Basketball Intelligence For 12/3/24
Today's Best NBA Reporting And Analysis
LEAGUEWIDE
Power Rankings, Week 7: Cavs back at No. 1; Rockets surge into Top 5
John Schuhmann, NBA.com
NBA First-Quarter Awards: MVP, Most Confusing Team, and More
Michael Pina, The Ringer
The NBA’s 3-point craze is only getting crazier, with the Celtics leading the charge
Tim Reynolds, AP
NBA Power Rankings: Rockets keep ascending, and a new face in all 30 places
Law Murray, The Athletic
Notes from: BOS-MIA, ATL-NOP, MIN-LAL, CHI-BKN
Keith Smith, The Basketball Bulletin
Evaluating the early returns on the top 2024 offseason free-agent signings
Addam Goldman, Yardbarker
PODCAST: Sacramento Kings weekly recap & preview
Ray LeBov/Nick Agar-Johnson, Kings Weekly Podcast
TEAM-SPECIFIC
ATL: Hawks focus on ball movement to play at a faster pace
Lauren Williams, AJC
ATL: Hawks rout Pelicans in Dejounte Murray’s return to State Farm Arena
Lauren Williams, AJC
BKN: Reshuffled, depleted Nets no match for Bulls in third straight loss
Brian Lewis, NY Post
BOS: Celtics beat the Heat in a clunker
Adam Himmelsbach, Boston Globe
BOS: Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown weren’t about to skip a game vs. the Heat
Gary Washburn, Boston Globe
CHI: 5 takeaways from a dominant Bulls win
Julia Poe, Chicago Tribune
CLE: Garland shows he can hold up defensively in Cavs win over Celtics
Jackson Flickinger, Fear The Sword
CLE: Cavs don’t need Donovan Mitchell to do it all anymore, but he’s there when they need him
Jason Lloyd, The Athletic
CLE: Donovan Mitchell’s fourth-quarter comeback shows his and the Cavs evolution
Jackson Flickinger, Fear The Sword
DAL: The Mavericks' best offseason addition isn't named Klay Thompson
Quinn Everts, Fansided
DAL: Mavs Game Preview: Game 22 vs Grizzlies
Iztok Franko, digginbasketball
DAL: What it means for Mavs to have Luka Doncic back: ‘When he has that look, we all spectate’
Mike Curtis, Morning News
GSW: The Warriors’ ‘tricky’ puzzle pieces: Breaking down Steve Kerr’s toughest rotation decisions
Danny Emerman, Mercury News
GSW: What Draymond's likely absence vs. Nuggets means for Warriors
Dalton Johnson, NBC Sports
HOU: How Fred VanVleet’s lessons with Raptors are paving way for Rockets renaissance
Kelly Iko, The Athletic
HOU: The Rockets Are Trying Something Extremely Rare
Royce Webb, 5x5
IND: Pacers fade after feel-good first quarter in Memphis
Tom Lewis, Indy Cornrows
LAC: James Harden is once again stirring the pot for the Clippers
Law Murray, The Athletic
LAL: LeBron James’ slump and ‘nasty’ Lakers offense hit new lows in loss to Minnesota
Jovan Buha, The Athletic
LAL: The Lakers have a new head coach and a new defensive scheme, and the same old problems with transition defense
Sean Keane, Yardbarker
LAL: Lakers lose to Minnesota in lowest-scoring game of the LeBron era in L.A.
Dan Woike, LA Times
MEM: Marcus Smart's acceptance of reserve role has raised the Memphis Grizzlies' ceiling
Damichael Cole, Commercial Appeal
MIA: Bam Adebayo stuck in ‘one of those stretches that sometimes you can’t explain’
Anthony Chiang, Miami Herald
MIA: Heat, without Butler, crushed by Celtics in 19-point rout. Takeaways and details from the loss
Anthony Chiang, Miami Herald
MIN: The rested Wolves played strong at both ends of the floor against a Lakers team that played the night before
Chris Hine, Star Tribune
NYK: What’s up with Mikal Bridges? How will KAT and Mitchell Robinson play together?
James Edwards III/Fred Katz, The Athletic
NYK: Jericho Sims is becoming Knicks’ under-the-radar defensive juggernaut
Stefan Bondy, NY Post
SAC: Kings vs. Rockets gameday: Red-hot Houston, Kevin Huerter’s injury and 3 things to watch
Jason Anderson, Sacramento Bee
SAC: PODCAST: Sacramento Kings weekly recap & preview
Ray LeBov/Nick Agar-Johnson, Kings Weekly Podcast
SAS: Victor Wembanyama’s ‘problems’ are tiny considering big things he’s doing for Spurs
Sam Amick, The Athletic
SAS: Why the Spurs are good again
Zach Harper, The Athletic
Links to final day of Cup group play and draft-related stories follow for paid subscribers