How will the NBA’s rebooted season shake out the standings during its final eight regular-season games, and which first-round matchups should we be especially excited for once the NBA Playoffs begin? TBW staff writer Bob Bajek joins hosts Arky Shea and Joel C. Cordes to break down each of the most fun scenarios for the opening round, including…
In this episode of The NBA Podcast, Morten Jensen and Bryan Toporek take a mulligan on the 2014 NBA draft class. Who goes No. 1 overall, Nikola Jokic or Joel Embiid? Where do the likes of Zach LaVine, Aaron Gordon and Marcus Smart wind up? How far does Andrew Wiggins fall? Which real-life second-round picks…
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…
In this episode of The NBA Podcast, Bryan Toporek (@btoporek) speaks with Yaron Weitzman (@yaronweitzman), author of the new book “Tanking to the Top,” about the Process Sixers. What led to Sam Hinkie’s downfall in Philadelphia? What misunderstandings about the Process do the general public—or Sixers fans—still have? Is Brett Brown’s job in jeopardy? Can…
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…
Furkan Korkmaz’s first two NBA seasons were relatively quiet as he played a grand total of 62 games, starting in only seven of them. Yet, he showed steady, albeit modest progression over that time and even gave flashes of being a useful piece for the Philadelphia 76ers moving forward. That’s because he has a “special…
Last season, the Philadelphia 76ers won 51 games and were a Kawhi Leonard miracle away from going to the Eastern Conference Finals. General manager Elton Brand and his staff made two essential deals over the summer to give the Sixers a changed look. One of those moves was the highly publicized Jimmy Butler sign-and-trade to…
In this episode of The NBA Podcast, Morten Jensen (@msjnba) and Bryan Toporek (@btoporek) discuss recent criticism about Joel Embiid and Nikola Jokic not wanting to dominate enough and delve into what’s gone wrong for the New Orleans Pelicans. Why isn’t Embiid having as much fun this year as he has in years past (2:08)?…
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…
For years, we’ve been hearing how the basketball world is catching up with the USA. But is it time to stop couching that in “future-tense” logic and ponder whether it’s happened, even at the highest levels? In 1992, the USA sent hoops pros to the Olympics for the first time, as the “Dream Team” captured…
