0 comments by Philip Rossman-Reich on 1/17/2014
The Bulls are in a state of change now more than a week out from the Luol Deng trade. Things are not the same for Chicago. Yes, the Bulls are playing extremely well and getting wins, but the team's defense these past five games has taken quite the nosedive. The 125 points the Bulls gave […]
0 comments by Philip Rossman-Reich
NBA All-Star jerseys are always a little bit wacky. The league likes to do some of its experimenting with performance wear during the February showcase. The awful synthetic basketballs made their debut during the All-Star Game. The much-talked about sleeved jerseys have already made their debut, first with the Warriors last year and now proliferating […]
0 comments by Philip Rossman-Reich on 1/15/2014
Last year, the D-League really began to gain its footing with some big-name teams. The Heat jumped on board the single-affiliate team bandwagon this year after a good experience shuttling Jarvis Vanardo and Dexter Pittman back and forth from the D-League to the main team — and that was in Sioux Falls. The Thunder sent […]
0 comments by Philip Rossman-Reich on 1/13/2014
The Minnesota Timberwolves currently rank second in the league in points per game and fifth in offensive rating. This is a team that should be talked about among the Western Conference Playoff teams at the very least and certainly a team that should have no doubt about its place in the Western Conference's pecking order. […]
0 comments by Philip Rossman-Reich on 1/12/2014
One of the greatest (read: worst) video games ever made was the Super Nintendo classic Shaq-Fu. The plot of the game involved Shaquille O'Neal, a dojo and several levels of hilarity. It was universally panned and is considered one of the worst video games ever made. It also had the added negative effect of keeping […]
0 comments by Philip Rossman-Reich on 1/11/2014
Friday night was the long-awaited nickname night in the NBA. The Heat and Nets eschewed their normal jersey names to put nicknames on the back of their uniforms. Ray Allen was "J. Shuttlesworth" and LeBron James was "King James." Paul Pierce was "Truth" and Kevin Garnett was "The Big Ticket." It was a fun way […]
0 comments by Philip Rossman-Reich on 1/10/2014
Wednesday night the dust had settled on another Minnesota loss in a close game. The Timberwolves were an astounding and stat-defying 0-10 in games decided by four points or less after Gerald Green drained the game-winning jumper for the Suns to complete an improbable comeback. Throw in last week's frustrating and wrongful defeat to the […]
0 comments by Philip Rossman-Reich on 1/9/2014
In 1999, they were enemies in the NBA Finals. Two semi-young coaches seeking their first ring. In January 2014, they are on different sides of the proverbial aisle. One is the curmudgeon champion with three rings to his name (at precious seconds away from a fourth) who has no time for nonsense when basketball is […]
0 comments by Philip Rossman-Reich
One of the worst deals in professional basketball history is about to be corrected. And, no, I am not talking about Andrew Bynum or Gilbert Arenas here (both now being paid not to play for their respective teams). The NBA announced Tuesday that it had reached a settlement with the Spirits of St. Louis' ownership […]
0 comments by Philip Rossman-Reich
Yesterday we shared the video of J.R. Smith untying Shawn Marion's shoelaces while waiting on a free throw. Smith not so subtly bends over with his hands on his knees and unties the knot on Marion's shoe. It was great NBA hilarity and the league told Smith not to do it again. We can all […]
0 comments by Philip Rossman-Reich on 1/8/2014
Tuesday at 5 p.m. marked the deadline for teams to waive players with unguaranteed contracts or else see their contracts become fully guaranteed for the rest of the year. The rash of waivings started last week with the Magic unceremoniously dumping Hedo Turkoglu on Friday afternoon, saving about $6 million. Turkoglu cleared waivers and hit […]
0 comments by Philip Rossman-Reich on 1/6/2014
If fans had their way, Kobe Bryant would be an All Star this year. This even though he has averaged 13.8 points per game in six appearances. Bryant is not quite Kobe Bryant coming off the ruptured Achilles. And even he recognizes that now as he sits out with an injury. The fans have not […]
0 comments by Philip Rossman-Reich on 1/5/2014
When Dennis Rodman went to North Korea as part of an HBO documentary and met with Kim Jong Un he said he hoped to bring a group of former NBA All Stars to the reclusive country for a basketball exhibition. Everyone thought Rodman was joking at the time, but he keeps going back. Now he […]
0 comments by Philip Rossman-Reich on 1/4/2014
The Knicks are a mess. At 10-22 following a 102-100 loss to the Rockets, with another questionable late-game shot from a Knick gunner — this time J.R. Smith — the Knicks are sinking fast int he Eastern Conference. Right now they are in a group of teams with 10 wins sitting a few games out […]
0 comments by Philip Rossman-Reich on 1/3/2014
Sports and entertainment are often at the front of pushing social issues and awareness of such issues to the public's consciousness. While sports especially are sometimes viewed as a sacred ground devoid of politics and "serious" issues, they creep in and make us think about ourselves and our society. Sports are a reflection of society […]
