The original 10-game NBA schedule is down to eight, with postponements due to snow in Philadelphia and Washington. All eyes are on Cleveland, where LeBron James $9700 will break in new coach Tyronn Lue. The best value might be Kyrie Irving $6800, as it remains to be seen whether Kevin Love $7200 will be featured or forgotten. The Bulls dropped a 9-point decision in Boston last night despite 28 from Jimmy Butler $8500 and 27 from Derrick Rose $5800. Fatigue could be a
There are only five games in the NBA today, two of them matinees. DraftKings offers Early-Only and All-Day contests that close at 3:30 Eastern. [Read more…]
The Phoenix Suns are a fascinating bunch to watch, in the way fans watch a demolition derby for the promise of imminent destruction. Coach Jeff Hornacek, entering the final guaranteed year of his contract, has to right the ship without the benefit of a rising star to buoy hopes for the future. That Hornacek was able to cobble together an 87-77 record the last two years without a single All-Star is a testament to his coaching ability. But he lost
On Thursday, we forecasted a few potential breakout players based on their playoff performances. Today, we look at other breakout possibilities, based on second-half performance on lottery teams. [Read more…]
The semifinal round is set at the Las Vegas Summer League and seeding was apparently unimportant. The 4th, 7th, 8th and 14th seeds will do battle at the final four on Sunday at the Thomas & Mack Center. The top three scorers in Vegas are in the semifinals. Let’s see how the semifinalists got there: Spurs 95 Celtics 93 It sure doesn’t seem like San Antonio is distracted or impeded by being coached by a woman. Becky Hammon’s Spurs got 21 points from Kyle
In recent weeks, there have been a number of folks advancing the theory that someone other than Andrew Wiggins deserves Rookie of the Year. There was a piece that said Nikola Mirotic was more deserving. There was another that said the award should go to Nerlens Noel. There was even one that said the top rookie is Elfrid Payton. Get a grip, people. Mirotic, Noel and Payton all have had fine rookie campaigns. All three are putting together strong finishes to their season. And
NBA players aren’t the only ones susceptible to rookie mistakes. NBA writers and editors are, too. I spent nearly 20 years in newsrooms, and every year in late March, we received a staff-wide email warning us of April Fool’s jokes masquerading as news releases. At a later point in my career, I became the one writing these emails, cautioning the staff. Be careful. Don’t assume, no matter how innocuous the release may be. Make a phone call. If something sounds hinky, it
It is always disappointing when a professional athlete is unable to leave their respective sports under their own terms. Two-time MVP Steve Nash seems to be a casualty of this unfortunate circumstance, as his 19th NBA season is over before it has even begun. [Read more…]