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Come Fan with UsMonday, June 22, 2026

The Warriors are almost beatable. Almost.

Good morning. We have that and more in Wednesday’s NBA newsletter.

Good morning. Let’s basketball.

ABOUT LAST NIGHT: The Warriors made it to 12-0, albeit with a strong challenge from Toronto. But they should really consider guarding Stephen Curry! The Pistons, who recently lost to the Lakers, beat the Cavaliers. [Kanye shrug] The Nets edged the Hawks, who were without Kent Bazemore and Jeff Teague. Kristaps Porzingis dominated in a Knicks win over the Hornets. The Wolves rebounded with Ricky Rubio back in the lineup and beat the Heat. The Wizards crushed the Bucks. Danilo Gallinari stomped on the Pelicans, who are now a West worst 1-10. And now Anthony Davis is hurt. T-O-A-S-T.

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RECORD WATCH: The NBA record for most wins to start a season is 15, shared by the 1948-49 Washington Capitals and the 1993-94 Houston Rockets. The Warriors can tie the record on Sunday against the Nuggets and break it Tuesday against the Lakers. However, the Clippers are waiting in L.A. for a Thursday TNT showdown. They want this bad. Game 14 on Friday comes against the hot Bulls.

YEP: No alley is too high for Andre Drummond to oop.

NOPE: Hassan Whiteside smothers the pass and the dunk.

OLAJUZINGIS! He threw a Dream Shake on Frank Kaminsky! Even the tabloid back pages are into it!

HARMONY: The great Britt Robson on Khris Middleton, who keeps the Bucks in harmony.

WHY HOUSTON? Paul Flannery and I do our dance with respect to the Rockets, Pels and, to a lesser degree, the Grizzlies, discussing why they are struggling and whether it’s time to panic.

OF COURSE: Steph Curry wore short throwback shorts in warmups on Hardwood Classics Night. He still hit everything he shot in them.

FANCY THAT: Byron Scott is blaming his players’ effort for poor defense. But his defensive rotational decisions -- like playing Brandon Bass at center and Marcelo Huertas at all -- are the crux of the problem here.

DRAFT WATCH: Here are Marc Spears’ top 10 prospects to watch. Here’s DraftExpress on the next huge overseas prospect, Dragan Bender.

BATUM ON FRANCE: Nicolas Batum on the terror attacks in Paris.

BILL AND BARACK: Bill Simmons interviewed President Obama for GQ. Basketball came up a few times! Adam Silver is going to be around a long time, so the Obama-for-Commissioner thing is a pipe dream. (Yes, that’s why it’s a pipe dream.) But a spot on the Inside The NBA panel could open at any moment ...

GET LOWE: Zach Lowe is back and he’s writing about the Timberwolves.

TOUGH: Nazr Mohammed lists the five players he felt were hardest to defend during his time in the NBA. Drew Gooden given short shrift again.

STAY MELO AT RIKERS: What it says on the box. This is interesting.

WAIT: Is it possible that Kevin Durant could join the Warriors? NIGHTMARE FUEL.

GOOD QUESTION: What happens inside players-only meetings -- of which the Rockets had one on Tuesday? Via REDEF.

COUNTERSTRIKE: Nate Duncan on how coaches utilize counters to stay ahead of the opponent.

STANDING TALL: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in TIME on the importance of activist athletes.

INTERESTING: Mark Cuban is politicking for realignment.

TONIGHT TONIGHT: We have one of those wild Wednesday nights that somehow has no marquee matchups. Your ESPN doubleheader features Pelicans-Thunder (which should have been amazing, alas) and Bulls-Suns (which is pretty interesting from a Jimmy Butler vs. Eric Bledsoe angle). Best League Pass game is definitely Raptors-Jazz, although Toronto’s on a long road trip and it’s a back-to-back at altitude.

Happy Wednesday. See you next time.

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