Basketball Intelligence For 2/1/25
The Alien overcomes The Freak, Boston's number zero has no interest in OT, Maxey gives it his all in another Sixers defeat, and more...
*FEATURE OF THE DAY*
10 NBA playoff contenders: How to fix most imbalanced teams
Neil Paine, ESPN
TEAM NEWS
BOS: ‘He brought us home’: Jayson Tatum’s basket with two-tenths of a second left lifts Celtics past Pelicans
Adam Himmelsbach, The Boston Globe
BOS: 4 takeaways as Celtics beat Pelicans after Jayson Tatum hits game winner
Brian Robb, Mass Live
It was a comedy of errors in the last few weeks in close games so it was refreshing to see the Celtics execute when they needed to in the final minute. Tatum delivered his second game-winner of the year after hit a buzzer-beater 3 against the Raptors back in November. Brown also found an easy look for himself in a tie game in the final minute. That shouldn’t earn this team too much accolades against a lottery team but it was a nice shift after nearly self combusting against this team earlier this month.
BOS: Shoot your shot: 10 Takeaways from Celtics-Pelicans
Oliver Fox, Celtics Blog
CLE: How the Cavs’ zone defense works, and why it has been a success
Evin Gualberto, Cleveland.com
DAL: How Dante Exum’s return can help the Mavericks connect the dots
Tyleredsel, Mavs Moneyball
DAL: Progress undone—same old turnover issues keep coming back in a big way
Iztok Franci, Diggin Basketball
DAL: Mavericks vs Pistons Recap: 3 thoughts from the Mavericks 117-102 loss to the Pistons
Gracie Villiard, Mavs Moneyball
DEN: Nuggets defeat 76ers with huge Nikola Jokić clutch performance
Matt Brooks, NBA.com
DEN: Nuggets vs. 76ers: 3 takeaways from Denver's dramatic win in Philadelphia
Vinny Benedetto, The Denver Gazette
GSW: Taking stock of the Warriors’ assets ahead of the NBA trade deadline
Danny Emerman, The Mercury News
LAC: A case for Norman Powell
Aaron Bollwinkel, Live. Breathe. Ball.
Of course, the absence of Kawhi Leonard to start the season is what opened the door for Powell to become a starter. And the Klaw’s continued leg issues also left 17 shots a game (Kawhi attempted 17.1 field goal attempts per game last season) on the table for other Clippers to pick at. And like the carrion consumer Chuck the Condor, Powell has certainly had his way with those available scraps, increasing his field goal attempts from 10.1 last season to 16.8 this year.
However, a strange thing happened that underscores just how good of a season Powell is having: Kawhi returned, and rather than ceding his starting spot or his production, Stormin’ Norman has actually been better.
MIA: Kel'el Ware is the steal of the 2024 draft if he continues the shine at swing skill
Max Marshall, All U Can Heat
MIA: The Culture Report: Trade Thoughts, Statistical Trends & is Bam Back?
John Jablonka, Simply Ballin
MIL: Giannis Antetokounmpo, Doc Rivers and Damian Lillard react to Bucks' 144-118 loss to Spurs
Jim Owczarski Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
MIL: Brutal loss to Spurs amplifies Bucks' key objective before NBA Trade Deadline
Dalton Sell, Behind The Bucks Pass
NOP: Pelicans lose heartbreaker to Celtics, despite Trey Murphy's 40 points; Dejounte Murray's season over
Rod Walker, Nola.com
NOP: Celtics 118, Pelicans 116: Trey Murphy 40 points | Postgame wrap
Jim Eichenhofer, NBA.com
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