NBA Game Notes: One note for all 30 teams!

FREE for all from a 15-game marathon night!

Let me start by saying this: Condensed games for the win! I’ll start there, but I’m also going to admit that I did not see the entirety of all 15 games on the 30-team night last night. I’m not actually a transaction/cap/basketball cyborg, as much as it may seem like it sometimes!

But I did see every team for at least part of the night. The every-15-minutes tips were awesome for staggering the games, especially during crunch time!

So, today, we’re doing something a little different: One note for all 30 teams! These are things that jumped out at me as I zipped around the NBA’s marathon night. Here’s what I saw!

• AJ Green needs to not only get regular minutes for Milwaukee, but he also needs regular shots. He produced because the Bucks made an effort to get him involved. Make that a thing!

• Kenny Atkinson is running actions that force Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley to be playmakers. They are both showing signs of being better passers than they’ve shown in previous years together. That’s huge for the Cavs offense.

• The Warriors retooled bench is working great. Buddy Hield is bombing away and Jonathan Kuminga has the freedom to do his thing when leading the second unit.

• The Wizards rookies are fun. Kyshawn George was letting it fly in this one. Bub Carrington looked good. Alex Sarr was pretty aggressive. Good, visible growth happening in Washington!

• Ron Holland was super aggressive. He had a few nice drives where he went right at Anthony Davis. As the jumper gets figured out, the aggressive drives will balance things for Holland.

• The Lakers defense minus Anthony Davis just isn’t very good. They’ve got some scheme things they can go to, but Davis is having to carry a huge load on both ends of the floor. That’s not great for LA at his age and with his injury history.

• Neemias Queta is fun. He’s still pretty lost on defense a lot of the time, but he can figure that out. He gets up for lobs and has improved his touch around the rim. The rebounding is real on offense, but he has to be more physical on block outs on the defensive glass.

• Jalen Johnson is really good, but he’s not quite ready to carry an offense by himself for long stretches. That showed up when Trae Young was off the floor, and especially after Young left with an injury.

• Cameron Johnson is locked in right now. He’s playing some of the best all-around basketball of his career.

• Jake LaRavia is showing some on-ball playmaking. The Grizzlies are sorting things out with so many guys injured, but LaRavia is making a case for a regular rotation spot even after guys get back.

• The Kings are still figuring out the shooting guard spot. It seems like it’s Kevin Huerter’s spot when he’s available. Beyond him, Mike Brown has tried Keon Ellis and Doug McDermott too. Malik Monk seems to be staying in the sixth-man role where he excels.

• Miami has been juggling the bench rotation quite a bit. Some of that is injury related, but a lot is Erik Spoelstra experimenting with different lineups. Against Sacramento, Pelle Larsson got the call and delivered. He’s an interesting bench guard to keep an eye on, if he can beat out the Heat vets for consistent minutes.

• The Jazz kids and John Collins killed it in Utah’s first win of the year. Collins was dominant, but the really exciting moments came from the Jazz youngsters. They won’t win a lot, but there’s a bunch of young talent in Utah.

• They lost, but the Bulls ball movement and pace were terrific. They’ve really committed to playing faster…so far. Lots of teams have started out playing fast and then slow down when the dog days of the season hit. The ball movement should always be a thing. Chicago has a lot of on-ball guys, but they can all pass too.

• Houston is benefitting from Ime Udoka locking into a pretty consistent rotation. Guys know when and where their minutes are coming each game, minus a blip here or there. That’s good for a young team finding their way.

• The Knicks are already pushing their starters too hard. Tom Thibodeau will always run his main guys a lot of minutes, but with a severe lack of depth, this is trending towards being extreme. Not sure how things change, unless a couple of the young guys really step up.

• The Wolves won, but they have to get Jaden McDaniels going. Mike Conley is showing signs of snapping out of his early-season slump. Next up is getting McDaniels on track. Chris Finch may need to design some plays that force McDaniels to shoot or make plays. They won’t go back to the conference finals without their wing stopper finding his form.

• The Hornets big man rotation is such mess that Taj Gibson started for them. Yes, that Taj Gibson! The one silver lining: Moussa Diabate has taken advantage and played pretty well.

• Mark Daigneault is a tinkerer. When OKC was rebuilding, he was always adjusting his lineups and rotations. That’s continued with the Thunder’s fifth starter. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Chet Holmgren, Jalen Williams and Lu Dort are written in in pen. That fifth spot has been a revolving door of Isaiah Joe, Aaron Wiggins and Cason Wallace. This isn’t a criticism either. It’s great that Daigneault can keep trying things. One last thing: The Thunder seem very focused on keeping Alex Caruso healthy by managing his minutes. That means he probably won’t start very often, if at all.

• The Magic are a rough watch without Paolo Banchero. His importance to making the offense go is very evident right now. For a positive thought: Goga Bitadze played well. Orlando’s depth at the center spot is really good.

• Dalano Banton seems to be forcing his way back into the Trail Blazers rotation. Hard to keep him out, when he’s giving the team some on-ball creation they are lacking from others.

• The Pelicans are barely recognizable right now with six of their top-seven players out with injuries. Silver lining: Brandon Boston Jr. is getting some minutes and he’s looked ok. Make lemonade out of lemons when you have to!

• The Pacers went smaller and played faster. And they looked like the Pacers again! They got Dallas in a running game that the Mavs didn’t really want to play. This is the way for Indiana.

• Naji Marshall got more minutes and really delivered. If Dallas can’t get P.J. Washington going soon, it’s worth giving some of his minutes to Marshall.

• Denver needed guys to step out with others out and Peyton Watson and Julian Strawther did. Really solid games from both of the young wings. Next: do it consistently!

• The Raptors are battling. They are undermanned every night, but Darko Rajakovic runs good stuff and his team plays hard. That’s a sign of a team that’s bought in for their coach, even if times are rough right now.

• The Suns have quietly started to shrink their rotation. They cut down to nine players and Monte Morris has been the one to see his playing time disappear. Could be momentary, but it’s something to keep an eye on.

• Paul George looked super rusty in his return, but you can easily see how he’ll help the Sixers achieve some balance around Tyrese Maxey. In addition: YABU! Terrific all-around game from Guerschon Yabusele.

• The Clippers are lacking some star power around James Harden with Kawhi Leonard sidelined. But they have a lot of guys who can play. In this win, Amir Coffey stood out. In the Clippers wing factory, it can be hard to stand out, but Coffey did in this one.

• Stephon Castle is getting more minutes. They’ve come at the expense of Blake Wesley, but that’s ok. Castle is the more important prospect, and he needs to be on the floor more.