With the NBA season winding down, award season is right around the corner. The Coach of the Year award this season is a very tight race. I have a tremendous history with coaches. It started by growing up with an NBA Coach of the Year living across the hall from me for my entire childhood. That helped me grow up to have an 18-year NBA career playing for 15 different coaches. And when you consider that I had one coach (Doug Moe)
The Nets are undefeated in their new home thanks to Brook Lopez, who scored 27 points. He used his size to get Jonas Valanciunas in early foul trouble, then his speed to beat Aaron Gray, after Toronto coach Dwane Casey showed his prize rookie some tough love at the end of the bench. Deron Williams (19 PTS, 9 AST) did a nice job of facilitating, and C.J. Watson got 28 minutes; he’s the backup PG but played off the ball with D-Will quite a bit and could be
(This is another in a series of 30 guest columns that will run in October, when optimism reigns supreme across the NBA. The theme will be “Five Reasons to Feel Positive About … ” We encourage you to follow the authors on Twitter and visit their sites. – CS) Having witnessed just one meaningful playoff run in the past two decades, Milwaukee Bucks fans inevitably seem to fall somewhere between perpetually optimistic and hopelessly cynical. And while the month of April
Larry Bird stepped down as president of the Indiana Pacers today, announcing his decision at Bankers Life Fieldhouse, where there was no shortage of smiles and laughter and jokes and platitudes. Boy, folks have a short memory nowadays. Or too long of one. Yes, the Pacers and Bird enjoyed a renaissance this season. The team reached the Eastern Conference semifinals and Bird was named Executive of the Year. It’s interesting how one solid season from an NBA legend obscured a track record
As the season winds down with the playoffs set to begin one week from tomorrow, players and teams are starting to feel more tension and desperation. It showed on a Thursday night that featured 11 technical fouls, five flagrant fouls and three ejections in three games with teams jockeying for playoff positioning. We start with the Miami Heat, who extended their winning streak to five games as they beat the league-leading Chicago Bulls 83-72. Despite missing Chris Bosh and Derrick Rose, the game
The New York Knicks have yet to lose two consecutive games since Mike Woodson took over as the interim head coach. A loss tonight would end that run, and more importantly, they would surrender the eighth seed in the Eastern Conference. New York (29-28) looks to even up the season series as they visit the Milwaukee Bucks in Wednesday’s best game. The first two games between the teams were taken by the Bucks, but playing for the fourth time in five nights, they
Rajon Rondo had 11 assists, 5 turnovers, and did not score. Only three other players have had scoreless, 5 turnover games this season, but the three combined for only eight assists. Brandon Bass and Chris Wilcox both returned to Boston’s lineup. Monto Ellis, expected to pick up production with Curry injured, shot just 1-6 in the second half. Derrick Rose looked fantastic right out of the All-Star Break, scoring 32 points with 9 assists, 3 steals, and 2 blocks. The Houston Rockets have been
