Mavericks

This article is part of a two-part series preview for the upcoming 2023-2024 NBA Playoffs.
With the 2023-2024 NBA Playoffs starting, all eyes will be on all teams competing for the championship as fans and players look on for a taste of postseason action. As eight playoff teams in each conference gear up for what promises to be an intense battle for the title, each team faces its own set of unique challenges. In this article, we take a closer look at the biggest question facing each Eastern Conference team heading into the playoffs, from injuries and roster changes to key matchups and strategic decisions.
<h3>Boston Celtics - Who&rsquo;s stopping them?</h3>
The Boston Celtics have been the best team in the regular season as evidenced by their 64-18 record. They have also been one of the most dominant regular season teams of all time, having the third-highest net rating in NBA history (11.8) which would rank just behind the 1996 and 1997 Chicago Bulls. If it were of any significance, those Bulls teams had 72-10 and 69-13 records and won it all in both years.
It&rsquo;s all written on the wall &ndash; the Celtics are in title or bust mode, which even just a conference finals appearance would probably be marked as a disappointment. Considering how dominant they have been throughout the season, a Finals appearance would be the minimum achievement.
This team is built almost as completely as they could ever be &mdash; offense, defense, bench, two stars that lift each other&rsquo;s game up, roster construction of players that complement them, and even the fans that are some of the most passionate in the league. These are things that are all you could ask for in a championship team, and with that being said &ndash; the pressure is on for Boston.
A big possible answer to that question is whether the Celtics would be the only ones who&rsquo;ll stop themselves from achieving and realizing their full potential &ndash; and there&rsquo;s only one way to find out.&nbsp;
The playoffs are a different story and looking at what we&rsquo;ve seen over the years, the Celtics have tendencies to underperform in the playoffs. With a new supporting cast featuring 2021 champ Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porzingis, a question lingers on the team: will it be different this time around?
They have had a history of flaming out in the past, and whether or not that continues this season remains to be seen. Time is the ultimate truth teller, and these Celtics hope to exercise their playoff demons when the time comes and their opportunities present themselves.
Will they be able to capitalize on a dominant regular season and take on the task at hand once and for all? They certainly hope with all the pieces they have now, they have enough to close it out and take it all the way and finish the job this time around to end the allegations against them once and for all.
<h3>New York Knicks - How far will they go without Julius Randle?</h3>
As we all know by now, health is the biggest factor in the playoffs. You always want to be complete and your best players to be healthy and ready to go when it matters most.
Unfortunately, this will not be the case for the New York Knicks this season, after losing all-star Julius Randle to a season-ending surgery to his injury.
Randle has been the Knicks&rsquo; best player for the past 3 seasons (before Brunson&rsquo;s ascension to King Knick this year). He brings that size and physicality along with that sneaky speed at the 4. On offense, Randle is a secondary creator and playmaker who can make plays for himself and his teammates. His improving three-point shot is now a weapon for teams not to sag off of him as much which could only help the Knicks in the playoffs.
Simply put, Randle is a matchup problem against traditional power forwards. Without him, the Knicks would not be able to tap on another gear that would only be possible with Randle out there on the floor.
Now, all eyes will be on Jalen Brunson as he tries to carry New York all by himself. It will be expected to see all possible defensive schemes thrown against him to try and contain the all-NBA caliber player in this season that he is.
<h3>Milwaukee Bucks - Can they hold the fort without Giannis?&nbsp;</h3>
The hits just keep on coming for the Bucks. After starting the season 30-13, they fired their head coach Adrian Griffin, and replaced him with Doc Rivers. They&rsquo;ve had their fair share of struggles with Rivers, losing to lottery teams like the Wizards, Grizzlies, and Raptors in one stretch, and they&rsquo;ve finished only a disappointing 19-20 the rest of the way to end the season.&nbsp;
Just recently, they received brutal news that superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo will miss the beginning of their series against the Indiana Pacers after injuring his left calf with three games left in the regular season. The upstart and young Pacers have been 4-1 against them during the year and it will be a tough battle without one of the five best players in the world playing. Will Damian Lillard and Co. step up to the plate?
<h3>Cleveland Cavaliers - Is this the &lsquo;last hurrah&rsquo; for Donovan Mitchell as a Cavalier?</h3>
All eyes are on the Cavaliers&rsquo; playoff run this season to gain ground after a disappointing finish last year. Can they keep soon-to-be free agent Donovan Mitchell happy enough? Or will another disappointing playoff exit lead him to bolt out of town to find another opportunity to win elsewhere?&nbsp;
Much of this will be attributed to the growth of their current core to gauge their improvements from last season. Will Darius Garland have enough juice to handle the scoring load outside of Mitchell as well as holding his own defensively? Will Evan Mobley display or unlock another offensive level in his game to be able to contribute on the offensive end to complement his defensive capabilities? Will Jarett Allen beat the allegations of lights were too bright in the playoffs in his second time around and bounce back from what has been a bad series against the Knicks last year? And is Max Strus the answer for the Cavs to advance into the second round with his spacing and shooting at the wing to give space for Mitchell to attack?
With his impending free agency, Donovan Mitchell has a big decision to make during the offseason. Will he stay and extend with this Cavaliers team who gave up assets for him? The Cavaliers have made some strides from being a young team with potential to a top 4-5 team in the East when they acquired Donovan Mitchell two years ago from the Utah Jazz. Since then, Mitchell has elevated their play and in turn, they got back to their first playoffs without LeBron James on the team.
However, rumors have been swirling that Mitchell wants to achieve postseason success, whether in this team or not. Some of these reportedly said that if the Cavs do not make the Finals this season, he might find another home elsewhere to chase that goal. Throughout his career, Mitchell has been to the first round multiple times but has been in the second round just twice. He has yet to make a conference finals appearance, and this postseason with the Cavs will determine if he falls short of that goal again.
Helping Mitchell this time around are shooters that the Cavs lacked a year ago, with Max Strus, Sam Merill, and Georges Niang now in the fold for the team. Cleveland got exposed by New York in just five games last year and it was basically because of their inability to space the floor around Mitchell and point guard Darius Garland. Now with an improved Garland, Evan Mobley, and Jarrett Allen all having a year to work on their games for this stretch, the Cavs aim to make the conference finals &mdash; before Mitchell&rsquo;s impending big decision in free agency.
<h3>Orlando Magic - How far can their youth and inexperience take them in the playoffs?</h3>
Being the youngest playoff team in the East's playoff field, the Magic come in with no expectations at hand. This young group has overachieved for the season having the fourth-best defense despite them being the 4th youngest team in the league. Making the playoffs has already been a huge accomplishment, but winning a series would not be so bad and would be a welcome sight for the team.&nbsp;
Nobody expected them to be in the hunt for the top seeds in the East, but here they are in their first playoff experience as a group as the fifth seed. This is only year 2 and 3 for young stars Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner and they could only get better as years progress. This is only the beginning for Orlando and they could be a difficult fixture in the East for years to come.
<h3>Indiana Pacers - How big of an impact will Pascal Siakam be in the postseason?</h3>
Right after the trade to bring Siakam to Indiana, fans and basketball analysts alike mentioned how the trade was a win for Indiana and that Siakam&rsquo;s value would be seen through in the playoffs. When the game slows down and teams are more equipped and prepared for their defenses, teams would need solid execution on their half-court offense.
This was where Siakam was supposed to come in, and now that it&rsquo;s here, will he be able to step up and lead the Pacers to a series win? The 2019 champion with the Raptors has played 41 games with Indiana this season after the trade, and he has averaged 21.3 points, 7.8 rebounds, and 3.7 assists on 55/39/70 shooting splits and he has given the Pacers a new dimension on offense. The Pacers who will go up against the Bucks for their first-round playoff series, have gone 4-1 against them &ndash; but it was all without Siakam. The question for them now is, how will they maintain the level of success they had vs the Bucks now that Siakam is in the rotation? Will Siakam end up being the ceiling-raiser for the postseason for them? Or could he end up disrupting the rhythm that the team had in the regular season vs the Bucks?
<h3>Philadelphia - Is this finally the year they advance with Nick Nurse at the helm?</h3>
The Sixers have had a lot of heartbreak over the years, from not being able to make the Conference Finals in Joel Embiid&rsquo;s career to choking multiple times in the playoffs, it's just disaster after disaster when it matters the most in the City of Brotherly Love.
However, they hope the outcome is going to come out differently this year due to one factor: Nick Nurse.
The 2019 champion coach has given the Sixers a lot to hope for with a breath of fresh air surrounding the team on offensive and defensive execution. This year, with Embiid being better than ever (being even better than last year&rsquo;s MVP campaign) and with the help of Nurse&rsquo;s diverse offensive sets, the Sixers&rsquo; title chances have increased significantly. Coach Nurse having the ability to make adjustments on the fly and push the right buttons will be a major weapon for the Sixers for their upcoming playoff run.
When healthy this year, Embiid has had one of the most dominant regular seasons in NBA history, averaging 34.7 points, 11 rebounds, and 5.6 assists. The Sixers have a 31-8 record when he plays, which would equal the best win-pace mark in the league. He now has a dynamic sidekick in Tyrese Maxey who has been named an all-star this year, and general manager Daryl Morey has surrounded them with capable role players to complement their skill sets. Will Nurse be the final piece that puts all of the Sixers together?
<h3>Miami Heat - Can they rediscover their old magic against the Celtics, but this time without Jimmy Butler?</h3>
At this point, people got to understand and realize that playoff Jimmy is a real thing. The dude just turns it up when it matters the most and the lights are at their brightest, and has carried Miami every time in the postseason.
However, this year figures out to be an entirely different scenario with Butler being out with an injury. According to reports, Butler could be sidelined for multiple weeks due to an MCL sprain &mdash; devastating news for Miami ahead of their upcoming playoff matchup vs Boston.&nbsp;
The Heat have faced the Celtics three times over the past four seasons, and they have beaten them twice. All those games and series featured a lot of Butler carrying them to wins.
Without Butler though, things have changed dramatically fast. Now, the question stands: will they have enough to defeat their old nemesis (who&rsquo;s become the most dominant team in the league) sans their best player?

As eight playoff teams in each conference gear up for what promises to be an intense battle for the title, each team faces its own set of unique challenges.

2024 Eastern Conference Playoffs: Each team’s biggest question heading into the playoffs

The overall No. 1 seed for March Madness is No. 1 in the final AP Top 25, too.
Alabama, fresh off an SEC Tournament title to go with its regular-season crown, ascended to the top spot Monday, earning 48 of 61 first-place votes to jump Houston, which lost in the American Athletic Conference final without star guard Marcus Sasser. Alabama also spent a week at No. 1 last month.
&ldquo;We set goals over the summer: regular season, (league) tournament, obviously a national championship,&rdquo; Crimson Tide guard Jahvon Quinerly said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m going to make sure our guys are ready to go no matter who we match up with.&rdquo;
That will be Texas A&amp;M-Corpus Christi or Southeast Missouri State, who meet in a First Four game Tuesday night. The winner will play the Crimson Tide on Thursday in Birmingham, an hour down the road from their Tuscaloosa campus.
The top seed in the South Region, Alabama would face West Virginia or Maryland for a spot in the Sweet 16 with a win.
And how sweet that would be for a team that&rsquo;s gone through the ringer: former teammate Darius Miles and another man have been indicted on capital murder charges for a January shooting, an investigator has testified star freshman Brandon Miller was asked by Miles to bring the gun that night and police have also said Jaden Bradley was at the scene.
&ldquo;To beat the teams we had to beat to get here was not easy,&rdquo; Alabama coach Nate Oats said last week. &ldquo;So proud of the guys, proud of their effort, proud they were able to get really focused. Got a lot of mental toughness.&rdquo;
Houston still received nine first-place votes and was No. 2 after losing to Memphis in the final of the AAC tourney, where Sasser hurt his groin in the semifinal round. He did not play in the championship and his status will be watched closely leading up to the Cougars&rsquo; NCAA opener against Northern Kentucky.
Purdue, seeded first in the East Region, earned three first-place votes and was third in the AP poll after the regular-season Big Ten champion won its conference tournament, too. Kansas, which expects to have Bill Self back for the NCAA tourney after a medical scare, was fourth after receiving the No. 1 seed in the West.
Texas routed the Jayhawks in the finals of the Big 12 Tournament and rounded out the top five.
Marquette remained at No. 6 after its Big East tourney title. UCLA earned one first-place vote and was seventh after losing in the Pac-12 Tournament final to Arizona, which was No. 8. Gonzaga and UConn rounded out the top 10.
&ldquo;We have a special team. We&rsquo;re not going to do what our past teams have done, which was to maybe get caught up in the wallow of losing,&rdquo; said Huskies coach Dan Hurley, whose team fell to the Golden Eagles in the Big East tourney semifinals. &ldquo;We&rsquo;re going to get our minds right very quickly and get ready to make a run next week.&rdquo;
RISING AND FALLING
Duke made the biggest jump in the final poll after beating Virginia for the ACC Tournament title, climbing nine spots to No. 12 &mdash; the highest the Blue Devils have been since the third week of the season. First-year coach Jon Scheyer has them seeded fifth in the East in the NCAA Tournament.
UCLA, seeded second in the West, fell five spots to No. 7 in the final poll.
IN AND OUT
Memphis was hardly receiving votes last week, but rolling to the AAC tourney title put Penny Hardaway&rsquo;s crew into the poll for the first time this season at No. 24. Florida Atlantic, the Conference USA regular-season and tourney champ, returned at No. 25 after spending the first four weeks in the poll in school history in January and February.
The Tigers and Owls made the AP poll at the expense of Creighton, which was routed by Xavier in the Big East semifinals, and Kentucky, which fell to Vanderbilt in the SEC Tournament quarterfinal round.
CONFERENCE WATCH
Widely considered the toughest league in the nation, the Big 12 had two teams in the top five and five in the Top 25. The league has seven schools heading to the NCAA Tournament after Oklahoma State was left on the bubble.
The SEC, which tied the Big Ten for the most NCAA bids with eight, had four teams in the final Top 25. The Big East and ACC had three apiece, though the Big East had two in the top 10 and the leading ACC team was Duke at No. 12.

The Crimson Tide, fresh off an SEC Tournament title to go with their regular-season crown, ascended to the top spot Monday.

Alabama, Houston top men's final AP Top 25 ahead of March Madness

The top five spots in The Associated Press men&rsquo;s college basketball poll remained the same. The rest of the AP Top 25 was a big jumble.
Houston was No. 1 for the second straight week in the poll released Monday, receiving 49 first-place votes from a 62-person media panel. No. 2 Alabama had five first-place votes and No. 3 Kansas received eight.
UCLA and Purdue rounded out the top five. The Boilermakers held at No. 5 despite losing to No. 15 Indiana.
In the rest of the poll, only No. 20 Providence kept the same position from last week as teams get ready for conference tournaments next week and the start of March Madness.
Alabama held its spot after winning two games despite a challenging week off the court. Brandon Miller had a pair of huge games since police alleged that he brought a gun to former teammate Darius Miles, who is charged with capital murder in a fatal shooting.
Against Arkansas on Saturday, Miller&rsquo;s regular pregame introduction with a Crimson Tide staffer giving him a pat down didn&rsquo;t sit well with coach Nate Oats &mdash; or anyone else.
&ldquo;I can assure you it definitely will not happen again the remainder of this year,&rdquo; Oats said.
Miller had 24 points in the 86-83 win over the Razorbacks after scoring 41 in a two-point win over South Carolina.
SOARING EAGLES
Marquette has made a quick rise under coach Shaka Smart.
The Golden Eagles wrapped up a share of their first Big East regular-season title in a decade with a 90-84 win over DePaul on Saturday and climbed four spots in this week&rsquo;s poll to No. 6. It is Marquette&rsquo;s highest ranking hitting No. 1 in 1977-78.
HOUSTON ON TOP
Houston moved into the top spot last week and held onto it after a pair of routs last week. The Cougars&rsquo; 76-57 win at East Carolina on Saturday clinched the American Athletic Association regular-season championship, the fourth time in five seasons they&rsquo;ve at least shared the conference title.
&ldquo;Our kids know how to win &mdash; I say that a lot,&rdquo; Houston coach Kelvin Sampson said. &ldquo;But we&rsquo;ve figured out how to play our system, be unselfish.&rdquo;
RISING/FALLING
Marquette matched No. 14 UConn and No. 18 San Diego State with the week&rsquo;s biggest jump among teams in the poll, each climbing four spots.
No. 13 Virginia took the biggest tumble, losing seven spots following losses to Boston College and North Carolina last week.
IN AND OUT
No. 21 Maryland is back in the AP Top 25 after wins over Minnesota and then-No. 23 Northwestern.
No. 23 Kentucky returned to the poll after a seven-week absence. The Wildcats had a rapid fall from being No. 4 in the preseason poll, but reeled off wins over No. 12 Tennessee, Florida and Auburn.
No. 25 Pittsburgh is ranked for the first time since 2016 after beating Georgia Tech and Syracuse last week.
Northwestern&rsquo;s return to the poll for the first time in two years didn&rsquo;t last long. The Wildcats dropped out this week after losses to Maryland and Illinois.
Iowa State fell out from No. 23 after three straight losses and consecutive losses knocked out Creighton from No. 19.

The top five spots in The Associated Press men’s college basketball poll remained the same. The rest of the AP Top 25 was a big jumble.

Houston, Alabama top men's AP Top 25; Marquette climbing, Pitt in

The most important word in NBA All-Star break might actually be "break."
For one week, the entire league recalibrates itself for the home stretch of the regular season and catches up on the aches, pains and more significant injuries that stem from competing hard every single day. Rookies can also breathe after being thrown into the fires of their first year as a pro.
Young talent can thrive coming out of the break. Bottom-feeding teams are ready to turn minutes over to those with less experience and more upside after the trade deadline. Contenders have a better understanding of how rookies could slot into a playoff-seeking rotation. And regardless of the ethics, a stellar final impression can heavily impact All-Rookie narratives.
So who might surprise us with a strong close to the season?
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Here are five under-the-radar rookies worth monitoring for a leap forward &mdash; "under-the-radar" excluding lottery draft picks and players already firmly in the Rookie of the Year conversation (i.e. Walker Kessler):
Malaki Branham, San Antonio Spurs
Malaki Branham is barely under the radar at this point; he's leading all rookies with 18.1 points per game in February. But he is one of my favorite players in this rookie class, and since he fits my criteria, I'm seizing the chance to spotlight him.
According to PBP Stats, 136 players have attempted at least 50 "self-created" mid-range shots this season (attempts after possessing the ball for at least two seconds). Branham is converting on a ridiculous 56% of those shots, ranking third behind only Kevin Durant and Seth Curry.
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Malaki Branham logged his sixth consecutive start Monday at Cleveland and played well, scoring 18 points on 8-of-11 in the loss. Branham is a natural shot-creator who is also excellent moving off-ball. He&rsquo;s going to be a very good NBA player and an important piece for the Spurs. <a href="https://t.co/kbfm5KivkL">pic.twitter.com/kbfm5KivkL</a>
&mdash; Brett Usher (@UsherNBA) <a href="https://twitter.com/UsherNBA/status/1625337236152799232?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 14, 2023</a></blockquote>
The No. 20 overall pick hardly wastes time and effort when he attacks off the dribble. While Branham has showcased his chops as an on-ball scorer, he's also 26-for-29 on assisted shots within 10 feet of the rim this season, per PBP Stats, and Synergy says Branham is shooting 76.5% on cutting field goal attempts.&nbsp;
Branham's relatively low output from the perimeter at Ohio State drew question marks around the NBA Draft. Could he stretch his mid-range prowess beyond the arc? This season, Branham has made just 33.3% of his catch-and-shoot threes, but since February, he's at a scorching 18-for-41 (43.9%) on 4.6 &nbsp;attempts per game.&nbsp;
Right now, he's purely been a bucket. We're still waiting to see a bit more of the off-dribble playmaking, which I believe was underrated in college. Branham also is, well, a contributor to the Spurs' league-worst defense. But the 6-foot-5-inch wing is playing in a low-stakes environment by NBA standards and is clearly growing more comfortable with each passing game. If you told me he would lead rookies in post-All-Star scoring, I'd believe you.

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Christian Braun, Denver Nuggets
The No. 21 overall selection in this past year's draft hung around the back end of the Nuggets' rotation for most of the season, but has received 23.3 minutes per game this month. Christian Braun is averaging 7.8 points, 4.6 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 1.3 steals across nine February contests on a scintillating 64.5% True Shooting clip.&nbsp;
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Holy crap Christian Braun! The <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Nuggets?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Nuggets</a> rookie summoning his inner Nikola Jokic, on the baseline cut takes the entry pass from Joker and instantly dishes it back out to Michael Porter Jr. for the corner 3-pointer. Such a damn impressive heads up play.<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/MileHighBasketball?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#MileHighBasketball</a> <a href="https://t.co/p01V1g6PIi">pic.twitter.com/p01V1g6PIi</a>
&mdash; Joel Rush (@JoelRushNBA) <a href="https://twitter.com/JoelRushNBA/status/1625539664571699201?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 14, 2023</a></blockquote>

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Braun is a quintessential connector for the Nuggets right now. Over 53% of his shots have come at the rim, mostly off of secondary drives or cuts, and he'll also spot up from the corners frequently. He's not a lead playmaker, but he'll keep the ball moving; plus, he's had just six bad-pass turnovers all season, per PBP Stats.&nbsp;
The Nuggets also like to use Braun's size at 6-foot-7, 218 pounds to guard up the lineup. According to BBall Index, the Kansas product has spent over 62% of his playing time defending point guards and shooting guards. And, while he's not the point-of-attack defender, he's useful in taking away complementary options and being an additional pest.
Denver's lack of trade-deadline additions on the wing (and top billing in the West) means Braun is expected to contribute to a deep playoff run. A stable three-point shot would go a long way (46.7% in February, 37.1% on the season), along with continued growth on defense. But Braun is the rare rookie on a pressure-packed team, and thriving would say a lot about his impact.
Tari Eason, Houston Rockets
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Per Cleaning the Glass: only 5️⃣ NBA players have block and steal rates both above 1.5% 🏀 - Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (OKC) - Jaren Jackson Jr. (MEM) - Larry Nance Jr. (NOP) - Kyle Anderson (MIN) - Tari Eason (HOU) <a href="https://t.co/Fi0pGOHnbL">pic.twitter.com/Fi0pGOHnbL</a>
&mdash; BasketballNews.com (@basketbllnews) <a href="https://twitter.com/basketbllnews/status/1628828512206348291?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 23, 2023</a></blockquote>

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Tari Eason's 1.5% block rate and 2.2% steal rate place him in an elite group of defensive havoc-wreakers this season. He's averaging 4.52 bad-pass steals or deflections per 75 possessions, per BBall Index, which puts him in the 95th percentile at his position.
Eason is already a unique event-creator on defense with his length and mobility. He also inhales rebounds on both ends of the glass. The former LSU forward secures offensive boards on 10.6% of Houston's misses, a rate that ranks second among all non-bigs in the league.&nbsp;
Those two impact areas carry the weight for Eason's All-Rookie case; he's still finding his niche on offense. He has to create more for himself than expected, and he's making a paltry 40.7% of his unassisted shots at the rim. The Rockets' offense has been a mess all season long. Ideally, Eason could start his career capitalizing on more cuts, lobs and spot-ups, but it's unclear if he'll find that balance this season.
Still, his defensive impact and rebounding activity warrant a prime spot in the rotation of a young, losing team, and Eason is talented enough to make it work.
Jaylin Williams, Oklahoma City Thunder
The pesky Thunder continue to stick around in the playoff race, and Jaylin Williams &mdash; not to be confused with Jalen &mdash; has been the most recent young head-turner with his charge-taking. Check out this graphic from Dom Samangy:
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Former Razorback, Jaylin Williams, is currently LEADING THE NBA in charges drawn per minute played and has the highest charge rate in 7 years since the NBA started tracking &ldquo;hustle stats&rdquo; in 2016. He currently draws a charge every 22 minutes of play! <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/ProHogs?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#ProHogs</a> // <a href="https://twitter.com/Jay_MWilliams_?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Jay_MWilliams_</a> <a href="https://t.co/bOM9XcqynU">pic.twitter.com/bOM9XcqynU</a>
&mdash; Dom Samangy (@DSamangy) <a href="https://twitter.com/DSamangy/status/1628448922770329601?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 22, 2023</a></blockquote>

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Williams is such a fun, unique player. He's not racking up blocks or steals as a rim-protector, but he rebounds, takes charges and positions himself well on defense for a rookie.
Then, on offense, he's warped his impact from the pre-draft projections coming out of Arkansas. Williams' perimeter shot-making was more of an intriguing developmental pathway than a bread-and-butter skill entering the 2022 NBA Draft. The second-rounder is shooting a red-hot 47.7% from long range this season, including (checks notes) 55.6% since Jan. 1. In contrast, he's barely scoring around the rim; just 29% of his shots are coming within 4 feet of the basket.
Add in an 11.1% assist rate (66th percentile among bigs) and 3.1 screen assists per 75 possessions (80th percentile), and Williams is upending a lot of the traditional images for low-usage young centers.&nbsp;
OKC moved on from Mike Muscala and forward Darius Bazley at the trade deadline. Williams' playing time has fluctuated this season, but he's averaging 21.8 minutes per game in February and has started 11 of 17 games in the new year. He'll be a big part of this stretch run for a Thunder team capable of contending.
Mark Williams, Charlotte Hornets
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mark williams size blk + lob radius, good stuff <a href="https://t.co/8lVqlyksUH">pic.twitter.com/8lVqlyksUH</a>
&mdash; ben pfeifer (@bjpf_) <a href="https://twitter.com/bjpf_/status/1627041357041897472?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 18, 2023</a></blockquote>

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The Hornets traded away Mason Plumlee and are well out of the playoff picture. It's time to give the young guys some runtime, and that begins with Mark Williams, who has started the last four contests. The No. 15 overall pick is averaging 7.6 points, 5.6 rebounds and 1.2 blocks in 15.9 minutes per game this season.
Williams has thrived in more of the traditional finishing-center archetype. He's tallying 4.4 screen assists per 75 possessions (88th percentile) and posting a monster 3.7% block rate and 2.0% steal rate. (He missed the minute qualifier for Eason's previously mentioned stat). The 7-foot-1-inch center takes 78% of his shots around the rim, the majority via assists, and he makes 70% of those attempts.&nbsp;
Let's expand on the interior defense a bit because Williams' small-sample impact numbers are insane. Pulling from BBall Index's data, here's a look at how he's affecting shots around the basket.
<table style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 100%; height: 132px;" border="1">
<tbody>
<tr style="height: 22px;">
<td style="width: 48.6251%; height: 22px;">Category</td>
<td style="width: 16.3185%; height: 22px;">Value</td>
<td style="width: 35.0481%; height: 22px;">Percentile rank (among C's)</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 22px;">
<td style="width: 48.6251%; height: 22px;">% of teams' at-rim shots contested by Williams</td>
<td style="width: 16.3185%; height: 22px;" data-sheets-value="{&quot;1&quot;:3,&quot;3&quot;:0.4714}" data-sheets-numberformat="{&quot;1&quot;:3,&quot;2&quot;:&quot;0.00%&quot;,&quot;3&quot;:1}">47.14%</td>
<td style="width: 35.0481%; height: 22px;" data-sheets-value="{&quot;1&quot;:3,&quot;3&quot;:0.96}" data-sheets-numberformat="{&quot;1&quot;:3,&quot;2&quot;:&quot;0%&quot;,&quot;3&quot;:1}" data-sheets-formula="=percentrank('Data Pull'!C[134]:C[134],R[0]C[-1])">96th</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 22px;">
<td style="width: 48.6251%; height: 22px;">At-rim contests per 75 poss.</td>
<td style="width: 16.3185%; height: 22px;" data-sheets-value="{&quot;1&quot;:3,&quot;3&quot;:10.82}">10.82</td>
<td style="width: 35.0481%; height: 22px;" data-sheets-value="{&quot;1&quot;:3,&quot;3&quot;:0.987}" data-sheets-numberformat="{&quot;1&quot;:3,&quot;2&quot;:&quot;0%&quot;,&quot;3&quot;:1}" data-sheets-formula="=percentrank('Data Pull'!C[135]:C[135],R[0]C[-1])">99th</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 22px;">
<td style="width: 48.6251%; height: 22px;">Blocks per 75 poss.</td>
<td style="width: 16.3185%; height: 22px;" data-sheets-value="{&quot;1&quot;:3,&quot;3&quot;:2.63}" data-sheets-numberformat="{&quot;1&quot;:2,&quot;2&quot;:&quot;0.0&quot;,&quot;3&quot;:1}">2.6</td>
<td style="width: 35.0481%; height: 22px;" data-sheets-value="{&quot;1&quot;:3,&quot;3&quot;:0.97}" data-sheets-numberformat="{&quot;1&quot;:3,&quot;2&quot;:&quot;0%&quot;,&quot;3&quot;:1}" data-sheets-formula="=percentrank('Data Pull'!C[136]:C[136],R[0]C[-1])">97th</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 22px;">
<td style="width: 48.6251%; height: 22px;">% of Williams' contests that become blocks</td>
<td style="width: 16.3185%; height: 22px;" data-sheets-value="{&quot;1&quot;:3,&quot;3&quot;:0.2429}" data-sheets-numberformat="{&quot;1&quot;:3,&quot;2&quot;:&quot;0.00%&quot;,&quot;3&quot;:1}">24.29%</td>
<td style="width: 35.0481%; height: 22px;" data-sheets-value="{&quot;1&quot;:3,&quot;3&quot;:0.857}" data-sheets-numberformat="{&quot;1&quot;:3,&quot;2&quot;:&quot;0%&quot;,&quot;3&quot;:1}" data-sheets-formula="=percentrank('Data Pull'!C[137]:C[137],R[0]C[-1])">86th</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 22px;">
<td style="width: 48.6251%; height: 22px;">Opponent FG% at rim vs. expected FG%</td>
<td style="width: 16.3185%; height: 22px;" data-sheets-value="{&quot;1&quot;:3,&quot;3&quot;:-0.116}" data-sheets-numberformat="{&quot;1&quot;:3,&quot;2&quot;:&quot;+#,##0.00%;-#,##0.00%&quot;}">-11.60%</td>
<td style="width: 35.0481%; height: 22px;" data-sheets-value="{&quot;1&quot;:3,&quot;3&quot;:0.987}" data-sheets-numberformat="{&quot;1&quot;:3,&quot;2&quot;:&quot;0%&quot;,&quot;3&quot;:1}" data-sheets-formula="=1-percentrank('Data Pull'!C[138]:C[138],R[0]C[-1])">99th</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
(Scroll right to view full table on mobile)
These are massive data points for any player, much less a rookie.
When Williams is on the court, Charlotte allows 6.6 fewer points per 100 possessions, according to Cleaning the Glass. He's already changing the tone for a squad that has historically had issues fortifying the floor. Hopefully we get to see more of that in this stretch run.
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THE OUTLIERS (a.k.a. other random interesting numbers I found in the void):
<ul>
<li>Not a stat, but I do want to give honorable mention shoutouts to AJ Griffin of the Atlanta Hawks and AJ Green of the Milwaukee Bucks. Both are talented rookies ready to join their team's rotations; I just wonder what minutes are available. Griffin now has to compete with Saddiq Bey in Atlanta's wing room in addition to the other established talents on the roster. Green seems to take a back seat when the Bucks are fully healthy.</li>
<li>Synergy's Todd Whitehead made these neat visualizations of pick-and-roll defense that I highlighted at the beginning of the year, and he's got some interesting takeaways now:</li>
</ul>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
When I made this chart back in November, I was interested to see that the teams with the best process (ones taking away opponents rolls/cuts to the rim, corner 3s, and shooting fouls) weren't necessarily the ones with the lowest PPP allowed (👀Boston, for example). <a href="https://t.co/5VVpnVCyYW">https://t.co/5VVpnVCyYW</a> <a href="https://t.co/aWBfcmOA9T">pic.twitter.com/aWBfcmOA9T</a>
&mdash; Todd Whitehead (@CrumpledJumper) <a href="https://twitter.com/CrumpledJumper/status/1626670052769669120?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 17, 2023</a></blockquote>

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<ul>
<li>Another post-All-Star stats check-in courtesy of Tom Bassine:</li>
</ul>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
Updated starter and bench majority lineup team strengths. Denver still builds their leads through starter lineups with Jokic. Chicago bench stands out. <a href="https://t.co/1Uh8HSWSfs">pic.twitter.com/1Uh8HSWSfs</a>
&mdash; Tom Bassine (@tvbassine) <a href="https://twitter.com/tvbassine/status/1629102353210126336?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 24, 2023</a></blockquote>

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Ethan Fuller highlights five under-the-radar rookies who could make an impact in the NBA season's final months.

NBA Stats Notebook: 5 players who could break into the All-Rookie race

CLEVELAND (AP) &mdash; All-Star Donovan Mitchell scored 19 of his 29 points in the second half and Jarrett Allen had 23 points and 10 rebounds, rallying the Cleveland Cavaliers to a 97-89 victory over the Chicago Bulls on Saturday night.
Mitchell added 10 rebounds and Darius Garland scored 19 for Cleveland, which trailed 61-48 in the third quarter before unleashing a 43-17 run to go up by 13. The Cavaliers won their sixth straight and are 24-6 at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse.
&ldquo;This was a big-time win for us,&rdquo; Mitchell said. &ldquo;We were getting good looks early and making the right plays, but the shots weren&rsquo;t falling. Once we started hitting them, we know it&rsquo;s tough to play here because of our fight and our fans.&rdquo;
Zach LaVine scored 23 points, Nikola Vucevic had 14 points and 14 rebounds, and All-Star DeMar DeRozan had 16 points and six assists for the Bulls. Chicago was outscored 20-4 to start the fourth and dropped its third in a row.
The Cavaliers were playing the second half of a challenging back-to-back set, arriving in Cleveland at 4 a.m. following their 118-107 win in New Orleans. That nationally-televised game tipped after 10 p.m. Eastern.
&ldquo;To find the fortitude to grind this one out, that&rsquo;s special,&rdquo; Cavaliers coach J.B. Bickerstaff said. &ldquo;The mental toughness the guys showed when things weren&rsquo;t going our way, you talk about growth, that&rsquo;s what this was.&rdquo;
Evan Mobley had 14 points and Garland dished out seven assists, helping Cleveland extend its lead over Brooklyn for fourth place in the Eastern Conference to 2 1/2 games. The Cavaliers swept their four-game season series with Chicago.
The Bulls committed 23 turnovers, were 5 of 21 on 3-pointers and only managed 60 points over the final three quarters.
&ldquo;We just shot ourselves in the foot an enormous amount tonight,&rdquo; Chicago coach Billy Donovan said. &ldquo;A lot of it is the team learning how to stop the bleeding. Everyone is trying their best, but we&rsquo;re not getting the results we want.&rdquo;
Cleveland&rsquo;s reserves missed 18 of their 19 field goal attempts, including all 13 3-pointers, with Ricky Rubio coming up empty on six tries and Dean Wade missing his five shots.
Mitchell scored a franchise-record 71 points in the teams&rsquo; previous meeting Jan. 2, a 145-134 overtime win at home by the Cavaliers. It tied for the eighth-most points in a game in NBA history and was the highest total in the league in 17 years.
EYES WIDE OPEN
The Bulls are in the thick of the battle for a play-in tournament spot in the East. Chicago hasn&rsquo;t made a roster move since mid-December, but that could change soon as vice president Arturas Karnisovas and general manager Marc Eversley are actively looking at contract-buyout possibilities around the NBA.
&ldquo;There have definitely been discussions and we have talked some names, but obviously, I can&rsquo;t say who they are,&rdquo; Donovan said. &ldquo;You would take a good player who we would all feel confident could help us.&rdquo;
TIP-INS
Bulls: G Lonzo Ball (left knee surgery), who has not played in a game since Jan. 14, 2022, will have his status updated by Karnisovas following the All-Star break. Ball has been able to dunk in recent weeks and could be nearing a return. &hellip; C Andre Drummond averaged a franchise-high 12.9 rebounds over two seasons with Cleveland, leading the NBA in 2019-2020. &hellip; Chicago wrapped up a three-game trip.
Cavaliers: G Dylan Windler (right ankle sprain) was in uniform for the second time, but did not get into the game. The 2019 first-round selection has missed the entire season after experiencing multiple setbacks. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s been tough because there have been random bumps in the road that you can&rsquo;t account for,&rdquo; Bickerstaff said. Windler has only appeared in 81 games as a pro. &hellip; Cleveland has sold out all 30 home games.

Donovan Mitchell scored 29 points in the second half, helping rally the Cleveland Cavaliers to a 97-89 win over the Chicago Bulls.

Mitchell nets 29 as Cavs rally past Bulls, win streak hits 6

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (AP) &mdash; Alabama coach Nate Oats has agreed to a new six-year, $30 million contract amid the program&rsquo;s best regular season in decades.
Oats will average $5 million plus incentives over the deal running through the 2028-29 season under a deal approved Friday by the University of Alabama System Board of Trustees Compensation Committee.
It makes him the fourth-highest paid basketball coach in the Southeastern Conference and among the Top 10 nationally, athletic director Greg Byrne said.
Oats, who is in his fourth season, will make $4.5 million for the first year with $200,000 annual raises. The fourth-ranked Crimson Tide (19-3, 9-0 SEC) has the team&rsquo;s highest ranking this deep into a season since 1976-77.
&ldquo;I am honored and humbled to receive a contract extension from the University of Alabama,&rdquo; Oats said in a statement. &ldquo;As I have said many times, my family and I love this community, the city of Tuscaloosa and the university.
&ldquo;I am incredibly proud of what we have been able to build during our time at UA which is a direct reflection of the student-athletes, coaches and staff who have all played a big part in our success. I am excited for what&rsquo;s happening in the future of our program and the direction we are heading.&rdquo;
Alabama has gone 80-39 under Oats, winning the 2021 SEC regular season and tournament championships.
&ldquo;Coach Oats has done an outstanding job leading our men&rsquo;s basketball program, and we want him to continue doing so for many years to come,&rdquo; Byrne said in a statement. &ldquo;He and his staff have lifted the program back to national prominence and built a product that is exciting to be a part of for our team and for our fans.
&ldquo;We were confident Nate was going to be an outstanding coach for us when we hired him, and he is not only that, but also a great leader of our young men.&rdquo;
The new contract comes nearly three weeks after Alabama basketball player Darius Miles and another man were charged with capital murder following a fatal shooting near campus. Miles, a reserve forward, was removed from the team and suspended from the university following his arrest.&nbsp;

Nate Oats is now the fourth-highest-paid basketball coach in the Southeastern Conference and among the top 10 nationally.

Alabama coach Nate Oats gets new 6-year, $30 million deal

As of Wednesday morning in late January, three games separate fifth place and 13th place in the Western Conference standings. We're more than halfway through the regular season and most of the West playoff spots are still completely wide-open.
Only one of those teams has put together a clean, inspiring month.&nbsp;
The Oklahoma City Thunder are 8-3 in 2023, and though they're tied for 10th in the conference at 23-24, they still sit just one game back of the sixth-place Dallas Mavericks. The Thunder join the Denver Nuggets as <a href="https://cleaningtheglass.com/stats/league/fourfactors?season=2022&amp;seasontype=regseason&amp;start=01/1/2023&amp;end=01/25/2023" target="_blank" rel="noopener">one of two teams with top-five offensive and defensive ratings</a> (121.9/112.1) this month, per Cleaning the Glass, and they're up to the ninth-ranked DRTG (113.2) on the whole season.
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OKC is far removed from the Victor Wembanyama sweepstakes and too good of a basketball team to throw in the towel. Meanwhile, the rest of the West has been riddled with inconsistency, as some of the projected top teams battle injuries, manage rest and, more plainly, underwhelm.
Sneaking into the Play-In Tournament might be selling the youngest team in the league short. Why can't OKC bypass the preliminary round entirely?
The franchise has its superstar. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has maintained his 30-point-per-game pace in every month this season on remarkable efficiency splits for a high-usage point guard.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
Here&rsquo;s the complete list of point guards that have averaged 30+ PPG on 50% shooting for a season: - Steph Curry (unanimous MVP season) - Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (this season) That&rsquo;s it. <a href="https://t.co/dr1gn1H2r1">pic.twitter.com/dr1gn1H2r1</a>
&mdash; The Lead (@TheLeadSM) <a href="https://twitter.com/TheLeadSM/status/1617564856051437575?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 23, 2023</a></blockquote>

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Gilgeous-Alexander has knocked down 57.9% of his two-pointers this month and is a certified Tier 1 driving threat across the Association. We know that already, though, and instead of rehashing the same points, I'd like to direct you to <a href="https://theanalyst.com/na/2023/01/shai-gilgeous-alexander-oklahoma-city-thunder-all-star-and-on-the-verge-of-superstardom/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Mat Issa's excellent breakdown of SGA's unique driving gifts over at The Analyst.</a>
And though SGA is a proven finisher and pull-up scorer, he's actually had some more help this month. According to Cleaning the Glass, 42% of his at-rim buckets have been assisted, up from his 27% rate on the whole season.
<div style="width: 100%; height: 0px; position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.250%;"><iframe style="width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute; left: 0px; top: 0px; overflow: hidden;" src="https://streamable.com/e/8dml89" width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" data-mce-fragment="1"></iframe></div>
OKC has done a better job moving the ball around and kicking out to its centerpiece. In turn, he has made quicker decisions to catch and drive himself, which puts an all-world pressure point against a tilted defense. Josh Giddey has taken on more responsibility as a facilitator, but the help is really coming from everywhere, as shown above.
The results show in this table. Here's how often Gilgeous-Alexander has attempted shots at the rim with two dribbles or less, and his efficiency, per PBP Stats:
<table style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 100%;" border="1">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="width: 18.174771540469976%;">Season</td>
<td>FGM</td>
<td>FGA</td>
<td>FG%</td>
<td style="width: 18.174771540469976%;">Freq. (% of total FGA)</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 18.174771540469976%;">2018-19</td>
<td style="width: 18.174771540469976%;">64</td>
<td style="width: 18.174771540469976%;">100</td>
<td style="width: 18.174771540469976%;">64%</td>
<td style="width: 18.174771540469976%;">13.99%</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 18.174771540469976%;">2019-20</td>
<td style="width: 18.174771540469976%;">93</td>
<td style="width: 18.174771540469976%;">155</td>
<td style="width: 18.174771540469976%;">60%</td>
<td style="width: 18.174771540469976%;">15.33%</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 18.174771540469976%;">2020-21</td>
<td style="width: 18.174771540469976%;">21</td>
<td style="width: 18.174771540469976%;">37</td>
<td style="width: 18.174771540469976%;">56.76%</td>
<td style="width: 18.174771540469976%;">6.56%</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 18.174771540469976%;">2021-22</td>
<td style="width: 18.174771540469976%;">55</td>
<td style="width: 18.174771540469976%;">79</td>
<td style="width: 18.174771540469976%;">69.62%</td>
<td style="width: 18.174771540469976%;">7.52%</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 18.174771540469976%;">2022-23</td>
<td style="width: 18.174771540469976%;">59</td>
<td style="width: 18.174771540469976%;">82</td>
<td style="width: 18.174771540469976%;">71.95%</td>
<td style="width: 18.174771540469976%;">9.47%</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
Those first two seasons, SGA was a complementary player with the Los Angeles Clippers and a second option in OKC next to Chris Paul. Then, he became one of the league's highest-usage No. 1 options. Now, in his third year with the role, Gilgeous-Alexander is having to create less with his dribble, and it's corresponding to an increase in efficiency.&nbsp;
You can even extend out to the mid-range, where he's taking 4.6% of his shots with two dribbles or less (highest of the past three years), and hitting a ridiculous 62.5% of those shots (by far a career-high). So though Gilgeous-Alexander is still doing the vast majority of his scoring work by himself, the supporting cast is starting to make life easier.&nbsp;
Giddey, as mentioned, has been a massive piece to the offensive improvement and the Thunder's overall rise. (Our <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/examining-josh-giddeys-rising-aggression" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Nekias Duncan detailed what's working for the second-year guard</a> and I highly recommend you check out his breakdown.)
Now, let's slide over to two game-changing role-players: Isaiah Joe and Kenrich Williams.&nbsp;
I wrote last summer that OKC <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-okc-oklahoma-city-thunder-shai-gilgeous-alexander-josh-giddey-luguentz-dort-chet-holmgren-tre-mann-jalen-williams" target="_blank" rel="noopener">needed to improve on its league-worst 32.6% catch-and-shoot three-point clip</a>&nbsp;to really help its offense around Gilgeous-Alexander. The team is up to 15th with a very capable 37.2% hit rate so far this season. Several Thunder players have improved, including significant leaps from Giddey, Lu Dort and (when healthy) Aleksej Pokusevski.
But Joe and Williams have truly turned the tide. They lead the squad in catch-and-shoot three-point percentage and are among the 15 best off the catch in the entire league, per Second Spectrum.
Joe, after being waived by the Philadelphia 76ers in October, has increased his playing time in each subsequent month of the season. He's averaging 12.1 points in 21.1 minutes per game during January while canning 44.6% of his triples. I don't love playing the on/off stats game too often, but it's telling that the Thunder have been 19.9 points better than opponents per 100 possesssions with Joe on the court, per Cleaning the Glass. That ranks third among all NBA players.
The former Arkansas Razorback entered the NBA with perimeter marksmanship as his calling card, and it's unfortunate for the Sixers that they didn't see things through. Joe has very immediately become one of the best shooters in the league in his third season.&nbsp;
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These buckets might not look flashy, but they're invaluable to what OKC wants to accomplish. Gilgeous-Alexander will consistently draw help on his drives, and several other players like Williams and Darius Bazley can attack off the catch or leverage themselves on cuts. All Joe has to do is make the defense pay for helping by relocating and connecting. He's hitting 48.4% of his catch-and-shoot threes, good for fifth among all players with at least 75 such attempts.
Unlike Joe, Williams has not been quite the sure bet. He made 44.4% of his threes in 2020-21, but then just 33.9% in 2021-22, including 34.0% on catch-and-shoot attempts. This year, he's roared back with a 42.9% overall clip and is shooting an eye-popping 52.8% from distance in January.&nbsp;
Most of the resurgence comes via a massive bounce-back year from the corners. The 28-year-old is shooting 54.5% on corner threes after hitting just 35% last season. He's also a bigger threat than Joe to attack a closeout and make the right pass.
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Williams isn't some shifty advantage-creator, but he's confident in putting the ball on the floor to the point where he can compress sides of a defense. So far this month, Williams has 27 assists against just 5 turnovers, providing stability moving the ball in addition to his hot shooting.
It's fair to wonder about shooting regression for Williams, Joe and some of the other role-players on OKC's roster. But at the same time, this squad has a top-10 defense that builds on a solid 2021-22 year and gives some cushion if pieces of the offense hit a downturn.&nbsp;
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To reach a top-six seed, the Thunder would currently need to pass the Golden State Warriors, Minnesota Timberwolves, Utah Jazz, Phoenix Suns, and at least one of the Mavericks or Clippers. That looks daunting on paper; most of those franchises are loaded with playoff experience and have proven themselves already.
The positive: According to Tankathon, Oklahoma City has the easiest remaining schedule in the NBA. The Thunder play the Houston Rockets three times and Los Angeles Lakers three times, plus the Detroit Pistons, Charlotte Hornets, San Antonio Spurs and Toronto Raptors once each in their final 35 games. They only face one of the Tier 1 regular season squads in the Memphis Grizzlies. In addition, OKC has just three back-to-backs left and a massive six-game homestand at the end of February.&nbsp;
On top of that favorable schedule, those aforementioned foes in the playoff race have all been battling their own problems with injuries and inconsistent basketball. We don't need to wave Golden State or Phoenix or LAC through the regular season just because we know they'll be tough outs in the postseason. We also don't need to imagine what the youngest team in the NBA could be anymore.
The Thunder have a legitimate high-level defense, an arriving offense and a cast of supporters that is bolstering their superstar better than ever before &mdash; and they're still getting better.

Ethan Fuller explains why the Thunder have the pieces to bypass the NBA Play-In Tournament and make the postseason this year.

Making the Oklahoma City Thunder's case as a top-6 NBA playoff seed

Purdue is back at No. 1 in the AP Top 25. Alabama is right behind the Boilermakers.
Purdue returned to the top spot in The Associated Press men&rsquo;s college basketball poll on Monday, moving up two spots after Temple knocked off No. 1 Houston over the weekend. The Boilermakers received 39 first-place votes from a 62-person media panel after a volatile week where just two teams kept the same spot from a week ago.
Alabama climbed two spots to No. 2, picking up 23 first-place votes for its highest ranking since reaching No. 1 in 2002-03. Houston, Tennessee and Kansas State round out the top five.
Purdue (19-1, 8-1 Big Ten) had dropped to No. 3 after four weeks at No. 1 following a loss to Rutgers on Jan. 3, but has since won six straight.
Alabama (17-2, 7-0 SEC) has made a steady climb since being ranked No. 20 in the preseason AP Top 25, moving into the top 10 in early December. The Crimson Tide had lopsided wins over Missouri and Vanderbilt after Darius Miles was dismissed from the team as he faces a murder charge in a fatal shooting near campus.
Alabama coach Nate Oats reached out to Ray Lewis before the Crimson Tide played Vanderbilt last week, sharing a Bible verse suggested by the Hall of Fame linebacker. Alabama ended up beating Vandy by 12 and rolled over Missouri by 21.
&ldquo;I did see some guys break down postgame,&rdquo; Oats said. &ldquo;I think they&rsquo;ve been bottling some stuff up. We&rsquo;ve got a job to do. We&rsquo;ve got to get to the game. We got to the game and took care of business, and then it&rsquo;s almost like a big relief. The game&rsquo;s over, and we can let out a sigh of relief.&rdquo;
COUGARS FALL
Houston moved atop the AP Top 25 for the first time since the Phi Slama Jama of the 1980s earlier this season before a loss to Alabama dropped it back to No. 5.
The Cougars returned to No. 1 on Jan. 9, but their run ended after two weeks with Sunday&rsquo;s 56-55 loss to Temple. The win was the Owls&rsquo; first over a No. 1 team since 2000.
BEATING KU
Kansas State moved up eight spots to No. 5 after outlasting rival Kansas 83-82 at Bramlage Coliseum last week. It&rsquo;s the Wildcats&rsquo; highest ranking since reaching No. 3 in 2010-11.
TCU gave Kansas consecutive losses in the state for the first time since 1989 with a 23-point beatdown at Allen Fieldhouse on Saturday. It was one of Bill Self&rsquo;s worst losses in 20 years as Kansas&rsquo; coach and ended the Jayhawks&rsquo; 16-game home winning streak.
The No. 14 Horned Frogs moved up three spots in this week&rsquo;s poll after the win. Kansas, the defending national champion, dropped seven spots to No. 9.
RISING/FALLING
Kansas State had the week&rsquo;s biggest jump, followed by No. 4 Tennessee and No. 6 Arizona each climbing five spots. No. 21 Baylor moved up four spots with wins over Texas Tech and Oklahoma.
Gonzaga had the biggest fall, losing eight places to No. 14 after Loyola Marymount ended the Zags&rsquo; 75-game home winning streak on Thursday. No. 13 Xavier dropped five spots after a one-point road loss to DePaul.
IN AND OUT
No. 22 Saint Mary&rsquo;s is ranked for the first time this season after rolling over Pepperdine and Santa Clara last week. No. 25 New Mexico is back in the poll after beating San Jose State and outlasting Boise State in overtime.
A three-point loss to Michigan State knocked Rutgers out of the poll from No. 23. Arkansas dropped out from No. 25 following a loss to Missouri.

Purdue returned to the top spot in The Associated Press men’s college basketball poll on Monday, moving up two spots.

Purdue back at No. 1 in AP Top 25, Alabama right behind

Giannis Antetokounmpo set a career high <a href="https://apnews.com/article/milwaukee-bucks-philadelphia-76ers-washington-wizards-indiana-pacers-sports-82805995222618cd69855bdb39934d90">with 55 points</a> last Tuesday in Milwaukee's victory over Washington &mdash; and it wasn't even the week's top scoring performance in the NBA's Central Division.
That belonged to Cleveland's Donovan Mitchell, with <a href="https://apnews.com/article/kobe-bryant-chicago-bulls-cleveland-cavaliers-sports-nba-basketball-4000f884c911930cd172baa93ca42650">a staggering 71</a> the previous night.
The NBA these past few weeks has featured an almost nightly display of one-upmanship among the game's greatest scorers. Whether it was <a href="https://apnews.com/ef2ccddb44dd42fa14ebed5f8344c5a2">Mitchell's extraordinary effort</a> for the Cavaliers or Dallas' Luka Doncic reaching 50 points three times in a nine-day span, everywhere you turn, it seems like another player is putting up a huge total.
&ldquo;I think there are a lot of layers to it. You just see night after night, guys are having enormous offensive games,&rdquo; Wizards coach Wes Unseld Jr. said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s fun to watch as a fan, of course. Frustrating when you&rsquo;re trying to game plan to stop some of these guys because they&rsquo;re scoring at all levels &mdash; the paint, the 3s, getting to the line.&rdquo;
Ten different players have already scored 50 points in a game this season: Antetokounmpo, Mitchell, Doncic, Joel Embiid, Devin Booker, Anthony Davis, Klay Thompson, Pascal Siakam, Darius Garland and Stephen Curry.
Before 2016-17, no more than eight different players had ever had a 50-point game in one season, according to Sportradar. Since then, at least 10 have done it every season, including a record 14 in 2021-22. Some of this is to be expected in what has become a very high-scoring era. NBA teams were averaging 113.8 points per game entering Monday night, which if it continues would be the highest mark for the league since 1969-70. But the overall scoring environment tells only part of the story.
In that 1969-70 season, teams averaged 116.7 points, but only two players had a 50-point game. In 1984-85, the highest-scoring season of the 1980s, teams averaged 110.8 points. But only five players &mdash; Bernard King, Larry Bird, Purvis Short, Kevin McHale and Moses Malone &mdash; produced a 50-point game that season.
So what's happening lately is not just higher scoring league-wide. The top players are also producing huge games with remarkable frequency. Expansion may play a role. The number of teams is 30% higher than it was in 1985. More teams means more games, so it makes sense that there are more examples of a player scoring 50.
But the sport has changed in other ways, too.
&ldquo;Guys come into this league, and the most impressive thing is the skill set &mdash; the handle and the shooting," Golden State coach Steve Kerr said. "What&rsquo;s lacking, I think, is the foundation, the institutional knowledge that players used to have when they came into the league after a few years of college. Sometimes the defense isn&rsquo;t great. Transition defense is at an all-time low in this league.&rdquo;
Nowadays, basically every top scorer has some degree of proficiency from 3-point range, whereas back in the '80s, some stars largely ignored the shot and nobody attempted all that many.
&ldquo;Guys are taking 15 or 16 3s in some games,&rdquo; Los Angeles Clippers coach Tyronn Lue said. "Teams are encouraging guys to take those shots, and if you take so many shots, and if you get hot and make some, you can score a lot of points.&rdquo;
So current players have a variety of ways they can accumulate points in a hurry, and the 3-point shot affects the game even beyond that. With so many players capable of making open 3s, teams can space the floor in a way that punishes defenses for double teams.
&ldquo;You have to pick and choose the guys you try and double team and get the ball out of their hands because they are not great passers, but there are some guys who can score, but can also pick you apart with their passing,&rdquo; Lue said. &ldquo;So, when you have guys like that, you want to let those guys try and get theirs and take everyone else out, but sometimes it can backfire on you as well.&rdquo;
When King scored 60 points on Christmas in 1984, he didn't attempt a single 3. Even this year, Antetokounmpo didn't make any when he scored 55. But Mitchell attempted 15 and made seven in his 71-point game.
&ldquo;I think that 3-point line, as we&rsquo;ve seen over the years, has definitely changed the game,&rdquo; Memphis coach Taylor Jenkins said. &ldquo;Now you&rsquo;re getting more guys to embrace that. The volume of attempts creates those opportunities. It&rsquo;s pretty rare that guys are shooting 2 repeatedly to get to that 50-point mark. It&rsquo;s definitely the evolution of our game to see more of that. I would expect that trend to continue.&rdquo;
___
AP Sports Writer Pat Graham contributed to this report.

Ten different players have already scored 50 points in a game this season. Before 2016-17, no more than eight had done it in one year.

Three-point shooting leads to more NBA scoring binges

CLEVELAND (AP) &mdash; Evan Mobley's 14-foot jumper with four seconds left &mdash; off an assist from Donovan Mitchell &mdash; helped the Cleveland Cavaliers rally for a 90-88 victory Wednesday night over the Phoenix Suns, who lost their fourth straight.
Mitchell finished with just 20 points two nights after scoring 71. But on Cleveland's final possession, he drove and fed Mobley, who calmly knocked down his shot in his return after missing two games with a sore ankle.
The Suns had a chance to tie it, but Mikal Bridges missed a jumper in the final second. Mitchell snared the rebound and fired the ball to the other end in celebration.
Caris LeVert scored 21 points to lead the Cavs, who spent most of the night chasing the Suns. Mitchell was just 6 of 20 from the field (3 of 12 on 3s) after his historic performance on Monday.
Chris Paul scored 25 points and Deandre Ayton added 15 points and 18 rebounds for Phoenix, which went just 1-5 on a trip and dropped to 4-12 since Dec. 5. The Suns have struggled without injured All-NBA guard Devin Booker, out with a groin strain.
Cleveland was without All-Star guard Darius Garland, who missed his third straight game with a sprained right thumb.
Before the game, Cavs coach J.B. Bickerstaff acknowledged the possibility of an &ldquo;emotional hangover&rdquo; for his players following Mitchell's memorable night.
That was certainly the case in the first half as the Cavs came out flat and missed their first 15 3-point attempts while scoring a season-low 33 points before halftime.
The Suns weren't much better, but they had Paul, who scored 14 points in the second to give Phoenix a 10-point halftime lead.
SUNNY DISPOSITION
Despite the Suns' recent slide, which only worsened without Booker, coach Monty Williams has been pleased with his team's togetherness. Practices have stayed spirited and he's seeing a team determined to fix things.
&ldquo;We're just waiting for the breakthrough,&rdquo; he said. "No splintering. We keep plugging away and that has been our mentality from the jump. That's what I keep telling the guys, 'keep pushing.&rdquo;
SCORING BINGE
While Mitchell&rsquo;s 71-point outburst is the highest in the league this season, 40- and 50-point games have become a regular occurrence. Dallas superstar Luka Doncic recently scored 60.
Bickerstaff believes the scoring spike is a combination of factors, including defensive rules that allow offensive freedom and a generation of elite players who began working on their individual skills at a young age.
&ldquo;The league is in a wonderful place as far as talent,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;It literally seems like every night you&rsquo;re seeing somebody do something spectacular."
TIP-INS
Suns: Booker has missed five straight games since reinjuring the groin Dec. 25 at Denver. He missed the three games before that Christmas night game with groin soreness. The team expects him to miss several more weeks. ... G Cameron Payne didn't play in the second half due to right foot discomfort. ... Bridges played in his 348th consecutive game, the league's current longest Ironman streak. He has never missed a game as a pro or at Villanova.
Cavaliers: Mitchell added 11 assists Monday, meaning he accounted for 99 points &mdash; the second most in league history behind Wilt Chamberlain's 104 in 1962. ... Garland took part in the team's morning shootaround, wearing a protective wrap on his thumb. It's possible he'll return later this week. ... Cleveland is 6-0 in overtime games, already a team record for a season. Dating to last season, the Cavs have won their last eight OT games.
&nbsp;

Evan Mobley's 14-foot jumper with four seconds left helped the Cleveland Cavaliers rally for a 90-88 victory over the Phoenix Suns.

Evan Mobley hits late jumper, Cavaliers beat Suns 90-88

In miraculous, comeback fashion, Donovan Mitchell rallied the short-handed Cleveland Cavaliers from a double-digit deficit with an NBA season-high 71 points on 22-of-34 shooting from the field to defeat the Chicago Bulls to ring in the New Year at Rocket Morgage FieldHouse.
"I had to do a little something with Darius [Garland] being out," Mitchell told Bally Sports Ohio's Serena Winters with a grin following the performance.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
71 PTS 8 REB 11 AST W Donovan Mitchell sets a new scoring record for the Cleveland Cavaliers and becomes only the 7th player in NBA history to score 70+ points in a game. <a href="https://t.co/qbOwr3sqyH">pic.twitter.com/qbOwr3sqyH</a>
&mdash; NBA (@NBA) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBA/status/1610118349962514434?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 3, 2023</a></blockquote>

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"First and foremost, my teammates, we fought. I know I had 70 and all, but I wouldn't be here without them. We wouldn't have been in this position without our guys making crucial plays," Mitchell said. "That's the honest truth. We didn't come out too great to start the first half. (Cavs head coach) J.B. [Bickerstaff] threw some stuff around, screamed at us a little bit, told us to lock-in, and we all did it as a group. My teammates put me in the right positions and I just made the plays."
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
Put it in writing. ✍️ <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/LetEmKnow?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#LetEmKnow</a> <a href="https://t.co/iphvVYYPwv">pic.twitter.com/iphvVYYPwv</a>
&mdash; Cleveland Cavaliers (@cavs) <a href="https://twitter.com/cavs/status/1610124378401808387?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 3, 2023</a></blockquote>

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"I was telling some of these guys, in my 15 years, that&rsquo;s the best performance I&rsquo;ve ever seen. And I&rsquo;ve been a part of &mdash; I&rsquo;ve seen some special ones," Kevin Love added. "I was talking about Kyrie [Irving] here against Portland when he had 55. LeBron [James] in Game 1 of the 2018 Finals. Fifty-seven for Kyrie in San Antonio. But this one takes the cake. You see he had 34 shots, 20-for-25 from the line, 7-for-15 from three."
Mitchell also created 28 points for his teammates on 11 assists, meaning he was responsible for 99 of the Cavs' points combined. That's the second-highest mark to Wilt Chamberlain's NBA record of 104, <a href="https://twitter.com/OptaSTATS/status/1610120055622180867?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noopener">per OptaSTATS</a>.
"But you know, I hope people don&rsquo;t overlook that he had 11 assists and 8 rebounds as well. Four turnovers (laughs). That&rsquo;s just, I mean, Don... I think I&rsquo;ve told you guys time and time again, but his process, the way he works, how he takes care of his body, how locked in he is, he means everything to this team," Love added. "I was saying, our group text from 2016, I was like, &lsquo;What was Donovan&rsquo;s asking price?&rsquo; That was something special tonight. He&rsquo;s one of what, seven players that have scored over 70? That&rsquo;s elite company, I can only imagine those names."
Showered with MVP chants once again by the wine-and-gold faithful (with Cedi Osman leading the crowd), Mitchell delivered a whooping 55 of his points in the second half and overtime to will Cleveland to back-to-back victories over its Central Division foe.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
🗣 MVP MVP MVP MVP<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/LetEmKnow?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#LetEmKnow</a> <a href="https://t.co/EZq62CnA0i">pic.twitter.com/EZq62CnA0i</a>
&mdash; Bally Sports Cleveland (@BallySportsCLE) <a href="https://twitter.com/BallySportsCLE/status/1610111597598351361?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 3, 2023</a></blockquote>

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"He was determined to show that this group and winning is the most important thing to him. There's not enough words... I've never been a witness to a performance like that live," Bickerstaff said after the game. "I think we've seen something (like it) on TV before, but we were treated tonight to one of the greatest performances in the history of the NBA."
Mitchell went 7-for-15 from three-point range and converted 20-of-25 free throws in the game.
Impressively enough, he had to give himself an opportunity to accomplish the feat with a putback off an intentional miss from the charity stripe similar to how Luka Doncic executed it last week. It tied the game at 130 apiece, where Mitchell would drop 13 in the extra period.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
Are you serious, Donovan?! 😳 <a href="https://t.co/YVpO9RDmzs">pic.twitter.com/YVpO9RDmzs</a>
&mdash; Bally Sports Cleveland (@BallySportsCLE) <a href="https://twitter.com/BallySportsCLE/status/1610105057923551236?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 3, 2023</a></blockquote>

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"Just miss the free throw the right way. I actually work on it... I'm lying," Mitchell joked. "Shout out to my guys. They had to box out the bigs. No one boxed me out, and I ran in just trying to make the play... Crazy series of events. I appreciate the trust [J.B.] has in me. It's a wild finish. Sometimes you've just gotta laugh it off and just go out there and continue to do what you've gotta do."
Mitchell's mark of 71 points is the most in the history of the Cavs&rsquo; franchise, and he is the seventh player to record a 70-point performance in the history of the NBA.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
.<a href="https://twitter.com/spidadmitchell?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@spidadmitchell</a> (71 POINTS) is the 7th player in <a href="https://twitter.com/NBA?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@NBA</a> history to score 70 PTS in a game, joining... Wilt Chamberlain Kobe Bryant David Thompson Elgin Baylor David Robinson Devin Booker<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/LetEmKnow?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#LetEmKnow</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NBAAllStar?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NBAAllStar</a>
&mdash; Cavs Notes (@CavsNotes) <a href="https://twitter.com/CavsNotes/status/1610111605035134983?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 3, 2023</a></blockquote>

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"It's humbling. I'm speechless to best honest with you when you say that," Mitchell told reporters. "For me, not only did I do that, but I did it in an effort where we came back and won. And it's how we won. It's like, man, this is... nuts (laughs) to be honest.
"I'm extremely blessed and humbled that I'm in that company, in that group. I've always believed I could be one of the best players in this league, but I've gotta keep working. This is a big milestone, but at the end of the day, we've gotta continue... those guys have all won at the highest level and that's my ultimate goal. But to be there with them in the record books is just truly incredible."
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
Donovan Mitchell on joining an elite group of NBA players to score more than 70 points in a single game. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/LetEmKnow?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#LetEmKnow</a> <a href="https://t.co/zZTBdiiiC7">pic.twitter.com/zZTBdiiiC7</a>
&mdash; Bally Sports Cleveland (@BallySportsCLE) <a href="https://twitter.com/BallySportsCLE/status/1610119780815495172?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 3, 2023</a></blockquote>

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"Honestly, it was just finding a way to win," Mitchell said. "I told J.B., 'Don't take me out. I'm gonna try to just find a way to lead us in every aspect.' Like I said, some nights it's putting the ball in the basket, some nights it's defense, some nights it's just finding guys and just try to find different things... I'm just truly blessed and humbled that we got the W, that's all that matters."
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
Hear the full postgame interview with Donovan Mitchell following his <a href="https://twitter.com/cavs?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@cavs</a> franchise record 71 points vs. the Bulls <a href="https://t.co/rYyNTUGEqV">pic.twitter.com/rYyNTUGEqV</a>
&mdash; Bally Sports Cleveland (@BallySportsCLE) <a href="https://twitter.com/BallySportsCLE/status/1610112281098047488?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 3, 2023</a></blockquote>

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In miraculous, comeback fashion, Donovan Mitchell rallied the short-handed Cavaliers with an NBA season-high 71 points.

Donovan Mitchell scores NBA-season-high, Cavs-franchise-best 71 in win

On Monday morning after the holiday weekend, Kevin Durant admitted that he has a soft spot for young bigs who mature, get paid and become household names. Just like another bright center the Brooklyn Nets had when he first got to the organization, Nic Claxton has made huge strides that are on display in each game as of late.
&ldquo;Just gaining more confidence. He's always been a confident player. But you couple that confidence with (the) understanding of the game and trusting in your work, I think that's the reason why he's here,&rdquo; Durant said after the Nets&rsquo; ninth straight win in Cleveland. &ldquo;You know, the coaching staff (has) been patient with his development since he got drafted, and he's going out there and wanting to be great, and I think that's a tough journey to being relied upon every night, being consistent and then, just that longevity.&nbsp;
&ldquo;I think that's what he wants to get to as a player, is consistently doing this every day for 15 years, so that's what he's thinking about and it's cool to see it kind of unravel at this point. But he knows he&rsquo;s got a long ways to go. We have a long ways to go as a team, so we can't get complacent at this point.&rdquo;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
Nic Claxton had one of the best games of his career last night ⭐️ <a href="https://t.co/mR2i8X0hwi">pic.twitter.com/mR2i8X0hwi</a>
&mdash; Brooklyn Netcast (@BrooklynNetcast) <a href="https://twitter.com/BrooklynNetcast/status/1606659465343901698?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 24, 2022</a></blockquote>

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Sporting a fresh look, and the second-highest win share total and Box Plus-Minus on the Nets, Claxton is averaging a career-high 11.8 points and 8.4 rebounds per contest.
Whether it's making the two biggest stops down the stretch on the road against a dominant Cavaliers team, finishing at an elite level or growing his offensive game in different ways as he showed against Milwaukee, Claxton is quickly becoming one of the most effective centers in the NBA.
&ldquo;He&rsquo;s a big piece for us and we need him every night,&rdquo; Kyrie Irving stated.
&ldquo;We just want him to be confident,&rdquo; Royce O&rsquo;Neale added. &ldquo;Myself, just giving him that confidence and telling him to play on both ends. He can be dominant on both ends, both ways, and just him being that confident and then, taking the challenge of whoever he's guarding, doing whatever we need him to do.&rdquo;
Defensively, Claxton is one of the stingiest switch bigs in the league. He stays in front, has plenty of length and can recover with the best of them. According to NBA.com, the fourth-year center has seen 79 isolations &nbsp;&mdash; the most in the league. Claxton is only allowing 0.81 points per possession in those scenarios, trailing only Evan Mobley and Clint Capela.
That &mdash; combined with his 2.3 blocks a night (double what he produced last season and ranking second-best in the league) &mdash; has spearheaded Brooklyn&rsquo;s efforts to lock-in on D as of late.
&ldquo;That's kind of been my staple since I've been in the league,&rdquo; Claxton told Basketball News prior to Monday morning&rsquo;s shootaround in Cleveland. &ldquo;And the more you guard guys, the more you pick up on tendencies and see who wants to drive, who wants to shoot, and it's just experience. Experience is the best teacher. And just, buckling down every possession and not taking any possession for granted.&rdquo;
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But, as he said, the 23-year-old has always had a knack for stifling the competition. It&rsquo;s what Claxton is doing to contribute on the offensive side of the ball that complements that story. For one, he boasts the NBA&rsquo;s top field-goal percentage and effective field goal percentage by a wide margin at 73.8%. Next on the list is Rudy Gobert over seven percentage points behind him (66.4%).
Claxton&rsquo;s efficiency is off the charts. He&rsquo;s doing it with <a href="https://go.nba.com/ajcfg" target="_blank" rel="noopener">cuts</a> (1.35 PPP), running the floor on <a href="https://go.nba.com/1xt2l" target="_blank" rel="noopener">fast breaks</a> (1.34 PPP) and <a href="https://go.nba.com/x91v8" target="_blank" rel="noopener">rolling hard</a> with finishes through contact (1.22 PPP).
&ldquo;It's just the work that I put in over the offseason, getting stronger, working on my body, my confidence, and my teammates finding me. Just me being aggressive and finishing around the rim, that's really what I've been doing. That's what I just gotta keep going,&rdquo; Claxton said. &ldquo;I mean I'm stronger now, more confident now. (I&rsquo;m) getting a lot of easy looks. And the shots that I do take that are contested, I mean, I like myself to finish over or around anybody.&rdquo;
Going further into the numbers, the Georgia Bulldog alum is scoring 140.4 points per 100 shot attempts &mdash; a figure that ranks in the 94th percentile, per <a href="https://cleaningtheglass.com/stats/player/4602#tab-offensive_overview" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Cleaning The Glass</a>. The Nets&rsquo; eFG% is a sizzling 59.3% with him on the floor (which ranks in the 97th percentile).
&ldquo;Just always being a threat out there,&rdquo; Claxton explained of his approach on offense and the success that&rsquo;s come with it. &ldquo;A lot of times, teams (are) not really guarding me real honest. They're shifting a lot trying to stop our main guys, so just making sure I'm a threat at all times on the court and staying aggressive.&nbsp;
&ldquo;Our transition game, it's definitely the best that it's been since I've been here, and we've got five guys that can get out in transition and score and great passers. So just asserting myself in different ways."
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The top Mobile Bigs in our On-Ball Defense metric: 1. Nic Claxton 2. Maxi Kleber 3. Darius Bazley 4. Wendell Carter Jr. 5. Drew Eubanks <a href="https://t.co/6wv3jesAnB">https://t.co/6wv3jesAnB</a>
&mdash; BBall Index (@The_BBall_Index) <a href="https://twitter.com/The_BBall_Index/status/1607566421503918080?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 27, 2022</a></blockquote>

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Above all else, Claxton&rsquo;s been essential for a Brooklyn team that struggles to secure boards. He&rsquo;ll do plenty of damage when he gets a <a href="https://go.nba.com/du5jf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">putback opportunity</a> too (1.51 PPP).
&ldquo;I'm trying to get as many rebounds as I can. I know that's an area where sometimes we struggle, so I take it upon myself to crash the glass offensively and defensively,&rdquo; Claxton said.
Don&rsquo;t look now, but at 22-12, the Nets are the hottest squad in the NBA. They&rsquo;ve ripped off nine-straight wins, including two over contending Eastern Conference teams. It&rsquo;s the longest winning streak the franchise has had since 2006. Brooklyn head coach Jacque Vaughn has amassed a league-best 20-7 record since taking over on Nov. 1, and has this group laser-focused on the task at hand.
&ldquo;We're definitely taking steps in the right direction. You can never be satisfied, but we had a rough start to the season. But these last several games have been heading in the right direction,&rdquo; Claxton said of the Nets, who have lost just one contest in December. &ldquo;We've just gotta take it game-by-game and worry about us. The East is definitely loaded, but we've just gotta control what we can control and keep getting better as a team.
&ldquo;This is a different swagger, different energy. I think we're really hanging our hat on defense. Our defensive principles have been really solid, and that's something that just travels no matter where you are. I think us really focusing on defense, and obviously, we've got some of the most talented players and best shooters in the world.&rdquo;
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Vaughn&rsquo;s been around from the onset of Claxton&rsquo;s pro career, as an assistant and as a head coach. A big believer in his capabilities, he admits that Claxton becoming the player he is now had to be a two-way street coming into this season.
&ldquo;It's okay to remind a player of how important they are for the organization's success and how that player has to put in the work to help us, and to help himself get to that position,&rdquo; Vaughn stated. &ldquo;And so, I thought Nic always saw how good he could be, but the steps of getting there (is a different challenge). And so, now he's taking those steps and he's getting rewarded for it.&rdquo;
Stronger, smarter and as self-assured as he&rsquo;s been in his four NBA seasons, Nic Claxton took it upon himself to improve in all facets. Alongside the incredible firepower of Durant and Irving, and a rejuvenated Ben Simmons, he's undoubtedly been a serious reason as to why the Nets have been able to move full speed ahead.
&ldquo;A lot of growth. I think the biggest part is being available every night. That's something that can be overlooked at this stage of a person's career, is availability. So he's showing that he can start and produce on a nightly basis against starters, which is a tough task,&rdquo; Vaughn said.
&ldquo;So that is the preparation that he had leading up until this year, what it looked like for him in the summertime, how he approached it as a professional &mdash; whether it was his diet, whether it was his strength training, whether it was how he recovered in the offseason. Those things are in line with being a professional, and he's getting rewarded.&rdquo;

Spencer Davies speaks with Nic Claxton about his incredible fourth-year improvements, Brooklyn's red-hot winning streak and more.

Nic Claxton's approach reaping rewards with surging Nets

It's been a clunky start for the Minnesota Timberwolves, struggling to maintain the tear they were on in the second half of last season.
The Rudy Gobert trade, to this point, has done more complicating than complementing. His presence put more pressure on Karl-Anthony Towns to operate on the perimeter, on both ends. Uneven guard play from Anthony Edwards and D'Angelo Russell has exacerbated matters. Gobert himself has struggled to catch and finish non-dunks, and his interior defense hasn't been as impactful as many had hoped.
That four-man grouping has <a href="https://www.pbpstats.com/wowy-combos/nba?TeamId=1610612750&amp;Season=2022-23&amp;SeasonType=Regular%2BSeason&amp;PlayerIds=203497,1626156,1626157,1630162" target="_blank" rel="noopener">played 331 minutes together</a>, and has outscored opponents by a whopping two (2) points in that span. That isn't good enough for where the Wolves want to go.
For a group that needs to gain chemistry, the last thing it needs to face is an injury problem. So of course, Towns is out for the foreseeable future with right calf strain, and Gobert has missed the last three games with an ankle injury.
This kind of flux screams "underachievement is certain," but yet, the Wolves have ripped off a three-game winning streak. They've been the <a href="https://www.nba.com/stats/teams/advanced?LastNGames=3&amp;dir=A&amp;sort=OFF_RATING" target="_blank" rel="noopener">NBA's best offense</a> during that frame, scoring 125.6 points per 100 possessions. Their 150-point showing against the Chicago Bulls is doing some heavy lifting in that sample, but still &mdash; a team that ranked 20th in offense heading into that game dropped 150 in regulation without its star bigs.
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What's popped during this stretch is the play of Edwards. It's not just the blend of brute force, track-star-speed and shifty shot creation. He's in the midst of the best playmaking stretch of his career.
We can't ignore the scoring, of course. He's averaging 27.7 points per game (45.2% on twos, 47.4% on 6.3 threes, 78.3% on 7.7 free-throw attempts) during this run. The rim-finishing has been uncharacteristically low (50% at the rim), but that's something you can expect to bounce back soon.
What's impressive, again, is the passing. He's averaging 9.0 assists during the winning streak, compared to 2.3 turnovers. Edwards' mark of 27 assists is the most he's ever had in a three-game stretch.
The Wolves have leaned into a ball screen-heavy approach with Edwards. You can see the split below, per Second Spectrum:
<ul>
<li>12/16: 21 on-ball picks vs. OKC; 10th-most this season&nbsp;</li>
<li>12/18: 42 on-ball picks vs. CHI; Most this season</li>
<li>12/19: 37 on-ball picks vs. DAL; Second-most this season</li>
</ul>
This may shock you, but that 100-through-three stretch is the highest of his career. The Wolves have seen the fruits of it though, scoring over 1.2 points per possession (PPP) on trips featuring an Edwards ball-screen.
When you go through his recent film, nothing really stands out as impressive. That sounds slanderous on its face, but it highlights two things:
1) Because the league is filled with young magicians and skip-pass merchants like Luka Doncic, Trae Young, Tyrese Haliburton, LaMelo Ball (26-and-8 since returning four games ago) and Darius Garland, it's easy to set the bar too high for young ball-handlers. We're really spoiled in this regard.
2) Because of Edwards' explosiveness and scoring chops, he's never&nbsp;had&nbsp;to be a magician or showcase advanced manipulation to generate good looks.
The biggest shift from Edwards during this stretch has been his willingness to make the simple play. Or, to distill it further, he's more willing to get off the ball.&nbsp;
Before this three-game stretch, 25.6% of Edwards' pick-and-rolls ended with a pass. Among 71 players with at least 300 reps under their belt, that ranked 71st &mdash; dead stinkin' last. He ranked 65th among that same group of players in assist percentage (11.6%) out of pick-and-roll.
During this stretch, he's passing on nearly 46% of his pick-and-rolls. His assist percentage has more than doubled (25.7%). That's not a coincidence.
To be clear, there are&nbsp;some fun passes in his recent film. I really enjoyed these pair of live-dribble skip passes against the Chicago Bulls, a team that often asks its bigs to defend at the level of the screen. It's encouraging that Edwards can string out that pressure and make these kind of darts.
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But a lot of the growth has been oscillating between getting off the ball early and fully engaging the big on drives for the sole purpose of creating open looks.&nbsp;
Nothing exemplifies this quite like his work with Naz Reid. They've had a good thing going all year, with the Wolves generating 1.12 PPP on trips featuring a ball-screen between the two. During the win streak, that number has risen to absurd 1.29 PPP. For reference, the Steph Curry-Draymond Green and Luka Doncic-Christian Wood partnerships are both at 1.17 PPP this year.&nbsp;
It's clear that Edwards trusts him. If Reid has a short-roll opportunity, Edwards has had no issue slipping it to him early so he can do work as a scorer &mdash; or make the easy pass from there. And because Reid can also shoot &mdash; he's shooting 36.1% from three this season, including a 40.7% clip <a href="https://www.nba.com/stats/players/shooting?DistanceRange=By%20Zone&amp;TeamID=1610612750&amp;dir=D&amp;sort=Above%20the%20Break%203%20FGA" target="_blank" rel="noopener">above the break</a> &mdash; Edwards is fine with generating a paint touch to clear the runway for a pick-and-pop triple.
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(If I can just take a beat here: Naz is good,&nbsp;man. He's a starter-level big on a team with two All-Star centers ahead of him. I'm very intrigued by what his market will look like this offseason.)
What's exciting about this stretch from Edwards is the simplicity of it. Engaging defenders and making passes isn't difficult. Seeing a hedge or double team and getting off it isn't difficult.
This is easily replicable stuff, so long as he trusts it.&nbsp;

Nekias Duncan analyzes how Anthony Edwards' use of ball-screens and partnership with Naz Reid has helped Minnesota win lately.

Exploring Anthony Edwards' playmaking over the Wolves' winning streak

After calmly knocking down a buzzer-beating three to send his team to victory over the Los Angeles Lakers at Staples Center, Indiana Pacers rookie Andrew Nembhard received a wave of praise and compliments all around. But the strongest words came from his head coach.
&ldquo;He&rsquo;ll go down as a top-12 or 15 pick when it&rsquo;s all said and done,&rdquo; Rick Carlisle stated on Nov. 28 about the No. 31 overall selection this past summer. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s where he should have been taken.&rdquo;
Eight days later at Golden State, following Nembhard&rsquo;s career-high 31-point, 13-assist effort against Stephen Curry and the Warriors, Carlisle doubled down: &ldquo;I&rsquo;m elevating that to top-10. He really is a special player.&rdquo;
On Friday morning in Cleveland, Nemhbard shared what he thought of Carlisle&rsquo;s commendable comments.
&ldquo;It just shows you the confidence they have in me on the court, and it allows me to have confidence in myself,&rdquo; Nembhard told Basketball News. &ldquo;I don't want to get too wrapped into the words, but obviously, it fuels the confidence in me for sure.&rdquo;
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steal 👉 slam Andrew Nembhard finds Aaron Nesmith in transition! <a href="https://t.co/tcugZFDTVL">pic.twitter.com/tcugZFDTVL</a>
&mdash; Indiana Pacers (@Pacers) <a href="https://twitter.com/Pacers/status/1601757878267715586?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 11, 2022</a></blockquote>

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Nembhard has plenty of reasons to believe in himself, In December, he is averaging 11.0 points, 5.1 assists and 4.0 rebounds to go with 1.2 steals over 10 games with .489/.366/.778 shooting splits &mdash; nothing to gloss over for a first-year player. However, it&rsquo;s not about flashy statistics with him.
The very reason he got on the court in the first place is because of what he showed Indiana on the defensive end during training camp and preseason. Then, when Chris Duarte got injured in early November, the team looked his way to step up &mdash; and he&rsquo;s continued to reward that decision from that point on.
&ldquo;As we got into the year, he got tossed into a couple of games early,&rdquo; Carlisle said. &ldquo;He had tough matchups; the first time we played Miami, he guarded [Tyler] Herro some and was able to stay in front of him and contest some of his shots well.&rdquo;
That game was a sign of things to come. Since then, Nembhard has been tasked with going head-to-head with the NBA&rsquo;s best. Have a look at a sample of who the 22-year-old has matched up with the most and how they&rsquo;ve fared, per <a href="https://go.nba.com/4apvl" target="_blank" rel="noopener">NBA.com&rsquo;s matchup data</a>:
<ul>
<li>Stephen Curry: 2-for-7 with 3 turnovers in 11:36 (two games)</li>
<li>Kyle Kuzma: 4-for-9 with 2 turnovers in 7:48 (two games)</li>
<li>Jimmy Butler: 1-for-6 for 4 points with 1 block in 7:17</li>
<li>CJ McCollum: 2-for-4 for 6 points in 6:38</li>
<li>Damian Lillard: 2-for-5 for 5 points in 6:13</li>
<li>Jamal Murray: 2-for-8 with 1 turnover in 5:53</li>
<li>Scottie Barnes: 1-for-4 for 2 points in 5:39</li>
<li>Jalen Brunson: 5-for-9 for 11 points in 5:12 (Nembhard's worst output)</li>
<li>Darius Garland: 0 field goal attempts with 2 turnovers in 5:09</li>
<li>LeBron James: 0-for-4 with 1 block in 4:32</li>
</ul>
&ldquo;It's exciting man,&rdquo; Nembhard told Basketball News of the Pacers&rsquo; trust in him on that end. &ldquo;Personally, I've got so much confidence in my game that it's just like, I felt like I could do that. I like to compete, so that's something I just like to bring to the game every day, and I'm super happy that they've just allowed me to kinda do that and help the team in that way.&rdquo;
&ldquo;He's a guy that if you watch him within the defensive system, he always seems to be in the right place,&rdquo; Carlisle said. &ldquo;He's very aware and does a good job of blocking out. He does a good job of chipping blockouts, which means going and helping a big guy. Like [Friday], when Myles [Turner] is blocking out [Jarrett] Allen, his job is to go be the second guy, to try to take away his athletic step and stuff like that. And Drew just naturally does that stuff.&rdquo;
Backing Carlisle's words, film savant Caitlin Cooper of SB Nation's Indy Cornrows provided another example of the little things that Nembhard does on that end.
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Here's another very tiny defensive detail from Andrew Nembhard: push switching. When the screener gets close enough to ghost screen, he makes them actually set the screen. That physicality makes the action more static and easier for Mathurin to navigate with the switch. <a href="https://t.co/Q9B8JYkPro">pic.twitter.com/Q9B8JYkPro</a>
&mdash; Caitlin Cooper (@C2_Cooper) <a href="https://twitter.com/C2_Cooper/status/1601623476733104128?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 10, 2022</a></blockquote>

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&ldquo;I'm just like beyond impressed with the poise and maturity that he showed,&rdquo; Pacers veteran point guard T.J. McConnell told Basketball News. &ldquo;Asking him to come off the bench and then start, play a certain amount of minutes and guard the best players while you're out there, usually you don't have enough energy to do it on both ends, but he's done it... unreal. He's been unreal on both ends this year, and it's been a joy to watch."
According to McConnell, what Nembhard is putting on display now is what he saw over the offseason in the first few games of pickup. Admittedly, the 30-year-old didn&rsquo;t know it would translate for him this way, this seamlessly.
&ldquo;You kinda get so used to playing against someone, then you saw him do it against other NBA guys and do it consistently. When he just continued to do it, continued to do it, I'm like, 'This dude is the real deal,'&rdquo; McConnell said. &ldquo;You saw it from the beginning, but you didn't know how it was gonna adjust from an NBA season [standpoint], and he has hit the ground running and hasn't looked back. Just very proud. I see the work he puts in and the type of guy he is. Extremely happy for him.&rdquo;
Though tending to use the trusted pull-up game he excelled at as a high schooler and an underclassman at Florida, Nembhard has started to become a ready catch-shooter over the last few years at Gonzaga and, now, with the Pacers, converting on a healthy 36.4% on the season overall despite some inconsistencies in December. At the very least, he&rsquo;s a threat, which allows him to drive off the catch and go from there.
Nembhard&rsquo;s also moved the ball with ease, constantly making touch passes and heady reads. It helps that he&rsquo;s had reps as a handler and away from the ball already this early into his career.
&ldquo;I think it's similar honestly in terms of where I get the ball,&rdquo; Nembhard said. &ldquo;I'm still just playmaking off of our pace, stuff that we still do. So similar touches, just not bringing the ball up as much. Just not directing as much.
&ldquo;I think the way it's been so far has been good for me to just ease into getting comfortable on the court. I don't think I need it to be the primary guy right off the bat just 'cause that's tough as a rookie. I think they've allowed me to kinda grow and develop and slowly get to the point where I feel comfortable being in that primary role at times.&rdquo;
And to that point, Nembhard has been right at home with these fast-and-furious Pacers, who boast the league&rsquo;s fifth-highest pace at 102.26 possessions per game.
&ldquo;I think I've been a guy who's been able to play well in transition because of my assist-to-turnover ratio,&rdquo; Nembhard said. &ldquo;I feel like playing fast has just always been something about my game that I've succeeded at, so it's natural for me. I think for us, a young team, I think with our energy and our effort, it plays into our strengths.&rdquo;
(Per <a href="https://cleaningtheglass.com/stats/player/5120#tab-offensive_overview" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Cleaning the Glass</a>, his 1:29 assist-to-usage rate is in the 95th percentile among his peers in the league, additionally, and his 117.3 points per 100 shot attempts illustrates his efficiency.)
Nembhard&rsquo;s fellow rookie Bennedict Mathurin is garnering rave reviews as a real-deal Sixth Man of the Year candidate, and Tyrese Haliburton has upped his game to another level where he&rsquo;s leading the entire NBA in assists. Together as a trio this month, they&rsquo;ve combined for a net rating of plus-23.7 in 76 minutes.
&ldquo;I think me and Hali are good at playmaking and just like reading the game, and I think Benn's an aggressive scorer who's just confident in himself,&rdquo; Nembhard said. &ldquo;So we look for him. I think it's easy for him to play with both of us. I think we just flow well together just 'cause of our mix of skill and talent.&rdquo;
For these two rookies to be developing and producing at the same time is one thing, but to do it and rack up W&rsquo;s on a competitive, 15-win Indiana ball club that few on the outside saw coming is remarkable.
&ldquo;Man, it's exciting honestly. Personally, I love winning,&rdquo; Nembhard said. &ldquo;Ain't nothing like winning in basketball to be around that team environment. So that's a big plus, and I'm excited we're doing what we're doing so far. It's always early... But, I'm super excited I've been able to get on the floor and just help impact that winning."
"Got a lot of respect for Mathurin and Nembhard, two rookies who really like, talk. Like, they&rsquo;re there. Like, they make their presence felt," Donovan Mitchell said postgame Friday. "...Nembhard&rsquo;s had pretty big games against some good teams."
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&ldquo;This is obviously probably the youngest locker room I've been a part of, and one of the best, if not the best. Just the positive energy each day and the youthful energy that everyone brings,&rdquo; McConnell added. &ldquo;I'm only 30, so when I say youthful energy, it's just 'cause everyone else isn't as old (laughs). But it's been great. [Through the] ups and downs of a season, we've stuck together. And I think that not a lot of people expected us to have the record we do now, and I think that's because of the tightness of the locker room.&rdquo;
As Carlisle made his aforementioned top-10 comment, he described Nembhard as &ldquo;old school, but new-school.&rdquo; Basketball News followed up on what he meant by that.
&ldquo;Well, he's tough, physical. He plays an efficient game,&rdquo; Carlisle explained. &ldquo;He has a natural aptitude for moving the ball and finding people and just getting to the pass that leads to the hockey assist. And he just has a real, pure intellect for the game; that's the old-school side. The new-school side is he's probably on social media like everybody else (laughs).
&ldquo;But he understands the style of today's NBA. At Gonzaga, they did some things as a team where, a lot of times, they played an NBA style. They played up-tempo, a lot of ball movement, not a lot of play-calling &mdash; play the game, play with each other, play random, find the best shot &mdash; all that kind of stuff.&rdquo;
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first bucket of the night is an and one by <a href="https://twitter.com/AndrewNembhard?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@AndrewNembhard</a>. 💪 watch the game live on <a href="https://twitter.com/BallySportsIN?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@BallySportsIN</a> or stream here: <a href="https://t.co/KN9XtXzQSD">https://t.co/KN9XtXzQSD</a> <a href="https://t.co/osXrE10Ftn">pic.twitter.com/osXrE10Ftn</a>
&mdash; Indiana Pacers (@Pacers) <a href="https://twitter.com/Pacers/status/1603915535992999940?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 17, 2022</a></blockquote>

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Month-by-month, Nembhard has gotten better. You can see the jump happening in both the box scores and on the floor in general.&nbsp;
And maybe of the utmost importance, he is learning what life in the NBA is like.
&ldquo;It's just so much talent in this league,&rdquo; Nembhard said. &ldquo;You've gotta bring it every night. You could be playing against their best five, (but) the next six are still NBA players who can hoop. So it's like, there's not a night off in this league. Any team can beat anybody with a certain attitude, a certain demeanor every night.
&ldquo;I really don't know how to nitpick his game. He's been unbelievable on both ends,&rdquo; McConnell said. &ldquo;Maybe one thing is just try to stay out of foul trouble. But when you're guarding the best players, it's impossible not to pick up a foul here and there. But like, on the offensive and defensive end, he's been damn near close to perfect, and that's asking a lot of a rookie. He definitely doesn't play like one.&rdquo;

Spencer Davies interviews Andrew Nembhard and speaks to Rick Carlisle and T.J. McConnell to discuss the promising Pacers rookie.

Real-deal rookie: How Andrew Nembhard has already wowed the Pacers

Offenses have never been more lethal than they are in this era. With primary ball-handlers becoming larger, the collective shooting range expanding and teams leaning further into the importance of spacing, it&rsquo;s becoming even more difficult to keep the ball out of the basket.
With the game expanding, screening has become even more important. A well-placed off-ball pick can free a movement shooter for a triple or a catch-and-drive. On-ball screens can make shifty ball-handlers even harder to deal with in pick-and-roll and open the door for dump-offs, lobs and fruitful catch-and-shoot opportunities.&nbsp;
Screeners come in all sizes these days, ranging from the burly centers to mismatch-causing smalls. <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/changing-of-the-guard-the-future-of-screening-is-here" target="_blank" rel="noopener">I can&rsquo;t overstate how important guard-screening has become</a>, especially late in games.
This season, I want to keep tabs on who is &mdash; and isn&rsquo;t &mdash; getting the job done as screeners. Every week, I&rsquo;ll be highlighting a handful of the most powerful (and shameful) screen-setters in the league.
Let&rsquo;s get into volume three.
*All stats are through games played between November 12 and November 18, unless noted otherwise.*
BIG OF THE WEEK: ROBIN LOPEZ
It hasn't been the best time for the Cleveland Cavaliers. After jumping out to an 8-1 start, they've lost five of their last six games &mdash; the win coming in double overtime against the Charlotte Hornets on Friday night.&nbsp;
However, we're not here to talk about the Cavs at large, or their defense falling off a&nbsp;cliff over the last week and a half.&nbsp;
We're here to talk about Robin Lopez absolutely mauling dudes.&nbsp;
For all the joy derived from the sweeping hooks over either shoulder, the foundation of Lopez's offensive value is his ability to clear runways. With Jarrett Allen missing two of the three games the Cavs played this past week, Lopez filled in and made life easier for the guards, particularly Darius Garland.&nbsp;
Watching Lopez spring Garland free was a hidden treasure of an otherwise wonky stretch of basketball. The Garland-Lopez ball screen was good for an absurd 1.33 points per play (PPP), per Second Spectrum.
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Lopez was the most effective on-ball screener in the league this week. He generated contact on 86.7% of screens, the highest clip among 63 players to set at least 40 screens. Second Spectrum also tracks "die-on" percentage, essentially the rate in which the player screened gets wiped out by a pick. Lopez's 8.9% clip also lapped the field.
Quality work from the Other Lopez.
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POINT GUARD WHO'S ACTUALLY A FORWARD TURNED BACKUP CENTER OF THE WEEK: BEN SIMMONS
Confusing and otherwise outdated positional designations aside, I found myself optimistic on the play of Ben Simmons this week. He isn't close to being the All-NBA player he was at his healthiest, but it feels like the aggression is coming back, one game at a time.&nbsp;
By virtue of his team and (shifting) role, screening has become a more important piece to Simmons' game. After setting roughly nine on-ball picks per 100 possessions in the 2020-21 season, Simmons has more than doubled that volume this season (21.5 per 100). He's connecting on 72.5% of his screen this season, and had some fun reps this past week.
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The next step for Simmons, and something we saw inklings of this week, will be rolling harder after the screen. He has serious short-roll passing chops, but he has to make himself available for them.&nbsp;
SMALL OF THE WEEK: MONTE MORRIS
Prying star players open is an important, but often thankless job. Prying other role players open is very much a thankless job. Leave it to Monte Morris, Professional Point Guard, to make no bones about it.
His job is to make his teammates better, whether that's orchestrating a ball screen, lifting up the arc when Bradley Beal or someone else runs a ball screen, making timely cuts or being a lead blocker as part of Washington's continuity-based offense.&nbsp;
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Did you know the Wizards generated 1.5 PPP on possessions featuring an off-ball screen from Morris this week? Now you do!
YOU SHOULD HAVE THE FACILITIES FOR THIS, BIG MAN: DEANDRE JORDAN
Aye man, you just have to be better than this.
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There are more clips, but we can leave it there.
DeAndre Jordan is on the roster to make life easier for folks &mdash; particularly on the floor. His screen-setting and vertical presence is supposed to be a change-of-pace from what Nikola Jokic (or Jeff Green or Zeke Nnaji) provides at the 5 spot.
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Frankly, Jordan hasn't done enough. Among the aforementioned 63-man group that set at least 40 on-ball screens this week, nobody did a worse job at connecting on them than Jordan did (35.4% contact rate). To shoot him some bail, the guards were feeling reject-heavy this week, particularly when defenses tried to ICE them &mdash; meaning the on-ball defender forced the ball-handler down the sideline.
Of course, we also got this rep he slipped out of.
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Even in the high/middle ball screens, it was more likely that Jordan turned and ran early or screened with his arm (yes, singular) than anything else. Considering some of the issues that have popped up for him defensively, he can't afford to miss on the little things like this.&nbsp;
WE SEE YOU TOO: BOL BOL
As the <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-celebrating-bol-bol-start-to-the-season-orlando-magic-jamahl-mosley-anthony-davis-giannis-antetokounmpo-oregon-ducks" target="_blank" rel="noopener">resident Bol Bol fan</a>, I'm practically begging him to at least pretend to seek out contact sometimes. There's only so much impact he can have with his frame, but finding a defender's hip more frequently would do a world of good for him.
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At the very least, if he's going to slip as often as he does, use the eight feet of arms and make himself a target. To slip and still have his arms by his side doesn't do anyone any good.&nbsp;
Screen Time will be back next Saturday! <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/screen-time-vol-3-highlighting-the-nbas-best-and-worst-screeners" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Check out last week's edition of Screen Time here</a>.

Nekias Duncan breaks down film of the best and worst screeners in the NBA over the last week.

Screen Time Vol. 4: Highlighting the NBA's best and worst screeners

At this time last year, Marcus Smart's impending debut as full-time starting point guard for the Boston Celtics was one of the top storylines for a team entering a transitional season.
Now, it's hardly a storyline at all.
Smart emphatically answered the bell last year, helping steer the Celtics to an NBA Finals appearance. He obviously shined on defense, becoming the first guard to win Defensive Player of the Year since Gary Payton way back in 1996. But he also silenced most of the critics on offense with a steady, impactful season as Boston's floor general.
According to Cleaning the Glass, Smart logged 51% of his minutes at point guard, nearly doubling any other previous season in his career. Boston outscored teams by 13.7 points per 100 possessions in those minutes, putting Smart in the 99th percentile at his position. Positional estimates are always murky, but both CTG and Basketball-Reference claim Smart effectively doubled his time at the 1 with a tremendous payoff. He averaged a career-high in touches per game (65.2) and saw it spike in the playoffs (78.0), per Second Spectrum.
As the season progressed and the Celtics started winning, the chatter turned from Smart's trade value to his on-court value within his team's system. Jackson Frank highlighted for Basketball News <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/marcus-smarts-versatile-playmaking-has-proven-vital-to-the-celtics-offensive-resurgence" target="_blank" rel="noopener">how Smart fueled Boston's second-half turnaround with his playmaking</a> and his pairing with Jayson Tatum. When Malcolm Brogdon joined the franchise this summer, he quickly said that he would happily come off the bench &mdash; meaning Smart stays entrenched at the point.
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Smart enters his ninth NBA season at 28 years old. He's likely reached his athletic peak, but at the same time, he has just one full season of experience in his role despite being the longest-tenured Celtic. Is there room for him to keep growing at this point, and if so, what does that look like?
I <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/all-signs-pointing-to-marcus-smart-as-the-celtics-swing-player" target="_blank" rel="noopener">wondered similarly</a> entering the 2021-22 season. Perhaps my biggest question mark for Smart was how he could effectively pressure the basket as a scorer to complement his innate talent as a drive-and-kick passer. Smart had never been a particularly efficient finisher before last season, and he wasn't exactly a slasher.&nbsp;
In 2021-22, that changed &mdash; sort of. Smart took 23% of his shots at the rim, per Cleaning the Glass, which was about league average for his listed position as a "combo guard" and a slight uptick from recent seasons. He made 63% of those shots in the regular season, though, which was a 14% increase from 2020-21 and the second-best rate of his entire career.&nbsp;
Then, the playoffs happened. Smart still got to the rim at a similar rate, but his efficiency plummeted all the way down to 51%. Boston in general got stonewalled at the rim, as the team ran into tougher defenses in each progressive postseason series.
The positive side of Smart's attacks was that, from my eye test, he relied less on brute strength and more on craft last regular season. That's something I noted and hoped he would improve upon. He mixed in some unique finishes and showed off a bit more pace-changing chops than I anticipated:
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But then, as driving lanes started to clog up in the postseason, he started to sink a little more towards the straight-line drives and bully-ball shots. The Warriors, in particular, had some awesome help defense that thwarted some of the advantages Smart created. Fatigue from a long, physical playoff run probably didn't help.
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Overall, though, Smart showed he could make strides as a crafty inside scorer. He also created more of these shots himself in his new role at the 1. And with continued development, he should get even better:
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Marcus Smart dramatically asserted himself as a driver last year. He self-created his highest frequency of at-rim shots ever and you can see there was a clear, concerted effort to get to the rim vs. prior seasons. This plus the next chart are both very positive developments <a href="https://t.co/VxA5F904W1">pic.twitter.com/VxA5F904W1</a>
&mdash; Ethan Fuller (@ethman43) <a href="https://twitter.com/ethman43/status/1554176213027094529?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 1, 2022</a></blockquote>

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Smart's increase in self-created shots at the rim aligned with a decrease in self-created threes (shown in the Twitter thread), which is a fantastic redistribution of shots. But there's something else that's quietly interesting: He also took more "short mid-range" looks than ever before. According to Cleaning the Glass, 26% of Smart's field goal attempts came between 4-to-14 feet from the basket &mdash; by far a career-high &mdash; and he made those at a solid 45% clip.
Some of these shots are short mid-range jumpers, but many are floaters. InStat Scouting says Smart hit 45.6% of his floater shots last season. Smart embraces contact, but he also knows how to use a bump to create space, and as shown in the last clip below, he can even mix in some off-hand shots:
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Using the short-mid-range area gives Smart some extra space to add onto however he pressures the rim. It also challenges the defense with another pressure point, which further opens up the outlet pass. The payoff looks like this, from Boston's first preseason game on Sunday:
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Fun little play that you think is just going to be a Smart-Al two-man thing, but Smart creates this window with a ball fake and lasers one to Derrick White, then extra pass, Brogdon for 3 <a href="https://t.co/iuHYtG80hk">pic.twitter.com/iuHYtG80hk</a>
&mdash; Ethan Fuller (@ethman43) <a href="https://twitter.com/ethman43/status/1577024804095291394?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 3, 2022</a></blockquote>

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Smart works off a side pick-and-roll with Al Horford, and Charlotte Hornets center Nick Richards plays a little bit further up in his drop coverage, making Smart's effort to drive to the rim or shoot a floater more difficult. That means Horford has a lane to roll to the basket, which is what PJ Washington is trying to negate by coming over from the weak side. But that&nbsp;leaves Charlotte vulnerable to a corner kick to Derrick White, which Smart opens up with a nifty ball-fake and pass. One more extra dish and Brogdon gets a three-pointer.
This type of pass comes about because Smart challenges defenses with his driving and scoring. He's already one of the better passers in the entire league. (I won't bog this story down by re-hashing that point, but if you have an issue, I can show why it's true.) Threatening as a driving scorer will only create more windows for Smart to maximize so his teammates can reap the rewards.
The last wrinkle in a potential next step from Smart would be how he is used without the ball.
<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/2022-23-nba-season-preview-atlantic-division-boston-celtics-brooklyn-nets-new-york-knicks-philadelphia-76ers-sixers-toronto-raptors" target="_blank" rel="noopener">According to our own Nekias Duncan</a>:
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The Celtics generated 0.992 points per possession (PPP) on trips featuring a Smart-led ball-screen &mdash; a mark that ranked 22nd among 62 high-volume pick-and-roll players (min. 1,000 picks), and one that placed him ahead of names like Darius Garland (0.987), Damian Lillard (0.978) and Ja Morant (0.972). Those ball-screens were more dangerous when Smart set the pick (1.04 PPP), a top-10 mark in the NBA.
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That last sentence piqued my interest.&nbsp;
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Boston tried Smart as a screener a decent amount last season and went to it a few times in the Finals. The Golden State Warriors often switched on the screens, so this play helped get Tatum a perceived mismatch against Stephen Curry (for the record, though, Curry did a great job of defending in this series). If the screen went how Boston wanted, Tatum could go to work. Or, Smart could slip the screen or roll, and Boston could find him open in the middle of the half-court. Then, he could drive or pass, where, as explained, he can truly be a threat.
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New head coach Joe Mazzulla tried this a couple of times in the first preseason game, but didn't get much traction. This is something I'm definitely going to watch for against the Toronto Raptors, who are a tough, switchable defense, as well as in games where Boston could generate a mismatch for Tatum.&nbsp;
Marcus Smart's offensive game is versatile enough to where he can set Boston's stars up for success while also putting together some highlights in his own right. Now, it's about sharpening enough blades that defenses don't know how he'll hurt them on any given possession.

Marcus Smart's first year as Boston's starting point guard provided a solid foundation for growth in 2022-23. Ethan Fuller writes.

What we could see in Marcus Smart's second year as Celtics point guard

Louder, bulkier and more locked-in than anybody&rsquo;s seen him before, Cleveland Cavaliers sophomore Evan Mobley is determined to surge to another level, and his teammates and coaches are eager to see it unfold.
&ldquo;Evan, he's on a mission right now,&rdquo; Darius Garland stated at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse on Monday. &ldquo;I think that he's on the mission of the Rookie-of-the-Year campaign (after a second-place finish).&nbsp;I think he's felt that this year, felt that this summer, and he really wants to show the world what he really can do and what they missed out on last year, sohe's coming in a lot more hungry. He's a lot stronger. He knows more about the game than he did last year. So we&rsquo;re super excited to see his jump from last year to this year, so I'm excited to see for sure. Hopefully [we have] four All-Stars as well.&rdquo;
With an impact on winning basketball and a scintillating start, Mobley helped lead the Cavs to one of the strongest starts in the Eastern Conference last season. Remember, this was a team that was picked to finish in the bottom half of the standings in the 2021 preseason (by just about everyone outside of the building). Yet, in spite of rotational injuries and setbacks, Cleveland made a Play-In Tournament appearance and put together a 44-38 record.&nbsp;
And while his counting stats were solid in their own right &mdash; 15.0 points, 8.3 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.7 blocks per game on just a hair under 55% True Shooting &mdash; they hardly encompass how brilliant he truly was at such a young age.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;m really proud of everything I accomplished this past year,&rdquo; Mobley said. &ldquo;I feel like I did the best I could. Everything that went down last year was great, it was a learning experience. I&rsquo;m just trying to get better from it and come next year even stronger and harder.&rdquo;
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The then-rookie Mobley&rsquo;s prowess as a help defender, on-ball defender and off-ball defender worked flawlessly in tandem with Jarrett Allen&rsquo;s blunt, emphatic rim protection. Evan started fast breaks with deflections, rejections and ridiculous lateral movement that led to turnovers. Opposing guards thought it would be smart to force a switch with either 7-footer, but as the season went on, teams quickly learned that this was the wrong idea. (It should be noted that Lauri Markkanen, Cleveland&rsquo;s ex-primary small forward, played a huge role in this success as well.)
However, it&rsquo;d be short-sighted to gloss over the fact that the USC product provided flashes of brilliance on the offensive end in some games, particularly as a playmaker and off the dribble. We can certainly expect the Cavs to ask more of him on that side of the court as a sophomore.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;m just going to try to affect the games in different ways that I didn&rsquo;t necessarily really do last year, such as bringing the ball up. You&rsquo;ll see me on the perimeter a little bit more as well as inside, obviously,&rdquo; said Mobley, who told the media he got even closer with head coach J.B. Bickerstaff this offseason. &ldquo;Me and him just had conversations throughout the summer, just trying to get me ready for this season. He&rsquo;s been really working with me, with my faceup game, really playmaking from the elbow area and mid-range area and getting to my spots and hitting &lsquo;em and knocking &lsquo;em down. I feel like that&rsquo;s where you&rsquo;re really going to see me a lot this year... (My three-point shot) is coming along really well. I&rsquo;m happy with all that I&rsquo;ve been working on. Hopefully this year you&rsquo;ll see a lot more threes.&rdquo;
&ldquo;Every time I have to guard him, it seems like he scores,&rdquo; Allen said. &ldquo;He always scores on me. His offensive game is improving still from what it was last year. We obviously know he&rsquo;s an All-NBA Defense-caliber type of defensive player. On the offensive side, he still amazes us every time.&rdquo;
Having worked out together in Los Angeles this past summer, Kevin Love spoke with Mobley's father, Eric, and found out how serious Evan was about becoming great.
&ldquo;We know what he&rsquo;s capable of. He hasn&rsquo;t even scratched the surface of really how good he can be. But all the signs are there and he&rsquo;s not afraid to work,&rdquo; Love said. &ldquo;When I saw him in L.A. when we were all there together, I thought, &lsquo;Okay, he&rsquo;s going to make a big step.&rsquo; He&rsquo;s obviously been putting in the work; he hasn&rsquo;t been shy about showing up and putting the hours in, adding a little bit to his game. We know what he can do defensively, but the thing that stuck out to me was just again his size, his ability to be a shot-maker and put the ball on the floor.&nbsp;
&ldquo;I think he has the skill set to be able to do whatever he wants offensively. I think between, whether it be Donovan [Mitchell] or Darius or J.A., we have so many young guys on this team who can do so much. But I think as a 7-footer, he&rsquo;s one of those guys that&rsquo;s like a unicorn, able to do it all now and be very special.&rdquo;
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Kevin Love on Evan Mobley in Year 2: "When I saw him out in LA., I thought to myself, 'Okay, he's gonna make a big step.'" <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Cavs?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Cavs</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/basketbllnews?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@basketbllnews</a> <a href="https://t.co/oQ6J3adyIv">pic.twitter.com/oQ6J3adyIv</a>
&mdash; Spencer Davies (@SpinDavies) <a href="https://twitter.com/SpinDavies/status/1574556678451699712?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 27, 2022</a></blockquote>

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Another reason Cleveland should be excited about the 21-year-old is the amount of muscle he added this offseason. He can't put a number on it, but his arms definitely took center stage while at the podium, and he admits that he feels stronger and heavier. And the bigger he&rsquo;s gotten, so evidently has his voice.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve known Ev since he was in high school and I&rsquo;ve probably heard him say five things before we got here. Now, he&rsquo;s talking and communicating and getting to his spot,&rdquo; Donovan Mitchell said on Tuesday. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s much better, and I don&rsquo;t mean that in a bad way. He was really good in high school and he&rsquo;s really, really good now. For him, there&rsquo;s little things he can obviously improve on, technique and stuff like that. But his natural feel for the game as a defender, as an offensive player, there&rsquo;s certain things you just can&rsquo;t teach.
&ldquo;Obviously, we all know the size and quickness and the speed and his length. But for me, his instincts of knowing where to be, and this is just after one year being in the league, that&rsquo;s not always the case for a guy that just turned 21. He&rsquo;s got a lot of potential in a lot of areas. From what I saw in Nashville and from playing pickup when I came back here and even [Tuesday], there&rsquo;s just little things that he does that you just can&rsquo;t teach. It makes teaching even easier because he&rsquo;s able to pick up on stuff and get better day by day.&rdquo;
Cavs president Koby Altman can&rsquo;t help but envision what Mobley&rsquo;s progression will look like after having another year of experience under his belt.
&ldquo;His commitment has been incredible, of what we've challenged him to do,&rdquo; Altman said. &ldquo;He was one of the contingent that came back to Cleveland multiple times before summer league, showing his commitment to the organization and what we're asking him to do. At 21 years old, we're already giving him a lot of challenges &mdash; not only from the basketball court, but off the court from a strength-and-conditioning, nutrition program. All of this [is] to mold him to be what we think he could be, which is a superstar.
&ldquo;We're very excited about Evan Mobley here. He's about basketball. He's about team. He&rsquo;s about all the right stuff. We're really fortunate to have him.&rdquo;
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Echoing his players&rsquo; sentiments, Bickerstaff is enthusiastic about Mobley&rsquo;s eventual development into one of the best players on the team and in the NBA.
&ldquo;Our conversation with Evan and our expectations is he has the ability to be a superstar without being the leading scorer on your team. He has an opportunity to be the best player on the floor without having to take the most shots. I think that's hard to find. But he does [have that]. He can stuff the stat sheet in every category; that's our expectation for him.
&ldquo;We want him eventually &mdash; and hopefully it's this year &mdash; to be in the conversation for Defensive Player of the Year. We believe he has that type of ability and can have that type of impact on the floor. Very few superstars, which he's going to work his way to be, can be that type of player without dominating the ball on the offensive end of the floor. We believe he has the ability and we'll get there.&rdquo;
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Evan Mobley on his chats with J.B. Bickerstaff and his offensive offseason improvements. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Cavs?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Cavs</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/basketbllnews?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@basketbllnews</a> <a href="https://t.co/MEzmb3bUC8">pic.twitter.com/MEzmb3bUC8</a>
&mdash; Spencer Davies (@SpinDavies) <a href="https://twitter.com/SpinDavies/status/1574534485290323968?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 26, 2022</a></blockquote>

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With all of this hype surrounding the maturation of his game, Mobley likes to keep it about the squad as a whole. His sole goal, like everybody else, is to help the Cavs succeed at the highest level.
&ldquo;I think our whole team is trying to win. I feel like we didn&rsquo;t go to our full capacity last year and I feel like we&rsquo;ve got a lot to prove this year,&rdquo; Mobley said.
&ldquo;The Play-In experience was great, it was like a playoff game. I feel like that experience definitely opened all of our eyes to what we want to accomplish and what we want to get to. I feel like this year we&rsquo;re going to be even hungrier.&rdquo;
(Note: This article mistakenly originally stated that Mobley gained 25 pounds; that is incorrect. The 240-pounder is his older brother, Isaiah.)

Spencer Davies highlights the hype surrounding Evan Mobley in Year 2 through the words of his Cavs teammates.

Cavaliers forecast a giant leap from more vocal, muscular Evan Mobley

The Cleveland Cavaliers have acquired All-Star guard Donovan Mitchell from the Utah Jazz for Collin Sexton, Lauri Markkanen and Ochai Agbaji in a sign-and-trade, multiple sources confirmed to Basketball News. Sexton and the Jazz agreed to terms on a four-year, $72 million contract agreement, per Yahoo's Chris Haynes.
The Cavs will also send three unprotected first-round picks (2025, 2027, 2029) and two future pick swaps (2026, 2028) in the deal. The news was first reported by Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN. 
Sources told Basketball News that the deal "all came together in the last 24 hours." This is a swing-for-the-fences type of move by the Cavs, who clearly believe that they had to add another superstar to complement their up-and-coming star in Darius Garland, along with the team's promising two young bigs in Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen. With a majority of the Eastern Conference improving with huge offseason moves &mdash; such as Dejounte Murray heading to the Atlanta Hawks and Malcolm Brogdon going to the Boston Celtics &mdash; Cleveland joined the party by bringing in a bona fide superstar in Mitchell.
Fit shouldn't be too much of an issue for "Spida," as he'll slide into the 2-guard role that Sexton occupied for the last two seasons (before getting hurt early last year). For a number of months now, the Cavs have discussed taking some of the playmaking burden off of Garland so he can get loose and work away from the ball. Mitchell's ability to create for others has improved year-by-year, and there's no worrying about him creating space to get his own shot off. We definitely know how well Garland and his new backcourt partner can score the ball, but watching them work in sync could be poetry in motion. And while delegating between the two might be shaky at first, once some cohesiveness is established, it'll be on.
If you're into simple counting numbers, Mitchell adds about 26 points per game to this roster that was missing. (Sexton's absence was very much felt last season.) Donovan's True Shooting percentage was the highest of his career to boot (57.2%), and he also contributed a career-high 27.7% assist rate.
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Defensively, we know Mitchell had his flaws last season; however, the personnel Cleveland has in place with Mobley and Allen should take some of that pressure off of him. They are both rim-protecting (and switching, in Evan's case) monsters in their own unique way, which should cover for both smaller guards if they get beat, as we've seen in the past.
It will be interesting to see what Cavs head coach J.B. Bickerstaff does with his rotation, as Cleveland lost its starting small forward in this deal as well. Will he elect to try Mobley at the 3 and possibly go back to Kevin Love at the 4 to keep "big ball" going? Will there be a three-guard lineup between Garland, Mitchell and Caris LeVert? Does the team trust Isaac Okoro enough offensively to give him his starting spot back?
Those are likely the most prominent questions on everybody's minds with Cleveland.
As for the Jazz, they have slammed the reset button. It started with the Rudy Gobert trade to Minnesota, and ended by sending Mitchell packing to Cleveland. Now, they've got some intriguing young pieces to work with.
Kudos to Utah general manager Justin Zanik and executive Danny Ainge for bringing in two solid starters and a lottery-pick rookie in this move. Sexton is a straight-up dog as a scorer, an intense competitor and one of the best culture pieces the Jazz could bring in. He's improved as a three-point shooter, has become a better passer over the years and will never shy away from crunch time. While he must improve defensively, the desire and ball pressure are there.
Markkanen is a stretch 4 who can spread the floor, attack off the dribble in an unorthodox manner and is long enough to be disruptive on defense. His biggest issue to overcome is his inconsistency. Agbaji hasn't even stepped foot on the floor yet, but at Summer League in Las Vegas, he had a pair of games where he was lights out from distance and was well balanced with his shooting form.
We'll see how the new-look Jazz operate under head coach Will Hardy. Utah also recently brought in Talen Horton-Tucker and Stanley Johnson, while also trading for Jarred Vanderbilt and Malik Beasley. One thing is for sure, Zanik and Ainge retooled this roster in a big way, and with all of those guards and veterans, they're probably not done. It'll be intriguing to see how this team comes together at the end.
Even with Cleveland growing organically, step-by-step, the team obviously felt this was an opportunity it couldn't pass up. This front office is quite meticulous when it comes to the importance of chemistry and not messing with a good thing, and that showed last season by how fun this locker room truly was.
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Cavs president Koby Altman and general manager Mike Gansey have shaken things up with a colossal blockbuster, and were successful in keeping their core three pieces together. For that, they should be commended. Mitchell and Sexton are similar in some aspects of their game and their stature; with that said, the former is further along into his career with plenty of memorable playoff moments and experiences, as well as three All-Star appearances.
On paper, Cleveland is boasting a deep, talented roster with some solid balance. Barring any health setbacks, the 26-year-old Mitchell should fit like a glove offensively. Yes, Garland's usage will take a bit of a hit; maybe that's a good thing. He was out of gas when the Play-In Tournament came around. Honestly, the whole team was.
But adding a talent like Mitchell to the fold means you can trust two incredible ball-handlers and stagger them, if need be, and let the chips fall where they may.
Mitchell is locked in for the next three years of his contract, with a player option in 2025-26. Garland just inked a rookie max extension. Allen is in it for the long haul. You'll have to imagine Evan Mobley will be in line to sign the dotted line. The Cavs are not messing around and have a loaded core going forward.
Maybe that'll finally quiet the LeBron James rumors, huh?

Spencer Davies offers his instant reaction to the shocking trade of Donovan Mitchell to the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Instant reaction: Cavs swing for fences with Donovan Mitchell trade

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is not a high-flying leaper like Ja Morant, a ball-handling wizard like Stephen Curry or a court-mapping surgeon like Luka Doncic. Instead, one of the NBA's premier driving threats is somewhere in the middle of his peers.
According to NBA tracking data provided by Second Spectrum, Gilgeous-Alexander led the NBA with 23.9 drives per game last season. It's the highest per-game driving rate in the NBA's player tracking history dating back to 2013-14. If Gilgeous-Alexander met the minimum games played qualifier in 2020-21, he would have led the league again with a whopping 25.2 drives per game.
The 24-year-old does it with an understated blend of sharp angles, long arms, crafty contortion and aerial acrobatics, stymying defenders by creating openings where they don't seem to exist. (Our Nekias Duncan <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/taking-a-drive-with-shai-gilgeousalexander" target="_blank" rel="noopener">broke down his unorthodox driving game</a> in further detail earlier this spring.)
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Gilgeous-Alexander is the lone member of the youth-movement Oklahoma City Thunder to truly arrive at stardom. He put up a career-high 24.5 points, 5.9 assists and 5.0 rebounds per game last season, and popped off after the All-Star break to the tune of 30.4 points, 7.3 assists and 5.8 rebounds (with a 63.4% True Shooting clip) across 13 games. SGA dropped those numbers while shouldering some of the heaviest creation burdens in the entire league.&nbsp;
PBP Stats lists "self-created" shots as an attempt that takes two or more seconds to generate. Gilgeous-Alexander generated a stunning 90.3% of his field goal attempts via self-creation in 2021-22, just behind Trae Young (90.6%). SGA also cleared 90% in 2020-21 (91.5%), and holds 2 of the 4 seasons in NBA tracking history with a self-creation frequency over 90%.
In short, Gilgeous-Alexander is responsible for generating a ridiculous amount of offense in Oklahoma City. The Thunder had the second-worst Offensive Rating in the league last season, though they wielded a defense that looked promising at times. OKC's 43.5% Effective Field Goal percentage on "assisted" shots (taking less than two seconds to shoot) was dead last, per PBP Stats.
There's also this stat:
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The bottom-five in teammate FG% on potential assists (passes leading to a shot attempt) among 132 NBA players with at least 300 potential assists: 1. RJ Hampton - 40.7% 2. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander - 45.6% 3. Caris LeVert - 46.3% 4. Cory Joseph - 46.4% 5. Anfernee Simons - 46.7%
&mdash; Ethan Fuller (@ethman43) <a href="https://twitter.com/ethman43/status/1557733094232576000?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 11, 2022</a></blockquote>

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SGA has one of the lowest potential-assist conversion rates across the NBA. Theoretically, this could stem from several causes. Maybe Gilgeous-Alexander is throwing tons of bad passes, or his pass selection involves more difficult shot locations, or his teammates are poor collective shooters, or, it's simply bad luck. I lean toward the latter two given OKC's team-wide struggles.&nbsp;
At age 24, Gilgeous-Alexander is still in the growth phase of his pro career, but also notably older, more experienced and more proven than most of his teammates. The Thunder (most likely) aren't flipping the switch to "win now" quite yet, and should be content to let the young guys ride through mistakes as the draft picks continue to flow in.
But what does that mean for Gilgeous-Alexander and his development? We just saw the San Antonio Spurs trade Dejounte Murray, another talented breakout star guard leading a prospect-laden squad, to the Atlanta Hawks. Is Gilgeous-Alexander destined for a similar exit?
I don't think so. However, both the player and the team must strike a balance to foster everyone's growth.&nbsp;
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Gilgeous-Alexander is a phenomenal catch-and-shoot player, having cleared 41% on catch-and-shoot threes each year in Oklahoma City. Yet, his volume &mdash; already pretty low &mdash; dipped to under one attempt per game last season.&nbsp;
For SGA to feel some creation relief, OKC needs additional players &mdash; namely Josh Giddey and Tre Mann &mdash; to take serious steps forward.
We never got to see Giddey hit a spring stride; he missed every game after Feb. 24 due to a hip injury. Giddey landed on the All-Rookie Second Team last season, but still took the classic rookie point guard lumps.
Giddey ranked 10th among all players with 1.6 bad-pass turnovers per game (per PBP Stats), and his 17.3% overall turnover rate was third among all players who logged at least 800 minutes (per Cleaning the Glass). He also shot 44.1% on drives to the basket, the fourth-lowest among 61 players who averaged eight or more drives per game.
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The Aussie point guard relies on his court vision, size and semi-natural touch to find driving lanes and make shots. He doesn't have a quick first step, upper-body strength or contortion ability to make many off-balance shots at this stage. When Giddey doesn't get that initial blow-by, he struggles at times to create another lane for himself with a defender in front of him. That should change in due time, and, before his injury, Giddey did show some increased aggression and a willingness to play through contact.&nbsp;
Giddey also functioned well driving off the catch, where he should continue to play frequently as Gilgeous-Alexander dominates the ball. The 19-year-old's off-ball awareness lines up with his on-ball vision, and he also attacks quickly and can keep defenders from regaining their footing after a closeout.
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If SGA can use his gravity to open up these types of changes for Giddey, the latter will find easier chances for himself and, thus, pull some of the focus away from SGA. Of course, I glossed entirely over Giddey's passing as well, which will keep defenses on their toes as long as he's playing basketball.
Jackson Frank brilliantly <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/tre-mann-and-the-importance-of-looking-past-the-box-score" target="_blank" rel="noopener">dissected Tre Mann's game</a> towards the end of last season. His piece covers the necessary growth steps for Mann to become a consistent pull-up scorer and passer. I'll let Jackson's piece speak for itself, but here's an observation he made that applies in this context:
<blockquote>
For many scoring-inclined prospects or young guys, a hurdle that often exists is the inability to create open or comfortable looks when transitioning from their pre-NBA context to the league. Whether it&rsquo;s athletic shortcomings, atypical shooting mechanics or something else, the capacity to consistently find clean shots prevents them from burgeoning into high-level scorers.
With Mann, that&rsquo;s not a problem because he&rsquo;s routinely producing open, replicable shots for himself. He&rsquo;s not hitting a ton of them thus far, but the process is encouraging. Shot-making is a staple of developmental curves, even if it&rsquo;s usually just implied rather than stated analysis. He views offensive decision-making through a lens of distinguished creativity."
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Mann might be the only player like this currently on the Thunder roster &mdash; aside from maybe SGA himself. I'm excited to watch Tre's development next season.
Luguentz Dort and rookie lottery pick Jalen Williams should get in on some of the self-creation action next season, and maybe we'll see a bit from Aleksej Pokusevski, Chet Holmgren and Ousmane Dieng. However, Giddey and Mann are the primary drivers (literally and metaphorically) behind Gilgeous-Alexander and will lead the support.
Gilgeous-Alexander will still carry a sky-high usage rate though. To maximize his effectiveness as a playmaker, others need to step up and hit shots they simply did not make last season.&nbsp;
According to the NBA's tracking data, nearly 52% of SGA's passes last season went to four players: Giddey, Dort, Darius Bazley and Jeremiah Robinson-Earl. Bazley was the only one of the four to shoot over 37% from the field on those passes. None of them cleared 30% from beyond the arc.
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As a team, Oklahoma City converted a paltry 32.6% of its catch-and-shoot threes, by far the worst mark in the NBA. The Thunder attempted the most "wide open" threes (no defender within 6 feet) of any NBA team last season and shot the second-worst clip in the league at 35.1%. And on top of that, they were also dead last in efficiency within 5 feet from the basket (58.3%). Yuck.
Giddey and Dort quite simply must improve as off-ball shooters. For Giddey, adding a viable catch-and-shoot three-ball will only make things easier for him when he attacks a closeout; right now, defenses can relax when he's spacing the floor. Dort, meanwhile, launched 7.7 triples per game last season, but converted only 33.2% of them.
Robinson-Earl is an interesting case. Barely a stretch forward at Villanova, he took 47.0% of his shots from behind the arc as a second-round rookie. Robinson-Earl made 35.2% of his threes, which is pretty solid at this stage and a very positive launch pad for his future.
Bazley has not arrived as a consistent shot-maker since going No. 23 overall in the 2019 NBA Draft. He brings value on the defensive end, but has poor shooting splits no matter the context. About 44% of Bazley's shots came at the rim (83rd percentile, per Cleaning the Glass), but he made them at just a 58% rate (20th percentile).
And now, in addition to that quartet, OKC has three new lottery picks to add to the mix. Holmgren and Williams, in particular, could help space the floor right away.&nbsp;
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Holmgren balled out at his two Summer League showcases in Salt Lake City and Las Vegas. We saw a bit of him in pick-and-pop-type actions, and he seemed undeterred in freeing himself from the screen defender and setting himself quickly to shoot. Holmgren has been an elite perimeter shooter and rim-finisher since high school; expect that to translate very quickly to the NBA. Imagine defenses having to constantly monitor Holmgren's space on the court when he's also in an action with Gilgeous-Alexander.
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Williams has been billed for his versatility as a playmaking option, and he also spaced the floor well at Santa Clara. The 6-foot-6 wing made 20 of 41 catch-and-shoot looks as a junior, per InStat Scouting. He knows how to subtly shift into passing lanes and confidently rise up with consistency. Even before discussing Williams' on-ball skills, he at least has a stable floor as a relocating wing who can be another outlet for SGA, Giddey, Mann and others.
Of course, Williams and Holmgren are still only rookies, and they won't be surefire successes in just one year. This circles back to the broader challenge for OKC: How do you continue the youth movement (not using the T-word yet) with a scoring guard capable of putting up an All-Star season in 2022-23?
This is where Gilgeous-Alexander must simply trust the process. He assuredly has room to improve on the defensive end, and his pull-up efficiency dropped off last season after stellar numbers in 2020-21. SGA is talented enough to take over possessions and get his own buckets, but that isn't always in the best interest of the team's development. He'll have to be patient and continue being a supportive teammate as the others catch up.
The 2022-23 Thunder season will ultimately be a trust exercise between one star and one organization. Oklahoma City is putting the pieces around Shai Gilgeous-Alexander that he needs to ultimately thrive. We'll see how much time it takes for the rotation to finally coalesce.

Ethan Fuller details how both Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the Thunder can get what they want next season.

How can the Thunder and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander balance their needs?

Compared to a grind-it-away offseason last summer that helped earn him a huge payday, Cleveland Cavaliers big man Jarrett Allen has been traveling and spending much more time with family this go-round.
Allen's latest adventure? Canberra, Australia, where the 24-year-old is participating in the Basketball Without Borders Asia program as a coach for the first time in his career.
"I've been trying to come here to BWB for a while, but things just never lined up,&rdquo; Allen told Basketball News over the phone. &ldquo;I just liked the idea of the world-life travel, the connecting basketball globally, expanding the NBA globally. I just think it's a great opportunity to share the game.&rdquo;
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Working alongside Chicago Bulls guard Coby White, Dallas Mavericks swingman Josh Green and Phoenix Suns forward Cam Johnson, Allen&rsquo;s been appreciative to get to know the guys he competes against. Together, the four NBA players are providing their best knowledge and advice to the next generation of hoopers to ensure the game of basketball continues to thrive.
&ldquo;That's who's coming after us. That's literally the future of the game, both globally and in the States,&rdquo; Allen explained. &ldquo;We have to share our knowledge to the people coming after to just make things better for the future."
Part of the reason Allen feels so strongly about this is that he had the proper guidance when he was in these campers&rsquo; shoes.
&ldquo;I don't remember the names well. But just growing up, [during] my summer workouts when I was their age [at Texas], I used to practice against some college and NBA players,&rdquo; Allen said. &ldquo;They would always take the time to help me, to show me little tips about how they played the game, how they played their position, and just helped me get my game to the next level. So that's what I'm trying to do with these kids.&rdquo;
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With BWB Asia Camp wrapping up on Aug. 10, Basketball News spoke with Allen about his involvement, his offseason, the Cavs&rsquo; upcoming year and more.
I'm sure Matthew Dellavedova told you good things about Australia. Have you been there before?
Allen: "This is my first time, but so far so good (laughs)."
Did you get any good coaching tips from J.B. Bickerstaff?
Allen: "Ah, no! Actually, I could've asked him (laughs). Honestly, I've been meeting great coaches out here, great people. It's been an amazing experience."
Have you gotten any kinds of unique questions from the campers?
Allen: "The kids didn't really ask me questions. They were kinda shy. But one of the kids just asked about leadership and how to become a better leader, which is surprising. I bet you none of us would've asked that growing up. But it goes to show the kids are trying to be the best they can."
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How&rsquo;s the offseason gone for you?
Allen: "Offseason's going pretty well. It's been kinda just a normal offseason, honestly."
Is your finger feeling alright?
Allen: "The finger's completely healed, not even like I broke it anymore."
Are you eager to start back up again at your own training camp in Cleveland?
Allen: "Aw yeah. I mean, it feels like the season's been done for eight months. Around this time of the year, I get itching to play, I get ready to get back on the court. But the good thing [is] it's about two months away."
You and Darius Garland are going into your second-and-a-half season together basically. Why do you think you guys have meshed so well as a tandem, and how would you like to build on that this coming year?
Allen: "Things really clicked for us as soon as I got to Cleveland. Obviously, we all know he's an amazing point guard. But the thing that I don't think people realize is just how willing he is to learn the game, how willing he is to work with myself to try to figure out the best position for me to catch the ball and to just finish a lob. And I see it expanding even further.
"Just every single year, especially with him and I, we've improved our games together, improved our chemistry, improved how we play the game together. And I think we still have a long way to go."
What did you think of the team bringing in Robin Lopez? 
Allen: "I'm happy with the Robin [addition]. I know him from just playing against him on the court. He's a great dude. The Lopez brothers altogether, just the things beyond social media battles, great guys. Especially defending [Robin], [he's a] great player &mdash; Captain Hook (laughs). He has the best hook shot in the league."
Ricky Rubio&rsquo;s back in the fold too. The locker room&rsquo;s gotta be thrilled about that.
Allen: "It's so good to have Ricky back. Off the court, great guy. He was a glue guy for us, to be able to keep us together. [He] came in with a positive attitude every day, willing to work. And even especially on the court, he ran the offense, he got us to where we needed to be."
Are we going to see more of that <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3WVdTvfC2ik" target="_blank" rel="noopener">high-low action</a> with Evan Mobley?
Allen: "Oh absolutely, that's not going anywhere (laughs). I mean hey, we've got Lauri [Markkanen] too. We've got all three levels of scoring."
Is anybody coming into the paint after what you two did last year?
Allen: "(Laughs) You know, if they do, they're gonna know what happens."
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
Kevin Love: 22 PTS, 6 REB, 6 3PM Jarrett Allen: 19 PTS, 11 REB, 5 BLK Evan Mobley: 17 PTS, 11 REB, 4 BLK The <a href="https://twitter.com/cavs?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@cavs</a> big men put in work in their win 💪 <a href="https://t.co/jSdNxx5rAl">pic.twitter.com/jSdNxx5rAl</a>
&mdash; NBA (@NBA) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBA/status/1466414382519398417?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 2, 2021</a></blockquote>

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You were right there in the thick of it before the injuries hit. Do you feel you guys would&rsquo;ve gotten further/made more of a run had everybody been healthy?
Allen: "You know, with that, you never can say for sure. I don't like saying if we could've made it or not because what happened, happened. But the possibility is definitely there, and the question is there, of just how far could we have made it."
Being sidelined had to sting, especially with the timing. You guys were surging before the All-Star break.
Allen: "Yeah, we were. It was the whole timing of the injury, right? When we were rolling and then, things started to not go where we wanted to go toward the end of the season. So this year, coming out, I think we're all full-steam ahead."
What&rsquo;s the vibe been with the guys?
Allen: "We have our own little group chat. We share memes, check in on each other every now and then. We're all [ready] to play again."
I'm sure the pictures from Kevin Love and Cedi Osman's weddings made it in there.
Allen: "(Laughs) I'm super excited for them."
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Here&rsquo;s something I always wanted to ask you &ndash; how did you get so invested in anime? Those likes pop up on the Twitter feed quite a bit! 
Allen: "(Laughs) I just think it's a fun thing to do. People have things that they like, have different types of hobbies, different things. That's just who I am. It's the things I like to do, things I don't mind sharing that I like."
Have you ever gotten fan art before?
Allen: "Some. Normally, me as <a href="https://www.funimation.com/shows/afro-samurai/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Afro Samurai</a> (laughs). But other than that, nothing too crazy."
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Background on Basketball Without Borders
<ul>
<li>Basketball Without Borders (BWB) is the NBA and FIBA&rsquo;s global basketball development and community outreach program that has been conducted annually since 2001.</li>
<li>The first-ever BWB camp took place in Europe in July 2001: Vlade Divac (Serbia) and Toni Kukoc (Croatia), together with former teammates from the Yugoslavia national team, reunited in Treviso, Italy to work with 50 children from the former Yugoslavia.</li>
<li>Since then the NBA and FIBA have staged 65 BWB camps in 42 cities in 30 countries on six continents with more than 3,700 participants from 133 countries and territories.&nbsp;</li>
<li>The NBA typically hosts four regional BWB camps over the summer (Africa, Europe, Asia, Americas), and in 2015 created the BWB Global camp, which is held annually at NBA All-Star for the top prospects from the previous summer&rsquo;s camps.</li>
<li>More than 310 current and former NBA/WNBA players have joined more than 240 NBA team personnel from all 30 NBA teams to share their expertise and knowledge with participants.</li>
<li>More than 100 former BWB campers have made it to the NBA or WNBA, including Marc Gasol, Joel Embiid, Pascal Siakam, Nicolas Batum, Jonas Valanciunas, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jamal Murray, Danilo Gallinari</li>
<li>A record 41 former BWB campers were on opening-night rosters for the 2021-22 season.</li>
<li>The highest-drafted former BWB campers are:
<ul>
<li>No. 1 overall: Deandre Ayton (Bahamas; 2018), Andrea Bargnani (Italy; 2006)</li>
<li>No. 3 overall: RJ Barrett (Canada; 2019), Joel Embiid (Cameroon; 2014), Enes Kanter Freedom (Turkey; 2011)</li>
<li>No. 4 overall: Dragan Bender (Croatia; 2016)</li>
<li>No. 5 overall: Jonas Valančiūnas (Lithuania; 2011)</li>
<li>No. 6 overall: Josh Giddey (Australia; 2021); Danilo Gallinari (Italy; 2008); Bennedict Mathurin (Canada; 2022)</li>
<li>No. 7 overall: Killian Hayes (France; 2020), Lauri Markkanen (Finland; 2017), Jamal Murray (Canada; 2016)</li>
<li>No. 8 overall: Frank Ntilikina (France; 2017)</li>
<li>No. 9 overall: Deni Avdija (Israel; 2020) and Rui Hachimura (Japan; 2019)</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>

Spencer Davies chats with Jarrett Allen about his involvement with BWB Asia, his offseason, the Cavs’ upcoming year and more.

Darrius