Category: NBA

NBA

My letter to larry brown

Dear Mr. Brown,

I would first like to say congratulations for being the only coach to ever win a championship in college and professional basketball. That is quite a feat. There is no doubt in the basketball community that you have earned everyone’s respect for what you have done on and off of the basketball court. You have a great ability to go into a situation with a franchise and be able to make incredible turnarounds through your coaching philosophy. Sometimes you don’t have all-stars on your team, but you are able to get the best out of the players you have. You have over 1,000 wins as an NBA coach, and quite possibly could be one of the greatest coaches of all time. You weren’t given superstars to work with that often like Phil Jackson was (Jordan, Pippen, Shaq, and Kobe) but in places like Philadelphia, Indiana, and Detroit you managed to teach a team concept and got those teams to win. However, it is with great regret for me to inform you that you are a jerk!

Boston Celtics

Wastin’ Away Again in Beantown

Post author By bobbyjim45
Post date March 16, 2006
2 Comments on Wastin’ Away Again in Beantown

By: Rob LaBrie

The Boston Celtics… not exactly the epitome of a successful franchise now-a-days. Those of you old-schoolers will think of Bird, Russell, and McHale when you hear
“Celtics”. Unfortunately, it doesn’t look like Boston will be taking home championships anytime soon. There is really only one phrase that can sum up the C’s in the Danny Ainge era… train wreck. However, there is one star that has stood out in Boston and the star has been shining even brighter lately. In Boston, we call that star “The Truth”.

Golden State Warriors

1-800-GS-Whoops

Well, that didn’t work, did it? The Golden State Warriors are wrapping up their 12th consecutive season without a playoff appearance, and for the first time in recent memory, this qualifies as an unexpected development. And while it’s disheartening to be left out of the playoff picture yet again, it does provide a much clearer picture of where this team stands in the NBA’s pecking order. Only a year ago, Baron Davis’ arrival had everyone convinced we were ready to make a run, but by midseason this year I was already turning down free (free!) tickets to home games- and I live 5 minutes from the Coliseum, on a bad day.

NBA General

The Trade Deadline

Midseason trades are always a favorite of mine because they are put into effect immediately. Most of these trades occur for teams not in the playoff picture, usually the teams that are right on the outside looking in. Examples include the Sacramento Kings and the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Because season record does not matter once the playoffs start, managements work furiously during the midseason to make a deal that is clearly in their favor and will put them over the top (or the bottom as is the case for many of these teams). Four major trades have occurred this year, but are they trade deadline studs or duds?

NBA General

The Golden Age

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.

NBA General

The Top Contenders for this Year’s NBA MVP

Post author By Jackson Govatos
Post date March 10, 2006
2 Comments on The Top Contenders for this Year’s NBA MVP

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:

New York Knicks

Knicks Need Complete Overhaul To Save Franchise

Post author By djcfla1
Post date March 4, 2006
1 Comment on Knicks Need Complete Overhaul To Save Franchise

By David J. Cohen

It was a great feeling to cheer for the Knicks in the 90s. Even though the Knicks didn’t win a title during the period they produced competitive teams that captivated sold-out crowds at Madison Square Garden. In 1994 the Knicks reached the NBA finals and were led by G John Starks and C Patrick Ewing. In the shortened season of 1999 the Knicks enjoyed one of the most memorable runs in NBA playoff history. They became the first (and only) 8th seed to reach the finals. The floater by G Allan Houston with .7 seconds left in game 5 of the opening round against the Heat was pure magic and capped off one of the greatest rivalries in modern NBA history. Then in the conference finals, F Larry Johnson made a miraculous 4-point play in game 3 that propelled the Knicks into the finals. After that shot the Garden was visibly shaking as the entire crowd was jumping and screaming as one. To this day I have never seen fans as electrified in a celebration as they were after that play against the Pacers. In those days you were proud to be a Knicks fan.

NBA General

Who want’s to get swept?

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

NBA General

Top Ten Predictions

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

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

Boston Celtics

Paul Pierce

I hail from the media crazed town of Boston and am perplexed as to the reason Paul Pierce gets such a bad rap. If any true fan of the NBA, the few that remain out there, could answer my inquisition, I would appreciate it.