There has been a lot of movement and change in the Eastern Conference this offseason, enough so that the Chicago Bulls have emerged as challengers for the NBA title with a healthy Derrick Rose and an added big man in Pau Gasol. The Cleveland Cavaliers now hold Vegas’ highest odds to win the coveted Larry O’Brien trophy, having reeled in hometown hero LeBron James and All-Star power forward Kevin Love. The Charlotte Hornets are also getting consideration as a challenger in
The summer of 2014 is remembered in Houston for what might have been. The most noteworthy names to highly consider forming a “Big 3” with James Harden and Dwight Howard were Carmelo Anthony and Chris Bosh, but former Rocket point guard Kyle Lowry is firmly on that star-studded list as well. In a wonderful feature by Grantland’s Jonathan Abrams on Lowry’s career-long search for trust, Abrams outlines Lowry’s falling out with Houston head coach Kevin McHale in the 2011-12 season and the subsequent
The most intriguing team in the NBA this season is unquestionably the Cleveland Cavaliers. And the secocnd-most intriguing team in the NBA this season may be the Chicago Bulls. This summer, the Cavaliers remade themselves from a laughingstock to a legitimate contender with the additions of LeBron James and Kevin Love. Meanwhile, the Bulls are hoping the return of Derrick Rose and the addition of Pau Gasol puts them in the championship chase as well. And both teams play in the Central Division,
Training camps begin in a little over a week, the start of the regular season is 40 days away, and what awaits us this season is going to be special — a renaissance in Cleveland, Kobe’s return in L.A., a chance for the Spurs to chase that elusive repeat championship. But let’s be realistic here for a second. There are 15 teams in the Eastern Conference, and there is a very slim chance at best that anyone other than the Cleveland Cavaliers
The week that doesn’t seem to be getting any better for the Atlanta Hawks continues on. [Read more…]
So how does it feel, Spain? How does it feel to come up woefully short of expectations? How does it feel to be embarrassed by an inexplicable loss on your home floor in front of your blindly supportive fan base? How does it feel to be relegated to classification games while visitors vie for the international championship you believed was rightfully yours? Yeah, it wasn’t supposed to go down this way. Your march through the 2014 World Cup wasn’t supposed to be
Spain was targeting another classico with Team USA. Instead, they will have to settle for classification. In one of FIBA’s bigger upsets in recent memory, host Spain lost to France, 65-52, in the quarterfinals of the World Cup on Wednesday. The Spaniards came into this World Cup looking to avenge narrow losses to the United States in the final of the 2008 Olympics and the 2012 Olympics. They believed they had the personnel to match up with the Americans – especially after Team USA
When the FIBA World Cup’s group stage ended Thursday, eight of the 24 teams went home. Four more went home Saturday, the first day of the knockout stage. One of them was Mexico, which put up little resistance in a loss to Team USA. Chris Sheridan is in Barcelona and was not overly impressed. As the games get tougher, the rotation needs to get shorter. Here’s a roundup of Saturday’s round of 16 games. BARCELONA GAMES Team USA 86, Mexico 63 In a rare mornng EST