Category: Basketball

Welcome to SB Nation Reacts, a survey of fans across the NBA. Throughout the year we ask questions of the most plugged-in Cavaliers fans and fans across the country.

It has been an interesting summer for the Cleveland Cavaliers. They’ve improved a position of need by trading for Peyton Watson, but getting to that point wasn’t exactly a straight line. Let’s go through the timeline of events.

• May 30 – Mike Gansey leaves the Cavs to lead basketball operations for the Philadelphia 76ers.
• June 23 – The Cavs trade out of the first round of the NBA Draft.
• June 24 – The Cavs draft Meleek Thomas in the second round.
• June 27 – The Cavs re-sign Thomas Bryant to a one-year deal.
• June 30 – LeBron James announces he’s leaving the Los Angeles Lakers and enters free agency.
• June 30 – Keon Ellis leaves in free agency and signs with the Brooklyn Nets.
• June 30 – Dean Wade leaves in free agency and signs with the 76ers.
• July 7 – The Cavs agree to a four-year contract extension with Donovan Mitchell worth $263 million.
• July 24 – LeBron James chooses the 76ers over the Cavs in free agency.
• July 26 – The Cavs sign Mario Hezonja to a one-year minimum contract.
• August 14 – The Cavs trade Dennis Schroder and cash to the Charlotte Hornets for Tre Mann.
• August 19 – The Cavs trade Max Strus, a 2031 first-round pick, and Tre Mann for Peyton Watson and Cam Whitmore.
• August 20 – The Cavs re-sign James Harden to a three-year, $97 million deal.

Not captured above is the fact that the Cavs went from a team in the second apron last season to being hard-capped at the first apron. Shedding money and improving the on-court team would be a win.

With the dust mostly settled, how would you grade the overall offseason for the Cavs? Let us know in the poll and comments below.

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Welcome to SB Nation Reacts, a survey of fans across the NBA. Throughout the year we ask questions of the most plugged-in Suns fans and fans across the country.

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The Phoenix Suns find themselves in an interesting position within the Pacific Division this upcoming season because it might actually be up for grabs. Phoenix is a team that should perform well within the context of the division, even if the oddsmakers don’t necessarily agree.

And make no mistake about it, odds are about the only place divisions really matter anymore. Once upon a time, they meant much more. Now, it’s about where you finish in the conference standings, while division records only come into play once you start digging deep into the recesses of tiebreakers.

Still, when you look at the teams around Phoenix, you can make a legitimate case that the Suns could finish atop the division. But will they?

Let’s take a look at what the Pacific Division looks like heading into the 2026–27 season.

Los Angeles Lakers

The Los Angeles Lakers are completely revamped, and LeBron James, Dillon Brooks’s nemesis, is no longer with the organization. He went East, and in doing so vacated $52.6 million in salary. General manager Rob Pelinka did his best to use that space to fill the gaps.

The Lakers acquired Walker Kessler in a sign-and-trade deal with the Utah Jazz and will pay him $30.1 million. Yikes. They also added Matisse Thybulle, Quentin Grimes, Kevon Looney, Collin Sexton, and Sandro Mamukelashvili. Yeah, they went ham in free agency once LeBron left the City of Angels.

But the question is whether they actually got better. This was a team that finished as the fourth seed last season, won the Pacific Division, and went 53–29. So while the roster looks dramatically different, the real question is whether all of those changes actually improved a team that was already very good.

Golden State Warriors

We are entering the twilight years of the Golden State Warriors. It has been a hell of a run. Four championships came out of the Stephen Curry era, and they helped change the landscape of the NBA. But alas, all good things eventually come to an end.

General manager Mike Dunleavy Jr. didn’t make many splashes this offseason. In fact, Golden State did practically nothing. Pat Spencer and Quinten Post are gone, replaced by rookie Yaxel Lendenborg and LaJae Jones. Draymond Green flirted with the idea of taking less money so LeBron James could join the team by the Bay, which ultimately didn’t happen. Instead, Green signed a one-year, $27.7 million contract to go alongside Stephen Curry’s $62.6 million and Jimmy Butler’s $56.8 million. All three will be unrestricted free agents next summer, and that is $147.1 million committed to three players with an average age of 37.

Now Golden State finds itself in a position where it will once again rely heavily on the legs of a 38-year-old Stephen Curry to remain productive. Because Jimmy Butler? He probably won’t return until the calendar says 2027 after suffering a season-ending ACL tear on January 20, 2026. That injury takes time to recover from, and with Butler turning 37 in September, it’s going to be a long road back.

So the question becomes pretty simple. How good can this team be without him?

Los Angeles Clippers

The Clippers are a team that appears to be in flux after completely changing course midway through last offseason. James Harden is gone. Ivica Zubac is gone. And, in theory, Kawhi Leonard will eventually be gone as well.

They added Rui Hachimura in free agency, re-signed Bradley Beal, and lost veterans in John Collins and Bogdan Bogdanovic. This is a team leaning much more heavily into its youth after the lottery balls finally fell in its favor.

The Clippers selected Keaton Wagler fifth overall, and when you combine that youth with the speed of Darius Garland, they can absolutely give teams problems if they aren’t ready to get into a track meet. Defensively, though, there’s still plenty to be desired. This is a team in the middle of a revamp, and because of that, I have a hard time realistically seeing them finish atop the Pacific Division standings.

One of the biggest factors surrounding the Clippers this season is the instability of what the future might hold. Kawhi Leonard should be gone in theory, yes, but he isn’t yet. The Aspiration scandal continues to hang over the organization, and there still hasn’t been any real resolution.

Holding one of the league’s richest owners accountable is clearly something the NBA is struggling with, and that’s a bad look for both the league and the team. When that kind of uncertainty and disruption is hanging over an organization, it becomes much harder to see a clear path toward success on the floor.

Sacramento Kings

And then there are the Kings, who experienced postseason bliss four years ago after missing the playoffs for 16 consecutive seasons. What have they done since? Not much. Their big free agent signing was Jonathan Mogbo. Yeah, that’s pretty much it.

They also bought out DeMar DeRozan, who now finds himself with the Denver Nuggets, and they’re clearly leaning more into youth after drafting Darius Acuff Jr. with the seventh overall pick and Alex Karaban with the 29th pick.

For a team that won only 22 games last season, though, it’s hard to say they improved in any meaningful way. Maybe an injection of youth helps around the edges, but that’s about it.

Phoenix Suns

Nestled between all of this are the Phoenix Suns, a team that won 45 games last season and finished second in the Pacific Division standings.

You know the moves. There weren’t many of them. Phoenix re-signed Collin Gillespie, Mark Williams, and Jordan Goodwin this offseason. They added Luke Kennard and Pat Spencer in free agency, and the only notable outgoing players came in the Miles Bridges deal, where the Suns added a starter while giving up two sharpshooters.

Compared to the movement around the rest of the division, Phoenix has leaned heavily into continuity.

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Now that we’ve looked at the landscape of the Pacific Division, the question becomes pretty simple. Where do you see the Phoenix Suns finishing at the end of the season?

There are obviously too many variables at this point of the year to make any prediction with certainty, but based on where these teams currently stand, where does Phoenix fit? Are they the best team in the Pacific? The worst? Somewhere in the middle?

Cast your vote in the poll below, then head to the comments and let us know where you have the Suns finishing and why.

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The Miami Heat needed shooting. It’s hard to do better than Klay Thompson.

The Heat signed Thompson seconds after he was bought out from the Dallas Mavericks on Friday afternoon. Miami landed him on a team-friendly two-year, $11.5 million deal with a team option on the second season, according to insider Keith Smith. Thompson figures to compete with Tim Hardaway Jr. for the starting shooting guard spot this season, and should be a real rotation piece for a team that hopes to contend in the Eastern Conference.

Thompson is still one of the best three-point shooters in the NBA. He attempted 16.6 three-pointers per 100 possessions last season, which was only topped by Steph Curry and LaMelo Ball. He knocked them down at a 38.8% clip, which is still well above league-average. Thompson isn’t the defender he once was, but he graded out much better on that end than Hardaway Jr. did last season. Klay was a 55th percentile defender in Dallas last year according to EPM, while Hardaway Jr. finished in the sixth percentile in the same metric. Thompson’s one-year defensive true shooting impact was +1.2 according to RAPM, while Hardaway’s was -0.3.

This seems like a great fit on paper. Miami made the biggest swing of the offseason by landing Giannis Antetokounmpo from the Milwaukee Bucks. Giannis might have more downhill rim gravity than any player in the league. There’s really only one way to stop his rumbles to the basket, and that’s by building a wall with multiple defenders. Antetokounmpo has become a good enough passer to kick out in those situations and find teammates. Thompson is a hell of a release valve beyond the arc when Giannis is seeing multiple bodies inside.

Heat fans are already championing this signing as their version of getting Ray Allen back in 2013. All Allen did the next season was hit one of the most iconic shots in NBA history. No pressure, Klay. While I can’t fault Heat fans for getting excited, I tend to think that is way, way too optimistic. Thompson’s fit in Miami feels better on paper than it will be in reality.

Ultimately, I don’t think adding Thompson moves the needle for the Heat all that much.

You don’t fix NBA spacing simply by adding shooters. You fix it by adding shooting to spots on the floor where it didn’t already exist. The Heat were already going to be getting shooting from the two-guard spot whether it’s Hardaway Jr. or Thompson or rookie Ryan Conwell taking those minutes. The reason the Heat’s spacing will likely be poor is because of the pairing between Giannis and Bam Adebayo in the front court, two players defenses will gladly ignore on the perimeter when it really matters.

A shooting leap from Davion Mitchell would help fix the Heat’s spacing. His percentage looks great after making 39.5% of his threes last year. The problem is that he only took 5.3 threes per 100 possessions, making him the 13th highest-volume three-point shooter on a Heat roster last year that finished No. 18 in three-point rate. Pelle Larsson taking a shooting leap would improve the Heat’s spacing. He only made 32.3% of his threes on 4.8 attempts from deep per 100 possessions last year. Andrew Wiggins was better — 41.4% from three on 7.5 threes per 100 — but his shooting volume will have to rise this year too even if it means sacrificing some accuracy.

I just don’t think Miami’s shooting will scare anyone when the game slows down in the playoffs. Giannis will still be seeing multiple bodies in the paint, and unless Bam is ripping seven threes like he did in his 83-point game against the Wizards last season, defenses will be happy to ignore him on the perimeter as a fake floor spacer.

There was a time when Thompson was so devastating as a movement shooter that his very presence could unlock elite spacing. He’s not there anymore. The biggest issue with Thompson is he can’t dribble at all anymore, and that makes him one of the worst two-point scorers in the NBA.

Thompson made 41.8% of his two-pointers last year. The worst qualified two-point scorer in the league last season was Bub Carrington, who made 44.3% of his twos. You can find a few full-time players who were less efficient than Thompson from two-point range last year — Jamal Shead, Sion James, Patrick Williams, Mike Conley Jr., Jordan Hawkins, and Gabe Vincent among players who played at least 50 games last season — but not many. At this point, all opposing defenses have to do is run Klay off the three-point line and he immediately becomes a non-threat.

When Klay is run off the arc, he also tends to turn the ball over a lot. He’s had a passing turnover rate of 16% or greater for each of the last four years. That’s real bad. His 16% passing turnover rate last season ranked in the 19th percentile for all players. He adds no value in the possession game with his rebounding, either, and he’s not causing any havoc on defense these days. He ranked in the first percentile of deflections per 100 possessions, and the fourth percentile of forced turnovers per 100 possessions. Thompson can still execute the assignment to some extent defensively, but he’s not going help you get out in transition or get you any extra possessions.

It’s also kind of shocking that Klay has been below league average in true shooting for every season since 2019 — when he suffered a devastating torn ACL in the NBA Finals and then a torn Achilles while rehabbing. The fact that Thompson is even still in the NBA at age-36 is pretty miraculous, but there’s a reason he’s a buy out guy.

I feel like Hardaway Jr. will be a better fit for the Heat than Klay despite his defensive limitations because he’s a more dynamic offensive player while still being an elite outside shooter. The best case scenario for Miami is that Pelle Larsson or Myron Gardner or Dru Smith or Conwell develops enough to eventually grab those minutes, because they are more well-rounded players than either Klay or THJ.

I had the Heat at No. 15 overall and No. 8 in the East in my updated NBA power rankings after the Peyton Watson trade. I’m not moving them over the Hawks (No. 14) or the Pacers (No. 13) after landing Thompson.

I don’t mean to pour cold water on this for Heat fans, I just still think the Heat have a lot of problems heading into this season. The main reason for optimism is that no one develops diamonds in the rough better than Erik Spoelstra and Pat Riley. I’d bet Miami has one or two more key contributors by the end of the year than they do right now, because Spo will coach them up. For now, it feels like the Heat are a play-in team even with Klay Thompson.

With LeBron James and Jaylen Brown added to a Philadelphia 76ers roster that upset the Boston Celtics and reached the second round of the NBA Eastern Conference playoffs last season, excitement is certainly high heading into the 2026-27 season. When we’re talking about two former NBA Finals MVPs wearing Sixers jerseys for the first time, you know people are going to want to be sporting their gear. Well, now you have your chance. The team announced that during Tuesday and Wednesday of this week, the arena’s team store will be having a merchandise sale.

From Philadelphia 76ers public relations:

“Beginning Tuesday, Aug. 25, 76ers fans will have the opportunity to shop for new 76ers merchandise at OutPHItters, the team store at Xfinity Mobile Arena, and gear up for the much anticipated 2026-27 season. With excitement building around the team this upcoming season, fans are encouraged to visit Xfinity Mobile Arena during the two-day window to stock up on the latest merchandise.

Fans can visit the team store on Tuesday, Aug. 25, and Wednesday Aug. 26 from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. to shop jerseys featuring Jaylen Brown, Joel Embiid, VJ Edgecombe, LeBron James, and Tyrese Maxey, as well as new 76ers apparel, collectibles, and accessories, whiles supplies last.“

Here’s the post from X, as well:

come get ready for the 2026-27 season.

🗓️Aug. 25–26
⏰11AM–6PM
📍OutPHItters – @XMobileArenapic.twitter.com/xmwhAjYrb2

— Philadelphia 76ers (@sixers) August 23, 2026

With just a couple shore weekends left for the summer, you know that official James 23 jersey would be a conversation starter while walking the boardwalk or at happy hour. I have to imagine the organization will be printing money with the new merch. Hopefully the wins match the excitement in a couple months’ time.

Last season, two players meaningfully made a difference for the San Antonio Spurs when they were on the court vs. when they were off it. The first was Victor Wembanyama, who made the team’s net rating increase by 15.7 points when he was on the court vs. off. That tracks. The second might surprise you, but it makes sense when you think about it.

Julian Champagnie was second on the team in net on/off at +8.5, good enough for the 94th percentile in the NBA. Champagnie’s placement in the starting lineup, replacing veteran Harrison Barnes, was a large reason the Spurs went on the second-half run that got them to 60+ wins. His shooting made it difficult for teams to pack the paint against Wembanyama and San Antonio’s guards. Champagnie provided just enough defense and rebounding to help the team compete in key areas where they were deficient.

But those deficiencies were exposed in the postseason, especially by the bigger, stronger New York Knicks, who beat the Spurs 4-1 in the Finals. Champagnie is hardly to blame for that series, but it proved San Antonio needed to add size to the frontcourt. So this summer the team signed veteran forward Tobias Harris to a two-year $30M contract. At 6-foot-8, 225, Harris brings the size needed to bang inside with bigger players, and the versatility to play on the perimeter. He has become an early favorite to compete with Champagnie for a starting role.

And yet, our readers want Champagnie to remain in the starting lineup, keeping the continuity from last season. That starting (and closing) lineup clicked so well on its trip to the Finals that it doesn’t make much sense to change it heading into next season. In addition, Harris would give San Antonio’s bench even more scoring pop, something it desperately needed last year, particularly in the playoffs.

There is a world where the Spurs could treat Champagnie and Harris like 5th and 6th starters in an MLB rotation sense. When a matchup calls for Harris to slide into the starting five, he can replace Champagnie to size up against bigger teams. Both players can be trusted to close games, and in fact, may do so alongside each other, giving San Antonio even more shooting down the stretch.

One interesting note from the poll is that Dylan Harper only brought in 11% of the vote, despite many calling for him to be promoted to a starter next season. Harper’s time is coming, but he is best suited to be arguably the NBA’s best sixth man next season, and potentially close a few games as he progresses.

Ultimately, this conversation stems from champagne problems. The Spurs are coming off an NBA Finals run; they are young, and they have only added talent. They realistically have 7 players who would start on many NBA teams, and at least three more they trust to be high-level rotation players. That’s why they are +280 to win the NBA Finals on FanDuel. But it’s late August, and it’s fun to think about lineups for the coming year! As it stands today, Champagnie seems to be the fan favorite to keep his starting spot, but that could change when training camp comes around.

Raptors fans come in all shapes and sizes. Some have been here since the start, others when Vince Carter put his arm through the rim, some arrived during the 2019 championship run, and others are just getting into it now. Whether you’re the person who lives for trade rumours, still talks about 2019 like it happened yesterday, or thinks every loss is somehow the coach’s fault, there’s a good chance you’ve seen yourself somewhere on Raptors Twitter (X). So, in no particular order, here are eight types of Raptors fans you’ll find watching the team in 2026.

1. The 2019 nostalgia fan 

This fan is still living in the greatest summer in Raptors history. They remember every moment of the championship run, have The Shot permanently saved somewhere, and will find a way to bring up the 2019 team in almost any conversation. And now that Kawhi could potentially be coming back? They’re having the time of their life.

2. The Bobby Webster “trust the process” fan 

No matter what the front office does, this fan has an answer: trust Bobby. Trade away a young player? There’s a plan. Give up draft picks? There’s a plan. Make a move nobody understands? Don’t worry, Bobby knows something we don’t. They may not understand the move themselves, but they’re willing to wait and see.

3. The “TRADE EVERYONE” fan 

The Raptors lose one game and this person has already opened the trade machine. Nobody is safe. Bad shooting night? Trade him. Bad defensive possession? Trade him. Missed a free throw? Probably time to move him. Somehow, by the end of the night, they’ve traded half the roster and turned three second-round picks into an All-Star. I admittedly could be this type of fan sometimes. 

4. The “we just need shooting” fan 

Every Raptors problem can be solved with one thing: shooting. Bad defence? Need shooting. Too many turnovers? Need shooting. Lost by 20? Should’ve shot better. This fan has probably mentioned three-point percentage at least five times before halftime and has already identified the next shooter Toronto needs to acquire.

5. The “we’re actually contenders” fan 

This fan doesn’t need much convincing. Give Toronto one good win and suddenly they’re looking ahead to the Eastern Conference Finals. Add Kawhi Leonard to the roster and they’re already planning the parade route. Injuries, seeding, roster depth,  none of it matters. They’re winning the championship until someone mathematically proves otherwise.

6. The doomer 

The complete opposite. The Raptors could be up 25 with two minutes left and this fan is worried. A bad first quarter? Season over. A three-game losing streak? Blow it all up. A player misses one shot? Trade him. Somehow, every season ends with the exact same conclusion: “I told you this team wasn’t going anywhere.” At times, I am definitely a doomer fan, something I need to work on this season! 

7. The Darko defender 

You don’t understand the rotation. Darko does. You don’t understand why a certain player is getting 28 minutes. Darko does. You don’t understand why the Raptors just called that timeout. Don’t worry about it. There’s a reason. This fan will defend Darko’s decisions until the final buzzer, and may have a 10-minute explanation ready if you ask.

8. The LeBronto survivor 

It’s been years. They’ve moved on. They’re perfectly healthy and emotionally stable whenever LeBron James comes up: No, they haven’t. They remember the 2018 playoffs. They remember the sweep. They remember that bank shot, that dunk and every other time LeBron made Toronto look helpless. LeBron could be retired for 20 years, would only have amazing things to say about the Raptors, Toronto, and the fans and this fan would still see him walk into Scotiabank Arena and think, “not again.” 

Despite all the differences, arguments and questionable takes, Raptors fans all want the same thing: what’s best for the team. Whether you’re calling for a blockbuster trade, defending every move the front office makes, or still recovering from LeBronto, we’re all watching because we care. And at the end of the day, that’s what makes being a Raptors fan so much fun.

Where ESPN experts predict Warriors, Kings will finish 2026-27 NBA season originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

ESPN’s latest projections have both Northern California NBA franchises staring up at the rest of the Western Conference — for very different reasons.

The outlet’s experts, in their preseason forecast, have the Warriors finishing the 2026-27 NBA regular season with a 35-47 record as the West’s No. 9 seed, securing a play-in tournament spot for a fourth straight year. The Kings fared much worse, projected dead last in the conference at 19-63 as a rebuild takes full shape in Sacramento.

The Warriors’ outlook hinges almost entirely on health. Golden State missed out on LeBron James this summer despite Draymond Green opting out of his own contract to help create the flexibility to pursue him, leaving the roster largely unchanged from a team that finished 37-45 and lost in the play-in tournament a year ago.

Jimmy Butler, who tore his right ACL in January, remains the single biggest swing factor for the season, while Moses Moody’s own season-ending knee injury only has added to the uncertainty on the wing.

The one genuine bright spot has been rookie Yaxel Lendeborg. The No. 11 overall pick was named 2026 Summer League MVP after averaging 14.8 points, 6.8 rebounds and four assists across six games, capped by a 21-point, 10-rebound performance in the championship game win over the Memphis Grizzlies — making him the first player in franchise history to win the award.

ESPN’s Anthony Slater reported in July that Steve Kerr already has indicated Lendeborg could open the regular season in the Warriors’ starting lineup, a rare vote of confidence from a coach not typically known for rushing rookies into major roles. With Butler and Moody both out for the beginning of the season, Golden State might need exactly that kind of unexpected contribution to have any chance of exceeding a modest projection.

Sacramento has an entirely different situation. The Kings moved on from longtime veteran DeMar DeRozan this offseason and have leaned into a younger core, adding rookies Darius Acuff Jr., Alex Karaban and Emanuel Sharp through the NBA draft, while second-year players like Dylan Cardwell and Max Raynaud continue developing in the rotation.

That youth movement, paired with persistent trade speculation surrounding Domantas Sabonis and Malik Monk, has left real uncertainty over what the Kings’ actual best roster even looks like on any given night — exactly the kind of instability that tends to produce the growing pains ESPN is projecting.

Both franchises are betting heavily on internal development this season, just on different timelines.

For the Warriors, that means hoping a rookie forward can offset injuries to two established veterans long enough for Steph Curry to make one more real push. For the Kings, it means accepting a difficult season now in exchange for a young core the front office believes can be built around for years to come.

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The Phoenix Suns will be one of the more interesting teams to watch this upcoming season for a multitude of reasons. They’re one of the few teams that largely stayed the same and leaned into continuity and development, although they did change 20% of their starting lineup by acquiring Miles Bridges and sending out Royce O’Neale and Grayson Allen.

What makes Phoenix especially interesting is how wide the range of outcomes feels. And yes, you can say that about practically any team in the NBA, especially once you introduce health into the equation. But with the Suns, I genuinely believe there are several different ways this season can go, and we won’t really know what to expect until we see them on the floor.

In my opinion, they could win 50 games. They could also win 30. That’s a massive range, and part of the reason is that Phoenix doesn’t have the kind of top-tier player who can drag a team to 50 wins by himself. This is my entire “Devin Booker is not a superstar” argument personified.

Nikola Jokic, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, and Luka Doncic? Those are players who can elevate an average roster into a 50-win team simply by being present. I think we’re going to see some version of that with the Lakers this season. Booker is a star, and there’s nothing wrong with recognizing that. But there has to be a very specific ecosystem around him for both he and the team to reach their ceiling.

That’s exactly what the Suns are leaning into this season. Team. Not overinflated contracts. Not a handful of high-end players expected to drag everyone else along. A collective approach where the pieces have to fit together and function as intended. And those superstar players I mentioned are the exceptions, not the rule. Not every team has one, and not every team can.

So this isn’t about faulting Booker. It’s about recognizing who he is and the situation Phoenix has built around him. That’s also why health becomes so important. If one part of this roster breaks down, the rest of it could suffer. If one spoke bends, there’s a chance the entire wheel starts to wobble.

The Suns are deep, and I find that encouraging. But they’re also young and inexperienced in several important areas, and we still have to see whether they know how to win close games. That may be the biggest question of all. It’s something we watched them struggle with down the stretch last season: the ability to put teams away when the game tightened late.

There are a lot of different ways this season can go. I’m not shattering any expectations by saying that, but it’s worth recognizing. When you look around the NBA, you can usually get a pretty good idea of where most teams will finish, health notwithstanding. With Phoenix, that feels much harder.

And maybe that’s why the 38.5 win total hasn’t moved much. There is so much codependency within this roster, so much reliance on health and chemistry translating into competitiveness, that it could ultimately become either the reason this team succeeds or the reason it falls apart.

That’s what makes this Suns season so difficult to project and so interesting to watch. Their ceiling won’t be determined by one transcendent player. It will depend on whether Booker, Bridges, Green, Brooks, and the rest of the rotation can consistently amplify one another. If the ecosystem works, 38.5 could look conservative. If it doesn’t, the margin for error disappears quickly. Phoenix isn’t built around certainty. It’s built around connectivity.

“When I came here, I knew the basketball would be good. I did not know how good it would be.”

Bill Walton

The conductor raises his baton, the orchestra readies their instruments, and in an instant, with a downward sweep of the arm, a collection of individuals, each with their own talents and skills, merges into a single thing, a whole greater than the sum of its parts, and for a while the audience is witness to our ability to transcend ourselves and become a part of something more than what we are capable of on our own.

Basketball is music, and the music once ascribed by Johannes Kepler to the heavenly spheres belonged to Boston this year; it was music that you did not so much hear with your ears as feel within your soul.

Again and again, for 48 minutes at a go during the 1985/86 season, the Boston Celtics took the court and put on a display of such transcendence that it left an indelible mark on everyone who saw them at their best.

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The story of this season begins with the acquisition of Bill Walton.

Walton was languishing out in L.A., “I had just spent six brutally long, painful, lonely, disastrous years on the Clippers,” he would later recall. Walton was relatively healthy, but the Clippers were going nowhere on a rocket sled. He wanted out. “I just desperately wanted to have it be fun again.”

His first call? Jerry West. West turned Walton down flat. “I’ve seen your feet,” said West, according to Walton, “I don’t want any part of them.”

So Walton turned to his second choice, Boston. When Walton got ahold of Red, he was in a meeting with Larry Bird. He told Bird that Walton wanted to join the team and Larry said, “Go get him.”

Red then set about the odious task of negotiating with Donald Sterling.

Walton’s request was well-timed. Cedric Maxwell was on his way out. Red had wanted Max to come back to Boston to have his injured knee checked and Cedric’s agent told him that it was a no-go because Max was busy building a house. “Who’s paying for the house?” was Red’s curt response.

At the other end of the deal, Donald Sterling wanted concessions, not from Red, but from Walton. In a scenario that reflected the relative weakness of the player’s union at the time, Sterling got Bill Walton to forego all the deferred compensation he was owed in order for the deal to go through.

“I owe you a fortune in deferred compensation,” Sterling said, according to Walton, “if you want to make this deal go down and you go to Boston you’ve got to leave every dime of that money here with me today.”

“I took that pen, and I signed that paper with as much confidence and bravado as I could possibly muster. I signed it, got up, turned, and never looked back.”

The Team

“This was a starting five for the ages”

Bill Walton

Larry Bird would win the MVP for the third consecutive year in 1985/86, and it’s tough to argue with the logic behind that. He led the league in win shares, despite playing on a team with four other Hall-of-Famers, and for all the highlight reels of his offense, he proved his value at the other end of the court as well by leading the league in defensive win shares. His ten triple doubles led the league, and he led the league in free throw percentage. He led the Celtics in points, rebounds, and assists.

“Here’s a guy who wasn’t the fastest, wasn’t the highest jumper, wasn’t the tallest, wasn’t the strongest, but he was the best,” was Bill Walton’s assessment.

This was the year that Larry walked into the locker room before the league’s inaugural three-point contest and said, “Alright, which one of you guys is finishing second?”

It was the year that, in a revenge game against the Trail Blazers, who served up the Celtics’ only home loss, Larry took about half his shots left-handed on his way to scoring 47 points. “You have to play games left-handed, or do different things, to keep your interest in the game,” Bird recalls with a chuckle. “This stuff really happened,” adds teammate Rick Carlisle, who played with Bird from 1984 to 1987.

The decision to trade Cedric Maxwell for Bill Walton brought Kevin McHale into the starting lineup full-time, as Larry Bird moved to the small forward position. McHale responded by averaging 21.3 points per game on 57.4% shooting from the field. He had developed a low-post game the likes of which the league has seldom seen.

Dan Shaughnessy might have been the person who first described McHale’s low-post office as the “torture chamber,” but regardless of who first applied the term, it was an apt description of McHale’s toolkit of moves that invariably put his defender, no matter how good, out of position. Players guarding McHale would helplessly watch as McHale put the ball in the hoop or send him to the line where he was a steadily improving free throw shooter (the following year he would become the first player in NBA history to shoot 60% from the field and 80% from the line).

McHale’s less serious demeanor was a balance to Bird’s intensity. “I just show up and play,” was Kevin’s stock response to questions about his performance, although this couldn’t have been farther from the truth. McHale put in the work, but he never wanted people to know just how hard he worked, “I did all this work, but I never wanted to tell anybody what the hell I did,” he recalled.

Robert Parish was a steady presence on the court, intimidating on defense, and good for 16.1 points per game on offense. The Centenary product had been drafted three times, despite playing for a program whose existence was essentially denied by the NCAA during his career there. He was selected twice in the ABA draft and finally by the Golden State Warriors, who had traded him because they were enamored with Joe Barry Carroll and saw no further need for his services.

Red wanted Parish because he could run. “I’ve never seen another center run the floor as beautifully,” claims Jackie MacMullan, who covered the Celtics for the Globe.

He was in his tenth season in the pros in 1985/86; for most players at that time, this was about when careers start to wind down, but Parish would put eleven more seasons under his belt, retiring after 21 years in the pros.

The Chief didn’t assemble a gaudy stat line, being in the middle of a 17-year run of double digit scoring averages, but he was a key factor in the Celtics’ league leading opponent field goal percentage. Parish was extremely effective at altering the shots that opponents took. He didn’t lead the team in blocks, McHale did, but his intimidating and largely unmovable 7’-1” presence in the paint prevented a lot of easy buckets.

“If he’s the third best player on the team, you can argue that he would have been the best player in the history of about ten other teams,” says Bob Ryan. “He probably gave up more than anybody,” adds Bird, regarding Parish’s deference to McHale and Bird in terms of buckets and rebounds.

Dennis Johnson made the All-Defensive team for the eighth consecutive year in 1985/86.

A player who was quick rather than fast, DJ’s performance improved when there was more at stake. His playoff scoring was consistently higher than his scoring in the regular season, and he was never afraid of the big moments. DJ had a competitive fire that matched Bird’s, and Larry would claim, years later, that DJ was his favorite teammate.

Johnson was a long way removed from the ‘cancer’ accusation leveled by Phoenix coach John MacLeod. “Joining the Celtics was perfect situation for me,” said Dennis in a 2002 interview, “It was a dream come true to play with Larry, Robert, and Kevin.”

Johnson is perhaps a bit underrated as a contributor to Boston’s success in the 1980s. The Celtics were not a run-and-gun team—even though they led the league in defensive rebounding, they did not push the pace the way other teams in the league did. This meant that DJ’s skills as a ball-handler and a passer were showcased less often than they might have been on a team that spent more time pushing the ball in transition.

DJ’s connection with Larry Bird was the stuff of legend, “They were in sync,” is how Kurt Rambis of the Lakers described it. “I can’t tell you the number of times when he and Larry would make eye contact—Larry’s guy would have his head turned—and DJ would throw the ball right by his defender’s ear,” recalls Rick Carlisle.

“Dennis was just an awesome player,” said K.C. Jones after DJ passed in 2007, “He played hard and he took the big shots.”

The only player in the Celtics’ starting five who hasn’t been enshrined in Springfield was Danny Ainge.

Red wanted Ainge bad enough to go to court to get him.

Danny had been burning the candle at both ends, playing baseball for the Toronto Blue Jays and basketball for Brigham Young from 1977 to 1981. He had worked his way through the Blue Jays farm system, and, partially as a testament to how bad the Blue Jays were in those days, he had spent some of his summer vacations playing for the parent team where he was a serviceable fielder and an underwhelming batter.

His basketball prospects were considerably better. He was the John Wooden player of the year in 1981, a year where he delivered one of the most memorable shots in NCAA tournament history, when he went coast to coast in the waning seconds of the game to deliver a one point win for BYU over Notre Dame that sent the Cougars to the Elite Eight.

After the end of his college season, and after he had signed a contract with the Blue Jays that expressly forbade playing professional basketball, Ainge decided that he wanted to play basketball instead. Red obliged him by picking him with the 31^st overall selection in the 1981 draft.

Then the lawsuits began.

The Blue Jays were unwilling to release him from the contract without extracting one million dollars from the Celtics, as well as an agreement by Ainge to return the bonus money he’d already been paid. After the Celtics lost in court, Red ponied up the cash.

By 1985/86, Ainge was firmly ensconced in a ‘villain’ role with the Celtics.

If fans around the league were, basically, in awe of Bird, intimidated by Parish, incapable of hating the rather lovable McHale, and unable to decipher DJ, that left them one target for taking out their anger at the Celtics’ sustained excellence: Daniel R. Ainge.

It was a role that he relished.

“He was irritating. He was a little gnat. He was bothersome. And boy could he shoot,” recalled Jackie MacMullan. “He gave you everything he had, every minute,” added Bird.

Bill Walton once paid Ainge a compliment by saying, to the rest of the team, “He’s the only one doing his job, because he’s the only one being booed in every arena in the NBA.”

Walton spearheaded the “Green Team”, the internal name for the Celtics’ bench, which donned green jerseys when they played against Boston’s starters in practice. Red had acquired Jerry Sichting in the off-season along with Walton, and Jerry was a feisty point guard who converted his shots at a 57% clip. Sichting and Walton joined established bench contributors Scott Wedman, Rick Carlisle, Greg Kite, and others who anchored the team when the starters were off the court.

“The practices were more intense than some of the actual games that we played,” Dennis Johnson recalled, “we had some real battles—the first and second units going at each other like it was war.”

“Every practice was a fierce competition, and it made us a better team. The second unit made sure that we were always ready to compete, that we were always prepared whenever we stepped out on the floor.”

“They had shooting depth, they had defensive depth, they had rebounding depth. That green team—they were the difference between ’85 and ’86,” claims MacMullan.

The Regular Season

“I’ll never see anything like that again.”

Bob Ryan

The regular season began inauspiciously for the Celtics. They lost the opener to the New Jersey Nets in overtime. The Nets, inexplicably, managed to snatch a pair of victories from the Celtics during the regular season. Only the Nets, Sixers and Rockets managed to beat Boston twice between October of 1985 and June of 1986.

The season featured thirteen and fourteen game winning streaks. The Celtics lost two in a row twice, but never more than that.

At the end of the season, they had won 67 games, including a 40-1 home record that has been tied but never bested.

This was not the most wins in Celtics history—that record, 68-14, belonged to the ill-starred 1972/73 team that had its championship prospects dashed by an injury to John Havlicek in the Eastern Conference Finals.

But the Celtics absolutely dominated their opponents in 1985/86. Their net rating, +9.2 points per 100 possessions, was the best in the league, as was their average margin of victory at 9.06 points per contest. Once again, defense was their calling card, as they held their opponents to a league worst 46.1% field goal percentage. The Celtics capitalized on those misses too, as they were the league’s best defensive rebounding team. Despite playing the toughest defense in the NBA, they were the second-best team in the league when it came to fouls called.

At the other end of the court, they were the second-best team in the league in terms of assists and field goal percentage.

And in terms of assists, while they were the second best statistically, they were, quite possibly, the best ever from an aesthetic perspective. “It’s ballet,” said Dan Shaughnessy. “It was death by a thousand cuts,” adds Peter May, “They took teams apart by passing, and they took great pride in that.”

As good as the Celtics were during the regular season, Danny Ainge would later admit that the team viewed those 82 games as just a prelude, “our minds were, really, always on the Lakers and the NBA championship.”

After a rather embarrassing loss to the Knicks on Christmas Day, in an effort to regain their focus on the grind of the regular season, the team swore off alcohol until they won a championship, although as McHale would later observe, “we found a way to sneak around that rule every once in a while.”

The Celtics punched their playoff ticket on February 28^th, setting a league record that would stand for thirty years.

The Eastern Playoffs

Boston went 11-1 on their way to the Finals. Their sole loss was to Atlanta, which got the best of Boston on their tenth try.

Their first-round opponent was, basically, Michael Jordan.

The Celtics swept the Bulls, but Michael Jordan set an NBA record that still stands by averaging 43.7 points per game.

The Celtics easily handled the Bulls in games one and three, by nearly identical margins of 123-104 and 122-104 respectively, as Jordan had no real help to speak of, but game two was a double overtime affair.

Jordan poured in 63 points, which is also still an NBA record. “I didn’t think anyone could do against us what Jordan has done in the first two games,” Bird said after the double overtime thriller, adding, “I think it’s just God, disguised as Michael Jordan.”

Yet it was a green-teamer that delivered the tie-breaker for Boston, nullifying all of Jordan’s heroics. Jerry Sichting took a pass from McHale at the foul line and swished a fifteen-footer that gave Boston the lead they needed, 137-135 in the second overtime. A bucket by Parish off a rare Jordan miss sealed the deal 139-135.

In game three, the Celtics double-teamed Jordan relentlessly, and held him to just 19 points, with fourteen of those coming in the first quarter—but the world would hear from Jordan again.

Boston’s second round opponent was Atlanta, which featured a lineup of really pretty good players that somehow never quite gelled into a contending team. After winning the first two games at home by a combined 23 points, things tightened up a bit at the Omni. Game three went to Boston by a slimmer 4 point margin, and the Celtics lost game four by a rather embarrassing 12 point margin. Bird and McHale were a combined 12-38.

McHale, for his part, blamed his poor shooting on a hockey game that bored him to sleep—and not even a Bruins game at that. He was watching the Rangers play the Canadiens, “The Rangers are in it, and all of a sudden it’s 5-1. I fall asleep—ten hours asleep. I come to the game. I’m groggy. I play like diddly.”

The Celtics, bent on extinguishing any hope that might have been blossoming in Atlanta, terminated the Hawks 132-99 in the following game.

This brought on a matchup with the Milwaukee Bucks, the number two team in the conference. The Bucks and Celtics had nearly identical offensive and defensive ratings per 100 possessions, although the Bucks had been less fortunate in the wins column, with 57 wins, as compared to Boston’s 67.

During the regular season, the Celtics won all five games against the Bucks, and though, from certain angles, the teams were evenly matched, the series wasn’t.

Boston won three games going away, with Milwaukee putting in a valiant effort in game three, losing by just four.

For the series, Bird led everyone on both teams in points per game, rebounds, and assists. He missed exactly one free throw across all four games and shot 50% from three, taking a rather high for the time 4.5 attempts per game.

Western Playoffs

A funny thing happened on the way to the third consecutive matchup between the Lakers and Celtics.

A Nigerian immigrant, who had spent his childhood playing soccer, not basketball, came between Los Angeles and Boston.

The Lakers must have been flying high. They had beaten Boston in six the year before, they had won 62 games, and they were the top seed in the West. They cruised past the Spurs in the first round 3-0, and the Mavs had been little more than a bump in the road in the second round, overcome 4-2. Facing them in the conference finals were the Houston Rockets, who had notched a 51-31 record despite losing guard John Lucas after 65 games to a violation of the league’s substance abuse policy. Lucas, who struggled with cocaine addiction throughout his NBA career, would get sober once he was out of the league, and now runs a recovery program for athletes.

The Lakers had taken four of five from the Rockets during the regular season, and they must have figured that the conference finals would play out in much the same fashion.

It didn’t.

The Rockets prevailed 4-1. After the Lakers won the first game by 12 points, they proceeded to lose four straight, as the Rockets’ twin towers of Ralph Sampson and Hakeem Olajuwon made Kareem look old and L.A.’s power forward-by-committee strategy deeply flawed.

Olajuwon was in just his second season with the Rockets, but he was averaging 26.9 points per game along with 11.8 rebounds in the playoffs. Against the Lakers he averaged 31 points and 11.2 rebounds per game.

Ralph Sampson, the other half of Houston’s twin towers averaged 20 points per game and 10.8 rebounds per game during the playoffs.

This set up a rematch, of sorts, with the Celtics. In reality, Allen Leavell and Robert Reid were the only players on the Rockets that had been with the team when they’d faced off against the Celtics in 1981.

Actually, the real story wasn’t that the Celtics and Rockets were facing off against each other for the second time in five years.

The real story was the Rockets’ coach: Bill Fitch.

The man who led the Celtics to their fourteenth title was going to be sitting on the opposite bench as they tried for their sixteenth.

This was just the second time that a Finals coach was squared off against a team that he had also coached to the Finals (Alex Hannum coached the San Francisco Warriors to a Finals loss against the Celtics and then coached the Sixers to a Finals victory over the Warriors in 1964 and 1967 respectively).

The Finals

Deprived of a third consecutive Bird/Magic showdown, the Finals were something of a let-down for fans in general; and the games themselves weren’t as compelling as the Celtics’ championship duel with Los Angeles in 1984.

Games one and two went to the green and white in the friendly confines of Boston Garden by scores of 112-100 and 117-95, and it looked like this series was going to play out the same way as the previous three rounds. However, the Rockets proved their mettle in the following contest.

In game three, the Celtics held an eight point lead with 3:18 to go, only to be outscored by Houston 12-2 over the distance. Bird had an uncharacteristically bad night on the big stage, missing 15 of his final 21 shots. The close loss gave the Rockets a great deal of optimism.

“We just had to get over the hump of playing these guys,” Ralph Sampson said after their game three victory. “Didn’t I tell you things would be different in the Summit?” crowed Jim Peterson, adding, “we’re feeling the weight lifted off our chest right now.”

It was down to the Celtics to squash all those hopes in game four.

The Rockets had a two point lead when Bird nailed a three-pointer to give the Celtics the lead. Bill Walton tipped in a miss to give the Celtics a bit of a cushion, and then, for the final minute of the game, neither team scored. The Celtics, whose defense, even in this inspired year, was still better than their offense, locked down the Rockets in a game that Houston absolutely positively had to win.

With 46 seconds to go, McHale anticipated a Mitchell Wiggins pass into Olajuwon, jumped it and deflected it to DJ. Off a Bird miss, the Rockets came out of a timeout and ran a play that rapidly broke down in the face of Boston’s defensive pressure. Ralph Sampson ended up with the ball 28 feet from the basket and a long way from where he felt comfortable. Once again, McHale made the difference. Unable to pass the ball up court due to excellent Celtic coverage, Sampson opted to try resetting the offense by passing the ball to Wiggins, who was behind him. McHale anticipated the pass again, and stuck an arm into the lane, and deflected the ball to Danny Ainge.

“Games like this are why I came to Boston,” said Walton after the dust settled and he was back in the locker room, “This is the thrill of a lifetime.”

Game five was keyed by a brawl that broke out in the second quarter.

In a gross mismatch, Jerry Sichting had gotten switched onto Sampson under the basket. For reasons best known to himself, Sampson decided to take on the barely-six-foot-tall-in-his-shoes point guard, “I thought a foul should have been called,” he said after the game. Sampson, who had about 15 inches of height on Sichting, responded to the alleged foul by elbowing Jerry and then punching him twice.

DJ came in to back up Sichting, as did Walton. DJ paid for his interference when Hakeem Olajuwon lost his temper and punched Johnson in the face, leaving him bleeding onto his jersey.

Referees ejected Sampson and awarded a free throw to Sichting, but the move had galvanized the Rockets. The team felt that pint-size Sichting should have been ejected, apparently for the offense of getting in the way of Sampson’s fist, and that DJ should’ve gotten tossed as well.

They proceeded to dismantle Boston, as the Celtics failed to take advantage of the absence of Sampson. Jim Peterson, subbing for the ejected Sampson, did yeoman’s work, and then shot his mouth off after the game ended, “I guess they wasted a lot of chapagne,” he said, motioning toward the Celtics’ locker room.

The Celtics, of course, didn’t waste that champagne. They simply packed it up and took it back to Boston.

It was uncorked three days later when the Celtics put the Rockets to bed 114-97 in a contest that Houston lost before the opening tip. “They weren’t beating us here, today,” McHale said after the game.

Bird won his second Finals MVP and closed the series with a triple double in game six: 29/11/12 in points, rebounds and assists. He shot 11-12 from the line and notched three steals to further pad his stat line. “I saw him take on five guys at once,” said Houston’s Jim Peterson, “He’s the best.” “He has reached the pinnacle of basketball,” added K.C. Jones. “Nothing Larry Bird does surprises me,” Walton remarked, “and everything he does impresses me.”

McHale matched Bird in points at 29, and nabbed an even ten rebounds. None of the Rockets managed to crack 20 points, and Ralph Sampson, who was showered with boos and hung in effigy by the Garden faithful, managed a meagre eight points on 4-12 shooting.

For the first time in three Finals victories, Larry Bird did not lead all players in points and rebounds. It was Kevin McHale who got the better of Hakeem in a battle of smooth moving front court wizards. McHale edged out Hakeem in points, at 25.8 per game vs. 24.7. Hakeem led all players in rebounds. He would have to wait almost ten years before he made it back to the Finals, where the Dream, whose post moves rivaled McHale’s, would win back to back titles.

Where the Celtics really shined was the lockdown defense played on Ralph Sampson. Sampson went from 20 points per game in the previous round to just 14.8 in the Finals.

While the Celtics failed to put together a perfect season—whatever such a Platonic ideal may look like—they put together what was arguably the greatest season ever, for the greatest franchise in the NBA.

There have been other great teams in NBA history—but there has never been a greater one.

The final words on this season belong to Bill Walton, who was a fan of the game even when he was playing it…

“Thank you, Red Auerbach. Thank you, Larry Bird. Thank you, Boston Celtics.”

I try to use this space to write high-brow (by sports standards) pieces about the Houston Rockets.

Firstly, SB Nation is the best. There is absolute freedom here. I’ve also noticed that you guys are a super bright readership. You want conceptual stuff, or at least you respond positively to it.

That said, if not for unadulterated capitalism, we’d shut ‘er down in August. There is no meat on the bone right now. There is nothing to talk about that hasn’t been talked about.

Since we can’t do that, here are three players the Rockets should consider trading for this season.

Duncan Robinson, Detroit Pistons

You can safely expect shooters on this list.

After Reed Sheppard and Kevin Durant, there remains zero (0) Rockets whom teams are desperate to close out from beyond the arc. Jabari Smith Jr. is a capable shooter at 6’11”, but an open Smith three is a negative outcome for an opposing defense – not a disaster.

If I wrote an article about Sheppard’s outlook on this team, it’d be the second or third time. Having added Marcus Smart, it feels unlikely that he’ll increase his playing time. So it feels likely that leading up to the deadline, it will once again be clear that this team does not have enough reliable three-point shooting to win the math game.

Robinson is not a prolific defender either, but at 6’7″, he’s easier to scheme around than the diminutive Sheppard. He shot 41.0% from deep last year, which was effectively just another Duncan Robinson season. He’s also quietly improved as a ball-handler and playmaker over the years.

Although it’s possible that Udoka just wouldn’t play him either.

Ty Jerome, Memphis Grizzlies

If we’re going to pick nits, there’s a potential issue with every player on this list. You won’t see the name Shai Gilgeous-Alexander or Victor Wembanyama here, so we’ll be looking at quality players with flaws.

Jerome’s biggest issue is that he can’t stay on the floor. Injuries have been a problem for years. Last year, he looked like a fringe star – until his season ended in 15 games.

In those games, he averaged 19.7 points and 5.7 assists per game while shooting 42.0% from distance. That’s a certified hooper. Jerome can play with or without the ball. He’s also got a reputation as a smart team defender who Udoka, at least, shouldn’t loathe with the heat of a thousand suns.

The other downside for the Rockets specifically is that Jerome is a backcourt player. Acquiring him would be tantamount to giving up on Sheppard.

So, if that’s how we’re trending going into the deadline anyway…

Zeke Nnaji, Denver Nuggets

The Rockets have acquired a lot of big men over recent years, but somehow, none of them space the floor.

There’s ample debate around the value of stretch big men. Some will argue that if you’re not a great shooter, it’s not especially useful to shoot.

In a vacuum, there’s some truth there. When you roster both Amen Thompson and Alperen Sengun, a combo big who provides some shooting ought to be useful. Enter Nnaji. He’s a versatile defender who’s hit 34.5% of his threes over his six years in the NBA.

No, he doesn’t meet the “if he gets daylight we’ve failed as a defense” threshold. He could still mitigate some spacing issues this team faces. The Rockets could put four-out groups around Amen Thompson with Nnaji at the 5, and could soak up a few minutes with Sengun at the 4 occasionally as well.

You don’t need high conceptual thinking to see that.