0 comments by Matt Zemek on 7/8/2015
It’s not new for athletes (or coaches) to reconsider where they’ll play, but it’s not exactly commonplace for an athlete to very purposefully and intentionally take a long time to make a decision; announce said decision; and then encounter serious doubts a few days later. This is what we have in the engrossing — but […]
Does Steve Kerr have what it takes to keep Golden State in place as an annual Western Conference contender?
0 comments by Matt Zemek on 7/5/2015
The Golden State Warriors and Oklahoma City Thunder share a number of similarities. Some of them exist independent of other machinations and movements in the larger theater of the NBA. Some similarities are more particular to this offseason and the aftermath of NBA free agency. Several of these connections are explored here. In this piece, […]
0 comments by Matt Zemek
In the wake of the free-agent frenzy we witnessed over this Fourth of July weekend — the Houston Rockets’ red glare at the San Antonio Spurs, the Woj bombs bursting in air — it’s worth noting both the similarities and differences between two of the top contenders in the 2015-2016 Western Conference. The Spurs are […]
0 comments by Matt Zemek on 7/4/2015
The Phoenix Suns have existed since the late 1960s. They are, like the St. Louis Blues in the National Hockey League, a professional sports team with a lengthy history but no world championships. A lot has to go wrong over nearly a half a century for a team to miss out on a title at […]
0 comments by Matt Zemek on 7/3/2015
Straight from the Mad Men era, in 1960, singer Brenda Lee said the words DeAndre Jordan carried inside himself these past few weeks: What is free agency, in any sport, other than a very public revelation of a basic emotional reality? Like politicians, athletes also carry the Brenda Lee verse as their personal anthem: “I […]
0 comments by Matt Zemek on 7/1/2015
The notion of “taking care of a player” most commonly refers to a generous financial package. It also refers to the attempt to surround him with the right players. In the case of LeBron James, the Cleveland Cavaliers have taken care of him in a third way: They’ve put themselves in position to make LeBron’s […]
0 comments by Matt Zemek
If you’re good enough to be a main-rotation player in any professional team sport, you might arrive at one of the most defining intersections of your life: the place where personal aspiration and personal security cross paths. It’s true that pro athletes make a heckuva lotta money compared to the rest of us, but given […]
0 comments by Matt Zemek on 6/25/2015
The 2015 NBA Draft is over, and now the days of analysis and assessment begin before the whirl of free agency starts on July 1. Naturally, many more moves on the chessboard await, but one has to be at least a little concerned about teams which used draft night to load up at positions that […]
0 comments by Matt Zemek on 6/23/2015
On Monday, we looked at the 2010 NBA Draft, using it as an illustration of how players’ careers develop in so many different and equally unexpected ways. That, of course, was a five-year look into the past. What about a 10-year glance into the rearview mirror of professional basketball, and a set of careers that have […]
Photo by David Richard-USA TODAY Sports
0 comments by Matt Zemek on 6/22/2015
Here at Crossover Chronicles, our team of writers is taking many different approaches toward the 2015 NBA Draft. Tony Xypteras is working on mock drafts. New writer Jared Mintz is profiling specific teams and outlining their draft needs. Sean Woodley, one of our two podcast co-hosts, interviewed four writers and asked them about the offseason […]
0 comments by Matt Zemek on 6/19/2015
The 2015 NBA Playoffs are over, and frankly, they were forgettable in many respects. That first-round series between the San Antonio Spurs and Los Angeles Clippers remained the best playoff series over the next three rounds. That’s not the way things are supposed to go in May and June. Yet, while these playoffs were unforgettable […]
0 comments by Matt Zemek on 6/18/2015
The Golden State Warriors and Cleveland Cavaliers made the NBA Finals, and for that reason, they become two of the more fascinating teams to watch this next NBA season. However, one could make a very convincing argument that the two most fascinating teams in the Association for the 2015-2016 campaign are the Los Angeles Clippers […]
0 comments by Matt Zemek
Cleveland sports fans will have to wait another year for that first NBA championship and that first pro sports title since 1964. Failing to win “The Big One” undeniably hurts to a certain extent, but to the good people of that fair city in northeastern Ohio, let’s acknowledge something you already know: This was not […]
during Game Six of the 2015 NBA Finals at Quicken Loans Arena on June 16, 2015 in Cleveland, Ohio. 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 Getty Images License Agreement.
0 comments by Matt Zemek
We really don’t need to spend much time detailing the fact — and it is a fact — that the 2015 Golden State Warriors were a very lucky basketball team. No Clippers. No Spurs. No Mike Conley for a game. No Tony Allen for a 2-2 Game 5. No Patrick Beverley in the Houston series. […]
0 comments by Matt Zemek on 6/17/2015
There’s nothing like a championship series to bring out stupidity and unfairness in sports commentary, whether paid or not. The enduringly frustrating aspect of championship series and individual championship games is that the weight of scrutiny placed upon every participant — in ways that wouldn’t apply to a second-round series or a fourth-round Wimbledon match […]
