Last season, the Atlanta Hawks were one of the NBA’s best regular-season stories, winning 60 games. This season, they needed almost 60 games to remember what winning is. After their best season since moving to Atlanta nearly 50 years ago, the Hawks have spent most of this season spurting and sputtering. They got off to a 7-1 start, which many took as a good sign considering they were a measly 7-6 out of the gate last season. There was a six-game
As an NBA coach, Scott Skiles has always had a definitive modus operandi. In his three previous jobs, Skiles has dramatically improved his team’s defense, in some cases taking it from near the bottom of the league to near the top. That improvement helps the team become an absolute pain in the neck to play and make a quantum leap from the lottery to the playoffs. Then at some point, Skiles and his hypercompetitive nature become a bit overbearing for some players,
At Presidents’ Weekend last season, the Miami Heat were in the running to make the playoffs in their first season following LeBron James’ departure. Chris Bosh told SheridanHoops after the All-Star Game that he was excited for Miami’s playoff push. Then came the shocking news that Bosh would miss the rest of the season with blood clots on his lungs. Without him, the Heat missed the postseason for the first time since 2008, the year before Erik Spoelstra took over as
For the first time in what seems like forever, the Washington Wizards are entering their second consecutive season with high expectations. Following another exit in the Eastern Conference semifinals, the Wizards believe that they are capable of competing against any team in the NBA. With a superstar point guard, a rising star at shooting guard and a veteran supporting cast, the Wizards have all the makings of a team that will compete for a top seed in the East. Believe it or
It has been three seasons since the Orlando Magic have had to change their franchise’s future and goals by trading Dwight Howard. Three seasons since GM Rob Hennigan was installed and broke everything down, sold off everything that was not bolted down and committed to a long rebuilding process centered on the draft and sustainability. And so here the Magic sit, three years after that fateful decision. And with what? The Magic professed that 2015 would be the season the team showed
For the Charlotte Hornets, it has been a summer filled with excitement after yet another disappointing season of missing the playoffs. After the Hornets held some hope for the future by making the playoffs in the 2013-2014 season, last year was plagued by injuries to Kemba Walker and Al Jefferson and the team finished 33-49, 10 fewer wins than the previous season. A year ago, there was plenty of excitement and hope surrounding the signing of Lance Stephenson, but that plan didn’t work
For almost a decade, the Atlanta Hawks remained stuck in a purgatory of NBA mediocrity. Too good to select prospects in the early draft lottery and not good enough to compete deep into the playoffs, there was no obvious escape route. Although the team had the longest postseason streak in the Eastern Conference, Atlanta’s futile playoff track record overshadowed its strong core of dynamic starters and capable reserves. Then a late summer scandal came in 2014, which eventually led to the sale
After the Washington Wizards ended a season-high five-game losing streak Saturday with a 37-point victory over the Brooklyn Nets, Marcin Gortat wasn’t quite ready to declare that their earth was back on its axis. “At the end of the day, it was Brooklyn, so we can’t get really excited,” he said. There’s nothing like perspective. And Gortat is right: One win against a plodding, tired team is nothing to get excited about. What the Wizards should be is concerned. Prior to the win