PHILADELPHIA – Joel Embiid passed the ball effortlessly, the navicular bone in his broken left foot hardly seeming to present a problem. His endearing smile lit up the place and thrilled the crowd, happy to see their hoops savior looking well and wondering if the civic basketball nightmare was about to finally end. Don’t worry, Sam Hinkie. Nobody’s raining on your “parade,’’ which continues to look more and more like the only celebration Philadelphia 76ers fans will ever see — if
Over the weekend, Kevin Love was officially traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers. The trade brought an end to more than a month of media speculation. While the trade signifies potential championship contention for LeBron James and his new running mates, Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love, it also brings with it a new era in the Minnesota Timberwolves’ franchise history. The Wolves future cornerstones will be athletic rookies Andrew Wiggins and Zach LaVine, a 26-year-old forward entering his prime in Thaddeus Young, a
Philadelphia 76ers forward Thaddeus Young’s name has been attached to the Kevin Love and Andrew Wiggins trade since the initial rumors. With the 30-day moratorium that’s prevented Wiggins from being traded until Saturday, the Sixers have emerged as legitimate suitors in the deal. The Love for Wiggins trade has been anticipated for weeks. While a verbal deal has been made, the exact details were always open to change. As a third team giving up the last veteran asset on the roster, the Sixers
Everything is bigger in Texas. Including losing streaks. And the Philadelphia 76ers are on the verge of the biggest losing streak in NBA history. After a couple of relatively narrow losses in which they were more competitive and provided a smidgen of hope for their suffering fans, the Sixers are back to normal and getting clobbered again. Philadelphia is up to 25 straight losses as it prepares for Thursday’s game at Houston. Another loss will tie the 76ers with the 2010-11 Cleveland Cavaliers for the
We are about to witness what may be a first in the long history of the NBA. For the first time, four of the league’s flagship franchises could well be out of the playoffs. OK, the Knicks aren’t technically out of the race in the Hindenburg Conference, but they have a lot of ground to make up on Atlanta – four games in the loss column with 13 to play. The Celtics, Lakers and 76ers all are making plans for the
Lately I’ve been watching classic NBA games on YouTube. There’s a fair few of them up there in full, and while it’s obviously nice to watch Michael Jordan in his prime (and the Bad Boys-era Pistons, Charles Barkley in Philly, young Scottie Pippen… the list goes on), what’s struck me most has been the differences in how the game is played between then and now. Namely, I’m talking about the veritable avalanche of long twos. These days, if a player jacks
I’ve never been huge on the All-Star Game. Sure, the novelty is great. I mean, all the stars are there. But that wears off pretty quickly, and then I remember that what I really like about basketball is seeing players stand out above the rest, and that doesn’t usually happen in an all-star environment. I also like defense sometimes. Speaking of players standing out above the rest, if you haven’t seen John Wall’s dunk from last night, go do that right
It’s been an eventful few days in the NBA. First, the Warriors got better and the Celtics got worse, which seems like a win-win. Then Greg Oden played in an NBA game, which makes me pretty dang happy. [Read more…]