Basketball Intelligence For 2/27/26
FEATURE OF THE DAY
Regenerative care MD on Tautm’s recovery and possible return
Adam Taylor, Celtics Chronicle
LEAGUEWIDE
NBA championship race reset: Spurs, Pistons and 6 other teams with a real shot
Sam Amick, The Athletic
Why the Pistons, Spurs, and Rockets Stood Pat at the Trade Deadline
Yossi Gozlan, Third Apron
Does the East have a true favorite?
Tim Bontemps/Brian Windhorst, ESPN
Pistons, Cavs adding new flavor to a longstanding East rivalry
Steve Aschburner, NBA.com
NBA Power Rankings
Andy Bailey, Bleacher Report
Zaccharie Risacher, Ronald Holland and the 2024 NBA Draft class are at a crossroads
John Hollinger, The Athletic
NBA Rookie Rankings
Mark Medina, Athlon Sports
Alex Sarr’s second jumps, Jaylon Tyson’s deceitful cuts and more NBA trends
Fred Katz, The Athletic
The NBA’s loyalties have shifted from what’s best for teams to what’s best for gamblers
Sarah Todd, Deseret News
In past years, the NBA was not so closely tied to gambling, but now the relationship between the two worlds is completely intertwined.
You can’t consume any NBA content without being inundated with DraftKings and FanDuel ads. Coaches and players are regularly sent death threats for their decisions and performances. My inbox is full of people wanting early access to player availability.
The NBA doesn’t want to admit that it has opened the door to a problem that has grown beyond its control. The NBA doesn’t want to admit that it can massage the player participation policy to keep the gambling world happy.
Rather, the league wants to punish the teams for operating within a system that incentivizes losing. The league would rather put the blame on the teams that are forced to build through the draft than risk losing engagement and profit that comes from gambling.
Building the 2028 Olympic team: Paris left a manual
bang!
TEAM-SPECIFIC
ATL: Corey Kispert finds his footing with career night against old team
Lauren Williams, AJC
BOS: Regenerative care MD on Tautm’s recovery and possible return
Adam Taylor, Celtics Chronicle
CHA: Kon Knueppel is rewriting NBA shooting history
Ian Levy, Fansided
CHA: A Season We Didn’t See Coming
James Plowright, Buzz Beat
LaMelo Ball has stayed healthy.
Kon Knueppel has been historically efficient and has broken rookie records
Brandon Miller came back from injury and looked better than ever.
Moussa Diabaté is quite literally a treasure someone left at a yard sale.
Miles Bridges figured out how to complement as a fourth option.
The front office turned Collin Sexton into Coby White.
Kalkbrenner and James? Day-one contributors. As rookies. What world is this?
Josh Green and Grant Williams returned after injury and haven’t missed a beat.
Tidjane Salaün is steadily leveling up.
PJ Hall immediately helped Charlotte get into the win column in Chicago.
Tre Mann: Well, let’s just say not everything can be a masterpiece.
CHI: Bulls extend losing streak to 11 games
Joel Lorenzi, The Athletic
CLE: James Harden upgrades the Cavaliers; Jarrett Allen was already surging
Joe Vardon, The Athletic
DAL: Mavericks Fall to NBA’s Worst Team
Austin Veazey, Sports Illustrated
The Dallas Mavericks were finally back at home on Thursday as they hosted the pitiful Sacramento Kings. The Kings entered the game with the worst record in the NBA, and no matter the result of this game, they would leave with the worst record.
After losing 10-straight games, the Mavericks have two straight wins after beating the tanking Indiana Pacers and Brooklyn Nets earlier this week. To keep up with the lottery odds, the Mavericks needed to lose this game.
This is huge for the tanking Mavs to reestablish themselves back in the loss column, especially against the worst team in the NBA. Sacramento officially won the season series against the Mavs, which could impact tiebreakers, but it’s unlikely the Mavs outtank the Kings the rest of the way.
DAL; Jason Kidd finally unleashes AJ Johnson
Noah Weber, The Smoking Cuban
