Litanies of singular players forged a basketball art and consciousness too important to be expressed in numbers. Scoring totals have always been flawed historical pegs in the long story of the NBA. Read more »

The Pacers have developed an exciting, under-noticed style- they are near the top of the league in both pace and three-point volume, relying on Tyrese Haliburton's control of the machine but also on their considerable armada of shooters. Read more »

After two years of Jokic carrying a largely sundry crew through the woods, the Nuggets have finally formed back into a true showcase squad, worthy of many more grand stages. They are a basketball team worth falling in love with. Read more »

Whether the Raptors try to regroup with what they have or make a rebuilding step backwards will have a lot to do with how difficult they think the battle is to win, and whether it's even worth fighting while the Bucks and Celtics peak. The Knicks, ever-beleaguered, are just happy to be where they are; as they should be. Read more »

Understanding The Mystery Box teams, The Cereal City Assassin, Beamlessness, Vulture Mode and more. Read more »

It seems fair to say that Zach LaVine probably needs to play next to a different kind of running mate: one who runs an offense instead of bails it out; someone whose primary management he can play off. Read more »

The Sixers recently tried and failed a Twin Towers experiment, but were able to quickly dig themselves out of the hole. With the Wolves trading away all of their future draft capital, fixing their Gobert/Towns mix will be even more challenging for them. Read more »

What happens when you're "collecting assets" but you already have a star where keeping him happy is likely more important than marginally increasing the odds on your NBA Powerball ticket. Read more »

Reviewing the hits and misses of the 22-23 City Edition uniforms. Read more »

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 »