A big picture thought on the Cade and Luka exceptions for awards (ignoring the conteactual aspects which other people have covered well).

I will never ever take watching Steph Curry for granted. Another iconic performance tonight. What a player man.

A friend of mine got me this as a late birthday gift. Absolutely love it and can't wait to hang it up!

Never thought I'd live in a world where Andre Drummond was was shooting 38% on corner threes and hit a big corner three in a Play-In game, but here we are!

The Dianna Russini situation is an inflection point on the world of access-based jobs. It made me think about my time as a field rep, where intelligence was everything. It's a tight rope, and the ones who fall are the ones responsible for sourcing info. Wrote more about these dynamics in my latest

Friends I have been exposed to a Russian artist whose music is characterized as "folk-hop". I fear I am now obsessed.

Okay so I had my first soccer practice as the head coach today. It really was so much fun. Have a couple kids with some real talent, and they seemed to enjoy themselves throughout. Really excited to see how this all goes the rest of the season!

When Kevin Harlan, after the second Jerami Grant three, shouted into his mic "OH HE'S A MACHINE", I felt my soul leave my body for a second. He's such a rare broadcasting talent.

These two games tonight are why the Play-In was such a home run of an idea. Intense basketball, great atmospheres, and high leverage moments until the last seconds of the game. Man, I love basketball so much.

amazon prime during the most crucial moment of the NBA season:

A mark of a great player is when they don't have the shot going, how do they react when the game is on the line. Do they want that shot? Are they willing to ignore everything and rise to the occasion. That was LaMelo Ball tonight. A terrible shooting night, but when it was winning time, he executed.

I published a story today about Barilla and F1. It's the second time I've covered them. It feels so significant to me because their PR person liked my work enough the first time to ask me to cover it again. That's such a validating feeling, covering a household name that sees value in the work I do.

Barilla has gone for a storytelling and experimental product marketing partnership approach with F1. This has meant a portrait of Italian culture meshing with sport. Their newest pasta reflects that. Wrote about thoughtful branding and pasta in my latest below omarzahran.medium.com/more-than-a-...

I finally decided to start watching The White Lotus this weekend. I'm two episodes in. Will I regret this decision??

For a little over a year, I've been contributing to the Knicks Fan TV newsletter. It's been rewarding, and I feel like I've done some of my best writing. The newsletter is a steadily growing arm of KFTV, but the primary driver of content is the YouTube channel, which has over 100K subscribers.

Had the pleasure of joining my guy CK to do the Knicks Fan TV postgame. I'm normally on the written side of the house for KFTV so it was cool to be on our primary content vehicle. We talked about the performances from the bench unit and previewed the Knicks upcoming first round series. Link below!

Someone please explain Rory McIlroy winning the Masters today in NBA terms for me please

Coverage of the NBA often seems to lack in schematic breakdowns, while that sort of commentary is praised in the NFL. Discussed why the Madden video game might have something to do with that this week on Deep Cover with Adam Taylor.

That moment when the CEO of Medium claps for your piece about Victor Wembanyama 😁

I found this music app that has the same UI as the old Zune HD and I am now so happy. It's truly the little things in life.

Exciting development to my fellow Knick fans. I will be co-hosting the Knicks Fan TV postgame show following the conclusion of the Knicks Hornets game tomorrow. Make sure you're tuned in on YouTube and say hello!

The NBA is an international game with an international fan base. And yet when it comes to being an international fan and reporter, those outside of a teams market are disparaged and excluded at times.

As some of you may know, I got an espresso machine a little while back. Since I got it I haven't really gotten coffee from any of the local stands here in WA. Today, I stopped by one to get a latte. Friends, I regret to inform you that I have been spoiled by this DeLonghi machine lol.

Giannis trade talks and speculation have saturated the NBA this year. It's been an exhausting back and forth that is rooted in a simple truth: Giannis doesn't want to be the bad guy. Wrote more about Giannis, superstar connectivity, and being a short-term villain in my latest on Medium below 👇

Substack has become a haven for sportswriters of sorts. A place where they can redefine their audiences. But there is a caveat. @adamtaylornba.bsky.social discusses the bottleneck of Substack and why growth on that platform can be difficult in today's landscape.

New podcast episode! I'm joined by @adamtaylornba.bsky.social to talk about the challenges of covering an NBA team as an international fan. We discuss his path to covering the Celtics, the disdain international fans face, and the Celtics surprising season. 👇 open.spotify.com/episode/4BSm...

Josh Hart was 5/7 from three tonight, with the Celtics like most teams opting to leave him open on the perimeter all night. Hart is shooting 40% from three on the year on roughly four attempts per game. If he hits those shots, this Knicks team will be incredibly tough to beat in the playoffs.

These past two games have felt like playoff games for the Knicks. And in both games they showed their resilience and made big plays late to close the deal. For all of us that have had some anxiety about this team heading into the postseason, these two wins should ease of our minds a little bit.

Is it just me or does it look like Amazon cranked up the saturation effect on this Knicks Celtics game to 100?

In my final installment of the "At the Apex" series for Knicks Fan TV, I look at the soul of this Knicks team: Josh Hart. A player that can cement his greatness in amber this postseason or become a footnote in Knicks history. Check it out below 👇 knicksfantv.beehiiv.com/p/at-the-ape...

When we bet on everything, everything comes into focus in the lens of that ideal. Are we ready for the slippery slope that comes with that?

As prediction markets continue to expand they introduce a question, what happens to society when everything is gambling? and what sort of second degree problems does it create?

This game felt like a playoff game. But down the stretch it became clear how important it is to have a closer. The Knicks gave the ball to Brunson and he did what he does. The Hawks still haven't quite realized who their closer is. And that's the difference when you get to the playoffs.

As gambling and prediction markets become more and more ubiquitous, is there a devolving of how we watch and why we watch games?

I published my 500th piece on Medium. What started as a way to muse about phones turned into a calling and love for sports writing. I really appreciate all the people that read my stuff, I am truly honored by it and hope that you enjoy reading them as much as I enjoy writing them. On to the next 500

NBA seeding prediction. The Hornets will climb & get the 6-seed and play the Knicks in the 1st round. Everyone will do their podcasts and make predictions that the Knicks will lose in the first round as a result. Feels like the perfect storm of hot young team and questioned veteran team colliding.

New podcast episode! This week I get into prediction markets, how they have reframed gambling, and the ramifications of being able to bet on everything. Also, you get a little story about my short time working for Bet MGM! Link below! open.spotify.com/episode/3S9Y...

Part 4 of my series "At the Apex" is live on Knicks Fan TV. In this part, let's examine Mikal Bridges, a player that is defined by acquisition cost as much as on court production and how this postseason offers a domino effect for him and the organization. knicksfantv.beehiiv.com/p/at-the-ape...

This season will be remembered as the year of Victor Wembanyama. Much has been made of what Wemby is and why he's such a physical anomaly. But maybe what's more important is what he isn't. Wrote more below about how Wemby seems to be an elixir of sorts to the qualities we hate in other superstars.

In 20-21 when the Bucks won the title, Giannis played 33 MPG. In the playoffs that bumped up to 38.1 MPG. As I watch Wemby with 29.2 MPG, I wonder how much those will increase in the postseason. I really wonder if they will be content with 34 minutes or try to push it closer to 38.

One of the things I love about my friends is that I can have a point brought up in a text conversation and then just a short few days later I have a 2K word essay in the drafts ready to publish. Love them for that.

Part 3 of my series "At the Apex" is live on Knicks Fan TV. In this edition, I look at what's on the line for Mike Brown, a figure that has come into a pressure cooker of a situation who perhaps has the most to lose out if they falter this postseason. knicksfantv.beehiiv.com/p/at-the-ape...

Some more research that I found interesting. Among players that have scored 1300+ points, six of them have FTs that account for at least 25% of their total. SGA ranks 6th with 26%. The players ahead of him: - D. DeRozan 26.8% - D. Booker 26.8% - J. Harden 28.1% - P. Banchero 28.4% - D. Avdija 31.0%

Working on a new piece and found an interesting stat about the shooting season that SGA is having.

So an interesting development. We signed up my partners youngest (7 years old) for soccer. A bunch of his friends from class are playing on the team so he was very excited.

I was listening to this song and the rapper was like "I shoot from long range, I'm Jerry Stackhouse". And the NBA fan in me is like "But Stackhouse only shot 31% from three in his career". Why am I like this?

One of my longest standing NBA takes is that based on his natural ability, Lamar Odom should have been a multi-time All-Star and a walking 20/7/5 player if he had the right mentality.

Something I noticed in this first half of this Knicks game is how much KAT has looked for Landry Shamet. Feel like those guys have a little bit of a connection and Shamet being back from injury is a nice bonus for KAT.

This is sad. In the early days of my writing, I contributed a small blurb for The Independent's holiday magazine. I still have it framed on my wall. Navigating the writing and publishing industry today is so brutal. Wishing the best to Beth and the team. www.indiependent.co.uk/the-indiepen...

Over the last 40 years, a lot has changed in college basketball. One thing remains a constant: so many people hate Duke. In my latest on Medium, I look into that hatred, how it evolved from a racial commentary into a class one, and why hating Duke goes beyond the game on the court. Check it out 👇