nikola-jokic - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights
NBA defenses can't keep up with the record-setting highest-scoring offenses
Complaints about NBA defensive intensity have littered sports debate television, podcasts, and columns all season. As of Tuesday, the top five teams in offensive rating will have the five highest marks in that category in NBA history. Six players have scored 60 or more points this season. Luka Donči...
Joel Embiid's absence in Philadelphia has created a black hole
DNP Lord Joel Embiid is the poltergeist still haunting the MVP race and Philadelphia’s title aspirations. When Nikola Jokic, Luka Doncic or Shai Gilgeou-Alexander are eventually crowned, Embiid’s name will hang over the successor. Before the Philly center was jettisoned from the MVP race, he was lap...
The Minnesota Timberwolves are the NBA’s best redemption story
The Minnesota Timberwolves’ bounce back from their 2023 nadir has been the NBA’s most remarkable redemption story. The Association may have discontinued its Comeback Player of the Year award, but the Twin Cities’ finest would deserve consideration if that were not the case. Before October, the outlo...
Here's why Jayson Tatum has struggled to distinguish himself in the MVP mosaic
Since entering the league, Jayson Tatum has been the leading active stakeholder in carrying Kobe Bryant’s influence into a new decade. In nature, the Green Mamba is a less aggressive, nontoxic breed, compared to the eponymous viper Kobe built his persona around, which is an apt description for the d...
5 increasingly unhinged solutions to the NBA All-Star Game
As the NBA has observed its golden era of efficiency proliferate from more streamlined offenses to load management run amok, elements of the league have fallen by the wayside. Marquee hoopers play fewer minutes, fewer games and now they barely expend energy or cross halfcourt during All-Star Weekend...
Who is Mr. Franchise for each NBA team in the 21st century?
Michael Jordan will always be synonymous with the Chicago Bulls. Same thing for Magic Johnson with the Los Angeles Lakers and Larry Bird with the Boston Celtics. But since the turn of the 21st Century, some teams have gone a decade without a face of the franchise (think the Detroit Pistons and Orlan...
Minnesota is giving off that sham No. 1 seed vibe that the Utah Jazz had a few years ago
Next to the OKC Thunder, the Minnesota Timberwolves have been one of the biggest surprises of the NBA campaign. They’ve been in control of or hovering near first place in the Western Conference for much of the season. But we may have seen a little bit of foreshadowing brought to us by Clippers star ...
The ghost of Golden State is starting to make some noise
Steph Curry’s high-arcing game-winner to sink the Phoenix Suns on Saturday night only strengthened his runaway case as The Association’s Most Clutch Player of the Year. An ensuing win over Utah on Monday positioned the Warriors back above the .500 mantle for the first time since Dec. 23. ...
NBA trade deadline winners & losers; Doc Rivers already starting to lose Bucks players; Jalen Brunson the best PG in the league?
So, now that we’ve had a couple of weeks to digest things and get all the Doc Rivers 3-1 lead jokes out of our systems, it’s time to get down to business. Now that Milwaukee has played a few games and had some time with their new head coach, it’s painfully clear that this catastrophe is the definiti...
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s MVP heist is nearly complete
Joel Embiid’s departure from the MVP race while he undergoes minor surgery to repair a displaced flap in his meniscus has created a vacancy. His coronation has now become a vastly different two-man heat. With due respect to Luka Doncic’s gaudy numbers, he’ll be a long shot as long as the Dallas Mave...
Ben Simmons is the hero the NBA Players Association didn’t know it needed
Ben Simmons shows up to work, posts up on the bench in vibrant fits, shades, and quietly monitors the Nets from afar. The Nets’ well-compensated point forward has one of the best desk jobs in the NBA. Simmons being back on the shelf to rest another affliction once made him a maligned figure, but he ...
The case for — and against — Joel Embiid for MVP
Joel Embiid, the world’s best regular-season player, is closing in on his second consecutive MVP if he remains upright. When active, Embiid is a force of nature, bending defenses to his whim and simultaneously wielding an unduly influence over Philadelphia’s defense....