Sheridan Hoops

A better basketball site. For intelligent readers, from veteran writers.
Keep scrolling down. Good stuff here.

Rookie Rankings, Week 19: The Philly Factor

by

Philadelphia 76ers Sixers

First, the good news. Among rookies, the top four scorers behind Philadelphia’s Michael Carter-Williams all got a recent chance to pad their stats against the sickening 76ers. Now, the bad news. Only one gets another chance this season. In case you haven’t noticed, the Sixers have lost 18 straight games. The last time they won, Time Warner and Comcast hadn’t announced their merger, the Super Bowl hadn’t been played and the greatest single-take shot in television history hadn’t yet aired.  [Read more…]

Read more...

Rookie Rankings, Week 18: An Otto Porter Sighting

by

Washington Wizards

The best thing about top overall pick Anthony Bennett’s tremendously disappointing rookie season is that it has provided cover for some tremendously disappointing seasons by other rookies. Namely, Otto Porter. Porter was taken third in the 2013 draft by the Washington Wizards and has been worse than Bennett. Much worse. Bennett is averaging 4.2 points and 3.0 rebounds while shooting just 35 percent from the floor. Pedestrian numbers, for sure, and unacceptable for a top pick who is expected to contribute right away. But

Read more...

Rookie Rankings, Week 17: Can the Best Rookie Come From the Worst Team?

by

We asked this question in our last edition of the Rookie Rankings: Can a player from a 65-loss team win Rookie of the Year? The answer: One already has. In the 1999-2000 season, the Chicago Bulls were continuing their rebuilding following the second retirement of Michael Jordan and went 17-65. One of their few bright spots was a young power forward named Elton Brand, who averaged 20.1 points and 10.1 rebounds and shared Rookie of the Year honors with Houston’s Steve Francis. But

Read more...

Tweet of the Night: Andre Iguodala makes fun of MVP trophy presenter of The Rising Stars Challenge

by

The annual Rising Stars Challenge on Friday between chosen rookies and sophomores was pretty much what most expected it to be: An offensive showcase with not a whole lot of defense being played (although the Plumlee brothers may disagree). Playing in front of his home crowd in New Orleans, Anthony Davis was expected to make some serious noise in this game. However, it was the unlikely shootout that broke out between Dion Waiters and Tim Hardaway Jr. in the second half

Read more...

Rookie Rankings, Week 15: Bennett’s Big Game No Surprise

by

Many people were surprised by Anthony Bennett’s first career double-double on Tuesday. Bennett’s struggles as the top overall pick in the draft have been well-documented. So when he broke out for 19 points and 10 rebounds in Cleveland’s home win over Sacramento, there was somewhat of a collective gasp across the NBA. Yes, Bennett established season highs in both points and rebounds in the same game. And yes, it appeared to come out of nowhere. But the truth is that Bennett has

Read more...

Rookie Rankings, Week 14: Take a Seat, Kid

by

Another lottery pick has lost his starting spot. First it was Orlando Magic guard Victor Oladipo, who began the season as a starter and has shifted back and forth from the bench to the starting lineup as teammates have become healthy or injured. To Oladipo’s credit, it has not had a serious impact on his performance. Then it was Sacramento Kings guard Ben McLemore, who began the season as a reserve, was elevated to starter as coach Mike Malone became disenchanted with

Read more...

Rookie Rankings, Week 13: A Brief History of the Rising Stars

by

It has taken a generation, but the NBA has finally figured out the format for the All-Star Rookie Game. Now known as the Rising Stars Challenge, the league’s midseason showcase for young players didn’t always look this way. And it wasn’t always a good game, either. When the game debuted in 1994, it featured only rookies playing against each other. The teams were called the Phenoms and the Sensations. The following year, the teams were simply called White and Green. Now there’s

Read more...

Rookie Rankings, Week 12: MCW Hits the Rookie Wall

by

Brick wall

The 1997-98 Houston Rockets were a fun bunch. Since winning consecutive championships behind Hakeem Olajuwon and Clyde Drexler, the Rockets had added a number of veterans to challenge the dynastic Chicago Bulls. The roster included Charles Barkley, Kevin Willis and Eddie Johnson, all thirtysomethings who been around the block a couple of times. In late February, the Rockets arrived in New York for a Sunday matinee against the Knicks. Despite sputtering near .500, they were in high spirits – probably a carryover

Read more...

Recent Posts

Categories

Archives