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.
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C: Sports Illustrated. Rob Mahoney talks with Zach Randolph about the finer points of low-post positioning, and how a player who has spent most of the last decade and a half viewed largely as a bruiser has built an All-Star career out of precise footwork, sharp angles and all the little things that can make a successful big man.
PF: Waiting for Next Year. The Cleveland Cavaliers have been crushing opponents for the past two months, but even as he makes his push for a fifth Most Valuable Player trophy, LeBron James is committing turnovers at a career-high rate. What gives? Kirk Lammers digs into the tape to find out.
SF: Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel. Lori Nickel explores Jared Dudley's value to the Milwaukee Bucks, which comes less from his floor-spacing (although he can do that) or his team defense (although he helps there) or his experience (although he has that) than from his ability and willingness to communicate.
SG: Talking Points. Tim Kawakami lays out Stephen Curry's MVP case, which includes turning one of the more common critiques — he's played about 350 fewer total minutes than James Harden, and about 100 fewer in fourth quarters — on its head: "Curry should win the MVP because he doesn't play meaningful fourth-quarter minutes. He destroys teams in the third quarter."
PG: Scout.com. Evan Daniels chats with the recently returned Emmanuel Mudiay to get the likely top-five draft pick's perspective on how his decision to pass on enrolling at SMU to play professionally in China wound up working out, and what he's taken away from his year studying abroad: "I was playing against 30-year-old men that are trying to feed their family. In college, they are trying to get an education and try to get a job after that."
6th: SI Vault. A very cool collection of some of the magazine's most arresting NBA portraits over the years. Not many slideshows more worth your time than this one, I'll wager.
7th: New York Post and Posting and Toasting. Charley Rosen, longtime NBA scribe and Phil Jackson's former assistant coach back with the Albany Patroons, thinks Kentucky star Karl-Anthony Towns might have an insufficiently significant backside to be the sort of low-post anchor the New York Knicks need in the triangle offense, which means Knicks draft talk will include a fair amount of butt chatter, which sounds about right, really.
8th: Mavs Outsider Report. Whether he's part of the problem, part of the solution or somewhere in between, is Monta Ellis too tough for his own good?
9th: Grantland. A pretty gutwrenching read from Jonathan Abrams on the death of former Charlotte Hornets guard Bobby Phills, and the impact it had on his family, teammates, coaches and friends.
10th: The Triangle. Zach Lowe identifies the potential problem with the Boston Celtics' mid-rebuild rise to contention for an Eastern Conference playoff berth: "The Celtics have made the leap to mediocrity so fast that they may have no easy way out."
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Dan Devine is an editor for Ball Don't Lie on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at devine@yahoo-inc.com or follow him on Twitter!
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