{"id":217467,"date":"2025-10-16T14:22:10","date_gmt":"2025-10-16T14:22:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/217467\/"},"modified":"2025-10-16T14:22:10","modified_gmt":"2025-10-16T14:22:10","slug":"netflix-gets-a-golden-nba-story-plus-we-preview-the-knicks-and-nuggets","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/217467\/","title":{"rendered":"Netflix gets a \u2018golden\u2019 NBA story. Plus, we preview the Knicks and Nuggets"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Bounce Newsletter\u00a0\":basketball:\"\u00a0| This is The Athletic\u2019s daily NBA newsletter.\u00a0Sign up here<\/a>\u00a0to receive The Bounce directly in your inbox.<\/p>\n

Kevin Durant wished the Mariners luck after Josh Naylor wore his throwback Seattle Sonics jersey to the ALCS<\/a>. This is a great time to remind the NBA to bring back the Sonics and just expand already.\u00a0!<\/p>\n

Incredible luck<\/p>\n

\u201cStarting 5\u201d gets a \u201cgolden story\u201d for Netflix<\/p>\n

\u201cEverybody says that, so here I am having to defend this! No, this is not scripted. No, we don\u2019t have the insight from the NBA.\u201d<\/p>\n

That was one of the first things \u201cStarting 5\u201d director Trishtan Williams jokingly said to me as we were discussing Season 2 of the series, which dropped today on Netflix. It follows five players from last season throughout their entire journey, and the cast could not be more perfect for what happened in 2024-25. Tyrese Haliburton, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, James Harden, Kevin Durant and Jaylen Brown, along with their respective teams and the NBA, gave unreal access to Williams and her extensive crew.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The result is an incredibly fun and highly impressive encapsulation of what eventually leads us to Haliburton and SGA in a Game 7 showdown. As you may remember, Hali tore his Achilles early in the game, and \u201cStarting 5\u201d shows behind-the-scenes footage of the aftermath we haven\u2019t seen before. So while the NBA season certainly wasn\u2019t scripted, as I had joked, it was drama-friendly casting. Even though it might not have seemed that way at the start of Haliburton and the Pacers\u2019 season.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe started off horrible,\u201d Williams reminds us, \u201cand we\u2019re all like, \u2018What in the world is going to be? How do you tell this story?\u2019 Which is a great story for how he ended right? So then you get the roller coaster. It\u2019s like every ebb and flow you can think of, and he\u2019s so honest and vulnerable the entire time, and then he makes it to the finals. It\u2019s just a golden story, like, I don\u2019t think we could have written it any better.\u201d<\/p>\n

I was fortunate enough to watch the series before it premiered, and it consumed me for two days. I couldn\u2019t stop watching. Following the smashing success of Season 1, which featured Anthony Edwards, LeBron James, Jayson Tatum (in his first championship), Jimmy Butler and Domantas Sabonis, I had reservations about the new cast of players when it was announced roughly a year ago. And I was wrong.<\/p>\n

While the drama of the finals matchup and Durant trade rumors definitely highlight much of the season, the most shocking and refreshing part of it is Harden\u2019s storyline. As Jason Jones writes, Harden\u2019s transparency drives the show<\/a>. Jason is dead-on with this. Harden is a player I\u2019ve watched forever, but whose personality I realized I don\u2019t really know.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat you want to do is give the viewers insight to what we don\u2019t know,\u201d Williams says about the Harden story. \u201cSo we want to answer all the questions. And so for the fact that you\u2019re saying that we\u2019ve answered a lot of the questions, and I think what we also have done is going to make the audience have empathy for him.\u201d<\/p>\n

The result is fantastic storytelling for all five players and what the league went through last season. \u201cStarting 5\u201d has two seasons in the books, and they\u2019re both must-watches for basketball fans and even just casual sports fans or people who love documentaries. And Williams, who has been at the helm of both seasons, isn\u2019t shy about how good Season 2 is.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is one of those where it\u2019s award-winning,\u201d she said. \u201cI\u2019m OK with saying that on the record. That\u2019s how good of a job we\u2019ve done.\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s so good it altered my plans of how I was going to watch it, just going from episode to episode until I had to tear myself away. If this series doesn\u2019t win awards, I can only assume they stopped giving them.<\/p>\n

The Last 24<\/p>\n

The Kings are making moves<\/p>\n

\ud83c\udfc0 Russ signs. The Sacramento Kings agreed to sign Russell Westbrook on a one-year deal. I don\u2019t understand this roster at all<\/a>. At least Westbrook gives Kings fans something to watch<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\ud83d\udcb0 Extension SZN. The Kings also signed Keegan Murray to an extension. He\u2019s getting $140 million over five years<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\ud83d\udc7d Give us the truth. I wrote about how for a day (at least), Victor Wembanyama was listed at 7-feet-5. Now he\u2019s back to 7-4<\/a>?\u00a0<\/p>\n

\ud83c\udfc0 Never mind. Malcolm Brogdon was supposed to be on the Knicks. Instead, the former Rookie of the Year decided to retire at 32<\/a>.\u00a0\u2618\ufe0f Uh oh? Jaylen Brown left a preseason game with hamstring tightness. Hopefully just a precaution<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\ud83c\udfc0 Difference makers. Fred Katz looks at the five most pivotal players<\/a> in the NBA this season.<\/p>\n

Pure embarrassment<\/p>\n

Celtics coaches gloriously torch the media<\/p>\n

Full disclosure: Our own Boston Celtics beat writer Jay King<\/a> might be my favorite person in the NBA media. He\u2019s a loudmouth. He\u2019s a galvanizer of any group chat. And he\u2019s also really good at his job. We talk endless amounts of trash to each other, pretty much daily. So when I saw that he participated in a surprise scrimmage against the Celtics coaching staff, I could not have been more locked in.<\/p>\n

Celtics media was supposed to play a game among themselves at Boston\u2019s facility, something teams will sometimes have media members do as a bonding experience before the season starts. But Joe Mazzulla surprised the media by making them play against the team\u2019s coaches, a bunch of in-shape former NBA and college players. The result was an annihilation of the media in a 57-4 game. As Jay wrote in a must-read account of this: \u201cIt turned into a nightmare<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHow did we only score four points? It was probably a miracle we scored that many. The talent gap between the two teams was like the difference between the sun and a 40-watt lightbulb.\u201d<\/p>\n

What Jay didn\u2019t include in the story is that he can play. He played Division III basketball and still plays at age 38. Every Saturday morning, he peppers our group chat with a printed box score of his league game. Sadly, there wasn\u2019t a box score for this scrimmage. But there are highlights<\/a>. They also had a special viewer from the Celtics.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt came while Celtics players, including Jaylen Brown, watched from above the court. After the embarrassment ended, Brown called down to us with a laugh, \u2018Anyone want to do media?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Somehow, Jay didn\u2019t score a single point, despite his experience. Not one of the four points. As a friend, it\u2019s something I\u2019ll remind him of forever. Jay loves being confident in his own abilities in everything. We\u2019ve argued about whether he could take undefeated boxing champ Floyd Mayweather because Jay stood next to the 5-foot-8, 148-pound fighter long ago. After this scrimmage, Jay said this in a text:<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was so bad it made me rethink my stance on Floyd Mayweather.\u201d<\/p>\n

Thank you for this fodder, Joe Mazzulla.<\/p>\n

Ring mining<\/p>\n

2025-26 Season Preview: Can the Nuggets win another title?<\/p>\n

We\u2019ve never seen anything like what the Denver Nuggets did last season. They were a top-six team in the West, and yet they fired coach Michael Malone with three games left in the regular season. Drama between him and the front office became too much for the organization, and they decided to give the keys to assistant coach David Adelman.<\/p>\n

He wasn\u2019t able to fix the previous issues of injuries, lack of depth and poor defensive consistency. But the Nuggets, behind the brilliance of Nikola Joki\u0107, still challenged the Oklahoma City Thunder in the second round. Jamal Murray was banged up and Aaron Gordon hurt his hamstring, but they pushed the Thunder to seven games. This summer, they moved Michael Porter Jr. for Cameron Johnson, and Dario \u0160ari\u0107 for Jonas Valan\u010di\u016bnas. They also signed Tim Hardaway Jr. and Bruce Brown. The roster issues are solved. Does everything else put them above a Thunder team they pushed to the brink? Let\u2019s dive in!<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Drama Meter: Despite being a title contender in the West, this situation is remarkably calm. Some of that is from winning it all in 2023. Some of that is the tone set by Joki\u0107, Murray and Gordon. Some of that is looking at this roster, knowing it can take down anybody.<\/p>\n

Hot Seat Meter: They just gave Adelman the full-time job after he became the interim with three games left. The Nuggets have a reputation for frugality, too, so they won\u2019t be paying two coaches at once. Adelman\u2019s seat is ice cold.<\/p>\n

Offseason question: That question was answered with a resounding yes. The backup center issue is solved. Swapping out Porter for Johnson makes them a lot better. It also allowed them to have the flexibility to sign Hardaway and Brown. Just a massive upgrade to every roster question they had.<\/p>\n

2026 free agents: Christian Braun (restricted) | Peyton Watson (restricted) | Bruce Brown Jr. | Tim Hardaway Jr.<\/p>\n

Nuggets fans are hoping at least Braun\u2019s extension happens before the season ends. But mostly, this team is set up to win another title now and doesn\u2019t have to worry about much roster movement.<\/p>\n

Expectation for this season: Even with OKC in the West, it should be championship or bust. Malone got blamed despite the issues with the roster. Now Adelman has to keep it together and hope for the best. A championship has to be the only goal.<\/p>\n

Bing Bong back?<\/p>\n

Can the Knicks rule the East?<\/p>\n

The New York Knicks made the Eastern Conference finals for the first time in 25 years last season, and it cost Tom Thibodeau his job in another surprise coaching drama. A regime change was decided to be best for the Knicks, despite the players seemingly loving their coach. After a bizarre search where they tried to interview a handful of employed head coaches, they hired Mike Brown, the former head coach of the Cavaliers, Lakers and Kings.<\/p>\n

Now the Knicks head into an East missing Jayson Tatum from Boston, Damian Lillard from Milwaukee and Tyrese Haliburton from Indiana. The Knicks beefed up their thin bench and could possibly be the best team in the conference. But is that enough to push them through to the NBA Finals for the first time since 1999? Let\u2019s dive in!<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Drama Meter: It\u2019s the Knicks, so it has to start at a minimum of five. At the same time, Boston and Indiana being down bad with year-long injuries is a massive relief to the Knicks\u2019 prospects. They seem to have the best resume to get through the East. That adds pressure, but not more drama \u2026 yet.<\/p>\n

Hot Seat Meter: It\u2019s James Dolan, so it can\u2019t be zero. It wouldn\u2019t shock me if they came up well short of the finals and Dolan overreacted. But Brown should be safe.<\/p>\n

Offseason question: We still don\u2019t have an answer to this question, but how they adapt to Brown\u2019s coaching system will be quite telling. We know Cleveland is a regular-season paper champ. But the Knicks have shown way more resilience in the postseason. They must stay healthy to have a shot at it.<\/p>\n

2026 free agents: Mitchell Robinson | Guerschon Yabusele (player option) | Jordan Clarkson | Alex Len | Landry Shamet | Ariel Hukporti (restricted)<\/p>\n

The Robinson free agency in 2026 is interesting. They needed him at various points in the playoff run last season. His defense and rebounding are big. So is his vertical floor-stretching. But the Knicks will be close to a top-five payroll in 2026-27 even without Robinson. And he\u2019d easily put them into the second apron.\u00a0Expectation for this season: I don\u2019t know if the Knicks can beat whoever comes out of the West, but they should win the East. A healthy Knicks team is the best one left standing, as of right now. If they buy into Brown\u2019s teachings, they\u2019ll be the standard in the East.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Bounce Newsletter\u00a0\u00a0| This is The Athletic\u2019s daily NBA newsletter.\u00a0Sign up here\u00a0to receive The Bounce directly in your…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":217468,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[434],"tags":[49,48,2898,459,2901,82],"class_list":{"0":"post-217467","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nba","8":"tag-ca","9":"tag-canada","10":"tag-denver-nuggets","11":"tag-nba","12":"tag-new-york-knicks","13":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/217467","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=217467"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/217467\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/217468"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=217467"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=217467"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=217467"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}