The season looks set to continue for 22 of the NBA’s 30 franchises, but competitive play is over for the eight that had zero chance of reaching the 2019-20 playoffs. Sure, not even receiving an invite to Orlando suggests that these teams’ end-of-season grades will be low, but for some, there is light at the…
Powerful and poised, the playmaking prowess of PJ Washington propelled him to a pleasant professional debut. Washington was a top-six prospect on our TBW 2019 Draft Board because of his ready-made physicality, ability to defend the 4 or the 5, strong passing chops and shooting upside. He went back to Kentucky for a sophomore season…
In this ninth episode of TBW’s Basketball by Association podcast, Arky Shea and Joel C. Cordes are joined by bballwriters.com‘s Adam Spinella to examine how much bias plays a part in scouting players prior to the 2020 NBA Draft. Centered around Adam’s “2020 NBA Draft: On Bias, Tyrese Maxey & Evaluating Shooting”, we discuss how…
When the Boston Celtics traded for Kemba Walker, it opened up a chance for young Devonte’ Graham to prove himself, even as the Charlotte Hornets bet far bigger money on free agent scoring guard Terry Rozier. Graham has not only seized the opportunity, he’s one of this year’s most improved players and possibly the league’s…
Scouting reports are especially vital at the highest levels of basketball. They prepare players for personnel tidbits, identify an opponent’s best or most frequent sets, and unify the team in a direction for how to attack both. Those reports will have a video and written component most times, so different learners can digest the information…
The NBA’s Most Improved Player race is typically one of the most difficult to predict. While the usual suspects will be in the running for MVP (i.e. Giannis Antetokounmpo, Stephen Curry, James Harden and LeBron James), Defensive Player of the Year (Rudy Gobert, Kawhi Leonard, Draymond Green and Joel Embiid) and Sixth Man of the…
The bloated contracts handed out in 2016 are almost at their merciful end. However, several teams are still plagued by that fateful summer while several more have pushed these contracts from club to club like the saddest possible pieces on a chessboard. Thankfully for many teams, most of these deals will expire next July, giving…
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…
The Charlotte Hornets had an understated offseason from a volume perspective, but there were still headlines as the club could not come to an agreement with Kemba Walker and eventually settled on point guard Terry Rozier in a double sign-and-trade with the Boston Celtics. Walker was eligible for the $221 million supermax deal to remain…
Did any NBA team have a more depressing offseason than the Charlotte Hornets? Sure, the New York Knicks struck out on Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving, but that was always a pipe dream. And yes, the Oklahoma City Thunder lost both Paul George and Russell Westbrook in the span of a week, but they now…
