Just six NBA teams have played at a .600 pace this season. A seventh briefly reached the threshold last week, and you have to wonder how in the world they got there. Consider that this team: Is in the bottom five in 3-point makes, attempts and percentage in the most prolific season for 3-pointers in league history. Has been without its best player for over a month. Responded to losing its best player by dealing two more of its top five remaining rotation players
It’s been just over three weeks since the NBA trade deadline and 10 days since the March 1 buyout deadline that saw numerous players joining playoff contenders. So which acquisitions are soaring and which are flailing? We’re going to look at 15 players who were recently acquired via trade or signing and sort them into three categories: Good, Bad and Obscure. The good players are making positive impacts on their teams, the bad players just haven’t been faring very well on their new
When the biggest names on the move at the NBA trading deadline are Brandon Jennings, Jeff Green and Markieff Morris, it is a bit of a letdown. There is legitimate reasoning behind last week’s relatively quiet activity. This summer marks uncharted territory for NBA teams and their general managers, none of whom want to be the guy who shoots before aiming. The salary cap is going to jump from $70 million to more than $90 million this summer. That is an unprecedented
We waited all season for this? Are you kidding me? A day of dumpster diving? Ugh. Well, let’s break it all down: LeBron James lost a friend, and that friend, Anderson Varejao, was immediately waived and may just come back to haunt his former team if he signs with an Eastern Conference contender after spending 12 seasons in Cleveland. In related news since we are talking about LeBron’s recent past, Miami Heat owner Mickey Arison saved millions and millions of luxury tax dollars.
The Golden State Warriors’ historic start, led by Stephen Curry’s MVP campaign, and Kobe Bryant’s farewell tour have captured the headlines so far this season. We saw LaMarcus Aldridge become the biggest free agent to change teams and Kevin McHale became the first coach to get fired in Houston. Will Kevin Durant leave the Thunder this summer? Will Jeff Hornacek become the first coach fired in 2016? That’s just the tip of the iceberg. A new calendar year will bring more coaching changes,
On Saturday, Oct. 24, three days before the start of the NBA regular season, 27-year-old guard Ish Smith was finishing up the Washington Wizards’ final preseason practice as he and his teammates prepared for Wednesday’s season opener in Orlando. Then, like he had five times before in his career, Smith got cut. Smith was one of five players on non-guaranteed contracts waived by Washington that day, an all-too-familiar occurrence for a player who spent his previous five seasons on eight different NBA
There aren’t many small-market teams that have experienced a run of success like the Memphis Grizzlies have over the past half-decade. The Grizzlies are looking to keep the train rolling this season after an offseason which has perhaps been underrated. Most important, the Grizzlies locked up franchise cornerstone Marc Gasol for the long haul, ensuring they will have a chance to be competitive both now and likely for years to come – assuming Mike Conley, a free agent next summer, is
Analytics can tell you a lot of lot of things about a lot of players. Today, I am taking a look at the five players whose defensive analytics are at the top of the charts. Draymond Green was the easiest selection. His ranks and metrics show that he should have won the Defensive Player of the Year award. While DeAndre Jordan finished third in the voting, Rudy Gobert is the choice at the stopper in the middle. Kawhi Leonard’s advanced tools are