0 comments by John Karalis on 7/16/2013
Less than a week after his four-year, $24.7 million dollar extension became official, the Knicks announced J.R. Smith would miss up to four months due to surgery to repair the meniscus and patellar tendon in his right knee. The Knicks said Smith's injuries, which were treated at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York […]
0 comments by John Karalis on 6/12/2013
Steve Nash struggled through injuries this past season, playing in only 50 of the Lakers' 82 games during the regular season, and two of their four playoff games. He suffered through hip, hamstring and other injuries that required epidural shots to get him onto the court. But that is not going to stop Nash from […]
0 comments by John Karalis on 11/13/2012
We love it when the Taiwanese animators put their spin on the NBA. The Buss family, however, might not share our enthusiasm for this particular video. Jim Buss is flat-out called an idiot (he drives around in a "short buss" and wears a bucket on his head). And the Lakers are a bunch of […]
0 comments by John Karalis on 11/12/2012
The arrival of Andrew Bynum in Philadelphia was expected to be so significant, it led many writers to project the Philadelphia 76ers at, or near, the top of the Eastern Conference. The only thing that could derail their rise to "primary threat to the Miami Heat" was Bynum's health (and maybe his attitude). A month […]
0 comments by John Karalis on 11/5/2012
That's Donald Sloan of the Cleveland Cavaliers, with maybe the most hilarious flop I've ever seen. The arms up while spinning will be a great audition for the Cavs community theater production of The Sound of Music. But as funny as it is, it's a no-no in today's NBA, even though it wasn't called. […]
0 comments by John Karalis on 10/23/2012
Every October, while you are trying to figure out a quirky name for you fantasy football team (the name of my historically bad team is "Ochostinko"), NBA GM's are filling out their annual survey. And very often, these surveys follow the lines of conventional thought. Which makes me wonder if (a) these GMs are actually […]
0 comments by John Karalis on 10/17/2012
I don't know about you, but I always get a little shocked when I see that Dwyane Wade is almost 31 years-old, and about to embark on his 10th NBA season. For some reason, I still think of him as one of the younger guys in the league. But the fact is, at 31, […]
0 comments by John Karalis on 10/16/2012
Sometimes a player fits perfectly into a system. His ability, his attitude, the team needs… everything just works. That is what the Bulls have in Taj Gibson. He is, above all else, a tenacious defender who rebounds on a team that values, above all else, defending and defensive rebounding. So with the deadline to […]
0 comments by John Karalis on 10/15/2012
The 1992 Dream Team was not just a team hell bent on the return of basketball dominance to its rightful owners. They were playing "Johnny Appleseed," sowing the dreams of David Stern's European expansion into the fabric of the countries who witnessed their Sherman's March to gold. It has been 20 years, and it […]
0 comments by John Karalis on 10/11/2012
When Carmelo Anthony was traded to the New York Knicks a couple of seasons ago, fans and even some in the media pegged it as the move that made the Knicks an instant threat. Melo, they said, was the superstar New York needed to carry them deep into the playoffs and back to respectability. But […]
0 comments by John Karalis on 10/10/2012
A lot of attention has been paid to big men this summer. Dwight Howard went to Los Angeles in the trade that sent Andrew Bynum Philadelphia. Roy Hibbert and Brook Lopez got max contract extensions. Even Omer Asik turned heads as part of Houston's July poison pill parade. It has been a big summer […]
0 comments by John Karalis on 10/9/2012
One of man's greatest, most consistent pursuits is the effort to stop the hands of time. We, in America alone, spend one billion dollars a year on wrinkle creams. That is a BILLION dollars. On just one product aimed at pretending we do not get older. But we all do. Always. Even freakish, once-in-a-generation athletes […]
0 comments by John Karalis on 10/8/2012
Scott Brooks has a good thing going in Oklahoma City. In four years with the Thunder, Brooks has seen his winning percentage climb each year. His team went to the Finals last season and there are few who doubt their ability to get back this season. And Brooks is well aware of why he is […]
0 comments by John Karalis on 10/4/2012
In September of 2007, a newly reconstructed Boston Celtics team gathered for a road trip. The post office was still processing Kevin Garnett's change of address from Minneapolis. Ray Allen still had movers packing his stuff up in Seattle. The introductions were fresh, and the team still needed to get to know each other. And this […]
0 comments by John Karalis
There is not a Celtics fan alive that does not get giddy watching that. It is the single greatest play in the history of a team that has seen 17 banners raised to the rafters, and countless mind-boggling plays that made those championships a reality. There is so much that makes this the best. First […]
