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Cavaliers

DENVER (AP) &mdash; Nikola Jokic recorded his sixth triple-double of these playoffs with 34 points, 21 rebounds and 14 assists, powering the Denver Nuggets to a 132-126 win over the Los Angeles Lakers in the opener of the Western Conference finals on Tuesday night.
Behind Jokic&rsquo;s sizzling start and strong finish, and Jamal Murray&rsquo;s 31 points, Denver beat the Lakers in the opener of the West finals for the first time ever.
After a slow start, Anthony Davis had 40 points and 10 rebounds, and LeBron James finished with 26 points, 12 boards and nine assists. Austin Reaves chipped in 23 points and fueled L.A.&rsquo;s desperate fourth-quarter run that nearly erased Denver&rsquo;s 14-point cushion after three.
The Nuggets led by as many as 21 but the Lakers pulled within three points twice in the fourth quarter, once on Reaves&rsquo; 3-pointer at 124-121 and again on James&rsquo; pair of free throws that made it 129-126 with 1:12 remaining.
After Jokic sank two free throws with 26 seconds left to give Denver a 131-126 lead, Murray poked the ball from James as he was about to take it to the hoop and Jokic gathered the loose ball before being fouled with 10.9 seconds left. He sank one of two and James misfired from 3 as the seconds ticked off.
Game 2 is Thursday night at Ball Arena, where the top-seeded Nuggets are 7-0 in the playoffs and 41-7 overall, the best home record in the league this season.
Jokic said a day earlier that the Nuggets desperately needed to avoid following in the sneaker-steps of the Memphis Grizzlies and Golden State Warriors, both of whom dropped their home opener to the Lakers and wound up losing in six games.
Moreover, James has won his last 20 playoff series in which his team has won the opener.
The Nuggets hadn&rsquo;t taken Game 1 against the Lakers since 1979, when they won the opener of the best-of-3 series only to lose the next two. That&rsquo;s the closest the Nuggets have ever come to eliminating the Lakers, who have beaten Denver three times in the West finals, including in the Florida bubble in 2020.
Flashing his MVP credentials in a stunning display of power in the first quarter, Jokic pulled down a dozen boards and dished out five assists to go with eight points. That made him the first player since at least 1997 to have a dozen or more boards and at least five assists in any quarter of an NBA playoff game.
The Lakers used an 11-2 run to cut the deficit to 11 points before Jokic responded with an off-balance 3-pointer over the outstretched arm of Davis that barely fluttered the net at the buzzer, leaving Davis to trudge back to the bench in disbelief.
The &ldquo;Joker,&rdquo; who missed out on his third consecutive NBA MVP award this year when he was edged by Philadelphia&rsquo;s Joel Embiid, had 19 points, 16 rebounds, seven assists and two blocks by halftime as the Nuggets took a 72-54 lead into the locker room.
PLENTY OF POINTS
With 258 combined points, it was the highest-scoring conference finals game that didn&rsquo;t go to overtime since 1987, when Detroit beat Boston 145-119.
CLOCK SHOT
A malfunctioning shot clock was fixed and restored to its rightful place above the baskets in time for the second half. A malfunction forced officials to place a timer on both ends of the Ball Arena floor in the first half. It made for a different sort of gaze for James, Jokic and the rest of the players, who usually glance slightly up from where they&rsquo;re shooting to know how much time is left. In the first half, they had to look toward the right side of the baseline.
TIP-INS
Lakers: L.A.&lsquo;s only lead came on James&rsquo; bucket to open the game. ... The Lakers lost to the Nuggets in the playoffs for just the ninth time in 34 tries. ... Los Angeles coach Darvin Ham lost a late challenge, the second one of the fourth quarter that took an inordinate amount of time for the officials to rule on.
Nuggets: Denver grabbed 20 of the first 23 rebounds in the game. ... The only player since 1997 to do what Jokic did in the first quarter was Cleveland&rsquo;s Anderson Varejao, who blitzed the Wizards for 12 rebounds and five assists in a regular-season game in October of 2012. ... The Nuggets called timeout just before the 10-minute mark in the fourth quarter and actually lost a point when it was determined a 3-pointer by Murray was actually a 2, cutting Denver&rsquo;s lead to 108-100.

The Denver Nuggets got a 132-126 win over the Los Angeles Lakers in the opener of the Western Conference finals on Tuesday night.

Nikola Jokic leads Nuggets past Lakers 132-126 in West opener

CLEVELAND (AP) &mdash; Anderson Varej&atilde;o has bounced back to the Cavaliers.
One of the most popular players in Cleveland's history, Varej&atilde;o has been hired as a player development consultant and global ambassador for the team that he played with for 14 NBA seasons.
Known for his hustle and frizzy hair, Varej&atilde;o, affectionately nicknamed &ldquo;Wild Thing&rdquo; for his rambunctious playing style, was with the Cavs from 2004-15. He spent two seasons with Golden State before the center returned to Cleveland after a three-year break. He retired after playing five games in the 2020 season.
Varej&atilde;o had stayed connected to the organization, making periodic appearances at practices and games.
In his new role, Varej&atilde;o will help develop players on the floor while also working with coaches and front office members during the season. The Brazilian will also travel to broaden the team's global reach, especially in Latin America.
&ldquo;Andy embodies all that the city of Cleveland stands for and beyond, and we couldn&rsquo;t be more excited to bring his experience, leadership and character back into the Cleveland Cavaliers family,&rdquo; said Koby Altman, the Cavs president of basketball operations. &ldquo;His infectious work ethic and commitment to our community have earned him his rightful place in the fabric of this organization and all of Northeast Ohio, and his impact on the game internationally will benefit our global outreach.&rdquo;
The Cavs plan to honor Varej&atilde;o with a halftime presentation at their Jan. 21 game against the Bucks.
&ldquo;I am thrilled and honored once again to be a formal part of the Cavaliers family,&rdquo; said Varej&atilde;o. &ldquo;This is a unique opportunity to start a new chapter of my life with the team I love and in the city I love."
Varej&atilde;o was a key member on two 60-win teams with Cleveland. He averaged 7.5 points and 7.5 rebounds in 596 games for the Cavs, who acquired him in a 2004 trade with Orlando.
He's ranked in the top 10 in several offensive categories. In 2012, Varej&atilde;o averaged a career-best 14.4 rebounds per game.

Anderson Varejão has been hired as a player development consultant and global ambassador for the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Anderson Varejão back with Cavs in player development role

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) &mdash; Donovan Mitchell had 46 points in his return to Utah, but the Jazz rallied late behind Jordan Clarkson to beat the Cleveland Cavaliers 116-114 on Tuesday night.
Clarkson scored 32 points, including five 3-pointers, and poured in nine straight down the stretch to fuel a decisive 13-0 run.
Lauri Markkanen had 25 points and 16 rebounds against his former team. Malik Beasley, Mike Conley and Nickeil Alexander-Walker added 13 apiece as Utah won for just the second time in nine games.
&ldquo;I thought our guys just really dug in, stayed the course, and stayed focused on the little things,&rdquo; Jazz coach Will Hardy said.
Mitchell, who spent his first five seasons with Utah, also had six assists, five rebounds and three steals. The three-time All-Star was traded to Cleveland in September for a blockbuster package that included Markkanen.
Utah honored Mitchell with a video tribute before tipoff and Jazz fans gave him a huge ovation during the video and player introductions.
&ldquo;I was really comfortable,&rdquo; Mitchell said. &ldquo;It wasn&rsquo;t weird. It was just like playing as I have here for the last five years. The reception was phenomenal and I&rsquo;m appreciative of it.&rdquo;
Mitchell eclipsed 40 points for the second time in five games. He set a Cleveland record with 71 points on Jan. 2, most by an NBA player in 17 years, as the Cavaliers rallied to beat Chicago in overtime.
Darius Garland added 21 points and six assists for Cleveland. Evan Mobley and Caris LeVert chipped in with 12 points apiece.
Cavaliers center Jarrett Allen played only seven minutes &mdash; all in the first quarter &mdash; before exiting with an illness. Cleveland forward Isaac Okoro was limited to 17 minutes for the same reason. Both players felt nauseous during the game.
That put a greater onus on Mitchell to make big plays for 48 minutes.
&ldquo;He was Donovan,&rdquo; Cavaliers coach J.B. Bickerstaff said. &ldquo;He was trying to will us through it.&rdquo;
Cleveland fell behind by 13 in the second half but chipped away at the deficit, finally erasing it midway through the fourth quarter. Mitchell scored three straight baskets to punctuate an 11-0 run and give Cleveland a 101-94 lead. Utah missed 13 of its first 14 shots in the fourth, opening the door for the Cavaliers to go back in front.
But the Jazz surged ahead 115-107 with 23.1 seconds left after Clarkson scored nine consecutive points over three possessions. His outburst helped Utah overcome a quarter in which Cleveland blocked five shots and the Jazz totaled only five baskets.
&ldquo;I was just being aggressive in those moments,&rdquo; Clarkson said. &ldquo;Throughout the game, I saw what they were doing defensively and just started being aggressive in the fourth.&rdquo;
Mitchell kept the Cavaliers&rsquo; offense afloat in the first half while his teammates struggled to find their shot. He scored or assisted on 10 of Cleveland&rsquo;s 19 baskets before halftime.
When Mitchell cooled off in the third quarter, Utah scored on seven straight possessions to race out to a double-digit lead. Clarkson made three baskets in a row and assisted on another to power a 13-2 spurt that put the Jazz up 78-65.
&ldquo;He had that look in his eye and I was just like, damn, it's going to be one of those back-and-forth nights,&rdquo; Mitchell said.
TIP-INS
Cavaliers: Kevin Love grabbed nine rebounds, passing Anderson Varejao for sixth place on Cleveland&rsquo;s career list. Love has 4,459 boards with the Cavs. &hellip; Mitchell made his 500th career steal.
Jazz: Clarkson scored 15 of Utah&rsquo;s 28 fourth-quarter points. &hellip; The Jazz committed 16 turnovers, leading to 22 points for Cleveland.
&nbsp;

Donovan Mitchell had 46 points in his return to Utah, but the Jazz rallied late to beat the Cleveland Cavaliers 116-114.

Mitchell scores 46 in Utah return, but Jazz rally past Cavs

Nekias Duncan dives deep into the rise of guard-screening in the NBA through the lens of NBA players, coaches and more.

Changing of the guard: The future of screening is here

NBA players from countries outside the United States are in the process of trying to qualify for the Olympics, and none had a better game in the first few FIBA qualifiers than Boban Marjanovic. And that includes Luka Doncic.
The Dallas Mavericks&rsquo; center had 25 points (on 12-for-18 shooting) and 10 rebounds in an 83-76 victory over the Philippines in front of a COVID-capacity crowd of 1,250 mostly home fans in Belgrade, Serbia. Coach Igor Kokoskov rested Miami Heat forward Nemanja Bjelica as Serbia had a 46-28 advantage on points in the paint.
"The Philippines played as a team, and I want to congratulate them on that. They fought,&rdquo; Kokoskov said. &ldquo;We will know more after the review. We have a lot of new names, and some guys were missing. We didn't react, we overthought. We defended instead of being in an attacking rhythm. It wasn't nice, again, but we won.&rdquo;
"At some point, we were relaxed. We played irresponsibly. That resulted in us playing an uncertain ending. We must not allow that,"&nbsp;said Milos Teodosic, Serbia&rsquo;s captain.
After trailing 74-73, Serbia closed with a 10-2 run and pulled out the victory, advancing to the semifinals where they will play either Puerto Rico or Italy.
Doncic had 18 points, 10 rebounds and six assists in just 22 minutes of playing time as Slovenia defeated Poland, 112-77. Slovenia, Lithuania, Venezuela and Poland have already qualified for the semifinals.
Doncic was playing in a competitive international for the first time since helping Slovenia claim a historic win at FIBA EuroBasket 2017 as an emerging 18-year-old. Goran Dragic of the Miami Heat is not playing, but he made the trip and was in the crowd at Zalgirio Arena.
"For me, it's also a pleasure to play for the national team," Doncic said. "It's something I desire. I can't wait to play, so I&rsquo;m really happy to be here. Everyone is enjoying playing and everyone is having fun, and that is what we have to do out there."
Doncic also addressed Dragic's absence.
"Obviously, I wish he was playing with us... He was the guy at EuroBasket 2017. It's great that he came all the way here to support us. It means a lot, not just for me, but the whole federation."
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In Victoria, British Columbia, Canada started five NBA players &ndash; Andrew Wiggins of the Golden State Warriors, RJ Barrett of the New York Knicks, Cory Joseph of the Detroit Pistons, Dwight Powell of the Dallas Mavericks and Trey Lyles of the San Antonio Spurs &ndash; and, after defeating Greece, rolled to a 109-79 victory over China.
Wiggins had 20 points on 5-for-9 shooting while Barrett shot 3-for-7 from three-point territory. He scored 16 points, but missed half of his six free throws. Among those coming off Canada&rsquo;s bench for Nick Nurse were Luguentz Dort of the Oklahoma City Thunder and Nickeil Alexander-Walker of the New Orleans Pelicans. Nicholson, who played last season in China, added 14 points off the bench.
"When you play together, the game comes easy. When you're in a good rhythm, everyone's going to get after it offensively, defensively. We have a lot of unselfish guys. We all want to see each other win, do good, and out there, we're just trying to play aggressive, play to win, play the right way. I feel like if we keep playing that way, keep playing together, then the sky is the limit for us,&rdquo; Wiggins said.
Canada advanced to the semifinals, as has Turkey. Greece, playing without Giannis Antetokounmpo, is 0-1 heading into a Thursday night game against China.
In Croatia, the biggest upset of the qualifying process happened when the home team, led by Utah&rsquo;s Bojan Bogdanovic, was crushed by Brazil, 94-67. Brazil was led by 20 points from 35-year-old center Rafael Nettscheimeir. Bruno Caboclo, who was waived by the Houston Rockets in January, added 16 points, and NBA veteran Anderson Varejao scored 11. Brazil is coached, ironically, by a Croatian, Aleksandar Petrovic.
Despite that loss, Croatia, Germany, Brazil and Mexico have qualified for the semifinals at the tournament in Split, while Russia and Tunisia have been eliminated.
In Lithuania, the home team is 2-0 after defeating Venezuela and South Korea. Jonas Valanciunas and Domantas Sabonis are representing their homeland, which will play Poland in the semifinals and either Slovenia or Venezuela in the qualifying finale. Valanciunas is averaging 17.5 points and 12 rebounds in a little under 19 minutes per game.
"It would be amazing to go to Tokyo," Valanciunas said. "Another Olympics for Lithuania, as a country, would mean a lot to us.&nbsp;
"Our preparation has been a challenge, but I think that's the same for everybody. We are just getting together and trying to find that chemistry as soon as possible."
Lithuania won bronze medals at the 1992, 1996 and 2000 Olympics along with the 2010 World Championship in Turkey. If they qualify for the Olympics, they will be grouped with Spain, Argentina and Japan.
The winner of the tournament in Canada will be grouped with the United States and Iran, and the winners from the tournaments in Croatia and Serbia will be grouped with Australia and Nigeria. The Olympic men&rsquo;s basketball tournament begins July 25.

With the Olympics set to begin on July 25, NBA players from around the world are engaging in battle with their national teams.

Boban Marjanovic posts one of the bigger lines of Olympic qualifier

Before we look ahead to Lakers-Warriors (the most epic game of the week, one would think), the play-in tournament and all of the first-round playoff series that will begin next weekend, we need to take a closer look at the 10 teams that failed to make the expanded postseason and what to expect from them this offseason.
This will be play-in week for the eight NBA teams that qualified for the expanded postseason but did not finish top-six in their respective conferences. Two of them (the losers of the 9/10 games) will be finished with their seasons by Wednesday night, and two more by Friday, moving them into exit interviews and draft-prep mode.
But let&rsquo;s start with a bottom-up look at the teams conducting exit interviews with their players today.
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HOUSTON ROCKETS: The Rockets finished with the NBA&rsquo;s worst overall record (17-55) and worst home record (9-27), and lost their season finale to Atlanta by 29. Since March 29, they lost 23 of 27 games. And let&rsquo;s just say it wasn&rsquo;t supposed to be this way when they opened the season with James Harden, John Wall and DeMarcus Cousins on their roster and immediately started getting huge production from Christian Wood. Not yielding to Harden&rsquo;s trade demand in the preseason cost them; the deal that brought them Victor Oladipo actually didn&rsquo;t turn out all that bad for them when they flipped Oladipo for a very productive Kelly Olynyk, but now there is talk of a buyout for Wall, who is owed $91.6 million over the next two years if he exercises his player option, as a long rebuild ensues. Olynyk will be an unrestricted free agent and will likely leave, which means the core they are building around includes Wood, Jae&rsquo;Sean Tate, KJ Martin, Kevin Porter Jr. and whatever they can get for Eric Gordon, who injured his groin in early March and did not return. The next big date on their calendar is the June 22 draft lottery, and because they finished with one of the three worst records, they have an equal chance (with Detroit and Orlando) of winning the No. 1 overall pick, which is projected to be Cade Cunningham of Oklahoma State.
DETROIT PISTONS: A season that began with Derrick Rose and Blake Griffin on the roster ended with a 13-point loss to a Miami Heat team that rested most of its regulars, and Troy Weaver heads into the offseason with decisions to make on Cory Joseph (non-guaranteed $12.6 million), Rodney McGruder (non-guaranteed $5 million) and Dennis Smith Jr. (eligible for a $7.7 million qualifying offer). Assuming all of those are declined, but Hamidou Diallo&rsquo;s $2.07 million qualifying offer is extended, the Pistons will have somewhere in the area of $20 million in cap room, depending on where the salary cap comes in following a season of vastly reduced revenues. Jerami Grant was a nice signing a year ago, and now the Pistons need to find some offense from the wing positions and hope Killian Hayes can have a full healthy season. Detroit had the league&rsquo;s fourth-worst offense in terms of points per game. With Isaiah Stewart finishing the season so strongly, is there a market for the underrated Mason Plumlee?
ORLANDO MAGIC: A bottom-three finish seemed unlikely after they started 4-0 and had Nikola Vucevic playing at an All-Star level, and it never quite made sense that they offloaded Vucevic at the same time they got rid of Aaron Gordon and Evan Fournier. All-Stars do not grow on trees, and Wendell Carter Jr. (acquired from Chicago) was being outplayed by other bigs on the Bulls and now the same thing is happening on the Magic. They will have Markelle Fultz and Jonathan Isaac back next season, Otto Porter and his expiring $28 million contract now comes off their books, and the only contract decision they have to make soon is whether to pick up Dwayne Bacon&rsquo;s $1.8 million non-guarantee. R.J. Hampton <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-orlando-magic-rj-hampton-q-and-a-i-dont-think-you-can-put-a-cap-on-our-ceiling" target="_blank" rel="noopener">just won Rookie of the Month for May</a> and Cole Anthony has shown plenty of promise as well. John Hammond, Jeff Weltman and Steve Clifford have roughly $28 million of cap space to work with, and the Magic have their own pick along with Chicago&rsquo;s (top-4 protected). Choosing three of the top-33 draft picks will keep the scouting staff busy.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
One of the most exciting rookies in the NBA! HBD <a href="https://twitter.com/The_ColeAnthony?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@The_ColeAnthony</a> <a href="https://t.co/KW0Y04sOUY">pic.twitter.com/KW0Y04sOUY</a>
&mdash; Ballislife.com (@Ballislife) <a href="https://twitter.com/Ballislife/status/1393623077238493184?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 15, 2021</a></blockquote>

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OKLAHOMA CITY THUNDER: The only NBA team that never opened its arena to fans, the Thunder made the questionable decision to shelve Al Horford immediately after the trade deadline, after which they lost 26 of their final 29 games, and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander's injury was handled with extreme caution. Their victory over the Los Angeles Clippers on the final night of the season actually hurt them because it prevented a tiebreak situation with the Magic, who finished with a 21-51 record to OKC&rsquo;s 22-50 record. Sam Presti is going to do what Sam Presti wants to do, and it will be interesting to see whether NBA commissioner Adam Silver addresses the unprecedented move that was made with Horford &ndash; something his predecessor, David Stern, never would have allowed. If the veteran big man and Gilgeous-Alexander had finished the season, we probably would not have the Spurs in the No. 10 spot. OKC was just five games under .500 in late March.
CLEVELAND CAVALIERS: Cleveland's trophy acquisition is Jarrett Allen, who was a superb pickup by Koby Altman. Still, they were unable to turn Andre Drummond into anything, and the loss of Darius Garland for most of the final three weeks of the season kept him from further developing chemistry with fellow backcourt speedster Collin Sexton. The Cavs still owe Kevin Love $60 million, and they must pay Taurean Prince $13 million next season unless they can find a taker on the trade market. He averaged only 10.1 points and 3.7 rebounds after coming over from Brooklyn, but Altman had to take him for salary-matching purposes. The Anderson Varejao re-signing was pretty cool, so we will give them that. Otherwise, the rebuild figures to be slow unless Love and Prince can be moved, which seems unlikely.
MINNESOTA TIMBERWOLVES: The A-Rod era will begin next season, and keeping Karl-Anthony Towns happy will be Project A, B and C. One of the league&rsquo;s best people and best players, he has been in the NBA for six years after being the No. 1 overall pick of the 2015 draft, and he has a nice running mate now in Anthony Edwards along with his buddy, D&rsquo;Angelo Russell. Ricky Rubio, entering the final season of a contract that will pay him $17.8 million, seems superfluous and could be moved if a pick was coming back in return. The Wolves&rsquo; pick in this year's draft will go to Golden State unless it is top-3, in which case Minnesota's 2022 pick becomes unprotected and will go to the Warriors. Chris Finch will have a training camp for the first time to work with whatever the roster looks like, and help will not come through free agency, as the Wolves are projected to be over the cap.
TORONTO RAPTORS: The future of team president Masai Ujiri seems very much up in the air. He is the director of Basketball Without Borders, and ESPN&rsquo;s Adrian Wojnarowski has suggested Ujiri <a href="https://www.instagram.com/tv/CODxcX6haii/?igshid=1nsv2bsewml2h" target="_blank" rel="noopener">will look elsewhere for his next job</a> and hand the reins over to general manager Bobby Webster. The Raptors get a pass for their failure of a season because they had to relocate to Tampa, Fla., which meant that they basically played 72 road games when not working on their tans and fighting off mosquitoes and alligators. Webster/Ujiri will likely look at all possible sign-and-trade scenarios for Kyle Lowry, who may feel it is time to move on. Decisions must be made on the non-guaranteed contracts of Rodney Hood, Aron Baynes, Chris Boucher, DeAndre' Bembry, Paul Watson Jr., Yuta Watanabe and Freddie Gillespie. If all are declined, the Raps would have about $30 million in cap space to play with.
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2020-21 Closing thoughts: Coach Nurse <a href="https://t.co/ffAsqLN1zv">pic.twitter.com/ffAsqLN1zv</a>
&mdash; Toronto Raptors (@Raptors) <a href="https://twitter.com/Raptors/status/1394319579237736449?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 17, 2021</a></blockquote>

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SACRAMENTO KINGS: It would not be surprising to see the Kings lose Richaun Holmes, who has <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-richaun-holmes-qa-interview-free-agency-all-defensive-team" target="_blank" rel="noopener">turned into a terrific NBA player</a> and may want to play in a bigger market for a franchise that has not grown as accustomed to bad seasons as the Kings have. They have not won a playoff series since 2003-04 and have not played a playoff game since 2005-06. Does Vivek Ranadive keep head coach Luke Walton around? De'Aaron Fox, Harrison Barnes and Buddy Hield account for more than $70 million of next season&rsquo;s payroll, and Marvin Bagley III adds an additional $11.3 million. General manager Monte McNair came up under Daryl Morey in Houston, so he has seen proactive roster turnovers when the situation called for it. What is in question is whether Bagley or Hield could bring anything of value in return on the trade market because both have not lived up to expectations. They seem likely to appear in a similar column approximately one year from now.
CHICAGO BULLS: The Bulls made so many deals at the deadline and did not have enough acclimation time following March 25. Getting Nikola Vucevic at such a small cost was a coup for executive vice president of basketball operations Arturas Karnisovas in his first season. Now he must decide on non-guarantees for Thaddeus Young ($14.1 million) and Tomas Satoransky ($10 million), and the franchise should expect to see Al-Farouq Aminu exercise his player option and thereby remain on the roster with a salary of $10.1 million. Lauri Markkanen should receive his qualifying offer of $9.026 million, and perhaps the biggest question is whether this team will stick with Coby White as the point guard of the future or try to find a way to get a player such as Kyle Lowry to be their primary playmaker.
NEW ORLEANS PELICANS: All in all, it was not a good season for David Griffin, Stan Van Gundy, Zion Williamson or Brandon Ingram after the previous campaign ended with so much promise. The JJ Redick episode did not make anyone happy. The season ended with four-consecutive losses and Ls in six of the final eight games, a $50,000 fine for Griffin for complaining that Williamson&rsquo;s broken finger was the result of rough treatment of the former overall No. 1 pick that was being overlooked by the referees. Not one single player appeared in all 72 games &ndash; although Eric Bledsoe came up closest with 71. James Johnson and Willy Hernangomez are the only unrestricted free agents of note, and Lonzo Ball will be a restricted free agent who could solve some roster problems through a sign-and-trade. Griffin will have three extra second-round picks, and next year he gets the Lakers&rsquo; pick unprotected.

Chris Sheridan checks in with the organizations whose respective seasons ended Sunday and areas they'll need to address.

Closing the door on the NBA's 10 non-playoff teams

MIAMI (AP) &mdash; Udonis Haslem finally played, and made an immediate impact for the Miami Heat.
He scored twice, making both his shots.
He took a charge.
And then he got ejected.
Haslem can finally say that he has played in 18 NBA seasons &mdash; and it was a memorable, albeit brief, appearance. He got two technical fouls and was ejected with 10:19 remaining in the first half, less than three minutes after getting into a game for the first time all season.
&ldquo;If this is the last one, I finished it the only way Udonis Haslem could &mdash; with an ejection," Haslem said.
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The Haslem ejection made Pat Riley sooooo happy <a href="https://t.co/7FovKTTuU4">pic.twitter.com/7FovKTTuU4</a>
&mdash; Brendan Tobin (@Brendan_Tobin) <a href="https://twitter.com/Brendan_Tobin/status/1392999607043600388?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 14, 2021</a></blockquote>

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He took offense to getting pulled down by Philadelphia's Dwight Howard, then had words with the 76ers' veteran as they went nose-to-nose. Haslem and Howard both got technicals, then Haslem got a second one and was sent off.
His final line: 2 for 2 from the field, four points, one rebound, two technicals, one ejection, in about 2-1/2 minutes.
Haslem, who turns 41 on June 9, became the oldest player to appear in a game for the Heat and the oldest to get on an NBA floor for any team this season. Cleveland&rsquo;s Anderson Varejao, 38, was the oldest to play in the NBA so far in 2020-21; the next-oldest to play this season was Miami&rsquo;s Andre Iguodala, 37.
Haslem got a layup with 2.3 seconds left in the quarter, putting Miami up 38-20 in the early going. It was his first basket at home since Nov. 12, 2019. His second basket was a baseline jumper early in the second quarter, and the ejection happened 48 seconds later.
At 40 years, 338 days, Haslem was 269 days older than Juwan Howard was when he made his final appearance with the Heat on April 17, 2013. Haslem has not said if he will consider retiring this summer; the Heat have told him that he would be welcomed back in his unique role &mdash; as a captain and behind-the-scenes leader who doesn&rsquo;t play &mdash; if he&rsquo;d like to remain on the active roster for at least another year.
&ldquo;I just take it one day at a time, and we&rsquo;ll figure it out,&rdquo; Haslem said earlier this month. &ldquo;The goal now is to win a championship. And then, you know, we&rsquo;ll go from there. I can&rsquo;t really think past today. I&rsquo;ve been told just take it one day at a time and you know when I get to the summer, that&rsquo;s when I think about that.&rdquo;
His on-court role has diminished greatly in recent seasons. Thursday marked only his 15th appearance in the last three seasons, just his fifth in the past two seasons.
But the Heat continue signing him to contracts, mostly of the one-year variety &mdash; the one-year deal he signed for this season was his ninth contract with Miami in those 18 years &mdash; because they greatly value his leadership and voice in the locker room. Haslem is often referring to as a keeper of the culture that team president Pat Riley, managing general partner Micky Arison and coach Erik Spoelstra have instilled over the years.
&ldquo;Everybody in this building, and most importantly in that locker room, knows the level of impact that he has," Spoelstra said.
Now that he&rsquo;s officially an 18-year member of the Heat, and only the Heat, Haslem becomes the sixth name on the list of players who have spent that much time with one franchise. Dirk Nowitzki spent 21 years with Dallas, Kobe Bryant 20 years with the Los Angeles Lakers, Tim Duncan spent 19 with San Antonio, John Stockton spent 19 with Utah and Reggie Miller spent 18 with Indiana.
Before Thursday, Haslem last played for Miami on Aug. 14, 2020, during a game inside the restart bubble at Walt Disney World in Lake Buena Vista, Florida. Thursday marked his first appearance in a game at Miami&rsquo;s home arena since Feb. 22, 2020.
Haslem is one of only two players &mdash; Dwyane Wade being the other &mdash; to appear on all three of Miami&rsquo;s NBA championship teams. Haslem is the only player to be with the Heat for all six of their Eastern Conference championships and is the franchise&rsquo;s all-time leading rebounder.
In addition to holding the team rebounding record, Haslem &mdash; a Miami native who is a lock to have his No. 40 jersey retired one day by the franchise &mdash; ranks second behind only Wade on the Heat lists for games played and minutes played, plus is seventh on the team all-time scoring list.
Haslem was undrafted after his college career at Florida. He played professionally in France for one season before getting a tryout with the Heat in 2003, remaining with his hometown NBA club ever since.
A sign of his longevity: He's had 150 teammates in Miami during his 18-year career.
___
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Udonis Haslem's first appearance of the season resulted in four points, one rebound, two technicals and an ejection.

The captain: Haslem makes season debut, scores, gets ejected

Anderson Varej&atilde;o is back with the Cavaliers, signing a 10-day contract Tuesday to begin a stint to celebrate his 12-year run with the team.
The 38-year-old center hasn't played in the NBA since 2017 with Golden State. The Brazilian agreed to come back and finish this season with the injury-plagued Cavaliers, who are crawling to the finish in another losing season.
Varej&atilde;o was with the Cavs from 2004-16 before he was traded to Portland in a three-team deal a few months before Cleveland overcame a 3-1 deficit and beat Golden State in the NBA Finals to end the city's 52-year championship drought.
The next year, Varej&atilde;o signed as a free agent with Golden State and played against the Cavaliers in the Finals, a sight that pained some in Cleveland.
Nicknamed &ldquo;Wild Thing&rdquo; because of his curly hair and hustle, Varej&atilde;o was beloved by Cavaliers fans for his aggressive playing style as a key contributor on those LeBron James-led teams. He played 591 games for Cleveland before being traded.
&ldquo;Andy embodies all that the city of Cleveland stands for and beyond, and we couldn&rsquo;t be more excited to bring his experience, leadership and character back into this locker room,&rdquo; general manager Koby Altman said. &ldquo;His infectious work ethic and commitment to our community have earned him his rightful place in the fabric of this organization and all of Northeast Ohio, and have established a genuine admiration that resonates strongly throughout our passionate fan base.
&ldquo;There are not many athletes who can impact the game of basketball the way Andy has over his career, and I feel that our players will benefit greatly from their daily interaction with him.&rdquo;
Cleveland was granted a roster hardship exception from the NBA so it could sign Varej&atilde;o. The team has seven players, including starting point guard Darius Garland, injured and out for Tuesday night's game against the Phoenix Suns.
After playing two seasons with the Warriors, Varej&atilde;o played for two years in Brazil. He's been living in Cleveland.
___
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Nicknamed “Wild Thing” because of his curly hair and hustle, Varejão was beloved by Cavaliers fans for his aggressive playing style as a key contributor on those LeBron James-led teams.

Anderson Varejão signs contract, returns to Cavs for end of season

CLEVELAND (AP) &mdash; The Cavaliers have considered re-signing former center Anderson Varejao for the remainder of the season, a person familiar with the team's thinking told the Associated Press on Friday.
Cleveland doesn't currently have a roster spot open and it would take some maneuvering to bring in the 38-year-old. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the situation remains fluid.
The Cavs might have to get an injury exception from the NBA to make room for Varejao.
The Athletic was first to report the Cavs' interest.
Varejao spent 12 seasons with Cleveland before he was traded to Portland during the 2015-16 season. He was with the Golden State Warriors for two seasons &mdash; and faced the Cavs in the NBA Finals &mdash; and then played in Brazil, his home country, for two years.
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Varejao's frizzy hairstyle and hustle earned him the nickname &ldquo;Wild Thing&rdquo; when he was with Cleveland. His trade irked some fans because Varejao missed out on a chance to play on the Cavs team that won the 2016 title and ended the city's 52-year championship drought.
Varejao averaged 7.6 points and 7.5 rebounds during his time in Cleveland. He had his best season in 2012-13, when he averaged 14.5 rebounds.
The Cavs are near the bottom of the Eastern Conference at 21-43.
___
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The Cavs might have to get an injury exception from the NBA to make room for Varejao. The Athletic was first to report the Cavs' interest.

AP source: Cavaliers consider re-signing Anderson Varejao

13-year NBA veteran Anderson Varejao plans to sign with the Cleveland Cavaliers for the remainder of the season, sources tell TheAthletic and Stadium. Varejao is returning to the franchise with which he&rsquo;s spent 12 decorated years.
Source: <a href="https://twitter.com/ShamsCharania/status/1388271317531598848" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter)</a>
ANALYSIS: This move comes as quite the head-scratcher considering Varejao hasn't played in the NBA since the 2016-17 season when he was with Golden State. It's possible Cleveland is just looking for Varejao to provide some locker room leadership to a young Cavs team as the season comes to a close, but you never know, we could end up seeing Varejao on the court for Cleveland within the next two weeks.
The 38-year-old has career averages of 7.3 points and 7.2 rebounds on 51% shooting from the field.

The Cavaliers are signing 13-year veteran Anderson Varejao for the remainder of the season, according to The Athletic.

Cavs plan to sign 13-year veteran Anderson Varejao for rest of season

A 6-foot-11, athletic and versatile big, Kai Jones of the Texas Longhorns has created quite a buzz and is widely being considered as a probable first-round pick in the 2021 NBA Draft. Most people would probably assume that a player rated that high would have been a hot commodity and courted by blue blood schools since he first stepped into high school. However, Jones&rsquo; story is not a typical one.
Let me tell you about what I&rsquo;ve learned about his story.
In 2017, Jones, then standing at 6-foot-9 and only weighing around 170 pounds, walked into Kendal G.L. Isaacs National Gymnasium in his hometown of Nassau, Bahamas to compete at the <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/q-and-a-chris-ebersole-senior-director-international-basketball-operations-basketball-without-borders-nba-draft-killian-hayes-deni-avdija-pascal-siakam">Basketball Without Borders (BWB) camp</a>. This was the first time that Jones had played organized basketball, as he had only played pickup at playgrounds up to that point.
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He more than held his own in a field loaded with high major talent. Jones contributed to his Hawks team that won the camp, a squad that featured Kofi Cockburn (Illinois), Addison Patterson (Oregon) and Francisco Farabello (TCU). Jones' play earned him a spot in the camp&rsquo;s All-Star game, where he was coached by former NBA players, Sasha Vujacic and Anderson Varejao.
Jones grew up as a track athlete in the Bahamas, where he focused primarily on long jumping. As he constantly grew, his body ultimately made a future in track and field untenable. Subsequently, Jones picked up a basketball for the first time at the age 15 years old.
&ldquo;I was a track athlete. I wanted to be a long jumper, then I had a growth spurt and grew to be about 6-6, then 6-7, then 6-9, 6-10, and now I&rsquo;m 6-11. So that major growth spurt was enough to say that I could do something major with this sport," recalled Jones in <a href="https://247sports.com/Player/Kai-Jones-46050847/Videos/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">an interview with 24/7 Sports</a>. "I always had a passion for it and was a big fan of it and I just started working on my craft every day.&rdquo;
Having played basketball for less than a year -- and in the midst of a three inch growth spurt -- Jones found his calling during that BWB camp. With the advice from fellow Bahamian and No. 1 pick in the 2018 NBA Draft, Deandre Ayton, Jones decided to turn all of his efforts to the hardwood.
He came back to the United States, where he was for a period in his childhood, and settled in Orlando, Fla. to attend Orlando Christian Prep. There, he served in the role as the third man behind 5-star prospects Nassir Little (North Carolina) and C.J. Walker (Oregon/UCF) on the way to an FHSAA Class 3A state title. The following summer, Jones&rsquo; recruitment took off.
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At the 2018 NBA Global Camp in Treviso, Italy, he only averaged a pedestrian 6 points and 3 rebounds per game, but his physical tools and budding skill level was evident. College coaches agreed, as within two weeks of that camp, he received offers from the likes of Arizona, Louisville, Baylor, Oregon, Kansas, FSU -- and most importantly, Texas rolled in.
Jones had now grown to be 6-foot-10 and 185 pounds; he also added seven inches onto his vertical leap. Jones, now reclassified to the class of 2019, spent his post-graduate season in New Hampshire at Brewster Academy, playing alongside Terrence Clarke (Kentucky) and Jamal Mashburn Jr. (Minnesota). His recruitment wrapped up early into the season spanning only a month.
Jones took official visits to Florida State, Syracuse, Texas, and Baylor, eventually narrowing it down to FSU and the pair of Big 12 schools. Kai Jones committed to the Longhorns in October and subsequently signed in November.
The rest, is history.

Grant Aqui dives into the unique rise of Texas big man Kai Jones, a prospect ascending the 2021 NBA Draft board.

The unique rise of Kai Jones

Not long ago, a ruptured Achilles was considered a death sentence for an NBA player&rsquo;s career. 
There was a long list of players who were never the same following their Achilles injury: Elton Brand, Kobe Bryant, Mehmet Okur, Chauncey Billups, Brandon Jennings, Christian Laettner, Jonas Jerebko, Anderson Varejao and so on.&nbsp;
Dominique Wilkins was the lone example of a player who returned and continued producing at a superstar level (as he averaged 29.9 points, 6.8 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 1.0 steal per game).
That&rsquo;s why the basketball world was devastated when Kevin Durant ruptured his Achilles on basketball&rsquo;s biggest stage during the 2019 NBA Finals. Durant is one of the greatest scorers in NBA history and nobody wanted to see his name added to the list above.
Fortunately, Durant hasn&rsquo;t missed a beat since returning from his Achilles injury. Somehow, in his first nine games back, he looks like the exact same player. The 32-year-old is averaging 30.7 points, 6.9 rebounds, 5.7 assists, 2.9 threes, 1.0 block and .9 steal (while shooting a ridiculous 54.8 percent from the field, 48.3 percent from three and 86.7 percent from the free-throw line).
He's posting career-highs in assists per game, threes per game, field goal percentage, three-point percentage, True Shooting Percentage and assist percentage. His 30.7 points would be the second-highest mark of his career (which says something considering he's a four-time scoring champ). And he&rsquo;s doing this while getting acclimated on the Brooklyn Nets and adjusting to new coaches and teammates.&nbsp;
&ldquo;Just trying to be the best I can each possession and each rep,&rdquo; Durant said recently. &ldquo;I've been always trying to take that approach as a pro, and then you got guys around you who have that same approach and love for the game. It's making me better and hopefully rubbing off on my teammates as well. &rdquo;
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Many fans take Durant's greatness for granted since he has consistently posted jaw-dropping numbers for over a decade and he makes the game look incredibly easy, but it's important to note that we're witnessing something special right now.
Among all players, Durant currently ranks second in points per game (30.7), third in PER (27.9), fourth in Offensive Box Plus/Minus (6.6), fifth in Box Plus/Minus (7.3), eighth in Offensive Win Shares (1.2), ninth in Net Rating (14.7), ninth in True Shooting Percentage (.675), ninth in Value Over Replacement Player (.7) and 13th in Win Shares (1.6).&nbsp;
If Durant is performing this well out of the gate, how will he look once he shakes off the rust and gets used to his new situation?
&ldquo;He continues to find his rhythm,&rdquo; Nets head coach Steve Nash said. &ldquo;He looks great and he&rsquo;s going to continue to feel more and more comfortable.&rdquo;
Nash is confident that Durant can return to his MVP form, but he has repeatedly said that Durant should give himself 15-to-20 games before judging himself and expecting to be back at 100 percent. And after nine games, Nash is revising that timetable a bit,
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s a pleasure to coach him; he&rsquo;s so talented and loves the game,&rdquo; Nash said. &ldquo;Part of the process of him coming back to playing is that it&rsquo;s not going to be smooth off the bat. I said early on [that it&rsquo;ll take] 15-to-20 games and I think that&rsquo;s even... maybe I need to be more conservative with that number, just because it&rsquo;s such a lot thrown at him [during] the climb he&rsquo;s had back here.&rdquo;
When Wilkins came back from his ruptured Achilles, he said the first few games were the toughest.&nbsp;
&ldquo;The thing you keep thinking about is, &lsquo;What if I tear this thing again? What if I hear that pop?&rsquo; You think those sort of things, but you must get those things out of your head,&rdquo; Wilkins <a href="https://hoopshype.com/2019/01/17/nba-rumor-warriors-demarcus-cousins-achilles-dominique-wilkins-kobe/">told me in 2019</a>. &ldquo;You can&rsquo;t even think about that stuff. The moment I realized I was back to being myself came during our training camp. I hit the ground really hard, and I immediately grabbed my ankle. But I didn&rsquo;t feel any pain. That&rsquo;s when I said, &lsquo;You know what? If this thing is going to pop or tear, it&rsquo;s happening on my terms. I&rsquo;m going all out.&rsquo; I just had to think like that to get that [fear] out of my head.
&ldquo;We played two really great teams in a back-to-back when I first returned (the Knicks and Bulls). I had two great games, which did wonders for my confidence. I knew, at that point, &lsquo;Hey, I&rsquo;m back in rare form.&rsquo; That&rsquo;s when I realized, &lsquo;Only you know how tough you are. Nobody else knows.&rsquo; That confidence and toughness helped me get over my fear of hurting myself again.&rdquo;
Durant&rsquo;s monster numbers have to be good for his confidence, and the fact that he&rsquo;s already playing in back-to-backs suggests that he&rsquo;s pain-free and blocking out that fear of re-injury.&nbsp;
Also, Wilkins told me that he stayed motivated by listening to his doubters.
&ldquo;Well, I looked at all of the criticism,&rdquo; Wilkins <a href="https://hoopshype.com/2019/01/17/nba-rumor-warriors-demarcus-cousins-achilles-dominique-wilkins-kobe/">said</a>. &ldquo;I looked at all of the guys who were saying I wouldn&rsquo;t come back. I looked at all of the guys who were saying that if I did come back, I couldn&rsquo;t be that good because I was already 32 years old. I looked at everyone saying my best days were behind me because, at that time, it was a very difficult injury to come back from. 
"I just used it as fuel to prove everyone wrong. I worked twice-a-day, every day, for nine months. I was working hard. My inspiration came from all of those negative articles that talked about how old I was and how difficult it would be to return. I kept all of those articles and I put them on my bathroom mirror, so that I&rsquo;d have to see them every day. That was my inspiration.&rdquo;
Sound familiar?
As if the Nets weren't already under the microscope, all eyes will be on them going forward now that they&rsquo;ve assembled a Big Three of Durant, James Harden and Kyrie Irving.
Brooklyn is now 7-6, which is the fifth-best record in the East. The Nets currently have the NBA&rsquo;s fourth-best offense (scoring 112.9 points per 100 possessions) and 10th-best defense (allowing 106.5 points per 100 possessions), although this team will look very different following the trade for Harden.
The Nets face the Orlando Magic tonight at 6 p.m. ET and while Irving is out, Harden may make his Brooklyn debut.

Kevin Durant is absolutely dominating in his first nine games back since rupturing his Achilles, writes Alex Kennedy.