Russell Westbrook pulls up for three in the waning seconds against Golden State. You may think you know the biggest NBA fan…or, perhaps, you think you deserve that distinction yourself. Everyone has their moment, impassioned by the play of their favorite player(s) on their favorite team(s) while watching their favorite sport. Some fans are crazy and have fits of rage when their team doesn’t play to their expectations. Others, however, may be more subdued when facing . They’d
Five Things to Watch: Oklahoma City Thunder
We’re entering Year Six of Thundermania here in Oklahoma City, and the level of expectation surrounding the team is as high as it has ever been. But with that expectation comes a certain degree of uncertainty. After all the years of hearing about how the Thunder were an organization based around a true “team” concept, fans are now coming to accept that the Thunder are a two-headed horse. There’s simply no way that this team could hoist a championship banner without a
StatBox Breakdown: Chalmers, Lowry, Turner among players facing make-or-break seasons
Labor Day Weekend is right around the corner, which means most of you are either holding tightly to the last vestiges of summer or getting ready for the beginning of football season. Then there are those of you who are aching and longing for the beginning of the NBA season. You, we like. We write articles like this for you. If you missed Part 1 of our players with make-or-break seasons, take the time to read it, then come back here for
StatBox Playoff Breakdown: Lopez keeps Nets alive, Atlanta’s turnaround and Westbrook’s replacement
Opportunity doesn’t knock twice. For the Nets, a banged up Bulls team gave the Nets a chance to stay in this series. Thanks to Brook Lopez, Brooklyn is still alive. Home playoff games afforded the Hawks the chance to reverse their fortunes, but how drastically it turned this series around is astounding. And who will get the opportunity to shine for the Thunder in Russell Westbrook’s absence? All this and more in today’s StatBox playoff breakdown. [Read more…]
Key Player For Every 2013 NBA Playoff Team
The often monotonous 82-game NBA regular season has come and gone. The worst teams have finished playing and the best 16 teams (yes, that is being generous to the Bucks) advanced to the postseason, guaranteeing high quality, spirited basketball. The seedings and schedules have been set, and each conference has matchups that are incredibly intriguing. For each team in the first round, there is one player who has to emerge and play a key role for that club to advance. Let’s have a
SH Blog: Westbrook Rants, Billy Hunter Out; More Bad News In Boston
Good Westbrook, Bad Westbrook will certainly be the title of the Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde of our time. The only problem is that Russell Westbrook is the one that’s writing it. He’s at it again, and while the root of the incident itself is relatively minor, the bigger picture looms large over the Oklahoma City Thunder’s championship quest. Teams as cohesive and talented as OKC die from internal – not external – wounds, and as long as Westbrook continues to ride like
Fantasy Basketball Primer – Part 6
In-Season Tactics & Putting the Primer into Practice This is the final instalment of our 6-part series on Strategies. In Parts 1 to 5, we introduced you to the Fantasy Basketball Primer, reviewed Head-to-Head, Rotisserie and Keeper League strategies, shared tactics for certain league customizations, showed you how to find sleepers, build a draft plan and auction strategies. Today, we look at some in-season tactics and apply some of the lessons of the Primer to prepare for a keeper league draft. As we noted in Part 5, you can’t win
Five reasons to feel positive about the Oklahoma City Thunder
(This is another in a series of 30 guest columns that will run in October, when optimism reigns supreme across the NBA. The theme will be “Five Reasons to Feel Positive About … ” We encourage you to follow the authors on Twitter and visit their sites. – CS) The Oklahoma City Thunder were one of the league’s most talked-about teams last season, and it seemed that they were destined to meet with the Miami Heat in the NBA Finals. It