https://cdn.basketballnews.com/images/nba-logos/min.png

Timberwolves

Game 1 of the 2022 NBA Finals will be played on Thursday, June 2. Remarkably, that date is the exact one-year anniversary of the Boston Celtics' announcing Brad Stevens had stepped away from head coaching duties to assume the role of president of basketball operations in place of the departing Danny Ainge.
Let's have a look back at what has been an extraordinary and almost unimaginable 12 months&hellip;
<div class="mceNonEditable"><spike>&nbsp;</spike></div>
During his eight seasons on the sidelines in Boston, Stevens was viewed as one of the league's better head coaches. He was regarded as an elite tactician and considered an important part of the Celtics' sustained success. Under his stewardship, Boston advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals three times in four years.
So when the club announced that its long-time top executive in Ainge was retiring and that Stevens would be promoted to team president last June, it came as a shock to most. Would Stevens be able to replicate the regular-season success he enjoyed as head coach? Could Boston get over the hump and advance all the way to the NBA Finals?
Although Ainge left a roster stocked with a budding superstar in Jayson Tatum, his All-Star caliber sidekick in Jaylen Brown, veteran stalwart Marcus Smart and a few promising youngsters, Stevens took control at a precarious juncture. Boston entered last summer capped out (with a directive from ownership not to incur a costly luxury tax bill) and lacking excess draft capital.&nbsp;
Stevens' first order of business was parting ways with Kemba Walker and his cumbersome contract. With two years and $73 million remaining on his deal, Walker was the team's highest-paid player. When healthy, the four-time All-Star Walker was highly productive on the offensive end for the C's, but his balky left knee had robbed him of his quickness. Some suggested the Celtics sit tight, hoping that an entire offseason of rest would allow Kemba to re-establish himself as a quality starter. If Boston wanted to trade Walker, Stevens would have to get creative.
The week before the 2021 NBA Draft, Stevens dealt Boston's first-round pick (16th overall) and a 2025 second-round draft pick to the Oklahoma City Thunder for Al Horford and a 2023 second-rounder.&nbsp;
At the time, Stevens' first significant move as team president was considered highly questionable.&nbsp;
Following the 2019-20 season, when Horford posted career-worst numbers for the Philadelphia 76ers after signing a monstrous four-year, $109 million pact, the veteran big man's contract was viewed as one of the worst in the league. In December 2020, the Sixers were forced to attach a future first-round pick and the draft rights to Vasilije Micic (who just won his second EuroLeague Final Four MVP) in a trade with OKC just to get out from under Horford's contract.
During his lone season in Oklahoma City, Horford appeared in just 28 games for the Thunder. After the trade deadline passed in February 2021, the Thunder shut him down for the rest of the season. At the time, it felt like Stevens was trading for a potentially washed-up 35-year-old center with two years and $53.5 million left on his contract ($41 million of it guaranteed).
But after struggling at times to find his groove in the regular season, Horford has been a crucial cog in the Celtics' run to the Finals. During these playoffs, he is averaging 11.9 points, 9.6 rebounds, 3.5 assists, 1.9 three-pointers,1.6 blocks and 0.9 steals per game, all while shooting 50.0% from the floor, a scorching 43.2% from downtown, and 83.3% from the free-throw line.
Per Basketball-Reference, Horford is just the third player in NBA history (joining Draymond Green and Rasheed Wallace) to average more than 1.5 blocks and more than 1.5 made treys in a postseason (minimum 15 games played). Horford is also the first player ever over the age of 35 to tally more than 25 blocks and more than 25 three-pointers in a single postseason.
To say the Walker/Horford trade has worked out well for Boston would be a dramatic understatement.&nbsp;
<iframe title="YouTube video player" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/3S4rPBgUeQg" width="100%" height="325" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe>
After acquiring Horford, Stevens' next critical decision would be choosing a new head coach. After interviewing several candidates, Stevens zeroed in on Ime Udoka and officially hired him in late June. Udoka was a bit of a gamble, as he had never been a head coach, having spent the previous nine seasons as an assistant with San Antonio (2012-13 to 2018-19), Philadelphia (2019-20) and Brooklyn (2020-21).&nbsp;
Udoka's job was made that much more difficult when the C's stumbled out of the gates this season. By the turn of the new year, there was some finger-pointing in the locker room with the Celtics losing too many winnable games. Three weeks into January, Boston was still below .500 with a 23-24 record.
However, Udoka remained stoically stern, providing a calm and reassuring presence in the locker room and on the sideline. His ability to outcoach opponents and his command of the X's and O's gained him the trust of his team. Over the second half of the season, Boston ranked in the top three in Defensive Efficiency, and led the league in Offensive Efficiency (122.6) and Net Rating (plus-12.7) by a wide margin.
Udoka earned Coach of the Month honors on multiple occasions, and would go on to finish fourth in the NBA Coach of the Year voting. The league-wide respect he's garnered has only increased as he's helped guide his team to the championship series.&nbsp;
<div class="mceNonEditable"><spike>&nbsp;</spike></div>
When the free agency frenzy commenced in July 2021, Stevens had to decide what to do with shooting guard Evan Fournier. Ultimately, Boston opted to let Fournier leave for New York.
The Celtics' only free-agent addition of note last summer was inking Dennis Schroder to a team-friendly, one-year deal for $5.9 million. However, Stevens signed Marcus Smart (four years, $76.5 million) and Robert Williams III (four years, $48 million) to lengthy extensions.
The Smart signing, in particular, looks genius in retrospect.&nbsp;
It had been rumored that Ainge was seriously considering trading away Smart in different deals in years past. However, Stevens made it clear that he was committing to Smart for the long term. Just as importantly, Stevens let it be known he would entrust Smart with the team's primary point guard duties. This may seem like an easy decision with the benefit of hindsight, but it's important to point out that entering this season, Smart had started in just 228 of the 449 games he had appeared in. And a large percentage of those starts were alongside point guards such as Kemba Walker, Kyrie Irving and Isaiah Thomas.&nbsp;
The C's flourished with Smart installed as the floor general, especially on the defensive end. Smart, as we know, would be named NBA Defensive Player of the Year, becoming the first guard to win the award since Gary Payton in 1996.
Starting in each of the 71 regular-season games he played, Smart finished the season ranked seventh in the NBA in steals per game (1.68), ranked fifth among all guards with a Defensive Rating of 105.2, and led the NBA with 1.1 loose balls recovered per contest. He was also near the top of the league in deflections, charges drawn and defensive rebounds. On the offensive end, he averaged a career-high 5.9 assists per game and posted an Effective Field Goal percentage above 50% for the first time.
Had Stevens not locked up Smart last summer, he would undoubtedly have been one of the most highly sought-after players on the free-agent market next month.&nbsp;
<iframe title="YouTube video player" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/rj0RcxvFqAY" width="100%" height="325" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe>
Before being sidelined by a knee injury late in the season, Williams had also been enjoying a breakout 2021-22 campaign, averaging career-highs in points (10.0), rebounds (9.6), blocks (2.2), steals (0.9), field-goal percentage (73.6%) and free-throw percentage (72.2%). Like Smart, Williams' value now exceeds his salary.&nbsp;
In February, Stevens recognized Boston's backcourt needed an upgrade. Hence, he sent Josh Richardson and Romeo Langford and a top-four-protected 2022 first-round pick to the San Antonio Spurs in exchange for Derrick White at the trade deadline. Udoka, who was familiar with White having spent time as an assistant in San Antonio, asked him to sacrifice some of his offense. White would serve as a reserve, which meant fewer field goal attempts and fewer minutes. White embraced the role, supplied solid defense on the perimeter and knocked down a handful of big buckets during Boston's run to the Finals.
Ironically, of all the trades and signing Stevens has made over the past 12 months, arguably the most important and impactful are the ones he did NOT agree to. It sounds outlandish now because the C's are four wins away from the franchise's 18th championship, but plenty of pundits and fans in New England had been calling for the Celtics to break up the duo of Brown and Tatum.
While there was no denying their collective talent, many argued the roster was unbalanced, and that the skill sets Tatum and Brown brought to the table were a bit duplicitous. Thus, some folks contended that the best path forward was trading Brown (possibly in a package with Smart) for a pure point guard (such as Damian Lillard).
Pressure and the corresponding rumors reached a fever pitch in the dark days of December and January.&nbsp;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
Damnit I&rsquo;m holding everybody in Boston accountable, from the front office, to the coaching staff and down to Jaylen and Tatum. It&rsquo;s time to break them up! Carry on&hellip; <a href="https://twitter.com/FirstTake?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@FirstTake</a> <a href="https://t.co/2fNHMFavfd">pic.twitter.com/2fNHMFavfd</a>
&mdash; Kendrick Perkins (@KendrickPerkins) <a href="https://twitter.com/KendrickPerkins/status/1479494503765524483?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 7, 2022</a></blockquote>

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

As noted above, Boston was below .500 for much of the season. On Jan. 15, the Celtics had a worse record than both the Knicks and Washington Wizards. Boston was 11th in the East, on the outside of the Play-in Tournament looking in.&nbsp;&nbsp;
But Stevens never budged, trusting in the roster he helped construct. And the results speak for themselves. Twelve months after he was hired, Stevens's squad is preparing for the NBA Finals.&nbsp;
Earlier this month, the NBA announced Memphis Grizzlies General Manager Zach Kleiman as the winner of the 2021-22 Basketball Executive of the Year Award. Stevens came in sixth, receiving only one first-place vote. However, that award is based on regular-season accomplishments.
Given how well Boston has performed in the playoffs, there is little doubt about which executive's moves have looked best in the postseason.&nbsp;
<div class="mceNonEditable"><spike>&nbsp;</spike></div>
Looking to go to the hottest concerts, sports, theater &amp; family shows near you? Get 100% guaranteed tickets to more than 125,000 live events from TicketSmarter, the official ticket marketplace of BasketballNews.com.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ticketsmarter.com/?utm_source=basketballnewscom&amp;utm_medium=tsaff&amp;utm_campaign=referral" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Order online now</a>!

Tommy Beer reviews Brad Stevens' first season as Celtics president with his one-year anniversary coinciding with NBA Finals Game 1.

Brad Stevens deserves massive credit for the Celtics' success

Nekias Duncan breaks down the 2022 NBA Finals between the Celtics and Warriors from a multitude of angles.

2022 NBA Finals Scouting Report: How the Celtics and Warriors match up

With the 2022 NBA Draft less than a month away, BasketballNews.com will have you covered from top to bottom. The NBA Draft Combine in Chicago began the pre-draft process for a number of hopeful prospects as they try to break into the league.
I had the opportunity to catch up with Ohio State swingman Malaki Branham, who averaged 13.7 points, 3.6 rebounds, and 2.0 assists per game in his lone season with the Buckeyes. We discussed his start in basketball, playing in his home state, his second-half surge and how he'll translate to the next level.
<iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/jk4gJDnecZo" width="100%" height="325" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe>
Let's start with your background. What's your hometown?
Malaki Branham: "My hometown is Columbus, Ohio, where I was born and raised."
Could you tell me a little bit about your family background?
Branham: "I have a small circle. It's my mom, my little brother, my uncle, my auntie and my grandma. That's about it. My trainer is also like family. I've been working with him for seven-plus years, so he became family."
Did you play any other sports growing up?
Branham: "No, not really. When I was younger, I played soccer and baseball, but basketball has always been everything to me."
<div class="mceNonEditable"><spike>&nbsp;</spike></div>
When did you first start getting into organized basketball?
Branham: "Probably when I was 8 or 9. I started playing AAU early on, and things just took off from there."
At what point in your development did it start to click that you might have a bright future in basketball?
Branham: "It was my eighth-grade year. I dunked on somebody; that was my first in-game dunk but my first "poster" too. I thought, 'If I keep working, I can do something with this.'"
How tall were you when that happened?
Branham: I was around 6-2, 6-3. And I'm 6-5 now, so I've grown a few inches.
Being from Ohio, what was it like to be able to stay home and play at Ohio State?
Branham: "It meant everything to me, getting to play for my hometown school. I loved every second I was there on campus with the coaching staff and everyone. It was a good feeling to play for my hometown and have my family watch me too."
In our <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/nba-draft" target="_blank" rel="noopener">2022 NBA Mock Draft</a> on BasketballNews.com, we have you projected to the Cleveland Cavaliers at No. 14. How would you feel if that ended up being the case?
Branham: "It would be cool! Many people back home want me to stay and play for the Cleveland Cavaliers. It's just a blessing to be in this position."
I saw you early on in the season at the Fort Myers Classic. At that point, you were starting, but not getting a lot of shots. Then, midway through the season, you started to explode. From your perspective, what began to click for you to elevate your game so dramatically?
Branham: "I didn't have the biggest role on the team to start. In the beginning, I was trying to fit in. Then, when we played Wisconsin at home, I had 0 points and 4 turnovers. I texted Coach [Chris] Holtmann after the game and thanked him for letting me play through the mistakes that I was making. I was just frustrated with myself, I looked in the mirror and said, 'We need to get to work.'
"From that point, the Nebraska game came, and I kept that in the back of my head and wanted to make sure that the game wasn't just a fluke. I just wanted to be consistent the rest of the year, and I feel like I did that."
<iframe title="YouTube video player" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/kwcsfuG753k" width="100%" height="325" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe>
The Big Ten was stacked this year. I stayed in Indianapolis to watch the entirety of the conference tournament. Who do you think was your toughest matchup this year?
Branham: "The toughest 1-on-1 matchups that I had to guard, I'd probably say Fatts Russell from Maryland; he's a smaller guard, but he's so quick and shifty. I'd also have to say Johnny Davis and Jaden Ivey as well.
"That quick first step that lets [Jaden] get to the rim with ease (makes him a tough matchup). Also, he gets up in the air and gets his shot off from anywhere he wants. With him, I feel like it's him being more explosive than everybody. Johnny is just smooth. He's a bigger guard as well. He gets to the mid-range just like me, so making it tough on him is hard to do. I feel like he plays through a lot of contact.
"Those guys were both a year ahead of me, so they had a feel for Big Ten basketball. I just had to get a feel for how they moved, but I felt like I matched up with them pretty well."
What was your driving force for going all-in on the draft?
Branham: "Really, it was just getting good feedback. I kept working and put my head down, and after, I kept getting good news. I felt like it was too good of an option for me to pass up. I feel like entering the draft with two feet is what I wanted, so I'm just excited to be in this process."
Can you describe yourself as a player?
Branham: "I would say that I'm aggressive. I'm always in attack mode. When I'm between those four lines, I'm in attack mode and aggressive. In the second half of the season, I was aggressive, looking for my shot. I'm also always trying to facilitate for my team too."
Are there any specific aspects of your game that you're looking to improve?
Branham: "Probably tightening my handle. I will be on the wing against bigger and older guys, so I need a tight handle. I'd also like to work on my defensive abilities as well. I'm not going to be a guy who is handling the ball all the time right away, so I need to get some stops on the defensive end to earn that trust on the offensive end."
Are there any current or former players that you model your game after?
Branham: "I watch a lot of Khris Middleton, Devin Booker and those types of guys that can get to the mid-range and are three-level scorers. Those are the guys I model my game after."
If you had to use one word to describe yourself, what would it be?
Branham: 'I'd go with resilient. There will always be tough times in life, but I'm always pushing through. This year was a good example of me being resilient. At the beginning of the year, I wasn't playing as well as I could have, and in the second half, I found a way to push through and get through it."
Let's pretend I'm an NBA general manager. What is your elevator pitch to me as to why I should select you?
Branham: "I live and breathe basketball. I'm a hard worker. So many people say that, but I am genuinely a hard worker. I wake up at 5 a.m. every day and put the work in to perfect my craft. You should select me because I do that and want to get better every day to become the best I possibly can become."
<div class="mceNonEditable"><spike>&nbsp;</spike></div>
Looking to go to the hottest concerts, sports, theater &amp; family shows near you? Get 100% guaranteed tickets to more than 125,000 live events from TicketSmarter, the official ticket marketplace of BasketballNews.com.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ticketsmarter.com/?utm_source=basketballnewscom&amp;utm_medium=tsaff&amp;utm_campaign=referral" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Order online now</a>!

Matt Babcock speaks with Ohio State wing Malaki Branham about his second-half surge, how he'll translate to the NBA and more.

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

By appearing in the Western Conference Finals, the Dallas Mavericks showed that they have collected some of the ingredients of an NBA title contender.
Prior to that, the Mavs had not made it out of the first round of the playoffs since winning the Finals in 2010-11, and had exited the postseason in the first round each of the last two years. Even this season, Dallas had its doubters in the first round against the Utah Jazz, and most of the national audience was against them versus the dominant Phoenix Suns.&nbsp;
Then, the Mavericks won. Luka Doncic continues to ascend as one of the best basketball players on the planet. Several supporting cast members helped carry the load as well, whether it was Jalen Brunson in the first round, Maxi Kleber's Round 2 fireworks or Spencer Dinwiddie's production in the West Finals.
For so long, the narrative in Dallas had been: Does Luka have any help? After 2021-22, we at least know the Mavs have pieces to the puzzle. This summer presents the opportunity to shape the vision of a championship under Doncic and second-year head coach Jason Kidd.
The Mavericks boasted the sixth-best Defensive Rating (109.4) in the NBA during the regular season, per Basketball-Reference. That's impressive growth from a 20th-ranked unit in 2020-21 that didn't undergo massive roster overhaul. Our <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/how-do-the-mavericks-have-an-elite-defense" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Nekias Duncan covered Dallas' defense back in January</a>, and it kept up the work even after trading Kristaps Porzingis away in the deal that returned Dinwiddie and Davis Bertans.&nbsp;
No single, All-Defense-caliber player even stands out on the roster right now. Dorian Finney-Smith is very solid and so is Frank Ntilikina, though his minutes are too inconsistent currently. It's a true team-wide shift that significantly raises the team's floor come playoff time.&nbsp;
<div class="mceNonEditable"><spike>&nbsp;</spike></div>
With that being said &mdash; finding a true center to anchor the paint and provide stability on the glass remains a high priority. Dallas was 15th among the 16 playoff teams in offensive rebounding percentage (45.1%) and second chance points per game (9.0). They also gave up 14.2 second-chance points per game to their opponents, ranking fourth-highest in the postseason. The Mavs scored just 42.9 points in the paint per game during the regular season (ranked 29th of 30) and 35.4 in the playoffs (13th of 16) despite boasting two of the league's best driving threats in Doncic and Brunson.
Dwight Powell is a fine, rotation-caliber NBA player, but his minutes decreased in each subsequent series. Kleber is an awesome sharpshooting big and solid defender, but not an impactful interior presence.
Fortunately, there are several available free agents who Mavs president and general manager Nico Harrison could pursue in his second offseason with the team. Unfortunately, they have severely hamstrung themselves financially. According to Spotrac, they're a luxury taxpayer, which only leaves a mid-level exception worth just over $6.3 million to spend on a free agent. Dallas has virtually no path to cap space this season.
Jusuf Nurkic and Mitchell Robinson are the biggest names to hit unrestricted free agency as a center. They would almost instantly plug the rebounding hole, but are they the types of defenders and rim-runners who would thrive with Doncic? And is there a realistic way for the Mavericks to even sign them?
Other free agent centers who could fit in the mid-level exception include JaVale McGee, Andre Drummond and Bismack Biyombo, for some quick suggestions. Dallas does also hold a $10.2 million trade exception that it created when the team traded Josh Richardson to the Boston Celtics. It expires on June 27, before free agency begins, but it provides another avenue to acquire a rotation-level player.
It might make more sense for the Mavs to pursue a sign-and-trade with a restricted free agent. Obviously, Deandre Ayton is the marquee man. Evan Sidery toyed with <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/examining-potential-destinations-for-deandre-ayton" target="_blank" rel="noopener">potential trade packages for the Suns</a>; could Dallas offer something in this ballpark?
I personally am intrigued by Mo Bamba's potential fit. The 2018 No. 5 overall pick had a solid developmental year in Orlando, but appears to be the odd man out in a crowded young locker room. Bamba feels like a worthwhile gamble as a rebounder and rim-protector with a bit more mobility and shooting than your traditional bruising center.
<iframe title="YouTube video player" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/QfxEZ9a694c" width="100%" height="325" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe>
Of course, all this free agency discussion will come after the Mavericks address their largest elephant in the room. Jalen Brunson broke out as a secondary scorer this season, culminating in his huge games that gave Dallas the edge against Utah. <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/examining-potential-destinations-for-jalen-brunson" target="_blank" rel="noopener">He's an unrestricted free agent</a> who deserves a bag this summer.
"It&rsquo;s the top priority,&rdquo; Harrison said about re-signing Brunson in his <a href="https://www.mavs.com/brunson-is-top-priority/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">exit interview Friday</a>. &ldquo;We got to figure that out. Obviously, we&rsquo;re not in control of it. But he&rsquo;s definitely a priority. We want to re-sign him. He knows it. And we want him back. He&rsquo;ll be a big part of our future.&rdquo;
The Mavs' last route to improve is with their No. 26 overall draft pick. Dallas has been a mixed bag with drafting in recent seasons, but this is the first year Harrison will be at the helm after the franchise passed on the process in 2021. Most recently, the franchise selected Josh Green at No. 20 and Tyrell Terry at No. 31 in 2020. Green's development has been slow but notable through two seasons, while Terry is no longer in the organization.&nbsp;
Matt Babcock's latest&nbsp;<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/nba-draft" target="_blank" rel="noopener">2022 NBA Mock Draft</a> projects the Mavericks to select Max Christie, a freshman wing from Michigan State. Christie was a five-star high school talent who struggled to produce as a college freshman. But his tools as a shooter, scorer and on-ball defender have all flashed and can be sharpened in the right environment.&nbsp;
Aside from Brunson, reserves Trey Burke and Theo Pinson are the only other players entering free agency. However, Dallas notably has just four players under fully guaranteed contracts in 2023-24, per Spotrac: Doncic, Finney-Smith, Bertans and Tim Hardaway Jr. If the squad underwhelms next year, the 2023 offseason could open up a serious roster makeover.&nbsp;
Dallas is on the cusp of true title contention. This offseason is all about checking off some final boxes, keeping the successful core intact and adding depth to a team that persevered through several injuries during the season.
If the summer breaks right, it wouldn't be surprising to see the Mavericks emerging as everyone's favorite championship sleeper by October.
<div class="mceNonEditable"><spike>&nbsp;</spike></div>
Looking to go to the hottest concerts, sports, theater &amp; family shows near you? Get 100% guaranteed tickets to more than 125,000 live events from TicketSmarter, the official ticket marketplace of BasketballNews.com.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ticketsmarter.com/?utm_source=basketballnewscom&amp;utm_medium=tsaff&amp;utm_campaign=referral" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Order online now</a>!

The Mavericks exited the Western Conference Finals with a strong playoff run, but have several glaring needs.

2022 NBA offseason preview: What's next for the Dallas Mavericks?

Deandre Ayton has emerged as one of the best young centers in the NBA, but after an up-and-down postseason, his future with the Phoenix Suns is up in the air. In July, Ayton will be a restricted free agent, so the Suns can match any offer sheet he receives. But if they feel he isn't worth a max deal, Phoenix may ultimately weigh their sign-and-trade options.
If the 23-year-old becomes available, which teams make sense as a possible landing spot? Oddsmakers from <a href="https://www.sportsbetting.ag/sportsbook/futures-and-props/nba-specials" target="_blank" rel="noopener">SportsBetting.ag</a> have the Detroit Pistons (+150), Indiana Pacers (+300) and San Antonio Spurs (+450) as the front-runners to land Ayton.
Here are the complete odds for Ayton's next team if ends up leaving the Suns:
<table style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 44.1913%; height: 176px;" border="1">
<tbody>
<tr style="height: 22px;">
<td style="width: 34.7041%; height: 22px; text-align: center;">Detroit Pistons</td>
<td style="width: 25.6006%; height: 22px; text-align: center;">+150</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 22px;">
<td style="width: 34.7041%; height: 22px; text-align: center;">Indiana Pacers</td>
<td style="width: 25.6006%; height: 22px; text-align: center;">+300</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 22px;">
<td style="width: 34.7041%; height: 22px; text-align: center;">San Antonio Spurs</td>
<td style="width: 25.6006%; height: 22px; text-align: center;">+450</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 22px;">
<td style="width: 34.7041%; height: 22px; text-align: center;">Orlando Magic</td>
<td style="width: 25.6006%; height: 22px; text-align: center;">+500</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 22px;">
<td style="width: 34.7041%; height: 22px; text-align: center;">Portland Trail Blazers</td>
<td style="width: 25.6006%; height: 22px; text-align: center;">+550</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 22px;">
<td style="width: 34.7041%; height: 22px; text-align: center;">Houston Rockets</td>
<td style="width: 25.6006%; height: 22px; text-align: center;">+1000</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 22px;">
<td style="width: 34.7041%; height: 22px; text-align: center;">Chicago Bulls</td>
<td style="width: 25.6006%; height: 22px; text-align: center;">+1100</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 22px;">
<td style="width: 34.7041%; height: 22px; text-align: center;">Oklahoma City Thunder</td>
<td style="width: 25.6006%; height: 22px; text-align: center;">+1200</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
Our Evan Sidery recently <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/examining-potential-destinations-for-deandre-ayton" target="_blank" rel="noopener">examined some possible sign-and-trade ideas for Ayton</a>, including potential deals for the Pistons, Pacers and Spurs.
<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/nba-free-agency" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Also, check out BasketballNews.com's 2022 NBA Free Agency page, which includes free-agency rankings and a scouting report of each player who could be available this summer.&nbsp;</a>

Oddsmakers have the Pistons (+150), Pacers (+300) and Spurs (+450) as the front-runners to land Deandre Ayton this summer.

Pistons, Pacers, Spurs have best odds to land Deandre Ayton

Jimmy Butler followed up one amazing performance with another.
It just wasn't enough for the Miami Heat.
The last shot of Butler's season was a 3-pointer that missed &mdash; and in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference finals, that's the way most of the shots from deep went for the Heat. Miami went 6 for 30 from long range on Sunday night, one of the big factors in their season-ending 100-96 loss to the Boston Celtics.
&ldquo;When it ends, it ends in a thud," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. &ldquo;I just have so much incredible respect and love for everybody in the locker room and what everybody gave to this team. It's such a memorable season and postseason."
Butler was brilliant &mdash; 47 points in Game 6 to extend the season, 35 points in Game 7 to give the Heat a chance at getting to an NBA Finals matchup with the Golden State Warriors. He played every second of the finale.
&ldquo;You can put him in that category of superstars," Heat center Bam Adebayo said. &ldquo;To me, he's one of the best two-way guys in the league, hands down."
This is how good Butler was: On a rough shooting night for the Heat, they still had a chance.
When the Heat made 3s at home this season, it was game over: Miami was 25-1 when shooting at least 37% from deep. When the Heat didn't shoot that well, they went 11-14.
They were the epitome of how it's truly a make-or-miss league. And if Butler had gotten one more 3 to fall &mdash; for the record, the Heat had no problem with his shot selection when he tried <a href="https://twitter.com/espn/status/1531112011383222273?s=20&amp;t=M1r6JG-DauXYeTvK0QmwVg">what would have been a go-ahead 3 with about 17 seconds left</a> &mdash; they might have been headed to the NBA Finals.
&ldquo;I thought it'd have been an incredible storyline, Jimmy to pull up and hit that 3," Spoelstra said. &ldquo;I love that about Jimmy. That was the right look. As it was leaving his hand, I thought for sure that was going down. Good, clean look. It was definitely better than anything we could have designed. It's just a shame that it didn't end that way."
Butler averaged 27.4 points and 7.4 rebounds in the playoffs. His assessment of those numbers: &ldquo;Not good enough."
&ldquo;I learned that I have to be better," Butler said. &ldquo;And I will be better. Back to the lab."
It was the third time that a top-seeded Miami team was ousted at home in an ultimate game.
There was the Allan Houston shot with a second to go in 1999 that gave the eighth-seeded New York Knicks a 78-77 win in Game 5 of a best-of-five opening round series. In 2005, the Heat led Detroit in Game 7 of the East finals with 90 seconds remaining before getting outscored 10-3 the rest of the way and losing 88-82.
And now, add a loss to the Celtics to that list.
&ldquo;This was all about competition," Spoelstra said. &ldquo;We faced a team that kind of matches all the best qualities of what we do."
There was also an injury factor. The majority of the key pieces in the Heat rotation -- Butler, Kyle Lowry, P.J. Tucker, Max Strus, Tyler Herro primarily among them &mdash; were all dealing with various problems in the season&rsquo;s final weeks, some of those issues particularly pronounced during the East finals. Tucker didn't finish Game 7 because of injury.
&ldquo;I will never make any excuse about injuries," Lowry said. &ldquo;Ever."
The Heat even took great pains to point out that Boston was also dealing with ailments &mdash; which is absolutely correct. Regardless of which team lost Game 7, it was going to be reasonable for that side to wonder &ldquo;what if?&rdquo; on the health front and lament that injuries played a big role in their falling short of making the title round.
&ldquo;One thing I love about this team, we fought through adversity this whole year," Adebayo said.

Miami went 6 for 30 from long range on Sunday night in Game 7.

Heat go cold in Game 7 against Boston, and pay the price

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

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

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

After an impressive season that culminated in a third-place finish for the NBA's Rookie of the Year award, Detroit Pistons star Cade Cunningham recently opened up about a valuable lesson he learned during his first year as a pro.
&ldquo;I think the biggest thing I learned is that the league, the media, nobody will care until you&rsquo;re winning,&rdquo; Cunningham <a href="https://www.slamonline.com/the-magazine/cade-cunningham-slam-238/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told SLAM</a>. &ldquo;I could feel bad for myself all I want about [how] people didn&rsquo;t respect or appreciate the season I had or anything, but I didn&rsquo;t win a lot of games.
"I think that&rsquo;s been the biggest thing that I&rsquo;ve locked in on and I decided within: I have to win games if I want people to respect my name. And if not, then I can&rsquo;t be mad at people not watching enough games and how I really play. That&rsquo;s the challenge that I&rsquo;ve tried to take on. I&rsquo;ve talked to teammates [and] we&rsquo;re all trying to take that challenge on. I think that&rsquo;s the next step for us.&rdquo;&nbsp;
Cunningham played well as a rookie, averaging 17.4 points, 5.6 assists, 5.5 rebounds, 1.8 threes and 1.2 steals in 64 games. And he looked significantly better in the second half of the season, posting 21.1 points, 6.5 assists, 5.7 rebounds, 1.3 threes and 1.1 steals per game after the All-Star break.
However, to his point, the Pistons finished the season 23-59, which was the second-worst record in the Eastern Conference (and the third-worst record in the NBA). Detroit boasted the league's 28th-ranked offense (scoring 103.3 points per 100 possessions) and 23rd-ranked defense (allowing 111.1 points per 100 possessions).
Cunningham seems determined to change that. It's not uncommon for a young player to spend years trying to put up numbers and prove he is a star, so it's great to see Cunningham already prioritizing team success over individual accolades and taking a mature approach as a 20-year-old.&nbsp;
<div class="mceNonEditable"><spike>&nbsp;</spike></div>
Perhaps Hall-of-Famer Isiah Thomas has helped Cunningham see the bigger picture, as SLAM notes that Thomas has had several conversations with Cunningham about leadership and other topics.
Fortunately, the Pistons are in excellent position to add some some reinforcements alongside Cunningham. Detroit has the No. 5 pick in the 2022 NBA Draft, and our <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/nba-draft" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Senior NBA Draft Analyst Matt Babcock currently projects</a> that the Pistons will select Kentucky's Shaedon Sharpe.
Also, the Pistons currently project to have the second-most cap space in the NBA this offseason ($25.80 million), trailing only the Orlando Magic ($28.67 million). If Detroit is able to add some key pieces alongside Cunningham, perhaps the organization can right the ship and return to the playoffs sooner than later.
Cunningham was also asked about this season's Rookie of the Year award, which went to Toronto Raptors forward Scottie Barnes (with Cleveland Cavaliers big man Evan Mobley finishing as the runner-up). While Cunningham felt he should have won the award, he's happy for his former high-school teammate and he's glad the debate is over.
&ldquo;Scottie is my brother, I&rsquo;m happy that he got that award," Cunningham said. "I feel like it&rsquo;s great that it&rsquo;s him, [my] Montverde teammate. I&rsquo;m super excited [for him]. I mean, it&rsquo;s never really been about that award for me. I&rsquo;ve had a ton of questions asked about it, you know&mdash; 'Rookie of the Year, what do you think about you winning?' So, I&rsquo;ma answer the question, you know? I feel like I should win it. That&rsquo;s natural. But it was never a knock on those guys. I love their game and I&rsquo;m happy that now we can quiet that question down. Congrats to Scottie, man, I love my dog.&rdquo;
While Cunningham didn't win the Rookie of the Year, award there's no question that he has a bright future and the Pistons are thrilled to have him.&nbsp;
<div class="mceNonEditable"><spike>&nbsp;</spike></div>
<div class="css-1dbjc4n r-1habvwh r-eqz5dr r-11rk87y r-1dye5f7 r-m611by r-13qz1uu">
<div class="css-1dbjc4n r-eqz5dr r-glunga r-13qz1uu">
<div class="css-1dbjc4n r-13qz1uu">
<div class="css-1dbjc4n r-eqz5dr r-glunga r-13qz1uu">
<div>
Looking to go to the hottest concerts, sports, theater &amp; family shows near you? Get 100% guaranteed tickets to more than 125,000 live events from TicketSmarter, the official ticket marketplace of BasketballNews.com.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ticketsmarter.com/?utm_source=basketballnewscom&amp;utm_medium=tsaff&amp;utm_campaign=referral" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Order online now</a>!
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>

Cade Cunningham learned a valuable lesson during his rookie season — something that many young players take years to grasp.

Cade Cunningham shares valuable lesson he learned as a rookie

What happens is the crux of any conversation. Results spur on ideology and conjecture. Wins, losses, box scores and stat lines invite slander and celebration.
Why?&nbsp;
Results are important for measuring goals, gauging success and resetting priorities or strategies. Why those results occur is what I find fascinating.&nbsp;
The 2022 Eastern Conference Finals between the Miami Heat and Boston Celtics have been difficult to parse through, akin to a redux of the 2004 series between the Detroit Pistons and Indiana Pacers. Only four of the players who played 10 minutes per game or more in that series shot 40% or better from the floor.&nbsp;
A series defined by restrained offense and amplified defense is rooted in the why. Yes, both the Heat and Celtics have exchanged slogging moments. Turnovers have been in abundance. There have been many free throws, as the physicality is ratcheted up to the 10th degree.
The Heat&rsquo;s offense is predicated on movement, screening, handoffs and maximizing their pressure points through shooting gravity to open up looks with their collective passing and intuitive play. Miami was 14th in the league in three-point attempts per game, but first in three-point percentage (37.9%). What made them more impressive was how those shots got off.&nbsp;
The Heat are chock-full of movement shooters with Max Strus, Duncan Robinson, Tyler Herro, Gabe Vincent and Kyle Lowry all capable of hitting shots off of a variety of movements and even self-created with their handles to varying degrees. Miami shot 42.9% from deep in Game 6, a far cry from the 29.2% (52/178) over the previous five games. Jimmy Butler hit four shots from distance after only hitting two all series. Tough shots fell in volume.&nbsp;
<div style="width: 100%; height: 0px; position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.250%;"><iframe style="width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute; left: 0px; top: 0px; overflow: hidden;" src="https://streamable.com/e/7w789c" width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" data-mce-fragment="1"></iframe></div>
To equate Miami&rsquo;s victory and invigorated offense strictly to shot variance would be unfair. Miami has thrived on those tough threes off movement or pull-ups all season, but they haven&rsquo;t hit the same. It&rsquo;s difficult to project another game like last night for Miami&rsquo;s shot-making, although one game throws sample size to the wind. Again, the why is so crucial here.&nbsp;
Miami&rsquo;s offense has been stuck in the mud much of the series as our own Nekias Duncan <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/the-heat-have-a-bigbig-problem-on-their-hands">recently wrote</a>. Boston&rsquo;s bigs have stifled the Heat in the paint and through their ability to toggle between the paint and perimeter. Stopping shots at the second and third level has been a large reason for Boston&rsquo;s defensive success. Miami,&nbsp; 27th in rim frequency during the regular season per Cleaning the Glass, is dependent on their ability to attack the gaps created by their shooting gravity.&nbsp;
They&rsquo;ve been constricted by their own shot profile at times this series, but mainly due to how Boston has been able shut off the release valves. Most of Miami&rsquo;s aforementioned premier spacing core, particularly the shooters off screens, has struggled throughout the series. We know the shots haven&rsquo;t fallen, but it&rsquo;s not simply a collective slump. Boston&rsquo;s defense as a whole has been swarming, but why have Miami&rsquo;s movement shooters struggled the most?
Through the lens of the Eastern Conference Finals and the league at large, few players epitomize the why quite like Derrick White. The results haven&rsquo;t always been there for White during the playoffs, although the post-baby bump has been real (congrats again to Derrick and his family).&nbsp;
Yet, so often when watching White, whether with the Spurs or Celtics, the why is consistently there. The consistency in process matters so much more than the consistency in production. That sounds counterintuitive, but it&rsquo;s strikingly true in basketball. There&rsquo;s a line in the sand that wavers among the grains, and White often has crossed the line in spite of his production simply due to his persistent process.
White has routinely neutralized Miami&rsquo;s release valves and shut off the water entirely for stretches. It&rsquo;s been like watching a naturally-rich land dry up after a dam is built up stream. That dam is Derrick White, and the Heat have employed any number and variety of players to try to take White out of the picture to free up shooters.
This play from Game 5 stood out.
<div style="width: 100%; height: 0px; position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.250%;">
<div style="width: 100%; height: 0px; position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.250%;"><iframe style="width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute; left: 0px; top: 0px; overflow: hidden;" src="https://streamable.com/e/plsipo" width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" data-mce-fragment="1"></iframe></div>
</div>
Notice the quick flip and pushoff from P.J. Tucker in a screening action that was masked with Oladipo setting up as a second screener. White immediately takes Oladipo, and Horford takes Tucker after Jaylen Brown switches onto Duncan Robinson. Brown navigates the screen well enough for the action to die out, and would you look at that... Derrick White still makes a play on the back side.
Already four games and roughly 10 minutes into the series, the Heat are throwing the kitchen sink at an off-ball chaser to free up their shooters. Whatever it takes to force switches, including some semi-illegal&nbsp; screens. Again, why?
Well, White immediately made his presence felt on Max Strus.
<div style="width: 100%; height: 0px; position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.250%;"><iframe style="width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute; left: 0px; top: 0px; overflow: hidden;" src="https://streamable.com/e/nrp9d5" width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" data-mce-fragment="1"></iframe></div>
He always shifts his body, scans the floor constantly, and his slight movements are impeccable. So often, chasers get beat off the ball because of too big a stride or a wrong step. White rarely crosses his feet up, and he can appear choppy at times, but it's because he's always on his toes, minimizing space given and maximizing his margins for error. Even with the majority of hard screens, White is making his recovery plays and finding his way back into the picture.
If he does get beat when running a shooter off the line, he's one of the best in the league with backtaps and strips.
<div style="width: 100%; height: 0px; position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.250%;"><iframe style="width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute; left: 0px; top: 0px; overflow: hidden;" src="https://streamable.com/e/ym304b" width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" data-mce-fragment="1"></iframe></div>
Press up that hard on a shooter, and the opposing team will try to use that against you as a pressure point. Lo and behold, Erik Spoelstra dialed up just that, using Duncan Robinson as a screener with White stapled to him, hoping to cause an error on the perimeter.
<div style="width: 100%; height: 0px; position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.250%;"><iframe style="width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute; left: 0px; top: 0px; overflow: hidden;" src="https://streamable.com/e/j7suo8" width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" data-mce-fragment="1"></iframe></div>
White shoots that gap absurdly well. Not just well, like Julius Peppers is smiling somewhere watching that. White dips his shoulder back around Bam Adebayo's screen and is back in front of Herro by the free throw line. It's a ridiculous possession.
To say Max Strus hasn't had a fun series would be an understatement. Watch the way White starts to angle himself, immediately prepping to lock and trail as soon as he knew the movement was en route.
<div style="width: 100%; height: 0px; position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.250%;"><iframe style="width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute; left: 0px; top: 0px; overflow: hidden;" src="https://streamable.com/e/kwi2cw" width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" data-mce-fragment="1"></iframe></div>
White seemingly always has at least one hand on the man he's trailing, making it that much harder to gain separation.&nbsp;
This play is a pinnacle "What else am I supposed to do?" moment. Strus hits White with a swim move, sends him careening into the Tucker screen, and Tucker thuds White. So clearly, Strus should be open, right? Right?
Once again, White comes flying around the screen and reattaches to Strus' hip without being overly physical or fouling, funneling him into the looming Horford.
<div style="width: 100%; height: 0px; position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.250%;"><iframe style="width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute; left: 0px; top: 0px; overflow: hidden;" src="https://streamable.com/e/xywgt9" width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" data-mce-fragment="1"></iframe></div>
That consistency has been unreal. While White isn&rsquo;t necessarily the player finishing possessions defensively (although he still forces his fair share of turnovers), the quietness is what stands out.&nbsp;
White&rsquo;s giving his best Darrelle Revis impression, shutting off options, isolated against the best deep threats in the game. You see Jimmy Butler struggling to find an opening, wading in the mid-range, but the why? Max Strus can&rsquo;t get separation. White&rsquo;s been glued to Duncan Robinson. Gabe Vincent is always seeing a rear contest on pull-up twos. Nothing is coming easy for Miami.&nbsp;
Derrick White has put on a masterclass of screen shedding and route mirroring. His off-ball defense and ability to make things difficult always&nbsp;is a large reason for why Nekias Duncan, Jackson Frank and I had <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/defensive-awards-and-a-celebration-of-defense" target="_blank" rel="noopener">White making an All-Defense team</a>. It's not hyperbole to say that White is among the most consistent defensive players in basketball, something that tends to go underappreciated. Regardless of whether or not the Celtics win Game 7 tomorrow and make their first NBA Finals since 2010, Derrick White's consistent ability to make things difficult deserves shine.

Derrick White has put on a defensive masterclass during the Conference Finals, shutting down Miami's shooters.

Derrick White: Eliminating release valves and shutting off the water

Heading into <a href="https://stats.wnba.com/players/traditional/?sort=PTS&amp;dir=-1&amp;Season=2022&amp;SeasonType=Regular%20Season&amp;DateTo=05%2F22%2F2022" target="_blank" rel="noopener">this week's action</a>, Atlanta Dream rookie Rhyne Howard was leading the WNBA in scoring (20.5 points). It was an incredible feat for an incredible talent, one that we've talked about <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/the-atlanta-dream-struck-gold-with-rhyne-howard" target="_blank" rel="noopener">in this space</a>.
Her jumper is pure, and she's able to get to it in a multitude of ways. To the Dream's credit, they've done a great job moving her around the chess board to stress defensess. Playing drop coverage against the Dream is practically begging for them to run a movement set for Howard.
They've run this doozy for Howard a few times this season. The decoy action may vary, but the goal for the Dream is to clear one side of the court before setting a flare screen for Howard to fill that empty space. The Los Angeles Sparks were ill-prepared for it earlier in the season.
<div style="width: 100%; height: 0px; position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.250%;"><iframe style="width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute; left: 0px; top: 0px; overflow: hidden;" src="https://streamable.com/e/wwu1hw" width="100%" height="325" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" data-mce-fragment="1"></iframe></div>
The options are endless. If the screen hits, Howard can flow into a jumper like she did in the clip above. If the screen navigation is a little better, she has plenty of space to attack off the bounce. She can reset and go iso. It can flow into an empty corner pick-and-roll with whoever set the initial flare screen. Heck, they can just flip the angle of the screen and have her come the other way.
On May 20, Howard came out of the gates firing. She was facing the red-hot Washington Mystics, but it didn't feel like they could keep track of her. Howard would score 15 of her 21 points in the opening frame, including a bucket off an all-too-familiar action.
<div style="width: 100%; height: 0px; position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.250%;"><iframe style="width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute; left: 0px; top: 0px; overflow: hidden;" src="https://streamable.com/e/hih0os" width="100%" height="325" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" data-mce-fragment="1"></iframe></div>
Backup big Tianna Hawkins (#21) sees it coming. Twice in the action--once while Aari McDonald (#2) is executing a handoff in the left corner, and again as Naz Hillmon (#0) is setting up the flare screen for Howard--Hawkins points toward the empty side. She knows Kennedy Burke has her work cut out for her, but she gets hung up on the screen anyway.
Howard wasn't able to shake loose like that for the rest of the game. Again, she scored 15 in the opening frame but just six points the rest of the way. After the Dream dropped 25 points in the first, they scored 19, 14 and 15 points the rest of the way.
That brings us to the Tuesday matchup, where the Dream wanted to exact revenge for their five-point loss. Where Howard wanted to make up for a quiet three-quarter stretch. The Mystics simply weren't having it, and it was evident from the opening tip.
<div style="width: 100%; height: 0px; position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.250%;"><iframe style="width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute; left: 0px; top: 0px; overflow: hidden;" src="https://streamable.com/e/lcxhde" width="100%" height="325" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" data-mce-fragment="1"></iframe></div>
On the left side of the floor, you have Natasha Cloud (#9) blowing up the pindown and getting reattached to Kristy Wallace. Howard and Cheyenne Parker (#32) attempt to set screens in the middle of the floor to get the Mystics moving, but Ariel Atkins (#7) is able to navigate the muck and stay attached to Erica Wheeler (#17) as she clears the right side.
<div class="mceNonEditable"><spike>&nbsp;</spike></div>
From there, it's go time.&nbsp;
The flare for Howard is coming, but look at the prep work Alysha Clark (#22) does. She gets inside of Howard's jersey before the screen is even set:
<img src="https://cdn.basketballnews.com/images/story/body/screenshot_2022_05_28_17_56_53_lg.png" alt="" width="577" height="325" />
As Parker sets the pick, Clark is able to slow Howard up with a grab before she attempts to fly over it.
<img src="https://cdn.basketballnews.com/images/story/body/screenshot_2022_05_28_17_57_33_lg.png" alt="" width="577" height="325" />
Doing the homework early essentially blew up the first portion of the set. Howard and Parker attempt to go into a pick-and-roll with an empty side from there, but the Mystics had other plans. They sprang a trap on Howard, essentially pinning her in the right corner.
<img src="https://cdn.basketballnews.com/images/story/body/screenshot_2022_05_28_18_00_26_lg.png" alt="" width="577" height="325" />
That's good work on Howard from Clark and rookster Shakira Austin. Cloud has the Parker assignment. Atkins has Wallace. Elena Delle Donne is on the backside of the action, keeping tabs on two Dream players on the right side of the floor. In other words, there are no easy outlets here.
Howard is able to jump-pass her way out of it, but the Mystics are able to rotate behind that pass. Wallace gets the release pass and is immediately pressured. The Dream do a good job of countering with a pin-in screen on Delle Donne, but she fights over it and gets a late-clock contest on the three from Wheeler.
<div style="width: 100%; height: 0px; position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.250%;"><iframe style="width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute; left: 0px; top: 0px; overflow: hidden;" src="https://streamable.com/e/13uq04" width="100%" height="325" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" data-mce-fragment="1"></iframe></div>
Whew.
Things didn't get easier for Howard or the Dream. On the individual front, Howard would miss all nine of her field goal attemtps and end the game with [checks notes] zero points. It was easily her worst outing as a pro. Her scoring averaged dropped from a league-leading 20.5 to 17.6, a clip that ranks 10th in the league.
And without Howard getting buckets, the rest of the team faltered. The Dream scored 50 points on the evening as the Mystics racked up a 70-50 victory.
Because of that game, the Mystics now hold the WNBA's <a href="https://stats.wnba.com/teams/advanced/?sort=DEF_RATING&amp;dir=-1" target="_blank" rel="noopener">best defensive rating</a> at 92.3. Even before that game, the Mystics have impressed with their blend of ball pressure and activity on the backline.&nbsp;
If you want a not-so-hidden joy when watching this team, peep their activity whenever an offense tries to run a pick-and-roll from the wing. They attempt to "ICE" most of them, meaning the on-ball defender shades the ball handler toward the sideline. The fun really perks up from there, though.
Because they don't have a pure anchor in drop coverage, the pick-up points for their bigs are a little higher. And because&nbsp;all&nbsp;of their bigs--Austin, Delle Donne, Hawkins, Myisha Hines-Allen and freshly-in-the-fold Elizabeth Williams--are active with their hands, ball-handlers find themselves in trouble quickly.&nbsp;
Watching the Delle Donne-Austin frontcourt has especially been fun. There were questions about how Delle Donne would hold up defensively after her injury-riddled layoff. And it's always fair to wonder how quickly a rookie big like Austin can get acclimated to the big leagues. Both have embraced the challenge; in fact, the Mystics are allowing a defensive rating of 85 (!) when those two <a href="https://stats.wnba.com/lineups/advanced/?Season=2022&amp;SeasonType=Regular%20Season&amp;GroupQuantity=2&amp;TeamID=1611661322&amp;sort=NET_RATING&amp;dir=1&amp;CF=MIN*GE*50" target="_blank" rel="noopener">share the court</a>.&nbsp;
<div style="width: 100%; height: 0px; position: relative; padding-bottom: 53.958%;"><iframe style="width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute; left: 0px; top: 0px; overflow: hidden;" src="https://streamable.com/e/9bxnmu" width="100%" height="325" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" data-mce-fragment="1"></iframe></div>
Getting ball pressure from Cloud and Clark--a pair of wings with All-Defensive team selections under their belts--or Rui Machida off the bench (she's fun) is one thing. Having active bigs can add another layer of mayhem. Combining that with opportunistic help defenders can make an offense feel like it's suffocating.
Shatori Walker-Kimbrough is currently leading the team in steals (1.6), mostly off the strength of her off-ball prowess. Atkins (1.5 steals) isn't too far behind her, showcasing why she's also made multiple All-Defensive teams in her career.
I mentioned Burke getting burned by the flare action for Howard earlier in the piece, but she's already been a problem for offenses as a help defender.&nbsp;
<div style="width: 100%; height: 0px; position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.250%;"><iframe style="width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute; left: 0px; top: 0px; overflow: hidden;" src="https://streamable.com/e/x4cfpe" width="100%" height="325" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" data-mce-fragment="1"></iframe></div>
That activity has been important. The Mystics currently rank third in opponent turnover rate, with offenses coughing up 21.2 turnovers per 100 possessions. That's way up from last season (17.9), and not too far off the franchise record (21.6) set back in 2005.
(And on that note, team offenses were way worse back then; the league average opponent turnover rate in 2005 was 18.1, much higher than the 15.9 mark this season. And we're early in the year, so that number will likely fall as the season goes on.)
We know what a healthy Mystics team can do offensively. Delle Donne is one of the most versatile offensive talents in basketball history. Cloud is a dynamic slasher and <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/natasha-cloud-shines-through-shooter-wnba-on-notice" target="_blank" rel="noopener">confident shooter</a>. There's plenty of shot-making, shooting and driving equity on the roster.
The defense has been a pleasant surprise, though we may see regression at some point. Opponents are only shooting 31.4% from 3, and the multiple efforts needed to make their scheme work can create some openings on that front.
They may not be the&nbsp;best defense in basketball. But if they hover around 3rd or 4th, that's still much better than they were last season (104.4 defensive rating, 11th out of 12 teams). And if the defense can hang, we need to start talking about this team as a serious title contender.
<div class="mceNonEditable"><spike>&nbsp;</spike></div>
Looking to go to the hottest concerts, sports, theater &amp; family shows near you? Get 100% guaranteed tickets to more than 125,000 live events from TicketSmarter, the official ticket marketplace of BasketballNews.com.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ticketsmarter.com/?utm_source=basketballnewscom&amp;utm_medium=tsaff&amp;utm_campaign=referral" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Order online now</a>!

Nekias Duncan breaks down why the Washington Mystics' defense has been so successful to start the season.

How the Washington Mystics are winning with activity

Sr. NBA Draft Analyst Matt Babcock shares his experience of moving to Bologna, Italy, where he became an assistant coach for a professional basketball team before becoming a sports agent. Check out <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/my-past-life-as-a-sports-agent-going-to-california" target="_blank" rel="noopener">part 1</a> about how he got his start and <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/my-past-life-as-a-sports-agent-the-2006-nba-draft" target="_blank" rel="noopener">part 2</a> about helping players prepare for the 2006 NBA Draft.
It was 2006, I was 22-years old and I was set to begin my first full-time job out of college as an assistant coach for Virtus Bologna, a professional basketball team in Bologna, Italy. Before leaving for Europe, I stayed at my parents' house in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. I had received my travel itinerary via email, so I packed up all of my stuff, purchased a couple of Italian phrasebooks and hugged my mom. Then, my dad drove me to Chicago for my flight, and before I knew it, I was off to Italy.
After a long travel day, I made it to Bologna. I had not been given many details about my arrangements before landing. I knew that I would be an assistant coach and that the team would cover all of my expenses, but I didn't know where I would be living. I didn't even know if anyone would pick me up at the airport. I didn't have anyone's contact info from the team. To say an unknown world awaited me would be a significant understatement. I was a bit anxious.
I exited the plane and made my way to the baggage claim. I had hoped to see a driver holding a big sign with my name, but I did not see anyone like that. I collected my two massive bags that contained pretty much everything I owned at that point, took a seat and waited, hoping someone from the team was coming to pick me up. I was exhausted and grew increasingly anxious the longer I waited. I began to think, "Did I make a mistake coming here?"
Finally, a man approached me and said with a thick Italian accent, "Matt?"
I felt like I had been rescued from a deserted island.
The man pointed to a logo on his shirt that read, "Virtus Bologna." It was evident that he did not speak English. I didn't speak any Italian, so I'm sure you can imagine how everything carried on. We shook hands, and he directed me to follow him to his car, which was seemingly a team-issued van. After about a twenty-minute drive and no words exchanged, we arrived at a small hotel. A receptionist translated for us when we walked into the hotel, which was a huge relief. She explained that the team was on the road, but someone would reach out to me on the hotel phone the next day. (I didn't use my cell phone, as international roaming charges were costly at the time.)
<div class="mceNonEditable"><spike>&nbsp;</spike></div>
I was exhausted but also starving, so I asked the receptionist if any restaurants would be serving food at that hour. She directed me to a place nearby. I walked into the restaurant, and no one spoke English very well. I sat down at a table with my Italian phrasebook in hand. I ordered a pizza and a glass of red wine&mdash;I was in Italy, after all. After a long day and night, I was tired and stressed. Having been a young guy on my own in a foreign country was difficult. The language barrier was challenging, and all of the unknowns were nerve-wracking. I again questioned if I had made the right decision accepting that job. However, the waitress brought out my pizza and glass of red wine, and let me tell you, they were perhaps the best things I had ever tasted in my entire life! Subsequently, my stress subsided a bit, and although I still didn't know what to expect next, I could relax and appreciate the opportunity.
The following day, I woke up at about 3:00 AM because of jet lag. After hours of killing time, a man named Daniele Cavicchi called me on the hotel phone. He introduced himself in a thick Italian accent, saying he was the team's assistant coach (there was only one before I came). He told me they were happy to have me and that he would pick me up in a few hours. He explained that the team had the day off, but I would meet with the head coach and general manager.
When Daniele picked me up, I instantly liked him and thought he was a nice guy. Although he was older than I was, maybe in his late 20s, he was a relatively young coach. So he naturally became my "go-to guy" while I was there. Anyway, we got into his car, and we were off to the practice facility. He told me that he was from Bologna and would show me around the town. He gave me the lay of the land as we drove around, similar to a tour guide. Daniele explained that it was essentially a college town, with the university being the oldest in the world, established in 1088. He continued to explain that within Italy, a country known for its food and wine, that specific region was the best and even the home of bolognese sauce. It had been dark the night before when I arrived, so that car ride with Daniele was when I realized that Bologna was an extraordinary place, rich in culture and history. The more he described the city, and the more I saw it, the more excited I became to be there. I couldn't believe that was where I would be living. It felt like a dream come true.
When we arrived at the team's offices, my first meeting was with the team's head coach, Zare Markowski. A classy gentleman from Macedonia, he was a veteran coach that seemed to have coached nearly everywhere at some point in his career. Our initial meeting was brief as he pretty much just welcomed me. However, despite only meeting with him briefly, I found him to be a charming guy.
My second meeting was with the general manager, Piergiorgio Bottai, a businessman from "Roma." After meeting him, it was apparent from his enthusiasm that he was the main reason I was there. He outlined his vision for me and laid out the details of my arrangements during my stay. He told me I would be an assistant coach, and my primary responsibility was to develop their players individually. They also wanted me to occasionally direct the youth team's practices with a translator. He continued to tell me that they had an apartment for me in the "city centre," which also happened to be in the same building as the team's owner. I would have access to a nice restaurant, and I could eat there whenever I'd like, order whatever I'd like and always put it on the team's tab. He then explained that Mercedes-Benz sponsored the team, so players and staff members were given courtesy cars, myself included. It was apparent that the team had intended to take great care of me while I was there.
Following my meetings, Daniele brought me downstairs to give me all of the team-issued gear: a team jacket, polos, t-shirts, etc. I felt part of the team, and everyone was very welcoming.
After leaving the practice facility, Daniele and I had a great dinner at the team restaurant, and then I settled into my apartment afterward. It was "perfetto." The following day was my first day of practice, where I was set to be introduced to the team as their new assistant coach. Although it had been a hectic couple of days, and I was nearly 5,000 miles from home, I went to sleep that night with my mind at ease. Everything was "molto bene!"
<div class="mceNonEditable"><spike>&nbsp;</spike></div>
Looking to go to the hottest concerts, sports, theater &amp; family shows near you? Get 100% guaranteed tickets to more than 125,000 live events from TicketSmarter, the official ticket marketplace of BasketballNews.com.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ticketsmarter.com/?utm_source=basketballnewscom&amp;utm_medium=tsaff&amp;utm_campaign=referral" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Order online now</a>!

Matt Babcock discusses his stint as an assistant coach in Italy, which helped lay the groundwork for his later job as an NBA agent.

My past life as a sports agent: Bologna, Italy

A champion will be crowned in the Basketball Africa League (BAL) today, as Tunisia&rsquo;s US Monastir and Angola&rsquo;s Petro de Luanda face off at noon ET.
The game will reach fans in 215 countries and territories, and will air in Africa on ESPN, Canal+, VisionView TV and Voice of America (VOA) radio, and around the world on American Forces Network (AFN), ESPNews, NBA TV International, Tencent Sports, TSN, the NBA App and <a href="NBA.com">NBA.com.</a> The BAL featured the top 12 club teams from 12 African countries.
On May 22-23, Indiana Pacers assistant coach Lloyd Pierce and Detroit Pistons assistant coach Bill Bayno led a BAL Coaches Clinic for more than 70 local basketball coaches in the Rwandan capital Kigali. The clinic offered tools and strategies to help the coaches enhance their player-development curriculum. Former NBA players Joakim Noah and Ian Mahinmi were in attendance along with BAL players from US Monastir.
BasketballNews.com caught up with Coach Pierce to discuss the camp, his growth as a coach, his experience as an assistant coach with Team USA, the Pacers&rsquo; young core and more.
You and Coach Bill Bayno just wrapped up the BAL Coaches Clinic. How did it go?
Lloyd Pierce: &ldquo;First and foremost, you have to give credit to the NBA and especially NBA Africa and the staff. [BAL President] Amadou Gallo Fall has done an amazing job of taking a vision and executing that vision to bring this together. The BAL league is really taking off over here in Africa, and I think the next layer of really trying to get this thing to grow and develop properly is teaching and trying to educate the coaches on the strategies and techniques so that they can not only coach it, but coach it better and find their passion. They have a huge impact by finding these players in the early stages in their career and teaching them and giving them the proper tools so that they can take off.
"So, this Coaches Clinic is probably as important as the games because it&rsquo;s education. It&rsquo;s educating an entire continent on the game of basketball that we all know so well, and they are eager to learn more and more about the different things that we have. I really feel blessed to be a part of this Coaches Clinic along with Coach Bayno and working with these coaches here and seeing the excitement that they have to teach the game, which really excites us as coaches as well.&rdquo;
<img style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" src="https://cdn.basketballnews.com/images/story/body/camp1_lg.jpg" alt="" width="699" height="360" />
There was a classroom component and an on-court component. Can you walk me through each session and what kind of stuff you covered?
Pierce: &ldquo;Coach Bayno spoke in the classroom and really just gave them a ton of gems on player development and the different techniques that a coach needs to help a player get better. Using your imagination as a coach, the sweat equity &ndash; being able to get out there with your guys and work. But also the sweat technique &ndash; as you&rsquo;re working with those guys, giving them the proper technique and the essential tools to not just do it but do it correctly. The importance of that one-on-one relationship when it comes to connecting with players. Focusing on development, but being able to give them that same energy that you&rsquo;re expecting from them in return. He did a tremendous job on the player-development side.
"I tried to do more of a team-focused [lesson], both offensively and defensively. Offensively, we talked about some general principles and spacing &ndash; what spacing looks like, using cuts, using screens, using respace, our first three steps to open the floor up. These are a lot of strategies and techniques that we use in the NBA, but I think it&rsquo;s very important for young players too. There&rsquo;s commitment and a selflessness to spacing the floor that they have to learn and buy into. And defensively, we talked a lot about positioning, taking pride in being a good defender, understanding what a help defender looks like and just sticking to the basics &ndash; so a lot of shell-drill emphasis and a lot of one-on-one defensive emphasis.&rdquo;
The NBA has really prioritized globalization in recent years. What are your thoughts on the NBA&rsquo;s globalization efforts?&nbsp;
Pierce: &ldquo;I think it&rsquo;s probably one of the most important things that we do. As the top professional basketball league in the world, I think it&rsquo;s an obligation of ours to help grow the game globally. Our game benefits from the globalization of [basketball] and from the millions of viewers who watch across the world, so it&rsquo;s our obligation to give back. And there&rsquo;s no shortage of talent on this continent, so our main contribution is not only discovering talent but helping develop that talent. You&rsquo;re looking at a guy like Joel Embiid or Giannis Antetokounmpo or any of these players who have come from different countries. But [when it comes to] players with African heritage, the [talent pool] is plentiful on this continent. I think they&rsquo;ve done a great job of not only discovering these players, but also trying to get to them early about the right habits, techniques, nutrition and strength development. I don&rsquo;t know if there&rsquo;s a more important global impact that we can have in our sport than being here on this continent and helping spread the game.&rdquo;
<img style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" src="https://cdn.basketballnews.com/images/story/body/image00017_lg.jpeg" alt="" width="698" height="346" />
I want to discuss how coaches can develop over time. There are many examples of a coach struggling early on and then doing a much better job after they&rsquo;ve learned from their mistakes and gained experience. Someone like Jason Kidd was labeled a &ldquo;bad coach,&rdquo; but he&rsquo;s gotten better over the years and silenced those doubters. Do you think fans and media sometimes throw that label around prematurely and underestimate how much coaches can grow over time?
Pierce: &ldquo;Yeah. I&rsquo;m a reader, and I try to learn things that I think can apply to basketball. In Malcolm Gladwell&rsquo;s book &lsquo;Outliers,&rsquo; he talked about the 10,000-Hour Rule. If you spend enough time on something, you&rsquo;re going to get better at it. As coaches, that can be youth development, that can be personal development (or how to connect with players), that can be strategy and technique. As a former head coach and current assistant coach, you have to continue to work at your craft &ndash; whether it&rsquo;s decision-making, making reads, connecting with players or finding your joy and the energy that you bring to the game. That last one is important; there are a lot of coaches you hear from who burn out &ndash; they lose [their passion], have a lack of energy and aren&rsquo;t as motivating anymore. I think it&rsquo;s important to go and find ways to challenge yourself.
"For me to be over here in this beautiful city of Kigali, Rwanda &ndash; one of the cleanest cities I&rsquo;ve ever been in &ndash; to work with players who are excited about us being here, there&rsquo;s a renowned joy of coaching because it&rsquo;s purposeful for me. That helps us as coaches grow. So, you see a lot of coaches like Jason Kidd who get their second or third opportunities and find a renewed sense of energy and strength and strategy. They see the game a little differently. Things they may have over-complicated before, they simplify those things now. These things are important for us. I have a saying that I use all the time: For me, coaching is about getting better and helping others get better. And I truly, really mean that. I&rsquo;ll get better if I&rsquo;m helping others get better, and that&rsquo;s my purpose in coaching.&rdquo;
<div class="mceNonEditable"><spike>&nbsp;</spike></div>
From when you started coaching to where you&rsquo;re at now, how much do you feel you have improved? I&rsquo;m sure it&rsquo;s a night-and-day difference.
Pierce: &ldquo;It is! And I think the biggest joy that you get to experience as a coach who&rsquo;s been through the ringer is Summer League. Most coaches in Summer League are player-development guys or front-of-the-bench assistants that are constantly working their way up. I think when you&rsquo;re an assistant, you think you know all of the answers. Then, when you&rsquo;re forced into that head-coach seat, you gotta make all of the decisions so there&rsquo;s no one else to blame or be pissed at for not taking your idea. (laughs) You make the decisions. When I first started coaching, my voice wasn&rsquo;t as strong. The eye-contact wasn&rsquo;t as great. The conviction wasn&rsquo;t always there. Now, it&rsquo;s simple. It&rsquo;s not the ideas; I have lots of ideas and I love listening to ideas. It&rsquo;s the decision. And when you make the decision, you&rsquo;ve gotta believe it. Because if you don&rsquo;t believe it, they won&rsquo;t believe it. And if you don&rsquo;t believe it, they&rsquo;ll know you don&rsquo;t believe it. That comes over a period of time. You might be down 20 points and you&rsquo;ve gotta sell it to your guys that the game ain&rsquo;t over. You might be up 20 and you&rsquo;ve gotta convince your guys that we shouldn&rsquo;t be complacent. You&rsquo;ve gotta do those things with conviction, and that just comes with experience, you know? Maybe as a first-time head coach, in your first game when you&rsquo;re up 20, you relax. Well, guess who else relaxes? The players! So, that&rsquo;s a lesson learned.
"All of those things, I think, are hard to measure from the outside looking in. Everyone always paints the picture of a coach &lsquo;not making the right adjustments&rsquo; or they really hate his rotations, but some of those things, you&rsquo;ve gotta have conviction and sell it with conviction. And if it doesn&rsquo;t work out, you&rsquo;ve gotta live with it. But if you&rsquo;re wishy-washy and going back and forth, it really puts your team in a bad spot, and it also puts you in a bad spot because now you don&rsquo;t believe what you&rsquo;re doing; you&rsquo;re just trying stuff. That all comes with experience. You see these coaches [in the playoffs]: I love Jason Kidd&rsquo;s demeanor on the sideline, I love Steve Kerr&rsquo;s demeanor on the sideline, I love Spo and Ime Udoka&rsquo;s demeanor. Because they are confident in what they&rsquo;re doing, and their players are playing to their confidence and their strengths right now. And that&rsquo;s all you can ask. You&rsquo;ve done all of the preparation and now it&rsquo;s [late in a series] and these guys know each other extremely well, so the coach just has to sit back and stay the course and be extremely confident, so that the players can do the same thing.&rdquo;
You were part of Gregg Popovich's Team USA coaching staff alongside Steve Kerr and Jay Wright among others. What were your biggest takeaways from that experience and how did that help you grow as a coach?
Pierce: &ldquo;Pop didn&rsquo;t show his angst. Pop is always cool under pressure, but he preached to us &lsquo;appropriate fear.&rsquo; You fear your opponents out of respect, not out of fear so it&rsquo;s appropriate. And if you have that level of respect, you know that you need to bring it and not go into any game feeling overconfident against any opponent. I just thought being around guys like Pop and Jay Wright and Steve Kerr and Jeff Van Gundy and all of those guys was tremendous for my development. Because you not only got to see how their minds work and how they communicate with each other and the respect they have for the game, but you got to experience high-level conversations with the players and that connectivity and then apply it to the game. The level of experience that those coaches have, it was unfair that I was able to gain the advantage of learning from them during the two summers that we had together. It&rsquo;s a different game and it was a different challenge for all of us, but we embraced it. We came together, we had great dinners and great conversations, and the gold medal was rewarding.&rdquo;
I love the core that your Indiana Pacers are assembling, with Tyrese Haliburton, Chris Duarte, Myles Turner and so on. What are your thoughts on the team&rsquo;s development throughout the season and how excited are you about this young core going forward?
Pierce: &ldquo;Extremely excited. I think we&rsquo;ve got some guys who, more importantly, want to be in Indiana. They&rsquo;re excited about starting and continuing their careers [here]. You&rsquo;re looking at a guy like Tyrese whose third year is coming up and he&rsquo;s now on his second team, and he&rsquo;s looking to make Indiana a home. Chris Duarte, after going through his rookie season, is looking to make Indiana a home and find some consistency. We&rsquo;re all excited about what we have, and we look forward to the draft and free agency. I&rsquo;ve talked to Coach [Rick] Carlisle often about this new group next year being his team and not the team that we inherited, and he gets an opportunity to really mold some young guys and some really talented guys and bring back some veterans who will get a fresh start with the youth and the guys that have talent. I think we&rsquo;re all looking forward to training camp and this summer of development to get back on the right track.&rdquo;
<div class="mceNonEditable"><spike>&nbsp;</spike></div>
<div class="css-1dbjc4n r-1habvwh r-eqz5dr r-11rk87y r-1dye5f7 r-m611by r-13qz1uu">
<div class="css-1dbjc4n r-eqz5dr r-glunga r-13qz1uu">
<div class="css-1dbjc4n r-13qz1uu">
<div class="css-1dbjc4n r-eqz5dr r-glunga r-13qz1uu">
<div>
Looking to go to the hottest concerts, sports, theater &amp; family shows near you? Get 100% guaranteed tickets to more than 125,000 live events from TicketSmarter, the official ticket marketplace of BasketballNews.com.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ticketsmarter.com/?utm_source=basketballnewscom&amp;utm_medium=tsaff&amp;utm_campaign=referral" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Order online now</a>!
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>

Lloyd Pierce discusses the BAL Coaches Clinic, the Pacers' young core, his development as a coach, coaching Team USA and more.

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

BOSTON (AP) &mdash; Jimmy Butler had 47 points, nine rebounds and eight assists and the Miami Heat forced the Eastern Conference finals to a decisive seventh game by beating the Boston Celtics 111-103 on Friday night.
Ten years after LeBron James scored 45 points in Boston to help the Heat avoid elimination in Game 6 of the conference finals en route to the first of their back-to-back NBA titles, Butler had 17 points in the fourth quarter to top him and send the series back to Miami.
With a victory at home Sunday, the Heat would advance to the NBA Finals for the second time in three years.
In the most back-and-forth game of the series, Boston took a 97-94 lead on Derrick White&rsquo;s 3-pointer with under five minutes to play &mdash; the first time all series the lead has changed hands in the fourth quarter. Kyle Lowry answered with a 3 and then added two free throws as Miami scored 11 of the next 13 points.
Lowry finished with 18 points and 10 assists before fouling out with 2:18 left. Butler made 16 of 29 shots, hitting 4 of 8 from 3-point range and all 11 free throws.
Jayson Tatum had 30 points and nine rebounds and Derrick White came off the bench to score 11 of his 22 points in the fourth quarter for Boston. The Celtics are trying to reach the finals for the first time since 2010.
Boston's Jaylen Brown scored 20 points, missing a pair of free throws with the game tied at 99 after Lowry fouled out. Brown fouled out himself on a charge offensive that was assessed after a challenge on a missed dunk with 13 seconds left and the Celtics down by four.
IN AND OUT
Miami guard Tyler Herro missed his third straight game with a strained groin, costing the team its No. 2 score. Kyle Lowry (hamstring), Max Strus (hamstring) and P.J. Tucker (knee) had been listed as questionable but were in the starting lineup.
Boston&rsquo;s Marcus Smart (sprained right ankle) and Robert Williams III (sore knee) tested their injuries pregame and were also in the lineup.
TIP-INS
Heat: Butler&rsquo;s 47 points is the third-most to stave off elimination against the Celtics. Elgin Baylor scored 61 in Game 5 of 1962, and Wilt Chamberlain had 50 in Game 5 in 1960. ... Butler had 14 points, five rebounds and four assists in the first. He scored or assisted on 24 of Miami&rsquo;s 29 points in the quarter.
Celtics: Red Sox slugger David Ortiz, who was inducted into the ballclub&rsquo;s Hall of Fame on Thursday night, was courtside. Ortiz threw out a ceremonial first pitch at Fenway Park earlier in the evening. Red Sox pitcher Pedro Martinez was also at the game, wearing his World Series ring.

Behind Jimmy Butler's 47 points, the Miami Heat forced a Game 7 against the Boston Celtics.

Butler scores 47 points, Heat beat Celtics to force Game 7

As former Michigan State forward Gabe Brown goes through the NBA pre-draft process, he wants front offices to know one thing: he knows his role, and he's perfectly fine being a 3-and-D player.
"Usually when guys come in, they think they&rsquo;re going to take the world by storm and [become a star] and get the keys to the team, but that&rsquo;s not really how it works," Brown told BasketballNews.com. "There are already other players on the team who have paid their dues, and they may be All-Stars or champions. What I&rsquo;m looking to do is be a 3-and-D guy who looks to put the ball on the floor sometimes, but that&rsquo;s not always going to be my job. My job is usually going to be locking up guards, defending 1-through-4, [providing] athleticism and being consistent with my shot.&rdquo;
After spending four years with the Spartans, the 22-year-old has started working out for NBA teams (including the Boston Celtics, Brooklyn Nets, Atlanta Hawks and New York Knicks), and he recently participated in the G League Elite Camp in Chicago.
He has modeled his game after two other older prospects who spent at least four years in college: Phoenix Suns forward Cameron Johnson and Brooklyn Nets wing Joe Harris.
&ldquo;I try to be myself as much as possible, but the guys that I really do look at are Cam Johnson and Joe Harris," Brown said. "They are guys who have been through four years of college and then made it and were successful in the NBA. And they played around [talented] guys and then worked their way into their role, so those are guys that I really try to pay attention to.&rdquo;
As a senior with the Spartans, Brown averaged 11.6 points, 3.8 rebounds, 2.0 threes, 1.1 assists and 0.7 steals, while shooting 38.2% from three-point range. The 6-foot-8, 215-pound forward believes that he can step in and immediately help an NBA team that's in need of a 3-and-D specialist.&nbsp;
BasketballNews.com caught up with Brown to discuss his skill set, how much he developed while in college, his experience at the G League Elite Camp, how he fell in love with basketball and more.
Throughout the pre-draft process, everyone talks about age. But there are also benefits to spending four years in college. Do you think staying at Michigan State for four years and gaining that experience helped you?
Gabe Brown: &ldquo;I just feel like my maturity level is higher than a lot of kids who come in earlier, and that&rsquo;s due to just being in college for so long and staying for four years. And I have to say: you learn the game more, you develop more when you&rsquo;re in college for four years. You know how to play NBA basketball when you get done with college, so I feel like my game will truly expand when I get to the next level."
How much have you grown as a player from your first day in college to where you&rsquo;re at now?
Brown: &ldquo;It&rsquo;s been a whole change for me&mdash;my maturity level, my work ethic, just everything has changed for me in a lot of positive ways.&rdquo;
The knock on older prospects is that they sometimes don&rsquo;t have as much potential or room to grow. What would you say to that and what do you think of your ceiling?
Brown: &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t believe that&rsquo;s true. I believe that I&rsquo;m just getting started. I just turned 22 years old in March, so I&rsquo;m still very young. I don&rsquo;t think I&rsquo;ve reached any of my potential yet, and I&rsquo;ve got a lot of time. [Giving me an opportunity] in the NBA is the perfect way to see.&rdquo;
Which teams have you worked out for so far? And who do you have scheduled?
Brown: &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve worked out with the Boston Celtics, Brooklyn Nets, Atlanta Hawks and New York Knicks. And as for upcoming workouts, I basically have the whole league that I have to work out for, so I have about 12-to-14 more NBA workouts upcoming.&rdquo;
You participated in the G League Elite Camp. How did that go, and what was that experience like?
Brown: &ldquo;It was very fun to be out there. It was very fun, truly. Not a lot of kids get to be invited to these camps and take them in, and I was one of the kids who got invited to the G League one. It was a great experience. I went out there and I played two good games. I was looking for a call-up, but it&rsquo;s all good. I mean, my path, my journey is different. It was fun, though. The atmosphere was amazing.&rdquo;
<div class="mceNonEditable"><spike>&nbsp;</spike></div>
Which of your skills do you think will best translate to the NBA?
Brown: &ldquo;My defense, my length, my shooting ability, my size and my athleticism. That will all translate to me being out on the floor on an NBA court.&rdquo;
Off the court, what are some things you bring to a team?
Brown: &ldquo;I lead by example with my work ethic. I stay in the gym more and [come back] during the night. That&rsquo;s what I do. I feel like guys will respect me more just off of the way I work. And then, it&rsquo;s all about personality. I&rsquo;m a leader, I love to talk, I love to get guys going and I love to motivate people. That&rsquo;s no problem with me.&rdquo;
As you go throughout this pre-draft process, what are some of the things you&rsquo;re trying to showcase to teams&mdash;on and off the court?
Brown: &ldquo;On the floor, I&rsquo;m just trying to showcase my whole game&mdash;all of the things that I couldn&rsquo;t [show] at Michigan State or the things that I wasn&rsquo;t good at but that I really am good at that scouts didn&rsquo;t really get to see, like putting the ball on the floor, coming off ball screens, making reads, maintaining my consistent shooting level and being in tip-top shape. Off the floor, I just want to show them the person that I am. I&rsquo;ll always be myself. I&rsquo;ll always be Gabe Brown.&rdquo;
I read that growing up, your favorite player was Kobe Bryant.&nbsp;
Brown: &ldquo;I was a big Kobe fan. Just his mentality and the work ethic&hellip; I mean, everybody knows Kobe can score, and he&rsquo;s got championships, but nobody saw the work he really put in to get there. I think the motivating factor is just his work, what he did off the court, how he motivated guys and got guys going. And he always showed up when it was game time.&rdquo;
How did you initially fall in love with basketball?
Brown: &ldquo;It was my father. My dad put a ball in my hands at 3 years old and I haven&rsquo;t looked back since.&rdquo;
(Gabe&rsquo;s father, Charles Brown, passed away in 2016 after suffering a stroke.)
I&rsquo;m so sorry for your loss. You&rsquo;ve said that you considered quitting basketball after he passed away, and that it felt like &ldquo;there was no point in playing anymore&hellip; it felt like the game of basketball left me." How did you ultimately decide to continue playing and use basketball to honor him by wearing his No. 44?&nbsp;
Brown: &ldquo;It was a tough process. I still think about it to this day and it&rsquo;s never going to leave me. But I had my family behind me and they were totally supportive, and I had my coaches and everybody else being fully supportive. I just decided that I didn&rsquo;t want to give up on myself and give up on what I accomplished, so [I kept playing]. No. 44 was his number, and all of my brothers wore it, so it was my turn to wear it.&rdquo;
If an NBA executive asks, &ldquo;Why should I draft you?&rdquo; What would be your pitch?
Brown: &ldquo;I would have to say, 'I&rsquo;m gonna go hard, I&rsquo;m gonna give everything that I&rsquo;ve got and I&rsquo;m not gonna take the opportunity for granted.'&rdquo;
Check out BasketballNews.com's recent interviews with fellow 2022 NBA Draft prospects including <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/2022-nba-draft-bennedict-mathurin-offers-unique-twoway-ceiling" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Arizona's Bennedict Mathurin</a>, <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/dont-let-age-deny-keegan-murrays-tantalizing-nba-ceiling" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Iowa's Keegan Murray</a>, <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/johnny-davis-winning-intangibles-make-him-a-safe-bet-to-hit" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Wisconsin's Johnny Davis</a>, <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/2022-nba-draft-qa-toledos-ryan-rollins" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Toledo's Ryan Rollins</a>, <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/2022-nba-draft-prospect-qa-keon-ellis" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Alabama's Keon Ellis</a>, <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/kofi-cockburn-wants-to-prove-everyone-wrong" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Illinois' Kofi Cockburn</a> and <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/preparation-competitive-spirit-fuel-izaiah-brockingtons-will-to-win" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Iowa State's Izaiah Brockington</a>.
<div class="mceNonEditable"><spike>&nbsp;</spike></div>
<div class="css-1dbjc4n r-1habvwh r-eqz5dr r-11rk87y r-1dye5f7 r-m611by r-13qz1uu">
<div class="css-1dbjc4n r-eqz5dr r-glunga r-13qz1uu">
<div class="css-1dbjc4n r-13qz1uu">
<div class="css-1dbjc4n r-eqz5dr r-glunga r-13qz1uu">
<div>
Looking to go to the hottest concerts, sports, theater &amp; family shows near you? Get 100% guaranteed tickets to more than 125,000 live events from TicketSmarter, the official ticket marketplace of BasketballNews.com.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ticketsmarter.com/?utm_source=basketballnewscom&amp;utm_medium=tsaff&amp;utm_campaign=referral" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Order online now</a>!
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>

Alex Kennedy spoke to Gabe Brown about his skill set, the G League Elite Camp, which players he modeled his game after and more.

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

One of the breakout stars of this year&rsquo;s NBA playoffs has been Dallas Mavericks guard Jalen Brunson. He&rsquo;s old-school, unconventional, talented, savy and up for a big pay day this summer. The 6-foot-1, 190-pound guard and Villanova alum was selected No. 33 overall in the 2018 NBA Draft and is one of the better second-round draft picks over the past few classes.
Last year, he was a Sixth Man of the Year candidate, averaging 12.6 points and 5.5 assists on 52/41/80 shooting splits in this third season with the Mavericks. This season, as a full-time starter, while watching his minutes jump from 25.0 to 31.9 per game, his productivity increased to 16.3 points and 4.8 assists per game on 50/37/84 shooting. In the playoffs (35.2 minutes per contest), Brunson jumped to 21.6 points and 3.7 assists per contest on 47/35/80 shooting.
His 2022 postseason included signature performances like a 41-point game in a win over the Utah Jazz in Game 2 without Luka Dončić and a 31-point effort against the Golden State Warriors in Game 3 of the Western Conference Finals. He also had a meaningful 24 points on 11-of-19 shooting in Dallas&rsquo; shocking Game 7 romping of the Phoenix Suns.
But now, he&rsquo;s an unrestricted free agent. Dallas has a lot of questions to answer. How can they best build around Dončić? What do they do with Tim Hardaway Jr.? If they want to upgrade at center, what's the best answer at that position?
Among the most important questions is: do they extend Brunson? Here are some teams to watch in the Brunson sweepstakes this offseason.
NEW YORK KNICKS
The New York Knicks haven&rsquo;t had a reliable point guard since Raymond Felton in their famed 54-win season back in 2012-13. Since then, it&rsquo;s largely been a revolving door of meh at the point of attack at Madison Square Garden. Jose Calderon was past his peak when he got to New York. Iman Shumpert, though very talented, wasn&rsquo;t a natural point guard. Frank Ntilikina is closer to a three-and-D wing than a true floor general. Jerian Grant never panned out. Neither has Kemba Walker. Derrick Rose has arguably been the best of the bunch.
Walker, Rose, Alec Burks, Immanuel Quickley and Miles McBride make up the Knicks' point guard depth chart for 2022-23, in no particular order. Walker&rsquo;s health can&rsquo;t be trusted for an entire season. Burks isn&rsquo;t a true point guard and might be a trade chip. Quickley, if he starts, is probably better suited next to a natural point, and the same could be said for R.J. Barrett. And McBride is young, raw and inexperienced. Brunson is better than all of them, hard stop.
Because Brunson will be unrestricted, the highest-bidder has a chance. The bad news for the Knicks is that <a href="https://www.spotrac.com/nba/new-york-knicks/cap/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">they&rsquo;re pretty much capped out</a>.
That means getting Brunson to New York would require a sign-and-trade. The good thing is that the Mavericks need a Mitchell Robinson type of center, and for about two years, I've been pushing for Brunson-Robinson swap. The Knicks should throw in something else, be it draft capital and or an additional young piece to make the deal work (for cap purposes too), but that&rsquo;s the framework that can come from this. Robinson gives Luka a lob threat, gives the team a higher upside defensively, and gives the coaching staff a player who can share the floor with just about anyone on the roster.&nbsp;
<div class="mceNonEditable"><spike>&nbsp;</spike></div>
LOS ANGELES CLIPPERS
If Brunson can play with Dončić and Spencer Dinwiddie, he can share a backcourt with Reggie Jackson. Kawhi Leonard has <a href="https://nba.nbcsports.com/2020/10/19/report-kawhi-leonard-wants-clippers-to-add-point-guard/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">wanted a point guard</a>, but the Clippers still don&rsquo;t have one. It&rsquo;s Jackson, and that&rsquo;s it. Norman Powell, Luke Kennard and Terance Mann are guards, but they're all wings. 2021 second-round pick Jason Preston still hasn&rsquo;t played due to injury, and Xavier Moon was a two-way guy last year who played just 10 games. <a href="https://nba.nbcsports.com/2020/10/19/report-kawhi-leonard-wants-clippers-to-add-point-guard/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Leonard&rsquo;s been wanting a point guard for two seasons</a>, and it&rsquo;s time for the Clippers to address that spot since both Leonard and Paul George are due back next season.
Given the Clippers' cap situation, this would most certainly be a sign-and-trade. Powell, Marcus Morris, Kennard and Robert Covington all make between $12 and $16 million next season, and any of them could make sense going to Dallas. Only one or two of them would probably need to go at most, among other compensation (i.e. young players and picks).
Brunson in L.A. would join the starting line-up alongside Jackson, Leonard, George and a center. Ivica Zubac is an expiring $7.5 million contract next season, and he could actually be a piece Dallas wants in return. Assuming he stays in Los Angeles, Zubac rounds out their starting five and gives Los Angeles a true point guard, which they&rsquo;re clearly missing.
DALLAS MAVERICKS&nbsp;
The Mavericks reportedly had multiple opportunities to sign Brunson to a four-year, $55.5 million deal before and during the season, <a href="https://nba.nbcsports.com/2022/04/25/report-mavericks-didnt-offer-jalen-brunson-contract-extension-until-after-trade-deadline/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">per reports</a>, but did not. As a result, he could be looking at <a href="https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2952513-latest-nba-trade-intel-lakers-realistic-targets-myles-turner-landing-spots?share=sms" target="_blank" rel="noopener">something in the $80 million range</a>, and possibly more after these playoffs.
Clearly, the offense works with him and Luka in the backcourt, blending in Dinwiddie in a natural role as a combo guard off the bench who can finish games. Dallas can keep their core together (those three and Dorian Finney-Smith) and work around the margins.
After losing to the Warriors in Game 5, Mavericks majority owner Mark Cuban said that keeping Brunson is a priority, and damn near guaranteed that it&rsquo;ll happen.
"We can pay him more than anybody,&rdquo; Cuban said. "I think he wants to stay, and that's most important. I think [Jason Kidd] has a big part to play in that... JB blossomed as a player as much as anybody on this squad. From where he was last year to how far he came this year is a tribute to how hard he worked. And the support he got from his dad and his family and his girlfriend, but also, what he was able to learn from [Kidd]. I think he recognizes that, and I think he wants to stay."

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

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
.<a href="https://twitter.com/mcuban?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@mcuban</a> reflecting on the 2021-22 Dallas Mavericks season with Marc Stein. <a href="https://twitter.com/dallasmavs?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@dallasmavs</a> | 📺 BSSW | <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/dALLasIN?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#dALLasIN</a> | <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NBAPlayoffs?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NBAPlayoffs</a> | <a href="https://twitter.com/TheSteinLine?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@TheSteinLine</a> <a href="https://t.co/YZROfVsnq0">pic.twitter.com/YZROfVsnq0</a>
&mdash; Bally Sports Southwest (@BallySportsSW) <a href="https://twitter.com/BallySportsSW/status/1530038560673435658?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 27, 2022</a></blockquote>

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

Brunson didn&rsquo;t have the exact same tone, but he&rsquo;ll cross that bridge when he gets there, it seems.
"When it&rsquo;s time, it&rsquo;s time. I&rsquo;m not worried about it right now," Brunson said, <a href="https://twitter.com/sixfivelando/status/1530037759955636242" target="_blank" rel="noopener">via Landon Thomas of Mavs Fans For Life</a>. "I&rsquo;m just really happy I got to play with these guys and what we did this year. I&rsquo;ll think about that later.&rdquo;
For Dallas, this is probably the move. Keep Brunson and build around the margins, particularly on the interior. Four years in, we can now say, as long as you have Luka, you have a chance. You just have to nail what&rsquo;s around him, and Brunson is someone you should want back in Dallas.
<div class="mceNonEditable"><spike>&nbsp;</spike></div>
Looking to go to the hottest concerts, sports, theater &amp; family shows near you? Get 100% guaranteed tickets to more than 125,000 live events from TicketSmarter, the official ticket marketplace of BasketballNews.com.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ticketsmarter.com/?utm_source=basketballnewscom&amp;utm_medium=tsaff&amp;utm_campaign=referral" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Order online now</a>!

Jalen Brunson was a breakout star for the Mavericks this postseason and is now an unrestricted free agent. Where will he end up?

Examining potential free-agent destinations for Jalen Brunson

The hallmark of an Erik Spoelstra-led defense is being able to dictate terms. The personnel has changed during his tenure &mdash; heck, the league has changed during his tenure &mdash; but Spo teams generally make you beat them their way.
The core tenet of Spoelstra has been taking away shots at the rim. It's been done in multiple schemes, with their own unique twists.
It's been Dwyane Wade flying around as the league's smallest weak-side helper &mdash; the Heat ranked second behind the Dwight Howard-led Orlando Magic in opponent rim rate during the 2009-10 season, per Cleaning The Glass, with Wade averaging 1.1 blocks per contest.
The Heat bltized and trapped like crazy during the Big Three Era when LeBron James and Chris Bosh joined the party. The post-Big Three, pre-Jimmy Butler era was the heaviest dose of drop coverage we've seen under Spoelstra, headlined by Hassan Whiteside.
(The gust of wind you just felt was the collective shudder from Heat fans.)
The Heat are switching a ton these days, a shade below Boston's rate this season, but they're showing plenty of help from the strong-side corner and the free-throw line area whenever a mismatch is given. Again, it's the Heat saying one of two things: you're flat-out not getting shots here, or you're gonna have to work to get there.
And if all else fails &mdash; or even when it doesn't &mdash; Spoelstra has had various zone looks he can sprinkle in to force an offense to work more east-west than north-south.
That leads us to this series, where the Celtics are dictating terms on offense. More specifically, the Celtics with a healthy frontcourt are doing the job.
The playoffs are about poking and prodding for a weakness you can repeatedly exploit. At the very least, teams have to live with something while hoping they can create enough goodness elsewhere to compensate. With Al Horford and Robert Williams on the floor together, the Heat haven't been able to thread that needle.
<div class="mceNonEditable"><spike>&nbsp;</spike></div>
There aren't many similarities between Horford and Williams.
There's an 11-year age gap, on top of a massive difference in athleticism (advantage Williams) and scoring ability (advantage Horford). The two traits they do share &mdash; an ability to facilitate offense above the break and their sense for cutting off windows defensively &mdash; make them a fun pairing. A versatile pairing. A nearly impenetrable pairing when they're upright.
The Heat, known for toggling schemes and assignments on the fly, are boxed in when Horford and Williams share the floor. Because of the threat Williams poses as a lob-catcher and putback merchant, Miami can't comfortably stash a wing on him to free Bam Adebayo, the team's Defensive Player of the Year candidate, to defend either of the Jays.
But because of Horford's ability to get busy on the block, wings aren't really safe on him either. PJ Tucker is the lone player aside from Adebayo who can defend bigs or forwards with the same confidence, if not effectiveness, altogether. The issue there, of course, is that Tucker has the Jayson Tatum assignment.
Letting Adebayo and Tucker handle the frontcourt means Butler can only take Tatum or Jaylen Brown. Whoever's left has his choice of a fine-but-flawed defender in Max Strus, or an undersized-and-hampered Kyle Lowry.&nbsp;
This is the conundrum the Heat are faced with before even getting into what the Celtics are actually running. Their spacing. Their improved tempo in the half-court over the last two games.
To that point, the Celtics have posted a 115.8 Offensive Rating &mdash; the equivalent of the NBA's second-best offense if extrapolated over the course of a season &mdash; with the Horford-Williams duo on the court over the last two games, per Second Spectrum.&nbsp;
In Game 4, you saw the issues Williams could cause if Adebayo wasn't attached to him. Adebayo drew the Horford assignment, which left a smaller player on Williams. There just wasn't a match for his blend of size and vertical pop.
<div style="width: 100%; height: 0px; position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.250%;"><iframe style="width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute; left: 0px; top: 0px; overflow: hidden;" src="https://streamable.com/e/m64hlx" width="100%" height="325" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" data-mce-fragment="1"></iframe></div>
In Game 5, the Heat were diligent about Adebayo getting the Williams assignment. Naturally, the Celtics parked him at the dunker spot (<a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-dunker-spot/id1547857052" target="_blank" rel="noopener">subscribe!</a>) and went to work elsewhere.&nbsp;
Inverted ball-screens were a flavor the Celtics enjoyed last night. It was a way for Tatum to further pick out a favorable matchup, then dare the Heat to help their way out of trouble.&nbsp;
<div style="width: 100%; height: 0px; position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.250%;"><iframe style="width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute; left: 0px; top: 0px; overflow: hidden;" src="https://streamable.com/e/e9ti5e" width="100%" height="325" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" data-mce-fragment="1"></iframe></div>
Lowry and Tucker botch the coverage, opening up a slip from Derrick White. Butler is one of the best helpers from the nail in the entire league, but he offers no support since he has the Brown matchup. Adebayo doesn't even fully help on the White drive; he simply lunges and retreats back to Williams, an admission that stopping the lob is of more importance than a White push shot.
Horford himself got involved as a screener. He set 11 screens while sharing the floor with Williams, and the Celtics scored well over 1.3 points per possession on those trips, per Second Spectrum.
Between Horford's skill set and the fear of Williams at the rim, the Heat were consistently in pick-your-poison situations. If Horford (or Williams) weren't open, driving lanes were clearer for their teammates.
<div style="width: 100%; height: 0px; position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.250%;"><iframe style="width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute; left: 0px; top: 0px; overflow: hidden;" src="https://streamable.com/e/1eee2f" width="100%" height="325" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" data-mce-fragment="1"></iframe></div>
And then, there's the defense.
Frankly, the Heat haven't had a good time. Dealing with Boston's quartet of high-level on-ball defenders &mdash; Marcus Smart, White, Tatum, Brown &mdash; is enough to keep you up at night. Add in the versatility of Horford and Williams, and it's easy to see why the Heat haven't scored in bunches.&nbsp;
(Oh, since they won't say it: Most of Miami's top scorers and shooters dealing with some sort of physical ailment makes the job even more difficult.)&nbsp;
Beck to the on-court product, the blend of elite personnel, scheme versatility and Miami's own shortcomings have made for tough sledding in the half-court. Most of Miami's pet actions can be switched on the perimeter.
<div class="mceNonEditable"><spike>&nbsp;</spike></div>
There have been small pockets to attack when Boston's in drop coverage, but that's exactly the point. Aside from Game 1, the pockets have been small, man. It's been pull up or bust for the most part, and the Heat haven't made them pay.&nbsp;
The Heat have mostly tried to engage Horford on that front. I'd assume it's because Horford's drop has been a little steeper, giving ball-handlers more of a runway to drive or pull-up into. Unfortunately for the Heat, they haven't been able to take advantage of that space.
If a Heat ball-handler is able to gain an advantage, his options are to pull up against a solid contest or drive deep enough to force a peel switch with Horford. Running a high enough screen to shake the perimeter defender and&nbsp;beat Horford hasn't really been a thing, and all that does is engage Williams &mdash; often playing&nbsp;way off of Tucker &mdash; as the actual last line of defense.
It's led to pick-and-roll possessions like this:
<div style="width: 100%; height: 0px; position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.250%;"><iframe style="width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute; left: 0px; top: 0px; overflow: hidden;" src="https://streamable.com/e/2m5hpd" width="100%" height="325" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" data-mce-fragment="1"></iframe></div>
And this:
<div style="width: 100%; height: 0px; position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.250%;"><iframe style="width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute; left: 0px; top: 0px; overflow: hidden;" src="https://streamable.com/e/jj58rm" width="100%" height="325" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" data-mce-fragment="1"></iframe></div>
And this:
<div style="width: 100%; height: 0px; position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.250%;"><iframe style="width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute; left: 0px; top: 0px; overflow: hidden;" src="https://streamable.com/e/t427tb" width="100%" height="325" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" data-mce-fragment="1"></iframe></div>
I hope you're getting the points, because the Heat sure aren't.
How about this stat from Second Spectrum: Miami possessions featuring a pick-and-roll, while Horford and Williams share the floor, have generated 0.5 points per possession over the last two games. 50 points per 100 possessions. That is not a typo.
Trips featuring a dribble handoff haven't fared much better (0.74 points per possession), and collective size and active help have made Miami's split action from the post much less effective than it was in the regular season.
It should come as no surprise, then, that the Heat's half-court offense has been woeful over the last two games. A 61.9 would be a fantastic round of golf; a 61.9 ORTG in the half-court probably has Dr. James Naismith rolling over in his grave.
All isn't completely lost for the Heat. Spoelstra expressed optimism about Miami's half-court process after Game 5, saying a lot of the shots the team took (and missed) were more "in our wheelhouse." They've shown counters against Boston's drop, like this flip-it-and-reverse-it action for Duncan Robinson:
<div style="width: 100%; height: 0px; position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.250%;"><iframe style="width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute; left: 0px; top: 0px; overflow: hidden;" src="https://streamable.com/e/m83fjy" width="100%" height="325" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" data-mce-fragment="1"></iframe></div>
But ultimately, the margins are incredibly small. Though their shot quality improved in Game 5, they had to work so. freaking. hard. to. do. it.
It's a testament to how locked in Boston is defensively. They've pulled a Heat on the Heat, walling off the paint &mdash; only 26.3% of the Heat's shots have come at the rim over the past two games &mdash; and <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-stats-notebook-this-wacky-celticsheat-series-by-the-numbers" target="_blank" rel="noopener">daring them to win from outside</a>.
On the other side, Boston has slightly bumped up its rim rate &mdash; 30.9% over the past two games, and&nbsp; 31.6% overall in the series compared to 30.6% during the regular season.
That paint dominance begins with the Horford-Williams duo.
<div class="mceNonEditable"><spike>&nbsp;</spike></div>
Looking to go to the hottest concerts, sports, theater &amp; family shows near you? Get 100% guaranteed tickets to more than 125,000 live events from TicketSmarter, the official ticket marketplace of BasketballNews.com.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ticketsmarter.com/?utm_source=basketballnewscom&amp;utm_medium=tsaff&amp;utm_campaign=referral" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Order online now</a>!

Nekias Duncan breaks down how the Al Horford-Robert Williams frontcourt is causing problems for the Heat on both ends.

The Heat have a big-big problem on their hands

As a viewer who actually enjoys watching basketball &mdash; and especially playoff basketball &mdash; I get miffed when social media brands with influence post like this:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
Biggest lead each game this series: Game 1: Heat by 20 Game 2: Celtics by 34 Game 3: Heat by 26 Game 4: Celtics by 32 Game 5: Celtics by 23 This series sucks. <a href="https://t.co/Ul80OhALE3">pic.twitter.com/Ul80OhALE3</a>
&mdash; StatMuse (@statmuse) <a href="https://twitter.com/statmuse/status/1529659726438404096?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 26, 2022</a></blockquote>

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

I recognize that StatMuse isn't a traditional news outlet and that its primary purpose is to, well, let's call it "generate discussion." However, to say "this series sucks" is beyond simplistic and standoffish &mdash; I would even argue it's untrue.
The Eastern Conference Finals' games have not been particularly close on the scoreboard. It might be an acquired taste for NBA fans who want to see a spectacle at the end of a game instead of during the middle quarters. But the Boston Celtics and Miami Heat have absolutely slugged it out in a 3-2 battle in the trenches. It's created one of the more bizarre series we've seen, fully loaded with lockdown defense and herky-jerky offense.
The numbers this series is spitting out are also, quite frankly, unreal. I'd like to round some up for you to give you an impression of the bizarre, trippy, straight-up mystifying nature of these past five games.
Let's start with last night, courtesy of the Miami Herald's David Wilson:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
The Heat missed 38 three-pointers tonight, the second most in a single playoff game in NBA history.
&mdash; David Wilson (@DBWilson2) <a href="https://twitter.com/DBWilson2/status/1529659717026566144?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 26, 2022</a></blockquote>

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

The Heat, almost literally, could not buy a perimeter bucket on Wednesday. They shot 7-of-45 from beyond the arc. That 15.6% clip is the fourth-worst of this postseason, but none of the three ahead surpassed 40 attempts in the game. In fact, only twice in the regular season (Dallas on March 9 and Boston on Dec. 29) did a team shoot worse on over 40 attempts.
Doubly-in fact, only two other postseason games have ever seen a team shoot under 20% on at least 40 three-point attempts:&nbsp;
<ul>
<li>May 28, 2018: The Houston Rockets went 7-for-44 (15.9%) in one of the most infamous Game 7 meltdowns in playoff history, losing 101-92 to the Golden State Warriors in the Western Conference Finals.</li>
<li>Aug, 29, 2020: The Oklahoma City Thunder shot 7-for-46 (15.2%) and lost Game 5 to the Rockets in the first round.</li>
</ul>
It was a rough night, led by the backcourt of Kyle Lowry and Max Strus.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
Kyle Lowry and Max Strus went a combined 0-15 in Game 5. According to <a href="https://twitter.com/EliasSports?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@EliasSports</a>, that's the worst 0-fer for a starting backcourt in playoff game since starters were officially tracked in 1970-71. <a href="https://t.co/PiGKhQQAA3">pic.twitter.com/PiGKhQQAA3</a>
&mdash; ESPN Stats &amp; Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) <a href="https://twitter.com/ESPNStatsInfo/status/1529661050441834497?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 26, 2022</a></blockquote>

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

So, this is just an ugly series where the Heat are missing shots, right?
Wrong!
Both the Celtics and Heat have fortified the perimeter. Miami is attempting 12.8 "wide open" perimeter shots per game, categorized as an attempt when the closest defender is at least 6 feet from the shooter. It's even lower for Boston at just 10.4 attempts per game. Both teams are actually shooting fairly well when they find these looks, with the Celtics hitting at a 40.4% clip and the Heat at 37.5%. They just have scarcely found these chances.
The table below compares how made wide-open shots both teams found at different segments of the season, plus the percentage of their total three-point attempts that were wide open (scroll right for full table):
<table style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 100%;" border="1">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="width: 31.490698433420366%;">Season Segment</td>
<td>BOS wide-open 3PA/game</td>
<td>BOS wide-open 3PA/total 3PA</td>
<td>MIA wide-open 3PA/game</td>
<td style="width: 15.745349216710183%;">MIA wide-open 3PA/total 3PA</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 31.490698433420366%;">Regular Season</td>
<td>16.5</td>
<td>43.8%</td>
<td>13.5</td>
<td style="width: 15.745349216710183%;">37.7%</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 31.490698433420366%;">First Round</td>
<td>16.5</td>
<td>47.8%</td>
<td>14.2</td>
<td style="width: 15.745349216710183%;">36.9%</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 31.490698433420366%;">Second Round</td>
<td>20.0</td>
<td>47.9%</td>
<td>13.2</td>
<td style="width: 15.745349216710183%;">41.4%</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 31.490698433420366%;">Conference Finals</td>
<td>10.4</td>
<td>30.1%</td>
<td>12.8</td>
<td style="width: 15.745349216710183%;">35.9%</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
Look at that drop-off for Boston! After the Brooklyn Nets and Milwaukee Bucks effectively dared the Celtics' complementary players to knock down threes, the Heat haven't given them breathing room. Meanwhile, Boston has only made life more difficult for a Miami offense that already struggled to create open looks. It's like watching two snakes try to squeeze the life out of each other.
Circling back to Wednesday night, only 14 of Miami's 45 three-ball attempts were categorized as wide open. The Heat actually went 5-for-14 for a half-decent 35.7% clip on those shots... which means they were 2-for-31 (6.5%) on shots with some level of contest. I just shivered.
Let's stay with Game 5:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
Half-court offense at the 6:22 mark, per <a href="https://twitter.com/cleantheglass?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@cleantheglass</a> Miami: 58.8 ORTG Boston: 50.0
&mdash; Nekias (Nuh-KY-us) Duncan (@NekiasNBA) <a href="https://twitter.com/NekiasNBA/status/1529635748621713410?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 26, 2022</a></blockquote>

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

When Nekias tweeted this, Jayson Tatum had just fouled Jimmy Butler and the Heat led 27-22. That already is brutal, and these half-court Offensive Ratings are just over half of the 95.8 league average of the playoffs.&nbsp;
Boston figured something out as the game went on and finished Game 5 averaging 92.5 points per 100 half-court possessions. Miami's half-court ORTG: 58.8!?! You don't need me to tell you that's easily the worst rating of the postseason, with the Heat's Game 4 (65.7) not far behind. Miami's half-court offense is in a... state.
But let's not turn on the Heat too much (is that a pun and a double meaning in one sentence?). Miami racked up 19 steals in Game 3, the most by any team in a playoff game since the Bucks swiped 20 in 2015 and the second-most since 2004-05. According to Cleaning the Glass, Boston's 25.5% turnover rate in that contest is the most from the franchise in any game &mdash; regular season or playoffs &mdash; since 2014.
The Heat have three players with a steal rate above 2.0% this postseason, per Cleaning the Glass: Victor Oladipo (2.7%), Butler (2.4%) and Caleb Martin (2.1%). Oladipo and Butler are both averaging 1.8 steals per game in the conference finals, while Lowry (1.3) and PJ Tucker (1.2) aren't far behind. And while Gabe Vincent hasn't gotten the steals to match, his 3.2 deflections per game tie the second-best average in the series behind only Butler.&nbsp;
Miami relies on swarms of event creation to generate turnovers and support its sporadic offense. Boston wants to wear the Heat down in the half-court and take their confidence away.
Embrace the defensive warfare!
It may not look like your typical playoff thriller, but as the series record shows, an NBA Finals berth is still very much in play for both franchises.
THE OUTLIERS (a.k.a. other random interesting numbers I found in the void):
<ul>
<li>While I was reseraching the wide-open threes, I checked the other two conference finalists as well. The Warriors are in line with the Celtics and Heat, limited to just 11.0 attempts per game against the Mavericks. But Dallas... man. They're free to fire away, to the tune of a whopping 25.3 wide-open triples per game. You have to wonder what happens as they keep falling.</li>
<li>Staying on the subject of playoff shooting, here's a noteworthy graphic from SIS Hoops:</li>
</ul>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
These conference finals have been defined by variance. Large swings in either direction have led to massive leads from each team in both series. How much of this can be attributed to the rise in three point attempts, as illustrated here? <a href="https://t.co/WCfQcar0HR">pic.twitter.com/WCfQcar0HR</a>
&mdash; SIS Hoops (@SIS_Hoops) <a href="https://twitter.com/SIS_Hoops/status/1529494752206303233?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 25, 2022</a></blockquote>

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

<ul>
<li>That's exactly right, Slam Studios! Margin of victory doesn't define the playoffs.</li>
</ul>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
Reminder that everyone&rsquo;s most beloved playoff series was a snooze fest until Game 7: Game 1 &ndash; GSW by 15 Game 2 &ndash; GSW by 33 Game 3 &ndash; CLE by 30 Game 4 &ndash; GSW by 11 Game 5 &ndash; CLE by 15 Game 6 &ndash; CLE by 14 Game 7 &ndash; CLE by 4 Are NBA fans doing some revisionist history? 🤔 <a href="https://t.co/MByPIqUuyL">pic.twitter.com/MByPIqUuyL</a>
&mdash; Slam Studios (@slamstudios) <a href="https://twitter.com/slamstudios/status/1529516755219095553?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 25, 2022</a></blockquote>

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

<div class="mceNonEditable"><spike>&nbsp;</spike></div>
Looking to go to the hottest concerts, sports, theater &amp; family shows near you? Get 100% guaranteed tickets to more than 125,000 live events from TicketSmarter, the official ticket marketplace of BasketballNews.com. Order online now!

The Eastern Conference Finals has been a roller coaster, and Ethan Fuller has the numbers to back things up.

NBA Stats Notebook: This wacky Celtics-Heat series — by the numbers

BasketballNews.com's Senior NBA Draft Analyst Matt Babcock presents a series that will peel back the curtain from his time as a sports agent, giving a glimpse at some of his personal experiences working in the sports agency business for over a decade.
In the third entry of the series, Babcock discusses his search for coaching jobs prior to entering the sports agency business, ultimately leading him to go abroad.
Within several months, I left the University of Arizona and completed a summer internship at Wasserman Media Group in Los Angeles, California, which was an exciting summer and excellent learning experience. However, the real world was knocking on my door, and I needed to find a full-time job &mdash; a typical situation for a 22-year-old right out of college.
I had ambitions of being a basketball coach, not a sports agent, which was something I had planned on my entire life. Once my internship ended at Wasserman, I tapped into my family's network (with the help of my dad) in hopes of landing an entry-level coaching job &mdash; ideally with an NBA or D-League team. Although I had some interest from teams, I couldn't secure any legitimate offers. I realized then how tough it is to break into professional sports, even if you are well connected.
For better or worse, I'm not one to sit back and wait for anything to unfold organically. I felt that I needed to think outside of the box and be assertive &mdash; so that's what I did. I came up with the idea to pursue jobs with professional teams overseas. I ran it by my dad, and he thought it was a good idea.
We started making calls to people within our network that could help facilitate that sort of deal. We talked with Max Ergul, an agent from Turkey who worked with Milwaukee Bucks forward Ersan Ilyasova. We had gotten to know Max because he had moved to Milwaukee when Ersan joined the Bucks, the team my dad had worked for (and still does). Max liked the idea and began to pursue opportunities for me. Before I knew it, he found a team in Istanbul, Turkey that wanted me to be an assistant coach with an emphasis on player development.
<div class="mceNonEditable"><spike>&nbsp;</spike></div>
The terms of the deal were unique: I would not get paid a salary, but they would cover all of my expenses (flights, food, housing, transportation, etc.). The team wanted me to fly to Istanbul in August and be there for the entire season. I had only a few months of work experience under my belt, but in my mind, I was ready to conquer the world; all I needed was an opportunity just like that. I had made up my mind that I would take the deal. I was set to start my coaching career in Istanbul.
However, before I formally agreed to the deal in Turkey, I called Sam Goldfeder, an agent with Excel Sports Management. Sam had been kind enough to let me stay in his mother-in-law's guest house in Beverly Hills for the summer while I did my internship with Wasserman. My intent in calling Sam was to thank and update him on my job status, but the conversation did not go as I had expected.
Me: Sam, I wanted to thank you again for everything you did for me this summer. I also wanted to let you know that I plan to accept a coaching position with a professional team in Istanbul, Turkey.
Sam Goldfeder: "What?! Have you signed anything yet?"
Me: No, I have not.
Sam: "Okay, don't! I'll call you back."
He abruptly hung up the phone, and I thought: "What was that?" However, I trusted Sam, so I waited anxiously for his call.
Within a day or so, my phone rang. It was Sam.&nbsp;
Sam: "I have good news. I talked with our collaborating partner in Italy, Matteo Comellini. I told him about your offer in Turkey, and he spoke to the team in his hometown of Bologna, Italy. They would like to match the offer."
Me:&nbsp;No way, that's amazing!
Sam: "Yes, it's a great situation. The team's name is Virtus Bologna. They are one of the best teams in Italy. It's a terrific place &mdash; I think you will love it!"
Me: Thank you so much, Sam! But first, let me talk to my dad, and I'll get back to you.
After some consideration, I decided to accept the deal in Italy, and just like that, my plans were overhauled. I packed up all of my stuff, purchased a couple of Italian phrasebooks and gave my mom a hug and kiss, and I was off. I boarded the plane to Italy without speaking to anyone from the team, as all of the communication had been through Sam and Matteo.
I wasn't quite sure what I had signed up for, but one thing was for sure: I was a soon-to-be Italian resident and assistant coach of a professional basketball team.
<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/my-past-life-as-a-sports-agent-the-2006-nba-draft" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Read the last entry of this series</a>: "My past life as a sports agent: "The 2006 NBA Draft."
Editor's Note: This article was originally published on <a href="https://www.babcockhoops.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">BabcockHoops.com</a>.
<div class="mceNonEditable"><spike>&nbsp;</spike></div>
Looking to go to the hottest concerts, sports, theater &amp; family shows near you? Get 100% guaranteed tickets to more than 125,000 live events from TicketSmarter, the official ticket marketplace of BasketballNews.com. Order online now!

Matt Babcock discusses his search for coaching jobs before entering the sports agency business, ultimately leading him to go abroad.

My past life as a sports agent: An aspiring coach goes abroad

With the 2022 NBA Draft less than a month away, BasketballNews.com will have you covered from top to bottom. Last week's NBA Draft Combine began the pre-draft process for a number of hopeful prospects as they try to break into the league.
I had the opportunity to catch up with Toledo guard Ryan Rollins, who averaged 18.9 points, 6.0 rebounds, and 3.6 assists per game for the Rockets this past season. We discussed his upbringing in Detroit, path to Toledo and journey to the NBA Draft.
Prior to your time at Toledo, I understand you grew up in Michigan. Could you start off by sharing what your childhood was like growing up there?
Ryan Rollins: "I was born and raised in Detroit, and moved to the suburbs when I was around 8 years old. Regular stuff &mdash; I had an older brother, mom, and dad who worked hard. My dad coached my brother&rsquo;s AAU team, so I was always around basketball growing up. I had a hoop outside, so I was always playing basketball. My mom played, and my whole family played, so I was always around basketball and bred into it. I fell in love with the game, but it was a regular upbringing in an African-American household."
<iframe title="YouTube video player" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/fgD9NwyYwE8" width="100%" height="325" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe>
Your brother Chris also played collegiate basketball at Davenport University. How did your brother/family aid in your development on the court?
Rollins: "For sure, with him being on the older AAU team, they would always come over to the house and spend the night. So I&rsquo;d always be playing with them and they were way bigger than me, stronger than me and more advanced at that time. It toughened me up and gave me a good experience for sure."
When did you first start playing basketball? And when did you realize you could be really good?
Rollins: "As I said, my whole family played so I was just bred into it, always around it and was kind of forced to play. When I knew that I could actually like make some money off of it... I would probably say during my high school years. My sophomore year, I had a pretty good sophomore season and made All-State. I figured out I was pretty good, and that gave me encouragement and excitement for the future."
You had a very successful high school career. Despite great stats, you were not greatly pursued by "blue-blood" programs. How did that affect your mentality? And did it put a chip on your shoulder?
Rollins: "Oh yeah, it did. I feel like I was under-recruited and undervalued all the way around, didn&rsquo;t go to a high major; they didn&rsquo;t even really offer me, so that gave me motivation. When I got to Toledo, I just went out there and played my game to prove to everybody that, in due time, (bigger schools) made the wrong decision. It is what it is. I have to do was best for me. What happened to me was God's plan, so it worked out the best way."
<div class="mceNonEditable"><spike>&nbsp;</spike></div>
You ended up playing for Tod Kowalczyk and Toledo. What aspect of the Rockets&rsquo; program was most attractive to you?
Rollins: "The whole organization &mdash; the roster, staff and the feeling that I got from people when I went on my visit up there. Throughout the whole recruiting process, they were coming to my open gym during the summer consistently &mdash; like three times a week, they would come to at least two of them. That showed me that they were genuinely interested and really wanted me. They wanted me and had a great roster set for me to go there and have a good role on the team. I felt comfortable with everybody that was there so it was the right decision."
For those who haven&rsquo;t seen you play, how would you describe your game?
Rollins: "I would say I'm a smooth playmaker, somebody (who) can score on three levels and can create for myself and others. I make plays on both ends of the floor, on the offensive end and defensive end as well."
What did you focus on the most during your time in Toledo in terms of development? What are some things that you would like to work on and improve on your game as you look toward the NBA?
Rollins: "At Toledo, I wouldn't say there was a specific skill. I was just refining my game, getting stronger and working on everything I was doing in the game: coming off ball screens, coming off down screens, shooting &mdash; a lot of shooting &mdash; finishing and getting stronger, honestly. For the future, I know I need to get stronger, work on my three-point consistency and stay locked-in on defense."
<iframe title="YouTube video player" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/1cloFbIsPtA" width="100%" height="325" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe>
What short- and long-term goals have you set for yourself?
Rollins: "Short-term, to get drafted (in the) first round. The long-term would be to get my whole family financially set so that they don&rsquo;t have to worry about that side of things. Just have fun with life."
Could you take us through your daily routine currently as you prepare for the NBA Draft?
Rollins: "Before the Combine, I was in Dallas working out and training. I&rsquo;d wake up at like 8 a.m. to go lift at 9 a.m. From there, I go to a basketball workout at like 11:30 a.m., and then later on I do another workout at like 9:30 p.m. I was doing three-a-days for about 3 to 4 weeks."
Talk to me about how this week has been in Chicago at the Combine.
Rollins: "It was a good experience being around all the top guys, top college players and competing with them. I enjoyed getting to see them face-to-face because I didn't get to play against a lot of those guys. It was a nice experience, facing up against them and being in an NBA environment, the facility, Being around the players, the organizations and the people who lead organizations was a great experience."
In what role/way do you feel you can contribute the most to a team?
Rollins: "(Being) an unselfish guy, a playmaker. I&rsquo;m somebody that can create for myself and others and (is) a good teammate all around. I'm somebody that you want to play with, and I&rsquo;m solid on and off the court as well. I&rsquo;m a cool dude. You want to be around me; I mean, I'm good company. I try to be somebody who is good all the way around and does the right thing."
Who is one player you model your game after the most?
Rollins: "Right now I&rsquo;d say CJ McCollum, a combo guard who can create for himself and others. Guys like Devin Booker, Jordan Poole (and) Tyrese Maxey. Guys like that."
Let's pretend that you've just entered an elevator with a general manager of a team that's considering selecting you. What is your elevator pitch as to why you're their guy?&nbsp;
Rollins: "On and off the court, I do the right thing. I know what needs to be done, and I can get it done at a good pace. I&rsquo;m the guy that you want in the organization. I'm a raw talent right now and have a lot of potential, and I think I could bring a lot to the organization. I&rsquo;m somebody who wants to learn; I&rsquo;m a quick learner and humble. All the way around, I think I&rsquo;m someone you want in your organization for sure."
<div class="mceNonEditable"><spike>&nbsp;</spike></div>
Looking to go to the hottest concerts, sports, theater &amp; family shows near you? Get 100% guaranteed tickets to more than 125,000 live events from TicketSmarter, the official ticket marketplace of BasketballNews.com.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ticketsmarter.com/?utm_source=basketballnewscom&amp;utm_medium=tsaff&amp;utm_campaign=referral" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Order online now</a>!

Derek Murray speaks with Toledo guard Ryan Rollins about growing up in a basketball family, preparing for the 2022 NBA Draft and more.

2022 NBA Draft Q&A: Toledo's Ryan Rollins is 'the guy you want'

MIAMI (AP) &mdash; Jaylen Brown scored 25 points, Jayson Tatum added 22 and the Boston Celtics moved to the brink of a berth in the NBA Finals, running away after halftime to beat the Miami Heat 93-80 on Wednesday night and take a 3-2 lead in the Eastern Conference title series.
Al Horford had 16 points and Derrick White added 14 for the Celtics. Tatum finished with 12 rebounds and nine assists.
Bam Adebayo scored 18 points and grabbed 10 rebounds for the Heat, who shot 32% in the game &mdash; after shooting 33% in Boston&rsquo;s 20-point win in Game 4. Gabe Vincent added 15, Jimmy Butler had 13 and Duncan Robinson scored 11 for Miami.
The Heat were 7 for 45 from 3-point range.
Game 6 is in Boston on Friday night, where a pair of newly named trophies bearing the names of Celtics legends will be waiting. The Bob Cousy trophy goes to the East champs, the Larry Bird trophy to the East finals MVP, and the Celtics are one win away from being the first team to hoist them.
This series has seen massive momentum swings &mdash; a 44-14 Miami run in Game 1, a 60-21 Boston run in Game 2, a 46-20 Miami run to open Game 3 followed by a 57-33 Boston run in the same game, and a 26-4 spurt by the Celtics to open Game 4.
The Game 5 run was just as one-sided.
The score over a 6 1/2-minute stretch of the second half: Celtics 24, Heat 2. The turnaround was 59-58 Boston to 83-60 Boston, and that was that.
Boston outscored Miami 32-16 in the third quarter, holding the Heat to 17% shooting in that period. The margin was only 11 at that point &mdash; but soon, the game was in zero doubt. A 14-2 run was how Boston opened the fourth quarter, Brown capping the flurry by making three 3-pointers in a span of 2 1/2 minutes, and the lead was out to 23.
<a href="https://twitter.com/celtics/status/1529658342313975808?s=20&amp;t=sVr3DFOwSLjhCE3Kfpan-Q">Brown then sealed matters with a down-the-lane dunk</a> with 5:19 left, the lead was 18 at that point and the countdown was on for Boston.
The Celtics haven't reached the NBA Finals since 2010. There have been four East finals trips since then, with two losses to Miami and two to Cleveland. There were also two chances &mdash; Game 6 in 2012 against the Heat and Game 7 in 2018 against the Cavaliers &mdash; when the Celtics had a chance to claim the conference title simply by winning a game on their home floor.
They lost both, LeBron James serving as the official thwarter both times, with 45 points to save Miami in the 2012 game and 35 to lift Cleveland in the 2018 clincher.
He won&rsquo;t be in the Celtics&rsquo; way Friday night.
Miami will need somebody to provide some semblance of an impersonation.
Offense was in short supply in the first half, but Miami's defense appeared to be giving the Heat hope. Miami led 19-17 after one and 42-37 at the break. Tatum was 1 for 9 at intermission, Butler 2 for 8, and the teams combined to shoot 37.8% from the field and 21.6% from 3-point range.
It was the lowest-scoring first half of a conference finals game since May 28, 2014, when the Heat and Indiana combined for 75 points at the break in what eventually became a 93-90 Pacers win.
And Miami, somehow, got colder to start the second half. The Celtics did not.
The Heat missed their first nine shots from the field after the break, not getting anything to fall until Butler fended off contact and scored on a drive that got Miami within 49-48 with 6:53 left in the third.
But soon, the Celtics had control. Of the game. And the series.
TIP-INS
Celtics: Marcus Smart picked up two fouls in the first 3:51 of the first quarter, then picked up two more in the first 3:15 of the third quarter. ... White and Robert Williams III were a combined 7 for 8 in the first half, while the rest of their teammates were a combined 6 for 26.
Heat: Tyler Herro (groin) missed a second consecutive game. ... Max Strus was 0 for 9, Kyle Lowry was 0 for 6, and the Heat starting guards are a combined 1 for 28 in their last two games. ... Miami missed its first six shots, a marked improvement after missing its first 14 to start Game 4.
HORFORD WATCH
Game 6 will be the 140th playoff game for Horford. Nobody has been in more postseason contests without appearing in the NBA Finals &mdash; something that he and the Celtics could change with one more win over Miami.
CELEBS
DJ Khaled was back in his customary seat near the Heat bench. Among the other stars in the sellout crowd: Alex Rodriguez, Paul Pogba, Jimmy Buffett, Xavien Howard and Brooks Koepka.

Led by big scoring games from Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, the Boston Celtics moved to within one game of the NBA Finals.