Carlton Carrington has a high upside given his ability to create for himself, while also possessing a rare high floor considering he can also do so for teammates. He has become one of the biggest risers in this draft class. Read more »

One of these teams is in a position to take on a raw talent who needs more time developing before leading a winning team, while the other is better situated to grab a superstar role-player. Read more »

Tidjane Salaun has been a late bloomer in this draft process and he has a higher floor and lower ceiling than advertised as a potential two-way role player. Read more »

There's proof of concept that Josh Giddey's size, playmaking and tempo are needed in Chicago, while the Thunder are more in need of Alex Caruso's defense and shooting. Read more »

Matas Buzelis can handle the ball and provide positional versatility on both ends of the floor. If he figures out his jumper, he will be a very good NBA player for a long time. Read more »

On Giannis Antetokounmpo's offseason workouts, the Lakers' ongoing coach search, Monty Williams' dismissal, Pascal Siakam's new deal, and Jeff Van Gundy. Read more »

All the Celtics' prior disappointments were detonated in this series as they've built a perfect supporting cast and system around their double stars that arrived via a trade of their previous ones. Read more »

The Mavericks did everything a beat faster, better and more effectively than they had at any point before in the series. Boston should certainly still win this series, but something that looked over is now suddenly combustible. Read more »

Offensive avalanches and playoff parity are the new normal in the NBA's "No Lead is Safe" era of 2024. Does that make for a good product - or a bright future on-the-court? Read more »

Fluid wings with size that can shoot the basketball like Zaccharie Risacher are as valuable as any archetype in the league, but he lacks the on-ball creation to be the type of franchise altering talent we typically expect at the top of the draft. Read more »

The Celtics contain more multitudes than any title contender in recent memory given how long they've been in this position and the quality and diversity of their top-6. And they possess enough dominant ways to play to withstand a vintage Kyrie Irving performance. Read more »

Bronny James has helped himself a lot throughout the pre-draft process, reminding scouts and front office executives why he was a borderline five-star recruit coming out of high school. Read more »

The dominant conversation entering the Finals was the Best Team vs. Best Player debate, but the way the Celtics are forcing the Mavericks to work excessively hard on both ends on the floor is answering those questions. Read more »

Caitlin Clark is following the recognizable footsteps of many basketball stars before her: legendarily talented, poised enough to rise quickly, and turned against in an instant. Read more »

The Celtics have had a frustratingly extended prologue, but they are three wins away from finally vanquishing it. Game 1 showed the greatness they're capable of achieving. Read more »

It's time for some Gamer Theory: Luka Doncic plays Overwatch, and is in the 99th percentile of performance. He's in the 100th percentile of NBA players, but it's important to understand he's also elite pretending to be a futuristic gladiator and talking trash to teenagers. Read more »

The Mavericks and Celtics are a pair of throughly modern teams, but in distinctly contrasting ways, which should make for an entertaining series and also a referendum on two models of team construction. Read more »

Trading for Tyrese Haliburton was the most extreme and important example of Indiana's team-building strategy - one that takes advantage of a market inefficiency and could become a model for teams going forward. Read more »

If Nikola Topic becomes an average shooter, his size, passing and finishing is special enough for a team to build an offense around. Read more »

It’s up to these teams who were each so close to reaching the Conference Finals to take a step back, revisit their respective plans and get back to doing what makes them special. Read more »