Who to Blame in LA?

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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 the basics…the expectations in LA were a bit high but the reality is this team was not good.  Even with LeBron James, the reasonable consensus was that the Lakers … [Read more...] about Who to Blame in LA?

MVP Droughts

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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 year's horse race doesn’t interest me yet.  We can get back to that nearer to the end of the season. For now, I was more interested in going down the wormhole that is MVP … [Read more...] about MVP Droughts

Transactions: Deadline Deals

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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 Jason Smith, Stanley Johnson, and four second-round picks The Bucks are in the surprising role of front runners in the East and the team with the best SRS in the … [Read more...] about Transactions: Deadline Deals

Transactions: The Porzingis Trade

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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 draft and then use that pick plus Porzingis to help woo a big free agent.  The Knicks have exceeded the stink part beyond our wildest expectations.   The question is whether … [Read more...] about Transactions: The Porzingis Trade

Looking Back At The Marques Johnson Trade

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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 was a complicated story.  I thought it would be fun to take a look back at Johnson’s Milwaukee tenure and assess if the detailed reviewed of his career and trade all these years later … [Read more...] about Looking Back At The Marques Johnson Trade

On Retired Numbers

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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 one would expect to get the retirement treatment.  The disparate types of players got me wondering what criteria are used in this process.  At the time, I wrote an article studying which … [Read more...] about On Retired Numbers

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