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Celtics

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

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

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

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

Bradley Beal is currently leading the NBA in scoring, with Stephen Curry having a chance to catch him when the Golden State Warriors face the resurgent Minnesota Timberwolves on Thursday night.
Beal, who plays tonight at home against the Los Angeles Lakers, has a slight lead over Curry, 31.4 points per game to 31.2. That race figures to go down to the wire, at which point we will start hearing about David Thompson vs. George Gervin on the final day of the 1977-78 season.
The rebounding (Clint Capela), assist (Russell Westbrook), block (Myles Turner) and three-point titles (Curry) are all but decided. But we still have the scoring title to keep us riveted.
Because of COVID protocols and rules as well as a plethora of injures, a total of 529 players have suited up for NBA teams this season. Let's take a look at some of the stat leaders:
<ul>
<li>Clint Capela leads the league in offensive rebounds (261), followed by Enes Kanter of Portland (257) and Steven Adams of New Orleans (212). </li>
<li>Russell Westbrook (11.0) is averaging the most assists per game and it isn&rsquo;t particularly close; runner-up Trae Young (9.6) won&rsquo;t be able to catch him. </li>
<li>Jimmy Butler has the most steals per game (2.1), but T.J. McConnell has the most total steals this season (101). Butler has 95 total steals. </li>
<li>Rudy Gobert leads the league in total blocks (168), with nine more than Turner. However, Turner is averaging 3.4 blocks to Gobert&rsquo;s 2.8 because he&rsquo;s played 13 fewer games. </li>
<li>Danilo Gallinari of Atlanta (.935) is one of nine players shooting 90% or better from the free throw line. Until last week, Jordan Clarkson of Utah (.924) was leading the league in free-throw percentage, but he has dropped to fourth;. Chris Paul of Phoenix is second at .929. </li>
<li>Joe Harris of Brooklyn has taken over the three-point accuracy lead (.481). Joe Ingles of Utah, the leader last week, is now third at .477. Bobby Portis of Milwaukee is in second (.479). </li>
<li>Rudy Gobert leads the NBA in field-goal percentage (.676) by a large margin. Runner-up Richaun Holmes is shooting 64.4%. Kelly Olynyk leads the NBA in two-point field goal percentage (.688). </li>
<li>DeAndre Jordan leads all players in true shooting percentage (.753) and effective field goal percentage (.779). Rounding out the top-three in both stats are Robert Williams and Ingles. </li>
<li>Nikola Jokic leads all players in field goals (625), win shares (13.3), win shares per 48 minutes (.298) and Value Over Replacement Player (7.3). </li>
<li>Julius Randle of the Knicks ranks first in minutes per game (37.5) and second in defensive win shares (3.7).</li>
</ul>
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A few other distinctions:
<ul>
<li>Montrezl Harrell of the Lakers has attempted the most three-pointers without a make. He is 0-for-10, while the Lakers&rsquo; Andre Drummond and the Nets&rsquo; Theo Pinson are each 0-8. Last season, Harrell went 0-18 from three-point range. </li>
<li>Dillon Brooks of Memphis and Jae&rsquo;Sean Tate of Houston have the most personal fouls (195). </li>
<li>In addition to leading the NBA in assists, Westbrook also leads all players in turnovers (272). </li>
<li>Dwight Howard of the 76ers leads the league in technical fouls (15). His next one will draw an automatic suspension and a $5,000 fine. Luka Doncic and Westbrook are tied for second with 13. </li>
<li>J.B. Bickerstaff of the Cavaliers leads all coaches with 8 technical fouls. </li>
<li>Howard, C.J. McCollum and Alex Len are tied for the league lead in flagrant fouls (4). </li>
<li>No player has drawn more than one flop violation; LeBron James, LaMelo Ball, Kyle Kuzma, D.J. Augustin, Gary Trent Jr., Kristaps Porzingis and Mason Jones each received a warning.</li>
</ul>
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There are eight players who have played this season without scoring a basket: Jared Harper of the Knicks, Kris Dunn of the Hawks, Ashton Hagans (who was cut by the Timberwolves), Will Magnay (who was cut by the Pelicans), Ignas Brazdeikis (who was cut by the 76ers), Anzejs Pasecniks (who was cut by the Wizards), Noah Vonleh (who was cut by the Nets), and Greg Whittington (who was cut by the Nuggets).
Hagans, 21, appeared in two games and played two minutes while recording one lone statistic: a turnover. He spent two seasons at Kentucky before going undrafted in 2020, then was waived by the Wolves in February for violating the G-League&rsquo;s COVID protocols. His rookie season will end with all zeroes except for that lone turnover (unless someone takes a chance on the Kentucky product who earned the SEC&rsquo;s Co-Defensive Player of the Year award in 2019).
A total of 21 NBA players are averaging less than 1.0 point per game, the oldest being Jared Dudley of the Lakers.
There are 39 players averaging between 1.0 and 1.9 points per game, including:
<ul>
<li>Last season&rsquo;s NCAA scoring champion, Markus Howard of the Nuggets (1.1 PPG).</li>
<li>Cristiano Felicio of the Bulls (1.1 PPG), who is on the final season of a four-year, $32 million contract.</li>
<li>Jahmi&rsquo;us Ramsey of the Kings (1.4 PPG), who has played five games and was perfect from the field (1-for-1) in three of them.</li>
<li>Rodions Kurucs of the Bucks (1.5 PPG), who has the distinction of being involved in both the trade for James Harden (going from Brooklyn to Houston) and the trade for P.J. Tucker (going from Houston to Milwaukee).</li>
</ul>
The season is far from over, and while 529 players have suited up thus far, that number is likely to increase as more players are signed.

Chris Sheridan takes a look at the NBA's stat leaders, as well as some other interesting numbers from the 2020-21 season.

A deeper dive into the NBA's interesting statistics

The Nets are waiving three players -- Noah Vonleh, Iman Shumpert and Andre Roberson -- ahead of deadline to guarantee deals for season.
Source: <a href="https://twitter.com/wojespn/status/1364421789095518209" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter)</a>
ANALYSIS: Wojnarowski added that the Nets want to keep roster flexibility to take on players in trades or in the buyout/free agent market. And <a href="https://twitter.com/ShamsCharania/status/1364422913194090501" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Shams Charania of The Athletic reported</a> that Iman Shumpert and Andre Roberson will plan to sign 10-day contracts with the Nets when they clear waivers on Friday. The Nets waived Shumpert and Roberson to again maintain flexibility ahead of the guaranteed deals deadline that happens this week.
<a href="https://twitter.com/wojespn/status/1364424839554101248" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Brooklyn will also be signing Tyler Cook</a> to a 10-day contract. Cook, a power forward out of the G League, averaged 20 points, 10 rebounds and 4.6 assists in the G-League Bubble for Iowa.

The Nets will waive Noah Vonleh, Iman Shumpert and Andre Roberson ahead of the NBA's guaranteed deals deadline.

Nets to waive Noah Vonleh, Iman Shumpert and Andre Roberson

There are 18 days until the NBA All-Star break, which was supposed to be a break with no All-Star festivities. But then that plan changed, much to the dismay of many of the league&rsquo;s top superstars.&nbsp;
The Utah Jazz look unstoppable, sort of like the Milwaukee Bucks did at this time a year ago, and there is not a whole lot of defense being played as teams slog their way through the mid-winter schedule and make adjustments on the fly (whether because of coronavirus issues or injuries or slumps).
Every night brings major surprises, some of them positive &ndash; as fans of the Detroit Pistons could tell you. Until recently, they were the worst team in the East; now, they are making us NBA hardcores take notice of the likes of Saddiq Bey and Mason Plumlee.
The week begins with news that Kevin Durant and Anthony Davis will both be back on the shelf; Durant with a hamstring issue and Davis with an Achilles. Neither injury is particularly serious, and let&rsquo;s all remember that what happens in February often has very little impact in May and June when things ramp up.
So with 18 days remaining until the All-Star break, here are 18 observations (aside from the ones listed above) that will be at the forefront of NBA conversations between now and the All-Star break.
1. What on earth is wrong with the Boston Celtics? They got toasted by the Washington Wizards, the worst team in the East, on Sunday afternoon to make it four losses in their past five games. Prior to that, they lost to the Detroit Pistons and they are now 13-13. It looks like they miss Gordon Hayward more than we anticipated, and there is no underestimating how important Marcus Smart is to that team. Payton Pritchard has earned Brad Stevens&rsquo; trust, but what about rookie Aaron Nesmith, the No. 14 overall pick in the draft? He did log 29 minutes of garbage time on Sunday, which is a step in the right direction... or he was being showcased.
2. Why are so many superstars speaking out about having to play in an All-Star game? Well, they were told at the outset of the season that they were going to have a one-week break, and then that promise was broken. NBA contracts include language that obligates players to participate in All-Star activities if invited, so three Saturdays from now a bunch of players will be flying into Atlanta, locking themselves in their hotel rooms and getting ready for the annual Sunday night show. Let&rsquo;s just hope the fourth quarter is competitive, like it normally is.
3. When can we expect the Utah Jazz to lose a game? On Thursday, we were wondering whether it would come in a span of the next eight days, because the schedule was getting tough for them. But they beat the Milwaukee Bucks by 14 and the Miami Heat by 18. Tonight, it is Joel Embiid and the Philadelphia 76ers trying to end the Jazz&rsquo;s hot streak, and then Utah plays back-to-back games against the Clippers at the Staples Center on Wednesday and Friday. If Paul George (right foot) and Kawhi Leonard (left leg contusion) are both healthy by then, we will have a litmus test.
4. Will the New York Knicks or Brooklyn Nets trade for a big man? Brooklyn has had a donut problem (a hole in the middle) since Jarrett Allen was traded in the James Harden deal, and Noah Vonleh and Norvel Pelle do not look like long-term solutions. The Cleveland Cavaliers are sitting Andre Drummond until they can find a trade partner, and JaVale McGee is expendable as well. The same goes for Hassan Whiteside in Sacramento. The Nets may not have the assets to trade for any of them unless they surrender Joe Harris, so they&rsquo;ll likely wait to see who is bought out. Meanwhile, Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau told reporters that he is OK with moving Julius Randle over to center while Mitchell Robinson recovers from a broken hand (and they also have Nerlens Noel). The Knicks have won four of their last six games, but will have to contend with Clint Capela and Nikola Vucevic in their next two games, after which Leon Rose, Thibs and Worldwide Wes may need to come up with a plan to find a new center.
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5. What is wrong with the Milwaukee Bucks? They lost to the Oklahoma City Thunder last night and have been surrendering more than 123 points a night in their current three-game losing streak. A year ago, on Feb. 15, they were 46-8 and Giannis Antetokounmpo had pretty much wrapped up the MVP award. But this season, they have been running hot and cold like a leaky faucet (the three recent losses were preceded by five-straight wins, which followed consecutive losses, which followed consecutive wins). They&rsquo;ll need better, more consistent production from Brook Lopez, who scored 6 points last night against Al Horford. His scoring has dropped from 12.0 points per game to 10.8, and his assists are down from 1.5 to 0.6. His next double-figure rebounding game will be just his third of the season. It is worth noting that Milwaukee is trying to get their new pieces acclimated, which hasn&rsquo;t helped.
6. Which teams figure to be active at the trade deadline? I would say the New Orleans Pelicans are the team to watch. If the supporting cast around Zion Williamson and Brandon Ingram continue to underperform, they will look for hungrier players along with extra draft picks to add to the ones they got from Milwaukee in the Jrue Holiday-Eric Bledsoe deal. New Orleans has lost its last three games -- not playing a lick of defense against Chicago, Dallas and Detroit -- and 11-15 is not where they wanted to be, especially with Zion shooting an unfathomable 65.5 percent from the field this month (he was 14-for-15 against the Mavs on Friday). Boston, New York and Brooklyn have already been mentioned, and major underachievers (Miami, Dallas, Toronto) are always looking to tinker in order to bolster their roster for a playoff push.
7. What makes this season very different from last year&rsquo;s campaign? Aside from the coronavirus disruptions, the rule change that will allow for 20 of the 30 teams to qualify for the playoffs (including the play-in tournament) has disincentivized players from competing at their highest level during the regular season. One Eastern Conference coach (who spoke on the condition of anonymity) said it has been one of the worst rules changes ever enacted. We&rsquo;ll see if he feels the same way if his team finishes ninth or 10th and has a chance to play meaningful postseason games rather than beginning preparations for the draft extra early.
8. Why are the Phoenix Suns sitting in fourth place in the Western Conference? The addition of Chris Paul is the biggest reason, and they are 6-0 thus far on a seven-game homestand that ends Tuesday night against a Brooklyn team that will be without Kevin Durant. They&rsquo;ve won nine of 10, and at a certain point, Mikal Bridges <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-mikal-bridges-phoenix-suns-breakout-season-three-point-shooting-pick-and-roll-defense-deandre-ayton-turnover-percentage-monty-williams-chris-paul-villanova-jay-wright-ashley-howard">has to enter the Most Improved Player conversation</a> (<a href="https://sportsbook.draftkings.com/leagues/basketball/103?category=awards&amp;subcategory=most-improved-player">he is 100-1 at DraftKingsSportsbook</a>, where <a href="https://sportsbook.draftkings.com/leagues/basketball/103?category=awards&amp;subcategory=mvp">Chris Paul is 500-1 to be MVP</a>).
9. Who is the Coach of the Year? One would assume that Quin Snyder (Jazz) and Doc Rivers (Sixers) would be the frontrunners, but get this: None of the major sportsbooks operating in the legalized U.S. sports gambling market have Coach of the Year odds listed. This award typically goes to the coach whose team has overachieved the most, and everyone expected the Sixers and Jazz to be good. So Monty Williams in Phoenix, Thibodeau in New York, Terry Stotts in Portland (he lost C.J. McCollum and Jusuf Nurkic) and James Borrego in Charlotte may be in the mix.
10. Who will be the No. 1 pick in the 2021 NBA Draft? Cade Cunningham of Oklahoma State is the flavor of the moment, followed by Jalen Green of the G-League Ignite, a team that just began playing bubbleball last week. Scouts are being hampered by their inability to get inside gyms, watch prospects closely and observe things such as body language, pre-game habits, interactions with teammates, etc. Because of that, this summer&rsquo;s draft is going to be more of a crapshoot than usual, and the team with the most first-round picks is Oklahoma City with three. Houston and New York have two apiece.
11. What is the best game to watch over the remainder of the first half of the season? Many teams are starting to allow fans back into the arenas, but we will probably not see a full house until next season, which removes the crowd factor for the most part (shout out to Courtside Karen), which would normally make certain matchups more enticing. If Kevin Durant and Anthony Davis are back by Thursday, Nets-Lakers on TNT is a candidate. We have Jazz-Clippers on Wednesday and Friday, followed by a Heat-Lakers NBA Finals rematch on Saturday (ABC) and Nets-Clippers the following night. Fans will be allowed at Madison Square Garden on Feb. 23 when Steph Curry faces the Knicks, but the winner in this category is Lakers at Jazz on Friday, Feb. 24.
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12. Who will win the Rasheed Wallace Award (a.k.a. Hothead of the Year)? Dwight Howard of the Sixers and Russell Westbrook of the Wizards are tied for the league lead in technical fouls with eight apiece. Among coaches, Nick Nurse of Toronto leads with five.
13. What record might fall? Jose Calderon holds the record for the highest free-throw percentage (98.1 percent in 2008-09 for Toronto). Entering Monday&rsquo;s games, Suns guard Chris Paul is 68-for-70 (97.1 percent) and Nets guard Kyrie Irving is 77-for-81 (95.1 percent). If either has a few games of perfection from 15 feet away, perhaps Calderon&rsquo;s record will be in jeopardy.
14. Anzejs Pasecniks of the Washington Wizards was released a month ago after appearing in one game. In five minutes of playing time, he committed six turnovers to go along with two personal fouls, one assist and one offensive rebound. Ish Smith converted the bucket off the Latvian kid&rsquo;s assist. That&rsquo;s a rough outing.
15. Monte Morris of the Denver Nuggets leads the NBA in assist-to-turnover ratio at 5.5 (among qualified players) and Pat Connaughton of the Milwaukee Bucks is at 5.7. Among players who log major minutes, DeMar DeRozan of San Antonio is at 4.20. In the steals-to-turnover ratio category, Matisse Thybulle is head and shoulders above everyone at 5.0. Among players who log major minutes, the league leader in steals is Jrue Holiday of Milwaukee with 1.91 per game.
16. In the &ldquo;hustle stats&rdquo; categories, Ben Simmons leads the NBA with 4.1 deflections per game, Giannis Antetokounmpo leads the league in loose balls recovered (38), Domantas Sabonis leads the league in screen assists (6.7), and Montrezl Harrell and Kyle Lowry are tied for the league lead in charges drawn (12).
17. The league&rsquo;s oldest player, Udonis Haslem of Miami, wears uniform No. 40&hellip; matching his age. The youngest player, Oklahoma City&rsquo;s Aleksej Pokusevski, the No. 17 overall pick in the 2020 draft, is 19 years old and has 19 blocked shots.
18. What&rsquo;s the season-low for offensive rebounds in a game? One. The Philadelphia 76ers were the team to grab a single offensive rebound against Washington on Jan. 6, when the Sixers scored 141 points. Danny Green grabbed the lone offensive board.

With the NBA All-Star break approaching, Chris Sheridan shares his thoughts on the season thus far.

Sheridan: 18 observations with 18 days until NBA All-Star break

The NBA is ultimately a pass-fail league. The postseason finishes with a champion, and everyone else fails.
OK, that&rsquo;s a little harsh. Failure is relative, and there are some teams that entered this season with their expectations managed. The Oklahoma City Thunder, for example, are passing the rebuilding test as they figure out what players such as Darius Bazley can do when given a chance. The 20-year-old went for 21 points and 16 rebounds last night against the Lakers, playing against a guy, LeBron James, that Bazley used to watch when he was still in diapers.
But you get the point. The regular season is a journey to the postseason for 20 teams this year instead of 16, and a journey to the lottery for the other 10. Today, we will give out team-by-team trimester grades for the 15 Eastern Conference teams, and we&rsquo;ll circle back tomorrow with the West teams. After the next third of the season is complete, we shall do this again.
So, without further ado&hellip;
PHILADELPHIA 76ers (17-7) &ndash; Doc Rivers has them atop the Eastern Conference and has Joel Embiid at the center of the MVP discussion, and Embiid is taking to social media to scold those who cannot quite comprehend how Ben Simmons is contributing to victories on nights when his box-score line leaves something to be desired. When Embiid has played, the Sixers are 14-4, and he clearly spent a bunch of his pandemic isolation time working on his conditioning. Philly has the NBA&rsquo;s best fourth-quarter offense, outscoring opponents by 112.4 points per 100 possessions. Shake Milton is contributing along with imports Danny Green and Seth Curry, and the Sixers have the league&rsquo;s best home record (11-2).
GRADE A-
MILWAUKEE BUCKS (16-8) &ndash; Let&rsquo;s face it, they spoiled us last season. After 24 games a year ago, they were 21-3. What&rsquo;s important to note with this year&rsquo;s team is that there was going to be a learning curve with Jrue Holiday taking over from Eric Bledsoe at the point, because chemistry takes time to build. Khris Middleton continues to do what Khris Middleton always does. Bobby Portis has been a very good free-agent addition (11 points, 7.4 rebounds), as noted in <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-bobby-portis-spark-plug-off-bench-milwaukee-bucks-mike-budenholzer-donte-divincenzo-khris-middleton-dj-augustin">this recent profile by colleague Spencer Davies</a>, and Donte DiVincenzo is doing a bit of everything as a full-time starter, shooting above 40 percent from three-point range.
GRADE: B+
BROOKLYN NETS (14-11) &ndash; Well, they have certainly been intriguing. The James Harden trade may have provided us with the most signature moment of the season, and Kyrie Irving has kept things interesting while being polarizing. The Kevin Durant situation last Friday gave everyone a better idea of how hard the NBA is working to contain the spread of the coronavirus, and although the league&rsquo;s methods can sometimes be maddening and isolating, we are not seeing the number of infections that we were seeing a month ago. A backup big man remains a need, and we shall see beginning tonight if Noah Vonleh is the answer. They are all-in on offense, but we all know that defense wins championships, so Sean Marks&rsquo; roster remains a work in progress.
GRADE: B
BOSTON CELTICS (12-10) &ndash; Danny Ainge has been quiet&hellip; too quiet. And the Celtics have been too mediocre. Part of that is caused by Kemba Walker being unavailable for 13 of the 22 games, and Marcus Smart&rsquo;s injury hurts more than some may realize. In a league where elite on-the-ball defenders are hard to come by, Smart is one of the best in the business. He will be back by the end of the month, and his absence is providing everyone with a longer look at rookie Payton Pritchard. Jayson Tatum remains a stud player, but one has to wonder whether big men Tristan Thompson and Daniel Theis are championship material. Let&rsquo;s not forget that Andre Drummond is on an expiring contract in Cleveland, and Boston might be a perfect fit. Stay tuned.
GRADE: B-
INDIANA PACERS (12-12) &ndash; The acquisition of Caris LeVert did not exactly go as expected, but the Pacers saved the kid&rsquo;s life. He is expected back on the court in March. Myles Turner&rsquo;s broken hand was a setback, but Domantas Sabonis is having his best season statistically and is a lock to be an All-Star, and the Malcolm Brogdon-T.J. McConnell point guard duo may be the East&rsquo;s best. (Both are among the league&rsquo;s Top 15 in assist-to-turnover ratio). There is no official timetable on T.J. Warren&rsquo;s return from surgery for a stress fracture in his left foot. New coach Nate Bjorkgren has had to mix and match lineups, but if all goes well health-wise, he could have his full roster playing together over the final third of the season.
GRADE: C
<img src="https://basketballnews-media.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/images/story/body/lamelo_2_lg.jpg" alt="" width="798" height="AUTO" />
CHARLOTTE HORNETS (12-13): LaMelo Ball is starting to run away with the Rookie of the Year award, and Michael Jordan&rsquo;s team has quietly won five of seven, a stretch that began with victories over the Pacers, Bucks and Heat. These guys have spent exactly two days over .500, but they seem like a sort of sneaky good team when at full strength (Devonte&rsquo; Graham is currently out, and Cody Zeller has missed half of their games.) Sixth place in the conference is not a bad place to be, and let&rsquo;s see what a full season of Gordon Hayward acclimating to his teammates leads to. Lest we forget, it&rsquo;s still somewhat early in the season.
GRADE: C+
ATLANTA HAWKS: (11-12): Trae Young is an All-Star and Clint Capela is leading the league in rebounding, and you can&rsquo;t help but wonder what that record might look like if Bogdan Bogdanovic had not fractured his knee. They have seven guys averaging double figures in points, and come playoff time, Danilo Gallinari and Rajon Rondo will provide them with what they&rsquo;ve been missing in seasons past. They are the East&rsquo;s biggest sleeper team.
GRADE: C+
TORONTO RAPTORS (11-13): Nick Nurse&rsquo;s ejection last night gave him the league-lead among coaches in technical fouls, and Kyle Lowry leads the league in flagrant fouls. So, that&rsquo;s really not a bunch of great stuff to write home about from Tampa. Fred VanVleet and Pascal Siakam have had their moments, as has Chris Boucher, and they are working their way back from a 2-8 start with wins in four of their past five games. They get a lot of sympathy points here for playing an entire season on the road, for all intents and purposes. But sympathy points mean nothing in the standings.
GRADE: C-
NEW YORK KNICKS (11-14): Tonight, we get to see whether Derrick Rose reuniting with Tom Thibodeau is the secret sauce, and the roster is a work in progress as we discussed yesterday in exploring <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-jj-redick-trade-rumors-david-griffin-new-orleans-pelicans-frank-ntilikina-ignas-brazdeikis-new-york-knicks-tom-thibodeau-derrick-rose-ny-playoffs">the possibility of a J.J. Redick acquisition</a>. After 25 games a season ago, they were 5-20 and beginning the Mike Miller era, back when Leon Rose was still an agent and Thibs was wondering where his next paycheck would come from. This particular rebuild should allow for a playoff spot that ends a seven-year drought, and progress at MSG will take years, not months. Their cap flexibility going forward is huge.
GRADE: B-
CLEVELAND CAVALIERS (10-15): Getting Jarrett Allen from the Nets gives them a third young player to build around, joining Darius Garland and Collin Sexton (AKA the NBA&rsquo;s speediest backcourt). Can they get anything out of Kevin Love, either on the court or in the trade market? That is a major question. They have (what one would think is) a solid trade asset in Andre Drummond, although we were saying that about the Pistons a year ago when they had Drummond and they got very little back for him. It&rsquo;s too harsh to say they are two years away from being two years away, but you get the picture.
GRADE: C
CHICAGO BULLS (9-14): On the bright side, they have the same record as Miami. If you predicted that particular fact in the preseason, please provide MegaMillions advice. Not having Lauri Markkanen, Otto Porter and Wendell Carter has crippled them, but Thaddeus Young has stepped up (trade asset at deadline?). Coby White and Patrick Williams are getting trial by fire, and Billy Donovan is figuring out which of the young fellas are keepers moving forward. One would think Tomas Satoransky has some trade value.
GRADE: D+
MIAMI HEAT (9-14): The NBA&rsquo;s biggest mystery team. What the heck happened to the guys who went to the NBA Finals last season? Duncan Robinson and Precious Achiuwa are the only players who have appeared in all 23 games, so you cannot really say that this has been a collective failure. But the &ldquo;next man up&rdquo; thing has not produced anyone who is manning up in a major way, and no matter how miserable you may feel on any given day, Pat Riley has you beat. 
GRADE: D-
ORLANDO MAGIC (9-15): Losing Markelle Fultz two weeks into the season was a kick in the head after they started 6-2, but Fultz then joined Jonathan Isaac on the out-for-the-season list. Over the past two weeks, they have been getting routinely trounced, and their point differential of -7.2 is the East&rsquo;s worst and the second-worst in the entire NBA thanks to the Timberwolves. Nikola Vucevic may still get an All-Star spot, but that is not as much of a lock as it seemed back in mid-January. This was a playoff team last season.
GRADE: D
WASHINGTON WIZARDS (6-15): Russell Westbrook sat out last night&rsquo;s back-to-back, which is frustrating. Basketball players get paid to play basketball, and once upon a time there was a commissioner, David Stern, who insisted that basketball players play basketball. At least these guys have Bradley Beal to make them watchable.
GRADE: D-
DETROIT PISTONS (5-18). The crazy thing is that they beat the Lakers once and almost beat them twice, losing last weekend in a double-overtime game in which the Pistons climbed back from a 17-point deficit. They also defeated the Sixers for one of their five victories, so go figure. It should not go unnoted that rookie Deividas Sirvydis has a PER of -26.69, which Hollinger himself cannot explain.
GRADE: D-

A third of the way into the 2020-21 NBA season, Chris Sheridan breaks down the state of each East team and grades their start.

Grading each NBA team's first trimester: Eastern Conference

Free agent big man Noah Vonleh is expected to sign a deal with the Brooklyn Nets.
Source: <a href="https://twitter.com/ShamsCharania/status/1358799010400763908" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Shams Charania/Twitter</a>
ANALYSIS:&nbsp;The 25-year-old brings NBA experience and rebounding to a Nets team searching for depth in the frontcourt. Vonleh played 29 games for the Minnesota Timberwolves last season, averaging 4.1 points and 4.0 rebounds per game as a reserve. He was then traded in a massive four-team deal to the Denver Nuggets, put appeared in just seven contests and was largely out of the rotation.&nbsp;

Vonleh played in the NBA bubble for the Denver Nuggets.

Noah Vonleh expected to sign contract with Brooklyn Nets

Chicago Bulls forward Noah Vonleh has tested positive for COVID-19 and begins mandatory 10-day quarantine. He will be waived. I&rsquo;m told he is feeling good overall.
Source: <a style="color: #ffffff;" href="https://twitter.com/ChrisBHaynes/status/1338587152632827906" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports (Twitter)</a>
ANALYSIS: Noah Vonleh issued a statement following his release saying that he feels good and is ready to work his way back onto an NBA roster once he is medically cleared. Vonleh has bounced around the NBA playing for six different franchises and he will be entering his 7th season in the league unsigned.
&nbsp;
&nbsp;

The Bulls have released Noah Vonleh following a positive COVID-19 test.

Bulls release Noah Vonleh following positive COVID test

Free agent F Noah Vonleh has agreed to a one-year deal with the Chicago Bulls, agent Jim Tanner tells ESPN.
Source: <a href="https://twitter.com/wojespn/status/1331980885114163202" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter)</a>
ANALYSIS: The six-year forward out of Indiana University is set to re-join the Bulls after playing half a season in Chicago during the 2017-18 campaign. Vonleh split time between the Timberwolves and Nuggets last year and was unable to establish himself in the rotation for either team. Vonleh has career averages of 5 points and 5.2 rebounds and it is unclear what his role on the Bulls will be next year. 
&nbsp;

Free agent Noah Vonleh has agreed to a one-year deal with the Chicago Bulls.

Noah Vonleh agrees to one-year deal with Bulls

With training camps starting in a week, the NBA's 2020 free-agency period has moved very quickly. Nearly all of the marquee free agents are off the board, aside from Anthony Davis and Brandon Ingram (RFA). However, both stars are expected to re-sign.
On Day 5, who are the top remaining free agents at each position?&nbsp;
GUARDS: Reggie Jackson, Shabazz Napier, Quinn Cook, Shaquille Harrison, Evan Turner, Dion Waiters, Marco Belinelli, Emmanuel Mudiay, Yogi Ferrell, Jamal Crawford, Isaiah Thomas, Jeremy Lin, Jordan McLaughlin (RFA), Chris Chiozza, Thabo Sefolosha, Jordan McRae (RFA), Courtney Lee, Troy Daniels, Brandon Knight, Andre Roberson, Allonzo Trier, Ky Bowman, Gary Payton II, Naz Mitrou-Long, Treveon Graham, Ian Clark, Marcus Georges-Hunt, Frank Mason, Ty Lawson, Shabazz Muhammad, J.R. Smith, Chasson Randle
FORWARDS: Anthony Davis, Nicolas Batum, Frank Kaminsky, Glenn Robinson III, Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, Wilson Chandler, Kyle Korver, DeMarre Carroll, John Henson, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, Taj Gibson, Jared Dudley, Ersan Ilyasova, Bruno Caboclo, Lance Stephenson, Kenneth Faried, Kenrich Williams, Anthony Tolliver, Cheick Diallo, Dante Cunningham, Donatas Motiejunas, Justin Anderson
CENTER: Hassan Whiteside, Kyle O'Quinn, Ian Mahinmi, Noah Vonleh, Skal Labissiere, Tyson Chandler, Thon Maker, Kosta Koufos, Andrew Bogut, Caleb Swanigan, Ekpe Udoh, Miles Plumlee
Who would you like your favorite team to add? Leave a comment below.

Here's a position-by-position look at the top players who remain unsigned on Day 6 of NBA free agency.