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Raptors

Team USA players came inside the Kerry Sports basketball facility one by one, each sporting their preferred and comfortable gear from the blazing heat of the Philippine weather they were not so accustomed to. They were about to hold their first practices in Manila for the FIBA World Cup 2023, the sport&rsquo;s world championship meet.
Anthony Edwards was one of the last ones to enter the gym along with fellow NBA no.1 overall pick Paolo Banchero. He had his Adidas Adilette comfort slides put on with black Team USA jogger pants and an Adidas triple-colored hoodie. Edwards was fixated on his phone, walking past whispering reporters onto the team&rsquo;s huddle at center court, clearly being the center of attraction for the young Team USA squad.
&ldquo;That&rsquo;s who they call the Ant-Man.&rdquo;
Once upon a time, Edwards&rsquo; name was held in a much lower regard. The 22-year-old is considered to be one of the best and brightest young players in the league but has yet to establish himself as one of the staples and premier superstars with an iconic and deep playoff performance that cements him in that tier.
Until these playoffs.
Edwards has separated himself from the pack of young superstars leading their teams and entered the upper echelon of basketball royalty in the NBA. With the league anticipating the &lsquo;changing of the guard&rsquo; as current faces LeBron James, Stephen Curry, and Kevin Durant eventually diminish their shining glories as the league&rsquo;s best of the best, Edwards comes in as one of the hopefuls to take the mantle when that inevitable day comes.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve been saying that he (Edwards) is the face of the league but he hates it when I say it &ndash; but it&rsquo;s true. The future&rsquo;s so bright you gotta put the sunglasses on when you&rsquo;re walking around him,&rdquo; Karl-Anthony Towns said, in their post-game interview after their first-round series with the&nbsp;Phoenix Suns.
Edwards glanced briefly at Towns, who was beside him at the podium. He had that little smile on his face while bowing down his head as his teammate praised him in front of the listening reporters. He looked at Towns again, this time shaking his head in disbelief, but it had the element of confidence. There was obviously a focus on what Towns was talking about but with Edwards&rsquo; elite level-headedness through it all.&nbsp;
&ldquo;You&rsquo;re a young superstar in the league and you have to face it,&rdquo; the statement emphasized on Edwards as he&rsquo;s trying to soak it all in.
Ever since Edwards has been adamant about not calling himself anything until he wins in the playoffs. Now that his Wolves beat the Suns to win the franchise&rsquo;s first playoff series since 2004, Edwards certainly has all the right in the world to give himself even the tiniest bit of praise.
He thought for a good three seconds, glancing at the reporter and the horizon for a moment. He was just asked if he was now able to give himself some grace in that regard when people call him that &lsquo;young superstar&rsquo; label. A small grin emerged onto his face, clearly oozing with confidence albeit a controlled one. He looked back with that smile on his face while nodding, he said:
&ldquo;Nah, not yet a man. Not yet.&rdquo;
Behind this usual brash, confident, and charismatic Edwards is a hungry side that never gets contented and satisfied until he achieves his ultimate goal: winning a championship. Maybe he&rsquo;ll have the guts to call himself one when they reach the Finals and end up going all the way. But that remains to be seen.
He&rsquo;s got the swagger, the personality, and the charisma to be marketable by the league. Edwards mentioned wanting to go kill everybody that&rsquo;s in front of him, and boy, he did.&nbsp;
Edwards swept the Suns featuring his childhood idol and favorite player of all time Kevin Durant, who he has been jawing back and forth at several times in the series. This was him going at his childhood hero, taking on the challenge and never backing down. However, the play of the series happened in Game 4 when Minnesota was trying to put the nail in the coffin for Phoenix.&nbsp;
With 2:18 left on the clock in the 4th quarter, Edwards blew by Beal and rose through the air as high as he could. Durant made the right business decision by not going up together with a rampaging bull as he should For a brief moment, he looked like the second coming of a certain Michael Jordan &ndash; yet again &ndash; after he&rsquo;s been labeled as such throughout the course of the season after each jaw-dropping spectacular play. Edwards threw down a ferocious poster slam dunk that might have literally blown the roof over the Footprint Center as the play signaled the beginning of the end for the Suns.
Durant and Edwards will play together in Team USA in August for the Paris Olympics, and these two for sure would go head to head making their practice sessions much more interesting. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s definitely a good feeling because he&rsquo;s my favorite player of all time, and I can tell him that I was the one who sent him home. It&rsquo;s gonna be a fun summer for sure,&rdquo; Edwards said.
First game of the Western Conference Finals and up against the Nuggets, Edwards scored a playoff career-high 43 points. He dissected their entire defense, scoring in all types of ways imaginable for a superstar. Edwards hit threes, blown by some of the toughest defenders in the NBA Aaron Gordon, and hit fadeaway mid-range jumpers reminiscent of Jordan. More importantly, Edwards displayed the level of maturity a superstar has to make in the playoffs &ndash; playing off of your teammates and playmaking for the entire team. He has done it so far with relative ease and that&rsquo;s why the Timberwolves have found their early success in this postseason.
He&rsquo;s doing it against supposedly their biggest challenge &ndash; the defending champions &ndash; who sent them home a year ago. &ldquo;Last year we didn&rsquo;t have Jaden (McDaniels) and Naz (Reid) against them so it was quite frustrating. Now that we have both I think we can definitely do better,&rdquo; Edwards said about their biggest thing in this rematch series vs Denver is being healthy.
Before the season started, Edwards was this up-and-coming 22-year-old star leading his nation at the World Championships for a chance at glory. Although the Americans ended up not medalling after losing to eventual world champions Germany in the semifinals and to neighboring Canada in the third-place game, Edwards was clearly the best player on the team filled with young American talent. He led Team USA in scoring, and at 22 years old, this was only the start of a big year ahead.
Edwards then was the clear-cut best player for the third-best team in the West, with Minnesota having a 56-26 record. Those 56 wins were the most since 2004 when they had 58 and went to the Western Conference Finals. They were led back then by legend Kevin Garnett but that was also their last time seeing the playoffs.&nbsp;
20 years later, Edwards is now shouldering all the burden by taking this Wolves team back to relevance, basking in all the glory he&rsquo;s worked so hard to attain. He&rsquo;s one of the bonafide young rising superstars in the league, and he intends to take them all the way.
Edwards&rsquo; huge season and ascension to superstardom could be attributed back to something you see coming even from a mile away. And it all started in that summer lengthy yet productive summer in 2023.
While most players use their summers to recuperate, have a vacation somewhere, and spend time with families and loved ones, Edwards took a privileged yet opportunistic route: play with the National Team at the FIBA World Cup. Usually, NBA superstars all express their willingness to play with the National Team at the Olympics. For no definite reason, somehow the FIBA World Cup does not seem appealing to play for the older/senior superstar guys, so it&rsquo;s usually the juniors/young guys who represent Team USA. Anthony Edwards took up that challenge and became the best player for the team and in turn, he&rsquo;s reaping the benefits of it in the playoffs.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve put in work this summer. Big shoutout to the USA team, man. They got me ready for the season.&rdquo;
That killer mentality that Edwards has is something that&rsquo;s never seen often and has been with only a select few in the history of the game, particularly Jordan and Lakers great Kobe Bryant. Behind all that bold and tough personality, however, is a side of himself that genuinely enjoys playing with his teammates.
When asked about the prospect of having his Wolves&rsquo; teammates, the first thing out of his mouth was how he was excited to meet them while playing for their respective countries (Rudy Gobert for France, Karl-Anthony Towns for Dominican Republic, Kyle Anderson for China, and Nickeil Alexander-Walker for Canada). He looked forward to playing against them, citing how much fun he would have once it happened.
Despite his clear burgeoning superstardom, however,&nbsp; Edwards still deflected every credit thrown towards him. When asked what he feels as one of the guys being billed as one of the next faces of the league, Edwards dismissed the idea faster than a Math teacher dispersing students after giving out a tough assignment due &ndash;&nbsp; immediately answering without hesitation that he does not make anything of it.&nbsp;
&ldquo;I&rsquo;m just gonna keep working, man. I make nothing of it, yeah. I just hope that I keep getting better.&rdquo;
It was clear all along among all the people in the gym that fateful day: Edwards had the most aura out of them all. It was just oozing, something you can feel when you&rsquo;re around certain people. It&rsquo;s kind of intimidating, but only to a certain extent. You can just feel the energy brewing and that certain look when you come across one of the ones. The underlying factor before the season was Minnesota only having five national TV games all season long. With most of their games out of the eyes of the majority, Edwards assured one thing going into the season sternly and convincingly.
&ldquo;We just gonna try to keep playing, man. We&rsquo;re not really worried about the national TV games. As long as we win, we&rsquo;ll be on TV when we make it into the playoffs. The world will know about us.&rdquo;
As their playoff mantra suggests, the Timberwolves have been waiting for this moment since 2004. From the annals of the great Kevin Garnett&rsquo;s era to ushering this new one paved by superstar-in-the-making, young Anthony Edwards, the Minnesota Timberwolves have arrived.

The underlying factor before the season was Minnesota only having five national TV games all season despite having Anthony Edwards.

‘WOLVES BACK’: Anthony Edwards introduces the Timberwolves back to the world

The Utah Jazz are finalizing a deal to send Kelly Olynyk and Ochai Agbaji to the Toronto Raptors in exchange for Kira Lewis, Otto Porter Jr. and a 2024 first-round pick, according to <a href="https://x.com/wojespn/status/1755615780115267771?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.</a>
Olynyk, a 6-foot-11 center/power forward, is currently averaging 8.1 points, 5.1 rebounds and 4.4 assists in 50 games. Agbaji, a 6-foot-5 shooting guard, averaged 5.4 points and 2.5 rebounds in 51 games this season. This trade gives the Raptors shooting and additional spacing around young star Scottie Barnes and recent acquisitions Immanuel Quickley and RJ Barrett.
Lewis, a 6-foot-1 guard, has rarely played this season. He was traded from New Orleans to Toronto earlier in the year, and now he moves again to Utah. Lewis has only appeared in 16 total games, averaging just 2.8 points and 1.1 assists.&nbsp;
Porter, a 6-foot-8 forward and a 2022 champion with the Golden State Warriors, also has appeared in just 15 games for the Raptors and he&rsquo;s averaging just 2.6 points and 1.9 rebounds.
The 2024 first-round pick to the Jazz will be the least favorable of Thunder/Clippers/Rockets/Jazz in 2024, according to Wojnarowski.
This move indicates the Jazz are focused on developing their younger players after also trading starting forward Simone Fontecchio to Detroit yesterday. This likely means more minutes for their 2023 lottery pick Taylor Hendricks at the 4 and Walker Kessler starting at the 5 more often.

The Jazz are trading Kelly Olynyk and Ochai Agbaji to the Raptors in exchange for Kira Lewis, Otto Porter Jr. and a 2024 first-round pick.

Raptors acquire Kelly Olynyk, Ochai Agbaji from Jazz

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

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

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

NBA Atlantic Division Preview: Burning questions, rotation projections

With the NBA&rsquo;s 2023 free-agency period pretty much wrapped up, why not take a look at how projecting next year's free-agent market? Obviously, a lot can change between now and then, but let&rsquo;s examine each team&rsquo;s cap situation and how much cap room they project to have next summer.&nbsp;
Next year&rsquo;s free-agency class could feature some big names, including Kawhi Leonard, Pascal Siakam, Tyrese Maxey (restricted), Paul George, LeBron James, James Harden, Jrue Holiday, OG Anunoby and DeMar DeRozan.&nbsp;
For the purposes of this exercise, I&rsquo;m going to separate teams into four spending-power tiers: Cap Space Teams, Non-Tax MLE Teams, Luxury Tax Teams and Second Apron Teams. Also, let's assume that the salary cap will be set at $149,623,000 and the luxury tax will come in at $181,823,000, the maximum 10% jump from this upcoming season set under the new CBA.
CAP SPACE TEAMS
Teams in this tier are currently projected to have cap space next summer. They have spending access to their cap space, Bird Rights, the Room Exception (projected at $8,495,000) and the Veteran Minimum Exception.
San Antonio Spurs ($77,195,776 under the cap) If Victor Wembanyama is 70% as good as he&rsquo;s hyped up to be entering this season, one would figure that the Spurs will spend big or at least make a meaningful impact on the free-agent market next summer. They project to have an enormous amount of cap space, so it&rsquo;s very possible we&rsquo;ll see San Antonio take on some more bad contracts in trades to give them even more draft capital. Also, they&rsquo;ll want to retain Devin Vassell, who will be a restricted free agent next offseason once the Spurs extend his qualifying offer.
Philadelphia 76ers ($73,034,842 under the cap) The Sixers are perhaps the most interesting team in terms of their 2024 offseason outlook. By letting Tyrese Maxey hit restricted free agency next summer rather than extending him this year, Philadelphia gave themselves serious cap flexibility. Tobias Harris and James Harden both have expiring contracts, so the Sixers will have to use their cap space to replace their production. A Harden trade would obviously change their projected cap room, but it remains to be seen what they&rsquo;ll get back for the former MVP and how much it&rsquo;ll impact their books.
Toronto Raptors ($60,339,034 under the cap) After losing Fred VanVleet, the Raptors are walking a tightrope when it comes to whether they&rsquo;ll compete or rebuild. They face some tough decisions. Pascal Siakam and OG Anunoby are both set to hit free agency next summer, so Toronto needs to decide whether they want to extend or trade their best players. Not to mention, Precious Achiuwa and Gary Trent Jr. also need new contracts.
Orlando Magic ($58,010,944 under the cap) Orlando has a lot of options for next summer, but the Magic may start with retaining many of their own players. Franz Wagner will likely receive a big contract extension, while Markelle Fultz and Cole Anthony will be up for new contracts. Given that Orlando has a logjam in their backcourt &ndash; with Fultz, Anthony, Jalen Suggs and Anthony Black &ndash; it&rsquo;ll be interesting to see what they do with Fultz and Anthony. The Magic will still have plenty of room to add quality talent for yearly average values over the NTMLE.
Detroit Pistons ($57,781,166 under the cap) Detroit may approach the 2024 offseason similar to how Houston approached this summer, as a young team hoping to use its massive cap space on good veterans in order to take bigger steps toward playoff contention. With that said, the first priority for the team will be agreeing to a contract extension with Cade Cunningham.
Utah Jazz ($50,315,319 under the cap) The Jazz find themselves in a unique position where they could go in two directions. After committing a three-year deal to Jordan Clarkson, they can use their cap space to give 2023 Most Improved Player Lauri Markkanen a contract extension. If they want to have significant cap space for next summer instead, they can hold off on giving Markkanen an extension until free agency is settled.
Washington Wizards ($47,123,801 under the cap) Despite their cap space next year, don&rsquo;t expect Washington to be a big player in 2024 free agency. In the beginning stages of a rebuild, the Wizards will probably keep their sights on collecting more draft capital. They do have an interesting decision coming up with recent trade acquisition Tyus Jones, whom they&rsquo;ll likely want to keep long-term.&nbsp;
Charlotte Hornets ($41,300,515 under the cap)&nbsp; They may lose some 2024 cap space if they eventually re-sign PJ Washington this offseason, but watch out for Charlotte to be one of the many small-market teams with money to spend next summer. With LaMelo Ball in the first year of his max contract extension, Charlotte may cash in on a marquee player to keep their young star happy.
Brooklyn Nets ($33,048,185 under the cap) The Nets do have the potential to have significant cap space next summer if they choose not to re-sign most of their own free agents. However, the Nets will more than likely focus on exploring the trade market and retaining big man Nic Claxton before reaching next year&rsquo;s free agency. Spencer Dinwiddie and Royce O&rsquo;Neale will also hit free agency next offseason.
Indiana Pacers ($20,488,005 under the cap) Indiana could get to an even higher number in cap space if they decline Bruce Brown&rsquo;s $23 million team option next season. If Brown has a good year, the Pacers would likely keep him on a long-term deal that would consume a good chunk of their space. Other impending free agents they might like to keep include Obi Toppin, Aaron Nesmith and Jalen Smith.
Oklahoma City Thunder ($10,264,814 under the cap) The Thunder will likely continue to utilize the strategy of taking on short-term, bad-money contracts in exchange for draft capital. As they inch closer to contention, they will be looking at some big-money extensions for many of their young pieces, including one for Josh Giddey next year.&nbsp;
NON-TAX MLE TEAMS
Teams in this tier are currently projected to be over the salary cap but under the luxury tax. They have spending access to Bird Rights, the Non-Taxpayer Mid-Level Exception (projected at $13,644,000), the Bi-Annual Exception (projected at $4,968,000) unless used in 2023-24, and the Veteran Minimum Exception.
Chicago Bulls ($19,465,689 under the cap) The Bulls could potentially operate as a cap-space team if they elect to let DeMar DeRozan and Patrick Williams walk in free agency, but that seems unlikely. In addition, the Bulls could potentially create more space if Lonzo Ball&rsquo;s knee injury is considered career-ending by an NBA/NBPA-appointed physician. (Ball would still be paid, it just wouldn&rsquo;t count against the cap).&nbsp;
Sacramento Kings ($210,669 under the cap) The Kings used up most of their cap space by signing Domantas Sabonis to a big four-year extension that ties him with the team through 2028. As long as they are competitive, they will likely pursue quality pieces with their Non-Tax MLE to support Sabonis and De&rsquo;Aaron Fox. They will also likely try to keep Malik Monk and look at extension options for Davion Mitchell.
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New Orleans Pelicans ($487,911 over the cap) The Pelicans are fairly set with their core of CJ McCollum, Zion Williamson and Brandon Ingram under contract through 2025. Ingram and McCollum are both extension-eligible this offseason, but the Pelicans may wait on dishing out extensions to maintain flexibility under the tax. New Orleans must also monitor Jonas Valanciunas&rsquo; free agency and a possible extension for Trey Murphy III.&nbsp;
Atlanta Hawks ($1,658,172 over the cap) Similar to the Kings, the Hawks wiped away their cap space when they signed Dejounte Murray and De&rsquo;Andre Hunter to four-year, $120 million and four-year, $90 million extensions, respectively. Already pushing past the salary cap, the Hawks may face a money crunch as they broach the luxury tax line. Retaining restricted free agents Onyeka Okongwu and Saddiq Bey next offseason may be tricky.
Los Angeles Clippers ($5,018,261 over the cap) The Clippers are in an interesting spot with George and Leonard both needing new deals, which they will likely get despite their inability to stay on the floor. Many veterans with big salaries will come off the books next year, like Marcus Morris, Nic Batum and Robert Covington. The question is whether the Clippers will continue to commit significant capital to a roster that hasn&rsquo;t met its lofty expectations.
Miami Heat ($7,751,630 over the cap) The Miami Heat are in a holding pattern with their roster as they engage in a Mexican standoff with the Blazers on a Damian Lillard trade, which could see them skyrocket into the deep tax. Outside of the Dame situation, Jimmy Butler will likely look for another big extension this offseason, which will pay him max money deep into his late 30s. They will also have to contend with potentially losing Caleb Martin, who has a player option for 2024-25.
Houston Rockets ($8,734,919 over the cap) The biggest spenders of this past offseason, the Rockets made big moves for Fred VanVleet and Dillon Brooks. Houston could get back into the cap-space tier again if they choose to part ways with Kevin Porter Jr. and his non-guaranteed $15.9 million salary. Jalen Green and Alperen Sengun will also be up for extensions.&nbsp;
Cleveland Cavaliers ($11,399,749 over the cap) The Cavs are pretty set going into the 2023-24 season and beyond with two max guys (Darius Garland and Donovan Mitchell) and key guys on fairly big deals (Jarrett Allen, Caris LeVert and Max Strus). They will likely give Evan Mobley a big extension next offseason, which could push them into the luxury tax in the near future. For next offseason, their only notable free agent is Isaac Okoro.
New York Knicks ($11,400,861 over the cap) This morning, the Knicks inked Josh Hart to a four-year contract extension that pushed them over the cap for 2024-25. Their main concerns for next summer are Immanuel Quickley and Isaiah Hartenstein, who are both up for new contracts. They will likely be able to avoid the tax by declining their team option on Evan Fournier or trading his expiring contract for another expiring deal.
Dallas Mavericks ($13,566,153 over the cap) The Mavericks are not likely to seek pathways to cap space next summer after doubling down on their trade for Kyrie Irving by re-signing him to a three-year, $120 million deal. They should look to retain Josh Green, who will be a restricted free agent. Luka Doncic&rsquo;s happiness looms over all of the Mavs&rsquo; moves, as ESPN&rsquo;s Tim McMahon <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/mavs-fear-luka-doncic-may-request-trade-unless-they-build-contender">reported in April</a> that the Mavericks are worried about Doncic potentially seeking a trade elsewhere as soon as next year.
Los Angeles Lakers ($15,380,636 over the cap) The Lakers had a pathway to almost two max slots in the unlikely scenario that they decided to pivot from the LeBron-AD era. However, that option is out the window with them inking Davis to a three-year supermax extension that will keep him with the team through 2028. LeBron James&rsquo; decision to stay with the team or leave will ultimately dictate how the Lakers approach spending next offseason.
Portland Trail Blazers ($20,567,876 over the cap) Portland is in the midst of turning the page to a new era as they look to accommodate franchise cornerstone Damian Lillard&rsquo;s trade request. If they do end up trading Lillard, expect their cap numbers to come down slightly, but not enough to get any meaningful space. Whether Lillard is traded for the Miami package or something else, Portland shouldn&rsquo;t be a major player in free agency for a while.&nbsp;
LUXURY TAX TEAMS
Teams in this tier are currently projected to be over the salary cap and luxury tax. They have spending access to Bird Rights, the Taxpayer Mid-Level Exception (projected at $5,500,000), and the Veteran Minimum Exception.
Minnesota Timberwolves ($14,474,085 under the tax) The Timberwolves have paid the luxury tax only once since 2007. They should be a tax team once again, with Karl-Anthony Towns' supermax extension and Anthony Edwards' max extension kicking in. In addition, Minnesota will need to use significant capital to keep players like Jaden McDaniels, Mike Conley and Kyle Anderson, all of whom will be free agents in 2024.
Golden State Warriors ($9,696,462 under the tax) While the Warriors are currently under the tax, they are likely going to re-sign 2024 free agent Klay Thompson to a long-term deal at a lower number or at least use his Bird Rights to acquire another piece at a similar number. Golden State can cut some costs by releasing Chris Paul after the season, as his $30 million salary for 2024-25 is non-guaranteed.
Milwaukee Bucks ($6,142,529 under the tax) The Bucks re-signed Khris Middleton and Brook Lopez to big-money deals, committing to the players who won them the 2021 title. Another one of those players, Jrue Holiday, is set to reach free agency and will likely demand max money. In addition, Giannis Antetokounmpo becomes eligible for a supermax extension of up to three years in October and can sign a four-year supermax extension next offseason.
Denver Nuggets ($6,732,627 over the tax) The defending champs have their core of Nikola Jokic, Jamal Murray, Michael Porter Jr. and Aaron Gordon locked in through the 2025 offseason. They&rsquo;ve already lost Bruce Brown and Jeff Green this summer and will be forced to work around the edges with Kentavious Caldwell-Pope potentially heading for free agency next summer.
Boston Celtics ($7,306,800 over the tax) The trade for Kristaps Porzingis pushed the Celtics into the luxury tax for the first time since 2018, and that was before they signed Jaylen Brown to a five-year supermax extension. With Jayson Tatum&rsquo;s own supermax extension on the horizon next year, the Celtics figure to be a tax team, and potentially a second apron team, for the foreseeable future.
SECOND APRON TEAMS
Teams in this tier are currently projected to be over the salary cap, luxury tax and second luxury tax apron ($17.5 million over the tax). They have spending access to just Bird Rights and the Veteran Minimum Exception. The second apron was introduced in the new CBA and prevents teams from using the Taxpayer MLE, trading first-round picks seven years away, signing buyout free agents and taking back more salary than they send out in trades among other restrictions.
Memphis Grizzlies ($13,829,477 over the tax) For the first time under owner Robert Pera, the Grizzlies will be paying the luxury tax. While Memphis probably won&rsquo;t reach the second apron, they are not likely to have enough spare capital to use their Tax MLE and be able to fill out their roster without going over it. Their core of Ja Morant, Desmond Bane and Jaren Jackson Jr. are locked up to big money, long-term deals that will keep Memphis among the league's biggest spenders for likely the next decade-plus.
Phoenix Suns ($27,039,607 over the tax) Phoenix is by far the most limited team when it comes to spending, and they will be for the next few seasons after trading for Bradley Beal&rsquo;s behemoth contract. With four max contracts, including two supermax contracts, the Suns have blown through the second apron. Like this past offseason, the supporting cast around their core four will be mostly minimum-salary contracts.

How much cap room is your favorite NBA team projected to have next summer? Blake Stern breaks down where all 30 teams stand.

Which NBA teams project to have the most cap space in 2024?

MIAMI (AP) &mdash; Aaron Gordon scored 27 points, Nikola Jokic added 23 and the Denver Nuggets moved one win away from their first NBA championship by beating the Miami Heat 108-95 on Friday night to take a 3-1 lead in the title series.
Bruce Brown scored 21 off the bench for the Nuggets, who took both games in Miami to grab complete command. They&rsquo;ll have three chances to win one game for a title, two of those in Denver, the first of them in what&rsquo;s sure to be a raucous atmosphere for Game 5 on Monday night.
Jamal Murray had 15 points and 12 assists &mdash; his fourth consecutive double-digit assist game &mdash; for Denver.
Jimmy Butler scored 25 points for Miami, which has now fallen into 3-1 holes in each of its last three finals appearances &mdash; this one joining 2014 and 2020. Bam Adebayo had 20 points and 11 rebounds for the Heat, while Kyle Lowry had 13 points.
The Heat walked off the floor in silence, fully aware of how much trouble they&rsquo;re in now.
The Nuggets were overwhelming favorites to start the series, for obvious reasons. Denver was the Western Conference&rsquo;s No. 1 seed; Miami was the Eastern Conference&rsquo;s No. 8 seed. The Nuggets had won nine of the last 10 regular-season meetings between the teams, and their run of success over the Heat has continued through four games of the finals.
Denver led by 13 going into the fourth, and Miami came out for the final quarter with appropriate desperation. The Heat scored the first eight points, Jokic committed his fifth foul and had to go to the bench with 9:24 left &mdash; and it was down to 86-81 when Butler converted a three-point play with 8:42 remaining.
But the Nuggets &ndash; who fell apart in the fourth quarter of Game 2 for their lone loss of the series &ndash; didn&rsquo;t fold, even with their two-time MVP still out. Murray made a 3-pointer to stop Miami&rsquo;s 8-0 spurt, and Jeff Green made a huge corner 3 from near the Heat bench for a 94-85 edge with 6:21 left.
Jokic checked out with Denver up 10. He came back with the Nuggets up nine.
Miami didn&rsquo;t take advantage of that chance, and now finds itself on the wrong end of history. Teams that take a 3-1 lead in the NBA Finals have won 35 out of 36 previous times, and the Heat will have to buck that trend to keep Denver from winning its title.
The Nuggets even survived a scare. Jokic tweaked his right ankle when he landed on the back of Max Strus&rsquo; foot midway through the opening quarter. He remained in the game after it happened, briefly retreated to the Denver locker room before the start of the second quarter and played the rest of the way with no evident issues.
TIP-INS
Nuggets: Murray played with tape protecting the bottom of his left hand, thanks to a nasty floor burn he got in Game 3. &hellip; It was Denver&rsquo;s 25th win on the road this season, tying a franchise record set last season. ... Michael Porter Jr. scored 11 for the Nuggets.
Heat: It was retiring 20-year veteran Udonis Haslem&rsquo;s 43rd birthday and rookie Nikola Jovic&rsquo;s 20th birthday. Jovic was 58 days old when Haslem signed his first Heat contract. &hellip; If it was Miami&rsquo;s home finale this season, then the Heat went 613-299 in its home arena during his career. &hellip; Miami started the playoffs 6-0 at home. The Heat are 0-4 on their home floor since.
SLOW START
Miami led 21-20 after one quarter. The 41 combined points were the fewest in the first quarter of the last 24 finals games; the first quarter of Game 4 of the Toronto-Golden State series in 2019 had 40 points.
CELEB WATCH
Kentucky coach John Calipari was in the crowd, as was Academy Award winner Forest Whitaker, two-time WNBA MVP A&rsquo;ja Wilson of the Las Vegas Aces, Chicago Bears quarterback Justin Fields and twins Haley and Hanna Cavinder &mdash; who helped the Miami Hurricanes make the Elite Eight in this year&rsquo;s NCAA women&rsquo;s tournament.

The Nuggets moved one win away from their first NBA championship by beating the Heat 108-95 on Friday night to take a 3-1 lead.

Nuggets now in full command of NBA Finals, top Heat 108-95 for 3-1 lead

Late January was probably the first time I looked at the jam-packed Western Conference standings and felt extra excited to watch how it would ultimately shake out. We're now about to reach April, and with 10 days left in the regular season, we're no closer to understanding the playoff picture.
This dogfight in the West has been&nbsp;insane. The fourth-place Phoenix Suns and 12th-place Utah Jazz are separated by just 4.5 games, with most teams only having five or six contests left on the schedule.
No team in this glob has been able to separate themselves. Any momentum generated in the final weeks of the season could be crucial for playoff positioning &mdash; which makes the New Orleans Pelicans' quiet resurgence significant.
New Orleans is eighth in the West at 38-38, but was rolling on a five-game winning streak before fumbling away a great start to Tuesday's game against the Golden State Warriors. The Pelicans have the best defensive rating (107.0) in the league across the last 10 games.
This team was atop the West standings on Dec. 12 and 11 games over .500 on Dec. 30. Then, injuries and simply poor play sent them tumbling; the Pelicans went 10-25 from New Year's Eve up until the current recovery.
Now, at the most critical point of the year, the Pelicans seem to be back on track.
Brandon Ingram missed all of December and most of January with a toe injury and it understandably took the star some time to regain form. But he's been electric since the All-Star break, averaging 26.7 points, 6.3 assists and 5.3 rebounds per game while shooting 49.3% from the field and 40% on threes. Zoom into the last six games and it gets even more explosive: 29.2 points, 8.3 assists (!) and 5.8 rebounds on a 51.6% shooting clip (47.4% from three).&nbsp;
Ingram's 40.4% overall efficiency from distance is a career-high even as he continues to glide his way inside. The 25-year-old is one of the premier mid-range maestros in the league, and he's still improving his presence closer to the basket. According to PBP stats, Ingram is driving the ball once every five possessions and making 52% of his shots via drives &mdash; both the highest rates of his career.
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This and-one from Tuesday's loss is simply tough. In the midst of his faceup touch, Ingram spins to drive right, but sees Stephen Curry has left his assignment to help on the right drive. So Ingram then twirls back, drives left, takes the contact from Anthony Lamb and has the touch to finish the floater. It's an impressive display of quick processing and calm determination.
Ingram's continued development as a fulcrum plus New Orleans' injury struggles have given him the largest on-ball role in his seven years as a pro. His usage rate (30.9), touches per possession (0.96), seconds per touch (4.02) and dribbles per touch (3.03) are all career-highs. The lanky forward has matched his 2021-22 playmaking breakout with those opportunities.&nbsp;
So far in March, Ingram has seen 18.7% of his total passes turn into assists. That rate ranks second in the NBA during that span, behind only Trae Young (19.4%). In the last six games, Ingram has led the league with a 22.6% assist-to-pass ratio. How is he doing it? Ingram dished out 4.6 three-point assists per game across those six contests, second in the league behind only Luka Doncic.
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Ingram's gravity as a mid-range scorer creates these types of plays. Trey Murphy III screens to get Ingram open and then clears out to the arc. The Warriors are anticipating an Ingram isolation and react as such, with Curry and Jordan Poole losing Murphy in the process. Ingram then applies pressure but doesn't overcommit himself, and kicks it out for the easy three.
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Here's another example. The Houston Rockets are preparing to contain Ingram off of the high ball screen and it looks like CJ McCollum might help with a second screen, but then McCollum jets out to the perimeter. Houston is still focused on Ingram for just that split-second though, opening up another window. It's an easy pass to make, but it works because Kevin Porter Jr. overcommits to helping stop Ingram's drive.
Of course, it helps that the Pelicans' cast of shooters have caught fire all at the same time. Murphy is knocking down 48.1% of his 8.7 treys across the last six games. McCollum (44.7%), Josh Richardson (50.0%) and Herb Jones (41.7%) are each clearing 40% on at least two attempts per game.&nbsp;
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It's the right time for the supporting cast to heat up, but even if those clips regress slightly, a humming Pelicans offense should keep generating open looks with Ingram in control.
We don't know when Zion Williamson might be healthy, and we certainly don't know what the road in the West will look like. But with Ingram steering the ship, and backed by a top-notch defense, the Pelicans will be a tough out for any opponent come playoff time.
THE OUTLIERS (a.k.a. other random interesting numbers I found in the void):
<ul>
<li>I am a massive fan of Zach Kram's work at&nbsp;The Ringer, and as highlighted here, this is the Domantas Sabonis effect:</li>
</ul>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
So many great stats in this piece about the Kings' dominance from DHOs, but this might be my favorite <a href="https://t.co/sHXxQ6Qsqa">https://t.co/sHXxQ6Qsqa</a> <a href="https://t.co/19hbydtqOc">pic.twitter.com/19hbydtqOc</a>
&mdash; Div B (@statcenter) <a href="https://twitter.com/statcenter/status/1641113194625220622?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 29, 2023</a></blockquote>

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<ul>
<li>Come for the Synergy Caitlin Clark shooting heat map, stay for the video where she breaks down how she slices the court in transition:</li>
</ul>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
Iowa star Caitlin Clark shows <a href="https://twitter.com/debbieantonelli?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@debbieantonelli</a> how she likes to slice the court in transition to get to her step-back jumper moving left. Awesome insight and a little shoutout for <a href="https://twitter.com/SynergySST?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@SynergySST</a>, too 😁 <a href="https://t.co/2V7cfDop3A">https://t.co/2V7cfDop3A</a> <a href="https://t.co/awUXkSgC4X">pic.twitter.com/awUXkSgC4X</a>
&mdash; Todd Whitehead (@CrumpledJumper) <a href="https://twitter.com/CrumpledJumper/status/1640789230225088513?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 28, 2023</a></blockquote>

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<ul>
<li>Sure, the qualifiers are kind of random but Angel Reese is dominant:</li>
</ul>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
Angel Reese is ONE OF ONE as she is now the only player across Division I basketball, WNBA, and NBA to record: 76 Points, 51 Rebounds, 12 Blocks and 7 Steals in the span of three games. <a href="https://t.co/0ljn9IWWdj">pic.twitter.com/0ljn9IWWdj</a>
&mdash; WSLAM (@wslam) <a href="https://twitter.com/wslam/status/1639429628736548864?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 25, 2023</a></blockquote>

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Ethan Fuller shows how Brandon Ingram has helped steady the Pelicans in a tense Western Conference playoff race.

NBA Stats Notebook: Brandon Ingram's steadying presence on Pelicans

After gaining a dominant lead over the Western Conference over the past couple of months, the Denver Nuggets have come back down to earth.
They've lost five of their last seven games, including a four-game skid featuring the Chicago Bulls at home, an 8-point loss to the San Antonio Spurs on the road, a tightly contested home loss to the Brooklyn Nets and a road loss to the Toronto Raptors, who dropped 49 first-quarter points on the Nuggets' head.
That four-game losing streak was their longest of the season, and only the second time they've lost three straight.
The big problem has been their defense. The Nuggets logged a defensive rating of 125.2 during the losing streak, with that dropping to 120.5 when accounting for the entire seven-game run. Either mark would easily be the worst in the league if extrapolated across the entire season.
The defense has almost always been the reason they've lost games this year; their defensive rating is nearly 13 points worse in losses (122.4) than wins (109.5), representing the sixth-largest gap in the NBA.
(Brief aside: Cleveland &mdash; at 16.6 points worse in losses &mdash; is kinda lapping the field in that stat. When the defense gets hit, it gets hit.&nbsp;Worth keeping an eye on, at least.)
WHAT'S UP WITH THE DEFENSE?
Before digging in, let's set the appropriate framing for the struggles of the Denver Nuggets: they may be recent, but they're not new.
Naturally, we have to start with Nikola Jokic here. I hate most of the conversations around his defense because I feel it devolves into &ldquo;HE SUCKS!&rdquo; a little too quickly. But I don&rsquo;t think his defense can be at the level it was in the Bulls game, and it especially can&rsquo;t be at the level it was in the Spurs game.
Jokic doesn't offer much scheme versatility; at the very least, he isn't&nbsp;effective&nbsp;at multiple coverages. He's at his best &mdash; and, in turn, the Nuggets are at their&nbsp;best &mdash; when he's operating at the level of the screen or higher.&nbsp;
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Because of that, they absolutely can't afford slippage within that coverage.
Heading into this stretch, the Nuggets were allowing 0.916 points per possession (PPP) on trips featuring a ball screen defended by Jokic at the level or higher, per Second Spectrum. That was in the vicinity of guys like Jarrett Allen (0.898 PPP) and Draymond Green (0.905 PPP), and better than Joel Embiid (0.927 PPP) on much higher volume.
During this stretch, that number has risen to 1.018 PPP &mdash; a below-average mark.&nbsp;
It's inherently a higher-risk style of defense, which was covered <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-examining-the-denver-nuggets-poor-defense-nikola-jokic-michael-malone-bruce-brown-michael-porter-jr" target="_blank" rel="noopener">earlier this year</a>. The margin for error is smaller because of the rotations required. It's even harder to pull off if Jokic doesn't do&nbsp;his&nbsp;job by getting to the level on time and serving as a deterrent to the ball-handler, or if he takes his sweet time recovering.
Possessions like this can't happen:
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On top of the timing and rotations being off, teams have also attempted to mess with Denver's rotations by sprinkling in cuts and relocations as the ball screen occurs.
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The slippage at the level feels worse because of how vulnerable they've been with Jokic in a drop this season. He's shown growth within that coverage over the past two seasons, but still remains a negative overall. His contests don't bother attackers all that much &mdash; and that's if he's actually contesting shots versus swiping down in hopes of getting a strip.
It's worth noting that, surprisingly enough, the drop with Jokic has been much better statistically (0.887 PPP) during this stretch of games. I'd attribute that more to the point-of-attack defense perking up over the past three games than anything Jokic is doing. That's not to say he's made no adjustment &mdash; it feels like he's picking up ball-handlers a little higher within the drop, for example &mdash; but he's getting real help up top.
Bruce Brown, in particular, has stepped up.
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It's unlikely that Denver's drop is as good as the numbers reflect during this stretch &mdash; one littered with teams without elite&nbsp;pull-up chops. But it's at least encouraging that the point-of-attack defense has looked a little better.
There also seems to be more intention with insolating Jokic.&nbsp;
The Nuggets have seen their "ICE" or "weak" calls &mdash; forcing the ball-handler down the sideline (ICE) or shading them towards their off-hand (weak) &mdash; increase from 12.3 picks per 100 possessions (18th) before this run, to 15.5 per 100 over the past seven, a mark that would rank fifth in the NBA if extrapolated across the entire season.
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Keeping things 2-on-2, with Jokic picking up the ball-handler around eight feet or so, is Denver's way of trying to limit the amount of shots they give up from the corners and directly at the rim. It's worth keeping tabs on.&nbsp;
WHAT'S UP WITH THE OFFENSE?
It's&nbsp;mostly&nbsp;been business as usual here. They've logged a 116 offensive rating over the past seven games &mdash; off their world-beater path, but a mark that would still rank seventh in the league.&nbsp;&nbsp;
The largest issue doesn't involve Jokic. Literally: this team is scary (derogatory) without Jokic on the floor.&nbsp;
They've gotten very little from their midseason additions, Reggie Jackson and Thomas Bryant. Jackson hasn't been able to knock down shots, while Bryant's defense has been harmful enough for head coach Michael Malone to call on Jeff Green's number more consistently.&nbsp;
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Jamal Murray has been tasked with spearheading non-Jokic lineups, but it's a lot of pressure on him. And as my Dunker Spot cohost Steve Jones has noted, the Nuggets don't have pressure points aside from Murray in those lineups to truly bend&nbsp;defenses. It turns into "Murray save us" too frequently for my sensibilities.
There are adjustments to be made, like flanking Murray with another starter whenever Jokic gets rest. They're already doing that by keeping Murray and Aaron Gordon together &mdash; I'm a little intrigued with Gordon-at-5 minutes. Maybe keeping Murray and Michael Porter Jr. together would work. It could have the secondary benefit of unlocking Brown as a screener again.
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Ultimately, the goal should be to take some pressure off Murray. The Nuggets need his shotmaking once playoff time comes; they can't afford for wear-and-tear to get to his knee while trying to carry second units during the regular season. It's concerning that he's only made 39.7% of his shots over the past seven games, with only 23% of those coming at the rim.
If there's a Jokic-related thing to poke at, I'd keep an eye on who&nbsp;gets the Jokic assignment moving forward. It's something that really popped for me during the Sixers-Nuggets showcase game late in January, but PJ Tucker drew the Jokic assignment, allowing Joel Embiid to lurk around the rim and muck things up.&nbsp;
Other teams have tried it. The Wolves have given Kyle Anderson that assignment. The Raptors, as they tend to do, tossed OG Anunoby on Jokic with Jakob Poeltl nearby. The Nets threw forwards at Jokic in their first meeting, with Nic Claxton roaming around.&nbsp;
There's no way to&nbsp;stop&nbsp;Jokic, really, but using mobility to stifle some of the juicy stuff he creates on the perimeter is worth trying. Per Second Spectrum, the Nuggets have seen a dip in efficiency with dribble handoffs and ball screens when Jokic is defended by a forward instead of a center.
<ul>
<li class="p1">Jokic handoffs (center defender): 541 handoffs, 1.073 PPP</li>
<li>Jokic handoffs (forward defender): 241 handoffs, 1.058 PPP</li>
<li>Jokic PnR screener (center defender): 722 picks, 1.12 PPP</li>
<li class="p1">Jokic PnR screener (forward defender): 354 picks, 1.026 PPP</li>
</ul>
Not everyone has the personnel to pull it off, but the Nuggets may want to find counters regardless. It may be as simple as&nbsp;Gordon knocking down enough shots, or creating enough openings as a handoff hub or screener, to render the crossmatch obsolete. We'll have to see.

Nekias Duncan breaks down the Denver Nuggets' recent struggles and how Nikola Jokic and Co. can get back on track.

What's up with the Denver Nuggets, and should we be concerned?

NEW YORK (AP) &mdash; Nikola Jokic had 22 points, 17 rebounds and 10 assists in his 28th triple-double of the season, Michael Porter Jr. had 28 points and nine rebounds, and the Denver Nuggets beat the Brooklyn Nets 108-102 on Sunday.
Jamal Murray scored 20 of his 25 points in the first quarter for the Nuggets, who looked nothing like the slumping team that had dropped five of six.
Denver shot 62.5% in the first half and led comfortably most of the game while playing for the second straight afternoon.
Mikal Bridges scored 23 points and Nic Claxton had 19 for the Nets, who have lost three straight as they try to hold onto a top-six seed and a guaranteed postseason spot in the Eastern Conference.

Nikola Jokic had his 28th triple-double of the season, and the Denver Nuggets beat the Brooklyn Nets 108-102 on Sunday.

Nikola Jokic triple-double leads Nuggets to 108-102 win over Nets

On Saturday night, the Sacramento Kings have a chance to hit 40 wins for the first time since 2005-06 &mdash; also the last time they made the playoffs &mdash; and fulfill the prophecy from the superfans in this summer's viral video:
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Tonight the Sacramento Kings go for 40 wins 👀 <a href="https://t.co/OgvlPN1MeC">pic.twitter.com/OgvlPN1MeC</a>
&mdash; Cameron Salerno (@cameronsalerno1) <a href="https://twitter.com/cameronsalerno1/status/1634614350030991360?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 11, 2023</a></blockquote>

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The Kings are the feel-good team of the NBA season. De'Aaron Fox <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-sacramento-kings-deaaron-fox-early-frontrunner-nba-clutch-player-of-the-year-award-race-kevin-huerter-domantas-sabonis-luka-doncic-nikola-jokic-jalen-brunson-demar-derozan-shai-gilgeous-alexander" target="_blank" rel="noopener">deserves the inaugural Clutch Player of the Year award</a>. Domantas Sabonis has silenced doubts about last year's blockbuster trade. Sacramento has the top scoring offense in the league, and the best team True Shooting percentage in league history.
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As a team, the Sacramento Kings boast a 61.4 True Shooting percentage. That would go down as the highest True Shooting percentage of any team in NBA history. <a href="https://t.co/dEW1GaPAZa">pic.twitter.com/dEW1GaPAZa</a>
&mdash; BasketballNews.com (@basketbllnews) <a href="https://twitter.com/basketbllnews/status/1634419080034766848?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 11, 2023</a></blockquote>

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Fox and Sabonis seem to finally be receiving appropriate national recognition. Impact rookie Keegan Murray and Sixth-Man-of-the-Year dark horse Malik Monk still deserve more praise. But I'd like to spotlight two low-usage wings who have flown particularly under the radar in the Kings' 39-26 season. Harrison Barnes and Trey Lyles might not create highlights at the same rate as Sacramento's stars, but they have each enjoyed a career-year and been critical to the franchise's 7-1 surge since the All-Star break.
Barnes is registering the lowest three-point percentage (37.1%) of his five seasons in Sacramento, yet he's still a key cog in the offense. Since the break, he's slumped to 34.4% from distance but is making an impressive 59.1% of his twos. His 55.9% two-point clip this season is the second-best of his NBA career.
With guys like Fox, Sabonis, Monk and Kevin Huerter doing most of the table-setting, Barnes' buckets are getting a bit easier. Approximately 71.7% of his made shots are coming via an assist, which is the highest since his 2015-16 season as a role-player on the Golden State Warriors.&nbsp;
According to PBP Stats, Barnes in on pace to approach his career-high of 206 paint touches in a season (he's at 170 right now). This year, he's crushing it with those touches, averaging over one point per paint touch for the first time in his career.
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Harrison Barnes with the slam!<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/BeamTeam?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#BeamTeam</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NBA?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NBA</a><a href="https://t.co/MotBc69u6U">pic.twitter.com/MotBc69u6U</a>
&mdash; NBA Highlights (@NBATransaction7) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBATransaction7/status/1632949774902231040?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 7, 2023</a></blockquote>

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Plays like this catch-and-drive highlight Barnes' syngergy with Sabonis, who can draw in defenses and make the right kick-out plays. It's important that Barnes can use his length, long strides and touch to then attack space instead of settling because it often leads to higher-quality shots or extra-pass opportunities.
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This cutting score is largely a lapse by the Los Angeles Clippers' defense, but it still shows how Barnes has the freedom and wherewithal to attack space without the ball. He knows Sabonis can see the court and make these high-low feeds to cutters, so it gives Barnes confidence to move with purpose.
Barnes has also picked up a sneaky skill in the last two seasons: getting calls. He's been fouled on over 19% of his shot attempts in back-to-back seaons, placing him among the top 3% of all forwards, per Cleaning the Glass. Those additional free throws are a nice boost since, historically, Barnes has been reliable at the charity stripe.
Eventually, the 6-foot-8 wing will return to the upper echelon of perimeter threats too. He's making just 36.7% of his catch-and-shoot threes this year after shooting over 42% in the prior two seasons. With Sacramento's arsenal of creators and playmakers, Barnes will keep getting open looks to cash.
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The 30-year-old has long been the rock amidst some shaky wing depth in Sacramento. But Barnes finally has some reinforcements, including a comeback season from Trey Lyles.
Once the No. 12 overall draft pick in 2015, Lyles never found a groove with the Utah Jazz and bounced around to the Denver Nuggets, San Antonio Spurs and Detroit Pistons before landing with the Kings at last year's trade deadline. Few expected much from the 6-foot-9 wing, a stretch forward who had lost the "stretch" aspect of his shooting game.
This year, the jumper is back. Lyles has reached a respectable 37.2% from distance on a career-high 3.1 attempts per game, and he is a deadeye in the corners (42%). As he's found life from long range, he's also spiked his two-point clip up to 64.7% &mdash; the first time he's ever cleared the 60% bar.
Lyles doesn't drive the ball a ton, but when he does attack closeouts and continues to apply pressure, he's effective. He's made 60.7% of his driving field goals; that ranks 12th among 232 players to attempt at least 50 driving field goals (admittedly a small sample size) this season.&nbsp;
Another small sample, yet impressive note: Lyles has made 18-of-20 cutting field goal attempts (90%!!) this season, per Synergy.
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Absolutely love the Trey Lyles backup 5 minutes. Ability to play 5-out and P&amp;P to stretch defenses is so valuable. <a href="https://t.co/nM6vizFhMG">pic.twitter.com/nM6vizFhMG</a>
&mdash; Kings Film Room (@SacFilmRoom) <a href="https://twitter.com/SacFilmRoom/status/1634319597448089601?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 10, 2023</a></blockquote>

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A sweet-shooting Lyles opens up more options for Sacramento, including a pick-and-pop game that can open up the floor even more for driving players. Then he can also fake and drive for some tough finishes, including this dunk:
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TREY LYLES POSTER ON MYLES TURNER. 🤯🔥 <a href="https://t.co/fIYwrNldSC">pic.twitter.com/fIYwrNldSC</a>
&mdash; Hoop Central (@TheHoopCentral) <a href="https://twitter.com/TheHoopCentral/status/1621694336110047232?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 4, 2023</a></blockquote>

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Lyles is averaging 16.5 minutes per game on the season, but his playing time has increased in each of the last four months, and he's received 20.1 minutes per game since the All-Star break. Add in some solid work on the glass for a Kings team that needs its rebounders, and it makes sense why he's earning a larger role.
To maximize Fox and Sabonis, the Kings need their supporting cast of spacers and slashers to keep the offensive barrage up. With help from Barnes and Lyles, plus a host of other contributors, they're doing so while still trying to find their way on defense. Regardless of how far Sacramento goes in the postseason, this is new, exciting territory for the players and fan base.
THE OUTLIERS (a.k.a. other random interesting numbers I found in the void):
<ul>
<li>Love this infographic from SIS Hoops, laying out how ball movement into shots changes over the course of a game for different teams:</li>
</ul>
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As the game winds down, let's see which teams turn to team-centric and individualistic offensive strategies. <a href="https://t.co/dSQEpXvZ8C">pic.twitter.com/dSQEpXvZ8C</a>
&mdash; SIS Hoops (@SIS_Hoops) <a href="https://twitter.com/SIS_Hoops/status/1633878060218064896?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 9, 2023</a></blockquote>
<ul>
<li>It's March Madness time! Here's a neat look at the makeup of top men's teams:</li>
</ul>
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Which projected tournament teams are most reliant on upperclassmen versus lowerclassmen? This graph shows the predicted impact from each team's upperclassmen (blue bar, SR and JRs) and lowerclassmen (orange bar, FR and SOs) ⤵️ <a href="https://t.co/TaJ297aXia">pic.twitter.com/TaJ297aXia</a>
&mdash; Evan Miyakawa (@EvanMiya) <a href="https://twitter.com/EvanMiya/status/1633544387543339008?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 8, 2023</a></blockquote>
<ul>
<li>Hi. Caitlin Clark is very good at basketball.</li>
</ul>
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Caitlin Clark is the FIRST-EVER player to drop a triple-double in the women's Big Ten title game 😱🔥 <a href="https://twitter.com/HighlightHER?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@HighlightHER</a> 30 PTS 10 REB 17 AST Her 10 triple-doubles are the MOST in conference history (men's or women's) <a href="https://t.co/Bp93385h6M">pic.twitter.com/Bp93385h6M</a>
&mdash; Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) <a href="https://twitter.com/BleacherReport/status/1632561557535178758?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 6, 2023</a>
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Harrison Barnes and Trey Lyles have been underrated vital pieces to the Sacramento Kings' breakout season.

NBA Stats Notebook: The quiet importance of Harrison Barnes, Trey Lyles

Longtime pro Jordan Crawford opens up to Spencer Davies about his unpleasant NBA experience, his Detroit connection and more.

Ex-NBA pro Jordan Crawford has a story to tell — and a whole lot more

Scoot Henderson is starting to watch the Harry Potter movies. He can easily explain what inertia is. He can&rsquo;t understand why one of his friends always seems to beat him when they go online to play Madden.
In his spare time, he also is getting ready for the NBA draft.
As the playoff push starts in the league, so does the draft push for those who will expect to hear their names called by Commissioner Adam Silver this June. Everybody knows French phenom Victor Wembanyama likely will be picked No. 1. There shouldn&rsquo;t be much mystery about who&rsquo;s going No. 2, either &mdash; with Henderson, an explosive point guard who has been drawing comparisons to Russell Westbrook, the consensus choice.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;m just ready,&rdquo; Henderson said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m just trying to prepare myself for the next level. I feel right there.&rdquo;
His performance at All-Star weekend probably didn&rsquo;t hurt his stock. Playing with the G League team in the Rising Stars games, Henderson went through All-Star weekend for the second time &mdash; an obvious rarity for a player who has yet to appear in the NBA.
&ldquo;You see the talent,&rdquo; said Oklahoma City&rsquo;s Jalen Williams, who played with Henderson in the Rising Stars event. &ldquo;There&rsquo;s a reason why he&rsquo;s on draft boards as high as he is.&rdquo;
Henderson has averaged 18.0 points, 6.5 assists and 4.8 rebounds per game for the G League Ignite this season. He flirted with a triple-double in last Monday&rsquo;s win over Iowa: 14 points, nine rebounds and nine assists in just under 29 minutes. He also has averaged about one highlight-reel dunk per game &mdash; and at least one question about Wembanyama in interviews since the fall.
There is a mutual respect between the two, who are likely going to be linked for a long time given how the NBA put two exhibitions together between the Ignite and Wembanyama&rsquo;s French team back in October &mdash; a prelude with expectations that Wembanyama will be picked No. 1 in the draft and Henderson No. 2.
&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t listen to critics,&rdquo; Henderson said.
He said in October, and repeated in interviews at All-Star weekend, that there&rsquo;s no rivalry. Henderson isn&rsquo;t motivated by Wembanyama and doesn&rsquo;t view him as an opponent. He&rsquo;s not even that bothered by nobody projecting that he&rsquo;s the best player in the draft. He just does the work, believing in the end it&rsquo;ll be enough.
&ldquo;There might be a team that might need a leader, need somebody who can talk, somebody who can communicate on the floor,&rdquo; Henderson said. &ldquo;I think I can make a big difference.&rdquo;
The Ignite is designed to help players who aren&rsquo;t yet draft eligible but didn&rsquo;t want to follow the one-year-of-college path to get ready for the NBA. Henderson has been with them for two years and has heard plenty of comparisons to top point guards. Derrick Rose&rsquo;s name comes up a lot. So does Westbrook&rsquo;s.
It&rsquo;s high praise for anyone, much less a 19-year-old.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s pretty dope to be compared to,&rdquo; Henderson said. &ldquo;But I think I want to flare off into my own self.&rdquo;
The kid is wise beyond his years already, and that has nothing to do with how &mdash; when asked about a certain teammate&rsquo;s game &mdash; Henderson explains the way inertia helps. A body in motion tends to stay in motion unless another force intervenes, and somewhere along the way Henderson learned that helps on drives to the basket and other parts of the game.
&ldquo;Just science,&rdquo; Henderson said. &ldquo;That&rsquo;s what that is.&rdquo;
He can also see how he&rsquo;d fit in with teams headed to the lottery. He studies the young players Houston has, just in case. Same with San Antonio, just in case. He talks about how he&rsquo;d fit alongside Scottie Barnes in Toronto. And he wouldn&rsquo;t mind being on a team someday with someone he considers an elite point guard, like Chris Paul or Ja Morant.
Teams with two point guards, he wonders, might be the future.
&ldquo;Dual backcourt would be crazy,&rdquo; Henderson said. &ldquo;Explosive and smart backcourts are cool to me.&rdquo;
He&rsquo;s athletic. He&rsquo;s a thinker. And whether he gets picked No. 1 or No. 2 or No. 60, Henderson is certain that he&rsquo;ll help some team next season.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;m ready,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I know I&rsquo;m ready.&rdquo;

As the playoff push starts in the league, so does the draft push for those who will expect to hear their names called this June.

G League Ignite star Scoot Henderson says he’s ready for NBA draft

It's January 6, and Damian Lillard sits in the corner of the visitor's locker room.
He's absorbing the questions that are being tossed his way concerning another tough loss, toeing the line between urgency and understanding; it's not a lack of effort, he says, but maybe too much&nbsp;effort and desire leading to pressing at the wrong times.&nbsp;
The result is the result: A 108-99 loss to the Indiana Pacers headlined by poor shooting. Lillard wasn't himself, dropping just 19 points on 7-for-24 shooting (6-for-16 from two, 1-for-8 from three). As a whole, the Portland Trail Blazers scored a paltry 17 points in the fourth quarter. They missed their last 13 field goal attempts in the game.
"You're not gonna win if you can't make a field goal," Lillard says, matter-of-factly.
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It would appear that statement, and that game, represented something. It'd be too strong, too narrative-y, to consider it a turning point. But Lillard hasn't fallen under 20 points since then. To be frank, he's been absurd in the 21 games since.&nbsp;
We're in the midst of the most impressive stretch of Lillard's career. Not only is he scoring at a high clip (38.7 points per game), but he's also doing so on otherworldly efficiency.&nbsp;
The three-point shooting immediately stands out with Lillard. The basic numbers &mdash; 40.1% on 12.0 attempts a night during this stretch &mdash; are ridiculous on their own. He's one of five players taking at least eight threes and hitting them at a 40% clip, joining Klay Thompson (44.7% on 11.6 attempts), Buddy Hield (41.7% on 9.0), the currently-injured Steph Curry (41.2% on 10.9) and Michael Porter Jr. (40.4% on 8.1).
But the way Lillard is going about it is what makes this run special.
He's been <a href="https://www.nba.com/stats/player/203081/shots-dash?DateFrom=01%2F07%2F2023" target="_blank" rel="noopener">torching the nets on spot-ups</a> (44.6% on 3.1 attempts), getting busy off movement &mdash; an absurd 16-for-22 (72.7%) on threes off screens, per InStat tracking &mdash; and doing a ton of damage off the bounce (38.6% on 8.8 attempts).
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No player has taken (35) or made (16) more threes from 30 or more feet than Lillard during this stretch. His 45.7% clip on those bombs leads the NBA among the 23 players who have attempted at least five (5!) of those shots.
Think about that. The only players aside from Lillard to make at least 40% of those attempts are Desmond Bane and Talen Horton-Tucker &mdash; and they're a combined 4-for-10.
It's insane.&nbsp;
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What has continued to go somewhat under the radar is the work Lillard has done inside. He's converting 64.3% of his two-pointers &mdash; the third-best mark among the 50 players averaging <a href="https://www.nba.com/stats/players/shots-general?CF=FG2A*GE*10&amp;DateFrom=01/07/2023&amp;dir=D&amp;sort=FG2_PCT" target="_blank" rel="noopener">at least 10 attempts inside the arc</a>. The two players ahead of him are centers &mdash; the somehow-underrated Jarrett Allen (70.8% on 10.1 attempts) and MVP frontrunner Nikola Jokic (70% on 12.2 attempts).
Lillard's been the best driver in the league over the past month. He's fifth in volume (376) and, again, has made good things happen when attacking. On trips featuring a Lillard drive at any point of the possession, the Blazers are generating a blistering 1.29 points per possession (PPP) per Second Spectrum.
That's the best mark in the NBA among 114 players with at least 100 drives under their belt. Beyond that, the difference between Lillard and second-place James Harden (1.222 PPP) is larger than the gap between Harden and 13th-ranked Tyler Herro (1.158 PPP). He isn't just leading &mdash; he's kinda lapping the field right now.
If you limit the parameters to direct plays &mdash; meaning Lillard finishes the possession, or passes it to someone who immediately finishes the possession &mdash; that number rises to 1.39 PPP. That, again, leads the NBA by a wide margin.&nbsp;
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There's no real way to defend Lillard. Give him too much space, and he's proven comfortable to pull from quite literally anywhere. Press up too much, and he's fine gaining inside leverage and finishing through contact, around contact or absorbing enough to get to the free throw line. Oh, right: He's averaging 11.4 free throw attempts during this run, too.&nbsp;
That duality has made Lillard the most dangerous scorer in the league as of late.
He's fresh off a <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/damian-lillard-has-71-points-and-13-threes-blazers-beat-rockets" target="_blank" rel="noopener">71-point performance</a> against whatever the Houston Rockets are. He converted 9 of his 16 shots inside the arc, drilled a career-high 13 triples and made all 14 of his free throw attempts. The 80.4% True Shooting mark made his outburst the most efficient 70-plus-point game in NBA history.
And this is roughly a month removed from Lillard dropping 60 points on the Jazz on 89.8% TS. This may shock you, but that happens to be the most efficient 60-plus-point game in NBA history.
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Lillard has been cooking <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-damian-lillard-is-flying-off-the-ball-and-under-the-radar-portland-trail-blazers-all-star-voting-anfernee-simons-jerami-grant-josh-hart-steph-curry-marcus-smart" target="_blank" rel="noopener">for most of the season</a>, but this 21-game stretch is something else entirely. Through Jan. 6, Lillard ranked 14th in the league in scoring (27.1). Because of this run, he now ranks third (32.3) with a realistic chance at passing Joel Embiid and Luka Doncic (33.1) for the top spot.&nbsp;
Lillard (+8.4) has also shot past Jokic (+7.9) for the lead in Offensive Estimated Plus-Minus (OEPM). He may not be the playmaker Jokic is &mdash; and that distinction is probably what gives the edge to Jokic as an overall offensive force when you zoom out &mdash; but Lillard deserves his flowers in that regard too.&nbsp;
To have a 35.4% assist rate and a turnover rate under 10 (9.8) while carrying this sort of usage (36.3%) is almost unheard of. In fact, only two players &mdash; Michael Jordan and Tracy McGrady &mdash; have recorded seasons with an assist and usage rate over 30%, and a turnover rate below 10.
Lillard isn't just efficient as a scorer; he's just doing efficient work with the ball in his hands.

Nekias Duncan puts Damian Lillard's month-and-a-half-long scoring binge and the most dominant stretch of his career into perspective.

Damian Lillard making claim as NBA's most dangerous offensive player

The most important word in NBA All-Star break might actually be "break."
For one week, the entire league recalibrates itself for the home stretch of the regular season and catches up on the aches, pains and more significant injuries that stem from competing hard every single day. Rookies can also breathe after being thrown into the fires of their first year as a pro.
Young talent can thrive coming out of the break. Bottom-feeding teams are ready to turn minutes over to those with less experience and more upside after the trade deadline. Contenders have a better understanding of how rookies could slot into a playoff-seeking rotation. And regardless of the ethics, a stellar final impression can heavily impact All-Rookie narratives.
So who might surprise us with a strong close to the season?
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Here are five under-the-radar rookies worth monitoring for a leap forward &mdash; "under-the-radar" excluding lottery draft picks and players already firmly in the Rookie of the Year conversation (i.e. Walker Kessler):
Malaki Branham, San Antonio Spurs
Malaki Branham is barely under the radar at this point; he's leading all rookies with 18.1 points per game in February. But he is one of my favorite players in this rookie class, and since he fits my criteria, I'm seizing the chance to spotlight him.
According to PBP Stats, 136 players have attempted at least 50 "self-created" mid-range shots this season (attempts after possessing the ball for at least two seconds). Branham is converting on a ridiculous 56% of those shots, ranking third behind only Kevin Durant and Seth Curry.
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Malaki Branham logged his sixth consecutive start Monday at Cleveland and played well, scoring 18 points on 8-of-11 in the loss. Branham is a natural shot-creator who is also excellent moving off-ball. He&rsquo;s going to be a very good NBA player and an important piece for the Spurs. <a href="https://t.co/kbfm5KivkL">pic.twitter.com/kbfm5KivkL</a>
&mdash; Brett Usher (@UsherNBA) <a href="https://twitter.com/UsherNBA/status/1625337236152799232?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 14, 2023</a></blockquote>
The No. 20 overall pick hardly wastes time and effort when he attacks off the dribble. While Branham has showcased his chops as an on-ball scorer, he's also 26-for-29 on assisted shots within 10 feet of the rim this season, per PBP Stats, and Synergy says Branham is shooting 76.5% on cutting field goal attempts.&nbsp;
Branham's relatively low output from the perimeter at Ohio State drew question marks around the NBA Draft. Could he stretch his mid-range prowess beyond the arc? This season, Branham has made just 33.3% of his catch-and-shoot threes, but since February, he's at a scorching 18-for-41 (43.9%) on 4.6 &nbsp;attempts per game.&nbsp;
Right now, he's purely been a bucket. We're still waiting to see a bit more of the off-dribble playmaking, which I believe was underrated in college. Branham also is, well, a contributor to the Spurs' league-worst defense. But the 6-foot-5-inch wing is playing in a low-stakes environment by NBA standards and is clearly growing more comfortable with each passing game. If you told me he would lead rookies in post-All-Star scoring, I'd believe you.

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Christian Braun, Denver Nuggets
The No. 21 overall selection in this past year's draft hung around the back end of the Nuggets' rotation for most of the season, but has received 23.3 minutes per game this month. Christian Braun is averaging 7.8 points, 4.6 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 1.3 steals across nine February contests on a scintillating 64.5% True Shooting clip.&nbsp;
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Holy crap Christian Braun! The <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Nuggets?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Nuggets</a> rookie summoning his inner Nikola Jokic, on the baseline cut takes the entry pass from Joker and instantly dishes it back out to Michael Porter Jr. for the corner 3-pointer. Such a damn impressive heads up play.<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/MileHighBasketball?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#MileHighBasketball</a> <a href="https://t.co/p01V1g6PIi">pic.twitter.com/p01V1g6PIi</a>
&mdash; Joel Rush (@JoelRushNBA) <a href="https://twitter.com/JoelRushNBA/status/1625539664571699201?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 14, 2023</a></blockquote>

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Braun is a quintessential connector for the Nuggets right now. Over 53% of his shots have come at the rim, mostly off of secondary drives or cuts, and he'll also spot up from the corners frequently. He's not a lead playmaker, but he'll keep the ball moving; plus, he's had just six bad-pass turnovers all season, per PBP Stats.&nbsp;
The Nuggets also like to use Braun's size at 6-foot-7, 218 pounds to guard up the lineup. According to BBall Index, the Kansas product has spent over 62% of his playing time defending point guards and shooting guards. And, while he's not the point-of-attack defender, he's useful in taking away complementary options and being an additional pest.
Denver's lack of trade-deadline additions on the wing (and top billing in the West) means Braun is expected to contribute to a deep playoff run. A stable three-point shot would go a long way (46.7% in February, 37.1% on the season), along with continued growth on defense. But Braun is the rare rookie on a pressure-packed team, and thriving would say a lot about his impact.
Tari Eason, Houston Rockets
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Per Cleaning the Glass: only 5️⃣ NBA players have block and steal rates both above 1.5% 🏀 - Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (OKC) - Jaren Jackson Jr. (MEM) - Larry Nance Jr. (NOP) - Kyle Anderson (MIN) - Tari Eason (HOU) <a href="https://t.co/Fi0pGOHnbL">pic.twitter.com/Fi0pGOHnbL</a>
&mdash; BasketballNews.com (@basketbllnews) <a href="https://twitter.com/basketbllnews/status/1628828512206348291?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 23, 2023</a></blockquote>

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Tari Eason's 1.5% block rate and 2.2% steal rate place him in an elite group of defensive havoc-wreakers this season. He's averaging 4.52 bad-pass steals or deflections per 75 possessions, per BBall Index, which puts him in the 95th percentile at his position.
Eason is already a unique event-creator on defense with his length and mobility. He also inhales rebounds on both ends of the glass. The former LSU forward secures offensive boards on 10.6% of Houston's misses, a rate that ranks second among all non-bigs in the league.&nbsp;
Those two impact areas carry the weight for Eason's All-Rookie case; he's still finding his niche on offense. He has to create more for himself than expected, and he's making a paltry 40.7% of his unassisted shots at the rim. The Rockets' offense has been a mess all season long. Ideally, Eason could start his career capitalizing on more cuts, lobs and spot-ups, but it's unclear if he'll find that balance this season.
Still, his defensive impact and rebounding activity warrant a prime spot in the rotation of a young, losing team, and Eason is talented enough to make it work.
Jaylin Williams, Oklahoma City Thunder
The pesky Thunder continue to stick around in the playoff race, and Jaylin Williams &mdash; not to be confused with Jalen &mdash; has been the most recent young head-turner with his charge-taking. Check out this graphic from Dom Samangy:
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Former Razorback, Jaylin Williams, is currently LEADING THE NBA in charges drawn per minute played and has the highest charge rate in 7 years since the NBA started tracking &ldquo;hustle stats&rdquo; in 2016. He currently draws a charge every 22 minutes of play! <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/ProHogs?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#ProHogs</a> // <a href="https://twitter.com/Jay_MWilliams_?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Jay_MWilliams_</a> <a href="https://t.co/bOM9XcqynU">pic.twitter.com/bOM9XcqynU</a>
&mdash; Dom Samangy (@DSamangy) <a href="https://twitter.com/DSamangy/status/1628448922770329601?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 22, 2023</a></blockquote>

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Williams is such a fun, unique player. He's not racking up blocks or steals as a rim-protector, but he rebounds, takes charges and positions himself well on defense for a rookie.
Then, on offense, he's warped his impact from the pre-draft projections coming out of Arkansas. Williams' perimeter shot-making was more of an intriguing developmental pathway than a bread-and-butter skill entering the 2022 NBA Draft. The second-rounder is shooting a red-hot 47.7% from long range this season, including (checks notes) 55.6% since Jan. 1. In contrast, he's barely scoring around the rim; just 29% of his shots are coming within 4 feet of the basket.
Add in an 11.1% assist rate (66th percentile among bigs) and 3.1 screen assists per 75 possessions (80th percentile), and Williams is upending a lot of the traditional images for low-usage young centers.&nbsp;
OKC moved on from Mike Muscala and forward Darius Bazley at the trade deadline. Williams' playing time has fluctuated this season, but he's averaging 21.8 minutes per game in February and has started 11 of 17 games in the new year. He'll be a big part of this stretch run for a Thunder team capable of contending.
Mark Williams, Charlotte Hornets
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mark williams size blk + lob radius, good stuff <a href="https://t.co/8lVqlyksUH">pic.twitter.com/8lVqlyksUH</a>
&mdash; ben pfeifer (@bjpf_) <a href="https://twitter.com/bjpf_/status/1627041357041897472?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 18, 2023</a></blockquote>

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The Hornets traded away Mason Plumlee and are well out of the playoff picture. It's time to give the young guys some runtime, and that begins with Mark Williams, who has started the last four contests. The No. 15 overall pick is averaging 7.6 points, 5.6 rebounds and 1.2 blocks in 15.9 minutes per game this season.
Williams has thrived in more of the traditional finishing-center archetype. He's tallying 4.4 screen assists per 75 possessions (88th percentile) and posting a monster 3.7% block rate and 2.0% steal rate. (He missed the minute qualifier for Eason's previously mentioned stat). The 7-foot-1-inch center takes 78% of his shots around the rim, the majority via assists, and he makes 70% of those attempts.&nbsp;
Let's expand on the interior defense a bit because Williams' small-sample impact numbers are insane. Pulling from BBall Index's data, here's a look at how he's affecting shots around the basket.
<table style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 100%; height: 132px;" border="1">
<tbody>
<tr style="height: 22px;">
<td style="width: 48.6251%; height: 22px;">Category</td>
<td style="width: 16.3185%; height: 22px;">Value</td>
<td style="width: 35.0481%; height: 22px;">Percentile rank (among C's)</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 22px;">
<td style="width: 48.6251%; height: 22px;">% of teams' at-rim shots contested by Williams</td>
<td style="width: 16.3185%; height: 22px;" data-sheets-value="{&quot;1&quot;:3,&quot;3&quot;:0.4714}" data-sheets-numberformat="{&quot;1&quot;:3,&quot;2&quot;:&quot;0.00%&quot;,&quot;3&quot;:1}">47.14%</td>
<td style="width: 35.0481%; height: 22px;" data-sheets-value="{&quot;1&quot;:3,&quot;3&quot;:0.96}" data-sheets-numberformat="{&quot;1&quot;:3,&quot;2&quot;:&quot;0%&quot;,&quot;3&quot;:1}" data-sheets-formula="=percentrank('Data Pull'!C[134]:C[134],R[0]C[-1])">96th</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 22px;">
<td style="width: 48.6251%; height: 22px;">At-rim contests per 75 poss.</td>
<td style="width: 16.3185%; height: 22px;" data-sheets-value="{&quot;1&quot;:3,&quot;3&quot;:10.82}">10.82</td>
<td style="width: 35.0481%; height: 22px;" data-sheets-value="{&quot;1&quot;:3,&quot;3&quot;:0.987}" data-sheets-numberformat="{&quot;1&quot;:3,&quot;2&quot;:&quot;0%&quot;,&quot;3&quot;:1}" data-sheets-formula="=percentrank('Data Pull'!C[135]:C[135],R[0]C[-1])">99th</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 22px;">
<td style="width: 48.6251%; height: 22px;">Blocks per 75 poss.</td>
<td style="width: 16.3185%; height: 22px;" data-sheets-value="{&quot;1&quot;:3,&quot;3&quot;:2.63}" data-sheets-numberformat="{&quot;1&quot;:2,&quot;2&quot;:&quot;0.0&quot;,&quot;3&quot;:1}">2.6</td>
<td style="width: 35.0481%; height: 22px;" data-sheets-value="{&quot;1&quot;:3,&quot;3&quot;:0.97}" data-sheets-numberformat="{&quot;1&quot;:3,&quot;2&quot;:&quot;0%&quot;,&quot;3&quot;:1}" data-sheets-formula="=percentrank('Data Pull'!C[136]:C[136],R[0]C[-1])">97th</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 22px;">
<td style="width: 48.6251%; height: 22px;">% of Williams' contests that become blocks</td>
<td style="width: 16.3185%; height: 22px;" data-sheets-value="{&quot;1&quot;:3,&quot;3&quot;:0.2429}" data-sheets-numberformat="{&quot;1&quot;:3,&quot;2&quot;:&quot;0.00%&quot;,&quot;3&quot;:1}">24.29%</td>
<td style="width: 35.0481%; height: 22px;" data-sheets-value="{&quot;1&quot;:3,&quot;3&quot;:0.857}" data-sheets-numberformat="{&quot;1&quot;:3,&quot;2&quot;:&quot;0%&quot;,&quot;3&quot;:1}" data-sheets-formula="=percentrank('Data Pull'!C[137]:C[137],R[0]C[-1])">86th</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 22px;">
<td style="width: 48.6251%; height: 22px;">Opponent FG% at rim vs. expected FG%</td>
<td style="width: 16.3185%; height: 22px;" data-sheets-value="{&quot;1&quot;:3,&quot;3&quot;:-0.116}" data-sheets-numberformat="{&quot;1&quot;:3,&quot;2&quot;:&quot;+#,##0.00%;-#,##0.00%&quot;}">-11.60%</td>
<td style="width: 35.0481%; height: 22px;" data-sheets-value="{&quot;1&quot;:3,&quot;3&quot;:0.987}" data-sheets-numberformat="{&quot;1&quot;:3,&quot;2&quot;:&quot;0%&quot;,&quot;3&quot;:1}" data-sheets-formula="=1-percentrank('Data Pull'!C[138]:C[138],R[0]C[-1])">99th</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
(Scroll right to view full table on mobile)
These are massive data points for any player, much less a rookie.
When Williams is on the court, Charlotte allows 6.6 fewer points per 100 possessions, according to Cleaning the Glass. He's already changing the tone for a squad that has historically had issues fortifying the floor. Hopefully we get to see more of that in this stretch run.
<div class="mceNonEditable"><spike>&nbsp;</spike></div>
THE OUTLIERS (a.k.a. other random interesting numbers I found in the void):
<ul>
<li>Not a stat, but I do want to give honorable mention shoutouts to AJ Griffin of the Atlanta Hawks and AJ Green of the Milwaukee Bucks. Both are talented rookies ready to join their team's rotations; I just wonder what minutes are available. Griffin now has to compete with Saddiq Bey in Atlanta's wing room in addition to the other established talents on the roster. Green seems to take a back seat when the Bucks are fully healthy.</li>
<li>Synergy's Todd Whitehead made these neat visualizations of pick-and-roll defense that I highlighted at the beginning of the year, and he's got some interesting takeaways now:</li>
</ul>
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When I made this chart back in November, I was interested to see that the teams with the best process (ones taking away opponents rolls/cuts to the rim, corner 3s, and shooting fouls) weren't necessarily the ones with the lowest PPP allowed (👀Boston, for example). <a href="https://t.co/5VVpnVCyYW">https://t.co/5VVpnVCyYW</a> <a href="https://t.co/aWBfcmOA9T">pic.twitter.com/aWBfcmOA9T</a>
&mdash; Todd Whitehead (@CrumpledJumper) <a href="https://twitter.com/CrumpledJumper/status/1626670052769669120?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 17, 2023</a></blockquote>

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<ul>
<li>Another post-All-Star stats check-in courtesy of Tom Bassine:</li>
</ul>
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Updated starter and bench majority lineup team strengths. Denver still builds their leads through starter lineups with Jokic. Chicago bench stands out. <a href="https://t.co/1Uh8HSWSfs">pic.twitter.com/1Uh8HSWSfs</a>
&mdash; Tom Bassine (@tvbassine) <a href="https://twitter.com/tvbassine/status/1629102353210126336?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 24, 2023</a></blockquote>

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Ethan Fuller highlights five under-the-radar rookies who could make an impact in the NBA season's final months.

NBA Stats Notebook: 5 players who could break into the All-Rookie race

A list of 12 of the top talents in modern NBA history to have never appeared in an All-Star Game.

The 12 best modern-history players to never make an NBA All-Star team

PHOENIX (AP) &mdash; Deandre Ayton had to do a double-take in the final minutes as his Phoenix Suns pulled away for another win.
His eyes weren&rsquo;t playing tricks. That was Mikal Bridges getting big mid-range buckets during crucial possessions in the fourth quarter, not injured All-Star guard Devin Booker.
Bridges had one of his best games of the season with 29 points, Ayton added 22 points and 13 rebounds and the Suns won for the sixth time in seven games by beating the Toronto Raptors 114-106 on Monday night.
&ldquo;I told Booker &mdash; &lsquo;You know what&rsquo;s crazy? These are your plays,&rsquo;&rdquo; Ayton said, teasing his teammate. &ldquo;These are Mikal&rsquo;s plays now.&rdquo;
The Suns are on a bit of roll despite missing Booker the past several weeks. The 6-foot-6 Bridges has always been a solid player &mdash; mostly known for his defense and 3-point shooting &mdash; but he has morphed into a lead scoring option with Booker on the shelf with a groin injury.
The fifth-year player is averaging 23 points per game over his last nine contests, which has coincided with a Suns revival after an extended midseason swoon. He shot 12 of 19 from the field against the Raptors, including 3 of 4 from 3-point range.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;m loving it,&rdquo; Suns guard Chris Paul said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s a confidence thing and I think it just keeps building.&rdquo;
Neither team led by more than 10 points in a contest that featured 16 lead changes and five ties.
The Raptors trailed by nine to start the second half but scored 12 straight points in the first 2 1/2 minutes of the third quarter to take a 65-62 lead. Toronto took an 84-82 advantage into the fourth.
The game stayed tight from that point forward until Phoenix pulled away in the final minutes. Bridges had a pair of clutch jumpers before Paul made a 3-pointer to push the Suns ahead 106-102 with 1:30 left. Ayton added a tip-in with 51.4 seconds left to extend the advantage to 108-102.
Paul finished with 19 points and nine assists.
&ldquo;They threw some shots in that we needed to miss,&rdquo; Raptors guard Fred VanVleet said. &ldquo;We fought hard, we competed, but give them credit.&rdquo;
Toronto was led by VanVleet&rsquo;s 24 points and nine assists. Gary Trent Jr. added 21 points while Pascal Siakam had 19.
&ldquo;We were playing really hard, really well,&rdquo; Raptors coach Nick Nurse said. &ldquo;We could have down a few things and shored up the rebounding, but it didn&rsquo;t really bounce our way when it needed to.&rdquo;
Bridges scored 23 points on 9 of 12 shooting to push the Suns to a 62-53 halftime lead.
&ldquo;I felt it for sure,&rdquo; Bridges said. &ldquo;The crowd had me all gassed up. The crowd and our bench. I felt it from both of them.&rdquo;
TIP-INS
Raptors: G O.G. Anunoby (wrist) and F Otto Porter Jr. (foot) were out. ... Shot just 9 of 33 (27.3%) from 3-point range.
Suns: Guards Devin Booker (groin), Cameron Payne (foot) and Landry Shamet (foot) were out. ... Hosted a 53rd straight sellout crowd. ... Paul hit a 3-pointer at the first quarter buzzer to give the Suns a 32-28 lead. ... Dario Saric added 11 points over 14 minutes off the bench.

Mikal Bridges had 29 points, Deandre Ayton added 22 and the Phoenix Suns beat the Toronto Raptors 114-106.

Bridges scores 29, Suns pull away late, beat Raptors 114-106

On Monday afternoon, news broke that the <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-trade-reaction-exploring-rui-hachimura-fit-with-los-angeles-lakers-lebron-james-anthony-davis-washington-wizards-kendrick-nunn" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Washington Wizards were trading fan favorite Rui Hachimura to the Los Angeles Lakers</a>. It's a move that shocked and disappointed many Wizards fans, who had high hopes for their team's ninth overall draft pick just four years ago.
Hachimura had been averaging 13.0 points and 4.3 rebounds per game this season, just coming off of a season-high 30-point game off the bench in a blowout win over the Orlando Magic this past weekend.
The Wizards did avoid having to take on any long-term salaries in the trade &mdash; and didn't give away any of their draft picks &mdash; but it failed to tip the scale of disappointment for Wizards fans, who looked at Hachimura as being an integral part of the team&rsquo;s future.
I caught up with <a href="https://twitter.com/DrewGooden?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Drew Gooden</a>, a 14-year NBA veteran who formerly played for the Washington Wizards and is now an analyst for NBC Sports Washington and Monumental Sports to analyze this trade.
<img src="https://cdn.basketballnews.com/images/story/body/screenshot-2023-01-25-at-12-43-03-2b6rbaloibfgflkd6yo2k4knzy-jpg-webp-image-5000-2813-pixels-scaled-29__690w.png" alt="" />
Etan Thomas: What was your reaction to the trade? Rui was really a fan favorite, and a lot of people in the DMV really didn&rsquo;t see this coming and have been voicing their opinions on this, but what was your reaction?&nbsp;
Drew Gooden: "It was strictly business. Like you said, he&rsquo;s a fan favorite and Rui had a window to get better on both sides of the ball both offensively and defensively. He just scored 30 points against the Orlando Magic. So we know what Rui could provide right now and potentially for the future. But I believe this was strictly a business decision the Wizards had to make in order to have the possibility of re-signing Kyle Kuzma in the offseason."
Etan: So, I&rsquo;ve heard people say that and do you think that&rsquo;s all it boils down to? The Wizards had to make this move to free up cap space? I saw they made the point clear that they were not entertaining any calls or inquiries for Kuz as we approach this trade deadline.
Gooden: "Absolutely, this wasn&rsquo;t personal at all. But truth be told, I think this is a great opportunity for Rui. Not only from a business standpoint of getting an extension and becoming part of a great organization in the Los Angeles Lakers, but the relationship that his agent has with Rob Pelinka; there is a business relationship already established there. And he gets the chance to play with one of the best players ever to play the game in LeBron James. And he&rsquo;ll be able to learn under LeBron just like Kyle Kuzma was able to learn under LeBron, so I think this is a positive for Rui.
<img style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" src="https://cdn.basketballnews.com/images/story/body/usatsi_19850961_690w.jpg" alt="" />
"And there was some pressure for him to sign his extension. Because if you look at the 2019 draft class and you look at all the guys who have received their extensions &mdash; and these are different players that I&rsquo;m going to list off &mdash; but you have Zion [Williamson], Ja Morant, RJ Barrett, De'Andre Hunter &mdash; the fourth pick &mdash; signed his extension, Darius Garland signed his rookie max extension with Cleveland. So these guys are trying to get locked in, and there is peer pressure &mdash; and you know this &mdash; when you see guys that you got drafted with already getting their extensions, but you haven&rsquo;t gotten yours yet. It&rsquo;s added pressure for you as a player from a business standpoint. And you&rsquo;re looking at your team like, 'Why are these other guys getting paid, but I&rsquo;m not?' and, 'Why are you not investing in me and showing your faith in me?' And unfortunately, the Washington Wizards just weren&rsquo;t in a position to do that."
Etan: I&rsquo;ve heard this in conversation, so let me repeat what the word on the street is. Many people have pointed to the fact that the Wizards have developed almost a pattern of not re-signing their draft picks. In fact, the last Wizards pick to earn an extension was Otto Porter Jr., and he was drafted was a decade ago.
Gooden: "Yeah, I have noticed that. But in this case, Kyle Kuzma just threw a monkey wrench in all of the plans with his play. He has shown that he can actually carry the team when Bradley Beal is out; that&rsquo;s invaluable. And you have another situation in [Kristaps] Porzingis that you may have to be confronted with because he can opt out (in late June before free agency starts) &mdash; now, what happens if he opts out? I&rsquo;m sure the Wizards would love to re-sign both of them, but they have to be in a financial situation where they could possibly do that, and honestly, that&rsquo;s the only reason for this trade. It&rsquo;s a strategic move; not personal, just business."
Etan: Let me ask you this &mdash; and of course, it&rsquo;s hard to predict &mdash; but how likely would you say it is that Kuzma does re-sign with the Wizards in the offseason? Because that&rsquo;s what&rsquo;s on everybody&rsquo;s mind right now. You&rsquo;ve traded this young talent who is a fan favorite, and what happens if Kuzma doesn&rsquo;t re-sign with the Wizards?
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Kyle Kuzma's 30 points power the <a href="https://twitter.com/WashWizards?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@WashWizards</a> to victory in Dallas! <a href="https://t.co/EAyAPAuZgY">pic.twitter.com/EAyAPAuZgY</a>
&mdash; NBA (@NBA) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBA/status/1618237375422799872?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 25, 2023</a></blockquote>

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Gooden: "It&rsquo;s, 'What&rsquo;s that magical number that could get the job done? What will make Kuzma sign that deal and stay in DC?' Because he will be an unrestricted free agent. I believe he could maximize his earnings staying with the Wizards. They <a href="https://www.spotrac.com/nba/washington-wizards/kyle-kuzma-23622/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">do have his Bird Rights</a>. That&rsquo;s the hope, that&rsquo;s the strategy and the Wizards have to do everything in their power to put themselves in the position to be able to make that happen, and that&rsquo;s all they can control."
Etan: What does Kendrick Nunn bring to the table?&nbsp;
Gooden: "This is an interesting situation. In my years past looking at these trades &mdash; and giving up someone like Rui and getting draft picks and a guy with an expiring contract &mdash; it&rsquo;s probably another business decision. I&rsquo;m not sure if there is going to be a future here for him or not. But, maybe he&rsquo;ll get a shot and bring something to the table where he changes people&rsquo;s minds, which is very possible. That&rsquo;s what Kyle Kuzma did. He changed the narrative and made the organization shift their plans. Nunn could do that, even with the packed point guards (room) we currently have.
"But I know for a fact that (Nunn) can put the ball in the hole. His time in Miami, he was a 15-plus-point scorer in this league; I saw him with my own eyes in real time. He can catch waves throughout the course of a game and really take over games. So if he has that opportunity to play and show what he can do, there&rsquo;s no doubt in my mind that he can play at a high level. It&rsquo;s just the clutter of all of the point guards on the roster right now. So we&rsquo;ll see what happens."
Etan: Right. It will definitely be interesting to see. Okay, last question. Where do you think the Wizards end up this year? Of course, they have to stay healthy. That&rsquo;s one of the main things. But what is the ceiling or possibility for them this season?
Gooden: "Well, the Play-In Tournament I believe doesn&rsquo;t allow teams to let go of the rope down the stretch of the season. In the past, some teams may get to that point where they&rsquo;re thinking more of improving their chances in the lottery. This is an interesting window, and someone just asked me this question the other day.
"They asked, 'What is the Wizards identity?' And you know what? They haven&rsquo;t been whole the entire season. You have had small sample sizes where you had Porzingis, Beal and Kuzma all on the floor together, but nothing consistent this entire season. But one thing I know &mdash; they have a chance to win every given night no matter who is on the floor. They&rsquo;re a team that won&rsquo;t allow themselves to let go of the rope."

Etan Thomas speaks with Wizards analyst and former 14-year NBA pro Drew Gooden to analyze the Rui Hachimura trade with LA.

Drew Gooden: Wizards trading Hachimura to LA 'strategic, not personal'

TORONTO (AP) &mdash; Pascal Siakam scored 28 points, Gary Trent Jr. had 24 and the Toronto Raptors beat the Charlotte Hornets 132-120 on Tuesday night.
O.G. Anunoby scored eight of his 22 points in the fourth quarter and matched his career high with six 3-pointers as Toronto won its fourth straight home meeting with the Hornets and reached the midway point of the regular season at 18-23.
The Raptors made a season-high 20 3-points in 44 attempts.
&ldquo;Let&rsquo;s have a party,&rdquo; guard Fred VanVleet joked.
Toronto won consecutive games for the sixth time this season. The Raptors have yet to win three in a row.
Toronto had 18 offensive rebounds to Charlotte&rsquo;s six and outscored the Hornets 20-4 in second-chance points.
&ldquo;That was the game,&rdquo; Charlotte coach Steve Clifford said. You can&rsquo;t pick and choose when you want to do the tough things. That&rsquo;s what we did tonight.&rdquo;
Terry Rozier scored 33 points for Charlotte, and LaMelo Ball had 24 points and a season-high 14 assists. The Hornets lost for the fifth time in six games.
&ldquo;We&rsquo;ve just got to start holding each other accountable,&rdquo; Rozier said. &ldquo;We&rsquo;re all grown. It&rsquo;s just what we&rsquo;ve got to do. Obviously, our way hasn&rsquo;t been working, so we&rsquo;ve got to turn it around.&rdquo;
Mason Plumlee scored 21 points for Charlotte, P.J. Washington Jr. had 13 and Jalen McDaniels 11.
&ldquo;We&rsquo;re playing for our season right now,&rdquo; Plumlee said.
Bell&rsquo;s 3-pointer with 7:05 left in the fourth quarter cut it to 108-107, but Anunoby replied with back-to-back 3-pointers, his fifth and six.
&ldquo;They&rsquo;re super explosive,&rdquo; Raptors coach Nick Nurse said. &ldquo;We just did enough there in the last six minutes.&rdquo;
VanVleet also connected from long range, putting Toronto up 117-107 with 4:32 to play.
&ldquo;Our individual defense, which had been good lately, was awful,&rdquo; Clifford said.
SURGERY FOR PORTER
Toronto F Otto Porter Jr. will miss the remainder of the season following left foot surgery, the team announced Tuesday. Porter signed with the Raptors last summer but was limited to eight games because of toe and hamstring injuries.
TIP-INS
Hornets: F Gordon Hayward (left hamstring) missed his fourth straight game while G Kelly Oubre Jr. (left hand surgery) missed his sixth. &hellip; Missed their first field goal of the game, then made the next 11 straight. &hellip; Matched a season-high with 33 assists.
Raptors: Made 19 3-pointers in a Dec. 23 win at Cleveland. &hellip; VanVleet had 11 points, seven rebounds and eight assists. &hellip; Precious Achiuwa scored 13 points and Chris Boucher had 12. &hellip; Rookie Christian Koloko had six offensive rebounds, one shy of his career-high. &hellip; Rapper J. Cole sat courtside.
&nbsp;

Pascal Siakam scored 28 points, Gary Trent Jr. had 24 and the Toronto Raptors beat the Charlotte Hornets 132-120.

Siakam has 28 points, Raptors beat slumping Hornets 132-120

TORONTO (AP) &mdash; Toronto Raptors forward Otto Porter Jr. has undergone surgery on his left foot and will miss the rest of the season.
Porter had been sidelined with a dislocated toe since November and appeared in only eight games with the Raptors this season.
&ldquo;This was a tough decision for Otto, he had hoped to avoid surgery, but ultimately a decision had to be made to ensure his long-term health.&rdquo; Raptors General Manager Bobby Webster said. &ldquo;We look forward to his healthy recovery.&rdquo;
Porter &mdash; the No. 3 overall pick in the 2013 draft out of Georgetown &mdash; averaged 5.5 points and 2.4 rebounds in his first season with Toronto. He signed a two-year deal with the Raptors this past July and holds a $6.3 million player option for next season.
&nbsp;

The Toronto Raptors have lost Otto Porter Jr. for the remainder of the season after he underwent surgery on his injured left foot.

Raptors' Porter has foot surgery, will miss rest of season

CLEVELAND (AP) &mdash; Pascal Siakam had 26 points and nine assists, O.G. Anunoby scored 26 points and the Toronto Raptors rolled to a 118-107 victory over the Cavaliers on Friday night, becoming the first East team to win in Cleveland this season.
Scottie Barnes scored 25 points and Fred VanVleet added 18, helping Toronto beat the Cavaliers for the third time in three games this season. The Raptors made a season-high 19 3-pointers, with Anunoby tying his career best with six.
&ldquo;We just wanted to play with speed and be aggressive from the start, make them take tough shots and go out and gang rebound,&rdquo; Anunoby said. &ldquo;If we play with energy and play with force, good things will happen.&rdquo;
Siakam, who scored a career-high 52 points Wednesday at New York, also had seven assists. Barnes grabbed 10 rebounds, Anunoby had nine and VanVleet added eight.
VanVleet&rsquo;s third 3 of the third quarter gave Toronto an 83-57 lead three minutes in, prompting Cleveland coach J.B. Bickerstaff to pull his entire starting lineup. Donovan Mitchell had four points at the time and finished with 12 on 4-of-16 shooting.
&ldquo;They weren&rsquo;t holding up their end of the bargain and they knew it,&rdquo; Bickerstaff said. &ldquo;If you get complacent in the NBA, someone will kick you in the face -- and Toronto is a team that can do it.&rdquo;
The Cavaliers fell to 16-3 at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse, including 11-1 against the East. Minnesota and Sacramento are the other teams to win in Cleveland.
Darius Garland had 17 points and eight assists, and Isaac Okoro scored 15 points for the Cavaliers, who are 4-1 on their season-high, six-game homestand. Cedi Osman and Kevin Love each scored 13 points off the bench.
&ldquo;This game is part of our growth and we have to keep that in mind,&rdquo; Bickerstaff said. &ldquo;Donovan is the oldest dude in our lineup and he&rsquo;s only 26. We&rsquo;re still a very young team that&rsquo;s learning how to win in this league.&rdquo;
The Raptors, who entered shooting an NBA-low 32.2% on 3-pointers, made 12 of 21 in the first half and wound up shooting 51.4% beyond the arc.
Toronto won for the second time in eight games and is 4-9 since beating the Cavaliers on Nov. 28.
&ldquo;Pascal kept saying, &lsquo;Don&rsquo;t get bored with the lead, keep getting stops,&rsquo;&rdquo; Barnes said. &ldquo;So we came out in that third quarter really strong. Fred make some shots, Pascal made some shots. We just came out ready to play.&rdquo;
The Cavaliers announced a sellout crowd of 19,432, but the arena was less than two-thirds full as a result of sub-zero temperatures and poor road conditions in Northeast Ohio.
TIP-INS
Raptors: C Khem Birch (non-COVID illness) missed his second straight game, but coach Nick Nurse said he was improving. &hellip; F Precious Achiuwa (right ankle sprain) last played on Nov. 9 and F Otto Porter Jr. (dislocated left toe) has been out since Nov. 16. &hellip; Toronto has the third-lowest field goal percentage in the NBA at .449. &ldquo;At some point, we&rsquo;ve got to make those shots, right?&rdquo; Nurse said. &ldquo;And I think we will.&rdquo;
Cavaliers: F Evan Mobley is one of four players averaging more than 14.0 points, 9.0 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.0 blocks, along with Philadelphia&rsquo;s Joel Embiid, Milwaukee&rsquo;s Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Lakers&rsquo; Anthony Davis. &hellip; F Lamar Stevens (right knee soreness) returned from a three-game absence. &hellip; Love leads the NBA with 14 charges drawn and is third among bench players with 7.0 rebounds per game.
&nbsp;

Pascal Siakam had 26 points, O.G. Anunoby scored 26 points and the Raptors rolled to a 118-107 victory over the Cavaliers