Life can be tricky. Sometimes, you are judged by your successes. Other times, you are judged by your failures. Which brings us to the San Antonio Spurs, who are sitting at 60 victories with a little over a week left in the 2013-14 regular season, practically assured of having homecourt advantage throughout the playoffs. But when you play word association with the Spurs, what comes to mind first: Their 19-game winning streak that ended last week, or their 0-4 record this season
Let’s see … the sky was gray this morning … again. The temperature was in the 30s … again. The forecast calls for more chilly weather … again. Kevin Durant is going to be No. 1 on this list … again. What is going to make today different? These are the things you ponder while getting the kids ready for school — plus the thought of what the heck was the local school board thinking when they decided that school would begin
The San Antonio Spurs are known for going on ridiculous tears when the season starts to wind down, and this season has been no different. With everything clicking on all cylinders once again, Gregg Popovich and his team have won a franchise record 18 consecutive games on Monday after dispatching the struggling Indiana Pacers 103-77. The biggest contributing factor may be the play of Kawhi Leonard. When the forward was lost in late January due to a broken hand, he missed
There have been some fair comparisons drawn between the current 17-game winning streak of the San Antonio Spurs and the remarkable 27-game run put together a year ago by the Miami Heat. Both teams expect to compete for the NBA championship. Both teams found their rhythm at the most opportune time of the season. Both teams stormed to the league’s best record and home court advantage throughout the playoffs. There are obvious differences as well. For one, San Antonio still needs 10
It’s mid-March, and that certainly means it’s time for the NBA to take a backseat to the NCAA Tournament, because, well, there’s just nothing like it. In the first day and a half we’ve seen four overtime games, two buzzer beaters and several other games come down to the last few seconds. Oh, and Duke lost Mercer. Mercer. [Read more…]
The week of March 9th-16th should hence forth be known as Phil Jackson Week. In the world of basketball at least. Because as the Zen Master continues to dominate the daily headlines, well, that’s sure what it feels like. [Read more…]
It is time to ask the rhetorical question: Is the MVP race over? Has Kevin Durant wrapped this thing up already by guiding the Oklahoma City Thunder to the highest win total in the NBA (30 games over .500) despite the absence of Russell Westbrook? It was about this time a year ago that LeBron James started creating the separation that would ultimately make him the near-unanimous choice (Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe was the only voter who cast a ballot
Sometimes the best way to evaluate the Most Valuable Player is to watch him ride solo for a while. Yes, stats count. So does his performance in close games, his output against the better teams, his showdowns with fellow candidates and his overall leadership. However, a true indicator can be how the player performs when he has to go it alone. This season, we have all marveled at Kevin Durant. The perennial MVP candidate has been truly spectacular. But what has elevated