In this episode of The NBA Podcast, Morten Jensen (@msjnba) and Bryan Toporek (@btoporek) make their picks for all of the NBA’s major awards ahead of the 2019-20 season. Will Giannis Antetokounmpo repeat as MVP? Can anyone dethrone Rudy Gobert as Defensive Player of the Year? Is Zion Williamson a lock to win Rookie of…
After a summer of roster reshuffling that resulted in many players finding new homes, one thing has remained consistent, Vegas’ odds on the Defensive Player of the Year award. The same three players listed as the favorites for last year’s honor in mid-April, return as this season’s odds-on favorites: Rudy Gobert (+145), Giannis Antetokounmpo (+375)…
The final part of our 50 Important Predictions series has a heavy focus on the Western Conference. Why? West Coast, Best Coast. There is so much drama and intrigue here; Almost six teams could legitimately win the conference, and therefore the title. It’s going to be a bloodbath. If you missed the first 33 predictions,…
Rudy Gobert was once thought of as the last of a dying breed. As “small ball” became increasingly popular across the NBA, it seemed players like Gobert were getting played off of the court. At 7’1” and 245 pounds, how could the relatively range-less Frenchman be expected to hold his ground on the perimeter against…
The 2019-20 NBA season is just around the corner. After an offseason chock-full of player movement, the title race appears as wide-open as it has been in years. Over the past few weeks, we have examined one big question hanging over each team heading into the season. We’ll finish with the Northwest Division, where all…
China just served up one of the most entertaining and unpredictable FIBA Men’s World Cup (formerly “World Championship”) tournaments in recent history. There was a wide-open group of contenders, and a couple of the front-runners were toppled before the medal round. Leading up to Spain’s coronation against Argentina on Sunday, we witnessed aesthetically dazzling team…
In this episode of The NBA Podcast, Morten Jensen (@msjnba), Bryan Toporek (@btoporek) and special guest Andy Bailey (@andrewdbailey) of the Hardwood Knocks podcast preview the Northwest Division ahead of the 2019-20 NBA season. How much of a difference will Jerami Grant make with the Denver Nuggets? Is there any hope for Andrew Wiggins? How…
Coming out of the first heavy-spending summer since 2016, several teams are locked into their current core and will have trouble generating significant spending power over the next two offseasons. Of course, other teams are still riding out their own bad 2016 contracts and will look to get back in the game in 2020 and…
Basketball is a team sport, first and foremost, but it’s also a star-driven game. One or two elite players can often lift a team above an opponent with more collective talent. Such is the case at the FIBA World Cup where depth matters but stars ultimately win games. After the first two rounds of group…
Earlier this week, we published a piece on the surprising analytic findings surrounding after timeout (ATO) situations. The data points show a slight shift favoring the defenses in these situations, despite the offense having the opportunity to reset in a specific and patterned manner under the coach’s direction. Thus, it’s more difficult to score after…