The NBA and Its New Replay Problem

          The first two rounds of the NBA postseason so far have been some of the most exciting and memorable playoff games in recent memory. The first round saw five of its eight matchups go to seven games, eight games go to overtime, and a series clinching three pointer at the buzzer by last year's Rookie of the Year Damian Lillard. However, the last two nights have been marred by an replay problem the NBA needs to address in the offseason that involves the power of the officials to review out of bounds plays with two minutes or less left in the 4th quarter and all of overtime.

2013-2014 NBA Preview: Northwest Division

Denver Nuggets

2012-2013 Record: 57-25 (3rd in West)

Key Additions: Nate Robinson, J.J. Hickson, Randy Foye, Darrell Arthur

Key Losses: Andre Iguodala, Corey Brewer, Kosta Koufas

Projected Starting Lineup: Ty Lawson, Randy Foye, Danilo Gallinari, Kenneth Faried, JaVale McGee

The Nuggets did the unthinkable this offseason, and I am not talking about letting go of All-Star Andre Iguodala. On May 2, 2013 the Denver Nuggets, the 3rd seed in the West, lost Game 6 of their opening round matchup against the 6th seeded Golden State Warriors and were bounced from the 2013 playoffs. Six days later Nuggets coach George Karl earned his first ever NBA Coach of the Year award after a regular season that saw

2013 NBA Draft Recap

Knicks Pick a Rival

As a recent University of Wisconsin graduate (wow, still not used to that), I am horrified at the thought of watching a Michigan man wear a Knicks jersey. As a Knicks fan, I am very happy with Tim Hardaway Jr. as the 24^th pick in the 2013 NBA draft. As a Badger, I was able to watch Hardaway Jr. play many times throughout his career at Michigan and I think he fits in very well with the Knicks. Hardaway Jr. seemed to drop in this draft because he was overshadowed this past year by his Wolverine teammate Trey Burke, the national player of the year, but Hardaway Jr. is a very good player who clearly has no problem deferring to a better player (something he will have to do as a teammate of Carmelo Anthony).

2012 NBA Draft Recap

New York Goes Overseas

In a pick I definitely did not see coming, the Knicks selected Kostas Papanikolaou out of Greece. Although I was hesitant at first, I grew to, more or less, like the pick. I can honestly say I have never heard of this player nor have I seen any video of him. However, Fran Fraschilla spoke very highly of him (although which international player does he not speak highly about? It seemed like every international pick during the draft was a “great” or “solid” pick). 

In addition, the Knicks are trying to win right now and in doing so are taking a page out of the San Antonio Spurs’ draft manual by aiming for a championship while also looking towards the future in developing young players overseas, as Papanikolaou is not expected to enter the NBA for a

2011 NBA Trade Deadline

          The NBA trade deadline ended Thursday February 24 at 3:00 PM ET. It seemed like a lot of teams waited until then or pretty close to make trades and change up their roster before it was too late. The last few minutes were so busy that I had trouble taking notes in my classes, I was so focused on refreshing my page and waiting for breaking news as the countdown came to an end. This year more than ever, trades came down to the last minute and even after the deadline passed, news still trickled in regarding major transactions and power shifting moves. The NBA saw many of these power swings as players changed teams, not only among divisions but among conferences. Teams that were stranded in no-man’s-land suddenly become threats to make the finals while potential finals contenders slid down a few notches. Here are the major trades that took place at or around the deadline and analysis and grades of each one.

2010 NBA Draft

Knicks

          Let’s start with my favorite team of all time, the New York Knicks. A team I have waited loyally for year after year to make any kind of splash. They may not have had a 1st round pick this year and may be living and dying on this year’s free agency, but that doesn’t mean they couldn’t have drafted decent players with their two consecutive 2nd round picks, but they blew it...BIG TIME. I waited 3.5 hours anticipating their pick, and they could not have let me down any more. There are 2 positions the Knicks desperately need, and it just so happens that those 2 positions are not available in free agency. They need a point guard and a center. Maybe Bosh and Amar’e can play center, but they are true power forwards, and the best point available is Raymond Felton, which isn’t much. Donnie could