Take out the brooms. Who would have thought we’d be saying that about the reigning World Champions? The Dallas Mavericks were swept by the Oklahoma City Thunder on Saturday night after only eight days of playoff basketball, becoming the first team to be eliminated in the 2011-2012 Playoffs. As the TNT crew stated, they’re going fishing. It marked only the second time the team was swept out of the playoffs. The first time was against the Portland Trail Blazers in 1990, in a best-of-5 format. It
If there were rankings for the NBA’s overlooked and underestimated, the San Antonio Spurs would be No. 1. They are the contender people love to forget. That’s not to say they aren’t respected. Four titles since 1999 and the potent management duo of Gregg Popovich and R.C. Buford translates to a substantial bottom line. But the last few years, it seems that when championship aspirants are rated, any mention of the Spurs is followed with “yeah, well … but … they
Pencils down and papers forward, please. Here are my grades on how teams did at the trading deadline. We aren’t going to evaluate whether Dallas was helped or hindered by Thursday’s wheeling and dealing. The Mavericks – and 13 other teams – didn’t make a deal, so consider their grade to be incomplete. Or a withdrawal, if you prefer. No one got an F, although the Nets came awfully close. At the other end of the scale, the Rockets are officially the teacher’s
It’s another edition of Trade Spin, where we try to sort out the fantasy implications of yesterday’s deadline deals. Tomorrow, the Spin will return to our usual around-the-league format as we catch up on who’s hot and who’s not. The biggest news of a busy Thursday was the three-way swap that sends JaVale McGee to Denver, Nene to Washington and Nick Young to the Clippers. It’s a homecoming of sorts for Young, the former USC star, and means Randy Foye has
In our Trade Spin, it doesn’t matter which NBA team wins or loses a deal, it’s about taking advantage either way in your league(s). The usual format, with info and opinions on each game before (and after) they are played, is on hold for a couple of days. Klay Thompson is already on fire as the new SG for the Warriors, with three triples and 26 points in over 40 minutes last night. Monta Ellis should maintain his fantasy value with
Klay Thompson started in place of the traded Monta Ellis, and scored 14 points. His value goes way up, but the Warriors may also unleash Stephen Jackson, potentially a great pickup if he’s been dropped. Nate Robinson started for Stephen Curry (foot, ankle) and had 17 points. Andris Biedrins also regains some fantasy value with Ekpe Udoh joining Ellis in Milwaukee. The Kings may have been overconfident, a luxury they can’t afford In Other News TOR @ CLE: Slowly but surely, Andrea
Wednesday’s column mentioned a handful of players who need to be traded by the March 15 deadline. Apparently, NBA GMs are feeling the same way. No less than three players mentioned – Michael Beasley, Monta Ellis and Stephen Jackson – saw their names dotting the interwebs as Wednesday became Thursday and February became March. There is some significance to that calendar observation. March 1 is the first day players signed to free agent contracts in the abbreviated offseason can be traded. So that
There’s still more than two weeks until the March 15 trading deadline, but the rumor mill already is churning. Most of the buzz is around Dwight Howard, whom the Orlando Magic don’t have to trade. Really. However, there are a handful of players who have to be traded for the greater good of their teams. Whether it be removing a problem, creating financial flexibility or moving someone one year early rather than one year late, some big names will be changing teams