On the NBA Beat

Sekou Smith of NBA TV, NBA.com and the Hang Time Podcast returns to the show to survey the ultra-competitive West, a conference replete with fascinating storylines ahead of the season’s start. For instance, should the Lakers be considered heavy favorites, what’s going on in Houston, which teams are best primed to squeeze into the postseason and what can we expect from the Warriors following a lost...

Longtime journalist Melissa Isaacson, who spent years reporting at the Chicago Tribune and ESPN, among other outlets, appears On the NBA Beat for a discussion devoted to her third book, “State: A Team, a Triumph, a Transformation.” It’s an intensely personal tale documenting her and her team’s four years as bona fide high school basketball pioneers that culminated in a state title. Join Missy as s...

Javier Pesquera, roving NBA draft analyst and occasional consultant for The Stepien, returns to break down the fast-approaching 2020 draft. Then, after the break, Agu Ibañez Baldor stops by to discuss his book, “Dynasty: The Rise and Fall of the Greatest Teams in NBA History.” *Due to dynamic advertising, time stamps may vary: Javier Pesquera at 7:28-7:39: “At No. 1, I do have LaMelo Ball in his o...

Author Paul Knepper takes us back to the 1990s, a time when the New York Knicks, led by Patrick Ewing, perennially made the playoffs and once came within a game of winning it all. Boasting a bruising, physical style that's long since disappeared from the league, these Knicks are remembered fondly by New Yorkers who pine for a respectable basketball team (the Nets obviously don't count for Knicks f...

Thanks to Anthony Davis' buzzer-beating 3, the Los Angeles Lakers narrowly escaped with a Game 2 win Sunday night to extend their series lead over the Denver Nuggets to 2-0. Just as the plot begins to thicken, Harrison Faigen of SB Nation's Silver Screen and Roll and Katy Winge of Altitude TV and Altitude Sports Radio join the show to discuss the series' most noteworthy and fascinating storylines....

With the Houston Rockets and Los Angeles Lakers tied at one win apiece, Rockets reporter Salman Ali lends his insight and analysis about the intriguing matchup that’s only just begun. A General NBA writer for Clutch Points, Salman also covers the Rockets for the Red Nation Hoops Podcast, ESPN’s Houston-based FM station, and his own new Substack newsletter called “State of the Rockets.” In the seri...

Melissa Isaacson, former sports reporter for the Chicago Tribune, relives covering the historically dominant Bulls teams of the early 1990s, as she breaks down The Last Dance, the popular docuseries in which she appears. She also discusses her latest book, State: A Team, a Triumph, A Transformation. Time stamps may vary due to dynamic advertising: 4:25 - 5:40: "Over the years, he [Michael Jordan]...

SB Nation's Silver Screen & Roll writer and editor-in-chief Harrison Faigen discusses the present state of the Los Angeles Lakers as uncertainty swirls around a potential NBA return this season. 7:56-9:03: "The only way to change this (mental health stigma) and have people be more comfortable talking about it is to have more people talk about it openly and have it not be that big of a deal. And so...

Tomer Azarly of Clutch Points joins the show to discuss the state of the Clippers just past the season's midway point. Enjoy these clips/Clips: 6:04-6:42: I just think it's a work in progress. It’s a team last year that had an underdog mentality all season and now you add two superstars from two completely different programs in Kawhi and PG, and it just takes time to incorporate these guys. We hav...

David Kohan, along with his friend Max, created the long-running hit comedy series Will & Grace. But the Emmy Award winner is also one of the biggest Clippers fans we know, and boy was he excited to preview the upcoming season in Clipperland, one which he believes will be “the year.” Boasting the likes of Kawhi Leonard, Paul George and a deep supporting cast, the Clippers are primed for a breakthr...

Last Friday night, Los Angeles residents, among people in others places such as Las Vegas, felt a 7.1-magnitude earthquake. Within nearly two and a half hours, the Clippers had pulled off an earth-shattering pair of moves that would bring both Kawhi Leonard and Paul George to Los Angeles, not too far from where either superstar was born and raised. For the occasion, The Athletic’s Jovan Buha appea...

Jake Fischer joins the show on the doorstep of the official beginning to the 2019 NBA free agency period. The Sports Illustrated reporter takes us through the likeliest scenarios involving superstars Kawhi Leonard, Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving. He also explores the Los Angeles Clippers’ chances of finally landing a max free agent after years of coming away empty-handed and how their arena-mates p...

On the heels of a disappointing Eastern Conference finals exit at the hands of the Raptors, The Athletic’s Eric Nehm is here to talk all things Milwaukee Bucks, including Giannis Antetokounmpo’s MVP campaign, the Bucks’ spectacular season, Mike Budenholzer’s inaugural year at the helm, and the significant offseason looming ahead. Some noteworthy clips (Particular time stamps may vary due to dynami...

The Boston Celtics stole Game 1 in Milwaukee before the mighty Bucks answered Tuesday with a comfortable victory of their own. With the series all squared up and storylines aplenty, Tom Westerholm of MassLive delves into this fun matchup, which pits Milwaukee and Boston against each other for the second straight postseason. Only, this time, Milwaukee is coming off a 60-win season and the Celtics a...

Tomer Azarly of Clutch Points goes in depth and breadth on the special 2018-19 Clippers team that has exceeded expectations despite significant player turnover. The Clippers are back in the playoffs, but whom should they hope to avoid in the first round? Tomer also touches upon what's made the Clippers so effective, including super-subs Lou Williams and Montrezl Harrell, "unstat-able" Pat Beverley...

The Athletic's James Edwards III informs on all things Detroit Pistons at this critical juncture for the franchise. *Due to dynamic advertising, excerpt time stamps may vary per listener:According to James, the Pistons are all in on Griffin, but that sentiment could change in a hurry (10:23-11:07):“They love him. The city loves him. I really, truly believe that he likes playing in Detroit. He like...

Two years ago, the NBA moved the All-Star game away from Charlotte due to the passage of North Carolina's discriminatory House Bill 2. Within months, HB2 was repealed, and although many in the LGBTQ community are presently unsatisfied with the status quo, the league opted to allow Charlotte to host this season's festivities. Joshua Fischman interviewed Reggie Bullock, Stefanie Dolson, Jason Collin...

Bleacher Report's Howard Beck has been covering the NBA full-time for the past couple decades, and he detects an unmistakable change in the way the league's superstars are increasingly dictating where they play. He discusses this phenomenon with regard to Anthony Davis' recent trade demand, Milwaukee's ongoing efforts to retain franchise cornerstone Giannis Antetokounmpo for the long term and how...

From David Stern's visits to China in the '80s to every NBA Finals game being broadcast there live in 1994 to Yao Ming's thrilling rookie season with the Rockets in 2002 to LinSanity 10 years later to the explosion of social media and the league's recent rights deals (worth hundreds of millions of dollars) with Chinese tech giants, the NBA's influence in China has skyrocketed. The one and only Cor...

The Denver Nuggets are on the upswing with a talented young core and six straight months of winning basketball. They also hold the Western Conference’s No. 1 spot, one and a half games ahead of the Thunder and Warriors, and are led by MVP candidate Nikola Jokic. Adam Mares of Denver Stiffs and Locked On Nuggets breaks down what makes Denver tick.  Here are some particularly golden nuggets (*Due to...

The Sacramento Kings are off to a strong beginning after most expected them to finish at or near the conference's cellar. And second-year point guard De'Aaron Fox's seismic leap is a huge reason why. James Ham of NBC Sports Bay Area and NBC Sports California stops by to break down the Kings' sizzling start, the organization's coach-executive drama and where the Kings go from here as they aim to ge...

Aaron reviews the first quarter of the 2018-19 season, focusing on overall offensive production compared to last year and the Milwaukee Bucks' considerable improvement. While scoring is way up, offensive efficiency remains about the same as last season. Aaron explains how. He explores Denver's defensive progression under Mike Malone, as well as the unexpected offensive declines of the Utah Jazz an...

Brad Botkin, senior NBA writer for CBS Sports and co-author of Olympic gold medalist Dan O' Brien's memoir, "Clearing Hurdles," has strong opinions about this season's Western Conference and he's unafraid to share them. Timing will vary due to dynamic advertising, but here are the approximate time stamps of some of our favorite clips (so many good ones to choose from):7:06-7:28: "I've heard a lot...

In the wake of LeBron James' departure, Kelly Dwyer discusses his Eastern favorites and why the conference is overall so bad. The online basketball writing pioneer who wrote for Yahoo!'s Ball Don't Lie blog for nearly a decade, among multiple notable gigs, is currently shining for The Second Arrangement, a project to which you can subscribe for as low as $5 per month.   Timing will vary due to dyn...

Mick Minas, author of "The Curse: The Colorful & Chaotic History of the LA Clippers," is here to discuss his comprehensive book that chronicles the wild history of the Clippers. Plagued by penny-pinching ownership, questionable management, terrible luck, and a well earned abysmal reputation, the franchise experiences so many low lows, but optimism is somehow rarely too far away. Even with a new er...