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Hornets

Following the Phoenix Suns&rsquo; shocking postseason exit, all eyes are now on Deandre Ayton's free agency.
After the Suns declined to sign Ayton to a five-year, rookie-scale max extension before the 2021-22 season, restricted free agency is now on the horizon for the athletic big man. During the NBA Draft Combine in Chicago, Ayton&rsquo;s agent Bill Duffy discussed Ayton's future on SiriusXM&rsquo;s NBA show.
&ldquo;We&rsquo;re disappointed. We wanted a max contract,&rdquo; Duffy <a href="https://twitter.com/esidery/status/1527772160923619328" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a>. &ldquo;He went out and was a solider the whole year, played well, improved his statistics. So, we&rsquo;re proud of him. A lot of guys handle things differently, but he was very mature about it. Things will work out for Deandre. He&rsquo;s a valuable player. There&rsquo;s other teams in the league as well. He&rsquo;s a restricted free agent, so we&rsquo;ll see how this process unfolds.&rdquo;
Ayton averaged 17.3 points, 10.0 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 0.7 blocks on a career-high 65.6% True Shooting percentage during the 2021-22 campaign. Ayton was a key asset for the Suns on both ends of the court, especially around the basket as an easy lob threat and defensive anchor. Ayton has been a key piece for the Suns, but is he worth a max contract? Based on Duffy&rsquo;s comments earlier this week, it sounds like Ayton&rsquo;s camp won&rsquo;t settle for anything less than the max entering free agency.
From the Suns&rsquo; perspective, they saw improvement from the 2018 No. 1 overall pick this season before the team's disappointing postseason showing.
&ldquo;I think he&rsquo;s shown that he&rsquo;s improved each year, helps us on both the defense and the offense,&rdquo; Suns owner Robert Sarver told <a href="http://BasketballNews.com">BasketballNews.com</a> recently about Ayton. &ldquo;I think offensively, you see this year he&rsquo;s taken another good step in terms of his touch and his ability to score around the basket. So, he&rsquo;s been a key part of what we&rsquo;re doing.&rdquo;
Taking all of this into consideration, what if Ayton's days in Phoenix are numbered? Here's a look at the most realistic sign-and-trade destinations for Ayton this summer.
Note: It's important to remember that sign-and-trade deals rarely return the same value as a traditional trade. The Suns have let it be known that they won't simply let an asset like Ayton walk for nothing. If Ayton&rsquo;s time in Phoenix is indeed over, the Suns won&rsquo;t be leaving the relationship empty-handed.
San Antonio Spurs
Spurs receive: Deandre Ayton
Suns receive: Jakob Poeltl, Devin Vassell, Tre Jones
San Antonio is one of the few teams this offseason with secured max-level cap space. All that needs to be done in order to chase Ayton is renounce the restricted rights to Lonnie Walker.
Being at the bottom of the NBA standings is new for the Spurs. After being one of the league's model organizations for over two decades, they have officially hit a playoff drought. San Antonio was hoping for some lottery luck, but now they have to try another plan to bring in a star.
San Antonio&rsquo;s dynamic young duo of Dejounte Murray and Keldon Johnson is so fun to watch, but the they need a third game-changer to take this rebuild back into playoff mode. Ayton would be an ideal solution, mainly because of his excellent two-way fit in the Spurs&rsquo; system. Dropping Ayton into the Spurs&rsquo; player-development program could make some in Phoenix worry about the long-term consequences of this deal.
For Phoenix, cooperating with a long-time rival would hurt. However, if the relationship between team and player becomes fractured, the Suns won&rsquo;t have much of a choice if he finds a max offer on the open market.
The Suns won&rsquo;t let Ayton leave Phoenix unless they receive strong assets in return. The Spurs can actually provide a solid package that helps in the short and long-term.
In this deal, Phoenix could land one of the most underrated big men in the Association as well as two young players who have shown flashes. The Jalen Smith experiment was a disaster for the Suns after taking him No. 10 overall in the 2020 NBA Draft, and Vassell went one pick later. Phoenix can right that wrong while also obtaining an intriguing point guard to develop in Jones.
This feels like a win-win for both sides. San Antonio would have a new Big 3 in Ayton, Murray and Johnson, while the Suns could acquire their new starting center and two pieces to bolster the bench unit.
Charlotte Hornets
Hornets receive: Deandre Ayton
Suns receive: Terry Rozier, PJ Washington and draft compensation
There might not be a team with a more dire offseason need than the Hornets and their hole at center. Charlotte was one of my NBA League Pass teams this season due to their fun offensive pace, but the defense often bordered on disastrous. Montrezl Harrell and Mason Plumlee aren&rsquo;t going to cut it, so it&rsquo;s time for Charlotte to get aggressive.
Given Charlotte&rsquo;s roster, they would have to move some salaries around to make an Ayton chase realistic. Offloading Gordon Hayward&rsquo;s contract is going to be a tough task and they may even have to relinquish one of their top-15 picks to do so, but it would have to happen in order for them to pursue Ayton. Hayward is due $61.6 million over the next two seasons, and Charlotte simply can&rsquo;t afford to keep biting that bullet with restricted free agent Miles Bridges due for a payday and LaMelo Ball&rsquo;s own rookie-scale extension on the horizon. Trading away Hayward and Mason Plumlee would give the Hornets max space.
Landing Ayton is Charlotte's dream scenario. Not only would Ayton continue to get spoon-fed easy looks from an elite point guard, he would help stabilize the Hornets' defense to respectable levels. Thanks to his freakish athleticism, Ayton would be able to cover up a lot of holes around him defensively.
Phoenix would love to pull off a double sign-and-trade to nab Bridges, but that seems unlikely. Instead, this deal allows them to find their long-term answer at point guard post-Chris Paul. While Terry Rozier is a shot-chucker, he has improved as a playmaker in Charlotte. In the short-term, Rozier could step in as the Suns&rsquo; sixth man and provide the exact boost that they need in offensive guard creation. PJ Washington is an interesting add because he could slide right into the small-ball 5 role played previously by Dario Saric.
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Indiana Pacers
Pacers receive: Deandre Ayton
Suns receive: Myles Turner, Chris Duarte, TJ McConnell
What&rsquo;s the next step for Indiana? Long gone are Victor Oladipo, Domantas Sabonis and Caris LeVert. Malcolm Brogdon, Myles Turner and Buddy Hield could be the next Pacers veterans to be shipped out via trade as Indiana fully embraces a rebuild attempt. It&rsquo;s been long overdue for the Pacers to pull the plug on the core that continued to stagnate once the postseason arrived.
A year later, Indiana&rsquo;s future looks much brighter with a talented, new-look core of Tyrese Haliburton, Chris Duarte, Isaiah Jackson and whoever is selected at No. 6 overall.
Ayton couldn't ask for a better pick-and-roll partner than Haliburton. Already making magic happen with CP3, Ayton&rsquo;s rolling ability would help accentuate Haliburton&rsquo;s biggest strengths. Also, Ayton&rsquo;s defensive versatility would be a welcome arrival for a team that nosedived in that category last season.
For Indiana, the price would be hefty. Not only would this trade require a four-year max contract for Ayton, but the Pacers would likely need to ship out a key piece of their young core via sign-and-trade (such as Duarte).
This trade would be a huge win for Phoenix, but it also looks great for the Pacers. The Suns would have a starting center who adds floor-spacing equity and elite rim protection, a capable veteran backup point guard who can spell Paul at times, plus one of the most impactful rookie wings in the Association. Having to include Duarte could leave the Pacers apprehensive, but they are reportedly enamored with adding another explosive piece via the draft, as Jaden Ivey (Purdue), Shaedon Sharpe (Kentucky) and Bennedict Mathurin (Arizona) have all been linked to Indiana early in the pre-draft process.&nbsp;
Detroit Pistons
Pistons receive: Deandre Ayton
Suns receive: Jerami Grant, Isaiah Stewart, Cory Joseph and draft compensation
Another team that has considered making a run at Ayton this offseason is the Pistons, and they can create max space very easily: trading away Kelly Olynyk&rsquo;s contract.
The Pistons struck gold with Cade Cunningham and Saddiq Bey and they are helping usher in a new era in Detroit. Ayton&rsquo;s arrival would be the final piece to the puzzle for a team seemingly pushing their chips in on postseason play as early as 2023.
It would be best for Ayton to land with a capable lead guard who can feed him regularly. Already capable of tallying 20 and 10 most nights, Ayton would be set up for long-term success alongside Cunningham and Bey.
The question is, what would the Pistons need to send Phoenix&rsquo;s way in order for this sign-and-trade to go through? It&rsquo;s going to be a lot, and it would be a blockbuster-type transaction.
Blockbuster indeed, because Grant is now heading back to the Valley in this scenario. If the Suns and Pistons want to cooperate on a Ayton deal, I have to imagine one of Grant or Bey would have to be involved. Stewart is another enticing trade chip because he&rsquo;s shown the versatility to space the floor from three-point range. While he doesn't have the same touch as Ayton, Stewart brings nastiness and a tenacity on both ends of the court that Phoenix would absolutely love.
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Atlanta Hawks
Hawks receive: Deandre Ayton
Suns receive: Clint Capela, Bogdan Bogdanovic
No ifs, ands or buts about it, Trae Young would make Ayton an All-Star next season. What a fun inside-out duo this is to envision. While Atlanta is nowhere close to reaching the necessary cap space to absorb a massive Ayton deal on their own, a sign-and-trade becomes feasible with all of the talent that could fit into the Phoenix roster.
For the Hawks, Ayton represents another foundational building block to place alongside Young for the long-term. John Collins could be the guy, but he&rsquo;s been in trade rumors for the past year with no signs of those slowing down. Onyeka Okongwu could also grow into that role, but the Hawks signing Clint Capela to a long-term extension perhaps signals that they see him more as a piece to the puzzle rather than a true building block.
Ayton would arrive in Atlanta and instantly average around 23 points and 12 rebounds per game. On box-score fit alone, this would be the best landing spot for Ayton thanks to the greatness of Young.
If Phoenix had drafted Luka Doncic rather than Ayton at No. 1 overall in 2018, Phoenix may have considered adding Clint Capela to their frontcourt. Four years later, Capela being re-routed to Phoenix in an Ayton sign-and-trade is a plausible scenario to imagine. Capela would provide similar numbers to Ayton while requiring less of an offensive workload. Meanwhile, Bogdan Bogdanovic might vault to the top the NBA's Sixth Man of the Year leaderboards in the near future. Bogdanovic and Cameron Johnson leading the Suns&rsquo; second unit? That&rsquo;s a filthy thought.
***
None of these trades are perfect, but they do illustrate how challenging it will be for Phoenix to find a home for Ayton while also returning the value they'd love to get back for him. Ultimately, it may be in the Suns' best interest to re-sign Ayton this offseason and trade him at some point down the road when his value isn't so depressed.
Whatever happens, Ayton&rsquo;s name will continue to pop up in rumors throughout the spring and summer until the Suns and Ayton's camp find common ground at the negotiation table. This situation could become awkward and dragged out, which would surely kick the trade rumors into high gear. This isn't the last we'll hear about Ayton and the possibility of him changing teams.
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With Deandre Ayton's future in Phoenix becoming murky, it's time to examine potential destinations for the former No. 1 overall pick.

Examining potential sign-and-trade destinations for Deandre Ayton

The NBA sent four teams home from its Play-In Tournament after Friday night, but all four are poised to contend next season.
Though the Charlotte Hornets, Cleveland Cavaliers and San Antonio Spurs exited early, their trio of All-Star guards and exciting young cores mean all three should be back in the hunt &mdash; provided they beef up their rosters in the offseason. Meanwhile, the Los Angeles Clippers weren't supposed to make it this far without their franchise cornerstones; that only creates more buzz surrounding a 2022-23 championship contender.
What can these franchises do this offseason to set themselves up for success? I've written up some summer plans for all four squads, including draft assets (via Tankathon), potential free agents (via Spotrac) and a central team-building question (via my deranged mind). If you missed last week, I did the same for the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/summer-plans-for-the-nbas-nonplayoff-teams" target="_blank" rel="noopener">10 teams who did not crack the NBA postseason</a>.
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Let's dive in.
CHARLOTTE HORNETS
Draft assets:&nbsp;First-round pick, First-round pick via Pelicans, Second-round pick, Second-round pick via Toronto (if 55-60)
Potential free agents:&nbsp;Montrezl Harrell, Isaiah Thomas, Miles Bridges (restricted), Cody Martin (restricted), Arnoldas Kulboka (restricted), Scottie Lewis (restricted)
Central question:&nbsp;How can the Hornets construct an interior defense?
Charlotte's bottom-10 defense doomed the franchise several times in the regular season and, ultimately, in the Play-In loss to Atlanta. The Hornets gave up boatloads of at-rim attempts and three-pointers, and simply looked like turnstiles at times. Improvement is necessary across the board, but an on-paper view highlights a clear need for upgrades inside.
Mason Plumlee is a fine basketball player, but he's not anchoring a high-level NBA defense. Neither is Montrezl Harrell, and 2021 first-round pick Kai Jones barely touched the floor in Charlotte. The Hornets don't have a whole lot of salary flexibility with big-money deals in place for Gordon Hayward and Terry Rozier. Miles Bridges' restricted free agency is also a key offseason focal point.&nbsp;
Though the Hornets likely can't throw outright money at a Deandre Ayton-level restricted free agent, perhaps they could work a sign-and-trade for a lesser-known young talent. Maybe Mo Bamba fits the bill from Orlando? Charlotte was tied to trade rumors surrounding Myles Turner before the trade deadline, and the front office could also elect to sign a veteran at a mid-level exception.
Regardless of the pathway, the Hornets have needed to address the center position for years now. With a playoff leap now the expectation in 2022-23, they can't afford to let another summer slip away.
CLEVELAND CAVALIERS
Draft assets:&nbsp;First-round pick, Second-round pick via Spurs, Second-round pick via Heat
Potential free agents:&nbsp;Ed Davis, Rajon Rondo, Brandon Goodwin, Collin Sexton (restricted), Moses Brown (restricted), RJ Nembhard (restricted), Dean Wade (team option)
Central question:&nbsp;What is Collin Sexton's future in Cleveland?
The Cavaliers may have slid out of the playoffs, but this was a banner year for the franchise's long-term trajectory. Darius Garland emerged as a cornerstone point guard, Evan Mobley might win Rookie of the Year, and the frontcourt pairing with Jarrett Allen looks to be a mainstay in the Eastern Conference. Injuries ultimately derailed what was a top-four seed. Most of the rotation is under contract and under 30, hinting at continued growth.
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Darius Garland -&gt; Jarrett Allen -&gt; Evan Mobley (Lob) <a href="https://t.co/nDQz7tkxbs">pic.twitter.com/nDQz7tkxbs</a>
&mdash; Jackson Lloyd (@JacksonLloydNBA) <a href="https://twitter.com/JacksonLloydNBA/status/1515354588353728522?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 16, 2022</a></blockquote>

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This seaon's leap makes the situation with Sexton... difficult. Let's not forget that the combo guard is a season removed from a 24-point-per-game season as an efficient primary scorer, and that the Cavs were 19th in Offensive Rating this year. Sexton can meaningfully boost Cleveland simply as a bucket-getter, nevermind if he keeps improving as a playmaker.
What kind of contract do the Cavs offer to a 23-year-old who missed nearly a full season with a knee injury though? If a desperate team decides to throw money at Sexton to force the franchise to match, is there a limit to the front office's willingness? What would an extension mean for Isaac Okoro and Caris LeVert?&nbsp;
Sexton is one of the biggest dominoes in the upcoming offseason, and arguably the most unpredictable.
LOS ANGELES CLIPPERS
Draft assets:&nbsp;Second-round pick
Potential free agents: Robert Covington, Rodney Hood, Isaiah Hartenstein, Amir Coffey (restricted), Xavier Moon (restricted), Ivica Zubac (team option), Nic Batum (player option)
Central question:&nbsp;What does a fully-healthy 10-man rotation look like?
Nobody expected the Clippers to be a playoff contender without Kawhi Leonard and Paul George, and they still almost cracked the postseason with the supporting cast chipping in. L.A. made a splash at the trade deadline by adding Norman Powell and Robert Covington, two players who conceivably make sense next to the franchise's two stars.
This roster is deep. It's a great problem to have, but it's still a problem with several rotation options potentially hitting free agency. Covington will likely command a solid new deal as one of the league's more reliable two-way complements, and Batum could easily decline his $3.3 million team option in search of a raise. Ivica Zubac and Isaiah Hartenstein may both hit free agency; what would happen to the center rotation in that case?
The Clippers have Leonard, George, Powell, Reggie Jackson, Luke Kennard, Terance Mann and Marcus Morris locked down for next season. That's already seven rotation-caliber players, and it doesn't account for leaps from young talents like Brandon Boston Jr., Jason Preston or Amir Coffey. A roster crunch is inbound, and the organization can't let a quality addition slip away as it positions itself for title contention next season.
SAN ANTONIO SPURS
Draft assets:&nbsp;First-round pick, first-round pick via Raptors, first-round pick via Celtics, second-round pick via Lakers
Potential free agents:&nbsp;Lonnie Walker IV (restricted), Devontae Cacok (restricted), Joe Wieskamp (restricted), DJ Stewart Jr. (restricted), Robert Woodard II (restricted)
Central question:&nbsp;How do the Spurs toe the line between developmental patience and consolidation?
San Antonio valiantly fought to get to the Play-In Tournament before losing to New Orleans, but also had one of the more underrated developmental seasons across the roster. Dejounte Murray made his All-Star leap and Jakob Poeltl established himself as <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/jakob-poeltl-san-antonios-newest-watchful-protector" target="_blank" rel="noopener">one of the league's better rim-protectors</a>; the Spurs collectively were just a tick under league-average on both ends of the floor, per Cleaning the Glass.
One of the NBA's youngest rosters is well on track and about to receive another influx of potential. San Antonio could use its three first-rounders (including its own lottery pick) to add to the frontcourt or find another lead guard. However, the Spurs already have 12 players locked down for next season under at least partial guarantees, and 11 of them are under 30. They have a pathway to over $24 million in salary cap space this summer should they move on from restricted free agents like Walker.&nbsp;
There's an avenue, with draft picks, young players and cap space, for San Antonio to make a serious splash. Is that in the programming for this franchise, though? San Antonio hasn't acquired a star via trade in several years, unless you want to count adding DeMar DeRozan in the Kawhi Leonard blockbuster. At the same time, there are only so many minutes to go around for the young guns, especially if the Spurs think they can compete for the playoffs.
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Ethan Fuller sets the stage for the NBA's four Play-In exits approaching the offseason.

Summer plans for the Spurs, Hornets, Cavaliers and Clippers

While the Charlotte Hornets improved their win total by 10 games over last year&rsquo;s abbreviated 72-game season, the end result was the same: an embarrassing blowout loss in the play-in tournament.
Despite winning 43 games, the Hornets finished in 10th place in the Eastern Conference and <a href="https://apnews.com/article/miami-heat-charlotte-hornets-cleveland-cavaliers-atlanta-hawks-nba-3ecd373854232ff01332ae4f7cdd455b">lost 132-103 on Wednesday night to the Atlanta Hawks</a>. Charlotte lost by 27 points to Indiana in last year's play-in tournament as the 10 seed.
If the Hornets want to end that cycle, it'll have to start with defense.
Charlotte posted its highest offensive rating in franchise history and finished eighth overall in the NBA, but the defense continued to lag behind. Charlotte ranked 22nd in defense among the league&rsquo;s 30 teams.
The loss to the Hawks illustrated the dire need for a rim protector and better man-to-man defense on the perimeter.
&ldquo;We need to become more curious about how to guard," coach James Borrego said. &ldquo;We need to get better defensively by watching the best teams do it and learning from them and watching these (playoff) series.&rdquo;
Miles Bridges agreed with his coach, adding that he'd like to see the Hornets add an inside presence.
&ldquo;We have been saying this for the last few years, we have to get better on defense," Bridges said. "We can't keep saying it. We have to actually make it happen.&rdquo;
BRIDGES' FUTURE
The biggest personnel question heading into the offseason revolves around Bridges' future. He's a restricted free agent who's expected to command big money come July.
Bridges confirmed reports that he turned down a lucrative $60 million contract extension offer from the Hornets last year, hoping to prove he was worth even more with a big season. He did just that, averaging a career-high 20.2 points and 7 rebounds per game.
Borrego admitted he didn't foresee Bridges making this big of a leap.
The Hornets will have the option to match any offer made to Bridges by another team once he becomes a free agent, providing they make him a qualifying offer.
&ldquo;I anticipate him being back with us," Borrego said. "He&rsquo;s a major part of this core, we love him. He&rsquo;s a major part of this franchise.&rdquo;
Said Bridges: &ldquo;I mean I would love to come back, for sure. But I don't even worry about that stuff. I let my agent worry about it.&rdquo;
BALL WILL BE NO. 1
All-Star LaMelo Ball said he expects to be wearing a No. 1 jersey next season instead of the No. 2 he's donned the first two seasons in the league.
Ball petitioned the NBA for a number change, and said he's been told it has been granted.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s supposed to happen,&rdquo; Ball said. &ldquo;I ain&rsquo;t ever supposed to wear No. 2 again. If I see a No. 2 next year, I don&rsquo;t know what I&rsquo;m going to do, for real.&rdquo;
Ball took No. 2 coming into the league because Malik Monk was wearing No. 1 for the Hornets at the time. Ball attempted to change numbers last year, but missed the deadline.
Ball said he's always felt &ldquo;weird&rdquo; wearing No. 2.
&ldquo;You don&rsquo;t feel like you&rsquo;re playing for real,&rdquo; Ball said. &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t know who this is. I don&rsquo;t know who No. 2 is.&rdquo;
PLUMLEE'S SHOT
Midway through his ninth NBA season, Hornets center Mason Plumlee abruptly and boldly decided to make a huge shift from free throws and shooting jump shots with his left hand instead of his right hand amid a tremendous slump.
Plumlee said he plans to continue shooting lefthanded next season &mdash; even though he looks extremely awkward doing so.
&ldquo;I'm going to stick with the left,&rdquo; Plumlee said. &ldquo;It feels good. I know the practice shooting is really good. I know it was an in-the-moment thing, but I'm happy with it."
HAYWARD'S STATUS
Gordon Hayward missed 22 games with a sprained ankle before returning for one game late in the season. But that return was cut short after Hayward experienced pain in the same left foot.
It turns out Hayward had a bone chip in the foot that was preventing him from getting back to full speed. He strolled into the press room on Thursday on a knee scooter, his lower left leg in a hard cast.
&ldquo;After talking to the doctors they felt like the best way to get this thing to heal would be to cast it and basically get off of it,&rdquo; Hayward said.
The 32-year-old small forward expects to be ready next season.
BIRD WATCHING
It turns out the Hornets can still have a chance to get a big win in the play-in tournament.
If Pelicans beat the Clippers on Friday night, Charlotte gets New Orleans' first-round draft pick this year (No. 15 overall) as part of the trade that sent Devonte Graham to the Big Easy. If the Pelicans lose, the Hornets get New Orleans' second round picks in 2022 and 2024 instead.

Charlotte posted its highest Offensive Rating in franchise history and finished eighth in the NBA, but the defense continued to lag behind.

Hornets need defense, rim protection to take the next step

One of Bam Adebayo&rsquo;s favorite plays of the season was during a game Miami played at Charlotte in early February, when most of the things that happened didn&rsquo;t show up on a stat sheet.
It was late in the first half. Adebayo started the possession guarding Mason Plumlee, then switched onto LaMelo Ball after a screen. Ball couldn&rsquo;t get past him, so he flipped the ball to Terry Rozier. Adebayo was waiting for him, too, so Rozier gave the ball up to Miles Bridges. With the shot clock running down, Bridges tried to drive on Adebayo.
Didn&rsquo;t work. Adebayo blocked the ensuing layup try with ease.
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Bam Adebayo switched three times onto perimeter players this possession: He handled all of them. It ends with an emphatic rejection of Bridges followed by a slam on the other end. What. A. Player. Two-way monster<a href="https://twitter.com/hothothoops?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@hothothoops</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/HEATCulture?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#HEATCulture</a> <a href="https://t.co/c6XrHnRoRz">pic.twitter.com/c6XrHnRoRz</a>
&mdash; Matt Hanifan (@mph_824_) <a href="https://twitter.com/mph_824_/status/1490128662720512000?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 6, 2022</a></blockquote>

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&ldquo;I guarded three dudes in one possession,&rdquo; Adebayo said, forgetting that it was technically four. &ldquo;And a fan watching it would be like, &lsquo;OK, Bam got the block.&rsquo; They probably didn&rsquo;t see the rest of it. That&rsquo;s the thing with defense. It&rsquo;s more than who&rsquo;s got the most steals or the most blocks.&rdquo;
A panel of media voters will decide later this month on the NBA&rsquo;s awards for this season, and Adebayo isn&rsquo;t shy about saying that he thinks he merits consideration as the league&rsquo;s Defensive Player of the Year. It&rsquo;s a tough club to break into with perennial candidates like Utah&rsquo;s Rudy Gobert, Golden State&rsquo;s Draymond Green and the Milwaukee duo of Giannis Antetokounmpo and Jrue Holiday all obviously worthy, plus with Boston&rsquo;s Marcus Smart and Phoenix&rsquo;s Mikal Bridges deservedly getting plenty of attention this season as well.
The Eastern Conference-leading Heat, who still try to prioritize defense even in this era of higher scores than a decade ago, say Adebayo is equally &mdash; if not more &mdash; deserving, with Miami coach Erik Spoelstra insisting that his center makes an imprint on the game &ldquo;like few can in this Association.&rdquo;
&ldquo;We want him to put his fingerprints on the game defensively in all different kinds of ways, in a lot of different schemes and guarding really every position, one through five,&rdquo; Spoelstra said. &ldquo;That&rsquo;s legit. That&rsquo;s not just a saying. Every single night at some point he will guard every single player ... and he&rsquo;s one of the few guys in the league that can do that.&rdquo;
Adebayo was one of three players with a first-place DPOY vote last year, with Gobert &mdash; the runaway winner &mdash; getting 84 and runner-up Ben Simmons, now with Brooklyn, getting 15. Adebayo got the other.
He finished fourth in the overall voting a year ago, after finishing fifth in 2019-20.
&ldquo;I think he&rsquo;s in that mix now,&rdquo; Warriors coach Steve Kerr said. &ldquo;I think just the versatility that he brings, that&rsquo;s what separates, to me, the best defenders in the league &mdash; the versatility to guard multiple positions, multiple actions, to roam and protect teammates. He does all of that. He can guard one through five on switches. He is absolutely elite.&rdquo;
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Adebayo is having his best season for the Heat, averaging 19.0 points and 10.3 rebounds, along with a career-best 1.5 steals per game and nearly one block per contest. The steals and blocks numbers aren&rsquo;t overwhelming, but that&rsquo;s also the point to Adebayo&rsquo;s argument.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s one of those things where, in our game, everybody looks at the final column &mdash; how many points did you score or just what&rsquo;s on that sheet,&rdquo; Adebayo said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s like that dictates your total impact on the game. And that&rsquo;s not the way the game works. It&rsquo;s like defense doesn&rsquo;t matter, until it does.&rdquo;
Adebayo has a long list of players that he thinks are at the top of the top right now defensively. He says Holiday, Mikal Bridges, Green and his Miami teammate P.J. Tucker should all be among those in the conversation.
But he&rsquo;s also not afraid to state his case.
&ldquo;In my mind, I think I&rsquo;m the Defensive Player of the Year,&rdquo; Adebayo said. &ldquo;To me, defense is all about pride. My teammates let me be who I am because they know that if I put my fingerprints on a game, good things can happen.&rdquo;

Bam Adebayo believes he deserves this season's Defensive Player of the Year award, and he explains his reasoning.

Heat's Bam Adebayo: 'I think I’m the Defensive Player of the Year'

The lone late game on Tuesday night featured Paul George returning triumphantly to lead the Los Angeles Clippers through a nationally-televised meltdown from the Utah Jazz. Naturally, the two ensuing talking points centered on George's 34-point outing and Donovan Mitchell's <a href="https://www.si.com/nba/clippers/news/donovan-mitchell-voices-frustration-with-jazzs-loss-to-clippers" target="_blank" rel="noopener">postgame quotes</a> about Utah's pattern of spring failures.
But a third name emerged from Los Angeles' win. Isaiah Hartenstein tallied 14 points, 7 rebounds and 6 assists to help fuel the comeback win and garnered several "who's-this-guy, he's-good" types of tweets from casual fans throughout the night. News flash: Hartenstein has been balling for the ragtag Clippers all season and has taken his game to another level over the last month.
The 23-year-old is averaging 10.2 points, 5.5 rebounds and 3.3 assists in 21.3 minutes per game since the All-Star break. It hasn't always equated to winning &mdash; Los Angeles is 7-8 during that time &mdash; but Hartenstein has emerged as a multifaceted contributor and one of the best backup centers in the league.
Let's start with the passing, which I can define with one word: crisp.
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This Isaiah Hartenstein no-look was filthyyyy <a href="https://t.co/oQWxdTuAer">pic.twitter.com/oQWxdTuAer</a>
&mdash; Ethan Fuller (@ethman43) <a href="https://twitter.com/ethman43/status/1509231181899960322?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 30, 2022</a>
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Hartenstein rifles basketballs to cutters. The above clip is nuts, but he does this pretty regularly. Hartenstein can operate as a QB1 at the top of the arc, out of the post or at the elbow. In fact, he sports a 22.2% assist rate from the elbow, good for third among the 20 players with at least 200 elbow touches this season.
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Then, he turns around and displays some impressive processing speed when he rolls or cuts. Hartenstein has great hands and solid body control for a seven-foot center and, coupled with his vision, can find passing lanes many bigs might not see.
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Hartenstein has an elite 18.5% assist rate that ranks in the 92nd percentile among all bigs this season. Since the All-Star break, that has soared up to 24.3%. And he maximizes his passing opportunities at some of the highest big-man levels in the league.&nbsp;
According to NBA Stats/Second Spectrum, Hartenstein ranks sixth among all centers (min. 40 games) with an 11.2% adjusted assist-to-pass ratio in 2021-22, behind only Nikola Jokic (13.2%), Mason Plumlee (11.8%), Alperen Sengun (11.7%), Steven Adams (11.6%) and Karl-Anthony Towns (11.5%). This means that 11.2% of Hartenstein's total passes result in points or free throws for the recipient. He is second in adjusted assist-to-pass ratio (13.4%) since the break, behind only Jokic (13.8%).&nbsp;
We are talking about, for my money, one of the five best passing bigs in the NBA.
Hartenstein's court vision separates him from most centers. He's also a force around the basket as a play-finisher. Hartenstein has punched home 83% of his attempts at the rim post-All-Star break and 74% on the year, per Cleaning the Glass.&nbsp;
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With his size and mobility, Hartenstein possesses some advantages inside. He has yet to expand his game consistently beyond the arc or even in the mid-range. However &mdash; and for those of you who have read the <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-stats-notebook-immanuel-quickleys-unusual-shot-diet-can-work" target="_blank" rel="noopener">past</a> <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-stats-notebook-bruce-brown-is-an-enigma-in-all-the-right-ways" target="_blank" rel="noopener">two</a> notebooks, I swear this is not supposed to be a trend &mdash; Hartenstein is lighting up the wider paint with floaters and hook shots.
Cleaning the Glass designates the zone between four feet and the free throw line as the "short mid-range." Hartenstein attempts 37% of his shots in that zone (96th percentile among centers) and is hitting on 53% of them (88th percentile). He methodically waits to strike at the right opportunities. Look at how Hartenstein circles up to an open shot on back-to-back possessions against the Jazz defense.
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According to InStat Scouting, Hartenstein has canned an impressive 57.3% of his 103 floaters. Many of them look like this jumping lefty push-floater seen above. He has an impeccable sense of timing for when to circle up, and can then either use this shot or explode to the basket.&nbsp;
Together, Hartenstein's bag of tricks as a passer and interior scorer make him an offensive weapon even without a viable jumper. Then on defense, he blocks shots and contests the rim with proficiency.
BBall Index says that when Hartenstein is on the floor, he contests more than 47% of the opponents' shots at the rim. More than 22% of his contests become blocks; that's in the 81st percentile among all players at his position. His 10.8 rim contests per 75 possessions are in the 99th percentile among bigs.
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Biggest differential between expected and actual FG% within 6 feet of the rim (5 or more FGA defended per game) Jarrett Allen -14.7% Jaren Jackson Jr -14.5% Rudy Gobert -12.2% Wendell Carter Jr -11.4% Isaiah Hartenstein -11.3% Evan Mobley -11% Isaiah Stewart -10.8% Giannis -10.8%
&mdash; Mark Schindler (@MSchindlerNBA) <a href="https://twitter.com/MSchindlerNBA/status/1506702830903644168?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 23, 2022</a></blockquote>

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Hartenstein's block rate (3.4%) and steal rate (1.9%) are in the 93rd and 91st big-man percentiles, respectively, per Cleaning the Glass. Only six other rotation players have cleared even 2.0% and 1.5% this season, nevermind approaching Hartenstein's rates.
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Against other bigs and larger forwards, Hartenstein appears mobile. He absorbs contact with his 250-pound frame and stays engaged with his hands. The discipline isn't perfect; Hartenstein has a 5.7% foul rate, in the 14th percentile for big men. But it's a fair trade with how he can affect shots inside.
Now, this isn't to say Hartenstein is an All-Defensive candidate. The Clippers big man typically comes off the bench and faces opponents with less of an offensive role. He was fairly helpless in a recent matchup against Joel Embiid &mdash; though to be fair, aren't we all?
Hartenstein also really struggles to defend guards in space. The stats don't paint him as an overt negative, but Utah in particular attacked him in switches and beat him off the dribble. You'll see two such examples within this reel:
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I would certainly label Hartenstein an "active" defender, though his size and limited foot speed hinder him in aspects of today's NBA. He's not an anchor, but there are enough valuable tools that teams can integrate into the right defensive cast.&nbsp;
Hartenstein is making just $1.73 million on his one-year contract with the Clippers. That should skyrocket this summer when he signs his next deal as a free agent. At base level, Hartenstein is a connector, finisher and bruiser. But if unlocked, he could be a secondary orchestrator for an offense and a valuable rim-protector on defense &mdash; an archetype modern teams covet.
THE OUTLIERS (a.k.a. other random interesting numbers I found in the void):
<ul>
<li>If you haven't seen it yet, watch this video:</li>
</ul>
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The Lakers social media team got some explaining to do 😂 <a href="https://t.co/sB5pNxXAFW">pic.twitter.com/sB5pNxXAFW</a>
&mdash; KENNY BEECHAM (@KOT4Q) <a href="https://twitter.com/KOT4Q/status/1508267758831779849?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 28, 2022</a></blockquote>
<ul>
<li>Todd Whitehead of Synergy posted the NBA's leaders in handoff assists. As the NBA MVP race comes down to the wire, there was some Twitter discussion about if certain players' assist totals are padded by handoffs. So take a look at this chart, and specficially look at the rate stat:</li>
</ul>
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NBA handoff assist leaders. <a href="https://t.co/bakrC7i4MN">pic.twitter.com/bakrC7i4MN</a>
&mdash; Todd Whitehead (@CrumpledJumper) <a href="https://twitter.com/CrumpledJumper/status/1509179893094895621?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 30, 2022</a></blockquote>
<ul>
<li>While I was writing this article, I kept noticing Alperen Sengun's name pop up among passing leaders. It's quite amazing how he is impacting the game as a rookie.&nbsp;</li>
</ul>
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I&rsquo;m doing a piece on a different passing big but it should be noted how some of the numbers support Alperen Sengun as an awesome passer His 11.7% Adj. AST/Pass ratio is second among all centers only behind Jokic. That means 11.7% of his passes become assists or free throws
&mdash; Ethan Fuller (@ethman43) <a href="https://twitter.com/ethman43/status/1509274412511547401?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 30, 2022</a></blockquote>

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Isaiah Hartenstein has emerged as a high-end passing center, finisher and rim-protector with the Los Angeles Clippers.

NBA Stats Notebook: Isaiah Hartenstein is the Clippers' secret weapon

Every day,&nbsp;BasketballNews.com&nbsp;gives you NBA betting analysis before tip-off. Make sure you subscribe to our daily podcast &ldquo;Nothing But Bets&rdquo; on&nbsp;<a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/nothing-but-bets/id1589799249" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Apple Podcasts</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://open.spotify.com/episode/6zNxt0NQXPmKuryAdz89m0?si=1038d121100444fd" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Spotify</a>&nbsp;or wherever you listen to podcasts. This season, &ldquo;Nothing But Bets&rdquo; is up thousands of dollars on PrizePicks.
Without further ado, let&rsquo;s dive into our favorite NBA betting plays for Monday's slate.
Charlotte Hornets vs. Denver Nuggets (-3.5)
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The Charlotte Hornets have a forecast 69% chance to win against The Denver Nuggets with a spread of -8.5/8.5 and an over/under of 230.0. The Charlotte Hornets are 1 - 0 against The Denver Nuggets in the 2021-22 Season.
&mdash; Monday, March 28th Denver Nuggets @ Charlotte Hornets</blockquote>

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This is such an underrated game for Monday&rsquo;s slate with the Nuggets and Hornets squaring off in Charlotte. The Hornets played spoiler on Sunday by beating the Nets in Kyrie Irving&rsquo;s home debut. Meanwhile, Nikola Jokic continues to carry the Nuggets in the Western Conference. In this one, we love the Nuggets simply due to the mismatch Jokic presents against Charlotte&rsquo;s bigs. Expect a monster MVP-type outing from Jokic, so hammer Denver here.
Pick: Nuggets -3.5
PrizePicks Power Play: Nikola Jokic over 27.5 points, LaMelo Ball over 20.5 points, Mason Plumlee over 7.5 rebounds, Aaron Gordon over 5.5 rebounds
Toronto Raptors (-7.5) vs. Boston Celtics
Losing Robert Williams is such a crushing blow to the resurgent Celtics, who now suddenly sit at No. 1 in the Eastern Conference standings. Going up against the Raptors right now is a worst-case scenario for the Celtics, especially with all of the injury concerns. Quietly, Toronto continues to rise in the East. Pascal Siakam and Fred VanVleet should have their way in this matchup as well. Confidently wager on the Raptors to win comfortably on Monday night.
Pick: Raptors -7.5
PrizePicks Power Play: Pascal Siakam over 22.5 points, Fred VanVleet over 18.5 points, Derrick White over 16.5 points, Grant Williams over 6.5 rebounds
New York Knicks vs. Chicago Bulls (-3.5)
If you&rsquo;re looking for a game to watch with a lot of points, this is the perfect one to place money on from a betting perspective. The Knicks are one of the most inconsistent teams in the NBA, but their duo of RJ Barrett and Julius Randle can keep up when they get going on the offensive end. Chicago is trying to finally find its footing again, and maybe a game in Madison Square Garden is the perfect antidote. Behind big outings from DeMar DeRozan and Zach LaVine, lock in a cover from the Bulls.
Pick: Bulls -3.5
PrizePicks Power Play: RJ Barrett over 24.5 points, DeMar DeRozan over 23.5 points, Zach LaVine over 23.5 points, Julius Randle over 21.5 points
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Make sure to&nbsp;<a href="https://app.prizepicks.com/sign-up?invite_code=News" target="_blank" rel="noopener">check out PrizePicks</a>&nbsp;and use the promo code NEWS when you sign up, and they'll instantly match your deposit up to $100! Also, make sure to listen to "Nothing But Bets" for daily betting analysis on&nbsp;<a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/nothing-but-bets/id1589799249" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Apple Podcasts</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://open.spotify.com/show/3rnooUvIsHtvykhPY9Ddt8?si=36d61d2c59a44523" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Spotify</a>&nbsp;or wherever you listen to podcasts.

Who are the best bets for tonight's NBA games? Which players should you target in daily fantasy? We've got you covered!

Best Bets: BasketballNews' picks and fantasy advice for 3/28/22

Isaiah Thomas is back.
Well, not&nbsp;back &mdash;&nbsp;this isn't the 2016-17 campaign in which Thomas carried a Boston Celtics offense to the tune of 28.9 points (on 62.5% True Shooting) and 5.9 assists per game. But Thomas has found a home for the <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/charlotte-to-sign-isaiah-thomas-for-the-rest-of-the-season" target="_blank" rel="noopener">rest of the season</a>, providing the currently-streaking Charlotte Hornets with a nice boost of offense.
Since joining the team three weeks ago, Thomas is averaging a shade under 10 points while draining 48.0% of his threes (3.6 attempts). During the Hornets' five-game winning streak, Thomas is averaging 10.8 points in 14 minutes per contest thanks to some insane shooting from deep (58.8% on 3.4 attempts).
Much like his peak days, Thomas is getting busy in the pick-and-roll.
He remains a pull-up threat, making any sort of "under" coverage nearly untenable. While not as bursty as he used to be, he's able to attack gaps and flow into floaters and push shots. His shot diet has altered since his last full-ish season with the Washington Wizards in 2019-20, with more of his shots coming at the rim or floater range (43% vs 34%) per Cleaning The Glass.
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The Hornets have scored 1.16 points per possession (PPP) on trips featuring a Thomas-led pick-and-roll, per Second Spectrum. That number rises to 1.3 on trips where Thomas and Montrezl Harrell &mdash; a violent rim-runner with an intermediate touch he can use when the rim is cut off &mdash; team up.
That two-man game is the bedrock of Charlotte's second unit, with built-in secondary options if an advantage isn't created.
A favorite as of late: a high ball-screen with Thomas and Harrell that flows into an empty corner handoff.
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</div>
Think about the options here. A switch would have Willy Hernangomez on an island against Thomas, and Jose Alvarado (fiesty!) on Harrell. Neither would be great options. Playing drop coverage would likely give Thomas a gap to pull-up into, though Alvarado is a stout on-ball defender that could make Thomas uncomfortable.&nbsp;
They instead opt to blitz, taking the ball out of Thomas' hands. But taking the ball out of his hands simply means putting it into the hands of LaMelo Ball, the Hornets' best player.&nbsp;
Giving LaMelo a roller like Harrell is a tough proposition; doing so with an empty side puts the defense in a bind like this:
<img src="https://cdn.basketballnews.com/images/story/body/screenshot_2022_03_22_18_03_03_lg.png" alt="" width="577" height="325" />
Alvarado peels over to the nail to cut off Ball's drive, but that leaves Thomas open for a catch-and-shoot opportunity. Harrell, of course, is rolling into the empty side with no help present. On the weak side, PJ Washington is in prime position to screen off his man (Naji Marshall, No. 8) or Kelly Oubre's man (Trey Murphy III, No. 25) to create a shot.&nbsp;
The Hornets don't just flow into handoffs after Thomas-led ball-screens; they can pivot to off-ball screens for shooters as well.
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This is nice movement set to get Terry Rozier a look. Jalen Brunson does a great job of staying attached, so it simply flows into a downhill attack with Mason Plumlee filling the lane.
Dwight Powell dropped back pretty far on the initial ball-screen, which ends up giving Rozier a runway to drive into. With Miles Bridges chilling in the left corner, Maxi Kleber is stuck between tagging Plumlee on the roll, or staying home on the shooter.&nbsp;
Having a threat like Thomas is incredibly annoying for defenses.
It's especially annoying when he's the first layer of a multi-pronged attack.
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Nekias Duncan breaks down the ways Isaiah Thomas is impacting the Hornets' offense.

Explain one play: Isaiah Thomas as the Hornets' tip of the spear

We're in the midst of a ridiculous scoring explosion.
Since the All-Star break, there have been 26 instances of a player scoring at least 40 points. Twenty different players have achieved the feat, ranging from superstars like Giannis Antetokounmpo, stars like Darius Garland, quality starters like Gary Trent Jr., gap-fillers like Josh Hart and bench assassins like Jordan Clarkson.&nbsp;
If the single-game excursions don't do it for you, consider that 11 players are averaging north of 30 points since the break. Only three pulled it off during the 2019-20 season &mdash; the infamous Orlando Bubble year &mdash; and that's the high mark of the past decade. We'll see what happens as the post-break sample grows, but we're in rare air right now.
The list of 11 is filled with single-name guys: LeBron, Jokic, Embiid, Giannis and Trae to point out a few. But then you get towards the bottom, and you see a pair of Kentucky Wildcats.
There's De'Aaron Fox, who is 11th in scoring (30.4 points per game) while dishing out nearly 8 assists per contest. His turbo-charged attacks &mdash; both on the ball or flowing into handoffs and cuts alongside his shiny new All-Star Domantas Sabonis &mdash; <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/deaaron-fox-is-blossoming-alongside-domantas-sabonis-but-whats-next-for-the-kings" target="_blank" rel="noopener">have been fruitful</a>. It helps that the jumper (38.6% from three on 5.7 attempts) is falling right now.
And then, right above him on the list is Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who is quietly averaging 30.6 points over his last 10 games.
He isn't just getting buckets, but he's doing it efficiently. His 62.9% True Shooting percentage is one of the best marks in the league among high-usage players. The impressive part is that the bulk of his success has come in the interior.
Frankly, there's no driver in the league like SGA. There are numbers to quantify that; he's averaging the <a href="https://www.nba.com/stats/players/drives/?Season=2021-22&amp;SeasonType=Regular%20Season&amp;SeasonSegment=Post%20All-Star&amp;sort=DRIVE_PTS&amp;dir=1" target="_blank" rel="noopener">fourth-most drives</a> since the break (22.9), ranks second in drive scoring (13.9) and is the only player converting more than half of his drive-based shots (51.5%) while attempting at least 10 of them per game.
While we're at it, here are how some notable names are faring on <a href="https://www.nba.com/stats/players/shots-general/?Season=2021-22&amp;SeasonType=Regular%20Season&amp;SeasonSegment=Post%20All-Star&amp;sort=FG2A&amp;dir=1" target="_blank" rel="noopener">two-point shots</a> since the All-Star break:
<ul>
<li>Brandon Ingram: 63.6% on 15.4 attempts</li>
<li>Giannis Antetokounmpo: 61.3% on 15.2 attempts</li>
<li>Shai Gilgeous-Alexander: 57.6% on 15.8 attempts</li>
<li>Ja Morant: 51.2% on 18.4 attempts</li>
<li>Joel Embiid: 45.9% on 15.0 attempts</li>
</ul>
Truly, you have to watch him. Despite having sub-elite burst, a sub-elite handle and a middling vertical pop, SGA consistently gets to his spots. Factor in his supporting cast (read: general lack of spacing), and his numbers become nonsensical. He simply shouldn't be this efficient within his context, but he's good enough to make it work.
He is a beacon of flexibility and deceleration. His ability to vary his stride length &mdash; some steps are quick and choppy, others are longer &mdash; is top-tier stuff. Gaining leverage is the name of the game, and SGA stops-and-slithers his way into it on a majority of his drives.
Defenders are rarely at risk of being blown by in a traditional sense, but they can never catch up to him. More accurately, they can never match his timing.
Take this play, for example.
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Cody Martin doesn't do anything wrong here. He's squarly in front of SGA when the drive starts. Even with SGA attacking his front foot, Martin is never out of position ... until the second step on the gather.
That second step is longer and more powerful than the first, allowing SGA to gain a little bit of an advantage when gliding through the air. That turns this:
<img src="https://cdn.basketballnews.com/images/story/body/screenshot_2022_03_15_17_59_20_lg.png" alt="" width="577" height="325" />
Into this:
<img src="https://cdn.basketballnews.com/images/story/body/screenshot_2022_03_15_17_59_33_lg.png" alt="" width="577" height="325" />
Watching SGA duck under defenders is a hidden joy. You don't have to be Allen Iverson-fast if you can get your shoulder into a guy's chest.&nbsp;
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Martin reaches in space, but SGA counters with a behind-the-back dribble. With Martin upright, SGA crosses back to his left&nbsp;and sinks low&nbsp;to create the early advantage.
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He now <a href="https://twitter.com/NekiasNBA/status/1503721522053238785?s=20&amp;t=0mgvyxKROeC9qeB3tz4COw" target="_blank" rel="noopener">has Montrezl Harrell (Micro Shaq???) on a patch of land</a>. He's able to get lower than him, too, then catch Harrell off guard with a Steve Nash-ian scoop. Harrell's barely off the ground by the time the shot's up.
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The gather timing is wild enough; SGA altering his level of explosion on the gather is some nasty stuff.
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Look at how silly he makes Mason Plumlee look. Plumlee goes with a full-blown vertical contest &mdash; typically the right thing to do! &mdash; but because SGA leads at 10% capacity, he's able to slide under Plumlee for an unbothered layup.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has seemingly found a hack early on in his career: the actual moves don't have to change much if you alter the timing enough to throw defenders off. The stop-and-start nature of his game keeps his enemies off-balance; his finishing moves deliver the final blow.
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Nekias Duncan breaks down the unique driving ability of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.

Stop and start: Taking a drive with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander

Terry Rozier scored 31 points and the Charlotte Hornets beat San Antonio 123-117 on Saturday night, leaving Spurs coach Gregg Popovich a victory short of the tying the NBA record.
San Antonio has lost four straight since beating Washington on Feb. 25 to move Popovich within one of Don Nelson's record of 1,335 regular-season victories.
LaMelo Ball added 24 points for Charlotte, P.J. Washington and Montrezl Harrell each had 15 and Mason Plumlee had 13 rebounds. The Hornets made 19 of their last 20 free throws.
Keldon Johnson led San Antonio with 33 points, but was limited to five in the second half. Dejounte Murray had 25 points and 10 rebounds, and Devin Vassell added 14 points.
Ball gave Charlotte a 117-113 lead with two free throws with 55.5 seconds left. Murray&rsquo;s layup drew San Antonio to 119-117 before Martin hit four foul shots on two trips to the line in the final 33.6.
With Charlotte ahead 115-111, Plumlee contended with Jakob Poeltl for a rebound. The two locked up on the ball, and Plumlee slung Poeltl to the floor in an effort to control the ball. Officials ruled it a jump ball and no foul on Plumlee.
TIP-INS
San Antonio: Johnson was perfect in the first period, making all seven of his shots &mdash; two of them 3-pointers &mdash; and his lone free throws. He had 17 of the Spurs' 30 points.
Charlotte: Gordon Hayward missed his fourth consecutive game with a left ankle sprain.
UP NEXT
Spurs: Host Los Angeles Lakers on Monday night.
Hornets: Host Brooklyn on Tuesday night.

Terry Rozier scored 31 points and the Hornets won, leaving Spurs coach Gregg Popovich a victory short of the tying the NBA record.

Hornets top Spurs, leaving Popovich win short of NBA record

Nekias Duncan thoroughly grades every NBA trade from 2022 Deadline Week.

Grading every move from 2022 NBA trade deadline week

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

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

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

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

BOSTON (AP) &mdash; Josh Richardson made six 3-pointers and scored 23 points, Jayson Tatum hit two key free throws and finished with 19 points and the Boston Celtics held off the Charlotte Hornets 113-107 on Wednesday night, overcoming a career-best 38 points by LaMelo Ball.
Marcus Smart scored 22 points and Jaylen Brown 15 as Boston won its third straight.
Terry Rozier scored 23 points, P.J. Washington 16, Kelly Oubre Jr. 15, and Mason Plumlee had 17 rebounds for the Hornets, who have lost four of six.
Boston shot 14 for 36 from 3-point range and Charlotte made 12 of 40 from long distance.
Rozier&rsquo;s 3-pointer from the top of the key tied it at 107 with 62 seconds left.
Tatum then hit two free throws and, after Robert Williams III blocked Washington&rsquo;s 3-point attempt, Smart hit two free throws with 15.6 seconds to play.
Boston had opened a 93-83 lead on Richardson&rsquo;s sixth 3-pointer of the game with just over 10 minutes left in the fourth.
But the Hornets made a late charge. Rozier&rsquo;s left-wing 3 sliced it to 103-98 with 2:56 to play. Ball was then fouled by Tatum, who was also whistled for a technical on the play.
Ball nailed all three from the line, giving him a career high, and cutting it to 103-101 with just over two minutes left.
The Celtics had scored 18 of the final 26 points of the third quarter, with Brown hitting a jumper from the foul line just before the buzzer to give Boston an 88-78 edge entering the fourth.
TIP-INS
Hornets: F Gordon Hayward cleared the NBA&rsquo;s health and safety protocols but didn&rsquo;t travel with the team. &hellip; In their last trip to Boston, Ball had a triple-double, grabbing a rebound to complete it with 0.2 left in a game during a 111-102 victory.
Celtics: Shot 53.7% in the first half (22 of 41) with Tatum, Smart and Richardson all shooting 50% or better. &hellip; Al Horford briefly went to the locker room midway into the second quarter.
&nbsp;
THAT WAS QUICK
Boston opened a 12-point lead early in the second quarter, but the Hornets wiped it out quickly with a 14-1 spurt in just 2&frac12; minutes.
UP NEXT
Hornets: Host the Cavaliers on Friday.
Celtics: At the Pistons on Friday.

Josh Richardson made six 3-pointers and Boston held off Charlotte 113-107, overcoming a career-best 38 points by LaMelo Ball.

Celtics beat Hornets, overcome Ball's career-best 38 points

Last week, we heard from The Athletic&rsquo;s Shams Charania about a new team who has entered the long drawn out Ben Simmons sweepstakes. The Charlotte Hornets have <a href="https://theathletic.com/3088096/2022/01/24/with-ben-simmons-james-harden-trade-a-hope-worth-waiting-for-sources-say-sixers-prefer-a-summer-deal/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reportedly made an inquiry about Simmons&rsquo; availability</a>. Charania relayed that Charlotte and the Philadelphia 76ers had yet to have serious conversations, but, the more you think about it, the fit between Simmons and the Hornets seems perfect on paper.
After a historically bad start to the season defensively, Charlotte has turned the corner as of late, showing real promise as a potential playoff threat. Since Christmas, the Hornets are 11-6 while also being No. 11 in Defensive Rating (109.0).
Checking in with a 28-23 record, Charlotte is the No. 7 seed in the Eastern Conference with 11 days to go before the trade deadline. Over the last five weeks, only the Miami Heat and 76ers have more wins than Charlotte in the East.
With a ready-made second-year pro in LaMelo Ball taking the leap to young stardom, the Hornets stand out as an underrated potential buyer. With the hardest part of the rebuilding process done with Ball as the centerpiece, how much faster could the Hornets' rise get if they decided to get aggressive?
If Charlotte feels it is ready to make a win-now splash and make a bigger push up the standings, Simmons is the stick of dynamite that would accomplish it.
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Could you imagine LaMelo Ball and Simmons&rsquo; playmaking wizardry sharing the court together, running pick-and-rolls and feasting in transition? It&rsquo;s a match made in heaven for a potential Simmons fit, and a team who seems one big move away from staking their claim in the East.
Simmons would be used to his highest capabilities in James Borrego's system as well. Not only would he still be used as a primary playmaker at times, but Simmons could be a souped-up small-ball mismatch weapon while in the frontcourt alongside Ball.
Sixers president Daryl Morey has let it be known for a while that he won&rsquo;t sell Simmons off for a price he feels is lower than what the former No. 1 overall pick could return for Philadelphia. However, with the way Joel Embiid has put the whole team on his back at a historically high usage rate, Morey and Co. need to realize the time is now to strike while the iron is hot. Embiid is the MVP frontrunner who could vault the Sixers to real title contention with a smart move and accentuate their 2022 window and beyond.
Charlotte has multiple pieces who could appeal to Philadelphia, especially from a short and long-term viewpoint. Would the Hornets be willing to swap out potential All-Star reserve Miles Bridges, who will be due a massive rookie-scale extension this offseason, for Simmons? The Hornets would also be able to provide ideal complementary pieces alongside Embiid in Gordon Hayward and/or Terry Rozier.
So, let&rsquo;s go ahead and cobble together a potential win-win scenario for both Philadelphia and Charlotte in a Simmons blockbuster.
Sixers receive: Gordon Hayward, Miles Bridges, draft compensation
Hornets receive: Ben Simmons
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This might be a tough pill for some Hornets fans to swallow, but it&rsquo;s hard to envision Simmons coming to Charlotte unless the franchise parted with the enticing upside of Bridges. Philadelphia wants a &ldquo;top-40&rdquo; player in return for Simmons, and Bridges is the best bet of checking that box on the Hornets&rsquo; roster.
The Sixers have also reportedly tried to throw Tobias Harris&rsquo; max contract in trade talks with Simmons. Charlotte has enough roster flexibility to absorb Harris if the team truly wanted to push the chips all-in for Simmons.
Sixers receive: Gordon Hayward, Terry Rozier, Kelly Oubre Jr., Mason Plumlee, draft compensation
Hornets receive: Ben Simmons, Tobias Harris
It would be a wholesale change on both sides with this potential return package, but again, the Hornets can financially appease the Sixers in whichever route they want to go.
From Charlotte&rsquo;s point of view, is Simmons the player to push the all-in button on? Absolutely. Not only would Simmons and Ball become a dynamic foundation to build a roster around, but there&rsquo;s still some flexibility to bring pieces around them. If the Hornets were to keep Bridges in this scenario, he would be an ideal player on the wing who could thrive alongside the Ball-Simmons duo. In a market like Charlotte, or any other one not on the limelight-tier level of New York and Los Angeles, the easiest way to bring aboard stars is internal player development and taking swings in the trade market.
Many believed the Simmons melodrama would come to an end before the regular season began. Now, there&rsquo;s dimmer possibilities for Simmons behind shipped out of Philadelphia as Morey remains dug in on his high asking price.
If there&rsquo;s any potential ending soon on the horizon to this ongoing situation, Charlotte stands out much more than the other potential teams to take a swing and make the Sixers also happy in the end.
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As the Ben Simmons saga remains ongoing, one team has popped up that actually makes a lot of sense to pursue him.

Why Ben Simmons makes sense as a possible Hornets trade target

When&nbsp;<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/kings-making-buddy-hield-richaun-holmes-harrison-barnes-available" target="_blank" rel="noopener">seeing the report late last week</a>&nbsp;of the Sacramento Kings making Richaun Holmes available for trade, there should&rsquo;ve been several NBA teams channeling a 1980 Muhammad Ali saying, &ldquo;I want Holmes! I want Holmes!&rdquo;&nbsp;
(Couldn&rsquo;t find the clip, but I remember watching it long ago.)
Of course, Ali was talking about former World Heavyweight Champion Larry Holmes, whom he lost to later that year &mdash; 42 years later, we&rsquo;re talking about an underrated Kings center, but the point stands. Nothing, not even 50-year-old <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QFK9zh2yHO4" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Johnny Knoxville being in this week&rsquo;s Royal Rumble</a>, is less surprising than the Kings looking to revamp their roster in some form. That basketball team in Sacramento rebuilds more often than Griselda releases music.&nbsp;
But, again,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.spotrac.com/nba/sacramento-kings/richaun-holmes-17865/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">less than five months after signing a four-year, $46 million extension</a>, including a $12.9 million player option for 2024-25, Holmes is possibly available. At just $10.3 million this season, he&rsquo;s very affordable by NBA standards. Having turned 28 years old in October and playing in year seven, he&rsquo;s in the prime of his career. Given where he currently is, he might indeed be better off elsewhere.&nbsp;
Holmes has&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nbcsports.com/bayarea/kings/richaun-holmes-commits-goggles-recounts-scary-eye-injury" target="_blank" rel="noopener">battled an eye injury</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.sacbee.com/sports/nba/sacramento-kings/article256988807.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">COVID</a> this season, but has been productive despite a drop in playing time, logging 25.8 minutes through his 32 games (all starts) compared to last year, where he was at 29.2 minutes. He&rsquo;s posting 12.3 points, 8.1 rebounds, and 1.1 blocks per game this season while shooting a career-best 70% from the floor. Per 36-minutes, he&rsquo;s at 17.1 points, 1.5 blocks and a career-best 11.3 boards. Holmes is a distant first in win shares per 48 minutes at .179 (second is .111). He&rsquo;s also second in team box plus-minus (1.3) behind Tyrese Haliburton&rsquo;s 2.5 and ahead of Harrison Barnes&rsquo; 0.5; everyone else is in the negative. (Yes, that means De&rsquo;Aaron Fox, for whatever that&rsquo;s worth.)&nbsp;
Ideally, if you&rsquo;re the team making this move, you&rsquo;d look to solidify your center position while prepping for your playoff push. The good news is that all of the following teams are in the playoff hunt &mdash; so don't worry, my fellow rec spec-wearing friend, let's get you outta there.&nbsp;
Charlotte Hornets
The Hornets are (quietly?) 27-22 as of this writing, and are seventh in the Eastern Conference. At least they're quiet for a team run by a rising star in LaMelo Ball, his underappreciated backcourt mate Terry Rozier, Most Improved Player candidate Miles Bridges and steady swingman Gordon Hayward&nbsp; That&rsquo;s four-fifths of their starting five, with the center spot being occupied by Mason Plumlee. Kelly Oubre Jr. and PJ Washington play significant minutes off the bench, meaning the Hornets &mdash; who are 21st in rebounding and allow the third-most rebounds per game &mdash; are often playing small.&nbsp;
PJ Washington, in particular, is a&nbsp;<a href="https://hoopshype.com/storyline/pj-washington-trade/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">trade piece that&rsquo;s been rumored to be available</a> and likely has to be included in the deal, since his minutes and production have declined since last season, where he was an everyday starter. It should be added that, entering the last of his rookie-scale contract next season, it&rsquo;s likely the Hornets won&rsquo;t extend him by 2023.&nbsp;
The trade logistically couldn&rsquo;t be PJ for Holmes straight up since Washington only makes $4.2 million this season. The Kings also are rumored to be shopping others on their team, so there&rsquo;s a potential for this to extend beyond Holmes arriving from Sacramento by himself in this hypothetical &mdash; your simplest route is to pair Washington with Plumlee&rsquo;s $8.1 million, which mathematically makes this work straight up. Plumlee has a partially guaranteed $8.5 million coming to him next season, and the Kings should also receive a couple of second-rounders or a first coming back to them, both of which the Hornets <a href="https://www.prosportstransactions.com/basketball/DraftTrades/Future/Hornets.htm" target="_blank" rel="noopener">have enough to entice with</a>.&nbsp;
A Ball-Rozier-Hayward-Bridges-Holmes lineup sounds fun as hell.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
Richaun Holmes is dunking all over the Lakers 😤 <a href="https://t.co/y9fO2OprSI">pic.twitter.com/y9fO2OprSI</a>
&mdash; NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA) <a href="https://twitter.com/ESPNNBA/status/1465891771489996805?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 1, 2021</a></blockquote>

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Dallas Mavericks
Between Dwight Powell, Moses Brown, Maxi Kleber, Willie Cauley-Stein, Marquese Chriss and Boban Marjanović, the Dallas Mavericks have had what&rsquo;s felt like a 💩 ton of bigs this season. Even so, as our Nekias Duncan wrote last week, without a true anchor, the Mavs have recently <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/how-do-the-mavericks-have-an-elite-defense" target="_blank" rel="noopener">become one of the league&rsquo;s best defenses</a>.&nbsp;
Still, on the roster, there isn&rsquo;t a clear long-term answer there as you continue to build this around the already extended Luka Dončić and, for now, the seemingly bought-in Kristaps Porziņģis. Enter Holmes, who is signed through at least the 2023-24 season. Powell and Kleber, who generally eat the lion&rsquo;s share of minutes next to KP, are both signed through 2022-23 before they&rsquo;d each become unrestricted free agents. Though Kleber makes $8.9 million this season and Powell is at $11 million, both work for Holmes mathematically straight up. Obviously, Dallas would attach at least one or two second-round draft picks, if not a protected first, to either guy (Powell more likely) and make it nearly a straight-up trade.&nbsp;
There&rsquo;s room to open this up further. Buddy Hield makes $22.5 million this season, and his contract descends to $20 and $18 million until it expires in the summer of 2024. Tim Hardaway Jr., who Dallas extended this past summer and <a href="https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/33148625/dallas-mavericks-tim-hardaway-jr-ruled-game-left-foot-injury" target="_blank" rel="noopener">is now out with a fractured left foot</a>, makes $21 million this year but is also on a descending deal that drops to $19.6, $17.9, and $16.1 million through the 2024-25 season. Both struggling shooting guards probably aren&rsquo;t long for their organizations, even as they were both recently extended. Hardaway Jr. was also moved to the bench for Jalen Brunson, who&rsquo;s facing a contract situation of his own given his pending free agency (keep him, Dallas).&nbsp;
So there&rsquo;s a path to this becoming a Powell and Hardaway plus draft picks for Holmes and Hield exchange. Holmes is the type of hustling, dirty-work, efficient and quality center that the Mavericks could use. Unlike in 2K, you can trade injured players in real life &mdash; sorry Tim. Just imagine the push shots off Luka feeds.&nbsp;
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death, taxes, and richaun holmes hitting 62.5% of his push shots (20-of-32) <a href="https://t.co/iGH0xuA7Gn">pic.twitter.com/iGH0xuA7Gn</a>
&mdash; Dan Favale (@danfavale) <a href="https://twitter.com/danfavale/status/1465715242952900614?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 30, 2021</a></blockquote>

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Toronto Raptors
I mean, could you think of a more Raptor-ass center than Holmes? Who better be run with Fred VanVleet, Scottie Barnes, OG Anunoby, Pascal Siakam and Gary Trent Jr.?&nbsp;
Now, how do you make this happen? First, with that being the Raptors&rsquo; starting five, where does Holmes fit? Well, it&rsquo;s really their starting five out of necessity because Precious Achiuwa hasn&rsquo;t had the second NBA season they&rsquo;d been hoping for. Ideally, you&rsquo;d still want an actual center in that mix as one of your top six minutes getters so that you have a bit more reliable size. The Raptors don&rsquo;t currently have a true center you could trust for extended periods, and Holmes fills that void.&nbsp;
Now, regarding trade pieces, Chris Boucher is on a $7 million expiring contract, and Khem Birch is on the first of a three-year, $19 million contract, which lands him at $6.3 million this season. Combining those two does work, and it would obviously have to come with considerable draft capital, but even the Kings would probably ask wtf are they going to do with that and have a point.&nbsp;
Remove Birch and insert Achiuwa? That works &ndash; would the Raptors already want to move off the centerpiece of their Kyle Lowry trade, who is just due $2.8 million next year with a $4.3 million team option the season after? I mean, maybe? It would certainly help preserve some draft capital in a hypothetical Holmes trade and, you figure, if you&rsquo;re acquiring a center Achiuwa would have a tougher time seeing minutes anyway. But that&rsquo;s generally what you&rsquo;d be looking at moving if you&rsquo;re Toronto: Boucher and Birch, Boucher and Achuiwa; Boucher, Achiuwa and Malachi Flynn, along with some combination of picks or a first-rounder, for Holmes.&nbsp;
And if I&rsquo;m Holmes, I&rsquo;m down for whatever, as long as I could leave Sacramento.&nbsp;
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Bonus: Golden State Warriors
Okay &hellip; here we go.
There&rsquo;s really only one way to do this, and it&rsquo;s using James Wiseman&rsquo;s $9.1 million salary this season straight up. Y&rsquo;all could determine what picks may or may not go where, but these are the two names because the Golden State Warriors don&rsquo;t have much middle-class salary to use, nor do they probably want to shake up their roster a ton, including even this. But if they determine that Wiseman, who hasn&rsquo;t played since Apr. 10 of last year due to a torn meniscus that <a href="https://theathletic.com/news/warriors-james-wiseman-needed-additional-knee-surgery-in-december-sources/DyEHJgzTblrO/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">required additional arthroscopic surgery in December</a>, isn&rsquo;t worth waiting for, then there you have it.&nbsp;
Wiseman showed flashes, but struggled defensively as a rookie while only logging 39 games (though he posted 11.5 points and 5.8 rebounds on 52% percent shooting in 21.4 minutes per contest). He&rsquo;ll turn 21 in March, and because of NCAA nonsense, we were only able to see him three times in college. Wiseman&rsquo;s due $9.6 million next year and will likely bank another $12.1 million, assuming his option gets accepted.
I&rsquo;m still a Wiseman stockholder, but I&rsquo;m also pro going for a championship now in this seemingly wide-open NBA season &mdash; an immediate upgrade at center might be what Golden State sees as a necessary step. It makes something like a possible Holmes deal reasonable to think twice about. Just sayin&rsquo;.
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Bryan Fonseca ponders a handful of teams who could be a good fit for Kings big man Richaun Holmes.

Examining potential trade destinations for Richaun Holmes

The best defensive rating the NBA over the past two weeks belongs to the Charlotte Hornets.
... Excuse me?!
One month ago, our <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/hornets-embarrassing-defense-sinking-their-enticing-potential" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Evan Sidery wrote </a>about how the Hornets' defense was derailing one of the NBA's most exciting young teams. And he was right. But man, how things have changed.
Charlotte is a scorching 9-3 in the past month and has improved to 25-20 on the season, pushing itself almost out of the Play-In tier of the Eastern Conference playoff race. On primetime national television Wednesday night, the Hornets wadded up the Boston Celtics and their two wing stars in a sneaky-big 111-102 victory. Since Dec. 23, the Hornets are third in Cleaning the Glass' defensive rating metric, and as already mentioned, first in the past two weeks.
Is this sustainable, or a product of good fortune? The answers are complicated.
The Hornets have given up the most wide-open field goal attempts per game in the entire NBA since the stretch has begun. NBA Stats qualifies those as shots where a defender is no closer than 6 feet from the shooter. Charlotte's defense has allowed 24.2 of those attempts per game &mdash; but that's not the whole story.
Opponents have been hitting those shots at a 60.9% Effective Field Goal percentage, good for ninth-highest in the league. So this isn't a case of waiting for regression to the mean. Teams are making the Hornets pay, and yet, they're still putting together an elite defense.
It gets weirder. Transition plays are generally a red flag for defenses because they typically lead to easy shots with a ton of spacing before a defense can get set. Per Cleaning the Glass, Charlotte is allowing opponents to get out in transition on 16.8% of their possessions during the winning stretch &mdash; third-highest in the league. But they've also been the No. 1 transition defense in that time.
Over the entire season, the five-man lineup of LaMelo Ball, Kelly Oubre Jr., Gordon Hayward, Miles Bridges and Mason Plumlee has been the seventh-stingiest transition group among all NBA units with at least 100 possessions of court time. (I simply would not have expected that.)
The Hornets have used turnover generation as the bedrock of their lockdown effort. Per Cleaning the Glass, opponents have coughed up the ball on 16.5% of their possessions since Dec. 23, which is the second-highest rate among NBA defenses.
Charlotte ranks at the top in deflections per game (18.3) and in defensive loose balls recovered (3.8) during that same timeframe, according to NBA Stats. Five players are averaging at least 2.5 deflections: Oubre (3.3), Cody Martin (2.8), PJ Washington (2.6) and Plumlee (2.5). Oubre, Martin, Hayward, Ball and Terry Rozier are all swiping at least one steal per game.
This defense isn't all about swinging for steals. Per Cleaning the Glass (pun, ha), the Hornets are limiting opponents' offensive rebounds and free-throw opportunities at top-10 rates. But by the numbers, Charlotte has aimed to cause chaos and ignite its own fastbreak opportunities &mdash; at whatever the cost. And the squad is an elite offensive unit when it gets running.
Is the approach sustainable? To be honest... I'm doubtful. Teams are going to figure out how to beat the Hornets in transition, whether they're doing something schematically or are just on a roll with getting stops. Their reckless abandon often means easy chances for the other team, and they will continue to capitalize on wide-open looks.&nbsp;
For now, though, it's making one of basketball's most entertaining teams even more fun to watch.
THE OUTLIERS (a.k.a. other random interesting numbers I find in the void):
<ul>
<li>Sticking with Charlotte: Rozier has been one of the hottest shooters in basketball as of late. He's making pull-ups at a 60.3% eFG rate since Thanksgiving, which is second behind only Tyrese Haliburton (min. 75 attempts). Gordon Hayward (54.5%) ranks seventh.&nbsp;</li>
<li>Among all five-man lineups with at least 100 possessions of action this season, this odd Portland Trail Blazers unit has the best net rating, per CTG: Anfernee Simons, Ben McLemore, Nassir Little, Robert Covington and Jusuf Nurkic.&nbsp;</li>
<li>I highly recommend you go back and read <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/how-do-the-mavericks-have-an-elite-defense" target="_blank" rel="noopener">this breakdown from Nekias Duncan</a> on the Mavericks' defense, another group that was never supposed to be good, but has flipped that script.</li>
<li>More cool stats and graphics from Mark Cheung! If you're reading this, I'm a big fan:</li>
</ul>
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<a href="https://t.co/MZNrQj2Se7">pic.twitter.com/MZNrQj2Se7</a>
&mdash; Mark (@MarkC_NBA) <a href="https://twitter.com/MarkC_NBA/status/1483882912739041286?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 19, 2022</a></blockquote>

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Ethan Fuller investigates why the Hornets have been weirdly and wildly successful on defense.

Stats Notebook: Hornets buzzing behind a weirdly-successful defense

BOSTON (AP) — LaMelo Ball had a triple-double with 15 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists to lead the Charlotte Hornets to a 111-102 victory over the Boston Celtics on Wednesday night.
Terry Rozier led Charlotte with 28 points against his former team. Miles Bridges scored 22 and Kelly Oubre Jr. added 18 for the Hornets, who won for the ninth time in 12 games. 
“To come in here and get a win — we want to make a statement,” Rozier said. “We want to get to where they're at as an organization.”
Dennis Schröder paced Boston with 24 points. Jaylen Brown scored 21 and Al Horford had 13 points and 10 rebounds.
“I thought we had a lot of good looks and we moved the ball really well,” Brown said. “They made a lot of tough baskets. They came and outplayed us.”
Boston star Jayson Tatum was hampered by foul trouble and finished with just 12 points on 5-of-19 shooting in 35 minutes. The Celtics had won five of six.
“I thought part of the foul trouble affected him overall as well as some other guys,” Celtics coach Ime Udoka said. “That was my message to the team: Impact the game when the shot's not falling.”
The Celtics were just 14 of 46 on 3-point attempts.
Boston sliced a 12-point deficit to 88-84 early in the final quarter but Charlotte scored 10 of the next 14 points, pulling ahead 98-88 on Oubre’s 3-pointer from the left wing with 4:55 to play. Ball had nailed a 3 from the left corner two minutes earlier.
“The competitiveness and resiliency was there in the fourth quarter,” Hornets coach James Borrego said. 
The Celtics cut it to 102-96 on Horford’s 3 with 2:48 left, but Ball nailed a 3 from in front of Boston’s bench and Rozier followed with one on the Hornets’ next possession.
Boston trimmed the margin to six one more time, but Rozier nailed another 3 to seal it in the final minute. 
Ball grabbed a rebound with 0.2 seconds remaining to complete his triple-double. He said Bridges reminded him how close he was.
“He was like: ‘Box out and you'll get that last rebound,’'' Ball said, pointing to Bridges sitting next to him at the postgame news conference. ”I said, ‘Oh, you’re right!'''
Rozier hit three from beyond the arc in a 62-second span of the third quarter, pushing the Hornets’ lead to 75-61. They were up 86-74 entering the fourth.
“To be the best, you've got to beat the best,” Rozier said. “We just want to keep going. We're not satisfied. We've got to stay humble and keep on having fun and playing out there. That's the main thing.”
TIP-INS
Hornets: Oubre returned from COVID-19 protocol after missing four games and had 10 points by early in the second quarter. … Gordon Hayward took just one shot in the first half and finished with five points. 
Celtics: C Robert Williams missed the game due to the birth of his son, named Hendrix. … G Marcus Smart missed his fifth straight game. He was out of virus protocol but sidelined for conditioning. ... G Aaron Nesmith has a sprained right ankle and also was sidelined. … Tatum picked up his third foul early in the second quarter and stood on the court near Boston’s bench, so the Celtics got a delay-of-game warning. He was whistled for his fifth early in the final quarter.
OH, NO
Mason Plumlee shot a free throw that appeared to miss the rim short by a few feet, bringing a loud reaction from the crowd.
TAKE A SEAT
Ball fell backward into the front row of seats after taking a 3 early in the third quarter, spilling drinks on a pair of fans.
EASY TO SEE
Ball wore bright mismatched sneakers; the left was lime green and the other bright pink.
NEW FACES
The Celtics acquired a pair of injured players from the Denver Nuggets as part of a three-team deal that included San Antonio. Boston received 7-foot-2 center Bol Bol, who is expected to have foot surgery and be sidelined for 8 to 12 weeks, and guard P.J. Dozier, who is out indefinitely after tearing his ACL this season.
Boston sent forward Juancho Hernangomez to the Spurs in a trade that helps the Celtics get under the luxury tax. 
UP NEXT
Hornets: Host the Oklahoma City Thunder on Friday. 
Celtics: Host the Portland Trail Blazers on Friday. 
___
More AP NBA coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

LaMelo Ball recorded a triple-double, and the Charlotte Hornets beat the Boston Celtics.

Ball's triple-double carries Hornets past Celtics, 111-102

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) &mdash; Terry Rozier scored 28 points, Miles Bridges added 21 points and eight rebounds, and the Charlotte Hornets beat the Milwaukee Bucks 114-106 on Saturday night, handing the defending NBA champions their third loss in four games.
LaMelo Ball chipped in with 19 points, nine rebounds and eight assists for the Hornets, who held Milwaukee to 38.9% shooting on the Bucks' second road game in two nights.
Giannis Antetokounmpo had 43 points and 12 rebounds, while Khris Middleton added 27 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists for Milwaukee, which won in Brooklyn on Friday but fell to 13-9 on the road. Antetokounmpo finished 18 of 20 from the free throw line.
&ldquo;That is a big win right there for us,&rdquo; said Hornets coach James Borrego.
Added Bridges: &ldquo;This gives us confidence. They are world champs for a reason.&rdquo;
The teams meet again Monday in Charlotte.
&ldquo;They play hard and they are scrappy,&rdquo; Antetokounmpo said. &ldquo;They defend man-to-man and then they'll go zone. ... We have to trust one another and just focus on ourselves.&rdquo;
Rozier continued his torrid pace from 3-point range by going 6 of 10, including a huge 3 with 34 seconds left to put the Hornets up by seven.
Rozier has made 36 3-pointers over the last eight games, while shooting 49.3% from beyond the arc.
&ldquo;Terry is a hired gun,&rdquo; Borrego said. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s an elite catch-and-shoot guy.&rdquo;
Charlotte led 47-41 at halftime after holding Antetokounmpo to eight points and the Bucks to 30.6% shooting in the first half.
Milwaukee trailed by 14 with 4:50 left in the game, but Antetokounmpo and Middleton brought them back, cutting the lead to four with 47.5 seconds left with a series of big baskets. It included an offensive rebound from Antetokounmpo, whose inadvertent flying elbow left Mason Plumlee with a cut above his eye.
But Rozier buried a crucial 3-pointer from the left wing to push the lead back to seven and keep the Bucks at a safe distance and Bridges put the game away with a fast-break layup for a three-point play with 10.7 seconds left.
&ldquo;I just know that the whole gym was staring at 'Melo, so I just tried to create some confusion for the defense. I just slipped out and I was wide open,&rdquo; Rozier said of his 3-pointer.
Milwaukee's Bobby Portis said he's been watching the Hornets a lot this season and has been impressed, calling them a fun up-tempo team with some marquee players in Ball and Bridges.
He also knows the Bucks are getting everyone's best effort this season.
&ldquo;We won last year, so every game for us is going to be a big game,&rdquo; said Portis, who had 19 points and 13 rebounds. &ldquo;Every game, teams are coming for us. So we got to compete at a high level each and every game.&rdquo;
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MORE OFFENSE NEEDED
Antetokounmpo, Middleton and Portis combined for 89 points and shot 29 of 54 from the field. But that trio didn't get much help from the rest of the team.
The other eight Milwaukee players who played were a combined 6 of 36 from the field and accounted for just 17 points.
OUBRE FINDING WAYS
Kelly Oubre had 18 points for the Hornets following a game where he had 32 points on a career-high nine 3-pointers &mdash; including an NBA record-tying eight in the fourth quarter &mdash; in a blowout win over the Detroit Pistons. He was just 2 of 11 from beyond the arc against the Bucks, but found other ways to be effective by slashing to the rim, sliding behind defenders on back cuts and running the court to finish on fast breaks.
TIP-INS
Bucks: Jrue Holiday, Grayson Allen, Pat Connaughton and George Hill did not play due to health and safety protocols, while Brook Lopez remained out while recovering from back surgery. ... Middleton had six turnovers.
Hornets: Shot 16 of 48 from 3-point range after making a franchise-record 24 3s on 42 attempts against the Pistons.

Terry Rozier led the Hornets with 28 points, grabbing a win over the Bucks despite Giannis' 43 and 12 effort.

Rozier, Hornets hand Bucks 3rd loss in last 4 games, 114-106

It only takes one tweet to describe the inauspicious nature of where we are in the NBA to tip off the New Year.
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Following last night&rsquo;s games, the total number of NBA games lost to injury or illness this season surpassed 3,000. It took 34 days to pass 1,000, 26 days for the second 1,000, and just 17 for the most recent 1,000.
&mdash; Jeff Stotts (@InStreetClothes) <a href="https://twitter.com/InStreetClothes/status/1478357378928193537?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 4, 2022</a></blockquote>

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This season is constantly defined by incongruity, as the past month-and-a-half has seen a consistent ramp-up of players entering health and safety protocols and missing extended time. While it's commonplace for depth players to see increased playing time due to injuries any given year, an outlier number of them have been presented with larger opportunities due to sheer necessity.&nbsp;
While it is a small silver lining in an overall negative situation, some have really popped in extra time with more consistent minutes. Not every burst carries the same weight, comes through in a similar way or creates the same overarching questions that arise when a rotation's homeostasis is recalibrated on the fly. Unexpected flourishes from the 10th or 11th man in a rotation? Sign me up!&nbsp;
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Who's popping, why are they popping and what does it mean moving forward? Let's find out.
Jalen McDaniels, Charlotte Hornets
The third-year forward's seen a bump in his rotational minutes with P.J. Washington missing time due to injury/health and safety protocols, and is responding with the highest efficiency output of his career. McDaniels is hitting 62.4% of his two-pointers (54.2% over his first two seasons) and 40.9% from three, albeit on modest volume.
His ability to drive and put the ball on the deck to make positive plays is the highlight of his offensive package. McDaniels' handle isn't flashy, but it's functional, especially for his size (6-foot-9), and he parlays his long-strided drives into quality, live-dribble passes that open up his teammates.
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Add in that McDaniels is converting 61.1% of his field goal attempts on drives since returning to the lineup on Dec. 15 (a figure in between Myles Turner and Jrue Holiday over that span), and another brush stroke is painted on an impressive season.
His defense is much like Charlotte as a whole &mdash; eventful and chaotic. He's better playing out on the perimeter, using his length and footspeed to bother ball-handlers and jut into passing lanes, but also has utility as a weak-side rim-protector at times. His timing isn't really there to be relied upon for primary rim-protection capabilities, and he can get caught ball-watching as well, but Charlotte has often employed him as a 5 due to Mason Plumlee and the aforementioned Washington missing time.
The framework is there for a really high quality defensive player if he can rein in some of his tendencies. A better structured defense with more defined rules and surrounding personnel could do wonders for his development on that end.
He also dazzles in transition, adding another wrinkle to his game. His flashes of contact-finishing and his ability to use his length to guide in touch shots are incredibly intriguing.
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McDaniels has flashed brightly for the Hornets routinely throughout his young career, but is cemented behind Washington, Miles Bridges, Gordon Hayward and Kelly Oubre Jr. in the wing room. While he certainly has a role with the Hornets moving forward, I'd be surprised if other organizations haven't taken notice of his extended play in a larger role.
While I don't think Charlotte should be willing to move on from McDaniels easily, the idea of him on a contender is tantalizing. Jerami Grant is considered the "Belle of the Ball" of the trade season, but Chicago, Utah and Miami should all be calling up Mitch Kupchak if they haven't been already. McDaniels seems primed for more.
Skylar Mays, Atlanta Hawks 
The Hawks were lauded for their depth prior to the season, housing talent across their roster. And yet, it just hasn't clicked like expected due to a myriad of reasons, injuries chief among them. With their wing rotation in shambles over the past month, sophomore Skylar Mays has gotten his foot in the door.
Mays is one of the best players on a two-way contract in recent memory, and I would've argued prior to the season that someone should have signed him to a guaranteed deal. His time in the rotation since December has reinforced that. A 10.2-point/3.3-rebound/2.0-assist split on 59.9% True Shooting isn't earth shattering by any means, but it's indicative of his steadiness as a productive player.
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Mays is a fantastic pick-and-roll operator, although oddly is much better as a scorer than a passer. He's not traditionally bursty or adept at creating space with speed, but is incredibly strong and manufactures angles with constant readjustments, spins and off-hand craft.
He's a capable shooter off-the-catch and as a relocator, but not much of a threat off-the-dribble from deep.&nbsp;
Defensively, Mays is a bit plodding and doesn't have great footspeed, so he can be limited at the point of attack. However, he's a very good communicator and active off-ball defender, using his length well to impact passing lanes. He often catches unsuspecting drivers off-guard at the nail, where he's prone to spear the ball loose with quick jabs; Mays is currently averaging 3.88 deflections per 75 possessions according to Basketball Index (94th percentile).
Nate McMillan has been beholden to Lou Williams for backup point guard minutes, one of my major gripes with Atlanta this season, and Delon Wright struggles to impact the offense without the ball in his hands running pick-and-rolls. Mays shouldn't technically be a backup point guard, as he's more of a combo or outright 2-guard, but it stands to reason that there are minutes that he could be soaking up without injury. Regardless of whether or not it happens in Atlanta, Mays has shown that he's ready for a consistent rotation spot.
Jalen Smith, Phoenix Suns 
Across the last five games, Jalen Smith has nearly eclipsed the amount of minutes he played all of his rookie season; 120 minutes and 30 seconds compared to 156 minutes total in 2020-21.
With both Deandre Ayton and JaVale McGee out for the Suns, Smith was injected to the rotation and eventually the starting lineup after mostly being out of the rotation this year. He's quickly made everyone take notice, as he's averaged 15.2 points &amp; 9.4 rebounds on 66.9% True Shooting since Dec. 27.
I have absolutely no idea what to make out of Smith's play. On one hand, some of the flashes have been so encouraging and exactly what I imagined for him coming out of Maryland. On the other hand, how on earth does this work in Phoenix, a team trying to return to the Finals, where consistency is a must?
The calculus is quirky!
What Smith has flashed and theoretically brings is a stretch option and versatile pick-and-pop option for Chris Paul and Devin Booker as a counter to what they run with Ayton. Their bench thrived last season early with Dario Saric operating as a hub on the perimeter as a popper, which opened the floor for a new style of play.
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Smith has shot 36.4% from deep in those five games, which is good, but he's only taking slightly over two per game and is a career 23.1% perimeter shooter. The idea of what he could be is clear, but without a sizable role, is that all that attainable right now? Even with a continued larger role, is he shooting more and still hitting at a clip that will make the defense care?
To make it more muddled, Smith is just not a passer or playmaker to much degree at this stage, which is a tough sell for a team that's just as predicated on ball movement as Golden State.
His defense is also hard to stomach for a title contender at the moment. He does offer shot-blocking and some mobility, but he's more of a tweener big than a true 4 or 5, which outright is not a problem. But, it makes it harder to envision him spending time alongside McGee or Ayton to find easier ways to get him minutes. He's better offensively at the 5, but he's pretty lost as a primary rim-protector right now. However, there have been some great sequences from him blowing up plays at the rim or playing out in space, even with some viable switching.
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But, more often than not, Smith is caught in the wrong place with poor positioning leading to fouls or wide-open plays at or around the rim.
To be fair to Smith, he hasn't even played 50 NBA games in his career! But again, I'm not under the impression that Phoenix can necessarily coax the most out of him while dealing with some of the warts of a very raw player.
A five-game swing shouldn't redefine a player, but *this* five game stretch certainly has made me question what to think more than most. I don't have an answer for Phoenix; the organization seemingly made its bed by <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/suns-decline-thirdyear-option-on-2020-lottery-pick-jalen-smith" target="_blank" rel="noopener">not extending Smith a qualifying offer</a> this offseason.
How much has this recent play raised the eyebrows of other teams looking to try and make a move for a young talent? It's one of the more intriguing storylines to track moving forward, and most importantly, I'm stoked for Jalen Smith. It's awesome to see him finally put some good tape together.
Aaron Wiggins, Oklahoma City Thunder 
The OKC Thunder have quietly played .500 basketball over the last few weeks, and have dispelled the preseason notions that they could be worse than "The Process" Sixers. The Thunder are in a much different place than the playoff hopefuls above, still searching for the players who will comprise their next playoff push alongside Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. Nothing is set in stone, but rookie Aaron Wiggins has put together one of the best stretches by a young role player in the NBA this season.
After a DNP-CD on Dec. 22 against Denver, Wiggins has started the past six games, averaging 14.7 points on 66.3% True Shooting while hitting 40.0% of his threes and getting to the line at a decent rate.
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Wiggins has a downhill guile that I just love and find invaluable in a player who's operating off the ball primarily. He's not bursty, but he operates quickly, loves throwing ball fakes, low swings and stutters to give himself an extra hair of space; it just works. Is he going to shoot 80% at the rim for life? No way, but he's flashing some quality finishes through contact, and has attempted more self-created looks in the half-court as well (to varying degrees of success).
There's a twitchiness there with his upper body that allows him to maneuver well through tight space, but his legs aren't always on the same page. Coordination as a ball-handler is not easy! Just ask Darius Bazley.&nbsp;
I really liked what I saw of him at Maryland, but wasn't expecting him to have an early impact and continue to be impressed. I want to see him shoot way more from deep. He has a quick release, but doesn't get a ton of pop on his jump, which feels like it plays into him not being fully comfortable gunning yet; he hasn't played 20 games to this point.
But I cannot wait to see more from Wiggins moving forward.&nbsp;

Deep rotation players are taking full advantage of opportunities created by missed games due to COVID by playing larger roles.

4 rotation players making the most of NBA roster inconsistency

Tommy Beer is back with his latest version of BasketballNews.com's NBA Power Rankings. To read last week's version, <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/suns-eclipse-warriors-for-the-top-spot-in-nba-power-rankings" target="_blank" rel="noopener">click here</a>.
Golden State leapfrogs Phoenix to once again ascend to the top of the BasketballNews.com Power Rankings, while the Memphis Grizzlies continue to creep their way into the league's upper echelon this season. &nbsp;
1. Golden State Warriors (27-6) ⬆️ Last Week: 2
The Warriors beat the Suns on Saturday in a much-anticipated Christmas Day showdown despite playing without Andrew Wiggins, Damion Lee and Jordan Poole, who were all in health and safety protocols. As expected, Steph Curry led the way, knocking down five three-pointers en route to a game-high 33 points; however, it was Otto Porter Jr. who surprisingly sealed the deal for the Dubs, scoring 7 of his 19 points in the closing minutes.&nbsp;
2. Phoenix Suns (26-7) ⬇️ Last Week: 1
After falling to the Warriors on Christmas, the Suns were tripped up by the Grizzlies on Monday night as well. It's the first time Phoenix has lost consecutive contests since the season's first week. The Suns will look to get back on track Wednesday when they host the Thunder.
3. Brooklyn Nets (23-9) &harr;️ Last Week: 3
Reports of James Harden being "washed" may have been a bit premature. After racking up 36 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists in a win over the Lakers on Christmas, Harden was back it Monday vs. Clippers, finishing with 39 points and a season-best 15 assists. Harden's final assist on Monday was the 6,000th of his career. He is just the 10th player in league history to tally 20,000 career points, 5,000 rebounds and 6,000 assists. After sweeping their two-game Los Angeles road swing, the Nets are an NBA-best 13-3 on the road this season.&nbsp;
4. Utah Jazz (24-9) &harr;️ Last Week: 4
The Jazz were missing Donovan Mitchell (lower back strain) but continued to roll along Monday night, securing their fourth straight victory by beating the Spurs. Mitchell tweaked his back during Saturday's win over the Mavericks and is expected to miss at least one more game.
5. Milwaukee Bucks (22-13) ⬆️ Last Week: 6
The Bucks are finally starting to get healthy, which is bad news for the rest of the Eastern Conference. Giannis Antetokounmpo made his return to action in the Bucks' victory over the Boston Celtics on Christmas Day, suiting up for the first time since entering the health and safety protocols on Dec. 12. Giannis was joined by Bobby Portis, who had missed the previous four games due to COVID, and Donte DiVincenzo, who hadn't played since injuring his left foot during the 2021 playoffs.
6. Chicago Bulls (21-10) ⬆️ Last Week: 7
After a brief slump earlier this month, Nikola Vucevic is once again beasting for the Bulls, who have won four in a row. Vooch tallied a combined total of 40 points, 32 rebounds, 9 assists, 6 blocks and 6 made three-pointers in a back-to-back set against the Indiana Pacers and Atlanta Hawks on Sunday and Monday.&nbsp;
7. Cleveland Cavaliers (20-13)&nbsp;⬇️ Last Week: 5
While many pundits and fans league-wide continue to wait for the Cavs to come crashing back down to earth, Cleveland <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/from-lovable-underdog-to-unforgiving-bully-how-the-cavs-got-here" target="_blank" rel="noopener">keeps on winning</a> (and often dominates in the process). Over the last month, the Cavs lead the NBA in Defensive Rating (they are the only team in the league allowing fewer than 100 points per 100 possessions during this stretch). Cleveland also leads the league in Net Rating (+15.8) over the past month. Remarkably, each of the Cavaliers' last 11 wins has been by double digits.
8. ​​Memphis Grizzlies (21-14) ⬆️ Last Week: 9
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Ja Morant drives, hangs, switches hands and gets it to on his way down, FOR THE <a href="https://twitter.com/memgrizz?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@memgrizz</a> WIN! <a href="https://t.co/GnTl4RbAEJ">pic.twitter.com/GnTl4RbAEJ</a>
&mdash; NBA (@NBA) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBA/status/1475686020079407104?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 28, 2021</a></blockquote>

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Ja Morant made a contested layup with 0.5 seconds left in the fourth quarter to give the Grizzlies an impressive 114-113 victory over the Suns on Monday night. Morant's backcourt mate, Desmond Bane, remained red-hot (as <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/dissecting-desmond-bane-role-memphis-grizzlies-offense" target="_blank" rel="noopener">profiled by our Jackson Frank</a> over the weekend), scoring a career-high 32 points. Over his last seven games, Bane is averaging 21.9 points, 4.1 rebounds and 4.0 made treys while shooting over 50% from the floor and behind the arc.
9. Miami Heat (21-13) ⬇️ Last Week: 8
With rosters around the league decimated by COVID, depth has become a crucial asset. On Sunday, the Heat needed important contributions from a handful of role players to pull out a victory over Orlando, and they got just that. Caleb Martin tied for the team-high with 17 points off the bench; Omer Yurtseven scored 16 points and grabbed 15 boards in his first start, while Gabe Vincent and Max Strus chipped in 13 points apiece.&nbsp;
10. Philadelphia 76ers (17-16) &harr;️ Last Week: 10
The Sixers had lost 4 of 5 entering Sunday's matchup with the Wizards, but Joel Embiid (36 points and 13 rebounds) put Philly on his back to carry his squad to a much-needed victory, pushing the team back over .500. Philadelphia has a chance to secure back-to-back wins on Tuesday when it takes on the injury-depleted Raptors, who are fresh off a 45-point drubbing in Cleveland.
11. Denver Nuggets (16-16) &harr;️ Last Week: 11
The Joker is running wild. Over the Nuggets' last two games, Jokic has racked a ridiculous 55 points, 43 rebounds and 13 assists. He is the first player to tally at least 25 points, 20 rebounds and 5 assists in back-to-back games since Charles Barkley in 1988. Jokic is the first player ever with 25/20/5 and a three-pointer in consecutive contests.&nbsp;
12. Charlotte Hornets (18-17) ⬆️ Last Week: 14
The Hornets won their second straight game Monday by beating the Houston Rockets. Terry Rozier knocked down seven three-pointers on his way to a game-high 27 points vs. Houston. Mason Plumlee also provided a significant lift, registering a season-high 15 points to go along with 9 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 blocks and 2 steals in Monday's 123-99 win.
13. Los Angeles Clippers (17-17)&nbsp;⬇️ Last Week: 12
Paul George complained of soreness in his right elbow last week, and soon after underwent an MRI, which revealed a ligament tear. The Clippers, who have lost 5 of their previous 6, announced PG-13 would miss 3-4 weeks before being re-evaluated. However, ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski ominously reported that the Clips will "see if rest can get him on a pathway to recovery, but he's gonna be out certainly a significant period of time and there's no real sense of when, or if, he'll be back this year." Yikes.&nbsp;
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14. Dallas Mavericks (16-17) ⬆️ Last Week: 18
In addition to franchise cornerstone Luka Doncic, the Mavs were forced to play without Tim Hardaway Jr., Maxi Kleber, Reggie Bullock and Trey Burke on Monday, but still whooped the Portland Trail Blazers. Kristaps Porzingis led the way for Dallas, knocking down 12 of 21 field goal attempts and three treys en route to a season-high 34 points, along with 9 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steals, 2 blocks and no turnovers.&nbsp;
15. Washington Wizards (17-16) ⬆️ Last Week: 16
The Wizards travel to Miami on Tuesday night but afterward return home for a four-game homestand. Then after a quick two-game road swing in early January, Washington will play eight straight games in D.C. All told, the Wiz will play 12 of their next 14 at home, which is a golden opportunity to make a push up the standings. However, it was announced that Montrezl Harrell entered the league's health and safety protocols on Tuesday. Harrell is the seventh Wizard in protocols.
16. Los Angeles Lakers (16-18) ⬇️ Last Week: 13
LeBron James is averaging 35.0 points, 9.8 rebounds, 5.3 assists, 1.8 steals and 1.3 blocks, while shooting over 58% from the floor and 80% from the free-throw stripe over the Lakers' last four games, but L.A. has lost each one. With Anthony Davis (knee) still weeks away from returning to action, it will be fascinating to see if the Lakers' front office seriously considers shaking up their roster by trading away Russell Westbrook.
17. Minnesota Timberwolves (16-17) ⬇️ Last Week: 15
Despite playing without their top three scorers (Karl-Anthony Towns, Anthony Edwards and D'Angelo Russell), the Wolves found a way to beat the Celtics on Monday night. Nathan Knight tallied 20 points and 11 rebounds, while Jaylen Nowell scored a game-high 29 points for Minny. Greg Monroe signed a hardship contract over the weekend and <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/greg-monroe-and-the-brief-case-for-us-to-see-more-nba-veterans-this-season" target="_blank" rel="noopener">chipped in 13/9/6 off the bench</a>. After the game, he admitted he wasn't overly familiar with his teammates. "Not gonna lie, Jaylen Nowell played awesome tonight, but I had no idea who that was," Monroe said.
18. Toronto Raptors (14-16) ⬆️ Last Week: 19
The Raptors have eight players in the health and safety protocols, including Fred VanVleet and Scottie Barnes, and only had eight players active for Sunday night's game vs. Cleveland. It showed, as the Raps were blown out by by the Cavs, 144-95. Fortunately, Toronto plays 7 out of their next 8 games at home, which could allow them to right the ship. And luckily, Pascal Siakam and Gary Trent Jr. have been cleared to return off the COVID list.
19. New York Knicks (15-18) ⬆️ Last Week: 22
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Quentin Grimes has a beautiful jump shot. Good work here, <a href="https://twitter.com/nyknicks?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@nyknicks</a>. <a href="https://t.co/KNAA5vLsjK">pic.twitter.com/KNAA5vLsjK</a>
&mdash; SLAM (@SLAMonline) <a href="https://twitter.com/SLAMonline/status/1475542501914300420?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 27, 2021</a></blockquote>

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Quentin Grimes is slowly but surely making a case for consistent, extended minutes in the Knicks' rotation. After 27 points in his first start before entering COVID protocols, Grimes chipped in 15 in his return to action in Saturday's victory over Atlanta. Grimes is shooting 45.5% from three-point territory this season, which leads all rookies. In fact, among rooks that have made at least 20 three-pointers this season, Grimes is the only one shooting above 37% from behind the arc.
20. Boston Celtics (16-18)&nbsp;⬇️ Last Week: 17
On Monday, Celtics fans got some good news as both Grant Williams and Al Horford cleared COVID protocols. However, Boston faithful was also walloped with some bad news, as fans learned Jayson Tatum was forced to enter the league's health and safety protocols. It is worth noting that Tatum contracted COVID last season as well, and revealed he had to use an inhaler to help his breathing before games for months due to the lingering effects of the virus.
21. Atlanta Hawks (15-18) ⬇️ Last Week: 20
The Hawks welcomed Trae Young back to the lineup on Monday, and he scored 29 points, but it wasn't enough to beat the Bulls. However, Cam Reddish provided another encouraging effort in the loss to Chicago, as he hit a career-high eight three-pointers and finished with 33 points. Since being inserted into Atlanta's starting lineup, Reddish is averaging 23.8 points, 3.8 rebounds and 3.8 made treys while shooting over 44% from downtown and 87.5% from the charity stripe.
22. San Antonio Spurs (14-19) ⬆️ Last Week: 25
The Spurs had their season-high three-game winning streak snapped Monday night by the Jazz, 110-104. Coming into the contest, San Antonio had scored at least 110 points in 10 straight games (their longest such streak since March of 1984). The Spurs rank seventh in Offensive Rating on the season, averaging 110.6 points per 100 possessions.
23. Indiana Pacers (14-20) ⬇️ Last Week: 21
The Pacers have been inconsistent all season, but Caris LeVert has finally found his groove. Over the Pacers' last four games, LeVert is averaging 24.8 points, 4.8 rebounds, 7.0 assists, 2.0 treys and 1.5 steals.&nbsp;
24. Portland Trail Blazers (13-20)&nbsp;⬇️ Last Week: 23
Playing at home and matched up against a shorthanded Mavs team, the Blazers were three-point favorites on Monday night but ended up losing by 15. The Blazers' defense was atrocious, as they allowed 132 points while Dallas shot above 57% from the floor. According to StatMuse, no team has scored that many points and shot that well in Portland since 1987. Portland has lost 12 of their last 15 games.&nbsp;
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25. Sacramento Kings (13-21) ⬇️ Last Week: 24
Kings interim head coach Alvin Gentry did not mince words after his team's embarrassing 25-point loss to the Grizzlies at home on Sunday. "It's the most disappointed I've been in 34 years in the NBA, I can honestly say that," Gentry told reporters. "That performance was absolutely ridiculous. We didn't play hard, we didn't compete. We didn't guard the ball, we didn't guard screen-and-rolls. We didn't follow the game plan. No competitiveness whatsoever. They basically toyed with us. I'm totally disappointed and everybody in this building should be disappointed." Tell us how ya really feel, coach. &nbsp;
26. Oklahoma City Thunder (12-20) &harr;️ Last Week: 26
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/gilgeousalexander-walker-named-players-of-the-week-for-dec-2026" target="_blank" rel="noopener">named the Western Conference Player of the Week</a> on Monday after leading OKC to a 3-1 record last week. SGA averaged 27.5 points, 7.0 dimes, 6.3 boards and 1.3 blocks in those four games.&nbsp;
27. New Orleans Pelicans (12-22) ⬆️ Last Week: 28
Brandon Ingram had been posting incredibly impressive stats before being ruled out Sunday's game against the Thunder due to left Achilles soreness. Ingram, who is listed as doubtful for Tuesday's game vs. the Cavs, has averaged 27.7 points, 6.0 rebounds, 5.9 assists, 1.8 treys and 1.2 steals over his previous 10 appearances.&nbsp;
28. Houston Rockets (10-24) ⬇️ Last Week: 27
It's been a wild, roller-coaster ride of a season for the Rockets. After losing 15 in a row over the first month of the season, Houston bounced back by somehow winning seven straight games. However, since that unexpected win streak, the Rox are just 2-8 and have lost each of their last four.&nbsp;
29. Orlando Magic (7-27) ⬆️ Last Week: 30
The Magic have won just 7 of their first 34 games this season, tying the franchise mark for their worst record at this point in a season. How hard has Orlando been hit by COVID and injuries this season, you ask? Hassani Gravett, an undrafted 25-year-old rookie out of Pensacola State, has averaged 25 minutes per game for the Magic over the past two weeks.&nbsp;
30. Detroit Pistons (5-27) ⬇️ Last Week: 29
The Pistons have five players in COVID protocols, including Cade Cunningham, and are missing injured bigs Jerami Grant and Kelly Olynyk. Detroit, which has had 12 different starting lineups this season, has lost 17 of its last 18 contests. They host the Knicks on Wednesday night. &nbsp;

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

NBA Power Rankings: Bulls are hot, Warriors reclaim top spot from Suns

The Charlotte Hornets have so much promise, but a major fundamental issue is beginning to take over their season. After another ugly blowout loss to the Phoenix Suns 137-106 on Sunday, it was the latest showcase of an embarrassing defensive effort from Charlotte.
This is such a fun group oozing with NBA League Pass potential, but you can tell constantly that a lack of any consistent defense will eventually hold this team back from doing anything strong throughout the 2021-22 season. Charlotte has the worst Defensive Rating in the Association, allowing 114.8 points per 100 possessions, as it clings to a .500 record at 16-16.
Without a change on the horizon, the ship feels like it&rsquo;s beginning to sink on the Hornets' early-season promise.
LaMelo Ball is so fun to watch, as he takes a Year 2 leap to stardom. Miles Bridges continues to keep his name in the race as a serious contender for Most Improved Player, averaging 19.8 points per game. Outside of those two building blocks, there&rsquo;s a ton of inexperience and inconsistency.
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It&rsquo;s time shake things up one way or another before the Hornets&rsquo; season falls below where their true ceiling could be. After their 31-point defeat to the juggernaut Suns, Bridges and Kelly Oubre Jr. spoke a similar tune with what went wrong.
&ldquo;We were getting good shots in the first quarter but, we were just missing. We let our offense dictate our defense,&rdquo; Bridges said postgame. &ldquo;That&rsquo;s just something we got to get better at cause that&rsquo;s losing us games. Our offense dictating our defense. We still got to come in whether we&rsquo;re missing shots, making shots, we still got to come in and guard people otherwise its going to be a long night every game.&rdquo;
Oubre, a former Sun who was known for his two-way prowess during his stint in the Valley, is a well-known energizer. As the Hornets&rsquo; sixth man, watching from the bench the whole vibe seems completely off right now. And honestly, Oubre&rsquo;s lack of effort on the defensive end, on top of other veterans seemingly going through the motions, was one of my biggest takeaways from their shellacking in Phoenix.
&ldquo;Honestly, its that juice, that energy.&rdquo; Oubre said. &ldquo;Playing desperate like we did in the second half against Portland. I think we have to consistently do that every game because we have to go harder than the other teams we face. Its mono-e-mono. Whoever goes the hardest wins, and if we don&rsquo;t come out setting the tone, it trickles down the next three quarters.&rdquo;
Over the last decade, Charlotte is right near the worst mark for a team defensively. If it doesn&rsquo;t improve, it will continue to nosedive to more depressingly epic proportions. When looking over the list Charlotte is in, the main theme is youthful teams with one outlier being a team who was kept afloat thanks to a superstar.
<ol>
<li>2018-19 Cavs (19-63) = 116.8 DTRG</li>
<li>2020-21 Kings (31-41) = 116.5 DRTG</li>
<li>2020-21 Blazers (42-30) = 115.3 DRTG</li>
<li>2021-22 Hornets (16-16*) = 114.8 DRTG</li>
<li>2019-20 Cavs (19-46) = 114.8 DRTG</li>
</ol>
<img src="https://cdn.basketballnews.com/images/story/body/usatsi_17387817_lg.jpg" alt="" width="575" height="412" />
Nine of the Hornets&rsquo; 16 wins this season have come when they've scored 120 or more points, and in almost each instance they&rsquo;ve needed that much in the end to pull off the victory. A formula of outscoring teams where the first one to 125 points gets the W simply isn&rsquo;t a sustainable recipe for success &mdash; especially over a full 82-game schedule.
Charlotte&rsquo;s starting lineup is beautiful to watch when it&rsquo;s humming at full speed. LaMelo is doing LaMelo things. Bridges&rsquo; athleticism is overpowering defenders, and he's also improving his shooting range. Hayward and Mason Plumlee are capable tertiary playmakers that set up Ball and Terry Rozier on both drives and around the perimeter. When it&rsquo;s fully in motion, the Hornets are absolutely a must-watch team.
However, when it&rsquo;s ugly like it was on Sunday against the Suns, you really begin to realize just how desperate this team is in need of a shakeup. So far this season, the Hornets&rsquo; starters are being outscored by 5.0 points per 100 possessions in 205 total minutes. And though Hornets head coach James Borrego's experiment &mdash; <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/pj-washington-buying-into-being-hornets-super-sub-5-man" target="_blank" rel="noopener">P.J. Washington playing small-ball five</a> in place of Plumlee &mdash; gives an offensive boost, it is a total disaster on the other end; the starters-plus-Washington lineup is carrying a negative-9.2 Net Rating.
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Whatever the Hornets are trying to do to be competent on defense, it&rsquo;s simply not working at all. One idea I&rsquo;ve been hammering for weeks now is <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/examining-potential-trade-destinations-for-myles-turner" target="_blank" rel="noopener">making an aggressive push for Indiana Pacers center Myles Turner</a>, one of the NBA&rsquo;s best shot blockers and rim-protectors. Turner would be the ideal all-in move to add a third piece to build around Ball and Bridges long-term in Charlotte.
The current outlook for the 2021-22 Hornets is a team that starts off hot, but quickly dissipates into a disappointment and wins around 35 games. If the Hornets don&rsquo;t try to mix things up, their defense will continue to swirl down the drain to unwatchable levels.
&ldquo;The goal right now is to stay together, stay positive, stay optimistic, keep our heads up and move forward,&rdquo; Borrego said.
Time is running out for the Hornets to find a solution. Whichever route they decide upon will be critical for their short and long-term success.

The Hornets have some real potential to make noise soon. However, their lack of defense is sinking the entire operation.