Last Tuesday, the Denver Nuggets informed their championship coach Mike Malone and general manager Calvin Booth that they were both fired. Let me repeat that again, the Nuggets gutted the two most important decision-makers in their organization — the week before the playoffs. What is going on in Denver?
March Madness asks each and every player: In the most important games you will ever play, who are you? What are you made of when your name and future are on the line? Often, the tournament is an indicator of success at the next level, and the bright lights singularly reveal the deepest psychology of these talented players.
On the eve of the Lakers-Celtics game, I decided to go to TD Garden even though I had no tickets. I wore a yellow Lakers beanie and an army jacket with a private’s patch long since removed. As tip off approached, I decided to interact with some fans outside the arena, as I resisted intrusive thoughts to sneak into the game and watch. I wanted to experience the famed rivalry firsthand through the crowd — to witness the best rivalry in basketball.
We know that Victor Wembanyama will be one of the greatest basketball players of all time — if he stays healthy. This is the statement that defines his career. Now, Wembanyama is out for the rest of the season with a deep vein thrombosis and a blood clot in his shoulder which, according to Dr. Brian Sutterer, “could have traveled to his lungs and killed him.”
The spectacle is great, yes, but exhausting. Only the NFL can justify their dependence on commercials by making them a part of the product. Why are we accepting the overreach of advertising into places that should resist it, like sports? The Olympics understands this better –– its lack of any advertisements deeply changes the way we engage with sports for two brief weeks every two years.
Late last night, ESPN reporter Shams Charania broke the news that the Dallas Mavericks had traded Luka Dončić (along with two other players) to the Los Angeles Lakers in exchange for Anthony Davis, Max Christie and a first-round pick.
In a 1977 regular season game, Lakers’ power forward Kermit Washington punched the Rockets’ Rudy Tomjanovich in the face so hard that it fractured his skull and he tasted spinal fluid leaking into his mouth. He would later need facial reconstruction surgery.
I have an admission to make. Last March, on my WMFO show “AirBall,” I made it quite clear that I did not believe in the Boston Celtics.I argued they were chokers and that their style of basketball wasn’t conducive to crunch-time decision-making. I spat on Jayson Tatum as a leader and clowned Joe Mazzulla’s coaching. I confidently said Kristaps Porziņģis’ injury proneness would leave them with a gaping hole in the center of their roster come playoff time. Every time I watch this godforsaken team, I cannot help but hear these rotten takes ricochet around in my head.
When the Los Angeles Lakers signed JJ Redick as their new head coach, many decried the signing, pointing to his lack of NBA coaching experience as an indicator of his coming ineptitude. Although head coaching experience is usually a pretty good criterion for a new head coaching hire, the Lakers’ front office was hiring amidst a fiasco of their own creation. The Lakers’ head coaching job has become a bucking bronco that seemingly throws its riders into the mud. However, I think Redick is capable of taming this incompetent beast.
The NBA recently announced an investigation into the Philadelphia 76ers for load-managing superstar center Joel Embiid, who revealed last week his intention to “never play back-to-back [games] for the rest of my career.” Load management is the practice of resting players for certain games in order to decrease stress on their bodies and keep them from injury.
