This coming weekend, Moe Harkless will have to match up against both LeBron James and Kevin Durant for the second time in three weeks. But that doesn’t scare him. Do you know what does spook the 19-year-old rookie forward of the Orlando Magic? Haunted hotels. Last weekend, Harkless and his Magic teammates made a trip to Oklahoma City and stayed in the Skirvin Hilton, which is supposedly haunted. After his first stay there, Harkless may be a believer. [Read more…]
As good as Damian Lillard has been in his rookie season, his impact on the Portland Trail Blazers ends April 17. That’s the last day of the regular season, and the Blazers are not making the playoffs. While they currently are just two losses out of eighth place in the Western Conference, they also are in 11th place, with Utah and Dallas in front of them. Lillard is not alone; most of this season’s top newcomers will be watching the postseason on TV. In fact,
Last week, rookie big men Tyler Zeller and Andrew Nicholson weren’t even in these rankings. This week, they are in the Rising Stars contest that kicks off All-Star Weekend on Friday night. Zeller, the center of the Cleveland Cavaliers, was among the original field of nine rookies chosen for the game. Nicholson, a power forward for the Orlando Magic, was added this week to replace injured Detroit Pistons big man Andre Drummond. [Read more…]
Damian Lillard’s path to Rookie of the Year just seems to get easier every week. In addition to his unwavering play at the game’s toughest position, the point guard of the Portland Trail Blazers has yet to miss a game this season, which many of his fellow classmates have been unable to say lately. [Read more…]
As good as Damian Lillard has been this season, he is not good enough to be an All-Star as a rookie. Lillard plays for the wrong team in the wrong time zone in the wrong conference. The Portland Trail Blazers are not a glamour bunch. Their home games end when half the country is asleep. And most important, their half of the league is loaded with awesome backcourt players. [Read more…]
Aristotle once said, “The ideal man bears the accidents of life with dignity and grace…” Having never known him [personally], it is not clear [to me] whether Brooklyn Nets GM Billy King is the “ideal man” or not. However, in light of recent events, King has shown himself to demonstrate a great deal of class and grace. [Read more…]
There were more than a few folks wondering if Washington Wizards guard Bradley Beal had hit the Rookie Wall. To silence those folks, Beal broke through it. Right about the time rookies start to feel the rigor of their first NBA season – somewhere between 30 and 40 games, with back-to-backs and extended travel college players don’t face – Beal produced his best week of the season and showed why everyone was so high on him in June. [Read more…]
Over the last two weeks, readers of this weekly feature have let it be known that I am undervaluing Detroit Pistons big man Andre Drummond. [Read more…]