Basketball Intelligence For 12/1/25
The day's best basketball reporting and analysis.
FEATURES OF THE DAY
Heat’s Erik Spoelstra And Duncan Robinson Reflect On A True Underdog Story
Bobby Krivitsky, Forbes
Scouting 2026 NBA Draft’s top prospects in Las Vegas and other big holiday tournaments
John Hollinger, The Athletic
NBA First-Quarter Awards: Chaos, Breakouts, and an Obvious MVP
Michael Pina, The Ringer
NBA Power Rankings: From Kevin Durant to Cooper Flagg, assessing new faces in new places
Law Murray, The Athletic
TEAM NEWS
ATL: 40-point special: Jalen Johnson leads Hawks to double OT win over 76ers
Lauren Willliams, Atlanta Journal-Constitution
ATL: Keaton Wallace must overcome his fatal flaw to stick in the NBA
Sam Allred, Soaring Down South
BOS: Payton Pritchard’s 42-point night, Jaylen Brown’s triple-double spark Celtics win
Jay King, The Athletic
CHI: From 6-1 to 9-10, what to make of this curious Chicago Bulls start
Jamal Collier, ESPN
And just as the Bulls envisioned, Giddey’s pass-first approach has become the Bulls’ identity. Chicago has eight players averaging double figures in points and ranks second in the league in bench scoring. The Bulls have the fifth-best assist percentage (68.5%) in the league, way up from 2023-24, before Giddey arrived, when their 59% ranked 28th.
Giddey couldn’t help but notice the similarities between the Bulls and Pacers during last season’s playoffs, he said, but he also sees the gap the Bulls are still trying to close.
“If you look at the teams, it’s similar personnel,” Giddey told ESPN. “Tyrese obviously is an unbelievable player, but they don’t have that one superstar. They’ve got a lot of really, really solid, good players. They defend collectively, and that’s an area we need to get better at.”
CLE: Game Night Observations: Frustration, The Final Play and One Good Thing
Danny Cunningham, The Inside Shot
GSW: Jimmy Butler ‘incredible’ in lifting Stephen Curry-less Warriors over Pelicans
Nick Friedell, The Athletic
IND: Pacers waive RayJ Dennis, add G League standout Ethan Thompson on two-way deal
Scott Agness, Fieldhouse Files with Scott Agness
IND: Pacers Pascal Siakam’s labor rewarded with game-winner: ‘So well-deserved’
Dustin Dopirak, Indianapolis Star