With a mix of sadness and pride, I am shuttering SheridanHoops.com — the Web Site I founded in September 2011 and which published daily through five NBA seasons. I come from a family of journalists, and there is a level of disappointment that comes from deep inside me. You only get one or two chances to do something truly dynamic in life, and assembling a crew of veteran NBA writers — mixed in with several younger go-getters to produce quality basketball journalism
Toronto Raptors basketball was non-existent for a long time. There was more booing than cheering, the word “retooling” became too familiar, and games rarely gathered genuine excitement. That was their identity, or lack thereof. I went to my first Raptors game at the age of 13. Toronto had a good team that year, they won 47 games and finished first in the Atlantic Division. The Raps were hosting the Denver Nuggets at Air Canada Centre, a hot team with Carmelo Anthony and
The Utah Jazz may not have many highlights this season, but they had one Monday night. The team signed five-year-old cancer patient JP Gibson to a one-day contract for the team’s scrimmage at EnergySolutions Arena in Salt Lake. He was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia in 2012. It was mid-way through the third quarter when the crowd started to cheer. If you wanted to know why, you looked down. Rocking his full uniform and wristband, JP trotted on the court like
Thunder Fall Apart A lot of ridiculous things have happened this postseason, but the Los Angeles Clippers erasing a 16-point fourth quarter deficit to the Oklahoma City Thunder could take the cake. The Clips were in a near must-win situation but picked up a Game 4 victory 102-99, and evened the series up at 2-2. For an early afternoon tipoff in LA, the Thunder seemed well rested to start the game, breaking out to a 20-point first quarter lead. Hitting their first
Masai Ujiri made his first trip to Brooklyn since his infamous remarks about the borough before Game 1 at a fan rally in Toronto. “F*ck Brooklyn,” Ujiri said. (Some of you might not have known exactly what Ujiri said. Now you know.) Sitting courtside at Barclays Center before Game 3, Ujiri spoke with SheridanHoops about the incident and the hostile environment the Raptors would face in Brooklyn going forward. “It wasn’t about Brooklyn, honestly,” Ujiri told SheridanHoops. “I apologized to Brooklyn, I apologized
The Jordan Brand Classic introduced us to the game’s future stars. And from the looks of it, the future is bright. Top recruits from Duke, Kansas and Kentucky dazzled in the All-American Game and showed why each program has drawn considerable buzz heading into next season. Seton Hall – which had five recruits named to the Jordan Brand Classic – dominated the Regional Game. Canada shined in the International Game once again thanks to Jahvon Blair’s MVP performance with the help of his
New York’s worst nightmare became a reality when the Knicks were officially eliminated from the playoffs. “The beginning of the season, nobody ever thought we would be in this situation, this position that we’re in right now,” Carmelo Anthony said Sunday. After missing the playoffs for the first time in his career, Anthony appears further from competing for a championship than ever before. As a result, the Chicago Bulls have become New York’s top competition for Anthony’s services this summer. Anthony spoke glowingly of
The Brooklyn Nets are legitimate contenders to dethrone the Miami Heat in the Eastern Conference – whether or not LeBron James wants to admit it – as I outlined in my latest column. As for New York, the futures of Carmelo Anthony and Mike Woodson will be impacted heavily if the Knicks fail to reach the playoffs – a likely scenario. With the Nets seemingly entrenched as the fifth seed and the Knicks on the brink of mathematical elimination, I joined WFAN