Basketball Intelligence For 12/9/24
The Steph and Buddy system, Sacramento puts a Huerting on Utah, Orlando's defensive magic, and more...
LEAGUE NEWS
Tom's Title Tiers: #9
Tom Haberstroh, The Finder With Tom Haberstroh
The Lakers stood pat in the offseason, and once again appear to be going nowhere
Gary Washburn, The Boston Globe
Three Things I Noticed on League Pass: Made You Look
Jared Dubin, Last Night, In Basketball
The Whiteboard: Memphis Grizzlies are building a better bear
Matt Moore, Fansided
Some of the talk has focused on their once-again supbar halfcourt offense. But Memphis is up to 16th in that category and climbing. Meanwhile, the Grizzlies have the 10th best offense vs. top-10 defenses and the 3rd-best defense against top-10 offenses.
Their versatility is also starting to shine. With Brandon Clarke back, the Grizzlies are feasting in his minutes. Clarke gives them a high-energy and smart smallball 4/5 option.
A 2024 NBA Cup Primer: Finding Meaning for the Final Eight Teams
Sanny Chau, The Ringer
NBA Rewind: Ja Morant reverses course, the Lakers’ struggles grow and NBA Stock Report!
Zach Harper, The Athletic
The 25 most pivotal players in the NBA Cup knockout rounds
Kevin Pelton, ESPN
NBA trade deadline 2025: Player eligibility as of Dec. 15
Bobby Marks, ESPN
TEAM NEWS
ATL: Quin Snyder, Dyson Daniels explain why Hawks couldn't contain Nikola Jokic
Malik Brown, Clutch Points
BOS: How the Celtics used a loss to prove just how unstoppable their offense really is
Sam Quinn, CBS Sports
BOS: Not much went right against Grizzlies, so it’s encouraging that Celtics were in it to the end
Chad Finn, The Boston Globe
BOS: How the Celtics are evolving this season and what it could mean
Jared Weiss, The Ahtletic
This has alleviated a few points of tension for head coach Joe Mazzulla’s game plans. Throughout the game, second units are not as reliant on Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown to orchestrate now. Even on nights when Boston is missing a starter, Pritchard has become a primary initiator rather than a secondary playmaker. He is keying the first action of a play more frequently and isn’t looking to get off the ball when transition attacks fizzle off.
BOS: 10 takeaways from tactical fight against fast-paced Grizzlies
Azad Rosay, Celtics Blog
CHA: Hornets Come Through In The Clutch, Losing Streak Ceases In Indiana
Sam Perley, NBA.com
CHI: 6 takeaways as the Chicago Bulls lose their offensive identity — and can’t stop Joel Embiid — in a 108-100 loss to the Philadelphia 76ers
Julia Poe, Chicago Tribune
CLE: Cavs can’t overcome injury to Evan Mobley in 122-113 loss to Miami Heat
Chris Fedor, Cleveland.com
CLE: Cavs lose All-Star hopeful to injury in first half vs. Miami Heat
Chris Fedor, Cleveland.com
DAL: Olivier-Maxence Prosper’s improvement a promising sign for Mavericks’ ‘beautiful depth’
Brad Townsend, The Dallas Morning News
DEN : Denver Nuggets respond, win in blowout fashion vs Atlanta Hawks behind Nikola Jokic strong performance
Ryan Blackburn, Mile High Sports
DEN: Nuggets vs. Hawks: 3 takeaways from Denver's much-needed bounce back in Atlanta
Vinny Benedetto, The Denver Gazette
DEN: Nuggets respond with largest win of the season against Hawks
Matt Brooks, NBA.com
DEN: Recap: Denver Nuggets finally come out with energy, bury Atlanta Hawks 141-111
Zach Mikash, Denver Stiffs
GSW: GP2 guides Warriors to victory by stifling Edwards in crunch time
Monte Poole, NBC Sports Bay Area
GSW: How lineup changes and tactical adjustments helped the Warriors exact revenge on the Wolves
Joe Viray, Golden State Of Mind
Both of them ended up providing the jolt of electricity on offense the Warriors needed. Curry supplemented Hield’s performance with 30 points on 18 shots and 65.7% True Shooting. There’s no doubt that two high-level shooters being on the floor at the same time not only opens up shots for teammates — it opens shots up for each other.
HOU: Jalen Green bounces back with 31 efficient points as Rockets (16-8) beat Clippers on road
Dan DuBose, Rockets Wire
IND: McConnell Sets New Milestone with Career Night
Wheat Hotchkiss, NBA.com
LAC: With James Harden and Amir Coffey out, Clippers struggle in loss to Rockets
Broderick Tuner, Yahoo! Sports
LAL: Playing without LeBron James, Lakers have several heroes in win over Portland
Dan Woike, Los Angeles Times
MEM: With Ja Morant and Desmond Bane out, Memphis Grizzlies strengthen case as NBA's deepest team
Damichael Cole, Memphis Commercial Appeal
MIA: The moment when Heat’s Spoelstra ‘glitches’ and Adebayo lets him hear it, ‘He’s yelling at me. I love it’
Ira Winderman, South Florida Sun Sentinel
MIA: Dru Smith’s full-circle moment: A year after getting hurt, he helps Heat knock off the Cavaliers
Tim Reynolds, Toronto Star
Remaining Team News and NBA Draft continued for paid subscribers. Remember: for just $5 a month, you get full access to all the best news and reporting that we hand-curate daily for your enjoyment. Already have a subscription? Now is the perfect time to gift one to someone you know!