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(02/17/16 11:30pm)
First off, John and I would like to extend our best wishes to Chris Bosh, who currently may be facing another life threatening blood clot injury. Bosh, who is a two-time champion and an 11-time All Star, has been a class act since entering the NBA, and we hope that he will be back to health soon.
(02/09/16 11:15pm)
Similar to last season, the Boston Celtics have surprised the NBA with a solid performance. After going 40-42, finishing seventh in the Eastern Conference and losing in four games to the Cleveland Cavaliers in last season’s playoffs, the Celtics are currently the third place team in the East at a respectable 31-22.
(02/02/16 11:30pm)
The “Hack-a-Shaq” has become a widely employed strategy in basketball. It involves identifying a member of the opposing team with a weak free throw percentage and purposefully fouling that player to send them to the free throw line. The ultimate hope is that the fouled player will miss the free throw and possession will go to the team that originally committed the foul.
(01/27/16 12:30am)
Last Friday, Jan. 22, Cleveland Cavaliers head coach David Blatt was fired despite holding the best record in the Eastern Conference (30-11). Today, we will discuss whether the firing was justified.
(01/20/16 12:22am)
The Oklahoma City Thunder have quietly amassed a solid 30-12 record behind their two superstars small forward Kevin Durant and point guard Russell Westbrook.
(01/12/16 11:30pm)
What’s happening, Dartmouth! Winter term 2016 is upon us and today we shall be discussing the Miami Heat and their looming decision regarding Hassan Whiteside. The past four years have been incredibly volatile for the Miami Heat. The 2011-2012 and 2012-2013 seasons brought back to back championships. The 2013-2014 season brought a loss to the San Antonio Spurs in the finals and the departure of Lebron James during the off-season. The 2014-2015 season brought the emergence of center Whiteside, a prominent midseason trade for point guard Goran Dragic and a near life-ending blood clot injury for superstar Chris Bosh. The Heat narrowly missed out on the playoffs last season but instead were able to secure the tenth pick in the NBA draft, by which they fortuitously selected the coveted NCAA 2015 Champion small forward Justise Winslow. This season, the Heat have started off to a respectable 22-16 and fifth in the better-than-anticipated Eastern Conference. Whiteside was drafted by the Kings during the 2010-2011 season but was cut several times and spent some time playing in China before being discovered by the Heat. Whiteside has blossomed into one of the best centers in the league, averaging 12.1 PPG, 11.1 RPG and an astounding league-best 3.8 BPG (Anthony Davis is second with 2.6 BPG). D-League to max-contract is an inspiring story but a pivotal decision comes for the Miami Heat in the next month when the trade deadline hits. This year, Whiteside is making just under a million dollars but as a restricted free agent this summer will likely fetch a maximum contract. There have been some trade rumblings with names like Dwight Howard, Demarcus Cousins and Ryan Anderson, all of which Pat Riley has denied. If the Heat choose not to trade Whiteside at the deadline, they could risk letting him walk for nothing. This week, we debate whether or not the Heat should trade Whiteside. Alex’s Take: Bring me back to those Miami Heat glory days when it was assumed that they would make it to the finals. Then Lebron left. So much can change in a single NBA season. But last year’s mess brought one golden goose, and his name was Hassan Whiteside. Whiteside is an incredible basketball talent. Anyone who watches the way he effortlessly runs the court and swats balls with perfect timing at the rim will appreciate how he has the potential to become one of the best players in the league. I personally love watching his ferocious dunks through several defenders and no sweat rebounding. Heck, even esteemed Celtic Bob Cousy compared Whiteside to Hall of Famer Bill Russell, the only such comparison he has made in 40 years. However, Whiteside does not come without his problems. Apart from being inconsistent on the floor, Whiteside may challenge Cousins for the “worst temperament in the NBA” award. I remember one particular incident when he full out tackled Alex Len of the Phoenix Suns, causing both players to be ejected.As a basketball player, Hassan is still incredibly raw, but he is no longer a young buck — in fact he turns 27 in June. Furthermore, the financial implications are a huge risk for the Heat. Whiteside will undoubtedly fetch a max contract. Even Enes “No Defense” Kanter of the Oklahoma City Thunder received the max; serviceable centers are simply a rare commodity in the League today. In order to free up the cap space, the Heat would need Dwyane Wade to (yet again) accept some sort of pay cut, which at this point seems very unlikely. If Pat Riley and the Heat organization allow Whiteside to finish the season, even if they were able to free up cap-space for him, Whiteside may opt to walk and in return the Heat would receive nothing. As much as it pains me to say this, the Heat should trade Whiteside. It makes more sense for the organization to lock something up rather than gamble on receiving nothing. John’s Take: The Heat have been a pleasant surprise this season, and Alex is right to point to Whiteside as one of the big reasons behind their recent success. For the most part I have to admit that I agree with Alex’s reasoning. Allowing Whiteside to enter free agency would be a tough financial decision. The Los Angeles Lakers allowed Dwight Howard to do the same thing a few years ago, strongly believing they could convince him to stay in L.A., but Dwight snubbed the franchise and headed off to Houston. Dwight, if you’re reading this, we still don’t miss you in L.A. At the same time however, the fact that we are talking about this topic worries me. It seems now that every time a player begins to emerge and develop they begin to believe that they deserve a max contract. Alex and I once wrote a piece on Tristan Thompson, the excellent rebounder and defender who eventually re-signed with the Cleveland Cavaliers. But Thompson milked the Cavs and the rest of the League for money that he didn’t really deserve, and he’s inspired other players to do the same. Now we cannot be sure what Whiteside is thinking, but if he has any financial sense at all he will probably be looking to pull a Tristan Thompson. Whiteside is a good player, but there are many better players around the league at his position, which, in light of small ball’s recent success, is becoming less and less relevant. The game is played differently today than it was 20 years ago. And while Bob Cousy’s comparison of Whiteside to Russell is nice, it’s a) probably not correct and b) probably meaningless in today’s NBA. Whiteside is a nice success story, but there’s a reason the dude was playing in China until recently. There are limitations to his game and his attitude is a constant concern. Additionally, for anyone that has been following DJ Khaled’s Snapchat story, Whiteside has been frequently featured at his pool which I fear means that Whiteside has been receiving excessive amounts of Ciroc Apple Vodka and fatty midnight snacks from Chef Dee’s kitchen. I’m sure the allure of free poolside “massages” at Khaled’s crib is awfully strong, but I see Whiteside’s lifestyle as something that could endanger his long term success in the NBA. My take: trade Whiteside and consider yourself lucky to be able to sell him so high.
(11/13/15 12:30am)
Hello Dartmouth basketball fans! Shoot for it boys back again for our final column of the term. Thank you so much for putting up with our basketball “analysis.” We thought it’d be fitting to discuss Kobe Bryant’s retirement rumors this week.
(11/05/15 11:01pm)
What’s good Dartmouth? The “Shoot For It” boys are back in action this week talking about the reigning National Basketball Association’s Most Valuable Player Stephen Curry. In addition to winning regular season MVP, Curry led his team to an NBA Championship, averaging almost 24 points per game, while dishing out more than seven assists and grabbing four rebounds per contest over the course of the season.
(10/29/15 11:01pm)
LeBron James returned to the court for the first time since his loss in the National Basketball Association Finals last June. It was hard to know what to expect from James, but it was immediately apparent that he slimmed down in the off-season. The Cleveland Cavaliers lost a close one to the Chicago Bulls on Tuesday by a score of 97-95, with James getting blocked by Pau Gasol in the closing seconds and failing to catch an inbound pass before time expired. There were several story lines from this game, especially with Derrick Rose back in action and Gasol’s success, but none are bigger than LeBron James. In this week’s “Shoot For It” column, we will be talking about James’ performance and what we expect from him this year.
(10/22/15 10:30pm)
What’s up, Dartmouth? “Shoot For It” is normally colorful and humorous (at least we hope it comes across that way), but given what happened to Lamar Odom over the last week, we decided this week’s column would be more serious than normal. For those who don’t know, former NBA player Lamar Odom was rushed to a hospital last Tuesday and is reportedly “fighting for his life.” Lamar was found unconscious in a brothel outside of Las Vegas, where he had reportedly been staying for several days while doing a variety of drugs. Word is that Lamar’s condition has improved over the last few days, and despite being in a coma with multiple vital organs failing, he is beginning to recover. When news of Lamar’s trip to the emergency room first became public, the basketball community offered an outpouring of support for their troubled brother.
(10/15/15 10:30pm)
What’s up Dartmouth! Shoot for It boys back again for week 5, and this week we’re going to talk about the San Antonio Spurs. The Spurs lost a game 7 thriller against the Los Angeles Clippers last season in the first round of the Western Conference Playoffs. They bounced back this offseason with the acquisition of marquee free agent power forward/center LaMarcus Aldridge. The 30-year-old Aldridge has been the franchise player of the Portland Trailblazers over the last several years, and he turned down more money from the Blazers and more starpower from the Lakers to sign with the Spurs. This week we’ll discuss what we expect for the San Antonio Spurs this upcoming season.
(10/08/15 10:01pm)
What’s up Dartmouth? The Shoot For It boys are back again this week to tackle the NBA. Flashback to May 14, 2015: game six of the NBA Western Conference semifinals. The Los Angeles Clippers were playing at home with a 3-2 series lead against the Houston Rockets, and ahead 89-70 with just over two minutes left in the third quarter. They had just ousted the defending champions, the San Antonio Spurs, in a thrilling seven-game series and seemed primed to make a championship run.
(10/01/15 10:01pm)
Alex Lee ’16 and John Beneville ’16 are back again for the third week of “Shoot For It.” This week we’ll be weighing in on Derrick Rose, who continues to struggle to stay healthy. After recovering the from a torn ACL and meniscus for the last few years, Rose suffered a left orbital fracture after taking an elbow to the face in practice.
(09/24/15 10:30pm)
Alex Lee ’16 and John Beneville ’16 are back for the second week of “Shoot for It.” This week, we’ll be talking about the New York Knicks and the Los Angeles Lakers and what we expect to see from them this upcoming season.
(09/17/15 10:01pm)
What’s up Dartmouth!? John Beneville ’16 and Alex Lee ’16 here. Our weekly column “Shoot For It” will feature basketball banter through the eyes of two very different sports fans.