Basketball Intelligence For 5/5/25
The day's best news and analysis
*FEATURE OF THE DAY*
How Brad Stevens’ Butler days provided blueprint to build Celtics into champions
Jay King, The Athletic
LEAGUEWIDE
Buddy Hield is occasionally the greatest shooter alive
Tom Ziller, Good Morning It’s Basketball
Pacers Stun Cavaliers and Open Round Two with Game One Upset Win
Dustin Brewer, Hoops Daily
NBA playoffs 2025: Previewing the second round, biggest questions
NBA Insiders, ESPN
NBA playoffs 2025: Jokic? Ant? Brunson? Ranking 10 postseason MVPs
Chris Herring, ESPN
NBA offseason 2025: Draft, free agency, trade targets for 30 teams
Bobby Marks, ESPN
TEAM NEWS
ATL: How Dyson Daniels winning Most Improved Player impacts Hawks' future
Antwane Willis, Soaring Down South
BOS: 10 things to know about Celtics-Knicks series ahead of the second round
Conor Roche, Boston.com
BOS: ‘We’ve got to do this’: How a week in the jungle with a chess prodigy helped Joe Mazzulla become the coach the Celtics needed
Adam Himmelsbach, The Boston Globe
BOS: The Celtics buried the Knicks in the regular season, but this playoff series will be no walkover
Gary Washburn, The Boston Globe
CHI: Bulls offseason position analysis: Many in the middle
Joe Cowley, The Chicago Sun-Times
CLE: Cavs getting their physical and mental toughness tested by Pacers in NBA playoffs
Nate Ulrich, Akron Beacon Journal
CLE: The Cavs’ one major concern following their Game 1 Eastern Conference semifinals loss to the Pacers
Chris Fedor, Clevelan.com
CLE: Cleveland Cavaliers Drop Game 1 to Indiana Pacers 121-112
Danny Cunningham, The Inside Shot
CLE: The razor-sharp approach of one Pacers player kept the Cavs guessing all night in Game 1
Ethan Sands, Cleveland.com
The Pacers came in with a game plan that showed complete understanding of Cleveland’s defensive principles. They anticipated the Cavs’ overhelping, particularly from the weak side — a habit that’s plagued them in every stretch of inconsistency this season.
So Indiana weaponized it. Every time Evan Mobley or Jarrett Allen pinched on a drive, every time Isaac Okoro tagged the roller, someone was already relocating to the corner, waiting.
CLE: Injuries, bad shooting crush Cavs, who had no answer for Tyrese Haliburton or Andrew Nembhard
Joe Vardon, The Athletic
DEN: Nuggets vs. Thunder scouting report: Matchups, how to watch and series predictions
Luca Evans, The Denver Post
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