Considering his background in the military, it should not be surprising that Gregg Popovich leads a unit that seems to always fly under the radar. Figuratively, of course. Popovich is a graduate of the Air Force Academy and stayed in the service long enough to serve a tour of duty in the Kurdish area in eastern Turkey near the border of Syria. It was a top secret assignment; obviously, the good military man has never elaborated on it, other than to
When you’re an adored star in this league, you get a pass on a lot of things. And Dwyane Wade got a pass for an absolutely rockhead play in Miami’s inexplicable loss to Boston on Saturday. The Heat led by four with less than two seconds to play. On their home floor. Against the Celtics. And lost. In regulation. And most of it was on Wade, who (a) faltered in the clutch; (b) made his own strategic decision without any input from the
As long as there is sports talk radio and avoidable TV programs like “First Take,” there will be a debate on who is the greatest basketball player who ever lived. The following is going to make this writer look like a big, fat hypocrite, since there was a June article on this site, by this very writer, with the headline “Please stop comparing LeBron James to Michael Jordan.” But we can’t help it, can we? LeBron James now has two NBA
(Readers: This column originally ran during the NBA Finals. It is especially pertinent now that the NBA is switching back to 2-2-1-1-1.-CS) The most important playoff series in NBA scheduling history — the one that changed the NBA Finals from a 2-2-1-1-1 format to the current 2-3-2 — began easily enough. The leisurely pace of the first four games would get lost in the frenzy of the last three, but travel was not an issue the first 11 days of the 1984
Regardless of any lingering disappointment, the offseason for many NBA teams is an uplifting time. Young players are drafted. Veteran free agents are signed. Trades are made. New coaches are hired. Teams with a strengthened core, like Brooklyn, are confident they have done everything possible to take the final step to win a title. Teams such as Oklahoma City and Chicago, who were limited by injuries, are optimistic that if healthy, championship dreams are realistic. Teams that have been building, like Cleveland, are
Tuesday marked the deadline for teams to make use of the amnesty provision and release a player without their salary cap being affected. As explained by our own Chris Bernucca, the Miami Heat have opted to use the provision to release veteran small forward Mike Miller. The move was not without notice. Heat All-Star shooting guard Dwyane Wade shared his sentiments on Twitter. [Read more…]
Dwight Howard has retreated to a mountain somewhere to ponder his future. And that gives us a little time to sit back and appreciate the recent past — and how the NBA landscape might look a lot different (Chris Bosh trade rumors, anyone?) if not for Ray Allen. There have been many plays in sports that have not only changed the momentum of a game, but of history itself. These plays change the outcome of a season or sometimes a career,
As with most any sports championship, the victor is often treated to a parade in their home city. Some parades have ended famously in tale of tragedy, such as the incident wherein the Copa del Rey trophy was crush by Real Madrid’s tour bus during their La Liga championship parade in 2011. The Miami Heat could have lost something much more valuable. Watch LeBron James narrowly avoid decapitation multiple times during the Miami Heat championship parade today http://t.co/8YaIe0wMFy — BuzzFeed (@BuzzFeed) June 24, 2013 [youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aBu56Ybu5FI&hl=en_US&version=3] It