LEAGUEWIDE

Who’s winning and losing the possession game?
John Schuhmann, NBA.com

These teams have been the best (or the worst) at using turnovers and offensive rebounding work to add possessions this season.

Stephon Castle’s full-court pressure, Darius Garland’s flow and more NBA trends
Fred Katz, The Athletic

Lob Cities: Who’s throwing (and catching) alley-oops?
Mike Shearer, Basketball Poetry

If the NBA chooses to expand, it must do what’s long overdue: go back to Seattle
David Aldridge, The Athletic

TEAM-SPECIFIC

ATL: Hawks give up 24 3’s; Hornets spoil Young’s return, Johnson’s career night
Lauren Williams, AJC

BKN: Examining The Nets’ Porter Options
Steve Lichtenstein

BOS: How Jordan Walsh went from the end of the Celtics’ bench to shutting down some of the NBA’s best scorers
Jack Maloney, CBS Sports

BOS: Brad Stevens most happy to see how Celtics veterans have pushed the young players forward
Adam Himmelsbach, Boston Globe

CHA: GAMENOTES: Regular Season Game #27
Doug Branson, Every Hornets Box Score

CHA: Tidjane Salaün’s Recent Strides Are About More Than Just Shot-Making
Sam Perley, Hornets.com

The rest of the team-specific stories as well as draft-related stories follow for paid subscribers

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PODCAST: Kings-Blazers preview
Ray LeBov/Nick Agar-Johnson/Joe Freeman, Kings Weekly Podcast

*FEATURES OF THE DAY*

Toughness on video: Teaching NBA players to play hard
David Thorpe, True Hoop

Knicks’ NBA Cup title showcases upside of new role for Jalen Brunson
Eric Samulski, NBC Sports

Mike Brown counts Bernie Bickerstaff as his biggest mentor
Marc J. Spears, Andscape

LEAGUEWIDE

Toughness on video: Teaching NBA players to play hard
David Thorpe, True Hoop

Knicks? Warriors? Nuggets? Which NBA team is the best at shooting?
Law Murray, The Athletic

How many minutes are NBA teams playing their starters?
Jared Dubin, Last Night In Basketball

Cleveland’s struggles continue, the debut of “I Can’t Believe it’s Not NBA Centel,” & more.
Dustin Brewer, HOOPS

Will OKC’s dominance steal NBA trade deadline’s thunder?
Fred Katz, The Athletic

How NBA expansion might reshape things: new divisions, realignment and a draft
John Hollinger, The Athletic

NBA will decide on expansion in 2026. Here are 4 factors that may determine the choice
Mike Vorkunov, The Athletic

Four Takeaways From the NBA Cup Final
Kirk Goldsberry, The Ringer

TEAM-SPECIFIC

BKN: Michael Porter Jr. playing like All-Star — but Nets know it’s on them to give him chance
Brian Lewis, NY Post

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Joe Freeman of the Oregonian/OregonLive joins Ray and Nick to preview the upcoming two games between the Sacramento Kings and the Portland Trail Blazers. They start out by discussing Portland’s season so far, including overwhleming injuries and the early returns on new head coach Tiago Splitter. Finally, they wrap up by talking about some of the key matchups for the upcoming games, including the head-to-head matchup of two of the NBA’s best young defensive forwards in Keegan Murray and Toumani Camara.

Ray LeBov/Nick Agar-Johnson/Joe Freeman, Kings Weekly Podcast

TEAM-SPECIFIC

BKN: Drake Powell heard Jordi Fernandez’s tough love Nets message loud and clear
Bridget Reilly, NY Post

BKN: Nets rookies starting to impress as franchise gets most extended look yet
Peter Botte, NY Post

BKN: Danny Wolf Leading Rookies in Two Major Stat Categories
Sameer Kumar, Sports Illustrated

CLE: Why Cavs should move De’Andre Hunter out of starting lineup
Chris Fedor, cleveland.com

CLE: The Cavs keep needing Dean Wade — and that’s not an accident
Ethan Sands, cleveland.com

CLE: If not now, when? What this Evan Mobley-less stretch means for Jarrett Allen’s Cavs tenure
Ethan Sands/Jimmy Watkins, cleveland.com

LAL: Why JJ Redick sees promise in the imperfect Lakers
Thuc Nhi Nguyen, LA Times

MIA: What happened to Heat’s revamped offense?
Anthony Chiang, Miami Herald

NOP: Derik Queen’s Brilliance Shouldn’t Overshadow Jeremiah Fears’ Impressive Rookie Campaign
Cem Yolbulan, Sports Illustrated

NYK: The Knicks won the NBA Cup without a hero, and that should frighten the league
Kelly Iko, Yahoo Sports

NYK: The Knicks bench may finally be ready for a deep playoff run
Bradley Rowland, Fansided

NYK: Knicks beat serious competition in not-quite-serious NBA Cup
Mike Lupica, Daily News

POR: Why Trail Blazers players are now desperate to get their names inside a mysterious locked box after games
Joe Freeman, Oregon Live

POR: Blazers end losing streak by toppling vintage Stephen Curry and Warriors
Joe Freeman, Oregon Live

SAC: Report: Kings’ Veterans Clashing With Doug Christie
Eric Sperlazza, Sports Illustrated

SAC: There isn’t even any grass over here
Akis Yerocostas, The Kings Herald

De’Aaron Fox believes the grass is greener in San Antonio and to that I say, “what’s grass?”

Yes, this is a very flawed roster, but Doug Christie hasn’t been able to figure out how to make a workable offense despite having some very good scorers on this team. Last year, he managed to keep the team together but was relying on Mike Brown’s old coaching staff. This year it’s an entirely new staff and nothing is working. This team is miserable to watch, and it looks like they’re miserable when they’re out there. That’s the biggest indictment of Christie as full time head coach so far.

This team needs a shakeup, even if just to clear out some playing time for these young guys. Devin Carter finally got some burn against the Nuggets and played pretty well, scoring 15 points with 4 assists in 21 minutes off the bench, only to not even see the floor the next game against Minnesota. In a lost season like this, the young guys should be getting as much time as possible if only to see what we have. Yes, they will stumble and fall and look awful at times, but this team already looks terrible even when they don’t play so what’s the point? This team just feels like a bunch of mercenaries biding their time until they’re somewhere else and it’s hard to get excited about games knowing that’s what you’re going to see.

SAS: For De’Aaron Fox, the ‘grass is greener’ with the San Antonio Spurs
Marc J. Spears, Andscape

SAS: Spurs vindicated for draft day trade as ignored guard struggles on rival team
Josh Cornelissen, Air Alamo

Leaguewide, Draft & Fantasy Hoops stories follow for paid subscribers

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LEAGUEWIDE

Every Team’s Top 3 Assets With NBA Trade Season Officially Here
Dan Favale, Bleacher Report

NBA News Roundup
Jacob Sutton, JSutt Hoops

Ducking The Tax Watch Heading Into Trade Season, Ducking The Tax Trackers, The Spencer Brothers Are Ballers, Trey Murphy Embodying Dunks And Threes
Nick Thoreson, The Waive and Stretch

How many wins does Giannis have left?
Henry Abbott, True Hoop

The NBA’s most heated parlor game right now is whether the Heat, Spurs, Thunder, Warriors, Raptors or someone else can put together the best package of young players and picks to land Giannis. ESPN recently conjured trade ideas built around Trae Young, Karl-Anthony Towns, Jonathan Kuminga and other big names and high draft picks. There are many stories like this. Two young players who caught my eye in those conversations are some of the league’s best young big men: the Rockets’ Alperen Şengün and the Heat’s Kel’el Ware.

Are those awesome young big men really available? If so, it’s only because GMs knows how much Giannis has done for the Bucks in the past. But what matters now is how much Giannis will do for teams in the future–and how does that compare to what you’d expect from Şengün or Ware?

Let’s try to figure that out.

NBA Power Rankings
ESPN

NBA Power Rankings
Brad Botkin, CBS Sports

Team-Specific, Draft and Fantasy stories follow for paid subscribers

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NOTE: Today’s edition is abbreviated due to illness. If we recover sufficiently, we will publish a Part Two later today. Otherwise we’ll play “catch-up” tomorrow.

TEAM-SPECIFIC

BKN: Nets’ Holiday Spirit Could Dampen With Tougher Upcoming Slate
Steve Lichtenstein

BOS: Jaylen Brown takes blame for Celtics’ home loss to East-leading Pistons
Jay King, The Athletic

GSW: It’s time for Jimmy Butler to be more aggressive
Nick Friedell, The Athletic

GSW: Steph Masterclass Can’t Overcome Roster Flaws, Blazers Beat Warriors Yet Again
Duncan/Daniel Hardee, Dub Nation HQ

GSW: Warriors have big problems: A lack of continuity is high on the list
Nick Friedell, The Athletic

IND: Energy lacking as Indiana stumbles in weekend pair of games
Scott Agness, Fieldhouse Files

LAC: Clippers’ miserable season rolls on with another blowout loss
Justin Russo

MIL: Without Giannis Antetokounmpo, Bucks lose another winnable game, fall to 11-16
Eric Nehm, The Athletic

MIN: Why aren’t the Timberwolves giving young players big minutes? Chris Finch has answers
Jon Krawczynski, The Athletic

OKC: How OKC trusted the draft, ignored the NBA’s shortcuts and turned fan patience into a payoff.
Maxwell Ogden, Fansided

PHI: Sixers’ Paul George is reassembling his game
Tony Jones, The Athletic

SAS: Spurs Pulled Off the Upset Against the Thunder
Paul Garcia, The Spot Up Shot

Devin Vassell from three, Wemby the X-Factor off the bench, the Spurs’ defensive containment vs OKC, and Castle attacking inside

SAS: Victor Wembanyama and the ‘ethical’ Spurs are ready to think big
Jared Weiss, The Athletic

SAS: The Wemby Effect is real
Tom Haberstroh, The Finder

LEAGUEWIDE

Wemby vs. Brunson: The NBA Cup’s First Great Final
Michael Pina, The Ringer

Spurs-Knicks looks like a shockingly compelling title game. Will the return of Victor Wembanyama tilt the balance?

Recapping Monday’s five games and previewing Tuesday’s NBA Cup Final matchup
Dustin Brewer, HOOPS

Nikola Jokic and Alperen Sengun Had a Battle for the Ages

The Ten Most Intriguing Trade Candidates
The Ringer

NBA Sophomore Rankings
Nathan Grubel, No Ceilings

NBA Power Rankings
Law Murray, The Athletic

AROUND THE LEAGUE

2026 NBA Trade Deadline Guide: Part I
Yossi Gozlan, Third Apron

NBA trade deadline tiers 1.0: Which teams should buy, sell or stand pat?
Zach Harper, The Athletic

The Trail Blazers Spoiled Steph Curry’s Huge Night | HOOPS, 12/15/25
Dustin Brewer, Hoops Daily

NBA Power Rankings: Spurs, Knicks advance to 2025 NBA Cup finals
Clemente Almanza, OKC Thunder Wire

Intentional fouls ruined the Spurs-Thunder game. The NBA should abolish them
Eric Koreen, The Athletic

Victor Wembanyama reminded everyone who he is in Spurs’ NBA Cup win over Thunder
Zach Harper, The Athletic

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LEAGUEWIDE

NBA Cup takeaways
The Athletic

Wembanyama sparks Spurs past Thunder, ending OKC’s 16-game win streak
Justin Martinez, The Oklahoman

Spurs-Thunder thrilling NBA Cup semifinal ending comes down to whistles
Law Murray, The Athletic

NOTE: Much more of the Cup semis in the Team-Specific section of Today’s newsletter

NBA trade candidates: Who can get traded on Dec. 15? Who has to wait? And who can’t be moved at all?
Sam Quinn, CBS Sports

Players Whose Outlier Stats May Be the New Normal
Jacob Sutton, JSutt Hoops

every team is over 20 games into the season now, which means that a quarter of the NBA’s calendar year is up. By this point, players who have actually been playing (read: not injured) will have settled into their roles, stabilized their stats, and, in many ways, regressed to the mean (both for better and for worse).

However, some players are still holding on to some outlier stats, ranging from the good (three-point percentage) to the bad (fouls per game). That could mean that some players have either turned the corner in a positive manner or a negative one, potentially giving each of their teams new things to think about.

TEAM-SPECIFIC

BKN: Danny Wolf Gets Praise From Nets Head Coach Jordi Fernandez: ‘Plays Like He Belongs’
Sameer Kumar, Sports Illustrated

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NBA CUP

Could taking the NBA Cup global help the tournament live up to its lofty ambitions?
Marcus Thompson II, The Athletic

For the Cup: Previewing Tonight’s Semifinal Games
Jacob Sutton, JSutt Hoops

Emirates NBA Cup Semifinals: Numbers to know
John Schumann, NBA.com

Thunder-Spurs: Emirates NBA Cup 2025 Semifinals preview
Shaun Powell, NBA.com

Knicks-Magic: Emirates NBA Cup 2025 Semifinals preview
Shaun Powell, NBA.com

AROUND THE LEAGUE

What’s behind the rash of injuries to Mavericks, other high-profile NBA players?
Mike Curtis, The Dallas Morning News

NBA intel: League insiders on the new normal of superstar trades
Brian Windhorst/Tim Bontemps, ESPN

How To: WOW(Y)
Chris Gunther, Charting Hoops

When do they become bad?
Kelly Dwyer on Hoops

When will teams go good?
Kelly Dwyer on Hoops

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LEAGUEWIDE

How 7 undervalued NBA players are making an outsized impact
John Hollinger, The Athletic

The OKC Thunder look unbeatable, but the San Antonio Spurs have three upcoming chances to solve that puzzle
Brennan Sims, Fansided

Could taking the NBA Cup global help the tournament live up to its lofty ambitions?
Marcus Thompson II, The Athletic

Will the Thunder’s Dominance Clog Up the NBA Trade Market?
Kirk Goldsberry, The Ringer

NBA 25 under 25: Ranking Wemby, Flagg, Cade and the next wave
ESPN

NBA Rookie Rankings
Jasmyn Wimbish, CBS Sports

Three recent NBA trends
Fred Katz, The Athletic

NBA Cup preview: What to know about each semifinal in Las Vegas
ESPN

Previewing the NBA Cup semifinals. Plus, Joel Embiid’s empty shot diet
Zach Harper, The Athletic

TEAM-SPECFIC

BOS: The Celtics are shattering your preconceived notions
Mike Shearer, Basketball Poetry

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