Calvin Fong Articles - Page 3

ESPN recently released its ranking of the top 100 NBA players entering the 2019-20 season. While player rankings are almost always subjective and debatable, some of their rankings had those on social media scratching their heads. For example, Klay Thompson, a five-time All-Star, was listed at No. 49. Zion Williamson, who hasn’t played a single […]

For the first time in a long time, the Golden State Warriors have more question marks than answers heading into the 2019-20 NBA season. And for the first time in a long time, the fate of the Warriors is completely unknown. No longer is the expectation “championship or bust.” No longer are we expecting Stephen […]

Despite their 29 wins, the Atlanta Hawks were an exciting team to watch last season. After a slow start, prized rookie Trae Young came alive in the second half of the season and breathed new life into the future of Hawks basketball. The duo of Young and John Collins has Hawks fans racing to the […]

Russell Westbrook is consistently in the MVP discussion. He was 10th in MVP voting this past season despite averaging a triple-double for the third season in a row. Before this past year, Westbrook had finished in the top five in MVP voting for four consecutive years, including winning the award in 2016-17. Now moving on […]

CLUTCH Summary: The Golden State Warriors lost Kevin Durant to the Brooklyn Nets and Klay Thompson to injury. The popular, if lazy, narrative is that the dynastic run the franchise was on is over, despite the addition of D’Angelo Russell. Klay Thompson will return at some point in the upcoming season, leaving reason to believe […]

The slew of NBA moves in the past few weeks will have ripple effects in the upcoming season and beyond. But not all agree with how those moves were made. Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr recently made a splash by saying that trade demands, which were how both Anthony Davis and Paul George […]

The landscape of the NBA is ever-changing. Take a quick peek at the 2017 NBA All-Stars. In just two years, an astounding 17 of the 24 players have changed teams at least once, with several players having been on multiple teams since. Just in the past few weeks, an all-time-high six players who earned All-NBA […]

In March 2015, a family drove from South Dakota all the way to Denver just to watch the Golden State Warriors. They came to watch the NBA’s hottest show in Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson. But because the Warriors were playing their fifth game in seven days, coach Steve Kerr rested both Curry and Thompson […]

In Game 4, the Warriors amassed 19 total turnovers en route to losing a game many expected them to win. The Toronto Raptors stole both games in Oracle Arena, and head back north with a commanding series lead. The Raptors’ defense has been stout all series long. It has frustrated and confused the defending champs, […]

Depleted and desperate for a win, the Golden State Warriors snatched home court advantage away from the Toronto Raptors in Game 2. It was a classic showcase of depth, and a signature game for the Warriors’ mantra, “‘Strength in Numbers.” With Stephen Curry feeling under the weather, nearly everyone on the Warriors’ roster contributed to […]

The Golden State Warriors’ bid for a three-peat hit a roadblock Thursday night in the form of the Toronto Raptors’ stout defense. It was a defense that had contained MVP-candidate Giannis Antetokounmpo in the Eastern Conference Finals, and one that looked game to take on the defending champs. Without Kevin Durant, the Warriors’ offense is […]

Damian Lillard has been one of the best players in this year’s playoffs. And he’s been lighting up defenses. In his first round matchup with the Oklahoma City Thunder, he scored 33 points a game on an efficient 46% shooting from the field, and 48% from three. In the second round against the Denver Nuggets, […]

In the playoffs, every series is a chess match. Every game is an amalgamation of moves and countermoves. In Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals, the Golden State Warriors saw a weakness in Portland Trail Blazers’ center Enes Kanter’s defense. And they attacked it relentlessly. What the Warriors run on offense is no secret: […]

Some have called them one of the worst two-seeds we’ve seen. Some have questioned their youth and inexperience. But the Denver Nuggets are one win away from the Western Conference Finals, and that’s no accident. Surviving their seven-game bout with the San Antonio Spurs was just the beginning. Despite losing an epic four-overtime thriller in […]

Despite their abundance of star power, the Golden State Warriors are a collective. They’re a team. Since Steve Kerr arrived as coach in the 2014-15 season, the Warriors have led the league in assists every year. They run a motion offense that has constant ball movement and player movement. Ask anyone their biggest weakness, and […]

The Houston Rockets let one slip away in Game 1 vs. the Golden State Warriors. It was a winnable game, and a Game 1 win would’ve set the tone for the series and put pressure on the defending champs. Regardless, a Game 2 victory would mean just as much for the Rockets in wrestling home […]

The Oklahoma City Thunder had high expectations entering their playoff run. The chips seemed to be falling their way. They were going to be playing a Portland Trail Blazers team without their starting center, Jusuf Nurkic. The Thunder had swept the Blazers and won all four games against them in the regular season. And OKC […]

The Philadelphia 76ers are locked in a battle with the surprising Brooklyn Nets. The Nets stunned the Sixers in Game 1, but the Philadelphia got back on track with blowout victories in Games 2 and 3. Without question, one of the biggest difference-makers for the 76ers is Ben Simmons. In Game 1, Simmons registered merely […]

The Los Angeles Clippers stunned the Golden State Warriors in Game 2 of their playoff series, clawing their way out of a 31-point hole. The largest comeback in playoff history shocked the defending champs, and announced to the NBA world that the Clippers might be for real. They may not have the treasure trove of […]

The prodigy is officially on his way to the big leagues. Though the decision was never truly in question, Duke superstar Zion Williamson recently declared for the NBA draft. The likely number-one overall pick has become a household name as a college player–a feat rarely accomplished in a world where the mighty NBA towers over […]

While the University of Virginia marched on to an NCAA championship, one of their stars will be a hot commodity in the 2019 NBA Draft. De’Andre Hunter has led the top-ranked Virginia Cavaliers, and has showed enormous amounts of NBA potential in his sophomore campaign. Hunter is a 6’7″ wing who can defend any position. […]

At long last, the NBA regular season is coming to an end. Stars on the rise, incessant trade rumors, and teams’ inner drama have filled the past six months. And as the regular season comes to a halt, let’s take a look back at the five most captivating storylines of the regular season: 5. The Rise […]

In an era of basketball where positionless players are coveted more than ever, the traditional rim-protecting center continues to have immense value. Teams are stocking up on long, athletic guards and wing players. And for good reason, as top teams like the Milwaukee Bucks and Golden State Warriors can trot out an array of them […]

After an illustrious 19-year NBA career, Hall-of-Famer Jason Kidd followed the path that many NBA greats have gone before him: becoming a head coach. While some have had success in their transition from player to coach, such as Phil Jackson and Doc Rivers, others, such as Kidd, have struggled. After one successful 44-38 season with […]

The NBA’s basement is an all-too-familiar dwelling place for the Minnesota Timberwolves. They’ve had just one winning season in the past 14 years. Many have argued they wasted away the All-Star talents of Kevin Love before trading him to the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2014. And they’re currently in danger of doing the same with the […]

He was just a kid from Compton. While some NBA players were born with a silver spoon in their mouths, James Harden was not. Raised by his mother and her single income, James turned to basketball to keep himself busy and stay out of trouble. As a pure shooter in high school, James drew interest […]

CLUTCH Summary: Golden State Warriors absurd shot maker Stephen Curry is maybe the best shooter of all-time. He’s obviously a lot more than just a shooter, but history will remember him as the dude who regularly made absurd shot after absurd shot in the NBA. Of the five we picked out, few players in the […]

While the NBA regular season is a long slog of up’s and down’s, the playoffs are a different animal. In the chase for a championship, a team would have to overcome four potentially-long series against tough opponents. And while upsets happen, there is one attribute that has been a revealing factor in which teams find […]

Touted as “the next LeBron James,” Ben Simmons burst onto the NBA scene last year, averaging 15 points, 8 rebounds, and 8 assists per game. This season, he has his Philadelphia 76ers prominently wedged into the race for the Eastern Conference crown. Boasting a record of 41-24 and currently the fourth seed in the East, […]

The Eastern Conference crown is up for grabs. With the throne ripe for the taking, teams competed fiercely in an arms race at the trade deadline, which bolstered each contender’s roster. The Milwaukee Bucks acquired Nikola Mirotic to space the floor for their long wing players. The Philadelphia 76ers added Tobias Harris to create one […]

For NBA players, there is a clear end goal: win the championship. While there are countless moving parts in pursuing that goal, every championship team needs a leader. Ranging from Tim Duncan to Giannis Antetokounmpo to Dwyane Wade to Stephen Curry, leaders can be found in all shapes and sizes in the NBA. When Kyrie […]

Stephen Curry’s future was in question. Unproven, undersized, and injury-prone, Curry’s rocky start to his career forced the Golden State Warriors to decide whether he was worth taking a chance on. And in 2012, the Milwaukee Bucks were eyeing one of Golden State’s young players. Facing a big decision, the Warriors had to choose which […]

Touted by many as the greatest of all time, LeBron James sits atop the NBA world. As a force of nature, he can shoot, pass, drive, rebound, and defend–all at a high level. His comparisons to Michael Jordan, who the other half of NBA fandom deems the greatest, will never end. And yet, there is […]

The NBA world was abuzz. With the trade deadline quickly approaching, every story, trade, and rumor was reported with lightning quickness, an unspoken race among reporters of who would be the first to uncover the big storylines. But surprisingly, it was a silence that perhaps spoke the loudest. Kevin Durant’s mysterious nine-day media silence somehow […]

After four straight NBA Finals appearances and adding yet another All-Star to the mix, the Golden State Warriors seem like the favorites to come out on the top of the Western Conference again. But with teams all around the league being improved and posing threats to the throne, the Warriors may have a tough time […]

The Golden State Warriors were a good basketball team. They boasted three home-grown All-Stars, a bonafide superstar in Stephen Curry, and a system that shared the ball unselfishly. By 2016, two straight trips to the Finals and a championship seemed like a dream run for a team that was in the NBA’s basement for the […]

When Kevin Durant arrived in Golden State, the Warriors had minimal money to put together a competent bench. With their four All-Stars, they merely needed their bench players to hold down the fort long enough to give their starters just enough rest. In the past few seasons, the bench more than answered the bell. Last […]

It is believed that you need both skill and a little bit of luck to win a championship, especially in the NBA. The eight month journey to June can be grueling, intense, and exhausting. Fatigue creeps in on an unsuspecting team and the plague of injuries hits them swiftly and definitively. The Golden State Warriors, […]

While some pundits have already chalked the Golden State Warriors up to be champs once again this season, the Toronto Raptors’ blazing start has the Warriors, and the league, on notice. The Raptors, who currently boast an NBA-best 24-9 record, have defeated the Warriors twice already. Their most recent Dec. 12 victory over the Warriors […]