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Early Offense: Vol. 1

Jay Christian

“Getting you going off the glass and into this week in hoops.”

The Play-offs are coming. There is still some jockeying to be done, but the play-offs (aka the part that of the season everyone says is the most important) are fast approaching. The Golden State Warriors are starting to look like the team that won 73 games last season and should get Kevin Durant back this week. The Cavaliers have not fared as well over the last few weeks. March was a bad month, they are in danger of losing the top seed in the Eastern Conference and to say that they are not playing championship caliber defense would be an understatement. If there is a “switch” for the defending champions to hit, now would be the time.

Resting Players. Speaking of the play-offs, they couldn’t come at a better time for Commissioner Adam Silver. The debate on whether to rest players consumed the sports media world for a few weeks with a lot of bloviating and little resolution. What will come of Commissioner Silver’s warning to the teams around the league? Whatever the course of action this offseason, the science is clear; resting players is better for teams and the on the on-the-court product. At the same time, the NBA has always been a star driven league and if the stars aren’t playing, then fans (and networks) may not be willing to invest in the NBA going forward. Jonathan Ebrahimi and Kyle Zwiazek debate each side of the issue.

The Ax Man Cometh. The end of each season means a number of coaches and general managers will discover their building access cards no longer work. Russell Schmidt tells you which front offices are on the proverbial hot seat.

Most Valuable Player Race. Are you impressed with Russell Westbrook’s ungodly numbers? Is James Harden’s command of Mike D’Antoni’s 8 Seconds of Less Offense 2.0 your thing? Or have you enjoyed the coming out party of the NBA’s best two-way player, San Antonio Spurs forward Kawhi Leonard. Follow the

MVP Race Series to read about the case for Westbrook, Harden and the other top MVP candidates.

Draft Day. March Madness reminds us that the next crop of NBA stars will soon become household names. But first, they need to get drafted. Check out our latest mock draft for up to date player evaluations.

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