It is pretty rare when an elite superstar, a player at the top of their game, is traded off by a team. Circumstances have to reach a boiling point where the team is not going anywhere or the player sees greener pastures and nothing will stop that fixation. In the NBA today, superstars (and those who think they are superstars) are all built the same. If their team has not won a championship or when they see their friends winning them in a brief amount of time, they see it as a need for a new setting. Read More »
While Marc Spears is reporting that Greg Oden is “strongly leaning” towards taking the one-year $8.9 million qualifying offer from Portland and just becoming a free agent next summer, there is another team who could go out and snatch up the oft-injured big man. When you roll an entire season with a list of centers that miraculously tops out at Joel Anthony, taking a chance on a talent like Oden isn’t a big risk. Sure, he’s a risk individually. But for the Miami Heat, it’s moves like this that could turn them into a potential dynasty, and if it doesn’t work out, it might not do much harm. Read More »
Amidst all this Rajon Rondo/Chris Paul hoopla today, I stumbled across some amazing footage of the first NBA meeting between Allen Iverson and Stephon Marbury. Both rookies during the 1996-97 season, you can understand the hype surrounding the No. 1 pick and No. 4 pick facing off – a game that didn’t occur until March 11, 1997. While this footage is great, it’s even better after watching A.I. and Steph battle in college. Read More »
A few pages in a book explained everything. It was one of those instances where you read, then drop the book to your lap, pick your eyes up, stare off into space completely zoned out, and have an epiphany. It all makes sense now.Starbury is a person and an entity. It’s a brand and it’s a mindset, all of that tied into one. Starbury withstood. The word didn’t officially come to represent one of our favorite best worst players until a few years ago when he was at the onset of a journey that would take him halfway across the globe. It started a long time ago back in Coney Island. It’s not a fad. It’s seemingly grown into his way of life. Read More »
Besides having an insanely fine wife, Steve Lavin is doing a phenomenal job at St. John’s. Coming into their matchup with Arizona last night, they were 3-0, full of life and full of potential. In a few of their wins so far, they’ve already stormed back from big deficits, letting their defense and athleticism do the talking, and with fifteen minutes left (down seven), it looked like it might happen again. They raced back, overwhelmed ‘Zona in pretty much every way possible and retook the lead. The ‘Cats didn’t have any standout performances, but they got solid games from a number of players, including Solomon Hill (15 points, six rebounds) and when they found their stroke at the end, they just had too much, winning 81-72. Read More »
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 best ever? That’s hard to do. Even with a limitless library like YouTube, it’s virtually impossible to make a list of the best alley-oops of all-time and not miss a couple. All of the NBA’s greatest players have their most popular highlights, but what about the average or no-name players? Some of them have great alley-oops too, but you’ll be lucky to find them anywhere, much less remember them.
When a video was posted last week, it became painfully obvious pretty quickly that it was missing a few. So I figured I’d make the REAL top 10 list. No gimmicks. No timetables. Just straight raw ferociousness. Read More »
Honestly, how did it take this long to set something like this up? We may not have the NBA on time, but Las Vegas finally has a team, and their “team” should be loaded. A long-rumored league is finally taking shape in the city of Sin, and should tip off at the start of next week. One of the most well-known trainers in the world, Joe Abunassar, is the brains behind the operation (which is being called “Impact Training Competitive Basketball Series”), saying summer leagues are cool, but there’s nothing like playing five on five with all pros (you might know Joe as the guy who’s helped turn Derrick Rose, Russell Westbrook and Kevin Love into all-world players). At least 40 players have already committed to play and everyone is serious enough about it that we’ll have six to eight teams, a playoffs and a championship. Read More »
Although we clearly can’t say this is a definitive list, especially without Kemp-to-Payton, I don’t think anyone’s going to argue about watching these…
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