Fans in the Pacific Northwest haven’t felt this good since Starbucks introduced the caramel macchiato. The Portland Trail Blazers are coming off a 54-win season and fresh off a trip to the Western Conference semifinals where they lost to eventual NBA champion San Antonio. Things are looking up in Portland, and expectations for the 2014-15 … [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 look on Kobe Bryant’s face said it best. After dropping a game to the Phoenix Suns on Tuesday night, Bryant walked off the Staples Center court shaking his head and looking dejected. His Lakers fell to 0-5. It is the worst start in Lakers history since the 1957-58 season when the team was still … [Read more…]
Steve Nash has been ruled out this season by the Los Angeles Lakers, and his basketball career is likely over. Because of a recurring nerve damage in his back, the 40-year-old point guard may have to call it quits. Nash’s career spanned 19 seasons in the NBA. He was named MVP twice and made the … [Read more…]
Donald Sterling will no longer be an embarrassment to the NBA now that he has been replaced by new Los Angeles Clippers owner Steve Ballmer. Sterling embarrassed himself, the Clippers and the NBA when a recording was leaked by his personal assistant V. Stiviano on April 25, sending shockwaves through the basketball community. In the … [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…]
Kobe Bryant’s first shot attempt of the 2014-15 NBA season was an airball. It wasn’t the type of result you’d expect from one of the 10 best players in the history of the basketball, but he is human after all. He played just six games last season because of a knee injury, and the year … [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…]
Serbia and the United States faced off in the championship game of the 2014 FIBA World Cup of Basketball for the first time, but there is a long history between the two nations. If you follow Serbia’s FIBA lineage stretches back to the 1950s when it was still part of Yugoslavia. Up until 1990 when … [Read more…]
Form held at the 2014 FIBA World Cup in Spain up until the quarterfinals when the host nation — one of basketball’s superpowers — was knocked off by a depleted French team. Spain picked a terrible time for a shooting slump as the No. 2-rated team in the world fell to eighth-ranked France, 65-52. The … [Read more…]