At every gym and every park where there’s a basketball court, you’ll find that guy who’s saddled with a team of four bums. Whether he’s a point guard or a big man, a kid or a 40-year-old, you can often find him by his facial expression: Less of a boiling frustration and more of a miffed resignation that’s steadily losing its steam. He’s not mad anymore, just annoyed over something he can’t control; the only reason he’s not cussing the bums out and sucking his teeth every other play is because his teammates are his friends, or it’s just not in his nature to be a jerk. Read More »

Last year we debuted the “Highs and Lows” system — previewing the NBA season by predicting the respective ceiling and basement for each team. Same theme, different season…

Added: Ben Gordon, Charlie Villanueva, Austin Daye, Chris Wilcox, Ben Wallace, DaJuan Summers, Jonas Jerebko Read More »

Two days later, Michael Jordan’s Hall of Fame speech is still the biggest topic in basketball. And for the most part, the reviews were not positive. Common accusations were that MJ was confrontational, bullying, petty, ungrateful, and that he primarily used his stage to settle old scores. Our take? It’s obvious who amongst the critics have never played sports, or is so far removed from playing that they forgot what it’s like to be competitive. True, Mike didn’t exhibit anything near the vulnerability of, say, Michael Irvin’s H.O.F. speech, but he wasn’t that bad. Read More »

Similar to the Vegas/Orlando summer leagues, you don’t want to read too much into the FIBA Americas tournament as far as projecting how its standouts will do in the upcoming NBA season, especially when Team USA sat this one out. But it’s hard not to be impressed by Leandro Barbosa’s recent work and predict big things for him this season. In leading Brazil to the tournament gold medal yesterday, as well as a spot in the 2010 World Championships, Barbosa averaged 21.1 points on 55% shooting from the field. It was a down year for Barbosa in ‘08-09. Read More »

Detroit is hurting.

With the automobile industry virtually collapsing, the Motor City has seen its unemployment rate fluctuate close to 20% in any given month. Thousands of homes and businesses are left abandoned, and there is little light at the end of the tunnel for many families.

To make matters worse Detroit’s sports franchises, which have always been a source of hope and enthusiasm for the city, have struggled mightily. The Lions failed to win a single game in 2008, the Red Wings heartbreakingly lost in the Stanley Cup Finals in 2009, and the Tigers have consistently disappointed. Needless to say, a once glorious city is in the midst of destruction and despair. Read More »

The names and the teams may change, but NBA training camp is annually littered with position battles. This year, for example, you’ll have Steve Blake trying to keep his starting PG job safe from Andre Miller in Portland; Brandon Jennings and Luke Ridnour (and perhaps Ramon Sessions) fighting for top QB duties in Milwaukee; and in Washington, Nick Young, Randy Foye, Mike Miller and DeShawn Stevenson will vie for the starting backcourt spot next to Gilbert Arenas, while JaVale McGee and Fab Oberto challenge Brendan Haywood for minutes at center.

Most of the time, you can predict the winners fairly accurately before camp even opens. Not so much in Detroit. Read More »

In Smack over the weekend, the question of Bruce Bowen’s legacy came up. Considering the usual level of hate generated by the Spurs and Bowen everywhere outside San Antonio, the reader response was surprisingly positive. Most people were able to appreciate not only Bowen’s game, but his backstory. Reader Bobby Stew put it best: “Bruce Bowen’s story is that of a man who made something out of nothing. He is the symbol of the American dream. He worked his way from the bottom to the top through hard work, determination, and hustle. Think about it, what real talent did Bowen have?”

The Bowen debate got us talking about some other NBA figures who are near the end of their run, and how their careers will be judged when it’s all said and done. Read More »

Four words you’re going to hear more than “rumor” and “sign-and-trade” over the next 2-3 weeks:

It’s. Just. Summer. League.

Remember that when you see some of the stat lines coming out of Orlando and Vegas from rookies and guys trying to shoot their way into the NBA. Yesterday the PTP’er was none other than Ryan Anderson, the Magic’s throw-in of the Vince Carter trade who dropped 33 points (11-15 FG, 9-9 FT) and 14 boards on the Celtics. Read More »

Just when you thought Joe Dumars was going to make a good move after picking Michael Curry last year, word out of Detroit is that Avery Johnson is no longer in the running for the Detroit Pistons head coaching vacancy after the two sides could not come to terms on a contract. Read More »

Before getting into what was a busy first day of NBA free agency, let’s talk about Joe Dumars and his sudden firing of Pistons coach Michael Curry. You can’t really say it was “out of nowhere,” because few teams fell apart quite like the ‘08-09 Pistons fell apart, and Dumars has proven that he’s not exactly patient. (It’s a miracle he didn’t trade Amir Johnson two years ago.) But it was just two months ago that Dumars admitted he’d fired previous coaches too soon, promised to be more patient with Curry, and even took some responsibility for putting Curry in a tough situation with the Billups/Iverson trade. What happened to that? Read More »