ONE In the midst of the coronavirus outbreak in the U.S. the NBA, along with the other major sports leagues, is taking precautionary measures and preparing for possible games without fans. The league already closed the locker rooms to the media. It last week advised players to no longer shake hands with fans and instead […]
ONE. A decade ago the trend around the NBA was to build Big Three lineups around three star players. Today we’re seeing it turn to more of a salary cap-friendly approach of the Dynamic Duo. The Lakers have LeBron James and Anthony Davis. The Clippers countered with Kawhi Leonard and Paul George. The Rockets put […]
ONE. The NBA has thrived on drama. Since the days of Bird v. Magic, rivalries between players have fueled the allure of the game. Even in an era where we’ve seen way more hugs and smiles after games than any fan of a losing team wants to see, there still remain some beefs that keep […]
ONE So maybe size doesn’t matter after all? Or maybe what the Houston Rockets are showing us is having the right size is what matters. Ten games into this “small ball” approach Mike D’Antoni has employed, the analytics say they are actually a better team than they were with 6’10” center Clint Capela in the […]
ONE. They say the NBA is a talent-driven league. The problem is most of the talent is concentrated on a handful of teams. So what happens when you don’t have enough talent to win? The correct answer is you empower the coach. But that doesn’t happen in today’s NBA. Let’s take a look at the […]
ONE. The Knicks had a very busy week and yet made only one trade. Let’s begin with the news from Tuesday, when the team announced team president Steve Mills was leaving his position effective immediately. General manager Scott Perry was put in charge of overseeing basketball operations on an interim basis. Perry worked the phones […]
ONE. When we consider the snubs for this year’s all-star roster, look beyond the statistics. We are entering an era in the NBA where there is a greater emphasis put back into winning. This is a good thing for the league. While the starters are selected by a voting process that consists of 50% of […]
ONE. Kobe Bryant never played for the Knicks, but he felt like a Knick. His annual visits were always a spectacle and none more than Feb. 2, 2009, when he scored 61 points to set at the time the new Madison Square Garden scoring record. I was a beat writer for Newsday at the time […]
ONE. Raptors forward Pascal Siakam was voted a starter among the Eastern Conference players selected to the All-Star game. It will be his first all-star appearance to continue what has been an amazing ascension for a late first-round pick who spent time in the G-League as a rookie. Siakam, in his fourth season, earned the […]
ONE. Are the Rockets just going through the dog days of the NBA season or is a dramatic change on the horizon for them? Mike D’Antoni entered this season with the label “lame duck coach” because he’s in the final year of his contract. Rockets owner Tilman Fertitta said at the start of the season […]
ONE. Kyrie Irving has a game that can, at any moment, blow up the internet with a jaw-dropping move that makes shake your head and wonder how anyone can do what he does. He can also do the same off the court. After the Nets lost to the 76ers on Wednesday, in a game Irving […]
ONE. The reputation Chris Paul had after he was traded by the Rockets was that of a grouchy, aging star with not much tread left on the tires. He and James Harden clashed in the locker room and one of them had to go. And we all know Harden isn’t losing that popularity contest in […]
ONE. There used to be a worn out cliche that warned, “Live by the three, die by the three.” But as we head into the third decade of the 21st Century, the NBA has become a league that not only lives by the three, it’s thriving by it. But does that mean the game is […]
Happy New Year! ONE. Kenny Smith before the season was in a debate about the greatness of the two Los Angeles-based teams and he brought up a player perspective to settle the debate. “Which team has the two players who will make you lose sleep the night before you play them?” he asked. Obviously all […]
Let’s close the decade with a look ahead, a look back and the requisite All-Decade team. ONE. As the NBA moves into the 20’s, the first challenge that lies ahead for the NBA is what to make of the immensely popular league’s decline in television ratings. Despite the billions the league is receiving from the […]
ONE. Not even Christmas could save the NBA’s sagging television ratings. According to several reports based on the Nielsen data, the league saw a 10% overall decline in viewership of their five-game slate this year. And while the primetime matchup — the Clippers comeback win over the Lakers — did extremely well in the Los […]
ONE. There was a time LeBron James chastised commissioner Adam Silver for sending a memo around the league saying that sitting out healthy players is an “extremely significant issue” for the NBA. “I don’t understand why it’s become a problem now, because I sit out a couple games?” LeBron said in March 2017. Of the […]
ONE. James Harden hears everything. He hears how some fans and media dismiss his prolific scoring by pointing to his inordinate volume of shots per game. He hears about how all of his offensive skills fail to produce when it matters most in the playoffs. And he hears the complaints about his penchant for drawing […]
ONE. This weekend begins the real NBA season. On Sunday, all players who were signed or acquired in the offseason are now eligible to be traded, which means it is the unofficial opening of the NBA Trade Season. Yes, it’s time to warm up the Trade Machine! Let’s start the conversation with the players who […]
ONE. David Fizdale was the first coach fired this season, but as the trend is going, he won’t be the last. The NBA saw three in-season coaching changes in each of the last two seasons. After Fizdale was relieved of his duties last Friday (and replaced by interim coach Mike Miller), the Knicks issued a […]
Happy Thanksgiving! ONE Take a moment to marvel at the Toronto Raptors, who are the anti-Process. Rather than overvalue the idea of collecting draft picks and the currency of hope that is the lottery, they have built one of the most stable and self-sufficient franchises in the NBA without a single lottery pick and without […]
ONE – Are you ready for a Wild Card round in the NBA? It’s worked in baseball and it’s been used in the NFL for years. According to a report this weekend by ESPN, the NBA is considering a few dramatic changes to it’s season format, with a “play-in” round as one of the potential […]
ONE Let’s begin this week by checking in on the LeBron James Revenge Tour. We’re not yet a month into the season and he’s already using hashtags like #WashedKing to let us all know he’s very aware of those who said he was on the decline after last season’s injury-riddle 50-game debut in Los Angeles. […]