It’s that time of year again for the Los Angeles Lakers. After an unconvincing finish to the 2023-24 season, the Purple and Gold search for answers as the clock ticks toward the free agent portal opening in July. For the Los Angeles Lakers, the LeBron James era has been best characterized as a roller coaster. L.A. won the title in 2020 after James’ first season with the team took a nosedive before the All-Star break. 2021 and 2022 for L.A. were duds, and 2023 saw them fall a bit short of another Finals appearance. In addition to the theme of…
Author: Adel Ahmad
The Indiana Pacers are pointing fingers at officials after going down o-2 to the New York Knicks on Wednesday night. Indiana Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle was ejected after aggressively disputing several calls in Game 2, particularly when officials correctly overturned a double-dribble violation that could have given the Pacers a crucial possession with the game still teetering. After the game, a frustrated Carlisle spoke about submitting complaints to the league office, saying that the officials missed 78 calls and non-calls over Games 1 and 2. But with the Indiana Pacers surrendering Game 2 despite Tyrese Haliburton’s scoring explosion and…
It didn’t take long to see that the operation was failing. The Golden State Warriors were 19-24 in late January with Draymond Green suspended, Chris Paul injured and Klay Thompson stuck in a historically bad slump. And if that wasn’t bad enough, Andrew Wiggins — the spark plug of their championship season in 2022 — was benched off and on. At the center of the chaos was Stephen Curry — not for his bad play or leadership but because superstars with the kind of resume he has aren’t afforded the luxury of just playing hard and hoping for the best.…
The Los Angeles Lakers have fired their head coach, face huge decisions with their stars, and are running out of options for the future. After back-to-back sub-50-win seasons for the Los Angeles Lakers, huge changes were inevitable. The team kicked off their 2024 offseason by dismissing head coach Darvin Ham after just two seasons in charge. But if you thought finding a new head coach would be the Lakers’ only headache this summer — think again. The Lakers are in for an overhaul that could result in a massive shuffling of the deck. Heading into year 7 of the LeBron…
Before Charles Barkley turned himself into one of the most quotable television personalities in American history, he was an NBA superstar. And before he was in the NBA, he played basketball at Auburn University where something — let’s just say — not-so-ordinary happened. In case you weren’t too familiar with Charles Barkley’s playing career, he crushed about as many records you could hope for at the collegiate level. From leading the SEC in rebounding to holding the record for the highest field goal percentage — Sir Charles, as many call him, was a handful for opposing defenses. But what may…
When the Denver Nuggets arrive in Ball Arena to play the Minnesota Timberwolves in Game 1 of the second round, they’ll have been rested for five days. After an 82-game season, rest comes far and few between. But for the Denver Nuggets, they’ve closed out each of their last three playoff series in five or fewer games, giving them a decided edge in the fatigue department. But when the Denver Nuggets defeated the Los Angeles Lakers in round one, they might’ve found something against the Lakers that will give them an even bigger boost against a gritty defensive team like…
When the Denver Nuggets defeated the Los Angeles Lakers in the 2023 Western Conference Finals, the attention swiftly moved over to the future of LeBron James after his comments about retirement. After losing in the 2024 NBA playoffs to the same team in an acutely similar fashion, the Los Angeles Lakers are once again faced with questions regarding the future of James. While James has not raised the specter of calling his retirement this time around, he is however facing a decision in choosing his next suitor for the 2024-2025 season. A large part of James’ decision has to do…
The Golden State Warriors missed the NBA playoffs for just the third time in the last decade. But that is far from the only unusual activity happening around the NBA lately. For the first time since the 2005-2006 NBA season, the postseason will not feature LeBron James, Kevin Durant, or Steph Curry. If there was ever a sign of a changing of the guard — it’s happening right now in front of our very eyes. But before all the young talent officially takes over, James, Durant, and Curry will all be playing on the same team for the first time…
The Phoenix Suns’ season ended on a sweep at the hands of the Minnesota Timberwolves Sunday night. Minnesota thoroughly outplayed Phoenix on both ends with their fundamental approach, especially on offense. The Timberwolves featured six players who averaged double-figures in scoring, so there was no mystery behind the sweep. The Suns never stood a chance. But speaking of mysteries, the Phoenix Suns’ future appears very much a mystery, with major uncertainty hanging over the team. Before the season started, not many people would’ve predicted that the Suns would lose in the first round of the playoffs, much less be swept.…
Another day, another Los Angeles Lakers loss… And another brutal no-show for starting point guard D’Angelo Russell. As the Los Angeles Lakers looked defeat right in the face in the final minutes on Thursday night, Russell was disengaged from the team huddle during a timeout, as he sat alone, perhaps left pondering his 0-point outing in a must-win game. For the second year in a row, the Los Angeles Lakers are on the verge of a 4-0 exit at the hands of Nikola Jokic’s Denver Nuggets. And for the second year in a row, when counted on the most, D’Angelo…
