PREVIOUSLY: ATLANTIC, SOUTHEAST, PACIFIC, SOUTHWEST, NORTHWEST. MILWAUKEE BUCKS Last season: 48-34, lost to Pacers again in playoffs, lost Damian Lillard to Achilles tear. Offseason: Milwaukee shocks NBA and waives Dame, hires Myles Turner but also, out of grave necessity, employs Cole Anthony. C: Myles Turner – block machine who spreads the
PREVIOUSLY: ATLANTIC, SOUTHEAST, PACIFIC, SOUTHWEST. OKLAHOMA CITY THUNDER Last season: dominated NBA from stem to stern, won 68 games and 2025 title. Offseason: NBA did little to dissuade anyone from thinking the Thunder aren't back-to-back-to-back-to-back-viable. C: Isaiah Hartenstein – do-it-all center is without question the league's greatest
Reminder that power isn't something you earn, power is something you take. PREVIOUSLY: ATLANTIC, SOUTHEAST, PACIFIC. DALLAS MAVERICKS Last season: 39-43, fell in Play-In, traded Luka Dončić for some reason? Offseason: earned the No. 1 pick, for some reason? Everything's legal now. C: Dereck Lively – yeah,
Howdy! In a few years, when the Warriors fall, this might be the collection of the five worst owners in professional sports. PREVIOUSLY: ATLANTIC, SOUTHEAST. LOS ANGELES LAKERS Last season: 50-32, somehow traded for Luka Dončić, lost in opening round to Minnesota even though head coach J.J. Redick played
Hey. Welcome to the week. Let's talk about the worst NBA division. Perpetually, bad. Please subscribe, better NBA teams in follow-up emails. Or, maybe you're from Florida. In that case, we thank your beautiful state for the band Saigon Kick. ORLANDO MAGIC Last season: 41-41, lost
The 2025-26 NBA season begins on Oct. 21, we're gonna talk about every player! BOSTON CELTICS Last season: 61-21, lost to Knicks in Eastern semis after Jayson Tatum's injury. Offseason: Celtics sold and I didn't see nearly enough "pot o' gold"
So, Al Horford is finally off to Golden State, swell, we expected it all summer, it isn't strange, it ain't weird. He may have only recently agreed to that taxpayer mid-level exception, but those papers were signed sometime in April. Horford's a Hall of
Originally this email was only sent to subscribers, which was a mistake, lets send it to everyone! Charles Barkley's legacy – brilliant NBA player, zero NBA titles – was so certain by his seventh pro season that he spent a hearty chunk of this 1992 autobiography discussing worries over never
It was a choice, not boring readers throughout summer with my gee-where's-this-goin' thoughts on restricted free agent Josh Giddey. The Bulls long ago made a public choice with Giddey's future, identifying Alex Caruso's prime as its equal. There was nothing new to pass
The 1985-86 Philadelphia 76ers lost in seven games to a very good Milwaukee Bucks team in the second round of the 1986 Eastern playoffs, Philly's best player (Moses Malone) sidelined due to an eye injury throughout the series. A Sixers team with legitimate championship aspirations had good reason
If it is proven there was any glint of recognition from Clipper ownership to these charges, any oblique Nixon/Haldeman discussion regarding What Went Down, then Steve Ballmer deserves suspension, everyone he's hired needs to be replaced. Because they knew better, did it anyway. Pro sports, since the
Charles Barkley's legacy – brilliant NBA player, zero NBA titles – was so certain by his seventh pro season that he spent a hearty chunk of this 1992 autobiography discussing worries over never winning a championship. It was Barkley's mark to bear before he was traded from Philadelphia
Picked up and enjoyed a copy of Peter May's 'Top of the World,' which detailed Boston's 2007-08 title. It took me longer to write this hack What If column than it did to read the book, which is a pleasant must-have for Celtic fans.
The last episode of TNT's 'Inside the NBA' took place on May 31 in the Pacers' arena. I had to be there for it and was, somewhere off to the side but the closest to the set itself, dastardly attempting to avert direct eye contact
This is the first of two breakdowns of Jackie MacMullan's 1999 book 'Bird Watching,' a document of Larry Bird's post-playing career and initial season as coach of the Indiana Pacers in 1997-98. It is a great book, a fun read, and this is the
Damian Lillard's decision to return to Portland, Marcus Smart's launch toward Los Angeles, Chris Paul and Bradley Beal's collusion to remain out West, these are not major deals, massive shifts. No team in the dilapidated East is particularly envious of the additions. We hope
There was a time when "Crazy Train" was not on classic rock radio. Readers might think that I'm worth a one-way ticket with this particular recollection, but not only was "Crazy Train" not on classic rock radio, the idea of "Crazy Train"
This is the spoiler alert. If you would like to enjoy Gene Wojciechowski and Reggie Miller's fine work in full, the book is very enjoyable and very affordable! There are many, crackling, moments I left out of this email. The book is a must-read for any Pacer fan,
Indiana Pacers GM Kevin Pritchard met the media on Monday, something he doesn't do often despite good reason to, as Pritchard built a near-NBA champion in 2024-25. Built it, watched it taken from him. The Pacers were in with a chance during Game 7, all-but-belief crushed with 88
Before we cap the offseason, another three-team boost! The Clippers traded Norman Powell and didn't do it for a future first-round draft pick (whom will enter seventh grade in a few weeks). The Miami Heat pick up Norm, good basketball there. Clippers pick up John Collins, ex-Jazz, good
We want to think that, when a large Boom hits, there exists a studied reason behind that big ol' noise. That, whatever the hell that was, it was well-considered. Someone or something thought long and hard before, listen, we still don't know, maybe a transformer went. Maybe
Myles Turner left Indiana to go to the Milwaukee Bucks, Indiana's fiercest rival. The Bucks are the only team the Pacers fight, the Pacers are the only team the Bucks fight, but Myles Turner left one to join the other. Why? Tax. The Pacers did not compete with
And NBA free agency has overwhelmingly become the realm of the role player. Sorry, Paul George. I guess that's what you were last summer, hopping up on stage with ABC and Joel Embiid. A role player. Some former All-Stars switched teams as free agents on Monday, but, they
Free agency begins Monday and nobody will go anywhere because the union and the NBA decided to encourage players via pay raise to re-sign with their own teams. Worse, much worse, each side decided to smooth out the salary cap increase earned via the new streaming rights deal. Boring. Super,