basketball
The world of Basketball detailed by the voices of the unathletic. Discussing play, culture, and, of course, who's the best. Trust the Process.
The Hero That Golden State Needed: The Three Sides To Every Story
There are plenty of phrases Warriors’ fans could have chanted after the re-signing of NBA Finals MVP Kevin Durant: the boys are back in town, the whole gang’s here, we are putting the band back together, etc. The point being, the reigning NBA champions are set for another run at a title. After a flurry of free agent movement, the dust has already seemed to settle in the Bay Area. The Champs have brought back every free agent piece of their own that they deemed important, and even some that were not their own (see Swaggy P).
Kenneth WilsonPublished 6 years ago in Unbalanced
A California Case Study: Mining for Gems in the Golden State
Back in the 1800’s, California was all the rage as news of a “gold rush” spread like wildfire. Almost two centuries later, they are still “mining” in the “Golden State” but the gems aren’t actually made of rock, as opposed to venture, technological, and human capital. Although prevalent in multiple regions of the state, the area most known for these particular phenomena are The Bay Area and/or Silicon Valley. The millionaires and billionaires of “the valley” found and continue to find their treasures every day. The Golden State Warriors got their man when they plucked Steve Kerr from the booth, only to have him lead them to a title. While staffed with possibly the worst assembly of talent in the league, can the San Francisco 49er’s do the same?
Kenneth WilsonPublished 6 years ago in Unbalanced
Three Surefire Ways Minnesota Can Get Better as the Season Winds Down
The Minnesota Timberwolves came into this season with high hopes, a new coach, and a roster full of young talent that was sure to blossom. That hasn’t quite been the case. Although there has been progress made as a team, there is not nearly enough evidence to say that the Timberwolves are competing with the “Dubs” for Western Conference supremacy. The “Big KAT,” Karl Anthony-Towns continues to impress, along with Andrew Wiggins and a now injured Zach Levine. However some of their other pieces just haven’t quite been there as consistently — such as fellow big man Gorgui Dieng, who regressed after signing a lucrative deal earlier in the season. Much more notable is point man Ricky Rubio, even though his issues aren’t so much play related as they are well, everything else. In any event, there are 3 surefire things that need to be done in order for this young pack of wolves to take the next step.
Kenneth WilsonPublished 6 years ago in Unbalanced
The Veto That Changed the NBA: How the League Would Look with Chris Paul as a Laker — Part II
In this different dimension where David Stern doesn’t play puppet master and lets this trade go through, the Lakers are far from the bottom-feeding laughing stock they currently are. They are able to dump the contracts of Gasol and Odom, leaving them room for Howard. Kobe and Howard would still have the issue of needing touches on a consistent basis, but they finally have the man for the job. If CP3 can make DeAndre Jordan into an 80 million dollar man, then imagine what he could’ve done with Howard. With a team like this, Mike Brown may have been able to last more than 10% of the season. Paul has the record and the statistics to give himself the push he needs to be a legitimate MVP candidate. With the proper facilitator in place, Howard doesn’t bump heads with Kobe, and ends up enjoying the bright lights of LA, ending his short stint as a coach killer with just one body count.
Dan O'SheaPublished 6 years ago in Unbalanced
The Slippery Slope That Is the Start of Lonzo Ball’s Career
There are some years where the first few picks of the NBA Draft are already a foregone conclusion. Whether we see a three person, two person, or even one person draft where only the top pick is the real crown jewel of the draft, we often know how the draft will start. This year, Markelle Fultz is pretty much already buying season tickets at Fenway and bringing up the score “28–3” once a day, as he’s destined to go to Boston. At one point it looked like Lakers’ pick at No. 2 was already written in stone, but Lonzo Ball has been going downhill ever since he lost in the Sweet 16.
Dan O'SheaPublished 6 years ago in Unbalanced
Which NBA Finals Stars Deserve Their Own Team?
It’s hard to figure out what’s more disheartening at this point in the common NBA fan’s life- the fact that there’s no meaningful basketball on until the end of October, or that we just finished a relatively unentertaining NBA Finals that will likely feature the same matchup for the next few years. While you dive into NBA Classics or binge on 30 for 30s, you could console yourself with the thought that these teams might not actually feature the same rosters as early as next year.
Dan O'SheaPublished 6 years ago in Unbalanced
Sorting Out the Possible Eastern Conference All Star Team
It has been extremely apparent over the last few months how much better the Western Conference is than its Eastern counterpart. To say talent was evenly spread across the two conferences would be a bigger lie than Steph Curry claiming his infamous dance at Harrison Barnes’ wedding wasn’t meant to make fun of LeBron James.
Dan O'SheaPublished 6 years ago in Unbalanced
The Cavaliers’ Bench Mob is Better than Your Starting Lineup
This week, the Cleveland Cavaliers made their acquisitions of Andrew Bogut and Deron Williams official. Williams even made his debut with the Cavaliers, in a heartbreaking, riveting, and overall entertaining playoff-level intensity game against the Celtics. With these two acquisitions (both former Dallas Mavericks), the reigning NBA Champions have put in a serious bid for a repeat. With the recent news of a Kevin Durant knee injury, the Cavaliers’ title chances may have increased even more. Rival NBA GM’s could be a little disappointed for standing pat at the trade deadline with Durant out.
Charles ManiegoPublished 6 years ago in Unbalanced
Rationalizing the “Steph” Comparisons
The NBA started to ramp up this past weekend, as this is when many say the NBA season actually “starts”, but it wasn’t necessarily due to the action on the court. As the trade deadline approaches, Sunday night saw what could be one of the most influential trades of the modern day, but definitely one of the more odd ones.
Kenneth WilsonPublished 6 years ago in Unbalanced
Don’t Look Now, But Russell Westbrook Could Actually Head To LA
Ever since Westbrook became a one man show in OKC, we’ve seen him become a one man wrecking crew. We haven’t had a player give us so many highlights that make us actually question his human DNA since Kobe was in his prime. Watching his revenge tour has been fun, but no matter how many triple doubles he racks up, you have to wonder if he’ll stay with the Thunder for the remainder of his days.
Dan O'SheaPublished 6 years ago in Unbalanced
There Are So Many Things Better Than Lamarcus Aldridge
The San Antonio Spurs took a 3–2 series lead after a 116–103 win over the Memphis Grizzlies Tuesday night. Kawhi Leonard of course led the way for the Spurs with 28 points and great defense as always, but what did LaMarcus Aldridge do? LA scored 12 points on 13 shots and had 9 rebounds. Aldridge just got a four year deal with San Antonio for $84 million… is $84 million worth 12 points on 13 shots? Nope. Is $84 million worth 12 points on like say two shots? Yup. Well, LA didn’t have 12 points on two shots now did he? There are so many things and people better than LaMarcus Aldridge because who would want a power forward that’s inefficient and looks like Baloo from The Jungle Book? Tell me LA doesn’t look like Baloo from The Jungle Book.
Stone StrankmanPublished 6 years ago in Unbalanced
Should LeBron James Remain Loyal to Cleveland?
We’re still more than a year away, with 82 regular season games to get through and one champion to crown, and we’re already wondering where LeBron James is going to end up when he becomes a free agent next summer. That’s what happens when you’re the greatest player of a generation and a proven flight risk.
Dan O'SheaPublished 6 years ago in Unbalanced
