Is "Baller" Trademarked Yet?

After approximately a month into the season, there are various things that have impressed me so far.  In this post, I would like to focus on what various rookies have done that have impressed me.  I ranked the players based on when they were drafted.  I also didn’t include every player; I excluded players that I have not seen play enough, players who have not had substantial playing time, or players who have not given me enough of a reason to be impressed quite yet.  All statistics are from Basketball-Reference and accurate as of 1/23 prior to any games on that day.   Anthony Edwards:   Ability to attack the rim Like the Timberwolves season (and their defense), Edwards has not been particularly good; while he has 11.6 PPG, he has largely done it while chucking up a lot of shots (34.6 FG%, 27.0 3P%, 39.8 2P%, 40.1 eFG%, 73.9 FT% on just 1.6 attempts per game) and without doing much else (2.9 RPG, 1.7 APG, 0.5 SPG, 0.1 BPG, horrible defensive metrics). ...

  After much speculation, drama, and negotiation, a shocking and convoluted blockbuster trade has occurred with many unexpected steps.   Victor Oladipo to the Rockets?   Caris LeVert to the Pacers?   Jarret Allen to the Cavs?   James Harden to the Nets?   Well, that seems to be the one part that was expected.   Ultimately, the Nets got what they wanted in a superstar, the Rockets got what they wanted with a star player and a lot of draft picks, the Pacers got a player who could replace Oladipo and would be there longer than next year, and the Cavs snuck in to get a couple players that will improve them in the short-term and long-term.   In this post, I will break down the trade and then give my analysis and grades for each team.   All statistics and team records are according to Basketball-Reference and are updated as of the time of the trade (the afternoon of the 13 th ).   Brooklyn Nets :   James Harden Houston Rockets : ...

Between Tuesday, January 5 and Wednesday, January 6, the country had updates regarding two major incidents from 2020.   On Tuesday, the officers involved in the Jacob Blake shooting were not charged for their actions, and on Wednesday, Trump supporters stormed the Capitol in protest of the election results.   These two events are completely intertwined in the aftermath of year that doesn’t seem to end (even though it has).   While most have focused on the comparison between the Wednesday incident and the Black Lives Matter protests that happened throughout last year, I would like to focus on NBA players’ responses to the Jacob Blake shooting and verdict as well as the riots at the Capitol. Prior to returning to the NBA Bubble, after several players had participated in peaceful BLM marches in cities and supported the movement in other ways, the NBA strayed from its usual approach and allowed players several opportunities to incorporate social justice on the court, includ...