This run to the Western Conference finals for the Phoenix Suns has been a collective effort. Each of their five starters is averaging double-figure points per game during the playoffs, along with their backup point guard. The team’s 22-year-old center, Deandre Ayton, has done battle with both Anthony Davis and Nikola Jokić and not only […]
After taking a buyout from the Detroit Pistons in March, Blake Griffin’s very first field goal for the Brooklyn Nets was a dunk. That might not have been remarkable for the Lob City version of Griffin, who led the league in dunks in both 2011-12 and 2012-13, but it was quite a spectacle for the […]
The NBA’s best players are bellwethers. Their excellence is taken as a template; they are understood to say something about the state of the game. That Nikola Jokić and Joel Embiid, the winner of and runner-up for the 2021 MVP award, put up such commendable years has a meta meaning, at least to those tired […]
Patience is paying off in a big way for the Phoenix Suns. The No. 2 seed in the West snapped its 10-year playoff drought this year, beat the defending champion Los Angeles Lakers in the first round and currently holds a 1-0 lead over the Denver Nuggets. While the Suns’ All-Star backcourt of Chris Paul […]
Ever since Rudy Gobert was permanently inserted into their starting lineup midway through the 2014-15 season, the Utah Jazz have routinely had one of the NBA’s top defenses. Making the best shots in the league less profitable for opponents is one of the most surefire ways to build a top defense, and Gobert is better […]