All season, the Indiana Pacers have maintained that homecourt advantage for the Eastern Conference playoffs, and their chemistry will give them a great chance to dethrone the two-time NBA champion Miami Heat. Are both slipping away? In the last two weeks, Indiana’s grip on the East’s best record has loosened considerably. And the Pacers’ big move at Thursday’s trading deadline, acquiring Evan Turner, illustrated that their belief in chemistry may have been overstated. [Read more…]
The Orlando Magic on Friday waived Hedo Turkoglu, who likely will become a free agent. Turkoglu was in the final year of a contract paying him $12 million this season. However, only $6 million was guaranteed. GM Rob Hennigan saved the other $6 million by waiving Turkoglu by Jan. 7, the day all contracts become fully guaranteed. Waiving Turkoglu moves the Magic approximately $5 million under the cap and makes them a potential player leading up to the trading deadline as a
Bad news for the Wizards, who have yet to see a minute of No. 3 pick Otto Porter. Here’s the press release: The Washington Wizards announced today that guard Bradley Beal has been diagnosed with a stress injury to his proximal right fibula. He will miss the next two weeks and then be re-evaluated. The injury was diagnosed by team doctors following an MRI exam on Monday after Beal experienced soreness in his right leg. Beal has appeared in all 13 games for the
Nothing matters in this division, or in the entire NBA for that matter, until June. That’s when we’ll have our answer: Were the Miami Heat good enough to three-peat? That is the first question on people’s minds as we head into the upcoming season, and it brings to mind the following question: If the Heat don’t three-peat, will the Big Three go their separate ways? LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh all have opt-outs in their contracts, and all are a
The Washington Wizards are the NBA’s Rorschach Test team. Coldly visualize last season’s 29-53 record. In the context of a fifth straight year without a postseason appearance, we’re talking demolition time. Yet others – most notably, the team’s ownership – warmed to the clear improvement over the second half of last season after ingloriously bottoming out early on. Washington kept its primary core of players and inked some – including point guard John Wall – to lucrative deals. Coach Randy Wittman and
As the back-to-back defending NBA champions, one could say that the Miami Heat stand in the best position of any team in the league. That’s probably true, but the 2013-14 campaign also stands as one of the most pivotal seasons in team history. Why? After this season, LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh will all have the option to test the free agent waters. Although Wade said he wants to stay in Miami, perhaps a disappointing season with an aging core could
There may be nothing that frightens the average NBA more than the idea of mediocrity. It is the notion that there is nowhere to go for an unidentified period of time — no improvement, no cap flexibility, no enticing trade assets — and nothing to watch but the gradual and steady decline of a core constituted for competitive basketball but not championships. It’s why coaches and GMs are fired, because if there is anything that ticks off a fan base more
This offseason was an eventful one for the Bobcats and their fans. It started the same as the previous one: looking for a new coach. This time, the search did not last quite as long as they snapped up long-time Jeff Van Gundy assistant Steve Clifford. Then they stunned analysts and fans alike at the draft by selecting Cody Zeller over Nerlens Noel, Ben McLemore and Alex Len at fourth overall. With newfound financial flexibility because of DeSagana Diop’s expiring contract, the