Racers

A champion will be crowned in the Basketball Africa League (BAL) today, as Tunisia&rsquo;s US Monastir and Angola&rsquo;s Petro de Luanda face off at noon ET.
The game will reach fans in 215 countries and territories, and will air in Africa on ESPN, Canal+, VisionView TV and Voice of America (VOA) radio, and around the world on American Forces Network (AFN), ESPNews, NBA TV International, Tencent Sports, TSN, the NBA App and <a href="NBA.com">NBA.com.</a> The BAL featured the top 12 club teams from 12 African countries.
On May 22-23, Indiana Pacers assistant coach Lloyd Pierce and Detroit Pistons assistant coach Bill Bayno led a BAL Coaches Clinic for more than 70 local basketball coaches in the Rwandan capital Kigali. The clinic offered tools and strategies to help the coaches enhance their player-development curriculum. Former NBA players Joakim Noah and Ian Mahinmi were in attendance along with BAL players from US Monastir.
BasketballNews.com caught up with Coach Pierce to discuss the camp, his growth as a coach, his experience as an assistant coach with Team USA, the Pacers&rsquo; young core and more.
You and Coach Bill Bayno just wrapped up the BAL Coaches Clinic. How did it go?
Lloyd Pierce: &ldquo;First and foremost, you have to give credit to the NBA and especially NBA Africa and the staff. [BAL President] Amadou Gallo Fall has done an amazing job of taking a vision and executing that vision to bring this together. The BAL league is really taking off over here in Africa, and I think the next layer of really trying to get this thing to grow and develop properly is teaching and trying to educate the coaches on the strategies and techniques so that they can not only coach it, but coach it better and find their passion. They have a huge impact by finding these players in the early stages in their career and teaching them and giving them the proper tools so that they can take off.
"So, this Coaches Clinic is probably as important as the games because it&rsquo;s education. It&rsquo;s educating an entire continent on the game of basketball that we all know so well, and they are eager to learn more and more about the different things that we have. I really feel blessed to be a part of this Coaches Clinic along with Coach Bayno and working with these coaches here and seeing the excitement that they have to teach the game, which really excites us as coaches as well.&rdquo;
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There was a classroom component and an on-court component. Can you walk me through each session and what kind of stuff you covered?
Pierce: &ldquo;Coach Bayno spoke in the classroom and really just gave them a ton of gems on player development and the different techniques that a coach needs to help a player get better. Using your imagination as a coach, the sweat equity &ndash; being able to get out there with your guys and work. But also the sweat technique &ndash; as you&rsquo;re working with those guys, giving them the proper technique and the essential tools to not just do it but do it correctly. The importance of that one-on-one relationship when it comes to connecting with players. Focusing on development, but being able to give them that same energy that you&rsquo;re expecting from them in return. He did a tremendous job on the player-development side.
"I tried to do more of a team-focused [lesson], both offensively and defensively. Offensively, we talked about some general principles and spacing &ndash; what spacing looks like, using cuts, using screens, using respace, our first three steps to open the floor up. These are a lot of strategies and techniques that we use in the NBA, but I think it&rsquo;s very important for young players too. There&rsquo;s commitment and a selflessness to spacing the floor that they have to learn and buy into. And defensively, we talked a lot about positioning, taking pride in being a good defender, understanding what a help defender looks like and just sticking to the basics &ndash; so a lot of shell-drill emphasis and a lot of one-on-one defensive emphasis.&rdquo;
The NBA has really prioritized globalization in recent years. What are your thoughts on the NBA&rsquo;s globalization efforts?&nbsp;
Pierce: &ldquo;I think it&rsquo;s probably one of the most important things that we do. As the top professional basketball league in the world, I think it&rsquo;s an obligation of ours to help grow the game globally. Our game benefits from the globalization of [basketball] and from the millions of viewers who watch across the world, so it&rsquo;s our obligation to give back. And there&rsquo;s no shortage of talent on this continent, so our main contribution is not only discovering talent but helping develop that talent. You&rsquo;re looking at a guy like Joel Embiid or Giannis Antetokounmpo or any of these players who have come from different countries. But [when it comes to] players with African heritage, the [talent pool] is plentiful on this continent. I think they&rsquo;ve done a great job of not only discovering these players, but also trying to get to them early about the right habits, techniques, nutrition and strength development. I don&rsquo;t know if there&rsquo;s a more important global impact that we can have in our sport than being here on this continent and helping spread the game.&rdquo;
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I want to discuss how coaches can develop over time. There are many examples of a coach struggling early on and then doing a much better job after they&rsquo;ve learned from their mistakes and gained experience. Someone like Jason Kidd was labeled a &ldquo;bad coach,&rdquo; but he&rsquo;s gotten better over the years and silenced those doubters. Do you think fans and media sometimes throw that label around prematurely and underestimate how much coaches can grow over time?
Pierce: &ldquo;Yeah. I&rsquo;m a reader, and I try to learn things that I think can apply to basketball. In Malcolm Gladwell&rsquo;s book &lsquo;Outliers,&rsquo; he talked about the 10,000-Hour Rule. If you spend enough time on something, you&rsquo;re going to get better at it. As coaches, that can be youth development, that can be personal development (or how to connect with players), that can be strategy and technique. As a former head coach and current assistant coach, you have to continue to work at your craft &ndash; whether it&rsquo;s decision-making, making reads, connecting with players or finding your joy and the energy that you bring to the game. That last one is important; there are a lot of coaches you hear from who burn out &ndash; they lose [their passion], have a lack of energy and aren&rsquo;t as motivating anymore. I think it&rsquo;s important to go and find ways to challenge yourself.
"For me to be over here in this beautiful city of Kigali, Rwanda &ndash; one of the cleanest cities I&rsquo;ve ever been in &ndash; to work with players who are excited about us being here, there&rsquo;s a renowned joy of coaching because it&rsquo;s purposeful for me. That helps us as coaches grow. So, you see a lot of coaches like Jason Kidd who get their second or third opportunities and find a renewed sense of energy and strength and strategy. They see the game a little differently. Things they may have over-complicated before, they simplify those things now. These things are important for us. I have a saying that I use all the time: For me, coaching is about getting better and helping others get better. And I truly, really mean that. I&rsquo;ll get better if I&rsquo;m helping others get better, and that&rsquo;s my purpose in coaching.&rdquo;
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From when you started coaching to where you&rsquo;re at now, how much do you feel you have improved? I&rsquo;m sure it&rsquo;s a night-and-day difference.
Pierce: &ldquo;It is! And I think the biggest joy that you get to experience as a coach who&rsquo;s been through the ringer is Summer League. Most coaches in Summer League are player-development guys or front-of-the-bench assistants that are constantly working their way up. I think when you&rsquo;re an assistant, you think you know all of the answers. Then, when you&rsquo;re forced into that head-coach seat, you gotta make all of the decisions so there&rsquo;s no one else to blame or be pissed at for not taking your idea. (laughs) You make the decisions. When I first started coaching, my voice wasn&rsquo;t as strong. The eye-contact wasn&rsquo;t as great. The conviction wasn&rsquo;t always there. Now, it&rsquo;s simple. It&rsquo;s not the ideas; I have lots of ideas and I love listening to ideas. It&rsquo;s the decision. And when you make the decision, you&rsquo;ve gotta believe it. Because if you don&rsquo;t believe it, they won&rsquo;t believe it. And if you don&rsquo;t believe it, they&rsquo;ll know you don&rsquo;t believe it. That comes over a period of time. You might be down 20 points and you&rsquo;ve gotta sell it to your guys that the game ain&rsquo;t over. You might be up 20 and you&rsquo;ve gotta convince your guys that we shouldn&rsquo;t be complacent. You&rsquo;ve gotta do those things with conviction, and that just comes with experience, you know? Maybe as a first-time head coach, in your first game when you&rsquo;re up 20, you relax. Well, guess who else relaxes? The players! So, that&rsquo;s a lesson learned.
"All of those things, I think, are hard to measure from the outside looking in. Everyone always paints the picture of a coach &lsquo;not making the right adjustments&rsquo; or they really hate his rotations, but some of those things, you&rsquo;ve gotta have conviction and sell it with conviction. And if it doesn&rsquo;t work out, you&rsquo;ve gotta live with it. But if you&rsquo;re wishy-washy and going back and forth, it really puts your team in a bad spot, and it also puts you in a bad spot because now you don&rsquo;t believe what you&rsquo;re doing; you&rsquo;re just trying stuff. That all comes with experience. You see these coaches [in the playoffs]: I love Jason Kidd&rsquo;s demeanor on the sideline, I love Steve Kerr&rsquo;s demeanor on the sideline, I love Spo and Ime Udoka&rsquo;s demeanor. Because they are confident in what they&rsquo;re doing, and their players are playing to their confidence and their strengths right now. And that&rsquo;s all you can ask. You&rsquo;ve done all of the preparation and now it&rsquo;s [late in a series] and these guys know each other extremely well, so the coach just has to sit back and stay the course and be extremely confident, so that the players can do the same thing.&rdquo;
You were part of Gregg Popovich's Team USA coaching staff alongside Steve Kerr and Jay Wright among others. What were your biggest takeaways from that experience and how did that help you grow as a coach?
Pierce: &ldquo;Pop didn&rsquo;t show his angst. Pop is always cool under pressure, but he preached to us &lsquo;appropriate fear.&rsquo; You fear your opponents out of respect, not out of fear so it&rsquo;s appropriate. And if you have that level of respect, you know that you need to bring it and not go into any game feeling overconfident against any opponent. I just thought being around guys like Pop and Jay Wright and Steve Kerr and Jeff Van Gundy and all of those guys was tremendous for my development. Because you not only got to see how their minds work and how they communicate with each other and the respect they have for the game, but you got to experience high-level conversations with the players and that connectivity and then apply it to the game. The level of experience that those coaches have, it was unfair that I was able to gain the advantage of learning from them during the two summers that we had together. It&rsquo;s a different game and it was a different challenge for all of us, but we embraced it. We came together, we had great dinners and great conversations, and the gold medal was rewarding.&rdquo;
I love the core that your Indiana Pacers are assembling, with Tyrese Haliburton, Chris Duarte, Myles Turner and so on. What are your thoughts on the team&rsquo;s development throughout the season and how excited are you about this young core going forward?
Pierce: &ldquo;Extremely excited. I think we&rsquo;ve got some guys who, more importantly, want to be in Indiana. They&rsquo;re excited about starting and continuing their careers [here]. You&rsquo;re looking at a guy like Tyrese whose third year is coming up and he&rsquo;s now on his second team, and he&rsquo;s looking to make Indiana a home. Chris Duarte, after going through his rookie season, is looking to make Indiana a home and find some consistency. We&rsquo;re all excited about what we have, and we look forward to the draft and free agency. I&rsquo;ve talked to Coach [Rick] Carlisle often about this new group next year being his team and not the team that we inherited, and he gets an opportunity to really mold some young guys and some really talented guys and bring back some veterans who will get a fresh start with the youth and the guys that have talent. I think we&rsquo;re all looking forward to training camp and this summer of development to get back on the right track.&rdquo;
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Lloyd Pierce discusses the BAL Coaches Clinic, the Pacers' young core, his development as a coach, coaching Team USA and more.

Lloyd Pierce opens up about BAL Coaches Clinic, his growth as a coach

Bennedict Mathurin bet on himself entering his sophomore season at the University of Arizona.
As an end result, he&rsquo;s reaped huge benefits, with his stock now exploding going into the 2022 NBA Draft.
Mathurin helped lead the Wildcats to a resurgent season, as he averaged 17.7 points, 5.6 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.0 steals per game on a 57.6% True Shooting percentage. Mathurin&rsquo;s rise helped him earn Pac-12 Player of the Year honors, and along the way he displayed why he&rsquo;s such a perfect fit within today&rsquo;s modern pace-and-space game.
Offering endless versatility on both ends of the court with explosive athleticism, Mathurin&rsquo;s name is one of the hotter ones in the draft class right now. Mathurin met with the Indiana Pacers, Portland Trail Blazers, New Orleans Pelicans, Minnesota Timberwolves and Toronto Raptors at the NBA Draft Combine.
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Also, during Mathurin&rsquo;s Pro Day in Santa Barbara, California on Wednesday, all 32 teams were well represented. Amongst the flock of scouts, a number of names stood out with notable attendance: Washington Wizards head coach Wes Unseld Jr. and president Tommy Sheppard, New York Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau and Chicago Bulls general manager Marc Eversley and vice president of player personnel Pat Connelly.
Mathurin&rsquo;s immense upside as a three-level scorer and lockdown defender has him slotted at <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/draft/2022-nba-mock-draft/players/bennedict-mathurin" target="_blank" rel="noopener">No. 7 overall to the Blazers</a> in BasketballNews.com's <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/draft" target="_blank" rel="noopener">latest mock draft</a> via our Sr. NBA Draft Analyst, Matt Babcock:
<blockquote>
There is a lot to like about Bennedict Mathurin. At 6-foot-5 or so, he has a valuable combination of attributes. He has a sweet outside stroke, is a high flyer and is an alpha dog. He would have had a chance to be a first-round pick if he had declared to enter last year&rsquo;s draft. Instead, however, he chose to bet on himself and return to Arizona for his sophomore season. I expect Mathurin to be selected in the lottery on draft night, so it&rsquo;s looking like his decision to return to school is about to pay off big time.
</blockquote>
That alpha-dog mentality from Mathurin is what makes him stand out most, because those are the traits you want to bet on most in prospects. Taking developmental leaps in his game every season, Mathurin believes his shooting and defense are his true calling-card attributes.
&ldquo;I think my shooting is the biggest part of my game,&rdquo; Mathurin said. &ldquo;I think I&rsquo;m a two-way player. I think I&rsquo;m able to showcase to get a stop defensively. I give them 30 seconds and we get the (win) because I get a stop or offensively, because I&rsquo;m able to shoot the ball and just have an impact in both ways.&rdquo;
Another promising part of Mathurin&rsquo;s offensive development is being able to take pressure off the offense as a secondary playmaker. It wasn&rsquo;t displayed much throughout Mathurin&rsquo;s collegiate career, but he&rsquo;s eager to prove that it can quickly become a fortified tool in his arsenal.
&ldquo;Often, teams have been asking me what are things I wanted to showcase, and (playmaking) was definitely one thing," Mathurin said. "I feel the USC game (6 assists with only a single turnover) I think a lot of people started noticing I was able to pass the ball. We played in a different kind of system where we have guards &mdash; already one of my biggest strengths is to score the ball, so I just did what the team needed me to do in order for us to win.&rdquo;
There aren't many holes to poke in the game of Mathurin, which is why this late buzz around him is well-deserved.
Offering a tantalizing two-way package with much more room to grow physically, don&rsquo;t be surprised if Mathurin is a pick we look back on a few years from now as a home-run hit wherever he lands next month.
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One of the late risers in the 2022 NBA Draft process, Bennedict Mathurin's upside is immense thanks to his two-way profile.

2022 NBA Draft: Bennedict Mathurin offers unique two-way ceiling

BasketballNews.com's Senior NBA Draft Analyst Matt Babcock presents a series that will peel back the curtain from his time as a sports agent, giving a glimpse at some of his personal experiences working in the sports agency business for over a decade.
In the second entry of the series, Babcock outlines his summer internship at high-powered sports agency Wasserman Media Group before the 2006 NBA Draft. 
When I was 22 years old, I was an intern at Wasserman Media Group's sports agency in Los Angeles, California. The internship not only had me doing typical intern-type tasks, but most importantly to me (because I had ambitions of being a coach), it had me working on the court daily with the company's newest clients &mdash; Shelden Williams, Brandon Roy, JJ Redick (<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/podcasts/the-dunker-spot/episodes/basketballnews-com-episode-105-young-man-the-three" target="_blank" rel="noopener">who guested on The Dunker Spot this week</a>), Jordan Farmar and Joel Freeland &mdash; as they prepared for the 2006 NBA Draft. It was an exciting summer!
At that time, I was admittedly horrible with basic tasks in the office that were typical responsibilities asked of interns. Besides being a ball boy, working basketball camps and helping out at the NBA Draft Combine a few times, I had never had a real job before, as I'd always been busy being a basketball player. Anyway, my low-point while at Wasserman as an intern was being made responsible to send basketballs via FedEx for the agency's players and designated coaches to use at a pro-day workout in Florida that NBA scouts would attend.
I sent the basketballs out just fine. However, I sent them "ground," and they didn't arrive until days after the workout had happened. Greg Lawrence, who was in charge of managing the interns at Wasserman, had every reason to let me have it on that one, but fortunately for me, he didn't &mdash; thanks, Greg! In all honesty, I had some growing up to do. Luckily I did, eventually.
Despite my challenges in the office, I was right at home on the court, which was the main reason I was there from my perspective. I assisted Dave Joerger in working out and preparing all of Wasserman's new clients for the NBA pre-draft process. (Joerger was a D-League head coach at the time and eventually became the head coach of the Memphis Grizzlies and Sacramento Kings. He's currently an assistant coach for the Philadelphia 76ers).
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Former NBA player and current Wasserman agent BJ Armstrong (<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/podcasts/the-rex-chapman-show/episodes/basketballnews-com-episode-41-episode-40-bj-armstrong" target="_blank" rel="noopener">who was recently a guest on The Rex Chapman Show</a>) also worked with the players occasionally. Darren Erman volunteered to help us with the workouts as well. (Erman, a corporate lawyer at the time, went on to have a successful career as an NBA assistant coach, and he is currently an assistant coach for the New York Knicks). An impressive group of coaches &mdash; I was lucky to have had the opportunity to work with them.
I worked on the court with the coaches and players a lot, but I spent a lot of quality time with the players off the court too. We routinely had lunches and dinners, and watched NBA playoff games together. I became close with Shelden, "B-Roy," and JJ; I got along with Jordan Farmar too, but because he had already lived in L.A. &mdash; being from there and attending UCLA &mdash; he wasn't around as much as the other guys, so I didn't get to know him quite as well. But, all in all, we had a great group of guys, and we had a good time together.
After 15 seasons in the NBA, JJ concluded a successful career and is now a rising star in the media. But in 2006, his fame was at its peak. A star at Duke, JJ generated a ton of media attention and was even on the cover of Sports Illustrated. He was treated like a rock star anywhere he would goShelden (JJ's teammate at Duke) once told me that fans would regularly avoid getting autographs from him and his teammates if JJ had already signed the item. Supposedly, if anyone else would sign the memorabilia, it would decrease the value. Think about that for a minute. Shelden was a consensus first-team All-American and one of the top NBA prospects in the country while at Duke!
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While in Los Angeles, JJ and I had a couple of nights out on the town (with the approval of his agents and my bosses, of course). One night, we went to an exclusive nightclub in Hollywood. We stood in a long line just like ordinary people; me, who was not famous, and JJ, who looked like the typical college frat boy. After standing in a hopeless line, I decided to talk to the bouncer to see if I could somehow get us in; I told him I was with JJ Redick. Within moments, we were taken into the club and seated at a table next to reality TV star Kristin Cavallari and former boxer and heavyweight champion Mike Tyson.
Hanging with JJ was a lot of fun.
After a month or so of us establishing a steady daily routine with the players, agent Thad Foucher let Coach Joerger and I know that he had a client named Joel Freeland from England who would be joining our workouts. Thad decided to have Joel enter his name in that year's draft. We needed to get him polished up for a showcase workout that we would be hosting the following week &mdash; every team in the NBA would be in attendance.
Every player we worked with up to that point was well-known. Joel was from England and played for a small team in Spain, so he was virtually unknown by NBA folks. However, at 6-foot-10, Joel was athletic and skilled for a player his size. After working with him, Coach Joerger and I agreed that he was a worthy prospect. Thad knew this already, of course; he wouldn't have signed him otherwise. We thought Joel might make a big splash at the showcase workout, and he did.
Following the workout in front of the entire NBA, Thad called me into his office and explained that Joel's draft stock had suddenly erupted, and he had more teams wanting to bring him into workout than days left until the draft. Therefore, he needed to be aggressive in organizing his schedule. It was the first time Joel had visited the United States, so Thad asked me to accompany him as he traveled around the country visiting different NBA teams. I essentially served as Joel's manager from that point until draft night. I remember vividly walking out of Thad's office to call my dad to tell him the good news. I was so excited to get that opportunity.
Before I knew it, Joel and I were off to Portland for his first team workout with the Trail Blazers. Joel and I shared a hotel room, and the team gave him per diem to cover his dinner. We ate at the hotel that night and had breakfast there the following day. While Joel was at the Blazers' practice facility for his workout, I stayed at the hotel killing time because the team didn't allow me to attend. Following his workout, we flew back to L.A. for one day so Joel could work out for the Lakers. Altogether, the trip to Portland was pretty uneventful for me. However, our journey was just getting started. Our next stop was Phoenix.
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When we landed in Phoenix, we were greeted by a car service: a gentleman in a black suit and tie with a fancy black car. He took us to the hotel, where Joel and I were given our own rooms at The Ritz Carlton. I felt like I was big time. Upon settling into our hotel rooms, the Suns' director of player personnel at the time (and current executive vice president of basketball operations for the New Orleans Pelicans), David Griffin, called to invite Joel and I to dinner at a steakhouse within walking distance from the hotel. He also asked me to attend the workout the next day. I must say that I am very appreciative of the first-class treatment David and the Suns gave me considering I was just a young guy trying to find my place in the business. "Griff" is undoubtedly a class act.
After a terrific trip to Phoenix, Joel and I continued our hectic travel, making stops in Houston, Dallas and Memphis. Aside from the Suns, no other teams allowed me to attend the workouts. Although it was perhaps a bit overzealous, it didn't stop me from trying.
While we were in Memphis, I casually walked into the practice gym with Joel and quietly took a seat, hoping no one would take too much notice of me where I could watch the workout. Shortly after I sat down, Ryan West, a scout with the Grizzlies and the son of the general manager and Hall-of-Fame player Jerry West, told me he wasn't sure if I'd be able to stay for the workout, but that he'd check.
Ryan and I were friends, and his dad and my uncle Pete had a close relationship, so I thought maybe I'd get the Griff/Suns treatment. The next thing I knew, Jerry was making his way toward me. My heart began to race; it wasn't that big of a deal to me whether I watched the workout or not, but the fact that "The Logo" was about to speak to me &mdash; that was a big deal!
As he approached me, he stuck out his hand and introduced himself; a really classy man with such an incredible presence. I'm not even entirely sure what I did or said. I'm not even sure if I responded at all initially. Ironically, I choked when meeting "Mr. Clutch." Anyway, the rest of our brief conversation went something like this:
Jerry West: Matt, would you like to watch the workout?
Me: Yes, I would like to, but it's not that big of a deal if it's an issue.
Jerry West: Do you speak to your father? (My dad worked for another NBA team).
Me: Well, of course, I do but...
(And before I could finish&hellip;)
Jerry West: It's nice to meet you, but we will have to ask you to wait for Joel in the locker room.
And that was my experience meeting Jerry West.
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Following the Memphis trip, we made our way to New York so Joel could work out for the Knicks the morning of the NBA Draft. Because I planned to pursue coaching jobs for the following season, the NBA Draft was when my internship would wrap up, as I prepared to attend Summer League in Las Vegas to hunt for coaching opportunities in July.&nbsp;
So just like that, my time with Wasserman was suddenly coming to an end &mdash; but first, we needed to see how the draft unfolded.
Although I was just an intern who had only known these players for a few months, we collectively put some real work together and created a bond. I cared about those players &mdash; I was invested. I especially cared for Joel, who quickly became like a little brother to me during our travels together as he chased his dream to play in the NBA.
So, our moment of truth was upon us. NBA Commissioner David Stern approached the podium, and the NBA Draft began. I anxiously watched, waiting to hear our guys' names called. Here's how it played out:
<ul>
<li>Shelden Williams &mdash; drafted No. 5 overall by the Atlanta Hawks</li>
<li>Brandon Roy &mdash; drafted No. 6 overall by the Minnesota Timberwolves and traded to the Portland Trail Blazers</li>
<li>JJ Redick drafted No. 11 overall by the Orlando Magic</li>
<li>Jordan Farmer drafted No. 26 overall by the Los Angeles Lakers</li>
<li>Joel Freeland drafted No. 30 overall by the Portland Trail Blazers</li>
</ul>
All of our players were selected in the first round (yes, even my "little brother," Joel Freeland)! I couldn't have been happier for all of the guys, especially for Joel, who played in the NBA for several years and had an incredibly successful career overseas.
The night of the 2006 NBA Draft, Shelden Williams, Brandon Roy, JJ Redick, Jordan Farmar, Joel Freeland, their families, the Wasserman agents and I celebrated the fruits of our labor. It was undoubtedly a great night and a terrific summer, which I will never forget.&nbsp;
Little did I know at that time that it was just the beginning of my involvement in the sports-agency business.
Stay tuned for the next entry of this series: "My past life as a sports agent: The 2006 NBA Draft." 
<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/my-past-life-as-a-sports-agent-going-to-california" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Read the last entry of this series</a>: "My past life as a sports agent: "Going to California."
Editor's Note: This article was originally published on <a href="https://www.babcockhoops.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">BabcockHoops.com</a>.
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Matt Babcock recounts his summer internship at high-powered sports agency Wasserman Media Group before the 2006 NBA Draft.

My past life as a sports agent: The 2006 NBA Draft

Izaiah Brockington couldn&rsquo;t help but lick his chops.&nbsp;
On Dec. 9, 2021, highly-touted 2022 NBA Draft prospect Keegan Murray and his Iowa Hawkeyes were traveling to Ames for an in-state rivalry game. The 6-foot-8, 225-pound forward was leading the nation in scoring with an average of just under 24 points per game (on a scorching 59.3% clip from the field), and the Hawkeyes were averaging over 90 points per contest at that point.
Through rigorous film study, Brockington observed Murray&rsquo;s favorite spots on the court, where he liked to catch the ball and how he got his buckets. And from the tip, the 6-foot-4, 200-pound guard followed through. He denied post-entry to Murray time and time again, helped the helper and put pressure on the Hawkeyes on the perimeter.
By the end of the night, Brockington outscored and outrebounded Murray while holding him to the worst game of his season by far (9 points on 4-of-17 from the field), while simultaneously delivering the game's most efficient performance with 29 points, 10 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals.
&ldquo;I feel like that was definitely one of my best games of the season. I really came into that game wanting to shut him down,&rdquo; Brockington told BasketballNews.com in a phone interview. &ldquo;I went out there and really tried to take away his strengths and mainly speed him up. I feel like he was really good when he was allowed to play at his pace and when guys were giving him space to work and see what was going on on the floor. So, I really came into that game wanting to lock him down on defense. And then, the 29 points, that was a bonus really.&rdquo;
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Unlike Murray, who&rsquo;s projected to be a lottery pick in most mock drafts (including <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/draft/2022-nba-mock-draft/players/keegan-murray" target="_blank" rel="noopener">No. 6 overall</a> in <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/draft" target="_blank" rel="noopener">BasketballNews.com&rsquo;s latest</a>), you surprisingly won&rsquo;t find Brockington&rsquo;s name anywhere on those big boards. And no, you won&rsquo;t find him partaking in this week&rsquo;s NBA Draft Combine nor the G League Elite Camp. Considering his size at the guard position coupled with his ability to rebound, make <a href="https://twitter.com/SynergySST/status/1507061353076383744?s=20&amp;t=bJGYe1FEeuLkx9hLdfQYuQ" target="_blank" rel="noopener">high-difficulty shots</a> and, most importantly, defend at a high level, it&rsquo;s a head-scratcher.
Take into account that Brockington spearheaded a 22-win Iowa State program that won just two games the season before, an NCAA-record turnaround, and it just seems like a downright mistake. So, he&rsquo;ll just have to prove that he stands out and find other ways to turn heads &mdash; just like he did last December.
&ldquo;I feel like my work ethic allows me to catch guys that a lot of people deem 'better' or would rank higher [than me]," Brockington said. "I feel like I have the intangibles that other people don't. I have athleticism, and I have the dog mentality &mdash; somebody who just loves to compete and loves to win and isn't gonna let somebody just walk all over them.
&ldquo;I love to compete. I attribute it to being from Philly. We just never back down from a challenge. The intangibles, I feel like, set me apart. And then, with my work ethic, all of these things that people say I don't have, I'm working every day and I'm ready to show everybody that I do [have them].&rdquo;
Having just worked out for the Atlanta Hawks, Brockington&rsquo;s list of interested teams is growing. According to sources, the Toronto Raptors, Phoenix Suns, Los Angeles Clippers, New Orleans Pelicans, Los Angeles Lakers, Indiana Pacers, Sacramento Kings, Utah Jazz and Brooklyn Nets are lined up next &mdash; and he has five other teams who asked to schedule workouts at Tandem&rsquo;s Pro Day on Friday.
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Brockington&rsquo;s lone season at Iowa State went down as the best of his college career, and he considers it the most fun he had playing basketball at the collegiate level because the roster was brand-new and had something to prove.
As a senior, he averaged 16.9 points and 6.8 rebounds per game, was named to the All-Big 12 First Team and earned the 2021-22 midseason John Wooden award. Boasting the Cyclones&rsquo; highest usage rate (27.5%), he took on the most responsibility he had to that point and ran with the opportunity.
Defensively, Brockington attributes much of his success (93.2 Defensive Rating) to the players he had to guard along the way. Starting in the Big 12, a conference he refers to as &ldquo;ridiculous&rdquo; in regards to talent, match-ups against Kansas standout Ochai Agbaji and Baylor&rsquo;s Jeremy Sochan and James Akinjo helped iron sharpen iron. The nights were intense and featured high-level basketball.
This past season, Brockington was adept at cutting off catch-and-drives (0.47 points per possession, per InStat) and defending pick-and-roll ball-handlers (0.54 PPP). It&rsquo;s something that he believes carried over his time at Penn State, where he spent two seasons prior to transferring.
&ldquo;We were really big on defense, so it was really about angles over there. And then, going to Iowa State, Coach TJ [Otzelberger] and our whole defensive scheme was non-stop pressure and to get guys to go into our help,&rdquo; Brockington said. &ldquo;But I feel like... you can push guys to your help, but it's better to be able to guard somebody and not need the help. I feel like, yeah, I definitely would try to cut guys off so that it's not forcing us to rotate and create long closeouts. Little things like that just help you stay more compact on defense and just stay more locked on your man.
&ldquo;So at Iowa State, we would drill things like [pick-and-roll defense] &mdash; getting over screens, being able to communicate and getting over and under, and just sticking on the ball-handler, making it tough for them. But, I also feel like I can thrive in an all-switching situation because I have strength and I have explosiveness. I feel like when I get caught down in the post, I can front or just make it tough for bigger guys to get easy position. I feel like I can thrive in either system, for sure."
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
The Work Gonna Show🖤✍🏾&hellip;<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/iPromise?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#iPromise</a>🙏🏾 <a href="https://t.co/K23fSy995m">pic.twitter.com/K23fSy995m</a>
&mdash; Izaiah Brockington (@TheOnlyiZB) <a href="https://twitter.com/TheOnlyiZB/status/1527033907014684682?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 18, 2022</a></blockquote>

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During his two years with the Nittany Lions, he took on different roles and began to blossom under Pat Chambers. Again, there was plenty of talent to face-off against in the Big Ten, such as current Chicago Bulls guard Ayo Dosunmu at Illinois, San Antonio Spurs forward Joe Wieskamp at Iowa, Indiana Pacers guard Duane Washington and future NBA Draft pick Johnny Davis at Wisconsin. Stylistically, Brockington believes the Big Ten&rsquo;s physicality helped prepare him too.&nbsp;
At Penn State, Brockington reconnected with his longtime friend Lamar Stevens. The now-Cleveland Cavaliers forward performed night-in and night-out for the team, showing Brockington the consistency and hard work it takes to be successful. Stevens has been in his ear throughout the pre-draft process, sharing what needs to be done and how to stick in the league. Brockington appreciates the support and encouragement, and he's taking every bit of that advice.
(Brockington&rsquo;s collegiate basketball odyssey actually began at St. Bonaventure, the first of three schools he&rsquo;d attend. Playing for Mark Schmidt for one year, he and the Bonnies had a solid season led by seniors Jaylen Adams and Matt Mobley. Brockington ultimately transferred to Penn State to be closer to home and ended up sitting out a season, by rule, before suiting up).
As far as translatable skills go at the next level, Brockington states that his defense and rebounding top the list, along with his athleticism and ability to get downhill.&nbsp;
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In addition, Brockington takes pride in being well-versed in any kind of role. At St. Bonaventure and early on at Penn State, he did a bit of everything &mdash; serving as a spot-up shooter, a slasher, a rebounding specialist and a sixth man. He even played spot minutes off the bench at one point.
At Iowa State, he was a go-to guy, a star player and a leader for the first time in his college career, so opposing defenses threw everything but the kitchen sink at him.
&ldquo;Against certain teams &mdash; Texas comes to mind specifically &mdash; [they were], like, face-guarding me. [Texas] Tech would have a guy pressure and they would have dudes sit in gaps and essentially try to force me off of the ball. Seeing double-teams and all of that was new," Brockington said with a laugh. "It was just crazy being guarded like that in college 'cause I'd never had to deal with things like that before. I feel like those things really pushed me to be able to adapt and really try to just make smart decisions."
On the offensive end, Brockington has an appetite for the mid-range. The sly southpaw is able to get to his spots quickly off the ball and fire away with his leaping lefty jumper, and he likes to attack off the catch (with fireworks often following). Though he admits that is the area where he&rsquo;s most comfortable at the moment, Brockington understands the importance of being a three-level scorer.
&ldquo;I've been working on really being a combo guard &mdash; a guy that can use pick-and-rolls and make reads and just really making the right decision every time, a lot of basketball IQ things,&rdquo; Brockington said. &ldquo;And then, just knocking down threes... I've been working a ton and I'm looking to show everybody that I can knock down threes off the kick-out and off the pick-and-roll and off the dribble. I've been working extremely hard on that, and it's been going great.
&ldquo;I mean, [the mid-range] is an underappreciated part of the game. But a lot of analytics guys will tell you that it's inefficient, and that's probably true for most guys. That's just not the case with me. I feel like when I take mid-rangers, I create enough space horizontally and vertically to be able to get a clean look off.&rdquo;
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Despite spending five years in college, Brockington is only 22 years old because he graduated from high school early. Possessing that much experience at his age, he considers it an advantage. At the same time, Brockington says age doesn&rsquo;t have to do with his ability to play the game, pick up new information and improve as a player.
&ldquo;My experience in college has really taught me about consistency and taught me what hard work can do, and it's really about the preparation leading into everything,&rdquo; Brockington said. &ldquo;Games are won way before that time comes. Games are won in the offseason. Games are won in the film room. Games are won in pregame shootaround. So those are things I'll always have with me.&nbsp;
&ldquo;It hasn't been a typical college journey, but one thing that's remained the same is everywhere I go, I put my head down and work. I went out there, I produced and I was out there trying to win."
For Brockington, growing up in Philadelphia, he&rsquo;d always attend his father Antoine&rsquo;s rec-league games and hear stories about him. Antoine was a hell of a pro in his own right, achieving tremendous success overseas after an impressive career at Coppin State, where he won the 1997-98 MEAC Player of the Year award &mdash; and Izaiah looked up to him proudly.
Now, as the pre-draft process begins, it&rsquo;s Izaiah Brockington&rsquo;s time to carve his own path and make him proud.
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Spencer Davies speaks with Izaiah Brockington about his breakout season at Iowa State, unique path and next-level aspirations.

Izaiah Brockington hopes his unique journey culminates in NBA success

Jimmy Butler scored 41 points, and the Miami Heat turned things around with a huge third quarter on the way to beating the short-handed Boston Celtics 118-107 in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals on Tuesday night.
Tyler Herro scored 18 and Gabe Vincent added 17 for the Heat, who outscored Boston 39-14 in the third quarter. Butler had 17 alone in the third, outscoring the Celtics by himself over those 12 minutes.
Max Strus scored 11 and Bam Adebayo added 10 for Miami.
Jayson Tatum scored 29 for the Celtics, who were without starters Marcus Smart (foot) and Al Horford (health and safety protocols). Jaylen Brown added 24 for Boston, which got 18 apiece from Robert Williams III and Payton Pritchard.
Game 2 is Thursday.
Boston led by 13 in the first half and took a 62-54 lead into halftime. Whatever Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said during intermission clearly worked.
A 22-2 run was how Miami started the second half, the run punctuated by steals that led to baskets on three consecutive possessions. Strus had one, the next two by Butler pushed the lead out to 76-64, and the Heat were off and running.
The lead reached 96-76 when Herro was fouled on a 3-point try and made all three free throws early in the fourth.
Boston had a run left; a 10-0 spurt cut the deficit in half, and a 3-pointer from Tatum made it a nine-point game &mdash; outcome still very much in doubt &mdash; with 7:35 left.
But the Heat had a response. PJ Tucker answered Tatum&rsquo;s 3 with one of his own. Brown then connected from deep to get Boston within single digits again, only to have that one answered by a 3 from Strus.
Some of the plans that both sides had for Game 1 were thrown away about 3 &frac12; hours before game time, when the Celtics revealed that Smart and Horford wouldn&rsquo;t be playing. Smart&rsquo;s absence was somewhat expected because of a mid-foot sprain he suffered in Game 7 of the East semifinals against Milwaukee on Sunday.
Horford&rsquo;s absence, however, was a surprise.
He entered the league&rsquo;s health and safety protocols Tuesday afternoon, which ruled him out of Game 1 and quite possibly could keep him out for multiple games going forward. And it&rsquo;s not clear if any other Celtics could need testing.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;m honestly unsure about that as of now,&rdquo; Celtics coach Ime Udoka said pregame.
TIP-INS
Celtics: Boston&rsquo;s biggest lead was 13 points. The Celtics are now 46-7 this season in games in which it led by at least that many. ... Boston scored 18 points of the first 6 &frac12; minutes of the first half, then two points in the first 6 &frac12; minutes of the second half. ... The Celtics trailed for only 16 seconds in the first two quarters. ... Boston has dropped 17 of its last 26 East finals games.
Heat: Former Miami guard Goran Dragic was in attendance. ... This series is the 50th in Heat postseason history. They&rsquo;re now 28-22 in Game 1s. ... Butler&rsquo;s 15th point &mdash; a free throw 16 seconds into the second half &mdash; gave him 14,000 for his career, including playoffs. He&rsquo;s the 220th NBA player to score that many. ... Miami missed its first seven shots. ... Tucker left in the second quarter to get his right ankle re-taped, then returned for the second half.
BLOCK PARTY
There were 20 blocked shots in the game &mdash; 12 by Miami, eight by Boston.
SECOND BEST (AND WORST)
The 25-point differential in the third quarter was the second-best for the Heat and the second-worst for the Celtics this season. Miami outscored Charlotte by 27 in the third quarter on Feb. 5. Boston was outscored by 28 points in the fourth quarter by Chicago on Nov. 1.
SLOW SECOND
Boston didn&rsquo;t have a field goal in the first six minutes of the second half &mdash; the slowest start to a half in any of the Celtics&rsquo; 94 games this season. The previous low for field goals made in the opening 6:00 of a half by the Celtics this season, including playoffs, was one in the second half against the Los Angeles Lakers on Dec. 7.

Jimmy Butler scored 41, and the Heat turned things around with a huge third quarter on the way to beating the shorthanded Celtics.

Butler scores 41, Heat take Game 1 from Celtics 118-107

The Milwaukee Bucks are in a sneaky-strange position after relinquishing their place as defending NBA champions.
They still have a core in Giannis Antetokounmpo, Khris Middleton and Jrue Holiday that figures to keep Milwaukee in contention for several years. There's no major drama surrounding the team and no marquee free agent hitting the scene this summer. The Bucks have more stability than most of the recent ousted champions. In fact, I'd argue that you'd have to go back to the Kobe Bryant-era Los Angeles Lakers, Big Three Boston Celtics or early-dynasty San Antonio Spurs to find teams who gave up the title but still had promising outlooks.&nbsp;
Yet, the Bucks also seemed like they were playing from behind in most of the second round despite leading the series against the Boston Celtics multiple times. Their half-court offense was horrendous; Milwaukee averaged a putrid 81.9 points per 100 possessions on half-court plays, per Cleaning the Glass. Their defense was solid but solvable, as shown by the Grant Williams Game 7 extravaganza and Al Horford's explosion in Game 4.
How much failure can be atrributed to the loss of Middleton? How much can the Bucks stand pat as other Eastern Conference powers continue to make moves? How much will they weigh postseason failure against regular-season success and injuries?
These are the questions leadership will ask itself as Milwaukee approaches a murky offseason.
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The Bucks have their star trio locked down for the next two years (though Middleton holds a player option in 2023-24). However, they will have several smaller free agents to manage. Bobby Portis holds a $4.5 million player option, per Spotrac, and should command over twice that amount if he decides to hit the open market. Pat Connaughton ($5.3 million) and Thanasis Antetokounmpo ($1.8 million) also hold player options.&nbsp;
Wes Matthews, despite his low scoring numbers, was <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/wes-matthews-twoway-play-deserves-your-attention" target="_blank" rel="noopener">one of the most impactful Bucks in their playoff run</a>. His defense on Jayson Tatum in particular made the second round a slog for the Celtics' star, helping keep Milwaukee in contention. Matthews will be an unrestricted free agent this offseason. At 35 years old, and with a limited offensive ceiling, he'll be an interesting player to watch this summer. I'm all for Milwaukee doing what they must to return Matthews, but will his age and injury history make them hesitant? If so, does another team pounce?
Serge Ibaka will also hit unrestricted free agency, and was not much of a factor in Milwaukee this season after being acquired at the 2022 trade deadline. Jevon Carter joins him and Matthews as an unrestricted free agent; his case might be more intriguing after he emerged as a rotation-caliber guard and shot the ball better than he ever has in his short career. Jordan Nwora and Lindell Wigginton will both be restricted free agents.
This free agency period ultimately forces Milwaukee to evaluate its supporting cast around the three stars. Giannis is the rudder for every decision the franchise makes for at least the next four years. Milwaukee has to reflect on which players best fit his strengths and needs, particularly on offense.
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Unfortunately, they won't have much free agent flexibility. The Bucks only have the $6.3 million taxpayer mid-level exception to go out and sign a complementary piece. They also hold a $1.5 million trade exception that has almost no functional value. So if they want to chase a player with more stature, they'll have to get creative with trades.
However, unlike many past champions, Milwaukee does still hold its first-round pick outright at No. 24 overall. The NBA Draft could be an easy way for them to add a rotation piece either by selection or with a trade. The franchise forfeited its second-round pick, however, in the fallout from the Bogdan Bogdanovic fiasco of the 2020 offseason.&nbsp;
Our Senior NBA Draft Analyst Matt Babock currently projects the Bucks to select Blake Wesley in his most recent <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/draft" target="_blank" rel="noopener">2022 NBA Mock Draft.</a>&nbsp;A 6-foot-5 freshman guard from Notre Dame, Wesley brings an enticing mix of length, slashing, scoring potential and defensive upside.
Does a seven-game sample dictate how the Bucks approach this offseason? It feels unfair to the larger roster and the shooters who ultimately went cold in a pivotal Game 7. But Milwaukee's expectations are now to win in these seven-game series, and when the offense looked as bad as it did in Round 2, running it back seems illogical.
It's not a call for Mike Budenholzer's ousting or saying that any particular player is holding the team back. The Bucks instead have to take a long, hard look at what team they want to be and what current players fit into that mold. They're still very much title contenders, but this season was a reminder that contention doesn't get you very far in the NBA.
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The Bucks have a stable foundation, but does a second-round exit force a change with the franchise?

2022 NBA offseason preview: What's next for the Milwaukee Bucks?

The NBA announced the 76 players who are expected to attend the 2022 NBA Draft Combine, which is scheduled for May 18-20 at Wintrust Arena and the Marriott Marquis in Chicago.
The 2022 NBA Draft Combine is an important step in the draft process for NBA prospects, leading up to 2022 NBA Draft on June 23.&nbsp;
Players will have interviews with NBA teams and participate in five-on-five games, shooting drills and strength-and-agility drills from May 18-20. Coverage of the 2022 NBA Draft Combine begins Thursday, May 19 on ESPNews from 3-5 p.m. ET and transitions to ESPN2 from 5-7 p.m. ET. The coverage continues on Friday, May 20 from 1-2 p.m. ET on ESPN2 and 2-5 p.m. ET on ESPNews.
Additionally, a select number of standout players from the <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-announces-field-of-44-draft-prospects-for-g-league-elite-camp" target="_blank" rel="noopener">2022 NBA G League Elite Camp</a>, which takes place May 16-17 at Wintrust Arena, will be invited to participate in the 2022 NBA Draft Combine.
Here is the complete list of expected attendees for this year's NBA Draft Combine (and check out <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/draft" target="_blank" rel="noopener">BasketballNews.com's 2022 NBA Mock Draft</a> to see where each player is projected to go):&nbsp;
<table style="font-weight: 400;">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td colspan="2" width="832">
Player (College/Club)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="390">
Ochai Agbaji (Kansas)
</td>
<td width="442">
Jake LaRavia (Wake Forest)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="390">
Patrick Baldwin Jr. (Milwaukee)
</td>
<td width="442">
Justin Lewis (Marquette)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="390">
Paolo Banchero (Duke)
</td>
<td width="442">
E.J. Liddell (Ohio State)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="390">
Dominick Barlow (Overtime Elite)
</td>
<td width="442">
Bennedict Mathurin (Arizona)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="390">
Marjon Beauchamp (G League Ignite)
</td>
<td width="442">
Matthew Mayer (Baylor)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="390">
Hugo Besson (New Zealand Breakers)
</td>
<td width="442">
Bryce McGowens (Nebraska)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="390">
Malaki Branham (Ohio State)
</td>
<td width="442">
Leonard Miller (Fort Erie Intl. Academy [Canada] )
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="390">
Christian Braun (Kansas)
</td>
<td width="442">
Josh Minott (Memphis)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="390">
Kendall Brown (Baylor)
</td>
<td width="442">
Aminu Mohammed (Georgetown)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="390">
John Butler Jr. (Florida State)
</td>
<td width="442">
Iverson Molinar (Mississippi State)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="390">
Julian Champagnie (St. John&rsquo;s)
</td>
<td width="442">
Jean Montero (Overtime Elite)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="390">
Kennedy Chandler (Tennessee)
</td>
<td width="442">
Wendell Moore Jr. (Duke)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="390">
Max Christie (Michigan State)
</td>
<td width="442">
Keegan Murray (Iowa)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="390">
Kofi Cockburn (Illinois)
</td>
<td width="442">
Andrew Nembhard (Gonzaga)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="390">
Dyson Daniels (G League Ignite)
</td>
<td width="442">
Scotty Pippen Jr. (Vanderbilt)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="390">
Johnny Davis (Wisconsin)
</td>
<td width="442">
Gabriele Procida (Fortitudo Bologna [Italy] )
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="390">
JD Davison (Alabama)
</td>
<td width="442">
Orlando Robinson (Fresno State)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="390">
Moussa Diabate (Michigan)
</td>
<td width="442">
David Roddy (Colorado State)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="390">
Ousmane Dieng (New Zealand Breakers)
</td>
<td width="442">
Ryan Rollins (Toledo)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="390">
Khalifa Diop (Gran Canaria [Spain] )
</td>
<td width="442">
Dereon Seabron (North Carolina State)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="390">
Jalen Duren (Memphis)
</td>
<td width="442">
Shaedon Sharpe (Kentucky)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="390">
Tari Eason (LSU)
</td>
<td width="442">
Jabari Smith (Auburn)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="390">
Keon Ellis (Alabama)
</td>
<td width="442">
Terquavion Smith (North Carolina State)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="390">
Michael Foster Jr. (G League Ignite)
</td>
<td width="442">
Jeremy Sochan (Baylor)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="390">
Collin Gillespie (Villanova)
</td>
<td width="442">
Matteo Spagnolo (Cremona [Italy] )
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="390">
AJ Griffin (Duke)
</td>
<td width="442">
Julian Strawther (Gonzaga)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="390">
Jaden Hardy (G League Ignite)
</td>
<td width="442">
Dalen Terry (Arizona)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="390">
Ron Harper Jr. (Rutgers)
</td>
<td width="442">
Drew Timme (Gonzaga)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="390">
Chet Holmgren (Gonzaga)
</td>
<td width="442">
Jabari Walker (Colorado)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="390">
Harrison Ingram (Stanford)
</td>
<td width="442">
TyTy Washington Jr. (Kentucky)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="390">
Jaden Ivey (Purdue)
</td>
<td width="442">
Peyton Watson (UCLA)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="390">
Trayce Jackson-Davis (Indiana)
</td>
<td width="442">
Blake Wesley (Notre Dame)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="390">
Nikola Jovic (Mega [Serbia] )
</td>
<td width="442">
Alondes Williams (Wake Forest)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="390">
Johnny Juzang (UCLA)
</td>
<td width="442">
Jalen Williams (Santa Clara)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="390">
Ismael Kamagate (Paris [France] )
</td>
<td width="442">
Jaylin Williams (Arkansas)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="390">
Trevor Keels (Duke)
</td>
<td width="442">
Mark Williams (Duke)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="390">
Walker Kessler (Auburn)
</td>
<td width="442">
Trevion Williams (Purdue)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="390">
Christian Koloko (Arizona)
</td>
<td width="442">
Fanbo Zeng (G League Ignite)
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
&nbsp;

The NBA announced the 76 players who are expected to attend the 2022 NBA Draft Combine, which takes place May 18-20 in Chicago.

NBA announces 76 prospects who will attend 2022 NBA Draft Combine

Losing the first game of a playoff series does not inevitably damn a team&rsquo;s chances of advancing. Even for teams with home court advantage, a 0-1 deficit can be easily overcome. But losing the first two games of a series is far less surmountable. At least, that's what recent history tells us. &nbsp;
The idea that one cannot predict the future by examining the past is well established in all walks of life. Still, it&rsquo;s nearly impossible not to use recent trends to reach conclusions and takeaways. So, what does the recent past tell us about going down 0-2 0 in a playoff series?
Keep in mind, the entire history of the NBA isn&rsquo;t relevant since the first round expanded from five to seven games starting in 2003. Examining first-round matchups before that is pointless given that two victories was previously two-thirds of the way to a series victory and now is only the halfway point.
Further, this is a relatively arbitrary analysis. For simplicity&rsquo;s sake, we&rsquo;ll restrict our sample to the past 10 seasons.
Between 2012 and 2021, teams are 12-77 when going down 0-2 in a postseason series, good for a measly .125 winning percentage. 2021 was easily the most competitive for teams down 0-2. Nine teams found themselves in a 2-0 hole in 2021, with five emerging victorious.
Comparatively, teams up 2-0 were undefeated in 2020, 2015 and 2014, going 15-0 across the three playoffs. It&rsquo;s worth pointing out that the COVID-19 pandemic led to the 2020 NBA Playoffs being played at a neutral site with no fans in attendance, which may have contributed to no teams blowing 2-0 leads that season. &nbsp;
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Here&rsquo;s a look at the 12 teams who came back from 0-2 deficits and the teams they did so against in the past 10 playoffs:
2021
First Round
Los Angeles Clippers came back to beat the Dallas Mavericks
Second Round
Los Angeles Clippers came back to beat the Utah Jazz
Milwaukee Bucks came back to beat the Brooklyn Nets
Phoenix Suns came back to beat the Denver Nuggets
NBA Finals
Milwaukee Bucks came back to beat the Phoenix Suns
2019 
Conference Finals 
Toronto Raptors came back to beat the Milwaukee Bucks
2018 &nbsp;
Conference Finals 
Cleveland Cavaliers came back to beat the Boston Celtics
2017 &nbsp;
First Round
Boston Celtics came back to beat the Chicago Bulls
2016 
First Round
Portland Trail Blazers came back to beat the Los Angeles Clippers
NBA Finals
Cleveland Cavaliers came back to beat the Golden State Warriors&nbsp;
2013
First Round 
Memphis Grizzlies came back to beat the Los Angeles Clippers
2012
Conference Finals
Oklahoma City Thunder came back to beat the San Antonio Spurs
To summarize, in the last 10 playoffs, teams came back from 0-2 four times in the first round, three times in the Conference Semifinals, three times in the Conference Finals and twice in the NBA Finals.
Generally, teams do no overcome a two-game deficit when they&rsquo;ve lost the first two games of a series at home. It&rsquo;s markedly more difficult to win four out of five games when only two will be on your home floor. This is reinforced by recent history, as only two teams &ndash; the Los Angeles Clippers in 2021 and the Boston Celtics in 2017 &ndash; have recovered to a win a series after losing the first two games at home. For what it&rsquo;s worth, both of those occurrences happened in the first round.
This spring, NBA teams were 4-0 in the first round of the 2022 NBA Playoffs when winning the first two games of a series.
This is quite applicable at present, as two of the four current series began with a 2-0 lead. Specifically, Phoenix went up 2-0 against Dallas and Miami went up 2-0 against Philadelphia.
None of the teams that began the Conference Semifinals down 0-2 were the higher seed, meaning that none are in the unfavorable position of needing to overcome a two-game deficit and playing three of the final five games on the road.
Teams will always regurgitate meaningless jargon when down 2-0. &ldquo;We just have to win the next one.&rdquo; &ldquo;One game at a time.&rdquo; &ldquo;No different than any other game.&rdquo; But we know that&rsquo;s false, and history backs that&rsquo;s up. So, best of luck to all you Mavericks and 76ers fans out there, but it&rsquo;s a difficult road back from 0-2 whether you look to history as a guide or not.
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Coming back to win a series from an 0-2 deficit is seen as difficult. Recent history tells us that it's even less common than you'd think.

Examining the recent history of NBA teams coming back from 0-2

Even though the NBA Playoffs present the highest stakes in basketball, the postseason is still akin to its own set of laboratories.
Within a seven-game series, teams are tinkering with strategies and toggling the risk-versus-reward dials on points of emphasis. They also have more data at their disposal, which means more information to sway decisions &mdash; and make those decisions more complicated.
We're onto Game 3 of the Eastern Conference semifinals between the Boston Celtics and Milwaukee Bucks after two of the more radically divergent results of the postseason so far. But one thing hasn't changed: Boston, through its own creation and the Bucks' defensive scheme, is letting the three-ball fly.&nbsp;
The Celtics have attempted a whopping 93 three-pointers across the first two games in this series. They hoisted up 50 in Game 1 and 43 in Game 2; those totals rank second and seventh among all 2022 playoff games to this point. A mammoth 45 of those 93 perimeter tries (48.4%) have been categorized as "wide open" by Second Spectrum, meaning no defender is within 6 feet of the shooter.
Digging deeper, those 45 wide-open threes make up 27.4% of Boston's overall field goal attempts &mdash; the highest frequency of any team in the second round. (For some context, only 18.8% of the team's shots were wide-open threes during the regular season.)
That frequency is second among all NBA playoff series so far. Not coincidentally, it's just barely behind Milwaukee's first-round opponent, the Chicago Bulls (27.7%).
This isn't some playoff crumbling. The Bucks allowed a league-high 20.3 wide-open threes to opponents in the regular season. They've ranked in the top two for most such shots allowed in each season since Mike Budenholzer took over as head coach in 2018-19. But Milwaukee tailors what it allows opponents to take, hoping to funnel those threes to the most volatile shooters. It worked during the regular season; teams shot 36.3% on wide-open threes against the Bucks, tied for the third-worst percentage in the NBA. Chicago didn't make them pay either, knocking down just 30.4% of those shots.
However, against the Celtics, we've seen the double-edged sword to this approach.
Milwaukee lives with these three-point shots because it wants to fortify the paint with its lineup of big, long, physical defenders. The help defense is so aggressive because the Bucks want to keep Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown and Marcus Smart from establishing any kind of momentum getting to the basket. Driving lanes are a pillar of today's NBA offenses, and I highly recommend you read <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/offensive-organics" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Mark Schindler's recent piece</a> that explains how drives make the league much more than a game of twos and threes.
The Celtics have made a mind-numbing 20% of their shot attempts on drives to the basket this series, per Second Spectrum. They have attempted 40 shots within 5 feet of the rim and finished just 50% of those looks, which is last among the second-round teams. Boston is also bottom-two in shot volume and efficiency from the 5-to-9-foot range and 10-to-14 feet. Milwaukee appears to have built a fortress.
Such an emphasis on paint protection means the Celtics have plenty of three-point chances. This isn't to say the Bucks don't care &mdash; one, that's not how NBA defense works, and two, they have several great recovery defenders on the roster. If Boston moves the ball with purpose, its players can find openings. However, they might be just the players Milwaukee wants firing away.
Here's a breakdown of Boston's three-point shooting volume by rotation player, and the frequency of wide-open looks with data from the NBA's stats site. No efficiency rates yet.
(Scroll right to view full table on mobile)
<table style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 100%; height: 198px;" border="1">
<tbody>
<tr style="height: 44px;">
<td style="width: 23.1682%; height: 44px;">Player</td>
<td style="width: 17.0894%; height: 44px;">Total 3PA/Game</td>
<td style="width: 21.8959%; height: 44px;">Wide-Open 3PA/Game</td>
<td style="width: 20.4272%; height: 44px;">% of 3PA Wide Open </td>
<td style="width: 17.3251%; height: 44px;">Wide-Open 3P%</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 22px;">
<td style="width: 23.1682%; height: 22px;">Jayson Tatum</td>
<td style="width: 17.0894%; height: 22px;">9.5</td>
<td style="width: 21.8959%; height: 22px;">2.0</td>
<td style="width: 20.4272%; height: 22px;">21.1%</td>
<td style="width: 17.3251%; height: 22px;">50.0%</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 22px;">
<td style="width: 23.1682%; height: 22px;">Jaylen Brown</td>
<td style="width: 17.0894%; height: 22px;">9.5</td>
<td style="width: 21.8959%; height: 22px;">3.0</td>
<td style="width: 20.4272%; height: 22px;">31.6%</td>
<td style="width: 17.3251%; height: 22px;">16.7%</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 22px;">
<td style="width: 23.1682%; height: 22px;">Al Horford</td>
<td style="width: 17.0894%; height: 22px;">7.0</td>
<td style="width: 21.8959%; height: 22px;">6.5</td>
<td style="width: 20.4272%; height: 22px;">92.9%</td>
<td style="width: 17.3251%; height: 22px;">30.8%</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 22px;">
<td style="width: 23.1682%; height: 22px;">Grant Williams</td>
<td style="width: 17.0894%; height: 22px;">6.5</td>
<td style="width: 21.8959%; height: 22px;">4.0</td>
<td style="width: 20.4272%; height: 22px;">61.5%</td>
<td style="width: 17.3251%; height: 22px;">87.5%</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 22px;">
<td style="width: 23.1682%; height: 22px;">Marcus Smart (1 game)</td>
<td style="width: 17.0894%; height: 22px;">6.0</td>
<td style="width: 21.8959%; height: 22px;">3.0</td>
<td style="width: 20.4272%; height: 22px;">50.0%</td>
<td style="width: 17.3251%; height: 22px;">0.0%</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 22px;">
<td style="width: 23.1682%; height: 22px;">Payton Pritchard</td>
<td style="width: 17.0894%; height: 22px;">6.0</td>
<td style="width: 21.8959%; height: 22px;">2.5</td>
<td style="width: 20.4272%; height: 22px;">41.7%</td>
<td style="width: 17.3251%; height: 22px;">40.0%</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 22px;">
<td style="width: 23.1682%; height: 22px;">Derrick White</td>
<td style="width: 17.0894%; height: 22px;">3.5</td>
<td style="width: 21.8959%; height: 22px;">2.5</td>
<td style="width: 20.4272%; height: 22px;">71.4%</td>
<td style="width: 17.3251%; height: 22px;">40.0%</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
The big numbers that stand out: Al Horford, Derrick White and Grant Williams have found a&nbsp;lot of open three-point attempts. Meanwhile, Tatum and Brown have captured the attention, and Payton Pritchard has garnered the defense's respect to a lesser extent.
Importantly: This isn't the Bucks simply leaving Horford, Williams and White open without any closeouts. Boston has worked to find these players on the perimeter, and speficially made adjustments in Game 2 that helped these three get in position. <a href="https://theathletic.com/3292733/2022/05/04/celtics-beat-bucks-game-2/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Jared Weiss of&nbsp;The Athletic</a> wrote a fantastic postgame analysis of what changed, so keep it in mind.
The point is that the Bucks have not locked a target on Horford or Williams when they move around off the ball, and it's come with mixed results. Horford actually made 4 of his 9 three-point attempts in the Game 1 loss, but went 1 of 5 from long range in Game 2. Williams, meanwhile, has been on a heater in the series and made 6 threes en route to a career-high 21 points in the Celtics' blowout win.&nbsp;
All of these numbers comprise a miniscule two-game sample size though. What can fans reasonably expect from the Celtics' shooters if things stayed the same? Here's how the non-Jay rotation players fared in desirable settings during the regular season.
(Scroll right to view full table on mobile)
<table style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 100%; height: 132px;" border="1">
<tbody>
<tr style="height: 22px;">
<td style="width: 19.1094%; height: 22px;">Player</td>
<td style="width: 17.2402%; height: 22px;">Wide-Open 3P%</td>
<td style="width: 20.0439%; height: 22px;">Catch-and-Shoot 3P%</td>
<td style="width: 13.3685%; height: 22px;">Corner 3P%</td>
<td style="width: 21.112%; height: 22px;">Above-the-Break 3P%</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 22px;">
<td style="width: 19.1094%; height: 22px;">Al Horford</td>
<td style="width: 17.2402%; height: 22px;">35.6%</td>
<td style="width: 20.0439%; height: 22px;">32.8%</td>
<td style="width: 13.3685%; height: 22px;">39.7%</td>
<td style="width: 21.112%; height: 22px;">31.0%</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 22px;">
<td style="width: 19.1094%; height: 22px;">Grant Williams</td>
<td style="width: 17.2402%; height: 22px;">44.6%</td>
<td style="width: 20.0439%; height: 22px;">41.7%</td>
<td style="width: 13.3685%; height: 22px;">46.9%</td>
<td style="width: 21.112%; height: 22px;">35.2%</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 22px;">
<td style="width: 19.1094%; height: 22px;">Marcus Smart</td>
<td style="width: 17.2402%; height: 22px;">38.9%</td>
<td style="width: 20.0439%; height: 22px;">35.2%</td>
<td style="width: 13.3685%; height: 22px;">37.1%</td>
<td style="width: 21.112%; height: 22px;">31.7%</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 22px;">
<td style="width: 19.1094%; height: 22px;">Payton Pritchard</td>
<td style="width: 17.2402%; height: 22px;">44.0%</td>
<td style="width: 20.0439%; height: 22px;">42.3%</td>
<td style="width: 13.3685%; height: 22px;">57.1%</td>
<td style="width: 21.112%; height: 22px;">37.6%</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 22px;">
<td style="width: 19.1094%; height: 22px;">Derrick White</td>
<td style="width: 17.2402%; height: 22px;">28.8%</td>
<td style="width: 20.0439%; height: 22px;">30.8%</td>
<td style="width: 13.3685%; height: 22px;">42.3%</td>
<td style="width: 21.112%; height: 22px;">27.4%</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
My takeaways: It's pretty clear that Williams is a certified sharpshooter at this point and capable of killing the Bucks if he keeps receiving these open shots. The same goes for Pritchard, though the Bucks seem to know it already. Meanwhile, Horford appears to make more sense as a perimeter gamble, as do Smart and White.
However, let's not forget the importance of location. Just look the stark differences in efficiency from... well, everyone, when they shot from the corners vs. above the break in the regular season. Milwaukee has done its homework. The Celtics have put up 12.5 corner threes per game in the series, shooting a scorching 56.0%. But it's outweighed by their 33.0 above-the-break attempts per game, which have fallen just 34.8% of the time.
The Bucks recognize that eliminating paint chances means dampening the playmaking chops of Tatum, Brown, Smart, White and Robert Williams III. The Celtics understand that they have to bet on their shooters, which can open up close-out attacks, extra passes and more open shots &mdash; as we saw in Game 2.
It's a game of risk analysis within a game of prioritization within a game of tendencies, and that's what makes the NBA Playoffs so captivating.
THE OUTLIERS (a.k.a. other random interesting numbers I found in the void):
<ul>
<li>Staying in the vein of team-wide shot creation, here's an SIS Hoops graphic detailing which remaining squads are getting what most would categorize as ideal attempts:</li>
</ul>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
The value of rim attempts and threes is widely understood, but not all shots within those buckets are created equal. Here&rsquo;s a look at which remaining playoff teams produce the most &ldquo;high-quality&rdquo; shots at the basket and from beyond the arc: <a href="https://t.co/4735x1mF5T">pic.twitter.com/4735x1mF5T</a>
&mdash; SIS Hoops (@SIS_Hoops) <a href="https://twitter.com/SIS_Hoops/status/1521889891809865728?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 4, 2022</a></blockquote>
<ul>
<li>Go read this thread from Div, who expertly explains why the analytics stereotype has already been left in the dust by today's actual NBA:</li>
</ul>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
Really interesting chart. But I think a better way to frame this might be - MoreyBall already won, and so the easy gains from it are already baked in for every team. /mini-thread <a href="https://t.co/wO3W8Yz8H2">https://t.co/wO3W8Yz8H2</a>
&mdash; Div B (@statcenter) <a href="https://twitter.com/statcenter/status/1521488176644304897?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 3, 2022</a></blockquote>

<script src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script>

<ul>
<li>Nekias Duncan whipped out a ton of eye-popping stats in his <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/there-are-no-good-answers-for-the-chris-pauldeandre-ayton-duo" target="_blank" rel="noopener">analysis of the Chris Paul-Deandre Ayton pairing</a>, but it's perhaps best captured with this one:&nbsp;</li>
</ul>
<blockquote>
During the regular season, defenses surrendered a shade under 1.22 points per possession (PPP) to them on direct plays. That isn't just the best mark in the NBA among high-volume pairings (min. 300 picks); they're over 5 points per 100 possessions better than second place (Atlanta's Trae Young-Clint Capela, 1.16 PPP). That Paul-Ayton number has gone up during the postseason (1.24 PPP), a remarkable feat considering they've run 48 more&nbsp;picks against drop than any other duo.
</blockquote>
Definitely go read his breakdown.
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The Bucks have been content to let the Celtics shoot threes, but is this strategy too risky to maintain?

NBA Stats Notebook: The Celtics and Bucks' three-point standoff

After spending more than 20 years working as an international scout and serving as director of international scouting for the Portland Trail Blazers, Jason Filippi continues his scouting journey by evaluating players for BasketballNews.com. Today, Filippi evaluates top European prospect Nikola Jovic of Mega Basket in Serbia.
Nikola Jovic has had a very up and down season. But even as a victim of both his inconsistency and the unrelenting pressure of high expectations, he is still arguably the top international prospect in the upcoming <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/draft" target="_blank" rel="noopener">2022 NBA Draft</a> and a likely first-round pick.
Admittedly, Jovic struggled a bit early in the season, but I think he has improved a lot since then and is slowly starting to live up to expectations. In his defense, people often forget that this was his first real full season at the pro level; he only played in just a handful of games with the senior Mega Basket team at the end of the 2020-21 season.
Jovic was forced into the spotlight as an 18-year-old with huge expectations, and perhaps too much responsibility, for a kid his age. And while it is true that the Mega Basket club he plays for does everything possible to promote their young star prospects and groom them for the NBA Draft, it is also true that he had to face a lot of scrutiny &mdash; along with a significant amount of pressure &mdash; to perform.
(Editor's Note: Over 25 games in the Adriatic League [ABA], Jovic averaged 11.7 points, 4.4 rebounds and 3.4 assists per contest, shooting 42.8% from the field and 35.6% beyond the arc.)
I think that he did an excellent job keeping his focus through it all.
Early in the season, Jovic looked a bit flustered at times, and lost his confidence, swagger and cockiness. Still, he seems to have regained his "mojo" now, as he has been much more assertive over the last couple of months. And, in general, he has seen his role on the team grow since the start of the season. He has also been shooting it better, and is now looking much more confident from three-point range.&nbsp;
<iframe title="YouTube video player" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Q_hDg2VeqZo" width="100%" height="325" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe>
Having scouted Jovic very closely over the past three years, I have witnessed firsthand his career progression, which has been quite impressive. Here is a list of accomplishments he has earned just over the past two seasons:
<ul>
<li aria-level="1">MVP of 2021 Adidas Next Generation Tournament in Belgrade&nbsp;</li>
<li aria-level="1">MVP of 2021 Serbian Junior League Finals&nbsp;</li>
<li aria-level="1">MVP of 2021 Adriatic League ABA U19 Championship;</li>
<li aria-level="1">All-Tournament team at 2021 FIBA World U19 Championships</li>
<li aria-level="1">2021-22 Adriatic League Top Young Prospect</li>
</ul>
In addition, this past February, Jovic also made his debut with the Serbian senior national team in the 2023 FIBA World Cup Qualifiers.&nbsp;
Born and raised in Belgrade, Serbia, Jovic is a very skilled and versatile combo forward with excellent positional size; he stands a legit 6-foot-10 with shoes, albeit with just an average wingspan. He has a long but narrow frame, and will need to add muscle to play at the NBA level. Jovic moves pretty well for his size and is very smooth &mdash; everything seems to come easy. He is not an explosive athlete, but still seems to be able to get to wherever he wants to with the ball. He is a decent leaper who can make athletic plays in space or off the move. However, his lateral quickness is more of a question mark for me, especially from an NBA perspective.
Jovic has a very polished offensive game, and I think his versatile skill set will help him succeed at the NBA level. He has excellent ball skills; he can drive, shoot and pass, and help handle the ball. Although he can be somewhat of a ball-stopper at times, he makes excellent reads with the ball, sees the court well and can serve as a facilitator. I have also seen him make plays for others as a ball-handler in pick-and-roll situations. In addition, he is a good ball-handler in the open court who will routinely lead fast-break offense. He'll eventually be able to help initiate the offense even in the half-court too.
<div class="mceNonEditable"><spike>&nbsp;</spike></div>
One of the keys to Jovic's development has been the fact that he started his basketball career as a guard, but then had a huge growth spurt. So this allowed him to transition to the frontcourt while still retaining the feel and ball skills of a backcourt player, giving him a considerable edge over others in his new position.
Whether Jovic will be able to handle and create off the dribble as easily at the NBA level or not is a legitimate question, but I am willing to give him the benefit of the doubt based on his skill level and feel for the game. He may not have an explosive first step, but he can still get to the rim well enough (in my opinion) thanks to his craftiness, excellent use of fakes and changes of speed and direction. The kid has a fantastic mid-range game also. At the junior level, he showed the ability to exploit favorable mismatches, and displayed some nice post-up moves. Unfortunately, he hasn't been able to do it as much at the pro level thus far. However, if he can gain strength physically, it will help him.
<img style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" src="https://cdn.basketballnews.com/images/story/body/jovic_lg.jpeg" alt="" width="400" height="500" />
One area he will need to improve is his perimeter shooting, which can be very erratic. Although he is a better shooter than his current three-point percentage would suggest, Jovic is far from the type of knockdown shooter he will need to be in order to take his game to the next level. His shot is a bit "rigid,'' and he will need to tweak his mechanics to make it more fluid. He also tends not to always follow through well. On the positive side, Jovic is working on developing a nice step-back move and a side-step move.&nbsp;
As good as he is on offense, Jovic still has a lot of work to do on the defensive end, and this will be a key factor in determining his potential success at the NBA level. At the moment, he struggles to defend both forward spots &mdash; even at the European level. He will have to bulk up more to play effectively at the 4, which will likely become his long-term default position at the NBA level, as he lacks the necessary physicality to be a 5. He currently struggles too much to defend the wing at the pro level; he has just average lateral quickness and often plays too stiff &mdash; he needs to learn to bend his knees more.
Jovic has been drawing comparisons to many current and former NBA players like Hedo Turkoglu, Dario Saric, Deni Avdija and even Joe Ingles. However, the one player he reminds me of the most is Danilo Gallinari, and I think his potential career arc could be very similar.
I have followed both players since they were 16 years old, and have noticed remarkable similarities in these two at the same ages. Both were guards before growth spurts who kept those guard-like ball skills, and were mediocre long-range shooters at a young age, but continuously improved. Gallinari has become a great shooter, so I don't see why Jovic can't become the same soon. They also faced similar defensive challenges at the pro level, as both often played too stiff and had just average foot speed as big wings. And in addition, they were both thrown into the spotlight at age-18 and faced similar challenges resulting from the pressure of high expectations.
It may take him some time to adjust his game to the NBA, but I am sure that Nikola Jovic will figure things out and enjoy a long NBA career! 
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Jason Filippi shares his in-depth evaluation of top 2022 NBA Draft prospect Nikola Jovic of Mega Basket in Serbia.

2022 NBA Draft: An in-depth evaluation of Nikola Jovic's game

Luka Doncic and his teammates remind Jason Kidd a little of the last Dallas Mavericks team to advance in the playoffs.
The coach now was the point guard then when the Mavericks had split the first four games of the 2011 playoffs against the Portland Trail Blazers. He recalls people thinking Dallas might not even get out of that series.
Instead, the Mavericks won the next two games and never looked back. They swept the two-time defending NBA champion Lakers in the next round and ended up winning the title themselves by beating Miami in the NBA Finals.
This year, Dallas again started 2-2, then won two straight <a href="https://apnews.com/article/utah-jazz-dallas-mavericks-nba-sports-donovan-mitchell-fb5fd38fade2be4e78e6676d735f2eec">to get by the Utah Jazz with a 98-96 victory</a> on Thursday night. The current Mavericks don't have the experience and may not have the talent of his title team, but Kidd said they are a special group.
&ldquo;They truly believe, small or big &mdash; we&rsquo;re not very big &mdash; but they find a way to win and they have fun doing it,&rdquo; Kidd said. &ldquo;And hopefully this gives us confidence going against the best team in the NBA right now.&rdquo;
That would be the Phoenix Suns, the No. 1 seed after finishing 64-18 for the NBA's best record. They also <a href="https://apnews.com/article/phoenix-suns-new-orleans-pelicans-nba-sports-playoffs-70682f2d4f433976ed229522060672a8">wrapped up their series with a Game 6 victory on Thursday in New Orleans</a> and will host the Mavericks in Game 1 of the Western Conference semifinals on Monday.
&ldquo;I think we&rsquo;re going to have to play our best basketball,&rdquo; Doncic said. &ldquo;They were in the finals last year, No. 1 team this year, so it&rsquo;s going to be really tough. The crowd really gets them going, so I think we&rsquo;re going to have to play our best basketball to beat them.&rdquo;
Doncic always plays well in the postseason, but it hadn't resulted in a series victory yet. The Mavericks lost to the Los Angeles Clippers in each of the last two years, even though he averaged more than 31 points in both.
The Mavs had to open this series without their All-Star, who missed the first three games with a calf strain sustained on the final day of the regular season. Once he returned, he averaged 29 points and 10.7 rebounds.
Unlike those previous series, when it appeared sometimes Doncic had to do it all alone, he shared the scoring load against the Jazz. Jalen Brunson followed his best NBA season &mdash; and set himself up to cash in nicely in the offseason &mdash; by averaging 27.8 points.
That came after he didn't play in the 2020 series and played poorly in the final four games last year as the Mavs blew a 2-0 lead.
&ldquo;Pretty much I&rsquo;m over the past two years,&rdquo; Brunson said. &ldquo;This year is different for me and looking forward to continuing it and trying to help my team win.&rdquo;
With Doncic, Brunson and midseason acquisition Spencer Dinwiddie, the Mavs' strength is their three-guard lineup. Still, Dallas rarely looks explosive offensively.
Instead, it's a defense that allowed 104.7 points, just behind Boston for best in the NBA, that carried the Mavericks to a 52-30 record and the No. 4 seed in the West. Now they'll see what they can do against the Suns.
&ldquo;We&rsquo;re not going to be a fancy group,&rdquo; Kidd said. &ldquo;We don&rsquo;t have a lot of big names &mdash; Luka&rsquo;s the one that gets the majority of the attention &mdash; but JB, Dorian (Finney-Smith) and Reggie (Bullock) and those guys really, truly believe in team, and that&rsquo;s what helped us win this series.&rdquo;

“I think we’re going to have to play our best basketball,” Luka Doncic said of the Mavericks drawing Phoenix in the second round.

Mavs move on to Suns, reminding Kidd a bit of their past

It's the fourth quarter of Game 3 between the Boston Celtics and Brooklyn Nets last Saturday. Boston carries a slim 81-76 advantage with 9:30 left in the contest. Jayson Tatum has drawn the Nets' attention, and though he would ultimately finish with 39 points, had made just 8 of 21 shot attempts through the first three frames.&nbsp;
Jaylen Brown decides to take over.
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In quick succession, Brown attacks Goran Dragic in transition, then cooks Blake Griffin with a step-back three and a downhill drive. Just over a minute later, he powers through Patty Mills before stopping on a dime for a pull-up two-pointer. Brown is radiating assurance in these two minutes, as he did throughout most of the series.
The 25-year-old posted four nearly identical box-score lines in four straight games, averaging 22.5 points, 4.3 assists and 5.3 rebounds per game. Those are great base numbers alone, and Brown has come alive in the Celtics' late-game surges. He's tied for the third-most points per game (8.5) in the fourth quarter among postseason players with at least four games played.
Entering the series, Brown's offensive matchup was a key battle to watch. Nekias Duncan and Steve Jones Jr. <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gweRzoG1hbU&amp;list=PLpeGCCkfwemUZR0BjTWx95q2MQzNDY6s_&amp;index=9" target="_blank" rel="noopener">touched on it in their Dunker Spot preview</a>. With top defenders Bruce Brown and Kevin Durant typically focused on Tatum, the Nets would be at a severe on-paper disadvantage placing just about anyone on Brown in man-to-man coverage and on straight switches. That translated to the court.&nbsp;
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First, it's about the bag. Brown's handle has so vastly improved from his early years in the league that fans can watch video-game-like combos and expect the young star to pull them off. Brown shakes the smaller Seth Curry with a spin move, plants his weight on his left foot and rocks back for what becomes an open jumper. Simply filthy. Then, you add in immovable upper-body strength and balance, and get an elite downhill scorer.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
Jaylen Brown sparked the final takeover run for the Celtics last night because he just couldn't be stopped attacking the basket. The contortion and balance on some of these... whew <a href="https://t.co/AgXUHTbhzJ">pic.twitter.com/AgXUHTbhzJ</a>
&mdash; Ethan Fuller (@ethman43) <a href="https://twitter.com/ethman43/status/1517141065496625153?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 21, 2022</a></blockquote>

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Brown made 13 of his 20 field goal attempts on drives to the basket in the series. That 65.0% clip is tied for sixth among players who have tried at least 10 such shots this postseason. That's a small sample, but it's reinforced by his 51.3% rate in the regular season, which was good for 20th among 83 players who attempted at least 3 driving shots per game.&nbsp;
So far these playoffs, Brown has taken a whopping 38% of his playoff attempts within 4 feet of the hoop, in the 94th percentile among wings, per Cleaning the Glass. Is that partially due to Brooklyn's suspect perimeter defenders? Sure, but Brown has also capitalized on the hand he's been dealt.
The Celtics are helping make his life easier too. In Game 3, they slipped in some two-man actions with Brown and Tatum, and gave Brown some early off-ball screens to get him running.
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In the above reel, you'll see Brown slip his down screen in the first clip, catching Brooklyn off guard and creating a wide-open half-court dunk.
In the second clip, Tatum gives Brown the down screen for him to cut with; this time Brooklyn switches well and forces a missed floater. Boston tried a similar play with Brown and Daniel Theis in Game 4; Brown sealed off Curry behind him and took his time against a switching Andre Drummond to nail a mid-range shot.
Then, in the third clip, Theis screens for Brown early, putting Curry behind on the handoff. Then, it's up to Brown's aformentioned strength to finish over Nic Claxton.
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Perhaps the most promising wrinkle in Brown's recent play, though, has been his court vision on these drives. His 1.5 assist-per-game average via drives is tied for eighth in the postseason. The types of reads have varied greatly, from a strong-side kick to the corner, to a dump-off to a big, to a mind-blogging outlet pass.
Regardless of the method, Brown has consistently recognized where the Nets are helping on his drives and passed accordingly. Sometimes his reads are a bit too bold and result in turnovers. I appreciate the ambition and the pressure Brown applies, even if some mistakes slip through.
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Not a make but Jaylen Brown is showing the full arsenal as an offensive catalyst right now <a href="https://t.co/sDdJHt5iXj">pic.twitter.com/sDdJHt5iXj</a>
&mdash; Ethan Fuller (@ethman43) <a href="https://twitter.com/ethman43/status/1518638099210899457?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 25, 2022</a></blockquote>

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We haven't even seen Brown fully tap into his ability as a perimeter shot-maker yet. He's drilled some ballsy step-back threes, but has also been prone to slumps and is shooting 21.1% from deep through one round of the playoffs. I expect Brown to find his footing as long as he keeps positioning himself for open looks.
It's one thing to bombard smaller matchups against a smaller Nets defense. Can Brown match the aggression against bigger units that Boston could face in Milwaukee or Chicago?
Taking control in transition is a safe way to establish a pace. The Celtics ran all over Brooklyn in the first round, averaging a postseason-high 1.46 points per possession and 24.0 points per game on transition plays. Brown's average of 5.0 transition possessions per game is the second-highest of any player this postseason behind only Giannis Antetokounmpo.
With Tatum doing his thing, Jaylen Brown should continue to receive more favorable matchups as the Celtics move through the playoffs. His responsibility is to keep ratcheting up the pressure on opposing defenses.&nbsp;
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Jaylen Brown was a wrecking ball as an attacking presence for the Celtics in the first round of the playoffs.

Jaylen Brown feasted on his matchup advantage against the Nets

Luka Doncic had 33 points and 13 rebounds in his first home playoff game coming off a calf injury and the Dallas Mavericks routed the Utah Jazz 102-77 on Monday night for a 3-2 lead in their first-round playoff series.
Doncic made his series debut in Game 4 at Utah, when the Jazz scored the last five points in the final 31 seconds for a one-point win that evened the series.
After the first four games were decided by eight points or less, Game 5 was never really close, thanks to Utah&rsquo;s nearly six-minute scoreless drought in the second quarter that fueled a 22-4 Dallas run on the way to a 52-36 halftime lead.
Game 6 is Thursday night in Salt Lake City, with the Jazz regaining their formidable home-court edge, but facing the long odds of just 18% of teams winning a series after dropping the fifth game when the teams split the first four.
The Mavericks haven&rsquo;t advanced in the postseason since winning the 2011 championship. Utah is in the playoffs for the sixth consecutive year, but hasn&rsquo;t gone past the second round.
Jordan Clarkson scored 20 points and Rudy Gobert added 17 points and 11 rebounds in the lowest-scoring game for the Jazz since they lost by 50 at Dallas (118-68) on Nov. 14, 2018. They were 3 of 30 from 3-point range (10%) and shot 38% overall.
Donovan Mitchell, who averaged 30 points in the first four games, scored just nine and missed all seven of his 3-pointers before limping to the locker room holding the area around his left knee in the fourth quarter.
The frustration boiled over for Utah when Hassan Whiteside was ejected following a hard foul on Doncic in the fourth quarter.
Whiteside was assessed two technical fouls after shoving Dorian Finney-Smith and going nose-to-nose with Reggie Bullock as coaches from both sides frantically tried to keep players separated. Finney-Smith and Bullock also got technicals, and Bullock was ejected because it was his second of the game.
Jalen Brunson, who carried most of the offensive load for Dallas when Doncic was sidelined, scored 24 points. Finney-Smith added 13, and Dwight Powell got the crowd going early with all eight of his points on 4-of-4 shooting in the first.
Doncic, his left calf covered in a black wrap under white leggings, kept a raucous crowd rolling with several nifty moves and high-arcing 3-pointers.
The first highlight came late in the first half when Doncic drove all the way to the rim with Gobert guarding him, stopped and faked the 7-foot-1 center several times before turning his back to the basket and spinning a reverse layup off the glass and in as Gobert fouled him.
The exclamation point was in the third quarter, when Doncic hit consecutive 3s for a 74-46 lead, doing a shimmy in front of the fans to his left after the second one went in. The 23-year-old sensation swished another 3 for a 79-46 lead right after blocking Jordan Clarkson&rsquo;s shot from deep.
Doncic left to a standing ovation after committing a foul on purpose to stop the game with a 29-point Dallas lead in the fourth quarter.
TIP-INS
Jazz: Gobert, who was fined $25,000 for using profanity in a live TV interview after Utah&rsquo;s Game 4, was serenaded by fans several times with a chant involving a less offensive profane word. One of the chants came during free throws, when Gobert made one of two. ... After dominating the boards in the first two games, Utah has slowly surrendered its edge as the series has progressed. The Mavs outrebounded them 49-40.
Mavericks: G Frank Ntilikina was available for the first time in the series after being out with a non-COVID-19 illness. ... NFL quarterbacks Patrick Mahomes of Kansas City and Arizona&rsquo;s Kyler Murray were seven seats apart on the first row opposite the Utah bench. Troy Aikman, a three-time Super Bowl winner for Dallas in the 1990s, attended along with former Miami Heat star Dwyane Wade, who has an ownership stake in the Jazz.&nbsp;

Luka Doncic had 33 points and 13 rebounds in his first home playoff game coming off a calf injury and the Mavericks routed the Jazz.

Doncic scores 33, Mavs rout Jazz 102-77 for 3-2 series lead

Alex Caruso was <a href="https://youtu.be/H7E8OXQI4Ak" target="_blank" rel="noopener">so good as a defender at Texas A&amp;M</a> that he made it to the NBA despite never averaging 10 points per game... as a college guard!
In this day and age, where it&rsquo;s commonplace for Caruso&rsquo;s positional peers to be 20-point-per-game threats on a nightly basis, the 6-foot-5 Aggies alum found the NBA pipeline the long and unsexy way.
We &mdash; the societal we &mdash; haven&rsquo;t figured out how to measure defense through analytics in a way that unquestionably captures one&rsquo;s effectiveness, especially regarding guards. We&rsquo;re in a better place today than when Caruso was in college, but we still struggle to do so. This is why watching basketball is essential. (And sure, the eyes can sometimes lie depending on the beholder too.)
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But when he balled at A&amp;M between 2012 and 2016 as a four-year starter, he was never a go-to offensive option. Caruso was a two-time All-SEC defender and an astute floor general with a suspect hairline (it's coming for us all, man), coach-like leadership and the classic &ldquo;sneaky athleticism&rdquo; tag we bestow on our tall, white homies
Caruso averaged 8.0 points, 4.7 assists, and 2.0 steals during his time at College Station, sporting .455/.340/.685 shooting splits and a Defensive Rating of 93.4 with 8.6 Defensive Win Shares and a 6.1 Defensive Box Plus-Minus.
Offensively, as a senior, Caruso was the fourth option on a Sweet-16-bound Aggies team (once ranked No. 5 in the country), behind future NBA talents like Danuel House Jr., Jalen Jones and Tyler Davis.
(And yet, he helped engineer one of the nuttiest March Madness comebacks you&rsquo;ll ever see.)
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Caruso went undrafted and was one of the 64 college seniors to participate in the 2016 Portsmouth Invitational Tournament, which also hosted Bryn Forbes, Dorian Finney-Smith and Abdel Nader among others. An entire season passed before Caruso could make his NBA debut in the 2017-18 campaign, and it wasn&rsquo;t until 2019-20 that he established himself as an NBA rotation guy for a full run.
Caruso played 106 G League games between 2016 and 2019, which included All-G-League Second Team and All-G-League Defensive honors.
So, in the Chicago Bulls' 114-110 win over the Milwaukee Bucks in Game 2, it served as no surprise that Caruso was instrumental in a much-needed victory. The win evened the series at one game apiece, taking advantage of a night where Khris Middleton sprained his MCL and Bobby Portis left with an eye abrasion (hold your jokes). Even still, the Bucks fought back despite being down double-figures for the bulk of the second half, and, without Caruso, this would be a 2-0 series in favor of Milwaukee.
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The Bulls led 87-80 heading into the fourth, and if you pull up a box score, you&rsquo;ll see that Caruso finished shooting 1 of 3 (all threes) with 2 assists and 2 rebounds in over 10 minutes of play in the final period.
If you look at his 38-minute stat line for the night, Caruso had 9 points, 10 assists, 2 steals, 2 boards and 2 blocks, while shooting 3 of 7 from deep (3 of 8 overall). His plus-minus? A game-high plus-16. Like all other metrics, it's an imperfect measurement, but in this instance, it made total sense if you watched.
The dude isn&rsquo;t an All-Star, isn&rsquo;t flashy and doesn&rsquo;t produce gaudy numbers &mdash; which causes people to easily overlook certain players in this age of highlights, fantasy, gambling and "hoooooperzzz!" &mdash; but Caruso is a straight dawg who makes winning plays.
Let&rsquo;s focus on some.
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0:24 &mdash; It's a two-man defense with Patrick Williams against Middleton and Giannis Antetokounmpo orchestrating a screen-and-roll. Caruso pests Middleton until sending him over for the switch and cuts off the errant pass despite being knocked off balance due to the screen. It&rsquo;s a break and easy two the other way. This is like when, in football, you &mdash; a defensive back &mdash; lose sight of the ball on a go-route and just throw your hands up, so the receiver needs to work extra hard to secure the catch. It doesn&rsquo;t always work, but for Caruso, this time, it did. Activity, activity, activity.
1:17 &mdash; Caruso is matched up with Jrue Holiday at around 16 feet out, near the right wing. Holiday tries to face up, and as he does, he&rsquo;s attempting to read the floor and eye the rim while contemplating his move. Caruso&rsquo;s in the dude&rsquo;s grill the whole time and shoves his right palm as close to Holiday&rsquo;s face as possible without drawing contact, but keeps his left hand active and swipes once Holiday allows an opening for the ball to be stolen. Caruso never stopped being attentive, and wasn&rsquo;t even trying to steal the ball the entire time; he just capitalized on an opening as a smart perimeter defender would.
1:59 &mdash; You just love this. Caruso takes the challenge of a taller, bigger Middleton, who tries to impose his will on an attack. Caruso gets backed down, but &mdash; and this is the key &mdash; is not watching the ball. (I could totally rant right now about how too many players are watching the ball or their opponents eyes on defense, and how it's is an easy way to constantly lose someone due to being easily susceptable to fakes. But I won&rsquo;t get into why keeping your eyes on someone&rsquo;s chest/waste is better. Not today!) Anyway, Caruso perfectly times Middleton&rsquo;s spin and cleanly strips the ball loose. Some coaches might say you&rsquo;re better off swiping up than down to lessen your chances of fouling, but it worked here. He even finished the play once Middleton recovered and forced the pass.
2:31 &mdash; Look at this help block on Brook Lopez. Need I say more?
3:04 &mdash; And finally, we have the game-sealing play. The Bulls are up 114-109 with 10 seconds left, and the Bucks are desperate. Caruso tries to better position himself to outrebound Giannis, but doesn&rsquo;t &mdash; understandably. Still, as Giannis grabs the offensive board, Caruso holds the matchup and immediately tries smothering him. Giannis makes the mistake of pushing his arms/elbows forward, and Caruso drops down to smartly draw the charge, knowing he wouldn&rsquo;t get the block and would risk fouling if he went for the steal. Game over.
Here&rsquo;s a Caruso double-team, for good measure, courtesy of <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/podcasts/the-dunker-spot" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Dunker Spot's Steve Jones Jr.</a>
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Caruso causing havoc, great timing on the double here. The shift to throwing bodies at not just Giannis but Jrue/Middleton is key. Bucks can&rsquo;t find a rhythm in 1/2 court. <a href="https://t.co/585MRAXZe6">pic.twitter.com/585MRAXZe6</a>
&mdash; Steve Jones Jr. (@stevejones20) <a href="https://twitter.com/stevejones20/status/1517158473368276992?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 21, 2022</a></blockquote>

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There&rsquo;s a reason why Los Angeles Laker fans probably miss Caruso horribly right now. Watching him help lead the Bulls in a road win over the defending champs, while their team presumably is doing the same, can't be easy.
You need winning plays in winning time, and Alex Caruso gives you those.
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Bryan Fonseca examines Alex Caruso's huge contribution to the Bulls' Game 2 win in Milwaukee and why it shouldn't surprise us.

Winning plays in winning time: This is who Alex Caruso has always been

Projected lottery pick Shaedon Sharpe announced that he's entering the 2002 NBA Draft rather than returning to Kentucky.
Initially, Sharpe enrolled at Kentucky for the spring semester in order to practice with the team and then play the following season. But now, the 18-year-old has an opportunity to be a top pick in the 2022 NBA Draft without playing a minute of college basketball.
Matt Babcock, our senior NBA Draft analyst, got a chance to scout Sharpe a few months ago and was impressed:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
Shaedon Sharpe is the 6th pick on the <a href="https://twitter.com/basketbllnews?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@basketbllnews</a> 2022 NBA Mock Draft, so I can't say that I'm surprised that he entered the draft. It's just too good of an opportunity to pass up. I had the chance to watch Sharpe in Kentucky a couple of months ago. Here are some clips: <a href="https://t.co/fp4URD8TC6">pic.twitter.com/fp4URD8TC6</a>
&mdash; Matt Babcock (@MattBabcock11) <a href="https://twitter.com/MattBabcock11/status/1517191908451250176?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 21, 2022</a></blockquote>

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&ldquo;Shaedon Sharpe's situation in regards to the 2022 NBA Draft is interesting. On the one hand, he's an incredibly explosive athlete with impressive physical tools and after last year's AAU circuit, he proved to be a dangerous shot-maker with range and a knack to put the ball in the hole," Babcock said. "Subsequently, he was widely regarded as one of the top prospects in his high-school class. However, he finished high school early and enrolled at Kentucky midway through the season but did not play. As a result, NBA teams have had limited exposure to evaluate Sharpe, making his current draft value hard to pinpoint.
"Luckily, I do not have the same limitations as NBA scouts regarding what high-school events I'm allowed to attend, so I have seen Sharpe more than NBA scouts. My evaluation of Sharpe leads me to think that after teams gain a better grasp of him as a prospect throughout the pre-draft process, he will be selected high. I do not expect him to get out of the Top 10.&rdquo;
In BasketballNews.com's most recent <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/draft" target="_blank" rel="noopener">2022 NBA Mock Draft</a>, Sharpe is projected to go No. 6 overall to the Portland Trail Blazers.

In BasketballNews.com's most recent 2022 NBA Mock Draft, Sharpe is projected to go No. 6 overall to the Portland Trail Blazers.

Projected lottery pick Shaedon Sharpe enters 2022 NBA Draft

This year has been a great reinforcer of the enjoyment of the process. The NBA season is 82 games, far more than many fans and observers alike would like there to be, and I can't blame them. (For the sake of player health and longevity, I'd love to see the season shortened.)
After a close loss to the Atlanta Hawks on Friday night in the Play-In Tournament, the Cleveland Cavaliers were ousted from the playoffs entirely, meaning their season had come to an end.
"End? No, the journey doesn't end here. Death is just another path, one that we all must take." 
- <a href="https://youtu.be/Rag_9J1ZC2g" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Gandalf</a> 
- Me watching the Cavs
Pull up Basketball-Reference, and you'll find the Cavs with a 44-38 record and the No. 8 seed in the Eastern Conference. A solid record at the end of the season. A good one even, if taking the past year into account. I was of the opinion that the Cavs might jockey with Play-In positioning at points this year, but ultimately would fall short of being a playoff team and take a meaningful few steps as a young squad.
That's what makes the regular season so precious to me. Watching the game-to-game, week-to-week evolution of this group was a special endeavor this year. I relish growth, persistence and consistency; the Cavs met all three needs with gumption. This is not a "watch the games bro" take, but rather an "I'm so thankful I got to watch the games bro" exclamation. Deducing what this team was this season down to its final record is a disservice.
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Just 11 games in, the Cavs lost Collin Sexton for the season. A month-and-a-half later, they lost sixth man and backup point guard Ricky Rubio as well. You might look at his efficiency or lack thereof and question his impact, but Rubio gave the Cavs' bench a verve that they were <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/mulling-over-6-options-for-the-cavs-with-ricky-rubio-out-for-the-year" target="_blank" rel="noopener">never able to replicate</a>.
All three frontcourt starters missed significant stretches of time, with Jarrett Allen's finger fracture throwing the team into a tailspin shortly after the All-Star Break
None of the primary starters this season played 70 games.
This was a team that was 35-21 a week before the break festivities in Cleveland, legitimately fighting for (and maintaining) home-court advantage in the playoffs for a significant stretch of the regular season.
The way the Cavs got there was even more enticing.
The first time I saw that J.B. Bickerstaff was starting Lauri Markkanen at the 3, I was vexed. I understood why, but thoroughly questioned its viability. Even prior to that, I was extremely critical of the Markkanen sign-and-trade in the offseason. Well, I was just flat-out wrong!
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Big to Big to Big <a href="https://t.co/5WlMaBYmoe">pic.twitter.com/5WlMaBYmoe</a>
&mdash; Mark Schindler (@MG_Schindler) <a href="https://twitter.com/MG_Schindler/status/1460317639629234180?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 15, 2021</a></blockquote>

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The three-7-footer lineup the Cavs started and leaned upon as their bread and butter all year was a delight. The big-to-big-to-big passing was joyous and impactful. It will be interesting to find out whether teams try to replicate a jumbo lineup without capturing the essence of why it worked. Having three players who all have size, mobility and skill is not an easy combination to find.&nbsp;
Markkanen's offense was up and down at times this year, but his defense should be lauded. He was a very rough defender his whole time in Chicago, and I was taken aback early this season by his effort and attentiveness &mdash; which never really waned by my eye. His game against Atlanta was phenomenal, even if marred by a late game turnover. Again, process, process, process.
Jarrett Allen earned an All-Star nod through his all-around improvements, becoming a legitimately switchable big man and the anchor of the Cavs' defense in the paint as their primary rim-protector. The offense really suffered without his gravity as a roller and his screening ability when he was out. He found new levels of aggression that he flashed late last year, and made it a consistent staple this year.
Allen's presence and Markkanen's strides allowed Evan Mobley to assert himself. His ground coverage is breathtaking, and it enabled a ridiculously aggressive, effective and quirky 3-2 zone to bend the court dimensions to the the Cavs' will.
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Evan Mobley <a href="https://t.co/hN41CbufIb">pic.twitter.com/hN41CbufIb</a>
&mdash; Mark Schindler (@MG_Schindler) <a href="https://twitter.com/MG_Schindler/status/1452408998926376968?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 24, 2021</a></blockquote>

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It should not be possible to cover the rim to the arc the way he does, but Mobley just does.
The flashes he showcased throughout the year as a face-up scorer and passer were wild, and lend credence to his exciting future as one of the brightest young stars in basketball.
I won't quibble with anyone who voted for another first-year player as Rookie of the Year; there are so many different ways to view, appreciate and evaluate the game. This <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-stats-notebook-fighting-narratives-in-the-rookie-of-the-year-race" target="_blank" rel="noopener">rookie class is incredible</a>. I am still there with Mobley winning it.
Darius Garland quite literally was Cleveland's offense at points this year when the team was depleted. His off-the-dribble ease and marksmanship open up his game as one of the best passers in the sport. In spite of the finish to the year, he and Allen were rightful All-Stars at the time. Garland's growth over the past two years, along with Mobley's ascension, provides the foundation of one of the more intriguing young cores in the NBA. There's still a great deal for the pair to grow both individually and together!
Kevin Love had an awesome bounce-back season, warranting Sixth Man of the Year buzz before the Cavs (and he) tailed off down the stretch. Cedi Osman is still an absolute bundle of chaos, but Cleveland was better because of him, putting together his most efficient season since his rookie year.
The Cavs will keep their first-round pick in the 2022 NBA Draft (14th-best odds), as the pick will not convey to Indiana due to lottery protections (part of the Caris LeVert trade). Given how the season ended, this is a silver lining. Cleveland needs wing depth and more shot creation.&nbsp;
I <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/enjoying-the-little-things-of-the-nba-season" target="_blank" rel="noopener">wrote about Isaac Okoro</a> and his impact earlier this season, highlighting the little things he honed in on to imprint himself on both ends. He played 34 minutes combined in the two Play-In matchups and took 6 shots. I don't have an answer now &mdash; it's something I want to dive into further in the offseason &mdash; but the Cavs really need Okoro to make significant strides as an offensive player.
I do think some have been too quick to cast off the positive things he has done and what he can provide, but Okoro's current limitations were put on display in those contests. If he runs ball-screens, the defense goes under and forces a pass-out-and-reset or a shot off the dribble. If he's spaced off the ball, he's left open in the corner. The defense is really, really good, but the offense needs to come along.
Speaking of offense, the Caris LeVert trade was made with the purpose of bringing in another shot-creator and offensive engine. I am so interested to see what happens between LeVert and the Cavs this off-season.
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Caris LeVert on the importance of a contract extension with <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Cavs?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Cavs</a>: "Yeah, this is where I want to be. They know that. The front office knows that, my teammates know that. So I don't know what's gonna happen with that contract extension, but I know where my heart is."
&mdash; Kelsey Russo (@kelseyyrusso) <a href="https://twitter.com/kelseyyrusso/status/1515360464263385098?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 16, 2022</a></blockquote>

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I understood why the Cavs made the trade at the time, going in on this season to try and make a real playoff run without fully hindering their intermediate future and flexibility. I just really struggled to be into the move from a personnel perspective, and I'll have even more questions once/if Collin Sexton returns next year.
I have no idea what to think about Sexton's future in Cleveland. He is a really good player with some flaws that can be a bit exacerbated playing alongside another small guard. His numbers were down and his shot wasn't right to start the year, but he was playing some of the best team basketball of his career to start the year. I don't know what the answer is for Cavs president Koby Altman, general manager Mike Gansey and the front-office brain trust, but they have a lot of decisions to make over the next few months as they continue to shape this team.
Hard decisions are a good thing! To look at where the Cavs were two years ago at 19-46 with questions about their infrastructure to where they're at now... that's pretty good!
The way they handle those head-scratching conundrums over the summer will ultimately mold their future playoff aspirations and viability. The 2021-22 Cleveland campaign was one of the more unexpected and exciting runs that had some unfortunate road bumps.
But the point remains that the future of the Cavs is much brighter today than it was eight months ago, and where this team is at by this time next year will have been set up by the trials and tribulations of this year.
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The Cavaliers' season came to an end last night, but their year as a whole was one for the books.

Recognizing the Cavs for who they were, could've been and may soon be

<a href="https://apnews.com/article/memphis-grizzlies-los-angeles-clippers-nba-sports-playoffs-35a0114385d2d6396a21e678c96a4234">All-Star guard Ja Morant</a> believes one big difference between last postseason and these playoffs for Memphis: The Grizzlies now have playoff grit.
&ldquo;Last year we were playing in. This year, we&rsquo;re not,&rdquo; Morant said.
The Grizzlies are young, talented, deep and more than a bit confident after going from playing their way to the Western Conference's eighth seed a year ago <a href="https://apnews.com/article/memphis-grizzlies-san-antonio-spurs-los-angeles-lakers-nba-sports-38c93070fbdf7caf3e1094db7ee7671d">to the No. 2 seed</a> &mdash; along with the NBA's second-best record &mdash; this season.
&ldquo;Now, having that experience, I pretty much feel like we&rsquo;re ready,&rdquo; Morant said. "Not only on taking the leap to make it to the second round, but to the Finals.&rdquo;
Bold talk for a franchise that has never started a postseason seeded this high.
This is the third time ever that Memphis will start a playoff series at home, the first with this next generation. The Grizzlies start their best-of-seven, first-round series Saturday hosting the seventh-seeded Minnesota Timberwolves in a matchup of the NBA's top scoring teams who also are two of its youngest.
Minnesota center Karl Anthony-Towns believes this is a great matchup for the NBA. This series features two of the league's most exciting, young players in Morant and Timberwolves forward Anthony Edwards, and Towns said these could be the NBA's next dynasties.
&ldquo;We&rsquo;ll go out there and make the ratings, and we&rsquo;ll make the show happen," Towns said.
Whoever tunes in should be treated to a fast-paced basketball game as both teams like to get up and down the floor quickly.
Minnesota led the NBA averaging 115.9 points a game with Memphis second with a franchise-record 115.6 points. Memphis led the league in fast-break points (17.7) with Minnesota fourth (15.2). Memphis was first in second-chance points, Minnesota fourth. The Timberwolves led the NBA in forced turnovers with the Grizzlies third.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s going to be a great series, a great physical match up for us, a great test for us," Timberwolves forward Jarred Vanderbilt said.
EXPERIENCE MATTERS
A year ago, it was the Grizzlies playing for their postseason lives beating San Antonio, then having to win at <a href="https://apnews.com/article/san-antonio-spurs-golden-state-warriors-memphis-grizzlies-nba-sports-1596f4e78133a45c597426853587e67e">Golden State to earn the eighth seed</a>. They even won <a href="https://apnews.com/article/memphis-grizzlies-utah-jazz-nba-sports-89240812eb4dc5501110af498a68815f">Game 1</a> at Utah before losing the next four in a big learning experience for the Grizzlies.
Attention to detail is another area of growth. Morant said the Grizzlies are able to make adjustments during games rather than dwell on something for days at a time. He also sees the Grizzlies as being locked in as well on preparation, knowing what's required in the postseason.
This is Minnesota's second playoff berth since reaching the 2004 Western Conference Finals, and the Timberwolves haven't won a series since that postseason.
PAINT THE TOWNS
The <a href="https://apnews.com/article/los-angeles-clippers-minnesota-timberwolves-nba-sports-anthony-edwards-eeb23f11c4002d7d2f48dffeac32dcc9">Timberwolves managed to beat the Clippers in the play-in game</a> despite one of the worst games of Towns&rsquo; career. He shot 0 for 7 from the floor in the first half and fouled out halfway through the fourth quarter with the Clippers using multiple defenders to disrupt his rhythm.
The Grizzlies are likely to lean on Jaren Jackson Jr. and burly Steven Adams to defend the two-time All-Star center.
Towns said he needs to play smarter, particularly if he finds himself in foul trouble again.
&ldquo;If that&rsquo;s how the adversity for me is going to be this time around, I&rsquo;ve got to be very disciplined in showing my hands and just praying a lot and putting a lot of holy water on,&rdquo; Towns said.
DEFENSIVE GRIZZLIES
So much of the Grizzlies' offense comes from their defense, and they were pretty good in several categories. Memphis not only led the NBA in rebounds, blocks and steals per game, it became the first team to lead the league in those three categories in the same season since they became official stats in 1973-74.
LOW KEY D-LO
Towns is an high-strung player with a tendency to let officiating and the opponent get under his skin. Edwards embraces the spotlight and typically plays his best when the energy in the arena is pulsating. Patrick Beverley is the ultimate agitator, a motormouth and emotional leader.
That makes D&rsquo;Angelo Russell and his cool factor all the more important to the Timberwolves, in addition to his shot-making and slick-passing abilities. Russell had 29 points in the play-in game, and he had a season-high 37 points in the last matchup with Memphis, a win by Minnesota on Feb. 24.
BROOKS' FACTOR
Memphis and Minnesota split the regular season series 2-2 with the home team winning each game. Memphis played all four games without forward Dillon Brooks. Now the Grizzlies' best perimeter defender is fully healthy and available after averaging a career-high 18.4 points a game along with 1.1 steals this season.
___
AP Sports Writer Dave Campbell and AP Freelance Writer Clay Bailey contributed.

The Grizzlies start their best-of-seven, first-round series Saturday hosting the seventh-seeded Timberwolves.

Experienced Grizzlies feeling confident hosting Timberwolves

Jackson Frank breaks down the film and collaborates with Nekias Duncan and Mark Schindler to pick the 2021-22 All-NBA teams.

2021-22 All-NBA Teams: Praising this season's 15 best players

Tuesday marks the anniversary of Jamal Murray tearing his left ACL and the Denver Nuggets say it's still up to their star point guard whether he's ready to return for the playoffs or wait until next season.
For several weeks Murray has been putting on a show at practice and in pregame warmups, but he's still not confident in his surgically repaired knee he injured last April 12.
&ldquo;Obviously, he's not there yet,&rdquo; coach Michael Malone said before tip-off of the team's regular season finale against the Lakers on Sunday night. &ldquo;That's a real big mental hurdle to make ... he has good days and he has days that are not as good. And that's been very challenging for him mentally."
Malone said the organization will continue to leave it up to Murray to decide when he's ready to return to the lineup &ldquo;whether that's in the playoffs or that's next season.&rdquo;
Fans attending the game Sunday night were hopeful that they'd see Murray knocking off the rust in a low-intensity game against the Lakers, who are without their star, LeBron James (ankle).
Despite dunking a few times at practice Saturday, when he was in a jovial mood, and <a href="https://twitter.com/AP_Sports">sat down with Malone </a> for an extended chat, Murray was ruled out of Sunday night's game.
&ldquo;You see him out there dunking the ball and I'm sure you guys are thinking, &lsquo;He looks really good,&rsquo;&rdquo; Malone told reporters. &ldquo;But from Day 1, from the bus ride from the San Francisco hotel to the airport when he had just suffered the injury the night before (we told him) there's going to be no rush, there's going to be no pressure. And that continues to this day.&rdquo;
Recently, reigning MVP Nikola Jokic said he admonished Murray not to return to action if he's not 100% both mentally and physically because it wouldn't make sense to rush back and risk getting hurt again.

For several weeks Jamal Murray has been putting on a show at practice and in pregame warmups, but he's still not ready to return.

Jamal Murray's return still hazy a year since he blew out a knee

Play-In and playoff time are right around the corner in the dwindling NBA season. As such, most of conversations will understandably revolve around the league's premier teams. It's easy for the teams at the bottom to get lost in the shuffle. They generally reach a point where lottery odds take precedence; in some instances, important young pieces are getting shut down like the veterans are.
I wanted to take a moment to highlight some players who are likely flying under the radar. You have to take post-All-Star break stretches with at least two grains of salt, but this is a time for unheralded players to stretch themselves. In a best-case scenario, they wind up showing you something that transfers to the next season.
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Here are a few players &mdash; just a few! &mdash; who have caught my eye recently.
KILLIAN HAYES
The Stats: 13.0 points, 3.6 rebounds, 4.4 assists (1.4 turnovers), 2.8 steals over last five games&nbsp;
The Skill: Downhill Comfort
It's been a hectic start for Killian Hayes, a high-upside guard project who's had his career derailed by injury woes to this point. Young ball-handlers need live reps to work out the kinks of their game; Hayes hasn't consistently been able to do that, which make his flaws look even worse when he's been on the floor.
Hayes is in the midst of finding himself though. He's one of the most underrated guard defenders in the sport already, boasting off-ball prowess and a knack for getting over or&nbsp;ducking under picks and remaining attached.&nbsp;
Offensively, there's been a bit of a chicken-or-egg ordeal with him. He's shown legit passing chops from the jump, but his ability to create advantages &mdash; via explosive drives or out of fear of his jumper &mdash; hasn't been there. Putting him off-ball has led to teams ignoring him as a threat.
That's what makes Hayes' recent aggression worth paying attention to. This is probably the most I've seen him generate paint touches.
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How about this: Hayes is <a href="https://www.nba.com/stats/players/drives/?Season=2021-22&amp;SeasonType=Regular%20Season&amp;LastNGames=5&amp;TeamID=1610612765&amp;sort=DRIVES&amp;dir=1" target="_blank" rel="noopener">converting over 68%</a> of his shots via drive over this five-game stretch. That's wildly impressive, and likely unsustainable. The rising drive volume is the key here. After averaging 6.0 drives per game <a href="https://www.nba.com/stats/players/drives/?Season=2021-22&amp;SeasonType=Regular%20Season&amp;TeamID=1610612765&amp;sort=DRIVES&amp;dir=1&amp;SeasonSegment=Pre%20All-Star" target="_blank" rel="noopener">before the All-Star break</a>, that number has risen to 7.1. Over the last five, it's up again to 8.8.
If Hayes can get downhill more consistently, that should open up more passing windows for him. If you want to zoom out a bit, that should unlock some off-ball opportunities for Cade Cunningham so he doesn't have to create all the time (even though he's probably good enough to do so.)
Don't sell your Hayes stock, folks.
BRANDON WILLIAMS
The Stats: 14.4 points, 3.4 rebounds, 8.0 assists (2.8 turnovers), 1.6 steals over last five games
The Skill: Pick-and-Roll Passing
The Blazers are an absolute mess right now, but that's mostly fine. They're playing for lotto odds and hoping to make some "keep Damian Lillard" splashes in the offseason.
In the meantime, can I just say I've oddly enjoyed the dynamic between Brandon Williams and Drew Eubanks? Also, did you know Eubanks was averaging nearly 18 points and 12 rebounds over his last five games? You do now!
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But seriously, Williams has a real feel for pocket passing. There's a pace to him that allows him to operate with slower rollers. I've also seen enough skips in his film to say he can make most of the reads you want from him.
The question becomes: What level of a shooter is he going to be? The three-point shooting has fluctuated in both directions since he's been given more reps, and the pull-up middy <a href="https://www.nba.com/stats/players/pullup/?Season=2021-22&amp;SeasonType=Regular%20Season&amp;LastNGames=5&amp;TeamID=1610612757&amp;sort=PULL_UP_FGA&amp;dir=1" target="_blank" rel="noopener">hasn't been great either</a>. There's enough craft there to be excited about though. I'm curious to see what he looks like in a more defined role next season.
DAMIAN JONES
The Stats: 16.7 points, 8.2 rebounds, 2.0 assists (1.5 turnovers), 1.8 blocks over last six games
The Skill: Playmaking
Damian Jones had stops with Golden State, Atlanta, Phoenix and the Los Angeles Lakers before landing in Sacramento. Go down the line; you don't think the Dubs could use a vertical spacer like this? Think the Suns would rather have Bismack Biyombo than Jones? Would the Lakers turn down young talent to... well actually, nevermind.
Jones has&nbsp;really&nbsp;been balling since newbie Domantas Sabonis has been out of the lineup. Averaging 17 and 8 is nothing to sneeze at, and he's predictably getting busy as a roll man and glass-cleaner.
What's been interesting &mdash; the Kings are putting the ball in his hands a little. You won't confuse him with Sabonis, but he's been allowed to be a handoff hub in Delay sets. And when the Kings are able to draw two to the ball, Jones hasn't looked entirely out of place as a short-roll decision-maker.
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Expectations of "traditional" centers are changing. If you aren't good enough to build the boat around, you'll need to complement stars with something. Some bigs have attempted to expand their range to the three-point line &mdash; something Jones has dabbled with on occasion this season &mdash; while others are becoming more adept as initiators. That Jones is showing flashes in the latter should add to his value moving forward.
ALEKSEJ POKUSEVSKI
The Stats: 14.5 points, 6.8 rebounds, 9.0 assists (4.3 turnovers), 0.8 steals over last four games
The Skill: Decision-Making
Let's start right here, because what the heck.
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That is Aleksej Pokusevski getting&nbsp;Chris freakin' Paul&nbsp;on a rip-through foul. After that, you get Pokusevski running a pick-and-roll and freezing Cam Johnson with a jump pass to the corner. The pass accuracy was off, but it's hard not to appreciate the level of manipulation.
It's easy to point to the recent triple-double, but the overarching thing is that Pokusevski looks more comfortable on both ends as of late. The shot is falling for him at nearly a 48% clip &mdash; wildly impressive considering the amount of movement attempts he fires. He's made some real strides on the ball too. He's still trying some wild stuff, but the chaos is more controlled.
Pre-break, Pokusevski had an assist rate of 11.6 and a turnover rate of 16.2. Since then, he's been firmly in the positive (22.0 to 16.7). Both numbers have shot up during this four-game stretch (35.1, 26.2) but, he's still largely been a plus-playmaker statistically.
Skipping steps in pick-and-roll. No-looks in transition. Timely "one more" passes when the ball gets to swinging. The level of ball placement with some of his interior reads should not be possible for a guy his size.
I have been, I am and I will continue to be intrigued by Poku.&nbsp;
STRAY THOUGHTS
<ul>
<li>What Houston Rockets forward KJ Martin brings to the table as a (violent) dunker and weak-side shot-blocker should be well documented at this point. I think he's also firmly proving you can't leave him completely open. I'm not buying him being a 48% shooter from deep like he has been since the All-Star break (on "meh" volume), but the form and touch are to the point where he should be accounted for as a spot-up option.&nbsp;</li>
<li>I'd keep an eye on Markelle Fultz (13.8 points, 5.4 assists, 2.0 steals over his last five) if I were you. The burst looks solid, as does the defense. So much focus has (understandably) been on his injury history and whatever the heck happened with his jumper, but that's one crafty dude with the ball in his hands.</li>
<li>Nothing deep here, just want to say I'm glad Goga Bitadze is showing some signs of life in a weird context. Related: I have no idea what Indiana's big man room is going to look like next season.</li>
</ul>
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Nekias Duncan highlights some young (role) players on struggling teams who are worth keeping an eye on.