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The 10-man rotation, starring the as-good-as-advertised Raptors

The 10-man rotation, starring the as-good-as-advertised Raptors

A look around the league and the Web that covers it. It's also important to note that the rotation order and starting nods aren't always listed in order of importance. That's for you, dear reader, to figure out.

C: numberFire. A statistical case that, any schedule-related misgivings aside, the Toronto Raptors are every bit as good as their East-leading 12-2 record suggests. (A fun aside, over at Raptors HQ: Alex Wong finds out how often the Raps have been 10 games over .500 in their 20-year history. Spoiler alert: Not very often.)

PF: SB Nation. OK, so LeBron James doesn't "stink," but he clearly hasn't been as good thus far this season as we've come to expect, so what gives? Mike Prada goes to the videotape, where he finds the Cleveland Cavaliers star looking like his explosiveness and effort (especially on defense) have too often come up empty.

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SF: Talking Points. Tim Kawakami revisits the Golden State Warriors' decision not to trade Klay Thompson for Kevin Love, which led to Love becoming a member of the Cavs, and which has looked thus far — with the Dubs' red-hot to start the season and Love struggling in Ohio — like a pretty sound choice.

SG: LamarMatic. A good look at how the Orlando Magic chopped down a 20-point Charlotte Hornets lead on Friday, with the threat of Channing Frye's long-range shooting unlocking Orlando's offense and giving Charlotte's defense fits.

PG: Rolling Stone. Jeb Lund runs through the 15 worst owners in professional sports, with the NBA owning the dubious distinction of claiming four of the top seven spots.

6th: GQ. Bethlehem Shoals doesn't like the idea of shortening the NBA season: "Basketball, like it or not, takes time to unfold. It's like asking why anyone would spend more than ninety minutes watching a movie, or ever read a novel instead of a magazine."

7th: San Antonio Express-News. Jeff McDonald on what the San Antonio Spurs' now-legendary H-E-B spots reveal about the organization's larger-scale success: "The Spurs did not win a title because they make great commercials. But it is possible they make great commercials because of some of the characteristics that made them champions."

8th: TrueHoop. Chris Herrington on the Memphis Grizzlies' offense — ranked sixth in the NBA in points scored per possession as of this wrting — and how a year of work looks to have vindicated head coach Dave Joerger's insistence that his ground-and-pound-bound roster could play faster and more aggressively.

9th: The Triangle. Zach Lowe on what's going right for the Dallas Mavericks' league-leading offense, and what needs to go better for its middle-of-the-pack defense for Rick Carlisle's club to become a real championship contender.

10th: Regressing. For the data-visualization lovers out there, a neat interactive tool for looking at all sorts of stats from throughout NBA history.

More NBA coverage:

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Dan Devine is an editor for Ball Don't Lie on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at devine@yahoo-inc.com or follow him on Twitter!

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