The China/NBA FAQ

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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

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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

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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?

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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?

How Did We Get Here? A Review of 1990s NBA Free Agency

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In about one week, NBA free agency will be upon us.  We are already being deluged with rumors, innuendo, and recruiting anecdotes.  This year, there are some huge names on the block, notably Kevin Durant, Kawhi Leonard, Kyrie Irving, and Jimmy Butler.  We are hearing stories about Irving buying a home in New Jersey (where he is from), as proof that he’s locked into the Nets.  Durant is even more of a mystery, with his serious injury, his spats in Golden State, and the desperation of the Knicks … [Read more...] about How Did We Get Here? A Review of 1990s NBA Free Agency

Post-Finals FAQ

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The Finals are over and we are left with all sorts of questions/issues. Let’s run through all relevant news… Should the Warriors have played Kevin Durant? With all due respect to the Raptors, KD is the first question on everyone’s mind.  There was a much discourse about what Durant owed the Warriors and whether he was pushed to play.  The answers are not so simple.  It was pretty clear that the Warriors were much less likely to win without Durant and that he was not 100%.  The bigger … [Read more...] about Post-Finals FAQ

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