Basketball Intelligence For 3/17/25
The day's best news and reporting.
*FEATURE OF THE DAY*
The Ultimate 2025 NCAA Tournament NBA Draft Prospect Guide
Maxwell Baumbach, No Ceilings
LEAGUEWIDE
NBA Game Notes: We're Back!
Keith Smith, Basketball Bulletin
Recapping Winners and Losers from the Weekend | HOOPS Daily, 3/17/2025
Dustin Brewer, HOOPS
Three Things I Noticed on League Pass:
Jared Dubin, Last Night, In Basketball
The West playoff picture gets spicier every day
Tom Ziller, Good Morning It’s Basketball
This intriguing race is as close as ever. The Rockets, Grizzlies and Nuggets are perfectly tied at 43-25. The Lakers also have 25 losses, but with just 41 wins. Houston over Memphis is the only settled tiebreaker.
Denver's elephant in the room - Tom's Title Tiers #22
Tom Haberstroh, The Finder With Tom Haberstroh
NBA Playoff Picture East: Who Do Contenders Want To Play And Avoid?
Hardwood Paroxysm
Jake Fischer Latest: Three-team (and larger) trades are only becoming more common
The People’s Insider, The Stein Line
TEAM NEWS
ATL: Fans get after Hawks HC Quin Snyder over loss to reeling Nets
Joshua Buckhalter, Soaring Down South
BOS: What makes Payton Pritchard a shoo-in for the NBA’s Sixth Man honors? The 3s, of course. But that’s not all.
Adam Himmelsbach, The Boston Globe
BOS: Unicorn sighting: the return of Kristaps Porzingis
Bill Sy, Celtics Blog
BOS: Payton Pritchard’s record-setting night should secure Sixth Man of the Year award
Jacob Issenberg, Celtics Blog
CHA: Norman Powell returns as Clippers rout Hornets
Janis Carr, Los Angeles Daily News
CHA: ‘There’s so many elements’: Charles Lee explains where Hornets’ LaMelo Ball can improve
Roderick Boone, Charlotte Observer
Unlike the past two extremely injury-married campaigns, LaMelo Ball is available during this stretch run to close out the season, and it’s providing a chance for the Hornets’ coach and the rest of the team’s hierarchy to get an extended look at the face of the franchise.
CLE: Cleveland Cavaliers "Push" Action
Half Court Hoops
CLE: Game Day Observations: The End of the Streak and Shooting Variance
Danny Cunningham, The Inside Shot
CLE: Loss to Magic shows how important one player might be to the Cavs’ championship hopes
Ethan Sands, Cleveland.com\
CLE: Cavaliers’ franchise-record winning streak comes to a grinding halt against Magic
Evan Dammarell, Heavy
CLE: 'He's part of the Big 4': Cavs see Jarrett Allen as vital, humble part of the roster
Ryan Lewis, Akron Beacon Journal
DAL: Mavericks aren't done just yet with latest update surrounding Anthony Davis
Joseph Kallan, Fansided
DEN: Michael Malone: Defense needs to improve if Nuggets are “serious about making the postseason”
Bennett Durando, The Denver Post
GSW: Preview: Nuggets, Bucks will test revamped Warriors
Punk Basketball, Dub Nation HQ
LAC: James Harden and Clippers dominate Hornets for third straight win
Broderick Turner, Los Angeles Times
LAC: 'Good professional win' says Lue of Clippers' demolition of the Hornets
Justin Russo, Russo Writes, A Substack Publication
LAL: Luka Doncic scores 33 and gritty Lakers beat Suns to end four-game losing skid
Dan Woike, Los Angeles Times
LAL: The Whiteboard: The Lakers are already good enough
Matt Moore, Fansided
Here’s the secret: Luka Dončić is a microwaveable meal. Or maybe it’s more “Just Add Water.”
With Dončić, all you need to be very good is a pick-and-roll big who can run the floor and switch defensively and at least one reliable 3-and-D wing. Two, preferably, but one will work in most situations.
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