The 10-man rotation, starring Stephen Curry doing it for the Vine
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: Complex Sports. Russ Bengtson has Stephen Curry break down three of his most remarkable Vine highlights from this magical season, which is such a good idea and I’m so mad I didn’t think of it.
PF: NBC SportsWorld. Travis Hale with a great meditation on the relationship between the Spurs and San Antonio, and how two big things — the seventh-largest city in the country and one of the most successful sports franchises in recent NBA history — find commonality in that which is small.
SF: Eye on Basketball. Matt Moore comes through with a characteristically thorough rundown of the still-very-remarkable players who won’t wind up as one of the top two finishers in Most Valuable Player voting.
SG: Regressing. An interesting piece from Jack Moore that borrows from the baseball statistical community’s concept of “park factors” — a means of measuring whether certain baseball stadiums are more hitter-friendly or pitcher-friendly — by studying assist totals handed out by official scorekeepers at the 29 NBA arenas to figure out whether certain NBA gyms are more assist-friendly than others.
PG: Washington Post. LaMarcus Aldridge talks with Michael Lee about how things have changed for him as he’s played through a thumb injury that will require surgery after the season: “Things aren’t as easy, so I’m just more locked in about everything, my shot and getting rebounds.”
6th: The National Post. Eric Koreen brings us the Toronto Raptors x “Angels in the Outfield” mash-up we never knew we’ve always wanted.
7th: The New York Times. Scott Cacciola on Vince Carter’s transition from high-flying futurist to the Memphis Grizzlies’ greybeard, which has been remarkably graceful … even if Carter doesn’t necessarily want to highlight the grey in his beard.
8th: Grizzly Bear Blues and Beyond the Arc. Joe Mullinax and Kevin Lipe parse Chris Vernon’s informative interview with Grizzlies head coach Dave Joerger, who did his level best to level with listeners and fans as to what’s changed Memphis from title-contender to .500 squad over the last 20 games.
9th: The Triangle. Zach Lowe looks at the challenge facing the Orlando Magic — can you build a competitive team with a backcourt featuring two players (Elfrid Payton and Victor Oladipo) who both love to drive and can’t really shoot?
10th: The 700 Level. Dario Saric is still in Turkey, so Philadelphia 76ers fans will have to get their Saric fix by drinking deeply of the wonders of his Instagram account.
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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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