We are all familiar with the Spurs and their uncanny efficiency. Are you familiar with AAU basketball? I have coached it at the high school level for the last three years. And one thing I have learned is that with just four hours of weekly practice time followed by four games every weekend, if you don’t have definitive, well-drilled schemes on both offense and defense, you have no chance to compete. However, if you have a group that is committed to a
Last week, we discussed how the race for Rookie of the Year is wide open because of injuries to several of the top picks. No. 3 Otto Porter, No. 6 Nerlens Noel and No. 10 C.J. McCollum still haven’t taken the court this season. But a couple of first-round picks – both point guards – made their NBA debuts this week. On Monday, it was Dallas Mavericks guard Shane Larkin, who suffered a broken ankle in the last practice before summer league.
Last season, our Rookie Rankings were a Who’s Who. This season, it’s more like a Who’s That? Just two weeks into the season, we are startled by the number of lower picks who have played their way into the rankings – or, more accurately, the number of high picks on the outside looking in. Just to make sure our imagination wasn’t playing tricks on us, we went back to the second week of the 2012-13 rankings to see the breakdown of low picks
For the last decade, the 11th pick in the NBA draft has been a crapshoot. In 2011, the Golden State Warriors rolled a “yo” with Klay Thompson, who has shown All-Star potential. The previous year, however, the New Orleans Hornets selected Cole Aldrich, who has shown D-League potential. For every Jerryd Bayless, there’s an Acie Law. For every J.J. Redick, there’s a Terrence Williams. And let’s not forget the immortal Fran Vasquez, who wants to come to the United States about as
In today’s news, an Olympic gold medalist officially retires from the NBA. Meanwhile, in Portland, LaMarcus Aldridge is having a change of heart about his stance with the Trail Blazers. [Read more…]
The deadline for teams to sign players from the draft class of 2010 to extensions came and went at the stroke of midnight ET on Nov. 1. Those who did not get extensions will be unrestricted free agents this summer. Six players received extensions, with three of them getting done during the offseason. Two more were completed during training camp and the last one was executed Thursday in Memphis, just hours before the deadline. Meanwhile, three other rumored extensions did not get
On a night in which 13 games transpired, three players managed to rise above the rest as the stars of the evening: Anthony Davis of the New Orleans Pelicans, Blake Griffin of the Los Angeles Clippers and Vitor Faverani of the Boston Celtics. Davis, Faverani and Griffin may not be the first names to come to mind when it comes to elite statistical production, but each of those rising big men found a way to dominate on Day 4 of the
The first day of November featured 26 NBA teams in action in 13 games, 10 of which were decided by single digits. Three teams won by three points or less, and one game went to overtime. There were game-winning 3-pointers, stunning upsets and uncharacteristically poor performances by some of the best players in the world. Here’s what you need to know about what transpired on November 1. 1. With a 101-100 loss to the Brooklyn Nets, the Miami Heat have dropped to