Mitch Kupchak shouldn’t be playing hardball. In his desire to trade Pau Gasol, the GM of the Los Angeles Lakers should not have insisted on receiving Dion Waiters or a first-round pick from the Cleveland Cavaliers. Nobody has overpaid for a rental since Ernie Grunfeld sent Ray Allen to Seattle for Gary Payton — and that was a long time ago. Kupchak should have lowered his demands to match the team’s expectations. The Lakers are done for this season and should be
Amid its myriad injuries, its dozen teams below .500 and its 44-98 record against the Western Conference, there is a looming question regarding the Eastern Conference: Can the East even field an All-Star team? A year ago, Kevin Garnett, Rajon Rondo, Luol Deng, Joakim Noah, Tyson Chandler, Kyrie Irving, Brook Lopez and Jrue Holiday were among the East’s All-Stars. You can make the argument – irrefutable in some cases, strong in others – that none of those players should be invited back
Watching the NBA games on Christmas, my brother turned to me and asked why the teams were all dressed like that. I told him that the NBA does special uniforms on Christmas, and the sleeves are so people can buy them as shirts and the NBA makes more money. He responded: “okay, but why the big logos?” I didn’t have an answer. I still don’t. All I can think is they were trying to copy the Warriors’ design. That got me thinking: are
Where the hell has the time gone? It certainly flies as the days get shorter and darkness descends in the late afternoon. We’re already through the first quarter of the NBA season and almost at Christmas. The league has seen plenty of pleasant surprises, like the consistently stellar Portland Trail Blazers, and many disappointments, like the entire Eastern Conference besides Indiana and Miami. There have also been a whole host of players who have really progressed in a positive direction over the
Finding a Most Improved Player in the NBA this year is like finding a reasonable, stand-up politician in Congress. It’s so tough to do, it’s almost sickening. With so many teams so tremendously un-improved, there are precious few bright spots in a vast wasteland of awfulness. Just take a look at the Eastern Conference standings. Actually….don’t do that. You can’t un-see the Eastern Conference standings. This, after-all, is a family-friendly website. As we enter Tuesday night’s games, 12 teams in the East have losing records, which
If you’re anything like me, you still can’t shake the Derrick Rose injury. It sticks with you like a gas station burrito, refusing to leave you alone no matter how badly you want to forget it. Every time I turn on League Pass, I’m reminded that one of the most explosive and entertaining players of this era is gone, and his career is probably never going to be the same. It’s pretty depressing. Fortunately, in times like these, we’ve got the Most Improved Player
Give me the beat, Obie! Time to channel Eminem. Guess who’s back. Back again. Dayton’s back. Tell a friend. Guess who’s back … guess who’s back … guess who’s back … I’ve created a monster. ‘Cause nobody wants to see MVP’s no more, they want the Most Improved Player Rankings. Well if you want most improved, this is what I’ll give ya. A little bit of me mixed with some hard Snickers. (They’re stale. But I need the sugar rush). These rankings will jump-start your heart quicker than
It has been a tough road for Steve Nash since leaving the Phoenix Suns to join the Los Angeles Lakers last season. Aside from all the scrutiny his team has faced due to a lack of success with what was supposed to be a championship roster, he has not been the same player he once was since breaking his leg last season. When he did come back, his impact on the game diminished as he adjusted to playing next to Kobe Bryant