Jackson Frank Articles - Page 2

Last season, a promising young talent capitalized on the star vacancy left behind by Paul George in Indiana to emerge as a franchise centerpiece. While many pegged Myles Turner to assume that mantle, it was Victor Oladipo who burst onto the scene in his new home as an All-Star, overshadowing Turner’s stagnant campaign. In the season […]

Back in June of 2015, Duke forward Justise Winslow was a popular man. The Boston Celtics infamously offered the Charlotte Hornets and Miami Heat six draft selections (four first-rounders) to move up from the 16th pick in order to grab the 6-foot-7 wing. As history goes, both teams declined the offer. Charlotte made Wisconsin big man […]

Consistency can be monotonous. Sleep-inducing. Dull. It’s why people rarely stay with one employer for a lifetime. It’s why an established meal pattern can grow stale and invoke change. But consistency can also be effective. The mark of great shooters is consistency. They preach and practice routine, and bear it out through their results. Greatness […]

In the span of just a week and a half, the Phoenix Suns’ talent exponentially increased. On draft night, the club added Deandre Ayton, Mikal Bridges, and Elie Okobo within the first 31 picks. Once the free-agency floodgates were opened, Phoenix signed swingman Trevor Ariza to a one-year $15 million contract. Those acquisitions allow the […]

First came the report from ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski: DeAndre Jordan would not exercise his $24.1 million player option for next season. Instead, he’d enter the market as a free agent and the Dallas Mavericks, a team he once spurned in the summer of 2015, were primed to be his top suitor. Then, this tweet from […]

The year is 2021. Victor Oladipo, now a perennial All-Star, dribbles right, hesitates for a fleeting moment, then zips left. Back right. Now left again, burrowing his head for added vigor. Dejounte Murray mirrors every step, stonewalls Oladipo and picks his pocket clean. On the other end, Lonnie Walker IV snares the feed from his […]

Today’s NBA is ruled by long, switchy wings. LeBron James has the association on a string, Kevin Durant is fresh off back-to-back Finals MVPs, and teams are lining up for Kawhi Leonard’s services. Absent assets or allure to obtain an elite wing, the Orlando Magic are seeking their own path to success. Orlando has long […]

When Paul Millsap bolted westward last summer — after the Hawks opted not to send a contract offer his way — Atlanta’s rebuild was set into motion. The starting five from its euphoric 60-win season, Jeff Teague, Kyle Korver, Demarre Carroll, Millsap and Al Horford, all had fresh NBA kits last season. Without a lottery […]

The Portland Trail Blazers experienced a few mountaintop peaks this season. The first came on Feb. 14 when Damian Lillard dropped 44 points and Portland defeated the Warriors 123-117, withstanding Kevin Durant’s 50-point onslaught. That victory sparked a 13-game winning streak for the Blazers, catapulting them to third in the West at 44-26. The next […]

The NBA is a make-or-miss league. Sometimes, it’s really that simple. Through two games of the NBA Finals, LeBron James’ Cleveland Cavaliers have netted just 42.8 percent of their looks while the Golden State Warriors have connected on 54.1 percent of their shots en route to a 2-0 series lead. With such a large discrepancy […]

After crunching the numbers, breaking down the film and approaching the Western Conference Finals from every possible angle prior to its beginning, the ending still felt inevitable. Tossing out any number of reasons the Houston Rockets could and should have won the series was likely countered with a simple caveat. “Houston won 65 games and […]

Houston Rockets swingman P.J. Tucker is a vagabond of sorts. He started his NBA career with the Toronto Raptors in 2006-07, though only played 17 games and 83 total minutes. Then, he was out of the league for five seasons, traversing throughout Europe and Asia while playing for teams in Israel, Ukraine, Greece, Italy and […]

A new star ignited in Boston during the playoffs, and his name is Jayson Tatum. More precisely, a few celestial beings have crafted their origin stories in Beantown this postseason. Tatum, Jaylen Brown and Terry Rozier have lit up the scoreboard inside TD Garden for 10 straight home playoff games, igniting the Celtics crowd each […]

Everything the Golden State Warriors do begins with Stephen Curry. Most of it ends with shot making from Curry, Kevin Durant and Klay Thompson. The intermediate role, though, largely falls on Draymond Green’s shoulders. In the regular season, Green’s play tapered off from the previous three years. Dating back to the 2014-15 campaign, Green amassed […]

“Thrust” was the buzzword Chris Paul fed to the media contingent during his postgame presser to satisfy their hunger for soundbites. Following the Houston Rockets’ 127-105 route of the Golden State Warriors in Game 2 of the Western Conference Finals, Paul and others within the Rockets organization emphasized their success in the transition game. In […]

After Al Horford won the opening tip of Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals, Jaylen Brown corralled the ball while fending off Cleveland Cavaliers sharpshooter Kyle Korver. Brown controlled the orange with his left hand — his right was occupied with Korver — and immediately beamed into attack mode with George Hill as the […]

As Clint Capela trudges forward on his quest for an NBA Championship, the knapsack slung over his shoulder holds the horn of a unicorn and remnants of the Steiffel Tower tucked inside. Through two rounds, Capela has battled against two All-NBA-caliber centers, Karl-Anthony Towns and Rudy Gobert, and been the best big man on the […]

After the injury dust settled in Boston, the Celtics, once an early-season favorite to punch a ticket to the NBA Finals, were perceived as an afterthought. The Toronto Raptors reinvented their offense, boasting the league’s best bench and had home court throughout the playoffs. The Philadelphia 76ers were red hot and sported shiny new toys […]

When Chris Paul was shipped southward from Los Angeles to the Houston Rockets, it meant he would have to forego some of his patented, deadly midrange jumpers and embrace the Morey Zones of shots at the rim and from beyond the arc. Long heralded as one of the league’s top midrange mavens, Paul adhered to […]

Clinging to a one-point lead with less than 25 seconds to play in overtime, the Philadelphia 76ers needed a bucket so they turned to their franchise centerpiece and trusty steed, Joel Embiid. The second-year center backed down his counterpart Al Horford and took two dribbles, attempting to carve deeper position inside. Horford, a Defensive Player […]

When healthy this year, Kevin Love was really good. In fact, it was easily his most productive campaign since moving from Minnesota to Cleveland. He posted career highs in effective field goal (.552) and true shooting percentage (.614). His per-36-minute averages of 22.7 points and 11.9 rebounds were the best during his Cavaliers tenure. Love […]

Late in the third quarter of Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals, Marcus Morris took one dribble from the top of the key and rose for a pull-up jumper at the right elbow. In the paint, Marcus Smart boxed out J.J. Redick, potentially primed to snag an offensive rebound. Behind those two guards, Joel […]

Since the dynamic, expressive and fun-loving pairing of Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan united in 2012-13, they’ve led the Toronto Raptors into the upper echelon of the Eastern Conference while pinning a combined eight All-Star badges to their red, black and white jerseys. With four Atlantic Division titles and a top Eastern Conference seed to […]

During a media session on Saturday, April 14, a day before the Oklahoma City Thunder were set to square off with the Utah Jazz in the 4-5 matchup of the Western Conference Quarterfinals, Paul George debuted his self-proclaimed nickname to basketball intelligentsia: Playoff P. “Y’all ain’t met Playoff P yet, huh?” George rhetorically asked reporters while […]

Fringe starter. Best suited for a backup role The Pacers have done well to take overlooked talent and blossom it in Indiana. And that goes beyond Victor Oladipo. In his first season with the Indiana Pacers, Darren Collison is working to disprove the labels affixed to him when he signed a two-year, $20 million contract […]

This season, the Toronto Raptors embraced the sort of decentralized attack deemed necessary to move beyond its playoff struggles. This series, the Washington Wizards’ John Wall is reminding everyone of the value of having the best player in a series. Since dropping two games in Toronto, Wall has been a revelation, scoring 55 points and […]