– Bradley Beal is ready to follow the path of James Harden and Klay Thompson (from Sporting News):
” Beal is determined to eliminate long 2-pointers from his game.”
Read and view it here: http://www.sportal.com.au/nba/bradley-beal-long-2s-breakout-season-wizards-harden-thompson/1hs1fdwl6azsh15sbmh8w6i08k
– Billy Donovan is changing the way the Thunder approaches defending the 3-pointer (from Newsok.com):
Read it here: http://newsok.com/oklahoma-city-thunder-billy-donovan-is-changing-the-way-the-thunder-approaches-defending-the-3-pointer/article/5453125
– Thunder Film Room: Three new ways to set up Serge Ibaka (from Marina Mangiaracina, welcome to loud city.com):
Read and view it here: http://www.welcometoloudcity.com/2015/10/12/9512743/film-room-three-new-ways-to-set-up-serge-ibaka
– Denver Nuggets 2015-16 Offensive Playbook Preview (from gibsonpyper, denverstiffs.com):
Read and view it here: http://www.denverstiffs.com/2015/10/12/9487057/denver-nuggets-2015-16-offensive-playbook-preview
– The Lakers are taking baby steps toward embracing modern basketball (from Harrison Faigen, silverscreenandroll.com):
Read and view it here: http://www.silverscreenandroll.com/2015/10/12/9504595/la-lakers-byron-scott-coach-progress
– The NBA’s Next Shooting Revolution Has Already Been Televised (from Kirk Goldsberry, Grantland):
” The basketball of the ’90s and early ’00s — the days of Jordan, Charles Barkley, Hakeem Olajuwon, Allen Iverson, and Kobe Bryant — calls to mind a certain aesthetic. The defense was rougher, the fouls were harder, and the playmakers played hero ball. Of course, memory does funny things — that’s not exactly how things were. But the offensive game has certainly moved out of the paint and beyond the arc, and the best squads play pass-happy team basketball. And they have a very good reason to do so.”
Read and view it here: http://grantland.com/the-triangle/the-nbas-next-shooting-revolution-has-already-been-televised/
– Big men anchor Kings’ improving defense (from Jason Jones, Sacramento Bee):
Read it here: http://www.sacbee.com/sports/nba/sacramento-kings/kings-blog/article38892948.html
– Kings Continue to Build Chemistry (from Kyle Ramos, Kings.com):
Read “what the squad had to say following practice in Sacramento before their final two preseason games” here: http://www.nba.com/kings/blog/practice-notes-kings-continue-build-chemistry
– Former Toronto Raptors coach Sam Mitchell has a team full of promise in Minnesota Timberwolves (from Eric Koreen, nationalpost.com):
Read it here: http://news.nationalpost.com/sports/nba/former-toronto-raptors-coach-sam-mitchell-has-a-team-full-of-promise-in-minnesota-timberwolves-andrew-wiggins
– Timberwolves Interim Coach Sam Mitchell Q & A (from Ryan McNeill, hoopshabit.com):
Read it here: http://www.hoopsaddict.com/nba-audio-podcast/in-the-scrum-with-sam-mitchell/
– Toronto Raptors: The curious case of starting Patrick Patterson (from Quenton Albertie, raptors rapture.com):
Read it here: http://raptorsrapture.com/2015/10/12/curious-case-starting-patrick-patterson/
– Hawks’ big lineup a work in progress (from Chris Vivlamore, myajc.com):
” The early reviews are mixed.
The Hawks have used training camp and exhibition games to experiment with a “big” lineup with Tiago Splitter at center, Al Horford at power forward and Paul Millsap at small forward. The oversized frontcourt debuted early in Friday’s exhibition against the Pelicans.
Most agree it’s a work in progress.
“It’s something we are going to give a look and see if we can get comfortable with,” Budenholzer said Monday. “Obviously, we have a lot of good big guys. We are trying to figure out a way to play them together.”
Read it here: http://www.myajc.com/news/sports/basketball/hawks-big-lineup-a-work-in-progress/nnz6z/
– Toronto Is Hedging Its Bets for Better Defense (from Jordan M. Foley, Vantage Sports):
” Toronto’s attacking screen defense is in stark contrast to teams like the Bulls and Trail Blazers, who preferred to focus containment by dropping their bigs into the paint, or the Rockets and Warriors, who switch on roughly one out of every five screens. Switching on screens may take some of the pressure off backcourt defenders, making it harder for the offense to force rotations. Packing the paint with bigs puts a ton of pressure on backcourt players to recover from screens, opening up the middle of the floor where playmakers can do major damage.
Hedging brings its own set of defensive risks, however. It requires frontcourt players to have nimble feet and an ability to cover ground quickly. It also requires a great deal of communication between teammates in order to rotate correctly. Everyone needs to be able to time his rotations to compensate for contingencies like a big man getting completely hung out to dry beyond the three-point line or a team that gets wise and releases early on the roll. Toronto may not allow many points on the screen itself, but they can get punished later in plays as the ball finds its way around the horn.”
Read and view it here: http://www.vantagesports.com/story/VhvXYh8AACAArrCS/toronto-is-hedging-its-bets-for-better-defense
– Utah Jazz put in some extra work in Sunday’s long practice (from Jody Gennessy, Deseret News):
” “We’ve got a young team”, said Gordon Hayward. “Other teams are going to throw stuff at you that maybe we aren’t prepared for. We’ve got to stick to our habits and take care of the ball.”
Utah is averaging 20 turnovers a game this preseason. Hayward said the Jazz offense has counters in place to help give options when opponents take things away from them — such as perimeter passes — but it’s a matter of being on the same page with teammates.
“It’s just all reads. It’s all just being mentally sharp, mentally focused and that’s everybody,” Hayward said. “If you have one person who forgets what they need to do, it messes up the whole flow of the offense. We’ve all got to be sharp. When a team tries to deny you, take things away, you’ve just got to go to your counter.”
Read it here: http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865638831/Utah-Jazz-put-in-some-extra-work-in-Sundays-long-practice.html?pg=all
– Sixers 2016 draft choices: Picks, Pick Swaps, Protections (from Michael Levin, libertyballers.com):
Read it here: http://www.libertyballers.com/2015/10/13/9513755/sixers-2016-nba-draft-picks-pick-swaps-protections
– Reading too much into preseason: Minnesota Timberwolves-Toronto Raptors (from Derek James, hardwoodparoxysm.com):
Read it here: http://hardwoodparoxysm.com/2015/10/13/reading-too-much-into-preseason-minnesota-timberwolves-toronto-raptors/
– International Prospects Bender and Gentile Impress in American Tour (from Michael Wonsover, todaysfastbreak.com):
Read and view it here: http://www.todaysfastbreak.com/from-the-courts/nba-draft/bender-gentile-impress-american-tour/
– Potential Nirvana for Viewers:
When will TNT or ESPN or SOMEONE wise up and have the broadcasters for an NBA game be folks like this sharing their observations with each other while watching the game, as if they aren’t even aware they are on the air: http://allball.blogs.nba.com/2015/10/13/thibodeau-and-sloan-catch-a-game-together/
And for those with access to ESPN Insider:
– How the NBA is doubling down on its love of the 3-pointer (from Tom Haberstroh):
Read it here: http://insider.espn.go.com/nba/insider/story/_/id/13873793/nba-how-nba-doubling-love-3-pointer
Additional Player Notes, Updates, Profiles:
– Jahlil Okafor Q & A (form Scoop Jackson, ESPN): http://espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id/13869643/qa-philadelphia-76ers-jahlil-okafor
– Richard Jefferson Q & A (from Dave McMenamin, ESPN): http://espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id/13873785/qa-cleveland-cavaliers-richard-jefferson
– Tyler Zeller’s calm demeanor belies his intensity (from Scott Souza, Providence Journal): http://www.providencejournal.com/article/20151012/SPORTS/151019788/14007
– Andrew Wiggins learning from a legend in Minnesota (from Lori ewing, theglobeandmail.com): http://www.theglobeandmail.com/sports/basketball/timberwolves-andrew-wiggins-learning-from-a-legend-in-minnesota/article26775673/
– Christian Wood makes case for roster spot in Sixers’ loss (from John Finger, csnphilly.com): http://www.csnphilly.com/basketball-philadelphia-76ers/christian-wood-makes-case-roster-spot-sixers-loss
– ‘A great sign’ for Mavs guard Wesley Matthews (from Eddie Sefko, dallasnews.com): http://www.dallasnews.com/sports/dallas-mavericks/headlines/20151012-sefko-a-great-sign-for-mavs-guard-wesley-matthews.ece
– Anthony Bennett embraces fresh start with Raptors (from Josh Lewenberg, csn.ca): http://www.tsn.ca/bennett-embraces-fresh-start-with-raptors-1.376001
– Be patient with Heat rookie Justise Winslow (from Ethan J. Skolnick, Miami Herald): http://www.miamiherald.com/sports/spt-columns-blogs/ethan-j-skolnick/article38897172.html
– Nets’ Karasev: How brutal injury made me a better player (from Tim Bontemps, NYPost): http://nypost.com/2015/10/12/nets-karasev-how-brutal-injury-made-me-a-better-player/
– Rashad Vaughn Hopes To Contribute in Rookie Season for Bucks (from Charles F. Gardner, jsolnline.com) http://www.jsonline.com/sports/bucks/rashad-vaughn-hopes-to-contribute-in-his-rookie-season-with-bucks-b99594634z1-332270892.html
– Phoenix Suns’ Cory Jefferson fighting for his spot (from Zach Buchanan, azcentral.com): http://www.azcentral.com/story/sports/nba/suns/2015/10/12/phoenix-suns-cory-jefferson-fighting-roster-spot/73845124/
– Chris Kaman emerges as a mentor for young Trail Blazers (from Mike Richman, oregonlive.com): http://www.oregonlive.com/blazers/index.ssf/2015/10/chris_kaman.html
– Lakers already feeling Roy Hibbert’s sizable impact (from Anthony Irwin, silverscreenandroll.com): http://www.silverscreenandroll.com/2015/10/13/9511423/la-lakers-roy-hibbert-presason-analysis