In this 10th episode of TBW’s Basketball by Association podcast, Arky Shea and Joel C. Cordes are joined by Bob Bajek to reminisce about their favorite paint patrollers of the 1990s. Inspired by Bob’s “The NBA I Grew Up Watching: When Centers Ruled the League”, they look back on why they loved (or hated) luminaries…
Prognosticators don’t have high hopes for the Brooklyn Nets in 2019-20. Oddsmakers peg them for a win total somewhere in the mid-40s, while ESPN’s Kevin Pelton projected them for 41 wins and the No. 8 seed in the Eastern Conference. FiveThirtyEight’s CARMELO system is even more lukewarm, giving the Nets only a 57 percent chance…
When we look back at NBA history, the 2019 offseason will be known as the summer of transformation. There was such a large quantity and quality of stars who changed teams; Kawhi Leonard, Paul George, Anthony Davis, Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant, just to name a few. There were even more role players who picked…
In this episode of The NBA Podcast, Morten Jensen (@msjnba) and Bryan Toporek (@btoporek) give their instant reaction to the first free-agent signings of the summer. Did Brooklyn Nets general manager Sean Marks just win Executive of the Year after signing Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, DeAndre Jordan and Garrett Temple? Why did the Charlotte Hornets…
Upon getting officially eliminated from playoff contention, NBA teams have begun to shut down players with nagging injuries. While that approach makes sense in real life, it’s brutal timing for fantasy basketball owners who were relying on those guys. On Thursday, the Minnesota Timberwolves announced Derrick Rose (elbow), Robert Covington (right knee) and Jeff Teague…
The Los Angeles Lakers’ 2018-19 season is effectively over. If their loss to the then-12-win Phoenix Suns on Saturday night wasn’t the final nail in the coffin, their ensuing two losses to the Los Angeles Clippers and Denver Nuggets were. Facing a 6.5–game deficit in the Western Conference standings with 17 games to play, the…
Whether your fantasy basketball playoffs begin Monday or in the coming weeks, do-or-die time is quickly approaching. Now more than ever, short-term production is critical. You can’t be married to players due to draft pedigree or upside if they’re struggling or injured. Nondescript afterthoughts emerge as fantasy difference-makers in the playoffs. Trae Young—who’s the 145th-ranked…
It’s been pretty tough to be a New York Knicks fan for most of the last 15 years. Failed draft picks, odd signings, poorly thought out trades, the Allan Houston contract (and Jerome James and Eddy Curry and… ad naseum). Mishaps—to put it nicely—involving NBA Hall of Famer Isiah Thomas and former Knicks great Charles…
The New York Knicks have found yet another way to fail at rebuilding: Slash-and-Burn. The Knicks traded injured star stretch-4 Kristaps Porzingis, point guard Trey Burke and veteran wings Courtney Lee and Tim Hardaway Jr. to the Dallas Mavericks on Thursday. In exchange? Sophomore point guard Dennis Smith Jr. and two veterans on expiring contracts,…
No position has changed more over the last five years than the center position. Don’t believe me? Just ask Roy Hibbert. The transformation from large, back-to-the-basket scorers and interior defenders that bang down low to stretch-shooting, rim protecting and multi-positional defenders has swept across basketball’s entire landscape. Some players evolve with the curve or get…
