Robbie Stratakos Articles - Page 7

The Toronto Raptors are going to the NBA Finals for the first time in franchise history. The person behind the road to them winning the Eastern Conference, president Masai Ujiri, deserves a lot of credit. The Raptors made a bevy of headlines last offseason as a result of two bold decisions. The first was firing […]

Ben Simmons, at his best, is one of the most explosive and exciting players in the NBA. But he has to become a more dominant player if the Philadelphia 76ers are ever going to win the Eastern Conference, let alone an NBA championship. Such improvement isn’t likely going to come from Simmons trying to be something […]

The New York Knicks went into Tuesday night’s NBA Draft Lottery, tied alongside the Cleveland Cavaliers and Phoenix Suns, with the best odds of landing the No. 1 pick and instead ended up with the No. 3 pick. There was at least one, if not two gut reactions: 1) The sky is falling because they […]

It’s official what the New York Knicks have at their disposal this offseason: the No. 3 pick in the NBA Draft and $73 million in cap space. It projects to be an exuberant and franchise-altering offseason, but the tag team of president Steve Mills and general manager Scott Perry has to act accordingly and not […]

Monday afternoon, ESPN‘s Adrian Wojnarowski reported that Klay Thompson will leave the Golden State Warriors this offseason if they don’t offer him a five-year, $190 million deal and listed the Los Angeles Clippers as a team who he could potentially land with in free agency. Meanwhile, a hot rumor throughout the 2018-19 NBA season has been […]

NBA teams are always on the hunt for a franchise point guard, unless they already have one. But the Dallas Mavericks are a team who shouldn’t be in the market for a floor general this offseason. Yet, according to Marc Stein of The New York Times, the Mavericks will be targeting Charlotte Hornets point guard […]

The 2018-19 season was an encouraging trial for the Brooklyn Nets. Finishing 42-40, they earned the sixth seed in the Eastern Conference. While they lost to the Philadelphia 76ers in the first round in five games, making the playoffs was a feat for Brooklyn based on little to no one expecting them to compete in […]

If you remove Kawhi Leonard from the equation, there isn’t a more important player to the Toronto Raptors than forward Pascal Siakam. Siakam is in the midst of a breakout season. After manning a consistent role off the Raptors bench in his first two seasons in the NBA, newly promoted head coach Nick Nurse opted […]

The Sacramento Kings and Los Angeles Lakers endured captivating 2018-19 seasons, but for different reasons. On one hand, the Kings watched their young core come into its own and keep them in the playoff mix throughout the majority of the regular season. Meanwhile, the Lakers missed the playoffs in the first year of the LeBron […]

When you think of the New York Knicks young core, rookies Kevin Knox, Mitchell Robinson, and Allonzo Trier come to mind. Who doesn’t come to mind? Damyean Dotson. The Knicks selected Dotson with the 44th pick in the 2017 NBA Draft when Phil Jackson was still the team’s president — before being jettisoned four days […]

There isn’t a single player whose presence is more pivotal in the 2019 Western Conference playoffs than Houston Rockets point guard Chris Paul. The Rockets went into this season with high expectations. After reaching the Western Conference Finals, but losing to the Golden State Warriors in seven games — with Game 7 being on their […]

Right now, the Orlando Magic (39-40) are the eighth seed in the Eastern Conference, and if they can make the playoffs, they will be a headache for whatever team they face in the first round. The Magic are one of the youngest teams in the NBA, and that’s their identity. With Aaron Gordon (23), Evan […]

The Denver Nuggets have been one of the most exciting teams of the 2018-19 NBA season, but they’re not ready to win the Western Conference. Right now, the Nuggets are sitting pretty. Currently 50-24, they own the second seed in the West and have multiple individuals who have established themselves as either premier players or […]

When you think of the best star duos in the NBA, who comes to mind? Probably Kevin Durant and Stephen Curry, James Harden and Chris Paul, Russell Westbrook and Paul George, and Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons. Did the San Antonio Spurs’ duo of DeMar DeRozan and LaMarcus Aldridge pop in your head? Probably not, […]

This wasn’t supposed to happen. LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers were supposed to be a match-made-in-heaven; there’s no way it would fail. But since saying their vows in July, the marriage has become a public disaster, and now more than ever the future of the two parties is an enigma. When James agreed […]

The Miami Heat are in NBA purgatory, and it’s the worst place for a team to be. This season projected to be more of the same for the Heat: a competitive team that would be a first-round playoff exit. Well, it looks like that’s literally what may be the end result. Currently 32-35, they’re the […]

Imagine trading and/or losing your five best players, but still competing for the playoffs with veterans and intriguing young players while having a legitimate pitch to high-profile free agents: you’d be the Los Angeles Clippers. The 2018-19 season projected to be a season of uncertainty for the Clippers. They were a year removed from trading […]

There are three types of teams in the NBA: those competing for an NBA championship, those looking for a direction, and those competing for the number one pick in the NBA Draft. The teams competing for a high draft pick are rebuilding in hopes of finding young players to establish a foundation. Those teams are […]

There’s more discussion in the NBA right now about the upcoming offseason than who’s going to be in the NBA Finals this spring; that’s how out of the control it has become. The future of Boston Celtics point guard Kyrie Irving has been at the forefront of those discussions, but he’s not the only premier […]

The general consensus is that Duke forward Zion Williamson will be the No. 1 pick in the upcoming NBA Draft, and rightfully so. Williamson has been playing at an extremely high level and is one of the most unique prospects we’ve ever seen. With that said, Williamson’s 2018-19 campaign has overshadowed the play of his […]

The biggest storylines in New York sports four months ago? Jacob deGrom winning the National League Cy Young Award; the New York Yankees facing off with the arch-rival Boston Red Sox in the ALCS; the rookie seasons of New York Giants running back Saquon Barkley and New York Jets quarterback Sam Darnold; how the New […]

The Milwaukee Bucks have been one of the most captivating storylines of the 2018-19 season. They’re currently the one seed in the Eastern Conference and have the best record in the NBA at 43-14. In head coach Mike Budenholzer’s first year in Milwaukee, he has transformed the Bucks. They’re an elite unit on both ends […]

When you stink up the joint and compile high draft picks for multiple seasons in the NBA, you’re supposed to turn a corner and rise in your respective conference — unless you’re the Phoenix Suns. Since missing the playoffs by one game at 48-34 in 2013-14, the Suns have come nowhere near making a playoff […]

When the New York Knicks agreed to trade Kristaps Porzingis, Tim Hardaway Jr., Courtney Lee, and Trey Burke to the Dallas Mavericks for Dennis Smith Jr., DeAndre Jordan, Wesley Matthews, and two first-round picks, there were two recurring discussions: how Porzingis would fit in with the Mavericks and the $30-plus million in cap space the […]

The Sacramento Kings have been one of the surprise teams in the NBA this season. Currently 27-25, they’re the ninth seed in the Western Conference but only a game behind the Los Angeles Clippers for the eighth seed. Simultaneously, while they can sniff the playoffs for the first time in over a decade, the Kings […]

Golden State Warriors shooting guard Klay Thompson is not being disrespected or tossed to the side, but it’s easy to forget a player’s capabilities when they’re playing alongside Kevin Durant and Stephen Curry. And this season Thompson is reminding people why he’s the most underrated star in the NBA. The Warriors’ season has been dominated […]