DIMES: Living in the NBA information age

Warriors beat writer Danny Emerman shares his thoughts on the NBA

Did you know the Spurs are the only NBA team without a five-game winning streak in the 2020s? The last time San Antonio came in February and March of the 2018-19 season.

You know how I know that? A graphic about it popped up on my phone between flights this week.

The average NBA fan has never had access to this amount of information before. We’re getting it all the time, from all angles, without even overtly asking for it, thanks to social media.

Through 37 games, the 2024-25 Cleveland Cavaliers have the highest relative offensive rating in NBA history. And Steve Nash led five of the top-10.

Everything is tracked. Deflections, player sprint speed, shooting percentages when left open compared to contested. Bradley Beal apparently leads the league in time spent tying his shoes during games (64 seconds).

One chart this week went viral in the Warriors’ corner of the internet. It showed every team plotted with the X axis denoting layup points added and the Y axis detailing free throw points added. The Warriors were planted all alone, deserted in the bottom left-hand corner. That wasn’t surprising. What was surprising was Steve Kerr practically citing the post in a press conference.

The information reverberates everywhere, even coaches’ offices.

This isn’t a “back in the day, you’d just read about it in the newspaper or see it on SportsCenter” thing, either. No. There’s no way your local paper could have known that Jayson Tatum leads the league in points per minute of having the ball in his hands. 

This is amazing stuff we never would have known before modern technology and data. For as much destruction as Elon Musk has done to Twitter, it’s still a haven for (mostly) harmless topics like the NBA.

There has never been a better time to be an NBA fan than right now. There are a million podcasts to consume, any game is one click away at all times, highlights get uploaded instantly and the information age allows everyone to be smarter. There’s probably more ball-knowers than ever.

Can the Cavs break the Warriors’ 73-win record?

At 33-4, the Cleveland Cavaliers are on pace to finish with 73 regular-season wins, matching the all-time record Golden State set in 2016.

The Warriors famously started 24-0 nine years ago. The Cavs won their first 15 games and are now riding a 12-game win streak.

Through 37 games, the Warriors were 35-2 — two games ahead of the current Cavs. These Cavs even play like those Warriors, with excellent ball movement (they call it “ethical hoops”), twinning bigs, an elite defense and a dynamic backcourt.

Whether or not the Cavs maintain pace with the Warriors (I think it’s an unbreakable record), they’re officially a juggernaut.

Bend that corner

LiAngelo Ball’s new rap song is sweeping the nation — and locker rooms. It’s been in the NBA’s head since he dropped it this week.

I fear the song will be short-lived, like Sheck Wes’ “Mo Bamba.” That’s just my expert opinion. A banger that will play at every frat party, before sporting events and on team buses but will get overplayed and naturally fade.

Good for Liangelo, though. And good for LaVar! He’s got two sons in the NBA – one of which is perhaps the most popular player among young fans — and a hip-hop phenom (however fleeting). He did a lot of talking, but this moment is vindication.

Beam got new batteries

Firing Mike Brown seemed ridiculous in the moment, and leaning on Sacramento’s disastrous franchise history didn’t seem like a bad idea. But after six straight wins for the Fightin’ Doug Christies, the move doesn’t look so bad in hindsight.

It’s normal for teams — in any sport — to get a little jolt with an interim coach. What’s not normal is going on the road and beating the defending champion Boston Celtics convincingly to extend a winning streak.

Playing Keon Ellis more has definitely been a plus, but it seems like the Kings are simply playing harder. That can go a long way in the regular season. And if Brown wasn’t getting through to his team anymore, that’s grounds enough for a change.