At this time last year, the vibe surrounding the Sacramento Kings was overly positive. The Sacramento community had just found out that Vivek Ranadive was purchasing the team with intent to keep it in Sacramento, essentially saving the franchise from moving to Seattle. This all happened in the span of a couple of months, and when the fight to keep the team was finally won, basketball decisions had to be made. The ownership group, front office and coaching staff were assembled
It’s the dawn of a new era for the Milwaukee Bucks, with new ownership at the helm, a new coach on the sidelines, and (hopefully) a new approach to building a championship-caliber team. The Bucks have really gone through the ringer over the past year, enduring a franchise-worst 15-67 season and a messy coaching change, yet fans might be as hopeful as ever. If anything, that just goes to show how maddening the status quo had become, but the optimism isn’t unfounded.
The Miami Heat had a four-year run from 2010 to 2014 that will not be soon forgotten by NBA fans, writers, analysts, players or historians. Chris Bosh, LeBron James and Dwyane Wade formed, “The Big Three,” and took the Heat to four consecutive NBA Finals appearances, winning two titles. The ride was phenomenal, but it had its ups-and-downs for everyone involved. James, a four-time MVP, joined forces with two of the league’s premier players at the height of their abilities. Wade had already won
The New York Knicks looked like the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus on a nightly basis last season. Carmelo Anthony’s free agency, and the uncertainty it brought, hung over the Knicks like a dark cloud on a rainy day. J.R. Smith had knee surgery before last season and violated the league’s anti-drug policy, resulting in a five-game suspension to start the season. He then became more preoccupied with untying the shoelaces of opponents instead of loosening their laces with his
We are back with the 2014-15 edition of the Sheridan Hoops team-by-team season preview index. We’ve assembled a lineup of bloggers who regularly cover the NBA to give us five things to watch for regarding the teams they cover for the upcoming season. You can read them simply by clicking on the team logo or name below. You can also get caught up on each team’s payroll, draft picks and financial outlooks with our salary cap analysis index. [Read more…]
Perhaps no team in the NBA has moved on from its past and looked toward its future more than the Utah Jazz. Virtually all of the ties to the great Jazz teams of the 1990s are gone. In their place are a rookie coach and a starting lineup that figures to have no one older than 24. The Jazz won’t be much better than last season, when they lost 57 games, their most since arriving in Salt Lake City from New Orleans
Kevin Garnett is entering his 20th season as an NBA player. Garnett joins Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Robert Parish and Kevin Willis as the only players in league history to ever play at least 20 seasons. Just don’t expect KG to extend his time in the league once his playing career comes to a close. Throughout the course of his illustrious career, Garnett has been known to provide unforgettable sound bytes. From mind games and insults to media dismissals and pep talks, we’ve heard it all from
JaVale McGee stands alone as the only player to earn the Shaqtin’ A Fool MVP twice. Shaquille O’Neal is known for many things — breaking backboards, winning four NBA championships, playing with some of the greatest wingmen in the game’s history, cracking jokes on Charles Barkley and Kenny Smith as part of the NBA on TNT crew and being a future Hall of Famer — but he’s also known for making NBA athletes look bad with his comical