Basketball Intelligence For 1/16/25
Celtics continue to swoon, the Clips scorch the Nets, a trade debate about love and hate, and more...
*FEATURE OF THE DAY*
Taylor Jenkins mopped floors and drove vans. It taught humility.
Drew Hill, Daily Memphian
TEAM NEWS
BOS: The Morning After: Guarding DHOs Is Becoming an Issue For The Celtics
Adam Taylor, The Celtics Chronicle
Depending on what viewpoint you take, you’re either awfully zen about the Boston Celtics loss to the Toronto Raptors on Wednesday, or your hand is firmly on the panic button. Of course, if you’re like me, you’re sitting somewhere in the middle, slightly leaning toward the Phil Jackson of it all.
That doesn’t change the fact that Boston is now 12-9 since December 1. Nor does it alter the truth that for half of the season so far, the Celtics have been this exact version of themselves: Inconsistent.
BOS: How Celtics are redefining NBA offence with three-point bonanza
Michael Grange, Sportsnet
BOS: 4 takeaways as Celtics lose to Raptors as tough stretch continues
Souichi Terada, Mass Live
BOS: ‘We are in a bad moment right now:’ Uneven Celtics lose to 10-win Raptors, crumbling in final quarter
Adam Himmelsbach, The Boston Globe
BKN: Nets Mid-Term Grades Won’t Be Displayed Proudly
Setve Lichtenstein, Steve’s
CHI: Sounding off: Vucevic vents after Bulls drop third straight home game
Mike McGraw, Daily Herald
DAL: Mavs Game Observations: Game 41 at Pelicans
Iztok Franco, Diggin Basketball
DET: How Tim Hardaway Jr.’s leadership is impacting the young Pistons
Hunter Patterson, The Athletic
GSW: Warriors escape with win over Timberwolves to cap tumultuous trip
Danny Emerman, The Mercury News
GSW: What we learned as Steph, Wiggs fuel Warriors' bounce-back win
Monte Poole, NBC Sports Bay Area
IND: Pacers at the halfway point: The developments that shaped their first 41 games
Dustin Dopirak, Indianaoplis Star
IND: (PODCAST) The Pacers are still figuring it out
Caitlin Cooper, Basketball, She Wrote
LAC: Clippers set record for largest margin of victory in franchise history in win over Nets
Broderick Turner, Los Angeles Times
LAC: Clippers, Kawhi Leonard trounce Nets in 59-point win, largest blowout of NBA season
Law Murray, The Athletic
LAL: JJ Redick challenges Lakers' leadership, and they respond by defeating the Heat
Dan Woike, Los Angeles Times
As the team found itself in the third quarter, Anthony Davis dove for a loose ball. Reaves triggered a fast break. Rui Hachimura attacked the paint, and James ended up with a wide-open three — the kind of play that showed Redick that all the emphasizing he’d done throughout the day had taken hold.
“I challenged the team across the board today in our meeting about leadership," he said. "And leadership — people think about talking, obviously being vocal, talking in the huddles, whatever it may be. That certainly is a form of leadership. But leadership takes many forms. And I think talk is a requirement of the job as a basketball player. Talk is a requirement of the job.
“But leadership can be playing hard defensively. Leadership can be taking a charge. Leadership can be taking care of the basketball. It's all about leadership and ownership for what you are supposed to do. That's your job. That's leadership to me. And that's a great example to me of leadership from AD — being the first to the floor in a tight game. It's a momentum-swinging play for us.”
MEM: Dunks over Victor Wembanyama, 'road mentality' help Memphis Grizzlies find groove vs Spurs
Damichael Cole, Memphis Commercial Appeal
MIA: With extension at center of Heat-Butler disagreement, role in offense has also become frustration
Anthony Chiang, Miami Herald
MIN: Chris Finch challenges Rudy Gobert to be better with postgame statement
Will Eudy, Dancing With Wolves
MIN: Steph Curry is still Steph Curry, as the Timberwolves discovered late Wednesday
Chris Miller, The Minnesota Star Tribune
MIN: Timberwolves ugly first quarter leads to loss to Golden State
Jace Frederick, Pioneer Press
MIN: The Second Apron Forced the KAT Trade
Andrew Dukowitz, Zone Coverage
NYK: Chopped Cheese
Tommy Beer, Knicks Centric
NYK: By Any Means Necessary
Jonathan Macri, Knicks Film School
OKC: Has Jalen Williams made the leap to become the Thunder’s second All-Star?
Anthony Slater, The Ahtletic
OKC: How the Thunder turned 'youthful energy' into a winning culture
Tim MacMahon, ESPN
OKC: Is There Anything Jalen Williams Can’t Do?
Mirin Fader, The Ringer
For Williams’s part, he didn’t hesitate when he was asked to fill in. His entire life has been about embracing challenges, proving people wrong. “I still have that mentality,” he says. Williams remembers every slight and every detour on his road to the NBA, from being under-recruited out of high school to attending the smaller school of Santa Clara University to flying under the radar of many NBA scouts. “It’s just something I still don’t forget,” he says. “Actually, that’s still a very prominent thing I think about.”
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