Really? Thirty of these already?
We started these about a year ago for two reasons. One was both editor-in-chief Chris Sheridan and yours truly both were big fans of The Spy List, which ran in Spy, a wonderfully snarky monthly magazine in the late 1980s and early 1990s. (It also did its fair share of good investigative reporting, by the way.)
The other reason we began running these was NBA commissioner David Stern and union chief Billy Hunter were remarkably unsympathetic to our basic needs. When you commit to building a better basketball site, it has a better chance for success if basketball is actually being played.
So what sort of started out as filler content during the interminable lockout now has become one of the longest continuous features on Sheridan Hoops. We’re kind of proud of that, even though coming up with fresh material occasionally presents a challenge.
More on that later. First, let’s settle up last week’s business. Edition 29 of The Bernucca List had been posted for less than 10 minutes before reader Dualie provided the correct answer, which was “Active coaches who have played for the teams they are coaching.” Nice job.
This week’s list is after the jump.
Linsanity is over in New York. Or is it?
That sign-and-trade with the Blazers is not yet good to go,
injury and are 2-6 since his return, with all of the positive vibe around the team generated by Linsanity completely evaporating.
TWO MINUTES: Ricky Rubio’s torn ACL really hurts Minnesota’s playoff chances because his absence forces Luke Ridnour to play point guard instead of shooting guard, where he has provided consistency that Wes Johnson and Wayne Ellington have not. With J.J. Barea sidelined with a sprained ankle, Ridnour has to run the offense. After consecutive double-digit games, Johnson was scoreless in 25 minutes in Saturday’s disconsolate home loss to New Orleans. That is what the Wolves are up against. GM David Kahn has until Thursday to upgrade the roster and has a nice trade chip in Michael Beasley. … Amid the Magic’s maddening inconsistency, which saw them lose to Charlotte and win at Chicago in consecutive games this week, Orlando somehow is 9-0 when leading after three quarters on the road. … There is no one who needs a change of scenery before Thursday’s trading deadline more than Andray Blatche, who has become the scapegoat for an awful season by the Wizards in which there has been plenty of blame to go around. He has never endeared himself to fans with his poor shot selection, terrible defense and questioning of authority, and earlier this season used his Twitter feed to criticize then-coach Flip Saunders and fans. After missing more than a month with a calf injury, Blatche returned this week and heard boos upon checking into games. Afterward, he admitted it was getting to him. “You’re home and people that’s supposed to have your back don’t have your back,” he said. “Instead of encouraging you to get better, they push you down and hope you do worse. Every time I touch the ball, I’m second-guessing. I’m trying to avoid the boos, trying to play a perfect game so I don’t have to hear it so I can help my team win.” Blatche has three years and more than $23 million left on his contract. … When Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and James Harden all scored at least 30 points in the Thunder’s win over Phoenix on Wednesday, it marked the first time the franchise had a trio of 30-point scorers since Tom Chambers, Dale Ellis and Xavier McDaniel did it for Seattle in 1988. As an aside, one of the few times in NBA history a team has had three 30-point scorers and lost occurred in
have reached the All-Star break with a 17-18 record. They’re clinging to the Eastern Conference’s seventh seed and hardly resemble a playoff team, much less a championship contender.

