Vulcans

May 5, 2006. That was the last time the Sacramento Kings <a href="https://www.basketball-reference.com/boxscores/200605050SAC.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">played in a playoff game</a>. That contest took place 5,863 days ago.&nbsp; To put that into context: During that 2005-06 season, Chris Paul was a rookie and Bruce Bowen, who was born in 1971, was named to the NBA's All-Defensive First Team. Steve Nash won his second consecutive MVP award and Boris Diaw was named the league's Most Improved Player.
The Kings made history last month, the type of history that no organization wants to be known for. Sacramento, who finished the 2021-22 campaign with a 30-52 record, failed to qualify for the postseason for the 16th straight season, breaking the NBA record for the longest playoff drought. (The Kings had been tied with the Buffalo Braves and Los Angeles Clippers prior.)
So, while <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-draft-lottery-teams-who-should-trade-to-win-now-or-at-least-sooner" target="_blank" rel="noopener">many teams in this year's draft lottery</a> are rumored to be interested in potentially trading their pick, arguably no team is more motivated to add an established player (as opposed to an unproven rookie) in hopes of avoiding a return trip to the all-too-familiar lottery dais next May than the Kings.
As proof of their urgency to win now, the Kings shocked pundits back in February by trading away Tyrese Haliburton, one of the league's most promising young point guards, to the Indiana Pacers in exchange for a package that included Justin Holiday, Jeremy Lamb and two-time All-Star Domantas Sabonis.&nbsp;
Thus, it isn't shocking to learn that Sacramento, who jumped up to land the No. 4 overall pick in last week's lottery, is reportedly willing to wheel and deal if presented with the right offer.&nbsp;
<a href="https://bleacherreport.com/articles/10036369-nba-draft-buzz-insiders-explain-why-chet-holmgren-makes-sense-at-no-1" target="_blank" rel="noopener">According to Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report</a>, "there's a strong belief among rival teams that Sacramento will explore trading the fourth selection, either out of the draft entirely for an impact veteran or down later in the lottery to net a contributing rotation player in the process."
The other issue likely factoring into the Kings' thought process is that the top tier of the <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/draft" target="_blank" rel="noopener">2022 NBA Draft</a> consists of three players (Jabari Smith, Chet Holmgren and Paolo Banchero), with a bit of a dropoff after those elite prospects. Nonetheless, "the uncertainty of the fourth selection could prompt eager teams to leap up to secure their prized prospect" which puts the Kings' front office in a "<a href="https://bleacherreport.com/articles/10036369-nba-draft-buzz-insiders-explain-why-chet-holmgren-makes-sense-at-no-1" target="_blank" rel="noopener">strong trade position</a>," per Fischer.&nbsp;
Additionally, Mike Scotto of HoopsHype recently <a href="https://hoopshype.com/lists/aggregate-nba-mock-draft-lottery-jabari-smith-chet-holmgren-paolo-banchero-trade-rumors/">reported</a> that NBA executives "are monitoring the Sacramento Kings" as a team that could trade their pick "in search of player(s) that can help immediately." Scotto added that after acquiring Sabonis, the Kings have "made it clear the goal is to end the franchise's playoff drought" and that "rival teams are keeping an eye on Sacramento to trade this pick."
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So, let's examine some deals that might make sense for both the Kings and a potential trading partner.
Detroit Pistons send Jerami Grant, Saben Lee, Isaiah Livers and a second-round pick (No. 46 overall) to the Kings in exchange for the No. 4 overall pick, Richaun Holmes, Maurice Harkless and Alex Len
Earlier this offseason, Sacramento general manager Monte McNair <a href="https://account.sacbee.com/paywall/subscriber-only?resume=260358905&amp;intcid=ab_archive">conceded</a> that the team needs to add players who can knock down shots and fit in alongside the franchise's cornerstones, Sabonis and De'Aaron Fox.
"I think shooting, we can clearly acknowledge, will be a huge priority," McNair declared. "Length, athleticism, versatility &mdash; we've talked about all that as well. Obviously, you want the whole package, but shooting will be a big priority for us."
Grant most certainly checks those boxes. During his two years in Detroit, he has averaged 20.9 points, 4.4 rebounds, 2.6 assists, 2.0 made treys and 1.1 blocks per game. He has shot over 37% from downtown on 4.5 attempts over the past four seasons and is a versatile, plus defender. As a stretch-4, Grant &mdash; who just turned 28 and is in the heart of his prime &mdash; could conceivably fit in well in the frontcourt alongside Sabonis, who likes to operate on the low block and is a good passer from the post. Moreover, Fox-Grant pick-and-rolls would be difficult to defend.&nbsp;
The issue in this potential trade is that Grant has just one season left on the three-year, $60 million deal he signed in 2020. However, as long as Grant is traded before Aug. 9, he is eligible to sign an extension with his new team for up to $112 million over four years. After previously spurning the Nuggets to sign with the Pistons, we know that Grant is not afraid to join a team that hasn't enjoyed recent success. Would he be willing to commit to Sacramento long-term? If so, a Big Three of Fox, Grant and Sabonis might be talented enough to finally push the Kings into the postseason.&nbsp;
For the Pistons, they would add Holmes (a quality center on a team-friendly contract) and enter next month's draft with 2 of the top 5 picks, which would allow them to add a pair of promising prospects to a core centered around Cade Cunningham, Saddiq Bey, Isaiah Stewart and Killian Hayes. 
Washington Wizards send Kyle Kuzma and the No. 10 overall pick to the Kings for the No. 4 pick, Justin Holiday and Terence Davis
After a disappointing end to his tenure as a Los Angeles Laker, Kuzma bounced back with a very productive season for the Wizards in 2021-22. He averaged 17.1 points and 1.9 made three-pointers while setting career-highs in rebounds (8.5), assists (3.5) and blocks (0.9) per game. He led the Wiz in double-doubles with 24 (which ranked tied for the sixth-most among all forwards in the NBA). Adding Kuzma's offensive versatility would provide Sacramento with some much-needed depth at forward. In addition, the Kings would still have a lottery pick, dropping back just six spots, which would allow them to add another young asset to the roster.&nbsp;
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The Wizards would likely entertain such a deal if they fell in love with a prospect &mdash; such as Keegan Murray, Jaden Ivey or Shaedon Sharpe &mdash; whom they feel relatively sure won't still be on the board at 10.
Kuz has two years left on his current contract but can opt out in the summer of 2023. However, he will be eligible to sign a four-year extension for up to $70 million this October if his $13 million player option for 2023-24 is declined.&nbsp;
A similar package featuring one of the Wizards' other young forwards (Rui Hachimura, Deni Avdija or Corey Kispert) instead of Kuzma might also be feasible, depending on the value the Kings/Wizards place on the respective players.&nbsp;
Houston Rockets send the No. 3 overall pick and Eric Gordon to the Kings for the No. 4 pick, a (protected) future first-round pick, a 2022 second-round pick, Richaun Holmes and Justin Holiday
Is it possible that Sacramento views Smith, Holmgren or Banchero as talented enough to make a substantial impact as a rookie? If so, would the team be willing to pony up sufficient capital to move up one spot?
The Kings would snag one of this draft's three most prized prospects in this hypothetical scenario. The 7-foot Holmgren is one of the most versatile prospects to enter the draft in recent history. Banchero possesses a freakish combination of size, strength and athleticism. Smith projects as a lethal stretch-4 who could fit in nicely alongside Sabonis.&nbsp;
Gordon is a respected, established veteran with just one year of guaranteed money left on his contract. He shot a scorching 41.2% from three-point territory this past season, the second-best mark of his career.&nbsp;
Such a deal would make sense for the Rockets if they feel whichever of the top-tier prospects that falls to them isn't significantly better than the next highest-ranked player on their board. During a post-lottery press conference last week, Rockets general manager Rafael Stone said Houston is <a href="https://twitter.com/MarkBermanFox26/status/1526739178557517824?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1526739178557517824%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&amp;ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fbleacherreport.com%2Farticles%2F10036145-rockets-open-to-trading-3rd-pick-in-2022-nba-draft-if-a-deal-makes-sense-gm-says" target="_blank" rel="noopener">open to trading the No. 3 pick</a>.
"I'm definitely not gonna block them out," Stone <a href="https://twitter.com/MarkBermanFox26/status/1526739178557517824?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1526739178557517824%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&amp;ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fbleacherreport.com%2Farticles%2F10036145-rockets-open-to-trading-3rd-pick-in-2022-nba-draft-if-a-deal-makes-sense-gm-says">told reporters</a>. "If they wanna talk, I'm always available to talk... If it's the case that they're interested in doing something, we're always available to listen. If there's something that makes sense for both teams, something will get done."
Adding a quality young center in Holmes would give the Rockets leverage in negotiations with Christian Wood, or potentially enable them to trade him out of Houston.&nbsp;
New York Knicks trade Julius Randle and the No. 11 overall pick to the Kings for Harrison Barnes, the No. 4 pick and a second-round pick (No. 37 overall)&nbsp;
Randle playing alongside Sabonis could be viewed as a clunky fit, but Sabonis did play 80% of his minutes at center for Sacramento after arriving via the midseason trade. The pairing would undoubtedly be problematic defensively, but the duo would be dynamic on the offensive end. Over the past two seasons, Randle and Sabonis were 2 of only 4 NBA players to average double-digit boards and more than 5 assists per contest. (The other two players in this club were Nikola Jokić and Giannis Antetokounmpo.)
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After being named to the All-NBA Second Team in 2020-21, Randle's offensive inefficiency regressed dramatically this past season. In addition, <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/julius-randle-and-the-knicks-should-part-ways-this-summer" target="_blank" rel="noopener">the relationship between Randle and Knicks fans turned toxic</a> at various points during the year. Yet, even in a "down year," he averaged 20.1 points, 9.9 boards and 5.1 dimes per game. A fresh start in California might help Randle regain his All-Star form. Also, he is under team control for at least three more years (he has a player option for 2025-26), which means the Kings wouldn't have to worry about their key players entering free agency anytime soon.&nbsp;
From the Knicks' perspective, this move would allow them to jump up and snag a highly-touted prospect, possibly combo guard Jaden Ivey, who New York was rumored to be interested in. And, <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/julius-randle-and-the-knicks-should-part-ways-this-summer" target="_blank" rel="noopener">as I wrote last month</a>, moving Randle would enable the Knicks to insert Obi Toppin (who averaged 27.2 points, 6.2 rebounds and 3.8 made three-pointers per game in April) into the starting lineup while also clearing Randle's contract off their books. Barnes will celebrate his 30th birthday next week, but is still playing at a high level and has just one year left on his current deal.&nbsp;
Atlanta Hawks trade John Collins and the No. 16 pick to the Kings for Harrison Barnes and the No. 4 pick
After signing a massive five-year contract worth $125 million last summer, Collins struggled with injuries and inconsistency in 2021-22. His disappointing production was one of the reasons Atlanta failed to meet lofty expectations this season. One year after advancing to the Eastern Conference Finals, the Hawks spent much of this past season below .500 and were easily eliminated by the Miami Heat in the first round.
Would they be willing to part way with Collins (and his contract) to jump 12 spots in the draft?&nbsp;
Much like the aforementioned Randle/Knicks deal, the Kings would have to decide if Collins could mesh with Sabonis and Fox.&nbsp;
Charlotte Hornets trade Gordon Hayward, the No. 13 pick and the No. 15 pick (via NOLA) to the Kings in exchange for Harrison Barnes, Maurice Harkless, Alex Len and the No. 4 pick
Attempting to determine Hayward's value league-wide is difficult. When healthy, he's been remarkably productive throughout his career. However, he's been plagued by injury issues and has missed 58 games since signing a four-year, $120 million pact with the Hornets in 2020. He has two years and $61.5 million left on his current contract, which also contains a 15% trade kicker.&nbsp;
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Tommy Beer highlights a number of possible trades that the Kings could execute to improve their roster this summer.

Breaking down 6 hypothetical trades for the Kings' fourth draft pick

It is common for the players who score the most points to get the most praise. They get the credit on SportsCenter and are viewed as the stars of the night. But there is another kind of player who typically doesn't get the credit they deserve, whose importance to the team is not often illuminated.
Enter Victor Oladipo.
In Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Finals against the Boston Celtics on Saturday night, Oladipo's 5 points didn't make the ESPN highlight reel or pop out in the box score. His stat line wasn&rsquo;t highlighted on the NBA TV recap.
After being bumped out of the rotation in the first half in favor of Caleb Martin and Duncan Robinson, Oladipo could have pouted and had an attitude. This is something that happens at every level: a player doesn&rsquo;t play in the first half and mentally checks out. Sometimes, they are visibily disgruntled. You may be able to see it during halftime warm-ups or in his demeanor on the bench.&nbsp;
Oladipo didn&rsquo;t do any of that. He stayed locked in and was ready and prepared if his number happened to be called. Then, it happened. Jimmy Butler went down and could not return to the game in the second half. Butler has been carrying the team throughout the series; he is who the offense runs through, who the team relies on every trip down the court in some capacity. When he couldn't return due to a knee injury, Oladipo&rsquo;s number was called and he was ready.
In just 20 minutes, Oladipo had 4 steals (twice as many as the Celtics had as team for the entire game) and 8 pass deflections (one more than the Celtics). After the game, PJ Tucker raved about Oladipo's play.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s usually his offense everybody talks about,&rdquo; Tucker said. &ldquo;He comes in with a spark. But his lateral slides and quickness were unbelievable. I told him tonight, 'That was some of the best lateral foot speed I&rsquo;ve seen anybody have.' Jaylen Brown, when he gets going &mdash; especially right &mdash; he's tough to get back in front of. For Vic to square him up was unreal. He gave us a spark.
&ldquo;We talked about it at the half, knowing he was about to start the half and play. To not play at all and then step in and do what he did in the second half, that level of professionalism is few and far between.&rdquo;
Former NBA guard Jamal Crawford tweeted: &ldquo;Vic Oladipo&rsquo;s stats won&rsquo;t justify the game he actually played. They don&rsquo;t win this game without him.&rdquo;
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Vic Oladipo&rsquo;s stats won&rsquo;t justify the game he actually played. They don&rsquo;t win this game without him.
&mdash; 🏁 Jamal Crawford (@JCrossover) <a href="https://twitter.com/JCrossover/status/1528214518660157440?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 22, 2022</a></blockquote>

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&ldquo;Everything about it, it speaks to his competitive character,&rdquo; Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra said of Oladipo. &ldquo;That was not easy. We went with a slightly different rotation because Kyle [Lowry] came back. That is going to force some changes throughout the rotation, so he didn&rsquo;t play in the first half. We&rsquo;ve had so many guys that have had to take on different roles and sacrifice. We say it&rsquo;s always easy to sacrifice when you&rsquo;re not the one doing it, and he&rsquo;s had to sacrifice many times. That wasn&rsquo;t easy. That wasn&rsquo;t necessarily the way we were going to go the first half. Just things were going really well. We just kept going with that. Then, all of a sudden, boom: Jimmy is not going to go in the second half.
"For him to be stable enough and not be frustrated and not be rolling his eyes and like, 'Oh, okay, now I get an opportunity.... he&rsquo;s just steady. Stays the course. He&rsquo;s made himself available, made himself vulnerable through this whole process. He&rsquo;s prepared behind the scenes. His minutes in the second half were so important defensively against their two studs (Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown), and then offensively, he just gave us a facsimile of a lot of the stuff we do with Jimmy. And I mean that as the ultimate compliment.&rdquo;
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This isn&rsquo;t the first time during these playoffs that Oladipo has had to be ready to jump right in and be a determining factor when his number was called. Oladipo was actually outside of Miami's rotation in the first round against the Atlanta Hawks. However, he ended up being one of the key reasons for the Heat's 97-94 win in Game 5, which could have easily gone in the Hawks favor. Oladipo poured in 23 points, 3 assists and 3 steals, while shooting 50% from the floor and 50% from three. After that game, his play was featured in ESPN's highlight reel and his stat line jumped out when looking at the box score.
But again, if he hadn't been ready when his number was called, none of that would have been possible. Time and time again, Oladipo has shown that when given the opportunity, he can produce at a high level and be a game-changing player. Any questions about his past injuries (including a ruptured right quadricep tendon) should be laid to rest as he's proven that he's back in terms of his lateral movement, athleticism, ability to create his own shot, outside shooting and transition defense.
&ldquo;Signing Victor Oladipo [to a veteran-minimum deal] was one of the biggest steals in NBA history for the Miami Heat," said Daniel Abraham, Oladipo&rsquo;s former AAU coach. "To get a former All-Star and All-Defensive Team player still near his prime like that for very little and be able to wait patiently for him to get healthy is the type of move that will likely land them in the NBA Finals! And if you know Vic like I do, you know the level of the dedication and work ethic he has always had, so none of this would surprise you.&ldquo;
Many in the NBA world were ready to write him off into irrelevance after he re-injured his leg in 2020 and got traded twice. In January 2021, Oladipo was traded to the Houston Rockets in the four-team blockbuster deal that also sent James Harden to Brooklyn and Caris LeVert to Indiana. Two months later, the Rockets sent Oladipo to Miami for a first-round pick swap, Avery Bradley and Kelly Olynyk.
But with all that behind him, Oladipo is proving all of his doubters wrong. He is far from finished and he has proven that he's still capable of being an impact player and a X-Factor for his team &mdash; whether it&rsquo;s by solely playing defense on one of the best scorers in the league or stepping in and being one of the game's high scorers himself. Regardless of his role, Oladipo will have the right attitude and energy, even if those opportunities don&rsquo;t present themselves each and every game.
This is the type of player whom any organization would want on their team, and Oladipo should receive plenty of interest from teams when he hits unrestricted free agency this summer.
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Regardless of what the box score showed, Victor Oladipo played a crucial role in the Heat's Game 3 win over the Celtics.

Victor Oladipo staying ready and making the most of every opportunity

The 2021-22 season wasn&rsquo;t supposed to end this way for the Phoenix Suns... not even close. After a shocking exit in the Western Conference semifinals, where do the Suns turn now? With how well-built Phoenix&rsquo;s roster is, there actually aren&rsquo;t many holes. However, the potential domino effects are franchise-altering and there are a number of different directions the team may go.
The future of Deandre Ayton is now <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/uncertain-future-of-deandre-ayton-becomes-top-topic-for-suns" target="_blank" rel="noopener">murkier than expected</a> following Phoenix's shocking Game 7 blowout defeat on its home court against the Dallas Mavericks. Ayton only played 17 minutes, which included a verbal skirmish with Suns head coach Monty Williams.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s internal,&rdquo; Williams said of why Ayton was benched in Game 7.
Ayton will be a restricted free agent after the Suns decided not to extend a five-year, rookie-scale max offer his way before the regular season began. He was the NBA's first No. 1 pick since Anthony Bennett to not sign a contract extension before entering the final year of his rookie deal.
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There&rsquo;s a potentially awkward dynamic on the horizon between Ayton and the Suns. Ayton wants the highest possible dollar amount, but Phoenix&rsquo;s stance at this point is unknown. ESPN&rsquo;s Adrian Wojnarowski reported in October that the Suns didn&rsquo;t view Ayton as a max-level player who deserved a five-year contract. Is it possible that the Suns&rsquo; stance has changed after Ayton&rsquo;s 2021-22 campaign?
Suns general manager James Jones said Wednesday during his season-ending press conference that the team's main theme will be continuity, foreshadowing the likelihood of Phoenix running it all back with a core that set a new franchise record for wins.
&ldquo;We want to continue to keep our consistency, our continuity,&rdquo; Jones said.
Robert Sarver, the Suns' owner since 2004, also spoke on-record recently to BasketballNews.com about Ayton&rsquo;s future in Phoenix. It sure feels like Phoenix values the 2018 No. 1 overall pick, but at what cost?
&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t think he&rsquo;s so divisive here,&rdquo; Sarver told BasketballNews.com last month. &ldquo;I think he&rsquo;s shown that he&rsquo;s improved each year, helps us on both the defense and the offense. I think offensively, you see this year he&rsquo;s taken another good step in terms of his touch and his ability to score around the basket. So, he&rsquo;s been a key part of what we&rsquo;re doing.&rdquo;
Whichever direction the Suns decide to go with Ayton will have a significant impact on this offseason. It could be relatively boring summer in the Valley, or Ayton&rsquo;s value could be parlayed into going all-out for a superstar.
Expect to see the Suns let Ayton test the open market in July. If he receives a max offer sheet, that&rsquo;s when the clock officially begins to tick on how explosive Phoenix&rsquo;s plans could become.
Another housekeeping note for Phoenix related to contracts is a massive one set to be signed this summer. Once Devin Booker officially is announced on an All-NBA team, he will become eligible for a four-year, $211 million supermax contract. It&rsquo;s an easy decision for Booker and the Suns, so a hefty new contract for Booker will keep him in Phoenix through at least 2027-28.
2022-23: $33.8 million
2023-24: $36.0 million
2024-25: $47.1 million
2025-26: $50.9 million
2026-27: $54.7 million
2027-28: $58.5 million
Add in the Ayton situation on top of a looming Booker supermax, and Phoenix is ready to fully commit to paying deep into the luxury tax. Don&rsquo;t forget that Cameron Johnson is another significant piece to the puzzle for Phoenix and he could be signing his own extension this summer that keeps him in Phoenix long-term through his prime years.
Running it back with this core feels like the route that will be traveled, and you can't blame the Suns for that line of thinking considering their immense success over the last two seasons after toiling in obscurity.
&ldquo;As your team improves, typically your payroll increases,&rdquo; Jones said Wednesday when asked about potential luxury-tax issues.
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As mentioned, this builds upon what Sarver already confirmed to BasketballNews.com last month. For the first time since 2009-10, Phoenix will be paying the luxury tax and continue to do so for the next few years, too.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;m not saying we&rsquo;re a market that can be in it for 10 years in a row, but when you get to a certain level where you have a chance to compete and you&rsquo;re a top-four, top-six, top-eight team, [you pay it],&rdquo; Sarver said. &ldquo;If you&rsquo;re at that level where you have a legitimate chance to compete &mdash; get to your Conference Finals and maybe win a championship &mdash; then I think you go in the tax; you pay and you do what you gotta do.&rdquo;
Committing to being a full-time tax team is a huge change of pace from years past for the Suns, but the time is now to compete for their first NBA title.
Outside of the contractual angles that cloud the current in Phoenix, what moves need to be made in order to improve their roster?
After witnessing the failures behind Chris Paul and Booker in the backcourt &mdash; mainly from backup point guard Cameron Payne, who finished the postseason with a ghastly 35.2% True Shooting percentage &mdash; finding more creators is of the utmost importance.
The Suns had a golden opportunity at the trade deadline to acquire Eric Gordon, but haggling over a future first-round draft pick ended those discussions. It&rsquo;s hard to deny how much a player like Gordon would&rsquo;ve helped Phoenix&rsquo;s offense when it began to sink against Dallas. If the Suns had a competent starting-level third guard, there&rsquo;s a good chance they'd be playing the Golden State Warriors in the Western Conference Finals instead of the Mavericks.
Whether it be signing a free agent or utilizing the trade market, some potentially available backup guard options who could help Phoenix immediately include: Jordan Clarkson (trade), Eric Gordon (trade), Derrick Rose (trade), Terrence Ross (trade), Ricky Rubio, Dennis Schroder, Tyus Jones, Delon Wright and Goran Dragic.
The Suns&rsquo; roster is already filled with quality depth pieces, but how can this team take the next step? Will Ayton be part of their long-term vision alongside Booker and Mikal Bridges? Can the Suns take advantage of their flexibility with $30-plus million in expiring contracts? Is star-hunting actually in the cards?
Following one of the most disappointing playoff performances in recent memory, how the Suns respond moving forward will show how resilient this group truly is.
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After a shocking postseason exit for the Suns, what's next ahead? Evan Sidery previews an interesting offseason ahead.

2022 NBA offseason preview: What's next for the Phoenix Suns?

MIAMI (AP) &mdash; Jimmy Butler doesn&rsquo;t like being a called a scorer.
Never mind that the moniker seems appropriate. He&rsquo;s averaging nearly 30 points per game in this postseason, has reached the 40-point mark three times in his last 10 games after having zero such regular season games since 2017, and carried the Miami Heat over the Boston Celtics in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals.
But say &ldquo;scorer&rdquo; to him, and he will scoff in disdain.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve been a quote-unquote scorer at other points in my career, and it didn&rsquo;t work out too well for me,&rdquo; Butler said.
Things have been working out just fine so far in this postseason for Butler and the top-seeded Heat, <a href="https://apnews.com/article/miami-heat-boston-celtics-nba-sports-jimmy-butler-5b5681ec485608add59e6eb15f24ee9f">who&rsquo;ll look to take a 2-0 lead in the East title series</a> when they play host to the second-seeded Celtics again on Thursday night. It won&rsquo;t be easy: The Celtics are 3-0 after losses in these playoffs, winning those bounceback games by an average of 14.7 points and getting two of those victories on the road.
The Celtics are hoping to have defensive player of the year Marcus Smart (mid-foot sprain) back for Game 2, listing him as probable for Thursday night. Boston was also without forward Al Horford (health and safety protocols) for Game 1 &mdash; he is doubtful for Game 2. And coach Ime Udoka was sick Wednesday with a non-COVID illness.
&ldquo;We have a lot of confidence,&rdquo; Celtics center Daniel Theis said Wednesday as his team gathered for a film session.
The Heat have some injury issues as well: Point guard Kyle Lowry will miss his eighth game of the playoffs with a hamstring issue. His replacement, Gabe Vincent &mdash; the Heat are 7-0 in these playoffs when he starts &mdash; is questionable with a hamstring issue of his own, as is fellow starting guard Max Strus.
Game 1 was a 118-107 loss for the Celtics on Tuesday night, though Boston pointed out after the game that the combined scores of the first, second and fourth quarters added up to Celtics 93, Heat 79.
That pesky third quarter, however, counted.
A 39-14 romp by Miami in those 12 minutes &mdash; Butler had 17 points in that quarter alone, outscoring the Celtics by himself &mdash; turned the whole game around, and the Heat never saw their lead trimmed to less than nine in the final quarter.
&ldquo;Expect us to play better,&rdquo; said Boston forward Jayson Tatum, who had six turnovers in that pivotal quarter. &ldquo;Expect myself to play a lot better.&rdquo;
In other words, he&rsquo;s expecting to get to a higher level.
Butler is already there.
He&rsquo;s averaging 29.8 points, 7.7 rebounds, 5.4 assists and 2.3 steals in these playoffs on 53.5% shooting. Since the NBA began charting each of those statistics, nobody has finished a postseason averaging so much in each category while shooting that well. And Heat coach Erik Spoelstra has a simple reason why Butler is in this space.
&ldquo;Heightened attention to detail,&rdquo; Spoelstra said. &ldquo;But again, I don&rsquo;t want to get in a long dissertation about it. If you&rsquo;re driven by competition, and the stakes get raised, you&rsquo;re going to raise your level of play. It&rsquo;s not about trying to get bigger numbers. It&rsquo;s about doing what&rsquo;s required. And this level is high level, this competition, and he senses it, and he knows it. He feels it.&rdquo;
Butler went 17 for 18 from the foul line in Game 1. The only player to make, or take, more free throws in a game against Boston this season was Kevin Durant &mdash; who was 18 for 20 for Brooklyn in Game 2 of the first-round series between the Celtics and Nets.
&ldquo;He&rsquo;s comfortable,&rdquo; Boston&rsquo;s Jaylen Brown said of Butler. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s very comfortable right now, and we&rsquo;ve got to do a better job of breaking that rhythm that he&rsquo;s in. That&rsquo;s it. We&rsquo;ve got to take the challenge.&rdquo;
Butler&rsquo;s last 40-point game in the regular season came on Jan. 25, 2017, for Chicago &mdash; three franchises and more than five years ago. But he&rsquo;s had five such games in the playoffs since coming to Miami, the first two coming in the bubble two years ago when he carried the Heat to the NBA Finals. The other three have been in the last month, when he&rsquo;s carrying the Heat again, despite his insistence that he&rsquo;s not carrying anyone.
&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t care if it&rsquo;s a big stage or a little stage or who is watching,&rdquo; Butler said. &ldquo;I do what I do for my family, for my people, for my organization and for my teammates. That&rsquo;s it. Doesn&rsquo;t matter if it&rsquo;s a big stage, home or away. I know why I do what I do.&rdquo;

Jimmy Butler and the Miami Heat look to take a 2-0 lead over Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference Finals.

Jimmy Butler, Heat seeking to take a 2-0 lead over Celtics

The 2022 NBA Draft Lottery was last night, so we now have our top-14 picks!
Unfortunately, many of these teams &mdash; like the Sacramento Kings, Orlando Magic, Detroit Pistons and Charlotte Hornets &mdash; have grown accustomed to picking in the lottery year after year.
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Of those top-14 teams, some should try to win now. And no, that doesn&rsquo;t necessarily mean they have to trade their first-round pick, especially after observing how Rookie-of-the-Year winner Scottie Barnes and runner-up Evan Mobley impacted winning this season. But, for some teams, you could say that if they were better at development, they wouldn&rsquo;t be in the lottery this often.
But we digress. Here are some teams who should strongly consider using their lottery pick in a win-now trade so that they&rsquo;re not back in the same position next season in an increasingly wide-open NBA.
(Did we include specific trade ideas? No, we aren't firing up the trade machine here. It's May, and what do you want? 2,500 words? On the Lottery? During the Conference Finals?)
Sacramento Kings
The Kings, who were the only team to jump in the lottery last night, have picks No. 4 and No. 37 in the upcoming draft, <a href="https://www.prosportstransactions.com/basketball/DraftTrades/Future/Kings.htm" target="_blank" rel="noopener">along with all of their pending first-rounders</a> and many of their seconds.
Absolutely no team in the NBA needs to make the playoffs more than the Kings. The team was a perennial playoff participant from 1999 through 2006, which is hard to fathom since they haven&rsquo;t reached the postseason ever since. Their eight-straight playoff trips included four consecutive runs to at least the Western Conference Semifinals, with a Western Conference Finals trip in 2002. They have not made the playoffs since 2006; they&rsquo;ve only finished above 10th place in the West once, in 2019, when they went 39-43 &mdash; their best record in 16 years, and one of only two seasons in which they&rsquo;ve had more than 33 wins.
Last season, they made the now keystone Kings-Pacers trade, dealing Tyrese Haliburton, Buddy Hield and Tristian Thompson for Domantas Sabonis (who represented them at the lottery), Justin Holiday, Jeremy Lamb and a 2023 second-round pick. With the pairing of Sabonis (26 years old) and De&rsquo;Aaron Fox (24 years old), it may make more sense to add a similarly aged starter who can help their 2022-23 presumed playoff push.
Also, expected on the roster next season is Davion Mitchell, who will enter his sophomore season but is already 23 years old and may earn an All-Rookie selection soon. Richaun Holmes saw his role take a hit once Sabonis arrived and missed much of the latter portion of the season <a href="https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/being-accused-ex-wife-domestic-010013091.html">dealing with a personal issue</a>. Otherwise, for now, Holmes, Harrison Barnes and Mitchell are among the players under contract for next season.
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Dealing the No. 4 overall pick could land them a damn good player. John Collins, Gordon Hayward, Julius Randle, Jerami Grant and Christian Wood are among those who <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/five-nba-players-who-feel-destined-to-be-traded-this-offseason" target="_blank" rel="noopener">may find a new home this summer</a>. Could the Utah Jazz look to move on from <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/examining-potential-trade-desinations-for-donovan-mitchell-2022" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Donovan Mitchell</a> or <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/examining-potential-trade-destinations-for-rudy-gobert" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Rudy Gobert</a>&nbsp;in the coming months?
The Kings will have to attach players to the No. 4 pick, but imagine if Sacramento could put another win-now piece alongside Fox and Sabonis? They should make some calls to see what a package built around the No. 4 pick could return.
Oklahoma City Thunder
Despite all of the draft picks the Thunder own, they simply can&rsquo;t draft everyone. In this year's draft, OKC owns No. 2, No. 12, No. 30 and No. 34. Over the next five years, they will have 17 first-round picks and 30 selections in total. This is something you do in NBA 2K when you plan on building a dynasty, but at some point, most virtual GMs realize that you need to start having actual players on your roster to win rather than just continually flipping players for picks while toiling at the bottom of the standings.&nbsp;
At some point, Oklahoma City needs to make its run. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is about to enter the first season of his five-year, $172 million extension, which will see him earn just under $30 million next year. SGA turns 24 years old this summer and is a cornerstone for the franchise as their best player at the moment. Last year's No. 6 overall selection Josh Giddey looks like a keeper who almost certainly will be on an All-Rookie team this season. Lu Dort, Tre Mann, Kenrich Williams, Darius Bazley, Ty Jerome and Aleksej Pokusevski are all under contractual control for next season.
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OKC could quickly assemble a package for a high-level starter or borderline star to join SGA and Giddey, particularly with whoever else is retained. They have more than enough draft capital and could probably get close to anyone they want as a result. In terms of their roster, they just need good two-way players who fit what they&rsquo;re trying to build culturally and schematically. Literally, anything goes here.
At some point, the Thunder will have to package some of these draft picks or prospects. We'll see when Sam Presti decides to flip that switch.&nbsp;
Portland Trail Blazers
The Blazers are in a tough spot with Damian Lillard, and what Lillard wants will factor in to their decision-making. He clearly wants to win but, by all accounts, he prefers to stay in Portland. It may be difficult to check both of those boxes with the Blazers as presently constructed. In the Lillard-CJ McCollum era, Portland made the playoffs every season and reached one Western Conference Finals in 2019. They were <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/a-salute-to-the-defiance-of-damian-lillard-and-cj-mccollum" target="_blank" rel="noopener">often failed by suboptimal roster construction around Lillard and McCollum</a>, and then the elite backcourt would be unfairly blamed for the team's struggles.
With the No. 7 pick in the 2022 NBA Draft, and the assumption that Lillard remains, what&rsquo;s their next move as they once again attempt to win with their elite 6-foot-3 shot creator? Lillard is due over $42 million next season, the second season of a four-year supermax that will include a player option worth close to $49 million in 2024-25.
Eric Bledsoe&rsquo;s $19 million and Josh Hart&rsquo;s $12 million are the only other big salaries on the books for next season. A decision awaits on dynamic guard Anfernee Simons, who is reminiscent of the aforementioned McCollum, as he is up for an extension this summer as he enters restricted free agency. <a href="https://nba.nbcsports.com/2022/02/25/restricted-free-agent-to-be-anfernee-simons-i-100-want-to-stay-in-portland/#:~:text=signed%20a%20three%2Dyear%2C%20%2451.8,board%20career%20highs%20this%20season." target="_blank" rel="noopener">He reportedly wants to stay in Portland</a>.
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Ultimately, if the Blazers decide to package the No. 7 overall with some combination of players, could they look to include Simons via a sign-and-trade? It depends how aspirational a supposed deal could get and who they are getting in return. Only $3.9 million of Bledsoe&rsquo;s deal <a href="https://www.spotrac.com/nba/portland-trail-blazers/eric-bledsoe-6900/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">is fully guaranteed until June 29</a>, making him a prime trade-and-waive candidate between now and the draft.
Here's the reality: Portland&rsquo;s roster requires a full rebuild, but if Lillard is going to remain, selecting a rookie at No. 7 might not be ideal. And given their history and Simons' fit alongside Lillard, you might want to look at a big.

Bryan Fonseca argues that there are three NBA teams who should look to trade their lottery pick for a win-now piece.

Which NBA Draft Lottery teams should make a win-now trade?

We saw glimpses late in the regular season. We saw more flashes in the Round 1 series against the Atlanta Hawks. Then, in last night's 120-85 drubbing of the Philadelphia 76ers, we were given yet another view of what Victor Oladipo can provide the Miami Heat when healthy and in rhythm.
With Kyle Lowry hobbled and in and out of the lineup, Gabe Vincent struggling from the field and an overall lack of half-court shot creation outside Jimmy Butler and Tyler Herro, Oladipo finding his groove is proving essential for the Heat.
Oladipo played only eight games in the regular season, which is still mind-boggling. He hasn't even played in 20 contests with Miami since the trade from Houston last season, though he'll hit the mark on Thursday when he sees the court during Game 6.
Returning from injury multiple times and trying to find his way on the court as a player has certainly been a process for Oladipo. He fell out of Erik Spoelstra's rotation entirely near the end of the season, accruing five DNP (Coach's Decisions) in a six-game stretch.
When Oladipo did play, he never quite found his role. The flashes were there, but the cohesiveness wasn't, which was understandable given the context. That's what makes his current play all the more impressive.
Some of the clunkiness in the offense remains, but the process is clicking.&nbsp;
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Here, Oladipo throws a lob when Caleb Martin isn't on the same page, and even with the failed outlet, Oladipo quickly makes himself available.&nbsp;
Selling the at-rim attempt to get Paul Reed in the air before hitting Bam Adebayo with a dumpoff is the kind of verve and creativity the Heat really need in half-court settings. Turning nothing into something was Oladipo's specialty in Indiana. Being able to do it flowing in the offense alongside Butler was highlighted in Game 5, and it had me doing the Leonardo DiCaprio Once Upon a Time in Hollywood&nbsp;point at the screen from my desk.
Off this baseline out-of-bounds play, we hardly even get to see it (much like Joel Embiid!), and that's part of the point:
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His suddenness and stealth as a cutter collapsing the defense creates easy points for the two-man play with Jimmy Butler.
A few possessions later on another broken play, Butler misses the jumper and gets his own board. Oladipo makes himself available in the corner, and when Maxey flies in to pick him up, Oladipo jets to the rim to keep the outlet open for Butler.
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With how demonstrative Butler has been getting into the lane and collapsing the defense in the playoffs, Oladipo finding his timing as an off-ball player is an absolute boon.
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But, the Heat have a multitude of players who can flow off the ball. What makes this so notable is what Oladipo has been able to bring as both a pick-and-roll operator and late clock shot-taker/maker.
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When Oladipo draws close-outs the way he's capable of when his shot is falling, he creates havoc with his secondary attacks. If the shot clock is winding down, he's good at drawing contact and finding his way to the free throw line, averaging four trips to the line in the series and 3.4 in the seven games he's played in the playoffs.
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Finding his balance toggling on and off the ball opens up new line-up constructions and modes of play that elevate who the Heat can be.
So much depends on his shot falling on volume, which has been a sticking point since his initial injury in Indiana. Drawing the defense on the weak-side and getting to the rim to keep revving the engine of the offense, or gliding into his pull-up twos or floaters is predicated on defenses respecting his shot. He still doesn't quite have that standstill burst he did in 2017-18, but stepping into the catch off the second side is legitimately devastating from him.
A side note: I'm not even sure it's about his legs not being back. He certainly doesn't have the same first step he once did. However, it feels like his handle and his lower body haven't gotten back into sync. Injuries suck, but I think it makes me appreciate Oladipo and the work he's put in to get back even more. It's been a really difficult few seasons for him, and seeing him find his footing is awesome.
This snippet from Game 2 is the quintessential vision of who Victor Oladipo can be in Miami:
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He exhibits consistent cycling of the offense. He makes himself available and shifts on and off the ball.
The ground coverage has been awesome. Watch the way he shuts down Tyrese Maxey's drive and the way he's able to crunch in to help in the paint before closing back out, getting his hand in the cookie jar and getting away scot-free with a turnover.
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He's absolutely hounded James Harden when he's matched up with him, often pressing Harden for 94 feet. It sounds minute, but just go back through and watch the possessions where Oladipo presses Harden.
Furthermore, look how consistently the Sixers are starting their possessions with a third of the clock drained. Even without a turnover caused (and many have been!), applying pressure has smothered Philly's offense.
Oladipo is so active on screens, and his play this series reminds us why he was All-Defense a few seasons ago. He engulfs offensive players on switches and chokes the gaps to make it more difficult to slip (a great part of Miami's overall defensive ethos). I hate charges with a passion, but Oladipo draws contact as the low man with charisma. I don't know how else to explain it!
He sheds screens and uses his probing arms so well to spear ball-handlers and make his presence felt. James Harden is not having a good time with Oladipo!
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What he's brought defensively is unquestionable. Pairing his aptitude and skill on that end with his growth in comfort as a more complimentary player makes me more optimistic about the postseason upside of this team.
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Miami's 120-85 win over Philadelphia last night was punctuated by Victor Oladipo's play, which amplified the Heat.

Victor Oladipo is finding his verve with Miami

With nearly a full month of NBA playoff action in the books, we've witnessed a handful of players surprisingly exceed expectations and drive their league-wide value to increasingly high levels. On the other end of the spectrum, several stars have seen their market price dip quite a bit.
So whose stock has soared? Whose has plummeted? Let's dive in with an in-depth breakdown.
Stock Up
Jalen Brunson, Dallas Mavericks
Heading into the 2021-22 season, the Dallas Mavericks could have signed Jalen Brunson to a four-year, $56 million extension. However, <a href="https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/33801390/nba-playoffs-2022-jalen-brunson-star-turn-dallas-mavericks-massive-free-agency-implications" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ESPN's Tim MacMahon</a> reported that the Mavs chose not to make an offer and didn't even engage in negotiations with Brunson's representatives. You have to assume Dallas is now regretting that decision.
After averaging career-highs in scoring (16.3 points), assists (4.8), rebounds (3.9) and steals (0.8) during the regular season, Brunson has taken his game to another level in the playoffs. With Luka Doncic sidelined early on in the Mavs' first-round series vs. Utah, Brunson got off to a scorching hot start, tallying 96 points, 16 rebounds and 16 assists over the first two games. He became just the third player in NBA history to tally at least 70 points and 10 assists while committing fewer than 2 turnovers over a two-game span in the postseason. Incredibly, Brunson led all players in total points scored in the first round (167).
After struggling a bit in the first two games of Dallas' first-round series vs. Phoenix, Brunson was again a crucial factor in the Mavs' victories at home in Games 3 and 4 over the weekend.&nbsp;
Through 10 postseason contests, Brunson is averaging 23.5 points, 4.6 boards and 3.9 dimes per game. He's done most of his damage by relentlessly attacking the rim. Among all postseason performers, Brunson ranks third in drives per game (behind only Ja Morant and Doncic) and third in points scored off drives.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
WHAT A NIGHT FOR JALEN BRUNSON! 🔷 Career-high 41 PTS 🔷 6 3PM 🔷 8 REB 🔷 Gets the W in Game 2 <a href="https://t.co/GixvrcCqIM">pic.twitter.com/GixvrcCqIM</a>
&mdash; NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBAonTNT/status/1516250998607540229?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 19, 2022</a></blockquote>

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It could be argued that no player has boosted his stock more over the past few weeks than Brunson. And it couldn't come at a better time for the versatile combo guard, who will become an unrestricted free agent on July 1. We know the New York Knicks are interested in making a run at Brunson, and <a href="https://marcstein.substack.com/p/a-slow-spinning-coaching-marketplace-1ce?token=eyJ1c2VyX2lkIjo0MDU5OTIyOCwicG9zdF9pZCI6NTMyMjYzMDQsIl8iOiJscTRCVSIsImlhdCI6MTY1MTUyMjAxMywiZXhwIjoxNjUxNTI1NjEzLCJpc3MiOiJwdWItMzkyMjA1Iiwic3ViIjoicG9zdC1yZWFjdGlvbiJ9.Tiw_7fovr2Ot5a6LeR_ujN2MyJCkgAuKahkQLnMBOMU&amp;s=r" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according to Marc Stein</a>, Detroit and Indiana have shown interest as well. However, Mark Cuban has stated publicly he plans to re-sign Brunson &mdash; even if it has an outsized impact on Dallas' luxury tax bill.&nbsp;
Victor Oladipo, Miami Heat
Due to a slew of serious injuries that limited him to only 88 games over the past three seasons, Victor Oladipo was forced to settle for a one-year deal with Miami on the veteran minimum back in August. The hope was he'd be able to show teams during the 2021-22 campaign that he was finally fully healthy. Unfortunately, Oladipo was sidelined for nearly all of the regular season as he recovered from a debilitating right quadriceps injury. 'Dipo didn't make his season debut until March 7.&nbsp;
After playing sporadically in late March and early April, Oladipo exploded for 40 points in the Heat's regular-season finale. Yet, he was a DNP-CD in each of Miami's first three playoff games. However, with both Jimmy Butler (knee) and Kyle Lowry (hamstring) ruled out for Game 5 of the Heat's first-round series vs. the Atlanta Hawks, Oladipo slid into the starting lineup. He finished that contest with 23 points (8 of 16 from the field, 4 of 4 on free throws), 3 assists, 3 steals, and 3 triples in 36 minutes. Needless to say, 'Dipo has been a part of the Miami rotation since. In Game 2 of Miami's second-round matchup vs. the Philadelphia 76ers, he tallied 19 points, 6 rebounds and 3 triples. He also chipped in 15 points off the bench in Game 4.&nbsp;
Oladipo will undoubtedly have plenty of interest on the free-agent market this summer.
Al Horford, Boston Celtics
Al Horford's 2022-23 salary is only partially guaranteed. And when the Celtics initially acquired Horford last summer in a trade with the Oklahoma City Thunder, some pundits speculated that Boston might look to get out from under the $26.5 million owed to Big Al next season.&nbsp;
But with as well as he has played this postseason, that will no longer be a consideration. Horford has been a godsend for Boston, averaging 15.9 points, 9.4 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 1.1 blocks per contest through the Celtics' first eight playoff games. In Game 3 vs. Milwaukee on Saturday, Horford became the first player in Boston's franchise history with at least 20 points, 15 rebounds, 5 assists and 4 made three-pointers in a single playoff game. Then, in Monday's Game 4 victory, he exploded for 30 points, 8 rebounds, 5 triples and 3 assists.
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Stock Down
Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert, Utah Jazz
Rumors of a <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/expect-the-knicks-to-make-a-real-run-at-donovan-mitchell-this-summer" target="_blank" rel="noopener">rocky relationship between Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert have been swirling for years</a>. Unfortunately for Utah, it appears the team will be forced to trade one of its two best players at a time when their respective values have depreciated.
The two pillars of the Jazz franchise played relatively well during the regular season, but the rumblings of toxicity in Utah grew louder as the year dragged on. Mitchell not sharing the ball with Gobert has become a topic of conversation in early April. Shortly thereafter, Gobert called out his teammates for not wanting to play physically and "<a href="https://www.sltrib.com/sports/jazz/2022/03/30/triple-team-jazz-lost/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">get our hands dirty</a>." When asked about the perceived finger-pointing, Mitchell characterized it as "<a href="https://www.sltrib.com/sports/jazz/2022/04/01/utah-jazz-vow-not-fall/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">childish</a>."&nbsp;
Utah backed into the playoffs after losing five straight games in late March, but was hoping to take advantage of a Mavericks team playing without its best player, Doncic, who was sidelined by a calf injury for the first two contests. However, the Jazz lost Game 2 and lost the series in six games.
Over the six-game series vs. Dallas, Mitchell averaged over 22 field-goal attempts per contest, but shot just 39.8% from the floor and 20.8% from downtown. He became the first player in league history to attempt more than 20 field goals but shoot below 40% from the field and under 21% from three-point territory over a postseason run. And Mitchell's poor defense was arguably more problematic than his offense. Utah allowed over 115 points per 100 possessions vs. Dallas with Mitchell on the court. That number dropped to 104.5 with Mitchell on the bench.
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Here&rsquo;s video of Rudy Gobert talking about the defensive improvements he&rsquo;s seen from Devin Booker on January 14th&hellip; As well as the Donovan Mitchell responses to 2 separate questions a day later: <a href="https://t.co/irKTufQJ1L">pic.twitter.com/irKTufQJ1L</a>
&mdash; Tomer Azarly (@TomerAzarly) <a href="https://twitter.com/TomerAzarly/status/1520538333482749952?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 30, 2022</a></blockquote>

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Gobert averaged just 12.0 points per game on 5.5 attempts per game (a career-low in his six postseason appearances) and blocked a total of 6 shots in the six-game series. It was the first time in his career he averaged more turnovers than blocks and steals combined. The Mavs often attempted to take advantage of Gobert's difficulty covering the perimeter by going small and spreading the floor.&nbsp;
Dating back to the 2021 postseason (when they dropped four straight to a shorthanded Clippers team that lost Kawhi Leonard to an ACL tear), the Jazz have lost 8 of their last 10 playoff games. With Gobert, Mitchell, Mike Conley, Bojan Bogdanovic, Jordan Clarkson and Royce O'Neale locked into contracts that will pay them north of $133 million in guaranteed money next season, Utah won't be able to make any significant upgrades via free agency.&nbsp;
Last week, <a href="https://www.si.com/nba/jazz/news/rudy-gobert-him-or-me-ultimatum-donovan-mitchell">it was reported</a> that Gobert had reached a "him or me" point with Mitchell and would demand one of the two be traded this summer. It's difficult to envision the Jazz entering the 2022-23 season with both <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/examining-potential-trade-destinations-for-rudy-gobert" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Gobert</a> and <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/examining-potential-trade-desinations-for-donovan-mitchell-2022" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Mitchell</a> on the roster.
Duncan Robinson, Miami Heat
As noted above, Oladipo has stepped in and stepped up for the Heat over the past two weeks. On the flip side of the coin, we have Duncan Robinson, who has gone from a crucial contributor to a non-factor.&nbsp;
Robinson started all 72 games for Miami in 2020-21, averaging 13.1 points and 3.5 rebounds while shooting 40.8% from beyond the arc (on 8.5 three-point attempts per game). The Heat rewarded him with a five-year contract worth $90 million. However, Robinson regressed during the 2021-22 regular season, as his production and percentages dipped. After starting 68 of the team's first 72 games, he was bumped to the bench in late March. Following a solid outing in Game 1 vs. Atlanta, coach Erik Spoelstra clearly didn't feel comfortable trusting his sharpshooter. Robinson averaged just 2.3 points in 10.7 minutes per contest in the final four games of the first round.&nbsp;
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Remarkably, Robinson has logged a total of just 55 seconds thus far in Round 2, and has been a DNP-CD in 3 of the 4 contests. This is obviously not what Pat Riley and company had in mind when they ponied up $90 million less than nine months ago.
With $74.5 million still owed to Robinson over the next four years, will Miami look to dump his contract this summer already?&nbsp;
Kyrie Irving, Brooklyn Nets
<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/why-the-nets-should-part-ways-with-kyrie-irving" target="_blank" rel="noopener">As I detailed in this space last month</a>, the Nets are on the precipice of a difficult decision.&nbsp;
Kyrie Irving has a player option worth $35,328,700 for the 2022-23 campaign. If he declines his option, he would be eligible to sign a new five-year deal with Brooklyn worth up to $248 million. While Kyrie is still capable of playing at an incredibly high level, the Nets have to decide how much he's worth considering his injury history (since signing with Brooklyn in 2019, Irving has appeared in just 103 of 216 regular-season games) and the off-court drama he brings to the table.&nbsp;
In the three years since Brooklyn added Kevin Durant and Kyrie, the Nets have won just one playoff series. This past season, Nets owner Joe Tsai spent $266 million in salary and luxury tax payments, the second-highest amount in league history. The Nets don't have a single playoff victory to show for it.
And over the team's final three games in the first round, Irving averaged just 15.3 points while shooting a putrid 37.2% from the floor and a frigid 18.2% from downtown.
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Whose stock in the NBA Playoffs has soared before this offseason? Whose has plummeted? Tommy Beer dives in.

Stock Up, Stock Down: NBA Playoffs edition

The Phoenix Suns and Miami Heat are top seeds in the NBA playoffs and at the moment they look like it, coming off impressive performances.
Both have a chance to take 2-0 leads in their respective series on Wednesday <a href="https://sportsbook.fanduel.com/navigation/nba">and are strong favorites to get it done, according to FanDuel Sportsbook.</a>
In the Western Conference, the Suns have a 10-game winning streak against the Dallas Mavericks, counting regular season games, going into Game 2. Deandre Ayton scored 25 points, Devin Booker added 23 and Chris Paul had 19 in Game 1 in a balanced and mostly dominant performance.
The Suns were up 21 points in the fourth quarter before a Mavs rally made it a two-possession game in the final minutes. Phoenix <a href="https://apnews.com/article/dallas-mavericks-phoenix-suns-nba-sports-maxi-kleber-4da1f56c9b8ddb62fb07a60697831597">held on for a 121-114 win</a> and said the game taught them a valuable lesson.
&ldquo;Just break the dang gas pedal, that&rsquo;s it, just break it,&rdquo; Ayton said, referring to whether Phoenix lost its focus with the big lead.
As for the Mavericks, they need someone to help Luka Doncic, who scored 45 points, had 12 rebounds and eight assists in Game 1. Coach Jason Kidd said others need "to join the party&rdquo; if Dallas is going to make this a competitive series.
&ldquo;We have been here before,&rdquo; Dallas forward Dorian Finney-Smith said. &ldquo;Don&rsquo;t overreact. We have to go back to the drawing board. We know how they are playing us now so we have to make our adjustment.&rdquo;
In the Eastern Conference, the 76ers used plenty of lineups against the Heat in Game 1, and will continue to seek the right mix without league scoring champion and NBA MVP finalist Joel Embiid -- who will miss Game 2 with an orbital fracture and concussion.
<a href="https://apnews.com/article/philadelphia-76ers-miami-heat-nba-sports-tyler-herro-91af7f05d5d2475750a2bfe3d4654ac8">Miami won Game 1 106-92</a>.
Going small worked at times for Philadelphia. When Miami figured out the counter, the game got away from the 76ers. But there were some elements that worked.
&ldquo;The biggest adjustment for us is taking care of the darn ball,&rdquo; Philadelphia coach Doc Rivers said Tuesday. &ldquo;That&rsquo;s being organized, being in the right spots, running your offense correctly. ... To get in the game and let that pressure take us out of that, it&rsquo;s not disheartening but really troubling.&rdquo;
And a Game 1 loss certainly didn&rsquo;t hurt Philadelphia&rsquo;s confidence. Backup center Paul Reed made that clear after the game.
&ldquo;Honestly, I think we can definitely beat this team,&rdquo; Reed said. &ldquo;I think we go out there, be more physical than them and play more aggressive and keep them on their heels, they&rsquo;re going to fold.&rdquo;
76ERS AT HEAT
Miami leads 1-0. Game 2, 7:30 p.m. EDT, TNT.
&mdash; NEED TO KNOW: Miami&rsquo;s Bam Adebayo was 8 for 10 from the floor in Game 1, Tyler Herro got his shooting stroke back and the Heat won without a big night from Jimmy Butler (15 points). But the 76ers found things that they liked; zone defense worked to a certain extent, though exposed Philadelphia a bit on the offensive glass. Tobias Harris -- who was great against the Heat in the regular season -- had a game-high 27 points. &ldquo;He killed us. We didn&rsquo;t handle him well,&rdquo; Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said.
&mdash; KEEP AN EYE ON: Philadelphia G James Harden. Only four shots and four points in the second half (granted, he didn&rsquo;t play much of the fourth quarter) isn&rsquo;t enough right now for a 76ers team without Joel Embiid. Harden doesn&rsquo;t have to take 35 shots, but he and the 76ers need to find ways for him to try and score more.
&mdash; INJURY WATCH: Embiid (orbital fracture, concussion) remains out, though has taken the first steps toward escaping the concussion protocols. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s feeling a lot better. I don&rsquo;t want to give false hope, either, so I&rsquo;ll just stop there,&rdquo; Rivers said. Miami PG Kyle Lowry (hamstring) has not played since Game 3 of the first-round series against Atlanta and will not play Wednesday. Butler had an excused absence on Tuesday, but is no longer on the Heat injury report.
&mdash; PRESSURE IS ON: Miami. All the Heat have done is win a home game. If Philadelphia steals Game 2, it gets the home-court advantage for the series. That, combined with the possibility of Embiid returning at some point, would be a huge boost to the 76ers.
MAVERICKS AT SUNS
Phoenix leads 1-0. Game 2, 10 p.m. EDT, TNT.
&mdash; NEED TO KNOW: The Suns were dominant for most of Game 1, looking much more like the team that led the NBA with 64 regular season wins. Deandre Ayton scored 25 points, Devin Booker had 23 and Chris Paul added 19. The Mavs hope they can take some confidence from a late-game run that made the score fairly close in the final few possessions. Mavs guard Luka Doncic was phenomenal with 45 points but needs help for the Dallas to get a road win.
&mdash; KEEP AN EYE ON: Dallas G Jalen Brunson. Arguably the biggest reason the Mavs are still playing in this postseason is Brunson, who was had some big games when Doncic missed the first three contests of the Jazz series with a strained calf. Brunson struggled in Game 1, scoring just 13 points on 6 of 16 shooting. He'll need to be play better.
&mdash; INJURY WATCH: Dallas forward Maxi Kleber took a hard fall in the fourth quarter, landing on his upper back and neck after finishing a dunk. He stayed in the game to take his free throw but looked shaken. Kleber was a signficant contributor in Game 1, scoring 19 points and making five 3-pointers. Suns guard Devin Booker appeared to be at full strength in his second game back from a strained right hamstring, but he'll still be closely monitored.
&mdash; PRESSURE IS ON: Dallas. The Mavericks have lost 10 straight games against the Suns, counting regular season games. Doncic &mdash; as usual &mdash; has been fabulous but if the Mavs can't find him some help this could be a short series.
___
AP Basketball Writer Tim Reynolds in Miami contributed to this report.

Both the Heat and the Suns have a chance to take 2-0 leads in their respective series on Wednesday.

Top-seeded Suns, Heat playing like the favorites in playoffs

This is why playoff depth matters.
We have a generally simplistic view of what makes a champion. In the NBA, people think that you need multiple stars, with one superstar as the head of the snake, in order to get into the dance. But in the annals of league history, champions haven&rsquo;t only been littered by the Michael Jordans or LeBron James&rsquo; of the world, because even they needed awesome role players and deep rosters to accompany them.
Hell, the 72-win Chicago Bulls in 1995-96 had a 1-through-7 (in terms of minutes per game in the playoffs) of Jordan, Scottie Pippen, Dennis Rodman, Luc Longley, Toni Kukoč, Ron Harper and Steve Kerr &mdash; all of whom logged at least 20 minutes per game in the postseason.
Think about this: We just saw the Brooklyn Nets &mdash; among the <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/the-202122-nets-are-arguably-the-most-disappointing-team-in-nba-history-" target="_blank" rel="noopener">betting favorites to win the title all-season long</a> &mdash; get <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-offseason-preview-2022-whats-next-for-the-brooklyn-nets" target="_blank" rel="noopener">swept in the first round</a> after playing themselves to the No. 7 seed in the Eastern Conference, despite being led by a 1-2 punch of Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving.
Why were the Nets favorites all season long? Starrrrr powerrrrr.
Why did they fall flat? A combination of things: A lack of team chemistry, lack of depth, lack of culture, lack of defense, lack of size, lack of versatility and lack of great coaching. Many thought we were just supposed to overlook that because Brooklyn was top-heavy. Granted, the Boston Celtics could end up winning the East, but honestly, the Nets were never who many (of y&rsquo;all) thought they were.
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So why does depth matter in the postseason as rotations shorten? Because rotations don&rsquo;t need to shorten if you have enough depth to carry you along.
Miami Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra <a href="https://youtu.be/qGXIQBcZdM8" target="_blank" rel="noopener">noted this</a> following the team's 97-94 win over the Atlanta Hawks in Game 5, ending the series 4-1 and outscoring Atlanta by 60 points overall across those five games.
&ldquo;Everybody that played had their fingerprints on this,&rdquo; Spoelstra <a href="https://youtu.be/qGXIQBcZdM8" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a>. &ldquo;We clearly had some adversity in this game not having Kyle [Lowry] or Jimmy [Butler], and our group doesn&rsquo;t even blink. It&rsquo;s not even something we have to address. We just pivot, put in the game plan, and everybody just gets ready, tapes their ankles and gets out there and competes.&rdquo;
In the Heat's case, Lowry was out with a hamstring injury, and Butler didn&rsquo;t play in Game 5 on Tuesday night because of right knee inflammation. So who started? Victor Oladipo, who didn&rsquo;t play in Games 1-3 and primarily played in Game 4 because the offense had trouble getting going without Lowry. Vic started in place of Butler &mdash; alongside Gabe Vincent, Max Strus, PJ Tucker and Bam Adebayo &mdash; to close out the Hawks in a gentleman&rsquo;s sweep.
&ldquo;A year ago today, I was waiting for my next surgery,&rdquo; <a href="https://twitter.com/bytimreynolds/status/1519147785546784769?s=21&amp;t=_ZTSKfrbgGYEt-IpNWqubg">stated Oladipo</a>, who poured in 23 points, scoring at least 20 in the postseason for the first time since Aug. 24, 2020. &ldquo;I was sitting in a dark room by myself and just broke down, not because I quit, but because I was at the lowest point I could be at. Now, God has put me in this position today. I made the most of it.&rdquo;
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"I've overcome a lot, so whatever happens next, I'll be ready for it." Victor Oladipo speaks about his special night in the Heat' game-clinching win. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/HEATCulture?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#HEATCulture</a> | <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/WhiteHot?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#WhiteHot</a> ⚪🔥 <a href="https://t.co/e5Df9caL1s">pic.twitter.com/e5Df9caL1s</a>
&mdash; Bally Sports Sun: HEAT (@BallyHEAT) <a href="https://twitter.com/BallyHEAT/status/1519153057724088322?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 27, 2022</a></blockquote>

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Only Butler and Adebayo are averaging over 30 minutes per game this postseason for the Heat, and now 11 guys have seen real rotation minutes across multiple games.
And no other team has someone who can come in out of nowhere, start and do what Oladipo did Tuesday night: 23 points, 3 assists and 3 steals on 6 of 12 shooting (3 of 6 from three) and 4 of 4 on free throws to go along with a 121 Offensive Rating, 9.2 Box Plus-Minus and preventive defense.
Oladipo, <a href="https://www.nba.com/stats/players/advanced/?sort=NET_RATING&amp;dir=-1">per NBA.com&rsquo;s advanced stats</a>, has put together a plus-29.7 Net Rating in the two playoff games he&rsquo;s logged minutes in.
&ldquo;Again, I&rsquo;m still improving,&rdquo; <a href="https://twitter.com/tropicalblanket/status/1519148825931403265" target="_blank" rel="noopener">he said</a>. &ldquo;I haven&rsquo;t played enough basketball to be super comfortable yet but I&rsquo;m getting there... I have no doubt I can surpass that level I was at. Even better days than that to come. This is part of the journey of getting there.&rdquo;
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Specifically on his progress, Spoelstra spoke of his adulation for Oladipo.
&ldquo;I really admire him, I do," Spoelstra said. "For this journey, really, for the last three seasons, where he&rsquo;s been dealing with injuries and frustration, and then really working to make himself available for us without a guarantee to play. And then just giving to the team. That&rsquo;s why everybody roots for him, and he always comes in with a smile on his face, and lifts people up, and that&rsquo;s even when he was going through DNP&rsquo;s. But he worked, he prepared, and it&rsquo;s true, crazy things happen, and there&rsquo;s a karma to it.
"If you do the right things and stay patient, it might not be on your terms or your timeline, but then, when your opportunity is there, you&rsquo;re able to take advantage of it, and then you have everybody enjoying his success.&rdquo;
And, to those who bought into that Sk*p B*yless &ldquo;report&rdquo; about friction between Butler and Oladipo, Vic <a href="https://twitter.com/BradyHawk305/status/1519148969108152327" target="_blank" rel="noopener">acknowledged that</a>: &ldquo;Jimmy helped me tremendously in the fourth quarter.&rdquo;
Oladipo, <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/victor-oladipo-is-coming-heres-how-he-could-help-raise-miamis-ceiling" target="_blank" rel="noopener">as was written two months ago</a>, raises this team&rsquo;s ceiling. If Duncan Robinson isn&rsquo;t hitting threes, Oladipo can create dribble penetration for others to get open looks. If Caleb Martin is making too many defensive mistakes, Oladipo&rsquo;s there to be another versatile stopper who can keep up at the point of attack. And if the overall offense lacks a scoring punch, Oladipo&rsquo;s there to provide another threat &mdash; one who specializes in nothing, but can be effective in everything.
The Lowry-Oladipo-Butler-Tucker-Adebayo &ldquo;death&rdquo; lineup is coming at some point, and if Tyler Herro doesn&rsquo;t get it going soon, it&rsquo;s one that may finish playoff games more often than we think, assuming Oladipo has earned consistent minutes going forward.
I would never tell Spo how to coach, but in the right spots, more Oladipo the rest of this run seems helpful for a team with title aspirations.
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Bryan Fonseca writes on the importance of depth in the postseason and how Victor Oladipo's big Game 5 was a perfect example of it.

Victor Oladipo has re-entered the chat in Miami

Victor Oladipo scored 23 points, Bam Adebayo added 20 points and 11 rebounds, and the Miami Heat moved into the Eastern Conference semifinals by beating the Atlanta Hawks 97-94 on Tuesday night.
Tyler Herro scored 16, Max Strus scored 15 and Caleb Martin added 10 for the top-seeded Heat, who ousted the eighth-seeded Hawks in five games. And Miami got the series-clincher without Jimmy Butler and Kyle Lowry, both of whom sat out Tuesday with injuries.
Trae Young's rough series for Atlanta remained that way: He finished 2 for 12 from the floor, scoring just 11 points. For the series, the Hawks' guard shot 32% against Miami's swarming defense.
De'Andre Hunter scored 35 for Atlanta, which got 12 apiece from Kevin Huerter and Danilo Gallinari.
Hunter fouled out with 41.6 seconds left, Miami clinging to a three-point lead at the time. The Hawks got a stop, taking over with 29.2 seconds remaining, and retained possession after a missed shot from Gallinari went out of bounds off Miami.
The Hawks never got another shot off, time expired and Miami moved on.
Onyeka Okongwu's three-point play got Atlanta within 79-76 early in the fourth, the Hawks clawing back after being down by as many as 15.
But Herro hit a high-arcing jumper from the lane, Miami got a stop, and Oladipo hit a left-wing 3 on the next Heat possession to push the lead back to eight with 7:29 remaining.
That's how the final minutes went: Atlanta made a charge, Miami would hold it off, all the way to the end.
And now, the Heat get nearly a week off before facing either Philadelphia or Toronto in the East semis. Game 1 will be Monday in Miami.
The Heat already knew they&rsquo;d be without Lowry, who missed his second consecutive game with a strained left hamstring. The surprise was Butler, who reported knee soreness to the team on Monday and didn&rsquo;t see enough improvement to play on Tuesday.
It was the fourth time the Heat had to play without both Butler and Lowry this season, after going 1-2 in that scenario during the regular season &mdash; one of those losses being the finale in Orlando where Miami sat most of its rotation players.
And Butler and Lowry spent the final few minutes of the first half particularly enjoying what was happening.
A 17-0 Miami run &mdash; including 10 in a row from Strus in a span of 67 seconds &mdash; turned a three-point deficit into a 54-40 lead late in the second quarter. Miami pushed the lead out to 67-52 on a score by Adebayo with 2:55 left in the third, and the lead was 75-64 going into the fourth.
Atlanta had one last charge to make, getting within two in the final moments &mdash; but no closer.
TIP-INS
Hawks: Clint Capela, who missed the first three games of the series with a right knee injury, left in the third quarter of Game 5 because of continued knee issues. ... Atlanta was without Bogdan Bogdanovic (right knee soreness). ... Atlanta coach Nate McMillan is now 1-8 in postseason games against Miami&rsquo;s Erik Spoelstra. The Heat swept McMillan&rsquo;s Indiana Pacers in Round 1 at the bubble in 2020. ... The Hawks went 2-7 against the Heat this season.
Heat: Michigan coach Juwan Howard, the former Miami player and assistant, was in attendance. ... It marked the first time Butler had ever been declared inactive for a playoff game. ... Miami missed its first eight 3-point tries before Oladipo connected midway through the second quarter. ... Martin left just before halftime with an injury around his left hand or wrist, but returned for the second half.
STREAKING
Before this series, Miami had one run of more than 16 consecutive points in its playoff history. It now has three. The Heat had a 21-0 run in Game 3 at Atlanta, and the 17-0 run on Tuesday was the third-largest in team playoff history. Miami had a 19-0 run against New York in 2012, and has had 16-0 runs on four other occasions.
ODD TECH
Miami's Markieff Morris didn't play, and got a technical foul anyway. Morris was called for an unsportsmanlike play after he grabbed onto Hunter after the Hawks' forward stepped into the Miami bench area in the third quarter.
FIRST WIN
Miami beat Atlanta in a series for the first time in three tries. The Hawks had won two previous first-round series that both went to the limit, prevailing 3-2 in 1994 and 4-3 in 2009.
UP NEXT
Miami will play host to Game 1 of the Eastern Conference semifinals against Philadelphia or Toronto on Monday.

Victor Oladipo scored 23 points, Bam Adebayo added 20 points and 11 rebounds and the Heat advanced to the second round.

Heat hold off Hawks 97-94, reach Eastern semifinals

At around 6:00 pm on Sunday, June 30, 2019, word began to spread that free agents Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving had decided to team up and join forces in Brooklyn. It was hailed as one of the most important and impactful days in the history of the Nets as a franchise.
Despite the fact that KD was recovering from an Achilles tear, expectations in Brooklyn were sky-high. Euphoric Nets fans were incredibly optimistic, dreaming of the imminent success this dynamic duo would enjoy.&nbsp;
Yet, with both KD and Kyrie sidelined by injury during the 2020 postseason, Brooklyn was swept out of the playoffs by the Toronto Raptors that first year.
Nevertheless, expectations ratcheted up even further once Nets fans watched Durant return fully healthy in 2020-21. And that optimism reached a fever pitch when the team added a third future Hall-of-Famer, James Harden, in mid-January 2021.
However, Kyrie injured his ankle in Game 4 of the Nets' second-round series vs. the Milwaukee Bucks last postseason, and Harden was nursing a hamstring injury that prevented him from playing at full strength. KD put the team on his back and played brilliantly, but the Nets eventually lost Game 7 at home to Giannis Antetokounmpo and the eventual NBA champions.
Still, the team and its fan base were incredibly hopeful heading into the 2021-22 campaign. And for good reason, as KD, Kyrie and Harden were all healthy. Brooklynites were convinced this would be the year their team would advance to the Finals and capture the Larry O'Brien trophy, and sportsbooks in Las Vegas agreed with them, installing the Nets as the heavy preseason favorite to win the NBA title.
Things got off to a rocky start.
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Irving decided to reject the advice of medical experts and refused to get vaccinated against COVID-19. As a result, due to New York City vaccine mandates, Irving could not play in home games. Consequently, in early October, Nets general manager Sean Marks and team owner Joe Tsai informed Irving that he couldn't rejoin the team &mdash; for games or practices &mdash; until he was vaccinated.
"He has a choice to make, and he made his choice," Marks stated. "My job here is to make what we deem as the best choices for the organization moving ahead as a whole... We're looking at putting a group of people that are going to be able to participate fully. That's what this comes down to, and we're not looking for partners that are going to be half-time."&nbsp;
In November, Tsai told the New York Post: "Kyrie talks about it as a sort of personal choice issue, which I respect. But we all need to not forget our goal. A championship team needs to have everybody pulling the same direction."
Even without Irving, the Nets got off to a strong start, winning 21 of their first 29 games. Durant was playing at an MVP level over the first two months of the season, averaging 29.7 points (on 52% shooting), 7.9 rebounds and 5.9 rebounds. Brooklyn had the best record in the Eastern Conference through the first 30 games of the 2021-22 campaign.&nbsp;
However, in mid-December, a COVID outbreak decimated the Nets' depth. Durant, Harden De'Andre Bembry, Bruce Brown, Jevon Carter, LaMarcus Aldridge, James Johnson and Paul Millsap were all placed in health and safety protocols. Unnerved, the Nets front office relented and decided to welcome Irving back to the team.
With KD, Kyrie and Harden reunited, NBA pundits and oddsmakers once again predicted Brooklyn's immense collection of talent would carry them to a title.&nbsp;
However, the Nets' Big Three never seemed to get on the same page. In a Jan. 15 victory over the New Orleans Pelicans, Durant sprained the MCL in his left knee. The injury would sideline KD for six weeks. By late January, rumors began to surface that Harden was fed up with the circus-like atmosphere and wanted out of Brooklyn.&nbsp;
On Feb. 2, Brooklyn was beaten badly by the lowly Sacramento Kings, and Harden's effort (or lack thereof) was appalling. In what would be his final appearance in a Nets uniform, The Beard finished with 4 points on 2 of 12 shooting.&nbsp;
<img style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" src="https://cdn.basketballnews.com/images/story/body/usatsi_17609098_lg.jpg" alt="" width="566" height="378" />
On the day of the trade deadline, Brooklyn shipped Harden to the Sixers in exchange for Ben Simmons, Seth Curry, Andre Drummond and two first-round picks.
Following the blockbuster deal, the Nets remained the consensus favorites to win the 2022 NBA title. Caesars Sportsbook elected to keep the Nets' odds at 4-1 after the trade, ahead of the Golden State Warriors (9-2), Phoenix Suns (5-1) and Bucks (7-1).
In his introductory press conference with Brooklyn, Simmons said he was looking forward to returning to action.
"I feel physically pretty good," Simmons told reporters. "Mentally, I'm getting there, so it's an ongoing thing to stay on top of that. But I think I'm heading in the right direction."
As we now know, Simmons would not set foot on an NBA court all season. Drummond, who provided much-needed rebounding help for Brooklyn early on, was essentially unplayable by the time the playoffs arrived (he logged less than 4 minutes of action in the Nets' season-ending loss Monday night).
Once Durant returned from his knee injury, Brooklyn got back on track and went 6-1 over a seven-game span in mid-March. Kyrie hung 50 on the Hornets in Charlotte on March 8. KD poured in a season-high 53 points in Brooklyn's victory over the New York Knicks on March 13. Two nights later, Irving scored a franchise-record 60 points in a blowout win over the Orlando Magic.
According to the Elias Sports Bureau, Irving and Durant became the first pair of teammates in NBA history to score 50 points in consecutive games. KD and Kyrie are also just the second duo to record multiple 50-point games in a season, joining Jerry West and Elgin Baylor, who accomplished the feat for the 1961-62 Los Angeles Lakers.
Then, in late March, New York mayor Eric Adams altered the city's vaccine mandate, clearing the way for Irving to play in home games. Adams, who initially stated that "it would send the wrong message" to give Irving an exemption when the city's other employees were still subject to the same mandate, said the revised decision was "about putting New York city-based performers on a level playing field."
Thus, the Nets would enter the postseason with their two top guns available (and Irving fresh/well-rested after being a part-time player for most of the season).
Yet, as it turned out, the disjointed Nets were no match for a unified Celtics team that had spent the past three months building its chemistry on both ends of the court.
Boston swept Brooklyn out of the playoffs, effectively locking up both Kyrie and KD.
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Durant played well in Game 4, but disappeared in Game 3 on Saturday night. KD was shockingly passive the entire evening, finishing the must-win contest with just 16 points on 6 of 11 shooting; his lack of aggression and intensity was stunning. In that contest, the most important game of the Nets season, Durant &mdash; a four-time scoring champion and two-time Finals MVP &mdash; finished with 10 fewer points and 8 fewer field-goal attempts than Brown.&nbsp;
Incredibly, over Game 2 and Game 3 combined, Brown scored more points (49) and grabbed more rebounds (16) than both Durant (43 points/12 boards) and Irving (26 points/12 boards).
Irving closed out his season averaging 15.3 points while shooting just 37.2% from the floor and 18.2% from three-point territory over the final three games of the series.
Being swept out of the playoffs in the first round would have been considered almost unimaginable at the start of the season, or really at any point over the past 12 months, assuming KD and Kyrie were both healthy.&nbsp;
In fact, SportsBetting.ag confirmed to BasketballNews.com that the Nets are the first NBA team ever to enter a season as the favorite to win a title, yet fail to win a single playoff game.&nbsp;
It's not hyperbole to suggest that the 2021-22 Brooklyn Nets will go down as arguably the most disappointing team in the history of the National Basketball Association.
That's not the all-time legacy Brooklynites were anticipating this squad would be remembered for. Dating back to the 2021 postseason, the Nets are 1-8 in their last last nine playoff games...
The unforgettable Sunday afternoon in June 2019, when Durant and Irving revealed they were teaming up, was 1,030 days ago.
Imagine telling enthusiastic Nets fans back then that KD, Kyrie and company would win only one playoff series (and a grand total of seven playoff games) over the subsequent three seasons.&nbsp;
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Tommy Beer reviews the Nets' latest playoff shortcoming and how they haven't gotten it done since Kyrie Irving and KD joined forces.

The 2021-22 Nets: Arguably the most disappointing team in NBA history

Jalen Brunson scored 31 points playing with a bruised back and the Dallas Mavericks &mdash; without the injured Luka Doncic &mdash; beat the Utah Jazz 126-118 on Thursday night to take a 2-1 lead in the first-round playoff series.
Spencer Dinwiddie scored 10 of his 20 points in the fourth quarter for Dallas, Maxi Kleber had 17 points and Dorian Finney-Smith added 14 points, hitting a 3-pointer with 1:56 left for a 10-point lead.
Doncic has missed all three of the games in the series with a strained calf, with signs pointing to his return for Game 4 on Saturday in Salt Lake City.
Donovan Mitchell scored 28 of his 32 points in the second half for Utah. Bojan Bogdanovic added 24 and Mike Conley had 21. The Jazz had won 11 in a row at home against Dallas.
Conley got the Jazz to 103-102, but Dinwiddie made two baskets and Brunson scored six points on three straight possessions to make it 113-104.
Brunson appeared to hurt his back midway through the second quarter when Royce O&rsquo;Neale hit him full-speed from behind. He moved gingerly, rubbed his lower back and earned a technical on his way off the court complaining about a cheap shot.
But he shook it off and toyed with Jazz on a variety of drives to the baskets against several different defenders. Brunson now has 96 points in the three games of the series.
Once the Jazz finally matched the Mavericks and played without a center, the court opened up for Utah. Mitchell (18) and Bogdanovic (12) scored at will in the third quarter against a leaky Dallas zone. The Jazz made 14 of 18 shots and trimmed the lead to 97-91 entering the final period. The game was physical and chippy at times, featuring 60 fouls.
TIP-INS
Mavericks: After going 8 for 11 from 3-point range in Game 2, Kleber made three straight in his first two minutes on the court. &hellip; Tim Hardaway Jr. (foot surgery) is probably out for the playoffs unless Dallas makes a deep run.
Jazz: Olympic gold medalist skier Lindsey Vonn and boxer Floyd Mayweather sat courtside. &hellip; Clarkson made a three-quarter-court shot but it came just after the first-quarter horn. &hellip; Eric Paschall only played 10 minutes (at center) but scored six points and Utah outscored Dallas by nine points during that time.

Jalen Brunson scored 31 points playing with a bruised back and the Mavericks beat the Jazz 126-118 to take a 2-1 lead.

Brunson, Mavericks beat Jazz 126-118 to take 2-1 series lead

MIAMI (AP) &mdash; Duncan Robinson couldn't miss shots. Trae Young couldn't make shots.
In simplest terms, that's how Game 1 went for Miami and Atlanta.
Robinson came off the bench to set a franchise playoff record with eight 3-pointers, and the top-seeded Heat forced Young into matching the worst-shooting game of his career on the way to a 115-91 win over the eighth-seeded Hawks in the opener of an Eastern Conference first-round series Sunday.
&ldquo;It's always nice to throw the first punch," Robinson said. &ldquo;But in the grand scheme of things, it's just winning one game."
Robinson scored 27 points on 9-of-10 shooting for the Heat, 8 of 9 from 3-point range. Jimmy Butler scored 21, P.J. Tucker added 16 and Kyle Lowry had 10.
But this wasn't about offense for Miami. It was about defense, so much so that even Heat coach Erik Spoelstra &mdash; a former point guard himself &mdash; spent some possessions in a defensive stance, clapping his hands and imploring his team to dig a little bit deeper on that end of the floor.
&ldquo;You have to be on edge," Spoelstra said.
The edge, for Miami, was razor sharp. Young went 1 for 12, matching his effort against Chicago on Jan. 23, 2019.
&ldquo;You've got to give them credit," Young said. &ldquo;They came out aggressive."
Danilo Gallinari led Atlanta with 17 points. De'Andre Hunter scored 14 for the Hawks and John Collins added 10.
Game 2 is Tuesday.
&ldquo;I thought Miami played at another level," Hawks coach Nate McMillan said. &ldquo;We talked about that in our locker room, that in the playoffs, there's another level you have to get to. ... They showed us tonight there's another level we have to get to in order to compete in these playoffs."
Robinson broke the record of seven 3s that he previously shared with Damon Jones and Mike Miller.
He sizzled. The Hawks fizzled.
Young &mdash; who saw everything from traps to full-court pressure &mdash; was 0 for 7 from 3-point range and finished with just eight points, a season-low. Bogdan Bogdanovic missed all eight of his shots, and the Hawks never led outside of a brief edge in the opening minutes.
Butler revealed the Heat game plan when it comes to defending Young: &ldquo;Just make it physical on him, challenge every shot, keep him off the free throw line and make him pass," he said.
It worked.
&ldquo;I'm very confident we're going to turn this around," Young said.
Atlanta went 3-0 in Game 1s last year, all three of those wins on the road, coming by two, four and three points, respectively.
That was then.
This was one-sided by halftime. The Heat set the tone by forcing Atlanta into a 1-for-11 start from the field &mdash; free throws were the only thing keeping the game close for much of the first half &mdash; and Miami took a 59-40 lead into the break.
A 3-pointer from Kevin Huerter early in the second got Atlanta within 26-20. A 15-6 Heat run, capped by a 3-pointer from Lowry, pushed the lead out to 41-26, and another 3 from Lowry later in the quarter made it 53-34.
Gallinari made a 3-pointer to open the second half, getting the Hawks within 16. And that was as close as the Hawks got. Miami controlled the rest of the third, turning things into a complete runaway.
It was 86-60 after three, the Hawks managing only one more point through 36 minutes than Miami had through 24, and the outcome was decided. A four-point play from Robinson with 8:54 left was probably the official end to all Atlanta hope, as Miami fans waved their white giveaway rally flags in earnest after the Heat won a home playoff game &mdash; excluding the bubble run in 2020, which obviously wasn't at home &mdash; for the first time since 2016.
&ldquo;I came here for this." Tucker said.
TIP-INS
Hawks: The 19-point halftime deficit was Atlanta&rsquo;s second-largest of the season. Atlanta trailed Chicago by 21 at the break on Dec. 29. ... Atlanta was playing less than 36 hours after arriving in Miami following its play-in victory at Cleveland on Friday. The Hawks got settled in Miami around 3 a.m. Saturday, and Sunday had a 1 p.m. start.
Heat: Butler &mdash; one of the best free-throw shooters in the NBA &mdash; started 0 for 3 from the line, the first time he&rsquo;s done that in his first three Heat seasons. ... Tucker, Lowry and Max Strus all got their first Miami playoff starts. There have now been 69 players all-time to start a playoff game for the Heat.
ROBINSON'S DAY
Robinson's eight 3s were the second-most in NBA playoff history by a reserve. Jason Terry had nine for Dallas in a 2011 win over the Los Angeles Lakers. J.R. Smith had eight for Cleveland in a 2015 game, also against Atlanta.
GAME 1 HISTORY
Miami improved to 26-22 all-time in Game 1s, including 20-7 at home &mdash; and 12-2 at home when playing host to a Game 1 in Round 1. Atlanta fell to 37-41 all-time in Game 1s, a figure that includes a handful of one-game playoffs from the league&rsquo;s early days.
COLLINS PLAYS
Collins (foot, finger injuries) played for the first time in 19 games. He was 4 for 6 in 21 minutes, with the Hawks needing extra depth inside with Clint Capela out with a right knee injury.
UP NEXT
Game 2 is Tuesday in Miami.

Duncan Robinson and the Miami Heat made easy work of the Atlanta Hawks in Game 1 of their playoff matchup.

Robinson makes eight 3s, Heat top Hawks 115-91 in Game 1

Featuring four sure-fire Hall-of-Famers, the Los Angeles Lakers flamed out and ended up not living up to the expectations.
Unfortunately, the additions of Karl Malone and Gary Payton just weren&rsquo;t enough to get it done.
Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O&rsquo;Neal joined forces with the legends during the 2003-04 season, and sought to win a fourth title in five years, but the Lakers ultimately fell short against Larry Brown and his Detroit Pistons in what was one of the biggest NBA Finals upsets in history.
You know how they say history always repeats itself? It&rsquo;s true. So it should come as no surprise to recall that the ensuing offseason, the Lakers found themselves looking for a new head coach. The search led to Mike Krzyzewski&rsquo;s living room.
Coach K would famously turn down a five-year, $40 million offer from the Lakers, which would have amounted to an annual salary raise of about 700%.
After a lost season, the Lakers (and Kobe) would eventually patch things up with Phil Jackson, and Bryant would lead the Lakers to two more championships in 2009 and 2010.
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Unfortunately for Frank Vogel, that bit of history doesn&rsquo;t seem likely to repeat itself.
Now, in 2022, the Lakers find themselves on the lookout for a new head coach to lead their locker room. Let's take a look at five candidates who may fit the bill.
Juwan Howard
Before his February <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/ray-jackson-i-was-afraid-juwan-howard-was-going-to-be-fired" target="_blank" rel="noopener">confrontation with Wisconsin head coach Greg Gard</a>, Juwan Howard&rsquo;s name was mostly mentioned in the press for the right reasons.
Since taking over for the Michigan Wolverines in 2019, Howard helped the university maintain its status as one of the premier basketball programs in the country &mdash; his Wolverines have reached the Sweet Sixteen in 2019 and 2022, as well as the Elite Eight in 2021.
Although it would be difficult to pull Howard from his alma mater, especially when he&rsquo;s enjoyed success thus far, the Lakers head coach job wouldn&rsquo;t be an easy one for a toiling coach to turn down. Despite all the Lakers have been through, it remains a dream job for many in the profession. Aside from that, Howard&rsquo;s connections to both Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka and LeBron James is hard to ignore.
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Pelinka and Howard were teammates at Michigan for Howard&rsquo;s three seasons there, and although Howard and James' paths diverged, those two would eventually unite in Miami. They played three years together as teammates before Howard retired and immediately moved into an assistant coach role, the first of which coincided with LeBron&rsquo;s final season in Miami.
Howard spent the next five years alongside Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra before being tapped to assume the helm at Michigan.
Whoever the Lakers entrust with the tall task of getting them back on track, it would make sense that the candidate would need to have exhibited some level of success and also be able to earn the confidence of both Pelinka and James. It should also be noted that, in 2019, Howard was granted an interview for the Lakers&rsquo; head coach opening. The job, obviously, eventually went to Vogel.
Although Howard has been vocal in his love for his alma mater, he would appear to check the boxes. At a minimum, among the sea of potential candidates, he is one who should be watched closely.
Quin Snyder
Now in his eighth season with the Utah Jazz, Quin Snyder has overseen the organization's ascension after the departure of mainstay Jerry Sloan and three less-than-stellar years under Tyrone Corbin.
Although thanks in large part to the presence of Rudy Gobert, under Snyder&rsquo;s leadership, the Jazz have consistently ranked as one of the league&rsquo;s top-five defenses. His staff has also assisted the development and thriving of a number of young players who have found their way in the league.
As it stands, Utah is much closer to contention than the Lakers, but the Jazz themselves haven&rsquo;t exactly been trending upward. There has been consistent speculation as to whether Donovan Mitchell is destined to become the <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/expect-the-knicks-to-make-a-real-run-at-donovan-mitchell-this-summer" target="_blank" rel="noopener">next superstar who lands on the trading block</a>, and according to veteran scribe Marc Stein, Snyder and his representatives have rebuffed Utah&rsquo;s attempts to extend his current contract.
If Snyder did sense that &mdash; as often reported &mdash; the marriage between Mitchell and Gobert wasn&rsquo;t one that would continue for the long term, he could be proactive about a fresh start elsewhere.
During the 2011-12 season, Snyder served as an assistant coach in Los Angeles under Mike Brown. At a minimum, he&rsquo;s no stranger to the franchise.
Mark Jackson
To this day, there are many who wonder if the Golden State Warriors could have fulfilled their dynastic potential if Mark Jackson remained coach. That&rsquo;s probably why there&rsquo;s a fair amount of people still hoping that one of the greatest point guards in NBA history gets another shot to lead an NBA team. There is another faction, however, that believes the Warriors may have actually been held back by their former coach.
The truth is probably somewhere in the middle.
What can&rsquo;t be argued, however, is that in his three seasons in Golden State, Jackson led the Warriors to a 121-109 record and brought the team to consecutive postseason berths for the first time in over 20 years. He at least helped to lay the foundation of the team&rsquo;s championship trajectory.
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It&rsquo;s also worth noting that LeBron has long been an advocate for Jackson. That may have something to do with the fact that Jackson &mdash; like LeBron and Anthony Davis &mdash; is represented by Klutch Sports, or it could be that LeBron just believes that he can coach.
Back in 2014, James reportedly pushed for Jackson as a candidate before the Cavs opted for Tyronn Lue to replace David Blatt, and according to The Athletic&rsquo;s Sam Amick, James could make a similar appeal on Jackson&rsquo;s behalf this time around. If he did, it could be quite meaningful.
John Calipari
If the Lakers are looking to make a splash, John Calipari would seem to fit the bill.
It&rsquo;s been more than 20 years since Coach Cal was head coach of an NBA team, but for the past 13 years, he&rsquo;s served as head coach for the Kentucky Wildcats &mdash; arguably the bluest of the blue-blood collegiate basketball programs. He led the Wildcats to the National Championship in 2012, and in that season, managed to unlock the potential of a talented freshman in Davis.
In all, Coach Cal has coached his teams to six Final Four appearances and has previously been linked to NBA openings, including with the New York Knicks.
The difficulty with pursuing collegiate coaches at big-time programs is stature. At the collegiate level, coaches are kings of their programs, particularly those with national championships and a track record of helping young players get to the NBA. In that regard, Calipari&rsquo;s record is unmatched.
According to CoachCal.com, Calipari is the only coach to have coached four No. 1 overall selections (Derrick Rose, John Wall, Davis and Karl-Anthony Towns) and the only coach to have five first-round selections in the same NBA Draft (2010).
In 2012, he also became the first coach to have two of his players go first and second in the draft. That year, Davis and teammate Michael Kidd-Gilchrist took that honor.
Cal probably knows that he can coach for as long as he wants to at Kentucky, just like Krzyzewski. But a 2021 report from Yahoo Sports cited Cal&rsquo;s believed ambition and wanting to prove that he can succeed at the NBA level as the thing that could push him back to the NBA.
That, and, of course, the right opportunity.
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Nick Nurse
It&rsquo;s hard to argue with Nick Nurse&rsquo;s success, and it&rsquo;s easy to see why a team like the Lakers could be interested. Nurse has earned a reputation for unorthodox methods and game planning, but it&rsquo;s impossible to argue with the success he&rsquo;s enjoyed as the head coach of the Toronto Raptors.
One of the biggest challenges that the Lakers face is with respect to its roster construction. If Russell Westbrook is to remain with the team, the franchise will need a coach who is capable of thinking outside the box and implementing systems and rotations that can maximize pieces that may not necessarily be an obvious fit.
It could be argued that these have been the hallmarks of his tenure in Toronto. That and, of course, winning. That may end up being the biggest obstacle for the Lakers if Nurse truly is the team&rsquo;s choice.
As the head coach who finally got Toronto over the hump, Nurse is beloved by the franchise, and the Raptors certainly seems to have more going for them than the Lakers do right now. Not the least of which is organizational leadership, which has proven to be competent and capable of developing players who can achieve at the highest level.
Leaving the Raptors for the Lakers in that regard would be a leap of faith for Nurse. Hailing from Iowa, Nurse isn&rsquo;t a natural-born Canadian, but he is currently serving as the head coach of the Canadian Men&rsquo;s National Basketball Team.
While that role wouldn&rsquo;t prevent him from making a jump to Los Angeles, it at least suggests a commitment to something bigger than simply being a coach. In the end, it may be a lot for the Lakers to overcome, especially since the Raptors&rsquo; ownership group has demonstrated it has deep pockets.
Nonetheless, it is possible that Nurse could view an opportunity to coach the Lakers as the one he has spent his entire career working toward. Having led the Raptors to a championship &mdash; similarly to Kawhi Leonard &mdash; he could perhaps be enthused about a new challenge.
----
Unfortunately for the community, we&rsquo;ve seen head coaches in the NBA become increasingly disposable. Just two years after leading the Los Angeles Lakers to its 17th championship in franchise history, Vogel was fired, and rather unceremoniously, at that.
If the Lakers are to win an 18th championship, it will be under new leadership.
Maybe one of the aforementioned five could be the answer.
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Moke Hamilton takes a look at five candidates who could make sense as the Lakers' next head coach.

Five head coaches who could make the most sense for the Lakers

Udonis Haslem started the Miami Heat postseason with an apology.
It wasn&rsquo;t a real apology.
Haslem, like many other Heat players, is amused by the notion that the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs isn&rsquo;t considered a favorite to win the Eastern Conference title. Miami doesn&rsquo;t have an MVP candidate, didn&rsquo;t have anyone qualify for the top 20 in the league&rsquo;s scoring race, and <a href="https://sportsbook.fanduel.com/navigation/nba?tab=conference-winners">according to FanDuel Sportsbook</a> only has the third-best odds of winning the East behind Milwaukee and Boston.
&ldquo;It might not be the sexiest,&rdquo; Haslem, the longtime Heat captain and 19-year veteran, said of Miami's 53-29 regular season mark. &ldquo;We ain&rsquo;t got nobody out here scoring 85 points in one game. Ain&rsquo;t got none of that. But we are winning basketball games collectively as a unit and as a team. I&rsquo;m sorry to everybody in the basketball world that that&rsquo;s not sexy enough for you guys, but we&rsquo;re thankful for the guys that we have and the opportunity that we have to be the No. 1 seed.&rdquo;
Miami opens the playoffs at home on Sunday afternoon; the Heat will find out their opponent on Friday night. By then, the Heat expect to have center Bam Adebayo &mdash; out because of a stint in the league&rsquo;s health and safety protocols &mdash; back and ready for Game 1. He was the only Heat player missing Wednesday when the team resumed practice after a two-day, players-only, bonding trip to the Bahamas.
&ldquo;In terms of whether there&rsquo;s motivation because people are counting us out or not giving us a due respect, each person can translate that on their own,&rdquo; Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. &ldquo;I think the more powerful motivation is what we&rsquo;re trying to play for and compete for, which is the hardest thing you attempt to do in a team sport, to compete for a title.&rdquo;
It might seem surprising to some that a team that made headlines a few weeks ago for an in-game argument &mdash; All-Star forward Jimmy Butler exchanging words with Spoelstra during a time out, then Haslem getting involved in a rather demonstrative way &mdash; went on vacation together. Whatever caused that argument was forgotten by the next day anyway, since some players arrived for work the following morning and found Butler and Haslem already in the locker room and carrying on with their usual brand of conversation and nonsense.
The Heat insist they&rsquo;re united. They bicker, and that argument wasn&rsquo;t the worst dustup the team has experienced this season, but Haslem said that&rsquo;s all part this team&rsquo;s DNA.
&ldquo;Typical day in Miami, man,&rdquo; Haslem said of the time-out mess last month. &ldquo;That&rsquo;s how we get stuff done around here. We believe in eye-to-eye communication. ... You say what you&rsquo;ve got to say, I&rsquo;ll say what I&rsquo;ve got to say, I love you, you love me, let&rsquo;s get back on the basketball court, let&rsquo;s play.&rdquo;
That dustup came during a four-game Miami losing streak. When that slide ended, the Heat won six straight to lock up the No. 1 seed in the East before losing a meaningless regular-season finale in Orlando. Most Heat regulars didn&rsquo;t play in that game, and the Bahamas trip then got underway.
Being the No. 1 seed guarantees nothing; no top seed has won the East title since Cleveland in 2016, and a top seed has only made one East final in the last four years &mdash; that being Milwaukee, when it lost to Toronto in 2019.
But the Heat, just as they were in the bubble two years ago when they went to the NBA Finals as the East&rsquo;s No. 5 seed, insist that they believe they have enough to contend for a title.
&ldquo;I feel good. I do,&rdquo; Butler said. &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t put a ceiling or basement on anything, man, because we can&rsquo;t control everything. I just know that if we focus in on us, and what we can control, and what we&rsquo;re capable of, we&rsquo;re going to be OK.&rdquo;

Miami opens the playoffs at home on Sunday afternoon; the Heat will find out their opponent on Friday night.

Sorry, not sorry: Heat aren't fazed by the lack of believers

The Trail Blazers' season started with Damian Lillard declaring his faith the team would be competitive. It ended with him on the bench in street clothes, watching as Portland lost its 11th straight game.
With a spate of injuries, a new coach, a front-office shakeup and a roster overhaul, the Blazers' turbulent season was less about the present and more about rebuilding for the future.
Portland heads into the offseason with at least one lottery pick and cap space, armed with a plan to build around six-time All-Star Lillard. He made a promise to fans at the Moda Center for the team's final game.
&ldquo;This year a lot of things came up that we didn&rsquo;t expect. A lot of hard times. But you guys continue to show up. Continue to show us love. Continue to be the fans that I&rsquo;ve always known," he said. "And I just need y&rsquo;all to know one thing: This will not continue. Next year we&rsquo;re gonna come back better than we&rsquo;ve been.&rdquo;
It was a far cry from the start of the season, when <a href="https://apnews.com/article/nba-sports-portland-trail-blazers-damian-lillard-nipsey-hussle-8e42df230931af414e83df09eeae26b9">Lillard flashed his Olympic gold medal and said:</a> &ldquo;I think over the years we&rsquo;ve always had a competitive team, I think we&rsquo;ll be competitive again.&rdquo;
The Blazers finished 27-55, their worst season since 2005-06 when they won just 21 games. Clearly eying draft position after the NBA trade deadline, 11 of Portland's losses following the All-Star break were by more than 30 points.
Over the course of the season the Blazers used 34 different starting lineups, winding up at 13th in the Western Conference.
&ldquo;It's not been a season that any of us expected, but the way that I kind of see it in all honesty, this year has kind of been like a real microcosm of life. You have these great ideas and plans and thoughts, and then things happen and you have to pivot," said first-year Portland coach Chauncey Billups. "And then it becomes about how you pivot, and what you do.&rdquo;
INJURIES ABOUND
Lillard was the most significant of the Blazers' injuries this season. He played in just 29 games, the result of a nagging abdominal injury that required surgery in January.
Backcourt partner CJ McCollum missed 17 games with a collapsed lung. Others who missed significant time included Nassir Little, who sustained a labral tear in his left shoulder in late January and missed the rest of the season; Jusuf Nurkic, shut down for the final 22 games of the season with plantar fasciitis; and Larry Nance Jr., who missed 17 games with right knee inflammation before he was traded.
And that's not to mention the games missed because of COVID-19 protocols.
SHAKEUPS AT THE TOP
<a href="https://apnews.com/article/basketball-los-angeles-clippers-portland-trail-blazers-nba-sports-d396c10b6f9fb6fd2294fdbf85e0e2ae">Billups was hired in the offseason as the team's new coach, </a> replacing Terry Stotts, who had led the team to playoff appearances in the past eight seasons. Billups had limited experience with just one season as an assistant NBA coach.
Blazers President and CEO Chris Magowan stepped down in November and was replaced by Dewayne Hankins, a team vice president and chief commercial officer.
General manager Neil Olshey was then dismissed by Portland in December following an outside investigation into concerns about workplace environment. Joe Cronin, an assistant GM, was promoted to fill the role on an interim basis.
SHAKEUPS ON THE COURT
<a href="https://apnews.com/article/portland-trail-blazers-nba-sports-anfernee-simons-damian-lillard-ac8ac08b3e767746a75214b0ad1962ea">The Blazers made a flurry of multiplayer deals before the February deadline.</a> Five Blazers who played in the team&rsquo;s opener against Sacramento were no longer with the team, including three starters.
The most significant of the deals involved McCollum, who had been drafted by the Blazers in 2013 and formed a close bond with Lillard. <a href="https://apnews.com/article/new-orleans-pelicans-portland-trail-blazers-nba-sports-new-orleans-ba8eb752b95b311947df90132b93eee4">He was sent to the New Orleans Pelicans along with Nance and Tony Snell. </a>
Portland also traded Norman Powell and Robert Covington to the Los Angeles Clippers for Eric Bledsoe, Justise Winslow, rookie Keon Johnson and a second-round pick in 2025. The day before the deadline, the Blazers acquired injured forward Joe Ingles in a three-team trade with Utah and San Antonio.
ANFERNEE'S RISE
The one bright spot in an otherwise forgettable season was <a href="https://apnews.com/article/nba-sports-james-harden-kyrie-irving-portland-trail-blazers-adcd0df67820677f5bac7c07202ba2f9">the rise of guard Anfernee Simons</a>.
Simons took advantage of the opportunity when Lillard was injured. After taking over as starter, he averaged 23.4 points and 5.8 assists.
Just 22, he scored a career-high 43 points on Jan. 3 against Atlanta, making him the youngest Trail Blazer ever to have a 40-point game. On Feb. 14 in Milwaukee, he had seven 3-pointers, and he finished with 18 games with five-plus 3s.
The Blazers also shut him down for the final stretch of the season. He missed the final 17 games with left knee patellar tendinopathy.

Portland heads into the offseason with at least one lottery pick and cap space, armed with a plan to build around Damian Lillard.

Trail Blazers look to rebuild after turbulent season

Optimism abounds for the Houston Rockets despite finishing with the NBA&rsquo;s worst record for a second straight season.
&ldquo;We didn&rsquo;t have the season we wanted to, but we showed glimpses of what we can be,&rdquo; rookie Jalen Green said. &ldquo;So, I would hope that all the fans and everyone around us has hope that we&rsquo;re going to be great soon.&rdquo;
The Rockets went 20-62 a year after winning just 17 games. But they&rsquo;re encouraged by the improvement of a rookie class headlined by Green and the fact that they&rsquo;ll have another lottery pick in this year&rsquo;s draft.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;m really looking forward to seeing what the future holds for our whole group and having all of this improvement that our group has had come together and have it be a collective improvement,&rdquo; coach Stephen Silas said.
The Rockets made the playoffs in eight straight seasons before dropping into the league&rsquo;s basement last year after trading James Harden and the rest of their stars. Things weren&rsquo;t any better this season as the team decided veteran John Wall wouldn&rsquo;t play and shifted to full rebuilding mode with a roster that had four 19-year-olds to start the season.
Houston took Green with the second overall pick after he skipped college and spent a season in the G League. Green, who didn&rsquo;t turn 20 until February, struggled to adjust to NBA competition in the first two months of the season and missed most of December with an injury.
Things started to click for him in the new year and he developed into the star of this young team down the stretch, making highlight-reel dunks in seemingly every game. Green scored 30 or more points in six of his last seven games, capped by a season-high 41 on Sunday to finish second among rookies by averaging 17.3 points a game.
Green&rsquo;s performance in the season finale made him the first Houston rookie with a 40-point game since Hakeem Olajuwon&rsquo;s first season in 1984-85 and made him the youngest Rocket to ever score 40 points.
&ldquo;He has improved so much since Day 1,&rdquo; Silas said. &ldquo;He has become at this point, a primary scorer on our team. He has improved every single statistic that there is. He is playing in a way that is sustainable, I believe.&rdquo;
DRAFT DAY
As the season wraps up, the next big day for the Rockets is May 17 when the NBA holds its draft lottery. By finishing with the league&rsquo;s worst record, Houston is guaranteed a top-five pick.
They have a 14% chance of getting the first overall selection in June&rsquo;s draft. But that pick won&rsquo;t be their only one in the first round with the Rockets set to receive the higher of Brooklyn or Miami&rsquo;s first-round picks (top-14 protected) because of the Harden trade.
RISING STARS
Green is far from the only young player on the team to show promise this year. Fellow rookies Josh Christopher and Alperen Sengun made important contributions, and Kevin Porter Jr., who was in his third season, also improved.
Sengun was the 16th pick in the draft and he won&rsquo;t turn 20 until July, and Christopher, selected 24th, moved out of his teen years in December.
Sengun averaged 9.6 points and 5.5 points in 72 games and Christopher averaged 7.9 points, 2.5 rebounds and two assists in 74 games.
Porter finished third on the team by averaging 15.6 points a game and his 6.2 assists and 1.1 steals led the Rockets.
&ldquo;That&rsquo;s the whole gist of this year is development for us young guys,&rdquo; Porter said. &ldquo;For everyone that&rsquo;s part of this organization &mdash; development, that&rsquo;s been the key.&rdquo;
Green agreed and said the more he played, the better he started to feel.
&ldquo;I think the word I can use is comfortable,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I got confidence going through the season. My teammates helped me and off the court my family helped me.&rdquo;
MOVING ON
With an eye toward the future, the Rockets could look to move the handful of the team's veterans remaining this offseason.
Houston tried to find a suitable trade destination for Wall before the deadline this season but was unable to move him. He has a $47 million player option for 2022-23 that he will certainly exercise, and the Rockets could look for a buyout agreement if they can&rsquo;t work out a trade before next season.
&ldquo;I think there&rsquo;s a real market for John," general manager Rafael Stone said. &ldquo;I think we&rsquo;ll find a deal that will work for him and for us, and if one doesn&rsquo;t materialize, we&rsquo;ll we&rsquo;ll cross that bridge if and when it occurs. But that that is not something he&rsquo;s focused on, and is not something I&rsquo;m focused on."
Houston could also look to deal 14-year veteran Eric Gordon this offseason. The 33-year-old Gordon has one year left on his contract with a team option for 2023-24.
Another player that could be on the move this offseason is Christian Wood. The 26-year-old started 67 games and led the Rockets in points (17.9) and rebounds (10.1). But with one year left on his contract, he could be expendable if they believe Sengun is their future at center.

The Rockets went 20-62 a year after winning just 17 games. But they’re encouraged by the improvement of their young pieces.

Rockets optimistic despite posting NBA's worst record again

MIAMI (AP) &mdash; Bam Adebayo made the go-ahead dunk with 27 seconds remaining and scored 24 points in the Miami Heat&rsquo;s 113-109 comeback victory over the Atlanta Hawks on Friday night.
Jimmy Butler added 20 points, Kyle Lowry finished with 16 points and Tyler Herro had 15 for the Heat. They finished on a 10-2 run and won their sixth straight.
Danilo Galinari&rsquo;s 3-point attempt for Atlanta with nine seconds left bounced off the rim and Herro&rsquo;s two free throws secured the victory.
It was the first of two meaningless games, standings-wise at least, for Miami to finish the regular season. The Heat were locked into the No. 1 seed for the Eastern Conference playoffs on Thursday and know that they&rsquo;ll play Game 1 of a first-round series at home on April 17 against either Cleveland, Brooklyn, Charlotte or Atlanta, which dropped into a tie for ninth with Charlotte.
&ldquo;This is a night that we wanted to come in with a winning mentality,&rdquo; Herro said. &ldquo;We know we had the one seed but everyone played tonight, wanted to compete. It&rsquo;s good to get a win.&rdquo;
Herro hit a 30-foot shot that bounced off the front rim and through the net, giving the Heat a 109-107 lead with 1:44 remaining. The Hawks responded on Trae Young's floating jumper 17 seconds later.
Young scored 35 points for Atlanta. Bogdan Bogdanovic added 25 points, and Clint Capela had 17 points and 14 rebounds.
&ldquo;All loses are tough,&rdquo; Hawks coach Nate McMillan. &ldquo;Tonight we didn&rsquo;t execute the last five minutes of the game. Their pressure sped us up. We had some turnovers late. That was the difference.&rdquo;
Young scored Atlanta&rsquo;s final 12 points of the second quarter for a 61-56 lead at halftime. But Young was limited to four points in the final period.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s tough, we definitely had a chance,&rdquo; Young said. &ldquo;We put ourselves in a good position. They&rsquo;re just a good team that keeps fighting until the end.&rdquo;
Miami coach Erik Spoelstra returned to the club after a two-game absence because of health and safety protocols.
&ldquo;It was great just to find a way to gut out a close and competitive game,&rdquo; Spoelstra said. &ldquo;If I could have scripted it, this is what it would be. Back and forth, lead changes. It&rsquo;s good to get back out there. It&rsquo;s always good to be around the group.&rdquo;
TIP-INS
Hawks: The contract of G Skylar Mays was converted from a two-way deal to the standard NBA pact. Drafted in the second round by the club in 2020, Mays has appeared in 27 games with the Hawks this season in addition to an eight-game stint with the G League College Park Skyhawks. ... G Lou Williams (low back discomfort) missed his second consecutive game.
Heat: Adebayo shot 8 of 14, extending his streak of shooting 50% or better to a career best 16 games. ... .P.J. Tucker (calf strain) was out Friday and won&rsquo;t play in the regular-season finale Sunday either. The Heat are hopeful he could be ready for Game 1 of the playoffs.
UP NEXT
Hawks: At Houston on Sunday.
Heat: At Orlando on Sunday.

Bam Adebayo scored 24 points in the Miami Heat’s 113-109 comeback victory over the Atlanta Hawks.

Bam Adebayo's late dunk lifts Heat over Hawks, 113-109

After sitting out all season, what's next for John Wall?
The five-time All-Star will opt into the final year of his contract with the Houston Rockets, and he's set to earn $47,366,760 next season. Will the 31-year-old get traded or bought out?&nbsp;
While Marc Stein <a href="https://marcstein.substack.com/p/trading-russell-westbrook?s=r" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reports</a> that the Los Angeles Lakers will likely revisit a potential Wall-for-Russell-Westbrook trade this offseason, a buyout is also a possibility. HoopsHype's Michael Scotto and The Rockets Wire's Ben DuBose discussed Wall's future on <a href="https://hoopshype.com/lists/rockets-rumors-john-wall-eric-gordon-christian-wood-chet-holmgren/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">the latest episode of "The HoopsHype Podcast."</a>&nbsp;
"If Houston can&rsquo;t find a trade partner for Wall, his representation at Klutch Sports is expected to work with the Rockets on a buyout agreement before next season," Scotto said. "A potential buyout agreement would allow Wall to take advantage of the [free agent] market. Wall turns 32 in September. He&rsquo;s healthy. I&rsquo;ve heard he&rsquo;d like to be on a winning team and have a role."
DuBose added that he thinks "a buyout is more likely than a trade because the Rockets are not going to want to take back bad money."
Since Wall will be on an expiring contract, perhaps it will be easier for the two sides to reach an agreement on a buyout.&nbsp;
The last time we saw Wall in an NBA game was April 23, 2021, when he had 27 points, 13 assists, 3 rebounds, 2 blocks and a steal in a loss to the Los Angeles Clippers.&nbsp;Last season, he appeared in 40 games with the Rockets, averaging 20.6 points, 6.9 assists, 3.2 rebounds, 2.0 threes, 1.1 steals and 0.8 blocks on .404/.317/.749 shooting splits.
Wall produced at a relatively high level after returning from a ruptured Achilles and was one of the better comeback stories of the 2020-21 season. If he becomes an unrestricted free agent, he'd surely attract interest from contenders (with the Miami Heat and Los Angeles Clippers <a href="https://marcstein.substack.com/p/to-trade-or-ride-with-russ-?s=r" target="_blank" rel="noopener">already being mentioned</a> as potential suitors).

After sitting out all season, what's next for John Wall? If the Rockets can't trade him, Wall's camp will reportedly try to negotiate a buyout.

If Rockets can't trade John Wall, an offseason buyout is possible

Is every NBA individual award still up for grabs?
Nikola Jokic, Joel Embiid and Giannis Antetokounmpo seem to one-up each other every single night in the MVP hunt. Suns head coach Monty Williams might be the front-runner for Coach of the Year, but Taylor Jenkins, Erik Spoelstra and Ime Udoka surely have cases. The battle for Most Improved Player is as wide-open as the criteria for the award itself. Perhaps the only trophy settled is Sixth Man of the Year, with Tyler Herro's latest 35-point outburst on Tuesday hammering another nail in the coffin.
Then, there's the Rookie of the Year race. The general consensus is that Scottie Barnes, Evan Mobley and Cade Cunningham have separated themselves from the pack. Yet, the factions for and against each rookie are building their walls as the three continue to raise their games in the spring.
<div class="mceNonEditable"><spike>&nbsp;</spike></div>
If you find yourself facing some overblown talking points about your favorite Rookie of the Year candidate, I've rounded up some numbers to help you oust and dispel some discourse circling around NBA conversations.
SCOTTIE BARNES, TORONTO RAPTORS
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
Just thought we'd leave this highlight reel of the ROTY here 👀<a href="https://twitter.com/ScottBarnes561?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@ScottBarnes561</a> <a href="https://t.co/rSIUQjOZFs">pic.twitter.com/rSIUQjOZFs</a>
&mdash; x - Toronto Raptors (@Raptors) <a href="https://twitter.com/Raptors/status/1509956966675890178?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 1, 2022</a></blockquote>

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The narrative: Is his role big enough?
This is some garbage of a narrative anyway, but it feels like Barnes' case gets dimished because fans view him as a cog of the Toronto Raptors rather than a pillar. No, Barnes is not a one-way engine like his award competitors, and yes, he plays on a team with a superstar in Pascal Siakam, an All-Star in Fred VanVleet and a rising star in OG Anunoby. But Barnes' role in Toronto's surge to the Eastern Conference's top-six has been instrumental.&nbsp;
Since the All-Star break, Toronto has a clear Big Three in terms of passes per game: VanVleet (57.2), Siakam (55.6) and Barnes (54.2). Barnes ranks third among all rookies in passes per game on the season and first since the break &mdash; even ahead of Cunningham. 
<table style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 100%; height: 186px;" border="1">
<tbody>
<tr style="height: 76px;">
<td style="width: 9.25957%; height: 76px;">Category</td>
<td style="height: 76px;">Touches/Game (Season)</td>
<td style="height: 76px;">Touches/Game (post-ASB)</td>
<td style="height: 76px;">Passes/Game (Season)</td>
<td style="height: 76px;">Passes/Game (post-ASB)</td>
<td style="height: 76px;">
Mins/Game (season)
</td>
<td style="width: 4.63117%; height: 76px;">Mins/Game (post-ASB)</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 22px;">
<td style="width: 9.25957%; height: 22px;">Number</td>
<td style="height: 22px;">66.8</td>
<td style="height: 22px;">72.4</td>
<td style="height: 22px;">49.8</td>
<td style="height: 22px;">54.2</td>
<td style="height: 22px;">35.5</td>
<td style="width: 4.63117%; height: 22px;">35.7</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 44px;">
<td style="width: 9.25957%; height: 44px;">Raptors Rank</td>
<td style="height: 44px;">3rd</td>
<td style="height: 44px;">3rd</td>
<td style="height: 44px;">3rd</td>
<td style="height: 44px;">3rd</td>
<td style="height: 44px;">4th</td>
<td style="width: 4.63117%; height: 44px;">3rd</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 44px;">
<td style="width: 9.25957%; height: 44px;">Rookie Rank</td>
<td style="height: 44px;">3rd</td>
<td style="height: 44px;">2nd</td>
<td style="height: 44px;">3rd</td>
<td style="height: 44px;">1st</td>
<td style="height: 44px;">1st</td>
<td style="width: 4.63117%; height: 44px;">1st</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
(Mobile users scroll right to view the full table.)
Though Barnes has a comparatively low usage rate (18.8%) to his peers, this metric doesn't fully capture his involvement in the offense because it only incorporates play-ending events: shots, assists and turnovers. Furthermore, Evan Mobley is the only other rookie in a similarly-significant role for a playoff contender.
Then, on defense, Barnes takes on some of the heaviest loads of any player in basketball. In fact, he has the single-highest <a href="https://www.bball-index.com/defensive-versatility/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">positional defensive versatility</a> score of any player in BBall Index's database for this season.
The No. 4 pick contests over 37% of opponents' at-rim shot attempts when he's on the court; that ranks in the 89th percentile at his positional group. BBall Index lists his most frequent opposing matchups as "versatile bigs," "off-screen shooters," and "slashers." Barnes is integral to a Raptors defense that is top-10 on the season, and per Cleaning the Glass, it's No. 1 over the past two weeks.
Has he been as good of an individual defender as Mobley? No, but he's been pretty darn good for a rookie with a serious burden.
Barnes'&nbsp; impressive counting stats &mdash; including 17.8 points, 8.0 rebounds and 3.8 assists per game with six double-doubles since the All-Star break &mdash; and Toronto's team success have put him in the race. His high-level finishing and rebounding rates give him another boost. Don't paint his success as a product of Toronto's balanced lineup, because that tosses aside the huge responsibility on the young forward's shoulders.
CADE CUNNINGHAM, DETROIT PISTONS
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
CADE CUNNINGHAM EYE MANIPULATION 🔥🔥🔥 I wish we had this from the bench view but COMPLETELY moves Brunson out of the way to get Stew an easy dunk <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Pistons?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Pistons</a> <a href="https://t.co/aggrjsYtlY">pic.twitter.com/aggrjsYtlY</a>
&mdash; Motor City Hoops (@MotorCityHoops) <a href="https://twitter.com/MotorCityHoops/status/1512064643283312644?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 7, 2022</a></blockquote>

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The narrative: Does he impact winning enough?
Well, the Pistons are 10-12 since the All-Star break, and 8-11 in those games when Cunningham plays with a young, poor-shooting, inexperienced roster, but let's add some more proof.
I'm generally not a huge impact-estimator fan, so we're going to skip the PERs, VORPs and Win Share stats of the world. What I do trust as noteworthy is that the Pistons are 5.5 points per 100 possessions better with Cunningham on the floor this season, per Cleaning the Glass.&nbsp;
Cunningham has created 27.8% of his team's assists, which is in the 99th percentile at his position. Approximately 13.3% of his passes have become assists; this ratio is 44th among 282 NBA players and in the ballpark of guys like LeBron James, Marcus Smart, Fred VanVleet and Nikola Jokic. That assist-to-pass ratio is up to 15.0% post-break, putting Cunningham 31st out of 331 qualifying players. Both rates are second among rookies behind only Davion Mitchell.
The top pick carries a ridiculous amount of weight as a creator in Detroit's offense. Cunningham is averaging 16.2 drives per game this season. Only 23% of his made field goals have come via assists, and only 37% of his total shots were assisted &mdash; both in the 97th percentile or higher at his position.&nbsp;
Even with his efficiency peaks and valleys, Cunningham has massively catalyzed one of the worst-shooting squads in the NBA and helped them reached competitive play. And if folks are still hung up on Detroit's overall record, remember that 2 of the last 12 ROTY winners have been on teams over .500.&nbsp;
EVAN MOBLEY, CLEVELAND CAVALIERS
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
Evan Mobley.... wtf man <a href="https://t.co/uvUACdY48C">pic.twitter.com/uvUACdY48C</a>
&mdash; Mark Schindler (@MSchindlerNBA) <a href="https://twitter.com/MSchindlerNBA/status/1503022995417280512?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 13, 2022</a></blockquote>

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The narrative: Was his second half good enough?
Mobley was the a clear-cut best rookie through the first half of the season, so critics have resorted to focusing on his second half. And we don't need to sugarcoat that Mobley has struggled relative to his first half, plus he's missed the last five games with an ankle injury. However, he's still been a phenomenal rookie and overall player without his partner in crime, Jarrett Allen, for a large portion.&nbsp;
Since the All-Star break, Mobley has contested a whopping 9.2 shots within 6 feet of the rim, second only to Nikola Jokic. Opponents are shooting 61.8% against him &mdash; tied for 34th among 68 players (and second among rookies, behind Cunningham) &mdash; contesting at least five such shots per game. Is it a downturn from his 49.1% opponent clip (second in the NBA) from before the break? Sure, but it's still a very solid number for a rookie, and again, Mobley has had to take on different roles without Allen.
On the whole this season, opponents are 4.7% less efficient at the rim when Mobley is on the floor. That drop-off puts him in the 91st percentile among bigs, per Cleaning the Glass. Since Feb. 1, Mobley has a 2.2% block rate (74th percentile among bigs) and 3.2% foul rate (79th percentile among bigs).&nbsp;
His post-break per-game counting stats include 15.1 points, 8.8 rebounds and 1.6 blocks per game. Mobley is receiving 8.4 paint touches per game, good for ninth in the league, and shooting 68.8% in the paint. These numbers aren't like the massive improvements we've seen from Cunningham and Barnes, but they're still very healthy totals.
To say that Mobley's late-season challenges have taken him out of the race is both untrue and lacking context. He's been tasked with so much more on a Cavaliers team that has struggled on the whole, and Mobley's still treaded water. Plus, it makes little sense from a philosophical standpoint to apply more weight to his "second half" (which isn't truly a half of the season) more than his dominant first half.
THE OUTLIERS (a.k.a. other random interesting numbers I found in the void):
<ul>
<li>Speaking of rookies: Keon Johnson has been fantastic recently. His jump shot was a major question mark on draft night, and it's looking phenomenal. I'll be tracking his growth in Portland.&nbsp;</li>
</ul>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
We gotta talk about how Keon Johnson is hitting half of his pull-up threes post-ASB and 38.2% of his total threes with the Blazers. Shot is looking very very good <a href="https://t.co/IDZgtnVaXI">pic.twitter.com/IDZgtnVaXI</a>
&mdash; Ethan Fuller (@ethman43) <a href="https://twitter.com/ethman43/status/1511091211846750211?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 4, 2022</a></blockquote>

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<ul>
<li>This is just a wild stat for the Tyrese Maxey agenda:</li>
</ul>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
Best single-season 3P% by player 21 or younger (min 290 3PA) per <a href="https://twitter.com/Stathead?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Stathead</a> <a href="https://t.co/m2S0Ei4xaC">https://t.co/m2S0Ei4xaC</a> <a href="https://t.co/06hxAdZ6fO">https://t.co/06hxAdZ6fO</a> <a href="https://t.co/I80kF36kQ5">pic.twitter.com/I80kF36kQ5</a>
&mdash; Mike Lynch (@SportInfo247) <a href="https://twitter.com/SportInfo247/status/1511703177078398984?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 6, 2022</a></blockquote>
<ul>
<li class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">This is not a stat, but I wanted to sneak in my Rookie of the Year pick: I'm going with Scottie Barnes.</li>
</ul>
<div class="mceNonEditable"><spike>&nbsp;</spike></div>
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Ethan Fuller has numbers to rebuke perceived weaknesses in the NBA Rookie of the Year race.