What a difference a year makes. Just last summer, Dennis Schroder was the toast of the NBA Summer League and was heralded as the future cornerstone of the Atlanta Hawks. His long arms, quick hands and athletic prowess had veterans gushing that the Hawks had found the second coming of Rajon Rondo. One training camp later and, in theory, we should be in the same spot from where we started last season. Schroder just turned 21 in October – mere months older
How will the Oklahoma City Thunder do without Kevin Durant for the first six to eight weeks of the season? It’s extremely hard to tell, considering Durant has missed a total of 16 regular season games over the course of his seven-year career, including just two over the last two seasons. Durant’s lone absence last season came on Jan. 24 in a 101-83 win over Boston in which Russell Westbrook did not play, either. With Durant sidelined by a Jones fracture in
In case you missed it, Phoenix Suns forwards and twin brothers Markieff and Marcus Morris received contract extensions Monday. They joined Cleveland Cavaliers All-Star guard Kyrie Irving as the only players thus far from the 2011 NBA draft to receive extensions. Irving received a five-year maximum extension at the outset of the offseason and the Morris twins received four-year deals for $32 million and $20 million, respectively. There are as many as a dozen players from the 2011 draft whom you could
Coming into the 2014-15 season, the Oklahoma City Thunder figure to continue to be one of the league’s true title contenders. What’s different? A big free agent signing, the continued development of young talent, and finally a change in the starting lineup. Should everything work out, this could be the strongest Thunder team ever. Hovering over this potential perfect storm is a world of doubt. The Thunder have remained contenders for three or four years now but still have little hardware
For some reason, the Phoenix Suns have put themselves in quite the vulnerable situation. With innovative coach Jeff Hornacek at the helm, the Suns were truly one of the biggest surprise teams of last season. No one expected them to be in a dog fight to be a playoff team in April. Hell, not many expected them to win even 30 games. Yet, they won 48 games and became one of the most dynamic offensive teams in the league (eighth-best offensive
The 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil is quite captivating. Today, perhaps, more than any other for American fans. Just hours before the NBA Draft makes headlines across the nation, the United States Men’s National Team faced their biggest game early in the world’s largest sports tournament. They faced Germany, currently ranked No. 2 in among all teams. A win or tie and America would advance. A loss, however, could open a couple possibilities. [Read more…]
Two months and 13 days from the 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup in Spain, nearly all of the world is fixated on the soccer World Cup in Brazil. Last week, Brazil opened the FIFA World Cup with a victory over Croatia. Tuesday, the host nation took on a feisty Mexico team, the result was less joyous for the home crowd, though plenty entertaining for impartial soccer fans. After the game ended in a scoreless tie, led by a spectacular showing from Mexico
Day two of the 2014 Brazil World Cup may have had the most anticipated match of the group round. Spain, winners of the 2010 World Cup, had been selected to Group B with Chile, Australia and the Netherlands—the team they defeated 1-0 in the finals four years ago. That match was 0-0 through 90 minutes before the Spanish got the go-ahead goal in extra time. Their first match in this year’s World Cup? A rematch of the 2010 final against Netherlands. This matchup