Terrapins

Spencer Davies details Jamal Cain's climb from Pontiac, Michigan to the NBA level through the lens of longtime friend Mychal Covington.

Outwork everybody: Two-way Heat rookie Jamal Cain catches you sleeping

Michael Malone says the Denver Nuggets realize they won't transform into NBA title contenders simply by getting Jamal Murray and Michael Porter Jr. back on the court.
Denver's coach said Wednesday the Nuggets need to vastly improve on defense, whether that's through attitude adjustments or player acquisitions.
Thanks to an historic season by reigning MVP Nikola Jokic, the Nuggets won 48 games despite Murray missing the entire season while recovering from ACL reconstruction and Porter missing the final 73 games and the playoffs following back surgery.
The Nuggets lost to Golden State in five games in Round 1 of the NBA playoffs with their two max players looking on in street clothes from the bench.
Malone called this &ldquo;<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/2022-nba-offseason-preview-whats-next-for-the-denver-nuggets" target="_blank" rel="noopener">a huge offseason</a>&rdquo; for the Nuggets, who aim to surround Jokic with the proper supporting cast to capitalize on his prime years.
"Everybody wants to just say, &lsquo;Well, it&rsquo;s just Michael and Jamal coming back healthy.&rsquo; And that's just a starting block, but it doesn&rsquo;t end there,&rdquo; Malone said. &ldquo;We have a window and I think windows are only open so long. We have a 27-year-old phenom who will hopefully soon be named a back-to-back MVP.
"We have to capitalize while we have a special player in Nikola and do everything that we can as an organization &mdash; and I know we will &mdash; to put the best players around him to give ourselves the best chance to win the world championship.&rdquo;
There's the draft, trades and free agency, Malone said, &ldquo;but I always tell our players they have to come back better players. We as a coaching staff have to come back and prove we can find ways to help this team.&rdquo;
That starts with becoming a tougher team to score on.
&ldquo;Our defense against Golden State was not good enough,&rdquo; Malone said. "I think we had the 16th-ranked defense in the playoffs, which is dead last."
During the season, Malone noted, Denver allowed 17&frac12; points per game on turnovers, &ldquo;so we fuel teams' breaks, we give them easy baskets."
&ldquo;And then in the half-court, our inability to guard one-on-one, contain the ball, led to a lot of rim attacks and I think we were 30th in opponents' rim field-goal percentage. We were 29th in blocks per game,&rdquo; Malone said.
&ldquo;That's a bad combination if you struggle to guard the ball on the perimeter and you don't have Dikembe Mutombo blocking shots behind you.&rdquo;
Malone said &ldquo;to be a dangerous, deep playoff team you have to have an elite defense, and that's one of the areas we have to really focus on.&rdquo;
Malone added that &ldquo;the best perimeter defenders are tough dudes&rdquo; and he has two on his roster in forward Aaron Gordon and guard Austin Rivers, a pending free agent along with center DeMarcus Cousins, guards Bryn Forbes and Facu Campazzo and forwards Vlatko Cancar, Davon Reed and Markus Howard.
Malone said his expectations for Murray and Porter next season are &ldquo;just to take it slow and not expecting &lsquo;bubble&rsquo; Jamal Murray and not expecting &lsquo;peak&rsquo; Michael Porter right away."
&ldquo;It's really an important offseason for both those guys,&rdquo; Malone said. &ldquo;They weren't able to play this year and that was tough for a lot of people to understand. But they weren't ready, and that's all there was to it.&rdquo;
Malone said that at different times he felt both players would return to action last season, but the patience the organization displayed with them will continue next season.
&ldquo;I think tempered excitement,&rdquo; is how Malone describes his outlook next season with his stars regaining their health. "And as the season goes along they're going to get more and more comfortable. They're going to get their rhythm back, their confidence back and then they're going to get back to their old selves.
&ldquo;But that's not going to be the case come October, whenever the first game comes around. We have to have patience.&rdquo;

Michael Malone said the Nuggets need to vastly improve on defense, whether that's through attitude adjustments or player acquisitions.

Nuggets need more than healthy Murray, Porter to contend

We're back to normal in the NBA for the next few nights, with doubleheaders tonight, Friday, Sunday, Monday and Tuesday. The only folks more disgusted than Michael Malone last night were those who scheduled their TV time around what turned out to be a 123-98 rout of the Denver Nuggets by the Phoenix Suns as the lone playoff game of the evening. Let&rsquo;s just say the videotape of that game is not on its way to Springfield.
Malone went off afterward, saying there were multiple players on his roster who &ldquo;quit,&rdquo; which is about as strong of a statement as you will ever hear from an NBA coach. Malone said he would look down his bench to find somebody who wants to give a better effort, and we get to find out who that will be Friday night.
"This was an embarrassing performance from myself all the way through the last player," Malone said. "We're walking out of here with our heads held down, rightfully so. And there's a reason that their crowd is yelling 'Suns in 4!' and they're calling for a sweep. Because if we play like this back in Denver, this is going to be a really quick series.
&ldquo;We had no juice, no energy, no passion, no fight, no urgency, no grit, whatever adjective you want to use, we did not have it," Malone said. &ldquo;So I guess for Game 3, I'm just going to try to find guys that will at least go out there and leave it all on the line. I may have a hard time coming up with five guys that fill that, but these two games, these second halves have really been disappointing, and that's an understatement."
With Will Barton on a minutes restriction as he makes his way back after missing 20 games with a hamstring injury, Malone&rsquo;s choices are limited. The Nuggets are shooting just 43.4% from the field, and have recorded only 25 assists in their first two games combined against Phoenix. Monte Morris is just 2-for-17 (including 1-for-7 on 3-pointers), so he would be Candidate A on the list of &ldquo;Guys Who Will Not Take Their Warmups Off In Game 3.&rdquo; After producing at a high level in Round 1, Austin Rivers has missed two-thirds of his shots, which is not exactly what you want from a &ldquo;shooting&rdquo; guard.
It is still early in the second round, but it is a crucial juncture for a couple of teams on the precipice of joining the 22 teams already planning for next season. Tough business, the NBA; just ask Nate Bjorkgren and Danny Ainge, or Terry Stotts and Steve Clifford.
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But who will Malone turn to? And who will Mike Budenholzer of the Bucks go to as his team tries to climb out of a 2-0 deficit? Let&rsquo;s look into the crystal ball for those two, and the teams that are competing in the Hawks-76ers series and the Jazz-Clippers series.
Markus Howard, Nuggets
Howard was the NCAA's scoring leader last season at Marquette, and Malone turned to him in the final three games of the regular season, when he shot 22-for-41 overall and 10-for-22 from three-point range. Howard fell out of favor after going 3-for-14 in a Game 4 loss to Portland in the first round, but the 5-foot-10 rookie, 22, was a prolific scorer in college with three 50-plus point games and four 40-plus point games during his final three seasons as a four-year starter at Marquette. As Calvin Murphy and others can attest, guys under 6-foot can be impactful NBA players from time to time.
Malone needs to find somebody who wants to prove himself and who can hit a three-point shot. The Nuggets came back from the dead twice last season, but Wednesday night&rsquo;s game was especially bad, and if Denver&rsquo;s players are not moving around on offense (on a majority of possessions they were not), they have no shot. But if they get back to doing what has worked for them for two seasons, they can recover at home. Game 3 is as much of a must-win for them as it is for Milwaukee in the East, but the Bucks are facing a much more difficult opponent than Denver is. And Malone does not have many other pure scorers to choose from.
Nuggets runner-up: Michael Porter Jr.
Rajon Rondo, Clippers 
With Mike Conley sidelined and Jordan Clarkson continuing to come off the bench, one would imagine the Jazz would be at an operating deficit in the backcourt. We really did not see that in Game 1, even though it came down to Rudy Gobert blocking a three-point attempt by Marcus Morris on the final play of the game. That last chance would not have been possible without Rondo -- who assisted on Paul George&rsquo;s three-pointer with 38.4 seconds left after grabbing an offensive rebound -- then picked up a defensive rebound with 15.9 seconds left off a miss by Donovan Mitchell. Rondo logged 28 minutes with 5 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists, and we shall see tonight whether coach Ty Lue plans to increase his minutes now that Patrick Beverley is basically out of the rotation.
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Rondo was a huge difference-maker for the Lakers last season in the second round against Houston and in Game 5 of the 2011 NBA Finals against the Heat (19 points on 8-of-11 shooting, including 3-for-4 on 3s). The 35-year-old has 129 career playoff games under his belt, and if history repeats itself we are going to see him wave off Father Time at least once more in this postseason. Starter Reggie Jackson logged only 17 minutes and fouled out of Game 1, and if this series goes to 2-0 in Utah's favor, it would not be the least bit surprising to see Rondo among the starting five.
Clippers runner-up: DeMarcus Cousins
Bobby Portis, Milwaukee Bucks 
The only advantage the Bucks have over the Nets is a size advantage, but they have not even come close to exploiting it in Games 1 and 2, so Coach Mike Budenholzer (already without Donte DiVincenzo) needs to look down his bench and find somebody who can shoot, rebound and provide toughness. Portis is that guy if Bud has faith in him, which is an open question after Portis logged only 17 minutes in each of the first two games.
Back in April, Portis was playing an average of 21.8 minutes and scoring 12.5 points per game on 50.6% shooting, including 47.5% from downtown, and what exactly he did to have his role reduced so significantly has not been adequately explained. The 26-year-old averaged career-highs in field goal percentage (52.3%) and three-point percentage (47.1%), and should not be gathering cobwebs when the Bucks are being run out of the gym against a Nets team without James Harden. If there is anyone in this series who can come in and turn things around with toughness on both ends of the court, it is the sixth-year veteran, who was signed in the offseason because the Bucks were lacking a guy just like him when they were eliminated from last year&rsquo;s playoffs against Miami.
Bucks runner-up: PJ Tucker
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John Collins, Hawks 
The last time Collins took more than 11 shots in a game was May 12 against the Wizards, when he went 5-for-12. In the previous game he was 10-for-14 (also against Washington), and in the one before that he was 10-for 15 (against the Pacers). The 23-year-old averaged 12.2 shot attempts per game in the regular season, but in seven playoff games, he has not yet reached that number (either by design or via happenstance). Whatever the case, the Hawks can play with the Sixers if Collins and Clint Capela can combine to outperform Joel Embiid on the offensive end (hey, Embiid is so good that sometimes you need two guys to match his production).
But Collins, despite strong shooting percentages, is either not having enough plays run for him or is not being assertive enough. He has been to the free-throw line only four times in this series, so maybe it is time for Nate McMillan to tell Collins to spend less time outside the three-point arc and more time in the paint on offense, where he is shooting 62.5% on shots from between 3-10 feet. The restricted free agent-to-be has about 120 million reasons to be better than he has been through the first seven playoff games.
Hawks runner-up: Lou Williams

Chris Sheridan takes a look at the players that need to answer the bell for their respective teams to avoid a postseason exit.

4 NBA players who need to step up in second round of playoffs

Pardon the jurisdictional bias, but the best thing to see over the first weekend of the NBA playoffs was the crowd at the raucous Madison Square Garden (the &ldquo;World&rsquo;s Most Famous Arena&rdquo;) -- even if the final result was not exactly what the New York Knicks had in mind.
Anyone who has been to New York over the past 14.5 months can understand, but for those who haven&rsquo;t, here is the deal: New York City has struggled to return to normal since shutting down in March 2020. For example, 110,000 restaurants went out of business during the pandemic. NBA teams who have come into Manhattan and Brooklyn likened it to the post-apocalyptic scenes in the Will Smith movie &ldquo;I Am Legend&rdquo; as they wondered why there were no people on the streets.
The trains that run beneath MSG are still largely empty, although the subways are much more crowded than they were just a month ago. And seeing so many Knicks fans suddenly congregating together, led by Spike Lee and Tracy Morgan, was truly a sight to behold after keeping to ourselves for more than a year.
The TNT broadcast duo of Spero Dedes and Greg Anthony could've captured this moment even better had they been in the building and felt the energy, but they were broadcasting this game remotely. Let&rsquo;s hope the networks get the broadcasters back into the arenas sooner rather than later.
The crowd of 15,047 made it the largest indoor event to be held in New York since the pandemic began.
"Having fans, I think, is great," Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau said. "But we've got to play better."
Especially Julius Randle, whose regular-season success against the Atlanta Hawks was expected to continue in the postseason. But the likely Most-Improved-Player-award winner went 6-for-23 from the field, and the Hawks eked out the Game 1 win on Trae Young&rsquo;s game-winner with 0.9 seconds left after he singlehandedly broke down New York&rsquo;s defense. Young is a good villain to have around as the series waits to resume Wednesday night. If ever a guy was channeling Reggie Miller, it was Young last night. He crossed over Frank Ntilikina four times on the game-winning drive.
The most surprising result of the weekend came in the last of the eight games when the Memphis Grizzlies defeated the top-seeded Utah Jazz, 112-109, for the first win by a No. 8 seed since the Orlando Magic defeated the Milwaukee Bucks last season in Game 1 in the Bubble. That one eventually turned into a 4-1 series win for the Bucks, so we shall see where this leads the Grizzlies.
But give Taylor Jenkins&rsquo; crew their props. In the past week, they have ended the seasons of Gregg Popovich and Steph Curry and now hold a 1-0 lead over the best three-point-shooting team we have seen in quite some time. They&rsquo;ve only won one game, but every year, there is at least one series that&rsquo;s won or lost in Game 1; maybe this is that series. Donovan Mitchell was reportedly upset about being a last-minute scratch, but the Jazz already announced that he will return in Game 2.
What else was striking about the weekend&rsquo;s eight games? Let&rsquo;s go series by series:
Lakers-Suns: Sunday provided a lesson of how time can stand still when emotions and the referees get involved. Early in the fourth quarter, there was a sequence in which Chris Paul got under LeBron James on a box-out and sent him to the floor, Cam Payne and Alex Caruso got into a dustup (Payne picked up two technicals upon review and was ejected) and Kyle Kuzma&rsquo;s three-shot foul against Devin Booker was overturned upon review. In real time, it took more than 10 minutes to play just 30 seconds, and the Lakers were not able to use the extra time to their advantage. They are going to have to take another look at how they are defending the center position after Deandre Ayton outplayed Anthony Davis while Andre Drummond spent just 19 minutes on the court. James and Davis combined to miss five of 11 free throws, which is a pattern we saw to varying degrees from game to game.
Heat-Bucks: The award for the weekend&rsquo;s best finish goes to the game that was the first one played on Saturday afternoon, when Khris Middleton&rsquo;s jumper with 0.5 seconds broke a tie for the game-winner. A couple of other observations: Jimmy Butler&rsquo;s lower back is taking a beating that makes you remember Mike Tyson&rsquo;s famous line: &ldquo;Everybody has a plan until they get punched.&rdquo; With Butler shooting 4-for-22, the Heat really had no business being in the game this long but were helped by Giannis Antetokounmpo going 6-for-13 from the foul line. The winners went 5-for-31 from three-point range.
Blazers-Nuggets: The award for most deceiving crowd shot goes to this game, which had the largest attendance of the season in Denver &ndash; 7,732, almost none of whom were sitting within the frame of the broadcast shot from high above center court. Denver could be in trouble here, folks, as Jamal Murray&rsquo;s scoring is not being replaced by Michael Porter Jr. (1-for-10 from three-point range) or Aaron Gordon (16 points). I would not be surprised to see Markus Howard, last season&rsquo;s NCAA scoring leader at Marquette, get an even longer look tonight after he played 20 minutes in Game 1. It&rsquo;s no surprise that Nikola Jokic had only one assist after his teammates missed 25 of 36 three-point attempts.
Mavericks-Clippers: Los Angeles led 98-95 with just over six minutes left but then had just one bucket (and two missed free throws, both by Marcus Morris) in the next nine possessions to fall behind by seven before Paul George dunked with 1:15 left. A game-closing 16-5 run has the Mavs up 1-0 against the team that tanked its way into the non-Lakers bracket, and we shall see if the karma police continue to make them pay.
Celtics-Nets: Another thing that is lost on folks not located in the New York metropolitan region: Almost nobody is talking about the Nets. It is all Knicks, all the time. And this series appears as though it is going to be a walkover, which should keep the current dynamic in place at least through Wednesday, when Game 2 of Hawks-Knicks is played at Madison Square Garden. Despite Kevin Durant going 1-for-8 on three-pointers, the Nets outscored the Celtics by 17 in the second half in what appeared to be a return to the cruise-control mode they displayed shortly after James Harden was acquired from Houston. No free throw villain in this one just yet.
Wizards-Sixers: Russell Westbrook stepping out of bounds off two missed free throws by Ben Simmons with 38 seconds left (Simmons was 0-for-6 from the line) was a huge mistake, and another empty Sixers possession followed by a missed three by Westbrook with 17.8 seconds left ended Washington&rsquo;s final chance. Tobias Harris (37 points) showed once again that he does not get enough credit for Philadelphia&rsquo;s success. Washington had 38 points of bench scoring, something they will continue to need if they are going to be competitive in this series.

After the first weekend of playoff basketball, Chris Sheridan reacts to Game 1 of each series.

Sheridan: Reacting to the NBA playoffs' opening weekend

Brooklyn coach Steve Nash doesn't mind his players feeling a little uncomfortable right now. Or even seeing them suffer a bit.
It can only help later on, the Brooklyn coach reasoned. The Nets were definitely struggling, too, down 21 points to Denver at one point before flipping a switch and storming back.
Kevin Durant scored 33 points, including five free throws over the last 21 seconds, and Kyrie Irving added 31 as the Nets snapped a four-game skid by beating the short-handed Nuggets 125-119 on Saturday night.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;m happy for us to be uncomfortable right now. I&rsquo;m happy for us to struggle, suffer," Nash said. "These experiences when we&rsquo;re on the mat are good for us. Our guys responded tonight.&rdquo;
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KD (32 PTS) &amp; Kyrie (31 PTS) helped the Nets overcome a 21-PT deficit 😤 <a href="https://t.co/KIGXNmLIa0">pic.twitter.com/KIGXNmLIa0</a>
&mdash; NBA TV (@NBATV) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBATV/status/1391252831877832712?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 9, 2021</a></blockquote>

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The Nets moved a half-game in front of Milwaukee for the second seed in the Eastern Conference. Brooklyn remained three games behind East-leading Philadelphia.
The difference between the first half (outscored 71-56) and the second (outscoring Denver 69-48) was pretty simple to Durant: &ldquo;We got on the same page in the second half and played our hardest."
After trailing by as many as 21 points in the first half, the Nets took the lead for good at 111-110 on a 3-pointer by Joe Harris with 6:12 remaining. It was their first lead since 35 seconds into the game.
But it was far from easy down the stretch. Nikola Jokic had a chance to give the Nuggets the lead with 23.9 seconds left, only to see his turnaround miss. Durant made two free throws to make it 122-119.
Durant was fouled soon after Jokic missed a shot on the other end. The Nuggets big man was upset over the no-call and lost his cool, picking up a technical with 9.1 seconds left. Durant made three free throws to secure the win.
Blake Griffin had 16 of his 20 points in a pivotal third quarter to help the Nets climb back into the game.
Jokic brushed off his seeming irritation with the officials down the stretch, simply saying: &ldquo;No comment. Next question.&rdquo;
Instead, he praised the Nets.
&ldquo;They're a talented team,&rdquo; said Jokic, who finished with 29 points, seven boards and six assists.
Michael Porter Jr. added 28 points, including six 3-pointers, as the Nuggets had their seven-game home winning streak snapped. It was their final regular-season game this season at Ball Arena, where the Nuggets finished 25-11.
Facundo Campazzo had 19 points and little-used Markus Howard chipped in a career-best 13 points with the Nuggets turning to unconventional lineups after playing the night before at Utah.
Aaron Gordon was a late scratch due to tightness in his right calf, joining a growing list of banged-up Nuggets. The injury report now includes Jamal Murray (ACL), Zeke Nnaji (sprained left ankle), Monte Morris (hamstring), Will Barton (hamstring) and PJ Dozier (right adductor strain). Paul Millsap also didn't play just to give him a night off.
In the second quarter, Nuggets coach Michael Malone turned to the little-used lineup of Vlatko Cancar, Bol Bol, Howard, Shaquille Harrison and JaVale McGee.
&ldquo;The silver lining, Markus Howard, Vlatko, Bol, they got a chance to play some real game minutes,&rdquo; Malone said.
TIP-INS
Nets: G James Harden was out for a 17th straight game with a right hamstring strain. ... Durant had 11 boards. ... The Nuggets had a 27-1 edge in second-chance points.
Nuggets: Porter scored Denver's opening 11 points. ... This was the largest blown lead in a loss this season for Denver. The previous biggest was 20 at Washington on Feb. 17.
NASH ON JOKIC
&ldquo;Clearly, I think Jokic is the MVP this year,&rdquo; Nash said. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s kind of gone wire-to-wire at this high level, and makes his teammates better, makes everything go. They lose Jamal Murray and they haven&rsquo;t really skipped a beat. That shows how good he is.&rdquo;
SAME GAME
Malone sees similarities between Durant and Porter.
&ldquo;Very similar body types, tremendous size, length,&rdquo; Malone said. &ldquo;Obviously, Kevin Durant&rsquo;s body of work is just tremendous; he&rsquo;s one of the top five players in the world.&rdquo;
Durant has a lot of respect for Porter.
&ldquo;He's a unique player who's going to carve his own lane out in the league,&rdquo; Durant said.
UP NEXT
Nets: Finish a five-game trip Tuesday at Chicago.
Nuggets: At Charlotte on Tuesday as Denver concludes the season with four straight road games.
___
More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

Kevin Durant scored 33 points, including five free throws over the last 21 seconds, and Kyrie Irving added 31.

Nets rally in second half behind KD, Kyrie to beat Nuggets, snap four-game skid

NEW YORK (May 6, 2021) &ndash; OTE (Overtime Elite) announced today that Brandon Williams, OTE&rsquo;s EVP and Head of Basketball Operations, has made the following hires.&nbsp;
Associate Head Coach, Dave Leitao
With over three decades of leadership and coaching experience, Dave Leitao will assist head coach Kevin Ollie in OTE&rsquo;s mission to develop the whole athlete. Prior to OTE, Leitao served as head coach at DePaul University and at the University of Virginia, where he was named the 2006-07 ACC Coach of the Year. Leitao also served as head coach of Northeastern University and the Boston Celtics G-League Affiliate, the Maine Red Claws. In his 37 years of coaching experience, he has recruited, coached and developed the likes of Overtime&rsquo;s own Kevin Ollie, Hall of Famer Ray Allen, Donyell Marshall, Richard Hamilton, Caron Butler, Ben Gordon, Max Strus (Miami Heat) and Paul Reed (Philadelphia 76ers).
Director of Scouting &amp; Recruiting, Tim Fuller &nbsp;
Tim Fuller will lead the strategic scouting and recruitment team and processes to secure every OTE athlete. Fuller has spent 17 years as an NCAA Assistant Coach at the University of Miami, Wake Forest University, University of Louisville and University of Missouri. He is widely recognized for evaluating, recruiting and developing elite talent including NBA players Chris Paul, Jeff Teague, Al-Farouq Aminu, Jordan Clarkson and Gorgui Dieng.
Director of Basketball Administration, Gabriela Olivares&nbsp;
Gabriela Olivares will have wide-reaching responsibilities, bringing to bear extensive project management, event operations, athlete relations and grassroots marketing experience. Olivares spent nearly 10 years at Nike elevating the profiles and supporting the performance of its world-class sponsored athletes around major competitions such as: FIFA World Cup, FIBA Basketball World Cup, Summer Olympics, and many more. In addition, Olivares led operations for Nike EYBL (Nike Elite Youth Basketball League).&nbsp;
Director of Health, Performance &amp; Development, Dr. Markus Klusemann
Markus Klusemann, a combination of sports scientist and soach, will implement a professional, process driven, evidence based and progressive approach to ensuring optimal high performance of OTE athletes. Dr. Klusemann joins OTE from Munich, Germany where he oversaw the development of elite junior basketball athletes for the Bavarian &amp; German Basketball Federations, after serving in similar positions within the Australian Institute of Sport.
Senior Strategy &amp; Research Specialist, Ivana Seric
Ivana Seric will define and implement an infrastructure that facilitates the use of data to support the processes of basketball operations across coaching, scouting and the health and performance groups. A native of Split, Croatia, Seric played for the U16 and U18 national teams before coming to the US as student-athlete studying applied mathematics at NJIT. After completing her PhD in computational fluid dynamics, she was recruited to the Philadelphia 76ers as a researcher focused on coaching strategy.
About Overtime Elite
OTE is a transformative new sports league that offers the world&rsquo;s most talented young basketball players a better pathway to becoming professional athletes. OTE provides a comprehensive accelerator for elite players&rsquo; professional careers. The league offers a year-round development program combining world-class coaching, cutting-edge sports science and performance technologies, top-notch facilities, and a rigorous, highly personalized academic program that energizes and enhances each athlete&rsquo;s journey from proficiency to pro.&nbsp;

Overtime Elite announced five new hires to its basketball operations staff, including former DePaul head coach Dave Leitao.

Former DePaul head coach Dave Leitao heads Overtime Elite's newest hires

Bradley Beal is currently leading the NBA in scoring, with Stephen Curry having a chance to catch him when the Golden State Warriors face the resurgent Minnesota Timberwolves on Thursday night.
Beal, who plays tonight at home against the Los Angeles Lakers, has a slight lead over Curry, 31.4 points per game to 31.2. That race figures to go down to the wire, at which point we will start hearing about David Thompson vs. George Gervin on the final day of the 1977-78 season.
The rebounding (Clint Capela), assist (Russell Westbrook), block (Myles Turner) and three-point titles (Curry) are all but decided. But we still have the scoring title to keep us riveted.
Because of COVID protocols and rules as well as a plethora of injures, a total of 529 players have suited up for NBA teams this season. Let's take a look at some of the stat leaders:
<ul>
<li>Clint Capela leads the league in offensive rebounds (261), followed by Enes Kanter of Portland (257) and Steven Adams of New Orleans (212). </li>
<li>Russell Westbrook (11.0) is averaging the most assists per game and it isn&rsquo;t particularly close; runner-up Trae Young (9.6) won&rsquo;t be able to catch him. </li>
<li>Jimmy Butler has the most steals per game (2.1), but T.J. McConnell has the most total steals this season (101). Butler has 95 total steals. </li>
<li>Rudy Gobert leads the league in total blocks (168), with nine more than Turner. However, Turner is averaging 3.4 blocks to Gobert&rsquo;s 2.8 because he&rsquo;s played 13 fewer games. </li>
<li>Danilo Gallinari of Atlanta (.935) is one of nine players shooting 90% or better from the free throw line. Until last week, Jordan Clarkson of Utah (.924) was leading the league in free-throw percentage, but he has dropped to fourth;. Chris Paul of Phoenix is second at .929. </li>
<li>Joe Harris of Brooklyn has taken over the three-point accuracy lead (.481). Joe Ingles of Utah, the leader last week, is now third at .477. Bobby Portis of Milwaukee is in second (.479). </li>
<li>Rudy Gobert leads the NBA in field-goal percentage (.676) by a large margin. Runner-up Richaun Holmes is shooting 64.4%. Kelly Olynyk leads the NBA in two-point field goal percentage (.688). </li>
<li>DeAndre Jordan leads all players in true shooting percentage (.753) and effective field goal percentage (.779). Rounding out the top-three in both stats are Robert Williams and Ingles. </li>
<li>Nikola Jokic leads all players in field goals (625), win shares (13.3), win shares per 48 minutes (.298) and Value Over Replacement Player (7.3). </li>
<li>Julius Randle of the Knicks ranks first in minutes per game (37.5) and second in defensive win shares (3.7).</li>
</ul>
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A few other distinctions:
<ul>
<li>Montrezl Harrell of the Lakers has attempted the most three-pointers without a make. He is 0-for-10, while the Lakers&rsquo; Andre Drummond and the Nets&rsquo; Theo Pinson are each 0-8. Last season, Harrell went 0-18 from three-point range. </li>
<li>Dillon Brooks of Memphis and Jae&rsquo;Sean Tate of Houston have the most personal fouls (195). </li>
<li>In addition to leading the NBA in assists, Westbrook also leads all players in turnovers (272). </li>
<li>Dwight Howard of the 76ers leads the league in technical fouls (15). His next one will draw an automatic suspension and a $5,000 fine. Luka Doncic and Westbrook are tied for second with 13. </li>
<li>J.B. Bickerstaff of the Cavaliers leads all coaches with 8 technical fouls. </li>
<li>Howard, C.J. McCollum and Alex Len are tied for the league lead in flagrant fouls (4). </li>
<li>No player has drawn more than one flop violation; LeBron James, LaMelo Ball, Kyle Kuzma, D.J. Augustin, Gary Trent Jr., Kristaps Porzingis and Mason Jones each received a warning.</li>
</ul>
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There are eight players who have played this season without scoring a basket: Jared Harper of the Knicks, Kris Dunn of the Hawks, Ashton Hagans (who was cut by the Timberwolves), Will Magnay (who was cut by the Pelicans), Ignas Brazdeikis (who was cut by the 76ers), Anzejs Pasecniks (who was cut by the Wizards), Noah Vonleh (who was cut by the Nets), and Greg Whittington (who was cut by the Nuggets).
Hagans, 21, appeared in two games and played two minutes while recording one lone statistic: a turnover. He spent two seasons at Kentucky before going undrafted in 2020, then was waived by the Wolves in February for violating the G-League&rsquo;s COVID protocols. His rookie season will end with all zeroes except for that lone turnover (unless someone takes a chance on the Kentucky product who earned the SEC&rsquo;s Co-Defensive Player of the Year award in 2019).
A total of 21 NBA players are averaging less than 1.0 point per game, the oldest being Jared Dudley of the Lakers.
There are 39 players averaging between 1.0 and 1.9 points per game, including:
<ul>
<li>Last season&rsquo;s NCAA scoring champion, Markus Howard of the Nuggets (1.1 PPG).</li>
<li>Cristiano Felicio of the Bulls (1.1 PPG), who is on the final season of a four-year, $32 million contract.</li>
<li>Jahmi&rsquo;us Ramsey of the Kings (1.4 PPG), who has played five games and was perfect from the field (1-for-1) in three of them.</li>
<li>Rodions Kurucs of the Bucks (1.5 PPG), who has the distinction of being involved in both the trade for James Harden (going from Brooklyn to Houston) and the trade for P.J. Tucker (going from Houston to Milwaukee).</li>
</ul>
The season is far from over, and while 529 players have suited up thus far, that number is likely to increase as more players are signed.

Chris Sheridan takes a look at the NBA's stat leaders, as well as some other interesting numbers from the 2020-21 season.

A deeper dive into the NBA's interesting statistics

If the kiss of death in the NBA is being under 6-feet tall, Markus Howard of Marquette is a dead man walking. 
No matter that he led the NCAA in scoring last season at 27.8 points per game, or that he finished last season with five-straight games scoring at least 30 points, or that he dropped 51 on USC last Thanksgiving and had two other games with at least 40.
He measured just 5-foot-9 &frac12; without sneakers and weighed 170 pounds at the NBA Draft Combine, which hurts his stock because NBA scouts shy away from little guys.
Howard is currently ranked No. 62 on ESPN&rsquo;s latest draft board, which means he could go undrafted on Nov. 18. If so, that would make it two years in a row that the NCAA&rsquo;s leading scorer was not selected.&nbsp;Last year, Chris Clemons from Campbell University was not drafted, but he was signed afterward by the Houston Rockets and eventually had his two-way contract converted into a regular NBA contract.
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Trae Young of Oklahoma was the last No. 1 NCAA scorer to get drafted, going fifth overall to the Atlanta Hawks in 2018. He finished last season as the No. 4 scorer in the league (29.6 PPG), and he is the most untouchable player on Atlanta&rsquo;s roster -- despite being 6-foot-1, short by NBA standards.
James Daniel III led the nation in scoring as a junior at Howard in 2016. He transferred to Tennessee, but got injured, went undrafted in 2018 and ended up playing professionally in Cyprus.&nbsp;
As we count down the days to the 2020 NBA draft while simultaneously <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-news-nbpa-players-association-executive-director-michele-roberts-2020-2021-season-collective-bargaining-agreement-cba-revenue-meetings-black-lives-matter" target="_blank" rel="noopener">wondering what the 2020-21 season will look like</a>, front-office executives around the league are in the difficult position of having to make judgments on players without seeing them at an in-person NBA Draft Combine (as they would under normal circumstances).&nbsp;
That makes most of the mock drafts we are all seeing even more of an educated guessing game than usual, and more astute front offices are seeking diamonds in the rough who will drop lower than they should, often for fairly benign reasons (like not being 6-feet tall).
Simply being able to put up points is not enough when it comes to playing in the NBA, where what you can do defensively is almost as important as what you can do offensively. And if a first-rate scorer is someone an opponent is going to exploit on the other end of the court, the guy will probably end up eating pasta (basketball parlance for playing professionally in Europe) before too long.
We are now in early November, and there will be more than two weeks of risers and fallers in a variety of mock drafts found on the Internet, some better than others. (Our Matt Babcock, for example, knows what he's doing and posted his <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-2020-draft-rumors-mock-draft-projection-top-pick-trade-matt-babcock-anthony-edwards-lamelo-ball-timberwolves-warriors-hornets-bulls-cavaliers-hawks-lakers-pistons-knicks-lottery-analysis-select" target="_blank" rel="noopener">latest mock draft today</a>). But keep in mind that front offices often leak misinformation to draft pundits in order to confuse opposing teams. If "Team X" is said to be especially intrigued by "Player Y," take it with a grain of salt.
With that being said, here are three players that NBA consultant Ryan Blake of "Marty Blake and Associates" believes may be undervalued on draft night. All three players will have their phone ringing off the hook with training-camp invites right after the draft if they are not selected 1-60.
Markus Howard, Marquette
He spent four seasons at Marquette, and his junior season included a 53-point night against Creighton, and 45-point nights against Kansas State (ranked 12th at the time) and Buffalo (ranked 14th at the time). He also went for 38 points against 14th-ranked Villanova. The prior season, as a sophomore, he had a 52-point game against Providence.&nbsp;
&ldquo;He&rsquo;s an unbelievable athlete, has a fire in his belly and plays hard on both ends of the floor,&rdquo; Blake said of Howard. &ldquo;He has a fearless mentality, and scouts will not ignore that. 
"He shot over 42 percent for his career in a big-time conference, but he is going to have to prove that he can defend NBA guards and is not prone to turning the ball over.&rdquo;
Babcock&rsquo;s prediction: Drafted in the 50s or undrafted. 
<img style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" src="https://basketballnews-media.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/images/story/body/usatsi_14017688-1_lg.jpg" alt="" width="860" height="AUTO" />
Sam Merrill, Utah State
As somewhat of a combo guard for the Aggies, Merrill started all 32 games and averaged 19.8 points while shooting 41 percent from the three-point line. A four-year starter, he led the Aggies in assists all four seasons and was named &ldquo;Best Defender&rdquo; by his teammates as a freshman. Merrill also won Mountain West Tournament MVP in back-to-back seasons. A graduate in business administration, he has been married for two-and-a-half years and spent two years in Nicaragua as a Mormon missionary.&nbsp;
&ldquo;He has a calm intensity, which is sort of an oxymoron, but you watch for someone like this who truly competes for 40 minutes whether his team wins or loses," Blake said. "Coaches know he wants the ball in his hands at the end of games and will either shoot or make the right play."
Babcock&rsquo;s prediction: Drafted in the low 50s or undrafted. 
Paul Reed, DePaul
Coming out after his junior season, the 6-foot-9 power forward averaged 15.2 points, 10.7 rebounds and nearly three blocks per game for the Blue Demons. Reed shot nearly 52 percent from the field while also averaging almost two steals per game. 
&ldquo;He makes a huge impact at both ends of the floor, although he didn&rsquo;t shoot it great from deep (30.8 percent),&rdquo; Blake said. &ldquo;But he made plays for others and defended, and he just crashes the glass. But he can immediately come into the league and make an impact, because everyone knows you can&rsquo;t play NBA basketball if you can&rsquo;t play defense. He has an awkward jumper, but he can become a better shooter in time because he has the work ethic. And at 22 years old, he is mature.&rdquo;
Babcock&rsquo;s prediction: &ldquo;A good intangibles guy. A motor guy. I have him going No. 45 (to Orlando)."

Chris Sheridan takes a look at three undervalued NBA Draft prospects that could be picked late or go undrafted in 2020.

Brett