Category Archives: nba

2014-15 NBA Team Preview: Detroit Pistons

Detroit has a new head coach/president/Ron Jeremy impersonator all wrapped up in one person. Stan Van Gundy steps into those roles after two years of being a radio/television talking head. He doesn’t have either Pat Riley or Dwight Howard there to push him out, so this is the most stable job he has ever had.

Stan Van Gundy’s job might be stable, but it won’t be easy. This team desperately needs blown up. You have two talented big men, but due to salary cap, they might need to move one in order to gain cap space and begin the rebuilding process. Can Detroit surprise us and sneak into the 8th spot in the East?

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 Detroit Pistons.

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2014-15 NBA Team Preview: Denver Nuggets

Denver’s 2013-14 season was derailed the prior season. Danilo Gallinari was having his best season as a pro, but tore his ACL in April of the 2012-13 season. That injury cost him the rest of that season and all of last season. He is now healthy and Denver might finally get to reap the benefits of the main prize in the Carmelo Anthony trade.

The Nuggets have a difficult road in the Western Conference. There are at least ten teams that deserve to make the postseason, but only eight will make the cut. Can Denver surprise us and make the playoffs?

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 Denver Nuggets.

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2014-15 NBA Team Preview: Dallas Mavericks

Dallas needed a miracle to keep Phoenix out of the 8th spot in the Western Conference. They did just that and were the only team to really give the San Antonio Spurs a challenge on the way to an NBA title.

This year’s Dallas team looks a lot different, but they upgraded their starting five and added bench depth. In a lot of ways, they resemble the Dallas team that won a ring. I’m not saying that just because they have Tyson Chandler back (but it helps).

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 Dallas Mavericks.

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2014-15 NBA Team Preview: Cleveland Cavaliers

Cleveland has been busy this off-season. Not only did they get Johnny Football playing down the street, but LeBron James came back home…and brought some of his friends with him. Kevin Love, Shawn Marion and Mike Miller all tagged along in hopes of winning a ring in Cleveland.

In order for Cleveland to get their new crew, they had to trade the last two #1 overall picks (Anthony Bennett & Andrew Wiggins) and shed a handful of contracts for pennies on the dollar. They clearly love their roster and hope it is good enough to win the city’s first professional championship since Jim Brown won an NFL Championship with the Browns.

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 Cleveland Cavaliers.

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2014-15 NBA Team Preview: Chicago Bulls

A power shift is happening in Eastern Conference. The departure of LeBron James from Miami and Paul George’s injury will mean new faces will be atop the East Cleveland and Chicago will most likely be the two teams fighting for home-court advantage.

Chicago has some new faces and one important one returning from two injuries, Derrick Rose. Pau Gasol, Aaron Brooks and European star Nijola Mirotic will be making their Chicago debuts this season. The Brooks signing was sneaky good, since Rose will definitely need to rest his knees at times.

The Bulls exceeded expectations after Rose went down with another knee injury last season. Joakim Noah put the team on his back and put up insane numbers. Can he repeat last year’s MVP-worthy performance?

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 Chicago Bulls.

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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.

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2014-15 NBA Team Preview: Boston Celtics

Since Bill Simmons is currently on suspension, someone has to step up and write a Boston Celtics team preview, right?

The Celtics were really hoping to land one of the first two picks in last year’s NBA Draft, but Cleveland got lucky once again (and Philadelphia/Milwaukee were both stupid bad).

Head coach Brad Stevens didn’t do anything to make us think the stage is too big for him. That is all Boston really wanted to see in his first year. They are in the middle of a rebuilding process, so win-total expectations were very low.

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 Boston Celtics.

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2014-15 NBA Team Preview: Atlanta Hawks

I doubt many fans buy NBA League Pass to watch the Atlanta Hawks games, but they are sneaky good. They won’t ‘wow’ you with flash, but if you like three-point shooting, you loved watching them last season.

Jeff Teague impressed many NBA fans with his play against the Indiana Pacers in the playoffs. He held his own against players with much more playoff experience. I look for him to keep improving and possibly be in play for a spot on the All-Star Game roster.

The major key to Atlanta’s success is Al Horford’s ability to stay healthy. He’s had two torn pectoral muscles derail back-to-back seasons. If he stays healthy, it’s hard to omit Atlanta from the playoff picture.

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 Atlanta Hawks.

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2014 NBA Draft: Best Undrafted Players

The NBA Draft is only 60 picks, so many players fall through the cracks…especially in a year in which a draft his deep.

The 2014 NBA Draft is very deep, so more good players than usual didn’t make the cut. It’s not the end of the road for these players. They will just need to work a little harder to attain their dream.

Many of these guys will be signed to play in the NBA Summer League. They can showcase their skills in hopes of earning a invite to training camp. Unfortunately for most, they will end up playing overseas or in the NBA Development League. There are still a few every year that surprise everybody and beat the odds to earn an NBA contract.

Here are the best college and international players who went undrafted during the 2014 NBA Draft.

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2014 NBA Draft Analysis – First Round

My favorite night of the year has arrived!

I love the anticipation and the speed of the NBA Draft. You don’t have fifteen minutes in-between picks like the NFL and you actually know these players, unlike the NHL and MLB.

If you can stomach two-three hours of Bill Simmons, it will be a fun night.

We give analysis for every pick in the first round of the 2014 NBA Draft.

1. Cleveland Cavaliers: Andrew Wiggins (Kansas) – No surprise here. Cleveland is looking to rebuild and they don’t need a player like Jabari Parker to be an instant boost. They loved Embiid, but they couldn’t risk a #1 overall pick on a player who is a major injury risk.

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76ers Unveil New Secondary Ben Franklin Logo

Look at that glorious logo!

I’m not a Logophile, but the Philadelphia 76ers unveiled a good looking logo. The NBA should go back to the goofy logos that filled the ABA.

This new Sixers logo is said to be their ‘secondary’ logo, which doesn’t mean it will appear on any official jerseys. I’m an Indiana Pacers fan, but I would consider buying some Sixers gear if this dribbling Ben Franklin logo was featured.

Unfortunately, it doesn’t look like the Sixers will be using this logo.

*teardrop*

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2014 NBA Mock Draft: Who Will be #1?

Now that the NBA season is over, let’s focus on the NBA Draft. I personally think the NBA Draft is the best draft in any major sport. There’s usually more trades, the impact of these rookies is usually felt immediately and it doesn’t go on and on like the NFL Draft.

You will begin to hear a lot of rumors about what’s wrong with these prospects. You rarely hear anything positive until a day or two before the draft. Teams know how to leak information to attempt to hurt a player’s draft stock. It’s all smoke and mirrors at this point.

I try to forge through the piles of trash out there and give you where I think the player will be drafted. I personally wouldn’t draft a few of these players in the lottery, but it’s the NBA and there are a lot of bad General Managers in the league.

Here is my 2014 NBA Mock Draft for the first round.

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