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It’s almost that time of year again. Wait, is it? But football hasn’t even started its regular season yet? In less than three months, the NBA will be tipping-off the 2012-2013 season when the Boston Celtics travel to Miami to take on LeBron James and the Heat. With all that said, let’s take a look at 10 questions surrounding next season.
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From the opening-tip it looked like we were in for a blow-out. Team USA got off to a hot start, opening the game on a 14-1 run thanks to Kevin Durant draining threes like they were free-throws. Of course, the scrappiness of the Argentines kept them in the game until the final buzzer.
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The calendar now reads June. In the NBA that means it’s time to crown an NBA Champion. However among the biggest of NBA nerds, it also means it’s time to get ready for the NBA draft. We’re only two weeks and a few hours away from the 2011 NBA Draft. This year, it’s preparing for the likes of Kyrie Irving, Derrick Williams, Enes Kanter and Brandon Knight to join the greatest basketball league on the planet that has us basketball geeks totally psyched.
Wait, what?
By Peter Christian
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I love to get paid just as much as the next guy. But when it comes to figuring out a budget and where to spend your money, I think some GM’s are lost. The absurdity of big-dollar contracts in the NBA has made me think a lot since last offseason. With another off-season just around the corner, I would like to dive into last year’s contracts that were handed out, what players did and didn’t deserve them, and then I would like to focus on this year’s contracts and who should and shouldn’t get a big deal. This might turn into a three or four-part series. Here is Part I today. [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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Anybody who saw this coming, please raise your hand now. Just raise it up. Raise it up nice and high. Anybody? OK…I didn’t think so.
With Oklahoma City winning in San Antonio Monday and Boston winning in Miami Tuesday, the NBA Playoffs have suddenly been flipped upside down. After trailing 0-2 in their respective series, both the Thunder and the Celtics have done the near-impossible, winning Games 3, 4 and 5 to move within one win of creating an NBA Finals matchup that nobody expected. [Read more…]
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After falling down 0-2 to San Antonio in the Western Conference Finals, Oklahoma City continued its home court playoff dominance and ended the Spurs’ remarkable 20-game winning streak with a convincing 102-82 victory in Game 3. The Thunder stomped San Antonio up and down the court by playing stifling defense and scoring in the paint at will, handing the Spurs their largest margin of defeat in a playoff game during the Gregg Popovich era and ending their perfect postseason start at 10 games.
But it’s not exactly time to break out the bubbly and get ready for the NBA Finals. In actuality, down 2-1 in the series with another home game on its way Saturday night, now is the time OKC should be most worried. Sure, they just dismantled the mighty Spurs, winners of 20 straight and 31 of 33, but such a thrilling victory could make Game 4 a perfect time for a Thunder letdown. Only complicating matters, the Thunder will again be playing the NBA’s best coached and most balanced team coming off arguably their worst performance of the entire season. [Read more…]
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This should be one of the most highly anticipated series since the Los Angeles Lakers v. Boston Celtics NBA Finals in 2010. Rarely do we get an extremely intriguing Conference Finals. We will get both on Sunday when the Oklahoma City Thunder visit the San Antonio Spurs in Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals. There is so much to look forward to in this series, so let’s get it started.
When you see what destruction the San Antonio Spurs have done this season, and so far in the playoffs, it’s not crazy to admit that this team is very good. Actually, they are great. Gregg Popovich has managed a roster filled with veterans and youth. They have depth, experience, talent, and leadership. So just how great is this team?
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I am little bored right now, so I thought I would create a list of the 25 Toughest Players to Guard in the NBA. Here are players 25-21. Feel free to leave a comment!
The game of basketball is a lot easier if you have a player like Kevin Durant, LeBron James, Derrick Rose, or Kobe Bryant. But having a superstar on your team doesn’t always guarantee you success. Every team that is a favorite to make it to the NBA Finals has a playmaker or two, who they wouldn’t trade for anyone in the world.
The regular season is over and it’s time to make that money. Can LeBron James finally capture his first NBA championship? Do the Lakers have enough to compete in the West? What about the Griz? Spurs? How about the Bulls in East? Is D-Rose healthy? Check it out! In 1,000 words or less, I give my playoff predictions and pick the NBA champion. Let’s go!
