Can we now stop pretending that Anthony Davis is the second coming of Wilt Chamberlain? Can we now stop with the hyperbolic declarations that Davis is going to own the NBA in two years or that Davis is going to make the New Orleans Pelicans a perennial title contender? Can we now stop calling Davis a top-five player? Top-five players elevate teams by themselves. Top-five players assure their teams of 50 wins and playoff berths, regardless of circumstances. Top-five players don’t say, “We
For all the brilliant performances, jaw-dropping athletic feats and impressive double-doubles we’ve seen from New York Knicks 20-year-old rookie Kristaps Porzingis, the 7-3 Latvian still has a lot to improve upon as he navigates through his first NBA season. There will be growing pains for Porzingis along the way – no pun intended – including the rough patch he is currently enduring. In New York’s last three games— a road trip to Utah, Sacramento and Portland— Porzingis had a total of 17 points, 13 rebounds
Jabari Parker and Julius Randle have several things in common. Both were lottery picks in the 2014 NBA draft – Parker going second to the Milwaukee Bucks, Randle going seventh to the Los Angeles Lakers. Both were one-and-done college stars from powerhouse programs – Parker from Duke, Randle from Kentucky. Both were supposed to be among the legitimate contenders for Rookie of the Year. Unfortunately, both suffered serious injuries that ended their rookie seasons shortly after they began and put them on
Is the NBA inching toward parity? Or slowly sinking into mediocrity? Those may seem like strange questions during a season in which the Golden State Warriors have imposed their dominance over the rest of the league in unprecedented fashion. Yes, at 22-0 the Warriors have obliterated the best start in NBA history and have looked downright unbeatable while the clock was ticking during a vast majority of those 22 games. In that sense, they present a very strong argument against the notion
It’s time for the Los Angeles Lakers to get serious about rebuilding. The Lakers aren’t making the playoffs this season. They are 2-9, with losses already to Minnesota, Sacramento, Denver, New York and Dallas twice. One of their wins came against Brooklyn. The only thing between the Lakers and the bottom of the Western Conference is the New Orleans Pelicans, who have almost as many injuries as the 3rd Ranger Battalion. This is uncharted territory for the Lakers, who already have missed
Kristaps Porzingis had his heart broken the last time he faced the Charlotte Hornets when he hit a game-winning 3-pointer that came a fraction of a second too late. On Tuesday night in a rematch against the Hornets- at the Madison Square Garden this time – the prized rookie made sure there would be no last-second finishes this time around. Porzingis was phenomenal, scoring 29 points on 10-of-17 from the field, including two-of-two from the arc, to go with 11 rebounds
The bad news is that the shot didn’t count. The good news is that he had the stones to take and make what could have been a game-winner. New York Knicks rookie phenom Kristaps Porzingis went through a rollercoaster of emotions on Wednesday against the Charlotte Hornets in what turned out to be a back-and-forth contest that truly came down to the wire. The Knicks played well for most of the game and had a 10-point lead heading into the fourth quarter before
Sunday features two matinees at 3:30 Eastern. The Cavaliers are favored to make it six straight wins as the Pacers visit, though LeBron James $10200 is probably not 100% after taking a knee to the thigh on Friday. [Read more…]