TOP TEAMS STUMBLE EARLY

For the Los Angeles Lakers and Cleveland Cavaliers, high hopes turned to disappointments pretty darned quickly. Read more

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

NBA ROUNDUP: 7/25 - 7/31

The best news for the Los Angeles Lakers this week is that Lamar Odom will be back to help defend the championship. It was a long drawn out contract negotiation but now that things are finalized he will be a huge boon for the team. The Lakers are still the best team in the league and looks like they have a superb opportunity to repeat.
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NBA ROUNDUP: 7/11-7/17

It’s a sad state of affairs when a defending champion cannot re-sign a crucial part of their team. The Los Angeles Lakers and Lamar Odom are at a standstill in their negotiation process. Odom needs to just take the $9 million and play for the team. Read more

NBA TWEETS OF THE WEEK: 7/9

It’s offical as free agents signed on with their respective teams this week. Ron Artest is offically a Laker, Trevor Ariza a Rocket, Ben Gordon and Charlie Villanueva a Piston. The elite teams haven’t stopped making moves and next year will one of the greatest NBA seasons of all time with the the powerhouses duking it out. The Lakers, Spurs, Cavaliers, and Magic all have upgraded their rosters to face off in a epic battle. Read more

NBA ROUNDUP: 6/27 - 7/3

The biggest news this week is Ron Artest going to the Los Angeles Lakers. Artest has the talent and the toughness to be a contributor to the Lakers, but the biggest question will be his attitude. If Phil Jackson and Kobe Bryant can keep Artest in check, they will be even more dominant. But that is a big if. However, similar questions arose when Dennis Rodman joined the Chicago Bulls with Jackson and Michael Jordan. That experiment worked out well, so the same may occur in this situation with the Lakers. Read more

NBA TWEETS OF THE WEEK: 7/2

It’s been a sad week with the passing of one of the greatest pop icons of our generation. Michael Jackson will be missed by fans and NBA players alike. The NBA draft has passed and free agency is upon us. The Pistons has the most cap room this off-season and look as if they will be signing Ben Gordon and Charlie Villanueva. The gap between the talent in the Eastern and Western Conference teams have closed and it will be an exciting 2009-10 season. Read more

NBA ROUNDUP: 6/20 - 6/26

It’s been a whirlwind week with multiple teams making drastic moves to catch up to the Los Angeles Lakers. The dream match-up in the Finals with Kobe Bryant playing against LeBron James and former teammate Shaquille O’Neal may become a reality come next season. It’s been a busy draft day and it seems the teams that benefited the most so far has been the Cleveland Cavaliers, San Antonio Spurs and Orlando Magic. Expect more drastic moves this summer. Read more

RIVALS LOADING UP

With the Los Angeles Lakers king of the castle, a few of the other contenders are bulking up with the hopes dethroning the champs. The San Antonio Spurs kicked it off by trading for All-Star-caliber forward Richard Jefferson. The Cleveland Cavaliers, however, seriously loaded up by pairing Shaquille O’Neal with LeBron James, setting up a dream NBA Finals match-up. Read more

NBA TWEETS OF THE WEEK: 6/24

Did you watch Griffin or Nash when they were in NYC? Read more

WILL JAMES REBOUND NEXT SEASON?

For LeBron James, the 2008-2009 season was one of extremes. From a dominating roll through the regular season, to the sudden crash after hitting a brick wall that were the Orlando Magic, James and his squad went from dominant to devastated in a flash. 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

KOBE CEMENTS HIS LEGACY

Trade talks have emerged for a potential trade of Shaquille O’Neal to the Cleveland Cavaliers from the Phoenix Suns. 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

2009 NBA SEASON AWARDS

With the season nearly wrapped up, it’s time to present our awards for the end of the season. We’ve been treated to another strong season, and the playoffs promise to be even more intense. But rather than the usual accolades, we at Ball or Die have devised our own set of categories we felt deserved merit and recognition. They celebrate some of the best and worst of the season, which started as a tight multi-horse race that really came down to two superior teams. Read more

NBA ROUNDUP: 4/4 - 4/10

Shaquille O’Neal has played pretty well for a 37-year-old. He showed nimbleness this season, as well as in the NBA All-Star game where he won Co-MVP with Kobe Bryant. Now through Twitter he’s been hinting that he wants to be traded to the Dallas Mavericks. Shaq still have one to two years left in his career but will only be effective on a championship-contending team who needs a role player like the Los Angeles Lakers or Cleveland Cavaliers. He won’t be much use to a rebuilding Dallas Mavericks. Read more

TOP NBA GAMES: 3/30 - 4/05

In the blink of an eye, a once dominant sports franchise can fall into mediocrity. It happened to two teams this season, one from the Eastern Conference and one from the Western Conference. I’m talking, of course, about the Detroit Pistons and the Phoenix Suns. It’s kind of sad actually, that up until just a year ago, these two teams were always mentioned as championship contenders. Age, changing systems, and departing point guards have all led to the rapid decline of these once-proud franchises. Seeing this, you really can’t give enough credit to the San Antonio Spurs organization, who has basically kept the same team for the past 10 years and somehow maintained their championship caliber level of play.

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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

WEEKLY ROUND UP: 3/13 - 3/20

It’s been a crazy week in the NBA with all the apocalypse and doomsday talk. The bottom line is that teams need money during this recession and we don’t know how bad it’s going to be come 2011. Until then, the fans need to enjoy all the great basketball that is being played as we get closer to the playoffs. The defending champions Boston Celtics look like they may be the No. 3 seed in the East, while the Phoenix Suns might not even make the playoffs in the elite West. Read more

TOP NBA GAMES: 3/9 - 3/15

Shaq is feuding with an ex-coach and an All-Star caliber ex-teammate. Sound familiar? In Orlando, it was coach Brian Hill and Penny Hardaway. With the Lakers, it was Phil Jackson and Kobe Bryant. This past week, Shaq exchanged words with former Miami Heat coach Stan Van Gundy and former wingman Dwayne Wade.

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