Team USA: how a team in constant program transition must always depend on hardwood transition
Joe Viray, Dub Nation HQ
USA Basketball’s Steve Kerr, assistants enjoying master’s class in coaching
Jeff Zillgitt, USA Today
Derrick White is showing the world how good he is for Team USA
Chris Forsberg, NBC Sports
BKN: Legendary Coach Predicts Jordi Fernandez Will Have Great Career In The NBA
Antonio Kozlow, Basketball Insiders
BOS: Derrick White is showing the world how good he is for Team USA
Chris Forsberg, NBC Sports
IND: Explain One Play: Pacers’ 1-4 low BLOB “Rolex”
Caitlin Cooper, Basketball She Wrote
Breaking down the baseline out of bounds play that works like clockwork for the Pacers
NYK: Meet the man helping Knicks’ Josh Hart fine-tune his jump shot
Ian Begley, SNY
Mark Ramljak: ‘The simpler and smoother he looks, the better he shoots’
OKC: Thunder Roster Is Built To Be Among Franchise’s Best Ever
Nick Crain, Forbes
Following a 24-58 record in the 2021-22 season, the Oklahoma City Thunder improved by 16 and then 17 wins in the following two seasons, ultimately finishing first in the Western Conference standings during the 2023-24 campaign at 57-25 overall. Any team increasing its win total by 33 games over the course of two seasons is extremely rare, but isn’t surprising given how Oklahoma City has conducted its rebuild.
With the 2024-25 season ahead, the Thunder certainly won’t make another leap of that magnitude. Improving the team’s win total by 16 games would mean winning 73 games, which would match the Golden State Warriors’ record set in the 2015-16 campaign.
While Oklahoma City shouldn’t be expected to achieve that level of success, there is reason to believe the Thunder could see significant improvement from last season.
To be clear, OKC could win less than 57 games this season and still be a better team than it was last season. There are so many factors that impact a team’s record over 82 games, including injuries and chemistry. But the Thunder has taken its roster from last season — which was one of the best in the league — and made it much more complete on paper.
PHX: The Tyus Jones acquistion is a sign of Mike Budenholzer’s influence on the roster
John Voita, Bright Side Of The Suns
When the 2023-24 season ended for the Phoenix Suns far earlier than anyone had anticipated, the reasons for their premature exit were multifaceted and abundant. A team that was arguably the most talented the Valley of the Sun had ever seen didn’t come near to achieving the expectations set forth before the season began.
We all have our theories as to why. However, one thing that has become common knowledge (and was a continual talking point last season) is the fact that the Suns lack a traditional point guard. A conversation was sparked last summer when the team traded Chris Paul for Bradley Beal. The team was going away from a traditional roster construction into an unknown world.
Playmaking responsibilities would fall upon the shoulders of everybody in the game. What did we learn last season? That doesn’t work, or at least it didn’t work in Phoenix. Imagine telling Devin Booker that he needed to be a primary rebounder because the team was short on rebounders. Could he do it? Yes, just not consistently or effectively. That is essentially what the Suns attempted to do last season with playmaking.
The result? 14.9 turnovers per game (25th), 1.5 assists in the clutch (20th), -195 +/- in the fourth quarter (30th by 100 points).
PHX: Suns CEO sees Devin Booker, Bradley Beal and Tyus Jones as ‘three-headed monster’
Duane Rankin, Arizona Republic
UTA: Jazz Film Room: What is Kyle Filipowski’s path to having a role this season?
Miguel Alfonso Caramoan, SLC Dunk
UTA: Hayward retires, ending a career that could have been so much more
Andy Larsen, Salt Lake Tribune
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Summer League Closure
Tyler Rucker/Tyler Metcalf/ Corey Tulaba, No Ceilings
The Top 30 point guards for the 2024-25 season
Frank Urbina, Hoops Hype
Second Apron Blues: How the NBA’s CBA is reshaping team dynamics
Mika Honkasalo, Hoops Hype
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