Basketball Intelligence for 2/21/24
The wild West, Kristaps Porzingis, the Lakers in the paint, and more
BI EXCLUSIVE
POD: An AMA with former NBA ref Ronnie Nunn
Ray LeBov/Mike Shearer, Basketball Intelligence
LEAGUEWIDE STORIES
NBA’s Western Conference is set up for wild march to the playoffs
John Hollinger, The Athletic
NBA All-Star Weekend has outgrown its purpose, but that doesn't mean it can't be saved
We have to take the bad with the good. Nearly all of today’s dunk contests are far superior to older ones, but people remember the reputation of dunk contests far more than the actual events. Most of the jams done by even Michael Jordan and Dominique Wilkins in their legendary 1988 battle, which I re-watched right now, would get players laughed out of the gym today, a conveyor belt of slightly rehashed windmills and 360s. They weren’t all rehashes back then, of course (although repeat dunks were very common in early dunk contests). What was new and exciting has become trite and commonplace, kind of like jumping over Shaq.
The sheer nature of the dunk contest means there will always be more duds than successes… but that doesn’t mean the successes don’t exist. I wish people would stop proclaiming that the dunk contest is dead every year. There will be a good one, and soon. Enter every February with low expectations, and you can only be pleasantly surprised.
Playoff playstyles, In-depth X's and O's, Zones, Shotmaking, GG Jackson and More
Vikram Dimba, The NBA Librarian
The (unofficial) NBA All-Fun Team: The 10 most entertaining players to watch right now
Mike Vorkunov, The Athletic
On offense, he’s really amped up his 3-point volume (a staple of the Leon Rose-era Knicks); DiVincenzo is taking more 3s per game than last season but in fewer minutes. He has taken 16 3s in a game this season — twice!
TEAM STORIES
SAS: Former Gonzaga big man Zach Collins loving life alongside Victor Wembanyama in Alamo City
Stephen Hunt, The Spokesman-Review
SAC: POD: Kings season recap, with Seth Partnow
Ray LeBov/Nick Agar-Johnson, Kings Weekly
OKC: Chet Holmgren Explains Why The Thunder ‘Have Nothing To Be Happy About Yet’
Bill DiFilippo, Dime