The NBA, like most sports, can often be defined by its different eras. And those eras are often defined by players, teams and rivalries. LeBron James has come to define this era of basketball, and he continues to shift the landscape of the NBA, specifically the Eastern Conference. In terms of competition, the East has been in another league compared to the Western Conference. And not it a good way. [Read more…]
Have the Indiana Pacers already gone as far as they can go with this roster? It’s a question overlooked with all the big moves being made this offseason in the Eastern Conference, and the Central Division in particular. A quick synopsis, for those who watched the World Cup and forgot about basketball since the Finals ended: Cleveland signed LeBron James, drafted Andrew Wiggins and could trade Wiggins to Minnesota in a blockbuster deal for Kevin Love. Chicago got rid of Carlos Boozer and
The Chicago Bulls, along with the Cleveland Cavaliers, Golden State Warriors, Boston Celtics and Denver Nuggets are now reportedly all in the mix for Kevin Love. Cleveland still appears to be the front-runner, but Chicago, if willing, can also put an enticing package together, especially if the Cavaliers insist on keeping number one overall pick Andrew Wiggins. [Read more…]
Thankfully, the dominoes of the summer of 2014 have begun to fall into place for next season (and beyond). And even though it’s the middle of July, it’s never too early to think about the possibilities that lie ahead on the hardwood. Here are three offensive certainties that will make waves during the 2014-15 NBA season. [Read more…]
It is not often that I get into a debate with a radio host over whether a player sucks or doesn’t suck, but that was the case Monday afternoon in Miami with Orlando Alzugaray (a.k.a. Big O) on AM640. He thinks Kevin Love is a stiff who always gets injured. I think Kevin Love is the key piece to the championship puzzle in Cleveland. Big O thinks LeBron James will not be competing for a championship in his first year in Cleveland, and
The growth of analytics in the NBA has been nothing short of phenomenal. It started with a deeper look at numbers that already were available and produced new and useful statistics such as true shooting percentage, defensive rebound percentage, offensive rating and win shares. With the use of a grid or a matrix, we now have the ability to determine a player’s offensive tendencies and hot spots. For some players, it is quite revealing. For others, such as DeAndre Jordan, it pretty
As free agency winds down and the new landscape of the NBA has started to take shape, there are still a few major dominos still standing. And sticking with the theme of the 2014 offseason, both of them are involving the Cleveland Cavaliers. [Read more…]
LeBron James can play the rest of his career on the equivalent of one-year contracts. It has exposed a loophole of sorts in the CBA while making him the most powerful man in the NBA. Nobody saw this coming, but when James signed a two-year deal with Cleveland and had an opt-out included after Year One, the entire power structure of the NBA changed. If the Cavs don’t keep him happy, he’ll leave — that is the implication that goes along