COVID-19 unexpectedly forced the NBA season to a screeching halt. Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert tested positive, and the league and other sports leagues immediately shut down to protect players, coaches, employees and their fans’ health. The coronavirus’ specter continues its spread nationally and abroad, stressing hospitals, economies and communities to the brink. Without basketball,…
In this episode of The NBA Podcast, Morten Jensen (@msjnba) and Bryan Toporek (@btoporek) discuss the NBA’s decision to suspend the 2019-20 season in response to the coronavirus pandemic. Why did the NBA have to shut down? Did the league act quickly enough? How much blame does Rudy Gobert deserve? If the NBA is able…
On Wednesday night, the dominos of the global coronavirus pandemic began to rapidly fall within the sports world. Utah Jazz big man Rudy Gobert tested positive for coronavirus. A few minutes later, the NBA announced a suspension of its season indefinitely. NBA owners and executives have slammed league office with a myriad of procedural and…
When the referees missed an easy goaltending call on Rudy Gobert against the Portland Trail Blazers on February, it helped the home team break a five-game losing streak. It wasn’t a convincing 117-114 win for the Utah Jazz, but it was a win. The next night against the Houston Rockets, the Jazz needed a doubly…
In this episode of The NBA Podcast, Morten Jensen (@msjnba) and Bryan Toporek (@btoporek) make their midseason picks for every major award. Who is the front-runner for MVP: James Harden, Luka Doncic or Giannis Antetokounmpo? Can anyone catch Ja Morant for Rookie of the Year? Who’s leading the wide-open Defensive Player of the Year and…
The NBA’s hottest team is also suddenly its most accurate from three-point range. Quin Snyder’s Utah Jazz are winners of seven straight and 12 of their last 13, and they’re leading the NBA at 39.0 percent from beyond the arc. During the seven-game conquest, the Jazz have run a long-range clinic, hitting 100-of-243 (41.2 percent)…
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…
Rudy Gobert of the Utah Jazz is a transformative, world-beating defensive talent with two consecutive Defensive Player of the Year awards. Mitchell Robinson of the New York Knicks is coming off one of the most impressive rookie campaigns in recent memory as a two-way force on a rebuilding team. These two might be at different…
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,…
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…