In a teleconference last week, we asked NBA analysts Chris Webber and Greg Anthony to pick a Western Conference team which missed the playoffs last season but will make the playoffs this season. “Dallas, mainly because of Dirk Nowitzki,” Webber said. “He’ll be back healthy. What he does, with spacing, getting guys involved … We take his game for granted.” “I would go with the Pelicans,” Anthony said. “I think that’s a team that could make sizeable leaps and surprise a lot
As long as there is sports talk radio and avoidable TV programs like “First Take,” there will be a debate on who is the greatest basketball player who ever lived. The following is going to make this writer look like a big, fat hypocrite, since there was a June article on this site, by this very writer, with the headline “Please stop comparing LeBron James to Michael Jordan.” But we can’t help it, can we? LeBron James now has two NBA
Among the monumental sports topics that are debated everywhere – from local fine drinking establishments to radio and television shows where participants spend hours shouting at each other – is the issue of dynasties. In sports, identifying and labeling dynasties is a must. It’s part of our DNA. And then when a dynasty is established and accepted as fact, it must be compared to other dynasties. That is mandatory. It is what makes sports sports. [Read more…]
This Eastern Conference finals between Indiana and Miami could go down as one of the best in the past decade. It has been filled with drama and great action. With the Pacers tying the series with a home win in Game 4, it has become a best-of-three to decide which team plays San Antonio in the NBA Finals. Below are the five keys for tonight’s Game 5 in Miami, the potential swing game. [Read more…]
When the San Antonio Spurs beat the New York Knicks in the 1999 NBA Finals, it was considered a championship coronation for long-time Spurs center David Robinson. With plenty of help from second-year power forward Tim Duncan, that title validated Robinson’s career. But more importantly, it spawned a run of sustained success that is incredibly unique in the NBA, especially for a small-market franchise like the Spurs. [Read more…]
This summer, when your favorite team’s owner or GM tells you a certain player is financially out of reach, here’s how you know he is lying. His lips are moving. NBA business is booming, folks. And not just for the so-called big markets. Take a quick look at the conference finals, which feature four teams from middle to small markets collecting millions for every home playoff game. Take a look at the Sacramento Kings, who were just sold for a record $525 million
Uvo, take me back to 2011. (Sorry, I’ve been watching too many Blake Griffin commercials.) Just two years ago, the eighth-seeded Grizzlies stunned the top-seeded Spurs in the first round of the playoffs, sending San Antonio back to its rocking chairs a little bit earlier than anyone expected. Memphis used a breakout performance by Zach Randolph (31 points, 11 boards in Game 6) to close out the Spurs, then took the Thunder to seven games before bowing out in the West semifinals. Back
CHICAGO – After the hated Miami Heat bounced his team from the playoffs earlier this week, Chicago Bulls guard Derrick Rose was nowhere to be found at the team’s practice facility. Once again, he left coach Tom Thibodeau and a few of his battered, beaten teammates to answer questions about his decision to sit out the entire 2012-13 season. Then again, some things are best left unsaid. For Team Try Hard, it was a season of sprained body parts and unfulfilled promise, one