The NBA playoffs put even the most potent offenses to the test — particularly those that struggle to find an extra gear. That’s the reality facing the Atlanta Hawks as the team’s strongest offense in nearly 15 years has been effectively stifled this postseason. Atlanta trailed only the Utah Jazz in offensive efficiency during the […]
As NBA players age and their bodies and athletic capabilities change, the best players adapt their approaches to remain the best. Whether that means adding new skills to their game or leaning more heavily into lesser-used abilities, the need comes for every player who lasts long enough in the league. Adaptation, though, doesn’t necessarily mean […]
Joel Embiid and James Harden of the Philadelphia 76ers are diametrically opposed as player types. Harden has averaged more than 10 assists a game for two seasons in a row and led the league in isolations per possession every season since at least 2015-16, while Embiid has led the league in post-ups per possession every […]
For a little while, it looked like the Philadelphia 76ers would get all of the good and none of the bad. James Harden’s opening run in a Sixers uniform, after his deadline-day trade out of Brooklyn, was a rebuttal to the gripes that have lately attended his here-and-there career. Can’t coexist with a franchise big […]
The Minnesota Timberwolves entered this season with a preseason over/under of only 35.5 wins, eighth-lowest in the NBA, after finishing the 2020-21 season at 23-49. They had made the playoffs only once since the NBA expanded to 30 teams in the 2004-05 season, and the FiveThirtyEight forecast gave them just a 39 percent chance of […]