NEW YORK — The NBA acknowledged another mistake by its referees Sunday, saying a 3-shot foul should have been called at the end of last night’s Pelicans-Mavericks game. “After reviewing postgame video, we have determined a foul should have been called on Dallas’ Monta Ellis for illegal contact on the arms of New Orleans’ Austin Rivers while Rivers was attempting a three-point field goal. Rivers should have been awarded three free throws with 0.6 left on the clock,” NBA vice president
Advertisement The Western Conference is absolutely nothing like the Eastern Conference when it comes to championship odds. We have what I call a two-horse race in the East versus what I am going to call the six-plus team race in the West. In the 15 previous seasons, only four teams (the Lakers, seven times; the Spurs, five times, the Mavericks, two times; the Thunder, once) have won the Western Conference, which is a similar concept to what the Eastern
Damian Lillard is very good. Okay, maybe we knew that already. But watching him carry the Blazers to an incredible win against a Cavs team that was very much on top of their game tonight, and then cap it with a game-winning three… that was something else. LaMarcus Aldridge is also very good, and so are Wesley Matthews and Nic Batum. But it’s Lillard who makes the whole thing work. [Read more…]
A little more than a month has passed in the NBA season, but it seems like we’ve already had a full year of distractions, both good and bad. Portland great; Indiana even better. The Knicks and Nets taking turns who’s bad and who’s worse. Kobe close to returning; Rose out for the year. Dwayne Wade hurting; the Atlantic Division hurting even more. Meanwhile, the last team other than the Miami Heat to win a championship is quietly turning into a solid
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
The standings are always a little wonky at this point. Some contenders get off to slow starts, some pretenders look like world-beaters. [Read more…]
Today the Knicks got destroyed by the Spurs. The Spurs are still great, and the Knicks are missing Tyson Chandler, but this can’t say good things about the Knicks’ ability to stay near the top of the East. [Read more…]
In the past few weeks I have written columns on the NBA futures market (to win the championship) and over/unders on regular season win totals, which is always something that intrigues not only bettors, but fans, too, because it gives them a barometer for how their team may perform in the upcoming season. The last item on the menu before the regular season starts next week is some of the more exotic proposition bets on the NBA betting menu which get