John Wilmes - Basketball Analysis

The Pelicans Are In Unfamiliar, Promising Territory

by John Wilmes

Mar 17, 2024 9:52 PM

Zion Williamson is still 23, but he is now a layup artist, getting on the scoreboard in decidedly less pyrotechnic ways than before. He's stayed healthy this season and the Pelicans figure to enter the playoffs more formidable than ever. Read more »

Tags: Zion Williamson, New Orleans Pelicans, NBA

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The Nuggets' Confident Collective Prodigy

by John Wilmes

Mar 8, 2024 2:19 PM

The Nuggets won't rack up a lot of blowouts, but they don't have to fret much to win games, either. Pressure, for them, is a bathhouse; the heat of it relaxes them. Read more »

Tags: Denver Nuggets, NBA

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The All-Star Game's Goofy Core, Exposed

by John Wilmes

Feb 23, 2024 11:26 AM

If there is a meaningful future for the All-Star Game, it should be in further exploring the range of this dopey anti-competition. Read more »

Tags: NBA

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The Bucks, The Bulls, And Two Very Different NBA Midwest Lives

by John Wilmes

As Chicago and Milwaukee sit 90 miles away from each other, there is a dichotomy between both present and past of their respective NBA franchises. Read more »
Welcome To Giannis Revisionism

by John Wilmes

Giannis Antetokounmpo was unassailable in the public realm, but he ultimately is more like other stars than previously imagined, and less the exception to their characteristic profile than assumed. Read more »
The Lakers And Bulls Need Each Other

by John Wilmes

A Zach LaVine trade is not an ideal scenario for either the Lakers or the Bulls- not now, and not after they potentially make this trade. But there aren't superior options on the table, or even on the horizon for two teams that need some humble reorganization. Read more »
The Ja Morant Moral Panic Is Back

by John Wilmes

If Ja Morant is endangering himself or others, that's an issue that needs addressing, but when it comes to how he wants to be, well, that's up to him, and it looks as though he's decided for now that his freedom to speak and signal as he does matters more to him than maximizing his branding opportunities. Read more »
Zion Is Still Here

by John Wilmes

You don't have to squint too much to see how, through all the deflated hype and underwhelming results, Zion Williamson remains indomitable enough pull his team through the postseason. Read more »
We've Witnessed The Birth Of A New NBA Tradition

by John Wilmes

Here we are, at the start of something, which one of the greatest players of all time felt strongly enough about to make it an important conquest in his shockingly lengthy farewell cruise. Read more »
Small Sample Size Notebook

by John Wilmes

On Jalen Suggs, Jamahl Mosley, Tyrese Haliburton, De'Aaron Fox, plus notes on the Thunder, Clippers and Pelicans. Read more »
The Bulls And Zach LaVine Are Breaking Up

by John Wilmes

The relationship between Zach LaVine and the Bulls has seemed to always be about business rather than preference. Read more »
The Bucks Are A Reckless, Glorious Drama In Giannis' Image

by John Wilmes

This season the Bucks have been reckless, questionable, and stressful, which also describes Giannis. This squad is now more like him than any Bucks assemblage before it. Read more »
The Thunder Look Beyond Youth

by John Wilmes

Expectations are high for Oklahoma City in the tuned-in hoops dork demographic, with some predicting a premature competitive uptick drastic enough to take them deep into the postseason. Read more »
The Dual Vortex Dynamic Of Dame And Giannis

by John Wilmes

In terms of raw court dynamics, we haven't seen such a complementary rim-plus-arc pairing such as Dame and Giannis since the days of Shaq and Kobe, of T-Mac and Yao. Read more »
The Gnarly Path Of Draymond Green

by John Wilmes

The Draymond Green torrent has always gone on, forward, away from pause or introspection. The reckless, universal-beef warpath is inseparable from all the championship qualities he brings to the Warriors. Read more »
Joel Embiid's Pyrrhic MVP

by John Wilmes

No one, save for maybe Karl Malone, has ever won MVP while also taking such a deep reputational hit. There's a whole lot that needs to happen in Philly for Embiid to embark on the Hero's Journey narrative that NBA fans are so unforgiving about seeing.  Read more »
Damian Lillard's Expiring Mythology

by John Wilmes

Damian Lillard positioned himself for years as a small-market loyalty warrior; the last true gun-slinging, ruggedly individualistic cowboy in a bloodless modern world of globalist business mergers otherwise known as "superteams." Read more »
Zion And Ja's Murky Crossroads

by John Wilmes

Despite all the instant glory, there is a stressful cloud of beleaguerment around both Zion Williamson and Ja Morant. It has been a while since fresh superstars stumbled in this way. Read more »
Nikola Jokic, The Least American MVP

by John Wilmes

The contrast of Nikola Jokic's monastic approach in an over-sauced landscape of media narratives, financial incentives, and performed virtue reached hilarious new heights with Denver winning the NBA championship. Read more »
The Improbable, Inevitable Miami Heat

by John Wilmes

It was not foreseeable Miami would defeat the most talented teams in the sport, flaring an unusual ability to find and corner the frightened child within some of the NBA's biggest stars. Read more »