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The 10-man rotation, starring Jimmy Butler's stunning rise

The 10-man rotation, starring Jimmy Butler's stunning rise

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: Sports Illustrated and ESPN.com. Ben Golliver and Nick Friedell go long on Jimmy Butler, the rising star that nobody, except maybe the Chicago Bulls, seemed to see coming.

PF: The Oregonian. Joe Freeman with a great look at how Robin Lopez has quietly and completely changed the Portland Trail Blazers, as told by the teammates who can't stop raving about the big man's unselfishness.

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SF: Vantage Sports. Ian Levy on how solid screens are driving the Dallas Mavericks' league-best offense and how a conservative scheme that emphasizing contested shots has propelled the Blazers to a top-10 defensive efficiency mark.

SG: Cowbell Kingdom. The Sacramento Kings' strong start to the season has been fueled, in part, by a steady march to the free-throw line. Can they keep drawing all those freebies?

PG: The Hook. Tom Ziller is sick of bad East teams making the playoffs while good West teams don't, so he wants to eliminate conferences, and he's got a realignment plan that would get the top 16 teams in the postseason and cut down on travel and back-to-backs. Let's get regional, y'all!

6th: ESPN Insider ($). Tom Haberstroh and Chris Paul talk about throwing lob passes, which is almost as fun as watching CP3 actually throw them. (OK, "almost.")

7th: MinnPost. Britt Robson on the slow-boiling growth and development of Andrew Wiggins, "the anti-Kardashian."

8th: USA TODAY Sports. Adi Joseph on how the rising league-wide emphasis on 3-point shooting has led to an increased search for "3-and-D" players who can contribute on both ends without being a team's top gun.

9th: Basketball Insiders. Nate Duncan on the complicated salary-cap gymnastics that the New Orleans Pelicans are going to have to pull off to build a championship contender around Anthony Davis.

10th: Good4Utah. A Utah Jazz fan once referred to as "Dr. Heckle" has been asked to stop using props when he heckles opponents, so naturally he watched Monday's game against the Bulls with a piece of tape over his mouth and is accusing the NBA of a conspiracy against the Jazz. Duh.

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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