Archives › John Krolik
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Over the past few years, the NBA has changed drastically. Hand-check rules have allowed guards to dominate the game the way big men once did. The European influence on the NBA game has led to more perimeter-oriented bigs than guys who want to bang down low. The statistical revolution has changed the way teams are…
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Disgraced former NBA referee Tim Donaghy and the publisher of his book, “Personal Foul,” will no longer be working together, according to Dan Devine of Yahoo! Sports. The book had been published by a company called VTi, but VTi CEO Shawna Vercher stated in an email that her company has “decided to terminate our relationship…
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Courtesy of Deadspin, here’s a video of Bob Lanier and Jo Jo White playing each other in the finals of the 1972 one-on-one tournament. The game is to 20, you have to win by four, baskets count as two, and no free throws until the fourth foul. Winner gets $15,000 in singles. As Deadspin…
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The “Mayor’s bet” is a time-honored tradition in sports. When two teams meet in a big playoff series, it’s common for the mayors of the cities the teams play in to make a friendly wager. Sometimes a cities bet a few truckloads of food. Sometimes they have to temporarily change the name of something. You…
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According to Hoopchina (the original article is in Chinese, but the good folks at The Hoops Market were kind enough to translate), Yao Ming and the Rockets could be parting ways in the not-too-distant future. The article states that talks about an extension between the Rockets and their center have become “delicate,” as Yao wants…
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Many of the teams in the NBA playoffs this season carried the burden of high expectations. Owners, executives, and fans all have high hopes when their favorite team goes into the playoffs with a real shot at getting to the finals or even winning the whole thing. When the team succeeds, it’s great. When they…
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Last season, the Cleveland Cavaliers swept through the first two rounds of the playoffs with ease, only to lose home-court advantage after a game one loss to the Orlando Magic. They went on to lose the series, and it’s clear looking back that they may have underestimated the eventual Eastern Conference Champions. A year later,…
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One thing that stat heads have been saying for the last year or so is that the “hot hand” does not exist. A study at the Sloan Analytics conference a few years ago crunched the numbers on how well players shot after making one or several shots against how they shot after missing one or…
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Rapper/entrepreneur Jay-Z was recently interviewed by Stephen A. Smith. Over the course of the interview, Jay-Z spoke about LeBron’s series against the Boston Celtics, his relationship with new Nets owner Mikhail Prokhorov, and his plans to take a more hands-on approach next season as a part owner of the Nets. Here’s an excerpt from the…
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Cleveland’s season may be over, but speculation about LeBron James’ elbow is far from done. Cavaliers general manager Danny Ferry spoke about the elbow today, actually delivering some new information about the injury. According to Ferry, LeBron’s elbow first started bothering him before an April 8 game against the Chicago Bulls, causing the team to…
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UPDATE 6:00 pm: In the immortal words of Emily Litella, “never mind.” Durant tweeted this afternoon that he was just joking, he has no intention of doing the dunk contest. His choice, he can do what he wants, but don’t tease us like that man. We need people like you to be in, to liven…
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Scouting sheets are one of the best things about pro basketball. Scouts know the game, they place a lot of faith in their own knowledge, and they love putting their thoughts in blunt, easily digestible form. (One of my favorite scouting sheet notes of all time, courtesy of Jack McCallum’s Seven Seconds or Less, summed…
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Rockets assistant Turner to interview for head coaching gigs
May 13, 2010, 4:48 PM EDT
Houston Rockets assistant coach Elston Turner recently told KRIV-TV in Houston (Hat tip to ESPN Chicago) that he will interview with the Philadelphia 76ers and Chicago Bulls about a possible head coaching job. Turner is a former NBA player, and was a player-coach in the CBA after he left the NBA as a player. He…
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It’s foolish to pretend that the storylines surrounding this game won’t center around LeBron. Between the legacy, the attitude, the failure, the elbow, and everything else, LeBron being on the brink of massive failure is too intriguing not to focus on. It’s also foolish to think that LeBron’s performance in game six won’t be the…
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Stoudemire says it's "50-50" he'll be back in Phoenix next year
May 12, 2010, 4:35 PM EDT
It’s hard to believe now, but the Phoenix Suns actually considered trading Amar’e Stoudemire to the Cavaliers at this year’s trade deadline. With Phoenix having swept their way to the conference finals and Cleveland a game away from elimination in their series with the Celtics, hanging onto Stoudemire appears to have been a good short-term…
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According to Ross Siler of the Salt Lake Tribune, Deron Williams has been told to rest his injured wrist this off-season, and Williams hopes the injury will not require surgery. If Williams does end up getting surgery on the wrist, he will likely miss the World Championships this summer. Williams completely dominated the Jazz’s first-round…
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NBA Playoffs: Magic decimate Hawks again, get second straight sweep
May 10, 2010, 11:51 PM EDT
Well, that’s it for the Hawks. After yet another blowout, the Orlando Magic are advancing to the Eastern Conference Finals while the Hawks are going home. The Hawks were completely overwhelmed by the Magic, who never trailed in game four and maintained a double-digit lead for nearly the entire second half. After being considered the…
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The Magic have outscored the Hawks 331-244 over the first three games of their playoff series. Atlanta was briefly in game two; other than that, they’ve been completely dominated at both ends of the court. So many things need to change for the Hawks if they want to get a game in this series. Joe…
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Rajon Rondo had one of the best games in the playoffs in game four, destroying the Cleveland Cavaliers with his scoring, rebounding, and passing. In game three, the Cavaliers had success slowing Rondo down by packing the paint in the half-court and forcing him to stay on the perimeter. In game four, Boston was able…
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Stan Van Gundy rips Bulls over handling of Del Negro firing
May 10, 2010, 6:56 PM EDT
Ever since Jeff Van Gundy started out as an analyst with ESPN, he’s made it a point to come to the defense of a lot of coaches. Recently, Van Gundy was critical of how the Chicago Bulls handled the firing of Vinny Del Negro. Del Negro was seemingly on the hot seat from the first…
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NBA Playoffs, Magic Hawks Game 3: Magic dominate Hawks, remain undefeated
May 8, 2010, 8:31 PM EDT
Well, so much for Atlanta turning into a completely different team on their home floor. The Hawks were 19-22 on the road this season and 34-7 at home, so it wasn’t completely unreasonable to expect them to be more competitive on Saturday than they were in the first two games of the series. Unfortunately for…
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NBA Playoffs, Magic Hawks Game 2: Magic overpower Hawks in second half to take 2-0 lead
May 7, 2010, 2:12 AM EDT
Surprisingly enough, the Atlanta Hawks were competitive for much of game two. They were able to move the ball while limiting mistakes, actually managed to get to the rim and the line with some consistency, and scored almost 100 points against the Magic’s defense. They made six of their 11 three-point attempts. They shot 97% on their…
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Like the Bobcats before them, the Hawks couldn’t do anything against the defense of the Orlando Magic in game one. The Hawks were a top-five team in offensive efficiency in the regular season, but that number was more the product of a low turnover rate and high offensive rebound rate than it was the product…
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There was not a whole lot of consistency in the Milwaukee Bucks’ rotation this season. In fact, Andrew Bogut, Brandon Jennings, and Carlos Delfino were the only players to play more than 50% of the time for the Bucks this year. The rest of the rotation was filled out with role players (Luc Richard Mbah…
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The Utah Jazz have the best point guard in basketball. They’ve surrounded him with good outside shooting and talented forwards. They have one of the best coaches in the league and run the flex with precision. They’re a tough, physical team who don’t back down from any challenge. What Utah doesn’t have is the kind…
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Video: Grizzlies ready for 'running' Spurs
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Video: Durant won't 'compromise himself' like other stars
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Video: Knicks avoid elimination
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Video: Heat finish off Bulls, James 'has no energy left'
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Video: Health woes make Heat vulnerable
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Video: Good news for Sacramento, Kings stay
