Tigers

The Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame announced today at NBA All-Star Weekend 2024 the selection of 14 finalists from the following committees: North American, Women&rsquo;s, Men&rsquo;s Veterans, Women&rsquo;s Veterans, International, and Contributors.
The finalists will then be put forward to the Honors Committee to be considered for election as members of the Class of 2024. The new class will be announced in Phoenix on April 6 at the NCAA Men&rsquo;s Final Four.
North American Committee Finalists (in alphabetical order):
<ul style="font-weight: 400;">
<li>Chauncey Billups</li>
<li>Vince Carter</li>
<li>Michael Cooper</li>
<li>Walter Davis</li>
<li>Bo Ryan</li>
<li>Charles Smith</li>
</ul>
Women's Committee Finalists:
<ul style="font-weight: 400;">
<li>Seimone Augustus</li>
<li>Marian Washington</li>
</ul>
Men&rsquo;s Veteran Committee Finalist:
<ul style="font-weight: 400;">
<li>Dick Barnett</li>
</ul>
Women's Veteran Committee Finalist:
<ul style="font-weight: 400;">
<li>Harley Redin</li>
</ul>
International Committee Finalist:
<ul style="font-weight: 400;">
<li>Michele Timms</li>
</ul>
Contributors Committee Finalists:
<ul style="font-weight: 400;">
<li>Doug Collins</li>
<li>Herb Simon</li>
<li>Jerry West</li>
</ul>
"Being named a Finalist for the Class of 2024 Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame is a testament to the highest echelons of achievement in the sport,&rdquo; said Jerry Colangelo, Chairman of the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame. &ldquo;It's an honor that reflects not only individual greatness but also the long-lasting impact on the game itself. From the strategic brilliance of coaches to the unmatched abilities of players and the influential roles of a coach/broadcaster, an esteemed owner, and a dynasty-building executive, each Finalist embodies the pinnacle of basketball excellence. Their inclusion underscores the diverse contributions that have shaped and enriched the sport, making this recognition truly exceptional."
The Class of 2024 will be enshrined during festivities in Springfield, Mass., on August 16-17. VIP packages for the 2024 Hall of Fame Enshrinement Weekend are now available. Single-event tickets will go on sale on April 6, following the 2024 Class Announcement.
North American Committee Finalists:
CHAUNCEY BILLUPS&nbsp;[Player]&nbsp;&ndash; Nicknamed "Mr. Big Shot" for his ability to deliver crucial plays in pivotal moments, Billups was a five-time NBA All-Star and the 2004 Finals MVP after leading the Detroit Pistons to their third NBA championship. During his 17-year career, Billups&rsquo; averaged 15.2 points and 5.4 assists per game, while his&nbsp; 89.4&nbsp; free throw percentage is sixth best in NBA/ABA history. Billups was drafted third overall in 1997 by the Boston Celtics after earning Second Team All-American honors at Colorado. He is the current head coach of the Portland Trail Blazers.
VINCE CARTER&nbsp;[Player]&nbsp;&ndash; Renowned for his high-flying dunks, the former North Carolina standout was an eight-time All-Star in his 22 NBA seasons (1998-2020). Carter, who won the 2000 Slam Dunk Contest, was named the 1998-99 Rookie of the Year and is the only player in NBA history to play in four different decades. Carter averaged 16.7 points per game (21.3 as a starter) and also played a pivotal role in the success of the 2000 Sydney Olympics, clinching a gold medal with the U.S. Men's Basketball Team. He currently holds the single-season franchise scoring record for the New Jersey/Brooklyn Nets and Toronto Raptors.
MICHAEL COOPER&nbsp;[Player]&nbsp;&ndash;&nbsp;Cooper was named to eight NBA All-Defensive Teams, taking home First-Team accolades five times and winning Defensive Player of the Year honors in 1987. The former third-round draft pick (60th overall) out of the University of New Mexico spent his entire 12-year NBA career (1978-90) with the Los Angeles Lakers, winning five championships while routinely matching up with the opponent&rsquo;s top shooter. Following his playing career, Cooper entered the coaching ranks and earned WNBA Coach of the Year accolades in 2000 with the Los Angeles Sparks before winning back-to-back WNBA titles in 2001-02.
WALTER DAVIS&nbsp;[Player]&nbsp;&ndash;&nbsp;The all-time leading scorer in Phoenix Suns&rsquo; history was a six-time All-Star (1978-81, &lsquo;84, &lsquo;87) during his 15-year NBA career with the Suns (1977-88), Denver Nuggets (1988-92) and Portland Trail Blazers (1991). Before Phoenix chose Davis with the fifth pick in the 1977 draft, the standout player from North Carolina won a gold medal in the 1976 Summer Olympics. He then averaged 24.2 points per game in his first NBA season and was named the 1978 Rookie of the Year. The late Davis had&nbsp;his No. 6 retired by the Suns, and in 2004, he was enshrined in the team's Ring of Honor.
BO RYAN&nbsp;[Coach] &ndash;&nbsp;Ryan went 747-233 (.762) in 32 seasons as a collegiate head coach with the University of Wisconsin-Platteville (1984-89), University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (1999-2001) and University of Wisconsin (2001-15), including a 364-130 (.737) ledger in 14-plus seasons in Madison. Ryan, honored four times as the Big Ten Coach of the Year, led Wisconsin to unprecedented success, clinching four Big Ten regular-season titles, winning three Big Ten tournament championships, and making back-to-back Final Four appearances (2014-15). The four-time Division III champion (1991, &lsquo;95, &lsquo;98-99) was inducted into the College Basketball Hall of Fame in 2017.
CHARLES SMITH&nbsp;[Coach] &ndash; Smith is Louisiana's all-time winningest high school head coach, surpassing the previous mark of 1,071 in 2020. With eight state championships to his name, Smith&rsquo;s coaching tenure at Peabody Magnet High School began in 1985 after starting as a math teacher in 1975. He guided the Warhorses to a pair of perfect seasons, going 41-0 in 2004 and 2010 and earning national top-five rankings. Smith, ESPN&rsquo;s National Coach of the Year in 2010, was inducted into the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame in 2019 and the National High School Athletic Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 2021. In addition, Smith served as a head coach at the McDonald&rsquo;s All-American game in 2020.
Women&rsquo;s Committee Finalists:
SEIMONE AUGUSTUS&nbsp;[Player]&nbsp;&ndash;&nbsp;Augustus, who was selected first overall in the 2006 WNBA Draft, was a four-time champion and eight-time All-Star during her 15-year WNBA career (2006-2020). The cornerstone player for the Minnesota Lynx, where she spent 14 of her 15 seasons, averaged 15.4 points per game and was named the 2006 Rookie of the Year and 2011 Finals MVP. At LSU, Augustus led the Tigers to three straight Final Four appearances and won the Naismith College Player of the Year and Wooden Awards in back-to-back campaigns (2005-06).
MARIAN WASHINGTON&nbsp;[Coach] &ndash; Washington led the University of Kansas women&rsquo;s basketball team for 31 seasons (1973-2004) and recorded a school-record 560 wins. The Jayhawks made 11 NCAA tournament appearances under her guidance, including two trips to the Sweet 16 (1996, &lsquo;97). Washington, who also served as Kansas&rsquo; director for women&rsquo;s athletics from 1974-79, was named her conference&rsquo;s Coach of the Year on three occasions (Big Eight: 1992, &rsquo;96; Big 12: 1997). She was a pioneer on the international stage, becoming one of the first two African American women to compete in basketball internationally at the 1971 World Championships and the first black woman to coach a United States team in international play at the 1982 R. William Jones Cup. Washington, who was the first female president of the Black Coaches Association, was inducted into the Women&rsquo;s Basketball Hall of Fame in 2004.
Men&rsquo;s Veteran Committee Finalist:
DICK BARNETT&nbsp;[Player] &ndash;&nbsp;Barnett first gained prominence at Tennessee A&amp;I University, where he led the Tigers to three straight NAIA national championships (1957-59), the first historically black school to claim a men&rsquo;s basketball title. The &ldquo;Skull&rdquo; played 14 NBA seasons with the Syracuse Nationals (1959-61), Los Angeles Lakers (1962-65) and New York Knicks (1965-73), winning a pair of titles in the Big Apple (1970, &lsquo;73) and making his lone All-Star team in 1968. The Knicks retired his No. 12, and the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame honored his 1957&ndash;59 Tigers squad in 2019.
Women&rsquo;s Veteran Committee Finalists:
HARLEY REDIN&nbsp;[Coach]&nbsp;&ndash;&nbsp;Redin went 431-66 in 18 seasons leading Wayland Baptist&rsquo;s women&rsquo;s basketball program and captured six AAU National Championships. He coached the Flying Queens to two undefeated women&rsquo;s seasons (1956, &lsquo;57), 17 top-five finishes, and went 110-2 during his first four campaigns at Wayland Baptist. Redin also coached the Women&rsquo;s U.S. National Team in 1959, the 1971 Pan-American Games, and the 1963 World Tournament in Peru. He was the recipient of the Jostens-Berenson Service Award by the Women&rsquo;s Basketball Coaches Association for his lifetime of service to women&rsquo;s basketball in 1992, inducted into the Women&rsquo;s Basketball Hall of Fame in 1999, and honored with the Naismith Award for Outstanding Contribution to the game of women&rsquo;s basketball in 2000.
International Committee Finalist:
MICHELE TIMMS&nbsp;[Player]&nbsp;&ndash;&nbsp;A trailblazer in Australian women&rsquo;s basketball, Timms became well-known as one of the best point guards in the world, representing the Australian national team throughout the 1980s and 1990s. Timms won a pair of Olympic medals with the Opals, winning bronze in 1996 and silver in 2000, and was the first Australian, male or female, to play professional basketball internationally when she suited up for Lotus M&uuml;nchen in Germany. In addition, Timms spent five seasons with the Phoenix Mercury, guiding the team to a berth in the 1998 WNBA Finals and earning an All-Star selection in 1999. The Sport Australia Hall of Fame inducted her in 2003, the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame in 2008, and the FIBA Hall of Fame in 2016. The Mercury retired her No. 7 jersey in 2002.
Contributor Committee Finalists:
DOUG COLLINS&nbsp;[Coach/broadcaster]&nbsp;&ndash;&nbsp;Collins' versatile career in basketball is marked by significant achievements in roles ranging from player to coach to broadcaster, underscoring his wide-ranging impact on the sport. Following an NBA career where he was a four-time All-Star with the Philadelphia 76ers, he transitioned into coaching and accumulated over 400 wins with the Chicago Bulls (1986-89), Detroit Pistons (1995-98), Washington Wizards (2001-03) and 76ers (2010-13). Collins, who coached Hall of Famer Michael Jordan in both Chicago and Washington,&nbsp;also served as an analyst for various NBA-related broadcasts for CBS, NBC, TNT, TBS, and ABC/ESPN, along with working for NBC at the 2008 and 2012 Summer Olympics.
HERB SIMON&nbsp;[Owner] &ndash; Simon, the longest-tenured governor in the history of the NBA, purchased the Indiana Pacers, along with his late brother Mel, back in 1983. Under Simon&rsquo;s stewardship, the Pacers won numerous Central Division titles and made the franchise&rsquo;s first NBA Finals in 2000. Throughout his ownership period, the Pacers have been home to legendary players like Jermaine O&rsquo;Neal, Rik Smits, and Reggie Miller (Class of 2012). Beyond ownership, Simon's influence extends deeply into the heart of the Pacers&rsquo; organization, shaping its identity and impact both on and off the court through his philanthropic endeavors and civic engagement.
JERRY WEST&nbsp;[Executive] &ndash; Enshrined as a player in 1980, West then went on to establish himself off the court as one of the most successful executives in the sport&rsquo;s history. West played a pivotal role as the architect of a pair of Los Angeles Lakers&rsquo; dynasties during the 1980s and 2000s, drafting key players like Magic Johnson and James Worthy, acquiring Kobe Bryant, signing free agent Shaquille O'Neal, and hiring head coach Phil Jackson. He totaled eight NBA championships in Los Angeles (1980, &lsquo;82, &lsquo;85, &lsquo;87-88, 2000-02) and was named Executive of the Year twice (1995, 2004). Following his time in the Lakers&rsquo; front office (1979-2000), West served as GM of the Memphis Grizzlies from 2002-07 before earning two additional NBA championships as an executive with the Golden State Warriors (2015, &lsquo;17).

The Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame announced the 14 finalists for the class of 2024 including Vince Carter and Chauncey Billups.

Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame announces 14 finalists in class of 2024

The NBA announced that 242 players have filed as early-entry candidates for the 2023 NBA Draft. Here is the complete list.

NBA announces 242 early-entry candidates for 2023 NBA Draft

The white flag is being waved in Portland.
With the Blazers sitting at 32-43, five games behind the Oklahoma City Thunder for the final play-in spot, it's fair to say the playoffs probably aren't in the cards this season. That reality has reportedly led the Blazers to shut down their superstar, Damian Lillard, for the rest of the year.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
With injury-plagued Portland Trail Blazers out of the playoff picture, superstar guard Damian Lillard will be held out the remainder of the season, league sources tell <a href="https://twitter.com/NBAonTNT?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@NBAonTNT</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/BleacherReport?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@BleacherReport</a>.
&mdash; Chris Haynes (@ChrisBHaynes) <a href="https://twitter.com/ChrisBHaynes/status/1640819291783323648?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 28, 2023</a></blockquote>

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

Lillard had already missed the last three games (all losses) with a calf injury. In light of the Blazers' place in the standings &mdash; and the benefit that could be gained by juicing their lottery odds &mdash; it makes sense that the Blazers would take a forward-thinking approach with Lillard.
It's a somber end to what's been, at least statistically, <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-news-damian-lillard-making-claim-as-nba-most-dangerous-offensive-player-portland-trail-blazers-71-point-game-joel-embiid-luka-doncic-michael-jordan-nikola-jokic-tracy-mcgrady" target="_blank" rel="noopener">the best offensive season in Lillard's career</a>. He posted career-highs in points (32.2), 2PT% (57.4), True Shooting percentage (64.5), three-point rate (.547) and attempts (11.3), free-throw rate (.464) and attempts (9.6), and assist rate (35.1).
The rest of his box score numbers &mdash; 7.3 assists, 4.8 rebounds, a 37.1% clip from three and 91.4% mark from the free throw line &mdash; certainly pass the smell test.&nbsp;
He currently leads the NBA in DunksAndThree's Offensive Estimated Plus-Minus (oEPM) metric (+8.1), narrowly ahead of MVP shortlist candidate Nikola Jokic (+8.0). He ranks fifth in Estimated Wins (EW), the cumulative version of EPM, with 14.0. He only trails Jokic (17.2), Joel Embiid (14.8), Jayson Tatum (14.4) and Luka Doncic (14.3) in that stat.
Lillard was a worthy All-Star and, in the games he appeared in, a no-brainer selection for an All-NBA team. With him only appearing in 58 games (27-31 record), I'm curious to see where the voters land with his case. There's no question Lillard played well enough, but there's room to argue against his candidacy depending on how highly availability and winning rank in a voter's mind.
Bigger picture, the Blazers enter the offseason with the same set of big questions. Can they build a contender around Lillard? How, with their current asset pool, can they do so? And considering what the rest of the conference looks like right now, does it make sense to cash in their chips to build around Lillard, or would it make more sense to use Lillard as&nbsp;the&nbsp;chip to jumpstart a rebuild?
If it's up to Lillard &mdash; and please, please stop asking him, he's been clear about his desires! &mdash; the Blazers will continue trying to build around him. That'll start with landing on an acceptable number with Jerami Grant, then likely move to evaluating the market for upgrades in the frontcourt.
We have plenty of time to dig into potential offseason moves. For now, Lillard deserves his flowers for an incredible year.
He stretched defenses to their limits with long-distance bombs. He parlayed that shooting gravity into his most efficient season as a driver. Those drives allowed him to further lean into the foul-drawing tricks he's developed throughout his career. And the constant attention he drew opened up passing windows for him to access when necessary.&nbsp;
Oh, right: he also dropped the most efficient 70+ point game in NBA history this year. Can't forget that.
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Hopefully Lillard is able to rehab and recharge. I have no idea how you&nbsp;build&nbsp;on a campaign as ridiculous as Lillard's, but he's proven to be someone you can't comfortably bet against.&nbsp;

The Blazers are sitting Damian Lillard for the rest of the season. Nekias Duncan breaks down Lillard's great season and what's next.

Blazers guard Damian Lillard ruled out for remainder of season

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) &mdash; The Sacramento Kings might just be riding the beam all the way to the NBA playoffs.
The resurgent Kings are on the verge of ending the longest postseason drought in league history, with first-year coach Mike Brown employing a fast-paced offense led by the dynamic duo of De&rsquo;Aaron Fox and Domantas Sabonis to put Sacramento in first place in the Pacific Division.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s a great feeling. It&rsquo;s great because it&rsquo;s my first time,&rdquo; Fox said of being in the playoff hunt. &ldquo;This is something we want to make annual. We want to be contending for a title. ... It&rsquo;s great for the city and organization. We still want bigger things for ourselves.&rdquo;
The Kings (43-29) are in third place in the Western Conference and might be able to clinch the franchise&rsquo;s first playoff berth since 2006 during the final three games of a four-game homestand that ends Monday night against Minnesota.
The 16 seasons without a playoff berth are the longest in NBA history and the longest active postseason drought among any team in the NBA, NFL, NHL or Major League Baseball.
&ldquo;I do feel that that group believes in themselves, not just because I&rsquo;m telling them they&rsquo;re good, but because they&rsquo;ve actually gone out and proven it time after time after time, whether it&rsquo;s individually in certain situations or collectively as a team,&rdquo; Brown said. &ldquo;When you have a team that believes, they can be dangerous. You&rsquo;ve got a connected team that believes, they can be a very dangerous team and that&rsquo;s what our group is right now.&rdquo;
The Kings are also one of the best feel-good stories of the NBA this season with an entertaining style of basketball that leads the league in scoring at 120.9 points per game for the highest mark in the league since 1983-84.
Each win at home is punctuated with the lighting of the beam &mdash; a beam of light from purple lasers atop the Golden 1 Center &mdash; and fans have even chanted for the beam at road games around the country.
&ldquo;There&rsquo;s like a playoff atmosphere every night,&rdquo; swingman Kevin Huerter, one of the key offseason acquisitions, said after a recent home win. &ldquo;The only thing that&rsquo;s missing is handing out the T-shirts and maybe some towels, whatever they&rsquo;re doing for the playoffs. But it really is this every night.&rdquo;
The Kings have been one of the most success-starved franchises since moving to Sacramento in 1985. They had a losing record in each of their first 14 seasons in California, winning just one playoff game.
That all changed in 1999 when general manager Geoff Petrie and coach Rick Adelman built a winner around players like Chris Webber, Vlade Divac and Peja Stojakovic that played an entertaining style in a grind-it-out era that nearly delivered a championship.
The Kings posted eight straight winning records and playoff berths under Adelman, but lost a heartbreaking seven-game series to the Los Angeles Lakers in 2002 and then saw their title hopes derailed the following year when Webber went down with a serious knee injury in the second round of the playoffs.
Adelman kept the team competitive through 2006 but was let go following a second straight first-round playoff exit.
Then the dark era began with 16 straight losing seasons under 11 coaches, an ownership change and fears that the city would lose its only major pro team to Seattle.
Vivek Ranadive bought the team from the Maloof family in 2013 and kept the team in Sacramento by building a downtown arena, but there was no on-court success until this year.
The Kings traded away star DeMarcus Cousins and botched several high draft picks. But they have been revived following last year&rsquo;s trade with Indiana that sent promising guard Tyrese Haliburton to Indiana for a playmaking big man in Sabonis and the decision to hire Brown as coach.
Sabonis proved to be the perfect piece to team with the speedy Fox, giving Sacramento a dynamic duo.
Fox is averaging 25.4 points per game and has been the best clutch scorer in the league this season, scoring double figures in the fourth quarter a league-high 25 times.
Sabonis, acquired in a controversial trade from Indiana midway through last season for promising guard Tyrese Haliburton, has been the perfect piece to team with Fox with his playmaking ability as a big man. Sabonis is averaging 19 points, 12.5 rebounds and 7.3 assists with 12 triple-doubles.
Add in outside shooting from Huerter and rookie Keegan Murray, the veteran presence of Harrison Barnes and scoring off the bench from Malik Monk and the Kings have gained the attention of other contenders.
&ldquo;Give a lot of credit to Mike Brown,&rdquo; Celtics star Jayson Tatum said. &ldquo;He has the guys playing a lot better. Fox is playing at an All-NBA level. Sabonis has been great for them. They play with so much pace. All those guys have a lot more confidence.
&ldquo;When you&rsquo;re playing with confidence, it naturally opens things up for the individual and the group.&rdquo;
___
AP Basketball Writer Brian Mahoney contributed to this report&nbsp;

The resurgent Kings are on the verge of ending the longest postseason drought in league history.

Success-starved Kings close in on long-awaited playoff berth

♪ Your time is up, my time is now ♪ 
♪ You can't see me, my time is now ♪ 
The beat is booming, trumpets blaring. The crowd is hyped &mdash; anticipation of something amazing will do that to you.
Normally, this would be the paragraph where John Cena is described. How he plays to the crowd, the message he gives to the camera conveniently zoomed in on him <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S7cqG9wQxLU" target="_blank" rel="noopener">before he flashes the "Never Give Up" towel and runs to the ring</a>.&nbsp;
Instead, the music just happens to be playing during the fourth quarter of the Toronto Raptors-Los Angeles Clippers game on Wednesday night.&nbsp;
Kawhi Leonard trots up the left side of the floor with OG Anunoby, the best perimeter defender in the league by many (read: my) accounts, waiting for him near half-court. Eric Gordon steps up to set an early drag screen, but Leonard rejects it to continue his leftward path.
Leonard gains inside leverage &mdash; doing that a lot, these days &mdash; and meets Jakob Poeltl at the rim. Well, more accurately, he gets to the rim and Poeltl just happens to be in his way. It sucks for him, because he wasn't stopping the funk coming his way.&nbsp;
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"You can't see me, my time is now" works for Cena. Try as you might, you're not on his level. You're distant. He's better and he knows it. He's better and his fans know it. He's better and you probably know it, deep down inside.
Leonard is different. You can see him; he just doesn't care that you can. It may be more accurate to say he can't see&nbsp;you.&nbsp;Is this the face of a man that thinks he's overcome insurmountable odds?
<img src="https://cdn.basketballnews.com/images/story/body/screen-shot-2023-03-09-at-1-14-42-pm.png" alt="" width="657" height="369" />
Absolutely not.
If a dunk like that is the Attitude Adjustment (the old name was better, cowards), his middy might be the shoulder charge before the Five Knuckle Shuf &mdash; okay, I've done enough with the wrestling analogy.
(Psst, he's knocked down 50.1% of his mid-range shots this season, per Cleaning The Glass. That feels like a typo, especially when you factor in how contested they've been.)
Anyway...
What shouldn't be lost in all the hoopla surrounding the Clippers &mdash; Russell Westbrook talk, rotation talk, <a href="https://twitter.com/PodcastPShow/status/1630946315659251713?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noopener">podcast talk</a>, Western Conference standings talk &mdash; is the metronomic, inevitable nature of Kawhi.
He's both a source of friction and a reason for optimism. The Clippers aren't here without him being on the recovery plan he's been on; conversely, the Clippers wouldn't be a reasonable playoff pick without his two-way dominance.
The further we get away from his initial return, the more terrifying he looks. Just look at his season in 10-game intervals.
First 10 (8 starts): 13.7 points on 51.7% True Shooting, 5.8 rebounds, 3.5 assists in 26.0 minutes
Next 10: 23.2 points on 61.1% True Shooting, 6.6 rebounds, 4.2 assists, 1.5 steals in 33.4 minutes
Following 10: 29.2 points on 63.2% True Shooting, 6.3 rebounds, 4.2 assists, 2.0 steals in 37.1 minutes
Last 10: 27.0 points on 67.6% True Shooting, 6.8 rebounds, 3.7 assists, 1.5 steals in 36.9 minutes
You can't erase portions of the season for a player &mdash; at least not in good faith &mdash; but a 30-game sample of 26.5 points on 64.0% True Shooting, 6.6 rebounds, 4.0 assists (1.8 turnovers) and 1.7 steals per game certainly qualifies as elite production. It's nasty stuff, even.
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I often find myself cackling at the casual nature of Leonard's approach. No matter the arena &mdash; isolating, posting up, running ball-screens, bringing the ball up in transition &mdash; it feels like he's in total control of what's happening.
Different defenders are tossed at him. Opponents oscillate between aggressive ball pressure, switching to flatten two-man actions and all-out traps to get the ball out of his hands. Their helpers do what they can to crowd the middle of the floor.
None of it matters, really.&nbsp;
Wednesday night's "revenge game" against the Raptors felt like one of those "it doesn't matter" games. His stat line was good enough: 24 points on 15 shot attempts, a season-high 12 rebounds, 4 dimes and three gimme-dats with the Clippers winning his minutes. But how he accumulated some of those? It's like, what do you do with him?
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You can see him; he just doesn't care that you can.
To the versatility point on offense: The Clippers have scored at an elite level when Leonard is involved in the action.&nbsp;
On trips featuring a Leonard-led ball screen, the Clippers are generating 1.085 points per possession (PPP). Among 96 players to run at least 500 ball-screens this season, that ranks No. 5 in the NBA. With Leonard setting an on-ball screen, that number rises to nearly 1.12 PPP &mdash; seventh among 209 players to set at least 150 picks.
Related: Keep an eye on the Leonard-Westbrook partnership. The sample must grow, but Westbrook screening for Leonard (1.82 PPP) and Leonard screening for Westbrook (1.00 PPP) has been pretty fruitful so far. The latter scenario has mostly been used for mismatch-hunting to get to isos or post-ups &mdash; "reverse-engineering" as expertly stated by <a href="https://twitter.com/stevejones20" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Steve Jones Jr.</a> &mdash;&nbsp; but there's real juice behind inverting the action.&nbsp;
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We can keep going. He's sixth in post-up PPP (1.18) among 37 players with 100 reps under their belts; seventh in PPP (1.13) among 51 players with at least 200 isolation possessions.
It simply has not mattered.
Flip the court, and the efforts to best Leonard have also been futile. He's not 2014 Kawhi anymore as an on-ball defender. The screen navigation isn't the same, nor is his lateral quickness at this stage. He remains incredibly difficult to deal with, though.&nbsp;
It's hard to move him. His prep work before the screen gets set is still superb. Even quieter, his sense of when to pursue after getting screened vs. when to peel-switch and take away a passing window is still strong.&nbsp;
At this point, it's less about what Leonard can do defensively and more about his opponents fearing what he's capable of. If he's in your face, you have your work cut out. If you get him off of you, you still have to be wary of where he is.
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It's been 40 games, which puts him a little behind the 8 Ball in terms of award talk. He isn't winning MVP. He's not winning Defensive Player of the Year, nor should he. An All-Defensive Team may also be out of the question, considering how deep the class is.
I'd keep an eye on his All-NBA case, though.
It feels like three spots are written in pen (Giannis Antetokounmpo, Jayson Tatum, Julius Randle), and another two are in pencil (Kevin Durant and LeBron James, who would easily be inked without their injuries, and still might be). Between Leonard, Jimmy Butler, Lauri Markkanen, Pascal Siakam and Kawhi's co-star Paul George, we may be in for a furious debate.
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Leonard is No. 10 in the league (+6.1) in DunksAndThree's Estimated Plus-Minus (EPM) metric, which estimates a player's total impact per 100 possessions. That would place Leonard sixth among forwards, trailing Butler (third, +7.1), Durant (seventh, +6.6), Giannis (eighth, +6.2) and LeBron (ninth, +6.2). Markkanen trails behind in 23rd (+4.8).
The cumulative version of the metric, Estimated Wins, places Leonard outside of the top 30 because of minutes played, putting him on par with Anthony Edwards (8.2) and slightly ahead of Siakam (8.0).
Of course, those are just two metrics out of the many in the public sphere. The most important thing is that Leonard looks like a two-way force getting close to peak form. That should terrify everyone.

Nekias Duncan analyzes how Kawhi Leonard is back to being a two-way force who is nearing his peak form with the Clippers.

His time is now: You can see Kawhi Leonard, but he doesn't care

OXFORD, Miss. (AP) &mdash; Zia Cooke scored five of her 24 points in overtime to help No. 1 South Carolina remain unbeaten with a 64-57 victory over Mississippi on Sunday.
The defending national champion Gamecocks (27-0, 14-0 Southeastern Conference) got one of their biggest scares of the season before winning their 33rd straight game. The Rebels (20-7, 9-5) never trailed by more than six points in regulation and flirted with their first win over a No. 1 team in 46 years.
Cooke had six rebounds and four assists to help off-set a 7-of-18 shooting performance. Aliyah Boston added 13 points and 11 rebounds on 4-of-14 shooting and didn&rsquo;t score in the first quarter.
The deep Gamecocks didn&rsquo;t get their usual supply of scoring help for the two stars, though Kamilla Cardoso had eight points and 11 boards.
Angel Baker led Ole Miss with 17 points.
No. 2 INDIANA 83, PURDUE 60
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. (AP) &mdash; Mackenzie Holmes scored 20 points, Grace Berger added 14 points and 10 assists and Indiana beat Purdue to clinch a share of its first Big Ten regular-season title in 40 years.
The Hoosiers (26-1, 16-1 Big Ten) won their 14th straight, matching the second-longest winning streak in school history, before cutting down the nets in front of the program&rsquo;s first home sellout. Indiana has broken the single-game attendance mark four times this season, this time celebrating its 18th straight home win in front of 17,222.
Lasha Petree led Purdue with 23 points and Abbey Elliss added 12. The Boilermakers (17-8, 8-7). have lost nine straight in this rivalry.
No. 4 UTAH 74, ARIZONA STATE 69
TEMPE, Ariz. (AP) &mdash; Gianna Kneepkens scored 22 points and Jenna Johnson added 15 to push Utah to a Pac-12 victory over stubborn Arizona State.
The Utes (23-3, 13-3), who had a seven-game winning streak stopped at No. 18 Arizona on Friday, struggled to put away Arizona State without post player Alissa Pili.
Pili, the Pac-12&rsquo;s leading scorer at 20.7 points per game, did not play after suffering an apparent right ankle sprain the final minutes of the loss at Arizona. Her ankle was re-taped on the bench after the first quarter but she never entered the game.
Sydney Erikstrup had 15 points, Treasure Hunt had 13 and Kayla Mokwuah had 11 for the Sun Devils (7-18, 0-16), who lost their 16th straight game despite leading most of the way.
No. 5 LSU 90, FLORIDA 79
GAINSVILLE, Fla. (AP) &mdash; Angel Reese had her ninth first-half double-double, Jasmine Carson had a career-high five 3-pointers before the break, and LSU raced past Florida.
Reese finished with 25 points and 16 rebounds for her 25th double-double of the season, two shy of Sylvia Fowles&rsquo; LSU single-season record. She also had five assists, three blocks and two steals.
Carson also scored 25 points, a career-high, as the graduate transfer from West Virginia went 7 of 14 behind the arc, helping the Tigers (25-1, 13-1 Southeastern Conference) to a season-best 11 3s on 20 attempts. The last time LSU had a player hit seven 3-pointers was in 1997.
KK Deans, a West Virginia transfer, matched her career high with 30 points, for the Gators (14-13, 3-11), who have lost five straight.
No. 9 DUKE 56, VIRGINIA 52
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (AP) &mdash; Elizabeth Balogun scored 12 points, Taya Corosdale had 10 and Duke survived a stern test from Virginia.
The Blue Devils (22-4, 13-3 Atlantic Coast Conference) led only 47-45 with just over eight minutes left, but Celeste Taylor hit a 3-pointer from right in front of the Duke bench to make it a five-point game, starting a 7-2 run that gave them some breathing room and they held on.
Taylor Valladay led Virginia (15-12, 4-12) with 19 points and McKenna Dale had 10. The Cavaliers had split their last six meetings with the Blue Devils after ending a 26-game losing streak in the series, but still lost for the 30th time in the last 33 meetings.
No. 10 NOTRE DAME 83, PITTSBURGH 43
PITTSBURGH (AP) &mdash; Maddy Westbeld and Sonia Citron scored 13 points each and Notre Dame used a huge first-quarter push to race by Pittsburgh.
The Fighting Irish (22-4, 13-3 ACC) went on an 18-3 burst over the final 6:47 of the opening frame to build a 16-point lead that the Panthers (10-17, 3-13) never really threatened.
Ten days after avoiding an upset at home against Pitt and three days after Olivia Miles hit a game-winning jumper at the buzzer to top Louisville, the Fighting Irish made sure no such heroics were necessary this time around.
No. 11 VIRGINIA TECH 75, N.C. STATE 62
BLACKSBURG, Va. (AP) &mdash; Roommates Elizabeth Kitley and Georgia Amoore both had double-doubles and Virginia Tech won its fifth straight, defeating North Carolina State.
Kitley had 24 points and 10 rebounds for her 50th career double-double and had six blocks. Amoore had 15 points and 11 assists, which tied her career high.
Virginia Tech (22-4, 12-4 ACC) has won six straight, the previous three against ranked teams, starting with a 73-61 win over the Wolfpack. That marked the Hokies&rsquo; first-ever win in Raleigh and now they have their first-ever sweep of NC State.
Aziaha James scored 20 points in her first start for the Wolfpack (18-9, 8-8), who are out of the poll for the first time in 96 weeks dating to February of 2018.
No. 15 OKLAHOMA 86, KANSAS 80
LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) &mdash; Madi Williams scored 23 points, Liz Scott had a double-double, and Oklahoma held off Kansas.
A free throw by Zakiyah Franklin drew Kansas within 82-80 with 3:12 remaining. Neither team would score another field goal as Kansas missed its last nine shots and Oklahoma&rsquo;s last field goal came with 5:12 remaining.
Williams made two free throws with 37 seconds left and Ana Llanusa added two more with nine seconds left to wrap up Oklahoma&rsquo;s sixth consecutive victory.
Scott had 15 points and 10 rebounds for the Sooners (22-4, 12-3 Big 12).
The Jayhawks got 73 of their 80 points from the trio of Franklin, Holly Kersgieter and Taiyanna Jackson. Franklin led with a career-high 30 points, Kersgieter added 24 and Jackson 19 for Kansas (16-9, 6-8). Jackson added 13 rebounds.
No. 17 TEXAS 74, WEST VIRGINIA 48
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) &mdash; Shaylee Gonzales had 18 points, Rori Harmon scored 16 and Khadija Faye added a double-double to power Texas to a romp over West Virginia.
Gonzales made half of her six 3-pointers and all seven of her free throws for the Longhorns (21-7, 12-3 Big 12 Conference). Harmon sank 10 of 12 fouls shots and added six rebounds and six assists. Faye finished with 12 points on 6-of-8 shooting and 11 rebounds.
Ja&rsquo;Haiya Quinerly had 16 points before fouling out to pace the Mountaineers (16-9, 7-7). Madisen Smith hit three 3-pointers and scored 12. Jayla Hemingway pitched in with nine points and seven rebounds.
No. 18 ARIZONA 61, No. 21 COLORADO 42
TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) &mdash; Shaina Pellington scored 19 points with five assists and Arizona smothered Colorado, ending the Buffaloes&rsquo; five-game winning streak.
The Wildcats (21-6, 11-5 Pac 12 Conference) held the Buffaloes to their lowest total of the season and their worst shooting game, 28.3% overall (15 of 53), 1 of 12 from 3-point range (8.3%).
Esmery Martinez had 14 points on 6-of-9 shooting and seven rebounds for the Wildcats, who were coming off a 10-point win over No. 4 Utah and have won five of six.
Tameiya Sadler led the Buffaloes with 12 points and Quay Miller added 10 with 10 rebounds.
No. 19 NORTH CAROLINA 71, WAKE FOREST 58
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (AP) &mdash; Deja Kelly had 24 points, five rebounds and six assists to lead North Carolina to a victory over Wake Forest.
Destiny Adams added 11 points off the bench and Kennedy Todd-Williams scored 10 for the Tar Heels (19-8, 10-6 ACC).
North Carolina went up by 20 midway through the fourth quarter and cruised from there, making just two field goals and three free throws over the final 6 1/2 minutes.
Wake Forest (14-13, 5-11) shot 3 for 14 in the third quarter and was outscored 16-6. The shooting slump came after the Demon Deacons shot 50% in the first half and trailed just 40-36 at halftime.
No. 24 FLORIDA STATE 80, GEORGIA TECH 66
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) &mdash; Ta&rsquo;Niya Latson scored 31 points on 10-of-16 shooting and 9-of-10 free throws, leading Florida State to a victory over Georgia Tech.
Latson scored 24 points through three quarters and the Seminoles took a 63-57 lead into the fourth. Latson, a freshman averaging 21.8 points per game, had gone nine games without reaching 20 points.
Georgia Tech got within four points early in the fourth quarter, but the Seminoles responded with an 8-0 run that gave them a 73-61 lead with 4:11 remaining. Florida State added 3-pointers from Latson and Erin Howard to close out the victory. The Yellow Jackets made one of their last 12 shots from the field.
Sara Bejedi scored 14 points and O&rsquo;Mariah Gordon added 10 off the bench for Florida State (22-7, 11-5 ACC).
Cameron Swartz scored 17 points, Kara Dunn 16, and Kayla Blackshear 10 for Georgia Tech (13-13, 4-11).
CALIFORNIA 81, No. 25 USC 78, OT
BERKELEY, Calif. (AP) &mdash; Jayda Curry scored 27 points and Michelle Onyiah had six points in overtime as California upended USC.
The Trojans (19-8, 9-7 Pac-12), back in the rankings for the first time since 2016, had their chances to win this one after falling to No. 3 Stanford 50-47 on Friday.
From the final four minutes of regulation until Destiny Littleton hit a 3-pointer with 1:08 to go in overtime, USC missed eight straight shots. After Littleton tied the game at 78 and Leilani McIntosh put the Golden Bears (13-14, 4-12) on top with two free throws with 44 seconds to go, the Trojans came up empty on their next possession despite two offensive rebounds.
Onyiah made 1 of 2 from the line with eight seconds to go and Littleton&rsquo;s late 3 was off the mark.

A recap of a busy Sunday in top-25 women's action includes a thriller between the Gamecocks and Rebels that had to go to overtime.

Top-ranked South Carolina edges Ole Miss in OT

Kyrie Irving, who was just named an All-Star starter for the Eastern Conference, shocked the NBA world this week when he reportedly asked for a trade. He informed the Nets that he prefers to be traded ahead of the Feb. 9 deadline or he will plan to leave via free agency in July, causing Brooklyn to lose him for nothing.&nbsp;
This trade demand was reportedly prompted by the fact that the two sides were unable to agree to the terms of a contract extension.&nbsp;
The Nets reportedly offered an extension to Irving; however, it included unprecedented &ldquo;guarantee stipulations&rdquo; tied to the team winning an NBA championship, according to <a href="https://twitter.com/ChrisBHaynes/status/1621650393083281408" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Chris Haynes of Bleacher Report</a>. This appeared to offend Irving and his camp, thus resulting in the trade demand.&nbsp;
This trade demand has been met with much criticism throughout the entire NBA world.&nbsp;
While discussing Irving&rsquo;s trade request with Malika Andrews on NBA Today, Stephen A. Smith <a href="https://www.si.com/nba/2023/02/04/kyrie-irving-trade-request-stephen-a-smith-comments" target="_blank" rel="noopener">called</a> Kyrie &ldquo;idiotic&rdquo; and added that &ldquo;he cannot be trusted; he just reminded the basketball world of that.&rdquo;
Kendrick Perkins <a href="https://www.si.com/nba/2023/02/03/kyrie-irving-kendrick-perkins-comments-nets" target="_blank" rel="noopener">went on a tirade</a> on ESPN when asked about the situation.
&ldquo;This is Kyrie Irving, a guy that you cannot trust,&rdquo; Perkins said. &ldquo;Didn&rsquo;t Kyrie Irving just say that Kevin Durant was his best friend? Right? So where is the loyalty? Right? If that&rsquo;s your best friend, I don&rsquo;t want that. Give me an enemy. For the simple fact that when you look at how Kevin Durant has been riding for Kyrie Irving since they arrived in Brooklyn&hellip; standing behind him through whatever his beliefs were, whatever he was doing, riding with him over James Harden.&rdquo;
I caught up with Caleb from <a href="https://twitter.com/BrooklynNetcast" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Brooklyn Netcast</a>, a site dedicated to covering the Nets, to discuss this situation, how the Nets handled this, the media backlash toward Kyrie and much more.
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Etan Thomas: I appreciate your content. I was one of the former players who retweeted your tweets after this story broke. You all do a great job of covering the Nets. To your knowledge, can you explain what exactly led to this trade request from Kyrie irving?&nbsp;
Brooklyn Netcast: I think it&rsquo;s more of a leverage move than anything. Mostly what led up to it were disagreements in the contract extension and certain details not being agreed upon as well as guaranteed money being a big issue in this whole thing. Chris Haynes reported yesterday about how there was a championship stipulation &mdash; like if you win a championship, then you receive X amount of dollars &mdash; and that&rsquo;s really where the disagreements and feeling of disrespect came. I definitely don&rsquo;t think there is a shared respect overall between Joe Tsai and Kyrie Irving and [there are] ethical disagreements, which is another huge issue that is being glossed over, as a point of contention between the two.&nbsp;
Etan: A few months ago, Joe Tsai and Kyrie Irving had the sit down and Tsai came out publicly and said, &ldquo;No, Kyrie is not anti-semetic, he&rsquo;s not a horrible person, etc.&rdquo; But do you think there was still friction between the two behind closed doors and that statement was mostly for show?
Brooklyn Netcast: There is definitely quite a bit of friction behind the scenes. I would say that it&rsquo;s a bit for show. I do believe that Joe Tsai and Adam Silver were both 100% correct when they said that Kyrie was not anti-semitic, but there is definitely a lot of friction that still exists between the two as far as values, who they are as people and, of course, the contract.&nbsp;
Etan: It was reported that the Nets wanted Irving&rsquo;s contract to be tied to winning a championship, and I don&rsquo;t know if I&rsquo;ve ever really heard a stipulation like that before in an NBA contract. So, he will only get X amount of money if they win a championship? To my knowledge, that&rsquo;s really unprecedented.
Brooklyn Netcast: I haven&rsquo;t seen any specifics, but just seen reports that this was a point of contention for Kyrie and his team. There are leaks coming from both sides and it&rsquo;s hard to see the exact details of what exactly was disagreed upon because there are so many different leaks and takes. But it is clear that it does center around guaranteed money and that a championship would bring a substantial amount of money into the picture, and that&rsquo;s not something that Kyrie or his representatives feel is fair because a championship is a team achievement. Hypothetically, Kyrie could average 40, 5 and 5, but if they lose in the playoffs, then he wouldn&rsquo;t receive whatever amount of his contract? I don&rsquo;t see how any player would agree to something like that.&nbsp;
Etan: One of the tweets that I retweeted from Brooklyn Netcast, and again you all have done a great job in covering this, was: &ldquo;The annoying part too is the media is just gonna paint Kyrie Irving as the bad guy here while Marks and Tsai don&rsquo;t get trashed at all.&rdquo; And that&rsquo;s exactly what happened.
Brooklyn Netcast: It&rsquo;s important to note that Kyrie has had some things happen off the court in the past; you can go into the whole documentary thing and missing time throughout the years, so there is already a lot stacked against him and who he is. I think it&rsquo;s abundantly clear right now that Kyrie Irving is a very good person, and a charitable and giving human being, but for some reason the media as a whole consistently ridicules and demonizes Kyrie. But they don&rsquo;t even loosely examine or question the character of someone like Joe Tsai. They would rather attack Kyrie&rsquo;s character, but that shows the bias of many in the media.&nbsp;
And the media only tells one side of the story. They focused on, &ldquo;Oh, Kyrie requested a trade,&rdquo; or, &ldquo;Kyrie wants out,&rdquo; or, &ldquo;Kyrie is abandoning KD,&rdquo; or, &ldquo;He said he would never leave his friend,&rdquo; and they frame it as if it&rsquo;s all Kyrie&rsquo;s fault. But they won&rsquo;t go into the details of the insulting championship stipulation the Nets put in the contract.&nbsp;
Etan: Stephen A. Smith jumped out and his response to Kyrie requesting a trade was that he is &ldquo;idiotic&rdquo; and &ldquo;cannot be trusted&rdquo; and that he &ldquo;reminded the entire basketball world of that.&rdquo; I responded:
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No Stephen A Smith smh It&rsquo;s simple, if you feel you&rsquo;re not being paid what you&rsquo;re worth at your current place of employment or you&rsquo;re being disrespected, it&rsquo;s time to move on. Just like when you voiced that ESPN wasn&rsquo;t compensating you properly. It&rsquo;s not &ldquo;idiotic&rdquo; just business <a href="https://t.co/k08L7SL8hr">pic.twitter.com/k08L7SL8hr</a>
&mdash; Etan Thomas (@etanthomas36) <a href="https://twitter.com/etanthomas36/status/1621889146368266241?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 4, 2023</a></blockquote>

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And that&rsquo;s how I look at this situation. It&rsquo;s just business. It&rsquo;s not Kyrie being a &ldquo;diva,&rdquo; which many have called him, or him being &ldquo;idiotic.&rdquo; They didn&rsquo;t want to give him the number that he felt he had earned as an All-Star, and they added stipulations that he wasn&rsquo;t happy with such as the championship stipulation &mdash; which, again, I don&rsquo;t recall ever being done in the NBA &mdash; so he wanted to look for other options. But the media, people like Stephen A. Smith for example, immediately went to bashing Kyrie before they even knew the details.
Brooklyn Netcast: I agree with everything you just said. I wasn&rsquo;t surprised to hear Stephen A. Smith and Kendrick Perkins and so many others in the media jump to bash Kyrie. I know Stephen A. says that he is a fan of Kyrie&rsquo;s, but there has been a consistent bashing of Kyrie that he does and it seems almost personal and definitely unprofessional. This summer, Kendrick Perkins said he would not bash Kyrie as long as he was in the media, and he went back on his word is less than a few months. Dave Portnoy, who is a member of the media, <a href="https://twitter.com/stoolpresidente/status/1621585952752672768" target="_blank" rel="noopener">tweeted</a>: &ldquo;You can make a legit argument Kyrie is the worst pro athlete who ever lived and top 100 worst human.&rdquo;&nbsp;
Etan: Lou Williams responded, &ldquo;Nah, we don&rsquo;t agree with you,&rdquo; and I retweeted that.
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Na. We don&rsquo;t agree with you. <a href="https://t.co/WyfQ17ODst">https://t.co/WyfQ17ODst</a>
&mdash; Lou Williams (@TeamLou23) <a href="https://twitter.com/TeamLou23/status/1621620298532495363?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 3, 2023</a></blockquote>

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Brooklyn Netcast: Right! I saw that, and I&rsquo;m glad Lou Williams did that. That was really a disgusting tweet. Requesting a trade because of a contract dispute makes you the worst human being to ever walk the planet? And the amount of people who agreed with his asinine statement is just crazy. But yeah, that shows how Kyrie has been consistently painted as this horrible person by the media, and that&rsquo;s just irresponsible.&nbsp;
Etan: What are you hearing about the Brooklyn Nets and how they view Kyrie? I&rsquo;m sure some of the fans are split &mdash; some love Kyrie and some hate Kyrie, some are swayed by the media and some see through how the media portrays him &mdash; but what are you hearing from the team as far as their reaction to this? And I ask because I noticed that after the recent suspension, it seemed as though the team supported him &mdash; or at least didn&rsquo;t publicly bash him. I saw people in the media trying to almost coerce the players into ridiculing him. I saw them try to get Nic Claxton to say they were better off without Kyrie, and they tried to get KD to express frustration with Kyrie. It was like they went down the list, but none of them took the bait. Where do you think they are with Kyrie and if he were to come back &mdash; say they don&rsquo;t trade him &mdash;would they welcome him back with open arms?&nbsp;
Brooklyn Netcast: That&rsquo;s tough to say. I feel like it would vary from player to player. I&rsquo;m sure they understand the business aspect of this all and they don&rsquo;t look at this as a personal abandonment of the team or anything like that. I do think they are all well aware that their chances of being successful greatly diminish if Kyrie is not on the floor. But at the same time, from what I&rsquo;m hearing, or at least what they are expressing publicly, is that they understand that this is a business. But they know at the same time, they need him to be successful.&nbsp;
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Etan: I want you to expound on the media coverage of Kyrie. And of course not all media are covering him the same way, but I will say that there are quite a few in the media who are really taking turns bashing him. Do you feel that it&rsquo;s a little bit unfair or unwarranted or unprofessional? (Besides Stephen A. Smith; in his case, it definitely does appear to be just that). How would you describe the majority of the media&rsquo;s coverage of Irving?
Brooklyn Netcast: I think that a lot of it is personal and a lot of it is a collection of how they feel about past events, and that taints how they examine this current event. They aren&rsquo;t separating the two. For example, when James Harden asked for a trade, he didn&rsquo;t get bashed as heavily, and his was more of a giving up on the team. He had gained weight, was playing very bad basketball at the time and reportedly never wanted to be in Brooklyn in the first place as his first choice. Kyrie&rsquo;s request was definitely covered differently, and he has a valid financial reason to want out, in my opinion at least. And there have been other players who were just disgruntled or just unhappy with the system or not [getting] enough shots or playing time who asked for a trade, and they weren&rsquo;t bashed anywhere near as much as Kyrie. But like I said, a lot of that has to do with past situations that many people are lumping in with this situation, and one has nothing to do with the other. I&rsquo;m hoping the media, later on after he has retired, will look back and say, &ldquo;You know what, this was unfair treatment of a player and we viewed him incorrectly.&rdquo;
Etan: Yeah&hellip; I would say don&rsquo;t hold your breath on Stephen A. Smith or Charles Barkley ever coming to that realization.&rdquo;
Brooklyn Netcast: Oh, well not those two (laughing).
Etan: Oh ok (laughing), you just mean the media as a whole.
Brooklyn Netcast: Yeah, just collectively. But no, those two are probably not going to come to any realization.
Etan: I couldn&rsquo;t agree more. There is nothing wrong with having a professional critique of an athlete. I have no problem with that. But often, Stephen A. Smith&rsquo;s comments about Kyrie Irving are nothing more than personal attacks and attempts to disparage his character. He lobbies for him not to be signed to a long-term deal and puts notions out there that he can&rsquo;t be trusted. It comes across as a personal vendetta instead of a professional critique. And although my friend David Aldridge didn&rsquo;t agree with me when I debated him and Marc Spears about the impact of what the media says, it&rsquo;s been confirmed to be true.
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What the media says does affect the business side for players when it&rsquo;s time for teams, GMs, presidents, etc. to sign them &mdash; whether those notions are accurate or not. It&rsquo;s not about &ldquo;hurting a player&rsquo;s feelings.&rdquo; It&rsquo;s about having a direct impact on their professional career. I actually <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/former-nba-gm-confirms-false-narratives-hurt-kwame-brown-others" target="_blank" rel="noopener">interviewed a former NBA GM, Pete Babcock</a>, who confirmed that false narratives put out by the media and Stephen A. Smith, in particular, did in fact hurt Kwame Brown financially. He discussed how NBA executives were, in fact, influenced by those narratives.&nbsp;
But thanks again for your content and covering this in a way that is different than many others in the media. This was a good discussion.
Brooklyn Netcast: Thanks for having me.

Etan Thomas examines how the media has covered Kyrie Irving's trade request from the Brooklyn Nets.

After trade demand, media bash Kyrie Irving but silent on management

MILWAUKEE (AP) &mdash; Giannis Antetokounmpo had a triple-double with 35 points, 15 rebounds and 11 assists and the Milwaukee Bucks beat the short-handed Miami Heat 123-115 on Saturday night for their seventh straight victory.
Jimmy Butler scored 32 points and Tyler Herro added 24 for the Heat, who had just nine available players. Notable injured Miami players included Kyle Lowry (sore left knee) and Victor Oladipo (sprained right ankle).
Antetokounmpo had his third triple-double of the season and 32nd of his career. The 11 assists matched his season high.
The two-time MVP had 26 points, 14 rebounds and 11 assists in a&nbsp;victory at Minnesota&nbsp;on Nov. 4. He had 30 points, 21 and 10 assists in an&nbsp;overtime win at Toronto&nbsp;on Jan. 4.
Antetokounmpo&rsquo;s latest triple-double came two nights after he scored 54 points in a 106-105 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers. During the Bucks&rsquo; six-game winning streak, Antetokounmpo is averaging 39.4 points, 14.7 rebounds and 5.0 assists.
Khris Middleton added 24 points, Grayson Allen 19, Jrue Holiday 15 and Pat Connaughton 14. The Bucks gained a measure of revenge after losing consecutive games in Miami on Jan. 12 and 14. Antetokounmpo didn&rsquo;t play in either of those games.
Miami&rsquo;s Gabe Vincent had a career-high 28 points in one of the Heat&rsquo;s victories over the Bucks and 27 in the other. Vincent had just seven points Saturday,
The Heat trailed throughout the first half until Herro sank a 3-pointer at the buzzer to tie it at 62l at the break. Miami missed 12 of its first 13 3-point attempts and was just 5 of 20 from beyond the arc, but the Heat stayed close by committing just one first-half turnover.
TIP-INS
Heat: This game represented a homecoming for Herro, who had his jersey retired Friday night at nearby Whitnall High School in Greenfield.&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://twitter.com/MiamiHEAT/status/1621706085982932992" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Herro&rsquo;s Heat teammates and coach Erik Spoelstra attended the ceremony.</a>&nbsp;Earlier this season, they attended a similar ceremony when Heat veteran Udonis Haslem got his jersey retired at Miami High. &ldquo;The guys really do care about each other and want to support each other,&rdquo; Spoelstra said before the game. &ldquo;You also love seeing guys back in their old environment. It means a lot to Tyler and his family. He put a lot in to be able to have that kind of career he had in high school He was already thinking about these kinds of things when he was in fifth or sixth grade. Who&rsquo;s thinking about that at that time?&rdquo;
Bucks: Now that they&rsquo;ve finished a four-game homestand, the Bucks are about to begin a demanding stretch of their schedule. They go on a three-game West Coast trip before returning home to face the Eastern Conference-leading Boston Celtics on Feb. 14.
UP NEXT
Heat: Host Indiana on Wednesday night.
Bucks: At Portland on Monday night.

Giannis Antetokounmpo had a triple-double and the Milwaukee Bucks beat the short-handed Miami Heat 123-115 on Saturday night.

Giannis Antetokounmmpo has triple-double; Bucks win 7th straight

GAINESVILLE, Fla. (AP) &mdash; Colin Castleton is accustomed to being double-teamed every time he touches the ball, so he was pleasantly surprised &mdash; maybe even downright stunned &mdash; when Tennessee opted to guard him with a single defender in the second half.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve got to take advantage of that,&rdquo; Castleton said.
He did. Castleton scored 20 points, including 16 in the second half, and Florida upended the second-ranked Volunteers 67-54 on Wednesday night.
Kyle Lofton added 14 points for the Gators, who delivered coach Todd Golden his most significant victory in his first season in Gainesville. It was Florida&rsquo;s second Quad 1 win in the last two weeks.
The Volunteers, playing with their highest ranking in four years, lost for the first time in five games. They had won nine of 10.
&ldquo;Our guys are disappointed,&rdquo; Tennessee coach Rick Barnes said. &ldquo;We&rsquo;re better than this, but tonight we weren&rsquo;t.&rdquo;
Tennessee (18-4, 7-2 Southeastern Conference) looked like it had taken control midway through the second half. They outscored Florida by 10 points in the early going to take a six-point lead.
But the Gators (13-9, 6-3) stormed back behind Castleton, who scored 11 of 14 points as Florida rallied. The senior had a dunk, two free throws, a three-point play, a layup and a short jumper &mdash; essentially putting the team on his back down the stretch.
&ldquo;They went small, and I felt like I had a mismatch,&rdquo; Castleton said.
Myreon Jones and Will Richard chipped in nine points apiece for the Gators.
Zakai Ziegler led the Vols with 15 points on 6-of-19 shooting. Olivier Nkamhoua added 11 points and nine rebounds for the visitors, who also got 11 points and eight boards from Vescovi Santiago.
The Gators were red hot to start the game, making six of their first eight shots &mdash; including all three from 3-point range &mdash; while building a 17-4 advantage. But they quickly cooled against the nation&rsquo;s best defense, missing nine of their next 11 as Tennessee made cut it to 22-21.
The Vols had it going coming out of the locker room, with Ziegler getting into the paint and making things happen. But it was short-lived &mdash; thanks mostly to Castleton.
&ldquo;We gave them a chance to start believing in what they&rsquo;re doing, and they took it,&rdquo; Barnes said.
POLL IMPLICATIONS
Tennessee surely will drop a few spots in next week&rsquo;s AP Top 25 college basketball poll.
BIG PICTURE
Tennessee: The Volunteers gave up 10 points in the opening four minutes of the games, a rare sluggish start for the nation&rsquo;s best defense. Tennessee had held four of its first eight SEC opponents scoreless at the first media timeout, roughly the first four minutes of games. It was a sign of things to come.
&ldquo;We kept fighting uphill all night long,&rdquo; Barnes said.
Florida: The Gators are two games into the toughest stretch of their season. Coming off a loss at Kansas State, they have road games against Kentucky and Alabama up next. So to say they needed this one would be an understatement.
&ldquo;It was a desperation game,&rdquo; Castleton said. &ldquo;We&rsquo;ve got a tough schedule here and we&rsquo;ve got to win games. We were able to claw and fight.&rdquo;
IN THE HOUSE
Football coach Billy Napier watched the game from a few rows behind Florida&rsquo;s bench alongside his two sons and receiver Ricky Pearsall. Former Florida tennis star Ben Shelton, the NCAA singles champion in 2022, also was in attendance. So was former Gators and NFL quarterback Doug Johnson.
UP NEXT
Tennessee hosts No. 25 Auburn and former coach Bruce Pearl on Saturday.
Florida plays at Kentucky on Saturday. The Gators have lost seven of eight in the series.
NO. 1 PURDUE 80, PENN STATE 60
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. (AP) &mdash; Mason Gillis broke the Mackey Arena record by making nine 3-pointers and finished with a career-high 29 points as Purdue beat Penn State.
Gillis went 10 of 14 from the field and 9 of 12 from beyond the arc. Zach Edey added his 18th double-double of the season with 18 points and 13 rebounds.
The Big Ten-leading Boilermakers (22-1, 11-1) have won nine straight overall, six straight in the series and are the only Power Five team with fewer than two losses this season.
Seth Lundy had 18 points to lead the Nittany Lions (14-8, 5-6).
NO. 14 MARQUETTE 73, VILLANOVA 64
MILWAUKEE, Wis. (AP) &mdash; Tyler Kolek scored 20 points and Marquette rallied down the stretch to beat Villanova and maintain a share of the Big East lead.
Kam Jones added 18 points for Marquette (18-5, 10-2), which has won four straight games and nine of 10.
Eric Dixon and Caleb Daniels scored 14 each for Villanova (10-12, 4-7), which committed a season-high 19 turnovers. Brendan Hausen added 12 points.
In a game neither team led by more than six until the final minute, Kolek put Marquette ahead for good at 63-62 by sinking two free throws with 4:32 remaining, starting a 10-0 spurt.
NO. 16 XAVIER 85, NO. 17 PROVIDENCE 83, OT
CINCINNATI (AP) &mdash; Jack Nunge had 23 points and 14 rebounds as Xavier held off Providence in overtime.
Colby Jones and Souley Boum each scored 20 for the Musketeers, who won a first-place showdown in the Big East without injured forward Zach Freemantle.
Noah Locke had 22 points and Ed Croswell added 21 for Providence (17-6, 9-3), which had beaten Xavier three straight times.
A layup by Boum put the Musketeers (18-5, 10-2) ahead 82-79 with 51 seconds remaining in overtime. A layup by Devin Carter cut Xavier&rsquo;s lead to one with 24 seconds left. Boum hit one of two free throws, and Jared Bynum&rsquo;s 3-point attempt from the left corner rimmed out at the buzzer.
NO. 25 AUBURN 94, GEORGIA 73
AUBURN, Ala. (AP) &mdash; Johni Broome scored 19 points and matched a career high with 18 rebounds, Allen Flanigan scored a season-high 22 points, and Auburn beat Georgia.
Wendell Green Jr. added 18 points and six assists and made two 3-pointers during a 17-0 first-half run for the Tigers (17-5, 7-2 Southeastern Conference).
Broome secured his seventh double-double of the season with 2:54 remaining in the first half, then added six points and six rebounds in the second half.
Mardrez McBride led the Bulldogs (14-8, 4-5) with 20 points.

A recap of Wednesday night's action in men's college basketball includes an impressive upset in SEC play from the Gators.

Florida upends No. 2 Tennessee 67-54 behind Colin Castleton

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) &mdash; Draymond Green dribbles the ball up court and takes charge of Golden State&rsquo;s backups, directing two-way teammate Anthony Lamb on the wing, dishing the ball to Donte DiVincenzo or finding Jonathan Kuminga down low.
The move Warriors coach Steve Kerr made with Green in November to boost the defending champions&rsquo; then-struggling second unit has worked out well, especially considering those players have been needed in a big way due to injuries over the past month.
Green, who continues to play significant time with the reserves, is regularly praised by coaches around the league for his willingness to sacrifice his starter minutes to help the overall balance, something other stars are also doing around the NBA.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s the modeling part for those guys that&rsquo;s very helpful for them in their game,&rdquo; said Rockets coach Stephen Silas, who called Green &ldquo;one of the most cerebral players in our league who has a voice that those guys will listen to.&rdquo;
In Dallas, Luka Doncic is relied upon to play key stretches with each unit. With Nets star Kevin Durant sidelined by a knee injury, Kyrie Irving is also spending more of his minutes with the Brooklyn backups as coach Jacque Vaughn is forced to get more creative with his lineups.&nbsp;
&ldquo;Some nights we&rsquo;re going to put points on the board very easily, guys are feeling good,&rdquo; Irving said of adjusting without Durant, &ldquo;and some nights we&rsquo;re going to have to really rely on our poise, really rely on our defensive pressure, and let that lead us to wins.&rdquo;
Rick Carlisle recalls fondly how former Mavericks star Dirk Nowitzki also used to play with the backups. And when Carlisle played, the now-Pacers coach always cherished the minutes Hall of Famer Bill Walton played with him and the Boston backups.
Hawks coach Nate McMillan took on that role at times, too. McMillan used to play key stretches with the youngsters &mdash; and the stars -- in Seattle, taking great pride in making the others shine, &ldquo;because that was the strength of my game.&rdquo; Gary Payton would move to the wing and McMillan might run the point on the floor with Hersey Hawkins, Sam Perkins and Detlef Schrempf.
&ldquo;I was the guy that would come in and really be that coach out on the floor,&rdquo; McMillan recalled. &ldquo;I was that guy who was initiating and making sure that we set up. Very similar to Draymond, I wasn&rsquo;t providing a lot of scoring but the defense was going to be there, moving the ball, getting the ball to those shooters, all of that.&rdquo;
Those versatile players mean so much, to both the starters and the backups, for their ability to make everyone on the roster better. The Warriors are counting on the experience gained by the young players now making them a far better team come playoff time in April and May.
To this day, Carlisle treasures the time he spent on the court with Walton.
&ldquo;When I was a young player we traded for Bill Walton when I was in Boston and I was a hell of a lot better player when I was on the floor with Bill Walton,&rdquo; Carlisle said. &ldquo;I wasn&rsquo;t very good but now when you&rsquo;ve got a chance to be on the floor with a Hall-of-Fame-type player like that who has major impact on defense and offense, it&rsquo;s going to change you.&rdquo;
Green gets that. He wants to be part of helping his teammates build a better NBA future by serving as an on-court guide. He has the championship pedigree.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s definitely very important and I think guys do appreciate it. Ultimately, you have to understand a guy&rsquo;s situation and how they fare in their minutes. How the team fares in their minutes can determine their future, so for me I take it very seriously, because how that group turns out is very important,&rdquo; Green said.
&ldquo;So I just view it from a different standpoint of life. I honestly view those minutes even more important than my starter minutes because those guys aren&rsquo;t just set in what their careers are going to be.&rdquo;
These rotations don&rsquo;t work everywhere. Depth is a key part of the success if you ask Hornets coach Steve Clifford &mdash; not to mention the ability to adapt on the fly over the course of a long season with all the ups and downs and tough travel days.
&ldquo;To have long playoff runs like that you&rsquo;ve got to be versatile and flexible in your lineups. I think also part of it has to do with what kind of team you have and what kind of depth you have,&rdquo; Clifford said. &ldquo;You have to have good players, like really good players off the bench, if you can play with only one starter. Usually it&rsquo;s more veteran that way, when you&rsquo;re playing a lot of younger guys usually you&rsquo;re going to have to have a couple starters out there when they&rsquo;re in the game.&rdquo;
Warriors assistant Jama Mahlalela credits Green for doing whatever is needed for the betterment of the team.
It&rsquo;s not a chore for the 11th-year veteran Green.
&ldquo;The way I look at it is you can help impact someone&rsquo;s life,&rdquo; he said, &ldquo;and I take that seriously.&rdquo;

Draymond Green continues to play significant time with the reserves and is regularly praised by coaches around the league.

Warriors’ Draymond Green, others sacrifice minutes to boost backups

Nekias Duncan takes an early look at this year's NBA award races with an in-depth look at who leads the pack through mid-December.

Nekias Duncan's 2022-23 NBA award front-runners: MVP, DPOY, ROY, more

If the NBA has a magic number, it&rsquo;s 100.
Wilt Chamberlain&rsquo;s single-game scoring record. A perfect shooting percentage. And the rule pretty much seemed to be that if a team scored 100 points in a game, it probably was going to walk off the floor as a winner.
Not anymore.
Put simply, 100 doesn&rsquo;t guarantee anything. Teams with at least 100 points are losing 45% of their games so far this season, the highest such rate in more than 50 years and nearly 10% higher than the league&rsquo;s all-time average.
Orlando is 4-16 when scoring 100 points. Detroit is 6-14 in those games. Houston is 7-15. It&rsquo;s just not enough to win in this NBA era, where defense might seem optional &mdash; teams insist that isn&rsquo;t the case &mdash; and 20-point scorers appear to be everywhere.
Really. They&rsquo;re everywhere. Right now, there are nearly 50 NBA players on pace to average 20 points this season. A decade ago, only 11 players finished the season with such an average. There will, without question, be more 20-point-per-game guys not getting picked for the All-Star Game this year than ever before, simply because there aren't anywhere near enough roster spots in that game to accommodate them all.
&ldquo;We&rsquo;ve got a lot of threats out there to shoot the ball,&rdquo; said Brooklyn&rsquo;s Kevin Durant, whose current average of 29.9 points per game ranks seventh in the league this season -- yet is more than he averaged in two of the four seasons in which he won the league&rsquo;s scoring title. &ldquo;So that keeps defenses on their heels.&rdquo;
He was speaking of the Nets when he said that, though he could have just as easily been talking about the whole league.
Not since 1969-70 has the NBA seen a season where teams are averaging this many points per game. The league average this season is 113 points per contest; that&rsquo;s up 13 points from eight seasons ago and up almost 17 points from 11 seasons ago. Much of that has to do with the league&rsquo;s ongoing reliance on the 3-pointer &mdash; a record number of those (30.598) were made last season and this season is on pace for a similar total in that department.
Magic coach Jamahl Mosley says his definition of a good defensive game in this NBA is simple: holding an opponent to 107 or 108 points tends to make him happy.
&ldquo;That's the crazy part about it," Mosley said. &ldquo;You say you're scoring enough to get where you need to be, but then defensively, if you're giving up the 120's and the 115's, that's where it becomes tough. That's two or three less turnovers, that's one more rebound, that's knocking down one more shot, that's taking away one more 3. You talk about the small gains and the small things you can do to help your defense get better, those are the pieces."
This may be the best and simplest example of how the game has changed. In the 2014-15 season, the Los Angeles Clippers averaged 106.9 points per game, which was second-best in the NBA.
This season, the Clippers are averaging 107.2 per game. That&rsquo;s last in the league.
&ldquo;I think one of our team&rsquo;s greatest challenges right now is just being consistent on both ends of the floor, especially the defense,&rdquo; Denver coach Michael Malone said.
Every coach in the league could, and probably has, offered a similar assessment. The game just keeps changing and what used to be normal just isn&rsquo;t anymore.
Going into this week, more than half of the league&rsquo;s teams &mdash; 16 of the 30 &mdash; are on pace to have one of the six highest-scoring seasons in their history. Of the first 351 games played this season, there have been only 10 instances of a team scoring less than 100 points and still winning. Last year, it happened about three times as frequently as it has this season.
Some of the stats out there right now when it comes to scoring are just wacky. Minnesota was 20-0 last season when scoring 126 points; the Timberwolves are 4-3 in those games this season. Miami scored 121 points in regulation and lost a game in Boston last week; the Heat had been 64-6 under coach Erik Spoelstra in such games.
And then there was Nov. 13, when the New York Knicks did something truly historic.
They scored 135 points in regulation that night and lost by double figures anyway, falling 145-135 to the Oklahoma City Thunder. Before that, the most recent time the Knicks scored that many points, without overtime, and lost by double figures was March 2, 1962.
They lost to the Philadelphia Warriors that night, 169-147.
That was the game where Wilt scored 100.
___
Tim Reynolds is a national basketball writer for The Associated Press. Write to him at treynolds(at)ap.org

Teams with at least 100 points are losing 45% of their games so far this season, the highest such rate in more than 50 years.

In the NBA, 100 points no longer assures anything

One day before Thanksgiving &mdash; immediately after the New Orleans Pelicans defeated the San Antonio Spurs &mdash; Zion Williamson was asked an innocent question: What is your favorite dish?
&ldquo;You're trying to set me up,&rdquo; Williamson replied. &ldquo;No matter what answer I give, social media is going to clown me. So, no comment."
Williamson was smiling and many people thought the exchange was funny. However, upon reflection, it&rsquo;s a bit sad. Over the years, Williamson has dealt with so many weight-related jokes and barbs that he doesn&rsquo;t even feel comfortable broaching the topic of food.
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&ldquo;You tryna set me up&hellip;.no matter what I answer I give, social media gonna clown me. So no comment.&rdquo; Zion Williamson refused to say what his favorite Thanksgiving dish is 🤣 <a href="https://t.co/wiOVx0QCOG">pic.twitter.com/wiOVx0QCOG</a>
&mdash; Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) <a href="https://twitter.com/BleacherReport/status/1595777133523017728?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 24, 2022</a></blockquote>

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Unfortunately, what Zion said is probably true. Had he answered this question, his mentions likely would&rsquo;ve been full of rude memes and jokes about his weight.&nbsp;
Not only has Williamson&rsquo;s weight been the butt of many jokes online, but media members have also discussed his body a ton. It can&rsquo;t be easy to have so much attention focused on your weight at 22 years old, especially when your earnings are directly tied to your body.
Williamson&rsquo;s contract with the Pelicans features periodic weigh-ins and &ldquo;the sum of his weight and body fat percentage must be below 295,&rdquo; according to <a href="https://www.nola.com/sports/pelicans/article_85296674-00a5-11ed-97cb-ef28af9a5590.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Christian Clark of NOLA.com</a>. If this number is above 295, the team can reduce his guaranteed money. Williamson has hired a private chef and personal trainer to meet his contractual requirements. And it&rsquo;s worth noting that he&rsquo;s not the only NBA player with a weight-related clause in his contract.
Though the Pelicans would argue that they are just trying to keep Zion healthy and protect their superstar asset, there&rsquo;s no question that these weigh-ins (plus the barrage of jokes and negativity) could take a toll on a person and potentially affect their relationship with food.&nbsp;
While there&rsquo;s no evidence that Williamson has dealt with an eating disorder (and I&rsquo;m not suggesting that he has), there are many athletes who do struggle with disordered eating.
Approximately 10 million men in the United States will suffer from an eating disorder during their lifetime, and elite athletes are nearly three times more likely to have an eating disorder, according to a study by the Norwegian University of Sport and Physical Education.
For example, many boxers develop eating disorders &mdash; such as anorexia, bulimia or binge eating &mdash; since they are expected to cut weight and heavily restrict what they eat prior to fights.&nbsp;
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&ldquo;There is a misconception that eating disorders are disorders for females. The reality is that men struggle with eating disorders just like women do,&rdquo; <a href="https://globalsportmatters.com/health/2019/08/28/hidden-figures-male-athlete-eating-disorders-often-overlooked/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> Erin Rubenking, the associate director and clinical care coordinator for the University of Colorado Athletic Department&rsquo;s Psychological Health and Performance program. &ldquo;It often takes men a much longer time to get help because of that.&rdquo;
Several years ago, former New York Knicks center Michael Sweetney <a href="https://hoopshype.com/2017/06/12/after-battling-depression-and-surviving-a-suicide-attempt-mike-sweetney-is-spreading-positivity/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">opened up to me</a> about the harassment he faced about his weight and how it affected his mental health.&nbsp;
&ldquo;When I go talk to kids, I use my life as an example. I tell them, &lsquo;Google my name. All you&rsquo;re going to see is a bunch of fat jokes and bad stuff about me. You won&rsquo;t find anything positive,&rsquo;&rdquo; Sweetney said. &ldquo;A lot of these kids get cyberbullied, so I try to use myself as an example to help them get through it. I tell them what I went through, show them [negative] articles that were written about me and make it clear that everything is going to be okay &mdash; even if they don&rsquo;t understand or believe that right now. And one thing I&rsquo;ve realized is that a lot of the people who cyberbully others are going through something themselves, and are unhappy with themselves, so they pick on other people.&nbsp;
&ldquo;I&rsquo;ll never mention the person&rsquo;s name, but about a year ago, a writer reached out to me. He wrote a really bad article about me a while back &mdash; it was just terrible, going in on me and mocking my weight &ndash; and he found out that I&rsquo;d suffered from depression. He called me to apologize and said that he was suffering from depression too and he felt that picking on other people would make him feel better. I didn&rsquo;t hold any of it against him; in fact, we still keep in contact and we&rsquo;re good friends now. People go through things. But that&rsquo;s where, again, I can point to my own story and tell kids, &lsquo;It&rsquo;s not you. It&rsquo;s more likely that the other person has some issues they&rsquo;re working out.&rsquo; Fortunately, I think my talks have been helping people.&rdquo;
After Sweetney&rsquo;s father died in 2003, his depression got so bad that he attempted suicide during his stint with the Knicks.
&ldquo;I remember the night,&rdquo; Sweetney told me. &ldquo;We were in Cleveland one night and I just took a bunch of pain pills, hoping it would take me out. But I woke up the next morning thinking, &lsquo;Well, it didn&rsquo;t work.&rsquo; That&rsquo;s how bad it was. I didn&rsquo;t like basketball and I just didn&rsquo;t like life at the time... Even after I tried to commit suicide, nobody really knew. I was suffering really bad. I was in New York, battling this while the media was writing [negative] articles about me, and I felt like I had nowhere to go. I just kept digging myself into a deeper hole of depression&hellip;
&ldquo;[I] tell kids my story. You know, &lsquo;Hey, I was the ninth pick in the NBA draft &mdash; the same class as LeBron James and Dwyane Wade &mdash; and people looked at me as being a potential All-Star and whatnot. I didn&rsquo;t live up to that, and a big part of that was because of my depression. I kept digging my hole deeper.&rsquo; I try to tell these kids, &lsquo;At the first sign of depression, get help. Go talk to someone. Don&rsquo;t hold it in.&rsquo; For me, it got to the point where I was holding it in and I gained so much weight that I lost my NBA career.&rdquo;
Pointing to a more recent example, DJ Carton &mdash; who currently plays for the Iowa Wolves of the NBA G League &mdash; has been open about his struggles with disordered eating. While playing at Ohio State, he lost a significant amount of weight while battling an eating disorder and ultimately took a leave of absence, citing mental health issues. After the season, he transferred to Marquette and was able to resume his career.
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Most people don&rsquo;t realize that eating disorders can be deadly. Every 52 minutes, at least one person dies from issues related to an eating disorder, according to the National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders. Each year, 10,200 deaths are the direct result of eating disorders, as they can cause complications such as heart failure, kidney failure, pancreatitis, peptic ulcers, type-II diabetes, gallbladder disease and heart disease. Also, roughly 26% of people who are struggling with disordered eating will attempt suicide at some point.&nbsp;
Fans may think jokes or insults about an athlete&rsquo;s weight are harmless, but these barbs can have serious consequences and take a toll on someone&rsquo;s mental health.

Mocking an athlete's weight can have serious consequences. Alex Kennedy explores the prevalence of eating disorders in pro sports.

Reflecting on weight-related jokes in sports and the harm they cause

This holiday season should be especially interesting at the Griffin residence.
Just five nights ago, Atlanta Hawks rookie AJ Griffin lept and laid in a game-winning overtime alley-oop from Trae Young to defeat the Toronto Raptors as his father Adrian looked on from the bench.&nbsp;
&ldquo;It's a blessing to be able to play against each other. I think that's definitely gonna be a night to remember forever, especially 'cause that was the first one against him,&rdquo; a snickering Griffin told Basketball News and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution on Monday in Cleveland. &ldquo;You start talking about that on Thanksgiving (laughs).&rdquo;
After the walk-off victory, Griffin shared an embrace with his father, who told him how proud he was.
&ldquo;Not even just on the court, but off the court too just being able to share my faith and be able to just continue to be a light. Those moments are priceless and I love him. Gotta get that second one though (laughs),&rdquo; Griffin said.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
AJ Griffin not only hit the game-winner for the <a href="https://twitter.com/ATLHawks?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@ATLHawks</a>&hellip; he did it with his dad, Raptors assistant coach Adrian Griffin, on the opposite sideline. <a href="https://t.co/K9fC7pzhEQ">pic.twitter.com/K9fC7pzhEQ</a>
&mdash; NBA (@NBA) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBA/status/1594180780472811522?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 20, 2022</a></blockquote>

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Adrian should be a delighted dad, especially from an athletics perspective.&nbsp;
There&rsquo;s AJ, who&rsquo;s starting his NBA career on a high note, but he&rsquo;s not the only one doing big things. His sister Aubrey is a standout junior for UConn women&rsquo;s hoops, and just made a huge impact for the No. 10 Huskies in their recent win over NC State.&nbsp;
Their brother Alan finished up a solid basketball career between Illinois and Syracuse, playing professionally for the Newfoundland Growlers in the CEBL last season, and their oldest sister Vanessa was a multi-sport athlete in high school. To top it off, AJ&rsquo;s mother, Audrey Sterling, was an All-American track star at Seton Hall.
&ldquo;Really just growing up, I'm always around sports. I think that competitive spirit we have in our family, it just comes so natural,&rdquo; AJ said of the unique connection.
This year, Griffin&rsquo;s found a second family in the Hawks.&nbsp;
Speaking to the locker room welcoming him with open arms, the 19-year-old admits he feels like a younger brother to many of his teammates.&nbsp;
&ldquo;Just the love from the veterans here, I appreciate it. I just really enjoy being here and being able to play with everyone and being able to play on the court with each other. It's special so far,&rdquo; said Griffin, who then praised Young and Dejounte Murray. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s fun to watch, just to be able to play with those guys. It's still early in the season, and I feel like something special is brewing.&rdquo;
Only 18 games into the season, Griffin has already gained the trust of Hawks head coach Nate McMillan. Not even in the rotation just one month ago, the Duke product has looked the part of a legitimate pro almost in an instant.
&ldquo;You know, he's earning minutes,&rdquo; McMillan said pregame in Cleveland on Monday. &ldquo;What we've told all of our young guys and really our guys coming off our bench, &lsquo;You're gonna get short minutes, and you have to take whatever minutes you get &mdash; whether it's 5, 10 minutes &mdash; then [turn it into] 15, 20 minutes. That's what AJ has done.&rdquo;
With De'Andre Hunter feeling under the weather, Monday in Cleveland marked Griffin&rsquo;s first career NBA start. Other than his team falling short on the road, he did not disappoint.
Playing a career-high 35 minutes, second most on the squad, he poured in 17 points on 7-for-11 from the floor and nabbed 3 steals.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
14, meet starting 5 🤝<a href="https://twitter.com/whoisAG21?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@whoisAG21</a> put up 17 in his first career start! <a href="https://t.co/hoVmB35SH2">pic.twitter.com/hoVmB35SH2</a>
&mdash; Atlanta Hawks (@ATLHawks) <a href="https://twitter.com/ATLHawks/status/1595112824648663040?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 22, 2022</a></blockquote>

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&ldquo;He did a good job. He made some shots out there and was able to make some threes and be productive,&rdquo; McMillan said after the game. &ldquo;The challenge was gonna be, for him, on the defensive end of the floor matching up with [Donovan] Mitchell, which is a big challenge. But I thought he played the way he&rsquo;s been playing &mdash; with confidence. He&rsquo;s gonna make some mistakes, but I thought they were aggressive mistakes. I thought he played okay."
While he had his lumps against the Cavs superstar, according to the <a href="https://www.nba.com/stats/player/1631100/head-to-head" target="_blank" rel="noopener">NBA&rsquo;s matchup tracking data</a>, Griffin spent over seven minutes guarding Mitchell and held him to 9 points on 3-for-8 from the field, forcing two turnovers.
Coming into the NBA Draft, Griffin&rsquo;s reputation with the Blue Devils might&rsquo;ve seemed that of a catch-shoot prospect. And there is truth to that when you see his 40.0% clip from deep in those scenarios.
However, studying the tape, he&rsquo;s been finding his way into the middle of the floor a lot too. Exhibiting patience beyond his years, Griffin will put the ball on the deck, oftentimes stopping on a dime, pump-faking and sneaking under his defender with an 8-to-10 foot push shot. He&rsquo;s gone to that move on the baseline, and he&rsquo;s also wiggled his way to those kind of looks at the top of the key.
There aren&rsquo;t many wings with the kind of footwork Griffin already has, and he credits his high school coaches at Archbishop Stepinac, Rodney Swain and Pat Massaroni, for helping him work on that in New York before he left for Durham, North Carolina.
&ldquo;Just having that time off before going off to college, I've been working on it,&rdquo; Griffin said. &ldquo;But just being able to utilize it now and being able to have that space to create and just play my game freely. I feel like it's just coming natural. And I guess you could say it's like deep in my bag where I haven't used it in a while. But like, it felt natural to me. We've been working since high school, really since seventh grade, just footwork, every part of my game really we've been working on.&rdquo;
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Every time I catch AJ Griffin, he seems to be doing good things. Some really nice moments in the first half tonight. <a href="https://t.co/7NVtkvxtHi">pic.twitter.com/7NVtkvxtHi</a>
&mdash; Steph Noh (@StephNoh) <a href="https://twitter.com/StephNoh/status/1594129251241951232?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 20, 2022</a></blockquote>

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As his rookie year moves along, Griffin is taking everything in stride.
He&rsquo;s starting to get the NBA life down pat.
&ldquo;Really I think just the schedule,&rdquo; Griffin said of his biggest adjustment. &ldquo;I think I'm starting to get a feel of it though almost a quarter through the season. You know when you'll have time to rest, you know when you should be in the gym. Just being able to pick up on those tendencies and knowing how to take care of your body. I think at first it was kind of a struggle, but now it's kinda coming along.&rdquo;
Young has relished watching Griffin&rsquo;s joyful demeanor, even with his fluctuating playing time.
&ldquo;I told him at the beginning never get too high, too low,&rdquo; Young said Monday morning. &ldquo;He's been doing that. He's just had the same smile every game whether he plays a little bit or he plays a lot. So he's just been a great rook for sure.&rdquo;
&ldquo;Just continue getting the work in,&rdquo; Griffin said when asked how he stays ready. &ldquo;No matter if I'm playing 10 or 20 minutes, the coaching staff and the training staff, they do well with just maintaining my load for the week and making sure I'm ready for the game and for workouts if I don't play as much.&rdquo;
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The good news for Griffin is that his stock is rising, and when he&rsquo;s seen more action, he&rsquo;s delivered.
Despite a shallow sample size, AJ has dropped 58 points with a scorching 69.2% True Shooting percentage in the combined three games he&rsquo;s played 30 minutes or more. He&rsquo;s corralled rebounds, ripped away steals, guarded on the perimeter and, maybe most impressively, has taken care of the basketball in the process.
&ldquo;He's been able to come out and provide some scoring, some shooting for us. Now that he is getting more time, now he's been challenged on the defensive end of the floor guarding that 2, that 3 position, and he's been pretty good,&rdquo; McMillan said. &ldquo;So he's playing with a lot of confidence. He has given us a lift in this short season, and he's earned the right to be put out there and given an opportunity.&rdquo;
&ldquo;He's been playing great,&rdquo; Young added. &ldquo;I mean, every time he gets in the game, it feels like does something. Whether he makes a three or gets in the lane and makes a play for himself or somebody else. He's just been playing great all year.&rdquo;

Spencer Davies highlights Hawks rookie AJ Griffin's recent success with Atlanta as he's earned more playing time.

Deep in his bag: Hawks' AJ Griffin took an inch, turned it into a mile

MILWAUKEE (AP) &mdash; Two of the more notable games on Friday&rsquo;s college basketball schedule are taking place on an aircraft carrier and in a baseball stadium.
No. 2 Gonzaga will face Michigan State on the flight deck of the USS Abraham Lincoln in the San Diego harbor to celebrate Veterans Day. Wisconsin is playing Stanford at American Family Field, the retractable-roof park that is home to the Milwaukee Brewers.
Staging neutral-site games in non-traditional venues isn&rsquo;t new. Michigan State coach Tom Izzo has scheduled games at many different sites over the past two decades.
&ldquo;We&rsquo;ve been &lsquo;Outside the Box U&rsquo; for 20 years and other people are catching up,&rdquo; Izzo said. &ldquo;That&rsquo;s good, and that&rsquo;s why I didn&rsquo;t want to pass up this game.&rdquo;
Izzo&rsquo;s penchant for this began in 2003, when Michigan State lost to Kentucky in front of 78,129 fans at Ford Field, the home of the NFL&rsquo;s Detroit Lions. Soon enough, plenty of late-round NCAA Tournament games started taking place in football stadiums.
This won&rsquo;t be the first time Izzo has coached a game on an aircraft carrier.
Michigan State lost to top-ranked North Carolina in November 2011 on the flight deck of the USS Carl Vinson as President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama watched from courtside.
Stanford coach Jerod Haase was a North Carolina assistant coach for that 2011 game. Now, he&rsquo;s preparing his team to play the first basketball game at a baseball-only stadium since San Diego faced San Diego State in 2015 at Petco Park, home of the Padres.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s an experience for our guys to talk about when they&rsquo;re old like me, about how they played in a baseball stadium,&rdquo; Haase said.
The offbeat settings come with potential obstacles, particularly when they&rsquo;re outdoors. The roof will be closed for the American Family Field doubleheader that includes a women&rsquo;s game between Wisconsin and Kansas State.
The 2011 North Carolina-Michigan State game on a carrier finished less than an hour before rain fell.
A year later, condensation on the respective courts wiped out an Ohio State-Marquette game aboard the decommissioned USS Yorktown in Charleston, South Carolina, and a Georgetown-Florida game aboard the USS Bataan in Gainesville, Florida. Florida and Georgetown did play the first half before the game was scrapped.
During that 2012-13 season, a Syracuse-San Diego State game aboard the flight deck of the USS Midway Museum was delayed two days due to rain. And, windy conditions affected 3-point shooting when it was played.
The teams involved believe the opportunity is worth the potential drawbacks.
Gonzaga coach Mark Few jumped at the chance when the idea of playing on a carrier was proposed.
&ldquo;Tom Izzo told me it was the coolest thing he&rsquo;s ever done,&rdquo; Few said. &ldquo;I said, &lsquo;OK, I&rsquo;m in.&rsquo;&rdquo;
Wisconsin coach Greg Gard says his hopes of having the Badgers play a game at American Family Field started about 15 years ago, when he was an assistant coach and the stadium was known as Miller Park.
Various plans were discussed over the years.
&ldquo;We were going to do a doubleheader basketball-hockey and set up ice in the outfield,&rdquo; Gard said. &ldquo;Everything was on the table at one point in time.&rdquo;
Gard is about to realize that dream &mdash; minus an ice rink.
Wisconsin and Stanford practiced Thursday on a court that encompasses much of the ballpark&rsquo;s infield, with baskets in the vicinity of first base and third base.
The pitcher&rsquo;s mound was removed, and fans will sit in temporary stands courtside, as well as in some of the stadium&rsquo;s permanent seats.
&ldquo;Listening to our players as we walked up out of the dugout, what their reactions were, I think it turned out really, really good,&rdquo; Gard said.
Wisconsin forward Tyler Wahl, who has attended just one Brewers home game, tried to envision just what to expect on Friday.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;m excited to see what it looks like with basketball, bringing a whole different crew of fans,&rdquo; Wahl said. &ldquo;Hopefully it will be cool.&rdquo;
It might not be a one-time deal.
Brewers president of business operations Rick Schlesinger said he was hopeful that the contest was the first of many chances to host hoop games at the ballpark.
Gard says he&rsquo;d love to see an NCAA regional at American Family Field, though it could be tough to host that kind of event in late March while still having the ballpark&rsquo;s grass surface ready in time for baseball season.
For now, Wisconsin and Stanford are looking forward to a unique experience in an atypical early-season game. Michigan State and Gonzaga feel the same.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;m a little bit old school and I believe the college education is much more than just what you learn on the classroom and the games themselves,&rdquo; Haase said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s all the experiences around them. I think this provides that.&rdquo;
___
AP Writer Nicholas K. Geranios and AP Sports Writers Larry Lage and Bernie Wilson contributed to this report.

Two notable games on Friday’s college basketball schedule are taking place on an aircraft carrier and in a baseball stadium.

Unusual venues make non-conference games more memorable

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 Indiana Pacers have entered new, uncharted waters recently. Embracing a full-scale rebuild attempt for the first time in 30-plus years, the fresh energy surrounding the organization is palpable. An infusion of young talent headlined by Tyrese Haliburton and No. 6 overall pick Bennedict Mathurin suggests that a brand new vision is beginning to take shape in Indianapolis.
Stuck in neutral for a long period, the Pacers realized what had to be done and pressed the rebuild button. This decision is already showing immense promise, as they have a long-term outline that was simply nonexistent beforehand. Tearing down a veteran-heavy core that once featured Victor Oladipo, Domantas Sabonis and Malcolm Brogdon was a step-by-step process, and now, Indiana has ultimate amounts of optionality after moving on from all three veterans.
The Memphis Grizzlies' blueprint has stood out to the Pacers&rsquo; brain trust. It's a model that the organization hopes to follow, according to Pacers president of basketball operations Kevin Pritchard.
&ldquo;We looked at some of the teams that have really drafted well, and now that they&rsquo;re a pretty good team... You look at the Memphis&rsquo;s and the teams like that that have built and now they&rsquo;re going to be powerhouses for the next couple of years. So, I think what we came away from our studies [with] is there&rsquo;s no quick fix," Pritchard told Basketball News in a small scrum setting on Thursday. "We can&rsquo;t make a trade or two trades or three trades or use our draft picks and become what we want to become, which is great. So, how do you do it? You&rsquo;ve got to pay your dues, and you&rsquo;ve got to get everybody on board. And that takes multiple meetings and conviction from your head coach (Rick Carlisle), your president, your GM (Chad Buchanan) and your owner. Mr. [Herb] Simon is 100% on this. It can&rsquo;t be easy.
"Nobody wants to walk in and think rebuild, and I hate that word because we have some players that we really like that we can build around. It&rsquo;s going to take some time. We&rsquo;re going to enjoy the heck out of it. And we&rsquo;re going to build this team back up to make it a really special team, guys that have true character that want to have deep roots in this community. I think that is something we&rsquo;ve talked about. How do you do that? At the end of the day, you draft well, develop relationships. [It] is your best recipe for high-level talent, high-level characters and the ability to keep players for a long time. I don&rsquo;t think that&rsquo;s a secret to this.&rdquo;
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It&rsquo;s hard to avoid the "rebuild" phrase for the Pacers, but the upside is flowing into the facility with former lottery picks integrating. With one of the league&rsquo;s youngest rosters heading into the season, Haliburton quickly acclimated himself and is being labeled as the new face of the franchise. (Our Alex Kennedy <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-interview-tyrese-haliburton-indiana-pacers-chad-buchanan-bennedict-mathurin-myles-turner-sacramento-kings-domantas-sabonis-trade-drew-hanlen" target="_blank" rel="noopener">spoke with Haliburton about this and his hopes for the upcoming season last month</a>.)
With Haliburton acclimating himself with a full offseason in Indianapolis, the Pacers are having fun building a roster around their point guard&rsquo;s unique traits.
&ldquo;It starts with Tyrese, don&rsquo;t get me wrong, his ability to make plays for others,&rdquo; Pritchard told Basketball News in the scrum. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ll say this: By having Tyrese and having players say, &lsquo;You know, I really like playing with that,&rsquo; I think that was a big decision in Jalen [Smith] (re-signing). I think Myles [Turner] is really looking forward to playing with Tyrese. The league has changed in that the point guard position has turned into like score first, then maybe I pass. Well, Tyrese is unique; he&rsquo;d rather pass. It&rsquo;s like a quarterback. If you&rsquo;ve got a great quarterback that&rsquo;s hitting you in the chest every time, he is that.
"We&rsquo;ve got to build around that and he&rsquo;s gotta build us. There&rsquo;s going to be games where he looks amazing and he&rsquo;s going to get 15 assists. And we&rsquo;re going to need him to do a lot of things, we&rsquo;re going to ask a lot, but we&rsquo;re not going to put too much [on him]. I&rsquo;ve seen where teams put too much on players. It&rsquo;s going to be collective with our young players and our vets. The good thing is a lot of of players are going to play this year. You&rsquo;re going to see more athletic plays, and we&rsquo;re going to play harder than we&rsquo;ve ever played. From what I&rsquo;ve seen so far, it&rsquo;s easy to stand up here and say it. I want to be about actions. I think we&rsquo;re going to be a super-hard-playing team. I think you&rsquo;ll see a lot of growth.&rdquo;
There's plenty of internal optimism for Haliburton to take a massive jump within the Pacers&rsquo; organization. (A stat line flirting near 20 points and 10 assists wouldn&rsquo;t come as any sort of a surprise in Indiana.) Outside of Haliburton and the aforementioned rookie in Mathurin, their highest draft pick selected since 1988, many new-core players are taking notable steps forward in their development.
Chris Duarte, who was sidelined to end his rookie campaign with a nagging toe injury, is mentally processing the game at a different speed. Isaiah Jackson, who Pritchard said has gained 15 to 18 pounds, is poised for a massive breakout as well. Smith, who re-signed with Indiana, continues to flash his former top-10 pick upside following his exit from the Phoenix Suns.
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A gym full of athletes and prospects looking to improve provides a breath of fresh air compared to the all-too-familiar unknown of whether or not the team would make it past the first round of the playoffs.
&ldquo;We are giddy,&rdquo; Pritchard told Basketball News of their young core they&rsquo;re building together. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s interesting, when watching (scrimmages) and you throw them out there and let them play, what you find out is Tyrese, TJ McConnell, [Andrew] Nembhard are really fast players, and everyone kinda fills in. There have been times where I have been in awe about how fast our team is, which, that&rsquo;s young legs right? That&rsquo;s young, exciting legs. We&rsquo;ve seen more plays at the rim where it&rsquo;s a blocked dunk, sprint down, dunk on someone. We&rsquo;ve had more alley-oops &mdash; I think Chad Buchanan was joking with me the other day about three or four years ago we had two lob dunks in the whole year. We had 10 [on Thursday].
"The league is getting more athletic. A couple years ago we decided, 'We&rsquo;re going to look at this draft and trades, and let&rsquo;s get some of these athletes because they&rsquo;re fun to watch.' Balancing that... Coach Carlisle loves shooting. So, if you can find a great athlete that is a great shooter, I&rsquo;m all-in.&rdquo;
Not only are the Pacers all-in on their new long-term vision, one where patience is the most important part, but they&rsquo;re also in a new position as an organization &mdash; optimizing future flexibility via multiple avenues. Indiana still has oodles of cap space ($29.6 million per Cleaning The Glass), which allows for new opportunities to fall into their lap. The Pacers are open about their desire to continue bringing in more assets, either young players or future draft picks, to accelerate their plan.
&ldquo;That&rsquo;s what we&rsquo;ve gotta do right now. We&rsquo;ve gotta capitalize on cap space, on picks,&rdquo; Pritchard said. &ldquo;In any way we can, we got to be gritty as a staff, if can we acquire more of those to have a chance to be part of our big core. And we&rsquo;re developing the core. People ask me all the time, do you have that core? Maybe, maybe not, but we&rsquo;re getting closer and next year we&rsquo;ll be closer.
"That&rsquo;s the fun part of our business is being creative and generating ideas. Look, we have three first-round picks it looks like next year. We have close to $30 million in cap space. And we&rsquo;ll be active to use that cap space to acquire more assets. That&rsquo;s just natural, but I think it gives us the ability to pivot in a lot of different ways. We have optionality out the butt. At the end of the day, I want to be able to sit in the room with Herb and management and coach and say, 'Alright, here&rsquo;s our possibilities. Where do we want to go?&rsquo; In the past it&rsquo;s been, 'We&rsquo;ve got to go down this path. This is the path we&rsquo;ve got to go down. It&rsquo;s only going to get us so far, we know there&rsquo;s only so far, we&rsquo;ve got a freaking ceiling.' What I want to do is remove a ceiling and that takes time. It&rsquo;s going to take time.&rdquo;
Outside of that excitement for the new-look youth taking over the roster, an uncertain future remains for veteran mainstay Myles Turner. A subject of trade rumors for the last few years, which picked up immense steam once the Pacers hit the reset button, Turner saw the organization openly flirt with replacing him by chasing Deandre Ayton in restricted free agency.
Entering a contract year, Turner&rsquo;s future feels murkier than ever in Indianapolis. And with the way the subject was broached on Thursday, it wouldn&rsquo;t be a stunner to see Turner play in another uniform before February&rsquo;s trade deadline passes. Pritchard admitted his recent conversation with Turner was one filled with emotions, and the ever-changing nature of the business leaves the door open for anything to happen there.
&ldquo;I sat down and talked with Myles for an hour, hour-and-a-half the other day. It was a heart-to-heart,&rdquo; Pritchard said. &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t want to tell you exactly what was said, but I&rsquo;ll give you the crux, and that is I think he&rsquo;s super excited about playing with Tyrese. I think he wants to play the 5 exclusively. I think he wants to be a defensive monster. And I think that he&rsquo;s okay planting deep roots here. But, you know, he&rsquo;s going to be a free agent next year. There&rsquo;s a lot of things that can happen. What we think today isn&rsquo;t something that we know is going to happen tomorrow. This is the most dynamic business in the world.&rdquo;
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Turner is eligible for a contract extension, but Pritchard didn&rsquo;t want to publicly say whether or not that route remains on the table with their starting center.
&ldquo;Respectfully, I&rsquo;d like to keep that between me and him,&rdquo; Pritchard said.
Based on the Pacers&rsquo; turn into a fresh era, one where internal development takes priority over the win-loss column in the meantime, veterans like Turner and Buddy Hield will be names to watch from a leaguewide lens throughout the season from a potential trade market perspective. Nowadays, optionality, flexibility and patience will be the key buzzwords heard out of Indiana. And it&rsquo;s for the best with how its roster was running into a brick wall over and over again before the light finally turned on to rebuild from the ground up.
With the Pacers armed with draft capital and cap space, on top of a roster filled to the brim with potential &mdash; including their tantalizing backcourt combination of Haliburton and Mathurin &mdash; the vision is as clear as day. It&rsquo;s a new era in Indiana, and a route that everyone internally acknowledges should have been explored even earlier. If all goes to plan for the Pacers, these tough times could soon turn into a sustained success that hasn&rsquo;t been witnessed for the organization since nearly a decade ago.
&ldquo;We were an aircraft carrier and it was really hard to turn. And right now, we&rsquo;re a little speedboat and we&rsquo;ve got all of these ways to maneuver,&rdquo; Pritchard said. "That&rsquo;s exciting. That&rsquo;s really exciting for us, because it&rsquo;s hard to turn the big boats. For better, we&rsquo;re all-in.&rdquo;

Pacers president Kevin Pritchard discussed the franchise's new era and focus on the long-term vision, Evan Sidery writes.

Pacers enter uncharted waters searching for long-term sustainability

Welcome to Basketball News' 10-part mini-series, Blazing the Trail, where Mat Issa breaks down the most revolutionary players of the 1990s and 2000s. Throughout this series, we'll examine how these players changed basketball and pioneered their respective skills.
In this fourth installment, Mat goes in-depth on one of the greatest shooters of all-time: Reggie Miller. He explains what made him different from the marksmen who came before him, with insights from his former coaches in Indiana &mdash; Dan Burke and Bob Ociepka &mdash; his former teammate Rik Smits and basketball analyst Mike Prada.
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In his critically acclaimed, historical rendition of the NBA, "The Book of Basketball," The Ringer's Bill Simmons ranked NBA and Indiana Pacers legend Reggie Miller outside of the top 60 all-time:
&ldquo;Reggie Miller was the most overrated &lsquo;superstar&rsquo; of the past thirty years,&rdquo; Simmons opined.
To Simmons' credit, however, he later retracted this statement in the sequel podcast, "<a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/book-of-basketball-2-0/id1483525141?i=1000462435000">The Book of Basketball 2.0.</a>" Revising his previous comments, Simmons suggested that in today's game, Miller would indeed constitute superstar status.
But what if Miller would have been a superstar in any era? What if he was an elite scorer and playmaker in ways that we couldn&rsquo;t comprehend during his time? And what if he served as an inspiration to the most prolific dynasty of the NBA's pace-and-space era?
Let's find out.
WHAT MADE MILLER SPECIAL
As a child, Miller would regularly participate in 1-on-1 matchups against his older sister, Cheryl, who turned out to be one of the greatest women's basketball players of all-time prior to untimely injuries. (She's enshrined in the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame.)
Because of Cheryl's superior size and strength, Reggie going inside was a moot point.
&ldquo;One of the reasons I practiced shooting from the outside was that Cheryl used to block my shots when I drove to the hoop,&rdquo; Miller recalled in <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Love-Being-Enemy-Reggie-Miller/dp/0684870398" target="_blank" rel="noopener">his autobiography</a>. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s a bad feeling when your sister is knocking your best stuff into the rosebushes.&rdquo;
To defeat his sibling, Miller needed to hone in on his perimeter game.&nbsp;
That's exactly what he did.
Miller endured his sister&rsquo;s challenges and triumphed to become one of the premier shooters the NBA had ever seen. According to Cerebro Sports' Three-Point Efficiency metric (a shooting metric that combines three-point volume and efficiency to show the most lethal shooters), Miller finished in the 97th percentile or higher in all but one year from 1988 to 2004.
(The 2002-03 campaign was the exception, where he finished in the 94th percentile).
<img src="https://cdn.basketballnews.com/images/story/body/2.png" alt="" width="550" height="550" />
Visual provided by Cerebro Sports
Even more impressive is how he earned his standing in this data set. Unlike many of the great shooters of his time &mdash; who made their mark primarily off standstill catch-and-shoot opportunities &mdash; a majority of Miller&rsquo;s triples came while he was circling the half-court at top speed.
And again, much like his pickup contests growing up, this strategy was rooted in necessity.
&ldquo;The chances for spot-up [threes] weren&rsquo;t really there,&rdquo; said Dan Burke, Miller&rsquo;s former coach in Indiana and now an assistant with the Philadelphia 76ers. &ldquo;You have to have a real big, key player [you&rsquo;re playing off of] to get spot-ups.&rdquo;
To back Burke's words, think of one of the other notable three-point shooters of that time: Dan Majerle. Throughout his time in Phoenix and Miami, Majerle was gifted with potent penetrators like Kevin Johnson and Tim Hardaway, who could both consistently <a href="https://streamable.com/wd17v5" target="_blank" rel="noopener">break down a defense and get two feet in the paint</a>.
Meanwhile, Miller&rsquo;s most accomplished backcourt mate, Mark Jackson, was more of a post facilitator than a downhill threat.
Instead, Miller achieved sage status in the art of movement shooting. And for those following along at home, his technique can be divided into <a href="https://youtu.be/tv3EyzBuRb4" target="_blank" rel="noopener">three keys</a>.
Key 1: Set up the Defender
Miller was an avid participant in basketball grappling &mdash; the practice of using physicality to manipulate and gain separation from your defender.
&ldquo;[Miller] embraced contact and sometimes got the feel of a guy so [he] could push off him and get open,&rdquo; Burke said.
The cunning sharpshooter also deployed harsh cuts and abrupt changes in speed to further decrease the likelihood that his opponent could shadow his movements.
&ldquo;When you watch him, it wasn&rsquo;t always the same speed,&rdquo; Burke continued. &ldquo;He changed speeds. He&rsquo;d stop and go.&rdquo;
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Key 2: Read the Screen
Once he gained a step, Miller could interpret his optimal route-running path based on the direction his defender was chasing him. If his defender trailed outside the screen, Miller would juke inwards. If his defender rushed from the inside, Miller would retreat outside.
Miller's astute ability in this regard was largely based upon the continuity he achieved with his screen-setting bigs &mdash; Antonio Davis, Dale Davis and Rik Smits.
&ldquo;We would run through our sets almost every practice,&rdquo; Smits recalled to Basketball News. &ldquo;[A lot] of dummy offenses. Just run, run, run. We really concentrated on getting good screens set just to take full advantage of everything [Miller brought to the table].&rdquo;
"Reggie would talk to those bigs too," Burke added. "'Just stand there, I&rsquo;ll use you.'&rdquo;
Key 3: Footwork
Miller boasted balletic footwork, akin to that of a peak-<a href="https://youtu.be/Ye7xMqYqAbA">Torture Chamber Kevin McHale</a>, able to stop and pop effortlessly regardless of his travel velocity and angle.
&ldquo;[Typically], if you are right-handed, you want to come off [a pindown screen] going to your left so that your shoulder is closer to the rim,&rdquo; Burke said. &ldquo;It didn&rsquo;t matter with Reggie. He could come with his right hand or with his left hand.&rdquo;
Miller's ambidexterity is a testament to his impeccable footwork. The direction didn't matter because his stride was sound both ways. And his ability to maintain balance during these sequences is even more impressive when you consider the defensive physicality that was accepted during his era.
&ldquo;Every time a guy like Reggie cut through the lane, the goal was to smack him. We used to say, &lsquo;Pinball him,&rsquo;" Burke recalled.&nbsp;
&ldquo;The league allows no &lsquo;impeding&rsquo; cutters now. There was much more holding then. But Reggie would stay locked and still get a rhythm jumper.&rdquo;
Here are all three of those keys in action:
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ON-COURT PRODUCTION
Miller&rsquo;s shooting served as a double-edged sword for his reputation. On one end, he was revered as one of the game&rsquo;s top snipers. On the other, he&rsquo;d been pigeonholed into a singular role on the floor.
However, Miller was more than a marksman. He was a three-level scorer who utilized the <a href="https://streamable.com/ykdkx5" target="_blank" rel="noopener">triple-threat</a> position to score from the mid-range and at the rim.
&ldquo;One thing Reggie worked on, we used to call it &lsquo;Pete Newell,&rsquo;" Burke explained. &ldquo;Pete Newell was an old coach who used to have a big-man camp. His whole thing was: Jab, catch, create space. If the guy doesn&rsquo;t honor your jab, you go by him. If he backs up, you raise up and shoot it.
&ldquo;It was a series. And [Reggie] really worked on it.&rdquo;
This combination of three-level scoring and high conversion rates from the most efficient spots on the floor made Miller arguably the best backcourt scorer of the 1990s not named Michael Jordan.
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To compare the two, from 1989 to 1999, Miller tallied nine seasons where he ranked in the 90th percentile in both scoring volume and efficiency, while Jordan only touted two such seasons.&nbsp;
Additionally, Miller&rsquo;s unpredictable tendencies coming off screens and counter-laden arsenal made him one of the few stars to rarely improve his volume and efficiency during postseason play.
For instance, in 1994-95, Miller averaged 23.9 points per 75 possessions on 62.0% True Shooting. In the playoffs, those averages ballooned to 28.0 points and 63.2% True Shooting, respectively.&nbsp;
To show how rare that is, there was an inverse trend of that with John Stockton and Mitch Richmond &mdash; two guards who were (<a href="https://twitter.com/matissa15/status/1556676428426612738?s=20&amp;t=haKXS_VAVIAeIw7hLdSqkQ" target="_blank" rel="noopener">wrongfully?</a>) regularly awarded All-NBA selections over Miller.&nbsp;
WEAVING THE THREAD
The first guard to function as an off-ball superstar was John Havlicek. When "Hondo" wasn&rsquo;t ripping and running in transition, he was usually <a href="https://streamable.com/uzgwhw" target="_blank" rel="noopener">curling off screens</a> for leaning mid-range jumpers.
A post-three-point line precursor to Miller was Joe Dumars (who coincidentally probably also took some of his All-NBA accolades). Another one of Miller&rsquo;s coaches in Indiana, Dick Versace, spent time as an assistant on the Detroit Pistons before becoming the head coach of the Pacers in 1988.
&ldquo;Joe Dumars had that knack for getting free off screens,&rdquo; said Bob Ociepka, an assistant on Versace's staff in Indiana and a 23-year NBA coach. &ldquo;Coach Versace, coming from [Detroit], ran a lot of the things Chuck Daly did &mdash; [like Dumars] coming off those staggered screens from the baseline.&rdquo;
Miller expressed a great admiration toward Dumars, even going as far as to call him the "unsung MVP of Dream Team II" in his book.
Dale Ellis was another <a href="https://twitter.com/matissa15/status/1555600444763869186?s=20&amp;t=EBeojEhLms-WUc2csgmNdA" target="_blank" rel="noopener">sniper</a> from that generation who cratered defenses using floppy action &mdash; a play in which a player, positioned under the basket, can choose whether to cut off a single screen to one side or a double screen to the other, per Basketball Dictionary.
However, because of the typical constraints placed on 2-guards at the time, neither Dumars nor Ellis could fully leverage their shooting prowess to their advantage.
&ldquo;[In that era], the shooting guard was supposed to be Jordan-esque,&rdquo; said Mike Prada, editor at The Athletic and "Spaced Out" <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Spaced-Out-Three-Point-Revolution-Everything/dp/1629378860/ref=asc_df_1629378860/?tag=hyprod-20&amp;linkCode=df0&amp;hvadid=564700905732&amp;hvpos=&amp;hvnetw=g&amp;hvrand=6603785140486578978&amp;hvpone=&amp;hvptwo=&amp;hvqmt=&amp;hvdev=c&amp;hvdvcmdl=&amp;hvlocint=&amp;hvlocphy=9016969&amp;hvtargid=pla-1645726366795&amp;psc=1" target="_blank" rel="noopener">author</a>. &ldquo;You were an all-around player, you got a lot of rebounds and assists, you went 1-on-1 a lot, you were explosive, you could dunk on people &mdash; sort of that Platonic Ideal.&rdquo;&nbsp;
Miller was different from those guards; he didn&rsquo;t possess the same ball-handling or rebounding acumen. He was an outlier who weaponized his extraordinary gift to buoy an offense almost entirely through his off-ball presence.
Notably, the Pacer legend pioneered a term deeply entrenched in today&rsquo;s basketball jargon: gravity.
Dangerous from deep, Miller made <a href="https://en.mimi.hu/basketball/double_down.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">doubling down</a> on his big-men teammates in the post a conversation killer. Teams would rather face guard him at the three-point line than send reinforcements to the interior, which opened up room for his low-post executioners to make decisions.
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Smits expressed a great deal of gratitude for the space Miller provided him to operate.
&ldquo;I was glad he was on my team. I could tell you that,&rdquo; Smits laughed.&nbsp;
Miller&rsquo;s landscape-altering effect is felt when you look through the lens of historian Ben Taylor&rsquo;s passing and playmaking statistics.
For example, in 1993-94, Gary Payton finished in the 80th percentile in Taylor&rsquo;s Box Creation stat &mdash; a metric that estimates playmaking (per <a href="https://backpicks.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Backpicks.com</a>). Payton did this while simultaneously scoring in the 94th percentile in Passer Rating.
In the same season, despite only scoring in the 37th percentile in passing, Miller finished in the 77th percentile in playmaking.
Miller wasn&rsquo;t the on-ball initiator that Payton was, but this conveys that the former was still able to operate as a high-end creator thanks to the attention he garnered from his opponents.
&ldquo;The thing that Reggie Miller had that we didn&rsquo;t know how to identify back when he played &mdash; but now it&rsquo;s a no-brainer concept &mdash; is this idea of gravity,&rdquo; Prada said.
IMPACT ON TODAY'S GAME
In many circles, Ray Allen is often cited as the disciple who bears the most resemblance to Miller. Along with Allen, Richard Hamilton, JJ Redick and Kyle Korver have all played the part of "<a href="https://grantland.com/features/kyle-korver-nba-atlanta-hawks/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">offense unto themselves</a>" by utilizing their off-ball gravitational pull.
In the current NBA landscape, Miller&rsquo;s most obvious descendants share the same squad.
&ldquo;Two guys on the same team,&rdquo; Burke pointed out. "Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson."
The dynastic Golden State Warriors have become famous for pushing the boundaries of time and space by exploiting the shooting gravity their dynamic duo wields.&nbsp;
And, as fate would have it, Miller also once teamed up with a fellow gravity co-founder, Chris Mullin.&nbsp;
Mullin was arguably the closest comparison to Miller at the time, and together, the tandem caused wide-scale chaos and confusion &mdash; the likes of which the league would not see again until the Splash Brothers coalesced in the Bay Area nearly two decades later.
Tell me if these sequences look familiar:
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In both plays, the two pairs create a defensive breakdown simply by running past each other in the opposite direction.
Even more poetic, take a look at the Pacers&rsquo; opponent in the first clip. Who was a reserve on that team? None other than Warriors head coach Steve Kerr.
&ldquo;All of the stuff that the Warriors did in the early days with the Steph/Klay combo &mdash; the crazy, figure-eight-type stuff &mdash; was very much ripped right from the Pacers,&rdquo; Prada explained.
Golden State expanded on Miller&rsquo;s semi-contained havoc, turning half-court offensive sets into absolute anarchy.
Miller&rsquo;s movement authored a great deal of mayhem, more than anyone of his time, but he was still forced to rein it in a bit to accommodate the structure of his offense. Nowadays, engines like Curry and Thompson have the discretion to graze the terrain as they see fit.
&ldquo;[For Miller], his was set plays, so it was easier for teams to really dial in,&rdquo; Burke explained. &ldquo;Curry is more of a constant, built into a random system.&rdquo;
But it was still the audacious Miller who paved the way. He crawled so that the Golden State empire could walk.
&ldquo;He was this type of player that, in an era that did not have a blueprint for this style of play, he provided it,&rdquo; Prada concluded.&nbsp;
He's the player responsible for the outline that triggered a dynasty.
Are we sure Reggie Miller was overrated?
<img style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" src="https://cdn.basketballnews.com/images/story/body/img_5152.jpg" alt="" width="550" height="550" />
Tune in next week for Part V of Blazing the Trail, which focuses on Andrei Kirilenko &mdash; the five-tool defender.
<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-blazing-the-trail-shane-battier-the-databall-defender-memphis-grizzlies-houston-rockets-miami-heat-daryl-morey-david-fizdale-detroit-pistons-draymond-green" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Click here to read Part III: "Shane Battier, the data-ball defender."</a>
<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-blazing-the-trail-rashard-lewis-all-star-stretch-four-orlando-magic-stan-van-gundy-dwight-howard-hedo-turkoglu" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Click here to read Part II: "Rashard Lewis, the All-Star stretch 4."</a>
<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-blazing-the-trail-steve-nash-phoenix-suns-mike-dantoni-raja-bell-steph-curry-all-time-great-point-guard" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Click here to read Part I: "Steve Nash, the magician who danced in the paint."</a>

In his "Blazing the Trail" series, Mat Issa analyzes all-time shooting great Reggie Miller and what separated him from the rest.

Blazing the Trail: Reggie Miller, the moving target

A diversity report found the NBA posting nearly across-the-board gains in hiring of minorities and women after a small, one-year dip in its overall grade.
<a href="https://www.tidesport.org/_files/ugd/403016_901e54ed015c44fb83df939d2070dc17.pdf">Wednesday&rsquo;s report card from The Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sport (TIDES)</a> at the University of Central Florida gave the NBA an overall A grade, with an A-plus for racial hiring and a B-plus for gender hiring. The report annually examines hiring for positions with franchises and in league leadership, with this study using data from the 2021-22 season.
<a href="https://apnews.com/article/sports-nba-business-race-and-ethnicity-84707a9e344aa68f6064453c2d426d42">A year earlier, the league saw its overall grade dip to a B-plus</a> despite its status as the leader among men&rsquo;s professional leagues evaluated by TIDES. It was the first time the NBA had failed to register at least an A-minus since 2006, though institute director and lead report author Richard Lapchick noted then that the decrease had been due largely to a methodology change to include team ownership.
&ldquo;I think it&rsquo;s significant that they got back to that kind of (level),&rdquo; Lapchick said in an interview with The Associated Press. &ldquo;They were still in the lead, but this is a show of marked improvement over the course of the past 12 months. I think clearly this is really good news for the NBA.&rdquo;
The league&rsquo;s scores in each major category increased multiple percentage points, reaching a 91.8 overall (up 3.5 from 2021), a 97.0 in racial hiring (2.2) and 86.5 in gender hiring (4.6).
Notably, the league has significant representation by people of color in leadership positions. That included 15 head-coaching jobs, 12 general managers and 50% of assistant coaching positions among the league&rsquo;s 30 teams, according to the study.
&ldquo;They are the public face of the franchise for the most part,&rdquo; Lapchick said of coaches and GMs. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s who most people think about when they think about their team other than the players.
&ldquo;And they&rsquo;re the significant decision-makers. They&rsquo;re the ones who are going to make the draft calls, make the trades. Obviously the coaches are going to decide who&rsquo;s playing and the rotation. So to have such representation by people of color is very significant.&rdquo;
The list of prominent names in those roles include Boston head coach Ime Udoka &mdash; <a href="https://apnews.com/article/boston-celtics-nba-sports-4ee4d04d6aadedf0d75583cc84626a79">who led the Celtics to the NBA Finals in his first season</a> &mdash; along with the tandem of coach Monty Williams and general manager James Jones in Phoenix, which finished with a league-best 64 regular-season wins.
The number of head coaches of color will increase to 16 next season, tying the record from 2011-12. <a href="https://apnews.com/article/los-angeles-lakers-nba-sports-44f26cc8b0d6abaf723820373a7a1f02">The Los Angeles Lakers hired Darvin Ham</a> and <a href="https://apnews.com/article/golden-state-warriors-sacramento-kings-los-angeles-lakers-cleveland-cavaliers-nba-4636ae4f2429d8a1100e2c6a997dc2ad">the Sacramento Kings hired Mike Brown</a>, while <a href="https://apnews.com/article/charlotte-hornets-nba-sports-business-7598f5e1c6a5948076d25e876d860a25">the Charlotte Hornets fired James Borrego</a> &mdash; transactions that weren't included in the 2021-22 data but highlighted the net-positive trend.
In gender hiring, the study highlighted women accounting for 43.4% of professional-staff roles at the NBA league office for an A grade, the highest percentage since the 2009-10 season study. Women also had gains in team-level areas such as vice presidents (30%, C-plus), senior-management roles (39%, B-plus) and professional staff (34.2%, B).
The league also earned an A-plus grade for its broad diversity initiatives.
&ldquo;We remain encouraged by the progress on diversity at the league office and across our teams, which is a reflection of our ongoing commitment to be inclusive in all of our business processes and practices,&rdquo; NBA Chief People and Inclusion Officer Oris Stuart said in a statement to The AP. &ldquo;Diversity, equity and inclusion are core principles of the NBA and integral to our work. Those principles will guide our ongoing efforts and, we believe, will lead to continued improvement.&rdquo;
This is the second study from TIDES for the 2021-22 or 2022 season, following <a href="https://apnews.com/article/mlb-sports-baseball-33ca9ac4d7076a005a10c77e688afc9a">Major League Baseball in May</a>. Reports will follow for the WNBA, Major League Soccer, the NFL and college sports.

A diversity report found the NBA posting nearly across-the-board gains in hiring of minorities and women.

NBA diversity study finds job gains by minorities, women

As we begin to officially put the finishing touches on &ldquo;Bet Week&rdquo; here on BasketballNews.com, NBA over/under win total projections have been released for every team.
Which numbers stand out most to hammer one way or another from a betting perspective? In this piece, I unveil my over/under predictions for every team in the Eastern Conference. All odds are provided by DraftKings Sportsbook.
Boston Celtics: Over 54.5 (-130)
The defending Eastern Conference champions headline the best win total of any team in the league on DraftKings, checking in at an impressive 54.5 projected wins. Boston not only improved its roster following a Finals loss to the Golden State Warriors, but the team added some real contributors who will hold immense value with Malcolm Brogdon and Danilo Gallinari. Also, Robert Williams staying healthy all season long would be a huge boost for an already elite defensive unit.
We&rsquo;re hammering the over here because the Celtics have all the necessary ingredients in place to finish with 55 or more wins. Not only can their rotation easily go 10 players deep, but Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown are two dynamic stars at the most important position on the court. Even if the Celtics were to swing a jaw-dropping trade sending out Brown for Kevin Durant, this team should be in a magnificent spot to hit this projected mark with ease.
Milwaukee Bucks: Over 52.5 (-115)
It&rsquo;s never wise to bet against Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Bucks. More often than not, they always hit their overs when the roster is fully cooperating from a health perspective. Giannis is a player I&rsquo;ve highlighted over the last week who is in prime position to make a serious push for multiple awards like Most Valuable Player and Defensive Player of the Year. If that indeed comes to fruition and Giannis sets a rampage throughout the NBA, Milwaukee will be one of the most dangerous teams entering postseason play.
The Bucks&rsquo; team-building job is a lot easier with Giannis onboard, but Khris Middleton and Jrue Holiday are bona fide sub-stars who showed their true value during the team's 2020-21 title run. Also, re-signing Bobby Portis to a long-term deal was huge for the Bucks because he fits so well alongside Giannis as their complimentary stretch big.
Once more, I love the over to hit here at -115 odds on DraftKings. If Giannis stays healthy, the Bucks should cruise to 50-plus wins while posing a real threat to upend Boston atop the East standings.
Philadelphia 76ers: Over 49.5 (-140)
Joel Embiid and James Harden joining forces was always Daryl Morey&rsquo;s dream vision in Philadelphia. Following a rough and quick postseason exit, it feels like the light finally turned on for good with Harden. All offseason long, Harden has reportedly stayed in shape while re-signing a team-friendly, one-plus-one contract, and two of his former teammates in Houston have joined the fray.
The Sixers signing PJ Tucker, albeit at age-37, is a massive move to bring aboard much-needed physical toughness to a roster sorely lacking it. Danuel House Jr. will also provide some two-way versatility off Philadelphia&rsquo;s bench. Also, the draft night trade with the Memphis Grizzlies for De&rsquo;Anthony Melton continues to be overlooked. Arguably the perfect complementary third guard to place alongside Harden and Tyrese Maxey, Melton should thrive within this role, as he mastered it next to Ja Morant.
Health is a huge question mark when examining the long-term gains of this over/under of 49.5. Will Embiid play most of the season? If so, this is another simple nod to the over. However, with an already deep history of injuries, tread lightly here on Philadelphia. Rolling the dice, I&rsquo;m taking the over while praying Embiid puts together another fully dominant campaign.
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Miami Heat: Over 48.5 (-125)
As always, the Heat are flying under the radar entering another season. It was an offseason filled with little to no activity for Miami outside of re-signing Victor Oladipo and Caleb Martin. Plus, they seem like massive long shots to ever enter the potential trade race for Durant after originally being a preferred destination alongside the Phoenix Suns.
Miami is returning a loaded rotation, although losing Tucker to a conference rival will sting a little bit. This is an over/under bet where you simply trust the system in place. Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo are top-30 players in the Association. Tyler Herro is an emerging young star who is the betting favorite to win Sixth Man of the Year in consecutive seasons. Erik Spoelstra remains one of the game&rsquo;s elite-tier tacticians too.
Add it all together, and Miami should flirt with a 50-win season in 2022-23. Trust the process and &ldquo;Heat Culture&rdquo; for the team to slide its way into a top-three seed in the East.
Atlanta Hawks: Under 46.5 (-105)
What a splashy offseason it was for Atlanta following its embarrassing postseason exit at the hands of Miami. The Heat exposed the Hawks&rsquo; lack of ball-handling help to take pressure off superstar point guard Trae Young. Now, with an all-in move for Dejounte Murray, Atlanta wants to surge up the East ladder. Can the Hawks recapture the 2020-21 magic with an All-Star backcourt pairing? Paying the heavy price the team did for Murray, Atlanta better hope this meshes as well as it looks on-paper.
For our projection, though, we&rsquo;re going with the under at a slight underdog value at -105. Similarly to the Western Conference, the East is setting up to be a war, so the top eight could all be mixed together by season&rsquo;s end. Teams such as Atlanta could be the prime example here, because 46.5 wins truly feels right on the money. In the end, a 45 or 46-win season for the Hawks would be a success, while also cashing plus money for those who bet the under.
Brooklyn Nets: Under 45.5 (-105)
I truly have no clue how this team should be viewed right now. With Kevin Durant still holding firm on his trade request, the 45.5 number here just feels like too much. If Durant is off the Nets anytime soon, Kyrie Irving would probably soon follow him out. It&rsquo;s a ticking time bomb right now, so avoiding this bet entirely is the smartest play possible.
Brooklyn did a fantastic job outside of the Durant and Irving fiasco to add more depth to a team ready to push for a title. However, because of all the uncertainty, getting the under on 45.5 wins at plus money odds is simply too good to pass up.
Toronto Raptors: Over 45.5 (-110)
One of my favorite teams projected to take a massive leap forward in 2022-23, the Raptors finished the regular season off strong before their postseason exit against Philadelphia. Scottie Barnes established himself as a true building block. Pascal Siakam and Fred VanVleet are entrenched core pieces. With OG Anunoby and Gary Trent Jr. as the team's fourth and fifth-best players, it goes to show how loaded Toronto can become. The Raptors added more depth and remain a top contender to secure Durant&rsquo;s services, if the Nets indeed decide to trade him.
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Whether Durant comes to Canada or not, I absolutely love the Raptors as a team who should be pushing closer to 50 wins compared to 40. Hammer the Raptors over here to oblivion as they establish themselves as a real Finals threat this season.
Chicago Bulls: Under 43.5 (+100)
As I wrote earlier this offseason, Rudy Gobert felt like the missing piece to the puzzle for the Bulls to become a real threat in the East long-term. Now, with Gobert on the Minnesota Timberwolves, where does Chicago realistically go to pivot? It&rsquo;s hard to see a clear answer right now, which is concerning over an extended window. The Bulls backed up the Brink&rsquo;s truck for Zach LaVine, who definitely deserved the lucrative payday. LaVine and DeMar DeRozan form a dynamic scoring combination, but who else can help take this team into another tier?
Patrick Williams is a potential name to watch develop, but the real questions loom in the backcourt, for me. Goran Dragic signing in Chicago was very interesting, because the team already has a glut of guards on its roster: Lonzo Ball, Alex Caruso, Ayo Dosunmu and Dalen Terry. With Ball&rsquo;s shoulder sidelining him last season, how concerning is that moving forward? For those wanting to monitor the betting lines for Chicago, Ball is an underrated piece to its early-season success as a connective two-way presence.
With the East even tougher, plus some looming concerns in the short and long-term view, I&rsquo;m hammering +100 value on the Bulls to finish as a Play-In Tournament team vs. being a playoff lock.
Cleveland Cavaliers: Over 42.5 (-135)
Similarly to Toronto, this is another squad I'll love to slam the over on. The 42.5-win number here is too small for Cleveland, especially with its young core jelling together even further. Darius Garland, Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen make up one of my favorite young trios in the Association, and I&rsquo;m betting big on the three taking another huge step forward.
Don&rsquo;t forget, the Cavaliers were rolling before injuries to countless rotation members begin to be too much to overcome. Caris LeVert, a midseason acquisition, should look much more comfortable in J.B. Bickerstaff&rsquo;s system. Collin Sexton&rsquo;s status remains unclear, but he&rsquo;s a spark-plug scorer who would take immediate pressure off Garland.
Las Vegas is leaning towards projecting the Cavs as a playoff team, and I&rsquo;m siding with them as well.
New York Knicks: Over 39.5 (-110)
Just like their cross-town rivals in the Nets, betting on a Knicks over/under win total right now isn&rsquo;t smart. Wait to see how the dust settles for Donovan Mitchell in Utah first before deciding upon any Knicks-related props.
However, for my projection on Aug. 8, I&rsquo;m betting on Mitchell to eventually land in New York before the regular season begins. With Mitchell, New York feels like a real playoff contender. However, even after signing Jalen Brunson, this Knicks team feels rather incomplete compared to other squads.
This one is simple: If Mitchell arrives, it&rsquo;s a yes on the over. If not, stay away and hit the under instead.
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Charlotte Hornets: Under 36.5 (-105)
Here's another organization that feels incomplete at the moment, especially with the ongoing legal situation surrounding Miles Bridges. As currently constructed, the up-and-coming Hornets feel further away than they did last season. Although Gordon Hayward and Terry Rozier are solid veterans for Charlotte, I don&rsquo;t put them on the same tier as the Cavaliers or Knicks. LaMelo Ball is approaching full-blown superstardom, but who else around him will be able to help consistently? This may be a hot take, but it might be in the Hornets&rsquo; best interest to bottom out for a year hoping to land a top pick for a stacked 2023 NBA Draft.
If there&rsquo;s one team poised to regress from Play-In contender to lottery team, Charlotte certainly stands out, and I&rsquo;ll take the under at plus value.
Washington Wizards: Under 35.5 (-115)
Are the Wizards in win-now mode? It certainly seems that way after Bradley Beal signed the dotted line on a supermax deal. The time to put together a winner in D.C. is throughout Beal&rsquo;s hefty contract, but this team still isn&rsquo;t close to being a real threat. In my opinion, Washington continues to stand out as the premiere &ldquo;blow it up&rdquo; squad because of Beal&rsquo;s uncertain status. Now, with a no-trade clause, Beal pretty much runs the entire show now.
Washington added a starting point guard in Monte Morris, but that&rsquo;s not enough to really make a sizable improvement unless Beal bounces-back with authority. The team's young players also need to take much-needed steps forward. At this moment, I&rsquo;m betting against all of that occurring next season. As a slight favorite, feel comfortable selecting the under on the Wizards.
Detroit Pistons: Under 28.5 (-105)
It&rsquo;s hard to argue against the Pistons possessing one of the most promising young cores in the East. Jaden Ivey and Jalen Duren are ideal pieces to put alongside former No. 1 overall pick Cade Cunningham, who began to flash superstar potential during the second half of his rookie season.
While the Pistons added foundational pillars this offseason, the team is still ripe with inexperience. The rebuild remains ongoing in Detroit, but the exit signs are approaching. In the meantime, the young core is prioritized over wins this upcoming season.
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Although a 30-win campaign sounds fun, another top selection in 2023 could really take this team to heights it hasn't experienced in decades. Bet on the under here, especially as the tank race hits overdrive post-All-Star break.
Orlando Magic: Over 26.5 (-120)
Paolo Banchero brings an alpha mentality that&rsquo;s been missing forever in Orlando. The No. 1 pick has the ultimate runway to produce immediately, which is why he&rsquo;s the <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/best-bets-on-202223-nba-rookie-of-the-year" target="_blank" rel="noopener">betting favorite to win Rookie of the Year</a>. Banchero could be a 20-plus point scorer right away, but don&rsquo;t forget about some other enticing young talent in Orlando. Franz Wagner established himself as a core piece, producing excellent all-around numbers. Wendell Carter Jr. is a double-double machine with playmaking chops for a big man. Jalen Suggs hit the rookie wall, but if he can round into form it'll add another aggressive scorer to the equation. Plus, there's the returning Markelle Fultz as well.
Orlando owns one of the youngest rosters in the NBA, but it consistently showed heart by keeping a lot of games close. If Banchero&rsquo;s adjustment is smooth, I actually like betting the favorite option here on the over. Something along the lines of a 27-55 season feels spot-on for Orlando.
Indiana Pacers: Under 24.5 (-115)
Rounding out the East&rsquo;s over/unders list is the Pacers, who are now creating a noticeable difference at the bottom. With two games separating Indiana from Orlando, it shows how little faith Vegas has in this team winning a lot of games next season.
Tyrese Haliburton is the face of the franchise in Indiana now, as the team begins a rebuild over 30 years in the making. Bennedict Mathurin, the No. 6 overall pick in the 2022 NBA Draft, brings a score-first approach that should mesh seamlessly in the backcourt next to Haliburton. Isaiah Jackson and Jalen Smith are two young bigs who have flashed two-way potential in addition.
Outside of that, trade rumors are the main subject ongoing in Indiana. According to The Athletic&rsquo;s Bob Kravitz, Indiana would prefer to trade Myles Turner and Buddy Hield this offseason. Neither player fits the organization&rsquo;s new timeline, and the Pacers should be able to fetch some real value in return.
Indiana is a team that really stands out as a prime contender to enter a full-on tank. For an organization that has never drafted No. 1, it would change everything for the Pacers to have some good fortune. Finally embracing a rebuild, maybe lady luck is finally on their side for good.
With that being said, my most confident play is the Pacers under 24.5 wins cashing.

Evan Sidery goes over win totals for the Eastern Conference. Who stands out?