Basketball Intelligence For 11/7/23,PART 1

To me, defense is all about energy and effort, and like — I’ve said it earlier, controlling what you can control. Going as small as into games, controlling your energy and effort. That’s something you can control all the time. Things that you can’t control, maybe you can’t control if you make your shots, how many shots you’re going to make all the time, or you can’t control your teammates, but things you can control are your energy and effort, and that plays very well into the defensive end of the floor

MEM: Film: How the Grizzlies 26-2 run ignited their 1st win of season
Parker Fleming, SubTsak

MIA: Heat escapes with win over Lakers despite another shaky fourth quarter
Anthony Chiang, Miami Herald

MIL: How Giannis’ individual brilliance covered up Bucks’ continued defensive struggles
Eric Nehm, The Athletic

MIN: Timberwolves win over Celtics includes clutch work by Jaden McDaniels, Rudy Gobert
Chris Hine, Star Tribune

MIN: Timberwolves top Celtics in overtime; Anthony Edwards takes control
Chris Hine, Star Tribune

MIN: Anthony Edwards, Rudy Gobert and the dawning of a dominant Timberwolves defense
Jon Krawczynski, The Athletic

MIN: Anthony Edwards is playing at MVP level, Wolves look like they're for real after handing Celtics first loss
Brad Botkin, CBS Sports

NYK: Knicks Bounce Back With Victory Over LA. Mitch Rob is making a DPOY candidate case
Tommy Beer, What’s On Tap

OKC: Sam Presti's 'pivot' and why the darlings of the NBA are preaching patience
Tim MacMahon, ESPN

The Thunder have the luxury of extreme patience in part because their superstar buys into the big picture. Gilgeous-Alexander signed a five-year maximum contract extension in the summer of 2021 when Oklahoma City was coming off a 22-50 season, a deal that notably does not include a player option. He doesn't spend any time worrying about the Thunder's timeline, trusting Presti to figure out the best path toward "sustained high performance over a long period of time," as the GM put it

OKC: Chet Holmgren isn't Victor Wembanyama
Mike Shearer, Basketball Poetry

Wembanyama carries the burden of being the guy for a San Antonio Spurs team at a talent deficit on most nights, and his usage proves it. The Spurs have quickly (and rightfully) made him the focal point of everything they do on both ends. They’re playing the long game, and some mild successes or failures in the standings won’t change much.
Holmgren has arguably a more difficult task, however. He has to fit in on a team that already has one superstar in Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and possesses budding young talents at nearly every other position. His unique skillset is expected to be the “Abracadabra!” opening the door to near-term Thunder contention, the skeleton key that unlocks the highest planes of Oklahoma City’s existence, even while he constantly faces unfair comparisons to his French rival.
No pressure, right? And yet, Holmgren has been even better than expected.

PHI: The Maxey-Embiid P&R is everything you want it to be. But it could be even more
Jared Dubin, Last Night In Basketball

SAC: Mike Brown says ‘nobody’s position is sacred’ after blowout losses to Rockets
Jason Anderson, Sacramento Bee

“I’m OK if we get a foul with our chest, sliding your feet or going vertical at the rim, but if you watch the game, we just reach,” Brown said. “And we do it not just one possession, but we do it possession after possession after possession. We lead with our hands instead of our chest and we have to lead with our chest.

SAC: Without De’Aaron Fox, Kings fall apart in consecutive embarrassing defeats to Rockets
Hunter Patterson, The Athletic

SAS: Spurs look helpless against hot-shooting Pacers in blowout loss
Jesus Gomez, Pounding The Rock

The Spurs are still trying to figure out how to get Wembanyama touches, which makes Wemby look like he has terrible shot selection. Since he doesn’t get touches in a position to score, he ends up forcing drives or firing from bad spots, just to get a few shots up. Finding how to maximize him will take time.

SAS: Wembanyama has experienced the wide spectrum of highs and lows during this first couple of weeks in the NBA
Tim Reynolds, AP

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