Basketball Intelligence For 3/4/26
Today's Best NBA Reporting And Analysis
FEATURE OF THE DAY
: ‘Never seen a player like him defensively’: Cavs newcomer Keon Ellis is a statistical anomaly
Chris Fedor, cleveland.com
LEAGUEWIDE
Embracing the tank isn’t just for NBA GMs and owners. Fans are buying in, too
Josh Robbins, The Athletic
NBA Draft Lottery odds if the season ended today: Who is tanking the best?
Ian Levy, Fansided
Right now, the three best odds at the No. 1 pick belong to the Kings, Pacers and Nets — three franchises headed in very different directions. The Kings came into this season trying to be competitive and, instead, have completely cratered. They are short on young talent, are loaded with expensive veterans and things could get worse before they get better. Landing the No. 1 pick could certainly speed things up but they have a terrible recent track record in the draft and no developmental success to speak of. All that is to say, AJ Dybantsa and Darryn Peterson may be rooting hard for the Kings to not land at No. 1.
A handful of ex-ABA players hope for a last-second financial long shot from the NBA
David Aldridge, The Athletic
NBA News Roundup
Jacob Sutton, JSutt Hoops
Grading every NBA team: Which 4 squads earned an F?
Zach Harper, The Athletic
Instant impacts and ongoing projects from the most recent trade deadline
Shaun Powell, NBA.com
Power Rankings, Week 20
John Schuhmann, NBA.com
TEAM-SPECIFIC
BOS: How would Jayson Tatum’s return from a torn Achilles impact the Celtics?
Jay King, The Athletic
BOS: Mazzulla Ball, Defined
Paul Flannery, Hoopology
CHA: GAMENOTES: Regular Season Game #62 Hornets (30-31) vs. Mavericks
Doug Branson/Evan Hale, Every Hornets Boxscore
CHI: The tanking Bulls, like every NBA team, wish they could be the next Thunder
Jon Greenberg, The Athletic
CLE: ‘Never seen a player like him defensively’: Cavs newcomer Keon Ellis is a statistical anomaly
Chris Fedor, cleveland.com
Evan Mobley knows a little something about disrupting opponents.
And even Mobley, the reigning Defensive Player of the Year who has built his reputation on that end of the floor, was left in awe as he tried to fully characterize new teammate Keon Ellis’ impact on Sunday afternoon.
“He’s everywhere,” Mobley said of Ellis. “If the ball is close to him, he’s probably going to get a hand on it. He’s active. In the right spots. At the right time. It’s a whole different dynamic. Gives us a full, complete defense — as far as guards and bigs. Wherever [the other team] goes, it’s going to be hectic for them. It’s a big plus for us when he’s on the floor.”
The numbers support that.
In 226 minutes with the handsy Ellis on the floor, the Cavs have a 106.9 defensive rating — the statistical equivalent of the Oklahoma City Thunder.
BI Note: Could we finally have an explanation why Kings coaches buried Keon: they had never seen anything like him and so didn’t know what to do with him? That would be lame but no more so than the other “explanations” that have been offered (e.g. “couldn’t find the minutes for him, etc)
CLE: Game Night Observations: The Cavs weren’t at their best, but it was good enough
Danny Cunningham, The Inside Shot
CLE: Donovan Mitchell, Jarrett Allen injuries underscore Cavaliers’ late-season balancing act
Joe Vardon, The Athletic
DEN: Aaron Gordon could return this week. The Nuggets’ season depends on him
Sam Amick, The Athletic
DET: The NBA’s ‘Bad Boys’ Are Back—and They Are Shockingly Good
Robert O’Connell, Wall Street Journal
LAL: Observations: Game 61 vs Pels
Iztok Franko, digginbasketball
LAL: Lakers’ big 3 of LeBron, Luka and Austin Reaves has been too small this season
Law Murray, The Athletic
More links to team-specific stories as well as draft-related items follow for paid subscribers
