The NBA’s best player could be on his way out of Cleveland (again) after declining his player option on Friday, but there’s something hollow about his thankless pursuit of Michael Jordan’s six titlesLeBron James, who declined his player option with the Cleveland Cavaliers and became a free agent on Friday, is a superstar in a predicament of his own making. He essentially created the culture of NBA stars teaming up to win championships, one that allowed Kevin Durant to make the Golden State Warriors a dynasty at his own expense. The unfortunate thing for James is he gets no credit. While Durant is hailed as a selfless hero who stifled his ego to win two titles with the Warriors, LeBron...
The 41-year-old coach of the undermanned Boston Celtics has emerged as one of the sport’s sharpest minds, but reaching the NBA finals without his two best players would be his best trick yetThe first time I met Boston Celtics coach Brad Stevens was outside Butler University’s famed Hinkle Fieldhouse. It was winter 2012, less than a year after Stevens, then the coach at the tiny Indianapolis school, had led Bulldogs to their second consecutive NCAA championship game. I was with a friend who knew Stevens a little and wanted to say hello. I was surprised Stevens had agreed to meet us. Most college coaches don’t have time for such things, especially in the middle of the season with practice barely...
Despite LeBron’s heroics on Wednesday night, the Cavaliers struggled to defend and are riven by locker room divisions. The immediate future doesn’t look brightThe NBA calendar is pretty similar from year to year. The regular season officially tips off in October, then there is great debate throughout the land about whether LeBron James’ team is not what it was a season ago highlighted by James making a cryptic social media post alluding to his team’s struggles. Next on the schedule are the Christmas Day games, which are soon followed by a period of deep contemplation on LeBron’s team, if it just might be falling apart (but for real this time) and where LeBron might play next. That period is promptly...
The Celtics are on a 12-game winning streak – and that’s without some of their best players. How their Eastern Conference rivals must envy themA few weeks ago, it felt like the Boston Celtics’ season had ended before it had begun. Gordon Hayward, the team’s prime free-agent acquisition over the summer, suffered a season-ending ankle injury just a few minutes into the NBA’s opening night. Unsurprisingly, Boston went on to lose to the Cleveland Cavaliers, despite a valiant comeback attempt, and then fall to the Milwaukee Bucks the very next night.And then, somehow, the Celtics became unbeatable. With their 94-95 win over the Toronto Raptors on Sunday, the Celtics improved their winning streak to 12 straight games, something the team...
With the impending end of the Cleveland dynasty in the East, the NBA must look into doing away with the current system altogetherOver the past few years LeBron James has been firmly in control of the Eastern Conference: his teams have made the NBA finals every year since 2011. But we could soon see the end of that streak. The Cleveland Cavaliers are currently in turmoil – their second-best player, Kyrie Irving wants out and insiders have speculated that James may opt-out of his contract at the end of next season should the team fail to rebuild.If James and Irving do leave, it would leave a huge vacuum in the already diluted Eastern Conference, one that might not get filled...