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harrisonhamm21.bsky.social
NBA. https://onlydownone.substack.com/
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Dunn's defense last night was one of the best individual games I've seen from anyone on that end all year. Just incredible.

This was one of the best player pod interviews I’ve ever heard

I was skeptical of Cleveland changing anything. But in that recent loss against Boston (with Wade/Okoro out), the Cavs were playing wayyy too many lineups with three or four below average defenders. With how he's playing this year, Hunter can be that fifth starter.

Biggest thing about this trade for MIL is the flexibility it unlocks. Kuzma can play the 3 in jumbo lineups, or in the frontcourt next to Giannis if the matchup calls for it (ie Celtics). It's Portis/Lopez insurance. But their secondary ball-handling is now SUPER thin. And Kuz has been bad lately.

OKC fans on Bluesky! I dove deep on Isaiah Joe and why he is key to everything that SGA and the Thunder do — including his essential place in that crowded playoff rotation: onlydownone.substack.com/p/why-isaiah...

Quentin Grimes is really good. I've never really understood why he keeps getting passed around.

In itself, it's not too bad for the Kings. But the vibes were so good two years ago, and now it's come to this. Very hard to see any long-term plan or direction in Sacramento.

Spurs made out in this Fox deal. More moves to come for them it feels like. Fox-CP3-Castle-Vassell is a huge logjam and they need another big badly. But they only essentially gave up two firsts. Brilliant work.

"Holy crap dude, Aaron Wiggins had 41 points last night." - Noone. Absolutely nobody.

Going to throw out a hot take, but the AD-Kyrie Mavs are better — pending further moves — than the Luka-LeBron Lakers. But it is hard to think of this trade in basketball terms.

So, I guess Luka really wanted to play with Dorian Finney-Smith again

Brutal news for the Hawks. Still think they're a feisty first round opponent if they get there, but Johnson takes the steam out for sure.

Probably will never happen, but if you're Houston, how do you not at least consider offering Jalen Green and Cam Whitmore?

Great win for the Knicks tonight. With their perimeter defense, they are a tough matchup for the Grizzlies' style — the way to attack the Knicks is spread pick and roll, and that's not really what Memphis wants to do.

Haven't seen this game yet but it's very hard to beat a team twice in quick succession. Plus Jason Kidd seems to have a pretty good sense of how to go at OKC schematically.

For every team in the Western Conference, here's something I've been paying attention to. Including: - The Jalen Green explosion - Memphis's creativity - Wemby's offense And much more: onlydownone.substack.com/p/one-thing-...

If this game keeps it up in the second half, we might be entering all-time playoff entertainment territory. Incredible football.

I'm pretty surprised Kenny Atkinson never went back to the two-big lineup. Cavs were getting pretty good looks at the start of the game. The small groups can run and shoot, but their only real hope is Garland making stuff happen against elite defenders.

OKC mixing in switching, and doing a better job helping off corners early to swarm the bigs and make them pass. You can feel the corner helpers way more so far than in the first game.

Only Mark Daigneault would give Brandan Carlson his first rotation minutes of the entire season in a marquee game like this. And he got a steal on his first defensive possession!

Looking forward to seeing how J-Will fares in OKC's starting lineup tonight. Has to do a better job at the level of screens — got killed in drop in the first matchup.

Okogie's a nice flier for the Hornets. Richards will have a chance to march right into Phoenix's starting lineup.

Marquee win for the Pistons last night. Now 8-2 in their last 10. That team makes sense and JB Bickerstaff has them running a really nice, modern offense. Cade as pass-first orchestrator, occasional "just get a bucket" guy is the model. They can and should make play-in game this year (at minimum!).

Bucs-Commanders was real hoops. Both had the Team of Destiny feel to them.

Uhhh, thinking the Commanders need to give Lattimore some help on Evans.

Grizzlies-Wolves was a great game. Minnesota looked good on offense all night despite Ant's struggles, got their rollers behind the aggressive Memphis bigs a lot. But crumpled on a few crucial clutch possessions. Randle's turnover going 1v1 with JJJ was especially egregious.

I thought that was actually a really well coached game from Franklin overall, maybe apart from that early 4th down. Had all sorts of counters to ND's defense and schemed up throws for Allar. Ultimately his QB let him down.

Another loss for the Suns last night and I don't have a good sense for why they're this bad. They are oozing talent. But there's no doubt they were out-hustled by Charlotte and did not do the little things well. Gave up 20 offensive rebounds, missed rotations, lacked focus on offense.

Finally got around to finishing Knicks-Thunder. One of the best games of the season. OKC consistently targeted KAT and Brunson and exploited whichever scheme — hedging or switching — that the Knicks tried. The difference in bench production was stark. Aaron Wiggins!

Nuggets-Spurs, as usual, was top tier entertainment. Great win for the Spurs, who looked more comfortable as the game went on with Denver's heavy switching on defense. CP3 directing traffic. Wemby was on a different level.

NBA melodrama is back!

The five best NBA League Pass local broadcasts, in no particular order: Knicks Blazers Pelicans Pacers Clippers

Flare screens for mobile, shooting big guys has been one of the most effective set plays of the past couple years. Timberwolves with KAT and Naz, OKC with Chet, and now Wemby.