Basketball Intelligence For 10/31/23

Today's Best NBA Reporting And Analysis

Oct 31, 2023

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TEAM-SPECIFIC STORIES

ATL: Murray delivers for Hawks in convincing win over Timberwolves
Lauren Williams, AJC

BKN: Finney-Smith Contributing To Short-Handed Nets In Ways Obvious And Subtle
Steve Lichtenstein

BOS: With his opening-night dud a thing of the past, Jaylen Brown delivered a decisive Celtics win over the Wizards
Gary Washburn, Boston Globe

BOS: How Jrue Holiday and the Celtics are learning to play through one another
Jared Weiss, The Athletic

BOS: Celtics Bench Play Early Issue Worth Watching Behind Starter Dominance
Bobby Manning, CLNS

The Celtics bench fell to last in the NBA in scoring in a blowout win that the second unit capped by mostly letting the lead dwindle in the fourth quarter

CHA: Mark Williams Is One Of The Best NBA Players The Casual Has Not Heard Of
Mark Deeks, Forbes

CHI: Bulls find winning formula in crunchtime road win
Darnell Mayberry, The Athletic

CHI: A closer look at how the Bulls won a game with only 17 three-point attempts
Will Gottlieb, All CHGO

DAL: Doncic’s torrid start continues. Luka helped Dallas stay undefeated despite the absence of Kyrie Irving.
Brad Townsend, Morning News

DAL: The Mavericks are finally pushing the ball
Ian Levy, The Step Back

DEN: Nuggets' young bench continues strong start to season in win over Jazz
Vinny Benedetto, Denver Gazette

GSW: Curry continues hot start with 42-points in Warriors win over Pelicans
Shayna Rubin, Mercury News

GSW: Second unit thrives again, and Steph locks up unbeaten road trip
Anthony Slater, The Athletic

GSW: Steph Curry and Chris Paul: A harmonious blend of opposing point-guard styles
Joe Viray, Golden State Of Mind

GSW: Steph Curry's ‘white-hot' 2023-24 NBA season start defying age, logic
Monte Poole, NBC Sports

GSW: Four games in, Warriors' depth showing immense promise
Monte Poole, NBC Sports

HOU: Rockets’ simple mistakes vs. Warriors snowball into avalanche of hurt
Kelly Iko, The Athletic

IND: Lessons from how the Bulls bullied the Pacers
Caitlin Cooper, Basketball She Wrote

LAC: Harden joins Clippers as the right player at the right time
Bill Plaschke, LA Times

LAL: Lakers, after promising changes to their rotation, go big to secure another comeback win
Jovan Buha, The Athletic

LAL: D’Angelo Russell’s fourth-quarter surge helps power Lakers to win over Magic
Dan Woike, LA Times

LAL: Sluggish Lakers surge past Magic in final minutes
Khobi Price, OC Register

MEM: Grizzlies showed more firepower, but couldn’t get a complete performance to secure a win
Parker Fleming, SubTsak

MIL: Giannis sets tone, bench provides energy in Bucks win
Eric Nehm, The Athletic

MIL: 5 takeaways as Damian Lillard beats Miami team that wanted him
Steve Aschburner, NBA.com

MIN: Ant Is One Step Away From Fully Unlocking His Potential
Max Kappel, Zone Coverage

MIN: Another Wolves meltdown: Anthony Edwards, KAT, Chris Finch and a bad loss
Jon Krawczynski, The Athletic

MIN: Hero ball from Anthony Edwards, Karl-Anthony Towns keeps Wolves inconsistent
Chris Hine, Star Tribune

How can a team that played such beautiful offensive basketball in the first half against Atlanta look so miserable in the second half? Old habits die hard

NYK: Mitchell Robinson’s journey to becoming the best offensive rebounder in the sport has been a slow and steady climb
Jonathan Macri, Knicks Film School

PHI: No James Harden, no problem: Tyrese Maxey is a one-cut running back
Mike Shearer, Basketball Poetry

In three games, Maxey is averaging 30 points, 6.7 rebounds, and 6.3 assists while shooting 50% from the field and 56% from deep on high volume. He’s handling more, passing more, shooting more, and turning it over less.
Maxey averaged more 25/5/4 in 13 games without Harden last year, but this is a substantial leap even over that. So what’s causing this surge?
Perhaps the biggest change is in Maxey’s usage. With Harden on the team, just over a quarter of Maxey’s possessions were categorized as “spot up” by Synergy Sports. That’s down to fewer than 10% of his possessions in 2023-24, and it’s been replaced by a massive uptick in plays designed to get Maxey the ball on the move, mostly via handoffs.
Maxey isn’t some ballhandling genius or finishing wizard; instead, he’s like a one-cut running back in the NFL. He is patient but explosive, decisive, and efficient in his movements. Maxey’s bag isn’t the deepest, but he doesn’t need a Mary Poppins purse when the moves and finishes he does have work so well. You don’t put unnecessary accoutrements on a bullet train.

PHI: What’s next is what really matters for Daryl Morey, Joel Embiid and Philadelphia
Sam Amick, The Athletic

PHI: By trading Harden and landing a couple of first-round picks, the Sixers have set up a bigger move
David Murphy, The Inquirer

PHI: Maxey and Embiid are showing that the Sixers can survive minus Harden
Keith Pompey, The Inquirer

PHI: The key to the James Harden trade isn’t who the Sixers got. It’s who they already had: Tyrese Maxey
Mike Sielski, The Inquirer

PHO: How viable is Jordan Goodwin’s offense?
Damon Allred, Bright Side Of The Sun

POR: Scoot Henderson resets rookie season with best showing in victory at Toronto
Aaron Fentress, Oregon Live

SAC: PODCAST: Kings’ opening week recap & a look ahead
Ray LeBov/Nick Agar-Johnson, Kings Weekly

SAS: Wembanyama shows he's unlike anything NBA has seen before
Scott Rafferty, Sporting News

TOR: The Raptors offence isn’t working for Siakam — or anyone else
Eric Koreen, The Athletic

TOR: That struggling Raptors offence is tough to watch right now
Mike Ganter, Toronto Sun

UTA: Jokic and Murray were just too much for the Utah Jazz
James Hansen, SLC Dunk

UTA: Markkanen spent this offseason working to expand his ballhandling — and the results are starting to show
Andy Larsen, Salt Lake Tribune