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It only took 11 games for the Houston Rockets to go from championship contenders to Western Conference also-rans. After a 4-7 start, head coach Kevin McHale was fired. Never mind the four-year contract extension he received last season, or the fact that he had the highest winning percentage in franchise history. The Houston Rockets lost their first three games by an average of 20 points.
The day before McHale was sent packing, the team held a players-only meeting.
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Oklahoma City Thunder forward Kevin Durant was named as the 2013-14 Kia NBA Most Valuable Player, the league announced today in a press release.
Durant received 119 first-place votes, with Miami’s LeBron James landing the other six. The half dozen voters who had LeBron as first on their ballot each had Durant second. LeBron was second on 118 ballots, with Clippers forward Blake Griffin receiving the only other second-place vote.
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With the 2013-2014 season just started, this is an ideal time to examine which the main protagonists will be. We have previously analyzed the best point guards in the NBA and now we will continue on with our list of the top shooting guards in the league.
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All the flashlights in Houston are on the newcomer Dwight Howard and his fellow superstar James Harden at the moment. Howard came and instantly made the Rockets title contenders. Harden is also a player from which the team expects much this season, as the Rockets will try to make a strong title push. However, apart from the Superman, Harden and Chandler Parsons, who is the next star of the team? There are a few role players that can make the difference this season for Houston. [Read more…]
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Disappointing wouldn’t be the exact word to describe Team USA’s first half against and over-matched Tunisia team. Pathetic or embarrassing would be more like it. Thankfully Team USA’s second unit, led by Carmelo Anthony and Kevin Love, helped them cruise to an easy victory in the end.
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Kobe Bryant sparked a huge debate a few weeks ago when he said that the 2012 Men’s Olympic Basketball team could beat the 1992 “Dream Team”. Michael Jordan laughed, “Dream Team” said the ‘Dream Team’ would win by 25, and Charles Barkley called people “knuckleheads”.
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We have already gone over our list of the top ten 2013 unrestricted NBA free agents. Here are the best restricted free agents who are scheduled to hit the market next summer. Don’t forget, a team has the right to match any offer sheet a restricted free agent signs which makes it difficult to sign away a player. [Read more…]
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With the game once again knotted up late in the fourth quarter, Oklahoma City choked.
Despite the league’s best player—the only guy who has shown the ability to slow down Kevin Durant, by the way—checking in and out of play with a leg cramp, the Thunder failed to execute on both ends of the floor, falling into a 3-1 hole in the NBA Finals with a third consecutive loss.
But unlike Games 2 and 3, where suspect refereeing helped the Heat slip away with two victories, OKC has only itself to blame for coughing up a crucial Game 4.
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With the NBA Finals tipping-off in a little over seven hours, I have made a list of 10 things that I am hoping to see from the Finals this year. I know making a list sounds silly and I probably won’t get half of what I put on my list (happens to me every Christmas). But here is a short story: Two years ago, I made a Christmas list of 10 things, roughly, that I wanted. Some of the things were simple items like: a gas card, socks, shorts, and headphones. The other part of the list consisted of some bigger items: groceries (I am a college kid), money, and I think I wrote down something outrageous, like a new laptop. OK. I am getting side-tracked. Here’s my list:
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Since LeBron James took his talents to South Beach and Kevin Durant proved himself as the NBA’s most dangerous offensive weapon, we’ve wanted nothing more than the inevitable NBA Finals matchup pitting these two against each other. Now that it’s finally here, don’t expect this to be a one-time confrontation. In reality, this LeBron v. Durant championship showdown—a preview of more Finals matchups to come, no doubt—should be the beginning of a storied NBA rivalry, one that could ultimately evoke memories of the Bird-Magic duels of the 80s. [Read more…]
Follow paulmbanksThis season reminds me of the fireworks on the 4th of July. It starts off slow, with some big explosions here and there. Gradually it speeds up, a few more big explosions. About two-thirds of the way through, you start to big explosions, until the final salvo where they hit with 50, 75, or 100 fireworks going off in a span of one minute. This is the NBA’s final salvo. And boy, oh boy we are in for a doozie! [Read more…]
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Could there have been a more perfect way for the darling Oklahoma City Thunder—an energetic bunch of youngsters who for years were described as “waiting their turn”—to make their first trip to the NBA Finals?
Since moving to Oklahoma City, the Thunder have simply climbed the Western Conference ladder step by step. After missing the playoffs in 2009, they lost to the eventual champion Lakers in Round 1 in 2010 before falling to eventual champion Dallas in the Western Conference Finals in 2011. In 2012, they dominated the NBA’s last two champs in the Mavericks and Lakers, and have now dealt the league’s top-seeded Spurs, once winners of 20 straight, four consecutive losses en route to the NBA Finals. [Read more…]
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