2009-2010 SEASON: WHAT TO LOOK FOR

The new season is almost upon us, and it’s ripe full of drama. We’ve already got crazy trades, a possible Russian buyout, a celebrity wedding, and can look forward to even more desperate moves ahead of the free agent summer of 2010. The questions are endless: will Kobe Bryant and his Los Angeles Lakers weather the drama to repeat? How are KG’s legs going to hold up? Should I read ESPN or People to get my latest NBA gossip? Read more

SUPERSTARS WHO MAY GET SHUT OUT

The ’90s were dominated by Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls. During Jordan’s reign of terror, countless future Hall of Famers had their chances to win a championship ring foiled. Only during Jordan’s brief retirement did Hakeem Olajuwon and the Houston Rockets win two titles. Among the greats that had their hearts broken by Jordan were Charles Barkley, Patrick Ewing, Reggie Miller and Karl Malone. Read more

LAKERS NBA FINALS DREAM MATCHUP

The Los Angeles Lakers are the 2009 NBA Champions, but the players are still hungry for more rings. If the Lakers can re-sign both Lamar Odom and Trevor Ariza this summer, they will again be favorite to win it all next year. The Black Mamba won his fourth ring and the first without Shaq, but don’t count out his desire to win more. Read more

SUPERMAN FACES THE A-BOMB IN NBA FINALS

It is universally acknowledged that any team in the hunt for an NBA championship needs a solid big man as the centerpiece of the team. In fact, the only NBA champions over the last 20 years without a dominating center or power forward were the Chicago Bulls (led by a pretty good player) and the Detroit Pistons (an amazingly balanced team). Besides those two exceptions, every other championship team has featured players such as Hakeem Olajuwan, Tim Duncan, Shaquille O’Neal, or Kevin Garnett as one of the top two players on the team. Read more

NBA ROUNDUP: 4/25 - 5/1

The Cleveland Cavaliers showed why they had the best record in the NBA by easily sweeping the Detroit Pistons in the first round. The presumptive favorites, the Los Angeles Lakers, failed to look anything like a championship contender by blowing huge leads to the Utah Jazz before finishing them off. The San Antonio Spurs were shocked by the Dallas Mavericks and it’s Tim Duncan’s first ever playoff exit in the first round. Look for an exciting series to go seven between the Mavs and Denver Nuggets. Read more

WHERE’S THE NBA LOVE?

t’s a shame that some of the best basketball being played all season is being completely ignored. Read more

DOES AGE MATTER IN THE NBA? PART 2

Yesterday we looked at the first-round picks from 1999 to 2005, so today we’ll look at the period between 2006 and 2008 when the league imposed a 19-year-old eligibility limit for the draft and see how players in this era fared. Let’s get right to it. Read more

DOES AGE MATTER IN THE NBA?

For the past three years, many pundits have questioned the NBA’s decision to impose a 19-year-old age limit on potential draftees. Supporters of the rule don’t feel those who make the preps-to-pros jump are mature enough to handle the rigors that come with being a professional, citing  Leon Smith and Ndudi Ebi as classic examples for the implementation of the limit. Many (including Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban) actually believe the age limit should be raised to 20 or 22. Critics of the rule, meanwhile, point to all the best players in the league, most of whom came straight out of high school. Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Kevin Garnett, and Dwight Howard all skipped college and developed themselves into perennial MVP candidates. Read more

NBA ROUNDUP: 4/11 - 4/17

The NBA Playoffs are here and all the match-ups have been solidified. The biggest news is that Kevin Garnett will be out for playoffs. Teams in the East must be licking their lips smelling blood in the water. The Cleveland Cavaliers and LeBron James must feel that this year is their time to win a championship with the biggest threat in their conference out of the picture. Read more

NBA ROUNDUP: 3/28 - 4/3

Will LeBron’s legacy be greater than Jordan’s when all is said and done? While that question is debated, get more insight into the real LeBron in his “60 Minutes” interview. In other news, the growth potential in China for the NBA is tremendous. It’s an exciting time to see how much basketball can grow globally, especially in China where 300 million people play basketball. Read more

WEEKLY ROUNDUP: 3/21- 3/27

Shaq Twittering
Shaq leads the Twitter movement, including sending tweets during the halftime break in the middle of a game between the Phoenix Suns and the Washington Wizards. Coaches may not understand Twitter, but they should allow players to do what they want during halftime. Some players listen to their iPods, others review game tape, so why not Twitter? Read more

TOP NBA GAMES: 3/23 - 3/29

I just checked the NBA playoff standings and something immediately caught my eye. The Charlotte Bobcats are only a game behind the Chicago Bulls for the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference! Much of their success this season must be attributed to coach Larry Brown, who is working his magic yet again by taking another underdog team and turning them into a playoff contender. This makes me wonder how truly dysfunctional a team the New York Knicks must have been that he was only able to muster up 23 wins despite a roster full of talent. What a waste.

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TOP NBA GAMES: 3/16 - 3/22