AthlonSports.com - Pro Basketball

2008-09 Pro Hoop Mags

Fri, 22 Aug 2008 00:00:00 -0500

Athlon's 2008-09 magazines are available now! Click here to browse our cover gallery and order yours today!

No Easy Buckets

Fri, 22 Aug 2008 00:00:00 -0500

Find all of Michael Bradley's No Easy Buckets columns from the 2007-08 season here.

NBA Draft Recap

Fri, 22 Aug 2008 00:00:00 -0500

Forget who went where in the 2008 NBA Draft? Refresh your memory with Doug Word's look at all 60 picks.

2008-09 Pro Basketball Annuals on sale now!

Wed, 20 Aug 2008 07:59:00 -0500

In addition to the usual team-by-team analyses, Athlon Sports' 15th annual Pro Basketball Preview features an exclusive Q&A with the always talkative and never dull Charles Barkley and much more.

Redeem Team

Wed, 13 Aug 2008 11:00:00 -0500

After bringing home "LeBronze" following the 2004 Athens Olympics, the Redeem Team plans on hearing "The Star Spangled Banner" after winning gold at the Games of the XXIX Olympiad in Beijing.

2008 NBA Draft Recap

Fri, 27 Jun 2008 17:14:37 -0500

The Chicago Bulls selected Derrick Rose with the No. 1 overall pick in Thursday night's NBA Draft, while after much speculation to the contrary, Michael Beasley was chosen at No. 2 by the Miami Heat.

2008 NBA Draft Preview

Wed, 25 Jun 2008 13:28:59 -0500

Host Braden Gall and Athlon Sports' NBA writer Doug Word breakdown the 2008 NBA Draft. Word puts on his NBA GM hat and tells you who each lottery team should draft. Sleepers, depth charts and the Rose-Beasley argument are covered as well.

Bulls lean toward Rose in jumbled NBA Draft

Tue, 24 Jun 2008 08:30:00 -0500

For a while, the top of the NBA draft seemed fairly well set. But what seemed like a pretty straightforward exercise about a week ago has morphed into a guessing game that could be controlled by the whims of the (gulp!) Minnesota Timberwolves.

Big Three lead Celtics to 17th championship

Wed, 18 Jun 2008 09:00:00 -0500

The Celtics completed their quest for the Larry O'Brien Trophy Tuesday evening with a dominating performance on both ends of the floor, but it was their lockdown defense that remained consistent throughout the season.

Observations from the NBA Finals

Mon, 09 Jun 2008 12:00:00 -0500

Boston has taken a 2-0 lead in the NBA Finals series against the Lakers. While the series shifts across the country to L.A., Michael Bradley offers some observations while rethinking his prediction of Lakers in six.

NBA Playoffs Preview: Boston Celtics vs. L.A. Lakers

Thu, 05 Jun 2008 14:15:18 -0500

2008 NBA FINALS CELTICS VS. LAKERS

KEYS TO THE SERIES : KOBE VS. BOSTON'S DEFENSE

Kobe Bryant, the 2007-08 NBA MVP, is unequivocally the greatest basketball player on Earth, but he and his teammates face a suffocating Boston defense in the Finals that has allowed a playoff-best 87.3 points per game. Boston will begin the series with Ray Allen on Bryant, but it will rely heavily upon its help defense to stymie the 10-time All-Star. Bryant's ability to break double-teams to find his shot is always a threat, but he has honed the skill of locating his teammates when he is under duress — whether it is a slashing Lamar Odom, Pau Gasol down low or one of L.A.'s many 3-point shooters. It is this added dimension to his game that will put L.A. over the top.

Lakers, Celtics square off in Finals

Wed, 04 Jun 2008 06:30:00 -0500

The Lakers and Celtics gear up for their NBA Finals showdown, Michael Bradley breaks down the matchup between some of the league's biggest stars and makes his championship prediction.

NBA one step closer to dream Finals matchup

Wed, 28 May 2008 06:50:00 -0500

The Lakers’ win over San Antonio Tuesday night put the NBA one step closer to its dream Finals matchup of L.A. versus Boston. Trouble is, there won’t be anywhere near the anticipation of such a matchup as there was 20 years ago, when Larry Bird’s Celtics were battling Magic Johnson’s Lakers.

NBA Playoffs Preview: L.A. Lakers vs. San Antonio

Wed, 21 May 2008 19:02:21 -0500

2008 FINALS WESTERN CONFERENCE

KEYS TO THE SERIES : THE CHESS MATCH

When San Antonio and Los Angeles open this season's Western Conference Finals, it will mark the sixth time since 1999 the two teams have met in the postseason. The Lakers and Spurs have combined to win seven NBA titles during that time. The two teams are also led by exceptional head coaches. San Antonio's Gregg Popovich has led the Spurs to four titles in nine years and boasts a 100-55 career playoff record, while L.A.'s Phil Jackson has won an NBA-record-tying nine titles as a coach (six with Chicago and three with L.A.) and holds a 187-79 career post-season record.

NBA Playoffs Preview: Boston vs. Detroit

Tue, 20 May 2008 16:24:33 -0500

2008 FINALS EASTERN CONFERENCE

KEYS TO THE SERIES : SCORING

These two teams boasted the best two records in all of basketball while ranking first (Detroit at 90.1) and second (Boston at 90.3) respectively during the season in points allowed. A defensive struggle should be expected, meaning uncontested field goal opportunities will be a rare commodity. So, the question is: Where will the scoring come from?