The Indiana Pacers and Atlanta Hawks both skidded into the playoffs with uninspiring performances in April. It was only a few weeks ago when the Pacers looked solidly positioned to secure the Eastern Conference’s second seed. Instead, they went 2-5 in April and fell to third. Meanwhile, the Hawks also struggled at the end of the season and appeared to strategically tank their final two games in an attempt to avoid the Heat in the early rounds of the playoffs. [Read
As the season winds down, writers and reporters will have a tendency to ask players about the future ahead of them. Some – like Andre Iguodala and Jose Calderon, as you’ll see below – may be asked how they’ll go about free agency, while others (see Ty Lawson) will be asked about how they may match up against certain teams when the playoffs come around. For Washington Wizards point guard John Wall, the main questions continue to be about his value to
Who is the best center in the NBA right now? Let’s determine with a blind test of the best four centers in the league since the All-Star break. Center A is averaging 14.4 points on 54% shooting, 14.3 rebounds, 0.8 assists, and 2.1 blocks in eight games. Center B is averaging 15.8 points on 52% shooting, 8.3 rebounds, 5.4 assists, and 1.4 blocks in eight games. Center C is averaging 13.2 points on 51% shooting, 11.7 rebounds, 4.4 assists, and 3.7 blocks in nine
Especially if you have never played in a daily fantasy league before, give it a try in the Sheridan Hoops Freeroll on February 1 and you could win $100 cash. There’s an additional $200 in consolation prizes for second through 15th place. [Read more…]
Today was not Billy Hunter’s best day as director of the National Basketball Players Association, although he has had worse. Quite a few people want him ousted from his post, and they are speaking out. [Read more…]
Look around the NBA right now at the creme de la creme of the point guard position: Russell Westbrook, Deron Williams, Chris Paul, Tony Parker, Jrue Holiday, Steve Nash, Damian Lillard, Kyrie Irving, pre-injury Rajon Rondo, post injury Derrick Rose, soon enough… It’s no wonder that Jeff Teague is often completely overlooked and, frankly, forgotten about, as a result of learning the ropes on the fly for an Atlanta Hawks squad that is constantly labeled a first-round-and-out playoff team. This might be his
No matter what apologies Josh Smith (1-game suspension) issues, he and coach Larry Drew are not getting along. Internal squabbles often inspire other players in the short term; I changed my DraftStreet lineups to include Zaza Pachulia (13 PTS, 11 REB, 8 AST) and he came up big. Al Horford (17 PTS, 13 REB) was also solid, but it was Jeff Teague — with a career-high 28 points and 11 assists — who led the fast-paced attack. Devin Harris (18 PTS, 5 AST, 4 REB, 4