Forty years and many analytic debates after the first 3-pointer in NBA history, the league finally understands the power of that arc. Twenty-six of the 30 NBA teams have averaged more than 30 3-point attempts per game this season, and only one (the Knicks) has made fewer than 10 long balls a contest. The three […]
Houston Rockets head coach Mike D’Antoni knows that his team is unique. “It’s not like everybody can do this,” he said this week. The “this” to which D’Antoni refers is the gambit that is dominating the post–trade deadline conversation in the NBA. Houston has gone all-in on small ball, and since the team acquired Robert […]
In our latest installment of NBA Stat Battle, senior sportswriters Neil Paine and Chris Herring try to decide if James Harden’s new (well … newish) teammate, Russell Westbrook, is an upgrade over his former backcourt partner, Chris Paul. The Paul-Harden Rockets never quite figured it out, advancing only as far as the Western Conference Finals […]
Listen to enough NBA Media Day interviews, and you’ll start to think it’s the first day of school after summer vacation. Reporters routinely ask players what they did during their time away, and players in turn talk about the weight they’ve lost, the muscle they’ve gained, or the skills they’ve tried to bolster. James Harden […]
Keep track of the chaotic NBA offseason with our Free Agency Diary. Dear NBA Diary, Time for a do-over. On Thursday morning, I wrote that the Houston Rockets would be just fine running things back with their existing core of James Harden, Chris Paul, Clint Capela and company, despite the narrative that they were falling […]