Basketball Intelligence For 4/15/26
Today's Best NBA Reporting And Analysis
PLAY-IN, DAY ONE
Play-In: Night One
Jared Dubin, Last Night In Basketball
Blazers clinch playoff spot; Hornets survive thriller: NBA Play-In Tournament takeaways
The Athletic
Breaking Down Hornets–Heat
Con Brennan, Wait For The Screen
GAMENOTES: Play-In Game #1 (9) Charlotte Hornets vs. (10) Miami Heat
Doug Branson, Every Hornets Boxscore
Erik Spoelstra says LaMelo Ball ‘should have been thrown out’ for grabbing Bam Adebayo’s leg
Mike Prada/Eric Nehm, The Athletic
Bam exits early, Heat’s play-in magic and season over after heartbreaking OT loss to Hornets
Anthony Chiang, Miami Herald
The most improbable Blazers season got its most improbable ending
Joe Freeman, Oregon Live
In ‘First Playoff Game,’ Trail Blazers Pass the Test
Sean Highkin, Rose Garden Report
Trail Blazers rally to stun Suns in NBA play-in tournament, clinch playoff berth
Joe Freeman, Oregon Live
Suns stunned by Portland Trail Blazers, still alive for playoffs
Duane Rankin, Arizona Republic
Devin Booker lives for big moments, but Tuesday’s Play-In loss was head-scratching
Doug Haller, The Athletic
LEAGUEWIDE
Spurs vs. Blazers, NBA playoffs preview
Jared Weiss/Jason Quick, The Athletic
5 breakout NBA players who deserve their flowers for this season
Bryan Toporek, Fansided
Candidates to be first-time NBA head coaches this coming hiring cycle
Eric Nehm/Fred Katz, The Athletic
Grades for each NBA team after the 2025-26 regular season
Tim Bontemps, ESPN
Ranking the Top 60 Potential 2026 NBA Free Agents
Eric Pincus, Bleacher Report
Winner-take-all is not teamwork: dividing credit providing better incentives
Dean Oliver
NBA News Roundup
Jacob Sutton, JSutt Hoops
TEAM-SPECIFIC
CLE: What kind of job has Cavs coach Kenny Atkinson done this season?
Terry Pluto, cleveland.com
DEN: NBA Play-In Tournament is missing a staple for the first time: Jonas Valanciunas
Bennett Durando, Denver Post
GSW: With the Warriors’ season on the brink, their stars are on a stopwatch
Dieter Kurtenbach, Mercury News
LAL: Lakers prepare for Rockets playoff series with emphasis on rebounding
Broderick Turner, LA Times
MEM: Grizzlies: 6 priorities for the 2026 offseason
Parker Fleming, Subtsakalidis
MIA: Heat’s season ended valiantly, but effort and almost are not enough
Greg Cote, Miami Herald
MIA: Heat offseason primer: Miami’s cap, tax, draft, free agent situation: What’s next
Barry Jackson, Miami Herald
NOP: Zion Williamson, Pelicans talk a good game but need to finally find a vision
William Guillory, The Athletic
NYK: Is this a Jalen Brunson series? Or a Karl-Anthony Towns series?
Jonathan Macri, Knicks Film School
OKC: Thunder playoff outlook: 5 reasons why (or why not) the NBA champs can defend their title
Joel Lorenzi, The Athletic
ORL: Magic have been a team of response all season
Philip Rossman-Reich, World R Squared
PHI: 3 X-factors to watch in the play-in
Justin Crosby, Philly Sports Network
PHX: Suns in must-win situation after blowing lead in loss to Blazers
Duane Rankin, Arizona Republic
THE DRAFT
New 2026 NBA Mock Draft Projections
Jonathan Wasserman, Bleacher Report
Best Game Series: Kingston Flemings Video Breakdown
Bryce Simon, Game Theory
Should These 2026 NBA Draft Prospects Stay in College or Turn Pro?
Alex Squadron, Hoops HQ
PRO HOOPS HISTORY
Q&A: Tim Hardaway Sr.
Jon Hartzell, NBA.com
‘Jerry West: The Logo’ Review: Dribbling Into NBA History
John Anderson, Wall Street Journal
Netflix’s ‘Untold: Jail Blazers’ doc shows cultural impact, individual growth
Jason Jones, The Athletic