The Bulls are back! Josh Giddey is on his way to becoming a first-time All-Star. Nikola Vucevic continues to fight back Father Time. Matas Buzelis is one of the best sophomores in the league. Chicago is a balanced team that is wearing opponents down with pace and depth.

The Boston Celtics likely didn't expect Payton Pritchard to eventually become their starting point guard when they drafted him in the first round of the 2020 NB

Nikola Jokic has started the season with three consecutive triple doubles and Denver was a shot away from being 3-0. Aaron Gordon dropped 50 points in the season opener, Jamal Murray 43 in their most recent outing, and Denver has the third-ranked offensive efficiency.

The third NBA Cup is underway. The first two iterations of the in-season tournament offered mixed results from a ratings perspective, but the event's piped in some intrigue before the All-Star break.

The Boston Celtics have dropped their first three games of the season. Clearly, losing Jayson Tatum to an injury and moving on from Kristaps Porzingis, Jrue Holiday, and Al Horford has taken a big toll on their chances of competing at the highest level.

Horace Grant won three NBA titles with the Chicago Bulls and Michael Jordan, and another with the Los Angeles Lakers and Kobe Bryant and Shaq, so it is safe to say that he has faced some iconic opponents on the other end of the court.

Determination: Fiction. The Bulls are not for real. At least not in the "true threat" sense. But they are fun, and that is a whole lot better than they have been, and it matters in this year's Eastern Conference, when any playoff series can be won, so enjoy this while it lasts, for the middle is an awful place to be.

Magic Johnson has heard all the chatter that the back-to-back World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers are hurting the sport, but he had no issue dismissing those criticisms.

33 years to the day earlier, forwards Dick Hemric and Jim Loscutoff played their first minutes for the team in 1955 in a 98-87 win over the (then) Philadelphia (now, Golden State) Warriors. The Wake Forest alum scored 5 points, going 2-for-4 from the floor, while the future seven-time champ Loscy got 3 points and 2 assists.