0 comments by Matt Zemek on 5/30/2016
Any Game 7 in a conference final carries its down dramatic and personal weight for the competitors involved, but Game 7 of the 2016 Western Conference Finals contains the added weight of history. So many historical twists and turns end Monday night in Oakland. The NBA will witness a rare occurrence in its 70th season […]
OKLAHOMA CITY, OK – MAY 22: Stephen Curry #30 of the Golden State Warriors reacts to their 133 to 105 loss against the Oklahoma City Thunder in game three of the Western Conference Finals during the 2016 NBA Playoffs at Chesapeake Energy Arena on May 22, 2016 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)
0 comments by Matt Zemek on 5/25/2016
Professional basketball possesses the most intense spotlight in North American team sports — perhaps not in terms of the amount of media coverage devoted to the endeavor (the NFL wins that distinction), but in terms of the extent to which one or two players get a disproportionate share of credit or blame for their team’s […]
0 comments by Matt Zemek on 5/7/2016
Americans are notoriously impatient, and no matter what anyone might want to say about Tyronn Lue, there’s only one responsible way to view his presence as the head coach of the Cleveland Cavaliers. Simply stated, we simply can’t say anything particularly profound about Lue — at least not anything which can be taken seriously — […]
0 comments by Bart D on 2/29/2016
Rarely is there a phrase in the English language more disagreed upon than “it’s all messed up” or some variation of that phrase. To one guy, the car just needs new tie rods and brake pads and she’ll be up and running in no time; to someone else, the car needs new tie rods and […]
Feb 26, 2016; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Toronto Raptors guard Kyle Lowry (7) shoots the ball as Cleveland Cavaliers center Tristan Thompson (13) defends in front of Cleveland Cavaliers guard Matthew Dellavedova (8) at the Air Canada Centre. The Raptors won 99-97. Mandatory Credit: John E. Sokolowski-USA TODAY Sports ORG XMIT: USATSI-233022 ORIG FILE ID: 20160226_ads_ss9_121.JPG
0 comments by Matt Zemek on 2/27/2016
Yes, it’s a contradiction in terms, but life is complicated: Friday night, the Toronto Raptors won the biggest wait-and-see game in their comparatively brief existence. The Raptors are only 20 years old. The NBA itself is 49 years older than Canada’s one active NBA organization. One shouldn’t have expected the Raptors to win an NBA […]
0 comments by Matt Zemek on 2/19/2016
No, the Cleveland Cavaliers didn’t unload Kevin Love. They didn’t seek an overhaul before the 2016 NBA trade deadline. They didn’t need to. Any substantial moves would have sent the message that the current roster wasn’t really trusted. What might have made a layered Love deal even worse for the Cavs: It could have created […]
0 comments by Matt Zemek on 1/26/2016
There are dozens of different ways in which to solve the upcoming NBA All-Star Game’s fascinating first-world problem: Which coaches should coach this game in Toronto? After Monday night’s resounding win by the Golden State Warriors over the San Antonio Spurs, it’s clear that the Dubs will be ahead of the Spurs on January 31, […]
0 comments by Matt Zemek on 1/25/2016
First things first: Tyronn Lue — no matter what else is going to be said in the next several paragraphs — already made a significant contribution to the Cleveland Cavaliers. Nothing about the historical record will ever change that fact, either. Remember this incident? Lue pulled David Blatt to the bench in an attempt to […]
0 comments by Bart D on 1/22/2016
For the most part, as a coach, if you win, everybody’s pretty copacetic. If you lose, things that were quirky and fun when you were winning become a problem and a reason there are more L’s than W’s. There’s no science behind that thought, but it plays out everywhere. The one place where winning doesn’t […]
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
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 […]
0 comments by Kevin Causey on 5/10/2015
Cleveland Cavaliers coach David Blatt almost pulled a Chris Webber in the closing second of the Cavs/Bulls game four. After the Bulls scored to tie up the game, Blatt came onto the floor and called for a timeout (see video below). Luckily for the Cavs, the refs didn’t see the timeout call and Tyronn Lue […]
0 comments by Chase Thomas on 12/31/2014
In a NBA landscape where Flip Saunders has more job titles than wins this season is LeBron James replacing David Blatt as head coach of the Cleveland Cavaliers really that crazy? It probably is, at least on the surface, but with reports now coming out that the Cavs have “completely abandoned Blatt’s offensive system” and […]
