Detroit Pistons

The Detroit Pistons’ acquisition of Reggie Jackson hasn’t really gone as hoped. Stan Van Gundy’s team has dropped eight straight contests, tumbling to a 23-41 record while falling to the likes of the New York Knicks, Charlotte Hornets and Los Angeles Lakers. Just two weeks after it looked like Detroit could finish off an outstanding [...]

Thou shall fear no evil, because the NBA power rankings are here to save the day. It’s been forever since we last saw each other. Like, a whole week or something. A lot has happened since then. The Warriors are clearly tanking, trying to avoid a first-round dance with the Thunder; the Nuggets fired Brian [...]

Goodbye, All-Star discussion and NBA trade deadline. Hello, playoff race. It’s that time of year again. The focus is on the playoffs and various position-jockeying that’s going on. This week we have a lot of movement to cover, from the Blazers’ slump, to the Spurs’ mounting cankers, to the Thunder’s improbable surge, to the Sixers [...]

Stand up, folks. Stretch. Bend. Flex. Make old-folk noises. The NBA trade deadline is finally upon us. This implies two things: First, real, live basketball is about to begin again. Fist-pump it up. Second, the rumors are flowing like vodka and tequila and gin and rum and whiskey during J.R. Smith’s weekend-long vacation from the city of Cleveland. Navigating those [...]

Heigh-ho, heigh-ho, it’s off to the 2015 NBA All-Star Game we go. Okay, so, I’m pretty sure “heigh-ho” refers to yawning or disappointment, but screw it. I wanted to both rhyme and write “heigh-ho,” so let’s just pretend. Anyway, the NBA is speeding toward its All-Star break, leaving a trail of injuries, playoff-seeding battles and [...]

Avoiding NBA power rankings is for chumps, so come on in. There’s plenty to talk about this week. The Warriors and Hawks are still playing in a league of their own; the Grizzlies look like fortuitous demigods; the Hornets and Pistons are making a mockery of the Eastern Conference’s race for the final two playoff spots; [...]

Question of the week: Do any of the NBA’s Eastern Conference fringe playoff teams actually want to make the postseason? Asking for a friend or 50 here. Seriously, once you leave the East’s top-six teams—Hawks(!), Raptors, Wizards, Bulls, Cavaliers and Bucks—it feels like you’ve entered the “Let’s try and suck as much as possible in order to [...]

Potential blockbuster trade alert. Just kidding. What, you didn’t think I was serious, did you? From now on, assume everyone who says that is kidding. There has been so much action early on—significant, blockbuster action, mind you—it’s incredibly unlikely that any deals ahead of the February 19 trade deadline will fall into that category. More [...]

We all know the Pistons have been on a roll lately as they’ve won 11 of their last 15 games since Josh Smith was traded to the Rockets. But for on Saturday night, thing’s were incredibly grim as they did not only lost to the Bucks (101-86) but also, Brandon Jennings for a long time [...]

There’s something truly zany about the 2014-15 NBA season. It’s been weird. It’s still weird. It’s truly, utterly, completely, wholly, wonderfully, purely, perfectly zany. Allow me to offer up Exhibit A: These here power rankings. Collective movement is neither enormous nor insubstantial. There is virtually no change at the top. But then we get into the [...]