Russell Westbrook

Heisler: Shall We Debate the MVP a Little Bit More?

March 17, 2015 by Mark Heisler

The envelope for the MVP of the 2015-15 NBA season, please…. There’s a hush in the hall as the camera pans over the anxious faces of Steph Curry, James Harden, LeBron James, Russell Westbrook, Anthony Davis, Chris Paul, LaMarcus Aldridge, John Wall, Kyle Lowry, Derrick Favors, Eric Bledsoe, Boogie Cousins–yes, extra security is standing by in case he doesn’t win–and the entire Atlanta starting five with their arms entwined, befitting their status as a collective entry. Oh, and Kobe Bryant! The standards aren’t

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Bernucca: Mythbuster Brad Stevens No Longer a “College Coach”

March 16, 2015 by Chris Bernucca

With the NCAA Tourament upon us, it seems like as good a time as any to remind everyone that there is a canyon between coaching in college and coaching in the NBA. There is more than a generation of evidence which clearly illustrates that any NBA team hiring a head coach directly from college is making a huge mistake. P.J. Carlesimo. Tim Floyd. Leonard Hamilton. Lon Kruger. Mike Montgomery. Jerry Tarkanian. Rick Pitino, who failed twice. Even John Calipari, who is

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Fantasy Spin: Cousins, Irving Among Best Daily Plays

March 16, 2015 by Kent Williams

Let’s start at the top on a busy Monday. The top of the DraftKings salary scale, that is. Russell Westbrook $12600 did it again yesterday — not quite a trip-dub (36 PTS, 11 REB, 6 AST) but another huge victory. [Read more…]

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Fantasy Spin: Star-Studded Afternoon & Evening DFS Contests

March 15, 2015 by Kent Williams

Typical for this time of year, an eight-game Sunday tips off at 1:00 EDT, when the national TV doubleheader features four terrific teams. Enter All-Day or Early-Only contests to use those players. [Read more…]

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PODCAST: Michael Scotto on Rudy Gobert, Anthony Davis, the MVP Race and More

March 14, 2015 by Michael Scotto

Rudy Gobert had a coming out party for the NBA during the BBVA Compass Rising Stars Challenge with 18 points, 12 rebounds and three blocks for the World Team. The Utah Jazz eventually traded Enes Kanter at the deadline, which promoted Gobert into a full-time starting role. Since then, Gobert has averaged 10.5 points, 14.1 rebounds and 3.1 blocks per game while shooting 57 percent from the field. Another big man who’s played well lately has been New Orleans Pelicans star Anthony

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Fantasy Spin: Multiple Start Times For Daily Contests

March 13, 2015 by Kent Williams

Here’s hoping that Friday the 13th is good luck at DraftKings. Nine NBA games begin at 7:00 EDT but there are Turbo contests (covering three games) at 8:00, Late events (also spanning three games) at 9:00 and even Later action on the final two at 10:00. That’s multiple opportunities to win. [Read more…]

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Sprung: MVP Candidates Pros and Cons, By the Numbers

March 12, 2015 by Shlomo Sprung

This season’s MVP race is shaping up to be the best one in quite some time. The perceived top five candidates this season – James Harden, Stephen Curry, Anthony Davis, LeBron James and Russell Westbrook – represent the top five in PER, three of the top five in win shares and lead the NBA in nearly two dozen major statistical categories. We’re pretty well covered with MVP rankings on this site with Sheridan’s regular updates, and other staffers have chimed in

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MVP Rankings, Edition XI: The End of the Headband?

March 11, 2015 by Chris Sheridan

In his first game without a headband since the 2003 preseason, LeBron James’ point total of 27 was exceeded only by Cleveland’s margin of victory — 33 over the Dallas Mavericks. So that makes it four wins in the last five games and 22 wins in the past 26. The Cavaliers’ lead over the injury-riddled Chicago Bulls has grown to 1 1/2 games and figures to continue growing, and I have a question to ask. Why is James so absent from

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