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ESPN Senior Writer- Tim Bontemps is a senior NBA writer for ESPN.com who covers the league and what's impacting it on and off the court, including trade deadline intel, expansion and his MVP Straw Polls. You can find Tim alongside Brian Windhorst and Tim MacMahon on The Hoop Collective podcast.
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ESPN Senior Writer- ESPN.com NBA writer since 2010
- Covered Cleveland Cavs for seven years
- Author of two books
The second edition of the NBA Cup has arrived -- and so has another slew of injuries.
Friday will mark the second of seven days of group stage games taking place over the next few weeks. It will have a tough time topping Tuesday's wild and unpredictable opening night, which featured the Atlanta Hawks upsetting the Boston Celtics without Trae Young, the Portland Trail Blazers shocking the Minnesota Timberwolves and Joel Embiid making his season debut in a loss to the New York Knicks. Meanwhile, several players have gone down with injuries, including stars such as Zion Williamson, Kevin Durant and Chet Holmgren.
Heading into this weekend's action, here's everything in our notebooks, including early NBA Cup standouts, Karl-Anthony Towns' best game as a Knick, Holmgren's injury timetable and more. But we begin with the NBA-best Cleveland Cavaliers, and why the league's lone unbeaten is playing its superstar the fewest minutes of his career.
Jump to a section:
Cavs' plan to stay healthy
How's KAT's defense?
What's brewing in Atlanta?
Warriors, Rockets eyeing deals?
Undersized OKC?
Sixers' plan for Embiid, George
Heat rally behind Spo
