Waves

In a series full of big moments and bigger performances, Jalen Williams finally had his. The 24-year-old wing exploded for a career-high 40 points in Game 5 of the NBA Finals, lifting the Oklahoma City Thunder to the brink of their first championship since the franchise moved from Seattle.
For one night, the man they call JDub stepped out of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander&rsquo;s shadow. He wasn&rsquo;t just the Robin to SGA&rsquo;s Batman &ndash; he became the Batman and carried OKC to victory. He initiated the offense, hit timely threes, attacked the rim with force, and defended like his life depended on it. It was a masterclass from a player once doubted as the long-term second option for this team. But as the confetti fell after OKC's Game 5 win, there was no doubt anymore: Jalen Williams has arrived.
<h3>The emergence of a true No. 2</h3>
Oklahoma City&rsquo;s ascension to the NBA&rsquo;s elite has largely been credited to Gilgeous-Alexander&rsquo;s leap into MVP territory and top 5 player in the league conversation. But no team contends for titles with just one star. Throughout the season, Williams quietly established himself as that second cornerstone &ndash; an All-Star, a three-level scorer, and a swiss-army knife on both ends of the floor.
He averaged over 20 points per game in the regular season with 5 rebounds and 5 assists per game, and earned All-NBA Third Team honors. But those accolades were hard-earned, especially after the questions that clouded him following last season's playoff exit.
Against Dallas in the 2024 Western Conference Semifinals, Williams struggled to find rhythm. The Mavericks&rsquo; defense smothered him, taking away his drives and disrupting his midrange flow. He shot poorly, turned the ball over more than usual, and appeared unsure of when to assert himself. The Thunder were bounced in six games, and the spotlight turned on whether JDub could ever truly complement SGA as a playoff performer.
<h3>Williams&rsquo; redemption and resolve</h3>
Fast forward one year, and Williams is a different player. With Isaiah Hartenstein added to give OKC more interior toughness and Josh Giddey traded away for Alex Caruso, the Thunder leaned even harder into their identity: wings with size, skill, and smarts.
Williams fit that mold perfectly, using the offseason to refine his handle, sharpen his jumper, and study film to improve his decision-making. The result? An All-Star nod, a 68-win season, and OKC securing the top seed in the entire league.
But the playoffs would again test him.
Denver pushed the Thunder to the brink in the second round. Once again, Williams faced turbulence &ndash; his shot abandoned him at times, and the Nuggets&rsquo; physicality forced rushed decisions. But this time, he didn&rsquo;t unravel. He dug deeper. He impacted games with his defense and passing, then rediscovered his scoring touch just in time to help the Thunder close the series in Game 7.
In the Western Conference Finals against Minnesota, he was magnificent. He shot the ball efficiently, helped neutralize Anthony Edwards at times, and showcased his elite cutting and off-ball IQ &ndash; areas often overshadowed by his flashy isolation moves. By the end of the series, Williams had reclaimed full confidence in his offensive role.
But even that couldn&rsquo;t prepare the world for what he unleashed in Game 5 of the Finals.
<h3>A Finals performance to remember</h3>
With Indiana doubling SGA on every touch and trying to bait OKC&rsquo;s supporting cast into beating them in Game 5, Williams took full advantage of the defensive attention. He sliced through the defense with decisive drives, nailed tough step-back jumpers, and even initiated offense when Gilgeous-Alexander rested. His 40-point night wasn&rsquo;t just about scoring &ndash; it was about control. He looked every bit like a franchise pillar that would be in the city for years to come.
Williams&rsquo; ability to score at all three levels, his commitment to defense, and his feel for the game now make him one of the most complete young wings in basketball. He's not just a complementary piece anymore &ndash; he's a cornerstone.
<h3>Cementing his legacy</h3>
With the Thunder now one win away from an NBA championship, Williams is on the verge of etching his name into Oklahoma City lore. Not just as the guy who played beside SGA, but as the co-author of this team&rsquo;s historic run.
It&rsquo;s easy to forget this is his first NBA Finals. He plays with the poise of a seasoned vet, never rushing, always reading. His blend of patience and aggression makes him nearly impossible to scheme out of a game, and his confidence has caught up with his tools.
Of course, there&rsquo;s still work to be done. Game 6 awaits back in Indiana, and the Pacers aren&rsquo;t going quietly. But for Williams, this postseason has already validated everything the Thunder hoped he could become.
The doubts that loomed after last year&rsquo;s postseason struggles are gone. The idea that he couldn&rsquo;t rise to the occasion? Erased. This run &ndash; this journey &ndash; is proof of how perseverance and belief can reshape a career.
Whether he&rsquo;s cutting behind a ball-watching defender, dishing a no-look dime on the break, or drilling a stepback jumper in the clutch, Jalen Williams is playing with the kind of purpose that changes narratives and wins titles.
The Thunder may soon hoist the Larry O'Brien Trophy. And when they do, know that it wasn&rsquo;t just SGA&rsquo;s brilliance that got them there. It was Jalen Williams, too &ndash; the sidekick-turned-superstar, who stepped up when it mattered most.

Jalen Williams delivered a 40-point masterpiece in the NBA Finals, cementing his status as the OKC Thunder’s true second star.

Jalen Williams rises from sidekick to star in Thunder’s NBA title push

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

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

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

DALLAS (AP) &mdash; While Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban says re-signing Kyrie Irving is the team&rsquo;s top offseason priority, he doesn&rsquo;t view it as a &ldquo;Kyrie or bust&rdquo; scenario.
The billionaire businessman who has stayed mostly silent on Mavericks matters this season also is showing support for coach Jason Kidd with the team currently outside the playoff picture a year after going to the Western Conference finals in Kidd&rsquo;s Dallas debut.
Cuban held a rare session with reporters before Wednesday&rsquo;s 123-119 victory over Sacramento that kept alive the Mavs&rsquo; hopes of getting the final play-in spot as the 10th seed in the West.
Dallas gambled with the blockbuster deal for Irving before the trade deadline in February despite his expiring contract, giving the franchise its first pair of All-Star starters with Luka Doncic.
The Mavericks have slipped in the standings since then, in part because of injuries to both stars, but Cuban maintains the move was made for the long term. Still, Cuban stopped short of declaring Irving&rsquo;s return a must.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s not Kyrie or bust, but we want to keep him,&rdquo; said Cuban, who used to speak to reporters routinely before games before locker room access changed several years ago. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m done giving ultimatums on players like I did last year.&rdquo;
He referred to the Mavs losing Doncic sidekick Jalen Brunson to the New York Knicks in free agency last summer, when Cuban confidently declared they would be able to keep him because they could pay him more. Brunson and the Knicks are safely in the Eastern Conference playoffs.
While Cuban took the blame for misfiring with roster construction, he fought back against suggestions from Brunson&rsquo;s camp that the Mavs passed on a chance to give Brunson an extension before the 2022 trade deadline. Cuban said there were no negotiations with Brunson&rsquo;s representatives last summer.
Cuban said on top of the loss of Brunson, he underestimated the effect of the new &ldquo;take&rdquo; rule that significantly reduced the number of fouls to prevent fast breaks. He said the Mavs haven&rsquo;t kept up with the faster game defensively.
As a result, Cuban said, the blame shouldn&rsquo;t be on Kidd and his staff for the team being in danger of missing the postseason entirely a year after the club&rsquo;s first deep playoff run since winning the 2011 championship.
&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t think it&rsquo;s J-Kidd&rsquo;s problem that we didn&rsquo;t have an identity,&rdquo; Cuban said. &ldquo;The game changed in ways we didn&rsquo;t expect it to change. So I blew it. It was on me personally because the game changed in terms of the &lsquo;take&rsquo; fouls and the speed of the game and where you need to be defensively.&rdquo;
Cuban said the Mavericks never intended for Doncic and Irving to be the heartbeat of the defense, so the challenge will be finding those complementary pieces in the offseason.
That&rsquo;s with the owner presuming he can convince Irving to stick around. Cuban was noncommittal on contract terms because of uncertainty over rules in the new labor deal.
&ldquo;I want him to stay for sure, and I think we have a good shot,&rdquo; Cuban said. &ldquo;I think he&rsquo;s happy here. He told me he&rsquo;s happy here.&rdquo;
Irving&rsquo;s three-plus seasons in Brooklyn were filled with controversy, including him not being able to play many home games because he wouldn&rsquo;t get vaccinated against COVID-19 and criticism when he tweeted a link to a film containing antisemitic material. Nike ended its relationship with Irving over the tweet.
&ldquo;I think he&rsquo;s a good guy,&rdquo; Cuban said. &ldquo;All I can tell you is everything I knew about Kyrie because of everything I read is 100% wrong. I get emails from people all the time. I&rsquo;m like, &lsquo;Do you know the guy?&rsquo; Once you get to know the guy, I like him. He&rsquo;s not like every guy. He&rsquo;s not like every athlete. And to me, that&rsquo;s a positive.&rdquo;
To get Irving, the Mavericks gave up their best defensive player, Dorian Finney-Smith, and Spencer Dinwiddie, an important scorer who joined Dallas in the trade that sent Kristaps Porzingis to Washington. Dallas also surrendered an unprotected 2029 first-round pick.
Entering Friday&rsquo;s home game against Chicago, Doncic and Irving are 5-11 when playing together. Each has missed time with injuries. Cuban is comfortable they&rsquo;ve shown enough together to be a formidable pairing.
&ldquo;We&rsquo;ve got the best offensive rating I think with those two guys when they play together,&rdquo; Cuban said. &ldquo;We could not find a way to get stops in close games. I don&rsquo;t think you can point to any one thing, but we&rsquo;ll have to make changes, obviously, to be able to get better defensively.&rdquo;
Lurking behind the more immediate question of Irving&rsquo;s contract is the future of Doncic. The 24-year-old from Slovenia has three more years on his $215 million rookie supermax contract before a player option for the 2026-27 season.
Cuban won&rsquo;t concern himself over whether Doncic will be another Dirk Nowitzki, who set an NBA record by spending all 21 of his seasons in Dallas.
&ldquo;Players don&rsquo;t talk like that, &lsquo;Hey, I&rsquo;ll be here for the next 17 years,&rsquo;&rdquo; Cuban said. &ldquo;He&rsquo;d like to be here the whole time, but we&rsquo;ve got to earn that.&rdquo;

Mavericks owner Mark Cuban says re-signing Kyrie Irving is the team’s top goal, but he doesn’t view it as a “Kyrie or bust” scenario.

Mavs’ Cuban says keeping Irving is priority, supports Kidd

DALLAS (AP) &mdash; Jalen Brunson missed his first Dallas reunion after the New York Knicks point guard was ruled out of a meeting with the Mavericks with a sore right hip.
The club announced the decision not long before the start of Tuesday night's game. Brunson played when the Knicks lost to the Mavericks 121-100 in New York in early December. The rematch was his first missed game of the season.
Brunson was drafted in the second round by Dallas in 2018, the same year Mavs superstar Luka Doncic went third overall.
A two-time NCAA champion at Villanova, Brunson grew into quite the sidekick for Doncic before signing with the Knicks as a free agent this past summer.
Wearing a baby blue hoodie on the Knicks bench, Brunson watched a tribute video after the first quarter and waved to the cheering crowd afterward. He hugged several members of the Dallas staff on his way to the locker room at halftime.
Brunson played a pivotal role in the Mavericks winning a first-round series against Utah last season when Doncic missed the first three games in the six-game series due to a calf strain.
The Mavericks reached the Western Conference finals, losing to Golden State, which won the title.
Brunson blossomed as a starter alongside Doncic in coach Jason Kidd's Dallas debut last season, but was interested in being the lead point guard somewhere else.
Brunson had strong ties to the Knicks. His dad, Rick Brunson, is an assistant coach and former player for New York. His dad's agent, Leon Rose, is president of the Knicks.
New York played in Dallas six days after the <a href="https://apnews.com/article/new-york-knicks-nba-sports-tom-thibodeau-jalen-brunson-54b1134d3e048865ff73a9797b32592b">NBA docked the club a second-round pick</a> in the 2025 draft for engaging in talks with Brunson before free agency opened June 30.

Jalen Brunson missed his first Dallas reunion after the Knicks point guard was ruled out of a meeting with a sore right hip.

Knicks' Jalen Brunson sits for Dallas reunion with sore hip

DALLAS (AP) &mdash; Include the extra rebound, or don't.
It doesn't really matter with Luka Doncic's logic-defying stat line that had current and former NBA stars, along with current and former teammates, buzzing on Twitter.
Doncic had 60 points, a Dallas franchise record, a career-best 21 rebounds and 10 assists in a wild <a href="https://apnews.com/article/new-york-knicks-dallas-mavericks-sports-basketball-luka-doncic-ed7d9ce55160d04e2c206f6a8b742cdd">126-121 overtime victory over the New York Knicks</a> on Tuesday night.
Set up by his <a href="https://twitter.com/NBA/status/1607950883312001027?s=20&amp;t=dQDB5jAu1UNu9ps8OmTnLQ">improbable tying jumper in the final second of regulation</a> off his intentionally missed free throw, Doncic had the first 60-20-10 triple-double in NBA history.
Plenty of peers noticed, including former European sidekick Kristaps Porzingis, traded to Washington last season to break up the pairing that never really clicked as planned.
Porzingis referenced their shared playing roots in Spain, <a href="https://twitter.com/kporzee/status/1607958161235021833?s=20&amp;t=kHqaiyfcpIMOZV08YcsVIg">with a tweet in Spanish</a> that translated to &ldquo;This guy is not normal.&rdquo;
And the 7-foot-3 Latvian skipped that extraneous rebound on a night when he could celebrate a double-double of his own with 24 points and 10 rebounds as <a href="https://apnews.com/article/philadelphia-76ers-washington-wizards-sports-basketball-bradley-beal-1f371b550fa7caec53816138b20e989a">the Wizards beat Philadelphia</a>.
Doncic broke Dirk Nowitzki's franchise record of 53 points from 2004 two days after the Mavericks unveiled a statue of the retired German star outside the arena.
Nowitzki is the highest-scoring foreign-born player in NBA history (sixth overall). The 23-year-old All-Star could hold that title some day.
&ldquo;It'll be another statue in Dallas,&rdquo; Hall of Famer Kevin Garnett wrote on Twitter.
<a href="https://twitter.com/kylekuzma/status/1607953741403103236?s=20&amp;t=JU9SqSAOsGRs9wWDr4MY5Q">Kyle Kuzma included the extra rebound</a> while calling Doncic's numbers &ldquo;INSANE!!!!!!!&rdquo;
Brooklyn star Kevin Durant felt the need for an expletive in comparing Doncic's night to video-game numbers.
Mavericks owner Mark Cuban said he'll never see another night like it, and teammate Christian Wood, whose 3-pointer sparked the rally from nine points down in the final 30 seconds of regulation, <a href="https://twitter.com/Chriswood_5/status/1607967155093389312">said he was sending a &ldquo;GOAT&rdquo;</a> to Doncic's farm in his native Slovenia.
&ldquo;Everybody is still in shock,&rdquo; coach Jason Kidd said after the game. &ldquo; The history of the game is written by the players and it was written again tonight for a player &mdash; Luka &mdash; doing something that&rsquo;s never been done before.&rdquo;

Luka Doncic's logic-defying stat line had current and former NBA stars, along with current and former teammates, buzzing on Twitter

It's no typo: 60-21-10 stat line for Mavs' Luka Doncic goes viral

DALLAS (AP) &mdash; Luka Doncic scored 32 points, Tim Hardaway Jr. had 16 of his 26 points in a huge third quarter for Dallas and the Mavericks beat the Los Angeles Lakers 124-115 on Sunday.
Christian Wood added 30 points and tied a career high with seven assists as the Mavericks finished off a celebration of Dirk Nowitzki's statue unveiling by winning just the second Christmas Day home game in franchise history.
Dallas took its first lead during a 51-point third quarter, the highest-scoring quarter on Christmas in NBA history and a league-best this season. Golden State and Orlando have each had a 50-point quarter.
LeBron James scored 38 points, one shy of his season high, and the Lakers led by 12 early in the third before the Mavericks took over.
Wood started the surge with a 3-pointer, and Dallas was within one when Doncic had a chance to challenge James at the rim but passed to Hardaway for a corner 3 and the first Dallas lead at 65-63.
The Mavericks, who scored just 43 points in the first half and trailed by 11 at the break, didn't slow down from there.
Doncic, who had six of his nine assists in the quarter, hit three free throws after a foul and a technical against Russell Westbrook, Hardaway scored inside and out and Wood converted a three-point play to break the 50-point mark.
Hardaway was 4 of 5 from deep in the third as Dallas went 9 of 13 as a team and shot 72% overall.
The Lakers scored the first nine points of the fourth quarter to trim a 19-point deficit to 10, but LA couldn't get the deficit back under 10.
CHRISTMAS CELEBRATION
Dallas lost its other Christmas Day home game 11 years earlier when Nowitzki was the face of the franchise, and the Mavericks were coming off their only championship. Miami won 105-94 in an opener for the lockout-delayed 2011-12 season.
REPRIEVE FOR DONCIC
Doncic was called for his sixth foul on a charge against Austin Reaves with 3:50 left, but the call was reversed on replay. Reaves was assessed a blocking foul, and Doncic made both free throws. Doncic had nine rebounds.
TIP-INS
Lakers: James' seven-game run of at least 30 points is the longest active streak in the NBA. ... Westbrook scored 17 points, and Reaves had 16.
Mavericks: G Kemba Walker missed a second consecutive game for injury recovery on his left knee. Walker went unsigned the first six weeks of the season. The 32-year-old has a history of knee issues in recent years. ... Dallas also was without G/F Dorian Finney-Smith (right abductor strain), G Josh Green (right elbow sprain) and G Frank Ntilikina (left knee soreness).
UP NEXT
Lakers: At Orlando on Tuesday. LA swept the two-game series last season.
Mavericks: Jalen Brunson returns to Dallas with the Knicks on Tuesday. Brunson was drafted in the second round the year Doncic went third overall (2018) and thrived as his sidekick before signing with New York in free agency. The Mavs won the first meeting in New York this month.

Luka Doncic scored 32 points, and the Dallas Mavericks beat the Los Angeles Lakers 124-115 on Sunday.

Doncic, Mavs top Lakers 124-115 to celebrate Nowitzki statue

DALLAS (AP) &mdash; Luka Doncic dribbled behind his back before an <a href="https://twitter.com/BallySportsSW/status/1584009079403401216?s=20&amp;t=X5fIRYIE_N0ugt_4t-vTiQ">alley-oop pass to new pick-and-roll partner Christian Wood</a> for a one-handed dunk.
Moments later the Dallas superstar delivered his <a href="https://twitter.com/BallySportsSW/status/1584009479993315328?s=20&amp;t=X5fIRYIE_N0ugt_4t-vTiQ">final assist to Tim Hardaway Jr. for a punctuating 3-pointer</a> in a home-opening party for Mavericks.
Never mind what Doncic did early.
The young Slovenian scored 21 of his 32 points in the first quarter, and the Mavericks rode a hot start to a 137-96 rout of the Memphis Grizzlies on Saturday night.
&ldquo;It's incredible. I don't even know what to talk about,&rdquo; Wood said of Doncic after getting 25 points and 12 rebounds in his home debut following an offseason trade that brought the 6-foot-10 center from Houston.
&ldquo;The things that he does on the offensive end, the passes he makes, how he gets everybody set up, it's amazing.&rdquo;
Ja Morant scored the first six Memphis points, but the first bucket from someone else didn't come until the 4:30 mark of the first quarter as the Grizzlies trailed 39-17 going to the second.
Morant finished with 20 points a night after a 49-point showing in a victory at Houston gave him 83 points through two games.
The Grizzlies were trying for their first 3-0 start in five years, but instead ended up on the wrong end of the biggest blowout in the season's first five days at 41 points.
The Mavericks led by 25 points in the first, and the 22-point margin after the quarter matched the lead the 2022 Western Conference finalists blew in a 107-105 loss at Phoenix to open the season.
There was no risk of a repeat for Dallas in a meeting of two West playoff qualifiers from last season, with those last two of Doncic's 10 assists late in the third quarter finishing off a showy night for Dallas.
Doncic shouted and flexed for emphasis in the lane after feeding Wood's one-handed slam, then the three-time All-Star beat the third-quarter buzzer with the pass to Hardaway for a corner 3 and 99-71 lead.
&ldquo;He&rsquo;s playing the game at a different level right now,&rdquo; coach Jason Kidd said, &ldquo;kind of like where he picked up last season where he ended playing at an extremely high level.&rdquo;
Dallas put its best defenders on Morant, but used plenty of help to make the young sensation's paths to the rim difficult. Morant was limited to 12 shots (six makes) and four assists, going 8 of 8 on free throws.
&ldquo;I think a great team played great, and we didn&rsquo;t play great,&rdquo; Memphis coach Taylor Jenkins said, ending his postgame session with reporters after that one question.
TIP-INS
Grizzlies: Desmond Bane scored 14 points, and Tyus Jones had 10. ... Memphis has lost four in a row against Dallas since winning the first meeting last season.
Mavericks: Doncic had at least 20 points in the first quarter for the third time in the regular season. His personal record is 28 against the Los Angeles Clippers last season the same day Dallas traded his former European sidekick, Kristaps Porzingis. ... Hardaway scored 16 points, and Spencer Dinwiddie had 15.
EARLY LUKA
Doncic had little trouble getting his shots early, going 8 of 10 in the first, including 3 of 4 from 3-point range with some easy buckets, while adding three assists. He finished 12 of 23 and had seven rebounds.
&ldquo;I thought Luka and those guys set the tone in the first quarter by the paint touches,&rdquo; Kidd said. &ldquo;We got good looks, make or miss.&rdquo;
ALL IN
The blowout allowed the Mavericks to repeat what they did a year ago in the home opener when every active player on the roster got into the game. The only one who didn't score was rookie Jaden Hardy, who was 0 of 3 from the field. Tyler Dorsey scored nine points in four minutes.
UP NEXT
Grizzlies: Host Brooklyn on Monday night.
Mavericks: At New Orleans on Tuesday night.
___
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Luka Doncic scored 21 of his 32 points in the first quarter, and the Mavericks rode a hot start to a 137-96 rout of the Grizzlies.

Doncic, Mavs have fast start, rip Griz 137-96 in home opener

DALLAS (AP) &mdash; Luka Doncic has a new sidekick &mdash; but not a co-star &mdash; as the Dallas Mavericks try to build on their first deep playoff run in a decade.
Spencer Dinwiddie, a midseason trade acquisition before the Mavs reached the Western Conference finals, joins the starting lineup after Jalen Brunson chose to run his own show with the New York Knicks.
The return of healthy stars should be a boost for several West contenders, and defending champ Golden State still has Stephen Curry and company after beating Dallas in five games in the conference finals.
The Mavs are sticking with their formula of <a href="https://apnews.com/article/new-york-knicks-dallas-mavericks-nba-sports-jason-kidd-4434e905ada4689f467fbe0b6dc1f2c9">Doncic and a host of complementary pieces</a> to go with the defensive-minded approach of coach Jason Kidd, who changed that culture quickly in his first season.
Doncic said there were &ldquo;no expectations&rdquo; &mdash; just the same goal.
&ldquo;Always the goal is the same for me, for the team,&rdquo; the three-time All-Star said. &ldquo;We&rsquo;re trying to win the championship. That&rsquo;s the only goal we have. That&rsquo;s what we&rsquo;re going to work for.&rdquo;
The biggest offseason move for second-year general manager Nico Harrison was a trade with Houston for Christian Wood. Turns out that was just the start of revamping the frontcourt.
The plan for Wood to start changed when free agent center JaVale McGee agreed to a second stint with the Mavs. The three-time champ (two with the Warriors, one with the Lakers) spent last season with top-seeded Phoenix, which was blown out by the Mavs at home in Game 7 in the second round. Dallas opens this season at the Suns on Oct. 19.
At media day before the start of training camp, Wood said that was the first he had heard of who was starting. Nor did he seem too concerned about it.
&ldquo;I'm motivated either way, off the bench or starting,&rdquo; said Wood, a one-time journeyman who blossomed into a 20-point scorer with the Rockets before they wanted to clear the way for younger draft picks.
Brunson played a huge role in Dallas' first-round victory over Utah when Doncic missed the first three games. During the regular season, Dinwiddie showed he could be a scorer with Doncic out.
<a href="https://apnews.com/article/dallas-mavericks-utah-jazz-washington-wizards-nba-sports-d78a2ce4b20bdb476ed23714469b0254">Dinwiddie is going into his first full season</a> with the Mavs and is almost two years removed from surgery for a partially torn ACL. Tim Hardaway Jr. returns after missing most of last season with a broken foot.
The guard-heavy starting lineup includes 3-and-D specialists Dorian Finney-Smith and Reggie Bullock. Together, the foursome knows its supporting role behind Doncic.
&ldquo;I think what made last year&rsquo;s team so special was the chemistry it had and how the sum of its parts became better than any individual talent,&rdquo; Dinwiddie said. &ldquo;We should be better on paper, but it comes down to how we mesh as a group.&rdquo;
MVP CHATTER
Doncic is the <a href="https://sportsbook.fanduel.com/basketball?tab=futures">FanDuel SportsBook preseason betting favorite</a> for MVP going into his fifth season &mdash; and first with the $215 million, five-year rookie supermax extension he signed in the summer of 2021.
The 23-year-old Slovenian has become an international star while also leading his national team. Slovenia reached the semifinals of its first-ever Olympics in Tokyo in 2021 before an upset in the quarterfinals of EuroBasket this summer.
The past four MVP awards have gone to two other Europeans: Denver's Nikola Jokic (Serbia) the past two years and Giannis Antetokounmpo (Greece) the two before that.
&ldquo;To be an MVP of his league, not a lot of people can say,&rdquo; said Doncic, who was third in the NBA in scoring and fifth in assists last season. &ldquo;It's a long progress. Hopefully one day I can win it.&rdquo;
G LEAGUE ADDITION
<a href="https://apnews.com/article/nba-sports-dallas-draft-houston-f33267fee99c507907f1d9c24e96c2ad">The Mavericks traded into the second round</a> of the draft this past summer to get G League Ignite player Jaden Hardy, who projected as a potential lottery pick after a one-and-done college career before bypassing that route.
Playing time might be an issue in a deep backcourt that also includes Josh Green, who had the fourth-year option on his rookie contract picked up Tuesday, and Frank Ntilikina. But Dallas will have an interesting option if Hardy shows an early ability to score.
&ldquo;He's got a little wiggle to his game,&rdquo; Dinwiddie said. &ldquo;He had a couple of days where he was getting some buckets.&rdquo;
FRONTCOURT HOLDERS
Dwight Powell probably will have to get used to coming off the bench again after starting a career-high 71 games last season and playing all 82. Maxi Kleber has a $33 million, three-year extension to take into his sixth season, all with Dallas.

Luka Doncic has a new sidekick — but not a co-star — as the Dallas Mavericks try to build on their first deep playoff run in a decade.

Luka Doncic, Spencer Dinwiddie try to build on Mavs' deep playoff run

While there are still a number of dominos that could fall this offseason, things seem to be at a standstill. Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving and Donovan Mitchell could be traded in the near future, but given the current NBA landscape, which teams have improved their overall stock heading into next season?
If we narrow it down to teams who want to enter the NBA's top tier, three franchises stand out. Without further ado, let&rsquo;s look at a trio of teams that improved their chances of making a postseason run.
Minnesota Timberwolves (Over/Under Win Total: 47.5)
If you&rsquo;re selling any Timberwolves stock, I'll buy it all up. Last season, the Wolves won 46 games while having a nightmarish defense at points. It improved, but not to levels respectable enough to be a true threat in the Western Conference. All of a sudden, that&rsquo;s changed with the <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/timberwolves-continue-aggressive-push-for-greatness-with-rudy-gobert-trade" target="_blank" rel="noopener">game-changing arrival of three-time Defensive Player of the Year Rudy Gobert</a>.
Paired alongside Karl-Anthony Towns, Minnesota&rsquo;s unique frontcourt combination has the potential to present endless mismatch opportunities. What&rsquo;s even more potent is the defensive tandem formed between Gobert and ascending wing Jaden McDaniels.
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The more I&rsquo;ve thought over the Gobert move for Minnesota, it&rsquo;s an all-in bet on Anthony Edwards soon reaching superstar status. With the way his trajectory looks at the moment, it&rsquo;s easy to push some chips to the middle of the table for a win-now piece. Edwards took a huge step forward in Year 2, but he truly blossomed on the biggest stage in his postseason debut, averaging 25.2 points per game. The 2020 No. 1 overall pick is ready to ascend to alpha status, and those postseason scoring numbers should carry over into the 2022-23 campaign.
Currently, Minnesota&rsquo;s rotation is filled to the brim with some intriguing talent where 50-plus wins should be the expectation.
Starters: D&rsquo;Angelo Russell, Anthony Edwards, Jaden McDaniels, Karl-Anthony Towns, Rudy Gobert
Second Unit: Jordan McLaughlin, Jaylen Nowell, Kyle Anderson, Taurean Prince, Naz Reid
On paper, the Timberwolves have an ideal two-way balance that should allow them to compete with any team on any given night. Gobert will have a huge impact, and it seems foolish to bet against an Edwards leap. The Wolves could be this year&rsquo;s team that makes a massive step forward as an underrated threat.
Denver Nuggets (Over/Under Win Total: 49.5)
Don&rsquo;t overlook what Denver is rolling out next season. Nikola Jokic&rsquo;s brilliance will be complemented by the long-awaited returns of Jamal Murray and Michael Porter Jr. Also, the Nuggets <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/kentavious-caldwellpope-bruce-brown-raise-denvers-ceiling" target="_blank" rel="noopener">made some sneaky additions</a> to round out their rotation, acquiring Bruce Brown and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope.
With Jokic carrying Denver to new heights without his scoring sidekicks, you can imagine how much easier it will be for the back-to-back MVP to dominate next season.
If all clicks together, the Nuggets have top-three potential in the Western Conference:
Starters: Jamal Murray, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Michael Porter Jr., Aaron Gordon, Nikola Jokic
Second Unit: Bones Hyland, Davon Reed, Bruce Brown, Jeff Green, DeAndre Jordan
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Health-permitting, trying to poke any holes in the Nuggets&rsquo; roster is a tough task. Not only will Caldwell-Pope and Brown add much-needed two-way versatility, Hyland seems poised to step up and become a key cog in the second unit.
With the reigning MVP adding two dynamite offensive weapons, an already-formidable Nuggets squad could finally have lady luck on their side. One thing is certain: the Northwest Division battle between Denver and Minnesota will be one to keep an eye on.
Philadelphia 76ers (Over/Under Win Total: 49.5)
James Harden is tired of coming up short in the postseason. After taking a pay cut for this upcoming season &mdash; allowing the flexibility to bring aboard some former key teammates from his Houston Rockets tenure &mdash; Harden and the Philadelphia 76ers want to quiet the doubters.
Playing alongside Joel Embiid makes life easier for Harden and everyone else, but they entered this offseason with multiple holes to plug. While it&rsquo;s not their ideal outcome in some areas, Philadelphia added much-needed shooting gravity to surround Embiid better.
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A reliable shooter and grizzled veteran PJ Tucker now starts next to Embiid, which is one of the more underrated summer additions. De&rsquo;Anthony Melton, acquired with their first-round pick on draft night, is positioned well to play a massive role off the bench as their third guard. From there, some Houston-esque elements from Harden and Daryl Morey present themselves once again in non-Embiid minutes, with Tucker potentially playing the role of a small-ball center&nbsp;
Across the board, the Sixers&rsquo; rotation is fortified and Philly is also in a great spot to capitalize on the midseason buyout market:
Starters: James Harden, Tyrese Maxey, Tobias Harris, PJ Tucker, Joel Embiid
Second Unit: De&rsquo;Anthony Melton, Matisse Thybulle, Danuel House, Georges Niang, Charles Bassey/Paul Reed
Following the Harden trade, Philadelphia changed its calculus entirely. Now, with a deeper rotation &mdash; and a seemingly motivated Harden &mdash; the sky is the limit to finally cash in on &ldquo;The Process&rdquo; era.

Which NBA teams have improved their odds the most of making a potential postseason run next season? Three stand out thus far.

Analyzing 3 NBA teams who raised their stock for the 2022-23 season

Game 1 of the 2022 NBA Finals will be played on Thursday, June 2. Remarkably, that date is the exact one-year anniversary of the Boston Celtics' announcing Brad Stevens had stepped away from head coaching duties to assume the role of president of basketball operations in place of the departing Danny Ainge.
Let's have a look back at what has been an extraordinary and almost unimaginable 12 months&hellip;
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During his eight seasons on the sidelines in Boston, Stevens was viewed as one of the league's better head coaches. He was regarded as an elite tactician and considered an important part of the Celtics' sustained success. Under his stewardship, Boston advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals three times in four years.
So when the club announced that its long-time top executive in Ainge was retiring and that Stevens would be promoted to team president last June, it came as a shock to most. Would Stevens be able to replicate the regular-season success he enjoyed as head coach? Could Boston get over the hump and advance all the way to the NBA Finals?
Although Ainge left a roster stocked with a budding superstar in Jayson Tatum, his All-Star caliber sidekick in Jaylen Brown, veteran stalwart Marcus Smart and a few promising youngsters, Stevens took control at a precarious juncture. Boston entered last summer capped out (with a directive from ownership not to incur a costly luxury tax bill) and lacking excess draft capital.&nbsp;
Stevens' first order of business was parting ways with Kemba Walker and his cumbersome contract. With two years and $73 million remaining on his deal, Walker was the team's highest-paid player. When healthy, the four-time All-Star Walker was highly productive on the offensive end for the C's, but his balky left knee had robbed him of his quickness. Some suggested the Celtics sit tight, hoping that an entire offseason of rest would allow Kemba to re-establish himself as a quality starter. If Boston wanted to trade Walker, Stevens would have to get creative.
The week before the 2021 NBA Draft, Stevens dealt Boston's first-round pick (16th overall) and a 2025 second-round draft pick to the Oklahoma City Thunder for Al Horford and a 2023 second-rounder.&nbsp;
At the time, Stevens' first significant move as team president was considered highly questionable.&nbsp;
Following the 2019-20 season, when Horford posted career-worst numbers for the Philadelphia 76ers after signing a monstrous four-year, $109 million pact, the veteran big man's contract was viewed as one of the worst in the league. In December 2020, the Sixers were forced to attach a future first-round pick and the draft rights to Vasilije Micic (who just won his second EuroLeague Final Four MVP) in a trade with OKC just to get out from under Horford's contract.
During his lone season in Oklahoma City, Horford appeared in just 28 games for the Thunder. After the trade deadline passed in February 2021, the Thunder shut him down for the rest of the season. At the time, it felt like Stevens was trading for a potentially washed-up 35-year-old center with two years and $53.5 million left on his contract ($41 million of it guaranteed).
But after struggling at times to find his groove in the regular season, Horford has been a crucial cog in the Celtics' run to the Finals. During these playoffs, he is averaging 11.9 points, 9.6 rebounds, 3.5 assists, 1.9 three-pointers,1.6 blocks and 0.9 steals per game, all while shooting 50.0% from the floor, a scorching 43.2% from downtown, and 83.3% from the free-throw line.
Per Basketball-Reference, Horford is just the third player in NBA history (joining Draymond Green and Rasheed Wallace) to average more than 1.5 blocks and more than 1.5 made treys in a postseason (minimum 15 games played). Horford is also the first player ever over the age of 35 to tally more than 25 blocks and more than 25 three-pointers in a single postseason.
To say the Walker/Horford trade has worked out well for Boston would be a dramatic understatement.&nbsp;
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After acquiring Horford, Stevens' next critical decision would be choosing a new head coach. After interviewing several candidates, Stevens zeroed in on Ime Udoka and officially hired him in late June. Udoka was a bit of a gamble, as he had never been a head coach, having spent the previous nine seasons as an assistant with San Antonio (2012-13 to 2018-19), Philadelphia (2019-20) and Brooklyn (2020-21).&nbsp;
Udoka's job was made that much more difficult when the C's stumbled out of the gates this season. By the turn of the new year, there was some finger-pointing in the locker room with the Celtics losing too many winnable games. Three weeks into January, Boston was still below .500 with a 23-24 record.
However, Udoka remained stoically stern, providing a calm and reassuring presence in the locker room and on the sideline. His ability to outcoach opponents and his command of the X's and O's gained him the trust of his team. Over the second half of the season, Boston ranked in the top three in Defensive Efficiency, and led the league in Offensive Efficiency (122.6) and Net Rating (plus-12.7) by a wide margin.
Udoka earned Coach of the Month honors on multiple occasions, and would go on to finish fourth in the NBA Coach of the Year voting. The league-wide respect he's garnered has only increased as he's helped guide his team to the championship series.&nbsp;
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When the free agency frenzy commenced in July 2021, Stevens had to decide what to do with shooting guard Evan Fournier. Ultimately, Boston opted to let Fournier leave for New York.
The Celtics' only free-agent addition of note last summer was inking Dennis Schroder to a team-friendly, one-year deal for $5.9 million. However, Stevens signed Marcus Smart (four years, $76.5 million) and Robert Williams III (four years, $48 million) to lengthy extensions.
The Smart signing, in particular, looks genius in retrospect.&nbsp;
It had been rumored that Ainge was seriously considering trading away Smart in different deals in years past. However, Stevens made it clear that he was committing to Smart for the long term. Just as importantly, Stevens let it be known he would entrust Smart with the team's primary point guard duties. This may seem like an easy decision with the benefit of hindsight, but it's important to point out that entering this season, Smart had started in just 228 of the 449 games he had appeared in. And a large percentage of those starts were alongside point guards such as Kemba Walker, Kyrie Irving and Isaiah Thomas.&nbsp;
The C's flourished with Smart installed as the floor general, especially on the defensive end. Smart, as we know, would be named NBA Defensive Player of the Year, becoming the first guard to win the award since Gary Payton in 1996.
Starting in each of the 71 regular-season games he played, Smart finished the season ranked seventh in the NBA in steals per game (1.68), ranked fifth among all guards with a Defensive Rating of 105.2, and led the NBA with 1.1 loose balls recovered per contest. He was also near the top of the league in deflections, charges drawn and defensive rebounds. On the offensive end, he averaged a career-high 5.9 assists per game and posted an Effective Field Goal percentage above 50% for the first time.
Had Stevens not locked up Smart last summer, he would undoubtedly have been one of the most highly sought-after players on the free-agent market next month.&nbsp;
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Before being sidelined by a knee injury late in the season, Williams had also been enjoying a breakout 2021-22 campaign, averaging career-highs in points (10.0), rebounds (9.6), blocks (2.2), steals (0.9), field-goal percentage (73.6%) and free-throw percentage (72.2%). Like Smart, Williams' value now exceeds his salary.&nbsp;
In February, Stevens recognized Boston's backcourt needed an upgrade. Hence, he sent Josh Richardson and Romeo Langford and a top-four-protected 2022 first-round pick to the San Antonio Spurs in exchange for Derrick White at the trade deadline. Udoka, who was familiar with White having spent time as an assistant in San Antonio, asked him to sacrifice some of his offense. White would serve as a reserve, which meant fewer field goal attempts and fewer minutes. White embraced the role, supplied solid defense on the perimeter and knocked down a handful of big buckets during Boston's run to the Finals.
Ironically, of all the trades and signing Stevens has made over the past 12 months, arguably the most important and impactful are the ones he did NOT agree to. It sounds outlandish now because the C's are four wins away from the franchise's 18th championship, but plenty of pundits and fans in New England had been calling for the Celtics to break up the duo of Brown and Tatum.
While there was no denying their collective talent, many argued the roster was unbalanced, and that the skill sets Tatum and Brown brought to the table were a bit duplicitous. Thus, some folks contended that the best path forward was trading Brown (possibly in a package with Smart) for a pure point guard (such as Damian Lillard).
Pressure and the corresponding rumors reached a fever pitch in the dark days of December and January.&nbsp;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
Damnit I&rsquo;m holding everybody in Boston accountable, from the front office, to the coaching staff and down to Jaylen and Tatum. It&rsquo;s time to break them up! Carry on&hellip; <a href="https://twitter.com/FirstTake?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@FirstTake</a> <a href="https://t.co/2fNHMFavfd">pic.twitter.com/2fNHMFavfd</a>
&mdash; Kendrick Perkins (@KendrickPerkins) <a href="https://twitter.com/KendrickPerkins/status/1479494503765524483?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 7, 2022</a></blockquote>

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As noted above, Boston was below .500 for much of the season. On Jan. 15, the Celtics had a worse record than both the Knicks and Washington Wizards. Boston was 11th in the East, on the outside of the Play-in Tournament looking in.&nbsp;&nbsp;
But Stevens never budged, trusting in the roster he helped construct. And the results speak for themselves. Twelve months after he was hired, Stevens's squad is preparing for the NBA Finals.&nbsp;
Earlier this month, the NBA announced Memphis Grizzlies General Manager Zach Kleiman as the winner of the 2021-22 Basketball Executive of the Year Award. Stevens came in sixth, receiving only one first-place vote. However, that award is based on regular-season accomplishments.
Given how well Boston has performed in the playoffs, there is little doubt about which executive's moves have looked best in the postseason.&nbsp;
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Tommy Beer reviews Brad Stevens' first season as Celtics president with his one-year anniversary coinciding with NBA Finals Game 1.

Brad Stevens deserves massive credit for the Celtics' success

Anthony Edwards and D&rsquo;Angelo Russell combined for 59 points to help the Minnesota Timberwolves overcome a rough night for Karl-Anthony Towns and beat the Los Angeles Clippers 109-104 in a play-in game on Tuesday night.
Edwards scored 30 points with five 3-pointers and Russell had 29 points and six assists to send the Wolves to the No. 7 seed in the Western Conference and a first-round matchup with Memphis.
Paul George finished with 34 points after shooting 2 for 10 in the first half for the Clippers, who have a second chance to make the playoffs with a home game on Friday for the No. 8 seed against either New Orleans or San Antonio. Reggie Jackson (17 points) and Norman Powell (16 points) did their part in stretches, but the Clippers failed to put the Timberwolves away when they were struggling through the first half.
Towns had only 11 points on 3-for-11 shooting and fouled out midway through the fourth quarter, but his sidekicks were more than up to the challenge.
Jackson&rsquo;s 3-pointer gave the Clippers their largest lead of the game at 93-83 with 8:54 remaining, but about 4 minutes later Russell knocked down the go-ahead 3-pointer for a 97-95 advantage the Wolves never relinquished. He saluted the crowd for the punctuation. Edwards followed with a tomahawk dunk after blowing by Powell at the top of the key.
The fans were fired up for this fast-paced, fast-improving team that&rsquo;s headed to the playoffs for the second time in 17 years, but the buzz wore off a bit in the third quarter while George found his groove with a smooth 15 points.
Then Towns fouled out with 7:34 to go, less than 2 minutes after he had just checked back in.
The Clippers have played all season without star Kawhi Leonard while he recovers from a repaired ACL for the injury he suffered in the second round of the playoffs last year, but the recent return of George and Powell from their long-term injuries have helped them come closer to their form of last summer when they reached the Western Conference finals. Powell, in a super-sub role, was a trade-deadline acquisition from Portland.
The Clippers had success disrupting Towns during the regular season when they won three of the four matchups, losing only in January when George was out, and they spared no energy attacking the two-time All-Star center from every which way. Nicolas Batum was his primary tormentor, but most of the Clippers had a hand in it.
Towns failed to make a basket in the first half for the first time in more than three years, an 0-for-7 clunker. His only points came on a pair of free throws, and he flashed a sarcastic smile and pumped his first after getting that call.
STICKING WITH IT
The Wolves trailed 45-38 when Towns exited with his fourth foul with 3:48 left before halftime, but there was a delay less than a minute later after a woman from the crowd sneaked onto the court during a dead ball on the other end. Staging an animal rights protest, she glued her hand to the hardwood along the baseline and sprawled out before security was able to pry her away.
The Timberwolves took advantage of the extended pause. Russell hit two mid-range floaters and a 3-pointer over the balance of the half to help stake them to a 53-51 lead at the break.
BEVERLEY ILLS
The most central figure in this matchup might have been Timberwolves guard Patrick Beverley, the relentless defender and ace agitator who spent the last four seasons with the Clippers.
The NBA announced a $25,000 fine for Beverley shortly before tipoff for his &ldquo;improper conduct&rdquo; in Minnesota&rsquo;s last game toward referee David Guthrie, at whom he yelled, &ldquo;You&rsquo;re trash!&rdquo; on his way off the court following his ejection for a second technical foul.
Beverley picked up a technical in the third quarter of this game after tussling with Marcus Morris Sr. Beverley hit an off-balance 3-pointer at the shot-clock buzzer later in the period, but that crowd-pleaser was later erased by replay review because it came a split-second too late.
TIP-INS
Clippers: Backup guard Luke Kennard, their fifth-leading scorer, stayed home because of a hamstring injury.
Timberwolves: Backup forward Taurean Prince was out with a swollen knee.
UP NEXT
Clippers: Host the San Antonio-New Orleans winner on Friday night. The Spurs play at the Pelicans on Wednesday night in an elimination game.
Timberwolves: Game 1 in Memphis is on Saturday afternoon.

Anthony Edwards and D’Angelo Russell combined for 59 points to help the Wolves overcome a rough night for Karl-Anthony Towns.

Edwards, Russell carry Wolves past Clippers in Play-In game

When the All-Star break ends, the stretch run begins.
There isn&rsquo;t much time left in the NBA season. The <a href="https://apnews.com/article/nba-sports-nba-all-star-game-a9ef981e48154749ea2e912e0423f295">All-Star weekend</a> came at about the 60-game mark for teams, far beyond the midpoint of the 82-game schedule. It&rsquo;s a sprint to the finish now, and the Brooklyn Nets and Los Angeles Lakers have to prove they have the legs to make a run.
The Nets could have Kevin Durant and Ben Simmons on the floor soon to spark a surge. But the Lakers might be without Anthony Davis for more than a month because of a foot injury, putting a heavy burden on LeBron James.
Injured and inconsistent, neither team is a sure thing to even make the postseason. Both have performed far below expectations, with the Lakers only 27-31. But poor play in the winter is quickly forgotten if a team warms up come springtime, just as the Milwaukee Bucks did last year.
&ldquo;As a team, we started playing good basketball towards the end,&rdquo; Giannis Antetokounmpo said. &ldquo;Maybe we can do it again. Who knows? We&rsquo;re in a good place. We have a hell of a team.&rdquo;
The Bucks are actually only in fifth place, but that means little in the tightly packed Eastern Conference. Miami and Chicago are tied at the top, surprising Cleveland and Philadelphia are 2 1/2 games back and Milwaukee is just percentage points behind them.
There&rsquo;s more separation out West, where Phoenix has pulled away to a 6 1/2-game lead over Golden State by winning seven straight to run its record to 48-10.
Even those teams have concerns, with Phoenix bracing for a lengthy absence for Chris Paul and Golden State still going without Draymond Green because of a back injury.
The Nets hope their injury issues are almost over. Durant is nearing a return after missing a month with a sprained left knee ligament, though coach Steve Nash said he isn't expecting the All-Star forward to be ready when they resume their season Thursday against Boston.
Injuries are a part of every season, but the usual problems this season were compounded for some teams by the coronavirus. An outbreak within the Nets contributed to them deciding to bring the unvaccinated Kyrie Irving back part time even though he still can&rsquo;t play in home games. The Atlanta Hawks lost nine of 12 games during one rough stretch in December, having to sign multiple players just to field a team while their regulars were out.
They have been trying to climb out of that hole and are 10th in the East a year after reaching the Eastern Conference finals.
&ldquo;At one point it was crazy. Like, just going out there and not knowing any of your teammates besides two of them,&rdquo; All-Star Trae Young said. &ldquo;It was different, but like the world might not always, always see that and see the struggle early on and understand that&rsquo;s the reason. So now that we&rsquo;re here, we&rsquo;re starting to pick things up and guys are getting healthy. It&rsquo;s going to be good for us if we keep it going.&rdquo;
The play-in helps them. For the second straight year, the teams in the Nos. 7-10 spots will play for the final two postseason spots in each conference. Right now, both the eighth-place Nets and ninth-place Lakers would find themselves there.
There's still time to climb, but not much.
Some other things to watch down the stretch:
PAUL'S PAIN
The All-Star point guard injured his right thumb in the Suns' final game before the break and had a soft cast covering it this weekend. He could miss the rest of the regular season.
&ldquo;We have to figure it out,&rdquo; fellow All-Star Devin Booker said. &ldquo;Everybody has to give a little bit more. I look at the beauty in it. He gets to rest his legs. He gets to get ready for a long postseason that we&rsquo;re trying to make happen. So we got to hold it down without him. We got to hold the fort down.&rdquo;
MVP RACE
Denver's Nikola Jokic has a strong case to win a second straight MVP award and Antetokounmpo could win his third. They both might be chasing 76ers center Joel Embiid, the league's leading scorer with 29.6 points per game who gets an All-Star sidekick this week when James Harden debuts after being swapped for Simmons.
&ldquo;Well, I don&rsquo;t really want to push for the whole thing, but the way I&rsquo;ve been playing speaks for itself,&rdquo; Embiid said, &ldquo;especially with everything we went through, the drama this whole year, and obviously missing a big piece, and everything we added to our team and the way our team is set up.&rdquo;
SURPRISES OF THE SEASON
All-Star Ja Morant has fueled Memphis to a 41-19 record and third place in the West, while Cleveland is an unexpected 35-23. They don't have any postseason polish, but Green doesn't think that will hurt the young teams.
&ldquo;We won a championship my third year,&rdquo; he said, referring to the Warriors' 2015 title. &ldquo;The majority of us were going into that playoffs 15 to 20 playoff games in our career and we were able it win a championship. So I don&rsquo;t view the inexperience as a problem.&rdquo;
IN THE EAST
Miami made a run to four straight NBA titles from 2011-14 when James was there, but the conference wasn't nearly as deep as it appears this season.
&ldquo;It's compelling in the East right now. If you have real competitors, that's what you want,&rdquo; Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. &ldquo;You want to be challenged, you want to be pushed and see how your team stacks up against the other best teams. That's what it's all about and there's some great teams in the East.&rdquo;
AND IN THE WEST
Is it as wide open in the other conference?
"No, we&rsquo;re going to win it," Green said. "Seriously.&rdquo;

When the NBA resumes play on Thursday, the race for the postseason will commence.

When the All-Star break ends, the NBA's stretch run begins

When Ben Simmons was selected with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2016 NBA Draft, the hope was that he could potentially be next in the line of generational, all-around superstars. LeBron James was even uttered as a comparison by some national prognosticators before Simmons suited up at LSU for his lone collegiate season.
The Philadelphia 76ers won the NBA Draft Lottery that year and paired Simmons with Joel Embiid, a duo that formed instant chemistry and helped Philly shoot up the Eastern Conference standings soon after. Simmons had his faults, especially well-documented on the offensive end, but his unique strengths as a jumbo-sized playmaker and two-way engine made a potential ceiling outcome immense.
After a tumultuous ending to his five-year stint in Philadelphia &mdash; being <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/ben-simmons-deserves-criticism-but-not-to-be-thrown-under-the-bus-by-philadelphia-76ers" target="_blank" rel="noopener">publicly called out by Embiid and head coach Doc Rivers</a> in the East semifinals &mdash; Simmons can finally see a light at the end of the tunnel.
To properly optimize the talent of Simmons on the court, the Brooklyn Nets are the best fit on-paper to bring out his special two-way potential. Alongside Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving with the Nets, Simmons will enter as a moldable ball of clay who can play a multitude of roles. Simmons can not only run an offense setting up his superstar teammates, but he can also operate as a pick-and-roll threat rolling to the basket. On top of that, his speed for a near-seven-footer makes him a lethal weapon to deploy in transition opportunities, which will be plentiful in Brooklyn.
Picture Draymond Green during the Golden State Warriors&rsquo; championship years. He was the glue that kept it all together, as he still does today during their resurgent comeback. In Brooklyn, Simmons can be the fulcrum of the Nets' system next to Durant and Irving. Not only can Simmons defend at an All-NBA level, but he can start scoring opportunities off the rebound with reckless abandon. Irving will quickly mesh with Simmons as well in three-man spots where pick-and-roll situations, plus a moving Durant, is on the table each possession.
It&rsquo;s an exciting thought exercise to finally envision Simmons at his max levels, especially when two of his newest teammates are some of the greatest scorers ever.
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In the playoffs against teams like the Milwaukee Bucks, Miami Heat and Philadelphia 76ers (ironically enough), Simmons will present real tangible issues consistently thanks to his new environment. Durant and a part-time Irving are going to make Simmons&rsquo; life a whole lot easier. Blending in with a pair of three-level marksmen compared to Embiid will finally place Simmons in a more palpable situation to tap into his multi-tooled impacts on a basketball court.
Thursday&rsquo;s blockbuster involving James Harden and Simmons will always be remembered not only as a pivotal point in each of their careers, but for these respective franchises as well. With the Sixers going all-in to maximize a title window, Brooklyn remains on a similar path long-term, simply swapping out a high-usage guard for a low-usage superstar who can thrive in a unique role.
Let&rsquo;s take a look now at the Nets&rsquo; potential new rotation, one that brings aboard more shooting and two-way versatility:
Starters: Kyrie Irving, Seth Curry, Kevin Durant, Ben Simmons, LaMarcus Aldridge
Bench: Patty Mills, Cam Thomas, Bruce Brown, Kessler Edwards, James Johnson, Blake Griffin, Nic Claxton
When the Nets are in the postseason, I'd expect them to flip Simmons into a full-time center role, but it wouldn&rsquo;t be surprising to see head coach Steve Nash utilize Aldridge at center with his floor-spacing capabilities.
Simmons is only 25 years old, and his true upside has fallen under the radar since his postseason disappearance. Buying into a more complementary role and admitting he&rsquo;s not the star of the show will do wonders for him. Simmons has reportedly already spoken to Durant and is excited about his future in Brooklyn.
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Through his five years on the court in Philadelphia, Simmons filled up the stat sheet, averaging 15.9 points, 8.1 rebounds, 7.7 assists, 1.7 steals on a 57.9% True Shooting percentage. The warts are instantly acknowledgeable in his game, but Simmons joining the Nets&rsquo; ecosystem could be a huge turning point that we look back on in the Association's history books.
If Simmons recaptures his All-NBA form and settles in perfectly as Durant&rsquo;s sidekick in his new home, the Nets will have made themselves a more chameleon-like team that's able to adapt in all-or-nothing postseason play.
Simmons has yet to reach his ceiling, and Brooklyn was forced to roll the dice with Harden&rsquo;s malcontent; both moves could be a blessing in disguise down the road.
Not only will Simmons help the Nets in the near future by racking up triple-doubles and contributing on both ends, perhaps he can become Brooklyn's franchise cornerstone and eventually usher in a new, fruitful era post-Durant.
Looking to go to the hottest concerts, sports, theater &amp; family shows near you? Get 100% guaranteed tickets to more than 125,000 live events from TicketSmarter, the official ticket marketplace of BasketballNews.com.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ticketsmarter.com/?utm_source=basketballnewscom&amp;utm_medium=tsaff&amp;utm_campaign=referral" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Order online now</a>!

After being traded to the Brooklyn Nets, Ben Simmons' career-defining moment has finally arrived on a silver platter.

Nets provide Ben Simmons a golden opportunity to maximize his game

When I first heard that Russell Westbrook got traded to the Lakers, I&rsquo;ll admit, I was surprised.
More than anything, I didn&rsquo;t expect the Lakers to be able to work out the trade from a financial standpoint nor did I think they&rsquo;d want to be so top-heavy and commit so much money to their top-three players. But they did.&nbsp;
What didn't surprise me was that the organization was willing to take the kind of risk they did by bringing Westbrook in.&nbsp;
Whether you love him or hate him, one thing nobody can take away from Russ is that he will give you 110% effort every night. And if you&rsquo;re a coach, those are the kind of players you want to have on your team. Those are the kind of players who are worth the headache, the film sessions and the lack of sleep.
They say where there&rsquo;s a will, there&rsquo;s a way, and that holds true on the basketball court. You can&rsquo;t teach effort, but with Russ, you&rsquo;d never have to. Everyone knows this, and so did the Lakers.
So it made sense in that regard.
Obviously, though, from a basketball standpoint, there were bound to be some growing pains. LeBron James needs the ball in his hands to be most effective, and so does Russ. But we once said the same thing about LeBron and Dwyane Wade in Miami.
The lesson there is if you have players who are motivated and willing to sacrifice, then everything can be figured out. Especially with LeBron and AD &mdash; they&rsquo;re so talented and versatile that it was easy to believe that the three would be able to mesh.
And you know what?&nbsp;
I still feel that way, even if a lot of people don&rsquo;t.
As the season has gone on, Westbrook has been getting a lot of attention, and his name has been getting dragged through the mud. He hasn&rsquo;t been efficient, he&rsquo;s been pressing and he&rsquo;s looked at times like he&rsquo;s lost a step. I&rsquo;ve even seen one or two news stories and rumors saying that the Lakers are open to trading him.&nbsp;
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While I do think it&rsquo;s crazy that we&rsquo;re still talking about the Lakers &ldquo;figuring things out,&rdquo; a lot of people have been unrealistic with their expectations. And that, I think, is the real story.
Aside from being from L.A. and going back home to play for the team he grew up watching (which comes with its own kind of pressure), Russ is now on a team with LeBron James. &lsquo;Bron has high expectations of everyone around him, whether it be the coaching staff, his teammates or the equipment managers.&nbsp;
The biggest problem &mdash; and it&rsquo;s something that a lot of players have been afraid of &mdash; is that everyone else expects a lot from you too. And if you don&rsquo;t play up to a certain standard, you&rsquo;re going to hear about it. Just ask Kevin Love.
The pro to playing with LeBron is that you know you have a good chance of making it to the Finals, if not winning it all. The con is that you live and play under a microscope. You&rsquo;re scrutinized in a way you&rsquo;ve never been before. It was like that in Cleveland, where I coached him, and the spotlight is a lot brighter in Los Angeles.
Going from an underdog in Oklahoma City to a sidekick in Houston to a non-contender in D.C&hellip; None of those experiences prepared Russ for the pressure he would face playing with someone like &lsquo;Bron&hellip; and especially not in Russ&rsquo; hometown of all places.
Has it gotten to him a bit? Probably. But I guess I&rsquo;m in the minority. I think Russ will find his way, and I also don&rsquo;t think he&rsquo;s to blame for all the Lakers&rsquo; problems.&nbsp;
Russ didn&rsquo;t just start missing midrange shots or turning the ball over. That&rsquo;s who he&rsquo;s been for a long time; he just has to find his way with &lsquo;Bron and AD. And that has become a challenge all by itself.
Believe it or not, the Lakers&rsquo; Big Three has only played 14 games together.&nbsp;
It&rsquo;s easy to forget because LeBron has been so great this season, but he only played nine of the Lakers&rsquo; first 20 games. Then, shortly after he got up to speed, AD had some health issues of his own.
On Thursday night, AD played his fourth game since Dec. 10, and guess what? LeBron wasn&rsquo;t even in uniform for that one. Knee soreness kept him out of the lineup and the Lakers fell to 24-25 after losing to the Philadelphia 76ers.
If you&rsquo;re looking for an explanation for the Lakers struggling, it&rsquo;s easy to point to Westbrook, but it&rsquo;s not all on him. My advice to him would be simple: be yourself, but keep sight of what this team needs from you to succeed.&nbsp;
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At the end of the day, you still want Westbrook to be Westbrook. He only knows how to play the way he&rsquo;s been playing. But when he has other teammates who are as talented as him or more talented than him, he doesn&rsquo;t need to play every possession as if he&rsquo;s the only one who can score the basket or make the difference. Maybe it was like that in OKC, and maybe at times in Houston and D.C&hellip; But that&rsquo;s not the case now.
He has to be okay with learning to measure the game and picking and choosing his spots. Maybe some nights, he&rsquo;ll only take eight shots. Maybe some nights, he&rsquo;ll play mostly with the second unit. Buying into that, that part is on him.
But the other parts&hellip; The lack of chemistry with &lsquo;Bron and AD and the expectations that seem to be getting in his head a bit&hellip; Those are factors in his struggles, as well, and they&rsquo;re not entirely his fault. Not after only 14 games, anyway.
Fortunately for the Lakers, there&rsquo;s a lot of season left. And veteran teams that think they&rsquo;re gonna be there in the end, they typically use the first half of the season as a trial period. When you have <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-james-posey-championship-expectations-boston-celtics-doc-rivers-kevin-garnett-paul-pierce-ray-allen-cleveland-cavaliers-lebron-james-tyronn-lue-miami-heat-pat-riley-shaquille-o-neal" target="_blank" rel="noopener">a team that has a &ldquo;championship-or-bust&rdquo; mentality</a>, the main goal is to be healthy and be playing their best basketball after the All-Star break and heading into the playoffs.&nbsp;
At one game under .500, the Lakers obviously want to be better&hellip; But they shouldn&rsquo;t be counted out.&nbsp;
And honestly, neither should Westbrook&rsquo;s ability to be a positive difference-maker for them.
Looking to go to the hottest concerts, sports, theater &amp; family shows near you? Get 100% guaranteed tickets to more than 125,000 live events from TicketSmarter, the official ticket marketplace of BasketballNews.com. <a href="https://www.ticketsmarter.com/?utm_source=basketballnewscom&amp;utm_medium=tsaff&amp;utm_campaign=referral" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Order online now</a>!

The Lakers' Big 3 has played just 14 games together this season so it's too early to count them out, writes NBA champion James Posey.

Call me crazy, but I still believe in the Westbrook-Lakers marriage

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Joel Embiid had 31 points, 15 rebounds and 10 assists, reaching the triple-double to the tune of “MVP!” chants in the Philadelphia 76ers’ 133-113 win over the Houston Rockets on Monday night.
Furkan Korkmaz scored 24 points and Isaiah Joe had 18 points for the Sixers.
Garrison Matthews led the Rockets with 23 points.
The Sixers were slow to shake off a sub-.500 team — a familiar situation this season — and needed a 41-29 third-quarter to put some distance between themselves and the Rockets, the worst team in the Western Conference.
The Rockets played without guard Kevin Porter Jr. and forward Christian Wood after they were each suspended one game for bad behavior. Porter and Wood both had meltdowns in a loss Saturday to Denver. Rockets coach Stephen Silas said it was “best for our culture” to sit the duo for a game.
Embiid was unstoppable, rocking the arena early with a Euro-step, one-handed jam that shook the arena. Embiid walked to midcourt with his arms extended and soaked in the cheers.
Embiid, who scored 30 points for a fourth straight game, played the entire first quarter and carried the Sixers to a 34-30 lead. Korkmaz, making only his eighth start, stepped in as the able sidekick and hit three 3-pointers. Korkmaz subbed for Tyrese Maxey who, along with Matisse Thybulle, entered the NBA's health and safety protocols.
That left the Sixers without two key contributors.
“There seems to be a perception because you have Joel Embiid, you’re not missing guys,” acting coach Dan Burke said.
The 76ers again played a short-handed team they were expected to beat easily — <a href="https://sportsbook.fanduel.com/navigation/nba">FanDuel Sportsbook</a> had them as 13-point favorites — and criticism over recent losses or slim-margin victories against weaker teams <a href="https://www.crossingbroad.com/2021/12/doc-rivers-butts-heads-with-keith-pompey-over-dumbass-question.html">led to a terse exchange</a> from coach Doc Rivers with a reporter after a win against Toronto.
Sure enough, the malaise continued and the Sixers trailed 63-62 at halftime. Tobias Harris shot 3 of 10 in the half and mockingly waved his arms toward the crowd for boos in his direction to get louder. When he scored a basket in the fourth that made it 112-96, he backpedaled on defense and appeared to mutter a profanity between the words “don’t clap.” 
TIP-INS
Rockets: G Eric Gordon returned after missing one game with a groin injury. ... Lost their fifth straight road game.
76ers: Burke coached the 76ers for the second straight game with Rivers still in protocols. ... Signed G Charlie Brown Jr. to a 10-day contract. ... Embiid's triple-double was the third of his career.
YOU NEVER KNOW
Burke said all the roster disruptions and game interruptions are making games as hard as ever to prepare for in the NBA.
“Lately, it’s becoming a Forrest Gump box of chocolates,” he said.
UP NEXT
The Rockets play Wednesday at Washington.
The 76ers play Wednesday at Orlando.
___
More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

Joel Embiid posted his third career triple-double and the Philadelphia 76ers beat the Houston Rockets.

Embiid's triple-double powers 76ers past Rockets 133-113

There are no expectations for the Oklahoma City Thunder entering the 2021-22 season, and that&rsquo;s just how they like it.
The Thunder are in the midst of one of the most extensive rebuilds in NBA history, possessing multiple future first-round picks each year through 2027. They have one entrenched building block who recently signed a rookie-scale max extension, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, but everyone else within their rotation are high-upside swings of the bat courtesy of OKC general manager Sam Presti.
Once Thunder legend Russell Westbrook and his All-NBA sidekick Paul George officially asked out three years ago, it jump-started what&rsquo;s currently taking place within Oklahoma City. It&rsquo;s allowing Presti to build a team in his own image, from literally the ground up. Building each piece of the foundation methodically, the Thunder have now put together such an intriguing collection of talents within their current vision.
Alongside star combo guard Gilgeous-Alexander, OKC has all of the following players under 25 years old within its extensive test trial run of figuring out who fits the long-term puzzle: Josh Giddey, Luguentz Dort, Darius Bazley, Theo Maledon, Aleksej Pokusevski, Tre Mann, Isaiah Roby, Ty Jerome, Jeremiah Robinson-Earl and Aaron Wiggins. Only one of these players was drafted in the lottery &mdash; Giddey, the 2021 No. 6 overall pick who has already flashed some <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/josh-giddey-ascension-to-top-nba-draft-prospect-happened-in-blink-of-an-eye" target="_blank" rel="noopener">exciting potential as a jumbo-sized playmaker</a>, forming a fun backcourt duo with SGA.
The Thunder figure to be once again near the bottom of the barrel in the Western Conference standings this season. However, don&rsquo;t be surprised if Gilgeous-Alexander&rsquo;s star equity wills this extremely raw core to unexpected heights early on. Last season, the team carried a 15-21 record into the All-Star break thanks in large part to his brilliance, as he averaged 23.2 points, 6.2 assists, 5.1 rebounds on a fantastic 62.7% True Shooting percentage. Gilgeous-Alexander&rsquo;s beautiful brand of basketball vaulted him into an elite category for lead guards who carried a high-usage rate.
SGA joined the following guards during OKC&rsquo;s surprising early run who had both above 62% TS and 27% usage percentage (min. 20 games played pre-ASB): Stephen Curry, James Harden, Zach LaVine. This shows the leap Gilgeous-Alexander showcased as the lone star-in-the-marking for the Thunder&rsquo;s rebuild, doing so even when teams blitzed him every game defensively.
Although the Thunder ranked last in offensive rating over that span, they were No. 10 overall in defensive rating, allowing only 109.8 points per 100 possessions. Once they officially pulled the plug on trying to win games, which included resting Gilgeous-Alexander, OKC fell off a cliff and finished with a 7-29 record post-All-Star break.
If everything clicks with the Thunder&rsquo;s young core, they are going to be a feisty team that competes on most nights. Gilgeous-Alexander is the straw that stirs the drink, but early preseason flashes from Giddey and Bazley could be foreshadowing their own regular-season performances. OKC is nowhere close to being a legitimate competitor, especially within a tough slate in the West, but this group could certainly qualify as an NBA League Pass team.
So much young talent is developing within the Thunder&rsquo;s player-friendly system put into place by head coach Mark Daigneault. Who&rsquo;s to say they won&rsquo;t at least surprise some people early, especially if teams treat OKC on their schedule like a layup win? And if Gilgeous-Alexander continues to blossom into one of the most exciting young prospects in the Association, OKC will compete each night thanks to his ascent to All-Star levels.
How does OKC&rsquo;s projected rotation look heading into the 2021-22 campaign? Let&rsquo;s examine it below.
Starters: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Josh Giddey, Luguentz Dort, Darius Bazley, Derrick Favors
Second Unit: Tre Mann, Theo Maledon, Aleksej Pokusevski, Jeremiah Robinson-Earl, Isaiah Roby
As you can see, so much unproven talent is still on tap for the Thunder&rsquo;s lineup combinations. Gilgeous-Alexander is the stalwart for the backcourt, but everyone else alongside or behind him still has much more seasoning ahead in their development curves (Giddey, Mann, Maledon). Dort and Bazley are actually an intriguing wing combination, and Pokusevski is a true wildcard who saw a lot of playing time last season to accentuate his own raw aspects. Favors fills the veteran-big-man void left behind by Al Horford, who was shipped back to the Boston Celtics this offseason in the Kemba Walker trade.
Walker and the Thunder were never going to be a fit, especially with the longtime point guard&rsquo;s <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/finally-home-kemba-walker-hopes-to-turn-back-clock-with-knicks" target="_blank" rel="noopener">desire to play for his hometown Knicks</a> in Madison Square Garden. Luckily for the Thunder, he now is in New York, so no possessions will be zapped away from Gilgeous-Alexander in OKC.
Back to Favors: How long will he actually be on the roster, let alone within their rotation? It&rsquo;s doubtful Favors finishes the season in Oklahoma City; whether he's dealt at some point or if he enters the buyout market after February&rsquo;s trade deadline, we will see. However, in the short-term, Favors will provide a stable pick-and-roll partner for SGA and Giddey to showcase their talents. And if Favors performs well (he should gobble up nightly double-doubles), Presti could be in line to snatch up another future draft pick for his services.
Oklahoma City is still in the infancy of its historic rebuild attempt, but the flashes shown last season indicate that this can be a scrappy, competitive roster already. Add in another year of development for Gilgeous-Alexander, who seems poised for another leap, and Oklahoma City could soon escape the abyss into respectability ahead of its projected timeline.
The next step for the Thunder is finding their co-star alongside SGA, and that should soon come with Giddey or another top pick in the 2022 NBA Draft. Don&rsquo;t discount the Thunder in 2021-22, because they actually have the pieces in place to be an entertaining watch.

Although the Thunder are still in the beginning stages of their historic rebuild attempt, there's some exciting potential brewing together.

Thunder far away from competing, but pieces are coming together

If you look around the loaded Western Conference, which team is poised to really take a big jump? There are teams already established as potential NBA Finals contenders &mdash; the Los Angeles Lakers, Phoenix Suns, Utah Jazz and Golden State Warriors (now finally healthy) come to mind &mdash; but there&rsquo;s an underrated option out there: the Dallas Mavericks.
Although it wasn&rsquo;t a splashy offseason for Dallas, it still accomplished the goal of making life a little bit easier on MVP favorite Luka Doncic. Re-signing Tim Hardaway Jr. was a top priority after becoming a key cog to the Mavs&rsquo; success. Add in veteran wing Reggie Bullock on three-year deal, and it becomes an environment where the floor should be optimally spaced for Doncic to create his renowned magic.
During his last two seasons, the Slovenian phenom has averaged 28.3 points, 8.7 rebounds and 8.7 assists on an outstanding 58.6% True Shooting percentage. Doncic is the first player in the modern era to immediately establish himself as an MVP candidate and one of the five best players in the NBA since LeBron James. Doncic&rsquo;s marks at this stage of his career are on the same platform as the all-time greats of the Association.
Dallas knows the time is now to push in the chips, but the organization doesn&rsquo;t need to exactly be in a rush. Doncic&rsquo;s greatness allows the team to properly construct a roster best suited for his high-usage, ball-dominant style, a la James Harden in Houston; building an environment with plenty of floor-spacers who can hit threes at an above-average clip is of the utmost importance. All of the following players in the Mavericks&rsquo; 2021-22 rotation shot above 37% from downtown last season: Hardaway, Bullock, Jalen Brunson, Maxi Kleber, Dorian Finney-Smith and Kristaps Porzingis.
Only two players over the last 60 years have averaged a 30-point triple-double over a full season: Russell Westbrook and Oscar Robertson. With the right ecosystem of shooters in place, Doncic could soon join that historic list.
The biggest X-factor for Dallas to potentially take the leap from a playoff team to a true title contender is Porzingis. After trading multiple future first-round picks to the New York Knicks for Porzingis, many believed Dallas was ready to join that elite group of squads in the West soon enough. Well, Porizingis has yet to find his true footing in Dallas with a passive, inconsistent role.
Porzingis still averaged 20.1 points last season, but he <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/the-balancing-act-of-kristaps-porzingis" target="_blank" rel="noopener">looked more like a third option compared to a "1B" behind Doncic</a>. Especially in the playoffs when Dallas was eliminated in the first round by the Los Angeles Clippers, Porzingis&rsquo; passivity reach a whole new level averaging 13.1 points on 10.3 shot attempts in 33.3 minutes. A player who was once thought to be one of the most untouchables players in the league during his best season in New York looked very willing to defer to Doncic and Hardaway on the biggest stage. It&rsquo;s been a huge fall for Porizingis, in terms of league-wide value, and now new head coach Jason Kidd will need to rehab his value for Dallas (and potentially other teams).
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Porzingis has the Mavericks in a bind at the moment. With three years and $101.5 million remaining on his max contract signed upon arriving in Dallas, this current version of Porzingis won&rsquo;t help the Mavs or any other team on that kind of deal. Right now, it&rsquo;s fair to rank Porzingis&rsquo; contract as one of the most negative assets in the NBA.
This upcoming season will be critical for Porzingis and the Mavericks to rehab his value; both parties hope to see the long-awaited return of the Unicorn version that was on fully display in New York. Porzinigis was a dominant force with the Knicks, but he&rsquo;s turned out to be an overpaid sidekick in Dallas. If the Unicorn reaches that form somehow again alongside Doncic, the Mavericks will quickly jump from playoff contender to Finals threat. Luckily with Doncic, Porzingis doesn&rsquo;t need a rapid rebound to superstar. All he needs to do is become a solid, consistent No. 2 option who can show the flashes of brilliance that were more frequent in the Big Apple.
With a new head coach, potentially the best player in the NBA and a wildcard 7-footer, Dallas has an ample amount of storylines ahead of the 2021-22 campaign. Let&rsquo;s take a look at the team's rotation:
Starters: Luka Doncic, Tim Hardaway Jr., Reggie Bullock, Dorian Finney-Smith, Kristaps Porzingis
Second Unit: Jalen Brunson, Trey Burke, Sterling Brown, Josh Green, Maxi Kleber, Dwight Powell
As you can see, Dallas is betting entirely on the Doncic and Porzingis duo to wreak havoc upon the West to take the real contender leap. There&rsquo;s no reason to doubt Doncic&rsquo;s potential to become the best player in the Association in the very near future. However, the Porzingis questions loom large for a team in dire need for its secondary option to regain his star form once more.
The Mavs have the ingredients in place for their superstar to thrive, but the Unicorn element needs to reappear on a more consistent basis for them to gallop atop an even stronger conference this season.

Dallas stands out as a potential team to take a big leap, but it'll need Kristaps Porzingis to join MVP favorite Luka Doncic as a star.

Will Mavs take leap from playoff team to Finals contender?

The NBA is already in wonderful hands, with the next generation of young stars ready to take the baton very soon. Each year, so many incredible talents join the Association and various franchises help develop them into full-fledged gems. At this point, who are the top-10 players under 25 years old?
Below is a ranking of players under age-25 based on their current standing in the league. This list doesn't factor in their upside or long-term potential, just their current contributions. If you&rsquo;re wondering where players like Devin Booker, Jamal Murray and Donovan Mitchell are, I excluded players who will turn 25 years old during the upcoming NBA campaign.
Without further ado, let&rsquo;s dive into the list of franchise-changing stars.
LUKA DONCIC, DALLAS MAVERICKS
Doncic is the favorite to win this season's NBA MVP award for good reason. He&rsquo;s already established himself as one of the best players in the league with an effortless, beautiful brand of basketball that allows him to fill the stat sheet. Each year, Doncic has significantly improved various aspects of his game. We haven&rsquo;t seen a prospect get off to this kind of start in the NBA since LeBron James, which puts Doncic on a generational path.
Doncic has already reached a level where he can carry his Dallas Mavericks to a playoff berth, and potentially to a top-four seed in 2021-22 with another leap. Next, he'll try to help the Mavs win their first playoff series since their championship run in 2011. The Slovenian phenom has next, and he certainly seems poised to take over the league. And while this ranking is solely based on each player's current contributions, it's wild to think that Doncic is still only 22 years old (meaning he's younger than some of the incoming rookies, including Davion Mitchell and Chris Duarte).
TRAE YOUNG, ATLANTA HAWKS
After an Eastern Conference Finals appearance, Young has reached league-wide superstardom. Everything clicked together for the Hawks when Nate McMillan took over for Lloyd Pierce as head coach. Atlanta rode this momentum while Young took a leap and became one of the best point guards in the Association.
Young can go off for 30-to-40 points whenever he pleases, and his playmaking ability is reminiscent of a young Steve Nash. Young&rsquo;s trajectory is to the moon, and Atlanta gaining postseason experience with last year's deep playoff run should only help Young. This season, it'll be interesting to see how Young adjusts to the <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/how-the-nba-is-trying-to-eliminate-unnatural-foulbaiting" target="_blank" rel="noopener">NBA's new rules against unnatural foul-baiting</a> (which were added in large part due to him).
JAYSON TATUM, BOSTON CELTICS
Tatum is one of my favorite NBA betting <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/5-best-bets-on-future-nba-awardwinners" target="_blank" rel="noopener">dark-horse options to win MVP</a>. Boston has built a team around Tatum that allows him to continuously produce buckets. Once the calendar hit March, Tatum averaged nearly 30 points per game with an impressive efficiency clip. Alongside Jaylen Brown, who turns 25 years old next month, Boston&rsquo;s dynamic wing duo could vault the Celtics into the Eastern Conference's second tier of contenders.
Among the young wings in the league, I&rsquo;m riding with Tatum to be the most valuable in 2021-22 and beyond. He&rsquo;s just now realizing how special of a scorer he can become in Boston.
ZION WILLIAMSON, NEW ORLEANS PELICANS
Williamson has already seen immense organizational turnover around him in the Bayou State. Through it all, he&rsquo;s still showcasing superstar potential on a nightly basis. Williamson just averaged 27.0 points in his age-20 season. And with the Pelicans building a <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/by-making-zion-williamsons-job-easier-the-pelicans-should-finally-have-real-playoff-potential" target="_blank" rel="noopener">more competent rotation</a> to space the floor, Williamson could average 30-plus points per game in 2021-22.
Williamson is a titan in the paint, and he should continue to establish his dominance throughout his career. Soon enough, New Orleans is going to become a force to be reckoned with thanks to Williamson and the rest of their young core.
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BAM ADEBAYO, MIAMI HEAT
It&rsquo;s hard to name an NBA big man who's more versatile than Adebayo. Not only can Bam score effectively around the rim with an improving range, he can also run the offense and protect the rim with the best of &lsquo;em. Adebayo already plays such a pivotal role for the Heat, and he&rsquo;s going to be a critical piece this season as they hope to make an NBA Finals run.
If Adebayo continues to develop into a more well-rounded scorer throughout his prime, he will quickly become one of the best overall bigs in the NBA. Having Kyle Lowry as his point guard will do wonders for him immediately as well.
BRANDON INGRAM, NEW ORLEANS PELICANS
Ingram is flying under the radar right now, and he shouldn&rsquo;t anymore. After his first All-Star appearance in 2019-20, Ingram still flashed jaw-dropping scoring capabilities as a perfect sidekick alongside Zion Williamson.
Ingram can score from all three levels while also drawing fouls at a star-like rate. Once everything clicks together &ndash; and he if shows improved defensive acumen &ndash; he could crack the top-five of this list next season.
SHAI GILGEOUS-ALEXANDER, OKLAHOMA CITY THUNDER
Oklahoma City nabbing SGA in the Paul George trade was a franchise-altering moment for the organization. Sure, the Thunder are continuing their tanking efforts by stockpiling copious amounts of draft picks throughout the 2020s, but Gilgeous-Alexander has quickly emerged as one of the most promising young players in the NBA.
Somehow, the Thunder were floating around .500 near last year's All-Star break thanks in large part to Gilgeous-Alexander&rsquo;s brilliance. Last season, SGA averaged 23.7 points, 5.9 assists and 4.7 rebounds while posting a 62.3 True Shooting percentage.
Gilgeous-Alexander plays a unique brand of basketball and he should only continue to improve as the Thunder&rsquo;s No. 1 option moving forward. SGA has earned his place as the face of the franchise in Oklahoma City. Now, let&rsquo;s hope the Thunder can use their draft picks and assets to surround him with talent during his prime years.
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JA MORANT, MEMPHIS GRIZZLIES
Morant is so much fun to watch. The modern-day version of prime Derrick Rose, Morant&rsquo;s explosive scoring components bring endless amounts of energy to this new era of Memphis Grizzlies basketball. In his second season, Morant helped push Memphis to the No. 8 seed in the Western Conference and gave their young core some much-needed playoff experience. He can already create endless match-up problems in transition and isolation situations, and he should continue to improve as a perimeter scorer.
Morant has yet to average at least 20.0 points per game in his career, but that leap should happen in 2021-22. If the Grizzlies improve upon their impressive finish to last season, it will be in large part due to Morant taking the next step in his development.
DE&rsquo;AARON FOX, SACRAMENTO KINGS
It&rsquo;s a shame the Kings have yet to make real progress throughout Fox&rsquo;s career, because he continues to add more tricks to his bag. Last season, Fox averaged a career-high 25.2 points on a 56.5 True Shooting percentage. With some impressive draft picks in the last two years (Tyrese Haliburton and Davion Mitchell), maybe we'll finally see the Kings break their 15-year long playoff drought sometime soon.
Fox will climb this list if he works on his three-point shooting and free-throw efficiency. Thus far, Fox has shot a pedestrian 32.6% on three-pointers plus 71.8% on free throw attempts over the course of his four-year career. Even if those percentages don&rsquo;t significantly improve, Fox is already a blur in transition who continues to put up impressive outings on a nightly basis.
DEANDRE AYTON, PHOENIX SUNS
If Ayton could create for himself as a scorer, he would be much higher on this list. Although Ayton won&rsquo;t pop as a 20-plus-point-per-game big just yet, his career development is taking an interesting turn following the Suns&rsquo; improbable NBA Finals run. Playing the No. 3 role behind Devin Booker and Chris Paul, Ayton embraced doing all the dirty work &mdash; hard screens, dominating the glass, protecting the rim while staying out of foul trouble, etc.
Ayton is becoming a more valuable big in playoff situations than Rudy Gobert. Yes, that might seem like a hot take right now, but the exponential growth we saw from Ayton as a defensive anchor has changed his trajectory entirely. As one of the most efficient paint scorers to go along with elite-level defense with versatility to guard ball-handlers on switches, Ayton is the perfect center for playoff situations.
Ayton should eventually jump back into the primary No. 2 role alongside Booker as Paul ages gracefully into his new four-year, $120 million extension. In the meantime, Ayton has already thrived on the biggest stage, proving how valuable his skill set is in today's NBA. This season, Ayton will be one of the most intriguing players to follow for this very reason. And if takes a step forward with his self-creation, that would change the game again for the Bahamian big.

A new era of young stars are taking over the NBA. Which under-25 players will crack the top-10?

Ranking the top-10 players under age-25 for the 2021-22 season

Penny Hardaway believes the new name, image and likeness rules helped him land another top recruiting class at Memphis.
Hardaway said Tuesday the NIL rules helped ease the strain on players weighing their options between earning money by going to the NBA&rsquo;s G League or going to college. Now Hardaway can add NIL options when aggressively pitching himself, his staff and what he&rsquo;s building at his alma mater.
&ldquo;You can come to college now and and get deals for yourself and learn and develop at the same time,&rdquo; Hardaway said. &ldquo;You don&rsquo;t have to go to any other level to get that.&rdquo;
Hardaway, who had his first No. 1 recruiting class in 2019, lost five-star guard Jalen Green to the G League in 2020 after the first-round NBA pick was lured by money and endorsement opportunities. Hardaway made clear he disagreed with how the G League was approaching potential one-and-done players.
Thanks to the new NIL rules, that wasn&rsquo;t a problem this offseason.
Hardaway convinced former NBA coach Larry Brown to Memphis to join his coaching staff, then hired a 16-year NBA veteran and champion Rasheed Wallace.
He also finalized a recruiting class led by a pair of five-star recruits in Emoni Bates and Jalen Duren, two players who reclassified from 2022 to 2021, to earn his second No. 1 recruiting class at the American Athletic Conference program.
Hardaway&rsquo;s sidekick Lil&rsquo; Penny from his Nike shoe commercials during his playing days also pitched in. Lil&rsquo; Penny made an appearance in photos Bates posted on social media during his official visit to Memphis when he posed in a Tigers&rsquo; uniform.
The Michigan native originally committed to Tom Izzo and Michigan State last year before changing his mind. The 6-foot-8 guard has been called a generational talent and projected to be the No. 1 overall pick when he&rsquo;s eligible for the NBA draft in 2023 after turning 19.
He considered Oregon and the G League before committing to Memphis and Hardaway.
Hardaway joked the photo and coming out of retirement was Lil Penny&rsquo;s idea.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s a part of who I am, it&rsquo;s a part of that what we do and how I made my name in the industry, in the NBA and with marketing and things of that nature and having Lil Penny here is self-explanatory,&rdquo; Hardaway said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s a part of my history. And it&rsquo;s also funny as well.&rdquo;
In the end, Hardaway believes the basketball side won over Bates and Duren even though Memphis hasn&rsquo;t reached the NCAA Tournament since 2014. Memphis returns three of its top five scorers from the team that won the NIT championship last spring.
&ldquo;They really knew what they wanted out of this basketball thing,&rdquo; Hardaway said. &ldquo;And the development, the teaching and understanding, being around brilliant minds on the staff is what they really wanted.&rdquo;
Wallace is eager to help the Tigers get whatever money they can earn through the NIL rules. He said former NBA players helped pave the way for him to make what he was paid once he arrived in the league.
&ldquo;Now we paved the way for this generation to receive the dollars that they get,&rdquo; Wallace said. &ldquo;So it&rsquo;s it just all goes hand in hand. So I want to see my young guys get that money so I can&rsquo;t take this knowledge to the grave with me. And it&rsquo;ll be an injustice to the basketball world and to the basketball gods if I did.&rdquo;

Penny Hardaway believes the new name, image and likeness rules helped him land another top recruiting class at Memphis.

Penny Hardaway: NIL rules helped bring top class to Memphis

The Philadelphia 76ers are stuck in the middle of their own drama, and it could continue into the 2021-22 regular season.
Philadelphia is fed up with 2016 No. 1 overall pick Ben Simmons&rsquo; lack of development as a scorer. When Simmons passed up a wide-open dunk under the basket against the Atlanta Hawks in the Eastern Conference Semifinals, Joel Embiid and head coach Doc Rivers <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/ben-simmons-deserves-criticism-but-not-to-be-thrown-under-the-bus-by-philadelphia-76ers" target="_blank" rel="noopener">threw him under the bus</a> for his timidity in game-changing situations. Simmons and the Sixers certainly seem destined for an eventual breakup, which would probably be best for both sides. (UPDATE: Simmons' reportedly informed the Sixers that he <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/ben-simmons-tells-sixers-he-wants-out-intends-to-skip-training-camp" target="_blank" rel="noopener">wants out and that he intends to skip training camp</a> while he waits for a trade).
Philadelphia needs to further allocate resources to help Embiid become even more of a two-way monster. Simmons should hope to land in a situation where he&rsquo;s valued as the face of the franchise and where he can be properly utilized within a system. If Simmons were to land in a place where he can play a similar role to Giannis Antetokounmpo in Milwaukee, maybe he could eventually reach the ceiling many expected coming out of LSU.
Whether Simmons sticks around in Philadelphia or is traded elsewhere, the 76ers are poised to be among the elite teams in the Eastern Conference thanks to Embiid&rsquo;s emergence as one of the best centers in the NBA. Last season, Embiid averaged 28.5 points, 10.6 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 1.4 blocks per game with an outstanding 63.6% True Shooting percentage. Ranking No. 4 in <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/ranking-the-nba-top-10-unicorns" target="_blank" rel="noopener">my 2021 NBA unicorn rankings</a>, Embiid&rsquo;s unique two-way takeover ability makes him special.
The window is still wide open for the Sixers to figure out how to take the leap from consistent playoff team to NBA Finals contender. Embiid recently signed a four-year max extension with Philadelphia, and Sixers GM Daryl Morey will need to construct the perfect roster around the dominant center during that time.
Before Morey took over last offseason, former Sixers GM Elton Brand signed Simmons to a rookie-scale max extension and Tobias Harris to a five-year max extension. Coughing up that much money to that duo and locking them in as Embiid&rsquo;s sidekicks was a huge gamble. Before arriving in Philadelphia, Harris had been shipped around in multiple trades, playing for five teams in eight seasons. While he's a solid scorer and an average defender, he has yet to make an All-Star appearance.&nbsp;
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Back to Simmons, his seeming reluctance to expand his shooting profile has put the Sixers in this tough position. Philadelphia is being stingy in trade negotiations involving Simmons because they know he's the key to reeling in a true 1B to Embiid&rsquo;s 1A (and they understandably want to get as much back as possible for the Defensive Player of the Year runner-up).
The Sixers' front office will be paying close attention to the Portland Trail Blazers and Washington Wizards. Will Damian Lillard and Bradley Beal end up staying put past the 2021-22 season? Right now, it&rsquo;s anyone's guess. Holding onto Simmons for a few more months is worth it if Morey has a shot at landing Lillard or Beal, even if training camp will be awkward.&nbsp; Depending on what happens moving forward, perhaps the Blazers or Wizards would be interested in a package consisting of Simmons and some young prospects (like Tyrese Maxey and Matisse Thybulle).&nbsp;
Even if Simmons is eventually traded for picks and prospects, the Sixers can still make a championship push with Embiid, Harris and a plethora of floor-spacing shooters surrounding them. Currently, here&rsquo;s how the Sixers&rsquo; rotation looks entering the 2021-22 season:
Starters: Ben Simmons, Seth Curry, Danny Green, Tobias Harris, Joel Embiid
Bench: Tyrese Maxey, Shake Milton, Furkan Korkmaz, Matisse Thybulle, Georges Niang, Andre Drummond
With a loaded rotation, Philadelphia should still slot in as a top-four seed in the Eastern Conference standings. However, teams like the Miami Heat, Atlanta Hawks, Boston Celtics and Chicago Bulls are right on their heels. Sleeping on the Sixers is a dangerous game to play, though. There's a reason they finished as the No. 1 seed last season. With Embiid showing no signs of slowing down, the Sixers will continue to be a perennial powerhouse who always have a shot to make a deep playoff run.
However, the cloud that is the Simmons situation will continue to hang over this organization until a resolution is reached.
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Regardless of what happens with Simmons, Philadelphia should still hover around the 50-win mark. But at some point, it's possible that this situation could shift from awkward to toxic. That's certainly a risk that Morey and his staff must consider as they weigh their options.
If there's no movement on the Lillard or Beal front, Philly's best bet may be lowering their outrageous asking price for Simmons (reportedly four future first-round picks and an All-Star player) and finding an immediate resolution. Imagine how good the Sixers could be if they dealt Simmons to Sacramento (for Buddy Hield) or San Antonio (for Dejounte Murray) or Minnesota (for D&rsquo;Angelo Russell)? There&rsquo;s some package out there that would create a win-win for both parties, potentially making Embiid&rsquo;s life easier around the basket by adding a score-first floor-spacer and giving Simmons a fresh start.
It was a rather quiet offseason in the City of Brotherly Love outside of this ongoing Simmons drama. Bringing Drummond and Niang aboard helps fortify the frontcourt depth behind Embiid. Re-signing Green and Korkmaz to multi-year deals provides much-needed three-point shooting. Maxey (who <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/tyrese-maxey-centered-on-getting-1-better-every-day-for-76ers" target="_blank" rel="noopener">looked terrific in Summer League action</a>) and Thybulle should take big steps forward in their development.
Everyone will be watching to see what unfolds in Philly. Until a resolution is reached between the Sixers&rsquo; front office and Simmons, this roster's floor and ceiling remain murky.

Although the 76ers should stay near the top of the East, the Ben Simmons situation is hovering over a promising 2021-22 season.