Harlan Schreiber

Quick Thoughts (Melo’s Return Edition)

November 30, 2019 by Harlan Schreiber Leave a Comment

1. Melo, Requiem for a Chucker?: One of the bigger stories of the last few weeks was the return of Carmelo Anthony to the NBA. Melo’s ending with the Rockets last season was tough. He played poorly (as did the team) during his stint and he was put on hiatus by the team by early November 2018 (after a game that they lost to OKC by 18 and Melo shot 1-11 from the field) before being cut. The Rockets’ treatment was seemingly designed to make let him go softly but actually had the opposite effect … [Read more...] about Quick Thoughts (Melo’s Return Edition)

Quick Thoughts (So Far)

November 13, 2019 by Harlan Schreiber Leave a Comment

With most teams having not played more than nine or ten games played so far, it is way too early to make many meaningful conclusions away. Having said that, premature judgments are what the internet exists for. So, let’s knock around some snap judgments…. Best Surprise: Phoenix Suns The Suns are clearly the biggest positive surprise so far. They looked like the worst team in the West on paper and that was before Deandre Ayton was suspended. Somehow, they are 6-3 and have the second … [Read more...] about Quick Thoughts (So Far)

The China/NBA FAQ

October 20, 2019 by Harlan Schreiber Leave a Comment

The NBA’s kerfuffle with China has been all the talk of the pre-season. I was frankly hoping it would blow over and we could focus on the game, but the fact is that the issue is quite significant and bears a moment of our time. Most coverage of the issue involves whether the NBA has compromised its values to ease the anger of a large business partner. This is the largest of the issues from this dispute but there are number of interesting sub-issues/questions that also occur to me. I thought … [Read more...] about The China/NBA FAQ

NBA Preview 2019-20

October 11, 2019 by Harlan Schreiber Leave a Comment

The beauty of the current NBA season is the uncertainty. When was the last time, going into an NBA season, there have been legitimate questions about who the prohibitive favorite truly is? The Warriors have ruled the roost for several years. The Spurs and Lakers were previously perennial title contenders for nearly 15 years. Before that, we had Michael Jordan’s Bulls. This season, the Lakers and Clippers both have serious title aspirations and have good cases to be considered title … [Read more...] about NBA Preview 2019-20

Revisiting Shaq’s 1999-00 MVP Voting

September 24, 2019 by Harlan Schreiber Leave a Comment

Apparently, even uber-successful stars are just like the rest of us. They are frustrated by the “what if” moments of life and focus on the regrets. To that end, on Monday, Shaquille O’Neal told an interviewer that he still detests the only NBA reporter who didn’t vote for Shaq as MVP for the 1999-00 season. O’Neal called reporter Fred Hickman, “Fred Idiot Hickman” and said that “I hate him. I don’t need to talk to him. There’s nothing to apologize about because he destroyed history being a … [Read more...] about Revisiting Shaq’s 1999-00 MVP Voting

Revisting Kobe & Shaq: How Many More Titles Should There Have Been?

September 3, 2019 by Harlan Schreiber Leave a Comment

In the depths of the NBA off-season, fans and former players turn their thoughts to the what-ifs. Specifically, last week, Kobe Bryant, speaking off-the-cuff at a convention in Las Vegas, expressed admiration for Shaquille O’Neal’s ability (“[t]his guy was a force like I have never seen”) but regretted that Shaq didn’t always work as hard as Kobe did. Bryant opined that “I would’ve had f-------- 12 rings” if O’Neal would have been so dedicated to working hard. These statements woke Shaq, … [Read more...] about Revisting Kobe & Shaq: How Many More Titles Should There Have Been?