0 comments by Matt Zemek on 10/26/2015
Consider this our West roundtable before the season begins. Which stories are being overlooked as the league’s stronger, deeper half begins the pursuit of the defending champions from Oakland and the best franchise in the league, down in the Alamo City? Maybe, as one of our writers says below, the Golden State Warriors are the […]
PHOENIX, AZ – JANUARY 13: LeBron James #23 and Tristan Thompson #13 of the Cleveland Cavaliers during the NBA game against the Phoenix Suns at US Airways Center on January 13, 2015 in Phoenix, Arizona. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
0 comments by Matt Zemek
It could be a year for Cavs in American basketball — Virginia in college, and Cleveland in the pros. The city of Cleveland is America’s most gut-punched sports city. There is no debate. The Chicago Cubs are the most gut-punched team, but the Windy City has the Blackhawks. Chicago had the Bulls in the 1990s. […]
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Reaction to the death of Minnesota Timberwolves head coach and team president Flip Saunders rippled through a heartbroken NBA on Sunday. Grief in the face of a too-early departure from this earth formed the core of the league’s response to the shattering news. Sadness about the loss of a man in the middle of his […]
MIAMI, FL – OCTOBER 21: Dwyane Wade #3 of the Miami Heat looks on during a preseason game against the Houston Rockets at American Airlines Arena on October 21, 2014 in Miami, Florida. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory copyright notice: (Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images)
0 comments by Matt Zemek on 10/25/2015
Curiosity might have killed the cat, but it livens up an NBA season. Which teams are YOU most curious about? You might already have a defined answer, but if you don’t, a look at this roundtable might give you some ideas. Let this be said at the outset: Florida is a wild and strange place, […]
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The NBA Atlantic Division is certainly not an example of saving the best for last. We’ve looked at the other five divisions in the NBA through the prism of the most important non-superstar players on each roster, the players who need to be better (or if not better, in tune with their team’s needs and […]
0 comments by Matt Zemek on 10/24/2015
Which teams are most inclined to disappoint us in the coming regular season? We gave you the teams most likely to surprise, but now we have to turn around and consider a frown. These are the predictions writers want to be wrong about… but don’t think they will be. The envelope, please: * JOE MANGANIELLO […]
0 comments by Matt Zemek on 10/23/2015
The NBA’s Northwest Division rates as the league’s most mysterious collection of five teams. We know which team will rule the division, but after that, the picture becomes very cloudy. Sure, the Utah Jazz are a strong favorite to finish second in the division and make a push for a playoff spot, but it’s hard […]
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The Atlanta Hawks pulled off a major surprise last season, soaring to the top of the Eastern Conference and making the first Eastern Conference Finals in franchise history. Which team might become this year’s Hawks… or simply outperform expectations to a considerable degree, perhaps by nabbing a No. 8 playoff seed instead of being buried […]
0 comments by Matt Zemek on 10/22/2015
Coaching a Western Conference contender not named Golden State or San Antonio carries a considerable burden this season. So does coaching a team which endured the most humiliating loss in the first round of the 2015 playoffs. Then there’s coaching for James Dolan, a different matter altogether. Our roundtable panel examines the coaches with the […]
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The NBA Southeast Division is a garden of thorns and flowers. There’s a little something for everyone in this division, with three teams that could make a run at the East Finals, an intriguing member of the underclass, and a dead-end team which could provide the bizarre fascination associated with watching a trainwreck. Which non-superstar […]
0 comments by Matt Zemek on 10/21/2015
Today’s tour of the NBA takes us to the Pacific division, where the distinction needs to be made between an important player and an important player-coach. * LOS ANGELES CLIPPERS: LANCE STEPHENSON Paul Pierce might be the most important Los Angeles Clipper outside the CP3-Blake Griffin-DeAndre Jordan trio, but Pierce is — in reality if […]
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Superstars. New acquisitions. Old NBA players with a rapidly shrinking title window. Which players have the most to prove — to themselves, to the league, to their teammates? Our roundtable panel weighed in: * SEAN WOODLEY It seems bizarre to say this about a former MVP, but Derrick Rose has a lot riding on this […]
0 comments by Matt Zemek on 10/20/2015
Last season, the Coach of the Year Award was contested by two men. Will this season’s race become a more complicated one? That’s hard to discern before a few weeks of regular-season basketball have run their course. On Nov. 20, not Oct. 20, we might not know all there is to know about this plot […]
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Our survey of the league’s most important non-superstar players continues with the Central division, the one division in the Eastern Conference which has a good chance of producing four playoff teams. * CHICAGO BULLS: NIKOLA MIROTIC The Bulls need a knockdown shooter, and since Mirotic is not gun-shy about launching threes, a big season and […]
Photo by Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports
0 comments by Matt Zemek on 10/19/2015
The NBA’s Southwest Division is the deepest and toughest one in the league. Four of the five teams in the division should make the playoffs, barring injuries or other unexpected plot twists. The Central is the only other division which can reasonably aspire to put four teams in the postseason. A brief clarification before we […]
