Remember when a potential homecoming for Kevin Durant with the Washington Wizards was the buzz around the league? It wasn’t all that long ago, and it seemed more than plausible, for rational reasons. Free agents sometimes want a new start; players sometimes want to return closer to their hometowns; teams that are one superstar away from being legit contenders can sometimes get that superstar of their dreams. That was the plan that drove the Wizards’ thinking for the past 12 months … if not
Here is an imaginary conversation that relates to the situation the Philadelphia Colangelos find themselves in. “Son, I’m going to be traveling on business this summer, spending a ton of time all over the country, and then almost a month in Brazil. So I need you to take care of the house. Please clean out all that junk in the garage. There is a ton of it.” “OK, Dad.” “And I’m going to leave you the keys to the Ferrari. I think you’ve shown
The Most Improved Player Award did not irritate me until the seventh year it was awarded. That was in the 1991-92 season when Pervis Ellison won it. Three years earlier, Ellison was the No. 1 pick in the draft. To reward him as the most improved because he played well after underachieving for two years seemed to violate the spirit of the award. He was supposed to be good! In his defense, Ellison was bothered by injuries, but while he was
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
With just 10 days left in the NBA regular season, there’s still a lot to be determined and decided. Records can be broken, playoff fates will be sealed and the season will be mercifully be over for several hopeless teams around the league. With the regular season reaching its last days, we give you the 10 most important questions that needs to be answered before the postseason begins. It’s going to be YUGE. [Read more…]
As it does virtually every year, the NCAA Tournament has produced numerous upsets, brackets ripped to shreds across the country and glimpses of new NBA talent on the horizon. The upcoming talent pool consists of a guard with the range of Jimmer Fredette and the flair of Stephen Curry, a second generation Sabonis big man and three seniors ready to make an immediate impact. With the Final Four upon us, several league executives and scouts spoke to SheridanHoops about those five prospects
The juxtaposition was dramatic, but not reflective of the big picture. About 20 hours separated the images of Tim Duncan in San Antonio and Dirk Nowitzki in Dallas. The contrast could not have been more striking. Duncan is a master at the art of poker face. But as he sat on the bench in the second half of the Spurs’ victory over Golden State on March 19, it did seem that a little bewilderment, or at least surprise, could be detected. That
There is an NBA team that started this season with a roster that included an MVP winner from this decade; a recent Defensive Player of the Year; the runner-up in the most recent Rookie of the Year voting; and two All-Stars, including one deemed the league’s Most Improved Player. The roster also included some highly promising youngsters and a handful of savvy, playoff-tested veterans. The team seemed to be a lock for the postseason, having made the playoffs every year but