Things couldn’t have gone much uglier for the New York Knicks in the first month of the season. They lost defensive anchor Tyson Chandler to a leg injury, J.R. Smith has been awful since coming back from a 5-game suspension, Amare Stoudemire has been a shell of himself while playing limited minutes, Iman Shumpert’s name in trade rumors has been a distraction, and Andrea Bargnani is what most of us expected him to be – a scoring forward who can’t rebound
When the deadline for contract extensions came and went Thursday night, point guards Eric Bledsoe and Greivis Vasquez didn’t get paid. But don’t shed any tears for them. Because when the summer rolls around, they will get their money. And it might be GMs Ryan McDonough of Phoenix and Pete D’Alessandro of Sacramento who are crying. As reluctant as McDonough and D’Alessandro may have been to pony up for point guards with plenty to prove, they should have done so. Both GMs are
Are the New Orleans Pelicans taking the league by storm? It’s only preseason, but they are undefeated thus far with a record of 5-0 after beating the Oklahoma City Thunder 105-102 on Thursday. Four of those games have been on the road, and all of them went down to the wire – the largest margin of victory was four points against the Orlando Magic. October is the time when teams experiment and try combinations with players that will seldom see any playing
In a teleconference last week, we asked NBA analysts Chris Webber and Greg Anthony to pick a Western Conference team which missed the playoffs last season but will make the playoffs this season. “Dallas, mainly because of Dirk Nowitzki,” Webber said. “He’ll be back healthy. What he does, with spacing, getting guys involved … We take his game for granted.” “I would go with the Pelicans,” Anthony said. “I think that’s a team that could make sizeable leaps and surprise a lot
After four years in the league, one Rookie of the Year award, two coaches, no playoff appearances and constant rumors of ownership changes and relocation, Tyreke Evans wanted some certainty and stability. When July 1 came and teams had the chance to talk to the new restricted free agent, the first team that called and showed interest was the newly renamed New Orleans Pelicans. Sam Amick reported that Evans and the Pelicans had an “in-person meeting” the minute free agency began.
A lot can change in just under five months. Just ask the basketball fans of New Orleans. They really needed change after what went on last season. The 2012-2013 season was dark and gloomy for NOLA hoops. The team finished 14th in the Western Conference at 27-55, with an 11-30 road record that was also 14th in the conference. The team had trouble scoring (more on that later) and winning intraconference games. Its record against West teams was 15-37, good for
Of the popular meanings of the word tank, two have roots signifying damage and destruction. There is the blunt military vehicle, and the less subtle term that is popular in our contemporary basketball lexicon. The basketball version of tanking will unavoidably be a central theme in the upcoming 2013-2014 season. Compared to previous seasons, the 2014 NBA draft class is projected to be filled with All-Stars and franchise-changing players, headlined by Canadian wing Andrew Wiggins, who will play at Kansas this coming
The Dwight Howard signing had a humongous effect on the futures market for who will win the NBA title. And then it started a trickle-down effect. [Read more…]