Nate Wolf is an NBA writer with bylines at The Basketball Writers, NBA Math, and BBall Index, among other places. He is also a Marcus Smart devotee who's never seen a flop he didn't respect. Follow him on Twittter at @NateWolfNBA.
Eighteen months ago, the Golden State Warriors had just captured their third title in four years, and the Minnesota Timberwolves were fresh off their first playoff appearance since 2004. Champagne popped, optimism was in the air and then came the fall from grace. The two franchises now languish at the very cellar of the Western…
In early January, ESPN’s Jackie MacMullan and Kirk Goldsberry tag-teamed a fantastic article about the death of the post-up in the NBA’s new pace-and-space era. Perhaps unsurprisingly, back-to-the-basket greats like Patrick Ewing and Shaquille O’Neal were on hand to perform the eulogies. “Get in, get your butt on the block and dominate,” Ewing said of…
When free agents sign contracts, NBA team PR staffers usually get busy crafting a cocky “look at how good our signing is” press release. But when Jaylen Brown signed his behemoth 4-year, $115 million extension in October, the Boston Celtics’ statement read like one big backhanded compliment. “Jaylen is a true professional who did a…
As soon as Twitter knew Jayson Tatum was training with Kobe Bryant, alarm bells went off. It was the 2018 offseason, months after the youngster had helped the Boston Celtics to within one game of the NBA Finals during his rookie season. Celtics fans already didn’t like Kobe. But the idea of the Black Mamba…
After Klay Thompson’s knee crumbled in Game 6 of the NBA Finals, the Golden State Warriors’ blueprint for next season seemed clear. Already down Kevin Durant and now devoid of the team’s only other shooter beyond Steph Curry, Coach Steve Kerr would tilt his vaunted offense away from the cutesy split-screens and constant motion, and…
