Category: NBA

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The Minnesota Timberwolves are about to shock the world

The NBA Playoffs are reaching a crucial point as we are a few games into round two. So far, round two has had a historically unprecedented start as every underdog currently leads or is tied in their series, giving them a major advantage as home-court switches. With all the attention on the Pacers and the Knicks, it is time to put some respect on the Minnesota Timberwolves. 

Currently tied 1-1 in their series against the Golden State Warriors, the Timberwolves are in a prime position to go on an NBA Finals run. With Steph Curry out likely until game six, the Timberwolves should have no problem making it to the Western Conference Finals. Then, they would face either the Thunder or the Nuggets, both teams that would be heavily favored against the Timberwolves. Despite what most believe, I think it is important to look closely at the Timberwolves’ roster in comparison to their opposition in the West because I believe they would be a bad matchup for any other team. 

Starting with Anthony Edwards, a player who many argue looks like the next coming of Michael Jordan. When watching Anthony Edwards, it is clear that he has the full offensive package, being the most explosive and versatile offensive player in the league. Most people, however, don’t realize that he is an elite perimeter defender who can give the opposing team’s best player a rough night. Moving deeper into their starting lineup, the Timberwolves have Jaden McDaniels and Julius Randle at the forward positions. Combined, these two players bring a solid balance of defense and offense, but most importantly, they complement Anthony Edwards’ game very nicely. Those three players alone give the opposing team a lot to deal with, but the true X-Factor is the center from France, Rudy Gobert. Being a four-time defensive player of the year, Gobert makes it almost impossible for opposing players to score in the paint. This will come in clutch when facing either Shai Gilegious Alexander or Nikola Jokic, two elite players who rely on their interior scoring ability. Additionally, since he is seven feet tall, Gobert poses a serious offensive threat when the opposing defense is putting all its efforts into slowing down Anthony Edwards. This was proven a few nights ago when Gobert had a 27-point–24 rebound game. 

Although the Timberwolves are a six-seed and historically bad in the playoffs, this team has the potential to win the title this year. Anthony Edwards beat Kevin Durant in last years playoffs, LeBron and Luka in round one this year, and is well on his way in beating Steph Curry. By the time the season is over, the torch will be passed as Anthony Edwards will have his first ring and will be on his way to being the next NBA legend.

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NBA

Luka to LA: The trade heard around the world

At 11 pm last night, the NBA world was shocked as Dallas Mavericks superstar, Luka Doncic, had been traded to the Los Angeles Lakers in exchange for Anthony Davis. Now that it is confirmed that Shams Charania was not hacked, and the trade is real, it is safe to say that this will go down as the biggest trade in NBA history. 

Although there are many strong opinions regarding this trade, one thing is clear, this was a desperate move by Mavericks GM Nico Harrison. Currently sitting at the eighth seed in the Western Conference, it looked to be difficult for the Mavs to make a deep playoff run this season. Whether it is because of his looming contract extension or his poor conditioning, Harrison didn’t feel Doncic was fit to lead the team back to glory. This is shocking given that Doncic led the Mavs to the NBA Finals just a season ago. Either way, Harrison believes that Anthony Davis’ big defensive presence will instill a defensive culture in Dallas. Although this is probably true, trading your 25-year-old MVP-caliber player for a 31-year-old injury-prone player is a terrible idea. Only time will tell if Anthony Davis paired with Kyrie Irving will even be better for the Mavs to win now. 

For the Lakers, this is an all-time great trade. Although they have been successful this season, sitting fifth in the west, they did not have the talent to beat the OKC Thunder or Denver Nuggets in a seven-game series. Anthony Davis had been playing at an elite level, but his age was starting to show, and injuries are an inevitability for him. Pairing Doncic with LeBron James not only cements the Lakers as a top team in the NBA, but it also sets up the Lakers with their superstar for the next ten years. When LeBron inevitably retires in the next few years, the Lakers will have Doncic to build around. 

This trade is yet another example of the rich getting richer in the NBA. The Lakers went from Magic and Kareem to Kobe and Shaq, to LeBron and Davis, to now LeBron and Luka. We will have to wait and see how both the Lakers and the Mavericks look on the court after this trade, but less than 24 hours after this trade it looks like the Lakers won this trade by a landslide.

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Trading DeMar DeRozan signals that the Bulls are entering a rebuild… again

The Chicago Bulls have officially entered a new era as they traded away DeMar DeRozan to the Sacramento Kings. A few summers ago, the Bulls made big-time moves, bringing in DeMar Derozan, Lonzo Ball, and Nikola Vucevic. For about half a season, the Bulls were the one seed in the Eastern Conference and looked like a championship team. Since then, it has been entirely downhill due to injuries to Lonzo Ball and the poor performance of the entire team.

Trading DeRozan away is a statement from the Bulls front office saying that they will enter a rebuild and focus on their young players. The Bulls also traded Alex Caruso a few weeks ago, and It is safe to say that Zach Lavine and Nikola Vucevic will be on new teams next season as well. While the Bulls’ young core looks promising with Coby White, Ayo Dosunmu, and newly acquired rookie Matas Buzelis, it is not enough to satisfy Bulls fans. Since Jordan left, the franchise has been in a loop that consists of having a promising team, struggling with injuries, and then trading everyone away. Derrick Rose, Joakim Noah, Jimmy Butler, and now DeMar Derozan are all names that once brought the Bulls to relevance, just for the front office to blow it all up.

As the Bulls enter yet another rebuilding season, they must approach it differently this time. The entire focus of the coaching staff needs to be developing their young players. While the Bulls have struggled with young talent in the past, they have some players who have shown flashes of being elite players. This time around, the Bulls will not be building around a single player like they have in the past with Derrick Rose and Zach Lavine. Ascending star Coby White, along with newly acquired young talent in Josh Giddey and Matas Buzelis, need to build team chemistry for a few seasons. The Bulls will almost certainly lose many of their games,  but in a few seasons, the front office can once again make a splash by signing a big-time player. The Bulls must stay patient with their young players before signing a superstar player, and this might mean firing current head coach Billy Donavan, who seemingly wants to win now. This method of rebuilding was also done by the Cleveland Cavaliers, as they slowly developed their young talent, and then signed superstar Donavan Mitchell, making them instant contenders.

In the past few seasons, we have seen many teams try to sign many superstar players and fail. The Brooklyn Nets had Kyrie Irving, Kevin Durant, and James Harden, and could not make it past the second round of the playoffs. The Phoenix Suns also created a big three just to lose in round one. Teams like the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Minnesota Timberwolves, who have been arguably some of the best teams in the NBA, built their teams entirely off of the young players on their team. They remained patient and now will be winning for the next 10 seasons at least. If Bulls fans want to see their team win again, it will have to be another few years of waiting.

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Bronny James’ journey to the NBA has been unfairly criticized

In the past, there have been numerous father-son duos to play the same sport at the highest level, but there have not been many instances where they have played together. The most famous example is Ken Griffey Sr. and Ken Griffey Jr. teaming up on the Cincinnati Reds. We now have a new father-son duo in the NBA, this time being LeBron and Bronny James.

Over the last few years, one of the biggest stories in all of sports has been Lebron James’ son, Bronny, potentially playing in the NBA at the same time as LeBron. For many years Bronny was hyped up as an elite draft prospect, but once he committed to USC, scouts became a little more realistic with his expectations. Whether it was for his mediocre performance in his lone season of college basketball, or his health concerns following a cardiac arrest, Bronnys draft stock plummeted. After all the hype throughout the years, the Lakers selected Bronny James in the second round of the NBA Draft.

Many fans and media members have been criticizing Bronnys journey to the NBA, and believe the only reason he was drafted was because of his dad. While there has been much debate surrounding this topic, the truth is that Bronny likely wouldn’t have been considered by NBA teams if it weren’t for him being the son of LeBron James. Where the critics are wrong, however, is blaming Bronny for this. The whole concept of nepotism appears in sports all the time, but for whatever reason there are more critics of Bronny. For example, two of Giannis Antetokounmpo’s brothers are in the NBA strictly because they are related to the two-time MVP. There will be advantages to being related to LeBron James, and people have to deal with it. 

Although there is nothing wrong with Bronny having this advantage, the way that LeBron pulled Bronny to be drafted by the Lakers is a little more debatable. Reports came out that Bronny’s agent, Rich Paul, told teams to not draft Bronny or he would go play in Australia instead. This of course, ultimately led to Bronny being available at pick 55 for the Lakers to select him.  It seems a little unnecessary for Bronny to force his way to play with his dad, especially given that Bronny has said he wants out of LeBron’s shadow.

Now that Bronny James has finally been drafted, the spotlight will be huge on him. He may not have much playing time, but it won’t take the attention away from him. If he plays well, he will be given a lot of media coverage, but if he plays poorly he will be given even more.

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Jayson Tatum vs. Jaylen Brown: the most meaningless debate in the NBA

The Boston Celtics have lived up to their expectations as the best team in the NBA, taking a commanding 2-0 lead against the Dallas Mavericks in the NBA Finals. While many have downplayed their success because of their weak opponents due to injuries, the Celtics roster has shown its perfection. Each starter can score, defend, and make the right play when asked to, along with this the team also has the most elite bench in the NBA.

A recent debate has come up surrounding the Celtics’ superstars, Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown. Despite Jayson Tatum historically being the best player on this team, Jaylen Brown was awarded the conference finals MVP trophy. The intense debate has led to the Dallas Mavericks head coach, Jason Kidd, giving his own opinion, stating that he believes Jaylen Brown is the best player in the Celtics. Both the opposition and the media are attempting to cause division in the Celtics locker room. For the Celtics to complete this NBA Finals run with a win, both Tatum and Brown need to ignore the outside noise. It is clear that Jayson Tatum is not playing to his usual standards, but this should not matter to the Celtics as they are still winning.

Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant won three straight titles, with the finals MVP in each series going to Shaq, yet nobody discredits Kobe. The ongoing slander that Jayson Tatum has been receiving will all be meaningless if the Celtics finish the job and win the NBA Finals.

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Pacers’ Tyrese Haliburton Has Become the Best Point Guard in the NBA

When considering the best young players in the NBA, most fans think of names like Luka Doncic, Trae Young, and Ja Morant. It’s about time that we introduce a new player to this list, Indiana Pacers point guard, Tyrese Haliburton. His ascension over the last three years has been featured in the NBA’s inaugural In-Season Tournament as he has dominated the tournament and made headlines.

In just his second NBA season, Tyrese Haliburton was a part of a pivotal trade between the Sacramento Kings and the Indiana Pacers. Being traded to the Pacers was a game-changer for Haliburton as he became the number one offensive player for the Pacers immediately. In his first full season with the Pacers, Haliburton showcased his dominance, averaging 20 points and 10 assists per game. Despite Haliburton’s elite offensive season, he still went under the radar for many NBA fans and media outlets. 

So far this season, Tyrese Haliburton has elevated his game to the next level. Scoring has become easy as Haliburton is averaging a career high 27 points per game. Notably, Haliburton impacts his scoring from outside the arc, shown by his league leading 44% three-point percentage. Haliburton combines his scoring ability with his elite playmaking. He leads the league with 12.1 assists per game. Haliburton has been the driving force behind the Pacers maintaining the highest scoring offense in NBA history. 

Through his stellar play on the court, Haliburton has used the NBA’s inaugural In-Season Tournament to build up his name. With the In-Season Tournament bringing new meaning to the NBA regular season, the viewership has been at an all-time high. Haliburton has showcased his talents to the larger audience, leading the Pacers to an undefeated record. They eliminated big market teams including the Boston Celtics and the Milwaukee Bucks. The Pacers now look forward to playing the Los Angeles Lakers in the In-Season Tournament Finals. While his name was under the radar before the tournament started, fans now believe Haliburton can beat Lebron James and the Lakers.

While many are still reluctant to say it, Tyrese Haliburton has proven that he is the modern-day Magic Johnson. This may feel like an overreaction, but Haliburton’s game has been strikingly like these NBA legends. Like Magic Johnson, Haliburton is a tall point guard who creates openings for his teammates. Much like Magic Johnson, Haliburton prioritizes winning games.  What elevates Halliburton is his scoring ability which is necessary in 2023. Alongside his elite playmaking skills, Haliburton still takes many shots.

Arguably the best point guard in the NBA right now, Haliburton’s main goal is winning more games. He has a chance at the biggest win of his career as he takes on the Lakers tonight in the In-Season Tournament Final.

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The Tank For Victor Wembanyama is On

The tank for Victor Wembanyama is on. Wembanyama, an NBA Prospect, is widely considered the best NBA Draft prospect of all time. He is a 7-4 French center whose shooting ability has been compared to future hall-of-Famer, Kevin Durant, and his defense has been compared to the 3x defensive player of the year, Rudy Gobert. With the rise of Victor Wembenyama has come a load of NBA teams that will do almost anything to get him. Unlike other American Sports, the worst team is not guaranteed the first overall pick in the Draft. The NBA has a draft lottery which changes the strategy when teams are tanking. The worst three teams all have 14% odds of winning the Draft Lottery, so while tanking could have massive rewards, it could also have negative consequences if luck is not on your side. Numerous teams are already tanking, and the amount of these teams will increase when the trade deadline comes around. Just as the Victor Wembanyama hype was taking over, NBA stars weighed in. 

“This kid is going to be a problem. A big problem. I’ve never seen this before in my life.” – Giannis Antetokounmpo on Victor Wembanyama.

“Everybody’s been a unicorn over the last few years,” said James on Wednesday, “but [Wembanyama] is more like an alien.” – Lebron James oppinion on Wembanyama

“He’s like a 2K create-a-player; every point guard who wants to be 7-foot.” – Steph Curry’s opinion on Victor Wembanyama

While the NBA Draft is always a time for young talent to come into the league and take over, this year has higher stakes. By midseason, I expect any teams that feel they will not win a championship to start tanking before it’s too late. This year, winning the Draft Lottery will change a team’s future in so many ways. While the team that drafts Wembanyama will likely start winning more, the value of that team will also change drastically. It has been said that drafting Wembanyama could increase a team’s value by as much as 500 million dollars. While every tanking team’s dream is to win the draft lottery and select the once-in-a-lifetime prospect, only one team will achieve that goal. However, there are still other generational prospects in this draft that teams are very intrigued about. We know who the consensus first-overall pick is, but we also know who the consensus second-overall pick is. Scoot Henderson, a guard in the G-League Ignite, has been lights out and is looking like one of the best draft prospects in a long time. He can do anything that NBA teams look for in guards. He scores, he passes and he brings an overall electric feel to the court. He brings a lot of energy and is one of the most talented players scouts have ever seen. Scoot Henderson had a chance to play against Victor Wembanyama, in the game of a lifetime. They both put on killer performances and it was exciting all the way to the end. These two players are headlining the highly anticipated draft that could go down as an all-time great NBA Draft.

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Post NBA Draft Analysis: A Few Surprises

The NBA Draft has finished and there were a lot of interesting picks, trades, and more. Before draft day, everyone expected Jabari Smith Jr. to be the number one pick, but that changed during the draft with the Magic selecting Paolo Banchero from Duke. I think the Magic made the right decision because Banchero was the best overall player in the draft. As expected, the Thunder drafted Chet Holmgren with the second pick. The Rockets had the third pick and they expected to draft Paolo Banchero, but because he was drafted first, they selected Jabari Smith Jr. They were probably happy to draft Smith, especially because he had a good chance to be picked first overall. 

Things became interesting at the fourth pick with the Kings on the clock. They had to choose between one of three options. They could have drafted the best player still available, Jaden Ivey. However, Ivey is a guard and the Kings have too many guards. They could have traded the pick which is what I thought they would do. However, they ended up taking the third option, drafting Keegan Murray. Murray played very well in college as a power forward, but he was not the best remaining player. It was clear the Kings valued the position they needed over drafting the best player available. They needed a big man and they got one. The Pistons were up next and their pick was a no brainer. The best guard in the draft, Jaden Ivey, fell to them, which was their best case scenario. The Pistons now have drafted the best guard two years in a row, and I wouldn’t be surprised if they sneak up on some teams for a playoff push.

A bit later in the draft, there was much confusion over what the New York Knicks did and the results left a lot of Knicks fans upset. It all started when they drafted Ousmane Dieng with the 11th pick. They immediately traded Dieng to the Thunder for three future first round picks. After that, the Knicks traded one of these first round picks, along with four future second round picks, to the Hornets. In return, the Hornets gave the Knicks Jalen Duren, whom they had drafted with the 13th pick. Duren wasn’t on the Knicks for long, however, because right after acquiring him, the Knicks traded Duren and Kemba Walker to the Pistons. The Pistons in return gave the Knicks a 2025 first round pick. The reason the Knicks made all these trades was definitely to clear up cap space. Kemba Walker had a big contract and they were able to get rid of him through all of these trades. All of these moves allowed them to sign Mavericks guard Jalen Brunson recently. The Knicks also gained several first round picks through these trades that could be valuable in the future. The result of these fast moves left the Knicks fanbase in turmoil, but we will see if the strategy proves to be successful. 

Signing off from the NBA draft for now, and looking forward to seeing what the rest of the offseason brings us!

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Early Chaos in The NBA Draft

The NBA draft is tonight and there are a lot of big scenarios to watch out for. We all know who the top three picks will be Chet Holmgren, Paolo Banchero, and Jabari Smith Jr. Obviously anything can change, however, that is the most likely outcome. 

         It will get interesting at pick four with Sacramento on the clock. In my opinion, there are two players they could pick between, Jaden Ivey or Keegan Murray. Jaden Ivey is a guard from Purdue. Ivey has very quick but strong finishing abilities at the basket. Even though Ivey might be the best available player, I don’t think he is the right fit for the Kings. First of all, they are committed to De’aaron Fox being their point guard going forward, so why would they want Jaden Ivey. Second of all, in the last couple of years, the Kings have drafted almost all guards including Davion Mitchell and Tyrese Halliburton. Why would they draft another guard? Also, it has recently come out that Ivey hasn’t had any communications or workouts with the Kings. This is a major hint that Ivey may not be interested in getting drafted to Sacramento. If the Kings decide to pass on Jaden Ivey, they have two options. They could draft Keegan Murray and hope that he could be the guy they have been missing, or they could trade the pick away entirely. A lot of teams will definitely be interested in Jaden Ivey so the Kings could get some good assets by trading away the pick. 

        The Detroit Pistons have the fifth pick in the draft. Last year, they had the first pick for which they drafted a point guard, Cade Cunningham. Although they would love to get Jaden Ivey, I don’t think he is a priority because they already have their point guard for the future. I think their priority is drafting Keegan Murray. Keegan Murray was a star power forward for Iowa this past season. He averaged 23 points and 9 rebounds per game which I think was the best stat line out of every draft prospect this year. The main reason Detroit would be interested is because they just traded their starting power forward, Jerami Grant, to the Trail Blazers. Murray would be a perfect fit here to fill in their need at that position.

        This year’s draft is full of many possibilities and potential trades waiting to happen. Nobody even knows who will be drafted number one yet. Each pick will have a ripple effect for what the next pick is so don’t expect everything to go the way we think it will go. We look forward to finding out tonight, and watch for my post draft analysis!

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The Warriors Dynasty Is Not Ending Anytime Soon

When someone brings up the Golden State Warriors, who comes to mind? Most would say Steph Curry, Klay Thompson, or Draymond Green. Well, add Jordan Poole to that list. As of writing this, the Warriors are leading the Nuggets 3-0 in the best of seven series. In Game One, Jordan Poole dropped 30 points, which made him the leading scorer for both teams. In Game Two, he scored 29 points and had 8 assists. Finally, in Game Three, he had 27 points. We all knew the Warriors were good; however, a lot of people wondered how the Warriors would do if Steph Curry had an off night. Now we have an answer – they can still win. And not just that, they can still dominate.

Steph Curry after blowout win vs Chicago Bulls

Now let’s get into how this 22 year old has come to this point of his career. Poole played for Michigan in college and was very solid there, averaging 12.8 points per game. After college, he declared for the draft and was selected 28th overall by Golden State. In his first season for the Dubs, Poole played 22 minutes per game, averaging 8.8 points. This is not good, especially because his shooting splits were atrocious. He shot a 33% field goal percentage and a 27.9% three point percentage. If you don’t know, a solid field goal percentage is 45% and a solid three point percentage is 35%.  That shows how bad his rookie season was. As you would expect, after this less than stellar performance, Poole was assigned to the G-League. However, he came back in his second year as a much improved shooter. His three point, field goal, and free throw percentages were up significantly. Now let’s get into how he became so good this season. 

      It all started during this year’s pre-season. In the first game, Poole surprised us all and scored 30 points. He continued to shock all pre-season and won a spot on the All Pre-season Team. He averaged 21.8 points per game. Now you might say, it’s just pre-season and it doesn’t mean that much. You would be correct. No one thought Poole could translate his stats to the regular season. However this season, Poole has done just that. This season, Poole has averaged 18.5 points per game with elite shooting percentages. He has a field goal percentage of 44.8%, a three point percentage of 36.4%, and a free throw percentage of 92.5%. He is now known as one of the most elite shooters in the NBA. Even after this great regular season, he still found a way to turn it up in the playoffs.

       Now that the Warriors have created, “The Death Lineup”, it doesn’t look like anything will be stopping them. If Curry has an off game, Poole and Thompson will be there. If Poole has an off game, Curry and Thompson will be there. You get the point. And then there’s Draymond Green, always a consistent player. No matter what happens, the Warriors, without a doubt, will be one of the most exciting teams to watch in this series and in many future seasons to come.