The Boston Celtics were one win away from the NBA Finals in 2018, coming as close as any team has to preventing LeBron James from making the finals since 2010.

They did so with their two biggest off-season acquisitions on the shelf in Kyrie Irving and Gordon Hayward.

Their return and the defection of LeBron James to the western conference have them as favorites to make the the finals.

They are a confident bunch, maybe a little too confident…

https://twitter.com/TaylorRooks/status/1059965443685933057?ref_src=twsrc%

While it is easy to foresee an extended period where the Celtics dominate the east based on their talent, depth and youth, with the Raptors this season and young stars in Philadelphia and Milwaukee, their path may not be as preordained as they think.

The post Jaylen Brown Thinks He Will Have 5 or 6 Rings by 28… appeared first on The Hoop Doctors.

Hassan Whiteside did something Wednesday night that hasn’t been done since 1989. He continued his reemergence with the Heat with a ridiculous 29 point, 20 rebound and 9 blocks performance in the Heat’s 95-88 victory over the Spurs.

The last player to put up that sort of stat line in the NBA is the one and only Hakeem “The Dream” Olajuwon.

Here is a video of Whiteside’s dominance…

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=FOKzUjPIkDc

Whiteside is now averaging 12.4 points, 14.6 rebounds and 2.8 blocks per game in only 27.9 minutes per game for the Heat.

Whiteside may not be the defensive presence or leader that the Heat would want him to be and is not worth his current $20 million annual price tag, but he is still a valuable asset with two elite NBA talents: shot blocking and rebounding.

We have a number of truly elite rebounders in the league right now with Andre Drummond, DeAndre Jordan, Rudy Gobert, Enes Kanter etc. and Whiteside is firmly in that tier.

The post Whiteside Has Career Performance Wednesday appeared first on The Hoop Doctors.

The Oklahoma City Thunder have gotten their groove back after a rough start to the 2018-19 season, beating the New Orleans Pelicans 120-115 on Monday night for their 5th straight victory.

That victory may have come at a price though as Russell Westbrook went down with an apparent high ankle sprain in the 3rd quarter.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=43PON5wIq7M

The Thunder are hoping the injury isn’t too serious and initial x-rays came back negative, but their superstar guard could still miss a few weeks of action.

The Thunder are 4-1 and 7.7 points better per 100 possessions with Westbrook on the court this season.

The post Russell Westbrook Suffers High Ankle Sprain in Win Over Pelicans appeared first on The Hoop Doctors.

Usually when drafting a player as high as No. 4 in any given draft, a team is expecting to get a perennial starter and foundational piece for their franchise moving forward.

That has not been the case for the Suns and Dragan Bender.

Bender has shown little in the way of progression or consistency at the NBA level, seemingly struggling with his confidence and aggressiveness far too often. It now appears that his time could be coming to an end with the Suns sooner rather than later.

From Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN:

“The Suns will decline Bender’s option, freeing themselves of the $5.8 million salary that he would have been guaranteed in 2019-20, league sources said….

“Of course, I wished they picked up my option but I’m not going to let this stop me from reaching my goals,” Bender told ESPN in a text message.

The Suns took two swings and misses in the top 10 picks of the 2016 NBA Draft. They traded fellow disappointment Marquese Chriss to the Rockets this summer after they traded up to No. 8 to select him on draft night, giving up the draft rights of Bogdan Bogdanovic as part of the package who impressed in his rookie season averaging 11.8 points per game on 39% shooting from three and making the All NBA Rookie 2nd team.

Bender still doesn’t even turn 21 until later this month, but he has been given plenty of opportunity from the Suns and although he projects to have an ideal skill set for a big man in 2018 as a 7’1″ player who can spread the floor, handle the ball and protect the rim, he has not produced and shown little to no consistency of providing those talents.

I still think it may be worth the Suns offering him a roster spot next season at the minimum, but Bender may require a change of scenery in the league or even overseas to try and develop and rehabilitate his value.

The post Suns Declining 4th Year Option on No. 4 Pick Bender appeared first on The Hoop Doctors.

The game has changed for the better over the past decade as the NBA game is more fast-paced and open than ever with teams spacing the floor out and moving the ball like a whirring machine with most seven footers launching three-pointers, something that seemed unimaginable even a decade ago.

The league is full of stars and offensive talent and the style of play is much more team oriented and as a result there is a more entertaining product for fans.

Scoring trends up every season, but so far the 2018-19 season is at historic levels across the league.

NBA teams are averaging 113.4 points per game on average, the highest mark in 49 years.

The NBA's scoring boom is reaching new heights during the first week of the 2018-19 season.
— Average score = 112.9 PPG
— Up 6+ PPG from 2017-8
— Up 12+ PPG from 2014-15
— up 16+ PPG from 2011-12
— Up 21+ PPG from 1998-99
— First time over 110 PPG since 1985-86 pic.twitter.com/FMN35CmuCH

— Ben Golliver (@BenGolliver) October 23, 2018

Here are some other crazy numbers according to NBA.com: Teams are reaching the 100 point mark 88.2% of the time thus far this season, five years ago that number was 51.5%.

For further proof, the LeBron James Lakers are averaging 126.8 points per game this season and are 1-3.

The T’Wolves scored 136 points in regulation in a game… and lost, that hasn’t happened since 1992.

The biggest culprits for this scoring explosion appear to be the increased pace of play across the league and the fact that the vast majority of the league is prioritizing high efficiency shots, shots around the rim or three-point shots, early in the shot clock in order to try and replicate the success of the Warriors and Rockets.

While scoring will likely slow down a bit as teams start to adjust and exhaustion sets in during the grind of an 82 game season, we are likely headed for the highest scoring season in more than 40 years, buckle up…

The post NBA Scoring at Historic Levels appeared first on The Hoop Doctors.

Fresh off of a 66 win season and a collapse away from their first NBA Finals appearance in 23 years, the Rockets have gotten off to a rough 1-4 start in 2018-19.

Harden has been hampered, Paul has been suspended, and the Rockets defense has been atrocious in the aftermath of losing Trevor Ariza and Luc Richard Mbah A Moute and replacing them with Carmelo Anthony this summer.

They know they need to improve now and the window may be closing on their title hopes, hence why they seem to be the biggest player at the moment for Jimmy Butler.

They are reportedly willing to offer as many as four 1st round draft picks for Butler (some of which would potentially convey into 2nd round picks)

The piece that is missing from the equation in trade talks that has kept any deal from becoming serious is scoring two-guard Eric Gordon.

According to Malika Andrews of ESPN:

“Houston has offered four future first-round picks to Minnesota, but that package doesn’t include guard Eric Gordon, who’d be mandatory for Minnesota in any proposed deal, league sources said. Thibodeau wants a maximum return on players able to help Minnesota get back to the playoffs.

Taylor has tasked general manager Scott Layden with the focus of finding a trade, as Thibodeau concentrates on coaching the team. Miami and Philadelphia remain teams interested in potential deals for Butler, and Taylor has hoped that those teams would become more aggressive in their offers to pry Butler, league sources said.”

Minnesota has botched this whole Butler thing and the potential return for him seemingly gets lower by the day, but they should be able to garner a player of Gordon’s caliber in return and the Rockets need to accept that if they are serious about acquiring Butler.

The post Report: Gordon “Mandatory” in any Butler Trade appeared first on The Hoop Doctors.

Canada has emerged on the international basketball scene in recent years and Andrew Wiggins may be the most gifted player to come from that emergence (until R.J. Barrett, watch him at Duke this year, he is special).

Wiggins is a freakishly athletic wing who can light up the score sheet and has done so since being drafted No.1 in 2015.

He also has unfortunately shown that he is not the most motivated or intense of basketball players, at times looking lackadaisical or uninterested on the court, and don’t get me started on the fact that he is still a bad defender despite all of his natural gifts.

He has never taken much pride in his defense and he apparently doesn’t take much pride in representing his country either, unless he is paid for it.

From Steve Simmons of the Toronto Sun:

“The back-and-forth went something like this: If you want Andrew to play, it’s going to cost you money. And if you want Andrew, you’re going to want his brothers, too. This wasn’t your typical tryout invitation and recruiting session. This was part-negotiation, part-stick-up, or so the story goes.

And Canada Basketball did what it believed was necessary at the time. It apparently paid decent money for Wiggins to play for Team Canada. No one will tell you how much is pretty good money, but an organization without a lot of cash, had to come up with some.”

While I don’t think any star athlete should be forced to represent their country and risk injury if they don’t want to and I understand that he is a world-class athlete whose services are worth something, but this just looks a little selfish and doesn’t put Wiggins in the best of lights.

When you consider that Wiggins has regressed after his $148 million extension, it is clear that although Wiggins is the kind of talent to build a team around, he doesn’t have the mental makeup or desire to be great to live up to that billing.

This helps paint a clearer picture of why a workhorse like Jimmy Butler would want out of Minnesota…

The post Wiggins Asked For, Received Payment to Play on Canadian National Team appeared first on The Hoop Doctors.

15 years into his legendary NBA career, LeBron James is still operating at essentially the same level that he has for the past 12 to 13 years.

While his new look Lakers have struggled out of the gates with a 2-4 start, King James is still playing at an MVP level and climbing the all time lists.

He moved into sixth on the all-time scoring list with his 35 point performance against the Spurs, albeit in a 110-106 loss, on Saturday.

Now the sixth-leading scorer in NBA history: @KingJames.

LeBron hits from mid-range to pass Dirk Nowitzki as the league's active scoring leader. pic.twitter.com/4pjfujEKr6

— Los Angeles Lakers (@Lakers) October 28, 2018

LeBron is over the 31,000 point mark and only 217 points behind Wilt Chamberlain for 5th on the all-time scoring list.

At this rate he should move past Chamberlain by Thanksgiving.

The number four guy on the all-time scoring list provides a little more intrigue though, the one and only Michael Jordan.

He likely will pass Jordan later in the 2018-19 season and be 4th on the all-time scoring list.

If he can manage to average 25 points per game at 70 games a season the rest of this season and the next three seasons and one more season of averaging in the teens in his late 30s then he can take the mantle from Kareem Abdul-Jabbar as the NBA’s scoring king.

The post LeBron Moves Into 6th on All-Time Scoring List appeared first on The Hoop Doctors.

As expected, life has been tough in Cleveland post-LeBron. The Cavaliers are 0-6, being outscored by 10 points or more per game looking far closer to the top of the lottery than the NBA Finals.

Because of the slow start (and Dan Gilbert’s pettiness) the Cavaliers have decided to fire Head Coach Tyronn Lue.

Cavs‘ roster has been informed of firing of Ty Lue, per league sources. Lue has been let go as Cavs head coach after 0-6 start to Cleveland’s season. https://t.co/b50Nxh91Br

— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) October 28, 2018

Lue went 128-83 and won an NBA title as head coach in just over three seasons, which makes it feel a little premature to oust him after a rough start and after losing the best player in the NBA.

The Cavaliers have been bad and there is no proof he is a high-caliber coach without elite talent (is any coach really?) but this decision seems more of an example of Dan Gilbert using the first opportunity he could to move on from LeBron’s chosen coach now that LeBron is gone.

Lue has chosen to take the high road and this was his statement on the matter:

Tyronn Lue statement obtained by @espn @TheUndefeated pic.twitter.com/Cj7JdsYS12

— Marc J. Spears (@MarcJSpears) October 28, 2018

Cavaliers veterans like Kevin Love have come out to show their support for Lue and while Lue hasn’t always been known the most savvy coach schematically or with X’s and O’s, he is well respected for his work ethic, character and knowledge of the game.

Longtime time NBA coach and veteran Larry Drew will take over for the remainder of the season.

The post Cavaliers Fire Tyronn Lue appeared first on The Hoop Doctors.

Will Barton has been one of the most underrated and under the radar players in the NBA to the average basketball fan over recent years, but he has become a sixth man extraordinaire and quietly one of the better wing players in the league for the Denver Nuggets.

He was off to a fast start this season for the 3-0 Nuggets as well, averaging 16.5 points on 55.6% shooting from three in 27 minutes per game.

He went down in the 3rd quarter of the Nuggets game against the Suns on Saturday night.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=36&v=LHqa4YtA8aE

He is reportedly out for five to six weeks while recovering from a groin injury.

Nuggets guard Will Barton (Adductor muscle) will have surgery tomorrow and is expected to be out 5-6 weeks, a source said.

— Marc J. Spears (@MarcJSpears) October 22, 2018

The good news is that it looked like it may have been much worse as he was carted off of the court, the bad news is that groin injuries are the kind that linger for a while so it could affect his performance when he returns to the court and hamper him the remainder of the season.

Here is to hoping Barton returns to form for what has been a very good and very fun Nuggets team thus far.

The post Barton to Miss 5-6 Weeks With Groin Injury appeared first on The Hoop Doctors.

Kemba Walker is in the final year of a four-year, $48 million contract with the Hornets and his play thus far in the 2018-19 season is showing why he is one of the most under paid players in the NBA.

Walker is averaging 35.3 points through his first three games and has made an NBA record 19 three-pointers.

He has led the Hornets to a 2-1 record and was one shot away from having a Charlotte team desperate to get back to the postseason out to a 3-0 start with a one point loss to Milwaukee to start the season.

It will be very interesting to monitor Walker’s situation with Charlotte this season as if the team happens to go south before the trade deadline the Hornets could decide to blow it up and use their best asset as a trade chip to acquire more young talent or picks.

Walker has been mostly quiet about his impending free agency, but has stated that he would like to stay in Charlotte.

If he continues to play at an MVP level it would be crazy for the Hornets to let him walk or trade him this season as the 28-year-old point guard is in his prime and should play at a high level for another four or five seasons at least.

If Walker has the Hornets in the thick of things in the eastern conference you can bet he will be in a Hornets uniform next season. If they hover below .500 like they have the past few seasons Walker could be on a contender come February.

The post Kemba Walker With Most 3-Pointers Made in NBA History Through 3 Games appeared first on The Hoop Doctors.

It took the Suns 50 years to find a great center (sorry Shaq you were past your prime in Phoenix). 50 years after losing out on the No. 1 pick and drafting Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (he was Lew Alcindor at that time), the Suns have found their guy with their first ever No.1 pick in 2018: DeAndre Ayton.

Interestingly enough Ayton became the first player in the NBA to have 18 points, 10 rebounds and six assists in his debut since… you guessed it… Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

I had the opportunity to watch Ayton in person in his NBA debut on Wednesday night against his biggest competition for the honor of being the league’s best rookie (sorry Marvin Bagley III) Luka Doncic.

Doncic showed flashes of why he may become a very special talent in the league with his next level vision and ability to carve up a defense as a pick-and-roll ball handler as well as getting DeAndre Jordan numerous easy dunks, but he is still a work in progress. Ayton, on the other hand, is ready to be a star from day one.

The reason why he is so prepared to be a difference maker from day one is not because of his body carved out of stone or athletic gifts, which he has in abundance, it is his feel for the game and his attitude.

The Suns revamped ball movement and player movement from side to side offense under new head coach Igor Kokoskov was run almost exclusively through Ayton from the high post and he has the passing chops, patience, basketball I.Q. and and 17-foot jump shot to exceed in that role.

The Suns may surprise a few people this season even in a loaded western conference and DeAndre Ayton will be a major reason why en route to winning NBA Rookie of The Year for 2018-19.

The post DeAndre Ayton Will Win ROY By A Landslide appeared first on The Hoop Doctors.

Watching the opening night match-up between the Celtics and 76ers last night there was only one thing that kept running through my head, Ben Simmons is special.

Simmons started his season great with a 19 point, 15 rebound, 8 assist, 4 steal and 2 block performance, albeit in a 76ers loss.

He wowed with his quickness and ability to push the pace, he was unstoppable on the glass and seemed to have eyes in the back of his head with his ability to find teammates all over the court.

He looks like the closest thing we have seen to a young Magic Johnson.

Simmons and Magic’s numbers where eerily similar in their rookie season at the same age:

Magic: PPG: 18.7 REB: 7.3 AST: 7.7 STL: 2.4 FG%: 53%

Simmons: PPG: 15.8 REB: 8.2 AST: 8.2 STL: 1.8 FG%:54%

They both are 6’9″ point guards with once in a generation ability to lead a fast break and put their teammates in favorable positions to score and they do so with flash and substance.

Neither Magic or a young Simmons was able to shoot the deep ball as well (Simmons doesn’t even try).

Magic dealt with an injury prone second season in the league as Simmons dealt with his first season, but as Magic started to develop he became an even more lethal rebounder and passer and established himself as a MVP candidate on a yearly basis, something Simmons could do as early as this season.

If Ben Simmons were ever to develop a jump shot he may become the most dangerous force in the league, but Magic is proof that he doesn’t need to in order to be an elite talent in the league for the next 10 to 15 years.

We have a lot of special young talents in this league with the Greek Freak, Donovan Mitchell, Devin Booker, Kristaps Porzingis, Joel Embiid, etc. but Simmons is as special as any of them.

The post Ben Simmons is Like Watching a Young Magic Johnson in 2018 appeared first on The Hoop Doctors.

Well the Suns have added a veteran guard to their roster in the final days leading up to the 2018-19 NBA season, but not exactly the kind of point guard they need.

They have added 38-year-old bench scoring extraordinaire Jamal Crawford.

Free agent Jamal Crawford has reached agreement with the Phoenix Suns, per league sources. @TheAthleticNBA @WatchStadium

— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) October 15, 2018

Before you start saying how insane it is for them to think that Crawford is they guy they need to fill their massive hole at the point guard position, you should realize that he was merely brought in to be another scoring option off of the bench and a guy who can knock down the three ball, a thing that new head coach Igor Kokoskov wants to do a lot of (he has said he wants the team to shoot 30 threes per game) even though doesn’t exactly have a roster full of sharpshooters at the moment.

In order to make the move and get their roster down to 15, the Suns released injured veteran Darrell Aurthur, Shaquille Harrison and 2017 2nd round pick Davon Reed on Monday.

Now that the final roster moves have been made by teams and no legitimate point guards are out there, the Suns should be willing to part with one of their future 1st point guard to get a player the likes of a Patrick Beverley if they want to compete in what will be a loaded western conference again.

The post Suns Sign Jamal Crawford appeared first on The Hoop Doctors.

Ben Wallace was one of the toughest, most physical and powerful defensive forces the NBA has seen in the past 20 years.

In his 17 NBA seasons he made 11 All-NBA appearances, 5x All-NBA, 6x All-Defensive, was a 4x NBA Defensive Player of the Year winner, led the league in rebounds and blocks for an NBA season and was the defensive anchor for a Detroit Pistons team that won an NBA championship in 2004. He was also one win away from repeating in 2005.

Wallace is literally one of the best defensive players in NBA history and had a borderline hall of fame caliber career despite his offensive limitations.

For a guy that gave everything he had to the game, it is not surprising he dealt with some depression when his career came to an end in 2012:

From The Undefeated:

“Basketball is sort of mind-controlling,” said Wallace. “It takes you on a journey of extreme highs and extreme lows. It almost makes you need it. One day I can go out and get 20 rebounds and tomorrow I can come out and get seven or eight. Now, you’re sort of waiting for the next time to prove yourself. When you retire, you start feeling left out, no one’s really checking on you, you ain’t getting no phone calls that you used to get. Then you start to get low, but there’s no game tomorrow to lift you up, so you just keep sinking and sinking.”

That is a very honest and introspective peak into the mind of an NBA player and the struggles of dealing with their post playing days.

I think it is great that the curtain has seemingly been lifted on players sharing their mental health struggles and battles associated with playing the game at a high level for a long time, it will do nothing but help those playing today and moving forward to feel comfortable to be in touch with their emotions and not be ashamed to share them or seek assistance if needed.

Wallace is now part owner and chairman of the Grand Rapids Drive G-League team.

The post Ben Wallace Battled Depression in Years Following Retirement appeared first on The Hoop Doctors.