Who is crashing the playoff party in the East this season? Conventional wisdom says the two-time defending champion Miami Heat, Indiana Pacers, Chicago Bulls, New York Knicks and Brooklyn Nets are head and shoulders above the rest of the Eastern Conference and – barring a disaster – will secure the top five spots. At the other end of the conference, you can probably toss out the Orlando Magic, Charlotte Bobcats and Philadelphia 76ers, who could pool their rosters to come up with
The Detroit Pistons have been one of the most active teams in the NBA this offseason. Of course, that shouldn’t surprise anybody who suffered through the marginal talent base and boring, uninspired basketball on display in Motown the past few years. But after a whirlwind offseason, Detroit is definitely ready to take a big step forward. The Pistons will feature four new starters on Opening Night, including the team’s big free agent signing – Josh Smith. The Smith signing had many
Hello and welcome to the Evening News. As the Finals continue, we’ll keep you updated every evening. What’s happening today? Here’s the latest from around the league: [Read more…]
All it takes is one guy saying something stupid to take all the spotlight off of a big game. The latest example was last night, when Roy Hibbert made some remarks that he really should not have, almost overshadowing the fact that the Pacers have done what almost nobody expected them to do and pushed their series with the Heat to Game 7. That game is tomorrow night, so get ready everyone. Should the Heat lose, it’ll be another case of
No, I didn’t answer my own question. What fun would there be in that? That would be like throwing a surprise party for yourself. The previous edition of The Bernucca List was correctly answered by a reader named Chris, who offered, “NBA players who have been named MVP without winning a championship.” [Read more…]
Good Westbrook, Bad Westbrook will certainly be the title of the Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde of our time. The only problem is that Russell Westbrook is the one that’s writing it. He’s at it again, and while the root of the incident itself is relatively minor, the bigger picture looms large over the Oklahoma City Thunder’s championship quest. Teams as cohesive and talented as OKC die from internal – not external – wounds, and as long as Westbrook continues to ride like
The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame has undergone two major overhauls. It’s time for another one. Not the dramatic architectural changes of 1985 and 2002, in which new buildings were constructed to accommodate the growth of the greatest sport in the world. No, this overhaul will ensure that sort of renovation won’t be needed again for quite some time. It’s time for an NBA Hall of Fame. Tonight’s ceremonies in Springfield will induct 12 new members to the Hall. And as has often