Most organizations cannot handle even one man who is capable of destabilizing everything going on around them, but in Kevin Durant, Ben Simmons, Kyrie Irving, and potentially Ime Udoka as well, the Nets could have four. Read more »

The Jazz have an extremely annoying team to deal with on a night-to-night basis. So far, they've undermined everyone's expectations for them, perhaps even their own, and have done it without superstar talent. Read more »

Access to the frenetic, physical, hyper-communicative disruption and coordination Draymond Green offers on the court has long required dealing with all the storm and fever he brings off it. Read more »

Deandre Ayton has played the role of a thankless big man and given finite room to flourish. The bill has seemed to come due on the good will he's shown during his subjugation into such a blunt instrument role. Read more »

All is not lost without Lonzo Ball, but it will take a delicate, intricate balancing act from Billy Donovan to make this curious collection of parts hum in a differently successful way. Read more »

In Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey and De'Anthony Melton, the dashed dreams of the 2018 Rockets have found new foundation. Read more »

The Cavaliers have implied that they believe their young trio have cultivated a vibe so strong that a player who's demonstrated a tendency toward tantrum will be persuaded to become his best self with their team- not just for those first few glowing months, but for good. Read more »

Overnight, Dejounte Murray has branded himself as one of the most savage showmen within recent memory, necessarily changing the forecast for the vibes, if nothing else, of the 22-23 Hawks campaign. Read more »

Forever linked by their bubble series in 2020, the Nuggets and Clippers endured major injuries in 2021, and are now poised to return to contention status in 2023. Read more »

Kevin Durant's narrative is messy because he is so aware of the tales and incentives around him, often uncanny in calling them out, but at the same time clearly stressed by the prospect of not telling the same quality of story that his peers have told. Read more »

As a collision between a movie production and the roving entertainment complex that is the contemporary NBA, Hustle is a decidedly post-modern product, existing somewhere between advertisement for the league and true cinema. Read more »

The line between brilliance and disaster is one Draymond Green moves back and forth over more than maybe than anyone ever has, and whoever wins these Finals just might be determined by how many games he can spend on the right side of it. Read more »

Over what is nearly three decades with the Heat, Pat Riley has turned his overbearing vision for basketball into a company-wide edict, rich with cultish lore and numerous back-texts. Read more »

The reason the Warriors collect into a boulder capable of knocking all else over is because they have what other teams do not, to house all these wonders: a concept. An idea, a philosophy, an ethos. Read more »

Whether you're one of Chris Paul's eager critics, or someone with enough of a tolerance for sorrow to keep riding the roller coaster with him more hopefully, there's no questioning that, even if this sadly mythical loss isn't a proper send-off, it could act as a fitting, sourly poetic bookend to his career. Read more »

James Harden finally looked like a man whose experience has enriched him, rather than ran him ragged, and gave everyone with the fear of being too washed up something to model themselves after. Read more »

Memphis seems destined to figure heavily in the future either way, but the grizzled three-time champions are not prepared to concede the present after spending the past couple of seasons licking wounds and rebuilding around their core. Read more »