3 Point Buzzer

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have been trying to escape being perennially one of the worst teams in the league for years now. So far, they haven't been unsuccessful. Since 2011, they have never sported a winning season and have a combined 23-49 record. Many coaches have come and gotten fired over that span, including Lovie Smith, who was canned after the 2015 season for pretty inexplicable reasons since he squeezed out a modest 6-10 record with a young and inexperienced team lead by a rookie quarterback. Speaking of the QB, Jameis Winston had a very impressive rookie year, throwing for 22 touchdowns and 4,042 passing yards on a team with no credible receiving options beside twin towers Mike Evans and Vincent Jackson. Also, his offensive line was pretty atrocious. However, Winston showed poise in the pocket; he also wasn't afraid to chuck balls that had a good chance of being intercepted, but also a good chance of making a big play. At only 21-years-old, Winston showed off his abi...

Arizona Cardinals This is one of the more balanced powerhouses in the league, with difference-makers on both sides of the ball Carson Palmer has proved to be a top 5 regular season quarterback for this team, slinging bombs that connect with Arizona's array of speedy receivers such as John Brown and J.J. Nelson That is not to mention future hall of fame Larry Fitzgerald, a great receiver and one of the best blocking ones, as well as the long and athletic Michael Floyd Palmer, however, has been very shaky in the playoffs, throwing 4 picks in an NFC championship meltdown against the Panthers If Evan Mathis can maintain his excellence at age 35, an offensive line with him, Mike Iupati and Jared Vehldeer is top notch On defense, the Cardinals have Chandler Jones and Calais Campbell up front, with Patrick Peterson and Tyraunn Mathieu roaming in the back. Does not get much better than that Still, people quibble over the CB2 opposite Peterson. Justin Bethel and rookie Brandon Will...

Boston Celtics Draft: Jaylen Brown, Guerschon Yabusele, Ante Zizic, Demetrius Jackson, Ben Bentil, Abdel Nader Free agency: signed Al Horford Departures: Evan Turner, Jared Sullinger Ever since 2014, when the Celtics savagely robbed Billy King and the Nets of all they had, there has been a growing sense of excitement mingled with frustration as to when the Celtics would cash in on all their assets, which included high draft picks and cap space. This summer, they have finally started to turn those assets into living, breathing humans capable of helping them win basketball games. The 3rd overall pick in the draft, Jaylen Brown, looks like he's going to be a major problem for teams on the defensive side of the game. Brown's physical style of play meshes perfectly with a squad that includes Avery Bradley, Marcus Smart and Jae Crowder, three perimeter players who play nasty, all-up-in-your-face defense. Still only 19-years-old, Brown has much room to hone his offensive sk...

Draft: Taurean Prince, DeAndre Bembry, Isaia Cordinier Free agency: re-signed Kent Bazemore and Kris Humphries, signed Dwight Howard and Jarrett Jack Departures: Al Horford, Jeff Teague Once the Hawks secured Dwight Howard's services, they were faced with a few options: 1. They could re-sign Horford and go big along with Millsap and Howard. 2. They could re-sign Horford, then trade Millsap for future assets and sport a Horford-Howard frontline entering next season or, 3. Let Horford walk and go with Millsap and Howard. The Hawks chose option number three, since Horford was willing to re-sign, but the Hawks drew a line in the contract negations and were too stubborn to slightly go over it to meet Horford's wishes. They were reportedly $6 million apart which, sadly, is like pennies in today's NBA financial landscape. A Millsap-Howard front court is mighty intriguing, especially on defense. Millsap has a well-earned reputation of being one of the most elastic defende...

July 4th was both a wondrous day, and a crushing one for me. I got to go my uncle's beach house and relax, watching fireworks over smoldering s'mores. On the other hand, Kevin Durant's stunning departure to Silicon Valley left me, and many other OKC fans, in a state of despair. Just six weeks ago, the Thunder had done the impossible: they held a 3-1 series lead over the 73-win Golden-State Warriors. Everything was clicking. KD had turned into a defensive monster as well as an offensive one. Russell Westbrook wasn't having inexcusable lapses on defense. Steven Adams was beautifully growing up in front of my eyes as a two-way center. Andre Roberson had finally started hitting those wide-open threes. Everything was coming together after so many years of excruciatingly ill-timed injuries to all our studs. Then, stuff happened. The Warriors predictably won game 5, but it was ok since the Thunder were coming home for game 6 to finish them off and advance to the Finals fo...

With the NBA's salary cap about to reach the budget of a Christopher Nolan film, massive, multi-million dollar contracts will be awarded to many lucky bastards who just happened to be in the right place at the right time. Harrison Barnes will fetch $100 million. Bismack Biyombo may as well. These are players suited to be high-end role players on teams, but they are about to be paid like superstars. Here is a list of the best contracts in the NBA as of today. Rookie deals are not included. Length of contracts is taken into account. Contracts counted as of the 2016-2017 league year. It's a good time to be a Boston fan! *contracts rounded to nearest hundredth 10. Marcus Morris (3 years, $15 million) A multi-positional defender who can guard shooting guards to power forwards. He admirably defended LeBron in the first round, making him work for every bucket; and with LeBron, that is the best thing you can do. Morris gave the Pistons 14 points and 5 rebounds as their start...

1. Philadelphia 76ers: Ben Simmons The 76ers officially made the pick they were expected to make all along. I was so sure of this pick, that I wrote it like 2 hours before the draft. This is the 76ers' 4th draft since Sam Hinkie came and conquered (or just tanked and got kicked out) and only 2 of their 4 picks have seen the court: Jahlil Okafor and Nerlens Noel. All 4 players are bigs so you could say it's a bit of a logjam. Drafting Simmons will clog that drain even more, seeing as his most natural position seems to be as a power forward. But when you have the 1st pick, you worry about need later, and that is just what the 76ers are doing. They are certainly going to have to move either Noel or Okafor just to distribute the young talent across other positions besides power forward and center. Simmons, as of now, has not displayed any semblance of a reliable jump shot and has had trouble defending the ball, but those deficiencies can hopefully be neutered by the 76ers' s...