Articles by Lucas Kaplan (6)
Much was made of the Jalen Williams/Shai Gilgeous-Alexander screening action the Oklahoma City Thunder used to close out Game 4 of the NBA Finals. Down the stretch of that soon-to-be immortal victory over the Indiana Pacers, Williams simply received ball-screens from Gilgeous-Alexander, who then had a much easier time scoring (or drawing fouls) on Aaron […]
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, MVP of the NBA, hunched over with the edge of his shorts clamped between his palms and tightly gripping fingers, pressing down into his knees. If the Indiana Pacers do go onto to win the 2025 NBA Finals, that should be the defining image of their Game 3, 116-107 victory over the Oklahoma […]
The Oklahoma City Thunder and Indiana Pacers shook a Mentos-filled Coca Cola bottle for 42 minutes, and at last, in the final six, it exploded all over Paycom Center to give Indiana a 1-0 series lead in the NBA Finals. I’ll break down some of what we saw in that weird, rollicking Game 1, and […]
The Minnesota Timberwolves did not have a cakewalk to their second consecutive Western Conference Finals appearance, the first time they’ve accomplished such a feat in franchise history. But to make their first NBA Finals appearance, they’ll have to defeat a tougher opponent than a Golden State Warriors team missing Stephen Curry and deploying a hobbled […]
This statement could prove far too reactive, but Monday night felt like the dawn of a new era in the NBA. Three teams made significant, franchise-altering jumps in the NBA Draft Lottery, teams with ample All-Stars and Hall of Famers among them. It reminded the next five teams racing to the bottom, season after season, […]
There’s nothing sportswriters love more than when a game is encapsulated by a single sequence, introductory paragraphs appearing on a silver platter. Enter the 33rd minute of the Minnesota Timberwolves’ aggravating, 99-88 Game 1 loss to the Golden State Warriors Tuesday night. Anthony Edwards had just cut Minnesota’s deficit to 13, roasting a Kevon Looney […]