Basketball Intelligence For 12/2/24
Today's Best News And Reporting
LEAGUE NEWS
Tom's Title Tiers: #8
Tom Haberstroh, The Finder With Tom Haberstroh
The Jazz are victims of overcoaching
Tom Ziller, Good Morning It’s Basketball
NBA Power Rankings: Rockets emerge as unlikely West threat; Bucks are streaking
Michael Saenz, Sir Charles In Charge
Giannis Antetokounmpo and Victor Wembanyama give African NBA fans a November to remember
Leaonard Solms, ESPN
NBA Rewind: Can the Timberwolves be saved? And NBA Cup group play concludes
Zach Harper, The Athletic
📉 Golden State Warriors: The Warriors are on a four-game losing streak after starting the season battling for the best record in the West. They’ve lost to the Spurs, Nets, Thunder and Suns over their last four contests. I know what you’re wondering. Did Steph Curry play in those? He played in three of them! He missed the loss to the Thunder. Jonathan Kuminga missed two of those games. Mostly, the Warriors aren’t shooting the ball like they had been, and it’s ruined their defensive efforts. Their next four games are at Denver and then home to Houston and Minnesota (twice) before the NBA Cup elimination round begins for them.
Three Things I Noticed on League Pass: Jaden Ivey hits the jets
Jared Dubin, Last Night, In Basketball
Six Early NBA Takes We Want to Plant Our Flag On
The Ringer Staff, The Ringer
NBA 25 under 25: Top young stars, ranked by future potential
NBA Insiders, ESPN
Hawks are quarterfinal-bound, but NBA Cup could get wild on final day of group play
John Hollinger, The Athletic
TEAM NEWS
BOS: Scorching Payton Pritchard will continue to start the game on the bench
Gary Washburn. The Boston Globe
BOS: Donovan Mitchell’s late explosion lifts Cavaliers over Celtics: 9 takeaways
Tom Westerholm, Boston.com
BOS: The Pritchin' Hour
Adam Taylor, The Celtics Chronicle
CHI: Lonzo Ball missed 2 years of basketball. He now may be Bulls’ most impactful player
Darnell Mayberry, The Athletic
But watch Ball defensively if you really want to see him shine. At that end, he’s been nothing short of a savant. The Bulls are tied for 29th in defensive rating, but Chicago plays like a more connected unit when Ball is on the court. He shifts and swarms, talks and stalks, and might be all that keeps the Bulls from a bottom-three defense this season.
CLE: Donovan Mitchell erupts in fourth quarter, rallies Cavs to streak-snapping 115-111 win over Boston Celtics
Chris Fedor, Cleveland.com
CLE: Donovan Mitchell takes over, wills Cavaliers to win vs. Celtics
Tim Bontemps, ESPN
DAL: Mavs Game Observations: Game 21
Iztok Franco, Diggin Basketball
DAL: Luka Dončić’s Return Propels Mavericks Past Trail Blazers in Hard-Fought Victory
Grant Afseth, Dallas Hoops Journal
DAL: Mavericks Postgame Interviews: Jason Kidd, Luka Dončić, Quentin Grimes, and Spencer Dinwiddie React to Win Over Trail Blazers
Grant Afseth, Dallas Hoops Journal
GSW: Warriors look likely to trim Kerr’s huge rotation after four straight losses
Danny Emerman, The Mercury News
IND: Jaren Jackson Jr. scores 25 to lead Grizzlies over Pacers
Dustin Dopirak, Indy Star