Continuing our two-part series on the most disappointing players this season, we’re shining the light on the Western Conference, where there were lots of underwhelming performances. Again, in fairness, those who were injured for the majority of the season were not included. Read More »

As the first leg of the NBA season has closed, player values have fallen in place. Of course there are some exceptions, like if some of these players just happened to start off ice cold or riding a hot streak. However, by this time statistics have evened out. Read More »

The NBA is synonymous with style. Whether it’s the prime kicks the players are rocking or the clothes they’re wearing before games, after games or on red carpets, basketball and fashion have teamed up more and more as the game has achieved a larger prominence in American popular culture (bizarrely, this has all happened under the dictatorial watch of David Stern, but that irony is a post for another time). With all that being said, NBA players aren’t limited to just the clothes and accessories most people associate with style. They’ve also used their own bodies to showcase individuality that can be lost when everyone is wearing the same uniform on the court. Read More »

The Clippers have caught the momentum of an avalanche in this 15-game winning streak, and they’re apparently stopping for nobody, no matter their reputation. The Celtics are only six months removed from losing in heartbreaking fashion to Miami in the Eastern Conference Finals, but Los Angeles made Boston look irrelevant and old in a 106-77 crush-job at Staples Center. Read More »

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Even after Dallas avoided what could’ve been a knockout punch this summer (hint: Deron Williams) and instead netted some decent talent, I did not expect them to make noise in the West this year. Dirk Nowitzki was going to be out for an early chunk of the season. They had lost a handful of veteran leaders. And they were coming off yet another summer where they failed to land any big names. Mark Cuban‘s philosophy felt like it was in a tailspin, a forever cycle of Plan Bs that weren’t quite good enough. Read More »

Eddy Curry wasn’t good enough to be San Antonio’s 15th man, but he will start tonight for his new team, Dallas, in its preseason finale. There’s a good chance when the Mavericks face the Lakers in the season opener on Oct. 30 — exactly one day before the 11th anniversary of his NBA debut — he could start opposite Dwight Howard. If it’s startling to realize Curry could be even a spot NBA starter until Chris Kaman and Brandan Wright return to the Mavericks’ lineup from injury, there are 10 seasons of underwhelming performances to act as evidence. Is it time, however, to realize that Curry may be the man for the (small) job in Dallas? Read More »

It’s easy to see why the Oklahoma City Thunder and Los Angeles Lakers are the prohibited favorites in the Western Conference. Sipping from the Thunder and Lakers sweet and convincing Kool-Aid makes sense given the All-Star and Hall of Fame to-be names on their rosters.

But putting premature foregone conclusions aside, I offer libations of a different flavor. There are a handful of teams that play amongst those titans who have a chance to contend. If their stars are so inclined to align, the Western Conference may not be the open and shut case many think it will be. Read More »

Just as the halftime gymnasts in Dallas’ 89-84 preseason win over Alba Berlin went out to set world records (and they did – using a trampoline to dunk on a hoop from 25 feet away), the Mavs tried to set their own records during the opening minutes of their first preseason game of the season. Coughing up the ball more often than Mike Vick, Dallas was nearly on some type of record-setting turnover pace. They must’ve given up six or seven turnovers in the opening minutes (they had 10 after the first quarter), and almost all of them somehow involved Chris Kaman (14 points, six boards). Read More »