The regular season is over two-thirds finished, and the playoffs start in 53 days. Unsurprisingly, the front of the Defensive Player of the Year race has remained largely stagnant as 2019-20 enters its final stretch. But there’s ample time for movement among the obvious top-four candidates, with factors like injuries, lineup changes and even overall
Houston Rockets
LeBron James is the greatest basketball player of his generation and arguably of all-time. No matter how old he is or how many miles he has on those tires — 48,014 minutes total as of Feb. 20, good for eighth-most all-time among NBA players =- he is not to be underestimated. The Los Angeles Lakers
The Philadelphia 76ers are the NBA’s greatest enigma. At home, the Sixers are a powerhouse. Their 25-2 record speaks for itself, but that number still fails to encapsulate their impressiveness in their own arena. The 20-point drubbings of the Milwaukee Bucks and Los Angeles Lakers, the teams with the best record in each conference, add
The Houston Rockets’ small-ball experiment might not result in a championship, but it’s taking Moreyball to its logical extreme. Give the Houston Rockets credit: Regardless of whether their newfangled small-ball experiment results in a championship, they’re willing to challenge the NBA status quo. Conventional wisdom dictates that teams need a big-bodied center to score near
Brilliant, maddening, exploratory, exhaustive: all of these things could be applied to James Harden as well as the legendary jam band Phish. Wildly talented. Insanely efficient, if not necessarily economical. Rambling, self-indulgent, offensive to some and taking as much time as humanly possible to get anywhere. Questionable fashion and abundant facial hair. Having a rabidly
After the final whistle sounded on the NFL season Sunday night, a new sound arose: The sound of trade buzz throughout the NBA universe. With just mere days until the trade deadline, the rumors are swirling at gale force as teams try to get an edge on their competition. Certain teams will be making calls
The Rockets have swung for the fences, piecing together a four-team trade that brings in Robert Covington and sends Clint Capela to the Hawks. On Wednesday, with more than 24 hours left until the trade deadline, four teams jumped ahead and finalized a massive deal. The outlines of this trade had already emerged during the
After the final whistle sounded on the NFL season Sunday night, a new sound arose: The sound of trade buzz throughout the NBA universe. With just mere days until the trade deadline, the rumors are swirling at gale force as teams try to get an edge on their competition. Certain teams will be making calls
Before we begin, something, or someone, needs to be addressed- the death of one Kobe “Bean” Bryant. The NBA community lost one of its biggest icons over the weekend when Bryant lost his life in a helicopter crash. This news is very tragic seeing how popular Kobe was both during and after his time in
The Milwaukee Bucks are a prime championship threat. The Indiana Pacers are solid as always. The Detroit Pistons are slowly crumbling and the Chicago Bulls are still fighting incompetence. The Cleveland Cavaliers, meanwhile, are a sad laughingstock. Nothing about the NBA’s Central Division is surprising relative to preseason expectations. Its teams, broadly speaking, are exactly
Danuel House Jr. is one of the best stories in the NBA, and he should be making more money. The popular blueprint for defense against the Houston Rockets this season — double-team the ball out of James Harden’s hands, make his teammates beat you — paints a hilarious target. You can’t really stop them from
Lottery picks are viewed through rose-colored lenses in the NBA. As the draft approaches, teams, fans and the media alike increasingly overvalue top players and picks. Player comparisons provide unrealistic evaluations, and they put a ton of pressure on young players. Meanwhile, top prospects are mostly under 20-years-old and – more often than not –
There’s a certain variation of comfortability in rookies who make the transition to the NBA. The Memphis Grizzlies have two from this past year’s draft: No. 2 overall pick Ja Morant and No. 21 Brandon Clarke. Both have been impactful, both have shown flashes of the potential — yet each impacts the game in different
There’s a certain variation of comfortability in rookies who make the transition to the NBA. The Memphis Grizzlies have two from this past year’s draft: No. 2 overall pick Ja Morant and No. 21 Brandon Clarke. Both have been impactful, both have shown flashes of the potential — yet each impacts the game in different
It is no secret that over the past several seasons Russell Westbrook’s offensive efficiency has been an issue. So far, during the current season in Houston, this trend has not changed. Westbrook’s field goal and three-point percentage have taken a hit again, falling to 42.5% and 23.3% respectively, while his free-throw percentage of 75.9% is
The holidays are a joyous time — but particularly so for NBA junkies. Christmas Day is one of the most highly-anticipated events for basketball fans everywhere. Not only do we get to see the best teams in the league face-off — but the best players in the league show themselves off on national television. Needless
Russell Westbrook’s inaugural season with Houston has gone well so far but last night he made the wrong kind of history. Russell Westbrook’s inaugural season with the Houston Rockets has been going about as well as anyone could have reasonably expected. Westbrook’s 21.9 points-per-game average is in line with his average from last year (22.9)
Jarrett Allen appears to have the Nets’ center position locked down for the foreseeable future. DeAndre Jordan is a more-than-capable backup. And yet, the Nets felt compelled to select a center this past June in the NBA Draft. Nicolas Claxton entered the NBA Draft process with a good amount of fanfare. He shot up draft
As of this writing, James Harden is averaging 38.4 points per game. Yes, 38.4. He’s within striking distance of 40 – a number that would put him in the most rarified of air, joining Wilt Chamberlain as the only other player in NBA history to accomplish this feat. Of course, Wilt averaged over 40 twice
Before the season, Basketball Insiders pinpointed five statistics that could be worth watching in the 2019-20 season. These statistics each helped tell the story of last season and could be vital in determining the standings of the current campaign. A month into the season, here’s an update on how those five statistics, and the impact
The injuries are beginning to mount and NBA teams up and down the standings are looking for fill-in production. Who is being asked to step up? If there is anything that has defined the early portion of the 2019-20 NBA season, it’s injuries. We began the year knowing Kevin Durant and Klay Thompson would likely
In the season’s early going, a familiar cast of characters has emerged in the race for Defensive Player of the Year. In a league increasingly reliant on versatility and the implementation of pace and space, though, some new candidates have emerged, as other, position-less defenders have a greater opportunity than ever to force their way
We are now officially one week into this NBA season and so far, so good. With the Hamptons Five disbanded, we believed that this was the most parity in the history of the NBA. The season may still be young, but this newfound competitiveness has definitely shown itself. We have some standouts, of course, and,
Danny Ainge is a gambler, only not in the typical sense. Yes, Ainge does, on occasion, deal with money. It’s just part of the job. But, more so than cash, Ainge is often one to gamble on players, whether they are his own or on some other roster. For better or worse, the Boston Celtics
The NBA is a star-driven league and, as always, it’s almost impossible to win without one. But as important as they are, you still need role players to fill the gaps in-between. To wit, you need an X-Factor, a player that can elevate his game either as a complement or when the stars are struggling.
We just saw James Harden and Russell Westbrook‘s first game together as Rockets teammates. What did we learn? Not that much, actually. Of all the major transactions made this offseason, none seemed to carry as much combined potential risk and reward as the Houston Rockets’ trade for Russell Westbrook. Harden and Westbrook are two of
Daryl Morey’s tweet heard ’round the world sparked international upheaval, spanning the issues of geopolitical diplomacy, censorship, human rights and, of course, basketball. Before delving into the controversy itself, here’s a brief background of the why and the what: Since June, protests have run rampant in Hong Kong, gradually becoming more violent over time. The
Not too long ago, the Southwest Division was filled to the brim with title contenders and certain playoff teams. Only the Houston Rockets remain in those major categories as turnover has left the rest of the division balancing contention with rebuilding. That has the clear byproduct of introducing a bevy of new players into contributing
“Twin Towers” used to be a term of endearment in the NBA. Back in the old days, if you had two dominant seven-footers in your frontcourt, that was considered to be an advantage on the court. Duos like Hakeem Olajuwon/Ralph Sampson and Tim Duncan/David Robinson put their teams on the map. It seems like forever
In the ultra-competitive Western Conference, multiple playoff bids may be determined by presently unexpected or unproven players. Every game matters, particularly as franchises begin counting up the wins and losses headed into the springtime. Superstars can carry a roster, but it’s the breakout that helps them rise above their ceilings. Whether it be through renewed
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