3 Point Buzzer

HBO’s original series “Vinyl”, executive produced by Martin Scorsese, Terence Winter and Mick Jagger, premiered last Sunday, Feb. 14. The show proclaims itself to be centered around “sex, drugs and rock and roll.” So, in the much anticipated two hour premier, there was, shockingly, a good amount of sex, drugs and rock and roll. Mick Jagger’s fingerprints are present throughout the pilot, with huge chunks of camera time devoted to loud-blasting and adrenaline-filled concerts of up-and-coming bands. The pilot, expertly directed by Scorsese himself, takes place in early 1970s New York City, a dark time and place for the music industry in which the main character, Richie Finestra (Bobby Cannavale), is a coke-addicted music executive trying to keep his once blockbuster company afloat. The pilot tracks Richie as he negotiates the selling rights of his company, American Century, to a German record label, PolyGram. Throughout these negotiations, Richie experiences many flashbacks to his...

At the buzzer of Thursday’s 3 p.m. NBA trade deadline, the Clippers sent the athletic yet erratic Lance Stephenson along with a future first round pick to the Memphis Grizzlies in exchange for forward Jeff Green. The Clippers, who boast the fourth-best record in the Western Conference, are currently overshadowed by the dominance of the Oklahoma City Thunder, San Antonio Spurs and of course, the defending champion Golden State Warriors. This will be Green’s fifth NBA team, and the fourth time a team has pinned him as their “missing” piece. Unfortunately, Green has never been up to the challenge, proving how maddeningly inconsistent he can be. Green has previously flashed major potential, such as dropping 42 points against the Lebron James led Miami Heat in the 2012 playoffs. But now, at the ripe age of 29, Green has been averaging a measly 12.2 points per game and is showing no signs of improvement. A free agent at the end of the year, combined with an increasing salary cap, m...

The goal for all contending teams in the NBA right now is to crack the Warriors' code. So far...well...um...that hasn't been done yet. It is common knowledge that the three teams with the best chance to dethrone the Warriors are the Cavs, Spurs and Thunder. A smidge below those teams, are the Los Angeles Clippers. Yes, the perennial blow-it-when-it-matters Clippers. Aside from the jokes, the Clips have a real chance to beat this superpower, but only if they have a swift game plan, and execute that gameplan to perfection. One totally meaningless stat since it happened before the Warriors blossomed into THE Warriors is that the Clippers are the last team to defeat them in the playoffs, meaning they have some blueprint to beat this team. The one, undeniable and hard-to-face fact is that the Clippers, when fully healthy against this Warriors team, simply cannot beat them playing DeAndre Jordan and Blake Griffin together for long stretches of time. It sounds crazy. How can a ...

While seemingly the only narrative attached to this game has been "Brady Manning XVII", the real one is Wade Phillips' defense vs Tom Brady.  Pats offense vs Broncos defense This is where the meat of the game will happen. The Broncos offense is a snooze-fest, which includes two runs for a few yards, then one Manning screen pass to complete the 3 and out. The Patriots defense is tough as nails, but are pretty unspectacular to watch. As for each team's other side of the ball, look out. The Broncos may be the only team in the league with enough quality secondary players to square up against the Brady-Gronk-Edelman-Amendola four headed monster. The reason the Pats have been so effective on offense albeit having a nonexistent running game is because they just spread out 5 receivers and exploit the other team's worst coverage man. Really, how great is a team's fifth best secondary player? For the Broncos, pretty incredible. On defense, the Broncos have three...

In possibly the most cliche column alive, here is what each team should be thanking their lucky stars for. Atlanta Hawks No outside noise. From Danny Ferry and the whole Luol Deng racist fiasco to previous owner Bruce Leveson's weird step-down to the search for a new decision-maker and owner, the Hawks, other than the beauty on the court, were in complete disarray. This year though, they have a sturdy ownership that includes Grant Hill and they have promoted Wes Wilcox to general manager, although coach Mike Butenholzer definitely has a say in personnel. The Hawks have been humming along on offense as usual and are right on course for another impressive regular season followed by a lackluster and super-star lacking postseason. Boston Celtics Billy King. Boston's general manager Danny Ainge may or may not have a shrine built for King in his office. To backtrack, King, the general manager of the Brooklyn Nets, has gifted Ainge and the Celtics a first round draft pick ...

The NBA, like any sport, has its own fair share of superstars. Here is a ranking of the top 10 as of now. LeBron James Many other players are grasping and clawing at James' throne as the best basketball player on the planet. There are days when players such as Curry and Davis look like they have finally surpassed the King, but then LeBron throws up a 30 8 and 8 and he is the best again. Overall, his crazy efficiency at being otherworldly on offense and defense along with his physically intimidating frame make him, well, the king. Stephen Curry Curry is hot on LeBron's trail, starting the season on fire, with averages of 33.7 points, 6 assists, 5 rebounds, 2.4 steals and 5(!!!) three pointers a game. Curry is on pace to obliterate the league's current record of 282 three pointers made in the season. The threat that Curry possesses that makes him so deadly is that he can legitimately swish 30 footers off the dribble at any time. Just by having the ball in his hands, he...

Life is full of surprises, so it shouldn't be a shock that the NBA is full of them. Three weeks in, players have either underwhelmed, overwhelmed or just whelmed (there is no conformation if that is a word, but you get the idea). Let's highlight three of the most noticeable surprises so far this campaign. The Pelicans' Struggles I realize that the Pelicans have bitten by injuries as badly as a dog bites on his bone, yet I don't think anyone envisioned an 0-6 start. It's truly depressing watching this team trot out players such as Ish Smith and Tony Douglas in crunch time situations, knowing that there really are no better options. It's actually ridiculous how many injuries this team has, with star combo guard Tyreke Evans sidelined with an injured knee as well as Jrue Holiday and Omer Asik battling other maladies. Anthony Davis has gotten off to an unexpectedly slow start, but can one really criticize a player for not producing when the second he gets the ...