Basketball Intelligence For 2/7/23
Today's Best NBA Reporting And Analysis
TEAM-SPECIFIC STORIES
ATL: Hawks don’t need to be torn down but their issues can’t be fixed at deadline
Jeff Schultz, The Athletic
BKN: Nets move on: 'Stars leaving ... it's just kind of normal now'
James Herbert, CBS Sports
BKN: Harris’ D Is Making Him Unplayable & Possibly Untradeable
Steve Lichtenstein
BKN: Why Dorian Finney-Smith was such a huge pickup for the Nets
Bryan Kalbrosky, USA Today
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CHI: Drummond too valuable on the boards for the Bulls to trade him now that they’re winning
Austin Carroll, Pippen Ain’t Easy
CHI: Drummond, Vucevic form potent 1-2 punch
KC Johnson, NBC Sports
DAL: Why the Mavs’ win over the Jazz briefly upstaged the Kyrie Irving trade
Tim Cato, The Athletic
DAL: Examining Kyrie Irving's basketball fit with the Mavericks
Nekais Duncan, Basketball News
DAL: How will Kyrie Irving fit with Luka Dončić? What does Dallas need to do next?
Sam Vecenie, The Athletic
DAL: Barring other moves, the Mavericks are going to be a problem and have problems
Tom Ziller, GMIB
DAL: National experts grade the Irving trade
Dallas Morning News
GSW: Warriors handle Thunder as trade deadline week comes into greater focus
Anthony Slater, The Athletic
GSW: Nuclear Klay Thompson stagger flares and follows his way to 12 threes against OKC
Eric Apricot, Dub Nation HQ
HOU: Jalen Green adjusting to return from calf injury
Danielle Lerner, Houston Chronicle
HOU: Stephen Silas blasts his team for ‘disappointing’ effort in loss to Kings
Danielle Lerner, Houston Chronicle
“The effort. The effort,” he said, those six syllables dripping with fury.
Asked to elaborate, Silas said, “It was getting into the body, getting over the screen, being in help, spreading the close outs, doing what we're supposed to do, acting as if it doesn't matter. It matters. It matters. Disappointing. These are the lessons we have to learn, I guess, and all that stuff, but that? That's not right. What we did tonight on that floor was not right. It's not right.”
IND: The Tricky Line The Pacers Have To Tightrope At The Trade Deadline
Tony East, Forbes
LAL: LeBron, Kareem, and the Secrets to Greatness
Mirin Fader, The Ringer
LAL: LeBron James, seldom labeled a pure scorer, eyes the NBA points summit
Zach Lowe, ESPN
LAL: How LBJ has always stayed one step ahead of the defenses designed to stop him
Dan Devine, Yahoo Sports
LAL: With no signature shot, LeBron James simply scores from everywhere
Shaun Powell, NBA.com
LAL: After missing out on Kyrie Irving, Lakers face internal pressure, tough choices
Kyle Goon, OC Register
MEM: 3 ways the Grizzlies could get rolling again, without a trade
Parker Fleming, Grizzly Bear Blues
MIA: Heat trades Dedmon to Spurs, giving Miami more space, flexibility under tax line
Anthony Chiang, Miami Herald
MIL: Brook Lopez scores big, but also does the little things in win over Blazers
Eric Nehm, The Athletic
MIN: Timberwolves at trade deadline: Outlook for a team just starting to find itself
Jon Krawczynski, The Athletic
MIN: Three Ways Jordan McLaughlin’s Return Will Help the Timberwolves
Aidan Berg, Canis Hoopus
MIN: Jordan McLaughlin is back to ignite Timberwolves offense
Chris Hine, Star Tribune
NOP: Trey Murphy helped Pelicans halt offensive slump with weekend wins
Christian Clark, The Advocate
NYK: Knicks Get Gutty Win As The Bench Saves the Day
Tommy Beer, What’s On Tap
PHI: Stats Notebook: Giving James Harden the flowers he deserves
Ethan Fuller, Basketball News
PHI: Morey's thoughts on the trade deadline, free agency, Harden, and more
Kyle Neubeck, Philly Voice
SAS: The Spurs are witnessing Keldon Johnson become an elite finisher
Noah Magaro-George, Air Alamo
UTA: Jazz come up short in listless loss to Mavericks
Tony Jones, The Athletic
UTA: Ahead of trade deadline, focused Jazz remind 'it's our job to listen'
Tim MacMahon, ESPN
"This is not a laboratory where we're just testing a bunch of s---, because I think we owe it to the guys to put them in a position to win," Will Hardy, the Jazz's 35-year-old, first-time head coach, told ESPN. "They've shown to date this year that they're right in the mix in the West. With how jumbled up the standings are, making the playoffs is a very realistic goal."
Making the playoffs, however, is not Utah's primary goal. The big picture is to build a team with a legitimate chance to contend, which remains the front office's priority.
"It doesn't influence my process," Ainge said. "I mean, we're enjoying the team. The fans love our team, they've bought into our team, and we're enjoying that part of it. But we're not looking to break it up or necessarily go win a championship this year, either. We're trying to do things that will help us long term. We're not looking for a short-term fix so that we can get to the seventh seed instead of the 10th seed, unless it helps us long term."
In other words, in a market in which teams looking to move players are scarce, the Jazz are once again open for business.
WAS: Johnny Davis speaks on his rookie season
Chase Hughes, NBC Sports
LEAGUE-WIDE STORIES
The Mavs bet on drama. The Nets bet on defense
David Thorpe, True Hoop
Power Rankings, Week 17
John Schuhmann, NBA.com
Everything to know about the 2023 Jordan Rising Stars
Brian Martin, NBA.com
6 teams that need to make a deal at the deadline
Ian Levy, The Step Back
News from in and around the NBA world
Brian Windhorst/Tim MacMahon/Kendra Andrews/Bobby Marks, ESPN
Magic Post Set, Cavs Spain & Pelicans Horns Specials
Gibson Pyper, Half Court Hoops
Truths about the trade arena
Dan Clayton, Salt City Hoops
GMs largely don’t negotiate via the Hoopshype rumors page. The assertion that a team leaked a rumor to “send a message” to another GM always makes me chuckle. There are 30 GMs in the league, and they all have about 47 different ways to connect to each other instantaneously. The idea that a GM would call a reporter, plant a rumor, wait for the rumor to be published and then hope his counterpart sees it is so inefficient compared to the alternative: text the other guy and say what you want to say.
THE DRAFT
An OTE Check-In: Do the Thompsons Have A Finishing Problem?
Adam Spinella, The Box And One
Is Scoot Henderson a Better Prospect Than Derrick Rose?
Maxwell Baumbach, No Ceilings
Checking in on a few potential first-round prospects
Jeremy Woo, Sports Ilustrated
NBA HISTORY
10 things to know about Dick Barnett
Craig Shoup/Gary Estwick, Nashville Tennessean