The 10-man rotation, starring Carmelo Anthony’s neverending no-win battle
A look around the league and the Web that covers it. It’s also important to note that the rotation order and starting nods aren’t always listed in order of importance. That’s for you, dear reader, to figure out.
C: SB Nation. Paul Flannery on how for everything Carmelo Anthony has, he can’t get the only things he really wants.
PF: Bullets Forever. Kris Humphries will miss three to four weeks after finger surgery, meaning that — thanks to those pesky suspensions — the Washington Wizards are going to be without three of their top four big men for their opening night matchup with the Miami Heat.
SF: The Lowe Post. Zach Lowe talks with Indiana Pacers head coach Frank Vogel about his new contract extension, his hardscrabble come-up in the coaching profession, how the Pacers plan to penetrate the paint without the injured Paul George and the departed Lance Stephenson, his team’s chances of making the playoffs this season, and more. A very fun interview.
SG: Hardwood Paroxysm. Ian Levy with a good read on “Indiana basketball,” what Paul George represents, and why his loss is so especially painful for the Pacers, their fans and the team’s place in the league: “His talent exists outside the cultural confines of Indiana Basketball and thus he allows for bigger possibilities and different types of stories.”
PG: The Diss. Jacob Greenberg on how Danny Green’s problematic social media moment was less of a rarity for the San Antonio Spurs than you might think, and why we might think it is in the first place: “At this point, the Spurs are so heavy, they are almost totally beyond unpacking.”
6th: Pro Hoops History. Curtis Harris considers the different reasons why and how basketball has changed so much over its 123 years of existence, but argues that for it all, ” the game is 99% the same as it was in 1891.”
7th: Grantland. Bryan Curtis with a tremendous read on Bob Ryan, “The Commissioner,” who treated the NBA beat like a destination at a time when other journalists regarded it as a punishment, and who could write a game story like nobody’s business.
8th: Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Chris Vivlamore’s story on why the Atlanta Hawks brought back Elton Brand includes a pretty fascinating stat — the former No. 1 pick is one of just 10 players ever to compile at least 15,000 points, 8,000 rebounds, 2,000 assists and 1,500 blocks. The other nine are, or will be, Hall of Famers.
9th: Magic Basketball. Eddy Rivera poses an important question for the 2014-15 Orlando Magic: Can Maurice Harkless be the brand of 3-and-D player he looked like at the end of last season all the time, or was his strong finish to a dead-end season just a fluke?
10th: ESPN the Magazine. Jordan Brenner talks with Cleveland Cavaliers head coach David Blatt about the “emotional intelligence” that often proves a key element in his coaching work: “I learned empathy from my mother,’ he says. ‘Not everybody can achieve the maximum. Some people can achieve what their maximum is. It’s not always the same.'”
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Dan Devine is an editor for Ball Don’t Lie on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter!
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