Category Archives: michael jordan

2014-15 NBA Team Preview: Charlotte Hornets

When Lance Stephenson signed with Charlotte, a little part of me died. As a Pacers fan, he made every game exciting. You never knew which Lance you were going to get. The Lance that would do anything for his team to win or the Lance that was just out there trying to cause trouble.

Not only does Charlotte get Stephenson, but they get their nickname back! Dust off your old Hornets Starter jackets and Muggsy Bogues throwback jerseys, guys. It should be a fun season in Charlotte. I mean, just look at their awesome new court.

Did Charlotte’s name change rid themselves of the ‘Bobcats stink’?

We will be posting a team preview for every team up until the start of the regular season.

Here is the 2014-15 NBA season preview for the Charlotte Hornets.

Continue reading →

2012 Olympics: Basketball Odds + Prop Bets

Our friends over at Bovada.lv hooked us up with the betting odds and prop bets for the basketball event during the 2012 Olympics.

I’m a big fan of straight odds, but there are some interesting prop bets on the board that should interest many gamblers.

I enjoy the historical prop bets that have Michael Jordan’s stats from 1992 face Lebron James’ 2012 stats. Charles Barkley/Kevin Durant and Magic Johnson/Chris Paul have similar prop bets.

Are you going to put some money on the Olympics? Team USA is heavily favored to win the gold in London, so betting on them would be super patriotic, right? (At least that’s what I tell myself)

Men’s Basketball Props

Basketball – Men’s – Odds to win the Gold Medal

USA 1/8

Spain 13/2

France 28/1

Argentina 28/1

Lithuania 33/1

Russia 33/1

Brazil 40/1

Australia 100/1

Great Britain 250/1

China 400/1

Nigeria 500/1

Tunisia 1000/1

Basketball Men’s – Odds to win Silver

Spain 4/9

France 7/1

Argentina 7/1

Basketball Men’s – Will USA and Spain meet in the finals?

Yes 4/5

What will be the average margin of victory for the USA Men’s Basketball Team at the 2012 Olympics?

Over/Under 25.5

What will be the largest margin of victory for the USA Men’s Basketball Team?

Over/Under 45.5

What will be the smallest margin of victory for the USA Men’s Basketball Team?

Over/Under 12.5

Will the USA win both the Men’s and Women’s Basketball Gold Medals?

Yes -600 (1/6)

No +400 (4/1)

Lebron James – PPG for the tournament?

Over/Under 17

Lebron James – APG for the tournament?

Over/Under 4.5

Lebron James – RPG for the tournament?

Over/Under 6.5

Kobe Bryant – PPG for the tournament?

Over/Under 13.5

Kevin Durant – PPG for the tournament?

Over/Under 17

Carmelo Anthony – PPG for the tournament?

Over/Under 13.5

Historical Matchups – Who will Average More Points Per Game

(Whole Tournament)

Lebron James -2

Michael Jordan (1992) +2

(Note: Jordan averaged 14.9 pts per game)

Kevin Durant +1

Charles Barkley (1992) -1

(Note: Barkley averaged 18 pts per game)

Kobe Bryant -.5

Karl Malone (1992) +.5

(Note: Malone averaged 13 pts per game)

Historical Matchups – Who will Average More Assists Per Game

(Whole Tournament)

Chris Paul Pick

Magic Johnson (1992) Pick

(Note: Magic averaged 5.5 assists per game)

Game 1 Lines

USA -24.5 -8000 167.5

France +24.5 +1400

Total Points – Team USA

Total Points – Team France

71.5

Margin Of Victory

USA by 1-5 18/1

USA by 6-10 10/1

USA by 11-15 6/1

USA by 16-20 9/2

USA by 21-25 4/1

USA by 26 or more 1/1

France by 1-5 50/1

France by 6-10 200/1

France by 11-15 250/1

France by 16-20 300/1

France by 21-25 350/1

France by 26 or more 400/1

A Sports & Entertainment blog that focuses on absurdity in sports, snarky banter, updates on Tim Tebow’s virginity, and decent sports gambling advice.

Must Watch: NBA TV’s ‘Dream Team’ Documentary

There wasn’t a definitive documentary about the most important basketball team ever created. HBO was rumored to be working on a documentary about ‘The Dream Team’, but nothing materialized.

ESPN’s ’30 for 30′ documentary series raised the bar for sports documentaries. Bill Simmons once said in a podcast that he wanted to make a ‘Dream Team’ documentary, but the rights to the video from the 1992 Olympics were too expensive.

NBA TV stepped up to the plate and is debuting their documentary The Dream Team tonight at 9pm EST. I have viewed parts of the movie which is certain to be an instant classic. It contains never-before-seen video of a scrimmage that you will never believe the outcome. I list a few of the intriguing moments you will see tonight and post a video of the movie trailer. Continue reading →

Jerry Sloan Wants NBA Coaching Job, Eyes Bobcats & Magic

Jerry Sloan, the former Utah Jazz coach who resigned during the 2011 season after 23 seasons with the team, wants another shot. He is ready to return to the NBA and has expressed interest in the open Charlotte Bobcats and Orlando Magic coaching positions.

Would he be a good fit for either of those teams? Should he make a comeback and ruin his legacy?

If he gets the Charlotte Bobcats job, does he call John Stockton to see if he would come out of retirement? I’m only half joking…have you taken a look at their roster lately?

The former Utah Jazz coach, who resigned during the 2011 season after 23 seasons with the team, told the Salt Lake Tribune on Tuesday that he has talked to Bobcats owner Michael Jordan about his team’s vacancy and could meet with him as soon as this week. Sloan isn’t afraid of the Bobcats past history of losing. He told the Tribune, “Obviously, you probably wouldn’t win (a title) right off the bat.”

As far as the Magic job is considered, he just mentioned that the job would be intriguing. Orlando recently fired Stan Van Gundy and GM Otis Smith, so Sloan would more personnel control than in Charlotte. Orlando still has hopes of retaining Dwight Howard after the upcoming season. Howard could be the guy who has the final decision on who is hired as Orlando’s next head coach.

I would assume that Van Gundy would be another candidate that Charlotte would be interested in interviewing. He is a talented coach, but he needed a change of scenery. The Bobcats would have to pick between head coaches who have both made NBA Finals appearances, but yet to win a title.

Sloan retired during the 2011-12 season and used “exhaustion” as the reason for his resignation. The Jazz traded Deron Williams at the trading deadline and Sloan still stepped down. It was no secret that Deron Williams and Sloan butted heads on and off the court. Tyrone Corbin took over as head coach and remains at the position.

Sloan ranks third all-time in regular-season NBA coaching victories with 1,221. Former coaches Lenny Wilkins (1,332) and Don Nelson (1.335) are the only two to have more regular-season victories than Sloan.

A Sports & Entertainment blog that focuses on absurdity in sports, snarky banter, updates on Tim Tebow’s virginity, and decent sports gambling advice.

Lebron Shouldn’t Change His Number To #6

After Lebron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers bear the Miami Heat, he said something rather insane. I don’t know if he is trying to change the subject about if he’s staying in Cleveland next year with another landmark decision, but it may work short term. He said that he would not wear the number 23 next season and he’ll change his number to 6. It is to honor Michael Jordan, which he believes if the greatest player of all-time. He may think that, but why would you change your number for Michael Jordan and change it to the number that Julius Erving and Bill Russell wore? It’s a stupid remark, but is Nike behind the move?

The 25th anniversary of the Michael Jordan shoe is about to debut. Lebron is a big part of Nike’s marketing campaign and this may be a publicity stunt. When Kobe changed his number, his jersey was the highest selling jersey the next year. It’s not because his publicity increased, but fans don’t want to be perceived as “behind the time.” It’s like sporting a Michael Jordan #45 jersey after he changed his number back to #23.

Secondly, Bill Russell and Julius Erving were more important to people in the two generations before Lebron James. I know he never watched them live, but it would be a shame that he would change his number just because of Michael Jordan and to change it to a number when you can argue that those two players could be considered in some groups as more important to basketball than Jordan. If this is some ploy by Nike to get publicity or a way for Lebron to change the “Is he going to sign with the Knicks” questions in post-game interviews, it would be a travesty. I can just see all the males from 40-90 starting to picket games at Q Arena.

A Sports & Entertainment blog that focuses on absurdity in sports, snarky banter, updates on Tim Tebow’s virginity, and decent sports gambling advice.

I Guess Chicago Will Draft Michael Jordan?!

I am just as confused as you, but the Chicago Bulls re-hired Doug Collins as their head coach. The last time Collins coached the Bulls, Jordan was a young man without any championship rings. Collins led them to the Finals and he was canned and Phil Jackson was hired.

Chicago is a very nostalgic city. They love their history, Al Capone, Dick Butkus, Brian Urlacher. The Bulls hiring Collins is overdoing it a little. I now wouldn’t be surprised if Lovie Smith is fired and the Bears hire Mike Ditka. Collins is known for his defense and having low-scoring teams, I don’t think Derrick Rose will work in that kind of offense. Michael Beasley would best fit the system that Collins’ coaching style.

Doug Collins, who has been an analyst for TNT the last few years, is best known for having Michael Jordan on his team and STILL not being able to win a championship. I have lost all interest in who Chicago will pick #1, their talent will be lost with Doug Collins as head coach.

A Sports & Entertainment blog that focuses on absurdity in sports, snarky banter, updates on Tim Tebow’s virginity, and decent sports gambling advice.

Kobe Wins MVP, He Jumps A Car To Celebrate

Maybe someone should tell the MVP voters that “car jumping ability” isn’t criteria that should garner Kobe some MVP votes. The LA Times posted on their website that Kobe Bryant will win the MVP award. The Lakers finished 1st in the ultra-competitive Western Conference and averaged over 28 points per game. I wonder if the addition of Pau Gasol made this possible? A big man that can pass out of the post, hmmm, sounds like that’s something that Shaq did.

In the Kobe/Shaq feud, I sided with Shaq. I think Kobe is a great player, but at that time in the league, a big man was important to win an NBA championship. Kobe would be without a ring if Shaq wasn’t on the Lakers. Look at the last few champions? Spurs, Lakers, Pistons, and Heat, they all had big men. I know the Pistons didn’t rely on Ben Wallace on the offensive end, but when you add him with Rasheed Wallace, combined you have a Tim Duncan.

I still think a big man is important, but the teams that are in the playoffs this year, minus the Lakers and Magic, rely on perimeter players. The Magic only uses Dwight Howard as a rebounding/dunk machine, they shoot the most 3-pointers in the league.

My pick for MVP would be Chris Paul. I love the way he plays. He is the battery for the New Orleans Hornets. He gets things going, he is a triple-double threat, and he gets his players involved in the game. If Paul wasn’t on the Hornets, they would be buried in the Western Conference and would be a lottery team. I would bet that Paul ends his career with more MVPs than Kobe.Now that Kobe has won an MVP, you can start the week-long celebration on ESPN and TNT. Kobe needs to be compared to Michael Jordan as much as possible. He already has his lexicon and speech tone down. If he acts enough like MJ, maybe we’ll forget that he likes to get freaky in Colorado.

A Sports & Entertainment blog that focuses on absurdity in sports, snarky banter, updates on Tim Tebow’s virginity, and decent sports gambling advice.