• Jimmy Butler's playing status is still day to day as he deals with what Thibodeau said is "general soreness" while Butler works himself back into shape. Butler was asked Monday if the noise surrounding his trade request has seeped into his play.
Chris Hine's NBA short takes
November 7, 2018 at 2:08AM
"I play basketball, I play to win. … That's my job. I'm not worried about nothing, none of that," Butler said. "You continue to ask those questions, but it's not going to change the way I go about the game, not going to change the way I interact with guys in this locker room."
• The Celtics were a popular pick to finish first in the Eastern Conference, and while they haven't had a bad start at 6-4, they are behind teams such as Milwaukee (8-1) and Toronto (10-1). Their offensive rating of 103.5 is 27th in the league and Gordon Hayward has had a slow start in his first games back from a fractured ankle. He is averaging only 10.1 points and shooting 40 percent from the field.
• The Nuggets seems to have found gold in Denver with a 9-1 start, bested in the West by only Golden State at 10-1. Nikola Jokic is the main reason for this. His player efficiency rating, which encapsulates a player's statistical output into one number, is 27.6, sixth in the league and ahead of stars such as LeBron James and James Harden.
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Grumbling about the Timberwolves’ inconsistency and Twins’ lack of offseason activity can dominate the narratives. But both teams could be in better shape than some might think.
