Tuesday 28 May 2013

The 10-man rotation, starring Grizz, the Memphis Grizzlies’ mascot, being awesome

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: CBSSports.com. Gregg Doyel shares a heartwarming story about a mascot doing his job and making a difference on a sad day in Memphis.

PF: SB Nation. Spencer Hall writes from Memphis about Memphis, the Grizzlies and the relationship between city and team. It is phenomenal.

SF: TrueHoop. Ditto for Kevin Arnovitz's treatise on the Grizzlies' culture and identity, which opens with a teary-eyed Tony Allen and closes with some thorny questions.

SG: Sports on Earth. Tommy Tomlinson on Tim Duncan, who might never offer us much in the way of narrative but always follows the No. 1 rule of storytelling.

PG: YouTube user TIMDUNCAN (duh). Bill Simmons' video essay salute to Duncan from ESPN's Game 4 broadcast was pretty rad and a decent way to spend three minutes.

6th: Grantland. Zach Lowe revisits the 2011 draft-day deal that helped shape the current state of the upper echelons of both conferences — the San Antonio Spurs sending George Hill to the Indiana Pacers in exchange for the rights to Kawhi Leonard (and the rights to European players Erazem Lorbek and Davis Bertans).

7th: For the Win. "Sad Marc Gasol is sad." Head's up, Grizz — we've got another one for you to cheer up.

8th: NBA.com. You might have missed David Aldridge's Morning Tip on Monday due to the Memorial Day holiday. You should make time for it, because the sheer amount of reporting, writing and work that goes into this weekly treat — which, this time around, features a ton of background on the Pacers, Larry Bird, Roy Hibbert and more — must be staggering.

9th: RareInk. Hey, Pacers fans: Want an actual poster of Paul George's Game 2 posterization of "The Birdman?" You know you do. (Thanks, Jared Wade of Eight Points, Nine Seconds.)

10th: Raptors Republic. Blake Murphy takes a look at how the offensive output of Rudy Gay, DeMar DeRozan and the Toronto Raptors would change if the two swingmen took one step backward and traded in some of their long 2-point field goal attempts for 3-balls. The uptick, especially for Gay, might be really interesting.

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