You can analyze or overanalyze basketball games with all types of fancy analytics and metrics, but teams that win championships follow two basic formulas: score easy baskets and don’t give up easy baskets. Basically, to speak in the language so millennials can understand, you want to score in the paint and protect the paint (if … [Read more…]
The mood in Cleveland has gone from bad to worse in 24 hours after news broke that All-Star point guard Kyrie Irving is done for the rest of the NBA Finals after an MRI exam revealed a fracture in his left kneecap. The injury normally requires a three- to four-month recovery time, so don’t expect … [Read more…]
LeBron James won’t guarantee an NBA championship in Cleveland this year, but he did make one proclamation. “I guarantee that we will play our asses off,” he said about the Cavaliers’ showdown with the Golden State Warriors in the NBA Finals. James and his Cavaliers have been playing their butts off this postseason, especially on … [Read more…]
No athlete in the world has taken a beating publicly from fans, the sports media and other professional athletes for not being clutch more than LeBron James. For years ESPN talking head Skip Bayless has mercilessly mocked LeBron for not having the “clutch gene” or being afraid of driving to the hoop because he doesn’t want … [Read more…]
LeBron James may appear like he doesn’t care much about the MVP race, but he does. ESPN basketball writer Brian Windhorst, also known as James’ biographer, revealed that LeBron listens, reads and watches all the accolades heaped upon Steph Curry, Russell Westbrook, Anthony Davis and James Harden. LeBron has been relegated to third or fourth … [Read more…]
The new year couldn’t come soon enough for David Blatt. The first-year head coach of the Cleveland Cavaliers had a rough December as his team stumbled to a .500 record in its last 10 games. An ESPN report recently surfaced saying that there is a growing concern within the team that the players are no … [Read more…]
We’re a couple of weeks into the NBA season, and some fascinating storylines are already developing. Here are my picks for the top-10 developments and observations on the 2014-15 season so far. 1. The Rookies need time Andrew Wiggins. Jabari Parker. Julius Randle. Marcus Smart. This was supposed to be the rookie class that made … [Read more…]
The decision 2.0 was widely anticipated this summer and LeBron James decided to go home to Cleveland. Miami Heat president Pat Riley wasted no time adding players, he was signing players in an effort to convince James to stay after they lost to the San Antonio Spurs in the NBA Finals. Josh McRoberts was added … [Read more…]
We’ve all heard about how good LeBron James and Co. have looked in practice, but they are going up against Cleveland’s second and third units so they’re supposed to dominate. Enter Maccabi Tel Aviv as a sparing partner. The preseason game wasn’t close — Cavs won 107-80 — but it offered a window of what … [Read more…]
It’s like seeing your ex-girlfriend, and those old feelings start to percolate. Your heart beats faster. Your palms get sweaty. And you can’t seem to put two sentences together because you’re so nervous. That’s what LeBron James must have felt like when the Cleveland Cavaliers made their free-agent pitch. Those same old feelings began to … [Read more…]