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Bulls

The Boston Celtics made another notable roster move, acquiring veteran big man Nikola Vucevic from the Chicago Bulls in exchange for guard Anfernee Simons and second-round draft pick assets,according to ESPN&rsquo;s Shams Charania. The trade comes with the 2026 NBA trade deadline looming and signals Boston&rsquo;s intent to bolster its frontcourt for a playoff push.&nbsp;
Vucevic, 35, arrives in Boston as a two-time All-Star and proven NBA scorer and rebounder, currently averaging about 16.9 points and 9.0 rebounds per game this season. His addition gives the Celtics much-needed size and experience in the paint, rounding out a frontcourt that has relied heavily on younger centers like Neemias Queta and Luka Garza while dealing with injuries and lineup gaps.&nbsp;
Meanwhile, Simons, 26, departs Boston after just part of a season in green. Acquired by the Celtics last summer in the Jrue Holiday trade with the Trail Blazers, he provided a capable scoring punch off the bench, averaging 14.2 points per game and showing the shooting ability that made him a valuable trade chip.&nbsp;
The deal also has financial implications for the Celtics&rsquo; cap situation. By swapping Simons&rsquo; larger expiring contract for Vucevic&rsquo;s smaller one, Boston significantly reduces its luxury-tax bill and moves closer to operating under the league&rsquo;s first tax apron &ndash; a strategic position that could give the team more roster flexibility as the deadline nears.&nbsp;
For the Bulls, acquiring Simons adds youth and shooting to a backcourt that has been reshaped this season, complementing other recent trades as Chicago pivots toward a younger core.&nbsp;
This deadline-week trade represents a practical move by the Celtics to address a long-standing frontcourt need with a veteran presence while managing their financial picture, and it gives the Bulls a dynamic scorer in Simons as they continue reshaping their roster.

The Celtics made another roster move, acquiring big man Nikola Vucevic from the Bulls in exchange for guard Anfernee Simons.

Celtics swap Anfernee Simons for Bulls’ Nikola Vucevic

It&rsquo;s been a long time since Chicago basketball felt this good.
The United Center hasn&rsquo;t buzzed like this in years, and it&rsquo;s not because of a flashy superstar, a high-profile signing, or a sudden scoring explosion. It&rsquo;s because the Bulls &ndash; yes, these Bulls &ndash; are finally playing like a team again.
Through the first seven games of the 2025-26 NBA season, the severely underrated Chicago Bulls have stormed out to a 6&ndash;1 record, sitting at the top of the Eastern Conference standings. For a franchise that has spent much of the past decade searching for identity and direction, this early surge represents something far more meaningful than wins and losses.
It&rsquo;s about rediscovering what Chicago basketball used to stand for: toughness, selflessness, and unity.
A new identity, finally defined
For years, the Bulls&rsquo; offense revolved around Zach LaVine and DeMar DeRozan &ndash; two elite scorers whose individual brilliance often overshadowed the collective. They were both incredible in isolation, capable of creating something out of nothing, but their styles never fully meshed with what head coach Billy Donovan envisioned.
This season, the picture looks entirely different. Without LaVine and DeRozan, Donovan has reshaped the Bulls into a system-driven, motion-heavy team that thrives on movement, cutting, and passing. There&rsquo;s no ball-dominant alpha demanding touches. Instead, every possession feels deliberate, purposeful &ndash; a shared effort rather than a solo performance.
The Bulls are just playing basketball the right way, they are screening, cutting, and trusting each other. Everyone touches the ball, and everyone matters.
The Bulls may not have a top-tier offensive engine or a dominant space creator, but they&rsquo;ve replaced that with balance, energy, and discipline. The result is a brand of basketball that is winning, and one that is repeatable, although it remains to be seen if it is sustainable to get them to the playoffs.
The key players behind the surge: Nikola Vucevic and Josh Giddey
At the heart of it all is Nikola Vucevic, the steadying veteran whose game has aged like fine wine.
At 35, Vucevic isn&rsquo;t just surviving in today&rsquo;s pace-and-space NBA, he&rsquo;s thriving. He&rsquo;s averaging near a double-double once again, but it&rsquo;s his leadership that&rsquo;s had the bigger impact. He anchors Chicago&rsquo;s offense with smart positioning and inside-out passing as well as his elite floor spacing, while providing an example for the team&rsquo;s younger players about consistency and professionalism.
If Vucevic is the team&rsquo;s heart, Josh Giddey has become its brain.
After a tense summer restricted free agency saga, Giddey returned to Chicago with something to prove &ndash; and it shows. Fresh off signing a long-term deal, he&rsquo;s playing with an assertiveness and confidence that eluded him in previous seasons. Giddey has found his groove and his playmaking has been elite, threading passes and elevating the play of everyone around him.
More importantly, Giddey has found the balance between facilitating and attacking. His improved scoring aggression has kept defenses honest, opening up cutting lanes and rhythm shots for teammates. Early on, he&rsquo;s looking every bit like an All-Star &ndash; and the Bulls are reaping the benefits.
The potential of Matas Buzelis and the rise of Ayo Dosunmu
While Vucevic and Giddey set the tone, the Bulls&rsquo; most exciting storyline might be the emergence of Matas Buzelis.
The hometown kid &ndash; born in Chicago and drafted by his city &ndash; is coming into his own. Buzelis has been given the green light to learn, make mistakes, and grow, a luxury few rookies receive in a major market. His length, shooting touch, and versatility have made him a seamless fit in Donovan&rsquo;s system, and his elite athleticism and rim pressure allows him to have a consistent scoring bag.
For a franchise that&rsquo;s long searched for its next cornerstone, Buzelis represents hope &ndash; the possibility of a homegrown star who could one day carry the torch for the next great Bulls era.
Speaking of hometown pride, Ayo Dosunmu continues to be one of Chicago&rsquo;s unsung heroes.
Dosunmu, another Illinois native, has blossomed into one of the league&rsquo;s best 3-and-D guards. But this season, Donovan has asked for more &ndash; and Dosunmu has delivered. He&rsquo;s taking on bigger offensive responsibilities while still anchoring the perimeter defense. His energy, versatility, and unselfishness epitomize the Bulls&rsquo; identity: no ego, just effort.
Depth, Balance, and Belief
Even with Coby White sidelined, the Bulls&rsquo; depth has been a revelation. Role players like Isaac Okoro, Tre Jones, Patrick Williams, Kevin Huerter, and Jalen Smith have each embraced their roles with clarity and confidence.
Okoro brings defensive tenacity. Jones provides steadiness at the point. Williams has settled into a reliable two-way rhythm. Huerter adds spacing and shooting, while Smith has given valuable minutes as a stretch big. None of them are stars &ndash; but together, they&rsquo;ve formed a cohesive, balanced rotation that works alongside their core.
&ndash; &ndash; &ndash;
The city of Chicago has been waiting for a team to believe in again. Since the days of Derrick Rose&rsquo;s MVP run and Jimmy Butler&rsquo;s hope, the Bulls have cycled through rebuilds, retools, and false starts &ndash; flashes of potential that never quite materialized.
But this group is a fresh start. This team, defined by their collective purpose, embodies the city&rsquo;s blue-collar spirit. They may not have a global superstar yet, but they have something that&rsquo;s been missing for far too long: chemistry, identity, and belief.
Chicago knows greatness when it sees it. After all, it&rsquo;s the home of Michael Jordan &ndash; the standard by which all Bulls teams are measured. But even if this group isn&rsquo;t chasing banners just yet, they&rsquo;re chasing something just as important: respect, relevance, and revival.
For the first time in years, Bulls basketball matters again. And it&rsquo;s not because of who&rsquo;s scoring the most points &ndash; it&rsquo;s because they&rsquo;re doing it together.

The Chicago Bulls are off to their best start in years — not because of star power, but because of teamwork. Read more how, here:

Together again: How the Bulls’ collective identity sparked their strong start

The stage is set for one of international basketball&rsquo;s premier events. The 2025 FIBA EuroBasket tips off today, and a long list of NBA players will be trading their club jerseys for their national colors for this summer.
This year&rsquo;s competition features a loaded field of European stars, including MVPs, All-Stars, and young prospects eager to prove themselves on the continental stage. From Nikola Jokic anchoring Serbia to Giannis Antetokounmpo powering Greece and Luka Doncic leading Slovenia, some of the NBA&rsquo;s brightest names will headline what promises to be a thrilling tournament.
Here&rsquo;s a breakdown of the NBA talent set to suit up for EuroBasket 2025, followed by a guide on everything you need to know about the competition.
<h2>NBA players on EuroBasket rosters</h2>
Czechia &ndash; Vit Krejci (Hawks) Krejci gives Czechia size and versatility in the backcourt and frontcourt positions. While not a high-usage player in the NBA, he&rsquo;s expected to play a larger role as a two-way player for his national team.
Latvia &ndash; Kristaps Porzingis (Hawks) Porzingis remains the cornerstone for Latvia. His ability to stretch the floor as a big man will be critical in a team that thrives on perimeter shooting.
Portugal &ndash; Neemias Queta (Celtics) Queta will carry the banner for Portugal as their first true NBA-level player. His rim protection and rebounding presence as well as his inside scoring make him central to Portugal&rsquo;s chances of competing in a tough field.
Serbia &ndash; Nikola Jokic (Nuggets), Bogdan Bogdanovic (Clippers), Nikola Jovic (Heat), Tristan Vukcevic (Wizards) Serbia looks like a powerhouse. Jokic, the reigning NBA MVP, is the ultimate centerpiece who can dominate games with scoring, passing, and rebounding. Bogdanovic adds elite shooting and experience, while Jovic and Vukcevic provide youth and depth to keep Serbia dangerous across all positions.
Turkey &ndash; Alperen Sengun (Rockets), Adem Bona (76ers) Sengun, one of the NBA&rsquo;s brightest young centers, will be Turkey&rsquo;s go-to option on offense. Bona, fresh off his rookie NBA campaign, brings athleticism and defensive intensity in the paint.
Finland &ndash; Lauri Markkanen (Jazz) Markkanen is Finland&rsquo;s unquestioned leader and most reliable scorer. After an All-Star leap in the NBA, he&rsquo;ll be expected to carry the Finnish offense against the continent&rsquo;s top teams.
Germany &ndash; Dennis Schroder (Kings), Franz Wagner (Magic), Tristan da Silva (Magic) The reigning World Cup champions return with Schroder orchestrating the offense and Wagner providing wing scoring and star power. Da Silva, fresh from his rookie year, adds another versatile forward to the mix for Germany.
Lithuania &ndash; Jonas Valanciunas (Nuggets) Valanciunas anchors Lithuania&rsquo;s traditional inside-out game. His physicality and rebounding remain vital, particularly against Europe&rsquo;s other elite big men.
Montenegro &ndash; Nikola Vucevic (Bulls) Vucevic is Montenegro&rsquo;s main offensive hub. His inside-out skill set gives them a consistent scoring option in a balanced lineup.
Sweden &ndash; Pelle Larsson (Heat) Larsson, fresh off his rookie season in the NBA, offers Sweden perimeter shooting and length on the wing. He&rsquo;ll have to play above his experience level to make a real impact.
Bosnia and Herzegovina &ndash; Jusuf Nurkic (Jazz) Nurkic provides size, toughness, and leadership. His interior presence will be Bosnia&rsquo;s best weapon against stronger rosters.
Georgia &ndash; Goga Bitadze (Magic), Sandro Mamukelashvili (Raptors) Georgia has two NBA frontcourt players in Bitadze and Mamukelashvili. Both bring size, energy, and interior defense, giving Georgia a physical edge.
Greece &ndash; Giannis Antetokounmpo (Bucks) The two-time NBA MVP returns as Greece&rsquo;s undisputed leader. Giannis&rsquo; all-around dominance makes Greece a perennial threat when he&rsquo;s on the floor.
Italy &ndash; Simone Fontecchio (Heat) Fontecchio, a reliable floor spacer and shooter, will take on a heavy scoring load for Italy.
Spain &ndash; Santi Aldama (Grizzlies) Aldama&rsquo;s versatility fits perfectly into Spain&rsquo;s balanced style of play. He can stretch defenses with his shooting while also rebounding effectively.
France &ndash; Guerschon Yabusele (Knicks), Bilal Coulibaly (Wizards), Zaccharie Risacher (Hawks), Alex Sarr (Wizards) France boasts one of the deepest NBA contingents. Yabusele provides veteran stability, while Coulibaly, Risacher, and Sarr bring an injection of youth and athleticism. This blend of talent makes France a legitimate title contender.
Israel &ndash; Deni Avdija (Blazers) Avdija has steadily improved as a two-way forward in the NBA, and he&rsquo;ll now be Israel&rsquo;s top playmaker and scorer.
Slovenia &ndash; Luka Doncic (Lakers) Doncic headlines Slovenia as one of the most electrifying players in the world. He&rsquo;s capable of single-handedly carrying his country deep into the tournament, just as he has in previous years.
These eighteen NBA franchises will see their players in action. The Atlanta Hawks, Miami Heat, Orlando Magic, and Washington Wizards lead the way with three representatives each. The Nuggets, Jazz, and the Wizards have multiple players in the field, while even smaller-market teams like the Raptors and Trail Blazers will be represented.
<h2>Everything you need to know about EuroBasket 2025</h2>
The 2025 FIBA EuroBasket will feature 24 teams split into four groups of six. Each group will play a single round-robin, with the top four teams advancing to the knockout stages.
The knockout phase includes the Round of 16, Quarterfinals, Semifinals, a Third-Place Game, and the Final, ensuring plenty of high-stakes basketball.
Beyond continental bragging rights, EuroBasket also serves as a crucial stepping stone toward the 2027 FIBA World Cup, the 2028 Olympics and global rankings. The competition has long been a proving ground where NBA players elevate their national teams while rising European prospects showcase their skills on a world stage.
With superstars like Jokic, Giannis, and Doncic leading the way, and promising youngsters like Risacher, Sarr, and Jovic making their mark, EuroBasket 2025 has the talent and storylines to deliver one of the most memorable editions in recent history.

The stage is set for one of international basketball’s premier events. The 2025 FIBA EuroBasket tips off today

NBA players set for action at 2025 FIBA EuroBasket

On Tuesday night, the Chicago Bulls tried something new against the Minnesota Timberwolves: starting their two centers, Nikola Vucevic and Andre Drummond, together.
The Bulls normally start Vucevic and surround him with four perimeter players, but head coach Billy Donovan elected to move Vucevic to the four in this game and play Drummond alongside him at the five.
The Bulls started the two big men to counter Minnesota&rsquo;s huge frontline of Karl-Anthony Towns and Rudy Gobert, and the results were rather interesting.
The two-man lineup of Vucevic and Drummong has appeared in just seven games and played 54 minutes together. However, in those seven games, the pairing has the highest offensive rating (130.6) and overall net rating (14.3) Vucevic has had with a teammate this season.
Against the Wolves, Vucevic and Drummond had a net rating of 8.7 and a plus-minus of +3. They shared the floor for 25 minutes, achieving an offensive net rating of 134.7 &ndash; again, the highest of all two-man lineups with Vucevic.
Although there were some spacing issues, the two big men worked their way around it on some offensive sets. The rest of the minutes were then staggered to cater to each big man and have a different playstyle for each when they were on the floor.
Out of Vucevic&rsquo;s 10 baskets, half of those came with Drummond on the floor. Among those were pick-and-pop jumpers (2), fadeaway jumpers from the left wing (2), and a driving floater in the lane.&nbsp;
On Vucevic&rsquo;s two threes, the Bulls utilized the two big men differently. First, Drummond sets a high pick for the ballhandler while Vucevic trails down the floor at the top of the key. Vucevic&rsquo;s man, Naz Reid, helps at the nail on the drive, leaving Vucevic open for the triple.
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Vooch first three <a href="https://t.co/hJwpStBnX4">pic.twitter.com/hJwpStBnX4</a>
&mdash; Mon Anthony Valmoria (@Morval_) <a href="https://twitter.com/Morval_/status/1755466502902624541?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 8, 2024</a></blockquote>

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In the second play, notice how Drummond is slotted at the dunker spot while the ballhandler and Vucevic flow into an empty corner pick-and-pop action for another three.
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Vooch second three <a href="https://t.co/Vr3gsHPIE0">pic.twitter.com/Vr3gsHPIE0</a>
&mdash; Mon Anthony Valmoria (@Morval_) <a href="https://twitter.com/Morval_/status/1755466675661730060?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 8, 2024</a></blockquote>

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What&rsquo;s even more impressive is that the two started practicing the twin-towers combo the day of the game.
&ldquo;We just started practicing it today,&rdquo; Drummong said post-game. &ldquo;That wasn't long either, but we figured it out. He's a smart player, I'm a smart player. I stay out of his way and likewise. We figured it out throughout the game and found good chemistry."
The 12-year veteran thrived against the three-time DPOY Gobert and Minnesota's top-ranked defense. Drummond was backing Gobert down in the paint, pulling off some highlight plays and celebrating with &ldquo;too small&rdquo; gestures after he scored.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560">
Andre Drummond deep in his celebration bag 👀🔴 <a href="https://t.co/ODxXPH6mWJ">pic.twitter.com/ODxXPH6mWJ</a>
&mdash; Taco Trey Kerby (@treykerby) <a href="https://twitter.com/treykerby/status/1755216956091981988?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 7, 2024</a></blockquote>
With this interesting lineup, the Bulls scored 129 points, which is way more than what the Wolves usually allows (106.8 points per game), as they have the best defensive net rating in the NBA.
Vucevic and Drummond ended up combining for 40 points, and this allowed Coby White to take over in the fourth quarter and overtime. With the Wolves' defense keying in on both bigs, White came up with 21 points in the fourth quarter on 7-of-8 from the field, including 4-of-5 from three. He finished the game with 33 points, 7 assists and 5 rebounds.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560">
Coby White had the TAKEOVER badge 🔥 33 pts | 11-21 FG | 5 reb | 7 ast <a href="https://t.co/B0wBM3soBa">pic.twitter.com/B0wBM3soBa</a>
&mdash; Chicago Bulls (@chicagobulls) <a href="https://twitter.com/chicagobulls/status/1755085270787969471?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 7, 2024</a></blockquote>

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An Most-Improved-Player frontrunner, White knocked down tough threes late in the game, which has been a big part of his improvement this year.
But the spotlight belonged to Vucevic and Drummond. Even though it was a small sample size, there's excitement about how the pairing can be used against certain matchups going forward.
&ldquo;They got to pick their poison,&rdquo; Drummond said of his pairing with Vucevic. &ldquo;Whether you let me beat you up in the paint or he [Vucevic] can shoot the three or beat you up in the paint too. So, it's a great tandem, for sure.&rdquo;

On Tuesday night, the Chicago Bulls tried something new: starting their two centers, Nikola Vucevic and Andre Drummond, together.

Bulls fought fire with fire against Wolves, earning best win of season

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

NBA Central Division Preview: Burning questions, rotation projections

NBA free agency has died down and the 2023-24 NBA season is nearly three months away. This is why August is known as the dog days of the NBA calendar.
However, NBA fans will be able to watch some of their favorite players in action very soon, as the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup tips off tomorrow.
From Nov. 2021 through Feb. 2023, 80 countries battled for a spot in the World Cup but only 32 national teams qualified. There are a ton of NBA players participating, as Team USA has a talented young roster and they'll be facing stars such as Luka Doncic, Karl-Anthony Towns, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Lauri Markkanen and Rudy Gobert.
Here's everything you need to know about the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup.
WHEN IS IT?
World Cup games will be played Aug. 25 through Sept. 10. There have been a number of warm-up games in recent weeks, but the real action tips off tomorrow.
First Round (Group Phase): Aug. 25-30 Second Round (Group Phase): Aug. 31 - Sept. 4 Quarterfinals: Sept. 5-6 Semifinals: Sept. 8 Final: Sept. 10 Third-Place Game: Sept. 10
The <a href="https://www.nba.com/news/fiba-basketball-world-cup-2023-schedule" target="_blank" rel="noopener">full schedule of games can be found here</a>.
WHERE IS IT?&nbsp;
For the first time ever, the FIBA Basketball World Cup will feature three host countries: the Philippines, Japan and Indonesia.
WHICH COUNTRIES QUALIFIED?
These are the 32 countries that will be participating in the 2023 FIBA World Cup: Angola, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Cape Verde, China, Cote d&rsquo;Ivoire, Dominican Republic, Egypt, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Iran, Italy, Japan, Jordan, Latvia, Lebanon, Lithuania, Mexico, Montenegro, New Zealand, Philippines, Puerto Rico, Serbia, Slovenia, South Sudan, Spain, United States and Venezuela.
These are the groups for the first round:
Group A:&nbsp;Angola, Dominican Republic, Philippines, Italy
Group B:&nbsp;&nbsp;South Sudan, Serbia, China, Puerto Rico
(Groups A and B will play their games at Araneta Coliseum in the Philippines)
Group C:&nbsp;Team USA, Jordan, Greece, New Zealand
Group D:&nbsp;Egypt, Mexico, Montenegro, Lithuania
(Groups C and D will play their games at Mall of Asia Arena in the Philippines)
Group E:&nbsp;Germany, Finland, Australia, Japan
Group F:&nbsp;Slovenia, Cape Verde, Georgia, Venezuela
(Groups E and F will play their games at Okinawa Arena in Japan)
Group G:&nbsp;Iran, Spain, Cote d&rsquo;Ivoire, Brazil
Group H:&nbsp;Canada, Latvia, Lebanon, France
(Groups G and H will play their games at Jakarta Arena in Indonesia)
WHICH NBA PLAYERS ARE COMPETING?
There are quite a few NBA players participating in this tournament. The <a href="https://www.nba.com/news/fiba-world-cup-roster-tracker-2023" target="_blank" rel="noopener">full list can be found here</a>, but below are the national teams that feature notable NBA players:
Group A
Dominican Republic: Karl-Anthony Towns (Minnesota Timberwolves), Lester Quinones (Golden State Warriors)
Philippines: Jordan Clarkson&nbsp;(Utah Jazz)
Group B
China: Kyle Anderson&nbsp;(Minnesota Timberwolves)
Serbia: Bogdan Bogdanovic (Atlanta Hawks), Aleksej Pokusevski (Oklahoma City Thunder), Nikola Jovic (Miami Heat)
Group C
Greece: Thanasis Antetokounmpo (Milwaukee Bucks)
<img style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" src="https://cdn.basketballnews.com/images/story/body/gettyimages-1608113478-2.jpg" alt="" width="736" height="414" />
United States: Paolo Banchero (Orlando Magic), Mikal Bridges (Brooklyn Nets), Jalen Brunson (New York Knicks), Anthony Edwards (Minnesota Timberwolves), Tyrese Haliburton (Indiana Pacers), Josh Hart (New York Knicks), Brandon Ingram (New Orleans Pelicans), Jaren Jackson Jr. (Memphis Grizzlies), Cameron Johnson (Brooklyn Nets), Walker Kessler (Utah Jazz), Bobby Portis (Milwaukee Bucks), Austin Reaves (Los Angeles Lakers)

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Group D
Lithuania: Jonas Valanciunas (New Orleans Pelicans)
Montenegro: Nikola Vucevic (Chicago Bulls)
Group E
Australia: Josh Giddey (Oklahoma City Thunder), Patty Mills (Atlanta Hawks), Matisse Thybulle (Portland Trail Blazers) Josh Green (Dallas Mavericks), Joe Ingles (Orlando Magic), Dyson Daniels (New Orleans Pelicans), Dante Exum (Dallas Mavericks), Jock Landale (Houston Rockets), Xavier Cooks (Washington Wizards)
Finland: Lauri Markkanen (Utah Jazz)
Germany: Franz Wagner (Orlando Magic), Dennis Schroder (Toronto Raptors), Moritz Wagner (Orlando Magic), Daniel Theis (Indiana Pacers),&nbsp;
Japan: Yuta Watanabe (Phoenix Suns)
Group F
Georgia: Goga Bitadze (Orlando Magic), Sandro Mamukelashvili (San Antonio Spurs)
Slovenia: Luka Doncic (Dallas Mavericks)
Group G
Brazil: Raul Neto (Cleveland Cavaliers)
Spain: Santi Aldama (Memphis Grizzlies), Usman Garuba (Atlanta Hawks)
Group H
Canada: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (Oklahoma City Thunder), R.J. Barrett (New York Knicks), Dillon Brooks (Houston Rockets), Lu Dort (Oklahoma City Thunder), Nickeil Alexander-Walker (Minnesota Timberwolves), Dwight Powell (Dallas Mavericks)
France: Rudy Gobert (Minnesota Timberwolves), Nicolas Batum (Los Angeles Clippers), Evan Fournier (New York Knicks), Frank Ntilikina (Charlotte Hornets)
Latvia: Davis Bertans (Oklahoma City Thunder)
HOW TO WATCH
FIBA recently announced that all 92 World Cup games will be available across ESPN's platforms. Six games will air on ESPN2 (including Team USA's three first-round games), while the other 86 games will be available on ESPN+.
FIBA&rsquo;s official streaming service, <a href="https://www.courtside1891.basketball/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Courtside 1891</a>, will also air the games live and on-demand. If you're interested in Courtside 1891, FIBA is offering our readers 20% off their World Cup bundle. Follow the instructions below if you'd like to use the 20% discount:
<ul style="font-weight: 400;">
<li><a href="https://www.courtside1891.basketball/choose-a-package" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Click this link</a> and you&rsquo;ll get a prompt to register</li>
<li>You&rsquo;ll then be redirected to the choose-a-package page</li>
<li>Select the &lsquo;Max &ndash; World Cup Bundle&rsquo;&nbsp;</li>
<li>Use the discount code FIBAWCAK to get 20% off</li>
</ul>
Enjoy the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup, and hopefully the dog days of summer will fly by quickly!

The 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup tips off tomorrow. Here's everything you need to know about the tournament.

Everything you need to know about the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup

Harrison Barnes is staying with the Sacramento Kings, agreeing Thursday to a three-year, $54 million contract, according to a person with knowledge of the negotiations.
The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the deal has not been announced by the team. ESPN first reported the agreement.
The deal was struck one day before the start of free agency in the NBA. Barnes will be entering his sixth year with the Kings, who went to the playoffs this past season for the first time since 2006.
He averaged 15.0 points last season, fourth-best on the Kings behind De&rsquo;Aaron Fox, Domantas Sabonis and Kevin Huerter.
Barnes also was the only player on the Kings to appear in all 82 regular-season games &mdash; making him one of only three players in the NBA to start at least 82 games. Mikal Bridges actually started 83 for Brooklyn and Phoenix, and Nikola Vucevic started 82 for Chicago.
For his career, Barnes &mdash; a member of the U.S. Olympic team that won gold at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Games &mdash; has averaged 14.2 points in 11 seasons.

Harrison Barnes is staying with the Sacramento Kings, agreeing Thursday to a three-year, $54 million contract.

Harrison Barnes agrees to 3-year, $54 million deal to stay with Kings

On Tuesday afternoon, the NBA announced the 78 players who are expected to attend the 2023 NBA Draft Combine, which will take place at the Wintrust Arena and Marriott Marquis in Chicago from May 15-21.
Players will have interviews with NBA teams and participate in five-on-five games as well as shooting and strength-and-agility drills. Coverage of the 2023 NBA Draft Combine will begin May 17 on ESPN2 from 2-6 p.m. ET and continues May 18 from 4-8 p.m. ET on ESPN2.
The NBA Draft Combine will also be available on the ESPN App. Strength-and-agility drills and shooting drills will be broadcast live on the NBA App on May 15 from 3-5 p.m. ET.
Additionally, a select number of standout players from the <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-g-league-announces-45-draft-prospects-competing-in-g-league-elite-camp" target="_blank" rel="noopener">2023 NBA G League Elite Camp</a>, which takes place May 13-14 at Wintrust Arena, will be invited to participate in the NBA Draft Combine.
Unfortunately, projected No. 1 pick Victor Wembanyama won't be in attendance at the 2023 NBA Draft Combine as he has yet to finish his season overseas with Metropolitans 92.
Below is a list of expected attendees for the 2023 NBA Draft Combine:
<table border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td valign="top" width="312">
Trey Alexander (Creighton)
</td>
<td valign="top" width="354">
Seth Lundy (Penn State)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" width="312">
Amari Bailey (UCLA)
</td>
<td valign="top" width="354">
Kevin McCullar (Kansas)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" width="312">
Emoni Bates (Eastern Michigan)
</td>
<td valign="top" width="354">
Mike Miles Jr. (TCU)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" width="312">
Reece Beekman (Virginia)
</td>
<td valign="top" width="354">
Brandon Miller (Alabama)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" width="312">
Anthony Black (Arkansas)
</td>
<td valign="top" width="354">
Jordan Miller (Miami)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" width="312">
Adem Bona (UCLA)
</td>
<td valign="top" width="354">
Leonard Miller (G League Ignite)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" width="312">
Kobe Brown (Missouri)
</td>
<td valign="top" width="354">
Judah Mintz (Syracuse)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" width="312">
Kobe Bufkin (Michigan)
</td>
<td valign="top" width="354">
Dillon Mitchell (Texas)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" width="312">
Toumani Camara (Dayton)
</td>
<td valign="top" width="354">
Omari Moore (San Jose State)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" width="312">
Sidy Cissoko (G League Ignite)
</td>
<td valign="top" width="354">
Kris Murray (Iowa)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" width="312">
Jaylen Clark (UCLA)
</td>
<td valign="top" width="354">
Grant Nelson (North Dakota State)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" width="312">
Noah Clowney (Alabama)
</td>
<td valign="top" width="354">
James Nnaji (Barcelona [Spain] )
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" width="312">
Ricky Council IV (Arkansas)
</td>
<td valign="top" width="354">
Julian Phillips (Tennessee)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" width="312">
Gradey Dick (Kansas)
</td>
<td valign="top" width="354">
Jalen Pickett (Penn State)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" width="312">
Nikola Djurisic (Mega [Serbia] )
</td>
<td valign="top" width="354">
Brandin Podziemski (Santa Clara)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" width="312">
Zach Edey (Purdue)
</td>
<td valign="top" width="354">
Olivier-Maxence Prosper (Marquette)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" width="312">
Adam Flagler (Baylor)
</td>
<td valign="top" width="354">
Rayan Rupert (New Zealand Breakers [Oceania] )
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" width="312">
Keyonte George (Baylor)
</td>
<td valign="top" width="354">
Adama Sanogo (Connecticut)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" width="312">
Mouhamed Gueye (Washington State)
</td>
<td valign="top" width="354">
Marcus Sasser (Houston)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" width="312">
Coleman Hawkins (Illinois)
</td>
<td valign="top" width="354">
Brice Sensabaugh (Ohio State)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" width="312">
Jordan Hawkins (Connecticut)
</td>
<td valign="top" width="354">
Terrence Shannon Jr. (Illinois)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" width="312">
Scoot Henderson (G League Ignite)
</td>
<td valign="top" width="354">
Ben Sheppard (Belmont)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" width="312">
Taylor Hendricks (UCF)
</td>
<td valign="top" width="354">
Jalen Slawson (Furman)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" width="312">
DaRon Holmes II (Dayton)
</td>
<td valign="top" width="354">
Nick Smith Jr. (Arkansas)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" width="312">
Jalen Hood-Schifino (Indiana)
</td>
<td valign="top" width="354">
Terquavion Smith (North Carolina State)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" width="312">
Jett Howard (Michigan)
</td>
<td valign="top" width="354">
Julian Strawther (Gonzaga)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" width="312">
Andre Jackson Jr. (Connecticut)
</td>
<td valign="top" width="354">
Amen Thompson (Overtime Elite)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" width="312">
GG Jackson II (South Carolina)
</td>
<td valign="top" width="354">
Ausar Thompson (Overtime Elite)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" width="312">
Trayce Jackson-Davis (Indiana)
</td>
<td valign="top" width="354">
Drew Timme (Gonzaga)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" width="312">
Jaime Jaquez Jr. (UCLA)
</td>
<td valign="top" width="354">
Oscar Tshiebwe (Kentucky)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" width="312">
Keyontae Johnson (Kansas State)
</td>
<td valign="top" width="354">
Azuolas Tubelis (Arizona)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" width="312">
Colby Jones (Xavier)
</td>
<td valign="top" width="354">
Tristan Vukcevic (Partizan [Serbia] )
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" width="312">
Ryan Kalkbrenner (Creighton)
</td>
<td valign="top" width="354">
Jarace Walker (Houston)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" width="312">
Arthur Kaluma (Creighton)
</td>
<td valign="top" width="354">
Cason Wallace (Kentucky)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" width="312">
Mojave King (G League Ignite)
</td>
<td valign="top" width="354">
Jordan Walsh (Arkansas)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" width="312">
Bobi Klintman (Wake Forest)
</td>
<td valign="top" width="354">
Dariq Whitehead (Duke)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" width="312">
Maxwell Lewis (Pepperdine)
</td>
<td valign="top" width="354">
Cam Whitmore (Villanova)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" width="312">
Dereck Lively II (Duke)
</td>
<td valign="top" width="354">
Jalen Wilson (Kansas)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" width="312">
Chris Livingston (Kentucky)
</td>
<td valign="top" width="354">
Isaiah Wong (Miami)
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>

The NBA announced the 78 players who are expected to attend the 2023 NBA Draft Combine.

NBA announces 78 Draft Combine participants, but no Victor Wembanyama

The NBA announced that 242 players have filed as early-entry candidates for the 2023 NBA Draft. Here is the complete list.

NBA announces 242 early-entry candidates for 2023 NBA Draft

CHICAGO (AP) &mdash; Arturas Karnisovas just about slammed the door on a total teardown for the Chicago Bulls following a disappointing season.
The team&rsquo;s top basketball executive didn&rsquo;t completely rule out anything. But he made it clear a complete overhaul is unlikely.
&ldquo;That&rsquo;s been thrown around all this season,&rdquo; he said Saturday. &ldquo;Blow up, rebuild. It&rsquo;s not on our minds.&rdquo;
The Bulls have some big issues to address after finishing 10th in the Eastern Conference and missing the playoffs. They went 40-42 and won a play-in game at Toronto before getting knocked out at Miami on Friday.
For a team that came in thinking it was poised to make a jump in the East and a run in the playoffs, the season was a big letdown.
The Bulls were hit by injuries, with point guard Lonzo Ball missing the season because of a knee injury, and never really developed the rhythm they anticipated. It didn&rsquo;t help that Zach LaVine was slowed by a knee issue early on and that DeMar DeRozan dealt with a quad problem over the second half.
The Bulls really haven&rsquo;t been whole since the first half of the 2021-22 season, when they were among the top teams in the Eastern Conference. But even if they had all their key players, whether a team with a &ldquo;big three&rdquo; of LaVine, DeRozan and Nikola Vucevic can overtake teams like Milwaukee, Boston and Philadelphia is another issue.
Karnisovas talked about building around the core and improving the team&rsquo;s 3-point shooting. But to do that could mean going into luxury-tax territory.
Vucevic is due to become an unrestricted free agent, and guard Coby White is set to be a restricted free agent. Throw in the uncertainty over Ball after he missed the season because of his left knee injury, and the team&rsquo;s top basketball executive has a big job ahead of him.
&ldquo;My responsibility is to look at everything,&rdquo; said Karnisovas, Chicago&rsquo;s executive vice president of basketball operations. &ldquo;At the end of the day, to be a .500 team is not good enough. It&rsquo;s not good enough for this organization. It&rsquo;s not good enough for the fan base. They deserve better. So I&rsquo;m going to have to look at everything &mdash; how I can help this group to do better. We have to move forward. But I&rsquo;ll be open to do anything.&rdquo;
BIG DECISION
Vucevic said he&rsquo;d like to remain in Chicago, though he plans to explore the market. The two-time All-Star averaged 17.6 points and 11 rebounds in his second full season with the Bulls.
&ldquo;The Bulls will have priority,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I would like to stay here. But that&rsquo;s on the front office to decide and work with my agent on the contract part.&rdquo;
BALL&rsquo;S FUTURE
Karnisovas said he expects Ball to play again. He&rsquo;s just not sure when.
&ldquo;I have confidence that he&rsquo;s going to come back. In terms of timeline, I don&rsquo;t have that timeline right now,&rdquo; Karnisovas said.
Ball hasn&rsquo;t played since Jan. 14, 2022. He had a cartilage transplant in March, his third operation on the knee in a little more than a year.
ON POINT
Whether he remains with the Bulls or signs elsewhere, White said he would like to be a starter. He made two starts this season.
&ldquo;I think it definitely could be a conversation and figure things out from there,&rdquo; White said.
NO SHOT
The Bulls were last in the NBA in 3-pointers made and attempted.
DEROZAN DEAL?
With one year left on his three-year, $85 million contract, DeRozan could be in line for an extension.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;m never worried about that,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;Never mention it, never talk about it. I even hate hearing it at time. I let my job, everything I do, take care of itself.&rdquo;

Arturas Karnisovas just about slammed the door on a total teardown for the Chicago Bulls following a disappointing season.

Bulls exec Arturas Karnisovas all but slams door on total teardown

MIAMI (AP) &mdash; Max Strus had another 3-pointer taken away in an elimination game. He and Jimmy Butler made sure it didn&rsquo;t matter.
The playoffs await.
Strus and Butler &mdash; who was doubled over at times in the final moments, heaving for every breath &mdash; scored 31 points apiece, and the Miami Heat closed the game on a 15-1 run to beat the Chicago Bulls 102-91 in an Eastern Conference play-in game Friday night.
&ldquo;Our team has obviously not been perfect this year,&rdquo; Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. &ldquo;But I do know one thing about the men in that locker room: The last 48 hours, I know how categorically, unequivocally, how badly and desperately our group wanted to get into this damn thing &mdash; and get into the playoffs to have an opportunity to compete for a title.&rdquo;
Their reward: the No. 8 seed in the East and a first-round matchup with the Milwaukee Bucks, the NBA&rsquo;s top overall seed, starting Sunday.
DeMar DeRozan led the Bulls with 26 points and nine assists. Alex Caruso added 16 points, Zach Lavine had 15 but shot just 6 for 20, and Coby White scored 14. Chicago got a road win at Toronto on Wednesday to extend its season, but couldn&rsquo;t get the second road victory it needed to make the playoffs.
&ldquo;They&rsquo;re disappointed,&rdquo; Bulls coach Billy Donovan said. &ldquo;When you make that investment from September to the middle of April, that&rsquo;s a lot of time. You reflect back a little bit. I think they&rsquo;re all disappointed. We were getting better as a group, I think, since the All-Star break. It would have been nice if we found a way to win tonight and continue on to the playoffs, but it didn&rsquo;t happen.&rdquo;
Tyler Herro added 12 points and Bam Adebayo grabbed 17 rebounds for Miami, which trailed by six midway through the final quarter.
But Butler scored while getting fouled with 2:17 left to put Miami ahead for good, found Strus for a 3-pointer &mdash; his seventh of the night &mdash; a minute later to push the lead to five, and Strus sealed it with three free throws after getting fouled on a try from beyond the arc with 40 seconds remaining.
&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t think any of us felt any type of pressure,&rdquo; Butler said. &ldquo;We went out, we competed.&rdquo;
The Heat led by 14 in the first quarter, held as much as a 10-point lead in the third quarter, then found themselves down by six with 7:12 remaining.
A 9-3 spurt over the next 2 minutes &mdash; Butler had seven, Strus had the other two &mdash; pulled the Heat into a tie, and into all-too-familiar territory. The NBA defines clutch games as those that are within five points or less in the final 5 minutes, and the Heat played a league-high 54 of them during the regular season.
Maybe it prepared them for this moment. White made a 3-pointer with 3:47 left to put the Bulls up 90-87. The score the rest of the way: Heat 15, Bulls 1.
&ldquo;Win or go home,&rdquo; said Strus, an Illinois native who started his career with the Bulls. &ldquo;We&rsquo;re not done yet.&rdquo;
TIP-INS
Bulls: Chicago was a combined 13-1 this season against Miami, Detroit, Portland, Utah and Dallas. &hellip; The Bulls didn&rsquo;t trail Miami by more than nine in any of the three regular-season matchups between the teams. ... Nikola Vucevic had 12 points.
Heat: Strus had 14 points in the first quarter, matching the seventh-best scoring effort in any quarter of his career. &hellip; This was the 21st Heat team to finish a regular season with a winning record; they were 44-38. All 21 have made the playoffs. ... Kyle Lowry was limited in the second half with a knee issue, but told Spoelstra postgame that he was fine.
LOOKING AHEAD
The Heat and Bucks split four meetings this season, both going 2-0 at home. Butler averaged 22 points per game to lead all players in the season series. Adebayo and Milwaukee&rsquo;s Giannis Antetokounmpo both averaged 19.5, and Herro averaged 19.
BILLY AND UDONIS
It was the final time Donovan will share a court with one of his college players at Florida, Heat captain Udonis Haslem, who will retire when this Miami season ends. All of Haslem&rsquo;s NBA and college coaches were at the game, with Erik Spoelstra on the Heat sideline, Pat Riley in the Heat president&rsquo;s box, Stan Van Gundy broadcasting for TNT and Donovan leading the Bulls.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;m not surprised about the impact he&rsquo;s had on the community here and I&rsquo;m not surprised about the impact he&rsquo;s had inside the organization,&rdquo; Donovan said. He also lauded Haslem for prioritizing winning and never leaving the Heat even though he had offers elsewhere &ldquo;for a lot more money.&rdquo;
UP NEXT
Bulls: Season complete.
Heat: Visit Milwaukee in Game 1 on Sunday.

The Miami Heat closed the game on a 15-1 run to beat the Chicago Bulls 102-91 in an Eastern Conference play-in game Friday night.

Heat eliminate Bulls 102-91, will face Bucks in Round 1

Professional basketball players are in a constant state of data collection. Al Horford's been logging tricks of his trade for 16 years, and it's helped him reinvent his game to suit a team in the title hunt.
Horford, age 36, will be the fourth-oldest starter and fifth-oldest rotation player in the 2023 NBA playoffs, behind only LeBron James, Chris Paul, PJ Tucker and Kyle Lowry. He has dramatically transformed his game to suit the era and needs of today's league, and the Celtics have taken note.
After a March 1 win against the Cavaliers, coach Joe Mazzulla alluded to Horford's evolution, heightened by his experience and attention to detail.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s massive,&rdquo; Mazzulla said postgame. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s done a great job this year in recognizing coverage and screening. ...And he recognized the coverage [the Cavaliers] were in and popped and shot it. The second time they tried to switch him, he created an advantage. He&rsquo;s constantly trying to find small ways to reinvent his game.&rdquo;
Horford is averaging his highest minutes per game (30.6) of the last five seasons, but his on-ball role has diminished to career-lows according to practically every go-to metric (usage rate, touches, touch time, etc.). He's played five total seasons with the Celtics across two stints; comparing his usage across those years is fascinating. Here's some touch data from PBP Stats highlighting three such years: his All-Star season in 2017-18, his first season back in Boston in 2021-22, and this current one.
<table style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 100%; height: 110px;" border="1">
<tbody>
<tr style="height: 44px;">
<td style="width: 14.84579%; height: 44px;">Year</td>
<td style="width: 14.84579%; height: 44px;">Touches/game</td>
<td style="width: 14.84579%; height: 44px;">Frontcourt touches/game</td>
<td style="width: 14.84579%; height: 44px;">Elbow touches/game</td>
<td style="width: 14.84579%; height: 44px;">Post touches/game</td>
<td style="width: 14.84579%; height: 44px;">Seconds per touch</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 22px;">
<td style="width: 14.84579%; height: 22px;">2017-18</td>
<td style="width: 14.84579%; height: 22px;">63.5</td>
<td style="width: 14.84579%; height: 22px;">40.0</td>
<td style="width: 14.84579%; height: 22px;">3.1</td>
<td style="width: 14.84579%; height: 22px;">5.2</td>
<td style="width: 14.84579%; height: 22px;">2.20</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 22px;">
<td style="width: 14.84579%; height: 22px;">2021-22</td>
<td style="width: 14.84579%; height: 22px;">49.2</td>
<td style="width: 14.84579%; height: 22px;">29.4</td>
<td style="width: 14.84579%; height: 22px;">2.2</td>
<td style="width: 14.84579%; height: 22px;">1.9</td>
<td style="width: 14.84579%; height: 22px;">1.73</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 22px;">
<td style="width: 14.84579%; height: 22px;">2022-23</td>
<td style="width: 14.84579%; height: 22px;">45.7</td>
<td style="width: 14.84579%; height: 22px;">25.4</td>
<td style="width: 14.84579%; height: 22px;">1.1</td>
<td style="width: 14.84579%; height: 22px;">0.9</td>
<td style="width: 14.84579%; height: 22px;">1.53</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
It makes sense that Horford would take a back seat in his return to the Celtics given that Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown had risen to stardom. But the elbow and post touch volume in particular is stunning &mdash; Horford is getting the ball in those spots not even half as much as last year, and fractionally compared to his last All-Star appearance. His days of facilitating and scoring out of the post are over.
We all know Horford has laid down a transcendant shooting year, but the scale of his shift to the arc cannot be overstated. Per Cleaning the Glass, a whopping 67% of Horford's total shot attempts have come from distance. That is a mind-boggling 23% increase from last year; to put that in context, Horford had never increased his three-point frequency by more than 12% year-over-year since he first started shooting them often in 2015-16.&nbsp;
To make this type of leap &mdash; and match it with a career-high 44.6% clip (an 11% jump from last year) &mdash; is one of the more astounding developments I've seen from a veteran in some time.&nbsp;
Boston needs Horford at this level for the playoffs. Last year, the Warriors gunked up the Celtics offense in the NBA Finals by shutting off driving lanes for Jayson Tatum and Jaylen. They were unafraid to let Horford and Grant Williams bomb away above the break, even as both shot the ball well, if it meant Tatum and Brown could not penetrate the defense.&nbsp;
But this year could be different. Horford can punish as a reliable outlet on his own or force opponents to stay home on him. He's also more than doubled his shot frequency in the corners and added an area defenses have to track.
Horford's evolving role means we see less of him as the facilitating big that has helped define his game in the past. But he's still a very good passer and the numbers (and tape) back this up.
The NBA Underground has a set of <a href="https://thenbaunderground.com/analytics/better-passing-stats" target="_blank" rel="noopener">statistics that help us understand passing impact</a> beyond basic assists per game. One interesting number: passing turnover to potential assist ratio, which basically says that for every 100 potential assists (pass leading to a shot attempt), a player is logging X amount of passing turnovers.
Horford is averaging 3.9 passing turnovers per 100 potential assists, putting him seventh-best among 364 players. It's not a perfect assessment of passing, but it shows he's making quality decisions when he does have the ball. Just under 10% of his total passes this year turned into assists or free throws, a mark that ranks ninth among bigs this year, per Second Spectrum.&nbsp;
<div style="width: 100%; height: 0px; position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.250%;"><iframe style="width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute; left: 0px; top: 0px; overflow: hidden;" src="https://streamable.com/e/nphota" width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" data-mce-fragment="1"></iframe></div>
Plays like this are meaningful because Boston should want to get Tatum cutting and running without the ball. It keeps him from being the sole defensive focus and allows him to get up to speed more easily. Horford and Robert Williams III are both capable high-low passers, and while this isn't a jaw-dropping dime, it shows how either big can be leveraged effectively.
Horford isn't put in this position as often anymore, but he still gets plenty of assists by swinging the ball around at the arc and dishing short passes to Celtics guards and wings who use screens off the ball. There's schematic creativity on display around Horford and he's tasked with making the advantage pay off.
We could say the same for his defense. Derrick White has been Boston's best defender this season. Robert Williams is the team's most dynamic shot-blocker and Marcus Smart is the intense tone-setter. But I truly don't think this is a top-5 unit without Horford holding down his role as an individual stopper.
The Celtics typically task Horford with handling the opponent's best scoring forwards or bigs. Among the 20 players he matched up against for 20 or more possessions per game this season (per NBA Stats): Bam Adebayo, Deandre Ayton, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Evan Mobley, Jarrett Allen, Joel Embiid, Nikola Jokic, Paolo Banchero, Nikola Vucevic, Myles Turner.
Many of these players are also heavily involved in pick-and-rolls, where the Celtics usually ask Horford to play some form of shallow drop coverage while the guard goes over the screen. The shallow drop big man is one of the toughest responsibilities in today's NBA; they have to contain the drive from a guard while keeping the roll man in front to remove a lob threat.
And that's not all he's doing &mdash; Boston switches a lot away from the ball, so Horford then has to slide onto wings and occasionally guards. He actually spoke about this a couple weeks ago with JJ Redick on The Old Man and the Three (start at 31:30).&nbsp;
<iframe title="YouTube video player" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Ew-O7RRHqq4" width="560" height="315" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe>
Horford's impact shows up in several of the defensive stats I've come to trust. BBall Index has created estimates for defensive positional versatility and role versatility based on what positions and usage rates players are guarding. Horford ranks in the 92nd and 85th percentiles at his position, respectively.&nbsp;
Also from BBall Index: Horford is contesting 38.1% of opponents' shots at the rim while he is on the court (89th percentile) and holding opponents to an at-rim efficiency 6.2% lower than expected (91st percentile). Those are particularly impressive numbers considering Horford is 36 and not a volume shot-blocker.
It will certainly help to have Rob Williams by his side. The two bigs have only played 330 minutes together this season, but the Celtics are outscoring opponents by 15.1 points per 100 possessions when they share the floor.
Still, Horford is going to take the primary frontcourt assignments before Williams. And this postseason run could be a gauntlet. The Celtics start by facing the Hawks' trio of John Collins, Clint Capela and Onyeka Okongwu. Win that series, and there's a good chance they meet Embiid in the second round. An Eastern Conference Finals trip could see Antetokounmpo and Brook Lopez, or Mobley and Allen. Then, should Boston make a return Finals run, they might run into any of Jokic, Domantas Sabonis, Jaren Jackson Jr., Deandre Ayton, or others at the big positions.&nbsp;
That's a monster workload for a 36-year-old trying to play into June for the second consecutive year.&nbsp;And&nbsp;he carries pivotal pressure as a spacer and ball-mover.&nbsp;
Horford's evolution has been commendable and his value to the Celtics far outweighs his spotlight. If Boston wants to win a championship, he can't let up on either end.

Horford will hold down key two-way roles for however far the Celtics advance in the postseason.

NBA Stats Notebook: Why Al Horford is the Celtics' playoff X Factor

TORONTO (AP) &mdash; Zach LaVine scored 39 points, DeMar DeRozan had 23 against his former team and the Chicago Bulls overcame a 19-point deficit to beat the Toronto Raptors 109-105 in a play-in tournament game Wednesday night.
Nikola Vucevic had 14 points and 13 rebounds for the Bulls, who trailed 66-47 in the third quarter before LaVine carried them back. He scored 17 points in the third as Chicago cut the gap to nine, then added 13 more in the fourth to help the Bulls advance.
Bulls coach Billy Donovan said LaVine was &ldquo;phenomenal&rdquo; against the Raptors.
&ldquo;His performance was extraordinary,&rdquo; Donovan said. &ldquo;It gave us life and it gave us hope.&rdquo;
The Bulls will visit the Miami Heat on Friday night for the chance to earn the eighth seed in the Eastern Conference playoff bracket, and a first-round playoff matchup with Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks.
Chicago went 3-0 against the Heat this season. The Bulls won in Miami twice, including on opening night.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
The Bulls were down 19 POINTS and came back to eliminate the Raptors 😳 Zach LaVine: 39 PTS, 7 REB, 3 AST DeMar DeRozan: 23 PTS, 7 REB, 3 AST <a href="https://t.co/ys7wUVThcs">pic.twitter.com/ys7wUVThcs</a>
&mdash; BasketballNews.com (@basketbllnews) <a href="https://twitter.com/basketbllnews/status/1646329837567582211?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 13, 2023</a></blockquote>

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

&ldquo;They&rsquo;re going to make adjustments. We are, too,&rdquo; LaVine said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s going to be whoever wants it more. I think it comes down to that.&rdquo;
The Bulls shot 3 for 19 from 3-point range through the first three quarters but LaVine connected twice as Chicago made four of seven from distance in the fourth.
Fred VanVleet had 26 points and 12 rebounds and Pascal Siakam scored 32 points, but Toronto&rsquo;s season ended in disappointment as the Raptors &mdash; with DeRozan&rsquo;s nine-year-old daughter, Diar,&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/shout-it-out-derozans-daughter-goes-viral-in-playin-game" target="_blank" rel="noopener">screaming when they shot</a>&nbsp;&mdash; went a dismal 18 for 36 at the free throw line. Toronto missed six attempts from the line in the fourth quarter.
&ldquo;I thought we played well enough to win tonight but it just didn&rsquo;t go our way,&rdquo; Raptors coach Nick Nurse said.
Scottie Barnes had 19 points and 10 rebounds for the Raptors, and O.G. Anunoby scored 13 points. Toronto didn&rsquo;t win three straight until January and never won more than four in a row in a season that struggled to generate any momentum.
&ldquo;We&rsquo;re going to have to be better,&rdquo; Siakam said. &ldquo;Not consistent enough and that&rsquo;s got to change.&rdquo;
Chicago&rsquo;s Alex Caruso connected from the corner to tie the score at 91-all with 7:08 left in the fourth quarter and Patrick Beverley&rsquo;s 3 with 5:07 remaining gave the Bulls a 96-93 lead. It was Beverley&rsquo;s first basket of the game.
VanVleet&rsquo;s 3 with 3:11 to go knotted it again at 100-all, but LaVine and DeRozan replied with baskets for the Bulls.
Barnes and Siakam each made one of two at the line inside the final two minutes, and VanVleet missed a 3 that would have tied the game.
Siakam&rsquo;s driving dunk with 19 seconds left cut it to 105-104. After a timeout, LaVine pushed the lead to three with a pair of free throws. Caruso fouled Siakam on a 3 but the Raptors star missed his second and third attempts.
The Raptors led 28-23 after one and 58-47 at the break after VanVleet connected on a halfcourt heave at the halftime buzzer.
VanVleet&rsquo;s 3 with 9:09 left in the third gave Toronto a 19-point edge, but LaVine and the Bulls trailed 81-72 heading to the fourth.
SHOWING HIS COLORS
Former NBA All-Star Charles Oakley, who played for both the Bulls and Raptors, sat in a courtside seat. Oakley wore a black hoodie with Toronto Raptors printed in gold letters on the back.
TIP-INS
Bulls: LaVine shot 13 for 15 at the free throw line. The Bulls went 18 for 22. &hellip; Patrick Williams scored 10 points.
Raptors: VanVleet had eight assists. &hellip; Siakam had nine rebounds.

Zach LaVine scored 39 points, and the Bulls overcame a 19-point deficit to beat the Raptors 109-105 in a play-in game on Wednesday.

Zach LaVine scores 39, Bulls beat Raptors 109-105 in Play-In Game

Scoring was up in the NBA this season, to a level not seen in more than a half-century.
NBA teams averaged 114.7 points per game. That&rsquo;s the ninth-highest figure in the league&rsquo;s 77 seasons and the most since teams averaged 116.7 per game in 1969-70.
It represents a jump of 3.7% over last season.
A record 282,127 points were scored this season, smashing the previous mark of 273,573 set in 2018-19.
FREE THROW RECORD
The NBA has never had a better season from the foul line. Again.
The league-wide record for accuracy will fall for the third time in the last four seasons. Teams have combined to shoot 78.2% from the line this season.
That topped the 77.8% mark from two seasons ago. And while that difference &mdash; a mere 0.4% &mdash; doesn&rsquo;t look like much, it is. NBA teams could have combined to miss their first 200 free throws on Sunday when the regular season was ending and still have been on pace to set a season record.
A BOSTON FIRST
When you&rsquo;ve done something that&rsquo;s never been done before in Boston Celtics history, that&rsquo;s impressive.
So, take a bow, Jayson Tatum.
The forward averaged 30.1 points per game this season &mdash; the most ever by a Celtics player. John Havlicek and Isaiah Thomas each averaged 28.9 in their best seasons in Boston, and Larry Bird averaged 29.9 in 1987-88, but Tatum is the first to average 30.
Bird technically averaged 29.93 points that season, and two more points would have given him 29.95, which many would have rounded up to 30.0. He was five points shy that season of averaging exactly 30 per game.
BRIDGES&rsquo; STREAK
Brooklyn&rsquo;s Mikal Bridges technically missed a game this season, but his consecutive games-played streak &mdash; now 392 games and counting &mdash; lives on because he wasn&rsquo;t eligible to play while the Nets were completing the process of acquiring him in a trade with the Phoenix Suns.
Regardless, he still played in a league-best 83 games this season. It&rsquo;s quirky, since a season is 82 games, but the Nets had more games to play than the Suns did when the trade happened. And it lived on in Sunday&rsquo;s season finale because Bridges appeared for the first 4 seconds to extend the streak, then checked out for the day.
Bridges didn&rsquo;t miss a game at Villanova, either. His last missed game was in high school.
Bridges is the first player to appear in 83 games in a season since Josh Smith in 2014-15. Bridges was one of 10 players to not miss a game this season &mdash; Houston&rsquo;s Tari Eason and Kenyon Martin Jr., Chicago&rsquo;s Nikola Vucevic and Patrick Williams, Boston&rsquo;s Derrick White, Golden State teammates Kevon Looney and Jordan Poole, New York&rsquo;s Isaiah Hartenstein and Sacramento&rsquo;s Harrison Barnes also played in all 82 for their clubs this season.
The NBA&rsquo;s all-time record for games in a season probably is one of those records that&rsquo;ll never be broken. Walt Bellamy played in 88 games in 1968-69 &mdash; 35 with New York, then 53 with Detroit.
SCORING MARGIN
San Antonio was outscored by just over 10 points per game this season &mdash; the worst margin in Spurs history.
It was the 20th time in NBA history that a team had been outscored, on average, by double digits for an entire season.
3&rsquo;s DOWN
For nine straight seasons &mdash; 2012-13 through 2020-21 &mdash; the NBA saw a record set annually for 3-pointers made per game.
It seems the growth era from beyond the arc has plateaued.
For the second consecutive year, 3-pointers made dropped this season, albeit slightly. The league saw an average of 24.7 3s per game this season, down from 24.9 per game last season and the record 25.4 per game in 2020-21.
The league finished the regular season with 30,359 3s made &mdash; just off the record total of 30,598 last season. But teams also attempted, on average, about 3% fewer 3-pointers this season than they did a year ago.
3s UP
That said, there were more highly prolific 3-point shooters this season than ever before. The league finished with 20 players with at least 200 3-pointers &mdash; the most ever, just ahead of the 18 who made at least 200 3s last season.
The 20 in the 200 Club this year: Golden State&rsquo;s Klay Thompson, Indiana&rsquo;s Buddy Hield, Golden State&rsquo;s Stephen Curry, Cleveland&rsquo;s Donovan Mitchell, Portland&rsquo;s Damian Lillard, Boston&rsquo;s Jayson Tatum, Brooklyn&rsquo;s Malik Beasley, New York&rsquo;s Julius Randle, Dallas&rsquo; Tim Hardaway Jr., Portland&rsquo;s Anfernee Simons, New Orleans&rsquo; CJ McCollum, Golden State&rsquo;s Jordan Poole, Toronto&rsquo;s Fred VanVleet, Minnesota&rsquo;s Anthony Edwards, Sacramento&rsquo;s Keegan Murray, Miami&rsquo;s Tyler Herro, Sacramento&rsquo;s Kevin Huerter, Chicago&rsquo;s Zach LaVine, New Orleans&rsquo; Trey Murphy III and Utah&rsquo;s Lauri Markkanen.
AND 3s RECORDS
The Warriors finished with 1,363 3-pointers as a team, the most by any team in an NBA season. The previous record was 1,323 by the 2018-19 Houston Rockets.
Four of the six most prolific 3-point seasons in NBA history happened this season: The Warriors broke the record for a team, Boston (1,315) finished eight behind Houston&rsquo;s 2018-19 mark, Dallas (1,246) made the fifth-most in a season and Milwaukee (1,217) made the sixth-most in a season.
Golden State, Boston, Dallas and Milwaukee obviously also set their franchise single-season record for total 3s made. So did Brooklyn, Indiana, the Los Angeles Clippers, Memphis, Oklahoma City, Philadelphia, Phoenix and Sacramento.
BETTING STATS
Those who bet the Oklahoma City Thunder all season long probably did quite well.
The Thunder covered the spread a league-best 58.5% of the time this season, just ahead of Orlando and Philadelphia (57.3%).
The Los Angeles Lakers were a perfect 50% against the spread &mdash; 41 times covering, 41 times not.
Dallas and San Antonio bettors likely weren&rsquo;t happy. Those clubs both covered only 39% of the time, just a bit worse than Miami and Detroit (both 40.5%).
ONE OF EACH
Golden State&rsquo;s 56-point win over Portland on Sunday was the biggest of the season. The biggest rout going into the season&rsquo;s final day was a 45-point win by New Orleans on Nov. 21 &mdash; against the Warriors.
That made the Warriors the first team since the 1997-98 Trail Blazers to win a game by at least 45, and lose a game by at least 45, in the same season.
Portland beat Dallas 120-75 on Nov. 17, 1998. The Blazers lost to Indiana 124-59 on Feb. 27, 1998.

Tim Reynolds of the Associated Press breaks down the 2022-23 NBA season by the numbers.

Inside the NBA numbers: A look at the season’s stats

Coby White scored 24 points and the short-handed Chicago Bulls rallied past the depleted Mavericks 115-112 on Friday night, eliminating Dallas from play-in contention a year after the club reached the Western Conference finals.
Dallas coach Jason Kidd said before the game an &ldquo;organizational decision&rdquo; was made to limit Luka Doncic to the first quarter while sitting fellow All-Star Kyrie Irving and four other regulars before the club was eliminated from the postseason.
Despite the move, the Mavericks led by double digits when Markieff Morris scored 13 points in the second quarter and rookie Jaden Hardy hit a half-court shot to beat the halftime buzzer for a 67-54 lead.
Neither Morris nor Hardy played in the second half, and a lineup filled mostly with players who spent the season at the end of the Dallas bench lost the lead but kept the game close.
McKinley Wright IV's layup got Dallas within a point with 39 seconds left before Dalen Terry scored on an alley-oop dunk from White with 23 to go.
Theo Pinson missed a potential tying 3-pointer for Dallas, which had three more attempts at a tying 3 in the final seconds.
The loss clinched the 10th seed and final play-in spot in the Western Conference for Oklahoma City.
Irving was out for right foot injury recovery. The others sitting with him were Tim Hardaway Jr. with left ankle soreness, Maxi Kleber for right hamstring injury recovery and Josh Green and Christian Wood for rest.
The Bulls sat their top two scorers in DeMar DeRozan and Zach LaVine, but they are already locked in to the 10th seed in the East. Patrick Williams scored 23 points, and Nikola Vucevic had 20 points and 10 rebounds.
Doncic, who scored 13 points, ended up playing a few seconds into the second quarter on a night when the Mavericks paid tribute to his home country of Slovenia.
Keeping Doncic in was an apparent attempt to get him an ovation after Kidd suggested before the game it would be the 24-year-old superstar's final action of the season. The move didn't work because fans didn't seem aware and therefore didn't cheer.
Kidd said the decision was made by owner Mark Cuban and general manager Nico Harrison to rest most of the regulars. Dallas entered the game tied with Chicago for the 10th-worst record in the NBA.
If the Mavericks have a top-10 pick in the draft in June, they get to keep it. If the pick is 11th or lower, it goes to the New York Knicks as final payment for Dallas' trade to acquire Kristaps Porzingis in 2019. Next month's draft lottery will determine the final order.
Wright joined Doncic and Morris with 13 points to lead the Mavs.
SCORING RACE
Doncic's limited action in most likely his last game of the season should clinch the scoring title for Philadelphia's Joel Embiid. Doncic is at 32.4 points per game to Embiid's 33.1. The Sixers' MVP candidate is probably finished for the regular season with his team locked in to the third seed in the East.
UP NEXT
Both teams are at home for their regular-season finales Sunday. The Bulls play Detroit. The Mavs face San Antonio.

The short-handed Bulls rallied past the depleted Mavericks 115-112 on Friday night, eliminating Dallas from play-in contention.

Mavericks fall to Bulls, eliminated from play-in race

The Milwaukee Bucks clinched the top seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs Wednesday, but they had to do so without Giannis Antetokounmpo on the second night of a back-to-back.
No problem &mdash; Bobby Portis exploded for 27 points and 13 rebounds, Jrue Holiday racked up 20 points and 15 assists, and Brook Lopez tossed in 26 points to handle the Chicago Bulls. One neat postgame statistic from ESPN's Kane Pitman caught my eye:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
Brook Lopez now has 26 games with 20+ points this season. He had 26 games with 20+ points across his first four regular seasons in Milwaukee. He will be a DPOY finalist but his scoring has wound back the clock during his age 35 season.
&mdash; Kane Pitman (@KanePitman) <a href="https://twitter.com/KanePitman/status/1643788843479621635?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 6, 2023</a></blockquote>

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Lopez is putting up 15.9 points per game, his highest since his All-Star days with the Brooklyn Nets, at the most efficient scoring clip of his career. He's helped the Bucks retake the top of the conference while remaining square in the middle of the Defensive Player of the Year race.
The award's front-runner, Jaren Jackson Jr., has also quietly ascended on the offensive end. Jackson is averaging a career-high 18.3 points per game (20.9 since the All-Star break) with a career-best 58.5% two-point shooting clip. He dropped 40 in Wednesday's overtime loss to the Pelicans and has helped the Grizzlies go 12-4 since March 9.&nbsp;
While the two bigs are duking it out for DPOY, their steps forward as scorers have put each team in the championship conversation.
Starting with Lopez, his output this season hasn't come with increased touches. A cursory glance through PBP Stats' tracking data shows the 35-year-old is hovering at similar rates in touches and volume touch time relative to his entire Milwaukee tenure. His low 16.7% usage rate follows the same trend. But Lopez has received a significant green light; his mark of 11.5 field goal attempts per game is the most in the last six years.
Those extra shots have been distributed relatively evenly across different spots on the floor, but Lopez's paint presence is perhaps the most notable change. Here's a look at his impact of scoring inside since joining the Bucks in 2018, using data from PBP Stats (scroll right to view full table on mobile):
<table style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 100%; height: 154px;" border="1">
<tbody>
<tr style="height: 44px;">
<td style="width: 10.2766%; height: 44px;">Year</td>
<td style="width: 15.2376%; height: 44px;">Touches/100 poss.</td>
<td style="width: 18.501%; height: 44px;">Paint touches/100 poss.</td>
<td style="width: 16.4124%; height: 44px;">Paint touches FG% </td>
<td style="width: 15.1069%; height: 44px;">At-Rim FGA/game</td>
<td style="width: 13.5403%; height: 44px;">At-Rim FG%</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 22px;">
<td style="width: 10.2766%; height: 22px;">2018-19</td>
<td style="width: 15.2376%; height: 22px;">59.6</td>
<td style="width: 18.501%; height: 22px;">2.8</td>
<td style="width: 16.4124%; height: 22px;">65.3%</td>
<td style="width: 15.1069%; height: 22px;">1.8</td>
<td style="width: 13.5403%; height: 22px;">75.5%</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 22px;">
<td style="width: 10.2766%; height: 22px;">2019-20</td>
<td style="width: 15.2376%; height: 22px;">57.5</td>
<td style="width: 18.501%; height: 22px;">5.2</td>
<td style="width: 16.4124%; height: 22px;">61.7%</td>
<td style="width: 15.1069%; height: 22px;">2.5</td>
<td style="width: 13.5403%; height: 22px;">66.9%</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 22px;">
<td style="width: 10.2766%; height: 22px;">2020-21</td>
<td style="width: 15.2376%; height: 22px;">49.4</td>
<td style="width: 18.501%; height: 22px;">7.0</td>
<td style="width: 16.4124%; height: 22px;">70.3%</td>
<td style="width: 15.1069%; height: 22px;">2.7</td>
<td style="width: 13.5403%; height: 22px;">74.4%</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 22px;">
<td style="width: 10.2766%; height: 22px;">2021-22*</td>
<td style="width: 15.2376%; height: 22px;">51.3</td>
<td style="width: 18.501%; height: 22px;">9.7</td>
<td style="width: 16.4124%; height: 22px;">62.8%</td>
<td style="width: 15.1069%; height: 22px;">3.4</td>
<td style="width: 13.5403%; height: 22px;">77.3%</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 22px;">
<td style="width: 10.2766%; height: 22px;">2022-23</td>
<td style="width: 15.2376%; height: 22px;">54.2</td>
<td style="width: 18.501%; height: 22px;">9.1</td>
<td style="width: 16.4124%; height: 22px;">71.2%</td>
<td style="width: 15.1069%; height: 22px;">3.6</td>
<td style="width: 13.5403%; height: 22px;">74.7%</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
*Note that Lopez played just 13 games in 2021-22 due to injury.
Lopez's current paint diet builds off of his abbreviated 2021-22 campaign, and this time, he's consistently converting on his greatest volume as a Buck. In addition to the strong marks at the rim, Lopez is also hitting a blistering 56% of his short-mid-range shots, per Cleaning the Glass.
The 35-year-old scored his 26 points on Wednesday despite a quiet 0-for-2 night from distance. He made 10 of 17 attempts inside the arc. Some were confident driving layups where he powered through Nikola Vucevic and Andre Drummond. But this play highlights how his roll (heyo!) is changing:
<div style="width: 100%; height: 0px; position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.250%;"><iframe style="width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute; left: 0px; top: 0px; overflow: hidden;" src="https://streamable.com/e/1z89r7" width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" data-mce-fragment="1"></iframe></div>
With the amount of drop coverage in today's NBA, plus the different downhill playmakers Milwaukee employs, Lopez has windows available as a roller. Here he stays in the passing lane during Joe Ingles' drive, seals off Derrick Jones Jr. and finishes the layup.&nbsp;
<div style="width: 100%; height: 0px; position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.250%;"><iframe style="width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute; left: 0px; top: 0px; overflow: hidden;" src="https://streamable.com/e/2nevnr" width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" data-mce-fragment="1"></iframe></div>
This earlier bucket was the second of two near-identical makes in a row. Chicago sets its drop early in the action, but Vucevic is tighter on Holiday given the guard's threat to pull up. The window is open quicker for a short-roll pass that Holiday easily makes. Lopez then knocks down the soft-touch floater that the smaller DeMar DeRozan can't really contest.
According to play-type data from Synergy, Lopez is spending 21.2% of his possessions this season as a roll man. That's the highest frequency of his Bucks career, and it's steadily increased in each subsequent year from 14.1% in 2018-19. "Roll man" in Synergy terms can also include pick-and-pop plays, where Lopez often thrives, but he's also adding more classic rolls.
Tack on a career-high 37.4% clip from beyond the arc, and Lopez has found the pockets for him to excel within Milwaukee's offense without taking on a significantly larger workload.
<div class="mceNonEditable"><spike>&nbsp;</spike></div>
Lopez is making teams pay for how they defend guys like Holiday and Antetokounmpo. His buckets still mostly come via assists. Jackson, meanwhile, is stepping up as a self-creator.&nbsp;
The 23-year-old has cleared the 60% True Shooting mark for the first time in his five-year career. Yet, he's not shooting threes particularly well (34.4%) and his volume of attempts is down (4.5 per game). Jackson has instead boosted his two-point percentage to a career-best 58.5%. He can attribute that spike to a consistent assertion of getting to the basket.&nbsp;
According to PBP Stats, more than 40% of Jackson's total shots this year have been self-created twos within 10 feet of the basket. His 53.2% conversion rate on those looks is a whopping nine percentage points better than last season. Jackson's overall 67% clip at the rim is a serious bounce-back from a dreadful 2021-22, and his 47% mark in the short-mid-range area is another career high.
<div style="width: 100%; height: 0px; position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.250%;"><iframe style="width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute; left: 0px; top: 0px; overflow: hidden;" src="https://streamable.com/e/2nevnr" width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" data-mce-fragment="1"></iframe></div>
In his monster 40-point outing, Jackson showed off how he's leveraging his length and strength with confidence. He posted up Larry Nance Jr. twice for scores, and was unfazed even when plowing into Nance on the above drive. Jackson still had the balance to turn the moment into a floater. There are also these Giannis-esque moments with Jackson where he uses his long strides and length to glide past defenders. The overall quick decision-making has elevated his attacks.
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The lanky forward has traded in some perimeter looks for more aggressive attacks. In fact, Jackson ranks third in points per drive (0.94) among 180 high-volume drivers this season. He's scoring at a decent 50.5% clip and drawing fouls on 18% of his drives, which also ranks third.
Jackson didn't shoot particularly well (13-for-28) en route to his 40-burger on Wednesday, but did draw nine fouls and made 11 of 12 free throws.
Perhaps the most surprising stat: Jackson is one of 100 NBA players who have logged 50 or more isolation possessions this season, per Synergy. He's drawn shooting fouls on a whopping 32.1% of those possessions; that is the highest in the eight-year history of Synergy's play-type tracking.
With his foul-drawing and reliable free-throw shooting, Jackson has created a floor-raiser with his length and athleticism against opposing bigs. As his scoring efficiency comes along, he's looking more and more like a matchup nightmare.
THE OUTLIERS (a.k.a. other random interesting numbers I found in the void):
<ul>
<li>Two extremely important concepts in today's NBA: Creating and preventing advantages. From SIS Hoops:</li>
</ul>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
In the stretch run of the MVP race, Joel Embiid has stepped up his advantage creation to separate himself as the favorite for the award. <a href="https://t.co/6lThkqTKVC">pic.twitter.com/6lThkqTKVC</a>
&mdash; SIS Hoops (@SIS_Hoops) <a href="https://twitter.com/SIS_Hoops/status/1644003730205843458?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 6, 2023</a></blockquote>
<ul>
<li>Post-NCAA men's tournament reflection. FAU baby!
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</li>
</ul>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
Take good shots ✅ Force tough shots ✅ Win more games ✅ <a href="https://t.co/xHczgYjpfo">pic.twitter.com/xHczgYjpfo</a>
&mdash; Todd Whitehead (@CrumpledJumper) <a href="https://twitter.com/CrumpledJumper/status/1643379899129040897?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 4, 2023</a></blockquote>

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<ul>
<li>A few league-wide notes I saw as this season is wrapping up:</li>
</ul>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
Some NBA leaguewide trends as we approach the end of the season 🧵 - The NBA is shooting a base 47.5% from the field, which is its highest since 1989-90 - eFG% is 54.5%, which is the highest ever - 114.8 offensive rating is a massive all-time high, 2nd place is 112.3 (2020-21)
&mdash; Ethan Fuller (@ethman43) <a href="https://twitter.com/ethman43/status/1644020710753333249?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 6, 2023</a></blockquote>

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Jackson and Lopez are leading the Defensive Player of the Year race, but have also made important offensive strides.

NBA Stats Notebook: Lauding Jaren Jackson Jr. and Brook Lopez's offense

MILWAUKEE (AP) &mdash; Bobby Portis had 27 points and 13 rebounds, starting in place of the injured Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks wrapped up the top seed in the NBA playoffs, beating the Chicago Bulls 105-92 on Wednesday night.
Antetokounmpo was ruled out before the game because of right knee soreness. He had 28 points, 11 rebounds, 10 assists against Washington on Tuesday night.
Brook Lopez had 26 points, point guard Jrue Holiday added 20 points, 15 assists and eight rebounds and Jevon Carter had 16 points in a starting role. Khris Middleton started for the Bucks, but played just eight minutes before exiting with right knee soreness. He was 0 for 3 from the floor.
Milwaukee improved to 58-22, fighting back from a 10-point, third-quarter deficit. The Bucks lead fellow Eastern Conference foe Boston by three games with two games remaining.
Jae Crowder and Wes Matthews combined to harass Bulls forward DeMar DeRozan throughout the game, with DeRozan finishing with eight points on 3-of-12 shooting.
Nikola Vucevic led the Bulls with 21 points and 11 rebounds. Coby White added 14 points, and Zach LaVine had 13.
The Bulls built a 61-51 lead early in the third quarter, but the Bucks responded with a 15-0 run, paced by six points from Portis and four from Lopez.
The Bulls started the night in 10th place in the East and already having clinched a play-in berth.
TIP-INS
Bulls: Guard Alex Caruso was ruled out with a left foot injury, a problem he has dealt with in recent weeks. Caruso played 19 minutes and went scoreless in Chicago&rsquo;s home loss to Atlanta on Tuesday night. &ldquo;He doesn&rsquo;t want to be a liability,&rdquo; Bulls coach Billy Donovan said.
Bucks: Pat Connaughton sprained his right ankle in the first quarter Tuesday and was out Wednesday. &ldquo;We&rsquo;re hopeful it&rsquo;s a very short-term thing,&rdquo; Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer said. &ldquo;I would put it in the relatively positive bucket.&rdquo; &hellip; Grayson Allen (right ankle sprain) is out for the rest of the regular-season, but Budenholzer remains hopeful the guard will be ready for the first round of the playoffs which open April 15.
UP NEXT
Bulls: At Dallas on Friday night.
Bucks: Host Memphis on Friday night.

Milwaukee improved to 58-22, fighting back from a 10-point, third-quarter deficit.

Bucks wrap up top seed in NBA with 105-92 victory over Bulls

CHICAGO (AP) &mdash; Bogdan Bogdanovic scored 26 points and the Atlanta Hawks overcame the loss of top scorer Trae Young to beat the Chicago Bulls 123-105 on Tuesday night.
Young, who leads the Hawks with a 26.2 scoring average, didn&rsquo;t play due to a non-COVID illness. Forward De&rsquo;Andre Hunter missed his third consecutive game because of a left knee bruise.
But Bogdanovic led the way on 9-of-15 shooting from the field, including 5-of-10 on 3-point attempts.
&ldquo;I tried to put him back in a couple times, but he was tired,&rdquo; Hawks coach Quin Snyder said. &ldquo;Which tells me he&rsquo;s good. That means he was playing defense. We know he can shoot the ball.&rdquo;
Atlanta (40-39) opened a two-game lead over the Bulls (38-41), who clinched a play-in berth in the Eastern Conference by virtue of Orlando&rsquo;s loss to Cleveland earlier in the evening.
After Zach LaVine opened the game with a basket, the Hawks ran off 13 consecutive points, with Bogdanovic scoring 11 during that span as the Hawks never trailed after that.
&ldquo;We didn&rsquo;t guard the ball well, didn&rsquo;t rotate well and didn&rsquo;t rebound well,&rdquo; LaVine said.
The Bulls managed only seven fast-break points, and the Hawks had a 66-48 advantage in points in the paint. Saddiq Bey added 18 points while Dejounte Murray had 17 and Jaylen Johnson 16.
LaVine led the Bulls with 26 points, and DeMar DeRozan added 21 and Nikola Vucevic 19.
Without Young or Hunter, Atlanta still managed to expose Chicago&rsquo;s porous defense by shooting 55.8% from the field (47-for-85), including 10-of-28 shooting from 3-point range.
&ldquo;I think the key thing is we responded collectively, and that&rsquo;s what it takes,&rdquo; Snyder said. &ldquo;There was no one guy that said, &rsquo;OK, I&rsquo;m going to be the guy who closes the door on a run. They did it as a group, and they did it defensively, getting stops at various times.&rdquo;
The Bulls&rsquo; defensive efforts were challenged after specialist Alex Caruso committed his second foul six minutes into the game. Caruso returned midway through the second quarter but left two minutes later after being charged with his third foul.
The Hawks led by as many as 20 points after Bey turned a loose-ball sequence into a reverse layup with 1:11 remaining in the second quarter.
&ldquo;Every one of these games is a must-win game for us,&rdquo; LaVine said. &ldquo;Obviously we didn&rsquo;t do good enough. They wanted it more than us. It&rsquo;s tough to have that type of result at this point in the season.
A restless crowd booed the Bulls, who responded with an 8-0 run capped by a LaVine 3-pointer to end the quarter.
TIP-INS:
Hawks: Young didn&rsquo;t make the trip to Chicago, and Snyder was unsure when he would rejoin the team. ...
UP NEXT
Hawks: Wednesday vs. Washington.
Bulls: Wednesday at Milwaukee.

Bogdanovic led the way on 9-of-15 shooting from the field, including 5-of-10 on three-point attempts.

Bogdanovic’s 26 lead Young-less Hawks past Bulls 123-105

CHICAGO (AP) &mdash; Zach LaVine scored 36 points, DeMar DeRozan added 31 and the Chicago Bulls used a huge second half to beat the Memphis Grizzlies 128-107 and overcome Ja Morant's triple-double on Sunday.
The Bulls outscored the Western Conference&rsquo;s second-place team 75-39 over the final two quarters after trailing by 23. They dominated the Grizzlies 40-16 in the third, ending it on a 17-0 run while taking the lead. And they responded with another big push in the fourth after Memphis pulled within three.
Jaren Jackson Jr. scored 31 points and made five 3-pointers for the Grizzlies, who had won eight of nine. Morant had 17 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists, and Desmond Bane&nbsp;scored 21.
LaVine added nine assists during his big game for the Bulls, who committed just three turnovers while trying to hold on to a play-in spot in the Eastern Conference. Coby White had 19 points and Nikola Vucevic added 13 points and 10 rebounds.
The Grizzlies led by 23 in the first half and headed to the locker room up by 15 after making 13 of 25 3-pointers, only to get dominated 40-16 in the third. The Bulls scored the final 17 points of the quarter.
Chicago took its first lead at 85-84 when Patrick Williams tipped in White's missed 3 with 1:34 remaining and continued to add to it.
White and DeRozan converted three-point plays, and Ayo Dosunmu&nbsp;drove for a finger-roll layup in the closing seconds to give Chicago a nine-point lead.
Memphis got within 104-101 on Jackson's 3 midway through the fourth. But the Bulls answered with an 11-0 run.
It was quite a turnaround after Memphis just about buried the Bulls in the first half.
Jackson, who scored 13 in the first half, made three 3s. He hit two during a 15-2 run that broke open a 46-36 game, and Luke Kennard finished that burst with a 3 from the wing, making it 61-38 with just over five minutes left in the half.
TIP-INS
Grizzlies: G John Konchar&nbsp;was available after missing back-to-back games because of a sore left hip.
Bulls: The Bulls have not decided if G Alex Caruso (sore left foot) will miss a game when they host Atlanta on Tuesday and visit Milwaukee on Wednesday. &ldquo;We haven't predetermined, 'OK, we get to this back-to-back, this is what we're doing,'&rdquo; coach Billy Donovan said.
UP NEXT
Grizzlies: Host Portland on Tuesday.
Bulls: Host Atlanta on Tuesday.

Zach LaVine scored 36 points, DeMar DeRozan added 31 and the Bulls used a huge second half to beat the Grizzlies 128-107.

Zach LaVine scores 36 points, Bulls beat Grizzlies 128-107

CHICAGO (AP) &mdash; LeBron James scored 25 points in his return to the starting lineup and the Los Angeles Lakers beat the Chicago Bulls 121-110 on Wednesday night.
James also had seven rebounds and four assists in 31 minutes in his second game back after he was sidelined for a month because of a torn tendon in his right foot.
(The four-time MVP scored 19 points on Sunday in a 118-108 loss to Chicago in just his second appearance as a reserve in his 20-year NBA career.)
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Fighting for playoff positioning in the Western Conference, Los Angeles (38-38) kicked off a five-game trip with its fourth win in five games overall.
Anthony Davis had 38 points and 10 rebounds in his hometown, and D&rsquo;Angelo Russell scored 17 points.
Nikola Vucevic had 29 points and 12 rebounds for Chicago in its second straight loss.

LeBron James scored 25 points in his return to the starting lineup and the Lakers beat the Bulls 121-110 on Wednesday night.