Broncos

After months of scrolling through countless Damian Lillard trade rumors, the <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/bucks-shock-nba-world-by-acquiring-damian-lillard-in-blockbuster-trade" target="_blank" rel="noopener">news finally broke</a> on Wednesday afternoon that the Portland Trail Blazers' long-time franchise cornerstone was headed to the Milwaukee Bucks. In one of the more surprising blockbuster trades in recent memory, the seven-time All-Star guard will pair with Giannis Antetokounmpo to form one of the best duos in the league.&nbsp;
Now, the new big fish in the trade market is none other than the player Lillard was dealt for: Jrue Holiday. The Blazers' return featured Holiday, former No. 1 pick Deandre Ayton, Phoenix Suns second-rounder Toumani Camara, an unprotected Bucks 2029 first-rounder, and 2028 and 2030 first-round pick swaps from Milwaukee. The circumstances of Lillard&rsquo;s trade request and his desire to be dealt specifically to the Miami Heat dampened his trade value, but the Blazers were able to come away with a &ldquo;palatable&rdquo; return.
 However, Holiday is unlikely to stay in Portland for long as he does not fit their rebuilding timeline around core players Scoot Henderson and Shaedon Sharpe. <a href="https://twitter.com/BobbyMarks42/status/1707100851880259810" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ESPN&rsquo;s Bobby Marks</a> graded Portland&rsquo;s trade return as &ldquo;incomplete&rdquo; pending the potential assets the team receives for Holiday when they flip him.
Many contending teams are reportedly rushing to the phones to make moves in reaction to the Lillard blockbuster, with several expressing serious interest in Holiday. These possible suitors include the Philadelphia 76ers, Boston Celtics, Los Angeles Clippers and Heat. Teams must factor in Holiday's potential free agency next summer and the possibility of signing him to a long-term extension, which he becomes eligible for on Feb. 22. Perhaps the Blazers will have some urgency to deal Holiday prior to Media Day on Oct. 2 in order to avoid questions and logistics about bringing him in for training camp.&nbsp;
For any team over the luxury-tax apron ($171,294,000) to trade for Holiday, they need to trade away at least $33,175,536 (90% of Holiday&rsquo;s 2023-24 salary) in salaries in order to legally execute a trade. The rest of the league will only need to send out $27,646,280 (75% of Holiday&rsquo;s 2023-24 salary) in order to make a deal.&nbsp;
Another important CBA note with any Holiday trade is that his $36,861,707 salary cannot be aggregated with other contracts for two months. While Holiday is still eligible to be immediately rerouted elsewhere, he cannot be traded with other players. For example, just a few months back, Chris Paul was traded to the Washington Wizards and then quickly rerouted in a separate deal to Golden State. Because Paul was the only salary going back to the Warriors, he was legally allowed to be traded. This must be taken into consideration when proposing potential trade ideas.
With Holiday potentially on the move in the coming days, let&rsquo;s take a look at some potential deals for the 33-year-old.
Realistic Trade Destinations
BOSTON CELTICS
Celtics receive: Jrue Holiday
Trail Blazers receive: Malcolm Brogdon, Al Horford, Dalano Banton (salary guarantee increased to $1,009,853 to satisfy trade rules), 2024 GSW top-4 protected first-round pick, 2025 BOS first-round pick, 2026 BOS first-round pick swap, 2024 CHI/DAL/NO (most favorable) second-round pick, 2026 MIN/NO/NYK/POR (most favorable) second-round pick
By trading away Marcus Smart this summer, the Celtics lost the key cog to their juggernaut defense. Despite not having a Defensive Player of the Year award, Holiday would probably serve as an upgrade to Smart on both the offensive and defensive ends of the floor, helping the Celtics compete against the new-look Bucks in the East. If they wish to enter the Holiday sweepstakes, they would need to trade Malcolm Brogdon ($22,500,000), whom they were close to dealing to the Clippers in July. Along with Brogdon, they would have to sacrifice either Al Horford ($10,000,000) or Robert Williams III ($11,571,429) to make the salaries work. They have all of their own draft picks to trade as well as the Golden State Warriors' pick in 2024, which they got from the Smart trade.
MIAMI HEAT
Heat receive: Jrue Holiday
Trail Blazers receive: Kyle Lowry, Nikola Jovic, Haywood Highsmith, 2027 MIA first-round pick, 2029 MIA top-14 protected first-round pick, 2028 MIA first-round pick swap, 2024 MIA top-50 protected second-round pick, 2026 LAL second-round pick, 2027 HOU/IND/MIA/OKC/SA (least favorable) second-round pick
Missing out once again in their pursuit of a star third option to pair with Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo, Miami could use an upgrade like Holiday to their seemingly incomplete roster. Holiday would provide a must-needed scoring punch and would fit seamlessly in Miami&rsquo;s hard-working culture. While their Lillard trade package was highlighted by Tyler Herro, they likely wouldn&rsquo;t use him in any trade for Holiday. Their salary going out in a deal would come from Kyle Lowry&rsquo;s expiring salary ($29,682,540) and some combination of younger players like Jaime Jaquez Jr. ($3,510,533), Nikola Jovic ($2,352,000) and Haywood Highsmith ($1,902,137). While they are somewhat restricted in terms of draft assets, they can offer up to three first-round picks if they amend their 2025 first-round pick they owe the Oklahoma City Thunder. They have three second-rounders to offer as well.&nbsp;
NEW YORK KNICKS
Knicks receive: Jrue Holiday
Trail Blazers receive: RJ Barrett, Reggie Bullock, Khem Birch, 2024 DAL top-10 protected first-round pick, 2024 DET top-18 protected first-round pick, 2024 WAS top-12 protected first-round pick
Spurs receive: Evan Fournier, 2026 MEM top-42 protected second-round pick, 2027 NO/POR (less favorable) second-round pick
The Knicks may be holding out for when the next superstar &ndash; i.e. Joel Embiid, Donovan Mitchell or Giannis Antetokounmpo (although maybe not anymore?) &ndash; asks for a trade. While New York may be focused on further down the line, acquiring a player like Holiday could allow them to boost their roster right now without giving up enough capital to harm their future superstar pursuits. A Knicks trade that would not harm their trove of draft assets would have to send out RJ Barrett ($23,883,929), who potentially fits Portland&rsquo;s rebuilding timeline. Jrue could line up as the team&rsquo;s starting shooting guard alongside Jalen Brunson, while Josh Hart would play more minutes at small forward to mitigate the loss of Barrett. Evan Fournier&rsquo;s large salary ($18,857,143) would also have to be in any deal for the Knicks to take in Holiday. Portland wouldn&rsquo;t want to acquire both Fournier and Barrett as that would push them over the luxury tax, therefore they would likely route Fournier to another team (like San Antonio).
LOS ANGELES CLIPPERS
Clippers receive: Jrue Holiday
Trail Blazers receive: Marcus Morris Sr., Robert Covington, Amir Coffey, Jason Preston (salary fully guaranteed), 2028 LAC first-round pick, 2030 LAC first-round pick, 2029 LAC first-round pick swap
The Clippers may have been given an olive branch with a player like Jrue Holiday becoming available, as he's an impact player at a price they can afford. It also provides an alternative for the Clippers to land a third star while avoiding the potential drama/issues that could come with acquiring a player like James Harden. The Clippers have a lot of high-salary veterans they could use to get to Holiday&rsquo;s number like Norman Powell ($18,000,000), Marcus Morris Sr. ($17,116,279), Nicolas Batum ($11,710,818) and Robert Covington ($11,692,308). They would probably like to keep Terance Mann, who they seem to not want to include in a potential Harden trade, although his $10,576,923 could be useful. Portland could view their unprotected picks in 2028 and 2030 as some of the best draft assets they could receive due to their aging stars and lack of postseason success.
PHILADELPHIA 76ERS
76ers receive: Jrue Holiday
Clippers receive: James Harden, 2024 NYK second-round pick, 2029 PHI second-round pick, 2030 PHI second-round pick
Trail Blazers receive: Marcus Morris Sr., Robert Covington, Amir Coffey, Jason Preston (salary fully guaranteed to satisfy trade rules), 2028 LAC first-round pick, 2029 PHI first-round pick, 2029 LAC first-round pick swap
Amidst the James Harden debacle, Daryl Morey has remained steadfast in getting a formidable return if they choose to trade the disgruntled All-Star. A reunion with Jrue Holiday, who played in Philadelphia from 2009 to 2013, certainly should get Morey and the Sixers' attention. Holiday would certainly upgrade their defense while being a good support and influence on Tyrese Maxey. The Trail Blazers would have little interest in taking a direct package from Philadelphia, which would almost certainly be headlined by Harden ($35,640,000). Harden's desired destination, the Clippers, should still be interested in acquiring him, but may be more interested in trading for Holiday directly. Portland would likely get a similar package to what they would receive if they traded directly with the Clippers, potentially leaving Philadelphia out to dry. The Sixers would have to incentivize the Clippers by trading some draft capital to take Harden instead of Holiday.
Honorable Mentions
GOLDEN STATE WARRIORS
The Warriors are a logical Holiday destination in terms of fit and trade assets. A trade package would have to send the newly acquired Chris Paul back to Portland or a third team along with a young player like Jonathan Kuminga, Moses Moody or Brandin Podziemski, plus a draft pick. Given that coach Steve Kerr has talked all summer about bringing Paul into the fold, it would be pretty surprising if the team pivoted from the future Hall-of-Famer just before training camp. If the Warriors do choose to jump in the Holiday waters, they could quickly move to the front of the line.&nbsp;
TORONTO RAPTORS
Toronto was considered the favorite to acquire Lillard at one point, with a package that was likely headlined by OG Anunoby and draft assets. In order to acquire Holiday, they would need to use a similar package, albeit with less draft capital involved. It seems as though the Raptors were being coy about potentially dealing Anunoby for Lillard, according to <a href="https://torontosun.com/sports/basketball/nba/toronto-raptors/options-for-raptors-with-damian-lillard-trade-dream-done" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Ryan Wolstat of the Toronto Sun</a>. If Masai Ujiri was unwilling to include Anunoby in trade discussions before, it&rsquo;s unlikely he will do so for a player like Holiday.&nbsp;
MINNESOTA TIMBERWOLVES
Holiday would be a near perfect fit alongside Anthony Edwards in the Wolves' backcourt and would greatly improve their defense. However, Minnesota simply doesn&rsquo;t have the right salaries or draft assets to realistically get to Holiday&rsquo;s number unless they are willing to part ways with Karl-Anthony Towns. Even if Tim Connelly was willing to deal Towns for Holiday, the trade may not be what Portland is looking for with the 2015 No. 1 overall pick&rsquo;s five-year supermax extension beginning next season. The idea of paying supermax money to Towns will likely be a turn off for Blazers GM Joe Cronin.
ORLANDO MAGIC
Orlando is probably the most fun dark-horse destination for Jrue. While Markelle Fultz has been a suitable lead guard when healthy, Holiday would bring a championship-level veteran presence that could be useful for Orlando&rsquo;s young squad. The question with the Magic is whether they would actually pursue a deal that would accelerate their timeline with Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner, as well as whether they would part with draft capital that they could potentially use down the line in future trades.

With the Blazers looking to flip Jrue Holiday, Blake Stern breaks down several teams that make sense as a trade suitor.

NBA trade rumors: Examining potential destinations for Jrue Holiday

After monitoring the NBA awards races all season, Nekias Duncan shares his final selections for DPOY, ROY, MIP, 6MOY and more.

Nekias Duncan's 2022-23 NBA award selections: DPOY, 6MOY, MIP, more

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) &mdash; Anthony Edwards had 33 points in 25 minutes and the Minnesota Timberwolves routed San Antonio 151-131, the most points allowed in regulation under Spurs coach Gregg Popovich, on Saturday at the Moody Center.
Minnesota shot 56% on 3-pointers while making a season-high 24 3s.
&ldquo;From the beginning of the game I feel like everybody was hitting and it just carried over,&rdquo; Edwards said.
Karl-Anthony Towns added 22 points, Mike Conley had 20 points and Rudy Gobert had 10 points and 13 rebounds for Minnesota.
The Timberwolves won for the sixth time in nine games. Minnesota will finish no lower than ninth in the Western Conference but still have a chance of finishing eighth ahead of New Orleans, who they host Sunday.
Julian Champagnie had 24 points to lead San Antonio, which will finish with one of the league&rsquo;s three worst records. Keita Bates-Diop added 22 points and Tre Jones had 21 points, 12 assists and 10 rebounds.
The Spurs&rsquo; final home game of the season was played in Austin. The Spurs played their final two games at the Moody Center on the campus of the University of Texas as part of the Spurs&rsquo; regional outreach initiative.
San Antonio struggled offensively with its entire starting lineup out with injury except for Jones.
&ldquo;Minnesota was really hot from 3,&rdquo; Popovich said. &ldquo;They must have had close to 25 3s. I mean, big, but guys did well. They had 21 assists in the first half. Played physically, lot of guys got minutes that normally don&rsquo;t get those minutes. Great learning situation for everybody.&rdquo;
Minnesota led by as many as 33 points in the second half after being tied at 35 in the first quarter.
&ldquo;Come out and be aggressive (in the second half)," Edwards said. "Do what we normally do, blow stuff up. In the first half we were just kind of letting them get into their action. Came out and blew stuff up and that pretty much changed the intensity of the game.&rdquo;
TIP-INS
Timberwolves: Minnesota co-owner Alex Rodriguez was sitting courtside near former San Antonio star Tony Parker. Popovich greeted Rodriguez prior to tip-off. &hellip; The Timberwolves split their four-game series with the Spurs this season. The average margin of victory in each game was 12.5 points.
Spurs: Washington scored the most points against San Antonio under Popovich, defeating the Spurs 157-153 in double overtime on Feb. 25, 2022. &hellip; Popovich said the team sent C Zach Collins home after the finger he recently received stitches on began swelling. &ldquo;Looks like some sort of infection,&rdquo; Popovich said. Collins will not play in the Spurs&rsquo; finale Sunday in Dallas. &hellip; Starters Keldon Johnson (sprained right foot), Jeremy Sochan (sore right knee) and Devin Vassell (injury management for left knee) all sat out with injuries. Also missing were reserve wings Doug McDermott (sprained right ankle) and Devonte&rsquo; Graham (left adductor strain). &hellip; San Antonio honored former All-Star LaMarcus Aldridge following the first quarter. Aldridge recently announced his retirement after playing 16 seasons in the league, including 5 1/2 with the Spurs. Aldridge starred at Texas before being drafted by the Portland Trailblazers in 2006. &hellip; San Antonio finished 14-27 at home this season. The Spurs were 16-25 at home last season.
WE&rsquo;LL BE BACK
Popovich said the Spurs are eager to return to Austin after selling out both games at the Moody Center.
The Spurs had 16,023 attend Thursday&rsquo;s game and attracted 16,148 Saturday after allotting more standing-room only tickets.
&ldquo;Obviously, people enjoy it,&rdquo; Popovich said of a return. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s great to see the place packed like that. It&rsquo;s a great town, so hopefully we will be doing it more.&rdquo;
UP NEXT
Timberwolves: Host New Orleans on Sunday.
Spurs: At Dallas on Sunday.

Anthony Edwards had 33 points in 25 minutes and the Minnesota Timberwolves routed the San Antonio Spurs 151-131 on Saturday.

Anthony Edwards scores 33, Timberwolves beat Spurs

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Thursday night&rsquo;s matchup between the Cleveland Cavaliers and Memphis Grizzlies was a showcase of the brightest young talents the NBA has to offer.
Both teams were trading runs, as Ja Morant and Darius Garland took turns getting into the paint and finishing or finding their guys for great looks. Evan Mobley would not be denied on the offensive glass, and his aggressive ascent continued. Desmond Bane was firing on all cylinders from distance.
Then, the game abruptly came to a halt when Mobley blocked Dillon Brooks on a fastbreak opportunity. As Donovan Mitchell came up with the loose-ball rebound near the baseline, a grounded Brooks rolled into his ankle and, with his left hand, struck Mitchell in the groin.&nbsp;
Mitchell tossed the ball back at Brooks in disgust and promptly shoved him. Chaos ensued.
As both sides tried to de-escalate the situation, the two were separated. After a review of the play, Mitchell was ejected for a &ldquo;hostile act&rdquo; while Brooks was handed a Flagrant 2 penalty and also tossed.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
Spida and Dillon Brooks get CHIPPY 😳 <a href="https://t.co/jGhYHa8VAS">pic.twitter.com/jGhYHa8VAS</a>
&mdash; Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) <a href="https://twitter.com/BleacherReport/status/1621333727543721984?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 3, 2023</a></blockquote>

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With a five-point advantage at that point in the third quarter, the Cavs ended up going on a 23-11 run that bled over into the opening part of the fourth quarter. Cleveland did not relinquish the lead, and ended up victorious over Memphis by a final of 128-113.
After the contest, unplanned and knowing the financial ramifications to come, Mitchell requested to speak on the matter. When asked if he felt it was a cheap shot, the All-Star guard did not hold back his feelings about Brooks, whom he&rsquo;s encountered plenty of times.
&ldquo;Yeah. For sure. That&rsquo;s just who he is. We have seen it a bunch in this league with him. Him and I have had our personal battles for years. Quite frankly, I&rsquo;ve been busting his ass for years &mdash; playoffs, regular season. And the one game he does an alright job on me today, he decides to do something like that. No place for that in the game,&rdquo; Mitchell said.&nbsp;
&ldquo;You&rsquo;ve gotta protect yourself at the end of the day. This has been brewing for years&mdash; with me, with other guys in the league. You all see it. This isn&rsquo;t new. Tonight was just the end of it. It&rsquo;s tough when you can&rsquo;t guard somebody and you can&rsquo;t do something with somebody, you&rsquo;ve got to resort to that. And that is what he has done to a lot of players. Off the top of my head, I think it&rsquo;s like Dame [Lillard] and Steph [Curry]. It&rsquo;s just one of those things you resort to and that&rsquo;s cool, but I&rsquo;m glad my guys held it down tonight and had my back throughout the whole thing.&rdquo;
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Mitchell continued to address the matter with Brooks.
&ldquo;We have been talking nonstop, but I wouldn&rsquo;t say [it's ever gotten] to this extent. There&rsquo;s always been talk. You can go back. I think it was like two years ago, regular season, 30 points a game (against him), it&rsquo;s nonstop talking back and forth. That was cool when we were just talking. But that right there, a line has to be drawn," Mitchell said. "The NBA has to do something about it. I&rsquo;m not the only person this has happened to, and there&rsquo;s no place for that in this game. I took matters into my own hands. But at the end of the day, that ain&rsquo;t it.
&ldquo;I didn&rsquo;t think it would be like that. Maybe the jawing back and forth, which is part of the game and it&rsquo;s cool or whatever, but when you have a cheap shot like that &ndash; there was no need to do that. I wasn&rsquo;t expecting that and then, that&rsquo;s just how I reacted. If you just can&rsquo;t guard somebody then just say that or just get a switch. You know what I mean? That&rsquo;s what it is. It is what it is.&rdquo;
In the Grizzlies&rsquo; locker room, with Morant coming to his teammate&rsquo;s defense and telling reporters to only ask his teammate about the game itself, Brooks didn&rsquo;t have much to say other than that his Flagrant 2 saved him a couple of technical fouls.
&ldquo;I just think people don&rsquo;t like me,&rdquo; Brooks said.
Morant denied any kind of previous tension or history regarding his team and Mitchell, and shared his opinion on the matter in a broader context of NBA teams.
&ldquo;I ain&rsquo;t gonna speak on the play. I&rsquo;mma just speak on pretty much everything. Anything when it comes to negative with the Grizzlies, we normally get the punishments. It ain&rsquo;t the same. They hate us... We don&rsquo;t like them. I&rsquo;m standing on that. That&rsquo;s how it is though. It&rsquo;s a little situation going on now, I ain&rsquo;t gonna speak on it yet, but if some sh** don&rsquo;t change, y&rsquo;all will gonna hear me speak on it.&nbsp;
&ldquo;We don&rsquo;t got no history with nobody. We don&rsquo;t beef with nobody. They don&rsquo;t like us. We speak our mind, we put pressure on &lsquo;em, we talk to &lsquo;em. Some people ain&rsquo;t built for it. They don&rsquo;t like it, and I feel like that&rsquo;s why teams always get in that match with us. But every time, we&rsquo;re gonna stand on all 10, ride for our guys, gonna step. Whatever comes together... We&rsquo;re brothers. We put in the work each and every day together. So anytime we&rsquo;re out on that floor, we&rsquo;re out there battling together. Anything else comes, we&rsquo;re gonna do it together.&rdquo;
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While Grizzlies head coach Taylor Jenkins was mum on the subject and praised the referees for how they handled the altercation, he said &ldquo;it was competitive and we try to stand for our teammates.&rdquo; Jenkins had a conversation with Brooks and kept the details private.&nbsp;
On the Cavs end, head coach J.B. Bickerstaff didn&rsquo;t appreciate what went down and didn&rsquo;t think Mitchell deserved to get tossed from the game.
&ldquo;If somebody makes a play like that, you should have the right to stand up for yourself. That was a cheap shot in multiple ways," Bickerstaff said. "You roll a guy's ankle and then obviously whatever was next out of there, a guy should have the right to stand up for himself. I thought Donovan did that. That's one thing, I'm proud of our guys; we don't have those guys that start sh**, but we got guys that don't run from sh**. You have to in this league, you have to stand up for yourself. That's what he did and that's why his teammates had his back."
&ldquo;I mean, it was a dirty play from the other dude over there. Tried to hit him in his groin area,&rdquo; Garland added. &ldquo;So, [Donovan] just had to project himself. Guys protect themselves. We just rallied behind him and protected our team. That&rsquo;s all it was. We&rsquo;re no sissies over here. We&rsquo;re not going for all the little cheap shots and stuff like that. Everybody's happy that Don did protect himself and everybody rallied behind him as well. So it was good team camaraderie right there.&rdquo;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
&ldquo;We&rsquo;re not no sissies. We not just gonna back down.&rdquo; Darius Garland offers his perspective on the Donovan Mitchell/Dillon Brooks (&ldquo;the other dude over there&rdquo;) tussle. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Cavs?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Cavs</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/basketbllnews?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@basketbllnews</a> <a href="https://t.co/93ssUP6RDz">pic.twitter.com/93ssUP6RDz</a>
&mdash; Spencer Davies (@SpinDavies) <a href="https://twitter.com/SpinDavies/status/1621378544306720770?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 3, 2023</a></blockquote>

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When asked to discuss Bickerstaff&rsquo;s comments about opponents mistaking Cleveland&rsquo;s kindness for weakness, Garland described the Cavs&rsquo; attitude in his eyes.
&ldquo;We&rsquo;re some nice young men until you try to do some weird stuff like the dude did over there. We&rsquo;re still tough, though. We&rsquo;re a tough group. We&rsquo;ve got some guys that get after you and we&rsquo;re going to fight back if you try to push us first,&rdquo; Garland said. &ldquo;We&rsquo;re not soft or anything. We&rsquo;re still some dogs, as I always say, and we&rsquo;ll never back down from nobody, never lay down for nobody, especially those guys over there. We&rsquo;re two of the top young teams in this league, so whenever we battle out, it&rsquo;s going to be a tough one. And that goes for everybody else in this league, as well. We&rsquo;re not going to lay down for nobody.&rdquo;
Citing previous examples with others, Mitchell believes there should be some kind of punishment for Brooks&rsquo; actions.
&ldquo;At the end of the day, I think my reaction was honestly just for me was reacting to a cheap shot. You know what I mean? This has been a habit for years and this isn't new to anybody in this room. And if punishment doesn't come from that, he&rsquo;s just going to keep doing that. It&rsquo;s just dumb, to be honest with you. Just dumb. It's just dumb and I'm going to appeal (the ejection) because I don't think I should've gotten ejected for defending myself, to be honest.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;m not going to say like, &lsquo;Oh it should be this, it should be that.&rsquo; But it should be something. Like I said, this isn't just a Donovan thing. This has happened to other players throughout this league. And it's bullshit. If we're being honest with you, it's complete bullsh**. There's one thing, you&rsquo;ve got Ja, you&rsquo;ve got Bane, Jaren Jackson, those guys &mdash; they talk shit and that's fine. That's all part of basketball. We all grew up playing that way. But when you start doing little cheap sh** like that, that ain't it. That's honestly where my frustration lies. It's not about talking back and forth with us, that's whatever; the extra bumps, whatever, that's cool. But when you start doing little stuff like that, what are we really doing?&rdquo;
The Cavs and Grizzlies ended up splitting the season series with two highly intense meetings. Both teams are fighting in their respective conferences and making plenty of noise. After Thursday, it&rsquo;s clear that these squads are holding their ground.

Spencer Davies goes behind the scenes of Donovan Mitchell and Dillon Brooks' altercation in the Cavs-Grizzlies game.

Donovan Mitchell, Dillon Brooks get into scuffle; Cavs, Grizzlies react

NORMAN, Okla. (AP) &mdash; Grant Sherfield scored a season-high 30 points, and Oklahoma beat No. 2 Alabama 93-69 on Saturday in the SEC/Big 12 Challenge to end the Crimson Tide&rsquo;s nine-win streak.
Jalen Hill added a career-high 26 points, helping second-year Oklahoma coach Porter Moser to his biggest win with the program. Tanner Groves had 14 points and 12 rebounds.
The Sooners (12-9) had lost three straight, but against the Crimson Tide shot 58% from the field.
Rylan Griffen led Alabama (18-3) with 15 points and seven rebounds. Freshman Brandon Miller, who came in averaging 19.5 points per game, finished with 11.
NO. 3 HOUSTON 75, CINCINNATI 69
HOUSTON (AP) &mdash; Jarace Walker had a career-high 25 points and seven rebounds, and Houston rallied from an 11-point second-half deficit to defeat Cincinnati.
Walker, who scored 13 points in the second half, was 10 of 14 from the field. J&rsquo;Wan Roberts added 14 points and six rebounds, and Jamal Shead scored 13 points for Houston (20-2, 8-1 American Athletic Conference).
Houston has won at least 20 games in eight straight seasons under coach Kelvin Sampson.
Landers Nolley II had 24 points, including 6 3-pointers. Vicktor Lakhin added 15 points, and David DeJulius had 14 points and nine assists for Cincinnati (14-8, 5-4).&nbsp;
NO. 4 TENNESSEE 82, NO. 10 TEXAS 71
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) &mdash; Olivier Nkamhoua scored 27 points and Zakai Zeigler had 22 points and 10 assists to lead Tennessee over Texas in an SEC/Big 12 Challenge.
Josiah-Jordan James added 14 and Santiago Vescovi had 12 for Tennessee (18-3), which led by as many as 22 midway through the second half.
Sir&rsquo;Jabari Rice scored 21 to lead Texas (17-4). Marcus Carr and Brock Cunningham finished with 11 each.
NO. 5 KANSAS STATE 64, FLORIDA 50
MANHATTAN, Kan. (AP) &mdash; Keyontae Johnson had 13 points and 11 rebounds against his former team, Markquis Nowell flirted with the first triple-double in Kanas State history, and the Wildcats beat Florida in an SEC/Big 12 Challenge.
Nowell finished with 13 points, nine rebounds and eight assists, and Nae&rsquo;Qwan Tomlin also had 11 points. The Wildcats improved to 18-3 to match the 1972-73 team for the best start through 21 games in school history.
Johnson struggled from the field, going just 5 of 16 and even getting stuffed by the front of the rim during a windmill dunk on a second-half fast break. But it was nevertheless a special night for the senior forward, who collapsed on the Gators&rsquo; sideline due to a heart condition during a game against Florida State just over two years ago.
Colin Castleton scored 13 points for the Gators (12-9). Myreon Jones and Will Richard had 11 apiece.
NO. 6 ARIZONA 95, WASHINGTON 72
SEATTLE (AP) &mdash; Azuolas Tubelis had 25 points and 10 rebounds, Oumar Ballo added 21 points and 12 rebounds, and Arizona used a big second-half run to pull away to win its fourth straight.
Tubelis topped 20 points for the first time in five games and his rebound putback while being fouled with 4:29 remaining gave the Wildcats a 78-63 lead and sent Washington fans headed for the exits.
Kerr Kriisa added 18 points, hitting six 3-pointers, and Courtney Ramey scored 14 for the Wildcats (19-3, 8-3 Pac-12).
Keion Brooks Jr. led Washington with 25 points and Keyon Menifield added 21. But the Huskies (13-10, 5-7) suffered from too many scoring droughts and didn&rsquo;t have an answer for Arizona&rsquo;s 19-1 run in the early stages of the second half.
NO. 7 VIRGINIA 76, BOSTON COLLEGE 57
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (AP) &mdash; Armaan Franklin and Jayden Gardner scored 18 points each and Virginia used a big first-half run to take control over Boston College for its sixth straight victory.
The Cavaliers (16-3, 8-2 Atlantic Coast Conference) trailed 18-15 before starting an 18-4 run over the next 11 minutes. Virginia put the game away with a 16-4 second-half spurt.
Quinten Post scored 24 to lead the Eagles (10-12, 4-7) and Makai Ashton-Langford added 12 points.
Virginia&rsquo;s Isaac McKneely finished with 12 points and Reece Beekman had 11 and eight assists.
NO. 9 KANSAS 77, KENTUCKY 68
LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) &mdash; Jalen Wilson scored 22 points, including one in a series of huge 3-pointers down the stretch, and Kansas avoided its first four-game losing streak under coach Bill Self.
Wilson made 9 of 18 from the field and grabbed eight rebounds for Kansas (17-4), which finished even with Kentucky at 49% shooting. K.J. Adams Jr. added 17 points, Dick had 13 and McCullar 11 with 12 rebounds as the Jayhawks edged Kentucky 34-29 on the glass.
Oscar Tshiebwe had 18 points and nine rebounds, and Jacob Toppin and Cason Wallace each added 14 for Kentucky (14-7), which had won its previous four.
MISSISSIPPI STATE 81, NO. 11 TCU 74, OT
STARKVILLE, Miss. (AP) &mdash; Tolu Smith had 27 points, 13 rebounds and five assists to lead Mississippi State to an overtime victory.
Dashawn Davis added 16 points to help Mississippi State (13-8) snap a five-game losing streak. Shakeel Moore had 11, including six in overtime, while Cameron Matthews had 10 points and 10 rebounds for the Bulldogs. Tyler Stevenson also added 10 points off the Bulldogs&rsquo; bench.
Damion Baugh led TCU (16-5) with 19 points and Emanuel Miller had 13. Shahada Wells and Jakobe Coles each had 12 for the Horned Frogs and Chuck O&rsquo;Bannon had 10.
Davis&rsquo; 3 pointer with 55 seconds left in the second half gave the Bulldogs a 66-64 advantage. Emanuel Miller scored with 32 seconds remaining and then both teams missed chances to win in regulation.
MISSOURI 78, NO. 12 IOWA STATE 61
COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) &mdash; Kobe Brown scored 20 points, and D&rsquo;Moi Hodge scored 17 points to help Missouri take down Iowa State in the SEC/Big 12 Challenge.
Brown scored 14 of his points in the first half and led Missouri (16-5) with 12 rebounds. Nick Honor added 12 points and DeAndre Gholston scored 10.
Jaren Holmes led Iowa State (15-5) with 19 points, and Gabe Kalscheur added 14.
The Tigers&rsquo; 78 points were a season-high for an Iowa State opponent in regulation; the Cyclones are 0-3 this season when allowing at least 70 points in regulation.
CREIGHTON 84, NO. 13 XAVIER 67
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) &mdash; Arthur Kamula scored 20 points, Creighton&rsquo;s four other starters finished in double-figures and the Bluejays earned their fourth straight Big East win.
Creighton (13-8, 7-3) steadily built a double-digit lead throughout the game and made 34 of its 60 field goal attempts (56.7%) before a sold-out crowd.
Ryan Kalkbrenner scored 17 points, Baylor Scheierman had 14, Trey Alexander finished with 13 and Ryan Nembhard added 11 for the Bluejays, who avenged a 90-87 loss at Xavier on Jan. 11.
Zach Freemantle led Xavier (17-5, 9-2) with 18 points, followed by Colby Jones and Adam Kunkel with 13.
NO. 14 GONZAGA 82, PORTLAND 67
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) &mdash; Julian Strawther had a career-high 40 points, including eight 3-pointers, and Gonzaga pulled away down the stretch for its 16th consecutive victory over Portland.
Anton Watson added 17 points for Gonzaga (18-4, 7-1 West Coast Conference).
Strawther is the first player to reach 40 points for the Zags since Kyle Wiltjer had 45 against Pacific in 2016.
Portland (11-13, 3-5) was led by Moses Wood with 19 points. Juan Sebastian Gorosito, a freshman, finished with a career-high 17 points.
WEST VIRGINIA 80, NO. 15 AUBURN 77
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (AP) &mdash; Erik Stevenson scored a career-high 31 points and West Virginia withstood a furious late rally from Auburn to win an SEC/Big 12 Challenge matchup.
The Mountaineers (13-8) have won two straight for the first time in a month. Jimmy Bell Jr. added 15 points for the Mountaineers.
Charles Barkley cheered on his alma mater from a courtside seat, but Auburn (16-5) couldn&rsquo;t overcome another slow start. The Tigers have lost two straight for the first time in two years.
Jaylin Williams led Auburn with 18 points. Johni Broome added 15 and Allen Flanigan scored 13.
NO. 16 MARQUETTE 89, DEPAUL 69
CHICAGO (AP) &mdash; David Joplin went 8 for 11 from 3-point range for a career-high 28 points, Tyler Kolek had 24 points, 10 assists and 9 rebounds, and Marquette defeated DePaul.
Marquette has won eight of its last nine games, and moved into a tie with No. 13 Xavier atop the Big East.
Marquette (17-5, 9-2) pulled away in the second half. Oso Ighodaro had 10 points, making all five of his shots, and Olivier-Maxence Prosper scored 13 and had 8 rebounds.
Umoja Gibson scored 25 points for DePaul (9-13, 3-8) on 8-of-12 shooting.
NO. 17 BAYLOR 67, ARKANSAS 64
WACO, Texas (AP) &mdash; Keyonte George scored 24 points, including seven in a row down the stretch, and Baylor beat Arkansas in an SEC/Big 12 Challenge.
Baylor (16-5) fell behind by as many as eight points in the second half after an early 11-point lead. But the Bears closed it out after Flo Thamba made two free throws for a 55-53 lead with 3:37 left.
LJ Cryer added 20 points and Jalen Bridges had 10 for the Bears, who won their sixth game in a row despite shooting a 34% (20 of 59) from the field. They offset the season-worst shooting from the field by making 21 of 24 free throws, including two by Cryer with 10 seconds left and two by George with 4.3 seconds remaining.
Ricky Council IV scored 25 points for Arkansas (14-7). Davonte Davis had 16 points, but missed the front end of a 1-plus-1 with 2.3 seconds left, though Joseph Pinion got the ball in the right corner only to miss wildly on a 3-pointer as time ran out.
HOFSTRA 85, NO. 18 COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON 81
CHARLESTON, S.C. (AP) &mdash; Aaron Estrada scored 25 points and Darlinstone Dubar added 18 as Hofstra ended College of Charleston&rsquo;s 20-game winning streak.
The Pride (15-8, 8-2 Colonial Athletic Association) were down 28-20 early before rallying past the Cougars (21-2, 9-1), who had not lost since falling to then-No. 1 North Carolina on Nov. 11.
Tyler Thomas had 17 points and eight rebounds for Hofstra.
Ante Brzovic finished with 18 points to lead Charleston.
PITTSBURGH 71, NO. 20 MIAMI 68
PITTSBURGH (AP) &mdash; Blake Hinson tipped in a Jamarius Burton miss with 31 seconds remaining and Pittsburgh rallied past Miami.
The Panthers (15-7, 8-3 ACC) held the Hurricanes (16-5, 7-4) scoreless over the final 2:26 while closing on an 11-0 run to beat a ranked team for the third time this season to bolster its increasingly impressive NCAA tournament resume.
Hinson finished with 21 points for Pitt. Burton had 19 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists as the Panthers stunned Miami in front of a rare sell-out crowd at the Petersen Events Center.
Jordan Miller led the Hurricanes with 18 points. Isaiah Wong added 14 but Miami committed three of its 12 turnovers in the final 35 seconds as the Panthers stormed back.
NO. 21 FAU 70, W. KENTUCKY 63
BOCA RATON, Fla. (AP) &mdash; Brandon Weatherspoon scored 14 points and Florida Atlantic remained undefeated at home.
The victory extended FAU&rsquo;s winning streak to a program-record 20 games, which is now the nation&rsquo;s longest. The Owls&rsquo; 21 victories on the season ties their Division I record set in 2010-11. Western Kentucky (11-11, 3-8 Conference USA) has lost five straight.
Alijah Martin scored eight while grabbing seven rebounds for the Owls (21-1, 11-0).
Jordan Rawls led all scorers with 17 for W. Kentucky. Dayvion McKnight and Emmanuel Akot each had 16.
NO. 22 SAINT MARY&rsquo;S (CAL) 57, BYU 56
PROVO, Utah (AP) &mdash; Logan Johnson had 14 points and freshman Aidan Mahaney scored all 10 of his points, including a fade-away jumper just before the buzzer, in the second half and Saint Mary&rsquo;s (Cal) won its 10th in a row.
Mitchell Saxen had 11 points, 10 rebounds, four assists and two blocks for Saint Mary&rsquo;s (19-4, 8-0 West Coast Conference). Alex Ducas scored 12 points and Augustas Marciulionis added 10.
Dallin Hall was fouled on a driving lay-up attempt with 10.2 seconds left and made 1-of-2 free throws to give BYU a 56-55 lead but Mahaney took the inbounds pass, probed the defense before he drove the lane, stopped near the right block and pivoted away from the basket before hitting the winning jumper over the out-stretched arm of defender Fousseyni Traore.
Hall scored a career-high 23 points on 9 of 14 shooting but made just 3 of 6 from the free-throw line for BYU (14-10, 4-5). Fousseyni Traore added 11 points and eight rebounds.
NO. 24 CLEMSON 82, FLORIDA STATE 81
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) &mdash; Chase Hunter drove the lane and drew a foul, sinking the free throw, to help Clemson escape with a win over Florida State.
Hunter Tyson scored 27 points on 10 of 17 shooting for Clemson (18-4, 10-1 Atlantic Coast Conference), which halted an eight-game road losing streak to Florida State. Hunter finished with 25.
Matthew Cleveland scored 15 of his 18 points in the second half for Florida State (7-15, 5-6), which made a season-high 13 3-pointers. Caleb Mills and Darin Green Jr. each hit four 3-pointers for the Seminoles. Freshman forward Baba Miller had his best game, scoring 11 points and pulling down four rebounds in 20 minutes.

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

Oklahoma's rout of No. 2 Alabama one of many top-15 upsets on Saturday

LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) &mdash; Shahada Wells scored 17 points as No. 14 TCU beat No. 2 Kansas 83-60 on Saturday in one of the worst losses in Bill Self&rsquo;s 20-year coaching career with the Jayhawks.
The loss snapped a 16-game winning streak at home for Kansas and was the second-largest home loss under Self. The Jayhawks (15-3, 5-2 Big 12), who lost 83-82 in overtime at Kansas State on Tuesday, had not lost consecutive games in the state since 1989 &mdash; against K-State and Missouri.
Kansas trailed by 10 at halftime and never closed the gap within single digits. TCU extended the lead to as many as 24 points. The Jayhawks shot only 32.1% in the second half.
TCU (15-4, 4-3 Big 12), which shot 54.4% (31 of 57) from the field, got 15 points from Mike Miles Jr. and 11 from Damion Baugh.
NO. 4 ALABAMA 85, MISSOURI 64
COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) &mdash; Noah Clowney and Mark Sears each scored 17 points, and Alabama remained undefeated against unranked teams this season.
Freshman Brandon Miller added 15 points and eight rebounds for Alabama (17-2, 7-0 Southeastern Conference), and reserve Jahvon Quinterly scored 13 points. Clowney also had 14 rebounds, and Sears finished with eight rebounds and three steals.
Isiaih Mosley led Missouri (14-5, 3-4) with 19 points. Mohamed Diarra had eight points and 12 rebounds.
NO. 11 ARIZONA 58, NO. 5 UCLA 52
TUSCON, Ariz. (AP) &mdash; Oumar Ballo scored 16 points, Azuolas Tubelis had a double-double and Arizona withstood a late rally to end UCLA&rsquo;s 14-game winning streak.
The Wildcats (17-3, 5-3 Pac-12) took a 56-44 lead on Ballo&rsquo;s alley-oop dunk with 2:07 left. But the Bruins (17-3, 8-1) fought back, creating four straight turnovers to pull within 56-52. UCLA then blocked consecutive shots but couldn&rsquo;t convert on two shots of its own. Arizona&rsquo;s Pelle Larsson hit two free throws with 0.9 seconds to close it out.
Tyger Campbell led the Bruins with 13 points and Jaime Jaquez Jr. added 12 with 11 rebounds.
NO. 6 GONZAGA 99, PACIFIC 90
STOCKTON, Calif. (AP) &mdash; Drew Timme scored 24 of his career-high 38 points in the second half, including 18 straight points during one stretch, and Gonzaga pulled away in the closing minutes.
Timme made 17 of 23 shots and almost all of them within a couple feet of the rim. Anton Watson added 16 points and 13 rebounds for Gonzaga (17-4, 6-1 WCC). Rasir Bolton added 16 points for the Bulldogs, who had won their previous three road games in conference play by a combined eight points, and Julian Strawther had 15.
Jordan Ivy-Curry led five Pacific players in double figures with 17 points. Nick Blake scored 16 before fouling out. Keylan Boone finished with 15, Luke Avdalovic added 13 and Judson Martindale finished with 12. Pacific (10-12, 3-4) made eight 3-pointers in the first half and was tied at 47 at halftime, but the Tigers were just 1 of 8 from deep in the second half.
NO. 7 TEXAS 69, WEST VIRGINIA 61
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (AP) -- Marcus Carr scored 19 of his 23 points in the second half to lead Texas.
Dylan Disu added 13 points before fouling out, and Christian Bishop and Tyrese Hunter scored 11 apiece for the Longhorns (16-3, 5-2 Big 12), who bounced back from a double-digit loss at No. 12 Iowa State on Wednesday.
The Mountaineers (11-8, 1-6) had several players in early foul trouble. Kedrian Johnson had a career-high 22 points, but his teammates fell flat in the second half against the Longhorns.
NO. 8 XAVIER 95, GEORGETOWN 82
CINCINNATI (AP) &mdash; Zach Freemantle tied a career-high with 30 points and Colby Jones had 20 as Xavier handed Georgetown its 29th straight Big East loss.
Adam Kunkel scored 14 points to help the Musketeers (16-4, 8-1 Big East) bounce back from a 73-72 loss at DePaul on Wednesday.
Primo Spears scored a career-high 37 points and Akok Akok had 14 for the Hoyas (5-15, 0-9 Big East), who have lost 10 straight. Spears&rsquo; previous high was 34 against LaSalle on March 5, 2022.
NO. 9 TENNESSEE 77, LSU 56
BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) &mdash; Josiah-Jordan James scored a season-high 22 points and Tennessee defeated LSU, which has lost six straight.
James, who missed eight games in November and December due to injury, made his second straight start for the Volunteers (16-3, 6-1 Southeastern Conference). Playing 31 minutes, James was 9-of-16 from the field and matched his career-high with four 3-pointers.
Tennessee point guard Zakai Zeigler had 12 points and 10 assists, which tied his career high. Julian Phillips and Tyreke Key each had 10 points.
KJ Williams led LSU (12-7, 1-6) with 16 points. Trae Hannibal added 10 points. The Tigers committed 19 turnovers which resulted in 33 Volunteers points.
NO. 10 VIRGINIA 76, WAKE FOREST 67
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. (AP) &mdash; Armaan Franklin scored 18 of his 25 points during the first half and Virginia survived blowing nearly all of a 19-point lead to beat Wake Forest.
Kihei Clark added 12 points despite getting into foul trouble for the Cavaliers (15-3, 7-2 Atlantic Coast Conference). But it was a day of wild swings for Virginia, who went from missing its first eight shots to suddenly being unable to miss to go up 34-15 &mdash; only to see the Demon Deacons push back to within a single point with 8 1/2 minutes left.
Damari Monsanto had a career-high 25 points for the Demon Deacons (14-6, 6-3), highlighted by making 7 of 15 3-pointers.
OKLAHOMA STATE 61, NO. 12 IOWA STATE 59
STILLWATER, Okla. (AP) &mdash; Avery Anderson scored 18 points, including the go-ahead free throws, and Oklahoma State defeated Iowa State for its first win over a ranked team this season.
Kalib Boone added 13 points for the Cowboys (11-8, 3-4 Big 12), who won their second straight game.
Osun Osunniyi scored 15 points and Gabe Kalscheur added 14 for Iowa State (14-4, 5-2), which had won seven of its last eight games. Cyclones sharpshooter Caleb Grill spent most of the second half on the bench wearing a back brace and wasn&rsquo;t in the game in the closing minutes.
NO. 13 KANSAS STATE 68, TEXAS TECH 58
MANHATTAN, Kan. (AP) &mdash; Markquis Nowell had 23 points, eight rebounds and five assists in Kansas State&rsquo;s win over Texas Tech.
Keyontae Johnson had 15 points and 11 rebounds for the Wildcats (17-2, 6-1 Big 12), who won for the 11th time in 12 games. Ismael Massoud scored 12 points.
Pop Isaacs and De&rsquo;Vion Harmon each scored 13 points for Texas Tech (10-9, 0-7), which shot 32.4% (23 for 71) from the field.
NO. 16 AUBURN 81, SOUTH CAROLINA 66
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) &mdash; Johni Broome had a season-high 27 points and 11 rebounds as Auburn took control late in the opening half to run past struggling South Carolina.
Broome&rsquo;s performance helped the Tigers to their fifth straight win and offset a career-best 30 points from Gamecocks&rsquo; freshman Gregory &ldquo;GG&rdquo; Jackson II.
The 6-foot-10 Broome took full advantage of South Carolina&rsquo;s undersized interior for the Tigers (16-3, 6-1 Southeastern Conference). He hit 12 of his 17 shots in 30 minutes for his sixth double-double this season and fifth against an SEC opponent.
Meechie Johnson was the only other player for South Carolina (8-11, 1-5) in double figures with 11 points.
DUKE 68, NO. 17 MIAMI
DURHAM, N.C. (AP) &mdash; Kyle Filipowski had 17 points and 14 rebounds and Jeremy Roach scored 14 points in his first game in more than two weeks to lift Duke over Miami.
Tyrese Proctor had 11 points and Dariq Whitehead added 10 points for the Blue Devils (15-4, 5-3 Atlantic Coast Conference), who played their first game of the season without a national ranking.
Jordan Miller&rsquo;s 19 points and Nijel Pack&rsquo;s 18 were tops for Miami (15-4, 6-3), which has lost three of its last five games.
NO. 18 CHARLESTON 87, NORTHEASTERN 61
BOSTON (AP) &mdash; Ben Burnham scored 15 points, Pat Robinson III added 14 and Ryan Larson had 12 to lead Charleston to its 20th win in a row.
The Cougars (21-1, 9-0 Colonial Athletic Association) scored 13 straight points in the first half to pull away and extend the longest active winning streak in the nation. They have not lost since the second game of the season, to then-No. 1 North Carolina on Nov. 11, climbing to their highest ranking in The Associated Press Top 25 since 1999.
Chris Doherty had 11 points and 13 rebounds and Jared Turner also scored 11 for Northeastern (8-11, 4-4). The Huskies haven&rsquo;t beat a Top 25 team since 2015.
NO. 19 CLEMSON 51, VIRGINIA TECH 50
CLEMSON, S.C. (AP) &mdash; Hunter Tyson&rsquo;s 3-pointer with 12 seconds left lifted Clemson to a dramatic victory over Virginia Tech.
Tyson caught a pass just left of the key, took a look at at the basket and let it fly. The crowd exploded as the ball went through and the Tigers (16-4, 8-1 Atlantic Coast Conference) continued their unexpected run atop the ACC.
PJ Hall led Clemson with 20 points and eight rebounds.
Grant Basile led the Hokies (11-8, 1-7) with 13 points.
NO. 20 MARQUETTE 74, SETON HALL 53
NEWARK, N.J. (AP) &mdash; Kam Jones scored 22 points, Oso Ighodaro had 18 on 7-for-7 shooting and Marquette beat Seton Hall.
Marquette (16-5, 8-2 Big East) shot 54% (29 for 54) from the field in its second straight win since an 80-76 loss to Xavier last weekend.
Kadary Richmond led Seton Hall (12-9, 5-5) with 10 points and five assists. The Pirates committed a season-high 26 turnovers.
NO. 21 BAYLOR 62, OKLAHOMA 60
NORMAN, Okla. (AP) &mdash; Jalen Bridges scored 11 points and hit a trio of game-turning 3-pointers in the final five minutes as Baylor rallied to hold off Oklahoma.
Adam Flagler had 16 points and five assists, and Keyonte George added 11 points as Baylor (14-5, 4-3 Big 12) won its fourth straight game after opening conference play with three straight losses and briefly dropping out of The Associated Press Top 25.
Jalen Hill had 17 points and nine rebounds, while Tanner Groves added 16 points, nine rebounds and three blocked shots for the Sooners (12-7, 2-5).
NO. 22 PROVIDENCE 75, DEPAUL 64
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) &mdash; Noah Locke had a career-high 29 points, including seven 3-pointers, to help Providence fend off DePaul.
Bryce Hopkins added 20 points and 11 rebounds as the Friars (15-5, 7-2 Big East) snapped a two-game losing skid and improved to 11-0 at home. They are 2-2 without point guard Jared Bynum, who missed his fourth consecutive game with a torso injury.
The Blue Demons (9-11, 3-6) came in fresh off a home victory over eighth-ranked Xavier. But they dropped their sixth straight road game and are now 0-4 in conference games away from home. Umjoja Gibson had 16 points and five assists for DePaul and Da&rsquo;Sean Nelson added 13 points.
NO. 24 FLORIDA ATLANTIC 67, UTEP 59
EL PASO, Texas (AP) &mdash; Johnell Davis scored 20 points on 6-for-9 shooting and Florida Atlantic extended its program record for consecutive wins to 18.
Davis hit 2 of 3 attempts from 3-point distance and was perfect on six shots from the line for FAU (19-1, 9-0 Conference USA). Vladislav Goldin finished with 11 points, six rebounds and three blocks for the Owls.
Calvin Solomon finished with 16 points and 10 rebounds, and Tae Hardy also scored 16 points for UTEP (11-9, 4-5). Mario McKinney Jr. added 11 points, seven rebounds and two steals.
NO. 25 ARKANSAS 69, OLE MISS 57
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (AP) &mdash; Anthony Black scored 17 points, reserve Joseph Pinion had 13 and Arkansas snapped a four-game losing streak by topping Mississippi.
Only nine teams in Division I had made fewer 3-pointers than Arkansas (13-6, 2-5 Southeastern Conference) this season, but the Razorbacks tied a season high by making eight from beyond the arc. They led by as many as 21 points.
Pinion and Devo Davis each made three 3s. Davis had 16 points and Jordan Walsh finished with 13.
Ole Miss (9-10, 1-6) committed 17 turnovers. The Rebels had six giveaways in the first six minutes of the second half, helping Arkansas extend its three-point halftime lead to 11 at the first media timeout after the break.

A roundup of Saturday's top-25 action in men's college basketball includes a TCU rout of the second-ranked Jayhawks on the road.

No. 14 TCU blows out No. 2 Kansas in Allen Fieldhouse

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) &mdash; Zia Cooke scored 17 points, Aliyah Boston had the 61st double-double of her career and defending national champion No. 1 South Carolina opened with a dominating 101-31 victory over East Tennessee State on Monday night.
Boston finished with 11 points and 11 rebounds in 20 minutes.
The Gamecocks celebrated their 2022 NCAA Tournament title with championship rings and a banner unfurled in the arena rafters to the cheers of a boisterous, happy crowd at Colonial Life Arena.
South Carolina held its opponent to 4-of-28 shooting in the first two quarters. ETSU missed 15 straight shots during one stretch.
East Tennessee&rsquo;s Jiselle Thomas, a first-year transfer from Temple, led East Tennessee with seven points on 2-of-20 shooting.
NO. 2 STANFORD 86, SAN DIEGO STATE 48
STANFORD, Calif. (AP) &mdash; Kiki Iriafen had a team-leading 16 points and six rebounds, sending Stanford past San Diego State to open the season.
Iriafen was one of four players who had double-digit points for the Cardinal, including Elena Bosgana (15 points), Cameron Brink (13) and Indya Nivar (13). Alex Crain and Meghan Fiso each had nine points for the Aztecs, who were held to 31.6% shooting (18 of 57) by the Cardinal defense.
NO. 4 IOWA 87, SOUTHERN UNIVERSITY 34
IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) &mdash; Caitlin Clark scored 20 points as Iowa opened the season with a win over Southern.
Clark, a junior guard who was a unanimous Associated Press preseason All-American, shook off a couple of early injuries to finish with a 6 of 10 shooting night.
Iowa center Monika Czinano, back for a fifth season after leading the nation in field-goal percentage the last two seasons, scored 10 points on 3 of 4 shooting.
Amani McWain led Southern with eight points.
NO. 7 LOUISVILLE 87, CINCINNATI 68
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) &mdash; Hailey Van Lith scored 28 points to lead Louisville to a victory over Cincinnati in the season opener for both teams.
The Cardinals broke the game open with a 15-0 first-quarter run and led 46-25 in the final minute of the first half. The Cardinals shot 51.7% and outrebounded the Bearcats 39-27.
Sophomore Braylyn Milton led the Bearcats with a career-high 28 points on 9-of-12 shooting. Milton was perfect on five 3-point shots. Mya Jackson and A&rsquo;riel Jackson added 12 points apiece.
NO. 8 IOWA STATE 87, CLEVELAND STATE 54
AMES, Iowa (AP) &mdash; Ashley Joens had 28 points, 11 rebounds and five assists, and Iowa State opened the season with a victory against Cleveland State.
Joens, a preseason All-American, nearly recorded a double-double in the first half with 24 points and nine boards. She has 50 career double-doubles.
Stephanie Soares added 15 points, 14 rebounds and four blocks for the Cyclones. Gabriella Smith led Cleveland State with 16 points and Brittni Moore added nine.
NO. 9 NOTRE DAME 88, NORTHERN ILLINOIS 48
SOUTH BEND, Ind. (AP) &mdash; Olivia Miles had 17 points, 10 rebounds, six assists and six steals to help No. 9 Notre Dame rout Northern Illinois.
Transfer post players Kylee Watson (Oregon) and Lauren Ebo (Texas) made their Notre Dame debuts. Watson started and scored nine points, while Ebo added 10 points off the bench.
Janae Poisson led NIU in scoring with 14 points.
NO. 10 NC STATE 82, QUINNIPIAC 45
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) &mdash; Jada Boyd scored 14 points as North Carolina State led wire-to-wire in a season-opening victory over Quinnipiac.
Boyd shot a perfect 4-of-4 from the floor and 6-of-6 from the free-throw line. The junior forward also had five rebounds, a block and two steals in just 20 minutes of play. Quinnipiac was led by Cur&rsquo;Tiera Haywood&rsquo;s eight points and five rebounds. Jackie Grisdale also had eight points for the Bobcats.
NO. 13 VIRGINIA TECH 101, MOUNT ST. MARY&rsquo;S 45
BLACKSBURG, Va. (AP) &mdash; Cayla King made a school record nine 3-pointers and scored a career-high 33 points, All-American Elizabeth Kitley added 17 points and Virginia Tech rolled over Mount St. Mary in both teams&rsquo; season opener.
Virginia Tech never trailed thanks to King&rsquo;s opening 3-pointer and after Mount St. Mary&rsquo;s answered with a basket the Hokies reeled off 20 straight.
Michaela Harrison scored 15 points for Mount St. Mary&rsquo;s, which shot 27% and was outrebounded 45-23.
NO. 15 OKLAHOMA 105, ORAL ROBERTS 94
NORMAN, Okla. (AP) &mdash; Madi Williams scored 19 points, Skylar Vann added 18 and Oklahoma opened the season with a win over Oral Roberts.
The Sooners finished at 47.6% shooting after hitting 60% of their shots in the first half.
Oral Roberts outscored Oklahoma 24-6 in the final 5:18 to get the margin down to 11. Tirzah Moore scored 25 points and grabbed a career-high 17 rebounds for the Golden Eagles.
NO. 16 LSU 125, BELLARMINE 50
BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) &mdash; Angel Reese scored 31 points on 11-of-14 shooting and grabbed 13 rebounds in her debut with LSU and the Tigers coasted past Bellarmine in the season opener.
The transfer from Maryland, where she was an All-American, had 14 points in the first quarter when the Tigers took a 31-8 lead and went on to a school record for points in a game.
West Virginia transfer Jasmine Carson added 17 points and Alexis Morris 16 for LSU, which returned only one starter (Morris) and five players from Kim Mulkey&rsquo;s first team, which had the greatest turnaround by a first-year coach in Southeastern Conference history.
Hayley Harrison scored 19 points for the Knights.
NO. 17 MARYLAND 88, GEORGE MASON 51
FAIRFAX, Va. (AP) &mdash; Abby Meyers scored 19 points in her debut for Maryland as the retooled Terrapins defeated George Mason.
Meyers, an AP honorable mention All-American at Princeton and one of nine new Terrapins, made 5 of 6 from 3-point range.
Taylor Jameson scored 15 points for George Mason, which was 5 of 22 from 3-point range and had 18 turnovers.
NO. 18 BAYLOR 88, LAMAR 50
WACO, Texas (AP) &mdash;Jaden Owens had a career-high 12 assists to go with 11 points for her first career double-double and Baylor pulled away for a season-opening win over Lamar.
Missouri transfer Aijha Blackwell and freshman Bella Fontleroy both added 17 points for the Bears, who used a 7-0 run early in the second quarter and a 9-0 late to go up 47-31 at halftime.
Lamar shot 32% in the second half and finished just 3 of 12 behind the 3-point line. Akasha Davis led the Cardinals with 13 points and eight rebounds.
NO. 20 OREGON 100, NORTHWESTERN 57
EUGENE, Ore. (AP) &mdash; Freshman Grace VanSlooten scored 20 points and Oregon downed Northwestern for the Ducks&rsquo; 10th straight season-opening win, and ninth straight under coach Kelly Graves.
Jennah Isai added 17 for the Ducks, who went 20-12 overall last season and advanced to the NCAA Tournament but lost in the first round to Belmont.
Caileigh Walsh had 15 points and six rebounds for Northwestern, which went 17-12 last season.
NO. 21 CREIGHTON 73, NO. 23 SOUTH DAKTA STATE 64
BROOKINGS, S.D. (AP) &mdash; Lauren Jensen scored 17 of her 30 points in the fourth quarter and Creighton pulled away from South Dakota State in the only Top 25 matchup on the opening day of the season.
Creighton, the surprise team of the NCAA Tournament last year when they beat No. 8 Iowa and No. 10 Iowa State, made 10 of 12 free throws in the fourth quarter.
Myah Selland scored 22 points to lead South Dakota State, which won the WNIT last season.
NO. 22 NEBRASKA 100, OMAHA 36
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) &mdash; Isabelle Bourne had 21 points and nine rebounds, leading Nebraska to the runaway victory in its season opener.
Allison Weidner added 19 points and nine rebounds, and South Dakota transfer Maddy Krull had 18 points with four 3-pointers. Alexis Markowski had 13 points and eight rebounds for the Cornhuskers.
Elena Pilakouta had 10 points and eight rebounds for the Mavericks.
NO. 24 PRINCETON 67, TEMPLE 49
PRINCETON, N.J. (AP) &mdash; Kaitlyn Chen scored 14 points and grabbed nine rebounds, Ellie Mitchell added 12 points and 15 boards, and Princeton defeated Temple to spoil the debut of Owls coach Diane Richardson.
Princeton won its 16th straight regular-season game dating to last season. Prior to the game, the Tigers honored its 2021-22 campaign with a banner unveiling and ring ceremony. The Tigers pulled off one of the biggest upsets in the NCAA Tournament, upending Kentucky in the first round.
Jasha Clinton scored 15 points and Tiarra East had 11 points and 11 rebounds for Temple, which was just 18-of-62 shooting.

Opening night for women's college hoops was highlighted by Aliyah Boston and the defending-champion South Carolina Gamecocks.

Defending women's national champs, No. 1 Gamecocks, rout ETSU 101-31

In the latest installment of his "Blazing the Trail" series, Mat Issa analyzes the two-way brilliance of Shawn Kemp.

Blazing the Trail: Shawn Kemp, the aerial artist

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

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

This season hasn&rsquo;t gone as planned for the Portland Trail Blazers.
Entering the campaign, the Blazers were hoping to be one of the Western Conference&rsquo;s top teams. With new head coach Chauncey Billups and a veteran-laden roster, Portland hoped to continue their eight-year playoff streak and go on a deep run in the postseason. To get an idea of how Portland was perceived last summer, recall that Larry Nance Jr. asked his hometown Cleveland Cavaliers to trade him to the Blazers because he wanted to join a contender.
Now, at 27-48, Portland has the 12th-best record in the West. The Blazers currently sport the NBA's 25th-ranked offense (scoring 106.3 points per 100 possessions) and 29th-ranked defense (allowing 113.3 points per 100 possessions). And after trading away vets such as <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/after-a-crazy-season-cj-mccollum-is-thriving-with-pelicans" target="_blank" rel="noopener">CJ McCollum</a>, Norman Powell, Robert Covington, Tony Snell and Nance, Portland seems headed for the NBA draft lottery for the first time since 2013.
Throughout this disappointing season, there has been an undeniable bright spot for the Blazers: Anfernee Simons. The 22-year-old took the next step in his development and proved that he was ready to take on an increased role. His emergence is a big reason why Portland&rsquo;s front office felt comfortable trading away McCollum and Powell prior to the deadline.
Simons averaged 22.0 points, 5.5 assists, 4.1 threes and 2.8 rebounds in 30 games as a starter, while shooting 45.2% from the field, 41.5% from three and 87.1% from the free-throw line. This offseason, Simons is poised to hit restricted free agency and get a lucrative payday.
During his first three seasons in the NBA, Simons had just five games with 20 or more points. This season, he did it 19 times despite only playing 57 games. (He&rsquo;s been ruled out for the remainder of the season due to patellar tendinopathy in his left knee).
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
Anfernee Simons🔥 🐜 In the win vs Trae &amp; the Hawks 43 Points (career-high) 13/21 Shooting 9 Threes (ties career-high) 7 Assists <a href="https://t.co/Wt5uiLzO7J">pic.twitter.com/Wt5uiLzO7J</a>
&mdash; Ballislife.com (@Ballislife) <a href="https://twitter.com/Ballislife/status/1478240059140841473?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 4, 2022</a></blockquote>

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On Jan. 3, he had a 43-point, 9-three, 7-assist performance to defeat the Atlanta Hawks. Last month, he helped the Blazers upset the Milwaukee Bucks and Memphis Grizzlies in back-to-back road games, finishing with 31 points and 6 assists in both contests. Portland was 7-1 when Simons scored at least 29 points this season.
&ldquo;They believe in me. They think I'm a great player and I can help them win,&rdquo; Simons <a href="https://marcstein.substack.com/p/a-conversation-with-anfernee-simons?token=eyJ1c2VyX2lkIjoxNjI2MjQ1LCJwb3N0X2lkIjo1MDI2MzY0NiwiXyI6IkZsWjNwIiwiaWF0IjoxNjQ4NTcyMDMyLCJleHAiOjE2NDg1NzU2MzIsImlzcyI6InB1Yi0zOTIyMDUiLCJzdWIiOiJwb3N0LXJlYWN0aW9uIn0.dZ6HuN__uKrHVFj7kSlYaP1sSa_nUd8qqOfXCIcfVsc" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told Marc Stein</a>. &ldquo;It's crazy how stuff moves pretty fast in the NBA &mdash; just being prepared when my opportunity was presented and taking full advantage of that. And I think I've been doing that. I gained the organization's trust. For them to make these moves just shows that they believe in me and want me to succeed.&rdquo;
Simons&rsquo; huge strides have him being mentioned as a potential candidate for the Most Improved Player award. If he wins, he would become the fourth Blazer to win Most Improved, joining CJ McCollum (2015-16), Zach Randolph (2003-04) and Kevin Duckworth (1987-88). LaMarcus Aldridge finished as the MIP runner-up twice (in 2007-08 and 2010-11), but he came up short to Hedo Turkoglu and Kevin Love, respectively.&nbsp;
&ldquo;I think I put myself in a good position to at least be nominated for it &mdash; to at least be in talks for being Most Improved,&rdquo; Simons <a href="https://marcstein.substack.com/p/a-conversation-with-anfernee-simons?token=eyJ1c2VyX2lkIjoxNjI2MjQ1LCJwb3N0X2lkIjo1MDI2MzY0NiwiXyI6IkZsWjNwIiwiaWF0IjoxNjQ4NTcyMDMyLCJleHAiOjE2NDg1NzU2MzIsImlzcyI6InB1Yi0zOTIyMDUiLCJzdWIiOiJwb3N0LXJlYWN0aW9uIn0.dZ6HuN__uKrHVFj7kSlYaP1sSa_nUd8qqOfXCIcfVsc" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told Stein</a>. &ldquo;But I can't control who picks who, so I'm just going to continue to work hard on trying to get better.&rdquo;
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Simons acknowledges that he still has plenty of work to do, and he knows what aspects of his game he wants to hone next.
&ldquo;[I] just want to continue to get better at playmaking &mdash; continue to see the floor better &mdash; and work on finishing around the rim and getting fouled,&rdquo; Simons <a href="https://marcstein.substack.com/p/a-conversation-with-anfernee-simons?token=eyJ1c2VyX2lkIjoxNjI2MjQ1LCJwb3N0X2lkIjo1MDI2MzY0NiwiXyI6IkZsWjNwIiwiaWF0IjoxNjQ4NTcyMDMyLCJleHAiOjE2NDg1NzU2MzIsImlzcyI6InB1Yi0zOTIyMDUiLCJzdWIiOiJwb3N0LXJlYWN0aW9uIn0.dZ6HuN__uKrHVFj7kSlYaP1sSa_nUd8qqOfXCIcfVsc" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told Stein</a>. &ldquo;A lot of the great players know different ways to draw fouls.&rdquo;
It&rsquo;ll be interesting to see how Coach Billups utilizes Simon and Damian Lillard together next season. This season, Simons didn&rsquo;t move into Portland&rsquo;s starting lineup until Lillard was sidelined due to an abdominal injury that required surgery. In the 27 games in which they both suited up, Simons came off of the bench and his role was limited, averaging 12.1 points, 2.4 rebounds and 2.0 assists. How will they fare when both players are in the starting lineup?
"I think we complement each other well&hellip; We're gonna be a hard backcourt to navigate and guard because we're both threats in the pick-and-roll, making plays and scoring the ball,&rdquo; Simons <a href="https://marcstein.substack.com/p/a-conversation-with-anfernee-simons?token=eyJ1c2VyX2lkIjoxNjI2MjQ1LCJwb3N0X2lkIjo1MDI2MzY0NiwiXyI6IkZsWjNwIiwiaWF0IjoxNjQ4NTcyMDMyLCJleHAiOjE2NDg1NzU2MzIsImlzcyI6InB1Yi0zOTIyMDUiLCJzdWIiOiJwb3N0LXJlYWN0aW9uIn0.dZ6HuN__uKrHVFj7kSlYaP1sSa_nUd8qqOfXCIcfVsc" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told Stein</a>. &ldquo;Teams are going to have to choose who they want to blitz.&rdquo;
Lillard is nearly a decade older than Simons and he has emerged as the young guard&rsquo;s mentor in recent years. Simons has learned a ton from watching Lillard &mdash; on and off the court. &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &ldquo;I've been watching him my whole career, so I've picked up on things he does. He's probably one of the most humble dudes I've ever met &mdash; especially with the success that he's had,&rdquo; Simons <a href="https://marcstein.substack.com/p/a-conversation-with-anfernee-simons?token=eyJ1c2VyX2lkIjoxNjI2MjQ1LCJwb3N0X2lkIjo1MDI2MzY0NiwiXyI6IkZsWjNwIiwiaWF0IjoxNjQ4NTcyMDMyLCJleHAiOjE2NDg1NzU2MzIsImlzcyI6InB1Yi0zOTIyMDUiLCJzdWIiOiJwb3N0LXJlYWN0aW9uIn0.dZ6HuN__uKrHVFj7kSlYaP1sSa_nUd8qqOfXCIcfVsc" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told Stein</a>. &ldquo;He walks around like he's a normal person. Each and every day he's always giving people confidence and encouraging people. Just to see that firsthand and see how he works and what he puts into being who he is, it's amazing to see. He's my vet. He's been helping me my whole career and I'm very grateful to have him as a teammate.&rdquo;
While Blazers fans would love to forget this frustrating season, at least some good came out of this campaign, with Simons beginning his ascent to stardom and putting the league on notice.
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Anfernee Simons has been an undeniable bright spot for the Portland Trail Blazers this season.

Blazers' Anfernee Simons seems poised for stardom

Damian Lillard&rsquo;s defiance has made him a social-media punching bag, as his Portland Trail Blazers are dissolving around him and looking like a completely different team.
Lillard hasn&rsquo;t played since New Year&rsquo;s Eve, and as he recovers from abdominal surgery, he watched his team <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/breaking-down-why-the-blazersclippers-deal-works-for-both-sides" target="_blank" rel="noopener">deal Norman Powell and Robert Covington</a> to the Los Angeles Clippers while the best player coming back is Eric Bledsoe. Keon Johnsn was also included in the trade and while Portland hopes he pops off, he's only 19 years old, so who knows how soon he can make an impact? The Blazers also received a 2025 second-round pick &ndash; the year Lillard turns 35.
Then, on Tuesday, Lillard watched his Blazers acquire Josh Hart, Didi Louzada, Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Tom&aacute;&scaron; Satoransky and draft picks in exchange for Larry Nance Jr., Tony Snell, and the reason we&rsquo;re gathered here today: CJ McCollum.
#Narratives are already in motion. The jokes have been flying on social media about how people are, in hindsight, underwhelmed by the run that Lillard and McCollum had. But before we stomp on their Basketball-Reference pages and laugh in their comments about &ldquo;not having won anything,&rdquo; we should offer a massive amount of respect for what they accomplished in Portland.
You&rsquo;ve probably seen the photo of a 5-foot-2 McCollum as a freshman in high school, but even that symbolizes so much here.
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CJ McCollum was really 5&rsquo;2&rdquo; playing Varsity basketball as a freshman lol <a href="https://t.co/ukPiVyOUYC">pic.twitter.com/ukPiVyOUYC</a>
&mdash; Nothing Matter3D (@HiDefDee) <a href="https://twitter.com/HiDefDee/status/1376562700440965131?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 29, 2021</a></blockquote>

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The parallels Lillard and McCollum maintained were astounding; they were the reason the backcourt became divisive among NBA consumers &mdash; with some loving them and thinking that the Blazers could build a contender around them, while others refused to believe that a pair of 6-foot-3 scoring machines could lead a team to a title, even in this guard-friendly era.
These things need to be delivered out loud and thoroughly processed.
Lillard went to Weber State, and McCollum went to Lehigh. Both played in mid-major conferences, and they are two of the better mid-major players we&rsquo;ve seen this century. But really, the Big Sky and Patriot League are closer to the bottom of the NCAA&rsquo;s Division I conference rankings; take it from a Northeast Conference alum.
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Lillard was drafted No. 6 overall in 2012; the only Weber State player drafted in the first round, period. McCollum was taken No. 10 overall the following year and is <a href="https://www.basketball-reference.com/friv/draft.fcgi?college=lehigh" target="_blank" rel="noopener">still the only Lehigh player to be selected in an NBA Draft</a>. One of the first things that people noted when Lillard got drafted was that <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RXXXDlzv0-U" target="_blank" rel="noopener">he never played against a top-25 team while in college</a>. And Bill Simmons <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UJBwqmwfQbg" target="_blank" rel="noopener">couldn&rsquo;t believe a Patriot Leaguer was selected</a> in the top-10 in 2013.
Suddenly, we looked up and Lillard was the NBA's Rookie of the Year, <a href="https://www.basketball-reference.com/awards/awards_2013.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">receiving every single first-place vote</a> over perennial favorite Anthony Davis, who won a gold medal with Team USA during the 2012 Summer Olympics in London.&nbsp;And then, in 2013-14, Portland was in the playoffs, where they&rsquo;ve been every year since Lillard and McCollum became teammates &ndash; the longest active streak in the NBA. Even then, McCollum didn&rsquo;t have his coming out party until 2015-16, when he immediately filled an All-Star sized scoring role vacated by LaMarcus Aldridge (who left for San Antonio) and won the NBA's Most Improved Player award.
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They played similarly and complemented each other exceptionally. Lillard and McCollum would each produce 20 points a night, occasionally going off for 30 each, and in a brutal Western Conference, return to playoffs no matter what was around them. And then they&rsquo;d lose, which led some to dismiss them.
In 2015, it was a five-game gentlemen&rsquo;s sweep as a No. 4 seed against the Grit N&rsquo; Grind Memphis Grizzlies, who went up 2-1 on the Golden State Warriors in the semifinals before losing to the eventual champions. In 2018, as a No. 3 seed, it was that memorable sweep against the same Pelicans that McCollum now joins, who were the sixth seed.
Then, in 2019, we finally saw a breakthrough: a run to the Western Conference Finals. Thanks to a legendary 37-point performance from McCollum in Game 7 of the semifinals, the Blazers beat the Denver Nuggets on the road &ndash; still CJ's paramount performance to date. Portland met up with the Warriors in the Conference Finals, and Golden State ultimately swept them (even though they were missing Kevin Durant, who was out due to a calf strain).
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The Blazers followed up that Conference-Finals appearance with consecutive first-round exits. With that said, Portland's failures can't be blamed on Lillard and McCollum alone.
Their fellow starters and key teammates include Al-Farouq Aminu, Mason Plumlee, Meyers Leonard, Noah Vonleh, Jusuf Nurkić, Evan Turner, Mo Harkless, Jake Layman, Zach Collins, Trevor Ariza, Carmelo Anthony, Hassan Whiteside and Norman Powell. Despite having one of the best backcourts we&rsquo;ve seen in generations, the Blazers could never figure out how to properly surround them with talent. (And honestly, doing is probably harder in the real world than we realize).
But in spite of their nitpickable shortcomings, their rigorous conference, their identical 6-foot-3 statures, their style of play and the lack of an ideal supporting cast, Lillard and McCollum co-engineered (along with Aldridge the first two years) the NBA&rsquo;s longest playoff streak. And they did so defiantly, as underrecruited long-time college players who stunned scouts by becoming top-10 picks and high-end NBA talents.
They led five 50-plus-win teams and two No. 3 seeds out West. Lillard is a <a href="https://www.nba.com/news/nba-75th-anniversary-team-announced" target="_blank" rel="noopener">top-76 NBA player ever</a>, and McCollum is one of the best active NBA players to never make an All-Star team (and he probably would've made multiple appearances had he been in the Eastern Conference instead).
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People have been trying to separate this duo for years via trade machines, NBA 2K, forums, social-media posts, comments under those posts, text threads, direct messages, barbershop debates, radio call-ins, post-sex conversations, you name it. Finally, that day is here, and the circumstances suck.
Lillard <a href="https://www.theplayerstribune.com/articles/damian-lillard-loyalty-over-everything" target="_blank" rel="noopener">continually preached loyalty and wanting to win the hard way</a>. McCollum <a href="https://www.theringer.com/the-bill-simmons-podcast/2021/2/3/22263991/brooklyn-bliss-draymonds-dip-and-cj-mccollum-stops-by" target="_blank" rel="noopener">asked us to stop putting him in trade rumors</a>.
The parallels between the two are why many loved them, and the parallels proved to be their demise. But dammit, they accomplished a lot. We could say that they were ultimately underwhelmed by their surroundings, but let&rsquo;s also acknowledge how hard this damn thing is. You can&rsquo;t take playoff streaks for granted &ndash; look at what the Pelicans, Cleveland Cavaliers and Sacramento Kings are doing this week in hopes of ending their postseason droughts.
This could&rsquo;ve had a happy ending, and it still might, but it doesn&rsquo;t appear that it&rsquo;ll be with Lillard and McCollum together. They didn&rsquo;t fail, and they probably didn&rsquo;t live up to your (or their own) expectations, but that&rsquo;s usually how our experiences on Earth go. Regularly, even if we don&rsquo;t want to admit it, that&rsquo;s OK, because more often than we acknowledge, that&rsquo;s life.

Bryan Fonseca looks back on what Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum accomplished together with the Portland Trail Blazers.

End of an era: Saluting the defiance of Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum

The San Antonio Spurs have not housed an All-Star since the <a href="https://www.basketball-reference.com/teams/SAS/all_star.html">2018-19 season</a> when LaMarcus Aldridge earned his seventh and final nomination. In fact, entering this season, the Spurs were the only NBA team in the league without a single former All-Star on their roster.&nbsp;
This three-year drought could finally be coming to a close, however, thanks to the spectacular play of one Dejounte Murray. While other breakout star guards like <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/at-a-certain-point-well-have-to-mention-ja-morant-in-the-mvp-race" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Ja Morant</a>, <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/making-all-star-case-fred-vanvleet-toronto-raptors" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Fred VanVleet</a>, and <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/darius-garland-is-making-the-allstar-leap" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Darius Garland</a> have all become social media darlings (rightfully so), Murray&rsquo;s career year seems to be slipping under the radar. But I&rsquo;m here to tell you: Dejounte Murray deserves your attention, and the case for his first-ever All-Star nomination may be stronger than you think.
Playmaking
To be clear, I&rsquo;m talking about Murray's knack for <a href="https://premiumhoops.org/2021/04/06/evaluating-nba-perimeter-defense-establishing-and-using-a-rubric/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">event creation</a> on both sides of the ball.&nbsp;
On offense, I&rsquo;ll be the first to tell you he&rsquo;s a clear notch below the elite shot-composers. He doesn&rsquo;t get many layup assists (<a href="https://backpicks.com/2022-players/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">-1 relative layup assist percentage</a>). He&rsquo;s late on, or outright misses, some lay-down passes. And during my entire film study (roughly 750 possessions), I&rsquo;ve yet to witness him attempt a single skip pass.
However, the beauty of Murray&rsquo;s game is that he&rsquo;s well aware of his shortfalls as an offensive playmaker, and to compensate, he&rsquo;s mastered two very important passes.
The pocket pass.
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And the kick-out to a three-point shooter.&nbsp;
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As is the case with all great offensive initiators, Murray&rsquo;s facilitation abilities augment the rest of his teammates. According to Cleaning the Glass, the Spurs as a team experience a 4% increase in <a href="https://cleaningtheglass.com/stats/player/2630/onoff#tab-team_shooting_fg" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Effective Field Goal percentage</a> (93rd percentile) when Murray&rsquo;s on the floor, despite he himself being a below-average shooter efficiency-wise.
Additionally, his discipline as a passer beams out in his sub-10% turnover rate (84th percentile), which is a major reason why the Spurs rank&nbsp;<a href="https://www.basketball-reference.com/leagues/NBA_2022.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">No. 1 in the league</a> in that category (one of Dean Oliver&rsquo;s famous <a href="https://squared2020.com/2017/09/05/introduction-to-olivers-four-factors/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Four Factors</a>).
Normally, I&rsquo;m partial to high-turnover passers who take risks to bend defenses. But in this case, I think Murray&rsquo;s ability to provide a steadying presence to a young team has been crucial to San Antonio's offense not folding in itself this season.
Defense
Defensively, Murray&rsquo;s creation is more of the chaos-inducing variety. He&rsquo;s in the 89th percentile in steal percentage (fourth year in a row that he&rsquo;s in the 80th percentile or higher), and it&rsquo;s because he does a great job of deploying his pterodactyl-like wingspan to nuke possessions &mdash; both on and off the ball.&nbsp;&nbsp;
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Daniel Bratulić (great Twitter follow, by the way) charted &ldquo;On-ball steals per Game&rdquo; and &ldquo;Passes Intercepted Per Game&rdquo; for the best thieves in basketball, and what do you know? Murray excels in both manners of hardwood robbery.&nbsp;
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Here is a breakdown of how top stealers in the game get their steals. Some are better at pickpocketing the ball handlers (Thybulle, CP3), some are better while playing off the ball (OG, Haliburton) and some excel at both (Murray, Ball, Caruso, Smart, Butler) <a href="https://t.co/J4Bx58nxWY">pic.twitter.com/J4Bx58nxWY</a>
&mdash; Daniel Bratulić (@daniel_bratulic) <a href="https://twitter.com/daniel_bratulic/status/1484245391742844932?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 20, 2022</a></blockquote>

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Other than the diversity of his pickpocketing portfolio (admit it, that&rsquo;s fun to say), one thing you probably noticed is that many of his pilfers result in &ldquo;pick-sixes,&rdquo; which... transitions.... us perfectly into the next portion of his All-Star argument.
Transition
The reason Murray's playmaking on defense is so valuable isn&rsquo;t solely because it helps end the opposing team&rsquo;s offensive possessions prematurely. It also ignites the most efficient form of offense in the game: the fastbreak.&nbsp;
This season, Murray is averaging 1.27 points per possession (79th percentile) on nearly three transition possessions per game. (For some context, that efficiency is on-par with one of the game&rsquo;s most explosive players in <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/how-high-can-anthony-edwards-fly-examining-the-20yearolds-ceiling">Anthony Edwards</a>.)
Murray&rsquo;s fastbreak ferocity isn&rsquo;t limited to plays off of steals. He&rsquo;s prone to hit turbo after defensive possessions that result in him corralling a rebound (7.5 defensive boards per 75 possessions).
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The Spurs as a team are scoring nearly three more points in transition per 100 possessions with Murray on the floor (94th percentile). Overall, San Antonio ranks in the top-10 in the league in points per possession on transition plays &mdash; in large part thanks to Murray&rsquo;s stewardship in this department.
Mid-Range Game
While the <a href="https://youtu.be/59epmjId_z0">Mid-Range King</a> left the Lone Star State this past offseason, it appears a worthy heir has risen to take his place on the throne. So far this year, Murray is shooting more mid-range shots per game than he ever has, all while maintaining efficiency similar to his previous seasons:
<table style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 100%; height: 324px;">
<tbody>
<tr style="height: 54px;">
<td style="width: 27.1441%; height: 54px;">
Year
</td>
<td style="width: 34.0474%;">
Attempts Per Game*
</td>
<td style="width: 50.4666%; height: 54px;">
Shooting Percentage*
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 54px;">
<td style="width: 27.1441%; height: 54px;">
2017-18
</td>
<td style="width: 34.0474%;">
1.2
</td>
<td style="width: 50.4666%; height: 54px;">
42%
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 54px;">
<td style="width: 27.1441%; height: 54px;">
2018-19
</td>
<td style="width: 34.0474%;">
3.5
</td>
<td style="width: 50.4666%; height: 54px;">
36%
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 54px;">
<td style="width: 27.1441%; height: 54px;">
2019-20
</td>
<td style="width: 34.0474%;">
4.7
</td>
<td style="width: 50.4666%; height: 54px;">
44%
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 54px;">
<td style="width: 27.1441%; height: 54px;">
2020-21
</td>
<td style="width: 34.0474%;">
8.1
</td>
<td style="width: 50.4666%; height: 54px;">
44%
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 54px;">
<td style="width: 27.1441%; height: 54px;">
2021-22
</td>
<td style="width: 34.0474%;">
9.4
</td>
<td style="width: 50.4666%; height: 54px;">
42%
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
* Data provided by Cleaning the Glass
As last year&rsquo;s playoffs taught us, in a world where everyone is trying to stop threes and layups, having someone who can burn defenses with the middie is a useful trump card to have in your back pocket.&nbsp;
Murray&rsquo;s proficiency from no man&rsquo;s land also opens up driving lanes for him. As someone who runs a ton of pick and rolls (<a href="https://www.nba.com/stats/players/ball-handler/#!?sort=POSS&amp;dir=1" target="_blank" rel="noopener">one of seven players who runs at least 10 per game</a>), big men could theoretically sink into a drop against him because of his poor three-point shooting. However, because of his gravity in the mid-range, defenders often have to come up on the level of the screen, which gives him a chance to maneuver himself right past them.
<iframe title="YouTube video player" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/dGJ9Cef_DGU" width="100%" height="325" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe>
Murray is currently averaging a career-high 65% on shots at the rim (<a href="https://cleaningtheglass.com/stats/player/2630#tab-shooting_accuracy" target="_blank" rel="noopener">82nd percentile</a>) while also averaging more drives per game than he has for his entire career. The massive attacking volume (No. 6 in the NBA in drives per game) that his mid-range shooting enables him to carry makes him the kind of offensive player a team can lean on in the postseason (see Donovan Mitchell). Those types of players generally warrant serious All-Star consideration.
Conclusion
The other day, Andy Bailey put out a tweet ranking NBA players based on their average rankings in 10 catch-all metrics:&nbsp;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
If you sort every NBA player with 400+ minutes by the AVERAGE OF THEIR RANKS in 10 catch-alls (Box Plus/Minus, RAPTOR, Estimated Plus-Minus, LEBRON and Game Score per 36 minutes, as well as the cumulative versions of each), this is the top 30... <a href="https://t.co/Og4CguGtk3">pic.twitter.com/Og4CguGtk3</a>
&mdash; Andy Bailey (@AndrewDBailey) <a href="https://twitter.com/AndrewDBailey/status/1485349610516213761?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 23, 2022</a></blockquote>

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

Murray had the 16th-highest average score in the league, which by that measure would not only make him an All-Star caliber player, but a solid contender for an All-NBA spot this season.&nbsp;
Now, I&rsquo;m by no means saying that Murray definitely deserves to be an All-Star (nor that he should be in the discussion for All-NBA); Murray certainly has his flaws as a candidate &mdash; poor foul-drawing rates, below-average efficiency and questionable rebounding value (<a href="https://www.nba.com/stats/players/defensive-rebounding/?CF=GP*GE*25&amp;Season=2021-22&amp;SeasonType=Regular%20Season&amp;sort=DREB_CONTEST_PCT&amp;dir=1" target="_blank" rel="noopener">poor contested defensive rebounding rates</a>). Plus, there has just been too much great guard play this season to the point where somebody has to be left on the outside looking in.
All I&rsquo;m saying is, when you factor in his high placement in widely-cited, catch-all metrics with the arguments I&rsquo;ve laid out for you here, Dejounte Murray&rsquo;s got a case for All-Star consideration.
And you know what, it&rsquo;s a pretty darn good one.
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Mat Issa lays out his reasoning as to why Dejounte Murray should legitimately be considered to play in the 2022 NBA All-Star Game.

Making the NBA All-Star case for Dejounte Murray

Tommy Beer is back with his latest version of BasketballNews.com's NBA Power Rankings. To read last week's version, <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-power-rankings-jazz-jump-up-into-top-tier-grizz-and-cavs-climb-into-the-top-8-" target="_blank" rel="noopener">click here</a>.
The Phoenix Suns finally push past the Golden State Warriors to grab the top spot in the Basketball News Power Rankings for the first time this season, while the Cleveland Cavaliers climb into the top five.&nbsp;
1. Phoenix Suns (24-5) ⬆️ Last Week: 2
The Suns have posted a ridiculous 23-2 record over their last 25 games. And Phoenix welcomed back leading-scorer Devin Booker, who hadn't played in almost three weeks after injuring his hamstring in late November, in their 137-106 thrashing of the Charlotte Hornets on Sunday night. The Suns have also gotten tremendous production from sharpshooter Cam Johnson this month. He's averaging 14.2 points, 5.1 rebounds and 3.0 made triples (while shooting better than 44% from downtown) over his past nine contests.&nbsp;
2. Golden State Warriors (25-6) ⬇️ Last Week: 1
Golden State played without Andrew Wiggins and Jordan Poole (both are in health and safety protocols) but was still able to beat the Sacramento Kings by 15 points on Monday night, as they improved to a league-best 15-2 at home. Draymond Green led the way for the Warriors, racking up 16 points, 11 rebounds, 10 assists, 2&nbsp; blocks and 2 steals. It was Green's 31st triple-double of his career. Remarkably, Golden State has won 30 of the 31 games in which Green has recorded a triple-double.&nbsp;
3. Brooklyn Nets (21-9) ⬆️ Last Week: 4
The Nets made headlines last week when they announced that All-Star guard Kyrie Irving would be welcomed back to Brooklyn. Although Irving remains unvaccinated, which will prevent him from playing in home games due to New York City's vaccine mandates, Kyrie will be able to practice with the team and play in road games (except for the matchups with the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden and the Toronto Raptors up north). The Nets roster has been decimated by COVID-19 of late, with 10 players, in addition to several staff members, in health and safety protocols.
4. Utah Jazz (21-9) ⬇️ Last Week: 3
Not only is Rudy Gobert dominating the paint per usual (averaging 15.4 points and 15.0 rebounds this season) while also leading the league in FG% (72.3%). He's also shooting a career-high 69.3% from the free-throw stripe thanks to a revamped shooting stroke. His complete skill set was on display in Monday's victory over the Hornets, as Gobert racked up 23 points and 21 rebounds while knocking down a career-high 15 free throws on 16 attempts.&nbsp;
5. Cleveland Cavaliers (19-12) ⬆️ Last Week: 8
The NBA announced Sunday that a total of five games involving nine teams would be postponed in response to COVID-19 outbreaks impacting several squads. One of the postponed contests was the Cleveland-Atlanta game scheduled for Sunday night after the Cavs, who have won six in a row, announced that five players entered protocols earlier that day. According to The Associated Press, all five Cavs &mdash; Jarrett Allen, Lamar Stevens, Dylan Windler, Denzel Valentine and RJ Nembhard &mdash; tested positive for COVID-19.
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6. Milwaukee Bucks (19-13) ⬇️ Last Week: 5
The Bucks, forced to play without both Giannis Antetokounmpo (health and safety) and Khris Middleton ((left knee hyperextension), have lost two in a row. They look to get back on track Wednesday vs. the Houston Rockets, and it sounds like there is a good chance Middleton will be cleared to return to action.&nbsp;
7. Chicago Bulls (19-10) ⬇️ Last Week: 6
The Bulls took plenty of heat for signing DeMar DeRozan to a three-year, $85 million contract last offseason, but the early returns have been exceedingly positive. Not only is DeRozan averaging a team-high 26.8 points, but he's also scoring them when Chicago needs them most. DeMar is averaging a league-best 8.0 points per game in the fourth quarter of games this season. He is shooting a scorching 54.2% from the floor, 45.5% from downtown and 91.2% from the free-throw line in the final frame.&nbsp;
8. Miami Heat (18-13) ⬆️ Last Week: 9
The shorthanded Heat have won 2 of their last 3, thanks partly to a very unexpected lift from Max Strus, who <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/qa-max-strus-on-heats-nextman-up-mentality-building-confidence" target="_blank" rel="noopener">spoke to our Spencer Davies at the beginning of last week</a>. The unheralded third-year pro exploded for a career-high 32 points to go along with 7 rebounds and 8 treys in a win over the Orlando Magic on Friday. He followed that up with 24 more points and four more triples on Sunday.
9. Memphis Grizzlies (19-13) ⬇️ Last Week: 7
The Grizzlies surprisingly posted a 10-2 record in 12 games Ja Morant missed due to a sprained left knee. The star point guard returned to action Monday night and played well, tallying 16 points, 8 assists and 6 rebounds in less than 30 minutes. However, after the game, Morant told reporters that some fans told him he should sit back out. He acknowledged that "the <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/ja-morant-hurt-by-fans-telling-him-to-sit-back-out-as-grizz-fall-to-thunder" target="_blank" rel="noopener">remarks from the fans actually hurt</a>," but Ja added, "I'm going to do what I normally do and bounce back and I'm very excited for this next game."
10. Philadelphia 76ers (16-15) ⬆️ Last Week: 11
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
🔥Joel Embiid with a HUGE GAME in the <a href="https://twitter.com/sixers?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Sixers</a> win! 41 PTS, 10 REB, 5 AST, 4 BLK, 2 STL <a href="https://t.co/r471bTMV01">pic.twitter.com/r471bTMV01</a>
&mdash; NBA (@NBA) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBA/status/1473141177650237441?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 21, 2021</a></blockquote>

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

Joel Embiid put Philadelphia on his back Monday night and carried them to a 108-103 victory over the Boston Celtics. Embiid tallied 41 points, 10 rebounds, 5 assists, 4 blocks and 2 steals. The much-needed win snapped a three-game losing streak for the Sixers.&nbsp;
11. Denver Nuggets (15-14) ⬆️ Last Week: 16
He seems to be running a distant third behind KD and Steph in the MVP race according to some fans and TV pundits, but you could make a very strong argument that Nikola Jokic is on pace to bring home another MVP award. How valuable is he to Denver's success? The Nuggets are 11-4 when Jokic scores 25 or more points this season. They are 2-6 when he scores fewer than 20 points or does not play. Over the nine games Denver has played this month, Joker is averaging 26.4 points, 13.1 rebounds and 9.2 (!!) assists a night. Yes, he's dishing out more dimes than Chris Paul or Trae Young. Crazy.&nbsp;
12. Los Angeles Clippers (16-15) ⬇️ Last Week: 10
Paul George returned to action on Monday night after missing the previous five games with a sprained right elbow. PG-13 poured in 25 points, but it wasn't enough, as the Clippers were whipped by the Spurs, 116-92. It was L.A.'s third consecutive defeat.&nbsp;
13. Los Angeles Lakers (16-15) ⬆️ Last Week: 14
Anthony Davis sprained his left knee on Friday, and we learned over the weekend that he'll likely miss four weeks of action. The Lakers are just one game over .500, and that's with LeBron James playing at a very high level and logging a ton of minutes. King James will have to carry the team on his back for the next month to keep L.A. afloat. We know the Lakers will be buyers at the deadline, so it'll be interesting to see if they try to make a move sooner rather than later.&nbsp;
14. Charlotte Hornets (16-17) ⬇️ Last Week: 12
The Hornets are in the midst of an exhausting six-game road trip and have lost 4 of their first 5 on this current West Coast excursion. Charlotte plays just once more this week (the final game of the trip is Thursday in Denver) before heading home to take on the Rockets next Monday.&nbsp;
15. Minnesota Timberwolves (15-15) ⬆️ Last Week: 20
The Wolves have won four in a row despite playing without Anthony Edwards, Josh Okogie, and Taurean Prince. And on Monday, Patrick Beverley and Jarred Vanderbilt entered the NBA's health and safety protocols as well. Unsurprisingly, Karl-Anthony Towns has been doing the heavy lifting for Minny. Kat is averaging 26.8 points, 7.8 rebounds, 4.5 assists and 1.5 triples during this four-game streak.&nbsp;
16. Washington Wizards (16-15) ⬇️ Last Week: 13
After scoring more than 30 points just twice over the first eight weeks of the season, Bradley Beal may finally be heating up. Over the three games the Wiz played last week, Beal averaged 31.0 points and 5.7 assists while shooting above 56% from the field and 42.9% from three-point territory.&nbsp;
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17. Boston Celtics (15-16) ⬇️ Last Week: 15
The C's have yet to win consecutive games this month, but it should be noted that they have played the league's most demanding schedule in December. Of the 12 games on Boston's calendar from Dec. 1 through Christmas Day, 10 of their 12 opponents have winning records. The Celtics take on the Cavs and Bucks later this week.&nbsp;
18. Dallas Mavericks (14-15) ⬇️ Last Week: 17
Kristaps Porzingis has been playing well of late, but exited Sunday's game with what the team called "right foot soreness." Luka Doncic is dealing with left ankle soreness and will miss his fifth straight game Tuesday vs. Minnesota.
19. Toronto Raptors (14-15) &harr;️ Last Week: 19
Fred VanVleet, Malachi Flynn, Scottie Barnes and Precious Achiuwa all entered the league's COVID protocols on Tuesday, bringing the total number of Raptors in health and safety protocols to seven. As of Tuesday afternoon, Wednesday's game vs. the Bulls has yet to be postponed.&nbsp;
20. Atlanta Hawks (14-15) ⬇️ Last Week: 18
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
Stay safe🙄🤦🏽&zwj;♂️🤷🏽&zwj;♂️😷 <a href="https://t.co/0cBfsg0CaW">pic.twitter.com/0cBfsg0CaW</a>
&mdash; Trae Young (@TheTraeYoung) <a href="https://twitter.com/TheTraeYoung/status/1472601570579779592?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 19, 2021</a></blockquote>

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

The Hawks haven't won consecutive games since late November and are just 3-6 over their last nine contests. Because Sunday's game vs. Cleveland was postponed, Atlanta will have four full days off between their last game (a loss last Friday to Denver) and their next matchup Wednesday vs. Orlando. However, the team announced over the weekend that Trae Young had entered health and safety protocols, which will likely sideline him through the Hawks' Christmas Day showdown with the Knicks at MSG. On Tuesday, Clint Capela and Danilo Gallinari joined Young.
21. Indiana Pacers (13-18) &harr;️ Last Week: 21
After a very slow start to the season, it appears the Pacers are finally headed in the right direction. Indy has won 4 of the last 6 games, and the two losses during this recent stretch were to Golden State and Milwaukee. The team's success has coincided with an uptick in Caris LeVert's performance. He's averaging 21.9 points and 4.3 assists over his last seven appearances.
22. New York Knicks (13-17) &harr;️ Last Week: 22
Like many teams, the Knicks have been hit hard by COVID-19. What makes New York's recent run of back luck so frustrating for fans is that the team's young players seem to be sidelined following breakout performances. After Obi Topping scored a career-high 19 vs. the Raptors, he entered health and safety protocols the next day. Two days after Quentin Grimes poured in a franchise-record 27 points in his first career start, he was sidelined. Miles "Deuce" McBride stepped in and stepped up (15 points, 9 assists, zero turnovers) last Thursday in a win over the Rockets, and was forced into healthy protocols the following afternoon.
23. Portland Trail Blazers (13-18) ⬆️ Last Week: 24
The Blazers have won two in a row after snapping a disastrous seven-game losing skid late last week. They have another winnable game Tuesday when they take on the New Orleans Pelicans on the road. Dame Lillard is averaging over 30 points a night since returning from an abdominal injury on Dec. 12.&nbsp;
24. Sacramento Kings (13-19) ⬆️ Last Week: 26 
With De'Aaron Fox (health and safety protocols) sidelined, Tyrese Haliburton has been a beast for the Kings. In the three games Fox has missed, Haliburton is averaging 24.0 points, 10.7 assists, 4.7 rebounds and 2.7 treys while shooting 54.7% from the floor, 57.1% from downtown and 85.7% from the charity stripe.&nbsp;
25. San Antonio Spurs (12-18) ⬇️ Last Week: 23
Dejounte Murray remained red-hot in Monday's win over the Clippers, tallying 24 points, 12 rebounds, 13 assists and 4 steals in 31 minutes. It was his third triple-double in five games, and his sixth this season. Murray is averaging 17.0 points, 10.4 assists, 9.6 boards and 2.2 thefts of the Spurs past five contests.
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26. Oklahoma City Thunder (10-19) ⬆️ Last Week: 27
After ripping down a career-high 18 rebounds to go along with 10 assists and 8 points against the Clippers on Saturday, Josh Giddey put up 19 points, 11 assists and 5 rebounds in Monday's victory over the Grizzlies. Those are remarkable numbers in back-to-back games for a 19-year-old rookie. Over OKC's last seven games, he's averaging more than seven dimes and seven boards.&nbsp;
27. Houston Rockets (10-20) ⬇️ Last Week: 25
The Rockets have come back down to earth following their shocking seven-game win streak, as they have lost 5 of their last 7. Jalen Green (left hamstring) has been sidelined since Nov. 24, but coach Stephen Silas said he is hopeful Green will return by Christmas or early next week. Kevin Porter Jr. (left thigh bruise) is reportedly targeting a return before the end of December as well.&nbsp;
28. New Orleans Pelicans (10-21) &harr;️ Last Week: 28
After an awful start to the season, in which they won just 3 of their first 19 contests, the Pels are slowly but surely making progress and have won 3 of their last 4. Jonas Valančiūnas has picked up his production of late, averaging 20.8 points (on 61.6% shooting) to go along with 11.4 boards over his past five contests.
29. Detroit Pistons (5-24) ⬆️ Last Week: 30
The Pistons snapped their 14-game losing streak by beating the Heat Sunday night in the Motor City. Saddiq Bey, who scored a team-high 26 points in the victory over Miami, finally broke out of a nasty shooting slump last week. Bey, who was shooting below 35% from the floor and below 30% from downtown over the Pistons' first 25 games this season, averaged 25.7 points, 6.0 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 3.0 made treys while shooting 54.3% from the floor, 42.9% from behind the arc, and 94.7% from the free-throw stripe over his last three.&nbsp;
30. Orlando Magic (6-25) ⬇️ Last Week: 29
Franz Wagner, the eighth overall pick in the 2021 draft, isn't drawing much national attention, but he has been fantastic for the Magic this month. Over Orlando's last 10 games, Wagner is averaging 18.4 points, 5.7 rebounds, 4.2 assists and 1.2 steals per contest.

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

NBA Power Rankings: Suns eclipse Warriors for the top spot

Because he agreed to a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.spotrac.com/nba/denver-nuggets/will-barton-10865/">two-year, $30 million deal</a> with the Denver Nuggets this past August, swingman Will Barton wasn&rsquo;t eligible to be traded until Dec. 15. Well, we&rsquo;re past that mark.
And as the Nuggets stand at 14-14 on the season, it&rsquo;s time to wonder what they&rsquo;ll do since Jamal Murray (ACL) and Michael Porter Jr. (back) aren&rsquo;t returning to the lineup anytime soon, and might not play at all for the rest of the season.
(At this point, we can&rsquo;t even accurately predict who&rsquo;ll suit up tomorrow, so why try, I don&rsquo;t know, March?!?)
Barring a turn of events even Nikola Jokić wouldn&rsquo;t anticipate, the Nuggets aren&rsquo;t trading him, and that makes Barton the team&rsquo;s most compelling potential trade chip between now and the Feb. 10 deadline. Aaron Gordon would be the other, but he&rsquo;s in the first of a five-year deal signed this past summer. (So is Ben Simmons, but you get the point.)
In Murray and Porter&rsquo;s absence, Barton has been the Nuggets&rsquo; secondary offensive option this season. For some of you, it&rsquo;s a potentially frightening thought given that, conceptually, he&rsquo;s intended to be the fourth&nbsp;option on this team instead. But, if there&rsquo;s anything we&rsquo;ve learned from watching sports press-on during a pandemic, few things are more invoked than &ldquo;next man up&rdquo;... for better and/or worse.&nbsp;
Barton&rsquo;s averaging 16.0 points, 5.2 rebounds, and 4.0 assists per game on 44/38/74 shooting splits; 17.3 points, 5.5 rebounds and 4.5 assists per 36 minutes, so that's significant. Add in the fact that he's their current minutes leader (33.3 per game, 798 total) &mdash; &nbsp;should the Nuggets even consider moving Barton?
Having trouble deciding which way to lean, we'll make a case for both sides of the argument.
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The Case To Keep
Beyond just Porter and Murray, injuries have decimated the Nuggets&rsquo; rotation. P.J. Dozier tore his ACL <a href="https://www.nba.com/news/nuggets-pj-dozier-suffers-torn-acl-in-left-knee" target="_blank" rel="noopener">the day before Thanksgiving</a>. JaMychal Green is currently out with an ankle injury. Jokić and Barton have both missed a few games each during the season, and that&rsquo;s before you get to the league's COVID health and safety protocols, which is the reason why Austin Rivers has been out since Dec. 1.&nbsp;
Barton&rsquo;s primarily been the team&rsquo;s second-best offensive player, and it&rsquo;s reasonable to question what good it would even do for the Nuggets to trade him. Since being traded from the Portland Trail Blazers before the 2015 trade deadline, Barton&rsquo;s been with Denver, re-signing with the Nuggets later that summer. Jokić has never been on a Nuggets roster that didn&rsquo;t include Barton, the longest-tenured team member.&nbsp;
There&rsquo;s something to be said for the chemistry they&rsquo;ve established. And, while the Nuggets&nbsp;could&nbsp;benefit from dealing Barton, what deal is out there that will make them markedly better? Without Murray and Porter, it&rsquo;s difficult to say.&nbsp;
In many respects, keeping Barton and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/finding-the-perfect-team-and-deal-for-terrence-ross" target="_blank" rel="noopener">making a move elsewhere</a> to improve the roster might go a longer way, especially if Murray and or Porter do return later this season. If so, that&rsquo;s probably the significant transaction you could make, and it would prevent this season from being a lost year so long as the Nuggets could position themselves for the playoffs. It&rsquo;s a safe and boring play, but one that keeps Denver afloat, in theory. There&rsquo;s no doubt Jokić needs more help, but upgrading Barton &mdash; who is giving him plenty &mdash; probably isn&rsquo;t the solution.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
Will Barton no-look. Nikola Jokic through contact. 1Q on <a href="https://twitter.com/NBATV?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@NBATV</a> <a href="https://t.co/FgT7hgwEtg">pic.twitter.com/FgT7hgwEtg</a>
&mdash; NBA (@NBA) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBA/status/1461521132004294658?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 19, 2021</a></blockquote>

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

The Case to Trade
Or... is it?!?
If the Nuggets were to move Barton, it would be more beneficial to combine him in a multi-player Denver trade package and upgrade the top-end of the roster instead of breaking down Barton&rsquo;s salary into multiple (and likely lesser) players.&nbsp;
Looking at Denver's <a href="https://www.basketball-reference.com/contracts/DEN.html">salary cap table</a>, Barton&rsquo;s $15.4 million alone is around the range of guys like Lauri Markkanen, Duncan Robinson, Norman Powell, Gary Trent Jr., and... hmm... Dejounte Murray? That&rsquo;s the kind of guy you&rsquo;d want to package Barton for &mdash; if the San Antonio Spurs would be willing to even pick up the phone, that is; it's a two-way street, of course. (Totally hypothetical and aiming high, but that&rsquo;s why you&rsquo;re here anyway.)
Others in that $15-20 million category include guys like Jarrett Allen, Lonzo Ball and Terry Rozier &mdash; who are just about certainly staying put with their teams &mdash; or guys like Domantas Sabonis and Julius Randle. (Jokić and Sabonis is intriguing on paper, but you&rsquo;d probably need to deal more than you want if you&rsquo;re Denver.)
Dejounte does have $15.4 million coming to him this season, the second of a four-year deal worth $64 million. And if you&rsquo;re packaging Barton with, say, Bol Bol&rsquo;s $2.2 million expiring, it works out financially, according to your favorite trade machine. Significant draft capital would have to be involved as well.
At that point, you&rsquo;re even in Jerami Grant territory, who sits at $20 million with an additional $21 million coming next season. Myles Turner also hits that $17.5 million mark both this year and next.
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Let&rsquo;s focus on Dejounte, Grant and Turner briefly.
Dejounte and Grant would likely command, along with Barton and Bol, multiple future first-round picks, which is understandable. Grant was part of Denver&rsquo;s 2019-20 playoff run before signing the $60 million deal with Detroit last sum&hellip;err, fall prior to the 2020-21 season. Since joining Detroit, he&rsquo;s a different, more offensive-minded forward than he was in Denver, and it would serve this current version of the Nuggets well, especially with injuries.
The Spurs should want to keep their Murray, but amid a career season and prevailing health, maybe they&rsquo;d like to cash out. Plus, the Nuggets maintain all the necessary picks, as outlined in the our previous <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/finding-the-perfect-team-and-deal-for-terrence-ross" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Terrence Ross trade piece</a>. And, maybe, just maybe &mdash; Bol could actually play in San Antonio.&nbsp;
Picture a Jokić lineup including Gordon, Porter and the two Murrays. That&rsquo;s a Western Conference Championship contender if&nbsp;healthy, which is a big if, but an exciting risk to potentially take.&nbsp;
In another hypothetical, take out Dejounte and insert Turner. Yes, two centers, what a crime. The Cleveland Cavaliers are playing basically three of them in their starting lineup and have been <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/from-lovable-underdog-to-unforgiving-bully-how-the-cavs-got-here" target="_blank" rel="noopener">whooping nearly everyone&rsquo;s ass this month</a>. Turner is one of the league&rsquo;s best shot-blockers, is shooting 35% from three and would be a fascinating right-hand man to Jokić for a package similar to the one we&rsquo;ve been discussing.
The Verdict
Heading into this, I&rsquo;ve been partial to keeping Barton above all other options. While I&rsquo;m still mostly there, the exercise exposing the Dejounte and Turner deals, in particular, are maybe the only ones worth breaking up Barton and Jokić for on paper. The former, more so.
There&rsquo;s always something to be said for chemistry, familiarity and all the intangibles that spring from long-established camaraderie. It&rsquo;s way too often overlooked in our transaction-crazed time.
Maybe the Nuggets could facilitate something else through other means, but for now, don&rsquo;t expect anything earth-shattering yet.

Bryan Fonseca wrestles with the idea of Will Barton's future with the Nuggets: To trade, or not to trade?

The case against, and for, the Nuggets trading Will Barton

After rolling out my<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/ranking-the-top-150-nba-players-for-fantasy-basketball-in-2021-22" target="_blank" rel="noopener"> Top-150 NBA Fantasy overall rankings</a> last week, I have broken down each position into tiers.
It is important to state that these rankings are based on a nine-category roto format (points, assists, rebounds, steals, blocks, three-pointers, field goal percentage, free-throw percentage and turnovers). Also, please note position eligibility is based on Yahoo&rsquo;s fantasy settings and, as a result, many players qualify at multiple positions.
Guards
The two biggest question marks among all guards reside in Philadelphia and Brooklyn. Ben Simmons has (awkwardly) returned to Sixers, but it is still unclear whether Big Ben plans to "merely report to the team or truly rejoin the team," <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/ben-simmons-arrives-in-philly-takes-covid19-test" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN</a>. Thus, Simmons is arguably the biggest boom-or-bust fantasy pick in the NBA this season.
Irving, on the other hand, is <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/itll-be-difficult-for-kyrie-and-the-nets-to-come-back-from-this" target="_blank" rel="noopener">persona non grata in the borough of Brooklyn</a>. Although Kyrie is eligible to participate in the Nets' away games, Brooklyn general manager Sean Marks said Tuesday that Irving will not be allowed to play or practice with the team at all until he gets vaccinated. &ldquo;He has a choice to make, and he made his choice,&rdquo; Marks <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nets-say-kyrie-irving-cant-play-or-practice-with-team-while-unvaccinated" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told reporters Tuesday</a>. &ldquo;And my job here is to make what we deem is the best choices for the organization moving ahead and as a whole.&rdquo; There is certainly still a chance Irving gets his jab and is cleared to play, but it&rsquo;s too much of a risk to roll the dice until late in the draft, in my opinion.
Tier 1: James Harden PG, SG (BKN)&nbsp; Luka Doncic PG, SG (DAL) Stephen Curry PG, SG (GSW) Damian Lillard PG (POR)
Tier 2: Bradley Beal SG, SF (WAS) Trae Young PG (ATL) Jimmy Butler SF, PF, SG (MIA) LeBron James PG, SG, SF, PF (LAL)
Tier 3: Fred VanVleet PG, SG (TOR) Shai Gilgeous-Alexander PG, SG (OKC)
Tier 4: Jrue Holiday PG, SG (MIL) Chris Paul PG (PHO) &nbsp; Zach LaVine SG, SF (CHI) Donovan Mitchell PG, SG (UTAH)
Tier 5: Khris Middleton SF, PF, SG (MIL) Jaylen Brown SG, SF (BOS) De'Aaron Fox PG (SAC)&nbsp; Devin Booker SG, SF, PG (PHO)
Tier 6: LaMelo Ball PG, SG (CHA) CJ McCollum PG, SG (POR) Russell Westbrook PG (LAL) Kevin Porter Jr. SG, SF, PG (HOU)&nbsp; Dejounte Murray PG, SG (SAS) Malcolm Brogdon PG, SG (IND)&nbsp; Terry Rozier PG, SG (CHA)
Tier 7: Mikal Bridges SG, SF (PHO) Lonzo Ball PG, SG (CHI) Gordon Hayward SG, SF (CHA) Ja Morant PG (MEM) Bogdan Bogdanovic SF, PF, SG (ATL) Darius Garland PG, SG (CLE) Anthony Edwards SG, SF (MIN) DeMar DeRozan SF, PF, SG (CHI) Kyle Lowry PG (MIA) Tyrese Haliburton PG, SG (SAC) Derrick White PG, SG (SAS)
Tier 8: Mike Conley PG (UTAH) Jalen Suggs PG, SG (ORL) Spencer Dinwiddie PG, SG (WAS) Cade Cunningham PG, SG (DET) Ben Simmons PG (PHI) Caris LeVert SG, SF (IND) D&rsquo;Angelo Russell PG, SG (MIN) Collin Sexton PG, SG (CLE) Marcus Smart PG, SG (BOS) Jordan Poole PG, SG (GSW)&nbsp;
Tier 9: Andrew Wiggins SG, SF (GSW)&nbsp; Nickeil Alexander-Walker SG, SF, PG (NOP) Devonte&rsquo; Graham PG, SG (NOP) Evan Fournier SG, SF (NYK) Buddy Hield SG, SF (SAC) Norman Powell SG, SF (POR) Kemba Walker PG (NYK) RJ Barrett SG, SF (NYK) Reggie Jackson PG, SG (LAC) Dennis Schroder PG (BOS) Jordan Clarkson PG, SG (UTAH) Joe Ingles SG, SF, PF (UTAH) Joe Harris SG, SF (BKN)&nbsp; Malik Beasley PG, SG, SF (MIN) Kyrie Irving PG, SG (BKN)&nbsp;
Tier 10:&nbsp; De&rsquo;Anthony Melton PG, SG (MEM) Jalen Green SG (HOU) Klay Thompson SG, SF (GSW) Dillon Brooks SG, SF (MEM) Matisse Thybulle SG, SF (PHI) T.J. McConnell PG, SG (IND) Derrick Rose PG, SG (NYK) Tim Hardaway Jr. SG, SF (DAL) Kelly Oubre Jr. SG, SF, PF (CHA) Eric Bledsoe PG, SG (LAC) Kevin Huerter SG, SF (ATL) Josh Giddey PG, SG, SF (OKC) Tyrese Maxey PG, SG (PHI)
Forwards
Looking for a potential sleeper at forward? I&rsquo;d suggest highlighting Pascal Siakam or Evan Mobley on your cheat sheet.&nbsp;
After a phenomenal 2019-20 campaign, in which he was named to the All-NBA Second Team, Siakam failed to live up to expectations last season; his scoring average, three-point makes and effective field goal percentage all decreased. In addition, Pascal is still working his way back from surgery on a torn labrum, which has forced his ADP (Average Draft Position) to plummet. However, earlier this week, Toronto Raptors head coach Nick Nurse said his star forward has been &ldquo;going 100%&rdquo; without contact for about 4-6 weeks, and could return later this month.&nbsp;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
Evan Mobley is going to be a special defender in the NBA. GMs believe that Mobley will be the best player from his draft class in five years 👀 (🎥 <a href="https://twitter.com/Mike_Schmitz?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Mike_Schmitz</a>) <a href="https://t.co/iPiaabn2Gu">pic.twitter.com/iPiaabn2Gu</a>
&mdash; NBA Central (@TheNBACentral) <a href="https://twitter.com/TheNBACentral/status/1446161049753882629?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 7, 2021</a></blockquote>

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Mobley&rsquo;s stock is soaring after impressive performances and extended usage for the Cleveland Cavaliers in the preseason (he&rsquo;s leading his team in playing time, logging 28.4 minutes per game). Mr. Mobley is probably worth the gamble, as his upside is emarkably enticing.&nbsp;
Tier 1: Nikola Jokic PF, C (DEN)
Tier 2: Jayson Tatum SF, PF (BOS) Giannis Antetokounmpo PF, C (MIL) Kevin Durant SF, PF (BKN) Joel Embiid PF, C (PHI) Anthony Davis PF, C (LAL)&nbsp; Bradley Beal SG, SF (WAS) Paul George SF, PF, SG (LAC)
Tier 3: Jimmy Butler SF, PF, SG (MIA) LeBron James PG, SG, SF, PF (LAL) Domantas Sabonis PF, C (IND) Bam Adebayo PF, C (MIA) Michael Porter Jr. SF, PF (DEN Zach LaVine SG, SF (CHI)
Tier 4: Khris Middleton SF, PF, SG (MIL) Jaylen Brown SG, SF (BOS) Julius Randle PF, C (NYK) Devin Booker SG, SF, PG (PHO) Myles Turner PF, C (IND) OG Anunoby SF, PF (TOR)&nbsp; Tobias Harris SF, PF (PHI)
Tier 5: Richaun Holmes PF, C (SAC) Brandon Ingram SF, PF (NOP) Christian Wood PF, C (HOU) Kristaps Porzingis PF, C (DAL) John Collins PF, C (ATL) Kevin Porter Jr. SG, SF, PG (HOU)&nbsp; Zion Williamson PF (NOP)
Tier 6: Pascal Siakam PF, C (TOR) Mikal Bridges SG, SF (PHO) Jaren Jackson Jr. PF, C (MEM) Chris Boucher PF, C (TOR) Gordon Hayward SG, SF (CHA) Bogdan Bogdanovic SF, PF, SG (ATL) Anthony Edwards SG, SF (MIN) DeMar DeRozan SF, PF, SG (CHI) Robert Williams III C, PF (BOS)
Tier 7: Draymond Green PF, C (GSW) Jerami Grant SF, PF (DET) Caris LeVert SG, SF (IND) Robert Covington PF, C, SF (POR) Miles Bridges SF, PF (CHA) Kelly Olynyk PF, C (DET) Buddy Hield SG, SF (SAC)&nbsp; Isaiah Stewart PF, C (DET) Andrew Wiggins SG, SF (GSW)&nbsp;
Tier 8: Nickeil Alexander-Walker SG, SF, PG (NOP) Evan Fournier SG, SF (NYK) P.J. Washington PF, C (CHA) Norman Powell SG, SF (POR) Kyle Anderson SF, PF (MEM) Jonathan Isaac SF, PF (ORL) Evan Mobley C, PF (CLE) Larry Nance Jr. PF, C (POR) Harrison Barnes SF, PF (SAC) Mason Plumlee PF, C (CHA) Bobby Portis Jr. PF, C (MIL) De&rsquo;Andre Hunter SF, PF (ATL) Daniel Gafford C, PF (WAS)
Tier 9: Thaddeus Young PF, C, SF (SAS) Joe Ingles SG, SF, PF (UTAH) Lauri Markkanen PF, C (CLE) Joe Harris SG, SF (BKN)&nbsp; Keldon Johnson SF, PF (SAS) Malik Beasley PG, SG, SF (MIN) T.J. Warren SF, PF (IND) Jae'Sean Tate SF, PF (HOU) Daniel Theis PF, C (HOU) Brandon Clarke PF, C (MEM) Saddiq Bey SF (DET)\ Klay Thompson SG, SF (GSW) Derrick Favors C, PF (OKC) Al Horford PF, C (BOS)
Tier 10: Kyle Kuzma SF, PF (WAS) Matisse Thybulle SG, SF (PHI) Nicolas Batum SF, PF, SG (LAC) Derrick Rose PG, SG (NYK) Marcus Morris Sr. PF, C, SF (LAC) Dillon Brooks SG, SF (MEM) Alperen Sengun PF, C (HOU) Tim Hardaway Jr. SG, SF (DAL) Montrezl Harrell PF, C (WAS) Kelly Oubre Jr. SG, SF, PF (CHA) Nerlens Noel PF, C (NYK)&nbsp; Isaiah Roby C, PF (OKC) Kevin Huerter SG, SF (ATL) Khem Birch PF, C (TOR) Aaron Gordon SF, PF (DEN)
Centers
Centers take on added importance in fantasy hoops due to the scarcity. That&rsquo;s part of the reason why Jokic is viewed as the near-unanimous top overall selection in drafts this year.&nbsp;
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Last season, Jokic authored a season for the ages. Not only did he score a career-high 26.4 points and rip down 10.8 rebounds per game, but he also dished out an average of 8.3 dimes each night, joining Russell Westbrook and Oscar Robertson as the only players in NBA history to average at least 25 points, 10 boards and 8 assists over a season. Incredibly, Jokic tallied a total of 599 assists in 2020-21, which was the third-most in the entire league. Wilt Chamberlain, who led the NBA with 8.6 APG in 1967-68, is the only center to post a higher assist-average over a full season. As a fantasy cherry on top, the Joker proved incredibly durable, appearing in every game last season.
Tier 1: Nikola Jokic PF, C (DEN)
Tier 2: Karl-Anthony Towns C (MIN)
Tier 3: Giannis Antetokounmpo PF, C&nbsp; Joel Embiid PF, C (PHI) Anthony Davis PF, C (LAL)
Tier 4: Nikola Vucevic C (CHI) Domantas Sabonis PF, C (IND) Bam Adebayo PF, C (MIA) Rudy Gobert C (UTAH)
Tier 5: Myles Turner PF, C (IND) Clint Capela C (ATL) Julius Randle PF, C (NYK) Richaun Holmes PF, C (SAC) Deandre Ayton C (PHO) Christian Wood PF, C (HOU)&nbsp; Kristaps Porzingis PF, C (DAL) John Collins PF, C (ATL)
Tier 6: Jaren Jackson Jr. PF, C (MEM) Jusuf Nurkic C (POR) Pascal Siakam PF, C (TOR) Chris Boucher PF, C (TOR)&nbsp; Robert Williams III C, PF (BOS) Jonas Valanciunas C (NOP) Draymond Green PF, C (GSW) Robert Covington PF, C, SF (POR) Jarrett Allen C (CLE) Kelly Olynyk PF, C (DET) Isaiah Stewart PF, C (DET)
Tier 7: P.J. Washington PF, C (CHA) Evan Mobley C, PF (CLE) Mitchell Robinson C (NYK) Larry Nance Jr. PF, C (POR) Jakob Poeltl C (SAS) Wendell Carter Jr. C (ORL) Brook Lopez C (MIL) Mason Plumlee PF, C (CHA) Bobby Portis Jr. PF, C (MIL)
Tier 8: Daniel Gafford C, PF (WAS) Thaddeus Young PF, C, SF (SAS) Lauri Markkanen PF, C (CLE) Daniel Theis PF, C (HOU) Brandon Clarke PF, C (MEM) Ivica Zubac C (LAC) Derrick Favors C, PF (OKC) Al Horford PF, C (BOS)
Tier 9: Marcus Morris Sr. PF, C, SF (LAC) Mo Bamba C (ORL) Montrezl Harrell PF, C (WAS) Thomas Bryant C (WAS) Nerlens Noel PF, C (NYK)&nbsp; Alperen Sengun PF, C (HOU)&nbsp;
Tier 10: Khem Birch PF, C (TOR) Isaiah Roby C, PF (OKC) Andre Drummond C (PHI)&nbsp; Steven Adams C (MEM) Serge Ibaka PF, C (LAC)&nbsp; James Wiseman C (GSW) Naz Reid C (MIN) Marvin Bagley III PF, C (SAC) LaMarcus Aldridge PF, C (BKN) Nicolas Claxton PF, C (BKN) Kevin Love PF, C (CLE) Hassan Whiteside PF, C (UTAH)

Tommy Beer divides the top NBA fantasy guards, forwards and centers into 10 tiers each based on their value.

2021-22 NBA Fantasy Basketball Rankings: 10 tiers for each position

Kyrie Irving has never been afraid of taking the road less traveled.
The only problem, in this instance, is that nobody knows where it leads.
With a few strokes of a keyboard, Sean Marks and his Brooklyn Nets took a <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nets-say-kyrie-irving-cant-play-or-practice-with-team-while-unvaccinated" target="_blank" rel="noopener">hard-line stance</a> as it relates to the point guard. In the quest for a championship, Marks declared that Brooklyn would not permit any of its players to serve in a part-time capacity &mdash; superstars be damned.
In other words, with respect to Irving, the messaging was clear: get vaccinated, or else.
Maybe betrayed is too strong of a word, but there&rsquo;s no way that Kyrie could have received the organization&rsquo;s decision positively.
Perhaps it&rsquo;s ironic that Brooklyn would decide that it would rather have none of Irving than half. Of Brooklyn&rsquo;s Big Three, he was the one whose joining the franchise was fairly and accurately declared a homecoming.
Of the three, it is Irving who was first to take his talents to Brooklyn, and it was he who was first to don the Nets' signature black and white threads.
Now, he is another first &mdash; the first to be sent away.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
Sean Marks says the decision on Kyrie Irving was made by himself and Joe Tsai: <a href="https://t.co/vHvQ2UjF6B">pic.twitter.com/vHvQ2UjF6B</a>
&mdash; Nets Videos (@SNYNets) <a href="https://twitter.com/SNYNets/status/1447956798598680576?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 12, 2021</a></blockquote>

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When Irving signed with the Nets in 2019, nobody could&rsquo;ve ever predicted such an outcome. It was as unforeseen as it is unfortunate, especially if you&rsquo;re Kyrie or someone who&rsquo;s sympathetic to his cause.
Behind closed doors and away from the cameras and the microphones, scores of NBA players have expressed reluctance to get vaccinated against COVID-19. But over the course of the summer, it became clear that in order to fully participate and have some semblance of normalcy, the league&rsquo;s players had a simple choice to make.
And for players who call New York City, Los Angeles and San Francisco home, the stakes were even higher: full participation with their teams depended on their willingness to get jabbed.&nbsp;
In the end, for the players as a whole, the want to be full-time members of their teams and to enjoy their lives as competitors in the NBA won out. As a class, the league&rsquo;s players understand that their careers are relatively short, and that their window to earn is, as well. Their future generations and familial legacies can be enhanced with the stroke of a pen, and when painted into a corner, invariably, they choose to perform. The decision to go into the Orlando Bubble and continue competition after the murder of George Floyd told us that.
All things considered, the league&rsquo;s players tend to fall in line.
...Only not this time.
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It&rsquo;s become quite cliche these days for head coaches and team leaders to refer to their teammates and one another as "brothers" or as "family," but there&rsquo;s some merit in those declarations. At least during the season, most players spend more time with their teammates than they do with their children. They&rsquo;re married to their coaching staff just as they are married to their spouses.
So whether they say it publicly or not, members of the Nets organization probably look at Irving&rsquo;s refusal to get vaccinated as a stubborn refusal in which he&rsquo;s choosing his personal principles over the team&rsquo;s collective goal. And if you disagree with that, ask yourself why more 95% of the league&rsquo;s players are vaccinated. Ask yourself why Irving is the only member of either New York team who isn&rsquo;t.
And while there are other players around the league who have opted against the vaccination, none of them are on a team that enters the season as a title favorite; none face the possibility of missing 43 of their team&rsquo;s 82 regular season games.
Kyrie made a choice to stand his ground.&nbsp;
Marks had no choice but to do the same.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
Sean Marks on the future of Kyrie Irving as a Net: "The hope is that we have Kyrie back. We'll welcome him back with open arms." <a href="https://t.co/MivSnk9CmG">pic.twitter.com/MivSnk9CmG</a>
&mdash; Nets Videos (@SNYNets) <a href="https://twitter.com/SNYNets/status/1447958806466531337?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 12, 2021</a></blockquote>

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A descendent of Gregg Popovich&rsquo;s tree, Marks saw firsthand the kind of culture that can be built by competent organizational leadership. True success in the NBA begins with standards and equitable administration of a team&rsquo;s ideals. Ask Erik Spoelstra, Tom Thibodeau and the great Popovich, and they themselves will tell you the same.
So when faced with the prospect of allowing Irving&rsquo;s refusal to get vaccinated hover over his team, Marks did what any leader in his position would have &mdash; he made a tough choice.
As a basketball player and personality, Irving is as large as they come. Whether he was available or not would impact not only head coach Steve Nash&rsquo;s game planning, but the team&rsquo;s rotations. Every player, including both Kevin Durant and James Harden, would have had to have two separate instructional sets, catering for life both with and without Irving.
Those situations obviously happen in pro sports, but unlike other scenarios, whether Marks and Nash would subject their team to that reality was completely within their control.
So in the end, it&rsquo;s easy to understand why Marks told Irving to stay away, just as it&rsquo;s easy to understand how Kyrie could be put off.
As a player, Nash gave up sugar. Amar&rsquo;e Stoudemire took wine baths. Chris Paul decided to go vegan. For the most part, players view their bodies as not only their temples, but their empires. They spend their pre-professional days doing all they can to develop and take care of their bodies. And although each team employs its own set of medical professionals to support their teams, most players maintain personal relationships with their own set of medical and training professionals whom they trust.
Being told that they must receive a vaccination that a fair amount of the public doesn&rsquo;t fully trust is a foreign concept to the league&rsquo;s players. Irving, in particular, has previously been outspoken in his desire to be, in his eyes, treated more like a person and less like an asset.&nbsp;
From his vantage point, it&rsquo;s not that difficult to understand why he feels that his right to choose should be absolute.
It&rsquo;s also not that difficult to see how, in asking him to stay away, Irving feels like &mdash; despite what is said in the statement released by the Nets &mdash; he&rsquo;s not being supported by the franchise he chose to call his own before either Durant or Harden had found their way to Barclays.&nbsp;
Declaring itself to &ldquo;support&rdquo; Irving while also not permitting him to play or practice with his team seems a bit hollow. By their deeds, the Nets are forcing Kyrie&rsquo;s hand in an attempt to get him to take the vaccine. The team is looking out for its best interests, while Kyrie is doing the same for his. Unfortunately, in this instance, the interests of the parties just aren&rsquo;t aligned.
Like everything else in life, there are two sides to the story. Two ways to look at the situation.
Perhaps it&rsquo;s fitting. Long a contrarian and one who isn&rsquo;t afraid of solitude on an island, Irving has fully embraced the path of most resistance.
Two sides to the story. Two outcomes, two possibilities.&nbsp;
As both a man and a competitor, Kyrie Irving has never avoided the fork. He&rsquo;s long made his choice to opt for the road less traveled.
In this case, though &mdash; despite their common dreams and desire &mdash; it&rsquo;s hard to see it leading back to Brooklyn.

The Nets will not permit Kyrie Irving to play or practice with the team unless he gets vaccinated. So where do the sides go from here?

It’ll be difficult for Kyrie and the Nets to come back from this

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) &mdash; No team in the NBA has a longer active streak of postseason appearances than the Portland Trail Blazers, who have gotten there in each of the last eight seasons.
That wasn&rsquo;t enough to save Terry Stotts, and Portland will have a new coach next season.
The Trail Blazers and Stotts parted ways Friday, ending a nine-year run that saw the team good enough to get to the playoffs &mdash; but not good enough to get past the first round in four of the last five seasons.
&ldquo;I have the utmost respect for Terry and what he has accomplished these past nine seasons,&rdquo; Blazers President Neil Olshey said. &ldquo;This was a difficult decision on both a personal and professional level but it&rsquo;s in the best interest of the franchise to move in another direction.
&ldquo;Terry will always hold a special place in the Trail Blazer family and the Portland community. We relied on the integrity, professionalism and consistency he brought to the job every day and we wish he and Jan nothing but the best.&rdquo;
It was being termed as a mutual decision. The move was made one day after Portland&rsquo;s season ended with a six-game, first-round ouster at the hands of the Denver Nuggets, a defeat that had Blazers guard Damian Lillard taking to social media after the game to indicate his frustration.
&ldquo;Just like at the end of every year, we are all evaluated,&rdquo; Stotts said after the season finale against Denver and as speculation about his status immediately started to grow. &ldquo;We will see what happens.&rdquo;
It didn't take long to get an answer.
Stotts, 63, was the NBA's fourth longest-tenured coach in his current job behind only San Antonio's Gregg Popovich, Miami's Erik Spoelstra and Dallas' Rick Carlisle. He went 402-318 in his nine regular seasons in Portland, with the eight playoff berths, and led the team to the Western Conference finals in 2019 &mdash; where the Blazers were swept by Golden State.
Well-liked throughout the league, Stotts was an assistant under Carlisle with the Mavericks for four years before taking over the Blazers. One of his most memorable seasons in Portland came in 2015-16, when the Blazers overachieved and went to the conference semifinals &mdash; despite losing starters LaMarcus Aldridge, Nic Batum, Wesley Matthews and Robin Lopez in the offseason.
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Rumors about Stotts' future with the Blazers began swirling last month, but the team's elimination by Denver sealed his fate. He had one year left on his contract in Portland.
Among the possible candidates that Portland may consider: Los Angeles Lakers assistant (and former Brooklyn and Milwaukee head coach) Jason Kidd, and ESPN analyst Jeff Van Gundy &mdash; whose last NBA coaching gig was with Houston in 2007.
&ldquo;He should (be at) the top of everybody&rsquo;s list who has an opening in the NBA," Lakers coach Frank Vogel said of Kidd earlier Friday, hours before Stotts' fate became known.
The new coach, whoever it is, will certainly be lured by the chance to work with one of the game's dynamic scorers in Lillard.
But Lillard fueled speculation about his own future in Portland following the elimination loss to the Nuggets. He posted a photo of himself in street clothes at the Moda Center. The caption that he added quoted the late rapper and activist Nipsey Hussle.
&ldquo;How long should I stay dedicated?&rdquo; he wrote. &ldquo;How long til opportunity meet preparation?&rdquo;
If he stays, Lillard will no doubt have input into who the Blazers choose to be their new coach.
Portland finished the regular season 42-30 and earned the sixth seed in the Western Conference. The team was riding momentum, having won 10 of its final 12 regular-season games.
The Blazers were also healthy, with both big man Jusuf Nurkic and guard CJ McCollum back from extended absences because of injuries.
But once again, the playoff trip was brief.
Lillard averaged a league-best 34.3 points and 10.2 assists in the playoffs, after averaging 28.8 points and 7.5 assists during the regular season.
He had 55 points, including a playoff record 12 3-pointers and 10 assists in Game 5 against the Nuggets, but Portland still lost, 147-140 in double overtime.
&ldquo;We've got to keep fighting, keep working and keep coming back to battle,&rdquo; Lillard said. "Regardless of how it ended, we are always going to have our heads held high, have class. They won, congratulations to them, but it&rsquo;s back to the drawing board to us."
A four-time All-Star, Lillard just wrapped up his ninth NBA season. The closest he's come to a title was that quick trip to the West finals in 2019.
&ldquo;We didn&rsquo;t win a championship, so obviously where we are now isn&rsquo;t good enough,&rdquo; he said.
Nurkic, who averaged 11.5 points and nine rebounds but missed time with a fractured right wrist, has one year left on his contract &mdash; but only $4 million is guaranteed. He didn't sound committed to returning next season, explaining it had to be the &ldquo;right situation.&rdquo;
But when asked what the right situation would be, Nurkic replied: &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t know. But it&rsquo;s not this.&rdquo;
McCollum, Lillard's backcourt teammate, averaged 21.3 points this season, his best since joining the league in 2013. But he missed games with a fractured foot.
Ten-time All-Star Carmelo Anthony, who filled a key role off the bench for Portland this season, will be an unrestricted free agent, along with Enes Kanter. Norman Powell has a player option for next season.
Stotts said he was proud of what Portland was able to accomplish, given the injuries and disruptions caused by the coronavirus.
&ldquo;What we did with CJ and Nurk missing games, I was proud of that,&rdquo; Stotts said. &ldquo;At the end of the season, to do what we did was pretty impressive."
In the end, it just wasn't impressive enough.
___
AP Basketball Writer Tim Reynolds in Miami contributed to this report.
___
More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

The Portland Trail Blazers and Terry Stotts parted ways on Friday, ending a nine-year run.

Neil Olshey discusses 'difficult decision' to part ways with Terry Stotts

It had been more than 14 months since I had last entered an NBA arena when I approached Madison Square Garden's media entrance on the corner of 33rd Street and 8th Avenue on Sunday afternoon.&nbsp;
The last year has felt like a blur, tinged with excessive amounts of anxiety and grief. New York emerged as the United States-based epicenter of a devastating global pandemic that has claimed more than <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/world/coronavirus-maps.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">3.4 million human lives</a>. Yet, with vaccination rates rising and COVID-19 case counts plummeting, Manhattan has been starting to feel a bit more "normal."
And Sunday almost felt like a flashback to a happier, less stressful time, with the sun shining brightly down on the streets outside MSG that were teeming with unmasked smiling faces above blue and orange jerseys.
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It had been more than eight years since the New York Knicks had last participated in a playoff game when they stepped onto the floor Sunday night for their matchup with the Atlanta Hawks. Over the 2,927 days that separated postseason appearances, the Knickerbockers lost more games than any other team in the NBA. The first 20 years of the 21st century provided depressingly few opportunities for Knick fans to get genuinely excited about the present or the future of their favorite team. Between <a href="https://twitter.com/TommyBeer/status/1396479786197950469?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noopener">awful trades</a> and embarrassing <a href="https://twitter.com/TommyBeer/status/1396479791881203725?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noopener">off-court controversies</a>, it became increasingly difficult for New Yorkers to remain loyal to their hometown team. However, so many of them did.&nbsp;
For those reasons alone, this 2020-21 Knicks squad has engendered an incredible amount of love and affection from the Knicks fan base.&nbsp;
More than that, this particular team will forever hold a special place in the hearts of many fans due to everything going on outside the comfy confines of the court as the season played out. The season started in December, which coincided with a dizzying spike in coronavirus cases nationwide. By January, the COVID-19 crisis in the U.S. had reached a terrifying peak, with the country averaging more than 250,000 new infections and nearly 4,000 COVID-related deaths per day. Sports, which have long been considered a much-needed distraction from the weighty worries of the "real world," have been crucial to the mental health of so many of us during the dark days of the pandemic. Due to a tightly-packed schedule, Knicks fans have had the opportunity to tune into a game seemingly every other night for the past five months.&nbsp;
In seasons past, Knicks games had often been rendered meaningless by Christmas, as the team sank to the bottom of the standings, year after year. Shockingly, the team didn't follow the all-too-familiar script in 2020-21. Although multiple outlets projected New York to finish with one of the league's worst records, and Las Vegas set the Knicks over/under win total at 22, the 'Bockers got off to a solid start. Still, even the most optimistic fans assumed the team would come crashing back down to earth, sooner or later. But a funny thing happened on the way to the lottery: the Knicks kept winning.&nbsp;
And it felt as if New York's loving embrace of this team was about more than just its surprising success. It might have had something to do with parents, worried about COVID outbreaks at their kids' schools, cherishing the opportunity to get lost in the triviality of a basketball game for a couple of hours. Or New Yorkers choosing to worry about who Tom Thibodeau should start at point guard instead of stressing about the sputtering economy.&nbsp;
If there was ever a season Knicks fans needed something to be hopeful about, something to believe in, it was this season.&nbsp;
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It had been more than two decades since the Garden rocked and swayed and shook the way it did Sunday night during Game 1.&nbsp;
My first year covering the Knicks professionally was 2005. Over the past 15 years, I've sat through plenty of games when the loudest the building ever got was when the Knicks City Dancers would fire T-shirts into the crowd. With many fans unable to afford tickets and the team effectively eliminated from playoff contention by Thanksgiving, there wouldn't be a passionate "DE-FENSE" chant inside MSG for months at a time. If the Golden State Warriors or Cleveland Cavaliers were in town, the loudest cheers were often reserved for Steph Curry or LeBron James.&nbsp;
Yet, the cacophony of sound heard inside Madison Square Garden during Game 1 was reminiscent of an earlier era, when giants such as Patrick Ewing, Charles Oakley and Anthony Mason roamed the paint inside the World's Most Famous Arena.&nbsp;
The electricity and energy inside the building was evident from the very start of the evening. As soon as the gates opened and patrons began flooding in, cheering and chanting began to emanate from all corners of the arena.&nbsp;
By the time the Knicks players sprinted out onto the floor for pre-game warmups, the clamor had reached a fever pitch.&nbsp;
I remember Jeff Van Gundy once telling me that one of his most enduring memories from his time spent in New York was how loud the Garden got some 30 minutes before games even tipped off during those epic playoff runs in the 1990s. I thought about JVG's observation as I looked around MSG Sunday night with the guttural shouts from 15,000 unleashed fans washing over everyone.&nbsp;
The Knicks got off to a slow start in Game 1, possibly jolted and jittery by the deafening crowd noise. It was something they hadn't experienced this season, as local municipalities had set a cap on the number of people allowed to attend sporting events held inside. Nonetheless, everyone knew the Knicks were going to make a run. The partisan supporters packed inside MSG would make sure of it.
Surprisingly, it was a pair of rookies that sparked the charge. With New York down seven points in the middle of the second quarter, Immanuel Quickley dropped in a floater. A minute later, Obi Toppin drained a three-pointer from the top of the key. When IQ sank a three-pointer from 30 feet on the following possession, the Garden erupted.&nbsp;
Born and raised on Long Island, I made many a pilgrimage to MSG far before I started covering the team. On special occasions throughout the '90s, my dad and I would hop on the LIRR and head into the city. For those who weren't fortunate enough to experience it, it's hard to describe how loud the Garden got during crucial playoff games in those days. The decibel level inside the Garden on Sunday night was likely the closest approximation.&nbsp;
Midway through the third quarter of Game 1, RJ Barrett broke free on a fast break and viciously dunked over Bogdan Bogdanovic. Those of us seated on the Chase Bridge felt it wobble and quake in the aftermath of that Barrett bucket.&nbsp;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
RJ BARRETT JUST DID 𝐓𝐇𝐀𝐓 <a href="https://t.co/4LINVWk7nb">pic.twitter.com/4LINVWk7nb</a>
&mdash; NEW YORK KNICKS (@nyknicks) <a href="https://twitter.com/nyknicks/status/1396623627961917441?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 24, 2021</a></blockquote>

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Speaking with reporters on Monday, Obi Toppin said the players "<a href="https://twitter.com/YaronWeitzman/status/1396908224129945602?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noopener">felt the floor shaking</a>" Sunday night. Barrett described the atmosphere inside MSG as "amazing," adding it was "better than [he] could ever imagine."&nbsp;
A buddy of mine, seated in Section 109, texted me a screencap after the game; it showed that the health app on his phone had detected increased heart rate and physical activity from 7 to 9 p.m., signifying he had been exercising strenuously. My friend, a season ticket-holder for more than a decade, also noted that there was a feeling of camaraderie and togetherness among those in attendance Sunday night that he hadn't experienced before.&nbsp;
The Knicks allowed 15,047 fans into MSG for Game 1, only 75% of the building's typical capacity of 19,812. However, it's important to note that most of those 15,000 fans were forced to spend the better part of the past 15 months inside, socially isolated. I don't think it's a stretch to speculate that it contributed to the heightened intensity inside MSG. For many fans, it was the first time they had the opportunity to gather and let loose in a community setting; the first time in a long time they had the green light to scream and cheer and high-five strangers.&nbsp;
The Knicks ended up losing the game, of course, with <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/breakingnews/trae-young-hits-runner-with-less-than-a-second-left-to-push-atlanta-hawks-past-new-york-knicks-nba-playoffs" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Trae Young turning raucous applause into eerie silence late in the fourth quarter</a>.&nbsp;
Yet, afterward, outside the Garden, there was still a palpable sense of excitement and exhilaration among many of the fans exiting the arena and heading out into the NYC night. And with Game 2 scheduled for Wednesday, it's safe to assume Knicks fans, whether they plan to watch the game inside the Garden or from their couch, will relish the opportunity to be pleasantly distracted once again.

Tommy Beer describes Sunday night's atmosphere inside Madison Square Garden for Game 1 and how it lifted the spirits of New York.