As an NBA coach, Scott Skiles has always had a definitive modus operandi. In his three previous jobs, Skiles has dramatically improved his team’s defense, in some cases taking it from near the bottom of the league to near the top. That improvement helps the team become an absolute pain in the neck to play and make a quantum leap from the lottery to the playoffs. Then at some point, Skiles and his hypercompetitive nature become a bit overbearing for some players,
Is the NBA inching toward parity? Or slowly sinking into mediocrity? Those may seem like strange questions during a season in which the Golden State Warriors have imposed their dominance over the rest of the league in unprecedented fashion. Yes, at 22-0 the Warriors have obliterated the best start in NBA history and have looked downright unbeatable while the clock was ticking during a vast majority of those 22 games. In that sense, they present a very strong argument against the notion
Do you remember what Paul George was like before his gruesome injury? Do you remember the 2013 playoffs, when he showed everyone how much better he was than supposed MVP candidate Carmelo Anthony? Do you remember how he accepted and met the challenge of defending LeBron James in those Pacers-Heat playoff wars? And how much respect James had for him? Well, Paul George isn’t that player anymore. He’s better. [Read more…]
In the classic war movie Apocalypse Now, Marlon Brando plays a decorated American colonel who has abandoned the war in Vietnam to set up his own dystopian military conclave in Cambodia that features random missions, animal sacrifices and human beheadings. Martin Sheen plays an American captain sent on a classified mission to assassinate the colonel. When Sheen arrives at the camp, he is asked if he believes the colonel’s methods are unsound. And Sheen replies, “I don’t see any method at all,
After being acquired from Phoenix at the February trade deadline last season, Boston point guard Isaiah Thomas scored 19 points per game off the bench and helped lead the Celtics to an extremely unlikely playoff appearance. Now in his first full season with the Celtics, Thomas took some time to talk to SheridanHoops after a preseason game in Brooklyn about his departure from the Suns, Boston coach Brad Stevens and his expectations for the upcoming 2015-2016 season. Click on the box to
LAS VEGAS– The people at the NBA who make the schedule for its annual Summer League don’t do anything by accident. For the second year in a row, the featured game on the first day of action pitted this year’s top two draft picks against one another. So Sunday afternoon’s matchup between the Denver Nuggets and Sacramento Kings was meant to be an awkward, bittersweet affair. In the middle of it all was Mike Malone. Fired in the middle of last
The Denver Nuggets have been searching for a reliable coach after the firing of Brian Shaw in March, and has finally decided to hire a coach who was also fired earlier in the season: former Sacramento Kings’ coach Mike Malone. Malone made quite the impression on general manager Tim Connelly and president Josh Kroenke during their meetings, and has reportedly signed a four-year deal with Denver, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports: [Read more…]
A franchise record 60 wins, winning a division title and finishing as the No. 1 team in the Eastern Conference for the first time since 1993-1994 may not be reason enough for the Atlanta Hawks to retain Danny Ferry. According to a report from Jeff Schultz of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Ferry is expected not to be back once the sale of the Hawks is complete: In situations like this, new ownership generally would rather not have to deal with answering questions at the introductory