Basketball Intelligence For 3/10/25
The Cavaliers continue to stampede through the league, the Sixers lose their race to the bottom with a win, Detroit is rocking steady, and more...
*FEATURE OF THE DAY*
Cavaliers’ Jarrett Allen Breaks Silence on Role Change
Adam Taylor, Heavy.
TEAM NEWS
ATL: NBA Star Dyson Daniels Is the Best Ball-Thief In the World: Here’s How He Does It
Lars Brandle, Rolling Stone
As he finds his way in his third pro season, Daniels has lifted his productivity across the board. Points are up from 5.8 per game last season with the Pelicans to almost 14ppg this time with the Hawks, and his play has placed him in the mix for defensive player of the year. Surely a spot on an all-NBA defensive team awaits. Rebounds, assists, field goal percentage, they’re all up. And it all comes back to D.
BOS: 10 takeaways from the Celtics ending the Lakers’ win streak
Azad Rosay, Celtics Blog
BOS: Boston Celtics coach explains crucial playoff practice in Lakers win
Souichi Terada, Mass Live
BOS: Celtics’ top defenders marvel at Jaylen Brown’s defense: “I don’t do it as well as he does”
Noa Dalzell, Celtics Blog
CHA: What Hornets’ head coach wants from first-round pick in final stretch of rookie year
Mike Kaye, The Herald
CHI: Will it be as simple as out with Nikola Vucevic, in with Zach Collins for Bulls?
Joe Cowley, Chicago Sun-Times
BI: The strong play of Josh Giddey since the Zach LaVine trade is a positive sign for the Bulls, but it is going to lead to some very tough internal questions about valuing the player as he hits free agency this summer.
CLE: Game Night Observations: Good Energy Returns, Making a Statement, and Donovan Mitchell's Passing
Danny Cunningham, The Inside Shot
CLE: Cavs show depth and balance, extend winning streak to 14 with 112-100 win over Bucks
Chris Fedor, Cleveland.com
CLE: Cavs look more like themselves, defeat Bucks 112-100
Jackson Flickinger, Fear The Sword
DEN: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scores 40, Aaron Gordon injured as Nuggets fall to Thunder in first round of back-to-back
Bennett Durando, The Denver Post
DEN: Denver Nuggets blown out in fourth quarter by Oklahoma City Thunder in MVP battle
Ryan Blackburn, Mile High Sports
DET: Detroit Pistons extinguish Portland Trail Blazers, 119-112, despite 4Q struggles
Omari Sankofa II, Detroit Free Press
DET: Chauncey Billups likes what he sees in Detroit Pistons turnaround: 'J.B. has been awesome'
Omari Sankofa II, Detroit Free Press
GSW: Why Santos' rise should earn him Warriors playoff rotation spot
Dalton Johnson, NBC Sports Bay Area
GSW: Recap: Gui, Jimmy, and Draymond win slugfest versus Detroit, 115-110
Duncan, Dub Nation HQ
Gui Santos’s one big drawback is that he fouls, a lot. Which is fine in small doses, but if he’s gonna play this well the Warriors need him to stay on the floor. Now that he’s becoming a 25 minute per game player that cameos in closing lineups, that’s a problem he needs to be working on. He fouled out with a minute to go in this one with just 26 minutes played.
LAC: Kawhi Leonard’s spectacular buzzer-beater lifts Clippers to OT win over Kings
Broderick Turner, Los Angeles Times
LAC: Kawhi Leonard drains game-winning floater as time expires to lift Clippers past Kings
Kurt Helin, NBA Sports
LAC: Kawhi Leonard hits OT buzzer-beater to power Clippers past Kings
Law Murray, The Athletic
LAC: Kawhi Leonard lifts Clippers with buzzer-beater, his first since his iconic playoff shot with Raptors
Colin Ward-Henninger, CBS Sports
BI: Kawhi Leaonard’s last two buzzer-beating shots hit the rim a total of six times before landing through the net
LAL: LeBron James doesn’t view groin injury as serious, but it’s too soon to set return date
Dan Woike, Los Angeles Times
LAL: Can Markieff Morris help talk the Lakers back to an NBA championship?
Dan Woike, Los Angeles Times
MEM: Ja Morant, Desmond Bane carry load as Grizzlies hold off Pelicans
Chris Herrington, Daily Memphian
MIA: Miami Heat vs Chicago Bulls Game #63 Notes
John Jablonka, Simply Ballin
MIL: Doc Rivers offers Bucks needed reality check after ugly loss to Cavaliers
Dalton Sell, Behind The Buck Pass
Meanwhile, the Milwaukee Bucks looked discombobulated. Milwaukee settled for a handful of odd shot attempts, oftentimes contested jumpers, rather than duplicating Cleveland's unselfish nature. The end result was a final tally of 100 points, a 29 percent success rate from three and 17 assists. Numbers like that simply won't cut it, especially against a formidable foe like the Cavaliers.
NYK: What's at Stake?
Jonathan Macri, Knicks Film School
NYK: Knicks Bulletin: ‘We’re humans’
Antonio Losada, Posting And Toasting
OKC: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, OKC Thunder roar past Denver Nuggets with MVP performance
Joel Lorenzi, The Oklahoman
ORL: Orlando Magic aren't just missing one spark plug
Phillip Rossman-Reich, Orlando Magic Daily
PHI: Jazz out-tank Sixers in epic battle for ping-pong balls
Sean Keane, Yardbarker
PHI: 3 biggest takeaways for Sixers following home win over Jazz to end skid
Ky Carlin, Sixers Wire
POR: Family, Friends, Teammates And Fans Pay Tribute To The Life And Legacy Of Bill Walton
Casey Holdahl, NBA.com
POR: Blazers Can’t Close in on Pistons in the Clutch
Conor Bergin, Blazer’s Edge
POR: Give the meal some time
Aaron Bollwinkel, Live. Breathe. Ball.
The fact that the element of Scoot’s game once considered his greatest liability has now become a strength is a testament to Henderson’s work ethic. He has shot particularly well since his breakout performance on January 14 against the Nets—a game in which he scored a career-high 39 points in a Portland loss.
Since that day, his 2.2 made threes per game are second only to Anfernee Simons (3.1) for the team lead and rank 20th in the entire league among players averaging less than 30 minutes per game. More importantly, it’s the where of those shots that matters most. Scoot has improved from shooting 33% on above-the-break threes to 42.4%, while being equally effective off the catch (43.3%) and off the dribble (40.9%).
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