0 comments by Matt Zemek on 3/31/2016
The Miami Heat — which appeared to be in danger of missing the playoffs in late January — have coped with a season of struggle and limitation better than most had a right to expect. Justise Winslow started the season brightly but ran into a winter of adjustment and difficulty. Hassan Whiteside is a dynamic […]
0 comments by Kevin Causey
Despite all the controversy around the Lakers over the last couple of days, they still managed to beat the Heat thanks to this game winner by Julius Randle….
0 comments by Matt Zemek on 3/30/2016
The Los Angeles Lakers have created the perfect mess. One of the two most storied franchises in professional basketball — once a model for the rest of the NBA and pro sports at large — is now so utterly incompetent that a historically awful season has not become the most humiliating and depressing problem on […]
0 comments by Matt Zemek on 3/9/2016
It wasn’t the day the music died — Tuesday was the day the Magic died. Many California dreams have been born in Los Angeles, but for an Eastern Conference team on a late-season West Coast swing, visions of an NBA playoff berth came to rest against the Lakers. It’s time to think about the future […]
BOSTON – NOVEMBER 28: Center court logo of the Boston Celtics at the TD Banknorth Garden before a game against the Philadelphia 76ers on November 28, 2008 in Boston, Massachusetts. 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: Copyright 2008 NBAE (Photo by Brian Babineau/NBAE via Getty Images)
0 comments by Matt Zemek on 2/29/2016
When the year 2015 gave way to 2016, the NBA was a much more uncertain place than it is now. On the morning of December 31, 2015, chaos had not yet ceded its place in much of the Eastern Conference. The hierarchical structure that’s emerging in this half of the league had not yet begun […]
0 comments by Matt Zemek on 2/16/2016
Which games defined the first half of the NBA season for the five teams in the Pacific Division? The answer for one team is resoundingly clear, but find out what the other four answers are below: * GOLDEN STATE WARRIORS: Monday, January 18 at Cleveland — W, 132-98 No game sent more shockwaves through the […]
0 comments by Matt Zemek on 2/3/2016
Adrian Wojnarowski got to the heart of the matter on Tuesday in his newsmaker column on Kevin Durant. Part of the magic of Woj — why he is held in such high esteem in the NBA community and in the journalistic community at large — is that he can write a column in which substantial […]
0 comments by Matt Zemek on 1/26/2016
The Los Angeles Clippers entered this season as a team with multiple knuckleheads on the roster. You know what a knucklehead generally is, but let’s be clear and up front about it: A knucklehead is someone who persistently makes egregiously bad decisions, on or off the court, to the extent that his team is repeatedly […]
US and Miami Heat basketball player LeBron James looks on before the English Premier League soccer match between Liverpool and Manchester United at Anfield, Liverpool, England, Saturday Oct. 15, 2011. (AP Photo/Tim Hales)
0 comments by Matt Zemek on 1/22/2016
Certain teams, at certain times in their history or evolution (or both), are expected to win world championships and nothing less. Viewed from this vantage point and phrased in this manner, it’s understandable to see why the Cleveland Cavaliers fired head coach David Blatt on Friday afternoon, despite a 30-11 record and a first-place standing […]
New York Knicks owner James Dolan, left, and new team president Phil Jackson poses for photos during a news conference where he was introduced, at New York’s Madison Square Garden, Tuesday, March 18, 2014. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)
0 comments by Zac Voynow
Big surprise: a team based in New York City is wealthy. According to Forbes, the New York Knicks are the most valuable team in the NBA. They’re worth approximately $3 billion following their recently locked up television deal with the MSG regional network. The Knicks’ television deal will last twenty years, and will earn the […]
0 comments by Kevin Causey on 1/8/2016
Great execution on this play by the Lakers as Kobe sneaks behind the defense for a highlight reel dunk….
0 comments by Kevin Causey on 12/27/2015
Jeff Green comes from behind and rejects this Nick Young lay-up with authority…. No easy buckets –
Dec 11, 2015; Boston, MA, USA; Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry (30) wrestles away a loose ball during the second half of the Golden State Warriors 124-119 double overtime win over the Boston Celtics at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Winslow Townson-USA TODAY Sports
0 comments by John Cannon on 12/15/2015
I knew the Golden State Warriors had to lose eventually, but my fervent wish was that it would be in a manner completely without controversy. Nothing would be worse than losing a chance at history — tying and possibly surpassing the 1972 Los Angeles Lakers’ 33-game winning streak — due to some random bounce, unless […]
PHILADELPHIA, PA – DECEMBER 1: Larry Nance Jr. #7 of the Los Angeles Lakers falls over Robert Covington #33 of the Philadelphia 76ers on December 1, 2015 at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. 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. The 76ers defeated the Lakers 103-91. (Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images)
0 comments by Sean Woodley on 12/2/2015
When it comes to low-hanging fruit, it doesn’t get any riper than the Philadelphia 76ers and Los Angeles Lakers. Through a month-plus of action this season, the Sixers and Lakers have managed to reach seemingly impossible levels of ineptitude, but in very different ways. A certain level of suck was expected from the Sixers this […]
0 comments by Matt Zemek on 11/30/2015
The career of a giant — in sports or any other theater of human endeavor — is hard to encapsulate in a series of essays, let alone one. You should read the beat writers for the Los Angeles Times and ESPN.com, and the other national basketball writers you’ve come to respect, in order to get […]
