Ranking the Most Shocking Statistics of the 2016-17 NHL Season
January 6th, 2017 by Allan Mitchell No comments »
Every season, NHL fans are treated to shocking performances.
Some of those performances come from veterans who are enjoying career seasons, while others come from role players who are stepping into ideal situations and making the most of things. There are also those that come from NHL teams that are delivering historic numbers.
This season, only halfway done, has given fans all kinds numbers to discuss. And in some ways, these have changed the balance of the NHL. Will it last?
Here are the most shocking numbers from the historic beginning to the 2016-17 season.Begin Slideshow
Knicks vs. Bucks: Score, Highlights, Reaction from 2017 Regular Season
January 6th, 2017 by Joe Pantorno No comments »
The New York Knicks exacted some revenge on the Milwaukee Bucks on Friday night, overcoming a 13-point fourth-quarter deficit and a hole as large as 18 to win 116-111 in BMO Harris Bradley Center.
Trailing since the beginning of the second quarter, Carmelo Anthony knocked down a go-ahead three-pointer with less than a minute left in the game to spark the Knicks' win shortly after Kristaps Porzingis fouled out.
Anthony led all scorers with 26 points to go with 10 assists on the night, while Porzingis added 24 points and six rebounds.
This came just two days after Giannis Antetokounmpo hit a buzzer-beater at Madison Square Garden to down the Knicks and complete a 14-point fourth-quarter comeback.
He and Jabari Parker each put up 25 points on Friday, but Antetokounmpo also added six rebounds, five blocks and two steals.
The Knicks got off to a nice start with a 9-0 run to open up the ...
What If the Selke Trophy Were Actually Awarded to Defensive Specialists?
January 6th, 2017 by Jonathan Willis No comments »
The NHL has an award nominally for defensive specialists, the Frank J. Selke Trophy, which supposedly goes to "the forward who best excels in the defensive aspects of the game." Yet, no purely defensive forward has won the trophy in recent memory. Instead, it sometimes feels as though it’s awarded annually to the guy we can all agree is a good defensive player and who happens to be having a great offensive season.
That’s an exaggeration, but not much of one. This year, for example, it’s hard not to like Ryan Kesler’s chances of winning the award.
He meets both criteria. First, he’s one of the dozen or so forwards in the NHL whose two-way reputation has (rightly) become enshrined in hockey’s conventional wisdom. Second, he’s having a great offensive season. He’s presently on pace to score 30 goals for the first time since 2010-11; it isn’t a coincidence that the last ...
Tim Hardaway Jr. Trade Rumors: Latest News, Speculation Surrounding Hawks Guard
January 6th, 2017 by Joe Pantorno No comments »
Atlanta Hawks shooting guard Tim Hardaway Jr. is enjoying one of his best seasons in the NBA but could be on his way to a new team.
Continue for updates.
Hawks Are Looking to Deal Hardaway
Friday, Jan. 6
According to ESPN's Zach Lowe on his podcast, The Lowe Post, the Hawks are "already shopping" Hardaway for a second-round draft pick because "they don't want to pay him."
The 24-year-old is owed $3.3 million with a $5.7 million cap hit next season before he becomes a restricted free agent, per Spotrac.
Now in his fourth year in the league and his second with the Hawks, Hardaway is averaging 11.4 points in 22.1 minutes per game with a 44.4 field-goal percentage.
After being dealt from the New York Knicks to the Hawks during the 2015 draft, he's developed into a solid supporter for Kyle Korver off the bench.
However, the 20-16 Hawks don't seem happy with their current situation, as they ...
Hawks GM Wes Wilcox Makes Racially Insensitive Joke at Fan Event
January 6th, 2017 by Tim Daniels No comments »
Atlanta Hawks general manager Wes Wilcox has apologized for making a racially insensitive joke during a team event with fans in December.
Patrick Redford of Deadspin reported Friday that Hawks season-ticket holder Clarenton Crawford was in attendance and provided details of an exchange with Wilcox. Crawford suggested the team replace head coach Mike Budenholzer with Mark Jackson as part of a series of questions that caused tension to rise before the GM attempted to calm the situation.
"I know you guys may be angry with me, but I'm used to it because I have a black wife and three mixed kids, so I'm used to people being angry and argumentative," Wilcox said, according to Crawford and another Deadspin source at the event.
Crawford told Deadspin he reached out to the organization to voice his displeasure. He received a meeting with CEO Steve Koonin and senior vice president Nzinga Shaw after asking whether Wilcox ...
Matt Bonner Retires: Latest Comments and Reaction
January 6th, 2017 by Adam Wells No comments »
Matt Bonner's 12-year NBA career has officially come to an end.
Bonner announced his retirement in a video posted on YouTube:
Bonner also posted a short essay on The Players' Tribune:
Today, I’m announcing my retirement from the NBA. Thank you to everyone who supported this humble redheaded role player through the years. I loved every team I played for and every city I lived in.
Staying true to myself, I made this mildly humorous video. Unless a professional “spot shooting” league miraculously crops up, I hope you will continue the support for whatever comes for me after basketball.
Bonner will be a studio analyst for Spurs TV, per Mike Monroe of the Rivard Report.
After becoming a star in four years at the University of Florida, where he was named to the All-SEC first team as a senior in 2003, Bonner was drafted 45th overall by the Chicago Bulls, who traded his rights to the Toronto Raptors that ...
LeBron James Says Cavaliers Need Another PG
January 6th, 2017 by Tim Daniels No comments »
Cleveland Cavaliers superstar LeBron James reiterated his desire for the front office to acquire another point guard as the team builds its roster for the postseason.
Jason Lloyd of the Akron Beacon Journal passed along comments Friday from the four-time NBA MVP, who made it clear he believes it's crucial to add someone else capable of running the offense. He likened the situation to that of injured Oakland Raiders quarterback Derek Carr:
We still got a couple more things we need to do. We got to get a point guard. It's my last time saying it. We need a point guard.
I think that's the next step. You look at our league, most teams have three point guards. We only have two with [Kyrie Irving] and our rook in Kay [Felder]. I think just having that security blanket. Every NFL team has three quarterbacks. Having that security blanket in case of a Carr ...
Grit-‘N’-Grind 2.0: How the Memphis Grizzlies Finally Joined the Modern NBA
January 6th, 2017 by Josh Martin No comments »
LOS ANGELES — The Memphis Grizzlies don't own a Larry O'Brien Trophy. They've never won a game during the conference finals, let alone appeared in the NBA Finals during their 21 years in the league (the first six of which were in Vancouver).
But they do have pictures of the trophy prominently displayed in the hallway leading from their locker room to the court at FedExForum. It's one of head coach David Fizdale's many personal touches and another not-so-subtle nod to the Grizzlies' grander plan of upgrading the organization from perennial Western Conference pest to legitimate title contender.
"I think sometimes when new coaches take over, it's always, 'Let's change everything,'" Fizdale explained. "That wasn't my attitude when I came to this team. They had a lot of stuff in place that was working for them.
"What we had to do was take that and adapt it to the league that we ...
Adam Silver Discusses Future of Broadcasting NBA Games
January 6th, 2017 by Tim Daniels No comments »
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver is focused on modernizing the way the league's games can be viewed by increasing availability on mobile devices and creating unique ways to tune in.
Chuck Schilken of the Los Angeles Times passed along comments Silver made Thursday at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas about the changing media landscape. The league's chief executive believes creating a niche market to watch the end of games will be key:
Certainly we're going from a place where it was one price for an entire season of games. Now just in the last two years, we've made single games available. But I think you're going to get to the point where somebody wants to watch the last five minutes of the game, and they go click, they'll pay a set price for five minutes as opposed to what they would pay for two hours of the game.
Paying a small fee ...
NBA Power Rankings: Elite Jump-Shooting Teams Continue Making Their Mark
January 6th, 2017 by Grant Hughes No comments »
The latest NBA Power Rankings are here, and if you thought stability was on the menu as we near the halfway point of the 2016-17 season, brace yourself.
It's only getting nuttier.
We've got shifts in the top five, bottom five and everywhere in between.
The Atlanta Hawks contributed to the chaos by reaching their highest point in weeks and then subsequently trading Kyle Korver, signaling a rebuild is in the works. That says a lot about the competitive structure of the league right now: Sitting in playoff position at 20-16 doesn't mean much when the Golden State Warriors and Cleveland Cavaliers appear destined for the NBA Finals, and it's not worth completing a solid season if it means losing free agents afterward.
Short summary: Paul Millsap is on deck for the next move.
Elsewhere, the New York Knicks tumbled, and the Indiana Pacers climbed.
As always, rankings are based on record, advanced stats and just ...