Falcons

USA Basketball announced today a 41-athlete player pool for the 2024 USA Basketball Men&rsquo;s National Team. The players were selected by USA Basketball Men&rsquo;s National Team managing director&nbsp;Grant Hill&nbsp;and is subject to change. The 12-member 2024 USA Men&rsquo;s National Team, which will represent the United States at the 2024 Olympic Summer Games in Paris, will be announced at a later date.
Featuring 28 players who have represented the USA in Olympics and/or FIBA Men&rsquo;s World Cup and who together have collected 23 Olympic or World Cup gold medals, the 2024 USA Men&rsquo;s National Team finalists are&nbsp;Bam Adebayo,&nbsp;Jarrett Allen,&nbsp;Paolo Banchero,&nbsp;Desmond Bane,&nbsp;Scottie Barnes,&nbsp;Devin Booker,&nbsp;Mikal Bridges,&nbsp;Jaylen Brown,&nbsp;Jalen Brunson,&nbsp;Jimmy Butler,&nbsp;Alex Caruso,&nbsp;Stephen Curry,&nbsp;Anthony Davis,&nbsp;Kevin Durant,&nbsp;Anthony Edwards,&nbsp;Joel Embiid,&nbsp;De&rsquo;Aaron Fox,&nbsp;Paul George,&nbsp;Aaron Gordon,&nbsp;Tyrese Haliburton,&nbsp;James Harden,&nbsp;Josh Hart,&nbsp;Tyler Herro,&nbsp;Jrue Holiday,&nbsp;Chet Holmgren,&nbsp;Brandon Ingram,&nbsp;Kyrie Irving,&nbsp;Jaren Jackson Jr.,&nbsp;LeBron James,&nbsp;Cam Johnson,&nbsp;Walker Kessler,&nbsp;Kawhi Leonard,&nbsp;Damian Lillard,&nbsp;Donovan Mitchell,&nbsp;Chris Paul,&nbsp;Bobby Portis,&nbsp;Austin Reaves,&nbsp;Duncan Robinson,&nbsp;Jayson Tatum,&nbsp;Derrick White&nbsp;and&nbsp;Trae Young.
&ldquo;The United States boasts unbelievable basketball talent and I am thrilled that many of the game&rsquo;s superstars have expressed interest in representing our country at the 2024 Olympic Summer Games,&rdquo; Hill said. &ldquo;It is a privilege to select the team that will help us toward the goal of once again standing atop the Olympic podium. This challenging process will unfold over the next several months as we eagerly anticipate the start of national team activity."&nbsp;
The 2024 USA Men&rsquo;s National Team will be led by head coach&nbsp;Steve Kerr&nbsp;(Golden State Warriors), who is assisted by&nbsp;Mark Few&nbsp;(Gonzaga University),&nbsp;Tyronn Lue&nbsp;(L.A. Clippers) and&nbsp;Erik Spoelstra&nbsp;(Miami Heat). Last summer, the quartet coached the 2023 USA Basketball Men&rsquo;s National Team to a fourth-place finish at the 2023 FIBA Men&rsquo;s World Cup in Manila. Kerr is a 2020 Olympic gold medalist after serving as an assistant coach to&nbsp;Gregg Popovich&nbsp;in Tokyo.
In related news, USA Basketball also announced that the 2024 USA Men&rsquo;s National Team will host Canada at Las Vegas&rsquo; T-Mobile Arena as part of the USA Basketball Showcase. The exhibition contest is set for July 10 at 7:30 p.m. PT/10:30 p.m. ET live on FS1.
The USA Basketball Showcase features a series of games that help the USA Basketball National Teams prepare for major competitions, including the Olympic Summer Games and FIBA World Cup.
Following Las Vegas, the Americans will embark on an international training window that features exhibition games against the national teams of South Sudan on July 20 and Germany on July 22 at the O2 Arena in London.
Tickets for all three contests are on sale now at&nbsp;<a href="http://www.usab.com/tickets">www.usab.com/tickets</a>.
"USA Basketball is excited to return to Las Vegas as our men's national team program looks forward to tipping off the journey to the 2024 Olympic Games there in July," said&nbsp;Jim Tooley, USA Basketball CEO. "The game at T-Mobile Arena against Canada is an important opportunity in our preparations and a great opportunity for our fans to support the U.S. national team before heading overseas."&nbsp;
Prior to the Canada game, the USA will hold training camp in Las Vegas, its longtime training hub. Additional information will be announced at a later date.
The USA officially qualified for the 2024 Olympics as one of the top two nations from the FIBA Americas zone at the 2023 FIBA World Cup in September. The American men will compete for their fifth straight &ndash; and 17th&nbsp;overall &ndash; Olympic gold medal.
In total, USA Basketball will be represented by four teams at the 2024 Olympic Summer Games, including 5-on-5 men and women and 3x3 men and women. The USA are reigning Olympic champions in 5-on-5 men and women and 3x3 women, with 3x3 men set to make their Olympic debut next summer. &nbsp;More information about all four USA Basketball teams will be announced at a later date.

USA Basketball announced today a 41-athlete player pool for the 2024 USA Basketball Men’s National Team.

USA Basketball announces player pool for 2024 Men’s National Team

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) &mdash; Desmond Bane scored 22 points and Luke Kennard had 17 as the Memphis Grizzlies overcame a 20-point first-half deficit and beat the Los Angeles Clippers 108-94 on Friday night.
Kennard keyed a second-quarter rally with four 3-pointers and finished the game with five against his former team. Kennard was traded to Memphis on Feb. 9 as part of a three-team deal.
The Grizzlies eventually built a 22-point lead early in the fourth quarter following Bane&rsquo;s steal under the Clippers&rsquo; basket and a driving layup.
Memphis coach Taylor Jenkins said the key to the team&rsquo;s comeback was the ability to make a 7-0 run during the final minutes of the opening quarter.
&ldquo;We got a little spark there,&rdquo; Jenkins said. &ldquo;I just started telling the guys we&rsquo;re starting to feel the pace (better) and the physicality and urgency that we need ... if we hadn&rsquo;t had that spark at the end of the first quarter to cut it to 13, it may have been a difference outcome.&rdquo;
Norman Powell scored 16 points to lead the Clippers, Ivica Zubac had 15 points and 15 rebounds, and Eric Gordon finished with 13 points.
&ldquo;We knew they were going to make a run, we just didn&rsquo;t know it was going to be that fast,&rdquo; Clippers coach Tyronn Lue said. &ldquo;We put ourselves in good position (to win), we just didn&rsquo;t do a good job finishing the game, taking care of the basketball, taking good shots and getting defensive stops.&rdquo;
Memphis and Los Angeles were playing for the second time in three days in Memphis. The Clippers won 141-132 on Wednesday to snap the Grizzlies&rsquo; 12-game home win streak. Russell Westbrook had 36 points in the Clippers&rsquo; victory but was held to just four points and a game-high 11 assists in this one.
In Wednesday&rsquo;s loss, the Grizzlies played without starters Jaren Jackson Jr. and Bane, along with key reserves Tyus Jones and John Konchar. All were out with various ailments.
Kawhi Leonard missed Wednesday&rsquo;s game for the Clippers and returned Friday to play 18 minutes. He scored 12 points.
After taking their first lead midway through the second quarter on Jones&rsquo; floater to go up 40-38, the Grizzlies never trailed again.
The Grizzles started slowly and fell behind 34-14 late in the first quarter. Memphis was hampered by eight first-quarter turnovers.
However, the Grizzlies recovered behind Kennard&rsquo;s 3-point shooting in the second quarter during a 24-4 run to tie the score at 38-all. Memphis eventually built a 52-45 lead late in the quarter and led 55-51 at the half.
&ldquo;We just chipped away a little at a time with the group that came in (during) the second quarter,&rdquo; Kennard said. &ldquo;We really locked in, played really good defense, started moving the ball really well and got out in transition, which was a big key for us.&rdquo; Kennard had 14 first-half points for the Grizzlies, who followed a sloppy first quarter by committing only one turnover in the second.
Ja Morant struggled in the first half and had only 3 points at the break. He finished with 10 points in 26 minutes.
&ldquo;Our bench came in and stepped up big-time for us,&rdquo; Morant said. &ldquo;It was something we needed after a loss (to the Clippers on Wednesday &ldquo;We have all the confidence in the world (Kennard) can knock down his shots. He could shoot (with the Clippers) and he can shoot now. But now he&rsquo;s on our side.&rdquo;
TIP-INS
Clippers: The Clippers were held to fewer than 100 points for only the third time in their past 38 games. ... Since Jan. 6, the Clippers are sixth in the NBA in offensive rating (118.6) and first in 3-point percentage (39.8).
Grizzlies: Kenneth Lofton Jr. was named NBA G-League Rookie of the Year on Friday. He averaged 20.2 points, 10.5 rebounds and 3.9 assists in 17 appearances for Memphis. ... Jackson broke his single-season franchise record of 177 blocks Friday with a third-quarter block of Norman Powell. Jackson entered the game averaging 3.05 blocks per game, which leads the NBA.
UP NEXT
Clippers: Host New Orleans on Saturday.
Grizzlies: Host Chicago on Sunday.

Desmond Bane scored 22 points as the Grizzlies overcame a 20-point first-half deficit and beat the Clippers 108-94 on Friday.

Bane, Kennard help Grizzlies rally to beat Clippers 108-94

LOS ANGELES (AP) &mdash; That sound heard this week was the Los Angeles Clippers breathing a sigh of relief that Paul George&rsquo;s knee injury wasn&rsquo;t as devastating as it first appeared.
The All-Star guard suffered a sprained right knee after going down hard in the closing minutes of a one-point loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder on Tuesday.
An MRI showed no major structural damage, and depending upon his condition when he&rsquo;s reevaluated in two to three weeks, George could be back in time for the first round of the playoffs that begin April 15.
&ldquo;We got the best-case scenario as far as what we thought it could be,&rdquo; coach Tyronn Lue said. &ldquo;His spirits are down, but that&rsquo;s to be expected when it&rsquo;s late in the season and when you want to help your team.&rdquo;
In the meantime, plenty of minutes are available for the taking. Eric Gordon started in George&rsquo;s place in a 127-105 win over the Thunder on Thursday, and he&rsquo;ll keep that spot while George is out. Reserve Bones Hyland led the bench with 16 points in his first action since March 3.
&ldquo;Nobody&rsquo;s head was down,&rdquo; All-Star Kawhi Leonard said. &ldquo;One man can&rsquo;t win these basketball games. We&rsquo;re going to have to come in with a great effort.&rdquo;
Leonard hit his first seven shots and finished with 32 points on 15 shots against the Thunder.
&ldquo;This is what we need from him every night,&rdquo; Lue said of Leonard.
Russell Westbrook is averaging 14.1 points, 5.2 rebounds and 7.3 assists through 13 games since leaving the Lakers last month.
&ldquo;He brings energy and pace to the team and plays both ends of the floor,&rdquo; Leonard said. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s been doing a good job.&rdquo;
The Clippers, who host New Orleans on Saturday, are currently fourth in the Western Conference with a 39-35 record with eight games remaining in the regular season.
&ldquo;Losing PG is tough in itself, but we just got to rally together,&rdquo; Westbrook said. &ldquo;I got to be more aggressive and find ways to be effective on both ends.&rdquo;
It&rsquo;s not the first time the Clippers have been without one of their two superstars.
Leonard tore his right ACL in the second round against Utah in 2021. The Clippers still advanced to the conference finals for the first time in franchise history before losing in six games. He missed all last season rehabilitating after surgery.
George carried the load, but not without absences. He missed three months because of a torn ligament in his elbow and he sat out the team&rsquo;s loss in the second play-in game after testing positive for COVID-19.
&ldquo;We got to keep sharing the ball and just dial in even deeper and come into these games more focused because we&rsquo;re missing a superstar,&rdquo; Leonard said.

"One man can’t win these basketball games. We’re going to have to come in with a great effort," Leonard said.

Kawhi Leonard to Clippers: ‘Dial in deeper’ without George

PHOENIX (AP) &mdash; Paul George and Terance Mann each scored 26 points and the Los Angeles Clippers beat the Phoenix Suns 116-107 on Thursday night in the final NBA game before the All-Star break.
Kawhi Leonard added 16 points, all in the second half, and nine rebounds. Ivica Zubac and Eric Gordon each scored 13 points and Zubac had 12 rebounds.
The Clippers go into the break with wins in their last two games as they adjust to a new lineup rotation. Recent acquisitions Gordon, Bones Hyland and Mason Plumlee all played important roles in the victory. They combined for 30 points and 10 rebounds and were a collective 11 for 11 from the foul line.
&ldquo;The new guys came in and just plugged right in as if we started the season,&rdquo; George said. &ldquo;We played great team basketball. We shared it and got stops as we needed to.
&ldquo;We got everything we need. We just have to bring that all together and find an identity that can carry us.&rdquo;
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Leonard missed all eight of his shots in the first half but was 5 of 10 after that and made all six of his free-throw tries.
&ldquo;I just made shots,&rdquo; Leonard said abut the difference. &ldquo;You just gotta keep pushing.&rdquo;
The Suns missed nine of their first 10 3-point attempts, with only Josh Okogie warming up later in the game. Okogie led Phoenix with 24 points. He was 6 of 12 from behind the arc, but the rest of the Suns made five combined.
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&ldquo;It feels good without having to look over your shoulder when you mess up,&rdquo; said Okogie, whose recent performances have put him in the running to join Chris Paul, Devin Booker, Kevin Durant and Deandre Ayton in Phoenix&rsquo;s starting lineup when Durant returns from a knee injury.
&ldquo;Coach (Monty Williams) told me, &lsquo;I don&rsquo;t care if you miss eight in a row. I won&rsquo;t take you out for missing but I will take you out for not shooting.&rsquo;&rdquo;
Booker had 19 points and nine assists for Phoenix. Ayton scored 18 points and newcomer Terrance Ross had 16 points. Booker was 1 of 6 from 3-point range, but tied Steve Nash&rsquo;s franchise record with 1,051 3s.
Paul had 11 assists, two nights after having a season-high 19 against Sacramento.
The Clippers have scored 100 or more points in 20 of their last 21 games.
The loss was the Suns&rsquo; first against a Pacific Division opponent in 10 games, and the Clippers moved ahead of Phoenix into second place going into the All-Star break.
TURNOVER
The Suns won the first two meetings between the teams, both in Los Angeles, but the squads have undergone major changes since then.
The Clippers&rsquo; new threesome made their presence known Thursday night, while the Suns expect Kevin Durant to play soon. He was acquired with T.J. Warren from Brooklyn for Mikal Bridges, Cam Johnson and Jae Crowder plus four first-round picks.
Clippers coach Tyronn Lue said the Suns&rsquo; trio of Durant, Booker and Paul reminds him of going against Durant, Steph Curry and Klay Thompson when Lue was coaching Cleveland in the NBA Finals.
&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t want to think about it,&rdquo; Lue said about the Suns adding Durant to their rotation. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s a tough coverage, tough matchup. I&rsquo;m interested to see how they play, how they share the basketball. But on paper it looks really good.&rdquo;
NEW GUY
Ross joined the Suns for the game and made a quick impact, scoring a team-high seven points in the first quarter. Ross, a 6-foot-6 guard/small forward, was waived by Orlando as his contract was expiring after this season.
Ross, in his 11th NBA season, was averaging eight points in 22 minutes per game for the Magic.
TRAINER&rsquo;S ROOM
Los Angeles played without Norman Powell, who was resting his ailing right knee. &ldquo;No bigger concerns,&rdquo; Lue said of Powell resting the Clippers&rsquo; last game before the All-Star break. Phoenix remains without Durant (knee), Landry Shamet (foot) and Cameron Payne (foot).
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Paul George and Terance Mann each scored 26 points and the Los Angeles Clippers beat the Phoenix Suns 116-107.

All-Star George, Mann lead Clippers past Suns 116-107

LOS ANGELES (AP) &mdash; The Los Angeles Clippers have 22 games remaining to integrate their trade deadline acquisitions. They didn&rsquo;t waste any time.
Kawhi Leonard&nbsp;scored 33 points, tying his career high with seven 3-pointers, and the Clippers beat the Golden State Warriors 134-124 on Tuesday night to snap a two-game skid.
&ldquo;The Clippers just outplayed us,&rdquo; Warriors coach Steve Kerr said. &ldquo;They were great in the second half and they deserved it.&rdquo;
Norman Powell added 24 points and Paul George had 20 points and eight assists for the Clippers, who debuted newly acquired Eric Gordon, Bones Hyland and Mason Plumlee. They helped outscore the Warriors&rsquo; bench, 49-42.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s going to be different for us,&rdquo; Clippers coach Tyronn Lue said. &ldquo;We got to put this together as fast as we can.&rdquo;
Gordon finished with seven points, Hyland had six and Plumlee scored eight in the teams&rsquo; last game before the All-Star break.
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&ldquo;They did a good job of just being themselves and being aggressive,&rdquo; Leonard said.
Leonard was 12 of 17 from the floor, 7 of 9 from 3-point range and made both of his free throws in 34 minutes.
&ldquo;I kept shooting with confidence,&rdquo; he said.
Jordan Poole&nbsp;led seven Warriors in double figures with 28 points. Klay Thompson had 18 points playing the second game of a back-to-back for the first time this season. Kevon Looney had 11 points and 14 rebounds.
The Warriors fell to 29-29 at the break. They hope to have Stephen Curry back not long after the season resumes, while newly acquired Gary Payton II could be out a month.
&ldquo;We have reinforcements coming and we have a lot to look forward to,&rdquo; Kerr said. &ldquo;We have lost so many games that we should have won. We know we&rsquo;re right there.&rdquo;
Gordon&rsquo;s 3-pointer extended the Clippers&rsquo; lead to 18 points early in the fourth. The Warriors cut it to 116-106 on&nbsp;Jonathan Kuminga&rsquo;s&nbsp;3-pointer. He finished with 16 points off the bench.
Leonard hit his seventh 3-pointer in the closing minutes before leaving the game with the Clippers ahead 128-114.
The teams traded leads and were tied five times early in the third. The Clippers outscored the Warriors 19-7 over the final minutes to lead 105-93 going into the fourth. Leonard and George had just two points each while their supporting cast carried them. Plumlee had six points and Hyland had two during the run in which seven different players scored.
&ldquo;With this offense, I feel like I can create in the lane and find teammates,&rdquo; Hyland said. &ldquo;I forgot Mason can push the ball, too.&rdquo;
The Warriors had four players in double figures at halftime when they led 65-61.
TIP-INS
Warriors: Thompson missed 11 games, all second games of back-to-backs, due to right Achilles tendon injury management. ... Andrew Wiggins was out for personal reasons and will rejoin the team after the All-Star break. Donte DiVincenzo started in his place and scored 10 points. ... Kerr got a technical late in the third for arguing a call. ... Andre Iguodala (right hip soreness) missed his 16th straight game.
Clippers: Hyland will run the point for the second unit. &ldquo;Just watching him, the pop he has, running pick and rolls, getting downhill, attacking and making the right passes, making the right plays,&rdquo; Lue said.
GREEN&rsquo;S CRITIQUE
Draymond Green&nbsp;was critical of the Warriors&rsquo; defense, something that has concerned Kerr all season.
&ldquo;Defense is all about a will &mdash; a want to defend. Defense isn&rsquo;t fun. You just got to want to do it if you want to win and we haven&rsquo;t,&rdquo; Green said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m always going to try on that side, but I can be better. I&rsquo;m not going to point the finger at anyone or point blame. If you&rsquo;re a leader at something and you&rsquo;re failing, it&rsquo;s your fault.&rdquo;
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Kawhi Leonard scored 33 points, tying his career high with seven 3-pointers, and the Clippers beat the Golden State Warriors 134-124.

Leonard’s 33 points lead Clippers over Warriors, 134-124

LOS ANGELES (AP) &mdash; Denver coach Michael Malone knew when the schedule came out that his team was going to have to be successful again on the road if it was going to be contend in the Western Conference.
So far, the Nuggets are living up to Malone's goal of being road warriors.
Behind Aaron Gordon's 29 points and an additional 19 from Jamal Murray, the Nuggets beat the short-handed Los Angeles Clippers 114-104 on Friday night for their league-best eighth road win.
Denver has played 13 of its first 19 on the road and gone 8-5 after having a franchise-record 25 wins away from the friendly confines of Ball Arena last season.
&ldquo;If you&rsquo;re winning at that level on the road, you know you&rsquo;re a good team. Our challenge now is to go home and take care of business,&rdquo; Malone said after the Nuggets won their second straight and third in their last four games.
Nikola Jokic added 19 points, 13 rebounds and six assists for the Nuggets, who led by 21 at one point during the fourth quarter with a run of 10 straight points midway through the period.
John Wall had a season-high 23 points for the Clippers, who were down to 10 players with Kawhi Leonard, Paul George and Luke Kennard out due to injuries. Leonard missed his second straight game after he sprained his right ankle Monday night against Utah. George (right hamstring) missed his third straight game and Kennard (right calf) has been out the last four.
Terance Mann added 16 points and Marcus Morris Sr. had 15.
The Clippers had 11 turnovers in the first half, but only three in the final 24 minutes.
&ldquo;We were being too casual with the basketball in the first half, but addressed that at halftime,&rdquo; coach Tyronn Lue said. &ldquo;In the second half we had our chances, and got it to seven. The margin of error is very slim so we got to take advantage of those opportunities. But I thought we did some good things and we've got some things we&rsquo;ve got to clean up.&rdquo;
Denver was down to 10 players in Wednesday&rsquo;s win over Oklahoma City but was bolstered by the returns of Murray and Ish Smith to the lineup.
&ldquo;It feels like we&rsquo;re starting to put something together. So this is something to build on,&rdquo; said Gordon, who scored 19 points in the second half.
The game was tied at 18 midway through the first quarter before the Nuggets scored nine straight points to lead the rest of the way.
Denver extended its advantage to 64-52 at halftime and led by 17 with 2 minutes remaining in the third after a pair of free throws by Vlatko Cancar made it 85-68. The Clippers made a late run to get it to 87-77
TIP-INS
Nuggets: Michael Porter Jr. (heel), Jeff Green (knee), Bones Hyland (illness) and Payton Watson (illness) did not play. ... Cancar had 13 points coming off the bench. ... Murray also had nine assists. ... Denver had a 21-4 advantage in second-chance points.
Clippers: Robert Covington had 12 points, including a pair of 3-pointers and reached 1,200 for his career. ... Norman Powell had 11 points off the bench. ... Los Angeles was 19 of 34 on free throws, with the 55.9% rate being its second-lowest of the year.
&nbsp;

Behind Aaron Gordon's 29 points, the Nuggets beat the short-handed  Clippers 114-104 for their league-best eighth road win.

Gordon scores 29, Nuggets beat short-handed Clippers 114-104

LOS ANGELES (AP) &mdash; With Kawhi Leonard's return nowhere in sight, Paul George is putting pressure on himself to carry the Los Angeles Clippers and their high expectations.
Despite turnovers down the stretch, George came up with two huge baskets to help the Clippers edge the Houston Rockets 95-93 on Monday night and snap a four-game losing streak.
&ldquo;We're not playing the heavyweights right now,&rdquo; George said. &ldquo;The way we were losing these games, it was embarrassing. We've got to start to play better.&rdquo;
The Clippers (3-4) again were without Leonard and John Wall. Leonard missed his fifth game and Wall sat out his second, both because of knee injury management.
&ldquo;I take full responsibility for us and our record right now,&rdquo; George said. &ldquo;Regardless of who's in the lineup or who's not, I'm more than capable of going out and performing.&rdquo;
George hit a go-ahead jumper with six seconds remaining, finishing with 35 points, nine rebounds and eight assists. Ivica Zubac added 16 points and 12 rebounds. He teamed with George to score 14 of the Clippers' 22 points in the fourth quarter, when they played a two-man pick and roll.
&ldquo;That's one of our best plays with me and PG doing pick and rolls together,&rdquo; Zubac said. &ldquo;We couldn't make any shots but we attacked the paint.&rdquo;
K.J. Martin scored 23 points off the bench to lead the Rockets (1-8), who dropped their fourth in a row.
George's 3-pointer tied the game 93-all with 39 seconds remaining. That got fans on their feet for the final seconds.
George stole the ball from former Clipper Eric Gordon. After another timeout, Reggie Jackson inbounded to George, who hit a jumper that gave the Clippers their first lead of the fourth quarter.
Gordon's shot missed at the buzzer and he gestured to indicate he thought he'd been fouled.
&ldquo;We're a group that fights,&rdquo; Houston coach Stephen Silas said. &ldquo;We executed pretty good down the stretch.&rdquo;
George had three costly turnovers in the final minutes after hitting a 3-pointer that drew the Clippers within two earlier in the fourth. His first led to a dunk by Kevin Porter Jr. After George's second turnover, he got called for an offensive foul.
&ldquo;Bad turnovers, bad possessions,&rdquo; George said, ticking off some of the Clippers' issues. &ldquo;We're not shooting the ball well. That's going to come. Tonight, defensively, was a step in the right direction.&rdquo;
George fed Zubac for a dunk that again got the Clippers within two. But Jalen Green answered with a basket to keep Houston ahead.
Martin, who finished four points off his career high, got hot late in the third and early in the fourth. Tari Eason and <a href="https://www.nba.com/watch/video/kenyon-martin-jr-with-the-emphatic-jam?plsrc=nba&amp;game-highlights=0022200102">Martin</a> combined to score 11 points in a row to put Houston back in front, 76-71, late in the third.
Martin had Houston's first five points of the fourth before missing two free throws with the Rockets clinging to a two-point lead.
The teams traded narrow leads in the third, when George scored 12 points.
TIP-INS
Rockets: Jae'Sean Tate reaggravated the ankle injury that forced him to miss the season's first four games. He's day-to-day and will be re-evaluated in Houston.
Clippers: Robert Covington remains in the NBA's health and safety protocols. ... Los Angeles has won seven of its last eight against the Rockets.
STAYING HOME
Leonard won't be joining the Clippers for their quick two-game trip to Texas this week.
&ldquo;He's frustrated. He wants to be out on the floor,&rdquo; coach Tyronn Lue said. &ldquo;Then not being on the floor, now you can't travel. He wants to travel, but the doctor says it's not the right thing to do right now with the stiffness (in his knee) and what he's going through.&rdquo;

Paul George came up with two huge baskets to help the Clippers edge the Rockets 95-93 and snap a four-game losing streak.

Clippers edge Rockets 95-93 on George's clutch jumpers

Welcome to Basketball News' 10-part mini-series, Blazing the Trail, where Mat Issa breaks down the most revolutionary players of the 1990s and 2000s. Throughout this series, we'll examine how these players changed basketball and pioneered their respective skills.
In this fifth installment, Mat goes in-depth on one of the most versatile defenders of all-time: Andrei Kirilenko. He explains what made him different from other off-ball rovers who came before him, with insights from his former coaches, teammates and more.
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No player in this series has garnered more anticipation than Andrei Kirilenko. A quick survey of the internet yields countless articles and <a href="https://youtu.be/XGkSph7VDrU" target="_blank" rel="noopener">YouTube videos</a> that are all centered around the same premise:
Kirilenko would be a perfect fit in today&rsquo;s era.
Did Kirilenko serve as the prototype for the modern-day defender? During his prime, was he a revolutionary and a superstar?&nbsp;
Let's find out.
WHAT MADE KIRILENKO SPECIAL?
In baseball, a "five-tool player" is bestowed this label if they display excellence in five categories: hitting for average, hitting for power, fielding, speed and throwing.
Similarly, Kirilenko excelled in five different defensive disciplines.
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Tool No. 1: Man Defense
&ldquo;His technique was fundamentally instinctive,&rdquo; said Gordon Chiesa, Kirilenko&rsquo;s former coach in Utah.
Kirilenko touted great length, reflexes and an active &lsquo;tap-dancing&rsquo; stance (see clips below) that enabled him to keep the ball in his line of sight at all times.&nbsp;
On top of that, he mastered the &lsquo;flick-hand technique,&rsquo; which aims to force ball-handlers to dribble East to West rather than North to South (since it's harder to get in the paint when you can&rsquo;t move forward).
"[Your] defensive hand is on the ball side, and [you're] flicking [your] hand up towards the ball &ndash; without losing [your] balance &ndash; to make their dribble lateral, so that it's more protective [rather than] more downhill," Chiesa explained to Basketball News.
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Tool No. 2: Versatility&nbsp;
While Kirilenko&rsquo;s primary assignments were forwards, he was capable of guarding shiftier speedsters and gargantuan bruisers as well.
&ldquo;You could literally put him on just about anyone,&rdquo; recalled Michael Ruffin, Kirilenko&rsquo;s former teammate who is now an assistant coach with the Phoenix Suns. "[He] had the speed, quickness, length to keep up with guards&hellip; on the perimeter. That&rsquo;s who he would end up guarding a lot [of the time].&rdquo;
Kirilenko even developed antidotes to deploy when going up against the more powerful, low-post big men of the time.
&ldquo;Even on the post with a bigger, banging guy&hellip; he could make it difficult for them to get the ball deep by fronting them,&rdquo; said Charlotte Hornets assistant Tyrone Corbin, who coached Kirilenko in Utah. "What he would do is put the work in early [in the post] to make the catch a little further out, so they wouldn&rsquo;t catch it so deep in the paint.&rdquo;
And if the big man somehow managed to receive the entry pass?
&ldquo;He would go after the ball and keep them off balance that way,&rdquo; Corbin explained.
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Tool No. 3: Off-Ball Disruptor
&ldquo;The thing I remember about him most is that he [was] a defensive playmaker,&rdquo; Chiesa said.
Each season from 2001 to 2011, Kirilenko finished in the 96th percentile or higher in Cerebro Sports&rsquo; Defensive Statistical Impact metric (which measures defensive playmaking).&nbsp;
&ldquo;What made Kirilenko brilliant, I call it early eyes,&rdquo; Chiesa explained. &ldquo;He could read plays before [they] happened&hellip; and he was able to be cat-quick and jump in the passing lanes to steal the ball, block a shot or pickpocket somebody.&rdquo;
Among other things, Kirilenko was adept at doubling down from the perimeter &ndash; the concept of rotating over from the perimeter to double a player on the low block (which was particularly important during that era considering the high volume of post-ups).
&ldquo;People never understood how long he really was,&rdquo; Corbin said. &ldquo;He could be at the <a href="https://medium.com/the-basketball-dictionary/the-basketball-dictionary-5c3835e9fe58#:~:text=Nail%3A%20The%20spot%20in%20the,the%20middle%20at%20all%20costs." target="_blank" rel="noopener">nail</a>/elbow, and a guy could get the ball in the post and turn to dribble or make a move, and he&rsquo;s on top of them knocking the ball out.&rdquo;
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Tool No. 4: Motor
Legendary Jazz coach Jerry Sloan was known for stressing the importance of conditioning in all his practices.
&ldquo;That&rsquo;s one of the biggest sticklers with Coach Sloan: you had to be in great shape,&rdquo; Corbin emphasized. &ldquo;Most of the things that we did every day involved some kind of drill [with] conditioning as part of the drill.&rdquo;
Upon reflecting on his experiences, Ruffin agreed with Corbin&rsquo;s assessment.
&ldquo;The philosophy of the team&hellip; was that every time you stepped on the court, you go hard,&rdquo; Ruffin said.
Kirilenko did not deviate from this mission statement. During his iconic run in the 2003-04 NBA season (more on that in a bit), he finished in the 94th percentile in minutes played. And he spent every second of those nearly 2,900 minutes stalking the terrain at a frenetic pace.
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Tool No. 5: Shot-Blocking
Kirilenko was a human eraser of the highest order, and his acumen as a shot-blocker is what separated him from the likes of Shawn Marion &ndash; the other multi-faceted forward of that time.
During his career, Kirilenko posted a whopping seven seasons with a block percentage of 4% or higher. Marion, on the other hand, never surpassed 3%.&nbsp;
With his condor arms, impeccable timing and recovery speed, Kirilenko was terrific at swatting away attempts.
&ldquo;Super timing. Super, super timing," Corbin said. "And his ability to recover &ndash; to get from point A to point B &ndash; especially off the ball when he could be on the weakside. A guy could drive thinking he was open; [Kirilenko] would get from where he was to the ball quickly before the guy could alter his shot or see him coming.
&ldquo;As good as he was on the ball, he was better coming off the ball because guys couldn&rsquo;t see where he was coming from.&rdquo;
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ON-COURT PRODUCTION
Prior to the 2003-04 NBA season, ESPN writer Frank Hughes <a href="https://www.deseret.com/2003/10/5/19788279/little-expected-of-jazz" target="_blank" rel="noopener">predicted</a> that the Utah Jazz would lose more games than any team in NBA history.&nbsp;
Not only did Utah outperform these not-so-lofty expectations, they came within one game of the playoffs in the loaded Western Conference.&nbsp;
So, what happened?
&ldquo;When things like that usually happen, you look back, and you&rsquo;re like, &lsquo;Oh, we missed on three or four of those players. They were way better than we thought,'&rdquo; said David Locke, who has been the radio voice of the Jazz for 13 years.
&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t think that exists on [the Jazz&rsquo;s] roster. I think the only one we missed on was a 22-year-old Andrei Kirilenko [who] was just a way better player and more important than people realized.&rdquo;
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Advanced data helps us understand Kirilenko's impact that season. Basketball Reference&rsquo;s Box Plus-Minus paints Kirilenko as a <a href="https://www.basketball-reference.com/leagues/NBA_2004_advanced.html#advanced_stats::bpm">top-three player</a> in the league that year, with the next-best Jazz player ranking 75th. While top-three may be unlikely, he was pretty darn close.
In 2003-04, Utah's defense was 2.2 points stingier per 100 possessions with their Swiss-army-knife defender on the floor (which ranked in the 72nd percentile, per Cleaning the Glass).&nbsp;
What&rsquo;s more, AK-47's value extended beyond his defense. He also boasted a progressive offensive game &ndash; one that improved Utah&rsquo;s attack by 9.5 points per 100 possessions (ranking in the 97th percentile, per Cleaning the Glass).&nbsp;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
Along with being a revolutionary defender, Kirilenko had an incredibly modern (and underrated) offensive game. He was a decisive passer, an eager cutter, a fearless driver, and a FT drawing machine. He would have been the perfect player in today's read-and-react react game. <a href="https://t.co/dvEZTxxWDJ">pic.twitter.com/dvEZTxxWDJ</a>
&mdash; Mat Issa (@matissa15) <a href="https://twitter.com/matissa15/status/1562527132013604865?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 24, 2022</a></blockquote>

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Put those two outputs together, and the Jazz had a +11.8 efficiency differential per 100 possessions when Kirilenko was on the court. That year, the only other All-Stars to achieve that mark were Kevin Garnett (the 2003-04 MVP), Shaquille O&rsquo;Neal, Jason Kidd and Brad Miller.&nbsp;
(Note: On the <a href="https://open.spotify.com/episode/260tNesWxrhH93RDQP06pS?si=79381e7876574e8f" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Blazing the Trail podcast</a>, historian Cody Houdek and I broke down where Kirilenko ranked in the league that season, and we ultimately landed on him falling somewhere in the 8-12 range).
BLAZING THE TRAIL
Chiesa&rsquo;s Jazz spent the late 1990s being vanquished by a team that rostered a player in Kirilenko&rsquo;s likeness: Scottie Pippen.
&ldquo;Defensively, [Pippen] was a defensive playmaker who could guard all five positions, and that was Kirilenko,&rdquo; Chiesa compared.&nbsp;
Despite their similarities, Pippen&rsquo;s approach was more <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N9vFHYVXtRk" target="_blank" rel="noopener">on-ball orientated</a> (juxtaposed with Kirilenko&rsquo;s primarily off-ball style). A more perfect progenitor for this inspector-gadget model exists by way of 1970s stalwart Bobby Jones.&nbsp;
&ldquo;Absolutely,&rdquo; Chiesa exclaimed when asked about the two forwards' similarities.&nbsp;&ldquo;Just like Kirilenko &ndash; 6-foot-9, [220] pounds, gangly, high hips, [could] run the floor, defensive playmaker...&rdquo;&nbsp;
Like Kirilenko, the Secretary of Defense touted the illustrious <a href="https://streamable.com/3ynktv" target="_blank" rel="noopener">five defensive tools</a> and, as a result, left a significant mark on that end of the floor &ndash; quarterbacking five top-5 defenses during his 10-year tenure in the NBA.
Both defensive roamers by nature, Kirilenko was able to become arguably more impactful than his predecessor thanks to the abolition of illegal defense rules in 2001. Before this rule change, zone defense was banned, and if teams/players wanted to execute these exotic coverages, they had to do so covertly, which greatly mitigated the value of off-ball roamers such as Jones.
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IMPACT ON TODAY'S GAME
In the era of pace and space, the logical defensive counter to this increased surface area is to obtain personnel who can cover this space efficiently.&nbsp;
As alluded to in the previous section, rule changes enabled Kirilenko to operate unrestricted in a manner his forefathers never could. And this confluence of events, combined with his unique physical tools and instincts, made him the prototype for the space-ball defender.
Today, the NBA landscape is littered with players who resemble Kirilenko's robust defensive palate. Nearly every prominent defender in the Association has shades of Kirilenko&rsquo;s design in their own game.&nbsp;
For instance, All-Defensive First Team forward Mikal Bridges shares Kirilenko&rsquo;s length and motor.&nbsp;
&ldquo;I think that [Kirilenko] is actually a lot like Mikal,&rdquo; said Ruffin, who coaches Bridges on the Suns. &ldquo;They are both extremely long, they move really well [when] negotiating screens, both have good motors, and they both take pride in defending.&rdquo;
As for reigning Defensive Player of the Year Marcus Smart, Ruffin said that he inherited Kirilenko&rsquo;s versatility. Like Kirilenko, Smart regularly faces off against defenders far larger than him in stature, and he holds them off using the same <a href="https://streamable.com/5x6n4y" target="_blank" rel="noopener">fronting techniques</a> Corbin alluded to earlier.&nbsp;
Draymond Green, arguably the best defender of his generation, may share the most similarities with Kirilenko &mdash; possessing all five of his fancy utensils. And similar to how Kirilenko surpassed Jones, Green one-upped AK-47 by adding a rim-deterrence component to his game.&nbsp;
The best paint protectors deter opponents from taking shots in the restricted area entirely, and Green is no exception. This past season, opponent rim frequency decreased by 5.4% when he was on the court (which ranked in the 99th percentile, per Cleaning the Glass). Unfortunately, Kirilenko's presence didn&rsquo;t have the same effect, as the opponent's rim frequency <a href="https://cleaningtheglass.com/stats/player/2029/onoff#tab-opp_shooting_freq" target="_blank" rel="noopener">oftentimes</a> increased when he was on the floor.
Thanks to the movement initiated by Kirilenko (and capitalized on by Green), every team is looking for the next torchbearer to the space-ball-defender lineage.
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In fact, Utah may have just stumbled upon its second iteration of the archetype in recently acquired Jarred Vanderbilt. When asked about their parallels, Chiesa pulled out his notes from when the Jazz and Timberwolves faced off on December 31, 2021, and read them aloud:
&ldquo;Lengthy frame, long arms, pretzel legs&hellip; wily defensive ball-retriever, glides in from perimeter to block shots, active back-tipper into transition, early-eyes anticipator, in and out of the passing lanes, steal maker&hellip; around the ball consistently.&rdquo;
Sound familiar?
Meanwhile, in Toronto, the Raptors believe they hold the key to the next link in the five-tool chain in reigning Rookie of the Year Scottie Barnes.&nbsp;
&ldquo;I think Scottie is overall a better talent [than Kirilenko]," Raptors assistant coach Adrian Griffin told Basketball News. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m not taking anything away from Kirilenko&hellip; but I think there is something special about Scottie.&rdquo;
Seeing the direction the league is going, it makes sense why people always ponder how Kirilenko would fare in today&rsquo;s game.&nbsp;
But don&rsquo;t let his status as a revolutionary fool you; he was a damn good player during his time too.&nbsp;
<img src="https://cdn.basketballnews.com/images/story/body/img_5197.jpg" alt="" width="562" height="562" />
Check back next week for Part VI of Blazing the Trail, which focuses on Shawn Kemp, the aerial artist.&nbsp;
<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-blazing-the-trail-reggie-miller-the-moving-target-indiana-pacers-rik-smits-dan-burke-michael-jordan-joe-dumars-golden-state-warriors-chris-mullin-steph-curry-klay-thompson">Click here to read Part IV: Reggie Miller, the moving target</a>
<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-blazing-the-trail-shane-battier-the-databall-defender-memphis-grizzlies-houston-rockets-miami-heat-daryl-morey-david-fizdale-detroit-pistons-draymond-green" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Click here to read Part III: Shane Battier, the data-ball defender</a>
<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-blazing-the-trail-rashard-lewis-all-star-stretch-four-orlando-magic-stan-van-gundy-dwight-howard-hedo-turkoglu" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Click here to read Part II: Rashard Lewis, the All-Star stretch 4</a>
<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-blazing-the-trail-steve-nash-phoenix-suns-mike-dantoni-raja-bell-steph-curry-all-time-great-point-guard" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Click here to read Part I: Steve Nash, the magician who danced in the paint</a>

Andrei Kirilenko was a five-tool defender who was ahead of his time. Mat Issa looks back on AK-47's career and impact on today's NBA.

Blazing the Trail: Andrei Kirilenko, the five-tool defender

DENVER (AP) &mdash; Nikola Jokic bounced back from a rare poor shooting performance, scoring 30 points to lead the Denver Nuggets to a 127-115 win over the Los Angeles Clippers on Tuesday night.
It was his supporting cast's performance that fired up coach Michael Malone, who smiled as he scanned the stat sheet and saw all five starters plus reserves Bones Hyland and Austin Rivers had scored in double figures.
&ldquo;I'm extremely pleased,&rdquo; Malone said. &ldquo;Yes, Nikola is an MVP, but this team with nine games to go, needs everybody to step their game up down the stretch and alleviate some of the pressure that's put on Nikola every night.&rdquo;
Denver had lost four of six, including a 124-104 home loss to the Celtics on Sunday night in which Jokic missed 15 shots and blamed himself for the defeat.
Against the Clippers, he was 9 of 15 from the floor &mdash; he also had two baskets that were waived off &mdash; and sank 12 of 13 free throws. He also pulled down a game-best 14 rebounds for his 59th double-double of the season.
The only thing worse than facing Jokic is facing Jokic coming off a bad game.
&ldquo;For sure,&rdquo; Clippers coach Tyronn Lue said. &ldquo;He was the MVP last year and has a great chance to win it again this year. We knew he was going to play well. Usually don&rsquo;t play bad two games in a row, so he came out played well, got his team going. That&rsquo;s to be expected.&rdquo;
The Clippers, who got 24 points from Terance Mann, dropped their fourth straight game. They have lost seven of nine overall. Marcus Morris Sr., Isaiah Hartenstein and Robert Covington each added 14 points.
Hyland, Aaron Gordon and Jeff Green scored 16 points apiece for Denver. Monte Morris had 15 and Will Barton 10. Rivers scored 11.
&ldquo;Everybody contributed,&rdquo; Gordon said.
Jokic's tip-in appeared to give the Nuggets a 74-61 halftime lead but a review showed he touched it just a tick after the buzzer went off.
Jokic had a tip-in while being fouled with about six minutes left in the game, but the basket was waived off and the Nuggets got the ball out of bounds, then Will Barton missed a 3.
The Clippers chipped away, cutting a 14-point deficit at one point to 111-109. Morris and Jeff Green responded with back-to-back 3-pointers, and the Nuggets closed on a 16-6 run.
&ldquo;We haven&rsquo;t finished games the way we wanted to lately," Clippers guard Reggie Jackson said. &ldquo;We haven&rsquo;t come up with as many wins as we&rsquo;ve wanted to. But keep your spirits up and understand that we&rsquo;ve put in a lot of work. It&rsquo;s going to continue to show. We&rsquo;re still in a great position. We&rsquo;re going to continue to come out here and play our best basketball at the right time.&rdquo;
Hyland had four clutch 3-pointers, two in the waning minutes of the second quarter that helped Denver take an 11-point lead into the break. He had another that sent the Nuggets into the fourth with a 99-88 advantage and one that made it 107-95 after the Clippers had pulled within six points.
&ldquo;That kid plays with so much energy,&rdquo; Monte Morris said. &ldquo;He's coming into his own, for sure.&rdquo;
TIP-INS
Clippers: The Clippers bench and Nuggets big man DeMarcus Cousins were assessed a double-technical foul at 7:39 of the second quarter. Roughly two minutes later, Clippers F Robert Covington was whistled for a technical while Gordon was shooting free throws after getting fouled on a 3-point try. Jokic stepped in and sank the technical foul shot before Gordon sank his third, giving the Nuggets a 55-48 lead.
Nuggets: The Nuggets shot 62% from the field in the first half and made 14 of 15 free throws. ... Malone said F Zeke Nnaji may not play again this season. Nnaji has been dealing with bilateral knee soreness. &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t know when, or if, he&rsquo;ll be back," Malone said. "I really can&rsquo;t say because I really did not anticipate he&rsquo;d be out this long.&rdquo;
UP NEXT
Clippers: Host the Philadelphia 76ers on Friday night.
Nuggets: Host the Phoenix Suns on Thursday night.
&nbsp;

Nikola Jokic scored 30 points to lead the Denver Nuggets to a 127-115 win over the Los Angeles Clippers.

Jokic, Nuggets bounce back with 127-115 win over LA Clippers

Twice, like a thief in the night, Lady Luck picked his pocket cleaner than even Allen Iverson could&rsquo;ve.
That fistful of rings that Magic Johnson possesses could&rsquo;ve easily been seven, but she &mdash; perhaps put up to it by the Basketball Gods &mdash; had other plans.
A five-time champion, the legendary Magic Johnson won the league's MVP award in 1989. His Los Angeles Lakers were looking for a three-peat, which seemed inevitable. They'd be squaring off against Isiah Thomas and the Detroit Pistons in a rematch of the prior year's Finals, one in which the Lakers prevailed in seven games.
Au contraire.
After losing Game 1 in Detroit, Johnson suffered a season-ending strained hamstring in the third quarter of Game 2. The Lakers would go on to lose that one, as well as both Game 3 and Game 4 &mdash; neither of which saw Johnson take the court.
Two years later, after Michael Jordan knocked off the Pistons and ascended to the Eastern Conference&rsquo;s throne, he would see Johnson in what was the Laker legend's ninth and final trip to the championship series. Those 1991 NBA Finals should have been a clash of the titans... But Jordan&rsquo;s Bulls rolled over the Lakers in just five games.
James Worthy, the Lakers&rsquo; leading scorer that season, suffered a sprained ankle during the Western Conference Finals. It hampered him before a reaggravation caused him to check out of the series for good with 2:49 remaining in the third quarter of Game 4. The Bulls, in all fairness, led the series 2-1 at that point. But the Lakers would lose Game 4 and Game 5, the second of which was played without both Worthy and key reserve Byron Scott.
As a result of those absences, in that fateful game, the Lakers played only seven players.
Magic wouldn't see the Finals again. His 5-4 record there is pretty good, but not nearly as spectacular as a 7-2 record would have been. But that&rsquo;s okay&hellip; Injuries always have and always will be a part of the game.
Somewhere, Kevin Durant is nodding in agreement. And Kyle Lowry is raising his eyebrows and shrugging his shoulders.
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As safe a bet as there is, your last nickel can confidently be wagered on injuries playing a part when it comes to the Larry O&rsquo;Brien trophy. One of LeBron James&rsquo; Finals losses came without Kyrie Irving or Kevin Love by his side. Doc Rivers would quickly remind you about Kendrick Perkins&rsquo; torn ACL.
So yes. It happens&hellip;
But damn, bro&hellip; Not like this.
The 2021 NBA Playoffs &mdash; where asterisks abound.
Unlike Magic&rsquo;s first NBA Finals in 1980, and still quite dissimilar to his last one in 1991, today, the NBA is a billion-dollar business. We love the game. We watch players like Steph Curry, Damian Lillard and Durant make Herculean feats looks routine. Larger than life in every sense of the word, having an in-person conversation with an NBA superstar &mdash; no matter how long you&rsquo;ve been around the business &mdash; is pretty damn cool.
For most of us, making eye contact with LeBron or giving a fist bump to Zion Williamson is the closest we&rsquo;ll ever get to meeting a superhero. We can&rsquo;t help but wonder what it feels like to fly.
So we watch games and we buy tickets. Now, we place bets. StubHub wants in on the action, so does BetQL. And the likes of ESPN and TNT pay the NBA billions of dollars to televise everything from preseason games to the newest phenomenon: the All-Star Game Draft.
The trickle-down effect of that &mdash; thanks to a player-friendly collective bargaining agreement that usually distributes the majority of revenue to the players &mdash; is merely &ldquo;decent&rdquo; pro players becoming centimillionaires.
They employ agents, business managers, public relations professionals, bodyguards, nutritionists, strength trainers, chauffeurs and nannies. And in each their own right, NBA players have become their own economic solar systems with their own individual sets of celestial objects.
So when there&rsquo;s a work stoppage and Player X doesn&rsquo;t have the means to earn his millions, the aggregate economic impact for those within his ecosystem is catastrophic.
For that reason, as we learned in the Orlando Bubble last season, the game must go on, even if the NBA&rsquo;s players don&rsquo;t necessarily want it to.
It&rsquo;s just sad now that everyone seems to be paying the price.
The powers that be in the NBA and its players union jointly agreed to ask its workforce to play 80 regular season games and two postseasons in less than one year. For the Lakers and the Miami Heat, specifically, their 2019-20 season ended on Oct. 11, while their 2020-21 season began on Dec. 22 and Dec. 23, respectively.
Neither would get out of the first round this time around. Maybe it was a coincidence, but it&rsquo;s hard to make that argument based on what we&rsquo;ve seen transpire before our very eyes.
Between then and now, scores of impact players have had their seasons derailed by injury. Without knowing better, you could believe the names to be a recital of some All-NBA teams.
Jamal Murray, Jaylen Brown and Victor Oladipo never played a minute in the 2021 playoffs. Neither did Myles Turner or Gordon Hayward (whose teams didn't qualify for the playoffs but did make it to the play-in tournament, where perhaps they could've secured a spot if they were at full strength).&nbsp;
<img src="https://cdn.basketballnews.com/images/story/body/usatsi_16132328_lg.jpg" alt="" width="707" height="471" />
Among the difference-makers who sustained significant injuries, but played through them, are LeBron, Luka Doncic, Russell Westbrook, Bradley Beal and Michael Porter Jr.
Many others weren&rsquo;t as lucky.
Anthony Davis, who officially missed only one playoff game, was essentially absent from the Lakers&rsquo; final three. Chris Paul will likely begin the Western Conference Finals on the shelf after testing positive for COVID-19, but let&rsquo;s not forget about the shoulder injury that threatened to derail the Suns&rsquo; title run before it even began. He was favoring the shoulder as recently as Game 3 against the Denver Nuggets.
Kawhi Leonard&rsquo;s season is potentially over, while many other participants in the NBA&rsquo;s Elite Eight are attempting to shake off their ailments and return to form. Entering play on June 18, James Harden, Joel Embiid, Donovan Mitchell, Kyrie Irving and even Mike Conley, in their truest forms, are still M.I.A.
Ja Morant and Devin Booker have arrived. Porter grew up. Durant returned. But we&rsquo;ve been distracted from it by the fact that many of our favorites are dropping like flies.
Thus far, eight of the 26 players selected as 2021 NBA All-Stars have missed playoff games which, according to the Elias Sports Bureau, is an all-time record.
That sobering statistic led to LeBron &mdash; still the face of the NBA &mdash; <a href="https://twitter.com/KingJames/status/1405236532215095301?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noopener">going on a mini-rant on Twitter</a>, essentially wagging his finger and saying, &ldquo;I told you so!&rdquo;
James reportedly advocated for the start of the 2020-21 season to be pushed back until at least some point in January due to, according to him, fears of increased injury probabilities due to fatigue.
James obviously lost. And now, unfortunately, so has everyone else.
Superheroes they may be, but the exploitation of their talents &mdash; and our collective willingness to watch it, talk about it, and yes, write about it &mdash; is the NBA&rsquo;s business. The decision to begin the 2020-21 season days before Christmas was made with careful thought, and after balancing many factors. But for the NBA, as is usually the case, business won out.
From the beginning, it was always a zero-sum game: playing as close to 82 games as possible was the priority and completing the season with enough time to get the 2021-22 season back on its traditional schedule was necessary.
The beauty of an NBA Finals played in June has always been not having to compete with Major League Baseball&rsquo;s pennant races or with the NFL. This year in particular, the league had to consider the Tokyo Olympics, which is set to commence on July 23.
So business won out. It&rsquo;s just a shame that, in the form of their health, the league&rsquo;s players had to pay the bill.
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When the smoke clears, the 2021 NBA Champion, without question, won&rsquo;t be able to flatly lay claim to being the best team &mdash; not with so many impact players hobbling into the postseason.
What we&rsquo;ve seen this postseason in terms of injuries, is unprecedented, and even though injuries have always been a part of the game, Magic Johnson himself probably can&rsquo;t help but to be blown away.
Jamal Murray should&rsquo;ve had a chance. Kawhi Leonard&rsquo;s season shouldn&rsquo;t end with him in a suit. Kyrie Irving isn&rsquo;t supposed to be sidelined for a Game 7. Nobody ever wanted to see Anthony Davis limp off the floor, just like nobody wants to see Joel Embiid reduced to being a wounded warrior.
We now know that LeBron was right. We&rsquo;ve seen enough to say that, with confidence, the NBA returned to action much too soon. We all understand why, but in deciding to do so, Adam Silver, Michele Roberts and the powers that be decided to sigh, inhale, look up into the sky and shoot the dice.
With one flick of the wrist, they decided to take a monumental risk and bet that their players would hold up over the long haul.
Defiantly, they shook up the dice and shot. And with it all on the line, they rolled snake eyes.
In the end, they've made losers of us all.

Injuries have always been a part of the game, but this postseason has been different. It's obvious why, writes Moke Hamilton.

Injuries Galore: The NBA’s all-too-soon return has made losers of us all

There are currently five NBA teams above .600 in the Western Conference: the Utah Jazz (.745), Phoenix Suns (.727), Los Angeles Clippers (.684), Denver Nuggets (.636) and Los Angeles Lakers (.607).
Unfortunately, Jamal Murray's <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-on-jamal-murray-a-lost-season-denver-nuggets-deserve-better-nikola-jokic-aaron-gordon-mike-malone" target="_blank" rel="noopener">season-ending injury likely kills Denver's shot at contending</a> this season, but that still leaves several uber-talented teams fighting one spot in the NBA Finals. With so much competition, we recently asked our BasketballNews.com staff the following question:
Who's the team to beat in the Western Conference?
Alex Kennedy: If the Los Angeles Lakers are healthy, they&rsquo;re going to be very difficult to dethrone. However, since they aren&rsquo;t at 100% at the moment, so I&rsquo;ll go with the Utah Jazz. Not only do they have the NBA&rsquo;s best record, they are the only team with a top-four offense and defense; they&rsquo;re scoring 115.5 points per 100 possessions (third-best in the NBA) and allowing 105.9 points per 100 possessions (fourth-best). They are shooting 38.9% percent from deep and knocking down an unprecedented 16.8 threes per game. The NBA record for most threes per game belongs to the 2018-19 Houston Rockets, who made 16.1 per game at a 35.6% clip. The Jazz are putting on a shooting clinic every night, and they have a very balanced attack (with six players averaging at least 12.0 points). And unlike other contenders, the Jazz have continuity and chemistry (as Rudy Gobert <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/rudy-gobert-qa-jazzs-title-hopes-nba-top-shot-more" target="_blank" rel="noopener">pointed out in a recent interview with BasketballNews.com</a>). It&rsquo;s time to stop sleeping on this Jazz team.
Nekias Duncan: I think you still have to respect the champions, assuming they get healthy. A Laker squad with LeBron James and Anthony Davis should be favored if they&rsquo;re available. In the event that they aren&rsquo;t, I&rsquo;m kinda drinking the Phoenix Suns Kool-aid. I love their blend of shot creation, shooting, defensive versatility, and toughness.
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Moke Hamilton: The Lakers. LeBron James is obviously a year older and both he and Anthony Davis have had injury issues this season, but they&rsquo;re the defending champs and they&rsquo;ve managed to add Andre Drummond and Ben McLemore to what was already a talented team. If I&rsquo;m them, I&rsquo;m not necessarily fearing any other team in the Western Conference, though the Clippers would certainly be the one that I&rsquo;d be thinking about at night time. Still, though, I&rsquo;m not sure how you can go against picking the defending champs, especially knowing that James will soon be back in the lineup.&nbsp;
Spencer Davies: It&rsquo;s probably foolish to doubt the reigning champions, but there&rsquo;s something about the top-four teams in the West that makes me a believer. As good as the Utah Jazz and Phoenix Suns have been at methodically dissecting their opponents, I just have a certain feeling about the Los Angeles Clippers. With Tyronn Lue at the helm, this group has shown that they&rsquo;re much more than "Kawhi Leonard, Paul George and the rest." They <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-los-angeles-clippers-tyronn-lue-serge-ibaka-ivica-zubac-contrasting-big-man-skill-set" target="_blank" rel="noopener">have legitimate versatility at the center position</a> with Ivica Zubac and Serge Ibaka, reliable veterans in Marcus Morris, Nicolas Batum and the recently-acquired Rajon Rondo, and an extremely confident Reggie Jackson manning the point with Patrick Beverley on the mend. It&rsquo;s the Clippers&rsquo; depth -- I didn&rsquo;t even mention the growth of Terance Mann and sharpshooter Luke Kennard -- that makes me think things could go better this postseason.
Ethan Fuller: Well, the team to dethrone is the Los Angeles Lakers. But I'm dangerously close to putting all my chips in on the Phoenix Suns. I love everything about this team. Phoenix is one of two teams with a top-six offensive and defensive rating (along with Utah); Milwaukee just missed the cut (fifth-best offensive rating, eighth-best defensive rating). The Suns&rsquo; roster meshes so well together under Monty Williams. They're 28-7 since February, and I think it's time to peg them as a genuine title contender.
Chris Sheridan: The easy answer is the Lakers. They are just so loaded.... But since everyone will likely have the same answer, I will pick Utah because of the fact that they have the best record in the NBA and they are very good at putting up points three at a time.&nbsp;
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Jannelle Moore: The team to beat in the West, in my opinion, is Utah. Their three-point shooting and three-point defense as a collective are two huge reasons as to why they have the best record in the league -- along with the continued emergence of Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert&rsquo;s impact defensively. This team has been hard to stop, but I do wonder whether this is sustainable in the playoffs. We'll see what they do on the biggest stage.
Jonathan Concool: I mean, I think it has to be the defending champs. Are the Los Angeles Lakers the best team in the West right now? No. But you still have to respect the reigning champs, and with Anthony Davis and LeBron James set to return to the court soon, don&rsquo;t overlook the Lakers as they look to make another postseason run.
Mark Gunnels: It has to be the Lakers, if healthy. Until we see LeBron James and Anthony Davis lose four times to the same team, this will always be the answer.

Who is the team to beat in the Western Conference? Is it the loaded Lakers? An underdog like the Jazz or Suns? Our staff weighs in.

Myron