Basketball Intelligence For 5/22/25, PART ONE
Today's Best NBA Reporting And Analysis
*FEATURE OF THE DAY*
Inside the world of NBA 'ball boys,' the league's unsung heroes
Ryan Hockensmith, ESPN
THE BASKETBALL INTELLIGENCE NETWORK
Conference Finals Talk
On this episode of the Corner Three Pod Jarrett, Rush, and Tone previews the conference finals, 76ers possibly trading the third pick, and more.
IND 138, NYK 135 (OT)
Haliburton's wild shot keys Pacers in stunning Game 1 comeback
Jamal Collier, ESPN
Inside the Knicks’ biggest collapse ever
James Edwards III, The Athletic
How do the Pacers keep doing this?
Dan Devine, Yahoo Sports
How it happened
Scott Agness, Fieldhouse Files
Game 1 win over Knicks shows playoff comebacks are becoming the Pacers’ signature
Shakeia Taylor, The Athletic
Knicks acknowledge they let up late in Game 1 loss to Pacers
Chris Herring, ESPN
Jalen Brunson vs. Tyrese Haliburton: Meet NBA’s newest point guard rivalry
Kristian Winfield, NY Daily News
Pacers finish off miracle comeback
Dustin Dopirak, Indy Star
The Pacers pulled a magic trick beyond belief. How did that happen?
Sally Jenkins, Washington Post
TEAM-SPECIFIC
DEN: How the Nuggets' roster situation stands heading into important offeseaon
Vinny Benedetto, Denver Gazette
IND: 'Organized chaos.' How Rick Carlisle's evolution transformed Pacers' offense into a force
Dustin Dopirak, Indy Star
Tyrese Haliburton calls it "organized chaos."
The Rick Carlisle system of offense as currently constituted is for there to be no system, at least not one that is easily recognizable by opponents. There is a playbook with set plays — lots of them — but the intention is to use that sparingly for specific situations and for the players on the floor to flow and vibe in such a way that creates constant ball and player movement. The nightly goal for each player is to "play random" so defenders don't have a clear sense of where their man or the ball is going next, but to make all that randomness cohesive so that as frequently as possible, it gets the ball to the right player at the right time at the right spot.
It's like jazz on a basketball court, and in Carlisle's fourth season as head coach of the the Pacers, that offensive approach has become one of the most dominant forces in the NBA.
IND: WATCH: How Pacers’ Tyrese Haliburton breaks the conventions of basketball
Esfandiar Baraheni, The Athletic
IND: The Pacers are racing past opponents (and cliches) in the NBA playoffs
Tony East, SBNation
IND: The Pacers thrived on disrespect, but now it’s disappearing
Candace Buckner, Washington Post
LAL: What can the Lakers learn from each NBA conference finalist?
Jovan Buha, The Athletic
The rest of team-specific stories as well as leaguewide & draft-related stories follow for paid subscribers