The Athletic NBA Daily Spurs stay hot + Who are true Contenders?
Feb 24, 2026
Jared Weiss, NBA reporter for The Athletic who breaks down games with sharp player-level analysis. He recaps the Spurs’ win in Detroit and how physicality shaped the matchup. He discusses Stephon Castle’s defense on Cade Cunningham and Victor Wembanyama’s late-game growth. The conversation also asks whether the Spurs have true championship credentials.
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Episode notes
Power Rankings Are A Weekly Narrative Exercise
- Law Murray treats power rankings as a weekly, thematic exercise that blends data with narrative to provoke discussion.
- He combines standings, net ratings, recent styles, upcoming matchups, and a chosen theme to justify movement and spark reader debate.
Use Tiers And Themes To Manage Small Sample Noise
- Law argues tiers help manage small sample noise and that static rankings are boring and misleading across an 82-game season.
- He intentionally finds a weekly theme so rankings can adapt when teams change roles, health, or upcoming litmus-test matchups.
Roster Changes Can Overrule Earlier Head-To-Head Results
- Law breaks the Cavs, Rockets, Nuggets trio by recent matchups and roster change context rather than pure record comparison.
- He moved Cleveland up because adding James Harden materially changes their projection versus Houston, which had beaten them earlier.