Team USA’s 100-78 thumping of Spain on Tuesday produced two storylines.
One was Carmelo Anthony’s huge game, which I addressed in this story. The other was Spain’s reluctance to play big men Pau Gasol and Serge Ibaka together for any extended stretches.
Colleague Chris Bernucca believes Spain was too overwhelmed by Team USA’s speed to counter it with size. With relentless ball pressure and superb help defense, the Americans totally discouraged the Spaniards from going inside, imposing their will on the game.
Bernucca discussed how Team USA is debunking the long-standing basketball axiom of size over speed in an interview with Jake Scott and Tony Parks of Fox Sports Radio in Salt Lake City. He also talked about the offseason’s winners and losers in free agency and why the Jazz have all of the pieces necessary to acquire Dwight Howard – except a city where he wants to play.
Click on the arrow below to listen.
July 23, 2012
In winning its first four exhibition games, Team USA’s lack of size has yet to be exposed.
That may change Tuesday night, when the Americans face Spain in a rematch of their gold medal shootout in the 2008 Olympics that represents the final tuneup for both countries before the games start counting this weekend at the 2012 Games in London.
The defending European champions, Spain boasts a trio of skilled NBA big men – brothers Pau and Marc Gasol and blocks leader Serge Ibaka. Team USA has plenty of skill and speed but just one legitimate center in its regular rotation Tyson Chandler.
The Americans have been getting by with a combination of Carmelo Anthony, Kevin Love and slender Kevin Durant at power forward. But on Tuesday night in front of a raucous crowd at that Palau Saint Jordi in Barcelona, Team USA coach Mike Krzyzewski may be forced to play erstwhile 12th man and NBA neophyte Anthony Davis to combat Spain’s size.
At least that’s what Chris Bernucca thinks. In a segment with Yahoo! Sports Radio, he shared those thoughts and others about Team USA, including its infatuation with the 3-pointer and its multiple alpha dogs.
Click on the arrow below to listen. And make sure you stay through to the end, when Bernucca displays his vast knowledge of the Italian language.
July 18, 2012
President Obama was in the house last night in D.C. for Team USA’s game against Brazil, as was Vice President Joe Biden and first Lady Michelle Obama. The Secret Service was in rare lockdown form, and the Commander-in-Chief was in casual attire wearing jeans, a Nike shirt and a pair of sneakers that no one could quite identify.
Team USA was in casual mode, too, and found themselves playing from behind for an extended period of time for the first time since they lost to Greece in the semifinals of the 2006 World Championship against Greece.
I have a column out today foretelling possible doom for Team USA if coach Mike Krzyzewski does not make lineup changes, and I discussed the topic further with host Craig Shamon on Yahoo Sports radio. Click the play button below for a listen.
July 17, 2012
It is nearing zero hour for the New York Knicks to make a decision on Jeremy Lin.
The Knicks have until midnight Tuesday to decide whether or not to match the three-year, $25 million offer sheet Lin signed with the Houston Rockets. If they do, they will face a huge luxury tax hit in 2014-15, when Lin is scheduled to receive nearly $15 million.
If they don’t – as some reports already are indicating – Linsanity is over in New York.
Our Moke Hamilton was on ESPN Radio Big Island in Hawaii on Monday and broke down several aspects of the Lin deal.
He explains the risk and difficulty the Knicks are facing. He also explains how the team’s decision could impact Carmelo Anthony’s legacy in New York, where fans have been waiting 40 years for a championship.
Click the play button below and give Moke a listen.
July 14, 2012
OK, so new Magic GM Rob Hennigan couldn’t get a deal done with the Nets for Dwight Howard.
Now what?
Well, Hennigan can’t allow himself to be consumed by his desire to trade Howard. His team is one of two that still doesn’t have a coach for next season. And Orlando just hosted a summer league, where players needed to be evaluated.
But at some point, Hennigan does have to trade Howard. And in an interview Friday with Craig Shemon of Yahoo Sports Radio, Sheridan Hoops deputy editor and columnist Chris Bernucca laid out what Hennigan’s approach should be.
In a wide-ranging conversation, Bernucca also discussed how the current Olympic Team would fare against the original Dream Team, the Clippers’ decision to shelve newly minted Blake Griffin and whether the looming supertax will make superteams a fleeting trend.
Click on the play button below to listen.
July 13, 2012
If the 2012 “We Want Esteem” team played the 1992 Dream Team, what would happen? The old guys would lose by 100, there would be ambulances involved, and Karl Malone might be the only thing keeping the final margin from being 120.
As it is, the current U.S. Olympic team got off to a great start last night in defeating the Dominican Republic 113-59, and they now head to Washington D.C for a game against Brazil before flying across the pond. Things will get interesting in the next couple weeks as the Americans play exhibitions in Barcelona against Spain and Argentina prior to the opening of the London Olympics.
I discussed Team USA, along with the Houston Rockets’ all-in pursuit of Dwight Howard, on 790-The Ticket in Miami this morning. Click the play button below to listen.
July 12, 2012 (evening)
With the news that the Houston Rockets will amnesty Luis Scola to make a run at Dwight Howard, you have to either give GM Daryl Moray for going all-in on a hunch bet, or condemn him for being a reckless gambler.
Is that too harsh? Or is this going to be one of those black or white situations: It either succeeds in grand fashion, or it fails miserably. I discussed Morey’s Scola amnesty move this evening on WWLS in Oklahoma City with Thunder play-by-play man Matt Pinto.
Click the play button to listen.
July 12, 2012 (morning)
Dwight Howard had a wish list of one. But Brooklyn is no longer an option unless he returns to the Orlando Magic for another soap opera season (something neither side wants) and then waits until Jan. 15, when Brook Lopez becomes trade eligible.
So where will he end up? The Los Angeles Lakers have long been on his fallback list, and Dwight has been spending a lot of time there since having back back surgery in March. The Dallas Mavericks will be an option next summer if Howard plays out his contract, and the Atlanta Hawks and Chicago Bulls are two intriguing possibilities if Howard expands the list of teams with which he would sign an extension.
I discussed those scenarios and more in this interview with Grant Napear of 1140 The Fan in Sacramento. Click the play button to listen.
July 11, 2012
Quite a day we had/are having in NBA free agency, and as Moke Hamilton wrote earlier today, this is going to be the new norm. When you have shorter contracts, you have more player movement.
What is going to complicate things in the years ahead is the new punitive luxury tax, which is explained in Hamilton’s column and in this interview with Yahoo Sports Radio.
Click the play button to listen.
July 6, 2012
If the Miami Heat are going to lose Mike Miller, which is a possibility given how he spoke of possible retiring at the conclusion of the NBA Finals, they are going to need another shooter.
LeBron James has been openly courting Ray Allen, going to far as to post a photoshopped picture of Allen in a Heat uniform on Twitter, and Allen has been in Miami to speak with Heat brass.
Allen, the NBA’s career leader in 3-point field goals made, also is being courted by the Memphis Grizzzlies. Where would he have the best chance to win a championship? My answer is in the podcast below (click the play button) from an interview I did this morning on 640-AM radio in Miami.
July 2, 2012
You may have already seen the post on this site about how the Brooklyn Nets are still in position to acquire Dwight Howard from Orlando. If someone else tells you it is not possible, do not believe them. They are wrong.
Can I be any clearer than that?
Here are two interviews I did tonight on the Brooklyn situation and the NBA free agency market at large.
The first is with Nick Friedell and Jonathan Hood of AM-1000 in Chicago. Click the play button to listen.
The second is with John DeCandido of RedZebra Broadcasting in Hampton Roads, Va.
June 29, 2012
Who did especially well in the NBA Draft? My picks are two of the four teams that made it to the conference finals.
Should Steve Nash be chastised if he does not sign with a team with legitimate NBA title aspirations?
Where will Ray Allen end up?
Is it important for the NBA that the New York Knicks are a competitive team?
All these questions are answered in this interview from 640-AM in Miami. Click the play button to listen.
June 24, 2012
Tonight was supposed to be Game 6 of the NBA Finals.
But there will be no such game for a number of reasons: Not one, not two, not three …
Many of those reasons relate to the second-guessable job Scott Brooks did coaching the Oklahoma City Thunder during their 4-1 loss to the Miami Heat, who have been out celebrating ever since and have not yet stopped, according to Dwyane Wade.
Brooks, meanwhile, is at the end of his contract. And though it makes perfect sense for him to return, there are quite a few attractive candidates, beginning with Phil Jackson and extending to the Van Gundy brothers. I discussed Brooks’ coaching, the Van Gundys and the uncertainly surrounding draft picks 2 through 5 today in this interview with Bill Lekas of Sirius XM’s Mad Dog Radio.
Click the play button below to listen:
June 23, 2012
Much of the chatter since the NBA Finals ended has centered around LeBron James, and whether he has redeemed himself for ditching Ohio, the narcissistic “Decision” and his disappearing act in the fourth quarters of last year’s NBA Finals.
As I have been saying, there comes a time for forgiveness — but that time comes more slowly for some than it does for other. In Cleveland, the emotions are still raw.
I discussed this particular Ohioan dynamic on 92.3 sports radio in Cleveland with old buddy Joe Lull.
Click the play button(s) below to listen. Had to break it into two parts.
June 22, 2012
Onto the offseason, and Question No. 1 for the rest of the NBA: Where will Dwight Howard end up? As first reported here, he wants out, and the Magic know they need to take out the dynamite.
Brooklyn is Howard’s preferred destination, as it has been since the eve of training camp when he was willing and expecting to be traded to Newark for a year of purgatory before the move to the BK.
But if the Nets can’t get him, how big is his B-list? And could any of those teams on Howard’s B-list outbid both the Nets and any teams that might want to take a chance on a one-year D-12 rental?
And most importantly, as discussed in this interview on the Waddle & Silvy Show on WMVP in Chicago, might the Bulls be added to Howard’s wish list? Click the play button below for my answer to that question:
June 22, 2012 (Morning)
If you didn’t feel happy for LeBron James watching him celebrate his first NBA championship last night, you are either a cold-hearted ogre, a resident of Oklahoma or Ohio, or an incorrigible hater.
You can like or dislike the guy, that is your prerogative.
But no one should ever dare question that guy’s competitive desire, his growth as a human being and an athlete, and the dominance he displayed throughout this postseason in finally accomplishing the goal that had eluded him throughout his NBA career.
Those were some of the thought I shared on Yahoo Sports Radio this morning with host Dan Sileo. Click the play button below to listen:
June 21, 2012
Amid discussion on 640-AM in Miami this morning of Angry Birds, Angry Frogs, Frogger and pinball machines (available here), we got down to a discussion of who will be the NBA player most conspicuously ringless if the Miami Heat win the NBA championship tonight, Sunday or Tuesday.
Hint: He’s a big fella.
Click on the play button below for our consensus answer:
June 20, 2012 (evening)
Is it time to top hating on LeBron James?
I went back and forth on the issue with my tweeps this afternoon, and I must say there is very little forgiveness out there. There is an intense dislike for the guy that is borderline incomprehensible for those outside of Ohio, and it is time to give it a rest.
That’s my opinion, and host Jeff Blair of The Fan-590 in Toronto was in agreement as we discussed the NBA Finals and the Heat’ 3-1 lead. Click the play button below to listen.
June 20, 2012 (afternoon)
Was it over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor? That line from John Beluschi in “Animal House” never fails to get a laugh, and it worked for me this afternoon on the Dave Krieger and Dave Logan show on 850-KOA in Denver.
But in all seriousness, there is a ton of talk about this series being over now that the Miami Heat lead the NBA Finals 3-1, to which my response is: Are you kidding?
We’ve had four great games, the last three of which could have gone Oklahoma City’s way if a foul was called in Game 2, if an inbounds play was not botched late in Game 3, and when Russell Westbrook committed a needless foul at the end of Game 4.
So why do people believe the Thunder are going to fold up and collapse? It makes no sense. Did they collapse when they were down 2-0 against a Spurs team that had won 20 in a row? C’mon. Click the play button below for more.
June 20, 2012 (morning)
Has LeBron James redeemed himself in the eyes of the public? Were his two clutch shots on one leg when he was cramping up in the fourth quarter enough to silence the haters?
Well, haters are a tough bunch to deprogram. But after what James has done in the NBA Finals thus far, and after what he did to the Boston Celtics in Games 6 and 7 of the Eastern Conference finals, it is almost time to give the guy his due.
Still, we’re not quite there yet. The Heat still need to win one more game. And if they lose the next three …
That was the main topic of discussion this morning on 1070-The Fan in Indianapolis in this interview with Michael Grady and Joe Staysniak. Click the play button below to listen.
June 16, 2012
Scott Brooks has to do one of two things prior to Game 3: He has to tell his players what time the game starts, because they seem to think it’s cool to be fashionably late with their ‘A’ game; or has has to tell them that the maturity level needed to win an NBA championship is directly proportional to the intensity level needed in the first 6 minutes of the first quarter.
Moke Hamilton, who is on duty in Miami as our lead columnist for Games 3, 4 and 5, called out the Thunder’s young players in this interview on WMVP-1000 in Chicago with Jonathan Hood and Nick Friedell. Click the play button below to listen.
June 15, 2012
Our blogger, Jim Park, just e-mailed me to tell me I took a hell of a beating last night for my Game 2 column saying I was pleased with the non-call when LeBron James made contact with Kevin Durant prior to the shot that Durant missed that would have tied the game with 7 seconds left. As I replied to Park (who blogged today about the beating Russell Westbrook took in the media), I can take it. I have thick skin.
I respect everyone’s opinion, and I am happy if some of you disagree and some of you agree. The comments section is always open if you want to chime in.
I have an opinion, too, and I despise ticky-tack fouls. That’s why I especially enjoy covering FIBA games, which are like mortal combat compared to NBA games. (Can’t wait for the Olympics).
Anyway, back to the non-foul. It was everyone’s big topic of discussion today, and we had a good debate on 640 Radio in Miami as I drove from Oklahoma City to DFW airport on no sleep in a lightning storm this morning. Click the play button below to listen (with a special guest appearance from GPS woman):
June 14, 2012
David Stern is taking a ton of flak for asking CBS’s Jim Rome “Are you still beating your wife?
Where was Stern coming from? First of all, he was clearly pissed off about answering a ridiculous conspiracy theory question for the millionth time. Secondly, he was using lawyer-speak. “Are you still beating your wife?” is what is taught in law schools as the primary example of a loaded question. If you ask that question in front of a jury, even if it has no basis in truth, it still leaves the jurors with the impression that wife-beating is a part of the equation.
Stern should have realized that Rome’s audience is devoid of very many attorneys. His flippant retort went over like a lead balloon, and he should have known better.
But Rome is to blame, too, because he prefaced the question by saying “I was to ask this respectfully” and then proceeded to ask it in the most disrespectful manner possible. He should have known better, too.
I discussed the Stern v. Rome blowup, along with Game 2 of the NBA Finals, with Mike Wise today on Mike’s radio show on 106.7 The Fan in Washington D.C. Click the play button below to listen.
June 13, 2012
Dwyane Wade is hurting, and everybody knows it. But you know what? A lot of guys are hurting at this point of the season, and you either play through it or you go take a seat. What do I expect Wade to do in Game 2? Not the latter.
If he is going to sit anything out, it’ll be the Olympics, from what I am hearing.
So when it comes to a question if there is any member of the Miami Heat who may need his minutes limited, it is Chris Bosh. But if limiting his minutes means holding him out the starting lineup, as Erik Spoelstra did in Game 1, is that the best move for the Miami Heat? Methinks not.
I discussed the difficulties Miami must overcome in Game 2 of the NBA Finals, and we segued into a discussion of the upcoming London Olympics in this interview with James Anderson of 680 Sports Radio in Louisville this afternoon. Click the play button below to listen.
June 12, 2012
You want two key factors for tonight’s Game 1 of the NBA Finals? For the Heat, it will be creating turnovers and getting transition points. Russell Westbrook was a turnover-prone player during the NBA egular season, but he has protected the ball much better over the course of the playoffs. For Oklahoma City, winning the battle on the boards, especially as it relates to second-chance points, will be crucial. Their three bangers, Serge Ibaka, Kendrick Perkins and Nick Collison, changed the course of their last series against San Antonio. They are capable of doing the same against the Heat.
For more on tonight’s big game, give a listen to the interview I did today with Jake & Tony on 1280 The Zone in Salt Lake City. Hit the play button below.
June 11, 2012
Lots of talk today about how most of America will be cheering for the Oklahoma City Thunder in the NBA Finals against the Miami Heat — or the “Evil Empire” as senior columnist Moke Hamilton wrote in his Five Factors preview today. I spoke with Derek Fisher today about the age and experience factor, and you can read that column by clicking here.
Money quote from Fish:
Fish: "If being the people's choice could help us win games, maybe I'd feel different.But there's not much that can do for us on the court."
June 11, 2012 6:24 pm via SuliaReplyRetweetFavorite
@sheridanhoops
Chris Sheridan
I also went on Sports Radio 92.3 in Cleveland, where LeBron James is still Public Enemy No. 1, and we came up with an interesting question: Are there moe Thunder fans in Oklahoma or Ohio?
Click the play button below to listen to the interview:
Also today, I appeared on the Lee “Hacksaw” Hamilton Show in San Diego on XX1090Sports Radio, where we discussed the particular problem posed by trying to defend Kevin Durant, who is NOT 6-foot-9 despite what you may hear on TV. Hacksaw is best buds with Mark Heisler, whose column today on the Thunderkinder is a must read.
Click the play button below for that radio hit:
June 11, 2012
Who has been the MVP of the playoffs? Has to be Kevin Durant, right? Or maybe Rajon Rondo?
You can make a good case for either guy, which is what I did when I was asked on 590 The Fan in Toronto this afternoon who are the two best players currently playing. That puts Rondo a notch above LeBron James, and given what Rondo has done for his team throughout the course of the playoffs, getting the Celtics within one win of their third NBA Finals trip in five years, I’m satisfied that my answer is the correct one.
However …
I expect big things from James, because I’ve seen him do it before and I believe he still has it in him. How big? Click the play button below to find out.
June 7, 2012
Erik Spoelstra is going to lose his job if the Miami Heat lose tonight in Game 6, or Saturday night in Game 7.
That’s my opinion, not a statement of fact, and I believe the moment that will define his Heat coaching legacy (if they lose) was his decision to keep Chris Bosh on the bench for the entire fourth quarter of Miami’s Game 5 loss — plus his statement afterward that it “wouldn’t have been fair” to Bosh to ask him to play the final 3 minutes. I ranted about that (without yelling) yesterday in this video hit with CineSport.
The thing is, I don’t think the Heat are losing this series. I’ve seen LeBron James will his team to victory before when they previously couldn’t get over the hump (it was May 31, 2007, in Auburn Hills, Mich. as James scored 25 of his team’s final 27 points in a double-OT victory), and I believe the guy has another one (or two) of those in his arsenal this spring.
I discussed those two predictions, along with Oklahoma City’s advancement to the NBA Finals, in this interview with Chris Perkins and Marc Eisenberg on 640 Radio in Miami this morning. Click the play button below to listen.
June 4, 2012
The topic du jour is whether LeBron James should have passed the ball to Udonis Haslem on the final play of the fourth quarter vs. the Celtics last night. Never mind that he hit a huge 3 to tie the game moments earlier. Never mind that he is averaging over 32 points per game in the series and shooting 52 percent.
We judge this guy differently than we judge others, which is part of LeBron being LeBron. As I said today in this video, fair or unfair, it is what it is.
I also discussed the topic with Rick Stroud and Tom Jones on WDAE Radio in Tampa today. Click the play button below to listen.
May 31, 2012
Like myself, Seth Everett used to work for ESPN, and he, too, has moved on to a better life as he is now with Fox Sports radio when he is not stressing over the prospects of his beloved Brooklyn Nets. And speaking of the Nets, do they still have a shot at Dwight Howard now that they know they must surrender their upcoming first-round draft pick to the Portland Trail Blazers?
Well, there is still a chance, because the Nets still have the ability to absorb a second large salary in a trade with the Magic — and there are very few teams with the ability to do the same. Seth and I also discussed the acccusations of a fixed draft lottery, the Celtics’ win in Game 3 against Miami, and whether the Thunder have what it takes to even their series — and possible even win it — against the San Antonio Spurs.
Click the play button below to give a listen.
May 30, 2012
You want to call the Hornets winning the draft lottery a conspiracy? Be my guest. But I am not buying it. If ever the fix was in, it was during the 1985 draft lottery when the New York Knicks won the right to select Patrick Ewing.
As I mentioned to host Bob Valvano on this appearance today on ESPN680 Radio in Nashville, the video evidence (bent envelope) is posted on this site as part of my item on 10 fun facts about the NBA draft lottery.
Click the play button below to listen to the interview.
May 29, 2012
Click on the play button below to listen to an interview I did this afternoon on KOA radio in Denver with hosts Dave Krieger and Dave Logan. Naturally, we discussed Ed Malloy — and I ran down the baby-faced referee’s resume and reputation and explained how calls like the one he made against Doc Rivers on Monday night are the types of things that fuel the conspiracy theorists.
We also discussed the Thunder-Spurs series and the Heat-Celtics series, and I addresssed the question of whether the Spurs could go 16-0 with an answer that stunned the hosts.
May 28, 2012
Click on the play button below to listen to an interview I did today on Yahoo Sports Radio with Bob Berger, discussing several possible Dwight Howard trade scenarios, the draft lottery, the opener of the Thunder-Spurs series and tonight’s Game 1 of the Miami-Boston series. Take note of my prediction when I am asked about the possibility of a Spurs-Heat NBA Finals.
May 26, 2012
Click the play button below to listen to an interview I did this morning on Sirius XM’s Mad Dog radio, discussing the merits of Mike Woodson over Phil Jackson, the ongoing Dwight Howard saga in Orlando and what its next chapter will be, and previews of Game 7 of the Eastern Conference semifinals between Boston and Philadelphia and Game 1 of the Western Conference finals between San Antonio and Oklahoma City.