With the NCAA Tourament upon us, it seems like as good a time as any to remind everyone that there is a canyon between coaching in college and coaching in the NBA. There is more than a generation of evidence which clearly illustrates that any NBA team hiring a head coach directly from college is making a huge mistake. P.J. Carlesimo. Tim Floyd. Leonard Hamilton. Lon Kruger. Mike Montgomery. Jerry Tarkanian. Rick Pitino, who failed twice. Even John Calipari, who is
Let’s get something out of the way here. Russell Westbrook is awesome. Westbrook is one of the game’s top five players, and I’ve felt that way for a couple of years. He may not be a better conventional point guard than Chris Paul or Tony Parker or Stephen Curry. But if any of those guys even dream about being a better player than Westbrook, they better wake up and get back to reality. I also love watching Westbrook play. I cannot recall
There are seven games tonight, one of them attracting by far the most national attention. At 7:30, on NBA-TV, Houston must visit Atlanta without James Harden, who is suspended. [Read more…]
We don’t blame you if you haven’t been paying attention to the bottom of the Eastern Conference playoff race. The West obviously has been far more interesting. While Golden State looks secure in the top spot, the next six teams are all playing better than .600 basketball and separated by just seven losses. And Oklahoma City, New Orleans and Phoenix – all vying for the eighth and final spot – are within two games of each other. The East? Well, the top
It’s a typical second-half Sunday, with nine NBA games. DraftKings offers six different opportunities to win, with contests closing at five different starting times and involving various combinations of teams. [Read more…]
The NBA All-Star break is nearly upon us, which means the trade deadline, February 19th, is soon approaching also. That has many teams either making moves or looking to make moves. The most active team on Tuesday: The Minnesota Timberwolves. It started this morning with Timberwolves part-owner, president and head coach Flip Saunders striking a deal with the Charlotte Bobcats. [Read more…]
The Charlotte Hornets got much-needed point guard depth on Tuesday in their quest for an Eastern Conference playoff spot by acquiring veteran Mo Williams from Minnesota in exchange for shooting guard Gary Neal and a 2019 2nd round pick. Charlotte can now start Williams at the point with Kemba Walker still out after undergoing knee surgery, and avoid using the much-maligned Lance Stephenson at the position. “Mo Williams is a proven NBA player who gives us additional versatility and depth in the backcourt, both
The Minnesota Timberwolves weren’t able to fetch much in return for veteran point guard Mo Williams, shipping both he and second-year guard Troy Daniels to the Charlotte Hornets for guard Gary Neal and a 2019 second-round pick. The trade was first reported by Shams Charania of RealGM, who says the Wolves (11-41) will now explore buyout negotiations with Neal. Neal, 30, has disappointed in his role with Charlotte this year — shooting just 29% from beyond the arc, his specialty — but