Recently added articles from Basketball Digest:
Team USA has lost its way.(From Courtside)
Nov 01, 2004; Ballantini, Brett ... Evidently TEAM USA/DREAM Team Mach Four--you know, the team that few of the NBA's best (Shaq, Ray Allen, Ben Wallace) wanted to play for that finished a barely-there third in the 2004 Olympics--is above reproach. Gregg Popovich, who never needs an excuse to scold the media, said so. Ditto ...
Daddy heads for destiny.(Uncovering the Past)(Brief Article)
Nov 01, 2004; Ballantini, Brett ... IT WAS ALMOST TOO PERFECT, the marriage of Shaquille O'Neal and the Los Angeles Lakers. O'Neal was always a larger-than-life character, bigger than the LSU campus in college and certainly bigger than anything the prefab city of Orlando had to offer. No, Shaq Daddy ...
Hoops oops.(The Fans Speak Out)(Letter to the Editor)
Nov 01, 2004; Slate, Theodore ... You do a wonderful job with BASKETBALL DIGEST, but I have to point out a slip-up in the October 2004 issue. In "The Star Sheet," you called Oscar Robertson "Oscar Robinson." That's no way to treat the point guard on my all-time All-Star team! Theodore Slate Amherst, ...
Bobby D? OK by me.(The Fans Speak Out)(Letter to the Editor)
Nov 01, 2004; Margolis, Gary ... Thank you so much for your outstanding article, "Sum of the Parts" [October 2004]. I grew up watching Bobby Dandridge play both with the Milwaukee Bucks and Washington Bullets and I feel quite strongly he was one of the greatest all-around players in NBA history. ...
Husky bust.(The Fans Speak Out)(Letter to the Editor)
Nov 01, 2004; Bean, Stephen ... How could you possibly not include the University of Washington among your pre-season top 50? Unbelievable! I assume that at the ...
Kobe's conundrum.(The Fans Speak Out)(Letter to the Editor)
Nov 01, 2004; Taylor, Craig ... As I was watching the NBA Finals, I tried to figure out why the Detroit Pistons were beginning their sets without any double teams. Then I decided that Detroit was treating Kobe Bryant as the Los Angeles Lakers' offensive weakness, not its strength. First, Kobe demanded the ball ...
No more sharing time.(Rising star: Erick Dampier)
Nov 01, 2004; Kertes, Tom ... STAND RIGHT NEXT TO HIM IF you dare, look into those deep brown eyes staring down at you from somewhere very high in the stratosphere, and the words "big," "huge," and "enormous" surely scoot through your mind. No question, Erick Dampier is a big player. Big as in a muscular ...
The stat sheet: expansion teams.(Brief Article)
Nov 01, 2004; Ballantini, Brett ... .000 The worst record of any team as an expansion club's first opponent is New York's 0-2. The Knicks lost to the Chicago Packers, 120-103, on October 19, 1961, and the New Orleans Jazz, 89-74, on October 17, 1974. The Los Angeles Clippers are also 0-2 vs. expansion teams, but ...
A sweet shattering.(Flashback: December 5, 1979)
Nov 01, 2004; O'Donnell, Chuck ... HARVEY POLLACK STILL HANDS out the shards of glass as mementos. "I give a lot of speeches, and if someone answers one of my trivia questions right," said the longtime Philadelphia 76ers statistician, "they get a piece." A piece of history, you could say. On December ...
Sacramento Kings.(Franchise Snapshot)(Brief Article)
Nov 01, 2004; Ballantini, Brett ... * The Kings began as the Rochester Royals in 1948 and moved to Cincinnati in 1957. In 1966, the team moved to Kansas City and became the Kings, also playing some home games in Omaha. In 1983, the club moved to Sacramento after being sold for a mere $10.3 million. * The only ...
The toast of the ABA.(Classic confrontations: Pacers vs. Colonels)
Nov 01, 2004; Friedman, David ... THE INDIANA PACERS APPEARED in five ABA Finals, won three ABA titles, and became known as the Boston Celtics of the upstart league. Pacers broadcaster Bobby "Slick" Leonard, who coached the team during those years, pinpoints the moment that Indiana's great run began: "The beginning of the ...
A steal of a deal: with Shaquille O'Neal in tow, Miami's president has set the Heat's sights on one thing: winning an NBA title.(Interview: Pat Riley)(Interview)
Nov 01, 2004; Ballantini, Brett ... IT WAS A BIRTHDAY, THANKSGIVING, Fourth of July, wedding day, and Christmas wrapped up in one large, 350-pound package. And the only thing that would have made its arrival a bigger shock would have been Shaquille O'Neal showing up in Miami as Santa Clans to usher in a snowstorm. ...
Breaking up is hard to do.(2004-05 NBA Preview)
Nov 01, 2004; Ballantini, Brett ... SURELY THERE HAVE BEEN more active hot-stove summers in professional basketball. But when is the last time the offseason boasted so many high-profile splits? In recent memory, the dismantling of the Chicago Bulls stands out. But as sad as it was to see that team dismembered, we ...
No doubting Thomas.(Atlantic Division)
Nov 01, 2004; Kertes, Tom ... CAN SOMEONE EXPLAIN WHY Rafael Arajuo was a lottery pick? Sure, he's big. And, well, he's big. Let's put it this way: If Rafael Arajuo is your starting center, you will never win a championship. Not in the NBA, not in the WNBA, not in the Arena League, not in the AFL-CIO, and certainly not ...
New York Knicks.(Atlantic 1)
Nov 01, 2004; Kertes, Tom ... 2003-04 Record: 39-43/Third in Atlantic Division * 2004-05 Projection: 48-34 * Coach: Lenny Wilkens WHERE THEY LEFT OFF: The injury-wrecked Knicks--in Allan Houston and Tit Thomas they were sans two significant starters--got swept out of the first round of the playoffs by the ...
Philadelphia 76ers.(Atlantic 2)
Nov 01, 2004; Hunt, Donald ... 2003-04 Record: 33-49/Fifth in Atlantic Division * 2004-05 Projection: 41-41 * Coach: Jim O'Brein WHERE THEY LEFT OFF: For the first time in six years, the Philadelphia 76ers didn't make the playoffs. NEW FACES: It was a busy summer for Billy King, Sixers president ...
New Jersey Nets.(Atlantic 3)
Nov 01, 2004; Kertes, Tom ... 2003-04 Record: 47-35/First in Atlantic Division * 2004-05 Projection: 40-42 * Coach: Lawrence Frank WHERE THEY LEFT OFF: Disappointed and, apparently, desperate. With All-Universe point guard Jason Kidd ailing--he was barely a shadow of a shadow of himself--the two-time ...
Boston Celtics.(Atlantic 4)
Nov 01, 2004; McPherson, David ... 2003-04 Record: 36-46/Fourth in Atlantic Division * 2004-05 Projection: 35-47 * Coach: Doc Rivers WHERE THEY LEFT OFF: Swept by the Indiana Pacers in the first round--losing by an average of more than 16 points per game. NEW FACES: Head coach Glenn "Doc" Rivers ...
Toronto Raptors.(Atlantic 5)
Nov 01, 2004; McPherson, David ... 2003-04 Record: 33-39/Seventh in Central Division * 2004-05 Projection: 34-48 * Coach: Sam Mitchell WHERE THEY LEFT OFF: Failed to make the playoffs for the second consecutive season. GM Glen Grumwald was fired in early April, and rookie head coach Kevin O'Neill joined him on ...
Top heavy.(Central Division)(Brief Article)
Nov 01, 2004; Ballantini, Brett ... THE NBA's CENTRAL DIVISION has long been the overstuffed one, with eight teams as opposed to seven. This season's realignment reduces the division to an even five, just like the other divisions, but the Central is still overstuffed--at least in Eastern terms. The two strongest ...
