Perhaps the greatest indicator of LeBron James’ current dominance of the NBA is that the only controversy in Most Valuable Player voting is who deserves to be second. There haven’t been many times in NBA history when that was the case – when it was one player doing a Secretariat and the field 31 lengths behind. The closest in recent years probably was 1995-96 when Michael Jordan led the Bulls to a 72-10 record. He had 109 of 113 first-place votes that
The NBA regular season awards continue to trickle out. The latest award, Defensive Player of the Year, was handed out Wednesday. [Marc Gasol wins Defensive Player of the Year] Los Angeles Lakers forward Pau Gasol sent his younger brother, Memphis Grizzlies center Marc Gasol, a congratulatory tweet after the news broke. [Read more…]
When is a retread hire not a retread hire? When the Cleveland Cavaliers hire Mike Brown. The Cavaliers made it official Wednesday morning, bringing back Brown as coach after a three-year absence. He will receive a reported $20 million over five years and should have a heavy hand in a rebuilding project that already is well under way. [Read more…]
MIAMI – The 12-0 run. That was all it took to separate the men from the boys in the Miami Heat’s 98-86 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks in Tuesday’s Game 2 of their first-round Eastern Conference playoff series at AmericanAirlines Arena. And two bench players – forward Chris Andersen, a.k.a. the Birdman, and guard Norris Cole – led the way. Not LeBron James, not Dwyane Wade and not Chris Bosh. “It’s not surprising,” James said. “That’s what they bring, that’s what our bench
Guess who’s back? Back again. That’s right, Jason Lloyd of the Akron Beacon Journal broke the most surprising news of the day: Mike Brown is back in Cleveland. [Read more…]
When Golden State Warriors and Denver Nuggets played their first game on Saturday in Game 1 of the opening round of the playoffs, most expected a high-scoring game between two of the better offensive teams in the league. The final score of the contest? 97-95. Not exactly what we had in mind. [Related: Why the Warriors can beat the Nuggets in 6 games] Both teams suffered from what appeared to be a case of the butterflies, and the Warriors actually did a better
The Bucks are going to sweep the Heat. OK, I’ve gotten your attention. I am only joking. This series should be a joke in and of itself, with the best team in the entire NBA taking on the team that finished with the 18th-best record in the league. [Read more…]
I always wait until the final day of the season to make up my mind on my official NBA ballot choices. Why? Because during the lockout-shortened NBA season in 1999, I was in San Antonio covering a forgettable game at the Alamodome when I spoke with a veteran writer for a national publication who had already submitted his ballot after only 44 of the 50 games had been played. I asked him, and I asked myself … “What’s the rush?” I was working at