On Thursday, we gave you our All-Breakout Team for the upcoming season for the Eastern Conference. Today, we bring you our Western Conference All-Breakout Team. These are the players we believe are on the verge of breaking out or standing out. We used the same parameters – five players, one at each position, but no rookies. Let’s get right to it. [Read more…]
At this point last season, the feeling surrounding the New Orleans Pelicans was one of hope. The team had just gone through a rebranding, acquired Tyreke Evans and Jrue Holiday in the offseason and was ready for Anthony Davis to take his first step towards stardom after an up-and-down rookie season. Unfortunately for the Pelicans, all that hope ended quickly when the injury bug bit the team early and often and eventually cost the team any hope they had at the
As our own Max Ogden reported in Monday night’s SH Blog, the Denver Nuggets and forward Kenneth Faried recently agreed on a five-year, $60 million extension that guarantees him no less than $52M. Thursday, in lieu of said extension and in response to #TBT (Throwback Thursday), he reminisced on his first contract in the NBA by sharing a 2011 draft photo on Twitter. [Read more…]
Training camps are over, exhibition games have begun, and the excitement is palpable as we build towards the 2014-2015 season with players who should have breakout or standout seasons. Here are five players in the Eastern Conference – one at each position, no rookies – who will take the next step towards greatness this upcoming season. Tomorrow, the West. [Read more…]
Although the departure of Lance Stephenson has been seen as a crucial loss for the Indiana Pacers, the team was prepared to move forward without him. Was the five-year, $44 million deal scoffed at by Stephenson more of a calculated play by Larry Bird and the front office than an irreversible blunder? The takeaway from Stephenson’s departure was the team believing, to a certain degree, that Lance was a bigger factor in Indiana’s dysfunctional quasi-collapse following last season’s All-Star break than Paul
The NBA is an evolving league. Certain aspects of the evolution have caused fans to believe that the level of competition has declined, no matter how fair or foul that theory may be. The most common criticism of this era is that players and teams have a newfound, albeit not previously uncommon mentality: those who hurt you most are the players who must be acquired. For instance, the Cleveland Cavaliers signed Shawn Marion—the same Marion who locked down franchise player LeBron James in the 2011 NBA Finals. Similarly, former Chicago
When the Washington Wizards open their season on Oct. 29 at Miami, they will be shorthanded in the frontcourt. Four Wizards – including rotation bigs Nene and DeJuan Blair – were suspended one game Wednesday by the NBA for leaving the bench during Monday’s scrum with the Chicago Bulls in an exhibition game. Also suspended were Xavier Silas and Daniel Orton, although they are long shots to make the team. The Wizards have 13 guaranteed contracts plus Glen Rice Jr., last year’s
Coming off the first playoff appearance since 2010 and turning the page on some miserable years, Charlotte now has new hope — and a new old nickname. The Charlotte Hornets have rediscovered their sting and are for real. Guided a year ago by first-year coach Steve Clifford, Charlotte restructured its entire defensive system, and along with star big man Al Jefferson saw its win total spike from 21 all the way to 43. According to analyst David Locke, the Hornets shaved off