We have two pieces of news to pick apart today: The announcement that USA Basketball has released a list of 30 finalists for the 2016 Olympic team, and the “non-commitment” from LeBron James regarding whether he will be part of the party. And yes, it will be a party. The games are in Brazil, after all. And LeBron, whose non-commitment is disingenuous at best, does not miss a good party. So let me tell you a little story about the Brazilians. [Read more…]
A day before the game against the Cleveland Cavaliers on Monday, Stephen Curry joked that he hoped the visiting locker room still smells like champagne. Apparently, that rubbed LeBron James and the Cavaliers the wrong way, and that brought on some unexpected anticipation heading into the contest on TNT. [Read more…]
This is the time of year when we give out our midseason awards. But before we get to the drudgery of Sixth Man Award and Most Valuable Player, let’s start the festivities with a special award for individual achievement that goes to Rashad Vaughn. Vaughn is a shooting guard for the Milwaukee Bucks and the second-youngest player in the NBA. He is one of the dozens of rookies who have made virtually no impact in their first season. He is averaging 2.5 points
It’s a great day to be a basketball fan, with ten NBA games, highlighted by the Warriors in Cleveland for a Finals rematch (and possible preview.) If both clubs have a playoff-level intensity, Draymond Green $9600 will try to contain LeBron James $9800 while Stephen Curry $10500 and Kyrie Irving $6900 make each other work hard for every point. The fascinating nightcap has Houston visiting the Clippers. James Harden $9900 scored 31 points in just 27 minutes last night in a romp over the Lakers.
This man’s greatness inspired a poem. I’d like to start this column off by paying tribute to a true basketball hero. I couldn’t express his greatness in column form, so I wrote a poem. I hope you’ll oblige. Dim the lights please. Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhem. Ahhhem. Ahhhhh. Here we go: (Bongos playing) Dreary. Locker room smell. Sweaty socks. He walks in, authoritative. A Pelican no more. Scored 14 points in first game back. Tripled win total. There’s now hope where the bell tolls. Hope, and hoagies. (Bongos stop) Thank you. [Read more…]
We’ve already seen Magic Johnson vehemently disagree with ESPN’s rankings of the Top 10 point guards of all-time. Specifically, he didn’t like where his good friend Isiah Thomas was ranked – fifth overall, just below Stephen Curry and John Stockton. Johnson cited Thomas scoring 25 points on a bum ankle in the Finals to explain the greatness of the point guard, but didn’t really provide any other reason for why he feels the way he does. [Read more…]
Welcome to another Gambling Guru column. The last few weeks in the NBA have had plenty of intrigue, including the news out of Brooklyn that the Nets – my team – fired coach Lionel Hollins and re-assigned GM Billy King. Chris Sheridan wrote a depressingly accurate Billy King obituary chronicling all of the disastrous decisions he made during his Nets tenure. For the record, I’m not as mad with the Paul Pierce/Kevin Garnett trade as many fans, analysts and journalists were. It was aggressive and
Without Draymond Green $10000 (rest) and despite 38 points from Stephen Curry $10600, the Golden State Warriors lost for only the third time this season. Tonight at home against the Lakers, Green remains questionable, with veterans Andre Iguodala $5000 and Shaun Livingston $3900 also candidates to rest. [Read more…]