NBA Page 574 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights
Don’t be so quick to count out the Western Conference's top-seeded teams
A large swath of NBA media is out on the top seeds in the Western Conference — and it makes sense, because, for the first time since the 1996-97 season, the East is far and away superior....
Mark Cuban is not who we thought he was going to be
This past week has been the dried-out cherry on top of an expired whipped cream sundae of a 2022-23 season for the Dallas Mavericks. They entered it one game out of the play-in tournament a shade under two months after trading for Kyrie Irving. It would be easy to blame him for Mavericks’ fall, but ...
Redefining what it means to be a unicorn
“Unicorn” is up there with “new normal” and “positionless basketball” as far as terms I would love to see removed from my brain. Any big man with guard skills is dubbed a unicorn, and we’re led to believe the NBA is a mythical universe populated by elves, dragons, and wizards. Well, technically the ...
The Atlanta Hawks have been the definition of mediocrity
The Atlanta Hawks season has been a Sisyphean quest to remain above .500. They came, they saw, and they Even Stevened for most of the season. If you ever wondered what a wedgie between the rim and the hoop personified this season was, it would be the 41-39 Atlanta Hawks. ...
Charles Oakley tells Isiah Thomas: MJ doesn't 'want to be your friend'
Former NBA star Charles Oakley has never been one to bite his tongue. After all, he played in the Association during a time when basketball was much different, and it wasn’t uncommon for teams to have multiple enforcers. In fact, while playing in Chicago with Michael Jordan, some would call Oakley M...
If the NBA had a Dunk of the Year award, Ja Morant would be the winner
As we enter the final weekend of the NBA season, there are only a few regular season awards yet to be wrapped up. The most notable is the MVP race, but you’re delusional if you think I’m going to write about that. What I’m here to talk about today is the Dunk of the Year. It’s not an official award ...
The Isiah Thomas-Michael Jordan beef still going strong decades later
I guess if Michael Jordan gets to remain bitter about events from 40 years ago then everyone else from that time should be granted the same courtesy. In 2021 it was Scottie Pippen — promoting his bourbon and book — who was publicly critical of Jordan. Since the NBA 75 Greatest Team gathered at the 2...
Name a worse duo than Luka Dončić and Kyrie Irving
I’ll just start with the question posed in the headline: Name a worse mashup of duos than Luka Dončić and Kyrie Irving. For starters, Dennis Rodman and Jean-Claude van Damme in Double Team come to mind. Maybe, but at least they were so bad, so it’s funny. Bleach and vinegar create potentially lethal...
Can we just skip the Eastern Conference play-in tournament this year?
As the NBA regular season nears its end, teams continue to jockey for playoff and play-in tournament positions producing some wild races heading toward the finish line. The race in the West is setting up for a photo finish over the last few days, with both playoff and play-in implications on the lin...
LeBron leading Lakers' late playoff surge — with a first-round exit likely
The Los Angeles Lakers are riding high late in the season as they attempt to sneak into the top six of the Western Conference avoiding the play-in tournament. After beating Utah Tuesday night, L.A. sits a half-game back of the fifth-place Golden State Warriors and tied with the Clippers (both 41-38)...
How does a 'progressive' team like the Warriors continue to employ Anthony Lamb?
When the Golden State Warriors converted Anthony Lamb’s contract for the rest of the season back in March, head coach Steve Kerr called it a “pretty easy decision” as the team has dealt with injuries, absences, and poor bench play — especially on the road. ...
Former USFL owner indicted on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records
Former President Donald Trump surrendered to New York authorities ahead of his arraignment Tuesday on charges related to alleged hush money payments made to Stormy Daniels. Obviously, it’s a fairly massive deal… unless you live in New York. This is literally just another Tuesday for them, and defini...
Sacramento’s Mike Brown is NBA Coach of the Year — and it shouldn’t be close
The NBA regular season is rolling toward its end, which means award talk is heating up. You’ll hear about the MVP race primarily, but a few other awards are handed out each year that matter. Coach of the Year is one of them, and no one is more deserving in 2023 than Sacramento Kings head coach, Mike...
The new-look Los Angeles Lakers are peaking at just the right time
What appeared to be a lost Los Angeles Lakers season six weeks ago has sprouted wings in the final home stretch before the postseason. After missing countless weeks mending injuries in 2023, Anthony Davis and LeBron James returned to a lineup terraformed on the go....
Andrew Wiggins reportedly headed back to Warriors lineup after hiatus
On Monday afternoon, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski broke the news that Golden State Warriors forward Andrew Wiggins is set to make his return to the team later this week. So many rumors and “reports” had been tossed around regarding Wiggins’ immediate future with the team that it was hard to know what t...
The best games of the final week of the 2022-23 NBA regular-season Schedule
It’s the final week of the NBA regular season. Usually I would advise sports fans to get one last glimpse at a young team like the Orlando Magic before their season comes to an end. This season, my viewing recommendation is to wait until next season to watch the youngsters. They likely will have imp...
The new NBA CBA does nothing for the entertainment value of the game
The NBA this season is arguably more competitive than it has ever been. The Western Conference is up for grabs and the Eastern Conference has three heavyweights at the top, each capable of knocking out the other with a mighty blow. While there is no single dominant roster that the rest of the league...
The NBA’s new CBA is almost here, bells and whistles included
The NBA and NBPA have all but finalized a new CBA, and as far as CBAs go, it’s pretty interesting. From what I’ve read, it seems very reactionary and definitely will have a lasting impact on the Association, its players, and its teams. There’s a new games limit to be eligible for postseason awards, ...
The Hornets have replaced the Kings as the NBA’s most beleaguered franchise
The Sacramento Kings Beam season isn’t over yet, but success is relative. The Kings finally ended the NBA’s longest playoff drought. All it took was De’Aaron Fox straightening out his jumper, an offseason for Domantas Sabonis to get fully integrated into the offense, trading for Kevin Huerter and Mi...
Did Michael Jordan shave his head because of Onyx?
One of my favorite Bill Burr observations didn’t take place on stage. He was talking about the ESPN 30 for 30 film The U, and for all that he liked about it, he especially enjoyed the players overexaggerating their accomplishments as people sometimes do as they get older. For example, Bennie Blades ...