While the Golden State Warriors chase their 73rd win and fans and pundits around the NBA fantasize about a possible Western Conference finals matchup against San Antonio or Oklahoma City, there’s only really one Eastern Conference finals matchup people are looking forward to: Cleveland vs. Toronto. After being swept by Washington in last year’s first round and having not won a playoff series in 15 years, most Raptors players had little to no interest in discussing a potential clash with the
After 55 games, the Toronto Raptors have the same 37-18 record that they had last year. So why will this team avoid the disappointment the Raptors had a year ago? The 2014-2015 Raptors finished the regular season 12-15 and were mercilessly swept by Washington in the first round. Toronto hasn’t won a playoff series since the 2000-2001 season, when this columnist was in the seventh grade. So why and how is this Toronto team a legit contender, perhaps the only contender, who
Marc Gasol (broken foot) is out indefinitely. Long-term, that’s a blow to the Grizzlies’ playoff chances. Short-term, we have seen many teams respond positively to such bad news. In daily fantasy, nearly every other Memphis player gains value until salaries adjust. [Read more…]
On a quiet NBA Sunday, there’s a matinee in Phoenix, included at DraftKings in All-Day contests. The visiting Timberwolves have lost five of six, mostly close games, while scoring a lot of points. [Read more…]
Sunday features two matinees at 3:30 Eastern. The Cavaliers are favored to make it six straight wins as the Pacers visit, though LeBron James $10200 is probably not 100% after taking a knee to the thigh on Friday. [Read more…]
If you take a quick look at the contract extensions given to the 2012 NBA draft class, nothing seems extraordinary. Eight eligible players received extensions. While collusion conspiracy theorists might point out that it’s two less than the 2011 class, it also is one more than the 2010 class and the same number as the 2009 class. As in previous seasons, the top pick got a five-year max deal and at least one other lottery pick also received a max deal of
There is no way to sum up the 2014-15 season for the Toronto Raptors without including the word disappointment. You can debate the extent of it, of course – the team did win a franchise-record 49 games and saw point guard Kyle Lowry start in the All-Star Game – but the basic conclusion remains the same. Touted as a new power in the Eastern Conference, the Raptors exploded into last season borne on a wave of “We the North” expectation. This
LAS VEGAS– In a free agency period where LaMarcus Aldridge took what seemed like two dozen meetings and DeAndre Jordan’s recruiting process turned into the most bizarre sequences in years, the Toronto Raptors lured prized wing DeMarre Carroll away from the Atlanta Hawks before he left to meet with anyone else. So how did they do it? Well, $60 million over four years certainly helped. But it was more than that. SheridanHoops conducted one-on-one interviews with Raptors general manager Masai Ujiri, coach Dwane