Archive

Tag Archives: NBA

On All Cylinders

By
January 9, 2026
Basketball, NBA, Sports
Leave a comment

In the midst of a recent game against the surging Orlando Magic, Cade Cunningham strolled into the lane, swapped hands a couple of times, saw Goga Bitadze and said to himself, “SELF: I will have this layup.” With an elegant spin gaining entry to the lane, he excused himself and laid an open layup in to put the Pistons up 114-97. Lay the blessed rock: check.

That this might be the best team J.B. Bickerstaff has ever coached[1] is fantastic for everyone. Detroit won that game 135-116. The Pistons are fresh off a shellacking of the unsteady East favorite New York Knicks, a month after a thirteen-game winning streak – it is neither your horse nor your flying circus that they needed overtime to beat the resilient, pre-Trae Young Washington Wizards.

Even with the Knicks’ victory over a surging San Antonio Spurs team in the [REDACTED] NBA Cup Final, Detroit looks like the serious contender in the East that has arrived slightly before schedule, as the Thunder did a few ticks over longitudinally two seasons ago. As we adjust to “ahead of schedule” increasingly meaning “exactly on time,” the Detroit Pistons have arrived. Finally, J.B. Bickerstaff has a team worth seeing through.

Read More

One To Remember

By
December 22, 2025
America, Basketball, Gambling, NBA, Sports
Leave a comment

TITLE! I meant *title! The New York Knicks were going to win the title this year, and what I meant when I said “2026” was “2025,” and what I meant by “NBA championship” was, actually, the NBA Cup[1], by far the most exclusive and wonderful of the annual basketball trophies. Down twelve in the third against a Victor Wembanyama-led team that had already defeated the Oklahoma City Thunder, the Knicks came back to win the Cup final 124-113.

In what amounted to a single-elimination tournament held far enough away from anything familiar to make it feel neutral in mid-December, New York beating San Antonio in Nevada seems like a warning shot. Along with the rest of the league, NBA commissioner Adam Silver continues to eye Las Vegas as a potential expansion site, if only they would seriously consider it.

Read More

(Approximately) 30 Thoughts On 30 NBA Teams, 2025-’26 Edition

By
October 20, 2025
America, Basketball, NBA, Sports
1 Comment

While the W was juggling its own expansion considerations over the summer, the men’s league was keeping its fist tight: the long-expected dual announcement of Las Vegas and, crucially, Seattle getting teams[1] came to nothing. Adam Silver has a commission going, and governors are now going to decide how to weigh the long-term revenue sharing benefits of two more franchises against losing all of the special events Vegas now hosts on the NBA’s behalf.

As all of that was happening, though, actual basketball teams put their plans into motion. A decade later than expected, it’s the world against the Oklahoma City Thunder. Frustrations are mounting in every direction, confusion its bunkmate; can you believe the Buss family would ever want to sell the Lakers? Bones Hyland is in Greece Minnesota now. 

We’ll get to this later, but I named my dog in large part after Russell Westbrook, who is now a *checks notes* …Sacramento King? Inside The NBA still exists, albeit on The Worldwide Leader, and “Roundball Rock” is back. In any case: we ball.

Read More

Summertime Serenade

By
July 31, 2025
Sports
1 Comment

One of my greatest weaknesses is an inability to remain calm; even when silent, my hands are shaking, or my feet are bouncing, or my eyes are darting. Because of the prolonged, unnecessary chaos happening in previously functional communities here and abroad, this is now my default state.

When the going gets tough, sometimes the going has to come to a complete stop. In a summer sponsored by atrocity, brought to you by the same people who convinced your bosses to lay you off or, better, yet, convinced you to get a STEM degree a decade ago before eliminating the sciences in favor of the bomb, it’s been a little difficult to focus on any one thing and even more so for the good.

Acknowledging all of that, though, means acknowledging the rest, the aforementioned good. The candle of joy, wherever and however possible, is now the daily pursuit of millions of us. Maybe we even shared in one of these instances.

Read More

Everyday People

By
June 22, 2025
Sports
Leave a comment

Sam Presti, a man from Massachusetts who split time at colleges before graduating from Emerson and landing with the more or less dynastic San Antonio Spurs of the mid-aughts under Gregg Popovich and R.C. Buford, is 47 years old. Since private equity clown[1] Clay Bennett hired Presti to generally manage the Seattle SuperSonics in 2007, the team has 1) moved cities, which has nothing to do with Presti and everything to do with Bennett, and 2) drafted four (4) NBA Most Valuable Players[2].

Three of them played together in a decisive NBA Finals game thirteen (13) years ago; the fourth plays alone on Sunday night. Drop your phone and stop talking about the Lakers, or Desmond Bane, or wherever you think Ace Bailey is going to land. Ex-Sonic Jeff Green – still active! – will likely be watching. Will you?

Read More

The Paul George Finals, And A Word On The Knicks

By
June 5, 2025
Basketball, NBA
Leave a comment

I mean, look: if the Indiana Pacers didn’t win this series after how they won Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals, they would be the ones asking themselves about the future. They may still be, what with a matchup against the season-long best squad Oklahoma City Thunder. 

With Tyrese Haliburton (mostly) leading from the front – the chip on his shoulder almost verbally evident – and Pascal Siakam being the egg keeping everything together, Indiana didn’t roll through the 1-seed Cleveland Cavaliers with such ease only to sell out to the New York Knicks.

With a resounding 125-108 home win in Game 6, Indiana took care of business, ending both the series and, via collateral media damage, the NBA on TNT relationship. They face the 68-win Thunder in Game 1 tonight, with the series beginning in OKC.

Read More

Why, We Shall Smile

By
May 31, 2025
Sports
1 Comment

If this is to be the last stand of these New York Knicks, so be it, but they’re at least putting a show of faith into each other. Taking control of a must-win game at home early, and holding onto it: the formula, at least for one game.

It’s possible we didn’t learn anything about either of the Knicks or the Indiana Pacers, their opponents in these Eastern Conference Finals, from a 111-94 New York victory on Thursday night, allowing New York to breath for at least another two days while still down 3-2 in the series. The Knicks needed to retain their season, and the Pacers had some burn to burn ahead of a likely Finals matchup with reigning MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the Oklahoma City Thunder. Another matter for a different pen.

Read More

Halfway Between Early And Middle

By
May 17, 2025
Sports
Leave a comment

Going to use the government-issued city + nickname in tandem a few times; I really can’t believe this either.

It’s lost some novelty, but the thought is no shorter on veracity: New York City is never better than a) early summer, overall, and b) when one of the teams that plays at that time is still playing at that time[1]. Watching the Indiana Pacers complete a demonstrative victory against the Cleveland Cavaliers signified that anything was possible, right?

After the injury to Jayson Tatum and subsequent Luke Kornet Revenge Game, it didn’t seem likely that Boston could roll that again this series; in delivering a 119-81 victory at home against the defending champion Celtics, the New York Knicks – yup! – are putting it all together at exactly the right time[2].

Read More

Advisors Heaving Plastic

By
May 13, 2025
Sports
Leave a comment

In a stroke of grave and untimely brand crossover misfortune, Jayson Tatum currently features in an ad drawing parallels between Clark Kent in his day-to-day and himself, both of them morphing into Superman when necessary.  At least one of those things, I saw on Monday night; the other, with apologies to the Marvel/DC set, I wasn’t planning on seeing anyway.

Then, with 42 points, eight rebounds, four each of assists and steals[1], but with his Boston Celtics down 111-104 with a little over three minutes left to go, Tatum collapsed on a non-contact scramble for the ball against the New York Knicks’ OG Anunoby, who gathered the rock and dunked to put the Knicks up nine. Tatum grabbed his right ankle, left in a wheelchair, and the rest of us were left looking for Paul Pierce.

Read More

Josh Hart: “I Was Trying To Order Some Uber Eats”

By
May 8, 2025
Basketball, NBA, Sports
Leave a comment

Different, but exactly the same. In a strain of cowardice that echoes fouling Mitchell Robinson for the sake of it when you know he’s burning you, I’m abandoning (most of) what I said after Game 1 except for how that game made me feel, fuck it all: the New York Knicks can do this. Whether I actually believe that…[REDACTED]

The hedges, the ankles, the stomachaches you wait until 3 pm local time to hear about on either team’s injury list; the weirdo, questionable inability to hit open shots at home, as defending champions; and here we are: the New York freaking Knickerbockers lead the aforementioned champion Boston Celtics, having now beaten them twice at home after twice being down by 20 points following Wednesday’s 91-90 win.

Read More