ALL-STAR SKILLS CHALLENGE
Isaiah Thomas is set to compete in the Skills Challenge during All-Star weekend in New York. I am wondering if high basketball I.Q. is in the skills set. Probably not, since you cannot put a number on it.
ALEX LIN – TIRED
Alex Lin, in his first full NBA season, averaged 21 minutes over a nine-game stretch and 29 minutes over the previous five games. He recently said he is looking forward to the All-Star break because he is tired. I said earlier he could be key for the Suns at playoff time. I hope […]
AMAZING ATLANTA HAWKS
It’s been a matter of perfect timing for the Atlanta Hawks, who fended off a Golden State invasion Friday night and assumed the NBA’s top record. Notwithstanding a spate of front-office controversy at season’s beginning, the Hawks are tearing through a league overloaded with children playing with children, key players out with injuries, a general […]
INSIDE OUT
The Golden State Warriors/Chicago Bulls game the other night provided a sneak preview of what can happen in the playoffs. Chicago [and also Memphis] play inside out — whereas most of the league, guided by the analytics, is playing outside in. I mean, the Bulls and Grizzlies play all year the way the game is […]
SAM PRESTI AND THE NBA DRAFT
It’s always been the case. Success in the NBA draft depends, in large measure, on other teams’ mistakes. Let’s eyeball Sam Presti’s Oklahoma City successes, since his Thunder are the current building model for aspiring NBA doormats. Remember: in 2007, 2008 and 2009, OKC had the No. 2 overall, a No. 4 and a No. […]
MEMO TO MARKIEFF MORRIS
Referees don’t like players talking to them. They especially don’t like young players coming into the NBA and running their mouths. As a result, Markieff, you will not get the benefit of the doubt in 50-50 calls. Just ask Rasheed Wallace.
KLAY THOMPSON
Back on November 8, 2013, I blogged, “Klay Thompson, Golden State Warriors, is an All-Star. If he doesn’t get selected in the fan voting, the coaches definitely will select him. What sets him apart from other shooters is he can guard. Watch him.” In case you were sleeping, Thompson had a THIRTY-SEVEN-point quarter against Sacramento […]
WHAT HAPPENED?
While giving careful scrutiny to the development of the NBA game, Mr. Research and I talk about what happened — and when. We just about have decided that the game changed when the uniform shorts got longer.
MARK CUBAN ON FAN VOTING
He doesn’t always get it right but he did this time. Cuban says the squads should be expanded to 14 players from the current 12. He said coaches or general managers or both should choose the teams. Cuban said the leading total of 1.5 million votes for Steph Curry was so low it was “embarrassing,” […]
NBA DUNKS AND ARCHIE GOODWIN
Archie Goodwin, the part-time Sun and part-time Bakersfield jammer, has been making the TV newsreels of late. First, there was a spectacular dunk in the late going of Phoenix’ runaway win over the mail-it-in Toronto Raptors, lazily winding up a nine-day road swing. Not long after, back in Bakersfield, the U of Kentucky first-rounder (2013) […]