It’s hard from a fan standpoint, an organizational standpoint, a reputation standpoint and of course, just hard coming up short for so many years. They convinced Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving and James Harden to team up and have nothing to show for it, mainly because the one full year all three were together, injuries to […]
DENVER — The clock was ticking, on a long and fruitless basketball dry spell in town, and on the 2023 NBA Finals. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope took the ball, saw the remaining seconds, and began to dribble, dribble, dribble. Aaron Gordon grabbed his head with two hands and wore an astonished look while he staggered around the […]
First, can we agree that Embiid, Nikola Jokic and Giannis Antetokounmpo all have worthy statistical cases as MVP candidates? Then there’s the Greek Freak’s status as best player on best team, Jokic’s triple-double versatility as a center and Embiid’s second potential scoring title. Paolo Banchero has been the favorite almost all season for his work […]
If Nikola Jokic is going to win a third consecutive Kia MVP, it must show up in the standings now, not just in the analytics, and falling shy of 50 victories yet again wasn’t going to get it done . Depth and defense took dings, definitely, but the wonders opened up offensively with Chris Paul […]
Embiid got squeezed out of a starting spot in a four-man frontcourt tier of MVP candidates . When we submitted our choices for All-Star starters last week, my Eastern Conference starting five included Embiid and Brown, so they are locks to make my reserves as the top frontcourt player and guard off the bench. Harden […]
No offense to Zion Williamson and his fan popularity, but either Sabonis or Markkanen deserved the third starting spot in the West frontcourt after Nikola Jokic and LeBron James. Similar to the Eastern Conference, my Western Conference starters ballot included two players that were not named starters and thus are locks on my reserve list: […]
Embiid might wind up finishing ahead of all three in Kia MVP or All-NBA balloting, but by the voting deadline, he had appeared in the fewest games of the four. In this case, he had played in fewer games than the other two and he couldn’t stop the Nets’ sag last week when Durant went […]
Good thing, too, because James wouldn’t be invited if everyone stuck to a .500-or-better standard that many coaches deploy as a way of filtering their reserve picks. 1 talent, that marvelous passing, will be the iso-heavy play and lack of defense that pervades the All-Star Game for the first three-plus quarters. Sabonis has earned the […]
After two one-sided blowouts in Games 1 and 2, the Bucks snuck by the Celtics, 103-101, in Game 3 to take a 2-1 series lead. The Celtics held a one-point lead with a little over a minute left in the game. After getting fouled on the last play, Marcus Smart made one free throw and […]
So anyone trying to cram Joel Embiid and Nikola Jokic onto the 1st team, even if permitted by the NBA, is toying with the system. If a player doesn’t participate in at least 58 games in an 82-game regular season — that’s 70% — then he’s not going to get a vote from me for […]
Nobody ever wants to face Kevin Durant in any sort of playoff or Play-In situation, and Kyrie Irving is just ornery enough to stick it to his old team as he tries to salvage his largely lost season. Actually, as much as I like the Play-In tourney, it stinks that Minnesota was closer to fifth […]
With one month left in the regular season, some of the NBA’s top awards are seemingly up for grabs. Most Valuable Player — Joel Embiid: Embiid emerges from the three-way competition with Denver’s Nikola Jokic and Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo. Rookie of the Year — Evan Mobley: Look, Detroit’s Cade Cunningham is now showing the world […]
As for the game, that Team LeBron starting lineup – with nine career NBA MVP seasons represented, and three or four top ballot guys for 2022’s award – appears way too formidable to lose. Maybe it’s good to bet against the Lakers’ championship fortunes this season given all the turbulence they have experienced. Even though […]
In it? Then win it? And there’s no better way for Jalen Green to reset his disappointing rookie season so far than by taking home gold in the AT&T Slam Dunk. Meanwhile, Cleveland’s Darius Garland, Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley have played in plenty of games together and presumably have had some time to prepare […]
1, 4 and 5 rung-holders in the most recent Kia Rookie Ladder — gathered on the same squad … not only does their team have strong role players such as Jae’Sean Tate, Alperen Sengun and Isaac Okoro … not only are Mobley and Okoro members of the Cavaliers who’ll be looking to show out in […]
But that has not stopped the Clippers from staying competitive enough to remain in the Western Conference’s playoff picture. The Clippers acquired Norman Powell and Robert Covington from the Portland Trail Blazers on Friday in exchange for Eric Bledsoe, Justise Winslow, Keon Johnson and the Detroit Pistons’ 2025 second-round pick. Though Ballmer has never put […]
Earlier this week, Tom Brady announced his retirement from the NFL after 22 seasons. Trying to guess how much longer LeBron James can play at an elite level is like trying to predict how many more action movies Liam Neeson is going to crank out post-Medicare qualifying. Will that be enough for him to reach […]
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It will be the first missed game this season for Doncic, who has had issues with sprained ankles in the past. In a 107-104 victory over Boston on Nov. By clicking “Submit”, you agree to the Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy. …Read the full story
But the Bulls were particularly primed for this fast start, beginning with the acquisition of Nikola Vucevic at the trade deadline last season and supplementing that with free-agent additions Lonzo Ball, DeMar DeRozan and Alex Caruso. Cleveland technically does with Kevin Love, but they are mostly represented by a young roster in Evan Mobley and […]