That’s right, folks: The NBA is back, baby! Literally it is already back, literally the first game has already tipped off. Seems like a good time for a thorough and detailed season preview blog. I hope you know where to find one, because this one is some half-assed shit I just whipped up today! Onward, to the teams, all incredibly very many of them. Atlanta HawksPhoto credit: Rob Carr/ [object Object] What is their deal?The Hawks went 43-39 last season, scored the East’s fifth seed, and gave the Washington Wizards six intermittently chippy games in a pretty miserable first-round series before being eliminated. It was the Hawks’ 10th consecutive playoff appearance; only the San Antonio Spurs, who made their 20th straight postseason appearance in 2017, have a longer streak going. T…

The bad back that has plagued Steve Nash his entire career has knocked him out for the entire season before it even begins, the Lakers announced Thursday night. Nash suffered the latest re-aggravation—I shit you not—while carrying some luggage. The Lakers mortgaged much of their future to acquire Nash in 2012, agreeing to a sign-and-trade with Phoenix that saw them ship off two first-round and two second-round picks, and signing an aged Nash to a three-year, $27-million deal. He only played in 50 games that disastrous first season, when paired with Dwight Howard, Pau Gasol, and Kobe Bryant, he was expected to help lead the Lakers to a championship. Instead, the Lakers got swept in the first round of the playoffs. There was a lot of speculation that Nash would retire after he missed…