Day 3 of our midsummer report card distribution process brings us to the Central Division, home of the Cleveland Cavaliers and owner Dan Gilbert, whose company, Quicken Loans, will soon be offering 24 percent mortgage rates in order to cover the boss’ luxury tax bill. Just kidding. We think. It has been a busy summer for the former top pizza deliveryman in Detroit. After watching his team lose to the Golden State Warriors in Games 4, 5 and 6 to surrender the
There has been a lot of activity during the offseason. Since July 1, there have been free agent signings totaling nearly $2 billion. In addition, there have been a dozen trades involving 22 players and 12 draft picks. But which teams have really improved themselves? And which teams have taken a step backward? In this edition of the Three-Man Weave, we take a lot at who won – and lost – the offseason in the Eastern Conference. 1. Which Eastern Conference team has had
As many predicted, there was no shortage of trades at the 2015 NBA draft. There just weren’t any big ones. We were all hoping for a blockbuster like DeMarcus Cousins to the Los Angeles Lakers or the Toronto Raptors detonating their roster. Instead, we may have to wait for the powderkeg of Kings training camp, when George Karl first asks Cousins to show harder on a pick-and-roll. We even would have settled for a team such as the Celtics or Hawks taking
“Tonight was the third game in five days, including the trip back from the West Coast, and it seemed to have an impact on us, yes,” Coach David Blatt responded to a question on whether the team was fatigued following a 21-point loss Thursday to the Golden State Warriors. With forward LeBron James averaging 45-plus minutes a game and guard Matthew Dellavedova playing just north of 38 minutes per contest since Game 2, many of the Cavaliers players looked tired and
Here’s what’s been good about the 2015 NBA playoffs: 1. LeBron James. 2. Stephen Curry. 3. Paul Pierce in the clutch. 4. Clippers-Spurs, especially Game 7. Here’s what’s been bad about the 2015 NBA playoffs: Everything else. [Read more…]
11. Indiana Pacers – Kelly Oubre, SF, Kansas Like many Jayhawks prospects, Oubre should be even better in an NBA system where he’ll have more scoring opportunities. As a rookie, Oubre should be able to hit open jumpers, and if he develops his ball-handling skills to create his own scoring opportunities, he could be very good. He averaged 9.3 points and 5 rebounds in just 21 minutes per game for Kansas, and went 15-for-19 from the foul line in a late-season victory over
Last summer, we ran a post detailing which players received the biggest raises in salary from the previous year. The list was made up of three types of players. A. Players who received maximum salary deals as their second contracts, such as DeMarcus Cousins. B. Former first-round picks who received sizable contract extensions, although not necessarily max deals, such as Larry Sanders. C. Second-round picks who had been making near league minimum and signed new deals, such as Lance Stephenson. The latter category has
The Milwaukee Bucks surprisingly took the Chicago Bulls to six games in the first round of the playoffs, but the magical run came to an abrupt end on Thursday when the Bulls clamped down and ended the series in dominating fashion with a 120-66 victory on the road. The Bucks failed to score 20 points in any of the quarters and trailed 65-33 at the half. Zaza Pachulia led the team with eight points, which gives you an idea of how inept