The Cleveland Cavaliers have plenty of problems right now, and many of them concern their struggles on defense. Through two games in these Eastern Conference finals — both losses — they’re allowing 112.8 points per 100 possessions against a Boston Celtics team that averaged only 105.2 during the regular season (according to Advanced NBA Stats). […]
When the NBA regular season winds down, fans most likely hear some variation of this old adage on one studio show after another: “In the playoffs, when the games slow down, they’re going to have some problems.” The idea is that run-and-gun teams will see their pace come to a grinding halt once the postseason […]
When the pingpong balls came to a rest after Tuesday night’s NBA draft lottery, it was the end of an era for the league. Starting next season, the lottery’s distribution of odds based on team records will change — the first tweak to the system in 25 years. The jackpot-winning Phoenix Suns came out on […]
Welcome to The Lab, FiveThirtyEight’s basketball podcast. On Tuesday’s show (May 15, 2018), Neil, Chris and Kyle discuss Game 1 of each conference finals series. In the East, the Celtics contained LeBron James and spread the offense around — is that a sign of things to come, or is it a fluke? And in the […]
HOUSTON — The NBA Finals are the crown jewel of the playoffs for obvious reasons, but it’d be hard to argue with anyone who views this vaunted Western Conference finals matchup between the Golden State Warriors and Houston Rockets, which opens Monday night, as this year’s main event. The Warriors have two of the best […]