The nice thing about the voting for NBA awards this season is that we don’t always have to concentrate on the winner, we can concentrate on the voters at times, too. Like when the news of who won is not all that unexpected. The most important thing to know is that Michael Carter-Williams of the Philadelphia 76ers won the award with 104 of 124 first-place votes, including mine. Victor Oladipo of the Orlando Magic was second, picking up 16 first-place votes; and Trey
The Brooklyn Nets sent a message to the Toronto Raptors and Drake. Brooklyn let Toronto know the “dinosaurs” aren’t extinct yet and trolled Drake unlike anyone has ever before. Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce turned the clock back to their collective Boston Celtics heydays. Joe Johnson continued to be the offensive catalyst from the wing by drawing double-teams and scoring at will when isolated. Deron Williams responded to heavy criticism by overcoming an ankle injury and playing like a $100 million franchise
The twists and turns for the Brooklyn Nets and Toronto Raptors over the course of the regular season could almost rival those of the red and purple weddings on a certain Game show based in Westeros. Brooklyn had championship aspirations ever since it acquired Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett on draft night, but ended the 2013 calendar year at 10-21, with All-Star center Brook Lopez out for the season, and searching for answers under rookie head coach Jason Kidd. While Pierce
Transparency is a two-way street. For years, NBA media members – echoing the sentiments of its passionate fan base – wanted more transparency from Commissioner David Stern and his executive staff. Whether it was a lottery drawing, a suspension in the playoffs or a referee scandal, folks felt like they were entitled to an explanation. And they were. Stern grudgingly came around. He arranged for the media to meet with referees prior to the season about rules changes. He allowed the media
No team has done what the Nets have done. And going into the playoffs, what they’ve done should not be dismissed. On Tuesday, the Brooklyn Nets became the first team ever to post a 4-0 season series sweep over LeBron James since he entered the league more than a decade ago. After being crowned by the Nets, James took out his frustration on TNT’s Craig Sager during a postgame interview when asked if Brooklyn was Miami’s biggest challenge in the East. “Get out
From his first NBA game, Michael Carter-Williams took hold of the Rookie of the Year award. He immediately grabbed the undivided attention of all of us, going for 22 points, 12 assists, nine steals and seven rebounds in Philadelphia’s improbable season-opening win over the two-time defending champion Miami Heat. Before the 76ers started losing – losing frequently, losing historically – Carter-Williams directed his team to two more wins and was named Eastern Conference Player of the Week. Not Rookie of the Week.
The Nets and Bulls are on course for a potential rematch of last year’s first-round playoff series. Is this the ideal scenario for Brooklyn? As they say in the borough, “Fuhgeddaboudit!” It’s been a frigid winter in Brooklyn, and a trip to the “Windy City” could dampen any hopes of the Nets springing ahead to the next round. [Read more…]
We have reached the point of the season where teams that are out of the playoff race start giving more playing time to their younger players to see what they may have. One of those teams is the Minnesota Timberwolves, who may have something in rookie big man Gorgui Dieng. New Timberwolves GM Flip Saunders spent the offseason loading his roster with veterans such as Kevin Martin, Corey Brewer and Ronny Turiaf in hope of making the playoffs for the first time