Eagles

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

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

Brad Stevens deserves massive credit for the Celtics' success

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With the 2022 NBA Draft less than a month away, BasketballNews.com will have you covered from top to bottom. The NBA Draft Combine in Chicago began the pre-draft process for a number of hopeful prospects as they try to break into the league.
I had the opportunity to catch up with Ohio State swingman Malaki Branham, who averaged 13.7 points, 3.6 rebounds, and 2.0 assists per game in his lone season with the Buckeyes. We discussed his start in basketball, playing in his home state, his second-half surge and how he'll translate to the next level.
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Let's start with your background. What's your hometown?
Malaki Branham: "My hometown is Columbus, Ohio, where I was born and raised."
Could you tell me a little bit about your family background?
Branham: "I have a small circle. It's my mom, my little brother, my uncle, my auntie and my grandma. That's about it. My trainer is also like family. I've been working with him for seven-plus years, so he became family."
Did you play any other sports growing up?
Branham: "No, not really. When I was younger, I played soccer and baseball, but basketball has always been everything to me."
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When did you first start getting into organized basketball?
Branham: "Probably when I was 8 or 9. I started playing AAU early on, and things just took off from there."
At what point in your development did it start to click that you might have a bright future in basketball?
Branham: "It was my eighth-grade year. I dunked on somebody; that was my first in-game dunk but my first "poster" too. I thought, 'If I keep working, I can do something with this.'"
How tall were you when that happened?
Branham: I was around 6-2, 6-3. And I'm 6-5 now, so I've grown a few inches.
Being from Ohio, what was it like to be able to stay home and play at Ohio State?
Branham: "It meant everything to me, getting to play for my hometown school. I loved every second I was there on campus with the coaching staff and everyone. It was a good feeling to play for my hometown and have my family watch me too."
In our <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/nba-draft" target="_blank" rel="noopener">2022 NBA Mock Draft</a> on BasketballNews.com, we have you projected to the Cleveland Cavaliers at No. 14. How would you feel if that ended up being the case?
Branham: "It would be cool! Many people back home want me to stay and play for the Cleveland Cavaliers. It's just a blessing to be in this position."
I saw you early on in the season at the Fort Myers Classic. At that point, you were starting, but not getting a lot of shots. Then, midway through the season, you started to explode. From your perspective, what began to click for you to elevate your game so dramatically?
Branham: "I didn't have the biggest role on the team to start. In the beginning, I was trying to fit in. Then, when we played Wisconsin at home, I had 0 points and 4 turnovers. I texted Coach [Chris] Holtmann after the game and thanked him for letting me play through the mistakes that I was making. I was just frustrated with myself, I looked in the mirror and said, 'We need to get to work.'
"From that point, the Nebraska game came, and I kept that in the back of my head and wanted to make sure that the game wasn't just a fluke. I just wanted to be consistent the rest of the year, and I feel like I did that."
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The Big Ten was stacked this year. I stayed in Indianapolis to watch the entirety of the conference tournament. Who do you think was your toughest matchup this year?
Branham: "The toughest 1-on-1 matchups that I had to guard, I'd probably say Fatts Russell from Maryland; he's a smaller guard, but he's so quick and shifty. I'd also have to say Johnny Davis and Jaden Ivey as well.
"That quick first step that lets [Jaden] get to the rim with ease (makes him a tough matchup). Also, he gets up in the air and gets his shot off from anywhere he wants. With him, I feel like it's him being more explosive than everybody. Johnny is just smooth. He's a bigger guard as well. He gets to the mid-range just like me, so making it tough on him is hard to do. I feel like he plays through a lot of contact.
"Those guys were both a year ahead of me, so they had a feel for Big Ten basketball. I just had to get a feel for how they moved, but I felt like I matched up with them pretty well."
What was your driving force for going all-in on the draft?
Branham: "Really, it was just getting good feedback. I kept working and put my head down, and after, I kept getting good news. I felt like it was too good of an option for me to pass up. I feel like entering the draft with two feet is what I wanted, so I'm just excited to be in this process."
Can you describe yourself as a player?
Branham: "I would say that I'm aggressive. I'm always in attack mode. When I'm between those four lines, I'm in attack mode and aggressive. In the second half of the season, I was aggressive, looking for my shot. I'm also always trying to facilitate for my team too."
Are there any specific aspects of your game that you're looking to improve?
Branham: "Probably tightening my handle. I will be on the wing against bigger and older guys, so I need a tight handle. I'd also like to work on my defensive abilities as well. I'm not going to be a guy who is handling the ball all the time right away, so I need to get some stops on the defensive end to earn that trust on the offensive end."
Are there any current or former players that you model your game after?
Branham: "I watch a lot of Khris Middleton, Devin Booker and those types of guys that can get to the mid-range and are three-level scorers. Those are the guys I model my game after."
If you had to use one word to describe yourself, what would it be?
Branham: 'I'd go with resilient. There will always be tough times in life, but I'm always pushing through. This year was a good example of me being resilient. At the beginning of the year, I wasn't playing as well as I could have, and in the second half, I found a way to push through and get through it."
Let's pretend I'm an NBA general manager. What is your elevator pitch to me as to why I should select you?
Branham: "I live and breathe basketball. I'm a hard worker. So many people say that, but I am genuinely a hard worker. I wake up at 5 a.m. every day and put the work in to perfect my craft. You should select me because I do that and want to get better every day to become the best I possibly can become."
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Matt Babcock speaks with Ohio State wing Malaki Branham about his second-half surge, how he'll translate to the NBA and more.

2022 NBA Draft Q&A: Ohio State's Malaki Branham leans on resilience

Klay Thompson drained the 3-pointers. Draymond Green anchored the defense and even chipped in on the offensive end for a change. Stephen Curry capped off an MVP performance.
The trio that led Golden State to so much success in recent years is whole again and and has the Warriors in position for another title after advancing to the NBA Finals with a <a href="https://apnews.com/article/dallas-mavericks-golden-state-warriors-nba-sports-stephen-curry-3fe45e8158653547bb782fe769242a60">120-110 victory</a> over the Dallas Mavericks on Thursday night.
&ldquo;Like I&rsquo;ve said over and over again, I&rsquo;m going to keep saying it: No one has proven that they can move us off that spot,&rdquo; Green said. &ldquo;That&rsquo;s the mindset we come into this thing with. We understand what it takes to win a championship.&rdquo;
The triumvirate of Curry, Thompson and Green is in rarified air in NBA lore as the core of a team that has made it to six NBA Finals in an eight-year span. It's an accomplishment only the greatest groups have reached with Bill Russell's Celtics of the 1950s and &lsquo;60s, Magic Johnson's Lakers in the 1980s and Michael Jordan's Bulls of the 1990s doing it.
Now the Warriors hope to add a fourth title to the ones they captured in 2015, &lsquo;17 and &rsquo;18 when the Finals start June 2.
&ldquo;We&rsquo;re happy to be here, but it would help our legacy a lot if we completed the mission and won the whole thing,&rdquo; Thompson said. &ldquo;We can be happy tonight, and we will be, I&rsquo;ll celebrate tonight. But tomorrow when this Game 6 comes on, I&rsquo;m turning the page and I&rsquo;m scouting because we want to finish this thing off the right way.&rdquo;
(Editor's Note: The Boston Celtics will represent the Eastern Conference after Sunday's Game 7 win in Miami.)
The last time the Warriors made it to the Finals they fell short, starting a two-year spiral filled with losing and injuries. Thompson tore his left ACL during a season-ending Game 6 loss in the 2019 NBA Finals.
Kevin Durant tore his Achilles' tendon earlier that series and then left for Brooklyn that summer, leading to the Warriors finishing an NBA-worst 15-50 in the pandemic shortened 2019-20 season.
Thompson then tore his right Achilles' tendon just before the start of the next season and the Warriors were unable to make it back to the playoffs, getting knocked out by Memphis in the play-in game.
But Thompson returned in January and the combination of the aging trio of stars with an infusion of youth from players like Andrew Wiggins, Jordan Poole and others has Golden State back at the top of the league again.
&ldquo;We never lost the faith, but you understand how hard of a process it was going to be to climb the mountain again,&rdquo; Curry said. &ldquo;I think internally we are all extremely proud of what it took to get back here. Yeah, it&rsquo;s definitely sweet based on what we went through.&rdquo;
Thompson led the way in the clinching Game 5 win of the Western Conference finals over Dallas, making eight 3-pointers for a record-setting fifth time in his playoff career and scoring 32 points.
Green added 17 points, six rebounds and nine assists to go along with his usual defensive brilliance and Curry had 15 points and nine assists as he was named series MVP.
It's a level of play that reminds coach Steve Kerr of the Bulls teams he played on with Jordan and Scottie Pippen that won so many titles in the 1990s.
&ldquo;The common denominator is just talented players who are fierce competitors,&rdquo; Kerr said. &ldquo;Whether you talk about Michael and Scottie, Steph, Draymond, Klay, it takes a special kind of athlete to have both dynamics. The skill and the athleticism and all that, but to also be just incredibly competitive and to want to win so badly. It&rsquo;s the only way you can have a run like that because you get exhausted, you get tired, you get frustrated. If you don&rsquo;t have that type of competitive desire and that type of skill combined, it&rsquo;s just not going to happen six times out of eight years.&rdquo;

The trio that led Golden State to so much success in recent years is whole again and and has the Warriors in position for another title.

Star trio leads Warriors to 6th NBA Finals spot in 8 years

In terms of their title-contending window, the Memphis Grizzlies are perhaps in the best position of any team in the NBA.
The fact is that Memphis forced their window open a few years earlier than anyone would have anticipated. The oldest guys on the current roster are Steven Adams and Kyle Anderson, both 28 years of age. At the start of the 2022-23 season, the top three players for the Grizzlies will be 24 years old (Desmond Bane) and 23 years old (Ja Morant and Jaren Jackson Jr.). The team with the second-best record in the league has a core that has not even scratched its prime.
Memphis is here, and with Morant likely to be locked up through 2027, this franchise will be competitive for quite a while. And moving ahead, recently named 2022 NBA Executive of the Year Zach Kleiman is now tasked with some decisions for Memphis to continue on this fast-rising arc.
&ldquo;There&rsquo;s definitely a lot to be said about core continuity,&rdquo; Kleiman <a href="https://dailymemphian.com/article/28749/zach-kleiman-named-nba-executive-of-the-year" target="_blank" rel="noopener">recently told Drew Hill of the Daily Memphian</a>. &ldquo;We are not going to have any issue paying anyone who we want to pay. There is not going to be any issue with retention here. I&rsquo;m very grateful, and we wouldn&rsquo;t be in this spot without (Grizzlies owner) Robert [Pera]&rsquo;s vision and support and commitment on that end. We are not worried about small-market notions or this or that. We are not going to have any issue whatsoever keeping together who we want as we continue to prioritize continuity.&rdquo;
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There a few names that come to play in regards to "retention." Heading into this offseason, Tyus Jones, Jarrett Culver and Anderson will all be entering unrestricted <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/nba-free-agency" target="_blank" rel="noopener">free agency</a>. The Grizzlies were able to steal Jones and Anderson from their respective teams during their restricted-free-agency summers, but now the question is whether they will retain either of them this offseason.
There should be little to no argument that Jones is the best backup point guard in the NBA. His steady play and care of the ball played a major role in the Grizzlies winning the way they did this season, even when Morant went down with injury. In his exit interview, Jones told reporters that, while he does desire to be a starting point guard, he "loves the organization and playing with this team."
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Paying Tyus starter money to back up Morant is like paying for an expensive insurance policy. You may never get your money's worth, but when you need it in an emergency situation, you are sure glad you have it. With Ja's style of play, having Jones on the roster seems like the most valuable potential signing Memphis could have this summer. They could front load the contract to make the money work long-term, and then draft another point guard to be ready by the end of Jones' next deal.&nbsp;
Anderson, while more likely to return than Culver, has probably played his last game in a Memphis uniform. His veteran presence was important in the playoffs this season, but his inability to shoot leaves Memphis looking for an upgrade. Anderson is a holdover from the Chris Wallace regime, and though he has been a cultural fit in the locker room, it may be time to move on.
Adams, Dillon Brooks and Killian Tillie will all be on expiring deals worth over $30 million combined going into next season, and both Morant and Brandon Clarke are eligibile for their rookie-scale extensions. While Morant will get a max offer the second he is eligible, the decision on Clarke will loom large this summer. Memphis would do well to avoid restricted free agency in 2023 with the springy forward, and should look at a four-year, $50 million dollar extension as the ceiling for him.&nbsp;
With a pair of first-round picks and enough expiring money and cap space heading into the 2022 NBA Draft, will Memphis make a splash? The free-agent market is not enticing enough for them to sign anyone &mdash; especially considering they are going to have to pay Bane soon as well. A reunion with Delon Wright seems to be the best option if Memphis were to lose the Jones sweepstakes. Don't expect the Grizz to put their name in the hat for Zach Lavine this summer either.&nbsp;
Could Memphis pry Pascal Siakam away from Toronto for a package of Adams, Brooks and three first-round draft picks? Or perhaps Utah is open for business and there is a similar package, plus De'Anthony Melton, for Donovan Mitchell. A simpler upgrade for the Grizz could be Brooks and a pick for Bojan Bogdanovic, a veteran shooting presence Memphis needs.&nbsp;
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The Grizzlies' summer will be unpredictable. On one hand, they could be completely silent, doing nothing crazy and opt to run it back. On the other, they could swing for it, seeing their window open before Morant hits his first max contract.
Another big storyline for them will be the development of Ziaire Williams at NBA Summer League. The previous season, Bane went from a low-usage rookie to a summer-league standout to receiving a Third Team All-NBA vote. Williams is on the Bane plan, and if he were to breakout in a similar way, that is a massive development for the Grizzlies' title aspirations.
No matter what Memphis does this summer, the organization is ahead of schedule. Ja Morant, Jaren Jackson Jr. and Desmond Bane make up one of the most lethal trios in the league, and they are just getting started.
The Grizzlies do not care if you believe in them. They believe in themselves, and are going to be in the thick of it for years to come.&nbsp;
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Justin Lewis takes a look at the upcoming decisions the Grizzlies have to make in free agency and with their own roster this summer.

2022 NBA offseason preview: What's next for the Memphis Grizzlies?

MIAMI (AP) &mdash; Jayson Tatum scored 26 points, Jaylen Brown and Marcus Smart each added 24 and the Boston Celtics held off a frantic rally in the final seconds to beat the Miami Heat 100-96 on Sunday night and reach the NBA Finals for the first time since 2010.
Al Horford added 14 rebounds for the Celtics, who never trailed on the way to pulling off a Game 7 win on the road &mdash; and not including the bubble, that was the first such victory for the storied franchise since beating Milwaukee for the 1974 NBA title.
Next up for Boston: the Golden State Warriors in a series that starts Thursday in San Francisco.
Jimmy Butler, who willed Miami into Game 7 by scoring 47 points on Friday in Boston, led the Heat with 35 points in what became their season finale. Bam Adebayo added 25 for the Heat, who were down 11 with under 3 minutes to go before trying one last rally.
An 9-0 run, capped by a 3-pointer from Max Strus with 51 seconds left, got the Heat within 98-96. They had a chance for the lead with about 17 seconds to go when Butler tried a 3-pointer from the right wing, but it missed &mdash; and the Celtics escaped.
Boston forced the Heat into nine consecutive misses during a crucial stretch of the fourth quarter, using that stretch to turn an 82-79 lead into a 90-79 edge &mdash; and the Celtics, who had lost each of their last four trips to the East finals, found a way to hold on.
Kyle Lowry scored 15 for the Heat. Grant Williams finished with 11 for the Celtics.
The Celtics came out flying. The Heat came out the opposite of flying.
Boston&rsquo;s lead was 32-17 after one quarter &mdash; the largest ever by a road team after 12 minutes of a Game 7, four points bigger than Golden State&rsquo;s lead over the Los Angeles Lakers back in the 1977 playoffs.
The Celtics set that tone with defense; they held Miami to 33% shooting in the opening quarter, 1 for 7 from 3-point range and outscored the Heat 13-4 on fast breaks.
The lead was still 15 with 2:36 left in the half, when Miami showed signs of life.
An 11-2 run is how the Heat ended the half, the burst sparked by 3s from Strus and Butler, then capped by four free throws from Lowry in the final 29 seconds. Butler was up to 24 points at the break &mdash; he didn&rsquo;t miss a single second &mdash; and Miami had gotten within 55-49 going into the third.
Miami thought it had gotten within 56-54 when Strus rattled in a corner 3 early in the third. But the Celtics answered with a 9-1 run, which was even worse &mdash; the NBA replay center in Secaucus, New Jersey decided that Strus had stepped out of bounds, his 3 came off the board while the game was going, and a 56-54 game became 65-52.
TIP-INS
Celtics: Derrick White had to leave early in the fourth quarter because he was bleeding after his head got struck by Adebayo under a basket. ... The Celtics became the first team to get three road wins over Miami in the same playoff series. Road teams went 5-2 in the East finals, Boston going 3-1 on the Heat home court.
Heat: Butler was the second NBA player this season to play every second of a game. The other was Oklahoma City&rsquo;s Georgios Kalaitzakis, who played all 48 minutes of the Thunder&rsquo;s season-ending 50-point loss to the Los Angeles Clippers. ... Sixth Man of the Year Tyler Herro returned from a three-game absence because of a groin injury, but went scoreless in seven minutes.
GAME 7 HISTORY
Boston improved to 26-9 in Game 7s. Miami fell to 6-5 in such games, and lost for the first time in five Game 7s at home under coach Erik Spoelstra.
HOME DOGS
Miami was a 2.5-point underdog at tipoff according to FanDuel Sportsbook, marking the second time in the last 20 Game 7s &mdash; excluding the bubble restart in 2020, when all the games were at Walt Disney World &mdash; that the home team wasn&rsquo;t favored. The other was Houston in the 2018 Western Conference finals; the injury-plagued Rockets were 6.5-point underdogs and lost to Golden State 101-92.

The Boston Celtics held off the Miami Heat in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals, advancing to the NBA Finals.

Celtics reach NBA Finals, hold off Heat 100-96 in Game 7

The Oklahoma City Thunder came out of last Tuesday&rsquo;s NBA Draft Lottery as the night&rsquo;s runner-up, taking home the No. 2 overall pick.&nbsp;
The Thunder have never received the first-overall pick in their franchise history, which technically goes back to 1967 when they were still the Seattle Supersonics. They have selected second on two occasions though, and both worked out really well (Kevin Durant in 2007 and Gary Payton in 1990).
The Thunder have a war-chest of draft picks in the coming years, but those picks are meaningless if they don&rsquo;t select a franchise-altering talent. Fortunately, the No. 2 pick should provide an opportunity to do so. The 2022 draft class features a few &ldquo;can&rsquo;t-miss&rdquo; prospects, including Auburn&rsquo;s Jabari Smith, Gonzaga&rsquo;s Chet Holmgren and Duke&rsquo;s Paolo Banchero. All three have their pros and cons, but adding any of them to the existing core of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Josh Giddey should work out beautifully.
In the 2021 NBA Draft, the Thunder made six selections, but they traded three of those players. They added Giddey (who was named to the 2021-22 All-Rookie Second Team), Tre Mann and Aaron Wiggins &ndash; none of whom are bigs. The Thunder did trade for a seven-footer in the 2020 draft (Aleksej Pokusevski), but he&rsquo;s still extremely raw and is not the same caliber of player as the top-three prospects.
Of course, there is still a lot of work to be done through the scouting process to effectively evaluate all three of this draft's most-coveted prospects, but a look back at the last 10 NBA drafts reveals a murkier history than one might assume. After <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/examining-the-success-of-teams-selecting-first-in-the-nba-draft" target="_blank" rel="noopener">examining the success of teams selecting No. 1 in the NBA Draft</a> last week, let's look at how recent No. 2 overall picks have fared.&nbsp;
2012 NBA Draft: Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, Charlotte Bobcats/Hornets
The Hornets bombed with the second pick in 2012. Kidd-Gilchrist had a fine career, averaging 12.3 points and 7.9 rebounds per game across eight seasons in the NBA. The thing is, Bradley Beal was selected third and Damian Lillard was selected fifth, and both of those guys are All-NBA-caliber players annually. Comparatively, that&rsquo;s a huge miss for Charlotte.
Verdict: Failure.
2013 NBA Draft: Victor Oladipo, Orlando Magic
The Cavaliers certainly surprised many of us by picking Anthony Bennett with the first overall pick, but the Magic stuck to the script. Oladipo was universally seen as a top-three player in this draft, and he became the second-best player in the class before knee and quad injuries derailed his career.
As much as injuries have robbed much of what Oladipo was, he is still an intriguing player, and he&rsquo;ll probably command some decent free-agent offers this offseason. Obiously, CJ McCollumn (selected 10th) and Giannis Antetokounmpo (selected 15th) are better players, but neither was being considered by the Magic. Considering that Oladipo is a two-time All-Star, an All-Defensive selection and a one-time All-NBA selection, I&rsquo;d say the Magic did a fine job in picking Oladipo.
Verdict: Success
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2014 NBA Draft: Jabari Parker, Milwaukee Bucks
The 2014 draft was a weird one. Neither the first nor the second pick ended up being the best player from this draft class. Andrew Wiggins found a good role, even if he is far less successful than most thought he&rsquo;d be, but Jabari Parker really underwhelmed. Granted, Parker stuck around in the league for eight seasons, including some of the current one, but his career simply never materialized even if it&rsquo;s not his (nor Milwaukee&rsquo;s) fault.
Parker tore his ACL twice. He looked like he was becoming a pretty darn good player (even if he was a defensive liability) before the second ACL injury, averaging 20.1 points and 6.2 rebounds per game in 2016-17. However good Parker could have been, the fact of the matter is that Joel Embiid was intriguing enough as of draft night to be taken one pick later, and that stings.
Verdict: Failure
2015 NBA Draft: D&rsquo;Angelo Russell, Los Angeles Lakers
Here&rsquo;s an instance where a player actually was worth a top-three pick. The problem is that the Lakers had the second pick, and there&rsquo;s a big difference between Karl-Anthony Towns or Devin Booker and Russell. Making matters worse, the Lakers sent Russell to Brooklyn before he matured. His immaturity was part of the reason he was traded, but that doesn&rsquo;t change the fact that the Lakers picked him and moved on very quickly. Russell may or may not end up being a franchise-altering talent, but he hasn&rsquo;t realized his full potential yet, and he clearly won&rsquo;t do so for the Lakers.
Verdict: Failure
2016 NBA Draft: Brandon Ingram, Los Angeles Lakers
Ingram is one of the best No. 2 picks in the last 10 drafts. He&rsquo;s a true number one option on a playoff team, a career 18.5 points-per-game scorer and a one-time All-Star. It&rsquo;s debatable that Jaylen Brown (selected third) and/or Jamal Murray (selected seventh) are as good or better players, but both have played alongside more talented teammates throughout their careers.
Ingram has been the best player on the New Orleans Pelicans for a few years now, and we shouldn&rsquo;t take for granted the fact that Ingram led a playoff team this season. Sure, the Lakers didn&rsquo;t cash in on him specifically, but he was part of the package that led to Anthony Davis landing in Los Angeles. So, it worked out for them too.
Verdict: Success
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2017 NBA Draft: Lonzo Ball, Los Angeles Lakers
The Lakers picked second overall again in 2017. They weren&rsquo;t as successful this time around. First, there&rsquo;s Jayson Tatum to consider. Tatum was selected third and is the best player in the 2017 draft class. Being selected by the Lakers wouldn&rsquo;t have changed that, and that should be enough. But there&rsquo;s also Ball&rsquo;s rough shooting mechanics to consider. Sure, he&rsquo;s grown into a good shooter, but the Lakers didn&rsquo;t benefit from that. It&rsquo;s hard to categorize Ball&rsquo;s selection as an outright failure because like Ingram, he helped facilitate Davis to the Lakers. Still, it's tough to classify his selection a success.
Verdict: Push
2018 NBA Draft: Marvin Bagley III, Sacramento Kings
Bagley might be the worst second pick in the last 10 years. The 2018 NBA Draft will forever be remembered as the Luka Doncic class. The Kings could have drafted Doncic, as he was still on the board, but they chose to go with Bagley instead. Bagley isn&rsquo;t even on the Kings any longer, and his time in Sacramento was not memorable.
Bagley is a sub-par defender and three-point shooter. He&rsquo;s scored the ball at a decent pace, averaging 19.5 points per-36 minutes, but he&rsquo;s never earned a big enough role to demonstrate what he can really do, and he&rsquo;s exclusively been on losing teams. Comparatively, Doncic and Trae Young (selected No. 5 in 2018) have turned their franchises around.
Verdict: Failure
2019 NBA Draft: Ja Morant, Memphis Grizzlies
Ingram was the best second pick in the last 10 years, until 2019. Morant stole that made-up accolade almost immediately in his rookie season. The thing is, the 2019 NBA Draft was supposed to be all about Zion Williamson. However, unlike Williamson, Morant has backed up all the hype and then some. So, while Williamson has dealt with injuries for much of his young career, Morant has brazenly become the face of his draft class.
Morant is drawing comparisons to numerous superstars, and he was named to the 2021-22 All-NBA Second Team. No one selected after him comes close to making the Grizzlies think twice about their decision.
Verdict: HUGE success
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2020 NBA Draft: James Wiseman, Golden State Warriors
Unlike his brother Lonzo, LaMelo Ball was deserving of the second pick in 2020. Instead, the Golden State Warriors went with James Wiseman, though the logic behind the pick is clear, even in retrospect. The Warriors already had two All-NBA guards. The thing is, Jordan Poole looks pretty good alongside Steph Curry and Klay Thompson, doesn&rsquo;t he? So, it&rsquo;s feasible to assume that Ball would have fit too.
After two seasons, Ball is a significantly better player, but he&rsquo;s also had plenty of opportunity to demonstrate that fact. Wiseman has had terrible health-related luck. He played in 39 of the Warriors' first 53 games in 2020-21, but he tore his meniscus in Golden State&rsquo;s 53rd&nbsp;game of the season and hasn&rsquo;t been seen since. Wiseman could still be a serious contributor, as his per-36 numbers were impressive for a rookie (19.3 points, 9.7 rebounds, 1.6 blocks and 1.1 assists on .542/.316/.628 shooting). This is one we&rsquo;ll have to continue monitoring.
Verdict: Unclear
2021 NBA Draft: Jalen Green, Houston Rockets
Basing the success of a pick on only a rookie season is tough. Green posted an impressive rookie campaign, but his defensive deficiencies were clear. That&rsquo;s an understandable flaw for a rookie. Green was the assumed second-best player in the class. Having the luxury of hindsight, we now know that Scottie Barnes (selected fourth) and Evan Mobley (selected third) translated to the NBA incredibly well. But wing scorers have a tougher time making the jump, as they must shoot deeper three-pointers and compete against far more athletic competition. Green&rsquo;s floor may be lower than that of Barnes and Mobley, but I'd argue that his ceiling is still higher. Let&rsquo;s give him a little more time.
Verdict: Unclear&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;
In the last 10 drafts, the second overall pick has clearly been one of the best players in the draft class just three times (2013, 2016 and 2019).&nbsp;
A deeper examination of No. 2 overall picks reveals a limited number of franchise-altering talents. For every Kevin Durant, Jason Kidd, Gary Payton, Earl Monroe and Bill Russell, there are a number of players who didn't live up to expectations. Sometimes, there isn't a generational player on the board; other times, the team picking No. 2 overall just overthinks it or goes in the wrong direction. Either way, No. 2 hasn&rsquo;t produced as many all-time greats as you might expect, but there have been quite a few significant contributors.
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Oklahoma City will pick No. 2 in the 2022 draft. A look back at the last 10 drafts reveals that there are no guarantees for No. 2 picks.

Examining the success of teams selecting No. 2 in the NBA Draft

In the modern NBA, multi-positional versatility is something all teams covet. Evidenced by the current playoff finalists, pace-and-space offenses finding mismatches on every possession is the name of the game. For 19-year-old Australian combo guard Dyson Daniels, his strengths mesh well within what will be valued most at the next level.
Forgoing the college route as an International import, Daniels instead went the more challenging route by immersing himself into preparing for the 2022 NBA Draft. Daniels spent this past season with the G League Ignite, which is now forming a consistent pipeline of top prospects like Jalen Green and Jonathan Kuminga. Daniels averaged 11.3 points, 6.2 rebounds, 4.4 assists and 1.9 steals on a 54.0 True Shooting percentage in the G League last season.
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The ability to adapt and play the role of a playmaking wing or secondary ball handler makes the upside with Daniels even more intriguing, especially if he lands in the right player development system that focuses on his long-term outlook.
&ldquo;I always want to be in the gym. I always want to be the best I can,&rdquo; Daniels told <a href="http://BasketballNews.com">BasketballNews.com</a>'s Spencer Davies last September. &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t want anyone to outwork me. I want to be the hardest worker there is.&rdquo;
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Daniels bet on himself playing with the Ignite over national NCAA exposure, which is paying huge dividends leading up to the draft. ESPN&rsquo;s Jonathan Givony recently reported that Daniels had one of the most impressive pre-draft workouts he&rsquo;d ever witnessed, and thanks to those workouts, Dyson is seeing his stock soar in the month before the draft.
The jumbo-sized do-it-all playmaker and defender is slotted in at No. 8 overall to the New Orleans Pelicans in <a href="http://BasketballNews.com">BasketballNews.com</a>'s latest mock draft according to our Senior NBA Draft Analyst, Matt Babcock:
&ldquo;At nearly 6-foot-7, Dyson Daniels is incredibly versatile, as he can play several positions effectively on both ends of the floor. After a stellar season with the G League Ignite, Daniels is seemingly on the rise, as there have been rumblings recently that his draft value is increasing. It&rsquo;s looking like he&rsquo;ll have a good chance of being selected in the mid-lottery on draft night.&rdquo;
Daniels is generating buzz to the point where it would be a surprise if he fell past the top 10 picks without being selected. As a likely lottery pick, Daniels&rsquo; versatility could help a needy team immediately. With such a high basketball IQ, the ceiling for Daniels all depends on if he can develop a reliable jump shot (25.5 3PT%). If Daniels rounds into form and becomes a reliable engine to an elite offense, the possibilities truly are endless for the Aussie.
&ldquo;I have a good floater game, but I&rsquo;m also a defender,&rdquo; Daniels described at the NBA Draft Combine in Chicago earlier this month. &ldquo;I like to break it down on the offensive end. I&rsquo;m a little bit like a Tyrese Haliburton kind of guy that&rsquo;s in control. On the defensive end, I like to look at guys like Lonzo Ball and Alex Caruso and people like that. I feel like I have the frame, and once the game slows down for me a bit, I hope I could develop into a Luka Doncic-type role.&rdquo;
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While those comparisons are lofty for Daniels, we can&rsquo;t rule it out. Who&rsquo;s to say Daniels doesn&rsquo;t become a valuable rotation piece with the potential to become even more a few years down the line? It&rsquo;s why Daniels is generating immense buzz from teams leading up to the draft. At the combine, he met with the following teams: Sacramento Kings, Portland Trail Blazers, New York Knicks, Cleveland Cavaliers, Atlanta Hawks, Milwaukee Bucks and Toronto Raptors.
&ldquo;I try not to take it as pressure, but I&rsquo;m trying to do everything to get Bendigo and Australia on the map. Just be the best version of me I can and do my best,&rdquo; Daniels said.
When trying to find the best attributes to fit with where the NBA is heading, a player in the mold of Daniels becomes extremely valuable the more layers you discover in his game. That&rsquo;s exactly why Daniels is regarded as one of this year&rsquo;s biggest pre-draft risers across the board.
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One of the biggest pre-draft risers is versatile Australian guard Dyson Daniels. How he fits the modern NBA explains his huge rise.

2022 NBA Draft: Dyson Daniels fits the modern trends

Heading into <a href="https://stats.wnba.com/players/traditional/?sort=PTS&amp;dir=-1&amp;Season=2022&amp;SeasonType=Regular%20Season&amp;DateTo=05%2F22%2F2022" target="_blank" rel="noopener">this week's action</a>, Atlanta Dream rookie Rhyne Howard was leading the WNBA in scoring (20.5 points). It was an incredible feat for an incredible talent, one that we've talked about <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/the-atlanta-dream-struck-gold-with-rhyne-howard" target="_blank" rel="noopener">in this space</a>.
Her jumper is pure, and she's able to get to it in a multitude of ways. To the Dream's credit, they've done a great job moving her around the chess board to stress defensess. Playing drop coverage against the Dream is practically begging for them to run a movement set for Howard.
They've run this doozy for Howard a few times this season. The decoy action may vary, but the goal for the Dream is to clear one side of the court before setting a flare screen for Howard to fill that empty space. The Los Angeles Sparks were ill-prepared for it earlier in the season.
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The options are endless. If the screen hits, Howard can flow into a jumper like she did in the clip above. If the screen navigation is a little better, she has plenty of space to attack off the bounce. She can reset and go iso. It can flow into an empty corner pick-and-roll with whoever set the initial flare screen. Heck, they can just flip the angle of the screen and have her come the other way.
On May 20, Howard came out of the gates firing. She was facing the red-hot Washington Mystics, but it didn't feel like they could keep track of her. Howard would score 15 of her 21 points in the opening frame, including a bucket off an all-too-familiar action.
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Backup big Tianna Hawkins (#21) sees it coming. Twice in the action--once while Aari McDonald (#2) is executing a handoff in the left corner, and again as Naz Hillmon (#0) is setting up the flare screen for Howard--Hawkins points toward the empty side. She knows Kennedy Burke has her work cut out for her, but she gets hung up on the screen anyway.
Howard wasn't able to shake loose like that for the rest of the game. Again, she scored 15 in the opening frame but just six points the rest of the way. After the Dream dropped 25 points in the first, they scored 19, 14 and 15 points the rest of the way.
That brings us to the Tuesday matchup, where the Dream wanted to exact revenge for their five-point loss. Where Howard wanted to make up for a quiet three-quarter stretch. The Mystics simply weren't having it, and it was evident from the opening tip.
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On the left side of the floor, you have Natasha Cloud (#9) blowing up the pindown and getting reattached to Kristy Wallace. Howard and Cheyenne Parker (#32) attempt to set screens in the middle of the floor to get the Mystics moving, but Ariel Atkins (#7) is able to navigate the muck and stay attached to Erica Wheeler (#17) as she clears the right side.
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From there, it's go time.&nbsp;
The flare for Howard is coming, but look at the prep work Alysha Clark (#22) does. She gets inside of Howard's jersey before the screen is even set:
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As Parker sets the pick, Clark is able to slow Howard up with a grab before she attempts to fly over it.
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Doing the homework early essentially blew up the first portion of the set. Howard and Parker attempt to go into a pick-and-roll with an empty side from there, but the Mystics had other plans. They sprang a trap on Howard, essentially pinning her in the right corner.
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That's good work on Howard from Clark and rookster Shakira Austin. Cloud has the Parker assignment. Atkins has Wallace. Elena Delle Donne is on the backside of the action, keeping tabs on two Dream players on the right side of the floor. In other words, there are no easy outlets here.
Howard is able to jump-pass her way out of it, but the Mystics are able to rotate behind that pass. Wallace gets the release pass and is immediately pressured. The Dream do a good job of countering with a pin-in screen on Delle Donne, but she fights over it and gets a late-clock contest on the three from Wheeler.
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Whew.
Things didn't get easier for Howard or the Dream. On the individual front, Howard would miss all nine of her field goal attemtps and end the game with [checks notes] zero points. It was easily her worst outing as a pro. Her scoring averaged dropped from a league-leading 20.5 to 17.6, a clip that ranks 10th in the league.
And without Howard getting buckets, the rest of the team faltered. The Dream scored 50 points on the evening as the Mystics racked up a 70-50 victory.
Because of that game, the Mystics now hold the WNBA's <a href="https://stats.wnba.com/teams/advanced/?sort=DEF_RATING&amp;dir=-1" target="_blank" rel="noopener">best defensive rating</a> at 92.3. Even before that game, the Mystics have impressed with their blend of ball pressure and activity on the backline.&nbsp;
If you want a not-so-hidden joy when watching this team, peep their activity whenever an offense tries to run a pick-and-roll from the wing. They attempt to "ICE" most of them, meaning the on-ball defender shades the ball handler toward the sideline. The fun really perks up from there, though.
Because they don't have a pure anchor in drop coverage, the pick-up points for their bigs are a little higher. And because&nbsp;all&nbsp;of their bigs--Austin, Delle Donne, Hawkins, Myisha Hines-Allen and freshly-in-the-fold Elizabeth Williams--are active with their hands, ball-handlers find themselves in trouble quickly.&nbsp;
Watching the Delle Donne-Austin frontcourt has especially been fun. There were questions about how Delle Donne would hold up defensively after her injury-riddled layoff. And it's always fair to wonder how quickly a rookie big like Austin can get acclimated to the big leagues. Both have embraced the challenge; in fact, the Mystics are allowing a defensive rating of 85 (!) when those two <a href="https://stats.wnba.com/lineups/advanced/?Season=2022&amp;SeasonType=Regular%20Season&amp;GroupQuantity=2&amp;TeamID=1611661322&amp;sort=NET_RATING&amp;dir=1&amp;CF=MIN*GE*50" target="_blank" rel="noopener">share the court</a>.&nbsp;
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Getting ball pressure from Cloud and Clark--a pair of wings with All-Defensive team selections under their belts--or Rui Machida off the bench (she's fun) is one thing. Having active bigs can add another layer of mayhem. Combining that with opportunistic help defenders can make an offense feel like it's suffocating.
Shatori Walker-Kimbrough is currently leading the team in steals (1.6), mostly off the strength of her off-ball prowess. Atkins (1.5 steals) isn't too far behind her, showcasing why she's also made multiple All-Defensive teams in her career.
I mentioned Burke getting burned by the flare action for Howard earlier in the piece, but she's already been a problem for offenses as a help defender.&nbsp;
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That activity has been important. The Mystics currently rank third in opponent turnover rate, with offenses coughing up 21.2 turnovers per 100 possessions. That's way up from last season (17.9), and not too far off the franchise record (21.6) set back in 2005.
(And on that note, team offenses were way worse back then; the league average opponent turnover rate in 2005 was 18.1, much higher than the 15.9 mark this season. And we're early in the year, so that number will likely fall as the season goes on.)
We know what a healthy Mystics team can do offensively. Delle Donne is one of the most versatile offensive talents in basketball history. Cloud is a dynamic slasher and <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/natasha-cloud-shines-through-shooter-wnba-on-notice" target="_blank" rel="noopener">confident shooter</a>. There's plenty of shot-making, shooting and driving equity on the roster.
The defense has been a pleasant surprise, though we may see regression at some point. Opponents are only shooting 31.4% from 3, and the multiple efforts needed to make their scheme work can create some openings on that front.
They may not be the&nbsp;best defense in basketball. But if they hover around 3rd or 4th, that's still much better than they were last season (104.4 defensive rating, 11th out of 12 teams). And if the defense can hang, we need to start talking about this team as a serious title contender.
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Nekias Duncan breaks down why the Washington Mystics' defense has been so successful to start the season.

How the Washington Mystics are winning with activity

A champion will be crowned in the Basketball Africa League (BAL) today, as Tunisia&rsquo;s US Monastir and Angola&rsquo;s Petro de Luanda face off at noon ET.
The game will reach fans in 215 countries and territories, and will air in Africa on ESPN, Canal+, VisionView TV and Voice of America (VOA) radio, and around the world on American Forces Network (AFN), ESPNews, NBA TV International, Tencent Sports, TSN, the NBA App and <a href="NBA.com">NBA.com.</a> The BAL featured the top 12 club teams from 12 African countries.
On May 22-23, Indiana Pacers assistant coach Lloyd Pierce and Detroit Pistons assistant coach Bill Bayno led a BAL Coaches Clinic for more than 70 local basketball coaches in the Rwandan capital Kigali. The clinic offered tools and strategies to help the coaches enhance their player-development curriculum. Former NBA players Joakim Noah and Ian Mahinmi were in attendance along with BAL players from US Monastir.
BasketballNews.com caught up with Coach Pierce to discuss the camp, his growth as a coach, his experience as an assistant coach with Team USA, the Pacers&rsquo; young core and more.
You and Coach Bill Bayno just wrapped up the BAL Coaches Clinic. How did it go?
Lloyd Pierce: &ldquo;First and foremost, you have to give credit to the NBA and especially NBA Africa and the staff. [BAL President] Amadou Gallo Fall has done an amazing job of taking a vision and executing that vision to bring this together. The BAL league is really taking off over here in Africa, and I think the next layer of really trying to get this thing to grow and develop properly is teaching and trying to educate the coaches on the strategies and techniques so that they can not only coach it, but coach it better and find their passion. They have a huge impact by finding these players in the early stages in their career and teaching them and giving them the proper tools so that they can take off.
"So, this Coaches Clinic is probably as important as the games because it&rsquo;s education. It&rsquo;s educating an entire continent on the game of basketball that we all know so well, and they are eager to learn more and more about the different things that we have. I really feel blessed to be a part of this Coaches Clinic along with Coach Bayno and working with these coaches here and seeing the excitement that they have to teach the game, which really excites us as coaches as well.&rdquo;
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There was a classroom component and an on-court component. Can you walk me through each session and what kind of stuff you covered?
Pierce: &ldquo;Coach Bayno spoke in the classroom and really just gave them a ton of gems on player development and the different techniques that a coach needs to help a player get better. Using your imagination as a coach, the sweat equity &ndash; being able to get out there with your guys and work. But also the sweat technique &ndash; as you&rsquo;re working with those guys, giving them the proper technique and the essential tools to not just do it but do it correctly. The importance of that one-on-one relationship when it comes to connecting with players. Focusing on development, but being able to give them that same energy that you&rsquo;re expecting from them in return. He did a tremendous job on the player-development side.
"I tried to do more of a team-focused [lesson], both offensively and defensively. Offensively, we talked about some general principles and spacing &ndash; what spacing looks like, using cuts, using screens, using respace, our first three steps to open the floor up. These are a lot of strategies and techniques that we use in the NBA, but I think it&rsquo;s very important for young players too. There&rsquo;s commitment and a selflessness to spacing the floor that they have to learn and buy into. And defensively, we talked a lot about positioning, taking pride in being a good defender, understanding what a help defender looks like and just sticking to the basics &ndash; so a lot of shell-drill emphasis and a lot of one-on-one defensive emphasis.&rdquo;
The NBA has really prioritized globalization in recent years. What are your thoughts on the NBA&rsquo;s globalization efforts?&nbsp;
Pierce: &ldquo;I think it&rsquo;s probably one of the most important things that we do. As the top professional basketball league in the world, I think it&rsquo;s an obligation of ours to help grow the game globally. Our game benefits from the globalization of [basketball] and from the millions of viewers who watch across the world, so it&rsquo;s our obligation to give back. And there&rsquo;s no shortage of talent on this continent, so our main contribution is not only discovering talent but helping develop that talent. You&rsquo;re looking at a guy like Joel Embiid or Giannis Antetokounmpo or any of these players who have come from different countries. But [when it comes to] players with African heritage, the [talent pool] is plentiful on this continent. I think they&rsquo;ve done a great job of not only discovering these players, but also trying to get to them early about the right habits, techniques, nutrition and strength development. I don&rsquo;t know if there&rsquo;s a more important global impact that we can have in our sport than being here on this continent and helping spread the game.&rdquo;
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I want to discuss how coaches can develop over time. There are many examples of a coach struggling early on and then doing a much better job after they&rsquo;ve learned from their mistakes and gained experience. Someone like Jason Kidd was labeled a &ldquo;bad coach,&rdquo; but he&rsquo;s gotten better over the years and silenced those doubters. Do you think fans and media sometimes throw that label around prematurely and underestimate how much coaches can grow over time?
Pierce: &ldquo;Yeah. I&rsquo;m a reader, and I try to learn things that I think can apply to basketball. In Malcolm Gladwell&rsquo;s book &lsquo;Outliers,&rsquo; he talked about the 10,000-Hour Rule. If you spend enough time on something, you&rsquo;re going to get better at it. As coaches, that can be youth development, that can be personal development (or how to connect with players), that can be strategy and technique. As a former head coach and current assistant coach, you have to continue to work at your craft &ndash; whether it&rsquo;s decision-making, making reads, connecting with players or finding your joy and the energy that you bring to the game. That last one is important; there are a lot of coaches you hear from who burn out &ndash; they lose [their passion], have a lack of energy and aren&rsquo;t as motivating anymore. I think it&rsquo;s important to go and find ways to challenge yourself.
"For me to be over here in this beautiful city of Kigali, Rwanda &ndash; one of the cleanest cities I&rsquo;ve ever been in &ndash; to work with players who are excited about us being here, there&rsquo;s a renowned joy of coaching because it&rsquo;s purposeful for me. That helps us as coaches grow. So, you see a lot of coaches like Jason Kidd who get their second or third opportunities and find a renewed sense of energy and strength and strategy. They see the game a little differently. Things they may have over-complicated before, they simplify those things now. These things are important for us. I have a saying that I use all the time: For me, coaching is about getting better and helping others get better. And I truly, really mean that. I&rsquo;ll get better if I&rsquo;m helping others get better, and that&rsquo;s my purpose in coaching.&rdquo;
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From when you started coaching to where you&rsquo;re at now, how much do you feel you have improved? I&rsquo;m sure it&rsquo;s a night-and-day difference.
Pierce: &ldquo;It is! And I think the biggest joy that you get to experience as a coach who&rsquo;s been through the ringer is Summer League. Most coaches in Summer League are player-development guys or front-of-the-bench assistants that are constantly working their way up. I think when you&rsquo;re an assistant, you think you know all of the answers. Then, when you&rsquo;re forced into that head-coach seat, you gotta make all of the decisions so there&rsquo;s no one else to blame or be pissed at for not taking your idea. (laughs) You make the decisions. When I first started coaching, my voice wasn&rsquo;t as strong. The eye-contact wasn&rsquo;t as great. The conviction wasn&rsquo;t always there. Now, it&rsquo;s simple. It&rsquo;s not the ideas; I have lots of ideas and I love listening to ideas. It&rsquo;s the decision. And when you make the decision, you&rsquo;ve gotta believe it. Because if you don&rsquo;t believe it, they won&rsquo;t believe it. And if you don&rsquo;t believe it, they&rsquo;ll know you don&rsquo;t believe it. That comes over a period of time. You might be down 20 points and you&rsquo;ve gotta sell it to your guys that the game ain&rsquo;t over. You might be up 20 and you&rsquo;ve gotta convince your guys that we shouldn&rsquo;t be complacent. You&rsquo;ve gotta do those things with conviction, and that just comes with experience, you know? Maybe as a first-time head coach, in your first game when you&rsquo;re up 20, you relax. Well, guess who else relaxes? The players! So, that&rsquo;s a lesson learned.
"All of those things, I think, are hard to measure from the outside looking in. Everyone always paints the picture of a coach &lsquo;not making the right adjustments&rsquo; or they really hate his rotations, but some of those things, you&rsquo;ve gotta have conviction and sell it with conviction. And if it doesn&rsquo;t work out, you&rsquo;ve gotta live with it. But if you&rsquo;re wishy-washy and going back and forth, it really puts your team in a bad spot, and it also puts you in a bad spot because now you don&rsquo;t believe what you&rsquo;re doing; you&rsquo;re just trying stuff. That all comes with experience. You see these coaches [in the playoffs]: I love Jason Kidd&rsquo;s demeanor on the sideline, I love Steve Kerr&rsquo;s demeanor on the sideline, I love Spo and Ime Udoka&rsquo;s demeanor. Because they are confident in what they&rsquo;re doing, and their players are playing to their confidence and their strengths right now. And that&rsquo;s all you can ask. You&rsquo;ve done all of the preparation and now it&rsquo;s [late in a series] and these guys know each other extremely well, so the coach just has to sit back and stay the course and be extremely confident, so that the players can do the same thing.&rdquo;
You were part of Gregg Popovich's Team USA coaching staff alongside Steve Kerr and Jay Wright among others. What were your biggest takeaways from that experience and how did that help you grow as a coach?
Pierce: &ldquo;Pop didn&rsquo;t show his angst. Pop is always cool under pressure, but he preached to us &lsquo;appropriate fear.&rsquo; You fear your opponents out of respect, not out of fear so it&rsquo;s appropriate. And if you have that level of respect, you know that you need to bring it and not go into any game feeling overconfident against any opponent. I just thought being around guys like Pop and Jay Wright and Steve Kerr and Jeff Van Gundy and all of those guys was tremendous for my development. Because you not only got to see how their minds work and how they communicate with each other and the respect they have for the game, but you got to experience high-level conversations with the players and that connectivity and then apply it to the game. The level of experience that those coaches have, it was unfair that I was able to gain the advantage of learning from them during the two summers that we had together. It&rsquo;s a different game and it was a different challenge for all of us, but we embraced it. We came together, we had great dinners and great conversations, and the gold medal was rewarding.&rdquo;
I love the core that your Indiana Pacers are assembling, with Tyrese Haliburton, Chris Duarte, Myles Turner and so on. What are your thoughts on the team&rsquo;s development throughout the season and how excited are you about this young core going forward?
Pierce: &ldquo;Extremely excited. I think we&rsquo;ve got some guys who, more importantly, want to be in Indiana. They&rsquo;re excited about starting and continuing their careers [here]. You&rsquo;re looking at a guy like Tyrese whose third year is coming up and he&rsquo;s now on his second team, and he&rsquo;s looking to make Indiana a home. Chris Duarte, after going through his rookie season, is looking to make Indiana a home and find some consistency. We&rsquo;re all excited about what we have, and we look forward to the draft and free agency. I&rsquo;ve talked to Coach [Rick] Carlisle often about this new group next year being his team and not the team that we inherited, and he gets an opportunity to really mold some young guys and some really talented guys and bring back some veterans who will get a fresh start with the youth and the guys that have talent. I think we&rsquo;re all looking forward to training camp and this summer of development to get back on the right track.&rdquo;
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Lloyd Pierce discusses the BAL Coaches Clinic, the Pacers' young core, his development as a coach, coaching Team USA and more.

Lloyd Pierce opens up about BAL Coaches Clinic, his growth as a coach

The Tyrese Haliburton era is well on its way in Indianapolis, which means it&rsquo;s likely time to say adios to Malcolm Brogdon in an Indiana Pacers uniform. Brogdon is one of the more <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/five-nba-players-who-feel-destined-to-be-traded-this-offseason" target="_blank" rel="noopener">obvious trade candidates in the NBA this offseason</a> thanks to his consistent injury issues and Haliburton&rsquo;s quick emergence. Despite Brogdon's missed games, he will still attract interest from rival teams.
During Brogdon&rsquo;s three-year tenure with the Pacers, he averaged 18.9 points, 6.3 assists, 5.1 rebounds and 0.8 steals per game on a 55.3 True Shooting percentage. Brogdon always produced when he was on the court for Indiana, but his availability was an issue. Going forward, it&rsquo;s going to be hard for Brogdon to shed the &ldquo;injury prone&rdquo; label because it&rsquo;s been an issue dating back to his collegiate career at the University of Virginia.
Aside from injury concerns, Brogdon&rsquo;s market will be robust with playofff or championship-hopeful teams lining up for his services. As a versatile multi-positional defender, connective playmaker and secondary scorer, Brogdon can really help a team that's going in the opposite direction as the rebuilding Pacers.
Without further ado, let&rsquo;s go ahead and dive into the most realistic trade packages Indiana could expect for Brogdon this offseason. As Indiana turns the page to Haliburton, it&rsquo;s time to extract some value from a potential Brogdon deal.
Phoenix Suns
Pacers receive: Landry Shamet, Dario Saric, 2024 1st-round draft pick (lottery protected)
Suns receive: Malcolm Brogdon, 2022 No. 31 pick
Phoenix&rsquo;s lack of guard depth was exposed throughout the playoffs. They simply can&rsquo;t rely on Cameron Payne anymore, who was a DNP-CD when it mattered most in the Western Conference Semifinals. Phoenix flirted with the idea of chasing Brogdon before signing Ricky Rubio back in 2019. Three years later, bringing Brogdon to the Valley as the Suns&rsquo; short-term backup and long-term fit alongside Devin Booker is a home run transaction.
Also, there has been some buzz that the Suns are trying to get into the 2022 NBA Draft. They have met with multiple players projected to be selected in the mid-to-late first round, including LSU&rsquo;s Tari Eason, Ohio State&rsquo;s E.J. Liddell and Duke&rsquo;s Wendell Moore. Adding any of those prospects will be impossible without adding a pick. The Suns could always buy an early second-round pick for $3 million, but that&rsquo;s never been their way of thinking.
Is this where Suns GM James Jones could get creative to snag a championship piece at discounted value? Brogdon and Chris Paul sharing minutes is a dream scenario for Phoenix since all 48 minutes at point guard would provide well above-average production. Also, we could see three-guard lineups galore thanks to Brogdon&rsquo;s versatility.
In this scenario, Indiana would add a shooter in Shamet who only has two guaranteed years left on his extension. Maybe Shamet could be their Buddy Hield replacement if they also decide to trade him soon. Adding a future first for Brogdon is the right risk for Indiana to take as well.
Utah Jazz
Pacers receive: Mike Conley, Jared Butler, 2025 2nd-round pick
Jazz receive: Malcolm Brogdon
The Jazz desperately need to shake things up. Stagnation is on the horizon in Salt Lake City, if it hasn&rsquo;t reached that point already. Utah may blow it up this offseason, but even if they don't, they need to do something in order to keep Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert happy long-term.
As we saw during the Jazz&rsquo;s quick postseason exit, Conley seems like a shell of himself. Looking back on that trade now, Utah has to be kicking themselves for surrendering so much for the veteran point guard.
Utah needs to get creative to avoid moving one of Mitchell or Gobert soon, so Conley going back home to Indianapolis makes a lot of sense here. Brogdon is a huge upgrade over Conley, and he helps address a dire need of perimeter defense.
Indiana would add a veteran mentor for Haliburton to lean on for a year since Conley&rsquo;s contract isn&rsquo;t fully guaranteed in 2023-24. Adding a young scoring guard in Butler alongside a future second-round pick might not be enough for the Pacers, but it's at least enough to start negotiations.
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Los Angeles Lakers
Pacers receive: Russell Westbrook, Talen Horton-Tucker, 2023 2nd, 2025 2nd, 2027 1st (lottery protected)
Lakers receive: Malcolm Brogdon, Buddy Hield, Goga Bitadze
This only makes sense if the Pacers are willing to take on the final year of Westbrook&rsquo;s contract, which would have any team second-guessing themselves beforehand. Surprisingly enough, Indiana is actually the betting favorite to land Westbrook if the Lakers offload him this offseason.
The Pacers would need a hefty return in order take on Westbrook while also relinquishing Brogdon and Hield. Adding Horton-Tucker, two future second-round picks and the Lakers&rsquo; next available first-round selection gets the job done. Los Angeles would hate to part with THT and even more draft capital, but Brogdon and Hield are perfect pieces to place alongside LeBron James and Anthony Davis. Who knows, maybe Bitadze slides into the Lakers&rsquo; rotation as the backup center?
Indiana is embracing a full-scale rebuild, and pulling off a move like this would be consistent with that approach.
Minnesota Timberwolves
Pacers receive: D&rsquo;Angelo Russell, No. 19 pick, No. 40 pick
Timberwolves receive: Malcolm Brogdon, Goga Bitadze, No. 31 pick, 2023 2nd (via San Antonio Spurs)
As <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/examining-potential-trade-destinations-for-dangelo-russell" target="_blank" rel="noopener">our Nekias Duncan recently wrote</a>, a D&rsquo;Angelo Russell departure from Minnesota feels imminent this summer. It&rsquo;s another unfortunate turn in the career for Russell, who continues to bounce around the Association, unable to find a long-term home. The fit in Minnesota alongside good friend Karl-Anthony Towns had its moments, but Russell&rsquo;s negatives popped up in the postseason when it mattered most. After being benched in crunch-time situations by head coach Chris Finch and not having his name mentioned in The Athletic&rsquo;s recent story on new executive Tim Connelly, it wouldn't be shocking to see Russell playing elsewhere in 2022-23.
Even with the Pacers already having Haliburton and Chris Duarte, this feels like a spot where they could take a year-long look at Russell as a potential long-term backcourt piece. As a former top-three pick, Russell would bring more fanfare to the Pacers&rsquo; rebuild. And if he meshes well alongside Haliburton, Russell could become a long-term piece in Indiana and finally find a home.
From the Timberwolves&rsquo; point of view, this makes a whole lot of sense. Brogdon is a much better fit alongside Towns and Anthony Edwards, as he's easily able to slide into the No. 3 scoring role while providing an ideal complementary low-usage skill set. Taking a flier on Bitadze, a former top-20 pick, is also interesting, and as he could back up Towns.
Miami Heat
Pacers receive: Duncan Robinson, Max Strus, 2023 1st (lottery protected)
Heat receive: Malcolm Brogdon
As we&rsquo;ve seen unfold late in the postseason, Miami needs to find another offensive creator. Simply put, the Heat need more weapons to compete with the NBA&rsquo;s current juggernauts. Luckily for Miami, some much-needed flexibility could be on the way.
The Duncan Robinson contract looks like a disaster, but what if they could use his bloated salary and some future draft capital to bring in an immediate impact piece? Brogdon feels like the perfect remedy for Miami since he can take playmaking pressure off of Jimmy Butler, Tyler Herro and Kyle Lowry. Brogdon and Lowry could split minutes, which is a huge benefit for both players and would help keep them fresh and out of the training room.
For Indiana, they could be comfortable taking on Robinson&rsquo;s contract with all of their salary-cap space currently available. Adding Strus and a draft pick could make this deal worth it for the Pacers.
All of a sudden, Miami is now in a strong position to make another deep postseason push with Brogdon onboard for 2022-23 and beyond.
***
Every team in the NBA needs shooting, defensive versatility and playmaking. Even with his injury history, Brogdon would be well worth the risk for any team looking to take the next step forward.
If Brogdon is able to stay healthy, adding him at this price could be a coup for whichever team is next after Milwaukee and Indiana.
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With the Tyrese Haliburton era blossoming for the Pacers, Malcolm Brogdon is one of the most logical NBA trade candidates.

Examining potential trade destinations for Malcolm Brogdon

Here&rsquo;s a bit of trivia for you: Which rookie from this <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/why-they-are-all-special-a-guide-to-the-best-rookies-of-the-2021-class" target="_blank" rel="noopener">stacked</a> 2021 NBA Draft class has played the most minutes in the Conference Finals?
Considering most of the top rookies didn't advance very far, surely the answer has to be the Golden State Warriors' heralded No. 7 overall pick, Jonathan Kuminga &mdash; the same player who earlier this postseason was <a href="https://www.nbcsports.com/bayarea/warriors/warriors-jonathan-kuminga-vows-learn-despite-historic-nba-playoff-game" target="_blank" rel="noopener">the youngest rookie to start a playoff game since 1971</a>, right?&nbsp;
Wrong!
The answer, with an impactful 64 minutes played over the course of five games, is none other than Golden State&rsquo;s other rookie: the No. 14 overall pick Moses Moody.
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Our story begins in the fourth quarter of Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals, where a 104-76 score prompted both the Golden State and Dallas coaches to empty their benches for the home stretch of the blowout series opener.
In response, Reggie Miller on the call proclaimed: &ldquo;I have a sneaky feeling. I think these minutes are going to be important for [Nemanja] Bjelica and Kuminga because, at some point, those two guys are going to have to play significant minutes in this series.&rdquo;
Unbeknownst to him, he made a glaring omission in his statement; the player who really needed these repetitions was Moody. And during that seemingly meaningless stretch, Moody flashed two features that would prove useful to Golden State later in the series &mdash; his play-finishing and defensive versatility.
Play-Finishing&nbsp;
Nowadays, NBA offenses are so prolific that even the most venerable defenses can&rsquo;t eliminate every piece on the board. This leads to teams having to strategically <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/the-nba-playoffs-and-the-art-of-concessions-" target="_blank" rel="noopener">concede</a> certain shots in order to hone-in on the player(s) they deem the most dangerous (see the Milwaukee Bucks' defense vs. the Boston Celtics in Round 2).
When you&rsquo;re going up against the Warriors, the Splash Trio receives the highest priority, and these standards lead to open looks for the group&rsquo;s least esoteric marksman.
As of this moment, Moody falls under this designation. And to his credit, he did an excellent job of burning the Mavericks for their negligence in defending him, draining 50% of his triples (albeit in a miniature sample size).
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Cutting and movement rule the day in Golden State's perpetual motion offensive system. Moody got the memo, and he did a great job of knowing when it was appropriate to shag back and maintain his spacing on the perimeter, and when it was time to fill the lane and shake the Golden Gate bridge with a <a href="https://streamable.com/k3xuy0" target="_blank" rel="noopener">seismic eruption</a> at the rim.
Defensive Versatility&nbsp;
As Seth Partnow noted in his <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/seth-partnow-qa-a-sitdown-with-the-author-of-the-midrange-theory" target="_blank" rel="noopener">recent book</a>, "The Midrange Theory," versatility is the key to playoff success &mdash; the ol' Carlos Boozer and Robert Horry paradigm.
This maxim reigns especially true in defense, where we&rsquo;ve already seen multiple playoff runs abbreviated due to a lack of scheme versatility. (I hope the folks in Utah are doing well on this fine Friday afternoon.)
Moody was far from the anchor out there, but the Warriors&rsquo; defense stayed afloat during his minutes, partially because of his ability to wear multiple hats on that end of the floor.
We&rsquo;ll start with his off-ball work and this snag-tastic reception:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
Moses Moody legit Odell Beckham-ed this ball. <a href="https://t.co/tC54YzUzhG">pic.twitter.com/tC54YzUzhG</a>
&mdash; Mat Issa (@matissa15) <a href="https://twitter.com/matissa15/status/1530189122886897664?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 27, 2022</a></blockquote>

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

Along with that reception, Moody deflected two additional passes in that very same quarter, prompting Warriors writer Marcus Thompson to cite Moody&rsquo;s contributions as an <a href="https://theathletic.com/3332392/2022/05/25/warriors-mavericks-young-game-4/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">integral part of the team&rsquo;s Game 4 comeback</a>.
Despite only authoring 2 steals the entire series, spurts like the one he demonstrated in Game 4 leave room for potential growth into a future defensive playmaker.
Moody also did surprisingly well navigating the <a href="https://medium.com/the-basketball-dictionary/2-9-6fb93080023c" target="_blank" rel="noopener">2.9 spot</a> as a low-man. He was well attuned to his positioning, consistently swaying in and out of the paint to avoid garnering a three-second call, while also timing his re-entries in a manner that enabled him to wall off forays at the rim when the moment presented itself.&nbsp;
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Lastly, Moody even showed some chops as a man defender. On <a href="https://streamable.com/b6cjoa" target="_blank" rel="noopener">this play</a>, he manages to stay attached to Jalen Brunson amid Jordan Poole&rsquo;s hedge endeavor, and then mirrors his movements before hindering his attempt at the rim.
Moody&rsquo;s point-of-attack prowess is more apparent when you understand the amount of leeway he was granted within the Warriors&rsquo; scheme. In my <a href="https://theanalyst.com/na/2022/05/western-conference-finals-can-the-golden-state-warriors-continue-to-slow-luka-doncic-and-the-dallas-mavericks/">recent article</a> on this series, I looked into how Golden State has specific principles for Luka Doncic ball screens. Well, Moody was one of the few players given the green light to switch onto him immediately.
He was also empowered by Steve Kerr to captain the ship of the Warriors' revered Box-and-1 alignment a few times during the third quarter of Game 3. And Moody even got the chance to moonlight as the team&rsquo;s defensive coordinator, <a href="https://streamable.com/a8geaq" target="_blank" rel="noopener">calling for a zone formation on defense</a> at one point in Game 4. (For the Warriors, you can tell it's a zone when the signal-caller executes a <a href="https://www.goldenstateofmind.com/2022/5/21/23133463/warriors-mavericks-game-2-steph-curry-kevon-looney-luka-doncic-film-breakdown" target="_blank" rel="noopener">raised double fist</a>).
To conclude our tale, let&rsquo;s take a gander at Moody&rsquo;s best two-way sequence of the series, where he blocks Doncic and then proceeds to commandeer free-throw attempts at the other end of the floor. A perfect encapsulation of his imprint on this series.
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Nice.
In a class as talent-laden and promising as the 2021 draft pool, who would have guessed that the player picked last in the lottery would be the last rookie standing.
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Mat Issa gives props to Moses Moody for his finishing and defensive contributions to the Warriors when his number was called upon.

Moses Moody: The last rookie standing in the 2022 NBA Playoffs

As former Michigan State forward Gabe Brown goes through the NBA pre-draft process, he wants front offices to know one thing: he knows his role, and he's perfectly fine being a 3-and-D player.
"Usually when guys come in, they think they&rsquo;re going to take the world by storm and [become a star] and get the keys to the team, but that&rsquo;s not really how it works," Brown told BasketballNews.com. "There are already other players on the team who have paid their dues, and they may be All-Stars or champions. What I&rsquo;m looking to do is be a 3-and-D guy who looks to put the ball on the floor sometimes, but that&rsquo;s not always going to be my job. My job is usually going to be locking up guards, defending 1-through-4, [providing] athleticism and being consistent with my shot.&rdquo;
After spending four years with the Spartans, the 22-year-old has started working out for NBA teams (including the Boston Celtics, Brooklyn Nets, Atlanta Hawks and New York Knicks), and he recently participated in the G League Elite Camp in Chicago.
He has modeled his game after two other older prospects who spent at least four years in college: Phoenix Suns forward Cameron Johnson and Brooklyn Nets wing Joe Harris.
&ldquo;I try to be myself as much as possible, but the guys that I really do look at are Cam Johnson and Joe Harris," Brown said. "They are guys who have been through four years of college and then made it and were successful in the NBA. And they played around [talented] guys and then worked their way into their role, so those are guys that I really try to pay attention to.&rdquo;
As a senior with the Spartans, Brown averaged 11.6 points, 3.8 rebounds, 2.0 threes, 1.1 assists and 0.7 steals, while shooting 38.2% from three-point range. The 6-foot-8, 215-pound forward believes that he can step in and immediately help an NBA team that's in need of a 3-and-D specialist.&nbsp;
BasketballNews.com caught up with Brown to discuss his skill set, how much he developed while in college, his experience at the G League Elite Camp, how he fell in love with basketball and more.
Throughout the pre-draft process, everyone talks about age. But there are also benefits to spending four years in college. Do you think staying at Michigan State for four years and gaining that experience helped you?
Gabe Brown: &ldquo;I just feel like my maturity level is higher than a lot of kids who come in earlier, and that&rsquo;s due to just being in college for so long and staying for four years. And I have to say: you learn the game more, you develop more when you&rsquo;re in college for four years. You know how to play NBA basketball when you get done with college, so I feel like my game will truly expand when I get to the next level."
How much have you grown as a player from your first day in college to where you&rsquo;re at now?
Brown: &ldquo;It&rsquo;s been a whole change for me&mdash;my maturity level, my work ethic, just everything has changed for me in a lot of positive ways.&rdquo;
The knock on older prospects is that they sometimes don&rsquo;t have as much potential or room to grow. What would you say to that and what do you think of your ceiling?
Brown: &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t believe that&rsquo;s true. I believe that I&rsquo;m just getting started. I just turned 22 years old in March, so I&rsquo;m still very young. I don&rsquo;t think I&rsquo;ve reached any of my potential yet, and I&rsquo;ve got a lot of time. [Giving me an opportunity] in the NBA is the perfect way to see.&rdquo;
Which teams have you worked out for so far? And who do you have scheduled?
Brown: &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve worked out with the Boston Celtics, Brooklyn Nets, Atlanta Hawks and New York Knicks. And as for upcoming workouts, I basically have the whole league that I have to work out for, so I have about 12-to-14 more NBA workouts upcoming.&rdquo;
You participated in the G League Elite Camp. How did that go, and what was that experience like?
Brown: &ldquo;It was very fun to be out there. It was very fun, truly. Not a lot of kids get to be invited to these camps and take them in, and I was one of the kids who got invited to the G League one. It was a great experience. I went out there and I played two good games. I was looking for a call-up, but it&rsquo;s all good. I mean, my path, my journey is different. It was fun, though. The atmosphere was amazing.&rdquo;
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Which of your skills do you think will best translate to the NBA?
Brown: &ldquo;My defense, my length, my shooting ability, my size and my athleticism. That will all translate to me being out on the floor on an NBA court.&rdquo;
Off the court, what are some things you bring to a team?
Brown: &ldquo;I lead by example with my work ethic. I stay in the gym more and [come back] during the night. That&rsquo;s what I do. I feel like guys will respect me more just off of the way I work. And then, it&rsquo;s all about personality. I&rsquo;m a leader, I love to talk, I love to get guys going and I love to motivate people. That&rsquo;s no problem with me.&rdquo;
As you go throughout this pre-draft process, what are some of the things you&rsquo;re trying to showcase to teams&mdash;on and off the court?
Brown: &ldquo;On the floor, I&rsquo;m just trying to showcase my whole game&mdash;all of the things that I couldn&rsquo;t [show] at Michigan State or the things that I wasn&rsquo;t good at but that I really am good at that scouts didn&rsquo;t really get to see, like putting the ball on the floor, coming off ball screens, making reads, maintaining my consistent shooting level and being in tip-top shape. Off the floor, I just want to show them the person that I am. I&rsquo;ll always be myself. I&rsquo;ll always be Gabe Brown.&rdquo;
I read that growing up, your favorite player was Kobe Bryant.&nbsp;
Brown: &ldquo;I was a big Kobe fan. Just his mentality and the work ethic&hellip; I mean, everybody knows Kobe can score, and he&rsquo;s got championships, but nobody saw the work he really put in to get there. I think the motivating factor is just his work, what he did off the court, how he motivated guys and got guys going. And he always showed up when it was game time.&rdquo;
How did you initially fall in love with basketball?
Brown: &ldquo;It was my father. My dad put a ball in my hands at 3 years old and I haven&rsquo;t looked back since.&rdquo;
(Gabe&rsquo;s father, Charles Brown, passed away in 2016 after suffering a stroke.)
I&rsquo;m so sorry for your loss. You&rsquo;ve said that you considered quitting basketball after he passed away, and that it felt like &ldquo;there was no point in playing anymore&hellip; it felt like the game of basketball left me." How did you ultimately decide to continue playing and use basketball to honor him by wearing his No. 44?&nbsp;
Brown: &ldquo;It was a tough process. I still think about it to this day and it&rsquo;s never going to leave me. But I had my family behind me and they were totally supportive, and I had my coaches and everybody else being fully supportive. I just decided that I didn&rsquo;t want to give up on myself and give up on what I accomplished, so [I kept playing]. No. 44 was his number, and all of my brothers wore it, so it was my turn to wear it.&rdquo;
If an NBA executive asks, &ldquo;Why should I draft you?&rdquo; What would be your pitch?
Brown: &ldquo;I would have to say, 'I&rsquo;m gonna go hard, I&rsquo;m gonna give everything that I&rsquo;ve got and I&rsquo;m not gonna take the opportunity for granted.'&rdquo;
Check out BasketballNews.com's recent interviews with fellow 2022 NBA Draft prospects including <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/2022-nba-draft-bennedict-mathurin-offers-unique-twoway-ceiling" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Arizona's Bennedict Mathurin</a>, <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/dont-let-age-deny-keegan-murrays-tantalizing-nba-ceiling" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Iowa's Keegan Murray</a>, <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/johnny-davis-winning-intangibles-make-him-a-safe-bet-to-hit" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Wisconsin's Johnny Davis</a>, <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/2022-nba-draft-qa-toledos-ryan-rollins" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Toledo's Ryan Rollins</a>, <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/2022-nba-draft-prospect-qa-keon-ellis" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Alabama's Keon Ellis</a>, <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/kofi-cockburn-wants-to-prove-everyone-wrong" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Illinois' Kofi Cockburn</a> and <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/preparation-competitive-spirit-fuel-izaiah-brockingtons-will-to-win" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Iowa State's Izaiah Brockington</a>.
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Alex Kennedy spoke to Gabe Brown about his skill set, the G League Elite Camp, which players he modeled his game after and more.

2022 NBA Draft: Michigan State's Gabe Brown knows his role

The Golden State Warriors find themselves in familiar territory after failing to close out a series on the road and hope for familiar results when they return home.
For the third straight series, the Warriors lost their first chance to advance while playing on the road. But they can make it to their sixth NBA Finals in the past eight years by finishing off the Dallas Mavericks at home in Game 5 of the Western Conference finals on Thursday night.
The Warriors managed to rebound after those slipups in the first two rounds against Denver and Memphis and are hoping for a repeat after losing <a href="https://apnews.com/article/golden-state-warriors-dallas-mavericks-nba-sports-luka-doncic-4a70ca4c9a8f0b1f9a786f97cba535a1">119-109 at Dallas</a> on Tuesday night when the Mavericks got off to a fast start and didn't slow down until the fourth quarter.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s a good lesson learned,&rdquo; guard Stephen Curry said. &ldquo;You tip your hat to them because they made a lot of shots. We had a couple breakdowns in our zone that gave them easy looks, and they made us pay. We knew to close them out, it&rsquo;s going to be tough. So you&rsquo;ve got to strap up on defense. When we go home, Game 5 and figure out how to slow them down, especially in the first quarter.&rdquo;
STAYING ALIVE
The Mavericks have staved off elimination three times this postseason, winning Games 6 and 7 against Phoenix in the second round and then again against the Warriors in Game 4. None of the games have been particularly close, with Dallas outscoring the opponents by 70 points in the three wins. Luka Doncic has led the way with 98 points and 35 rebounds in the three wins but says the key has been aggressiveness on offense and more commitment to defense.
&ldquo;We&rsquo;ve got to believe,&rdquo; Doncic said. &ldquo;I think our defense was way better today, and I think we attacked the paint. Those two things are key, and that&rsquo;s what we&rsquo;ve got to bring to San Francisco.&rdquo;
YOUTH MOVEMENT
The Warriors got back into the game in the fourth quarter thanks to a young lineup featuring 22-year-old Jordan Poole and 19-year-old rookies Jonathan Kuminga and Moses Moody. That trio, along with Nemanja Bjelica and Damion Lee, cut a 29-point deficit to eight points in the first 8:38 of the fourth quarter before Curry and the starters began to return.
The Mavericks closed it out from there but the flashes from the young group could earn them more time. Kuminga hadn't played at all the previous two games before scoring 17 points in just under 22 minutes in Game 4.
&ldquo;It was great because they had an opportunity to go out there and make their presence felt, impact the game, build some confidence and some experience in this series and what it feels like to be out there,&rdquo; Curry said.
ROLLER COASTER
It's been a up-and-down series for Dallas' Reggie Bullock and getting the best version of him will be key if the Mavericks want to stay alive. Bullock made six 3-pointers and scored 21 points in a Game 2 loss before becoming the fifth player since at least 1968 to take at least 10 shots and score no points in a playoff game.
Bullock responded in Game 4 by making 6 of 10 3-pointers and scoring 18 points. That took pressure off Doncic, along with bounce-back performances from Dorian Finney-Smith, who had 23 points on 9-of-13 shooting, and Maxi Kleber, who went 5 for 6 for 13 points after missing 12 of 14 shots the first three games.
&ldquo;We just made shots and we also was getting stops, so we got the chance to play a little faster, and we got them open shots early in the shot clock and not like end of the shot clock trying to shoot a bomb,&rdquo; Finney-Smith said.
TALL TASK
No team has ever rallied from 3-0 down to win a best-of-seven playoff series in NBA history and even getting it back to Dallas for Game 6 would be rare. Of the 146 previous teams to take a 3-0 lead, 90 finished off the series with a sweep with 42 more winning it in five. With a win Thursday, the Mavs would be the 12th team to force a Game 6 and only three teams have gotten to a Game 7 before losing.

The Warriors find themselves in familiar territory after failing to close out a series on the road and hope for familiar results when they return home.

Warriors look to close out Mavs and get back to NBA Finals

There are few certainties in life.
Death. Taxes. And Dorian Finney-Smith corner threes.
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Death, taxes&hellip;and a Dorian Finney-Smith corner three. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Mavs?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Mavs</a> <a href="https://t.co/meTTIRgc18">pic.twitter.com/meTTIRgc18</a>
&mdash; Dorothy J. Gentry (@DorothyJGentry) <a href="https://twitter.com/DorothyJGentry/status/1501718770460602369?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 10, 2022</a></blockquote>

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When Finney-Smith entered the league six years ago, the Dallas Mavericks wing was told that the corner three is the easiest shot in the NBA and that he&rsquo;d &ldquo;make a lot of money" if he could knock it down consistently. &nbsp; &ldquo;I was already playing into the corner my rookie year, and once I realized how many corner threes I was going to get, I just worked on it,&rdquo; Finney-Smith told BasketballNews.com in a one-on-one conversation.
He laughs, as if he's just now realizing that it has become his trademark shot. Then, he shouts out the former teammate who helped his corner three become so deadly.
&ldquo;Wesley Matthews was a good vet for me. He was always telling me that I needed to get that (corner three) shot down pat if I wanted to be on the court," Finney-Smith said. "And I did!"
He would spend the next few years focused, head down, determined to prove he belonged in the league. He developed into a reliable shooter and perfected the corner three, just as Matthews advised.
This season, Finney-Smith shot 46.1% on corner threes &mdash; a huge improvement from his rookie year, when he shot just 26.3% from that spot. During the 2022 NBA Playoffs, he's been even better, knocking down 52.5% of his corner threes.
&ldquo;I had the confidence that I could shoot. I shot the ball well in college, it just ain&rsquo;t translated the first couple of years in the NBA,&rdquo; Finney-Smith said.
He knew there was only one way to get his shot back: stay in the gym and work.
&ldquo;Repetition builds confidence," Finney-Smith explained. "Also, I think my teammates seeing how hard I worked, it also built confidence in them. The ones who have been here with me throughout this journey &mdash; like Maxi [Kleber], Dwight [Powell], Luka [Doncic] &mdash; I think they see the work I put in and that also gives them confidence to give the ball to me in late-game situations.
&ldquo;Guys see the work you put in; they can tell if you've been in the gym or if you been BSing, and I built confidence with those guys, especially Luka, to pass me the ball in those clutch situations. They have trust in me, even when I miss it.&rdquo;
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Finney-Smith also earned the trust of Dallas' front office. After playing his best basketball and helping the Mavs win a lot of games (in the regular season and now in the playoffs), Finney-Smith is getting the recognition he deserves. The undrafted baller from Portsmouth, Virginia, was also rewarded with the biggest payday of his career.
In early February &mdash; six years after signing a non-guaranteed contract with the Mavs &mdash; Doe-Doe (as he is affectionately called) signed a four-year contract extension worth a reported $55 million. After earning $4,000,000 this season, he'll reportedly be paid $12,402,000 next year.
He has played his way into a starting role and into the hearts of MFFL&rsquo;s, becoming one of the fan favorites. Finney-Smith has established himself as an integral piece of the Mavs' future after averaging a career-high 11.0 points along with 4.7 rebounds, 2.2 threes, 1.9 assists and 1.1 steals (while shooting 47.1% from the field and 39.5% from three-point range).
During the postseason, he has elevated his game to a higher level. In Game 4 of the Western Conference Semifinals against the Phoenix Suns, Finney-Smith finished with a playoff-career-best 24 points (on 8-12 shooting from three) and 8 rebounds. He became just the third player in Dallas' franchise history to make at least 8 three-pointers in game, joining Maxi Kleber (8 threes against the Utah Jazz on April 18, 2022) and Jason Terry (9 threes against the Los Angeles Lakers on May 8, 2011 &mdash; exactly 11 years to the day).
On Tuesday night, with the Mavs down 0-3 to the Golden State Warriors in the Western Conference Finals, he helped lead Dallas to victory with 23 points, 6 rebounds, 4 threes and 2 assists while shooting 69.2% from the field and 57.1% from three.
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The underrated 3-and-D specialist opened up to BasketballNews.com about this Mavs team, his happy place, his experience going undrafted, what talent he wishes he had and much more.&nbsp;
In your own words, how did the Mavs get here &mdash; to the Western Conference Finals?
Dorian Finney-Smith: "Just by staying together. Early in the year, we weren&rsquo;t shooting the ball as well as we wanted to. I feel like we just stuck with it. We didn&rsquo;t blame nobody else; we looked inward and we took accountability as a team. And shout out to the coaches: J-Kidd, he did a good job of making us hold each other accountable. All those close games that we were in the last couple of years, I feel like this year we made that step &mdash; finishing the game the right way."
After going undrafted, what allowed you to keep going mentally? And who's been in your corner?
Finney-Smith: "I have a big family. [The answer is] them. My kid&rsquo;s mom (Jasmine).
"I always felt like when I first made the team, I just wanted to get on the court. And once I got on the court, I just wanted to make sure I showed everyone I belonged. Once I started playing on the regular, I just always wanted my presence to be felt, even if I was making or missing shots."
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Did you ever think that playing in the NBA wasn&rsquo;t going to happen for you? Did you ever get down on yourself?
Finney-Smith: "Nah. Nah. Hell nah. I never got down. I was a little mad I didn't get what I wanted on my first deal. I played a whole lot, then I started&hellip; just me being&hellip; At times, it was a little frustrating just because I&rsquo;m human."
Who are you closest to on the team?&nbsp;
Finney-Smith: "Trey Burke, Reggie [Bullock]. Actually, we all pretty much hang out together. We are a close-knit team; even Luka comes and kicks it with us. This is probably the closest Mavs team I've been on. When I first got here, I had an older team: Devin Harris, JJ [Barea], Dirk [Nowitzki]."
What is your idea of perfect happiness?
Finney-Smith: "Quiet. Or with the kids playing around. When I am not on the court, I am quiet."
What living person do you admire most?
Finney-Smith: "My mom because of her resiliency, and how she never let what she was going through show."
What talent would you most like to have?
Finney-Smith: "I wish I could sing. If I could sing, I probably&hellip; woo&hellip; I would sing all the time. I would sing myself out of trouble. (laughs)"
If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?&nbsp;
Finney-Smith: "I don&rsquo;t know. God gave me everything I got for a reason, so nothing."
What drives you? What&rsquo;s your motivation?
Finney-Smith: "I would say fear of failure. Coming from where I came from, a small city, I always grew up around a whole bunch of 'I used to be' or 'what I could have done' stuff like that, so I am just trying to make the most of my opportunity because I know a lot of people may never get this opportunity or the chance to even get this opportunity."
Who is your favorite WNBA team and player?
Finney-Smith: "The (Dallas) Wings. Elizabeth Williams (of the Washington Mystics) is my favorite player. She is from Virgina; we both came out together in high school. She&rsquo;s a Virginia girl."
Who or what is the greatest love(s) of your life?
Finney-Smith: "My kids or my mom."
If you died and could come back as anything or anyone, what would it be and why?
Finney-Smith: "A lion. 'Lion King' is my favorite movie, and I love lions."
If you enjoyed this piece, be sure to <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/reggie-bullock" target="_blank" rel="noopener">check out Dorothy J. Gentry's exclusive interview with Dallas Mavericks wing Reggie Bullock</a> as well.
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Dorian Finney-Smith opens up about his breakout season, the Dallas Mavericks' playoff run, going undrafted, his happy place and more.

Dorian Finney-Smith Q&A: 'This is the closest Mavs team I've been on'

With a win over the Connecticut Sun on Tuesday at Mohegan Sun Arena, the Dallas Wings recorded their first victory over the Sun in 1,064 days and snapped a seven-game losing streak against them in the process.
The Wings have put together solid games already this season, splitting a pair of games with the Washington Mystics and getting out to their best start of the season (4-2 prior to Tuesday) since 2015.
I had this matchup circled for the past week. Every Wings game this season has provided bright flashes and glimpses of what they can be. Yet, outside of the two games with the Mystics, the Wings hadn&rsquo;t quite faced one of the elite tests in the league, and Connecticut provided that and then some.&nbsp;
We&rsquo;ve seen intrigue and enticement from this young roster for a few seasons now, and often the flashes have been ousted. Dallas was the youngest team in the league last season, and it often played out that way with exuberant highs and dreary lows.
Down 39-27 at the half with the offense stuck in the mud, I contemplated whether or not this Wings team would be much the same as last year. Dallas went on to outscore the Sun 58-38 in the second half, including a remarkable run late in the third quarter with Arike Ogunbowale on the bench.
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WNBA average roster age (Multiple games played, still on roster, 10 mpg or more) SEA - 30.2 PHX - 29.78 CHI - 28.77 CON - 28.3 MIN - 27.6 LV - 27.6 WAS - 27.45 NYL - 26.1 ATL - 25.9 LAS - 25.64 IND - 24.8 DAL - 24.4
&mdash; Mark Schindler (@MG_Schindler) <a href="https://twitter.com/MG_Schindler/status/1529467131066298368?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 25, 2022</a></blockquote>

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They&rsquo;re the youngest team yet again this season, but things feel different.&nbsp;
That second half was indicative of a team that finally was able to turn the page and cast aside some of the demons that plagued it last year. They didn&rsquo;t fold when they presented with perhaps their most difficult moment this year; down double-digits, on the road, against one of the best teams in the league.
Wings head coach Vickie Johnson echoed similar sentiments during her postgame availability.
&ldquo;The last five minutes, we are valuing the basketball more," Johnson said. "We have the patience to run our sets, to get good looks, we are not one pass, shot, like before. We have the patience to move the basketball and give up a good shot for a better shot. And now, we are knocking down open shots.&rdquo;
The Wings currently have the third-lowest turnover rate in the WNBA, per HerHoopStats. Ogunbowale and Marina Mabrey were dynamic Tuesday night by getting into their pull-up games out of pick-and-roll, but also blending their ability to get into the paint and collapse the defense.
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This play was huge last night and speaks greatly to what Coach Johnson discussed after the game. Not that this pass wasn&rsquo;t made last season, but it feels like trust is there more. This could have been a contested layup, and heck, Arike may have hit it because she&rsquo;s that nice. But to fully collapse the defense and then make them pay with the wide-open three was an awesome process.
On that aforementioned third-quarter run (with Arike on the bench), Johnson went to a lineup of Mabrey-Allisha Gray-Kayla Thornton-Satou Sabally-Isabelle Harrison, and it outscored the Sun by 8 points in a five-and-a-half-minute stretch, per InStat.
The Harrison-Sabally frontcourt has really impressed since the latter returned from overseas play. Per PBP Stats, in the 18 minutes the duo has shared the court, the Wings have a 35.3 Net Rating, absolutely blitzing opponents on offense and stifling them on defense. They both have intriguing skills and coordination off the bounce. They can run dribble handoffs and make quick passes.
Harrison&rsquo;s confidence and aggression has her top-20 in the league in free-throw attempts per game, and 12th in makes at the line on the season.
&ldquo;Playing for AU (Athletes Unlimited) in Vegas helped her to become more of a leader, to think through the game a little more&hellip; I expect a lot from her. I put a lot of pressure on her and she is doing an amazing job," Johnson said of Harrison.
"She&rsquo;s getting to her spots and finishing in the paint and... In the first half she took three jump shots, and I ripped her kind of hard because they don&rsquo;t fear her outside the lane, they fear you when you get to the lane and make your move. She is one of the players who has multiple moves inside, so now she just has to use it and not settle for jump shots.&rdquo;
Harrison and Sabally got to the line seven times in that third-quarter stretch, and their mobility and quickness really gave Brionna Jones and the Sun's frontcourt problems. Catching on the perimeter or out to the high post gave them enough space to slice to the interior and draw fouls or finish at the rim.
The defense of this unit was the icing on the cake, however.
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Just bask in and admire that activity. This Dallas team relies heavily on timely and proper peel switches, along with activity and mobility from the bigs playing the screen. They shrink the court to minimize interior penetration.
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The Sun go to empty pick-and-roll, and Jones pops after the screen for Williams. Harrison stunts and shows to stop a drive, Mabrey gets back in front and the ball is contained.
Note how Sabally also steps in on the back end to contain a potential drive from Jonquel Jones. Harrison then recovers out, and Jones takes the shot. It's not perfectly contested, but that's also part of the point; don't give up the middle.
Speaking of that peel switching, watch this.
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Alyssa Thomas sets a back screen on Harrison as Jones wheels to the opposite corner. Harrison calls for the peel switch, Mabrey takes Jones and Harrison takes Mabrey's assignment in Courtney Williams. The play with multiple back screens flattens out, but the Sun get the switch they're looking for with Jones on the much smaller Mabrey. Gray rotates over to help, forcing the rotation as the ball gets kicked to Natisha Hiedeman.
Harrison is already peeling to Hiedeman, and Williams relocates to the slot while DeWanna Bonner sinks to the corner and gets the ball on a skip. Sabally avoids the Thomas pin-in, closes to Bonner and stays in front, and Gray has already recovered back across the court to take Williams. Jonquel still has Mabrey isolated, and as soon as she gets the post-entry pass, the Wings sink in to help (probably a slight overhelp off of Thomas, part of why the rebound gets into her hands) and Gray zones up on the back end as the Wings end up forcing a turnover.
That is a stellar defensive possession. The amount of things going on in unison and as the play develops highlights how in sync this Wings team has been on that end. They certainly can still make mistakes, but they're becoming less frequent, and when it mattered most last night, they put together a dominant defensive stand.
Gray is coming for an All-Defensive Team, both in her own mission expressed this season and with her play. She's been forceful pressuring on the ball, developing into Dallas' go-to stopper. Her recovery skills have been arguably as, if not more, impressive. She took the primary assignment of an All-Star forward in Bonner, and, in spite of a sizable height disparity, routinely forced her into awkward shots and contested her well.
Gray is 4th in The W in blocks per game (1.9), a ridiculous number considering every player in the top 10 besides her plays the 4 or 5.
Johnson called Gray "probably the best two-way player in The W right now," and while I can't quite get there, she's making a case for certain as she puts together her best all-around season.
Everything is clicking, everyone is finding some sort of footing in the rotation, and the Wings are out to a great start.
It's early in the season to be sure, but this Dallas team has a different verve and readiness in Year 2 under Vickie Johnson, and Tuesday night was fully emblematic of it.
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The Dallas WIngs are now 5-2 after a signature win over the Connecticut Sun. Mark Schindler analyzes their hot start.

Great start by young Dallas Wings signals improved readiness

Back. Forth. Back. Forth.
The Miami Heat want to see that pattern continue. The Boston Celtics hope to break that trend. And the team that prevails Wednesday night will be one game away from the NBA Finals.
The Eastern Conference finals has been nothing more than a series of mood swings, with matters set to resume with Game 5 on Wednesday in Miami. The top-seeded Heat and second-seeded Celtics are knotted up at two games apiece; the Heat rallied in the second half to take <a href="https://apnews.com/article/miami-heat-boston-celtics-nba-sports-jimmy-butler-5b5681ec485608add59e6eb15f24ee9f">Game 1,</a> Boston used a huge first-half run to respond and win <a href="https://apnews.com/article/boston-celtics-miami-heat-nba-sports-07cae0349b8cf097f37d7b4ba1a08e8f">Game 2,</a> Miami answered back in <a href="https://apnews.com/article/miami-heat-boston-celtics-nba-sports-jimmy-butler-c3b24c22ddc72b729933c338e2bf9581">Game 3</a> and the Celtics romped in <a href="https://apnews.com/article/miami-heat-boston-celtics-nba-sports-payton-pritchard-ed61092632890921ad8955f047a9c3c7">Game 4.</a>
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s not surprising,&rdquo; Boston coach Ime Udoka said Tuesday. &ldquo;Two teams that are always going to fight, not really beat themselves, give themselves a chance. I&rsquo;ve known Miami and (Heat coach Erik Spoelstra) for a while now and that&rsquo;s the epitome of who they are &mdash; toughness. Both teams have matched that energy coming off of losses, and now it&rsquo;s our turn to react better to a win.&rdquo;
The Celtics &mdash; even without defensive player of the year Marcus Smart, sidelined again, this time with a sprained ankle &mdash; left no doubt in Game 4, running out to an 18-1 lead to open the game and never coming close to giving up control.
Miami&rsquo;s starters combined for 18 points in Game 4 &mdash; yes, combined, the lowest such total for a starting five in a playoff game in at least 40 years. The Heat were without Tyler Herro because of a groin issue, Jimmy Butler didn&rsquo;t look right (though insisted he was) after missing half of Game 3 with knee soreness, and Kyle Lowry, Max Strus and P.J. Tucker combined to shoot 1 for 17.
It was ugly. But Spoelstra, somehow, still sees beauty in how the series has gone.
There hasn&rsquo;t been a lead change since the first quarter of Game 2; Boston grabbed control of that game and never let go, Miami took a huge early lead in Game 3 and held on late but never ceded the lead entirely and the Celtics took a stranglehold on Game 4 from the opening seconds.
&ldquo;What you&rsquo;re looking at is a great series,&rdquo; Spoelstra said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s 2-2. You have to embrace that and come together, and hopefully this competition brings out the absolute best in all of us.&rdquo;
Game 5s, in a tie series, are always swing games. When a series is knotted at 2-2, the Game 5 winner in a best-of-seven series ultimately prevails 82% of the time.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s kind of like a new series,&rdquo; Boston&rsquo;s Jayson Tatum said. &ldquo;Best of three.&rdquo;
FOUL MOODS
Boston took 40 more free throws than Miami in Games 3 and 4 combined; the differential was 24 in Game 4 alone. The issue is aggression (or lack thereof), Butler said. &ldquo;I think we have to be more of a forceful-type team, getting into the paint, not shying away from contact and playing from the inside out,&rdquo; Butler said. &ldquo;Whenever we do that and not shoot as many jumpers, we might get fouled a little bit.&rdquo;
QUARTER SCORES
The Celtics have lost three quarters and two games in this series. Of the 16 quarters so far in this matchup, the Celtics have won nine and tied four others. The two quarters that hurt Boston the most are obvious: the third quarter of Game 1 (Miami winning 39-14 to turn that game around) and the first quarter of Game 3 (Miami winning 39-18 to set the tone for that win). The other quarter that the Heat won was meaningless, with Miami outscoring Boston 30-26 in the fourth of the Game 4 blowout.
2-2 HISTORY
The Heat are 9-6 all-time in best-of-seven series that are tied after four games, including 1-0 this season after beating Philadelphia in the East semifinals. The Celtics are 34-13 in best-of-sevens that are 2-2 going into Game 5, also 1-0 this season &mdash; after losing Game 5 to Milwaukee in the East semifinals but winning the final two games of that series.
ODDSMAKERS SAY
Boston is favored by 1.5 points in Game 5 as of Tuesday, <a href="https://sportsbook.fanduel.com/navigation/nba">according to FanDuel Sportsbook.</a> That could change, of course, based on injury news and other variables. Miami is 4-1 outright as a home underdog this season and has been favored in 35 of its last 36 home games entering Wednesday.
INJURIES
The Heat are waiting to see if Herro can play in Game 5, and have been dealing with Butler (knee), Lowry (hamstring), Tucker (ankle), Strus (hamstring) and Gabe Vincent (hamstring) being at least mildly limited in recent games. Smart is still trying to get the soreness out of his sprained ankle, and Celtics center Robert Williams III &mdash; who has been slowed in this series by ongoing recovery from knee surgery &mdash; said he emerged from Game 4 without significant issues.

The Eastern Conference finals has been nothing more than a series of mood swings, with matters set to resume with Game 5.

Heat, Celtics now in a best-of-three to decide the East title

A familiar theme for the 2022 NBA Draft Class is multiple prospects taking a second-year jump as collegiate basketball players. Iowa&rsquo;s Keegan Murray <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/dont-let-age-deny-keegan-murrays-tantalizing-nba-ceiling" target="_blank" rel="noopener">qualifies in that category</a>, but so does versatile Wisconsin scorer <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/draft/2022-nba-mock-draft/players/johnny-davis" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Johnny Davis</a>.
Taking on the No. 1 offensive role for the Badgers led to a massive jump in production from Davis during his sophomore campaign. Davis averaged 19.7 points, 8.2 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.2 steals per game on his way to winning Big Ten Player of the Year.
However, even with those numbers, Davis is not being considered as a lock to go in the top 10.
The Wisconsin guard put up great numbers, but the jump in efficiency was not really notable (50.5% True Shooting to 52.3% TS). Davis mentioned at the NBA Draft Combine that his high-usage role for the Badgers played a part in his pedestrian shooting splits, which included 30.6% on three-pointers.
&ldquo;No, that definitely doesn&rsquo;t represent me,&rdquo; Davis said. &ldquo;I could&rsquo;ve shot better from the free-throw line, from three especially. I thought later in the season I took a lot more contested shots.&rdquo;
In Chicago last week at the Combine, Davis listed seven teams who he met with, including the Detroit Pistons, Indiana Pacers, San Antonio Spurs, Washington Wizards, New York Knicks, Cleveland Cavaliers and Denver Nuggets.
&ldquo;It went really well,&rdquo; Davis said of his meeting with the Knicks, which included head coach Tom Thibodeau. &ldquo;To see a familiar face and somebody who&rsquo;s been around the game for awhile.&rdquo;
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In New York, it&rsquo;s not hard to imagine Davis becoming a favorite of Thibodeau&rsquo;s, thanks in large part to his toughness and ability to control the game on both ends of the court when necessary. Also, Davis joining a young core headlined by RJ Barrett and Obi Toppin would bring even more intrigue to the on-court product in Madison Square Garden.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve heard from people likes guys like that, so hopefully I can fit in with them and they&rsquo;ll be invested in me enough to draft me,&rdquo; Davis said of his fit in Thibodeau&rsquo;s system.
Coincidentally, Davis is currently projected to go No. 11 overall to the Knicks in BasketballNews.com's <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/draft" target="_blank" rel="noopener">latest mock draft</a>. Senior NBA Draft Analyst Matt Babcock shared his thoughts on Davis as a prospect:
<blockquote>
Johnny Davis is a bit of a throwback, and I mean that in a good way. He&rsquo;s a tough, no-nonsense, blue-collar type of player. He has a knack for putting the ball in the hole and can do so in various ways. However, his bread and butter is in the mid-range. In addition to his scoring capabilities, Davis is physical and competitive, which allows him to be an effective defender and rebounder.
Davis is a safe pick, as my confidence level that he will be a solid pro is very high. I currently project his range somewhere between the mid- and late lottery.&rdquo;
</blockquote>
Davis is viewed as one of the safest players in the 2022 draft class due to his scoring and defensive chops. Utilizing him as a super-charged role player moving away from being a team's top option could be the best thing for him as an immediate-impact rotation player.
Projected as a near-consensus lottery pick, Davis should hear his name called relatively early on draft night. Wherever Davis lands, that team will be landing a tenacious player with a never-say-die attitude on the basketball court. A personality like that &mdash; on top of his on-court production &mdash; makes Davis one of the safer bets to hit his potential ceiling outcome.
The Wisconsin-NBA pipeline continues to flow for the Badgers, but Davis might be the most impactful prospect we&rsquo;ve seen in a long time.
Betting on a player with the intangibles of Davis almost always work out in the end.
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Wisconsin guard Johnny Davis is a versatile scorer and defender, which makes him a strong bet to hit at the NBA level.

2022 NBA Draft: Winning intangibles make Johnny Davis safe bet to hit

May 5, 2006. That was the last time the Sacramento Kings <a href="https://www.basketball-reference.com/boxscores/200605050SAC.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">played in a playoff game</a>. That contest took place 5,863 days ago.&nbsp; To put that into context: During that 2005-06 season, Chris Paul was a rookie and Bruce Bowen, who was born in 1971, was named to the NBA's All-Defensive First Team. Steve Nash won his second consecutive MVP award and Boris Diaw was named the league's Most Improved Player.
The Kings made history last month, the type of history that no organization wants to be known for. Sacramento, who finished the 2021-22 campaign with a 30-52 record, failed to qualify for the postseason for the 16th straight season, breaking the NBA record for the longest playoff drought. (The Kings had been tied with the Buffalo Braves and Los Angeles Clippers prior.)
So, while <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-draft-lottery-teams-who-should-trade-to-win-now-or-at-least-sooner" target="_blank" rel="noopener">many teams in this year's draft lottery</a> are rumored to be interested in potentially trading their pick, arguably no team is more motivated to add an established player (as opposed to an unproven rookie) in hopes of avoiding a return trip to the all-too-familiar lottery dais next May than the Kings.
As proof of their urgency to win now, the Kings shocked pundits back in February by trading away Tyrese Haliburton, one of the league's most promising young point guards, to the Indiana Pacers in exchange for a package that included Justin Holiday, Jeremy Lamb and two-time All-Star Domantas Sabonis.&nbsp;
Thus, it isn't shocking to learn that Sacramento, who jumped up to land the No. 4 overall pick in last week's lottery, is reportedly willing to wheel and deal if presented with the right offer.&nbsp;
<a href="https://bleacherreport.com/articles/10036369-nba-draft-buzz-insiders-explain-why-chet-holmgren-makes-sense-at-no-1" target="_blank" rel="noopener">According to Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report</a>, "there's a strong belief among rival teams that Sacramento will explore trading the fourth selection, either out of the draft entirely for an impact veteran or down later in the lottery to net a contributing rotation player in the process."
The other issue likely factoring into the Kings' thought process is that the top tier of the <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/draft" target="_blank" rel="noopener">2022 NBA Draft</a> consists of three players (Jabari Smith, Chet Holmgren and Paolo Banchero), with a bit of a dropoff after those elite prospects. Nonetheless, "the uncertainty of the fourth selection could prompt eager teams to leap up to secure their prized prospect" which puts the Kings' front office in a "<a href="https://bleacherreport.com/articles/10036369-nba-draft-buzz-insiders-explain-why-chet-holmgren-makes-sense-at-no-1" target="_blank" rel="noopener">strong trade position</a>," per Fischer.&nbsp;
Additionally, Mike Scotto of HoopsHype recently <a href="https://hoopshype.com/lists/aggregate-nba-mock-draft-lottery-jabari-smith-chet-holmgren-paolo-banchero-trade-rumors/">reported</a> that NBA executives "are monitoring the Sacramento Kings" as a team that could trade their pick "in search of player(s) that can help immediately." Scotto added that after acquiring Sabonis, the Kings have "made it clear the goal is to end the franchise's playoff drought" and that "rival teams are keeping an eye on Sacramento to trade this pick."
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So, let's examine some deals that might make sense for both the Kings and a potential trading partner.
Detroit Pistons send Jerami Grant, Saben Lee, Isaiah Livers and a second-round pick (No. 46 overall) to the Kings in exchange for the No. 4 overall pick, Richaun Holmes, Maurice Harkless and Alex Len
Earlier this offseason, Sacramento general manager Monte McNair <a href="https://account.sacbee.com/paywall/subscriber-only?resume=260358905&amp;intcid=ab_archive">conceded</a> that the team needs to add players who can knock down shots and fit in alongside the franchise's cornerstones, Sabonis and De'Aaron Fox.
"I think shooting, we can clearly acknowledge, will be a huge priority," McNair declared. "Length, athleticism, versatility &mdash; we've talked about all that as well. Obviously, you want the whole package, but shooting will be a big priority for us."
Grant most certainly checks those boxes. During his two years in Detroit, he has averaged 20.9 points, 4.4 rebounds, 2.6 assists, 2.0 made treys and 1.1 blocks per game. He has shot over 37% from downtown on 4.5 attempts over the past four seasons and is a versatile, plus defender. As a stretch-4, Grant &mdash; who just turned 28 and is in the heart of his prime &mdash; could conceivably fit in well in the frontcourt alongside Sabonis, who likes to operate on the low block and is a good passer from the post. Moreover, Fox-Grant pick-and-rolls would be difficult to defend.&nbsp;
The issue in this potential trade is that Grant has just one season left on the three-year, $60 million deal he signed in 2020. However, as long as Grant is traded before Aug. 9, he is eligible to sign an extension with his new team for up to $112 million over four years. After previously spurning the Nuggets to sign with the Pistons, we know that Grant is not afraid to join a team that hasn't enjoyed recent success. Would he be willing to commit to Sacramento long-term? If so, a Big Three of Fox, Grant and Sabonis might be talented enough to finally push the Kings into the postseason.&nbsp;
For the Pistons, they would add Holmes (a quality center on a team-friendly contract) and enter next month's draft with 2 of the top 5 picks, which would allow them to add a pair of promising prospects to a core centered around Cade Cunningham, Saddiq Bey, Isaiah Stewart and Killian Hayes. 
Washington Wizards send Kyle Kuzma and the No. 10 overall pick to the Kings for the No. 4 pick, Justin Holiday and Terence Davis
After a disappointing end to his tenure as a Los Angeles Laker, Kuzma bounced back with a very productive season for the Wizards in 2021-22. He averaged 17.1 points and 1.9 made three-pointers while setting career-highs in rebounds (8.5), assists (3.5) and blocks (0.9) per game. He led the Wiz in double-doubles with 24 (which ranked tied for the sixth-most among all forwards in the NBA). Adding Kuzma's offensive versatility would provide Sacramento with some much-needed depth at forward. In addition, the Kings would still have a lottery pick, dropping back just six spots, which would allow them to add another young asset to the roster.&nbsp;
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The Wizards would likely entertain such a deal if they fell in love with a prospect &mdash; such as Keegan Murray, Jaden Ivey or Shaedon Sharpe &mdash; whom they feel relatively sure won't still be on the board at 10.
Kuz has two years left on his current contract but can opt out in the summer of 2023. However, he will be eligible to sign a four-year extension for up to $70 million this October if his $13 million player option for 2023-24 is declined.&nbsp;
A similar package featuring one of the Wizards' other young forwards (Rui Hachimura, Deni Avdija or Corey Kispert) instead of Kuzma might also be feasible, depending on the value the Kings/Wizards place on the respective players.&nbsp;
Houston Rockets send the No. 3 overall pick and Eric Gordon to the Kings for the No. 4 pick, a (protected) future first-round pick, a 2022 second-round pick, Richaun Holmes and Justin Holiday
Is it possible that Sacramento views Smith, Holmgren or Banchero as talented enough to make a substantial impact as a rookie? If so, would the team be willing to pony up sufficient capital to move up one spot?
The Kings would snag one of this draft's three most prized prospects in this hypothetical scenario. The 7-foot Holmgren is one of the most versatile prospects to enter the draft in recent history. Banchero possesses a freakish combination of size, strength and athleticism. Smith projects as a lethal stretch-4 who could fit in nicely alongside Sabonis.&nbsp;
Gordon is a respected, established veteran with just one year of guaranteed money left on his contract. He shot a scorching 41.2% from three-point territory this past season, the second-best mark of his career.&nbsp;
Such a deal would make sense for the Rockets if they feel whichever of the top-tier prospects that falls to them isn't significantly better than the next highest-ranked player on their board. During a post-lottery press conference last week, Rockets general manager Rafael Stone said Houston is <a href="https://twitter.com/MarkBermanFox26/status/1526739178557517824?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1526739178557517824%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&amp;ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fbleacherreport.com%2Farticles%2F10036145-rockets-open-to-trading-3rd-pick-in-2022-nba-draft-if-a-deal-makes-sense-gm-says" target="_blank" rel="noopener">open to trading the No. 3 pick</a>.
"I'm definitely not gonna block them out," Stone <a href="https://twitter.com/MarkBermanFox26/status/1526739178557517824?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1526739178557517824%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&amp;ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fbleacherreport.com%2Farticles%2F10036145-rockets-open-to-trading-3rd-pick-in-2022-nba-draft-if-a-deal-makes-sense-gm-says">told reporters</a>. "If they wanna talk, I'm always available to talk... If it's the case that they're interested in doing something, we're always available to listen. If there's something that makes sense for both teams, something will get done."
Adding a quality young center in Holmes would give the Rockets leverage in negotiations with Christian Wood, or potentially enable them to trade him out of Houston.&nbsp;
New York Knicks trade Julius Randle and the No. 11 overall pick to the Kings for Harrison Barnes, the No. 4 pick and a second-round pick (No. 37 overall)&nbsp;
Randle playing alongside Sabonis could be viewed as a clunky fit, but Sabonis did play 80% of his minutes at center for Sacramento after arriving via the midseason trade. The pairing would undoubtedly be problematic defensively, but the duo would be dynamic on the offensive end. Over the past two seasons, Randle and Sabonis were 2 of only 4 NBA players to average double-digit boards and more than 5 assists per contest. (The other two players in this club were Nikola Jokić and Giannis Antetokounmpo.)
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After being named to the All-NBA Second Team in 2020-21, Randle's offensive inefficiency regressed dramatically this past season. In addition, <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/julius-randle-and-the-knicks-should-part-ways-this-summer" target="_blank" rel="noopener">the relationship between Randle and Knicks fans turned toxic</a> at various points during the year. Yet, even in a "down year," he averaged 20.1 points, 9.9 boards and 5.1 dimes per game. A fresh start in California might help Randle regain his All-Star form. Also, he is under team control for at least three more years (he has a player option for 2025-26), which means the Kings wouldn't have to worry about their key players entering free agency anytime soon.&nbsp;
From the Knicks' perspective, this move would allow them to jump up and snag a highly-touted prospect, possibly combo guard Jaden Ivey, who New York was rumored to be interested in. And, <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/julius-randle-and-the-knicks-should-part-ways-this-summer" target="_blank" rel="noopener">as I wrote last month</a>, moving Randle would enable the Knicks to insert Obi Toppin (who averaged 27.2 points, 6.2 rebounds and 3.8 made three-pointers per game in April) into the starting lineup while also clearing Randle's contract off their books. Barnes will celebrate his 30th birthday next week, but is still playing at a high level and has just one year left on his current deal.&nbsp;
Atlanta Hawks trade John Collins and the No. 16 pick to the Kings for Harrison Barnes and the No. 4 pick
After signing a massive five-year contract worth $125 million last summer, Collins struggled with injuries and inconsistency in 2021-22. His disappointing production was one of the reasons Atlanta failed to meet lofty expectations this season. One year after advancing to the Eastern Conference Finals, the Hawks spent much of this past season below .500 and were easily eliminated by the Miami Heat in the first round.
Would they be willing to part way with Collins (and his contract) to jump 12 spots in the draft?&nbsp;
Much like the aforementioned Randle/Knicks deal, the Kings would have to decide if Collins could mesh with Sabonis and Fox.&nbsp;
Charlotte Hornets trade Gordon Hayward, the No. 13 pick and the No. 15 pick (via NOLA) to the Kings in exchange for Harrison Barnes, Maurice Harkless, Alex Len and the No. 4 pick
Attempting to determine Hayward's value league-wide is difficult. When healthy, he's been remarkably productive throughout his career. However, he's been plagued by injury issues and has missed 58 games since signing a four-year, $120 million pact with the Hornets in 2020. He has two years and $61.5 million left on his current contract, which also contains a 15% trade kicker.&nbsp;
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Tommy Beer highlights a number of possible trades that the Kings could execute to improve their roster this summer.

Breaking down 6 hypothetical trades for the Kings' fourth draft pick

In one week, we saw the 2022 NBA Draft picture begin to clarify.&nbsp;
The Orlando Magic jumped to the No. 1 pick after last Tuesday's NBA Draft Lottery, with the Oklahoma City Thunder earning the No. 2 pick and the Houston Rockets selecting third. Throughout the week, draft hopefuls also went under the microscope at the NBA Draft Combine, showing their skills in front of NBA teams and media members.
Our Senior NBA Draft Analyst Matt Babcock was in Chicago for the Combine and NBA G League Elite Camp, and over the next month, he'll be gathering intel and updating our <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/draft" target="_blank" rel="noopener">2022 NBA Mock Draft</a> regularly.
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With the Combine in the rear-view mirror, Babcock provides his thoughts on some of the most pressing topics before the stretch run of the pre-draft process in a Q&amp;A:
What are your initial thoughts on how the NBA Draft Lottery results could affect things come June?
"Two picks towards the top stand out to me: Oklahoma City at No. 2 and Sacramento at No. 4. My big question is: Does Sam Presti take Jaden Ivey? I&rsquo;ve been saying this for a while, but the impression is that Ivey&rsquo;s actual stock among NBA circles is higher than what&rsquo;s being portrayed in most of the media and the public. I believe that he&rsquo;s No. 1 or No. 2 on more teams' boards rather than being No. 4 or No. 5 as he is on most of the media&rsquo;s mock drafts.
"The other pick is Sacramento &mdash; the early word is this pick could easily be on the move. I&rsquo;m not quite sure what to make of it just yet, but I&rsquo;ll surely be keeping a pulse."
Several prospects who participated in the first day of scrimmages opted not to return for the second day. What do you think of this move?
"Well, if the player got hurt, or if a team made a guarantee to select them, that&rsquo;s one thing. But if it&rsquo;s just to avoid the possibility of not playing well the second day, I&rsquo;m not into that at all. I think it&rsquo;s safe to say that all of the players who chose to play think they deserve a higher projected draft status. In that case, play. Show your stuff! Go out there and earn what you think you deserve. It not only sends a bad message to teams &mdash; I think it&rsquo;s a slippery slope regarding how they approach their careers too."
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Much was made of Patrick Baldwin Jr.'s underwhelming athletic testing results. Do you see this notably impacting his draft stock?
"Patrick Baldwin Jr. battled some injuries this past season. His unwillingness to play through those minor injuries and his lack of toughness has raised concerns. He also chose to not play in the 5-on-5 games at the NBA Draft Combine. So for him to have such an underwhelming vertical jump just adds another negative element to the overall evaluation. He&rsquo;s a very skilled and talented player, but I&rsquo;ll be direct here: I think he should go back to school."
Santa Clara wing Jalen Williams has been a buzzing name on social media. How has his Combine performance resonated with teams?
"Jalen Williams definitely helped himself last week. He&rsquo;s versatile, skilled, and long for a player that&rsquo;s nearly 6-foot-6. I don&rsquo;t think he&rsquo;s overly athletic, but he&rsquo;s moved up a little bit. I think some teams liked him more than others, but his name was certainly buzzing. I think he&rsquo;s solidified himself as a solid draft pick."
Kendall Brown appears to be the biggest winner in the NBA combine testing. Are his standout numbers helping his draft stock?
"No, I don&rsquo;t think Kendall Brown&rsquo;s athletic testing helped him much, but let me explain. Coming into the season, Brown was widely regarded as a high-priority prospect, so everyone in the league saw him at some point or another. I think I can speak for all scouts on this one; we don&rsquo;t need to see any metrics to figure out that Kendall Brown is a freak athlete. So, although the numbers are impressive, it was expected."
Which other players significantly improved their draft stock with strong efforts at the combine?
"A few guys who helped themselves were Darius Days of LSU and Marcus Sasser of Houston, both of whom played their ways into the NBA Draft Combine by competing at the G League Elite Camp first.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
Let the games begin! 🙌 <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NBADraftCombine?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NBADraftCombine</a> <a href="https://t.co/iVRC9VzzyE">pic.twitter.com/iVRC9VzzyE</a>
&mdash; Matt Babcock (@MattBabcock11) <a href="https://twitter.com/MattBabcock11/status/1527368377353678848?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 19, 2022</a></blockquote>

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"Another player who impressed me was Gonzaga&rsquo;s Andrew Nembhard."
Did any other draft hopefuls personally stand out to you that you might not have known well before the combine?
"Yes &mdash; Ryan Rollins of Toledo. He didn&rsquo;t light the world on fire by putting up huge numbers, but he really caught my eye. He&rsquo;s very shifty and quick. I think he has the potential to develop into a dynamic on-ball creator. I had the chance to meet him briefly, and Derek Murray will be interviewing him for us soon. I&rsquo;m looking forward to learning more about Ryan over the course of the next few weeks."
With a month still left before the draft, how can prospects most directly impact their pre-draft image at this point?
Players are beginning to visit teams now. On those visits, some players will play competitive 1-on-1, 2-on-2 and 3-on-3, in addition to individual drills. That is the best way to move the needle for a player. The teams will also be interviewing the players and getting to know them on a personal level.
Many players have either recently hired an agent (or plan to) as the draft process continues. As a former agent, what advice can you offer to players currently making these decisions?
"At this point, players should have already signed with an agent. This doesn&rsquo;t exactly answer your question, but one bit of advice that I&rsquo;d share with players who just recently hired agents is to stick to the plan. They signed with their agents for a reason. These prospects are in probably the most vulnerable situation they&rsquo;ve ever been in, as they don&rsquo;t know how things will unfold, where they&rsquo;ll live and play next year, or how much money they&rsquo;ll make. It&rsquo;s nerve-wracking. They need to trust their agents and let them do their jobs. They&rsquo;re experts. See the plan through &mdash; at least the imminent one."
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The NBA Draft Lottery and NBA Draft Combine have set the stage for the next month of the 2022 draft process.