Basketball Intelligence For 5/14/25
Cavaliers eliminated, Nuggets on the brink, Boston hopes to live to fight another day, and more...
*FEATURE OF THE DAY*
IND: By the numbers: How Pacers made underdog history with one of the rarest conference finals runs we've ever seen
Brad Botkin, CBS Sports
THE BASKETBALL INTELLIGENCE NETWORK
Mavs Wins The Lottery, Orange & Blue Skies, MJ Joins NBC And More!
On this episode Rush, Jarrett, and Tone discuss Mavericks getting the number 1 pick, what the Spurs should do with the second overall pick, Pacers being title contenders, MJ joining NBC, and more.
TEAM NEWS
BOS: With Jayson Tatum sidelined, Jaylen Brown will be asked to shoulder load of keeping Celtics’ season alive
Julina Benbow, The Boston Globe
BOS: ‘A really significant injury’: Jayson Tatum ruptured his Achilles’ tendon. Local doctors weigh in on what’s next.
Camilo Fonseca, The Boston Globe
CLE: Game 5 Observations: Another Postseason Failure for the Cleveland Cavaliers
Danny Cunningham, The Inside Shot
CLE: What's next for Cavaliers? How payroll could force Cleveland's hand after early playoff exit
Sam Quinn, CBS Sports
These aren't questions the Cavaliers wanted to ask. They justifiably thought they could win the championship here and now. Doing so would have made this easy. They would have kept who they could and run it back knowing they had the core they needed. The way they lost is remarkably frustrating in that respect. A year ago, everyone told them this core needed to be broken up. They spent the regular season disputing that, but the manner in which they lost takes them right back to where they were a year ago. If Cleveland had stayed healthy and made its shots and still lost to Indiana, well, that would have answered the question for them.
CLE: The Cavaliers are headed home — much earlier than anyone expected
Joe Vardon, The Athletic
CLE: Cavs’ dream season turns into nightmare with 114-105 playoff-elimination loss to Indiana Pacers
Chris Fedor, Clveeland.com
Cleveland entered this season with championship aspirations. It won 64 games, 16 more than the previous season and second-most in franchise history. It spent most of the season with the league’s best mark, clinched a playoff berth in March and rewrote the record books.
But it was all for naught. And it’s over. Before anyone expected.
DAL: As Cooper Flagg-led reality sets in, Duke star’s fit with Mavs isn’t difficult to envision
Brad Townsend, The Dallas Morning News
DEN: David Adelman revels in more involved role in Nuggets’ defense as interim coach
Bennett Durando, The Denver Post
DEN: Nikola Jokić, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander deliver Game 5 duel that perfectly encapsulates MVP debate
Brad Botkin, CBS Sports
While Gilgeous-Alexander got between 13 and 18 points from five of his teammates on Tuesday, Denver's non-Jokić cast put just three players in double figures and shot 31.9% (23 for 72) as a group. As Jokić did everything in his power to hang on to what was a nine-point Denver lead with 13 fourth-quarter points on 4-of-6 shooting, his teammates made just one of their 15 shots, and none of their 10 3-pointers, over the final 12 minutes.
DEN: Nuggets allow another fourth-quarter lead to slip despite Nikola Jokic’s epic night, fall behind 3-2 to Thunder
Bennett Durando, The Denver Post
DEN: Nuggets' tragic flaw ruins Jokic masterpiece at worst possible time
Ben Handler, Nugg Love
DEN: Nikola Jokić, Nuggets run out of gas as Thunder’s depth becomes defining factor
Tony Jones, The Athletic
GSW: Preview: On the precipice
Punk Basketball, Dub Nation HQ
GSW: The Plight of the Steph-less Warriors
Logan Murdock, The Ringer
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