Based on conversations I had with multiple people around the league at last week’s combine in Chicago, this draft sounds like it will be known as the Karl-Anthony Towns draft– and the Minnesota Timberwolves are going to get him. Barring an injury issue similar to what Joel Embiid had last year, Towns is all but certain to be the first player to shake hands with Adam Silver on draft night and become the third straight No. 1 pick to wear a Minnesota
21. Dallas Mavericks – Tyus Jones, PG, Duke If you watched any of Duke’s tournament games, you could see how big of an impact Jones had as a true freshman. Jones is a throwback PG that creates great scoring opportunities for his teammates, but he also has the ability to hit the big shot or convert when he’s open, sort of like Chris Paul. While Jones is not big, he has tons of heart and is a true leader. In a point guard-driven league, especially
11. Indiana Pacers – Kelly Oubre, SF, Kansas Like many Jayhawks prospects, Oubre should be even better in an NBA system where he’ll have more scoring opportunities. As a rookie, Oubre should be able to hit open jumpers, and if he develops his ball-handling skills to create his own scoring opportunities, he could be very good. He averaged 9.3 points and 5 rebounds in just 21 minutes per game for Kansas, and went 15-for-19 from the foul line in a late-season victory over
Was an unexpected comeback ever in the works for injured Houston Rockets point guard Patrick Beverley in the Western Conference Finals? It depends who you believe. Rockets’ officials, including head coach Kevin McHale and general manager Daryl Morey, consistently stuck with the company line that he’s out for the entire playoffs, which the Rockets first said on March 30 after Beverley opted for surgery to repair torn ligaments in his left, non-shooting wrist. But Beverley himself has had other ideas. In April, he told Mark Berman
Despite all the talk of a parity-filled, wide open, volatile NBA postseason, the top two teams from each conference advanced to the conference finals. For those of you who ignored the Eastern Conference outside of Cleveland and Chicago, the Atlanta Hawks won 60 games and are the top seed out East. Game One is Wednesday night in Atlanta, with LeBron James’ Cavaliers wearing the road burgundy, or those unattractive navy alternates. Atlanta went 3-1 against Cleveland during the regular season, although
The NBA Conference Finals tip off tonight. DraftKings fantasy contests close at 9:00 Eastern but will not be decided until tomorrow night. [Read more…]
On your mark, get set, go! Track meet, drag race, whatever analogy you like, the Western Conference finals between the top-seeded Golden State Warriors and second-seeded Houston Rockets should be played at a breakneck pace by a pair of teams who are attempting to change the paradigm of NBA offenses. During the regular season, the Warriors led the league in points per game, overall shooting and 3-point shooting. They were second in threes made and scored at least 110 points 40 times,
Impossible to go into the conference finals without talking about the team that should have made it but didn’t — the Los Angeles Clippers. My take: They are not cursed. They were merely too thin, and they didn’t have the fortitude to finish the job. And if the Houston Rockets taught us all one thing during their series against Doc Rivers’ team, it was this: Never give up, no matter how bleak things seem. But that series is behind us, and we