Good morning, let’s talk about the Atlanta Hawk with emoji tattoos

Good morning. Let’s basketball.

DWYANE WADE VS. TIME: Eddie Maisonet with a lovely read on Wade’s challenge.

THAT TRIANGLE STRUGGLE: Really good piece by the great Kelly Dwyer on how Carmelo Anthony and the Knicks will struggle through a learning, placeholder season with the Triangle offense.

THE THIRD COMING OF DERRICK ROSE: Wright Thompson goes long on Rose.

’SOMETIMES THEY SAY WHAT YOU CAN’T SAY’: Mike Scott of the Hawks explains his love of emoji and emoji tattoos. God bless you, Mike Scott.

THIS CHANGES EVERYTHING: The Nets and Celtics will play a 44-minute game in the preseason. It will cut down one minute a quarter and, more importantly, one mandatory timeout in the second and fourth quarters. The game could still end up taking three hours, of course.

IN THAT SPIRIT ... Seth Rosenthal came up with five rule changes to ruin the NBA.

WELPVILLE: Nick Young called Snoop Dogg old after the Doggfather dissed Swaggy’s girlfriend Iggy Azalea.

HEY NEW YORKERS: 5 on 5, a basketball-infused art exhibit in Brooklyn, opens on October 23. Check it out.

PERSPECTIVE: A look back at where Gregg Popovich earned his coaching stripes.

NBA BLOG PREVIEWS: We’ve got Clips Nation and NetsDaily.

YIKES: Jodie Meeks is out eight weeks with a back injury. That could actually be a huge deal for the playoff-aimed Pistons, especially if it lingers.

INTERESTING: It looks like Andre Iguodala may end up coming off the bench quite a bit this season. It’s definitely an interesting wrinkle.

MAPS! 40 maps that explain sports. I love basketball’s presence in the first one.

HOW REBOUNDS ARE MADE: Kirk Goldsberry has the data and graphics on where rebounds land based on where a shot was taken from. As Kirk notes, many players -- especially bigs -- know this info through rote repetition and instincts. But this info could help poor rebounders improve, or could change up board-crashing strategy. I really enjoyed reading Bill Russell’s thoughts on the geometry of rebounding from the early ‘70s.

STILL UNLOADING: Kobe is still talking about the NBA’s new TV deal and the lockout.

COOL: Chauncey Billups will be a studio analyst for ESPN.

PREDICTIONS AND NEWS: Zach Lowe’s annual predictions column includes the scoop that the Sixers quietly looked for Michael Carter-Williams deals in the summer.

IT’S NONSENSE: Stop claiming that John Wall is not a real point guard.

DEEP THOUGHTS WITH TOM ZILLER: E-40 is the Andre Miller of rap.

THE SILENCE OF ANDREW WIGGINS: Tim Faklis on Wiggins in Minnesota.

SIXERS BEING SIXERS: So what exactly is wrong with Michael Carter-Williams’ shoulder, and why is he still shelved five months after an injury with a 2-4 month recovery?

MEDIA INTRIGUE: The New York Times on whether Bill Simmons will leave ESPN.

BLAKE GRIFFIN’S NICHOLAS SPARKS BOOK CLUB: On Jimmy Kimmel Live, that is. I’d like to take this opportunity to note that new Clipper Ekpe Udoh has a real book club that read The Fault In Our Stars last year.

YEP: Sam Amick writes that Michael Jordan is finally an effective NBA franchisee.

HEY! Our siblings at Vox.com have a new daily newsletter. The rationale E-Klizzy and D-Math give to the Nieman Lab match a lot of my aims here. Sign up for Vox Sentences.

Happy Wednesday. See you next time.