I haven’t forgotten about this blog, promise. There are some good posts coming later this week and down the line, but I’ve always tried not to write something just for the sake of having fresh drivel up on the site. That said, while I may not be writing other people are, so let me point […]
News
Roster Decisions
I’m moving this from the comments below to its own thread — as you know, yesterday the Lakers signed the player they traded for in the second round, Danilo (J.R.) Pinnock. First and foremost, I like the signing, I thought he showed potential in the summer league. But there are questions. First, what kind of […]
Fast Break Thoughts
Just a few thoughts while celebrating Los Angeles’ 225th birthday. (She doesn’t look a day over 200.) • I don’t know if I’ve ever been more proud of this humble little blog than while reading the comments on the last post, discussing USA Basketball’s future. It is some of the best conversation ever on this […]
Lessons Learned
Because as a nation we can often be both arrogant and impatient, sometimes it’s hard for us to admit things. Like that, playing the international game and rules, parts of the world have caught up to us in basketball. It’s hard to accept that the USA made strides toward being the best basketball team on […]
The Final Four
There are just four left, the world’s Final Four. The USA deserves to be there. But after looking stats and watching the first half of the USA/Germany game live this morning (thanks to an unhappy baby who apparently wanted to be up for the game at 3:30 on the West Coast), I still have concerns […]
5-0, and now it gets serious
Superior athleticism funneled into a pressure defense has netted Team USA four impressive wins at the World Championships — it’s the Italy game that is the outlier. That’s also the game gave a blueprint to teams like Spain and Argentina, and it’s going to be harder to come from behind against those teams than the […]
Big Norman turns 70
This month Wilt Chamberlain would have turned 70. Long after his playing days and his passing, he remains one of the more complex and misunderstood men ever in the game, a giant who could be both intimidating and gentle. A man who never received the universal love of the fans and who, unfairly, was often […]
Fast Break
It’s the dog days of summer for NBA bloggers, with little news worthy of debate. I just look at the Countdown to tip-off at the right and think, “That long?!?†Still, there are a few things worth noting. • The good news: Kobe, wearing a #24 jersey, will be on the cover of the NBA […]
2-0, but…..
After watching both Team USA games in Japan (thank you TiVo), it’s clear that we deserve to be undefeated. And it’s clear we still have reason to be concerned. The reason for my nervousness: outside shooting. The same issue that plagued the team in Athens two years ago and that some of us were concerned […]
Lakers I Miss: Cedric Ceballos
I look back on Cedric Ceballos the way I look back on a couple of crazy ex-girlfriends — when it was good it was exciting and wild, when it went bad it crashed and burned spectacularly. There was thee 50-point game against the Timberwolves, the start of the 95/96 when he scored 25 for six […]