TEAM-SPECIFIC STORIES
BOS: Why Derrick White should be a lock for NBA All-Defensive First Team
Caden Charpentier, Hardwood Houdini
CHI: Bob Rosenberg, Bulls scorekeeper since 1966, retiring with honorable legacy, stories and lots of numbers
Sam Smith, bulls.com
DAL: Fully disintegrated Dallas
Marc Stein, The Stein Line
DAL: ‘THINGS CHANGE’ AS MAVERICKS HOPE STEP BACK WILL VAULT THEM FORWARD
Eddie Sefko, Mavs.com
GSW: Game 82. Warriors need one more win to avoid play-in
Duby Dub Dubs, Dub Nation HQ
New to BI? Sign-up for a low-cost - $5/month or $50/year (that is 14 cents per day!)- paid subscription for access to the full BI newsletter, including the team-specific and league-wide stories sections as well as free agency news, draft insights, and takeaways from the previous day’s games. *** If you are a free subscriber, please consider upgrading to paid status, entitling you to the entirety of BI ***
HOU: K.J. Martin has shown his value to Rockets, who face options on how to keep him
Jonathan Feigen, Houston Chronicle
LAC: Clippers ready to step up in Paul George’s absence
Janis Carr, OC Register
LAC: Clippers beat Portland to stay in playoff position
Andrew Greif, LA Times
MEM: Steven Adams' injury changes the Grizzlies’ potential playoff identity
Damichael Cole, Commercial Appeal
MIA: From undrafted to Miami Heat icon, Udonis Haslem ‘couldn’t have scripted it any better’
Anthony Chiang, Miami Herald
MIL: Jae Crowder finding his form
Eric Nehm, The Athletic
MIN: Timberwolves cruise past San Antonio to set up Sunday seeding showdown with Pelicans
Jace Frederick, Pioneer Press
MIN: Timberwolves finally take care of business, blow out San Antonio
Chris Hine, Star Tribune
NOP: Williamson’s continued absence is what it is for Pelicans: ‘This is reality’
William Guillory, The Athletic
NYK: Immanuel Quickley Is Developing Into One Of The NBA’s Best Two-Way Guards
Jackson Frank, DIME
OKC: Dario Saric helped save Thunder hopes for NBA play-in tournament
Berry Tramel, The Oklahoman
ORL: Magic are beaming about their outlook
Philip Rossman-Reich, Orlando Magic Daily
PHI: 3 key matchups in 76ers’ first round series vs. Nets
Christopher Kline, The Sixer Sense
PHO: Clippers, Warriors and Pelicans in hunt for 5th seed to face Suns in 1st round of NBA playoffs
Duane Rankin, Arizona Republic
POR: Blazers Should Try to Keep Matisse Thybulle
Adrian Bernecich, Blazer’s Edge
POR: On the Tanking Discourse. The absurdity of the end of the regular season
Sean Highkin, Rose Garden Report
UTA: Will Hardy won’t take credit for the Utah Jazz’s successes this season, but he deserves it
Sarah Todd, Deseret News
UTA: The Jazz sat all of their best players against the Nuggets to try to lose — and then won anyway
Andy Larsen, Salt Lake Tribune
UTA: Markkanen might be the NBA’s Most Improved Player thanks to a patient path to stardom
Andy Larsen, Salt Lake Tribune
WAS: Wizards’ season analysis
Josh Robbins, The Athletic
LEAGUE-WIDE STORIES
Behind-the-scenes look at NBA playoff preparation
Andrew Greif, LA Times
Thanks to the creation of the play-in tournament in 2020, which expanded the number of playoff-eligible teams from eight to 10 per conference, together with this season’s logjam in the middle of the Western Conference standings, the West awoke Friday with only four teams guaranteed to begin with a best-of-seven first-round series. That left seven others still in mathematical contention for the play-in tournament.
The unsettled standings have created intrigue for fans, hope for teams — and a prodigious amount of work for those tasked with the unglamorous yet vital behind-the-scenes jobs of pulling together every possible piece of intelligence on a potential opponent to create what amounts to a scouting report on steroids, even when there are four or five potential first-round opponents who might be faced. Each team’s process is unique.
Mavericks were clumsy, but their tank job Friday hardly warrants an NBA investigation
David Aldridge, The Athletic
NBA Playoff Picture 2023: Latest Play-in Bracket, Seeding Scenarios for Last Day
Paul Kasabian, Bleacher Report
THE DRAFT
Jaylen Clark: Scouting Report
Adam Spinella, The Box And One
Exploring the Untapped Potential of Dereck Lively II
Flizop, Medium.com