The 2011-12 NBA season is at a standstill, but all is not lost. The union and league are far apart on terms, according to reports, but each day without basketball means a night without a gate, and neither side wants that. They should eventually reach a compromise and play; let’s hope it’s this year. Bidding Basketball is back, though, with an eye towards the Spurs and Knicks, Eastern and Western Conference Champions in the strike-shortened 1998-99 season. Positive vibes heading to the NBA? Hard to say. Read More »
I have no problem saying Burger King makes the best fries. But McDonald’s won’t send me back home shuffling through my refrigerator at 2 a.m. on a Saturday night either. One version is crispier. The other feels like it needs another two minutes in the oven. Both do the job. Both taste really good. Try comparing NBA teams. It’s nearly impossible when those squads are coming from differing situations. From the players, ownership, the fans and even the style of play or storylines surrounding a team, no two situations will be entirely alike. You can’t compare style. Playoff teams? We’ve seen 65-win juggernauts, lousy 40-win teams getting in only because their timing was so good, and then everything in-between. Read More »
The 1990s were highlighted by some of the best center play we have ever seen. Game dominators like Hakeem Olajuwon and Shaquille O’Neal were consistently glued to the block in a game that was much more physical and reliant on the big man. Among some of the ’90s greatest heavyweights were Patrick Ewing and David Robinson. Very similar in style of play, these guys were warriors in every single sense of the word. But which center was the better of the two? By going off what my man Kristofer Habbas has done with the point guards, let’s have a verdict by looking at the statistics, best year, playoff success, and historical effect. Read More »
The NBA tends to come full circle. I mean, did we ever think that after the Mavericks watched the Heat celebrate on their home floor that they would come back to South Beach a mere five years later and return the favor? Did we ever think that the great Phil Jackson could have even had a chance to win 12 titles, coaching two different teams in three different decades? But the NBA has been around a long time, and while we may not have anything on a Red Sox–Yankees level, there are several matchups that come back to rear their ugly head, again and again, kind of like a bad Freddy vs. Jason movie. In honor of this week’s Sox-Yanks series, here is one of our favorite rivalries, Knicks vs. Celtics, which has been renewed from decade to decade. Read More »
When I had a chance to preview NBA 2K12 this week, I honestly came in ready for a let down. NBA 2K11 was out of this world, plain and simple. Without question the best sports game of the year, and arguably the best video game of the year. But even though the hype for 2012 was there, I wasn’t quite buying into it. Oh, how I was wrong. Read More »
For the first time since 1994, Georgetown’s Patrick Ewing, Dikembe Mutombo and Alonzo Mourning will be together again – that is, in Africa. The three NBA legends will headline Basketball Without Borders‘ trip to South Africa next month, where the global basketball development and community outreach program will use basketball to influence positive social change. Read More »
An essential element in the cult of Michael Jordan is the fact that the man never lost an NBA Finals. It’s how we choose to remember him: Perfect. 6-0 in the endgame. Unassailable. In doing so, we place him in the tiniest of circles, that being multiple champions who never lost a title. Read More »
So today on Twitter I asked what everyone thought Patrick Ewing was doing for his birthday tonight, and predictably, the most popular response was “Is the Gold Club still open?” Other highlights: “Traveling” and “sweating profusely.” All very appropriate responses. Ewing never won a title, and some will say he didn’t totally live up to the hype, but he still scored 24,815 points and pulled down 11,607 rebounds. Take him out of the equation and what do Knicks fans have from the past 20 years or so?
There’s only so long an NBA career can last and LeBron James has officially reached a crossroads. Yes, he’s only 26 years old and in his eighth season, but that’s almost a negative. How’s this all still going on? 11 points through 60 fourth-quarter minutes in the Finals. A lower scoring average than Chris Bosh in the biggest series of your career. Being thoroughly dominated and overshadowed by Dirk Nowitzki. Being outscored in a game by DeShawn Stevenson. Being guarded often in the second half of two games by a 38-year-old, 6-4 point guard and doing NOTHING about it. Read More »
Playing in the same American Century Celebrity Golf Championship as Jimmer Fredette, Charles Barkley heads into the tournament with 500-1 odds. Arguably the most entertaining basketball personality on television, Barkley has no reservations about speaking his mind. I caught up with Chuck yesterday to talk about Jordan, LeBron, Shaq, gambling and the looming NBA lockout. Read More »
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