Tom Ziller

Also in this edition of GMIB: Giannis is probably not going to be eligible for All-NBA due to the injury, ending his 9-year streak. With Tatum out too, there's a rare opportunity second tier players to compete for three first team slots instead of the usual one.

LeBron always makes the right play With his streak and the game on the line, King James dishes to a teammate with an open shot. Of course he did. That's who he is.

Wrote about Donyell Marshall, sorta. www.teamziller.com/lebron-james...

Did Samuel Johnson have to sit looking like he was reading a juicy story for hours while Joshua Reynolds painting him?

The Giannis crisis has arrived The question is whether it's a crisis with an interregnum or not.

Wrote about Giannis. It looks like the next couple months will depend on just how badly he wants to join the Knicks and just how cautious NY will be if so www.teamziller.com/giannis-ante...

The decision to send CP3 home is so, so dumb given it draws more attention to the Clippers' horrific state and given CP3's status in league circles. So the question is, if it's not simply ineptitude by Clippers brass, WHY? www.teamziller.com/chris-paul-c...

It's new to me: Basketball (Atari 2600) Atari turned its eyes toward basketball in 1978, and truly launched the sport in video game form.

Atari's Basketball is not the first basketball video game ever, but this 1978 Atari VCS release is the first to start to feel like a proper adaptation of the sport. Saying "you could dribble!" might sound prehistoric, but remember, '78 is also when Space Invaders hit. History has to start somewhere.

Oh yeah, they owe their pick to the 20-1 OKC Thunder! There's that, too!

Good thing the Clippers arena has all those toilets ... ... because this team needs to be flushed.

The Clippers:

* gave up a 30-2 run led by a player they traded to save future $

* have fallen from 3rd to 27th in defense

* might have broken Ty Lue, who did a rage sub early in the 3rd

Newsletter's unlocked, don't share it with your Clipset friends though www.teamziller.com/clippers-vs-...

Meet the tier busters Four teams are way off from preseason expectations.

Wrote about the four teams that are furthest from preseason projections. www.teamziller.com/tier-busters...

Our ULP strike has grown to 85 cities... and until Starbucks does the right thing, we'll continue to get stronger.

Pittsburgh, PA is holding down the line! ✊🔥

Starbucks baristas on ULP strike in Gardner, MA holding picket signs

🗣️ ain't no power like the power of a union, cuz the power of a union won't stop!

We're EIGHTEEN DAYS into our national ULP strike and only getting louder. Let's hear it for baristas in Gardner, MA for holding the line! #nocontractnocoffee

Who passed the Cup check? The bracket is set. Now ... we wait a week and a half to see how this all resolves.

Cup check www.teamziller.com/nba-cup-elim...

How the mighty (Pistons) have fallen! Detroit's win streak is snapped at lucky 13. Toronto and Oklahoma City stay cooking, though.

The NBA Cup is giving us four high-stakes games on Friday. Cool! www.teamziller.com/pistons-celt...

Screentime limits are inalienable!

The Magic are back (don't tell Paolo) The Battle of L.A. has been decided, the Wizards have won again and the 2025 NBA Cup group stage narrows into resolution.

It's unlocked newsletter Wednesday (that's a thing, right?). Lots of links, some highlights, all your Cupstakes notes heading into a busy Cup night. www.teamziller.com/nba-cup-grou...

The miracle of the Pistons Detroit won its 13th straight exactly two years after it had lost its 13th straight amid a 28-game losing streak. How is this possible?

Wrote about the Pistons' miracle 2-year rise in the context of that other recent miracle 2-year rise that felt less like a miracle because it was so choreographed (talkin' about the Thunder). Two different ways to bake a cake. www.teamziller.com/detroit-pist...

kangzism is contagious

In the post-2000 NBA, James Harden is on track to be the best player without a title. CP3, to me, is the biggest WINNER without a title.

CP3 you later Chris Paul will reportedly retire at the end of the season. He instantly becomes one of the NBA's biggest winners who never won a championship.

Wrote a bit about CP3, the ultimate winner. Also recapped a whole lot of basketball from the weekend: www.teamziller.com/chris-paul-r...

My brief review of Nuggets-Rockets is that if Murray maintains this level and AG gets/stays healthy, HOU needs a ton more juice from KD on offense to compete in a series.

I'll read uncomfortable prose. But I promise you I will not read that.

Nope.

LaMelo is not having a ball The flashy star reportedly would be open to moving on from Queen City. This can go a couple different ways.

Wrote about the reported mutual annoyance between LaMelo and the Hornets, and came up with a cursed trade machine slop sandwich that will haunt me all weekend. www.teamziller.com/lamelo-ball-...

The cold, calculating Clippers are paying a different Norm Powell price Los Angeles did the cap-savvy thing by trading their 32-year scorer before he needed an extension. The result is a 4-10 record.

Wrote about how the cold, calculating Clippers didn't want to pay the price for Norm Powell, so now they are paying the price for trading Norm Powell. www.teamziller.com/norman-powel...

Thank you my friend.

Against my better judgment, I wrote about the Kings. 🔓 www.teamziller.com/sacramento-k...

Good for Willie Green Joe Dumars and Troy Weaver put a coach they didn't trust in charge of a roster no one could fully trust with a couple of huge bets on the line. How did it possibly go wrong?

Not to beat a dead horse, but the Pelicans' decision-making has been an all-out disaster since June. www.teamziller.com/willie-green...

Also: Draymond Green will hear "An-gel Reese" chants taking free throws at a road arena this season, and GMIB readers will know why.

Dangerous near death, dangerous in discovery The Warriors and Spurs played two close games including an instant classic on Friday. The teams showed how dangerous they both are at opposite ends of the development curve.

Wrote about the Warriors and Spurs, whose Friday instant classic stuck with me, and who are on opposite ends of the development curve but could both disrupt the West playoffs www.teamziller.com/warriors-vs-...