The Phoenix Suns have a huge rebuilding project on their hands. However, they have the tools to do it. And now they believe they have the right man to use those tools. Two weeks after firing Lance Blanks, Suns president Lon Babby on Tuesday hired Ryan McDonough as the team’s new general manager. The hiring puts interim coach Lindsey Hunter’s status in immediate jeopardy. Hunter was working in player development when he was installed by Blanks after Alvin Gentry was fired. Assistants
The Los Angeles Lakers are running a lot of their offense through 7-footer Pau Gasol. Maybe they can have him bring the ball upcourt, too. The Lakers are running out of guards. Already without injured superstar Kobe Bryant, the seventh seed could also be without point guards Steve Nash and Steve Blake and shooting guard Jodie Meeks for Friday night’s Game 3 of their first-round series vs. the San Antonio Spurs. [Read more…]
The myth died for good only two years ago, but it seems more distant than that because it was so silly. It’s unlikely that it will return, but then again, people are still looking for Big Foot, the Loch Ness Monster, mermaids and flying saucers. So who knows? Maybe at some point, some basketball idiot will call Dirk Nowitzki “soft” again. That person would indeed have to be an idiot. But then, that was always true. Those who preached such nonsense
All season, San Antonio Spurs coach Gregg Popovich has rested his players during tough stretches of the schedule to have them healthy for the postseason. A sound strategy, no doubt. But it may not be working. The Spurs announced Monday that do-it-all guard Manu Ginobili – who already has missed most of the last two games with a hamstring injury – will be out three to four weeks with a strained right hamstring. [Read more…]
On Monday, the Miami Heat’s ridiculous 23-game winning streak was the hot topic at hand, and rightfully so. It’s about time, though, that we start talking more about the Denver Nuggets. For much of the season, there was a clear-cut picture of who the top four teams in the Western Conference would be. San Antonio Spurs and Oklahoma City Thunder have fought for first place for most of the season, the Memphis Grizzlies have won 15 of their last 18 games, and the Los Angeles
I have been asked this several times this season, and I have been wrong each time. But I now believe it is time to take the Los Angeles Lakers seriously. Why else would I elevate them nine spots to eighth in my latest NBA Power Rankings? [Read more…]
Less than three weeks ago, the Los Angeles Lakers were mourning the death of owner Jerry Buss, refuting rumors that Dwight Howard would be traded and staring down the draft lottery. With his team mired in ninth place in the Western Conference, Kobe Bryant defiantly told Sports Illustrated, “It’s not a question of if we make the playoffs. We will. And when we get there, I have no fear of anyone – Oklahoma City, San Antonio, Denver … whoever. I have
En route to the best record in the NBA, the San Antonio Spurs have withstood injuries to Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili and Kawhi Leonard. Now they will have to do without Tony Parker, their most indispensable player. The Spurs announced Saturday that Parker had an MRI that revealed a Grade 2 sprain of his left ankle that will sideline him for four weeks. Parker was hurt in the third quarter of Friday’s 130-102 home rout of Sacramento. He is averaging a career-high 21.0