For better or worse, the NBA is typically the most predictable of professional sports leagues.  The best teams usually win and the best teams usually have the superstar players.  Of course, it is not quite that simple.  Detail matters and surprises do happen but in the Eastern Conference the overall story seems clear:  LeBron James and the Cavs are the best team, Chicago is a bona fide contender, and everyone else ranges from decent to whatever it is the 76ers are. This huge gap between … [Read more...] about NBA Preview 2014-15: Eastern Conference

In the dog days of NBA off-season, the mind of the fan tends to wander about basketball history.  Well, the dog days are coming to an end but still I keep thinking about the old Showtime Lakers from the 1980s.  I recently read Jeff Pearlman’s awesome book on the subject, which gave a comprehensive review of this dynsaty and almost all the players (both major and minor).  I can’t recommend the book enough for NBA fans who want to dig deeper into Lakers lore beyond the basics of Magic, Kareem, and … [Read more...] about Showtime Re-Examined

Another FIBA international competition has come and gone and it is clear that the United States has established itself as the best basketball team in the world and that the gap against competition is quite high again.  The question becomes: now what?  Well, that isn’t really the question but the pundits are questioning the utility in even competing with pros in the FIBA Worlds or the Olympics anymore. Yesterday, Adrian Wojnarowski laid out the main arguments against the use of NBA players in … [Read more...] about On International Competition and the NBA