Basketball Intelligence For 3/15/25
Today's Best NBA Reporting And Analysis
*FEATURE OF THE DAY*
How an NBA fairy tale became sport betting’s cautionary tale
Albert Samaha, Washington Post
TEAM-SPECIFIC
ATL: Hawks fall to Clippers following abysmal third quarter
Lauren Williams, AJC
BOS: Jrue Holiday starts Celtics on way to a win over the Heat, and Derrick White closes it out, again
Adam Himmelsbach, Boston Globe
CHA: There’s no question Miles Bridges is leading the Hornets
Roderick Boone, Charlotte Observer
CLE: ‘Fun and work’: Inside Cavs' Nashville trip that helped fuel a franchise-record 16th straight win
Chris Fedor, cleveland.com
CLE: Cavs rewrite history books with 133-124 win over Memphis Grizzlies
Chis Fedor, cleveland.com
CLE: Cavaliers’ historic 16th straight win set up by team bonding, football game in Nashville
Joe Vardon, The Athletic
CLE: A New Record Winning Streak and Evan Mobley's Battle
Danny Cunningham, The Inside Shot
DAL: Mavericks’ loss to Rockets a painful reminder of what Dallas could have been
Christian Clark, The Athletic
DAL: Houston batters a Mavs team that bore little resemblance from the two teams' last meeting
Brad Townsend, Morning News
Dallas ended the night with 275 player-games missed to injury or illness – and now at least three players are out for the season.
BI: Not close to last season’s record-setting 579 (Grizzlies) but still hugely impactful, especially in the context of the Doncic giveaway.
DEN: Aaron Gordon returns again from a calf injury that continues to hang over Nuggets
Bennett Durando, Denver Post
DEN: Weary Nuggets escape with win against depleted Lakers
Tony Jones, The Athletic
DEN: Murray's dagger 3 allows Nuggets to avoid disaster against depleted Lakers
Vinny Benedetto, Denver Gazette
DEN: Jamal Murray’s game-winning 3 saves Nuggets on awful night against depleted Lakers
Bennett Durando, Denver Post
The Lakers didn’t have Luka Doncic, LeBron James, Rui Hachimura or Dorian Finney-Smith. It almost didn’t matter.
GSW: Warriors must address kinks Steph warned of after Butler trade
Monte Poole, NBC Sports
GSW: The Most Effective Rookie Isn't Who You Think
Jacob Sutton, JSutt Hoops
That rookie, coming in at the #52 pick in the 2024 Draft, is Quinten Post.
The stats, while not quite pop-off-the-page numbers, are intriguing:
8.3 PPG (in 16 minutes)
3.9 REB
1.5 AST
41.7% shooting from three
That latter number is what will catch the eye of most people, and rightfully so. The 7-footer with a 7’2” wingspan is knocking down threes at a better rate than the vast majority of the league and is doing so on a team that thrives beyond the arc for obvious reasons. For being “immobile,” as one scouting report mused prior to the draft, he’s done a really good job as a screener who fades off into the three
GSW: VIDEO and PODCAST: Jonathan Kuminga returns, switches, dunks all over Kings and more
Eric Apricot/Marc Campbell, Dub Nation HQ/Low Man Help
GSW: Kings force anybody but Curry to beat them, anybody but Curry crushes Kings 130-104
Duncan, Dub Nation HQ
GSW: Kuminga's return indicates Warriors are back
Punk Basketball, Dub Nation HQ
GSW: With Jonathan Kuminga back, Warriors have the chance to shift into another gear
Danny Emerman, Mercury News
The rest of today’s newsletter follows for paid subscribers