Projecting the 2021-22 NBA Standings

The NBA’s Preseason is finally over. Naturally, then, it’s time to rank some teams.

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Julius Randle, the Most Improved Player of Game 2

Note: this post was originally published for The Strickland. Give them a click!

Julius Randle has not been himself.

The Knicks’ newly minted star put up just 15 points in each of Games 1 and 2, the first time all season long he scored 15 or fewer in back to back games. He clearly hasn’t looked himself, and whether it’s the Hawks or himself, somebody has been in his head. However, midway through game 2, Randle made some concrete adjustments that could change the course of the series – or at the very least, force the Hawks to go back to the drawing board.

The first half of Game 2, however, wasn’t it.

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Optimizing the Best NBA Expansion Team

Assuming league recovery post-COVID-19, an expansion team (or more) in the NBA feels like more of a “when” than an “if”. Growing team valuations, marketable superstars, and worldwide interest has turned basketball into the sport of the future, and there are plenty of places that could use a squad (looking at you, Seattle).

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Southeast Division Preview: From Salary Capped to Salary Floored

Welcome to the fourth of the Corner Three 2019-2020 NBA division-by-division season previews. In each of these previews, we use RJ Garcia’s player-by-player ratings (based on on/off metrics and career trajectory) and per-game minutes projections (taking into account potential minutes lost to injury) to project overall team quality for the upcoming season. RJ and Derek Reifer also provide their own analyses and commentary to provide any context and additional insights.

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How is Indiana Keeping Pace in the East?

On January 23rd, Victor Oladipo suffered a ruptured quad tendon in his right knee.

The 2017-18 Most Improved Player was the star of the team, giving them life on both ends of the court. Without another clear star on the roster, or multiple players the casual fan has even heard of, Indiana was surely in for a rough go of it – especially with other East contenders, Philadelphia, Milwaukee, and Toronto, loading up with talent at the trade deadline.

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