It seems like we were handing out trophies for first-quarter awards just yesterday, but it’s that time again! We’re at the halfway point for most…
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Michael Shearer
Michael Shearer is an NBA obsessive who writes to answer the questions he has about the league. You can follow him @bballispoetry. He also is a contributing writer for Fansided at Hoops Habit and writes a free NBA analytical newsletter at basketballpoetry.com that goes out every Tuesday and Friday.
Nic Claxton’s Game Has Grown With His Muscles
Before Wednesday’s loss to the Chicago Bulls (who, weirdly, are 6-1 against Eastern heavyweights Boston, Brooklyn, and Milwaukee, and 11-20 against everyone else), the Nets…
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Context Is Overrated
Donovan Mitchell dropped 71 points last night, forcing me to shelve my column about the Brooklyn Nets (12 straight wins!) until at least Friday, at…
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4 Stats Explaining the Knicks’ Win Streak
The Knicks’ eight-game win streak finally gave up the ghost against the reeling Toronto Raptors, but it may have saved some jobs. On December 3rd,…
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Kawhi And The Clippers Are Waking Up
The Los Angeles Clippers are used to lurking in the shadows. Despite Ballmer’s limitless Microsoft money, despite having two of the biggest names in the…
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Every Would-Be Contender’s Biggest Flaw
We have two clear frontrunners in the NBA title race in Boston and Milwaukee. After that, there’s a jumble of teams trying to convince themselves…
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One of these rookies will win a playoff game
This year’s rookie class doesn’t quite have the highs of last year’s crop (Paolo excepted). But unlike in most years, players are filling essential roles…
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5 Stats Explaining the NBA Season Thus Far
958 34-year-old Kevin Durant leads the entire NBA with 958 total minutes played. Right behind him, in second, is teammate Royce O’Neale. Despite all the…
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Making Sense of the Pelicans’ Shockingly Good Defense
The Pelicans are killing fools on the backs of the league’s third-best defense, and it makes sense. With Brandon Ingram and Trey Murphy firing from…
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John Konchar, Rebounding Machine and Terrible Businessman
Last year’s Memphis Grizzlies were one of the great success stories of the league. Despite a host of injuries, the Grizz rode their elite depth…
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NBA 2022-23 First Quarter Awards
Defensive Player Of The Quarter: Brook Lopez, Milwaukee Bucks Stillness. Many observers mistake activity for solid defense, but too often, that activity is reactive, making…
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4 NBA Things I’m Grateful For
I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving! 1) YUTA THE SHOOTA! Yuta Watanabe has long been a fascination of mine, a whirling dervish of flailing…
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Portland’s defense is different, but the same
Here’s something strange: Portland’s defense is way better than last year despite giving up almost the same shot distribution to opponents: loads of threes and…
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Are The Kings Maybe, Kind Of, Possibly Good?
Nothing about the Sacramento Kings makes sense. They hired Mike Brown to fix a defense that hasn’t been better than 18th since the 2005-2006 season…
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The Best and Worst NBA City Edition 2022-23 Jerseys
Folks, we’ll get back to the analytical content soon, but it’s time to talk about jerseys! League Pass junkies like myself are often desperate for…
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Milwaukee’s Monotonous Domination
It’s typical to say that dominant teams “can’t be stopped,” but that’s not quite right for the Milwaukee Bucks. They’re actually relatively easy to stop,…
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How Hot Is Your Coach’s Seat?
The Brooklyn Nets’ firing of Steve Nash created our first coaching casualty of the year (not including Ime Udoka). Each NBA season usually sees a…
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Four Players Making The Most Of Their Chances
We are roughly seven games into the season, and already we’ve had some happy stories. Today I wanted to shine a light on four guys…
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A Tale Of Two (Backup) Point Guards
The Dennis Smith Jr. Revival Is Here It’s always fun watching players take advantage of a second (or third) chance. Dennis Smith is still only…
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The Jazz Are Winning. Oopsie.
Utah Jazz CEO of basketball operations Danny Ainge can’t be happy. After two blockbuster trades and several smaller ones landed the Jazz a boatload of…
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