The Phoenix Suns are a fascinating bunch to watch, in the way fans watch a demolition derby for the promise of imminent destruction. Coach Jeff Hornacek, entering the final guaranteed year of his contract, has to right the ship without the benefit of a rising star to buoy hopes for the future. That Hornacek was able to cobble together an 87-77 record the last two years without a single All-Star is a testament to his coaching ability. But he lost
Even a year ago, it didn’t seem as though DeMarcus Cousins would ever get his act together. The talent was undoubtedly there. Last season, the center averaged 22.7 points on 49.6 percent shooting from the field to go with 11.7 rebounds, 2.9 assists, 1.5 steals and 1.3 blocks. The man can absolutely play, and is one of the toughest to guard in the league with his unique ability to shoot from the mid-range, create from the high post and simply bulldoze
All summer long, Eric Bledsoe and the Phoenix Suns refused to cooperate with each other. He wanted a max deal and the team had no interest in viewing him as someone worth that kind of money. Based on what was being said and done from each side, it appeared as though the two were headed for an ugly ending. Then came Wednesday, when the Suns could no longer deal with the risk they were putting themselves under by doing nothing with Bledsoe
After jettisoning Dwight Howard in August 2012, the Orlando Magic fully embraced a rebuilding plan, starting over with two young prospects in Nikola Vucevic and Moe Harkless and a veteran contributor in Arron Afflalo. After a surprisingly strong 12-13 start which had some folks around the NBA wondering if they could make the playoffs, the Magic floundered to the finish, losing 49 of their final 57 games. Along the way, they lost Glen Davis to two injuries – one which would
When Dwight Howard left the Los Angeles Lakers and bolted to the Houston Rockets, we heard and saw the reactions of plenty – perhaps most notably from Kobe Bryant, who immediately unfollowed his former teammate on Twitter upon hearing the news. The one person most relevant to the situation that we’ve yet to hear from had been Mike D’Antoni, whose offense was cited as a critical reason for Howard’s desire for departure. So what did the coach think of his time