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# Hoops Analyst

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## Posts

- [Revisiting the 1972-73 Knicks](https://hoopsanalyst.com/revisiting-the-1972-73-knicks/) - As you probably heard, the Knicks are on the verge of their first title since 1972-73. That got me thinking about that last title team. While they are well-remembered for winning a second title for the Walt Frazier-Willis Reed core, most nostalgia focuses on the 1969-70 title and the epic Finals against the Lakers.
- [Revisiting Shawn Kemp for Vin Baker](https://hoopsanalyst.com/revisiting-shawn-kemp-for-vin-baker/) - By popular demand, we are going to do an examination of the October 1997 three-way trade where the Sonics sent their star power forward Shawn Kemp to Cleveland and received back Vin Baker (the Bucks, acting as an intermediary, received Terrell Brandon and Tyrone Hill from Cleveland). This trade portended imminent decline for both the
- [Revisiting Michael Jordan's 63-Point Game](https://hoopsanalyst.com/revisiting-michael-jordans-63-point-game/) - Hard as it is to believe, we are now at the 40th anniversary of the highest scoring playoff game in NBA history: Michael Jordan’s 63-point masterpiece against the Celtics. The story of the game is well known. Boston would prevail in double-overtime and Larry Bird famously remarked that the performance was “God disguised as Michael
- [NBA Playoffs 2025-26 Quick Thoughts](https://hoopsanalyst.com/nba-playoffs-2025-26-quick-thoughts/) - The playoffs are here again, and it’s time to examine some of the key questions that stand out—FAQ style…. Yes, the Oklahoma City Thunder are favorites, but are they prohibitive favorites? OKC lapped the field again, going 64–18 despite some key injuries and a general sense that they eased up after their amazing start. Their
- [Revisiting Wilt's Knee Injury Comeback](https://hoopsanalyst.com/revisiting-wilts-knee-injury-comeback/) - Last night, ten months after a catastrophic Achilles injury, Jayson Tatum made his amazing return to the court. He put up 15 points, 12 boards, and 7 assists in only 27 minutes. While it is premature to say Tatum is totally back to pre-injury form, early returns are quite encouraging. In our current argumentative culture,
- [Hoops Analyst Podcast 2: Talking ABA and Soul Power with Jason Levin](https://hoopsanalyst.com/hoops-analyst-podcast-2-talking-aba-and-soul-power-with-jason-levin/) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OqREEsoaQiA
- [The Allen Iverson 76ers FAQ](https://hoopsanalyst.com/the-allen-iverson-76ers-faq/) - It’s hard to believe but the 76ers’ last Finals appearance is going on its 25th anniversary. I thought this would be a good time to go back and do a moderate dive on the 2000-01 76ers, a gritty group built around Allen Iverson and a bunch of role players. If you don’t recall, the 76ers
- [The Trae Young Trade FAQ](https://hoopsanalyst.com/the-trae-young-trade-faq/) - Let’s explore a few thoughts on the Trae Young deal, FAQ style: Is this trade a big deal? Yes and no. Trae has been a charismatic star and the face of the Hawks franchise since 2018. On the other hand, the return (Corey Kispert and a 34-year-old CJ McCollum) shows that, objectively, this
- [On Billy Donovan and Playoff Futility](https://hoopsanalyst.com/on-billy-donovan-and-playoff-futility/) - After a nice start to the season, the Bulls have regressed back to the .500ish play-in team that they have been basically the entire decade so far. Coach Billy Donovan has overseen this entire run of mediocrity. For the past five years, the Bulls have made a single playoff appearance and won only one playoff
- [Q&A with Paul Knepper on his new book: Moses Malone, The Life of a Basketball Prophet](https://hoopsanalyst.com/qa-with-paul-knepper-on-his-new-book-moses-malone-the-life-of-a-basketball-prophet/) - For a change of pace, we did an in-depth via podcast instead of words. We had a great time getting into with the weeds with Paul Knepper about Moses Malone and his cool new book: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DuFBhAQ8i9g&t=16s
- [Breaking Down the Rozier & Billups Indictments](https://hoopsanalyst.com/breaking-down-the-rozier-billups-indictments/) - The recent arrests of Chauncey Billups, Terry Rozier, and Damon Jones have rocked the NBA. Commissioner Adam Silver said he “was deeply disturbed. There's nothing more important to the league and its fans than the integrity of the competition. And so I had a pit in my stomach. It was very upsetting.” How much does
- [The Kawhi Affair and Circumstantial Evidence](https://hoopsanalyst.com/the-kawhi-affair-and-circumstantial-evidence/) - As the Kawhi Leonard salary cap evasion situation continues to spiral out of control, I thought this would be an appropriate time to take a step back and address some of the issues that arise from this unique situation. What are the facts of the Kawhi Situation? It seems that we don’t know
- [NBA Finals 3-Point Shooting, A History](https://hoopsanalyst.com/nba-finals-3-point-shooting-a-history/) - We didn’t get an official prediction for this year’s Finals out publicly, but I was pretty much on board with the conventional wisdom that Oklahoma City was a prohibitive favorite over the Pacers. I expected OKC’s defense to match up well against Tyrese Haliburton and Pascal Siakam. I also expected that the Pacers’ lack of
- [Knicks-Pacers Quick Thoughts Plus Reggie Miller's 1995 Comeback](https://hoopsanalyst.com/knicks-pacers-quick-thoughts-plus-reggie-millers-1995-comeback/) - Well, these playoffs have been strange. I doubt many fans correctly forecasted that both Boston and Cleveland would be eliminated in the second round and that they would be easily beaten. Then, watching Indiana win two games in New York in the Eastern Conference Finals was also jarring. It appears that the Pacers are well
- [The Asterisk Spurs Revisited](https://hoopsanalyst.com/the-asterisk-spurs-revisited/) - This year's NBA Finals are close to ending and it looks like, for the first time since 1999, the Spurs will be the champs. Since this will be the Spurs second title it bears stepping back and comparing it to the first title. It's funny that fours years have passed, but it seems like the
- [NBA Playoff Quickthoughts](https://hoopsanalyst.com/nba-playoff-quickthoughts/) - Usually, we do a longform playoff preview replete with predictions and structured picks by series. This year we will try a different format because: (a) a normal preview is a little late and (b) the traditional format has gotten a little boring to me. Having said that, let’s review the playoffs, FAQ style to examine
- [A Closer Look At Taylor Jenkins' Firing: What Was Memphis Thinking?](https://hoopsanalyst.com/a-closer-look-at-taylor-jenkins-firing-what-was-memphis-thinking/) - I am as surprised as everyone else about the recent firing of Taylor Jenkins by Memphis. At the time of his firing, Jenkins had a robust 44-29 record but did have some recent struggles. He was replaced by his assistant Tuomas Iisalo, a first year NBA assistant (he coached in Europe from 2014 to 2025).
- [The Luka-AD Trade FAQ](https://hoopsanalyst.com/the-luka-ad-trade-faq/) - Needless to say, the shocking trade of Luka Doncic for Anthony Davis needs some examination. Here’s a quick review: Who won the trade? Well, my gut reaction is that the Lakers feel like decisive winners. AD Is a great player but he is six years older than Luka and Doncic’s shot creation skills are elite
- [Jimmy Butler v. Miami Heat FAQ](https://hoopsanalyst.com/jimmy-butler-v-miami-heat-faq/) - The Jimmy Butler-Miami Heat Feud has lingered long enough for us to finally weigh in on the issues as we see them. Let’s quickly sort out the issues as we see them, FAQ-style… A Review of Jimmy Butler, Master Negotiator Making any conclusions about how to allot blame, both legally and karma-wise, really starts with
- [Is The NBA Broken?](https://hoopsanalyst.com/is-the-nba-broken/) - Let’s get into the topic du jour…..ratings and the NBA. As has been pointed out widely, recent reports show that NBA television ratings are down 19-25%, which is a larger proportional dip then the general decline in television viewership. This trend has made the usual criticisms of the NBA more acute. While I usually don’t
- [Revisiting The Mavericks' Three Js (Kidd, Jackson & Mashburn)](https://hoopsanalyst.com/revisiting-the-mavericks-three-js-kidd-jackson-mashburn/) - In November 1994, roughly 30 years ago, the Mavericks debuted the famous “Three Js” lineup consisting of smooth scoring shooting guard Jimmy Jackson, shot happy small forward Jamal Mashburn, and exciting rookie point guard Jason Kidd. The trio with the flashy nickname and flashy games captured the imagination of fans before quickly flaming out due
- [A Closer Look At The Cavs Hot Start](https://hoopsanalyst.com/a-closer-look-at-the-cavs-hot-start/) - The biggest positive story of the new season is Cleveland’s 15-0 start, which puts the Cavs in pretty elite company. Much has been written about this great start but I thought we could take another look, FAQ style, and see if we can squeeze a few more interesting nuggets… How is Cleveland doing this? In
- [A Historical Look At NBA Pre-Season Odds](https://hoopsanalyst.com/a-historical-look-at-nba-pre-season-odds/) - With another season fast approaching, we are reminded that most teams enter the season with optimism about their chances to have a successful season, if not necessarily win a title. Sometimes the optimism comes from good planning and other times from pipe dreams. I was wondering what was the most objectively optimistic time for each
- [The DC/Petro/Kenny Nets](https://hoopsanalyst.com/the-dc-petro-kenny-nets/) - From time to time, we like to do deep dives on interesting teams of the past, like the Penny/Shaq Magic or the Barkley Rockets, that came close to the threshold only to fall apart. Today, we are going to look at a team that never really came close to winning but was always interesting to
- [Quick Thoughts: Transactions](https://hoopsanalyst.com/quick-thoughts-transactions/) - Now that the transactional stampede has slowed down, let’s pause to peek through some of what happened… Nets trade Mikal Bridges to the Knicks for picks and salary slots to be determined Nets trade the picks they own from the Suns to the Rockets for the remainder of the picks the Nets gave the Rockets
- [Ranking The 2023-24 Celtics](https://hoopsanalyst.com/ranking-the-2023-24-celtics/) - How historically great were the 2023-24 Celtics? It’s nearly impossible to compare teams from different eras on a head-to-head matchup basis because the rules and strategies have changed so much between generations. It is not an apples-to-apples comparison when one wonders how the 1995-96 Bulls would play if they were magically teleported to the 2024
- [NBA Finals Preview 2023-24: Can Anyone Stop Luka?](https://hoopsanalyst.com/nba-finals-preview-2023-24-can-anyone-stop-luka/) - At the beginning of the playoffs, Boston versus Dallas did not seem to be a likely Finals matchup but here we are. Well, the Boston side of the equation was pretty predictable but Dallas has been a pleasant surprise. Nevertheless, Dallas has shown itself to be a legitimate NBA finalist with Luka Doncic’s incredible shot
- [Playoff Quick Thoughts](https://hoopsanalyst.com/playoff-quick-thoughts-4/) - So far, the Conference Finals have had some rousing moments but, ultimately, we have two 3-0 series. Let’s quickly run through a few issues that have come up that interest me: The Doncic Shot Over Gobert: LukaDoncic’s step back three to win Game 2 was an incredible shot. The isolation play was set up by
- [LeBron, the Lakers and Playoff Sweeps Examined](https://hoopsanalyst.com/lebron-the-lakers-and-playoff-sweeps-examined/) - The Lakers are on the verge of being swept by the Nuggets for the second year in a row. Last year, there was talk that, despite the sweep, that the Lakers were competitive and in every game. For what it’s worth, this year, the Lakers have blown several big leads and are arguably just as
- [NBA Playoffs 2024: Quick Thoughts](https://hoopsanalyst.com/nba-playoffs-2024-quick-thoughts/) - It feels like old times! In olden days, the NBA was a little more predictable than it has been since Covid hit in 2020. For the first time since 2018, coming into the playoffs, the likely NBA Finals match up seems relatively clear. The Celtics have been so dominant that it would be a huge
- [MVP Voting and the 65-Game Rule Examined](https://hoopsanalyst.com/mvp-voting-and-the-65-game-rule-examined/) - The NBA’s new 65-game minimum to be eligible for awards has met mixed reviews. Adam Silver passed the rule to try to encourage meaningful participation in the regular season. During the All-Star break, Silver posited that the rule had been a success: “I can tell you that the number of games that players have participated
- [Sidney Moncrief's Forgotten Comeback](https://hoopsanalyst.com/sidney-moncriefs-forgotten-comeback/) - In the past, we’ve done deep dives on the comeback attempts of some Hall of Famers like Magic, Jordan, and Cousy. I recently was reminded of another comeback attempt by a Hall of Famer that I thought was worth an examination. The only difference is that this guy is more marginal a Hall of Famer
- [A Quick Look At Some Older Stars](https://hoopsanalyst.com/a-quick-look-at-some-older-stars/) - The main question going into the stretch run of the season is whether any team can beat the Celtics. We’ll come back to that question in a few weeks but, for now, I was interested in the durability of and performance of the old stars in the Western Conference. While they aren’t quite the top
- [Revisiting The Almost Trade of Worthy for Aguirre](https://hoopsanalyst.com/revisiting-the-almost-trade-of-worthy-for-aguirre/) - The 1986 Draft is best remembered for the tragic death of Len Bias, the 76ers’ execrable trades, and quite a few other historical ripples but I wanted to focus on one big deal that almost happened that day but ended up being aborted at the lats minute. The huge deal on the table was the
- [A Look at the Detroit Losing Streak](https://hoopsanalyst.com/a-look-at-the-detroit-losing-streak/) - Thankfully, the Pistons finally ended their excruciating 28-game losing streak Saturday night. Let’s step back and process this whole debacle, FAQ style… Is this the most embarrassing run of basketball in recent memory? I guess that’s not the real question. The real question is just how bad are the Pistons? Subjectively, I don’t think they
- [Calipari and the 1990s Nets](https://hoopsanalyst.com/calipari-and-the-1990s-nets/) - With Kentucky on the verge of going undefeated, the rumor mill is starting to heat up that John Calipari has nothing left to prove in college and that he wants another shot at the NBA. According to this report by Steve Popper of the Bergen Record, “[t]he NBA is the only place [Calipari’s] ever failed
- [Revisiting the "Super" 1988-89 Hawks](https://hoopsanalyst.com/revisiting-the-super-1988-89-hawks/) - Watching the Clippers cadre of older stars thrash about trying to squeeze out a title run in a crowded field brought me back to my quest to do deep dives of some older forgotten attempted super teams. A team that popped into my mind that gave me 2023-24 Clippers vibes was the 1988-89 Atlanta Hawks.
- [Quick Thoughts](https://hoopsanalyst.com/quick-thoughts-73/) - 1. The NBA Cup: I guess it’s time we weighed in on the concept of the in-season tournament to win the NBA Cup (and a large cash prize for winning teams). I had all but forgotten about this tourney until this week when the “Heist” NBA ads started. A refresher on the rules can be
- [NBA Preview 2023-24](https://hoopsanalyst.com/nba-2003-04-preview/) - Another season is upon us so it’s time to go on the record with some pre-season predictions. There is no prohibitive favorite but there is a big three: Boston, Milwaukee, and Denver and Phoenix is a close fourth (with a few other teams near the Suns). Let’s run through a few of the burning questions:
- [Revisiting The Barkley Rockets: Was He Worth It?](https://hoopsanalyst.com/revisiting-the-barkley-rockets-was-he-worth-it/) - As we are in the depths of the NBA off-season and waiting for a couple of big names to (maybe) be traded, I thought this would be a good time to review an old controversial big trade: The Rockets’ trade of Charles Barkley in the summer of 1996. Houston traded two key young players (Sam
- [The LJ/Zo Hornets FAQ](https://hoopsanalyst.com/the-lj-zo-hornets-faq/) - Today, I thought we’d look at another “almost” team of the 1990s, the Charlotte Hornets squads that were led by young stars Larry Johnson and Alonzo Mourning from 1992 to 1995. These Hornets were heralded as one of the young teams that might be Shaquille O’Neal-Penny Hardaway Orlando Magic’s main rival. Recently, NBA TV did
- [Leaving Portland: Dame v. Clyde](https://hoopsanalyst.com/leaving-portland-dame-v-clyde/) - The recent trade demand by Dame Lillard has definitely got me thinking about some of the ancillary issues raised by this kerfuffle. Dame was seemingly happy in Portland and signed a huge extension in June 2022, at which time, he professed his love for the town and the organization. After another disappointing season and Portland’s
- [Revisiting the Kidd-Marbury Trade](https://hoopsanalyst.com/revisiting-the-kidd-marbury-trade/) - Today, the Nets are at the center of the NBA universe. They are laden with megastars and the odds-on favorite to win an NBA title. As we are deep in the off-season, I thought it would be a good time to revisit the recent 20th anniversary of one of the Nets’ most famous trades: the
- [NBA Finals 2022-23 Wrap Up: Ranking Jokic](https://hoopsanalyst.com/nba-finals-2022-23-wrap-up-ranking-jokic/) - The Nuggets impressive post season run really cements Nikola Jokic in the conversation as an all-time great. Sure, Jokic was a Hall of Famer even before the 2022-23 season started but there is nothing like a title to get consensus from the guys in the back row. Let’s delve into a few details of the
- [NBA Finals Preview 2022-23](https://hoopsanalyst.com/nba-finals-preview-2022-23/) - Another year, another new Finals match up. The Nuggets against the Heat feels broadly like the 1998-99 Finals redux, where the top seeded Spurs, led by emerging star Tim Duncan played an eight seeded Knicks team that was clearly better than its low seed and featured Latrell Sprewell and Marcus Camby. In this case, the
- [Playoff Quick Thoughts](https://hoopsanalyst.com/playoff-quick-thoughts-3/) - So far, the playoffs have been as unpredictable as any, including the Bubble. We had a sense that the regular season results would be less predictive than usual but seeing Milwaukee get surprisingly dispatched relatively easily by an eight seed Heat team was surprising to say the least. Let’s run through some interesting questions from
- [NBA Playoffs Preview 2022-23](https://hoopsanalyst.com/nba-playoffs-preview-2022-23/) - Predictions were much easier to make when the Spurs, LeBron Miami, and then the peak Warriors ruled the roost. On the other hand, I love the wide-open Western Conference where four teams have very plausible cases to win the and a fifth (the Lakers) sort of as well. In the East, the 76ers and Celtics
- [The Kings and Offense-Only Playoff Teams](https://hoopsanalyst.com/the-kings-and-offense-only-playoff-teams/) - As we approach the NBA playoff season, the Western Conference is rich with uncertainty. I thought we could briefly focus on the particular case of the Sacramento Kings. They are pretty locked into the three seed and have none of the historical baggage of many of the other teams in the conference. Yet, there is
- [Wilt's 100-Point Game Revisited](https://hoopsanalyst.com/wilts-100-point-game-revisited/) - On March 2nd we passed the 61st anniversary of Wilt Chamberlain’s 100-point game against the Knicks. The 100-pointer has been a very well-covered event by plenty of books (notably “Tall Tales” by Terry Pluto and “Wilt” by Robert Cherry) and articles looking into most of its nooks and crannies. I thought we could dig a
- [End of KD/Kyrie Era FAQ](https://hoopsanalyst.com/end-of-kd-kyrie-era-faq/) - Well, I’ve put it off as long as I could but it’s time to touch on the end of the Kevin Durant/Kyrie Irving Era in Brooklyn. This is not exactly new territory and it seems that the consensus is that, while there is much blame to go around, the largest share lies with Kyrie and
- [A Closer Look at Load Management](https://hoopsanalyst.com/a-closer-look-at-load-management/) - Each year, NBA teams rest players more and more, particularly in road games, under the concept of load management. The teams have shown great reluctance to play their stars (and even some non-star players) despite the fact that the players have no apparent injuries. The most recent example comes from the Lakers, who will sit
- [The Warriors and Extreme Home/Road Splits](https://hoopsanalyst.com/the-warriors-and-extreme-home-road-splits/) - With a win in Cleveland yesterday, the Warriors “improved” to 6-18 on the road against an impressive 17-5 home record, which adds up to a .500 team. That got me wondering if the Warriors’ extreme splits were relatively. In theory, it is not exactly shocking to see a team play much better at home. It
- [PJ Tucker and Adventures in Low Usage](https://hoopsanalyst.com/pj-tucker-and-adventures-in-low-usage/) - 1. Adventures In Low Usage, PJ Tucker: Despite the high powered offensive era in which the NBA currently operates, PJ Tucker stubbornly refuses to shoot. Currently, Tucker has started all 31 games he has played and racked up 28.5 mpg, yet he is averaging only 3.1 shots per game, which yields a miniscule 6.5% usage
- [More On Kyrie (Sigh)](https://hoopsanalyst.com/more-on-kyrie-sigh/) - When I first heard about the latest Kyrie Irving controversy, I shrugged and basically ignored it. I’ve long been tired of Kyrie’s off-court baggage going back to his flat-Earth days and was hoping this most recent outburst would be given similar weight by the public and quickly dismissed. The NBA and the Nets were clearly
- [Udoka and One-and-Done Coaches](https://hoopsanalyst.com/udoka-and-one-and-done-coaches/) - It’s hard to really process the bizarre saga of Celtics coach Ime Udoka and his recent mysterious year-long suspension but let’s do the best we can with what is out there. We don’t have the full details but the generalities sound bad and it seems likely that Udoka will not return as coach once his
- [NBA 2022-23: Western Conference Preview](https://hoopsanalyst.com/nba-2022-23-western-conference-preview/) - We turn now to part 2 of our NBA preview, the Western Conference. I find the West even more difficult to predict than the East. Yes, the Warriors are good but it’s hard not to remember that they were shaky coming into the 2021-22 playoffs and they rely on some very veteran players. On top
- [NBA 2022-23: Eastern Conference Preview](https://hoopsanalyst.com/nba-2022-23-eastern-conference-preview/) - With each season of the 2020s, the NBA becomes more and more opaque. The 2021-22 Warriors were a very good team but were nowhere near as dominant as their prior iterations. But Golden State, like most of the good teams, has a decent argument that it can win the 2022-23 title. There are plenty of
- [Bismack Biyombo's Journey from Yemen to the NBA](https://hoopsanalyst.com/bismack-biyombos-journey-from-yemen-to-the-nba/) - In passing, I noticed that Phoenix’s Bismack Biyombo just turned 30 years old. This gave me a little reminder to revisit the legal saga between him and his former European agent Igor Crespo. In 2015, we did a deep dive on the lawsuit, which was filed in New York State in 2014. At the time,
- [Bill Russell v. Tom Heinsohn and the 1956-57 ROY](https://hoopsanalyst.com/bill-russell-v-tom-heinsohn-and-the-1956-57-roy/) - With the recent passing of the great Bill Russell, I was thinking about his beginning. Though he was an instant star, Russell did not win Rookie of the Year. Let’s do a moderate dive into how this happened and whether it should’ve happened. It’s clear that the Olympics robbed Russell of the ROY. Russell missed
- [The KD/Kyrie Drama Examined](https://hoopsanalyst.com/the-kd-kyrie-drama-examined/) - Have you ever had one of those dreams where your goal is to complete a task and, each time you get close, some weird happenstance prevents the completion? This dream is the Kevin Durant-Kyrie Irving Nets in a nutshell. They were a KD toe away from a possible title last year and now both stars
- [2021-22 NBA Finals Preview](https://hoopsanalyst.com/2021-22-nba-finals-preview/) - Celtics/Warriors is a particularly interesting matchup for the NBA Finals on many levels. Let’s breakdown some of the facts that caught my attention…. Ancient History Between Celtics and Warriors It has little relevance to the current squads but the Celtics and the old Warriors had quite an interesting rivalry while Wilt Chamberlain was with the
- [Miami/Boston and ECF Game 7s](https://hoopsanalyst.com/miami-boston-and-ecf-game-7s/) - 1. We’ve Got a Game 7!: While these payoffs have had some fun moments, we haven’t really had any epic series. The two Game 7s we have had (Boston/Milwaukee and Dallas/Phoenix) were blow outs. I’m moderately hopeful that tonight’s Boston/Miami Game 7 could get us the epic Game 7 we all want a la Milwaukee/Brooklyn
- [Barnes/Mobley And The Closest ROY Votes Since 2002-03](https://hoopsanalyst.com/barnes-mobley-and-the-closest-roy-votes-since-2002-03/) - Today, Scottie Barnes won the Rookie of the Year over Evan Mobley in the closest vote in over 20 years. According to the NBA, Barnes received 378 voting points and Mobley got 363 (the current voting format gives 5 points for a first place vote, 3 points for a second place vote, and 1 point
- [Should We Tweak the Play-In?](https://hoopsanalyst.com/should-we-tweak-the-play-in-games/) - Is the play-in game bad for the NBA? Not too many people have directly said that it is. In fact, Draymond Green called the concept “lit.” The result of the Western Conference play-in, however, reveals a potential issue. The 36-46 Pelicans made the playoffs over the 42-40 Clippers, when New Orleans was helped a bit
- [Why Isn’t T-Hard In The Hall?](https://hoopsanalyst.com/why-isnt-t-hard-in-the-hall/) - Recently, Tim Hardaway gave an interview to HoopsHype where he asserted that he hasn’t been voted into the Hall of Fame for non-basketball reasons: “the reason I'm not in is because of what I said in 2007 about gay people. That's why I'm not in right now, and I understand it. I hurt a lot
- [Examining the 50-Point Explosions](https://hoopsanalyst.com/examining-the-50-point-explosions/) - March 2022 has featured eight 50-point games so far. According to NBA.com, this month has had the most 50-point games since there were nine in December 1962 (six by Wilt Chamberlain and three by Elgin Baylor). In the early 1960s, with the fast pace and the existence of Wilt, 50-point games were quite commonplace. But
- [Linsanity Revisited](https://hoopsanalyst.com/linsanity-revisited/) - Roughly ten years ago, on February 4, 2012, Jeremy Lin came off the bench to lead the Knicks to win against the New Jersey Nets. Lin, who had not previously played more than six minutes one time all year, had 25 points and 7 assists in 36 minutes. This spurred a 25-game run where Lin
- [Andrew Wiggins, All-Star?](https://hoopsanalyst.com/andrew-wiggins-all-star/) - So, Andrew Wiggins was voted an All-Star by the fans. This vote raised some eyebrows because Wiggins’ All-Star status is pretty debatable. Let’s do a moderate dive into how crazy this choice is. Here are two facts that we should consider before really expressing an opinion: (a) the All-Star game is fan driven and if
- [Revisiting the Westhead Nuggets](https://hoopsanalyst.com/revisiting-the-westhead-nuggets/) - Recently, the internet celebrated the 32nd anniversary of Scott Skiles record 30-assist game for the Orlando Magic. How did Skiles, a very average point guard, end up having a better passing game than greats like Magic or Stockton? That leads us to a more interesting discussion of Skiles’ opponent on December 30, 1990, the 1990-91
- [The Penny Shaq FAQ](https://hoopsanalyst.com/the-penny-shaq-faq/) - About five years ago, ESPN did a fun documentary called “This Magic Moment” about the mid-1990s Orlando Magic, led by Penny Hardaway and Shaquille O’Neal. I didn’t really catch this doc at the time but saw it in rerun over the holiday season. The documentary examines how Orlando almost ruled the NBA and poses the
- [Quick Thoughts](https://hoopsanalyst.com/quick-thoughts-72/) - The primary story of this NBA season is how Covid has crippled so many rosters and cancelled games. The lack of available players has made it tough to figure out how reliable team stats are (particularly SRS). Nevertheless, let’s go through some of the interesting stats so far and see what we can learn: James
- [Revisiting Bob Cousy's Crazy Comeback](https://hoopsanalyst.com/revisiting-bob-cousys-crazy-comeback/) - NBA comebacks capture our imagination. The hope that a retired star can return and somehow turn back time is quite appealing to the nostalgia in all of us. We all remember Michael Jordan’s triumphant Second Coming in 1995 as the quintessential successful comeback. We also remember MJ’s Third Coming or Magic Johnson’s return as more
- [Golden State's Hot Start Examined](https://hoopsanalyst.com/golden-states-hot-start-examined/) - In 2013-14, the Warriors were a solid 12th in offense and 4th in defense. Entering the 2014-15 season, the Warriors looked like a fun playoff team with second round upside behind developing youngsters Steph Curry and Klay Thompson. The odds makers had them set for 52.5 wins in 2014-15 but did not consider them a
- [The Red Auerbach FAQ](https://hoopsanalyst.com/the-red-auerbach-faq/) - When Red Auerbach passed away a week ago, it marked the loss of one of the true giants of the NBA. Most people know the story of Auerbach, the man who had the major hand in creating three Celtic dynasties and was a dominant personality in the NBA up until the day he died. Much
- [GM Report: Jeff Bower](https://hoopsanalyst.com/gm-report-jeff-bower-2/) - Overview Generally when we evaluate GMs, there is a concrete body of work to evaluate. In the case of Jeff Bower, there is really only the 2005-06 season to review. A review of Bower's rise to GM, does reveal how one might rise up the ladder to an executive position on an NBA team. Bower
- [Revisiting the Pearl Monroe Trade](https://hoopsanalyst.com/revisiting-the-pearl-monroe-trade/) - On November 10, 1971, the Knicks acquired legendary guard Earl Monroe from the Baltimore Bullets for Mike Riordan, Dave Stallworth, and an undisclosed amount of cash. The trade is celebrated as helping the Knicks to two straight Finals (and one title) and countless books and documentaries. As we approach the 50th anniversary of the deal,
- [On NBA Undefeated Starts](https://hoopsanalyst.com/on-nba-undefeated-starts/) - What’s a good start worth in an NBA season? It’s obviously better to win than to lose but you can’t help but wonder how real some good starts are. We have no undefeated teams after six games but the Wizards are 5-1 and have looked pretty good. They are not a team that projected to
- [Is Lenny a Loser?](https://hoopsanalyst.com/is-lenny-a-loser/) - Last night, Lenny Wilkens became the losingest coach of all time in the NBA. The game which Wilkens lost, a blowout by the Spurs, was fitting for the accomplishment. He passed Bill Fitch with 1,107th loss. Of course, Wilkens is also the all time winningest coach too. Opinions have ranged about how good Wilkens is
- [A Quick Look at Peak SF Advanced Stats](https://hoopsanalyst.com/a-quick-look-at-peak-sf-advanced-stats/) - A few days ago, we did a tweet thread on the career advanced stats for the SFs who made the top 75 and those that likely narrowly missed. I had a couple of requests for how these players rated at peak. So, I took the 3 best consecutive years for each of the players. I
- [NBA Title Teams and Opening Night](https://hoopsanalyst.com/nba-title-teams-and-opening-night/) - On opening night, the two presumptive favorites, Brooklyn and the Lakers, started the season with resounding thuds. The Nets were easily handled by that Bucks, before bouncing back with a nice win in Philly. The Lakers, on the other hand, were beaten by Golden State and then were steamrolled by Phoenix to start out 0-2.
- [2021-22 NBA Preview: Reviewing the Title Contenders](https://hoopsanalyst.com/2021-22-nba-preview-reviewing-the-title-contenders/) - Well, that was a quick off-season. With so much going on, it feels like we didn’t have to miss the NBA for very long. The season officially starts on October 18 and it feels like early 2020-21 again. The Nets and Lakers are the early bettor favorites, with Sportsbettingdime.com, giving Brooklyn the edge at +200
- [Re-Tracing Yinka](https://hoopsanalyst.com/re-tracing-yinka/) - I was surprised to read this weekend that former Net and former lottery pick bust, Yinka Dare died of a heart attack at age 32. The heart attack was apparently due to an arrhythmia that Dare developed in college. I'm one of the few people who can say that I, as a Nets fan, saw
- [The NBA's Vaccine Quandaries](https://hoopsanalyst.com/the-nbas-vaccine-quandaries/) - The big NBA news of the last few days has mostly related to whether/where Ben Simmons will be traded. Another story that has been lurking in the background is how the NBA and the NBPA will deal with issue of COVID and vaccines and what the NBA would do with players who refuse to be
- [Breaking Down The Ben Simmons Drama](https://hoopsanalyst.com/breaking-down-the-ben-simmons-drama/) - With training camp a few weeks away, the only persistent newsworthy story is Ben Simmons' demand to be traded and his threat to holdout if he isn’t traded. While this story has been well-covered, I thought we could break it down FAQ style and see if we can break any new ground or, at the
- [Examining Noel v. Klutch](https://hoopsanalyst.com/examining-noel-v-klutch/) - The most interesting NBA story of the week was business related. Actually, it was a court filing. Nerlens Noel sued his former agents Rich Paul and Klutch Sports Group, LLC, accusing them of bungling the negotiation of Noel’s contracts over the last few years and costing Noel millions ($58 million actually). In short, Noel was
- [Nellie Revisited](https://hoopsanalyst.com/nellie-revisited/) - It's only been about two months since Don Nelson stepped down as Maverick coach and retired. At the time, I had wanted to go through his long and interesting career. The hassles of everyday life prevented me from really going through Nellie's career at the time but I have regrouped am ready to go. It
- [The Ewing FAQ](https://hoopsanalyst.com/the-ewing-faq/) - On Friday, the Knicks will deservedly raise the jersey of Patrick Ewing to the Garden's rafters. Ewing has been a lighting rod for criticism and praise over the years and a somewhat controversial figure in New York. It is a good time to review Patrick's career and see what we come up with. So let's
- [How Did We Get Here?  A Review of 1990s NBA Free Agency](https://hoopsanalyst.com/how-did-we-get-here-a-review-of-1990s-nba-free-agency/) - In about one week, NBA free agency will be upon us. We are already being deluged with rumors, innuendo, and recruiting anecdotes. This year, there are some huge names on the block, notably Kevin Durant, Kawhi Leonard, Kyrie Irving, and Jimmy Butler. We are hearing stories about Irving buying a home in New Jersey (where
- [Quick Thoughts Russ/Duarte Edition](https://hoopsanalyst.com/quick-thoughts-russ-duarte-edition/) - 1. Westbrook Traded Again: The biggest trade of draft day was the Lakers flipping Kyle Kuzma, Montrezl Harrell, Kentavious Caldwelll-Pope, their 22nd pick (who ended up being Isaiah Jackson, who was, in turn, traded to the Pacers for Aaron Holiday) for Russell Westbrook (and two future second-rounders). My initial reaction was to wonder how a
- [Revisiting Pippen's Bad Days](https://hoopsanalyst.com/revisiting-pippens-bad-days/) - Thanks to Scottie Pippen’s recent statements, we now to get to revisit the 1990s yet again. Pippen, who apparently has a book and some other stuff to promo, told Dan Patrick and GQ that Phil Jackson’s decision to choose Toni Kukoc to take the final shot of Game 3 against the Knicks in the 1994
- [NBA Finals Preview: Suns v. Bucks](https://hoopsanalyst.com/nba-finals-preview-suns-v-bucks/) - The 2020-21 NBA playoffs have been a battle of attrition. Getting a Bucks/Suns Finals would’ve been considered a reasonable prediction outcome at the start of the playoffs. How we actually got here was not anticipated. Milwaukee dodged a few bullets against the Nets due to some untimely injuries (but, yes, Milwaukee played well when it
- [Rick Carlisle: Can You Go Home Again?](https://hoopsanalyst.com/rick-carlisle-can-you-go-home-again/) - The Pacers recent hiring of Rick Carlisle as coach fascinates me. By all accounts, he’s a pretty good coach and, divorced of any backstory, his hiring by the Pacers is totally rational. He’s a seasoned professional on a team that has struggled to get the most out of relatively solid talent. What interests me is
- [Game 7 Preview: Nets/Bucks](https://hoopsanalyst.com/game-7-preview-nets-bucks/) - Is it possible that the most anticipated game of this playoff season will be played in the Second Round? It’s not a foregone conclusion but there is a good chance that tonight’s Bucks/Nets Game 7 will be the NBA champ. This Game 7 will be, perhaps, the most consequential game of the playoffs. At the
- [Revisiting the Seikaly/Utah Fiasco](https://hoopsanalyst.com/revisiting-the-seikaly-utah-fiasco/) - I was recently thinking about the complaints that some fans (and writers) have that NBA players are wielding too much power in choosing a path to their preferred team and/or making super teams. With the possibility that Damian Lillard may force his way elsewhere, the drumbeat has gotten louder. In fact, Charles Barkley has gone
- [Playoff Quick Thoughts (West Edition)](https://hoopsanalyst.com/playoff-quick-thoughts-west-edition/) - Let’s continue with Part 2 of our First Round review, the Western Conference (Part 1 can be found here)…. -Jazz v. Grizzlies: The Grizzlies have hung tough but are down 2-1, despite shocking the Jazz by beating top seeded Utah in the first game. That got me wondering how often a top NBA seed has
- [Playoff Quick Thoughts (East Edition)](https://hoopsanalyst.com/playoff-quick-thought-east-edition/) - We missed a formal playoff preview this year so, instead, let’s jump into some quick thoughts for each playoff series and do our usual feature about the last time each team met in the playoffs. Today, we will do the East today and the West shortly after…. -76ers v. Wizards: As anticipated, the 76ers handled
- [2020-21 MVP Picks](https://hoopsanalyst.com/2020-21-mvp-picks/) - Who is the 2020-21 NBA MVP? Usually, there is not much controversy and the best player seems apparent to most fans/voters. Specifically, the MVP is usually the best player on the best team. That’s the nice thing about the NBA, the best players historically are on the best teams. There were times when strong narratives
- [Expansion Drafts Revisited](https://hoopsanalyst.com/expansion-drafts-revisited/) - With Charlotte Bobcat's expansion draft coming in the near future, it's a fair to pose the question: what is the expansion draft worth in the larger scheme of things? Well, it does not really seem to be too much. The expansion team is seeking warm bodies and/or unproven players with theoretical upside. In a perfect
- [SI's 1996-97 Fearless Predictions Revisited](https://hoopsanalyst.com/sis-1996-97-fearless-predictions-revisited/) - In March 2020, while we were just starting this long pandemic, I resolved to do more deep dives on NBA history stuff. The first result was an article revisiting Sports Illustrated’s Hank Hersch “10 Fearless Predictions” for the 1995-96 NBA season. The goal wasn’t to critique the predictions. Really, the goal was to capture that
- [Are the Knicks for Real?](https://hoopsanalyst.com/are-the-knicks-for-real/) - With a relatively easy victory over the Raptors yesterday, the Knicks have now won nine straight and sit tenuously in the fourth seed at 34-27. Naturally, New York is aflutter over the Knicks playing meaningful games in April and generally appearing to be a competent organization. Let’s look at the Knicks and how real this
- [Too Many 3-Pointers?](https://hoopsanalyst.com/too-many-3-pointers/) - At the end of today’s Celtics-Nuggets game, Boston Globe columnist Bob Ryan tweeted “Celtics and Nuggets a combined 15-for-67 on threes today. Yeah, that three-point shot is a great idea. It really enhances the game. By the way, Nuggets score 8 points in the fourth quarter. I don’t have a punch line.” Ryan’s disgust triggered
- [Revisiting the Manning-Nique Trade](https://hoopsanalyst.com/revisiting-the-manning-nique-trade/) - The trade deadline has come again and this year’s relatively mild events had me thinking back to, perhaps, the biggest late season trade when the Atlanta Hawks traded franchise icon Dominique Wilkins to the Clippers for Danny Manning in February 1994. Even 27 years later, it still seems odd that this deal happened. Let’s take
- [Can LaMelo Win ROY?](https://hoopsanalyst.com/can-lamelo-win-roy/) - LaMelo Ball’s recent wrist injury likely ends his season with 41 games played. He has been the best rookie this season but does his abbreviated season disqualify him from contention? Well, that really depends on how good the competition is. In this particular case, most of the other rookies who have played have had dubious
- [Revisiting DJ for Robey: How Did It Happen?](https://hoopsanalyst.com/revisiting-dj-for-robey-how-did-it-happen/) - Nearly 38 years ago, the Celtics made one of the great trades in the history of the franchise when they got Dennis Johnson a strong starting point guard from Phoenix for Rick Robey, who was a solid backup center, but nothing more. Boston would go on to make the next four NBA Finals, winning two,
- [The Most Random All-Stars: Dana Barros and Tyrone Hill](https://hoopsanalyst.com/the-most-random-all-stars-dana-barros-and-tyrone-hill/) - The 1995 All-Star game led to two of the oddest picks, in retrospect, in All-Star history, Dana Barros and Tyrone Hill. Barros was a 27-year old 5’11 three-point specialist. Hill was a generic starting power forward. How did two average(ish) role player become All-Stars and did they have any argument to make the team? The
- [Chris Finch, David Vanterpool and NBA Coach Hiring Trends](https://hoopsanalyst.com/chris-finch-david-vanterpool-and-nba-coach-hiring-trends/) - When Minnesota fired Ryan Saunders last week, they immediately hired Chris Finch, an assistant coach with the Raptors. The move caused some controversy because the T-Wolves passed over Saunders’ associate head coach David Vanterpool, who is Black, for Finch, who is white. Several players expressed disappointment that Vanterpool wasn’t even considered for the job. Marc
- [NBA 2020-21 Awards So Far](https://hoopsanalyst.com/nba-2020-21-awards-so-far/) - As we approach the halfway point of the season, I thought this would be good time to do awards picks for the season that has been so far. Granted a lot could change but let’s jump in and take a look: MVP: Before the season, LeBron James, Kawhi Leonard, and Giannis Antetokounmpo were the safe
- [Quick Thoughts](https://hoopsanalyst.com/quick-thoughts-71/) - 1. All-Star Game A Mistake?: It looks like we will have an NBA All-Star game this year even though the pandemic has made things more complicated. Even in the best of the times, the All-Star game was of dubious utility to more hardcore fans. We have written repeatedly about our ambivalence towards the All-Star game,
- [The Shove Heard Around the World: Fortson v. Colangelo](https://hoopsanalyst.com/the-shove-hear-around-the-world-fortson-v-colangelo/) - Last week, we looked at Butch Carter’s weird defamation lawsuit against Marcus Camby. Well, it ain’t the only weird NBA defamation lawsuit! Today, we’ll look at the litigious aftermath of a hard foul a few years later. On November 26, 2003, the Mavericks lost to the Suns in a blowout, 121-90. With about three minutes
- [A Lookback at Butch Carter v. Marcus Camby](https://hoopsanalyst.com/a-lookback-at-butch-carter-v-marcus-camby/) - The First Amendment has been getting a work out recently. The number of high profile defamation suits seems larger than ever. All these lawsuits took my mind to the NBA and defamation. Specifically, the lawsuit I remember that came one fateful day in late April 2000, when the Knicks were about to play the Raptors
- [Breaking Down the Harden Deal](https://hoopsanalyst.com/breaking-down-the-harden-deal/) - How do you wrap your head around this recent James Harden trade? This epically large trade was as follows: Nets get: James Harden from Rockets, 2024 second-round pick from Cavs Rockets get: Caris Levert, Rodions Kurucs, three first-round picks (2022, 2024, and 2026) from Nets, and four options to swap first round-pick with the Nets;
- [The Webber/Nelson Feud Revisited](https://hoopsanalyst.com/the-webber-nelson-feud-revisited/) - James Harden’s recent unhappiness in Houston is likely taking them to the point where they will have to trade their megastar under duress. This isn’t the first time a big star has held a franchise hostage and forced a trade that would likely get a below market return. The situation gives me a little déjà
- [NBA Preview 2020-21: A Quick Review](https://hoopsanalyst.com/nba-preview-2020-21-a-quick-review/) - Well, that was fast! Part of me is not ready for more basketball but, let’s be honest, having no break from watching NBA games is preferable to watching reruns and various other available entertainment fare. The NBA looks mostly similar to the league we were left with a few months ago. Since the new season
- [LaMelo and Bad Rookie Debuts](https://hoopsanalyst.com/lamelo-and-bad-rookie-debuts/) - One of the happenings from the first week of the NBA season was the execrable debut of LaMelo Ball (0-5 from the field and no points). The NBA web is in a tizzy about Ball noting that he “looked lost” and, ergo, he is possibly a pending bust. That sounds pretty rash but Ball’s goose
- [Q&A With Pete Croatto on From Hang Time to Prime Time, David Stern, the Wild 1980s, and More](https://hoopsanalyst.com/qa-with-pete-croatto-on-from-hang-time-to-prime-time-david-stern-the-wild-1980s-and-more/) - On December 1, 2020, Pete Croatto released, “From Hang Time to Prime Time: Business, Entertainment, and the Birth of the Modern-Day NBA.” The book is a fascinating behind the scene looks about how the NBA went from a business teetering on the brink of bankruptcy in 1970s to a billion-dollar industry that dominates entertainment. Pete
- [Swapping Toxic Contracts: Russ for Wall](https://hoopsanalyst.com/swapping-toxic-contracts-russ-for-wall/) - Three years ago, trading John Wall for Russell Westbrook would be a fantastically interesting challenge trade. Now it feels like….well not quite so fantastic but still a challenge trade of a sort. Let’s break it down by bullet points: -Their contracts are virtually the same (three years and $133 million left). Both players have $47+
- [Revisiting Philly's Roy Hinson/Brad Daugherty Trade](https://hoopsanalyst.com/revisiting-phillys-roy-hinson-brad-daugherty-trade/) - What do you do when you are a GM and are underwhelmed by the options for the top pick? For an object lesson on what not to do, let’s turn back time to the 1986 draft and talk about the dilemma faced by the 76ers. This draft is best remembered for the tragic death of
- [A Closer Look at the 1990s Knicks](https://hoopsanalyst.com/a-closer-look-at-the-1990s-knicks/) - I’ve been reading Paul Knepper’s great new book on the 1990s Knicks. Paul was kind enough to give us a an extensive interview a few months ago and we examined the compelling story lines. Reading his book got me to wondering about looking back at some of the details of that run. How do the
- [Playoff Droughts: A Review](https://hoopsanalyst.com/playoff-droughts-a-review/) - It’s odd to say in November but we are actually in the depths of the sorta off-season for the NBA. In reviewing off-season priorities, I noticed that the Suns currently have a ten-year playoff drought. That blew my mind because: (a) ten years is a long time for any team to miss the playoffs and
- [Revisiting Magic's Comeback](https://hoopsanalyst.com/revisiting-magics-comeback/) - I’ve been reading Jeff Pearlman’s great new book “Three Ring Circus,” which examines the Kobe-Shaq Era in Los Angeles from 1996-2004. The book is fascinating in its subject but also touches on the pre-Kobe-Shaq times. There is a short prologue on the 1995-96 Lakers, who were a decent team that happened to feature the return
- [Rick Pitino and the Knicks:  A Portrait in Dysfunction](https://hoopsanalyst.com/rick-pitino-and-the-knicks-a-portrait-in-disfunction/) - The scandal in Louisville related to a pay-to-play scheme looks like it could finally end Rick Pitino's long and diverse career. Wherever he has gone, Pitino’s successes have been trumpeted and his failings (personally and professionally) have been equally spectacular. Rather than review Pitino’s whole career, we thought it would be interesting revisit his time
- [LBJ v. MJ: The GOAT Debate](https://hoopsanalyst.com/lbj-v-mj-the-goat-debate/) - I wanted to wait a little bit before writing about the NBA Finals but I couldn’t avoid the obvious question that has already been written about ad nauseam: Is LeBron the GOAT now? I hate this question primarily because debates about who the greatest player of all-time is are both subjective and depend on how
- [Q&A with Wilt Author Robert Cherry](https://hoopsanalyst.com/qa-with-wilt-author-robert-cherry/) - Since 2005, when we interviewed Robert Cherry, the author of “Wilt: Larger Than Life,” he has published two books. “Cherry Delight” is a memoir of his family and while, as he points out, neither of his parents ever led the NBA in points or rebounds, they are still worth writing and reading about. The other
- [NBA Finals 2019-2020 Preview](https://hoopsanalyst.com/nba-finals-2019-2020-preview/) - Bubble Ball really is different. The Miami Heat, a pretty solid team, has thoroughly dispatched two teams, who seemed much better on paper. Can they do it again? The honest answer is I don’t see it but I didn’t see them smacking around the Bucks, so what do I know? Generally, Vegas agrees with this
- [Q&A With Jeff Pearlman on Three-Ring Circus, Kobe, Shaq, and More](https://hoopsanalyst.com/qa-with-jeff-pearlman-on-three-ring-circus-kobe-shaq-and-more/) - On September 22, 2020, Jeff Pearlman released “Thee-Ring Circus: Kobe, Shaq, Phil and the Crazy Years of the Lakers Dynasty.” Jeff is a prolific sports writer who has written books on the 1986 Mets, Walter Payton, the 1990s Cowboys, Brett Favre, Barry Bonds, and Roger Clemens. On the basketball side, he wrote the well-received “Showtime”
- [Eastern Conference Finals Preview: Celtics/Heat](https://hoopsanalyst.com/eastern-conference-finals-preview-celtics-heat/) - In the season that has lasted forever, we are finally to the Eastern Conference Finals. Oddly, the teams playing are the three seed (Boston) and the five seed (Miami). As an initial note, it looks like Boston is the slight favorite, even though the Heat is 8-1 in the playoffs, and convincingly beaten the best
- [Steve Nash and Newbie Coaches](https://hoopsanalyst.com/steve-nash-and-newbie-coaches/) - How do we assess the Steve Nash hire in Brooklyn? Nash was a great and smart player but he has no direct coaching experience. By Nash’s own admission, he jumped the line due to his great playing career. Is that fair? There are a couple issues to unwrap here. Let’s delve into a few of
- [Q&A With Paul Knepper, Author of "The Knicks of the Nineties"](https://hoopsanalyst.com/qa-with-paul-knepper-author-of-the-knicks-of-the-nineties/) - In October 2020, Paul Knepper is releasing his first book, The Knicks of the Nineties, a comprehensive look at the characters and stories that made a great era of New York hoops. Paul did exhaustive research of old articles and interviewed scores of the people who were there, to revisit some of the crazy moments
- [Playoff Quick Thoughts](https://hoopsanalyst.com/playoff-quick-thoughts-2/) - 1. The Boycott: Before getting into the substance of the NBA playoffs so far, we would be remiss if we didn’t comment on the NBA players’ decision to sit out a few games in protest of the shooting of Jacob Blake. It’s hard to really coherently write about this issue in brief but here are
- [Playoff Quick Thoughts](https://hoopsanalyst.com/playoff-quick-thoughts/) - We made it through the seeding round and now we have actual playoffs! The playoffs, like everything else in the Bubble, will feel slightly unsatisfying but still much, much better than nothing. The playoff predictions we made pre-Bubble (Bucks over Clippers) still hold in my mind. Instead of running through the predictions again, thought we
- [Q&A: Robert Cherry on Wilt](https://hoopsanalyst.com/qa-robert-cherry-on-wilt/) - Robert Cherry is a writer, journalist, and businessman whose work has appeared in The Arizona Republic, The New York Times, and The Jerusalem Post. After selling his food manufacturing business, Robert published his first book which is a about Wilt Chamberlain, a fellow Philadelphian, and one of the compelling figures of the 20th Century. Robert's
- [Re-Visiting The Nets Sale of Dr. J and Their Tiny Replacement](https://hoopsanalyst.com/re-visiting-the-nets-sale-of-dr-j-and-their-tiny-replacement/) - A few weeks ago, we did a review of the best small forwards of the last 40 years. In this review, we concluded that Julius Erving, by NBA stats alone, was even better than I remembered (most of my direct memories of Dr. J related to his later career, when he was still very good
- [NBA 2019-20 Playoff Preview (For Real!)](https://hoopsanalyst.com/nba-2019-20-playoff-preview-for-real/) - Well, the 2019-20 NBA playoffs are finally upon us! Let’s run through a quick preview/FAQ of what’s going on…. How should we feel about this? It’s hard to quantify exactly. It feels….different. How to explain? The best analogy I could come up with relates to serialization in comic books. I was never a huge comic
- [HOF Review: Pacific Division](https://hoopsanalyst.com/hof-review-pacific-division/) - One day soon there will be actual live basketball games but for now we have reached the final leg of our Hall of Fame franchise review, the Pacific Division. As a reminder, our HOF review seeks to find each franchise’s most likely active and retired player to make the Hall. If you want more details
- [HOF Review: Northwest Division](https://hoopsanalyst.com/hof-review-northwest-division/) - Next stop on our Hall of Fame franchise review is the Northwest Division. As a reminder, our HOF review seeks to find each franchise’s most likely active and retired player to make the Hall. If you want more details on what that means, check the following links: Ground Rules Atlantic Division Central Division Southeast Division
- [HOF Review: Southwest Division](https://hoopsanalyst.com/hof-review-southwest-division/) - On this lovely long holiday weekend, our Hall of Fame franchise review finally heads west for the fourth segment, the Southwest Division. Catching up new readers, the HOF review seeks to find each franchise’s most likely active and retired player to make the Hall. If you want more details on what that means, check the
- [HOF Review: Southeast Division](https://hoopsanalyst.com/hof-review-southeast-division/) - Let’s turn to part three of our franchise review of likely and potential Hall of Famers, the Southeast Division. For review, you find the ground rules here. Our reviews of the Atlantic and Central Division are also available on those links. Atlanta Hawks -Most likely HOFer, active players: The Hawks have a few nice active
- [HOF Review: Central Division](https://hoopsanalyst.com/hof-review-central-division/) - Today is part two of our franchise review of likely and potential Hall of Famers. Part 1, the Atlantic Division, (and our rules of review) can be found here. Today, we move on to the Central Division…. Chicago Bulls -Most likely HOFer, active players: Doesn’t seem that the Bulls’ current roster has anyone HOF worthy.
- [HOF Review: Atlantic Division](https://hoopsanalyst.com/hof-review-atlantic-division/) - Over time, I have become less enthused about the concept of choosing Hall of Famers. The exercise of trying to perfectly quantify the order of entry into the Hall of Fame of outsiders seemed somewhat futile. The tipping point to me was Dennis Johnson. I thought his qualifications were borderline and expressed that position. Shortly
- [Should the NBA Finish This Season?](https://hoopsanalyst.com/should-the-nba-finish-this-season/) - I thought we could briefly review the current issues that are being bandied about regarding whether the NBA season should restart. Before offering any opinion, let’s get the facts down: -The NBA season is currently supposed to start in Orlando on or about July 30th. -The teams will all be confined to a “bubble” in
- [Q&A With Ben Joravsky on Krause, MJ, and The Last Dance](https://hoopsanalyst.com/qa-with-ben-joravsky-on-krause-mj-and-the-last-dance/) - Since 1981, Ben Joravsky has been writing about Chicago politics primarily for the Chicago Reader. In addition to his long history on the political beat, Ben is a huge Chicago sports fan and his favorite team is the Bulls. Ben’s love of hoops allows him to get off politics for a bit and write about
- [Wrapping Up MJ's Last Dance](https://hoopsanalyst.com/wrapping-up-mjs-last-dance/) - Have we discussed Michael Jordan enough? Subjectively, it certainly feels like a resounding “yes.” So far, we’ve dug into a bunch of MJ issues over the years: -Sam Bowie v. MJ -The colorful, but bad, early MJ Bulls -The MJ and Isiah Feud -Doug Collins’ firing -Craig Hodges’ attempts to get MJ to be more
- [Bill Russell's Dynasty Review](https://hoopsanalyst.com/bill-russells-dynasty-review/) - With all this talk of Michael Jordan’s Bulls and their amazing dynasty, I started thinking about the NBA’s original and most prolific dynasty, the Bill Russell Celtics. Russell’s teams won 11 titles in 13 years, which is basically an unmatchable run today. The primary reason that the record won’t be touched is because the playoffs
- [Revisiting MJ v. Isiah and The Walk-Off](https://hoopsanalyst.com/revisiting-mj-v-isiah-and-the-walk-off/) - As our global purgatory continues, Michael Jordan’s “Last Dance” documentary has masterfully dredged up old stories that we can reconsider. As we previously noted, much of what has been covered is already well-known by older fans but is new to the younger generation. One of the new stories is Jordan’s 30+ year rivalry with Isiah
- [MJ and the Pre-Pippen Bulls](https://hoopsanalyst.com/mj-and-the-pre-pippen-bulls/) - With no new basketball to watch, the new ESPN documentary “The Last Dance” has brought a lot of attention, again, on the Michael Jordan Bulls. The documentary is ostensibly about the 1997-98 Bulls and Michael Jordan’s final title run that ended with an amazing shot over Bryon Russell and a clutch strip of Karl Malone
- [Magic's First Game: A Snap Shot of the NBA Circa 1979](https://hoopsanalyst.com/magics-first-game-a-snap-shot-of-the-nba-circa-1979/) - In order to make the best of life without NBA games, NBA TV and other networks have been showing a ton of older games. Most of them are well-remembered (i.e., Isiah Thomas’ scoring rampage on a sprained ankle in 1988, a bunch of Laker-Celtics Finals games from the 1980s, or Michael Jordan games). Those games
- [Jordan v. Stackhouse in DC: Who Was Better?](https://hoopsanalyst.com/jordan-v-stackhouse-in-dc-who-was-better/) - Without regular basketball to watch, the rest of the NBA world gets to the backwards looking that is usually reserved for sites like this one. A fascinating issue was dredged up recently by Jerry Stackhouse, who told Adrian Wojnarowski’s Woj Pod, that Stack resented his time playing with Michael Jordan on the 2002-03 Wizards. The
- [2019-20 NBA Award Picks](https://hoopsanalyst.com/2019-20-nba-award-picks/) - The wind of excitement for the 2019-20 season is clearly waning. It’s fair to assume that the regular season is over and we are left to guess if there ever will be playoffs in some form. Let’s take a pause now go over our award picks. Without further ado, here we are: MVP: This one
- [Would Anyone Have Beaten Jordan In 1993-94?](https://hoopsanalyst.com/would-anyone-have-beated-jordan-in-1993-94/) - With indefinite malaise upon us, we turn back in time again and ask a hypothetical question: Would anyone have beaten the 1993-94 Bulls if Michael Jordan had not retired? As a brief recap, the Bulls had two separate three-peats, from 1990-91 to 1992-93 and, again, from 1995-96 to 1997-98. In each case, the Bulls were not
- [Larry Brown Wanders Again](https://hoopsanalyst.com/1982/) - It seemed like he was ready to leave the moment he got there, but Larry Brown actually lasted six years in Philadelphia. Larry Brown has become one of those walking paradoxes. He is an all-time great coach yet he never stays in one place long enough to see it to fruition (championship). He has also
- [Revisiting SI's 1995-96 Fearless NBA Predictions](https://hoopsanalyst.com/1976/) - Having time off from everything give us time to mess around with random things that pique our interest. Digging deeper into old NBA stories fits that bill. With the NBA season in hiatus, I thought we could re-examine some old seasons/issues and try to have some fun that way. Today, I randomly ran across an
- [Real Life Intrudes on NBA](https://hoopsanalyst.com/real-life-intrudes-on-nba/) - It’s hard to really process all the problems the U.S., and the world, are suffering and may continue to suffer for the foreseeable future due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Life will eventually return to normal but when that happens is anyone’s guess. Through this lens, thinking about the future of the NBA seems as trivial
- [Charles Oakley v. James Dolan:  A Closer Look At Mutual Destruction](https://hoopsanalyst.com/charles-oakley-v-james-dolan-a-closer-look-at-mutual-destruction/) - This week a federal judge dismissed a civil action filed by Charles Oakley against James Dolan and the Knicks. This caught my attention because I didn’t know Oakley had filed a lawsuit against them. I did recall Oak getting thrown out of a Knicks game for nebulous reasons a few years ago. Now, with the
- [All-Star Game Quick Thoughts](https://hoopsanalyst.com/all-star-game-quick-thoughts/) - 1. All-Star Game Stat Trend Update: Adam Silver’s attempts to tweak the All-Star Weekend make sense. The game is beyond stale and this point. It is harder and harder to care about this showcase when the effort on defense does not meet the basic baseline of caring. Two years ago, we reviewed the All-Star stats
- [The Kobe FAQ](https://hoopsanalyst.com/the-kobe-faq/) - It’s hard to fully process the terrible circumstances surrounding Kobe Bryant’s death last week. Yes, there are other tragedies in the world that are worthy of note (as well as eight other people, including young children who died with Kobe) but this was horrid on many levels. Rather than dwell on this terrible part of
- [Quick Thoughts](https://hoopsanalyst.com/quick-thoughts-70/) - 1. The Worst of the Last 20: As 2020 is upon us, there has been a lot written about the moments and teams of the last decade. Some of this is quite interesting but when I step back, I’m more interested in the larger picture. We are now 20% of the way through this 21st
- [Quick Thoughts (Melo's Return Edition)](https://hoopsanalyst.com/quick-thoughts-melos-return-edition/) - 1. Melo, Requiem for a Chucker?: One of the bigger stories of the last few weeks was the return of Carmelo Anthony to the NBA. Melo’s ending with the Rockets last season was tough. He played poorly (as did the team) during his stint and he was put on hiatus by the team by early
- [Quick Thoughts](https://hoopsanalyst.com/quick-thoughts-69/) - 1. Mid-Season Tourney?: In an effort to boost fan interest, Adam Silver has floated the idea of a mid-season elimination tournament, NCAA style, where all the NBA teams would be eligible and the winner could get cash bonuses ($1 million for each player on the winner) and an extra draft pick for the team that
- [Quick Thoughts (So Far)](https://hoopsanalyst.com/quick-thoughts-so-far/) - With most teams having not played more than nine or ten games played so far, it is way too early to make many meaningful conclusions away. Having said that, premature judgments are what the internet exists for. So, let’s knock around some snap judgments…. Best Surprise: Phoenix Suns The Suns are clearly the biggest positive
- [The China/NBA FAQ](https://hoopsanalyst.com/the-chinanba-faq/) - The NBA’s kerfuffle with China has been all the talk of the pre-season. I was frankly hoping it would blow over and we could focus on the game, but the fact is that the issue is quite significant and bears a moment of our time. Most coverage of the issue involves whether the NBA has
- [NBA Preview 2019-20](https://hoopsanalyst.com/nba-preview-2019-20/) - The beauty of the current NBA season is the uncertainty. When was the last time, going into an NBA season, there have been legitimate questions about who the prohibitive favorite truly is? The Warriors have ruled the roost for several years. The Spurs and Lakers were previously perennial title contenders for nearly 15 years. Before
- [Revisiting Shaq's 1999-00 MVP Voting](https://hoopsanalyst.com/revisiting-shaqs-1999-00-mvp-voting/) - Apparently, even uber-successful stars are just like the rest of us. They are frustrated by the “what if” moments of life and focus on the regrets. To that end, on Monday, Shaquille O’Neal told an interviewer that he still detests the only NBA reporter who didn’t vote for Shaq as MVP for the 1999-00 season.
- [Revisting Kobe & Shaq:  How Many More Titles Should There Have Been?](https://hoopsanalyst.com/revisting-kobe-shaq-how-many-more-titles-should-there-have-been/) - In the depths of the NBA off-season, fans and former players turn their thoughts to the what-ifs. Specifically, last week, Kobe Bryant, speaking off-the-cuff at a convention in Las Vegas, expressed admiration for Shaquille O’Neal’s ability (“[t]his guy was a force like I have never seen”) but regretted that Shaq didn’t always work as hard
- [Post-Finals FAQ](https://hoopsanalyst.com/post-finals-faq/) - The Finals are over and we are left with all sorts of questions/issues. Let’s run through all relevant news… Should the Warriors have played Kevin Durant? With all due respect to the Raptors, KD is the first question on everyone’s mind. There was a much discourse about what Durant owed the Warriors and whether he
- [NBA Finals Preview 2018-19: Raps for Warriors](https://hoopsanalyst.com/nba-finals-preview-2018-19-raps-for-warriors/) - Another year, another Golden State Warriors NBA Finals and the question, as always, is can the Warriors lose? Well, of course, they can lose, as they did in 2015-16, based upon an epic effort from LeBron James and Kyrie Irving, coupled with some bad times suspensions and injuries. But the probabilities and possibilities change each
- [Tyreke Evans and Lifetime Suspensions in the NBA](https://hoopsanalyst.com/tyreke-evans-and-lifetime-suspensions-in-the-nba/) - Tyreke Evans has recently been suspended for two years for violating the NBA’s drug policy for use of a non-performance enhancement substance. The perception of drug use of NBA players has changed quite a bit over the users. It was a huge issue in the 1970s and 1980s when many articles speculated that hard drug
- [First Round Fallout Western Conference Edition](https://hoopsanalyst.com/first-round-fallout-western-conference-edition/) - We continue with part two of our fall out column…. -Utah Jazz: The spanking by the Rockets obscured a pretty good season. The Jazz were arguably the third or fourth best team in the West but had the bad luck of drawing Houston earlier than expected due to Houston’s early slump. So, the Utah season
- [First Round Fallout Eastern Conference Edition](https://hoopsanalyst.com/first-round-fallout-eastern-conference-edition/) - As the first round of the playoffs winds down, we turn to our annual fall out report for the losers. Since half of the West is still playing, today, we’ll start with the East: -Indiana Pacers: Before the Victor Oladipo injury, the Pacers were a legit threat to the top teams in the East. Certainly
- [2018-19 NBA Playoffs: Predictions](https://hoopsanalyst.com/2018-19-nba-playoffs-predictions/) - Another Golden State-centric playoffs is upon us and the major question is the same: can anyone beat GS? This has been the question every year since 2015-16 and, with the exception of a Draymond Green groin kick, the answer has been no. Some odds makers certainly seem to think there is not much chance. But how
- [NCAA Tourney NBA Style](https://hoopsanalyst.com/ncaa-tourney-nba-style-2/) - In the honor of the start of the NCAA tourney, we thought we could take a brief look at the All-Time starting five for each of the 68 tourney teams, ranked by their NBA career accomplishments. A few prleims: -We know it is sort of antithetical to rank by NBA career when college accomplishment can
- [NCAA Tourney NBA Style](https://hoopsanalyst.com/ncaa-tourney-nba-style/) - In the honor of the start of the NCAA tourney, we thought we could take a brief look at the All-Time starting five for each of the 68 tourney teams, ranked by their NBA career accomplishments. A few prleims: -We know it is sort of antithetical to rank by NBA career when college accomplishment can
- [Who to Blame in LA?](https://hoopsanalyst.com/who-to-blame-in-la/) - The Lakers struggles down the stretch have created the perception of crushing disappointment in Los Angeles. Like every other NBA follower, I wanted to quickly throw in my two cents as who is to blame/not blame. Let’s examine the issues FAQ style! -How disappointed should the Lakers be to miss the playoffs? Let’s start with
- [MVP Droughts](https://hoopsanalyst.com/mvp-droughts/) - I was just watching a feature regarding how Giannis Antetokounmpo has a very real chance of breaking the Bucks’ MVP drought. Milwaukee hasn’t had an MVP since Kareem Abdul-Jabbar won the award back in 1973-74. As great a year as Giannis has had, it’ll be tough to overcome James Harden’s prolific scoring output. But this
- [Transactions: Deadline Deals](https://hoopsanalyst.com/transactions-deadline-deals/) - Some years, the trade deadline ends with a whimper and other years, it is super exciting. This year, we didn’t quite get super exciting but it was definitely moderately interesting. Here’s a breakdown of the some of the interesting deals… In a three-team trade, Bucks obtain Nikola Mirotic, Pistons get Thon Maker, and Pelicans get
- [Transactions:  The Porzingis Trade](https://hoopsanalyst.com/transactions-the-porzingis-trade/) - Knicks trade Kristaps Porzingis, Trey Burke, Courtney Lee, and Tim Hardaway Jr. to Mavericks for Dennis Smith Jr., Wesley Matthews, DeAndre Jordan, and a first-round pick [update: two first-round picks, 2021 and 2023]. Well this came out of nowhere. To date, the Knicks’ plan was to stink and get a good pick in the 2019
- [Looking Back At The Marques Johnson Trade](https://hoopsanalyst.com/looking-back-at-the-marques-johnson-trade/) - On the heels of our deep dive into retired numbers, the Bucks announced they would retire Marques Johnson’s numbers. My initial reaction was that Johnson was a great player but I wasn’t sure he was good enough or beloved enough in Milwaukee to get the honor. I vaguely recalled that his departure from the Bucks
- [On Retired Numbers](https://hoopsanalyst.com/on-retired-numbers/) - Recently, the 76ers finally retired Moses Malone’s number and OKC retired uber-role player Nick Collison’s number. This reminded of a study I did back in 2004, when the Spurs retired Sean Elliott’s jersey. At the time, I was struck by the decision. Elliott was a pretty good player but not a top tier star that
- [Quick Thoughts](https://hoopsanalyst.com/quick-thoughts-68/) - 1. Thibs Canned: Today, the Wolves did the unexpected and fired Tim Thibodeau as coach and GM. The Wolves have not been great so far (18-21, 11th in the West) but they haven’t been much worse than reasonable expectations, which pegged them as a lower seeded playoff team. According to Adrian Wonjarowski of ESPN, the
- [Quick Thoughts](https://hoopsanalyst.com/quick-thoughts-67/) - 1. GS Struggles: The Warriors are still the top seed in the West but, after several blowout losses at home and a relatively blah SRS (4.02 which is only third in the conference), there are signs of problems. The Warriors are still the top offense in the NBA but the clearest team problem is defense.
- [Detroit and Denver, 186-184 (a quick look back)](https://hoopsanalyst.com/detroit-and-denver-186-184-a-quick-look-back/) - On December 13, 1983, the Nuggets and Pistons played the highest scoring game ever, a 186-184 triple-overtime affair. I thought we could run through a few fast facts about the game: -Conditions were quite set for a high scoring game. The Pistons had much of the core of the Bad Boy defensive stalwarts of the
- [Enes Kanter and Turkey's Best](https://hoopsanalyst.com/enes-kanter-and-turkeys-best/) - This week, Enes Kanter, in response to being omitted from a list of Turkish NBA players, declared that he is the best Turkish basketball player ever. Mehmet Okur quickly took the time to tweet disapproval, saying that “this is just funny,” with an laughing emoji, meant to indicate that Memo was clearly better than Kanter.
- [Quick Thoughts](https://hoopsanalyst.com/quic/) - 1. Whither Melo?: Carmelo Anthony’s quick exile from Houston has put his future career in limbo and raised questions about his future and his past. Recently, Kirk Goldsberry wrote a thoughtful piece for ESPN that made the point that Melo’s strengths, creating mid-range shots one-on-one and posting up, are obsolete in today’s NBA that emphasizes
- [Trae Young and Three-Point Futility](https://hoopsanalyst.com/trae-young-and-three-point-futility/) - Time to check in on Trae Young, the player who was considered a Stephen Curry clone last year in college. So far, as a rookie, Young has looked like he has some uses as a playmaker in the NBA. At age 20, he has been a nice passer but the shooting has been bad. Young
- [Transactions:  The Jimmy Butler Trade](https://hoopsanalyst.com/transactions-the-jimmy-butler-trade/) - Timberwolves trade Jimmy Butler and Justin Patton to 76ers for Robert Covington, Dario Saris, Jerryd Bayless, and a 2020 second-round pick The craptastic stare down between Minnesota and Butler is finally over and it leaves all sorts of lingering questions for us to consider. Let’s run down the issues…. -Was this trade good for Minnesota?
- [On Hot Starts](https://hoopsanalyst.com/on-hot-starts/) - I chose to skip the conventional NBA preview because there is not a ton to say about the outcome of the 2018-19 season. The Warriors are prohibitive favorites and there is no apparent rival on equal footing at this point. This is not to say that such a rival might not emerge or that the
- [Udonis and Franchise Lifers](https://hoopsanalyst.com/udonis-and-franchise-lifers/) - A few weeks ago, Udonis Haslem accepted a relatively modest one-year deal to return to the Heat for his 16th (and presumably final) NBA season. Haslem represents a rarity—an NBA player who has played his entire long career for a single franchise. U told ESPN that his longevity and exclusively Miami Heat-based career has significant
- [The Mitch Richmond FAQ](https://hoopsanalyst.com/the-mitch-richmond-faq/) - During the 1990s, Mitch Richmond was one of my favorite players. He was a big strong two-guard who could hit the three or overpower guards in the post. I hadn’t thought much about Richmond the last few years but he has been thrust into the spotlight again because of nostalgia about his Run TMC days
- [The Run TMC FAQ](https://hoopsanalyst.com/the-run-tmc-faq/) - In the late 1980s and early 1990s, the Golden State Warriors attempted to compete with a fun, high scoring, perimeter-oriented team, affectionately nicknamed Run TMC, a pun on the popular old rap group Run DMC. In this case the, “TMC” represented T(im Hardaway), M(itch Richmond), and C(hris Mullin). Hardaway, Richmond, and Mullin all scored over
- [Transactions, Free Agency 2018 Edition](https://hoopsanalyst.com/transactions-free-agency-2018-edition/) - Most of the big moves are done for NBA Summer 2018, so let’s take stock at the most interesting ones so far… Golden State Warriors Sign DeMarcus Cousins Certainly DMC can really help the Warriors if he’s healthy but this is not the seminal moment where the NBA needs to declare Golden State in violation
- [The COY Curse?](https://hoopsanalyst.com/the-coy-curse/) - In 2013, Nuggets coach George Karl won Coach of the Year and responded as follows: “Coach of the year? I’m not sure I want that legacy. Have you seen what happens to guys who win coach of the year?” Karl was let go by the Nuggets less than a month later. Five years later, Dwayne
- [NBA Finals Quick Thoughts](https://hoopsanalyst.com/nba-finals-quick-thoughts-3/) - 1. This Again?: Against all odds, we have Warriors and Cavs for a fourth straight year. Somehow, the Cavs have been able eke their way back to another Finals because the: (a) the Raptors somehow fell apart, (b) the rest of the East isn’t that good, and (c) LeBron James is an otherworldy talent. From
- [Playoff Thoughts](https://hoopsanalyst.com/playoff-thoughts-21/) - The Eastern Conference Finals are in high gear. Let’s take a look at what we can expect going forward in the East… 1. Celtics-Cavs: It’s seems clear where this series is headed, a seventh game. Alas, the seventh game is not likely to be that climactic. The home team has won each game handily (by
- [Brent Brown and Franchise Patience](https://hoopsanalyst.com/brent-brown-and-franchise-patience/) - Brent Brown’s recent success in Philadelphia is, in some ways, a vindication of “The Process.” The more unique aspect of Philly’s rebuilding plan is the patience it had with Brown, who was able to survive four straight seasons of under-.500 non-playoff seasons. The 76ers were rational enough to figure that Brown’s coaching ability could not
- [NBA Playoff Predictions 2017-18](https://hoopsanalyst.com/nba-playoff-predicitions-2017-18/) - For the first time in several years, the odds do not favor a Warriors-Cavs Finals. In fact, the odds probably don’t even favor either team making the NBA Finals. The Rockets appear to be a better (and healthier) team than Golden State, which has limped through this last month. In the East, the familiar axiom
- [Andre Ingram and the Oldest NBA Rookies](https://hoopsanalyst.com/andre-ingram-and-the-oldest-nba-rookies/) - To round out the season, the Lakers have just signed 32-year old rookie Andre Ingram. Ingram hardly fits the profile of a future NBA player. He has played in the NBDL/D-League/G-League since 2007-08 and never scored more than 13.0 ppg in that role. He is a great shooter (.464% from three in his G-League career
- [Year End Award Predictions](https://hoopsanalyst.com/year-end-award-predictions/) - As the season winds down, let’s dive into the obligatory year end awards predictions. Last year, there was some debate over which incredible season between Russell Westbrook and James Harden merited MVP. This year, it seems clearer that Harden is in the lead on all fronts. Nevertheless, let’s look into the numbers and give our
- [Revisting LaRue](https://hoopsanalyst.com/revisting-larue/) - The incredible run by Loyola University of Chicago in the NCAA tournament this year made me wonder about the school's history with NBA players it has produced over the years. In fact, Loyola has rarely produced NBA players, even by the standards of a mid-major school. Currently, Milton Doyle is having a cup of coffee with the
- [Studying the Mega Blowouts](https://hoopsanalyst.com/studying-the-mega-blowouts/) - Thursday night, the Hornets drubbed the Grizzlies by 61 points. This marked the sixth time in the NBA history that there has been a margin of greater than 60 points (and the first time since 1997-98). While one wouldn’t expect any NBA team to lose by 60, if you had to pick a likely candidate
- [The End of Craig Hodges' Career](https://hoopsanalyst.com/the-end-of-craig-hodges-career/) - In the last year, Craig Hodges, former NBA guard, wrote an engaging book his NBA career in the 1980s and early 1990s called “Long Shot,” describing his attempts to build a career and how his social activism may have ended career early. I caught an excerpt of Long Shot and Hodges set a picture where
- [No Block Party, All-Star Defense Decline](https://hoopsanalyst.com/no-block-party-all-star-defense-decline/) - The All-Star game is back and, despite all the attempts by the NBA to make it fun, I still could care less. The staggering lack of defense on display the last few years, even by the low standard we have historically been used to in the game, makes it look more like a bunch of
- [Trade Deadline Round Up](https://hoopsanalyst.com/trade-deadline-round-up/) - Well that was a more interesting and frenetic trade deadline than expected. Here’s our quick take on the more significant deals: Magic trade Elfrid Payton to the Suns for a 2018 second-round pick The Magic have had a rough season and, after four years, they clearly wanted no part of the tough decision as to
- [The Blake Trade](https://hoopsanalyst.com/the-blake-trade/) - The Clippers bit the big bullet and traded Blake Griffin only a few months after signing him to a five-year $171 million(ish) extension. What can we glean from this trade? Quite a bit. Let’s run through FAQ style: How good is Blake Griffin right now? The return for Griffin (a top four protected first round
- [No D in the Land](https://hoopsanalyst.com/no-d-in-the-land/) - The Cavs’ very dry spell the last few weeks has caused all sorts of drama internally and externally. Was letting Kyrie Irving go for Isaiah Thomas hurting the team? Cleveland reportedly had a heated meeting where Kevin Love was considered the primary culprit for the losing because he did not play through illness and left
- [Kyrie v. Isaiah](https://hoopsanalyst.com/kyrie-v-isaiah/) - Much has happened since the Isaiah Thomas-Kyrie Irving trade but finally we are going to actually see Thomas back in action. This is a nice time to briefly take stock of how Irving has done as a Celtic compared to Thomas. Irving’s Cleveland stats weren’t quite up to snuff with Isaiah’s as a Celtic. Well
- [CP3333333333333333......](https://hoopsanalyst.com/cp3s-is-now-cp3333333333333333/) - Before the season, we were of the opinion that Chris Paul would help the Rockets but we were skepitcal whether he was a perfect fit. James Harden is so ball dominant that it didn’t see another player of the same ilk could also thrive with him. Rather, we thought that Paul would decline a bit
- [A Farewell to Barnes](https://hoopsanalyst.com/a-farewell-to-barnes/) - This week, Matt Barnes officially announced his retirement from the NBA. Barnes’ retirement announcement was his typical defiant self: “Love me or HATE ME, I DID IT MY WAY!" Barnes wasn’t really a good enough player to merit our usual FAQ treatment but his career was unique enough to at least take the time to
- [Mirotic-Portis and NBA Teammate Fights](https://hoopsanalyst.com/mirotic-portis-and-nba-teammate-fights/) - The Chicago Bulls were projected to have a tough season on the court. Right before the season, though, things got tougher. During an intense practice, Niko Mirotic and Bobby Portis got into a heated altercation and Portis broke Mirotic’s jaw with a punch. According to Peter Vecsey, Mirotic and Portis were talking trash in practice
- [NBA Preview 2017-18](https://hoopsanalyst.com/nba-preview-2017-18/) - We are a day late but let’s talk NBA preview…The primary story angle has been that the season doesn’t matter and that we likely are headed for a fourth straight series between the Warriors and Cavs in the Finals. And that was before the most likely rival to the Cavs in the East lost one
- [The Hawk FAQ](https://hoopsanalyst.com/the-hawk-faq/) - Last week, the NBA lost another legend in Connie Hawkins. Hawk’s story is well-chronicled but bittersweet. In a nut shell, Hawkins was a New York playground legend who was very loosely implicated in a point shaving scandal. Despite no hard evidence against him, Hawkins was expelled from Iowa (he was a freshman at the time)
- [Mahmoud's Protest Revisited](https://hoopsanalyst.com/mahmouds-protest-revisited/) - This week, the big story in sports is the refusal of 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick to stand for the pregame national anthem in protest of racial inequality. Kaerpenick’s explained that “I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color. To
- [Transactions:  The Melo Deal](https://hoopsanalyst.com/transactions-the-melo-deal/) - Knicks trade Carmelo Anthony to the Thunder for Enes Kanter, Doug McDermott, and a 2018 second round pick What to make of the Carmelo trade? In assessing the Carmelo Anthony trade, it’s hard to separate the return from how the Knicks handled Anthony to begin with. Phil Jackson did his best to alienate and criticize
- [The T-Mac FAQ](https://hoopsanalyst.com/the-t-mac-faq/) - Four years ago, Tracy McGrady officially retired from the NBA. A bunch of articles were written reviewing his NBA career and some of his highlights. To begin with, the story of T-Mac seems pretty straightforward and was well-covered the last few months: -High school-to-NBA guy -He scored a ton of points for Orlando -He couldn’t
- [Kyrie for Isaiah, who won?](https://hoopsanalyst.com/kyrie-for-isaiah-who-won/) - Well, that was quick. The Cavs did not let Kyrie Irving’s trade request linger and the return was fairly significant. Let’s run down the trade… Cavs trade Kyrie Irving to Celtics for Isaiah Thomas, Jae Crowder, Ante Zizic, and the Nets’ first round pick in 2018 From the Cavs’ perspective, trading Kyrie meant likely choosing
- [Rodman and The Spurs](https://hoopsanalyst.com/rodman-and-the-spurs/) - With the NBA in mostly dormant status, now is a good time to look back at some old NBA stories with some new perspective. Thanks to Dennis Rodman, we have a perfect old story to review. Last week, Rodman stated in an interview that he was dealt from the Spurs in 1995 because Gregg Popovich, who was
- [The Kyrie Affair](https://hoopsanalyst.com/the-kyrie-affair/) - The drama in Cleveland has dominated the summer downtime in the NBA. Kyrie Irving is apparently unhappy playing with LeBron James and wants to be traded. The situation is serious enough that Irving is reportedly refusing to speak with anyone associated with the Cavs. The Kyrie situation has been well covered but we would be
- [Rudy Gay and the Spurs' Adventures in the Former Star Market](https://hoopsanalyst.com/rudy-gay-and-the-spurs-adventures-in-the-former-star-market/) - Recently, the Spurs signed Rudy Gay to add yet another former star as a bench player. The Spurs thinking is pretty simple…The former star wants a shot at a title and is willing to give up shots and minutes for that chance. This deal happens a lot and results may vary. Famously, the 1985-86 Celtics
- [Gary Payton's Place](https://hoopsanalyst.com/gary-paytons-place/) - Last Friday, Gary Payton returned to Seattle. Payton is in a pretty good place right now, as the point guard for the best team in the NBA. Still, there still seems to be some bad blood between Payton and management. Last week Frank Hughes wrote a column on ESPN.com that called for Seattle to retire
- [GM Report: Phil Jackson](https://hoopsanalyst.com/gm-report-phil-jackson/) - What lesson is there to take from Phil Jackson’s tenure in the Knicks front office? There are quite few that one could draw. Certainly, Jackson’s irascible nature didn’t help him. Nor did prioritizing the triangle offense over all else. Let’s dive in and do a review of Jackson’ time in New York and break it
- [Chris Paul & James Harden:  Peanut Butter & Jelly or Peanut Butter & Pepperoni?](https://hoopsanalyst.com/chris-paul-james-harden-peanut-butter-jelly-or-peanut-butter-pepperoni/) - It wasn’t surprising that Chris Paul decided to move on from the Clippers but the Rockets are not an intuitive fit for him. Paul is great but he seems somewhat redundant to the Rockets. Houston was already second in the NBA in offense and James Harden was the de facto point guard. And Harden was
- [Transactions:  Post-NBA Finals/Pre-Draft Edition](https://hoopsanalyst.com/transactions-post-nba-finalspre-draft-edition/) - There has a been whirlwind of NBA news since the NBA Finals, so let’s catch up with a transactions/quickthoughts segment. 1. Draft Preview: Our good buddy Ed Weiland will not be presenting his usual excellent draft preview. We are happy to announce that Ed has been hired by the pros this year and wish him
- [NBA Finals Fall Out](https://hoopsanalyst.com/nba-finals-fall-out/) - With the end of the NBA Finals, we are left with a bunch of questions, some of which are legitimately interesting and others that are a bit prosaic. Let’s plow ahead and answer all these questions as best we can: Did the Cavs disappoint in the Finals? Objectively, each of the last three Finals had
- [NBA Finals Quick Thoughts](https://hoopsanalyst.com/nba-finals-quick-thoughts-2/) - Before the NBA Finals, the consensus was that the Warriors were heavy favorites and that they would dispatch the Cavs in this rematch. After two games, all evidence seems to confirm this consensus. It would be silly to count out that Cavs fully. Just to refresh recollections, here’s how the teams looked after two games
- [NBA Finals Preview 2016-17](https://hoopsanalyst.com/nba-finals-preview-2016-17/) - Here we are again…Cleveland against Golden State. Last year, we took a look at trends found from other consecutive Finals rematches. We found that, outside of the 1960s Celtics, a rematch usually meant that the previous year’s loser got even. Well, what about three in a row? Making three Finals in a row is not
- [Worst Conference Finals Ever?](https://hoopsanalyst.com/worst-conference-finals-ever/) - Boy has this been a boring playoffs so far. There have been a few moderately memorable moments. Even worse, the Conference Finals might have been the worst ever in terms of competitiveness. How bad were they? Well, since 1983-84 (when the playoffs were expanded to 16 teams), there have been only two times when the
- [First Round Fall Out, Part 2](https://hoopsanalyst.com/first-round-fall-out-part-2-2/) - Fresh off part one of our review of the fallen first round teams, here is part two: 1. Atlanta Hawks: Hard to believe but the Hawks have now made the playoffs ten years in a row. Over that time, Atlanta has done a great job of shifting from a Joe Johnson/Josh Smith team to a
- [First Round Fall Out, Part 1](https://hoopsanalyst.com/first-round-fall-out-part-1/) - It’s time for our annual review of the fallen…so far three teams have been knocked out of the playoffs. Let’s take a look at each and see where the go from here: 1. Portland Trailblazers: The general perception of the Blazers is that they have really fallen from their solid playoff run of 2015-16. But
- [Picking the MVP](https://hoopsanalyst.com/picking-the-mvp/) - Who is the 2016-17 NBA MVP? The question is more interesting than in most seasons. There are many different assessments for “value” and, usually, they lead to the same place. Let’s take a look at the basic theories of MVP and see where each of leads us. Who is the best player on the best
- [An Early Look At The Incoming Draft Class](https://hoopsanalyst.com/an-early-look-at-the-incoming-draft-class/) - A few pieces still need to fall into place before we can completely preview the 2017 NBA Draft. We won’t know which teams are picking in which spots until the lottery is held on May 16th, and the race for top picks is a bit of a mess. We also won’t know for sure which
- [NBA and Rest:  Is There Science Behind It?](https://hoopsanalyst.com/nba-and-rest-is-there-science-behind-it/) - The question of resting stars is now boiling in the NBA. We touched on the issue last week and concluded that NBA teams' duty to keep players fresh hasn’t always been properly balanced with their need to keeps fans and networks entertained. Shortly thereafter, Adam Silver passed out a memo to the teams warning that
- [On Resting Stars and Television Concerns](https://hoopsanalyst.com/on-resting-stars-and-television-concerns/) - The new normal in the NBA is to give stars copious amounts of rest, even if that means the stars don't play every game. Teams have made sure their stars do not play too many nights in a row and, as a consequence, stars are rested even for marquee national television games. The latest example
- [NBA Icons as GMs and Magic Johnson](https://hoopsanalyst.com/nba-icons-as-gms-and-magic-johnson/) - For Lakers fans, there seems to be a palpable sense of excitement connected to the hiring of Magic Johnson as team president. Having a franchise icon help run the show certainly sounds good on paper. Many are quick to point out that being a great player does not mean one will be a good coach
- [Down With the Kings?  Trading DMC](https://hoopsanalyst.com/down-with-the-kings-trading-dmc/) - Mercifully, another All-Star game is over and we can now focus in on the homestretch of the 2016-17 season. The next big shoe dropped quickly when it was reported that the Kings dealt DeMarcus Cousins (with Omri Casspi) to the Hornets for Buddy Hield, Tyreke Evans, Langston Galloway, a 2017 first-round pick and a 2017
- [Transactions:  Plumlee for Nurkic](https://hoopsanalyst.com/transactions-plumlee-for-nurki/) - The Mason Plumlee-Jusuf Nurkic trade reveals much about the state of Portland and Denver. Let’s start with the vitals: Denver Nuggets acquire -Mason Plumlee, age-26, 28.1 mpg, 11.1 ppg, 8.0 rpg, 4.0 apg, 18.7 PER, 3.0 BPM (restricted free agent after season) -A second round pick and cash Portland Trail Blazers acquire -Jusuf Nurkic, age-22,
- [Quick Thoughts Dumb Controversy Edition](https://hoopsanalyst.com/quick-thoughts-dumb-controversy-edition/) - Nearing the middle of the season, NBA fans find that the main stories of the month have been controversies: (1) LeBron James complaining about management (2) Charles Barkley complaining about LeBron’s complaints, (3) LeBron’s complaints about Barkley’s complaints about LeBron’s complaints, and, of course, (4) Phil Jackson passive aggressive one-sided feud with Carmelo Anthony. Each
- [Fan All-Star Voting, It's Fantastic!](https://hoopsanalyst.com/fan-all-star-voting-its-fantastic/) - The concept of the NBA All-Star game (like most All-Star games), is more interesting in theory than in reality. It’s great to debate who deserves to be chosen and to see the superstars play. Ultimately, the game is a letdown because the players rarely can manufacture the intensity and it has the feel of a
- [The George Karl FAQ](https://hoopsanalyst.com/the-george-karl-faq/) - George Karl’s controversial recent book has brought him back into the focus of the NBA. First, he wrote in an excerpt from the book about some issues in Denver with Kenyon Martin and Carmelo Anthony and blamed any problems with dime store psychology: “Kenyon and Carmelo carried two big burdens: all that money and no father to
- [Examining the Three-Point Barrage](https://hoopsanalyst.com/examining-the-three-point-barrage/) - Are NBA teams shooting too many threes? The three-point shot was instituted in 1979-80 and, since then, its use has been going almost straight upwards. To get a concrete sense of how this trend has played out, here is a chart of the average three-pointers made and attempted by the average team per game since
- [Phil and the Posse](https://hoopsanalyst.com/phil-and-the-posse/) - The big story last week involved an interview that Knicks GM Phil Jackson gave to ESPN, where, per his usual protocol, he was quite candid in his opinions about many things. The big public takeaway from the interview was that Jackson’s comments about LeBron James and his management team (which is comprised of many lifelong
- [Quick Thoughts](https://hoopsanalyst.com/quick-thoughts-66/) - Is it too early to draw any conclusions from this season? Of course it is! Over the years, I’ve tried to tell stories and give examples that show not to overreact to small sample sizes. This year our anecdote takes us back to 2001-02. For those who don’t remember, that season the Atlanta Hawks signed
- [NBA Preview 2016-17](https://hoopsanalyst.com/nba-preview-2016-17/) - Well, that offseason quickly. Let’s talk expectations/predictions for 2016-17. Once again, we appear locked in with prohibitive favorites (Golden State and Cleveland) and some legit contenders who might be able to score an upset if everything breaks right. Here’s a quick rundown of the conferences: Eastern Conference The Cavs are still the class of the
- [NBA's Unbreakable Records?](https://hoopsanalyst.com/nbas-unbreakable-records/) - As the NBA off-season kicks into low gear, this is usually a time we like to take a look at some old-timey stats/stories. To that end, I happened to have revisited Bill Simmons’ old “The Book of Basketball,” just to kill a little time at the beach this summer. The book was written in 2009
- [The Tim Duncan FAQ](https://hoopsanalyst.com/the-tim-duncan-faq/) - What can be said about the recently retired Tim Duncan that hasn’t already been said? The story is fairly clear. Duncan comes to Wake Forest from the Virgin Islands and immediately excels and has a storybook NBA career with the Spurs, albeit without much flair or memorable stories. Rather than retrace the whole story, the
- [2016 NBA Draft Grades](https://hoopsanalyst.com/2016-nba-draft-grades/) - One thing that became crystal clear early in the 2016 NBA Draft is PFs with 3-point range are much more coveted and PFs without such skills need not apply. Players with a lesser defensive/rebounding skill set than Andrea Bargnini brought 10 years ago were being gobbled up with early picks. I thought this run on
- [2016 NBA Draft: Final Top 60](https://hoopsanalyst.com/2016-nba-draft-final-top-60/) - I like the talent in the 2016 NBA draft, but I think if one cared enough to check that is something I have said about every draft. The strength of this draft is in the bigs. Both the PF and Center positions are deep, though there is much more star power in the PFs. This could be
- [2016 NBA Draft: Power Forwards](https://hoopsanalyst.com/2016-nba-draft-power-forwards/) - This is the strongest group in the 2016 draft by far. There is star power and depth here. This n=bunch of PFs could even turn the 2016 draft into one of the better drafts of the decade. Power Forwards 2PP 3PP P40 R40 A/TO SB40 Ben Simmons 561 333 20.9 12.8 1.4 3.0 Skal Labissiere
- [2016 NBA Draft: The PGs](https://hoopsanalyst.com/2016-nba-draft-the-pgs/) - I’m not crazy about this class of PGs. Dunn looks like a good one, but after that the young guys aren’t very impressive and the older players come with the usual old guy baggage. Point Guards 2PP 3PP P40 A40 S40 A/TO RSB40 Kris Dunn 477 372 19.5 7.4 3.0 1.8 10.0 Denzel Valentine 481
- [2016 NBA Draft: The Centers](https://hoopsanalyst.com/2016-nba-draft-the-centers/) - I like this crop of centers a lot. I also have to say that I’m not sure what exactly the future of the center position is. Teams still need rim protectors and inside scoring is always useful. But the 2 top teams played the finals without a traditional center. Such a thing used to be
- [NBA Draft: The Shooting Guards](https://hoopsanalyst.com/nba-draft-the-shooting-guards/) - The 2016 SG field is pretty mediocre as draft subgroups go. We have the potential star in Hield, the frosh phenoms in Murray and Beasley, a few intriguing prospects with issues, young players too erratic to be taken seriously, old players who finally arrived as prospects and a few guys worth a flyer as a
- [Game 7 Preview](https://hoopsanalyst.com/game-7-preview/) - We’ve got yet another Game 7 of the Finals! There are few more exciting moments than a winner-take-all championship game. Let’s take a quick look at a few questions/issues to watch: 1. How big a loss is Andrew Bogut? Bogut only played about 20 minutes a game but did you know that he was the
- [NBA Draft: The Small Forwards](https://hoopsanalyst.com/nba-draft-the-small-forwards/) - This year’s SF class is on the thin side. There are a couple of freshmen at the top. Ingram looks like a solid prospect. Brown has a few more question marks, but also has all-star potential. After that the field gets kind of shaky. There are some who look like good role players, but they
- [NBA Draft 2016: Brandon Ingram](https://hoopsanalyst.com/nba-draft-2016-brandon-ingram/) - Ingram had been classified as a SG for most of the year, but is now considered a SF. That makes some sense, because he’s almost 6’10 with a 7’3 wingspan. It looks like he could handle either position, but with the league going smaller SF is where I’ll analyze him. I feel he fits in
- [NBA Draft 2016: Ben Simmons](https://hoopsanalyst.com/nba-draft-2016-ben-simmons/) - Ben Simmons has been the consensus top pick in this draft since this draft was being analyzed and broken down. There were a few times in certain mocks that Brandon Ingram would sneak into the top spot, but the 2016 draft has been the Ben Simmons draft since the 2015 draft was in the books.
- [NBA Draft: Dragan Bender and Marquese Chriss](https://hoopsanalyst.com/nba-draft-dragan-bender-and-marquese-chriss/) - In any mock you might around the webyoung PFs Marquese Chriss of Washington and Dragan Bender of Maccabi Tel Aviv are listed in the top 10. Bender is usually top 5. Chriss is as high as #3 in Draftexpress. Since most mocks are a reflection of what the websites are hearing from their league sources, it
- [NBA Draft 2016: Buddy Hield](https://hoopsanalyst.com/nba-draft-2016-buddy-hield/) - Buddy Hield scored a lot of points last season. He scored points at a pace rarely seen from a player in a power 5 conference. Buddy scored enough to win the Wooden award as the nation’s top player. He did this as a senior following 3 seasons where he made himself into a solid player,
- [NBA Finals Quick Thoughts](https://hoopsanalyst.com/nba-finals-quick-thoughts/) - Despite the initial hoopla of a LeBron-Curry rematch, the first two games have been pretty brutal from the Cavs’ perspective. Let’s take a look the series so far and see if we can salvage any nuggets of interest. Do the Cavs have a chance? Doesn’t feel like it. The old axiom is that a playoff
- [NBA Draft 2016: Top PGs](https://hoopsanalyst.com/nba-draft-2016-top-pgs/) - For any team looking for immediate PG help in the draft it really comes down to, “Do we draft Kris Dunn early, trade down and go with Denzel Valentine or grab a young big early and draft Gary Payton II later?” At least those are the questions they should be pondering. I know that I’m
- [NBA Finals Preview 2015-16](https://hoopsanalyst.com/nba-finals-preview-2015-16/) - I guess you could call it inevitable. Despite some unanticipated twists and turns along the way, the NBA Finals has ended up exactly where most people expected, with the Warriors and Cavs meeting again. Let’s run through some of the key issues/interesting questions for a Finals preview. But first, let’s take a quick look at
- [All-Time All-Rookie Teams: Pacific Division](https://hoopsanalyst.com/all-time-all-rookie-teams-pacific-division/) - After some delay, we finally reach the conclusion of our six-part series on All-Time All-Rookie tours by division. The final installment takes to out to the Pacific Division, where three of the five teams are original pre-shot clock NBA teams all of whom fled the Northeast to try their hand out west. Do the ages
- [2015-16 NBA Playoff Predictions](https://hoopsanalyst.com/2015-16-nba-playoff-predictions/) - Another postseason is upon us and, like most years, there aren’t a ton of questions to consider. The Warriors are the best team in the NBA and the Spurs are slightly behind them. It took until late in the season for the Warriors to actually overtake the Spurs in SRS. Ultimately, the Warriors did get
- [GM Report: Sam Hinkie](https://hoopsanalyst.com/gm-report-sam-hinkie/) - Was Sam Hinkie a success or failure as a GM in Philly? This answer really depends on how you evaluate the question. The sixers have won 47 games over three years, which is beyond awful but they have acquired a ton of draft picks. The answer, then, really depends on how you evaluate GMs. On
- [Quick Thoughts](https://hoopsanalyst.com/quick-thoughts-65/) - It is often said that January/February part of the NBA schedule is the dog day portion of the schedule. The surprises of the new NBA season have set in and the playoffs aren’t quite coming. This season, March/April actually feels like the true dog day segment. Yes, the playoffs are close but there virtually no more
- [The Unique 2015-16 Spurs](https://hoopsanalyst.com/the-unique-2015-16-spurs/) - As great as the Warriors have been this season, nipping at their heels are the Spurs. The Spurs aren’t going to catch Golden State for the best record but the Spurs have consistently been rated higher in SRS (though the Warriors are narrowing this gap and may overtake them due to the Spurs stated plan
- [2016 NCAA Tournament Bracket](https://hoopsanalyst.com/2016-ncaa-tournament-bracket/) - The 2016 NCAA Tournament is a good year to go with favorite colors, uniforms, mascots or just let your cat do the picking. The field is that muddled. The reason for that is this year is just not the typical NCAA year. Usually there are a few powerhouse teams one can point to and assume
- [Warriors v. Lakers and the Worst Losses by Dynastic Teams](https://hoopsanalyst.com/warriors-v-lakers-and-the-worst-losses-by-dynastic-teams/) - Somehow, the Warriors were taken to the woodshed last night by the lowly Lakers. It was mentioned that this was the first time a team with a winning percentage below .200 beat a time with over .900 winning percentage this late in a season. Was this the worst upset of a historically great team? Let’s
- [Do They Have A Point?  The Old Guys Shade the Warriors](https://hoopsanalyst.com/do-they-have-a-point-the-old-guys-shade-the-warriors/) - For the billionth time, some of the venerable NBA players of the past insist that the world was better in their day. This sentiment is now coalescing around the argument that the 2015-16 Warriors couldn’t beat their old teams. Here’s the current rundown of wet blankets and how much of a point they each make
- [Fisher Fired...A Mistake?](https://hoopsanalyst.com/fisher-fired-a-mistake/) - Coaches are starting to drop. This time we are asked to make sense of the firing of Knicks coach Derek Fisher. Was this firing justified? Sort of. Let’s weigh the pros and cons: Pros/reasons to keep Fisher ­-Fisher was hired as a beginner coach to learn and grow with a young team. He has done
- [2016 NBA Draft: Top 60](https://hoopsanalyst.com/2016-nba-draft-top-60/) - The 2016 draft should be an interesting one. At the top are Ingram and Simmons in some order that I have yet to determine. After those 2 there are a couple of groups that both intrigue. The first is the young bigs. These are freshmen and sophomore centers and PFs who have flashed a lot
- [Blake Griffin and other NBA Punchers](https://hoopsanalyst.com/blake-griffin-and-other-nba-punchers/) - This week, the Clippers revealed that Blake Griffin broke his hand fighting with the team’s assistant strength coach. The details are sketchy but, according to a Los Angeles Times report, Griffin and the coach are good friends and that the two got into an argument over teasing while out to dinner in Toronto. Griffin is
- [Did Blatt deserve to be fired?](https://hoopsanalyst.com/did-blatt-deserve-to-be-fired/) - What to make of the short tenure of David Blatt with the Cavs? The team was 30-11 and leading the East but had struggled against the best of the best, having been waxed by the Warriors and Spurs. Was Blatt’s abrupt firing the usual overreaction of management or was there something below the surface that
- [Plexiglass Review:  Milwaukee and Atlanta](https://hoopsanalyst.com/plexiglass-review-milwaukee-and-atlanta/) - Putting aside the Warriors, the biggest surprise success stories of 2014-15 were the Milwaukee Bucks and the Atlanta Hawks. The Bucks morphed from deep Lottery team to a bona fide playoff team, while Atlanta went from fringe playoff team to number one seed in the East. Both teams were considered strong candidates to decline this
- [Chris Childs v. the Nets](https://hoopsanalyst.com/chris-childs-v-the-nets/) - Most fans, me included, hate it when legal issues affect the game on the court. Still, these lawsuits can create a nice little record of a place and time and remind us of what was (see our review of Donald Sterling’s legal travails). Periodically, we find from some nice little time capsules that we have
- [NBA Draft 2016: Top 60](https://hoopsanalyst.com/nba-draft-2016-top-60/) - The narrative of the 2016 draft is starting to form. Right now this looks like a so-so draft with one great talent at the top. As is the case every year with my first draft preview the players are in tiers as opposed to a strict 1-60 rating of the prospects. I’ll have an updated
- [Markieff Morris and Throwing in the Towel](https://hoopsanalyst.com/markieff-moriss-and-throwing-in-the-towel/) - This week, the Suns suspended Markieff Morris for throwing a towel at coach Jeff Hornacek while on the sideline during a loss to Denver. There has been much frustration to go around between the Suns poor start this year and Morris’ pre-season trade demand after his brother Marcus was traded to Detroit. Coaches and players
- [Quick Thoughts](https://hoopsanalyst.com/quick-thoughts-64/) - 1. Back In My Day, Part 50: Charles Barkley is a fun character. He isn’t stupid but shoots from the hip with his opinions and can say things that sound right but sometimes aren’t. On the subject of whether the current Warriors could beat the old Michael Jordan Bulls, Barkley said the following on ESPN
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- [1995-96 Bulls v. 2015-16 Warriors, a brief look](https://hoopsanalyst.com/1995-96-bulls-v-2015-16-warriors-a-brief-look/) - With the Warriors off to an incredible start the natural inclination is to compare the Warriors to some of the All-Time greats. Could the Warriors beat the best of All-Time? This kind of hypothetical question isn’t really answerable but hypotheticals are fun. If we are going to go down that road, there are really two
- [Quick Thoughts](https://hoopsanalyst.com/quick-thoughts-63/) - 1. Slow Pacers and Mahinmi’s Shooting: At the end of a ponderous 2014-15 season, Larry Bird and the Pacers decided there needed be changes in style of play. In the context of whether the Pacers wanted big man Roy Hibbert next year, coach Frank Vogel said that “there’s a possibility that Roy’s role will be
- [Marcelo's Bad Day](https://hoopsanalyst.com/marcelos-bad-day/) - Basketball, like most sports, has a strong element of machismo. The winners are considered alpha dogs and any single bad play can give a player a stigma as goat or a loser for a lifetime. Lakers’ 32-year old rookie point guard Marcelo Huertas had a stigma moment the other day against the Heat. Huertas’ stat
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- [NBA Preview 2015-16: Atlantic Division](https://hoopsanalyst.com/nba-preview-2015-16-atlantic-division/) - We still have a few weeks left but the 2015-16 NBA season is upon us. Usually, during season preview time, we like to harken back to the past as well to get a little historical perspective as where each franchise was years ago. This season, we have a nice historical period to review, the 20th anniversary
- [Moses Malone FAQ](https://hoopsanalyst.com/moses-malone-faq/) - The passing of Moses Malone last week marks the loss of one of the great legends of NBA history. He is remembered as a relentless rebounding machine who didn’t say much. In fact, when you think about Malone, there are not many memorable stories or highlight plays. Rather, just a long career of rebounds, rebounds,
- [Bismack's Promise](https://hoopsanalyst.com/bismacks-promise/) - The public rarely gets a glimpse into the inner workings of agent battles for players. I have always assumed the battles involved seedy promises to young and potentially naïve players. But what about the young players abroad? How are they treated by the agent community? This week, the details of litigation in New York revealed
- [2015 Draft Grades](https://hoopsanalyst.com/2015-draft-grades/) - This is a difficult draft to grade. Because it has excellent depth, but no clear superstar I wanted to give a couple As and a couple Fs while all the other teams get a C+. There are only 5 teams whose draft I look at and say, “That was a disaster.” But my MO has
- [2015 NBA Draft: Final Top 60](https://hoopsanalyst.com/2015-nba-draft-final-top-60/) - The 2015 draft should be a pretty good one. As a historical comp, I see this one turning out like the 1970 draft. That draft was loaded with good, but not great centers and produced 12 all-stars. I like Towns and Winslow as the top 2. Both have the same high upside/low bust combination. The
- [2015 NBA Draft: Ranking the Centers](https://hoopsanalyst.com/2015-nba-draft-ranking-the-centers/) - There haven’t been a lot of good, deep center classes in the history of the NBA draft. The last draft with multiple all-stars at center was 2007 with Horford, Noah and Gasol. Before that it was 1992 with Shaquille O’Neal and Alonzo Mourning. Before that it goes back to 1970 when HOFers Bob Lanier, Dave
- [2015 NBA Draft: Ranking the PGs](https://hoopsanalyst.com/2015-nba-draft-ranking-the-pgs/) - In a league full of solid PGs the 2015 class looks like it will add some good one to the group. In addition to the 2 young phenoms, Russell and Mudiay, there are a lot of 5th-year senior I find myself liking this year. The PG benchmarks are .500 2PP, 18.0 P40, 5.0 A40, 1.4
- [2015 NBA Draft: Ranking the Small Forwards](https://hoopsanalyst.com/2015-nba-draft-ranking-the-small-forwards/) - The 2015 Small Forward crop is a top heavy bunch. Where the PFs are a group of 12 prospects that could go either way, the SFs have a wide gulf between the likely stars and the others. After Winslow, Hezonja, Johnson and Oubre the pickings get really slim. I just can’t find more than a
- [2015 NBA Draft: Ranking the Power Forwards](https://hoopsanalyst.com/2015-nba-draft-ranking-the-power-forwards/) - The 2015 PF class is one that could go either way. There are no sure fire stars in this group and overall it could be mediocre or worse. There is a lot of good, raw talent though that could make this a pretty impressive class. The most intriguing players are freshmen and sophomores. There are
- [2015 NBA Draft: Ranking the Shooting Guards](https://hoopsanalyst.com/2015-nba-draft-ranking-the-shooting-guards/) - The one field of blight in the robust crop that is the 2015 draft is the position of shooting guard. The hyped freshmen just aren’t all that good. The scrappy seniors all have question marks. I could make it better by including D’Agello Russell, who I analyzed as a PG and Justise Winslow and Mario
- [NBA Finals MVP Thoughts](https://hoopsanalyst.com/nba-finals-mvp-thoughts/) - The NBA Finals started with a bang but sort of petered out with a whimper. That whimper sounded almost exactly the sound of LeBron James’ back and legs giving way to the gravity of carrying an undermanned team against a historically great foe. With the Finals over, this is a good time to take a
- [2015 NBA Draft: Delon Wright and Cameron Payne](https://hoopsanalyst.com/2015-nba-draft-delon-wright-and-cameron-payne/) - Other than center, PG is the strongest position in the 2015 draft. I have already looked at D’Angelo Russell and Emmanuel Mudiay, the top 2 PGs in this draft. This is a look at a couple who are on the next level, Delon Wright of Utah and Cameron Payne of Murray State. Delon Wright, Utah:
- [NBA Draft 2015: The Young PFs](https://hoopsanalyst.com/nba-draft-2015-the-young-pfs/) - I like the 2015 draft. I feel it has the potential to be historic in terms of the talent that comes into the league. One position where the talent is ordinary is PF. There are no surefire stars at PF in the 2015 draft. Kristaps Porzingis is apparently wowing ‘em in workouts and interviews, but
- [2015 NBA Draft: The Young SFs](https://hoopsanalyst.com/2015-nba-draft-the-young-sfs/) - There are many reasons the 2015 draft will be one of the deepest in years. The bigs and the PGs are both deep. One of the most intriguing group of players is the young SFs. I already profiled Justise Winslow and Mario Hezonja in earlier pieces. Here I look at what I would say are
- [2015 NBA Draft: The Freshmen Centers](https://hoopsanalyst.com/2015-nba-draft-the-freshmen-centers/) - The role of the center is in decline in today’s NBA. With analytics valuing the 3-pointer over back-to-the-basket offense the best teams are filling their center rotations with defensive-minded rim-protectors and stretch 5s whose range can pull the opponent’s rim protector away from the rim. At least that’s the conventional wisdom. It is probably correct.
- [2015 NBA Draft: Top 2 PGs Mudiay and Russell](https://hoopsanalyst.com/2015-nba-draft-top-2-pgs-mudiay-and-russell/) - There are some excellent PG prospects in the 2015 draft. The best are a couple of 19 year-olds, one who played college ball and one who went overseas. Those are the two I’m going to look at here, D’Angelo Russell of Ohio State and Emmanuel Mudiay who played his post-prep ball in China. First a
- [Are Porzingis and Hezonja Worthy Top 10 Draftees?](https://hoopsanalyst.com/are-porzingis-and-hezonja-worthy-top-10-draftees/) - Before I get to the top 2 foreign prospects I wanted to show some history of players who came to the NBA from a foreign league vs. players from American college and high schools over the past 14 drafts. That takes it back to the 1998 draft when Dirk Nowitzki became the first player to
- [2015 NBA Draft: Justise Winslow](https://hoopsanalyst.com/2015-nba-draft-justise-winslow/) - I find Justise Winslow one of the most intriguing prospects available in the 2015 NBA draft. He started his freshman year slowly, eclipsed by not only a stellar crop of freshmen centers. As a perimeter player he was behind the likes of D’Angelo Russell and Stanley Johnson. He was the 3rd most visible freshman on
- [Thibodeau Quick Thoughts](https://hoopsanalyst.com/thibodeau-quick-thoughts/) - 1. Thibo-Done:The big non-Finals news of this week in the NBA is the Bulls firing of Tom Thibodeau. This has been rehashed several times but is still an interesting subject to look into. Did the Bulls do the right thing? Is Thibodeau too nuts to work for an reasonable organization? Are the Bulls are even
- [NBA Finals Preview](https://hoopsanalyst.com/nba-finals-preview-3/) - 1. Finals Time: After a mostly forgettable playoff season, we finally have the matchup most expected/wanted---Golden State v. LeBron. As we discussed during the playoff preview, the Warriors have been so dominant that they are a prohibitive favorite to beat the all comers. Is there a scenario where the Cavs could beat GS? Let’s look
- [The Quickest Conference Finals](https://hoopsanalyst.com/the-quickest-conference-finals/) - With the Hawks getting swept and the Rockets on the verge of losing 4-1, we are faced with the obvious question: is this the worst Conference Finals ever? Well…maybe. Certainly we are looking at one of the briefest. The Hawks are the first team to get swept in the Conference Finals since 2002-03, when the
- [The NBA Draft Lottery and Luck](https://hoopsanalyst.com/the-nba-draft-lottery-and-luck/) - Like life itself the NBA Draft Lottery is random, painful and wonderful. It will remain as such unless they adopt that stupid wheel. This piece looks at what teams have been lucky and/or unlucky in the lottery during its 30 years of existence. What I’m looking at is which teams have had the ball bounce
- [First Round Fall Out Part 2](https://hoopsanalyst.com/first-round-fall-out-part-2/) - We now turn to part three of our first round fall out series, the Spurs, Mavs, and the Pelicans: -Spurs: The obvious question is whether the big guns, Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili, are coming back. As a general rule, I am not a fan of the speculation on whether TD or Manu should quit based
- [First Round Fall Out](https://hoopsanalyst.com/first-round-fall-out/) - We touched on a few of the first round losers last week (Raptors and Celtics) but now let’s take a look at the fallout for the some of the remaining losers. Today, we'll look at Milwaukee, Brooklyn, and Portland. Spurs, Mavs, and the Pelicans will be a little bit later. -Milwaukee Bucks: The Bucks huge improvement
- [What's In A Sweep?](https://hoopsanalyst.com/whats-in-a-sweep/) - The tussle between the top seeded Hawks and the eighth seeded Nets has ended up being one of the better match ups in the first round. While the Hawks were able to eke out a win at home last night, there is a pretty good chance that they could be facing needing to win a
- [First Round Fall Out: The Sweepees](https://hoopsanalyst.com/first-round-fall-out-the-sweepees/) - The first casualties of the NBA playoffs have arrived. Both Boston and Toronto were swept out rather easily. This leads us to our first postmortem entry, our annual Playoff Fall Out segment. Let’s take a look at the two sweepees and where they are headed: -Boston Celtics: The Celtics checked all the boxes this season.
- [Quick Thoughts](https://hoopsanalyst.com/quick-thoughts-62/) - 1. Brooks Booted: Putting aside the merits of the decision, Scott Brooks’ firing is most relevant to the Thunder for what it likely reveals. First, Kevin Durant will be a free agent after next season and there is no way the Thunder would have fired him without Durant’s blessing. It also reveals that Durant may
- [The 2015 Draft: Poker Night For Rebuilding Teams](https://hoopsanalyst.com/the-2015-draft-poker-night-for-rebuilding-teams/) - The NBA Playoffs are off to a pretty great start. In the East, Derrick Rose looks like his tremendous old self, LeBron's young Cavs teammates had stellar playoff debuts, and a nation that largely ignores the Hawks is finally seeing just how beautifully they play. In the West, the Warriors and Pelicans are putting on
- [2014-15 Playoff Preview](https://hoopsanalyst.com/2014-15-nba-playoff-previe/) - The 2014-15 NBA playoffs presents an atypical playoff scenario. There aren’t several contenders to assess. Really, we are talking about the Golden State Warriors and everyone else. Only five teams have ever had more wins in an NBA regular season than the Warriors (GS is the fifth NBA team to win 67 games in a
- [Chris Mullin: Can You Go Home Again?](https://hoopsanalyst.com/chris-mullin-can-you-go-home-again/) - Last week, Chris Mullin was named the new head coach of St. John’s basketball team. This makes for a great story—the best player in school history coming back 30 years later as a coach. Of course, the fact that Mullin was a really good player in 1985 really has no bearing on whether he can
- [2015 NBA Draft Top 60 Post Tournament](https://hoopsanalyst.com/2015-nba-draft-top-60-post-tournament/) - The 2015 draft has the potential to be one of the best ever. The 2015 class features the most impressive group of bigs in a long time, possibly since Shaq and Alonzo in ’93. The PG and PF classes are also deep. I have omitted all players who have announced plans to return to school
- [The Top 16: Does It Make Sense?](https://hoopsanalyst.com/the-top-16-does-it-make-sense/) - This year, the NBA has yet another spirited battle between very mediocre teams for low rung East playoff spots. The question has arisen again whether it is worth considering awarding the 16 playoff spots by record, regardless of conference. Adam Silver seemed to hint that a change could be coming when he told ESPN in December that
- [2015 NCAA Tournament: Predictions and Commentary](https://hoopsanalyst.com/2015-ncaa-tournament-predictions-and-commentary/) - There is nothing in the world as difficult as picking a perfect NCAA tournament bracket. Even all the brilliant analysis and inside information in the world won’t save a bracket if a few shots don’t bounce your way. The problem is the vast majority of games are played by teams that are very evenly matched
- [Back In My Day](https://hoopsanalyst.com/back-in-my-day/) - Recently, Charles Oakley sounded off about the modern NBA, letting us know that he did not think the game has progressed to his liking since he retired about a decade ago. Oakley’s complaint is that the modern players lack something: “I don't know what it is. They just roll you out there like a basketball.
- [Curry or Harden: The 2015 MVP Debate](https://hoopsanalyst.com/curry-or-harden-the-2015-mvp-debate/) - The 2015 MVP race is interesting in a lot of ways. Like the season in general the story has been about new faces dominating the picture. This has been a welcome and refreshing development. It also features a most productive player vs. best player on the best team debate. That would Stephen Curry of the
- [Steve Novak Does Not Like Two-Point Land](https://hoopsanalyst.com/steve-novak-does-not-like-two-point-land/) - With so much going on in the home stretch of the NBA season, for some reason, what caught my eye is the weird season that Steve Novak is having. It was only two years ago that Novak was key component on a very good Knicks team as the guy shooting corner threes when Carmelo Anthony
- [NBA Draft 2015: Top 60](https://hoopsanalyst.com/nba-draft-2015-top-60-2/) - The story of the 2015 draft will be the centers. The 2015 draft is deep with quality bigs. This has the potential to become one of the great center classes ever. Right now I have 7 in the lottery and 4 more in the first round. There are several other freshmen centers of moderate promise
- [Quick Thoughts](https://hoopsanalyst.com/quick-thoughts-61/) - 1. Jacque Gone: We all know the axiom that coaches are hired to be fired. Such is the case of Jacque Vaughn, whom Orlando finally let go today. Did Vaughn get a fair shake? On the one hand, the Magic are a legitimately bad team and it is unlikely a more proven coach would’ve made
- [Deflate Gate Sucks In Phil](https://hoopsanalyst.com/deflate-gate-sucks-in-phil/) - Deflate Gate is a mostly silly NFL controversy, where the New England Patriots were accused of deflating footballs to help Tom Brady throw the ball more easily. What does this have to do with the NBA? Well, pretty much nothing. Well, almost nothing. A few writers have stumbled upon a 1986 article by Sam Smith
- [All-Star Picks](https://hoopsanalyst.com/all-star-picks/) - This time of year, NBA writers’ thoughts turn to the All-Star game. Some feel real passion about this subject and write long and well-reasoned articles about who the best players in the NBA really are and how they should be recognized. I can understand that perspective but I am firmly of the opinion that the
- [Remember Dwight's Labrum?](https://hoopsanalyst.com/remember-dwights-labrum/) - Just yesterday, Kobe Bryant was diagnosed with a torn labrum and some have speculated that he likely could miss the entire season. What impact will this have for the Lakers? Not much to be honest. First, there is no indication the Lakers are any worse without Kobe. Indeed, 82games.com has Kobe at -2.6 in simple
- [Quick Thoughts](https://hoopsanalyst.com/quick-thoughts-60/) - 1. Hawks for Real?: You don’t go 33-8 with smoke and mirrors. The Hawks are obviously a very good team. But whether they should be considered a threat to come out of the East and/or win it all is the real question. Long win streaks don’t just happen but they can overstate how good a
- [NBA Draft 2015: Top 60](https://hoopsanalyst.com/nba-draft-2015-top-60/) - My first top 60 is never in precise order and this one is no exception. With only numbers from the easy non-conference schedule to use, it’s difficult to separate the players on a hot streak from the ones who are the real deal. For that reason rather than a strict ranking of prospects 1-60, I
- [Transactions:  The Dion Waiters Trade](https://hoopsanalyst.com/transactions-the-dion-waiters-trade/) - New York trades Iman Shumpert and JR Smith to Cleveland for Louis Amundson, Alex Kirk, and 2019 second-round pick from Cleveland and Lance Thomas from Oklahoma City, which traded a 2014-15 protected first-round pick to Cleveland for Dion Waiters. New York Waives Samuel Dalembert This isn’t exactly an earth-shattering deal but it certainly makes some
- [Old Kobe, A Unique Stat Experience](https://hoopsanalyst.com/old-kobe-a-unique-stat-experience/) - The Kobe Bryant Situation is something that has been written ad infinitum here and all over web. The typical story has focused around whether Kobe’s force of will to be great can overcome the inevitable aging process and whether Kobe was selfish for choosing his path at this stage of his career. When sportswriters review
- [Quick Thoughts](https://hoopsanalyst.com/quick-thoughts-59/) - 1. The Rondo Trade: The trade of Rajon Rondo to the Mavericks appears like big news but really it is a logical deal with some upside for the Mavs and some risk. The Mavs have the best offense in the NBA and a weak defense (22nd) so, naturally, getting an upgrade at point defensively should
- [Michelle Roberts and the NBA:  Showdown Looming?](https://hoopsanalyst.com/michelle-roberts-and-the-nba-showdown-looming/) - There is a marked change in the rhetoric that new NBPA President Michelle Roberts has used in discussing the Union’s interests going forward. The implication of her tone is that the players have been pushed around too much and the NBA will have to give something back after arguably routing the NBPA during the 2011
- [Kings Kompetentcy?](https://hoopsanalyst.com/kings-kompetentcy/) - The big story of the week so far comes from Sacramento, where the Kings chose to fire coach Michael Malone, despite the fact that he led the team to a 9-5 record before losing DeMarcus Cousins and going 2-8 (for a total record of 11-13). While 11-13 isn’t great shakes, it is the best the
- [Can Golden State Sustain This?](https://hoopsanalyst.com/can-golden-state-sustain-this/) - The Warriors now sit at 20-2 to start this season. While most thought that the Golden State would be a very good team and a potential title contender, this start is well beyond even the most optimistic expectations. What is different this year? Well, to start the Warriors are probably playing a bit over their
- [Julius Randle and the One Game Rookies](https://hoopsanalyst.com/julius-randle-the-one-game-rookies/) - You can’t help but feel for Julius Randle, whose season ended during the first game of his rookie year. The timing of such an injury was fairly unprecedented for a top pick. There have been rookies who missed their entire first season and there have been rookies who missed a lot of the season but
- [Early Look at the Freshmen](https://hoopsanalyst.com/early-look-at-the-freshmen/) - What I do here is pretty simple. I take the stats from the 3 major High School all-star games and form an early opinion on the freshmen. Like everything that happens before the conference games start, this opinion is going to be considered very fluid and likely to change dramatically in some cases as the
- [NBA Preview 2014-15:  Western Conference](https://hoopsanalyst.com/nba-preview-2014-15-western-conference/) - Predicting the best of the Eastern Conference isn’t too difficult but the west is a different story. With seven 50+ win teams, the conference is oozing with realistic contenders but the best of the best was clearly defined by the end of the year. Three teams led the west in and those same teams also
- [NBA Preview 2014-15: Eastern Conference](https://hoopsanalyst.com/nba-preview-2014-15-eastern-conference/) - For better or worse, the NBA is typically the most predictable of professional sports leagues. The best teams usually win and the best teams usually have the superstar players. Of course, it is not quite that simple. Detail matters and surprises do happen but in the Eastern Conference the overall story seems clear: LeBron James
- [Showtime Re-Examined](https://hoopsanalyst.com/showtime-re-examined/) - In the dog days of NBA off-season, the mind of the fan tends to wander about basketball history. Well, the dog days are coming to an end but still I keep thinking about the old Showtime Lakers from the 1980s. I recently read Jeff Pearlman’s awesome book on the subject, which gave a comprehensive review
- [On International Competition and the NBA](https://hoopsanalyst.com/on-international-competition-and-the-nba/) - Another FIBA international competition has come and gone and it is clear that the United States has established itself as the best basketball team in the world and that the gap against competition is quite high again. The question becomes: now what? Well, that isn’t really the question but the pundits are questioning the utility
- [2014 Draft: Grades](https://hoopsanalyst.com/2014-draft-grades/) - I grade the drafts on a curve. That means 3 As, 6 Bs, 12 Cs, 6 Ds and 3 Fs. I do this because the teams are competing against each other. In talent-rich draft like this it isn’t that big a deal to improve, because several teams have improved. In evaluating draft grades I give
- [NBA Draft 2014: Final Top 60](https://hoopsanalyst.com/nba-draft-2014-final-top-60/) - As much fun as all this analysis has been, the real fun will start when we find out exactly how legendary this draft is. I suspect it will look more like the underrated 1985 draft than anything. That was a deep draft featured a franchise center in Patrick Ewing and 9 other all-stars including Karl
- [NBA Draft 2014: Ranking the Centers](https://hoopsanalyst.com/nba-draft-2014-ranking-the-centers/) - What had been a class with one super prospect and not much else was further weakened by Embiid’s foot injury and the sad news about Isaiah Austin having to give up the game. Most of this piece is me urging the Cavs to forge ahead and draft Embiid. I still believe he’s going to be
- [NBA Draft 2014: Ranking the SFs](https://hoopsanalyst.com/nba-draft-2014-ranking-the-sfs/) - There have been a lot of good SFs come into the league since LeBron and Carmelo headed the 2003 draft class. This group has a chance to be as good as any SF class ever. It is a deep, diverse group that features a lot of potential stars. The SFs are what makes the 2014
- [NBA Draft 2014: Ranking the PFs](https://hoopsanalyst.com/1270/) - Not a good year for PFs. The best I can say about this group is there are a lot of players out there who are good candidates to become inside energy players in the NBA. For that reason it should be interesting seeing what happens in round two and where some of the UFAs end
- [NBA Draft 2014: Freshmen PFs Vonleh and Randle](https://hoopsanalyst.com/nba-draft-2014-freshmen-pfs-vonleh-and-randle/) - In most of the mocks I’ve seen around the WWW there are two freshmen PFs, Julius Randle and Noah Vonleh, who have been consistently in the lottery and the top 2 PFs listed. Currently Vonleh is holding strong at #5 while Randle is around #7, but seems in danger of sliding lower, possibly even becoming
- [NBA Draft 2014: The Shooting Guards](https://hoopsanalyst.com/nba-draft-2014-the-shooting-guards/) - This is a solid group. The talent here isn’t crazy good as it is with the SFs this year, but it is a nice deep class headed by potential all-stars Adams, Hairston and Harris. While the players are ranked, I bunched them into 5 groups: The top 4, the young guys with potential, the best
- [NBA Draft 2014: Ranking the Point Guards](https://hoopsanalyst.com/nba-draft-2014-ranking-the-point-guards/) - Like the other perimeter positions in the 2014 draft this is a strong class of PGs. There are potential stars, likely journeymen and several players who are worth a look and could succeed should they work hard and have other factors play out right. Here are the numbers for each college player: PG Prospects
- [The Cavaliers Should Draft Joel Embiid](https://hoopsanalyst.com/the-cavaliers-should-draft-joel-embiid/) - Cleveland has won the lottery again. When the Cavs won it last year I felt it was clear they had to draft Nerlens Noel. They passed on my advice and went with Anthony Bennett. While I’m sure the Cavs would like to have that one back, drafting Bennett did set in motion a series of
- [2014 NBA Draft: Top SFs Gordon, Parker and Wiggins](https://hoopsanalyst.com/2014-nba-draft-top-sfs-gordon-parker-and-wiggins/) - The 2014 draft has been all about the SFs. While I feel center Joel Embiid is the top prospect, the buzz around the most anticipated draft in years has been around SFs Andrew Wiggins and Jabari Parker. These two are the reason the 2014 draft was labelled “legendary” before either played a minute of college
- [NBA Draft 2014: Marcus Smart and Elfrid Payton](https://hoopsanalyst.com/nba-draft-2014-marcus-smart-and-elfrid-payton/) - Smart and Payton are the two top college PGs available in the 2014 draft. While the mysterious Dante Exum could exceed them both, when looking strictly at college players, Smart and Payton stand well above the crowd. The reason is both are young and both hit the important statistical benchmarks that most stars have hit.
- [NBA Finals Preview](https://hoopsanalyst.com/nba-finals-preview-2/) - It took a year for us to get right back where we left off at the end of 2012-13, Heat v. Spurs, the rematch. Let’s run through the some interesting tidbits about the rematch. But first a few notes on the losers from last round: Pacers Can’t Score Typically, coming pretty close to the NBA
- [NBA Draft 2014: The UCLA Guards](https://hoopsanalyst.com/nba-draft-2014-the-ucla-guards/) - The 2014 draft will be one of the best in years. There will be a lot of good stories, but the most interesting one to follow over the next decade might be the UCLA prospects and how they all turn out. There are 3 Bruins likely to be drafted, Kyle Anderson, Jordan Adams and Zach
- [What's The Top Pick Worth?](https://hoopsanalyst.com/whats-the-top-pick-worth/) - The Cavs how now won the NBA lottery for the third time in four years. This record of success at picking ping pong balls has led some to question whether this shows that the system is broken. Bill Simmons responded with a column arguing that the Cavs’ win proves the problems because “[f]or me, this
- [The Sterling Saga](https://hoopsanalyst.com/the-sterling-saga/) - We have all had a few days to digest the entire Donald Sterling Affair. Now that the emotions have calmed down a little bit, this is a good time to re-examine what exactly happened and whether, upon review, it all turned out as it should. There is no doubt that Donald Sterling is a contemptible
- [Top 100 Players (Through 1/20/07)](https://hoopsanalyst.com/top-100-players-through-12007/) - Since I last posted here, I’ve rebuilt my spreadsheet from scratch. Now there are adjustments for the percentage of a players minutes which are versus starters and subs. As all stats are supposed to reflect a player’s 36-minute production in a historically average situation, we now hope to see rates as though they were produced
- [NBA Transactions 12/21-1/4](https://hoopsanalyst.com/nba-transactions-1221-14/) - Atlanta Hawks 12/28 Sign Stanislav Medvedenko 1/3 Waive Cedric Bozeman Medvedenko hasn't really played since 2004-05 because of a herniated disk in his back. He wasn't really the most athletic player before the back injury so I'm not sure what he has to offer. At best, he's nice jump shooter (a talent he
- [Quick Thoughts](https://hoopsanalyst.com/quick-thoughts-58/) - 1. Some Random Musings: It's been pretty clear that the Eastern Conference is weak and plenty has been written about this fact. Here are a couple more facts that you might not have noticed: -There are only five teams in the east that have outscored their opponents for the season. The last time that
- [GM Report: Elgin Baylor](https://hoopsanalyst.com/gm-report-elgin-baylor/) - Overview In April 1986, the Clippers were completing their second season in Los Angeles. They were 32-50 and going nowhere. Across town, the Lakers were dominating the headlines. So, it was natural that the Clippers would try to bask in the Lakers' reflected glory by tapping one of the Laker greats of the past.
- [Can the Heat Match the '93 Bulls?](https://hoopsanalyst.com/can-the-heat-match-the-93-bulls/) - The ’91 Bulls were a team that needed to win a championship. They were coming off consecutive Eastern Conference finals losses to the champion Pistons the previous 2 seasons. In Michael Jordan they had the league’s best scorer. While Jordan wasn’t the reigning MVP, going into the season he was considered at least the equal
- [2013-14 Playoff Preview](https://hoopsanalyst.com/2013-14-playoff-preview/) - As usual, we reach the end of another interesting season with the same reaction: thank god it is finally over, now let's get to main event already! At the outset, the 2013-14 season finds us, for the first time in awhile without a clear cut favorite. Conceivably, there are six teams with a credible shot
- [NBA Draft: Top 60 Post Tournament](https://hoopsanalyst.com/nba-draft-top-60-post-tournament/) - This final top 60 includes only seniors and underclassmen listed as at least 50-50 to declare on Chad Ford’s list. So until next year I bid adieu to Denzel Livingston and Delon Wright. I look forward to seeing you both drafted in the 2015 lottery. The 2014 draft is shaping up as a perimeter heavy
- [Knicks-Hawks and The Worst Eight Seeds Ever](https://hoopsanalyst.com/knicks-hawks-and-the-worst-eight-seeds-ever/) - With only a few games to go, the East is staging its usual crapfest for the eight seed. The Knicks appear to be surging (relatively speaking), while the Hawks, who were once 25-21, have gone 7-21 since that point. This leaves us with the Knicks at 33-43 with six games left against only playoff teams
- [Too Much Hubris for Action Jackson?](https://hoopsanalyst.com/too-much-hubris-for-action-jackson/) - The Golden State Warriors are an interesting mix. They have the enthusiastic new ownership of Joe Lacob, an ambitious coach Mark Jackson, and some pretty good young talent in Stephen Curry. The Lacob/Jackson dynamic is particularly interesting because Lacob expects to contend and Jackson talks a very good game on this same issue. The Warriors
- [2014 NCAA Tournament Predictions](https://hoopsanalyst.com/2014-ncaa-tournament-predictions/) - As I’m sure is the case with a lot of other self-appointed experts, this billion dollar bracket has gotten my attention. Because of this I have spent more time analyzing the 2014 tournament than normal. While I’m fully aware all this extra work is not going to make me the newest member of the 1%,
- [Q&A With Jeff Pearlman on Showtime](https://hoopsanalyst.com/qa-with-jeff-pearlman-on-showtime/) - Jeff Pearlman is a bestselling author and former Sports Illustrated writer. He has written fascinating books on Barry Bonds, Walter Payton, the 1986 Mets, Roger Clemens and the 1990s Dallas Cowboys and also has a fun blog, Jeffpearlman.com, where he shares his unique thoughts on current events and the latest in sports. When I saw
- [A Look At Tanking](https://hoopsanalyst.com/a-look-at-tanking/) - Down the stretch of the NBA season it seems that the issue on everyone’s mind is tanking. The assumption is that Philadelphia purposely dumped its best players and is trying to lose to accrue ping pong balls for the lottery. Many have called for the NBA to revisit the lottery system to see if there
- [NBA Draft 2014: Top 60](https://hoopsanalyst.com/nba-draft-2014-top-60/) - As the NCAA season cruises towards the tournament, the draft picture remains muddled after Joel Embiid at the top. What is clear is that assuming most of the draftworthy players head to the pros, the 2014 draft should be a pretty good one. This class is very deep on the perimeter and should deliver solid
- [Quick Thoughts](https://hoopsanalyst.com/quick-thoughts-57/) - 1. Greek Freak Projected: Amidst the waste land that is Milwaukee’s horrible season, there are few rays of hope. Somehow the Bucks have managed to pull off being horrible offensively (29th) and defensively (29th) and have done so at a slow boring pace (25th in the NBA). Aside from a pending high draft pick, the
- [Transactions: Deadline Round Up](https://hoopsanalyst.com/transactions-deadline-round-up/) - The trade deadline has come and gone and, yet again, we are underwhelmed with the results. No big names were moved. Rather, most of the trades came down to the dregs of the Eastern Conference trying desperately to eke into the playoffs or, perhaps equally desperately, trying to get above the seven seed and inevitable
- [NBA Draft 2014: Top 60 ](https://hoopsanalyst.com/1080/) - The 2014 draft is starting to come into focus. Two things I can say for certain is that Joel Embiid has established himself as the best prospect out there and the draft will be dominated by perimeter players after he’s taken #1. After Embiid the big guys are an uninspiring bunch. I do think the
- [NBA Draft 2014: Top 60ish](https://hoopsanalyst.com/nba-draft-2014-top-60ish/) - After a couple months of play the numbers are starting to pile up. While “legendary” might be a tad premature, I think we can call the 2014 draft promising at this point. It still could go either way, but I like the mix of freshmen and returning players enough to think that at least a
- [Quick Thoughts](https://hoopsanalyst.com/quick-thoughts-56/) - 1. No Free Throw Pablo: While the early struggles of the Knicks have been thoroughly discussed, what caught my attention was the play of backup point guard Pablo Prigioni. Prigioni is a solid player (14.1 PER so far this year) and has actually significantly outplayed starter Raymond Felton (whose struggles are a big factor in
- [A Look at Dante Exum](https://hoopsanalyst.com/a-look-at-dante-exum/) - Dante Exum is an Australian guard who is being touted in the mocks as being right there with Wiggins, Parker and Randle as a player worthy of being the top overall pick in the legendary 2014 NBA draft. It is still a long time until the draft and a lot will change at the top
- [It is Early, But...](https://hoopsanalyst.com/it-is-early-but/) - Actually I don’t think it is too early to start breaking down the legendary 2014 draft class. Everyone else is on it, so I might as well jump in and join the fray. I may wait a decade or three before doing a 2014 comp with the classes of ’84, ’96 and ’03 though. My
- [Quick Thoughts](https://hoopsanalyst.com/quick-thoughts-55/) - 1. Can Miami Three-Peat? James’ quest for a three-peat is not remarkably rare. In fact, we’ve had three in the past 20 years or so. (Michael Jordan did it twice and Shaq/Kobe Lakers had one as well (1999-00 through 2001-02). The Heat, however, are attempting a rarer feat. The mere ability to get back to
- [East Preview: Predicting Records](https://hoopsanalyst.com/east-preview-predicting-records/) - This is the much lesser of the two conferences. This has been the case for what seems like forever. This year the East seems likely to be Tank Central as the vast majority of the anticipated Andrew Wiggins derby will involve teams from the East. If Miami runs away with the top seed again, the
- [West Preview: Predicting Records](https://hoopsanalyst.com/west-preview-predicting-records/) - The West is very good this year. Only Phoenix seems to be a lottery certainty. There are more elite teams in the West and more promising, young teams. This should be quite a year. Pacific Division 1. LA Clippers 52-30 2. Golden State Warriors 46-36 3. Phoenix Suns 25-57 4. LA Lakers 24-58 5. Sacramento
- [Transactions 7/7-8/22 (Part 2)](https://hoopsanalyst.com/transactions-77-822-part-2/) - Chicago Bulls 7/10 Signed Mike Dunleavy and waived Richard Hamilton Signing Dunleavy is essentially a swap for Marco Belinelli. Dunleavy can shoot and fit in well to pretty much any offense. His downside is that he is already 33 and has had some injury issues (though none have been significant since 2010-11). Given Dunleavy’s cheap
- [NBA odds: Miami Heat to Win in 2013-14 too?](https://hoopsanalyst.com/nba-odds-miami-heat-to-win-in-2013-14-too/) - The Miami Heat are being billed to get a third straight NBA for South Beach, and though many say it’s too early to be saying this, the ending of the free agency is a good time to let us look at what team has the best NBA odds next year and which has the worst.
- [Transactions 7/7-8/22 (Part 1)](https://hoopsanalyst.com/transactions-77-822-part-1/) - Atlanta Hawks 7/10 Signed Paul Millsap 7/15 Signed Elton Brand 7/29 Signed Gustavo Ayon 8/3 Waived DeShawn Stevenson and DeMarre Carroll In all, the Hawks have stocked up quite well after losing Josh Smith. Millsap can’t do quite as much as Smith but at the price difference (2 years and $19 million for Millsap versus
- [Transactions 4/18-7/6 (Coaching Edition)](https://hoopsanalyst.com/transactions-418-76-coaching-edition/) - Atlanta Hawks 5/28 Named Mike Budenholzer Larry Drew didn’t actually do anything wrong that merited him losing this job. The Hawks had a little talent and not much depth and played accordingly. The Hawks apparently decided that the decent team of the past six years was over and it is time to rebuild. It’s not
- [An Early Look at Wiggins, Parker and other Top Freshmen](https://hoopsanalyst.com/an-early-look-at-wiggins-parker-and-other-top-freshmen/) - The 2014 draft class is already being called one of the strongest in years. We’ll see on whether that becomes the case, but it seems promising. The two most talked about players have been SFs Andrew Wiggins and Jabari Parker. In December of last year Jabari Parker landed on the cover of Sports Illustrated with
- [2013 Draft Grades](https://hoopsanalyst.com/2013-draft-grades/) - This may have been the most entertaining draft ever. There was drama, plot twists, comedy and surprises. We got David Stern basking in the glory of his 30 years as the best commissioner in sports. We got the entertaining ESPN crew actually giving some critical analysis. We got Shane Battier auditioning for his post-playing career.
- [NBA Draft 2013: Top 60](https://hoopsanalyst.com/nba-draft-2013-top-60-2/) - Here’s my top 60 on the morning of the draft. The top 3 stand out above the rest. I believe all 3 will have a big impact. The next 5 are a mix of players who are likely solid pros and high upside players with a little more risk than the top 3. Next are
- [NBA Draft 2013: Centers](https://hoopsanalyst.com/nba-draft-2013-centers/) - The centers are a varied group this year. There are a lot of draftworthy prospects, most of them starting in round 2. There are also a lot of potential specialists. There are stretch 5s, shot blockers, rebounders and youngsters with upside. A good number of these guys are older than the typical prospect. My feeling
- [NBA Draft 2013: Power Forwards](https://hoopsanalyst.com/nba-draft-2013-power-forwards/) - This is a very weak group of PFs this year. Probably the only group that lives down to the ridiculous “worst draft ever” assessments we’re hearing about 2013. I did write ups on the two best prospects, Cody Zeller and Tony Mitchell. The rest I put in groups without much comment, because there isn’t much
- [NBA Draft 2013: Why Cleveland Should Draft Nerlens Noel](https://hoopsanalyst.com/nba-draft-2013-why-cleveland-should-draft-nerlens-noel/) - Since I started the 2013 draft analysis with the 12/31 rankings, the only thing that has been easy about the process is placing Nerlens Noel at the top. The knee injury was a huge setback, but in the time he played Noel put up some excellent numbers that put him in pretty good company. Here
- [NBA Draft 2013: Combo Forwards](https://hoopsanalyst.com/nba-draft-2013-combo-forwards/) - Also known as a stretch 4 or a tweener, this group is something of a catchall for forwards who don’t fit. Either their size or statistics suggest they belong in a different role than what they played in college. All have some skill that could translate to NBA success. Such players have become more valuable
- [NBA Draft 2013: Small Forwards](https://hoopsanalyst.com/nba-draft-2013-small-forwards/) - I’ve already done a piece on Otto Porter, who I consider the top SF prospect and one on James Ennis and Maurice Kemp, who I would put at 2nd and 3rd behind Porter in the 2013 SF rankings. This is a look at the rest of what is a pretty strong group of SFs. I’ll
- [NBA Draft 2013: Sleeper SFs James Ennis and Maurice Kemp](https://hoopsanalyst.com/nba-draft-2013-sleeper-sfs-james-ennis-and-maurice-kemp/) - These are a couple of similar SFs who have caught my eye and merit a special look. Both are seniors who haven’t been on the prospect radar for various reasons before this season. Both have had 3 college stops in 4 years. Both bring solid all-around games. Both are slender players with a wingspan near
- [Draft 2013: Otto Porter](https://hoopsanalyst.com/draft-2013-otto-porter/) - I can tackle the rest of the SFs in the next article, but I felt Otto Porter deserved his own piece. He’s clearly the best SF in the 2013 draft. The mocks have had him in the top 5 for most of the year. He led an otherwise unimpressive bunch of Hoyas through a tough
- [Draft 2013: A Look at the Shooting Guards](https://hoopsanalyst.com/draft-2013-a-look-at-the-shooting-guards/) - Last week I looked at the top SGs. This piece looks at the rest of the SG field. This is actually a pretty strong SG group when we include Oladipo, McLemore and Caldwell-Pope. This group of SGs has every type. There are the 2nd and 3rd tier prospects that some team may foolishly talk themselves
- [Draft 2013: Top Shooting Guards](https://hoopsanalyst.com/draft-2013-top-shooting-guards/) - The NBA has gone through a dry spell when it comes to young SGs. Since Dwyane Wade came into the league in 2003, Brandon Roy and James Harden have been the only SGs to make a major impact and Roy’s career ended prematurely. That could change this year. The 2013 draft features 3 of the
- [Draft 2013: Small College Guards](https://hoopsanalyst.com/draft-2013-small-college-guards/) - The success 2013 Rookie-of-the-Year Damian Lillard had coming into the NBA out of Weber State has put more of a spotlight on small college guards. Lillard in 2012 marked the 5th consecutive year a small college guard has had a major impact. Starting with the 2008 draft class George Hill, Stephen Curry, Jeremy Lin and
- [Would Hibbert Have Mattered?](https://hoopsanalyst.com/would-hibbert-have-mattered/) - In one of the more amazing games of the playoffs, the Pacers almost knocked off the Heat at home. Up by one point, with 2.2 seconds left, the Pacers were faced with how to best defend the Heat. As we all know now, the Pacers chose to sit Roy Hibbert and play Sam Young, a
- [NBA Draft 2013: The Lesser PGs](https://hoopsanalyst.com/nba-draft-2013-the-lesser-pgs/) - I already took a look at Trey Burke and Michael Carter-Williams, who are the top two PG prospects this year. My next piece after this one will cover a trio of small college guards, CJ McCollum, Nate Wolters and Ray McCallum, who I wanted to look at separately. This group is what you might call
- [A Closer Look At Eric Murdock](https://hoopsanalyst.com/a-closer-look-at-eric-murdock/) - Two of the biggest stories basketball stories of the last two months are the firing Mike Rice at Rutgers for abuse and the recent commitment of newest high school basketball prodigy Andrew Wiggins to Kansas. While these stories seemingly have little common ground, old school NBA enthusiasts will recognize 1980s and 1990s players figured in
- [NBA Draft: Michael Carter-Williams](https://hoopsanalyst.com/nba-draft-michael-carter-williams/) - Carter-Willams as a prospect is the opposite of the other top PG prospect this year, Trey Burke. Burke is 6’0”, which is small even by PG standards. Carter-Williams is tall for a PG, listed at 6’6”. Burke is a good offensive player who is limited defensively. Carter-Williams is dominant defensively and erratic on offense. Burke
- [NBA Draft 2013: Trey Burke](https://hoopsanalyst.com/nba-draft-2013-trey-burke/) - I’m going to start the 2013 draft previews with the PGs and work my way from the perimeter to the bigs. Burke is the Wooden award winner and possibly the top PG available, so he seems like a good player to start the 2013 analyses with. With Marcus Smart going back to school Burke is
- [2012-13 Playoff Preview](https://hoopsanalyst.com/2012-13-playoff-preview/) - This season flew by like a flash and we are once again faced with the playoff season. As usual, we’ll go through the match ups and make are somewhat fearless but equivocating predictions. Before we really dig in, we should acknowledge the non-shocking revelation that we are headed to a rematch of last year’s Finals.
- [Quick Thoughts](https://hoopsanalyst.com/quick-thoughts-54/) - 1. Kobe’s Pain: The big story of the last few days is the unfortunate Achilles tear suffered by Kobe Bryant at the end of his Friday game against the Lakers. The injury raised a few questions to examine. Let’s take a look and see if we can answer them. -Does this injury end the Lakers’
- [NBA Draft 2013: Top 60 Post Tournament](https://hoopsanalyst.com/nba-draft-2013-top-60-post-tournament/) - Normally the Post-tournament Top 60 is pretty close to what my final top 60 will look like. This year I’m not sure that will be the case. Things have changed so much during the year and look like they’ll continue to do so. The tournament was a good one that provided a lot of surprises.
- [2013 NCAA Tournament Preview and Predictions](https://hoopsanalyst.com/2013-ncaa-tournament-preview-and-predictions/) - Going into the 2013 NCAA tournament I find myself fairly certain of one thing. That is Louisville and Florida playing in the championship game. I cannot remember ever feeling as confident in a tournament pick as I have in picking these two teams to meet in the 2013 championship. Predicting all the stuff that happens
- [Draft 2013: Top 60 Pre-Tournament Edition](https://hoopsanalyst.com/977/) - The passing of Jerry Buss last month brought to mind one of the things that made the Lakers great during his reign. Great teams draft potential superstars. I can think of three examples where the Buss Lakers went outside the box during the draft. The Lakers drafted Vlade Divac at #26 in 1989 when foreign
- [NBA Draft 2013: Top 60](https://hoopsanalyst.com/nba-draft-2013-top-60/) - The 2013 draft is shaping up as a pretty good draft overall. The strength is centers, which is a great thing as the NBA is in a perpetual shortage of quality big men. It also means the draft is going to be top heavy in big men, because they’re more valuable players. The draft will
- [Transactional Analysis: The Gay Trade](https://hoopsanalyst.com/transactional-analysis-the-gay-trade/) - Like the Thunder trading James Harden, Memphis found that the new CBA luxury tax penalties cost prohibitive and they therefore decide to unload Rudy Gay. The calculus is more complex than just luxury tax considerations. I imagine the Grizz had to ask themselves several questions before reaching this conclusion. Let’s run though the analysis
- [NBA Draft 2013: Top 60 or so Prospects as of 12/31](https://hoopsanalyst.com/nba-draft-2013-top-60-or-so-prospects-as-of-1231/) - Ed Weiland's early look at the top 60 prospects for the 2013 draft.
- [Bowie/Jordan, A Look Back](https://hoopsanalyst.com/bowiejordan-a-look-back/) - Is Sam Bowie a tragic figure? Traditional lore paints him either as: (a) they guy who was taken over Michael Jordan and who crapped out or (b) the guy who overcome crippling injuries to become a pretty good center. With the recent Bowie article and documentary on ESPN, the focus has returned to Bowie. I
- [NBA Draft 2013: Sniper/Defenders](https://hoopsanalyst.com/nba-draft-2013-sniperdefenders/) - It’s still early in the draft process and rather than rank the players, I like to let things play out at least through December. Two months is enough time for hot streaks will fade and cold starts to heat up and we’ll just have a more accurate view of what exactly is here in the
- [NBA Draft 2013: Well Rounded SFs](https://hoopsanalyst.com/nba-draft-2013-well-rounded-sfs/) - The emergence of Chandler Parsons as a solid, multi-skilled NBA SF and a Most Improved Player candidate for 2013 is something of an anomaly. Parsons, in only his 2nd NBA season, is currently a top 3 player on a decent Rockets team. He’s among the team leaders in minutes, points, rebounds and assists. The reason
- [Are there any Farieds in the 2013 Draft Class?](https://hoopsanalyst.com/are-there-any-farieds-in-the-2013-draft-class/) - Kenneth Faried was the find of the historically weak 2011 draft. He went from Morehead State to starting PF for the Nuggets. In his second year he’s top 10 in the league in rebounds, rebounding pct, and FG pct. His dunks have become must see You Tube viewing. While I can’t say we’ll look back
- [Carter-Williams and Smart emerge as the top 2013 PG Prospects](https://hoopsanalyst.com/carter-williams-and-smart-emerge-as-the-top-2013-pg-prospects/) - One thing I’ve written about extensively is the importance of posting a high RSB40 for guard prospects. That’s combined rebounds, steals and blocks per 40 minutes. My rule is any college PG who posts an RSB40 over 7.0 while also showing an ability to pass and score efficiently is a solid NBA prospect. Any college
- [NBA Draft 2013: Early Ranking of the Freshmen Centers](https://hoopsanalyst.com/nba-draft-2013-early-ranking-of-the-freshmen-centers/) - I believe the story of the 2013 draft will be the big men, specifically the freshmen big men. This class had 11 centers in the top 40 overall players. That’s an unheard of number. Considering the love NBA teams always show for big men in the draft and the fact that 5 of the last
- [ROTY Watch](https://hoopsanalyst.com/roty-watch/) - This year I’m going to start an occasional look at the top candidates for Rookie-of-the-year. While it’s kind of silly to start projecting the outcome of such awards in November, it might help me with the draft previews to keep a closer look at the rookies. Also everyone else is doing such lists so Hoopsanalyst
- [Quick Thoughts](https://hoopsanalyst.com/quick-thoughts-53/) - 1. Heckuva of a Job Brownie!: The big news of this week has come out of Los Angeles where the Lakers have canned Mike Brown and spurned an apparently willing and able Phil Jackson in favor of Mike D’Antoni. There is so much going on here, so let’s break it down piece-by-piece: -Should Brown have
- [NBA Draft: Is Cody Zeller Worth the Hype?](https://hoopsanalyst.com/nba-draft-is-cody-zeller-worth-the-hype/) - There’s a lot of hype surrounding Cody Zeller. He’s the college hoops pre-season cover boy for Sports Illustrated and ESPN the Mag. A look at the mocks suggests he’s considered one of the top prospects in the nation. Zeller is pretty much a fixture in the top 5, along with Noel, Muhammad and McAdoo. The
- [Unskewing the Stats: Jarnell Stokes and Alex Len](https://hoopsanalyst.com/unskewing-the-stats-jarnell-stokes-and-alex-len/) - The raw statistics I start with when evaluating college prospects are skewed. The per game statistics that are the basis for handing out awards and a lot of the quickie analysis we see and hear in the media never tell the entire story. That’s why we start the unskewing process by turning per game numbers
- [NBA Draft 2013: Early Look at the Incoming Freshmen](https://hoopsanalyst.com/nba-draft-2013-early-look-at-the-incoming-freshmen/) - This could be an exercise in futility here, but I’m going to attempt to analyze the 2013 incoming freshmen based on stats compiled in the all-star games. This process will probably play out somewhat like trying to predict the rookie of the year from summer league play. That’s always been kind of a joke. The
- [Quick Thoughts](https://hoopsanalyst.com/quick-thoughts-52/) - 1. Harden Times: I’ve been away from hoops for a while, unfortunately, but this seems like the perfect time to return. The season is starting, which is good news in itself, and a lot is also going on, most notably, the trade of James Harden to Houston. What to make of this move? Bill Simmons
- [NBA 2013 Preview: Eastern Conference](https://hoopsanalyst.com/nba-2013-preview-eastern-conference/) - In the post-Jordan Bulls NBA the East has been inferior to the West. That will continue this season and into the foreseeable future. The West is full of smart, creative GMs who can quickly make a bad team good. The East roster of GMs is full of guys in their 2nd or 3rd stints in
- [NBA 2013 Preview: Western Conference](https://hoopsanalyst.com/933/) - I had my Western Conference preview all set. Things were pretty simple and easy to predict. I had the Thunder winning the West and starting a dynasty. It made sense. They were a super-talented, well-coached team with smart management. Then the trade happened. Suddenly the West is wide open. More analysis on the trade in
- [NBA 2013 Preview: Most Improved Player](https://hoopsanalyst.com/nba-2013-preview-most-improved-player/) - The MIP should be one of the more intriguing award competitions to watch in 2013. Before the talent drought that plagued the NBA drafts of 2011 and 2012, the drafts of 2009 and 2010 were both deep with solid NBA prospects. Those players are ready to make an impact in 2013. That should not only
- [NBA 2013 Preview: Who Will Win the ROY?](https://hoopsanalyst.com/nba-2013-preview-who-will-win-the-roy/) - The 2013 rookie class looks weak to me. Anthony Davis is the only sure thing in the group and that makes him an easy top choice. I mention other players as rookies to watch. Some will probably go on to have solid careers, but Anthony Davis is the story of the 2012 draft and the
- [NBA 2013 Preview: The MVP Race](https://hoopsanalyst.com/920/) - The MVP award is as much about team success as it is about individual success. To win the award it is imperative that a candidate pile up impressive stats. But those stats mean little if his team is perceived to have underachieved by the voters. More often than not the MVP goes to a player
- [NBA Draft 2013: Early Look at the Centers](https://hoopsanalyst.com/nba-draft-2013-early-look-at-the-centers/) - It’s another typical group of centers for the 2013 draft. At least that’s how I would describe the returning players. The freshmen could actually be something special. The reason is there are so many highly-rated centers in the 2012 recruiting class. Five of the top 8 players and 11 of the top 40 are listed as centers. That’s way out of the norm. The previous 5 classes had 5 centers total in the top 8 and never more than 7 in the top 40 in any one year. So the 2013 incoming freshmen center class comes in with depth and potential rarely seen. Recruiting classes can be fickle though. All the players are a long way from being complete and a lot of wrong things can happen on their way there. But the sheer number of highly-touted prospects makes it likely that there will be one or two freshmen centers who emerge as the top prospect(s) for the 2013 draft. Since this piece is focusing on the returning centers, it won’t be as glowing. There are a couple of sophs, Alex Len and Amir Williams, who hold some promise. Other than that 2013 features a typically starless group of centers. Many of them are old for college players, but all have shown enough that they’re worth keeping an eye on. Some will improve enough in 2013 to get themselves into the first round discussion.
- [NBA Draft 2013: Early look at the Power Forwards](https://hoopsanalyst.com/nba-draft-2013-early-look-at-the-power-forwards/) - This is a pretty good group... potentially of course. Like the SFs there’s a lot of depth here. It’s a good mix of promising sophs and college veterans with one last chance to sparkle. With the incoming freshman class also being deep in big men, 2013 should be a good year for the bigs, which
- [NBA Draft 2013: Early Look at the Small Forwards](https://hoopsanalyst.com/nba-draft-2013-early-look-at-the-small-forwards/) - While I’m not excited about the returning back court prospects, I do like this group of SFs. I like this group because of the depth in players who are close to being solid prospects, but just need to add some offense or defense to the skill set. I prefer the guys who already play the
- [Draft 2013: Early Look at the SGs](https://hoopsanalyst.com/draft-2013-early-look-at-the-sgs/) - If the PG class of 2013 is a little weak, the returning SG class looks downright anemic. I expect this to change. I expect an upper classmen or three will emerge out of nowhere. I also feel one or two freshmen will sparkle, as usually is the case. But right now there just isn’t a
- [Draft 2013: Early look at the top PGs](https://hoopsanalyst.com/draft-2013-early-look-at-the-top-pgs/) - The 2013 PG class looks a little thin right now. There is no returning player who looks like a sure thing as a prospect and the incoming freshman class, which isn’t included here, looks weak. The class was hurt more when TJ McConnell, who may have been the top returning PG prospect, transferred from Duquense to Arizona and will sit out the year because of it. He’s one to keep in mind as a bust out star for 2014 though. Back to the present, there are three that rate above the crowd going into 2013, Michael Carter-Williams, Nate Wolters and Aaron Craft. There are also a few still-young phenoms who had weak starts, but are certainly capable of improvement. After that there are several juniors and seniors who would be called the usual suspects. Players who have flashed some nice skills, but need to develop more before they’re serious prospects. It is worth noting that the top PG drafted in 2012, Damian Lillard, was barely a blip on most draft geek radars, including mine, at this time last year. That illustrates how quickly things can turn during one college season. With that in mind, let’s not take these rankings too seriously until the games start and statistics start to pile up in a few months.
- [Transactions: 7/1-7/21 (Part I)](https://hoopsanalyst.com/transactions-71-721-part-i/) - Atlanta Hawks 7/11 Traded Joe Johnson to Brooklyn for Jordan Farmar, DeShawn Stevenson, Anthony Morrow, Jordan Williams, Johan Petro, a first-round pick in 2013, and a second-round pick in 2017; waived Jordan Farmar 7/11 Traded Marvin Williams to Utah for Devin Harris 7/12 Signed Louis Williams In all, a very nice start for Danny Ferry.
- [Transactions: 6/4-6/30](https://hoopsanalyst.com/transactions-64-630/) - Atlanta Hawks 6/25 Named Danny Ferry general manager Ferry’s first go around in Cleveland was a mixed bag. He was perfectly competent in bringing in pieces to fill holes around LeBron James but struggled in making the big deal to push the Cavs over the top. Ferry’s biggest free agent signing was Larry Hughes, who
- [NBA Draft 2012: Grades](https://hoopsanalyst.com/nba-draft-2012-grades/) - This draft is Anthony Davis followed by a whole lot of meh. There’s a lot of journeyman depth. There are a lot of decent prospects, but few good ones. For that reason the 2012 draft is a tough one to evaluate and grade. There will be some players who develop into rotation regulars and even
- [NBA Draft 2012: Top 60 (Not a mock draft)](https://hoopsanalyst.com/nba-draft-2012-top-60-not-a-mock-draft/) - This is not a mock draft. Mocks suggest some inside knowledge of how the draft will transpire. I have no such knowledge other than what I might read here and there. This is the order of how I would draft this group of players. This is an incredibly difficult bunch to rank after the top
- [NBA Draft 2012: Centers](https://hoopsanalyst.com/nba-draft-2012-centers/) - The evaluation of the centers plays out something like the PFs. There are benchmarks that should be met before I consider them good prospects. There are exceptions and I’ll get into those as they apply. The main thing to know is the 2PP should be over .600, the R40 over 10.0 and the B40 over
- [NBA Draft2012: Anthony Davis](https://hoopsanalyst.com/nba-draft2012-anthony-davis/) - Why Anthony Davis will be an NBA superstar
- [NBA Draft 2012: Power Forwards](https://hoopsanalyst.com/nba-draft-2012-power-forwards/) - I like analyzing power forwards. In general they’re an easy, low maintenance bunch. Unlike the small forwards, there isn’t a lot of nuance. It’s fairly simple. If a player can score efficiently, rebound and defend at the college level, he’s a good prospect. If he can’t, he isn’t. The benchmarks are fairly simple for PFs.
- [NBA Draft 2012: Combo Forwards](https://hoopsanalyst.com/nba-draft-2012-combo-forwards/) - They’re not quite a power or a small forward, but something in between. Their value lies in either the ability to play both forward positions or to bring a different dimension, usually 3-point shooting, to the PF position. The important things to look for in such players are an ability to rebound and defend at
- [NBA Draft 2012: Small Forwards](https://hoopsanalyst.com/nba-draft-2012-small-forwards/) - As I mentioned in a previous piece on Jae Crowder and Ken Horton, SFs are a difficult bunch to gauge. It’s best that they score both often and efficiently and possess as many other skills as possible, be it passing, rebounding or defense. With that in mind I thought I’d just throw as many stats
- [NBA Draft 2012: Jae Crowder and Ken Horton](https://hoopsanalyst.com/nba-draft-2012-jae-crowder-and-ken-horton/) - I thought I’d start the SF analyses by looking at a couple of players I feel are being undervalued by the experts. These are a couple of small forwards who stand out statistically in what is really a pretty deep group. Neither has gotten much in the way of attention. Crowder was the Big East
- [NBA Draft 2012: Harrison Barnes](https://hoopsanalyst.com/nba-draft-2012-harrison-barnes/) - The feeling out there about Harrison Barnes seems to be that while he’s definitely overhyped, at least he’ll become a player in the mold of a Rudy Gay or Luol Deng and that’s not a bad catch in the 5-10 range of the draft. I think that’s way too optimistic. Here is a look at
- [NBA Draft 2012: Shooting Guards](https://hoopsanalyst.com/nba-draft-2012-shooting-guards/) - The 2012 SGs don’t measure up so well, but there are some interesting prospects. I’ve already ready addressed Bradley Beal who is the top pure SG along with Waiters, Wroten and Lillard, all of whom I like better than most of this group. These are players that have one or two things about them that
- [NBA Draft 2012: Combo Guards](https://hoopsanalyst.com/nba-draft-2012-combo-guards/) - I’ve already bashed the 2012 PG class and will likely do the same with the SGs early next week. The bright spot of the backcourt class of 2012 are 3 combo guards, Dion Waiters, Tony Wroten and Damian Lillard. All 3 should be drafted in round one. Dion Waiters, Syracuse, .529, .363, 21.0, 4.1, 3.0,
- [NBA Draft 2012: More Point Guards](https://hoopsanalyst.com/nba-draft-2012-more-point-guards/) - In the previous piece on passing PGs, I mentioned the overall weakness of the 2012 PG class. This is the weakest group in years and seems likely to be the weakest for years to come. That leads to us analysts looking hard in an attempt to find something where there is nothing. Since I do
- [NBA Draft 2012: Pass-First PGs](https://hoopsanalyst.com/nba-draft-2012-pass-first-pgs/) - The PG class of 2012 looks like it could be the worst group since 1992, an otherwise strong draft that included Lee Mayberry and Brent Price as the top two floor generals. I can’t say whether or not 2012 will beat that draft for PG futility. There are some interesting prospects, but none who stand
- [First Round Fall Out (Western Conference)](https://hoopsanalyst.com/first-round-fall-out-western-conference/) - 1. Denver Nuggets: When you look back at the past decade of Denver Nuggets history, yet another first round loss might seem like stagnation. The Nuggets have made the playoffs each of the last nine seasons but made it past the first round only once (2008-09 when they lost to the Lakers in the
- [NBA Draft 2012:  Andre Drummond](https://hoopsanalyst.com/nba-draft-2012-andre-drummond/) - Andre Drummond is considered the top center available in the 2012 draft. He was highly-touted coming in as a freshman this past season, but struggled to get things going and did not live up to expectations. He wasn’t terrible, but was hardly the dominant force some were expecting. For a look at how Drummond compares
- [First Round Fall Out (Eastern Conference)](https://hoopsanalyst.com/first-round-fall-out-eastern-conference/) - While the playoffs rage on, it is still a fine time to stop for a minute and consider those who have already been knocked out. So we begin our annual Fall Out series, in which we assess the departed and their future prospects. The losers have been gone for at least a week and this
- [NBA Draft 2012: Bradley Beal](https://hoopsanalyst.com/nba-draft-2012-bradley-beal/) - I’m starting my 2012 draft analysis with a look at the players who are considered potential 2nd overall picks. Today it’s Florida SG Bradley Beal. Using the 2nd overall pick on a SG has been very rare. We’d have to go back to the 70s when David Thompson (1st overall ’75), Otis Birdsong (2nd overall
- [NBA Draft 2012: Michael Kidd-Gilchrist](https://hoopsanalyst.com/nba-draft-2012-michael-kidd-gilchrist/) - The second pick the NBA draft has produced many stars, but also many famous busts. Bob Petit, Bill Russell, Jerry West, Rick Barry, Earl Monroe Dave Bing, Wes Unseld, Rudy Tomjanovich, Bob McAdoo, Isaih Thomas, Gary Payton, Alonzo Mourning and Kevin Durant were all drafted 2nd, which shows a HOFer can be found. The busts
- [Playoff Thoughts](https://hoopsanalyst.com/playoff-thoughts-20/) - 1. Celtics-Hawks: So far, the First Round has been entertaining for individual games but no series has really quite gotten to the point that the outcome has been in much doubt. In other words, no series have been tied at 2-2 but instead all were at 3-1 or 4-0 sweeps coming into Game 5. Fortunately
- [Playoff Thoughts (Western Conference)](https://hoopsanalyst.com/playoff-thoughts-western-conference/) - 1. Spurs-Jazz: While it appeared that the Jazz's big front line just might give the Spurs some problems, it has not played out this way so far. The front court has been irrelevant as Tony Parker destroyed the Jazz guards in Game 1 and the Spurs just collectively clobbered Utah in Game 2, in a
- [Quick Thoughts](https://hoopsanalyst.com/quick-thoughts-51/) - 1. Tanking: The theme of the final month of the NBA season has been tanking. Namely, that the bad teams have quit trying in an attempt to amass ping pong balls for the NBA Lottery. But is this true? Well, the anecdotal evidence overwhelmingly supports this assertion. Of the 16 teams currently in the
- [SVG V. Superman](https://hoopsanalyst.com/svg-v-superman/) - This week's drama in Orlando is one of the more bizarre NBA stories I can remember. I’m not surprised that Dwight Howard wanted Stan Van Gundy fired or that the two might not like each other. No, but Van Gundy’s decision to go nuclear and call Howard out at an interview session is pretty unprecedented. Players
- [Bad Shooting](https://hoopsanalyst.com/quick-thoughts-50/) - There have been some notable really bad shooting performances from usually pretty good players this season. Most notably, Lamar Odom is shooting 34% after shooting 53% last year. Plenty other players have also looked ugly too: James Toney, DeShawn Stevenson, Ron Artest, Baron Davis, and Jason Kidd are other well-known players hovering below 36%. But
- [Transactions 3/6-3/16](https://hoopsanalyst.com/transactions-36-316/) - Chicago Bulls 3/14 Signed Mike James to a 10-day contract With Derrick Rose's injury issues, Mike James has gotten another look in the NBA, long after his career seemed over. The Bulls signed him and cut him early in the year but he was surprisingly effective, primarily because he has hit 57% of his threes
- [Transactions: 2/21-3/5](https://hoopsanalyst.com/transactions-221-35/) - Atlanta Hawks 2/20 Signed Erick Dampier to a second 10-day contract 3/1 Signed Erick Dampier for the remainder of the season With Jason Collins having injury problems and a general lack of big bodies in Atlanta, the Hawks have decided to try to squeeze a little value out of Dampier. Dampier looks close to done
- [Quick Thoughts](https://hoopsanalyst.com/quick-thoughts-49/) - 1. All-Star Fun: In what seems like a blink of the eye, the NBA All-Star game has come and gone in this abbreviated season. Neither who made the All-Star game nor the result of the actual game (a narrow and competitive win for the West) concern me too much. It's all about history to me.
- [NBA Draft 2012: Prospect Update](https://hoopsanalyst.com/nba-draft-2012-prospect-update/) - As this draft comes into better focus it is shaping up as a draft heavy on forwards and backup centers. Anthony Davis remains the top pick. He’s the only player who looks like he has a good shot at becoming an all-star. After Davis it is something of a mixed bag. Overall the quality is
- [Quick Thoughts](https://hoopsanalyst.com/quick-thoughts-48/) - It's a little early to draw any conclusions yet but here are a few interesting tidbits for the new season to watch: -Philly Phlying: The Philadelphia 76ers are arguably the best team in the NBA on paper right now. After dismantling the Kings last night, Philly is 7-2 and outscoring foes by a ridiculous +16.0
- [NBA Draft 2012: An Early Preview](https://hoopsanalyst.com/nba-draft-2012-an-early-preview/) - The class of 2012 is better than the class of 2011. Right now that’s about the best thing I can say about it. I’ll add that there are enough intriguing prospects out there that I expect an interesting enough class to develop by draft day. But I still see this as a slightly below-average class
- [NBA Draft 2007: Early Mock Draft ](https://hoopsanalyst.com/nba-draft-2007-early-mock-draft/) - It’s still a question of Oden or Durant, though Oden seems to have taken the lead. For now I’m going to go with Durant as #1, because he’s a better fit in Portland the way the team is currently set up. It’s more than those 2 though. This looks like it will be the best
- [Playoffthoughts](https://hoopsanalyst.com/playoffthoughts-4/) - 1. LeBron Pumps It Up: LeBron James 48-point outburst on Thursday was truly amazing to watch and included his scoring 29 of the teams last 30 points. Throw in some ridiculous dunks and a couple of off-balance three-pointers and you get one of those legendary playoff performances and let's us all wax poetic about how
- [Playoffthoughts](https://hoopsanalyst.com/playoffthoughts-3/) - 1. Finals Preview: On paper, Cavs-Spurs seems like a mismatch. Yes, the Cavs are playing very well. Yes, the Cavs are 2-0 against the Spurs. But the Spurs are playing at a really high level and the Cavs are weaker at almost every position. Can we really gleam the winning formula the Cavs two wins
- [Playoffthoughts](https://hoopsanalyst.com/playoffthoughts-2/) - 1. Bowen and LeBron: I thought the last play of Game 3 was called correctly. With the Cavs down three, Bruce Bowen tried to intentionally foul LeBron James. James broke free, however, and just missed an open three. Some had felt that the foul should've been called and that the Cavs got somewhat screwed. Bowen
- [Playoffthoughts](https://hoopsanalyst.com/playoffthoughts/) - 1. Finals Fallout: Not the most memorable Finals, to say the least, but let's see where the participants go from here: -Cleveland Cavaliers: Obviously, it was a nice year for the Cavs but what happens now? Cleveland has made steady progress since LeBron James came to town but a Finals appearance at this point seemed
- [NBA Draft 2007: Centers ](https://hoopsanalyst.com/nba-draft-2007-centers/) - A few months ago, as the college season was just getting revved up, I pondered the idea of whether or not the 2007 draft had a chance to become the greatest center draft ever. At the time there were seven to eight centers looking like solid pros while destroying non-conference schedules. Then the conference season
- [NBA Draft 2007: Power Forwards ](https://hoopsanalyst.com/nba-draft-2007-power-forwards/) - With the PFs, rating them turns out to be fairly simple. Or so it seems according to recent history. There are 4 categories that seem to be important: FG pct., points per 40 minutes, rebounds per 40 minutes and the sum of steals and blocks per 40 minutes. I would say that rebounds and FG
- [NBA Draft 2007: Small Forwards ](https://hoopsanalyst.com/nba-draft-2007-small-forwards/) - Of all the positions, the SFs have been hardest for me to get a handle on. With the other 4, I can point to certain statistics or a combination of statistics that seem to be a pretty good predictor of success. With SFs, that just isn’t there. The reason is because there are two types
- [NBA Draft 2007: Shooting Guards ](https://hoopsanalyst.com/nba-draft-2007-shooting-guards/) - One thing I found looking at past SGs is that it’s more important for them to reach certain levels of performance in a number of stats rather than excel in one or two particular areas. Specifically there are four numbers that seem to be important for SG prospects to reach: A FG pct. of at
- [NBA Draft 2007: Point Guards](https://hoopsanalyst.com/nba-draft-2007-point-guards/) - For the PGs the important standards seem to be as follows: A FG pct. of .450, 18.0 P40, 5.0 A40 and 6.5 RSB40. Unlike SGs, it seems that the better a PG does in each one of these categories, the better he plays as a pro. Of particular importance seems to be a high number
- [NBA Draft 2007: Combo Guards ](https://hoopsanalyst.com/nba-draft-2007-combo-guards/) - This being a relatively new category of prospects, I don’t have the history to draw on that I do with the 5 traditional positions. While I could give the combo standards to pass, like the 7 RSB40 for SGs, the best thing for now might be to look at how well they do the things
- [NBA Preview 2011-12](https://hoopsanalyst.com/nba-preview-2011-12/) - As pretty much everyone has noted, the 2011-12 is the second abbreviated season and we are all trying to draw parallels to the first such season, 1998-99, to better understand what we might expect this time. The lessons people have taken from good old 1998-99? -Older teams will struggle in the compressed schedule with fewer
- [Transactions 12/9-12/10 (Part 2)](https://hoopsanalyst.com/transactions-129-1210-part-2/) - New York Knicks 12/10 Waived Chauncey Billups 12/10 In a sign-and-trade three-team, Dallas sent Tyson Chandler, the rights to Giorgos Printezis, and Ahmad Nivins to New York for Andry Rautins and a conditional 2012 second-round pick from Washington; Washington received Ronny Turiaf, a 2013 second-round pick and cash from New York, and a 2012 second-round
- [Transactions 12/9-12/10 (Part 1)](https://hoopsanalyst.com/transactions-129-1210-part-1/) - Atlanta Hawks 12/9 Signed Tracy McGrady, Vladimir Radmanovic, and re-signed Jason Collins Did you know that T-Mac is only 32? In a part-time role, McGrady wasn't actually that bad for the Pistons either. The problem is that one of the most exciting players of the 2000s is now, at best, an average bench guy who
- [Lock Out Post Mortem FAQ](https://hoopsanalyst.com/lock-out-post-mortem-faq/) - It looks like we finally have a tentative deal between the NBA and the NBPA. The terms are sketchy as the deal must be approved by the union members and the owners council. Both parties also admit that they need to iron out differences on the "b issues" too but the implication is that a
- [Who Is Your Most Likely Hall of Famer? (Southeast Division)](https://hoopsanalyst.com/who-is-your-most-likely-hall-of-famer-southeast-division/) - Our inquiry into who the next Hall of Famer should be for each franchise now turns to the newish Southeast Division. The division didn't exist before 2004-05 and most of its teams didn't exist before 1988 (Miami and Orlando came into being in 1988 and 1989 respectively and Charlotte in 2004-05). Still, most of the
- [Who Is Your Most Likely Hall of Famer? (Central Division)](https://hoopsanalyst.com/who-is-your-most-likely-hall-of-famer-central-division/) - We now turn to the Central Division in our Hall of Fame segment. Just as a reminder, we are looking for the next player most likely to make the Hall of Fame for each franchise. The guidelines, can be found here. Let's begin... 1. Chicago Bulls: Outside of the Michael Jordan Era, the Hall of
- [Who Is Your Most Likely Hall of Famer? (Atlantic Division)](https://hoopsanalyst.com/who-is-your-most-likely-hall-of-famer-atlantic-division/) - We just took a month off from writing in hopes that the NBA labor stalemate would move forward while we all thought of other things. Unfortunately, the world of the NBA present is still stuck in neutral (and possibly even reverse). On the bright side, we can spend as much time talking about the NBA's
- [Transactions 4/14-7/1 ](https://hoopsanalyst.com/transactions-414-71/) - Atlanta Hawks 6/28 Draft Al Horford and Acie Law IV Horford looks like a nice pick. He should develop into the power rebounder that the Hawks don't quite have. The only question is whether he develops into a solid pro (a la Otis Thorpe) or whether Horford will do some scoring. The pick renders last
- [Transactions: 7/2-7/13 ](https://hoopsanalyst.com/transactions-72-713/) - Dallas Mavericks 7/12 Re-sign Devean George 7/13 Re-sign Jerry Stackhouse The Stackhouse re-signing was an interest decision. Stack is not young (33) and has had knee issues but he was a key player for the Mavs off the bench last year. The extension is reported at three years and $18 million. It's hard to know
- [Quick Thoughts](https://hoopsanalyst.com/quick-thoughts-47/) - 1. What're Yi Doing?: The least shocking news of the day was the announcement of Yi Jianlian's Chinese team the Beijing Tigers that it would not permit him to sign with the Bucks. According to Beijing's owner Chen Haitao: "This is not -- as media reports have said -- because Milwaukee, as a city with
- [Quick Thoughts](https://hoopsanalyst.com/quick-thoughts-46/) - 1. Donaghy Problems: The Tim Donaghy situation is clearly the NBA's biggest nightmare on many levels. But what do we really know about this whole thing yet? We know that Donaghy had a gambling problem, that he owed the wrong people money, and that there was a possibility that he was calling games in such
- [Transactions 7/13-7/27 ](https://hoopsanalyst.com/transactions-713-727/) - Charlotte Bobcats 7/17 Re-sign Matt Carroll 7/19 Re-sign Gerald Wallace Both returnees got six years contracts, Carroll for about $27 million and Wallace at $57 million. I guess Bobcat fans can't complaint about failing to spend but, to me, the returns are mixed. Carroll is a pretty good player but do you need to have
- [Transactions 7/28-7/31 (KG Edition) ](https://hoopsanalyst.com/transactions-728-731-kg-edition/) - Boston Celtics 7/31 Acquire Kevin Garnett from Minnesota in exchange for Ryan Gomes, Gerald Green, Al Jefferson, Theo Ratliff, Sebastian Telfair, a 2009 first round draft pick (top three protected), a return of Minnesota's conditional first round draft pick previously obtained in the Ricky Davis-Wally Szczerbiak and cash considerations Well that was surprising. We had
- [All-Time All-Rookie Teams: Atlantic Division ](https://hoopsanalyst.com/all-time-all-rookie-teams-atlantic-division/) - Each summer as NBA activity slows to a crawl (referee controversies and Kevin Garnett trades notwithstanding) we like to get a little more reflective and some historical perspective-type series. This summer I thought we'd go over the All-Time All-Rookie squad for each franchise. Hopefully, we'll see how many useful rookies each franchise produced and, also,
- [All-Time All-Rookie Teams: Central Division ](https://hoopsanalyst.com/all-time-all-rookie-teams-central-division/) - Continuing with our examinations of each franchise's top rookies of All-Time, here is the Central: -Chicago Bulls: The Bulls have two Rookies of the Year in their franchise history and they are doozies. Elton Brand was great in 1999-00 and one can only wonder where the Bulls would be the last few years if they
- [NBA Transactions 7/28-8/17](https://hoopsanalyst.com/nba-transactions-728-817/) - Boston Celtics 8/9 Sign Eddie House and Scot Pollard The Celtics now turn to adding some degree of depth to the roster. House should help as a shooter off the bench. As an aside, I'm not quite sure why the Celtics are toying with an older Reggie Miller when he highly unlikely to be better
- [Quick Thoughts](https://hoopsanalyst.com/quick-thoughts-45/) - 1. FIBA Things: So far the FIBA Americas really haven't gone down with much surprise but here are some things to note: -The US is obviously the best team again and its margins of victory have been ridiculous Still, you can't take these three blow outs to mean that the US has extended the gap
- [All-Time All-Rookie Teams: Southeast Division ](https://hoopsanalyst.com/all-time-all-rookie-teams-southeast-division/) - Continuing our tour of All-Rookie teams, we head to the newly created Southeast Division, where 60% of the teams didn't exist before 1988. Let's take a look at what they've produced.... -Atlanta Hawks: People tend to forget that the Hawks are an original NBA franchise with some illustrious history. For the purposes of our inquiry,
- [Quick Thoughts](https://hoopsanalyst.com/quick-thoughts-44/) - 1. Dream Team?: Well the FIBA Americas tourney has come and went and, as anticipated, the United States dominated the proceedings. Of course, the margin of error is so slim in these international proceedings that you can't assume a win in the 2008 Olympics. Still, the team did seem to have a nice balance to
- [All-Time All-Rookie Teams: Southwest Division](https://hoopsanalyst.com/all-time-all-rookie-teams-southwest-division/) - The Southwest is one of the newer divisions but it's comprised of some interesting teams, a couple of which have quite a few big time rooks.... -Dallas Mavericks: The history of the Dallas franchise has very little middle ground. The Mavs came into existence in 1980 and almost immediately accrued tons of good young players
- [Knicks Lit](https://hoopsanalyst.com/knicks-lit/) - With the FIBA championships ending and the transaction wire grinding to a halt, the only show in the NBA is happening in downtown Manhattan, where Isiah Thomas and the Knicks are in a dogfight with former employee Anucha Browne Sanders over an employment discrimination claim. Usually, any trial will grab interest because of the potentially
- [Quick Thoughts](https://hoopsanalyst.com/quick-thoughts-43/) - 1. Oden Ouch: The Blazers have recently gotten the tough news that Greg Oden, their number one pick and the ballyhooed number one overall pick, will miss the entire season with micro facture knee surgery. The immediate reaction was to talk about how the Blazers are in serious trouble and that Oden may carry the
- [Quick Thoughts](https://hoopsanalyst.com/quick-thoughts-42/) - 1. Mad Marion: As we wait for training camp to begin, the latest story is that Shawn Marion has demanded a trade. The origin of the trade seems to be twofold, recognition and money: -Marion was put off by being shopped. The Suns had dangled both Marion and Amare Stoudemire in possible trades this summer.
- [A Little More on GP](https://hoopsanalyst.com/a-little-more-on-gp/) - Usually when a Hall of Fame level player retires, we like to do a comprehensive write up of his career. Clearly, Gary Payton falls into that category. In Payton's case, we already gave him that treatment back in 2004 when he returned to Seattle for the first time. More recently, J.A. Adande wrote a nice
- [All-Time All-Rookie Teams: Northwest Division ](https://hoopsanalyst.com/all-time-all-rookie-teams-northwest-division/) - This is your basic middle-aged division. No really new franchises (Minnesota is the most recently created squad) but most came into the NBA in the mid-1970s. So, you wouldn't expect too many deep All-Rookie rosters. Let's take a look and see... -Denver Nuggets: Denver is one of the few franchises without actually having a Rookie
- [Quick Thoughts](https://hoopsanalyst.com/quick-thoughts-41/) - 1. More Isiah: Last week the jury spoke, finding the Knicks, James Dolan, and Isiah Thomas guilty of harassment and retaliatory termination and giving Anucha Browne Sanders $11.6 in punitive damages. Isiah was not found to be guilty in the firing portion of the claim but he and the Garden took a rather big hit.
- [Transactions 8/18-10/15 ](https://hoopsanalyst.com/transactions-818-1015/) - Atlanta Hawks 10/1 Sign Antwayne Robinson, Steven Smith, Jamaal Tatum and Mario West Not much here, just cutting of the fringe guys at the end of the roster. In other Hawks news, Marvin Williams has looked quite good so far this preseason (19 ppg, 4.3 rpg) and Speedy Claxton hasn't (2 ppg and .222 FG%
- [Quick Thoughts](https://hoopsanalyst.com/quick-thoughts-40/) - 1. Kobe Stuff: The big this week has been Kobe Bryant-Laker situation. Rumors were abound that Kobe was refusing to play because he sat out three practices for no apparent reason (he claimed injury). More to the point, owner Jerry Buss, without much prompting, basically stated that the market was open for Kobe: "It's just
- [Playoff Droughts ](https://hoopsanalyst.com/playoff-droughts/) - Last season Golden State ended a 13-year postseason drought in spectacular fashion. The Warriors broke an even longer streak by getting to the second round for the first time since 1990-91 when RUN TMC shocked David Robinson's Spurs. I thought it would be fun to go through and see the current longest postseason droughts. Here's
- [NBA Preview 2007-08: Eastern Conference ](https://hoopsanalyst.com/nba-preview-2007-08-eastern-conference/) - The projected records are based on projected minutes and production from projected starters for each team. Those numbers are then calculated into points and a record. Some of these will be wildly wrong. Some I don’t even agree with, but I’m putting them out there and we’ll see what happens. After the records, I’ll write
- [NBA Preview 2007-08: Western Conference ](https://hoopsanalyst.com/nba-preview-2007-08-western-conference/) - The projected records are based on projected minutes and production from projected starters for each team. Those numbers are then calculated into points and a record. Some of these will be wildly wrong. Some I don’t even agree with, but I’m putting them out there and we’ll see what happens. In general this system tends
- [NBA Preview 2007-08: MVP](https://hoopsanalyst.com/nba-preview-2007-08-mvp/) - To recap what I’ve been saying for a couple of seasons now: The MVP generally goes to the best player on a team with the best record in their conference. Exceptions would be great teams with a balanced attack, players on a team that improves dramatically from one year to the next, and a player
- [NBA Preview 2007-08: Rookie of the Year](https://hoopsanalyst.com/nba-preview-2007-08-rookie-of-the-year/) - This award usually goes to the top scoring rookie, regardless of team record or how valuable a player the rookie is. Before I get into any individual players, I want to mention that I believe this will be one of the great draft classes ever. Even without Oden the group is loaded with talented players.
- [Q&A With Kyle Wright and "The NBA Top to Bottom" ](https://hoopsanalyst.com/qa-with-kyle-wright-and-the-nba-top-to-bottom/) - The following is a question/answer session I recently conducted with journalist Kyle Wright. Kyle just wrote, "The NBA Top to Bottom", a fascinating new book where he ranks every single NBA team in history. For any casual fan or even an NBA buff, there is sufficient amount of data to digest and have fun with.
- [NBA Preview 2007-08: Most Improved Player ](https://hoopsanalyst.com/nba-preview-2007-08-most-improved-player/) - Who wins the Most Improved Players award? Typically it’s scorers. The winner has usually upped his scoring average by at least 7 PPG to the high teens or low 20s. The winner also tends to be a younger player, in his 2nd or 3rd season. Team success and position played have little to do with
- [A Few Things We Learned This First Week ](https://hoopsanalyst.com/a-few-things-we-learned-this-first-week/) - Although the season has just begun, there are, with apologies to certain former U.S. president, a few truths that have become self-evident. Here are five very early season stories that created some buzz, at least within this author’s mind. 1. The Celtics are really that good With Ray Allen, Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce leading
- [Quick Thoughts](https://hoopsanalyst.com/quick-thoughts-39/) - 1. Celtic Revival: It's a pretty fun time to be a Boston sports fan and the Celtics are no small part of the fun right now. Obviously, adding Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen has helped. Not often is a team able to bring in so many big names in a short period. Here's the short
- [Quick Thoughts](https://hoopsanalyst.com/quick-thoughts-38/) - 1. Celts-Cavs: Quite a game Cleveland tonight where we watched the Celts take on another possible playoff contender. Boston, whose defense has been good so far, struggled to match up with LeBron James (38 pts, 14-15 from the line, and 13 assists). In the end, the Cavs surged past the Celts to force overtime (after
- [What November Means](https://hoopsanalyst.com/what-november-means/) - The first full month is in the books. I’m going to look at what a teams’ conference rank on 11/30 has historically meant and what it means for teams in 2007-08. Here’s a look at each seed at the end of play on November 30th and how well they’ve continued to play. This table goes
- [Nuclear Summer (and Winter?)](https://hoopsanalyst.com/nuclear-summer-and-winter/) - Until recently, the NBA-NBPA negotiations have been relatively quiet but now things are starting to get a bit funky. The players have doubted the amount of money losses that the NBA has set forth in their financials, which has created an impasse. More recently, the NBPA filed a complaint with NLRB claiming that the NBA
- [Quick Thoughts](https://hoopsanalyst.com/quick-thoughts-37/) - 1. Labor Crap: One of the more entertaining seasons in recent memory is over and we are left with a nasty hangover in the form of a likely prolonged labor dispute. There already has been a lot of great stuff written about the dispute and the issues seem to have been well identified. Still, we
- [NBA Draft 2011:  Draft Grades](https://hoopsanalyst.com/nba-draft-2011-draft-grades/) - The question of this draft was to take the PG or the forward first. There was some debate, but most stuff I read and heard seemed to favor going with Kyrie Irving at the top pick. That was my feeling. History would also seem to favor going with the PG. Going back to the 1966
- [NBA Draft 2011: Our Top 30](https://hoopsanalyst.com/nba-draft-2011-our-top-30/) - Right now it is impossible to know exactly where the 2011 draft will rank in overall badness. Of recent drafts, 2000 stands out as the worst and this one could get there. If Kyrie Irving’s numbers are no more than an 11-game mirage, the foreign centers never develop and the rest of this group achieves
- [NBA Draft 2011: Small Forwards](https://hoopsanalyst.com/nba-draft-2011-small-forward/) - SF is the most difficult position to assess by far. This is mainly because the position offers a wide range of looks and responsibilities. I’ve zeroed in on some important numbers, though it isn’t like a player needs to hit every benchmark to be considered a strong or weak prospect. As analyst we just need
- [NBA Draft 2011: Power Forwards](https://hoopsanalyst.com/nba-draft-2011-power-forward/) - This year’s crop of PFs looks like the strongest position in the draft. The PGs seem to be the most talked about group, but they look like a wildly overrated bunch to me. While there is no single great player here, there are some solid players and promising raw talent. The benchmarks I look for
- [NBA Draft 2011: Centers](https://hoopsanalyst.com/nba-draft-2011-centers/) - The 2011 NCAA center class might be the worst I’ve ever seen. Usually I get at least one player like John Bryant, Herbert Hill or Alecks Marek who I’m convinced can be at least a semi-effective NBA center. This year such a guy isn’t there. There are a couple of raw, but promising foreign center
- [NBA Draft 2011: Shooting Guards](https://hoopsanalyst.com/nba-draft-2011-shooting-guards/) - For shooting guards I look at 6 benchmarks. These have historically been numbers that SGs who made any significant impact on the NBA have hit as college players. Hitting over 50% on 2 pointers or at least very close to it. This higher the better, as usually is the case. Scoring 20.0 points per 40
- [NBA Draft 2011: Point Guards](https://hoopsanalyst.com/nba-draft-2011-point-guards/) - From what I can tell this is considered the top position in this draft. I have to say that I find this group to be well below stellar and pretty much the weakest PG class in years. Once we get past Kyrie Irving this group is a group of prospects who will be remembered as
- [NBA Draft 2011: Combo Forwards](https://hoopsanalyst.com/nba-draft-2011-combo-forwards/) - These are players who don’t easily fit into either the SF or PF groups. They have skills and weaknesses of both. I rank them separately, because the position they eventually end up playing in the NBA will be determined by what team drafts them, which skills they work on and other factors that are too
- [NBA Finals Recap](https://hoopsanalyst.com/nba-finals-recap/) - Well, the NBA Finals have come and gone. In between, we were left with a lot of fun and lots to examine. I thought we could conduct a Finals post-mortem to pick up on some of the issues that were discussed and give our two cents and to identify some things that no one else
- [NBA Finals Preview](https://hoopsanalyst.com/nba-finals-preview/) - 1. Finals Preview: It's been a long road this year to the Finals and there have been quite a few twists and turns that were unexpected (notably the fact that the Lakers aren't here). Still, after all the happenings, the Heat are in the Finals and are prohibitive favorites (as most expected last FAll) and
- [Second Round Fallout](https://hoopsanalyst.com/second-round-fallout/) - Round Two is over and this leaves four teams with time to assess what happened in the playoffs and what might happen next year. The most notable elininations are last year's NBA finalists in Boston and L.A. Meanwhile, in Memphis and Atlanta we have to decide how real these teams really are going forward. Let's
- [First Round Fallout (Western Conference)](https://hoopsanalyst.com/first-round-fallout-western-conference/) - Continuing our first round fall out column, we turn today to the Western Conference... 1. San Antonio Spurs: That definitely smarts. The Spurs managed a last gasp heroic regular season only to be beaten soundly in the playoffs. The loss to the Grizz wasn't just a random upset either. It took about half of one
- [First Round Fallout (Eastern Conference)](https://hoopsanalyst.com/first-round-fallout-eastern-conference/) - We are now into the nitty gritty of the post season...Round Two. Before we consider some pretty interesting battles , some of the fun is to look back at the teams that were left behind and we can look to see where their playoff losses leave them. This our annual First Round Fallout column. And
- [NBA Playoff Preview 2010-11](https://hoopsanalyst.com/nba-playoff-preview-2010-11/) - It has been one of the more fun regular seasons in a long time but it's safe to say that we are all ready for the playoffs. This year's playoffs look particularly interesting because there is no prohibitive favorite. Sure, the Bulls are the best team on paper but even numbers crunchers are given some
- [The Final Six of the NCAA, NBA Style](https://hoopsanalyst.com/the-final-six-of-the-ncaa-nba-style/) - For the past few weeks, we have gone through each of the major college conferences and ranked each college hoops programs based upon its NBA production post-1980. Today, we finally reach the not the Final Four but the Final Six....the rankings of the best teams of the each of the six major college conferences against
- [Best of the Pac 10, NBA Style](https://hoopsanalyst.com/best-of-the-pac-10-nba-style/) - For the past two weeks, we've been working our westward, and reviewing the best NBA players since 1980 from each of the six major NCAA conferences. Today, we reach the last leg of our NCAA tour, the PAC 10. Without having reviewed the rosters yet, we do know that UCLA and Arizona should have the
- [Best of the Big Ten, NBA Style](https://hoopsanalyst.com/best-of-the-big-ten-nba-style/) - Onto part four of our NCAA-to-pro review. Today we look at the Big Ten. Much has been made of the pros pumped out of Michigan in the 1990s and the Michigan State in the early 2000s but are there any other pros of note here? Let's take a look: 11. Northwestern: PG: Billy McKinney, SG:
- [Best of the Big 12, NBA Style](https://hoopsanalyst.com/best-of-the-big-12-nba-style/) - March Madness is almost done and we are down to our last two major conference reviews. As you may recall, we are looking at the starting fives for each college based upon pro accomplishments since 1980s. Today we take a look at the Big 12 nee Big 8. Given the haphazard way this conference was
- [Best of the SEC, NBA Style](https://hoopsanalyst.com/best-of-the-sec-nba-style/) - As promised, here is the third part of our college programs by conference. The standard of our review can be found here. Today, we look at the SEC, another large two-part conference. Who is number one here? In the ACC and Big East, the big names were clear. Here I don't really have much of
- [Best of the ACC, NBA Style](https://hoopsanalyst.com/best-of-the-acc-nba-style/) - In furtherance of our best NBA pros by NCAA major conference we turn now to the ACC. Just a reminder, the guidelines can be found here. Anyway, here's the ACC list: 12. Miami: PG: Guillermo Diaz, SG: John Salmons, SF: James Jones, PF: Tim James, C: Tito Horford 11. Virginia Tech: PG: Bimbo Coles, SG:
- [Best of the Big East, NBA Style](https://hoopsanalyst.com/best-of-the-big-east-nba-style/) - NCAA tourney time is upon the world of hoops. I won't use this time to talk about the NBA game versus the NCAA game (I like them both). Nor am I going to give you my predictions for this year's brackets. Instead, I thought we could look at the programs and the pros they have
- [Transactions: 1/15-2/25 Part II](https://hoopsanalyst.com/transactions-115-225-part-ii/) - New Orleans Hornets 2/4 Signed Sasha Pavlovic to a 10-day contract 2/23 Traded Marcus Thornton and cash to Sacramento for Carl Landry On a talent basis, Thornton for Landry was a pretty fair exchange. The issue here was not talent but money. Mark Cuban criticized the trade because the Hornets, which are owned by the
- [Transactions: 1/15-2/25 Part I](https://hoopsanalyst.com/transactions-115-225-part-i/) - Atlanta Hawks 1/28 Signed Damien Wilkins for the remainder of the season 2/23 Traded Mike Bibby, Maurice Evans, Jordan Crawford, and a draft pick to Washington for Kirk Hinrich and Hilton Armstrong This can best be described as a modest upgrade. Bibby is pretty much cooked as his game has declined in all facets the
- [Hail The Three-Point King](https://hoopsanalyst.com/hail-the-three-point-king/) - Last week, Ray Allen surpassed Reggie Miller to become the the leader in most three-pointers made. The record itself is hardly written in stone. The three-point shot is a relatively new record and it took the NBA nearly a decade before team's routinely used it as normal part of the offensive game. By way of
- [Quick Thoughts](https://hoopsanalyst.com/quick-thoughts-36/) - 1. The Cavs Make Me Want To Puke: Before the season, I thought that the Cavs looked like the clear worst team in the NBA. I was pleasantly surprised to Cleveland get off to a respectable start at 7-9, only to go 1-34 run since and be in the throes of a 25-game losing streak.
- [Transactions 12/21-1/16](https://hoopsanalyst.com/transactions-1221-116/) - Charlotte Bobcats 12/22 Fired Larry Brown and named Paul Silas interim head coach Did Brown deserve to be fired? The answer to this question really depends upon how you define success. Objectively, Brown was successful in Charlotte. He took a weak roster and turned them into a competitive team and a playoff team. The Bobcats
- [Quick Thoughts](https://hoopsanalyst.com/quick-thoughts-35/) - 1. Good Player, Bad Team: Pretty much the only news in the NBA these days is the perpetually pending trade of Carmelo Anthony to the Nets. There are compelling reasons for both the Nets and Nuggets to get this trade done but some have questioned why Anthony would want to go to a lottery bound
- [Transactions: 11/20-12/20](https://hoopsanalyst.com/transactions-1120-1220/) - Atlanta Hawks 12/3 Signed Damien Wilkins Not much upside in this move but Wilkins is still quasi-useful as a bench player. Wilkins can help the Hawks at the wing, particularly defensively. The more surprising thing is that this Wilkins (son of former Knick Gerald Wilkins and nephew of Hawk Hall-of-Famer Dominique Wilkins), is now almost
- [Quick Thoughts](https://hoopsanalyst.com/quick-thoughts-34/) - 1. Spuriffic: The best team in the NBA right now by both conventional win-loss, and SRS is the Spurs. The Spurs actually don't have the best point-differential in the NBA (at +8.8 the Spurs are second to the Heat, who have +9.4). Going into the season, the conventional wisdom was that the Spurs were pretty
- [Shinnless In New Orleans](https://hoopsanalyst.com/shinnless-in-new-orleans/) - The interesting news story in the NBA the last week is the NBA's purchase of the Hornets from George Shinn. David Stern confirmed the purchase/takeover on December 6, 2010 but declined to state how much it cost to buy out Shinn, though Stern did confirm that "has been valued in excess of $300 million." The
- [GM Report: Jeff Bower](https://hoopsanalyst.com/gm-report-jeff-bower/) - Overview Generally when we evaluate GMs, there is a concrete body of work to evaluate. In the case of Jeff Bower, there is really only the 2005-06 season to review. A review of Bower's rise to GM, does reveal how one might rise up the ladder to an executive position on an NBA team. Bower
- [Quick Thoughts](https://hoopsanalyst.com/quick-thoughts-33/) - 1. Good Returns: Last week the biggest story in the NBA was LeBron James' return to Cleveland. The questions about how LeBron would deal with the pressure, while compelling, were ultimately less important than one would think. Sure, Cavs fans reigned down boos so loud that you could feel them on television. But what were
- [A Way Too Early Look: Atlantic Division](https://hoopsanalyst.com/a-way-too-early-look-atlantic-division/) - In the NBA, November is very very early. A months worth of games is just too soon to make any definitive conclusions. Still, we know of the general surprise stories so far that are worth watching. Just for fun, we're going to go through each team quickly by division. Here's a review of some stories
- [Remembering Quintin Dailey](https://hoopsanalyst.com/remembering-quintin-dailey/) - This past week two memorable players of the 1970s and 1980s passed away. First, legendary tough guy Maurice Lucas died of cancer and then, shortly thereafter, Quintin Dailey died of a heart condition. Both players were often discussed in their heydays but for different reasons. While Lucas will eternally be remembered as the quintiessential tough
- [Quick Thoughts](https://hoopsanalyst.com/quick-thoughts-32/) - 1. What's In A Start?: It's still way too early to make grand or meaningful conclusions about the 2010-11 season. The teams that have gotten the most notice (besides the Heat) are the ones that have come out of the gate very hot. The Lakers, not so surprisingly, are 6-0. More surprisingly, the Hornets and
- [Quick Thoughts](https://hoopsanalyst.com/quick-thoughts-31/) - 1. The Heat...Way Too Early: Will Chris Bosh turn into P.J. Brown? Can LeBron James continue to score 30 a game on a star studded team? Regardless of stats of the stars, will the Heat win it all? I'm just like everyone else. I'm fascinated to see how the Heat blend three big stars and
- [NBA Predictions 2010-11](https://hoopsanalyst.com/nba-predictions-2010-11/) - After an unusually long off-season, 2010-11 is finally here! And we better enjoy it. While the Miami Heat will dominate everyone's attention the larger story is that the 2011-12 season is very much in doubt. The labor stoppage seems likely and won't be pretty. But let's not worry about the future. This season is one
- [Transactions: 8/17-9/28 Part 2](https://hoopsanalyst.com/transactions-817-928-part-2/) - New Jersey Nets 9/7 Waived Sean May 9/10 Signed Joe Smith 9/24 Signed Eddie Gill The Nets initially took a flier on May but he looks like he won't be healthy any time soon if ever. Instead, Smith comes to town. Smith had his worse pro season in terms of PER and minutes played. He
- [Transactions: 8/17-9/28 Part 1](https://hoopsanalyst.com/transactions-817-928-part-1/) - Atlanta Hawks 9/2 Signed Etan Thomas Only 32, Thomas hasn't been healthy or very good since 2006-07. While he was a nice player at one point, it's hard for me to believe that he can get back to that level from four years ago. The Hawks have plenty of big bodies already so Thomas will
- [FIBA Tournament Post Script](https://hoopsanalyst.com/fiba-tournament-post-script/) - 1. We Got Gold...Yay?: The evolution of the United States view on international basketball competition has drastically changed over the years. In the late 1980s, the fact that our collegians couldn't guarantee a gold medal bothered the U.S. committee enough to authorize the use of pros by 1992. After a few years of success with
- [Transactions 7/14-8/16 Part 3](https://hoopsanalyst.com/transactions-714-816-part-3/) - Orlando Magic 7/15 Matched offer tendered to J.J. Reddick 8/4 Re-signed Jason Williams I was a little surprised to see Orlando bring back Williams after previously giving Chris Duhon a moderately generous four-year deal. But, as we noted last time, Williams is probably a better short term bet and he has agreed to a one-year
- [Transactions 7/14-8/16 Part 2](https://hoopsanalyst.com/transactions-714-816-part-2/) - Houston Rockets 7/18 Matched offer tendered to Kyle Lowry 7/20 Signed Brad Miller 7/28 Traded David Andersen and cash to Toronto for a 2015 protected second-round pick 8/12 In a four-team trade, New Jersey traded Courtney Lee to Houston for Troy Murphy from Indiana, who acquired Darren Collison and James Posey from New Orleans, who
- [Transactions 7/14-8/16 Part 1](https://hoopsanalyst.com/transactions-714-816-part-1/) - Atlanta Hawks 7/14 Signed Josh Childress and traded him to Phoenix for a 2010 second-round pick 7/24 Signed Josh Powell 7/29 Re-signed Jason Collins The Hawks flirted with Shaq but ultimately passed on him. This gave Collins a shot to comeback as a third center. It is hard to believe that Collins is only going
- [The Eddy Curry Story: More Money, More Problems](https://hoopsanalyst.com/the-eddy-curry-story-more-money-more-problems/) - One of the side stories that has consumed the NBA the last few years is the many high profile bankruptcies of NBA players after their careers end. In a well-remembered Sports Illustrated story from 2009 by Pablo S. Torre, it was estimated that 60% of NBA players go bankrupt within two years of retirement. The
- [Transactions 4/15-7/13 Part 3](https://hoopsanalyst.com/transactions-415-713-part-3/) - Milwaukee Bucks 6/22 Traded Charlie Bell and Dan Gadzuric to Golden State for Corey Maggette and the 44th pick in the 2010 draft 6/25 Traded a 2012 second-round pick to New Jersey for Chris Douglas-Roberts 7/8 Re-signed John Salmons and signed Drew Gooden Unquestionably, the Bucks have won the talent exchanges here. Maggette is still
- [Transactions 4/15-7/13 Part 2](https://hoopsanalyst.com/transcations-415-713-part-2/) - Los Angeles Clippers 7/7 Named Vinny Del Negro head coach 7/8 Signed Randy Foye and Ryan Gomes 7/9 Signed Brian Cook In the best and worst of times, there is a certain sense of futility we all get when we hear that someone is going to be new coach the Clippers. It is true that
- [Transactions: 4/15-7/13 Part 1](https://hoopsanalyst.com/transactions-415-713-part-1/) - Atlanta Hawks 5/14 Fired Mike Woodson 6/13 Named Larry Drew head coach 7/8 Re-signed Joe Johnson From a decision-making perspective, Atlanta is one the weirder franchises in the NBA. First, Mike Woodson apparently wins a power struggle with GM Billy Knight right about the time when it was clear that the Hawks had built a
- [Reflections on the LeBron Watch](https://hoopsanalyst.com/reflections-on-the-lebron-watch/) - The big news of the day is that soon the LeBron James Saga will be over. On Thursday night, James will announce his decision on ESPN on prime time. The whole spectacle raises all sorts of interesting questions, both basketball and human nature related. We can't definitively answer any of those questions now (or perhaps
- [NBA Finals Aftermath](https://hoopsanalyst.com/nba-finals-aftermath/) - Free agency is looming around the corner and 2009-10 will soon fade into memory. But before we look forward, let's look back for a few moments on some of the issues raised after the Finals. Here's a look: -Despite having the two signatures franchises meet again, the Finals were hardly classic. While both teams were
- [NBA Draft 2010: Draft Grades](https://hoopsanalyst.com/nba-draft-2010-draft-grades/) - The 2010 draft is nothing more than an appetizer for the big free agent drama that’s about to commence. This draft still matters though and needs to be looked at. If there is one characteristic that stands out in this draft it is length. I think the 2010 draft should be called the wingspan draft.
- [NBA Draft 2010:  Top Players by Position](https://hoopsanalyst.com/nba-draft-2010-top-players-by-position/) - I wanted to do a quick rundown on how I rank the players by position, since the previews weren’t always clear on that. The 30 players in bold are the top 30 and basically the ones I would assign to teams in round one if I were the GM of all the teams at the
- [NBA Draft 2010: John Wall and Evan Turner](https://hoopsanalyst.com/nba-draft-2010-john-wall-and-evan-turner/) - These are the two best prospects in this draft. Not much else to say. It is getting late in the process and the draft tonight should be good entertainment. If what I’m reading is correct and these two are the top 2 selections, that will be one thing the league gets right. John Wall, Kentucky:
- [NBA Draft 2010: Centers](https://hoopsanalyst.com/nba-draft-2010-centers/) - There haven’t been too many center classes this deep or with as many intriguing prospects. The 2010 class offers three compelling freshmen in Cousins, Orton and Whiteside, and a solid junior in Aldrich at the top. Then there are the intriguing and multi-talented Ekpe Udoh and Greg Monroe, along with talented projects Larry Sanders, Tiny
- [NBA Draft 2010: Ekpe Udoh and Greg Monroe](https://hoopsanalyst.com/nba-draft-2010-ekpe-udoh-and-greg-monroe/) - A couple of players who are reportedly on the rise as the pre-draft analysis winds down. The two players have some similarities, but are hardly mirror images. The similarities are both are good passing big men with a decent outside shot. Both are somewhere between a forward and a center. Neither is a very impressive
- [NBA Draft 2010: Power Forwards](https://hoopsanalyst.com/nba-draft-2010-power-forwards/) - I like analyzing the PFs. They’re a fairly easy bunch to look at. Basically they need to meet the following benchmarks: Hit .580 on 2-point shots and score 20.0 P40. In both cases, the higher the better. The best have typically been over .600 and pushed 25.0 P40 as they got older. For freshmen some
- [NBA Draft 2010: Combo Forwards](https://hoopsanalyst.com/nba-draft-2010-combo-forwards/) - The job of the combo forward or, more accurately the small PF, is to give his team a different look. The CF usually comes in to play PF when the team needs to go smaller and quicker. But they can also be used at SF, if a team needs to go bigger. The nature of
- [NBA Draft 2010: Daniel Orton and Hassan Whiteside](https://hoopsanalyst.com/nba-draft-2010-daniel-orton-and-hassan-whiteside/) - I’m going to take a quick break from the forwards here to look at a couple of young big guys. These are a couple of freshmen centers whose most impressive skill is blocking shots. While Orton has been a good shot blocker, Whiteside has swatted away shots at a historic rate. I’ll look at each
- [NBA Draft 2010: Small Forwards Part 2](https://hoopsanalyst.com/nba-draft-2010-small-forwards-part-2/) - The SF class of 2010 is a deep group, but doesn’t have much in the way of potential star power. There are several players who I feel would make a good late first, or second round draft pick, but few who look like lottery picks. The plight of these players is further complicated by the
- [NBA Draft 2010: Small Forwards](https://hoopsanalyst.com/nba-draft-2010-small-forwards/) - I’m not sure it would be accurate to call these guys wing players, because some actually played more inside. The thing they have in common is they’ll probably need to show they can play some SG, because they’re short or slight for a SF. Or because doing so would enhance their value. Player AFG P40
- [NBA Draft 2010: SGs: Part 3 Xavier Henry and Terrico White ](https://hoopsanalyst.com/nba-draft-2010-sgs-part-3-xavier-henry-and-terrico-white/) - This is the last of the SGs. Well start to move into the frontcourt next, before getting to the Walls, Turners and Favors of the draft. Things get better after this, because the strength of this draft is in the forwards and big guys this year. Henry and White are basically two players who didn’t
- [NBA Draft 2010: Scoring Shooting Guards](https://hoopsanalyst.com/nba-draft-2010-scoring-shooting-guards/) - Unlike the last group of SGs, this bunch has no illusions of playing PG even on a part-time basis. These three players like to fire away and all scored in bunches this past year. In general I’ve been down on SGs as draft picks lately. My opinion is there are usually good ones available for
- [NBA Draft 2010: Shooting Guards: Part 1, The Passers](https://hoopsanalyst.com/nba-draft-2010-shooting-guards-part-1-the-passers/) - These players are clearly SGs, as opposed to the last group of guards I looked at who were a little hard to define. The thing to know about this group is that while scoring is their main function, they’re also able to pass and have even shown some potential to run an offense. I’ll look
- [Playoff Thoughts](https://hoopsanalyst.com/playoff-thoughts-19/) - Lakers-Celtics, Again: Lakers-Celtics is always a fun Finals match up. Of course, the fun was the surprise in getting this match up, more than the games that led us to this moment. In fact, the actual games have been, for the most part, quite mundane. Regardless of the workman like way that the Lakers and
- [NBA Draft 2010: Combo Guards](https://hoopsanalyst.com/nba-draft-2010-combo-guards/) - This is a group of guards who are misfits. They fit somewhere between a PG and SG, but don’t have the type of numbers that either position would traditionally need. All either led their teams in assists or were a close second, but don’t look like NBA PGs, because they played more on the wing
- [NBA Draft 2010: Remaining Point Guards](https://hoopsanalyst.com/nba-draft-2010-remaining-point-guards/) - Here is a look at the remaining PGs out there. Some players who might be thought of as PGs will be covered with the combo guards in upcoming articles. I haven’t done John Wall yet. I was planning on waiting until the end to look at the top prospects. Also with the Wizards winning the
- [Playoff Thoughts](https://hoopsanalyst.com/playoff-thoughts-18/) - The reactions to Cleveland's loss to Boston in Round 2 have been varied but most have been along the lines that the loss was a calamity and will set back the Cavs quite a bit. Is this true? Sorta. Let's go through the loss and try to separate fact from fiction: Did the Cavs/LeBron Choke?
- [NBA Draft Preview 2010: Senior Point Guards](https://hoopsanalyst.com/nba-draft-preview-2010-senior-point-guards-2/) - When an NCAA player lasts until his senior season without turning pro it typically is not a good sign for the player. It means the player either took this long to get his name on the map as a prospect or he simply hasn’t been good enough his first 3 seasons to get a guarantee
- [NBA Draft Preview 2010: Bradley and Bledsoe](https://hoopsanalyst.com/draft-preview-bradley-and-bledsoe/) - These two should be analyzed together, because they’re in similar situations. Both were highly-touted freshmen coming into this season. Bradley more so than Bledsoe, but both were well thought of. Both landed on talented rosters where they mixed a few moments of brilliance with spending their freshmen seasons taking a backseat to teammates ahead of
- [NBA Draft Preview 2010: Jeremy Lin, G Harvard](https://hoopsanalyst.com/draft-preview-jeremy-lin-g-harvard/) - Any team looking to find a starting PG in the 2010 NBA draft had best win the lottery and get the top pick. A year after the legendary PG draft of 2009, the pickings for playmakers are going to be thin. That doesn’t mean there won’t be a player or two who surprise the experts
- [Playoff Thoughts](https://hoopsanalyst.com/playoff-thoughts-17/) - A quick update on Round Two... -Celtics/Cavaliers: A nice and shocking Game 2 win for Boston in Cleveland. Could this augur an upset of a seven-game series? Seems quite unlikely. Yes, the Cavs could have issues with Rajon Rondo but he torched them just as much (if not more) in Game 1 and the Cavs still killed
- [Most Improved, A Review](https://hoopsanalyst.com/most-improved-a-review/) - Is there anything sillier than the NBA Most Improved Award? The parameters of the award are confusing and the application is often incorrectly applied, no matter which standard most people would reasonably apply. Here are the possible standards of "improvement": -Good young player steadily improving -Player with no previous expectations or who was considered a
- [Playoff Thoughts](https://hoopsanalyst.com/playoff-thoughts-16/) - Round One is under way and here are quick thoughts on the series so far: -Cavs/Bulls: This series is basically over after LeBeron James tossed around the Bulls to take a 3-1 lead. Even still, from the Bulls' perspective, the series hasn't been too bad. Sure they have no shot of winning but they have
- [NBA Playoffs Preview: Western Conference](https://hoopsanalyst.com/nba-playoffs-preview-western-conference/) - In terms of possible playoff outcomes, the Western Conference is much more unsettled, and much more interesting, than the East. While the Lakers are the defending champs and the team with the best record out West, things are very tight and basically any team has a shot of winning in the first round. Before we
- [NBA Playoffs Preview: Eastern Conference](https://hoopsanalyst.com/nba-playoffs-preview-eastern-conference/) - After slogging through one of the least suspenseful seasons in a long while, playoff time is finally here. As thankful as we are that the regular season is done, the playoffs are fairly intriguing. In the East, we're all waiting for the outcome of Cavs-Magic, while out West it's not clear what's going to happen.
- [NBA Draft 2010:  Post-Tournament Update](https://hoopsanalyst.com/nba-draft-2010-post-tournament-update/) - This will be the last update until I do the draft previews. I doubt things will change much, but I’ll go much deeper with the analysis in those. Right now I’m just skimming the stats. Not a whole lot has changed in the past month. There are still 4 players who stand above the crowd.
- [The DJ FAQ](https://hoopsanalyst.com/464/) - This article was originally written in February 2007, right after Dennis Johnson passed away. It examined his career and Hall of Fame prospects. I was lukewarm on DJ as a Hall of Famer but have since embraced the idea, less because I think Johnson was better than I remembered and more because I frankly think
- [Quick Thoughts](https://hoopsanalyst.com/quick-thoughts-30/) - 1. Bulls/Raptors Race: As we mercifully close in on the playoffs, there are very few questions left to be answered. Except for seeding issues, the playoffs teams are virtually set. The only race is the not so close race between the Bulls and the Raptors for the eight seed in the East. The Raptors lead
- [Quick Thoughts](https://hoopsanalyst.com/455/) - 1. Cinderella Can Do It?: With March Madness in full effect and the NBA in something of a slow wind down to the playoffs, I thought we'd take a step back and do a little more NCAA talk. Specifically, all of our fascination with the Cinderella Squads, i.e. the small fries who upset major programs
- [NCAA Tournament Preview](https://hoopsanalyst.com/ncaa-tournament-preview/) - I’ve been trying to get a handle on what wins the NCAA tournament and there seem to be 3 things that in recent years have been huge. The first is the team has to be one of the top teams in the country. Seriously. The 2nd factor is the team needs to have some quality
- [Quick Thoughts OKC Edition](https://hoopsanalyst.com/quick-thoughts-okc-edition/) - 1. OKC Soars: The Oklahoma City Thunder have officially entered some pretty unique territory. After beating Utah tonight, the Thunders are now 41-24 and project to win over 50 wins. That's pretty impressive because OKC is quite a young team. But the surprising thing is exactly how young they are. The Thunder's top three
- [Transactions 10/15-12/5](https://hoopsanalyst.com/transactions-1015-125/) - Atlanta Hawks 10/25 Waive Antywane Robinson, Steven Smith and Jamaal Tatum No real shocks here. Solomon Jones and Mario West won the battle for the last few roster slots, which is great for them, but really doesn't affect the Hawks much in terms of wins and losses. Boston Celtics 10/25 Waive Dahntay Jones and Jackie
- [Playoff Turnover](https://hoopsanalyst.com/playoff-turnover/) - In this early season, we always look at the surprise teams, both good and bad. It's always nice to see a team become great out of nowhere. Going from the lottery to contention in a one-year period is fun but rare. Like the 2007-08 Celtics, the exceptions to the rule are usually memorable (e.g., 2001-02
- [Quick Thoughts](https://hoopsanalyst.com/quick-thoughts-29/) - 1. Celtic Soar: While I remain skeptical that the Celtics are one of the best teams of All-Time, their first 22 games certainly support the proposition that they have a shot at entering the conversation. At 20-2 and a ridiculous +14.2 point differential per game, the Celts look pretty good. Yes there are still some
- [Transactions 12/6-12/28](https://hoopsanalyst.com/transactions-126-1228/) - Boston Celtics 12/18 Waive Brandon Wallace Wallace made the opening night roster as a pet project of Danny Ainge and was then sent over to the NBDL, without ever playing a regular season game. The Celts cited roster flexibility when they cut him, which has sent speculation that a trade may/free agent signing be in
- [Surprise Squads So Far](https://hoopsanalyst.com/surprise-squads-so-far-2/) - If you had to pick the surprise good teams of the first two months of the season, Portland, New Orleans, and the Lakers are the three teams that are really outperforming expectations. Yes, the Celtics are probably the most outperforming so far, but I don't anyone really expected any of other three teams to break
- [NBA Draft 2010: Prospect Update](https://hoopsanalyst.com/nba-draft-2010-prospect-update-2/) - Something I’ve been wondering about with the 2010 draft is what affect the potential lockout and new CBA will have on the early entrants. If we go by the theory that players will enter the draft when it is to their financial benefit to do so, we could see quite a few early entrants in
- [Transactions: 2/3-2/26 Part 2](https://hoopsanalyst.com/transactions-23-226-part-2/) - Memphis Grizzlies 2/19 Traded a protected first-round pick to Utah for Ronnie Brewer The Grizz were able to nab Brewer for little because of the Jazz's luxury tax situation. Unfortunately, Brewer won't help much for the playoff run since he has promptly tore his hamstring. Going forward, however, he is a nice defender but might
- [Transactions: 2/3-2/26 Part 1](https://hoopsanalyst.com/transactions-23-226-part-1/) - Boston Celtics 2/19 Traded Eddie House, J.R. Giddens, Bill Walker, and a future conditional second-round pick to New York for Nate Robinson and Marcus Landry As Boston tries to hold onto contender status, getting Nate for Eddie House is a clear upgrade. Robinson is a better player in nearly every facet of the game and
- [Monta Ellis and PT Examined](https://hoopsanalyst.com/monta-ellis-and-pt-examined/) - A lot has been made in the NBA stat analysis community that Monta Ellis is a bit overrated. Ellis' rate states are quite gaudy. He has 25.8 ppg, 5.4 apg, and 4.2 rpg. On the other side, Ellis is playing 41.5 mpg and has a rather pedestrian 16.9 PER based on his mediocre shooting, mediocre
- [Ty Thomas and LaMarcus Aldridge Revisited](https://hoopsanalyst.com/ty-thomas-and-lamarcus-aldridge-revisited/) - These two players will always be linked and compared. They play the same position, came into the league through the same draft and were dealt for each other the night of that draft. While Aldridge was chosen before Thomas, most stat guys like me felt Thomas had the much better future at the time. This
- [Quick Thoughts From Orlando-Cleveland Showdown](https://hoopsanalyst.com/orlando-cleveland-showdown/) - As the first half winds down, we were treated to the two best teams in the NBA matching up in Cleveland last night. Here are some observations from the game: -This has been true for a while now but LeBron James is clearly the best player in the NBA (and probably the world). Despite some
- [NBA Draft 2010: Prospect Update](https://hoopsanalyst.com/nba-draft-2010-prospect-update/) - Right now I would rank the 2010 class as below-average. The potential at this point would rank somewhere between weak and slightly above-average at this point. I could see as many as 9 impact players in this group. But none is a sure thing and if they all come up short, as is the case
- [Transactions: 12/13-2/2](https://hoopsanalyst.com/transactions-1213-22/) - Atlanta Hawks 1/5 Waived Othello Hunter 1/12 Signed Mario West to a 10-day contract 1/22 Signed Mario West to a second 10-day contract 2/1 Signed Mario West for the rest of the season West hasn't done much this season for the Hawks to remedy their short bench but he is a good athlete and a
- [Franchise Best Non-All-Stars](https://hoopsanalyst.com/franchise-best-non-all-stars/) - Last time, we looked at some the best players players never to make an All-Star game. At the request of friend of the site and overall nice guy Aitan Spring, we are going to take a look at each team's best player never to make an All-Star game. A few guidelines for our review: -We
- [All-Star Thoughts](https://hoopsanalyst.com/all-star-thoughts/) - I typically do not watch or pay much attention to the NBA All-Star but I do get somewhat interested in who gets elected and chosen. This year was particularly interesting. According to ESPN.com, the starters are: East -G: Allen Iverson -G: Dwyane Wade -F: LeBron James -F: Kevin Garnett -C: Dwight Howard West -G: Steve
- [Quick Thoughts](https://hoopsanalyst.com/quick-thoughts-28/) - 1. Memphis Surge Reviewed: One of the more interesting stories of the season is the unexpected improvement of the Grizz, who are now 20-18 after going 24-58 all of last year. Well, it's not that improvement was unexpected it's just that the extent of improvement is the surprising part. When the Grizz grabbed Zach Randolph
- [NBA Draft Update](https://hoopsanalyst.com/nba-draft-update-7/) - Right now the 2010 draft class is a little tough to gauge. As with recent drafts the strength will be in the freshman class. My feeling is that this class is somewhat below-average. Other than Wall and Henry the guards are a very weak group. The big guys look OK now, but the conference games
- [Agent Schmuck](https://hoopsanalyst.com/agent-schmuck/) - What more can we add to the Gilbert Arenas controversy? Probably not a whole heck of a lot but let's piece together the facts and see what we can learn here, separated from all the hype and emotions of this story: The Facts -On December 21, 2009, Arenas places several unloaded guns in front of
- [Big Bells Bellamy](https://hoopsanalyst.com/big-bells-bellamy/) - Like other NBA fans who never saw them play live, I've always had a fascination with some of the older players from the 1950s and 1960s. Often, the footage that is available tends to underwhelm me. We also know that the stats of the early 1960s are particularly inflated by a run-and-gun style. Still, even
- [We Take ESPN's 2000s Poll](https://hoopsanalyst.com/we-take-espns-2000s-poll/) - A few months ago, we took a look at the All-2000s team and some of the other notable issues of the decade. Now ESPN.com is turning to the end of the decade and has its own poll of its burning questions of the 2000s. Just for fun, let's run through our choices, as limited by
- [A Look At NCAA Prospects So Far](https://hoopsanalyst.com/a-look-at-ncaa-prospects-so-far/) - This past summer I came up with a numerical ranking system for college prospects. The systems ranks players stats compared with those that previously successful prospects did well in. The rankings are done differently for each position, but only in the sense that different stat categories are considered. The system gives a maximum of 40
- [Transactions 12/29-1/15](https://hoopsanalyst.com/transactions-1229-115/) - Cleveland Cavaliers 1/14 Sign Mike Brown to a contract extension Despite the early rumors that he was in trouble, Brown got the extension he had been requesting. Brown's contract was set to expire after 2008-09 and it would have created quite a bit of controversy to let the coach that led them to the Cavs
- [All-Star Analysis](https://hoopsanalyst.com/all-star-analysis/) - Yes, I detest the All-Star game and haven't watched it in years and I don't usually read the All-Star pick columns either. Still, I can't deny there is some appeal to chew the scenery on the process. So here's my take on this year's voting: East Starters Guards, Dwyane Wade and Jason Kidd: It's always
- [Quick Thoughts](https://hoopsanalyst.com/quick-thoughts-27/) - 1. Big Win In SA: A few weeks ago, we examined the New Orleans Hornets' hot start to determine how real it is and how likely it is to continue. We concluded that the Hornets were pretty good but that staying on 55-60 win pace didn't seem realistic. Since that time, however, the Hornets have
- [Transactions 1/16-2/1](https://hoopsanalyst.com/transactions-116-21/) - Charlotte Bobcats 1/31 Sign Earl Boykins Tough summer for Boykins, who turned down a $3 million option with the Bucks in search of a better situation and a long term deal. It didn't quite work out that way, as Boykins had to sit out half the season and ends up with $1.1 million for high
- [AC For Three](https://hoopsanalyst.com/ac-for-three/) - One of the fun things about the NBA season is when something total anomalous and unexpected happens. Sometimes, the anomaly is so subtle that people miss it. To me, Anthony Carter's 2007-08 season falls in that subtle anomaly category. Carter is having a career year in terms of minutes and scoring, though for a career
- [NBA Draft Update](https://hoopsanalyst.com/nba-draft-update-6/) - This is an updating of the player rankings I did up at the end of January. A few quick notes on these rankings: There’s a maximum of 40 points in this system. The rankings are based entirely on statistics. The statistics used are different for each position. I don’t make any allowance for player ages,
- [Quick Thoughts](https://hoopsanalyst.com/quick-thoughts-26/) - 1. Kidd Stuff: What initially seemed like a very interesting deal between the Nets and Mavericks now appears close to dead. The deal as originally constituted looks like this: Nets Get: Devin Harris (heart of the deal. Harris is locked into a long-term extension and is only 25). Jerry Stackhouse (reportedly would be bought out
- [Transactions: 2/2-2/19](https://hoopsanalyst.com/transactions-22-219/) - Atlanta Hawks 2/16 Acquire Mike Bibby from Sacramento in exchange for Shelden Williams, Lorenzen Wright, Anthony Johnson, Tyronn Lue and a 2008 second round draft pick 2/18 Sign Jeremy Richardson to a 10-day contract A surprisingly inspired acquisition from a front office that has been in perpetual litigation for several years that has paralyzed it
- [Quick Thoughts](https://hoopsanalyst.com/quick-thoughts-25/) - 1. Star Power: The state of the Western Conference is pretty astounding. The top nine teams are separated by only a few games in the standing. In fact, it seems almost certain that the eight seed in the West will break the wins record for an eight seed (currently held by the 2000-01 Minnesota Timberwolves
- [Transactions: 2/19-3/1](https://hoopsanalyst.com/transactions-219-31/) - Atlanta Hawks 2/29 Sign Jeremy Richardson to second 10-day contract A great return to Atlanta for Richardson. He scored a point a minute for each of his first two games, shooting 3-4 in 8 minutes each game. The Hawks should keep him around for the rest of the season at this point and he'll have
- [NBA Draft Update](https://hoopsanalyst.com/nba-draft-update-5/) - Another update on the prospect rankings I’ve been doing each month. For many of these players this will be fairly close to their final ranking, as they will play in only a few more games. Others, especially players who have missed significant time due to injury, could improve or decline fairly dramatically. Right now the
- [Quick Thoughts](https://hoopsanalyst.com/quick-thoughts-24/) - 1. Trade Progress Report: The recent trades of Pau Gasol, Shaquille O'Neal, and Jason Kidd have all been pretty well examined and re-examined to date but I thought we could take a look a little closer and see what else the trades have yielded to date and beyond: -Pau Gasol: This trade was obviously was
- [](https://hoopsanalyst.com/366/) - It's really hard to explain and contextualize this amazing Rocket run. The Rockets are a good team and have been in the 50-win range for the last few years but this 22-game winning streak makes no sense. As we noted last season, almost any team that ever strung together an 18-game winning streak won a
- [NCAA Tourney Preview](https://hoopsanalyst.com/ncaa-tourney-preview-2/) - Last season when I did the tournament preview, one of the theories I suggested for picking the winner was to look for a team with a strong point guard. The idea being that a good PG is the most essential player to NCAA tournament success. Last year things didn’t turn out that way, as a
- [Philly Phlying: Refusing to Tank?](https://hoopsanalyst.com/philly-phlying-refusing-to-tank/) - One of the bigger potential ironies of this season is that the Philadelphia 76ers look like a pretty solid playoff team whereas the Denver Nuggets, who took Allen Iverson from Philly because the Sixers were mired in the lottery, are likely going to miss the playoffs. Of course, that's a bit of a superficial observation
- [Transactions: 3/1-4/3](https://hoopsanalyst.com/transactions-31-43/) - Atlanta Hawks 3/10 Sign Jeremy Richardson for the remainder of the season Outside of his first two games back in Atlanta, Richardson has mostly sat on the bench for the Hawks. He did show enough, however, to be the token last guy off the pine, which is actually a very valuable reward for a player
- [Quick Thoughts](https://hoopsanalyst.com/quick-thoughts-23/) - 1. More Age Limits?: This has been one the more exciting NBA regular seasons that we can remember but back stage things there may have been some interesting changes being proposed on an administrative level. Just a few days ago, David Stern and NCAA president Myles Brand were talking about requiring basketball players to stay
- [Quick Thoughts](https://hoopsanalyst.com/quick-thoughts-22/) - 1. Taking Stock in Boston: As the standings start to sort themselves out in the NBA, it is clear that Boston is, once again, a serious title contender. With their current winning streak, the Celts are 20-4 and have the best record in the NBA and the best SRS rating, though Atlanta and the Lakers
- [Transactions: 11/18-12/8](https://hoopsanalyst.com/transactions-1118-128/) - Golden State Warriors 11/20 Signed center Chris Hunter Hunter is an NBDL call up for the Warriors. He was a decent role player in college at Michigan but has scored quite well in the NBDL (19 ppg last year). It's not clear how good he will be but an active and cheap big man in
- [Surprise Squads So Far](https://hoopsanalyst.com/surprise-squads-so-far/) - It's hard to say that the 2009-10 season has been full of surprises so far. We knew New Jersey would be bad and that the Cavs would be good, though we didn't expect the Nets to be quite so bad or the Cavs to be not as good but, like most of the NBA, these
- [The NBA and the Spirits](https://hoopsanalyst.com/the-nba-and-the-spirits/) - I thought today we could review the best deal in NBA history and a deal that might never end. We're not talking about any sort of player transaction but the famed settlement agreement between the St. Louis Spirits and the NBA. Most basketball fans knows generally about this deal, namely that the owners of the
- [NBA Draft Update: Post NCAA Tournament](https://hoopsanalyst.com/nba-draft-update-post-ncaa-tournament/) - Another update on the prospect rankings I’ve been doing each month. This is the first one where I made an adjustment for pace. This had some effect, most notably with the North Carolina and Duke players who were all downgraded some because of the quick pace they play the game at. These ratings are a
- [More Playoff Predictions and Musings](https://hoopsanalyst.com/more-playoff-predictions-and-musings/) - The past couple of seasons I’ve done the playoff preview by breaking down each team and how they played with or without a particular player, since a trade or for the final two months, etc. My point was to look for a sleeper team that might be somewhat underrated going in, the way Detroit was
- [Playoff Predictions with Kyle Wright](https://hoopsanalyst.com/338/) - Usually when we look at the playoffs, it's pretty easy to discern the front runners and the also-rans. Each year the question was whether the Spurs would win it all or whether their one nemesis (usually Dallas or Phoenix) could knock them off. This year, however, it's clear that the West is wide open. The
- [Playoff Thoughts](https://hoopsanalyst.com/playoff-thoughts-15/) - 1. Recurring Matchups: While watching the Cavs eviscerate the Wizards last night, I found myself a little bored. Not just because the game had little competition but also because we've seen a bit more Wiz-Cavs than I need to see. The two teams had a pretty entertaining playoff series in 2005-06 (that the Cavs won
- [Playoff Thoughts](https://hoopsanalyst.com/playoff-thoughts-14/) - 1. Philly-Detroit: When Philly took game one, I considered this a complete aberration. Imagine my surprise to see the Sixers beat up the Pistons in game 3 to put the Pistons in a seriously defensive posture. Yes, Philly matches up well at the point against Chauncey Billups because Andre Miller was playing well and couldn't
- [Transactions 4/4-4/30 (Coaching/Management Edition)](https://hoopsanalyst.com/transactions-44-430-coachingmanagement-edition/) - Charlotte Bobcats 4/27 Relieve Sam Vincent of head coaching duties 4/29 Name Larry Brown head coach Weird times in Charlotte. Firing your handpicked coach after a single season can never be considered a good thing and this is the second time Michael Jordan has done this (see Hamilton, Leonard in Washington). Vincent didn't seem horrible
- [GM Report: Isiah Thomas](https://hoopsanalyst.com/gm-report-isiah-thomas/) - One of the first things we did when started the site was to endeavor to conduct comprehensive reviews of each and every GM in the NBA. We've been going by team, alphabetically, over the years but have been somewhat slow going lately. Honestly, we've been stuck on the New York Knicks for a while now.
- [Playoff Thoughts](https://hoopsanalyst.com/playoff-thoughts-13/) - 1. Homing In: After the Cavs win tonight in Cleveland, home teams have now one every game this round, with the exception of Orlando's loss at home in Game 4 against the Pistons (even this was a one-point loss). This trend of home winning raises some interesting questions. The most obvious questions: Are the lower
- [Playoff Thoughts](https://hoopsanalyst.com/playoff-thoughts-12/) - 1. More Home Stuff: Last night, the Celts, were again beaten on the road to drop their road record 0-6 in the playoffs. We reviewed this a bit last time but I wondered how unique this playoff's home dominance was. Fortunately (for me), John Hollinger was kind enough to beat us to the research punch,
- [Transactions 5/1-5/16](https://hoopsanalyst.com/transactions-51-516/) - Dallas Mavericks 5/14 Name Rick Carlisle head coach Let's see...so the Mavs get rid of their old coach because they thought he was too controlling on the offensive sets and restricted Jason Kidd, only focused on defense, and grated on the players. So of course Rick Carlisle is the perfect replacement! Carlisle, though a very
- [Early Mock Draft](https://hoopsanalyst.com/early-mock-draft/) - The 2008 draft could be called 2007 light. There are 2 players, Rose and Beasley, who are clearly above the rest. They’re not quite at the level Oden and Durant were last year, but they’re clearly the top 2 players and there should be some spirited debate over who goes #1 and #2 during the
- [Playoff Thoughts](https://hoopsanalyst.com/playoff-thoughts-11/) - 1. L.A. Land: The Lakers impressively dispatched the Spurs to make their first NBA Finals since they lost to the Pistons in 2003-04. It's hard to figure why the Lakers were able to excel this entire series, winning easily in two games and erasing big Spurs leads in the other games. In the end, the
- [Playoff Thoughts](https://hoopsanalyst.com/playoff-thoughts-10/) - 1. Lakers-Celtics...blah...blah...blah: Did you hear? The Lakers and playing the Celtics and they may have even met before. We've all touched on the history of the Lakers and Celtics and such. ESPN.com and Classic Sports have been all over this story, giving us all a chance to re-live the old series. Last time, we cursorily
- [Playoff Thoughts](https://hoopsanalyst.com/playoff-thoughts-9/) - 1. Boston Beaning: With the outlier of the Detroit series, the Finals appear to have mirrored Boston other playoff series quite a bit. The Celts are playing like a formidable 66-win team at home. They've controlled most of the first two games, with the exception of the Lakers flurry at the end of the Game
- [Playoff Thoughts](https://hoopsanalyst.com/playoff-thoughts-8/) - 1. Celtics Take Control: One of the fun things about writing about sports is that we can chew the scenery a little bit and really delve into some points that aren't mentioned on the television or in the newspapers. After something like Game 4 of the Finals, there really isn't too much to say. The
- [NBA Draft 2008: Point Guards](https://hoopsanalyst.com/306/) - This is a potentially a pretty good group of PGs. Rose is going to be very good. Whether he’s a star, just a solid PG or even some sort of star combo guard is still up for debate, but he should be pretty good. Beyond Rose, things get a little more iffy, but there are
- [NBA Draft 2008: Shooting Guards](https://hoopsanalyst.com/nba-draft-2008-shooting-guards/) - Last year’s crop of SGs was one of the weakest I’ve seen. This year it looks like one of the deeper groups. Most of the depth is of the lower round variety though. There’s very little star power in this group. OJ Mayo and Eric Gordon would seem to be potential stars, but both players
- [NBA Draft 2008: Combo Guards](https://hoopsanalyst.com/nba-draft-2008-combo-guards-2/) - Last season I took things simple with the combo guards. I looked for players who could score both often and efficiently, showed an ability to play some PG in a pinch and put up an RSB40 in at least the 6.0-6.5 range. This year I’ve got a little better grip on the position, or at
- [Welcome to Loserville, Population New Jersey](https://hoopsanalyst.com/welcome-to-loserville-population-new-jersey/) - Going into the season, the Nets were expected to be a poor team. They traded away Vince Carter for Courtney Lee and made no real additions. We expected a bad team but 0-13 is even worse than was reasonably be expected. The Nets are probably not quite as bad as they have looked so far.
- [Transactions: 9/23-11/17](https://hoopsanalyst.com/transactions-923-1117/) - Charlotte Bobcats 11/16 Traded Raja Bell and Valdimir Radmanovic to Golden State for Stephen Jackson and Acie Law As dysfunctional as the Warriors may seem, the Bobcats have a good bit of weird in their moves too. In this case, the Bobcats clearly win the talent exchange and there is a rational basis for the
- [AI and Going Out on Your Own Terms](https://hoopsanalyst.com/ai-and-going-out-on-your-own-terms/) - One of the side stories of the new season is dispute brewing between the Grizzlies and Allen Iverson. Iverson, has left the team for personal reasons but there are reports circulating that he has left because he was unhappy to be coming off the bench and that he may not be coming back. It's a
- [Quick Thoughts](https://hoopsanalyst.com/quick-thoughts-21/) - 1. Cleveland Struggles: We're almost two weeks into another NBA season and there is a distinct lack of serious surprises. The one occurrence that most people are noticing is Cleveland's sluggish start out of the gate. After winning 66 games last year, the Cavs are 4-3, though LeBron James has been as good as ever.
- [NBA Preview 2009-10: Pacific Division](https://hoopsanalyst.com/nba-preview-2009-10-pacific-division/) - We now reach the end of our seasonal preview and with the Pacific Division. The Pacific is as clear cut a division as you'll find. The Lakers are a title contender and the cream of the crop and no real contenders after that. Let's take a look: 1. Los Angeles Lakers: The Lakers are the
- [School's Out: A Legal Analysis of High Schoolers and the NBA Draft](https://hoopsanalyst.com/schools-out-a-legal-analysis-of-high-schoolers-and-the-nba-draft/) - (The following was an analysis of high schoolers entering the NBA draft and examination of whether a rule could be imposed on this subject that would comport with Antitrust law and ethical/public policy considerations. This study was written in early 2000 and much has changed in this field. LeBron James popped up and foreign players
- [NBA Preview 2009-10: Northwest Division](https://hoopsanalyst.com/nba-preview-2009-10-northwest-division/) - 1. Portland Trailblazers: Most people agree that the Blazers are loaded with talent and that they are the likely up-and-coming team of the next decade. What there is some disagreement about is how quickly Portland will arrive and how high they will ascend. The Blazers looked quite good look last year. They won 54 games
- [NBA Preview 2009-10: Southwest Divsion](https://hoopsanalyst.com/nba-preview-2009-10-southwest-divsion/) - Last year, the Southwest Division was, by far, the deepest division in the NBA, with four of the five teams winning at least 49 games. This year, the division should still be deep but not quite so. Moreover, all four playoff teams are at some key points. Dallas and San Antonio are trying to squeeze
- [NBA Preview 2009-10: Southeast Division](https://hoopsanalyst.com/nba-preview-2009-10-southeast-division/) - The Southeast is an interesting new fangled division. Since the NBA switched to a three-division format, the Southeast has been the shallowest in terms of talent. While they have had some nice teams (2004-06 Heat and the 2008-09 Magic), the rest of the teams in the division have varied from middling to bad. 2008-09, however,
- [NBA Preview 2009-10: Central Division](https://hoopsanalyst.com/nba-preview-2009-10-central-division/) - Turning to the Central, we see the same pattern we saw in the Atlantic. One title contender (Cleveland) and a whole bunch of maybes. While the Central doesn't look like it will have any truly horrible teams it also has plenty of also-rans. The also-rans are varying degrees of interesting from very (Chicago) to not
- [NBA Preview 2009-10: Atlantic Division](https://hoopsanalyst.com/nba-preview-2009-10-atlantic-division/) - We're only weeks away from another exciting NBA season. We thought this would be a good time to get going with a division-by-division preview and see what we have to expect. Sure, predictions are fraught with issues. Facts (and rosters) will change between now and April 2010, which will render some of what we see
- [NBA Draft 2008: Small Forwards](https://hoopsanalyst.com/nba-draft-2008-small-forwards/) - I’m doing something a little different this year with the SFs. I’m splitting them into two categories. There will be the SFs, who are the more traditional small forward types who might be more like guards. Then there will be the combo forwards. These are the bigger players who might play either forward position depending
- [NBA Draft 2008: Combo Forwards](https://hoopsanalyst.com/nba-draft-2008-combo-forwards/) - This is the other half of the small forwards, or more accurately a 3rd group of forwards. The problem I had ranking these players with the other was I felt they were different types of players. A good example is last year with Al Thornton and Corey Brewer. Both were listed as SFs, but were
- [NBA Draft 2008: Power Forwards](https://hoopsanalyst.com/nba-draft-2008-power-forwards/) - This is a very strong group. The strongest in the draft and it might rival the SFs of ’03 and ’07 as strongest group in any draft class I’ve seen. Beasley and Love are at the top. I really can’t decide who should go on top either. Love does have better numbers and improved during
- [NBA Draft 2008: Centers](https://hoopsanalyst.com/nba-draft-2008-centers/) - I like this year's crop of centers. There isn’t the star power we had last year with Oden, but there are enough good prospects that watching this bunch develop over the next few years should be interesting. This year one of the questions will be whether to go for potential or immediate help. Roy Hibbert
- [NBA Draft 2008: Grades](https://hoopsanalyst.com/nba-draft-2008-grades/) - The 2008 draft is a tough one to grade. I had 3 players, Rose, Beasley and Love, head and shoulders above the rest. I felt after the top 3, there were 15-20 players who could have been shaken up and drawn in any order and it wouldn’t have surprised me much. Because the pool of
- [Quick Thoughts](https://hoopsanalyst.com/quick-thoughts-20/) - 1. Champs and D: We've taken a step back from the season thanks to Ed Weiland's excellent draft coverage but now it's time to take a quick look back at the Celtics' run. In the end, the Celtics excellent defense coupled with the inability of the Lakers to match up with Paul Pierce gave Boston
- [Transactions 5/17-7/9](https://hoopsanalyst.com/transactions-517-79/) - Atlanta Hawks 5/28 Name Rick Sund general manager 6/17 Sign coach Mike Woodson to contract extension Atlanta has been a weird a dysfunctional organization for a while now. How does Mike Woodson survive but GM Billy Knight get the axe? One would think that Knight and Woodson, having been together for so long, were tied
- [Quick Thoughts](https://hoopsanalyst.com/quick-thoughts-19/) - I know it's exciting that training camps are open and players are playing actual basketball but actual news is quite hard to come by. We'll have full NBA previews coming in the next few weeks but we thought we'd tide you over with a little bit of basketball talk. We often associate a particular position
- [Best Team In Franchise History: Central Division](https://hoopsanalyst.com/best-team-in-franchise-history-central-division/) - Continuing with our divisional tour of best teams by franchise, we come to the Central Division, where we have some tough choices to consider. If you're interested in the parameters of our discussion and our standard of review, you can check out the intro here. But going forward, we get to look a pretty fun
- [Quick Thoughts](https://hoopsanalyst.com/quick-thoughts-15/) - 1. Marbury Happenings: One of the few subplots actively brewing in the NBA right now is the Knicks' dealings with Stephon Marbury. Before this week, there were strong rumors that Marbury was going to be released and the Knicks were going to buyout the $22 million left on his deal for 2008-09. The situation is
- [Quick Thoughts](https://hoopsanalyst.com/quick-thoughts-18/) - 1. Some Summer League Fun: Here we are nearing the dead zone of the NBA year. Most of the major NBA free agents are taken care and a few trades may pop up in August and September and the Olympics won't be coming until that time either. The only games right now are those wacky
- [Transactions 7/9-7/17](https://hoopsanalyst.com/transactions-79-717/) - Boston Celtics 7/16 Sign Patrick O'Bryant O'Bryant was predictably a washout for Don Nelson's small man offense. In fact, he barely played in Golden State in two years but did block a lot of shots. His 2007-08 NBDL stats are also pretty good (16.8 ppg, 10 rpg, 3.5 bpg, 21.0 PER). Given the fact that
- [Quick Thoughts](https://hoopsanalyst.com/quick-thoughts-17/) - 1. Team USA Is A-Coming: With the Olympics has approaching, we find ourselves again watching another Team USA take a shot at the gold, that has eluded them to varying degrees since 2000. When we examine this issue, we are quick to point out a few things. The idea that the United States hasn't won
- [Best Team In Franchise History: Atlantic Division](https://hoopsanalyst.com/best-team-in-franchise-history-atlantic-division/) - Sure, we have the Olympics to keep us quasi-interested in basketball this summer but usually we like to get a bit historical in the summers. In particular, we like to play with the usual unanswerable (and sometimes irrelevant) questions that we all think about. This summer we'll tackle the question of which team is the
- [Quick Thoughts](https://hoopsanalyst.com/quick-thoughts-16/) - 1. Gold: In reality, the United States only lost one Olympics in a row but the feeling of futility has been palpable in the World Championships in 2002 and 2006 as well. So, now the United States has returned to gold in the Olympics and the question is what does this all mean? I suppose
- [Best Team In Franchise History: Southeast Division](https://hoopsanalyst.com/best-team-in-franchise-history-southeast-division/) - We now turn to one of the "new fangled" divisions, the Southeast, which was created to accommodate the expansion Charlotte Bobcats and even out the divisions (in case you missed it, an explanation of our "best" inquiry can be found here). Aside from Charlotte, the division contains two old franchises (Atlanta and Washington) and two
- [Transaction 7/17-9/11](https://hoopsanalyst.com/transaction-717-911/) - Atlanta Hawks 7/29 Sign Maurice Evans 7/30 Sign Randolph Morris 8/8 Re-sign Josh Smith 8/11 Sign Thomas Gardner and Othello Hunter 8/13 Sign Flip Murray At the end of the day, the Hawks avoided the worst case scenario--that Smith would take a one-year qualifying offer in order to set up a run at unrestricted free
- [Best Team In Franchise History: Southwest Division](https://hoopsanalyst.com/best-team-in-franchise-history-southwest-division/) - Having finished our Eastern Conference review of the best teams in franchise history, we now turn West. Our first Western division is the Southwest, which gives us the teams of Texas, all of which have fun histories, as well as the less ballyhooed recent expansion teams (and recently moved franchises) in Vancouver/Memphis and Charlotte/New Orleans.
- [Best Team In Franchise History: Northwest Division](https://hoopsanalyst.com/best-team-in-franchise-history-northwest-division/) - This is our fifth segment on the best teams in franchise history by division. As always, our standard of review for this series of articles can be found here. The Northwest is one of the few divisions without an original NBA team in its midst. Still, they have some teams with robust and fun histories,
- [Transactions 7/10-9/22 Part III](https://hoopsanalyst.com/transactions-710-922-part-iii/) - Phoenix Suns 7/13 Signed Channing Frye 7/20 Signed Steve Nash to a two-year contract extension 9/15 Waived Sasha Pavlovic As we mentioned in the Dallas comments last week, point guards tend not to age well. On the bright side, most of the ones who have aged well have done so in recent years, a good
- [Best Team In Franchise History: Pacific Division](https://hoopsanalyst.com/best-team-in-franchise-history-pacific-division/) - Here we are at the end of another summer historical series. The NBA season is thankfully just around the corner but first we'll finish up business by examining the best teams in franchise history for the Pacific Division, which has some particularly meaty issues to examine in Los Angeles and Phoenix. As always, our standard
- [Quick Thoughts](https://hoopsanalyst.com/quick-thoughts-14/) - 1. More on Monta: As we recently discussed, the Monta Ellis Saga a/k/a "Moped Gate" has sort of resolved itself. Previously, we noted that it was likely that the Warriors would recoup some money for Ellis getting injured in a prohibited activity and the only question is what was a fair number in light of
- [NBA Preview 2008-09: Eastern Conference](https://hoopsanalyst.com/nba-preview-2008-09-eastern-conference/) - This felt like one of the quicker off seasons we've had and now all of sudden a new NBA season is upon us. What has changed in these four months since the Celtics beat the Lakers? Not too much really. There haven't been too many changes in roster, Elton Brand being the notable exception. The
- [NBA Preview 2008-09: Western Conference](https://hoopsanalyst.com/nba-preview-2008-09-western-conference/) - The Western Conference powers have been gradually shifting. The old powers seem to be fading but still dangerous and the new power brokers that emerged in the 2007-08 playoffs look pretty significant too. I happen to agree with the opinion put out by David Stern and others that the West has regressed a bit against
- [NBA Preview 2008-09: Projected Records](https://hoopsanalyst.com/nba-preview-2008-09-projected-records/) - This season I predicted the records a little differently. I still used the same process of taking production from the previous 2 seasons and adjusting for things like age and circumstance. The difference is I gave myself more latitude to change records that just looked wrong. I did this because things can change during the
- [Transactions 7/10-9/22 Part II](https://hoopsanalyst.com/transactions-710-922-part-ii/) - Golden State Warriors 7/27 Waived Jermareo Davidson 7/30 Traded Marco Belinelli to Toronto for Devean George and cash 9/2 Signed Mikki Moore 9/15 NBA fines Stephen Jackson $25,000 for making public statements detrimental to the NBA On the surface, Belinelli for George is a "who cares" type of trade. Their salaries are pretty close but
- [Transactions 7/10-9/22 Part I](https://hoopsanalyst.com/transactions-710-922-part-i/) - Atlanta Hawks 7/13 Re-signed Mike Bibby and Zaza Pachulia 7/14 Traded rights to David Andersen to Houston for a second-round draft pick, cash, and future considerations 8/7 Re-signed Marvin Williams 8/25 Signed Joe Smith 9/2 Signed Jason Collins That was somewhat unexpected. Not only did the Hawks bring back most of their role players but
- [Transactions 9/11-11/12](https://hoopsanalyst.com/transactions-911-1112/) - Boston Celtics 9/29 Re-sign Sam Cassell It's pretty amazing how quickly a player can lose it. Cassell was perfectly useful for the Clippers last year (12.8 ppg, .455 FG%, 4.7 apg in 25.7 mpg), only to offer pretty much zero for the Celts (7.6 ppg, .385 FG%, 2.1 apg in 17.6 mpg) and was even
- [Quick Thoughts](https://hoopsanalyst.com/quick-thoughts-13/) - 1. Morrow Time!: The interesting news of this weekend was undrafted rookie Anthony Morrow's 37-point outburst against the Clippers. Morrow, a 6'5 shooting guard out of Georgia Tech, shot 15-20 from the field (4-5 from three) and even grabbed 11 rebounds. There wasn't much in Morrow's college stats to indicate that he was a regular
- [Transactions: 11/22-12/5 (Coaching Change Edition)](https://hoopsanalyst.com/transactions-1122-125-coaching-change-edition/) - Oklahoma City Thunder 11/22 Fire P.J. Carlesimo and name Scott Brooks interim head coach Not much has happened in the NBA on the transaction front the last few weeks except for a good old fashioned coaching dump off. In each of the three cases of coach firings, the terminations do not seem to be no-brainers.
- [Sloan's Run](https://hoopsanalyst.com/sloans-run/) - Recently, we looked at the fact that P.J. Carlesimo had only one win as a Oklahoma City Thunder coach and reviewed each franchise's least successful coaches. Just so you don't think we dwell only on depressing things like coaches being fired, it bears noting that Jerry Sloan is now in his twentieth year of coaching
- [Transactions 12/5-12/16](https://hoopsanalyst.com/transactions-125-1216/) - Charlotte Bobcats 12/10 Trade Jason Richardson, Jared Dudley and a 2010 second-round pick to Phoenix for Raja Bell, Boris Diaw and Sean Singletary 12/12 Sign Juwan Howard Another fun Larry Brown trade! If you give Brown control, he'll do some whacky things. On paper, trading Richardson for Bell and Diaw makes little sense. Richardson is
- [Quick Thoughts](https://hoopsanalyst.com/quick-thoughts-12/) - 1. CP3 and Steals: Just a few days ago, Chris Paul set the records for the most consecutive games with a steal, breaking Alvin Robertson's record from 1985. Giving such an accomplishment proper weight is a difficult thing to do. On the one hand, steals are clearly a good thing and the fact that a
- [Quick Thoughts](https://hoopsanalyst.com/quick-thoughts-11/) - 1. The Race for Home Court: For better or for worse, the themes of NBA seasons tend to take shape very early and then we all have to wait until May/June two find out how the conflict will play out. Sure, there are fun little surprises that might matter for future seasons but, ultimately, question
- [Quick Thoughts](https://hoopsanalyst.com/quick-thoughts-10/) - 1. Atlanta Aeries: Right around the January each season, we like take stock at the teams that came out of nowhere and examine how they are excelling and whether the improved play will continue. Last year, we had quite a few teams go from .500 to contention and we ended up with three teams going
- [The Miles Saga](https://hoopsanalyst.com/the-miles-saga/) - Despite the fact the we just saw the two best teams in the East play the other night, it seems that most everyone is more concerned with the curious situation of Darius Miles. While you probably have heard about this issue, before we give your our take we'll give you the quick rundown: -Miles is
- [Transactions 12/16-1/19](https://hoopsanalyst.com/transactions-1216-119/) - Charlotte Bobcats 1/16 Traded Matt Carroll and Ryan Hollins to Dallas for DeSagana Diop Taking this trade from a Larry Brown perspective, it makes some sense. Brown loves defense and does not necessarily appreciate shooters who don't defend like Carroll. But look a bit closer and this makes no objective sense. Yes, Diop can block
- [The Alonzo Mourning FAQ](https://hoopsanalyst.com/the-alonzo-mourning-faq/) - Usually when an inner circle Hall of Fame-type player retires, we take the opportunity to examine his career closely with one of our FAQs. Well, Alonzo Mourning just recently retired and he's not quite good enough to be inner circle material. Still, Zo has both an interesting personal story and he was a very good
- [Quick Thoughts](https://hoopsanalyst.com/quick-thoughts-9/) - 1. All-Star Stuff: Nothing gets me less excited than the All-Star game and the surrounding All-Star picks and controversies. As we've said before, we rarely catch more than a few moments of the whole weekend. Still, we do feel compelled to give our take the usual controversies. The most obvious problem with the rosters is
- [NBA Draft Update](https://hoopsanalyst.com/nba-draft-update-4/) - After two of stronger, deeper drafts ever, the 2009 draft is going to be fairly normal. There are no can’t miss stars and the best player, Blake Griffin, is more of a hard worker than a great athlete. This is mainly due to a weak freshman class. The sophomores who stuck around from last years’
- [Transactions: 1/19-2/24](https://hoopsanalyst.com/transactions-119-224/) - Boston Celtics 2/17 Traded Sam Cassell to Sacramento for a conditional 2015 second-round draft pick 2/19 Traded Patrick O'Bryant to Toronto for a conditional second-round pick in 2014 2/24 Signed Mikki Moore For Boston, Sam-I-Am was always an insurance policy for Rajon Rondo. Since that time Rondo has played quite well and they haven't needed
- [Top Heavy NBA](https://hoopsanalyst.com/top-heavy-nba/) - Most believe that NBA title contention is likely limited to Boston, Cleveland, and the Los Angeles Lakers. I was just checking out Basketball-Reference's cool playoff probability reports, which essentially confirm all of our hunches on this point. As of right now, each team of these teams has about the same chance of winning the title
- [Quick Thoughts](https://hoopsanalyst.com/quick-thoughts-8/) - 1. The Things We Say: We're not too interested about what's going on this All-Star Weekend. We don't loath the show but frankly it's just not that much of a priority for us. That being said, the NBA All-Star weekend is probably the most interesting of such events (for whatever that's worth). Rather than get
- [Quick Thoughts](https://hoopsanalyst.com/quick-thoughts-7/) - 1. Playoff Meanderings: On an overall level, the Eastern Conference has caught up the West. Three of the top four teams are in the East and they have been pretty effective against the West. Nevertheless, the West is absolutely flying in terms of playoff position. Right now, the West's top eight have winning percentages of
- [Quick Thoughts](https://hoopsanalyst.com/quick-thoughts-6/) - 1. Falkenstein Ruminations: While the playoff chase whirls in our faces, the background story people are talking about relates to the economic and labor health of the game. Revenues are projected as down for the next few seasons and David Stern, for the first time, is telling teams to expect the salary cap and the
- [Quick Thoughts](https://hoopsanalyst.com/quick-thoughts-5/) - 1. Limping to the Finish: About one month ago we had an interesting season going on. The Magic, Celts, and Cavs were locked in a three-way battle for top seed. At the bottom of the conference, the eight-seed had a logjam of potential teams vying for the slot. Out West, the Lakers were pretty much
- [Quick Thoughts](https://hoopsanalyst.com/quick-thoughts-4/) - 1. Award Picks: As the NBA season reaches a finish, we don't have too much to do but wait for the playoffs. While we don't pay too much attention to the post-season awards, this is a perfect time to throw in my two cents as to whom the awards should go to: -Rookie of the Year:
- [NBA Draft Update](https://hoopsanalyst.com/nba-draft-update-3/) - Right now a good historical reference as to how the 2009 draft turns out might be the 1989 draft. This draft was weak at the top, but had some pretty good guards chosen later in round one. That’s a little how I think this one will end up. The draft is void of can’t-miss types,
- [NCAA Tourney Preview](https://hoopsanalyst.com/ncaa-tourney-preview/) - In picking the NCAA tournament winner, and the final four teams, one important factor has stood out in recent years. Teams with the best big men do well. Not the big men who win college POY awards, but the big men who will be drafted in the top ten. There are other important things. It’s
- [NBA Draft Update](https://hoopsanalyst.com/nba-draft-update-2/) - The 2009 draft remains shaky. I wouldn’t call it historically bad or anything like that. It suffers for two reasons. The first is it follows two pretty strong drafts. Most drafts would look weak compared to the ’07 and ’08 crops. The next is it’s strength is in wing players. Breaking the ’09 talent pool
- [NBA All-Time Rankings, 2008-09 Update](https://hoopsanalyst.com/nba-all-time-rankings-2008-09-update/) - One of our favorite exercises is trying to place the most recent happenings to NBA history. In order to help us in that regard, Kyle Wright, who wrote the excellent book "NBA From Top to Bottom" has passed on his 2008-09 update. Just to give you a little context, Kyle has ranked every NBA and
- [Quick Thoughts](https://hoopsanalyst.com/quick-thoughts-3/) - 1. Award Stuff Part II: We just finished up our award picks last week and I realized I left out a few things. We made all our picks in terms of awards but we had also been reviewing each award historically speaking. In that sense, we short thrifted our historical review of the Sixth Man,
- [NBA Playoffs 2008-09: Playoff Preview](https://hoopsanalyst.com/nba-playoffs-2008-09-playoff-preview/) - Finally, some tangible and meaningful games. Even as a hardcore NBA fan, I found it hard to care too much about how seeding played out that last week. Now, we can turn to what really matters...the playoffs. This year's playoffs seem to be straightforward on the top of the food train. The more interesting questions
- [Playoff Thoughts](https://hoopsanalyst.com/playoff-thoughts-7/) - 1. It's Over Johnny: Count me in the crowd that thinks there isn't much reason to watch Cleveland-Detroit, Los Angeles-Utah, or Denver-New Orleans. Still, let's take a look at what's happened so far to see if there is anything to learn about these series: -Cleveland/Detroit: This is playing out like your typical one-eight series. Cleveland
- [Playoff Thoughts](https://hoopsanalyst.com/playoff-thoughts-5/) - 1. Round 2 Begins: What is there to say so far this round of the playoffs? Let's go series by series: -Denver/Dallas: This series has been all Denver so far. So far, Denver has not used it super depth up front to frustrate Dirk Nowitzki. In fact, Dirk has looked really good. No, Dallas' downfall
- [Playoff Thoughts](https://hoopsanalyst.com/playoff-thoughts-6/) - 1. Boston-Chicago: This has been a truly great series so far, with drama galore. I've truly enjoyed watching this series so far but do fall in the camp that it hasn't been played at the highest level. With Kevin Garnett, this would've probably been a 4-1 easy win for Boston but for us disinterested observers,
- [The Stockton-Malone FAQ](https://hoopsanalyst.com/the-stockton-malone-faq/) - Well, it's official. As of yesterday, the second half of the John Stockton-Karl Malone duo has called it quits. Malone's departure was not quite the natural process as he vacillated and left everyone guessing for a while. But now that both Stockton and Malone are gone, this is a good time to look back at
- [The Admiral FAQ](https://hoopsanalyst.com/the-admiral-faq/) - Let's talk about the last of the the trinity of great centers of the of 1990s who recently retired, David Robinson. It seems like there was much fewer memorable moments or controversies with Robinson than there were with Hakeem or Ewing. Even in retirement, Robinson seemed to sneak into the sunset. Rehashing Robinson's career better
- [Hall Thoughts](https://hoopsanalyst.com/hall-thoughts/) - The news of the week has been the induction of Michael Jordan, David Robinson, and John Stockton into the Hall of Fame. While there really isn't too much to actually say about the fact that they are now in the Hall but I thought we could quickly look at the issues of the day and
- [Decade Review: 1980s](https://hoopsanalyst.com/decade-review-1980s/) - We now turn to the 1980s, the first huge decade for the NBA in terms of popularity. The decade is remembered as the time the Lakers and Celtics battled toe-to-toe for the title every year and Magic and Bird ran the show. This isn't an incorrect perception but is it really that simple? Wasn't there
- [Playoff Thoughts](https://hoopsanalyst.com/playoff-thoughts-2/) - 1. Blown Out: Game 1 of the NBA Finals between the Lakes and Magic was really notable for...well nothing. The Lakers destroyed the Magic and effectively held down Dwight Howard as well as anyone we've seen so far (including the Celtics). Phil Jackson used his personnel perfectly against Howard. In effort to avoid defensive mismatches
- [Playoff Thoughts](https://hoopsanalyst.com/playoff-thoughts-4/) - 1. Harm But No Foul?: Perhaps the only thing we will ever remember the Dallas-Denver series for is Carmelo Anthony's shot at the end of Game 3, where Antoine Wright attempted to intentionally foul only to have the refs ignore him and allow Melo to his a ridiculous three to knock the Mavs down to
- [Game 7 Time](https://hoopsanalyst.com/game-7-time/) - As very entertaining Thursday saw Orlando struggle at home against a short handed Boston team before roaring ahead in the final minutes to force a Game 7 in Boston. Next, we saw Houston bum rush the Lakers in the first quarter, which gave them just enough cushion to hang on and get the series back
- [Re-Considering Wayman](https://hoopsanalyst.com/re-considering-wayman/) - In the last few weeks, the NBA has lost a few interesting characters. The particularly untimely passing was of Wayman Tisdale, the former power forward, who had a decent NBA career after a storied college career. I was actually pretty surprised to see so many nice articles about Tisdale, whose pro career was not great.
- [Playoff Thoughts](https://hoopsanalyst.com/playoff-thoughts-3/) - 1. Cavs/Magic Aftermath: After Orlando closed out the Cleveland on Saturday, we've all been buzzing about what kind of fallout there will be for the Cavs. Before we worry too much about the hysteria we should all recognize that the Magic's win over the Cavs was convincing and had no hallmarks of a fluke. It
- [NBA Draft Update](https://hoopsanalyst.com/nba-draft-update/) - This is the quickie, post-lottery mock. I was actually hoping the T’wolves would win the lottery. They were the only potential winner that might have brought some drama to the top pick. But it went to the Clippers who actually might take advantage of this opportunity to end the futility that’s been the trademark of
- [Playoff Thoughts](https://hoopsanalyst.com/playoff-thoughts/) - 1. Game 4 Fallout: On Thursday the Magic and Lakers played an great Game 4, filled with twists and turns and plenty to buzz about, both good and bad. Here are our observations of the proceedings: -While the decision to foul or defend the three is one coaches have struggled with, it's pretty clear that
- [NBA Draft 2009: Point Guards](https://hoopsanalyst.com/nba-draft-2009-point-guards/) - Sometimes I find the evaluation process a little baffling. It’s as if the scouts, GMs and other personnel men simply focus in on what goes on in the combine and workouts and ignore the season. As if they’re drafting players for a decathlon instead of the same five-on-five game these players were playing the previous
- [NBA Draft 2009: Shooting Guards](https://hoopsanalyst.com/nba-draft-2009-shooting-guards/) - Shooting guards can be placed into two basic groups. I’ll call these groups the Jordans and the Millers. The Jordans would be your basic do-it-all SGs. They score 20+ PPG, but they’re also capable of grabbing 10 rebounds or passing out 10 assists on any given night. They play strong defense and could likely play
- [NBA Draft 2009: Combo Guards](https://hoopsanalyst.com/nba-draft-2009-combo-guards/) - I believe this is the 3rd or 4th year I’ve separated these combo guards. It used to be where I’d stick guards who just didn’t fit into one position or another. This year I’m limiting it to guards who are the size of a typical PG, but have played more like a SG. They’ve been
- [NBA Draft 2009: Small Forwards](https://hoopsanalyst.com/nba-draft-2009-small-forwards/) - As a group the SFs have always been the toughest nut for me to crack. The other positions all seem to have a few stats I can look at to make a fairly simple (or so it seems at the time) call on a player’s prospect-worthiness. With SFs there’s really no hard-and fast rule. I
- [NBA Draft 2009: Centers](https://hoopsanalyst.com/nba-draft-2009-centers/) - Going over the centers has been somewhat of a revelation. I expected that I would be knocking both Thabeet and Mullens while bulding myself to a near freak out over the fact that no one seems interested in John Bryant. I thought I might even call this the worst center class ever. It isn’t. Both
- [NBA Draft 2009: Power Forwards](https://hoopsanalyst.com/nba-draft-2009-power-forwards/) - The 2008-09 college basketball season saw a couple of historically great rebounding performances by Dejuan Blair and Blake Griffin, the top 2 players in this group. Here are the best rebounding seasons ever, or at least in the past 20 or so years, as measured by rebounds per 40 minutes by NCAA sophomore PFs: Player
- [NBA Draft 2009: Draft Grades](https://hoopsanalyst.com/nba-draft-2009-draft-grades-2/) - This is a draft of a few good and several slightly-above-average prospects. Right now I would say that Rubio and Evans have the best shot to become great players. After that we have a few good-to-very good in Griffin, Harden, Lawson and Blair. One who would be called potentially valuable in Thabeet. There are a
- [NBA Draft 2009: Combo Forwards](https://hoopsanalyst.com/nba-draft-2009-combo-forwards/) - This is the other half of the small forwards, or more accurately a 3rd group of forwards. The role they’ve been playing mostly in the NBA has been the PF in a small lineup. The NBA keeps veering smaller and quicker as teams deal with the perpetual shortage of good big men. This pushes PFs
- [Decade Review: 1990s](https://hoopsanalyst.com/decade-review-1990s/) - Since there isn't much going on in NBA land and we had so much fun picking the team of the 00s, I thought that we could do the same thing with the other decades. Working backwards, we'll start today in the 1990s. Remember from last time, that our decade spans from 1989-90 through 1998-99. So
- [Quick Thoughts](https://hoopsanalyst.com/quick-thoughts-2/) - 1. Leaders of the 00s: What do we call the decade from 2000 to 2009? Calling it "the 2000s" makes it sounds like we're referring to the whole century and the aughts, the technical name for the decade sounds a little silly. Perhaps the 00s makes the most sense? Not really sure but we'll stick
- [The Roy Tarpley Saga](https://hoopsanalyst.com/the-roy-tarpley-saga/) - Roy Tarpley's NBA career has been closed for 14 years and his subsequent lawsuit against the NBA was also recently closed. What is forgotten was how great a player Tarpley was when he was healthy. I thought we could take a look back at Tarpley and his lawsuit against the NBA and see what exactly
- [Transactions 4/23-6/29](https://hoopsanalyst.com/transactions-423-629/) - Atlanta Hawks 6/25 Traded Acie Law and Speedy Claxton to Golden State for Jamal Crawford For the Hawks, this is a clear win trade. Crawford is a gunner but can be useful, while Law never developed and Claxton appears to be done with his knee issues. The question now is what role Crawford will fill
- [Transactions: 6/30-7/9](https://hoopsanalyst.com/transactions-630-79/) - Boston Celtics 7/8 Signed Rasheed Wallace Rasheed comes to Boston with the express goal of giving them another shot at the title in 2009-10. At this point, Boston is playing a risky game. Bringing Wallace to Boston gives the Celts another key player approaching his mid-30s. Wallace will be 35 the coming season and coming
- [Quick Thoughts](https://hoopsanalyst.com/quick-thoughts/) - 1. Whither AI?: Allen Iverson is no longer a star player. He can still get off a ton of shots, he still has problems getting to practice and complaining to coaches, and he still has an attitude and style of play that get him attention. At the end of the day, however, AI's greatest asset,
- [Attendance Review](https://hoopsanalyst.com/attendance-review/) - As we slog through the non-basketball portion of the year, we like to shift gears and look at different subjects. Something that had interested me is the NBA's standing in terms of economics and popularity. Based upon the reports that the NBA salary cap will be lowered the next few seasons, it seems pretty clear
- [The New Hoops Analyst](https://hoopsanalyst.com/the-new-hoops-analyst/) - Hey all. As you can see, we've gone ahead and moved Hoops Analyst into the 21st century. Though still a work in progress, we think you'll enjoy the new site much more than the old. We've added the ability to leave comments, which should add a whole new dimension to our posts and foster a

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- [Corey Walden](https://hoopsanalyst.com/tag/corey-walden/)
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- [Frank Kaminskey](https://hoopsanalyst.com/tag/frank-kaminskey/)
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- [Guillermo Hernangomez](https://hoopsanalyst.com/tag/guillermo-hernangomez/)
- [Mouhammadou Jaiteh](https://hoopsanalyst.com/tag/mouhammadou-jaiteh/)
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- [2016 NBA Draft](https://hoopsanalyst.com/tag/2016-nba-draft/)
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- [NBA Draft](https://hoopsanalyst.com/tag/nba-draft/)
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- [Dragan Bender](https://hoopsanalyst.com/tag/dragan-bender/)
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- [Immnuel Quickley](https://hoopsanalyst.com/tag/immnuel-quickley/)
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- [Calbert Cheaney](https://hoopsanalyst.com/tag/calbert-cheaney/)
- [Dee Brown](https://hoopsanalyst.com/tag/dee-brown/)
- [PJ Carlesimo](https://hoopsanalyst.com/tag/pj-carlesimo/)
- [Dikembe Mutombo](https://hoopsanalyst.com/tag/dikembe-mutombo/)
- [Kerry Kittles](https://hoopsanalyst.com/tag/kerry-kittles/)
- [Brian Hill](https://hoopsanalyst.com/tag/brian-hill/)
- [Bob Hill](https://hoopsanalyst.com/tag/bob-hill/)
- [Matisse Thybulle](https://hoopsanalyst.com/tag/matisse-thybulle/)
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- [Sam Jones](https://hoopsanalyst.com/tag/sam-jones/)
- [Andy Phillip](https://hoopsanalyst.com/tag/andy-phillip/)
- [Tony Snell](https://hoopsanalyst.com/tag/tony-snell/)
- [Evan Mobley](https://hoopsanalyst.com/tag/evan-mobley/)
- [Jalen Suggs](https://hoopsanalyst.com/tag/jalen-suggs/)
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- [Josh Giddey](https://hoopsanalyst.com/tag/josh-giddey/)
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- [Cade Cunningham](https://hoopsanalyst.com/tag/cade-cunningham/)
- [Paul Westhead](https://hoopsanalyst.com/tag/paul-westhead/)
- [Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf](https://hoopsanalyst.com/tag/mahmoud-abdul-rauf/)
- [Toney Douglas](https://hoopsanalyst.com/tag/toney-douglas/)
- [Iman Shumpert](https://hoopsanalyst.com/tag/iman-shumpert/)
- [Mike Bibby](https://hoopsanalyst.com/tag/mike-bibby/)
- [Dale Ellis](https://hoopsanalyst.com/tag/dale-ellis/)
- [play-in game;](https://hoopsanalyst.com/tag/play-in-game/)
- [Scotty Barnes](https://hoopsanalyst.com/tag/scotty-barnes/)
- [Caron Butler](https://hoopsanalyst.com/tag/caron-butler/)
- [Max Strus](https://hoopsanalyst.com/tag/max-strus/)
- [Duncan Robinson](https://hoopsanalyst.com/tag/duncan-robinson/)
- [Joe Tsai](https://hoopsanalyst.com/tag/joe-tsai/)
- [Kenny Atkinson](https://hoopsanalyst.com/tag/kenny-atkinson/)
- [tom heinsohn](https://hoopsanalyst.com/tag/tom-heinsohn/)
- [Bismack Biyombo](https://hoopsanalyst.com/tag/bismack-biyombo/)
- [ime udoka](https://hoopsanalyst.com/tag/ime-udoka/)
- [michael curry](https://hoopsanalyst.com/tag/michael-curry/)
- [john wetzel](https://hoopsanalyst.com/tag/john-wetzel/)
- [frank mcguire](https://hoopsanalyst.com/tag/frank-mcguire/)
- [igor kokoskov](https://hoopsanalyst.com/tag/igor-kokoskov/)
- [nate bjorkgren](https://hoopsanalyst.com/tag/nate-bjorkgren/)
- [dennis schroeder](https://hoopsanalyst.com/tag/dennis-schroeder/)
- [PJ Tucker](https://hoopsanalyst.com/tag/pj-tucker/)
- [Charles Jones](https://hoopsanalyst.com/tag/charles-jones/)
- [load management](https://hoopsanalyst.com/tag/load-management/)
- [Larry Johnson](https://hoopsanalyst.com/tag/larry-johnson/)
- [reggie theus](https://hoopsanalyst.com/tag/reggie-theus/)
- [mikal bridges](https://hoopsanalyst.com/tag/mikal-bridges/)
- [willis reed](https://hoopsanalyst.com/tag/willis-reed/)
- [darius garland](https://hoopsanalyst.com/tag/darius-garland/)
- [Jim Jackson](https://hoopsanalyst.com/tag/jim-jackson/)
- [Jamal Mashburn](https://hoopsanalyst.com/tag/jamal-mashburn/)
- [taylor jenkins](https://hoopsanalyst.com/tag/taylor-jenkins/)
- [tom thibodeau](https://hoopsanalyst.com/tag/tom-thibodeau/)
- [jalen brunson](https://hoopsanalyst.com/tag/jalen-brunson/)
- [oj anunoby](https://hoopsanalyst.com/tag/oj-anunoby/)
- [dan majerle](https://hoopsanalyst.com/tag/dan-majerle/)
- [Albert King](https://hoopsanalyst.com/tag/albert-king/)
- [Steve Ballmer](https://hoopsanalyst.com/tag/steve-ballmer/)
- [Chris Dudley](https://hoopsanalyst.com/tag/chris-dudley/)
- [Juwan Howard](https://hoopsanalyst.com/tag/juwan-howard/)
- [CBA](https://hoopsanalyst.com/tag/cba/)
- [damon jones](https://hoopsanalyst.com/tag/damon-jones/)
- [muggsy bogues](https://hoopsanalyst.com/tag/muggsy-bogues/)
- [billy donovan](https://hoopsanalyst.com/tag/billy-donovan/)
- [wes unseld](https://hoopsanalyst.com/tag/wes-unseld/)
- [mike fratello](https://hoopsanalyst.com/tag/mike-fratello/)
- [mike woodson](https://hoopsanalyst.com/tag/mike-woodson/)
- [steve clifford](https://hoopsanalyst.com/tag/steve-clifford/)
- [dwane casey](https://hoopsanalyst.com/tag/dwane-casey/)
- [flip saunders](https://hoopsanalyst.com/tag/flip-saunders/)
- [scott skiles](https://hoopsanalyst.com/tag/scott-skiles/)
- [brett brown](https://hoopsanalyst.com/tag/brett-brown/)
- [willie green](https://hoopsanalyst.com/tag/willie-green/)
- [jamahl mosley](https://hoopsanalyst.com/tag/jamahl-mosley/)
- [dan roundfield](https://hoopsanalyst.com/tag/dan-roundfield/)
- [rick roberson](https://hoopsanalyst.com/tag/rick-roberson/)
- [Shai gilgeous-alexander](https://hoopsanalyst.com/tag/shai-gilgeous-alexander/)
- [victor wembanyama](https://hoopsanalyst.com/tag/victor-wembanyama/)
- [jerry sichting](https://hoopsanalyst.com/tag/jerry-sichting/)
- [kc jones](https://hoopsanalyst.com/tag/kc-jones/)
- [vin baker](https://hoopsanalyst.com/tag/vin-baker/)
- [jim mcilvaine](https://hoopsanalyst.com/tag/jim-mcilvaine/)
- [walt frazier](https://hoopsanalyst.com/tag/walt-frazier/)
- [jerry lucas](https://hoopsanalyst.com/tag/jerry-lucas/)
- [gail goodrich](https://hoopsanalyst.com/tag/gail-goodrich/)