4am, Sydney time, I awoke with a terrible feeling.

I’d had a nightmare, the type of which I rarely have these days as an adult.

The feelings I had in that moment compelled me to check on my sleeping wife and daughter.

Some hours later I was awakened to the terrible news of Kobe Bryant’s passing – oddly enough, around that same time I woke with dread.

Kobe was an absolute icon. Not just in basketball, not just in the States, worldwide and cross-culturally.

There will be reams of content, tweets and videos produced in liturgy to the phenomenal impact of Kobe. I won’t hark upon his numerous achievements here.

However, I will share how he impacted me personally.

As a Portland Trail Blazers fan and “old fogey fundamentals type guy” from way back, I was instantly against the bravado of this young upstart Los Angeles Lakers star trying to usurp Michael Jordan. Kobe was the antithesis of what I loved.

Brash, cocky and a Laker.

It was easy to hate Kobe in those early years of his career.

However, much later, as I matured along with Kobe (he was only one year my senior), my view of him changed.

I came to respect the ridiculous work ethic that he had. Unprecedented.

I respected the way HE respected other cultures, with his ability to seemingly seamlessly switch to Italian, Spanish or bits of French, to address reporters or other players.

Remarkable amongst his peers in that regard.

Kobe truly gave off an aura of statesmanship and ambassadorship that so few do. Especially for his daughters as females who could achieve whatever they wanted.

As a father, this impacted me too.

From irrational sports-fuelled hate, to the utmost respect and admiration, my feelings for Bryant went from one polar to the other over the years. He truly was one of my most admired people in the game when it was all said and done.

For 20 years Kobe gave the game so much. It felt like he had so many other contributions to provide to society in his next chapters…

We grieve his loss.

Vale, Kobe.

The post Kobe Bryant, International Icon appeared first on A Stern Warning.

In Melbourne, as the undefeated United hosted the New Zealand Breakers, it all went down to the wire. The final minute saw the usual conga line of fouls and resulting free throws. And then “the call” happened.

I’m not going to go into the fine details — you can read about them elsewhere. In summary: two fouls interactions occurred almost simultaneously. Their handling by the referees was arguably very wrong.

Fans across the internet were up in arms, as tends to happen in these heated situations. The game was a tight battle, arguably decided at the end by the officials rather than the players.

I don’t want to focus on the performance of the officials here. What I do want to focus on is the response by the league.

The NBL undertook a review of the situation and issued a detailed press release, outlining what happened in the situation, their findings and most importantly, their immediate changes to try to mitigate the risk of this being a blight on our league again. Smart management.

It would not be outside the realms of the imaginations of long-time NBL fans to expect the league to be non-responsive on an incident like this. To sweep it under the carpet or simply hope it went away. To issue a short press release with no definitive outcomes or ways to move forward.

Instead, the NBL laid out in reasonable detail their findings, admitting that errors were made. They sat two officials down to be re-educated and they made an immediately effective change to the rules to allow any referee decision to be video-reviewed in the final two minutes of a game. #GoodCall #HardBall.

Meanwhile, across in Adelaide at Titanium Security Arena, the beleagured Sydney Kings squandered a lead that read 18 points at quarter time, increased to 19 points by half-time and remained at 18 with one quarter remaining. The 36ers put on a powerhouse final period, accelerated by Sydney missing seven straight free throws, and going 2/10 overall in the fourth.

It was the biggest comeback in the history of the 40 minute era. Adelaide rode a combination of Sydney’s errors and the irresistible play of diminutive import point guard Jerome Randle. He was too hard to Randle.

I like graphs and charts. I can’t recall one that paints a more stark picture of a game than this one:

Towards the end of the dramatic finish to the game, Sydney coach Damian Cotter was shocked to find that he had one less timeout than expected. The lack of a timeout ultimately put pressure on the Kings in their rushed attempt to get off a final attempt at winning the game.

Sydney have since lodged a complaint with the NBL to review the situation — with the claim that one of Adelaide coach Joey Wright’s timeouts were chalked up to the Kings. In a frustrated aftermath, Kings star Josh Childress remonstrated with referees in an unwelcome manner — he is now the subject of charges by the league for alleged foul language toward the match officials. If the timeout situation is correct, foul language should be the least of the league’s concerns.

It certainly has been an eventful time for the league office — it feels like weeks (in fact it was days) ago that Brian Conklin was fronting the tribunal for the contact that saw Damian Martin’s jaw broken.

Keep in the headlines (for good reasons), NBL.

The post #NBL: Controversial finishes #3MinuteDrill appeared first on A Stern Warning.

In our first #3MinuteDrill, let’s assess where the Sydney Kings are at so far, in our third round of the NBL season.

The return of Julian Khazzouh has been a triumphant one. In the first four games of the season, the big man has come on strong averaging 17.8ppg, 8.5rpg, 1.8bpg and 1.3spg. The surprising thing for NBL fans who didn’t watch Khazzouh during his Lebanon stint, or NBA trials, is the expanded range on his shot. He is a legitimate threat from deep, hitting 1.8 threes per game at a 50% clip. Particularly with the early absence of the injured Josh Childress, Khazzouh is the key hub to get the Kings’ offence running – especially early in the game where he tends to dominate possessions and put the pressure on opponents inside and out.

Jason Cadee has made the jump that I expected he would this season. The sparkplug guard is averaging 15.7ppg, 5apg, 4rpg, 1.3spg and 2.3 threes made. He sits in the league’s top 10 for many of those categories. His unique turn of speed, combined with a deep three point shot make for a tough combo to guard. He has certainly turned the corner as an NBL player of impact.

Marcus Thornton and Tommy Garlepp have had slower statistical starts than most would expect in the young season, leading a band of Kings players whose field goal percentages hover too close to the 30% range. However I think we will see all of that change with the expected return of J-Chill tonight. The NBA veteran forward has an ability to raise all around him on the court with his play-making, unselfishness and ability to draw attention. Watch the fortunes of Thornton, Garlepp and Angus Brandt rise along with the return of the Kings drawcard.

OK – time is almost up in the #3MinuteDrill. Last thought: Dion Prewster has been an absolute find for the Kings. The Kiwi swingman has played dogged defence whilst crashing the boards hard. He is the type of tenth man most teams would love to have.

The post 3 Rounds In: Sydney Kings #3MinuteDrill appeared first on A Stern Warning.

This lack of attention and spare time tends to lead to us all skimming articles on the internet, not taking them in properly. You’re probably doing it right now.

This same time-poorness means that I don’t write nearly as much as I would like to here — certainly not as much as I once did during A Stern Warning’s heyday in the late 2000’s.

So as of today I’m introducing a new form of quick, short, sharp article to ASW: the #3MinuteDrill. The general rule of these articles is to provide you with something that you can read in 3 minutes or less. Often much less.

I hope they provide you with a snack-sized piece of basketball content to keep you rolling through your transient life!

PS I applied the same rule to the MS Paint-produced logo for this segment… so there.

The post Introducing: the #3MinuteDrill appeared first on A Stern Warning.

After coming off the high of an Aussie-infused NBA Finals series featuring major story-lines around our own Matthew Dellavedova and Andrew Bogut, we were then treated to the #homecoming of our NBA and European stars in the Oceania qualifying series for the 2016 Rio Olympics.  Whilst those highs captured the public’s attention and brought some more shine back to basketball, there was also the recurring theme of a potential downturn in our local product, the National Basketball League.

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The NBL off-season started with concerns around the Wollongong Hawks and Townsville Crocodiles ownership models, was compounded by June movements in the Adelaide 36ers ownership group and culminated with luminaries such as Andrew Gaze calling the league “broken” and in need of an IT-technician-style ‘switch it off and turn it back on again’.

However, where we are sitting right now, with hours to go before tip-off between the 36ers and the reigning champion New Zealand Breakers in game one of the new season, it’s almost excusable to have forgotten all of that upheaval. Surely the casual basketball fans may have merely skipped a beat and missed it all.

And won’t those casual fans be pleasantly surprised when they see what is in store for them from this week onward.

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Returning talent

The league has been blessed with an array of talent returning from overseas and other leagues this season:

• BIGS: Julian Khazzouh (Sydney Kings), AJ Ogilvy (Illawarra Hawks) and Nathan Jawai (Perth Wildcats) will all be dominant forces in the paint and suddenly give the league a highly legitimate stable of pivot players. These are guys who can dramatically alter the complexion of a game. Add the late return of Daniel Johnson to the 36ers last season, and you’ve got a major shot of size to the NBL, along with big-time European experience.
• MVPs: Kevin Lisch and Kirk Penney (both Illawarra Hawks) are a formidable pairing of perimeter talent for the re-tooled Hawks. Both are former MVPs of the league – so it goes without saying that they boost the average talent level of the NBL product.
• GAME-CHANGING GUARDS: Chris “Bubbles” Goulding (Melbourne United) and Ebi Ere (Adelaide 36ers) are both guys who have made indelible marks on the NBL in the past. Both have spent time away from the league and both have returned for this epic NBL re-birth.
• THE COACH: Rob Beveridge has been regarded as one of the true super-coaches during his NBL career. It is great to see his return to the league — with the Hawks — but no doubt it will be awfully hard for Damian Martin to avoid taking orders for him, as they compete on opposing teams for the first time in a long time.

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Consistency of stars

Inevitably there is a leak of talent over time from the NBL — as with any league. However this season it is very promising to see the return of stars such as reigning MVP Brian Conklin (Townsville Crocodiles), former MVP Cedric Jackson (New Zealand Breakers) and Sydney Kings superstar Josh Childress. Having stars like that remain with their clubs does great things for fans in terms of recognition and loyalty. Add to those big names the likes of Mark Worthington (now with the Cairns Taipans), rising star Cam Gliddon (Cairns), Perth guns Martin, Jermaine Beal, Matty Knight, Shawn Redhage and Jesse Wagstaff, Illawarra’s Oscar Forman, Breakers stalwarts Tom Abercrombie, Mika Vukona, Alex Pledger and (assuming he doesn’t catch on with the New Orleans Pelicans) Corey Webster,  Adelaide’s strong core of Adam Gibson, Anthony Petrie, Johnson, Mitch Creek and now Lucas ‘Waxy’ Walker, and then you’ve got Melbourne United with the arrival of Todd Blanchfield, joining Daniel Kickert, Nate Tomlinson and David Barlow.

As you can see, the core of most teams has remained remarkably consistent. There is definitely a greater feeling that players are happy to stay put, want to be in the league and have a genuine excitement with the trajectory of the NBL under its new ownership direction.

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Re-brand, re-everything

Speaking of that new ownership… Larry Kestelman has brought a renewed sense of certainty to the league with not only his financial investment, but increased vigor of direction for the management of the league.

The laundry list of changes he and his team have made to the league in the short months since his purchase of a controlling interest in the league include:

• League re-brand (including logo, social media rejuvenation etc)
• New website
• New mobile app
• New pay TV deals
• New free-to-air TV deal
• New streaming service
• Centralisation of shared services for clubs
• Sponsorship deals with the likes of Europcar, Telstra, Virgin Airlines, Wilson basketballs, Chemist Warehouse, Alcatel, Shock Doctor, McDavid, and the list goes on.

Of course, the big factor which will catch the fans will be that television coverage. From tonight, FOX Sports will show five evenings per week (Wed-Sun) of LIVE, HD, primetime NBL action across Australia. SKY Sports will be showing the Breakers in New Zealand. Nine in Australia will show a Sunday afternoon free-to-air game each week. And today the NBL launched its new app (Android and IOS) which will stream the games too – reportedly free for the first week, with a subscription service starting thereafter.

This is an unprecedented level of coverage for the league.

There will be fans who will complain that every single game isn’t live on FTA. Don’t be one of them. Live in the real world, with the rest of us. The reality is that the TV deals that the NBL has struck are very good ones. It is unlikely that any better deals could’ve been found. They certainly haven’t been done any time recently.

New talent

We’ve talked about the talent returning from overseas and the existing talent continuing to entertain. The bonuses are both the influx of rookie talent and new exciting imports.

In terms of rookies, guys like Majok Majok (Melbourne United), Matthew Hodgson (Adelaide 36ers) and Nick Kay (Townsville Crocodiles) are all big men worth keeping your eye on. All three will have a significant impact on their teams and will challenge for the Rookie of the Year award. Don’t discount the athletic Nathan Sobey (36ers) either!

Meanwhile, the new class of imports is an exciting one. Marcus Thornton (Sydney Kings) is a 2015 NBA Draft pick of the Boston Celtics,  Stephen Holt (Melbourne United) and Markel Starks (Cairns Taipans) showed their pedigree as joint-MVPs of the pre-season Blitz tournament, Kenyon McNeaill is looking like a leader for the 36ers, and of course Hakim Warrick (Melbourne United) brings the type of NBA background and excitement that has fans salivating.

Enjoy the new season, fans.  #HardBall

The post The new NBL era starts tonight appeared first on A Stern Warning.

It has been an eventful year for Australian basketball.

The nation enjoyed an all-time high number of athletes in the NBA — seven. Dante Exum and Cam Bairstow joined a short tradition of countrymen before them to be selected in the NBA Draft. Joe Ingles received a deserved call-up from Europe to join Exum in Utah, bumping fellow Aussie Brock Motum out of the roster on the way.

Australia’s highest profile NBA star, Andrew Bogut, starred in an uber-successful Golden State Warriors outfit, going all the way to the NBA Championship, a year after Patty Mills and Aron Baynes took out the hardware with the San Antonio Spurs.

Oh, and in those NBA Finals we saw the international awakening of the phenomenon known simply as “Delly”. Yes, Matthew Dellavedova has been known to passionate Aussie basketball fans for some time – but almost overnight he became a household name in Australia and the United States (and every other basketball-following nation) after a hustle-fueled NBA Playoffs performance culminated with a rise to prominence in LeBron James‘ Finals squad.

Meanwhile back in Australia, the NBL continued to show a high level of talent, despite not managing to gain the attention of the broader NBA-loving public downunder. Far and away the biggest arrival to the local competition was the signing of former NBA lottery pick, Josh Childress by the Sydney Kings. “Chill” brought an undeniable level of talent, marketing presence and importantly, off-court charitable work to the harbour city and the league.

Other teams weren’t resting on their laurels either. The Perth Wildcats replaced NBA-transferee success story James Ennis (Miami Heat) with Toronto Raptors draftee DeAndre Daniels. Meanwhile, rising like a phoenix out of the ashes of the Melbourne Tigers’ legacy was new club Melbourne United – including Philadelphia 76ers draft pick and scoring machine Jordan McRae.

Adelaide managed to secure Motum. The Cairns Taipans pulled in star guard – now a 76er signing – Scottie Wilbekin. However despite all the moves, the New Zealand Breakers once again proved their class (and the immense talents of Cedric Jackson) in taking out a sweep of their NBL Grand Final series against the Snakes.

Unfortunately the off-season brought the seemingly recurring toll of the league’s economic death knell. Season after season uncertainty has surrounded the ability of some corners of the national league in staying afloat financially. Hardcore fans cowered in fear. Casual fans and many mainstream media outlets shook their heads in collective smugness at the sport that just can’t get it together.

Enter the knight in shining armour, Larry Kestelman. His injection of cash into the league (in return for a majority shareholding) provided newfound confidence to teams struggling with debt and ailing revenues. Perhaps more importantly, the team he has brought on board, his vision for digital media, television presentation and league image overhaul have given fans a renewed sense of excitement of what is ahead in the local game.

Suddenly the NBL sees itself evolve from an off-season snatched from the jaws of defeat, into a product full of energy and potential. The website and branding have been refreshed. Television and digital rights are being re-imagined and renegotiated. Most visibly, a huge influx of talent is on hand for 2015-16.

The Sydney Kings managed not only unexpectedly to retain arguably the most impressive and talented player in Childress, but also snared a return of star centre Julian Khazzouh and Boston Celtics draft pick Marcus Thornton. Perth have not sat on their sizeable hands, bringing in NBA D-Leaguer, Casey Prather, along with rising star Hugh Greenwood and are even rumoured to be on the hunt for big Nathan Jawai.

Melbourne United go from strength to strength, pulling star shooting guard Chris Goulding back from Europe, along with NBA prospect Stephen Holt. However the biggest mover and shaker of the off-season has been the re-branded Illawarra Hawks.

Apart from dropping “Wollongong” for “Illawarra”, giving their fans the ability to once again chant “Illlll-a-warraaaah”, the team brought in defensive guru Rob Beveridge as coach, lured his former star import protege Kevin Lisch back to the league, signed star centre AJ Ogilvy on his return from Europe and even snared a second former league MVP in Kiwi star Kirk Penney.  Whilst the team has much to prove on the court, they certainly talk a mean game on paper.

All of the excitement on the NBL front meshes well with the reloading of the Australian Boomers national program. This weekend in Melbourne sees game one of the FIBA Oceania qualifier series, securing a spot at the 2016 Olympic Games for either Australia or New Zealand. Andrej Lemanis‘ squad is bolstered by the rare appearance of so many NBA-experienced athletes.

Mills, Bogut, Bairstow and Dellavedova are all currently on NBA rosters. Their NBA counterparts Ingles (wedding), Baynes (injury) and Exum (injury) will all miss the tournament.  Bigs David Andersen and Jawai are former NBA players. Ryan Broekhoff, Brad Newley, Goulding and Motum are all former NBA Summer League participants. That leaves experienced NBL guards Damian Martin and Adam Gibson as the only roster members with no NBA linkage. This is undoubtedly the strongest group from top to bottom that the Boomers have ever had to work with.

Initial controversy surrounded the original omission of Mills from the squad, as he was unable to fulfill a commitment to the European leg of their preparation tour. However the unfortunate ACL injury to Exum has opened the door for a popular call-up by Lemanis of the feisty Spurs guard. Mills, a proud representative of his country, will be a key to success against the Tall Blacks – particularly with the play-making ability of Ingles absent.

New Zealand will be no pushover, but make no mistake – Australia goes into this series as a clear favourite. This, despite poor showings in preparation games and the aforementioned injuries.

It is time for Australian basketball to shine.

Our stars are performing on the world’s biggest basketball stage – the NBA. Our local league is set to flourish. Our national program has the deepest roster of internationally experienced talent it has ever had. And just around the corner, we have burgeoning stars the likes of multi-talented forward Ben Simmons, uniquely versatile big man Thon Maker, Deng Adel, Isaac Humphries and Jonah Bolden — just to name a few. The NBA is set to take on an ever-growing Aussie face.

What better time for the return of A Stern Warning? I started writing about basketball here back in 2006 — back in those days blogging was a bit of a dirty word and basketball blogs were few and far between. The mission of this site has always been to provide content related to the NBA, the NBL and international basketball — all from the unique perspective we have downunder.

The last couple of years I’ve taken a break from the grind of writing here. Writing at different times for the NBL site, the Sydney Kings and the fun demands of life in general got in the way to some extent. However, the new direction of Aussie basketball (re-read this article if you don’t know what I’m talking about!) has reinvigorated the desire to write. Bring on the future. #HardBall

The post Mills return continues boom(er) year of Aussie basketball appeared first on A Stern Warning.

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The Monthly Special

The Best Game of Every Month this Season

The 2013-2014 NBA schedule was released last week and fans of the Association are in for a treat with numerous prime time games between All Stars from Opening Night right up until the playoff push. We broke down every schedule and have compiled a list of the best game in each month.  These are sure to be the games that will have Twitter buzzin’, jam-packed bars and the ticket prices inflated.

October

October 29 – Chicago Bulls at Miami Heat

TNT, 8 p.m.

Fans in Chicago haven’t seen their MVP point guard Derrick Rose compete since he went down with a torn ACL in a playoff game against the Philadelphia 76ers on May 12, 2012.  All eyes will be on Rose to see how his game has been affected by the injury and if he can reach the All Star caliber expectations he has set for himself with his young star studded career.

But let’s not forget who is on the other side of the ball.  The Miami Heat will raise their 2013 NBA Championship banner and receive their rings prior to the game for the world to see.  LeBron James and Dwyane Wade have proven their skeptics wrong and are looking to write their names in the history books with a three-peat.

November

November 22- San Antonio at Memphis

ESPN, 8 p.m.

San Antonio is fresh off a discouraging game seven loss to the Miami Heat, but the Spurs will still be competitive this season despite their age.  Their experience, led by Tim Duncan and Tony Parker, along with the up and comers Tiago Splitter and Kawhi Leonard will help contribute to the Spurs’ win column. 

Memphis is looking to forget about their disappointing sweep against the Spurs and get revenge in the rematch of the 2013 Western Conference Finals.  It is their first time playing San Antonio in the season and fans in the FedExForum will surely be loud and boisterous.  Both teams will undoubtedly be battling all season long for supremacy in the Western Conference.

December

December 25- Oklahoma City at New York

ABC, 2:30 p.m.

A few blocks down from the Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree, Madison Square Garden will host the best game for the NBA Christmas Day lineup.  Carmelo Anthony has always stepped up in big games and delivered.  The Brooklyn Nets stole the spotlight in New York this offseason, and the Knicks will need to prove themselves to their city and across the country that they can make a legitimate playoff push in the East.

The Oklahoma City Thunder is no stranger to prime time games and will be led by Kevin Durant.  Durant and Anthony are destined for an epic shootout and whoever can get the most help from their bench will likely be the winners.  The Thunder is hoping to get back to the championship level they attained in the 2011 season after losing in the second round to the Memphis Grizzlies.

January

January 26 – Brooklyn Nets at Boston Celtics

ESPN, 6:30 p.m.

Paul Pierce and the Brooklyn Nets will travel to Boston where he will play the franchise that drafted him and he spent 15 years with. It will surely be an emotional day for Pierce as he takes the parquet floor of the TD Garden in an opposing jersey.  Anticipate a welcome and sympathetic Celtics crowd, which will be put through the ringer this season.  Rajon Rondo is on pace to be in uniform by January, a full calendar year after he tore his ACL, and will be the new face of the franchise going forward.

The Nets are looking to combine the powers of their new stars Pierce and Kevin Garnett with the incredible talent they already had in Deron Williams, Joe Johnson and Brook Lopez to bring a championship to the borough of Brooklyn.  Look for Pierce to put on a show in his old stomping grounds.

February

February 19 – Houston Rockets at Los Angeles (Lakers)

ESPN, 10:30 p.m.

Dwight Howard was THE talk of the offseason and the Lakers threw everything but the kitchen sink to retain the superstar that averaged 17 points a game in the purple and gold.  Howard instead went to the Houston Rockets, where he will play alongside shooting guard James Harden.  The Rockets look good on paper, but must learn how to play as a cohesive unit if they want to be competing in June.

The Lakers definitely are not the same team that competed on the highest level just a few years back.  Although Howard was heavily criticized during his short career in LA, he did make the team better and was a huge presence on the boards with 10.8 rebounds a game.  Kobe Bryant will miss time with a torn Achilles tendon, but has already made an impressive recovery.  Safe to say this game is one that No. 24 is hoping to be ready for.

March

March 16 – Houston Rockets at Miami Heat

ABC, 3:30 p.m.

This game will mean so much for each team down the stretch of the NBA season.  The Rockets will be trying to prove their assembly of super stars can compete with the likes of the Heat’s Big Three.  Houston will likely be in a dogfight with Oklahoma City, San Antonio and Los Angeles (Clippers) for playoff position in March, and all the games at this point in the schedule will start to have much more significance.

This game will also be significant for Miami.  They will play eight games in 14 days leading up to this game in March, and will surely be hitting the rough stretch of the NBA season between All Star Weekend and the playoffs.  They must stay sharp and focused in March and April to protect their expected No. 1 seed in the playoffs.

April

April 2 – Brooklyn Nets at New York Knicks

ESPN, 7:00 p.m.

The Battle of the Boroughs will have one final showdown in Manhattan before the playoffs begin. Although both teams are destined to make the Eastern Conference playoffs, this game will definitely have an impact on what seeds they end up with.  The Knicks and Nets split their series last season at 2-2, with exciting games that went down to the wire.

Teams usually will rest their star players the final week of the NBA season, about a week and a half after this game.  Watch for the final push and an entertaining game by both teams’ superstars in this matchup at the Garden.  This one might also decide final bragging rights in the Big Apple.

This guest post was contributed by Heather McDevitt — she is a Boston Celtics fan with a BA Public Relations from Penn State. 

The post The Best NBA Game of Every Month This Season appeared first on A Stern Warning.

It has been less than a year since the United States men’s national basketball team was adorned with gold medals for their victory against Spain in the 2012 London Olympics finals.  In what should have been a quiet summer for Team USA, they have been making headlines for LeBron James seemingly ending his career with the team, with the recent announcement that he will not participate in 2014’s FIBA Basketball World Cup. He is likely also out of the 2016 Olympics Games in Rio de Janiero. James averaged 13.3 points per game in the London games and was named MVP in the London Games. He is the face of not only the NBA, but international basketball as well.

LeBron’s shoes are hard to fill, but many other players have stepped up into the spotlight.  The new era of USA Basketball will be headed by Kevin Durant.   Durant shined in the London games, averaging 19.5 points and 5.8 rebounds per game.  He also shot 52% from downtown, hitting 34 three-pointers in eight games.  Many fans questioned whether Durant would play in the world championship, so his commitment to the team gives them a go-to scorer that will put up big numbers to help the team excel.   "It's USA. That's it," Durant told USA TODAY Sports. "To play amongst the world and travel throughout this beautiful world and play basketball, you can't beat that. It's a great opportunity."

Another guy coming off a strong performance in the 2012 Olympics and will board a plane to Spain next summer is Kevin Love.  Love averaged 11.6 points, and led the team in rebounds at 7.6 per game in London.  Love’s presence on the boards was a key factor to Team USA’s success, especially against the height of Spain led by the Gasol brothers.  Although he sat out parts of the 2012-2013 NBA season, if he can stay healthy for the 2014 World Cup, there is no doubt he will be a superstar for the squad.

Making a big splash in the team’s minicamp are power forward Anthony Davis and guard Kyrie Irving.  During Team USA’s internal scrimmage on July 26, Irving and Davis were excellent on offense, scoring 23 and 22 respectively.  Irving dished out seven assists, leading all players, and Davis picked up seven boards.  Although Davis and the Hornets had a disappointing rookie season, he has experience playing at the international level and has a gold medal with the 2012 team.  Irving has emerged as one of the most exciting point guards in the league.  He averaged 22.5 points last season and was named an All Star as only a sophomore to the association. With the acquisition of center Andrew Bynum and #1 pick Anthony Bennett in the 2013 NBA Draft, Irving and the Cleveland Cavaliers have lofty expectations for the 2013-2014 NBA season.

A guy who has been projected to join Irving at the guard position is Stephen Curry.  Curry became a fan favorite in the 2013 NBA Playoffs where he averaged 23.4 points per game.  He is a sharpshooter from the three point line, and his 18 three pointers in his first four playoffs game is an NBA record.  He can change the pace of the game and has potential to be a top five point guard in the upcoming years. Paul George another player who emerged in the spotlight of the playoffs is expected to play for the United States.  George averaged 17.4 points in the regular season for the Indiana Pacers and 19.2 points in the 2013 playoffs.  He has proven to perform in the clutch, hitting a three-point field goal at the end of the fourth quarter in game one against the Miami Heat in the Eastern Conference semi-finals. His size, 6’8 feet and 220 pounds, is comparable to LeBron’s, and there is no doubt he would be a decent replacement in the small forward position for the United States.

Big question marks remain with Russell Westbrook, Chris Paul and James Harden.  As of right now they do not have plans to participate in the World Cup, but if they do become interested next summer there is no doubt room on the roster will be made for the gold medal winners.  Paul has come out in a statement saying he is leaning towards playing in the 2016 Rio Games, but the possibility of him playing in Spain is still in the air.

With the combination of veterans, young talent and an incredible coaching staff led by future Hall Of Famer Coach Mike Krzyzewski, the United States should be in contention for top spot in Spain next summer.  Although they are losing big names in LeBron, Kobe Bryant, Dwyane Wade and potentially Paul, the NBA still has a history of producing the world’s best basketball players, earning the gold medal 14 out of their 17 appearances in the Olympic Games.  Behind Durant, Love, and Irving, the team should continue to shine on the international level and show the world that they can still win without LeBron in the World Cup and eventually, the Olympics.

This guest post was contributed by Heather McDevitt — she is a Boston Celtics fan with a BA Public Relations from Penn State. 

The post Looking Forward: How USA Basketball will still be dominant without LeBron appeared first on A Stern Warning.

This time last year the league’s fans were abuzz with talk of a Lakers powerhouse, fronted by the backcourt of Kobe Bryant and Steve Nash, and the two-headed monster of Howard and Pau Gasol. Add in the likes of Metta World Peace and Antawn Jamison and there was definite reason for arousal in the Laker fanbase. 

Of course, we know how that all turned out. Showtime turned into Slowtime in Notime, with an early season disaster resulting in a coaching change and a season that never really got off the ground. Howard was targeted as one of the reasons for the downfall, with his inability to coexist with Bryant and Gasol, in addition to his lack of offensive variation identified as major weaknesses in a supposed superstar.

Now we see Howard looking for another change of scenery, in an apparent attempt to revive his mojo… to find himself a situation that fits his skillset. His rumoured move to the Houston Rockets would even cost him in the hip pocket, but when you’ve got as much cash as he does (he’s looking at about $20m salary next season), does it really matter?

The other big suitor is the Dallas Mavericks. And don’t forget that the Lakers want to keep him, going as far as billboards and full-page newspaper advertisements with their #StayD12 campaign. 

The big question is though, does it really matter?

Which one of those three teams will really have a shot at beating the Miami Heat next season? Perhaps the Oklahoma City Thunder? Or maybe the San Antonio Spurs or Indiana Pacers? 

With the likelihood of Kobe Bryant missing significant time through injury, a Rockets roster that basically is a great shooting guard in James Harden and a European big in Omer Asik (that combo sound familiar?), and a Mavericks roster that is made up of all of the flavours of the disjointed rainbow, there is little to say that any of Howard’s likely destinations will challenge the illuminati for the trophy in 2014.

So why does everyone care? Because the hype machine says they should. The bigger questions should surround the tweaks made to the rosters of the big boys… and maybe even the next attempt at a superfriends situation in Brooklyn (with Deron Williams, Joe Johnson, Brook Lopez, Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce coming together). 

Does it really matter? Tell me.

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