Hassan Whiteside experienced some ups and downs with the Miami Heat. He had turned in a couple of statistically dominant seasons from 2015-17, especially, but the athletic 7’0”, 265-pounder was moved to the Portland Trail Blazers in a trade last summer after both parties needed a change of scenery. He promptly turned back the clock,…
Anticipation for the NBA’s reboot might reach playoff levels of excitement immediately upon the regular season’s return on July 31. That’s because there is still a chance for several teams to reach post-season play. The play-in period will highlight how some franchises have plenty to gain beyond just reaching the playoffs. But for some that…
The Portland Trail Blazers’ season changed last year during a double-overtime game against the Brooklyn Nets on March 25. Starting center, Jusuf Nurkic suffered a compound fracture in his left leg with a little over two minutes left in the game. Nurkic watched the rest of the way as Portland made a valiant effort all…
After making a surprising run to the Western Conference Finals last season, the Portland Trail Blazers may be in danger of missing the playoffs entirely this year. They have their injury-ravaged frontcourt to blame for that. Starting center Jusuf Nurkic suffered compound leg fractures in March, and general manager Neil Olshey told reporters in September…
In this episode of The NBA Podcast, Morten Jensen (@msjnba) and Bryan Toporek (@btoporek) discuss which teams should be concerned about their slow start to the 2019-20 NBA season. Should the Portland Trail Blazers be worried about their frontcourt in the wake of Zach Collins’ shoulder injury? How concerned should the Sacramento Kings be? What’s…
Potentially, the most exciting part of any new season is the development of a team’s young players. Even top-tier title contenders such as the Milwaukee Bucks, Los Angeles Lakers or LA Clippers must cultivate young talent through the NBA Draft and/or undrafted G-League pipeline in order to either create a homegrown young core (like the…
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…
The Golden State Warriors have been the class of the conference for half a decade, but that could change next season. They’re guaranteed to be without Kevin Durant and Klay Thompson for most, if not all of the 2019-20 campaign. Barring a near-miraculous recovery, Durant (torn achilles) probably won’t return until 2020-21. Thompson (torn ACL)…
I’ll be the first to admit it: I was dead wrong about the Portland Trail Blazers. After their embarrassing showing against the New Orleans Pelicans last postseason, I thought it was time for them to blow things up. Damian Lillard was obviously a top-five guy at his position, but I had questions about his ability…
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,…
