0 comments by Philip Rossman-Reich on 10/18/2013
LeBron James has had a nasty rivalry with Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce (along with their Celtics) throughout his career. Epic playoff series after epic playoff series have defined James' ascent to NBA Champion. For LeBron James to get his champion, he needed to go through Garnett and Pierce. When he finally did that in […]
0 comments by Philip Rossman-Reich
Mike Brown once changed the culture and the expectations for the Cleveland Cavaliers. Maybe, LeBron James had a lot to do with that. Brown though transformed the Cavaliers into a top defensive team and a championship contender. Then again, LeBron James had a lot to do with that. Brown returned to the Cavaliers this season […]
0 comments by Philip Rossman-Reich on 10/17/2013
Some NBA veterans will just refuse to go away. Even if you think your favorite veteran point guards from NBA Live 2004 would be long gone, here they are ready to play once again. They are just sitting there waiting for an injury to open up a vacant roster spot and latch on for some […]
0 comments by Philip Rossman-Reich on 10/16/2013
Dwight Howard faces his former Magic team Wednesday at Toyota Center for the third time since forcing his way out in a brutal will-he, won't-he drama of his Dwight-mare decision. Magic fans and the Magic organization are still largely recovering from that. The team is rebuilding and working its way from the bottom — literally […]
0 comments by Philip Rossman-Reich
This year marks the Orlando Magic's 25th Anniversary. There will be lots of historical retrospectives on the franchise's quarter century of existence. The Orlando Sentinel, not known for its great polling when it comes to the Magic, put together a bracket of the 64 greatest Magic players of all time* and set up a tournament-style […]
0 comments by Philip Rossman-Reich on 10/15/2013
ESPN's NBA coverage is going through major changes next season. Magic Johnson announced he will leave the TV show, along with Mike Wilbon, and Doris Burke and Doug Collins will come in to replace him. The often lambasted show should get some much-needed seriousness from having a great NBA mind and TV personality in Collins […]
0 comments by Philip Rossman-Reich on 10/14/2013
Andray Blatche and Mirza Teletovic got into a "scuffle" Sunday at Nets practice, Mike Mazzeo of ESPNNewYork reports. Jason Kidd and Deron Williams called it a typical event for training camp. With the increased microscope on the franchise though, this kind of thing makes some news. It's great. That's competition. That's what it's all about," […]
0 comments by Philip Rossman-Reich on 10/13/2013
On April 29, Jason Collins announced to the world that he was gay. It was monumental in that he became the first active player in any of the four major American professional sports to come out publicly. He instantly became a symbol for society's growing acceptance of gay men and women in society. Players, the […]
0 comments by Philip Rossman-Reich on 10/12/2013
Preseason games can sometimes amount to extended practices. The only difference is coaches cannot stop play to make corrections, you do not control both offense and defense on each play and there are those fans in the building. They are definitely very valuable. Ah, but those pesky fans get in the way and make things […]
0 comments by Philip Rossman-Reich on 10/11/2013
The Bucks are used to having scoring point guards. Brandon Jennings and Monta Ellis took turns at the point last year and Jennings had the rock in his hand for the most part the couple seasons before that. Neither are particularly known for their playmaking and assists. Ellis signed with the Mavericks. Jennings took a […]
0 comments by Philip Rossman-Reich on 10/10/2013
A nation is in mourning today with the news that a beloved celebrity will be on the shelf for the beginning of the season. The Raptor has blown out his (its?) Achilles. Details, are still spotty, but Doug Smith of The Toronto Star reports the Raptors' beloved mascot will be on the shelf for the […]
0 comments by Philip Rossman-Reich
The Bucks have a pretty unique court design they are unveiling this year. Milwaukee is using a funky in-lain design with different gradients of wood. It is a throwback to the design the Bucks used in the 1970s. It is interesting to see how it will look when teams start playing on it. Now we […]
0 comments by Philip Rossman-Reich
Preseason is usually bereft of many highlights. It is a black hole. There is basketball so we get sucked in and watch and then regret doing so because the basketball is typically not very good. Even when games are close, they can be less than entertaining. The basketball is ugly and the play is choppy. […]
0 comments by Philip Rossman-Reich on 10/9/2013
NBA teams like to give away fun things at the end of games to keep fans interested. Keep a team under 100 in Los Angeles? Get free tacos (a favorite chant among the Lakers faithful). Make 10 3-pointers in a game in Orlando? More free tacos (I miss the 20 Fowl Shots where everyone could […]
0 comments by Philip Rossman-Reich
The NBA loves its intro videos. Some teams go over the top to bring their teams to the court and introduce them to the fans. They whip the fans into a frenzy and set the tone for the team's identity and the team. If that is what an intro video is supposed to do, then […]
