The reason Miami's almost-championship run was inspiring is because it felt like it was entirely a product of their institutional competence. They drafted well and coached guys up. They worked every advantage they had. Read more »
Miami Heat Analysis
Thirty Futures: Miami Heat
20-21 NBA Season Preview: Southeast Division
While the Heat hope to return to The Finals, the Wizards, Hawks, Hornets and Magic are in the crowded morass of teams from 7-12 hoping for a spot in the play-in tournament. Read more »
The Coda To These Finals Is Where We'll Discover Novel Territory
It's fitting that this season should end on a pro-forma note since these playoffs have at bottom been about satisfying sponsors and television partners, trying to keep rich folks off each other's necks. Read more »
Miami Has Found The Blueprint For A Post-Super-Team Future
The Heat make winning look like a matter of practical magic- nothing they do is that remarkable besides how they do it. They have manifested excellence by giving a damn. Read more »
After All That, The Strangeness Is At A Minimum For The Finals
LeBron is a winning enterprise unto himself and Miami has been consistently competing for titles since the 90s. These are two legibly very good teams, and now we find out which one deserves to be called great. Read more »
Suspended Indefinitely: Ray Allen Drains It From Everywhere

Ray Allen's ahead-of-its-time talent early in his career was one of the most dynamic players the league has ever seen, someone equally comfortable running off screens like Reggie Miller, pulling up like Kobe, or lunging at the rim like McGrady. Read more »
Ten-Year NBA Net Rating Rankings (Infographics For All 30 Teams)
We look at the trajectory of every team in the NBA in terms of how they rank in the category. Read more »
Pat Riley Will Never Die
Gone are Justise Winslow, Hassan Whiteside, Dion Waiters, and anyone else with a conspicuous gap between potential and performance. Remade in Jimmy Butler's self-maximizing fashion, rich with diamond-in-the-rough upstarts and over-achievers, this team would be a fitting sendoff crew for Pat Riley, if he were capable of quitting. Read more »
The Existential Struggle Of Dion Waiters

Dion Waiters has always been a scoring bench guard who thinks he's a star. Those types are pretty abundant, and most of them don't have Dion's baggage. Read more »
Thirty Histories: Miami Heat
If you look at Pat Riley's first few years in Miami, you can resolve his contradictions pretty easily. The luxury is the ideal and the crushing work is the method. Read more »
Jimmy Butler Gets To Do What He Wants In Miami
Regardless of the mental machinations involved, South Beach Jimmy does seem a purer expression of Jimmy Butler's values. He wants to win, but he also wants status and credit and the ball. Read more »
2019 Eastern Conference Offseason Chatter From Summer League
With so much turnover this offseason, and another exciting draft class, teams had lots and lots to say. Read more »
Miami Heat: 2019 NBA Offseason Preview
With few free agents and only Ryan Anderson as a real roster decision, it could be a quiet start to the offseason for the Heat. Read more »
The Maximum Available 2019 Cap Space for All 30 NBA Teams, Version 2.0
The Knicks, Clippers, Hawks, Kings and Lakers project to have the most cap space this offseason. Read more »
2018 NBA Offseason Review: Southeast Division
On the offseason moves by the Hawks, Wizards, Magic, Heat and Hornets. Read more »
Thirty Futures: Wayne Ellington

Wayne Ellington is about as workaday as NBA players get, but there is, beneath his anonymity, a sort of hero's journey to track. Read more »
The Maximum Available 2019 Cap Space For All 30 NBA Teams
The NBA cap will jump by $7 million while some of the bad contracts of 2016 will come off the books, which means an abundance of cap space again. Read more »
2018 Eastern Conference Summer League Notes
Keith Smith emptied his notebook after speaking to players, coaches, front office personnel and agents with all 15 Eastern Conference teams. Read more »
Leroux's 2018 NBA Draft Review
On how all 30 teams fared in the 2018 NBA Draft. Read more »
LeBron James' Path To Podium Greatness

You could make the case LeBron James' all-around game has never been better. But his off-court game has reached the same rarefied air. And that might even be more impressive considering where he started off eight years ago. Read more »