Kobe Bryant is now within 219 points of surpassing Michael Jordan (32,292) on the career scoring list. I covered all five of Kobe’s championships, along with the final three of Jordan’s six. I was a little kid when I watched Oscar Robertson play in person, and I grew up watching Kareem Abdul-Jabbar dominate the NBA, both with the Bucks and the Lakers. I have only faint memories of watching Wilt Chamberlain play on TV, and I never saw Bill Russell play —
Over the weekend, LeBron James called his slumping, underachieving Cleveland Cavaliers “a fragile team.” James is partially right. As a group, the Cavaliers aren’t dealing very well with the lofty expectations put upon them by pundits like me. Right now, they look like a typical front-running team that lacks mental toughness and gives in at the first sign of trouble. That was evident Saturday, when the Cavaliers sprinted to a 26-8 lead in the first eight minutes – and were overwhelmed thereafter
It all starts with LeBron James in Cleveland, and when the Chosen One comes out and says he is playing for a “fragile” team, panic buttons start to be pressed. We’ll see what kind of buttons coach David Blatt pushes Monday night against Orlando after saying he expects to tinker with his starting lineup, but this comes down to a bigger question: Why is LeBron James playing in November mode this November? It was understandable the last couple of seasons in
It’s been a tumultuous week for the Cleveland Cavaliers. After a solid four-game win streak against teams like the New Orleans Pelicans and Atlanta Hawks, the script has been flipped in Northeast Ohio. The Cavs are now on a four-game losing streak. An ugly losing streak. At times, we’ve seen glimpses of the brilliance of coach David Blatt’s offense. Unfortunately, at the same time, we’ve seen a nonexistent defense and a let’s-stand-around-and-watch-someone-dribble offense. [Read more…]
Did they widen the rim? There were a ridiculous number of points scored on Friday. Phoenix (122), Toronto (124), Memphis (117), San Antonio (121), Denver (117) and Dallas (140) all exceeded my most optimistic forecast. [Read more…]
We are less than four weeks into the NBA season. And while it is a small sample size, it is large enough to determine whether teams are off to good starts or bad starts. The bigger question is how long can these teams sustain their starts? For that, we have brought back the Three-Man Weave, where three Sheridan Hoops staff members answer three questions. Making his Weave debut is columnist Ben DuBose, who also handles our Tuesday blog. He was able to
No one made a bigger spectacle about the departure of LeBron James from Miami than Dan Le Batard, host of the show “High Questionable” on ESPN. It’s no surprise, then, that the early struggles of the Cleveland Cavaliers has been quite enjoyable for the man who got suspended for putting up these billboards in Cleveland. The Cavaliers have been surprisingly bad to begin the season, and things didn’t get any better on Friday against the Washington Wizards on national television. They
“It’s a lot to take in but that’s what I asked for,” said Miami Heat forward Chris Bosh on a rainy Monday night in Brooklyn. Bosh is still trying to take in the many responsibilities he accepted and undertook when he returned to Miami in July after LeBron James’ departure to Cleveland. Bosh took on Miami’s leading role after four years of being a supporting player. Bosh is now the team’s vocal leader and its top scorer, creator and facilitator. Shots