Doc Rivers’ exodus to the Western Conference, where he joined the Los Angeles Clippers, left a giant chasm needing to be filled on the Boston bench. No more. The Boston Celtics have announced the hiring of their new head coach. [Read more…]
This just in from Clipper Nation, where the home team can take its pick among top coaching candidates Lionel Hollins, Jeff Van Gundy, Byron Scott and Brian Shaw. And the winner is … Let me get back to you on that. No decision may soon be forthcoming from owner Donald Sterling, as none was for weeks after his people recommended firing Vinny Del Negro, a no-brainer they had set up that way with Sterling’s help. It’s hard to to handicap the Clippers with officials
The Memphis Grizzlies and Indiana Pacers have gotten this far in the postseason by winning at home. But the San Antonio Spurs and Miami Heat are going to the NBA Finals by winning on the road. The Grizzlies and Pacers were very good home teams in the regular season. Memphis was 32-9 and lost just once at FedEx Forum after Feb. 8. Indiana was 30-11 at Bankers Life Fieldhouse and went more than two months early in the season without a home
The four-time NBA Champion San Antonio Spurs made a statement in Game 3 of the Western Conference Finals with a 104-93 victory in Memphis. That statement might as well have been one of those old clichés like “never underestimate the heart of a champion.” Spurs—new and old—expressed their enthusiasm on Twitter after the game. [Read more…]
When the San Antonio Spurs beat the New York Knicks in the 1999 NBA Finals, it was considered a championship coronation for long-time Spurs center David Robinson. With plenty of help from second-year power forward Tim Duncan, that title validated Robinson’s career. But more importantly, it spawned a run of sustained success that is incredibly unique in the NBA, especially for a small-market franchise like the Spurs. [Read more…]
This summer, when your favorite team’s owner or GM tells you a certain player is financially out of reach, here’s how you know he is lying. His lips are moving. NBA business is booming, folks. And not just for the so-called big markets. Take a quick look at the conference finals, which feature four teams from middle to small markets collecting millions for every home playoff game. Take a look at the Sacramento Kings, who were just sold for a record $525 million
Uvo, take me back to 2011. (Sorry, I’ve been watching too many Blake Griffin commercials.) Just two years ago, the eighth-seeded Grizzlies stunned the top-seeded Spurs in the first round of the playoffs, sending San Antonio back to its rocking chairs a little bit earlier than anyone expected. Memphis used a breakout performance by Zach Randolph (31 points, 11 boards in Game 6) to close out the Spurs, then took the Thunder to seven games before bowing out in the West semifinals. Back
The meeting did not go well. At a hotel restaurant in Memphis in February 2008, Chris Wallace, the general manager of the Grizzlies, was trying to explain to Agusti and Marisa Gasol, the parents of Pau Gasol, why he had just traded their son to the Lakers. Despite the obvious professional upgrade for their son, the parents weren’t all that keen on the move. They lived in Memphis. They had had one son in high school, a roly-poly, 3-point shooting leviathan