🚨 PSA: This is a rebrand *Sirens* Introducing 'The NBA Librarian Weekly'

NOTE: We are officially re-branding.

There's a plethora of NBA content scattered across various platforms (YouTube, podcasts, Twitter, Reddit, NBA beat writers, journalists, and fans). Our mission? To curate and compile the very best of NBA content and its creators, giving birth to the NBA Content Library.

As an avid consumer of this content myself, I understand the overwhelming nature of the NBA media landscape. That's why I’m not only curating but also summarizing the best of NBA content across all platforms every week. Our goal is to provide you with bite sized insights while leaving you craving more – more of the content from the creators who dedicate their time and effort to bring it to you.

So without further ado, R.I.P. ‘Hoop’d There It Is’ and introducing…

Welcome to the NBA Librarian Weekly, where we curate and summarize the best NBA content of the week.

In this week’s edition:

1. The Wolves’ 'Biggie Smalls Defense': A Defensive Evolution

2. The Warriors Dynasty: Is It Over?

3. Dallas Mavericks Sold, Cuban’s Motive

4. Cam Thomas: The Mindset of a Scorer and “Grenades”

5. Is Cade Cunningham Worth Building Around?

6. Sengun’s Unique FT Ritual Explained. Sorta.

7. We Are All Seeking Balance in Our Lives, Except This Guy

8. Best Alley-Oop Partners in the League

And as our first subscribers, you get a sneak peak into your library card:

The Wolves’ 'Biggie Smalls Defense': A Defensive Evolution

Link to article by Chris Hine

The major takeaway for me is how Minnesota has changed their defensive scheme this season. They’re moving Gobert more out of the drop position near the rim and asking him to be more active on the perimeter, which is different from what he's been used to in Utah where he won three Defensive Player of the Year awards (and is the odds on betting favorite to win his 4th this season). The Timberwolves are coining this the ‘Biggie Smalls Defense’ where big men play like smalls defensively.

This change is meant to enhance the man-to-man perimeter defense the Timberwolves have with Anthony Edwards and Jaden McDaniels.

Last season, the Timberwolves were often confused because they essentially played two styles of defense: one with Gobert on the court, funneling all players to drive to the rim for Gobert to protect the inside, and a more attacking perimeter defense when Gobert was off the court. This approach created a divide and did not take full advantage of the personnel the Timberwolves have defensively on the perimeter. This change has been the catalyst for the Timberwolves to be a top 3 defense in the NBA this season and atop the Western Conference at 15-4.

There are tons more stats and video evidence in the article, including great nuggets about Gobert’s personal relationship with assistant coach (and defensive lead), Elston Turner. Definitely check it out.

The Warriors Dynasty: Is It Over?

Link to article by Kevin O’ Connor

This is a good read on the state of the Warriors. Steph Curry is still Steph Curry, which is insane and still worth stating. However, Klay, despite recent better shooting, looks like a shell of himself, especially defensively, where he’s getting roasted by quicker players. Draymond being a ticking time bomb is becoming more of a story than it should be for any team. There’s a lot of criticism these days headed towards Kerr and his once-lauded system, which may not be the best thing for this team anymore.

Plus, his refusal to play younger guys for extended minutes over the vets (namely Moody and Kuminga) is concerning. The clear play everyone was talking about was Moses Moody in the game against the Sacramento Kings; he had two straight threes and then drilled another one after an illegal screen but was immediately pulled, and the Warriors ended up losing the game. Despite Moody keeping the Kings at bay as much as he could with those buckets, it questions whether these players don’t have the skill set to necessarily play Kerr’s system, or maybe Kerr should be the one to adjust to the personnel.

The article goes through different trade scenarios (like Pascal Siakam, even Paul George as examples) and how the Warriors need to capitalize on having Steph still being one of the top 5 players in basketball.

Dallas Mavericks Sold, Cuban’s Motive

Link to article by Michael Mulford

In a move that surprised everyone, Cuban sold the majority stake of the Dallas Mavericks for 3.5 billion dollars. This was also shortly after the news that Cuban had announced it would be his last couple of seasons on Shark Tank, which sparked rumors of him potentially running for the presidency.

This was denied by Cuban, and the framework for why Cuban did this has become more clear. He gets to keep the same level of basketball control he’s had as the Mavs owner in the past, but teaming up with the Adelson Group allows him to get closer to his dreams of a new arena for the Mavs in the DFW metroplex, along with a casino and resort. “The Adelson family, being a powerhouse in the casino industry, along with their political support and relationship with Texas Governor Greg Abbott, suggests Cuban's hopes to legalize gambling in Texas could be on the right track for the years to come.”

Cam Thomas: The Mindset of a Scorer and “Grenades”

What I like about Redick's podcasts is how he digs deep into the mindsets of players on the court in terms of what they're observing, and their approach to the game. Around the ~46 minutes mark, Cam shows off how much he studies opponent’s defensive strategies when he’s playing pick and roll.

Basically, when teams switch, he anticipates a lot of isolation 1v1s. However, if they're in a drop, he knows the mid-range will be open. He's cognizant of the types of shots he's getting and is focused on being as efficient as possible in these spaces. He mentions that when he's playing, he's usually with Spencer Dinwiddie or Ben Simmons, and in both lineups, he's viewed more as a scorer.

When he needs to play more as a point guard, he talks about wanting to improve his overall decision-making and all-around game. In my opinion, this offers a slightly different insight than the usual “Cam Thomas shoots the ball every time he’s in the game.”

They also discussed “grenades” which Redick defined as situations with 4-6 seconds left on the shot clock, where the ball is passed to players like Cam to bail out the offense. Redick mentioned Jamal Crawford, Jordan Clarkson, Steph Curry, Donovan Mitchell, and KD as among the best grenade launchers in the NBA today.

There was a lot more discussion about AAU ball, the advantages and disadvantages of it; what he learned from Durant, Harden, Kyrie; the difficulties of dealing with uncertain playing time, and how DNP’s are almost better.

Is Cade Cunningham Worth Building Around?

Link to article by Zach Kram

The Pistons are the worst team in the league, and there’s starting to be a lot more chatter about Cade Cunningham’s development. The article goes into a lot of depths about Cunningham’s game and questions if he can be the first option the Pistons envisioned him to be when they drafted him.

Cade has been highly inefficient this season, leading the league in turnovers and missed shots (9th in shots attempted, 34th in points). The NBA’s most efficient shots are FT’s, shots around the rim, and three-pointers. Unfortunately, Cade is poor at getting to the line (<3 FT attempts), a poor three-point shooter (he’s 12 for his last 52), and very bad around the rim, only converting 53% of his shots there. He has been blocked more than anyone else in the league this season, and this is also largely because he’s poor at finishing with his left hand.

Despite his passing skill, the Pistons only generate 0.84 points per possession on pick and rolls, which is well below the league average. The article explores if this is because of the lack of shooting and spacing around him or because of something deeper (but also cites that this trend of inefficiency even continues in lineups with more shooting).

He compares how his seasons stack up to other low-efficiency players and where he ranks among other #1 overall picks (it’s not good, go check it out).

There are tons of GREAT nuggets in here. My summary does not do it enough justice, so please read more if you’re into this kind of content!

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Sengun’s Unique FT Ritual Explained. Sorta.

Alperen Sengun is having an all-star caliber season, partly due to his ability to get to the free-throw line. For those unaware, Sengun has a unique routine where he holds the ball close to his face, seemingly whispering to it before shooting a free throw. On his podcast, Paul George inquired about this, and Sengun explained that he generally speaks 'nicely' to the ball to encourage it to go in. However, he's recently been scolding the ball during a few struggles at the line, which is the only notable negative in his performance this season.

Sengun declined to divulge the specifics of these conversations, leaving us to rely on expert lip readers to unravel this mystery. If you're interested in learning more about Sengun’s background, including how he’s progressed from not speaking English to participating in an hour-long podcast with Paul George, it's definitely worth a watch. He discusses a range of topics, from the Rockets' past issues to their current optimism, Udoka, accolades from other stars, and his objectives for this season and beyond.

We Are All Seeking Balance in Our Lives, Except This Guy

In a new halftime performance I haven’t seen before, this guy can balance almost anything on his chin, including ladders and tables. If you don’t like this, you don’t like NBA basketball (this is a reference to the Kings commentators' famous line - and this was during the Kings game).

Link to video

Best Alley-Oop Partners in the League

Let’s finish with a fun stat - the league leaders in alley-oop connections in the NBA this season up till December 2nd.

Most surprising thing to me here is Karl-Anthony Towns to Rudy Gobert - that’s some big man to big man passing (only one on the list except Jokic to Gordon, but Jokic to anyone isn’t that surprising).

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