Knights

The NBA sent four teams home from its Play-In Tournament after Friday night, but all four are poised to contend next season.
Though the Charlotte Hornets, Cleveland Cavaliers and San Antonio Spurs exited early, their trio of All-Star guards and exciting young cores mean all three should be back in the hunt &mdash; provided they beef up their rosters in the offseason. Meanwhile, the Los Angeles Clippers weren't supposed to make it this far without their franchise cornerstones; that only creates more buzz surrounding a 2022-23 championship contender.
What can these franchises do this offseason to set themselves up for success? I've written up some summer plans for all four squads, including draft assets (via Tankathon), potential free agents (via Spotrac) and a central team-building question (via my deranged mind). If you missed last week, I did the same for the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/summer-plans-for-the-nbas-nonplayoff-teams" target="_blank" rel="noopener">10 teams who did not crack the NBA postseason</a>.
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Let's dive in.
CHARLOTTE HORNETS
Draft assets:&nbsp;First-round pick, First-round pick via Pelicans, Second-round pick, Second-round pick via Toronto (if 55-60)
Potential free agents:&nbsp;Montrezl Harrell, Isaiah Thomas, Miles Bridges (restricted), Cody Martin (restricted), Arnoldas Kulboka (restricted), Scottie Lewis (restricted)
Central question:&nbsp;How can the Hornets construct an interior defense?
Charlotte's bottom-10 defense doomed the franchise several times in the regular season and, ultimately, in the Play-In loss to Atlanta. The Hornets gave up boatloads of at-rim attempts and three-pointers, and simply looked like turnstiles at times. Improvement is necessary across the board, but an on-paper view highlights a clear need for upgrades inside.
Mason Plumlee is a fine basketball player, but he's not anchoring a high-level NBA defense. Neither is Montrezl Harrell, and 2021 first-round pick Kai Jones barely touched the floor in Charlotte. The Hornets don't have a whole lot of salary flexibility with big-money deals in place for Gordon Hayward and Terry Rozier. Miles Bridges' restricted free agency is also a key offseason focal point.&nbsp;
Though the Hornets likely can't throw outright money at a Deandre Ayton-level restricted free agent, perhaps they could work a sign-and-trade for a lesser-known young talent. Maybe Mo Bamba fits the bill from Orlando? Charlotte was tied to trade rumors surrounding Myles Turner before the trade deadline, and the front office could also elect to sign a veteran at a mid-level exception.
Regardless of the pathway, the Hornets have needed to address the center position for years now. With a playoff leap now the expectation in 2022-23, they can't afford to let another summer slip away.
CLEVELAND CAVALIERS
Draft assets:&nbsp;First-round pick, Second-round pick via Spurs, Second-round pick via Heat
Potential free agents:&nbsp;Ed Davis, Rajon Rondo, Brandon Goodwin, Collin Sexton (restricted), Moses Brown (restricted), RJ Nembhard (restricted), Dean Wade (team option)
Central question:&nbsp;What is Collin Sexton's future in Cleveland?
The Cavaliers may have slid out of the playoffs, but this was a banner year for the franchise's long-term trajectory. Darius Garland emerged as a cornerstone point guard, Evan Mobley might win Rookie of the Year, and the frontcourt pairing with Jarrett Allen looks to be a mainstay in the Eastern Conference. Injuries ultimately derailed what was a top-four seed. Most of the rotation is under contract and under 30, hinting at continued growth.
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Darius Garland -&gt; Jarrett Allen -&gt; Evan Mobley (Lob) <a href="https://t.co/nDQz7tkxbs">pic.twitter.com/nDQz7tkxbs</a>
&mdash; Jackson Lloyd (@JacksonLloydNBA) <a href="https://twitter.com/JacksonLloydNBA/status/1515354588353728522?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 16, 2022</a></blockquote>

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This seaon's leap makes the situation with Sexton... difficult. Let's not forget that the combo guard is a season removed from a 24-point-per-game season as an efficient primary scorer, and that the Cavs were 19th in Offensive Rating this year. Sexton can meaningfully boost Cleveland simply as a bucket-getter, nevermind if he keeps improving as a playmaker.
What kind of contract do the Cavs offer to a 23-year-old who missed nearly a full season with a knee injury though? If a desperate team decides to throw money at Sexton to force the franchise to match, is there a limit to the front office's willingness? What would an extension mean for Isaac Okoro and Caris LeVert?&nbsp;
Sexton is one of the biggest dominoes in the upcoming offseason, and arguably the most unpredictable.
LOS ANGELES CLIPPERS
Draft assets:&nbsp;Second-round pick
Potential free agents: Robert Covington, Rodney Hood, Isaiah Hartenstein, Amir Coffey (restricted), Xavier Moon (restricted), Ivica Zubac (team option), Nic Batum (player option)
Central question:&nbsp;What does a fully-healthy 10-man rotation look like?
Nobody expected the Clippers to be a playoff contender without Kawhi Leonard and Paul George, and they still almost cracked the postseason with the supporting cast chipping in. L.A. made a splash at the trade deadline by adding Norman Powell and Robert Covington, two players who conceivably make sense next to the franchise's two stars.
This roster is deep. It's a great problem to have, but it's still a problem with several rotation options potentially hitting free agency. Covington will likely command a solid new deal as one of the league's more reliable two-way complements, and Batum could easily decline his $3.3 million team option in search of a raise. Ivica Zubac and Isaiah Hartenstein may both hit free agency; what would happen to the center rotation in that case?
The Clippers have Leonard, George, Powell, Reggie Jackson, Luke Kennard, Terance Mann and Marcus Morris locked down for next season. That's already seven rotation-caliber players, and it doesn't account for leaps from young talents like Brandon Boston Jr., Jason Preston or Amir Coffey. A roster crunch is inbound, and the organization can't let a quality addition slip away as it positions itself for title contention next season.
SAN ANTONIO SPURS
Draft assets:&nbsp;First-round pick, first-round pick via Raptors, first-round pick via Celtics, second-round pick via Lakers
Potential free agents:&nbsp;Lonnie Walker IV (restricted), Devontae Cacok (restricted), Joe Wieskamp (restricted), DJ Stewart Jr. (restricted), Robert Woodard II (restricted)
Central question:&nbsp;How do the Spurs toe the line between developmental patience and consolidation?
San Antonio valiantly fought to get to the Play-In Tournament before losing to New Orleans, but also had one of the more underrated developmental seasons across the roster. Dejounte Murray made his All-Star leap and Jakob Poeltl established himself as <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/jakob-poeltl-san-antonios-newest-watchful-protector" target="_blank" rel="noopener">one of the league's better rim-protectors</a>; the Spurs collectively were just a tick under league-average on both ends of the floor, per Cleaning the Glass.
One of the NBA's youngest rosters is well on track and about to receive another influx of potential. San Antonio could use its three first-rounders (including its own lottery pick) to add to the frontcourt or find another lead guard. However, the Spurs already have 12 players locked down for next season under at least partial guarantees, and 11 of them are under 30. They have a pathway to over $24 million in salary cap space this summer should they move on from restricted free agents like Walker.&nbsp;
There's an avenue, with draft picks, young players and cap space, for San Antonio to make a serious splash. Is that in the programming for this franchise, though? San Antonio hasn't acquired a star via trade in several years, unless you want to count adding DeMar DeRozan in the Kawhi Leonard blockbuster. At the same time, there are only so many minutes to go around for the young guns, especially if the Spurs think they can compete for the playoffs.
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Ethan Fuller sets the stage for the NBA's four Play-In exits approaching the offseason.

Summer plans for the Spurs, Hornets, Cavaliers and Clippers

This year has been a great reinforcer of the enjoyment of the process. The NBA season is 82 games, far more than many fans and observers alike would like there to be, and I can't blame them. (For the sake of player health and longevity, I'd love to see the season shortened.)
After a close loss to the Atlanta Hawks on Friday night in the Play-In Tournament, the Cleveland Cavaliers were ousted from the playoffs entirely, meaning their season had come to an end.
"End? No, the journey doesn't end here. Death is just another path, one that we all must take." 
- <a href="https://youtu.be/Rag_9J1ZC2g" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Gandalf</a> 
- Me watching the Cavs
Pull up Basketball-Reference, and you'll find the Cavs with a 44-38 record and the No. 8 seed in the Eastern Conference. A solid record at the end of the season. A good one even, if taking the past year into account. I was of the opinion that the Cavs might jockey with Play-In positioning at points this year, but ultimately would fall short of being a playoff team and take a meaningful few steps as a young squad.
That's what makes the regular season so precious to me. Watching the game-to-game, week-to-week evolution of this group was a special endeavor this year. I relish growth, persistence and consistency; the Cavs met all three needs with gumption. This is not a "watch the games bro" take, but rather an "I'm so thankful I got to watch the games bro" exclamation. Deducing what this team was this season down to its final record is a disservice.
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Just 11 games in, the Cavs lost Collin Sexton for the season. A month-and-a-half later, they lost sixth man and backup point guard Ricky Rubio as well. You might look at his efficiency or lack thereof and question his impact, but Rubio gave the Cavs' bench a verve that they were <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/mulling-over-6-options-for-the-cavs-with-ricky-rubio-out-for-the-year" target="_blank" rel="noopener">never able to replicate</a>.
All three frontcourt starters missed significant stretches of time, with Jarrett Allen's finger fracture throwing the team into a tailspin shortly after the All-Star Break
None of the primary starters this season played 70 games.
This was a team that was 35-21 a week before the break festivities in Cleveland, legitimately fighting for (and maintaining) home-court advantage in the playoffs for a significant stretch of the regular season.
The way the Cavs got there was even more enticing.
The first time I saw that J.B. Bickerstaff was starting Lauri Markkanen at the 3, I was vexed. I understood why, but thoroughly questioned its viability. Even prior to that, I was extremely critical of the Markkanen sign-and-trade in the offseason. Well, I was just flat-out wrong!
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Big to Big to Big <a href="https://t.co/5WlMaBYmoe">pic.twitter.com/5WlMaBYmoe</a>
&mdash; Mark Schindler (@MG_Schindler) <a href="https://twitter.com/MG_Schindler/status/1460317639629234180?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 15, 2021</a></blockquote>

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The three-7-footer lineup the Cavs started and leaned upon as their bread and butter all year was a delight. The big-to-big-to-big passing was joyous and impactful. It will be interesting to find out whether teams try to replicate a jumbo lineup without capturing the essence of why it worked. Having three players who all have size, mobility and skill is not an easy combination to find.&nbsp;
Markkanen's offense was up and down at times this year, but his defense should be lauded. He was a very rough defender his whole time in Chicago, and I was taken aback early this season by his effort and attentiveness &mdash; which never really waned by my eye. His game against Atlanta was phenomenal, even if marred by a late game turnover. Again, process, process, process.
Jarrett Allen earned an All-Star nod through his all-around improvements, becoming a legitimately switchable big man and the anchor of the Cavs' defense in the paint as their primary rim-protector. The offense really suffered without his gravity as a roller and his screening ability when he was out. He found new levels of aggression that he flashed late last year, and made it a consistent staple this year.
Allen's presence and Markkanen's strides allowed Evan Mobley to assert himself. His ground coverage is breathtaking, and it enabled a ridiculously aggressive, effective and quirky 3-2 zone to bend the court dimensions to the the Cavs' will.
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Evan Mobley <a href="https://t.co/hN41CbufIb">pic.twitter.com/hN41CbufIb</a>
&mdash; Mark Schindler (@MG_Schindler) <a href="https://twitter.com/MG_Schindler/status/1452408998926376968?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 24, 2021</a></blockquote>

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It should not be possible to cover the rim to the arc the way he does, but Mobley just does.
The flashes he showcased throughout the year as a face-up scorer and passer were wild, and lend credence to his exciting future as one of the brightest young stars in basketball.
I won't quibble with anyone who voted for another first-year player as Rookie of the Year; there are so many different ways to view, appreciate and evaluate the game. This <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-stats-notebook-fighting-narratives-in-the-rookie-of-the-year-race" target="_blank" rel="noopener">rookie class is incredible</a>. I am still there with Mobley winning it.
Darius Garland quite literally was Cleveland's offense at points this year when the team was depleted. His off-the-dribble ease and marksmanship open up his game as one of the best passers in the sport. In spite of the finish to the year, he and Allen were rightful All-Stars at the time. Garland's growth over the past two years, along with Mobley's ascension, provides the foundation of one of the more intriguing young cores in the NBA. There's still a great deal for the pair to grow both individually and together!
Kevin Love had an awesome bounce-back season, warranting Sixth Man of the Year buzz before the Cavs (and he) tailed off down the stretch. Cedi Osman is still an absolute bundle of chaos, but Cleveland was better because of him, putting together his most efficient season since his rookie year.
The Cavs will keep their first-round pick in the 2022 NBA Draft (14th-best odds), as the pick will not convey to Indiana due to lottery protections (part of the Caris LeVert trade). Given how the season ended, this is a silver lining. Cleveland needs wing depth and more shot creation.&nbsp;
I <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/enjoying-the-little-things-of-the-nba-season" target="_blank" rel="noopener">wrote about Isaac Okoro</a> and his impact earlier this season, highlighting the little things he honed in on to imprint himself on both ends. He played 34 minutes combined in the two Play-In matchups and took 6 shots. I don't have an answer now &mdash; it's something I want to dive into further in the offseason &mdash; but the Cavs really need Okoro to make significant strides as an offensive player.
I do think some have been too quick to cast off the positive things he has done and what he can provide, but Okoro's current limitations were put on display in those contests. If he runs ball-screens, the defense goes under and forces a pass-out-and-reset or a shot off the dribble. If he's spaced off the ball, he's left open in the corner. The defense is really, really good, but the offense needs to come along.
Speaking of offense, the Caris LeVert trade was made with the purpose of bringing in another shot-creator and offensive engine. I am so interested to see what happens between LeVert and the Cavs this off-season.
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Caris LeVert on the importance of a contract extension with <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Cavs?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Cavs</a>: "Yeah, this is where I want to be. They know that. The front office knows that, my teammates know that. So I don't know what's gonna happen with that contract extension, but I know where my heart is."
&mdash; Kelsey Russo (@kelseyyrusso) <a href="https://twitter.com/kelseyyrusso/status/1515360464263385098?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 16, 2022</a></blockquote>

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I understood why the Cavs made the trade at the time, going in on this season to try and make a real playoff run without fully hindering their intermediate future and flexibility. I just really struggled to be into the move from a personnel perspective, and I'll have even more questions once/if Collin Sexton returns next year.
I have no idea what to think about Sexton's future in Cleveland. He is a really good player with some flaws that can be a bit exacerbated playing alongside another small guard. His numbers were down and his shot wasn't right to start the year, but he was playing some of the best team basketball of his career to start the year. I don't know what the answer is for Cavs president Koby Altman, general manager Mike Gansey and the front-office brain trust, but they have a lot of decisions to make over the next few months as they continue to shape this team.
Hard decisions are a good thing! To look at where the Cavs were two years ago at 19-46 with questions about their infrastructure to where they're at now... that's pretty good!
The way they handle those head-scratching conundrums over the summer will ultimately mold their future playoff aspirations and viability. The 2021-22 Cleveland campaign was one of the more unexpected and exciting runs that had some unfortunate road bumps.
But the point remains that the future of the Cavs is much brighter today than it was eight months ago, and where this team is at by this time next year will have been set up by the trials and tribulations of this year.
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The Cavaliers' season came to an end last night, but their year as a whole was one for the books.

Recognizing the Cavs for who they were, could've been and may soon be

The Orlando Magic finished another losing season singing a familiar refrain.
Despite dropping 60 games, posting the worst record in the Eastern Conference and missing the playoffs for the third time in five years, the club insists it&rsquo;s latest overhaul is headed in the right direction.
&ldquo;From when we walked into the building on Day One, we talked about how we were going to compete at a high level, defend at a high level, work every day and have fun doing it,&rdquo; first-year coach Jamahl Mosley noted Sunday. &ldquo;That&rsquo;s what we&rsquo;ve done.&rdquo;
The Magic dropped 27 of 32 games to start the season and never won three games in a row, yet Mosley said a young team that played most of the season without two of its best players never got discouraged.
&ldquo;Practice (Saturday) felt like Day One. There was an energy, an enthusiasm, a joy for being on the court with one another throughout the day,&rdquo; the coach said before Sunday night&rsquo;s finale against the Miami Heat.
&ldquo;And I think it was about what we&rsquo;ve talked about from the beginning. It&rsquo;s about us getting better every single day. Whether we win or lose, we&rsquo;re putting that work in every single day,&rdquo; Mosley added. &ldquo;These guys have embraced that, and they have embraced each other.&rdquo;
In a sense, this season was doomed from the start with Jonathan Issac and Markelle Fultz, two of the young players the Magic are trying to build around, on the mend from serious knee injuries.
Issac tore his left anterior cruciate ligament when the pandemic-interrupted 2019-20 season resumed in the Disney bubble. He&rsquo;s missed all of the past two seasons and only played 136 games since being drafted five years ago..
Fultz tore his ACL in January 2021 and was sidelined almost 14 months before returning late this season and playing well enough to gradually work his way back into a starting role.
Team president Jeff Weltman and general manager John Hammond remain committed to building through the draft after trading veterans Nikola Vucevic and Aaron Gordon in March 2021 for future first-round picks in 2023 and 2025.
The current roster includes eight players selected in the first round of the past five drafts, including Fultz (No. 1 overall by Philadelphia in 2017) and Wendell Carter Jr. (seventh by Chicago in 2018).
Isaac (sixth, 2017), Mo Bamba (sixth, 2018), Chuma Okeke (16th, 2019), Cole Anthony (15th, in 2020), Jalen Suggs (fifth, 2021) and Franz Wagner (eighth, 2021) are Orlando picks.
Suggs and Wagner showed flashes of promise as rookies this season. The 6 foot-10 Carter looks like part of the future, too, after averaging a confidence-bolstering 15 points and 10.5 rebounds in 62 games.
&ldquo;All the young teams in the league &mdash; the Memphis Grizzlies, the Phoenix Suns, the Cleveland Cavaliers &mdash; I feel like we&rsquo;re right there,&rdquo; Carter said.
&ldquo;Especially with us being so young, it gives us the opportunity to really mold everyone,&rdquo; Carter added. &ldquo;I feel like we&rsquo;re in a perfect opportunity where everybody understands what everybody is capable of, and we all like each other.&rdquo;
WORK TO DO
Despite insisting there are signs of progress, this the seventh time in the past 10 seasons the Magic have won fewer than 30 games.
Orlando has had five different coaches and only posted one winning record (42-40 in 2018-19) during that span. The franchise hasn&rsquo;t won a playoff series since 2010.
MIXED REVIEWS
Suggs was the fifth pick in last year&rsquo;s draft out of Gonzaga. He earned a starting job right away, but would up missing 34 games due to various injuries. He shot just 36% and averaged 11.8 points and 4.4 assists in 48 games..
Wagner, the 8th pick out of Michigan, averaged 15.2 points in 79 games. He started the first 74 games before being sidelined by an ankle injury.
GET IN THE GYM
Mosley said one of the team&rsquo;s priorities is improving its perimeter shooting.
The Magic finished 28th in the NBA in field-goal percentage at 43.4, including 33.4 from 3-point range.
Fultz (23.5%, Suggs (21.4%) and Anthony (33.8%) all struggled from beyond the arc.
Without mentioning any names, Mosley said he wants everyone to return in September with better jump shots.
&ldquo;Being able to shoot the heck out of the basketball, and coming back with that conditioning level all the way up, I think those are going to be the big keys,&rdquo; the coach said.

The Magic dropped 27 of 32 games to start the season and never won three games in a row, yet Mosley said they remained upbeat.

Jamahl Mosley: Young, rebuilding Magic have promising future

Darius Garland had 24 points and 13 assists to lead the Cleveland Cavaliers to a 119-101 win over the New York Knicks on Saturday.
Garland led seven Cavaliers in double figures as Cleveland snapped a two-game losing streak.
Caris LeVert finished with 19 points. Moses Brown and Isaac Okoro each added 16. Brown also had 13 rebounds. Kevin Love had 15 off the bench. Cedi Osman and Lauri Markkanen both added 10 for Cleveland.
&ldquo;We're starting to put something together,&rdquo; Garland said.
Added Love: &ldquo;We're a very good team.&rdquo;
After a four-game winning streak, New York has lost two straight.
Obi Toppin scored a career-high 20 points. Evan Fournier had 19. Immanuel Quickley scored 17 off the bench. RJ Barrett finished with 12, and Alec Burks had 11 for New York.
&ldquo;We lost today so it really doesn't mean anything to me,&rdquo; Toppin said about his career day. &ldquo;We (have to) learn from today and just get better and win these next couple games.&rdquo;
The Cavaliers never trailed in sweeping the regular-season series. Cleveland shot 54.3% from the field (44-for-81) and 44.1% from 3 in the matinee at Madison Square Garden.
&ldquo;We finally made some shots,&rdquo; Garland said.
New York was 31-for-77 from the field (40.3%) and 13-for-30 from 3 (43.3%).
But the Knicks were unable to score a go-ahead basket at any point. And Cleveland took every opportunity to build on its advantage including a 57-second sequence in the third quarter.
Barrett made one of two free throws to cut the deficit to 80-74. The Cavaliers responded with an Okoro tip-in, an Okoro 3, and a spectacular two-handed dunk from Brown to push the lead to 13.
The spurt increased into an 22-11 quarter-ending run, allowing Cleveland to enter the fourth with an 102-87 advantage.
&ldquo;It was definitely something we talked about within the huddle in that second half,&rdquo; Love said of the Cavaliers ability to put the game away. &ldquo;When we got up we said we (didn't have to) stop and let's continue to make the right play; play for each other.&rdquo;
Osman&rsquo;s four-point play with 9:28 left put the game away.
&ldquo;They have a lot of guys who can stretch the floor,&rdquo; said Quickley. &ldquo;We didn't play our best.&rdquo;
Cleveland rookie Evan Mobley missed his third straight game with a sprained left ankle.
TIP-INS
Cavaliers: With slightly more than a week remaining in the regular season, the Cavaliers are in the midst of a playoff race. Entering the day, Cleveland was seventh in the East which places them amongst the teams in the play-in mix. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s obviously a step forward for us,&rdquo; Cavaliers coach J.B. Bickerstaff said before the game.
&ldquo;No matter what team has been built (and) how long they&rsquo;ve sustained success, they&rsquo;ve had to go through this process and they&rsquo;ve gone through the process of being heartbroken and learning through disappointment.&rdquo;
When asked specifically how he thought his team was handling being in a playoff push, Bickerstaff said he believed they were &ldquo;handling it well.&rdquo;
Knicks: New York star forward Julius Randle missed the game with an injured quadriceps, and coach Tom Thibodeau said before the game it is &ldquo;most likely he will be out the rest of the way.&rdquo; Randle, 27, averaged 20.1 points, 9.9 rebounds, and 5.1 assists in 72 games this season. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s had this nagging thing going on for awhile,&rdquo; he said.
Thibodeau said Randle will not travel with the team to Orlando for Sunday&rsquo;s game against the Magic. Following Sunday, New York will have three games left in what has been a disappointing season.
&ldquo;Most likely where we are, just let him get healthy and go from there,&rdquo; Thibodeau said.
UP NEXT
Cavaliers: host Philadelphia on Sunday.
Knicks: visit Orlando on Sunday.

Darius Garland had 24 points and 13 assists to lead the Cleveland Cavaliers to a 119-101 win over the New York Knicks on Saturday.

Darius Garland leads Cavaliers to 119-101 win over Knicks

Darius Garland had 25 points and 12 assists, leading Cleveland to a 107-101 victory over the Orlando Magic on Monday night in a game in which the Cavaliers lost rookie big man Evan Mobley to a sprained left ankle.
Mobley, the No. 3 overall pick, landed on the foot of Franz Wagner while defending under the basket in the second quarter. He limped to the locker room after briefly laying on the court and did not return to the game.
Lauri Markkanen scored 20 points, Kevin Love had 19 points and seven rebounds, and Isaac Okoro added 11 points for the Cavaliers, who snapped a three-game losing streak and remained seventh in the Eastern Conference with a 42-33 record.
Magic power forward Wendell Carter Jr. had 15 points, 12 rebounds and six assists, Ignas Brazdeikis scored 13 points and Wagner had 10 points and six assists. Orlando has the worst record in the East at 20-56.
The Cavaliers clinched their first winning season in four years. It is the first time they will finish above .500 without LeBron James on their roster since 1997-1998.
Mobley is averaging 14.9 points and 8.3 rebounds, placing him squarely in the Rookie of the Year race with Toronto&rsquo;s Scottie Barnes and Detroit&rsquo;s Cade Cunningham.
Brazdeikis&rsquo; layup gave Orlando a 92-90 lead midway through the fourth, but Markkanen and Garland combined to score the next 12 points, putting Cleveland in front for good. It was capped by an alley-oop from All-Star point guard Garland to Markkanen.
All-Star center Jarrett Allen (left middle finger fracture) missed his 11th straight game for the Cavaliers. Point guard Rajon Rondo (right ankle sprain) has not played since March 12, and shooting guard Collin Sexton (left knee surgery) is out for the season.
Love had eight points in an 18-3 run to start the second that extended Cleveland&rsquo;s lead to 45-25. The Magic answered with a 20-4 spurt, fueled by six points from Carter to pull within two. Cavaliers carried a 60-53 lead into the break.
COMING UP EMPTY
The Cavaliers lost their two most important games of the season to date, 117-104 at Toronto and 98-94 to Chicago in a three-day span. As a result, Cleveland slipped to seventh in the East and now trails both teams. &ldquo;It was the magnitude of the moment and the (limited) experience level of our guys,&rdquo; coach J.B. Bickerstaff said. &ldquo;It hurts. It&rsquo;s painful. But you have to go through it and you have to take some lumps.&rdquo;
Four of the Cavaliers&rsquo; final seven games are on the road.
TIP-INS
Magic: Coach Jamahl Mosley watched the Oscars with Bickerstaff at his house. &hellip; Wagner, Detroit&rsquo;s Saddiq Bey and Phoenix&rsquo;s Mikal Bridges are the only NBA players to start every game this season. &hellip; Rookie G Jalen Suggs (right ankle bruise), the No. 5 overall pick, last played on March 13 against Philadelphia. &hellip; C Bol Bol (right foot surgery) and C Jonathan Isaac (left knee rehabilitation) are out for the season.
Cavaliers: Mobley needs one point to become the eighth rookie in franchise history with 1,000. &hellip; F Dean Wade (right meniscus tear) will miss the rest of the season after undergoing knee surgery. Wade, who made 28 starts, averaged 5.3 points in 51 games. &hellip; C Moses Brown&rsquo;s second 10-day contract runs through March 30. &hellip; Cleveland took a 59-58 lead in its series with Orlando, which entered the NBA in 1989.
UP NEXT
Magic: Visit the Washington Wizards on Wednesday night.
Cavaliers: Host the Dallas Mavericks on Wednesday night.

The Cavs clinched their first winning season in four years, and Evan Mobley, the No. 3 overall pick, didn't return to the game.

Cavaliers beat Magic 107-101, lose Mobley to sprained ankle

March Madness indicates many things. Upsets, the overuse of the term bracketology, the start of spring, the beginning of pickup basketball games you promised yourself you'd get in shape for.
But for NBA fans, it&rsquo;s also a friendly reminder that the playoffs are only a stone's throw away. So, here at BasketballNews.com, we figured it was time to start preparing you for the game&rsquo;s second season.&nbsp;
And to do my part, I have decided to spend the next month studying some of the NBA's biggest stars and (hopefully) prescribing some tips for how teams can try to slow them down this postseason.&nbsp;
But remember, these suggestions are only for slowing them down &mdash; because you can never truly stop the best of the best.
Now, without further ado: Giannis Antetokounmpo.
Almost three years ago, the Toronto Raptors infamously built a <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L-EPx-v1XIY" target="_blank" rel="noopener">wall</a> in front of Antetokounmpo&rsquo;s path to the rim. The following season, the Miami Heat <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XwVkriJPZ3Y" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reinforced</a> this structure on their way to a 4-1 gentleman&rsquo;s sweep.&nbsp;
Last season, however, Antetokounmpo was able to overcome his postseason demons on route to an NBA championship and Finals MVP award, prompting some to wonder whether past defensive tactics were growing outdated.
To answer this, let&rsquo;s think about why this barrier was concocted in the first place. Antetokounmpo&rsquo;s preferred scoring avenues &mdash; cutting, rolling, isolating and running in transition &mdash; all enable him to gain one thing: momentum. Once he has this kinetic energy, he becomes a nearly unstoppable locomotive.
The key here is the word &ldquo;nearly&rdquo; because, as a certain <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isaac_Newton" target="_blank" rel="noopener">smart person</a> once said, &ldquo;An object in motion stays in motion&hellip; unless acted upon by an unbalanced force.&rdquo;&nbsp;
Enter, The Wall.
Looking back at last postseason, while they ultimately fell short (or long), the Brooklyn Nets did a great job of deploying this defensive stratagem against The Greek Freak:
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This season, teams like the Heat, Celtics, Suns and Knicks have also experienced some success packing the paint in this manner and forcing him to settle for low-percentage shots:
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The key here is you need need NEED the right personnel to make this work. Big, strong, physical guys who evaporate space and can&rsquo;t be moved by Giannis&rsquo; overwhelming force.&nbsp;
If you look at some of the guys who have given him the most fits over the last two seasons (keep in mind matchup data can be finicky), you notice a trend in body structure:
Giannis Antetokounmpo Matchup Statistics from 2020-22:
<table style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 56.7472%;" border="1">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="width: 21.1489%;">
Player
</td>
<td style="width: 14.3568%;">
FG Attempts*
</td>
<td style="width: 17.5691%;">
Field Goal %*
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 21.1489%;">
Steven Adams
</td>
<td style="width: 14.3568%;">
39
</td>
<td style="width: 17.5691%;">
38.5%
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 21.1489%;">
Bam Adebayo
</td>
<td style="width: 14.3568%;">
38
</td>
<td style="width: 17.5691%;">
42.1%
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 21.1489%;">
Deandre Ayton
</td>
<td style="width: 14.3568%;">
39
</td>
<td style="width: 17.5691%;">
41.0%
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 21.1489%;">
Blake Griffin
</td>
<td style="width: 14.3568%;">
46
</td>
<td style="width: 17.5691%;">
45.7%
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 21.1489%;">
Julius Randle
</td>
<td style="width: 14.3568%;">
32
</td>
<td style="width: 17.5691%;">
37.5%
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
See what I mean? These are probably the five guys in the NBA (other than Antetokounmpo) that I'd least want to upset. Having a player who fits this physical archetype gives you a great foundation for that unbalanced force Newton was talking about.
Of course, this gameplan is far less bulletproof than it once was. Giannis has added some graceful counters to his drive game (the one I hyperlinked <a href="https://streamable.com/tujkbl" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here</a> would make Baryshnikov proud). And the kickout has become a much more viable option for him these days &mdash; thanks to the improved outside shooting the team has surrounded him with. The Bucks are currently <a href="https://cleaningtheglass.com/stats/team/17/team#tab-shooting_offense_accuracy">sixth</a> in the league in three-point shooting for the second-straight season after being 16th and 20th overall in 2019 and 2020, respectively.
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Even with these changes, I&rsquo;d still say The Wall is the weapon of choice for attempting to slow down Antetokounmpo. Despite being a great playmaker for his size, and adding in flying saucers like <a href="https://twitter.com/stevejones20/status/1486830638980284420?s=20&amp;t=w80AuxWhJVt2p9WEuhlz8g" target="_blank" rel="noopener">this</a> to his game, his decision-making is still a bit inconsistent when he&rsquo;s navigating through traffic.
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Playmaking/decision-making can be a difficult thing to quantify because of all the immeasurable variables that go into the practice, but from the metrics we do have available, Antetokounmpo doesn&rsquo;t look like a significantly different facilitator than he was in 2019 when the Raptors were able to capitalize on some of his lapses in judgment.
<table style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 97.1279%;" border="1">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="width: 10.9661%;">
Year
</td>
<td style="width: 19.0601%;">
Passer Rating*
</td>
<td style="width: 18.0157%;">
Box Creation*
</td>
<td style="width: 23.2376%;">
Potential Assists
</td>
<td style="width: 25.9791%;">
Assist Points Created
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 10.9661%;">
2018-19
</td>
<td style="width: 19.0601%;">
5.8
</td>
<td style="width: 18.0157%;">
11
</td>
<td style="width: 23.2376%;">
11.5
</td>
<td style="width: 25.9791%;">
15.4
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 10.9661%;">
2019-20
</td>
<td style="width: 19.0601%;">
5.9
</td>
<td style="width: 18.0157%;">
12.1
</td>
<td style="width: 23.2376%;">
11.5
</td>
<td style="width: 25.9791%;">
15
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 10.9661%;">
2020-21
</td>
<td style="width: 19.0601%;">
6
</td>
<td style="width: 18.0157%;">
11.7
</td>
<td style="width: 23.2376%;">
11.4
</td>
<td style="width: 25.9791%;">
15.6
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 10.9661%;">
2021-22
</td>
<td style="width: 19.0601%;">
6.2
</td>
<td style="width: 18.0157%;">
12.1
</td>
<td style="width: 23.2376%;">
11.2
</td>
<td style="width: 25.9791%;">
15.9
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
(Scroll right for full table on mobile)
It&rsquo;s also worth mentioning here that, while Antetokounmpo&rsquo;s turnover rates are the lowest they have been since 2018 (a sign of improved control when navigating through the trees), his totals balloon back up to resemble his 2019-20 outputs when his co-star <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/julius-randle-and-the-george-costanza-problem" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Jrue Holiday</a> leaves the floor, per PBP Stats.
As I said, numbers can never fully explain the subtle intricacies of the art. But his stagnation in these stats at the very least suggests that the practice of packing the paint and forcing him to make correct reads should not be eradicated just yet.
Speaking of Holiday, opposing teams would do well to make Antetokounmpo forget how much of a revelation his go-to table-setter has been. When Antetokounmpo is playing off Holiday, it&rsquo;s way harder to load up your defense on him. When Antetokounmpo is initiating the offense, whether it be via post-ups or pick-and-rolls, it becomes easier to calibrate stunts, which can sometimes lead to The Freak picking up his dribble a step early or forfeiting the ball altogether.
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Timing is so important when you are unleashing that second defender on him. If the defender digs too early, Antetokounmpo can calmly survey his options and locate the open man. If help comes too late, he&rsquo;ll have already barrelled his way through the seam. He&rsquo;s that damn good.
Even if your group is moving and communicating perfectly, you still need great personnel. His four lowest <a href="https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/a/antetgi01/gamelog/2022" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Game Score</a> outputs this season came against three of the top-four defensive units in the league.
And guess what? Even then, he has counters of his own. He&rsquo;ll switch to full-on play-finisher mode. He&rsquo;ll freelance for putbacks. He&rsquo;ll <a href="https://premiumhoops.org/2021/04/06/evaluating-nba-perimeter-defense-establishing-and-using-a-rubric/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">create events</a> on defense to ignite the fastbreak. He&rsquo;s the ultimate scavenger of low-hanging fruit.&nbsp;
Such conditions project a bleak outlook for teams attempting to contain Antetokounmpo. But play your cards right, and you might shave a few points off his impact. And in a game dedicated by singular possessions, that might make all the difference.
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Mat Issa breaks down Giannis Antetokounmpo's game and whether building a wall is still the best strategy to slow him down.

How to slow down Giannis Antetokounmpo: Is The Wall still the way?

In recent NBA Draft history, there's been a common theme with potential lottery picks &mdash; standing about 6-foot-6 with a near-7-foot wingspan, having an &ldquo;NBA-ready&rdquo; frame and being athletically gifted.
Those players often have all the natural gifts but, to some extent, lack the ball skills or jump shot to make a high-level impact on the offensive end early in their NBA careers. Nevertheless, the physical tools are usually too intriguing to pass up, which results in their eventual lottery selection.
The early careers of those players see their teams utilize them as athletic defenders who are deployed as cutters and drivers on offense, while their jump shot flashes potential, and offseasons are spent tightening their handle and tweaking their shot form. Sound familiar?
We&rsquo;ve seen the successes of Jaylen Brown, the struggles of Stanley Johnson and the work-in-progress of Isaac Okoro.&nbsp;While his physical measurements may fit the previously stated description, Adrian Griffin Jr. &mdash; a.k.a. AJ &mdash; is creating his own narrative.
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The Duke Blue Devils' freshman is averaging 10.4 points and 3.8 rebounds on 50.2% from the field and 46.7% (!) from three going into the NCAA Tournament. Griffin was a five-star recruit coming out of high school, but missed most of his junior and senior seasons with injury. He also began his first year at Duke with a knee sprain, which set him back at the start of the season.
After a limited first four games of the season, Griffin played his first 20-plus-minute contest against Lafayette that prompted his rise back up draft boards, finishing with 18 points on 70.0% from the field and 4 of 6 from beyond the arc. Although the following three games resulted in limited minutes for AJ, the South Carolina State matchup once again reminded scouts of how high-level a draft prospect he is; Griffin had a 19-point, 7-for-8 showing.
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From then on, Griffin&rsquo;s minutes increased, as it seemed he was getting stronger and more comfortable on the court post-injury. The freshman had notable road performances at Wake Forest (22 points, 8 of 11 FG), Louisville (22 points, 8 of 11 FG, 5 of 5 from three) and North Carolina (season-high 27 points, 11 of 17 FG) that secured Duke major wins in the ACC.&nbsp;
What&rsquo;s so interesting about Griffin as a prospect is the fact that his athleticism was his calling card in high school, yet he hasn&rsquo;t been reliant on it to be successful in college. He&rsquo;s found success with his impressive shooting outings. When watching him shoot the ball, his wide base is a bit unorthodox, but the top of his release is fluid, and you can&rsquo;t argue with the results. If Griffin faces a hard close out, he utilizes side steps, step backs and various dribble combinations to freeze his defender or create enough space to get off a smooth release.
When run off the three-point line, Griffin has flashed an ability to get into the mid-range and convert. He finishes around the basket well because of his strength, but may leave something to be desired considering the athletic pedigree he had in high school. This could be a result of his injury history but, a 58.0% field goal percentage around the rim (per InStat) could provide confidence that, as he gets stronger, he&rsquo;ll continue to improve his ability to finish against NBA defenders.
At this point, Griffin has a strong foundation as a prospect that profiles as a powerful and versatile wing with the potential to comfortably score the ball on all three levels. He has a solid handle that continues to improve, and upside as a long-armed defender who projects to guard 2-through-4.
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It&rsquo;s no surprise that NBA scouts never hesitated after Griffin&rsquo;s slow start, even if injuries will remain a question mark. BasketballNews.com Senior NBA Draft Analyst Matt Babcock never lost sight of Griffin&rsquo;s major upside, and provided his thoughts on the Blue Devils swingman as we enter the NCAA Tournament:
<blockquote>
I saw Duke on opening night at Madison Square Garden when they played Kentucky. Griffin scored 2 points in 11 minutes. Then I saw Duke again a few weeks later in Las Vegas when they played Gonzaga. He didn't even score in that game and only played 6 minutes. To say that he started the season off slow would be an understatement. Despite Griffin's lack of production or playing time, I was able to watch him work out before both of those games. The combination of his physical profile and shooting ability was undeniable. I knew it was just a matter of time before it clicked for Griffin, but I was beginning to question if he would be able to get things rolling in time to enter the 2022 NBA Draft. But then, it clicked, and although he's been a little up-and-down.
He's put together some huge games where he has shot the ball incredibly well. He also can create his own shot as he has a sweet step-back move. Although Griffin's freshman season has been a roller coaster, he has established himself as a likely lottery pick in this upcoming NBA Draft. We currently have him ranked No. 7 on the BasketballNews.com 2022 NBA Draft Big Board.
</blockquote>
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Tournament Outlook
March Madness is a time where the best players can shine the brightest, and there have been times this season where Griffin has been the most impressive player on the floor for the very talented Blue Devils. If Duke is going to make a deep run in this year&rsquo;s tournament, the team's going to continue to need Griffin&rsquo;s floor-spacing to shoot them into games &mdash; or to put games out of reach.
With the added context that this will be Mike Krzyzewski's final March Madness, there will be a heightened pressure on the Blue Devils to produce a strong run for Coach K. This tournament is also going to be important for Griffin to solidify his draft positioning, as he did end the ACC Tournament championship with his worst volume-shooting performance of the season in a loss to Virginia Tech (10 points, 1 of 8 from three). Duke&rsquo;s potential matchup against Michigan State in the second round could be a game to watch, as Griffin may line up against the Spartans&rsquo; rangy wings in Gabe Brown and fellow freshman Max Christie.&nbsp;
Griffin&rsquo;s quiet start to the year hasn&rsquo;t matched how important he became to Duke this year.
But on the game's biggest stage, Griffin is preparing for his grand crescendo.
AJ Griffin is currently ranked No. 7 on <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/draft" target="_blank" rel="noopener">BasketballNews.com's 2022 NBA Draft Big Board</a>.
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Blake Hairston analyzes how important AJ Griffin has become for Duke this season and why he's risen up 2022 NBA Draft boards.

2022 NBA Draft: Pre-NCAA Tourney look at Duke's AJ Griffin

From a mid-season blockbuster swap involving two disgruntled stars, to rumors that a former No. 1 overall pick wants a change of scenery in only his third season, the topic of player empowerment is front and center in the NBA. &nbsp;
Superstars wanting off their team isn't a new concept. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar forced a trade from the Milwaukee Bucks to the Los Angeles Lakers in 1975. In recent years, superstars demanding to be dealt is so common that the term &ldquo;player empowerment&rdquo; established itself in our NBA lexicon.&nbsp;
But this season feels different, in that it is rife with unique trade demands. Like Ben Simmons' refusal to play a single minute for the Philadelphia 76ers while requesting a trade, with a whopping four years left on his contract. Or James Harden asking off of his second team in as many years. Even the Zion Williamson situation &mdash; rumored to be disgruntled in New Orleans after playing a total of 85 games &mdash; is unprecedented. With every new trade demand, it feels like stars are pushing the limits and boundaries of player empowerment.
Either the NBA's Mercury is in retrograde or we&rsquo;re witnessing the dawn of a new era.&nbsp;
&ldquo;Player empowerment&rdquo; was popularized in 2010 after LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh conspired to play with each other in Miami. Suddenly, players realized they could control their own destiny and team up to form super-teams.
Since then, player empowerment has largely come to mean trade demands from superstars. &nbsp;&nbsp;
Many executives have decried it as ruining the league's parity and even the sanctity of the game. &nbsp;
"Player empowerment is a catchall for the fact that the league has done a terrible job of empowering teams, the players have all of the leverage in every situation. I think it's the worst thing that ever happened to professional sports on all levels," an anonymous NBA general manager <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2021/06/07/lebron-james-agent-is-transforming-the-business-of-basketball" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told Isaac Chotiner of The New Yorker</a>.&nbsp;
Many fans view it as a win for laborers.&nbsp;
The NBA is, after all, the most progressive sports league. However, without even touching the racial undertones that weave throughout the narrative about the league, it is easy to see why the masses support the players. Fans have watched players lose the battle over the means of production &mdash; from owning 57% of league revenue in 2005 down to only 50% today &mdash; so witnessing players gain autonomy over their playing career by stripping control from owners is celebrated as a nice consolation prize.&nbsp;
As we become inundated with debate over the merits of player empowerment, we&rsquo;ve seemed to skip over what the term actually means and how it actualizes itself in the league.&nbsp;
There is no denying that some players have power and some of those players have controlled the make-up of the league for over a decade. The issue is that player empowerment is a term that poses as the league's players uniting, but instead, it is merely a select few exercising their power over everyone else.&nbsp;
Let&rsquo;s break this down.&nbsp;
Were the Los Angeles Lakers' young core of Lonzo Ball, Brandon Ingram and Josh Hart empowered when Anthony Davis forced his way to Los Angeles? Not likely.&nbsp;
It&rsquo;s also impossible to imagine all six of Jarrett Allen (Brooklyn to Cleveland), Taurean Prince (Brooklyn to Cleveland), Caris LeVert (Brooklyn to Indiana), Rodions Kurucs (Brooklyn to Houston), Dante Exum (Cleveland to Houston) and Victor Oladipo (Indiana to Houston) felt empowered after being forced to uproot themselves midseason during a pandemic because Harden wanted to join the Nets.&nbsp;
Framing the whims of a small few that can disrupt the lives of many as player empowerment feels disingenuous. A better term would be &ldquo;superstar entitlement.&rdquo;&nbsp;
With the knowledge that player empowerment really means superstar entitlement, it&rsquo;s easy to understand how empowerment stories are often framed as prima donnas throwing tantrums until they get their way.
But maybe it should be framed as superstars earning power through loss of salary.&nbsp;
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With the advent of max salaries, stars are never fairly compensated. The bigger and brighter the star shines, the more they lose out &mdash; with their play forever eclipsing the money they make. Ergo, player empowerment is less about empowering all or even most players and more about compensating superstars in a salary-cap league.&nbsp;
Heliocentric is another popular term in our NBA vernacular; we&rsquo;ve heard the term &ldquo;heliocentric offense,&rdquo; and we&rsquo;ve heard stars described as heliocentric. But it&rsquo;s also a term that can refer to the league itself.&nbsp;
To briefly go back to the 1500s and Copernicus &mdash; heliocentrism is a cosmological theory that the Earth and planets revolve around the sun. And in the NBA, everything revolves around certain stars. The bigger and brighter the star, the stronger their gravitational pull &mdash; the LeBronicus Theory, if you will.&nbsp;
Superstars wield more power than ever. They influence nearly every aspect of an organization &mdash; from coaching hirings and firings, to player personnel and roster construction.
The Harden-for-Simmons swap is an interesting case to dissect, because it centers around two stars whom everything doesn&rsquo;t revolve around.&nbsp;
On one side, there&rsquo;s Harden, whose status as a heliocentric star diminished as soon as he left Houston for Brooklyn. And on the other side is Simmons, a player who could never cement himself into anything more than a secondary star in Philadelphia.
Though both players had leverage, Harden had more because of the status of his contract. Neither were in a place to force their teams to bend to their will &mdash; at least not in the same way Harden was able to back when he told Houston they had a problem.&nbsp;
In Brooklyn, Harden <a href="https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/33259122/james-harden-wants-trade-philadelphia-76ers-formally-request-deal-due-concern-public-backlash-sources-say" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reportedly never voiced his desire to leave</a>, and 76ers president of basketball operations Daryl Morey threatened to hold out on trading Simmons for the duration of his contract.
&nbsp;"You're going to think I'm kidding, I'm not. This could [go on for] four years... We're in the prime of Joel's career... Either Ben Simmons is playing for us, or we have to get back a difference-maker," Morey said.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-conversation="none" data-theme="dark">
Morey on his timeline: "You're going to think I'm kidding, I'm not. This could (go on for) 4 years. ... We're in the prime of Joel's career...Either Ben Simmons is playing for us, or we have to get back a difference maker."
&mdash; Derek Bodner (@DerekBodnerNBA) <a href="https://twitter.com/DerekBodnerNBA/status/1451288448875343872?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 21, 2021</a></blockquote>

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It wasn't Simmons' refusal to play games or Harden&rsquo;s pouting that forced their teams&rsquo; hands.&nbsp; It was that Embiid&rsquo;s play pressured Morey to make a deal, and Kevin Durant <a href="https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2953512-inside-kevin-durants-role-in-brooklyn-nets-james-harden-trade" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reportedly wanted one too</a>.&nbsp;
Ultimately, the deal came down to what was best for the biggest stars. While James and Ben were the players who used their leverage to request out, Durant and Embiid &mdash; being the heliocentric star of their respective teams &mdash; made the final call.&nbsp;
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What Harden lost in star power in moving to Brooklyn, KD gained by doing the same. Though Durant&rsquo;s play has always been stellar, it&rsquo;s clear he has more power within the Nets' organization than he did with the Warriors. It was Durant, after all, who <a href="https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2953512-inside-kevin-durants-role-in-brooklyn-nets-james-harden-trade" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reportedly requested Kyrie Irving be allowed to play road games</a> despite <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nets-say-kyrie-irving-cant-play-or-practice-with-team-while-unvaccinated" target="_blank" rel="noopener">the stance Sean Marks and the Nets took</a> earlier in the season.&nbsp;
Who has power and how much they have is determined by a number of variables, like their standing in the league, their standing on their team, their health, the length of their contract and market size, etc. And this list of powerful players is still arguably fewer than 10 names long in any given season (with some variance).
The variables at play that make Durant&rsquo;s star shine brighter with the Nets than with the Warriors are as simple as the fact that there's another superstar in Golden State &mdash; and he was there first and couldn&rsquo;t be eclipsed.
Of course there are titans like LeBron James, who can completely shift the paradigm of the league with a flippant comment &mdash; like over All-Star Weekend when he hinted at a possible return to Cleveland.&nbsp;
&ldquo;The door&rsquo;s not closed on that&hellip; &nbsp;I&rsquo;m not saying I&rsquo;m coming back and playing, I don&rsquo;t know. I don&rsquo;t know what my future holds. I don&rsquo;t even know when I&rsquo;m free.&rdquo; James <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/lebron-james-on-cleveland-return-the-doors-not-closed-on-that" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told The Athletic</a>.
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LeBron is back in Cleveland this weekend. His picture is on the building again. At first he said he hasn&rsquo;t thought about returning to play for the Cavs, but then we kept talking. &ldquo;The door&rsquo;s not closed on that,&rdquo; he said. LeBron had a lot to say today. <a href="https://t.co/cdg8RIoxZb">https://t.co/cdg8RIoxZb</a>
&mdash; Jason Lloyd (@ByJasonLloyd) <a href="https://twitter.com/ByJasonLloyd/status/1495148179410591745?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 19, 2022</a></blockquote>

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LeBron&rsquo;s comments dominated the news cycle over the league&rsquo;s busiest weekend, and that's in large part because he will be a free agent in 2023. James signs short-term deals to maximize his leverage even though it means leaving long-term NBA money on the table.
Player empowerment isn&rsquo;t limited to team decisions &mdash; the NBPA also caters to the stars. With recent negotiations featuring superstars at the helm, contract negotiations often prioritize their needs.&nbsp;
Take for example the 2017 CBA. Superstar and NBPA president Chris Paul managed to help push forward the NBA supermax deal, given to players who have either won an MVP award, a Defensive Player of the Year award or earned an All-NBA selection in the previous season &mdash; or two of the previous three. The NBA supermax allows these stars to earn massive five-year deals with a starting salary of up to 35% of the cap.
Paul also helped change the "over-36" rule that prevented players from signing multi-year deals if they are to turn 36 or older over the course of the contract to "over-38." Not lost on anyone, Paul was set to be a free agent the summer of 2017, and pushing the rule back two years would have positively affected how much and how long he could have signed for.&nbsp;
In any collective bargaining, there&rsquo;s a give and a take &mdash; so both parties can walk away feeling like winners. So as collective bargaining agreements continue to reward those at the top, that leaves little for the rest.&nbsp;
Now, let's take a look at punishments. More often than not, disciplinary action comes in the form of fines. Technical fouls, for example, come with a fine of $2,000 for a player&rsquo;s first five offenses.&nbsp;
On Jan. 25 this season, the Sixers faced the New Orleans Pelicans. Embiid and rookie Jose Alvarado got into it and were each assessed technical fouls. That means Alvarado, who earns $462,629 this season, and Embiid, who's making $31.58 million, are meant to pay the same amount. Though Embiid generously offered to cover the fine for Alvarado, the benevolence of stars shouldn&rsquo;t make up for this obvious imbalance.&nbsp;
Fines are meant to disincentivize players from committing offenses, but when by setting these as a specific dollar amount as opposed to a percentage of their salary, they disproportionately&nbsp;hurt the lowest earners. And consequently, they allow the elite to do as they please.&nbsp;
Calling out NBA officials comes with a hefty $25,000 fine &mdash; this would be astronomical to rookies like Alvarado, but not to a superstar like Embiid who has been fined for doing just that. In Feb. 2019, Embiid told reporters the "referees f**king sucked" after a missed call in a close loss to the Boston Celtics. Though the fine undoubtedly hurt his pocketbook, it was a calculated risk he and other high earners like him have the freedom of taking.&nbsp;
From afar, superstar entitlement looks like stars picking their teams; a closer look unveils real inequities like financial penalties and disproportionate representation at the top of the players' union. A more granular look reveals that every scenario and every superstar is unique.&nbsp;
There is, however, one constant amidst the chaos in understanding power dynamics in the league, and that&rsquo;s team control. The NBA draft, rookie contracts, restricted free agency and good old-fashioned trades are just some of the ways in which teams have maintained ultimate control. The difference is when teams wield their power, it&rsquo;s not much of a news story.
We clutch our pearls at Kawhi Leonard demanding a trade but not at the Raptors for sending out DeMar DeRozan. We expect teams to make moves to better their situation, yet players who have become brands in their own right aren&rsquo;t given the freedom to do the same.&nbsp;
Any team would be over the moon to have a superstar play for them &mdash; we recognize this and they recognize this. So, they aren&rsquo;t going to sit back and wish upon a star for a trade. They ask, and if they're good enough, teams will acquiesce. It is a star-driven league, after all. So, we can&rsquo;t be surprised at who's steering the ship. And I&rsquo;d argue it&rsquo;s high time for the rest of the league to just grab on to their seats and hold on, because the era of player empowerment has only started taking off.&nbsp;
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Imman Adan details what "player empowerment" in the NBA truly entails and how it's been framed incorrectly.

The truth about 'player empowerment' in the NBA

James Harden is the new kid in town, earning raucous cheers from the moment he steps on the court. Joel Embiid hears wire-to-wire &ldquo;MVP!&rdquo; chants from Philly fans begging for a championship.
The 76ers are so much more than their dynamic duo.
Make room for Tyrese Maxey in Philly's version of a Big 3.
Maxey made five 3-pointers and scored 33 points to lead the Philadelphia 76ers to their fifth straight win, 125-119 over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Friday night.
&ldquo;I don't think we look at it as Big 3, Big 2,&rdquo; Maxey said. &ldquo;I think we look at it as one unit.&rdquo;
The 76ers improved to 4-0 with Harden in the lineup. Harden had 25 points and 11 assists. Embiid added 22 points and nine rebounds.
Maxey, though, stole the show.
&ldquo;On any given night, it can be any one of us to go off,&rdquo; Harden said. &ldquo;Tyrese really picked it up for us tonight.&rdquo;
The second-year guard out of Kentucky tore through the Cavaliers in the second half and seemingly turned Embiid and Harden into bystanders. His best sequence came in the fourth. Maxey hit a 3 that gave the Sixers a one-point lead, then he drained a 3 off a pass from Harden on the break that made it 110-106 and had the Philly crowd going wild.
Harden held his arms high and beckoned the crowd to get even louder.
Maxey made 10 of 15 shots (5 of 6 on 3s) and 8 of 9 from the free-throw line with five assists.
&ldquo;He's a fearless kid,&rdquo; coach Doc Rivers said.
Darius Garland scored 26 points and had 19 assists for the Cavaliers, and Isaac Okoro added 22.
Harden, who had at least 20 points and 10 assists for the third time in four games, picked up his third foul at 8:32 in the second quarter and took only four shots through three. Yet, he still had 18 points (and nine assists) on the strength of two 3s and 8 of 8 from the free-throw line.
&ldquo;I've got to do a better job of being more solid,&rdquo; Harden said. &ldquo;I've got to be more smarter so I can be out there and help my team."
His fast success with Embiid was expected. But his presence has turned Maxey into a knock-off Allen Iverson since his arrival.
Maxey made 76ers fans &mdash; and, frankly, the 76ers &mdash; forget about Ben Simmons with his play this season.
He turned it on in the third quarter and brought the Sixers back from long-range, attacking the net, and even with a nifty pass off the break to Embiid.
Maxey hit two 3s and scored 14 points in the quarter to bring the Sixers back from 21 points down to grab a lead late in the third. He buried a 3, then came back right with a 12-footer to make it a three-point deficit. The speedy guard tossed the ball to Embiid for the easy bucket that sent the crowd into a frenzy. He scored 20 points for the fourth straight game, the longest streak of his career -- and all with Harden.
But it was Georges Niang who finally gave the Sixers their first lead on a basket and a 3 that made it 97-93.
&ldquo;He's a shooter. That's what he does,&rdquo; Harden said.
The Cavaliers hit their first nine shots and Kevin Love made a pair of 3s to help them race to a 39-18 lead. They have lost six of seven.
&ldquo;We felt and looked like ourselves for the first time in a while,&rdquo; coach J.B. Bickerstaff said. &ldquo;We just happened to run into a really good basketball team.&rdquo;
TIP-INS
Cavaliers: Bickerstaff was fined $20,000 by the NBA for his behavior while being ejected from a game on Monday night. The league fined Bickerstaff for using inappropriate language toward the officiating crew and not leaving the court &ldquo;in a timely manner.&rdquo;
76ers: Veteran C DeAndre Jordan is expected to join the team Saturday after he signed this week. Jordan&rsquo;s arrival reunites him with Rivers, who was his coach while with the Los Angeles Clippers. &ldquo;I hope he recaptures the Lob City days,&rdquo; Rivers said. &ldquo;That would be fantastic for us.&rdquo; The 33-year-old Jordan joins Paul Millsap as a backup center for the Sixers. &ldquo;We've got a bunch of backups now. He&rsquo;s just one of them,&rdquo; Rivers said. &ldquo;But it&rsquo;s great to have him.&rdquo;
HARDEN FOR 3
Harden hit two 3s and has 2,559 on his career, one shy of matching Reggie Miller for third on the NBA's career list.
Bickerstaff coached Harden as an assistant and an interim coach when they were in Houston and raved about his greatness.
&ldquo;He sees the game a step ahead,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s not one of those guys that&rsquo;s just going so fast he&rsquo;s waiting for the offense to react. He&rsquo;s forcing the defense to react. He&rsquo;s one of the most creative decision makers and passers in our game. He also knows when to make the play that&rsquo;s right in front of him.&rdquo;
GARLAND'S COMPANY
Garland <a href="https://twitter.com/ESPNStatsInfo/status/1499937898547879937">joined LeBron James and Andre Miller </a> as the only players in Cavs franchise history with multiple 25-point, 15-assist games in a single season.
UP NEXT
Cavaliers: Host Toronto on Sunday.
76ers: Play Saturday at Eastern Conference-leading Miami.

Tyrese Maxey made five three-pointers and scored 33 points to lead the 76ers to their fifth straight win.

Maxey-mum effort: 76ers race past Cavs behind 33 from Maxey

The 2021-22 season is entering the homestretch, with roughly 20 games to go per team and the playoffs slated to start in less than two months (What?!).
Maybe it's just from the extended break, but the last few weeks have felt particularly rife with frustration and criticism from all parties in the league. It's important, for instance, to be critical, think in-depth and discuss the ins and outs of award voting. That's part of the media job and part of talking about the NBA! However, I've felt routinely bogged down by some of the discussions lately.
When it comes down to it, I just want to enjoy the league, get myself down into the minutiae, bask in the fleeting moments of this season and appreciate some of the things that have consistently brought a smile to my face or warmth to my heart this season.
So, without further ado, here are some things I've really enjoyed throughout the season that I want to give some shine!
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Isaac Okoro's quiet assertion
The Cleveland Cavaliers have been one of the darlings of the NBA this season, stunning the majority of analysts and league personnel with their stellar play. Evan Mobley is going to be a star. Jarrett Allen rightfully earned an All-Star nod after some massive improvements across the board. Darius Garland stirs the drank like few in the league. Kevin Love has a claim to Sixth Man of the Year!
This team just jibes in so many ways. They've kept their heads above water through rough stretches with injury and difficult patches in their schedule. A good team!
Isaac Okoro, the fifth overall pick in the 2020 draft, does not grab the headlines. His box score is roughly the same as last season.
Yet he is central to what the Cavs do. He papers over so much for Cleveland in a way that isn't always palpable, but when he's not on court, it's just kind of like "ohhh ok, I get it now."
Okoro isn't treated like a shooter, and rightfully so &mdash; he's shooting 30.2% from deep in his young career. Earlier in the season, he tried to gun his way through it at times, hoisting up open threes. At other times, he'd immediately drive an open look from the perimeter towards the rim. The balance never felt right. However, in 2022, he seems to have found that groove &mdash; becoming more comfortable toggling between driving and keeping defenses guessing. He's hitting 33% of his threes in 2022, on slightly over two per game. For where he's at right now, it's good enough.
To supplement that, he's been incredibly assertive as an off-ball player, timing cuts well when the defense helps off of him.
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He's a menace floating baseline, either off 45 cuts when the nail defender ball-watches, or flying in from the key to snag offensive rebounds.
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Isaac Okoro is so good at just being in the right place at the right time. He's really found his place in Cleveland's offense in spite of some limitations he has rn Quick screens, floating baseline, connective passing, a better balance in taking shots <a href="https://t.co/73ppW8SDoS">pic.twitter.com/73ppW8SDoS</a>
&mdash; Mark Schindler (@MSchindlerNBA) <a href="https://twitter.com/MSchindlerNBA/status/1497303529022763014?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 25, 2022</a></blockquote>

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Okoro has such a great nose for the ball. He never seems to pause once the ball goes into action, and uses that advantageous extra split-second against the defense.
He's pushed the issue more in transition off of defensive rebounds to bring a different dynamic to the Cavs' offense (21st in transition frequency per Cleaning the Glass) and self-create easier baskets.
He's found ways to meaningfully impact winning as a second-year player in a way that most upper lottery picks aren't asked to do so early. I don't know what to think about his trajectory (a future article!), but it's clear that right now he's a vital cog in Cleveland's present and future. The playoffs will be a huge test for him and the Cavaliers, but I see it going well for him, as a guy who just makes it work.
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Dallas' rotation players
I really didn't enjoy watching the Dallas Mavericks play early in the season. I found their offense pretty drab, the defense was blah, and execution all-around felt off.
I was way too unfair and overly critical. Jason Kidd has really impressed me this season &mdash; the Mavs are a top notch defensive unit, and Luka continues to be one of the brightest stars in basketball. Jalen Brunson has taken another step and remains an absolute joy with his footwork and craft.
Often, it seems as though that's where the conversation ends (especially with Kristaps Porzingis now gone), and that's a shame!
Dallas does lack a true second star, but man, they have some incredibly effective and endearing role players &mdash; Dorian Finney-Smith is having a fantastic season! He's a very solid defender, both on and off the ball, but I've been more impressed with his offensive growth this season.
When he came out of Florida, he was a relatively shaky shooter and didn't shoot around league average until his fourth NBA season (38.1% on around 5 per game over the last three seasons). He started to put together more drives last season, attacking off the catch. Possessions could occasionally die if he was closed out on and then forced to put the ball on the deck.
Not the case anymore!&nbsp;
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He can hit the corner if the tagger comes, or find the dunker spot if the defender steps up. He's not going to ignite the offense, but he can keep it circulating.
Meanwhile, Maxi Kleber is always a delight as a defensive player &mdash; probably the best individual defender on the Mavs and a fringe All-Defense candidate.
He just defends everyone,&nbsp;and he does it with conviction. Per Basketball Index, he rates in the top 5% of their defensive role versatility metric and top 7% in positional versatility, a testament to his utility.
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He possesses great lateral quickness for his size, but his timing stands out even more. Kleber is adept at contesting shots, disrupting windows with gumption. He's solid on rotations and as a help side shot-blocker.
Jason Kidd has utilized Josh Green as a screener and more of a turnkey in the team's offense, letting him thrive on the margins rather than forcing him into a smaller role as a theoretical spacer just for the sake of theoretical spacing. He's brought a vertical element the team really lacks and his rugby background pops with his physicality. Small screeners can still screen effectively, and Green is living proof!
He has good court vision and ability to get off passes on the short-roll. He has decent touch on floaters, and while his jumpshot is mostly a pipe dream at the moment, I see the vision. Buy Green stock!
Dwight Powell has found some of the lift he lost and has been more serviceable in Dallas' revamped defensive system.&nbsp;
Reggie Bullock is such a quality defender and, after one of the worst shooting slumps I've witnessed in some time, he's shot 43% from deep in 2022.
The Mavs are certainly built around Luka Doncic, but the players around him are more than they tend to get credit for.
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Oshae Brissett: Off-ball savant
There are few players in the league I enjoy watching operate more than Oshae Brissett of the Indiana Pacers.
This one play may be the best 14 second summarization you'll ever find of a player.
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Brissett is a tremendous opportunistic scorer, always opening himself up to easy looks and as an outlet for teammates (The Haliburton-Brissett combo is ENTICING).&nbsp;
He times the cut as soon as help is committed, but Patrick Beverley makes a late rotation and recovers to tip the ball.
But wait, there's more!
Brissett tosses himself out of bounds to secure the ball and throw a mid-air pass back to Buddy Hield, who's wide open in the corner. Many a player makes this play and then floats under the rim, but Oshae immediately relocates to the corner.
The ball keeps moving around the perimeter. Swing-swing, and Oshae hits a wide-open three on a possession that wouldn't have already been over if he hadn't made an extra effort.
Keep him in mind when thinking about Indiana's future.
An appreciation of facial wear
Lu Dort is already one of the most revered point of attack defenders in basketball. Add on the mask and I'd like to think he gets a +4 to all defensive attributes, like when you put on new armor in a Bethesda game.
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Dort can never take the mask off ever again man, this is freakin sick <a href="https://t.co/08zAiZA3IA">pic.twitter.com/08zAiZA3IA</a>
&mdash; Mark Schindler (@MSchindlerNBA) <a href="https://twitter.com/MSchindlerNBA/status/1491090347380060160?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 8, 2022</a></blockquote>

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Wendell Carter Jr. donned the goggles and hasn't looked back, ascending like the hybrid combo big that was promised.
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&ldquo;I was born in it, molded by it. I didn't see the light until I was already a man, by then it was nothing to me but BLINDING! The shadows betray you, because they belong to me!&rdquo; Wendell is now the chief member of goggle gang. <a href="https://t.co/YEVXzmOUYt">pic.twitter.com/YEVXzmOUYt</a>
&mdash; Mark Schindler (@MSchindlerNBA) <a href="https://twitter.com/MSchindlerNBA/status/1460616373558812676?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 16, 2021</a></blockquote>

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Reggie Jackson: Starting point guard
I don't care what his true-shooting percentage is, he has literally never missed a jumper when he has glasses on.
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Pretty sure Reggie Jackson knew he wasn't gonna miss the game-winner 🚨 Clippers foil the Lakers comeback with a 1-point WIN 💯<a href="https://t.co/9NhHrvHBaK">pic.twitter.com/9NhHrvHBaK</a>
&mdash; ClutchPoints (@ClutchPointsApp) <a href="https://twitter.com/ClutchPointsApp/status/1489471751767560193?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 4, 2022</a></blockquote>

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I'm all in on eyewear, and players who feel the same have profited heavily this year!
Jeff Green, still dunking
Jeff Green is in the midst of his 14th NBA season, which is an absolute trip to type. Fun fact: he has never played less than 20 minutes per game in a season, and that doesn't look like it'll change this year. He's started the majority of the season with the Nuggets, and has continued to be a pretty darn solid pro.
His defense has ... uhh ... been lacking, but he continues to do what made me fall in love with his game as a kid: ripping the rim with dunks.
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He's second on the Nuggets this season in dunks with 48, his highest total mark since the 2017-18 season with the Cavs. His career dunk reel is insanely underrated if you have 10 minutes to kill.
Green has thrived in Denver's offense, playing off of Nikola Jokic as a cutter and roller.
The bounce he still has, the consistency with which he exhibits it, and some of the contact finishes he continues to put on tape are just absurd at this point. I've really enjoyed his season and the stability he's found as a role player later in his career.&nbsp;
Quentin Grimes sliding
I really liked Quentin Grimes at Houston and thought he had a real place in the NBA. That being said, I am routinely taken aback by his on-court impact in this, his rookie year.
On a team that's struggled to meet expectations, he's surpassed all of mine. The shot from deep has been money. He's intrigued attacking off the catch with some interesting flashes of live-dribble passing. 
The defense, oh man the defense.
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Obligatory tweet about Quentin Grimes' footwork and quickness <a href="https://t.co/31qIx3Fbqa">pic.twitter.com/31qIx3Fbqa</a>
&mdash; Mark Schindler (@MSchindlerNBA) <a href="https://twitter.com/MSchindlerNBA/status/1490035885089374216?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 5, 2022</a></blockquote>

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There just are not many players in the world who can move their feet the way Quentin Grimes does when he's sliding at the point of attack.&nbsp;
He sheds screens like mad, seemingly refusing to let the ball leave his area of effect. The way his feet move is rhythmic, a controlled-yet-maniacal pace that I find mesmerizing.
One of my favorite things to do at night is take a few minutes to tune into a Knicks game just to watch Grimes muck it up on the perimeter.&nbsp;
Fun and awesome things are happening all around us in the NBA. Sometimes, I really need to take a step back and go "hey, it's pretty cool the way Ziaire Williams just sprints to the corner," acknowledge the absurdity that is DeMar DeRozan's season without taking stock of his MVP odds, and appreciate the other great things that may have become commonplace. Basketball is a special sport. Reminding myself why I love it everyday makes me appreciate it even more.
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The regular season can be as log, and countless things big and small can get lost in the mix - so Mark highlights the little things.

Enjoying the NBA's little things so far this season

I'll let you in on a poorly-kept secret of mine: I'm not a huge fan of (trade) rumor talk serving as the primary source of NBA coverage.
It especially irks me when it's done for players well under contract, or done without firm, he's-absolutely-out-of-there intel. What teams (and players) are doing on the court is infinitely more fun and interesting than where they're pushing to go in the future, for me. It's why my writing is mostly film-intensive, and why <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/podcasts/the-dunker-spot" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Dunker Spot podcast</a> exists.&nbsp;
It's important for me to set the stage on my general thoughts because I want you to recognize how hypocritical I'm about to be. There's an exception to every rule, as the old adage goes, and boy is this LeBron James situation looking like the anomoly of all anomolies.
The "where's he going and when can he get there?" wheels have been turning in my head since Saturday. LeBron decided to use All-Star Weekend &mdash; generally a time period for rest, fun, and a celebration of excellence &mdash; to send a message to the Los Angeles Lakers' front office.
We knew he was frustrated with how the season was going; a 27-31 record will do that to you. We can also surmise that's he's over the Russell Westbrook Experiment. It's been a clunky fit on the court that's come with its own media back-and-forth. And in light of former Lakers showing out (hi, Kyle Kuzma) and other Westbrook alternatives trade targets looking pretty darn good (hi, DeMar DeRozan), it's easy to see why LeBron's relationship with the Lakers isn't particularly peachy.
(Of course, there are some easy counters to be made. One could argue injuries to LeBron and Anthony Davis have played a larger role in this season-from-heck than Westbrook's missed jumpers. It's hard to build chemistry when people are in and out of the lineup. Also, hey, LeBron (and Davis) kiiinda vouched for Westbrook, and it's pretty well documented that rosters are genearlly shaped in LeBron's image. He isn't&nbsp;the&nbsp;front office, but he has enough of an influence where the woe-is-me card doesn't hit the same.)
To the message: LeBron found it appropriate (read: strategic) to let it be known that a <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/lebron-james-on-cleveland-return-the-doors-not-closed-on-that" target="_blank" rel="noopener">return to Cleveland isn't out of the cards</a>.
That would be pretty light &mdash; heck, All-Star festivities were in Cleveland so why wouldn't this come up? &mdash; if that didn't also come with <a href="https://www.latimes.com/sports/story/2022-02-19/nba-all-star-weekend-lebron-james-lakers-groove" target="_blank" rel="noopener">compliments to Sam Presti's talent evaluation</a>. Or an announcement, <a href="https://theathletic.com/3138844/2022/02/19/could-lebron-james-return-to-cleveland-again-the-doors-not-closed-on-that-he-says/?source=emp_shared_article" target="_blank" rel="noopener">via The Athletic</a>, that his final season will be played wherever his son Bronny gets drafted/signed. Or a few days <a href="https://nypost.com/2022/02/18/lebron-james-les-snead-tweet-raises-lakers-questions/">following some Les Snead praise</a>, conveniently showered upon him after an actionless trade deadline from his own team's general manager.
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All of that got me thinking. If LeBron is already setting the stage for an exit, the roster is flawed with limited cap space or pick ammo in the short term, and the top of the conference is pretty set with Phoenix and Golden State (and Memphis, plus a healthy version of Denver if you want to go that route) &mdash; why not press the big red button this offseason?
Why not trade LeBron?
It's an insane-adjacent thought, but think about it. If you know he's gone, and you aren't in position to compete for a title in his last season, why not work with him and rip the Band-Aid off?
But that leads into the other question that has me stuck: What would a deal even look like?
<img style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" src="https://cdn.basketballnews.com/images/story/body/usatsi_17735250_lg.jpg" alt="" width="674" height="449" />
The value-question is a tough one to answer. LeBron is undoubtedly one of the five best players in the league (and of all-time), but he's also 37 years old and comes with an internal power shift that you better be ready for. How many teams have the ecosystem for LeBron, a roster with good enough pieces to talk the Lakers into and a remaining cast that LeBron could compete with post-trade?
Not very many.
The first team that came to mind was the Phoenix Suns.
They're the best team in the league right now, and have a trio of young pieces &mdash; Mikal Bridges, Cam Johnson and the oddly-wasn't-given-a-max Deandre Ayton &mdash; they could theoretically move in the summer for LeBron. Between Ayton's max in a sign-and-trade, Bridges' extension kicking in and Johnson's team option, the Suns could easily get to north of $40 mililion in salary to make it work.&nbsp;
(There could be some haggling for Johnson. The Suns do have <a href="https://www.prosportstransactions.com/basketball/DraftTrades/Future/Suns.htm" target="_blank" rel="noopener">all their picks</a> from 2023 and onward, so maybe they could sub in a first or two down the road in an effort to keep him out of the trade.)
What's left? A trio of Chris Paul (happens to be one of LeBron's best friends), Devin Booker and LeBron. The playmaking and general IQ of the Paul/LeBron convo would make an already-elite half-court attack more difficult to deal with. Even this stage of LeBron would help solve the rim pressure issue; the Suns have ranked last in rim frequency in both seasons of the Paul era, per Cleaning The Glass.
Beyond the Suns, the Cavs could obviously get in the room. They could dangle Evan Mobley if they wanted to and make that phone call a short one; they absolutely won't (and shouldn't!) do that though.&nbsp;
The Cavs also <a href="https://www.prosportstransactions.com/basketball/DraftTrades/Future/Cavaliers.htm" target="_blank" rel="noopener">have their first-rounders</a> from 2023 and onward, and have enough non-Mobley and non-Darius Garland pieces &mdash; Jarrett Allen, Isaac Okoro, Klutch client Collin Sexton, Lauri Markkanen &mdash; to put something intriguing together if they don't want to play the wait-for-free-agency game.
Atlanta (John Collins, De'Andre Hunter) could build something out to pair LeBron and Trae Young together. It's hard to believe the Knicks wouldn't want to get in on the LeBron sweepstakes, though it's tough to guage what the stock of RJ Barrett (or Julius Randle, for that matter) is these days.
Could New Orleans build a package around Zi... ahahahahahahaha.
Anyway, color me intrigued by the prospect of a LeBron trade &mdash; even if it is super unlikely.
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Nekias Duncan asks the question we all want to know: Could LeBron actually be traded, and where?

What would a LeBron James trade look like?

Sporting a 32-21 record and competing at the top of the Eastern Conference, the Cleveland Cavaliers have acquired Indiana Pacers swingman Caris LeVert, a league source confirmed to BasketballNews.com on Sunday evening. The trade was made official on Monday morning.
The deal sends Ricky Rubio, a lottery-protected 2022 first-round pick, a 2022 second-rounder (via the Houston Rockets) and a 2027 second-rounder (Utah Jazz) to Indiana in exchange. ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reports a Pacers second-round pick via the Miami Heat will go back to Cleveland.
&ldquo;We are very excited to add a dynamic young player of this caliber and experience,&rdquo; said Cavs president Koby Altman. &ldquo;Caris LeVert fits uniquely into our culture and his Ohio roots brings an immediate connection to our community. We look forward to seeing what type of impact he can make on this roster. We also want to send our best wishes to Ricky Rubio and his family. Ricky has been the consummate professional and his leadership both on and off the court was invaluable and we respect everything he brought to this franchise.&rdquo;
Spencer Davies and Evan Sidery reacted to this trade for both sides.
Cleveland Cavaliers
A Columbus, Ohio native, LeVert will play a couple of hours north in his home state. This move will also reunite him with Jarrett Allen (and Ed Davis), who was a fellow foundational piece with the Brooklyn Nets prior to the team moving on from both last January in the James Harden deal.&nbsp;
That&rsquo;s the non-basketball fit, which looks just about as natural as ever. How about the on-floor part of it?&nbsp;
For starters, LeVert is a wing who can definitely create his own shot. Averaging 18.7 points per game on 53% True Shooting, when he&rsquo;s aggressive, he can get by you. If he gets a sitting duck out on the perimeter in an iso situation, he&rsquo;s able to weave by and navigate his way through traffic. For a Cavs&rsquo; bench unit that&rsquo;s been thirsting for consistent production and taking the heavy load of Kevin Love&rsquo;s plate, LeVert could be a godsend in that regard. Simply put, a bucket-getter who attacks and loves the pull-up mid-rangers.&nbsp;
LeVert isn&rsquo;t burning it down with those shots, however, shooting a paltry 36.8% on his 7.5 attempts per contest. He&rsquo;s also not a knockdown three-baller by any means, and his shot selection can be questionable in certain moments. But where he does do a solid job is in pick-and-roll situations.
According to InStat, a whopping 34.7% of LeVert&rsquo;s possessions have come with him operating as the ball-handler in pNr. In his last 10 games, it&rsquo;s been 43.4%. So if you deduce anything from that, it&rsquo;s that LeVert operates in a playmaking fashion and has patience with the ball. The Pacers scored 0.99 points per possession in said scenarios, and over those last 10, that increased to 1.07.&nbsp;
Needless to say, with Allen and Love&rsquo;s ability to use pindowns and high/middle screens &mdash; and Evan Mobley could be a great partner for quick slips &mdash; LeVert will be asked to do the same things he did with Sabonis, just as a super sub. If you watch the tape on his work with Domas, LeVert really likes to use the middle of the floor and has a right-handed floater that he goes to a lot. Per InStat, LeVert is shooting 54% in pNr situations in that specific zone. LeVert also did a pretty solid job of fitting in pocket passes and looking over the top for Sabonis too.
It&rsquo;ll be interesting to see how LeVert meshes with Darius Garland. Catch-and-drives should be a plenty for the former Michigan Wolverine. He&rsquo;s not really a shoot-off-the-catch type of player. He&rsquo;s more or less crafty, and kind of makes his own offense. You haven&rsquo;t seen LeVert off the ball much, so maybe J.B. Bickerstaff and Co. will give that a try considering Garland&rsquo;s wizard-like table-setting could get LeVert opportunities to get to the basket with momentum. (Baseline cuts, anybody?)
Isaac Okoro&rsquo;s responsibilities shouldn&rsquo;t be impacted too differently. Lamar Stevens may lose some run; Bickerstaff will always find a way to get that guy on the floor regardless. Figuring out the closing lineups will be a task.
LeVert is going to basically be a blend of the Rubio and Collin Sexton roles, which brings about another interesting question in this: What does the future look like for Young Bull in Cleveland? He&rsquo;s been traveling with the team, back in the locker room and bringing energy to the wine-and-gold post-surgery. Sexton just switched representation on Saturday to Klutch too.
The Cavs clearly value what he brings to the franchise. Still, the acquisition of LeVert (and possible long-term option) has to arise questions. They are similar players and are going to command quite a bit of money. There&rsquo;s a Darius Garland rookie-max extension on the horizon to boot. Is there a way Cleveland can keep all of this together?
Who knows. What we do know is that the Cavs are focused on the now, and it&rsquo;s exciting to see Altman going for gold. Let&rsquo;s not forget that the team still has a disabled player exception ($3.3M) to play with ahead of Thursday&rsquo;s trade deadline to bolster the depth of this team. Cleveland&rsquo;s front office has been anything but bashful in the trade market, and for good reason.
This team when healthy is a load to handle. It&rsquo;s smart on their part to give up future draft compensation because there&rsquo;s a boatload of youth on the roster. The Cavs do owe Rubio a debt of gratitude for bestowing his knowledge upon them and, on the floor, helping mature those inexperienced players rapidly. The hope is that moving him after his injury doesn&rsquo;t rub the locker room the wrong way; while business is business, that group absolutely loved Ricky.
Now bringing Rubio back looks like a longshot. Instead, they addressed a desperate short-term need with long-term thinking, and it cost Cleveland very little to accomplish that. We&rsquo;ll see how long it takes LeVert to get acclimated.&nbsp;
- Spencer Davies
Indiana Pacers
Indiana has decided to finally push the reset button on their console after waiting far too long to do so.&nbsp;
LeVert will be an instant jolt to the Cavaliers&rsquo; bench, but from Indiana&rsquo;s perspective, this gets very interesting.
Before the Malcolm Brogdon sign-and-trade with the Milwaukee Bucks fell into their lap two offseasons ago, Rubio was reportedly their top free agent target to stabilize their point guard position.&nbsp;
ESPN&rsquo;s Wojnarowski relayed on Sunday how the Pacers <a href="https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/33232735/sources-cleveland-cavs-acquire-caris-levert-trade-indiana-pacers" target="_blank" rel="noopener">could be in for a full-on rebuild with Myles Turner and Domantas Sabonis being thrown around in trade talks</a>, so this could just be the first domino from Indy&rsquo;s side to drop down. Although Brogdon signed an extension before the regular season, which makes him ineligible to get moved right now, he&rsquo;s back on the table this summer.
If the Pacers want to save long-term cap space and flexibility, moving off Brogdon&rsquo;s deal and re-signing Rubio to a team-friendly deal actually makes a lot of sense. The cupboard is relatively bare right now in Indiana. Outside of 2021 first-round picks Chris Duarte and Isaiah Jackson, seemingly every player is on the table in potential trades.
As seen during his stints with the Cavaliers and Phoenix Suns, Rubio is a calming presence who helps elevate rebuilding teams to higher levels than expected. If the Pacers move off Brogdon this offseason, Rubio ideally steps into the primary facilitating role while uplifting an extremely young and different foundation in Indiana.
LeVert was a solid dice roll to gamble on from the Pacers&rsquo; perspective. After Victor Oladipo let it be known he wouldn&rsquo;t sign a long-term deal in Indiana, LeVert was a capable flier who could maybe fit into their long-term vision.
Now, with Sunday&rsquo;s breaking news, we know how the Pacers felt about that possibility. The trade rumors are not dying down anytime soon in Indiana. If anything, this only strengthens the idea of a full-blown rebuilding effort about to take place for an organization long overdue for this strategy.
- Evan Sidery
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Spencer Davies and Evan Sidery analyze the Caris LeVert trade between the Cavaliers and Pacers from both sides.

Reaction: Caris LeVert fills blended need for Cavs as Pacers reset

The Orlando Magic are competing. It might not show in the standings, where they have the worst record in the NBA at 12-41. It won't show in most of their catch-all metrics, where Orlando is 28th in Offensive Rating and 26th in Defensive Rating, per Cleaning the Glass. But this team is a quiet 4-3 over the past two weeks, and its young core has inspired faith &mdash; particularly surrounding the starting lineup.
Cole Anthony, Jalen Suggs, Franz Wagner, Wendell Carter Jr. and Mo Bamba have logged 503 possessions on the court together, the 11th-most in the NBA this season according to Cleaning the Glass. These players have received attention individually; Anthony is having somewhat of a breakout second season, Wagner is a contender in the Rookie of the Year race, and Suggs was the subject of a fantastic <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/dont-forget-about-jalen-suggs" target="_blank" rel="noopener">recent breakdown by our Nekias Duncan</a>. But their synergy together is important to note.
The quintet is the centerpiece of Orlando's currently healthy roster and the barometer for its future potential. They're far from perfect together, but some of the numbers hint at enticing upside in the young squad. In 21 games played, the five have helped the Magic go 8-13 &mdash; not too bad for a pretty rough overall team.
Among 59 lineups with at least 200 possessions played, Orlando's starters have the fourth-best DRTG, giving up 95.4 points per 100 possessions. That's the best of any group on a sub-.500 team; in fact, only four lineups on sub-.500 teams rank in the top-20. Opponents have a 44.3% Effective Field Goal percentage against this group &mdash; the lowest among any qualifying lineup.
The two-big pairing of Carter and Bamba appears to be stamping its presence. Opponents are getting 25% of their shots at the rim (92nd percentile) and making just 51% of those shots (93rd percentile). There's unreal length in the frontcourt; Bamba has a 7-foot-10 wingspan, Carter boasts a 7-foot-5 wingspan and Wagner 's hovers around 7 feet.
Instead, opposing teams typically settle for long twos and three-pointers. They've yet to make the Magic pay, and are shooting just 33.2% from beyond the arc this season. If the Magic starters get into their half-court defense, good luck. They have the third-best DRTG on half-court plays among any lineup with at least 200 possessions played.
Unfortunately, the half-court offense is on the other end of the spectrum. Orlando's starting lineup ranks 53rd out of those aforementioned 59 groupings, avering just 86.1 points per 100 half-court possessions.&nbsp;
This simply isn't a sweet-shooting group at this stage. The squad ranks in the 53rd percentile or worse in every single shot zone recorded by Cleaning the Glass. They also turn the ball over on more than 16.1% of their possessions, which ranks in just the 19th percentile.&nbsp;
However, I personally believe the lineup contains plenty of upside. Anthony has cooled off after a hot start to the season, but he's a capable three-point shooter and pull-up player. Bamba (35.3% from deep) and Carter Jr. (33.3%) are both developing stretch bigs who average at least one made three per game in addition to strong numbers at the basket. Wagner's 35.0% three-point clip is one of the better rookie rates this season. Suggs might be the biggest question mark as a shooter, and he's still a rookie.
Is this a group built to last? I don't know. Orlando will likely have at least a top-five pick in an upcoming draft with three bigs and a lead guard in the top tier. The franchise also waits on perhaps its best player to return from injury in Jonathan Isaac.&nbsp;
First-year head coach Jamahl Mosley at least deserves credit, though, for developing a starting lineup with an average age of 21.2 into a certified-positive defensive unit. As the Magic trudge through a rebuilding season, these five players have built a solid foundation of hope.
THE OUTLIERS (a.k.a. other random interesting numbers I find in the void):
<ul>
<li>According to Celtics writer Taylor Snow, Robert Williams III set the franchise's single-season record for dunks with his 95th deposit last Saturday. He did so in just 40 games!</li>
<li>Here's an extremely interesting graphic and fact from Peter Zanca. After an onslaught of new players in December and early January, we're in a crazy dry spell for NBA debuts.</li>
</ul>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
After setting a record for the # of players in a season, the NBA hasn't seen any new players debut over the last 20 days. That plateau is pretty much unprecedented and likely means the COVID spike gave FOs a look at more than enough players to fill slots for the rest of the year. <a href="https://t.co/WAbSK94zAM">pic.twitter.com/WAbSK94zAM</a>
&mdash; Peter Zanca (@Peter_Zanca) <a href="https://twitter.com/Peter_Zanca/status/1489075264193810434?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 3, 2022</a></blockquote>

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

<ul>
<li>Another really cool graphic from Synergy's Todd Whitehead on how different coaches utilize late-game timeouts:</li>
</ul>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
Was interested to check out the relationship between last-minute timeouts and close games situations with this cool timeout data from Mike and the high/very high leverage possession counts from <a href="https://t.co/NgjzyXILD2">https://t.co/NgjzyXILD2</a> &ndash; not as correlated as I would have guessed! <a href="https://t.co/yGsc0gWvGe">https://t.co/yGsc0gWvGe</a> <a href="https://t.co/Pf3mFmmn1x">pic.twitter.com/Pf3mFmmn1x</a>
&mdash; Todd Whitehead (@CrumpledJumper) <a href="https://twitter.com/CrumpledJumper/status/1487620306944495616?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 30, 2022</a></blockquote>
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Ethan Fuller looks at a young Magic lineup that has been surprisingly effective on the defensive end.

Stats Notebook: Analyzing Orlando's sneaky-interesting starting five

There are plenty of ways to skin a cat defensively.
Drop coverage can work if your screen navigators are slithery enough, and if your big can patrol the paint.&nbsp;
Switching can work if the blend of lateral quickness, strength and discipline across your personnel is strong enough.
More aggressive styles (<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/the-bucks-are-reinventing-themselves-on-defense-again" target="_blank" rel="noopener">hi, Milwaukee</a>) can make offenses panic if the ball pressure is there, and also if the backline can rotate in tandem.
Zone can work if the communication and activity are in tune.
What do you have if you can do all of those things? Well, a team like the Miami Heat.
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They absolutely popped during their 121-114 win over the Los Angeles Clippers on Friday night. I was in awe watching them toggle between multiple coverages depending on the situation. Shot clock. The players involved in the action. The location of the action.&nbsp;
It was poetry in motion.&nbsp;
You don't tap into this type of versatility without a strong foundation. The Heat have that thanks to their All-Star duo of Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo. Add in PJ Tucker, and you have the NBA's best defensive trio.
You can argue for others. Golden State with Gary Payton II, Andrew Wiggins and Draymond Green; Cleveland with Jarrett Allen, Evan Mobley and Isaac Okoro; Toronto with Fred VanVleet, OG Anunoby and Pascal Siakam; Philly with Joel Embiid, Matisse Thybulle and Be- ... ah, well, nevermind.
But Butler, Tucker and Adebayo? That blend of off-ball excellence, on-ball chops, screen navigation and the ability to punch above their weight against larger matchups? They're top-two, and I don't think they're two.
On the season, the Heat are allowing an absurd 88.1 points per 100 halfcourt plays with their versatile trio on the floor &mdash; a mark that ranks in the 90th percentile league-wide per Cleaning The Glass. When attacking the Heat in ball screens with the Butler/Tucker/Adebayo trio on the floor, opposing offenses are generating just 0.86 points per possession, per Second Spectrum.&nbsp;
In short: you're just not scoring at a high clip, if at all, with those three roaming around.&nbsp;
The Heat put on a defensive clinic in the first quarter of that game, posting a 73.1 defensive rating <a href="https://www.nba.com/stats/teams/advanced/advanced/?sort=DEF_RATING&amp;dir=-1&amp;Season=2021-22&amp;SeasonType=Regular%20Season&amp;LastNGames=1&amp;Period=1" target="_blank" rel="noopener">in the opening frame</a>. A lot of that was their trio closing gaps quickly, or not allowing them to be pried open in the first place.&nbsp;
Let's take a look at three plays from that quarter to highlight how special these guys are.
9:15 &mdash; GETTING OUT OF TROUBLE
Great defense isn't a filthy steal or a blocked shot sent into the 15th row, though they're obviously valuable (and super cool to watch). More than anything, great defense is the absence of something happening. You know what's better than a blocked shot? A shot that doesn't come.
Below, the Clippers flow into "Chicago" action &mdash; a pindown that leads into a dribble handoff. Reggie Jackson washes Duncan Robinson out with a great screen, but Adebayo and Tucker are able to switch and keep things in front.
The problem, though, is that Robinson is defending Ivica Zubac. Zubac isn't an elite post presence, but he's generated well over 1.1 points per possession when shooting out of a post mismatch (defended by non-centers) since becoming a full-time starter in 2019, per Second Spectrum.&nbsp;
Tucker recognizes the danger as Zubac attempts to establish position, and executes a "scram switch" with Robinson to flip the matchup. With Tucker in the fray, the possession dies thanks to miscommunication between Jackson and Zubac.&nbsp;
<div style="width: 100%; height: 0px; position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.250%;"><iframe style="width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute; left: 0px; top: 0px; overflow: hidden;" src="https://streamable.com/e/o2au1h" width="100%" height="325" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" data-mce-fragment="1"></iframe></div>
6:05 &mdash; NOT IN MY HOUSE
Continuing the theme of great defense being the absence of offensive opportunity, I present this possession. The Clippers try to attack early in pick-and-roll (with an empty corner!) but Tucker and Gabe Vincent simply switch the action.&nbsp;
Then the fun begins.
Zubac lifts to the three-point arc and receives a pass from Terance Mann. With Butler keyed in on Mann, Amir Coffey (<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/amir-coffey-is-filling-the-gaps" target="_blank" rel="noopener">playing well lately!</a>) runs into a pitch from Zubac &mdash; essentially a variation of <a href="https://youtu.be/ZSvZptvUwKg" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Blind Pig action.</a> However, it goes nowhere because of a timely switch from Adebayo. From there, Adebayo shows why he's the best switch big in basketball.&nbsp;
<div style="width: 100%; height: 0px; position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.250%;">
<div style="width: 100%; height: 0px; position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.250%;"><iframe style="width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute; left: 0px; top: 0px; overflow: hidden;" src="https://streamable.com/e/351kvt" width="100%" height="325" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></div>
</div>
4:20 &mdash; LOCK YOUR DOORS
If you&nbsp;do&nbsp;want to talk about the value of event creation, Butler's off-ball prowess is a great place to start. He's one of the best helpers in the NBA because of his blend of IQ and aggression.
You have to be aware of where Butler is, because he sure as heck is aware of what's going on with you. As the Clippers pitch the ball to Zubac to set up a two or three-man dance on the left side of the floor, Butler senses an opportunity. With Zubac's head turned, Butler blindsides him with a strip and score.
<div style="width: 100%; height: 0px; position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.250%;"><iframe style="width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute; left: 0px; top: 0px; overflow: hidden;" src="https://streamable.com/e/yrvr76" width="100%" height="325" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" data-mce-fragment="1"></iframe></div>
"I'm probably going to gamble any time somebody is trying to throw the ball into the elbow," Butler tells Heat reporter Brady Hawk (rising star in the business, <a href="https://twitter.com/BradyHawk305" target="_blank" rel="noopener">follow him</a>) during postgame festivities.&nbsp;
"Spo calls it 'timely gambling'; I'm a reckless gambler. My teammates know that I'm going to gamble, so even when I mess it up -- and I almost used another word &mdash; they're always there to rotate and then help me get back in the right position on defense. As much as I gamble, my guys are there whenever I do mess it up."
Luckily for the Heat, Butler doesn't mess up that often. Unfortunately for other teams, they aren't really able to capitalize when he does.&nbsp;
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Nekias Duncan breaks down Miami's defensive Big 3 of Jimmy Butler, Bam Adebayo and PJ Tucker.

Heat stake claim as NBA's most versatile defense

The Cleveland Cavaliers are legit, and the defending NBA champions now know it, too.
Kevin Love scored 25 points, Cedi Osman added 23 and the Cavs pulled off their most impressive win in what's become a turnaround season, 115-99 over the Milwaukee Bucks on Wednesday night.
&ldquo;This is not the Cleveland we knew over the past few years,&rdquo; Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo said. &ldquo;They have a good team and we have to respect them more. They're a playoff team and are fighting for the title themselves.&rdquo;
A year ago, the Cavs won just 22 games and found themselves in the draft lottery for the third straight season. Not only has Cleveland surpassed its win total already this season, but the Cavs (30-19) are tied for the most wins in the Eastern Conference.
&ldquo;It's who we are," Cavs coach J.B. Bickerstaff said when asked about the win's significance. "We take on all challenges. We don't run from anybody. We don't back down. We give everybody our best shot."
The Cavs made 19 3-pointers &mdash; seven in the second quarter &mdash; and won for the eighth time in nine games. They also leap-frogged Milwaukee in the standings, and served notice they've got bigger plans ahead.
&ldquo;We feel if we play hard and stay true to our system, we can beat anybody,&rdquo; said Love, a five-time All-Star thriving in a reserve role this season. &ldquo;I just want to bottle up what we have right now and stay hungry.&rdquo;
Darius Garland scored 19 and rookie Evan Mobley had 16 for the Cavs. Jarrett Allen returned after missing one game with an illness and had 10 points and 10 rebounds.
Antetokounmpo scored 26 points after missing a game with knee soreness, but had seven of Milwaukee's 19 turnovers that led to 31 points for Cleveland. Bobby Portis added 22 points and Khris Middleton 21 for the Bucks, who had their winning streak stopped at three.
Milwaukee has lost a season-high four straight on the road, and the trouble really started in the third period.
Cleveland regrouped after a slow start, tightened its perimeter defense and built an eight-point halftime lead. The Cavs then opened the second half with an 11-2 run that included three 3-pointers in a 48-second span by Garland, Mobley and Dean Wade.
The Cavs pushed their lead to 93-72 before Garland went out briefly with back tightness. The young point guard seemed to land awkwardly after making a reverse layup and went to the locker room for treatment before returning. Bickerstaff said Garland is OK.
&ldquo;They played lights out tonight,&rdquo; Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer said. "I don&rsquo;t know what the right analogy is, but they played really well. They beat us pretty good. Live ball turnovers is when transition defense is the toughest, and we made a lot of them.&rdquo;
Before the game, Bickerstaff figured 3-pointers would be the key because of Milwaukee's preference to shoot them &mdash; and give them up.
After the Bucks made six 3s in the first quarter, the Cavs did them one better with seven in the second to take a 65-57 lead at the half.
While the outside shooting was impressive, Mobley had the most memorable bucket in the half when Garland slipped him a pass on the baseline and Cleveland's big man dunked over Antetokounmpo.
&ldquo;An incredible play,&rdquo; Love said. &ldquo;Those guys are so talented. There's going to be a lot of those plays coming.&rdquo;
TIP-INS
Bucks: Milwaukee started 6 of 7 on 3-pointers but finished just 9 of 32. ... G Wesley Matthews (bruised left knee) missed the game. Budenholzer said Matthews stayed in Milwaukee for treatment. He could return for Friday's game or &ldquo;shortly after.&rdquo; ... Budenholzer said he sees the Cavs' confidence growing. &ldquo;They have a belief,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;You can see it and you can feel it.&rdquo;
Cavaliers: G Rajon Rondo became the 14th player to reach 7,500 career assists. ... Garland, Isaac Okoro and backup guard Kevin Pangos all share the same Jan. 26 birthday. At shootaround, the team made Mobley sing happy birthday to the trio. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s got pretty decent vocals,&rdquo; Wade said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;d like to hear him maybe a touch louder.&rdquo; ... Lauri Markkanen (ankle) missed his second straight game and is expected to sit out several weeks.
ALLEN SUSPENSION
Bucks guard Grayson Allen served the one-game league suspension he received for his flagrant-2 foul against Chicago's Alex Caruso, who suffered a fractured right wrist and could miss two months.
Allen traveled with the team and participated in the morning shootaround.
UP NEXT
Bucks: Begin a three-game homestand Friday against New York.
Cavaliers: Visit Detroit on Sunday.

Kevin Love scored 25 points, Cedi Osman added 23 and the Cavs pulled off their most impressive win of the season.

Love scores 25, Cavs make 19 threes and stun champion Bucks

It&rsquo;d be nice if Collin Sexton could be out there for this.
Like Kyrie Irving once upon a time, Sexton has had to follow LeBron James in Cleveland. How do you follow&nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c0y1XmYFuf8" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Jadakiss&rsquo; verse on Reservoir Dogs?</a>&nbsp;I don&rsquo;t know, but give Sauce Money a shout for trying.&nbsp;
The summer that James moved to Los Angeles, Sexton was selected No. 8 overall in the 2018 NBA Draft. And that very draft is why Sexton&rsquo;s <a href="https://www.cbssports.com/nba/news/cavaliers-collin-sexton-out-for-rest-of-season-after-undergoing-knee-surgery/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">torn meniscus two months ago</a>&nbsp;was especially devastating to his 2021-22 season. 
Never mind that he would subsequently miss out on the Cleveland Cavaliers&rsquo; current rise to a 27-18 record, which is 1.5 games out of first in the Eastern Conference. <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/with-collin-sexton-sidelined-whos-next-man-up-for-cavs" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Injured just 11 games into the season</a>, Sexon's backcourt mate Darius Garland <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/darius-garland-is-making-the-allstar-leap" target="_blank" rel="noopener">may have become an All-Star in his absence</a>, and because Collin is in the last year of his rookie-scale contract without an extension, the fourth-year guard is heading for restricted free agency this summer. The two sides <a href="https://hoopshype.com/storyline/collin-sexton-extension/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reportedly tried coming to terms before the October deadline</a>, but couldn&rsquo;t.&nbsp;
Now, the Cavaliers have an eyeball emoji toward the NBA Finals. The East, while deeper and more competitive than last season, is wide open. The consensus is that the Milwaukee Bucks and Brooklyn Nets are favorites, with the Miami Heat lurking like Jimmy Butler near a seemingly open passing lane. The Cavs perhaps fancy themselves as best of the next, with a shot to overtake even that group with a meaningful transaction or two.
When they lost Ricky Rubio to a torn ACL, the Cavs <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/cavs-smart-and-swift-to-acquire-backup-point-guard-but-is-rondo-it" target="_blank" rel="noopener">pivoted and acquired Rajon Rondo</a>, clearly signaling that they&rsquo;re here for&nbsp;now. And Cleveland could use Sexton to potentially make another move and further cement its intentions. 
Let&rsquo;s see if that&rsquo;s the best thing for the wine and gold this season and going forward.
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The Case to Trade
This one&rsquo;s easier in the short-term. You&rsquo;d replace Sexton&rsquo;s injured status with a live, plug-in player who could help you today, though it would also mean Sexton wouldn&rsquo;t be part of your future plans in Cleveland. And, you know what, if you&rsquo;re thinking trade, that&rsquo;s obviously something you&rsquo;re good with.
If the Cavaliers want to, they could hold their success against Sexton, as cold and as unfair as that may seem. With Sexton as the lead guy, the winning was minimal. And after Collin's injury, Garland emerged as an All-Star candidate from his same backcourt, getting increased usage due to Sexton&rsquo;s absence. You could even argue that Sexton&rsquo;s absence &mdash; which led to Garland running the show &mdash; further unlocked arguably the Cavs&rsquo; best player this season in Jarrett Allen, along with Rookie of the Year favorite Evan Mobley.
Again, it may seem unfair, but an organization may frame it this way so it&rsquo;s easier to move on. They could even point to Rubio&rsquo;s play as a reason for not needing Sexton, and rather pair Garland with a healthy, veteran, multi-dimensional guard. If that&rsquo;s the thinking, why would they extend Sexton instead of moving him now and attaching someone or something else, like Lauri Markkanen or draft capital for example?
In theory, moving Sexton would further clear the runway for Garland, even though it splits one of the best backcourt nicknames of all-time in Sexland. Garland turns 22 next week, and is extension eligible this summer. Although the Cavaliers won&rsquo;t have to worry about that kicking in for another whole season, it&rsquo;s all the more reason to consolidate your money ahead of time. Unfortunately for Sexton, it may leave him on the outside looking in.
By himself, Sexton's $6.3 million is difficult to match with a immediate help by himself, so he likely wouldn't be the lone moving part leaving Cleveland. The Cavs have had rumored interest in Caris LeVert, he's at $17.5 million this year and $18.8 million next season, so the front office will need to get creative here. Bogdan Bogdanović is at $18 million each through 2023, with a player option afterward. Those are a couple names to keep in mind so their respective teams are open for business.&nbsp;
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&mdash; Bally Sports Cleveland (@BallySportsCLE) <a href="https://twitter.com/BallySportsCLE/status/1446628845134643205?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 9, 2021</a></blockquote>

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The Case To Keep
Why you wouldn&rsquo;t do that is because you'd like to keep Sexland together long-term and rely on the development of all parties to take you where you need to go. If you commit to Sexton and Garland, then that&rsquo;s your young core, along with the twin towers of Allen and Mobley, plus the perfect defensive wing to complement this group in Isaac Okoro (unless he&rsquo;s eventually dealt); let's not forget Lauri Markkanen either if he is kept. There&rsquo;s also a world where Sexton bets on himself with a short-term, prove-it deal (Allen, who turns 24 in April, is the oldest of the bunch, by the way.)&nbsp;
Because Allen is on a five-year, $100 million contract, Sexton won&rsquo;t command a max extension, and Mobley can&rsquo;t get extended until 2024 at the earliest. Even then, he won&rsquo;t see his (possible max) extension until 2025 begins. Allen is $20 million flat from now through 2025-26. Garland is at $8.6 million next season, and Mobley won&rsquo;t even break double figures until 2024-25, the last season of his rookie-scale deal. Okoro is due $7 million next season and $8.9 million in 2023-24, the last season of his rookie-scale contract. There&rsquo;s an easy pathway for Cleveland to maintain some financial flexibility even by keeping Sexton, whether short or long-term.
Rubio is a $17 million expiring contract; Markkanen is at $16.5 million, $17.3 million and $18 million per year following this season, which is not easily movable but still movable; Kevin Love&rsquo;s number drops from $31 million to $29 million next year, the last of his contract. By the time Love&rsquo;s deal is up, Garland&rsquo;s deal would begin. Before that, Rubio&rsquo;s deal would be done in time for Sexton&rsquo;s to start &mdash; you can also get creative and keep both if neither is moved for win-now agreements between now and Feb. 10.&nbsp;
Additionally, people could nitpick Sexton&rsquo;s game with good reason. He&rsquo;s 6-foot-1, a natural shooting guard, and... less than a defensive-stopper, we&rsquo;ll say. However, it is&nbsp;hard to replace his offense, which could carry over alongside Garland if the Cavaliers play this correctly. It takes a strain off Garland, anyway. Last season, Sexton averaged 24.3 points and 4.4 assists on 48/37/82 shooting splits on 6.4 free throw attempts per contest. For a 6-1 guard, that&rsquo;s impressive, even if his team kinda sucked by NBA standards. He also just turned 23, and while you could hold the advanced metrics against him, playing next to Mobley, plus these versions of Garland and Allen, could help.&nbsp;
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The Verdict
It&rsquo;s complicated, but for now: keep him. If you watch the Cavaliers, they&rsquo;re missing a shot-creator/catch-and-shoot option beside Garland... like Sexton. And given their emergence, along with their defensive success thus far, there&rsquo;s a world where re-slotting him in is seamless.
Your core is an easy playoff team again next season with a high ceiling, because not many teams will enter next season with three All-Star candidates on paper. Mobley, in particular, has the potential to be elite at his position within 2-to-3 years. The Cavs might be best off keeping a good thing going and not biting off more than they could chew.&nbsp;

Bryan Fonseca wrestles with the idea of Collin Sexton's future with the Cavs: To trade, or not to trade?

The case against, and for, the Cavs trading Collin Sexton

Darius Garland strengthened his All-Star case with 22 points and 12 assists, leading the Cleveland Cavaliers to a 114-107 win Monday over the Brooklyn Nets, who began a stretch without injured superstar Kevin Durant.
Isaac Okoro added 15 points and Jarrett Allen had 14 and 10 rebounds for the Cavs, who won their fifth straight.
Kyrie Irving scored 27 points in his fourth game of the season and James Harden added 22 for Brooklyn, which was playing its first game since Durant, the NBA's leading scorer, sprained his left knee. He's expected to be out several weeks.
The Nets missed five straight shots down the stretch but were still within 110-107 when a costly turnover by Harden led to a breakaway dunk for Okoro.
Harden attempted a pass back to Irving, who slipped near mid-court and laid helplessly on the floor as Okoro streaked by and scored.
Irving missed a 3-pointer that went halfway down and came out before Cleveland's Kevin Love made three free throws to close out one of the Cavs' biggest wins this season.
Durant, averaging 29.3 points per game, sprained his left medial collateral ligament (MCL) on Saturday in a win over New Orleans. The Nets don't have a definitive timeframe for his return, but it's safe to assume they'll be without one of the game's best players for several weeks.
Before the game, Brooklyn coach Steve Nash said Durant will be re-evaluated in &ldquo;a few weeks,&rdquo; at which point the team will have a better sense of when he'll be back.
In the meantime, the Nets, who were hoping to finally have a long stretch with Durant, Harden and Irving on the floor together, are again being forced to cope, adjust and figure out how to win.
&ldquo;It's an opportunity for our team to grow,&rdquo; Nash said. &ldquo;We have to find solutions.&rdquo;
The Nets got another scare in the third quarter when Harden grabbed his left leg and hobbled off.
He stayed in for another minute before being replaced by Irving, who then scored seven straight points, dropping a 3-pointer with 11.7 seconds left to put Brooklyn up 88-87 heading into the fourth.
Garland, who was named the Eastern Conference's player of the week during the game, was in the middle of the game's splashiest play in the first half.
After making an overhead catch on a long outlet pass from Love like a football wide receiver, Garland flipped the ball back to a trailing Okoro for a thundering dunk.
TIP-INS
Nets: It's hard to find a positive with Durant's situation, but one plus is that Brooklyn plays nine of its next 11 on the road and will have Irving, who can't play at home because he's not vaccinated against COVID-19 as mandated in New York's public venues. ... F/C Nick Claxton (hamstring) missed his fourth straight game. ... A two-time league MVP as a point guard, Nash has been impressed with Garland's development. &ldquo;He kind of has all the tools you want, coupled with speed and quickness."
Cavaliers: With the All-Star Game in Cleveland next month, the Cavs are pushing hard for Garland to make the team along with Allen, who has been one of the East's most dominant big men. &ldquo;They both deserve it,&rdquo; said coach J.B. Bickerstaff, who hasn't started calling colleagues to push for their votes. ... G Lamar Stevens (sore knee) sat out. ... G Rajon Rondo (hamstring) missed his fourth game in a row. ... Chairman Dan Gilbert attended his second game this season.
UP NEXT
Nets: Visit Washington on Wednesday. They beat the Wizards 104-90 on Oct. 25.
Cavaliers: Play at Eastern Conference-leading Chicago on Wednesday.

Darius Garland strengthened his All-Star case with 22 points and 12 assists, leading the Cavaliers to a 114-107 win.

Garland leads Cavs to 114-107 win over Durant-less Nets

TORONTO (AP) — Fred VanVleet scored 33 points, Pascal Siakam had 18 points and 12 rebounds, and the Toronto Raptors extended their winning streak to three by beating the San Antonio Spurs 129-104 on Tuesday night.
Gary Trent Jr. scored 21 points as the Raptors evened their record at 17-17, reaching the .500 mark for the first time since they were 7-7 after a Nov. 13 home loss to Detroit.
The Raptors have won eight of their past 10 at home.
Toronto’s OG Anunoby scored 14 points and rookie Scottie Barnes had 11 points and a career-best eight assists. Justin Champagnie scored a career-high 14 for the Raptors, who matched their season-high point total.
VanVleet topped 30 points for the third straight game and fourth time in his past five. He’s the first Raptors player to score 30 or more in three straight games since Kawhi Leonard did it in four straight from Jan. 13-27, 2019.
“You recognize when you’re in rhythm and you just try to hold on as long as possible, because it’s not always like that,” VanVleet said. “I try to keep my floor a little higher but when you’re hot, you’ve just got to be aggressive and ride it out as long as you can.”
VanVleet shot 12 for 23 and matched his season highs with seven made 3-pointers and 14 attempts from distance. He also had seven assists.
Raptors coach Nick Nurse said VanVleet’s recent string of solid performances have burnished his All-Star credentials, but acknowledged that more Toronto wins would help strengthen the guard’s case.
“I think he’s got to be in the conversation,” Nurse said. “We’ve got to climb the standings some. I just think that’s part of it. If we do, then he certainly will deserve it.”
Toronto set a season high with 30 assists and shot 18 for 44 from outside the arc, matching its season best for made 3-pointers.
Former Raptors center Jakob Poeltl scored 19 points and Devin Vassell and rookie Josh Primo each had 15 as the slumping Spurs lost their fourth straight. Joe Wieskamp scored 13 points and Derrick White had 12 for San Antonio.
“I thought Jakob was great tonight,” Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. “I was really glad to see Jakob be as assertive as he was on offense. With two G-League guys, Josh and Joe, I thought they were fantastic. Devin was fairly solid but we didn’t get much from anybody else.”
Toronto led 30-29 after one, and extended its lead with a 14-1 run in the second. The Raptors shot 7 for 14 from 3-point range in the second quarter and led 68-53 at halftime.
Toronto took a 97-81 lead to the fourth.
SIX PACK
VanVleet has scored 30 or more six times this season, matching the number of times he did so in 52 games last season.
HOME ‘CROWD’
For the third straight game, only family and friends of the players were allowed inside the arena. Toronto native Primo had expected to have a group of “hundreds” on hand for his first professional game in Canada, but had to reduce that to about 20 people.
“It’s great being able to come out here and be in my hometown, play in front of some family and friends,” Primo said. “Playing in this arena brings back memories of coming into the Air Canada Centre at the time, watching games and wanting to be on that stage. Now being here, it’s a moment I’m just grateful to have.”
BACK IN ACTION
F Keita Bates-Diop came off the bench for the Spurs after missing Saturday’s overtime loss at Detroit because of a sore right hamstring. He scored seven points in 16 minutes.
TIP-INS
Spurs: F Devontae Cacok, F Doug McDermott, and G Lonnie Walker IV were all unavailable (health and safety protocols) while G Dejounte Murray (conditioning) did not play. … Matched a season high with 20 turnovers.
Raptors: F Svi Mykhailiuk and F Yuta Watanabe entered the health and safety protocols. … F Isaac Bonga returned after missing the previous four games. Bonga was in the health and safety protocols for three games, then sat out Sunday for conditioning. … Toronto also scored 129 points and made 18 3-pointers in an overtime loss at Brooklyn on Dec. 14.
UP NEXT
Spurs: Visit Boston on Wednesday.
Raptors: Visit Milwaukee on Wednesday.
___
More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

Fred VanVleet scored 33 points and the Toronto Raptors beat the San Antonio Spurs, 129-104.

VanVleet tops 30 for third straight game, Raptors rout Spurs

TORONTO (AP) &mdash; Fred VanVleet scored 19 of his season-high 35 points in the third quarter, Pascal Siakam had 20 points and 14 rebounds, and the Toronto Raptors extended their home winning streak against the Knicks to 11 games by beating a depleted New York team 120-105 on Sunday.
OG Anunoby scored 14 points, Scottie Barnes had 13 and Chris Boucher 12 as the Raptors won back-to-back games for the first time since home wins over New York and Sacramento on Dec. 10 and 13.
&ldquo;I thought we were pretty locked in for most of the game,&rdquo; VanVleet said.
Barnes returned after missing Friday&rsquo;s win over the Clippers because of a sore right knee. He sat out the previous two games while in the health and safety protocols.
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&ldquo;I felt pretty good out there,&rdquo; Barnes said. &ldquo;I really had my wind. I wasn&rsquo;t so tired.&rdquo;
Toronto, which had 10 players in the protocols for a Dec. 26 loss at Cleveland, had its eight most-used players available for the first time all season.
&ldquo;This is kind of where you want to be,&rdquo; VanVleet said. &ldquo;We&rsquo;ve just got to continue to get better individually and collectively. I think we&rsquo;ll be a tough team to beat if we can keep growing towards the end of the year.&rdquo;
VanVleet shot 11 for 17 and made a season-high seven of his 13 attempts from 3-point range. He went 6 for 6 at the free throw line and finished with five rebounds and five assists.
&ldquo;It makes us tough to guard when he&rsquo;s coming down, hitting in transition, coming off screens,&rdquo; Raptors coach Nick Nurse said.
Evan Fournier scored 20 points and RJ Barrett and Obi Toppin each had 19 for the Knicks, who lost their second straight after winning the previous three.
&ldquo;Overall, I thought some guys stepped up and played good but you&rsquo;re short-handed, your margin for error is small, and we didn&rsquo;t get it done,&rdquo; Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau said.
Fournier returned after missing Friday&lsquo;s loss to Oklahoma City because of a sore right ankle, but the Knicks were without starters Julius Randle and Mitchell Robinson, who joined Nerlens Noel, Jericho Sims, and Wayne Selden in health and safety protocols.
Another starter, guard Kemba Walker, sat for the second straight game because of a sore left knee.
&ldquo;We have three starters down,&rdquo; Fournier said. &ldquo;That&rsquo;s a lot.&rdquo;
Toppin&rsquo;s point total equaled his career high. He also had 19 against Toronto on Dec. 10.
&ldquo;It means something,&rdquo; Toppin said of matching the milestone, &ldquo;but obviously the loss sucks. We&rsquo;re just going to learn from this game and get better.&rdquo;
After scoring a season-low 80 points Friday, New York topped 100 for the first time in four games.
The Raptors played before a mostly empty arena for the second straight game after Ontario&rsquo;s provincial government reduced capacity limits to a maximum of 1,000 people in an attempt to control the spread of COVID-19. No tickets were sold, and only friends and family were allowed entry.
Toronto led 56-45 at halftime and used a 40-point third to take a 96-74 lead to the fourth.
SHARP SHOOTING
The Raptors shot 15 for 22 in the third. That was one fewer made baskets than the Knicks had in the first half. VanVleet had six made baskets in the quarter, while the Knicks had seven.
SHORT STINT
Rookie G Miles McBride started for the Knicks but was subbed out after five minutes and didn&rsquo;t return until the fourth quarter. Alec Burks started the second half.
&ldquo;Just the way the game was going, I felt we probably needed a little more offense to try to get things going,&rdquo; Thibodeau said.
TIP-INS
Knicks: Associate head coach Johnnie Bryant and assistant coaches Kenny Payne and Daisuke Yoshimoto were absent after entering the health and safety protocols. &ldquo;Everyone has added responsibility right now,&rdquo; Thibodeau said. &hellip; Play eight of their next 10 at home.
Raptors: Siakam finished with seven assists but had six turnovers. &hellip; F Isaac Bonga exited health and safety protocols but was not available (conditioning). &hellip; Outrebounded New York 44-30.
UP NEXT
Knicks: Host Indiana on Tuesday.
Raptors: Host San Antonio on Tuesday.
___
More AP NBA:&nbsp;<a class="" href="https://apnews.com/hub/NBA">https://apnews.com/hub/NBA</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a class="" href="https://twitter.com/AP_Sports" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">https://twitter.com/AP_Sports</a>

Fred VanVleet scored 19 of his season-high 35 points in the third quarter.

Fred VanVleet scores season-high 35, Raptors rout Knicks 120-105

Less than 48 hours ago, yours truly <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/mulling-over-6-options-for-the-cavs-with-ricky-rubio-out-for-the-year" target="_blank" rel="noopener">suggested</a> that the Cleveland Cavaliers shouldn&rsquo;t sit on their hands regarding their vacant backup point guard position following the news of Ricky Rubio&rsquo;s season-ending ACL injury. General manager Koby Altman acted swiftly, entering discussions with the Los Angeles Lakers to acquire veteran set-up man Rajon Rondo on Thursday.
On Friday morning, the Cavs and Lakers struck an agreement, landing the two-time NBA champion in exchange for Denzel Valentine, league sources confirmed to BasketballNews.com. (Editor's Note: The trade expanded on Monday morning, as the New York Knicks jumped in to acquire Valentine.) Cleveland avoided having to give up draft capital or use its JaVale McGee trade exception, which in itself is a win.
Though Altman did not go for one of the five options suggested in Wednesday&rsquo;s article, he wasted no time in addressing one of the most important voids on the team. Going forward with only Kevin Pangos and Isaac Okoro to spell Darius Garland would&rsquo;ve been risky business. Now, in Rondo, Cleveland has a sure thing behind its budding star in regards to organizing the offense.
With that said, there are two sides to every decision, and it&rsquo;ll be intriguing to see which version of Rondo we will see with the Cavs.&nbsp;
You can&rsquo;t question the man&rsquo;s basketball IQ. Despite what we&rsquo;ve seen this season with the Lakers, Rondo is one of the smartest and headiest &ldquo;old-school&rdquo; 1s in the game. The 15-year veteran has the ability to dazzle with his passes and he's been solid in open-floor situations for the majority of his days. Rondo should have a field day with Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley hovering around the rim, while Kevin Love and Lauri Markkanen wait for catch-and-shoot opportunities. And who knows, maybe what Garland has learned off the ball with Rubio can translate in similar fashion with Rondo handling the rock.&nbsp;
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Where this deal could backfire is if Rondo doesn&rsquo;t buy in. ESPN&rsquo;s Adrian Wojnarowski has <a href="https://twitter.com/wojespn/status/1476949220707995648" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a> that the 35-year-old is looking forward to joining the upstart Cavs and playing a bigger role; however, there have been times in the past when Rondo has joined a team and refused to buy-in &mdash; at least over the course of a full season. Since spending nine seasons with the Boston Celtics, he has had stints with seven different teams and has been traded midseason three times now.
It takes a level of trust to gain Rondo&rsquo;s trust, it seems. Luckily for the Cavs, they have a Coach of the Year candidate in J.B. Bickerstaff who is clearly quite persuasive considering the team&rsquo;s 20-15 record in the top-half of the Eastern Conference. But even if Cleveland gets Rondo to seamlessly transition into its incredible environment, there are limitations to the veteran&rsquo;s game.
Firstly, he&rsquo;s a step slower. At 35, Rondo doesn&rsquo;t quite have that same agility on either end of the floor. Defensively, he&rsquo;s made his money by gambling for steals with his lengthy arms; staying in front of guys has been more difficult. Fortunately for him, Allen and Mobley will be a safety valve, so maybe he can be more aggressive with ball pressure.
Secondly, Rondo is a streaky type of shooter. Kudos to him on evolving his game to the point where defenses have to at least pay attention to him; with that said, if I&rsquo;m a defender, I&rsquo;m not going to race to close him out with two monsters in the paint and more threatening shooters out on the perimeter.&nbsp;
The Cavs&rsquo; best-case scenario is clear-cut: Garland&rsquo;s minute load stays the same (or likely increases from the 34 he&rsquo;s getting now) and Rondo sees 15-20 minutes of action per contest. The former obviously has a lot of juice and stamina, so he should continue to run the show. The latter should play more of a backup role than Rubio, who soaked up over 28 minutes a night &mdash; both with Garland on and off the floor.&nbsp;
Rondo should slot in as more of a traditional second-unit maestro than as a faux &ldquo;sixth starter&rdquo; type; that&rsquo;s both due to his age and unfamiliarity with this group at the moment. That&rsquo;s okay though, because it will give Garland even more responsibility, which eventually would&rsquo;ve happened anyhow.
Plus, we all know what Rondo&rsquo;s reputation is at this point: It&rsquo;s all about the postseason, &ldquo;Playoff Rondo,&rdquo; a.k.a. when Rajon locks in and truly makes and breaks games. We&rsquo;re just about to break into the New Year, so that is a ways away (and isn&rsquo;t a guarantee for the Cavs &mdash; look at the East and you&rsquo;ll see that), yet experience-wise, it doesn&rsquo;t get much better than that. Particularly, for your young core to learn and get advice from.
Rondo has a knack for making a good first impression on the floor almost everywhere he goes. Can he sustain that level of play? And if things don't go exactly how he envisioned, will he remain engaged? These are the big questions. Attitude will be everything.
The most important aspect of all of this is that Cleveland acted promptly. With a little more than half of a season left to go, the Cavs are hoping that Rondo&rsquo;s impact will at least partly be a solution to the loss of Rubio.

Spencer Davies reacts to the Cleveland Cavaliers trading for Rajon Rondo and how this move will affect the team.