Less than three weeks ago, the Los Angeles Lakers were mourning the death of owner Jerry Buss, refuting rumors that Dwight Howard would be traded and staring down the draft lottery. With his team mired in ninth place in the Western Conference, Kobe Bryant defiantly told Sports Illustrated, “It’s not a question of if we make the playoffs. We will. And when we get there, I have no fear of anyone – Oklahoma City, San Antonio, Denver … whoever. I have
After the Thunder held on to beat the Clippers on Sunday, coach Scott Brooks praised the composure of Russell Westbrook, his often volatile point guard. There are two ways to look at this. One is that Westbrook is making the necessary strides to gain control of his emotions and make the proper play in big games. The other? When Westbrook is the tone-setter for your team’s composure, you may have issues. [Read more…]
One of the most interesting aspects of betting the NBA is keeping a sharp tab on the futures market. It has been discussed in many different forums that betting the futures market is a sure-fire way to throw away your hard- earned profits. But keeping an eye on movement in the NBA future market is a whole other story. [Read more…]
Which player is the most consistent winner for his own team in NBA history? That is the question I asked myself a couple of years ago, in February 2007 to be precise. In an effort to find an answer, I decided to rank all NBA “franchise players” since the 1979-80 season. This winter, I updated the research, taking into consideration every player that has played in the NBA. [Read more…]
Have the Knicks regressed to the mean? From here, it kind of looks that way. No doubt they are a good basketball team. But since beginning the season with a blistering 18-6 record, the Knicks have gone just 10-9 and enter play February 1 as the second seed in the Eastern Conference. Still, with just three games separating the Knicks from the sixth-seeded Atlanta Hawks and the trade winds swirling around the NBA – you know, with it being February and all
Brian Geltzeiler joins Brett Norsworthy on Fish N’ Stats in Memphis to talk NBA news. They break down the Jeremy Lin and James Harden pairing, the Lakers woes and an early look at the Western Conference Playoff picture. [Read more…]
When we wrote last month that the Western Conference playoff picture would be filled in by the Dallas Mavericks and Minnesota Timberwolves, it was assumed that both teams would have their alpha dogs at power forward. Now that Dirk Nowitzki and Kevin Love are both out until at least December, that picture could be changing. Nowitzki and Love both are top-10 players whose presence instantly legitimizes their teams as playoff-worthy, regardless of the other 14 players sharing a locker room and airplane with them.
We already told you who we believe will make the playoffs in the Western Conference. The picture in the Eastern Conference is a bit different. Just like the West, the East has six teams that are locks to play in May. They are the defending champion Miami Heat, Boston Celtics, Indiana Pacers, Philadelphia 76ers, New York Knicks and Brooklyn Nets, who last season weren’t in (a) Brooklyn or (b) the playoffs. You can find whatever real or imagined faults you’d like with those