Miami Heat

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) &mdash; As the final minute ticked off the clock, the Princeton fans started chanting &ldquo;Sweet 16! Sweet 16!&rdquo; and coach Mitch Henderson cleared the bench with the victory easily in hand.
This upset was no small-school fluke against a more heralded team. It was a thoroughly dominating performance that sent Princeton to a place it hadn&rsquo;t been in more than a half-century.
Blake Peters made five 3-pointers in the second half and&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://twitter.com/MarchMadnessMBB/status/1637239957298483200?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Princeton shocked another power conference team</a>&nbsp;to reach the NCAA Tournament regional semifinals for the first time in 56 years by beating Missouri 78-63 on Saturday.
&ldquo;The world looks at us as two upsets,&rdquo; forward Tosan Evbuomwan said. &ldquo;But I feel like we&rsquo;re supposed to be here. We have a lot of confidence in one another, what we&rsquo;re doing. There&rsquo;s definitely no letup with this group.&rdquo;
The No. 15 seeded Princeton (23-8) followed up&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/march-madness-ncaa-arizona-princeton-4b28e0acabe2b75ccdbac81d40a6fd66" target="_blank" rel="noopener">a first-round win</a>&nbsp;over Pac-12 tournament champion Arizona by overwhelming seventh-seeded Missouri (25-10) of the Southeastern Conference from the start.
The Ivy League school known for&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/march-madness-princeton-3e7e64d87d64a24587f258af065e7ce0" target="_blank" rel="noopener">giving powerhouses scares and occasionally pulling off upsets</a>&nbsp;a generation ago has reached the&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/hub/march-madness" target="_blank" rel="noopener">round of 16</a> for the first time since 1967 when only 23 teams even made the tournament.
&ldquo;I have no words for you,&rdquo; Peters said. &ldquo;We have such an unbelievable section (of fans) here. I have the best teammates in the world. I love each and every one of them. when we go out and believe in each other, anything is possible. I know it&rsquo;s cliche, but anything is possible.&rdquo;
Princeton will play the winner of Sunday&rsquo;s game between Baylor and Creighton in the Sweet 16 in Louisville, Kentucky, on Friday night.
The Tigers will be the second Ivy League school to make the Sweet 16 in the past 43 tournaments, joining Cornell in 2010. No team from the academically prestigious league that doesn&rsquo;t give athletic scholarships has gone further since Penn made the Final Four in 1979.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve always dreamed of playing deep into the tournament,&rdquo; said Henderson, a player on Princeton&rsquo;s teams in 1996 and &rsquo;98 that won first-round games. &ldquo;As a player, got to the second round a couple times. Never got beyond it.&rdquo;
This marks the third straight year a team seeded 15th made it to the Sweet 16, following Oral Roberts in 2021 and fellow New Jersey school Saint Peter&rsquo;s last year. The only other time a 15 seed made it this far came in 2013 when Florida Gulf Coast did it.
Ryan Langborg led Princeton with 22 points and Peters added 17.
DeAndre Gholston scored 19 points and Noah Carter added 14 for Missouri, which was seeking its first berth in the Sweet 16 since 2009.
&ldquo;We were able to get the lead one time,&rdquo; coach Dennis Gates said. &ldquo;We held the lead for 30 seconds in the entire game. Every time we got the lead or when they had the lead, we cut it to six, they came back down and did what a good team would do: Make a shot or make a play.&rdquo;
Princeton showed no signs of being outclassed against another power conference team, controlling the play from the start. Keeshawn Kellman had two dunks and a blocked shot in a span of 16 seconds midway through the half.
Princeton built the lead to 10 points on a corner 3 by Zach Martini and went up 33-19 on a drive by Evbuomwan.
Missouri responded by scoring the final seven points of the half to go into the break down seven.
Every time Missouri threatened early in the second half, Princeton had an answer with&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://twitter.com/MarchMadnessMBB/status/1637241107519254528?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Peters hitting five 3-pointers</a>. The fourth gave Princeton a 62-43 lead and Missouri never threatened after that.
&ldquo;Blake Peters has been making shots coming off the bench for us for weeks,&rdquo; Henderson said. &ldquo;This is a very, very confident group. We are so thrilled to be going to the Sweet 16. It is an absolute pleasure being around these guys. They just grit their teeth and they do it.&rdquo;
BIG PICTURE
Princeton: Princeton was more than a match physically with Missouri with a 44-30 rebounding edge and 16 offensive rebounds that led to 19 second-chance points. Caden Pierce led the way with 16 rebounds.
&ldquo;They&rsquo;re playing absolutely fearless,&rdquo; Henderson said. &ldquo;They&rsquo;re unafraid of anyone.&rdquo;
Missouri: Coach Dennis Gates&rsquo; first season at Missouri was a successful one with 25 wins but still had a disappointing finish.
UP NEXT
Princeton will look for its first Elite Eight appearance since 1965 when Bill Bradley was the star.

Princeton shocked another power conference team to reach the Sweet 16, beating Missouri 78-63 on Saturday.

15th-seeded Princeton beats Missouri 78-63 to reach Sweet 16

FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) &mdash; J&rsquo;Wan Roberts scored 15 points, Marcus Sasser added 13 and top-ranked Houston held on to beat Saint Mary&rsquo;s 53-48 on Saturday night.
The Cougars (8-0) won twice in their first week as the No. 1 team since the final poll of the 1982-83 regular season, when Clyde Drexler and Hakeem Olajuwon led high-flying Phi Slama Jama.
Logan Johnson scored 17 points and Aidan Mahaney had 14 for the Gaels (6-3), who lost their third in a row following a 6-0 start.
Houston was the favorite to win it all in the second of three consecutive trips to the Final Four nearly 40 years ago, but lost to Jim Valvano and North Carolina State in one of the iconic championship games.
Coach Kelvin Sampson&rsquo;s first top-ranked team is coming off trips to the Final Four and Elite Eight the past two seasons.
For the third straight year, the postseason path will start at Dickie&rsquo;s Arena, where Sampson likes to bring his team during the regular season as prep for the American Athletic Conference tourney.
NO. 3 VIRGINIA 62, FLORIDA STATE 57
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (AP) &mdash; Kihei Clark scored 18 points and Virginia overcame poor shooting to beat Florida State and win its 15th straight Atlantic Coast Conference opener.
Virginia (7-0) trailed 22-21 after both teams shot under 30% in the first half. The Cavaliers started the second half with a 22-9 run to lead 43-31 midway through the half.
Florida State (1-9) scored the next six points, then didn&rsquo;t score again for five minutes as the Cavaliers rebuilt their advantage.
Darin Green Jr. scored 17 points in the Seminoles&rsquo; fifth straight loss.
RUTGERS 63, NO. 10 INDIANA 48
PISCATAWAY, N.J. (AP) &mdash; Freshman guard Derek Simpson scored 10 straight points in a game-deciding run and Rutgers beat Indiana for the sixth time in a row.
Caleb McConnell had 16 points and 10 rebounds to lead the Scarlet Knights (6-2, 1-0 Big Ten). Simpson finished with 14, all in the second half.
Miller Kopp scored a season-high 21 points for Indiana (7-1, 0-1) . Star forward Trayce Jackson-Davis was held to 13 points and 10 rebounds before fouling out late. The rest of the team had 14 points.
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NO. 11 ARKANSAS 99, SAN JOSE STATE 58
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (AP) &mdash; Trevon Brazile scored 23 points and Arkansas broke away in the second half to beat San Jose State.
The Razorbacks (7-1) led 40-35 at the break before erupting. It was the first men&rsquo;s basketball matchup between the schools.
Ricky Council IV had 17 points for Arkansas. Heralded freshman guard Nick Smith, Jr. contributed 16 points and five assists in his first career start in only his second game as a collegian.
Omari Moore scored 21 for the Spartans (6-3).
NO. 11 ALABAMA 78, SOUTH DAKOTA STATE 65
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (AP) &mdash; Freshman Noah Clowney&rsquo;s breakout game &mdash; 22 points, nine rebounds, four assists and a steal &mdash; helped Alabama recover from blowing a 20-point lead and beat South Dakota State.
Clowney shot 8 of 17, including 5 of 12 on 3s, in his highest-scoring game of the season.
Alabama (7-1) led 37-17 with 6 1/2 minutes left in the first half. South Dakota State (3-6) rallied to go ahead 51-50 on Alex Arians&rsquo; 3-pointer with 11 1/2 minutes remaining.
Charlie Easley and Arians each scored 17 points for the Jackrabbits.
NO. 17 DUKE 75, BOSTON COLLEGE 59
DURHAM, N.C. (AP) &mdash; Mark Mitchell scored 15 points and Kyle Filipowski posted 13 points and 10 rebounds for the freshman&rsquo;s fifth double-double as Duke beat Boston College in the Atlantic Coast Conference opener for both teams.
The Blue Devils (8-2), who shot 52.8% from the field, are unbeaten in six home games under first-year coach Jon Scheyer.
CJ Penha scored 16 points and Jaeden Zackery had 14 for Boston College (5-4), which has lost eight straight to Duke.
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NO. 25 OHIO STATE 96, ST. FRANCIS (Pa.) 59
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) &mdash; Brice Sensabaugh led the Buckeyes with 15 points and Bruce Thornton added 13 as Ohio State surged in the second half to be St. Francis.
The Red Flash trimmed a 16-point deficit to eight in the first half, with Josh Cohen getting the first points after the break. But Ohio State (6-2) went on a 13-5 run, held St. Francis (2-7) scoreless for about five minutes in the second half and at one point went up 39 points.
Roddy Gayle Jr. had 12 points, Zed Key had 11 and Sean McNeil and Felix Okpara scored 10 apiece for Ohio State, which shot 50.7% from the field.
Cohen finished with 18 points and 10 rebounds for his first double-double of the season. Cam Gregory added 15 points and Maxwell Land scored 14 for the Red Flash.

J’Wan Roberts scored 15 points, Marcus Sasser added 13 and top-ranked Houston held on to beat Saint Mary’s 53-48 on Saturday.

No. 1 ranked Houston Cougars hold on to beat Saint Mary’s 53-48

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NBA Expansion Mock Draft: What would a new expansion team look like?

The NBA G League today announced that the Rio Grande Valley Vipers have earned three annual performance awards for this season, including&nbsp;<a class="c-link" tabindex="-1" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8htEopW0yJ8" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-stringify-link="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8htEopW0yJ8" data-sk="tooltip_parent" data-remove-tab-index="true">guard Trevelin Queen being named the 2021-22 Kia NBA G League Most Valuable Player</a>. Additionally, head coach Mahmoud Abdelfattah is the recipient of the Dennis Johnson Trophy as the 2021-22 NBA G League Coach of the Year, while General Manager Travis Stockbridge has been named the 2021-22 NBA G League Basketball Executive of the Year.
NBA G League Head of Basketball Operations Malik Rose will present all three winners with their awards tonight before the Vipers host the Texas Legends in the Western Conference Semifinals at the Bert Ogden Arena (8 p.m. ET, ESPNews).
Rio Grande is the second team in NBA G League history to earn MVP, Coach of the Year and Basketball Executive of the Year accolades in the same season. The MVP and Coach of the Year awards were voted on by the league&rsquo;s 28 head coaches and general managers, while Basketball Executive of the Year was voted on by the general managers only.
Queen, a two-way player with the Houston Rockets, averaged 25.3 points, 6.6 rebounds, 5.2 assists and 3.3 steals in 19 games.Queen (6-6, 190, New Mexico State) received an NBA GATORADE Call-Up when he signed his two-way contract with the Rockets on Dec. 18, 2021, and has appeared in 10 games for Houston this season. He is the third Rio Grande Valley Vipers player to win the Kia NBA G League MVP award, joining Mike Harris (2009-10) and Andrew Goudelock (2012-13). In his third season as head coach of the Rockets&rsquo; NBA G League affiliate, Abdelfattah steered the Vipers to the top regular-season record in the Western Conference (24-10), earning a bye in the NBA G League Playoffs presented by Google Pixel. Under Abdelfattah, the Vipers led the league in points per game (124.5), free throws made (12.4), offensive rebounds (16.5) and total rebounds (51.4).Since being named head coach prior to the 2019-20 season, Abdelfattah has led the Vipers to a record of 48-43 and two consecutive playoff appearances. He is the second head coach in Rio Grande Valley history to earn Coach of the Year honors, joining current Minnesota Timberwolves head coach Chris Finch (2009-10).
Stockbridge becomes the first executive in Vipers&rsquo; history to win the Basketball Executive of the Year award. Key player acquisitions by Stockbridge included Marcus Foster (18.7 ppg, 4.3 apg), Mfiondu Kabengele (17.5 ppg, 9.4 rpg) and 12-year NBA veteran Gerald Green (16.6 ppg, 4.8 rpg). Since Stockbridge became general manager in 2019, five Rio Grande Valley players have earned GATORADE Call-Ups: Queen, Armoni Brooks, Anthony Lamb, Ray Spalding and Brodric Thomas.
The Sioux Falls Skyforce is the only other NBA G League team to win all three awards in the same season. Sioux Falls accomplished this feat for the 2015-16 season, with Jarnell Stokes winning MVP, Dan Craig earning Coach of the Year and Adam Simon receiving Basketball Executive of the Year honors.
Motor City Cruise guard Saben Lee, who was on assignment from the Detroit Pistons, and South Bay Lakers two-way guard Mason Jones finished in second and third place, respectively, in voting for Kia NBA G League MVP.
Raptors 905 head coach Patrick Mutombo and Agua Caliente Clippers head coach Paul Hewitt finished in second and third place, respectively, for NBA G League Coach of the Year.
Delaware Blue Coats General Manager Prosper Karangwa and Raptors 905 General Manager Chad Sanders finished in second and third place, respectively, for NBA G League Basketball Executive of the Year.

The Rio Grande Valley Vipers have earned three of the G League's end-of-season awards, including MVP for guard Trevelin Queen.

Vipers' Trevelin Queen named NBA G League Most Valuable Player

Nekias Duncan dives deep into the rise of guard-screening in the NBA through the lens of NBA players, coaches and more.

Changing of the guard: The future of screening is here

Earlier this week, <a href="https://twitter.com/lucarosano3/status/1419780470636679170?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Bleacher Report&rsquo;s Jake Fischer reported</a> that the Toronto Raptors are gauging the trade market for Pascal Siakam. If available and actively involved in trade discussions, the 2020 All-Star and All-NBA Second Team honoree instantly becomes a significant needle-mover for many teams.&nbsp;
The past year or so &ndash; featuring rather abnormal circumstances including the Orlando Bubble and the 2020-21 season, which the Raptors spent in Tampa, Florida (1,300 miles from home) &ndash; has clouded much of the analysis surrounding him.&nbsp;
But Siakam is a star. He deservedly earned his 2020 accolades, was the 2B on a well-balanced title team in 2019 and became arguably the best player on a 60-win-pace squad the next season. There should not be mystery around his impact on a championship contender or top-three seed. He is quite good and conducive to high-end winning. The results literally exist to validate these statements.
After Kawhi Leonard&rsquo;s 2019 departure, Siakam expanded his offensive repertoire to try and satisfy elevated duties. Due to the absence of a certified lead ball-handler, the Raptors embraced a creation-by-committee approach, leaning heavily on Siakam, Kyle Lowry and Fred VanVleet, along with Marc Gasol&rsquo;s passing magic (for a year) and OG Anunoby&rsquo;s scoring increase, to fashion a reliable offense.&nbsp;
However, that has still left Siakam in an overextended role, where his relative true shooting (how far above or below league average one&rsquo;s true shooting percentage is) fell from plus-6.8 in 2018-19 to minus-1.1 in 2019-20 and minus-2.5 this season. Unsurprisingly, the discourse resulting from that declining efficiency and poor 2019-20 playoff run (averaging 17.0 points on 46 percent true shooting) was dominated by an indictment of his entire ability rather than merely acknowledging he&rsquo;s unfit as a primary creator, which even the majority of stars are.
The increasingly arduous responsibilities are portrayed through divergent statistics between his 2018-19 and 2020-21 campaigns. His isolation frequency spiked from 9.9% to 15.1% (per Synergy Sports). Only 13 players registered more isolations this season. His rim frequency slipped from 51% to 38% (per Cleaning the Glass). He took 63 pull-up jumpers in 2018-19 and 220 this year (per NBA.com). Just over 43% of his baskets were unassisted in 2018-19, compared to 57.7% in 2020-21 (per NBA.com).
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All of this is to underscore that there are easily discernible factors explaining Siakam&rsquo;s efficiency slide and none of them are because of suddenly depreciating skills. His job grew more complex. On a team with a bona fide initiator that could allow for a situation closer resembling 2018-19 while incorporating his self-creation strides, he&rsquo;d quickly remind everyone why he is such a heralded player.
Siakam is best treated as a selective creator. He&rsquo;s not diverse enough stylistically to routinely commandeer possessions individually, but can attack mismatches of varying sizes. A different team where he&rsquo;s not the headliner of every opponent would invite more favorable matchups. His scoring volume could look similar to the last couple years, just tinkered to better reflect a preferred shot profile yielding higher efficiency.
More regularly, he&rsquo;d have chances to leverage his slippery handle, quickness, body control and length to target slower bigs in ball-screens/off the bounce as a slasher. Or, he could punish undersized wings with length and interior touch, adept at converting off-balance leaners from distinct angles. These should be components of his scoring, not the bedrock as his context necessitated over the past couple seasons. An upgrade in surrounding offensive talent would enable that.
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Broadening the scope of his on-ball equity was a substantial passing leap this year. Siakam is one of the NBA&rsquo;s premier 6-foot-9 or taller facilitators nowadays. He&rsquo;ll elicit help in the post and on drives before threading an assist to a cutter or teammate already stationed on the interior. He&rsquo;s a fulcrum from the elbows. He&rsquo;s a connective passer, transition catalyst and short-roll firestarter.&nbsp;
His decisions are expedient. Offensive inclusion, on and off the ball, is not limited to scoring as an endpoint. A change of scenery that placed him in advantageous situations or eased his production of them would further showcase this malleable playmaking.&nbsp;
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The grandest exploit to playing alongside a star-level initiator again would be the revival of Siakam&rsquo;s frenzied, kinetic off-ball game that torched teams during Kawhi&rsquo;s Canadian pitstop. He&rsquo;s a menace attacking tilted defenses following paint pressure from a teammate. Swing the ball his way and draw a closeout; his intersection of wiggle, length and bounding strides will capitalize.&nbsp;
In 2018-19, Toronto had the primary ball-handler, another downhill threat via Lowry and a wise, snappy passer in Gasol. The floor-spacing of Gasol and Serge Ibaka pulled rim protectors away from the basket for the downhill-inclined Siakam.&nbsp;
Advantages were forged independent of him. He was the leading beneficiary of the attention Kawhi and Lowry drew by regularly logging paint touches. He frequented gaps in the defense as an instinctive cutter; the low-post playmaking of Kawhi and Gasol augmented his cutting.&nbsp;
Defenders recovering from help rotations struggle to contain him. He enjoyed vastly more runways of space to apply his physical tools and strike inside. Any actions (inverted pick-and-rolls, handoffs) merging this aptitude of operating in space toward the rim with his budding creation are a prudent strategy to bridge the past and present versions of Siakam.&nbsp;
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Raptors personnel over the last couple years have curtailed the ideal balance. A new employer aptly organized to deploy him in space and feature his polished on-ball juice without relying on it is one manner in which Siakam can remind everyone of his All-NBA form.
What has remained steady, however, is Siakam's defensive aptitude. During a 2020-21 campaign curtailed by injuries, COVID-19, and moving parts around him due to those factors, Siakam was still able to put together a strong season on that end.
Consider this: Among 47 players to log at least 2000 minutes last season, Siakam ranked 15th in BBall-Index's <a href="https://www.bball-index.com/2020-21-lebron-data/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">D-LEBRON metric</a> (+0.60). Of the 14 players ahead of him, only three -- Giannis Antetokounmpo (+1.98), Jayson Tatum (+0.63), and Nikola Jokic (+0.61) -- logged a higher usage rate.
In short: it's hard to play a lot, have a lot of offensive responsibility, and also provide positive impact on the defensive end.
Then consider that Siakam wasn't just deployed as an on-ball stopper, or just a weakside helper. He didn't just lock-and-trail over screens, nor was he solely operating in a switch scheme.
He did it all.
Head coach Nick Nurse deployed the most versatile defense in the league from a scheme perspective; Siakam had to wear just as many (if not more) hats on the defensive end as he did on the other side of the floor.
Luckily, he was and is equipped for that. The term "rangy" gets thrown around a little too loosely sometimes, but it's an apt moniker for Siakam. When he's operating off the ball, the Raptors have more freedom to get aggressive. They trust that Siakam can cover ground behind the initial action, whether that's providing nail help on a drive or tagging the roller while working as the low man.
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Siakam is more comfortable sinking in and flying back out to the perimeter for close-outs. There is some weakside rim protection present, though. He's not a consistent shot blocker, but Siakam's ability to change directions allows him to beat drivers to their spots and alter shot attempts with verticality.
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On the ball, Siakam can mirror perimeter players in space. I'd describe his range as 2-through-4, though he can hang with 1s in a pinch. Screen navigation against the twitchiest ball-handlers can be a struggle for Siakam; you don't want him on your Stephs or Dames of the world. His screen navigation in general slipped last season, though the hope is that it bounces back with a lower workload.
Siakam also isn't a powerful defender. That shows itself in traditional post-ups when lined up against beefier matchups. It's also apparent in pick-and-roll when he's asked to drop. Siakam is inconsistent in high-pointing lobs when backpedaling; drivers are also able to get into his body and generate good finishing angles. Those limitations -- I won't call them issues -- lower his value as a small-ball 5 against certain matchups.
The good news: Siakam doesn't have to be perfect in every scheme. The fact that there are so many avenues for success with him is entirely the point.&nbsp;
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POTENTIAL LANDING SPOTS
If the question is "how many teams could use a slashing, playmaking 4 who can defend multiple positions and fly around as a help guy?", the answer is some variation of "absolutely." There is not a team in the league that couldn't use Siakam.
What gets tricky is figuring out the price point. It's easy to understand the Raptors being willing to move Siakam for another centerpiece -- think Damian Lillard or Bradley Beal (if you view him that highly). They'd be buyers in this case.
If we're operating under the belief of the Raptors being sellers -- barterers, maybe? -- what would the ideal package look like? Do you go youth movement to add to an OG Anunoby and No. 4 pick core? Do you go 2-for-1 in a deal for win-now pieces? Some combination of the two?
Below is a mix of teams that can use Siakam. More importantly for this excercise, it's a mix of teams that provide different types of packages for the All-Star forward.
GOLDEN STATE WARRIORS
It's no secret that the Warriors want to maximize their title-winning core of Steph Curry, Draymond Green, and Klay Thompson as they begin to age out. Having a pair of lottery picks (No. 7 and No. 14) gives them a pretty simple pathway to getting into rooms for win-now pieces.
Those picks, Andrew Wiggins -- the contract still ain't great, but he showed enough on both ends last year to graduate from the "salary dump/match" class -- and another piece (Jordan Poole, perhaps?) could make the Raptors raise their brows.
PORTLAND TRAIL BLAZERS
Speaking of Lillard, the Blazers have their own trade stuff to sort through. Their superstar wants help, and Siakam certainly could fit as a second option.
The easy piece to send out from the Blazers' side would be CJ McCollum, a bonafide three-level scorer who probably profiles a little better as a number-one option than Siakam does. The issue: factoring in defense (and age, for that matter), McCollum is not more valuable than Siakam is.
The Blazers would need to throw in more, and that's where it gets a little tough. Aside from this year's draft, the Blazers have all of their first-round picks moving forward. Two of them plus a swap could intrigue the Raptors.
Would two of the Anfernee Simons/Nassir Little/Derrick Jones Jr. triumvirate be enough? Would the Blazers even be willing to include Simons at all if they're giving up McCollum and pick capital? It's a tough needle to thread, but it would behoove the Blazers to at least try to thread it.
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INDIANA PACERS
Indiana is intriguing in that they best fit the "take-this-$20-bill-for-two-$10s" model in this discussion. They don't have a player as good as Siakam -- love Domantas Sabonis as an engine, but the defense (yes, I'm aware #BadNate had him doing too much this year) is tough to ignore -- but the roster is littered with good players.
What does a Malcolm Brogdon and Myles Turner package for Siakam look like?
What does a Turner and TJ Warren and 13th pick package for Siakam look like? And if the Raptors were able to nab the 13th pick in addition to the pick (No. 4) they already own, does that give them enough ammo to FaceTime the Cavs to discuss the No. 3 pick (read: <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/draft/big-board/players/evan-mobley" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Evan Mobley</a>)?
I don't know, but it seems like there are a few pathways for these teams to make some magic happen.
ATLANTA HAWKS
While we're discussing consolidation, the Hawks remain a prime candidate to do so. While they may not have a lottery pick to offer like the Warriors or Pacers, they do have lottery talent to dangle. De'Andre Hunter, Onyeka Okongwu, and Cam Reddish all offer differing levels of two-way intrigue.
It's hard to imagine the Raptors could get two of those guys, but they should make the push. Even if it's one -- say, Reddish -- the Hawks still have a nice blend of picks, young talent (John Collins or Kevin Huerter sign-and-trade, anyone?) and veterans (Bogdan Bogdanovic, Danilo Gallinari) to put an intriguing package together.
OTHER FUN SPOTS
<ul>
<li>How many forwards would pair better alongside Nikola Jokic defensively than Siakam? The list ain't long. At the risk of sounding take-ish: a package headlined by Michael Porter Jr. for Siakam would make sense, especially if you don't believe in the long-term health or defensive growth getting where you ultimately need it to... or both. Even if Denver makes that leap, making salaries match from there would be tough to do.</li>
<li>A similar case can be made for the Suns. If you're not all the way in on Mikal Bridges having hidden potential as an on-ball creator, you can talk yourself into using him as a headliner to get Siakam. But again, salary matching beyond Bridges (extension-eligible this offseason, but the big money wouldn't kick in until next year) would get tough.</li>
<li>If the "get-a-bunch-of-good-players" model intrigues the Raptors more than prospects and picks, the Spurs have plenty of guards and wings. Dejounte Murray, Derrick White, Lonnie Walker, Devin Vassell, Keldon Johnson (more forward than wing, but, you get my drift)... there's a conversation to be had. At that point, I'd imagine the Raptors would have to go with a forward with their No. 4 pick (they've been linked to Scottie Barnes and Jonathan Kuminga, for what it's worth).</li>
<li>The Lakers could offer K- ahahahahahahahahahaha.</li>
</ul>

Nekias Duncan and Jackson Frank dissect Pascal Siakam's game, then look at possible trade partners if Toronto decides to move him.

The curious case of Pascal Siakam: What he is, and where he fits

The Minnesota Timberwolves have managed to be the center of the NBA universe twice in a three-day span.
On Friday night, Anthony Edwards converted a poster dunk -- yes, <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-dunks-poster-posterized-dunktionary-nekias-duncan-slam-putback-flyby-fastbreak-transition-lebron-james-vince-carter-blake-griffin-shaq-gerald-green-demar-derozan-larry-nance-jr-jayson-tatum" target="_blank" rel="noopener">an actual poster</a> -- with remnants of <a href="https://youtu.be/gOcdOF04-wk" target="_blank" rel="noopener">McGrady-on-Bradley</a> shining through. The dunk was so nasty, the conversation around it turned into a philosophical debate about single-game analysis and what really matters.&nbsp;
On Sunday night, the Wolves fired head coach Ryan Saunders. The move itself wasn&rsquo;t a shock; even within the context of injuries and COVID woes, a league-worst 7-24 record following a 19-45 campaign the year before doesn&rsquo;t inspire much confidence. Beyond bad and/or unavailable personnel, the process on both ends of the floor screamed, &ldquo;This needs to be shaken up, and quickly.&rdquo;
The hiring of Raptors assistant Chris Finch is one worth being optimistic about. He&rsquo;s long been regarded as one of the best offensive minds in basketball; heck, the Wolves interviewed him for the head gig before eventually hiring Saunders after the 2018-19 season. The existing history between Finch and the Wolves, specifically team president Gersson Rosas -- the two worked together in Houston as part of their then-D-League affiliate -- takes away some of the awkwardness of a hmm-that-was-quick coaching search.
While it&rsquo;s fair to feel uneasy about the <a href="https://twitter.com/Dame_Lillard/status/1363704821497298945?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noopener">optics of the hire</a>, the bottom line remains: this is a team in need of major overhaul. They have a generational offensive talent in Karl-Anthony Towns that they need to build around in an effective manner.
Towns recently expressed his desire to build a legacy in Minnesota, but he&rsquo;ll need help. The clock is ticking, and the Wolves don&rsquo;t necessarily have, say, Blazers-esque front-office competency to fall back on and feel super comfortable banking on Towns being their Damian Lillard. Here&rsquo;s how the Wolves should go about building this thing out.
UNLEASH QUARTERBACK KAT
Making sure your best player gets a healthy amount of touches isn&rsquo;t a profound analysis. At this point, it isn&rsquo;t as simple as getting Towns the ball: the Wolves need to reconfigure their thoughts on what Towns is.&nbsp;
He isn&rsquo;t just a talented three-level scorer; he has the scoring gravity and, more importantly, the passing chops needed for him to operate as a primary initiator. I mean this solely in terms of usage: the Wolves have to treat Towns more like Nikola Jokic and less like Nikola Vucevic.
<a href="https://twitter.com/C2_Cooper">Caitlin Cooper</a> of Indy Cornrows, the Indiana Pacers&rsquo; blog for SB Nation, wrote <a href="https://www.indycornrows.com/2020/10/6/21501224/how-chris-finch-could-invert-the-pacers-offense-with-continuous-spacing">a fantastic piece</a> detailing Finch&rsquo;s offensive philosophy. Though it was written within the context of how his hiring could juice the Pacers&rsquo; offense and maximize the talents of Domantas Sabonis, many of those points are applicable to the Wolves and Towns.
The major theme of that piece, and what&rsquo;s important to gather in relation to a shift in usage for Towns, is the inversion of the offense. To put it simply: instead of primarily using actions that feature guards feeding Towns down low, Towns should be the primary initiator, stretching defenses from above the break to open up possibilities for everyone else.
We know what Towns brings to the table as a scorer. He&rsquo;s drained at least 40 percent of his threes in each of the past four seasons -- a 41.1 percent clip on nearly five attempts over that span. He&rsquo;s a sniper with his feet set, but adds another layer of terror by being able to fly off pindowns.&nbsp;
Per Synergy, Towns has graded in the 86th, 74th, 59th, and 81st percentile as a post scorer. His blend of touch, strength and footwork are rivaled by only a handful of players in the league.
Towns&rsquo; passing ability just hasn&rsquo;t been tapped into enough. Some of that starts with his actual placement in the offense. Towns has ranked 38th (3.6), 28th (3.6), 33rd (3.3), and 43rd (2.5) in <a href="https://www.nba.com/stats/players/touches/?sort=ELBOW_TOUCHES&amp;dir=1&amp;Season=2020-21&amp;SeasonType=Regular%20Season" target="_blank" rel="noopener">elbow touches per game</a> over the past four seasons. For reference, Jokic, Sabonis, and Marc Gasol have taken turns leading the league during that stretch with double (and sometimes triple) the volume.
What&rsquo;s frustrating is that the Wolves have hinted at different actions that highlight Towns&rsquo; scoring gravity and passing ability.
<img style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" src="https://basketballnews-media.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/images/story/body/kat-blind-pig.gif" alt="" width="706" height="AUTO" />
This is a variation of &ldquo;blind pig&rdquo; action -- a pitch to a high-post hub as another player cuts off of him simultaneously. It&rsquo;s about the pass -- you have to have a certain level of timing and touch to pull this action off -- but it&rsquo;s also about the placement. Towns being stationed just inside the arc brings Dwight Powell above the free-throw line. You can quibble about Powell being caught flat-footed instead of being more on his toes, but the recovery angle is tougher because of how high he&rsquo;s brought out. Ricky Rubio isn&rsquo;t even an explosive athlete, but with him catching the pass with a full head of steam, there&rsquo;s no time for Powell to turn and affect the shot.
If you want a more traditional example of an elbow touch, try this possession on for size:
<img style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" src="https://basketballnews-media.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/images/story/body/kat-horns.gif" alt="" width="702" height="AUTO" />
It&rsquo;s a HORNS alignment. Nothing fancy, but it&rsquo;s important to note the positioning of LaMarcus Aldridge. He&rsquo;s basically in Towns&rsquo; jersey. As Malik Beasley &ldquo;ghosts&rdquo; the back-screen for Juancho Hernangomez and cuts, the paint is completely exposed.&nbsp;
What&rsquo;s special about Towns is that, though he can execute these sorts of sets, there&rsquo;s an improvisational aspect to his game just waiting to be explored.
<img style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" src="https://basketballnews-media.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/images/story/body/kat-fake-cross%2C-manipulation.gif" alt="" width="706" height="AUTO" />
The Wolves are setting up a cross-screen underneath the basket to get Towns a post-up. Towns reverses course on the fly, rejecting the screen and lifting up to the wing. Nerlens Noel has to take the road less traveled to get there; Towns pumps, drives, then finds Jaden McDaniels after reading the &ldquo;tag&rdquo; from Reggie Bullock.
The Wolves are an odd case to where they&rsquo;ve taken the &ldquo;right&rdquo; shots -- only the Rockets (82.8%) and Raptors (77.3%) have taken a <a href="https://www.pbpstats.com/totals/nba/team?Season=2020-21,2019-20&amp;SeasonType=Regular%2BSeason&amp;StartType=All" target="_blank" rel="noopener">larger share of their shots at the rim or from three</a> than the Wolves (76.4%) over the past two seasons -- but the offense has still been terrible. The first step to correcting that issue is leveraging the full breadth of Towns' skill set. Shots at the rim and threes are inherently valuable, but you still have to create quality looks from those areas.
PULLING THE PLUG EARLY
&ldquo;Towns and D&rsquo;Angelo Russell have only played five games together! The Wolves don&rsquo;t really know what they have in them yet.&rdquo;
It&rsquo;s a common, somewhat reasonable counter to the dire straits the Wolves find themselves in. You can&rsquo;t call an experiment a failure if you haven&rsquo;t had the opportunity to test it out.
[taps forehead]
I&rsquo;m not sure how hot of a take this is, but I&rsquo;d argue the Wolves have seen enough. In the case of Russell, he&rsquo;s young (25), but not young enough to where we don&rsquo;t have a handle on his strengths and weaknesses. There&rsquo;s still room and time for him to grow, but we have the template: a pull-up artist with good passing vision that doesn&rsquo;t pressure the rim, and a poor defender with limited upside.
Russell has utility, but it&rsquo;s fair to question if he&rsquo;s truly a core piece you want to build with long-term. The &ldquo;poor defender with limited upside&rdquo; bit may seem harsh, but the Wolves want to build a winner around Towns at a certain point. That means thinking about what this team will look like in a playoff setting. Within that context, having Russell at the point of attack in end-of-game scenarios is problematic for obvious reasons.
About that utility: the bulk of Russell&rsquo;s value comes on the offensive end. He&rsquo;s a slithery guard in high ball-screen situations with an ability to pull-up from just about anywhere. When he&rsquo;s rolling, he&rsquo;s able to leverage the threat of his shot to sling cross-court dimes when the defense rotates early.
In a world where Towns soaks up more playmaking usage, how valuable is Russell to the offense? When you add in the context of Malik Beasley further establishing himself as a stationary and movement shooter, the downhill fire that Edwards brings and the borderline destructive nature of Russell&rsquo;s defense, what exactly is the argument to him being QB2 on the Wolves&rsquo; core list?
To be clear, the defensive fit for Russell is a much more pressing issue than the offensive fit. And while I understand the Wolves don&rsquo;t have to choose between two of the Russell/Edwards/Beasley triumvirate, there may be diminishing returns with keeping Russell long term.
It&rsquo;s hard to imagine there wouldn&rsquo;t be teams that could talk themselves into a shot creation upgrade: Philadelphia, Dallas, New York and Memphis come to mind. There are some workable &ldquo;young secondary ball-handler + defensive pieces&rdquo; deals to be had if you fire up your local trade machine.&nbsp;
STEPPING UP
Minnesota will need to up its level defensively, figuratively and literally. Though we&rsquo;ve seen stretches of improvement, Towns remains a less-than-ideal backline anchor. The Wolves mostly deploy him in drop coverage, keeping him near the rim to contest shots and clean the glass.
The issue is that Towns still struggles to navigate the gap while dropping. Too often, he&rsquo;s caught dropping back too far and giving up easier intermediate shots (you want long twos in an ideal world), or he&rsquo;s lunging at the ball-handler and giving up an easy pass behind him.
<img style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" src="https://basketballnews-media.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/images/story/body/kat-bad-drop.gif" alt="" width="706" height="AUTO" />
You can see what Towns was thinking: &ldquo;My guy got caught; I need to take away the elbow jumper!&rdquo; He seemingly had no faith in McDaniels (No. 3) providing &ldquo;nail&rdquo; help to either take away a potential pull-up or contest it. The result was Towns taking himself out of the play.
At this point, I&rsquo;m interested in seeing the Wolves take the opposite approach: bring Towns to the level of the screen or have him hard hedge. Force some activity.&nbsp;
The Wolves now have a pair of versatile forwards -- McDaniels and Jarred Vanderbilt -- that provide real value as weakside rim protectors. To draw on the Jokic/Nuggets example from earlier in the piece: McDaniels or Vanderbilt would be Minnesota&rsquo;s version of Paul Millsap in this scheme. You can afford to put two to the ball, in pick-and-rolls or on drives if you have this kind of explosiveness behind you.
<img style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" src="https://basketballnews-media.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/images/story/body/mcdaniels-swat.gif" alt="" width="706" height="AUTO" />
We have enough evidence that Towns isn&rsquo;t capable of anchoring a defense right now. If he can&rsquo;t navigate space and make reads on the fly, simplify his job and surround him with length and athleticism so there&rsquo;s less to navigate.&nbsp;

Nekias Duncan dives into how the Wolves can maximize Karl-Anthony Towns' underutilized skill set on both ends of the floor.

Reshaping the Timberwolves in Karl-Anthony Towns' image

If you weren&rsquo;t in the Miami Heat&rsquo;s locker room to begin this season, there&rsquo;s almost no chance you saw their run coming.
This is a team that has believed all along they could win a title. Their initial 24-8 start was a wakeup call for the rest of the league; the bubble run, as weird as the circumstances around it were, further validated their self belief. There were hiccups and changes along the way -- injuries to key starters and trade-deadline deals led to a fundamental shift in the way the Heat played defensively -- but ultimately those changes paid off. Being two wins away from a title in Year 1 of the Jimmy Butler Era is a massive success.
Now, the fun part begins.
The Heat aren&rsquo;t catching teams off guard next season. They aren&rsquo;t a plucky &ldquo;if-things-go-right&rdquo; fringe contender anymore. There are real external expectations now, and Butler is helping fuel those fires. There&rsquo;s obvious room for improvement, but the Heat are going to want to be careful about how they improve. Their trade for Andre Iguodala, Jae Crowder and Solomon Hill gives them the flexibility to generate up to $22 million in space this summer after renouncing cap holds. The always-informative Keith Smith has a more thorough breakdown of their cap situation, which you can find <a href="https://www.slamonline.com/nba/miami-heat-salary-cap-space-2020/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here.</a>
So, yeah, the Heat can make a big splash. Will they? I wouldn&rsquo;t hold my breath on it. Most of the players good enough to warrant that kind of money will be looking for multi-year deals, which could cut into the Heat&rsquo;s heralded 2021 cap space. Staying over the cap and mostly running it back would give them a pretty strong roster, while also giving them a more lucrative mid-level exception to add help.&nbsp;
Let&rsquo;s take a look at some guys they&rsquo;ll look to bring back as well as some targets that could help them come back stronger than ever.
Key In-House Decisions
Goran Dragic: Bring Him Back
If you&rsquo;re looking solely at on-court factors, there&rsquo;s an argument for the Heat to let Dragic walk. He&rsquo;ll be coming off a foot injury, one that could hinder his already limited mobility defensively. That&rsquo;s on top of the natural decline Dragic will suffer from as he turns 35 years old next season. With Butler, Bam Adebayo and Tyler Herro to soak up a lot of on-ball usage moving forward, and Kendrick Nunn having a claim to reps if he returns to form (or isn&rsquo;t traded), there&rsquo;s a case to be made that the Heat should focus more on bolstering their perimeter defense.
Even with those concerns, Dragic is still a good player. He was one of the NBA&rsquo;s most prolific bench players. His pick-and-roll chemistry with Adebayo has become a half-court staple for the Heat. Beyond that: everyone, and I mean everyone, loves Dragic. It&rsquo;s hard to overstate how much Dragic has meant to the Heat as a pillar of the Post-Bosh Era. He&rsquo;s going to be back unless something egregious goes down in contract talks.
Jae Crowder: Bring Him Back
Crowder was simultaneously who we thought he was, but also a little better than expected. He&rsquo;s been a streaky shooter for his entire career; only once, in 2016-17 with the Boston Celtics (39.8 percent), has Crowder shot above league average from three. Crowder converted nearly 45 percent of his triples during the regular season, then shot 40 percent on 8.3 attempts through the first two rounds of the playoffs. Those numbers plummeted throughout the rest of the run (29.1 percent on 7.2 attempts), but he provided his usual brand of gritty defense to offset some of the cold streak. There&rsquo;s mutual interest between the two. I&rsquo;d expect a 1+1 with a team option on the back end.
Derrick Jones Jr.: Let Him Walk
Jones Jr was a fun find. After being exiled by the Phoenix Suns, the Heat gave him a shot and deployed him as a frontcourt spark plug off the bench. He quickly came on as a rim-roller, offensive rebounder and a surprisingly versatile defender. His complete lack of on-ball skill caps his ceiling, and the jumper just hasn&rsquo;t come around. As exciting as he can be, he&rsquo;s an actively harmful offensive player on balance, and the defense isn&rsquo;t good *enough* to justify a consistent role in games that matter. Working a sign-and-trade to a new team for a second-rounder or two could be beneficial for both parties.
Meyers Leonard: Circle Back Later
It&rsquo;s hard to get a gauge on Leonard&rsquo;s market. On one hand, he was a starter for most of the season before an ankle sprain took him out. He provided value as a shooter (41.4 percent), albeit on low volume. He was the vocal quarterback of Miami&rsquo;s drop scheme, and his size helped Adebayo avoid more physically taxing matchups during the regular season.
On the other hand, Leonard was a relative on-court non-factor during the postseason as the Heat went smaller. It&rsquo;s hard to argue for a deal worth more than $10 million, but his proficiency as a starter gives him a little more than &ldquo;vet minimum&rdquo; status. I expect him and the Heat to find a middle ground after they look at some other big man options.
Solomon Hill: Circle Back Later
Hill was the inverse of Miami&rsquo;s other trade acquisitions. He didn&rsquo;t see much of a role during the regular season, then was thrust into the rotation as a small-ball 5 (!) during the Eastern Conference Finals. Hill is a fine defender, spotty shooter and <a href="https://the-miami-heat-beat-podcast-26fdfe0c.simplecast.com/episodes/266-blm-bubble-life-anime-w-solomon-hill-miami-heat-gCO1rj0N">Anime enthusiast.</a> He should still be available once the Heat do their shopping elsewhere.
<img src="https://basketballnews-media.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/images/story/body/melton1_lg.jpg" alt="" width="785" height="AUTO" />
Free Agent Guards 
Cap Space Option: De&rsquo;Anthony Melton*
It&rsquo;s tempting to look into Raptors free agent Fred VanVleet, the best point guard on the market and someone who would solve all of Miami&rsquo;s point of attack issues while adding value as a shooter and secondary creator. Melton is flat-out worse offensively. The jumper isn&rsquo;t there outside of corner looks. There&rsquo;s some pick-and-roll craft worth exploring (54th percentile in passes out of pick-and-roll, per Synergy), but he should firmly be in the secondary attacker role.
However, Melton is an absolute hound defensively. He can shut the water off both guard spots, and has the length (near 6-foot-9 wingspan) to bother some 3s in a pinch. If you have faith in him becoming a reliable spot-up guy beyond the corners, he&rsquo;s the kind of young guy you make the gamble on.&nbsp;
Memphis will look to retain Melton as he&rsquo;s a restricted free agent, but other teams will come calling. There&rsquo;s an obvious fit in Atlanta alongside Trae Young, for example. Offering something like a 4-year, $45 million offer for Melton may be enough to pry him away, while still leaving just enough wiggle room to offer a star a max contract next year, depending on what the cap does.
Mid-Tier Option: Jordan Clarkson&nbsp;
Clarkson is coming off of, by far, the most efficient season of his career. He gave the Jazz a much-needed scoring punch once he arrived, averaging 15.6 points with a 56.9 True Shooting percentage during the regular season. Both of those marks increased (16.7, 57.7) during Utah&rsquo;s first round showdown with the Denver Nuggets.&nbsp;
Clarkson trading out some of his pull-up long twos for threes went a long way to making him a more efficient option. If the Heat end up looking for a Dragic replacement, Clarkson should be at the top of the list.
Bargains: Austin Rivers
Rivers brings a particular brand of energy offensively. He&rsquo;s one of the NBA&rsquo;s underrated drivers, utilizing a quick first step and channeled aggression to generate looks at the rim. He isn&rsquo;t much more than a rudimentary playmaker, but his north-south style would be a welcomed addition to the Heat bench. He&rsquo;s also a reliable spot-up threat, drilling nearly 38 percent of his catch-and-shoot threes over the past three seasons, according to a source with access to Second Spectrum tracking data.
Free Agent Wings 
Mid-Tier Options: Wes Matthews, Justin Holiday
There&rsquo;s a case to be made that Matthews could accept another minimum deal from a contender, either remaining in Milwaukee or going elsewhere. There&rsquo;s an even stronger case to be made that he&rsquo;s earned himself a pay day.
Matthews routinely took on the most demanding perimeter defensive assignments throughout the regular season, while knocking down over 36 percent of his threes on decent volume. He then upped the ante in the postseason, something that the Heat -- and Butler -- got a firsthand look at. There&rsquo;s an obvious Marquette connection at play; adding Matthews would boost Miami&rsquo;s perimeter defense while delivering a blow to the Bucks.
Holiday is more 3-and-Decent than 3-and-D, but he&rsquo;s coming off the best shooting season of his career (40.5 percent from three-point range on 4.5 attempts) while being a credible option against 2s and 3s. He&rsquo;s certainly worth a portion of the MLE if it comes down to it.
Bargains: Garrett Temple*
Temple would give the Heat a plus, multi-positional defender with a solid three-point stroke (35.3 percent over the past five seasons). The asterisk is present because the Nets hold a team option, though it&rsquo;d come as no surprise if they let Temple walk to free up tax room to bring back Joe Harris.
<img src="https://basketballnews-media.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/images/story/body/gallo1_lg.jpg" alt="" width="789" height="AUTO" />
Free Agent Forwards 
Cap Space Option: Danilo Gallinari
Gallinari was pretty close to being a member of the Heat this season, though talks allegedly broke down over a post-trade contract extension. Gallinari is one of the NBA&rsquo;s most underrated scorers, able to get buckets from all three levels and live at the free throw line when attacking mismatches. He may prioritize winning over dollars this offseason <a href="https://www.cbssports.com/nba/news/danilo-gallinari-says-competing-for-a-championship-is-more-important-than-his-contract-in-free-agency/">per his own words</a>, but the Heat have a pathway to outbidding all non-Thunder playoff teams this summer. A high-dollar 1+1 deal could get things done.
Mid-Tier Options: Jerami Grant, Paul Millsap&nbsp;
Grant was one of the breakout-adjacent ballers of the bubble, providing value as a shooter, cutter and multi-positional defender. Firecracker athletes with off-ball value and defensive versatility are hard to come by. He could realistically cash in with a team with cap space (hello, Atlanta, again), though he&rsquo;ll have plenty of interest from playoff teams. The Nuggets are in the lead, but tossing the full mid-level at Grant would be a smart play. Similar to Melton, a multi-year deal in the $9-10 million per year range would still allow the Heat to have room for a max slot next season.
If not Grant, going for Millsap could be a cheaper but just-as-fruitful option. He did look a bit washed at points during the postseason, but still managed to defend Anthony Davis as well as nearly anyone while filling the gaps offensively. I&rsquo;d argue that Millsap has a bit more in the tank than it would appear; operating as the backline defender in Denver&rsquo;s aggressive pick-and-roll scheme puts a lot of strain on those old bones. He would be surrounded by better defenders in Miami, and there&rsquo;s enough scheme versatility to where his responsibility would be much lighter.
Bargains: Mo Harkless, Luc Mbah a Moute, Anthony Tolliver
Harkless was a member of the Heat for about 27 minutes as part of the Hassan Whiteside trade&nbsp; before getting redirected. He&rsquo;s a credible defender of 3s and 4s, though his jumper has always been the swing skill of his effectiveness. He&rsquo;s never been a high volume guy and even with that caveat, he has shot over 35 percent from three-point range in just three of his eight seasons. He can provide value as an eighth man during the regular season.
Mbah a Moute has fallen victim to his own body, with injuries derailing his last three seasons. It&rsquo;s probably far-fetched to expect his 2017-18 form, but he could serve as a nice &ldquo;break-glass-in-case-of-emergency&rdquo; defender during the season.&nbsp;
Tolliver is a Professional Good Person whose on-court value comes almost entirely from beyond the arc. You can do a whole lot worse than a career 37.3 percent three-point shooter.&nbsp;
<img src="https://basketballnews-media.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/images/story/body/serge1_lg.jpg" alt="" width="785" height="AUTO" />
Free Agent Bigs 
Big Money: Serge Ibaka
If you&rsquo;re looking for an ideal frontcourt partner for Adebayo, he has to have the size to bang with true centers, or perimeter shooting ability. Both would be preferred of course, but one of those qualities have to be present. Ibaka comes with more of the latter, but he has been a fearsome rim protector for nearly his entire career.
It would likely take a sizable 1+1 deal, but an Ibaka-Adebayo frontcourt could be worth it. Ibaka would operate as the 4 on offense, working pick-and-pops and floating around the perimeter while the other Heatles work downhill. He would serve as the 5 on defense, hanging around the rim in the Heat&rsquo;s drop scheme, or roaming the paint as part of their zone.&nbsp;
Mid-Tier Option: Aron Baynes
Factoring in money, it&rsquo;s hard to argue against Baynes being one of the most valuable centers in basketball last season. He did the usual grunt work: setting bone-crushing screens as a roller or handoff partner, protected the rim with superb positioning, and boxed out well enough to help end possessions or grab the board himself. The new, somewhat surprising twist is that he became a legitimate three-point option (35.1 percent on 4.0 attempts per game). Stretch-ish fives are hard to find; the fit next to Adebayo is pretty darn seamless.&nbsp;
Bargains: Harry Giles
Giles has a bit of an injury history, dating back to his high-school days. Multiple lower body injuries have sapped some of his athleticism, and he&rsquo;s still a fluid, jumpy big who can feast in transition. The intrigue lies in his on-ball skill; he&rsquo;s quietly one of the better passing big men in the league already. There&rsquo;s some serious &ldquo;throw-it-to-him-in-the-high-post-and-let-him-do-stuff&rdquo; potential waiting to be untapped. This would be a smart buy-low candidate to look into.

Nekias Duncan breaks down the Miami Heat's salary-cap situation and impending free agents, plus several players they should target.

2020 Free Agency Preview: Miami Heat

According to a source, Heat assistant coach Dan Craig made a strong impression during his Friday interview for the Indiana Pacers head coaching job. New Orleans Pelicans associate head coach Chris Finch is still considered the favorite to replace Nate McMillan, who was dismissed after his team was swept by the Heat in the first round of the playoffs.
Source: <a style="color: #ffffff;" href="https://www.miamiherald.com/sports/spt-columns-blogs/barry-jackson/article246514150.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Miami Herald</a>
ANALYSIS: Dan Craig has been a part of the Miami Heat organization since the 2003-2004 season, starting as a video intern and climbing the ranks to now assistant coach status. Craig is searching for his first NBA head coaching position this offseason as he also interviewed for the Bulls job before Billy Donovan was hired.
The Pacers were thoroughly impressed with Craig's interview on Friday, but<a style="color: #ffffff;" href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-news-head-coach-indiana-pacers-chris-finch"> Chris Finch remains the top candidate for Indiana at this time</a>.&nbsp;

Heat assistant coach Dan Craig made a strong impression with the Indiana front office in his interview last week.

Dan Craig makes strong impression on Pacers

The Miami Heat are one win away from their first NBA Finals berth since 2014.
To say this is unexpected would be an understatement. Preseason betting odds from <a href="https://twitter.com/br_betting/status/1149734652736876547?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1149734652736876547%7Ctwgr%5Eshare_3&amp;ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fbleacherreport.com%2Farticles%2F2845343-2020-nba-championship-odds-rockets-4th-betting-favorite-lakers-top-contender">Caesar&rsquo;s Palace</a> had the Heat on par with the San Antonio Spurs and Indiana Pacers as title contenders. Rival Eastern Conference squads such as the Milwaukee Bucks, Philadelphia 76ers, Brooklyn Nets and these Boston Celtics were held in higher regard.
Even if you zoom in to this postseason, it&rsquo;s hard to fathom how the Heat have been winning. Miami&rsquo;s offense -- a surprising strength <a href="https://www.fivereasonssports.com/voices/how-erik-spoelstra-transformed-the-heats-offense/">after offseason renovation</a> -- has somehow gotten better against stiffer competition. Their 113 offensive rating this postseason is a slight bump from their regular-season mark (111.9).
It&rsquo;s been late jumpers from Jimmy Butler, fresh off one of the worst shooting campaigns of his career. It's been Jae Crowder, after back-to-back subpar shooting performances, still converting nearly 37 percent of his threes on 8.5 attempts per game this postseason. It&rsquo;s been Bam Adebayo mixing in fearless rim attacks with baby-soft mid-range jumpers.
On Wednesday night, it was Tyler Herro putting himself into Magic-Johnson territory with a 37-point performance. The swagadocious rookie showcased his entire bag -- pull-up jumpers, Eurostep finishes and enough live-dribble feeds to draw the audible praise of ESPN announcer Jeff Van Gundy on multiple occasions.
The Heat deserve their flowers, first and foremost. They&rsquo;ve played hard and well throughout this entire playoff run, and the coaching of Erik Spoelstra has been the stuff of legends.
On the flip side, it&rsquo;s also fair to wonder what the heck the Celtics are doing.
Rightfully heralded as a versatile and well-coached group defensively, the Celtics failed miserably on that end in Game 4. Their 116.7 defensive rating was the <a href="https://stats.nba.com/team/1610612738/boxscores-advanced/?Season=2019-20&amp;SeasonType=Playoffs&amp;sort=DEF_RATING&amp;dir=1">second-highest mark</a> they&rsquo;ve allowed all postseason long. Their 134.8 rating in the second half of Game 4 was their worst showing of these playoffs.
Those numbers were primarily a result of Boston failing to corral the Heat&rsquo;s two-or-more-man actions. Pick-and-rolls and dribble handoffs, the heart of Miami&rsquo;s halfcourt attacks, continuously gave the Celtics fits.
According to a source with access to Second Spectrum tracking data, the Heat generated 1.15 points per possession on trips featuring a pick-and-roll, and nearly 1.2 points per possession on trips featuring a dribble handoff. Those numbers rose to 1.23 and 1.24, respectively, in the second half.
Herro ate the Celtics alive in pick-and-roll. His pace, handle, and remarkable footwork allowed him to manipulate his defender into screens, then capitalize on the space afforded to him.
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The Heat kick off this possession with some screen-the-screener action. Goran Dragic sets a screen on Adebayo&rsquo;s man (Robert Williams) before Adebayo goes up top to set a screen for Herro.
Jaylen Brown actually does a nice job of fighting over the screen and contesting, but Williams is the primary culprit in this possession. Herro and Adebayo start their two-man dance at the NBA logo, and Williams only comes one (1) step above the foul line. Dragic made solid contact on the screen, but not enough to prevent Williams for ever showing higher up. Even with the contest from Brown, Herro basically gets a freebie above the break.
The Heat went to that well often late in the third quarter, to the point where Brad Stevens finally opted to give Grant Williams a brief run. Boston had much more success switching ball screens, flattening out the advantages the Heat wanted to create and forcing them to hunt out looks elsewhere.&nbsp;
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It should come as no surprise, then, that trips featuring a Herro-led pick-and-roll were more fruitful against drop defense than they were against switches, per the Second Spectrum source.
The same principle applied on dribble handoffs. The Heat hunted Boston&rsquo;s centers -- Daniel Theis or Williams -- with their shooters flying over handoffs, knowing that neither big wanted to play super high. Here&rsquo;s the opening possession from the fourth quarter.
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It&rsquo;s easy to get dizzy watching the Heat flow into three different handoffs, with two extra screens from Adebayo and Duncan Robinson sprinkled in to boot. But there are two things I&rsquo;d like to point out, and they&rsquo;re connected to each other.&nbsp;
First and foremost, Theis never comes higher than the semicircle above the free throw line. Just won&rsquo;t do it, outright refuses. And that, in turn, puts an incredible amount of strain on Brad Wanamaker.&nbsp;
Wanamaker goes under the first handoff, which coincidentally would be the space you&rsquo;d want Theis to be filling. He then goes over the second handoff to funnel Herro downhill. The ball is pitched out to Robinson, who finds Adebayo before setting a screen for Herro to flow into the final handoff. Wanamaker just can&rsquo;t keep up, and there&rsquo;s no switch from Gordon Hayward for whatever reason.&nbsp;
The Celtics continuously allowed the Heat&rsquo;s shooters to see daylight. That&rsquo;s inexcusable on its own, but becomes even more baffling once you contrast their coverage of Herro with that of Butler.
Butler was able to dictate terms in a way that should honestly embarrass the Celtics. When playing a traditional drop coverage, the Celtics opted to have Butler&rsquo;s defender play into his chest and fight over the screen. This makes sense for a deep pull-up threat (like Herro), not someone like Butler who wants to get downhill and get to his floater, initiate contact at the rim, or force rotations and kick the ball out.&nbsp;
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(Why is Kemba Walker matched up with Butler on this possession? This came after a make! Boston is good at rejiggering matchups on the fly!)
When Boston opted to switch, they were pretty soft ones. There seemed to be no &ldquo;switch this, but only under X, Y, or Z circumstances&rdquo; plan, and that allowed Butler to shape possessions the way he wanted.&nbsp;
And then there were the traps.
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Instead of having Tatum dip under the pick, or even switch it, Boston sends two to the ball, putting Brown in a bind. He leaves Robinson to tag Adebayo on the slip. Luckily Butler isn&rsquo;t able to convert that pass, and Brown is able to recover. But as Brown recovers, Butler fits a dart in to Adebayo for a one-dribble pull-up.&nbsp;
You can argue the result is fine. An Adebayo mid-range jumper is a better concession than a three from Robinson. But the process was so flawed, and so unnecessary.&nbsp;
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Again, there&rsquo;s no need to trap here. It&rsquo;s a four-point game, and there&rsquo;s 1:40 and a little over half a shot clock remaining on the possession. Butler gets a pass to Adebayo, creating an advantage situation. Brown picks up Adebayo, which forces Marcus Smart to choose between taking away a sure-fire layup from Andre Iguodala or sticking with Goran Dragic in the corner.
Smart rightfully chooses to take away the layup, and Dragic gets the equivalent of a practice shot to put the Heat up seven.
For a team as talented, as versatile and as generally well-coached as the Celtics are, their performance late in Game 4 was inexcusable. There seemed to be a real lack of detail to their defensive gameplan. That may be the generous explanation. At worst, the Celtics looked like a team throwing things at the wall, hoping for a solution to stick.&nbsp;
If that&rsquo;s where they are, with that desperation showing in a game the Heat won while shooting 10-of-37 (27 percent) from three, this series might not make it past the weekend.

What the heck are the Boston Celtics doing? Nekias Duncan breaks down their struggles against the Miami Heat in Game 4 of the ECF.