Basketball Intelligence For 4/30/25
Jamal Murray plays out of his mind (again), Milwaukee has a playoff series it soon wishes to forget, Boston reminds us all, and more…
*FEATURES OF THE DAY*
Anthony Davis faces immense pressure in Dallas. His journey suggests he can handle it
Mike Curtis, The Dallas Morning News
A New Look at Fouls
Chris Gunther, Charting Hoops
NBA DRAFT
Don't Waste a Lottery Pick on the Next Corey Kispert or Patrick Williams — My evaluation of 4 highly rated NBA draft prospects
Jeremias Engelmann, 5x5
April 2025 NBA Draft Scouting Roundtable
No Ceilings
2025 NBA Draft Big Board: How the Class Ranks After the Entry Deadline
Kevin Sweeney, SI.com
Javon Small Scouting Report
Ersin Demir, Ersin’s NBA Draft Newsletter
LEAGUEWIDE
Can you fire a coach during a playoff series?
Tom Ziller, Good Morning It’s Basketball
Thibodeau revolutionized NBA defense in the late 2000s and has by-and-large been successful as a head coach. But the game management stuff is so visible and, in this case, so awful. The Knicks are so much better than they were when Thibodeau arrived in 2020. But how much of that is Thibodeau's work, and how much can be credited to the massive talent infusion led by Leon Rose's front office?
NBA News and Rumor Roundup 4/30/2025
Jacob Sutton, JSutt Hoops
Giannis, Dame, the Bucks and the sadness of NBA endings
Keith Smith, Basketball Bulletin
The Pacers Eliminated the Bucks in the Most Dramatic Way Imaginable
Dustin Brewer, Hoops Daily
TEAM NEWS
ATL: The crucial things Dyson Daniels must fix to become a star for the Hawks
Bradley Rowland, Fansided
BOS: Celtics’ third-quarter explosion ousts Orlando, and other takeaways from Game 5
Adam Himmelsbach, The Boston Globe
BOS: Magic never solved Celtics’ Jayson Tatum in series loss: ‘They couldn’t do anything with him’
Jay King, The Athletic
BOS: C's overcoming 3-point woes is a great sign for their title chances
Justin Leger, NBC Sports Boston
DEN: The X factor in Nuggets-Clippers series? Not Joker. Or Bubble Murray. It's Captain Chaos.
Mark Kiszla, The Denver Gazette
DEN: Jamal Murray drops 43, sparks Nuggets to comfortable 131-115 win over Clippers, 3-2 series lead
Kurt Helin, NBC Sports
DEN: Jamal Murray’s breakout game changes calculus for Nuggets: ‘He was born for this’
Tony Jones, The Athletic
DEN: This Version of Jamal Murray Could Swing the NBA Playoffs
Michael Pina, The Ringer
Depth issues remain. Michael Porter Jr.’s shoulder and Gordon’s calf are keeping this team from being its absolute self. But when Murray is cooking like he did in Game 5, obliterating every adjustment, drilling just about every jump shot, and accelerating into full speed just about every time Denver needs a bucket, it’s hard to say anything else actually matters.
BI: Murray recorded his 6th 40-point game in the playoffs, tying him for 25th all-time in 40-point performances in a playoff career—Michael Jordan leads all players with 38 such games, and LeBron is second with 29.
DET: Detroit Pistons save season, shock MSG crowd with Game 5 win vs New York Knicks, 106-103
Omari Sankofa II, Detroit Free Press
DET: Ausar Thompson was the ‘X-factor’ in Pistons’ Game 5 win over Knicks
Hunter Patterson, The Athletic
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