The 10-man rotation, starring how Kevin Durant could become a Warrior
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: Sporting News. Danny Leroux examines the salary-cap machinations necessary to facilitate the possibility of free-agent-to-be Kevin Durant deciding not to head east to escape a conference right now dominated by the Golden State Warriors, but rather to head west and join up with Stephen Curry.
[Play Yahoo Daily Fantasy and get a 100% deposit bonus with your first deposit]
PF: Heat.com. Good stuff from Couper Moorhead on the difference rookie Justise Winslow is making for the Miami Heat, not only with his own strong early play, but by combining with Miami’s other versatile vets to offer Erik Spoelstra enough flexibility to test out small-ball lineups that have been torching opponents through the season’s first two weeks.
SF: Pro Hoops History. Curtis Harris gives us the backstory on the Memphis Sounds, the ABA squad who first wore the beautiful uniforms that the Memphis Grizzlies donned as throwback kits on Monday, and whose moniker fit Memphis better than any that have followed: “It’s a name that speaks to the soul of the city and evokes the rhythm of the river that has always been its lifeblood. That musical sound has proven to be one of the more powerful unifiers in a city that has often struggled to bridge the divide between the sight of black and white.”
SG: ESPN.com. Zach Lowe visits with the Minnesota Timberwolves, a pleasant early-season surprise whose rebuild looks to be ahead of schedule thanks to No. 1 overall picks Andrew Wiggins and Karl-Anthony Towns, but a team that could also face some tough choices in terms of rotation management when it comes to determining how long vets like Kevin Garnett, Tayshaun Prince and Andre Miller merit preferential placement over young pieces like Gorgui Dieng, Shabazz Muhammad and Zach LaVine.
PG: The Brooklyn Game. Devin Kharpertian rolls through with a smart, detailed and even-handed evaluation of the winless Brooklyn Nets through the season’s opening fortnight, a stretch that’s put the lie to Joe Johnson’s September assessment.
[Follow Dunks Don’t Lie on Tumblr: The best slams from all of basketball]
6th: ESPN.com. Tom Haberstroh on Kyle Korver spending his summer rebuilding his body after elbow and ankle surgeries, and trying to relearn how to shoot. Considering he’s shooting 54 percent from the field and 40 percent from 3-point land for the 8-4 Atlanta Hawks, it seems we can consider that mission accomplished.
7th: USA TODAY. D-League president Malcolm Turner tells Jeff Zillgitt that having 30 D-League teams — one for each NBA team, each in a direct affiliate relationship — is a realistic goal within the next five years.
8th: Orlando Pinstriped Post. The Orlando Magic hired Scott Skiles to turn their roster full of athletic young pieces into a dynamite defensive unit. They’re not quite top of the pops yet, but through 11 games, Orlando ranks 13th among 30 teams in points allowed per possession. Cory Hutson looks at how the Magic are pulling off this new trick.
9th: 48 Minutes of Hell. Andrew McNeill on the San Antonio Spurs’ just-the-right-amount-of-goofy commercials for supermarket chain H-E-B, and what makes people love them so.
10th: PaperCity Magazine. Chris Baldwin argues that Jeremy Lin, now eons removed from Linsanity and unleashed as a second-unit scorer for Steve Clifford’s Charlotte Hornets, is the most underpaid player in the NBA. Baldwin’s story ran before Lin turned in a pair of rough outings against the Chicago Bulls and Portland Trail Blazers, but he still does look to be playing his best offensive ball in several years in Charlotte, which is nice to see.
More NBA coverage:
– – – – – – –
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.
