Watching the postseason over the past couple of weeks has offered a reminder that the NBA, at its essence, is a game of exploiting mismatches in the halfcourt. Good teams do this effectively when their offenses are humming.  The standout defensive teams? They’re the ones who can recover from, [...]

DraftExpress has compiled a series of retrospectives on this year’s tremendous rookie class. Rick Ditto takes a long-form look at Eric Gordon’s rookie season. Ditto references DE’s past scouting reports on Eric dating back to high school, and offers praise, along with a few critiqu[...]

From the NBA: Derrick Rose of the Chicago Bulls and O.J. Mayo of the Memphis Grizzlies were unanimous selections to the 2008-09 T-Mobile NBA All-Rookie First Team, the NBA announced today. Rounding out the T-Mobile NBA All-Rookie First Team are Oklahoma City’s Russell Westbrook (53 points), Ne[...]

From the NBA official release: O.J. Mayo’s second place finish is my only strong objection to the tally. Mayo finished behind Eric Gordon in PER, Value Added, Estimated Wins Added, True Shooting Percentage, Assist Rate, Turover Rate.  Mayo had the edge in Rebounding Rate, points per minute, us[...]

Ross Siler of the Salt Lake Tribune: “The Clippers are probably five times as talented as the Golden State team that beat the Jazz with seven players on Saturday, but they sure didn’t play like it. Baron Davis – - no C.J. Watson – - was 1-for-13 and finished with three points[...]

This season, a procession of visiting coaches delivered identical pregame bytes to the media prior to taking the court against the Clippers. “I told my guys that this is a talented NBA team they’re facing.  The Clippers have a lot of guys who can play.”  The 2008-09 Clippers’[...]

Prior to the game on Saturday, Blazers head coach Nate McMillan offered high praise for the rookie: He can play.  I like him.  He can score.  He’s strong. He does a lot. He can put the ball on the floor. He’s got range on his jump shot … He’s a pretty mature rookie.  He has a[...]

There’s some discussion as to whether the Portland Trailblazers operate at an incredibly slow pace offensively, or at merely a somewhat slow pace. That deliberate Portland tempo shouldn’t fool you — it’s propelled by a second-ranked offense that capably picks opponents apart [...]