Basketball Intelligence For 1/15/26, Part One
Today's Best NBA Reporting And Analysis
LEAGUEWIDE
How the NBA Learned to Love Losing
Howard Beck, The Ringer
The NBA keeps trying to fix tanking. It’s no longer a scandal—it’s a skill
NBA trade deadline 2026: One player to watch on each of 28 teams
Bobby Marks/Kevin Pelton, ESPN
At midseason, who are NBA’s top on-off leaders?
John Schuhmann, NBA.com
TEAM-SPECIFIC
CHA: As jersey retirement looms, Dell Curry reflects on 25 years with Hornets
Jon Krawczynski, The Athletic
CLE: Jaylon Tyson’s star-stopping defense should end the Cavs’ small forward debate
Ethan Sands/Chris Fedor, cleveland.com
CLE: The Cavs’ biggest challenge isn’t winning games — it’s finding consistency in how they play
Chris Fedor/Ethan Sands, cleveland.com
DAL: Cooper Flagg Is Trudging Toward Superstardom
Kirk Goldsberry, The Ringer
The Mavericks rookie could become the NBA’s most complete player—as long as his team can get out of his way
DET: Pistons at NBA trade deadline: Evaluating potential moves and future projections
Hunter Patterson/John Hollinger, The Athletic
GSW: How Jonathan Kuminga and the Warriors drifted apart — and why a split maybe isn’t imminent
M. Thompson II/S. Amick/N.Friedell, The Athletic
GSW: Warriors’ time on Kuminga decision is up. Their options are less than appealing
Dieter Kurtenbach, Mercury News
GSW: De’Anthony Melton continues scoring tear in rout of Blazers
Joseph Dycus, Mercury News
HOU: Road-weary Rockets face crucial homestand against West’s elite after recent slump
William Guillory, The Athletic
Tuesday’s win over Chicago…was the kind of win Houston needed as a team to recalibrate after appearing to lose some confidence amid ugly offensive stretches that have cost them in recent losses.
Once the Rockets (23-14, sixth in the Western Conference) started getting a little too close to the Play-In Tournament line, it was clear they needed to stack a few wins. But more importantly, they needed a win like Tuesday’s, where the complementary players got them across the finish line. As of late, finding any offense outside of Kevin Durant, Alperen Şengün and Thompson has been almost impossible.
Among the issues that need to be addressed, at the top of the list has to be execution late in the fourth quarter when games are close. The Rockets have looked unorganized in those situations much of the season. They improved to 7-9 in games that were within three points in the final three minutes after Tuesday’s win, but there’s still major room to grow.
A crucial part of that growth has to be this team getting more comfortable knocking down open jumpers. While 3-point shooting was never supposed to be the biggest strength of this team, this team’s inability to knock down outside jumpers has crippled the offense in the past few games.
Over the last six games, Houston has only converted on 51 of 212 3-point attempts (24.1 percent). The Rockets are the only team this season to go six straight games shooting below 30 percent from 3-point distance.
LAC: Harden voices belief in Clippers
Ramona Shelburne, ESPN
LAL: The Lakers have revealed their blueprint. Now, they have to commit to it
Law Murray, The Athletic
