During Boston’s conference final-opening loss to Miami on Tuesday night, Marcus Smart stood on the sideline in resortwear, nursing a foot injury and politicking with officials. He did what he could; cameras caught him during a timeout harping on rotations and assignments. But Derrick White, starting in his stead, mustered just 3 points on four […]
For years, even as they established a dynasty and ruled the league, the Golden State Warriors carried a reputation as a soft, jump-shooting team that could be beaten on the interior. (Probably because Charles Barkley kept saying it over and over on “Inside the NBA,” but that’s neither here nor there.) The characterization was so […]
The road to success for stars in the NBA is littered with teams whose pieces don’t fit. With cracks in those connections, it’s hard for even the most talented teams to stay together when driving over the potholes and through the speed traps of the playoffs. Perhaps the wheels fall off when faced with pressure. […]
Going into the playoffs, our NBA model wasn’t particularly high on the Dallas Mavericks’ chances of making a deep run. We gave Dallas only a 37 percent chance of beating the Utah Jazz in the first round and a 12 percent chance of making the Western Conference finals. But that was before Luka Dončić returned […]
The Phoenix Suns finished the regular season with the NBA’s best record, eight games better than the next closest team. They led the league in net rating and were the only team in the league to sport a top-five offense and a top-five defense. And yet, their disastrous defeat Sunday at the hands of the […]