James Harden is the MVP of this NBA season. He has been the frontrunner for most of the year, but the recency of other candidates performing well during the latter parts of the season has turned what was common knowledge of Harden’s legitimacy into a debate. Is he being touted as first choice as sympathy for him losing out on the award in previous seasons? Others suggest his team record is what his candidacy relies on.
“If I were on another team,” Mbah a Moute pondered, “how would I be able to guard him?”
Mbah a Moute knows how he would try, a method he won’t describe to me. That’s understandable; you never know what tidbit might get sent to, say, Jimmy Butler preparing for the first round. P.J. Tucker laughed and then also declined to answer the same question.
Dwyane Wade, sitting on a backbench inside the practice court at the Air Canada Center, peers out at the gym, at men clad in black Heat practice hoodies folding up mats, collecting stray bags and basketballs, rearranging weights in the training room.
At long last, it’s time to put regular-season basketball in the rearview mirror and move on to the NBA’s main event — the playoffs are finally here! And FiveThirtyEight is here, too, to help predict how it’ll all go down. With the help of our CARM-Elo projection model, and the betting odds1 as a second opinion, what follows is our survey of both the Eastern and Western Conference postseason landscapes. And in a departure from last season, when the Warriors were near-universal favorites on the eve of the playoffs, there’s actually some uncertainty in the playoff outlook this time around.
Klay Thompson has had a decent, if quiet, year. He’s averaging fewer points per game than he has in four years, but his shooting efficiency, rebounding rate, and assist numbers are among the highest in his career. As usual, his stout defense is extremely valuable for the Warriors as well.
The bracket for the NBA playoffs is set. We’re here to break down all eight first-round matchups for you. The action starts Saturday. [Jump to Western Conference matchups]
Three teams in the Western Conference had opportunities to clinch a spot in the NBA playoffs with a win Monday. All three took that opportunity, setting up a virtual playoff game for Wednesday.
The Knicks have cut ties with head coach Jeff Hornacek, the team announced on Thursday morning.
ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski and the New York Post's Marc Berman were first to report the move early Thursday morning. The move came just hours after the Knicks finished the season with a 29-53 record. This season marks the fifth consecutive year the franchise has failed to make the postseason.
Rookie of the Year voting comes to a close this week as the last regular-season games will be played by Wednesday. There have been two clear-cut runaway finalists for the award all season: 76ers’ baby LeBron, Ben Simmons, and Jazz super hero Donovan Mitchell.
