Monday night’s triple-overtime thriller in Salt Lake City simply was one of the best games of the season. It was a three-hour commercial for why League Pass is worth every penny and Exhibit A for why I walk away laughing when some fool tries to explain why the college game is better than the NBA. We will get to that game in some detail. But the first matter of discussion is the Houston Rockets, whose late-season freefall gives North Korea’s space
This had been a perfect season for Stan Van Gundy. Well, check that. In a lot of ways, it has been a nightmare season for the head coach of the Orlando Magic, who has been feuding with his trade-me, don’t-trade-me franchise center, living and dying by the 3-pointer and enduring a soap opera of a year that just keeps coming up with new twists and turns. But through it all, Van Gundy had maintained enough cool to not be called for a single
Dwight Howard’s decision to stay another season didn’t turn out to be such good news for the Magic, after all? Gosh, who’d have thunk it? Before zeroing in on the Magic, I should note, in fairness, it’s hardly the NBA’s only dysfunctional organization. Actually, as a former GM noted the other day, dysfunction is the rule, not the exception. Take the Lakers. They’ve been as sharp as anyone despite a sibling rivalry between Jim and Jeannie Buss, with father Jerry supporting Jim and former coach
This column was originally going to be a convincing piece as to why Maurice Cheeks (full disclosure: my favorite player of all time) deserves to be in the Hall of Fame. Then Stan Van Gundy decided enough was enough and exposed for all of us Dwight Howard’s true character – a selfish brat whose childish demands and indecision make him utterly impossible. When this mess in the Magic Kingdom shakes out sometime in May, Van Gundy will be unemployed, because that’s what
Stan Van Gundy wants to be back with the Orlando Magic next season, and he’s saying so definitively. That’s more than Dwight Howard can say. In an interview today with Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel in the wake of a bizarre series of events that included the revelation that Howard asked management to fire Van Gundy, the coach was asked what he wants to do next season. “I don’t have a scenario in my head where I wouldn’t (return),” said Van Gundy,
Tensions are running high as the playoffs draw near, and two teams feeling the heat will take their respective aggressions out on each other when the floundering Philadelphia 76ers host the reeling Orlando Magic in Saturday’s best game. If you haven’t seen the NBA’s most awkward clip of 2012, here it is. The Dwight Howard saga has somehow grown since the trade deadline, with his sudden reversal on his trade demand and his decision to opt in to his contract and possibly
Dwight Howard is truly having a season to forget. Most seem to be calling it a “Dwightmare”, fittingly. Sadly, most of it is due to off-court issues. Throughout his career, he was a drama-free, fun and charismatic superstar adored by most around him. Since the end of last season, however, he has become one of the more unlikable players in the NBA. He has become a walking daytime soap opera due to his much-documented indecision of where he would like to play. During the process, he
The following sentence you are about to read is true. In Tuesday night’s home win over Philadelphia, LeBron James scored 14 straight Miami points in the fourth quarter. Look, a lot has been made of James’ disappearing acts in the guts of the game. Some of it is hater bait, but some of it is warranted. And most of what has been warranted dates to when he arrived in Miami at the beginning of last season. For the most part, James wasn’t like