When I read about the issue of resting players in preparation for the playoffs, it reminded me that I miss Wilt Chamberlain, who certainly would wonder what blockhead came up with the notion that players need rest. Rest has been a regular story line for the Golden State Warriors during their pursuit of the best regular season record in NBA history. At 72-9, they need only a victory Wednesday over a struggling, injured Memphis team – which has lost nine of
On Saturday night, while most basketball fans were watching the Final Four, the NBA playoffs got under way. Not officially, of course. That doesn’t happen until April 16. But for the Detroit Pistons, Chicago Bulls and other teams fighting for the bottom of the brackets, the postseason already has started. Detroit’s 94-90 victory at Chicago on Saturday wasn’t quite a Game Seven. The Pistons aren’t quite home free just yet, and the Bulls aren’t quite dead. But it sure looked an awful
Of all the superlatives that have been used to describe Stephen Curry this season, the best may have come from Dallas Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle, who in late December compared Curry to Steve Jobs and Bill Gates. “They changed our everyday life,” Carlisle said. “Steph Curry is changing the way our game will be played in the future.” Two months later, Carlisle had proof when Mark Cuban, his boss, said it is time to begin considering change. “It’s not long before the discussion
Can we now stop pretending that Anthony Davis is the second coming of Wilt Chamberlain? Can we now stop with the hyperbolic declarations that Davis is going to own the NBA in two years or that Davis is going to make the New Orleans Pelicans a perennial title contender? Can we now stop calling Davis a top-five player? Top-five players elevate teams by themselves. Top-five players assure their teams of 50 wins and playoff berths, regardless of circumstances. Top-five players don’t say, “We
Now that the Golden State Warriors have done the unthinkable – winning 24 consecutive games in a span of 46 days to start the season – we can begin to appreciate their accomplishment. The winners and losers in the mother of all streaks to start a season: [Read more…]
After winning the MVP last season and leading his Golden State Warriors to an NBA championship, Stephen Curry has been even better over the first quarter of this 2015-2016 season. Like a lot better, to the point where his offensive wizardry and shot-making mastery has become unfair to opposing defenses that are seemingly rendered helpless by his abilities. The Warriors are now 22-0 after blowing past the Brooklyn Nets on Sunday night, the best start to an American professional sports season after
What would it take for Kobe Bryant to win the 2015-2016 NBA MVP award? As we handicap the MVP race for the 2015-2016 season, we’ll take a look at last season’s top five finishers— Stephen Curry, James Harden, Russell Westbrook, Anthony Davis and LeBron James— along with Kevin Durant. But a question many Angelenos and basketball fans around the world have is what kind of numbers would Bryant have to put up in his age-37 season to take home the crown? To
Editor’s note: This story originally was published in February, when our Jon Marks had the chance to spend some time with Ron Pollack, the son of legendary statistician Harvey Pollack, who died Tuesday at the age of 93. PHILADELPHIA – The vigil begins early. Ron Pollack arrives at Hahnemann Hospital at 8 o’clock every morning – just in time for doctor’s rounds – and heads immediately for the Surgical Trauma Intensive Care Unit. He brings his I-Pad and other electronic