There was a thought, after a certain someone decided to head west, that the defending NBA champs would take a considerable step back — perhaps not to where they would miss the playoffs entirely, but likely to second-tier status at best, if not the middle of the pack in the East. That thought seems silly […]
If you take a look at the leaderboard for FiveThirtyEight’s NBA player ratings (RAPTOR), you will see a collection of expected names at or near the top. James Harden leads the league at the moment, contributing +11.5 points per 100 possessions to his team’s performance. Reigning MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo, new Miami Heat addition Jimmy Butler […]
The Toronto Raptors’ championship last summer was unique in NBA title history. First-time NBA champs are rare anyway — Toronto became only the fourth of the 2000s, joining the Cavs in 2016, the Mavericks in 2011 and the Heat in 2006 — but it’s even more rare for a team to acquire a new best […]
New York Knicks center Mitchell Robinson is a 21-year-old, 7-foot terror who protects the rim and scores with incredible efficiency. He currently leads the NBA in blocks per 36 minutes and points created per 100 possessions, and he’s the Knicks’ best player by a comfortable margin in RAPTOR, FiveThirtyEight’s new measure of a player’s per-possession […]
Quite a bit has been written about the Warriors’ injury-induced fall from grace, but when it comes to the Portland Trail Blazers, their fellow 2019 Western Conference finalists, things have been more muted. Damian Lillard has been a monster, averaging better than 30 points per game on career-best efficiency all while ranking second so far […]