The 10-man rotation, starring how KD and Russ can get over
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: ESPN.com. A good look from Royce Young at how Billy Donovan’s trying to walk the fine line between letting superstars Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook be free to do what they do best and implementing enough offensive structure to get more out of them, and the rest of the Oklahoma City Thunder, than Scott Brooks did.
[Yahoo Fantasy Basketball: Sign up for a league today]
PF: Complex Sports. Andrew Gilman on the relationship between Durant and Westbrook, perpetually portrayed as frosty from the outside but consistently close-knit inside: “The Thunder have two superstars. They are going to sit together, they’re best friends, and this is going to work. No matter what you might think.”
SF: Grantland. If you still think Westbrook’s too focused on his own scoring and doesn’t set the table well enough for his OKC teammates, check out this mindblower from Kirk Goldsberry: “Thunder players converted 55 percent of the 1,053 shots they attempted within two seconds of receiving a Westbrook pass last season. For context, Dirk Nowitzki attempted 1,062 shots in 77 games last season; he made 46 percent of them. In other words, aside from winning the scoring title himself, Westbrook used his passing skills to turn his teammates into a composite of a player who’s more efficient than Dirk Nowitzki.”
[BDL’s 2015-16 NBA Season Previews: All 30 teams, all in one place]
SG: Indianapolis Star. Candace Buckner does a tremendous job of bringing us inside the life of Monta Ellis, the Indiana Pacers’ new offensive weapon and a 30-year-old man who’s only now starting to break down the walls he built as an adolescent in Mississippi.
PG: Memphis Commercial Appeal. Chris Herrington on what more the Memphis Grizzlies’ core of Marc Gasol, Zach Randolph, Mike Conley and Tony Allen — “a hustling, bumping, sometimes even jumping four-man metaphor for a diverse community in action, part reflection, part figure of aspiration” — can be expected to give, and how much more they can reasonably expect from their supporting cast.
6th: SportsBlog.com. Nazr Mohammed details the differing responsibilities of players No. 1 through 15 on an NBA roster, and explains why sometimes it’s better to bring your B-game.
[The BDL 25: The key storylines to watch this NBA season]
7th: SB Nation. Liam Boylan-Pett looks at how Steve Clifford is trying to turn the Charlotte Hornets into a 3-point-bombing squad, which — given the absence of defensive linchpin Michael Kidd-Gilchrist — might be their best shot at returning the playoffs this season.
8th: Wall Street Journal. Ben Cohen on how injuries — and, more to the point, injury prevention — have “become the league’s battleground and the center of what NBA executives say is most intriguing arms race in professional basketball.”
[Follow Dunks Don’t Lie on Tumblr: The best slams from all of basketball]
9th: SB Nation. Paul Flannery on Brad Stevens, the up-and-coming sideline star of the Boston Celtics, and his persistent pursuit of growth.
10th: Sportsnet. Dave Zarum on all the work that Bruno Caboclo and the Toronto Raptors are doing, and have done, to prove to all the doubters that using the 20th overall pick in the 2014 NBA draft on the Brazilian project with the condor wingspan and sushi-raw skillset was a “calculated risk [that] was well worth taking.”
– – – – – – –
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!
Stay connected with Ball Don’t Lie on Twitter @YahooBDL, “Like” BDL on Facebook and follow BDL’s Tumblr for year-round NBA talk, jokes and more.
