8. The Enes Kanter predatory double test
Some double-teams are panicked -- the emergency response to a post-up brute measuring a mismatch. Some are predatory. Smart teams send doubles at bad passers just to force them into passing under pressure, with cutters and defenders flying around a shifting floor. It's a fun little bet: We'll risk leaving someone open, because we think you'll probably pass to the wrong guy -- or throw the ball into the crowd.
Kanter has long been among the league's favorite bits of double-team prey. He has never averaged even one assist per game. He has often spotted an open cutter a beat too late, just as the defense closed a passing lane. Fans sitting across the floor from Kanter have risked beer-in-the-face embarrassment if they checked their phones during a Kanter post-up. But little by little, Kanter is starting to get it. He's on pace for a (modest) career high in assists, and he whipped some snazzy passes out of double-teams against both Chicago and Memphis this week.
He dished three dimes in each of those games. That doesn't sound like much, but Kanter has hit that mark only 19 times in six seasons. Three of those games have come in the past three weeks. Kanter has never recorded more than four assists in any NBA game. Could that be the next baby step?