Warriors

The New York Knicks have high hopes for the 2024-25 season after a series of offseason moves to bolster their roster. Boasting a revamped starting lineup of Jalen Brunson, Josh Hart, Mikal Bridges, OG Anunoby, and Karl-Anthony Towns, Coach Tom Thibodeau has leaned heavily on this five-man unit by relying on their defensive versatility and scoring prowess to carry the team night after night. Yet this dependency raises questions about sustainability, with risks of fatigue, injuries, and late-game breakdowns looming over a long NBA season.&nbsp;
The Knicks&rsquo; starting five are logging heavy minutes early in the season. Jalen Brunson, in particular, is averaging over 35 minutes per game as the team&rsquo;s primary playmaker and scorer. Meanwhile, Mikal Bridges and OG Anunoby are also averaging significant playing time, tasked with balancing offensive responsibilities while handling tough defensive assignments on opposing wings. Towns, who is crucial on both ends by providing floor spacing on offense and size on defense, is also averaging close to 35 minutes per game. These players are giving their all each night, but the mileage can add up as the season moves along.
NBA history shows that overextending starters early in the season can lead to burnout, and Thibodeau is no stranger to this trend. In his previous coaching stints, especially with the Chicago Bulls and Minnesota Timberwolves, Thibodeau&rsquo;s teams experienced both early success and, ultimately, the cost of fatigue and injuries. During those stints, key players who logged high minutes often missed time later due to injuries or wore down in critical playoff moments.
The Knicks&rsquo; reliance on their starters has led to noticeable fatigue in the fourth quarter. The high-minute load impacts shooting accuracy, defensive effectiveness, and overall energy levels down the stretch. In recent games, the Knicks&rsquo; fourth-quarter stats reflect a slight decline in scoring efficiency, with players missing more shots and committing more fouls late in the game. This is particularly concerning in close matchups, where even minor drops in performance can shift the game&rsquo;s outcome. Opposing teams, with fresher players, often capitalize on the Knicks&rsquo; tired legs, exploiting gaps on defense and taking control in the final minutes.
If the Knicks are to reach their potential, Thibodeau may need to expand his rotation to preserve the health and effectiveness of his starters.
A balanced rotation could alleviate these issues. However, it doesn&rsquo;t help that starting center Mitchell Robinson is still yet to come back from an injury, as well as regular contributor Precious Achiuwa. The Knicks&rsquo; bench is shallow as of the moment with only Cameron Payne, Miles McBride, and at times Jericho Sims as players who can step in to relieve starters and bring fresh energy. Rookies Tyler Kolek, Pacome Dadiet, and Ariel Hukporti have had good summer league performances and showed something interesting in the preseason, but Coach Thibs has yet to commit to trusting rookies during the regular season. However, by giving a little bit more minutes on their reserves, the Knicks would have the flexibility to keep their starters fresh, reducing the risk of late-game lapses and helping maintain energy throughout the season.
High minutes also correlate with an increased risk of injury, a risk that only compounds as the season progresses. For players like Brunson and Anunoby, who play physically demanding roles, the toll of heavy minutes can lead to strains and nagging injuries. Towns and Bridges, though durable, have histories of minor injuries, and prolonged wear could increase their risk as well. If any starter were to miss time, it could disrupt the team&rsquo;s chemistry and potentially derail their season.
The Knicks have already invested heavily in this core, both financially and strategically, so ensuring their health and longevity is critical. Coach Thibodeau&rsquo;s emphasis on conditioning may help, but even the best-conditioned athletes can fall prey to injuries when overworked.
One solution lies staggering the starters with the bench guys. An expanded rotation would also provide versatility and unpredictability, as the Knicks could mix lineups to create favorable matchups and keep opponents off-balance.
Last season, teams with deep rotations generally fared better in the later months and into the playoffs. The Denver Nuggets, for example, leaned on a nine-man rotation that kept players fresh and ready for postseason intensity. The Knicks have the personnel to replicate this approach, but it requires a willingness to let the bench play through mistakes and grow into their roles.
The Knicks&rsquo; high-minute starters have impressive stats, but the numbers suggest potential pitfalls. Brunson and Towns lead the team in points, yet their fourth-quarter shooting percentage has dropped as games wear on. Hart, Bridges, and Anunoby rank among the league leaders in defensive metrics, but all three have seen dips in effectiveness late in games. These stats underline the wear on the Knicks&rsquo; starting five, and without adjustments, the team could face challenges maintaining performance over the long haul.
Thibodeau&rsquo;s strategy has yielded early success, but balance is the key to a sustainable season. By trusting his bench and managing his starters&rsquo; minutes, he can preserve the team&rsquo;s health and performance for the playoffs. The Knicks have the depth to make this adjustment, and doing so would likely pay dividends as they aim for a deep postseason run. In a grueling 82-game season, longevity and resilience are paramount, and a balanced rotation could be the key to the Knicks realizing their potential.

Heavy minutes for the Knicks’ starting five could lead to fatigue, injuries, and late-game struggles.

Knicks’ Overreliance on Starting 5 a Double-Edged Sword

With just days left until the 2024-25 NBA season tips off, the Eastern Conference teams are settled, prepped, and ready for action. The offseason moves are done, rosters are set, and almost everyone&rsquo;s locked in for what&rsquo;s shaping up to be an intense race. From title contenders to dark horses, the East is packed with teams ready to make noise. So, let&rsquo;s dive into the top 15 teams in the East as we gear up for this brand-new season&mdash;no fluff, just what you need to know.
<ol>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">New York Knicks The Knicks made significant moves this offseason, adding Karl-Anthony Towns and Mikal Bridges while retaining key pieces like Jalen Brunson and OG Anunoby. With depth, defense, and firepower, they look primed for a deep playoff run. After a 50-win season in 2023-24, they now have realistic championship aspirations and could be the biggest threat to the Celtics in the East.</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Boston Celtics The defending champions kept their core intact, extending Jayson Tatum and Derrick White. With Tatum, Jaylen Brown, and Jrue Holiday leading a formidable lineup, the Celtics are aiming to repeat as NBA champions. Despite concerns about Al Horford&rsquo;s age and frontcourt health, Boston remains the favorite heading into the 2024-25 season.</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Milwaukee Bucks The Bucks didn&rsquo;t make major changes but added depth with Gary Trent Jr., Taurean Prince, and Delon Wright. After an injury-plagued season from Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard, Milwaukee looks to bounce back under returning head coach Doc Rivers. With questions surrounding Lillard&rsquo;s form and Middleton&rsquo;s durability, the Bucks remain playoff contenders, but how far they go will depend on health and chemistry.</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Philadelphia 76ers The 76ers had a big offseason, adding Paul George, Andre Drummond, and Caleb Martin to support Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey. Maxey&rsquo;s rise as a star solidifies Philly&rsquo;s title hopes, and Embiid&rsquo;s MVP-level play is crucial for their success. With an improved supporting cast, the Sixers could be serious challengers in the East, but Embiid&rsquo;s health remains the key.</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Cleveland Cavaliers After a solid 48-win season, the Cavs focused on continuity by keeping their core of Donovan Mitchell, Evan Mobley, and Jarrett Allen. New coach Kenny Atkinson brings fresh leadership, and Cleveland hopes to build on last season&rsquo;s playoff run. With a healthier roster and improved coaching, the Cavs could reach 50 wins and challenge the top teams in the East.</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Indiana Pacers The Pacers had a quiet offseason but retained Pascal Siakam and made a key addition in James Wiseman. Tyrese Haliburton&rsquo;s breakout season makes Indiana a team to watch, and they&rsquo;re looking to build on their deep playoff run. With improved chemistry and young talent, Indiana could surprise as a top-five team in the East.</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Orlando Magic The Magic are banking on internal growth, led by Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner. After winning 47 games and making the playoffs last season, they added veteran Kentavious Caldwell-Pope for shooting and leadership. With a young core developing, Orlando could win 50 games if they continue their upward trend and improve their perimeter shooting.</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Miami Heat The Heat had a quiet offseason, adding Alec Burks while re-signing key players like Bam Adebayo. With Jimmy Butler&rsquo;s future uncertain and health concerns for both Butler and Tyler Herro, Miami could face challenges in a competitive Eastern Conference. However, Adebayo&rsquo;s All-NBA-level play will keep them in the playoff hunt.</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Atlanta Hawks The Hawks overhauled their roster after a disappointing 36-46 season, headlined by trading Dejounte Murray and acquiring the No. 1 pick, Zaccharie Risacher. With Trae Young remaining the focal point, the Hawks are banking on Risacher&rsquo;s development and contributions from new additions like Larry Nance Jr. and Dyson Daniels. This team looks poised to contend for a Play-In spot but lacks the co-star power needed for a deep playoff run.</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Charlotte Hornets The Hornets enter the season with fresh energy, thanks to the hiring of new coach Charles Lee and the re-signing of Miles Bridges. With LaMelo Ball back healthy and Brandon Miller continuing to impress after an All-Rookie season, Charlotte&rsquo;s young core could surprise many. If Ball stays on the floor and their youth develops quickly, the Hornets might find themselves contending for a Play-In spot and shaking off years of underachievement.</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Detroit Pistons The Pistons are looking to turn the page on a tough 2023-24 season and have made moves to fast-track their rebuild. With Cade Cunningham healthy, new leadership under J.B. Bickerstaff, and rookie Ron Holland adding spark, Detroit could outperform expectations. If Cunningham returns to form and the team gels quickly, don&rsquo;t be surprised if the Pistons emerge as a dark horse in the East.</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Toronto Raptors The Raptors are in transition, keeping their young core of Scottie Barnes, RJ Barrett, and Immanuel Quickley intact. After a poor finish to last season, Toronto is betting on Barnes&rsquo; continued growth and the addition of Davion Mitchell to improve their fortunes. While their ceiling might be a Play-In appearance, the Raptors are hoping their trio can take a big step forward.</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Chicago Bulls The Bulls traded DeMar DeRozan and Alex Caruso, adding Josh Giddey and Jalen Smith to the mix. Zach LaVine&rsquo;s injury history remains a concern, but the Bulls are counting on Coby White&rsquo;s emergence and the potential of lottery pick Matas Buzelis. Chicago is likely to be a competitive team some nights, but they may struggle to rise above the Play-In threshold.</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Brooklyn Nets The Nets are entering a rebuild after trading Mikal Bridges and Lonnie Walker. With a young roster led by Nic Claxton and Cam Thomas, Brooklyn&rsquo;s focus is on player development. Ben Simmons remains a question mark, but the team&rsquo;s recent moves set them up for future success with significant draft assets. A playoff berth seems unlikely as they look to position themselves for a high draft pick.</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Washington Wizards The Wizards continue their rebuild with the addition of Alex Sarr, the No. 2 overall pick. With Malcolm Brogdon and Saddiq Bey joining the squad, Washington hopes to see growth from young talents like Bilal Coulibaly. However, they&rsquo;re still far from playoff contention and will likely be looking at another lottery-bound season.</li>
</ol>

Let's dive into the top 15 teams in the East as we gear up for this brand-new season.

2024-2025 NBA Eastern Conference Power Rankings: A new number one arises at the top

The USA Men&rsquo;s National Basketball will face arguably their biggest threat in the Olympics in Team Canada on July 10 in Las Vegas. This Canadian team features a multitude of NBA talents, just like Team USA. Led by 2024 NBA MVP finalist Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and 2023 NBA Champion Jamal Murray, Team Canada is poised to give Team USA all the headaches and possible roadblocks in its pursuit of gold.&nbsp;
With all things considered, here&rsquo;s what Team USA could do to stamp their dominance against their neighboring rivals up North and send a message to the rest of the world eager to challenge their throne.
Dump the ball to Joel Embiid and let him go to work
Perhaps the most dominant basketball player in the world right now, there&rsquo;s probably nobody who could guard Joel Embiid one-on-one today on God&rsquo;s green earth. A 7-foot-2 big man blessed with skill, size, finesse, and power, Embiid&rsquo;s complete game will be a main problem for Team Canada. Among the frontliners they could throw at Embiid are Dwight Powell, Kelly Olynyk, and Trey Lyles but none of them - on paper and quick eye test - are quick or strong enough to deter Embiid and his dominance. Embiid dominated some of the league&rsquo;s best defensive players, putting up 50 points on 4-time DPOY Rudy Gobert and scoring 70 points in phenom Victor Wembanyama&rsquo;s head last season.
Team USA should quickly take advantage of this opportunity and run the offense through Embiid and make Team Canada send double teams at him. That&rsquo;s when advantages and opportunities will open up to the rest of the guys like LeBron cutting to the rim or Durant and Curry spotting up for wide-open threes. It could be a pick-your-poison type of game where Team Canada could let Embiid play one-on-one and destroy them inside the paint or double him and risk putting two on the ball creating opportunities for the rest of Team USA.
Get into lots of screening actions to create advantages and confuse the defense
Team Canada&rsquo;s biggest strength will be their on-ball perimeter defense. Among Dillon Brooks, Gilgeous-Alexander, Lu Dort, and Nickeil Alexander-Walker, they will have long wings that could disrupt passing lanes and wreak havoc on the perimeter, creating easy baskets in transition. Canada&rsquo;s a relatively young team with most players in their athletic prime so they would definitely take advantage of their biggest strength and make it their main style of play.
To counter this, Team USA could involve their players in more screening actions to create advantages on offense and confuse Canada&rsquo;s defense. They should also incorporate slips and slides in those screens and in the pick and rolls for cutters and shooters to get open shots. By doing this, Team USA will negate Canada&rsquo;s biggest strength and create easy and quality looks against their vaunted perimeter defense.
Play defense
It&rsquo;s no secret that Team USA&rsquo;s core players are aging and nearing the end of their athletic peaks. Although being the superstar basketball players that they are and still being at the top of their offensive games, Team USA&rsquo;s defense will be suspect here and would probably be the main attacking point of their opponents. Jrue Holiday, Anthony Edwards, and Derrick White will have their work cut out for them in the perimeter right from the get-go as Team USA could be punished by a guard-heavy offensive team like Team Canada.&nbsp;
Team USA might outscore everyone, but you can make them work on the other side of the floor, and this could be Canada&rsquo;s main mindset coming into the game. Despite the top-end talent and superstar-level shot-making on offense, Team USA should put more effort on the defensive end of the floor if they want to win this game.

The USA Men’s National Basketball will face arguably their biggest threat in the Olympics in Team Canada on July 10 in Las Vegas.

USA vs CAN preview: 3 things Team USA could do to win exhibition game against Canada

After a long four-month offseason, the 2023-24 NBA season officially kicks off on October 24. Preseason action is currently underway, with teams evaluating their roster and getting ready for the start of the regular season.
There were a few roster rule changes of note this offseason that were introduced as part of the new CBA. Now, each team can sign up to three two-way players (up from two) who are able to play up to 50 games with their NBA team and spend the rest of their season in the G League. Also, offseason rosters were originally limited to 20 players but have since increased to 21.&nbsp;
Each team needs to be at 15 standard contracts prior to the start of the season, which means a few players on guaranteed deals will have to be cut prior to the season. While some teams have a pretty set roster, others (like the Oklahoma City Thunder) will be forced to part ways with talented players to reach their roster limit.&nbsp;
Looking at the Atlantic Division, let's see how each team&rsquo;s lineup is shaping up and what questions they may need to answer before the start of the season.
(This is part one of a six-part series, with more divisional previews coming soon).
<h1>BOSTON CELTICS</h1>
Outside of the top-six players, who will be the most reliable depth option?
After acquiring Jrue Holiday, the Boston Celtics may have the best top-six of any team in the league. While we can add the Holiday trade to their list of aggressive offseason transactions, their depth has taken somewhat of a step back.&nbsp;
They will have to replace four rotation players from last year&rsquo;s Conference Finals team with a few players who don&rsquo;t have much experience in playoff situations. Three players who should definitely see more minutes are Payton Pritchard, Sam Hauser and Luke Kornet. Pritchard has played well on both ends of the floor when given an opportunity, notably shooting 40% from three-point range over his first three seasons. The Celtics rewarded him with a team-friendly extension that should see him take up about 5% of the salary cap over the next four years. Hauser has also been a stellar three-point shooter, knocking down 42% since coming into the league.&nbsp;
The frontcourt is probably the most notable weakness on the team&rsquo;s depth chart. Joe Mazzulla has expressed confidence that <a href="https://www.celticsblog.com/2023/10/7/23907608/boston-celtics-depth-sam-hauser-luke-kornet-payton-pritchard-joe-mazzulla-blake-griffin-bus-one-boys" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Kornet should be successful on both ends of the floor and will be their go-to backup center to start the season.</a> The preseason will be important in determining who else (i.e. Oshae Brissett, Jordan Walsh, Svi Mykhailiuk, etc.) may stand out for Mazzulla and get an opportunity for playing time behind Al Horford and Kristaps Porzingis.&nbsp;
Roster Decisions
The Celtics have the least amount of players on guaranteed contracts in the league (10). However, their roster for opening night is likely set unless they want to open up flexibility to sign other veteran players or buyout candidates later this season. If they choose to cut someone, it would very likely be a player on a non-guaranteed deal. Mykhailiuk and Dalano Banton each have a partial $200,000 guarantee that increases to over $1,000,000 if they make the roster. Kornet, Wenyen Gabriel and Lamar Stevens all have non-guaranteed contracts.&nbsp;
Rotation
Current Roster Count: 19 players (10 guaranteed, 2 partially guaranteed, 3 non-guaranteed, 3 two-way, 1 Exhibit-10)
Projected Starters: G Jrue Holiday, G/F Jaylen Brown, F Jayson Tatum, F/C Al Horford, F/C Kristaps Porzingis
Projected Rotation Players: G Derrick White, G Payton Pritchard, C Luke Kornet (non-guaranteed), F Sam Hauser, F Oshae Brissett
Projected Reserves: F Jordan Walsh, G/F Svi Mykhailiuk ($200K guaranteed), F Wenyen Gabriel (non-guaranteed), G Dalano Banton ($200K guaranteed), F Lamar Stevens (non-guaranteed)
Projected Two-Way Players: C Neemias Queta, G JD Davison, G Jay Scrubb (Injured)
Projected Roster Cuts: G DJ Steward (Exhibit-10)
<h1>BROOKLYN NETS</h1>
What is Ben Simmons' role?
Ben Simmons has only played 42 games since being acquired by the Nets in February 2022, dealing with physical and psychological hurdles that have made him somewhat of an afterthought. Head coach Jacque Vaughn has expressed confidence that Simmons is now 100% healthy and ready to contribute again at a high level.&nbsp;
He seems to be penciled in as the team&rsquo;s starting point guard, starting in the Nets&rsquo; first preseason game. Though it was just a small 14-minute sample size, Simmons looked a lot like his former All-Star self. Having not played since February 15, he looked athletic, aggressive and confident before sitting out the second half.&nbsp;
&ldquo;He attacked the rim, I think he played with pace, looked pretty natural out there getting up and down the floor, communicating with guys into the flow of the game,&rdquo; Vaughn said, <a href="https://nypost.com/2023/10/10/ben-simmons-passes-eye-test-in-nets-preseason-opener/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">praising his $38-million man</a>. &ldquo;Really good to see.&rdquo;
Vaughn has some options when it comes to starting lineups where he could go smaller, with a backcourt of Simmons and Spencer Dinwiddie, or decide to start Dorian Finney-Smith and use Mikal Bridges as a big two-guard.&nbsp;
Roster Decisions
Darius Bazley, Harry Giles and Trendon Watford are all on non-guaranteed deals and are vying for the final two roster spots. The Nets also have an open two-way spot, which I believe they could potentially use on a player like <a href="https://www.si.com/college/tennessee/mens-basketball/kennedy-chandler-starring-in-nba-summer-league" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Summer League standout</a> and former Memphis Grizzlies second-rounder Kennedy Chandler.&nbsp;
Rotation
Current Roster Count: 18 players (13 guaranteed, 3 non-guaranteed, 2 two-way)
Projected Starters: G/F Ben Simmons, G Spencer Dinwiddie, F Mikal Bridges, F Cameron Johnson, C Nicolas Claxton
Projected Rotation Players: F Dorian Finney-Smith, F Royce O&rsquo;Neale, G Cameron Thomas, G Dennis Smith Jr., C Day&rsquo;Ron Sharpe
Projected Reserves: G/F Lonnie Walker IV, C Noah Clowney, F Dariq Whitehead, F Darius Bazley (Non-Guaranteed), C Harry Giles (Non-Guaranteed)
Projected Two-way Players: G Armoni Brooks, F Jalen Wilson, G Kennedy Chandler* (Projected Signing)
Projected Roster Cuts: F Trendon Watford (Non-Guaranteed)
<h1>NEW YORK KNICKS</h1>
Who will be the first option off the bench?
New York Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau has his fair share of options to headline his second unit. In his third year, Immanuel Quickley had his best season to date, finishing as the runner-up for the Sixth Man of the Year award behind Malcolm Brogdon. Quickley was the primary scorer for the second unit, but he shouldn&rsquo;t have to carry the entire load on offense with the addition of Donte DiVincenzo.&nbsp;
DiVincenzo impressed last season with the Golden State Warriors as a reliable bench shooter and should spot minutes for Quentin Grimes and R.J. Barrett when offensive pushes are needed. Josh Hart could also be the team&rsquo;s sixth man, just like he was during the Knicks&rsquo; playoff run. After being traded from Portland, Hart averaged 30 minutes per game despite coming off the bench most of the time. It is worth noting the Knicks-Villanova connection between Hart, DiVincenzo and Jalen Brunson, who should fit seamlessly together on the floor thanks to their pre-existing chemistry. While unlikely to be the first off the bench, Isaiah Hartenstein also deserves mention since he has been one of the league&rsquo;s better backup centers and could see more time if Mitchell Robinson gets in foul trouble. In terms of rotation issues, Thibodeau should see this as a good problem to have regardless of who he brings off the bench first.&nbsp;
Roster Decisions
The Knicks have three spots up for grabs between Ryan Arcidiacono, DaQuan Jeffries, Isaiah Roby and Duane Washington Jr. All are on non-guaranteed deals that won&rsquo;t be fully guaranteed until the league-wide guarantee date on January 10.&nbsp;
Rotation
Current Roster Count: 21 players (12 guaranteed, 4 non-guaranteed, 3 two-way, 2 Exhibit-10)
Projected Starters: G Jalen Brunson, G Quentin Grimes, G/F R.J. Barrett, F Julius Randle, C Mitchell Robinson
Projected Rotation Players: G Josh Hart, G Immanuel Quickley, G Donte DiVincenzo, C Isaiah Hartenstein, G Miles McBride
Projected Reserves: G Evan Fournier, C Jericho Sims, F Isaiah Roby (non-guaranteed), G Ryan Arcidiacono (non-guaranteed), G/F DaQuan Jeffries (non-guaranteed)
Projected Two-way Players: F/C Nathan Knight, G/F Dylan Windler, F Jaylen Martin
Projected Roster Cuts: G Duane Washington Jr. (non-guaranteed), G Charlie Brown Jr. (Exhibit-10), F Jacob Toppin (Exhibit-10)
<img style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" src="https://cdn.basketballnews.com/images/story/body/embiid332.jpg" alt="" width="672" height="440" />
<h1>PHILADELPHIA 76ERS</h1>
Will Tyrese Maxey become more of a creator and how can that adjust the rotation?
The Sixers&rsquo; ceiling is contingent on how much Tyrese Maxey can improve this season. Maxey hasn&rsquo;t needed to be the team&rsquo;s primary distributor since James Harden joined the team, allowing him to blossom into a reliable 20-PPG scorer. Regardless of whether Harden&rsquo;s trade situation is resolved, Maxey will need to become a better creator and distributor if he wants to take his game to the next level. Prior to Harden&rsquo;s arrival, Maxey had an impressive 4:1 assist-to-turnover ratio despite his small frame and risk-averse tendencies.&nbsp;
Interestingly, team president Daryl Morey has held off on giving Maxey an extension this offseason, electing to wait until next summer to pay his budding young guard. Maxey will likely demand near max-level money that could harm Philly&rsquo;s flexibility to go after star players next offseason. If he can improve his ball-handling and distribution tendencies, the Sixers&rsquo; offense should benefit tremendously, helping the offensive output of players like P.J. Tucker and Paul Reed and easing the reliance on De&rsquo;Anthony Melton and Patrick Beverley.
Roster Decisions
Two players will likely be fighting for the Sixers&rsquo; final roster spot. The team re-signed veteran Danny Green, who played for the team from 2020 to 2022, to a non-guaranteed deal. They also brought over young big Filip Petrusev, who was drafted by Philadelphia in 2021. Petrusev signed a multi-year deal that was partially guaranteed for $559,782 this season and non-guaranteed next year. Although unlikely, the 76ers could also elect to waive Montrezl Harrell despite his deal being fully guaranteed, as he should miss this season with a torn ACL.
Rotation
Current Roster Count: 21 players (14 guaranteed, 1 partially Guaranteed, 1 non-guaranteed, 3 two-way, 2 Exhibit-10)
Projected Starters: G Tyrese Maxey, G James Harden, F P.J. Tucker, F Tobias Harris, C Joel Embiid
Projected Rotation Players: G De&rsquo;Anthony Melton, G Patrick Beverley, F/C Paul Reed, F/G Kelly Oubre Jr., F Danuel House
Projected Reserves: C Mo Bamba, F Furkan Korkmaz, G Jaden Springer, G/F Danny Green (non-guaranteed), C Montrezl Harrell (injured)
Projected Two-way Players: G Terquavion Smith, G Ricky Council IV, F Azuolas Tubelis
Projected Roster Cuts: F/C Filip Petrusev ($559,782 guaranteed), G David Duke Jr. (Exhibit-10), G Javonte Smart (Exhibit-10)
<h1>TORONTO RAPTORS</h1>
What style does Darko Rajakovic bring to Toronto and who will benefit the most?
New coach Darko Rajakovic inherits an interesting Raptors team with plenty of talent, but they may be facing a crossroads in terms of how successful they can be as a group. Rajakovic is in his first NBA head coaching gig after three seasons as an assistant with the Grizzlies and is known around the league as a pick-and-roll guru.&nbsp;
The idea of the Raptors being a primary pick-and-roll team became less appealing when they were unable to retain Fred VanVleet in free agency, replacing him with a less reliable shooter in Dennis Schr&ouml;der. Instead, Rajakovic will likely rely on Schr&ouml;der and his newly paid center Jakob Poeltl for more ball movement and playmaking. Rajakovic compared Poeltl to Domantas Sabonis before the Raptors&rsquo; preseason win over the Sacramento Kings on October 9 and could use him in a similar role. If Poeltl can be 70% of what Sabonis was last season, it can be a huge boost to an inconsistent offense.
Roster Decisions
The Raptors have 15 players on guaranteed deals going into the season, but also carry Jeff Dowtin Jr. on a non-guaranteed deal. Dowtin played on a two-way contract with Toronto last season, appearing in 25 games. With the roster full, Dowtin is unlikely to make the regular-season roster but he has still <a href="https://www.si.com/nba/raptors/news/toronto-raptors-praise-jeff-dowtin-jr-as-roster-decisions-await" target="_blank" rel="noopener">impressed the coaching staff this preseason</a>. If any player is in danger of losing their roster spot to Dowtin, it would likely be former first-round pick Malachi Flynn. Dowtin&rsquo;s deal becomes guaranteed for $900,000 on October 21, four days before the team&rsquo;s season opener against the Minnesota Timberwolves. I would expect the Raptors to make a decision on Dowtin before then.&nbsp;
Rotation
Current Roster Count: 21 players (15 guaranteed, 1 non-guaranteed, 3 two-way, 2 Exhibit-10)
Projected Starters: G Dennis Schr&ouml;der, F/G Scottie Barnes, F OG Anunoby, F Pascal Siakam, C Jakob Poeltl
Projected Rotation Players: G Gary Trent Jr., F Precious Achiuwa, F/C Chris Boucher, F Jalen McDaniels, G/F Gradey Dick
Projected Reserves: F Thaddeus Young, G Malachi Flynn, F Otto Porter Jr., C Christian Koloko, G/F Garrett Temple
Projected Two-way Players: G/F Ron Harper Jr., G Markquis Nowell, G Javon Freeman-Liberty
Projected Roster Cuts: G Jeff Dowtin (non-guaranteed), F Mouhamadou Gueye (Exhibit-10), C Makur Maker (Exhibit-10)
Other news from around the web: <a href="https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/other/dress-to-impress-why-barbie-and-ken-are-the-hottest-couples-costume-this-halloween/ar-AA1iaTEh" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Barbie and Ken are the hottest couples costume this Halloween</a>

Blake Stern previews the Atlantic Division, breaking down each team's projected lineup and a burning question entering the season.

NBA Atlantic Division Preview: Burning questions, rotation projections

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) &mdash; Luke Kennard made a franchise-record 10 3-pointers to match his career high with 30 points, Desmond Bane added 25 points and the Memphis Grizzlies clinched a playoff spot after building a 31-point halftime lead and coasting to a 151-114 victory over the Houston Rockets on Friday night.
Ja Morant scored 18 points and had eight assists in his second game after serving an eight-game league-imposed suspension after he posted a video in which he is shown waving a gun at a Denver-area strip club. Morant, as he did in his first game back Wednesday also against the Rockets, again came off the bench. He entered with 5:08 left in the first quarter.
Jaren Jackson Jr. also scored 18 points and had seven rebounds and two blocks for Memphis, which made a franchise-best 25 3-pointers and had the second-most points in team history. The Grizzlies won their 11th straight at home and moved within three games of idle Denver, which holds the top spot in the Western Conference.
Tari Eason had 21 points to lead Houston, while Kevin Porter Jr. and Jabari Smith Jr. each had 20.
CELTICS 120, PACERS 95
BOSTON (AP) &mdash; Jayson Tatum scored 34 points, setting a franchise record with his 40th 30-point game this season, and Boston rolled past Indiana.
Tatum passed Hall of Famer Larry Bird, who had 39 30-point games during the 1987-88 season.
Jaylen Brown added 27 points and seven rebounds, and Derrick White finished with 22 points and nine assists for the Celtics, who have won four of five and improved to 27-9 at home this season.
Pacers All-Star point guard Tyrese Haliburton had 20 points, nine assists and six rebounds in his first game back from a six-game absence with a combination of a bruised left knee and sprained right ankle. Myles Turner added 20 points and six rebounds.
LAKERS 116, THUNDER 111
LOS ANGELES (AP) &mdash; Anthony Davis had 37 points and 14 rebounds, Dennis Schr&ouml;der added 13 of his 21 points in the second half and the Los Angeles Lakers got a vital victory for their playoff hopes.
Lonnie Walker scored 20 points in an impressive return to the rotation for the Lakers, who have won three straight to move even with Minnesota in seventh place in the Western Conference standings. With Davis leading the way on both ends of the court, Los Angeles (37-37) also reached .500 for the first time this season after holding off the Thunder despite the injury absences of LeBron James and D&rsquo;Angelo Russell.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Josh Giddey scored 27 points apiece for Oklahoma City, which lost for only the fourth time in 12 games down the stretch. The Thunder (36-38) dropped into a tie with Dallas for 10th in the West.
WARRIORS 120, 76ERS 112
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) &mdash; Jordan Poole scored 33 points and swished a key 3-pointer with 1:18 to play off a pretty pass by Draymond Green, Stephen Curry added 29 points and eight rebounds and Golden State rallied past Joel Embiid and Philadelphia.
Embiid checked back into the game with 8:26 left and scored 13 straight on the way to 46 points, but the Warriors came back from 11 down for their ninth straight home win &mdash; and one of the most important yet as they fight for playoff positioning.
Embiid shot 13 for 23, made 19 of 22 free throws and had nine rebounds, eight assists and two steals. He helped Philadelphia take an 88-79 lead going into the fourth. He had his streak of scoring 30 or more points in a franchise-record 10 straight games snapped in Wednesday&rsquo;s 116-91 win at Chicago but made up for it.
WIZARDS 136, SPURS 124
WASHINGTON (AP) &mdash; Corey Kispert scored 26 points and sank six 3-pointers, Deni Avdija added 21 points and grabbed 11 rebounds and Washington pulled away for a win over San Antonio.
Delon Wright added 24 points and Kristaps Porzingis 23 for the Wizards, who missed three-time All-Star Bradley Beal (left knee sprain) for a second game but snapped a four-game skid.
Washington sank 15 of 30 attempts beyond the arc one game after setting season lows for number and percentage of 3s made in Wednesday&rsquo;s loss to West-leading Denver.
Keldon Johnson scored 30 points for San Antonio, which played without 2022 ninth-overall draft pick Jeremy Sochan (sore right knee) for the third time in four games.
RAPTORS 118, PISTONS 97
TORONTO (AP) &mdash; Pascal Siakam scored 32 points, Chris Boucher had 19 points and 13 rebounds and Toronto routed Detroit for its eighth win in nine home games.
Fred VanVleet added 18 points and O.G. Anunoby 17 as Toronto completed its first four-game sweep of Detroit since the 2017-18 season. The Raptors also improved to 7-0 when holding opponents below 100 points
Jaden Ivey scored 20 points and Marvin Bagley III and James Wiseman each had 14 for Detroit, but the Pistons lost for the 16th time in 17 games.
HORNETS 117, MAVERICKS 109
DALLAS (AP) &mdash; P.J. Washington Jr. scored 28 points and Gordon Hayward added 25 as undermanned Charlotte built a 21-point lead and held on to beat Dallas.
The Hornets, who were eliminated from the Eastern Conference playoff race last week, earned a split of a back-to-back after losing by 19 points on Thursday night at New Orleans and finishing with only seven healthy players.
Luka Doncic had 34 points and 10 rebounds to lead the Mavericks, who lost their third straight and for the sixth time in eight games. Kyrie Irving scored 18 points after missing one game with a toe injury. He and Doncic played together for the first time since March 8. The Mavericks are 3-7 with both in the lineup.
BUCKS 144, JAZZ 116
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) &mdash; Grayson Allen scored a season-high 25 points to lead Milwaukee past Utah.
Allen made five 3-pointers and shot 57% from the field to help the Bucks lead wire-to-wire. Giannis Antetokounmpo had 24 points and 11 assists, and Pat Connaughton scored 22 points while making six 3-pointers. Jrue Holiday added 18 points and seven assists, and Brook Lopez had 17 points, 14 rebounds and seven blocks.
Milwaukee made 22 3-pointers and shot 56% from the field to fuel its third straight victory.
Simone Fontecchio scored a career-high 26 points in his third career start to lead the Jazz.
BULLS 124, TRAIL BLAZERS 96
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) &mdash; Zach LaVine scored 33 points and Chicago dominated short-handed Portland.
Nikola Vucevic added 23 points and 15 rebounds for the Bulls, who have won six of their last eight games and sit in 10th place in the Eastern Conference standings with nine regular-season games remaining.
Portland, which has lost seven of its last eight games, was led by rookie Shaedon Sharpe, who matched his career high with 24 points. The Blazers&rsquo; lone win during the recent stretch came against the Utah Jazz 127-115 on Wednesday. Portland was at 13th in the Western Conference standings, well out of the playoff picture.
Regular Portland starters Damian Lillard (calf tightness), Jusuf Nurkic (sore right knee), Jerami Grant (quad contusion) and Anfernee Simons (sore right foot) did not play against the Bulls.
KINGS 135, SUNS 127
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) &mdash; Kevin Huerter led all scorers with 29 points and Sacramento beat Phoenix.
Huerter added nine rebounds and five assists for the Kings (44-29), who are in third place in the Western Conference behind Denver and Memphis. Domantas Sabonis finished with 27 points, nine rebounds and nine assists for the Kings.
Sacramento&rsquo;s De&rsquo;Aaron Fox exited the game with 7:16 left in the third quarter with right hamstring soreness. Fox finished with 19 points in 21 minutes.
Devin Booker finished with 32 points for the Suns (38-36). Terrence Ross scored a season-high 30 points off the bench and hit six 3-pointers.

A recap of Friday night's slate of NBA action includes Memphis punching its ticket to the postseason.

Grizzlies earn playoff berth as Kennard makes 10 3-pointers

DETROIT (AP) &mdash; James Wiseman had 18 points and 14 rebounds as the Detroit Pistons ended an 11-game losing streak with a 117-97 win over the Indiana Pacers on Monday night.
The Pistons, who hadn&rsquo;t won since beating San Antonio 138-131 in double overtime on Feb. 10, led by 31 points in the first half and held off an Indiana surge late in the second quarter and early in the third.
&ldquo;When you come in having lost 11 or 12 games in a row - whatever it was - you know you have to stay focused to win a game,&rdquo; said Cory Joseph, who had a game-high 22 points. &ldquo;We played extremely hard and got off to a great start.&rdquo;
The Pacers beat Detroit 121-115 at Little Caesars Arena on Saturday night.
&ldquo;The difference in the two games was obvious,&rdquo; Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said. &ldquo;That was the edge the Pistons played with from start to end. We simply did not match it.&rdquo;
Jalen Duren put up 12 points and 11 rebounds and Killian Hayes had 10 points and 11 assists.
&ldquo;Our guys played with a lot of grit tonight, and I think we surprised the Pacers a little bit,&rdquo; Pistons coach Dwane Casey said. &ldquo;This was a little like the playoffs - we made some adjustments from Saturday and they made some adjustments - but the difference was our toughness.&rdquo;
Jordan Nwora had 20 points off the bench for Indiana.
As they had on Saturday, both teams played with shorthanded rosters. Detroit added Marvin Bagley III (ankle) to its lengthy injury list, while the Pacers were missing Tyrese Haliburton, Bennedict Mathurin, T.J. McConnell and Myles Turner.
Indiana dominated Saturday&rsquo;s first half inside, but Detroit took control early on Monday. The Pistons had a 20-6 edge on points in the paint and a 15-7 rebounding advantage as they outscored the Pacers 38-20 in the first quarter. Eugene Omoruyi, making his third NBA start, had 11 of his 17 points in the quarter.
&ldquo;We got a lot of easy shots early in the game on Saturday, but the Pistons really flipped the script on that tonight,&rdquo; Carlisle said. &ldquo;Omoruyi starting gave them more quickness and toughness in the lineup and we didn&rsquo;t get a lot of good shots.&rdquo;
Detroit led 52-23 after four minutes of the second quarter, but Indiana was back within 67-49 at halftime.
The Pacers cut the deficit to 69-57 early in the third quarter, but Detroit answered with a 13-point run to go up by 25 points.
TIP-INS
Pacers: Indiana went from 64 points in the paint and 26 second-chance points on Saturday to 44 and 14 on Monday. ... Chris Duarte was limited to 24 minutes by a sore ankle.
Pistons: Detroit&rsquo;s win was their first against a Central Division opponent this season after twelve straight losses. ... The Pistons hadn&rsquo;t won by a double-digit margin since beating Portland 135-118 on Jan. 11.
LOCAL HOLIDAY
The game drew 18,313 fans on for a special &ldquo;3-1-3 Day&rdquo; promotion. March 13 is celebrated as an unofficial holiday in Detroit as the date matches the city&rsquo;s area code.
&ldquo;The fans have stuck with us all season, and they&rsquo;ve been great during this losing streak,&rdquo; Joseph said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m glad we could get them a win on 3-1-3 Day.&rdquo;
UP NEXT
Pacers: Visit the Milwaukee Bucks on Thursday.
Pistons: Visit the Washington Wizards on Tuesday.

James Wiseman had 18 points and 14 rebounds as the Pistons ended an 11-game losing streak with a 117-97 win over the Pacers.

James Wiseman’s double-double helps Pistons end 11-game skid

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) &mdash; Jamal Shead scored 16 points, including the winning basket as time ran out, and top-ranked Houston won its 11th straight game, escaping a second-half rally to beat Memphis 67-65 in the teams&rsquo; regular-season finale.
Shead beat the buzzer with his jumper from just inside the 3-point line. Nine seconds earlier, Memphis&rsquo; Kendric Davis drove to the basket and tied the game at 65. Houston chose not to call timeout, and Shead gave the Cougars (29-2, 17-1 American Athletic Conference) the win.
Tramon Mark matched Shead&rsquo;s 16 points, while Marcus Sasser finished with 13 for Houston.
Davis led Memphis (23-8, 13-5) with 26 points, while Chandler Lawson added 10.
NO. 5 PURDUE 76, ILLINOIS 71
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. (AP) &mdash; Brandon Newman scored 19 points, Zach Edey added 17 and Purdue held on to beat Illinois and become the first team to win the Big Ten title by three or more games since 2014.
Braden Smith added 15 points for the Boilermakers (26-5, 15-5), who led by 24 early in the second half before the Illini rallied.
Matthew Mayer led the Illini (20-11, 11-9) with 16 points, followed by Terrence Shannon Jr. with 13, Sencire Harris with 11 and Luke Goode with 10.
The Boilermakers shot 62% for a 47-26 lead at halftime, but cooled to 29% in the second half. Mayer tied the game at 67 with 1:17 to go, but Edey&rsquo;s layup gave Purdue a 69-67 edge.
NO. 15 INDIANA 75, MICHIGAN 73, OT
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. (AP) &mdash; Trayce Jackson-Davis had 27 points, nine rebounds and six assists in his final home game, and Indiana forced a steal on Michigan&rsquo;s final possession of overtime.
The Hoosiers (21-10, 12-8) clinched a double bye in Friday&rsquo;s Big Ten Tournament quarterfinals by rebounding from their most lopsided home loss since 2017.
Hunter Dickinson had 24 points and 14 rebounds for Michigan (17-14, 11-9). Kobe Bufkin added 19 points and six rebounds, but the Wolverines wound up getting swept in the season series. It was the second straight overtime loss for Michigan.
Seniors Jackson-Davis, Race Thompson and Miller Kopp scored all six Indiana points in overtime.
PENN STATE 65, NO. 21 MARYLAND 64
STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (AP) &mdash; Camren Wynter made a layup with less than a second remaining to lift Penn State over Maryland.
Jalen Pickett scored 16 points, Andrew Funk had 14 and Myles Dread had 11 for the Nittany Lions (19-12, 10-10 Big Ten), who trailed by as many as 16 late in the first half.
Jahmir Young scored 14 of his 26 points in the second half for the Terps (20-11, 11-9), who entered the afternoon looking to earn the No. 2 seed in the Big Ten tournament. Julian Reese had 12 points for the Terps, while Don Carey and Ian Martinez added 11 each.

A recap of three games in top-25 men's action Sunday includes a game-winner from the top team in the country.

No. 1 Houston nips Memphis 67-65 for 11th straight win

Now in his eighth season with the Indiana Pacers, Myles Turner is easily the team&rsquo;s longest-tenured player. In fact, no other Pacer on the current roster has been in town longer than four seasons.
Turner arrived in Indiana as a wide-eyed teenager who was selected with the No. 11 overall pick in the 2015 NBA Draft. In the years that followed, Turner would watch as the team continually changed around him. He has played for four different head coaches &mdash; Frank Vogel, Nate McMillan, Nate Bjorkgren and Rick Carlisle &mdash; and witnessed a ton of roster turnover. But despite Turner&rsquo;s name surfacing in trade rumors annually, he has been the one constant in Indiana.
As a rookie, Turner suited up alongside stars like Paul George and Monta Ellis. During his sophomore campaign, he called Al Jefferson, Thaddeus Young, Jeff Teague and Lance Stephenson teammates. The following year, Victor Oladipo, Domantas Sabonis, Bojan Bogdanovic and Darren Collison joined the squad. Turner has also played with veterans such as Tyreke Evans, Ty Lawson, Rodney Stuckey, Caris LeVert, Doug McDermott, T.J. Warren and C.J. Miles over the years.
However, one could argue that no teammate has had a greater impact on Turner&rsquo;s game than his current star running mate: Tyrese Haliburton.
When the Pacers <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-interview-tyrese-haliburton-indiana-pacers-chad-buchanan-bennedict-mathurin-myles-turner-sacramento-kings-domantas-sabonis-trade-drew-hanlen" target="_blank" rel="noopener">acquired Haliburton from the Sacramento Kings</a> prior to last year&rsquo;s trade deadline, Turner was ecstatic. He was a fan of Haliburton&rsquo;s game and potential, and couldn&rsquo;t wait to team up with the pass-first point guard. Unfortunately, Turner wasn&rsquo;t able to play alongside Haliburton in the second half of last season due to a stress reaction in his foot.
This year, the Pacers&rsquo; one-two punch of Haliburton and Turner has been on full display, and they have become one of the most productive pick-and-roll duos in the NBA.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
pretty.😍 Tyrese Haliburton to Myles Turner for two. <a href="https://t.co/TupiSM909t">pic.twitter.com/TupiSM909t</a>
&mdash; Indiana Pacers (@Pacers) <a href="https://twitter.com/Pacers/status/1629656051175026688?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 26, 2023</a></blockquote>

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Turner has set 814 picks for Haliburton, which is the third-most of any pick-and-roll duo in the league, per Second Spectrum. The only tandems who have run the pick-and-roll more are Philadelphia&rsquo;s James Harden and Joel Embiid (893 picks) and Phoenix&rsquo;s Chris Paul and Deandre Ayton (897). Possessions featuring a Haliburton-Turner pick-and-roll have generated 1.063 points per possession &mdash; the fifth-best PPP of the 24 duos with at least 500 picks.
&ldquo;This has been a wonderful opportunity for Myles to play with a playmaking guard of Tyrese&rsquo;s caliber,&rdquo; Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle told Basketball News. &ldquo;A couple weeks ago, we checked and they were top-five or top-six in the league as a successful pick-and-roll connection, and that&rsquo;s pretty amazing. Myles is getting all different kinds of stuff &mdash; he&rsquo;s getting rolls for dunks, he's getting a little bit of mid-range, he's getting good looks for threes and he's getting some late passes underneath for dunks as well.
"I just love the force that he&rsquo;s playing with. Tyrese has had a wonderful impact on Myles and certainly the rest of the team, but the connection those two guys have has been special.&rdquo;
The partnership has been mutually beneficial. Turner gets easy looks from an elite floor general who ranks second among all players in assists per game (10.2) and assist percentage (46.9%), while Haliburton gets a unique big-man partner who can score inside (62.8% on twos) and out (40.3% on threes). It&rsquo;s no coincidence that both players are having career years.&nbsp;
Turner is averaging career-highs in points (18.2), rebounds (8.0), field-goal percentage (54.9%), three-point percentage (40.3%) and made threes (1.7), while also contributing 2.3 blocks, 1.4 deflections and 0.6 steals per game. Turner's dominance shows up in his analytics too, as he's posting personal bests in win shares per 48 minutes (.157), Box Plus/Minus (+2.6), True Shooting percentage (65.8%), Player Efficiency Rating (20.6) and total rebound rate (14.7%).
&ldquo;Myles has blossomed this year. We've seen the relationship with him and Ty; they're one of the best pick-and-roll [duos] in the league right now,&rdquo; Pacers president of basketball operations Kevin Pritchard said recently. &ldquo;This is the beginning of a nice core &mdash; no, a great core.&rdquo;&nbsp;
Meanwhile, Haliburton <a href="bit.ly/3AyPKHC" target="_blank" rel="noopener">became a first-time All-Star</a> after averaging career-highs in points (20.1), assists (10.1) and threes (2.8), while also contributing 3.7 rebounds and 1.7 steals per contest. Haliburton is also posting personal bests in advanced stats like assist percentage (46.9%), PER (23.0), VORP (3.8), BPM (+6.9) and WS/48 (.189).
&ldquo;It was unfortunate that I didn&rsquo;t get a chance to play with him last year and really start to develop that synergy, but I think we&rsquo;ve really picked it up quickly,&rdquo; Turner told Basketball News. &ldquo;Ty is someone who&rsquo;s easy to play with. Obviously, he sees the floor well. And as the season has progressed, we&rsquo;ve done a better job of communicating with each other. It&rsquo;s been a fun experience.&rdquo;
Despite the fact that they&rsquo;ve only played 44 games together, they have developed a strong connection and can often anticipate each other&rsquo;s next move.
&ldquo;I think I know what he&rsquo;s going to do before he does it in a sense,&rdquo; Turner said. &ldquo;I think that just comes with playing with him.&rdquo;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
this sequence.🔥 a huge block by Myles Turner followed by a huge dunk by Tyrese Haliburton.👀 <a href="https://t.co/4MpAf4Kp0B">pic.twitter.com/4MpAf4Kp0B</a>
&mdash; Indiana Pacers (@Pacers) <a href="https://twitter.com/Pacers/status/1630770909442191360?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 1, 2023</a></blockquote>

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&ldquo;We just needed time together, that&rsquo;s all,&rdquo; Haliburton told Basketball News. &ldquo;I feel like I&rsquo;ve had pretty good chemistry with my bigs throughout my NBA career, and I knew that playing with Myles wasn&rsquo;t going to be any different. He brings a different dynamic than what I&rsquo;m used to, with his ability to space the floor. And he&rsquo;s the best shot-blocker that I&rsquo;ve ever played with, so that gives me confidence on the defensive end to be able to take more risks and get into the ball a little bit more.
"I think it&rsquo;s a mutual relationship where he&rsquo;s got my back and I&rsquo;ve got his.&rdquo;
Not too long ago, Turner&rsquo;s days in Indiana seemed numbered. After all, the team traded away nearly all of its veterans last season (including Sabonis, LeVert, Torrey Craig, Justin Holiday and Jeremy Lamb), and Turner&rsquo;s name continued to pop up in trade rumors. However, since Turner is only 26 years old, the Pacers&rsquo; brass felt that he could be on a similar timeline as Haliburton, who is 23.
It certainly seems that the Pacers are building around this duo, especially after Turner was given a two-year, $60 million extension in January.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;m glad that we got it done. I think it was a win-win for both sides,&rdquo; Turner said. &ldquo;I think I have a good relationship with (Pacers owner) Herb Simon, and I think he has a big belief in what I&rsquo;m capable of as well. I&rsquo;m glad that we were able to come to terms on an agreement. Behind the scenes, for me personally, I was open to the idea of free agency, but I also wanted to at least give Indy a fair chance, and both sides came to an agreement.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;m comfortable. I&rsquo;m where I want to be. I&rsquo;m growing with a young team that&rsquo;s hungry. I think we&rsquo;re just trying to get better and better every day, and that&rsquo;s the main goal of this whole thing. I have a lot of belief in this city, a lot of belief in this program and a lot of belief in the guys in this locker room, so that was a big initial factor in me wanting to stay here.&rdquo;
Since Turner was a popular trade candidate, many fans of other teams got excited about the possibility of him joining their favorite squad. When Turner inked his extension with the Pacers, some of these fans reacted negatively &mdash; upset that he was no longer on the market.&nbsp;
&ldquo;What fans don&rsquo;t realize is that this is a business, and both sides have to do what&rsquo;s best for them,&rdquo; Turner said. &ldquo;Sometimes it doesn&rsquo;t work out where you&rsquo;re able to stay with the same team, but I&rsquo;ve been blessed and fortunate enough to be with the same team for my entire career. That&rsquo;s not something that happens a lot, and I never take that for granted. That was obviously something that went into my decision as well. For the casual fan, they have to realize that while basketball may be a fun game, the business aspect of it will always reign supreme.&rdquo;
As Turner mentioned, not many players stay with one NBA team for the entirety of their career. He admits that retiring in Indiana would mean a lot to him.
&ldquo;Yeah, obviously, it&rsquo;s something that would be very special,&rdquo; Turner said. &ldquo;Like I always talk about, the business of basketball always reigns supreme, but my loyalty is with the organization that drafted me and the city that took me in, and hopefully it&rsquo;s able to stay that way for years to come.&rdquo;&nbsp;
Turner has been a part of many different iterations of Pacers basketball. Now, looking at the current pieces around him, he&rsquo;s excited about the team&rsquo;s promising future.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve seen the growth in a lot of our young guys throughout the entire year,&rdquo; Turner said. &ldquo;The best thing for them was getting a chance to play early. For <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-feature-interview-indiana-pacers-rookie-andrew-nembhard-rick-carlisle-tj-mcconnell-gonzaga-florida" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Drew [Nembhard]</a>, Ben [Mathurin] and those guys, playing heavy minutes early was big for their development, and not every rookie has a chance to do that. The fact that they&rsquo;re getting battle-tested so early is going to bode well for them.
"I&rsquo;ve just enjoyed the overall spirit and fight of this team. We&rsquo;ve got a lot of guys who clock in and work hard day in and day out, and they&rsquo;re coming in here and getting a chance to compete after working their whole life to get here.&rdquo;
While playing alongside Haliburton has certainly helped Turner, the big man does deserve a lot of credit for the leap he has taken this season. He&rsquo;s put in a lot of hard work behind the scenes to maximize his potential and make the most of his opportunity.
&ldquo;I attribute [my career year] to patience and obviously the hard work I put in over the offseason to prepare for these moments,&rdquo; Turner explained. &ldquo;I also attribute it to just the years that I&rsquo;ve been in the league, where I&rsquo;ve been able to play out on the perimeter at the 4 position and now I&rsquo;m able to play my natural position (the 5).
"I&rsquo;m thankful that I was able to just stick it out those years that I was here and see what the other side of basketball was like, outside of just getting what you want when you want it. I think I waited my turn and, obviously, I&rsquo;m thriving now, and I&rsquo;m only hoping to get better from here.&rdquo;
Nekias Duncan contributed to this article.

Alex Kennedy catches up with Pacers big man Myles Turner to discuss his extension, playing with Tyrese Haliburton and more.

Pacers' perfect pairing: Turner, Haliburton form dominant 1-2 punch

Since entering the NBA in 2015, Myles Turner has seen his name surface in trade rumors constantly. One could argue that he's been featured in the rumor mill more than any other NBA player over that span.
Despite all of the rumblings, Turner has never actually been dealt. Even when the Indiana Pacers blew up their roster last season &mdash; trading away veterans like Domantas Sabonis, Caris LeVert, Torrey Craig, Justin Holiday and Jeremy Lamb &mdash; they ultimately decided to keep Turner.
Now, after signing a two-year, $60 million extension with the Pacers (that includes a $17.1 million renegotiation of his 2022-23 salary), it would seem that Turner isn't going anywhere.&nbsp;
On Monday, the team held a press conference to announce the extension and Pacers president of basketball operations Kevin Pritchard was asked if Turner is finally off the trade block.
"Yes, he's off the trade block!" Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle immediately chimed in.
"One of the things that we've always believed in here is that if you sign a player, it's to sign a player; we don't sign a player to trade a player," Pritchard said. "And Myles has blossomed this year. We've seen the relationship with him and Ty [Haliburton]; they're one of the best pick-and-roll [duos] in the league right now. This is the beginning of a nice core &mdash; no, a great core &mdash; and we signed Myles to be here. That's our goal."
"I'm here to stay," Turner added with a smile.
This season, Turner is averaging career-highs in points (17.5), rebounds (7.8), three-pointers (1.6), field goal percentage (54.4%) and three-point percentage (39.3%). Meanwhile, he continues to dominate defensively, averaging 2.4 blocks (fourth-most in the NBA) and 0.6 steals.
Looking at Turner's advanced stats, he's also posting career-bests in True Shooting percentage (64.8%), total rebound percentage (23.0%) and player efficiency rating (19.8).
"I'm gonna tell ya'll right now: I'm just getting started. The best version of myself is yet to come," Turner said. "I'm just leveling up each and every day."
"We've seen him play some of his best basketball this year and it really makes me proud to see Myles sitting here and accomplishing what he's accomplished," Pritchard added. "And I think his best is still to come."&nbsp;
<div class="mceNonEditable"><spike>&nbsp;</spike></div>
Carlisle praised Turner's development and said that he and his coaching staff "were hoping that this day would come very desperately."
&ldquo;Myles&rsquo; values and what he stands for really align with what we&rsquo;re trying to do here," Carlisle said. "His love of the game, his loyalty to his teammates and to this city and to our vision, and his commitment to growth has been something that&rsquo;s been great to see. And over the last year-and-a-half, he&rsquo;s transitioned back to his natural position as a full-time five man and we&rsquo;ve seen him flourish."
Pritchard revealed that the two sides had extension talks last year, but Turner chose to bet on himself and wait. One month ago, the negotiations started back up and they were able to reach an agreement.
&ldquo;Give Myles a ton of credit here because he took a risk,&rdquo; Pritchard said. &ldquo;We talked about an extension in the past, but he wanted to wait another year. He wanted to be in a position where he was playing the right position, the one that he&rsquo;s most comfortable with."
"This has been a really great example of a player having a vision and having the discipline and patience to wait it out and put himself in this great position with the right players [surrounding him]," Carlisle added.
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the squad pulled up to celebrate Myles Turner's contract extension.💙 <a href="https://t.co/ZTuB7BwYbP">pic.twitter.com/ZTuB7BwYbP</a>
&mdash; Indiana Pacers (@Pacers) <a href="https://twitter.com/Pacers/status/1620207893328039936?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 30, 2023</a></blockquote>
Many of Turner&rsquo;s teammates came in during their day off to show their support at the press conference and put in some extra work. Tyrese Haliburton, Buddy Hield, Andrew Nembhard, Bennedict Mathurin, Trevelin Queen, James Johnson and Oshae Brissett were all in attendance &mdash; a testament to the Pacers&rsquo; culture. Turner believes that this organization is building something special.
&ldquo;I think that that&rsquo;s a huge reason why I stayed here: I really truly believe that we can accomplish something here," Turner said. "You&rsquo;ve got to start from somewhere. We have a team that&rsquo;s on the up and up. Today was supposed to be our blackout day, but I see countless players here getting their work in. That&rsquo;s the type of stuff I respect and the type of stuff that I came up on... That made the decision really easy.&rdquo;
Pritchard acknowledged that the Pacers have exceeded expectations this year, which factored into the decision to extend Turner. Despite having one of the league&rsquo;s younger teams, Indiana is 24-28 &mdash; which is just a half game back from the Play-In Tournament and two games back from the Eastern Conference&rsquo;s eighth seed.&nbsp;
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Turner has been with the Pacers since he was 19 years old, and he appreciates the fact that he's been able to stick with one team up to this point in his NBA career.&nbsp;
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s still very surreal. Growing up here, I&rsquo;ve spent my entire 20s here," Turner said. "It&rsquo;s incredible to still see the same faces from the beginning of my journey. I have such a strong belief in this organization and this city&hellip;&nbsp;
&ldquo;I&rsquo;m still here where I started, and that&rsquo;s very special to me. I want to continue to grow here, continue to grow this organization, continue to grow with my team and put Indiana back on the map."

Rick Carlisle and Kevin Pritchard confirmed that Myles Turner is "off the trade block" after signing a two-year extension with the Pacers.

Following extension, Pacers take Myles Turner 'off the trade block'

While Myles Turner has come up in trade rumors over the past few years, he isn't going anywhere for now.
<a href="https://twitter.com/wojespn/status/1619454876685336580" target="_blank" rel="noopener">According to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski</a>, Turner and the Indiana Pacers have agreed on a two-year, $60 million contract extension that includes an additional $17.1 million renegotiation on his 2022-2023 salary.
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Indiana Pacers center Myles Turner has agreed on a two-year, $60M contract extension that includes an additional $17.1M renegotiation on his 2022-2023 salary, his agent Austin Brown of CAA Sports tells ESPN. <a href="https://t.co/17nSSwN14z">pic.twitter.com/17nSSwN14z</a>
&mdash; Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) <a href="https://twitter.com/wojespn/status/1619454876685336580?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 28, 2023</a></blockquote>

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Turner was set to become a free agent following the season. The Pacers were able to give him the additional $17 million in a renegotiation because the team was that far under the salary cap.&nbsp;
The 26-year-old center is averaging career-highs in points (17.5), rebounds (7.9), field goal percentage (54.4%) and three-point shooting (39.1%). He is a part of the young core in Indiana alongside third-year point guard Tyrese Haliburton and rookie guard Bennedict Mathurin.

Myles Turnes and the Indiana Pacers agree on a two-year, $60M extension.

Myles Turner, Pacers agree on two-year, $60 million extension

We have an MVP on the move, folks!
There's been a ton of smoke surrounding the New York Liberty landing a superstar this offseason. To the surprise of many, Breanna Stewart isn't&nbsp;the player heading to the northeast.
That honor goes to Jonquel Jones.
<a href="https://twitter.com/RachGall/status/1614741260493000704?s=20&amp;t=OsIqYHBdRYlwRpzsvN8M3g" target="_blank" rel="noopener">First reported</a> by Rachel Galligan of Winsidr, the Sun are trading the 2021 MVP to the Liberty as part of a three-team deal. Howard Megdal of The Next came through shortly after with the <a href="https://twitter.com/howardmegdal/status/1614753296064942082?s=20&amp;t=OsIqYHBdRYlwRpzsvN8M3g" target="_blank" rel="noopener">outline for the deal</a>.
Liberty receive: Jonquel Jones (CON), Kayla Thornton (DAL)
Wings receive: Natasha Howard (NYL), rights to Crystal Dangerfield (NYL)
Sun receive: No. 6 overall pick, Rebecca Allen (NYL), Ty Harris (DAL)
And before you could quizzically ask, "Wait, that's it?" about the Jones return for Connecticut, we got the she-asked-for-this nugget from ESPN's Alexa Philippou:
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BREAKING: Jonquel Jones is being traded to the New York Liberty, sources confirm to ESPN. The 2021 WNBA MVP with the Connecticut Sun requested the trade specifically to NY.<a href="https://twitter.com/RachGall?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@RachGall</a> had it first
&mdash; Alexa Philippou (@alexaphilippou) <a href="https://twitter.com/alexaphilippou/status/1614753043949535235?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 15, 2023</a></blockquote>

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So, wow. Superstar trades are fun. Superstar trades before free agency begins are even more fun, and help set up a good deal of (potential) fireworks.
On the Sun's side, Jones' departure actually helps them retain their top free agent. Brionna Jones, two-time All-Star and reigning Sixth Woman of the Year, was set to hit unrestricted free agency this offseason. With Jones heading to the Liberty, the Sun plan to use the core designation on Bri Jones, giving them exclusive negotiation rights &mdash; and locking in a one-year max offer for Jones, unless her and the Sun agree to a long-term deal.
Beyond that, I like the pieces the Sun added, even if the return still falls short of Jones' status in the league.
Harris should give the Sun another steady hand at point guard, something they lacked with Jasmine Thomas missing most of last season due to injury. That placed a heavier creation burden on All-World forward Alyssa Thomas, who practically served as the de facto point guard. With Harris providing depth, the Sun should have an easier time building cohesion in the half-court.&nbsp;
For a team that didn't take many threes &mdash; the Sun ranked 11th in three-point rate (26.1% of shot attempts) but third in percentage (35.4%) &mdash; Rebecca Allen could be a godsend. She's drained 37.2% of his threes over the past three seasons, an impressive mark considering a dip in efficiency last season (31.3% on 3.3 attempts per game). She cares very little about shot contests, and has a knack for finding space off the ball. It's easy to envision her presence taking pressure off of others, particularly in the half-court.
(Are you sensing a theme here?)
The Wings being included as the third team was interesting. There have been rumblings <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/wnba-trade-rumors-news-dallas-wings-forward-allisha-gray-expected-to-be-traded-connecticut-sun-chicago-sky-washington-mystics-atlanta-dream" target="_blank" rel="noopener">about their own star talent</a> (Allisha Gray) potentially being moved over the offseason. For the Wings to land an actual All-Star in Natasha Howard was a pleasant surprise.&nbsp;
Howard's a versatile talent, able to pop or roll as the ball screener, put the ball on the deck against larger opponents, and bully her way to the basket against smaller ones. Her activity on the defensive end, notably her quick hands, allows her to play in &mdash; or quarterback the back end of &mdash; more aggressive coverages. That could become important depending on who her frontcourt partner will be this season.
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Former Rookie of the Year Crystal Dangerfield is a walking (running?) paint touch that could serve as a nice replacement to Ty Harris. She was able to find life as a complementary piece to Sabrina Ionescu last season, with her ability to pressure the rim helping to unlock Ionescu as an off-ball threat. She could provide similar value playing alongside Arike Ogunbowale or Marina Mabrey whenever the other is on the bench.
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Of course, the true winners of the deal are the Liberty.&nbsp;
Jones is, at worst, one of the six best players in The W. Even in a down year statistically &mdash; one that says more about the re-emergence of Alyssa Thomas, and a little bit about the inconsistent usage of Jones &mdash; Jones still earned All-WNBA and All-Defensive Second Team honors.
Players the size of Jones aren't supposed to be able to move the way she does, shoot the way she does or handle the way she does. That she can blend all of that together makes her one of the most difficult covers in the league.
On one possession, you can find Jones bullying some poor defender on the block. On another, you can find her spaced on the perimeter, one pass away from another post-up or a ball screen. A kick to her can lead to a three (that defenders have no chancd of contesting, thanks to her release point), or a catch-and-drive that most bigs in the league aren't equipped to deal with.&nbsp;
If you want to get fancy, you can run Jones off of screens. I don't mean simple cross screens to clear a side for a post-up or isolation &mdash; though you can obviously do that. You can run Jones off pindowns, off staggers, use her as the third&nbsp;screener in Spain pick-and-roll actions or anything else you can think of because of her footwork and ability to shoot off movement.
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And on other possessions, you don't even have to draw up anything. Because of her defensive prowess, she can kickstart her own offense by grabbing a board and pushing the ball in the open floor.
In short, Jones is an absolute monster.
Pairing her with Ionescu &mdash; one of the best pick-and-roll ball-handlers in the league to put it lightly &mdash; is patently unfair. Jones hasn't played with a ball-handler this dynamic; Ionescu hasn't a screening partner like this, and certainly hasn't played with a big who can clean up messes on the other end like (an engaged) Jones can.
But not only did the Liberty land Jones, but they were also able to snag Kayla Thornton from Dallas as well. The Liberty were a middling defense last season (No. 7 in defensive rating), but struggled on the perimeter. Adding Thornton, a multi-positional defender who can disrupt things on and off the ball, should help shore things up. Having Jones, Thornton and a healthy Betnijah Laney should give the Liberty a solid foundation.
There will be questions up and down the board. The Sun will need to nail the sixth overall pick if they keep it &mdash; much like they did with Jones in 2016 &mdash; to make the fan base feel better. You don't really replace an MVP, but it's hard to overstate just how much scoring gravity (and versatility) is walking out the door. Bri Jones can capture a good bit of the interior force, but shooting will still be a question mark overall.
Howard is certainly a talent upgrade, but it's worth wondering just how fluidly the offense will operate. Thornton is a lesser offensive talent, but her ability to fill gaps complemented the Ogunbowale-Mabrey backcourt. Howard will require more touches &mdash; obviously fine, but it's worth noting she isn't, say, Candace Parker as a high post passing hub. There will likely be some growing pains.
There's less to question on the Liberty front, but implementing Jones may not be an early slam dunk. Even with Ionescu shifting more off the ball in the second half of the year, she still finished in the top 10 in usage rate &mdash; and, if the tracking were available, I'd bet she ranked just as highly in touches per game. Jones wasn't always utilized as frequently as an MVP should be &mdash; something I imagine factored at least somewhat into her desire to be traded.
Still, it's hard not to be excited about &mdash; or terrified of &mdash; what the Liberty can become. Per Myles Ehrlich of Winsidr, the Liberty actually&nbsp;<a href="https://winsidr.com/2023/01/trade-report-jonquel-jones-to-liberty-in-a-three-team-deal-between-ny-connecticut-and-dallas/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">created&nbsp;more cap space</a> with this trade. The rumors of Stewart in New York aren't dead.
And if the Liberty are able to land Jones and Stewart in the same offseason... whew, buddy, I don't know what you do with that kind of star power.&nbsp;

Nekias Duncan looks Sunday's three-team mega trade involving Jonquel Jones from all angles.

WNBA trade: Connecticut Sun star Jonquel Jones heads to New York Liberty

The Los Angeles Lakers currently have the third-worst record in the Western Conference (8-12). While they boast the NBA's eighth-best defense, their offense ranks 24th in the league (scoring just 107.4 points per 100 possessions). This mediocre start has many fans wondering whether the team will make a move.
While Russell Westbrook's name has been popping up in trade scenarios for months, Jovan Buha of The Athletic believes that the Lakers may look to make more of a minor trade involving Patrick Beverley and Kendrick Nunn.
&ldquo;We know Russell Westbrook has been in a bunch of trade rumors. The team is still actively trying to trade him, though they&rsquo;re unsure of what they want to do with their picks..." Buha said on <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2PFAuTQ6yYY&amp;feature=youtu.be" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ESPN LA</a>, per <a href="https://www.silverscreenandroll.com/2022/11/30/23487028/lakers-trade-rumors-patrick-beverley-kendrick-nunn-russell-westbrook-salary" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Silver Screen and Roll</a>. "So I think looking at Pat and Kendrick specifically, those have been the two names that have come up a lot in potential deals where the Lakers could package those guys together and get to about $20 million combined and then you throw in a first-round pick potentially, and all of a sudden there are a lot of options where you get upwards of $22-25 million back in salary and throw in a pick and maybe you get a high-level starter or two coming back the other way if its a rebuilding team that&rsquo;s looking to shed some salary.&rdquo;
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Beverley has appeared in 15 games, averaging 4.2 points, 3.9 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 0.9 steals on .268/.234/.824 shooting splits. Nunn has played in 18 games, averaging 5.8 points, 2.2 threes, 1.4 rebounds and 1.3 assists on .364/.291/.889 shooting splits.
Buha believes the team's performance over the next few weeks will determine how aggressive the front office is on the trade market.
&ldquo;For the Lakers, right now they&rsquo;re looking at, &lsquo;Do we make a smaller move where we move a Pat, move a Kendrick, we move both with potentially a pick and just keep Russ off the bench as our Sixth Man and get a wing in here, get another big and upgrade that way? Or do we do a big move with Russ that&rsquo;s probably going to require attaching two picks and really kind of tear this thing down in terms of salary and bring in a Myles Turner and Buddy Hield or someone else?&rsquo; So I think right now they&rsquo;re weighing that," Buha said. "They&rsquo;re leaning more towards a smaller move of a Pat or a Kendrick, or both, but I think really the next 5-10 games are going to determine what they do...&nbsp;
"They have to get some impressive wins, beat some teams above .500 and show that this team has a pulse for them to invest in trading a first-round pick or two. If not, I think they&rsquo;ll look for a smaller move that still upgrades the roster and gives them more of a chance, but isn&rsquo;t going all-in the way that I think you&rsquo;d have to be more confident in this core [to do].&rdquo;
The NBA trade deadline isn't until Feb. 9, 2023, so the Lakers have more than two months to tweak their roster (if desired).
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Will the Lakers trade Russell Westbrook or will they try to pull off a smaller deal involving Patrick Beverley and Kendrick Nunn?

Lakers looking at possible Patrick Beverley, Kendrick Nunn trades

As we reach the quarter mark of the 2022-23 NBA season, gusting trade winds are right around the corner. In two weeks on Dec. 15, conversations around the league will kick into another gear, as many players who were acquired in the offseason will be allowed to be dealt elsewhere.
Which players stand out most as potential trade candidates over the next few months? Let&rsquo;s take an early peek at some of the names that already have some steam behind them.
Myles Turner, Indiana Pacers
Off to the best start of his career, averaging 18.2 points, 8.1 rebounds and 2.6 blocks on a 68.8% True Shooting percentage, Turner&rsquo;s trade stock will only rise heading toward February&rsquo;s deadline. Always an underrated big man with elite rim-protection prowess, Turner becoming more of a consistent offensive focal point was the missing ingredient for years. Situation and usage played a big role in Turner&rsquo;s roller-coaster scoring ways, but he&rsquo;s now being fed by arguably the NBA&rsquo;s best passing point guard.
Tyrese Haliburton is the perfect facilitator to showcase Turner&rsquo;s modern skill set, which was relatively untapped as he was parked in the corner playing alongside Domantas Sabonis as a jumbo-sized 4. Now, Turner and Haliburton are creating dynamite in pick-and-roll situations. The former Texas Longhorn is scoring 1.30 points per possession as a roll man, and in 332 minutes together, the Haliburton-Turner duo carries a plus-4.5 Net Rating (113.9 Offensive Rating, 109.5 Defensive Rating) as well.
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Timing Patience &amp; Opportunity 🙏🏾 <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/thankful?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#thankful</a> <a href="https://t.co/89zG5xmCtl">https://t.co/89zG5xmCtl</a>
&mdash; Myles Turner (@Original_Turner) <a href="https://twitter.com/Original_Turner/status/1596358483737481217?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 26, 2022</a></blockquote>

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Indiana is in such an advantageous position following its surprisingly hot start. Already possessing three first-round picks in the 2023 NBA Draft, the Pacers could soon capitalize on a career-best running start from Turner.
How the Pacers fare on their extended west coast road trip will tell us whether this team is a legitimate Eastern Conference Play-In Tournament competitor or not, which ties right into the unsteady future of Turner and a fellow teammate...
Buddy Hield, Indiana Pacers
Added to the Sabonis-Haliburton trade as salary filler, Hield has taken full advantage of the ultimate green light that Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle has given him. In 45 games thus far in Indiana, Hield is averaging 17.8 points and 3.9 assists per contest as a full-time starter. With only two years remaining on his contract, Hield&rsquo;s three-point shooting expertise makes him a prime trade target for a multitude of teams.
With how the Pacers&rsquo; roster is currently constructed, Hield is getting in the way of both Bennedict Mathurin and Chris Duarte getting extended minutes. This hasn&rsquo;t been a problem as of late with Duarte sitting out with a sprained ankle; however, beforehand, it was a jumbled mess trying to find the 2021 lottery pick consistent run behind Hield. As Mathurin headlines the Rookie of the Year race, allowing more minutes for the young core should be of the utmost importance here.
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Although Indiana is off to a much better start than anyone expected, they are beating up on teams well below .500. As the schedules goes up another rung in toughness over the next few weeks, the Pacers' preseason expectations could average out. With the way Hield is playing, Indiana wouldn&rsquo;t have to sell hard to find a taker.
Bojan Bogdanovic, Detroit Pistons
The Pistons quietly put together a fantastic offseason to surround former No. 1 overall pick Cade Cunningham with the necessary pieces to create a feisty Play-In contender. Jaden Ivey and Jalen Duren were fantastic selections in this past summer's draft, but their late acquisition of Bogdanovic was a coup on value. Immediately, Bogdanovic paid dividends alongside Cunningham and Ivey as a floor-spacing stretch 4 who could put the ball on the floor. But now, with Cunningham&rsquo;s shin injury feared to be potentially season-ending, Detroit is knee-deep in the Victor Wembanyama race, checking in with a 5-17 record.
Bogdanovic signed a two-year, $39.1 million extension less than two weeks into the regular season. However, the veteran is still immediately trade-eligible, instantly making him one of the most appealing transcational chips for a team needing an offensive jolt.
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This is a clear example of the value of a high-level shooter alongside the Pistons' cornerstones. Bojan Bogdanovic's ghost screen stresses the defense + opens up a driving lane for Jaden Ivey, who capitalizes on it. Complementary veterans are so crucial for rebuilding teams. <a href="https://t.co/VY4gJcJ5Zq">pic.twitter.com/VY4gJcJ5Zq</a>
&mdash; Jackson Frank (@jackfrank_jjf) <a href="https://twitter.com/jackfrank_jjf/status/1585772044654096384?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 27, 2022</a></blockquote>

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Another player off to a career-best start statistically &mdash; 20.6 points on a 63.3% True Shooting percentage &mdash; the Pistons are in the ideal position to sell as high as possible. Bogdanovic should be able to net either a protected first-round pick or an appealing young prospect. Plenty of teams reportedly showed interest in Bogdanovic before he was traded to the Pistons, including the Los Angeles Lakers and the Phoenix Suns.
Don&rsquo;t be surprised when the Pistons open the phone lines again. Committing to the Wembanyama race makes the most sense for any team leading the reverse standings right now.
Jae Crowder, Phoenix Suns
If you had forgotten about the Crowder saga still ongoing in the Valley, nobody would blame you. After requesting a trade, reportedly due to Cameron Johnson earning his starting spot, Crowder is still away from the team as Phoenix searches for the best possible deal.
The Suns' original hope internally was to find a Crowder deal back in October, preferably before the regular season as head coach Monty Williams said. Instead, the market is telling Phoenix there are not many takers for the 32-year-old wing. The Athletic&rsquo;s Shams Charania mentioned the Milwaukee Bucks and Atlanta Hawks as potential suitors for Crowder since his request.
Johnson suffered a torn meniscus a few weeks back that will sideline him for another month at least. That has to bring some sort of urgency to the Western Conference-leading Suns. Even with no Crowder and Johnson out for a good chunk of the season, Phoenix is still firing on all cylinders with one reliable wing in ironman Mikal Bridges. Also, incredibly enough, the Suns' offense hasn&rsquo;t fallen off at all with Chris Paul watching as a spectator because of a nagging heel injury.
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Eventually, Phoenix must make a win-now move by utilizing Crowder&rsquo;s $10 million salary. If the Suns want to make an even more aggressive push, they can attach Dario Saric&rsquo;s expiring contract alongside Crowder, which would allow them to bring back close to $25 million in salary. Charania reported the Suns have had exploratory talks around Crowder for Atlanta&rsquo;s John Collins, Washington&rsquo;s Kyle Kuzma, Sacramento&rsquo;s Harrison Barnes and Houston&rsquo;s KJ Martin.
There appears to be little traction right now, but keep an eye on this Crowder situation eventually reaching a resolution. Once the Suns are back to full health, they will stay right near the top of the West.
Even more names and teams will continue to pop up between now and Dec. 15, but silly season in the NBA is starting to appear on the horizon. How some of these aforementioned teams operate will go a long way toward deciding how active this deadline period could soon become.

As the NBA reaches the quarter mark, which players stand out as potential early-season trade candidates? Evan Sidery explores.

Analyzing 4 potential early-season NBA trade targets

There were little to no expectations for the Indiana Pacers entering this season. Entering a new era headlined by emerging point guard Tyrese Haliburton, Indiana was a preseason favorite in the Victor Wembanyama derby. Instead, Indiana checks in with a 9-6 record, including wins in eight of their last 10 games.
With this early-season surge, the Pacers' young core is turning heads and it's clear that this team is just scratching the surface.
Haliburton is making the leap to All-Star candidate, averaging 20.6 points, 10.5 assists and 1.9 steals on an eye-opening 62.3% True Shooting. As the engine of Indiana&rsquo;s offense, Haliburton has helped vault their offensive rating to No. 7 in the Association, averaging 114.0 points per 100 possessions.
The brilliance of Haliburton is his ability to elevate the numbers of everyone around him, which includes feeding Myles Turner consistently to a career-best in scoring (18.2 PPG). Incredibly enough, Indiana&rsquo;s entire starting lineup, sans Jalen Smith, is shooting above 40% on three-point attempts with Haliburton as the trigger-puller.
Alongside Haliburton is the early Rookie-of-the-Year candidate, Bennedict Mathurin, who was picked No. 6 overall and may be a sleeper in the Sixth Man of the Year race as well. Mathurin instantly displayed his natural knack for scoring the basketball in a multitude of ways. Not only can Mathurin effortlessly slash to the rim, he can pull up with no hesitation thanks to beautiful shot mechanics. Mathurin&rsquo;s perimeter prowess immediately translated too, as he's converting 42.7% on threes with adequate volume (5.9 3PA).
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Eventually, Mathurin will move into a full-time role next to Haliburton in the Pacers&rsquo; starting unit, but being the featured piece off the bench has allowed for scoring binges at a rapid pace, including 18 points in one quarter. It&rsquo;s hard to describe the &ldquo;It&rdquo; factor Mathurin possesses, but he oozes confidence. Based on early indications, the Pacers may have hit a grand slam drafting Mathurin, which could already be fast-tracking expectations in Indianapolis.
The word &ldquo;rebuild&rdquo; wasn&rsquo;t thrown around much by the Pacers&rsquo; front office, as they viewed this as more of a multi-season re-tooling because they already had a few foundational pieces on the roster. Thanks in large part to this backcourt duo, Indiana currently sits in the No. 5 slot in the Eastern Conference.
Haliburton and Mathurin are creating fireworks for the Pacers&rsquo; offense, but there are also a few other surprises within this 15-game sample size. While Chris Duarte is sidelined due to an ankle injury, second-round pick Andrew Nembhard has been starting. Already, Nembhard has a veteran-like feel to his game with noticeable two-way versatility because of his consistent on-ball defense and three-point shooting. The former Gonzaga product more often than not is taking on the Pacers&rsquo; toughest defensive assignment, which speaks volumes to how much head coach Rick Carlisle trusts the rookie. In multi-man efficiency stats, combinations featuring Nembhard all rank near the top since he makes so many winning plays. On a rebuilding team, having a reliable piece like this could pay huge dividends down the road.
Because of the strong returns from the Pacers&rsquo; young core, career-best campaigns from Buddy Hield and Myles Turner are flying under the radar. Already possessing three first-round picks in the 2023 NBA Draft, Indiana could be in a very advantageous position to cash in once again between now and February&rsquo;s trade deadline.
Turner is becoming a more reliable offensive threat coupled with his elite shot blocking, averaging 18.2 points, 8.9 rebounds and 3.0 blocks on 67.6% True Shooting. Meanwhile, Hield is putting up 18.0 points, 4.9 rebounds and 3.0 assists while shooting 40.3% on threes.
Following an offseason-long rumor mill pertaining to Turner and Hield potentially being traded to the Los Angeles Lakers for Russell Westbrook&rsquo;s expiring contract, both of Indiana&rsquo;s veteran leaders are thriving. And with their success in the win-loss column, the next month could be huge in deciding the long-term fate of both players in Indiana. If the Pacers maintain their strong start, this team all of a sudden could be looking like a play-in contender in the first year of their rebuilding efforts.
Simply put, the Pacers are too good to tank their way to a 20-win record. All of the following players for the Pacers have consistently flashed: Haliburton, Mathurin, Turner, Hield, Nembhard, Jalen Smith, Isaiah Jackson, Aaron Nesmith. Add in Duarte, who was one of the best scorers from the 2021 rookie class, and Indiana is one big offseason away from rebounding to consistent-playoff-threat status within the East.
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When Indiana decided to ship off two-time All-Star Domantas Sabonis to the Sacramento Kings in exchange for Haliburton and Hield at last season&rsquo;s trade deadline, it was a pivotal moment for the organization to reset. Putting a lid on expectations for the team for the next few years internally, this core instead may very well be ahead of schedule.
Don&rsquo;t look now, but the Pacers are quickly becoming an NBA-League-Pass favorite because of their fast-paced brand of basketball. Also, they&rsquo;re finding an identity on defense over their last 10 games, ranking No. 8 in defensive rating. Indiana ranks in the top-10 in offensive rating and defensive rating &mdash; only the Boston Celtics and Cleveland Cavaliers can say the same over that span.
Whichever direction the rest of the season takes for Indiana, the internal signs of growth are blindingly bright. Haliburton and Mathurin have immense potential as a complementary backcourt pairing, and it seems there are a number of players who could be involved in the Pacers' long-term vision.
Possessing oodles of cap space and multiple first-round picks, Indiana will be operating in the driver&rsquo;s seat from a potential trade-negotiation standpoint over the next few months. Right now, the ship is certainly turned in the right direction for a franchise in search of consistent stabilization once more.

One of the NBA's biggest early-season surprises resides in Indianapolis, where the Pacers are blossoming into a fun team.

Pacers' early-season promise gives a peek at long-term outlook

Before every season, I do my best to predict how I think the season will unfold &mdash; where teams will finish and who&rsquo;ll win each individual award. Heck, I even try my hand at predicting the All-NBA/Rookie/Defensive Teams.
Those efforts are generally meaningless; you can never truly account for injuries or transactions, for example, which makes it nearly impossible to truly nail these things down. Still, it&rsquo;s incredibly fun to take a look at the landscape of the league and make educated guesses.
Normally, I&rsquo;d thread my predictions on Twitter since it&rsquo;s a quick and easy way to get those thoughts out into the world. The issue is explaining controversial picks with a character limit; if you&rsquo;ve been on the app for any amount of time, you know how quickly discussions can go left.
Instead, I&rsquo;ve turned my predictions into an article. It&rsquo;ll be easier to track my predictions, and I have the space to explain my reasoning in a more thorough manner.&nbsp;
If you want to laugh at last year's edition &mdash; in which I had the Milwaukee Bucks beating the Los Angeles Lakers in the Finals &mdash; you can do so <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/202122-nba-season-and-award-predictions" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here</a>.
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If you want deeper thoughts on your favorite team, read our season previews for the <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/2022-23-nba-season-preview-atlantic-division-boston-celtics-brooklyn-nets-new-york-knicks-philadelphia-76ers-sixers-toronto-raptors" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Atlantic Division</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/2022-23-nba-season-preview-northwest-division-denver-nuggets-minnesota-timberwolves-oklahoma-city-okc-thunder-portland-trail-blazers-utah-jazz" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Northwest Division</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/2022-23-nba-season-preview-central-division-chicago-bulls-cleveland-cavaliers-detroit-pistons-indiana-pacers-milwaukee-bucks" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Central Division</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/202223-nba-season-preview-pacific-division" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Pacific Division</a>, <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/202223-nba-season-preview-southeast-division" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Southeast Division</a> and <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/202223-nba-season-preview-southwest-division" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Southwest Division</a>.
Without further ado, here&rsquo;s how I see things going this season.
Individual Awards
Most Valuable Player: Joel Embiid (PHI)
Defensive Player of the Year:&nbsp;Bam Adebayo (MIA)
Rookie of the Year: Paolo Banchero (ORL)
Sixth Man of the Year: Jordan Poole (GSW)
Most Improved Player: Precious Achiuwa (TOR)
Coach of the Year: Ty Lue (LAC)
- This kinda has to be the year for Embiid, no? Back-to-back second-place finishes set the stage for him to grab one if he proves healthy. This is arguably the most talented cast he's had around him. If he's healthy and commits defensively like he said he wants to, an MVP-DPOY combo isn't out of the question.
- Adebayo is the&nbsp;switch big in the NBA, one of a handful of players that can legitimately defend all five positions. Missed games hurt his case last season, but I think the award is his if he plays 65-plus games.&nbsp;
- Banchero should lead all rookies in scoring &mdash; well, unless Bennedict Mathurin pulls it off. The bucket-getting, plus playmaking chops, on a team that I think will be better than most people expect should give him a clear pathway to the award.
- I have a couple of sleepers-that-aren't-sleepers; keep an eye on <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-feature-intreview-bruce-brown-feeling-secure-in-new-role-denver-nuggets-nikola-jokic-jamal-murray-brooklyn-nets" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Bruce Brown</a> and Brandon Clarke. Ultimately, Poole should lead all bench players in scoring &mdash; and do so efficiently &mdash; while racking up wins on one of the best teams in the league.
- Lue's been a top-three coach for a while now. Getting a 10-plus win improvement (even if it's health-related) while sorting out the rotation of a roster with 13 NBA-level talents would be a pretty strong case.
Team Awards
ALL-NBA FIRST TEAM:&nbsp;Stephen Curry, Luka Doncic, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Jayson Tatum, Joel Embiid
ALL-NBA SECOND TEAM:&nbsp;Trae Young, Ja Morant, Paul George, Kevin Durant, Nikola Jokic
ALL-NBA THIRD TEAM:&nbsp;Devin Booker, Jimmy Butler, Pascal Siakam, LeBron James, Bam Adebayo
ALL-DEFENSIVE FIRST TEAM: Marcus Smart, Mikal Bridges, Draymond Green, Bam Adebayo, Joel Embiid
ALL-DEFENSIVE SECOND TEAM: Jrue Holiday, Herb Jones, Jimmy Butler, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Rudy Gobert
ALL-ROOKIE FIRST TEAM: Jaden Ivey, Bennedict Mathurin, Keegan Murray, Jabari Smith, Paolo Banchero
ALL-ROOKIE SECOND TEAM:&nbsp;Jalen Williams, Jake LaRavia, Jeremy Sochan, Tari Eason, Jalen Duren
- For the All-NBA Teams, apologies are due, but not limited to: Kawhi Leonard (rest days, deep class), Rudy Gobert (deep class), Karl-Anthony Towns (deep class), Anthony Davis (injury, deep class), Chris Paul (deep class, likely regression), Kyrie Irving (deep class), Brandon Ingram (deep class), Zion Williamson (missed time), Bradley Beal (team record), Jaylen Brown (deep class) and Anthony Edwards (deep class).
- Until the ballot becomes positionless &mdash; or at least until they give us two backcourt and three frontcourt options like the All-Star ballot &mdash; a center will get screwed. I think Embiid gets MVP this year, so Jokic falls to the Second Team. They aren't forwards, and won't be played as forwards. I'm not goin'.
- This will be the Herb Jones year if he's healthy. Should've been last year, but I'll save that rant for another day. While we're on second-year players, it wouldn't shock me at all if Evan Mobley makes serious noise in this regard too.
- The All-Rookie First Team seems pretty straightforward. A solid mix of talent and opportunity on the board.
- The LaRavia pick might be spicy, especially if the defense doesn't come along quickly enough. I do think there's enough shooting and connective playmaking there that he could earn consistent ticks in Memphis.
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Eastern Conference
TOP SIX
<ol>
<li>PHILADELPHIA 76ERS</li>
<li>BOSTON CELTICS</li>
<li>MILWAUKEE BUCKS</li>
<li>MIAMI HEAT</li>
<li>CLEVELAND CAVALIERS</li>
<li>TORONTO RAPTORS</li>
</ol>
- This should be a darn good year for the Sixers. Talented top-four &mdash; I'm really here for this decisive version of Tobias Harris &mdash; and more defensive talent on the roster.
- I get the depth/age concerns for the Bucks, but, like, Giannis. Top-10 offense and defense should be in play for them.
- Questions at the 3 aside, the Cavs should be incredibly annoying to deal with. All that size defensively, then the pull-up chops on the other end from Darius Garland and Donovan Mitchell? Whew.
PLAY-IN TERRITORY
<ol start="7">
<li>BROOKLYN NETS</li>
<li>ATLANTA HAWKS</li>
<li>CHICAGO BULLS</li>
<li>NEW YORK KNICKS</li>
</ol>
- Seventh feels right for Brooklyn considering the strength of the conference and the early absences of Joe Harris and Seth Curry. I must say, though, I like what they're establishing scheme-wise. A top-four seed wouldn't surprise me at all.
THE REST
<ol start="11">
<li>ORLANDO MAGIC</li>
<li>WASHINGTON WIZARDS</li>
<li>DETROIT PISTONS</li>
<li>CHARLOTTE HORNETS</li>
<li>INDIANA PACERS</li>
</ol>
- I'm prepared to take my L, but I'm high on the Magic this year. There's so much skilled size on the roster. The defense should be solid, and there's enough playmaking and shot creation to make things interesting offensively.
- Already making a change from the <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/podcasts/the-dunker-spot/episodes/basketballnews-com-episode-145-southeast-division-preview" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Southeast Division preview pod</a>; I think the Hornets will be worse than the Wizards. Post-pod, I felt I was too harsh on Washington. Since then, we've gotten a LaMelo Ball ankle turn and a James Bouknight arrest, and we've still heard nothing on the Miles Bridges front (he shouldn't be there). They're closer to the bottom for me now.
- I entered training camp ready to plant the "Pistons make the Play-In" flag, but I feel really uneasy about their switching scheme. That, and the half-court offense is going to take some time to come together. Next year, though!
Western Conference 
TOP SIX
<ol>
<li>GOLDEN STATE WARRIORS</li>
<li>PHOENIX SUNS</li>
<li>DENVER NUGGETS</li>
<li>LA CLIPPERS</li>
<li>MEMPHIS GRIZZLIES</li>
<li>DALLAS MAVERICKS</li>
</ol>
- An uptick of shooting from Curry, a healthier version of Klay Thompson and growth from the youth should lead to bundles of regular-season wins.
- Despite the ugly postseason ending and offseason hoopla, the Suns have a formula (and talent, obviously) to churn out regular-season wins. Let's not overreact.
- Early spoiler: I think the Clippers have the most talented roster in the league. I think star maintenance and lineup tinkering have them closer to No. 6 than No. 1 in the standings.
PLAY-IN TERRITORY
<ol start="7">
<li>MINNESOTA TIMBERWOLVES</li>
<li>NEW ORLEANS PELICANS</li>
<li>LA LAKERS</li>
<li>PORTLAND TRAIL BLAZERS</li>
</ol>
- The Pels! They should be electric offensively. Defensively, they have pieces I like &mdash; hello Mr. Jones, Jose Alvarado and Larry Nance Jr. &mdash; but we'll see how they hold up as a unit.
- I have some real questions about the Lakers' shooting talent and the Westbrook fit &mdash; and how long he'll even be there. There's an obvious upside for more if things break right.
- It hasn't been from a lack of effort, but trying to build a defense around a Damian Lillard-Anfernee Simons-Jusuf Nurkic core is just a tough thing to do.&nbsp;
THE REST
<ol start="11">
<li>SACRAMENTO KINGS</li>
<li>HOUSTON ROCKETS</li>
<li>OKLAHOMA CITY THUNDER</li>
<li>UTAH JAZZ</li>
<li>SAN ANTONIO SPURS</li>
</ol>
- If the Fightin' KZs Kings are able to defend well enough &mdash; and by that, I mean, like 21st in Defensive Rating &mdash; don't be surprised if they nab 10th. The offense should be good enough to make a push.
- The Rockets are a year of development (and roster consolidation) away from making a Play-In push, I think.
Eastern Conference Playoffs
PLAY-IN TOURNAMENT
Nets &gt; Hawks for 7th.
Bulls &gt; Knicks for 9th.
Hawks &gt; Bulls for 8th.
- A sad end for the Bulls here, but this is simply the strength of the conference. It'll be tremendous fun watching Young try to create space against Alex Caruso or Ayo Dosunmu at the point of attack.
FIRST ROUND
(1) Sixers &gt; (8) Hawks in 5.
(4) Heat &gt; (5) Cavs in 6.&nbsp;
(2) Celtics &gt; (7) Nets in 7.
(3) Bucks &gt; (6) Raptors in 6.&nbsp;
- With the Sixers adding to their defensive personnel and the Hawks looking a little worse in the shooting department, I think the chances of an(other) upset are pretty slim.
- The Nets fare better the second time around against Brooklyn, but I still don't think they have enough defenders to deal with Boston. Should be the best series of the first round, though.
- Bucks-Raptors will be a slugfest; ultimately, I don't know if the Raptors will have the half-court juice to pull things out.&nbsp;
SECOND ROUND
(1) Sixers &gt; (4) Heat in 6.
(3) Bucks &gt; (2) Celtics in 7.
- A pair of second-round sequels with the results flipped! Having Khris Middleton back &mdash; and a little more size, shooting and playmaking with Joe Ingles &mdash; gives the Bucks the boost they need to squeeze by. If Philly's healthy, I struggle to see Miami containing all three of Embiid, Harden and Maxey.
EASTERN CONFERENCE FINALS
(3) Bucks &gt; (1) Sixers in 6.
- Bucks steal home court in Game 1 and close the deal at home in Game 6. They have the size to make Embiid think and a defender in Holiday to either hound Maxey or absorb some of Harden's strength-based drives.
Western Conference Playoffs
PLAY-IN TOURNAMENT&nbsp;
Pelicans &gt; Wolves for 7th.&nbsp;
Lakers &gt; Blazers for 9th.&nbsp;
Wolves &gt; Lakers for 8th.
- I went back and forth on the Lakers-Wolves game. Still don't feel great about it, but I think the Wolves take care of business at home.
FIRST ROUND
(1) Warriors &gt; (8) Wolves in 4.
(4) Clippers &gt; (5) Grizzlies in 6.
(3) Nuggets &gt; (6) Mavericks in 6.
(2) Suns &gt; (7) Pelicans in 6.
- Clippers-Grizzlies feels like Storm-Mystics from this year's WNBA playoffs; there's no way one of these teams should be knocked out of the first round. I'd worry about the Grizzlies' half-court offense against LA's defense.
- Sign me up for all the half-court goodness Luka and Jokic would provide. Denver's just better if they're healthy.
-&nbsp;I wouldn't be shocked at the Suns/Pelicans result being flipped, but I have too many questions about New Orleans' defense right now to give them a series win.
SECOND ROUND
(4) Clippers &gt; (1) Warriors in 6.
(3) Nuggets &gt; (2) Suns in 7.
- Might be the most controversial pick on the board, but I trust the Clippers' length and switchability to make life a little difficult in the half-court. With Kahwi in the fold, they should be able to mismatch hunt late and eke out a close series.
- Deandre Ayton has defended Jokic well in the past; I think the added/healthy firepower around him may make the Nuggets' offense too much to deal with.
WESTERN CONFERENCE FINALS
(4) Clippers &gt; (3) Nuggets in 6.
- A bubble rematch! Jokic likely wrecks havoc, but I think the depth and shooting of the Clippers shine through.
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NBA Finals
(3) Bucks &gt; (4) Clippers in 6.
- Deepest team in the league facing an experienced group headlined by the best player in basketball. I think interior size swings it for Giannis and the Bucks.

Nekias Duncan gives his way-too-early predictions for the 2022-23 NBA season.

Nekias Duncan's 2022-23 NBA season and award predictions

This marks the first time that NBA opening-night rosters have at least 120 international players in consecutive seasons

NBA features 120 international players from 40 countries, 6 continents

Nekias Duncan thoroughly breaks down all five teams in the Central Division ahead of the 2022-23 season.

2022-23 NBA Season Preview: Central Division

The Indiana Pacers have entered new, uncharted waters recently. Embracing a full-scale rebuild attempt for the first time in 30-plus years, the fresh energy surrounding the organization is palpable. An infusion of young talent headlined by Tyrese Haliburton and No. 6 overall pick Bennedict Mathurin suggests that a brand new vision is beginning to take shape in Indianapolis.
Stuck in neutral for a long period, the Pacers realized what had to be done and pressed the rebuild button. This decision is already showing immense promise, as they have a long-term outline that was simply nonexistent beforehand. Tearing down a veteran-heavy core that once featured Victor Oladipo, Domantas Sabonis and Malcolm Brogdon was a step-by-step process, and now, Indiana has ultimate amounts of optionality after moving on from all three veterans.
The Memphis Grizzlies' blueprint has stood out to the Pacers&rsquo; brain trust. It's a model that the organization hopes to follow, according to Pacers president of basketball operations Kevin Pritchard.
&ldquo;We looked at some of the teams that have really drafted well, and now that they&rsquo;re a pretty good team... You look at the Memphis&rsquo;s and the teams like that that have built and now they&rsquo;re going to be powerhouses for the next couple of years. So, I think what we came away from our studies [with] is there&rsquo;s no quick fix," Pritchard told Basketball News in a small scrum setting on Thursday. "We can&rsquo;t make a trade or two trades or three trades or use our draft picks and become what we want to become, which is great. So, how do you do it? You&rsquo;ve got to pay your dues, and you&rsquo;ve got to get everybody on board. And that takes multiple meetings and conviction from your head coach (Rick Carlisle), your president, your GM (Chad Buchanan) and your owner. Mr. [Herb] Simon is 100% on this. It can&rsquo;t be easy.
"Nobody wants to walk in and think rebuild, and I hate that word because we have some players that we really like that we can build around. It&rsquo;s going to take some time. We&rsquo;re going to enjoy the heck out of it. And we&rsquo;re going to build this team back up to make it a really special team, guys that have true character that want to have deep roots in this community. I think that is something we&rsquo;ve talked about. How do you do that? At the end of the day, you draft well, develop relationships. [It] is your best recipe for high-level talent, high-level characters and the ability to keep players for a long time. I don&rsquo;t think that&rsquo;s a secret to this.&rdquo;
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It&rsquo;s hard to avoid the "rebuild" phrase for the Pacers, but the upside is flowing into the facility with former lottery picks integrating. With one of the league&rsquo;s youngest rosters heading into the season, Haliburton quickly acclimated himself and is being labeled as the new face of the franchise. (Our Alex Kennedy <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-interview-tyrese-haliburton-indiana-pacers-chad-buchanan-bennedict-mathurin-myles-turner-sacramento-kings-domantas-sabonis-trade-drew-hanlen" target="_blank" rel="noopener">spoke with Haliburton about this and his hopes for the upcoming season last month</a>.)
With Haliburton acclimating himself with a full offseason in Indianapolis, the Pacers are having fun building a roster around their point guard&rsquo;s unique traits.
&ldquo;It starts with Tyrese, don&rsquo;t get me wrong, his ability to make plays for others,&rdquo; Pritchard told Basketball News in the scrum. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ll say this: By having Tyrese and having players say, &lsquo;You know, I really like playing with that,&rsquo; I think that was a big decision in Jalen [Smith] (re-signing). I think Myles [Turner] is really looking forward to playing with Tyrese. The league has changed in that the point guard position has turned into like score first, then maybe I pass. Well, Tyrese is unique; he&rsquo;d rather pass. It&rsquo;s like a quarterback. If you&rsquo;ve got a great quarterback that&rsquo;s hitting you in the chest every time, he is that.
"We&rsquo;ve got to build around that and he&rsquo;s gotta build us. There&rsquo;s going to be games where he looks amazing and he&rsquo;s going to get 15 assists. And we&rsquo;re going to need him to do a lot of things, we&rsquo;re going to ask a lot, but we&rsquo;re not going to put too much [on him]. I&rsquo;ve seen where teams put too much on players. It&rsquo;s going to be collective with our young players and our vets. The good thing is a lot of of players are going to play this year. You&rsquo;re going to see more athletic plays, and we&rsquo;re going to play harder than we&rsquo;ve ever played. From what I&rsquo;ve seen so far, it&rsquo;s easy to stand up here and say it. I want to be about actions. I think we&rsquo;re going to be a super-hard-playing team. I think you&rsquo;ll see a lot of growth.&rdquo;
There's plenty of internal optimism for Haliburton to take a massive jump within the Pacers&rsquo; organization. (A stat line flirting near 20 points and 10 assists wouldn&rsquo;t come as any sort of a surprise in Indiana.) Outside of Haliburton and the aforementioned rookie in Mathurin, their highest draft pick selected since 1988, many new-core players are taking notable steps forward in their development.
Chris Duarte, who was sidelined to end his rookie campaign with a nagging toe injury, is mentally processing the game at a different speed. Isaiah Jackson, who Pritchard said has gained 15 to 18 pounds, is poised for a massive breakout as well. Smith, who re-signed with Indiana, continues to flash his former top-10 pick upside following his exit from the Phoenix Suns.
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A gym full of athletes and prospects looking to improve provides a breath of fresh air compared to the all-too-familiar unknown of whether or not the team would make it past the first round of the playoffs.
&ldquo;We are giddy,&rdquo; Pritchard told Basketball News of their young core they&rsquo;re building together. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s interesting, when watching (scrimmages) and you throw them out there and let them play, what you find out is Tyrese, TJ McConnell, [Andrew] Nembhard are really fast players, and everyone kinda fills in. There have been times where I have been in awe about how fast our team is, which, that&rsquo;s young legs right? That&rsquo;s young, exciting legs. We&rsquo;ve seen more plays at the rim where it&rsquo;s a blocked dunk, sprint down, dunk on someone. We&rsquo;ve had more alley-oops &mdash; I think Chad Buchanan was joking with me the other day about three or four years ago we had two lob dunks in the whole year. We had 10 [on Thursday].
"The league is getting more athletic. A couple years ago we decided, 'We&rsquo;re going to look at this draft and trades, and let&rsquo;s get some of these athletes because they&rsquo;re fun to watch.' Balancing that... Coach Carlisle loves shooting. So, if you can find a great athlete that is a great shooter, I&rsquo;m all-in.&rdquo;
Not only are the Pacers all-in on their new long-term vision, one where patience is the most important part, but they&rsquo;re also in a new position as an organization &mdash; optimizing future flexibility via multiple avenues. Indiana still has oodles of cap space ($29.6 million per Cleaning The Glass), which allows for new opportunities to fall into their lap. The Pacers are open about their desire to continue bringing in more assets, either young players or future draft picks, to accelerate their plan.
&ldquo;That&rsquo;s what we&rsquo;ve gotta do right now. We&rsquo;ve gotta capitalize on cap space, on picks,&rdquo; Pritchard said. &ldquo;In any way we can, we got to be gritty as a staff, if can we acquire more of those to have a chance to be part of our big core. And we&rsquo;re developing the core. People ask me all the time, do you have that core? Maybe, maybe not, but we&rsquo;re getting closer and next year we&rsquo;ll be closer.
"That&rsquo;s the fun part of our business is being creative and generating ideas. Look, we have three first-round picks it looks like next year. We have close to $30 million in cap space. And we&rsquo;ll be active to use that cap space to acquire more assets. That&rsquo;s just natural, but I think it gives us the ability to pivot in a lot of different ways. We have optionality out the butt. At the end of the day, I want to be able to sit in the room with Herb and management and coach and say, 'Alright, here&rsquo;s our possibilities. Where do we want to go?&rsquo; In the past it&rsquo;s been, 'We&rsquo;ve got to go down this path. This is the path we&rsquo;ve got to go down. It&rsquo;s only going to get us so far, we know there&rsquo;s only so far, we&rsquo;ve got a freaking ceiling.' What I want to do is remove a ceiling and that takes time. It&rsquo;s going to take time.&rdquo;
Outside of that excitement for the new-look youth taking over the roster, an uncertain future remains for veteran mainstay Myles Turner. A subject of trade rumors for the last few years, which picked up immense steam once the Pacers hit the reset button, Turner saw the organization openly flirt with replacing him by chasing Deandre Ayton in restricted free agency.
Entering a contract year, Turner&rsquo;s future feels murkier than ever in Indianapolis. And with the way the subject was broached on Thursday, it wouldn&rsquo;t be a stunner to see Turner play in another uniform before February&rsquo;s trade deadline passes. Pritchard admitted his recent conversation with Turner was one filled with emotions, and the ever-changing nature of the business leaves the door open for anything to happen there.
&ldquo;I sat down and talked with Myles for an hour, hour-and-a-half the other day. It was a heart-to-heart,&rdquo; Pritchard said. &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t want to tell you exactly what was said, but I&rsquo;ll give you the crux, and that is I think he&rsquo;s super excited about playing with Tyrese. I think he wants to play the 5 exclusively. I think he wants to be a defensive monster. And I think that he&rsquo;s okay planting deep roots here. But, you know, he&rsquo;s going to be a free agent next year. There&rsquo;s a lot of things that can happen. What we think today isn&rsquo;t something that we know is going to happen tomorrow. This is the most dynamic business in the world.&rdquo;
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Turner is eligible for a contract extension, but Pritchard didn&rsquo;t want to publicly say whether or not that route remains on the table with their starting center.
&ldquo;Respectfully, I&rsquo;d like to keep that between me and him,&rdquo; Pritchard said.
Based on the Pacers&rsquo; turn into a fresh era, one where internal development takes priority over the win-loss column in the meantime, veterans like Turner and Buddy Hield will be names to watch from a leaguewide lens throughout the season from a potential trade market perspective. Nowadays, optionality, flexibility and patience will be the key buzzwords heard out of Indiana. And it&rsquo;s for the best with how its roster was running into a brick wall over and over again before the light finally turned on to rebuild from the ground up.
With the Pacers armed with draft capital and cap space, on top of a roster filled to the brim with potential &mdash; including their tantalizing backcourt combination of Haliburton and Mathurin &mdash; the vision is as clear as day. It&rsquo;s a new era in Indiana, and a route that everyone internally acknowledges should have been explored even earlier. If all goes to plan for the Pacers, these tough times could soon turn into a sustained success that hasn&rsquo;t been witnessed for the organization since nearly a decade ago.
&ldquo;We were an aircraft carrier and it was really hard to turn. And right now, we&rsquo;re a little speedboat and we&rsquo;ve got all of these ways to maneuver,&rdquo; Pritchard said. "That&rsquo;s exciting. That&rsquo;s really exciting for us, because it&rsquo;s hard to turn the big boats. For better, we&rsquo;re all-in.&rdquo;

Pacers president Kevin Pritchard discussed the franchise's new era and focus on the long-term vision, Evan Sidery writes.

Pacers enter uncharted waters searching for long-term sustainability

We need a bit of context to truly grasp the remarkable nature of RJ Barrett's development in the NBA.
Barrett just wrapped up his third professional season and turned 22 years old in June. He is younger than several incoming rookies, including No. 14 overall pick Ochai Agbaji and No. 31 pick Andrew Nembhard. He recently signed a four-year contract extension worth $120 million &mdash; a lot of money for sure, but nowhere near the rookie maximum.
Yet, despite these indicators that Barrett is still a very young basketball player with ample room to grow, he is already taking on some of the heaviest two-way physical demands we've seen from someone his age.
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The third overall pick from 2019 averaged 13.7 adjusted drives per 75 possessions in 2021-22. Barrett attacked relentlessly, and far more than his New York Knicks teammates. Driving with the basketball is one of the most taxing moves a player can make on offense. It requires the wherewithal to handle the ball and assess the court's shifting spaces, the lower-body strength to explode by defenders and the core and upper-body strength to fend off contact and, then, shoot or pass. These bursts of energy, physicality and processing are not easy to successfully replicate over and over.
And that's just one side of the game. Barrett also graded out as a defender who faced some of the toughest opponents. The BBall Index has created a <a href="https://www.bball-index.com/glossary/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Matchup Difficulty metric</a> to try and quantify this. Barrett earned a plus-1.66 score, meaning his defensive assignments were more challenging than 95% of the NBA &mdash; requiring an elite combination of physical tools, focus and understanding of concepts to be successful.
With a few charts (sourced from BBall Index), we can place Barrett's responsibilities in the wider frame of the league. Here's a plot of every NBA player who logged at least 1,000 minutes and their numbers in those two categories. I additionally colorized the dots with BBall Index's Defensive Role estimator to add some clarity about what might be changing on defense.
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Several of the league's most frequent drivers &mdash; Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Luka Doncic, for example &mdash; had very low matchup difficulty scores on defense, and their roles were even estimated as "Low Activity." Then, you have the elite defensive stoppers in the top-left corner who barely drive the ball. Barrett, who is labeled in yellow, kind of balances in the middle.
Zooming in gives more of an appreciation for his company. The below chart cuts off at 8.0 drives per 75 possessions; it's an arbitrary choice, but a fair one, I think, that encompasses just under 100 players. It also begins vertically at a matchup difficulty rating of zero. I won't break out the ol' AP Stats textbook, but these scores are based on Z-Scores that relate to each other, meaning a "zero" is average among the NBA. With these boundaries, we get down to 55 players:
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Barrett stands out more clearly here as a player who drives frequently before turning around and staring down tough defensive assignments. He's in the company of household names like Jrue Holiday, Jimmy Butler and Fred VanVleet, and he's one of 10 players in this chart who was under 22 years old last season. This isn't to say he matches the impact, of course, but Barrett has a general reputation as a quality defender for his experience level.
This could be restricted even further to players who only take on very difficult matchups. If we cut the chart at 1.0 (about the 84th percentile for Matchup Difficulty), Barrett would be one of only 15 players to stay on the board &mdash; and one of only three players 21 or younger, along with Kevin Porter Jr. and Jalen Suggs.
This type of two-way role is exceptionally unusual for someone of Barrett's age and position. Take a look at the 21-and-under players sinced 2014 who have averaged at least 8 drives per 75 possessions with a Matchup Difficulty score over 1.0:
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Sixteen seasons make the cut. Fourteen of those seasons were from young point guards, who often got thrown into the fire with bad teams. Second-year Andrew Wiggins is the only other wing, and he barely cleared the thresholds (and wasn't nearly as good a player).&nbsp;
Barrett is one of the youngest two-way catalysts in the NBA, and he's taken on the responsibility with relative success. Oh yeah &mdash; and he's playing on the biggest stage in the country.
Obviously, though, he can be better, as he referenced on Monday's live stream interview discussing his new contract.
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"I'm always working on my finishing, and just being able to shoot [and] shoot off the dribble," Barrett told Monica McNutt. "Many things. Free throws &mdash; holy, we've been shooting a lot of free throws, things of that nature."
Barrett averaged 16.2 drives per game after Jan. 1, which ranked eighth across the entire league, per Second Spectrum. But he made just 41.1% of his shots off of drives, ranking third-worst among 64 players who drove to the basket at least 8 times per game. His overall at-rim clip of 55% ranked in the 15th percentile among wings, according to Cleaning the Glass.
The finishing, despite Barrett's superb and improving aggression, remains perhaps the biggest target for critics. It's an area several leading basketball minds have dissected, and a place that can turn him from a volume-based scorer into a dominant, efficient spark.&nbsp;
<a href="https://theathletic.com/3548723/2022/08/31/rj-barrett-knicks-polarizing/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Sam Vecenie of&nbsp;The Athletic</a>&nbsp;noted how important it is for Barrett to develop a right-hand finish. To piggyback, according to InStat Scouting, Barrett made just 36% of his at-rim attempts with his right hand vs. a still-rough-but-better 40% (on over 280 more attempts) with his left.
<a href="Mark%20Schindler%20de" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Mark Schindler detailed for UPROXX</a> how improving pull-up and foul-grifting games could help Barrett keep defenders on their toes against his drives. Barrett is drawing more fouls; per Cleaning the Glass, 14.7% of his shots came with a whistle, placing in the 92nd percentile among wings.
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As Schindler wrote, Barrett has enticing potential as someone who can capitalize on second-side swings and kick-outs by continuing to apply pressure as a driver. He's strong and fast with a much-improved handle and court vision that is approaching refinement. But New York rarely surrounded its rising star with the right blend of spacing and complementary aggression.
This year, those pieces might come together, starting with new acquisition Jalen Brunson.
"Jalen's great. He's really smart. He's a hard worker; he works on his game a lot," Barrett said. "He has natural leadership ability too. Just being around him, guys gravitate towards him as well, so I think him and I will work together very well &mdash; especially us being lefties, that'll be very good."
Brunson is one of the elite driving threats in the NBA. <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-stats-notebook-jalen-brunson-is-in-the-drivers-seat" target="_blank" rel="noopener">I wrote about this specifically</a> back when he was popping off for the Dallas Mavericks in the playoffs. Brunson has proven himself as both a secondary pressure-cooker and a lead initiator, and it's easy to see how he can ease some of the load on Barrett.
The Knicks also have Immanuel Quickley, who continues to be one of my favorite young players to watch in the league &mdash; full stop. Quickley has picked up his pace as an attacker; he averaged 6.6 drives per game before the All-Star break and 10.3 afterwards. Like Brunson, he's another point guard who doubles as a quality catch-and-shoot option, and deserves to start next season.&nbsp;
Julius Randle can hit the gas pedal, and he's due for a happy medium between his 2020-21 breakout and last season's struggles. Obi Toppin and Jericho Sims keep defensive help in check as lob threats. Evan Fournier can still shoot it (and is still only 29?). New York has enough support for Barrett to find those extra spaces to dribble, shoot or pass when he puts the ball on the floor.
Driving and guarding tough matchups is not the only example of a demanding two-way role. But it certainly is a big one. Barrett ran the ninth-most miles (2.63) per NBA game last season, and his average speed (4.30 mph) ranked 21st of 124 players who averaged two-plus miles per game. He played 70 games after completing a full 72-game season in 2020-21; the durability in his role is impressive.
Barrett is gaining more experience, and succeeding more frequently, in a context few players receive at his age. Yes, he can markedly improve in several areas. But the man has tons of time and is surrounded by teammates who can help him be successful.
The growing pains of a 22-year-old franchise centerpiece should not overshadow the unique trajectory of his stardom.

RJ Barrett is a rare young NBA player who takes on major offensive and defensive responsibilities.

Understanding RJ Barrett's uniquely heavy burden with the Knicks

When the New Orleans Pelicans swung a deal for CJ McCollum ahead of last February's trade deadline, they acquired a dynamic scorer with a gravitational on-court presence and eight seasons of playoff experience. They also added a rising star in sports media.&nbsp;
McCollum <a href="https://theathletic.com/1806073/2020/05/11/hes-a-really-good-storyteller-the-origins-of-cj-mccollum-journalist-at-lehigh/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">majored in journalism as a student at Lehigh</a> and has coupled his basketball ascension with a developing on-air platform, most recently joining ESPN as an analyst. He has spearheaded a rush of current and former NBA players taking their voices to the airwaves.
Pelicans forward Trey Murphy III is taking notes.&nbsp;
"We've definitely had a few conversations [about media]," Murphy told Basketball News in a phone interview. "That's what I want to do after I'm done playing basketball, you know, staying close to the game as well as showing my personality. I feel like I have a pretty good personality; I'm able to speak well, speak intelligently and add a little humor to it. So I'll be able to do that and still get a nice little paycheck and stay close to the game."
Murphy has envisioned a career in sports media since he was in high school. Back then, he was a two-star recruit with limited interest from colleges, so there was no guarantee that he'd be able to go pro. However, after excelling at Rice and Virginia, he parlayed that growth all the way to first-round-pick status.
The 22-year-old plans to have a long and successful NBA career, but he's also determined to sharpen his skills behind the microphone along the way.&nbsp;
During the 2022 NBA Draft, Murphy patrolled the red carpet, interviewed some of the incoming rookies and <a href="https://twitter.com/PelicansNBA/status/1540448684919459846?s=20&amp;t=Q3VaAsvWayXab90H61pJBQ" target="_blank" rel="noopener">even cited some inside sources</a> while revealing the Pelicans' plan to select Dyson Daniels.&nbsp;
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Mbappe, NBA rookies, and <a href="https://twitter.com/TaylorRooks?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@TaylorRooks</a> choose between Drake, Kendrick, and J. Cole WARNING: If you're a Kendrick fan, this does not go well. 😅 <a href="https://t.co/8zQZkkI8i6">pic.twitter.com/8zQZkkI8i6</a>
&mdash; Complex Sports (@ComplexSports) <a href="https://twitter.com/ComplexSports/status/1541248474963902466?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 27, 2022</a></blockquote>
He watches "almost every episode" of J.J. Redick's podcast, "The Old Man and the Three." He also has "The Draymond Green Show," "Knuckleheads with Quentin Richardson and Darius Miles," "The ETCs with Kevin Durant" and "The Longshot Podcast with Duncan Robinson" in his rotation.&nbsp;
For Murphy, listening to pros discuss the game isn't just about supporting players in the media &mdash; it's also on-demand access to details and insight from athletes who have made a career in the league.
"Watching [Redick's podcast], especially, coming into the league, is almost like free game, and you're just listening to everybody's different perspectives and things that they learned while they were in the league," Murphy said. "So, it makes it a little bit easier for me. It's like I can learn from them, and I don't have to take these lumps that they probably took before they actually learned their lessons."
Of course, Murphy will attest that he took his fair share of lumps as a rookie. The 6-foot-10 forward spent much of last winter on the fringes of the Pelicans' rotation, and it took a mental toll. After one contest against the Miami Heat, a trainer took Murphy aside and told him that he needed to get back to being himself and focus on consistency in his work.
"Those times when I was struggling [and] wasn't playing a lot &mdash; that's when I really learned a lot about myself and just staying the course, because the NBA is so much of a mental aspect and a mental game that you have to worry about," Murphy said. "You could be doing a lot of good stuff physically and on the court, but if your mentals aren't right, there's gonna be a lot of stuff that's happening that won't affect you in a positive way...
"At the end of the day, we're all human. And I'll say, those times at my lows, I definitely chose some negative emotions &mdash; nothing outward enough to hurt the team, but definitely enough to where you can see I wasn't happy. And I feel like if you want to be a great player in this league, you can't just be happy with sitting on the bench, and I wasn't. I felt I could contribute. I felt I could help my team win, and I wasn't able to do that, and, you know, it hurt me a little bit. But they were just saying, 'Just stay the course [and] keep working.'"
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Murphy leaned on the Pelicans' coaching staff, including head coach Willie Green and assistants Corey Brewer, Teresa Weatherspoon and Brandon Demas. He stayed consistent, and when his opportunity came in the spring, Murphy maximized it.
Between March and April, Murphy's playing time nearly doubled from the previous two months. He averaged 9.7 points and 3.4 rebounds in 19.5 minutes per game after March 9, while shooting 43.8% from beyond the arc. And this wasn't in the waning months of a losing season &mdash; New Orleans was in the thick of the Play-In-Tournament race. The team went 9-6 from March 9 onward, won both of their Play-In contests, and even pushed the top-seeded Phoenix Suns to six games in the first round of the playoffs.&nbsp;
Those two months gave Murphy a massive confidence boost.
"That was really special," he said. "It made those tough times in the beginning of the season and the middle of the season just so much sweeter."
One reason for the Pelicans' success &mdash; even through a 3-16 start, the loss of Zion Williamson, a midseason blockbuster and the trials of inexperience &mdash; was that they enjoyed each other's company. Murphy says the team struck a balance between serious and fun. When the group wasn't working hard and competing at a high level, they were teasing each other and having a good time together. Murphy credits Brandon Ingram, in particular, for setting the right tone as a leader.&nbsp;
"You could just see [Ingram] cares about a lot of people. He asks us for advice at times, he tells us things that we need to do. He shows caring ways as well by, you know, [giving] gifts or just being there for people. It's appreciated," Murphy said. "...There'd be times when he was coming back [from injuries] and he'd still be a little banged up, a little nicked up. But he's still out there grinding with us and just showing us he's not leaving us out there to dry."
Murphy has a particularly close bond with Herb Jones and Jose Alvarado. They play NBA 2K, Madden and Fortnite together. Murphy (who claims to have a designated meme folder in his photos app) and Larry Nance Jr. helped disseminate "Herb Jones propaganda" via memes, graphics and tweets during the second-round pick's breakout season.&nbsp;
However, Murphy and Jones rarely faced off in practice as rookies. But during their extended workouts in New Orleans this summer, Murphy has marveled at Jones' stellar defense after getting an up-close view.&nbsp;
"This time was the first time I really went against him, and I was like, 'I understand why people don't really be scoring like that on him!' It's tough," Murphy said. "He's strong, athletic, really smart [and] just has great instincts. So, I understand."
Murphy has been bulking up too, and he says he now weighs 215 pounds. Fans who watched his two NBA Summer League contests saw an aggressive forward who was unafraid of contact.
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Trey Murphy dropped a 30-piece in the <a href="https://twitter.com/PelicansNBA?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@PelicansNBA</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NBASummer?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NBASummer</a> win!<a href="https://twitter.com/treymurphy?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@treymurphy</a> 30 PTS (10-18 FGM) | 6 REB <a href="https://t.co/QesZWbUZM0">pic.twitter.com/QesZWbUZM0</a>
&mdash; NBA (@NBA) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBA/status/1546649262146129922?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 12, 2022</a></blockquote>

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"I'm just getting a lot smarter too," Murphy said. "Just knowing what's coming next, so you're able to brace for things; you're able to absorb force as well as distribute force when need be."
As a rookie, Murphy made just eight shots after taking two-or-more dribbles, and he shot just 20.5% on those attempts (per <a href="https://theathletic.com/3418422/2022/07/12/trey-murphy-summer-league-pelicans/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">William Guillory of The Athletic</a>). He matched those eight makes in two Summer League games. This bucket &mdash; where Murphy crossed over his defender, spun back around and nailed a mid-range floater &mdash; was a thing of beauty:
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Murphy recognizes that his signature offensive role is as a shooter and spacer. He understands the value of knowing one's role in the league &mdash; a lesson that he says hit home specifically after listening to Draymond Green and Glen Davis on a podcast. At the same time, he's been working on tightening his handle this offseason, and he feels more confident that he can attack in an NBA game.
"I mean, I know when to do it [and] when not to do it," Murphy said. "Definitely, I'm gonna be aggressive, because I know that's what this team will need, especially coming from the second unit. And I'll just know when to pick my spots and pick my times to really attack and really go at it."
When Murphy does space the floor though, he thinks there's one player in particular who will help make his life easier: Zion Williamson.
Murphy vividly recalls a pregame film session before facing the Minnesota Timberwolves. While watching tape of the Pelicans' 2020-21 matchups against the Wolves, Murphy was awestruck by Williamson's floor gravity.
"He had the ball at the top of the key, and Minnesota is in a 1-2-2 zone, basically," Murphy explained. "They're all literally boxed in trying to guard him, and I was just like, 'If they have that much help [off of] me, it's gonna be a field day!' It's gonna be crazy because he just draws so much attention. Me being a smart player, I can cut that, I can stay on the three-point line &mdash; I can do a lot of different things."
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Unlike last year, the Pelicans now have serious outside expectations to build on their 2021-22 playoff run. Murphy has his own motivations to assert himself as a core player and contribute to winning. While those pressures can sometimes weigh more on a given day, Murphy wants to keep New Orleans, and basketball, fun.
"At the end of the day, the NBA is stressful," Murphy said. "You're playing against the best players in the world. You have a forum. There's money involved. There's a lot of different things involved, and you just gotta have fun with it.
"Understand [that] you gotta be the kid that was playing in the driveway when you were 5 years old, and still have fun with it. Because if you don't have fun with it, then you're just not gonna enjoy it. It's not gonna be the same for you."

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Pelicans forward Trey Murphy III opens up to Ethan Fuller about his sports-media aspirations, his development as a player and more.