A seven-point deficit entering the fourth quarter of a road game on the cusp of going down 3-1 might not be quite Carlos Alcaraz coming back from triple championship point, but it's the NBA Finals equivalent. Read more »

T.J. McConnell and Bennedict Mathurin flipped Game 3 and possibly the series by finding ways to neutralize the Thunder defense and giving Tyrese Haliburton the space to be the star he can be. Read more »

The Thunder demonstrated they have both the best player in the series and also the best depth, which puts the Pacers in a difficult situation even after stealing Game 1. Read more »

The Thunder made the Pacers feel the uniqueness and intensity of their defense before the Pacers made the Thunder feel the uniqueness and intensity of their resilience. Read more »

As the 2025 offseason approaches, the Celtics and Bucks find themselves at fascinatingly different inflection points. Read more »

All the Celtics' prior disappointments were detonated in this series as they've built a perfect supporting cast and system around their double stars that arrived via a trade of their previous ones. Read more »

The Mavericks did everything a beat faster, better and more effectively than they had at any point before in the series. Boston should certainly still win this series, but something that looked over is now suddenly combustible. Read more »

The Celtics contain more multitudes than any title contender in recent memory given how long they've been in this position and the quality and diversity of their top-6. And they possess enough dominant ways to play to withstand a vintage Kyrie Irving performance. Read more »

The dominant conversation entering the Finals was the Best Team vs. Best Player debate, but the way the Celtics are forcing the Mavericks to work excessively hard on both ends on the floor is answering those questions. Read more »

The Celtics have had a frustratingly extended prologue, but they are three wins away from finally vanquishing it. Game 1 showed the greatness they're capable of achieving. Read more »

The Mavericks and Celtics are a pair of throughly modern teams, but in distinctly contrasting ways, which should make for an entertaining series and also a referendum on two models of team construction. Read more »

This has been an instant classic series without an instant classic game. It has seemingly been over twice and now we get to watch two superduperstars on supremely well-constructed teams in a Game 7. Read more »

Nikola Jokic and the Nuggets are favorites to repeat while playing a style that is largely at odds with the modern NBA as it favors genius passing, post play and the mid-range. Read more »

The NBA is in an unpredictable time where there are more viable title contenders from season to season. More teams are betting everything on the present to win a title, while there are more rebuilding teams willing to oblige them. Read more »

Free agency is undeniably overloaded but it is hardly with momentous, league-altering players as it was last decade. It is musical chairs with the music at 5X speed in which most fungible players feel compelled to take the best immediate offer as teams brutely replenish the end of their roster. Read more »

Considering what the Bucks gave up to trade for Jrue Holiday, their inability to replace him if he were to sign elsewhere, coupled with their championship or bust track, he had tremendous leverage to wait until free agency. Read more »

We look at the trajectory of every team in the NBA in terms of how they rank in the category. Read more »