Chasing Rings

      There are two kinds of NBA off-seasons. There’s the kind with the draft and free agency and other normal stuff, and there are the Summers of LeBron. This falls under the latter heading. For the third time in eight years, the world’s best player is seriously considering upping sticks.  In 2010, he made “The Decision” to take his talents to Miami. In 2014, he low-keyed it – not that anything involving LeBron James is low-key then comes up with "im coming home." for Sports Illustrated Magazine. Whatever choice he makes in 2018 will reshape the NBA until well, the next Summer of LeBron. Cleveland’s loss to Boston in the 2010 Eastern semis triggered the first Summer of LeBron. Those Cavs had won 61 games and held a 2-1 series lead. After losing Game 4 on the road, they returned home for what stands as the strangest game of James’ career. He played 41 minutes and took only 14 shots. His team was outscored 100-65 over the final three quarters.  The Cav...

I love the underdogs in all kinds of sports. Somewhere along the NBA playoffs, I wanted to pick the Houston Rockets me being a Houston native or Boston Celtics to reach the NBA Finals. The obvious pick, the Golden State Warriors, and Cleveland Cavaliers, don’t you think? Would the Rockets have won if Chris Paul had been healthy for Games 6 and 7? If Golden State's Andre Iguodala had been healthy, would Paul's health have mattered? If anybody gets to complain about injuries, it's Boston. If the Celtics avoid them, they are Golden State good. If you are the greatest shooter in basketball history, and Curry is statistically, you probably have the license to shoot when you want and from where you want. Curry chooses not to. He shares the ball, so his teammates do. Teammates that would be stars elsewhere accept their roles. They get to win another championship. That's a good role. To beat Golden State for the title, Cleveland’s LeBron James will have to go one aga...

This past thursday fox News host Laura Ingraham reignited a feud this week over whether athletes should get political. Ingraham on her show suggested NBA stars shouldn't talk politics, telling Kevin Durant and LeBron James to "shut up and dribble."  Multiple players rallied against Ingraham, and Durant called her comments "racist." The feud follows the recent debate, centered around the NFL football season, over whether players should use their platform for political statements. Last year, Trump sparked a national controversy over players who protest police brutality and racism by kneeling during the national anthem before games. He called for NFL team owners to fire players who don't stand. Trump's remarks sparked widespread protests from players across the league and condemnations from many athletes and coaches. Many players that had not previously made political statements supported oth...

Dallas Mavericks fans and conspiracy theorists have been screaming “rigged” for the past decade and which started back during the 2006 NBA Finals between the Miami Heat and Dallas Mavs. The controversial series won by the Heat in six after being down 2-0 was so bizarre, Mavs owner Mark Cuban even hired a former FBI agent to look into it years later after the fact. As a fan of the Miami Heat I’m not going to complain about the results or complain about Dwyane Wade attempting as many free throws as the Mavs (25) in Game 5 or Wade attempting 21 more in Game 6. I’m not going to say the league is rigged but I will say a lot of money can be made in Vegas if the refs just make an extra call or two in the first half of regular season games. Determining the winner of a game is way too risky and hard to do but slowing the game down with extra foul calls to make a sure a team doesn’t score a certain amount of points in a half wouldn’t be that difficult.  Again, I’m not saying...

Did the NBA really fixed Lakers-Kings Series back in 2002? The most notorious series of recent history is the 2002 Western Conference finals, when the two-time defending champion Los Angeles Lakers staved off elimination by defeating the Sacramento Kings.  Tim Donaghy alleged that two referees (understood to be Dick Bavetta and Bob Delaney) fixed the series in particular game 6. Donaghy was convicted of betting on games as his tenure as a referee in the NBA so he may not seem a reliable source, but many considered him an insider with very reliable information. And he wasn’t the only one who found something amiss in Game 6. Announcer Bill Walton (throughout the game), prominent sportswriters, ripped the referees for poor calls favoring the Lakers. Many critics noted that the Lakers shot 27 free throws in the fourth quarter, and the Kings only nine. An NBA game could, of course, be fixed. That’s why the NBA maintains an extensive security department. Its concern is largely ...

Mention the phrase “MVP” to fans of the  Houston Rockets , and the first thing most of them think is,  “How are voters going to screw  James Harden this year? ” Don’t worry, Rocket fans. This year, he will get his due. Harden is running away with the MVP award. Sure, there was that early-season speed bump with Gianni's Antetokounmpo of the Milwaukee Bucks. As the season progresses, though, Harden is doing insane things.  This Season is shaping to be Hardens year though. Harden has the combination of statistical brilliance and team success that no other candidate can match at the moment. Antetokounmpo and Lebron James might finish with great numbers but their teams likely won’t sniff the Rockets in wins. Meanwhile, Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving could have a case with their win totals but they will need to come up with truly outstanding stats to match Harden’s current output. According to Basketball-Reference.com , Harden also leads the NBA ...