The Basketball Section

As I did last year , I made a list of the players I thought would show significant improvement in the 2018-19 season . And just like last year, I'm going to take a look back at the nine players I wrote about back August of 2018. Who made noticeable improvements? Who stayed the same? Did Caleb Swanigan make me look smart after a full year of trying to hype him up? Let's find out. These are the nine players I thought would improve in the 2018-19 season, and how they really did. Dejounte Murray What I Said: "With Tony Parker out of the equation now and Patty Mills seemingly taking the backseat to Murray towards the end of the season, I'm predicting another season where Murray sees a solid increase in his stat line." What Actually Happened: I'm just going to get this one out of the way. Dejounte Murray obviously did not improve this past season, mostly because Murray didn't play this past season. Nine days before the season started and less than ...

With another week of the NBA season in the books, in the pocket, and out of sight, it's time to take a look at the best players of the last week. If you missed last week's, click here . If not, let's get into it, these are the 10 best players of the week. Marc Gasol The race for the top spot in the Western Conference remains tight as six teams are within two games of eachother. One of those teams that has flown a bit under the radar is the Memphis Grizzlies, who currently hold a 13-9 record on the season and are two games out of first place. They might've been better off had they not gone 1-2 this past week, but they're still in good shape. Leading the way for the Grizzlies were two players. The first of which is Marc Gasol, who is currently having arguably the best season of his career. For the week, Gasol averaged 23 points, 9 rebounds, 4.3 assists, 2 steals, and 3.3 blocks per game while shooting 59% from the field and a great 56% from three-point range.  ...

With another week of the NBA season in the books, in the pocket, and out of sight, it's time to take a look at the best players of the last week. If you missed last week's, click here . If not, let's get into it, these are the 10 best players of the week. Andre Drummond While they aren't having a great season so far, the start of the year has to be seen as a positive for the Detroit Pistons. After posting a sub-.500 record this past year, the Pistons have been able to put up a 9-7 record, giving them the fifth-best record in the Eastern Conference. This past week, the Pistons were able to go 2-1 behind the strong play of their frontcourt. The first member of that frontcourt I'll talk about is Andre Drummond, who is having the best season of his career right now, and this week was no different. For the week, Drummond averaged 22 points, 15.7 rebounds, a steal and 3 blocks per game while shooting 55% from the field. Drummond's best performance of the week c...

With another week of the NBA season in the books, in the pocket, and out of sight, it's time to take a look at the best players of the last week. If you missed last week's, click here . If not, let's get into it, these are the 10 best players of the week. Karl-Anthony Towns Now that all the drama surrounding Jimmy Butler is in the past, the Minnesota Timberwolves are looking to get back on track after a poor 4-9 start. This week, they did just that, going a perfect 3-0 and improving to 7-9 on the season. Leading the way for the T'Wolves this past week was Butler's least favorite member of the roster, Karl-Anthony Towns. For the week, Towns averaged 21.3 points, 15.3 rebounds, and 1.7 blocks per game while shooting 56% from the field, 60% from three-point range, and 91% from the free throw line. Towns' best performance of the week came against the Brooklyn Nets. While he did turn over the ball 10 times, he did record 25 points and 21 rebounds and led Minne...

With another week of the NBA season in the books, in the pocket, and out of sight, it's time to take a look at the best players of the last week. If you missed last week's, click here . If not, let's get into it, these are the 10 best players of the week. John Wall The Washington Wizards have been an utter dumpster fire to kick off the season. While they've avoided the bottom of the Eastern Conference (mostly thanks to fellow dumpster fire the Cleveland Cavaliers), they currently hold an abysmal 3-9 record on the season. While they did manage to go 2-2 on the week, but they are still in the bottom three of the East. While the Wizards' season has been pretty bad, John Wall himself is having a solid season for himself, with this week, in particular, being one of his strongest of the season so far. For the week, Wall averaged 24.3 points, 9.5 assists, and 2.8 steals per game while shooting 46% from the field and 40% from three-point range. Maybe the Wizards can ...

The long, heavily publicized falling out between Jimmy Butler and the Minnesota Timberwolves has finally come to a close. The Timberwolves have agreed to send their all-star Butler, along with young center Justin Patton, to the Philidelphia 76ers for Robert Covington, Dario Saric, Jerryd Bayless, and a 2020 second-round pick. Butler's tenure in Minnesota ends after just over one season, during which the Timberwolves made the playoffs for the first time in 13 years. However, growing contempt between Butler and the Timberwolves organization boiled over this offseason, with Butler demanding a trade away from the team. The Timberwolves have struggled early in the season with the unhappy all-star, going 4-9 and have lost five straight games. It was clear the team needed to make a change, with sources saying that coach Tom Thibodeau had decided that the team could not function with Butler on the roster anymore. While his well-publicized drama and actions may have hurt him in the e...

With the first full week of the NBA season in the books, in the pocket, and out of sight, it's time to take a look at the best players of the last week. If you missed last week's, click here . If not, let's get into it, these are the 10 best players of the week. Kevin Durant Despite a loss to kick off the week, the Golden State Warriors are still killing it this season, as everyone expected them to. The Warriors went 3-1 this past week, winning all three of those games by 20 or more points and improving their record to 5-1 on the season and keeping them in the top spot of the Western Conference. Leading the way for the Warriors this past week was two players. The first of which was Kevin Durant, who continued to show why he's one of the top five players in the league this past week. For the week, Durant averaged 28.3 points, 8 rebounds, and 5.5 assists per game while shooting 59% from the field, 42% from three-point range, and 93% from the free throw line. Duran...

The NBA season is upon us again, and with the first week (well, five days) of the season in the books, in the pocket, and out of sight, it's time for me to give my thoughts on the best players of the week. WIth that short intro out of the way, here are the 10 best players from the past week of the NBA season. Joel Embiid Following up on a great season that ended in disappointing fashion last year, the Philidelphia 76ers are looking to rebound and potentially take the top spot in the Eastern Conference now that LeBron James has gone west. A 2-1 start through their first three games isn't perfect, but it's still a strong start, and the person they can thank the most for this continued success is their start player Joel Embiid. For the past week, Embiid averaged 28.3 points, 10.7 rebounds, and two blocks per game while shooting 51% from the field and 33% from three-point range. Don't be surprised if the 76ers find their way into the Eastern Conference Finals this ye...