It’s finally here. The Toronto Raptors arrive to their first-ever NBA Finals riding an all-time great postseason showing by Kawhi Leonard. Their reward is facing a Golden State Warriors team that is the most dominant of the era, if not the best ever. Postseason demons finally vanquished and the basketball hopes of an entire nation meet…
What makes Stephen Curry and Damian Lillard so special? Their ability to carve up defenses off the dribble. With the NBA emphasizing space more than ever, these two put tangible fear into the hearts of defenses every time they touch the rock. Neither guard needs more than a sliver of space to make teams pay,…
A lot has been made of how best to defend one of the league’s few truly unguardable players. Some teams like to play James Harden straight, others will shade him to his right hand, and the Milwaukee’s and Utah’s of the world will shade him so far right that the on-ball defender is essentially standing…
Seven-footers drain threes now. Someone has to guard them, but quick-switching defenses strand their own posts at the perimeter, anxiously facing guards known for wicked step-back triples, pick-and-roll dimes or devastating rim attacks. (Some threaten all of the above.) To handle these challenges, today’s big men must guard the arc as well as they protect…
