TEAM-SPECIFIC STORIES
ATL: 5 Observations as Hawks fall to Celtics
Lauren Williams, AJC
BKN: Film Study: How the Nets attacked Rudy Gobert, adjusting their offense to negate his big weapons
Alec Sturm, Nets Daily
BKN: Mikal Bridges is on fire and fast becoming the face of the Nets franchise
Net Income, Nets Daily
BOS: Blake Griffin strengthens hold on surprise role
Brian Robb, Mass Live
CHI: LaVine continues torrid stretch as Bulls move into 10th
KC Johnson, NBC Sports
CHI: Physicality is here to stay for guard Coby White
Joe Cowley, Sun Times
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CLE: Does Evan Mobley Have What It Takes to Become a Force at Both Ends?
Jackson Frank, The Analyst
DAL: Without Doncic and Irving, Mavericks cap late loss to Grizzlies with regret
Callie Caplan, Morning News
GSW: Clutch Curry Delivers in OT Win Over Bucks
Warriors.com
GSW: Curry decimates Bucks in final minutes
Colin Ward-Henninger, CBS Sports
GSW: Curry's big block beats Bucks (with some big shots)
Eric Apricot, Dub Nation HQ
GSW: Curry fuels Warriors' victory
Kendra Andrews, ESPN
GSW: Film Breakdown: How Steph Curry was able to win the battle against Jrue Holiday
Joe Viray, Golden State Of Mind
HOU: Collapse in the clutch and more growing pains
Jonathan Feigen, Houston Chronicle
IND: Short-handed Pacers beat even more short-handed Pistons
Dustin Dopirak, Indy Star
LAC: Leonard and George power Clippers past Knicks for third win in a row
Broderick Turner, LA Times
LAC: Leonard’s 38 points help Clippers put away the Knicks
Janis Carr, OC Register
LAL: How the Lakers have manufactured the best defense in the league since the trade deadline
Alex Regla, Silver Screen And Roll
MEM: David Roddy charges Grizzlies to comeback victory over Mavs
Parker Fleming, Bluff City Media
MEM: The ‘David Roddy Game’ was magical, memorable and just maybe a beginning
Chris Herrington, Daily Memphian
MEM: Roddy's breakout 24-point performance leads Grizzlies to win vs Mavericks
Damichael Cole, Commercial Appeal
MIA: Lowry comes off bench in return
Nick Friedell, ESPN
MIA: Heat loses in overtime to Magic despite more good work from Butler: Details and takeaways
Barry Jackson, Miami Herald
MIN: Wolves need Anthony Edwards to show patience against switching defenses
Jace Frederick, Pioneer Press
NYK: Randle loses cool to swing Knicks’ loss as slide continues
Peter Botte, NY Post
OKC: Thunder beat Pelicans as Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams return to lineup
Joe Mussatto, The Oklahoman
ORL: Wendell Carter’s return fuels Magic’s overtime win over Heat
Khobi Price, Orlando Sentinel
ORL: Bitadze making his presence felt on the offensive glass with the Magic
Khobi Price, Orlando Sentinel
ORL: Bitadze has made an impact in an impressive way
Philip Rossman-Reich, Orlando Magic Daily
PHI: Embiid is trying to be the best player on the floor every night — and he has been
Paul Hudrick, Liberty Ballers
PHO: Five takeaways from Suns falling to Kings minus Kevin Durant
Duane Rankin, Arizona Republic
PHO: Suns slip up with disconnected play in loss to Kings
Kellan Olson, Arizona Sports
POR: Cam Reddish on his time with Knicks
Stefan Bondy, Daily News
SAC: The quiet importance of Harrison Barnes, Trey Lyles
Ethan Fuller, Basketball News
SAC: Edwards, bench power Kings over Suns
Jarrod Castillo, NBC Sports
UTA: Talen Horton-Tucker’s recent success could serve as a launch pad for the rest of his career
Sarah Todd, Deseret News
UTA: Horton-Tucker drops 37 points in 'spectacular' fashion to lead Jazz over Hornets
Ryan Miller, KSL
UTA: Three thoughts on the Jazz’s win over the Hornets
Andy Larsen, Salt Lake Tribune
UTA: The Talen Horton-Tucker experiment is trending up in a big way
Eric Walden, Salt Lake Tribune
LEAGUE-WIDE STORIES
NBA referees make a lot of mistakes, but player vendettas? Not likely
Dave Feschuk, Toronto Star
after a week in which the state of referee-player relations has been a hot-button topic around the league, McCutchen, now the NBA’s vice-president of referee development and training, said he wanted to make something clear: In his experience, it’s simply not feasible for an NBA referee to use the game to grind axes.
“We have an entire basketball strategy and analytics team that grades referees. And when we see commentary like (VanVleet’s), we go in and do analysis — analysis on referees and on referee-player relationships,” McCutchen said. “Something like this comes up and we flat out see whether there is bias or not. And in my five years (as VP of referee development and training) we have not found (such a bias) in a single instance, where there’s been a bias from a referee to a player over a long enough body of work.”
If credible evidence of personal bias was found, he said, the consequences would be serious.
“I’ll be really clear about this. If I found bias like that, it wouldn’t be, ‘Oh, we’re not going to let this referee referee this team or this player,’” McCutchen said. “No, if there’s a bias like that, that we ever find, it’ll be, ‘This referee is no longer being the professional that we need them to be.’ Because the fundamental tenet of all officiating is fairness.”
Sunday Notes
Gary Washburn, Boston Globe
76ers, Nuggets could each face unprecedentedly difficult roads to NBA Finals
Colin Ward-Henninger, CBS Sports
THE DRAFT
Scout-Takes: Jalen Hood-Schifino
Stephen Gillaspie, No Ceilings