Bengals

In a postseason filled with emotion, grit, and resolve, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has stood at the center of it all &ndash; he&rsquo;s calm, composed, and unrelenting. Now, two games into his first NBA Finals appearance, the Oklahoma City Thunder&rsquo;s All-NBA superstar is putting the finishing touches on a masterpiece of a season, one that could go down as one of the greatest individual campaigns in league history.
With 34 points in Game 2 of the 2025 NBA Finals, following up a 38-point performance in the series opener, Gilgeous-Alexander has the Thunder in a great position to win a title, and he has cemented his place in rarified air. His 72 combined points are the most ever in a player&rsquo;s first two NBA Finals games, eclipsing a mark previously associated with some of the game&rsquo;s all-time greats.
And he&rsquo;s not done just yet.
<h3>Elite company, historic pace</h3>
In the postseason, every possession carries weight, and every moment is magnified. But for Gilgeous-Alexander, these moments don&rsquo;t appear to faze him. He&rsquo;s not just rising to the occasion &ndash; he&rsquo;s controlling it.
Game 2's 34-point outing marked his ninth consecutive home playoff game with 30 points or more, joining only Wilt Chamberlain in NBA history to accomplish that feat. In doing so, he also notched his 11th playoff game with at least 30 points and five assists, a stat line that only LeBron James and Michael Jordan have reached in multiple postseason runs.
LeBron did it in three separate years. MJ did it in two. Shai&rsquo;s doing it this year.
His consistent brilliance has propelled him to the top of the 2025 playoff scoring leaderboard. With 516 total points, he recently passed Jalen Brunson (514) for the most points scored in this year&rsquo;s postseason. He&rsquo;s doing it efficiently, artistically &ndash; and with the kind of poise that makes it clear: this is his moment.
<h3>The MVP is carrying like an MVP</h3>
The Thunder have been one of the NBA&rsquo;s most compelling stories all year &ndash; a young, unselfish team loaded with talent, built through the draft, and molded into a contender. But in the crucible of the playoffs, every great team needs that singular force &ndash; that player who can tilt the court, break a defense, and change the game&rsquo;s emotional temperature.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is that force for Oklahoma City.
After leading the league in scoring during the regular season and earning All-NBA First Team honors, he was named the 2025 NBA MVP &mdash; a recognition of his two-way dominance and night-to-night consistency. And now, as the lights burn brighter, he&rsquo;s gone from award-winner to tone-setter.
He&rsquo;s playing with a purpose that goes beyond personal accolades. He&rsquo;s the heartbeat of a team chasing history, and he&rsquo;s doing it in the most demanding stage of all.
What&rsquo;s perhaps most impressive is how SGA has handled each phase of the journey with equal parts humility and hunger. His playoff run has been defined not just by numbers, but by moments &ndash; dagger shots, crafty finishes, fourth-quarter takeovers, and calm in chaos. He hasn't just been great &ndash; he's been inevitable.
<h3>A season for the ages</h3>
Gilgeous-Alexander&rsquo;s latest performance gave him over 3,000 total points on the season &ndash; combining regular-season and playoff scoring &ndash; another milestone in a campaign already overflowing with them.
To put this into perspective: he could complete the kind of six-for-six checklist that only a handful of players in NBA history have even dreamed of &ndash; league scoring champion, regular-season MVP, All-NBA First Team, Western Conference Finals MVP, NBA champion, and Finals MVP &ndash; all in a single season.
Each of those achievements alone is significant. Together, they form a portrait of a transcendent season &ndash; the kind of year that defines legacies and reshapes the league&rsquo;s power structure.
The Thunder&rsquo;s rise from rebuilding team to Finals frontrunner has been sudden to some, but internally, it&rsquo;s been calculated and patient. Still, without Gilgeous-Alexander, their timeline likely looks different. He&rsquo;s the player who made their future arrive early &ndash; and now, he might be the one who delivers their first title since the franchise moved to Oklahoma City.
<h3>Beyond the numbers</h3>
What sets Gilgeous-Alexander apart, especially in this Finals run, is not just what he&rsquo;s doing &ndash; it&rsquo;s how he&rsquo;s doing it.
His game is quiet but surgical. He doesn&rsquo;t overpower defenders with brute strength or dazzle with deep threes. Instead, he picks his spots, manipulates angles, and imposes his rhythm. There&rsquo;s a jazz-like quality to his game &ndash; unpredictable, fluid, yet meticulously controlled.
In clutch time, he&rsquo;s been near automatic. Whether it&rsquo;s using his footwork to dance into mid-range jumpers or drawing contact for crucial free throws, SGA has been the ultimate closer for a Thunder team that continues to rise to every challenge.
It&rsquo;s that unselfishness, combined with his relentless work ethic and stoic demeanor, that has endeared him to teammates and fans alike. There&rsquo;s an old soul quality to SGA&rsquo;s approach &ndash; a maturity that belies his age and a leadership style rooted in accountability, not noise.
<h3>The final step</h3>
Now just three wins away from basketball immortality, Gilgeous-Alexander and the Thunder find themselves on the brink of a championship. But the job&rsquo;s not finished.
The NBA Finals will shift to the opposing city for Games 3 and 4, where the pressure will mount, the crowd will roar louder, and the resistance will tighten. The margins will be razor-thin. But if this postseason has shown anything, it&rsquo;s that Gilgeous-Alexander has the heart, the game, and the will to push through.
This run has already carved his name into the record books. What comes next could define the start of SGA and the Thunder&rsquo;s era.
And for a Thunder team guided by youth and galvanized by Shai&rsquo;s leadership, the future isn&rsquo;t just bright &mdash; it&rsquo;s arriving right now.

SGA is delivering one of the greatest playoff runs in NBA history, leading the Thunder while making MVP-level history along the way.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander delivers MVP-level heroics in first NBA Finals trip

The 2024 NBA Free Agency underway. Here's everything you need to know about the makings and the moves around the NBA.

2024 NBA Free Agency Tracker: All the signings and deals in the offseason

Blake Stern previews the NBA's Central Division, breaking down each team's projected lineup and burning question entering the year.

NBA Central Division Preview: Burning questions, rotation projections

Most NBA teams have a young core of some sort, but some are better than others.
Each year, teams try to add to their young nucleus through the draft. The 2023 NBA Draft just featured the most highly-anticipated prospect since LeBron James in Victor Wembanyama, plus a number of other talented rookies like Scoot Henderson, Brandon Miller and the Thompson twins.
Entering the 2023-24 season, which team has the best young core? Today, we'll rank the five best cores from around the league. The criteria is simple: players must be age-25 or younger to be considered.
5. Orlando Magic&nbsp;
The Magic landed young star Paolo Banchero with the No. 1 overall pick last season, pairing him with 2021 lottery pick Franz Wagner to form a nice one-two punch. Cole Anthony had high expectations entering the league, but he hasn't quite become the player that fans wanted him to be. One player who has exceeded expectations is Wendell Carter Jr. After a shaky start to his career with the Chicago Bulls, Carter has found his place on the Magic and is considered one of the better young starting centers in the NBA. He isn't the only player who turned his career around after landing in Orlando, as Markelle Fultz is playing his best basketball and has a nice redemption story of his own. Other young players who have an opportunity to make an impact going forward are Orlando's recent lottery picks Anthony Black and Jett Howard, both of whom are 19 years old. Orlando has consistently been one of the worst teams in the league for several years now and while their rebuilding roster is solid, it isn&rsquo;t quite as good or enticing as some of the other teams on our list.
Notable Players: Paolo Banchero (20), Franz Wagner (23), Wendell Carter Jr. (24), Anthony Black (19), Jett Howard (19), Markelle Fultz (25), Cole Anthony (23), Jalen Suggs (21), Jonathan Isaac (25), Caleb Houstan (20)
4. New Orleans Pelicans
The Pelicans are the only young core on this list with postseason experience, as they made the playoffs in 2021-22 and made the play-in tournament last season. Their young core is largely carried by four players: Brandon Ingram, Zion Williamson, Trey Murphy III and Herb Jones. Ingram has become a terrific scorer, and he's coming off a season in which he averaged career-highs in points (24.7) and assists (5.8). While Williamson has been one of the best players in the NBA when healthy, we haven&rsquo;t seen him on the court very much since he was drafted in 2019. Murphy is a terrific shooter and Jones has had a very solid start to his career as well, making a name for himself as a lockdown perimeter defender. New Orleans has a few other young players with potential including Dyson Daniels, Jordan Hawkins and Kira Lewis Jr., but they have yet to prove themselves. Ingram, Williamson, Murphy and Jones are the main reason why the Pelicans are ranked here.
Notable Players: Brandon Ingram (25), Zion Williamson (23), Trey Murphy III (23), Herb Jones (24), Dyson Daniels (20), Jordan Hawkins (21), Kira Lewis Jr. (22)
3. Houston Rockets
The Rockets have one of the more underrated young cores in the NBA, as their lack of success has prevented them from getting much recognition. Fortunately for the Rockets, their main issue has been lack of experience, and the team addressed it this offseason. They had money to spend and they brought in some veterans to help lead the team, most notably Fred VanVleet. That said, their young core is still extremely talented and got even better through this year&rsquo;s draft. The key for this Rockets team to succeed is to make sure these young players continue to develop at a high rate, which is where new head coach Ime Udoka and his staff come in. They have multiple players on their roster with All-Star potential, and it's possible they'll compete for a play-in spot by the end of the season.
Notable Players: Jalen Green (21), Jabari Smith (20), Alperen Sengun (21), Amen Thompson (20), Tari Eason (22), Kevin Porter Jr. (23), Cam Whitmore (19)
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2. San Antonio Spurs&nbsp;
The Spurs undoubtedly have one of the NBA's best young cores. No. 1 overall pick Victor Wembanyama has made San Antonio the team to watch this season. That said, they likely won&rsquo;t be a playoff team for at least another year. While it's possible that they'll shock everyone, it will be difficult for Wembanyama to lead them to the postseason as a rookie. He will likely need at least a year to adjust to the NBA and develop before taking that next leap in his career. Wembanyama isn&rsquo;t the only young star on the Spurs, as they have already started developing fellow cornerstones Devin Vassell and Keldon Johnson, who have made quite an impression. Throw in Tre Jones, Jeremy Sochan, Malaki Branham, Romeo Langford and Blake Wesley, and it's clear why the Spurs are this high. Other young players who have shown promise are Charles Bassey and Julian Champagnie, both of whom came over from the Philadelphia 76ers&rsquo; organization. These two players have displayed a ton of potential, particularly in the G League and Summer League, and they could be solid contributors for years to come.&nbsp;
Notable Players: Victor Wembanyama (19), Keldon Johnson (23), Tre Jones (23), Devin Vassell (22), Jeremy Sochan (20), Malaki Branham (20), Romeo Langford (23), Zach Collins (25), Blake Wesley (20), Julian Champagnie (22), Charles Bassey (22), Dominick Barlow (20), Sandro Mamukelashvili (24)
1. Oklahoma City Thunder
The Spurs were a hard core to beat but, to nobody&rsquo;s surprise, the Oklahoma City Thunder have the best young core in the NBA. Not only do they have the youngest starting lineup in the league, it is filled with young stars. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has emerged as one of the best guards in the league, while Josh Giddey and Rookie-of-the-Year runner-up Jalen Williams just had a terrific season. Chet Holmgren, the No. 2 overall pick in last year's draft, hasn't played yet but he will undoubtedly make an immediate impact and could give OKC a Rookie-of-the-Year finalist for the second year in a row. Despite how young the Thunder are, they could make a serious playoff push this season, with Shai at the steering wheel. Perhaps what's scariest about the Thunder is that they have 35 draft picks over the next seven years, including 15 first-rounders, so their already-impressive young core is still a work in progress.
Notable Players: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (25), Chet Holmgren (21), Josh Giddey (20), Jalen Williams (22), Cason Wallace (19), Luguentz Dort (24), Aleksej Pokusevski (21), Isaiah Joe (24), Tre Mann (22), Jaylin Williams (21), Ousmane Dieng (20), Jeremiah Robinson-Earl (22), Keyontae Johnson (23)

Entering the 2023-24 season, which NBA teams have the best young core? Hunter Simpson ranks the best cores from around the league.

Ranking the NBA's top-5 young cores entering the 2023-24 season

With the NBA&rsquo;s 2023 free-agency period pretty much wrapped up, why not take a look at how projecting next year's free-agent market? Obviously, a lot can change between now and then, but let&rsquo;s examine each team&rsquo;s cap situation and how much cap room they project to have next summer.&nbsp;
Next year&rsquo;s free-agency class could feature some big names, including Kawhi Leonard, Pascal Siakam, Tyrese Maxey (restricted), Paul George, LeBron James, James Harden, Jrue Holiday, OG Anunoby and DeMar DeRozan.&nbsp;
For the purposes of this exercise, I&rsquo;m going to separate teams into four spending-power tiers: Cap Space Teams, Non-Tax MLE Teams, Luxury Tax Teams and Second Apron Teams. Also, let's assume that the salary cap will be set at $149,623,000 and the luxury tax will come in at $181,823,000, the maximum 10% jump from this upcoming season set under the new CBA.
CAP SPACE TEAMS
Teams in this tier are currently projected to have cap space next summer. They have spending access to their cap space, Bird Rights, the Room Exception (projected at $8,495,000) and the Veteran Minimum Exception.
San Antonio Spurs ($77,195,776 under the cap) If Victor Wembanyama is 70% as good as he&rsquo;s hyped up to be entering this season, one would figure that the Spurs will spend big or at least make a meaningful impact on the free-agent market next summer. They project to have an enormous amount of cap space, so it&rsquo;s very possible we&rsquo;ll see San Antonio take on some more bad contracts in trades to give them even more draft capital. Also, they&rsquo;ll want to retain Devin Vassell, who will be a restricted free agent next offseason once the Spurs extend his qualifying offer.
Philadelphia 76ers ($73,034,842 under the cap) The Sixers are perhaps the most interesting team in terms of their 2024 offseason outlook. By letting Tyrese Maxey hit restricted free agency next summer rather than extending him this year, Philadelphia gave themselves serious cap flexibility. Tobias Harris and James Harden both have expiring contracts, so the Sixers will have to use their cap space to replace their production. A Harden trade would obviously change their projected cap room, but it remains to be seen what they&rsquo;ll get back for the former MVP and how much it&rsquo;ll impact their books.
Toronto Raptors ($60,339,034 under the cap) After losing Fred VanVleet, the Raptors are walking a tightrope when it comes to whether they&rsquo;ll compete or rebuild. They face some tough decisions. Pascal Siakam and OG Anunoby are both set to hit free agency next summer, so Toronto needs to decide whether they want to extend or trade their best players. Not to mention, Precious Achiuwa and Gary Trent Jr. also need new contracts.
Orlando Magic ($58,010,944 under the cap) Orlando has a lot of options for next summer, but the Magic may start with retaining many of their own players. Franz Wagner will likely receive a big contract extension, while Markelle Fultz and Cole Anthony will be up for new contracts. Given that Orlando has a logjam in their backcourt &ndash; with Fultz, Anthony, Jalen Suggs and Anthony Black &ndash; it&rsquo;ll be interesting to see what they do with Fultz and Anthony. The Magic will still have plenty of room to add quality talent for yearly average values over the NTMLE.
Detroit Pistons ($57,781,166 under the cap) Detroit may approach the 2024 offseason similar to how Houston approached this summer, as a young team hoping to use its massive cap space on good veterans in order to take bigger steps toward playoff contention. With that said, the first priority for the team will be agreeing to a contract extension with Cade Cunningham.
Utah Jazz ($50,315,319 under the cap) The Jazz find themselves in a unique position where they could go in two directions. After committing a three-year deal to Jordan Clarkson, they can use their cap space to give 2023 Most Improved Player Lauri Markkanen a contract extension. If they want to have significant cap space for next summer instead, they can hold off on giving Markkanen an extension until free agency is settled.
Washington Wizards ($47,123,801 under the cap) Despite their cap space next year, don&rsquo;t expect Washington to be a big player in 2024 free agency. In the beginning stages of a rebuild, the Wizards will probably keep their sights on collecting more draft capital. They do have an interesting decision coming up with recent trade acquisition Tyus Jones, whom they&rsquo;ll likely want to keep long-term.&nbsp;
Charlotte Hornets ($41,300,515 under the cap)&nbsp; They may lose some 2024 cap space if they eventually re-sign PJ Washington this offseason, but watch out for Charlotte to be one of the many small-market teams with money to spend next summer. With LaMelo Ball in the first year of his max contract extension, Charlotte may cash in on a marquee player to keep their young star happy.
Brooklyn Nets ($33,048,185 under the cap) The Nets do have the potential to have significant cap space next summer if they choose not to re-sign most of their own free agents. However, the Nets will more than likely focus on exploring the trade market and retaining big man Nic Claxton before reaching next year&rsquo;s free agency. Spencer Dinwiddie and Royce O&rsquo;Neale will also hit free agency next offseason.
Indiana Pacers ($20,488,005 under the cap) Indiana could get to an even higher number in cap space if they decline Bruce Brown&rsquo;s $23 million team option next season. If Brown has a good year, the Pacers would likely keep him on a long-term deal that would consume a good chunk of their space. Other impending free agents they might like to keep include Obi Toppin, Aaron Nesmith and Jalen Smith.
Oklahoma City Thunder ($10,264,814 under the cap) The Thunder will likely continue to utilize the strategy of taking on short-term, bad-money contracts in exchange for draft capital. As they inch closer to contention, they will be looking at some big-money extensions for many of their young pieces, including one for Josh Giddey next year.&nbsp;
NON-TAX MLE TEAMS
Teams in this tier are currently projected to be over the salary cap but under the luxury tax. They have spending access to Bird Rights, the Non-Taxpayer Mid-Level Exception (projected at $13,644,000), the Bi-Annual Exception (projected at $4,968,000) unless used in 2023-24, and the Veteran Minimum Exception.
Chicago Bulls ($19,465,689 under the cap) The Bulls could potentially operate as a cap-space team if they elect to let DeMar DeRozan and Patrick Williams walk in free agency, but that seems unlikely. In addition, the Bulls could potentially create more space if Lonzo Ball&rsquo;s knee injury is considered career-ending by an NBA/NBPA-appointed physician. (Ball would still be paid, it just wouldn&rsquo;t count against the cap).&nbsp;
Sacramento Kings ($210,669 under the cap) The Kings used up most of their cap space by signing Domantas Sabonis to a big four-year extension that ties him with the team through 2028. As long as they are competitive, they will likely pursue quality pieces with their Non-Tax MLE to support Sabonis and De&rsquo;Aaron Fox. They will also likely try to keep Malik Monk and look at extension options for Davion Mitchell.
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New Orleans Pelicans ($487,911 over the cap) The Pelicans are fairly set with their core of CJ McCollum, Zion Williamson and Brandon Ingram under contract through 2025. Ingram and McCollum are both extension-eligible this offseason, but the Pelicans may wait on dishing out extensions to maintain flexibility under the tax. New Orleans must also monitor Jonas Valanciunas&rsquo; free agency and a possible extension for Trey Murphy III.&nbsp;
Atlanta Hawks ($1,658,172 over the cap) Similar to the Kings, the Hawks wiped away their cap space when they signed Dejounte Murray and De&rsquo;Andre Hunter to four-year, $120 million and four-year, $90 million extensions, respectively. Already pushing past the salary cap, the Hawks may face a money crunch as they broach the luxury tax line. Retaining restricted free agents Onyeka Okongwu and Saddiq Bey next offseason may be tricky.
Los Angeles Clippers ($5,018,261 over the cap) The Clippers are in an interesting spot with George and Leonard both needing new deals, which they will likely get despite their inability to stay on the floor. Many veterans with big salaries will come off the books next year, like Marcus Morris, Nic Batum and Robert Covington. The question is whether the Clippers will continue to commit significant capital to a roster that hasn&rsquo;t met its lofty expectations.
Miami Heat ($7,751,630 over the cap) The Miami Heat are in a holding pattern with their roster as they engage in a Mexican standoff with the Blazers on a Damian Lillard trade, which could see them skyrocket into the deep tax. Outside of the Dame situation, Jimmy Butler will likely look for another big extension this offseason, which will pay him max money deep into his late 30s. They will also have to contend with potentially losing Caleb Martin, who has a player option for 2024-25.
Houston Rockets ($8,734,919 over the cap) The biggest spenders of this past offseason, the Rockets made big moves for Fred VanVleet and Dillon Brooks. Houston could get back into the cap-space tier again if they choose to part ways with Kevin Porter Jr. and his non-guaranteed $15.9 million salary. Jalen Green and Alperen Sengun will also be up for extensions.&nbsp;
Cleveland Cavaliers ($11,399,749 over the cap) The Cavs are pretty set going into the 2023-24 season and beyond with two max guys (Darius Garland and Donovan Mitchell) and key guys on fairly big deals (Jarrett Allen, Caris LeVert and Max Strus). They will likely give Evan Mobley a big extension next offseason, which could push them into the luxury tax in the near future. For next offseason, their only notable free agent is Isaac Okoro.
New York Knicks ($11,400,861 over the cap) This morning, the Knicks inked Josh Hart to a four-year contract extension that pushed them over the cap for 2024-25. Their main concerns for next summer are Immanuel Quickley and Isaiah Hartenstein, who are both up for new contracts. They will likely be able to avoid the tax by declining their team option on Evan Fournier or trading his expiring contract for another expiring deal.
Dallas Mavericks ($13,566,153 over the cap) The Mavericks are not likely to seek pathways to cap space next summer after doubling down on their trade for Kyrie Irving by re-signing him to a three-year, $120 million deal. They should look to retain Josh Green, who will be a restricted free agent. Luka Doncic&rsquo;s happiness looms over all of the Mavs&rsquo; moves, as ESPN&rsquo;s Tim McMahon <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/mavs-fear-luka-doncic-may-request-trade-unless-they-build-contender">reported in April</a> that the Mavericks are worried about Doncic potentially seeking a trade elsewhere as soon as next year.
Los Angeles Lakers ($15,380,636 over the cap) The Lakers had a pathway to almost two max slots in the unlikely scenario that they decided to pivot from the LeBron-AD era. However, that option is out the window with them inking Davis to a three-year supermax extension that will keep him with the team through 2028. LeBron James&rsquo; decision to stay with the team or leave will ultimately dictate how the Lakers approach spending next offseason.
Portland Trail Blazers ($20,567,876 over the cap) Portland is in the midst of turning the page to a new era as they look to accommodate franchise cornerstone Damian Lillard&rsquo;s trade request. If they do end up trading Lillard, expect their cap numbers to come down slightly, but not enough to get any meaningful space. Whether Lillard is traded for the Miami package or something else, Portland shouldn&rsquo;t be a major player in free agency for a while.&nbsp;
LUXURY TAX TEAMS
Teams in this tier are currently projected to be over the salary cap and luxury tax. They have spending access to Bird Rights, the Taxpayer Mid-Level Exception (projected at $5,500,000), and the Veteran Minimum Exception.
Minnesota Timberwolves ($14,474,085 under the tax) The Timberwolves have paid the luxury tax only once since 2007. They should be a tax team once again, with Karl-Anthony Towns' supermax extension and Anthony Edwards' max extension kicking in. In addition, Minnesota will need to use significant capital to keep players like Jaden McDaniels, Mike Conley and Kyle Anderson, all of whom will be free agents in 2024.
Golden State Warriors ($9,696,462 under the tax) While the Warriors are currently under the tax, they are likely going to re-sign 2024 free agent Klay Thompson to a long-term deal at a lower number or at least use his Bird Rights to acquire another piece at a similar number. Golden State can cut some costs by releasing Chris Paul after the season, as his $30 million salary for 2024-25 is non-guaranteed.
Milwaukee Bucks ($6,142,529 under the tax) The Bucks re-signed Khris Middleton and Brook Lopez to big-money deals, committing to the players who won them the 2021 title. Another one of those players, Jrue Holiday, is set to reach free agency and will likely demand max money. In addition, Giannis Antetokounmpo becomes eligible for a supermax extension of up to three years in October and can sign a four-year supermax extension next offseason.
Denver Nuggets ($6,732,627 over the tax) The defending champs have their core of Nikola Jokic, Jamal Murray, Michael Porter Jr. and Aaron Gordon locked in through the 2025 offseason. They&rsquo;ve already lost Bruce Brown and Jeff Green this summer and will be forced to work around the edges with Kentavious Caldwell-Pope potentially heading for free agency next summer.
Boston Celtics ($7,306,800 over the tax) The trade for Kristaps Porzingis pushed the Celtics into the luxury tax for the first time since 2018, and that was before they signed Jaylen Brown to a five-year supermax extension. With Jayson Tatum&rsquo;s own supermax extension on the horizon next year, the Celtics figure to be a tax team, and potentially a second apron team, for the foreseeable future.
SECOND APRON TEAMS
Teams in this tier are currently projected to be over the salary cap, luxury tax and second luxury tax apron ($17.5 million over the tax). They have spending access to just Bird Rights and the Veteran Minimum Exception. The second apron was introduced in the new CBA and prevents teams from using the Taxpayer MLE, trading first-round picks seven years away, signing buyout free agents and taking back more salary than they send out in trades among other restrictions.
Memphis Grizzlies ($13,829,477 over the tax) For the first time under owner Robert Pera, the Grizzlies will be paying the luxury tax. While Memphis probably won&rsquo;t reach the second apron, they are not likely to have enough spare capital to use their Tax MLE and be able to fill out their roster without going over it. Their core of Ja Morant, Desmond Bane and Jaren Jackson Jr. are locked up to big money, long-term deals that will keep Memphis among the league's biggest spenders for likely the next decade-plus.
Phoenix Suns ($27,039,607 over the tax) Phoenix is by far the most limited team when it comes to spending, and they will be for the next few seasons after trading for Bradley Beal&rsquo;s behemoth contract. With four max contracts, including two supermax contracts, the Suns have blown through the second apron. Like this past offseason, the supporting cast around their core four will be mostly minimum-salary contracts.

How much cap room is your favorite NBA team projected to have next summer? Blake Stern breaks down where all 30 teams stand.

Which NBA teams project to have the most cap space in 2024?

LOS ANGELES (AP) &mdash; Although the Los Angeles Lakers&rsquo; late-season transformation is one of this NBA season&rsquo;s best stories, LeBron James and his teammates finally appear to be running out of steam in the Western Conference finals.
They&rsquo;ve also finally run into an opponent capable of making sure this story doesn&rsquo;t have a completely happy ending.
After looking weary and mistake-prone in Denver during their first back-to-back losses in over two months, the Lakers face a must-win Game 3 Saturday.
Los Angeles has been on a prolonged roll ever since the trade deadline, going 27-12 while surging into the playoff picture, winning a play-in game and knocking out two higher-seeded opponents in six games. But that roll has finally been slowed by Nikola Jokic, Jamal Murray and the respect-hungry Nuggets, whose superior late-game play was the reason they&rsquo;re up 2-0.
&ldquo;This is not the NCAA Tournament,&rdquo; James said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s the first team to four wins. We have an opportunity to go home and play great basketball and hold serve. Until a team beats you four times, you always have an opportunity to come out of it. So that&rsquo;s the confidence that we should have. I know it&rsquo;s going to be a tough hill to climb up, but we still have an opportunity to play the best basketball of the series in Game 3.&rdquo;
The Lakers insist they&rsquo;re not as tired as they looked for stretches of both games in Denver, when they settled for too many jumpers, ran the court less effectively and lost a fraction of their defensive intensity. James and Anthony Davis both say the fatigue of this relentless two-month sprint toward title contention isn&rsquo;t finally too much for a team that altered half of its roster just three months ago.
&ldquo;If you&rsquo;re not tired in the postseason...,&rdquo; James said after LA&rsquo;s 108-103 loss in Game 2. &ldquo;I mean, everybody&rsquo;s tired.&rdquo;
But James&rsquo; weariness appears to be evident in his jump shot &mdash; and in his reliance on that shot instead of the more physically demanding task of driving to the hoop. The top scorer in NBA history went 0 for 6 on 3-pointers in Game 2, making him 0 for 10 in the series. He has also missed 19 consecutive 3-pointers in the fourth quarter over the Lakers&rsquo; last 11 playoff games.
On top of the fatigue from the heavy workload for his 38-year-old body, James also sprained his left ankle in the third quarter of Game 2, although said he would be fine for Game 3.
Davis is prone to offensive inconsistency, and the stress of leading the Lakers&rsquo; defensive effort against mighty Denver may have affected him &mdash; although he insists it didn&rsquo;t. What&rsquo;s clear is that Davis&rsquo; 18-point performance on 4-of-15 shooting in Game 2 isn&rsquo;t enough from the Lakers&rsquo; franchise big man, particularly after his 40-point effort in Game 1, when the Lakers&rsquo; defense was much worse.
The Lakers are hoping for a big boost from their success-hungry home fans when they get back to their downtown arena, where they&rsquo;re 7-0 at home since the regular season ended.
&ldquo;The higher the levels you get to, you&rsquo;re going to face much, much tougher teams,&rdquo; Lakers coach Darvin Ham said. &ldquo;No disrespect to Memphis or Golden State, but (Denver) has been at the top of the food chain for a reason. Not just this year, but the last few years. So we&rsquo;ve definitely got our work cut out for us, but we&rsquo;re going to get better from this, as we always do, and we&rsquo;ll bounce back on our home floor.&rdquo;
The Lakers had lost back-to-back games just once &mdash; in mid-March &mdash; since the trade deadline. Their late-season turnaround is still stunning after the additions of D&rsquo;Angelo Russell, Rui Hachimura, Jarred Vanderbilt and Malik Beasley along with the departures of Russell Westbrook, Patrick Beverley and Kendrick Nunn, opening up playing time for vital supporting players Austin Reaves and Dennis Schr&ouml;der.
But all that quick work might not be enough to overcome the steady togetherness of the Nuggets, who have handled the Lakers much better than their own inferiority complex.
Coach Michael Malone curiously punctuated their gritty Game 2 victory with sarcastic jabs about the basketball world&rsquo;s supposed ignorance of two-time NBA MVP Jokic&rsquo;s talents, along with criticism of a &ldquo;national narrative&rdquo; he believed was too impressed by the Lakers&rsquo; Game 1 rally.
The winningest team in the West is making its fifth consecutive playoff appearance after its sixth straight winning season, yet Malone appears to be paying close attention to television&rsquo;s talking heads while pounding the nobody-believes-in-us narrative that permeates sports, even for professional powerhouses like the Nuggets and the Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs.
Perhaps that&rsquo;s because these Nuggets have never been here before: They&rsquo;re as close to the NBA Finals as this franchise has ever been, up 2-0 on a 17-time NBA champion franchise with a global brand and the sport&rsquo;s most accomplished active player.
Eliminating LeBron and the Lakers would be a signature achievement for this Denver group, and it has a chance to all but lock up the achievement with a win in Game 3.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s definitely going to be hostile there,&rdquo; Nuggets forward Michael Porter Jr. said. &ldquo;They still feel like they&rsquo;re in this series, obviously. It&rsquo;s the first to four. It&rsquo;s not the first to two. They&rsquo;re not going to just roll over, and now they&rsquo;re back in LA.&rdquo;

After looking weary and mistake-prone in Denver during their first back-to-back losses in over two months, the Lakers face a must-win.

Lakers look for boost after falling behind Nuggets in Conference Finals

HOUSTON (AP) &mdash; Anthony Davis scored 40 points, LeBron James had 18 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds to tie Jason Kidd for fourth place with his 107th triple-double and the Los Angeles Lakers beat the Houston Rockets 134-109 on Sunday night.
The Lakers (40-38) moved two games over .500 and into a tie for seventh with the New Orleans Pelicans in the Western Conference with four games to go. Los Angeles has won six of its last seven games and owns the tiebreaker over the Pelicans.
Davis scored 27 in the first half en route to his first 40-point performance since scoring 55 against the Washington Wizards on Dec. 4 and his third of the season.
Lakers starter D&rsquo;Angelo Russell, who has started every game since being acquired in a three-team trade from the Minnesota Timberwolves on Feb. 9, did not return to play in the second half due to left foot soreness. Russell had six points, four assists and three rebounds in 15 minutes.
In his 13 games with the Lakers, Russell had been averaging 18 points, 6.5 assists and three rebounds.
Alperen Sengun notched his third straight double-double with 18 points and 15 rebounds, Jalen Green scored 24 points and Kevin Porter Jr. chipped in 20 points. Prior to this stretch, Sengun had one double-double over the previous nine games played.
The Lakers owned a 70-60 halftime lead, which the Rockets cut to six with 9:38 to go in the third quarter on a reverse layup by Green.
With 30.3 seconds left in the third quarter, James got a roar from the Lakers fans with an emphatic one-handed tomahawk dunk to bring the Lakers&rsquo; lead back to 16. That was a part of a 20-7 run by Los Angeles to extend the lead to 117-90 with 7:56 to go.
TIP-INS
Lakers: Rui Hachimura scored 20 points and had a season-high 12 rebounds &hellip; Austin Reaves scored 16 points &hellip; Malik Beasley scored 13 points off the bench.
Rockets: All five starters scored in double digits. &hellip; Rockets coach Stephen SIlas received a technical foul with 8:30 left in the game &hellip; Houston Texans new coach DeMeco Ryans was introduced prior to the game and did the Rockets &ldquo;First Shot&rdquo;.
UP NEXT
Lakers: Visit the Utah Jazz on Tuesday night.
Rockets: Host the Denver Nuggets on Tuesday night.

Anthony Davis scored 40 points, LeBron James had 18 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds and the Lakers beat the Rockets 134-109.

Davis has 40, LeBron has triple-double as Lakers beat Rockets

HOUSTON (AP) &mdash; Kevin Porter Jr. scored 27 points and the Houston Rockets beat the short-handed Los Angeles Lakers 114-110 on Wednesday night.
Los Angeles scored five points, with a 3-pointer from Rui Hachimura, to get within four early in the fourth quarter. The Rockets countered with an 8-0 run, with the first five points from rookie Jabari Smith Jr., to push it to 96-83.
The Rockets were up by eight with 7.2 seconds to go before Malik Beasley hit a 3 for the Lakers to cut the lead to 114-109. Austin Reaves then got a steal and Porter fouled him with 0.3 seconds remaining. It was ruled a Flagrant-1 foul after a review, but Reaves made just 1 of 2 free throws and Houston held on.
It&rsquo;s the second straight victory for the Western Conference-worst Rockets, who beat Boston on Monday night.
Already without LeBron James because of an injury, the Lakers were also missing Anthony Davis against Houston. Davis, who had 35 points and 17 rebounds in a win over New Orleans on Tuesday night, isn&rsquo;t playing both games of back-to-back per doctors&rsquo; orders after coming back from a right foot injury.
Reaves had 24 points off the bench and D&rsquo;Angelo Russell added 18 as the Lakers lost for the second time in three games as they fight to stay in line for one of the last playoff spots in the Western Conference.
Porter had 18 points before halftime despite missing the last two minutes of the second quarter after sustaining a cut about his left eye. He was bleeding profusely as he held a towel to the cut as he walked to the locker room. He returned to start the third quarter with a band-aid covering the cut.
Houston took advantage of the absence of Davis to dominate in the paint where the team outscored the Lakers 78-46.
The Rockets led by as many as 18 in the first half and had a 62-48 lead at halftime. That deficit came a night after Los Angeles led 75-40 at halftime after making a franchise-record 15 3-pointers in the first two quarters.
The Lakers used a 9-2 run to get within 79-74 with about three minutes left in the third quarter. Troy Brown Jr. made the first five points in that stretch and Wenyen Gabriel capped it with a basket.
But the Los Angeles offense went cold after that and didn&rsquo;t score for the rest of the quarter as Houston got baskets from Jae&rsquo;Sean Tate and Jalen Green to lead 83-74 after three.
TIP-INS
Lakers: James was out for the ninth straight game with a right foot injury. Mo Bamba missed a fifth straight game with a sprained left ankle. &hellip; Beasley had 16 points. ... Jarred Vanderbilt added 13 points with 11 rebounds. ... Gabriel had a career-high 15 rebounds.
Rockets: Alperen Sengun had 13 points and nine rebounds in his return after sitting out Monday night with a groin injury. &hellip; Kenyon Martin Jr. had 16 points and eight rebounds. ... Green scored 11 points.
UP NEXT
Lakers: Host Dallas on Friday night.
Rockets: Host New Orleans on Friday and Sunday nights.

Kevin Porter Jr. scored 27 points and the Houston Rockets beat the short-handed Los Angeles Lakers 114-110 on Wednesday night.

Porter scores 27 points, Rockets beat short-handed Lakers 114-110

On Saturday night, the Sacramento Kings have a chance to hit 40 wins for the first time since 2005-06 &mdash; also the last time they made the playoffs &mdash; and fulfill the prophecy from the superfans in this summer's viral video:
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Tonight the Sacramento Kings go for 40 wins 👀 <a href="https://t.co/OgvlPN1MeC">pic.twitter.com/OgvlPN1MeC</a>
&mdash; Cameron Salerno (@cameronsalerno1) <a href="https://twitter.com/cameronsalerno1/status/1634614350030991360?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 11, 2023</a></blockquote>

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The Kings are the feel-good team of the NBA season. De'Aaron Fox <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-sacramento-kings-deaaron-fox-early-frontrunner-nba-clutch-player-of-the-year-award-race-kevin-huerter-domantas-sabonis-luka-doncic-nikola-jokic-jalen-brunson-demar-derozan-shai-gilgeous-alexander" target="_blank" rel="noopener">deserves the inaugural Clutch Player of the Year award</a>. Domantas Sabonis has silenced doubts about last year's blockbuster trade. Sacramento has the top scoring offense in the league, and the best team True Shooting percentage in league history.
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As a team, the Sacramento Kings boast a 61.4 True Shooting percentage. That would go down as the highest True Shooting percentage of any team in NBA history. <a href="https://t.co/dEW1GaPAZa">pic.twitter.com/dEW1GaPAZa</a>
&mdash; BasketballNews.com (@basketbllnews) <a href="https://twitter.com/basketbllnews/status/1634419080034766848?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 11, 2023</a></blockquote>

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Fox and Sabonis seem to finally be receiving appropriate national recognition. Impact rookie Keegan Murray and Sixth-Man-of-the-Year dark horse Malik Monk still deserve more praise. But I'd like to spotlight two low-usage wings who have flown particularly under the radar in the Kings' 39-26 season. Harrison Barnes and Trey Lyles might not create highlights at the same rate as Sacramento's stars, but they have each enjoyed a career-year and been critical to the franchise's 7-1 surge since the All-Star break.
Barnes is registering the lowest three-point percentage (37.1%) of his five seasons in Sacramento, yet he's still a key cog in the offense. Since the break, he's slumped to 34.4% from distance but is making an impressive 59.1% of his twos. His 55.9% two-point clip this season is the second-best of his NBA career.
With guys like Fox, Sabonis, Monk and Kevin Huerter doing most of the table-setting, Barnes' buckets are getting a bit easier. Approximately 71.7% of his made shots are coming via an assist, which is the highest since his 2015-16 season as a role-player on the Golden State Warriors.&nbsp;
According to PBP Stats, Barnes in on pace to approach his career-high of 206 paint touches in a season (he's at 170 right now). This year, he's crushing it with those touches, averaging over one point per paint touch for the first time in his career.
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Harrison Barnes with the slam!<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/BeamTeam?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#BeamTeam</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NBA?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NBA</a><a href="https://t.co/MotBc69u6U">pic.twitter.com/MotBc69u6U</a>
&mdash; NBA Highlights (@NBATransaction7) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBATransaction7/status/1632949774902231040?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 7, 2023</a></blockquote>

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Plays like this catch-and-drive highlight Barnes' syngergy with Sabonis, who can draw in defenses and make the right kick-out plays. It's important that Barnes can use his length, long strides and touch to then attack space instead of settling because it often leads to higher-quality shots or extra-pass opportunities.
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This cutting score is largely a lapse by the Los Angeles Clippers' defense, but it still shows how Barnes has the freedom and wherewithal to attack space without the ball. He knows Sabonis can see the court and make these high-low feeds to cutters, so it gives Barnes confidence to move with purpose.
Barnes has also picked up a sneaky skill in the last two seasons: getting calls. He's been fouled on over 19% of his shot attempts in back-to-back seaons, placing him among the top 3% of all forwards, per Cleaning the Glass. Those additional free throws are a nice boost since, historically, Barnes has been reliable at the charity stripe.
Eventually, the 6-foot-8 wing will return to the upper echelon of perimeter threats too. He's making just 36.7% of his catch-and-shoot threes this year after shooting over 42% in the prior two seasons. With Sacramento's arsenal of creators and playmakers, Barnes will keep getting open looks to cash.
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The 30-year-old has long been the rock amidst some shaky wing depth in Sacramento. But Barnes finally has some reinforcements, including a comeback season from Trey Lyles.
Once the No. 12 overall draft pick in 2015, Lyles never found a groove with the Utah Jazz and bounced around to the Denver Nuggets, San Antonio Spurs and Detroit Pistons before landing with the Kings at last year's trade deadline. Few expected much from the 6-foot-9 wing, a stretch forward who had lost the "stretch" aspect of his shooting game.
This year, the jumper is back. Lyles has reached a respectable 37.2% from distance on a career-high 3.1 attempts per game, and he is a deadeye in the corners (42%). As he's found life from long range, he's also spiked his two-point clip up to 64.7% &mdash; the first time he's ever cleared the 60% bar.
Lyles doesn't drive the ball a ton, but when he does attack closeouts and continues to apply pressure, he's effective. He's made 60.7% of his driving field goals; that ranks 12th among 232 players to attempt at least 50 driving field goals (admittedly a small sample size) this season.&nbsp;
Another small sample, yet impressive note: Lyles has made 18-of-20 cutting field goal attempts (90%!!) this season, per Synergy.
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Absolutely love the Trey Lyles backup 5 minutes. Ability to play 5-out and P&amp;P to stretch defenses is so valuable. <a href="https://t.co/nM6vizFhMG">pic.twitter.com/nM6vizFhMG</a>
&mdash; Kings Film Room (@SacFilmRoom) <a href="https://twitter.com/SacFilmRoom/status/1634319597448089601?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 10, 2023</a></blockquote>

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A sweet-shooting Lyles opens up more options for Sacramento, including a pick-and-pop game that can open up the floor even more for driving players. Then he can also fake and drive for some tough finishes, including this dunk:
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TREY LYLES POSTER ON MYLES TURNER. 🤯🔥 <a href="https://t.co/fIYwrNldSC">pic.twitter.com/fIYwrNldSC</a>
&mdash; Hoop Central (@TheHoopCentral) <a href="https://twitter.com/TheHoopCentral/status/1621694336110047232?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 4, 2023</a></blockquote>

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Lyles is averaging 16.5 minutes per game on the season, but his playing time has increased in each of the last four months, and he's received 20.1 minutes per game since the All-Star break. Add in some solid work on the glass for a Kings team that needs its rebounders, and it makes sense why he's earning a larger role.
To maximize Fox and Sabonis, the Kings need their supporting cast of spacers and slashers to keep the offensive barrage up. With help from Barnes and Lyles, plus a host of other contributors, they're doing so while still trying to find their way on defense. Regardless of how far Sacramento goes in the postseason, this is new, exciting territory for the players and fan base.
THE OUTLIERS (a.k.a. other random interesting numbers I found in the void):
<ul>
<li>Love this infographic from SIS Hoops, laying out how ball movement into shots changes over the course of a game for different teams:</li>
</ul>
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As the game winds down, let's see which teams turn to team-centric and individualistic offensive strategies. <a href="https://t.co/dSQEpXvZ8C">pic.twitter.com/dSQEpXvZ8C</a>
&mdash; SIS Hoops (@SIS_Hoops) <a href="https://twitter.com/SIS_Hoops/status/1633878060218064896?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 9, 2023</a></blockquote>
<ul>
<li>It's March Madness time! Here's a neat look at the makeup of top men's teams:</li>
</ul>
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Which projected tournament teams are most reliant on upperclassmen versus lowerclassmen? This graph shows the predicted impact from each team's upperclassmen (blue bar, SR and JRs) and lowerclassmen (orange bar, FR and SOs) ⤵️ <a href="https://t.co/TaJ297aXia">pic.twitter.com/TaJ297aXia</a>
&mdash; Evan Miyakawa (@EvanMiya) <a href="https://twitter.com/EvanMiya/status/1633544387543339008?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 8, 2023</a></blockquote>
<ul>
<li>Hi. Caitlin Clark is very good at basketball.</li>
</ul>
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Caitlin Clark is the FIRST-EVER player to drop a triple-double in the women's Big Ten title game 😱🔥 <a href="https://twitter.com/HighlightHER?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@HighlightHER</a> 30 PTS 10 REB 17 AST Her 10 triple-doubles are the MOST in conference history (men's or women's) <a href="https://t.co/Bp93385h6M">pic.twitter.com/Bp93385h6M</a>
&mdash; Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) <a href="https://twitter.com/BleacherReport/status/1632561557535178758?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 6, 2023</a>
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Harrison Barnes and Trey Lyles have been underrated vital pieces to the Sacramento Kings' breakout season.

NBA Stats Notebook: The quiet importance of Harrison Barnes, Trey Lyles

Longtime pro Jordan Crawford opens up to Spencer Davies about his unpleasant NBA experience, his Detroit connection and more.

Ex-NBA pro Jordan Crawford has a story to tell — and a whole lot more

The most important word in NBA All-Star break might actually be "break."
For one week, the entire league recalibrates itself for the home stretch of the regular season and catches up on the aches, pains and more significant injuries that stem from competing hard every single day. Rookies can also breathe after being thrown into the fires of their first year as a pro.
Young talent can thrive coming out of the break. Bottom-feeding teams are ready to turn minutes over to those with less experience and more upside after the trade deadline. Contenders have a better understanding of how rookies could slot into a playoff-seeking rotation. And regardless of the ethics, a stellar final impression can heavily impact All-Rookie narratives.
So who might surprise us with a strong close to the season?
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Here are five under-the-radar rookies worth monitoring for a leap forward &mdash; "under-the-radar" excluding lottery draft picks and players already firmly in the Rookie of the Year conversation (i.e. Walker Kessler):
Malaki Branham, San Antonio Spurs
Malaki Branham is barely under the radar at this point; he's leading all rookies with 18.1 points per game in February. But he is one of my favorite players in this rookie class, and since he fits my criteria, I'm seizing the chance to spotlight him.
According to PBP Stats, 136 players have attempted at least 50 "self-created" mid-range shots this season (attempts after possessing the ball for at least two seconds). Branham is converting on a ridiculous 56% of those shots, ranking third behind only Kevin Durant and Seth Curry.
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Malaki Branham logged his sixth consecutive start Monday at Cleveland and played well, scoring 18 points on 8-of-11 in the loss. Branham is a natural shot-creator who is also excellent moving off-ball. He&rsquo;s going to be a very good NBA player and an important piece for the Spurs. <a href="https://t.co/kbfm5KivkL">pic.twitter.com/kbfm5KivkL</a>
&mdash; Brett Usher (@UsherNBA) <a href="https://twitter.com/UsherNBA/status/1625337236152799232?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 14, 2023</a></blockquote>
The No. 20 overall pick hardly wastes time and effort when he attacks off the dribble. While Branham has showcased his chops as an on-ball scorer, he's also 26-for-29 on assisted shots within 10 feet of the rim this season, per PBP Stats, and Synergy says Branham is shooting 76.5% on cutting field goal attempts.&nbsp;
Branham's relatively low output from the perimeter at Ohio State drew question marks around the NBA Draft. Could he stretch his mid-range prowess beyond the arc? This season, Branham has made just 33.3% of his catch-and-shoot threes, but since February, he's at a scorching 18-for-41 (43.9%) on 4.6 &nbsp;attempts per game.&nbsp;
Right now, he's purely been a bucket. We're still waiting to see a bit more of the off-dribble playmaking, which I believe was underrated in college. Branham also is, well, a contributor to the Spurs' league-worst defense. But the 6-foot-5-inch wing is playing in a low-stakes environment by NBA standards and is clearly growing more comfortable with each passing game. If you told me he would lead rookies in post-All-Star scoring, I'd believe you.

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Christian Braun, Denver Nuggets
The No. 21 overall selection in this past year's draft hung around the back end of the Nuggets' rotation for most of the season, but has received 23.3 minutes per game this month. Christian Braun is averaging 7.8 points, 4.6 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 1.3 steals across nine February contests on a scintillating 64.5% True Shooting clip.&nbsp;
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Holy crap Christian Braun! The <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Nuggets?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Nuggets</a> rookie summoning his inner Nikola Jokic, on the baseline cut takes the entry pass from Joker and instantly dishes it back out to Michael Porter Jr. for the corner 3-pointer. Such a damn impressive heads up play.<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/MileHighBasketball?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#MileHighBasketball</a> <a href="https://t.co/p01V1g6PIi">pic.twitter.com/p01V1g6PIi</a>
&mdash; Joel Rush (@JoelRushNBA) <a href="https://twitter.com/JoelRushNBA/status/1625539664571699201?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 14, 2023</a></blockquote>

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Braun is a quintessential connector for the Nuggets right now. Over 53% of his shots have come at the rim, mostly off of secondary drives or cuts, and he'll also spot up from the corners frequently. He's not a lead playmaker, but he'll keep the ball moving; plus, he's had just six bad-pass turnovers all season, per PBP Stats.&nbsp;
The Nuggets also like to use Braun's size at 6-foot-7, 218 pounds to guard up the lineup. According to BBall Index, the Kansas product has spent over 62% of his playing time defending point guards and shooting guards. And, while he's not the point-of-attack defender, he's useful in taking away complementary options and being an additional pest.
Denver's lack of trade-deadline additions on the wing (and top billing in the West) means Braun is expected to contribute to a deep playoff run. A stable three-point shot would go a long way (46.7% in February, 37.1% on the season), along with continued growth on defense. But Braun is the rare rookie on a pressure-packed team, and thriving would say a lot about his impact.
Tari Eason, Houston Rockets
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Per Cleaning the Glass: only 5️⃣ NBA players have block and steal rates both above 1.5% 🏀 - Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (OKC) - Jaren Jackson Jr. (MEM) - Larry Nance Jr. (NOP) - Kyle Anderson (MIN) - Tari Eason (HOU) <a href="https://t.co/Fi0pGOHnbL">pic.twitter.com/Fi0pGOHnbL</a>
&mdash; BasketballNews.com (@basketbllnews) <a href="https://twitter.com/basketbllnews/status/1628828512206348291?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 23, 2023</a></blockquote>

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Tari Eason's 1.5% block rate and 2.2% steal rate place him in an elite group of defensive havoc-wreakers this season. He's averaging 4.52 bad-pass steals or deflections per 75 possessions, per BBall Index, which puts him in the 95th percentile at his position.
Eason is already a unique event-creator on defense with his length and mobility. He also inhales rebounds on both ends of the glass. The former LSU forward secures offensive boards on 10.6% of Houston's misses, a rate that ranks second among all non-bigs in the league.&nbsp;
Those two impact areas carry the weight for Eason's All-Rookie case; he's still finding his niche on offense. He has to create more for himself than expected, and he's making a paltry 40.7% of his unassisted shots at the rim. The Rockets' offense has been a mess all season long. Ideally, Eason could start his career capitalizing on more cuts, lobs and spot-ups, but it's unclear if he'll find that balance this season.
Still, his defensive impact and rebounding activity warrant a prime spot in the rotation of a young, losing team, and Eason is talented enough to make it work.
Jaylin Williams, Oklahoma City Thunder
The pesky Thunder continue to stick around in the playoff race, and Jaylin Williams &mdash; not to be confused with Jalen &mdash; has been the most recent young head-turner with his charge-taking. Check out this graphic from Dom Samangy:
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Former Razorback, Jaylin Williams, is currently LEADING THE NBA in charges drawn per minute played and has the highest charge rate in 7 years since the NBA started tracking &ldquo;hustle stats&rdquo; in 2016. He currently draws a charge every 22 minutes of play! <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/ProHogs?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#ProHogs</a> // <a href="https://twitter.com/Jay_MWilliams_?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Jay_MWilliams_</a> <a href="https://t.co/bOM9XcqynU">pic.twitter.com/bOM9XcqynU</a>
&mdash; Dom Samangy (@DSamangy) <a href="https://twitter.com/DSamangy/status/1628448922770329601?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 22, 2023</a></blockquote>

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Williams is such a fun, unique player. He's not racking up blocks or steals as a rim-protector, but he rebounds, takes charges and positions himself well on defense for a rookie.
Then, on offense, he's warped his impact from the pre-draft projections coming out of Arkansas. Williams' perimeter shot-making was more of an intriguing developmental pathway than a bread-and-butter skill entering the 2022 NBA Draft. The second-rounder is shooting a red-hot 47.7% from long range this season, including (checks notes) 55.6% since Jan. 1. In contrast, he's barely scoring around the rim; just 29% of his shots are coming within 4 feet of the basket.
Add in an 11.1% assist rate (66th percentile among bigs) and 3.1 screen assists per 75 possessions (80th percentile), and Williams is upending a lot of the traditional images for low-usage young centers.&nbsp;
OKC moved on from Mike Muscala and forward Darius Bazley at the trade deadline. Williams' playing time has fluctuated this season, but he's averaging 21.8 minutes per game in February and has started 11 of 17 games in the new year. He'll be a big part of this stretch run for a Thunder team capable of contending.
Mark Williams, Charlotte Hornets
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mark williams size blk + lob radius, good stuff <a href="https://t.co/8lVqlyksUH">pic.twitter.com/8lVqlyksUH</a>
&mdash; ben pfeifer (@bjpf_) <a href="https://twitter.com/bjpf_/status/1627041357041897472?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 18, 2023</a></blockquote>

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The Hornets traded away Mason Plumlee and are well out of the playoff picture. It's time to give the young guys some runtime, and that begins with Mark Williams, who has started the last four contests. The No. 15 overall pick is averaging 7.6 points, 5.6 rebounds and 1.2 blocks in 15.9 minutes per game this season.
Williams has thrived in more of the traditional finishing-center archetype. He's tallying 4.4 screen assists per 75 possessions (88th percentile) and posting a monster 3.7% block rate and 2.0% steal rate. (He missed the minute qualifier for Eason's previously mentioned stat). The 7-foot-1-inch center takes 78% of his shots around the rim, the majority via assists, and he makes 70% of those attempts.&nbsp;
Let's expand on the interior defense a bit because Williams' small-sample impact numbers are insane. Pulling from BBall Index's data, here's a look at how he's affecting shots around the basket.
<table style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 100%; height: 132px;" border="1">
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<tr style="height: 22px;">
<td style="width: 48.6251%; height: 22px;">Category</td>
<td style="width: 16.3185%; height: 22px;">Value</td>
<td style="width: 35.0481%; height: 22px;">Percentile rank (among C's)</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 22px;">
<td style="width: 48.6251%; height: 22px;">% of teams' at-rim shots contested by Williams</td>
<td style="width: 16.3185%; height: 22px;" data-sheets-value="{&quot;1&quot;:3,&quot;3&quot;:0.4714}" data-sheets-numberformat="{&quot;1&quot;:3,&quot;2&quot;:&quot;0.00%&quot;,&quot;3&quot;:1}">47.14%</td>
<td style="width: 35.0481%; height: 22px;" data-sheets-value="{&quot;1&quot;:3,&quot;3&quot;:0.96}" data-sheets-numberformat="{&quot;1&quot;:3,&quot;2&quot;:&quot;0%&quot;,&quot;3&quot;:1}" data-sheets-formula="=percentrank('Data Pull'!C[134]:C[134],R[0]C[-1])">96th</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 22px;">
<td style="width: 48.6251%; height: 22px;">At-rim contests per 75 poss.</td>
<td style="width: 16.3185%; height: 22px;" data-sheets-value="{&quot;1&quot;:3,&quot;3&quot;:10.82}">10.82</td>
<td style="width: 35.0481%; height: 22px;" data-sheets-value="{&quot;1&quot;:3,&quot;3&quot;:0.987}" data-sheets-numberformat="{&quot;1&quot;:3,&quot;2&quot;:&quot;0%&quot;,&quot;3&quot;:1}" data-sheets-formula="=percentrank('Data Pull'!C[135]:C[135],R[0]C[-1])">99th</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 22px;">
<td style="width: 48.6251%; height: 22px;">Blocks per 75 poss.</td>
<td style="width: 16.3185%; height: 22px;" data-sheets-value="{&quot;1&quot;:3,&quot;3&quot;:2.63}" data-sheets-numberformat="{&quot;1&quot;:2,&quot;2&quot;:&quot;0.0&quot;,&quot;3&quot;:1}">2.6</td>
<td style="width: 35.0481%; height: 22px;" data-sheets-value="{&quot;1&quot;:3,&quot;3&quot;:0.97}" data-sheets-numberformat="{&quot;1&quot;:3,&quot;2&quot;:&quot;0%&quot;,&quot;3&quot;:1}" data-sheets-formula="=percentrank('Data Pull'!C[136]:C[136],R[0]C[-1])">97th</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 22px;">
<td style="width: 48.6251%; height: 22px;">% of Williams' contests that become blocks</td>
<td style="width: 16.3185%; height: 22px;" data-sheets-value="{&quot;1&quot;:3,&quot;3&quot;:0.2429}" data-sheets-numberformat="{&quot;1&quot;:3,&quot;2&quot;:&quot;0.00%&quot;,&quot;3&quot;:1}">24.29%</td>
<td style="width: 35.0481%; height: 22px;" data-sheets-value="{&quot;1&quot;:3,&quot;3&quot;:0.857}" data-sheets-numberformat="{&quot;1&quot;:3,&quot;2&quot;:&quot;0%&quot;,&quot;3&quot;:1}" data-sheets-formula="=percentrank('Data Pull'!C[137]:C[137],R[0]C[-1])">86th</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 22px;">
<td style="width: 48.6251%; height: 22px;">Opponent FG% at rim vs. expected FG%</td>
<td style="width: 16.3185%; height: 22px;" data-sheets-value="{&quot;1&quot;:3,&quot;3&quot;:-0.116}" data-sheets-numberformat="{&quot;1&quot;:3,&quot;2&quot;:&quot;+#,##0.00%;-#,##0.00%&quot;}">-11.60%</td>
<td style="width: 35.0481%; height: 22px;" data-sheets-value="{&quot;1&quot;:3,&quot;3&quot;:0.987}" data-sheets-numberformat="{&quot;1&quot;:3,&quot;2&quot;:&quot;0%&quot;,&quot;3&quot;:1}" data-sheets-formula="=1-percentrank('Data Pull'!C[138]:C[138],R[0]C[-1])">99th</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
(Scroll right to view full table on mobile)
These are massive data points for any player, much less a rookie.
When Williams is on the court, Charlotte allows 6.6 fewer points per 100 possessions, according to Cleaning the Glass. He's already changing the tone for a squad that has historically had issues fortifying the floor. Hopefully we get to see more of that in this stretch run.
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THE OUTLIERS (a.k.a. other random interesting numbers I found in the void):
<ul>
<li>Not a stat, but I do want to give honorable mention shoutouts to AJ Griffin of the Atlanta Hawks and AJ Green of the Milwaukee Bucks. Both are talented rookies ready to join their team's rotations; I just wonder what minutes are available. Griffin now has to compete with Saddiq Bey in Atlanta's wing room in addition to the other established talents on the roster. Green seems to take a back seat when the Bucks are fully healthy.</li>
<li>Synergy's Todd Whitehead made these neat visualizations of pick-and-roll defense that I highlighted at the beginning of the year, and he's got some interesting takeaways now:</li>
</ul>
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When I made this chart back in November, I was interested to see that the teams with the best process (ones taking away opponents rolls/cuts to the rim, corner 3s, and shooting fouls) weren't necessarily the ones with the lowest PPP allowed (👀Boston, for example). <a href="https://t.co/5VVpnVCyYW">https://t.co/5VVpnVCyYW</a> <a href="https://t.co/aWBfcmOA9T">pic.twitter.com/aWBfcmOA9T</a>
&mdash; Todd Whitehead (@CrumpledJumper) <a href="https://twitter.com/CrumpledJumper/status/1626670052769669120?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 17, 2023</a></blockquote>

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<ul>
<li>Another post-All-Star stats check-in courtesy of Tom Bassine:</li>
</ul>
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Updated starter and bench majority lineup team strengths. Denver still builds their leads through starter lineups with Jokic. Chicago bench stands out. <a href="https://t.co/1Uh8HSWSfs">pic.twitter.com/1Uh8HSWSfs</a>
&mdash; Tom Bassine (@tvbassine) <a href="https://twitter.com/tvbassine/status/1629102353210126336?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 24, 2023</a></blockquote>

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Ethan Fuller highlights five under-the-radar rookies who could make an impact in the NBA season's final months.

NBA Stats Notebook: 5 players who could break into the All-Rookie race

LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) &mdash; Sir&rsquo;Jabari Rice scored 20 of his game-high 24 points in the second half and overtime, and No. 6 Texas held off Oklahoma 85-83 on Saturday.
Rice&rsquo;s fourth 3-pointer of the game gave Texas an 84-77 lead with 2:26 left in overtime.
Oklahoma, however, had a chance to tie or win when Texas&rsquo; Tyrese Hunter missed one of two free throws with 6.8 seconds left. But Sam Godwin missed a shot from near the rim, and Texas extended its winning streak against Oklahoma to five games.
Marcus Carr added 17 points for Texas (21-6, 10-4 Big 12), and Timmy Allen had 15 points, nine rebounds and four assists.
Grant Sherfield led Oklahoma (13-14, 3-11) with 18 points, including a 3-pointer that sent the game to overtime. Milos Uzan scored 15 for the Sooners.
NO. 1 ALABAMA 108, GEORGIA 59
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (AP) &mdash; Brandon Miller scored 21 points, Nick Pringle had 19 points and 12 rebounds and Mark Sears made five 3-pointers in the first half to lead Alabama.
The Crimson Tide (23-4, 13-1 Southeastern Conference) rebounded from their first SEC loss by racing to a 54-25 halftime lead and a season scoring high. Alabama was coming off a 68-59 loss at No. 10 Tennessee on Wednesday night after rising to No. 1 for only the second time in program history and first in 20 years.&nbsp;
ustin Hill led Georgia (16-11, 6-8) with 17 points. Terry Roberts scored 11 and Braelen Bridges 10.
NO. 4 UCLA 78, CALIFORNIA 43
LOS ANGELES (AP) &mdash; Jaime Jaquez Jr. scored 20 points and UCLA routed last-place California to improve to 15-0 at Pauley Pavilion this season and extend the nation&rsquo;s longest home winning streak to 23 games.
Amari Bailey added 16 points and nine rebounds for the first-place Bruins (23-4, 14-2 Pac-12), who clinched a first-round bye in next month&rsquo;s Pac-12 Tournament with their 11th win in a row over last-place Cal.
Kuany Kuany scored 14 points to lead the Golden Bears (3-24, 2-14), who dropped their 11th in a row. They fell to 0-3 against top-5 teams this season, having also lost a pair against No. 8 Arizona.
NO. 5 KANSAS 87, NO. 9 BAYLOR 71
LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) &mdash; DaJuan Harris scored all 14 of his points in the second half as Kansas stormed back from a double-digit halftime deficit.
The Jayhawks (22-5, 10-4 Big 12) outscored the Bears 55-26 in the second half. Jalen Wilson led Kansas with 21 points and 13 rebounds. KJ Adams added 17 points and Gradey Dick had 16.
The Jayhawks are tied with Texas for the top spot in the Big 12 Conference.
Baylor (20-7, 9-5) got nearly all of its scoring from its three-guard combo of Adam Flagler (22 points) Keyonte George (20 points) and LJ Cryer (15 points).
NO. 7 VIRGINIA 57, NOTRE DAME 55
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (AP) &mdash; Kihei Clark scored 15 points, including a pair of critical free throws with 22.6 seconds left, and became Virginia&rsquo;s career assist leader in the narrow win over Notre Dame.
With Notre Dame closing to 55-54, Clark converted both ends of a one-and-one. Trey Wertz made the front end of a one-and-one with 3.9 seconds left for the Fighting Irish, but missed the second after a timeout. The ball was tipped out to Dane Goodwin for a potential game-winning 3-pointer, but his shot bounced off the rim.
Armaan Franklin added 12 points and Reece Beekman had 11 for Virginia (21-4, 13-3 Atlantic Coast Conference). Nate Laszewski led Notre Dame (10-17, 2-14) with 18 points and Goodwin had 12.
NO. 8 ARIZONA 78, COLORADO 68
TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) &mdash; Oumar Ballo had 18 points and 16 rebounds, Cedric Henderson Jr. added 15 points and Arizona dominated inside to beat Colorado.
The Wildcats (24-4, 13-4 Pac-12) opened with a rash of turnovers, falling into an early 12-point hole. Arizona righted itself quickly with a big run and slogged through a slowed-down second half by shutting down the Buffaloes.
Tristan da Silva had 18 points the Buffaloes (15-13, 7-10), who shot 38%.
KENTUCKY 66, NO. 10 TENNESSEE 54
LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) &mdash; Cason Wallace and Oscar Tshiebwe each scored 16 points and Kentucky rushed to a big lead and beat Tennessee.
The Volunteers (20-7, 9-5 SEC) trailed by 20 points at halftime and lost in their first game since toppling No. 1 Alabama.
The Wildcats (18-9, 9-5) earned their first regular-season sweep of Tennessee since the 2011-12 season. Kentucky defeated the Volunteers 63-56 on Jan. 14 in Knoxville.
Wallace had totaled nine points in the Wildcats&rsquo; previous two games. Chris Livingston added 12 points and Jacob Toppin had 11.
NO. 12 KANSAS STATE 61, NO. 19 IOWA STATE 55
MANHATTAN, Kan. (AP) &mdash; Markquis Nowell hit a 3-pointer from near midcourt with 2:42 remaining to help Kansas State over Iowa State.
Nowell finished with 20 points. Keyontae Johnson had 15 points for the Wildcats (20-7, 8-6 Big 12).
Aljaž Kunc led Iowa State (17-9, 8-6) with 15 points. Without their 3-point leader Caleb Grill in the lineup, the Cyclones worked inside the paint. They had 24 points inside and relied on a balanced scoring line led by Kunc.
NO. 13 GONZAGA 97, PEPPERDINE 88
MALIBU, Calif. (AP) &mdash; Drew Timme scored 22 of his 34 points in the second half and Julian Strawther added 28 points to help Gonzaga extend its winning streak over the Waves to 45 games.
The Bulldogs (23-5, 12-2 West Coast Conference), who haven&rsquo;t lost to Pepperdine (9-10, 2-12) since Jan. 18, 2002 and have won 20 straight on the road against the Waves.
Timme moved past Bill Cartwright, who scored 2,116 points for San Francisco (1975-79), into eighth on the West Coast Conference&rsquo;s career scoring list with 2,117.
Houston Mallette led the Waves with 22 points. Jevon Porter and Maxwell Lewis added 20 points apiece.
NO. 14 INDIANA 71, ILLINOIS 68
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. (AP) &mdash; Trayce Jackson-Davis finished with 26 points and 12 rebounds, Jalen Hood Schifino made two free throws with 30.7 seconds left, and Indiana rallied from a nine-point second-half deficit to beat Illinois.
Hood-Schifino had 13 points for the Hoosiers (19-8, 10-6 Big Ten), who have won nine of 11 overall and 15 straight on their homecourt.
Matthew Mayer scored 24 to lead the Fighting Illini (17-9, 8-7), who were without injured leading scorer Terrence Shannon.
NO. 15 MIAMI 96, WAKE FOREST 87
CORAL GABLES, Fla. (AP) &mdash; Isaiah Wong scored 27 points and Nijel Pack finished with 24 in Miami&rsquo;s win over Wake Forest.
Norchard Omier had 17 points on 7-of-8 shooting while Jordan Miller added 14 points for the Hurricanes (22-5, 13-4 Atlantic Coast Conference), who won their sixth straight and improved to 15-0 at home.
Tyree Appleby scored 15 points and Damari Monsanto and Cameron Hildreth had 14 each for the Demon Deacons (17-10, 9-7). Andrew Carr and Mathew Marsh finished with 12 points each.
NO. 16 XAVIER 82, DEPAUL 68
CINCINNATI (AP) &mdash; Jack Nunge had 18 points and 10 rebounds as Xavier bounced back from a pair of narrow losses to beat DePaul.
The Musketeers (20-7, 12-4 Big East) reached the 20-win mark for the 34th time in school history, 32 of which have come since the 1982-83 season. It was the 17th career double-double for Nunge, eighth this season. Adam Kunkel scored 16 points and tied a career-high with eight assists for Xavier.
Umoja Gibson had 17 points and De&rsquo;Sean Nelson 16 for DePaul (9-18, 3-13), which lost its eighth in a row.
NO. 17 ST. MARY&rsquo;S 71, BYU 65
MORAGA, Calif. (AP) &mdash; Logan Johnson scored 27 points and Aidan Mahaney delivered once again in the second half to lead Saint Mary&rsquo;s to its 15th win in 16 games.
Mahaney scored 14 of his 16 points in the second half and Mitchell Saxen added 13. The Gaels (24-5, 13-1 West Coast Conference) won their 16th straight conference home game to maintain a one-game lead over Gonzaga in the standings.
Fousseyni Traore scored 16 points to lead the Cougars (16-14, 6-9). BYU has lost four straight and was swept in the season series by the Gaels.
NO. 18 CREIGHTON 77, ST. JOHN&rsquo;S 67
NEW YORK (AP) &mdash; Arthur Kaluma hit three straight 3-pointers down the stretch and Creighton overcame a second-half scoring drought to pull away from St. John&rsquo;s.
Creighton (18-9, 12-4) remained in a three-way tie for second place in the Big East after Providence and Xavier won earlier in the day. Marquette holds a one-game lead in the conference standings.
Ryan Nembhard scored 16 points for the Bluejays. Kaluma finished with 13 points and Ryan Kalkbrenner added 12 as Creighton won for the ninth time in 10 games.
Joel Soriano led St. John&rsquo;s with 15 points and eight rebounds. David Jones added 14 points off the bench but the Red Storm (16-12, 6-11) were unable to get their third straight win.
NO. 20 UCONN 64, SETON HALL 55
STORRS, Conn. (AP) &mdash; Jordan Hawkins scored 20 points and UConn used a big second-half run to beat Seton Hall.
Andre Jackson had a career high 15 points and grabbed 10 rebounds for UConn (20-7, 9-7 Big East).
Al-Amir Dawes and Tyrese Samuel each had 16 points for Seton Hall (16-12, 9-8), which trailed by 16 points with six minutes to play before a late run that fell short.
NO. 22 TCU 100, OKLAHOMA STATE 75
FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) &mdash; Mike Miles Jr. had 15 points in his first game in three weeks, five other TCU players also scored in double figures, and the Horned Frogs snapped a four-game losing streak by beating Oklahoma State.
Emanuel Miller had 18 points to lead TCU (18-9, 7-7 Big 12), which shot a staggering season-high 68.4% (39 of 57) from the field. Damion Baugh had 16 points with 11 assists. Shahada Wells had 15 points, Chuck O&rsquo;Bannon 12 and Micah Peavy 10.
Bryce Thompson had 18 points and John-Michael White 15 for the Cowboys (16-11, 7-7).
NO. 24 PROVIDENCE 85, VILLANOVA 72
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) &mdash; Ed Croswell scored 21 points and grabbed 10 rebounds and Providence earned its 20th victory of the season.
Bryce Hopkins added 19 points and 12 rebounds. Noah Locked finished with 16 points. Croswell connected on two late free throws to notch the 1,000th point of his career.
The Friars (20-7, 12-4 Big East) have recorded 20 or more wins in seven of coach Ed Cooley&rsquo;s 12 seasons. They improved to 15-0 at home, including 8-0 in conference play.
Eric Dixon had 18 points and eight rebounds and Justin Moore added 17 points for the Wildcats (13-14, 7-9)&nbsp;

A recap of Saturday's action in men's college basketball includes a full slate of top-25 teams in heavy competition.

No. 6 Texas needs OT at home to hold off Oklahoma 85-83

HOUSTON (AP) &mdash; De&rsquo;Aaron Fox had 31 points, including three free throws with less than a second left, to lift the Sacramento Kings to a 130-128 win over the Houston Rockets on Wednesday night.
Fox missed a 3-pointer with .3 seconds left. But Eric Gordon fouled him to set up the game-winning free throws.
&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t want to belittle it because he was he was amazing, but at the end of the day that&rsquo;s what he gets paid to do,&rdquo; coach Mike Brown said. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s an All-Star. He&rsquo;s one of our best players and he&rsquo;s got to be able to make plays for us when we need him to, especially on the road and that&rsquo;s what he did.&rdquo;
Fox, who added 11 assists, made consecutive baskets to get the Kings within 1 with 42.2 seconds to go.
Jalen Green missed a shot on the other end before the Kings missed three straight shots but grabbed the rebound each time. Keegan Murray got the last rebound but Kenyon Martin Jr. battled with him, and a jump ball was called. Houston got the ball on the jump ball with 2.4 seconds to go.
Gordon was fouled after that, but Malik Monk stole the inbound pass from Alperen Sengun to give the Kings the ball with 1.2 seconds left. They called a timeout to set up the final sequence.
&ldquo;We just have to be able to gut it out on the road,&rdquo; Fox said. &ldquo;Some times it&rsquo;s going to be ugly. This was an ugly game for us. We know we have to be better defensively.&rdquo;
Green had 41 points and Sengun finished with 18 points, a career-high 11 assists and nine rebounds as the Rockets dropped their fourth straight.
Rockets coach Stephen Silas was disappointed that his team let this one get away after his team played much better than it did in a loss to the Kings on Monday night.
&ldquo;We played with much more conviction, physicality, ball pressure, all those things,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;We should have won that game.&rdquo;
Domantas Sabonis added 22 points with nine rebounds for the Kings and Monk added 17 points.
Green made an off-balance 3 as he was fouled and crashed to the court with just more than two minutes left to put Houston up 124-123. Harrison Barnes was called for a foul on the play, but the Kings challenged the call, and it was overturned.
Green, the second overall pick in the 2021 draft, then scored four points to extend the lead to 128-123 with less than 90 seconds left.
Sabonis made a layup to get the Kings within four with about seven minutes left in the third. But he picked up his fifth foul seconds later and headed to the bench for the rest of the quarter.
The Kings scored five points, with a 3 from Monk, to take a four-point lead late in third. However, Houston ended the quarter with a 4-2 spurt to cut the lead to 99-97 entering the fourth.
Houston used a 6-1 run to take a 112-107 lead with eight minutes to go. The Kings then scored the next seven points, with a 3-point play by Harrison Barnes and four points from Fox, to go on top 114-112 a minute later.
Jae&rsquo;Sean Tate hit a layup for the Rockets to tie it with less than five minutes to go. But a 7-2 run by the Kings, highlighted by a 3 from Murray, gave them a 121-116 lead with 3 1/2 minutes left.
A 5-0 spurt by the Rockets tied it after that before a layup by Sabonis put the Kings on top 123-121.
TIP-INS
Kings: Barnes had 16 points. ... Sacramento made 10 of 30 3-pointers. ... The Kings were outrebounded 44-31.
Rockets: Kevin Porter Jr. missed his 14th consecutive game with a left big toe injury. &hellip; Martin had 15 points. ... Tate added 16 off the bench.
GOING HOME
The Kings head home Wednesday night after going 4-3 on a season-high seven-game road trip.

De’Aaron Fox had 31 points, including free throws with less than a second left, to lift the Kings to a 130-128 win over the Rockets.

Fox’s late FTs gives Kings 130-128 win over Rockets

HOUSTON (AP) &mdash; Keegan Murray had a career-high 30 points and set a franchise rookie record with eight 3-pointers to help the Sacramento Kings snap a two-game skid with a 140-120 win over the Houston Rockets on Monday night.
The fourth overall pick in last year&rsquo;s NBA draft, Murray shot 8 for 12 from beyond the arc on a night when the Kings made 21 3-pointers. The previous team mark for 3s by a rookie was set by Ricky Berry with seven in 1989.
Murray went 1 for 16 on 3-pointers over his past three games.
&ldquo;Nothing changed there except the ball going in,&rdquo; Murray said. &ldquo;I just found a rhythm and when you see the ball going in early, it helps a lot.&rdquo;
Sacramento coach Mike Brown was pleased to see Murray break out of what he called a &ldquo;mini-slump.&rdquo;
&ldquo;We just think he&rsquo;s that good of a shooter and he&rsquo;s capable,&rdquo; Brown said. &ldquo;Now, I&rsquo;m not saying he&rsquo;s going to go 8 for 12 every night, but we&rsquo;ve seen Keegan shooting the ball at a high high level this year and so it&rsquo;s not surprising when it happens.&rdquo;
Malik Monk added 20 points off the bench and Domantas Sabonis had 17 points, seven rebounds and 10 assists in the first of consecutive games between the teams.
De&rsquo;Aaron Fox had 16 points and eight assists for Sacramento after missing two games for the birth of his son, named Reign.
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&ldquo;It&rsquo;s huge to have somebody like that out and it&rsquo;s good to have him back,&rdquo; Monk said.
Jalen Green had 27 points for the Rockets, who dropped their third straight.
An angry Stephen Silas lamented his team&rsquo;s defensive play.
&ldquo;They&rsquo;re not giving the effort on the defensive end,&rdquo; the Houston coach said. &ldquo;They&rsquo;re not getting after it like they&rsquo;re supposed to.&rdquo;
The Kings led by 12 with about eight minutes remaining before using a 10-2 run to push it to 117-97 midway through the fourth quarter. Monk started that stretch with two free throws and ended it with back-to-back 3s.
Eric Gordon made a basket for Houston after that, but Monk hit another 3 to make it 120-99.
The Kings were up by 12 after a layup by Kevin Huerter with 8 1/2 minutes left in the third quarter. Houston then used a 14-7 run to get within 81-76 midway through the period.
Gordon hit two 3-pointers in that span and Jabari Smith Jr. had a 3 and a dunk to help the Rockets close the gap.
But Murray made consecutive 3-pointers to start a 9-4 run, capped by a third 3 from him, to push the lead to 90-80 with 3 1/2 minutes left in the third.
A layup by Green got Houston within six with less than a minute left in the third but the Kings scored the last five points of the quarter, with a 3 from Monk, to take a 99-88 lead into the fourth.
TIP-INS
Kings: Kevin Huerter had 16 points. Trey Lyles added 14 off the bench. ... Sacramento shot 58.4% from the field.
Rockets: Kevin Porter Jr. missed his 13th consecutive game with a left big toe injury. Silas said Porter is struggling with the injury and it&rsquo;s unclear when he&rsquo;ll return. &hellip; Kenyon Martin Jr. had 18 points and eight rebounds. Gordon scored 16. ... Alperen Sengun had 15 points, seven rebounds and seven assists.
THINKING OF HOME
Sengun, who is from Turkey, said it was tough to concentrate on the game&nbsp;after a 7.8 magnitude earthquake killed more than 4,000 people in Turkey and Syria&nbsp;on Monday.
He said his family lives far from where the earthquake hit and they were OK, but he worried about many others in the country.
&ldquo;Of course I was thinking about all of my country today all day,&rdquo; Sengun said. &ldquo;But I know I have a job over here.&rdquo;
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Keegan Murray had a career-high 30 points to help the Sacramento Kings earn a 140-120 win over the Houston Rockets.

Murray hits eight 3-pointers as Kings beat Rockets 140-120

Kyrie Irving, who was just named an All-Star starter for the Eastern Conference, shocked the NBA world this week when he reportedly asked for a trade. He informed the Nets that he prefers to be traded ahead of the Feb. 9 deadline or he will plan to leave via free agency in July, causing Brooklyn to lose him for nothing.&nbsp;
This trade demand was reportedly prompted by the fact that the two sides were unable to agree to the terms of a contract extension.&nbsp;
The Nets reportedly offered an extension to Irving; however, it included unprecedented &ldquo;guarantee stipulations&rdquo; tied to the team winning an NBA championship, according to <a href="https://twitter.com/ChrisBHaynes/status/1621650393083281408" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Chris Haynes of Bleacher Report</a>. This appeared to offend Irving and his camp, thus resulting in the trade demand.&nbsp;
This trade demand has been met with much criticism throughout the entire NBA world.&nbsp;
While discussing Irving&rsquo;s trade request with Malika Andrews on NBA Today, Stephen A. Smith <a href="https://www.si.com/nba/2023/02/04/kyrie-irving-trade-request-stephen-a-smith-comments" target="_blank" rel="noopener">called</a> Kyrie &ldquo;idiotic&rdquo; and added that &ldquo;he cannot be trusted; he just reminded the basketball world of that.&rdquo;
Kendrick Perkins <a href="https://www.si.com/nba/2023/02/03/kyrie-irving-kendrick-perkins-comments-nets" target="_blank" rel="noopener">went on a tirade</a> on ESPN when asked about the situation.
&ldquo;This is Kyrie Irving, a guy that you cannot trust,&rdquo; Perkins said. &ldquo;Didn&rsquo;t Kyrie Irving just say that Kevin Durant was his best friend? Right? So where is the loyalty? Right? If that&rsquo;s your best friend, I don&rsquo;t want that. Give me an enemy. For the simple fact that when you look at how Kevin Durant has been riding for Kyrie Irving since they arrived in Brooklyn&hellip; standing behind him through whatever his beliefs were, whatever he was doing, riding with him over James Harden.&rdquo;
I caught up with Caleb from <a href="https://twitter.com/BrooklynNetcast" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Brooklyn Netcast</a>, a site dedicated to covering the Nets, to discuss this situation, how the Nets handled this, the media backlash toward Kyrie and much more.
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Etan Thomas: I appreciate your content. I was one of the former players who retweeted your tweets after this story broke. You all do a great job of covering the Nets. To your knowledge, can you explain what exactly led to this trade request from Kyrie irving?&nbsp;
Brooklyn Netcast: I think it&rsquo;s more of a leverage move than anything. Mostly what led up to it were disagreements in the contract extension and certain details not being agreed upon as well as guaranteed money being a big issue in this whole thing. Chris Haynes reported yesterday about how there was a championship stipulation &mdash; like if you win a championship, then you receive X amount of dollars &mdash; and that&rsquo;s really where the disagreements and feeling of disrespect came. I definitely don&rsquo;t think there is a shared respect overall between Joe Tsai and Kyrie Irving and [there are] ethical disagreements, which is another huge issue that is being glossed over, as a point of contention between the two.&nbsp;
Etan: A few months ago, Joe Tsai and Kyrie Irving had the sit down and Tsai came out publicly and said, &ldquo;No, Kyrie is not anti-semetic, he&rsquo;s not a horrible person, etc.&rdquo; But do you think there was still friction between the two behind closed doors and that statement was mostly for show?
Brooklyn Netcast: There is definitely quite a bit of friction behind the scenes. I would say that it&rsquo;s a bit for show. I do believe that Joe Tsai and Adam Silver were both 100% correct when they said that Kyrie was not anti-semitic, but there is definitely a lot of friction that still exists between the two as far as values, who they are as people and, of course, the contract.&nbsp;
Etan: It was reported that the Nets wanted Irving&rsquo;s contract to be tied to winning a championship, and I don&rsquo;t know if I&rsquo;ve ever really heard a stipulation like that before in an NBA contract. So, he will only get X amount of money if they win a championship? To my knowledge, that&rsquo;s really unprecedented.
Brooklyn Netcast: I haven&rsquo;t seen any specifics, but just seen reports that this was a point of contention for Kyrie and his team. There are leaks coming from both sides and it&rsquo;s hard to see the exact details of what exactly was disagreed upon because there are so many different leaks and takes. But it is clear that it does center around guaranteed money and that a championship would bring a substantial amount of money into the picture, and that&rsquo;s not something that Kyrie or his representatives feel is fair because a championship is a team achievement. Hypothetically, Kyrie could average 40, 5 and 5, but if they lose in the playoffs, then he wouldn&rsquo;t receive whatever amount of his contract? I don&rsquo;t see how any player would agree to something like that.&nbsp;
Etan: One of the tweets that I retweeted from Brooklyn Netcast, and again you all have done a great job in covering this, was: &ldquo;The annoying part too is the media is just gonna paint Kyrie Irving as the bad guy here while Marks and Tsai don&rsquo;t get trashed at all.&rdquo; And that&rsquo;s exactly what happened.
Brooklyn Netcast: It&rsquo;s important to note that Kyrie has had some things happen off the court in the past; you can go into the whole documentary thing and missing time throughout the years, so there is already a lot stacked against him and who he is. I think it&rsquo;s abundantly clear right now that Kyrie Irving is a very good person, and a charitable and giving human being, but for some reason the media as a whole consistently ridicules and demonizes Kyrie. But they don&rsquo;t even loosely examine or question the character of someone like Joe Tsai. They would rather attack Kyrie&rsquo;s character, but that shows the bias of many in the media.&nbsp;
And the media only tells one side of the story. They focused on, &ldquo;Oh, Kyrie requested a trade,&rdquo; or, &ldquo;Kyrie wants out,&rdquo; or, &ldquo;Kyrie is abandoning KD,&rdquo; or, &ldquo;He said he would never leave his friend,&rdquo; and they frame it as if it&rsquo;s all Kyrie&rsquo;s fault. But they won&rsquo;t go into the details of the insulting championship stipulation the Nets put in the contract.&nbsp;
Etan: Stephen A. Smith jumped out and his response to Kyrie requesting a trade was that he is &ldquo;idiotic&rdquo; and &ldquo;cannot be trusted&rdquo; and that he &ldquo;reminded the entire basketball world of that.&rdquo; I responded:
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No Stephen A Smith smh It&rsquo;s simple, if you feel you&rsquo;re not being paid what you&rsquo;re worth at your current place of employment or you&rsquo;re being disrespected, it&rsquo;s time to move on. Just like when you voiced that ESPN wasn&rsquo;t compensating you properly. It&rsquo;s not &ldquo;idiotic&rdquo; just business <a href="https://t.co/k08L7SL8hr">pic.twitter.com/k08L7SL8hr</a>
&mdash; Etan Thomas (@etanthomas36) <a href="https://twitter.com/etanthomas36/status/1621889146368266241?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 4, 2023</a></blockquote>

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And that&rsquo;s how I look at this situation. It&rsquo;s just business. It&rsquo;s not Kyrie being a &ldquo;diva,&rdquo; which many have called him, or him being &ldquo;idiotic.&rdquo; They didn&rsquo;t want to give him the number that he felt he had earned as an All-Star, and they added stipulations that he wasn&rsquo;t happy with such as the championship stipulation &mdash; which, again, I don&rsquo;t recall ever being done in the NBA &mdash; so he wanted to look for other options. But the media, people like Stephen A. Smith for example, immediately went to bashing Kyrie before they even knew the details.
Brooklyn Netcast: I agree with everything you just said. I wasn&rsquo;t surprised to hear Stephen A. Smith and Kendrick Perkins and so many others in the media jump to bash Kyrie. I know Stephen A. says that he is a fan of Kyrie&rsquo;s, but there has been a consistent bashing of Kyrie that he does and it seems almost personal and definitely unprofessional. This summer, Kendrick Perkins said he would not bash Kyrie as long as he was in the media, and he went back on his word is less than a few months. Dave Portnoy, who is a member of the media, <a href="https://twitter.com/stoolpresidente/status/1621585952752672768" target="_blank" rel="noopener">tweeted</a>: &ldquo;You can make a legit argument Kyrie is the worst pro athlete who ever lived and top 100 worst human.&rdquo;&nbsp;
Etan: Lou Williams responded, &ldquo;Nah, we don&rsquo;t agree with you,&rdquo; and I retweeted that.
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Na. We don&rsquo;t agree with you. <a href="https://t.co/WyfQ17ODst">https://t.co/WyfQ17ODst</a>
&mdash; Lou Williams (@TeamLou23) <a href="https://twitter.com/TeamLou23/status/1621620298532495363?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 3, 2023</a></blockquote>

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Brooklyn Netcast: Right! I saw that, and I&rsquo;m glad Lou Williams did that. That was really a disgusting tweet. Requesting a trade because of a contract dispute makes you the worst human being to ever walk the planet? And the amount of people who agreed with his asinine statement is just crazy. But yeah, that shows how Kyrie has been consistently painted as this horrible person by the media, and that&rsquo;s just irresponsible.&nbsp;
Etan: What are you hearing about the Brooklyn Nets and how they view Kyrie? I&rsquo;m sure some of the fans are split &mdash; some love Kyrie and some hate Kyrie, some are swayed by the media and some see through how the media portrays him &mdash; but what are you hearing from the team as far as their reaction to this? And I ask because I noticed that after the recent suspension, it seemed as though the team supported him &mdash; or at least didn&rsquo;t publicly bash him. I saw people in the media trying to almost coerce the players into ridiculing him. I saw them try to get Nic Claxton to say they were better off without Kyrie, and they tried to get KD to express frustration with Kyrie. It was like they went down the list, but none of them took the bait. Where do you think they are with Kyrie and if he were to come back &mdash; say they don&rsquo;t trade him &mdash;would they welcome him back with open arms?&nbsp;
Brooklyn Netcast: That&rsquo;s tough to say. I feel like it would vary from player to player. I&rsquo;m sure they understand the business aspect of this all and they don&rsquo;t look at this as a personal abandonment of the team or anything like that. I do think they are all well aware that their chances of being successful greatly diminish if Kyrie is not on the floor. But at the same time, from what I&rsquo;m hearing, or at least what they are expressing publicly, is that they understand that this is a business. But they know at the same time, they need him to be successful.&nbsp;
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Etan: I want you to expound on the media coverage of Kyrie. And of course not all media are covering him the same way, but I will say that there are quite a few in the media who are really taking turns bashing him. Do you feel that it&rsquo;s a little bit unfair or unwarranted or unprofessional? (Besides Stephen A. Smith; in his case, it definitely does appear to be just that). How would you describe the majority of the media&rsquo;s coverage of Irving?
Brooklyn Netcast: I think that a lot of it is personal and a lot of it is a collection of how they feel about past events, and that taints how they examine this current event. They aren&rsquo;t separating the two. For example, when James Harden asked for a trade, he didn&rsquo;t get bashed as heavily, and his was more of a giving up on the team. He had gained weight, was playing very bad basketball at the time and reportedly never wanted to be in Brooklyn in the first place as his first choice. Kyrie&rsquo;s request was definitely covered differently, and he has a valid financial reason to want out, in my opinion at least. And there have been other players who were just disgruntled or just unhappy with the system or not [getting] enough shots or playing time who asked for a trade, and they weren&rsquo;t bashed anywhere near as much as Kyrie. But like I said, a lot of that has to do with past situations that many people are lumping in with this situation, and one has nothing to do with the other. I&rsquo;m hoping the media, later on after he has retired, will look back and say, &ldquo;You know what, this was unfair treatment of a player and we viewed him incorrectly.&rdquo;
Etan: Yeah&hellip; I would say don&rsquo;t hold your breath on Stephen A. Smith or Charles Barkley ever coming to that realization.&rdquo;
Brooklyn Netcast: Oh, well not those two (laughing).
Etan: Oh ok (laughing), you just mean the media as a whole.
Brooklyn Netcast: Yeah, just collectively. But no, those two are probably not going to come to any realization.
Etan: I couldn&rsquo;t agree more. There is nothing wrong with having a professional critique of an athlete. I have no problem with that. But often, Stephen A. Smith&rsquo;s comments about Kyrie Irving are nothing more than personal attacks and attempts to disparage his character. He lobbies for him not to be signed to a long-term deal and puts notions out there that he can&rsquo;t be trusted. It comes across as a personal vendetta instead of a professional critique. And although my friend David Aldridge didn&rsquo;t agree with me when I debated him and Marc Spears about the impact of what the media says, it&rsquo;s been confirmed to be true.
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What the media says does affect the business side for players when it&rsquo;s time for teams, GMs, presidents, etc. to sign them &mdash; whether those notions are accurate or not. It&rsquo;s not about &ldquo;hurting a player&rsquo;s feelings.&rdquo; It&rsquo;s about having a direct impact on their professional career. I actually <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/former-nba-gm-confirms-false-narratives-hurt-kwame-brown-others" target="_blank" rel="noopener">interviewed a former NBA GM, Pete Babcock</a>, who confirmed that false narratives put out by the media and Stephen A. Smith, in particular, did in fact hurt Kwame Brown financially. He discussed how NBA executives were, in fact, influenced by those narratives.&nbsp;
But thanks again for your content and covering this in a way that is different than many others in the media. This was a good discussion.
Brooklyn Netcast: Thanks for having me.

Etan Thomas examines how the media has covered Kyrie Irving's trade request from the Brooklyn Nets.

After trade demand, media bash Kyrie Irving but silent on management

Springfield, Massachusetts has been offering glimpses into the future of basketball since James Naismith put some peach baskets on a YMCA wall in 1891. Every MLK weekend, the town gives us another in the form of the HoopHall Classic, where dozens of the best high-school players in the country descend on Blake Arena.
The HoopHall Classic is also one of three high-school showcases this season that was given the green light for NBA scouts to attend. It's a prime opportunity for the elite talents to separate themselves from the pack &mdash; or for less heralded names to put themselves on the map.
I checked into the arena at 9 a.m. and watched all five contests. These standouts, among many others, caught my eye:
Girls &mdash; St. John Vianney (NJ) 81, &nbsp;Newington (CT) 38
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Zoe Brooks (NC State) went TRIPLE DOUBLE 🤩 The espnW 5 ⭐️ posted 25/14/10 with 4 steals in a St. John Vianney win. <a href="https://twitter.com/zoebrooks35?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@zoebrooks35</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/HoophallClassic?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@HoophallClassic</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/espnW?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@espnW</a> <a href="https://t.co/ezCJ2CSEhh">pic.twitter.com/ezCJ2CSEhh</a>
&mdash; SportsCenter NEXT (@SCNext) <a href="https://twitter.com/SCNext/status/1615010130252255232?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 16, 2023</a></blockquote>

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Zoe Brooks, St. John Vianney &mdash; The ninth-ranked senior in the country put on a show with a monster 25-point, 14-rebound, 10-assist triple-double. Brooks played decisively and confidently, never over-dribbling or wasting shot clock. She tossed a few high-level dimes from the perimeter right through the Newtington defense for cutting layups.
"I'm just waiting for somebody to get open," Brooks told Basketball News postgame. "We move a lot without the ball; obviously [after] three or four cuts, somebody's gonna get open eventually."
When Brooks did decide to score, she slashed past defenders and was unfazed by contact. She explained that developing her power drives has been a taxing process involving difficult bungee and medicine-ball workouts as part of her lifting and strength training routines.&nbsp;
"I lift a lot. This offseason I lifted a lot, so I think I got a lot stronger to take contact whenever I drive," Brooks said. "I do a lot of agility work and footwork to help me."
Those sessions are paying off in high school and will continue to in college when Brooks joins NC State.
Boys &mdash; Camden (NJ) 90, Bishop Gorman (NV) 54
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Billy Richmond and Dasear Haskins made big plays look EASY vs. Bishop Gorman 😳 <a href="https://t.co/Y1aYOg9AdJ">pic.twitter.com/Y1aYOg9AdJ</a>
&mdash; SportsCenter NEXT (@SCNext) <a href="https://twitter.com/SCNext/status/1615047591527600130?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 16, 2023</a></blockquote>

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Billy Richmond, Camden &mdash;Based on the final score, you wouldn't notice that Aaron Bradshaw spent much of the game in foul trouble and DJ Wagner struggled to make shots away from the basket. Camden still rolled to a win because other contributors like Richmond shined in big moments.
The 6-foot-7 wing led his squad with 18 points, added 5 rebounds and made both of his three-point attempts. He says he watches a lot of Paul George and studies how the Clippers star slides between on-ball and off-ball prowess.
"[My coaches say] just be aggressive and attack the defense," Richmond said. "[Wagner and Bradshaw] are doing their part, which makes the defense act a lot on them. So it just makes me flow more."
Richmond's highlight moment came with one posterizing dunk in transition; he even cut his wrist on the rim from throwing down too hard. After sitting for a short spell on the bench, he came back and added another unassisted driving score.&nbsp;
Wagner and Bradshaw rightfully take a lot of the defense's focus, allowing Richmond to capitalize on his advantages and show off his versatile game. He credits his competitive friendship with the two for helping build his status as a 3-star junior.
"We always compete, and I feel like in practice, they make me better and I make them better," Richmond said.&nbsp;
Dasear Haskins, Camden &mdash;&nbsp;Bradshaw picked up his fourth foul early in the second half and Haskins had to step in and play major minutes in his absence. The senior wound up with 15 points, 12 rebounds and 3 assists off the bench, outhustling a smaller Bishop Gorman team on the glass and logging a pair of timely blocks. He's a really powerful attacking player and that should lead to success when he does pick his college path.
Boys &mdash; Christopher Columbus (FL) 47, Sierra Canyon (CA) 46
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Cameron Boozer ➡️ Cayden Boozer to start this game <a href="https://twitter.com/HoophallClassic?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@HoophallClassic</a>‼️ Tune in live on ESPNU 🏀🚨 <a href="https://t.co/K8LNXzUdgM">pic.twitter.com/K8LNXzUdgM</a>
&mdash; SportsCenter NEXT (@SCNext) <a href="https://twitter.com/SCNext/status/1615049272206008320?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 16, 2023</a></blockquote>

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Cameron Boozer, Christopher Columbus &mdash;&nbsp;After <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/hoophall-highlights-top-performances-from-saturdays-action" target="_blank" rel="noopener">dominating Saturday against San Ysidro</a>, Boozer ran into a tougher physical matchup against Sierra Canyon. The superstar sophomore still managed to rack up 18 points, 13 rebounds and 4 assists, and was the vocal leader for Christopher Columbus in its comeback victory.
Boozer challenged his team to be physical and even gestured for teammate Malik Abdullahi to "play big" while they waited to rebound a free throw before their final possession. Abdullahi would go on to score the winning put-back layup with three seconds left.
"[Physicality] was super important," Boozer said. "They're a team that crashes really hard, they're physical, they're big and strong, so for us to play physical is a huge thing."
Boozer was more of an interior presence in this contest and only shot 2-of-7 from beyond the arc, but his makes looked cool and comfortable. It's impressive to see his play style adapt to the opponent and result in two wins.
Cayden Boozer, Christopher Columbus &mdash;&nbsp;Cameron had the bigger stat line, but Cayden Boozer's 11 points, 7 rebounds and 3 assists felt huge in the context of the game. He faced off against a tough Sierra Canyon guard rotation that included Bronny James and Isaiah Elohim. Boozer said facing that competition forced him to play smarter.
"The pick-and-roll really worked for me, especially trying to get that switch or just a little bit of an advantage," he said. "Those two guys are really good defenders, so I just had to try to confuse them a little bit and get to my spots."
Amidst those scores was a neat layup off of a spinning drive that got a deserved response from the crowd. Boozer splashed his lone three-point attempt while using a screen from his brother. At this point, their two-man synergy is natural, and they create easy chances for each other.
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Isaiah Elohim, Sierra Canyon &mdash;&nbsp;A 5-star shooting guard, Elohim turned on the heat when Sierra Canyon needed him to create as a scorer. He ran out in transition and finished off push-ahead passes from Bronny James. He slithered around in the half-court for mid-range pull-ups and hit a corner three off another James feed. Though he was 7-for-14 from the floor, Elohim was the only Sierra Canyon player to shoot over 50% on more than two shot attempts. He ended with 16 points.
Bronny James, Sierra Canyon &mdash;&nbsp;This matchup was a super intriguing mixed bag for the most popular player in the tournament. James scored 13 points on 17 shots and went just 1-for-9 inside the arc (and 3-for-8 on threes). He tried to score aggressively and though he could create space for himself on drives, he struggled to get all the way to the basket and finish.
At the same time, James was spectacular as a passer. His three assists harshly undersell how many needles he threaded to hit shooters and inside scorers. James wrapped this laser of a one-armed pass through two defenders in transition that went unrewarded. His active hands on defense also allowed him to aggressively guard the arc and jump passing lanes, leading to five steals. This was not the takeover game the Springfield crowd probably wanted, but it was nonetheless a fun outing to watch.
Boys &mdash; Montverde Academy (FL) 64, Sunrise Christian (KS) 51
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Liam McNeeley has one of the prettiest shooting strokes in the high school game. Great size at 6&rsquo;7&rdquo; / 6&rsquo;8&rdquo;. Stretch four big with a lot of skill. <a href="https://t.co/qK2s5OlePn">pic.twitter.com/qK2s5OlePn</a>
&mdash; Global Scouting (@GlobalScouting_) <a href="https://twitter.com/GlobalScouting_/status/1615085878556397568?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 16, 2023</a></blockquote>

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Liam McNeeley, Montverde &mdash;&nbsp;Practically every member of the Eagles' rotation had at least a few standout moments. McNeeley was most impressive for how he created advantages off the dribble and made high-level passing reads as a 6-foot-6 wing. The 5-star junior picked up eight assists against one turnover with his 10 points.
His first step is legit, but he rarely drove into bad traffic without then hitting the appropriate cutter or shooter. McNeeley only shot 2-for-6 from the field (all threes), but he's proven himself as a perimeter threat throughout the weekend. He's one of the more fascinating fits on Montverde's loaded roster.
Miro Little, Sunrise Christian &mdash;&nbsp;Little helped Sunrise Christian rally to keep this game competitive with 17 points on 7-of-9 shooting, including 3-of-5 from distance. The Baylor-bound point guard hit some quality shots off of movement when Sunrise Christian was able to settle into its offense. He's strong for his size and held his own against a big Montverde squad. Baylor's had a lot of recent success with its guards and Little seems like a perfect addition to the trend.

Ethan Fuller recaps his top performances from the final day of the HoopHall Classic.

HoopHall Highlights: Top performances from Monday's action

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) &mdash; Domantas Sabonis had 19 points, a career-high 16 assists and 15 rebounds in his fourth triple-double of the season, and the Sacramento Kings beat the skidding Houston Rockets 139-114 on Friday night for their third straight win.
The Kings (23-18) moved five games over .500 for the first time since April 2006, when they made their most recent playoff appearance.
&ldquo;You don&rsquo;t just feel it at the arena, you feel it out and about in Sacramento,&rdquo; Kings coach Mike Brown said of the response to the highest-scoring team in the NBA. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s genuine. You genuinely feel their joy when you talk to them... We love them to death, and we are happy that we can bring some joy to them.&rdquo;
Sabonis joined Oscar Robertson as the only players in franchise history with at least 15 points, 15 rebounds and 15 assists in a game. Robertson did it 15 times for the Cincinnati Royals.
Harrison Barnes scored 27 points and De&rsquo;Aaron Fox added 24.
&ldquo;They were making a ton of 3s in transition,&rdquo; Rockets coach Stephen Silas said. &ldquo;We are a help team and we&rsquo;re gonna give up some, but too many.&rdquo;
With 11:09 left, Malik Monk, Chimezie Metu, Tari Eason and Garrison Matthews were all ejected. Monk and Matthews went face-to-face after a foul was called on Monk during a fast break.
&ldquo;I had no issue with it,&rdquo; Barnes said of the altercation. &ldquo;At the end of the day that&rsquo;s the fight that we need as a team, that&rsquo;s the fight that we&rsquo;ll need this season, and that&rsquo;s the fight we&rsquo;ll need for the playoffs.&rdquo;
Jalen Green and Jabari Smith Jr. each scored 27 points for the Rockets (10-32). They have lost nine consecutive games and 14 of 15.
&ldquo;Just my teammates trusting me,&rdquo; Smith, the No. 3 pick, said of his career night. &ldquo;Me trying to get to the basket more and trying to expand my game a little bit."
TIP-INS
Rockets: G Kevin Porter Jr. was ruled out with a bruised left foot.
Kings: G Kevin Huerter was ruled out for the second consecutive game with a non-COVID-19 illness. Terence Davis started in his place and scored 22 points.
&nbsp;

Domantas Sabonis had his fourth triple-double of the season, and the Sacramento Kings beat the skidding Houston Rockets 139-114.

Sabonis has triple-double, Kings rout skidding Rockets

HOUSTON (AP) &mdash; Lauri Markkanen scored a career-high 49 points to lead the Utah Jazz to a 131-114 victory over the Houston Rockets on Thursday night that snapped a five-game skid.
Markkanen got out to a quick start with 18 points in the first quarter to help the Jazz to an early lead. Houston took the lead late in the third quarter, but Utah ended that quarter on a 10-0 run to go on top for good.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve said it over and over again this year, it&rsquo;s just my teammates, the coaching staff, they put me in the right spots to succeed,&rdquo; Markkanen said. &ldquo;My teammates did a great job delivering me the ball and it was just finishing my shots.&rdquo;
An 8-2 run cut Utah&rsquo;s lead to five with about 5 minutes left. Jordan Clarkson hit a 3-pointer soon after that before a tip shot by Markkanen extended the lead to 117-107.
Jalen Green added a basket for Houston before Markkanen scored the next four points to start a 14-0 run by the Jazz that made it 131-109 and sent fans streaming for the exits.
Markkanen added consecutive 3-pointers at the end of the run. Players on the Utah bench stood and cheered as he hit both of them and they were disappointed when a last 3-point attempt that would have given him 50 points was off the mark.
&ldquo;Jordan said: &lsquo;Just go for 50,&rsquo;&rdquo; Markkanen said. &ldquo;And I know they were double-teaming me at the end, but I had to go for it. I&rsquo;m not really too worried I didn't get it, but it&rsquo;s great to see my teammates excited, like I&rsquo;m excited for them.&rdquo;
Green had 30 points and Kevin Porter Jr. added 23 for the Rockets, who dropped their sixth in a row.
Markkanen&rsquo;s highest-scoring game entering Thursday was 38, which he had achieved twice, most recently on Dec. 20 against Detroit. He made six 3-pointers and all 13 of his free throws Thursday night to eclipse his previous best games.
&ldquo;He's done such a good job of continuing to work on different ways he can impact the game offensively,&rdquo; Jazz coach Will Hardy said. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s just shown an understanding of how to play when teams try to take certain things away from him.&rdquo;
Coach Stephen Silas was disappointed in how many times the Rockets sent Markkanen to the line.
&ldquo;The free throws were the biggest part,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s always the biggest part. When a guy gets a bunch of points, it&rsquo;s your ability to be disciplined and not foul him and put him on the line 13 times. That&rsquo;s usually how it works.&rdquo;
The Jazz were up by seven after a jump shot by Clarkson before a 11-3 spurt by the Rockets made it 86-85, giving them their first lead of the second half. Porter and Jae&rsquo;Sean Tate made consecutive 3s to cap that run and put Houston on top.
The Rockets weren&rsquo;t on top for long. Utah scored the last 10 points of the third quarter, with 3-pointers from Malik Beasley and Mike Conley, to take a 95-86 lead to the fourth.
TIP-INS
Jazz: Clarkson had 19 points&hellip; Conley had nine points and 11 assists. &hellip; Beasley scored 19 points off the bench.
Rockets: Tate had 11 points in his return after missing 31 games with right ankle soreness. &hellip; Alperen Sengun had 20 points and 14 rebounds. &hellip; Eric Gordon had 12 points.
ROOKIE BREAKOUT
Hardy raved about the performance of Ochai Agbaji, who was the 14th overall pick in last year's draft. He scored a career-high 11 points, with all of them coming in the fourth quarter.
&ldquo;I have a lot of respect for Ochai, the way he's approached his work every day so far this season,&rdquo; Hardy said. &ldquo;It's really hard to do what Ochai just did and he delivered, stepped up big time for us, so we're very happy for him.&rdquo;
&nbsp;

Lauri Markkanen scored a career-high 49 points to lead the Utah Jazz to a 131-114 victory over the Houston Rockets.

Markkanen has career-best 49 as Jazz down Rockets 131-114

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Malik Monk scored 33 points, including the tiebreaking free throw with 0.7 seconds left, and the Sacramento Kings came back from down 19 points late in the third quarter to beat the Denver Nuggets 127-126 on Wednesday night.
“I was talking to my old teammate, DeAndre Jordan, the whole time,” Monk said on the final free throws. "That free throw felt the best it has all night, I thought it was going in. Then I just had to lock in and hit the next one. I don’t miss two in a row.” 
Nikola Jokic scored 40 points for Denver but missed a 3-pointer at the top of the key as time expired. 
“Sacramento played really well,” Jokic said. “It was not just one guy. We couldn’t stop a couple of them.”
De’Aaron Fox had 31 points and 13 assists, while Domantas Sabonis returned to the lineup with 31 points, 10 rebounds and five assists. The Kings had lost three of four at home.
“He literally has a broken thumb,” Fox said of Sabonis. “He still went out there and it just shows his toughness. He wants to win. When he came here it wasn’t just for the future, he wants to win games now.”
The Nuggets played without Jamal Murray, Aaron Gordon and Bruce Brown. They had their five-game winning streak snapped.
“I felt like we were bigger and when you play big it’s harder for them to share the basketball," Kings acting head coach Jordi Fernandez said. "Our activity, our communication, our willingness to fly around, I feel like that really changed the game.”
Michael Porter Jr. had 19 points for Denver after a 30-point performance Tuesday in the Nuggets' victory in the opener of the two-game series in Sacramento. Bones Hyland scored 20 points in his first start of the season. 
“Obviously tonight was not a great night for our defense,” Nuggets coach Michael Malone said. “That’s why we lost. You can’t rely on offense against a young hungry team that got beat last night.”
TIP-INS
Nuggets: Jokic had seven rebounds and six assists.
Kings: Sacramento coach Mike Brown missed his second consecutive game after he entered the health and safety protocols after testing positive for COVID-19. Fernandez took his place. … The Kings received a technical foul after a delay of game call with 11:09 left in the second quarter.
UP NEXT
Nuggets: Host Miami on Friday.
Kings: Host Utah on Friday in the final game of a six-game homestand.

Malik Monk scored 33 points, and the Sacramento Kings rallied from 19 points down to beat the Denver Nuggets 127-126.

Monk scores 33, hits winning free throw as Kings top Nuggets

LOS ANGELES (AP) &mdash; Jayson Tatum scored 44 points, Jaylen Brown added five of his 25 in overtime, and the Boston Celtics blew a 20-point lead in the second half before rallying from a late 13-point deficit for a thrilling 122-118 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday night.
Marcus Smart hit four 3-pointers and scored 18 points for the NBA-leading Celtics, who wrapped up their six-game trip by avoiding their first three-game losing streak of the season.
Anthony Davis had 37 points and 12 rebounds, but he also missed two free throws with 28 seconds left in regulation to allow the Celtics back into it. LeBron James scored 33 points.
The rivals played a wild second half in which the Lakers rallied from an 81-61 deficit midway through the third quarter with a 45-12 surge. Boston then erased Los Angeles&rsquo; 106-93 lead in the final 3:40 with a 17-4 run capped by Tatum&rsquo;s tying jumper with 17.8 seconds left.
Russell Westbrook had 20 points and 14 assists for Los Angeles, but he also missed three open jumpers in overtime while the Celtics pulled away with 12 consecutive points.
BUCKS 128, WARRIORS 111
MILWAUKEE (AP) &mdash; Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 30 points while Bobby Portis finished with 25 points and 11 rebounds to lead the Milwaukee past Golden State in a matchup of the NBA&rsquo;s last two champions.
Stephen Curry scored 20 points despite missing seven of 10 3-point attempts. Jordan Poole added 18 points and Klay Thompson 14 for Golden State.
The Warriors dropped their third straight road game and fell to 2-12 away from home this season. The defending NBA champions have allowed at least 114 points in every road game.
The Warriors trailed 64-52 at the break and the Bucks created some separation with an 8-2 run to open the second half. Golden State coach Steve Kerr cleared his bench early in the fourth quarter.
76ERS 123, KINGS 103
PHILADELPHIA (AP) &mdash; Joel Embiid scored 31 points, James Harden had 21 points and 15 assists, and Philadelphia scored 80 points in the first half and cruised past Sacramento.
Tobias Harris also scored 21 points for the Sixers, who have won three straight to start a seven-game homestand.
Domantas Sabonis led the Kings with 22 points. Sacramento has lost three of the first four games of its six-game East Coast swing.
Philadelphia led 80-55 at halftime.
ROCKETS 111, SUNS 97
HOUSTON (AP) &mdash; Jalen Green had 26 points and Kevin Porter Jr. added 18 Houston never trailed against slumping Phoenix.
The Rockets led by as many as 23 and held a comfortable lead for most of the night in the return of coach Stephen Silas, who was back after missing the previous game following the death of his father, longtime NBA player and coach Paul Silas.
The Suns dropped their fifth straight. Phoenix was playing without Devin Booker, and Deandre Ayton (left ankle) and Cameron Payne (right foot) were hurt in the first half.
Mikal Bridges led the Suns with 18 points but shot a horrific 4 of 24 from the field and 2 of 10 from 3-point range.
JAZZ 121, PELICANS 100
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) &mdash; Malik Beasley made five 3-pointers and scored 21 points, and Utah cooled off Zion Williamson and New Orleans.
Williamson scored 26 points in 26 minutes and Jonas Valanciunas scored 15, but the Pelicans&rsquo; seven-game winning streak was snapped. Only one of those wins came on the road.
After missing three games with an illness, Utah&rsquo;s Lauri Markkanen showed little rust in scoring 19 points, and Nickeil Alexander-Walker also scored 19 and had a season-high six assists for the Jazz.
Walker Kessler had 11 points, a career-high 16 rebounds and three blocked shots. Jarred Vanderbilt had season bests of 18 points and 14 rebounds.
Williamson played just 11 minutes in the first half because of foul trouble. The Pelicans never recovered the lead they lost when he left the game.

A recap of Tuesday night's NBA action includes an overtime thriller featuring multiple comebacks in Los Angeles.