-
Cavs vs Bulls – Derrick Rose Teaches Kyrie Irving a Thing or Two
Reasons to worry? Derrick Rose is still not there offensively, not to mention injuring his hamstring which means more progress problems for him and the Chicago Bulls. Happy thoughts? He put on a fantastic defensive performance against Kyrie Irving, and the Chicago Bulls beat the Cleveland Cavaliers 96-81.
-
NBA Season Preview: Best Point Guards
After too many months of waiting for the 2013-2014 NBA Season to begin, it’s almost here, which means it’s time for some best-by-position previews, beginning with the point guards, which include the usual suspects of Chris Paul, Tony Parker and Deron Williams, while the return of Derrick Rose and the rise of Stephen Curry messes quite a bit with the order.
-
Cleveland Cavaliers – Jarrett Jack Makes Them Playoff Contenders
The best move the Cleveland Cavaliers made this offseason wasn’t using their number one draft pick on Anthony Bennett (early on looking like a bad choice), but signing Jarrett Jack from the Golden State Warriors.
-
Miami Heat Have More Wins This Season Than the Cleveland Cavaliers Have Since LeBron James Left
There’s always an argument about what is an MVP. Sometimes, by not being in some place, injured or simply left a team, you prove your worth more than anything else. LeBron James happens to be the best player and most valuable all at once, leading the Miami Heat to a 66 win season, while the Cleveland Cavaliers, his former team, have won a total of 64 games since he left them.
-
Best NBA Players in the Clutch This Season
While LeBron James may not score more than some others in clutch situations, the fact that the Miami Heat are by far the best team in the NBA on both offense and defense, outscoring opponents by 32 points per 100 possessions in the final minutes of close games, more than double the pace-adjusted margin of the second-ranked team, the Oklahoma City Thunder, with a positive margin of 13.8 points per 100 possessions in clutch situations.
-
Miami Heat – LeBron James Too Good for Kyrie Irving Right Now
As part of trying to hype the game up between the Miami Heat and the Cleveland Cavaliers, two angles were used – LeBron James becoming a free agent in 2014 and possibly returning to his first NBA team, and the rise of Kyrie Irving among the ranks of NBA stars.
-
NBA All-Star Game Outcome Doesn’t Change
The West don’t always have the better starting lineup, but they usually have the much deeper team (and conference), which explains why they’ve beaten the East three times in a row in the NBA All-Star game, as Chris Paul dominated the start and finish, beating the too serious Kevin Durant for the MVP award, while LeBron James seemed to be trying a bit too hard to make this one mean something.
-
Three-Point Shootout is Good as its Best Contestant
Unlike the usually disappointing dunk contest, the three-point shootout isn’t about star power, although having Kyrie Irving and Stephen Curry stroking the deep ball didn’t really hurt; it’s about having one or two competitors simply having a terrific night from beyond the arc.
-
Rising Stars Challenge Still Not Very Interesting
Kenneth Faried kept dunking without anyone disturbing him, making 18 of his 22 field goal attempts, as he led team Chuck to a 163-135 win over Team Shaq in the opening event of the 2013 All-Star weekend, the Rising Stars Challenge, which still doesn’t really work despite the various attempts to add some missing ingredient into the mix.
-
Minnesota Timberwolves – Ricky Rubio Looking Like the Guy From Last Year
It’s safe to say that Ricky Rubio is back. The Minnesota Timberwolves, still hampered by too many injuries, aren’t winning that much; their playoffs project will have to get pushed back a season. And still, it’s great to see one of the more special players in the NBA finding his place in the league again.