When the core four of Gordon Hayward, Derrick Favors, Rodney Hood and Rudy Gobert are all healthy and playing together, this team brings one of the most stifling defenses in the entire league, coupled with a very improved offense. Read more »
Basketball Analysis
How Good Can The Jazz Become
Asking Anthony Davis To Move Mountains
The Pelicans have nothing to show for four years of roster construction other than Anthony Davis mercifully agreeing to an extension last summer. Fortunately he's a transcendent talent and there's enough offseasons before 2020 to fix it. Read more »
Denzel Valentine And His Perfect Supporting Cast
Denzel Valentine is the rare combination of a ball dominant superstar who doubles as a glue guy, a guy with an incredibly high basketball IQ who knows exactly what Michigan State needs on a given night and can always give it to them. Read more »
Jahlil Okafor, Myles Turner And The Futility Of The Process
Jahlil Okafor was the better scorer and passer while Myles Turner was the better shooter and shot-blocker. If you were picking a big man for the modern NBA, which skill-set would you prefer? Most big men played like Okafor in 1995. Most big men will play like Turner in 2025. Read more »
How Rodney Hood Could Go From Utilitarian Cog To Budding All-Star
Is Rodney Hood the next James Harden? The question is too deep, fatuous and impossible to process only 100 games in his career-and the answer is probably "no"-but let's consider the similarities anyway. Read more »
The Inactivity Of The Raptors, Celtics
The Raptors and Celtics may look smart for sitting out this year's deadline as it puts them in the same philosophical state as the NBA's model franchise: the Spurs. Read more »
Ten Questions Following The NBA Trade Deadline
What to expect from Channing Frye, Donatas Motiejunas, Markieff Morris, Jeff Green, Randy Foye, Courtney Lee, Jarnell Stokes, plus the future of Mike Conley and whether Orlando kept the right players. Read more »
The Ticking Clocks Of The Rockets, Clippers & Cavs
This dud of a deadline all but guarantees we'll see some excitement somewhere down the road with the Rockets, Clippers and Cavaliers. Read more »
Grading The Deal: Clippers Trade Lance Stephenson, 1st Rounder For Jeff Green
Jeff Green is a nice player, but always underwhelms and not worth a future first round pick, especially as a rental. Read more »
Grading The Deal: Wizards Trade For Markieff Morris
Markieff Morris is an excellent fit at power forward for the Wizards if his personal issues of the past few months with the Suns are behind him. Read more »
Grading The Deal: Cavs Trade For Channing Frye
In trading for Channing Frye, the Cavs get the stretch 4 they wanted, and they also cleared away the last mostly guaranteed year of Anderson Varejao. Read more »
Grading The Deal: Pistons Acquire Donatas Motiejunas
Continuing their push for the playoffs, the Pistons added to a weak bench in trading for Donatas Motiejunas. Read more »
Pistons Getting Foundational Under-25 Pieces For Spare Parts
Instead of drafting guys younger than Andre Drummond and painstakingly going through the process of grooming them from the ground up, they have let other teams do the developing for them and identified talented 22 and 23 year olds who are waiting for a chance to show what they can do. Read more »
Jaylen Brown, Henry Ellenson And The Benefits, Perils Of Sliding Positions
If either Jaylen Brown or Henry Ellenson is going to be worthy of being a high lottery pick, it's probably going to come from them sliding down a position and giving their teams an edge in speed and skill. It's easier to do that at PF than C and that might end up being the difference between the two in the NBA. Read more »
Grading The Deal: Hornets Acquire Courtney Lee In Three-Team Deal With Grizzlies, Heat
The Hornets had a hole on the wing with Michael Kidd-Gilchrist out for the season, so adding Courtney Lee on an expiring contract allows them to remain in the playoff contention. Read more »
Grading The Deal: Magic Trade Tobias Harris To Pistons For Brandon Jennings, Ersan Ilyasova
In acquiring Brandon Jennings and Ersan Ilyasova, the Magic add two veterans while clearing cap space for 2016 and turning Aaron Gordon into the face of the franchise. Read more »
Being An All-Star Means Something Different For Paul George
Paul George enters his third career All-Star Game with a newfound respect and perspective of his career, understanding better than most that things can change at any moment. Read more »
Bucks Need To Choose Between Wins, Development
Milwaukee is discovering that collecting talented youngsters doesn't guarantee a swift, linear path. And before the team gets stuck in a confusing limbo between rebuilding and contending, the Bucks need to have a clear vision for what lies ahead. Read more »
The Best College Basketball Games During The NBA All-Star Break
Even for those who have no interest in following the NCAA Tournament, this week represents a good time to start catching up on some of the top prospects in this year's draft and some of the guys their favorite teams will be linked too in the draft over the next few months. Read more »
Too Much Talent At The End Of The 2015 Lottery
In terms of the strength of the 2015 NBA Draft, maybe the most impressive part comes from the end of the lottery, where Myles Turner, Devin Booker and Trey Lyles look like future stars. Read more »
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