The 10-man rotation, starring how to solve a problem like Nikola Mirotic
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.
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C: SB Nation. Nikola Mirotic has been undeniably fantastic for the Chicago Bulls over the past month, but he’s still kinda-sorta the fourth big man on a team with two All-Stars and a Sixth Man of the Year-caliber contributor. It might be a good problem for Tom Thibodeau to have, writes Mike Prada, but it’s still a problem.
PF: 48 Minutes of Hell. Coming off Tuesday’s loss to the Dallas Mavericks, Matthew Tynan took a close look at the San Antonio Spurs’ second unit, the so-called “Foreign Legion” that propelled them to such great heights last season but has been so stunted by injury and inconsistency this season. That second unit — Manu Ginobili, Boris Diaw, Patty Mills and Marco Belinelli — then went on to kick in 43 points on 28 shots, 13 rebounds and six assists in the Spurs’ Wednesday tenderizing of the Oklahoma City Thunder, so maybe all’s not quite lost in Texas. But then again …
SF: Sports Illustrated. Speaking of that Foreign Legion, Alexander Wolff’s piece on Australian guard Mills’ remarkable heritage — “For an American counterpart, you’d need to find the son of a father who marched in Selma and a mother whose Cherokee family walked the Trail of Tears” — and how it’s helped him become a “bridge-builder,” an educator and a beloved member of the Spurs whom Gregg Popovich refuses to let go: “As long as I’m here, he’s going to be here. Unless we can’t afford him.”
SG: Miami Herald. Barry Jackson on how basketball might have quite literally saved the life of Henry Walker, who’s doing what he can to make the most of his return trip to the NBA with the Miami Heat.
PG: Salt City Hoops. Ben Dowsett with an in-depth, thoughtful and ultimately somewhat pessimistic evaluation of Trey Burke as an NBA point guard: “A growing sample appears to suggest that Burke is less than capable as a leading man against both starters and bench units, and that even as a supporting piece to Utah’s stars, he’s thriving less than nearly any other Jazzman in their recent run of success.”
6th: Posting and Toasting. Seth Rosenthal’s purely personal and emotional argument for why he doesn’t want the New York Knicks to trade their 2015 first-round draft pick — “I’ve long dreamed of the Knicks actually developing a centerpiece — finding a gem, then polishing it into a crown jewel instead of pawning it off for something else prefabricated” — makes an awful lot of sense to me.
7th: ESPN Boston. The great Jackie MacMullan on Brad Stevens — “the deadpan coach who shows nothing, but feels everything” — and how his patience amid seemingly ceaseless roster churn under Danny Ainge has helped put “a chip-on-their-shoulder group” of Boston Celtics in the hunt for one of the final two playoff spots in the Eastern Conference.
8th: Wall Street Journal. Jason Gay brought his two-year-old son to Barclays Center watch the Brooklyn Nets play the Boston Celtics, and somehow lived to write about it.
9th: TrueHoop. Kevin Arnovitz’s annual listing of the top prospects to ascend to NBA head coaching jobs is must-read information each and every year. These are the names you need to know when the next NBA team &mdash including, perhaps, your favorite squad — finds itself with a vacancy at the head of its bench.
10th: Colorado Springs Gazette. Paul Klee takes a look at the Denver Nuggets’ emphasis on international scouting and drafting, which can be a high-risk/high-reward gambit (“For every Nurkic, there’s a Skita”) but has become a non-negotiable focal point for NBA franchises constantly looking to cull the best talent from all over the globe.
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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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