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: SB Nation and NBA.com. In light of the NBA Board of Governors Relocation Committee's unanimous recommendation that the Sacramento Kings not be moved to Seattle, Tom Ziller considers Sacramento's three-part blueprint for staving off relocation, while Scott Howard-Cooper takes stock of the 12-0 verdict and the reasons behind it — the committee "did not vote against Seattle as much as it voted for Sacramento."
PF: CelticsBlog. I really enjoyed this post by Jeff Clark about confronting the eventuality of Paul Pierce's departure from the Boston Celtics, not only from an emotional perspective (where he says he'll miss "The Truth" on a level "that borders on feelings I have for extended family"), but also a practical on-court matter, because despite the All-Star appearances, the deep playoff runs and that one title, he's not sure he and Celtics fans really appreciate what they've had for the past 15 years.
SF: ESPN. An awesome read from Ramona Shelburne on what makes Denver Nuggets coach George Karl tick, what makes him different now from his younger "Furious George" days, and the virtues of letting go: "'I think I give my mind more space to think the right way now than I did then,'" Karl says. 'My ego and my anger and my hatred for losing, that possesses you and doesn't allow your brain to function in a correct manner.'"
SG: Rufus on Fire. From all of us here at BDL, I'd like to wish a Happy DeSagana Diop Day to you and yours.
PG: Grantland. Zach Lowe runs down the list of the NBA's "New Age Battiers" — the players who can capably check shooting guards and small forwards on the defensive end while being able to knock down 3-pointers at a high rate to provide floor spacing on the offensive end. It's not a very long list.
6th: SB Nation. Mike Prada looks at how the Oklahoma City Thunder have been using Reggie Jackson since the injury to Russell Westbrook, and comes up with a basic conclusion: "As long as Jackson is going to be used like Westbrook in these sets, he needs to attack like Westbrook."
7th: Esquire's Culture Blog. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's out here handing down life lessons like he thinks he's Mac, Charlie, Dennis, Sweet Dee and Frank. (But no, seriously, there's some pretty decent advice here.)
8th: Eye on Basketball. Zach Harper's been keeping a close eye on Stephen Curry's white-hot shooting during the last three games of the Golden State Warriors-Denver Nuggets series, and he thinks this is less an unsustainable hot streak than it is a reasonable response to a scheme — he's pretty sure that unless Denver changes something drastically on D, Steph's just going to keep doing this. (Which would be great for us, but lousy for Denver.)
9th: Peachtree Hoops. Kris Willis takes a look at the recent defensive wave the Atlanta Hawks have ridden to two straight wins to tie their best-of-seven series with the Indiana Pacers, a surge triggered in part by inserting Johan Petro into the starting lineup at center, which bumped Al Horford down to power forward to tangle with David West and Josh Smith down to small forward to lock up Pacers star Paul George.
10th: Salon and SLAM. A couple more Jason Collins reaction pieces from friends of the program Bethlehem Shoals and Ryan Jones. Enjoy.
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