Now back with the Cleveland Cavaliers, James is back to his title-winning ways. He led the Cavs to their first-ever title last year and is gearing up to make a run at his seventh-straight NBA Finals this y

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

After spending last season with the Shandong Golden Stars in China, Cole signed a contract with the Oklahoma City Thunder in March. He is now averaging 2.3 points and 1.1 assists in limited action as the team's third-string point gu

Despite a 12-70 season for the New Jersey Nets, there was reason to believe good things were on the way. Prokhorov wanted stars to help facilitate a move to Brooklyn that was still two years away, and despite the lottery balls not falling in their favor to land John Wall, the Nets still had the third pick in the dr

That will only be the case, however, if coach Fred Hoiberg doesn’t derail what’s working in the hopes of appeasing his future Hall of Famer’s desire to have the rock in his hands as much as he did earlier in the sea

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

Well, Prokhorov gave away a whole bunch of future assets to be decent for a few years, Derrick Favors was shipped to Utah before his rookie season ended, and now the Nets are going nowhere for the foreseeable fut

James has made the finals a ridiculous six straight times with two different teams, losing in the finals to Dallas with the Miami Heat and then beating Oklahoma City. The Heat then topped and then were topped by San Antonio in consecutive years before he moved on to Cleveland for a two-year split with the Warri

"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 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 he previously controlled the ball in a primary ball-handler’s role prior to the injury, the spacing and internet ball movement that the team has exhibited in his absence will likely carry over after Wade retu

"He's been that height for a long time now, so he's mastered it," Butler said . "He's really good at what he does. Coming off, pulling up, shooting shots. Getting to the rim, getting to the free throw line. 5[-foot-]8, 6-8, whatever it is, the guy knows how to put the ball in the bask

Coached by Erik Spoelstra, who is still in charge of the Heat, the 2011-12 squad delivered the first of the back-to-back titles of the Big Three era. Here's where the starting five and key contributors from that year's team are

This would be the third of five straight seasons the Warriors would miss the playoffs, and while Curry's rookie year provided some fun moments, he was still two seasons away from feeling the full effects of ankle problems that would threaten to derail his car

The Celtics moved into first place in the Eastern Conference with the victory. Led by Isaiah Thomas (27/4/3), Al Horford (19/8/4) and Avery Bradley (18/5/2), the Celtics led the Nets to 36.0 percent shooting for the game. In the loss, Brook Lopez (25/7/2) became the Nets’ all-time leading sco

"He's a big part to what they do," Butler explained . "We all know that. I think they know that. But you can't take him out the game and think that you can win. Because they got a lot of other really good players, role players that make shots, create for others. They guard, they rebound, pass the ball. They got a really good team; they're really good at what they

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

The fact that there isn't a clear Rookie of the Year favourite doesn't mean that there aren't multiple players capable of winning the award. It just shows there isn't a single player from the 2016 class that really stands out above the r

As a team, Chicago’s offensive and defensive ratings have been up over the last 10 games to 108.6 and 105.1, compared to 104.4 and 105.6 respectively. Additionally, the Bulls have shot 39.4 percent from the arc, making 10.2 per game in comparison to 33.5 percent before in which they made