Basketball Intelligence For 5/28/25
The Day's Best News and Reporting
*FEATURE OF THE DAY*
If you’re not dead — and Aaron Nesmith is not — you play through almost anything this time of year
David Aldridge, The Athletic
THE BASKETBALL INTELLIGENCE NETWORK
NBA Lottery, Combine, and Draft
Ray is joined by Nick Agar-Johnson and Stephen Gillaspie of No Ceilings for a Deep Dives/Unrestricted Area podcast crossover. They start out by talking about how the unexpected lottery results changed mock drafts, especially among the Top 3 picks. Then, they discuss potential lottery reforms, and the successes and failures of the current system. Finally…
EASTERN CONFERENCE FINALS
Pacers’ Tyrese Haliburton dazzles with Game 4 triple-double in dad’s return to arena
Joe Vardon, The Athletic
At the Buzzer: R3G4 — Pacers 130, Knicks 121
Fieldhouse With Scott Agness, Scott Agness
The Pacers Are One Win Away From the NBA Finals
Dustin Brewer, Hoops Daily
The Knicks have fought a season-long identity crisis, and the self-assured Pacers have them on the ropes
Sam Quinn, CBS Sports
The Knicks traded for Karl-Anthony Towns in part to reinvent themselves. They couldn't be their old selves without Hartenstein so they didn't try. The goal of their newfound Towns-at-center team was to become an offensive dynamo. His pick-and-roll with Brunson was supposed to be unstoppable. The Knicks were supposed to be a five-out monster. It never quite materialized. The pick-and-roll was disarmed by defenses putting a wing on Towns and letting their center roam off of Josh Hart. Their vaunted starting five played the most minutes in the NBA, but outscored opponents by a paltry 3.3 points per 100 possessions.
Knicks vs. Pacers: Tyrese Haliburton's flawless Game 4 showed exactly how much he means to Indiana — 'This guy is unbelievable'
Dan Devine, Yahoo! Sports
OK fine, the Tyrese Haliburton trade wasn't *exactly* a win-win
Tom Ziller, Good Morning It’s Basketball
The Knicks’ season is on life support. Do they have one more trick left?
James L. Edwards, The Athletic
Knicks 'just didn't have that magic' in Game 4 loss to Pacers
Chris Herring, ESPN
Haliburton's Historic Night Has Pacers On Verge Of NBA Finals
Bobby Krivitsky, Forbes
NBA playoffs results and takeaways: Pacers 1 win from NBA Finals as Knicks flounder in Game 4
The Athletic NBA Staff, The Athletic
He’s the Best Playmaker in the NBA—and He Never Has the Ball
Robert O’Connell, The Wall Street Journal
Pacers keep foot on gas, stay perfect in Game 4s as they push Knicks to brink
Shakeia Taylor, The Athletic
WESTERN CONFERENCE FINALS
Jalen Williams Is Becoming Exactly What the Thunder Needed
Rob Mahoney, The Ringer
It’s Williams, after all, who allows the Thunder to play so much bigger than they actually are. His day-to-day responsibilities usually involve taking on the most physically punishing matchup on the floor. Someone has to stand in there and absorb battering-ram blows from Julius Randle, so the Thunder call on their 6-foot-5 welterweight. No defender in the league is more diligent in fighting for position than Williams. If anyone is going to post him up, they’ll have to start from 18 feet out and battle for every inch. And once they get the ball, they’ll have to contend with Williams in fire-hydrant mode, crouching so low that he’s impossible to budge. It’s a miracle of leverage that the Thunder wing routinely holds off opponents 4 to 5 inches taller and 30 to 40 pounds heavier. Randle is a tremendously skilled player on the playoff run of his life, but after four games against Williams, he looks completely lost.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Nickeil Alexander-Walker more than cousins clashing in Western Conference finals
Marc J. Spears, Andscape
One tenth of a second prevented NBA review in Timberwolves vs Thunder Game 4
Joe Nelson, SI.com
Thunder’s poise puts Timberwolves — and future challengers — on notice
Sam Amick, The Athletic
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