Vulcans

The Phoenix Suns gave Evan Sidery a behind-the-scenes look at the their organization and what it takes to run an NBA franchise.

Inside look at the Suns' rise: The making of an elite NBA organization

Mat Issa raves over Jordan Poole regarding his three-level scoring and how his ceiling may be higher than once thought.

Jordan Poole is even better than we could've imagined

March Madness is underway!
Across the country, teams are competing in conference tournaments and trying to punch their ticket for the NCAA Tournament. Selection Sunday is almost here, and then the tourney starts next Tuesday.
If you missed any of the Day 2 action, here's a recap of what went down on Thursday.
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Games of the Day
Indiana def. Michigan 74-69 &mdash; B1G Second Round
With 11:03 remaining, Michigan led 60-43 and appeared to be in complete control. The Hoosiers would go on a 20-2 run and took the life right out of the Wolverines, completing the comeback by winning 74-69. Trayce Jackson-Davis led all players with 24 points and 4 blocks in a stunner. Indiana faces No. 1 Illinois next.
Texas A&amp;M def. Florida 83-80 in OT &mdash; SEC Second Round
This one was wild. The Aggies dominated all afternoon and held a 9-point lead with 1:07 to play, but the Gators went on a 12-3 run of the next 50 seconds to tie it at 70-70, forcing the game into overtime. They stayed deadlocked at 78-78 with 1:10 left in overtime when Hassan Diarra hit a triple with one second on the clock to win 83-80. A huge win for a true Bubble Team in A&amp;M.
Arizona def. Stanford 84-80 &mdash; Pac-12 Quarterfinals
The largest lead either way today was 7 points &mdash; in a game where Stanford was given a whopping 5% chance of victory. The Cardinal took a 75-74 lead with just over three minutes to go, but the Wildcats had answers. Kerr Kriisa exiting with injury is important to monitor, but Christian Koloko led the team with 24 points as Arizona survives and advances.
Miami (FL) def. Boston College 71-69 in OT &mdash; ACC Quarterfinals
Kam McGusty led the Canes with 16 points in the nail-biter, as they avoided the upset in overtime. Only one basket was scored in the final 2:30 of the contest &mdash; a Jordan Miller layup that sealed the deal. A big save by Miami.&nbsp;
Villanova def. St. John&rsquo;s 66-65 &mdash; Big East Quarterfinals
The Red Storm let a 17-point second half lead slip away to end their season. Villanova was carried by its starting five, with only 7 points coming from the bench unit. Caleb Daniels led the way with 19 points and 7 rebounds. Justin Moore added 15 points of his own.&nbsp;
Toledo def. Central Michigan 72-71 &mdash; MAC Quarterfinals
In a game where the largest lead was 7 points for each team, Toledo held on for the 1-point win. Harrison Henderson scored with 20 seconds remaining to make it 71-70 Central Michigan, but a RayJ Dennis layup with 10 seconds left would seal the deal. Setric Milner Jr. led the way with 22 points for the Rockets. It's a big win for Toledo who currently projects a No. 13 seed.
Providence def. Butler 65-61 &mdash; Big East Quarterfinals
This one was back-and-forth from the tip, as the teams traded leads the entire contest. Tied at 55 with 3:06 remaining, Simas Lukosius hit a big pair of free throws for Butler to take the lead, but Al Durham hit a huge triple with 43 seconds to go for the Friars to take a 61-59 lead. Durham would follow with a dunk at the end of the game to seal the deal at 65-61. Despite the loss, it was a hard-fought game by the Bulldogs.&nbsp;
Wyoming def. UNLV 59-56 &mdash; Mountain West Quarterfinals
The Cowboys held a 9-point lead in the second half, but allowed the Rebels to fight their way back into it. Xavier DuSell hit a huge three with 30 seconds, and then, Brendan Wenzel iced the game with a pair of free throws. A great game from UNLV&rsquo;s Bryce Hamilton comes up just short.&nbsp;
Akron def. Buffalo 70-68 &mdash; MAC Quarterfinals
This was a fight from start to finish. Led by Ali Ali&rsquo;s 19-point effort and a pair of Greg Tribble free throws with four seconds remaining, the Zips survive and advance. They will face No. 1 seed Toledo on Friday afternoon in the MAC semis.
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The Upsets, the Madness
Oklahoma def. Baylor 72-67 &mdash; Big 12 Quarterfinals
The Sooners took the lead with 11:51 to play and never gave it back. With a balanced offensive attack of five players in double-digits, Oklahoma shocked the Bears. Jacob Groves led the way with 15 points, while Marvin Johnson provided 12 off the bench.&nbsp;
Vanderbilt def. Alabama 82-76 &mdash; SEC Second Round
Bama led by 10 points at the break but Scotty Pippen Jr. and Co. had other plans. Vandy roared back to take a 68-67 lead with 4:26 to play, and was able to hold the Crimson Tide off the rest of the way. Jordan Wright hit a pair of free throws late to ice the game, and the Commodores advance. Pippen Jr. ended with 26 points and 7 assists.
TCU def. Texas 65-60 &mdash; Big 12 Quarterfinals
The Horned Frogs had a win probability of 29.3% entering this one, and that&rsquo;s all they needed. After being down 40-20 in the first half, TCU did a complete 180 and outscored the Longhorns 45-20 the rest of the way. Mike Miles and Co. are setting themselves up well, and will take on the Kansas Jayhawks in the Big 12 semis.
Penn State def. Ohio State 71-68 &mdash; Big Ten Second Round
The Nittany Lions were given a 24.2% chance of winning today, and they did just that behind Sam Sessoms' 18 points off the bench. Jalen Pickett also had a huge game with 16 points, 8 rebounds and 5 assists. Penn State moves on to play No. 3 Purdue.&nbsp;
Grambling def. Southern 60-58 &mdash; SWAC Quarterfinals
Led by Tra&rsquo;Michael Moton&rsquo;s 12 points, 11 rebounds and 9 assists, Grambling took the lead with 10 minutes left in the game and never gave it back. The Tigers will face Texas Southern next.&nbsp;
Tulsa def. Wichita State 73-67 &mdash; American First Round
The Golden Hurricane had four players with 10 or more points, including two with at least 20. After an 11-19 season, this was a nice win for Tulsa as it tries to make a late push in the conference. Tulsa will move on to face No. 2 SMU.&nbsp;
Portland State def. Southern Utah 77-65 &mdash; Big Sky Quarterfinals
The Vikings entered this game under .500 on the season, but put up 77 points on 51.9% shooting from the floor. They held Southern Utah to a lowly 36.8% from the floor and are able to advance.
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Standout Performers
Noah Fernandes (UMass): 29 points, 7 assists
Spencer Jones (Stanford): 28 points, 8 rebounds
Jimmy Boeheim (Syracuse): 28 points, 7 rebounds, 3 steals, 2 assists
Keegan Murray (Iowa): 26 points, 8 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal
Grant Sherfield (Nevada): 25 points, 6 assists, 3 rebounds
Joel Murray (Long Beach State): 25 points, 4 assists, 3 rebounds
Trayce Jackson-Davis (Indiana): 24 points, 8 rebounds, 4 blocks, 10-17 FG
Wendell Moore Jr. (Duke): 26 points, 8 assists, 3 rebounds, 1 block, 1 steal
Nate Watson (Providence): 26 points, 7 rebounds, 9-14 FG
Scotty Pippen Jr. (Vanderbilt): 26 points, 7 assists
Tristen Newton (East Carolina): 26 points, 9 rebounds, 6 assists
Jordan Walker (UAB): 26 points, 5 steals, 3 rebounds, 3 assists
EJ Liddell (Ohio State): 25 points, 8 rebounds, 2 blocks
Orlando Robinson (Fresno State):&nbsp;25 points, 11 rebounds, 3 assists
Christian Koloko (Arizona): 24 points, 9 rebounds, 10-12 FG
Dillon Jones (Weber State): 23 points, 11 rebounds, 3 steals
Julian Champagnie (St. John&rsquo;s): 23 points, 9 rebounds, 4 steals, 3 assists
Jaime Jaquez Jr. (UCLA): 23 points, 11 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals
Prentiss Hubb (Notre Dame): 23 points, 5 assists
Zyon Pullin (UC Riverside):&nbsp;23 points, 5 assists, 4 rebounds
Amadou Sow (UC Santa Barbara): 21 points, 16 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 blocks
Bryce Hamilton (UNLV): 22 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists
Mahki Morris (Abilene Christian): 22 points, 4 assists, 2 rebounds
Chuba Ohams (Fordham): 20 points, 16 rebounds, 2 steals
Darien Jackson (Tulsa): 20 points, 10 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 blocks
Brady Manek (UNC): 21 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists
Malique Jacobs (Kent State): 21 points, 10 rebounds, 2 assists
Kowacie Reeves (Florida): 21 points, 6 rebounds
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2022 NBA Draft: Prospect Watch&nbsp;
Keegan Murray (Iowa): 26 points, 8 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal
Wendell Moore Jr. (Duke): 26 points, 8 assists, 3 rebounds, 1 block, 1 steal
EJ Liddell (Ohio State): 25 points, 8 rebounds, 2 blocks
Orlando Robinson (Fresno State):&nbsp;25 points, 11 rebounds, 3 assists
Christian Koloko (Arizona): 24 points, 9 rebounds, 10-12 FG
Jaime Jaquez Jr. (UCLA): 23 points, 11 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals
Tari Eason (LSU): 19 points, 5 rebounds, 2 steals, 2 blocks
Justin Lewis (Marquette): 17 points, 7 rebounds, 2 steals
Ochai Agbaji (Kansas): 18 points, 3 rebounds, 2 steals
Trevor Keels (Duke): 14 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists
Jabari Walker (Colorado): 18 points, 16 rebounds
Iverson Molinar (Miss. State): 19 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists
Julian Champagnie (St. John&rsquo;s): 23 points, 9 rebounds, 4 steals, 3 assists
Collin Gillespie (Villanova): 14 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists
David Roddy (Colorado State): 13 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 blocks
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March Madness is underway! If you missed any of the Day 2 action, here's a recap of what went down during Thursday's games.

March Madness: Conference tournament Thursday recap

Auburn, AL&nbsp; -&nbsp; The No. 1 Auburn Tigers will remain on top of the rankings after a 86-68 win today in the Big12/SEC Challenge. They defeated Oklahoma behind Jabari Smith&rsquo;s big day. He posted 23 points, 12 rebounds and 2 assists.&nbsp;
The Tigers (20-1, 8-0 SEC) earned their first No. 1 spot in program history and will remain there with a win today. Potential No. 1 overall pick in this year&rsquo;s NBA draft, Jabari Smith, entered today leading the team in scoring with 15.2 points per game. North Carolina transfer Walker Kessler is having a great season averaging 10.9 points, 7.6 rebounds and 4.2 blocks.
The Sooners (13-8, 3-5 Big 12) and their new head coach, Porter Moser, started well this season but ran into a wall when conference play started. They lost 4 of their last 5 entering this one. Eastern Washington transfer Tanner Groves leads the team in scoring with 13.1 points per game.
Kessler and Smith got started early and helped Auburn jump out to a 23-10 lead. The Tigers took a 39-27 lead into the break with Kessler leading all scorers with 13 points. Jordan Goldwire had a strong half for the Sooners and posted 12 points and 2 steals. The teams combined for only 6 points off the bench.&nbsp;
Umoja Gibson hit a couple quick buckets at the start of the second half, cutting the lead to 44-35. Oklahoma would cut the deficit to 50-47 before Auburn&rsquo;s Devan Cambridge scored 5 unanswered. Goldwire and company tried to keep it close, but the Tiger offense was too much to handle and secured a 86-68 victory.&nbsp;
Kessler and K.D. Johnson had terrific days for the Tigers. Kessler continued to dominate inside and ended with 21 points, 9 rebounds and 4 blocks. Johnson scored 13 points.&nbsp;
Gibson had a positive second half and finished with 14 points, 3 rebounds and 2 assists. Groves posted 13 points for Oklahoma.&nbsp;
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UPCOMING
Auburn hosts Alabama on Tuesday night.
Oklahoma visits TCU on Monday.
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The No. 1 Auburn Tigers will remain on top of the rankings after a 86-68 win today in the Big12/SEC Challenge over Oklahoma

Auburn beats Oklahoma 86-68, Smith scores 23 points

Tommy Beer is back with his latest version of BasketballNews.com's NBA Power Rankings. To read last week's version, <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/suns-eclipse-warriors-for-the-top-spot-in-nba-power-rankings" target="_blank" rel="noopener">click here</a>.
Golden State leapfrogs Phoenix to once again ascend to the top of the BasketballNews.com Power Rankings, while the Memphis Grizzlies continue to creep their way into the league's upper echelon this season. &nbsp;
1. Golden State Warriors (27-6) ⬆️ Last Week: 2
The Warriors beat the Suns on Saturday in a much-anticipated Christmas Day showdown despite playing without Andrew Wiggins, Damion Lee and Jordan Poole, who were all in health and safety protocols. As expected, Steph Curry led the way, knocking down five three-pointers en route to a game-high 33 points; however, it was Otto Porter Jr. who surprisingly sealed the deal for the Dubs, scoring 7 of his 19 points in the closing minutes.&nbsp;
2. Phoenix Suns (26-7) ⬇️ Last Week: 1
After falling to the Warriors on Christmas, the Suns were tripped up by the Grizzlies on Monday night as well. It's the first time Phoenix has lost consecutive contests since the season's first week. The Suns will look to get back on track Wednesday when they host the Thunder.
3. Brooklyn Nets (23-9) &harr;️ Last Week: 3
Reports of James Harden being "washed" may have been a bit premature. After racking up 36 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists in a win over the Lakers on Christmas, Harden was back it Monday vs. Clippers, finishing with 39 points and a season-best 15 assists. Harden's final assist on Monday was the 6,000th of his career. He is just the 10th player in league history to tally 20,000 career points, 5,000 rebounds and 6,000 assists. After sweeping their two-game Los Angeles road swing, the Nets are an NBA-best 13-3 on the road this season.&nbsp;
4. Utah Jazz (24-9) &harr;️ Last Week: 4
The Jazz were missing Donovan Mitchell (lower back strain) but continued to roll along Monday night, securing their fourth straight victory by beating the Spurs. Mitchell tweaked his back during Saturday's win over the Mavericks and is expected to miss at least one more game.
5. Milwaukee Bucks (22-13) ⬆️ Last Week: 6
The Bucks are finally starting to get healthy, which is bad news for the rest of the Eastern Conference. Giannis Antetokounmpo made his return to action in the Bucks' victory over the Boston Celtics on Christmas Day, suiting up for the first time since entering the health and safety protocols on Dec. 12. Giannis was joined by Bobby Portis, who had missed the previous four games due to COVID, and Donte DiVincenzo, who hadn't played since injuring his left foot during the 2021 playoffs.
6. Chicago Bulls (21-10) ⬆️ Last Week: 7
After a brief slump earlier this month, Nikola Vucevic is once again beasting for the Bulls, who have won four in a row. Vooch tallied a combined total of 40 points, 32 rebounds, 9 assists, 6 blocks and 6 made three-pointers in a back-to-back set against the Indiana Pacers and Atlanta Hawks on Sunday and Monday.&nbsp;
7. Cleveland Cavaliers (20-13)&nbsp;⬇️ Last Week: 5
While many pundits and fans league-wide continue to wait for the Cavs to come crashing back down to earth, Cleveland <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/from-lovable-underdog-to-unforgiving-bully-how-the-cavs-got-here" target="_blank" rel="noopener">keeps on winning</a> (and often dominates in the process). Over the last month, the Cavs lead the NBA in Defensive Rating (they are the only team in the league allowing fewer than 100 points per 100 possessions during this stretch). Cleveland also leads the league in Net Rating (+15.8) over the past month. Remarkably, each of the Cavaliers' last 11 wins has been by double digits.
8. ​​Memphis Grizzlies (21-14) ⬆️ Last Week: 9
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Ja Morant drives, hangs, switches hands and gets it to on his way down, FOR THE <a href="https://twitter.com/memgrizz?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@memgrizz</a> WIN! <a href="https://t.co/GnTl4RbAEJ">pic.twitter.com/GnTl4RbAEJ</a>
&mdash; NBA (@NBA) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBA/status/1475686020079407104?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 28, 2021</a></blockquote>

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Ja Morant made a contested layup with 0.5 seconds left in the fourth quarter to give the Grizzlies an impressive 114-113 victory over the Suns on Monday night. Morant's backcourt mate, Desmond Bane, remained red-hot (as <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/dissecting-desmond-bane-role-memphis-grizzlies-offense" target="_blank" rel="noopener">profiled by our Jackson Frank</a> over the weekend), scoring a career-high 32 points. Over his last seven games, Bane is averaging 21.9 points, 4.1 rebounds and 4.0 made treys while shooting over 50% from the floor and behind the arc.
9. Miami Heat (21-13) ⬇️ Last Week: 8
With rosters around the league decimated by COVID, depth has become a crucial asset. On Sunday, the Heat needed important contributions from a handful of role players to pull out a victory over Orlando, and they got just that. Caleb Martin tied for the team-high with 17 points off the bench; Omer Yurtseven scored 16 points and grabbed 15 boards in his first start, while Gabe Vincent and Max Strus chipped in 13 points apiece.&nbsp;
10. Philadelphia 76ers (17-16) &harr;️ Last Week: 10
The Sixers had lost 4 of 5 entering Sunday's matchup with the Wizards, but Joel Embiid (36 points and 13 rebounds) put Philly on his back to carry his squad to a much-needed victory, pushing the team back over .500. Philadelphia has a chance to secure back-to-back wins on Tuesday when it takes on the injury-depleted Raptors, who are fresh off a 45-point drubbing in Cleveland.
11. Denver Nuggets (16-16) &harr;️ Last Week: 11
The Joker is running wild. Over the Nuggets' last two games, Jokic has racked a ridiculous 55 points, 43 rebounds and 13 assists. He is the first player to tally at least 25 points, 20 rebounds and 5 assists in back-to-back games since Charles Barkley in 1988. Jokic is the first player ever with 25/20/5 and a three-pointer in consecutive contests.&nbsp;
12. Charlotte Hornets (18-17) ⬆️ Last Week: 14
The Hornets won their second straight game Monday by beating the Houston Rockets. Terry Rozier knocked down seven three-pointers on his way to a game-high 27 points vs. Houston. Mason Plumlee also provided a significant lift, registering a season-high 15 points to go along with 9 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 blocks and 2 steals in Monday's 123-99 win.
13. Los Angeles Clippers (17-17)&nbsp;⬇️ Last Week: 12
Paul George complained of soreness in his right elbow last week, and soon after underwent an MRI, which revealed a ligament tear. The Clippers, who have lost 5 of their previous 6, announced PG-13 would miss 3-4 weeks before being re-evaluated. However, ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski ominously reported that the Clips will "see if rest can get him on a pathway to recovery, but he's gonna be out certainly a significant period of time and there's no real sense of when, or if, he'll be back this year." Yikes.&nbsp;
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14. Dallas Mavericks (16-17) ⬆️ Last Week: 18
In addition to franchise cornerstone Luka Doncic, the Mavs were forced to play without Tim Hardaway Jr., Maxi Kleber, Reggie Bullock and Trey Burke on Monday, but still whooped the Portland Trail Blazers. Kristaps Porzingis led the way for Dallas, knocking down 12 of 21 field goal attempts and three treys en route to a season-high 34 points, along with 9 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steals, 2 blocks and no turnovers.&nbsp;
15. Washington Wizards (17-16) ⬆️ Last Week: 16
The Wizards travel to Miami on Tuesday night but afterward return home for a four-game homestand. Then after a quick two-game road swing in early January, Washington will play eight straight games in D.C. All told, the Wiz will play 12 of their next 14 at home, which is a golden opportunity to make a push up the standings. However, it was announced that Montrezl Harrell entered the league's health and safety protocols on Tuesday. Harrell is the seventh Wizard in protocols.
16. Los Angeles Lakers (16-18) ⬇️ Last Week: 13
LeBron James is averaging 35.0 points, 9.8 rebounds, 5.3 assists, 1.8 steals and 1.3 blocks, while shooting over 58% from the floor and 80% from the free-throw stripe over the Lakers' last four games, but L.A. has lost each one. With Anthony Davis (knee) still weeks away from returning to action, it will be fascinating to see if the Lakers' front office seriously considers shaking up their roster by trading away Russell Westbrook.
17. Minnesota Timberwolves (16-17) ⬇️ Last Week: 15
Despite playing without their top three scorers (Karl-Anthony Towns, Anthony Edwards and D'Angelo Russell), the Wolves found a way to beat the Celtics on Monday night. Nathan Knight tallied 20 points and 11 rebounds, while Jaylen Nowell scored a game-high 29 points for Minny. Greg Monroe signed a hardship contract over the weekend and <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/greg-monroe-and-the-brief-case-for-us-to-see-more-nba-veterans-this-season" target="_blank" rel="noopener">chipped in 13/9/6 off the bench</a>. After the game, he admitted he wasn't overly familiar with his teammates. "Not gonna lie, Jaylen Nowell played awesome tonight, but I had no idea who that was," Monroe said.
18. Toronto Raptors (14-16) ⬆️ Last Week: 19
The Raptors have eight players in the health and safety protocols, including Fred VanVleet and Scottie Barnes, and only had eight players active for Sunday night's game vs. Cleveland. It showed, as the Raps were blown out by by the Cavs, 144-95. Fortunately, Toronto plays 7 out of their next 8 games at home, which could allow them to right the ship. And luckily, Pascal Siakam and Gary Trent Jr. have been cleared to return off the COVID list.
19. New York Knicks (15-18) ⬆️ Last Week: 22
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Quentin Grimes has a beautiful jump shot. Good work here, <a href="https://twitter.com/nyknicks?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@nyknicks</a>. <a href="https://t.co/KNAA5vLsjK">pic.twitter.com/KNAA5vLsjK</a>
&mdash; SLAM (@SLAMonline) <a href="https://twitter.com/SLAMonline/status/1475542501914300420?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 27, 2021</a></blockquote>

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Quentin Grimes is slowly but surely making a case for consistent, extended minutes in the Knicks' rotation. After 27 points in his first start before entering COVID protocols, Grimes chipped in 15 in his return to action in Saturday's victory over Atlanta. Grimes is shooting 45.5% from three-point territory this season, which leads all rookies. In fact, among rooks that have made at least 20 three-pointers this season, Grimes is the only one shooting above 37% from behind the arc.
20. Boston Celtics (16-18)&nbsp;⬇️ Last Week: 17
On Monday, Celtics fans got some good news as both Grant Williams and Al Horford cleared COVID protocols. However, Boston faithful was also walloped with some bad news, as fans learned Jayson Tatum was forced to enter the league's health and safety protocols. It is worth noting that Tatum contracted COVID last season as well, and revealed he had to use an inhaler to help his breathing before games for months due to the lingering effects of the virus.
21. Atlanta Hawks (15-18) ⬇️ Last Week: 20
The Hawks welcomed Trae Young back to the lineup on Monday, and he scored 29 points, but it wasn't enough to beat the Bulls. However, Cam Reddish provided another encouraging effort in the loss to Chicago, as he hit a career-high eight three-pointers and finished with 33 points. Since being inserted into Atlanta's starting lineup, Reddish is averaging 23.8 points, 3.8 rebounds and 3.8 made treys while shooting over 44% from downtown and 87.5% from the charity stripe.
22. San Antonio Spurs (14-19) ⬆️ Last Week: 25
The Spurs had their season-high three-game winning streak snapped Monday night by the Jazz, 110-104. Coming into the contest, San Antonio had scored at least 110 points in 10 straight games (their longest such streak since March of 1984). The Spurs rank seventh in Offensive Rating on the season, averaging 110.6 points per 100 possessions.
23. Indiana Pacers (14-20) ⬇️ Last Week: 21
The Pacers have been inconsistent all season, but Caris LeVert has finally found his groove. Over the Pacers' last four games, LeVert is averaging 24.8 points, 4.8 rebounds, 7.0 assists, 2.0 treys and 1.5 steals.&nbsp;
24. Portland Trail Blazers (13-20)&nbsp;⬇️ Last Week: 23
Playing at home and matched up against a shorthanded Mavs team, the Blazers were three-point favorites on Monday night but ended up losing by 15. The Blazers' defense was atrocious, as they allowed 132 points while Dallas shot above 57% from the floor. According to StatMuse, no team has scored that many points and shot that well in Portland since 1987. Portland has lost 12 of their last 15 games.&nbsp;
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25. Sacramento Kings (13-21) ⬇️ Last Week: 24
Kings interim head coach Alvin Gentry did not mince words after his team's embarrassing 25-point loss to the Grizzlies at home on Sunday. "It's the most disappointed I've been in 34 years in the NBA, I can honestly say that," Gentry told reporters. "That performance was absolutely ridiculous. We didn't play hard, we didn't compete. We didn't guard the ball, we didn't guard screen-and-rolls. We didn't follow the game plan. No competitiveness whatsoever. They basically toyed with us. I'm totally disappointed and everybody in this building should be disappointed." Tell us how ya really feel, coach. &nbsp;
26. Oklahoma City Thunder (12-20) &harr;️ Last Week: 26
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/gilgeousalexander-walker-named-players-of-the-week-for-dec-2026" target="_blank" rel="noopener">named the Western Conference Player of the Week</a> on Monday after leading OKC to a 3-1 record last week. SGA averaged 27.5 points, 7.0 dimes, 6.3 boards and 1.3 blocks in those four games.&nbsp;
27. New Orleans Pelicans (12-22) ⬆️ Last Week: 28
Brandon Ingram had been posting incredibly impressive stats before being ruled out Sunday's game against the Thunder due to left Achilles soreness. Ingram, who is listed as doubtful for Tuesday's game vs. the Cavs, has averaged 27.7 points, 6.0 rebounds, 5.9 assists, 1.8 treys and 1.2 steals over his previous 10 appearances.&nbsp;
28. Houston Rockets (10-24) ⬇️ Last Week: 27
It's been a wild, roller-coaster ride of a season for the Rockets. After losing 15 in a row over the first month of the season, Houston bounced back by somehow winning seven straight games. However, since that unexpected win streak, the Rox are just 2-8 and have lost each of their last four.&nbsp;
29. Orlando Magic (7-27) ⬆️ Last Week: 30
The Magic have won just 7 of their first 34 games this season, tying the franchise mark for their worst record at this point in a season. How hard has Orlando been hit by COVID and injuries this season, you ask? Hassani Gravett, an undrafted 25-year-old rookie out of Pensacola State, has averaged 25 minutes per game for the Magic over the past two weeks.&nbsp;
30. Detroit Pistons (5-27) ⬇️ Last Week: 29
The Pistons have five players in COVID protocols, including Cade Cunningham, and are missing injured bigs Jerami Grant and Kelly Olynyk. Detroit, which has had 12 different starting lineups this season, has lost 17 of its last 18 contests. They host the Knicks on Wednesday night. &nbsp;

Tommy Beer checks in with an installment of BasketballNews.com's NBA Power Rankings.

NBA Power Rankings: Bulls are hot, Warriors reclaim top spot from Suns

The Little Guy From Bendigo doesn&rsquo;t quite roll off the tongue like Just A Kid From Akron, but like LeBron James, G League Ignite guard Dyson Daniels is trying to make his hometown famous.
It&rsquo;s apropos that Daniels is channeling his childhood hero, though his country neighborhood in Victoria, Australia is more rural and smaller than that of LeBron&rsquo;s well-known abode in Northeast Ohio. It&rsquo;s also located on another continent in another hemisphere, a place that many people in the United States have never heard about.
From news articles to funding to general support, Daniels has felt the love from his local community. So what better way to return the favor than to make it to the NBA?
&ldquo;I try not to take it as pressure, but I'm trying to do everything to get Bendigo and Australia on the map,&rdquo; Daniels told BasketballNews.com in a Zoom video interview. &ldquo;Just be the best version of me I can and do my best."
He&rsquo;s chosen to do that with the Ignite in America, as opposed to committing to college or signing with the popular National Basketball League Next Stars program close to home, a route he was extremely close to picking.
&ldquo;I was almost certain on it before I got offered to go play on the G League Ignite squad. I was almost certain on going to the NBL,&rdquo; Daniels said. &ldquo;That's obviously a very good pathway as well. We've seen it with [Josh] Giddey and a few other players.&nbsp;
&ldquo;But I think just the overruling factor was talking, having a few Zoom calls with [former Ignite] head coach Brian [Shaw] and [G League president] Shareef [Abdur-Rahim], and them telling us about the development you're gonna get on and off the court. You're gonna be busy all day doing basketball things and helping to get better life skills and stuff like that. But yeah, I think I made the right decision and I'm ready to get started."
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Just over a week ago, Daniels made the trek to America to begin a new chapter of his basketball journey in California. He&rsquo;ll be one of the standout prospects joining the likes of Michael Foster, Jaden Hardy, Scoot Henderson, MarJeau Beauchamp and Fanbo Zeng as a part of a highly-regarded Ignite squad.&nbsp;
In one of his first workouts following his arrival, Daniels got to exchange pleasantries with Jason Hart, the team&rsquo;s new head coach following Shaw&rsquo;s departure to the Los Angeles Clippers.
&ldquo;It was good to catch up with him,&rdquo; Daniels said. &ldquo;That's the first time I've ever seen him in person, but he believes in me. You've gotta earn your playing time, so when training [camp] starts, I'm gonna put in [the work] and I'm gonna make sure I earn it."
Fans and even front office decision-makers may be unfamiliar with Daniels and his skill set, as there&rsquo;s little film and box-score research that can be done on the 18-year-old. For some, that unknown factor might be cause for hesitation. Daniels, however, sees that as a golden opportunity to show what he&rsquo;s made of.
&ldquo;I try not to get in my head [and be] too involved in the mock drafts and things like that, but I guess being there, people haven't really seen me as much as some of the other guys,&rdquo; Daniels said. &ldquo;That's good for me, and I'm just here to show 'em that I'm gonna put in the work and try to get my name up top once they see me more. But yeah, ultimate goal is to go No. 1.&rdquo;
Daniels describes his game as &ldquo;unlike anyone else&rsquo;s.&rdquo; He doesn&rsquo;t model it after anybody, instead taking bits and pieces from multiple pros. Using his favorite NBA player, Russell Westbrook, as a blueprint, Daniels emulates a similar mentality. He likes to interrupt passing lanes and intercept the ball to get out into transition as his fellow Aussies, Ben Simmons and Matisse Thybulle, often do.&nbsp;
Defense leading to transition chances, he relays, is a signature tool in his arsenal.
&ldquo;That's how I generate a lot of my offense. I like to think of myself as just 'smart' defensively, being able to get steals, being able to guard 1-through-4, some 5,&rdquo; Daniels said. &ldquo;Get steals, play smart, rotate and generate offense then. But I'm a playmaker, I'm a big point guard, 6-foot-6, so I like to make plays off the dribble for my teammates and myself. Get into lanes and use my floaters is one of my keys.&rdquo;
Basketball News Lead NBA Draft Analyst Matt Babcock provided his own scouting report on Daniels:
Dyson Daniels has positional size, can create with the ball in his hands and is a terrific slasher and capable outside shooter. He has a lot of upside and is a high priority on our watch list for this upcoming season.
Once Daniels acclimates to the Ignite environment in Walnut Creek by getting to know his teammates and running through a few practices, he&rsquo;ll set more short-term objectives for himself. For now, he&rsquo;s been in the gym with trainer Jordan Lawley in L.A. to address some areas of his game that can be refined.
&ldquo;Just become a more consistent shooter, just tweaking a few things in my shot preparation that I need to do better,&rdquo; Daniels said. &ldquo;But I'm sure that's gonna come. It's come along nicely already. But that, and then tightening up my handle. I'm a bit taller [of a] point guard... some of those little guards can get in underneath you, so I'm sure that's what's gonna happen this year in the G League. Just tightening up my handle and being ready for anything are some things I'm trying to improve on.&rdquo;
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While he may have solid size and length now, it wasn&rsquo;t always that way for Daniels. Now at 6-foot-6, he argues that having to pick up skills when he was little helped him become the player he is now.&nbsp;
Daniels remembers being a small six-year-old kid playing point guard for a Division III team in a U-10 league, erratically sprinting on the floor and turning the ball over frequently. But from the day he touched a basketball, Daniels knew he was &ldquo;made for it.&rdquo; He would watch the NBA, NBL and any other hoop programming that would hit his television screen.
His father, Ricky, played two years at NC State and starred for the Bendigo Braves when he was younger. While his mom, Brikitta, has gotten Dyson right in terms of manners and keeping him in line, Ricky has helped Dyson from a young age in the backyard.&nbsp;
&ldquo;Both my parents have helped me a lot just to become the person I am,&rdquo; Daniels said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s really good to have them and I get pointers off them... My biggest support system is my family, my close friends, close coaches and things that I have like that.&rdquo;
Daniels never stopped progressing, though, and began to make Division I teams in his pre-teens. Once that started happening, it caught the eyes of coaches near and far.
When he was 15, Daniels followed in his dad&rsquo;s footsteps by joining the Braves for a season at home in 2019. It was his first taste of semi-professional basketball, and matching up with bigger bodies was advantageous. But Daniels&rsquo; stock began to soar as soon as he moved to Canberra with the NBA Global Academy later that year.
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He&rsquo;s thankful for the entire staff, from NBA international director of basketball operations Chris Ebersole and content/program development lead Marie-Laurence Archambault in New York, to the coaches, trainers and everybody involved for the chance to be a part of the program. Competing in tournaments in Europe and America was paramount to his development, and he learned crucial off-the-court lessons in addition.
"I've changed so much &mdash; the person I am, the confidence I have now, the coaching that I was able to get there was phenomenal. We had the [Centre of Excellence] coaches as well. Going in there as well [at 6-foot-2], I was a little scrawny kid. Coming out, I've got a much bigger body... I had a huge growth spurt, 6-6. That helped me 'cause I was a point guard and already had those skills; it helped me, being 6-6, to still being a point guard.
&ldquo;So just building my body, building my life skills, building my basketball. They've helped me be able to see the floor better. I think IQ's something I've always had, but they've helped me to use it more and use it to my strengths. I've just learned so much from them.&nbsp;
Daniels is poised to become the second player in NBA Academy history to be drafted. The first was fellow Aussie Josh Giddey, whom he&rsquo;s been tight with since the duo&rsquo;s U-12 days playing for Victoria. They keep in touch and congratulate one another on their successes, so Daniels was thrilled when the Oklahoma City Thunder selected Giddey at No. 6 in the 2021 NBA Draft.
&ldquo;It was huge, man. I've known Josh for a while and seeing him put in the work when I was with him in the NBA Academy and then, get the opportunity to play in the NBL with the [Adelaide] 36ers and he excelled there, and he deserves every bit of it. It was really good seeing him [get drafted] and it was really good being able to play alongside him as well. That's my boy and I'm happy for him.&rdquo;
The progression for Daniels at the Academy paid off this past February, as the Australian senior national team brought him in to be a part of the FIBA Asia Cup Qualifiers. In his only game, Daniels led the team over New Zealand with 23 points, 6 steals, 4 assists and 3 rebounds.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
🇦🇺 17-year-old <a href="https://twitter.com/DysonDaniels?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@DysonDaniels</a> put on a show for the Boomers in their win over New Zealand <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/FIBAAsiaCup?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#FIBAAsiaCup</a> 📊 23 PTS | 4 AST | 3 REB | 6 STL <a href="https://t.co/5iuKo09tK7">pic.twitter.com/5iuKo09tK7</a>
&mdash; NBA Australia (@NBA_AU) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBA_AU/status/1363271752948744193?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 20, 2021</a></blockquote>

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&ldquo;That was really big for me as well. Being able to play for the Boomers in the Asia Cup Qualifiers at such a young age, some people don't get that opportunity,&rdquo; Daniels said. So obviously to be able to play, but to be able to have a really good game, that got me world looks and it helped me get to [be noticed]. [I'm] grateful for the opportunity from Adam Caporn to be able to play for the Boomers."
His momentum didn&rsquo;t stop there, either. He was a critical contributor for the Boomers&rsquo; U-19 squad in FIBA Basketball World Cup play, averaging 14.0 points, 5.3 rebounds, 4.6 assists and 2.3 steals over seven games.
Spending time with the Boomers, Daniels has developed a relationship with former NBA veteran Matthew Dellavedova. It&rsquo;s ironic because he remembers being eight years old attending a Peak event where both ended up doing basketball drills together. Fast-forward to today, and they&rsquo;re teammates representing Australia, and Daniels gets advice from the champion guard when he asks for it.
The Little Guy From Bendigo hasn&rsquo;t done too bad for himself, and the fun part has just begun. Daniels is preparing for his first season at the professional level, which is step one toward Daniels finding himself in NBA threads come this time next year.
&ldquo;I always want to be in the gym. I always want to be the best I can. I'm sure some people have them about 'em as well, but I don't want anyone to outwork me. I want to be the hardest worker there is,&rdquo; Daniels said.
&ldquo;It's a great feeling. I think in terms of feeling ahead of people, I wouldn't say I do. There's options for everyone that they can choose, like what they want to do with their careers and that. But choosing a professional career for me, I think was the right choice, and I'm ready for it. So yeah, I'm ready to get started and I'm very excited for it.&rdquo;

Spencer Davies chats with Dyson Daniels about the upcoming G League Ignite season, his development in Australia and more.

The Little Guy From Bendigo: Dyson Daniels is unlike anyone else

One week from now, we will know who is playing in the NBA Finals. It appears it will be the Milwaukee Bucks and the Phoenix Suns, but we should have learned by now to never count out the resilience of the Los Angeles Clippers.&nbsp;
And the Atlanta Hawks? Just ask anyone from Philadelphia or New York whether that team should be underestimated.
This is somewhat uncharted territory for Adam Silver and the NBA, who have grown accustomed (along with all of us) to having all eyes glued to LeBron James or Steph Curry at this point of the season.
Also, our NBA body clocks are saying &ldquo;draft, draft, draft.&rdquo; But due to the pandemic, we've all had to readjust to this slightly different schedule. So the end of the Finals are still quite a ways down the road, the draft and free agency are going to happen at the end of the July and beginning of August, respectively. The Olympics are looking like a walkover for a <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/jerami-grant-to-join-team-usa-james-harden-to-withdraw" target="_blank" rel="noopener">loaded Team USA</a>... but we have seen that movie before, and the ending is not always a certainty. FIBA competition usually takes care of that.
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No matter which two teams make the Finals, though, it will be the first time in a long time (or ever) that the Bucks, Clippers, Suns and/or Hawks got that far.
So let&rsquo;s refresh everyone&rsquo;s memory. Or, let&rsquo;s fill in the younger generation on what folks in the four finalists' cities have endured over the years.
PHOENIX SUNS
The Suns are one victory away from making the championship round for the first time since 1993, back when Charles Barkley was playing against Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls. It was the summer before Jordan decided he wanted to change professions and become a Major League baseball player.&nbsp;
The Bulls won Game 1 and Game 2 in that 1993 series, and battled in a classic Game 3 that went three overtimes before the Suns won and chopped the series lead down to 2-1. Chicago won Game 4 at home, but the Suns took Game 5 in Chicago (the format was 2-3-2 at the time) and the series returned to Phoenix for Game 6 on June 20. The Bulls were going for a three-peat under Phil Jackson with a roster that included Jordan, Scottie Pippen, Bill Cartwright, Horace Grant and John Paxson. Barkley was flanked by Dan Majerle, Tom Chambers, Kevin Johnson, Cedric Ceballos and Danny Ainge.
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Barkley and Jordan were friendly, but the edge in competitive streak was in favor of Jordan. Back then, fraternization on off days was common, and Barkley and Jordan were fewer than two years removed from being teammates on the original Dream Team. The way the story has been told, Jordan took Barkley out to Majerle&rsquo;s bar on the night of June 19 after everyone traveled, and the drinks flowed freely... except the drink of choice for Jordan was water.
Then, on the night of June 20, the Bulls were ahead by eight entering the fourth quarter, but then went cold. In the first 6:09 of the fourth, the Bulls didn&rsquo;t score. They committed three shot-clock violations in that span, and Phoenix was ahead 98-96 with 14 seconds left. But the Bulls had the ball, and Grant found John Paxson open at the three-point line for a shot that Paxson drilled. Prior to that, all nine of the Bulls&rsquo; fourth-quarter points had been scored by Jordan. Phoenix had the final possession, but Barkley rolled to the basket off the inbounds play and Phoenix did not get the ball to him. Instead, Kevin Johnson attempted a runner from the lane just before the final buzzer, and Grant blocked it. Game over. Bulls 99, Suns 98. And Phoenix has not hosted an NBA Finals game since.
MILWAUKEE BUCKS 
The Bucks are up 2-1 on the Hawks now after Khris Middleton was Mr. Everything last night in Atlanta except for being Mr. Airball, an award that will be retired in honor of Giannis Antetokounmpo for what he has been doing from the free-throw line the past few seasons, but especially this postseason. These teams will be back at it Tuesday night, and hopefully the referees will be briefed, too, on allowing a player shooting a three-point shot to have enough space to land without turning an ankle because an official was too close. Are there enough ace bandages in "The A" to wrap Trae Young tightly enough to give the Hawks a chance to even this series? Or is Milwaukee advancing to the Finals as a fait accompli currently maneuvering speed bumps?
Whatever the case, the Bucks are favored for good reason, and if they make it to the Finals, it&rsquo;ll be the first time it's happened for that franchise since Kareem Abdul-Jabbar&rsquo;s sky hook was a lethal weapon. That was back in 1974, before Kareem decided he did not like living in Milwaukee following a 4-3 loss to the Celtics in the Finals and forced a trade to the Los Angeles Lakers, a maneuver for which he was never forgiven in the city where Mike Budenholzer now calls the shots. The Bucks last won a title in 1971, and have not been back since despite being led at different times by Ray Allen, Glenn Robinson and Giannis, Middleton and Malcolm Brogdon, among others.
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They dropped four straight in the Conference Finals three years ago against the Toronto Raptors, and they went out in seven games in 2001 against Allen Iverson and the Philadelphia 76ers. All of the sports glory in the state of Wisconsin since then has belonged to Aaron Rodgers and Frank Kaminsky, and all those years of losing have been drowned out by beer, cheese, frozen custard, bratwurst and beer. The last time the Bucks won, the team was a member of the Western Conference and the Brewers were still adapting to the American League following the franchise&rsquo;s move from Seattle, where they were known as the Pilots. Al McGuire and Marquette provided a couple years of glory, but aside from the accomplishments of the Packers, there has not been much to celebrate.
But losing is never permanent unless your favorite team is the Minnesota Timberwolves, and the Bucks are halfway to breaking through the organization's three-and-a-half decades of frustration. So stay tuned.
LOS ANGELES CLIPPERS 
Ahead of a win or go home scenario in Monday's Game 5, Kawhi Leonard is once again unable able to play, and could be more seriously hurt than the franchise has let on. There are reports out there that he needs knee surgery and is upset with the Clippers' medical staff; one would think the league office would order the Clippers to provide some clarity on this matter, since Leonard is a pretty good basketball player whose health is a determining factor in whether Steve Ballmer&rsquo;s team has a snowball&rsquo;s chance in hell of being championship material.
The Clippers have never been to the Finals, before or since relocating to California from Buffalo, spending 1978-1984 in San Diego. They blew 3-1 leads in the conference semifinals in 2020 (to Denver) and 2015 (to Houston), and went out in six games against Oklahoma City in 2014. There is only so much that Paul George can do without his fellow superstar teammate, and if Leonard is truly done and legitimately unhappy in L.A., the offseason unrestricted-free-agency market just got a heck of a lot more interesting.
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Before they were the Clippers, they were the Buffalo Braves and joined the NBA as an expansion franchise in 1970 along with the Cleveland Cavaliers and Portland Trail Blazers. Their Hall-of-Famers included Bob McAdoo and Ernie DeGregorio, and in one of the most interesting pieces of NBA cameo trivia, they had Moses Malone for a grand total of two games before trading him to Houston for a pair of first-round picks.
In 1975, the franchise made it to the conference semifinals, but were defeated by the Washington Bullets. Since then, the Clippers have a franchise history that everyone in the NBA outside of Minnesota can laugh at. Except Clippers fans, of course. And those poor folks deserve either our pity or our sympathy. But to Clippers fans and Timberwolves fans, we can only say: &ldquo;The Cubs eventually won, okay?&rdquo; Perhaps that will help.&nbsp;
ATLANTA HAWKS 
Dominique Wilkins was a heck of a hooper and had one of the greatest nicknames in the history of professional sports: &ldquo;The Human Highlight Film.&rdquo; But he never appeared in a single NBA Finals game, and his only championship came with Panathinaikos in 1996 when the &ldquo;Greens&rdquo; won the Euroleague championship.
The Hawks franchise has not won a title since 1958 when they were based in St. Louis, and they reached the Finals in 1960 and 1961 only to lose to the Boston Celtics. The closest they came since then was 2015, when they reached the Conference Finals but were swept by LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers.
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The Hawks are closer now than they have ever been, but when your entire team gets outscored by a single player in a single quarter (Khris Middleton had 20 points to the Hawks&rsquo; 17 in the fourth last night), you really have to dig deep for resiliency &ndash; although we would not put anything past Trae Young at this point. At the very least, the Hawks have two games remaining. In the first round, they bounced back from a Game 2 loss in New York and won the next three. Atlanta was down 2-1 against the Sixers last round and gutted out that series in seven games, winning three times on the road. The team has a terrific mix of young and old, and Nate McMillan has worked wonders with these guys.
A victory in Game 4 would turn this into a best-of-3, and we already know that hostile arenas do not faze them. Middleton had the hot hand in Game 3, and who is to say that Bogdan Bogdanovic or Kevin Huerter or Danilo Gallinari cannot be that type of player for Atlanta sometime in the coming week? Count the Hawks out at your own peril. Knicks fans and Sixers fans will tell you not to take them lightly.
We've got a big week ahead of us. Let&rsquo;s hope it brings more good stories than bad.
But the only thing we know for sure is that one of these four franchises will eventually end a very long drought.&nbsp;

Chris Sheridan refreshes everyone's memory and fills in the younger crowd on what folks in the four final teams' cities have endured over the years.

Sheridan: A history lesson is in order as the NBA Finals draw near

The Tampa Bay Pro Combine has announced the professional draft prospects that will be participating in its inaugural event.

Tampa Bay Pro Combine announces roster of pre-draft prospects

Hi, hello, and welcome to yet another edition of Roaming The Baseline! This will be a weekly endeavor where I point out some things that caught my eye: a hot or cold streak from a player, a developmental flash, a well-run play, a funny tweet, who knows? There will be film -- it&rsquo;s me, so of course there will be film -- but this will also be a bit looser. It&rsquo;s an extension of my Twitter feed, if you will.&nbsp;
With that said, let&rsquo;s roam the baseline.
GIANNIS ANTETOKOUNMPO IS EVOLVING
Back-to-back games against the Brooklyn Nets. Back-to-back wins against the Brooklyn Nets. Back-to-back eye-opening performances from Giannis Antetokounmpo.
The first game was dominant. The Nets once again went with DeAndre Jordan as their Giannis stopper of sorts, tasking him with hanging back at the rim and absorbing blows whenever Giannis touched the paint.&nbsp;
Giannis straight up gave it to him. Body blows into jump hooks. Fadeaways. Stepbacks. Face-up jumpers.&nbsp;
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The three-ball was going for him as well. When doubles came, Giannis calmly passed out of them. He sprung guys free with screens. The Nets simply had no good answer for any possession that involved Giannis. Hard to sneeze on 49-8-4 plus the W, amirite?
If the first game was dominant, the second one was resilient. Giannis dropped 36-12-4, but it certainly wasn't as smooth as the outing on Sunday. An 11-of-30 shooting clip ain't pretty, though the 4-of-12 clip from deep was intriguing.&nbsp;
The Nets didn't change their coverage. They were more than willing to concede above-the-break triples. Giannis obliged to keep things honest, but still found room to be aggressive (seven shots at the rim, 12 free-throw attempts).
These two games aren't entirely instructive of a future playoff matchup; James Harden's absence is a pretty big variable. What the games did reinforce, however, is that Giannis can dictate terms whenever he wants to. There's no true answer for him.
The hang-back-and-wait plan only goes so far if Giannis is gonna bring the funk anyway. Living with jumpers is cool until he catches a rhythm. It's especially tough if Giannis flows effortlessly into pick-and-rolls or dribble handoffs with either of his All-Star running mates.
In short: good freakin' luck.
MATISSE THYBULLE'S HOUSE OF TERROR
One of my favorite bits of this god forsaken regular season has been my friend, a born-again Sixers fan, hitting me up on Twitter to tell me how quickly Matisse Thybulle racks up a steal or block whenever he checks in.&nbsp;
Sometimes it's a minute. Sometimes it's 30 seconds. It could be even less than that. Thybulle checked in for Danny Green at the 7:17 mark of the quarter, by the way.
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It can be a bit cliche to describe a defensive player as being able to be multiple places at once. It's pretty freaking accurate in the case of Thybulle.&nbsp;
There's almost no way to accurately describe how rangy Thybulle is. Stuff like&nbsp;this&nbsp;is routine for him.
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That's Thybulle dropping to the left block in anticipation of a cut. He finds himself behind the play as Lauri Markkanen lefts to the wing, but is able to block the shot anyway. Seth Curry drops down to the "nail" to pick up Markkanen; Thybulle then rotates over to Garrett Temple, picking off the pass in the process.
Thybulle leads the NBA in blocks on above-the-break threes (16), <a href="https://www.pbpstats.com/totals/nba/player?Season=2020-21&amp;SeasonType=Regular%2BSeason" target="_blank" rel="noopener">per PBP Stats</a>. Overall, Thybulle is <a href="https://www.nba.com/stats/players/traditional/?sort=PTS&amp;dir=-1&amp;Season=2020-21&amp;SeasonType=Regular%20Season&amp;PerMode=Totals&amp;CF=STL*GE*75:BLK*GE*50" target="_blank" rel="noopener">one of four players</a> to have at least 75 steals and 50 blocks this season. This may shock you, but he's logged the least amount of minutes of that group by a pretty wide margin.
I don't think there's a (public) site that tracks it, but my bet is that Thybulle leads the NBA in rearview contests/blocks. As pesky as he is at the point of attack, he still has a tendency to get snagged on screens. What makes him so special is his ability to recover from behind.
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I am literally begging for the three-ball to become a passable weapon for him so we can see more of him.
DEATH, TAXES, AND ISO MELO
The Blazers aren't far removed from a five-game losing streak, capped off by a pair of disappointing showings against the Memphis Grizzlies. Damian Lillard was laboring; CJ McCollum was slumping a bit; the defense was as bad as it's been all season.
So, in typical Blazers fashion, they've won four of their last five.
The stars have bounced back, and the starting lineup (Lillard, McCollum, Norman Powell, Robert Covington, Jusuf Nurkic) has flourished because of it. Their staggered second unit, with Carmelo Anthony operating as the Robin to Lillard's Batman, has blitzed teams <a href="https://www.nba.com/stats/lineups/advanced/?Season=2020-21&amp;SeasonType=Regular%20Season&amp;TeamID=1610612757&amp;LastNGames=5" target="_blank" rel="noopener">over the past five games.</a>
Anthony's been on a heater, averaging a little under 15 points off the bench with a 56/57/100 shooting split over his last five. He's been able to capitalize on catch-and-shoot looks when the defense is scrambled elsewhere. His mid-post play is popping right now; smaller defenders just can't keep Melo from getting to his spots. The fadeaway is still money, and the release point is impossible to bother.
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Anthony grades out as a plus contributor in isolation (80th percentile) and post-up (52nd percentile) possessions this season, per Synergy. He's run even hotter over the past five.
Enjoy the run.&nbsp;
THINGS THAT MAKE YOU GO "HMMMM"
<ul>
<li>Who is the Mavericks' third best player behind Luka Doncic and Kristaps Porzingis? Tim Hardaway Jr. is making a strong push, averaging 31.3 points&nbsp;over his last three games. He's fresh off a night where he drained 10 threes in a blow-out win against Miami. Just as a quick aside: sign me up for any player with a sway on their jumper. &nbsp;</li>
<li>I don't think enough has been made of the fact that Kevin Durant is shooting nearly 58 percent from two, almost 48 percent from three, and 88 percent from the line. I'm not sure what you're supposed to do with that.</li>
<li>There are 13 players generating at least 1.00 PPP when coming off of screens (min. 75 possessions). Nikola Jokic (1.13 PPP) is the only center on the list. It is absolutely wild watching a man that big (and slow) coming off pindowns for middies.&nbsp;</li>
<li>Another Chris Paul update, because I can't get enough of these: he's now up to 16 games with 10+ assists with two or fewer turnovers this season.</li>
<li>There are 43 players who have logged at least 500 pick-and-roll possessions (passes included) this season, per Synergy. Your most efficient initiator? Kawhi Leonard (1.15 PPP). Second? DeMar DeRozan (1.12). Shoutout to 2019.</li>
</ul>
PLAYS I LIKED
Improvisational Jazz
Watching the Jazz fly around during one of their intricate sets are one of my niche joys. Call me a nerd, I don't care.&nbsp;
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We get the illusion of HORNS Flare to start, but it's a decoy. Joe Ingles "ghosts" the Rudy Gobert screen as the big fella "chases" Mike Conley on the left wing. Instead of stepping up, Royce O'Neale clears the left corner to set up an empty side pick-and-roll between Conley and Gobert.
Even&nbsp;that's&nbsp;a decoy.
Instead of running the pick-and-roll, Conley pitches the ball to Ingles. O'Neale, after clearing the left side, sets a pin-in screen on an unsuspecting Jaden McDaniels, freeing Bojan Bogdanovic for a triple.
Whew.
Bucks clearing a side
Another opening set, another empty corner look, this time from the Milwaukee Bucks.
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I like the moving parts here. Donte DiVincenzo loops around Giannis before petering out to the dunker spot. Giannis comes off a Brook Lopez screen, receives the pass, fakes a handoff with Jrue Holiday, then flows into a two-man action with Khris Middleton.
The Nets attempt to switch, but Giannis does a fantastic job of sealing Kevin Durant off. Middleton recognizes Giannis has inside leverage, and floats in a pinpoint lob.
Slicing for Sabonis
Domantas Sabonis handles the ball a lot. And I mean&nbsp;a lot.&nbsp;He'll grab and go after defensive rebounds. He'll initiate the offense in Delay sets above the break. Pitches to the elbow lead to split action, in which he's the conductor of it all. It's nice to see the Pacers work to get him open sometimes.
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A wing pitch that flows into Double Drag is fancy enough to catch my eye. Having a guard screen for Sabonis at the same time just adds to the funk. The inverted screen is key; it dislodges Alex Len long enough to throw him behind the play. He recovers decently enough, but his front foot is exposed. Sabonis attacks almost immediately, gaining inside leverage on the drive before finishing through contact for the and-one.
THE READING LIST
There is plenty of high-level basketball content out here if you know where to look. I wouldn&rsquo;t be where I am as a writer without reading a ton of Zach Lowe or Chris Herring or Caitlin Cooper or Mirin Fader or, well, you get the point.&nbsp;
Anyway, here are some -- not all, but some! -- of the stories I&rsquo;ve read this week that I think you should check out. Their Twitter handles will be linked under their names, so click and follow if you don&rsquo;t already.
<a href="https://twitter.com/loganmmurdock" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Logan Murdock</a> with <a href="https://twitter.com/loganmmurdock/status/1389776822905184256?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noopener">a tremendous feature</a> on Kings rookie Tyrese Haliburton.
<a href="https://twitter.com/jackfrank_jjf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Jackson Frank</a> on the <a href="https://twitter.com/jackfrank_jjf/status/1389598688230612993?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noopener">budding stardom of Darius Garland</a>.
<a href="https://twitter.com/seeratsohi" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Seerat Sohi</a> slams the door on the <a href="https://twitter.com/seeratsohi/status/1387931245816946693?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noopener">MVP conversation</a>.
<a href="https://twitter.com/WillAldrich_" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Will Aldrich</a> on Indiana Fever rookie Kysre Gondrezick looking to break barriers <a href="https://twitter.com/WillAldrich_/status/1389286735234969602?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noopener">on and off the court</a>.
<a href="https://twitter.com/ZachLowe_NBA" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Zach Lowe</a> with <a href="https://twitter.com/ZachLowe_NBA/status/1389929521458159617?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noopener">a fantastic feature</a> on Hawks center Clint Capela.

In Nekias Duncan's weekly notebook, he shares things that have caught his eye. He breaks down players, teams, plays and stats.

Roaming the Baseline: Giannis, Matisse Thybulle, Carmelo Anthony, more

The first thing about LaMelo Ball that caught Mitch Kupchak&rsquo;s eye was his size: 6-foot-7 with mad ball-handling skills. The thing that caught his ear was hearing that Ball was a gym rat, a player who stayed late after practice to get extra shots up, whether in Ohio, Lithuania or Australia.
Kupchak now has the Rookie-of-the-Year favorite running the show for a Charlotte Hornets team that will likely be in the NBA's play-in tournament later this month. He also has an owner, Michael Jordan, who has an itch to win that needs to be scratched.
Will that happen this season? Kupchak, the organization's 66-year-old president of basketball operations, believes that remains to be seen.
&ldquo;We did transition from a veteran team with large contracts to a team that was building through the draft, and we finally had some cap room," Kupchak told BasketballNews.com in an exclusive phone interview. "So we were in a good position [last offseason]."
The Hornets lost for the third time in four games on Sunday night, falling to the Miami Heat 121-111 to remain in eighth place in the Eastern Conference. Charlotte is now two games below .500, and the team still does not know when Hayward will return from a foot injury (he recently shed a walking boot for the first time in nearly a month). Oddsmakers have the Hornets listed at 250-1 to win the Eastern Conference.
Few teams are spotlighted less than the Hornets despite their iconic owner and their special rookie, and the season's strict conditions are not allowing Jordan to be close to the team and his prized youngster.
&ldquo;He was at our game [Saturday] night, but because of the testing requirements, he couldn't even get down to the locker room and say hello to anybody. But they did talk, and I know Michael gives him tips, and I would guess that when we emerge from this COVID world, Michael will spend time with him on the court, but I don't know that [for sure],&rdquo; Kupchak said. &ldquo;Michael lives in Florida; he&rsquo;s up here quite a bit. He loves to come to practice and watch. He doesn't interfere with the coaches. He doesn't know what the coaches are teaching, so he doesn't want to get on the court and teach something different. But I know he and LaMelo talk and text all the time.&rdquo;
<img style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" src="https://cdn.basketballnews.com/images/story/body/mj22_lg.jpg" alt="" width="648" height="402" />
Jordan has owned the Hornets since 2010 and has a mere three playoff victories (vs. Miami in 2015-16) to show for it. Charlotte has not been to the second round of the playoffs since 2001-02, and Kupchak was tasked with ending that drought when he was hired 37 months ago. In back-to-back years, he added Terry Rozier and Hayward in offseason sign-and-trades with the Celtics, and he selected Ball with the third overall pick in last year's NBA Draft.&nbsp;
The team has spent the season hovering around the .500 mark, never going more than three games over the break-even mark or four games under. They defeated Boston, Milwaukee and Portland in April, but went 6-10 for the month, and there is a discernable lack of buzz surrounding a franchise that used to have people referring to their home court as &ldquo;The Hive.&rdquo;
Still, the Hayward signing was one of the best offseason moves made by any team in the NBA, and Rozier is shooting 45.6% &ndash; a career-high &ndash; and averaging more than 20 points for the first time in his six-year career. P.J. Washington is having a solid second season, Miles Bridges is shooting much better in his third season and seven players are averaging double-figure scoring. This season, 12 of the 17 players on the roster (including two-way players) are 25 years old or younger. There's still room to grow and the center position could use an upgrade, but it seems the foundation is in place.
Jordan and Kupchak spent several hours speaking Saturday at Hornets headquarters, talking basketball when they were not pausing to watch the Kentucky Derby and the PGA Valspar Championship. Both Jordan and Kupchak went to school at North Carolina, played for Team USA and have had enormous success with other franchises &ndash; Jordan with the Chicago Bulls in the 1990s, Kupchak while playing for and while running the Los Angeles Lakers.
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But their championship pedigrees came in eras much different than what exists in today&rsquo;s NBA. The Hornets do not have a single superstar (although Ball has the potential to be one) and have gone 0-3 against Philadelphia and 1-2 against Brooklyn, their two most likely first-round playoff opponents.&nbsp;&nbsp;
"I mean, I want to please him. I want to get him something he desperately craves," Kupchak said of Jordan, who declined to be interviewed for this article. "He wants to win and he tried to be patient, but I think he's a little bit impatient, right? Which is natural.
"I've known him since he was a freshman, but yeah, it was a professional relationship. We said hello and talked or played golf once or twice. But I never really got to know him that well. It&rsquo;s been great getting to know him on a personal basis. Like I said, I never really knew him like that, but he&rsquo;s from my years so to speak, so we kind of speak the same language when it comes to basketball. So there's a good feel between us and with Buzz [Peterson] as well; the three of us have a great feel when we talk to each other. We both kind of get it. And it's fun because I'm getting to know him. But at the end of the day, he wants to win. I can feel it. He wants to get this thing going in the right direction."
The signings of Rozier and Hayward were criticized as overspends in some NBA circles (and by the media), but Kupchak couldn't care less. He has been working in the NBA for too long, in some of the largest markets and smallest markets, to give a hoot whether somebody is second-guessing him.&nbsp;
"It&rsquo;s kind of hard to shake me up, you know? There might have been some criticism; I didn't follow it that closely at the time," Kupchak said. "But you&rsquo;ve got to weigh everything: the draft, free-agent signings, trades. You really have to wait four or five years to look back on it and that's when you know really whether you made a mistake or you didn't make a mistake. So at the time, I didn't get the feeling that there was this uproar about overpaying somebody. Maybe there was, but it didn't really bother me."
When asked about the Rozier signing, he explained his thought process.
"We believed in a kid. We saw a great opportunity when we were losing Kemba [Walker], who we wanted to keep. And then, for some reason, that made Terry available to do a double sign-and-trade; I think it was the first one that was ever done. It was just a unique opportunity for us to get a young talent. Now, he does continue to get better, and he is a much harder worker than I thought on both sides of the ball. But I'm not surprised that he's productive. But let&rsquo;s wait a couple more years and we'll look back on it, but we're happy with the signing and it worked out. That's all."
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With Hayward, Kupchak was surprised that the Hornets were able to land him.
"That was unique," he said. "We never thought, going into free agency, that Gordon Hayward would opt out of his $34.2 million [deal]. I didn&rsquo;t think he would opt out of that and want to leave Boston. That doesn't happen very often so when that was happening, even at the very end, even though we tried and we did everything we could do -- and it was a good feeling that he was going to come to Charlotte -- there was a big part of me that said, 'This just doesn't happen very often, that a player of this caliber will go to a small market.' So I wasn't really sure until we got his signature that he was going to come... That just kind of happened. We did have a way to create room, so we were ready, but I didn't think that he would opt out and all of a sudden become available and not only that, but want to come to Charlotte.
"Now, when players are here, they stay in this town. They love it here. Okay, but we&rsquo;ve got to get them here for them to realize that. And now that Gordon&rsquo;s here, I wouldn&rsquo;t be surprised if he lived here for the rest of his life. Players like it here. This is a great city."
Having won three titles as a player (with the Bullets and Lakers) and seven as an executive (all with the Lakers), Kupchak is not the type to obsess over whether someone is trolling him on Twitter or Instagram. His focus is on the long-term, and when it comes to Ball, what he wants to see this offseason is a commitment to lifting weights and getting stronger, and a focus on becoming a better defender.
&ldquo;He has bounced around quite a bit... He&rsquo;s never had a great run with a coach that could, over the course of two or three years, spend a lot of time on the defensive side of the ball. I&rsquo;m sure in Lithuania there was a language barrier, then he went to high school in Ohio, then he went to Australia for three months, and then he didn&rsquo;t play," said Kupchak, who traveled to Australia in November of 2019 to watch Ball play in person and also attended one of Ball's pre-draft workouts last summer in California. He also listened to what he was hearing from his son, Maxx, who plays for UC Santa Barbara and played AAU with LaMelo in Southern California.
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"So that would probably be an area that he needs to improve in, but there's no reason why he can&rsquo;t be a great defender."
Ball, 19, <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/lamelo-ball-back-return-charlotte-hornets-impact-film-study-breakdown" target="_blank" rel="noopener">returned on Saturday after a six-week absence</a> following surgery for a fractured left wrist. He committed five turnovers on Saturday against Detroit and five more on Sunday against Miami, missing 6-7 three-point attempts. Still, he leads all rookies in assists (6.1) and steals (1.63), is second in scoring (15.7) and rebounding (5.9) and is fifth in minutes played (28.7).
Kupchak discussed the rookie's long-term prospects and what stood out about Ball while scouting him.
&ldquo;You never really know. They&rsquo;re young, they're 19. Usually when you're drafting top-three or four, you're looking at a kid who is 19, and you're trying to project out like three or four years. To say this was a no-brainer kind of encounter, I'm not sure anybody can say that. I think the last guy that was kind of like that was maybe LeBron," Kupchak said. "But I guess there are a couple of things [that stood out]. In practice, it looked like he had a joy of playing, like he was having fun. He stayed late after practice; the people we spoke to over there said he loved the game, he loved to work. So those are the good things you like to hear when you&rsquo;re trying to look out three or four years. He had great size for a ball-handling guard. That jumps out at you, right? Somebody who&rsquo;s 6-foot-7 and a ball-handling guard, that&rsquo;s very unique.
"And he definitely had a flair, he&rsquo;s fun to watch -- which sometimes doesn&rsquo;t mean much to a general manager; you&rsquo;d rather have the great player than somebody who&rsquo;s fun to watch, but he was fun to watch. He had a flair about him. His size, his vision. It&rsquo;s tough. When you&rsquo;re 19, it&rsquo;s tough, but it doesn&rsquo;t really hurt that he&rsquo;s a gym rat... This kid loves to play. He&rsquo;s most comfortable in a gym, which is kind of unique. Sometimes you grow up and you&rsquo;re forced to play and you don&rsquo;t want to play, but everybody else in your family wants you to so you feel like you have to. But not with this kid. He&rsquo;s a gym rat, I'm hoping it stays that way."
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
That boy LaMelo back &amp; he&rsquo;s a PROBLEM. (via <a href="https://twitter.com/NBATV?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@NBATV</a>) <a href="https://t.co/VtzqfdJIk7">pic.twitter.com/VtzqfdJIk7</a>
&mdash; SLAM (@SLAMonline) <a href="https://twitter.com/SLAMonline/status/1389020446851362816?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 3, 2021</a></blockquote>

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

The biggest judgment on the Hornets will come early in the postseason. If they play in the No. 7 vs. No. 8 game and win, they get the 7-seed. If they lose the 7-8 game, they will play the winner of the No. 9 vs. No. 10 game. Lose both, and it is another lost season in Charlotte.
But if they get in, anything can happen. We all learned that with the Miami Heat last season, and the one constant from year to year in the NBA is that whoever enters the playoffs healthy, happy and with chemistry can survive and advance.&nbsp;

Chris Sheridan spoke to Mitch Kupchak about LaMelo Ball's upside, assembling this Hornets team, working for Michael Jordan and more.

One-on-One: Mitch Kupchak on LaMelo Ball, Michael Jordan, Hornets' moves

Fran Fraschilla discusses his upbringing, coaching career, transition to broadcasting, fatherhood, whether he'd coach again, and more.

Fran Fraschilla Q&A: 'If someone wants to take a chance on me, I'd consider coaching again'

NBA All-Star 2021 will take place on Sunday, March 7 at State Farm Arena in Atlanta, reaching fans in 215 countries and territories in more than 50 languages on their televisions, computers, mobile phones and tablets. This marks Atlanta&rsquo;s third time hosting the league&rsquo;s annual global celebration of basketball.
TNT&rsquo;s NBA All-Star coverage in the United States will begin at 5 p.m. ET with TNT NBA Tip-Off presented by CarMax, followed by the Taco Bell Skills Challenge and MTN DEW 3-Point Contest starting at 6:30 p.m. ET. NBA All-Star Game coverage on TNT will begin at 8 p.m. ET, with the AT&amp;T Slam Dunk Contest taking place at halftime. ESPN Radio coverage in the U.S. will begin at 7 p.m. ET.
Below are facts and figures about NBA All-Star 2021:
NBA All-Star Game
<ul>
<li style="font-weight: 400;">4 &ndash;&nbsp;The Phoenix Suns&rsquo; Chris Paul is the third player to be named an All-Star with&nbsp;four&nbsp;different franchises, joining Moses Malone and Shaquille O&rsquo;Neal.</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;">9 &ndash;&nbsp;The LA Clippers&rsquo; Paul George&nbsp;made a record&nbsp;nine&nbsp;3-pointers on his way to 41 points in the 2016 NBA All-Star Game while representing the Indiana Pacers.</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;">17 &ndash;&nbsp;The Los Angeles Lakers&rsquo; LeBron James has been selected as an NBA All-Star&nbsp;17&nbsp;times, third most in league history behind Kareem Abdul Jabbar (19) and Kobe Bryant (18).&nbsp; James is also set to start the All-Star Game for the&nbsp;17th&nbsp;consecutive year.</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;">20 &ndash;&nbsp;At&nbsp;20&nbsp;years old, the New Orleans Pelicans&rsquo; Zion Williamson is set to become the fourth-youngest player to play in the NBA All-Star Game, behind Kobe Bryant, James and Magic Johnson.</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;">27.3 &ndash;&nbsp;The Milwaukee Bucks&rsquo; Giannis Antetokounmpo has the highest scoring average in NBA All-Star Game history at&nbsp;27.3&nbsp;points per game.</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;">58 &ndash;&nbsp;As part of the game production,&nbsp;58&nbsp;cameras will be positioned around the arena, including more than 30 in robotic form in the tunnel, practice court and locker room.</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;">70 &ndash;&nbsp;This is the&nbsp;70th&nbsp;edition of the NBA All-Star Game, which was first played in 1951.</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;">385 &ndash;&nbsp;James is the leading scorer in NBA All-Star Game history with&nbsp;385&nbsp;points.</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;">7,424,951 &ndash;&nbsp;NBA All-Star Voting 2021 presented by AT&amp;T set a single-day record with&nbsp;7,424,951&nbsp;fan votes cast on Jan. 28.</li>
</ul>
AT&amp;T Slam Dunk Contest
<ul>
<li style="font-weight: 400;">1 &ndash;&nbsp;In the final round, the two competitors who advance that far will perform&nbsp;one&nbsp;dunk each and the winner will be determined by &ldquo;Judges&rsquo; Choice&rdquo; instead of individual score.&nbsp;</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;">2 &ndash;&nbsp;Two&nbsp;Slam Dunk participants, the Portland Trail Blazers&rsquo; Anfernee Simons and the Pacers&rsquo; Cassius Stanley, have NBA G League experience.</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;">3 &ndash;&nbsp;Nate Robinson is the only player to win Slam Dunk&nbsp;three&nbsp;times (2006, 2009, 2010).&nbsp;</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;">7 &ndash;&nbsp;This year&rsquo;s five Slam Dunk judges (Dee Brown, Jason Richardson, Josh Smith, Spud Webb and Dominique Wilkins) won a combined&nbsp;seven&nbsp;Slam Dunk titles.</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;">44 &ndash;&nbsp;Stanley recorded a maximum vertical leap of&nbsp;44&nbsp;inches in the 2020 NBA Draft Combine, tied for the third-highest mark since 2000.</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;">107 &ndash;&nbsp;Slam Dunk competitor Obi Toppin of the New York Knicks led Division I college basketball in dunks last season with&nbsp;107.</li>
</ul>
MTN DEW&nbsp;3-Point Contest
<ul>
<li style="font-weight: 400;">3 &ndash;&nbsp;The 3-Point Contest will feature two shots in the deep &ldquo;MTN DEW Zone&rdquo; that are worth&nbsp;three&nbsp;points each.</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;">6 &ndash;&nbsp;The&nbsp;six-player field&nbsp;will be composed entirely of 2021 NBA All-Stars &ndash; Devin Booker of the Suns, Stephen Curry of the Golden State Warriors, Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum of the Boston Celtics, Zach LaVine of the Chicago Bulls and Donovan Mitchell of the Jazz &ndash; making it the first 3-Point Contest in which each participant is a current All-Star.</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;">7 &ndash;&nbsp;Curry, the 2015 champion, will compete for the&nbsp;seventh&nbsp;time, tying Dale Ellis for the second-most appearances behind Craig Hodges (eight).</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;">2,664 &ndash;&nbsp;Curry has made&nbsp;2,664&nbsp;career 3-pointers, second most in NBA history behind Ray Allen (2,973).</li>
</ul>
Taco Bell&nbsp;Skills Challenge
<ul>
<li style="font-weight: 400;">2 &ndash;&nbsp;Steve Nash and Dwyane Wade are the only&nbsp;two-time winner of the&nbsp;Skills Challenge.</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;">5 &ndash;&nbsp;Chris Paul is making his record&nbsp;fifth&nbsp;appearance in the&nbsp;Skills Challenge and his first since 2011.</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;">22 &ndash;&nbsp;Dončić, who turned&nbsp;22&nbsp;on Feb. 28, is the first player in Mavericks history to be voted as an NBA All-Star Game starter in two consecutive years.</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;">2013 &ndash;&nbsp;Robert Covington, who entered the NBA in&nbsp;2013,&nbsp;attended Tennessee State, an HBCU in Nashville, Tenn.</li>
</ul>
NBA All-Star in Atlanta
<ul>
<li style="font-weight: 400;">3&nbsp;&ndash;&nbsp;This is the&nbsp;third&nbsp;NBA All-Star in Atlanta, which previously hosted in 1978 and 2003.</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;">27 &ndash;&nbsp;The Buffalo Braves&rsquo; Randy Smith scored&nbsp;27&nbsp;points to lead the Eastern Conference past the Western Conference 133-125 in the 1978 NBA All-Star Game, the first time that Atlanta hosted.</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;">300 &ndash;&nbsp;The teams combined for&nbsp;300&nbsp;points in the 2003 NBA All-Star Game in Atlanta, where the Western Conference defeated the Eastern Conference 155-145 in the only double-overtime game in All-Star history.&nbsp; Kevin Garnett scored a game-high 37 points and Michael Jordan had 20 points in his final NBA All-Star Game.</li>
</ul>
NBA All-Star Entertainment
<ul>
<li style="font-weight: 400;">12&nbsp;&ndash;&nbsp;All-Star entertainers have earned a&nbsp;combined&nbsp;12&nbsp;GRAMMY Awards during their careers.</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;">7 &ndash;&nbsp;Gladys Knight, a&nbsp;seven-time GRAMMY Award winner, will sing the U.S. national anthem at NBA All-Star 2021.</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;">3 &ndash;&nbsp;Three-time GRAMMY Award winner and Florida A&amp;M University alum Common will introduce the Clark Atlanta University Philharmonic Society Choir, which will perform an original rendition of &ldquo;Lift Every Voice and Sing.&rdquo;</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;">1 &ndash; GRAMMY Award winner and singer-songwriter Alessia Cara will sing the Canadian national anthem.</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;">1 &ndash; GRAMMY Award winner Anthony Hamilton will perform his song &ldquo;Fine Again&rdquo; in recognition of frontline workers.</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;">100&nbsp;&ndash;&nbsp;The nationally-recognized Grambling State University Tiger Marching Band and Florida A&amp;M University Marching&nbsp;100&nbsp;will play during NBA All-Star player introductions from their respective historic campuses.</li>
</ul>
NBA All-Star Around the World
<ul>
<li style="font-weight: 400;">1 &ndash;&nbsp;For the&nbsp;first&nbsp;time ever in Canada, TSN, Sportsnet and RDS will televise all the All-Star events.</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;">2 &ndash; Two&nbsp;international players have been named All-Star Game MVP: Tim Duncan (U.S. Virgin Islands; 2000) and Kyrie Irving (Australia; 2014).</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;">4 &ndash;&nbsp;Joel Embiid (Philadelphia 76ers; Cameroon) is one of&nbsp;four&nbsp;players born in Africa to be at least a four-time All-Star, along with Dikembe Mutombo (Democratic Republic of the Congo), Steve Nash (South Africa) and Hakeem Olajuwon (Nigeria).</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;">6 &ndash;&nbsp;A record&nbsp;six&nbsp;European players were named All-Stars this season: Antetokounmpo (Greece), Luka Dončić (Dallas Mavericks; Slovenia), Rudy&nbsp;Gobert&nbsp;(Utah Jazz; France),&nbsp;Nikola Jokić (Denver Nuggets; Serbia), Domantas Sabonis (Indiana Pacers; Lithuania) and Nikola&nbsp;Vučević&nbsp;(Orlando Magic; Montenegro).</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;">9/5 &ndash;&nbsp;There are a record&nbsp;nine&nbsp;international All-Stars, including a record&nbsp;five&nbsp;international players voted All-Star Game starters.&nbsp; The nine international All-Stars are Antetokounmpo, Dončić, Embiid, Gobert, Irving, Jokić, Sabonis, Ben Simmons (76ers; Australia) and Vučević.</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;">14 &ndash;&nbsp;Fourteen&nbsp;active international players have been named All-Stars during their careers.</li>
</ul>
NBA All-Star on TNT
<ul>
<li style="font-weight: 400;">7 &ndash;&nbsp;TNT&rsquo;s announcing team of Marv Albert, Reggie Miller and Chris Webber will call its&nbsp;seventh&nbsp;straight NBA All-Star Game together.</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;">8&nbsp;&ndash;&nbsp;Analysts&nbsp;Shaquille O&rsquo;Neal (3), Isiah Thomas (2), Charles&nbsp;Barkley (1), Dwyane Wade (1) and Candace Parker (1) have won a combined&nbsp;eight&nbsp;All-Star MVP awards in the NBA and WNBA.</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;">19 &ndash;&nbsp;TNT will present the NBA All-Star Game for the&nbsp;19th straight year.</li>
</ul>
NBA All-Star on ESPN Radio
<ul>
<li style="font-weight: 400;">25 &ndash;&nbsp;ESPN Radio will broadcast its&nbsp;25th&nbsp;NBA All-Star Game.&nbsp; Commentator Marc Kestecher and analyst Jon Barry will call the game action, with Kevin Winter and analyst P.J. Carlesimo anchoring pregame, halftime and postgame studio coverage.&nbsp; ESPN Radio host and Los Angeles Sparks star Chiney Ogwumike will join the broadcast at halftime as a special guest analyst for AT&amp;T Slam Dunk.</li>
</ul>
Support for HBCUs and COVID-19 Equity Efforts
<ul>
<li style="font-weight: 400;">9&nbsp;&ndash;&nbsp;Throughout the game, members of the Divine&nbsp;Nine&nbsp;fraternities and sororities, a prestigious group of nine historically Black Greek letter organizations, will introduce step teams from Spelman College and Morehouse College.</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;">37/47 &ndash;&nbsp;As part of this year&rsquo;s&nbsp;<a href="https://pr.nba.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/46/2021/03/2021-NBA-All-Star-Game-Format-3-4-21.pdf" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://pr.nba.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/46/2021/03/2021-NBA-All-Star-Game-Format-3-4-21.pdf&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1615047366969000&amp;usg=AFQjCNHdCojJOVRRBY1zllGkbqgXgB87Sg">game format</a>, the two All-Star teams will play for either UNCF (consisting of&nbsp;37&nbsp;member colleges) or Thurgood Marshall College Fund (composed of&nbsp;47&nbsp;publicly-supported HBCUs) as their respective beneficiary, with both providing scholarship funding to further HBCU students&rsquo; higher education.</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;">3,400 &ndash;&nbsp;The Goodr NBA All-Star Grocery Pop-Up presented by Kaiser Permanente will benefit nearly&nbsp;3,400&nbsp;families in need across 16 locations in Metro Atlanta by providing them with free groceries and household essentials.</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;">3 Million &ndash;&nbsp;As part of NBA All-Star 2021, the NBA and National Basketball Players Association will commit more than&nbsp;$3 million&nbsp;in initial funds and resources toward HBCUs and support awareness around equity and access to COVID-19 care, relief and vaccines.</li>
</ul>

Here are some interesting facts and figures about the 2021 NBA All-Star Weekend.

2021 NBA All-Star Weekend: By the numbers

The NBA is ultimately a pass-fail league. The postseason finishes with a champion, and everyone else fails.
OK, that&rsquo;s a little harsh. Failure is relative, and there are some teams that entered this season with their expectations managed. The Oklahoma City Thunder, for example, are passing the rebuilding test as they figure out what players such as Darius Bazley can do when given a chance. The 20-year-old went for 21 points and 16 rebounds last night against the Lakers, playing against a guy, LeBron James, that Bazley used to watch when he was still in diapers.
But you get the point. The regular season is a journey to the postseason for 20 teams this year instead of 16, and a journey to the lottery for the other 10. Today, we will give out team-by-team trimester grades for the 15 Eastern Conference teams, and we&rsquo;ll circle back tomorrow with the West teams. After the next third of the season is complete, we shall do this again.
So, without further ado&hellip;
PHILADELPHIA 76ers (17-7) &ndash; Doc Rivers has them atop the Eastern Conference and has Joel Embiid at the center of the MVP discussion, and Embiid is taking to social media to scold those who cannot quite comprehend how Ben Simmons is contributing to victories on nights when his box-score line leaves something to be desired. When Embiid has played, the Sixers are 14-4, and he clearly spent a bunch of his pandemic isolation time working on his conditioning. Philly has the NBA&rsquo;s best fourth-quarter offense, outscoring opponents by 112.4 points per 100 possessions. Shake Milton is contributing along with imports Danny Green and Seth Curry, and the Sixers have the league&rsquo;s best home record (11-2).
GRADE A-
MILWAUKEE BUCKS (16-8) &ndash; Let&rsquo;s face it, they spoiled us last season. After 24 games a year ago, they were 21-3. What&rsquo;s important to note with this year&rsquo;s team is that there was going to be a learning curve with Jrue Holiday taking over from Eric Bledsoe at the point, because chemistry takes time to build. Khris Middleton continues to do what Khris Middleton always does. Bobby Portis has been a very good free-agent addition (11 points, 7.4 rebounds), as noted in <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-bobby-portis-spark-plug-off-bench-milwaukee-bucks-mike-budenholzer-donte-divincenzo-khris-middleton-dj-augustin">this recent profile by colleague Spencer Davies</a>, and Donte DiVincenzo is doing a bit of everything as a full-time starter, shooting above 40 percent from three-point range.
GRADE: B+
BROOKLYN NETS (14-11) &ndash; Well, they have certainly been intriguing. The James Harden trade may have provided us with the most signature moment of the season, and Kyrie Irving has kept things interesting while being polarizing. The Kevin Durant situation last Friday gave everyone a better idea of how hard the NBA is working to contain the spread of the coronavirus, and although the league&rsquo;s methods can sometimes be maddening and isolating, we are not seeing the number of infections that we were seeing a month ago. A backup big man remains a need, and we shall see beginning tonight if Noah Vonleh is the answer. They are all-in on offense, but we all know that defense wins championships, so Sean Marks&rsquo; roster remains a work in progress.
GRADE: B
BOSTON CELTICS (12-10) &ndash; Danny Ainge has been quiet&hellip; too quiet. And the Celtics have been too mediocre. Part of that is caused by Kemba Walker being unavailable for 13 of the 22 games, and Marcus Smart&rsquo;s injury hurts more than some may realize. In a league where elite on-the-ball defenders are hard to come by, Smart is one of the best in the business. He will be back by the end of the month, and his absence is providing everyone with a longer look at rookie Payton Pritchard. Jayson Tatum remains a stud player, but one has to wonder whether big men Tristan Thompson and Daniel Theis are championship material. Let&rsquo;s not forget that Andre Drummond is on an expiring contract in Cleveland, and Boston might be a perfect fit. Stay tuned.
GRADE: B-
INDIANA PACERS (12-12) &ndash; The acquisition of Caris LeVert did not exactly go as expected, but the Pacers saved the kid&rsquo;s life. He is expected back on the court in March. Myles Turner&rsquo;s broken hand was a setback, but Domantas Sabonis is having his best season statistically and is a lock to be an All-Star, and the Malcolm Brogdon-T.J. McConnell point guard duo may be the East&rsquo;s best. (Both are among the league&rsquo;s Top 15 in assist-to-turnover ratio). There is no official timetable on T.J. Warren&rsquo;s return from surgery for a stress fracture in his left foot. New coach Nate Bjorkgren has had to mix and match lineups, but if all goes well health-wise, he could have his full roster playing together over the final third of the season.
GRADE: C
<img src="https://basketballnews-media.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/images/story/body/lamelo_2_lg.jpg" alt="" width="798" height="AUTO" />
CHARLOTTE HORNETS (12-13): LaMelo Ball is starting to run away with the Rookie of the Year award, and Michael Jordan&rsquo;s team has quietly won five of seven, a stretch that began with victories over the Pacers, Bucks and Heat. These guys have spent exactly two days over .500, but they seem like a sort of sneaky good team when at full strength (Devonte&rsquo; Graham is currently out, and Cody Zeller has missed half of their games.) Sixth place in the conference is not a bad place to be, and let&rsquo;s see what a full season of Gordon Hayward acclimating to his teammates leads to. Lest we forget, it&rsquo;s still somewhat early in the season.
GRADE: C+
ATLANTA HAWKS: (11-12): Trae Young is an All-Star and Clint Capela is leading the league in rebounding, and you can&rsquo;t help but wonder what that record might look like if Bogdan Bogdanovic had not fractured his knee. They have seven guys averaging double figures in points, and come playoff time, Danilo Gallinari and Rajon Rondo will provide them with what they&rsquo;ve been missing in seasons past. They are the East&rsquo;s biggest sleeper team.
GRADE: C+
TORONTO RAPTORS (11-13): Nick Nurse&rsquo;s ejection last night gave him the league-lead among coaches in technical fouls, and Kyle Lowry leads the league in flagrant fouls. So, that&rsquo;s really not a bunch of great stuff to write home about from Tampa. Fred VanVleet and Pascal Siakam have had their moments, as has Chris Boucher, and they are working their way back from a 2-8 start with wins in four of their past five games. They get a lot of sympathy points here for playing an entire season on the road, for all intents and purposes. But sympathy points mean nothing in the standings.
GRADE: C-
NEW YORK KNICKS (11-14): Tonight, we get to see whether Derrick Rose reuniting with Tom Thibodeau is the secret sauce, and the roster is a work in progress as we discussed yesterday in exploring <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-jj-redick-trade-rumors-david-griffin-new-orleans-pelicans-frank-ntilikina-ignas-brazdeikis-new-york-knicks-tom-thibodeau-derrick-rose-ny-playoffs">the possibility of a J.J. Redick acquisition</a>. After 25 games a season ago, they were 5-20 and beginning the Mike Miller era, back when Leon Rose was still an agent and Thibs was wondering where his next paycheck would come from. This particular rebuild should allow for a playoff spot that ends a seven-year drought, and progress at MSG will take years, not months. Their cap flexibility going forward is huge.
GRADE: B-
CLEVELAND CAVALIERS (10-15): Getting Jarrett Allen from the Nets gives them a third young player to build around, joining Darius Garland and Collin Sexton (AKA the NBA&rsquo;s speediest backcourt). Can they get anything out of Kevin Love, either on the court or in the trade market? That is a major question. They have (what one would think is) a solid trade asset in Andre Drummond, although we were saying that about the Pistons a year ago when they had Drummond and they got very little back for him. It&rsquo;s too harsh to say they are two years away from being two years away, but you get the picture.
GRADE: C
CHICAGO BULLS (9-14): On the bright side, they have the same record as Miami. If you predicted that particular fact in the preseason, please provide MegaMillions advice. Not having Lauri Markkanen, Otto Porter and Wendell Carter has crippled them, but Thaddeus Young has stepped up (trade asset at deadline?). Coby White and Patrick Williams are getting trial by fire, and Billy Donovan is figuring out which of the young fellas are keepers moving forward. One would think Tomas Satoransky has some trade value.
GRADE: D+
MIAMI HEAT (9-14): The NBA&rsquo;s biggest mystery team. What the heck happened to the guys who went to the NBA Finals last season? Duncan Robinson and Precious Achiuwa are the only players who have appeared in all 23 games, so you cannot really say that this has been a collective failure. But the &ldquo;next man up&rdquo; thing has not produced anyone who is manning up in a major way, and no matter how miserable you may feel on any given day, Pat Riley has you beat. 
GRADE: D-
ORLANDO MAGIC (9-15): Losing Markelle Fultz two weeks into the season was a kick in the head after they started 6-2, but Fultz then joined Jonathan Isaac on the out-for-the-season list. Over the past two weeks, they have been getting routinely trounced, and their point differential of -7.2 is the East&rsquo;s worst and the second-worst in the entire NBA thanks to the Timberwolves. Nikola Vucevic may still get an All-Star spot, but that is not as much of a lock as it seemed back in mid-January. This was a playoff team last season.
GRADE: D
WASHINGTON WIZARDS (6-15): Russell Westbrook sat out last night&rsquo;s back-to-back, which is frustrating. Basketball players get paid to play basketball, and once upon a time there was a commissioner, David Stern, who insisted that basketball players play basketball. At least these guys have Bradley Beal to make them watchable.
GRADE: D-
DETROIT PISTONS (5-18). The crazy thing is that they beat the Lakers once and almost beat them twice, losing last weekend in a double-overtime game in which the Pistons climbed back from a 17-point deficit. They also defeated the Sixers for one of their five victories, so go figure. It should not go unnoted that rookie Deividas Sirvydis has a PER of -26.69, which Hollinger himself cannot explain.
GRADE: D-

A third of the way into the 2020-21 NBA season, Chris Sheridan breaks down the state of each East team and grades their start.