The Celtics selected Brown with the third pick and under the guidance of Brad Stevens, he has shown he can become a premier defender. The 20-year-old has had a steady first campaign and unlike the aforementioned players, he has been fortunate enough to be on a winning team as Boston owned the Brooklyn Nets' p

After the Cameroonian, there's a huge drop-off to the player second in scoring; teammate Dario Saric at 11.3 points per game. If the rookie class was stronger and there was serious competition, there could be an argument for Embiid not winning the aw

Enter Stephen Curry and the Golden State Warriors. The Cavaliers fell victim to the Splash Bros, the amazing breakout season from Draymond Green, and the veteran Swiss army knife that is Andre Iguodala in a 4-2 NBA Final ser

The Bucks were sensational from three-point range, going 16-for-28 on the night. Oddly enough, they attempted just five free throws in the victory, hitting three of them. Gianni Antetokounmpo (10/11/10) recorded a triple-double over 36 minutes played in the low-scoring contest. The Hornets played without Kemba Walker, who sat out to r

Listed at 6’7", Butler is a full 10 inches taller than Thomas, but has the physical gifts that it takes to stick with him for a long period of the game. Despite the major height difference, Butler respects Thomas’ versatile g

The Clippers outscored the Rockets 36-12 in the third quarter and at that point, the game was essentially over. James Harden (14/7/6) only played 24 minutes and went just 2-for-9 shooting in the game. Meanwhile, the Big Three of Chris Paul (19/5/9), Blake Griffin (18/8/2) and DeAndre Jordan (14/11/2) all produced efficiently and none of the three logged 30 minutes on the court due to the blow

Per The Washington Post, before his injury, Embiid was finishing 40.2 percent of his team’s possessions with a shot, pass, turnover or trip to the free throw line, a rate similar to what is seen with other NBA stars like LeBron James (41.3 percent) and Steph Curry (38.1 perce

The Big Three got off to a slow start initially, though, and analysts immediately began to ponder if the trio of LeBron, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh was more hype than results. There were even questions about whether Erik Spoelstra was the right coach for this t

"I look forward to that matchup," Butler said after Friday's practice . "Especially what he's done this year for that team. I know that it's going to come at some point in time. I don't know when -- but I'm going to make it tough for him. For Nbaactioninsight.Com anybody that I'm guarding. Not just me, it's going to be a team effort. I'm going to get beat at times, I'm going to need guys to be there. If not, then we'll do it over and over again 'til somebody is there if I'm beat. But I look forward to that challenge. I want th

While taking Thomas out of the game with his swarming defense would be wonderful for the Bulls, Butler knows that the Celtics still would have other pieces on their roster that his teammates would need to be ready

Saric has shown a great improvement recently, which culminated in him being named the Rookie of the Month for February. He finished the month with 17 points, 7.9 rebounds and 44.3 percent from the field in 30.9 minu

According to Player Efficiency Rating, a measure of per-minute production standardised such that the league average is 15, Embiid (24.2 PER) is just as efficient as two-time MVP Curry this season, while other standout rookies such as Brogdon (14.1 PER), Los Angeles Lakers forward Brandon Ingram (7.4 PER) and Saric (11.8 PER) are all below average despite being used far less of

The 5’9" Thomas is in the midst of a spectacular, career-best campaign, averaging 28.9 points and 5.9 assists. If you’ve watched the Celtics play this year, you know that their entire offense runs through him and he’s what makes them tick. Further, he's been the best fourth quarter scorer in the league, providing important points down the stretch of most ga

It didn't take long for LeBron to make his first NBA Finals appearance, accomplishing the feat in just his fourth season since jumping to the league straight out of high school. The Cavaliers did it as the No. 2 s

Major television networks such as ESPN have even altered their live broadcast schedule to fit in some Sixers games due to the impact Embiid has had on the team, something which would never have happened last sea

They balanced things out and finished the season as the No. 2 seed, then dominated the Eastern Conference. They beat the Philadelphia 76ers (4-1), Boston Celtics (4-1) and Chicago Bulls (4-1) before they were stopped in their tracks by German engineer

The Milwaukee Bucks guard usurped free agent signing Matthew Dellavedova as the starting point guard earlier this year and under the tutelage of the legendary Jason Kidd, has come on leaps and bounds. He is in the discussion for ROY and many teams are kicking themselves for not spotting him earlier in the dr