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
LeBron James supposedly unfollowed the Cavs on his Twitter and Instagram accounts. And this is major news. You know, in this business all journalists are supposed to be neutral. Sportswriters go to practices, attend games, speak to the players in locker rooms and tell stories based upon that special access. Once everyone has fulfilled their obligations, the players and the media get to go about their normal lives until reconvening again the next day … then the next … and the
We’re now just 16 days away from the NBA trade deadline, and some players around the league may be wondering if they would have a better situation on a different team. The following is a list of 10 players who would be better served on another team’s roster. Teams that could deal for this list of players is mainly speculation, mixed in with some reports. [Read more…]
Where has Timofey Mozgov’s playing time gone? Just over a year after being traded from Denver to Cleveland for two first-round picks, the 7-1 Russian has played at least 20 minutes in just 14 of his 37 games this season. Averaging just 17.8 minutes, Mozgov has reached double figures in points just seven times and has yet to record a double-double. He is playing strong defense when given the opportunity, but it just doesn’t seem like there’s enough court time for him. It’s all the more
This is the time of year when we give out our midseason awards. But before we get to the drudgery of Sixth Man Award and Most Valuable Player, let’s start the festivities with a special award for individual achievement that goes to Rashad Vaughn. Vaughn is a shooting guard for the Milwaukee Bucks and the second-youngest player in the NBA. He is one of the dozens of rookies who have made virtually no impact in their first season. He is averaging 2.5 points
In an NBA season marked by unprecedented dominance, has the bar measuring success been raised too high? Are we too quick to criticize teams that are not playing at the level of the Golden State Warriors? Have we forgotten where the Cleveland Cavaliers were a year ago? Sure seems that way sometimes, and never more so than it has since Christmas as the Cavaliers followed up their NBA Finals rematch with a ghastly loss to the reeling Portland Trail Blazers, then struggled to
As an NBA coach, Scott Skiles has always had a definitive modus operandi. In his three previous jobs, Skiles has dramatically improved his team’s defense, in some cases taking it from near the bottom of the league to near the top. That improvement helps the team become an absolute pain in the neck to play and make a quantum leap from the lottery to the playoffs. Then at some point, Skiles and his hypercompetitive nature become a bit overbearing for some players,
Centers are considered a dying breed in today’s NBA. More teams are playing small ball than ever before with a focus on pushing the tempo and improving floor spacing. Heck, the league even removed the center position from the All-Star ballot in 2012. However, as you will see by the depth in our center rankings and the names not on the list, the demise of the position is a premature misconception. You won’t find two former All-Stars and Defensive Player of the