Basketball Intelligence For 3/19/25
Today's Best NBA Reporting And Analysis
*FEATURE OF THE DAY*
'It's Pop's decision. He's earned that': Inside Gregg Popovich's fight to return to the sideline
Ramona Shelburne/Michael C. Wright, ESPN
BI Network PODCAST: Previewing tonight’s Cavs-Kings game with Chris Fedor
Ray LeBov/Nick Agar-Johnson, Kings Weekly Podcast
TEAM-SPECIFIC
BKN: How Nets’ Cam Johnson learned to accept fear of a trade and focus on leading
Jared Weiss, The Athletic
BKN: Nets fall to shorthanded Celtics as lottery odds improve
Brian Lewis, NY Post
BOS: Payton Pritchard on working to be the Celtics’ best defender, quitting alcohol, and why he never flops
Noa Dalzell, Celtics Blog
BOS: Celtics have plenty of talent, but overlooked traits have them thriving
Lorenzo Reyes, USA Today
BOS: Baylor Scheierman thinking about new celebrations, but tough mentality is working
Jay King, The Athletic
BOS: How Baylor Scheierman’s patience paid off for Celtics in late-season emergence
Zack Cox, Boston Herald
BOS: Luke Kornet, the Most Underrated Player of the Year
Owen Phillips, The F5
CLE: Cavs have two primary objectives ahead of the playoffs, and winning 70 games isn’t on the list
Chris Fedor, cleveland.com
CLE: Cavs reach unfamiliar territory with 132-119 loss against Los Angeles Clippers
Chris Fedor, cleveland.com
CLE: The Cavaliers have lost 2 straight. Is it just a ‘bump in the road’ or a test?
Joe Vardon, The Athletic
CLE: Offensive Inconsistencies, Rebounding Issues
Danny Cunningham, The Inside Shot
CLE: Previewing tonight’s Cavs-Kings game with Chris Fedor
Ray LeBov/Nick Agar-Johnson, Kings Weekly Podcast
DET: The Pistons Are More Than Just a Cute Story
Michael Pina, The Ringer
The Pistons were historically bad last season. Now they’re miraculously playoff bound. How did they pull off the NBA’s biggest turnaround in years?
GSW: Jimmy Butler’s scoring, Draymond Green’s defense lift Warriors with Steph Curry out
Anthony Slater, The Athletic
GSW: Draymond Green is (still) a once-in-a-generation defender
Wes Goldberg, Fansided
In case you needed any reminding, Draymond Green is one of the greatest defenders we’ve ever seen. Tuesday night proved he can still dial it up to generational levels when called upon.
GSW: Draymond Green states case for Defensive Player of the Year
Ohm Youngmisuk, ESPN
GSW: The return of Playoff Jimmy Butler and Brandin Podziemski beats Bucks in clutch ending
Eric Apricot, Dub Nation HQ
LAC: Clippers embrace ‘Next Man Up’ to beat Cavs without coach Tyronn Lue, assistant Jeff Van Gundy
Law Murray, The Athletic
LAC: Kawhi Leonard, Clippers topple East-leading Cavaliers
Janis Carr, OC Register
Leonard scores 33 points, Ivica Zubac has 28 points and 20 rebounds and James Harden adds 22 points and nine assists as the Clippers win their fourth straight
LAC: Without Coach Lue, Clippers rise up to beat NBA-leading Cavaliers
Broderick Turner, LA Times
LAC: Clippers coach Tyronn Lue misses win vs. Cavs with back pain
Tim MacMahon, ESPN
LAL: Lakers are capitalizing by getting Luka Doncic, Austin Reaves on the move
Khobi Price, LA Times
Getting Doncic or Reaves the ball when they already have an angle makes life easier for both players and makes them even more difficult for an opponent to defend
LAL: Can Luka and this suddenly stingy Lakers defense fuel a title run?
Dave McMenamin, ESPN
The remaining team-specific stories as well as draft-related and leaguewide stories follow for paid subscribers