I always wait until the final game of the NBA season is in the books before handing in my postseason awards ballot, and the reason is twofold: If the deadline is not until Thursday afternoon, what’s the hurry? (This is how journalists work when it comes to deadlines. Most of us, anyway.) The second is because you always want to wait and see if something happens on the final night of the season to change either your ballot or your
The Golden State Warriors are about to complete the best regular season in NBA history. The Warriors are going to win 73 games, one more than the 1995-96 Chicago Bulls. Even Warriors coach Steve Kerr, a reserve on that Bulls squad and one of the great winners in league annals, is blown away by his team’s accomplishment. “I never imagined when I was with the Bulls anyone would ever come close,” he said. “We’re close.” [Read more…]
This D’Angelo Russell thing is really confusing, so I want to make sure I’ve got it right. Pledging your lifetime love, support and fidelity to a woman in the form of a highly public engagement, then displaying your unequivocal callousness for that woman’s dignity and feelings by cheating on her while your wedding is being planned, that’s OK, right? But secretly recording a teammate who talks about this callous behavior as if it is the equivalent of brushing your teeth, that’s not
On a Sunday when college hoops is in the spotlight, the largest NBA fantasy contests close at 4:00 Eastern, spanning all six games. Although DFS heroes can come from anywhere, the best real-life matchup is in Dallas. [Read more…]
The NBA regular season ends in less than four weeks, and a lion’s share of the national articles until then will be about playoff teams, playoff contenders, awards and the pursuit of history. For the fans of teams with no hope of a postseason berth, this article is for you. The first annual All-Loser Teams feature three starting fives from franchises that will certainly be drafting in the lottery this year. It excludes teams such as Chicago, Washington, Detroit, Houston and
No matter whom you like in the race for NBA Rookie of the Year, one thing is certain: Both Karl-Anthony Towns and Kristaps Porzingis will be watching the playoffs on TV. That’s no dig at either player. It is usually what happens to high draft picks during their first couple of seasons. You have to go back to Derrick Rose in 2008 to find a top overall pick who reached the playoffs in his rookie season. In fact, among the last 40
“I’ve been through worse.” That four-word answer from Carmelo Anthony about his no-trade clause, sticking with the New York Knicks and continuing to trust team president Phil Jackson, perfectly describes the current state of both player and franchise. Of course, it had nothing to do with the question he was asked rather directly — “Would you consider waiving your no-trade clause? — but ‘Melo’s instant tangent was revealing nonetheless. Anthony, the 31-year-old All-Star forward with a sore, surgically repaired left knee, can waive his
Right now, the Sacramento Kings and Indiana Pacers have a lot in common. Both teams are on the cusp of the playoff race while being carried by an All-Star. Both teams have made a decision to go with a big lineup by reinserting a rookie who was injured earlier this season. And both teams hope things improve quickly. The Kings have gone back to starting sixth overall pick Willie Cauley-Stein at center, which moves monstrous DeMarcus Cousins to power forward and Rudy