As the Dallas Mavericks compete for one of the most competitive No. 8 seeds in NBA history, they’ve relied heavily on Vince Carter to provide veteran leadership and production to the team’s second lineup. While he is the team’s sixth man by assignment, coach Rick Carlisle still considers him one of Dallas’ most important players. This is evident by Carter’s defined role in the final minutes of close games. Carter is averaging nearly seven fourth-quarter minutes per game in 2013-2014, nearly two
Why Australia’s Dante Exum Will Be a High Lottery Pick
Australian basketball has received a much-needed shot in the arm over the last 12 months. And just wait and see what’s coming next. Former top overall draft pick Andrew Bogut has returned to full health and is again playing solid two-way basketball for the surging Golden State Warriors. Patty Mills has emerged from chief towel waver for the San Antonio Spurs to knockdown 3-point gunner. And undrafted rookie guard Matthew Dellavedova has worked his way into the rotation for the Cleveland Cavaliers. It
Hubbard: News flash: Spurs and James Bond have nothing in common
Considering his background in the military, it should not be surprising that Gregg Popovich leads a unit that seems to always fly under the radar. Figuratively, of course. Popovich is a graduate of the Air Force Academy and stayed in the service long enough to serve a tour of duty in the Kurdish area in eastern Turkey near the border of Syria. It was a top secret assignment; obviously, the good military man has never elaborated on it, other than to
Tony Parker out a month with sprained ankle
En route to the best record in the NBA, the San Antonio Spurs have withstood injuries to Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili and Kawhi Leonard. Now they will have to do without Tony Parker, their most indispensable player. The Spurs announced Saturday that Parker had an MRI that revealed a Grade 2 sprain of his left ankle that will sideline him for four weeks. Parker was hurt in the third quarter of Friday’s 130-102 home rout of Sacramento. He is averaging a career-high 21.0
SH Blog: The 3-Man Weave, Week 1
In SheridanHoops’ latest weekly installment, contributors Jeremy Bauman, Maxwell Ogden and Ben Baroff are happy to introduce the 3-Man Weave. Once a week we’ll be bringing you three different opinions on the latest topics around the NBA. [Read more…]
Sheridan: Al Jefferson to Spurs?
The NBA trade deadline journalism racket is a tricky minefield to navigate. The business is driven by rumors, many of which are founded in truth, others of which are utterly fictitious. Distinguishing between the two differentiates the good basketball Web sites from the bad sites. But figuring out who is available is not rocket science if you speak to the right people, and I speak to a lot of plugged-in people on a regular basis. Here is the latest they are telling me:
Pau and Manu Headline Olympic All-Group Teams
A monster third quarter from Kevin Durant and a buzzer beating three from Patty Mills will send Team USA into the medal rounds as the only team without a loss. The United States went to the locker room up 60-59 on Argentina before a 42-point explosion in the third quarter put the 2004 gold medalists in USA’s rearview for good. Seventeen of those 42 belonged to Durant, who hit five of his eight threes in the third and moved past Carmelo
SH Blog: Reasons for Thunder’s struggles in Game 3
Game 3 of the NBA Finals is in the books, and the Thunder looked like a “young team” perhaps for the first time in the postseason. There was plenty to be discussed on why they fell short, from Kevin Durant’s foul trouble, Harden’s poor play and Westbrook’s limited minutes. David Aldridge on Kevin Durant and Westbrook’s growth since last season: “We don’t know what the Thunder will ultimately do with this group. But whatever they’re going to become, it’s happening now,