The Toronto Raptors’ start to the 2020-21 NBA season has been bizarre. They sit at 7-10, but they’ve led by double-digits at some point during six of their losses. They collected two consecutive 1-point losses that both ended with potential game-winners from Pascal Siakam spilling out of the hoop. Perhaps strangest of all is that […]
When James Harden arrived in Houston on Oct. 27, 2012 — via one of the most second-guessed trades in NBA history — he instantly transformed the Rockets into a perennial contender and changed how basketball was played. Several times in the Harden era, which saw Houston make the playoffs in each of his eight full […]
Miami Heat forward Duncan Robinson was among the best 3-point shooters in the NBA this season, but it wasn’t until play started in the bubble that reporters and analysts began referring to him as a “specialist.” With the Heat facing a 1-0 deficit to the Los Angeles Lakers in the NBA Finals and likely down […]
The past decade of professional basketball featured an overwhelming buffet of stylistic changes built on one simple premise: Three is greater than two. At all levels, coaches and players discovered the ramifications of a mathematical truth we all learn as toddlers. By taking a step back on long jumpers, they can score more points and […]
When the NCAA men’s basketball tournament was officially canceled on March 12 because of the coronavirus pandemic, it marked the end of one of the most unpredictable — and wide-open — seasons in recent memory. We saw a record number of teams grab the top spot in the Associated Press rankings in the first few […]