Maybe it was the unrelenting schedule finally catching up to us. Maybe it was the hectic planning of last weekend’s trip to Philadelphia for an AAU tournament. Whatever the reason, we missed a week of The Bernucca List, and we apologize. Reader Technologic provided the right answer for last week’s list, which was “The last 10 players to lead their team in scoring in a road Game 7 win.” Congratulations, Technologic. Can we call you Techno for short? Onto this week’s list,
Break up the Big Three? Maybe down in Miami, where the trio of so-called superstars have the collective toughness of your average 9-year-old girl. But not in Boston, where the Celtics are on the verge of a huge postseason upset, and Kevin Garnett looks like he is about to hand previously undefeated Father Time his first career loss. You don’t have to like Garnett. You don’t have to like the stream of R-rated language that comes from his mouth after every good play.
The Oklahoma City Thunder were facing a postseason ultimatum: Figure out a way to slow down the red-hot San Antonio Spurs, or meekly bow out of the Western Conference finals for the second straight year, well short of the stated, realistic goal of winning a championship. Through the first two games in San Antonio, Oklahoma City had very few answers, surrendering more than 110 points per game while losing twice. A 3-0 deficit to a team that had not lost in
Yesterday, we ran down the top 20 unrestricted free agents. Today, we look at the top 10 restricted free agents, which is a little trickier. By and large, restricted free agents are all on their rookie contract, which provides guaranteed money that can establish the starting point for negotiations. And that’s where it gets tricky. JaVale McGee made $2.46 million this season and has a qualifying offer for $3.49 million next season. Both figures are well below what starting centers receive. But how
Tonight is the NBA draft lottery, which is one way to build a team. The other way is free agency, which starts in just over a month. Many teams positioned themselves for this summer, expecting Dwight Howard, Chris Paul and Deron Williams all to opt out and become free agents. But Howard and Paul opted in, and now there is money to spend on a significantly weaker but nevertheless strong class. A handful of teams could be very active this summer. Among playoff
// After hanging around for a half, the Boston Celtics disappeared in the second half of their Eastern Conference finals opener vs. the Miami Heat. Before we vault Miami into the NBA Finals, however, let’s remember that the Celtics have had some stinkers in each of their first two playoff rounds and have bounced back rather nicely. The Celtics have the experience and character to get back in their series with the Heat, but there are a number of things
A couple of months ago, I wrote a column about how NBA commissioner David Stern’s voiding of the original Chris Paul trade had made a mockery of the New Orleans Hornets, who following the approved Chris Paul trade were making no effort to compete. There was predictable backlash, mostly from Hornets fans who disagreed with my premise that making the playoffs – no matter how short your stay – is always better than intentionally stinking up the joint for several years
Reader Zach was the first with the correct answer to last week’s edition of The Bernucca List. The list was “players called for 10 or more technical fouls this season.” This week’s list is a pretty tough one, so we will provide a hint: It has to do with the playoffs. Think you know the answer? Go ahead and post it in the Comments section or Tweet it to me. First correct answer gets a shout-out next week. The Bernucca List Carlos Boozer Manu Ginobili Richard Hamilton Stephen