theringer.com
Each Wednesday of the NBA season, we’re analyzing a grab bag of topics from around the league. This week: Tyrese Maxey’s humongous leap, further Nikola Jokic absurdity, red alerts for the Bucks defense and Zion Williamson, and more. This is the Kram Session. The most important development of the first few weeks of the 2023-24 season is Maxey’s ascension as Philadelphia’s full-time point guard. It didn’t take long for the 23-year-old to answer the first key question the 76ers faced this season: W…
5 months ago
theringer.com
Telling a villain origin story as a prequel to a popular series is a tricky task. One need only remember the most famous example of the genre—the Star Wars prequels, with Anakin Skywalker—to see the dual potential and peril of that sort of storytelling. Such is the opportunity and burden of The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes, the newest entry in the billion-dollar film franchise, which will be released in theaters Thursday night. The original Hunger Games series, which consisted…
5 months ago
theringer.com
Cade Cunningham stuffed the box score on Friday night, in a healthy bounce back from a mini-slump. The Detroit Pistons guard looked confident in his command of the offense and posted 20 points, eight assists, and five rebounds in Cleveland, roughly matching his season averages so far. It was the kind of versatile performance that demonstrates why so many NBA observers believe in Cunningham’s breakout potential. In its annual “25 under 25” ranking this month, ESPN placed Cunningham sixth among al…
5 months ago
theringer.com
Each Wednesday of the NBA season, we’re analyzing a grab bag of topics from around the league. This week: the veracity of the Milwaukee Bucks’ defensive turnaround, a quirk of in-season tournament play, the specific superpower of the Orlando Magic, and more. This is the Kram Session. Well, that didn’t take long: The Bucks are back! Following a rocky early start, during which Milwaukee—after swapping in Damian Lillard for Jrue Holiday, after replacing Mike Budenholzer with rookie head coach Adria…
5 months ago
theringer.com
Each Wednesday of the NBA season, we’re analyzing a grab bag of topics from around the league. This week, we’re previewing the first knockout round of the in-season tournament, parsing the true value of Luka Doncic, examining the unusual trajectory of the West’s top team, and more. This is the Kram Session. The group stage of the inaugural in-season tournament came to a close on Tuesday, as the NBA adopted some features of other successful sports tournaments to boost the night’s entertainment pr…
5 months ago
theringer.com
Until Wednesday afternoon, the MLB offseason had moved at a glacial pace in the month since the Rangers secured the 2023 title. Only two of MLB Trade Rumors’ top 20 free agents have signed contracts. The best player traded was probably Eugenio Suárez in a salary dump from Seattle. The Shohei Ohtani sweepstakes have been characterized more by an imposed silence than excitement. But the blockbuster dam broke on Wednesday, as one of the sport’s premier hitters joined one of its most prestigious tea…
5 months ago
theringer.com
Many factors contribute to Hayao Miyazaki’s mastery of the animated medium. His imaginative worlds. Their impeccable art design. A unique blend of nature, magic, and technology, all of which fascinate the 82-year-old creator, who has just released his maybe-final film, The Boy and the Heron. That list leaves out one very important yet underrated piece of Miyazaki’s success: a collaborator who not only hasn’t won an Oscar, but has never even been nominated for one. Composer Joe Hisaishi, who’s wo…
5 months ago
Search by beat, location, outlet & position to find the right journalists for your story.
Sign up for freetheringer.com
Each Wednesday of the NBA season, we’re analyzing a grab bag of topics from around the league. This week, we’re examining the impact of strength of schedule on the early-season standings; sounding the alarm for one-way contenders like the Los Angeles Lakers, Cleveland Cavaliers, and Dallas Mavericks; contextualizing the Detroit Pistons’ losing streak; and more. This is the Kram Session. The in-season tournament has climaxed, the Vegas celebrations have concluded, and the rhythms of the NBA seaso…
5 months ago
theringer.com
I worked as an intramural basketball referee in college. I already knew the rules and needed only to buy a whistle; it was an easy way to make some extra money on campus. Or, at least, it was easy when I wasn’t reffing Brian’s games. Brian was a student at my university’s medical school, and he was an excellent hooper. He’d been a teammate of Jeremy Lin’s at Harvard as an undergrad, then gone on to play in multiple countries in Europe and receive a cup of coffee with the Maine Red Claws (the Cel…
4 months ago
theringer.com
OG Anunoby is the NBA equivalent of a scarf. I don’t know anything about fashion, but hear me out: A scarf will not, by itself, make an outfit, just as Anunoby will not, by himself, lift a team to contention. You’d rather anchor the outfit around a pair of pants or a shirt; you’d rather build an NBA roster by drafting Nikola Jokic or trading for Damian Lillard. But when all the basics are set, when you have everything buttoned and your shoes tied and your leading scorers in place, you might want…
4 months ago
theringer.com
Each Wednesday of the NBA season, we’re analyzing a grab bag of topics from around the league. This week, we’re exploring a historic rookie in Oklahoma City, a potential next step for Toronto, and the return of Ja Morant. This is the Kram Session. Chet Holmgren did a little bit of everything on Tuesday night, as his Oklahoma City Thunder beat the Boston Celtics in a statement win over a fellow Finals contender. Holmgren made three 3-pointers, sank a fadeaway from the midrange, and scooted by Kri…
4 months ago
theringer.com
Each Wednesday of the NBA season, we’re analyzing a grab bag of topics from around the league. This week, we’re exploring the Los Angeles Lakers’ ongoing mediocrity, the Golden State Warriors’ pursuit of a clutch record, and a Zach LaVine trade possibility before the deadline. This is the Kram Session. The Lakers’ ship isn’t actively leaking anymore. Consecutive wins against the Clippers (by three points) and Raptors (by one) have snapped a losing streak and brought the inaugural in-season tourn…
4 months ago
theringer.com
Each Wednesday of the NBA season, we’re analyzing a grab bag of topics from around the league. This week, we’re examining Dejounte Murray’s trade value, Victor Wembanyama’s surge at center, a fake 76ers trade, Jabari Smith Jr.’s underrated development, and more. This is the Kram Session. It’s almost time for the trade spotlight to shine on the Hawks’ Dejounte Murray. As the Cavs and Jazz surge, Donovan Mitchell and Lauri Markkanen seem increasingly likely to stay with their current teams. Zach L…
3 months ago
theringer.com
Each Thursday of the NBA season, we’re analyzing a grab bag of topics from around the league. This week, we’re diving deep into the Phoenix Suns’ outrageous offense. Plus, Karl-Anthony Towns’s Hall of Fame scoring pedigree, a fake New York Knicks trade, why it’s time to expand NBA All-Star rosters, and more. This is the Kram Session. Forgive the easy pun, but the Suns are the hottest team in the NBA. After blowing out the Mavericks in Dallas on Wednesday, the Suns have seven consecutive wins and…
3 months ago
theringer.com
Each Thursday of the NBA season, we’re analyzing a grab bag of topics from around the league. This week, we’re diving deep into the surging New York Knicks, devising a fake star trade for the Oklahoma City Thunder, analyzing upcoming rotation decisions for the Cleveland Cavaliers and Milwaukee Bucks, and more. This is the Kram Session. What is the best New York Knicks team since the one that lost Game 7 of the 1994 Finals? Maybe you think it’s one of Patrick Ewing’s other mid-’90s squads that wa…
3 months ago
theringer.com
The Oklahoma City Thunder are the most interesting team in the NBA this week, because they’re both really good already (35-15, tied for first in the West) and full of potential to make major upgrades before Thursday’s trade deadline. The Thunder rank 29th in our All In-dex ranking, with the most future draft capital of any team. They have so many future picks that they could trade five unprotected first-rounders in a win-now overpay and still rank near the top of the draft equity leaderboard. Bu…
3 months ago
theringer.com
The 2024 trade deadline wasn’t as star-studded as last year’s version, when Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving changed teams in dueling blockbusters. But plenty of players were still on the move, with a flurry of deals before Thursday’s horn. So let’s take a look at the most important trades that were—and weren’t—completed and the biggest winners and losers from another deadline full of activity. At what point will it stop being surprising that the Knicks front office knows what it’s doing? We might…
3 months ago
theringer.com
Netflix’s live-action remake of Avatar: The Last Airbender deserves credit for this: It’s much better than the movie adaptation. Much, much better. M. Night Shyamalan’s derided interpretation of the beloved three-season animated series earned a 5 percent rating on Rotten Tomatoes and placement on the “List of Films Considered the Worst” Wikipedia page. It produced “action” scenes like this: Right away, the new Netflix series (all eight episodes of which were released on Thursday) proves it bette…
2 months ago
theringer.com
My favorite quote about science fiction comes from longtime editor Frederik Pohl, who paraphrased Isaac Asimov when he wrote, “Somebody once said that a good science-fiction story should be able to predict not the automobile but the traffic jam.” In other words, it’s not the piece of technology or scientific advance itself that matters in spinning a sci-fi yarn, but rather the advance’s ramifications for humanity. Anyone can predict that humanity might one day, say, make first contact with alien…
about 1 month ago
theringer.com
Each Thursday of the NBA season, we’re analyzing a grab bag of topics from around the league. This week, we’re diving deep into the Doc Rivers–led Milwaukee Bucks, examining the Los Angeles Lakers’ massive free throw disparity, calculating the likeliest matchups in the first round of the NBA playoffs, and more. This is the Kram Session. Let’s play a game. I’m going to share some overarching statistics about two different NBA teams, and you’re going to decide which is better and more likely to wi…
29 days ago
theringer.com
The 2023-24 NBA regular season was full of terrible teams, despite a lackluster upcoming draft class that should have theoretically curbed the urge to tank. Barring a late-season surge from the Trail Blazers, Spurs, or Hornets, a whopping five teams this season will lose at least 60 games each, which would be the most 60-loss teams in any season in the 21st century. Yet even amid that futility, those franchises nurture reasons for hope. So as the playoffs approach and analysis zooms in even more…
18 days ago
