The ambiguity of the word “valuable” has always been a sticking point for MVP voters at the end of the year. Does the MVP award belong to the best player, or the player who’s most integral to his team’s success? [Read more…]
The Knicks have won five straight games and now sit just 3.5 games from the eighth seed in the Eastern Conference. The fans of Gotham are finally excited about the Knicks for the first time this season. The Bucks come to New York on Saturday, and if the Knicks can pull out an expected victory, they’ll close the gap between them and the Hawks even further. Right now, ESPN.com has the Knicks’ playoff odds at 15%. With the Knicks having five
Let’s play a quick game of “Name That Big Man”: Since the All Star Break (nine games), Player A, an All-Star, has averaged 19.0 points on 51.6% shooting in 33 minutes per game. Since the All Star Break (nine games), Player B, not an All-Star, has averaged 16.3 points on 51.3% shooting in 27 minutes per game. [Read more…]
When forward Mike Scott came to Atlanta Hawks training camp in 2012, he was labeled by then-coach Larry Drew as “a solid pick-and-roll option.” In other words, although Scott proved himself to be a legitimate offensive weapon in his five years at Virginia (medical redshirt in 2010), no one really expected him to develop into more than a decent midrange shooter at the next level. [Read more…]
As I predicted two weeks ago, the Sixth Man Award race has heated back up. With Reggie Jackson and Manu Ginobili returning to their roles on the bench for their respective teams, Markieff Morris has finally found some serious competition for the award. With 30-plus games left for each team on the schedule, there are bound to be several key games ahead that could help determine the winner of this award. As luck would have it, Manu Ginobili’s return to full strength
I spoke with James Johnson at Atlanta Hawks media day back in October when he was just another former first-round pick trying to convince another team – his fourth, to be exact – that he was good enough for another shot. [Read more…]
Good news, everyone: It’s too early to be a downer about the Sixth Man race. While the candidates look admittedly boring today, we’re not even at the All-Star break yet. There are events coming in the not-so-distant future that will make this race exciting. For now, the candidates just seem disappointing because we’re still spoiled from last year’s perfect storm. In 2012-2013, we had J.R. Smith, Jamal Crawford and Jarrett Jack dueling it out for the top spot on a weekly basis. They
After starting off the season atop the Sixth Man Rankings and quickly dropping out, Phoenix Suns forward Markieff Morris has climbed his way back into the top spot following consecutive weeks of efficient scoring. Despite playing the entire month of January without star point guard Eric Bledsoe – out indefinitely due to knee surgery – Phoenix still surprisingly stands seven games above .500. They are currently the seventh seed in a loaded Western Conference. Coach Jeff Hornacek is in his first year