The race for this season’s Most Improved Player reminds me of one of those computer-simulated races that take place on the jumbotrons at arenas throughout the country. You know what I’m talking about. They’ve got the cute characters and cool animation, but they end up with more twists and turns than an M. Night Shyamalan movie. Most races go something like this: [Read more…]
It’s not Chris Sheridan’s fault. He didn’t know what he was getting into when he handed this column over to me, one of the top five most improved human beings on the face of the Earth. He didn’t know that I could barely read in 10th grade, but that my diligence and perseverance has make me grammar better so much. He couldn’t possibly have known that I successfully debated Mookie Blaylock’s candidacy for Most Improved Player in week three of the 1994-95 NBA season
It’s the Larry Sanders Show. Not the old HBO sitcom starring Garry Shandling, which I never really found to be that funny but ultimately paved the way for similar real-life parody vehicles such as Curb Your Enthusiasm and Entourage. No, this is neither parody nor sitcom. It’s more of a reality show, and its star appears as serious as a heart attack about becoming a permanent resident of our Most Improved Player Rankings. [Read more…]
It’s pretty hard to fault Gregg Popovich, unless you’re David Stern. Pop’s controversial decision to sit four starters in Miami on Thursday seemed to pay off two nights later, as Tony Parker (30 points, 6 assists) and Tim Duncan (27 PTS, 15 REB) were outstanding. [Read more…]
For the first time since Mike D’Antoni took over as coach, the Lakers really played his style. Shooting early, often and from anywhere, they hit 17 of 33 attempts from 3-point range, one of them by Dwight Howard! [Read more…]
Yes, we are rankings-crazy here at the home office, where we are now up to five sets of rankings — MVP, Rookies, NBA Power Rankings, Euroleague Rankings … and now Most Improved. We are so rankings crazy we just used the same word four times in the same sentence. Later in the season, we’ll do the same for Coach of the Year and Sixth Man, which Jamal Crawford has probably already won, right? [Read more…]
Where to begin? Mike Brown’s exit? Phil Jackson’s overnight disappearance? The unending string of power forward injuries? A reformed J.R. Smith on the undefeated New York Knicks? This season has been full of shocking developments; if you look closely enough you can find a significant surprise in nearly every division and on every team. [Read more…]
While all of the focus has been on the soap opera swirl around the Los Angeles Lakers, the NBA’s other similarly storied franchise has its own set of issues. The Boston Celtics also raised expectations by adding some key pieces in the offseason, then promptly stumbled out of the gate. But there were no death stares, insurrections, coach beheadings or panic moves. But there are some problems in Beantown. Let’s allow team leader Kevin Garnett to explain. “You can’t speed chemistry up,” Garnett said.