SI’s 1996-97 Fearless Predictions Revisited

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In March 2020, while we were just starting this long pandemic, I resolved to do more deep dives on NBA history stuff.  The first result was an article revisiting Sports Illustrated’s Hank Hersch “10 Fearless Predictions” for the 1995-96 NBA season.  The goal wasn’t to critique the predictions.  Really, the goal was to capture that moment in time and what people were thinking at the time and what we see now with the benefit of hindsight.  These predictions were obviously meant … [Read more...] about SI’s 1996-97 Fearless Predictions Revisited

Are the Knicks for Real?

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With a relatively easy victory over the Raptors yesterday, the Knicks have now won nine straight and sit tenuously in the fourth seed at 34-27.  Naturally, New York is aflutter over the Knicks playing meaningful games in April and generally appearing to be a competent organization.  Let’s look at the Knicks and how real this turnaround is… What exactly are the 2020-21 Knicks? They are the 2020-21 version of the old Jeff Van Gundy Knicks, a slow paced/defensive squad.  Tom Thibodeau … [Read more...] about Are the Knicks for Real?

Too Many 3-Pointers?

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At the end of today’s Celtics-Nuggets game, Boston Globe columnist Bob Ryan tweeted “Celtics and Nuggets a combined 15-for-67 on threes today. Yeah, that three-point shot is a great idea. It really enhances the game. By the way, Nuggets score 8 points in the fourth quarter. I don’t have a punch line.”  Ryan’s disgust triggered the typical back-and-forth about the relative merits of the three-pointer to which Ryan noted: “How about just junking the whole needless thing? The three was the … [Read more...] about Too Many 3-Pointers?

Revisiting the Manning-Nique Trade

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The trade deadline has come again and this year’s relatively mild events had me thinking back to, perhaps, the biggest late season trade when the Atlanta Hawks traded franchise icon Dominique Wilkins to the Clippers for Danny Manning in February 1994.  Even 27 years later, it still seems odd that this deal happened.  Let’s take a look back and see if things make more sense now than they did then… 1993-94: Atlanta Surprises in a non-MJ World Before we get into the specifics of the … [Read more...] about Revisiting the Manning-Nique Trade

Can LaMelo Win ROY?

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LaMelo Ball’s recent wrist injury likely ends his season with 41 games played.  He has been the best rookie this season but does his abbreviated season disqualify him from contention?  Well, that really depends on how good the competition is.  In this particular case, most of the other rookies who have played have had dubious value.  Let’s run through the stats of all rookies with at least 1,000 minutes played so far: -Ball, 41 gms, 1,174 mins, 15.9 ppg, .451 FG%, .528 … [Read more...] about Can LaMelo Win ROY?

Revisiting DJ for Robey: How Did It Happen?

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Nearly 38 years ago, the Celtics made one of the great trades in the history of the franchise when they got Dennis Johnson a strong starting point guard from Phoenix for Rick Robey, who was a solid backup center, but nothing more.  Boston would go on to make the next four NBA Finals, winning two, while Robey was out of the NBA by 1986.  After the runaway success of the Celtics, the trade was widely seen as an obvious fleecing by Red Auerbach of Jerry Colangelo and the Suns. This … [Read more...] about Revisiting DJ for Robey: How Did It Happen?

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