Every player in the NBA has had a down year. If they haven’t, it is likely only a matter of time. It could be that they were trying to find their fit on a new team, battling injuries, or simply trying to do too much under immense pressure. Regardless of the reason, a season-long slump
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Summer is drawing to a close and while the buzz surrounding free agency has lessened, there are still some impactful moves that teams can make. Now is the time for the front office executives to trim out their roster, take a closer look at some veterans, and possibly taking a chance on a young prospect
If it still hasn’t sunk in just yet, it bears repeating: the New York Knicks are making their first trip to the NBA Playoffs since 2012-13. Naturally, it’s understandable that most Knicks-centered articles are examining their ceiling this season. Alas, according to Kanye West, the present is the past – so, like Yeezy, we’re looking
The New York Knicks are currently on their longest winning streak since 2014. Along the way, they’ve defeated several teams with whom they’re competing for a playoff spot – and unbelievably, home-court advantage in the first round – including the Atlanta Hawks and the Charlotte Hornets. While the Knicks still have the sixth-hardest remaining schedule,
The Eastern Conference playoff race is heating up as the top three teams separate themselves from the rest of the pack. There’s a real battle happening at the back end of the playoff picture as well between the Washington Wizards, Toronto Raptors and Chicago Bulls. In a week that saw teams get hot, teams go
The NBA’s G League Draft for the 2020-21 season took place on Monday, Jan. 11. And, given the circumstances of their season, which is being played in a bubble, it was not the normal draft we would see in any other year. Instead, for obvious reasons, it only involved teams attending the bubble. Some familiar
When the trade deadline passed, there were two knee-jerk questions about the moves Boston made. 1. Just Evan Fournier?2. You traded Daniel Theis to save a few bucks? It is true that the Celtics let a rare opportunity slip through their fingers. Aaron Gordon and Nikola Vucevic were up for bidding and Boston came away
The Miami HEAT must have been dying to add the newly-acquired Victor Oladipo to their lineup. Just coming out of a slight tailspin, Miami managed to win the last three games after dropping six straight. Well, Miami’s wish came true on Thursday night, when the HEAT finally got Oladipo into a game. In the end,
Everybody’s favorite NBA holiday, the trade deadline, came and went on a day that saw a league-record 16 deadline trades. 46 players were involved in trades, with big names like Nikola Vucevic and Victor Oladipo on the move. However, with 46 players being moved, some are bound to fall through the cracks and go largely
It feels like ages ago but, for a short while, Austin Rivers was the most hyped prospect in the draft class of 2012. Sure, that came before a slightly underwhelming freshmen season at Duke. But he was the one. Despite failing to live up to the hype, Rivers still had a successful collegiate season. The
The trade deadline has come and gone in the NBA, but teams still have plenty of work to do to improve their rosters before the playoffs. The buyout market presents teams with their final opportunity to add talented depth to their rosters, crucially, without giving up assets. So we’ll be taking a look at which
LaMelo Ball was the odds-on favorite to win Rookie of the Year. He still very well may win the award, but his rookie season is likely finished after just 41 games. Ball fractured his right wrist on Saturday against the Los Angeles Clippers. While Ball hasn’t been officially ruled out for the year, he probably
The New York Knicks, led by head coach Tom Thibodeau, are playing .500 basketball through 40+ games. Let that sink in. Their best player, Julius Randle, leads the league in minutes played (1547), and their second-leading scorer, RJ Barrett, is fifth (1410) despite his inexperience; Barrett is just 20-years-old. Neither Randle nor Barrett have shown
The New York Knicks, led by head coach Tom Thibodeau, are playing .500 basketball through 40+ games. Let that sink in. Their best player, Julius Randle, leads the league in minutes played (1547), and their second-leading scorer, RJ Barrett, is fifth (1410) despite his inexperience; Barrett is just 20-years-old. Neither Randle nor Barrett have shown
The 2020-21 NBA season is officially past its half-way point. As we approach the March 25 trade deadline, teams face big decisions. Some are within striking distance of a finals birth and must decide if they’re going to leverage their future to pursue a championship. Others must decide which assets to liquidate in an attempt
Two months remain until the regular season comes to a close and the playoff matchups are set. Most organizations have a solid feel for where they are at in terms of roster talent, on-court chemistry and the overall direction of their team. The trade deadline looms next week and buyout candidates will likely have a
As they’ve acclimated to one another, the Brooklyn Nets are finding their groove on both ends of the floor recently. While that’s bad news for the rest of the NBA, there are still things the Nets need to address before making their eventual playoff run. Winning regular-season games is one thing, winning playoff series is
Julius Randle is everything for the New York Knicks – for now at least. Randle entered the NBA in the 2014 draft. Selected seventh overall by the Los Angeles Lakers, the former Kentucky Wildcat was a bowling bowl on the offensive end, viewed as a seriously unique athlete. But there were question marks, too. Criticisms
The NBA Draft is an annual opportunity for many. It’s a hugely profound moment for young prospects, as well as front offices hoping to revitalize a franchise and establish their own reputations. For decades, most teams have understood the value of a first-round pick, and especially lottery picks. Those that didn’t – like the Isiah
Next up in Basketball Insiders’ ICYMI series – where we’re taking a look at the biggest storylines that you may have missed from around the league – is the Central Division. The Central is led by the Milwaukee Bucks and Indiana Pacers, two playoff teams last season that made aggressive offseason moves to improve this
Nearly three weeks into the season, here’s a look around the NBA landscape, with ten observations ranging in impact from having a direct effect on the chase for the Larry O’Brien Trophy, teams who are exceeding or failing to meet expectations, examining the play of some of the league’s top rookies, taking note of milestone
Regrettably, this piece came out a little bit later than usual. Usually, Basketball Insiders tries to get this out around the time the season begins, but it’s only been two weeks, give or take, so it still feels appropriate. Better late than never, right? Well… the jury’s still out in this case. Naturally, this begins
It’s still early in the 2020-21 season, yet there have been amazing performances every night across the NBA. And, because of those performances, fans have started to see which stars are have shone brightest and separated themselves from the pack early in the MVP race. And so, each week at Basketball Insiders, we will be
We’re just over a week into the NBA’s 75th regular season and, already, we’ve seen some significant developments. From the new direction teams that made an offseason coaching change have taken, to the impact of some of the more critical offseason acquisitions with their new teams or even the development of the rookie class as
We’re just over a week into the NBA’s 75th regular season and, already, we’ve seen some significant developments. From the new direction teams that made an offseason coaching change have taken, to the impact of some of the more critical offseason acquisitions with their new teams or even the development of the rookie class as
The NBA season has begun, and it’s time to overreact to the first few games of the year. In the next edition of Basketball Insiders’ inter-conference rankings, we will take a look at the Atlantic Division. In these rankings, we rank each team from worst to first based on their early performances and how we
ALERT. ALERT. ALERT. The NBA’s 2020-21 season is scheduled to begin in less than a month. If it feels like we just crowned the 2020 NBA Champions, that’s because we did. The Los Angeles Lakers secured their 17th championship on October 11, just over a month ago. Still, the new season kicks off in less
ALERT. ALERT. ALERT. The NBA’s 2020-21 season is scheduled to begin in less than a month. If it feels like we just crowned the 2020 NBA Champions, that’s because we did. The Los Angeles Lakers secured their 17th championship on October 11, just over a month ago. Still, the new season kicks off in less
To say the events of the past three or so weeks were irregular would be the understatement of the year. And during an already tragic year for the NBA, the league made the tough choice to postpone the season, prior to government intervention, on Wednesday, Mar. 11. In the two-plus weeks since the COVID-19 outbreak
So, this is what the wasteland is like, huh? During 2015’s Mad Max: Fury Road, the titular character – aimlessly stuck in the barren desert sands and forever shooing his inner-demons – makes the best of a terrible situation. In short, Max helps others in need, survives a horrific storm and then releases the floodgates,