This week, my travels take me to Spain — provided that I successfully cross the language barrier. My lack of soccer knowledge is compensated by my fascination with international basketball. Lucky for me, I quickly discovered that behind the iconic soccer franchise logos of FC Barcelona and Real Madrid rests an unexpected — yet powerful — non-soccer legacy.
To fill some of that basketball void that’s been lingering since the finals wrapped up, I’ve decided to look ahead and evaluate what the basketball landscape will look like in 2021. There are some exciting narratives and teams to explore, as well as several key players coming back from prolonged absences.
The Los Angeles Lakers defeated the Miami Heat 106–93 in Game 6 of the NBA Finals on Sunday to win their 17th franchise championship. Led by Lebron James and Anthony Davis, the Lakers dominated the Miami Heat on both sides of the ball.
In honor of the Seattle Storm’s thrilling Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) Finals win on Oct. 6, this week’s spotlight is on two-time Most Valuable Player (MVP) Breanna “Stewie” Stewart. The forward brought home the hardware this season after a dominating run against the Las Vegas Aces.
Four AFC teams did not take the field at their originally slated game times for Week 5 because of positive cases among the Tennessee Titans and New England Patriots, which have caused major shifts in the NFL.
For the past decade, the Boston Bruins have fallen short of high expectations and continue to disappoint their loyal Boston fanbase. Even if their core players continue to play at a high offensive rate, a regression for the Boston Bruins seems inevitable next season.
Bob Sheldon amassed a career record of 483–321 since 1988, making him the winningest coach in the program’s 116 year history and placing him in the top 25 winningest active coaches in Div. III at the end of last season.
The loss of his brother in April, the restrictions on gym access due to COVID-19, and an itch to try new workouts, pushed junior Noble Ohakam to depart from his traditional concept of fitness.
It is often said that the Tufts community is a political echo chamber, but it also happens to be a sports echo chamber. Boston sports fans dominate the Medford Somerville campus like Eli Manning and Tom Coughlin dominate the Patriots in the Superbowl. This column is for the silent majority at Tufts, those who would rather go to class shirtless than in a Patriots jersey.
The decision was made due to COVID-19 policies at each of the NESCAC institutions about off campus travel, campus visitors, and physical distancing, as well as considerations about adjusted academic calendars.
In a league that is called the National Basketball Association, the Raptors effectively render this name false simply through their existence outside the United States. Therefore, not only has Canada longed to have success at the world’s biggest basketball stage, but on a national pride level, they have wanted respect. The Raptors gave them all of that with the 2019 title.
The Lakers lead the Heat 3–1, and while the chances are extremely bleak for the Heat to get back in a position to win the series, Game 5 will be an exciting matchup.
At this point, we’ve seen plenty of trends emerge. The next few weeks are crucial for teams to course-correct on the negative trends and capitalize on the positive ones.
In a league with nearly no Asian-American players, NBA teams should dig deep and ask themselves why they gave up on the only Asian-American who was an above-average rotational player that has proven to us all his potential and worth.
When Wilson and Cousins look across the field at one another before kickoff on Sunday night, they’ll know what we know: this isn’t their first rodeo.
The gym opened mid-September and has not run into any major issues that have prevented it from staying open.
It's never truly an NBA postseason unless the Boston Celtics fail to live up to expectations. Every year the Celtics roll over teams in the regular season just to disappoint with an unexpected playoff exit.
Boasting an impressive 225–25 record over the last eight seasons, the Tufts women’s basketball team has successfully cultivated a culture and community that breeds winning. However, the players note that the culture of the team is centered around family and playing for one another even more than it is centered around winning.
As the sun rises on a brisk New England morning, the streets of Packard Avenue and Professors Row are sound asleep. The streets are hallowed, empty and serene. The only audible sound is that of sneakers of the Tufts Marathon Team hitting the pavement.
Anthony Davis scored 34 points and the Los Angeles Lakers easily defeated the Miami Heat 116–118 in game one of the NBA finals.
