The season looks set to continue for 22 of the NBA’s 30 franchises, but competitive play is over for the eight that had zero chance of reaching the 2019-20 playoffs. Sure, not even receiving an invite to Orlando suggests that these teams’ end-of-season grades will be low, but for some, there is light at the…
Tagged devonte graham
Charlotte Hornets Have Something Really Interesting with PJ Washington
Powerful and poised, the playmaking prowess of PJ Washington propelled him to a pleasant professional debut. Washington was a top-six prospect on our TBW 2019 Draft Board because of his ready-made physicality, ability to defend the 4 or the 5, strong passing chops and shooting upside. He went back to Kentucky for a sophomore season…
PODCAST: NBA Midseason Awards Edition
In this episode of The NBA Podcast, Morten Jensen (@msjnba) and Bryan Toporek (@btoporek) make their midseason picks for every major award. Who is the front-runner for MVP: James Harden, Luka Doncic or Giannis Antetokounmpo? Can anyone catch Ja Morant for Rookie of the Year? Who’s leading the wide-open Defensive Player of the Year and…
Devonte’ Graham Emerging as NBA’s Newest ‘3-and-P’ Threat
When the Boston Celtics traded for Kemba Walker, it opened up a chance for young Devonte’ Graham to prove himself, even as the Charlotte Hornets bet far bigger money on free agent scoring guard Terry Rozier. Graham has not only seized the opportunity, he’s one of this year’s most improved players and possibly the league’s…
The Case for These First-Time NBA All-Stars, East Edition
It’s never too early to start looking at NBA All-Star berths, especially considering just how fascinating and wide-open the 2019-20 season has been so far. While the NBA still needs to expand the field to include 15 players—much like how an actual NBA roster is set up—let’s provide a glimpse of players that are making…
Where We Hit and Missed on NBA Season Predictions So Far
Before the first game of the season, I threw out 50 fairly bold predictions for the NBA season, all of which were rooted in optimism and belief. As always, one subtle action can change how the dominos fall, whether it’s an injury (here’s looking at you, Stephen Curry) or the unforeseen ascension of talent. We’re…
PODCAST: Early Front-Runners for 2019-20 NBA Awards
In this episode of The NBA Podcast, Morten Jensen (@msjnba) and Bryan Toporek (@btoporek) discuss the early front-runners for every NBA award through the first month of the 2019-20 NBA season. Can Luka Doncic legitimately challenge Giannis Antetokounmpo for MVP? Who’s emerging as a candidate for Most Improved Player? Does Ja Morant have any competition…
NBA Sophomores Who Have Figured it Out
As new rookies come into the league, the previous year’s draft class gets supplanted in the public consciousness unless they are transcendent talents like Luka Doncic and Trae Young. However multiple players from the 2018 NBA Draft class have experienced a tremendous uptick in production during their second season, some of whom are rather surprising.…
NBA Film Study: Scouting for Opponents’ Tendencies
Scouting reports are especially vital at the highest levels of basketball. They prepare players for personnel tidbits, identify an opponent’s best or most frequent sets, and unify the team in a direction for how to attack both. Those reports will have a video and written component most times, so different learners can digest the information…
Ranking Each NBA Team’s Prospect Cores for 2019-20, Part 1
Potentially, the most exciting part of any new season is the development of a team’s young players. Even top-tier title contenders such as the Milwaukee Bucks, Los Angeles Lakers or LA Clippers must cultivate young talent through the NBA Draft and/or undrafted G-League pipeline in order to either create a homegrown young core (like the…