Tag: John Wall

Southeast Division Preview: From Salary Capped to Salary Floored

by RJ Garcia, posted in Basketball, NBA Basketball

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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#NBATwitter: A Study

by Derek Reifer, posted in Basketball, NBA Basketball

Twitter is the lifeblood of the NBA.

As described by the Washington Post, it’s “a sports bar that doesn’t close, where the stars pull up a seat next to you”. According to Twitter itself, the NBA was the most tweeted-about sports league in 2018, and it’s no surprise, as the online home of the players houses more organic drama than any episode of The Bachelor. From burner accounts of superstars and GMs, to asking for trades and reacting to them, to basketball players doing what they do best – shooting their shot, fans of the NBA know there’s no way to track their favorite league quite like Twitter.

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John Wall’s Offensive Defensive Rebounding

by RJ Garcia, posted in Basketball, NBA Basketball

 

On November 8th, the Wizards found themselves 2-8 on the season, and it has felt like the team’s record is even worse than it is. How did they get here? Most of the fingers are pointing to both John Wall and Scott Brooks. Brooks has been accused of mishandling the lineups and failing on defensive scheme, and Wall has just not looked himself this year. Surely some will find a way to blame Dwight Howard.

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Magic? The Wizards Without John Wall

by Derek Reifer, posted in Basketball, NBA Basketball

John Wall was the 1st overall pick in the 2010 NBA Draft. Now, he’s 27, and in what should be the center of his basketball prime. He’s already a 5-time All-Star and is coming off his first career All-NBA selection. Going into the 2017-2018 season, he was seventh in Vegas’ MVP odds. However, this season, by many measures, he has struggled.

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Why the Knicks Needn’t Fret at their Lottery Misfortune

by Derek Reifer, posted in Basketball, NBA Basketball, NCAA Basketball

Tuesday night, Knicks fans across America sighed (or screamed) at the same time, when it was announced their projected-2nd draft pick would actually be 4th – making them the only team in the lottery to actually lose ground. Missing out on the two consensus top-pick big men in Karl-Anthony Towns and Jahlil Okafor is a tough pill to swallow, especially when the Knicks won’t get their first choice of a consolation prize, but there is plenty of reason for looking up in New York this offseason.

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Race for the MVP

by Derek Reifer, posted in Basketball, NBA Basketball

Around the midpoint of another exciting NBA season, there’s already buzz about candidates for the league’s most valuable player, and why not: for only the second time since 2009 (Derrick Rose, though he probably didn’t deserve it), the winner is likely to be someone not named LeBron James or Kevin Durant. With injury problems for both superstars alongside disappointing records (though the Cavs have turned things around of late), other, younger stars have entered the spotlight in bidding to be recognized with the NBA’s most prestigious individual award. Let’s break down how the top candidates stack up, and take a look at who’s most deserving of the award as of this point in the season.

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Does Tanking Really Work?

by RJ Garcia, posted in Basketball, NBA Basketball

Since the race for once-in-a-lifetime prospect Anthony Davis, tanking has been one of the most controversial topics in NBA conversation. The then-Bobcats aggressively lost games to put themselves in position to get the Brow, leading them to the worst winning percentage in the history of the league.

The biggest argument about tanking is usually regarding its morality, and whether a team and its fans should root for failure in order to find long term success. The league is also split on whether tanking is good for the NBA and its franchises, as shown by the failed “anti-tanking” vote that would’ve revolutionized the lottery system. However, for most NBA fans, there is little doubt that tanking is a “smart” plan. But is tanking really smart? Does it often work?

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Who/When/Why: Second Round

by Derek Reifer, posted in Basketball, NBA Basketball

We have just witnessed one of the greatest first rounds in NBA Playoff history: Game 7s, overtimes; four-point plays. Can the second round top it? Here’s what the stats say about each of the matchups:

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A Quick Who, When, and Why for the First Round in the East

by Derek Reifer, posted in Basketball, NBA Basketball

Indiana (1) vs. Atlanta (8)

This is a matchup the NBA probably wasn’t looking forward to – the fading Pacers against one of the worst teams in playoff history in the Hawks. Can Indiana get back on track and get motivated for the postseason? This is a rematch of last year’s first round series.

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Who’s Legit in the East? Part Two: Next Five Seeds

by Derek Reifer, posted in Basketball, NBA Basketball

We previously took a look at the top four seeds in the East. Now, we’ll look at the teams currently ranked 5-9, and what kind of chances each of those teams has to do damage in the playoffs.

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