A do-or-die game easily billed as "Steph vs. Zion" is on the table, here- and if that happens, it could easily be enough of a cultural success for the league to validate whatever other junk occurred along the way. Read more »

The explosion of individual scoring has actually highlighted the importance of lineup cohesion. The surplus of scoring has made the most valuable players those who reconfigure the geometry and geography of the court, opening corridors of space on offense while bolting them shut on defense. Read more »

If Jamal Murray returns right, and nothing too drastic changes during this spell he's forced to miss, they can pick up right where they left off: in the thick of a championship hunt they just might come out of on top. Read more »

It does not appear likely that Isaiah Thomas will be a vital cog on a winning team again, but knowing something and accepting it are two different things. The awareness that all athletic glory is inherently fleeting does make its passing any easier to bear. Read more »

Because Bulls fans have become so literate in losing, and are so removed from success, it is hard for them to see the seeds of something better. Read more »

Offenses have rejiggered their attack to inflict maximum pain, allocating more possessions and touches to their best players. As recently as 2013, only 11 players averaged more than 20 points; today, 43 do. Read more »

Considering what the Bucks gave up to trade for Jrue Holiday, their inability to replace him if he were to sign elsewhere, coupled with their championship or bust track, he had tremendous leverage to wait until free agency. Read more »

The Celtics are in trouble, and if it's not inescapable, its persistence does make it harder to escape, game over game, as the subpar performances pile up. Read more »

The parallel discussions on Kevin Durant and Philip Roth are a testament to how fixated our culture is on men who are equal parts broken and brilliant. That neither have ever learned how to let anything go can be frightening to perceive. Read more »

The Knicks, Thunder, Spurs, Mavericks, Raptors, Hornets and Pistons are the seven teams projected to have cap space in the offseason. Read more »

When Aaron Gordon is asked to carry a team, he looks terrible. For the first time, he's stepping into a role he might be able to handle. With any luck, he'll soon forget about those All-Star Weekend slights, just like everybody else already has. Read more »

In a lot of ways the buzzword of "culture" within Miami's ecosystem can also work against Victor Oladipo if he fails in their system. That future max contract might prove to be elusive and slip from his grasp. Read more »

Aaron Gordon could move soon, but what we have, overall, is a vast disparity between the imagination and desires of roster construction possibilities and the realities of them. Read more »

Kyle Lowry was a nomad for most of his 20s, being dealt is nothing new to him, but his career represents an inversion of the typical star's arc. Read more »

Some extra appreciation is due for the guy who remains engaged as ever. It's been a year of death and debt and lost wages and fissuring sanity. Read more »

Whether or not Kyle Lowry is traded will depend not on sentiment, but on whether or not the Raptors and another team agree that doing so is beneficial to the future of both teams. Read more »

P.J. Tucker is a role player in the sense that the only way to truly unlock everything he provides is to put him next to supremely talented players. Fortunately for him, there are tons of those in the NBA in 2021. A lot more than there are P.J. Tuckers. Read more »

James Harden has dispensed with the stale algorithms with the Nets so quickly and so dramatically that few seem to have had time to notice it yet. He is expanding the game beautifully rather than bending its corners into distended statistical peninsulas. Read more »

What the Suns do in the playoffs will likely be the beginning of Chris Paul's true endgame, his quest to be remembered any differently. Read more »

Blake Griffin has nothing left to lose, which isn't necessarily the same thing as having nothing left. Read more »