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Raptors

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

Ever since Artūras Karni&scaron;ovas and Marc Eversley took over the Bulls&rsquo; front office two years ago, Chicago has been one of the most aggressive teams in the NBA. Their fingerprints are all over this roster, with notable acquisitions such as DeMar DeRozan, Nikola Vucevic, Lonzo Ball and Alex Caruso.
These moves have translated to on-court success, as the Bulls posted their best winning percentage since the 2014-15 season and ended their four-year playoff drought. This year, Chicago was 46-36 &mdash; more wins than they had in the 2018-19 and 2019-20 seasons combined. (Zach LaVine and Coby White are the only remaining players from that 2019-20 squad).
The Bulls entered the playoffs as the sixth seed in the Eastern Conference while boasting the NBA's 11th-ranked offense (scoring 111.0 points per 100 possessions) and 23rd-ranked defense (allowing 111.1 points per 100 possessions).&nbsp;
While this season marked a step in the right direction, the Bulls&rsquo; first-round series against the Milwaukee Bucks showed that there&rsquo;s still plenty of work to be done. Despite Milwaukee losing their second-best player, Khris Middleton, to a sprained MCL in Game 2, the Bucks completed a gentleman's sweep against the Bulls. Chicago wasn&rsquo;t at full strength either, with Ball sidelined due to a knee injury and LaVine (COVID-19) and Caruso (concussion) each missing Game 5. Still, the reigning champions were a good litmus test.
Entering the offseason, where does Chicago go from here? Are big changes coming?
RE-SIGNING ZACH LAVINE
Entering this offseason, Chicago&rsquo;s top priority should be re-signing LaVine, who is set to hit unrestricted free agency. The 27-year-old has emerged as a perennial All-Star, earning a spot on the Eastern Conference squad in each of the last two seasons.&nbsp;
This year, LaVine averaged 24.4 points, 4.6 rebounds, 4.5 assists and 2.8 threes, while reducing his turnovers to 2.6 per game and shooting 47.6% from the field, 38.9% from three and 85.3% from the free-throw line.&nbsp;
LaVine will certainly expect a maximum contract from the Bulls, which would <a href="https://hoopshype.com/lists/bulls-offseason-preview-zach-lavines-free-agency-nikola-vucevic-extension-more/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">pay him</a> $212.3 million over five years. The most he could receive from another team is $157.4 million over four years. This is a relatively weak free-agent class, so it seems very likely that LaVine will get a max deal from some team.&nbsp;
The Bulls would be wise to re-sign their star shooting guard, as replacing his production would be difficult, and the team would certainly take a step back if LaVine signed elsewhere.
"I plan to enjoy free agency," LaVine said recently. &ldquo;We're going to have to experience A through Z without making any fast decisions. I think that's something me and [Rich Paul] are going to go through and experience."
LaVine was asked if the Bulls are the front-runners to sign him, but he wouldn&rsquo;t say.
"You guys have been a really, really soft spot in my heart," LaVine said to the Chicago media. "I have to do this as a business decision, as a man, to not just be viewed one way and be like, 'I'm automatically coming back,' or, 'I'm automatically leaving.'"
In multiple interviews, LaVine has reiterated that he wants to be paid what he feels he deserves.
"I just want my respect. I think that's the main thing," LaVine <a href="https://www.nbcsports.com/chicago/bulls/zach-lavine-prepares-olympic-quarterfinal-bulls-free-agency" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> last August. "I outplayed my contract; I've been very loyal to Chicago, I like Chicago. I just want my respect."
FREE AGENCY
Aside from LaVine, the bulk of Chicago's core is under contract for the foreseeable future.&nbsp;
The Bulls have $103,181,950 in guaranteed salaries on the books for next season, spread across nine players: DeRozan, Vucevic, Lopez, Caruso, White, Patrick Williams, Javonte Green, Ayo Dosunmu and Marko Simonovic. Projections set next year&rsquo;s salary cap at $122 million and the luxury tax at $149 million.
Derrick Jones Jr.,Tristan Thompson and Matt Thomas will be unrestricted free agents. Tony Bradley has a player option worth $2,036,318, so he could opt out and test the market as well.
The team will have three restricted free agents (assuming Chicago extends a qualifying offer to each): Troy Brown Jr. ($7,228,448 QO), Tyler Cook ($1,576,305) and Malcolm Hill ($1,576,305).
Last year, the Bulls were very aggressive in free agency, making splashy moves left and right. Given their cap situation, it seems unlikely that Chicago will be able to go star hunting, but they&rsquo;ll likely try to improve their depth and add certain specialists. For example, Chicago could use a rim protector, as they averaged just 4.0 blocks per game (which ranked 27th in the NBA). Can they afford Mitchell Robinson? Could they throw an offer sheet at or sign-and-trade for a restricted free agent like Nic Claxton or Mo Bamba? Can they add a veteran like JaVale McGee or Hassan Whiteside?&nbsp;
In addition to a rim protector, it would make sense to add other defensive reinforcements as well (especially if Jones signs elsewhere). Caruso and Ball give Chicago a strong defensive backcourt, but they need some help if the Bulls want to improve their 23rd-ranked defensive rating (113.2). Some of the top defensive role players who are hitting the market include Bruce Brown, Gary Payton II and PJ Tucker. Lu Dort and Jae'Sean Tate each have a team option, but it seems unlikely that either will be available given their bargain contracts.
The Bulls will look to add a contributor or two using the non-taxpayer mid-level exception, which is worth $10,349,000. Last offseason, that is how Chicago was able to sign Caruso to a four-year, $37 million deal, which ended up being a terrific addition. Other players who signed for the non-taxpayer MLE last offseason include McGee (Phoenix Suns), Tucker (Miami Heat), Reggie Bullock (Dallas Mavericks) and Khem Birch (Toronto Raptors).
It will be interesting to see what the Bulls do in free agency. However, keep in mind that some of Chicago&rsquo;s biggest additions in recent years were acquired through trades.
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TRADES
After watching the Bulls&rsquo; front office trade for Vucevic, DeRozan and Ball, fans are understandably thinking big when it comes to Chicago&rsquo;s trade targets entering the offseason.
Myles Turner has been mentioned as a possible target for the Bulls since he could solve their rim-protection issues, but the window on acquiring Turner may have slammed shut as a <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/despite-trade-talks-the-pacers-want-to-keep-myles-turner-longterm" target="_blank" rel="noopener">recent report</a> suggested that the Indiana Pacers are now expected to keep the 26-year-old long-term.
Another dominant shot-blocker who may become available is Rudy Gobert. The Utah Jazz just had another season end in disappointing fashion, and there has already been a <a href="https://twitter.com/realOCsports/status/1521141215411941376" target="_blank" rel="noopener">report</a> that the Jazz will be forced to choose between Gobert and Donovan Mitchell. If Utah opts to keep their young shooting guard, a three-time Defensive Player of the Year and five-time All-Defensive First-Team selection could suddenly be obtainable.
If that happens, the Bulls should at least reach out and start a conversation. Our Evan Sidery recently <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/examining-potential-trade-destinations-for-rudy-gobert" target="_blank" rel="noopener">broke down potential destinations for Gobert</a> and listed Chicago as the top landing spot. Here&rsquo;s what he wrote:
Imagine the possibilities for Chicago with Gobert patrolling the paint with Lonzo Ball and Alex Caruso hawking the perimeter. It&rsquo;s the perfect complement to offensive dynamos Zach LaVine and DeMar DeRozan. Chicago&rsquo;s new starting lineup of Ball, Caruso, LaVine, DeRozan and Gobert would seemingly have no holes in it from a two-way perspective. I absolutely love this idea for Chicago, and they should be blowing up the Jazz&rsquo;s phone this summer if it seems plausible.
Jazz receive: Nikola Vucevic, Patrick Williams, Coby White, draft compensation Bulls receive: Rudy Gobert
It remains to be seen if either side would do this, but it&rsquo;s an intriguing idea.
With that said, if the Bulls are committed to Vucevic and don&rsquo;t want to trade for a new big man, HoopsHype&rsquo;s Yossi Gozlan <a href="https://hoopshype.com/lists/bulls-offseason-preview-zach-lavines-free-agency-nikola-vucevic-extension-more/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">points out</a> that an extension for Vooch could make sense this offseason.
If that happens, perhaps Chicago just looks for a complementary shot-blocker who can play behind Vucevic like one of the free agents we mentioned above or more of a minor trade target such as New York&rsquo;s Nerlens Noel or Minnesota&rsquo;s Jarred Vanderbilt.
It&rsquo;s also worth noting that the Bulls have a $5,000,000 trade exception that expires on July 7, 2022, from their Daniel Theis deal.
DRAFT
The Bulls have the No. 18 pick in the 2022 NBA Draft. In BasketballNews.com's <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/draft" target="_blank" rel="noopener">2022 NBA Mock Draft</a>, our senior NBA Draft analyst Matt Babcock has Chicago selecting Ohio State forward <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/draft/2022-nba-mock-draft/players/ej-liddell" target="_blank" rel="noopener">EJ Liddell</a>.&nbsp;
The 6-foot-7, 21-year-old junior is a well-rounded, NBA-ready player who makes sense for a Bulls team that wants to win now. Last season, Liddell averaged 19.4 points, 7.9 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 2.6 blocks, 1.4 threes and 0.6 steals, while shooting 49.0% from the field, 37.4% from three and 76.5% from the free-throw line.
&ldquo;Although he is a bit undersized for the position, the Buckeyes often used Liddell as a 4 or 5 in their lineups,&rdquo; Babcock noted in his scouting breakdown. &ldquo;He is physical and versatile on both ends of the floor, scoring both inside and out. He appears more comfortable in the mid-range and paint, which works well for his college system but raises questions in regards to his translatability to the NBA. Liddell filled up the box score and played with great effort and toughness. He has certainly carved out a spot for himself in the 2022 NBA Draft.&rdquo;
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Other players who are projected to be available in that range are G League Ignite wing <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/draft/2022-nba-mock-draft/players/marjon-beauchamp" target="_blank" rel="noopener">MarJon Beauchamp</a>, Baylor forward <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/draft/2022-nba-mock-draft/players/kendall-brown" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Kendall Brown</a>, LSU forward <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/draft/2022-nba-mock-draft/players/tari-eason" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Tari Eason</a>, Notre Dame guard <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/draft/2022-nba-mock-draft/players/blake-wesley" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Blake Wesley</a>, G League Ignite guard <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/draft/2022-nba-mock-draft/players/jaden-hardy" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Jaden Hardy</a>, Serbian forward <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/draft/2022-nba-mock-draft/players/nikola-jovic" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Nikola Jovic</a> and Tennessee guard <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/draft/2022-nba-mock-draft/players/kennedy-chandler" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Kennedy Chandler</a>.&nbsp;
If the Bulls aren&rsquo;t interested in any of these prospects, or if Karni&scaron;ovas and Eversley continue to be aggressive on the trade market, Chicago could look to deal the No. 18 pick as part of a win-now move.
It&rsquo;s worth noting that Chicago must forfeit their next-available second-round pick after an NBA investigation revealed that they contacted Ball prior to the start of the NBA&rsquo;s free-agency period. As it stands, the Bulls&rsquo; next-available pick is the team&rsquo;s 2026 second-rounder, but Chicago can&rsquo;t acquire a second-round pick before then because they&rsquo;d have to forfeit it.
***
After a few rough years, the Bulls seem to be back on the right trajectory, and there&rsquo;s no question that this team has the talent to be a perennial playoff squad in the East. Winning 46 games despite trying to get so many new players acclimated is impressive, especially when you factor in the injuries to Ball, Caruso, Williams, etc.
Even if the Bulls bring back largely the same roster, they will benefit from that continuity and improved chemistry. However, given what we&rsquo;ve seen from this front office in recent years, don&rsquo;t be surprised if they look to wheel-and-deal in order to take the roster to the next level.

After winning 46 games and losing in the first round, where will the Bulls go from here? Alex Kennedy previews Chicago's summer.

2022 NBA offseason preview: What's next for the Chicago Bulls?

Every day, BasketballNews.com gives you NBA betting analysis before tip-off. Make sure you subscribe to our daily podcast, &ldquo;Nothing But Bets&rdquo; on&nbsp;<a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/nothing-but-bets/id1589799249" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Apple Podcasts</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://open.spotify.com/episode/6zNxt0NQXPmKuryAdz89m0?si=1038d121100444fd" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Spotify</a>&nbsp;or wherever you listen to podcasts.
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Without further ado, let&rsquo;s dive into our favorite NBA spread bets for Monday's postseason slate.
Miami Heat (-7.5) vs. Philadelphia 76ers
Tough sledding is ahead for the Sixers for at least the next two games in Miami, and going up against a tough, versatile Heat team without Joel Embiid is a really bad recipe. The Heat should be able to suffocate the likes of James Harden and Tyrese Maxey on defense to inefficient performances; expect a fired up Jimmy Butler ready for the task.
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&nbsp;
&mdash; Wednesday, May 04th Philadelphia 76ers @ Miami Heat</blockquote>

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Miami has the firepower on both ends of the court to make this a nightmare for Philadelphia, especially with no Embiid. This is one of the most confident locks we&rsquo;ve deployed throughout the postseason. Easily hammer the Heat in this spot to cover the 7.5-point spread.
Pick: Heat -7.5
Player Props: Jimmy Butler over 24.5 points, Tyrese Maxey over 21.5 points, Bam Adebayo over 9.5 rebounds, James Harden over 9.5 assists
Phoenix Suns (-5.5) vs. Dallas Mavericks
I&rsquo;m pumped about this series because there are so many intriguing angles to unpack along the way. One of those asks this question: How in the world will the Suns be able to stop Luka Doncic? In the postseason, Doncic cranks it up another level with ease. However, the Mavericks are running into a buzzsaw here with the Suns. Devin Booker is back with no restrictions, plus Chris Paul just put together <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/chris-pauls-masterclass-game-6-performance-the-latest-moment-of-greatness" target="_blank" rel="noopener">one of his best games ever</a> as his 37th birthday quickly approaches. Another element to this matchup that fares well in the Suns&rsquo; favor is a mismatch weapon named Deandre Ayton.
Dallas will have no answer for Ayton throughout this series, so this could be a monster game for the 2018 No. 1 overall pick. Phoenix has the better roster and all-around versatility to negate Dallas immediately out of the gate. Lock in the Suns to pick up the Game 1 win and cover the spread as well.
Pick: Suns -5.5
Player Props: Devin Booker over 24.5 points, Deandre Ayton over 18.5 points, Luka Doncic over 7.5 assists, Dorian Finney-Smith over 4.5 rebounds
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Who are the best bets for Monday night's NBA playoff games? We've got you covered!

Best Bets: BasketballNews' NBA picks and fantasy advice for 5/2/22

TORONTO (AP) &mdash; Joel Embiid made a 3-pointer with 0.8 seconds left in overtime to give the Philadelphia 76ers a 104-101 victory over the Toronto Raptors on Wednesday night and a 3-0 lead in their first-round series.
After 76ers coach Doc Rivers called timeout to save the possession as the shot clock was running down, Embiid took an inbounds pass from Danny Green and hit a turnaround shot from near the sideline before running back to his bench in celebration.
Toronto&rsquo;s OG Anunoby couldn&rsquo;t get a shot off before the buzzer.
Embiid had 33 points and 13 rebounds, helping the 76ers rally from a 17-point deficit. James Harden had 19 points and 10 assists before fouling out in the closing seconds of regulation.
Tyrese Maxey scored 19 points and Tobias Harris had 11 points and 12 rebounds for the Sixers, who can wrap up the series in Game 4 on Saturday.
Anunoby scored 26 points, Gary Trent Jr. had a playoff-high 24, and Precious Achiuwa had 20 for the Raptors.
Pascal Siakam and Fred VanVleet each had 12 points. VanVleet shot 3 for 13, going 2 for 10 from 3-point range.
Philadelphia never held a lead in regulation, finally grabbing a 99-97 edge on Maxey&rsquo;s shot with 3:27 left in overtime.
Anunoby&rsquo;s 3 briefly put Toronto back on top, but Embiid&rsquo;s basket with 2:36 left made it 101-100 for the Sixers.
Embiid fouled Anunoby with 26 seconds left, and the Toronto forward made the first but missed the second, knotting it at 101-all.
Raptors rookie Scottie Barnes sat for the second straight game because of the sprained left ankle that knocked him out of Game 1. Raptors coach Nick Nurse said Barnes is making progress and could return Saturday.
The 76ers, who shot at least 30 free throws in each of the first two games of the series, went 15 for 20 from the line in Game 3, with Embiid making six of nine attempts.
Trent was limited to 10 minutes of action in Game 2 because of illness, and didn&rsquo;t play in the second half Monday. He played 45 minutes Wednesday, shooting 9 for 19.
Ahead 75-74 through three quarters, Toronto held a 95-90 lead on Achiuwa&rsquo;s basket with 2:03 left.
Maxey scored to make it a three-point game, and Anunoby was called for goaltending on Harden&rsquo;s shot with 1:14 left, cutting it to 95-94. After missing at one end, VanVleet fouled Harden with 49 seconds to play, but the Sixers guard missed his first shot before tying it 95-all with his second.
Harden fouled out with 27 seconds left, sending Achiuwa to the line, but the Toronto forward missed both shots.
Philadelphia had two chances to win it in regulation, but Embiid missed a 3 and Harris couldn&rsquo;t convert after grabbing the rebound.
The 76ers played without guard Matisse Thybulle. Philadelphia&rsquo;s defensive specialist is not fully vaccinated against COVID-19, making him ineligible to cross the Canadian border. Thybulle also missed an April 7 regular-season loss to the Raptors.
The Raptors hosted a postseason game north of the border for the first time since Game 5 of the 2019 NBA Finals against Golden State. The Warriors won that game, but Kevin Durant injured his Achilles tendon and the Raptors won the series in Game 6.
TIP-INS
76ers: Green had to be restrained by teammates after he was called for a technical foul late in the second quarter. &hellip; Outscored 13-4 on fast break points. &hellip; Made 24 turnovers, leading to 27 points.
Raptors: C Khem Birch made his first start of the series, replacing Achiuwa. &hellip; VanVleet got a technical foul for arguing after he was called for pushing Embiid out of bounds in the second. &hellip; Trent&rsquo;s previous playoff high was 16, set Aug. 29, 2020 with Portland against the Los Angeles Lakers.

Joel Embiid's three-pointer at the end of overtime lifted the Philadelphia 76ers over the Toronto Raptors in Game 3.

Embiid hits winning 3 in OT, 76ers beat Raptors for 3-0 lead

Duncan Robinson made eight 3-pointers for Miami. Jonas Valanciunas grabbed 25 rebounds for New Orleans. Anthony Edwards scored 36 points for Minnesota in his playoff debut. Phoenix&rsquo;s Chris Paul became the oldest player in postseason history with a 30-point, 10-assist game.
Game 1s brought greatness out of some.
Game 2s will give others a bounce-back chance.
A trio of Game 2s are on Tuesday&rsquo;s NBA schedule &mdash; Atlanta at Miami, Minnesota at Memphis and New Orleans at Phoenix. The <a href="https://apnews.com/article/miami-heat-atlanta-hawks-nba-sports-jimmy-butler-524f6e3dc3b47326af36a281e871e64d">top-seeded Heat</a> in the East and <a href="https://apnews.com/article/phoenix-suns-new-orleans-pelicans-nba-sports-33de7a70b3f38ca2c1a8ab2df2d6ebe3">top-seeded Suns</a> in the West both opened the postseason quests with double-digit home wins, while the <a href="https://apnews.com/article/minnesota-timberwolves-memphis-grizzlies-nba-sports-jaden-mcdaniels-aaf5cd0818a06b8971736c4d19595070">seventh-seeded Timberwolves</a> struck first on the Grizzlies&rsquo; home floor.
Atlanta&rsquo;s Trae Young was held to a career-worst-tying 1-for-12 shooting and a season-low eight points by a swarming Miami defense on Sunday. Memphis&rsquo; Ja Morant scored 32 points, but missed 10 of his last 13 shots from the floor against Minnesota on Saturday. And New Orleans&rsquo; CJ McCollum scored 25 points, keeping his team in it much of the way Sunday, though started 2 for 12 and finished 9 for 25.
&ldquo;I didn&rsquo;t push tempo enough. ... Playing against the No. 1 seed, you&rsquo;ve got to make shots and got to be able to score with them,&rdquo; McCollum said.
The Pelicans and Hawks were both playing a third game in a span of five days Sunday, each doing so in three different cities. They had play-in games at home on Wednesday, then traveled for another one Friday &mdash; Atlanta to Cleveland, New Orleans to Los Angeles to face the Clippers &mdash; then had to get back on planes for Game 1s in Miami and Phoenix.
Monday will be a day to get settled, and it stands to reason that Tuesday will be smoother for both.
&ldquo;We cannot be an excuse team,&rdquo; Atlanta&rsquo;s Danilo Gallinari said. &ldquo;We have to be ready to play.&rdquo;
Adjustments will be made, as always, between Game 1 and Game 2. The Hawks must find ways to get Young to his spots. The Pelicans can&rsquo;t let Paul shoot 12 for 16 again. The Timberwolves know they&rsquo;ll get Memphis&rsquo; best shot, since the Grizzlies clearly can&rsquo;t afford to go down 0-2 at home.
Veterans know Game 1s are never worth making snap judgments over, because series narratives can and often do change in Game 2s.
&ldquo;You never get too high, never get too low,&rdquo; Miami guard Kyle Lowry said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve lost a bunch of Game 1s and won the series. I&rsquo;ve won a couple Game 1s and lost the series. You&rsquo;ve got to be able to stay even-keeled, no matter what.&rdquo;
Tuesday&rsquo;s games:
HAWKS AT HEAT
Miami leads 1-0. Game 2, 7:30 p.m. EDT, TNT.
&mdash; NEED TO KNOW: Young was held below 15 points on five previous occasions this season. In the game immediately following those contests, he averaged 30.8 points on 54% from the field and 98% from the foul line. He will be super-aggressive on Tuesday.
&mdash; KEEP AN EYE ON: The Heat won by 24 and got only 12 points, combined, from Bam Adebayo and Tyler Herro. The Heat didn&rsquo;t need them to score much, not with Robinson scoring 27 off the bench, but it&rsquo;s also tough to expect both Adebayo and Herro to remain quiet in Game 2.
&mdash; INJURY WATCH: Hawks C Clint Capela (knee hyperextension) expected to remain out.
&mdash; PRESSURE IS ON: Miami. The Heat can&rsquo;t give Atlanta momentum to go home with. The Hawks, including the play-in, have gone 28-14 at home this season and that &mdash; statistically improbable as it may seem &mdash; includes a 10-game losing streak. The Hawks lost every home game they played from Nov. 27 through Jan. 15, but are 20-3 in their building since. That&rsquo;s the best home record in the NBA over that span.
TIMBERWOLVES AT GRIZZLIES
Minnesota leads 1-0. Game 2, 8:30 p.m. EDT, NBA TV.
&mdash; NEED TO KNOW: The Timberwolves led the NBA in 3-pointers made during the regular season and showed that prowess in Game 1, outscoring Memphis 48-21 from beyond the arc. What should further concern the Grizzlies is that they allowed 130 points on a night where D&rsquo;Angelo Russell shot just 2 for 11.
&mdash; KEEP AN EYE ON: Morant. Memphis&rsquo; best player was 5 for 5 in the first quarter of Game 1, 3 for 13 from the field the rest of the way. He attempted 20 free throws, which speaks to his aggressiveness, but the Grizzlies can&rsquo;t have Morant making three baskets over 36 minutes and expect success.
&mdash; INJURY WATCH: Nothing of great significance. Minnesota&rsquo;s Karl-Anthony Towns was limping a bit in the final minutes of Saturday&rsquo;s win after turning one of his ankles, but finished the game.
&mdash; PRESSURE IS ON: Memphis. Completely, totally on Memphis. If the Grizzlies watched Minnesota&rsquo;s play-in game (and they obviously did), they would be aware of the atmosphere that awaits them when this series shifts back to Minneapolis later this week. A 2-0 deficit will prove very tough to overcome. Tuesday is absolutely huge to the Grizzlies&rsquo; hopes.
PELICANS AT SUNS
Phoenix leads 1-0. Game 2, 10 p.m. EDT, TNT.
&mdash; NEED TO KNOW: All five Suns-Pelicans games have been decided by double figures this season, Phoenix now going 4-1 in those matchups. Paul, a couple of weeks shy of his 37th birthday, was a maestro in Game 1.
&mdash; KEEP AN EYE ON: Even though Phoenix won Game 1, a 55-35 rebounding deficit will need to be addressed in Game 2.
&mdash; INJURY WATCH: New Orleans&rsquo; Brandon Ingram seemed to be laboring through some ankle issues in the second half of Game 1.
&mdash; PRESSURE IS ON: Phoenix. New Orleans shouldn&rsquo;t feel any pressure in this series, even if elimination looms. The previous team to make the playoffs with a 36-46 record or worse was the Boston Celtics in 2004. The Pelicans are playing with house money the rest of the way and the Suns probably would be wise to not give them more reasons to believe.

Game 1s are never worth making snap judgments over because series narratives can, and often do, change in Game 2s.

For some, Game 2s in NBA playoffs provide bounce-back chance

The Brooklyn Nets' offense was mostly humming in Tuesday's 115-108 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers to kick of the NBA Play-In Tournament. Kyrie Irving dazzled with 34 points on 12 of 15 shooting. Kevin Durant had his <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/appreciating-kevin-durants-other-skills" target="_blank" rel="noopener">long arms involved in almost every play</a>, and Bruce Brown sliced his way to a near-triple-double.
Nicolas Claxton's name didn't carry the same overall buzz, but I couldn't stop thinking about his place in the victory. The 22-year-old (Happy Birthday on Sunday, by the way!) totaled 13 points, 9 rebounds and 5 blocks in just under 29 minutes. Other than his long two to beat the first-quarter buzzer, Claxton didn't really create any highlight moments, but then you look at the box score and see he drilled all six of his shot attempts.
And then, you &mdash; "you" being I &mdash; check NBA.com and see Claxton finished seventh this season with a 67.4% overall field goal percentage (min. 800 minutes played). He sports a sparking 80.0% clip within 4&nbsp; feet of the basket, ranking second in the NBA, per Cleaning the Glass.
So at a very base level, Claxton has established himself among the most efficient players in basketball. Of course, it's more complicated than that. How does he benefit from Brooklyn's unique assembly of creators, and how does he set up for success?&nbsp;
Let's start with his Tuesday buckets.
Claxton's aforementioned buzzer-beater ranks as an extreme outlier. It's not just about the play context; Claxton attempted all of&nbsp;nine shots further than 8 feet from the basket in the entire regular season. Four of his five other makes in the game were dunks off assists from Brown. This one stuck out to me:
<div style="width: 100%; height: 0px; position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.250%;"><iframe style="width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute; left: 0px; top: 0px; overflow: hidden;" src="https://streamable.com/e/9d0s8w" width="100%" height="325" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" data-mce-fragment="1"></iframe></div>
This looks pretty easy for Claxton. Brooklyn sends two defenders to Durant on the flip pass from Brown, who ghosts the screen and short-rolls to the basket. Durant finds him, Brown has tons of space and Kevin Love is forced to help, which means an open lob for Claxton is coming. This happened three separate times (with minor differences) in the game to give the center easy dunks.&nbsp;
I want to credit Claxton too though. He anticipates what's going to happen even as Brown is rolling. In fact, Claxton points for the lob before Brown even comes down with the basketball. It's super quick, but here's a mid-quality screen-grab of what I mean:
<img style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" src="https://cdn.basketballnews.com/images/story/body/web-capture_14-4-2022_103231_new-instatscout-com_lg.jpeg" alt="" width="575" height="340" />
Brown hasn't even landed on the court yet, and Claxton already has his finger raised as he prepares to receive the pass. These small anticipations cut down the time between offensive decisions, and keep defenders from rotating to help or recovering back. Claxton likely had tons of room for error here; there's no weak-side defender to rotate over, and Love doesn't have the length or agility to cover so much ground. In other situations, however, this awareness benefits Claxton and the Nets' passers.
Claxton appeared in just 46 games this season as he battled injuries, but he went a pristine 88 of 94 on dunks, per NBA Stats. He shot 72.4% from the field off of Durant passes, 73.9% off passes from Patty Mills and 76.9% off passes from Brown. These are relatively small sample sizes, but they do reinforce what we saw on Tuesday.
The 6-foot-11-inch center averaged 1.39 points per possession (PPP) on cuts, ranking 12th among 43 players with at least 100 cutting possessions. Nearly 31% of his total plays involved cuts, which can range from circling up to the restricted area or catching a lob from the dunker spot, to more complex actions. Claxton placed sixth among the group with a 73.6% field goal rate on cuts.
According to the BBall Index, Claxton averages 5.7 points per 75 possessions on cuts and off-screen plays, putting him in the 97th percentile of bigs.
<div style="width: 100%; height: 0px; position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.250%;"><iframe style="width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute; left: 0px; top: 0px; overflow: hidden;" src="https://streamable.com/e/9d0s8w" width="100%" height="325" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" data-mce-fragment="1"></iframe></div>
There's just so much good minutiae in these plays. In the first clip, Claxton hands the ball off to a full-speed Mills and turns around to cut before the Pacers even realize what's happening. In clip No. 2, Claxton flips to the other side of Evan Mobley right as Brown receives the bounce pass from Durant. It opens up a passing lane, and Mobley can't quite recover to contest the dunk.&nbsp;
Opposing bigs have to account for Claxton at all times.&nbsp;
Brooklyn faces a Boston Celtics roster in the first round that plays a very different defensive style compared to Cleveland. The Celtics typically will single-switch 1-through-4 (sometimes 1-through-5), and appear to have landed on the two-big combination of Al Horford and Daniel Theis to fill the gap left by Robert Williams' current injury. Grant Williams is also capable of battling most non-bruiser bigs.
<div style="width: 100%; height: 0px; position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.250%;"><iframe style="width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute; left: 0px; top: 0px; overflow: hidden;" src="https://streamable.com/e/uhx30h" width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" data-mce-fragment="1"></iframe></div>
The last time Claxton made less than 50% of his shots? March 6 against the Celtics. He finished 1 of 4 attempts. Claxton shifted around in the paint and was an active interior presence, but as shown in the first clip, Boston was ready with its help. Drawing fouls is no good; Claxton shot a dismal 58.4% from the charity stripe this season and was 1 of 6 on Tuesday.
When Brooklyn can't create driving lanes, Claxton then can't set himself up for a lob or cut. When the team can &mdash; as Seth Curry does in the final clip &mdash; Claxton knows where he needs to be to get a head of steam and throw it down.
One game-within-the-game will be: Can Claxton outsmart a Celtics defense that has locked down just about every team this calendar year? Can Brooklyn's facilitators create advantages that open up lobs and dunks? Can the Celtics stick with some of the most dynamic playmakers in today's game and keep possessions from unraveling, leading to easy Claxton chances?
One of the most dynamic lob threats in the NBA can help sway a competitive series if he finds his quality scoring chances. This doesn't even account for Claxton's budding prowess as a defensive rim-protector. He'll be involved in the figurative and literal center of the Nets' first-round brawl.&nbsp;
THE OUTLIERS (a.k.a. other random interesting numbers I found in the void):
<ul>
<li>Interesting graphic here from SIS Hoops, and while I'd want more specifics based on matchups, it underscores that Toronto's defense has been sweet this season:</li>
</ul>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
Most defensive stats focus on outcomes where shots occur despite much of defense being about the shots that don&rsquo;t happen. Whether through lockdown defense or schematic concessions, teams yield shots least frequently in isolation when these players are the primary defender: <a href="https://t.co/R1UfzKVjUb">pic.twitter.com/R1UfzKVjUb</a>
&mdash; SIS Hoops (@SIS_Hoops) <a href="https://twitter.com/SIS_Hoops/status/1512463227329859586?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 8, 2022</a></blockquote>

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

<ul>
<li>More SIS Hoops since they're awesome: Can we talk about the Pelicans?!</li>
</ul>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
The regular season is officially behind us. Check out how teams waxed and waned over the course of the year via their rolling net ratings: <a href="https://t.co/Mt1iLfMY6F">pic.twitter.com/Mt1iLfMY6F</a>
&mdash; SIS Hoops (@SIS_Hoops) <a href="https://twitter.com/SIS_Hoops/status/1513559896876363776?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 11, 2022</a></blockquote>

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

<ul>
<li>Simply a banger as usual from our Nekias Duncan, but <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/deandre-hunter-and-the-value-of-playing-fast" target="_blank" rel="noopener">his article on De'Andre Hunter was extremely interesting to me</a> and ties in somewhat to my thoughts on Claxton's processing. Hunter averaged just 2.04 seconds per touch in last night's Play-In victory, which is down nearly three tenths of a second from his average over the first 18 games of the season. That's more significant than you might realize, so I highly recommend you read the breakdown.</li>
</ul>
<div class="mceNonEditable"><spike>&nbsp;</spike></div>
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Nic Claxton has emerged as one of the league's best lob threats by thriving off of Brooklyn's playmakers.

NBA Stats Notebook: How is Nic Claxton's interior efficiency so high?

It&rsquo;s the most wonderful time of the year. We've reached the end of another NBA regular season, and the playoffs are just around the corner. Good teams are prepping for their matchups, bad teams are looking forward to next season, and media types are debating awards.&nbsp;
From Most Valuable Player to Defensive Player of the Year to Sixth Man of the Year, end-of-the-season awards are meant to honor players, coaches and executives for a remarkable season. And yet, despite a failed season, one man keeps finding his way onto people&rsquo;s All-NBA ballots: LeBron James.&nbsp;
Now, let me preface this by saying: I do believe there&rsquo;s a case to be made for LeBron earning All-NBA honors. I just also believe that for the first time in a long time, there&rsquo;s also a case to be made that he should be left off of the ballot.&nbsp;
All-NBA slots are awarded to the top 15 players of a given season, divided by positions: six guards, six forwards and three centers. James is certainly one of the six best forwards in the league, but I&rsquo;d argue that he isn&rsquo;t having a top-six season and that's a demarcation that should nudge James off of anyone&rsquo;s ballot.&nbsp;
As the old NBA saying goes, "If you believe someone should make a roster, you must name who they would replace." So, if I don&rsquo;t believe LeBron is All-NBA worthy, I should name the forwards who ought to make it ahead of him.
In my opinion, those slots should be reserved for Giannis Antetokounmpo, Jayson Tatum, DeMar DeRozan, Pascal Siakam, Kevin Durant and Jimmy Butler. All six forwards listed are on winning teams.&nbsp;
LeBron's case for All-NBA appears to be twofold &mdash; one is his statistical dominance, and the other is his legacy.
This season, many point to his scoring proficiency to bolster his All-NBA case. James is the second-leading scorer in the league, averaging 30.3 points, 8.2 boards and 6.2 assists on 61.9 TS%.&nbsp;
These are gaudy numbers that are certainly hard to ignore. But let&rsquo;s take a closer look.
LeBron leads all forwards in points per game and assists per game. However, because he only played 56 games this season, Tatum, Antetokounmpo and DeRozan all scored more total points than James.&nbsp;
Still, LeBron would finish with 144 more total points than Siakam. But if we dig a little deeper into these numbers, we&rsquo;ll see that James also leads forwards in total points scored while their team is trailing big, per NBA.com. LeBron scored 189 points this season when his team was down by more than 16 points. By comparison, only 35 of Siakam&rsquo;s points came when his Raptors were trailing big.
<img style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" src="https://cdn.basketballnews.com/images/story/body/bron2_lg.jpg" alt="" width="690" height="352" />
It&rsquo;s easy to poo-poo LeBron&rsquo;s scoring as having happened in low-leverage moments. In fact, James has been criticized quite a bit this season for chasing statistical milestones when his team had no hope of winning. His defenders would argue the Lakers needed every point, rebound and assist to have a chance in the game, and detractors would point to the times he&rsquo;s hunted for baskets even after the game was out of reach.&nbsp;
This isn't to say LeBron is scoring maliciously and padding his stats. The question I ask is: if much of his case is bolstered by his scoring prowess, should we not question how much of his scoring was done in low-leverage moments or why it didn't translate to wins?&nbsp;
Despite being in contention for the scoring title, LeBron would not have qualified because he didn&rsquo;t meet the requisite number of games. A player must play in 58 games to qualify, and LeBron only suited it up for 56.&nbsp;
Though there aren&rsquo;t similar benchmark requirements for an All-NBA selection, this is also something that voters should take into account. The best ability is availability, and LeBron would have played the second-fewest games of all potential All-NBA forwards, only ahead of Kevin Durant (who will finish one game shy of LeBron).
I can already hear you asking: does that mean Durant should also be written off All-NBA ballots? I don&rsquo;t think so, and that&rsquo;s because of one key factor: wins.&nbsp;The Nets are 44-38 and in the Play-In Tournament as the East's seventh seed. The Lakers are 32-50 and are the 11th seed.&nbsp;
Though it&rsquo;s easy to point to the Lakers&rsquo; roster flaws for their bad record, a similar argument could be levied at the Nets. Without LeBron, the Lakers are 7-19. Without Durant, the Nets are 8-19 &mdash; similarly bad records on par with the worst teams in the league.&nbsp;
But, with Durant, the Nets are 36-19 in contrast to LeBron&rsquo;s record of 25-31, so it&rsquo;s easy to see how a case can be made that Durant&rsquo;s presence elevated one of the worst teams in basketball to contention. And this season, LeBron simply has not.&nbsp;
In fact, LeBron has a negative net rating (-2.5) for the first time since his rookie season. For the first time in nearly two decades, James&rsquo; team is not winning the minutes he&rsquo;s on the court.&nbsp;And though that isn&rsquo;t entirely his fault, it&rsquo;s hard to mount an argument that you&rsquo;ve had one of the six-best seasons at your position when your team loses with you on the court.&nbsp;
LeBron has celebrated more birthdays than he has celebrated wins this season. I&rsquo;m not sure if that&rsquo;s more a testament to his greatness and longevity or an indictment on the Lakers' poor season.
However you choose to see it, remember that only one of those numbers matter when honoring a player for end-of-the-year awards, and that&rsquo;s wins.
<div class="mceNonEditable"><spike>&nbsp;</spike></div>
Many seem to marvel at his superhuman ability to play at this level in year 19 and at 37 years old, and rightfully so. It&rsquo;s incredible, a true testament to his greatness, and it will surely matter in the greatest of all-time debate.
But it doesn&rsquo;t hold up in this debate. All-NBA doesn&rsquo;t grade players on an age curve; you&rsquo;re not rewarded more for your ability to excel in spite of something believed to be holding you back.&nbsp;
It is more than just wins and losses, it&rsquo;s about meaningful basketball. The Lakers haven&rsquo;t played a meaningful basketball game in weeks, and you could argue that they haven&rsquo;t won one in months. LeBron has only led them to four wins since the All-Star break. In that span, they have a worse record than the Oklahoma City Thunder, who have been actively tanking.&nbsp;
For years, guys have been derided for putting up showy stats on poor-performing teams. We&rsquo;ve used terms like &ldquo;empty calories&rdquo; to describe racking up counting stats in relatively meaningless games. In 2019-20, Bradley Beal missed out on All-NBA honors while also being the NBA's second-leading scorer (averaging a similar 30.5 points per game) on the ninth-seeded Wizards.&nbsp;
While it&rsquo;s easy to dismiss the Beal comparison and point to LeBron&rsquo;s better efficiency and rebounding rate, the point remains that players with showy numbers on poor-performing teams have a history of being ignored come award season, and for good reason. &nbsp; &nbsp; Why should LeBron&rsquo;s season be any different? I get it. He&rsquo;s LeBron James and he has a history of impacting winning. This will mark the first time in over a decade that he will miss back-to-back Finals. No one has won more or impacted winning more over the last two decades. But this isn&rsquo;t a legacy award; this isn&rsquo;t about who we know LeBron James to be. This is about the 2021-22 season and though it feels sacrilegious to type, LeBron is a high-usage guy on a bad team, racking up numbers as quickly as he racks up losses.&nbsp;
Like many high-usage players on bad teams before him, LeBron has also been absolutely horrid on the defensive end. He has a 113.5 defensive rating and though that&rsquo;s not a number that can capture the entire story, tune in to any Lakers game and you can catch multiple instances of LeBron simply not getting back on defense. His defensive rating is the lowest of the bunch &mdash; a far cry from the defense he was playing en route to the Lakers' last championship.&nbsp;
James' individual numbers are remarkable. This season, he catapulted Karl Malone for second all-time on the NBA's all-time scoring list and Oscar Robertson for seventh on the all-time assists list. LeBron&nbsp;has been exceptional this season, but unlike in previous seasons, it hasn&rsquo;t translated to wins.&nbsp;
And if you&rsquo;re not winning, and others are, why should you be rewarded over them? After all, the point is to win games. He isn&rsquo;t impacting winning, he has ignored the defensive end and he is scoring a ton in low-leverage moments for a team that couldn&rsquo;t even crack a top-10 seed. It seems harsh, but I believe the All-NBA teams should represent the players who mattered most that season. Despite his best efforts, James and the Lakers did not matter in 2021-22.
Yes, James has been a staple on All-NBA ballots since his sophomore season. But as Laker fans have come to learn this season, staples change, word to Crypto.
<div class="mceNonEditable"><spike>&nbsp;</spike></div>
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Does LeBron James deserve a spot on one of the All-NBA teams this season? Imman Adan shares her thoughts.

A closer look at LeBron James' All-NBA case

The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame today announced the 13 honorees in the Class of 2022 to be celebrated September 9-10 during this year&rsquo;s Enshrinement festivities in Springfield, Massachusetts. The announcement was made in New Orleans, Louisiana, the site of the 2022 NCAA Men&rsquo;s Final Four and was televised live on ESPN2.&nbsp;
This year&rsquo;s class includes two-time NBA All-Star and four-time NBA champion&nbsp;Manu Ginobili,&nbsp;five-time NBA All-Star&nbsp;Tim Hardaway,&nbsp;two-time NCAA National Coach of the Year&nbsp;Bob Huggins,&nbsp;the NBA&rsquo;s sixth-winningest coach of all-time&nbsp;George Karl&nbsp;and longtime NBA referee&nbsp;Hugh Evans.&nbsp;On the women&rsquo;s side, the Hall of Fame is proud to welcome five-time WNBA All-Star, three-time WNBA Champion, and two-time Olympic Gold Medalist&nbsp;Lindsay Whalen,&nbsp;four-time WNBA All-Star and two-time Olympic gold medalist&nbsp;Swin Cash&nbsp;and NCAA national champion and WNBA Coach of the Year&nbsp;Marianne Stanley.
Distinguished committees focused on preserving all areas from the game also selected five directly elected enshrines. They include&nbsp;Lou Hudson&nbsp;from the Veterans Committee,&nbsp;Larry Costello&nbsp;and&nbsp;Del Harris&nbsp;from the Contributor Committee,&nbsp;Theresa Shank-Grentz&nbsp;from the Women&rsquo;s Veterans Committee and&nbsp;Radivoj Korac&nbsp;from the International Committee.&nbsp;&nbsp;
&ldquo;Year after year, we are constantly reminded of the extraordinary and transcendent efforts of the remarkable men and women who have impacted the game of basketball from a global perspective,&rdquo; said John L. Doleva, President and CEO of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. &ldquo;The Class of 2022 is ripe with individuals who have had a significant historical impact on the game we love. We congratulate and thank them for everything they&rsquo;ve done to better the sport and look forward to honoring them during Enshrinement this fall.&rdquo;
To be elected, North American and Women&rsquo;s Committee finalists must receive 18 of 24 votes from the Honors Committee for election into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. Direct elect committees are incorporated into the election process to maintain a strong focus on keeping history on the forefront of the voting procedures and to preserve a balance between two eras of basketball.
The Class of 2022 will be enshrined during festivities in Springfield, Mass., the Birthplace of Basketball, on September 9-10, 2022. Here's some more information about each of the inductees:
HUGH EVANS&nbsp;[Referee] &ndash; Evans served as an NBA Official for 28 consecutive years (1973-2001), tallying over 1,900 regular season games, 170 playoff games, 35 NBA Finals games and four NBA All-Star Games. Following his on-court officiating career, Evans worked as the NBA Assistant Supervisor of Officials (2001-03). He is a recipient of the Each One Teach One Community Service Award and is enshrined in the New York City Basketball Hall of Fame as well as the North Carolina A&amp;T Hall of Fame.
MANU GINOBILI&nbsp;[Player] &ndash; Ginobili is a two-time NBA All-Star (2005, 2011) and four-time NBA Champion with the San Antonio Spurs (2003, 2005, 2007, 2014). Over his 16-year NBA career, all with the Spurs, the Argentine guard amassed 14,043 points, 4,001 assists, 3,697 rebounds and 1,392 steals and was honored with the NBA Sixth Man of the Year Award in 2008, as well as twice being named to the All-NBA Third Team (2008, 2011). On the international stage, Ginobili helped deliver the first and only Gold Medal in the country&rsquo;s basketball history at the 2004 Olympics, as well as the bronze at the 2008 games. He joins Bill Bradley as the only two players to have won a EuroLeague title (2001), an NBA championship and an Olympic Gold Medal.
TIM HARDAWAY&nbsp;[Player] &ndash; A 2000 Olympic Gold Medalist, Hardaway played 13 NBA seasons scoring a total of 15,373 points while averaging more than 20 points per game for four consecutive seasons. He is the 1990 recipient of the Jack McMahon Award for most inspirational player and a 1997 All-NBA First Team selection. He currently ranks 18th in NBA history with 7,095 career assists. The Chicago native was a member of the men&rsquo;s basketball team at the University of Texas at El Paso (1985-1989) and is known for making his signature move &ndash; the &ldquo;UTEP Two-step&rdquo; &ndash; famous in 1989, the same year he was named WAC Player of the Year.
BOB HUGGINS&nbsp;[Coach] &ndash; Huggins has been coaching in the collegiate ranks for 45 years, including the last 15 as the head coach at West Virginia University. Over the course of his career, Huggins has led his teams to 25 NCAA Tournament berths, including nine appearances in the Sweet Sixteen (1992, 1993, 1996, 200, 2008, 2010, 2015, 2017, 2018), four trips to the Elite Eight (1992, 1993, 1996, 2010), and two appearances in the NCAA Final Four (1992, 2010). In 16 years as the head coach at the University of Cincinnati (1989-2005), Huggins led the Bearcats to eight Conference USA regular season championships (1996-2002, 2004), four Conference USA Tournament championships (1996, 1998, 2002, 2004), was a three-time Conference USA Coach of the Year (1998-2000) and was honored as the Conference USA Coach of the Decade in 2005. On the national level, he a was tabbed as the&nbsp;Sporting News&nbsp;National Coach of the Year in 2000 and the&nbsp;ESPN.com&nbsp;National Coach of the Year in 2002.
GEORGE KARL&nbsp;[Coach] &ndash; Karl spent 27 seasons as a head coach in the NBA, leading the Cleveland Cavaliers (1984-1986), Golden State Warriors (1986-88), Seattle Supersonics (1992-1998), Milwaukee Bucks (1998-2003), Denver Nuggets (2005-2013) and Sacramento Kings (2015-2016). During his career, he guided five different franchises to a total of 22 playoff appearances, led the Supersonics to the NBA Finals (1996), was named the NBA Coach of the Year (2013), and was called upon to be an All-Star Game head coach four times (1994, 1996, 1998, 2010). Karl owns a lifetime coaching record of 1,175-824 (.588), ranking sixth all-time in NBA career wins and posted 12 seasons of 50+ victories and three seasons of 60-plus.
SWIN CASH&nbsp;[Player] &ndash; Cash is a four-time WNBA All-Star (2003, 2005, 2009, 2011) and two-time Olympic gold medalist (2004, 2012). A true champion, she was a member of three WNBA championship teams during her 15-year career with the Detroit Shock (2003, 2006) and Seattle Storm (2010) as well as two NCAA National Championships at the University of Connecticut (2000, 2002) and a Gold Medal at the 2010 FIBA World Championships. Cash was recognized as one of the 20 best WNBA players of all time in 2016 as she twice named WNBA All-Star Game MVP (2009, 2011) and twice received All-WNBA Second Team (2003-2004) honors. During her collegiate career, she was named the NCAA Final Four Most Outstanding Player and received Kodak First Team All-America honors in 2002 after UConn won their third national title in program history after finishing the season a perfect 39-0. In 2021, Cash was inducted into the Women&rsquo;s Basketball Hall of Fame.
MARIANNE STANLEY&nbsp;[Coach] &ndash; Coaching in the collegiate and professional ranks for a combined 45 years, Stanley currently serves as the head coach of the WNBA&rsquo;s Indiana Fever. In 22 years as a college coach with Old Dominion (1977-1987), Penn (1987-1989), USC (1989-1993), Stanford (1995-1996) and Cal (1995-1996), Stanley compiled a 416-222 (.652) record, including a NCAA National Championship in 1985, three Final Four appearances (1983, 1985, 1996) and back-to-back AIAW National Titles (1979-1980). She has accumulated numerous Coach of the Year honors, including AIAW National Coach of the Year (1979), Virginia Coach of the Year (1979, 1980, 1981, 1984, 1985), Sun Belt Conference Coach of the Year (1984, 1985), Pac-10 Conference Coach of the Year (1993) and WNBA Coach of the Year (2002). On the national team level, she helped lead the United States to a Goodwill Games Gold Medal (1983) and FIBA World Championship Gold Medal (1986). Stanley has been enshrined in the Women&rsquo;s Basketball Hall of Fame (2002) and the Philadelphia Sports Hall of Fame (2010).
LINDSAY WHALEN&nbsp;[Player] &ndash; Whalen is a five-time WNBA All-Star (2006, 2011, 2013-2015), four-time WNBA Champion (2011, 2013, 2015, 2017) and two-time Olympic Gold Medalist (2012, 2016). After averaging 11.5 points and 4.9 assists over 15 seasons in the WNBA, she was named to the WNBA First Team three times (2008, 2011, 2013) and was recognized&nbsp;as one of the 20 best WNBA players of all time in 2016.&nbsp;Whalen ranks third all-time in assists (2,345) and led the league in total assists five times (2007, 2011-2015) and assists per game on three occasions (2008, 2011, 2012). During her collegiate career at University of Minnesota, Whalen led the Golden Gophers to the NCAA Final Four in 2004 and was twice named a finalist for the Naismith Award (2003, 2004) and Wade Trophy (2003, 2004). She also received numerous accolades for her on-court performance, including being named to the Kodak/WBCA All-America Team (2003-2004), USBWA All-America Team (2002-2004), AP Second Team All-America Team (2003-2004) and the All-Big Ten First Team (2002-2004).Whalen currently serves as the head coach of the women&rsquo;s basketball program at her alma mater.
LOU HUDSON&nbsp;[Player] &ndash; Recognized posthumously, Hudson was a six-time NBA All-Star (1969-1974) and averaged 20.2 points and 4.4 rebounds per game in 13 NBA seasons. The athletic shooting guard played 11 seasons with the St. Louis/Atlanta Hawks (1966-1977) and has his jersey No. 23 retired by the franchise. A native of Greensboro, North Carolina, Hudson attended the University of Minnesota where he was part of the first African American recruiting class in school history and went on to receive All-American honors and had his jersey No. 14 retired. He is also a member of the Minnesota Hall of Fame as well as the North Carolina Hall of Fame.
LARRY COSTELLO&nbsp;[Contributor] &ndash; Recognized posthumously, Costello was a six-time NBA All-Star (1958-1962, 1965), a member of the 1967 World Champion Philadelphia 76ers and coached the Milwaukee Bucks to the 1971 NBA title, as well as a Finals appearance in 1974. As a player, he averaged 12.2 points and 4.9 assists per game over 12 NBA seasons, earning All-NBA Second Team in 1961. Known as the last two-handed set shooter, the point guard led the NBA in free throw percentage twice (.881 in 1963; .877 in 1965). As a coach, he was one of the first people to employ a working, accountable assistant coach and employ videotape to analyze the game. He also traveled extensively for the U.S. State Department, lecturing in Germany, Africa, Asia and Europe. Costello is also a member of the Niagara University Hall of Fame, Syracuse Sports Hall of Fame, Greater Buffalo Hall of Fame and the New York State Hall of Fame.
DEL HARRIS&nbsp;[Contributor] &ndash; Harris has dedicated his life to basketball, serving as a coach, mentor and tireless advocate for the game. In his more than 50-year coaching career, he coached every level of the sport, ranging from junior high hoops to the NBA. Harris is deeply respected by players, coaches and executives alike, having earned the Jerry Colangelo Award for Leadership and Character in 2010, the Coach John Wooden &ldquo;Keys to Excellence&rdquo; Award in 2014 and the Basketball Hall of Fame&rsquo;s John W. Bunn Lifetime Achievement Award in 2019. For over 35 years, he served as both a treasured assistant coach and head coach of several franchises including the Houston Rockets, Milwaukee Bucks, Los Angeles Lakers, Dallas Mavericks, Chicago Bulls, and New Jersey Nets. Harris led the Houston Rockers to the NBA Finals in 1981 and was recognized as the NBA Coach of the Year in 1995 while at the helm of the Los Angeles Lakers. Harris currently serves as Vice President of the Mavericks G League affiliate, the Texas Legends, while providing game analysis for the Mavericks on Fox Sports Southwest. He is also a member of the NAIA Basketball Hall of Fame and Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame.
THERESA SHANK-GRENTZ&nbsp;[Player] &ndash; Shank-Grentz was a member of three consecutive AIAW National Championship teams and was a three-time All-American at Immaculata University from 1972-74. The 1974 title game was the first ever live coverage of a women&rsquo;s basketball game in the United States. She scored over 1,000 career points at Immaculata, including a record 104 points and 76 rebounds in the 1973 AIAW Tournament. Shank-Grentz was named the AMF Collegiate Player of the Year in 1974 and has her jersey No. 12 retired by the university. She also scored over 1,200 points as a prep player at Cardinal O&rsquo;Hara High School in Springfield, PA, and was a three-time All-Conference Philadelphia Catholic League.
RADIVOJ KORAC&nbsp;&nbsp;[Player] &ndash; Recognized posthumously, Korac is known as Yugoslavia&rsquo;s first basketball superstar, helping lead the country to the silver medal at the 1968 Olympics after leading all players in averaging 23.6 points per game during the Games. He also led Yugoslavia to silver medals in FIBA World Cup play in 1963 and 1967. He still holds the EuroLeague&rsquo;s all-time single-game scoring record with 99 points in a game vs. Alviks during the 1964-65 season. Korac tragically passed away in a car accident in 1969 at the age of 30 and has been remembered as the namesake of FIBA&rsquo;s Korac Cup in 1971 and Serbia&rsquo;s Korac Cup in 2002. He was named one of FIBA&rsquo;s Greatest Players in 1991, was enshrined in the FIBA Hall of Fame in 2007 and was named one of the 50 Greatest EuroLeague Contributors in 2008.

The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame announced the 13 honorees in the Class of 2022 to be celebrated September 9-10.

Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame announces Class of 2022 inductees

TORONTO (AP) — Pascal Siakam had 12 points, 10 rebounds and a career-high 13 assists for his second career triple-double, Gary Trent Jr. scored 29 points and the Toronto Raptors strengthened their hold on sixth place in the Eastern Conference by beating the Minnesota Timberwolves 125-102 Wednesday night.
Toronto (44-32) moved two games ahead of Cleveland for sixth after the Cavaliers lost to Dallas.
OG Anunoby scored 22 points, Scottie Barnes had 17 and Precious Achiuwa 13 as the Raptors overcame a 17-point second-quarter deficit to complete a 4-0 homestand.
Fred VanVleet scored 12 points and Thad Young had 10 as Toronto matched idle Chicago for the fifth-best record in the conference. The Bulls hold the tiebreaker on the Raptors after winning three of four meetings.
Karl-Anthony Towns had 16 points and 10 rebounds, and Anthony Edwards scored 24 points as the Timberwolves (43-34) lost for the fourth time in five games and dropped three games behind sixth-place Denver in the Western Conference after the Nuggets beat Indiana.
Sixth place is the last guaranteed postseason spot, with teams finishing in the Nos. 7-10 spots headed for the play-in tournament.
Minnesota has five games left, while Toronto has six games remaining.
D’Angelo Russell scored 13 points, and Jarred Vanderbilt and Patrick Beverley each had 10 as all five Timberwolves starters reached double figures.
The Raptors trailed 40-23 with 9:42 left in the second quarter but closed the gap with a 19-6 spurt. Toronto shot 8 for 12 from 3-point range in the second, and VanVleet’s buzzer-beating 3 at the end of the half gave Toronto a 62-60 lead.
Trent scored 14 points in the third, connecting on 3 of 4 attempts from distance, as Toronto took a 97-82 lead to the fourth.
TIP-INS
Timberwolves: G Malik Beasley (sprained left ankle) sat for the second straight game. ... Coach Chris Finch said F Jaden McDaniels (sprained left ankle) has been cleared to resume basketball activities and will be evaluated again in one week. ... Minnesota had 11 turnovers in the first quarter. They finished with 23, leading to 25 points.
Raptors: C Khem Birch returned after sitting out Monday’s win over Boston because of a sore right knee. ... Achiuwa started the second half in place of Barnes, who returned with 5:02 remaining in the third. ... Toronto improved to 17-4 when at least six players score 10 or more points.
UP NEXT
Timberwolves: Visit Denver on Friday night.
Raptors: Visit Orlando on Friday night.
___
More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

Pascal Siakam logs a triple-double with career-high assists against the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Siakam has triple-double, Raptors rout Timberwolves 125-102

MIAMI (AP) &mdash; The worst losing streak of Miami's season is over. Not only that, but the Heat returned to the top of the Eastern Conference.
And now a road trip with massive seeding implications awaits.
Jimmy Butler scored 27 points, Bam Adebayo added 22 points and 15 rebounds, and the Heat beat the Sacramento Kings 123-100 on Monday night to stop a four-game slide.
Tyler Herro had 20 for the Heat, who improved to 36-5 when scoring at least 110 points.
&ldquo;Felt amazing to get back in the winning column," Herro said.
The Heat (48-28) are leading the East again, a game ahead of No. 2 Milwaukee and No. 3 Philadelphia (both 46-28, with the Bucks holding the tiebreaker edge there). Boston started the day No. 1 in the East; the Celtics (47-29) fell to fourth, percentage points behind the Bucks and 76ers after losing to Toronto.
&ldquo;We got back to being who we are," Butler said.
Davion Mitchell scored 21 points for Sacramento, which got 17 from Harrison Barnes.
Miami's 23-point victory margin was its largest since a 24-point win at Atlanta on Jan. 12. And Miami looked exactly the way Kings coach Alvin Gentry expected &mdash; especially after the Heat had dropped their last four.
&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t read a whole lot into that,&rdquo; Gentry said. &ldquo;I think if you look at their team and the way they go out, they will be a huge factor when the playoffs start anyway. I think it&rsquo;s a wakeup call.&rdquo;
Sure looked like one. Sacramento scored the first six points, Miami scored the next nine and never trailed again.
Damian Jones had 15 points, Donte DiVincenzo 12 and Trey Lyles 11 for the Kings.
After spending most of March at home &mdash; the Heat have played 11 of their last 12 games in their own building &mdash; a three-game road swing starts Wednesday in Boston. It moves to Chicago on Saturday, then Toronto on Sunday for what will be a celebration of Kyle Lowry&rsquo;s time with the Raptors and probably a game with significant seeding implications for both clubs.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s always good to compete for something,&rdquo; Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s not the end-all, be-all. It&rsquo;s a really competitive race in the East. This is what you always want. You want the games to have meaning and context and significance to them. That&rsquo;s basically every game right now in the Eastern Conference. That makes it very compelling.&rdquo;
Miami inserted Max Strus &mdash; celebrating his 26th birthday &mdash; into the lineup for Duncan Robinson. The move came with Robinson averaging 8.4 points on 32% shooting from 3-point range in his last seven games, one of several rough stretches he&rsquo;s had this season.
&ldquo;These are tough decisions," Spoelstra said.
But it worked wonders for Robinson. He had 15 points on 5-of-7 shooting from 3-point territory.
&ldquo;Good to get back on track," Robinson said.
TIP-INS
Kings: Sacramento isn&rsquo;t sure if De&rsquo;Aaron Fox (sore right hand) and Domantas Sabonis (bruised left knee) will return this season. &ldquo;They&rsquo;re trying to get to the point where they can come back,&rdquo; Gentry said. ... Sacramento went 10-20 vs. Eastern Conference teams this season.
Heat: Miami finished 18-12 against the Western Conference, its best mark since going 20-10 in 2013-14. ... The lineup shakeup led to Miami using its 19th different starting five this season. The Heat are 9-2 when Strus starts.
BEST (AND WORST)
Miami is 29-5 (.853) all-time at home against Sacramento, by far the best record the Heat have on their own floor against any opponent. The Kings franchise &mdash; including the Cincinnati and Kansas City days &mdash; struggles in Miami like nowhere else; its second-worst road record all-time comes on trips to Portland, where Kings teams have gone 19-90 (.174).
RESPECT
When Miami Hurricanes coach Jim Larra&ntilde;aga was introduced and acknowledged cheers from his seat during a second quarter timeout, Spoelstra &mdash; who doesn&rsquo;t always pay attention to what&rsquo;s happening during stoppages in play &mdash; was among those who clapped and pointed his way. Larra&ntilde;aga and the Hurricanes lost to Kansas in the Elite Eight on Sunday, ending the deepest NCAA Tournament run in school history.
UP NEXT
Kings: Visit Houston on Wednesday.
Heat: Visit Boston on Wednesday.
___
More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

Jimmy Butler scored 27 points, Bam Adebayo added 22 and the Heat beat the Sacramento Kings 123-100 to stop a four-game slide.

Heat snap 4-game losing streak by topping Kings, 123-100

Pascal Siakam had a season-high 40 points and 13 rebounds before fouling out, and the Toronto Raptors beat the short-handed Boston Celtics 115-112 in overtime on Monday night.
Fred VanVleet and OG Anunoby scored 14 points apiece, Thad Young and Gary Trent Jr. each had 12, and Scottie Barnes scored 10 before fouling out as Toronto snapped a four-game home losing streak against the Celtics.
Playing without forwards Jaylen Brown and Jason Tatum and centers Al Horford and Robert Williams III, Boston lost for the fifth time in 29 games.
Trent made two free throws to put Toronto up by three points with 14.4 seconds left. Marcus Smart and Grant Williams both missed game-tying 3-point tries on Boston&rsquo;s final possession.
Smart had 28 points and 10 rebounds, Williams scored 17, and Derrick White added 15 for Boston.
Seven Celtics players scored 10 points or more, including Daniel Theis, who had 13 points and 10 rebounds.
Toronto stayed one game ahead of Cleveland for sixth place in the Eastern Conference, while Boston fell one game behind Miami for first in the East. The Celtics host the Heat on Wednesday night.
Sixth place is the last guaranteed postseason spot, with teams finishing in the Nos. 7-10 spots headed for the play-in tournament.
Brown and Tatum both sat with sore right knees. Both played in a win over Minnesota on Sunday and are expected to return for Wednesday&rsquo;s pivotal showdown with the Heat.
Horford missed his second straight game for personal reasons. Coach Ime Udoka said Horford is day to day.
Before the game, the Celtics said Williams will need surgery to repair torn cartilage in his left knee, likely keeping him out for the rest of the regular season and well into the playoffs.
Williams didn&rsquo;t return after limping off at the end of the third quarter Sunday. Udoka said Williams and the Celtics are considering various surgical options and will make a decision later this week.
&ldquo;There are some (options) that keep you out longer than others,&rdquo; Udoka said. &ldquo;We&rsquo;re hoping for the best as far as that.&rdquo;
Boston led 38-30 after one. After scoring 10 points in the first, Siakam added 15 more in the second, and VanVleet&rsquo;s three-point play with 3.3 seconds to go in the half gave Toronto a 59-58 lead at the break.
The score was tied 80-all through three quarters.
JUST FOR KICKS
The members of Canada&rsquo;s men&rsquo;s national soccer team received a standing ovation when they took the court during a timeout in the second quarter. Canada beat Jamaica 4-0 Sunday to reach the World Cup for the first time since 1986.
TIP-INS
Celtics: Made nine turnovers in the second, leading to 14 points. &hellip; Shot 6 for 12 from 3-point range in the first quarter, but went 6 for 28 from distance the rest of the way.
Raptors: C Khem Birch (right knee) was not available. &hellip; Trent started for Toronto after missing the previous three games because of a sore left big toe. He shot 4 for 12 in 37 minutes.
UP NEXT
Celtics: Host Miami on Wednesday night.
Raptors: Host Minnesota on Wednesday night.

Pascal Siakam had a season-high 40 points and 13 rebounds before fouling out, and the Raptors beat the short-handed Celtics in OT.

Siakam scores 40 points, Raptors beat Celtics 115-112 in OT

Jimmy Butler scored 27 points, Bam Adebayo added 22 points and 15 rebounds, and the Miami Heat beat the Sacramento Kings 123-100 on Monday night to stop a four-game slide.
Tyler Herro had 20 for the Heat, who improved to 36-5 when scoring at least 110 points.
Davion Mitchell scored 21 for Sacramento, which got 17 from Harrison Barnes.
Miami snapped its longest losing streak of the season, and the 23-point margin was the largest for the Heat since a 24-point win at Atlanta on Jan. 12.
And Miami looked exactly the way Kings coach Alvin Gentry expected. His prediction that the Heat would look different after a four-game slide was spot on.
&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t read a whole lot into that,&rdquo; Gentry said. &ldquo;I think if you look at their team and the way they go out, they will be a huge factor when the playoffs start anyway. I think it&rsquo;s a wakeup call.&rdquo;
Damian Jones had 15 points, Donte DiVincenzo 12 and Trey Lyles 11 for the Kings.
After spending most of March at home &mdash; the Heat have played 11 of their last 12 games in their own building &mdash; a road trip now awaits that will significantly factor into how the No. 1 seed in the East is won.
Miami goes to Boston on Wednesday, Chicago on Saturday, then Toronto on Sunday for what will be a celebration of Kyle Lowry&rsquo;s time with the Raptors and probably a game with significant seeding implications for both clubs.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s always good to compete for something,&rdquo; Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s not the end-all, be-all. It&rsquo;s a really competitive race in the East. This is what you always want. You want the games to have meaning and context and significance to them. That&rsquo;s basically every game right now in the Eastern Conference. That makes it very compelling.&rdquo;
Miami inserted Max Strus &mdash; celebrating his 26th birthday &mdash; into the lineup for Duncan Robinson. The move came with Robinson averaging 8.4 points on 32% shooting from 3-point range in his last seven games, one of several rough stretches he&rsquo;s had this season.
But it worked wonders for Robinson. He had 15 points on 5-of-7 shooting from 3-point territory.
TIP-INS
Kings: Sacramento isn&rsquo;t sure if De&rsquo;Aaron Fox (sore right hand) and Domantas Sabonis (bruised left knee) will return this season. &ldquo;They&rsquo;re trying to get to the point where they can come back,&rdquo; Gentry said. ... Sacramento went 10-20 vs. Eastern Conference teams this season.
Heat: Miami finished 18-12 against the Western Conference, its best mark since going 20-10 in 2013-14. ... The lineup shakeup led to Miami using its 19th different starting five this season. The Heat are 9-2 when Strus starts.
BEST (AND WORST)
Miami is 29-5 (.853) all-time at home against Sacramento, by far the best record the Heat have on their own floor against any opponent. The Kings franchise &mdash; including the Cincinnati and Kansas City days &mdash; struggles in Miami like nowhere else; its second-worst road record all-time comes on trips to Portland, where Kings teams have gone 19-90 (.174).
RESPECT
When Miami Hurricanes coach Jim Larra&ntilde;aga was introduced and acknowledged cheers from his seat during a second quarter timeout, Spoelstra &mdash; who doesn&rsquo;t always pay attention to what&rsquo;s happening during stoppages in play &mdash; was among those who clapped and pointed his way. Larra&ntilde;aga and the Hurricanes lost to Kansas in the Elite Eight on Sunday, ending the deepest NCAA Tournament run in school history.
UP NEXT
Kings: Visit Houston on Wednesday.
Heat: Visit Boston on Wednesday.

Jimmy Butler scored 27 points, Bam Adebayo added 22 points and 15 rebounds and the Heat snapped a four-game skid.

The 2021-22 NBA season has been the hardest of CJ McCollum&rsquo;s career.
Entering this campaign, he had spent the entirety of his NBA career with the Portland Trail Blazers, making the playoffs every year. Since getting drafted in 2013, he had only ever played for one head coach (Terry Stotts) and one general manager (Neil Olshey).
However, this season would be full of challenging firsts for McCollum.
Over the summer, he experienced his first coaching change, as the Blazers fired Stotts and his staff. Just as McCollum and his teammates were adjusting to new head coach Chauncey Billups, Portland announced that Olshey was under investigation after complaints of bullying, hostility and creating a toxic work environment. Shortly after, Olshey was fired, with Joe Cronin being promoted to interim GM midseason. McCollum was shocked and admitted that the turnover affected him.
&ldquo;This is different than anything I&rsquo;ve ever experienced because of the circumstances,&rdquo; McCollum told <a href="https://theathletic.com/3002581/2021/12/07/inside-the-mind-of-cj-mccollum-a-conversation-and-a-text-message-show-the-blazers-guards-current-struggle/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Athletic</a> in December. &ldquo;This is the first year of my career where we lost our whole coaching staff, brought in a new coach, a new staff, the GM gets fired in the middle of the season... all of that affects you on the court. But there is no excuses. I didn&rsquo;t come here to tell you, &lsquo;There&rsquo;s a lot of sh** going on...&rsquo; but yeah, there is. There&rsquo;s sh** going on every day. And I&rsquo;m a fu**ing human being. But look, at the end of the day, my job is to play basketball. So, I go play basketball.&rdquo;
The day after Olshey was relieved of his duties, McCollum suffered what he thought was a rib injury during the Blazers&rsquo; game against the Boston Celtics. However, a CT scan revealed that he had a collapsed lung, which would ultimately sideline him for six weeks.
Several weeks later, McCollum became a father when his wife, Elise, gave birth to their first child. Jacobi James McCollum was born at 11:59 p.m. on Jan. 10, 2022. Becoming a first-time parent is scary enough, but there are additional concerns and stressors when your baby is born during a pandemic.
&ldquo;Try having a kid in the middle of COVID. That sh** ain&rsquo;t normal,&rdquo; McCollum told <a href="https://theathletic.com/3002581/2021/12/07/inside-the-mind-of-cj-mccollum-a-conversation-and-a-text-message-show-the-blazers-guards-current-struggle/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Athletic</a> in December. &ldquo;Now, try having a kid during COVID amid trade rumors in the middle of the season.&rdquo;
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Congratulations to <a href="https://twitter.com/CJMcCollum?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@CJMcCollum</a> &amp; his wife Elise on the birth of their son, Jacobi James McCollum! 😍 (via 3jmccollum / IG) <a href="https://t.co/GSvzwkY1P6">pic.twitter.com/GSvzwkY1P6</a>
&mdash; Portland Trail Blazers (@trailblazers) <a href="https://twitter.com/trailblazers/status/1482855754243706887?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 16, 2022</a></blockquote>

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As McCollum mentioned, his name had been surfacing in trade rumors for much of the season. He wasn&rsquo;t a stranger to the rumor mill, but the rumblings had never been quite this intense. And with Portland struggling, a number of Blazers were looking over their shoulders and wondering what moves might be coming as the trade deadline approached.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;d be lying if I told you that we don&rsquo;t hear it or that it doesn&rsquo;t affect us at all,&rdquo; Blazers forward Nassir Little <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/qa-nassir-little-on-blazers-struggles-his-development-gm-change" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told me</a> in December. &ldquo;At the end of the day, we&rsquo;re people. I get the excitement of trades and the eagerness to talk about them, but you&rsquo;re talking about people having to move their families and basically break off relationships that they&rsquo;ve built over the course of time and they have to start a whole moving process and adapt to a whole new situation. It&rsquo;s just a lot of things that go into getting traded as a player and those things don&rsquo;t really get taken into account [by fans]... There are a lot of different dynamics that are very taxing on somebody&rsquo;s mental when you get traded.&rdquo;
On Feb. 8, less than one month after his son was born, McCollum was traded for the first time in his NBA career. The Blazers dealt McCollum, Larry Nance Jr. and Tony Snell to the New Orleans Pelicans for Josh Hart, Tom&aacute;&scaron; Satoransk&yacute;, Nickeil Walker-Alexander, Didi Louzada, a protected first-round pick and two second-round picks.
In other words, McCollum and his family suddenly had to move across the country. After an athlete gets traded, it&rsquo;s emotional and stressful since you&rsquo;re relocating to a new city on very short notice. Sometimes, players will live in a nearby hotel until they find a place to rent or buy. Going through that adjustment with a newborn is less than ideal.
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After nearly nine years in Portland, McCollum was starting over with a new organization. Fortunately for McCollum, the Blazers&rsquo; front office gave him some say in where he ended up, so he was starting the next chapter of his NBA career in his preferred destination. Why was he drawn to New Orleans?
"It was a combination of things: the culture, the city, the people, the love &mdash; you can feel it, you know what I&rsquo;m saying? I felt it from afar,&rdquo; McCollum said on the <a href="https://youtu.be/AB-4HFR_jrE" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Knuckleheads Podcast</a>. &ldquo;I love the atmosphere. And if you do what you are supposed to do in a city like this, you will be loved forever. If you embrace them the way they embrace you, you can become legendary. I wanted to be where I was wanted, where I was needed. There's a lot of culture here, a lot of diversity and the food is fire. And they've got a lot of young talent. They&rsquo;ve got a lot of really good basketball players.&rdquo;
McCollum mentioned Zion Williamson, Brandon Ingram, Jonas Valanciunas, Devonte&rsquo; Graham and Herb Jones specifically, while also shouting out head coach Willie Green, general manager Trajan Langdon and executive VP of basketball operations David Griffin.
&ldquo;There's a lot of talent on this roster, and I think I can get the most not only out of my career, out of my situation, out of my development, but also out of the guys,&rdquo; McCollum added. &ldquo;I know what it takes to be successful consistently. And I can not only tell you about it, but I can show you because I've done it. I think that I'm just what they've needed and they're just what I've needed, especially at this stage in my life. And I think there's no better time for me to [make this move]. I&rsquo;m 30 years old, I've been in the playoffs for eight straight years and I'm trying to make it nine.&rdquo;
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New Orleans is now 32-43, which is the ninth-best record in the Western Conference. Since adding McCollum to their lineup, the Pelicans have the NBA's 10th-best offense (117.4 points per 100 possessions) and 14th-best defense (114.3 Defensive Rating). That is a plus-3.1 efficiency differential, which is eighth-best in the NBA over that span &mdash; ahead of the Philadelphia 76ers, Miami Heat, Brooklyn Nets, Milwaukee Bucks, Golden State Warriors and Dallas Mavericks.
Through 19 games with the Pelicans, McCollum is averaging 25.9 points, 6.5 assists, 4.9 rebounds and 1.2 steals while shooting 50.1% from the field &mdash; all of which would be career-highs. He's also knocking down 2.8 threes per game on 38.4% shooting from beyond the arc.
Also, he&rsquo;s posting a career-best Box Plus/Minus (+5.9), Player Efficiency Rating (23.3), True Shooting percentage (59.0%), assist percentage (33.9%) and total rebound percentage (7.7%). His turnover percentage is just 8.9%, which is one of the lowest marks of his career despite the fact that he has a career-high usage rate of 29.5%.
McCollum&rsquo;s teammates are thrilled to have him in New Orleans and they rave about his impact.
&ldquo;I told CJ that I love him; he makes our job easy,&rdquo; Willy Hernangomez said. &ldquo;He makes everybody&rsquo;s job easy. Everybody pays so much attention to him. We just need to set the screens and play the right way... We&rsquo;re trying to build something different and something special here. Every day, we just try to be 1% better than the day before. It has been amazing having CJ, Tony and Larry. Their experience has been helping us a lot. I think we&rsquo;re going to keep going and getting better. We&rsquo;re having fun, and that&rsquo;s the most important thing.&rdquo;
&ldquo;[We&rsquo;re] definitely locked in. That starts with [CJ] and BI just coming out, being aggressive, being under control,&rdquo; Graham said. &ldquo;They&rsquo;re making life easier for everybody.&rdquo;
"CJ is such an impressive human being," Nance <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/larry-nance-jr-qa-i-did-not-come-out-here-to-halfass-this-thing" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told me</a> earlier this season. "He has his hands in a lot of different things, and he&rsquo;s just such an impressive human that, like, how could you not get along with a guy like that?!"
Ingram and McCollum have only played 11 games together (since Ingram was recently sidelined for three weeks due to a hamstring injury), but they have shown flashes of the dynamic one-two punch that they could become. Across those 11 games, McCollum and Ingram have averaged a combined 48.1 points, 11.9 assists and 11.0 rebounds while shooting 51.6% from the field and 35.6% from three-point range.&nbsp;
&ldquo;He&rsquo;s very similar in his approach, in the way he watches film, in the way he communicates. He&rsquo;s receptive of information,&rdquo; Ingram said of McCollum. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s fun to play here right now.&rdquo;
The Pelicans are getting healthier just in time for the Play-In Tournament. Ingram is back in the lineup and McCollum is healthy after missing a few games due to COVID-19 (which had to be scary with a newborn at home). Also, Nance just made his Pelicans debut last week.&nbsp;
Unfortunately, the Pelicans won&rsquo;t be at full strength until next year, as Williamson has been ruled out for the rest of the season due to his foot injury. In addition, Kira Lewis Jr. is sidelined after tearing his ACL in December.
Still, it's fun to think about how good this squad could be next year if everything comes together.
"I'm excited, man. I'm thankful to be here,&rdquo; McCollum said. &ldquo;I've said it a thousand times, but I like what we're building here, I like the way we're playing, I like the way we're executing, and the sky&rsquo;s the limit for us.&rdquo;&nbsp;
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This has been the craziest season of CJ McCollum's NBA career, but now the 30-year-old is thriving with the New Orleans Pelicans.

CJ McCollum excited for next chapter with Pelicans after chaotic year

MIAMI (AP) &mdash; Just when it looked as if the Miami Heat were going to open a little bit of breathing room atop the Eastern Conference, the New York Knicks had other ideas.
And a stunning rally might set the stage for some down-the-stretch chaos.
Immanuel Quickley scored 20 of his 23 points in the fourth quarter, leading a huge comeback that carried the Knicks past the reeling Heat, 111-103 on Friday night.
RJ Barrett scored 18 points for the Knicks, who trailed by 17 points with 11 minutes left before closing on a 38-13 run and handing Miami a third consecutive loss &mdash; all of them against teams who were missing top players.
&ldquo;These guys have been great," Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau said. &ldquo;They've been practicing well, they're playing winning basketball and we just want to keep getting better."
Jimmy Butler led the Heat with 30 points. Kyle Lowry and Bam Adebayo each added 17 for Miami, which was again without Tyler Herro and saw its East lead trimmed to a half-game over idle Milwaukee.
New York turned 18 offensive rebounds into 28 second-chance points.
&ldquo;A lot of bad bounces, in my opinion," Adebayo said. &ldquo;Collectively, just got to get in the trenches again, look at film and bounce back."
Markieff Morris opened the fourth quarter with a basket for Miami that gave the Heat a 90-73 lead &mdash; their largest of the night.
Things changed quickly. Or Quickley, to be precise.
Quickley scored eight points in 58 seconds &mdash; two 3-pointers sandwiched around two free throws &mdash; to get the lead right back down to single digits, and the Knicks cranked up the defense. Miami missed 11 of its next 12 shots, the Knicks getting stop after stop and chipping away at what was left of the lead.
Obi Toppin added 15 points for New York, which is five games behind the final play-in tournament spot with eight games remaining.
&ldquo;Every day, we just try to get better," Quickley said.
The approach worked Friday.
Quickley hit a short jumper to tie the game, Quentin Grimes made a 3-pointer on the next possession and the Knicks &mdash; to the delight of plenty of New York faithful who always make their way to Knicks games in Miami &mdash; had come all the way back to grab the lead.
The Heat lost to Philadelphia on Monday night, even though the 76ers weren&rsquo;t playing Joel Embiid or James Harden. They lost to Golden State on Wednesday night, with the Warriors without Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green.
And this loss to the Knicks came with plenty of New York players sidelined, most notably Julius Randle. It leaves four teams in the East &mdash; Miami, Milwaukee, Philadelphia and Boston &mdash; all with either 27 or 28 losses, meaning the No. 1 seed is in play for all those clubs.
TIP-INS
Knicks: Randle missed his third consecutive game with a sore right quadriceps tendon. &ldquo;Julius just needs a little more time,&rdquo; Thibodeau said. ... It was the fourth-largest comeback of the season for New York. The Knicks rallied from 20 down against Sacramento on March 7, 21 down against Milwaukee on Nov. 5 and 25 down against Boston on Jan. 6.
Heat: Butler got his 1,000th assist in a Miami uniform, the 14th player to reach the milestone. Only Tim Hardaway, Sherman Douglas and LeBron James did it faster than Butler, who got there in his 161st game with the club. ... Adebayo has now made at least 50% of his shots in nine consecutive games, one away from matching his single-season career best streak.
UNHAPPY DAY
Lowry turned 36 on Friday. He&rsquo;s now 0-6 on his birthdays &mdash; five of those losses in the NBA, the other a 67-66 loss by Villanova to North Carolina in the 2005 NCAA tournament at Syracuse&rsquo;s Carrier Dome, when his 3-pointer in the final seconds wasn&rsquo;t enough to save the Wildcats.
THE RIVALRY
Miami and New York have met 130 times in regular-season play &mdash; and the Knicks kept the all-time lead, which is now 66-64. The Heat were bidding for their eighth sweep of the Knicks and the second such instance of it happening in back-to-back years, after doing it in 2004-05 and 2005-06 as well.
UP NEXT
Knicks: Visit Detroit on Sunday.
Heat: Host Brooklyn on Saturday.

Immanuel Quickley scored 23 points leading a huge comeback that carried the Knicks past the reeling Heat, 111-103.

Knicks close on 38-13 run, stun reeling Heat 111-103

Last night, on his 42nd birthday, Jamal Crawford announced his retirement from the NBA. Crawford is one of eight players in NBA history to play for 20 seasons; only Vince Carter (22), Robert Parish (21) and Kevin Willis (21) had a longer career.
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&ldquo; Goodbye to the game, all the spoils the adrenaline rush.&rdquo; Thank you basketball, I owe you everything &hellip;..✌🏾 <a href="https://t.co/PpKYjoqz9p">pic.twitter.com/PpKYjoqz9p</a>
&mdash; 🏁 Jamal Crawford (@JCrossover) <a href="https://twitter.com/JCrossover/status/1505795444693082112?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 21, 2022</a></blockquote>
Crawford will go down as arguably the greatest sixth man of all-time, and he's one of just two players to win the Sixth Man of the Year award three times. He was known for creating instant offense off of the bench, and he was one of the league&rsquo;s best ball-handlers &mdash; consistently coming up with new moves and wowing fans with his handles. He scored the second-most points off the bench in NBA history (trailing only Lou Williams), per <a href="https://twitter.com/statmuse/status/1505915685238497285" target="_blank" rel="noopener">StatMuse</a>.
Crawford was also known as one of the best teammates around the league, winning the NBA&rsquo;s Teammate of the Year award in 2018. He has strong relationships with many people around the basketball world &mdash;&nbsp; from players to coaches to executives to media. Throughout his career, he garnered a ton of respect from fellow players because of his immense love of the game and electrifying style of play, which inspired plenty of younger hoopers (especially in his hometown of Seattle).&nbsp;
Over the years, Crawford has done everything in his power to help up-and-coming Seattle-area players, even letting some live with him throughout his NBA career (including Isaiah Thomas, Nate Robinson and Abdul Gaddy among others).
&ldquo;That&rsquo;s what it&rsquo;s all about. When you&rsquo;re a kid, you think it&rsquo;s all about you making it. Then, as you get older, the real joy, the real fulfillment, comes from seeing someone else make it," Crawford <a href="https://hoopshype.com/2018/09/03/nba-seattle-supersonics-sonics-jamal-crawford-proam-crawsover/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told me</a> in 2018. &ldquo;How can I tell someone like Isaiah Thomas or Brandon Roy or Nate Robinson or Tony Wroten or any of these guys to go help the next generation if I&rsquo;m not doing it? It all goes full circle. That&rsquo;s the payback. I don&rsquo;t want anything from those guys, I just want them to do it for the next generation... Before looking at their talent, I like to see how good of a kid they are and what kind of character they have. That&rsquo;s No. 1 for me. Once I see that, I&rsquo;m willing to help to the moon and back. I want to work with them and show them that this [lifestyle] is attainable.&rdquo;
When Crawford thinks about his career, he's said that passing down that pay-it-forward mentality to the next generation of Seattle players is one of his proudest achievements. Chicago Bulls star Zach LaVine raves about Crawford, and he now tries to help younger players just as Crawford helped him.
&ldquo;Jamal is just, like, the best human being. He&rsquo;s a great person,&rdquo; LaVine&nbsp;<a href="https://hoopshype.com/2018/09/03/nba-seattle-supersonics-sonics-jamal-crawford-proam-crawsover/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told me</a> in 2018. &ldquo;I try to be the same way; it&rsquo;s just how you&rsquo;re supposed to be, how you&rsquo;re supposed to treat other people. I thank my parents [for instilling that]. I remember being in high school &ndash; or even right before I entered high school &ndash; getting little invites to their pro runs. To be a high-schooler going up against Brandon Roy, Jamal, Nate Robinson, Tone [Wroten]? You keep getting better and better. You can see the progression, and they can see that you&rsquo;re part of that group of players who will carry on Seattle basketball. You start from a young age and then once you get there [to the pros], you just pass it down the same way.&rdquo;
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Crawford is beloved by quite a few fan bases, having suited up for the Chicago Bulls, New York Knicks, Golden State Warriors, Atlanta Hawks, Portland Trail Blazers, Los Angeles Clippers, Minnesota Timberwolves, Phoenix Suns and Brooklyn Nets.
After a productive 2018-19 season with the Suns (where Crawford was a strong leader and scored 51 points in his final game), he had a hard time getting signed by NBA teams. The Nets ultimately signed him during the NBA Bubble in Orlando, but he appeared in just one game before injuring his left hamstring. That would end up being Crawford&rsquo;s final NBA game, as he remained unsigned throughout the 2021-22 season &mdash; even when COVID-19 ravaged rosters and created opportunities for other veterans.
What&rsquo;s next for the 42-year-old? He has already been co-hosting the HooperVision broadcasts on NBA League Pass alongside Quentin Richardson, and he has received other offers in the media space (such as podcasting opportunities). Crawford has long been considered an excellent candidate for a broadcasting gig, and now he can seriously pursue that.&nbsp;
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Recently, Crawford has been coaching his son's basketball team, and he revealed on a Twitter Spaces conversation several months ago that he has received coaching and front-office offers from NBA teams. He has said that he wants to become an NBA executive someday because he feels that the NBA needs more former players in those positions, but it remains to be seen when he&rsquo;ll pursue that.
&ldquo;I [have] wanted to get into management just from the standpoint, I think we need more players in those roles and positions, someone that can give some insight into what it is like in the locker room,&rdquo; Crawford said, according to <a href="https://landonbuford.com/2021/10/03/jamal-crawford-reveals-he-has-gotten-nba-coaching-front-office-offers/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Landon Buford</a>. &ldquo;Everything is not about numbers; sometimes, it is: what is driving this person? For example, how much does this person love the game? And is there something off the court affecting his on-the-court play? Those are the little nuances that I don&rsquo;t think they are looking at.
&ldquo;I would love to do that still, but I am enjoying coaching my son&rsquo;s team right now. Like, I am having a ball doing that. And I&rsquo;ll tell you guys that I have gotten offers for front-office and coaching in the NBA. I have put it on pause because I enjoy doing this, and I&rsquo;m the parent that is good with keeping the scorebook. The coach asked me to help out and that turned into a bug. I look forward to it and that&rsquo;s the immediate step basketball-wise, and then the other [stuff] will be there like TV and management hopefully at some point down the road.&rdquo;
After an amazing 20-year career, the basketball world is excited to see what the future holds for Crawford.
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Last night, on his 42nd birthday, Jamal Crawford announced his retirement after a 20-year NBA career. What's next for Crawford?

Jamal Crawford retires after 20-year NBA career: What's next for him?

The second day of the 2022 NCAA tournament featured some slugfests, some blowouts, as well as a First Four team surviving another day. The Round of 32 is now completely locked-in, and we&rsquo;ll also take a peek at the must-watch matchups for Saturday.&nbsp;
UPSET ALERT&nbsp;
West Region: 11-seed Notre Dame defeats 6-seed Alabama 78-64
Alabama in recent seasons has had a strong program, with a number of players in the conversation for the NBA draft. This year the Crimson Tide&rsquo;s season has been a bit of a roller coaster, including a major win over arguably the best team in college basketball, Gonzaga, but also key SEC and non-conference losses that show in their 19-13 record coming into this game. Notre Dame had their fair share of ups and downs as well, but came into this first round matchup with momentum off their First Four double-OT win against Rutgers. The upset potential was apparent, and the Fighting Irish delivered behind a huge game from Cormac Ryan. The junior guard finished with a season-high 29 points, well above his 9.2 PPG average. Ryan has been coming on strong for the Irish with 20 and 16 points in their last two games respectively. Thanks to the efforts of Ryan and impressive freshman wing Blake Wesley &mdash; he scored 18 &mdash; Notre Dame moved on to play third-seeded Texas Tech in the second round.
Midwest Region: 11-seed Iowa State defeats 6-seed LSU 59-54
These were two teams with similar records that had similar patterns to their seasons &mdash; they both started the year with 12 game winning streaks that went through Christmas. However, playing in two of the best conferences in the country in the SEC and Big 12, both teams took their lumps through the remainder of the season. Although Iowa State took an 11-point lead around the 7-minute mark in the second half, LSU made an 11-1 run that brought the game within one point with under two minutes remaining. Iowa State pulled out the low scoring win with Tyrese Hunter being the team's major difference maker, dropping 23 points on 7-for-11 shooting from beyond the arc. The freshman guard&rsquo;s clutch shooting clinic included two late threes that helped Iowa State pull away from the Tigers at the end. Hunter&rsquo;s 5 steals also led a stingy Cyclones defense that recorded 15 total. Iowa State&rsquo;s victory means they advance to the second round to take on third-seeded Wisconsin on Sunday.
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BEST GAMES OF THE DAY
Midwest Region
No. 10 seed Miami defeats No. 7 seed USC 68-66
This matchup was tightly contested throughout the first 15 minutes, until Miami began to break the game open and took a 13-point lead with three minutes remaining in the first half. USC&rsquo;s offense grew stagnant, and the Hurricanes took advantage with a 31-20 lead at halftime. However, the Trojans came fighting back to begin the second half with two threes and a fast break layup from Isaiah Mobley (he finished with 11 points) to bring them within one. From this point it was a back and forth battle that favored Miami, yet USC would manage a big basket to keep it close &mdash; USC was down by seven points with 45 seconds left in the game. A Doug Peterson three, a Miami out-of-bounds call, and then another Peterson three brought the Trojans back within one, with 25.3 seconds left in the game.
After free throws from both teams, it was tied at 66 in the final moments. Charlie Moore drove to the lane and attempted a contested layup, which earned him a foul call. Moore stepped to the line and knocked down two free throws to seal the game. A halfcourt heave at the buzzer almost fell for Doug Peterson &mdash; he ended the game with a valiant effort of 17 points, 5 rebounds and 3 assists. Miami&rsquo;s Isaiah Wong led the Hurricanes with 22 points while dealing with foul trouble and Moore followed with 16 points. Miami will see second-seeded Auburn in the second round.&nbsp;
South Region
No. 4 seed Illinois defeats No. 13 seed Chattanooga 54-53
Illinois only led this game for 25 seconds, but it was the most important time to do so. Chattanooga jumped on Illinois early, with a 14-3 lead in the first five minutes. The Mocs had control over most of the first half, but a Fighting Illini run at the end of period brought the score to 33-29.&nbsp;
The second half started much like the first with Chattanooga playing good basketball and giving themselves an 11-point cushion, but a very resilient Illinois team fought back again and kept the game within one or two possessions over the course of the closing minutes. After some questionable possessions by Chattanooga, Illinois took its first lead of the game on a Kofi Cockburn putback with 47 seconds remaining. The Mocs received a trip to the line on the next possession and two free throws were knocked down by SOCON Player of the Year Malachi Smith (who finished with 12 points and 8 rebounds), which gave his team the lead.
On the following possession Alfonso Plummer was fouled and hit two free throws for the Illini to take the lead back. On the final possession, the Mocs gave the ball to Smith who had two looks to take home the win &mdash; he was blocked on a left hand drive, then shot a last second midrange jumper that went just a tad long. Cockburn finished with 17 points and 13 rebounds and Plummer provided 15 points of his own. Illinois avoided the upset and will face fifth-seeded Houston on Sunday.
West Region
No. 7 seed MSU defeats No. 10 seed Davidson 74-73
An up-and-down season for Michigan State had some experts predicting Davidson would come away with this game. However, an impressive 27 points on 9-12 from the floor by Joey Hauser was the big difference.
An interesting storyline revolved around Davidson&rsquo;s transfer starting point guard, Foster Loyer &mdash; he's a Michigan native who made the move down to play with the Wildcats after three seasons of limited production for the Spartans. This proved to be a good move for Loyer, as he&rsquo;s been the leading scorer and assist man for Davidson with 16.1 points and 3.3 assists per game this season. The motivation was there for Davidson, and the team played with a confidence that showed each time the team came up with an answer to Michigan State&rsquo;s attempts to pull away.
Davidson took a five-point lead with under seven minutes to go, but with some big buckets by Hauser, heady play by AJ Hoggard (14 points) and a three from Gabe Brown (12 points), the Spartans made a 10-0 run to take a five-point lead of their own with under four minutes left. Michigan State had an eight point lead with one minute remaining, but a late push by the Wildcats with some great clock management, clutch baskets and pressure defense that led to a bad MSU turnover brought the game back in reach. However, in the end, Michigan State was able to close it out with two Tyson Walker free throws. Michigan State will take on second-seeded Duke in the round of 32.
No. 3 seed Wisconsin beats No. 14 seed Colgate 67-60
Colgate is one of the best three-point shooting teams in the country, and came into this game on a 15-game winning streak. The Patriot League champs made sure Wisconsin knew this one wouldn&rsquo;t be easy. However, this would be the Raiders&rsquo;s biggest test, as the Badgers won the Big Ten regular season championship and have a projected lottery pick in Johnny Davis.
Colgate found success scoring the ball from inside before unleashing their long-range prowess. Senior Nelly Cummings for Colgate finished the game with 20 points, 6 rebounds and 6 assists &mdash; he gave the Badgers trouble on all three levels. Cummings even locked the game at 28-all with a baseline reverse layup at the buzzer to go into halftime.
But the stars shine bright on the big stage and, after a slow start, Johnny Davis got going in the second half. Davis finished with 25 points on 8 for 20 shooting from the floor and added 6 rebounds and 2 steals. Tyler Wahl followed Davis with 15 points, 9 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 steals of his own. The Raiders played a strong game but wore down as the battle-tested Badgers showed up down the stretch. Wisconsin has a date with 11th-seeded Iowa State in the next round.
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OTHER FIRST-ROUND RESULTS
Midwest Region
2-seed Auburn defeats 15-seed Jacksonville State 80-61
East Region
3-seed Purdue defeats 14-seed Yale 78-56
6-seed Texas defeats 11-seed Virginia Tech 81-73
South Region
No. 1 seed Arizona defeats No. 16 seed Wright State 87-70
No. 2 seed Villanova defeats No. 15 seed Delaware 80-60
No. 5 seed Houston defeats No. 12 seed UAB 82-68
No. 7 seed Ohio State defeats No. 10 seed Loyola Chicago 54-41
No. 9 seed TCU defeats No. 8 seed Seton Hall 69-42
West Region
No. 2 seed Duke defeats 15-seed Cal State Fullerton 78-61
No. 3 seed Texas Tech defeats 14-seed Montana State 97-62
MUST-WATCH SECOND-ROUND GAMES ON DAY 3
No. 1 seed Gonzaga vs. No. 9 seed Memphis - 9:40 PM EST
A highly anticipated second round matchup of two potential top-10 picks in Chet Holmgren and Jalen Duren.&nbsp;
No. 1 seed Baylor vs. 8-seed North Carolina - 12:10 PM EST
Baylor is missing two key pieces due to injury, &mdash;LJ Cryer and Jonathan Tchamwa Tchatchoua &mdash;&nbsp;while UNC is playing some of its best basketball of the season. Caleb Love is worth keeping an eye on.
No. 4 seed UCLA vs. 5-seed Saint Mary&rsquo;s - 7:10 PM EST
The Bruins are hoping to get back to the Final Four while Saint Mary&rsquo;s wants to prove the WCC isn&rsquo;t just run by Gonzaga. This could be a battle.
No. 7 seed Murray State vs. No. 15 seed Saint Peter&rsquo;s 7:45 PM EST
Does Saint Peter&rsquo;s have more magic for a Sweet 16 birth? Or will Murray State's toughness win out?
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Blake Hairston takes us through the upsets and thrillers of Day 2 of the NCAA DI men's basketball tournament, plus a preview of Day 3.

March Madness: Recapping Day 2 of the 2022 NCAA Tournament

CLEVELAND (AP) — Joel Embiid had 35 points and 17 rebounds, James Harden scored 21 points and added 11 assists and the Philadelphia 76ers edged the Cleveland Cavaliers 118-114 on Wednesday night.
Embiid was a game-time decision with a sore back, but showed no signs of the injury on his 28th birthday. The All-Star center and MVP candidate shot 13 of 19 from the field, including 1 of 3 from 3-point range, and was 8 of 10 from the foul line while adding five assists in 35 minutes.
Darius Garland had 22 points and seven assists for the Cavaliers, who lead Toronto by a half-game in the race for sixth place in the Eastern Conference. All-Star center Jarrett Allen missed his fifth consecutive game with a broken left finger.
Cleveland, which trailed by 17 in the second quarter, took a 104-103 lead on a 3-pointer by Lauri Markkanen with 3:47 remaining. Harden answered with a pair of free throws 27 seconds later to put the 76ers in front for good.
Tyrese Maxey’s 3-pointer extended Philadelphia’s lead to 110-106 with 1:19 left, and Harden and Maxey combined to make 6 of 6 free throws in the final 20 seconds to lock up the win. There were seven lead changes and four ties in the fourth quarter.
Maxey scored eight of his 25 points in the fourth. Isaac Okoro had 17 points and Evan Mobley added 13 points and nine rebounds for Cleveland.
The Cavaliers went ahead for the first time at 87-85 on a 3-pointer by Brandon Goodwin late in the third. Kevin Love’s 3 extended the advantage to 90-85 at the end of the period, completing a 12-0 run over 4:42.
The 76ers built a 52-35 lead midway through the second, then carried a 72-59 advantage into the break behind 20 points, 11 boards and four assists from Embiid. Harris scored 16 points and Harden had 10 points and five assists.
Philadelphia took command from the start, jumping ahead 19-4 and 26-10 as Embiid racked up 13 points and eight rebounds in the first. Cleveland missed its first 10 3-pointers.
POTENTIAL PREVIEW
The 76ers and Cavaliers are lined up to meet in the first round of the playoffs, but Cleveland coach J.B. Bickerstaff said it's “way too early to look at that with (13 regular-season games) left.” Philadelphia coach Doc Rivers praised the job Bickerstaff has done in cultivating chemistry. ”The Cavs play together and they like each other, which is rare for a young team," Rivers said. “That jumps right out when you watch them.”
TIP-INS
76ers: Harden dished out 84 assists in his first eight games after being acquired from Brooklyn on Feb. 10. “James knows when to be aggressive and when to pass,” Rivers said, chuckling. “You ingratiate yourself really quickly to new teammates when you pass to them.” ... Two-way G Myles Powell, C Charles Bassey and G Jaden Springer are on G League assignments with the Delaware Blue Coats.
Cavaliers: F Dean Wade (right knee soreness), who has started 28 games, missed his second straight contest. Bickerstaff said Wade was able to manage the injury until it became too painful to play. ... G Rajon Rondo (right ankle sprain) was inactive and has sat out 13 games with various right leg issues since being traded by the Lakers on Jan. 3. ... Cleveland plays eight of its final 13 games at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse.
UP NEXT
76ers: Host the Dallas Mavericks on Friday night.
Cavaliers: Host the Denver Nuggets on Friday night.
___
More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

Joel Embiid had 35 points and 17 rebounds and the Philadelphia 76ers edged the Cleveland Cavaliers 118-114.

Embiid has 35 points, 17 rebounds as 76ers beat Cavs 118-114

SAN ANTONIO (AP) &mdash; Fred VanVleet had 26 points and the Toronto Raptors beat the San Antonio Spurs 119-104 on Wednesday night, delaying Gregg Popovich&rsquo;s coronation as the winningest coach in NBA history.
Popovich is tied with his friend and mentor, Don Nelson, with 1,335 regular-season victories.
&ldquo;Obviously, we have a competitive pride and professional pride,&rdquo; VanVleet said. &ldquo;With as much respect to Pop and what he&rsquo;s been able to do in his career, we didn&rsquo;t want to be the team that he won against. So, that was a little bit of added motivation.&rdquo;
San Antonio&rsquo;s next opportunity to get the record for its 73-year-old coach is Friday night at home against Utah.
VanVleet was 7 for 15 from the field in his return from a five-game absence because of knee soreness. Scottie Barnes and Pascal Siakam added 20 points to help Toronto snap a three-game skid.
The Spurs entered the game 3-36 when trailing by double digits and VanVleet and the Raptors made sure that dubious trend continued. Toronto led by 17 points in winning for the first time since beating Brooklyn on March 1.
Toronto had five players score in double figures while shooting 48% from the field and 37% on 3-pointers.
&ldquo;You got to fight, NBA, next man up,&rdquo; San Antonio point guard Dejounte Murray said. &ldquo;We tried, but that&rsquo;s a long talented team that&rsquo;s been together. They all get to their spots, whether it&rsquo;s driving, kicking or finding the open man.&rdquo;
After Murray cut San Antonio&rsquo;s deficit to 91-86 three minutes into the final quarter, Toronto went on an 8-0 run to regain control.
Keldon Johnson had 27 points for San Antonio, and Murray added 25 points, 12 assists and nine rebounds. The Spurs have lost five of six games.
Murray exited with 6:57 remaining in the third quarter after colliding heads with Khem Birch. Birch appeared to take the blow to his mouth and Murray immediately pressed a towel to his brow after play was stopped. Murray and Birch both walked to the locker room after the play. Murray returned but Birch did not.
&ldquo;I thought we played them well until we got that one stretch in the third quarter,&rdquo; Popovich said. &ldquo;They scored nine in a row, and that really changed the game. Having Dejounte out for that period right after, that didn&rsquo;t help. But they did a great job on the board, we turned it over too much, 22 points off turnovers and they were tough to stop.&rdquo;
VanVleet had eight points, three rebounds and an assist in leading the Raptors to a 34-29 lead in the opening quarter.
&ldquo;We know how special this building can be when it gets going,&rdquo; VanVleet said. &ldquo;So, just having a good start to give us a chance for the rest of the night was really important.&rdquo;
HAPPY BEING ME
VanVleet smiled when asked if he was envious of how much easier Siakam and Barnes can bull their way into the paint while he has to work extra to do so.
&ldquo;No,&rdquo; VanVleet said. &ldquo;No. I&rsquo;m happy with who I am. I think you know that. I&rsquo;ll take the skills and talents that I have, and I appreciate what those guys can do. We try to make it work put it all together.&rdquo;
VanVleet is averaging 21.4 points this season.
TIP-INS
Raptors: Toronto remains seventh in the Eastern Conference, 2 1/2 games in front of Brooklyn and 4 on Atlanta and Charlotte. The Nets and the Hawks were both idle Wednesday. &hellip; VanVleet was listed as questionable with a sore right knee but was cleared prior to warmups. &hellip; F OG Anunoby missed his eighth straight game after fracturing his right ring finger. Anunoby is averaging career-highs with 17.5 points and 5.5 rebounds.
Spurs: San Antonio is 12th in the West with 16 games remaining. The Spurs are 2 games behind New Orleans and 3 1/2 games behind the Los Angeles Lakers. &hellip; Devin Vassell and Lonnie Walker IV returned after missing Monday&rsquo;s game with an undisclosed illness unrelated to Covid-19. &hellip; Keita Bates-Diop missed Monday&rsquo;s game with an undisclosed illness and sat out the Raptors&rsquo; game with a sore lower back. &hellip; Rookie guard Josh Primo missed the game with an undisclosed illness. &hellip; Josh Richardson received a technical foul with 1:53 remaining from Ed Malloy. Richardson flailed his right arm in anger after Malloy called a defensive foul against him near midcourt against Siakam.

Fred VanVleet had 26 points and the Toronto Raptors beat the San Antonio Spurs 119-104 on Wednesday night.

VanVleet, Raptors delay Popovich's record in win over Spurs

Rookie Evan Mobley had 20 points and 17 rebounds, Lauri Markkanen scored 22 and the Cleveland Cavaliers widened their lead on Toronto in the Eastern Conference standings with a 104-96 win over the Raptors on Sunday night.
The Cavs won for just the second time in eight games. They're trying to get back to the playoffs for the first time since 2018 &mdash; and with just over a month left in the regular season, every game matters.
Darius Garland had 17 points and 10 assists, Cedi Osman added 17 points and Kevin Love 15 as Cleveland improved to 3-0 against Toronto.
Pascal Siakam scored 24 points and Chris Boucher 21 for the Raptors, who opened a six-game road trip without All-Star guard Fred VanVleet (knee soreness) or forward OG Anunoby (fractured finger).
Down 18 in the fourth, the Raptors closed within 100-95, but Garland made two free throws and Osman's steal with 56 seconds left helped seal it for the Cavs.
Injuries to VanVleet and backup Malachi Flynn led to Toronto coach Nick Nurse starting rookie Scottie Barnes at point guard. He finished with 19 points, 12 rebounds and six assists in 42 minutes.
As has been the case all season, the loss came with some concern for the Cavs. All-Star center Jarrett Allen left in the second quarter with a bruised quadriceps and did not return. He had six points and two rebounds in 10 minutes.
Cleveland came in having lost six of seven, but there were encouraging signs of the young team snapping out of its recent funk in a 125-119 loss at Philadelphia on Friday. A matchup against the team directly behind them in the standings figured to be a bigger test.
&ldquo;To do what we want to do, this is a moment and challenge for us,&rdquo; coach J.B. Bickerstaff said pregame.
Cleveland led by 13 at halftime and then overcame a brutal third quarter &mdash; 16 points, 1 of 10 on 3-pointers &mdash; by opening an 82-64 lead early in the fourth. Love then hit a 3-pointer and reserve Dean Wade delivered a thunderous dunk over Toronto's Khem Birch.
TIP-INS
Raptors: Finished 6 of 24 on 3-pointers. ... VanVleet has missed the past five games, but Nurse believes he'll be back &ldquo;shortly.&rdquo; Toronto is off the next two days and Nurse is optimistic the &ldquo;extra couple days will get him ready to go.&rdquo; ... Anunoby, averaging career highs in points (17.5), rebounds (5.5), has missed seven straight games.
Cavaliers: Markkanen added a season-high 12 rebounds. ... G Rajon Rondo (sprained toe) sat out his fifth game in a row while G Caris LeVert (sprained foot) missed his sixth straight. &ldquo;Both of them are taking steps in the right direction,&rdquo; Bickerstaff said.
COACH K TRIBUTE
Nurse attended Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski's final game at Cameron Indoor Stadium on Saturday night as a guest of Raptors assistant Adrian Griffin, whose son, AJ, is a freshman forward for the Blue Devils.
Nurse said one of his biggest takeaways from the event was Coach K's deep connection to the school.
&ldquo;It's incredible,&rdquo; he said. "The guy was there for 42 years. When I was 30, I had nine jobs already. It seems impossible that that was his vision and that was his plan and to execute it to such a level of magnificence.
"That's what he wanted to do and to keep it all together and do it in relationship-slash-family way."
UP NEXT
Raptors: At San Antonio on Wednesday.
Cavaliers: Visit Indiana on Tuesday to start a three-game road swing. Cleveland is 3-0 this season against Indiana.

Rookie Evan Mobley had 20 points and 17 rebounds, Lauri Markkanen scored 22 and the Cavaliers won 104-96.

Mobley, Markkanen power Cavaliers past Raptors 104-96

The Phoenix Suns are 49-12, hold the best Net Rating in the NBA (plus-8.6) and boast a top-three offense and defense (per Cleaning the Glass). They have a six-and-a-half game lead on the No. 2 seed Warriors and a seven-game lead on the fast-approaching Memphis Grizzlies &mdash; the second- and third-best teams in the NBA by record.
Chris Paul (get well soon) continues to orchestrate high-level offense like few have in the history of the league. Devin Booker is in the midst of perhaps his most complete season as a pro (this is Year 7?!).
Mikal Bridges is en route to an All-Defense nod, some dark-horse Defensive Player of the Year buzz and has made <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/mikal-bridges-leap-offensively-is-vital-for-the-phoenix-suns" target="_blank" rel="noopener">real strides as a scorer</a> in 2022. In spite of contract weirdness in the offseason, Deandre Ayton continues on as a pillar of efficiency, a king of quick 10-footers and the central figure in Phoenix's defensive construct.
This team has the juice and a special air about them, arguably even more so than the charmed team that made the Finals last summer.
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I've seen Star Wars Episode III at least 30 times in my life (it came out on my ninth birthday and has been a staple ever since; sue me). There's something extremely grounding and soothing about that movie for me that I don't find replicated often in media. I feel the same bewilderment and joy watching the Battle of Coruscant unfold every darn time, like I'm still that awestruck kid at Regal Cinema 15 years ago. Order 66 still breaks me each rewatch, we don't need to talk about it!
The Suns are my NBA comfort watch, much like that film. If I've gone through a particularly grimey stretch of Indiana Pacers play, I can flip on the Suns on League Pass once the West Coast tip-off starts and bask in the ambiance of fantastic basketball.
The offensive sets flow and pop. Defensive rotations are crisp and timely. The consistent stability of Phoenix draws me in, and it's third-year forward Cam Johnson who is central to that stability.
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Cam Johnson since Christmas (27 games) 14 points per game on 48.9/43.3/94 splits 6.3 threes per game 66.3% true-shooting <a href="https://t.co/TAoOULOO7n">pic.twitter.com/TAoOULOO7n</a>
&mdash; Mark Schindler (@MSchindlerNBA) <a href="https://twitter.com/MSchindlerNBA/status/1498737179811532802?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 1, 2022</a></blockquote>

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Paul is going to slice up the court with nifty passing, and Booker will dazzle with his shot-making. But Johnson is the kind of player who, if you watch a team casually, might not pop... at least not in the way a star might.
Yet, that quietness is what makes Johnson such an integral player. Once you get in tune with the Suns, the silence is audible when he's not on the court.
At its core, the term/archetype "3-and-D" loses the essence of what makes a player unique; Johnson's role certainly runs parallel.
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He paints the corners, canning 48.0% of his attempts from the wings, per Cleaning the Glass (89th percentile).
Johnson is a legitimate shooter off of movement, and his gravitational pull is acknowledged in full by defenses; he rates in the bottom third of Basketball Index's openness-rating metric, tracking how open a player's attempts are on average.
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Out of players taking 3 or more threes per game this season, Johnson is fifth in the NBA in three-point percentage (43.2%). We know about the shooting, but it's the foundation of his game! It's what he was most marketed for as a prospect, but it unlocks the remainder of his offensive skill set in a way that the box score cannot encapsulate.
Johnson isn't an adept ball-handler, but he's competent for his size. Along with his tremendous perception of advantages and court awareness, he's able to knife into lanes that are made available to him. Give him a step on the catch, and he might not beat you to the rim, but he's going to keep the initial push of the offense going and flowing.
Since he's entered the starting lineup post All-Star Break with Paul out, he's doubled his assists per game (1.5 to 3.7), but that's more of a highlight of what he's always been capable of &mdash; just exacerbated with higher usage.
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Attacking off the second side, he's phenomenal at driving east and west, hitting cutters or bigs in the dunker spot or floating in the paint with a dump-off or drop-off pass.
Johnson flows in and out of secondary ball-screens and handoffs if a primary action is denied. He often has to kill his dribble before he can get to the rim, but his quick actions and relocation buoy his lack of burst and keep the offense in equilibrium.
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He's also pretty darn good as a post-entry passer, and has developed some nice chemistry with JaVale McGee, finding him routinely (Shout out to JaVale, what a season from him).
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Johnson's even flashed some eye manipulation, toying with the defense in a way that I certainly wasn't ready for; the defense was not either!
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It sounds simplistic, but a player like Johnson who thrives operating off of others is essential to sn offense. Being able to put the ball on the floor and make positive decisions while maintaining the defense's attention as a shooter eases up life to a degree for Booker and Paul.&nbsp;
When he does his job, it's not always noticeable, as mentioned above. When backups with different skill sets fill in, there's an "Oh, yeah, I get it now!" type of realization. (And that's not Torrey Craig or Ish Wainwright slander, but rather "Cam Johnson is awesome" praise!)
Johnson was really solid defensively last year, but it's felt as though he's taken smaller steps this season and grown into a more consistent positive.&nbsp;
Johnson won't often lock down opposing wings as well as Mikal Bridges does, but he excels in a team scheme. He's been better at the point of attack and man-to-man than anticipated pre-draft.
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Cam Johnson is so good at using his length to contest and tip the ball without fouling Always has his arms up and doesn't really flail at all There were pre-draft lateral quickness concerns, but being big and knowing how to play big has made him into a plus defender <a href="https://t.co/5L8mKc4oEJ">pic.twitter.com/5L8mKc4oEJ</a>
&mdash; Mark Schindler (@MSchindlerNBA) <a href="https://twitter.com/MSchindlerNBA/status/1487848232176820227?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 30, 2022</a></blockquote>

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While he doesn't have a massive wingspan (6-foot-10), you will rarely see Johnson with his arms down. He's so good at keeping himself square and angling, riding out drives on a ball-handlers hip, keeping vertical and using his length to contest and crowd.
This possession is a microcosm of why I enjoy Johnson as a defender.
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He fights through the screen fairly well for someone with his size and frame, but my favorite part is that he never loses contact with DeMar DeRozan. Tony Bradley doesn't fully set the screen for contact (it feels somewhere between a slip and a legit screen), but that would be enough to deter many point-of-attack defenders, creating some separation.
Johnson has a hand on DeRozan at all times, making it extremely difficult for DeRozan to both feel comfortable and step into one of his patented pull-up twos after snaking into space. Johnson simply doesn't provide that space by maintaining contact and always being in pursuit.
He works in tandem with McGee, shading DeRozan to the baseline before he pivots out and then posts up.
Is Johnson flat-out stopping DeRozan on the perimeter? No, but he's simply being solid and continually getting the most out of his tools. Staying solid is an art, and Johnson is the artist, with timely rotations, good communication (a Phoenix staple) and apt activity on switches.
While Kevin Love and Tyler Herro will rightfully garner most of the votes and consideration for Sixth Man of the Year, Cameron Johnson deserves a mention and a down-ballot nomination (even if he starts the remainder of the year, he'll meet criteria).
As he likely remains in a larger role with Paul out for the foreseeable future, enjoy the Cam Johnson experience, appreciate the little things he does that deserve highlighting,and soak in the rays of a great Suns team.
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The Suns are surging, building the best record in the NBA with a comfortable cushion; quietly central to that is Cam Johnson.