Harrison Posts Words

The Brooklyn Nets did not stumble into their recent stretch of competent basketball. After opening the season 3–16, they have gone 6–3 over their last nine games, and the improvement is visible both on the scoreboard and in the numbers. The important question is not whether they are playing better. They are. The real question, as discussed recently on Harrison Talks Pod , is whether that improvement supports play-in aspirations or simply reflects progress inside a rebuild timeline that still has firm limits. The answer lives in separating process from results. The Defensive Jump Is Real and It Explains Everything From Historically Bad to Functionally Competitive The Nets opened the season playing defense at a level that was actively sinking games. Defensive rating routinely landed between 120 and 140. Paint touches were uncontested. Transition defense collapsed almost nightly. Several games featured opponents scoring 60 or more points in the paint. Over the last nine games, that ...

Watching the Chicago Bulls rarely feels neutral. Games either snap into rhythm or unravel quickly, often with very little warning. One night the offense flows, the defense holds, and Chicago looks like a comfortable play-in team. The next night the same roster looks disjointed, rushed, and unable to stop runs. That experience is not driven by effort or emotion. It is driven by sensitivity. As discussed recently on Harrison Talks Pod , Chicago operates with one of the widest performance bands in the league. Their wins and losses come from dramatically different statistical profiles, and those differences are measurable long before the final score. Why Bulls Games Feel Unstable So Quickly Offensive Efficiency Is a Switch, Not a Slider Chicago’s offensive numbers tell the story immediately. In wins, the Bulls operate at an elite efficiency tier. Field goal percentage routinely lands between 52 and 58 percent. Effective field goal percentage clears 60 percent. True shooting regularl...

Why Their Games Feel Loud, Fast, and Completely Unstable Utah tells you exactly who they are every night. They score a ton. They give up a ton. They never apologize for either. You can see it immediately in the box score, and you can feel it even more clearly when you watch the games unfold. The Jazz are averaging 119.6 points per game while allowing 126.8 . That contrast alone explains the emotional experience of watching them. They can overwhelm almost any opponent offensively, yet they struggle to stop runs once momentum flips. That volatility is not random. It is built into how this team plays. With a 10–16 record , a -6.9 net rating , and a top-tier pace of 102.98 , Utah has clearly chosen speed, confidence, and shot volume even when it comes with defensive consequences. They are good enough to overwhelm anyone, and loose enough to get overwhelmed by anyone. Why Jazz Games Feel This Way Immediately Shot Diet and Offensive Shape Utah’s offense explains the swings before you...

This analysis comes from a recent episode of Harrison Talks Pod , where I spent time breaking down why the Minnesota Timberwolves suddenly feel like a real conversation again. I have avoided them for much of the season, not because they were bad, but because they did not feel like a story yet. That has changed. Minnesota has now won seven of its last nine games, including a statement win over the Oklahoma City Thunder, and the numbers suggest something important is happening. This team is stabilizing, even if the aesthetics still feel uneasy. Why Now Feels Different for Minnesota The Timberwolves are quietly playing strong basketball. They are 6–2 in December and have posted a +8.3 net rating stretch since November. That matters because it points to correction rather than randomness. The overall record sits at 18–10 with a +4.5 net rating. That profile belongs to a playoff team. The disconnect comes from how the games look. Minnesota is winning without ever feeling dominant, which...

The San Antonio Spurs did more than win an NBA Cup semifinal. They changed how the league has to talk about them. On a neutral floor in Las Vegas, against a Thunder team that entered 24–1 and riding a 16-game win streak, the Spurs played a composed, physical, playoff-style game and walked away with a 111–109 victory. This was one of the most competitive games of the season and it came with maximum visibility. National stage. High leverage. No excuses. This breakdown comes from a recent episode of Harrison Talks Pod , where the focus was less on box score drama and more on what this game actually revealed about San Antonio’s trajectory and Victor Wembanyama’s defensive ceiling. What emerged was a clear message. The Spurs are ahead of schedule, and Wembanyama already bends games in ways very few players in the league can. Why This Game Mattered Beyond the Score Context matters in games like this. The Thunder entered as the consensus best team in the NBA. Their offense is built on r...

This analysis comes from a recent episode of Harrison Talks Pod , where we broke down why Memphis has quietly become one of the most misunderstood teams in the Western Conference. What looks like “momentum” on the surface is actually something much more real and much more complicated for the franchise long term. The Grizzlies are not fixed. They are not contenders. But they are also no longer broken. And that middle ground might be the most dangerous place to live in the West. Why Memphis Has Been Genuinely Surprising Memphis is 7–3 over their last 10 games , and that alone would normally trigger skepticism. Hot shooting stretches happen. Soft schedules exist. But this run does not fall into that category. They have avoided back to back losses entirely during this stretch. They have won multiple games after poor shooting nights. They have improved significantly on the road, going 4–1 with a plus 2.7 Net Rating away from home. Most importantly, this run includes competitive wins a...

The Boston Celtics entered this stretch without Jayson Tatum facing legitimate questions about how their offense would function and how their defense would hold up. Instead of slowing down, they have surged. They have won four straight, nine of their last eleven, and lead the NBA in wire to wire victories. A team expected to struggle without its primary star has leaned into speed, depth, and a stronger collective identity, and the results have been one of the more surprising developments of the NBA season. This expanded breakdown builds on a segment from Harrison Talks Pod , where we explored why this version of Boston looks so complete. A Team Thriving Without Its Star Boston has always relied on Tatum’s gravity and playmaking structure, and losing that centerpiece usually causes spacing and creation issues. Instead, the Celtics shifted toward a style based on quick decisions, drive and kick action, and deeper rotation usage. Their offense feels freer and their defense has tightene...

For the first time in LeBron James’s career, the season started without him on the floor. That alone would have been a notable moment in NBA history, but paired with his recent performances, it feels like the league is quietly stepping into a future many of us have never experienced. This week on Harrison Talks Pod , I dedicated a full reflective segment to LeBron’s evolving place in the sport. What follows is the expanded blog version of that conversation. This is not an obituary for LeBron’s career. It is a recognition of the subtle but unmistakable shift we are seeing across the league, inside the Lakers organization, and even in the way fans talk about him. If you want the deeper audio version with tone, context, and pacing, check out the full episode of Harrison Talks Pod linked at the end. The First Real Signs of Decline Are Finally Here LeBron’s season began with absence. Missing the start of the year for the first time ever created a symbolic shift. Availability cannot be t...

Every NBA fan knows the real rivalries in the league. Boston and Miami. Warriors and Lakers. Knicks and Hawks for about a week and a half. But Knicks and Raptors? That never made the list. There was no history, no bad blood, and no major moments that tied the franchises together. Now the NBA Cup has changed everything. On a recent episode of Harrison Talks Pod, I broke down why this matchup, once irrelevant, suddenly feels like one of the most compelling battles in the East. Below is the expanded blog version of that segment. Why This Was Never a Rivalry Until Now For more than twenty years, Knicks–Raptors has carried almost no real animosity. There were no playoff clashes. No coaching drama. No franchise-shaking moments. In short, nothing that makes an NBA rivalry. The NBA Cup changed that overnight. Both teams went undefeated in group play. Both are playing at peak versions of themselves. Both believe they can actually win the Eastern Conference bracket. And the Cup has given th...