It’s exactly 10 days into this NBA regular season, it feels like 10 weeks for those who cover the league on a regular basis, and a whole hell of a lot has already happened. Few things have gone as expected, of course the undefeated start for the Pacers is an exception, and surprises abound across the league. Here are 10 that immediately came to mind, including a pair of dazzling young point guards, one major market team in big trouble and
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
The New York Knicks were stuck in neutral while other Eastern Conference teams improved mightily this offseason. Are they still No. 2 as they were last regular season? Probably not. After a disappointing loss to Indiana in the Eastern Conference semifinals that denied them a shot at the NBA champion Miami Heat, the Knicks essentially replaced Chris Copeland, Jason Kidd and Steve Novak with Metta World Peace, Beno Udrih and Andrea Bargnani. The team also re-signed J.R. Smith, Pablo Prigioni and Kenyon
During the recruitment of Dwight Howard, you often heard the name Chandler Parsons attached to the Houston Rockets anytime there was news about making efforts to convince the center to join them. Most of us took the news that Parsons had been talking to Howard everyday with a grain of salt with the mindset of “as if he can really make a true difference.” But as it turns out, the forward played an enormous part in helping Howard make his decision.
Hello and welcome to the Evening News. As free agency continues, we’ll keep you updated every night. What’s happening today? [Read more…]
Gary Neal By now, if your favorite team has not made a splash in the free agent market, your team is probably gearing up for the Tankapalooza that NBA fans will witness this season. The 2014 draft class is no joke, and it is there that some teams have firmly set their sights. (RELATED CONTENT: Andrew Wiggins wants to end up with the Raptors). But for the teams like the Houston Rockets, Brooklyn Nets and Los Angeles Clippers—teams who have
The conference finals should be set. If not for Indiana’s horrid Thursday night performance against the Knicks, San Antonio’s Game 6 victory over Golden State would have ended the NBA’s second round. How did the Spurs end up taking the final game of what looked like an incredibly tight and engaging series? Knicks are lucky to still be alive Let’s not sugarcoat this: The Knicks are lucky to be in the playoffs right now, and are only still alive because the Pacers
With Tuesday night’s Game 4 against the Indiana Pacers on the horizon, the New York Knicks’ roster was shrouded in doubt earlier in the morning. J.R. Smith and Kenyon Martin have both been battling illness for the past few days, but are expected to play. The biggest question, however, involved second year guard Iman Shumpert. Shumpert, as you may recall, suffered from a few hard falls in Game 3 which have resulted in swelling in his left knee—the same knee that required