As the fallout from last night’s Celtics/Cavs game continues, basketball talk today has centered around analyzing LeBron James‘ Game 6 performance, speculating on where LBJ will end up in free agency, and watching the Cavs’ front office to see if (or when) coach Mike Brown will be fired.
Just a few minutes ago, Cleveland majority owner Dan Gilbert held a press conference where he denied reports that Brown had been fired.
Back in 2007, when the Cavs were down 3-0 to the San Antonio Spurs and on the brink of an NBA Finals sweep, I wrote a column saying the team needed to fire Mike Brown that offseason. I went back and re-read that column during the Gilbert press conference, and aside from some flubs on my part — like mentioning Boobie Gibson and Sasha Pavlovic as part of Cleveland’s “decent young core” — it holds up remarkably well three years later. Check out “Firing Mike Brown,” from June 14, 2007: Read More »
A few days ago, the Chicago Bulls had to be considered the most attractive job opening to any available NBA coaching candidates. Now you might have to put Atlanta on top of that list.
The Hawks fired coach Mike Woodson today, as reported by several sources including NBA.com. Although Woodson had guided ATL to three straight playoff appearances and two straight conference semifinals, his teams were often considered underachieving. After getting blasted and swept out of the ’09 conference semis by Cleveland, the Hawks were again swept in historically lopsided fashion by Orlando in the second round this year. Read More »
Yesterday, the folks over at EA SPORTS told us that Tim Kitzrow, the original voice of NBA JAM, is back! But that’s not all. They’re also giving YOU the chance to be in the game. If you want to be immortalized in video game history by having your unique NBA JAM catchphrase heard by millions of people around the world, read on. Read More »
While we’re headed for potentially the most hectic NBA offseason in history, not every team is in line for a complete overhaul. Not every team is targeting, or trying not to lose, a franchise cornerstone. But every team has an agenda.
Overall, the Nuggets are in pretty good shape. While losing in the first round of the playoffs to a lower seed wasn’t what the ’09 Western Conference finalists would consider a good run, they’re coming off a 53-win season and a Northwest Division title. None of their key rotation guys are free agents, and their two best players are far from flight risks: Read More »
We’ve heard all the rumors. There was that one, win or lose, that the Cavs were going to fire Mike Brown after the season and try and bring in John Calipari. There was that one that had Coach Cal going wherever John Wall was headed. And there was that one that had him landing with the Bulls. But no matter how many times Calipari’s said that he’s not leaving, people still don’t seem to believe him. This morning on Twitter, he’s tried to make his stance blatantly clear. Read More »
It’s been coming for about three years, and now it’s here: The week where every sports writer in the world will write about LeBron James and what he’s going to do this summer. So you don’t need me to make another case for why ‘Bron should stay in Cleveland, go to Chicago, go to New York, or as I’ve heard he’s actually considering from sources close to the situation, take the mid-level exception for a one-year deal with San Antonio. (OK, I didn’t really hear that. But it was fun to imagine.)
Meanwhile, there’s one question I haven’t heard anyone ask: If LeBron does leave, what are the Cavs going to do with the money they would have spent on him?
Bill Simmons started the thing on Twitter, and Celtics fans made it happen in the arena. Every time LeBron was at the free-throw line last night, they’d chant “New York Knicks.” Kind of wish we did this for other players throughout the season.
Nitpick all you want on LeBron James‘ game last night — and please believe there are thousands of nitpickers doing that exact thing right now — but first try to look at the big picture. Yeah, LBJ had way too many turnovers. Yeah, he probably should never pass the ball to Anderson Varejao in a clutch situation. Yeah, his jumper was off. And most importantly, his team lost, again falling short of an NBA championship. But the man put up 27 points, 19 rebounds, 10 assists and 3 steals on the road against a defense that wasn’t giving anything away easy. Read More »
After a bye week on Throwback Thursday, the Coach is back for a Thursday and a Throwback of epic proportion. As I woke this morning to what is hopefully the return of Spring sunshine, the first thing that came to mind on my way to my AM hydration and opening set of pushups (also my closing set) was that tonight is one of the biggest NBA games in recent memory. With a victory tonight, the Celtics will defy the odds, prove the critics wrong and show the basketball world just how effective TEAM continues to be in comparison to one all-world talent. At the same time, there is a very good chance this is LeBron’s curtain call as a Cavalier. As stated in the Dime office earlier today and later tweeted furiously, “Tomorrow my LeBron jersey will be a throwback.” Read More »
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