We are back with a long-overdue edition of the Three-Man Weave, taking a look at the NBA All-Star Game starters. What did the fans get right? What did they get wrong? Should Kobe Bryant be part of the All-Star Game? And what does John Malkovich have to do with all of this? Let’s get right to it. 1. Which Eastern Conference player should have been an All-Star starter? [Read more…]
We have two pieces of news to pick apart today: The announcement that USA Basketball has released a list of 30 finalists for the 2016 Olympic team, and the “non-commitment” from LeBron James regarding whether he will be part of the party. And yes, it will be a party. The games are in Brazil, after all. And LeBron, whose non-commitment is disingenuous at best, does not miss a good party. So let me tell you a little story about the Brazilians. [Read more…]
In an NBA season marked by unprecedented dominance, has the bar measuring success been raised too high? Are we too quick to criticize teams that are not playing at the level of the Golden State Warriors? Have we forgotten where the Cleveland Cavaliers were a year ago? Sure seems that way sometimes, and never more so than it has since Christmas as the Cavaliers followed up their NBA Finals rematch with a ghastly loss to the reeling Portland Trail Blazers, then struggled to
If you’ve noticed that this year’s rookie class is being talked about and praised around the league and in the media, there’s good reason for that. This year’s top five picks— Minnesota’s Karl-Anthony Towns, the Lakers’ D’Angelo Russell, Philadelphia’s Jahlil Okafor, New York’s Kristaps Porzingis and Orlando’s Mario Hezonja— are making a larger early impact than any top-five group in at least a half decade. A detailed statistical analysis of top five picks over the last five years shows that over the first two
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
We’re a quarter of the way through the regular season and the NBA landscape has shifted dramatically. Kobe Bryant is retiring after this season and wants to be remembered as a “talented overachiever” when it’s all said and done. Meanwhile, Bryant’s Los Angeles Lakers (3-15) trail only the Philadelphia 76ers (1-19) for the league’s worst record. With every loss, the Lakers grow closer to keeping their top-three protected draft pick and potentially land top prospect Ben Simmons. On the flip side, the Golden
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
Point guard is the most important and deepest position in the NBA. How deep? Take a look at some of the players not featured in our top 10 rankings at the position. You won’t find Derrick Rose, the league’s youngest MVP four years ago. Over the past three seasons, Rose has missed 185 of a possible 246 games. Asking Rose to return to his MVP form is out of the question. Asking Rose to return to his All-Star form appears bleak, too. How about