At some point this year, the Brooklyn Nets will finally have a chance to unleash Kevin Durant. Whether it’s during a late-summer postseason or the beginning of the 2020-21 season, the veteran forward’s debut will be much-anticipated for the Nets and the league at large. Given Durant’s Achilles tendon injury, uncertainty surrounds his durability, explosiveness…
In this episode of The NBA Podcast, Morten Jensen and Bryan Toporek discuss the top small forwards in the 2020 NBA free-agent class. Should DeMar DeRozan decline his $27.7 million player option? How much should the Sacramento Kings be willing to spend on Bogdan Bogdanovic? Which contenders should go after Joe Harris? Who should take…
The last time Team USA played in an international tournament was an embarrassment. The inaugural FIBA World Cup took place in China this past summer and, after taking home the gold in the previous five events, the Americans finished seventh. They lost back-to-back games against France and Serbia to close out the tournament. It was…
After an entertaining, yet tumultuous pre-tournament schedule, Gregg Popovich’s men’s national squad arrived in China to defend its throne at the 2019 FIBA World Cup. He experimented with a variety of lineups throughout the exhibition slate, and it’s time to hone in on some optimal combinations. While the U.S. hasn’t lost a World Cup or…
In this episode of The NBA Podcast, Morten Jensen (@msjnba), Bryan Toporek (@btoporek) and special guest Brandon Jefferson (@Jefferson_Hoops) of The Basketball Writers preview the 2019 FIBA World Cup. What are the strengths and weaknesses of Team USA’s roster? Which teams pose the biggest threat to the Americans? Is Team USA in legitimate danger of…
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…
Team USA has been the single most dominant team in all of basketball over the last decade. In 2008, the “Redeem Team” won Olympic gold. They dominated the FIBA World Championship during 2010. 2012’s team was arguably more talented than the original 1992 Dream Team. By 2014, they claimed back-to-back FIBA World Championship victories. They…
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 mid-March, New York Knicks owner James Dolan boasted in a radio interview that his team was about to have “a very successful offseason when it comes to free agents.” “New York is the mecca of basketball and we hear from people all the time, from players, from representatives about who wants to come,” he…
These have not been a great eight months for the Boston Celtics. There was genuine excitement about this team back in October. Do you remember it? (It was soooo long ago, it seems.) A core of Kyrie Irving, Jayson Tatum, Al Horford, Jaylen Brown and Gordon Hayward was projected to run the Eastern Conference. Add…
