*FEATURES OF THE DAY*
Flyover dribbles, Jordan Ott, the turbocharged Pistons, and more
Mike Shearer, Basketball Poetry
Despite a career derailed by a hip injury, former Celtic Isaiah Thomas still yearns for NBA return
Gary Washburn, Boston Globe
Jokić’s game-sealing, behind-the-back pass stuns the Grizzlies
Mike Prada, The Athletic
Another Timberwolves collapse raises questions about where this team is headed
Jon Krawczynski, The Athletic
LEAGUEWIDE
Flyover dribbles, Jordan Ott, the turbocharged Pistons, and more
Mike Shearer, Basketball Poetry
One Thought For Each Game on Monday Night
Dustin Brewer, HOOPS
With the Wolves, it’s the same thing every time at this point: their lack of a primary point guard is limiting this team’s upside. Rob Dillingham played nine minutes, Mike Conley played 25, but the bulk of the game was the Anthony Edwards/Donte DiVincenzo backcourt that produced a whopping five assists between the two of them. A lack of ball movement from the backcourt is severely limiting the offense and worse than that, coach Chris Finch continues to push Julius Randle as a connecting piece in place of a point guard.
The result: too many empty possessions
Many NBA stars are getting injured. Will the league and its partners dive deep for answers?
David Aldridge, The Athletic
Despite a career derailed by a hip injury, former Celtic Isaiah Thomas still yearns for NBA return
Gary Washburn, Boston Globe
NBA Power Rankings: Heat and Magic crash the party, Wizards are the anti-Thunder
Ian Levy, Fansided
NBA power rankings: Thunder remain on top, Pistons jump to second, Lakers enter top five
Kurt Helin, NBC Sports
NBA team grades for first month of season: Plenty of A’s and F’s
Mark Giannotto, USA Today
These six young NBA players are playing like first-time All-Stars.
Ricky O’Donnell, SBNation
TEAM-SPECIFIC
CHI: A really bad 3-game stretch testing new lows
BlogABull
CLE: Game Night Observations: No Juice, Resting Time and Nae’Qwan Tomlin’s Rise
Danny Cunningham, The Inside Shot
Cleveland drops to 12-7 on the season after its third loss to Toronto on the year.
CLE: Depleted Cavs lose to Toronto Raptors for a third time
Chris Fedor, cleveland.com
DAL: Scouting Cooper Flagg in person
John Hollinger, The Athletic
DAL: How Cooper Flagg is handling a tough start to rookie season
Tim Reynolds. AP
DEN: Jokić’s game-sealing, behind-the-back pass stuns the Grizzlies
Mike Prada, The Athletic