Nerdy Basketball

  In the weeks before the draft, scouting reports came out about each of the draft prospects likely to be picked early in the draft. One graphic describing Josh Giddey listed his weaknesses as (takes deep breath): Ball Handling, Shot Creation, Assertiveness, Outside Shooting, On-Ball Defense, and Athleticism. A meme began to circulate describing his weakness as “basketball.” Considering that graphic and the public’s general lack of knowledge about him, he was often seen as a bit of a reach. Just partway through his first season, it is pretty clear that he was not one.  Josh Giddey became the youngest player to get a triple-double in the NBA on February 12th in a game against the Chicago Bulls. On February 14th, Giddey and the Thunder faced off against the New York Knicks. In that game, GIddey showed off all the skills that make him special and had a career game. Against the Knicks, Giddey recorded 28 points, 11 rebounds, and 12 assists. He also helped his squad get a four-po...

When the Sacramento Kings traded Tyrese Haliburton to the Indiana Pacers, the NBA community let out a collective gasp. But there is a silver lining. It opened up opportunities for the two other young point guards on the Kings, Davion Mitchell and De’Aaron Fox. Davion Mitchell has had a promising rookie season, but Fox is the true star. Last season, Fox averaged 25.2 points, 7.5 assists, and 1.5 steals. He is having a down season this year, but many people blame a crowded backfield with more point guards than the team knows how to deal with. They thought that by clearing up their logjam at point guard, Fox would find his role once again and flourish.  Early returns look very promising. De’Aaron is averaging 28 points per game since Haliburton was traded, up significantly from 21.8 on the season. But as with any trade, the players who left the Kings were only half the story.     Domantas Sabonis is 25 years old. He is already a two-time all-star, a high level scorer and p...

  With the absence of Zion Williamson, the Pelicans are a team stuck in purgatory. Zion’s return from injury has been delayed time and time again, and even when he does play again, his history suggests he will be back on the sidelines before too long. So the front office is stuck. If you can only play with the ball in your hands you wont fit well next to Zion when he’s healthy, and if you work best in a system built around one central superstar you will be ineffective when he’s injured. The Pelicans found a young player who can do both. And they found him in the second round. Thirty-four players were selected in the 2021 NBA draft before the Pelicans drafted Herb Jones. Today the NBA updated their Rookie of the Year Rankings. Jones was 7th and one of just two second round picks in the top 10. Herb leads all rookies in steals with 81, which is also among the top 10 across the entire league. He’s also 2nd in blocks, trailing only defensive phenom Evan Mobley. Despite losing multiple ...

This season DeMar DeRozan has taken a leap. Leaps don't often happen for 32 year olds, but DeMar doesn't seem to care. Over his first 12 years in the NBA, DeRozan scored more than 27 points per game once, in 2017. Since then, he never averaged more than 23 points per game. In 2017, DeRozan averaged 27.3 points, 5.2 rebounds, and 3.9 assists per game. He shot 46.7% on FGs, 26.6% on 3s, and 84.2% on FTs. This season, the Bulls star is averaging 27.9 points, 5.2 rebounds, and 5.1 assists per night. He’s doing it while shooting 51.5% from the field, 33.7% from three, and 86.4% on free throws. He took his best season from the middle of his prime and beat it in essentially every category. He even averages less turnovers. So how in the world did he do it. How is he putting together one of the best scoring seasons in recent memory out of essentially nowhere. How did the player that many people described as “the worst signing of the offseason,” become an MVP contender? He turned the c...

In any given season, there are generally just a few contenders in each conference in a tier by themselves with everyone else left chasing a rainbow. The Western conference fits that pattern. The East does not. The top 8 seeds are separated by just 7 games in the Eastern conference. The top 8 seeds in the west are separated by 19 games. So how do we sort through the playoff teams to find the ones with the potential to make serious noise? We dive into the numbers and the film. Every one of the top 8 seeds has shown some potential to make noise in the playoffs, and I will be examining each and every one of them. Miami Heat The Miami Heat will not go down. They have not missed the playoffs two seasons in a row since 2003. In 2020, they went on a surprising run to the finals, where they lost to the Lakers despite an amazing series by Jimmy Butler. With the addition of Kyle Lowry and the growth of Tyler Herro, the Heat improved on an already great roster and currently find themselves 1st in ...