Sometimes the most unremarkable moment can evoke a most dramatic shift in a player’s psyche. Patty Mills lived through that moment in Game 3 against the Dallas Mavericks. No, he didn’t nail consecutive pull-up threes or even post a notable stat-line. It was just a simple substitution made by Coach Gregg Popovich with 9:05 minutes left in the game that… Read more →
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I, I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference. (Robert Frost, ‘The Road Not Taken’) Coaching can be a fickle and horribly unpredictable job. In professional leagues around the world, fine basketball coaches can feel the axe swing more times then Henry VIII’s wives. The sackings and… Read more →
We’ve finally made it to the NBL postseason! It’s time to say goodbye to one of the most enthralling NBL home-and-away seasons in recent memory, Sam Young’s allergy to transition defence and those wretched clappers at Hisense Arena (wait, what? They’re not going anywhere? Aaargh!). With the first round matchups settled, we can begin dissecting what seems likely to happen… Read more →
With less than a month before the playoffs, normality is beginning to take shape in the swashbuckling Western Conference. We’ve passed the semi-uneventful trade deadline, intriguing buyout stage and the Phoenix Suns’ feel-good run. We’re now deeply amid the final stretch of the season where contenders make their move and lottery-bound teams excel in the art of losing. Before the… Read more →
AJ Ogilvy is embarking on quite the basketball journey. At just 25-years-old, Ogilvy has applied his big-man trade at Vanderbilt University in Tennessee – home of Jack Daniels and a thousand hangovers – and has competed professionally for Besiktas Cola Turka (Turkey), Valencia (Spain) and Brose Baskets (Germany). He had a choice: earn big bucks sitting cold on the bench… Read more →
At the start of every season, we make our predictions for the upcoming NBA year. The one-eyed-fan syndrome and general animosity for Derek Fisher mostly fuels my yearly expectations. When projecting a young team’s ceiling, we rely on the assumption that foundation players, like Kyrie Irving, will take the “leap” from promising flashy talent to proven commodities. It might seem… Read more →
These days, San Antonio attaining a 50-win season is about as bankable as Jennifer Lawrence. The Spurs are currently on track for their 17th consecutive winning season (their 24th of the past 25 years). Yet, here we are in late February, and the same old question, “are the Spurs still among the NBA’s elite?” still lingers…. We are sometimes fast… Read more →
Watching TNT’s crew of Ernie, Chuck, Kenny and Shaq debate the All Star reserves has strangely become one of my favourite moments on television. Amidst the crew’s yearly recital about how “you award winning” and Shaq’s stubborn disapproval of Dwight Howard, one player from South Beach was named, yet again, as an All Star. No, we’re not talking about Flash… Read more →
In so many ways, the Sacramento Kings are the NBA’s problem child. Randomly constructed rosters, poor player development and threats of relocation have plagued this perpetually tormented franchise. The Kings haven’t been nearly as smart or lucky. Seriously, the fastest way to suffocate a small market team is to spend one-fourth of your payroll on Beno Udrih and Francisco Garcia…. Read more →
In an age of compressed scheduling, mangled knees and DNP-Old listings, possessing depth at multiple positions has become just as crucial in achieving team success as boasting a famed big three. Where would the Miami Heat be without sixth-man sharp shooters like Mike Miller and Ray Allen (who is having another sneakily good 6th man season)? I certainly know where… Read more →
