Daily Dribble Drive

NBA Expansion. It is inevitable that the NBA will soon expand and welcome new franchises. With basketball increasing in popularity world wide and the talent pool in the NBA increasing every year, there will soon be demands to expand the NBA. And while Commissioner Adam Silver has said that expansion is not one of the priorities of the NBA currently, there is a real possibility that it will soon be a pressing topic he will need to address.

Predicting the Starting Lineups for Every NBA Team

The NBA regular season is just a couple of months away. After this year's frantic off season filled with blockbuster trades and shocking free agent signings, all fans are looking forward to the return of NBA basketball. But who will be the starters for each team? In this post, I will be predicting the starting lineups for all NBA teams next year (some players like Cousins and Porzingis will not be healthy at the start of the regular season so they will not be put in the starting lineup).

Jonathan Isaac: A Unicorn on the Defensive End (Part 2)

Part 1 of the Jonathan Isaac Deep Dive can be found here . Quick Hands Aside from Isaac's length, his quick hands may be his best defensive attribute. He recorded an 8(!) steal game against the Milwaukee Bucks this season. It's just another thing that makes Isaac an All-Defensive Team lock for years to come. In this action we see one of Isaac's tendencies on the defensive end. Isaac loves to reach in and strip players of the ball especially when they gather. Here he perfectly times his swipe and cleanly knocks the ball out of Jeremy Lamb's hands as he's gathering. Again another example of Isaac's quick and active hands. He does a good job to stay in front of Giannis which is already tough to do. Notice as Isaac has his left hand up and "coiled" as Giannis picks up his dribble. Isaac is just waiting for Giannis to expose the ball to him and when he does, he pounces and steals the ball. Here's another instance where Isaac

Why its Time to Give Damian Lillard the Respect He Deserves

"You've got guys complaining about getting snubbed until they get in." This was reining MVP Russell Westbrook's apparent dig at Damian Lillard earlier in the year when the all star teams were originally announced. It's no secret that Lillard was snubbed from the 2016 and 2017 all star games, and he was very vocal in voicing his displeasure. But no matter who you are, whether you are a fan, a NBA analyst or even an NBA player, its time to give Damian Lillard the long-awaited respect he has earned.

Jonathan Isaac: A Unicorn on the Defensive End (Part 1)

When discussing the elite defensive players in the NBA, a couple of names come to mind often. Guys like Kawhi Leonard, Jimmy Butler, Rudy Gobert and Draymond Green are routinely brought up for the best defender in the NBA mantle. However, the one guy that is putting himself in the conversation is Jonathan Isaac. Advanced Numbers The advanced numbers all show that Isaac is an elite defensive talent in the NBA today. He consistently ranks among the best in the league in advanced defensive stats and it's honestly a shame that Isaac is not getting enough recognition. In terms of FiveThirtyEight's RAPTOR stat, Isaac is at a +3.3 in terms of Def Box Score RAPTOR and a + 2.3 in terms of Def On/Off RAPTOR. Isaac is also at a + 3.3 in Overall Def RAPTOR. In terms of defensive PIPM, Isaac ranks 12th in the league at a + 2.35, which is higher than defensive stalwarts like Marc Gasol (a former DPOY) and Bam Adebayo. Isaac's 1.4 DWS puts him 15th in the league and