Even for hoops addicts, watching NBA preseason games presents a challenge. The baseball playoffs are under way, the college football and NFL seasons are in full swing, and there is this small matter of a presidential election. There is no subscription package for the preseason. League Pass takes a pass until the regular season starts later this month. So the only way you can watch games right now is on NBA TV, which isn’t part of the basic package of a number
Media Day is in full swing for a number of teams, which means we will be flooded with quotes in the next few days or so about championship desires, expectations of making the playoffs (even if your team has no shot at it) and players claiming they can shoot the ball now. We’ll have plenty of that and more in today’s blog. But first, be sure to check out some news on the knee situation of a couple of very important
It has finally happened, folks. The former self-proclaimed captain Andray Blatche, who has been unable to land with any team through the summer, will play for the Brooklyn Nets. Will that help change the mind of coach Avery Johnson, who stated that his team is not yet ready to contend for a championship? That’s a rhetorical question. We’ve got the mindset of Johnson and other notable coaches, along with relevant activities around the league and fun videos in today’s news: Avery
We already told you who we believe will make the playoffs in the Western Conference. The picture in the Eastern Conference is a bit different. Just like the West, the East has six teams that are locks to play in May. They are the defending champion Miami Heat, Boston Celtics, Indiana Pacers, Philadelphia 76ers, New York Knicks and Brooklyn Nets, who last season weren’t in (a) Brooklyn or (b) the playoffs. You can find whatever real or imagined faults you’d like with those
With the NBA Draft over, evaluations of the decisions were made from general managers, owners, players, writers and even fans. See our exclusive sights and sounds of the Draft here, and check who said what, along with today’s biggest news below: Mo Williams has cleared the path to complete the Lamar Odom deal, and he was never in the way, reported by Ramona Shelburne: “Los Angeles Clippers guard Mo Williams has officially picked up his option for next season, clearing the way
When Derrick Rose went down with a torn ACL in Game 1, Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau said, “We have more than enough to win.” No one doubted him. After all, Chicago was 18-9 this season without Rose and his myriad injuries. And the Bulls were playing the Philadelphia 76ers, quite possibly the weakest of all the postseason teams. Then Joakim Noah went down with a severely sprained ankle in Game 3, and Thibodeau again said, “We have more than enough to win.” Again,
Gregg Popovich, who guided the San Antonio Spurs to the best record in the Western Conference, has been voted the NBA’s Coach of the Year, the league announced Tuesday. It is the second Red Auerbach trophy for Popovich, who also won in 2003. He received 77 first-place votes and 467 points from a 119-member media panel, easily outdistancing Tom Thibodeau of the Chicago Bulls, who won last year. Despite a compressed schedule shortened to 66 games by the lockout, the Spurs went
I always use “valuable” as the operative word when voting for the Most Valuable Player, and that is the reason why I have cast my ballot this season for Chris Paul of the Los Angeles Clippers. It came down to a decision between Paul and LeBron James, and as impressed as I have been with LeBron’s focus, determination and across-the-board improvement in every statistical category except assists, I do not see him as a valuable closer when he is paired with