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…
As anticipation and excitement build for the NBA’s 22-team, late-July return in Orlando, Florida, we’re still left with more questions than answers. And we’re not the only ones: Both the league and the NBA Players’ Association have not even finalized terms yet and continue to debate the details. So what are the long-term ramifications and…
With the remainder of the 2019-20 NBA regular season in doubt, now is as good a time as any to release our All-Rookie First and Second Teams. Even if the league somehow finishes the schedule, there may not be enough games left to dramatically change the list of honorees. This crop of neophytes delivered star…
At this point, it’s pretty well known: coaches all steal stuff from each other. Few are complete innovators, but most just take concepts from elsewhere and incorporate it into their own system. The NBA has become so cut-and-paste in many ways that the offenses we watch are hardly discernible from one another. Then a talent…
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,…
Hey all, back again this week with another check-in on the evolving stories from around the NBA. This week kicked off with an amusing comment from Houston Rockets guard, James Harden, who essentially labeled leading (and rival) MVP candidate Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo ‘a seven-foot-run-and-dunk-guy’. What Harden is defining as “skill” in regards to…
In this second episode of TBW’s Basketball by Association podcast, Joel C. Cordes and Arky Shea figure out the 6-team race for the Western Conference’s final playoff spot. Though the Memphis Grizzlies currently hold the seed, they’re being chased by the New Orleans Pelicans, Sacramento Kings, Portland Trail Blazers, San Antonio Spurs and Phoenix Suns.…
This is a fun time of year if your franchise is in the thick of it, as “all the games matter” for seeding or even a spot in the postseason itself. If your favorite group has already dropped out of that race, you at least get the intrigue of watching rookies, G-League callups, 10-day contract…
In this episode of The NBA Podcast, Morten Jensen (@msjnba) and Bryan Toporek (@btoporek) discuss the Willie Cauley-Stein trade, Zion Williamson’s regular-season debut and behind-the-scenes drama with the Los Angeles Clippers. How much will Cauley-Stein help the Mavericks in the wake of Dwight Powell’s injury? How concerned should Clippers fans be about reported behind-the-scenes tension?…
How much more obnoxious can this made-up storyline get? The answer is none. None more obnoxious. (But it somehow will.) And thus the reason why so many people hate the “big boys” of sports media and its talking heads who typically have no idea what they’re talking about. Instead of analyzing the games using anything…
