Roadrunners

The NBA announced that 242 players have filed as early-entry candidates for the 2023 NBA Draft. Here is the complete list.

NBA announces 242 early-entry candidates for 2023 NBA Draft

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) &mdash; Tyler Kolek had 21 points and 10 assists, and No. 6 Marquette clinched its first outright Big East championship by beating Butler 72-56 on Tuesday night.
The victory was the fifth in a row and 10th in 11 games for the surprising Golden Eagles (24-6, 16-3), picked ninth by the league&rsquo;s coaches in the preseason poll.
Marquette, which had already secured a share of its first Big East title since 2013, had not won an outright regular-season crown since doing so in Conference USA in 2003.
Olivier-Maxence Prosper added 14 points and Oso Ighodaro had 12 for the Golden Eagles, who will be the top seed in the Big East Tournament at Madison Square Garden &mdash; an event Marquette has never won.
Jayden Taylor scored 13 and Jalen Thomas had 10 for Butler (14-16, 6-13), which finished 4-6 in Big East home games.
NO. 3 KANSAS 67, TEXAS TECH 63
LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) &mdash; Jalen Wilson scored 21 points in his Allen Fieldhouse farewell, fellow senior Kevin McCullar Jr. added 14 points and nine rebounds, and Kansas clinched a share of the Big 12 regular-season championship.
Dajuan Harris had 16 points for the Jayhawks (25-5, 13-4), who would capture the outright crown if ninth-ranked Texas loses to No. 22 TCU on Wednesday night. Otherwise, the Jayhawks &mdash; now with an NCAA-leading 64 conference championships &mdash; would need to beat the Longhorns in a head-to-head showdown Saturday in Austin.
De&rsquo;Vion Harmon had 15 points to lead Texas Tech (16-14, 5-12), which was just 3 of 16 from the 3-point line. Kevin Obanor added 14 points, Fardaws Aimaq had 13 points and 18 rebounds, and Pop Isaacs finished with 11 points.
NO. 12 TENNESSEE 75, ARKANSAS 57
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) &mdash; Olivier Nkamhoua scored 16 points and Tennessee earned its second consecutive win.
Despite the victory, the Volunteers (22-8, 11-6 Southeastern Conference) may have sustained a significant loss. Three minutes into the game, sophomore point guard Zakai Zeigler, who brings energy on offense and defense, went down with an injury to his left knee. The extent of the injury wasn&rsquo;t immediately known, but he did not return.
Santiago Vescovi, who took over the role of point guard for Zeigler, added 14 points and Josiah-Jordan James scored 11.
Anthony Black and Davonte Davis each scored 13 for the Razorbacks (19-11, 8-9). Nick Smith Jr. scored 14 and Ricky Council 11.
NO. 13 VIRGINIA 64, CLEMSON 57
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (AP) &mdash; Jayden Gardner had 12 points and nine rebounds, Armaan Franklin and Isaac McKneely each scored 12, and Virginia stopped a two-game skid.
The Cavaliers (22-6, 14-5 Atlantic Coast Conference) moved into a tie for second place in the league with No. 16 Miami with one game remaining.
PJ Hall led the Tigers (21-9, 13-6) with 19 points and Hunter Tyson had 17. Clemson got within 59-55 with 33 seconds left, but Virginia made five free throws and had a steal, sending the Tigers to their fifth loss in eight games.
IOWA 90, NO. 15 INDIANA 68
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. (AP) &mdash; Kris Murray scored 26 points, Tony Perkins flirted with the first triple-double in Iowa history and the Hawkeyes defeated Indiana.
Perkins had 23 points, 10 rebounds and a career-high eight assists for Iowa (19-11, 11-8 Big Ten).
Trayce Jackson-Davis led the Hoosiers (20-10, 11-8) with 26 points and 13 rebounds. He became the school&rsquo;s career rebounding leader with 1,096 &mdash; on a night the Hoosiers lost their fourth in a row in the series.
BOISE STATE 66, NO. 18 SAN DIEGO STATE 60
BOISE, Idaho (AP) &mdash; Max Rice scored 26 points and reeled off 12 straight points in a 14-0 run to close out the game and Boise State remained perfect at home in conference play.
The Broncos (23-7, 13-4 Mountain West Conference) avenged a 20-point loss to San Diego State on Feb. 3. It was the Broncos&rsquo; first win over a ranked team this season. Tyson Degenhart scored 14 for Boise State, while Naje Smith added 10.
San Diego State (23-6, 14-3), which had already claimed a share of the conference crown with its buzzer-beating win over New Mexico on Saturday, failed to hold onto a late nine-point lead. Matt Bradley paced San Diego State with 16 points, and Micah Parrish chipped in 11.
NO. 24 TEXAS A&amp;M 69, MISSISSIPPI 61
OXFORD, Miss. (AP) &mdash; Tyrece Radford scored 13 points as Texas A&amp;M erased an early 12-point deficit to beat Mississippi.
Wade Taylor IV added 12 points and seven assists and Julius Marble scored 10 for the Aggies, who went 13 of 16 from the free-throw line in the second half to stave off the Rebels&rsquo; attempt at a late rally.
Texas A&amp;M (22-8, 14-3 Southeastern Conference) trailed 20-8 after seven minutes but took a 29-26 lead on Taylor&rsquo;s 3-pointer with 4:06 left in the first half. The Aggies never trailed again.
Matthew Murrell made 8 of 11 from 3-point range and scored 26 points to lead Ole Miss (11-19, 3-13).

The Golden Eagles had not won an outright regular-season crown since doing so in Conference USA in 2003.

No. 6 Marquette clinches first outright Big East title

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) &mdash; D&rsquo;Andre Gholston hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer to give Missouri a stunning 86-85 victory over No. 6 Tennessee on Saturday night.
With 4.2 seconds left in the game and the Volunteers (19-6, 8-4 Southeastern Conference) leading 85-83, Santiago Vescovi missed a free throw. His second attempt was waived off when Tobe Awaka committed a lane violation, setting up a final chance for the Tigers (19-6, 7-5).
Gholston took the inbounds and dribbled up the court before taking an off-balance contested 3-pointer from about 30 feet that swished through the net at the buzzer for the win. He was mobbed by his teammates after hitting the shot.
Tennessee came back from a 17-point deficit early in the second half and led the last 7:11 of the game.
NO. 3 ALABAMA 77, AUBURN 69
AUBURN, Ala. (AP) &mdash; Rylan Griffen scored 16 points, Mark Sears added 15 and Alabama held off a big challenge from its in-state rival Auburn.
The Crimson Tide (22-3, 12-0 Southeastern Conference) remained the only Power 5 team without a league loss. Sears and Griffen helped Alabama overcome an off shooting performance from star Brandon Miller, who had 13 points but missed all seven 3-point attempts.
Wendell Green Jr. had 16 of his 24 points in the second half for Auburn (17-8, 7-5).
STANFORD 88, NO. 4 ARIZONA 79
STANFORD, Calif. (AP) &mdash; Spencer Jones scored all 18 of his points in the second half for Stanford and played a key role in neutralizing Pac-12 leading scorer Azuolas Tubelis, as the Cardinal stunned Arizona.
Stanford (11-14, 5-9 Pac-12) beat a ranked team for the first time this year and a top-five team for the second time in two seasons. Arizona (22-4, 11-4), hoping to stay a half-game behind UCLA for the conference lead, had a seven-game win snapped.
Courtney Ramey scored a season- and game-high 26 points for Arizona. Tubelis was held to four points and did not have any rebounds.
Stanford&rsquo;s Michael O&rsquo;Connell scored a team-high 22 points, helping the Cardinal outshoot the Wildcats 61% to 46% from the field.
NO. 5 TEXAS 94, WEST VIRGINIA 60
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) &mdash; Sir&rsquo;Jabri Rice scored 24 points in just 17 minutes in Texas&rsquo; win over West Virginia.
Texas (20-5) remained in first place in the Big 12 at 9-3, while West Virginia (15-10, 4-8) lost for the sixth time in its last seven games against the Longhorns.
Rice, a guard who transferred this season from New Mexico State, was nearly perfect. He converted 5 of 6 field-goal attempts, including 4 of 5 3-pointers and all 10 free throws.
Emmitt Matthews led West Virginia with 13 points.
NO. 8 VIRGINIA 69, DUKE 62, OT
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (AP) &mdash; Armaan Franklin scored 23 points, including a 3-pointer with 39 seconds left, to lift Virginia over Duke in overtime.
Kihie Clark added 16 points and Ben Vander Plas 13 for the Cavaliers (19-4, 11-3 Atlantic Coast Conference), who won despite a 9 for 22 performance from the free-throw line.
Duke (17-8, 8-6) seemed poised to win when Kyle Filipowski drove on the final play of regulation and two defenders contested his shot. The officials initially whistled a foul, but waved it off after a lengthy review. Jeremy Roach led the Blue Devils with 16 points.
NO. 9 KANSAS 78, OKLAHOMA 55
NORMAN, Okla. (AP) &mdash; Jalen Wilson scored 18 points, and Kansas rolled past Oklahoma.
Wilson, who entered the day leading the Big 12 with nearly 21 points per game, bounced back from a two-point outing against Texas on Monday.
Dajuan Harris scored 16 points and Kevin McCullar added 13 for the Jayhawks (20-5, 8-4 Big 12).
Jalen Hill scored 14 points and Otega Oweh added 11 for the Oklahoma (12-13, 2-10). Grant Sherfield, who leads the Sooners with nearly 17 points per game, was held to 10 on 4-for-14 shooting.
NO. 10 MARQUETTE 89, GEORGETOWN 75
WASHINGTON (AP) &mdash; Kam Jones, Oso Ighodaro and Tyler Kolek each scored 14 points to lead a balanced scoring attack for Marquette in its win over Georgetown.
Olivier-Maxence Prosper had 11 points and Chase Ross added 10 for Marquette (20-6, 12-3 Big East), which moved into first place in the conference.
Jay Heath scored 18 points to lead last-place Georgetown (6-20, 1-14), which has lost five straight after ending their league record 29-game conference losing streak on Jan. 24.
OKLAHOMA ST 64, NO. 11 IOWA ST 56
AMES, Iowa (AP) &mdash; John-Michael Wright scored 19 points and Oklahoma State rallied past Iowa State.
The loss was the Cyclones&rsquo; fourth in five games.
Bryce Thompson added 12 points for the Cowboys (16-9, 7-5 Big 12) in their fifth straight win.
Aljaz Kunc scored 13 for Iowa State (16-8, 7-5).
TEXAS TECH 71, NO. 12 KANSAS STATE 63
LUBBOCK, Texas (AP) &mdash;De&rsquo;Vion Harmon scored 20 points, including a crucial driving basket in the final minute, as Texas Tech upended Kansas State.
The Red Raiders (13-12, 2-10 Big 12) held the Wildcats to two field goals in the game&rsquo;s final four minutes.
Kansas State (19-6, 7-5) edged as close as one point throughout the second half, but Tech answered with key baskets to maintain the lead. The Wildcats were led by Markquis Nowell&rsquo;s 18 points. Desi Sills added 12 points.
NO. 14 BAYLOR 72, NO. 17 TCU 68
FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) &mdash; Adam Flagler scored 28 points, with 16 in a row for Baylor during the stretch when the Bears overcame a 10-point deficit in the second half and then held on to beat TCU.
LJ Cryer had 23 points for the Bears (19-6, 8-4 Big 12), who on Jan. 4 at home against TCU blew a 17-point lead in an 88-87 loss. They have won nine of their last 10 games.
Damion Baugh had 16 points and 10 assist for TCU (17-8, 6-6).
NO. 15 SAINT MARY&rsquo;S 81, PORTLAND 64
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) &mdash; Logan Johnson had 34 points, six rebounds and six assists as Saint Mary&rsquo;s handled Portland on the road.
Alex Ducas added 18 points and six rebounds for the Gaels (22-5, 11-1 West Coast Conference) and Aidan Mahaney contributed 10 points and five assists.
Kristian Sjolund led the Pilots (13-15, 5-8) with 12 points, and Juan Gorosito and Tyler Robinson each added 10 points.
NO. 18 INDIANA 62, MICHIGAN 61
Trayce Jackson-Davis had 28 points and 11 rebounds, Jalen Hood-Schifino scored 21 points and Indiana held on for a win over Michigan.
Freshman Jett Howard was short on a 3-pointer just before the buzzer, leaving the Wolverines without a point for the final 5:12.
The Hoosiers (18-7, 9-5 Big Ten) trailed by 11 in the first half and for much of the second, but went ahead for good with 2:58 left when Hood-Schifino made two free throws for their last points.
Michigan (14-11, 8-6) fell to 0-4 against teams in the AP Top 25, losing each game by five or fewer points.
Hunter Dickinson scored 16 points, Kobe Bufkin had 14 points and Howard added 12 for the Wolverines.
NO. 19 MIAMI 93, LOUISVILLE 85
CORAL GABLES, Fla. (AP) &mdash; Nijel Pack scored 22 points in Miami&rsquo;s win over Louisville.
Five days following its dominant 22-point home win over Duke, Miami (20-5, 11-4 Atlantic Coast Conference) could not shake off the conference&rsquo;s last-place team until Pack&rsquo;s 3-pointer with 2:44 remaining made it 82-72. Pack shot 8 of 14, including 4 of 9 on 3-pointers.
Isaiah Wong and Norchad Omier finished with 21 points each and Jordan Miller added 10 for the Hurricanes, who are 14-0 at home.
El Ellis scored a career-high 33 points and had five assists while Jae&rsquo;Lyn Withers finished with 18 for the Cardinals (3-22, 1-13).
ST. JOHN&rsquo;S 73, NO. 20 PROVIDENCE 68
NEW YORK (AP) &mdash; David Jones scored 16 points and AJ Storr added 15 for St. John&rsquo;s, which beat Providence.
Joel Soriano had 10 points and 13 rebounds for the Red Storm (15-11, 5-10 Big East).
Bryce Hopkins equaled a career best with 29 points for the Friars (18-7, 10-4).
NO. 22 NORTH CAROLINA STATE 92, BOSTON COLLEGE 62
BOSTON (AP) &mdash; Jarkel Joiner scored 26 points and D.J. Burns Jr. added 18 with 10 rebounds to lead North Carolina State over Boston College.
Terquavion Smith scored 17 points for the Wolfpack (20-6, 10-5 Atlantic Coast Conference), giving him 1,000 points for his career.
Quinten Post scored 20 points for Boston College (12-14, 6-9).
NO. 23 CREIGHTON 56, NO. 21 UCONN 53
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) &mdash; Trey Alexander scored 17 points to lead Creighton past UConn after the Huskies had what would have been a tying 3-pointer erased on video review in the final seconds.
Creighton (17-8, 11-3) is a half-game behind Big East-leading Marquette with its eighth straight win. The Huskies (19-7, 8-7) lost for the first time in four games.
Adama Sanogo had 17 points and 10 rebounds for UConn.
ILLINOIS 69, NO. 24 RUTGERS 60
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (AP) &mdash; Coleman Hawkins scored 18 points and Illinois held Rutgers scoreless for more than 10 minutes in the second half to rally for the win.
Illinois (17-7, 8-5 Big Ten) trailed 47-41 with 14 1/2 minutes left before Hawkins&rsquo; 3-pointer started a 19-0 run. Hawkins hit four consecutive shots &mdash; including a 3 &mdash; and gave the Illini the lead for good at 48-47.
Rutgers (16-9, 8-6) missed 15 straight shots during its drought.
NO. 25 SAN DIEGO STATE 82, UNLV 71
SAN DIEGO (AP) &mdash; Adam Seiko scored all 18 points on 3-pointers and Matt Bradley added 17 points for San Diego, the Mountain West Conference front-runner that beat UNLV for its third straight win and seventh in eight games.
The Aztecs (20-5, 11-2 MWC) buried the Runnin&rsquo; Rebels in a blizzard of 3-pointers and slam dunks, including during a 14-0 run midway through the first half, to sweep the season series and top UNLV the fifth straight time. Keshad Johnson scored 11 of his 14 points in the game&rsquo;s first 6 1/2 minutes and Nathan Mensah had 11 points and 11 rebounds.
Elijah Harkless scored 24 for UNLV (16-9, 5-8) before fouling out with 2:05 to go. Keshon Gilbert added 19 for the Runnin&rsquo; Rebels, who didn&rsquo;t get their first assist until two minutes into the second half.

A recap of Saturday's action in men's college hoops includes numerous upsets in the top-15.

Three-pointer at buzzer lifts Missouri over No. 6 Tennessee

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Best of Basketball News: Spotlighting our top content from 2022

NEW ORLEANS (AP) &mdash; Zion Williamson ducked and smiled as celebrating New Orleans Pelicans teammates poured bottles of water over him. Moments later, Trey Muprhy III pretended to place a crown on Williamson's head &mdash; a fitting gesture after a memorable game which, by the end, had coronation-type energy about it.
Williamson scored a career-high 43 points, capping it with New Orleans' final 14 points in the last 2:44 of the game, and the Pelicans outlasted the Minnesota Timberwolves 119-118 on Wednesday night for their fourth straight victory.
&ldquo;People remember winners,&rdquo; the 22-year-old Williamson said. &ldquo;When you look at some of the greatest of all time, the first thing you go to is championships, what they did in big moments. And that's what I want to be remembered as &mdash; a winner.
&ldquo;I can't just sit here and say I want to win. I've got to show it,&rdquo; added Williamson, who also credited teammate CJ McCollum for urging him on in the final minutes.
&ldquo;CJ looked at me and said, &lsquo;You want to be great, this is the moment to do it.'&rdquo;
Anthony Edwards, who scored 27 for Minnesota, missed a baseline fade for the win as time expired on a game in which the Wolves led most of the way, and by as many as 11 points, before losing their fourth straight.
Minnesota coach Chris Finch lamented his team's defense on Williamson in the second half that was &ldquo;way too soft.&rdquo;
&ldquo;We let him come running at us, and he was able to get a head of steam,&rdquo; Finch said. "When he does that, it&rsquo;s tough.&rdquo;
Williamson's 3-pointer with 2:17 left, assisted by more usual perimeter threat Murphy, cut Minnesota's lead to 112-110. Williamson then pulled out of a spinning dribble in the lane for a short floater that tied it.
&ldquo;We really had diverse play-calling down the stretch," a smiling McCollum deadpanned. &ldquo;Get the ball to Z and get the (expletive) out of the way."
Williamson tied it again at 114 on a driving finger roll. And after Jaden McDaniels' free throws put Minnesota back up with 1:04 left, Williamson hit a contested, off-balance, driving layup to tie it before stepping up to tip a bounce pass away from McDaniels and convert the steal into a go-ahead, breakaway dunk that had a sellout crowd in a frenzy.
&ldquo;That&rsquo;s just who he is; he understands time, score, situations. He understands the moment. And he made big plays after big plays,&rdquo; coach Willie Green said. &ldquo;That&rsquo;s what great players do.&rdquo;
Edwards' dunk tied it at 118 before Williamson hit one of two free throws, which turned out to be enough.
Murphy scored 21, going 5 of 6 from 3, and McCollum scored 20 for the Pelicans. Jonas Valanciunas had 12 points and 11 rebounds.
D'Angelo Russell had 27 points and McDaniels scored 19 for Minnesota.
&ldquo;There were a lot of good things we did in the game," Russell said. &ldquo;We did everything we could and battled. We tried to give ourselves a chance at the end of the game and that&rsquo;s all you can ask for.&rdquo;
The game was marked by physical play and flaring emotions.
There were 52 total fouls called, including a half-dozen technical fouls and one flagrant foul on each team.
&ldquo;An emotional game, a chippy game, but this is good," Green said. "It builds our character. It&rsquo;s great to be on the winning side.&rdquo;
Austin Rivers, who wound up fouling out with nearly 8 minutes left, was assessed a flagrant-1 foul after he caught Larry Nance Jr. hard in the head with a forearm late in the third quarter. Nance went to the locker room and was ruled out for the remainder of the game with neck spasms.
Rivers, a 2012 New Orleans first-round draft choice along with Anthony Davis, also exchanged shoves with Valanciunas. Double technicals were called and an additional technical was called on New Orleans' Naji Marshall for pushing Timberwolves center Rudy Gobert as he stepped between Valanciunas and Rivers.
Minnesota took a 50-39 lead after a 9-0 run ignited by Russell's 3 and fueled by McDaniels' layup and putback in the second quarter.
Back-to-back dunks by Williamson and Murphy helped the Pelicans trim it to 52-49 before Naz Reid's 3 made it 55-49 at halftime.
TIP-INS
Timberwolves: Jaylen Nowell scored 14 points. Reid scored 13, all in the first half. ... Karl-Anthony Towns missed his 14th straight game with his right calf strain. Minnesota is 6-8 without him. ... Shot 50.6% (42 of 83) overall and 10 of 29 from deep. ... Outscored New Orleans in the paint, 58-52, and Wolves reserves outscored the Pelicans' bench 30-11.
Pelicans: Never led by more than 4 points. ... Shot 45.8% (11 of 24) from 3-point range. ... Marshall finished with 12 points. ... Brandon Ingram missed his 15th straight game with a left great toe contusion. New Orleans is 11-4 without him. ... Missed 13 of 43 free throws.
&nbsp;

Zion Williamson scored a career-high 43 points, and the Pelicans outlasted the Minnesota Timberwolves 119-118.

Williamson scores career-high 43, Pelicans top Timberwolves

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) &mdash; Marcus Carr scored 19 points and made two free throws with 10 seconds left as No. 2 Texas held off No. 7 Creighton&rsquo;s furious late-game rally and beat the Bluejays 72-67 on Thursday night.
Texas led by 11 points in the second half, but Creighton got within three points a few times in the final minutes.
Tyrese Hunter scored 15 points for Texas (6-0), which got its second win over a top 10 opponent in its new arena. The Longhorns beat then-No. 2 Gonzaga on Nov. 16.
Ryan Kalkbrenner had 20 points and 13 rebounds for Creighton (6-2), and Ryan Nembhard scored 17 points. The Bluejays were 4 of 27 on 3-pointers, but found a late shooting touch in the final seconds to stay close.
UTAH 81, NO. 4 ARIZONA 66
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) &mdash; Branden Carlson scored 22 points and Utah handed No. 4 Arizona its first loss of the season in the Pac-12 opener for both teams.
Carlson went 5 of 9 from 3-point range. Rollie Worster had 12 points, 11 rebounds and nine assists for the Utes (6-2), and Gabe Madsen and Ben Carlson scored 11 points apiece.
Oumar Ballo led Arizona (6-1) with 22 points and seven rebounds. Azuolas Tubelis added 20 points for the Wildcats, who trailed wire to wire and didn&rsquo;t resemble the high-flying team that won the Maui Invitational.
The Utes forced 11 turnovers in the first half that they converted into 15 points.
NO. 8 UCONN 74, OKLAHOMA STATE 64
STORRS, Conn. (AP) &mdash; Jordan Hawkins scored a career-high 26 points to lead UConn past Oklahoma State in the Big East-Big 12 Battle.
Adama Sanogo added 20 points and Andre Jackson scored 11 for the Huskies (9-0).
It was the smallest margin of victory for UConn so far this season. The Huskies&rsquo; next closest was an 82-67 win over then-No. 18 Alabama last Friday at the Phil Knight Invitational in Portland, Oregon.
Kalib Boone scored 15 points to lead the Cowboys (5-3). Avery Anderson III added 14.
NO. 9 KANSAS 91, SETON HALL 65
LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) &mdash; Kevin McCullar Jr. returned from an injury to score 17 points and grab 10 rebounds, Jalen Wilson added 15 points and 13 boards, and Kansas rolled past Seton Hall in the big East-Big 12 Battle.
KJ Adams had 11 points, DaJuan Harris Jr. had 10 with seven assists and Ernest Udeh Jr. also scored 10 for the Jayhawks (8-1), who now have more than a week off before visiting bitter rival Missouri for the first time in a decade next Saturday.
Kadary Richmond had 17 points but also turned the ball over seven times for the Pirates (4-4), who were 4 of 19 from the 3-point arc in losing their third straight game. Tyrese Samuel added 16 points.
NO. 21 UCLA 80, STANFORD 66
STANFORD, Calif. (AP) &mdash; Jaime Jaquez Jr. scored 27 points to help UCLA open up Pac-12 play with a win over Stanford.
The Bruins (6-2, 1-0 Pac-12) have won three straight after dropping back-to-back games to No. 6 Baylor and No. 16 Illinois in Las Vegas.
Tyger Campbell had 17 points and was two assists shy of a double-double, while Amari Bailey scored a season high-tying 19 points.
The Cardinal (3-5, 0-1) outscored the Bruins 37-30 in the second half, starting with three straight baskets within 90 seconds from Spencer Jones, who set a season high and led the team with 18 points.&nbsp;

A recap of Thursday night men's college hoops includes a close battle between two top-10 teams in Texas and Creighton.

Carr scores 19 as No. 2 Texas outlasts No. 7 Creighton 72-67

NEW ORLEANS (AP) &mdash; Jerami Grant scored 27 points and the Portland Trail Blazers overcame the absence of star guard Damian Lillard to defeat the New Orleans Pelicans 106-95 on Thursday night.
Anfernee Simmons hit five 3s and scored 23 points for Portland, which improved to 6-1 on the road. Former Pelican Josh Hart added 17 points for the Blazers.
The Blazers, who won at Charlotte a night earlier, rested Lillard, who'd recently missed four games with a right calf strain.
But Portland wound up not needing him to improve to 4-1 on its six-game trip and get the best of former Blazers guard CJ McCollum.
Zion Williamson scored 29 points and Trey Murphy III added 16 for New Orleans. Brandon Ingram scored 14 but fouled out with 3:32 to go. McCollum finished with 13 points but missed 11 of 17 shots and went 1 of 7 from 3-point range.
New Orleans, normally among the NBA's highest-scoring teams in the paint, shot just 41.8% (33 of 79) and was outscored inside, 46-36.
The Blazers looked a step quicker, rebounding 11 of their own misses and scoring 18 second-chance points.
Portland also converted 17 Pelicans turnovers into 21 points while committing only nine turnovers themselves.
Portland took its first double-digit lead with an 11-2, fourth-quarter run that included a 3 by Justise Winslow and a 15-foot jumper by Grant. Little added a dunk and a layup as he was fouled after a Portland offensive rebound. His free throw made it 89-79. New Orleans struggled to close the gap after that.
TIP-INS
Trail Blazers: Jusuf Nurkic was in uniform but was kept on the bench, missing his second straight game with right adductor soreness. ... Shaedon Sharpe, who scored 17 points in a reserve role a night earlier in Charlotte, was held out with a sprained finger on his right hand.
Pelicans: Larry Nance Jr. returned from a left knee hyperextension. He played 23 minutes and had six rebounds but missed both of his shots and did not score ... Pelicans had scored at least 100 points in their previous 36 games dating back to last season. ... Williamson was limited to just 12 minutes on the court in the first half, when he scored 12 of his points but also committed three fouls. ... Herb Jones scored 10 points. ... New Orleans fell to 2-2 at home.
UNHAPPY LILLARD
Portland coach Chauncey Billups said he understood why Lillard wasn't pleased about being scratched from the lineup, but that players, coaches and team doctors all &ldquo;have to trust each other,&rdquo; adding that the club's medical team knows &ldquo;a lot more about this than I do, than Dame does.&rdquo;
Although Lillard told Billups he &ldquo;felt great,&rdquo; the Blazers' medical staff decided it wasn't wise for Lillard, who scored 26 points in the win over the Hornets, to play a third game in four nights after he'd recently missed four games with a right calf strain. Lillard wanted to play for the first time against McCollum, who was his teammate in Portland for eight years before being traded to New Orleans last February.
&ldquo;It's just a medical decision &mdash; coming back from a soft tissue injury is always tough,&rdquo; Billups said after Lillard had been ruled out. &ldquo;He's a little down about it, but it is what it is. We've got to keep our guys safe.&rdquo;
UP NEXT
Trail Blazers: At Dallas on Saturday.
Pelicans: Host Houston on Saturday.

Jerami Grant scored 27 points and the Trail Blazers overcame the absence of star guard Damian Lillard.

Grant, Blazers win again on the road, 106-95 over Pelicans

DURHAM, N.C. (AP) &mdash; Jeremy Roach scored 16 first-half points to help seventh-ranked Duke open Jon Scheyer&rsquo;s coaching tenure with a 71-44 win over Jacksonville on Monday night.
Freshman Mark Mitchell had a team-high 18 points for the Blue Devils, who used a 25-4 run spanning halftime to blow the game open.
It was a quality start to a season of massive change for the Blue Devils, starting with Scheyer taking over for retired Hall of Famer Mike Krzyzewski. Duke has 11 new players, including the nation&rsquo;s No. 1-ranked recruiting class and two power-conference transfers. The Blue Devils didn&rsquo;t have top freshmen Dereck Lively II and Dariq Whitehead for this one as they recover from preseason injuries.
Mike Marsh scored 15 points to lead the Dolphins, who shot 34% and missed 18 of 19 3-pointers before making two meaningless 3s late.
NO. 1 NORTH CAROLINA 69, UNC WILMINGTON 56
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (AP) &mdash; Caleb Love and RJ Davis scored 17 points apiece and North Carolina began a season of grand expectations by pulling away from UNC Wilmington.
Armando Bacot added 16 points and nine rebounds for the Tar Heels, who were perhaps most impressive at the defensive end. UNCW shot 29.8% from the field.
The Tar Heels, who were the NCAA Tournament runner-up in April, began the new season with the top ranking for the first time in seven years. It&rsquo;s a record 10th time that North Carolina has been ranked No. 1 to start a season &mdash; one more than rival Duke.
Trazarien White scored 19 points for UNCW, which faced a top-ranked team for the first time in program history.
NO. 2 GONZAGA 104, NORTH FLORIDA 63
SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) &mdash; Drew Timme scored 22 points, Julian Strawther added 16 and No. 2 Gonzaga used a big first-half run to beat North Florida in both teams&rsquo; opener.
Anton Watson had 10 points, four rebounds, four assists and five steals for Gonzaga, which won its 68th consecutive home game, the nation&rsquo;s longest such streak.
Carter Hendricksen scored 16 points, Jadyn Parker 13 and Jose Placer 12 for North Florida, a veteran-laden team from the Atlantic Sun Conference that returned its top four scorers from last season.
NO. 3 HOUSTON 83, NORTHERN COLORADO 36
HOUSTON (AP) &mdash; Marcus Sasser scored 21 points, J&rsquo;Wan Roberts added 12 points and six rebounds, and Houston opened the season by beating Northern Colorado.
Sasser, a preseason All-American, scored 11 points in the first half. He finished 7 of 14 from the field and made 4 of 8 3-pointers. The senior guard missed the second half of last season and all of Houston&rsquo;s run to the Elite Eight with a toe injury.
Houston coach Kelvin Sampson won his 700th career game and 200th with the Cougars.
Matt Johnson II, Riley Abercrombie and Caleb Shaw each scored eight points for the Bears.
NO. 4 KENTUCKY 95, HOWARD 63
LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) &mdash; Antonio Reeves scored 22 points, CJ Fredrick had 20 and Kentucky beat Howard with All-American Oscar Tshiebwe and two other players sidelined.
Tshiebwe had a procedure last month on his right knee. Point guard Sahvir Wheeler (right leg) and sophomore forward Daimion Collins (personal reasons) were also out, but the Wildcats still shot 55% against the overmatched Bison.
Jacob Toppin and freshman Cason Wallace each added 15 points for Kentucky.
Kobe Dickson scored 17 points and Elijah Hawkins had 14 for Howard, which shot 34%.
NO. 5 KANSAS 89, OMAHA 64
LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) &mdash; Jalen Wilson had 19 points and 11 rebounds, Gradey Dick added 23 points in his debut, and Kansas began defense of its national championship without suspended coach Bill Self by routing Omaha.
Bobby Pettiford Jr. added 13 points, Dajuan Harris had 11 points and eight assists, and Texas Tech transfer Kevin McCullar Jr. scored 10 for the Jayhawks, who broke open a close game in the second half with two big runs.
Self served the first of a four-game punishment along with assistant Kurtis Townsend as part of the fallout from a 2017 federal investigation into college basketball corruption.
Jaeden Marshall scored 13 points and Luke Jungers had 12 for the Mavericks.
NO. 5 BAYLOR 117, MISSISSIPPI VALLEY STATE 53
WACO, Texas (AP) &mdash; Adam Flagler scored 21 points to lead six players in double figures as Baylor won the opener of its 20th season with coach Scott Drew.
Flagler, a preseason All-Big 12 pick who also was the Bears&rsquo; leading scorer last season, also had eight assists and one of his four 3-pointers started a 24-0 run midway through the first half.
LJ Cryer had 16 points and Dale Bonner, another returning guard, had 14.
Alvin Stredic scored 14 points and Terry Collins 10 for Mississippi Valley State in its first game for new coach George Ivory.
NO. 9 CREIGHTON 72, ST. THOMAS 60
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) &mdash; Baylor Scheierman made back-to-back 3-pointers midway through the second half to give Creighton the lead for good.
Arthur Kaluma scored 17 points, Trey Alexander had 12 and Scheierman added 11 as the Bluejays won their 25th opener in 26 years.
St. Thomas, a Summit League member beginning its second season in Division I, gave the Bluejays all they could handle until the last few minutes. Andrew Rohde had 15 points to lead the Tommies.
NO. 10 ARKANSAS 76, NORTH DAKOTA STATE 58
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (AP) &mdash; Trevon Brazile had 21 points and 12 rebounds in his debut as Arkansas won its season opener.
Brazile, a sophomore transfer from Missouri, scored six straight points during an 11-0 run early in the second half that gave Arkansas a 16-point lead with 15 minutes left.
Wichita State transfer Ricky Council led the Razorbacks with 22 points on 9-for-14 shooting.
Grant Nelson and Boden Skunberg had 17 points apiece to lead North Dakota State.
NO. 11 TENNESSEE 75, TENNESSEE TECH 43
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) &mdash; Tyreke Key came off the bench to score 17 points and Tennessee beat Tennessee Tech in both teams&rsquo; opener.
Key, an Indiana State transfer, connected on 4 of 8 3-pointers to ignite a sluggish Volunteer offense. Zakai Zeigler scored all but two of his 12 points in the second half.
Brett Thompson led the Golden Eagles with 15 points.
NO. 12 TEXAS 72, UTEP 57
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) &mdash; Tyrese Hunter scored 18 points to lead Texas past UTEP in the debut of its new arena.
Hunter, a transfer from Iowa State, was 6-of-8 shooting and added five rebounds. Ze&rsquo;Ri Onyema led UTEP with 10 points.
Texas this season moved to the $375 million Moody Center on the edge of campus, leaving behind the old Frank Erwin Center after 45 years.
NO. 13 INDIANA 88, MOREHEAD STATE 53
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. (AP) &mdash; Preseason All-American Trayce Jackson-Davis and freshman Malik Reneau each scored 15 points, helping Indiana beat Morehead State in the season opener for both teams.
The Hoosiers have won all six matchups in the series and are 26-0 all-time against Ohio Valley Conference foes.
Mark Freeman led the Eagles with 14 points, and Drew Thelwell had 11 for the OVC favorites.
NO. 14 TCU 73, ARKANSAS-PINE BLUFF 72
WACO, Texas (AP) &mdash; Mike Miles hit a 3-pointer with 51 seconds remaining to finally put TCU ahead to stay against Arkansas-Pine Bluff, which built an early 20-point lead in the season opener for both teams.
Miles, the preseason Big 12 player of the year, hit from deep beyond the top of the key for a 71-68 lead.
Emanuel Miller had 15 of his 19 points in the second half, and Miles finished with 15 points for the Horned Frogs. They returned all five starters and five other scholarship players after winning their first NCAA Tournament game since 1987.
Shaun Doss had 25 points with four of Arkansas-Pine Bluff&rsquo;s 13 3-pointers.
NO. 15 AUBURN 70, GEORGE MASON 52
AUBURN, Ala. (AP) &mdash; Wendell Green Jr. scored 16 points while K.D. Johnson and Johni Broome each had 12 to lead Auburn to a season-opening win over George Mason.
The Tigers weren&rsquo;t really challenged much in their first game since losing NBA first-round draft picks Jabari Smith and Walker Kessler.
Ronald Polite III led George Mason with 10 points, and Victor Bailey Jr. had nine.
NO. 16 VILLANOVA 81, LA SALLE 68
VILLANOVA, Pa. (AP) &mdash; Caleb Daniels scored 24 points to make coach Kyle Neptune a winner in his Villanova debut.
Neptune replaced Hall of Famer Jay Wright, who retired in the offseason. The Wildcats returned three starters (a fourth, Justin Moore, was injured) from the team that lost a national semifinal game to Kansas. Eric Dixon added 20 points for Villanova.
Daniels made his first five 3-pointers and the Wildcats used an early 10-0 run to put away their city rival and spoiled 74-year-old coach Fran Dunphy&rsquo;s return to the bench.
Josh Nickelberry scored 22 points to lead the Explorers.
NO. 17 ARIZONA 117, NICHOLLS STATE 75
TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) &mdash; Azuolas Tubelis scored 23 points and Arizona went on a massive opening run to begin its second season under coach Tommy Lloyd with a rout.
Ballo scored 18 points, helping Arizona set a school record with 71.7% shooting from the floor against the reigning Southland Conference regular-season champions. The Wildcats opened the game with a 30-4 run.
Micah Thomas led Nicholls State with 20 points.
NO. 18 VIRGINIA 73, NORTH CAROLINA CENTRAL 61
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (AP) &mdash; Kihei Clark and Reece Beekman sparked a 15-2 second-half run, and Virginia beat North Carolina Central after blowing a 16-point first-half lead.
Armaan Franklin led Virginia with 21 points in the season opener for both teams, and Francisco Caffaro had 10.
Justin Wright scored 20 and Eric Boone had 18 for the Eagles, who used a 12-0 run just after halftime to go ahead. But Clark hit a 3 and Beekman followed with a steal and a breakaway.
NO. 19 SAN DIEGO STATE 80, CAL STATE FULLERTON 57
SAN DIEGO (AP) &mdash; Darrion Trammell hit three 3-pointers during a 29-10 run to open the second half and finished with 18 points as San Diego State beat Cal State Fullerton.
Fellow newcomer Jaedon LeDee and Lamont Butler scored 11 points apiece and Nathan Mensah had 10 for the Aztecs, who won their 10th straight season opener and their 17th in 18 seasons.
Vincent Lee scored 11 and Jalen Harris 10 for the Titans, the defending Big West Conference champions.
NO. 20 ALABAMA 75, LONGWOOD 54
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (AP) &mdash; Freshman Brandon Miller had 14 points and 13 rebounds in his debut as Alabama beat Longwood.
Fellow freshman Rylan Griffen also scored 14 for the Crimson Tide, and point guard Mark Sears had 12 points, 10 rebounds and five assists. Freshman guard Jaden Bradley added 11 points and six boards.
Alabama held Longwood to 27% shooting and blocked nine shots. Michael Christmas led Longwood with 12 points.
NO. 21 OREGON 80, FLORIDA A&amp;M 45
EUGENE, Ore. (AP) &mdash; N&rsquo;Faly Dante had 16 points and 10 rebounds as Oregon opened with an easy win over Florida A&amp;M.
Keeshawn Barthelemy added 13 points for the Ducks, ranked to start the season for the ninth straight year. Will Richardson scored 11.
Jordan Tillmon and Jordan Chatman had eight points apiece for the Rattlers, who have 11 new players. Florida A&amp;M coach Robert McCullum was on Oregon coach Dana Altman&rsquo;s staff from 2014-17.
NO. 22 MICHIGAN 75, PURDUE FORT WAYNE 56
ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) &mdash; Hunter Dickinson had 22 points and 12 rebounds, and freshman Jett Howard added 21 points in Michigan&rsquo;s season-opening win.
After Purdue Fort Wayne opened an 8-4 lead, Michigan went on a 20-0 run to take control.
Quinton Morton-Robertson scored 15 points and Bobby Planutis added 13 for the Mastodons.
NO. 23 ILLINOIS 87, EASTERN ILLINOIS 57
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (AP) &mdash; Terrence Shannon Jr. scored 24 points and Coleman Hawkins had 23 points and 12 rebounds as Illinois cruised past Eastern Illinois.
Dain Dainja added 17 points on 8-of-9 shooting and grabbed 10 rebounds for the Illini, who outrebounded the Panthers 53-30 in the opener for both teams.
Kinyon Hodges scored 14 points and Yaakema Rose added 10 for Eastern Illinois.
NO. 24 DAYTON 73, LINDENWOOD 46
DAYTON, Ohio (AP) &mdash; Mustapha Amzil scored 14 points, DaRon Holmes II and R.J. Blakney each had 13 and Dayton beat Lindenwood in a sluggish opener for both teams.
Dayton was without injured point guard Malachi Smith and didn&rsquo;t play particularly well until late, but it had a large margin for error against Lindenwood, which was playing its first game after moving up to Division I.
Chris Childs had 15 points for the Lions, who shot 33% from the field.
NO. 25 TEXAS TECH 73, NORTHWESTERN STATE 49
LUBBOCK, Texas (AP) &mdash; Daniel Batcho had 12 points and 10 rebounds as Texas Tech rolled past Northwestern State in both teams&rsquo; opener.
Texas Tech broke it open late in the first half and led 42-23 at halftime.
Isaac Haney led Northwestern State with 16 points.

It was a quality start to a season of massive change for the Blue Devils, starting with Jon Scheyer taking over Duke's program.

Roach leads No. 7 Duke past Jacksonville in Scheyer’s debut

LOS ANGELES (AP) &mdash; Matt Ryan hit a tying 3-pointer at the regulation buzzer, Lonnie Walker made a key 3-pointer in overtime while scoring 28 points, and the Los Angeles Lakers beat the New Orleans Pelicans 120-117 Wednesday night for their second straight victory after an 0-5 start to the season.
Anthony Davis had 20 points and 16 rebounds for the Lakers, who blew a 16-point lead and appeared to be finished before Dyson Daniels' two missed free throws with 1.4 seconds left in regulation allowed the Lakers to run one last play.
Austin Reaves made a crosscourt pass to Ryan, and the undrafted newcomer who surprisingly made the Lakers' roster last month drilled a fallaway 3 in front of their bench to force OT. Ryan, who made his NBA debut with one game for Boston last season, is playing rotation minutes for the Lakers because of his outside shooting stroke.
Walker&rsquo;s early 3-pointer put the Lakers ahead for good in overtime. C.J. McCollum&rsquo;s jumper trimmed the Lakers&rsquo; lead to three points with 37 seconds left, but McCollum missed a potential tying 3-pointer with 6.7 seconds remaining, and the Pelicans couldn&rsquo;t foul before the buzzer.
LeBron James had 20 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists for the Lakers. Russell Westbrook had 13 points, nine assists and seven rebounds in another solid game as a reserve, although he was on the bench down the stretch and in overtime.
Zion Williamson scored 27 points and McCollum had 22 points, nine rebounds and eight assists for the Pelicans, who dropped to 4-3.
Williamson scored 14 points in the fourth quarter and led the Pelicans to a three-point lead in the final minute of regulation. New Orleans appeared to have it wrapped up when Larry Nance Jr. dunked with 7.8 seconds to play and Walker missed a tying 3-point attempt &mdash; but Daniels' misses opened the door for the heroics of Ryan, who went 3 for 9 on 3-point attempts.
Playing as a reserve for the 21st time in his 1,027-game NBA career, Westbrook catalyzed an impressive 17-2 Lakers run in the final three minutes of the first half for a 56-44 halftime lead. New Orleans still erased a 60-44 deficit in the third quarter with 12 points from McCollum.
TIP-INS
Pelicans: Herb Jones missed his fourth straight game with his hyperextended right knee, but coach Willie Green expects him back Friday. ... High-scoring F Brandon Ingram stayed home and missed his fourth straight game in the concussion protocol, but Green said the former Lakers star is &ldquo;working. He's progressing. We hope to have him back soon.&rdquo; ... Daniels played despite a left ankle sprain.
Lakers: Davis played his second straight game after missing his first game of the season due to his balky back. Coach Darvin Ham praised the eight-time All-Star selection's toughness in his third season of frequent injury woes: &ldquo;His back situation is something we definitely need to manage, but it's something that's not going to worsen with with he's doing.&rdquo;
UP NEXT
Pelicans: Host Warriors on Friday.
Lakers: Host Jazz on Friday.

The Los Angeles Lakers beat the New Orleans Pelicans 120-117 for their second straight win after an 0-5 start to the season.

Matt Ryan forces OT, Lakers rally for 120-117 win over Pelicans

Now that their rebuild is complete, the Portland Trail Blazers are looking to build chemistry.
The Blazers blew up their roster last season, trading away guard CJ McCollum and a host of others. They brought in new talent, <a href="https://apnews.com/article/portland-trail-blazers-nba-sports-damian-lillard-69fd44ce4e650da44a9c8850a43b2035">building around six-time All-Star Damian Lillard and new backcourt partner Anfernee Simons</a>.
But will it be enough to push the Blazers deep into playoffs, or perhaps to a second NBA title? That's the question.
Even Lillard doesn't know what will happen &mdash; but he likes the fresh start.
&ldquo;I think that&rsquo;s the biggest difference is how fresh it is. It gives you something to be excited about because you just don&rsquo;t know, you know what I&rsquo;m saying? You don&rsquo;t know what to really expect. And that&rsquo;s been fun for me,&rdquo; Lillard said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s getting to know the younger guys, some of our newer guys, and building those relationships. It&rsquo;s not it&rsquo;s not the same old thing. It&rsquo;s something new and it just feels fresh, you know? It just feels good.&rdquo;
The Blazers went 27-55 last season, their worst finish since 2005-06 when they won 21 games. Over the course of the season, the Blazers used 34 different starting lineups.
Lillard played in 29 games, the result of a nagging abdominal injury that required surgery in January. Simons took over and performed well &mdash; averaging 23.4 points and 5.8 assists as a starter &mdash; but he too was shut down for the final 17 games as the Blazers focused on their makeover.
Coach Chauncey Billups, embarking on his second year, said the key for the Blazers is connection. To spur that bonding, the team opened the preseason in Santa Barbara, California.
&ldquo;The most connected teams are very successful. That&rsquo;s our goal for our team and that&rsquo;s the kind of team that I want to build,&rdquo; Billups said. &ldquo;I want to be the type of team that nobody really wants to play against.&rdquo;
NEWCOMERS
Portland was active in the offseason, acquiring Jerami Grant from Detroit and picking up <a href="https://apnews.com/article/golden-state-warriors-portland-trail-blazers-nba-sports-san-francisco-b4cb17faeb0263478862b9be287fd5ec">free agent Gary Payton II, who won an NBA title last season with the Golden State Warriors</a>.
Grant averaged 19.2 points in 47 games last season with the Pistons. He played with Lillard on the gold medal-winning U.S. team at last year&rsquo;s Tokyo Olympics.
Payton averaged 7.1 points and 3.5 rebounds in a key reserve role for the Warriors.
<a href="https://apnews.com/article/portland-trail-blazers-nba-sports-detroit-pistons-jerami-grant-02f2a354a675c2b10bdaf3267d2b92e9">The Blazers also selected Shaedon Sharpe with the seventh overall pick in the draft</a>. The 6-foot-6 wing from Canada was a five-star recruit who committed to Kentucky but never played for the Wildcats.
UP FOR GRABS
With Lillard, Simons, Grant and center Jusuf Nurkic all likely to start, Billups said the one undecided starting position to open training camp was at small forward.
Nassir Little, Josh Hart and Justise Winslow have competed for that spot throughout the preseason. Little injured his shoulder last season and then underwent core surgery in May.
Hart came to the Blazers last season in the trade that sent McCollum to the New Orleans Pelicans. Winslow was acquired in a trade with the Clippers.
Hart appeared to be the front-runner as the regular season drew closer.
IN THE LONG RUN
Lillard and Simons both signed offseason extensions with the Blazers, so their on-court relationship will certainly have a chance to grow.
<a href="https://apnews.com/article/portland-trail-blazers-nba-sports-detroit-pistons-damian-lillard-ebebb6cf42aaabe26efaa43d94bc21b1">Lillard agreed to a $122 million extension that will keep him in Portland through the 2026-27 season</a>. Simons signed a four-year extension this summer worth a reported $100 million.
ARE WE DONE YET?
<a href="https://apnews.com/article/portland-trail-blazers-nba-business-sports-ea54ebac9fe95af4586e3f8b3c931c17">General manager Joe Cronin</a> said at the start of the preseason that while he's always looking to improve, he's excited about the current roster. The implication was that Portland was going to stand pat, for now.
&ldquo;We&rsquo;re very confident that we&rsquo;re going to be a very entertaining and watchable product and a very competitive group that we&rsquo;re hoping makes a lot of noise not just this year, but for many years to come,&rdquo; Cronin said. &ldquo;We understand that we&rsquo;re constantly, continually trying to get better, but the foundation that we have right now, we&rsquo;re really encouraged by and really excited to see them get out there and play.&rdquo;

Chauncey Billups, embarking on his second year as head coach, said the key for the Blazers is connection.

Lillard, Simons anchor backcourt of new-look Trail Blazers

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) &mdash; Anthony Davis scored 28 points in his return to the Lakers lineup after missing two games due to injury, and Los Angeles defeated Golden State 124-121 Sunday night in the Warriors' first game since the practice altercation between Draymond Green and Jordan Poole.
Matt Ryan made a pair of free throws with 5.4 seconds remaining to seal the win. Davis, who sat out two games with lower back tightness, shot 9 for 18 for the Lakers, who won without LeBron James, Patrick Beverley and Russell Westbrook in the lineup.
Davis, who scored 24 points before halftime, played the opening shift of the second half before taking a seat after 21 total minutes. Kendrick Nunn scored 21 points and Ryan added 20 on 6-for-9 shooting from outside the arc.
Poole led the Warriors with 25 points on 10-for-19 shooting, and added six assists. Green fought with Poole during practice Wednesday. Green apologized to the team a day later and general manager Bob Myers said any potential discipline would be handled internally. Meanwhile, Green was unavailable, saying he will take some time away from the team.
Stephen Curry scored 24 points and Andrew Wiggins added 15 for the Warriors. Jonathan Kuminga (12 points) started in Green&rsquo;s place, while Poole replaced Klay Thompson, who is still building up for the regular season.
In the first half, Davis performed at the level the Lakers will need him if they are to improve on last season&rsquo;s 33-49 regular-season record that left them out of the postseason. Davis shot 7 of 13 before the break, making all eight of his free throws.
The game became close in the second half, and neither team led by more than six points in the fourth quarter.
BULLS 115, RAPTORS 98
DeMar DeRozan had 21 points, eight rebounds and eight assists and Chicago used a second-half rally to beat host Toronto.
DeRozan converted 7 of 12 shots and all seven of his free throws. Javonte Green scored 17 points and Ayo Dosunmu added 14. Nikola Vucevic finished with 13 points and nine rebounds.
Paschal Siakam led the Raptors with 18 points and nine rebounds. The starting Toronto backcourt of Gary Trent Jr. and Fred VanVleet carried the Raptors to a lead in the first half. Trent finished with 17 points and VanVleet had 13.
Both teams played their regular starters, except for missing Bulls guard Lonzo Ball, who is recovering from a meniscus tear suffered in January.
The Raptors built a 10-point halftime lead behind Trent and VanVleet. The tandem combined for 25 points before the break, including Trent connecting on all five of his shots. Defensively, they had six steals in the half, including four by VanVleet. The Bulls had 16 turnovers in the first half.
The Bulls erased the lead in the third and pulled away in the fourth. Chicago outscored Toronto 68-41 in the second half.
TIMBERWOLVES 119, CLIPPERS 117
Karl-Anthony Towns had 19 points, six assists and six rebounds in his preseason debut to lead visiting Minnesota.
Naz Reid had 20 points and 11 rebounds for the Timberwolves, while Bryn Forbes added 15 points on 5-for-6 shooting on 3-pointers. Anthony Edwards had 14 points.
John Wall led the Clippers with 20 points. Paul George scored 14 and Marcus Morris Sr. added 13 points.
The Clippers saw a vision of their regular rotation as Kawhi Leonard, George, Wall and Reggie Jackson all played. Meanwhile, Towns saw his first action of the preseason for the Timberwolves after missing games due to a hospitalization. Still, there was not a glimpse of the potential twin towers in Minnesota as Rudy Gobert, acquired from Utah over the summer, sat out.
The teams were tied at 115 with under two minutes to play when Austin Rivers scored on a layup and Luka Garza hit a 6-foot hook to create enough of a buffer for Minnesota to remain undefeated in its three preseason games.
PELICANS 111, SPURS 97
In San Antonio, Trey Murphy III had 27 points and eight rebounds, Zion Williamson finished with eight points, nine rebounds and five assists in 24 minutes to lead New Orleans over the Spurs.
Naji Marshall scored 15 points for the Pelicans, and Jonas Valanciunas added 14 as New Orleans continued to play with stars resting or recovering from injury. Among those not active were CJ McCollum, Brandon Ingram and Jaxson Hayes, who suffered a left elbow injury earlier in the week.
Murphy was 10 of 15 from the field, including 7 for 10 from beyond the arc.
Devonte Graham and Willy Hernangomez each scored 11 points. Graham added six assists and Hernangomez grabbed 10 rebounds.
Doug McDermott led the Spurs with 14 points, and Josh Richardson finished with 12. Veteran Gorgui Dieng had 10 points and nine rebounds for San Antonio.
KINGS 126, TRAIL BLAZERS 94
In Sacramento, Keegan Murray, the fourth overall pick in the draft from Iowa, scored 16 points and eight players reached double figures in leading the Kings past Portland.
Terence Davis and De&rsquo;Aaron Fox scored 14 points apiece for the Kings, while Domantas Sabonis added 13 points, four assists and seven rebounds.
Jerami Grant led Portland with 17 points. Anfernee Simons scored 16 and Jusuf Nurkic had 14 points and nine rebounds.
Damian Lillard was held to eight points, making only two of his 10 shots, including missing all four of his 3-points attempts. He did hand out six assists.
THUNDER 144, MACCABI RA&rsquo;ANANA 97
Eugene Omoruyi scored 25 points on 9-for-14 shooting in Oklahoma City's win over visiting Maccabi Ra&rsquo;anana.
Luguentz Dort had 23 for Oklahoma City, while Ousmane Dieng, the 11th pick in last summer&rsquo;s draft, had 16 points for the Thunder. Aleksej Pokusevski and Jalen Williams, the 12th overall pick from Santa Clara, scored 15 points apiece.
Jason Suggs led Maccabi with 40 points on 15-for-26 shooting, including 5 of 9 from long distance. Terrence Jones had 15 points and Norris Cole contributed 12.
Willy Workman finished with 10 points and 10 rebounds for Maccabi.
Oklahoma City sat a number of key players, including Josh Giddey, Tre Mann and Darius Bazley. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, dealing with a left MCL sprain, remained unavailable.

Davis, who scored 24 points before halftime, played the opening shift of the second half before taking a seat after 21 total minutes.

Anthony Davis scores 28 in return, Lakers defeat Warriors 124-121

Is the NBA ready to add an expansion team? Evan Sidery explores what kind of team you could build in a present-day expansion draft.

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

Brandon Boston Jr. had 22 points and eight rebounds and the Los Angeles Clippers used a 32-9 fourth quarter to beat the Utah Jazz 82-65 on Friday in the NBA Summer League.
Los Angeles scored just 11 points in the third quarter before opening the fourth on a 24-4 run for a 74-60 lead.
Jay Scrubb added 14 points and Cameron Reynolds had 12 for Los Angeles (2-2).
Leandro Bolmaro led Utah (2-2) with 19 points. Johnny Juzang scored eight of Utah&rsquo;s opening 12 points, and finished with 14. Tacko Fall, a 7-foo-6 center, had eight points, nine rebounds and four blocks.
76ERS 97, NUGGETS 71
Grant Riller scored 18 points and Trevelin Queen added 17 as Philadelphia routed Denver.
Riller scored 13 points, in just six first-half minutes, to help Philadelphia build a 48-27 lead. Denver shot just 25.6% from the field in the first half, including 4 of 17 from 3-point range. The 76ers led 69-39 late in the third quarter.
Isaiah Joe had 14 points and four 3-pointers for Philadelphia (2-2). Justin Smith and Aminu Mohammed each scored 10 points.
Mbaye N&rsquo;Diaye scored 12 points and Christian Braun had 11 points, six rebounds, six assists and four steals for Denver (2-2).
THUNDER 90, WARRIORS 82
Jeremiah Robinson-Earl had 15 points and 14 rebounds, Jalen Williams had 10 points with six assists and Oklahoma City beat Golden State.
Gabe Brown and Jaden Shackelford each scored 12 points for Oklahoma City (3-1). Eugene Omoruyi scored 11 points and Vit Krejci had 10 points, seven rebounds and five assists. Chet Holmgren did not play.
Jonathan Kuminga scored 16 points and James Wiseman added 14 for Golden State (1-3). Quinndary Weatherspoon added 11 points and Gui Santos had 10.
KINGS 82, SUNS 69
Keegan Murray continued his strong Summer League showing with 21 points and 10 rebounds, Neemias Queta added 15 points on 6-of-6 shooting and also grabbed 10 rebounds to help Sacramento beat Phoenix.
Murray, picked No. 4 overall in June's draft, is averaging 23.3 points and 7.3 rebounds after four games in Las Vegas. DJ Steward added 14 points for the Kings.
Ish Wainright led Phoenix with 13 points and McKinley Wright IV added 11 points, eight rebounds and two steals.
WIZARDS 97, PACERS 79
Jordan Schakel scored 21 points with seven rebounds and five assists, Jordan Goodwin added 19 points and three steals and Washington beat Indiana.
Isaiah Todd hit three 3-pointers and finished with 17 points and eight rebounds for Washington. Tahjere McCall scored 13 points, Jaime Echenique added 10 points, eight rebounds and three blocks for the Wizards.
Kendall Brown led Indiana with 14 points and Aaron Nesmith added 12.
Johnny Davis (back tightness), picked No. 10 overall by the Wizards in last month's draft, and Bennedict Mathurin (toe), who Indiana selected No. 6 overall, did not play.
RAPTORS 88, HEAT 78
Dalano Banton scored 18 points, Armoni Brooks 17 and Jeff Dowtin added 16 points, eight rebounds and five assists to help Toronto beat Miami.
Ron Harper Jr. scored 14 points and Rodions Kurucs 13 for the Raptors.
Kyle Allman Jr. led the Heat with 17 points, Orlando Robinson added 13 points and 11 rebounds and Javonte Smart also scored 13 points. Haywood Highsmith scored 10 points.
LAKERS 102, PELICANS 94
Cole Swider hit five 3-pointers and finished with 21 points, Javante McCoy added 14 points and seven assists to help Los Angeles beat New Orleans and eliminate the Pelicans from Summer League championship contention.
Max Christie scored 12 points, Mason Jones added 11 and Jay Huff had 10 points and four blocks for the Lakers. Scotty Pippen Jr. finished with 11 points and seven assists.
Jared Harper led the Pelicans with 20 points. Deividas Sirvydis made 4 of 7 from 3-point range and finished with 17 points and eight rebounds, John Petty Jr. scored 16 points and Tyrique Jones had 11 points, 13 rebounds and four assists.
Dyson Daniels, a 6-foot-6 19-year-old who New Orleans selected No. 8 overall in last month's draft, didn't play for the Pelicans.

Brandon Boston Jr. had 22 points and eight rebounds and the Clippers used a 32-9 fourth quarter to beat the Jazz 82-65.

Clippers use 32-9 4th quarter to beat Jazz at Summer League

Last week, after reports surfaced that the Sacramento Kings were willing to deal the fourth overall pick in the right deal, <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/examining-potential-trades-involving-the-sacramento-kings" target="_blank" rel="noopener">we examined several potential trade scenarios</a>.
On Tuesday, plugged-in reporter <a href="https://bleacherreport.com/articles/10037274-latest-nba-offseason-intel-does-og-anunoby-want-out-of-toronto">Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report</a> relayed that the Portland Trail Blazers "remain widely expected to pursue trade scenarios with the No. 7 pick in order to add a complementary veteran alongside All-NBA guard Damian Lillard."
In addition, The Athletic's John Hollinger and Sam Vecenie <a href="https://bleacherreport.com/articles/10036663-nba-trade-rumors-blazers-to-use-no-7-draft-pick-to-rebuild-around-damian-lillard">reported</a> the Blazers lottery pick "seems even more certain to be on the move," adding that Portland "will push to immediately put a competitive team around Damian Lillard rather than start over."
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So, let's analyze several potential trade scenarios that might make sense for both Blazers and possible partners.
Detroit Pistons trade Jerami Grant to the Blazers in exchange for the No. 7 overall pick and the rights to Milwaukee's first-round pick in 2025
Although Jerami Grant hasn't received much national attention while playing for the Pistons, he has posted solid numbers and is respected league-wide as a valuable, versatile, two-way contributor. During his two years in Detroit, he's averaged 20.9 points, 4.4 rebounds, 2.6 assists, 2.0 made treys and 1.1 blocks per game. Only three other players have averaged at least 2.5 dimes, 2 treys and a block per contest over the past two seasons: LeBron James, Karl-Anthony Towns and Kevin Durant.
Grant, who was a teammate with Lillard on Team USA last summer, just turned 28 and is in the heart of his prime. However, Grant has just one season left on the three-year, $60 million deal he signed in 2020. Yet, if the Blazers acquired Grant before Aug. 9, he would be eligible to sign an extension for up to $112 million over four years. If the Blazers are looking to "win now," Grant would be a superb addition. In February, it was reported that Portland and Detroit had discussed a deal for Grant before the trade deadline.&nbsp;
The Blazers gained a $20.9 million trade exception in the deal that sent CJ McCollum to New Orleans, and Grant's $20 million salary in 2022-23 would fit snugly into that exception.&nbsp;&nbsp;
From the Pistons' perspective, the seventh pick would allow them to add another young prospect alongside Cade Cunningham, Saddiq Bey, Isaiah Stewart and Killian Hayes. <a href="https://bleacherreport.com/articles/10037274-latest-nba-offseason-intel-does-og-anunoby-want-out-of-toronto" target="_blank" rel="noopener">According to Fischer</a>, Detroit's "known asking price" for Grant is "two first-round picks or a first and a promising rookie-scale prospect."&nbsp;
Toronto Raptors trade OG Anunoby to the Blazers in exchange for Nassir Little, the No. 7 and No. 36 picks and a 2024 first-round pick
Fischer <a href="https://bleacherreport.com/articles/10037274-latest-nba-offseason-intel-does-og-anunoby-want-out-of-toronto" target="_blank" rel="noopener">notes</a> in his latest post that "word has circulated among rival front offices that OG Anunoby grew dissatisfied at times with his role in Toronto." And although Portland is one of the potential landing spots OG has been linked to in trade chatter, "league personnel believe Toronto would require far more than [Josh] Hart and the seventh pick to part with Anunoby, considered to be a darling of Raptors lead executive Masai Ujiri."
So, would the No. 7 selection paired with Nas Little, an early second-rounder and a future first be enough to entice Ujiri? Little is coming off what looked to be the best season of his young career before going down with a shoulder injury. In the 23 games he started for Portland, he averaged 11.1 points, 5.8 rebounds, 1.7 assists, 1.4 made three-pointers and 1.1 blocks, while posting the second-best Net Rating among all of the Blazers' rotation regulars. He won't celebrate his 23rd birthday until next February and is locked into his rookie contract, which will pay him just $4.1 million next season.&nbsp;
Like Grant, Anunoby's salary would fit into the Blazers trade exception.&nbsp;
It's also worth noting that the <a href="https://www.si.com/nba/raptors/news/toronto-raptors-dyson-daniels-g-league-ignite-draft-prospect" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Raptors met with</a> G League Ignite prospect Dyson Daniels, a highly-touted prospect who will almost assuredly be a top-10 pick in the upcoming draft. Because the Raptors don't have a first-rounder in this year's draft (having traded the No. 20 selection to the San Antonio Spurs), "news of Daniels' interview with the Raptors seemed to <a href="https://www.si.com/nba/raptors/news/toronto-raptors-portland-trail-blazers-nba-draft-trade-rumors-dyson-daniels" target="_blank" rel="noopener">raise some questions</a> about Toronto's plan for the future."&nbsp;&nbsp;
Oklahoma City Thunder send Luguentz Dort and the No. 12 pick to the Blazers in exchange for the No. 7 pick, Justise Winslow and Drew Eubanks
Lu Dort established himself as one of the best young defenders in the NBA this past season and is a highly-valued, two-way contributor for OKC. Not only did he excel on the defensive end, but he also showed significant improvement offensively. Over the final nine games Dort appeared in (before tearing his left labrum), he averaged 22.3 points and 3.2 made three-pointers while shooting over 37% from downtown and 82% from the free-throw stripe. However, Thunder general manager Sam Presti has to ask himself how much he is willing to pay to keep Dort in Oklahoma City for the long term.
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Dort has one year left on the minimum salary contract he signed back in 2020, but if OKC exercises his $1.9 million team option for 2022-23, they risk losing him in free agency next summer. If OKC picks up the option, Dort would be eligible to sign an extension worth nearly $60 million over four years, starting with an annual salary of approximately $13 million. (Dort's team option for the 2022-23 season would need to be exercised in order to be traded. Otherwise, he would not be eligible.)
If Presti has reservations about committing major money to Dort (for context, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is the only player currently on the OKC roster with more than $6 million in guaranteed salary over each of the next two seasons), would he consider trading away Dort to move up into the top seven?
While the Blazers have plenty of offensive firepower in their backcourt with Lillard and Anfernee Simons, they need to bolster their defense. Consequently, they may be willing to pony up and do what it takes to lock Dort up and ink him to a lucrative, long-term contract.
(FWIW, Lillard <a href="https://okcthunderwire.usatoday.com/2022/05/26/damian-lillard-likes-tweet-that-suggests-the-trail-blazers-should-send-no-7-pick-for-lu-dort/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">recently liked a tweet</a> suggesting Portland trade the No. 7 pick for either Dort or Jerami Grant.)
New York Knicks send Julius Randle and the No. 11 pick to the Blazers in exchange for Eric Bledsoe, Justise Winslow, the No. 7 and No. 36 picks
Which Julius Randle would the Blazers be trading for?
The dude that earned a second-team All-NBA nod in 2020-21 after becoming just the seventh player in NBA history to average at least 24 points, 10 rebounds and 6 assists over an entire season? (Joining ​​Wilt Chamberlain, Nikola Jokić, Larry Bird, Russell Westbrook and Oscar Robertson.) Or the guy who was wildly inefficient in 2021-22, when he became the first player in league history to attempt more than 300 three-pointers and 300 free throws, yet shot below 42% from the floor, below 31% from downtown and below 76% from the charity stripe?
For a Blazers team with limited options due to Lillard's hefty salary and the prohibitive cost of re-signing both Simons and Jusuf Nurkic, it may make sense to add Randle in the hopes that he regains his All-Star form. Randle is in prime and, like Lillard, is signed through the 2024-25 season. A starting lineup of Dame, Simons, Hart, Randle and Nurk, with Little in the sixth-man role, could be a dangerous team. And to add Randle, the Blazers would only have to move back four spots in the first round and part with a second-rounder. In a draft in which there is little consensus after the top four picks, the prospect Portland is targeting at seven might still be on the board at 11.
As for the Knicks, if they want a crack at Dyson Daniels, Shaedon Sharpe or Bennedict Mathurin, they will likely have to jump up a few slots. And parting ways with Randle could be viewed as <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/examining-potential-trades-involving-the-sacramento-kings" target="_blank" rel="noopener">addition by subtraction</a>, as it would clear his contract from New York's cap and open up a spot in the starting lineup for Obi Toppin (who averaged <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/examining-potential-trades-involving-the-sacramento-kings" target="_blank" rel="noopener">27.2 points, 6.2 rebounds and 3.8 made three-pointers</a> per game in April). Bledsoe has just one year left on his contract, and that one season is only partially guaranteed for $3.9 million.&nbsp;
<ul>
<li>Before wrapping up, it's worth noting that the Blazers have also been linked to both Chicago Bulls guard Zach LaVine and Phoenix Suns center Deandre Ayton via sign-and trades. <a href="https://bleacherreport.com/articles/10036706-early-nba-free-agency-buzz-intel-on-deandre-ayton-zach-lavine-and-more">Per Fisher</a>, "Portland is most often mentioned as a top LaVine suitor. LaVine is a Seattle native, just a few hours' drive north of the Trail Blazers' facilities, and shares a relationship with Damian Lillard from their Team USA days." Regarding Ayton, Fisher <a href="https://bleacherreport.com/articles/10036706-early-nba-free-agency-buzz-intel-on-deandre-ayton-zach-lavine-and-more">writes</a>, "Portland, where free-agent center Jusuf Nurkic is expected to command far less than Ayton on the open market, could be a trade partner."</li>
</ul>
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Tommy Beer breaks down four possible trade scenarios for the Blazers on the night of the 2022 NBA Draft.

Analyzing 4 hypothetical trades for the Blazers' No. 7 draft pick

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

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

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

Among the many components integral to the Phoenix Suns&rsquo; dominant rise of the past two seasons is their multifaceted wing trio of Mikal Bridges, Jae Crowder and Cameron Johnson.&nbsp;
Devin Booker and Chris Paul are the headlining stars, but those three forwards are trustworthy shooters, passers and defenders. While their skill- ets in those categories range across a wide spectrum, they all factor into the Suns forging a two-way approach predicated on versatility.&nbsp;
Bridges&rsquo; exploits are routinely and justifiably lauded. He finished second in Defensive Player of the Year voting this season and is regarded as one of the NBA&rsquo;s best budding wings. Johnson shot 42.5% beyond the arc and was a finalist for Sixth Man of the Year.
Perhaps sometimes lost in the shuffle of those two &mdash; along with Booker, Paul and Deandre Ayton&rsquo;s stardom &mdash; is the well-traveled swingman in Crowder. His arrival in Phoenix has coincided with the team's ascension. His services are a prominent reason that the Suns lead the Dallas Mavericks 3-2 in their Western Conference semifinal series ahead of Thursday&rsquo;s pivotal Game 6.
Through five games, the 31-year-old is averaging 12.6 points, 6.6 rebounds and 2.8 assists on 66.9% True Shooting. He&rsquo;s shooting 46.7% (14 of 30) from deep and 57.1% (8 of 14) inside the arc.&nbsp;
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Phoenix has entrusted him with a bevy of duties offensively, spanning from screener, to trigger man catalyzing sets, to off-ball shooter with a pop-gun release. The Mavericks have typically tried to hide lesser defenders like Luka Doncic, Spencer Dinwiddie and Davis Bertans on him. So, the Suns have countered by mildly increasing Crowder's offensive usage via pick-and-pops or other screening actions.&nbsp;
Whether he&rsquo;s concluding the play with his own points, or merely facilitating a mismatch for someone else to flourish, his screens and capacity to operate off of them have greatly aided Phoenix&rsquo;s offense.
Crowder is comfortable attacking off the catch to feature his floater, is a perceptive off-ball nomad and brandishes a snappy jumper to burn tardy closeouts. Periodically, he&rsquo;s even displayed some on-ball juice. Dallas is already grappling and concerned with slowing Paul, Booker and Ayton. A fourth (or fifth) option as a release valve against its compromised defenders has proven burdensome to contain.
Unlike some fifth options, Crowder cannot be entirely neglected offensively, and teams must pay him some respect. Trying to fight through his screen or show against it may create an opening for the ball-handler to pounce. To avoid those scenarios, Dallas is mostly switching, which leaves Crowder and/or the primary scorer in a beneficial situation.
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Much like his counterparts on the wings, Crowder provides ancillary traits (some of which are tied to scoring) that amplify his offensive value in a background setting. He&rsquo;s an adept connective passer and punctuality flows through his general decision-making ethos. In head coach Monty Williams&rsquo; <a href="https://www.nba.com/suns/features/coach-williams-05-system-calls-faster-pace-and-quicker-decision-making">0.5 System</a> that emphasizes quick decision-making, Crowder fits snugly.&nbsp;
Most of his passing opportunities are coming against a tilted defense where he can briefly survey the floor and proceed. Other times, he&rsquo;s catching the ball in space or on the move and extends an advantage.&nbsp;
Complementary offensive players who hammer home advantages enacted by initiators are critically important. Crowder&rsquo;s second-round showing embodies that. Dallas is repeatedly playing catch-up before possessions even migrate his way, and he&rsquo;s only furthering the divide. Historically, his shooting and playmaking ambitions intermittently grow overzealous, but he&rsquo;s been quite reliable in this series.&nbsp;
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Similar to his offensive output, Crowder dips his quill in a number of inks defensively. He&rsquo;s frequently mucking up drives as a helper around the nail, and can curtail forays into the paint. At 6-foot-6, 235 pounds, he&rsquo;s someone Phoenix sics on Jalen Brunson and contently sends Doncic&rsquo;s direction in a pinch.&nbsp;
Neither ball-handler is necessarily enduring a poor series, but they&rsquo;re both experiencing fewer profits than they did against Utah. The Suns&rsquo; collective upgrade on the wings defensively compared to the Jazz is a major reason for the discrepancy, and Crowder falls under that difference.&nbsp;
His strength, mobility and deft hands slyly bother Doncic, while Brunson&rsquo;s found tough sledding against Crowder&rsquo;s burly, durable frame. On and off the ball, the veteran is around to entangle himself in the Mavericks&rsquo; plans.&nbsp;
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During Phoenix&rsquo;s first-round duel against the New Orleans Pelicans, Crowder couldn&rsquo;t toss a penny in a fountain. He shot 33.3% from the floor, buried just two triples and scored 45 points on 48 shots across six games. Yet his defense, primarily on Brandon Ingram and CJ McCollum, shined.&nbsp;
Now, the offense has returned and the defense continues to elicit praise. As Bridges&rsquo; offense ebbs and flows in this round, Crowder&rsquo;s revival has been a welcomed addition.&nbsp;
There&rsquo;s never one archetype necessary to construct a title team. But strong, defensively inclined wings who can cook a few different dishes offensively are a common thread among many recent Finals participants. Both with the Heat in 2020 and Suns a season ago, Crowder is among those teams.&nbsp;
Phoenix isn&rsquo;t this good without him. He&rsquo;s only missed the playoffs once in his 10-year career. Although he&rsquo;s fortunately been surrounded by numerous good coaches and stars, there&rsquo;s correlation involved.
Crowder fills a diverse secondary role and performs it well, which is all the Suns have ever needed from him.&nbsp;
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Jackson Frank analyzes the crucial secondary role that Jae Crowder plays for the Suns and how he's thrived vs Dallas.

Jae Crowder's versatility has shined against the Mavericks

Throughout Wednesday&rsquo;s contest between the San Antonio Spurs and New Orleans Pelicans, the Smoothie King Center&rsquo;s atmosphere swelled to unconscionable decibels. Pelicans fans, overwhelmingly clad in red T-shirts, roared in support of their team, one that controlled much of the contest and dispatched the Spurs, 113-103.&nbsp;
They had many reasons to cheer, all of which draw back to the Pelicans&rsquo; remarkable turnaround without superstar Zion Williamson the entire way. After opening the year 14th in the West with a record of 3-16, New Orleans is now 37-46 and stands just 48 minutes away from a first-round series with the Phoenix Suns.&nbsp;
Since this 34-30 run commenced, the Pelicans have been a true joy to watch. The beauty of this club is that its frenzied, impassioned fans could&rsquo;ve been delighted for any number of reasons Wednesday. There is not one singular storyline to embrace. The splendor rings up and down the roster. It&rsquo;s like a "Choose Your Own Adventure" book, and every endpoint is a feel-good tale.&nbsp;
Wednesday&rsquo;s stars were abundant and a matter of a perspective, the resolute theme of this five-month resurgence.&nbsp;
CJ McCollum slithered, shot and boogied to 27 first-half points and finished with 32 on the day. Before being traded from Portland, McCollum would sometimes dissolve in the shadows of Damian Lillard, always a year behind the experience of his backcourt mate and outmatched for individual honors. In New Orleans, McCollum is the elder statesman. Only Garrett Temple is older, and nobody touts more playoff game appearances.&nbsp;
This is his opportunity to be the veteran star, and he&rsquo;s seized it, averaging 24 points, 6 assists, 4&nbsp; rebounds and a steal on 58.0% True Shooting in 26 regular-season games as a Pelican.&nbsp;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
CJ MCCOLLUM LIGHTING THE SPURS UP ⚡️ <a href="https://t.co/JQxecBRX2g">pic.twitter.com/JQxecBRX2g</a>
&mdash; SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) <a href="https://twitter.com/SportsCenter/status/1514435528359219203?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 14, 2022</a></blockquote>

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His 32-7-6-1 (63.5% TS) performance against San Antonio, punctuated by deft dribbling sequences into drives and silky pull-up jumpers, along with a 7-of-7, 19-point second frame, summarized everything he&rsquo;s brought the last two months. By night&rsquo;s end, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r8iu88pq9Rk" target="_blank" rel="noopener">he made it clear, he&rsquo;s &ldquo;at home,&rdquo;</a> and he illuminated that comfort during the biggest game of the season.&nbsp;
McCollum&rsquo;s shot-making partner, Brandon Ingram, glimmered Wednesday to the tune of 27-5-5 on ~62% TS. Over the past few months, Ingram has evolved his game, growing as a decision-maker, facilitator and off-ball defender. He&rsquo;s established himself as a bona fide star and one whose impact stretches well beyond scoring, while continuing to pour in buckets at a reliable rate.
After the Spurs jumped out to an 8-2 lead in the first quarter, Ingram played the role of stabilizer, tallying 11 points and two dimes over a seven-minute span and fueling an 18-8 run. To open the second half, he displayed his defensive maturation and helped stymie numerous possessions as a helper.&nbsp;
When San Antonio trimmed the deficit to six with just under five minutes remaining, Ingram snapped a five-minute drought by scoring 6 of New Orleans&rsquo; next 8 points and pushing the lead back to double-digits. For stretches, the Spurs doubled him off of screens, and he seamlessly played the role of a waiter by finding teammates for quality shots.&nbsp;
Ingram's full complement of skills was evident, some of which he rapidly incorporated and were integral to the Pelicans&rsquo; renaissance. He thrived amid his first swim in the waters of postseason basketball.&nbsp;
If McCollum and Ingram were the offensive standouts, Herbert Jones is the unabashed, brilliant defensive standout of the night. Wiggling around screens and applying his 7-foot wingspan to disrupt shots, <a href="https://twitter.com/jackfrank_jjf/status/1514462137208356873?s=20&amp;t=exiOaJHeGESmdkeCybEMEQ">he hounded All-Star Dejounte Murray</a> en route to a 5-of-19 shooting game.&nbsp;
When opportunities arose offensively, he snagged them, knocking down a pair of triples and disappearing behind the defense as a cutter. Once a second-round rookie who played just three minutes in his NBA debut, Jones has, six months later, proven to be a legitimate All-Defensive Team candidate. He finished this game with 12 points, 5 boards, 3 dimes, 2 steals and 2 blocks. An All-Rookie nod awaits him and might come while he&rsquo;s starring defensively in a first-round series, justifiably playing heavy minutes for a team on the rise.&nbsp;
The tone-setters alongside Jones&rsquo; All-Defense exploits were stalwart big Jonas Valanciunas and undrafted rookie Jose Alvarado, who definitively declared that <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xLBPHnGviVI">yes, he can shoot</a>, in the grandest game of his life.
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With Jones discarding screens like second nature, Valanciunas&rsquo; astute positioning and strength as a drop defender further frustrated Murray in pick-and-rolls. He wielded active hands to disrupt the point guard&rsquo;s rhythm and when the contexts ventured outside of pick-and-rolls, Valanciunas influenced shots around the rim.
As the tension inside eased for him offensively, Valanciunas scored 12 of his 22 points in the third quarter and exited the period with New Orleans leading by 21. He was the Pelicans&rsquo; bedrock this season, playing 2,240 minutes (second-most on the team) and routinely buoying them on both sides of the ball.&nbsp;
When Ingram was sidelined, Valanciunas&rsquo; efficiency as a face-up and post hub carried the offense. If defenses loaded up against him, he sprayed passes to cutters and shooters. He molded his game to fill the shape of whatever holes existed on the roster, something he&rsquo;s done for years. Only a handful of NBA centers are better than Valanciunas. New Orleans does not reach this point without his steady, multifaceted contributions.&nbsp;
The Pelicans didn&rsquo;t just close Wednesday with one rookie in the lineup. They closed with two, as Alvarado usurped Jaxson Hayes for the final spot. He scored 12 points, splashed in three triples, blended in well off the ball offensively and snagged a steal, which led to perhaps the most dynamite portion of the first half.
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Electric sequence from the Pelicans. This team is a joy <a href="https://t.co/bqOCB4YJ1l">pic.twitter.com/bqOCB4YJ1l</a>
&mdash; Jackson Frank (@jackfrank_jjf) <a href="https://twitter.com/jackfrank_jjf/status/1514434151897726977?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 14, 2022</a></blockquote>

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Formerly a two-way player who didn&rsquo;t crack the rotation until January, Alvarado signed a four-year contract last month (with team options for the last three seasons, unfortunately). His point-of-attack chops defensively and downhill zeal offensively have ignited the Pelicans&rsquo; rotation.&nbsp;
He&rsquo;s emerged as their most important reserve guard. Advanced metrics adore him, and rightfully so. Head coach Willie Green&rsquo;s decision to roll with him down the stretch was a culmination of his play the past three months. Jose Alvarado won&rsquo;t just stick in the closing lineup Wednesday. He&rsquo;ll stick around the NBA for a while.
Collectively, Wednesday&rsquo;s game should be a celebration of the Pelicans' players and coaching staff. A 3-16 start with a remade roster and new coaching staff could bury a team. But everyone involved practiced fortitude. Whatever message Green preached to his players and staff resonated.&nbsp;
They climbed out of the 14th spot, in part because a first-year coach had the moxie and belief to tab two rookies as vital parts of the rotation. Not every coach would embrace that decision, especially one whose imprint is yet to solidify.&nbsp;
Regardless of how Friday&rsquo;s duel with the Los Angeles Clippers concludes, the Pelicans&rsquo; season is a success. Wednesday encapsulated the wide-ranging factors for that success. Everywhere you look, a different fan probably had a different reason to jubilantly clap their hands and voice their approval. It&rsquo;s why this New Orleans team is an absolute charm.&nbsp;
Basketball should be fun in a multitude of ways. That&rsquo;s exactly what these Pelicans are.&nbsp;
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The New Orleans Pelicans did not start the season looking like a playoff team, which is why their success is something to celebrate.

Wednesday was a celebration of how far the Pelicans have come

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

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

Trail Blazers look to rebuild after turbulent season

Sure, his Portland Trail Blazers may be headed to the NBA Draft Lottery for the first time in eight years. And yes, along with Norman Powell and Robert Covington, CJ McCollum was traded away.
But the best days are ahead in Portland. That is, if you&rsquo;re to take Damian Lillard&rsquo;s word for it.
According to the 31-year-old superstar, the "best is yet to come" for both him and the Blazers franchise, and a championship remains the goal.
It may appear unlikely for the lottery-bound Blazers, but in a recent sitdown <a href="https://sports.yahoo.com/damian-lillard-talks-injury-rehab-trying-to-win-title-with-blazers-the-best-days-for-me-have-yet-to-come-161033594.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">with Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports</a>, Lillard&rsquo;s message was clear: Be afraid &mdash; of him and Portland, that is.
&ldquo;It's the first time that I can say I was pain-free since maybe 2016, 2017,&rdquo; Lillard <a href="https://sports.yahoo.com/damian-lillard-talks-injury-rehab-trying-to-win-title-with-blazers-the-best-days-for-me-have-yet-to-come-161033594.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">revealed during his sitdown with Yahoo</a>.
&ldquo;I think that's when I first started having issues. That was the last time I was probably moving freely, easily and just flowing the way I am right now.&rdquo;
Despite living with and playing through the pain between the 2018 and 2021 seasons, Lillard has both been named an All-Star and to the All-NBA First and Second Teams. And although he wasn&rsquo;t able to fully participate with his Blazers this year, he is looking forward to the challenge of continuing to lead the franchise, especially with the seldom-seen financial flexibility they&rsquo;re expected to have after some midseason moves &mdash; the most notable of which saw McCollum traded to the New Orleans Pelicans.
&ldquo;We've positioned ourselves to do something that we haven't been able to do since I've been here, which is we&rsquo;ve opened up money,&rdquo; Lillard <a href="https://sports.yahoo.com/damian-lillard-talks-injury-rehab-trying-to-win-title-with-blazers-the-best-days-for-me-have-yet-to-come-161033594.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a>.
&ldquo;We got picks, we got a $22 million trade exception, we got a $6 million trade exception, we got the full Mid-Level (Exception), we got the Bi-Annual (Exception). We have an opportunity, and we got flexibility.&rdquo;
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Still, though, Lillard realizes that nothing is guaranteed, and that the team has to be able to sell both him and its vision to players. Ultimately, that will be Portland's challenge this summer. But the silver lining in Dame&rsquo;s extended absence has been the opportunity it&rsquo;s afforded to some of the team&rsquo;s lesser-known (and inexperienced) players to get repetitions &mdash; and, for some, prove that they belong in the NBA.
Anfernee Simons, for example, is stepping up admirably. In 57 games (30 starts), the 22-year-old has turned in career-high numbers nearly across the board: 17.3 points, 2.6 rebounds and 3.9 assists in 29.5 minutes per game. He&rsquo;s also connected on 44.3% of his field goals, including 40.5% from three-point territory.
Aside from Simons, head coach Chauncey Billups has found value in the likes of Drew Eubanks, Trendon Watford, Brandon Williams and CJ Elleby. They haven&rsquo;t necessarily led Portland to as many wins as the team would have liked, but each has shown flashes of potential and given Billups productive minutes. The hope is that they will improve to the point where they can join Josh Hart, Justise Winslow, Jusuf Nurkic and, of course, Lillard as members of the rotation.
That being said, Lillard isn't naive to the fact that whatever happens in Portland will start and end with him. And though he would be considered &ldquo;older&rdquo; on the youth spectrum, he draws optimism from many of his elders who are still playing at a high level. Think about DeMar DeRozan (32), Kevin Durant (33), Steph Curry (34), Chris Paul (36) and LeBron James (37), just to name a few.
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&ldquo;It seems like after I announced that I was having surgery, people were like, &lsquo;Oh, he's 31 and having this done.&rsquo; Man, 31 is not old,&rdquo; Lillard <a href="https://sports.yahoo.com/damian-lillard-talks-injury-rehab-trying-to-win-title-with-blazers-the-best-days-for-me-have-yet-to-come-161033594.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a>.
&ldquo;We have guys around the league older than me that are still playing at a high level... My game will age well, and I don't have a history of injuries,&rdquo; Dame defiantly added, passively pointing out the fact that, during his first seven seasons, he appeared in 95.5% of his career games.
Sure, the last three seasons have been a different story &mdash; he will have missed 66 games in all &mdash; but he&rsquo;s confident that the abdominal issue that&rsquo;s hampered him will become a distant memory.
&ldquo;The [injury] that I just had is not a bad injury to have,&rdquo; Lillard said.
&ldquo;I'm going to come back and be fine... Like I said, my best is yet to come.&rdquo;
Citing winning the league MVP and a championship as his priorities <a href="https://sports.yahoo.com/damian-lillard-talks-injury-rehab-trying-to-win-title-with-blazers-the-best-days-for-me-have-yet-to-come-161033594.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">during the interview</a>, the rest of the NBA should certainly wonder just how much better Damian Lillard could be.
If he could even return as the same player we last saw, much less an improved version of himself, with a good move or two, there&rsquo;s plenty of reason to believe that Portland can become a contender once again &mdash; and in short order.
If you&rsquo;re to take Lillard&rsquo;s word for it, it&rsquo;ll be sooner rather than later.
For the 31-year-old superstar, eager to put the 2021-22 campaign behind him, next season simply can&rsquo;t come soon enough.
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Moke Hamilton reacts to Damian Lillard's latest interview with Yahoo and how the Blazers superstar remains faithful in the organization.

Pain-free Damian Lillard adamant best days are ahead for him, Blazers

We live in a star-horny society.
You could look to a number of things to prove this. Watch an ad for an upcoming NBA game that&rsquo;ll air on ESPN or ABC. They&rsquo;ve been repurposing the same song all year, and apparently have assigned Fat Joe to rhyme the names of the stars from said game.
&ldquo;Kyrie Irving, James Harden coming through in the clutch.&rdquo;
&ldquo;Steph Curry hittin' Klay in the cut.&rdquo;
The formula is always the same: highlight the stars, not the teams. Make it &ldquo;<a href="https://twitter.com/SmittyBeatz_/status/1467871495657504773" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Curry vs. Embiid</a>,&rdquo; then at the very end, change it to Warriors vs. 76ers. Or, in this case, <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CZUo0M4pst9/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Kyrie vs. Curry</a>, and Harden vs. Klay, before making it Nets vs. Warriors.
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Now, look to the Most Improved Player Award. CJ McCollum is the only Most Improved Player of the last 10 years to not become an All-Star, and he probably should&rsquo;ve been selected at least once.
Early on, what you&rsquo;d often see were players winning the MIP award because of increased counting stats, even when the counting stats only improved because their minutes did &mdash; and the players&rsquo; per-36 stats remained eerily similar. Apologies to Don MacLean and the 24-win Washington Bullets of 1994.
Other times, the award would just go to top draft picks who developed as many already expected they would, regardless of how their team performed. Looking at you, Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf and Pervis Ellison, respectfully. Though, sometimes, they absolutely nailed it, like with Dale Ellis in 1987, Tracy McGrady in 2001, Jermaine O&rsquo;Neal in 2002 and Hedo T&uuml;rkoğlu in 2007.
In recent years, the award has become more of a star-crowning achievement that cements your arrival, no longer potentially rewarding a 30-year-old journeyman like Darrell Armstrong for finally putting it all together on <a href="https://www.basketball-reference.com/leagues/NBA_1999.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">one of the league&rsquo;s best regular-season teams</a> of 1999. Or an out-of-nowhere revelation like Isaac Austin, who had left the NBA for Europe before coming back and winning the award in 1997.
This year, we&rsquo;re probably going to follow a similar star-making template. Ja Morant is expected to win the award despite being the No. 2 overall pick in 2019. Expect to see 2019 No. 5 overall pick Darius Garland right behind him.
Why is the award going to high draft picks who just develop as top selections are expected to, like Brandon Ingram two seasons ago? Players should be considered if they've made huge leaps and filled important roles on respectable teams. Right now, it feels like we're only rewarding players who make the jump from above-average starter to star.
So here, I&rsquo;ll highlight guys closer to that Austin, Armstrong, archetype, who really should get Most-Improved-Player consideration (even though they won't) instead of only the rising stars who dominate the category. Guys who proved they belong &mdash; they matter, too.
Caleb Martin, Miami Heat
Caleb Martin and his twin Cody had been teammates with the Charlotte Hornets over the last two seasons, and because they play the same position, one of them had to go. Out went Caleb.
Apparently, <a href="https://www.charlotteobserver.com/sports/charlotte-hornets/article258506473.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">thanks to J. Cole</a>, Caleb got a shot with the Miami Heat, and if you&rsquo;re an agent representing a fringe NBA player, that is where you&rsquo;d probably want your client to go.
Caleb&rsquo;s jumped from 5.0 points, 2.7 rebounds, 1.3 assists and 0.7 steals in 15.4 minutes per game in his last Charlotte season to 9.5 points, 4.0 rebounds, 1.1 assists and 1.0 steals in 23.1 minutes per game in Miami.
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Per-36 minutes, the scoring has improved from 11.6 to 14.9 points. The offensive rating has skyrocketed from 99 to 122. The defensive rating is down from 112 to 107. The previously non-existent shooting has gone from 38/25/64 splits to 52/40/76 from the field, three and free-throw line, with a true-shooting percentage at 61.8, up more than 15 percentage points from last season. He&rsquo;s also top-five on the Heat in both win shares (3.9) and win shares per 48 (.158).
In Miami, he&rsquo;s guarded some of the opposition&rsquo;s toughest assignments &mdash; yes, even with multiple Defensive-Player-of-the-Year candidates on his own team in Bam Adebayo and Jimmy Butler &mdash; and went from a two-way contract player to a rotation guy who simply has to get playoff minutes in order for the Eastern Conference&rsquo;s No. 1 team to be at their best from 1-through-9 this spring. He&rsquo;s had a massive impact, and a largely unforeseen one.
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Do me a favor and watch these late defensive possessions from Miami Take a look at one guy shifting the game through defensive impact His name is Caleb Martin <a href="https://t.co/NFRmelYcux">pic.twitter.com/NFRmelYcux</a>
&mdash; Brady Hawk (@BradyHawk305) <a href="https://twitter.com/BradyHawk305/status/1500323996201590788?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 6, 2022</a></blockquote>

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Javonte Green, Chicago Bulls
This list was made for someone like Javonte Green.
This dude, at 28, is the only Radford alum to play in the NBA for more than five career games, and they were the only school to offer him out of high school. After going undrafted, he played overseas, including at LEB Plata (Spain&rsquo;s third division after Liga ACB and LEB Oro) and Serie A2 Basket (Italy&rsquo;s second league after Lega Basket Serie A). After four seasons in Europe, he finally got to the NBA in 2019, and until this year, he had averaged just over 10 minutes through 89 games with the Boston Celtics and the Bulls, who acquired him just under a year ago.
This season, Green&rsquo;s up to 24.5 minutes per contest, with 36 starts in 48 games for the playoff-bound Bulls who currently sit at No. 4 in the Eastern Conference. His averages are up from 3.6 points and 1.7 rebounds to 7.6 points and 4.3 rebounds per game, with about a steal and half a block too. His shooting&rsquo;s up from 52/33/75 to 54/35/83, and although his per-36 stats are roughly the same, his offensive rating is way up from 118 to 131 (team-high), and his True Shooting percentage is a career-high .637. His .139 win shares per 48 minutes are second to only DeMar DeRozan in Chicago too.
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<a href="https://www.nbcsports.com/chicago/bulls/bulls-javonte-green-making-name-self-regardless-role" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Shout out to K.C. Johnson for the timely feature on Green</a> that went up Tuesday, in which I&rsquo;ll grab the following quote to support this agenda:
&ldquo;I know what I&rsquo;m on the team for and what I bring to the team," Green said. "I&rsquo;m going to continue to do that whether that&rsquo;s coming off the bench or starting. I&rsquo;m just here to do my job, be here for my teammates. Whatever they need me to do, I&rsquo;m going to do it regardless if I&rsquo;m starting or coming off the bench. It&rsquo;s not like I&rsquo;m mad about it or anything.&rdquo;
Green&rsquo;s the kind of guy that goes on your squad and instantly becomes a fan favorite, unless you only care about "hoooooperzzzzz."
Gary Payton II, Golden State Warriors
Gary Payton II&rsquo;s been in the league in some capacity since 2016, but has typically been a fringe, perimeter defensive specialist who didn&rsquo;t catch on anywhere aside from the Washington Wizards of 2019-20, with whom he started 17 of his 29 appearances. He was with Golden State last year, but only for 10 games; most of his season was spent in the G League, where he won Defensive Player of the Year.
His averages in those 10 Warrior games last season? 4.0 minutes, 2.5 points, 1.1 rebounds and 0.6 steals. This year? 17.1 minutes, 7.1 points, 3.4 rebounds and 1.4 steals. He&rsquo;s also shooting 61% from the field and 36% from three on nearly two attempts per game &mdash; his jumper&rsquo;s been a factor on him spinning his wheels prior to now.
He&rsquo;s one of the best defenders on the planet, which is something we got a whiff of in Washington, but it&rsquo;s really amplified thanks to his increased role in Golden State. A 102 defensive rating, for a guard in this era, is a rarity &mdash; it&rsquo;s first in the NBA among qualified backcourt players by three points.
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On the ball, he&rsquo;s one of the absolute best in the league to watch defensively, and should get All-Defensive consideration even in his limited role. Word to Triple H. He&rsquo;s. <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fzgtubZmjng">That. Damn. Good</a>.
Jarred Vanderbilt, Minnesota Timberwolves 
The only one of these guys to have actually been drafted, Jarred Vanderbilt is the rare developmental success story out of Minnesota. Selected No. 41 overall in 2018, Vanderbilt was originally in the Denver Nuggets&rsquo; system before he was included in a four-team deal two February&rsquo;s ago, landing him here.
From 2018 through 2020, Vanderbilt logged 4.1 minutes per game in just 28 NBA appearances. Last season, he became a rotation piece, though it was still on a typical Timberwolve team &mdash; one that finished 23-49 and 13th&nbsp;in the Western Conference.
He averaged 5.4 points, 5.8 rebounds, 1.0 steals and 0.7 blocks on 17.8 minutes per contest on 61% shooting. This season, he&rsquo;s up to 7.0 points, 8.8 rebounds, 1.4 steals, 0.7 blocks in 25.9 minutes per game on 59% shooting. His win shares are up from 3.1 to 5.4, and has been second on the T-Wolves (after Karl-Anthony Towns) for each of the last two seasons in win shares per 48 among players who&rsquo;ve logged 300 or more total minutes, improving to .164 from .132. This year, he has a 106 defensive rating too. Like GPII, that is primarily why he&rsquo;s here.
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Jarred Vanderbilt singlehandedly outrebounded the Lakers entire big man rotation, while teaming with KAT and Jaden to turn LeBron and Melo into potatoes The Wolves got up 20 (TWENTY) more shot attempts than LA while holding them to 38% shooting Vando. 1st. Team. All. Defense. <a href="https://t.co/oVjKFmu4hf">pic.twitter.com/oVjKFmu4hf</a>
&mdash; Key Sang (@Phantele_) <a href="https://twitter.com/Phantele_/status/1472191041575034880?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 18, 2021</a></blockquote>

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He&rsquo;s clearly been a large part of why the Timberwolves have played respectable defense, even as their top-three guys have been largely known for&hellip; well, not that. Patrick Beverley has come in to help, as well, and the <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/we-should-give-dangelo-russell-more-credit">T-Wolves are 37-29 and seventh&nbsp;out West</a>.
Vanderbilt might flirt with an All-Defensive Team selection this season, which wasn&rsquo;t something you could say last year.
Honorable Mentions 
Amir Coffey, Los Angeles Clippers
Grant Williams, Boston Celtics
Gabe Vincent, Miami Heat 
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Bryan Fonseca highlights four NBA players who deserve praise for improving, even though they won't receive any hardware.