The Phoenix Suns are a fascinating bunch to watch, in the way fans watch a demolition derby for the promise of imminent destruction. Coach Jeff Hornacek, entering the final guaranteed year of his contract, has to right the ship without the benefit of a rising star to buoy hopes for the future. That Hornacek was able to cobble together an 87-77 record the last two years without a single All-Star is a testament to his coaching ability. But he lost
For the San Antonio Spurs, most of the summers over the past few years have been about adding a few minor pieces to the roster. Their core was usually intact, and the team never had too much cap space in free agency. However, this past July was a memorable one for the Spurs as they were actually a serious contender in the free agent market with maximum cap space available. The Spurs not only re-signed core pieces in Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili,
The city of Portland is at a crossroads. With a new apartment complex on every block and thousands of new residents flocking to the land of fair trade coffee and cruelty-free, artisan baked goods, the battle between Old Portland and New Portland has Rip City searching for a new identity. In an ironic twist of fate, as the City of Roses undergoes an extended facelift, so too does its basketball team. Gone is four-fifths of the starting lineup that won 50-plus
For the first time in what seems like forever, the Washington Wizards are entering their second consecutive season with high expectations. Following another exit in the Eastern Conference semifinals, the Wizards believe that they are capable of competing against any team in the NBA. With a superstar point guard, a rising star at shooting guard and a veteran supporting cast, the Wizards have all the makings of a team that will compete for a top seed in the East. Believe it or
NBA players are busy in October with the league’s preseason in full swing, but many will still take time to appreciate basketball greatness when they see it. [Read more…]
One couldn’t have imagined a worse outcome for the Oklahoma City Thunder in the 2014-15 season. A massive plague of injuries kept the team below full strength for the entire campaign. Specifically, Kevin Durant missed 55 games, Serge Ibaka missed 18 games and Russell Westbrook missed 15 games. The other four rotation players who started and finished the season with OKC – Anthony Morrow, Steven Adams, Andre Roberson and Nick Collison – missed between eight and 16 games each. All those missed
One of my favorite weeks of the year recently arrived, the week the major sports books release their NBA season win total over/unders. Yes I will concede, these bets for the most part are ‘sucker’ bets and definitely not the way to launch your professional NBA gambling career. However, every year there is just a walk up LOCK. Sometimes multiple. Last year it was those hopeless New York Knicks (the line was 40 1/2; they finished at 17) and this year
It’s not easy to take an 11-hour flight, but that’s what former NBA player and current Maccabi Tel Aviv point guard Jordan Farmar was getting ready for on Sunday afternoon as he slowly got dressed in the locker room inside Madison Square Garden. After a two-city tour in NBA arenas, Farmar and his teammates were about to head back to Israel, traveling even further away from his native Los Angeles. Farmar, 28, was born in Los Angeles and went to high