In this episode of The NBA Podcast, Morten Jensen (@msjnba), Bryan Toporek (@btoporek) and special guest Jeff Siegel (@jgsiegel) of Peachtree Hoops and Early Bird Rights preview the Southeast Division ahead of the 2019-20 NBA season. Could the Atlanta Hawks make the playoffs this year? Are the Orlando Magic the favorites in the division? How…
For the 11th time in the last 13 years, the NBA website sat down with the league’s rookies and polled them on the group at large. They were able to give feedback as to which of their contemporaries they believed to be the Rookie of the Year, steal of the draft, best defender and best…
The release of the 2019-20 NBA schedule filled the basketball world with a renewed excitement for the upcoming season. Thanks to this summer’s roster shuffling, there are a bunch of new-look matchups and seemingly countless must-see games. But when it comes to national television appearances, I don’t think the NBA totally got it right. It’s…
When the Atlanta Hawks transitioned from the Mike Budenholzer era to the Lloyd Pierce era in 2018, general manager Travis Schlenk began to shape the franchise in the likeness of his former team: the 2015-2019 Western Conference juggernaut Golden State Warriors. Many view the hiring of Pierce and the acquisition of Trae Young, Kevin Huerter,…
Armed with an impressive young core, multiple first-round picks in this year’s draft, gobs of salary-cap space and no onerous long-term contracts, the Atlanta Hawks have the ingredients to become an Eastern Conference powerhouse in the coming years. Likely Rookie of the Year runner-up Trae Young started his NBA career off slowly, but he finished…
Progress isn’t always linear. Some players opt for refinement, turning their good skills into great ones. For example, Dwyane Wade never bothered to develop a three-ball. Instead, he focused on becoming an elite 20-feet-and-in scorer. He seemingly added something new to that bag of tricks each season. His craft in the mid-range area is a…
The 2018 draft class is turning out to be a doozy. Luka Doncic and Trae Young are setting the world on fire, while DeAndre Ayton, Jaren Jackson Jr. and Marvin Bagley III have quietly turned in strong performances. Lottery picks Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Kevin Knox, Mikal Bridges and Wendell Carter Jr. all showed enough upside to…
Seven seconds is all it takes. We’re late in the fourth quarter of Saturday’s Tankathon match-up between the Atlanta Hawks and the Phoenix Suns. The Hawks are down three, slightly reeling after another bucket from Tyler Johnson. Trae Young decides to stop the bleeding. He receives the inbound pass from John Collins. As he crosses…
Anyone who hasn’t been watching the Atlanta Hawks this season took notice of their sophomore power forward Friday night during the NBA Rising Stars Challenge when John Collins announced himself with a fast-break, self-assisted, one-handed alley-oop slam. It was merely a preview. Collins will compete tonight in the NBA Dunk Contest. Dominique Wilkins—Hawks legend, Hall…
