Vulcans

The Portland Trail Blazers have been on an impressive run, winning six consecutive games and ten of their last eleven. This surge has propelled them into contention for a play-in spot, showcasing their potential against formidable opponents. Their success has been a combination of offensive efficiency, defensive tenacity, and standout performances from key players.
During this hot streak, Portland has secured victories against teams like the Milwaukee Bucks, Phoenix Suns, and Sacramento Kings. According to Kirk Goldsberry&rsquo;s efficiency landscape, the Blazers are #3 in net rating and #1 defensively. Offensively, they have been firing on all cylinders, with Anfernee Simons leading the charge. In a recent win over the Kings, Simons dropped 30 points, proving his ability to stretch the floor and attack the basket. Their defensive efforts have also played a crucial role, exemplified by a dominant 112-89 victory over the Pacers where they held Indiana to just 89 points. This newfound defensive resilience has been a cornerstone of their recent success.
Several players have stepped up during this run, each playing a crucial role in keeping the Blazers competitive. Simons, averaging 18.2 points per game this season, has been a consistent scoring threat, using his quick release and aggressive drives to keep defenses on their heels. Shaedon Sharpe has provided an additional spark, averaging 17.5 points and 4.0 rebounds per game, using his athleticism and shot-making ability to keep opponents guessing. Scoot Henderson, despite being the youngest among the three guards, has shown flashes of brilliance, particularly in a recent game against the Magic where he recorded 23 points, seven assists, and five rebounds. Deni Avdija has also emerged as a valuable asset, scoring a season-high 30 points and grabbing nine rebounds in a statement win over the Bucks. Though not always in the spotlight, Toumani Camara has been invaluable for his defensive energy and hustle plays, helping to solidify Portland&rsquo;s defensive identity.
Despite their recent success, the Blazers must soon confront significant decisions regarding their future. While they are currently competing for a play-in spot, their long-term direction remains unclear. One of the biggest questions revolves around the roles of Deni Avdija and Toumani Camara, two young forwards who have shown promise. Avdija, at 6-foot-9, has demonstrated versatility on both ends of the floor, excelling as a ball handler, facilitator, and multi-positional defender. His recent offensive outburst against the Bucks highlighted his potential as a future building block for the team. Camara, known for his defensive prowess, brings energy and intensity every time he steps on the floor. His ability to guard multiple positions and contribute on the boards has been crucial in tight games, making him an integral part of Portland&rsquo;s plans.
While Avdija and Camara appear to be key building blocks, the futures of Deandre Ayton and Jerami Grant remain uncertain. Ayton, acquired to strengthen the frontcourt, has had standout performances, including a 25-point, 20-rebound game against the Suns. His presence in the paint provides stability, but the Blazers must determine whether he fits into their long-term vision with recently drafted rookie center Donovan Clingan in the lineup. Grant, a reliable two-way forward, brings valuable experience and scoring ability. However, with the emergence of their younger wings Avdija and Camara, the team may consider moving him for assets that better align with their rebuilding efforts. The decision on whether to retain or trade these veterans will significantly shape the franchise&rsquo;s future.
But perhaps the most pressing dilemma Portland faces is the backcourt logjam between Simons, Sharpe, and Henderson. Each player brings a unique skill set, but with limited opportunities to develop three high-usage guards simultaneously, the Blazers may ultimately need to choose two of the three to lead their backcourt into the future. Simons has already proven himself as a dynamic scorer with elite shooting ability, making him a valuable offensive weapon. Sharpe, with his impressive athleticism and scoring instincts, has shown flashes of being a future superstar. Henderson, despite some early growing pains, has displayed promising playmaking and scoring potential, hinting at the possibility of becoming the team&rsquo;s primary floor general.
The Blazers might soon rethink their decisions and pick what&rsquo;s best for the three of them, letting go of one for proven pieces that will fit the team and letting him shine somewhere else, but that remains to be seen at this point. For now, the Blazers are rocking with this group and see what they can do towards the end of the season.
The Blazers&rsquo; recent success is a testament to their young talent and cohesive play, but as they navigate the remainder of the season, these tough decisions loom large. Balancing immediate success with long-term development will be crucial in determining the franchise&rsquo;s trajectory. Whether they fully commit to a rebuild, make strategic trades, or double down on their current core, the choices they make in the coming months will define their future in the NBA.

The Portland Trail Blazers have been on an impressive run, but tough decisions loom large within the franchise.

The Trail Blazers are rolling, but they should make a choice for their future

There has been a level of dominance the Boston Celtics have had this season that not a lot of teams in the history of the league have reached or come close to. The team&rsquo;s mixture of star power, depth, and chemistry within the tight-knit group of guys has been the source of power for the historically dominant regular season team.&nbsp;
In their March 17 game vs Washington, Jayson Tatum, Jrue Holiday, and Al Horford combined to destroy the Wizards, 130-104. Bench player Sam Hauser, who started the game, led the team in scoring with 30 points built on 10 three-point shots.&nbsp;
Then on their next game, in came Jaylen Brown, Derrick White, and Kristaps Porzingis, who then annihilated the Detroit Pistons 119-94 on the second night of a back-to-back. Another bench player, Payton Pritchard starred with 23 points and 7 assists as the Celtics earned yet another win.&nbsp;
This speaks to their depth as a team as well as the adaptability of each player to play with either of their core six guys with relative ease and without skipping a beat. The Celtics are a machine that keeps going with pieces and parts that are versatile enough to keep their brand of basketball going no matter who you sub in or slot onto the floor whenever someone is out.
With their dominant regular season coming down to a close, one question awaits the rest of the league as the playoffs arrive.&nbsp;
Who is stopping the Boston Celtics?&nbsp;
The guys in green have been far away the best team in the league by a wide margin, racing past ahead of all the other teams.
The Celtics just speedrun through everything, especially in the East, where they were far away the best team and are just cherry-picking to wait and see whoever will finish second behind them. The only disappointment thus far was not winning the In-Season Tournament title, which probably wasn&rsquo;t the championship they wanted to win anyway.
They have the league&rsquo;s best record at 64-18 and they never lost more than two straight throughout the year. They blew out three teams by 50 or more points and they have only lost four games at the Boston Garden, and have only just lost to an Eastern Conference team at home for over a year &ndash; since March of 2023. The only team to win two and claim the season series over Boston are the defending champions Denver Nuggets, which makes sense considering they&rsquo;re the team all teams in the NBA are chasing after.
The Celtics will be the only team that will finish in double-digits in plus/minus efficiency (+11.3) and they rank 1st in offensive rating (120.4) and 5th in defensive rating (110.5) in the entire league. This level of dominance in the regular season makes it one of the most impressive ones in recent NBA history.
The Boston Celtics might go all the way this year and take that coveted 18th championship title, but what makes them so good?
'The Jays' superstar duo: Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown&nbsp;
The Celtics start and end with their star forward duo. They would not be near where they are right now without these two. The way they complement each other and play off of each other has been spectacular, and their chemistry has been built since 2016-2017 when Boston drafted both guys back to back with the no.3 pick. With the Celtics having two dynamic two-way guys in Tatum and Brown, they have the foundation to allow them to surround the team with guys that complement their skills, which president Brad Stevens and coach Joe Mazzulla have done an incredible job of doing so over the past couple years.
Roster construction
After trading away mainstays Marcus Smart, Robert Williams, and Grant Williams this season, Brad Stevens built the roster with some awesome replacements in Kristaps Porzingis and Jrue Holiday.
Porzingis just fits the Celtics&rsquo; scheme so much as he gives them a stretch big that can space the floor for their 5-out offense. On defense, his towering 7&rsquo;3 frame can alter and block shots. Porzingis is also the perfect Al Horford replacement who has been key to the lineups the Celtics run in the previous years. Although Horford is now 37 and is nearing the end of his career, he's still bringing that veteran leadership and the floor spacing to give the Celtics more options on offense.
Holiday&rsquo;s transition into the team has been seamless, filling in the place of Smart. A 2022 champion with the Milwaukee Bucks, Holiday brought the championship mindset along with his trademark defensive versatility and a plug-and-play offensive repertoire that has elevated the Celtics&rsquo; play all season long.&nbsp;
Around Tatum and Brown and their new acquisitions Porzingis and Holiday, the ever-consistent Derrick White and the ageless Al Horford come into place to complete their starting five and their fearsome six-man lineup. Solid bench pieces led by Payton Pritchard and Sam Hauser provide quality backup minutes to ensure Boston does not lose a single step whenever their mainstays rest during the games. Depending on the matchup, big men Xavier Tillman and Luke Kornet will see some minutes and both have proven they can play the style of basketball the Celtics need to win. Overall, this team is arguably the best the Celtics have in years, and they have all the makings to have a deep playoff run.
However, Boston knows the job is not done yet and the real test is at hand. No matter how good they have been in the first six months of the year, it all comes down to how they will perform and execute in the season&rsquo;s final three months when it matters the most. And they certainly hope they can reach the pinnacle again and this time, come out on top in June.
To further strengthen that point, it isn&rsquo;t a guarantee to win all the time, especially in the playoffs. Although it is an indication of good habits built throughout the season, the playoffs are a different beast. According to NBA.com, only five teams in the last 20 years had the best record winning the title that season. The last best-record champions were the 2016-17 Warriors as teams deal with a variety of challenges throughout the postseason.&nbsp;
As the road to the 18th banner looms close, the Celtics have themselves as their biggest obstacle &ndash; only they can stop themselves from achieving their full potential.&nbsp;

As the road to the 18th banner looms close, the Celtics have themselves as their biggest obstacle.

Who’s stopping Boston? Dissecting the Celtics’ juggernaut after their dominant season

DENVER (AP) &mdash; All those smooth-looking, long-range jumpers Michael Porter Jr. hits have definitely been a reward for Denver.
Easy to forget just how much of a risk he was early on for the Nuggets.
They rolled the dice at No. 14 in the 2018 draft on a 6-foot-10 forward with a balky back to go with a tremendous set of skills. He&rsquo;s gone through three back procedures since college and missed basically two of his five NBA seasons, but still showed enough flashes of talent to earn a max extension.
Without taking that gamble on Porter, the&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/nba-finals-nuggets-jokic-murray-malone-18329e13dfecae50834ebc06d409027c">Nuggets might not be</a>&nbsp;here, starting their first NBA Finals on Thursday night with a 104-93 win over Miami. He&rsquo;s become their X factor &mdash; the third part of a hard-to-contain trio that also includes Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray. Porter had 14 points and 12 rebounds against the Heat.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s just cool looking back on the journey,&rdquo;&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://twitter.com/pgraham34/status/1663249469264240640" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">said Porter, who</a>&nbsp;turns 25 on June 29. &ldquo;You try not to spend too much time looking back right now, just stay focused on getting this ring. But you&rsquo;ve got to take moments to just look back.&rdquo;
Rewind a few years: Porter was a senior at Nathan Hale High School in Seattle and learning from a coach who wasn&rsquo;t just a coach. This was former NBA All-Star guard Brandon Roy &mdash; someone who had been in the league and done the things Porter was hoping to do.
&ldquo;He really helped me take my game to the next level,&rdquo; Porter said.
A top recruit, he chose Missouri. It was home, with Porter growing up in Columbia. His brother, Jontay, joined him at Missouri. His dad&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://mutigers.com/sports/mens-basketball/roster/coaches/michael-porter-sr-/927" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">was added to the staff</a>&nbsp;after coaching at the University of Washington.
But his time with the Tigers was cut short by his ailing back. Two minutes into his inaugural college game, he went out. He later underwent microdiscectomy&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://mutigers.com/news/2017/11/21/mens-basketball-statements-michael-porter-jr.aspx" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">surgery to fix herniated discs</a>&nbsp;but made it back for the SEC Tournament &mdash; a loss to Georgia &mdash; and then the NCAA Tournament, where the Tigers fell to Florida State.
Despite his back issues, the Nuggets selected him in a draft that included Deandre Ayton (No. 1), Luka Doncic (No. 3) and Trae Young (No. 5).
Porter missed his first season in Denver after undergoing another back procedure. The following year, he showed what he could do in the 2020 NBA bubble when the Nuggets made it to the Western Conference finals before losing to the Los Angeles Lakers. In 2020-21, he averaged 19 points in the regular season over 61 games.
Last season, though, brought another road block for Porter and his back. After nine games, he was shut down for a third surgery.
On the sideline with him was Murray, who was coming back from a torn ACL. Watching Porter work in rehab made Murray appreciate the accomplishments of Porter in these playoffs all the more.
Porter is averaging 14.6 points and 8.3 rebounds through the playoffs, while also holding his own on the defensive end of the floor. He had two blocked shots against Miami.
&ldquo;He&rsquo;s done amazing,&rdquo; Murray said. &ldquo;Just playing a more complete game throughout the game.&rdquo;
Porter also has been dealing with serious family matters.
Earlier this year, younger brother Coban, a&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://denverpioneers.com/sports/mens-basketball/roster/coban-porter/3562" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">basketball player at the University of Denver,</a>&nbsp;was charged with&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/denver-nuggets-sports-crime-coban-porter-michael-jr-ebfaffc1725e926851ff20c794b928fa">felony counts of vehicular homicide and vehicular</a>&nbsp;assault stemming from a suspected drunken-driving crash that killed a 42-year-old woman. Coban Porter has a status conference and a preliminary hearing scheduled for Tuesday in Denver. Game 3 is Wednesday in Miami.
Anytime Porter needs advice or feedback on his game, he rings up his mentor Roy.
&ldquo;He definitely means the world to me,&rdquo; said Porter, who signed a five-year deal in 2021 worth up to&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/nba-sports-basketball-denver-denver-nuggets-609d666320914d3c84632879628e8e2c">$207 million</a>. &ldquo;He was my coach in high school, so he sees kind of how my game has evolved since my injuries and things.&rdquo;
Nuggets coach Michael Malone has seen Porter&rsquo;s unabashed confidence steadily returning.
&ldquo;When you&rsquo;re not healthy and you can&rsquo;t move and do the things that you&rsquo;re accustomed to doing, that really makes it hard to go out there and be confident in your game and what you&rsquo;re able to do,&rdquo; Malone said. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s in a very good place right now.&rdquo;
And now, Porter loathes being taken out of games. He&rsquo;s known to shoot assistant coach Ryan Saunders a mean stare when a sub replaces him.
&ldquo;Like, &lsquo;I can&rsquo;t believe you&rsquo;re taking me out,&rsquo;&rdquo; Malone recounted. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s closed a lot of games for us lately because he&rsquo;s 6-10, he&rsquo;s defending well and he&rsquo;s rebounding at a high level. He&rsquo;s confident, he&rsquo;s aggressive and he&rsquo;s had a huge impact on this team.&rdquo;
Porter keeps a gratefulness journal. Just little reminders he&rsquo;s taken to heart: Stay hungry. Keep working. Never let up. Reflect.
&ldquo;To get back here and be competitive in a playoff series, man, it&rsquo;s a great feeling,&rdquo; Porter said. &ldquo;Especially considering everything I&rsquo;ve been through.&rdquo;

Michael Porter Jr. has been incredible for Denver. It's easy to forget just how much of a risk he was early on for the Nuggets.

Once a risky pick, Michael Porter Jr. turns in big rewards for Nuggets

MIAMI (AP) &mdash; Gabe Vincent scored a career-high 29 points, Duncan Robinson added 22 and the eighth-seeded Miami Heat moved one win from the NBA Finals after rolling past the Boston Celtics 128-102 on Sunday night in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference title series.
Caleb Martin scored 18, Jimmy Butler finished with 16, Bam Adebayo had 13 and Max Strus added 10 for Miami, which leads the series 3-0. Every team in NBA history that has won the first three games of a best-of-seven has ultimately prevailed; the Heat are 8-0 in that situation.
Jayson Tatum scored 14 and Jaylen Brown added 12 for the Celtics, who won three times on Miami&rsquo;s floor on the way to winning last season&rsquo;s Eastern Conference finals &mdash; but simply never had a chance in this one and basically emptied the bench for the fourth quarter.
Grant Williams and Payton Pritchard each had 12 for Boston. Game 4 is Tuesday in Miami.
The NBA Finals start June 1, and the way things are going, that might mean the league is about to go a few days without games. The Western Conference finals could end Monday; Denver leads that series against the Los Angeles Lakers 3-0. And now, the East finals could end Tuesday.
There&rsquo;s never been a season where both conference finals ended in sweeps; it happened in 1957 in the division finals immediately preceding the title series, when Boston beat Syracuse 3-0 and St. Louis beat Minneapolis 3-0.
Of all the 3-0 series leads in NBA history, this one might be the most unexpected &mdash; a No. 8 seed in the Heat, a team that struggled just to get into the playoffs, a team that was less than 3 minutes away from being eliminated in the play-in tournament, getting past top-seeded Milwaukee in five games, then fifth-seeded New York in six, and now on the brink of denying the No. 2-seeded Celtics a second consecutive East crown.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
Gabe Vincent TOOK OVER Game 3! 🔥 29 points (playoff career high) 🔥 6 threes (playoff career high) 🔥 11-14 shooting MIA can clinch Finals berth Tuesday on TNT <a href="https://t.co/iBylN4kBlf">pic.twitter.com/iBylN4kBlf</a>
&mdash; NBA (@NBA) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBA/status/1660480494578835456?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 22, 2023</a></blockquote>

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

<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://twitter.com/naveenganglani/status/1660465686827917312?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">And the Heat let Boston know</a>&nbsp;how much they were enjoying this one.
Mindful that Boston&rsquo;s Al Horford directed a timeout signal toward the Miami bench during Game 1 when the Celtics were on a second-quarter spurt to build a comfortable lead, Butler did the same to Horford as the Heat were running away in the third quarter of Game 3.
Besides, the Heat rallied to win Game 1 anyway. There was no rally required in Game 3 by the Heat. There was barely one attempted by the Celtics, for that matter.
Boston got within 61-49 when Marcus Smart had a three-point play on the opening possession of the second half. The rest was all Miami, which immediately answered with a 28-7 run to open a 33-point lead at 89-56, which had the building rolling. The lead was so big, and there was so much time left, that the sellout crowd of 20,088 actually was subdued a bit by the time it was over.
They might have been yelled-out. Or maybe they were saving it for hockey on Monday night, when the Florida Panthers &mdash; another No. 8 seed on a magical playoff run in South Florida &mdash; will try to take a 3-0 lead in their East finals series against the Carolina Hurricanes.
TIP-INS
Celtics: Robert Williams made his first shot, meaning he made 12 straight to start the series. He missed his second attempt. &hellip; The Heat encourage fans to wear white to playoff games, and Tatum also arrived in an all-white suit. &hellip; Smart appeared to throw a punch in the third quarter, but missed and after review referees determined he did not deserve a flagrant foul or a technical (which would have been his second of the night).
Heat: Robinson made five 3-pointers and now has 124 in his Heat postseason career, passing LeBron James (123) for the most in Miami history. ... Butler&rsquo;s steal with 7:17 left in the first quarter was the 2,000th in Heat postseason history. &hellip; Shaquille O&rsquo;Neal, at the game as part of the TNT broadcast crew, greeted former teammate (and now Heat executive) Alonzo Mourning and got a long ovation when introduced during a second-quarter time out. ... Vincent&rsquo;s previous career best was 28, set in a Jan. 12 win over Milwaukee.
CONFUSED DOLPHINS?
Miami Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel, a regular at Heat games this season, tried to get the pregame crowd going by waving one of the giveaway towels. Dolphins defensive lineman Christian Wilkins was at the game &mdash; wearing green shoes on a night Miami was playing the Celtics, though it should be noted he was born in Massachusetts.
LOVE HURT
Miami&rsquo;s Kevin Love checked out 4:47 into the game after what the Heat said was an undisclosed ankle injury. He went to the Heat locker room for evaluation, returned to the bench area later in the first half, and started the second half.
QUOTABLE
&ldquo;The lack of mental toughness. It&rsquo;s embarrassing &hellip; that was an embarrassment for the Celtics.&rdquo; &mdash; TNT&rsquo;s Charles Barkley at halftime, with Boston trailing 61-46 and after being down by as many as 22 points.

The Miami Heat moved one win from the NBA Finals after rolling past the Boston Celtics 128-102 on Sunday night.

Heat roll past Celtics 128-102, take 3-0 lead in Conference Finals

The Phoenix Suns fired Monty Williams on Saturday, two years after reaching the NBA Finals and a year after he was the overwhelming choice as the coach of the year.
Williams had great success in his four regular seasons in Phoenix, winning 63% of his games. But three consecutive years of playoff frustration was likely too much for the Suns to overlook &mdash; especially after two straight years of Phoenix trailing by 30 points at halftime of elimination games at home.
ESPN and The Athletic first reported the decision.
&ldquo;Monty has been foundational to our success over the past four seasons,&rdquo; said James Jones, the Suns&rsquo; president of basketball operations and general manager. &ldquo;We are filled with gratitude for everything Monty has contributed to the Suns and to the Valley community.&rdquo;
Jones also said he made the decision to fire Williams.
The Suns had a 2-0 lead in the 2021 NBA Finals, only to lose in six games. They lost in the second round in each of the last two seasons, both times in an embarrassing home finale &mdash; last year to Dallas, this year to Denver.
&ldquo;Neither day feels good,&rdquo; Williams said after the loss earlier this week to Denver, when asked to compare last season&rsquo;s debacle to this year&rsquo;s season-ending loss.
Saturday likely didn&rsquo;t feel good, either.
The Suns now become yet another high-profile coaching opening, after Toronto fired Nick Nurse and Milwaukee fired Mike Budenholzer. Nurse won the 2019 NBA title with the Raptors, while Budenholzer was the coach who overcame Phoenix&rsquo;s 2-0 lead in the 2021 finals.
It&rsquo;s the second major move made by the Suns in the three months or so since new owner Mat Ishbia closed the sale that gave him control of the club. In February, Ishbia green-lighted a blockbuster trade that brought Kevin Durant to Phoenix and gave the Suns a core &mdash; him, Devin Booker, former No. 1 pick Deandre Ayton and Chris Paul &mdash; that the team hoped would be enough to deliver a title.
It just didn&rsquo;t work, at least, not this year. Paul got hurt in the playoffs to continue his run of bad luck on the health front in the postseason, Ayton sat out the finale and Booker and Durant simply looked gassed by the time it was over.
Williams, after the season ended, blamed himself.
&ldquo;I take that personally, not having our team ready to play in the biggest game of the year,&rdquo; Williams said. &ldquo;That&rsquo;s something that I pride myself on and it just didn&rsquo;t happen. ... That&rsquo;s something I have to take a deep look at, everything I&rsquo;m doing.&rdquo;
Williams had been the coach with the fifth-longest tenure with his current team entering Saturday &mdash; just four years. Gregg Popovich has been coach in San Antonio since 1996, Erik Spoelstra in Miami since 2008, Steve Kerr in Golden State since 2014 and Michael Malone in Denver since 2015.
Phoenix becomes the fourth team to currently have an opening, along with the Raptors, Bucks and Detroit Pistons.
Of the last nine coaches to take a team to the NBA Finals, only Kerr and Spoelstra are still with the franchise they got to the title series.
The others &mdash; Boston&rsquo;s Ime Udoka, the Los Angeles Lakers&rsquo; Frank Vogel, Cleveland&rsquo;s David Blatt and Tyronn Lue, along with Budenholzer, Nurse and now Williams -- have all been fired by the team that they brought to the finals.
&ldquo;When you look at really good coaches who have lost their jobs shortly after winning a championship, that&rsquo;s something that is just different about our business,&rdquo; Williams said Friday, adding that &ldquo;it&rsquo;s just a part of our NBA economy.&rdquo;
The Suns started 16-7 this season, looking every bit like a contender again. They were only 29-30 the rest of the way.
They used 26 starting lineup combinations, and had Durant for only eight regular-season games after the trade. They had to wait about a month after acquiring him for a January knee injury to heal, and then as he warmed up for what was supposed to be his home opener with the Suns on March 8 he slipped on the court during warm-ups, hurt an ankle and missed three more weeks.
The Suns were 12-1 in Durant&rsquo;s first 13 appearances, five of those in the playoffs. And then they went 2-4 against the Nuggets, all four losses by double figures.
And Williams took the fall.
Williams was second in the official NBA coach of the year balloting in 2021, behind New York&rsquo;s Tom Thibodeau. He was the coach of the year that season as chosen by his peers in the National Basketball Coaches Association.
A year later, Williams was the NBA&rsquo;s winner &mdash; and the NBCA one yet again.
Now, he&rsquo;s out, and the Suns will start anew.
This was Williams&rsquo; ninth season as a head coach, after a five-season run with New Orleans from 2010 through 2015. He was 194-115 with the Suns &mdash; an NBA-best 168-76 since the start of the restart bubble near Orlando to end the 2020 season.
Phoenix became one of the feel-good stories of the bubble, going 8-0 to narrowly miss out on what would have been a most improbable playoff appearance. Williams got elected as coach of the bubble &mdash; &ldquo;coach of the seeding games&rdquo; was the official NBA award &mdash; and was a four-time Coach of the Month in his tenure with the Suns as well.
That started the run of success. Paul got traded to the Suns in November 2020, the franchise&rsquo;s first finals trip since 1993 was how that season ended, and last season&rsquo;s 64-18 mark was the best in Suns history.
In his nine seasons overall, he&rsquo;s 367-336 in the regular season, plus 29-27 in the playoffs.

The Phoenix Suns fired Monty Williams on Saturday, two years after reaching the NBA Finals and a year after he was Coach of the Year.

Suns fire coach Monty Williams after 4 seasons with the club

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

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

NBA announces 78 Draft Combine participants, but no Victor Wembanyama

PHILADELPHIA (AP) &mdash; James Harden&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/76ers-celtics-nba-playoffs-0f96443546f1fdbeae8aeaa4ce146c76">showed in Game 1</a>&nbsp;he could still be as great once as he ever was in his prime. The Beard just overall these days isn&rsquo;t as great as he once was in his halcyon days with Houston.
Harden&rsquo;s occasional big postseason games for the 76ers &mdash; like the 45 points he dropped against Boston in a Game 1 win &mdash; now come with immediate fallout.
Like&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/76ers-celtics-nba-playoffs-2023-2b0c931791b7d48b403ead0c9c7e1813">Game 2</a>, when Harden shot 2 of 14 in a loss.
Or&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/celtics-76ers-embiid-mvp-tatum-brown-e5b065453c1bd57287e6655e0ffa351f">Game 3</a>, when Harden had 3-for-14 shooting for 16 points in, yes, another loss.
For those keeping score at home, Harden&rsquo;s 5-for-28 shooting the last two games is the worst for him over any two-game span in his career &mdash; that includes regular season or playoffs &mdash; in which he&rsquo;s attempted at least 20 shots.
Yikes.
It&rsquo;s no wonder the Celtics hold a 2-1 lead in the Eastern Conference semifinals ahead of Sunday&rsquo;s Game 4 in Philadelphia. It&rsquo;s also no wonder why the whispers have grown louder that Harden wants to finish his career with the Rockets. Lose Game 4, and it could be the last one in Philly for Harden &mdash; and with more games like the last two, would the Sixers really be that crushed to see him go?
Harden brushed off concerns about his play, especially his odd Game 3 tendency of passing on open looks.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;m pretty good on basketball instincts,&rdquo; Harden said. &ldquo;I know when to score. I know when to pass, so I&rsquo;m pretty sure a lot of it was the right play.&rdquo;
Harden took a so-called discount (opting out of a $47.4 million deal this season to sign a more team-friendly extension) to chase a championship with reigning MVP Joel Embiid and the Sixers. The 10-time All-Star has a $35.6 million player option for the 2023-24 season and he will likely decline it and chase more riches in another market.
Maybe circumstances change if the 76ers get past Boston and make a deep run.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s up to him to figure out how to best help us,&rdquo; Embiid said. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s fine. Sometimes you make them and sometimes you miss them. He made a lot of shots in Game 1. The last few games they haven&rsquo;t been going in. I have the trust in him to keep telling him to be aggressive and keep shooting.&rdquo;
But history is against Philly. Not just NBA history &mdash; teams that win Game 3 when a playoff series is tied 1-1 go on to win the series 73% of the time &mdash; but rivalry history. The Celtics eliminated the 76ers in the playoffs in 2020, 2018, 2012, 2002 and 1985. The Sixers haven&rsquo;t beat the Celtics in the playoffs since 1982 &mdash; a year before the Sixers won their last NBA championship.
Kevin Durant, Harden&rsquo;s former teammate during an ill-fated run in Brooklyn,&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/nuggets-suns-booker-durant-jokic-0469ef36ee77fe2eddb4dad8bce202b">scored 39 points</a>&nbsp;and the Phoenix Suns beat the Denver Nuggets 121-114 to cut Denver&rsquo;s lead to 2-1 in their Western Conference semifinal series. Devin Booker scored 47 points, shooting 20 of 25 from the field, including 5 of 8 from 3-point range, to keep the Suns alive headed into Sunday&rsquo;s Game 4 in Phoenix.
CELTICS AT 76ERS
Celtics lead 2-1. Game 4, 3:30 p.m. EDT, Sunday, ESPN
-- NEED TO KNOW: The 76ers are in trouble. Embiid is still achy, Harden is struggling and the Celtics clearly have Philly&rsquo;s number. The Celtics went 3-1 against the 76ers in the regular season and seem poised to repeat the feat in the playoffs. Not even the emotional carryover from Embiid&rsquo;s MVP ceremony helped the Sixers, as they quickly fell behind by 10 and never had the juice to fully recover.
&mdash; KEEP AN EYE ON: Jayson Tatum. He watched Embiid&rsquo;s ceremony from the locker room and said it &ldquo;kind of got me really ready to play.&rdquo; He scored a team-high 27 points after he was held to just seven points in Game 2. Tatum scored eight points only 4 minutes into Game 3. If he continues to play like he did in Game 3 &mdash; while teammate Jaylen Brown continues to harangue Harden &mdash; it could be another big day for Boston.
&mdash; INJURY WATCH: Grant Williams said he still hurt from taking an accidental boot from Embiid to the back of his head. Embiid isn&rsquo;t 100% yet as he plays through a sprained right knee.
&mdash; PRESSURE IS ON: 76ERS. The 76ers grabbed the early edge with a Game 1 win in Boston that earned them home-court advantage. They gave it right back in two straight losses where they&rsquo;ve mostly looked out of sorts against the Celtics.
NUGGETS AT SUNS
Nuggets lead 2-1. Game 4, 8 p.m. EDT, Sunday, ESPN
&mdash; NEED TO KNOW: The Suns won their first game of the series in Game 3 thanks to another huge effort from Devin Booker, who scored 47 points on 20 of 25 shooting. Kevin Durant added 39. They&rsquo;ll probably need a similar effort to win Game 4 considering 12-time All-Star point guard Chris Paul is expected to be out once again with a strained groin.
&mdash; KEEP AN EYE ON: The Jokic-Ayton matchup. Denver star Nikola Jokic had another huge game in Game 3 with 30 points, 17 assists and 17 rebounds. On the other hand, Ayton had arguably the worst game of his playoff career with just four points and nine rebounds in 26 minutes. Ayton was so ineffective that the former No. 1 overall pick was benched in favor of Jock Landale in the fourth quarter. The Suns still won but that&rsquo;s a trend that probably can&rsquo;t continue if Phoenix is going to win the series.
&mdash; INJURY WATCH: Outside of Phoenix&rsquo;s Paul, both teams are relatively healthy.
&mdash; PRESSURE IS ON: Booker. The three-time All-Star is averaging more than 36 points per game in these playoffs and its fairly clear that he has to continue his Hercules-style production if the Suns hope to advance.

The Celtics and Nuggets enter Sunday with 2-1 series leads over the 76ers and Suns.

Celtics, Nuggets seek 3-1 series leads over 76ers, Phoenix

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

NBA announces 242 early-entry candidates for 2023 NBA Draft

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

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

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

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) &mdash; Andrew Wiggins took an extended leave of absence from the Warriors when his family needed him, and now the Golden State forward feels like he can get back to playing basketball for the defending NBA champions.
Wiggins has rejoined the team and is working his way back to being able to play again. That won&rsquo;t be in the next few days, coach Steve Kerr said Tuesday.
Wiggins showed his signature smile with a shorter hair cut he said needed cleaning up a bit.
&ldquo;When you&rsquo;re in a certain situation and your family needs you, it requires your attention and your love, that&rsquo;s my first priority,&rdquo; Wiggins said. &ldquo;My career, everything, family&rsquo;s always first for me. It will always be that way. I felt like I was in a safe space to come back. We&rsquo;ve got everything settled, not fully settled, but in a safe place where I can come back.&rdquo;
Wiggins said he appreciated the Warriors&rsquo; support in allowing him to be there for his family during a crucial time. Wiggins expressed gratitude to everyone that respected his privacy and said he is comfortable resuming basketball.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;d rather keep that private,&rdquo; Wiggins said when it comes to specifics surrounding his family&rsquo;s ordeal.
He was able to get regular workouts done, shooting and lifting weights but said he will need to regain some conditioning. The medical staff will be involved in deciding when Wiggins has built up the stamina and endurance to get back into game action.
Wiggins was set to miss his 23rd straight game Tuesday night against Oklahoma City and hasn&rsquo;t played since Feb. 13 versus Washington, but said he expects to play again soon. There have been no details provided on what Wiggins was dealing with, nor had there been a timetable for his return other than Kerr saying last week he remained hopeful of Wiggins being back before the end of the season.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s good to see my bro!&rdquo; Klay Thompson said.
Offered Gary Payton II: &ldquo;Big Wiggs is back, yeah!&rdquo;
Warriors general manager Bob Myers and Kerr &mdash; and Wiggins offered his thanks, too &mdash; credited everyone involved who allowed Wiggins to handle his business without being bothered or feeling pressured about the basketball part. Wiggins watched games whenever he could.
&ldquo;What sometimes gets lost in professional sports, they&rsquo;re people, they have lives and family, and I know that sounds obvious but it sometimes gets lost,&rdquo; Myers said. &ldquo;But when you work here, at least how we do it, you get to know Andrew as a person, not just as a 20-point scorer, so when someone that you know or work with goes through something your first thought is: &lsquo;How can I help? Are you OK? Is there anything you need?&rsquo; In this case, Andrew needed to be away. Whatever he needed we wanted to support.&rdquo;
The Warriors will be thrilled to have him as they fight for their playoff positioning in the Western Conference and hope to avoid the play-in round.
&ldquo;It was great to see Andrew today. We missed him the last couple months,&rdquo; Kerr said. &rdquo;... Everyone loves Andrew, just having him back is fantastic.&rdquo;
Kerr said he expects to have a better idea in the next couple of days when Wiggins might be able to play and if so how many minutes that could be.
&ldquo;There&rsquo;s no way he&rsquo;s playing in the next few days I can tell you that,&rdquo; Kerr said, unsure what Wiggins&rsquo; role would be yet.
Wiggins has missed 43 games in all &mdash; three more with left foot soreness, 10 because of a strained adductor in his right thigh, and seven games with a non-COVID illness.
The 28-year-old Wiggins, a first-time All-Star last season who signed a four-year contract extension in October, is averaging 17.1 points, 5.0 rebounds and 2.3 assists in 37 games this season.
The Warriors never questioned giving Wiggins the time away he needed.
&ldquo;This was a really easy one, honestly,&rdquo; Kerr said, &ldquo;it&rsquo;s just being human.&rdquo;

Wiggins took an extended leave of absence when his family needed him, and now he feels like he can get back to playing basketball.

Andrew Wiggins rejoins Warriors, getting back into condition

PHOENIX (AP) &mdash; Devin Booker scored 27 points and the Phoenix Suns never trailed, beating the depleted San Antonio Spurs 115-94 on Tuesday night to clinch a playoff spot.
The Suns (44-35) won their sixth in a row, the longest current winning streak in the NBA. With one more victory in the final three games, Phoenix would assure itself of at least the No. 4 seed in the Western Conference and home-court advantage in the first round.
Chris Paul scored 22 points, while Deandre Ayton had 19 points and 11 rebounds. Kevin Durant scored 18 points and reserve Torrey Craig added 15.
The Suns are 7-0 when Durant has been in their lineup.
Malaki Branham led the Spurs with 21 points. Tre Jones scored 20, while Keita Bates-Diop and Sandro Mamukelashvili each had 13.
The Spurs (20-59) only dressed 10 players. They were without their top two scorers, Keldon Johnson (right foot sprain) and Devin Vassell (left knee). Also out for San Antonio were Zach Collins (finger), Jeremy Sochan (right knee soreness) and Romeo Langford (left adductor).
And during Tuesday&rsquo;s game, Doug McDermott played six minutes and limped off with an apparent knee injury. Dominick Barlow was hurt in a fourth-quarter collision, and starter Devonte&rsquo; Graham was helped to the locker room late in the game after hurting his leg.
San Antonio entered the night ranked last in scoring defense, having allowed 122.8 points per game. Phoenix came out roaring, shooting 63% in the first quarter in building a 42-25 lead. That&rsquo;s the most the Suns have scored in the first quarter this season, passing the 40 points against Chicago on March 3.
Booker had 14 points in the first quarter.
The Suns led by as many as 31 points in the second quarter and were up 69-51 at the half. Paul made 7 of 8 shots in the half to lead the Suns with 18 points. Phoenix shot 56% and San Antonio 38 percent, with the Suns outrebounding the Spurs 30-20.
The Spurs got within nine in the third quarter, but by the end of the period Phoenix was back ahead 97-76. Booker scored 13 in the quarter to lead Phoenix.
MUTUAL ADMIRATION
Suns coach Monty Williams played for Gregg Popovich with the Spurs and coached under him as well.
&ldquo;I just enjoy seeing him and I&rsquo;m grateful for the history I have with him,&rdquo; Williams said before the game. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m grateful that I get to tell people outside of basketball that I know Gregg Popovich as a man, as a mentor, as a friend.&rdquo;
Popovich may not have enjoyed Tuesday&rsquo;s result, but he too admires what Williams and the Suns have done.
No matter who&rsquo;s playing, Popovich said of Williams, &ldquo;He&rsquo;s gonna coach. He&rsquo;s going to do the same things, have the same standards, the same accountability. Kick &rsquo;em in the butt when necessary, put an arm around them and love &rsquo;em when necessary. He&rsquo;s a good man.&rdquo;
DURANT, TOO
Popovich coached the Olympic gold-medal team in 2021 and saw Durant from the same bench.
&ldquo;He was great. I love him,&rdquo; Popovich said. &ldquo;How do you stop him? You can&rsquo;t. There&rsquo;s no way you can stop him. Now you can double-team him, and he&rsquo;s smart enough to give it up. No matter what happens, they&rsquo;ll figure out what they need to do.&rdquo;
NEXT
Spurs: Play Portland on Thursday in Austin, Texas.
Suns: Host Denver Thursday.

The Suns (44-35) won their sixth in a row, the longest current winning streak in the NBA.

Suns clinch playoff spot, rout injury-riddled Spurs 115-94

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) &ndash; Kevin Durant scored 35 points and the Phoenix Suns held off the Oklahoma City Thunder 128-118 on Sunday night for their fifth straight victory.
Durant &ndash; once a hero in Oklahoma City after leading the Thunder to the 2012 NBA Finals, but roundly booed nearly every time he touched the ball Sunday &ndash; scored 13 points in the fourth quarter, helping Phoenix hold the lead after Oklahoma City cut a 15-point deficit to three. The Suns are 6-0 with Durant in the lineup.
Devin Booker added 22 points and 10 assists for Phoenix, which shot 56.8% from the field to match its season high. Deandre Ayton had 19 points and 11 rebounds and Chris Paul had 16 points and eight assists. Phoenix remained fourth in the Western Conference standings.
Oklahoma City, which is battling for a spot in the NBA&rsquo;s play-in tournament, lost for the third time in its last four games despite 39 points from Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. The Thunder remained in the final play-in spot &ndash; 10th &ndash; a game ahead of the Dallas Mavericks, who lost to the Atlanta Hawks in overtime.
The Thunder led Phoenix seven points in the first quarter and were tied 27-27 entering the second quarter, but Oklahoma City surrendered a 42-point second quarter, matching the highest total by any opponent this season.
A 3-pointer by Isaiah Joe with 5:19 left pulled Oklahoma City to 109-106, but Durant hit a 3-pointer and Ayton followed with a put-back to make it 114-106 with 4:33 left. The Thunder came no closer than five points after that.
HONOR AND GRATITUDE
Phoenix coach Monty Williams was an assistant for the Thunder on Feb. 10, 2016, when his wife, Ingrid, died in a traffic accident in Oklahoma City.
After his pregame news conference Sunday, Williams took time to thank members of the Thunder organization &ndash; including general manager Sam Presti and Ayana Lawson, the team&rsquo;s vice president of community and lifestyle services &ndash; for their continued support.
&ldquo;We lost my wife here, and this city, and in particular, this organization, wrapped their arms around me and my family and they continue to do so, led by Sam Presti, the ownership here and Ayana Lawson,&rdquo; Williams said. &ldquo;Today would have been my wife&rsquo;s birthday and they chose to honor my wife today by not allowing anybody to sit in her seats.
&ldquo;When I found out this morning, it really messed me up because it really speaks to how blessed I am to do what I do and work for the people I work for and other people that I know and how much they care. &hellip; For them to do that today really speaks to this organization and this city.&rdquo;
TIP-INS
Suns: Phoenix&rsquo;s Damion Lee is one of 11 finalists for the NBA&rsquo;s Twyman-Stokes Teammate of the Year Award, which recognizes the player deemed the best teammate based on selfless play, on- and off-court leadership as a mentor and role model to other NBA players, and commitment and dedication to team.
Thunder: Gilgeous-Alexander, one of the league&rsquo;s top free-throw shooters at 90.6% entering the game, finished 17 of 17. &hellip; Josh Giddey scored 16 points.
UP NEXT
Suns: Host San Antonio on Tuesday night.
Thunder: At Golden State on Tuesday night.

Kevin Durant scored 35 points and the Suns held off the Thunder 128-118 on Sunday night for their fifth straight victory.

Kevin Durant scores 35 points, Suns roll past Thunder

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) &mdash; Shaedon Sharpe scored 27 points, Kevin Knox II added 19 points and the short-handed Portland Trail Blazers beat the playoff-hopeful Minnesota Timberwolves 107-105 on Sunday.
Trendon Watford had 15 points and Skylar Mays finished with 13 points and nine assists in his second game with Portland, which had lost 11 of 12 and was without four regular starters.
The Trail Blazers trailed by 12 late in the third quarter before rallying to beat Minnesota, which started the day ninth in the Western Conference.
&ldquo;Every single person that got out on that floor tonight, they gave it all they had and that&rsquo;s all I want from our guys,&rdquo; Portland coach Chauncey Billups said. &ldquo;To play as hard as you can, play unselfish and be a good teammate and see what happens.&rdquo;
Anthony Edwards scored 37 points for the Timberwolves, who have lost three in a row and started the day a half-game behind the Los Angeles Lakers and a game ahead of Oklahoma City for the 10th and the final play-in spot in the West.
&ldquo;We have too many guys not playing really well right now,&rdquo; Minnesota coach Chris Finch said. &ldquo;This was kind of who we&rsquo;ve been all season in these types of games and we do it again. You know, obviously, timing of it is extra painful, but we got to get guys playing better.&rdquo;
While they&rsquo;re in the running for the playoffs, the Timberwolves are 5-10 against the five teams with the worst records in the NBA.
&ldquo;We always fall short, it seems,&rdquo; Edwards said of struggles against the bottom teams. &ldquo;It always haunts us. And tonight, once again, yep.&rdquo;
Edwards&rsquo; dunk gave Minnesota an 84-72 lead with 3:37 left in the third quarter before the Trail Blazers went on a 19-4 run to take a fourth-quarter lead with 7:57 left. The Timberwolves shot 6 of 17 in the fourth and Portland outscored them by six.
&ldquo;I think we executed plays,&rdquo; said Mays, a 2020 second-round draft pick by Atlanta who signed a 10-day contract with the Trail Blazers on March 30. &ldquo;I think we defended and made shots tough on them and attacked mismatches. I thought we were pretty good.&rdquo;
Edwards put Minnesota ahead with 2:22 left, but Sharpe converted a lay-up on the other end. Sharpe, the rookie who was the No. 7 overall draft pick, scored six points during an 8-3 run.
&ldquo;He&rsquo;s just growing up, man,&rdquo; Billups said. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s just growing up and it&rsquo;s fun watching him.&rdquo;
Trailing by two, the Timberwolves couldn&rsquo;t get a clean shot off on their final possession as Anderson&rsquo;s wayward attempt landed on top of the backboard.
&ldquo;You have to have the appropriate fear in this league and a respect for, I don&rsquo;t want to say these type of teams, but the teams that ain&rsquo;t doing so well,&rdquo; Anderson said. &ldquo;We got to be able to handle business.&rdquo;
TOUGH FINISH
Portland was 26-26 on Feb. 3 and had won five of six, firmly in the playoff race. Five days later, the Blazers made moves at the trade deadline to acquire Knox, Cam Reddish, Matisse Thybulle and Ryan Arcidiacono while trading Josh Hart and Gary Payton Jr.
They went 5-17 following the trade deadline. Damian Lillard and Jusuf Nurkic have missed six games in a row, Anfernee Simons has been out for seven straight and Jerami Grant missed his 10th in a row on Sunday.
Without Reddish (lumbar soreness) and Nasir Little (left ankle sprain) on Sunday, the Trail Blazers were missing nine of their top 12 scorers in total points this season either due to injury or trades.
TIP-INS
Trail Blazers: Portland scored 21 points off 18 Minnesota turnovers. The Blazers only had 10 turnovers and also had 25 fast-break points. ... Jeenathan Williams made his Portland debut with seven points in 13 minutes.
Timberwolves: An illness has gone through the team. Edwards and Karl-Anthony Towns were questionable because of illness and Austin Rivers missed the game with the issue. Towns finished with eight points and nine rebounds in 25 minutes. ... Naz Reid missed his second game with a broken bone in his left wrist. ... Rudy Gobert had 10 points and 15 rebounds.
UP NEXT
Trail Blazers: At Memphis on Tuesday night.
Timberwolves: At Brooklyn on Tuesday night.

Shaedon Sharpe scored 27 points and the short-handed Blazers beat the playoff-hopeful Timberwolves 107-105 on Sunday.

Shaedon Sharpe scores 27 points, Blazers edge Timberwolves

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) &mdash; Luka Doncic finished with 25 points, seven rebounds and six assists just hours after his most recent technical foul and one-game suspension were rescinded Monday by the NBA and led the Dallas Mavericks past the Indiana Pacers 127-104.
The Mavericks snapped a four-game losing streak and remained in contention in the race for one of the final two play-in spots in the Western Conference. Kyrie Irving added 16 points and six assists for Dallas.
Indiana was led by Bennedict Mathurin, who scored 22 points, and Andrew Nembhard, who had 17 points, five rebounds and five assists on a night the Pacers were missing three starters and a key backup. The Pacers have lost three straight and six of eight as they move closer to locking up a lottery pick.
Doncic had picked up his 16th technical that was rescinded on Sunday in the team&rsquo;s second loss to Charlotte. The technical came with 7:51 remaining in the third quarter of a 110-104 loss when Doncic argued a no-call after missing a shot on a drive to the basket. Crew chief Kevin Scott said in a pool report after the game that Doncic used &ldquo;a profanity directed at the officials in protest to a no-call that was correctly judged in postgame video review.&rdquo;
TIMBERWOLVES 119, KINGS 115
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) &mdash; Jaden McDaniels scored 20 points and Minnesota spoiled Sacramento&rsquo;s bid to clinch a playoff berth for the first time since 2006, the longest playoff drought in NBA history.
The Timberwolves won their fourth straight and completed a sweep of a back-to-back set at Golden State and Sacramento to tie the Warriors for sixth place in the Western Conference playoff race.
Naz Reid scored 18 points, Anthony Edwards had 17 and Rudy Gobert had 16 points and 16 rebounds in the win.
De&rsquo;Aaron Fox scored 29 points and Domantas Sabonis added 24 points and 10 rebounds for Sacramento, which shot 5 of 26 from 3-point distance.
The Kings will look to clinch a playoff berth when they travel to Portland for two games, starting Wednesday.
CLIPPERS 124, BULLS 112
LOS ANGELES (AP) &mdash; Nicolas Batum got all of his season-high 24 points on eight 3-pointers, and Eric Gordon added 22 points as Los Angeles beat Chicago.
Kawhi Leonard scored 22 points as the Clippers rebounded from an embarrassing loss to New Orleans with 20 3-pointers in an impressive outside shooting display led by Batum.
Russell Westbrook had 12 points, 10 assists and five rebounds as Los Angeles (40-36) kept hold of fifth place in the Western Conference standings and moved a half-game behind fourth-place Phoenix.
Zach LaVine scored 23 points and Nikola Vucevic had 20 points and eight rebounds for the Bulls, who followed up their impressive win over the Lakers on Sunday with a dud.
NUGGETS 116, 76ERS 111
DENVER (AP) &mdash; Nikola Jokic recorded his 29th triple double of the season and Denver beat short-handed Philadelphia in a game Joel Embiid sat out with a sore right calf.
That scuttled the highly anticipated showdown between MVP front-runners that many felt could have decided whether Embiid, the runner-up the last two years, denies Jokic a third consecutive award. With Embiid in the locker room, Jokic scored 25 points, pulled down 17 rebounds and dished out 12 assists.
Tyrese Maxey scored 23 of his 29 points in the first half as the Sixers dropped their third straight.
PELICANS 124, TRAIL BLAZERS 90
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) &mdash; Brandon Ingram scored 29 points and New Orleans routed short-handed Portland.
CJ McCollum, who played nine seasons with the Blazers before he was traded to the Pelicans last season, added 17 points. Jonas Valanciunas finished with 10 points and 21 rebounds, and New Orleans led by as many as 36.
Keon Johnson had 20 points off the bench for the Blazers, who have lost nine of 10 and will, in all likelihood, miss the playoffs for the second straight season &mdash; although they have not been mathematically eliminated. Most of their regular starters were out with injuries, including top scorer Damian Lillard (right calf), Jerami Grant (bruised left quad), Jusuf Nurkic (right knee) and Anfernee Simons (right foot).
SUNS 117, JAZZ 103
SAT LAKE CITY (AP) &mdash; Devin Booker scored 24 points and Phoenix reserves sparked the decisive run in a win over Utah.
Deandre Ayton had 14 points after missing four games with a bruised hip. But a trio off the bench was pivotal for Phoenix: Terrence Ross had 13 points, Cameron Payne added 12 and Bismack Biyombo scored 11.
The Suns (40-35) had lost four in a row on the road. But with this victory they sit more securely in the fourth spot in the Western Conference playoff race &mdash; which would give them home-court advantage in the first round.
Lauri Markkanen scored 25 points for Utah, but shot 6 for 22. Walker Kessler had 18 points and eight rebounds for the Jazz (35-40), who have lost four straight. Kessler also matched a career high with seven blocks.
KNICKS 137, ROCKETS 115
NEW YORK (AP) &mdash; Immanuel Quickley scored a career-high 40 points and Julius Randle had 26 as New York snapped a three-game losing streak with a win over Houston.
RJ Barrett added 19 points, Obi Toppin had 15 and Quinten Grimes scored 14 for the Knicks.
Quickley connected on 14 of 18 shots from the field and added nine assists. He started in place of Jalen Brunson, who missed his second straight game with a bruised right hand.
Kevin Porter Jr. led the Rockets with 26 points. Jalen Green had 19 and Kenyon Martin Jr. added 18 as Houston dropped its sixth straight game.
BUCKS 126, PISTONS 117
DETROIT (AP) &mdash; Khris Middleton scored 34 points against the team that drafted him and Milwaukee beat Detroit without Giannis Antetokounmpo.
Milwaukee improved to an NBA-best 54-21 despite the absences of Antetokounmpo (knee) and Jae Crowder (calf). Goran Dragic made his Bucks debut after signing with the team on March 4, but didn&rsquo;t score in nine minutes.
Brook Lopez had 24 points and 14 rebounds, Bobby Portis added 21 points and 14 rebounds, and Jevon Carter scored 22.
The Pistons got 32 points, eight rebounds and eight assists from Jaden Ivey, but lost their sixth straight game and 17th of 18. They are 1-13 against Central Division opponents.

A recap of Monday's slate of NBA games includes Doncic keeping the Mavs playoff hopes alive and a fourth straight Wolves win.

Luka Doncic powers Mavericks to 127-104 win over Pacers

Princeton forward Tosan Evbuomwan spent his first three college seasons enduring one disappointment after another.
Reaching the NCAA Tournament and advancing to the Sweet 16 made it all worthwhile.
After the 2020 Ivy League Tournament was canceled, after the entire 2020-21 season was canceled, after losing by two points in the conference&rsquo;s 2022 tourney title game and after watching three friends transfer just to keep playing in 2022-23, this resilient 6-foot-8 Brit has taken the Tigers on their deepest NCAA Tournament run since 1967 and has emerged as survivor of one of college basketball&rsquo;s strangest journeys.
&ldquo;I think it did start with that COVID year,&rdquo; Evbuomwan said. &rdquo;There was a togetherness with that group. One of my favorite things about that time was the Zooms with one another, the Face Times, just talking about what we wanted the next season. We wanted a championship.&rdquo;
Now,&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/march-madness-princeton-3e7e64d87d64a24587f258af065e7ce0" target="_blank" rel="noopener">the Ivy League tourney champions are the talk of the nation</a>&nbsp;and an illustration of the impact two pivotal COVID years have had on the college basketball world.
Nobody outside the Princeton locker room expected this run &mdash; especially when three of last year&rsquo;s top five scorers left to take advantage of the NCAA&rsquo;s extra season. League rules allowed them only to use that season at a non-conference school.
But these Tigers pride themselves on perseverance. So instead of allowing the obstacles to derail their dreams or steal their spirit, they dug in, stuck around, forged a bond and finished the job.
&ldquo;We missed out on a whole year. That hurt, watching essentially every other team in the country play,&rdquo; Princeton guard Matt Allocco said. &ldquo;But I think it actually helped us in the long run. We were able to get together in the spring and practice, be with each other, build those relationships. It ended up being a great experience.&rdquo;
Not everyone remembers the COVID years fondly.
San Diego State and Dayton saw their 2020 title hopes dashed by the NCAA&rsquo;s announcement. Michigan State coach Tom Izzo thought he had a Final Four team, too.
Northern Kentucky coach Darrin Horn&rsquo;s long-awaited return to March Madness was extended by three more years, prompting him to acknowledge two weeks ago that winning the 2020 Horizon League crown almost seemed like it never happened.
There&rsquo;s no way to replace what was lost &mdash;&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/ncaa-march-madness-san-diego-state-charleston-orlando-0d6d6cd47a1ff1baa3bfb448286b0ff6" target="_blank" rel="noopener">even for this year&rsquo;s 16 regional semifinalists</a>.
Just ask San Diego State coach Brian Dutcher, whose team faces top-seeded Alabama on Friday in the Louisville Regional. The Aztecs were supposed to be a top-two seed three years ago.
&ldquo;As I said all those years ago, as good as Malachi Flynn and KJ Feagin and Yanni Wetzell were, they never played in the NCAA Tournament one time in their careers. That&rsquo;s unbelievable,&rdquo; Dutcher said. &ldquo;Sometimes we take for granted just going and losing in the first round. Just to have a chance to play would have meant the world to those guys so I feel bad for that, that they never got a taste of March Madness.&rdquo;
Meanwhile, at Creighton, it was a different scenario.
In 2021, the tourney provided the Bluejays with a bittersweet memory: Celebrating their first Sweet 16 appearance since 1974 inside the lonely Indianapolis &ldquo;bubble.&rdquo;
So when&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/march-madness-creighton-nembhard-d5b5da14046dffc8c7fb28e2f8b2da13" target="_blank" rel="noopener">sixth-seeded Creighton knocked off third-seeded Baylor 85-76 last weekend</a>&nbsp;to return to the Sweet 16, something suddenly felt far more satisfying about Friday&rsquo;s matchup against 15th-seeded Princeton in Louisville.
&ldquo;We had a lot of fans there to celebrate at the end of the game with us (in Denver) and then you go back to the hotel with family and friends and have a chance to celebrate rather than go back to your room and eat another piece of rubber chicken out of a Styrofoam box, which is what we did in Indianapolis,&rdquo; Creighton coach Greg McDermott said. &ldquo;To get to the Sweet 16 is a difficult thing to do, it was just a little more fun to celebrate that particular night.&rdquo;
What about 2021 national champion Baylor? Of course, the Bears had no complaints.
Kansas State coach Jerome Tang was an assistant on that title team and has used the lessons from that run as the model for his third-seeded Wildcats, who take on Izzo&rsquo;s seventh-seeded Spartans on Thursday at Madison Square Garden.
<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/march-madness-transfer-portal-0b9862a4e4e4b6da08ce56b3eb2c443a" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Tang believes the similarities in roster composition</a>&nbsp;will help Kansas State this weekend.
&ldquo;We spent 30 days in the &lsquo;bubble,&rsquo; right? And if you don&rsquo;t like each other, nobody wants to spend that amount of time together,&rdquo; Tang said. &ldquo;That team, we really liked each other. We loved being together. I mean, it was fun to be around them. I feel the same way around these guys. We could be in a bubble for 30 days and we&rsquo;ll be just fine. We&rsquo;re going to have a great time.&rdquo;
But nobody will have more fun than Princeton.
Just two years after watching everyone else&rsquo;s games, the Tigers need two wins to end a 48-year Final Four drought, two wins to become the first Ivy League team in the national semifinals since Penn in 1979 and two wins to cement their status as one of the greatest and most compelling advance-and-survive stories in tourney history.
And it might not have happened without Princeton&rsquo;s COVID experience.
&ldquo;Having to watch those games on TV, the tournament, hurt. I think looking back on it, it fueled us for the next year,&rdquo; Princeton guard Ryan Langborg said. &ldquo;I think this year, this Sweet 16 run so far, it&rsquo;s more than making up for it.&rdquo;

Princeton is on its deepest NCAA Tournament run since 1967 after surviving one of college basketball’s strangest journeys.

Princeton’s journey becomes face of March Madness’ COVID era

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) &mdash; The best story in this NCAA Tournament is a fairly ridiculous one.
For years, outsiders and even some of Fairleigh Dickinson&rsquo;s proud alumni have called the private, commuter school in Teaneck, New Jersey, by another name &mdash; an inside joke and pet moniker suggesting a reputation for partying.
Fairly Ridiculous. You bet.
That would certainly describe what the Knights, college basketball&rsquo;s smallest squad which includes some Division II players brought to FDU by Tobin Anderson, the team&rsquo;s fast-talking, first-year vagabond coach, have accomplished in a few days.
From underdogs to overnight sensations. March madmen.
Only in the NCAA field due to a technicality, Fairleigh Dickinson, which went 4-22 last season, won a First Four game in Dayton before the Friday night stunning 63-58 win over top-seeded Purdue. It was just the second No. 16 seed win over a No. 1 seed in men&rsquo;s tourney history.
The Knights awakened Saturday to a new world.
&ldquo;Life changing,&rdquo; said FDU forward Sean Moore, who scored 19 points and blocked a layup in the final seconds to help seal the win over Purdue. &ldquo;That whole game has changed everybody on our team, staff, students, everybody who goes to Fairleigh Dickinson University.
&ldquo;Everything is different now. Phone has been going crazy, still is.&rdquo;
Same for Anderson, who spent much of his morning doing national TV interviews following an upset that reverberated across the sports world.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve got, like, 1,200 unanswered texts right now,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;The problem each time I look at my phone it&rsquo;s more and more. My message, if anybody&rsquo;s listening, stop texting right now. Give me a chance to catch up.&rdquo;
Using their superior speed and quickness at both ends of the floor to fluster the Big Ten champion Boilermakers, FDU&rsquo;s players brought Purdue 7-foot-4 star center Zach Edey down to their level and advanced in the East Region.
On Sunday, the Knights (21-15) will face No. 9 seed Florida Atlantic (32-3), which nipped Memphis 66-65 in the final seconds late Friday night, for a spot in next week&rsquo;s Sweet 16 at Madison Square Garden in New York.
That possibility is almost too much for the 51-year-old Anderson to fathom.
&ldquo;I wouldn&rsquo;t have to fly back to Jersey,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I could jog back, take off running, be like Forrest Gump or something. That would be incredible.&rdquo;
Incredible may have already happened. FDU&rsquo;s feel-good story seems to have been pulled from a Hollywood movie script.
Over the past few days, Anderson, who was born in Iowa, played college ball in Connecticut and started his coaching career bouncing from one small college to another in upstate New York, has referenced &ldquo;Hoosiers&rdquo; several times. There are indeed parallels to the famous Indiana high school hoops miracle and what FDU is doing.
In May, Anderson took over a program in need of a massive renovation. Just hours after he was hired at Fairleigh Dickinson, he held his first practice and quickly realized the job would require patience along with an influx of talent.
He knew just where to find some, convincing four players on his team at St. Thomas Aquinas College, a Division-II power about 15 miles from New York, to join him at FDU.
One of them to make the leap was 5-foot-8 guard Demetre Roberts.
&ldquo;Coming out of high school, not having no D-I looks, I didn&rsquo;t pout,&rdquo; said Roberts, who had 12 points, four rebounds and four assists against Purdue. &ldquo;I didn&rsquo;t sit around and mope all day. I trusted coach. I trusted him all the way and I&rsquo;m still with him. And five years later, I&rsquo;m still here.&rdquo;
Not only did Anderson&rsquo;s sales pitch to enroll at FDU work, so did his proposal to the Knights on how to beat Purdue. They took the floor fully confident they could contain Edey despite being outsized, a 23 1/2 point underdog and a statistically deficient team.
&ldquo;We felt we could beat them ever since we were watching film, trying to prepare for them,&rdquo; said 6-foot-6 center Ansley Almonor, FDU&rsquo;s tallest player. &ldquo;We&rsquo;re all close. We&rsquo;re like brothers. That was just a regular game for us.
&ldquo;We felt we could go out there and beat them, and that&rsquo;s what we did.&rdquo;
The fact that the Knights are even in the tournament is another twist in their captivating tale. By all rights, they&rsquo;re a No 17 seed.
FDU lost the Northeast Conference tournament title game 67-66, but still received the league&rsquo;s automatic bid because champion Merrimack remains ineligible for postseason play after moving up from Division II to Division I.
Now, the Knights, who opened the tourney with an easy win over Texas Southern in Dayton, are 40 minutes and one win from being one of the last 16 teams standing.
Beating FAU, a team with a similar playing style and swagger to FDU&rsquo;s, will be tall task. But after taking out one of the nation&rsquo;s top players &mdash; a literal giant &mdash; nothing seems too big for this group.
&ldquo;They&rsquo;re not huge,&rdquo; Anderson said of the Owls. &ldquo;They&rsquo;re still bigger than us. Who is not bigger? There&rsquo;s five guys in the hallway bigger than us. But we&rsquo;ve got to box out, rebound, be tough, be scrappy.
&ldquo;We&rsquo;ll have to play really, really well, compete our tails off and hope they&rsquo;re maybe not quite as sharp. That&rsquo;s just the way it is. And it worked last night. We&rsquo;re hoping that it will help us tomorrow.&rdquo;

Only in the NCAA Tournament due to a technicality, Fairleigh Dickinson, which went 4-22 last season, has shocked the world.

FDU goes from underdog to overnight sensation with NCAA wins

DAYTON, Ohio (AP) &mdash; DJ Horne had 20 points and Arizona State raced to a big halftime lead and scored the most points ever in a First Four game, burying Nevada 98-73 on Wednesday night.
Desmond Cambridge Jr. &mdash; a Nevada transfer &mdash; scored 17 points as Arizona State (23-12) led 53-26 at the half and then kept up the pressure on the way to the rout. The first-half output was a season high for Arizona State, which advanced as a No. 11 seed to face TCU in a West Region first-round game on Friday in Denver.
Arizona State hit 67.7% of its shots from the floor and forced 10 turnovers in the first half, piling up a 22-2 run over eight minutes to pull away.
Will Baker scored 17 and Tre Coleman had 14 for the Wolf Pack (22-11). One of Nevada&rsquo;s top players, Kenan Blackshear, picked up three fouls early and sat on the bench for more than five minutes of the opening half. Averaging 14.4 per game, he was held to four points.
FAIRLEIGH DICKINSON 84, TEXAS SOUTHERN 61
DAYTON, Ohio (AP) &mdash; Ansley Almonor scored 23 points and Fairleigh Dickinson earned its first NCAA Tournament win in four seasons.
Fairleigh Dickinson shot 50% and advanced to the East Region to play top-seeded Purdue in Columbus, Ohio, on Friday.
Joe Munden Jr. scored 17 points, Demetre Roberts had 15, Grant Singleton finished with 13 and Sean Moore 10 for Fairleigh Dickinson (20-15).
John Walker III led Texas Southern (14-21) with 22 points. Joirdon Karl Nicholas added 10.

The First Four of the 2023 Men's NCAA Tournament concluded with victories by the Sun Devils and the Knights on Wednesday.

Arizona State races to early lead, beats Nevada 98-73

With five conference tournament finals capping a wild week of men's college hoops, Sunday afternoon officially marked the end of the 2022-23 men's college basketball regular season, which means only one thing: March Madness is upon us.
Princeton (Ivy), Virginia Commonwealth (A-10), Alabama (SEC), Purdue (Big Ten) and Memphis (AAC) punched their official ticket to the men's 2023 NCAA Tournament to round out the group of 32 receiving an automatic bid.
Those teams joined: Vermont (America East), Duke (ACC), Kennesaw State (ASUN), Texas (Big 12), Marquette (Big East), Montana State (Big Sky), UNC Asheville (Big South), UC Santa Barbara (Big West), College of Charleston (CAA), Florida Atlantic (C-USA), Northern Kentucky (Horizon), Iona (MAAC), Kent State (MAC), Howard (MEAC), Drake (Missouri Valley), San Diego State (Mountain West), Fairleigh Dickinson (Northeast), Southeast Missouri State (Ohio Valley), Arizona (Pac-12), Colgate (Patriot), Furman (Southern), Texas A&amp;M Corpus Christi (Southland), Texas Southern (SWAC), Oral Roberts (Summit), Louisiana (Sun Belt), Gonzaga (WCC), Grand Canyon (WAC).
The selection committee revealed at 6 p.m. that the No. 1 overall seed is Alabama. The other three top seeds are Houston, Kansas and Purdue.
The First Four in Dayton will consist of a 16-seed matchup between Texas A&amp;M Corpus Christi and Southeast Missouri State plus an 11-seed matchup between Mississippi State and Pittsburgh. In the other two games, there will be a 16-seed matchup between Texas Southern and Fairleigh Dickinson and an 11-seed matchup between Arizona State and Nevada.
Who else was invited to join The Big Dance on the road to the Final Four in Houston?
Following Selection Sunday, here is the official field of 68 in the men's 2023 NCAA Tournament:
South Region
(1) Alabama Crimson Tide vs. (16) Texas A&amp;M Corpus Christi Islanders/Southeast Missouri State Redhawks
(8) Maryland Terrapins vs. (9) West Virginia Mountaineers
(5) San Diego State Aztecs vs. (12) College of Charleston Cougars
(4) Virginia Cavaliers vs. (13) Furman Palladins
(6) Creighton Blue Jays vs. (11) NC State Wolfpack
(3) Baylor Bears vs. (14) UC Santa Barbara Gauchos
(7) Missouri Tigers vs. (10) Utah State Aggies
(2) Arizona Wildcats vs. (15) Princeton Tigers
Midwest Region
(1) Houston Cougars vs. (16) Northern Kentucky Norse
(8) Iowa Hawkeyes vs. (9) Auburn Tigers
(5) Miami Hurricanes vs. (12) Drake Bulldogs
(4) Indiana Hoosiers vs. (13) Kent State Golden Flashes
(6) Iowa State Cyclones vs. (11) Mississippi State Bulldogs/Pittsburgh Panthers
(3) Xavier Musketeers vs. (14) Kennesaw State Owls
(7) Texas A&amp;M Aggies vs. (10) Penn State Nittany Lions
(2) Texas Longhorns vs. (15) Colgate Raiders
West Region
(1) Kansas Jayhawks vs. (16) Howard Bison
(8) Arkansas Razorbacks vs. (9) Illinois Fighting Illini
(5) Saint Mary's Gaels vs. (12) VCU Rams
(4) UConn Huskies vs. (13) Iona Gaels
(6) TCU Horned Frogs vs. (11) Arizona State Sun Devils/Nevada Wolfpack
(3) Gonzaga Bulldogs vs. (14) Grand Canyon Antelopes
(7) Northwestern Wildcats vs. (10) Boise State Broncos
(2) UCLA Bruins vs. (15) UNC Asheville Bulldogs
East Region
(1) Purdue Boilermakers vs. (16) Texas Southern Tigers/Fairleigh Dickinson Knights
(8) Memphis Tigers vs. (9) Florida Atlantic Owls
(5) Duke Blue Devils vs. (12) Oral Roberts Golden Eagles
(4) Tennessee Volunteers vs. (13) Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns
(6) Kentucky Wildcats vs. (11) Providence Friars
(3) Kansas State Wildcats vs. (14) Montana State Bobcats
(7) Michigan State Spartans vs. (10) USC Trojans
(2) Marquette Golden Eagles vs. (15) Vermont Catamounts
THE BRACKET
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THE BRACKET 🙌<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/MarchMadness?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#MarchMadness</a> <a href="https://t.co/HZYnwD3s3x">pic.twitter.com/HZYnwD3s3x</a>
&mdash; NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) <a href="https://twitter.com/MarchMadnessMBB/status/1635049575483580416?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 12, 2023</a>
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</blockquote>

An overview of the official men's 2023 NCAA Tournament schedule and March Madness matchups on the road to Houston.

2023 NCAA Tournament: Men's field of 68 teams announced

BOSTON (AP) &mdash; Jayson Tatum scored 30 points and made six 3-pointers, and the Boston Celtics beat the Portland Trail Blazers 115-93 to snap a three-game losing streak Wednesday night.
Tatum&rsquo;s 36th game this season with 30 or more points helped the Celtics avoid their first four-game losing streak. Derrick White added 21 points and five assists. Al Horford finished with 17 points, six rebounds and assists.
The Celtics played without big man Robert Williams for the third straight game as he recovers from a strained left hamstring. But they got back Tatum and Horford, who sat out Monday&rsquo;s overtime loss at Cleveland nursing a sore knee and back, respectively.
Both were active during an 18-7 second quarter run that gave Boston a 53-35 cushion. The lead grew to 23 points (94-72) at the end of the third and as high as 27 the fourth.
Damian Lillard scored 27 points and had eight assists to lead the Blazers, who dropped to 14-20 on the road. Jerami Grant added 13 points.
Blazers center Jusuf Nurkic returned after a 14-game absence with a left calf strain. He&rsquo;d been sidelined since Feb. 1. He started and had five points and six rebounds in 17 minutes.
Portland is 2-2 during its current six-game road trip.
The Blazers began the night 12th in the Western Conference standings, but very much in contention to make the play-in tournament. They had the same record as the Thunder (11th) and Pelicans (10th), and were just one game behind the ninth-place Lakers.
WILLIAMS MAKING TRIP
Williams will travel with Boston to begin its six-game road trip Saturday at Atlanta. Coach Joe Mazzulla said the hope is Williams will be able to return in the original 7 to 10 days that was projected after he was injured during the Celtics&rsquo; win over Brooklyn on March 3.
MOVING ON
Celtics forward Grant Williams said before the game he isn&rsquo;t worried about any lingering effects after he missed a pair of potential go-ahead free throws in Boston&rsquo;s overtime loss at Cleveland on Monday.
Before the shots, Williams was captured on camera jawing with Cavs All-Star Donovan Mitchell, telling him, &ldquo;I&rsquo;m going to make both of them.&rdquo;
&ldquo;I felt like I was super locked in and focused, even the confidence of saying you&rsquo;ll make them both,&rdquo; Williams told reporters. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s funny because when you say that and miss both, it&rsquo;s even funnier.&rdquo;
Williams had eight points, but missed his lone free-throw attempt.
TIP-INS
Trail Blazers: Were outscored 25-17 in the second quarter, shooting 4 of 17 from the field (24%). ... Lillard started the game hitting a pair of 3-pointers. He finished the first period by missing four of his final six shots.
Celtics: Payton Pritchard sat with left heel pain. ... Horford knocked down two 3s in the first quarter to move past Isaiah Thomas (460) for ninth place on the franchise&rsquo;s all-time list. With a layup in the first quarter, Marcus Smart became the 25th player in team history to score 6,000 points. ... Started the game 9 of 15 from 3 before missing 12 straight to end the first half. &hellip; Celtics led 35-28 at the end of the first, shooting 58% (11 of 19).
UP NEXT
Trail Blazers: At 76ers on Friday.
Celtics: At Atlanta on Saturday.

Jayson Tatum scored 30 points and made six 3s, and the Celtics beat the Blazers 115-93 to snap a 3-game losing streak Wednesday.

Jayson Tatum scores 30 to help Celtics power past Blazers 115-93

DALLAS (AP) &mdash; Kevin Durant&rsquo;s tiebreaker jumper was like so many before &mdash; right on target in the closing seconds.
Luka Doncic&rsquo;s potential tying floater moments later in front of the rim was unlike most of his &mdash; spinning around and out.
What happened next was familiar &mdash; a little bad blood from last season&rsquo;s playoff series spilling, with Doncic and Devin Booker nose-to-nose before getting double technicals.
Durant scored 37 points, including the&nbsp;go-ahead shot, to lift the Phoenix Suns to a 130-126 victory over the Dallas Mavericks on Sunday in a thrilling showcase of stars for both teams.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
KD (35 PTS) FOR THE LEAD 😱 128-126 SUNS WITH 0:11 LEFT ON ABC <a href="https://t.co/sgNLuGArLn">pic.twitter.com/sgNLuGArLn</a>
&mdash; NBA (@NBA) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBA/status/1632480052326592512?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 5, 2023</a></blockquote>

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The first meeting between Durant and Dallas&rsquo; Kyrie Irving since they were traded by Brooklyn before the deadline last month was even at 126-all when Durant pulled up over Tim Hardaway Jr. and Irving, who scrambled over for the double team when Durant went to his left.
Too late.
&ldquo;Nobody&rsquo;s ever going to retreat when they guard me,&rdquo; Durant said. &ldquo;So sometimes I&rsquo;ve got to veer off instead of straight-line driving it. I felt like I had a good handle on the ball. Once I had it on my hip I felt like I was in good position to stop on a dime."
Irving scored 30 points exactly four years to the day since the last time he faced Durant, when his Boston Celtics blew out Durant and his Golden State Warriors 128-95.
Doncic had 34 points and nine rebounds before the point-blank shot that could have tied it. He grabbed Durant for a foul after the rebound with 3.5 seconds remaining.
After the foul, Doncic and Booker, who scored 36 points, pushed and jawed at each other as officials and team personnel separated them before Durant&rsquo;s two clinching free throws.
It was the 14th technical of the season for Doncic, two away from a one-game suspension.
The teams finished tied 2-2 in the season series, with playoff seedings in the Western Conference wide open below top-seeded Denver.
The bunched-up standings could mean an early rematch from last season&rsquo;s West semifinals, when Doncic and the Mavs blew out Booker, Chris Paul and the Suns in Game 7 in Phoenix.
A photo of a&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://www.sportingnews.com/us/nba/news/luka-doncic-devin-booker-smile-meme/qseo7xnxvi6jeboxijofp5q1" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">goofy-grinning Doncic looking at Booker</a>&nbsp;went viral after that series. The last regular-season meeting of 2022-23 brought more tension.
&ldquo;I loved it,&rdquo; said Hardaway, who scored 18 of his 21 points in the first half and was 6 of 8 on 3-pointers. &ldquo;I know 77 isn&rsquo;t going to back down from anybody. It was bound to happen at some point, them coming face to face. Just happy it happened here at home.&rdquo;
Booker said he was talking to the official, but Doncic was skeptical.
&ldquo;Based on the words, I don&rsquo;t think so,&rdquo; Doncic said.
Because Booker said he was talking to an official, the Phoenix star believed Doncic said something first with his expletive-laced message.
&ldquo;You guys say you don&rsquo;t want everybody to be friendly-friendly, there you go,&rdquo; Booker said. &ldquo;We got some smoke.&rdquo;
Paul scored eight of his 11 points in the fourth quarter for one of several tiebreaking or go-ahead buckets for both teams.
Phoenix two-way player Ish Wainwright, who was a role player 100 miles (160 km) down the road from Dallas at Baylor before a brief stint as a tight end for the Bears, went 4 for 5 from 3-point range in the second half for 12 points. The last of those 3s put the Suns up two with 2:07 remaining.
Durant was 12 of 17 from the field and 10 of 11 from the line in his first 30-point performance in three games since joining the Suns in a blockbuster deal with the Nets that came days after the Mavs acquired Irving.
Phoenix is 3-0 with Durant, while Dallas dropped to 3-6 since Irving joined the club. The Mavs are 2-3 on a six-game homestand, their longest of the season.
TIP-INS
Suns: Josh Okogie was 0 of 8 on mostly corner 3s when Torrey Craig hit one from the left corner and Wainwright dropped two in a row from the right corner to turn Phoenix&rsquo;s 93-85 deficit into a 94-93 lead late in the third quarter. ... Deandre Ayton had nine points and 16 rebounds. Just three of the points came after the opening minutes, but two were on a putback during the frantic final minute.
Mavericks: F/C Maxi Kleber was inactive after playing two games coming off a hamstring tear that had sidelined him since December. ... F Davis Bertans (left calf strain) was available for the first time since Feb. 2.
THIGH ISSUE
Doncic left the court in the second quarter for treatment on a left thigh issue that he said has been affecting him for about a week. He said this was the worst the injury had felt but that it didn&rsquo;t affect the missed shot late.
35 TIMES TWO
Durant and Booker are the first Phoenix teammates to score at least 35 points in the same game since Booker did it with TJ Warren in 2017.
UP NEXT
Suns: Play Oklahoma City at home Wednesday.
Mavericks: Play Utah on Tuesday to finish the six-game homestand.

Durant scored 37 points, including the go-ahead shot, lifting the Suns to a 130-126 victory over the Mavericks on Sunday.