With only four teams remaining in the NBA Playoffs, it means a few “contenders” have already been eliminated from title contention. The offseason is the time for these teams to retool to prepare for deeper runs next season. The Milwaukee Bucks found themselves back in the postseason after a three-year absence this year. Read More »

The second round of the playoffs is underway and with only eight teams remaining, it means another eight have been eliminated from title contention. The offseason is the time for these teams to retool to prepare for deeper runs next season. The Brooklyn Nets finished the year with a 49-33 record, good enough for fourth place in the Eastern Conference. However, their first-round opponent, the Chicago Bulls, surprisingly beat them at home in a Game 7. Read More »

Sometimes in the NBA Playoffs, two squads will matchup and eventually it’ll become so obvious who the better team is that even the players just have to give in. The Knicks and Celtics have reached that point, and they got there in the early moments of the second half during New York’s 90-76 Game 3 win. Carmelo Anthony was lighting people up on his way to 26 points, and whenever he took a break, J.R. Smith (15 points) responded with fadeaways and pull-ups. Read More »

Go into any basketball locker room in the world — CYO leagues, middle school, high school, or even in the NBA — and you’ll find sharpshooters, bench warmers, you’ll see Jordans, adidas and Reebok, you’ll see tall oafs and slippery guards, coaches that rarely say a word and coaches that never shut up. Every team will have it’s own unique flavor, it’s own unique environment. Read More »

We took a break from hitting replay on the new Game of Thrones trailer to catch the Toronto/Milwaukee game, and outside of the terrible jersey choices (when did this trend begin of both teams wearing away uni colors? It needs to end now), the matchup was surprisingly awesome. The Bucks won 122-114 after dominating the overtime period, mainly because Ersan Ilyasova (29 points, 11 rebounds) morphed into a Hall of Famer at times in the second half and OT, and because Brandon Jennings morphed into Magic Johnson. Read More »

As the first leg of the NBA season has closed, player values have fallen in place. Of course there are some exceptions. However, by this time statistics have evened out. The early hot streaks dissolve, and the underachievers slowly work their way back into the fantasy hierarchy. Read More »

The NBA regular season, at least for the teams that hold visions of championships, is just an 82-session practice for the playoffs. So rather than worry about who is the unofficial “best” or “worst” team in the League right now, let’s look at which team is most equipped for the truly important games. Read More »

The NBA trade deadline can make or break your fantasy team. Deadline deals not only change the value of existing fantasy studs, but also rearranges depth charts, opening the door for tons of players sitting on the waiver wire. I was a little disappointed by this year’s deadline, which was one of the slower ones in recent memory, but it still opened the door for many. Read More »

We watched Thursday’s games expecting showdowns. We got two routs, with each one asking whether the result was more about the winners (San Antonio and Miami) or the losers (Los Angeles Clippers or Chicago). The answers aren’t black and white so, sorry if you expected a perfectly clear crystal ball with still about 25 games left in the regular season. All four teams did, however, leave powerful impressions. Read More »

Two players expected to be dealt before the deadline were Orlando’s J.J. Redick and Atlanta’s Josh Smith. At one point Thursday before the 3 p.m. deadline the two were in a proposed trade package for one another. Only Redick will be traded, however: The shooting guard will be traded to Milwaukee as part of a three-way deal between Orlando, Milwaukee and Charlotte. Read More »