It’s all about the future for the Toronto Raptors, and Rudy Gay won’t be a part of it. According to Yahoo! Sports’ Adrian Wojnarowski and Marc J. Spears, the Raptors agreed to trade Rudy Gay to the Sacramento Kings: The Toronto Raptors have reached an agreement in principle to send Rudy Gay to the Sacramento [...]
December 9, 2013
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Blogs
We meet again. One of these times, it won’t be under such dire circumstances. I’ll come to you, wrapped in multi-colored robes and fluorescent glitter, talking about health, durability and how uncommon fragility has become. There will be no mention of a Derrick Rose injury. Or Marc Gasol catastrophe. Or Anthony Davis fracture. Or Paul [...]
December 4, 2013
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Power Rankings
This isn’t fair. What else can we say? Injuries have taken their toll on the NBA early, and it hasn’t been pretty. If we’re not anxiously awaiting the returns of Kobe Bryant and Rajon Rondo, we’re watching Andre Iguodala go down. Marc Gasol go down. Derrick Rose go down. For the season. Again. Put simply, [...]
November 27, 2013
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Power Rankings
Now we’re getting somewhere. More than 10 percent of the NBA season is in the books, allowing us to form conclusions based off more than two games and a bottle of Grey Goose. Now’s the time when the tankers begin to settle in and contenders that aren’t the Miami Heat start playing like they care. [...]
November 19, 2013
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Power Rankings
Expectations are a funny thing. Did I say funny? Sorry, I meant to say that expectations are a cruel-hearted, unshaven bastard. Especially in the NBA. Early on, we cannot escape them. They’re with us always. Always, always, always. And they screw around with our power rankings. At heart, weekly evaluations should be impulsive and read [...]
November 12, 2013
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Blogs
It’s over. You made it. No need to send reinforcements. The battle is over and the war has been won—the NBA offseason, preseason and all the crap that comes with it is over. Finally. You spent months wading through all the proverbial and, if you’re team is tanking, literal bull shit. Now you’ll be rewarded, [...]
October 28, 2013
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Power Rankings
If this Lakers’ season were a new movie, what would you call it? “Escape Plan?” Oh, wait D-12 already did that. “Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2?” Or maybe “Prisoners,” to describe the Lakers fans and perhaps Bryant, himself. As the Lakers prepare to start the 2013-2014 season without veteran 5-time NBA champion and [...]
October 25, 2013
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Blogs, R.S. De France
Things change in the NBA all the time. Preseason basketball is often considered meaningless because, well, it is. It’s supposed to be a time for star players to work through rust, fringe players to secure roster spots and coaches to nail down rotations. And in many ways, that’s what it is. But it’s also a [...]
October 15, 2013
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Power Rankings
Halfway thru the 2013 NBA preseason, the Los Angeles Lakers look better than many expected even playing without 5-time NBA champion and 15-time All-Star Kobe Bryant. Thru four games, the Lakers are 2-2 against Golden State, Denver (twice), and Sacramento. Playing without 17-year Lakers guard Bryant, the Lakers clearly lack an identity. But, credit Coach [...]
October 15, 2013
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Blogs, R.S. De France
The NBA is supposed to be fun. A lot of people understand that. Others don’t. Those people, the overly serious and belligerently antagonistic ones, won’t want to see what follows. This mark’s the inception of The Hoop Doctor’s PG-13 NBA Power Rankings, where almost anything goes. Language may sometimes not be suitable for those reading at [...]
October 8, 2013
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Power Rankings