The Miami Heat have been no strangers to championship formulas under Erik Spoelstra. Since 2008-09, Spoelstra’s first season as head coach following the legendary Pat Riley’s decision to step away from the sidelines, only the San Antonio Spurs sport a better win percentage than Miami. But since the Heatles years brought the franchise two titles, […]
With 20 seconds left in Game 3 between the Milwaukee Bucks and Boston Celtics, the series tied 1-1 and the Bucks leading 101-100, point guard Jrue Holiday kept the ball for himself, spun into the paint and hit a floater. Zero passes, 2 points and a series lead. Then in Game 4, the Bucks threw […]
With 20 seconds left in Game 3 between the Milwaukee Bucks and Boston Celtics, the series tied 1-1 and the Bucks leading 101-100, point guard Jrue Holiday kept the ball for himself, spun into the paint and hit a floater. Zero passes, 2 points and a series lead. Then in Game 4, the Bucks threw […]
Fourteen months ago, the Golden State Warriors faced a situation that threatened to morph into an existential crisis. They weren’t awful like the previous season, when Stephen Curry missed all but five games with a hand injury and Klay Thompson was out for the first of two full years. They were something far worse for […]
In the NBA playoffs, experience matters. FiveThirtyEight found that championship-winning rosters almost always have an above-average tally of career playoff minutes played. It’s such a good predictor of success that it’s a part of our NBA projections. This year’s Dallas Mavericks don’t have much of that postseason experience on their roster. They ranked 14th among […]