3 Point Buzzer

It's crunch time for every front office right now (except Golden State and San Antonio, where Bob Myers and RC Buford can just sit back, have a bottle, and relax). The trade deadline got moved up to early February this year as opposed to its usual post-All star break date. This means teams have had less time to evaluate how well their roster meshes and how potential replacements might fit.  This accelerated timeline is probably going to produce some short-sighted and panic-stricken transactions by executives attempting to save their jobs, but at least it should be entertaining. And while contenders are already in excellent shape since they are, well, contending, every team can improve in one way or another. None of these projected moves are drastic, but they could very easily push some teams over the top. Right now, I'd say the seven teams with a realistic shot of winning it all are the Warriors (duh), Cavaliers (even though they look like a pile of garbage, can't count...

The San Antonio Spurs have served as the hallmark of a successful sports franchise. They have won 50 or more games for the past 20 seasons. They have the greatest coach in the game in Gregg Popovich, flanked by a multiple Executive of the Year winner R.C. Buford and possibly the deepest coaching staff in the league. The organization has seamlessly transitioned from David Robinson to Tim Duncan to Manu Ginobli and Tony Parker to Kawhi Leonard. They turn undrafted free agents like Danny Green, Patty Mills and Bruce Bowen into championship contributors.  The Spurs run a somewhat comically tight ship. They won't even reveal what they put in their players' juice smoothies. They decline hundreds of interview requests a year. Think about it: when is the last time you read an in-depth profile on a current Spurs player?  Their stoic culture, however maddening it may be for reporters and fans, has brought undeniable success. Five championships over the course of those 20 years, with...

Tom Thibodeau must be stopped before he ruins Karl Towns, Andrew Wiggins and Jimmy Butler's careers. The three cornerstone players fueling the Wolves' first legitimate playoff push in 14 years are going to break down under the burden Thibs is currently heaping on them, and there are signs of cracks already.  Towns (35.4 mpg), Wiggins (37 mpg) and Butler (37.4 mpg) are all among the top 15 in minutes played this season, according to ESPN.com. Jeff Teague and Taj Gibson, the remaining two starters, aren't exactly getting a breather, as they are both averaging well above 30 minutes per game. With the NBA becoming more aware each season of, not only the importance of advanced nutrition but the crucial need for rest, it has become commonplace for stars to take multiple games off over the course of the season in order to rest. It's a trend started by the San Antonio Spurs (shocker) and has been adopted by almost every organization since. Coaches, while reluctant to si...

The NBA has been off and running for the better part of one month now, and boy is it great to have the best sports league in the world back into the thick of things. Like any season, unexpected players have emerged, while some teams have not lived up to lofty expectations. Here's a look at the 10 most intriguing storylines so far in the 2017-2018 season. 1. The Process worked Sure, it had its warts. The architect, Sam Hinkie, was deposed of his job before the Process bore fruit. Jahlil Okafor, the 3rd overall pick in 2015, can't even fetch a second-round pick on the trade market. Also, Markelle Fultz, the 1st overall pick this year, may not know how to shoot and has been sidelined a month over what may be a nonexistent shoulder problem.  However, because of the sheer all-around brilliance of Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid, none of that matters anymore. The Process was put into motion with the sole goal of acquiring a franchise altering talent. The 76ers got two of them, an...

It would be hard to start the season worse than the Phoenix Suns have. They are 0-3, having lost by a combined 92 points already. Their best player, Eric Bledsoe, just tweeted "I don't want to be here". So much for subtlety. Oh, and the Suns just fired their head coach Earl Watson. So much for patience. The Suns dug themselves into a hole on this one. They trotted into the season with a clear directive to lose as many games as possible in order to nab another potential superstar in the draft to pair with their lone bright spot, Devin Booker. Flush with cap space, GM Ryan McDonough stayed pat in free agency. Last season, they basically sent Bledsoe home so they could lose more games. There is no doubt that Bledsoe's recent blatant signs of displeasure stemmed somewhat from his team's decision to bar him from playing basketball games when he was perfectly healthy. McDonough has just burned through his second coach in three years. Executives generally receive a p...

The NBA is finally back! We made it! After an "off season" where Kyrie Irving, Paul George, Chris Paul, Jimmy Butler, Gordon Hayward, Carmelo Anthony and Paul Millsap all switched teams, it's time to get back to the actual games. I'm here to predict if you should take the over or under on each team's projected win/loss record. At the end of the year, we can all check out to see how wrong this was. Over/unders are based on Vegas Insiders. Atlanta Hawks Line: 25.5 The Hawks underwent quite the talent drain this summer. They lost a ton of defense in Paul Millsap, Dwight Howard and Thabo Sefalosha, then lost their most proficient scorer in Tim Hardaway Jr. for good measure. It should be noted though, that the Knicks grossly overpaid for his services and the Hawks were wise not to match the laughable 4 year, $72 million deal. What's left is point guard Dennis Schroder, who at 24 years-old, is still young enough to take another leap forward. Schroder is blazi...