The Kind-Hearted Smart Aleck

To say the NBA off-season has been crazy would be like saying politicians sometimes exaggerate, as it'd be quite the understatement. With the Golden State Warriors having won the title two of the past three years, quite possibly being one technical foul away from three straight, the rest of the league is attempting to play catch-up. Heading into the coming season, and deservedly so, the Warriors will again be favored to reign supreme at season's end, but four teams (in particular) are certainly doing everything in their power to alter that fate: Boston, Cleveland, Houston, and Oklahoma City. Let's now run down these four teams' off-season acquisitions, how they look going into the 2017-2018 season, and how they stack up against the league-champion Golden State Warriors. Boston Celtics Off-season acquisitions: Kyrie Irving, Gordon Hayward, and Marcus Morris Starting Lineup: PG Kyrie Irving, SG Jaylen Brown, SF Gordon Hayward, PF Marcus Morris, and C Al Horford Pro...

The NBA season is finally over, so I thought I'd provide some closing thoughts: - While NBA analyst Charles Barkley is entertaining at times, the guy comes across as batsh*t crazy at others (or perhaps it's this batsh*t craziness which makes him entertaining). The man can't seem to given an ounce of respect for the Golden State Warriors, even though the team won the championship a year ago and had the best record in league history this season. The team may be drastically different to teams he played for a couple decades ago, but give credit where credit is due. Not only has he made a habit of bashing the Warriors, he hasn't been coy about bashing LeBron James. Even after James' incredible close to the finals, resulting in his third championship ring, Barkley decided it was again time to say the finals MVP still doesn't rank in his top 5 of all time. The guy isn't receiving letters from AARP just yet. He has three championships to his credit, not to mention...

It's a wonder sometimes why I'm into sports as much as I am. Most times, sports are looked at from a black-and-white perspective. They're numbers-dominated, especially now in the fantasy-sports era, which leaves us with the good and the bad, the winners and the losers. However, for as much as most sports analysts and commentators like to look at things from this black-and-white vantage point, I think they often times look past the many shades of grey when analyzing a particular, sport, team, or player. Every year, especially now with the Internet and 24-hour news networks, many seemingly obsess over the concepts of legacies and how certain teams and players would rank among the very best throughout the history of the sport. The glaring problem with such comparisons and analyses is the fact sports have consistently changed over time, so it'd be virtually impossible to accurately conclude on whether a particular team or player would be less, just as, or more dominant du...

Team owners crack me up sometimes. Remember how Cleveland Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert reacted when LeBron James fled Cleveland for Miami? Now James is back in Cleveland and Gilbert has since apologized for his (over)reaction. Since James signed back with the Cavaliers, Minnesota Timberwolves All-Star Kevin Love asked to be traded to the Cavs, officially was this past week, and now Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor is speaking ill of Love. Somewhat ironically, Taylor said this not too long ago about his former All-Star: "Kevin and I have always had a good relationship. Kevin has always said I want to win. I said I want to win, too, stay here and let's do it together." As soon as Love was traded to Cleveland, however, Taylor's comments became less positive, as he made the following remarks on ESPN Radio 1500 AM in the Twin Cities on Tuesday: - "I think where maybe he got away with some stuff not playing defense on our team, I'm not sure that's how it...