HANG TIME HEADQUARTERS – Did the punishment fit the crime?
You knew we had to ask. And you knew we were going to discuss it on Episode 76 of the Hang Time Podcast, even if we didn’t know what the suspension was for the Lakers’ Metta World Peace while we were yapping about it.
(The league handed down a seven-game penalty for World Peace’s nasty elbow to the side of the head of Thunder swingman James Harden shortly after we finished taping.)
In addition to that conversation, we spent some quality time talking with Houston Rockets point guardGoran Dragic. He joined us to talk about the Rockets’ wild late-season ride that didn’t result in a playoff bid, his hoops heroes as a child, why he’s a NBA player and not a soccer star and plenty more.
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HANG TIME HEADQUARTERS – If you’ve spent any time in the past two seasons contemplating the working dynamic between Heat stars LeBron James and Dwyane Wade, you’re like the rest of us. You have your own theory about how two superstar teammates might co-exist, but you’re not certain exactly how that dynamic breaks down from the inside.
Well, we’re going to get as close to the middle as we can on Episode 75 of the Hang Time Podcast, breaking down all things Heat and the yin and yang relationship between the team’s two biggest stars with Michael Wallace of ESPN.com and the Heat Index, who has as good a handle on that delicate relationship as anyone in the business.
We also check on the status of the New Orleans Hornets and their new owner, Saints owner Tom Benson, with longtime New Orleans Times-Picayune sportswriter Jimmy Smith (a cousin on the Cajun side of the family). Benson promises a championship contender in both the NBA and NFL for fans in the Crescent City. He also mentioned something about a name change from the Hornets to …
Check out all of that and more on Episode 75 of the Hang Time Podcast with Michael Wallace of ESPN.com and Jimmy Smith of the Time-Picayune.
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HANG TIME HEADQUARTERS – With the start of the NBA playoffs just a couple of weeks away, no team in the league is hotter than the Boston Celtics.
From Rajon Rondo and Kevin Garnett to Avery Bradley and Brandon Bass, Doc Rivers has them all clicking at just the right time. Might another deep playoff run be in store?
Everyone believes the league-leading Chicago Bulls have another deep run in them. Even with Bulls superstar Derrick Rose hobbled and struggling to make an impact, as he did in Thursday night’s win over the Heat, the Bulls look poised to make some serious noise in the postseason.
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HANG TIME HEADQUARTERS – With All-Star Weekend just days away, we knew it was time to break out the heavy hitters.
And when we say heavy hitters, we mean the heaviest of hitters in the realm of basketball and beyond. No, we didn’t corral Jeremy Lin yet and Kobe Bryant didn’t return our call either. But we’ve got the next best thing.
NBA Commissioner David Stern joined us for a visit, dropping in on us after sitting down for an afternoon interview with TNT’s David Aldridge at the league’s New York offices, and didn’t disappoint. Stern dished on the Lin phenomenon, his thoughts on the upcoming All-Star Weekend, why it he doesn’t have a problem with rewarding veteran stars come All-Star bid time, how the league has thrived in the wake of the lockout and so much more.
Following the Commissioner (never an easy thing to do), we rapped with former Harvard co-captain, Academic All-American and pro basketball player, and current U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, who took time out of his busy schedule to talk about his Harvard connection with Lin, his Chicago Bulls and his unique ties to both the team’s coach (Tom Thibodeau) and its biggest star (Derrick Rose). He also shared what it’s like playing ball with President Barack Obama in those famous White House pick up games (we’re ready whenever you need us Reggie Love) and so much more.
Check out all of that and so much more on Episode 70 of the Hang Time Podcast … The All-Star Special:
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Some highlights of what Stern had to say to DA after the jump.
HANG TIME HEADQUARTERS – When we makes promises around here we do our very best to keep them, no matter how crazy they might be.
So when a lifelong Hawks fans asked that we spend a little time talking about one of the NBA’s more surprising teams this season, they are 9-2 since All-Star center Al Horford went down for the season with a torn pectoral muscle, we spoke up and said we would. And that’s indeed what we’ve done with Episode 67 of the Hang Time Podcast.
We went straight to the source, snagging a rare, in-studio sit-down with elusive Hawks Vice President of Public Relations Arthur Triche, who has spent 23 years working for the organization. A friend of the program since its inception, Triche dishes on this season’s team while also sharing some of his best memories of past teams, and highlighting some of his favorite former players — Dominique Wilkins, Doc Rivers, Grant Long, Mookie Blaylock, Steve Smith, Dikembe Mutombo, Ken Norman, JR Rider, Rasheed Wallace, Obinna Ekezie, Peja Drobnjak, Christian Laettner and Boris Diaw all made his short list.
He is also the No. 1 ranked PR Tweeter in all of basketball (how many Twitter accounts does one man need?), has AAA insurance and is frightened of Hawks rookie big man Ivan “The Terrible” Johnson.
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Before the champagne in Mark Cuban‘s hair dries and the victory parade through downtown Dallas kicks off, we wanted to share our final observations from the thrilling, roller coaster ride that was The Finals.
It’s not easy trying to capture two months of riveting drama, on and off the court, in the limited amount of time we have — kudos to the 2010-11 NBA champion Dallas Mavericks, by the way.
That’s why we forced a couple of old friends of the program to join us on Episode 60 of The Hang Time Podcast to see if they could help us figure it all out.
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OKLAHOMA CITY – Maybe we’re going to see that 2006 NBA Finals rematch after all.
The Dallas Mavericks have a commanding 3-1 lead over the Oklahoma City Thunder in the Western Conference finals, thanks to Monday night’s 112-105 overtime thriller. The Miami Heat can join them in the commanding lead department with Game 4 of the Eastern Conference finals on tap tonight in Miami and the Heat leading the Chicago Bulls 2-1.
If the Mavericks and Heat do end up doing it all over again, we’ll have plenty of time to dissect that matchup on the next episode of the Hang Time Podcast. But we’ve got something a little different for you this week on Episode 57, what with coaching searches going on in places like Los Angeles, Houston and Indiana and the NBA Draft just a few short weeks away.
Feigen also updated us on Yao Ming‘s status and what’s in store for a Rockets team that finished ninth in the Western Conference this season, just behind the Hang Time Grizzlies for that eighth and final playoff spot.
Howard Cooper schooled on us on who impressed (Enes Kanter‘s name came up) during the Chicago predraft camp as well as names we need to focus on come draft night. But don’t just take our word for it, check out Episode 57 of the Hang Time Podcast for yourself.
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LOS ANGELES – And you though the first round of these NBA playoffs was crazy.
As shocking as it was for some to see the Western Conference No. 1 seed San Antonio Spurs go down to No. 8 seed Hang Time Grizzlies in the first round, the conference semifinal round has brought us yet another stunner. The two-time defending NBA champion Los Angeles Lakers are the latest upset victim, swept by the Dallas Mavericks, ending not only their threepeat quest and the Hall of Fame career of Phil Jackson.
How in the world did this happen?
We examine the reasons why, and so much more, on Episode 55 of the Hang Time Podcast this week with special guests Greg Anthony of NBA TV and CBS Sports, Earl K. Sneed of Mavericks.com and we even caught up with Atlanta Hawks power forward Josh Smith, whose Hawks are working on a potential upset of their own in the Eastern Conference semifinals.
The Hawks are tied 2-2 with the playoffs’ No. 1 overall seed Chicago Bulls. Game 5 is tonight at the United Center in Chicago.
You don’t want to miss this one. Check out Episode 55 and see why.
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LOS ANGELES – Much like those Hang Time Grizzlies, we decided to kick off the conference semifinal round of these NBA playoffs with a bang on the Hang Time Podcast.
That includes appearances from a wise and trusted friend of the program and two debuts that you will now want to miss on Episode 54 (complete with background noise from the beach out here in Southern California, where half of our team is located for the Lakers-Mavericks series. We apologize in advance for the inconvenience).
First up is NBA TV and TNT analyst Chris Webber, a favorite here at the hideout for his candor, keen insight and wealth of experience on all topics basketball and beyond. His take on both the Spurs and Magic will leave no doubt about where he thinks both franchises are headed, now that they have been removed from the playoff picture.
Zach Lowe of SI.com‘s The Point Forward blog joined us to break down Game 1 of the Heat-Celtics, got his take on Zach Randolph and the Grizzlies and we even tricked him into diving back into the Derrick Rose-Dwight Howard MVP debate. It’s not the ideal way to treat a first-time guest, but he was good about it.
We wrapped up with a special Hollywood/Broadway guest in actor Tate Donovan, a rare New Jersey native and lifelong Lakers fan. He gave away his age when he told us that he grew up watching Wilt Chamberlain play for the Lakers. But he has the distinction of living through two of the most celebrated eras in NBA history, having cut his teeth on the Showtime Lakers and then stuck around for the Shaquille O’Neal-Kobe Bryant-Phil Jackson era and now the Bryant-Pau Gasol-Jackson twilight saga.
That’s enough yapping, check out Episode 54 and hear it all for yourself.
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They’ve never been better, as far as we can tell. You’ve seen the Hang Time Grizzlies and the Atlanta Hawks, both on the verge of pulling off first round upsets. The underdogs have been the story of the first round, so far, with lower seeds stretching series and avoiding sweeps at all costs … well, every one but the New York Knicks, of course.
But not everyone has playoff fever. What about those teams watching from the distance? The Detroit Pistons, once a playoff staple in the Eastern Conference, are on the outside looking in. But with new ownership, they’re going to get a fresh start. Pistons beat writer Vincent Goodwill of the Detroit News makes his Hang Time Podcast debut on Episode 53 to break down the state of affairs for this one-time Eastern Conference power. It’s the first in our series of Lottery Looks, where we we will study up on different lottery teams during the playoffs.
We also spent some quality time with NBA.com’s college basketball and draft specialists Chris Dortch, editor of the Blue Ribbon College Basketball Yearbook. The draft process is heating up and CD sheds some light on the movers and shakers in this year’s draft class, which he grades as an average class, at best. Who is the next Wesley Matthews? Listen to Episode 53 for that and more.
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HANG TIME HEADQUARTERS – Did the punishment fit the crime?
