Basketball Intelligence For 9/13/34

Today's Best NBA Reporting And Analysis

TEAM-SPECIFIC

ATL: Who will start at shooting guard alongside Trae Young?
Lauren Williams, AJC

CHI: 5 questions for the Bulls
Julia Poe, Chicago Tribune

DAL: Mavericks' Center Depth: From Question Mark to Strength
Aiden Kauffman, Athlon Sports

DEN: Don't be fooled by offseason videos, Russ and the Nuggets need to avoid 1 key thing
Ben Handler, Nugg Love

(T)eams are more than happy to leave Russ open and let him fire up shots and live with the result. This cannot be a trap the Nuggets fall into this season.

The team needs to be extremely intentional and purposeful about what they are doing on offense. They need to put Westbrook in positions to succeed and to maximize his skill set. He can pressure the rim, set up teammates, get to the free throw line, rebound, and push the ball in transition. 

He is arguably elite at all of those parts of the game. But his shooting is a disaster and he is highly capable of shooting his team right out of a game. Regardless of how many shots he makes in an open gym workout, I don’t want him firing up any threes for the Nuggets.

DEN: Christian Braun, Peyton Watson grew up admiring Russell Westbrook. Now they’re his teammates
Bennett Durando, Denver Post

Brody was a stylistic blueprint for young Christian Braun. He was a beacon of local pride for Peyton Watson in Los Angeles

DET: Jaden Ivey Needs a Breakout 3rd Year
Rich Stayman, MavsDraft

Ivey hasn't built great habits; how can he fix them under a new front office and head coach?

GSW: Transcript: Lindy Waters III introduction
Eric Apricot, Dub Nation HQ

MIA: 3 Essential areas of improvement for Nikola Jovic
Wes Goldberg, All U Can Heat

MIA: Contract extension? Check. Olympic gold? Check. Next up for Heat’s Bam Adebayo . . . leading man?
Ira Winderman, SunSentinel

MIA: Terry Rozier and Nikola Jovic still working way back, but expect to be ready for camp
Anthony Chiang, MiamiHerald

Links to the rest of today’s top Team-Specific stories as well as Leaguewide stories follow for paid subscribers