The 10-man rotation, starring how the Warriors reached the top of the mountain
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: Talking Points and ESPN.com. Tim Kawakami on the seemingly ceaseless splashing of the Golden State Warriors’ offense, which culminated in a Game 6 “flood that wiped away generations of failure and sorrow.” Ramona Shelburne on the story of the Warriors being about something bigger than spread pick-and-rolls and switch-everything defenses: “maybe it’s just about the choices we make, and the way we live our lives.” (That emphasis on the human element, and Steve Kerr’s skill at emphasizing it, also factored into a strong piece by SB Nation’s Ricky O’Donnell.)
PF: The Triangle and GQ. Zach Lowe on the people and events that helped the Warriors reach the top of the mountain, and Bethlehem Shoals on a team that stands as “a true basketball democracy” and “a fully-formed idea whose time had come.”
SF: Betwen the Lines. A fantastic piece by Yago Colas on Stephen Curry as “the name for a desire about the future of the NBA,” the contents and features of that desire, and why the basketball-consuming populace might want what’s in there so badly.
SG: HoopsHype. The great Mark Deeks on an almost-entirely-overlooked collective bargaining agreement clause that could make it more likely that the Chicago Bulls keep Jimmy Butler in the City of Wind for the time being, even if he’s determined to pursue shorter-term offers elsewhere.
PG: A Wolf Among Wolves. Zach Harper comes through with a thorough breakdown of the top two big-man prospects, Karl-Anthony Towns and Jahlil Okafor, to consider which one the Minnesota Timberwolves should prioritize with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2015 NBA draft.
6th: ESPN the Magazine and Canis Hoopus. Jordan Brenner and Kevin Pelton offer the stats-and-value-based argument for the Wolves taking Towns, and Key Dae with an exhaustive and incredibly detailed discussion of why Towns could wind up being the heir apparent to Kevin Garnett as the next link in the evolution of big-man play in the NBA.
7th: The Triangle and Ball in Europe. Andrew Sharp and Emmet Ryan on Mario Hezonja, the Croatia-born, Barcelona-bred shooting guard who profiles as one of the lottery’s most intriguing prospects.
8th: Hardwood Paroxysm and VICE Sports. Dan Diamond spins Tom Haberstroh’s story on LeBron’s “unfathomable” NBA Finals workload one step further by looking at how much he’s had to do over the years: “LeBron’s played 20 percent more minutes than any other player in the NBA the past decade.” David Roth comes in praise of the work LeBron did: “Losing does not negate the moments of struggle and grace in the pursuit.”
9th: ESPN.com. Kevin Arnovitz goes behind the scenes at Philips Arena to explain why Danny Ferry never came back.
10th: The Reversal. Max Minsker on how the San Antonio Spurs are like Toyota. (Basically.)
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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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