The city of Toronto, Ontario is deservedly celebrating the Raptors’ first experience in the NBA Finals after falling just short for a few years. Taking down a repeat defending champion will be a tall task, but in many ways Toronto hoops is already winning, and it extends beyond the Raptors’ … Read more
Brooklyn, New York has an estimated population of 2.65 million people, population-wise the largest of New York City’s five boroughs. Considered separately from the other four boroughs, Brooklyn would be the fourth-largest city in the United States, ranking right behind Chicago, Illinois by about 15 thousand, or the average attendance … Read more
The second round of the 2019 NBA Playoffs was every bit as good as the first round was bad, with two stirring Game Sevens and two other series many thought would go seven. I have to admit to being very surprised at three of the four surviving teams, as evidenced … Read more
After the Golden State Warriors’ Kevin Durant went down with a calf injury in Game Five of the 2019 Western Conference semifinal series against the Houston Rockets, a lot of basketball pundits instantly declared the Houston Rockets favorites to win the series. This was the case even after the Warriors’ … Read more
There’s a basketball cliche that states “a playoff series doesn’t start until the home team loses a game.” While I’m not down with that one, it’s become clear that “the NBA Playoffs don’t start until the first round ends.” After a mostly lackluster first round of action where only the … Read more
Remember the 1990s when the Michael Jordan-led Chicago Bulls were all the rage in the midst of their dynasty? Regardless of which town you were in, you didn’t have to go far to see someone wearing Bulls’ paraphernalia of some kind. If you had an extra ticket to a Bulls’ … Read more
When we plop down in front of a giant screen to watch our favorite detective show, we know going in the perpetrator(s) will be apprehended within an hour or two. And we watch anyway. When we used to wake up early on Saturday mornings to watch Wile E. Coyote chase … Read more
Let’s try this again. In this space 12 of the 16 playoff participants were accurately predicted and five of those teams were correctly seeded. However, the Orlando Magic were picked here to finish dead last in the Eastern Conference but ended up qualifying for the post-season as the 7th seed. … Read more
College basketball’s 2019 National Invitation Tournament (NIT) final game pitting the Texas Longhorns against the Lipscomb University Bisons was played on April 4th at New York City’s Madison Square Garden. I watched a portion of the second half on television and although the game wasn’t a blowout, Texas was in … Read more
Most of us who consider ourselves basketball fans have seen young players with talent and basketball smarts well beyond their years and wondered what the future might hold for those players. As we get older and gain a better understanding of the near-impossible odds of earning a spot an NBA … Read more
