Basketball recently lost one of its pioneers. While that term is thrown around whenever a player from the black and white era passes away, the true understanding of what it means to be a pioneer is lost. In my view a pioneer is someone who is a visionary who transforms and then defines how things are done moving forward, creating an enduring standard. My dad, Dolph Schayes was such a person. As a player in the 1940s, 50s, and 60s my
The Golden State Warriors are about to complete the best regular season in NBA history. The Warriors are going to win 73 games, one more than the 1995-96 Chicago Bulls. Even Warriors coach Steve Kerr, a reserve on that Bulls squad and one of the great winners in league annals, is blown away by his team’s accomplishment. “I never imagined when I was with the Bulls anyone would ever come close,” he said. “We’re close.” [Read more…]
Here is an imaginary conversation that relates to the situation the Philadelphia Colangelos find themselves in. “Son, I’m going to be traveling on business this summer, spending a ton of time all over the country, and then almost a month in Brazil. So I need you to take care of the house. Please clean out all that junk in the garage. There is a ton of it.” “OK, Dad.” “And I’m going to leave you the keys to the Ferrari. I think you’ve shown
On Saturday night, while most basketball fans were watching the Final Four, the NBA playoffs got under way. Not officially, of course. That doesn’t happen until April 16. But for the Detroit Pistons, Chicago Bulls and other teams fighting for the bottom of the brackets, the postseason already has started. Detroit’s 94-90 victory at Chicago on Saturday wasn’t quite a Game Seven. The Pistons aren’t quite home free just yet, and the Bulls aren’t quite dead. But it sure looked an awful
With just 10 days left in the NBA regular season, there’s still a lot to be determined and decided. Records can be broken, playoff fates will be sealed and the season will be mercifully be over for several hopeless teams around the league. With the regular season reaching its last days, we give you the 10 most important questions that needs to be answered before the postseason begins. It’s going to be YUGE. [Read more…]
This D’Angelo Russell thing is really confusing, so I want to make sure I’ve got it right. Pledging your lifetime love, support and fidelity to a woman in the form of a highly public engagement, then displaying your unequivocal callousness for that woman’s dignity and feelings by cheating on her while your wedding is being planned, that’s OK, right? But secretly recording a teammate who talks about this callous behavior as if it is the equivalent of brushing your teeth, that’s not
In the brave new world of basketball analytics, trends and modules, a simpler stat surfaced this week that was utterly inexplicable. Two teams have lost 10 games this season in which they led after three quarters. One is the league-worst Philadelphia 76ers, who have no one on their roster who knows how to win a game. The other is the Oklahoma City Thunder, who have two of the supposed best closers in the game in Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook. [Read more…]
I hope Oscar Robertson was watching Saturday night. I hope he saw Stephen Curry answer his ridiculous, attention-starved musings as definitively as possible. I hope he wasn’t too jaded to see Curry handle the ball in a way Robertson only wished he could. I hope his eyesight still works well enough to see from where Curry was launching – and making – his shots. And I hope Robertson and a number of NBA stars from bygone eras will just shut up and