Category: NBA General

The Golden Age of the Western Conference began two seasons ago. During the 2003-2004 season, the Kings, Timberwolves, Lakers, and Spurs competed for the first seed in the West. Each team had already accumulated fifty wins, so seeding came down to the last five games. Kevin Garnett and his Timberwolves ultimately prevailed with a record of 58-24. The Lakers (56-26) captured the second seed and Pacific Division title with a thrilling double overtime victory over the Trailblazers. The Spurs (57-25) followed with the third seed while the Kings (55-27) slipped to fourth seed, losing to the pre-Nash Phoenix Suns the same night Kobe’s two buzzer-beating three pointers electrified the Portland crowd. Because the top four teams were separated by one game and one loss, the West truly showed its dominance over the East.
    A season later, the Lakers, Timberwolves, and Kings were unable to continue the winning trend. The Lakers dynasty ended following a loss to the Pistons and was Shaq-less, the Timberwolves had a tumultuous lottery-bound season, and the Kings floundered, resulting in Webber leaving for the 76ers.
    The 2005-2006 season has been about rebuilding as newcomers, the Suns and Mavericks, have emerged to compete against the Spurs. With twenty games remaining and all three teams with forty wins apiece, who will claim that first seed.

Usually in the NBA, it is quite obvious as to who will win the MVP at this point of the season, or at least the race is narrowed down to two or three top contenders. This year, however, that is not the case. In fact, there are eight different players in contention for the basketball’s top individual prize: Kobe Bryant, Steve Nash, Dirk Nowitzki, LeBron James, Chauncey Billups, Dwyane Wade, Allen Iverson, and Shawn Marion. Here are their rankings as of now:

If you’re not an NBA fan in the cities of Dallas, Detroit, San Antonio, Phoenix, and Miami you may not have gotten a lot out of my last article.  You see…that article was written to let you all know who is going to win the NBA championship this year.  It is going to be one of those five teams.  So I gave my opinion on who had the chance to get by Detroit and San Antonio, but I realized something today…that making the playoffs would be just as exciting for cities like Chicago, Boston, Golden State, Minnesota, Utah, Houston, Sacramento, and Milwaukee as one of the top five teams actually winning it all.  Most teams have got 25 runs to go, and this is the time of the season where you can actually calculate the “magic number” for some teams to wrap up playoff spots.  It is also the time of the year where you can write teams off (sorry Charlotte, Atlanta, New York, Toronto, Orlando, Seattle, and Portland) and wish them good luck in the lottery.  At this point in time in the NBA season there is a legit cutoff point between teams that are still in it, and teams that are not.  That point is 5 games.  If there are more than 5 games between you and the final playoff spot in the conference, start thinking spoiler

I made ten predictions before this NBA season started. With the playoffs on the horizon and many things starting to become set in stone, I thought it would be interesting to go back and see how completely accurate or off base I was heading into the season

Predictions

10. Lakers will miss the playoffs
9. Artest will be a MVP candidate
8. Rockets will get past the first round
7. Cavaliers will see the first round
6. Carlisle vs Karl for Coach of the Year. (Or Phil if the Lakers do well)
5. Kings will be mediocre unless Skinner gives it his all or they bring back Founderburke (joke)
4. Knicks will have life and a winning record
3. Someone is going to get injured and Ben Gordon will become a permanent starter
2. Golden State will make the playoffs
1. Spurs over Miami for the Championship

I have to admit it. The off-season can be a little dry. I can read about unbelievable trades and summer camp results, but the excitement and enjoyment are very much short-lived. However, what has truly become a hot source of information has been the recent NBA drafts. The reason this has occurred is that the word rookie no longer implies incompetence or inexperience. The latest rookies have quickly become All-Stars and are now more than ready to garner a championship in their first few years. This was made evident during the 2003 NBA draft, a draft that saw Lebron James and Carmelo Anthony become household names overnight. However, despite their initial successes, who among them has the best chance of truly becoming a NBA great?

The Crystal Basketball

With the retirements of NBA greats like Karl Malone, Reggie Miller, John Stockton, and Steve Kerr, a new generation of basketball has emerged. Michael Jordan ushered in this new era during his final All-Star Game appearance in 2003, stating, “I leave the game in good hands.” Though one may argue that his years in Washington were his worst and his comeback a failure, it was impossible that night to not shed a tear and say goodbye to what was truly his Airness’ era.

As Michael Jordan took center stage and uttered these words, he faced our generation of all-stars. Kobe, AI, KG, Tim Duncan, to name a few. What does the future hold for these superstars? Who will be the next player to be regarded as one of the greatest of all time?

The NBA All-Star game is here again, so you know what that means? Its midseason awards time! As an avid reader of the popular sports websites out there, which I’m sure most you aspiring writers are, I have been beaten over the head with award prognostications. Nash or Kobe for league MVP; Chris Paul for Rookie of the Year, and Sam Cassell for Biggest Pair which he is so fond of telling us. Been there and read that. I’m up for something different, so in the tradition of ESPN’s Page 2 let me mix in a little pop culture with our sports. What would happen if the NBA got Lost?

So I woke up this morning, and the first thing I did, just like every other weekday, is turn on SportsCenter.  Whose face do I see?…Ron-Ron’s.  It was “Sunday Conversation” time, by far some of the best sports interviews on television.  Artest answered questions on what he felt like during the months he was supposed to be traded, and how the Maloofs made him feel in his debut in Sacramento, etc.  But an even better question came up about Ron Artest’s image.  He replied that he really didn’t care about changing his image. To quote him, “I don’t want to do no Coca-Cola commercial.”

He was doing so good, it really seemed like he moved on from what happened in Detroit and that this Ron Artest was just going to play basketball, and try to stay off the radar.  My favorite comment of the interview was that he was “too hood for that” when he was explaining why he wouldn’t clean up his act.  That got me to thinking what is the big deal with street cred in the NBA?  

By David J Cohen

The reserves for the 2006 NBA All-Star Game were finally announced Thursday night. Now the rosters are set for the game where the NBA’s elite come together to put on one entertaining show. This game, unlike all-star games in Major League Baseball and the National Football League, has meaning to the players chosen to participate. The label of “all-star” is still an honor to NBA players. This means that it is actually important to ensure the most deserving players are chosen to represent their conferences.

Of course, our world isn’t perfect. Every year there are players watching this game that should be playing in it. This year is no exception. A serious case can be made for Milwaukee Bucks guard Michael Redd in the East and Denver Nuggets forward Carmelo Anthony in the West to be participants in this year’s game. However, there is one player left out this year that without a doubt should be an all-star. He can be argued as an MVP candidate. He has carried a team projected to finish last in its conference on his shoulders. He has led a team of second-string players into position to be a playoff team. And he has accomplished all of this while simultaneously adjusting from the college game to the pros at its most challenging position. He is New Orleans/Oklahoma City point-guard Chris Paul.

The New York Knicks are in some trouble. Kobe Bryant got the rebound off of a Channing Frye three and now Bryant is hustling down court with the basketball in his hands like there’s no tomorrow. But, wait. All of a sudden Jamal Crawford comes up behind Bryant and swats the ball away, but then underrated newcomer Smush Parker picks up the ball and jams the dunk. Ah, same old, same old. Kind of what the Knick’s season has been like. Down, up…..down.