Basketball Intelligence For 4/21/25
The Thunder clap the Grizzlies, the Warriors defense came out to play in Houston, Orlando's magic can't best Boston's shamrock, and more...
*FEATURE OF THE DAY*
Firings, 'cheerleader energy' and lost trust: What really led to the Luka Doncic trade
Tim McMahon, ESPN
WNBA
Five Out: The Pain of the Portal, Post-Draft Gems and Dallas' New Sole Superstar
Andrew Haubner, No Cap Space
LEAGUEWIDE
The Whiteboard: Expert picks for every major NBA award too good to argue with
Lior Lampert/Matt Moore/Quinn Everts/Wes Goldberg, Fansided
Six Overreactions to the Opening Weekend of the NBA Playoffs
Michael Pina, The Ringer
Three Things I Noticed in Game 1s: Opening Statements
Jared Dubin, Last Night, In Basketball
NBA Game Notes: Sunday's Game 1 Action!
Keith Smith, Basketball Bulletin
NBA free agents: Team-by-team lists for 2025 and 2026
ESPN
"It felt like 1997" - Tom's Title Tiers #27
Tom Haberstroh, The Finder With Tom Haberstroh
The NBA Playoffs Are Under Way | HOOPS Daily, 4/21/2025
Dustin Brewer, HOOPS Daily
What we learned from NBA playoffs Game 1s: Warriors' savvy veterans steal home court
Jeff Zillgitt/Lorenzo Reyes, USA Today
Stakes
Katie Hendl, Basketball Feelings
TEAM NEWS
BOS: Playoff Jrue returns at perfect time for Celtics: ‘I like to win'
Chris Forsberg, NBC Sports Boston
BOS: Payton Pritchard makes compelling playoff change in Boston Celtics Game 1 win
Brian Robb, Mass Live
CLE: Cavaliers know Heat series won’t be easy, but it could be just what they need
Jason Lloyd, The Athletic
CLE: Cavs fans will love reading these playoff Scribbles
Terry Pluto, Cleveland.com
CLE: Cavaliers leader Donovan Mitchell sets tone for Cavs playoffs in Game 1 vs. Heat
Nate Ulrich, Akron Beacon Journal
CLE: ‘He’s made for the spotlight’: Inside Ty Jerome’s legendary Cavs playoff debut against the Heat
Chris Fedor, Cleveland.com
CLE: Game Night Observations: Ty Jerome's Debut, Donovan Mitchell Doing the Little Things and the Cleveland Cavaliers Begin the Playoffs with a Nice Win
Danny Cunningham, The Inside Shot
DAL: Uncompromising Nico Harrison has tall task of guiding Mavs past cloud of Luka Doncic deal
Brad Townsend, The Dallas Morning News
DEN: Michael Porter Jr. problem the Nuggets will struggle to overcome
Ben Handler, Nugg Love
GSW: Warriors’ Draymond Green ready to turn back the clock if Rockets go old-school
Scott Ostler, San Francisco Chronicle
GSW: What we learned as Steph, Warriors grab gritty Game 1 win over Rockets
Dalton Johnson, NBC Sports Bay Area
GSW: Warriors’ defense stifles No. 2 seed Rockets in NBA playoff-opening win
Evan Webeck, The Mercury News
GSW: Warriors win Game 1 as Stephen Curry calmly repulses Rockets’ rally
Sam Gordon, San Francisco Chronicle
Remaining Team News, WNBA, and History of the Game for paid subscribers