Lions

We've reached the Conference Finals, which means that only four teams remain in the NBA Playoffs.
The Eastern Conference's top two teams, the Miami Heat and Boston Celtics, will clash in what's sure to be a physical series, while the Golden State Warriors and Dallas Mavericks are set to square off in a highly-anticipated battle that will feature two incredible offensive talents.
With only those aforementioned franchises remaining, we asked our BasketballNews.com staff:
How would you rank the five best players remaining in the NBA Playoffs?
Alex Kennedy
This is tough, but I think I'll go:&nbsp;
1. Luka Doncic
2. Stephen Curry
3. Jayson Tatum
4. Jimmy Butler&nbsp;
5. Bam Adebayo&nbsp;
After what Luka has done through two rounds, I feel very confident putting him at No. 1. Curry and Tatum are a toss-up for me; if someone had Tatum at No. 2 and Curry at No. 3, I wouldn't be mad at it. Butler is a two-way force who <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/jimmy-butler-is-a-16game-player" target="_blank" rel="noopener">elevates his game a ton in the postseason</a>, so he's No. 4.
This is where it gets interesting. Adebayo, Jaylen Brown and Draymond Green each have a case, but give me Adebayo because of <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/bam-adebayo-stands-at-the-core-of-the-heats-secondround-dominance" target="_blank" rel="noopener">how well he's played on both ends of the floor</a> so far during the playoffs. I think he's poised for a big series against the Celtics.
Spencer Davies
1. Jayson Tatum: In five seasons and as many consecutive playoff appearances, this man has played the elite of the elite at 19 years ol... okay, that joke will never get old, but in all honesty, we&rsquo;ve got to admit that the total package is consistently there for Tatum. He is in a place where he&rsquo;s just making his teammates better night-in and night-out. He&rsquo;s gone up against greats like LeBron James, Kevin Durant and Giannis Antetokounmpo, and has not flinched, matching them shot for shot. Because of those experiences and the steady manner in which he&rsquo;s played this postseason on both sides of the ball, I give Tatum the slight edge over the next guy...
2. Luka Doncic: The first time Luka doesn&rsquo;t draw the Los Angeles Clippers in the postseason, he gets to the Western Conference Finals, eh? Without the prisoner-of-the-moment thing, it speaks volumes about how Luka&rsquo;s just had that big-game mentality since he was overseas. He&rsquo;s just a little bigger and stronger now. Same confidence and everything; he has not changed his energy one iota. His offensive impact is so substantial that the defensive woes are cast aside. If he can figure out how to defend a lick, it won&rsquo;t be long before he tops this particular list.
3. Steph Curry: Don&rsquo;t let one off-series and a &ldquo;down&rdquo; shooting season blind you from the fact that Steph is Steph. He&rsquo;s constantly in motion, always making defenders stay attached to him, which in turn makes life easier for his teammates. Then, there&rsquo;s the way he always closes games and goes into that mode where he could shoot from the front row on the opposite side of the floor and it wouldn&rsquo;t touch iron. Until there&rsquo;s any sign of regression, I don&rsquo;t bet against Steph.
4. Jimmy Butler: I hate rankings because four seems so cruel. Butler&rsquo;s been a stone-cold killer in the playoffs except for last postseason. I&rsquo;ll refer you to <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/jimmy-butler-is-a-16game-player" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Bryan Fonseca&rsquo;s article about that specific stretch</a>. Otherwise, Jimmy&rsquo;s one of those guys who will rip your heart out in attack mode. He&rsquo;s damn gritty, plays the right way and leads by example &mdash; late-season war of words be damned.
5. Bam Adebayo: Five is probably the spot most up for debate. It&rsquo;s all love for Draymond Green, Jaylen Brown and Klay Thompson. But with Adebayo, he is a load to handle athletically on either end, presents all kinds of matchup problems and can impact the game in a multitude of ways, as ambigouous as that sounds. (Green&rsquo;s probably my runner-up here because of the way Golden State ticks when he&rsquo;s on the floor).
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Ethan Fuller
This is definitely a challenge.&nbsp;
1. Steph Curry: Even after a second-round slump, I still would take a red-hot Curry game over any other player remaining.
2. Jayson Tatum: Tatum gets the edge over Luka Doncic by gapping him on the defensive end.
3. Luka Doncic
4. Jimmy Butler
5. Draymond Green: I almost went with Bam Adebayo over Draymond Green, and I think you could make the case either way.
Bryan Fonseca
1. Luka Doncic: He's the best player left standing despite the fact that his team is the weakest. Maybe the Dallas Mavericks are a better version of the 2006-07 Cleveland Cavaliers and he's *that* LeBron James. Let's remember that Doncic was All-Tournament at EuroBasket at age-18, which Slovenia won for the first time ever. He also is responsible for leading Slovenia into the Olympics for the first time ever this past summer, where they nearly medaled. They jumped from barely top-20 to firmly top-five in the world. That man can lift a team like few others.
2. Steph Curry: He's still the best shooter in the world and still one of the best players in the league. He hasn't been as good as a couple others we're about to get to, but is still *that dude* more often than not. The Warriors are the title favorites now, and it starts with The Chef.
3. Jimmy Butler: He is the most underrated star in the NBA, and historically &mdash; outside of last season &mdash; is better in the playoffs going back to his days as a Chicago Bull. He was primarily responsible for the only non-Kevin Garnett-led Minnesota Timberwolves playoff berth until this season. Every team he left got worse, and every team he joined got better.
4. Jayson Tatum: After Luka, he's the man most knocking on the door of "next" left in the playoffs. The best four talents of these playoffs have been, up to now, Luka, Giannis, Butler and Tatum.
5. Bam Adebayo: This is with massive respect to Jaylen Brown. Bam is not only the best defender left in the playoffs but the most consistent. For all the talk about lack of aggression, he averages nearly 20 and 10 offensively as a third option. Yes, he's capable of more offensively than he's shown in the playoffs, but he typically does well against the Celtics. Expect more in the Eastern Conference Finals.
Matt John
1. Luka Doncic: He just eviscerated a 64-win team coming off a NBA Finals appearance in the most pivotal game of the season against multiple stingy wing defenders, including the Defensive Player of the Year runner-up. He played like he knew it too. He is the best player left in these playoffs until proven otherwise.
2. Steph Curry: He's the deadliest man from three in a league that values threes now more than ever. Now that his foot injury is firmly behind him, the Warriors will go as far as his deadly three-point accuracy will take them. Fun fact: This is Steph's first Western Conference Finals berth sans Kevin Durant in six years.
3. Jayson Tatum: He just went toe-to-toe with the most unstoppable player in the league and reigning champion, and came up victorious. Not only that, but he put the Celtics on his back when they were down for the count. The talent was always there. The growth in mental fortitude is what's eye-opening.
4. Jimmy Butler: What he doesn't have in talent compared to the other three he makes up for in grit. If there's one player in the league who's willing to get his hands dirty to get the win, it's Butler. All things considered, he provided a substantial return on investment for Miami, as this is their second Eastern Conference Finals berth in three years with him.
5. Bam Adebayo: The DPOY candidate has kept it going in these playoffs, having stopped the talented (albeit badly injured) Joel Embiid. Adebayo is the quintessential modern big in this league. He may not fill up the stat sheet like most stars do, but he makes up for it by winning games.
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Evan Sidery
1. Luka Doncic: After what I just witnessed Luka do in-person against the Phoenix Suns, it felt like a <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/luka-doncic-enters-into-next-tier-of-nba-superstars-following-western-conference-semifinals-comeback" target="_blank" rel="noopener">transformative career moment</a>. Doncic is a bona fide superstar now, and the way he's carried Dallas to this point is nothing short of incredible. The Mavericks&rsquo; hopes and dreams hinge upon Doncic continuing to be the best postseason player.
2. Steph Curry: After waffling back-and-forth on No. 2, I settle on Curry because doubting him feels unwise. Curry still provides vintage scoring performances as he continues to be the lifeblood of the Warriors&rsquo; offense. Curry versus Doncic is a matchup I can't wait to watch. Hopefully, it's a long a long series.
3. Jayson Tatum: After going toe-to-toe with two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo, Jayson Tatum more than held his own. Delivering a legendary Game 6 performance in Milwaukee, Tatum has propelled himself to superstar status like Doncic. If anything, the NBA conference finals showcase that the next generation of stars are taking the batons and running away for good.
4. Jimmy Butler: Don&rsquo;t doubt Jimmy Buckets, especially on this stage. Butler delivered against the Sixers, and I expect him to put on a show versus Boston. Butler&rsquo;s all-around game continues to shine on the postseason stage.
5. Klay Thompson: Playoff Klay is very, very real. The West Finals feel like the ideal breakout stage for Thompson post-injury. Klay is beginning to heat up each round, too. Vintage Klay showing up on that platform would be so fun to watch.
Justin Lewis&nbsp;
1. Luka Doncic: He's carried one of the lesser total rosters in the playoffs to the Conference Finals. He's generational.
2. Jayson Tatum: He could be considered "1A" because of his two-way play, but Tatum has been a problem for two months now.
3. Jimmy Butler: JB is that dude. He can carry the Heat to the Finals, but Tatum and Luka get the nod as guys who can carry their respective teams through the Finals.
4. Steph Curry: He's not been the same Steph, but the Warriors are still in the West Finals &mdash; and that's terrifying. If he returns to form, the Warriors may win another championship.
5. Jaylen Brown: He's the best No. 2 of any team left in the playoffs. His two-way prowess and ability to pick it up when Tatum is off is crucial for the Celtics.
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Sharon Brown
1. Steph Curry
2. Luka Doncic
3. Jimmy Butler
4. Jayson Tatum
5. Klay Thompson
Steph is the greatest shooter ever, and Luka is that dude. JB is a dawg, and I will always ride with him. Tatum's star power is rising, and Klay is still deadly even after his two-year absence.
Mark Schindler
This is a tough question!
1. Steph Curry
2. Luka Doncic
3. Jayson Tatum
4. Jimmy Butler
5. Bam Adebayo
The four best players left are for sure Steph, Luka, Tatum and Jimmy. I would have to go with Bam at No. 5, so there's a decent little drop-off from the top four. (Not a slight! There's just levels to this, like Meek said).
Nekias Duncan
1. Luka Doncic
2. Steph Curry
3. Jayson Tatum
4. Jimmy Butler
5. Bam Adebayo
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How would you rank the five best players remaining in the NBA Playoffs? BasketballNews.com's writers shared their thoughts.

Roundtable: Ranking the 5 best players remaining in the NBA Playoffs

We saw glimpses late in the regular season. We saw more flashes in the Round 1 series against the Atlanta Hawks. Then, in last night's 120-85 drubbing of the Philadelphia 76ers, we were given yet another view of what Victor Oladipo can provide the Miami Heat when healthy and in rhythm.
With Kyle Lowry hobbled and in and out of the lineup, Gabe Vincent struggling from the field and an overall lack of half-court shot creation outside Jimmy Butler and Tyler Herro, Oladipo finding his groove is proving essential for the Heat.
Oladipo played only eight games in the regular season, which is still mind-boggling. He hasn't even played in 20 contests with Miami since the trade from Houston last season, though he'll hit the mark on Thursday when he sees the court during Game 6.
Returning from injury multiple times and trying to find his way on the court as a player has certainly been a process for Oladipo. He fell out of Erik Spoelstra's rotation entirely near the end of the season, accruing five DNP (Coach's Decisions) in a six-game stretch.
When Oladipo did play, he never quite found his role. The flashes were there, but the cohesiveness wasn't, which was understandable given the context. That's what makes his current play all the more impressive.
Some of the clunkiness in the offense remains, but the process is clicking.&nbsp;
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Here, Oladipo throws a lob when Caleb Martin isn't on the same page, and even with the failed outlet, Oladipo quickly makes himself available.&nbsp;
Selling the at-rim attempt to get Paul Reed in the air before hitting Bam Adebayo with a dumpoff is the kind of verve and creativity the Heat really need in half-court settings. Turning nothing into something was Oladipo's specialty in Indiana. Being able to do it flowing in the offense alongside Butler was highlighted in Game 5, and it had me doing the Leonardo DiCaprio Once Upon a Time in Hollywood&nbsp;point at the screen from my desk.
Off this baseline out-of-bounds play, we hardly even get to see it (much like Joel Embiid!), and that's part of the point:
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His suddenness and stealth as a cutter collapsing the defense creates easy points for the two-man play with Jimmy Butler.
A few possessions later on another broken play, Butler misses the jumper and gets his own board. Oladipo makes himself available in the corner, and when Maxey flies in to pick him up, Oladipo jets to the rim to keep the outlet open for Butler.
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With how demonstrative Butler has been getting into the lane and collapsing the defense in the playoffs, Oladipo finding his timing as an off-ball player is an absolute boon.
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But, the Heat have a multitude of players who can flow off the ball. What makes this so notable is what Oladipo has been able to bring as both a pick-and-roll operator and late clock shot-taker/maker.
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When Oladipo draws close-outs the way he's capable of when his shot is falling, he creates havoc with his secondary attacks. If the shot clock is winding down, he's good at drawing contact and finding his way to the free throw line, averaging four trips to the line in the series and 3.4 in the seven games he's played in the playoffs.
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Finding his balance toggling on and off the ball opens up new line-up constructions and modes of play that elevate who the Heat can be.
So much depends on his shot falling on volume, which has been a sticking point since his initial injury in Indiana. Drawing the defense on the weak-side and getting to the rim to keep revving the engine of the offense, or gliding into his pull-up twos or floaters is predicated on defenses respecting his shot. He still doesn't quite have that standstill burst he did in 2017-18, but stepping into the catch off the second side is legitimately devastating from him.
A side note: I'm not even sure it's about his legs not being back. He certainly doesn't have the same first step he once did. However, it feels like his handle and his lower body haven't gotten back into sync. Injuries suck, but I think it makes me appreciate Oladipo and the work he's put in to get back even more. It's been a really difficult few seasons for him, and seeing him find his footing is awesome.
This snippet from Game 2 is the quintessential vision of who Victor Oladipo can be in Miami:
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He exhibits consistent cycling of the offense. He makes himself available and shifts on and off the ball.
The ground coverage has been awesome. Watch the way he shuts down Tyrese Maxey's drive and the way he's able to crunch in to help in the paint before closing back out, getting his hand in the cookie jar and getting away scot-free with a turnover.
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He's absolutely hounded James Harden when he's matched up with him, often pressing Harden for 94 feet. It sounds minute, but just go back through and watch the possessions where Oladipo presses Harden.
Furthermore, look how consistently the Sixers are starting their possessions with a third of the clock drained. Even without a turnover caused (and many have been!), applying pressure has smothered Philly's offense.
Oladipo is so active on screens, and his play this series reminds us why he was All-Defense a few seasons ago. He engulfs offensive players on switches and chokes the gaps to make it more difficult to slip (a great part of Miami's overall defensive ethos). I hate charges with a passion, but Oladipo draws contact as the low man with charisma. I don't know how else to explain it!
He sheds screens and uses his probing arms so well to spear ball-handlers and make his presence felt. James Harden is not having a good time with Oladipo!
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What he's brought defensively is unquestionable. Pairing his aptitude and skill on that end with his growth in comfort as a more complimentary player makes me more optimistic about the postseason upside of this team.
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Miami's 120-85 win over Philadelphia last night was punctuated by Victor Oladipo's play, which amplified the Heat.

Victor Oladipo is finding his verve with Miami

In the 2020 Summer Olympics, which took place in 2021 due to COVID, France matched up with Team USA in the men&rsquo;s basketball gold-medal game for the third time.
The first gold-medal meeting between the two nations took place was in 1948, with France <a href="https://www.usab.com/history/national-team-mens/games-of-the-xivth-olympiad-1948.aspx" target="_blank" rel="noopener">losing 65-21 in that final</a>.
Despite having been historically good since then, it took another 52 years for the Frenchmen to return to that stage for a second time; unfortunately, Team USA awaited again. The game was much closer in 2000 than in 1948, but the Americans &mdash; led by Vince Carter, Kevin Garnett, Alonzo Mourning and Ray Allen among others &mdash; outlasted Antoine Rigaudeau, Laurent Sciarra, Frederic Weis and France, 85-75.
(No, that wasn&rsquo;t the game Carter <a href="https://youtu.be/WihbbVEmppI" target="_blank" rel="noopener">dunked on Weis</a>; that was earlier in The Games.)
And in last year&rsquo;s gold-medal game, in the countries' third meeting on that stage, France <a href="https://www.espn.com/mens-olympics-basketball/boxscore/_/gameId/401347899" target="_blank" rel="noopener">got even closer</a>.
France's best Olympic team ever was defeated by the Americans, 87-82. Team USA started Damian Lillard, Jrue Holiday, Devin Booker, Kevin Durant and Bam Adebayo, answering the French quintet of Nando De Colo, Evan Fournier, Nicolas Batum, Guerschon Yabusele and Rudy Gobert.
Contributions from the U.S. bench came from Jayson Tatum, Zach LaVine, Draymond Green and Khris Middleton, while Timoth&eacute; Luwawu-Cabarrot, Frank Ntikilina, Thomas Heurtel and Moustapha Fall were key components of France's second unit. The Frenchmen trailed by as little as 3 points with just eight seconds remaining before Durant iced the game with two free throws.
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Now imagine that game with Joel Embiid... playing for France.
The 28-year-old NBA MVP candidate, who was born and raised in Cameroon and has never played for his home national team (despite <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/things-to-monitor-as-the-next-fiba-world-cups-next-qualifying-window-arrives">coming close in 2017</a>), is reportedly <a href="https://www.si.com/nba/2022/05/02/joel-embiid-could-change-nationality-play-french-national-team-report">eyeing an opportunity to suit up for France</a>.
Embiid has family in France, and is <a href="https://rmcsport.bfmtv.com/basket/basket-joel-embiid-superstar-de-nba-se-rapproche-de-l-equipe-de-france_AV-202205020664.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">considering changing his nationality</a> in order to play for the Frenchmen in the 2024 Olympic Games, where they&rsquo;d enter as one of the favorites to challenge Team USA again for the gold. According to French basketball general manager Boris Diaw, Embiid is <a href="https://actucameroun.com/2022/05/03/boris-diaw-manager-general-de-lequipe-de-france-confirme-les-demarches-entamees-par-joel-embiid-pour-jouer-avec-les-bleus-en-vue-des-jo-2024/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">taking the necessary steps</a>.
(Looks like we won't ever see the Embiid-Pascal Siakam tandem for Cameroon, unfortunately.)
In FIBA, each team is allowed one naturalized player on its roster. Current and recent instances of this include American-born players to suit up for different countries, such as Javonte Green (Montenegro), Matt Costello (Ivory Coast), Anthony Randolph (Slovenia) and Andray Blatche (Philippines). Non-American examples include Congolese center Serge Ibaka playing for Spain, Cuban native Ismael Romero playing for Puerto Rico and French-born Aaron Cel playing for Poland. Another famous occasion where this occurred saw Hakeem Olajuwon playing with Team USA in the 1990s.
Regarding American-born WNBA players, known examples include Bria Hartley representing France, Becky Hammon representing Russia and Leilani Mitchell representing Australia. Non-American examples in the women&rsquo;s game include Bahamian Jonquel Jones playing for Bosnia and Herzegovina and Senegal native Astou Ndour playing for Spain.
Now, it may be long before we see Embiid actually playing for France if this process gets finalized, or less than we think if he decides not to wait for the Olympics.
The next major European basketball tournament is EuroBasket 2022, <a href="https://www.fiba.basketball/eurobasket/2022">which will run from Sept. 1-18 later this year</a> across Italy, Germany, Georgia and the Czech Republic. France will be one of 24 teams competing, but seeing Embiid there would be surprising.
The 2023 FIBA World Cup, which France is <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/where-things-stand-after-the-second-window-of-fiba-world-cup-qualifiers">currently attempting to qualify for</a>, will take place from Aug. 25 through Sept. 10, 2023. Qualifying for the World Cup will run through next February before the final pool of 32 teams gets decided.
And the 2024 Summer Olympics, assuming we avoid another global pandemic, is expected to actually run that summer. The host of the Games? France, who will automatically qualify for the tournament <a href="https://www.fiba.basketball/pr-n34-brazils-national-teams-granted-automatic-places-at-2016-olympic-basketball-tournament" target="_blank" rel="noopener">by rule</a>. Embiid will be 30 years old by the next Olympics.
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Since Embiid is reportedly targeting the 2024 Games, let&rsquo;s look at some players who might be his teammates.
The oldest players from the silver-medal-winning squad last summer were De Colo and Batum, who&rsquo;ll be 37 and 35 by the 2024 Games, so expect many of the same players to run it back if possible. One name that could join the fray is Boston Celtics second-round pick Juhann Begarin, who is just 19 years old and was the No. 45 overall selection last summer. Isma&euml;l Kamagate and Hugo Besson, both of whom are 21, are in the 2022 NBA Draft pool; the same goes for 18-year-old Ousmane Dieng, who is quickly rising up draft boards. There's also plenty of hype surrounding fellow 18-year-old, ASVEL star and 7-foot-2 sensation Victor Wembanyama &mdash; a lock to be a high draft pick in 2023.
<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/draft">BasketballNews.com Sr. NBA Draft Analyst Matt Babcock</a> has Dieng going No. 21 overall, Kamagate at No. 40 and Besson at No. 51.
But really, there&rsquo;s one question we need to answer, and it has to do with a three-time Defensive Player of the Year already on the roster who holds down the 5 position. Could an Embiid and Gobert frontcourt lead France over Team USA?
If you haven&rsquo;t realized, the American pool of bigs is slighter than you think.
Many of the best centers in the NBA aren&rsquo;t American and don&rsquo;t represent America internationally. Examples include Embiid, Gobert, Nikola Jokić (Serbia), Karl-Anthony Towns (Dominican Republic), Nikola Vučević (Montenegro), Kristaps Porziņģis (Latvia), Clint Capela (Switzerland) and Jonas Valančiūnas (Lithuania).
The best centers that have represented Team USA, and/or have Team USA eligibility, have been Adebayo, Green, Jarrett Allen and JaVale McGee. Deandre Ayton (Bahamas) is a player to watch <a href="https://www.azcentral.com/story/sports/nba/suns/2021/06/22/suns-big-deandre-ayton-ideal-team-usa-2024-summer-olympics-paris/5307682001/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">who could represent Team USA in the future</a>, along with younger bigs like Evan Mobley and Chet Holmgren.
Assuming health, so the 2024 American team could start either Adebayo, Ayton or Allen, if not 2 of the 3. Team USA is generally harder to guess in advance, but your starting lineup could look like some combination of Ja Morant, Anthony Edwards, Booker, Tatum and Adebayo. Maybe, to match size, Ayton gets in there instead of Edwards.
Maybe a Trae Young, LaMelo Ball, Bradley Beal, Jaylen Brown and Donovan Mitchell sneak into the backcourt instead. Maybe someone we&rsquo;re not projecting to make another huge leap does &mdash; like Jordan Poole, Tyler Herro or Tyrese Maxey &mdash; or maybe Jaden Ivey or Jabari Smith are more ready than we think by 2024. Even so, you&rsquo;d throw, at best, Adebayo, Ayton, Allen, and Mobley at the Embiid-Gobert combo, and that tandem could be backed up by Dieng, Yabusele, and Vincent Poirier for France.
It&rsquo;s a lot to project, no doubt, but giving <a href="https://www.fiba.basketball/rankingmen" target="_blank" rel="noopener">the No. 4 team in the world</a> a top-four player in the world could be what it takes for someone to snatch the gold medal away from Team USA in the Olympics for the first time since 2004.
But a lot can happen in two years, so we'll table this... for now.&nbsp;
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Bryan Fonseca looks at the potential of Joel Embiid joining France in international competition.

We’re not talking enough about Joel Embiid possibly playing for France

Luke Doncic believes he can score on anyone. To advance to the second round of the playoffs for the first time, he had to trust his teammates.
After previous postseasons filled with individual highlights, Doncic shared the ball and the Dallas Mavericks slipped past the Utah Jazz.
&ldquo;I like sharing the ball. If they&rsquo;re going to hit or blitz me, someone is going to be open,&rdquo; Doncic said.
Doncic and Jalen Brunson each scored 24 points and the Mavericks beat the Jazz 98-96 on Thursday night in Game 6 to wrap up the first-round series.
&ldquo;It was all about trust,&rdquo; Dallas coach Jason Kidd said. &ldquo;Luka did an incredible job knowing they were going to try and take the ball out of his hands.&rdquo;
After Brunson hit a 3-pointer from the corner, Mike Conley was called for traveling with five seconds remaining, and Brunson made one of two free throws with 4.3 seconds to play.
&ldquo;Playing with Luka the past couple years, I should expect the ball when I&rsquo;m not expecting it. The ball found me,&rdquo; Brunson said of his clutch 3-pointer.
The Jazz got an open look for Bojan Bogdanovic on the left wing on the final play, but he came up short and the Mavericks moved on to face top-seeded Phoenix in the second round.
&ldquo;Bogey don&rsquo;t miss a lot of those. My heart stopped. It felt like that shot was 15 seconds in the air,&rdquo; said Doncic, who had nine rebounds, eight assists, two blocks and two steals.
Spencer Dinwiddie added 19 points, and Dorian Finney-Smith had a playoff career high of 18 points as the Mavericks finally got the &ldquo;monkey off their back,&rdquo; as Kidd put it.
The Mavericks won in the first round for the first time since winning the 2011 NBA championship.
&ldquo;We have played a lot of games in the playoffs and still haven&rsquo;t got to the second round. But we feel like we can do something great this year, so we all expected to get this win,&rdquo; Finney-Smith said.
Donovan Mitchell had 23 points, nine assists and eight rebounds for Utah.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;m speechless,&rdquo; Mitchell said about failing to advance. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s on me. I put a lot pressure on myself, but I just wasn&rsquo;t who I needed to be. I need to be better.&rdquo;
Bogdanovic finished with 19 points, but couldn&rsquo;t the make the shot that would have won it.
&ldquo;Obviously, Bojan is as clutch a player there is. You see him hit big shot after big shot,&rdquo; Utah coach Quin Snyder said. &ldquo;I think everybody in the locker room would want him to have that shot.&rdquo;
Bogdanovic was crestfallen.
&ldquo;There&rsquo;s no excuse. I needed to hit that shot to force Game 7,&rdquo; he said.
Earlier in the fourth quarter, Finney-Smith&rsquo;s 3-pointer gave the Mavericks their largest lead at 88-80 before the Jazz scored eight straight &mdash; many coming off hustle plays as Utah played with desperation &mdash; culminating with a Mitchell-to-Rudy Gobert dunk.
The Mavericks found their range in the third quarter as the Jazz tried multiple defenses but somehow seemed to consistently leave someone alone behind the arc. Doncic had 10 points and Dallas made 8 of 12 from 3-point range to outscore Utah 36-19 in the third quarter.
&ldquo;For guys like me, that&rsquo;s when I start smiling,&rdquo; Finney-Smith said about the ball movement to start the second half. &ldquo;That&rsquo;s when we get our spot-up shots. Luka causes so much pressure and then he finds guys.&rdquo;
The Mavericks shot 56% (14 of 25) from 3-point range after halftime, but several Dallas players credited their defense for the win.
Despite a height disadvantage and the fact that Utah had the NBA&rsquo;s most-efficient offense in the regular season, Dallas held the Jazz to just 99 points per game in the series.
D&Eacute;J&Agrave; VU FOR DALLAS?
Eleven years ago on the same date, Kidd was on the Dallas team that beat the Portland Trail Blazers and moved to the second round.
&ldquo;You make me feel old. It was a long time ago we won in Portland, and I just remember a lot of people didn&rsquo;t think we were going to get out of the first round,&rdquo; Kidd said.
The former point guard said this Dallas team is a special group, like the 2011 champions.
&ldquo;These guys aren&rsquo;t very big, but they find a way to win and they have fun doing it,&rdquo; Kidd said.
BRUNSON PROVES TO BE KEY
Jalen Brunson averaged 27.8 points in the series and kept the Mavericks ahead of the Jazz, including a 41-point game in Game 2, until Doncic returned from a calf injury.
&ldquo;We got everything we could out of JB. To start the series without Luka and have JB and Spencer carry us until he got back and then make to switch to play with Luka. He was really big for us,&rdquo; Kidd said.
TIP-INS
Mavericks: Dallas missed all 10 3-point attempts in the first quarter. &ldquo;Our shoulders were up by our ears we were so tense,&rdquo; Kidd said. The teams combined to start 1 for 17 from beyond the arc. &hellip; The Mavericks shot 11 free throws, a series low. &hellip; Dallas again had single-digit turnovers, with nine.
Jazz: Conley had eight assists by halftime, but none in the second half. &hellip; Utah outrebounded Dallas 48-37. &hellip; Utah assistant coach Keyon Dooling was placed on administrative leave on Wednesday after being added to a fraud case concerning the league&rsquo;s health and welfare benefit plan.
UP NEXT
The Mavericks and Suns will open the second round Monday night in Phoenix.

Luka Doncic and Jalen Brunson each scored 24 points and the Mavericks beat the Jazz 98-96 on Thursday night in Game 6.

Luka Doncic, Mavericks beat Jazz to advance to second round

Trying to win a playoff series, the 76ers will settle for another Ty game.
Tyrese Maxey showed the NBA he&rsquo;s a playmaking, risk-taking, building-shaking, future-star-in-the-making for Philadelphia with a Game 1 stamped in franchise history as one of the best of the millennium.
No, not just for a 21 year old.
For any Sixer.
Maxey had a game for the ages -- specifically, one of four 30-point playoff performances on the same day by players 22 or younger - and became the youngest Sixer ever to score at least 30 points in a playoff game. Maxey&rsquo;s stat line in Game 1 against Toronto was worthy of, well, a Max contract as the Sixers romped to a 1-0 series lead. He made 14 of 21 shots and 5 of 8 3-pointers for 38 points in 38 turnover-free minutes.
&ldquo;The shots that he was making. The confidence,&rdquo; 76ers forward Tobias Harris said. &ldquo;It was just all coming together. Even from the beginning of the game, he had it going.&rdquo;
Can he keep it going?
The 76ers head into Game 2 Monday against the Raptors on a bit of a confidence high after dominating a team they lost to three times in the regular season.
The Raptors are on shaky ground, not just because of a 20-point loss, but because of a sprained left ankle suffered by rookie Scottie Barnes in the fourth quarter. Barnes was hurt when Joel Embiid stepped on his left foot and he collapsed to the floor. He grabbed his left ankle and needed help off the court. Barnes had 15 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists in his first career playoff game.
&ldquo;I thought he looked like he belonged out there,&rdquo; Raptors coach Nick Nurse said. &ldquo;For a young rookie in his first playoff game on the road against a really good team, I thought he looked like he belonged out there.&rdquo;
Seems to be a theme.
RAPTORS AT 76ERS
Philadelphia leads 1-0. Game 2, 7:30 p.m. EDT, TNT
__ NEED TO KNOW: The 76ers won Game 1 without Embiid, the NBA scoring champion, filling the stat sheet. He finished with 19 points and 15 rebounds. Embiid averaged 30.6 points. The Sixers don&rsquo;t expect Maxey to drop almost 40 points a game the rest of the series. The Big Man is going to have to carry the load if they want to win the series. But all was not lost. &ldquo;He created a lot of points. His presence created a lot of points,&rdquo; coach Doc Rivers said. &ldquo;That&rsquo;s why he&rsquo;s so great. His presence creates scoring for us.&rdquo;
KEEP AN EYE ON: James Harden. He became in Game 1 one of only seven players in team history with at least 14 assists in a playoff game. Like Embiid, the scoring punch wasn&rsquo;t there. He missed 11 of 17 shots.
INJURY WATCH: The Raptors could be in trouble if Barnes can&rsquo;t go in Game 2. Nurse said Barnes, Thad Young (thumb) and Gary Trent Jr. (non-COVID illness) are doubtful for Monday.
PRESSURE IS ON: Toronto. The Raptors went 3-1 against the 76ers in the regular season, so certainly not all is lost yet. But if injuries and foul trouble -- Fred VanVleet and Chris Boucher each fouled out in Game 1 -- continue to plague the Raptors, it could be a short series.
JAZZ AT MAVERICKS
Utah leads 1-0. Game 2, 8:30 p.m. EDT, NBA TV.
&mdash; NEED TO KNOW: While Dallas opened the series without All-Star guard Luka Doncic, the Jazz are healthy and put together quite a team effort in winning the opener. Utah coach Quin Snyder said the Jazz, who lost seven of their last 11 regular-season games to drop to the No. 5 seed, were aggressive and had no hesitation. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s a mindset that our team has right now,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;Part of the reason we have it is, why not?&rdquo; Jalen Brunson (24 points) and Spencer Dinwiddie (22) were the top scorers for Dallas without Doncic, as expected.
&mdash; KEEP AN EYE ON: Jazz guard Donovan Mitchell always seems to play at his best in the postseason. The three-time All-Star got off to a slow start in the series opener, but then scored 30 of his 32 points after halftime. He had two 33-point games against Dallas in the regular season. He averaged 32.3 points in 10 playoff games last season, and a career-best 36.3 points in a seven-game series against Denver two years ago.
&mdash; INJURY WATCH: Doncic is now a week removed from straining his left calf in what proved to be a meaningless regular-season finale on April 10. Coach Jason Kidd said Sunday that of Doncic, &ldquo;he&rsquo;s able to do some basketball stuff today.&rdquo; The point guard is listed as doubtful for Game 2.
&mdash; PRESSURE IS ON: Dallas. The home team won all four games during the regular season. Going down 2-0 in the series would be a devastating blow for Dallas after going 36-12 the second half of the season and earning home-court advantage to start the playoffs for the first time since its NBA title season in 2010-11. If Mavs go down 2-0, they&rsquo;ll be headed to a city where they&rsquo;ve lost 11 in a row and are 24-73 all-time (one of the &ldquo;road&rdquo; victories was in the bubble).
NUGGETS AT WARRIORS
Golden State leads 1-0. Game 2, 10 p.m. EDT, TNT
NEED TO KNOW: Jordan Poole scored 30 points in his playoff debut and led the Warriors to a 123-107 victory in Game 1.
KEEP AN EYE ON: Klay Thompson. Thompson soaked in the scene at Chase Center and allowed himself to reflect on what being back on the playoff stage meant to him after what felt like an endless road of rehab - first following surgery for a torn ACL in his left knee suffered in the deciding Game 6 loss of the 2019 NBA Finals to Toronto, then for a torn right Achilles tendon he injured in November 2020. &ldquo;So special,&rdquo; Thompson said after scoring 19 points with five 3-pointers in Game 1. &ldquo;Before the tip I thought about all the days in the gym, all the days in the doctor&rsquo;s office, the surgery table, just to be flying up and down the court knocking shots down, playing solid defense, it was a surreal moment for me. To do it in front of the crowd we had, I give Dub nation some credit, they were so loud. It&rsquo;s something I won&rsquo;t take for granted.&rdquo;
INJURY WATCH: Stephen Curry returned in Game 1 and came off the bench to contribute 16 points in 21 minutes. He had missed exactly a month with a sprained ligament in his left foot.
PRESSURE IS ON: Nikola Jokic's supporting cast. With Draymond Green guarding him, the Warriors did a good job defending the reigning NBA MVP, who is going to need teammates to step up against the more potent Warriors.

The AP's Dan Gelston previews Monday's NBA Playoff matchups.

Maxey, 76ers try to keep firing in Game 2 against Raptors

Featuring four sure-fire Hall-of-Famers, the Los Angeles Lakers flamed out and ended up not living up to the expectations.
Unfortunately, the additions of Karl Malone and Gary Payton just weren&rsquo;t enough to get it done.
Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O&rsquo;Neal joined forces with the legends during the 2003-04 season, and sought to win a fourth title in five years, but the Lakers ultimately fell short against Larry Brown and his Detroit Pistons in what was one of the biggest NBA Finals upsets in history.
You know how they say history always repeats itself? It&rsquo;s true. So it should come as no surprise to recall that the ensuing offseason, the Lakers found themselves looking for a new head coach. The search led to Mike Krzyzewski&rsquo;s living room.
Coach K would famously turn down a five-year, $40 million offer from the Lakers, which would have amounted to an annual salary raise of about 700%.
After a lost season, the Lakers (and Kobe) would eventually patch things up with Phil Jackson, and Bryant would lead the Lakers to two more championships in 2009 and 2010.
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Unfortunately for Frank Vogel, that bit of history doesn&rsquo;t seem likely to repeat itself.
Now, in 2022, the Lakers find themselves on the lookout for a new head coach to lead their locker room. Let's take a look at five candidates who may fit the bill.
Juwan Howard
Before his February <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/ray-jackson-i-was-afraid-juwan-howard-was-going-to-be-fired" target="_blank" rel="noopener">confrontation with Wisconsin head coach Greg Gard</a>, Juwan Howard&rsquo;s name was mostly mentioned in the press for the right reasons.
Since taking over for the Michigan Wolverines in 2019, Howard helped the university maintain its status as one of the premier basketball programs in the country &mdash; his Wolverines have reached the Sweet Sixteen in 2019 and 2022, as well as the Elite Eight in 2021.
Although it would be difficult to pull Howard from his alma mater, especially when he&rsquo;s enjoyed success thus far, the Lakers head coach job wouldn&rsquo;t be an easy one for a toiling coach to turn down. Despite all the Lakers have been through, it remains a dream job for many in the profession. Aside from that, Howard&rsquo;s connections to both Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka and LeBron James is hard to ignore.
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Pelinka and Howard were teammates at Michigan for Howard&rsquo;s three seasons there, and although Howard and James' paths diverged, those two would eventually unite in Miami. They played three years together as teammates before Howard retired and immediately moved into an assistant coach role, the first of which coincided with LeBron&rsquo;s final season in Miami.
Howard spent the next five years alongside Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra before being tapped to assume the helm at Michigan.
Whoever the Lakers entrust with the tall task of getting them back on track, it would make sense that the candidate would need to have exhibited some level of success and also be able to earn the confidence of both Pelinka and James. It should also be noted that, in 2019, Howard was granted an interview for the Lakers&rsquo; head coach opening. The job, obviously, eventually went to Vogel.
Although Howard has been vocal in his love for his alma mater, he would appear to check the boxes. At a minimum, among the sea of potential candidates, he is one who should be watched closely.
Quin Snyder
Now in his eighth season with the Utah Jazz, Quin Snyder has overseen the organization's ascension after the departure of mainstay Jerry Sloan and three less-than-stellar years under Tyrone Corbin.
Although thanks in large part to the presence of Rudy Gobert, under Snyder&rsquo;s leadership, the Jazz have consistently ranked as one of the league&rsquo;s top-five defenses. His staff has also assisted the development and thriving of a number of young players who have found their way in the league.
As it stands, Utah is much closer to contention than the Lakers, but the Jazz themselves haven&rsquo;t exactly been trending upward. There has been consistent speculation as to whether Donovan Mitchell is destined to become the <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/expect-the-knicks-to-make-a-real-run-at-donovan-mitchell-this-summer" target="_blank" rel="noopener">next superstar who lands on the trading block</a>, and according to veteran scribe Marc Stein, Snyder and his representatives have rebuffed Utah&rsquo;s attempts to extend his current contract.
If Snyder did sense that &mdash; as often reported &mdash; the marriage between Mitchell and Gobert wasn&rsquo;t one that would continue for the long term, he could be proactive about a fresh start elsewhere.
During the 2011-12 season, Snyder served as an assistant coach in Los Angeles under Mike Brown. At a minimum, he&rsquo;s no stranger to the franchise.
Mark Jackson
To this day, there are many who wonder if the Golden State Warriors could have fulfilled their dynastic potential if Mark Jackson remained coach. That&rsquo;s probably why there&rsquo;s a fair amount of people still hoping that one of the greatest point guards in NBA history gets another shot to lead an NBA team. There is another faction, however, that believes the Warriors may have actually been held back by their former coach.
The truth is probably somewhere in the middle.
What can&rsquo;t be argued, however, is that in his three seasons in Golden State, Jackson led the Warriors to a 121-109 record and brought the team to consecutive postseason berths for the first time in over 20 years. He at least helped to lay the foundation of the team&rsquo;s championship trajectory.
<img style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" src="https://cdn.basketballnews.com/images/story/body/usatsi_6942202_lg.png" alt="" width="585" height="329" />
It&rsquo;s also worth noting that LeBron has long been an advocate for Jackson. That may have something to do with the fact that Jackson &mdash; like LeBron and Anthony Davis &mdash; is represented by Klutch Sports, or it could be that LeBron just believes that he can coach.
Back in 2014, James reportedly pushed for Jackson as a candidate before the Cavs opted for Tyronn Lue to replace David Blatt, and according to The Athletic&rsquo;s Sam Amick, James could make a similar appeal on Jackson&rsquo;s behalf this time around. If he did, it could be quite meaningful.
John Calipari
If the Lakers are looking to make a splash, John Calipari would seem to fit the bill.
It&rsquo;s been more than 20 years since Coach Cal was head coach of an NBA team, but for the past 13 years, he&rsquo;s served as head coach for the Kentucky Wildcats &mdash; arguably the bluest of the blue-blood collegiate basketball programs. He led the Wildcats to the National Championship in 2012, and in that season, managed to unlock the potential of a talented freshman in Davis.
In all, Coach Cal has coached his teams to six Final Four appearances and has previously been linked to NBA openings, including with the New York Knicks.
The difficulty with pursuing collegiate coaches at big-time programs is stature. At the collegiate level, coaches are kings of their programs, particularly those with national championships and a track record of helping young players get to the NBA. In that regard, Calipari&rsquo;s record is unmatched.
According to CoachCal.com, Calipari is the only coach to have coached four No. 1 overall selections (Derrick Rose, John Wall, Davis and Karl-Anthony Towns) and the only coach to have five first-round selections in the same NBA Draft (2010).
In 2012, he also became the first coach to have two of his players go first and second in the draft. That year, Davis and teammate Michael Kidd-Gilchrist took that honor.
Cal probably knows that he can coach for as long as he wants to at Kentucky, just like Krzyzewski. But a 2021 report from Yahoo Sports cited Cal&rsquo;s believed ambition and wanting to prove that he can succeed at the NBA level as the thing that could push him back to the NBA.
That, and, of course, the right opportunity.
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Nick Nurse
It&rsquo;s hard to argue with Nick Nurse&rsquo;s success, and it&rsquo;s easy to see why a team like the Lakers could be interested. Nurse has earned a reputation for unorthodox methods and game planning, but it&rsquo;s impossible to argue with the success he&rsquo;s enjoyed as the head coach of the Toronto Raptors.
One of the biggest challenges that the Lakers face is with respect to its roster construction. If Russell Westbrook is to remain with the team, the franchise will need a coach who is capable of thinking outside the box and implementing systems and rotations that can maximize pieces that may not necessarily be an obvious fit.
It could be argued that these have been the hallmarks of his tenure in Toronto. That and, of course, winning. That may end up being the biggest obstacle for the Lakers if Nurse truly is the team&rsquo;s choice.
As the head coach who finally got Toronto over the hump, Nurse is beloved by the franchise, and the Raptors certainly seems to have more going for them than the Lakers do right now. Not the least of which is organizational leadership, which has proven to be competent and capable of developing players who can achieve at the highest level.
Leaving the Raptors for the Lakers in that regard would be a leap of faith for Nurse. Hailing from Iowa, Nurse isn&rsquo;t a natural-born Canadian, but he is currently serving as the head coach of the Canadian Men&rsquo;s National Basketball Team.
While that role wouldn&rsquo;t prevent him from making a jump to Los Angeles, it at least suggests a commitment to something bigger than simply being a coach. In the end, it may be a lot for the Lakers to overcome, especially since the Raptors&rsquo; ownership group has demonstrated it has deep pockets.
Nonetheless, it is possible that Nurse could view an opportunity to coach the Lakers as the one he has spent his entire career working toward. Having led the Raptors to a championship &mdash; similarly to Kawhi Leonard &mdash; he could perhaps be enthused about a new challenge.
----
Unfortunately for the community, we&rsquo;ve seen head coaches in the NBA become increasingly disposable. Just two years after leading the Los Angeles Lakers to its 17th championship in franchise history, Vogel was fired, and rather unceremoniously, at that.
If the Lakers are to win an 18th championship, it will be under new leadership.
Maybe one of the aforementioned five could be the answer.
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Moke Hamilton takes a look at five candidates who could make sense as the Lakers' next head coach.

Five head coaches who could make the most sense for the Lakers

Kyrie Irving scored 42 points and the Brooklyn Nets beat the Houston Rockets 118-105 on Tuesday night to improve their position in the race for play-in seeding.
Irving had 17 points in the fourth quarter. Kevin Durant added 18 points, Bruce Brown had 15 and Cam Thomas 13 for the Nets. Andre Drummond finished with 10 points and 11 rebounds.
With Cleveland, Atlanta and Charlotte all losing, the Nets climbed into a tie for eighth place in the Eastern Conference, just 1 1/2 games behind the Cavaliers. The No. 7 seed hosts a game to open the tournament.
Kevin Porter Jr scored a season-high 36 points and Jalen Green added 30 for the Rockets.
The Nets led by as many as 21 points late in the third quarter, but a 15-0 Houston run brought the Rockets within 90-84. Irving scored the game&rsquo;s next eight points and Brooklyn held a double-digit lead the rest of the way.
The Nets led by nine early, but a 12-2 Houston run capped by Alperen Sengun&rsquo;s breakaway dunk gave the Rockets their only lead of the game, 18-17.
Brooklyn scored the next eight points and led 30-25 after the first quarter.
After the Rockets tied the game at 32, the Nets went on a 10-0 run. They increased their lead to 51-37 on Kessler Edwards&rsquo; short jumper with 5:14 left in the half and went into halftime up 64-47 following Irving's 3-pointer with 44 seconds remaining.
Porter&rsquo;s 3-pointer cut it to 77-65 midway through the third quarter but the Nets scored the next seven points and took their biggest lead at 90-69 on Thomas&rsquo; short jumper with 1:21 remaining in the quarter.
But those were the last points Brooklyn scored until Irving&rsquo;s jumper with 8:33 left in the game snapped that 15-0 Houston run.
Sengun added 14 points and 11 rebounds for the Rockets, who have lost five straight games and have the worst record in the NBA.
TIP-INS
Rockets: No Houston player has seen action in each of the team&rsquo;s 80 games this season. Kenyon Martin Jr. has played in the most (77), while Jae&rsquo;Sean Tate (75) has the most starts.
Nets: Seth Curry (left ankle soreness), Goran Dragic (health and safety protocols) and James Johnson (non-Covid illness) were all out of the Brooklyn lineup. &hellip; LaMarcus Aldridge played for the first time since March 6.
UNFAMILIAR FACES
Brooklyn debuted a new starting five on Tuesday (Durant, Brown, Drummond, Patty Mills, Irving). They became the 43rd different starting lineup in Brooklyn&rsquo;s 79 games. Overall, 19 players have made at least one start for the Nets this season.
PASSING OF A FRANCHISE FIXTURE
Herb Turetzky, who was the <a href="https://apnews.com/article/brooklyn-nets-nba-sports-nyc-state-wire-new-jersey-919f9ac84293b2d378c26397f159de3a">Nets&rsquo; official scorer for 54 years</a> across multiple leagues and states, died Monday at 76. Turetzky was a senior at Long Island University when he scored the first game in franchise history &mdash; when the New Jersey Americans of the American Basketball Association hosted the Pittsburgh Pipers on Oct. 23, 1967, in Teaneck, New Jersey. He went on to score more than 2,200 games, a record for pro basketball games that was certified in the Guinness Book of World Records.
&ldquo;He was a beloved figure within the organization and beyond,&rdquo; coach Steve Nash said. &ldquo;We want to make sure his family recognizes how important he was to the franchise and how our thoughts are with them at this time.&rdquo;
UP NEXT
Rockets: Houston visits Toronto on Friday.
Nets: Brooklyn visits New York on Wednesday.

Kyrie Irving scored 42 points and the Nets beat the Rockets 118-105 to improve their position in the race for play-in seeding.

Irving scores 42, Nets beat Rockets 118-105 to move to 8th

The Lakers are expected to part ways with coach Frank Vogel at season&rsquo;s end, according to <a href="https://twitter.com/jakelfischer/status/1511349853309308941?s=21&amp;t=qg22PRW4e8dSpP6znj_xzA" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report</a>. The two names most often linked by league figures as potential replacements currently coach other teams: Quin Snyder and Doc Rivers.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
Facing elimination tonight, the Lakers are still expected to part ways with coach Frank Vogel at season&rsquo;s end. Two names most often linked by league figures as potential replacements currently coach other teams: Quin Snyder and Doc Rivers. More at <a href="https://twitter.com/BR_NBA?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@BR_NBA</a>: <a href="https://t.co/ldgWmgZMyu">https://t.co/ldgWmgZMyu</a>
&mdash; Jake Fischer (@JakeLFischer) <a href="https://twitter.com/JakeLFischer/status/1511349853309308941?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 5, 2022</a></blockquote>

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

ANALYSIS:&nbsp;The Vogel news isn't that surprising given how terribly things have gone in LA since the bubble. It is interesting that they have two currently employed coaches in mind as potential replacements. This speak more volumes about Rivers' and Snyder's place with their current teams than it does about the Lakers.

The Lakers are expected to fire Frank Vogel at season's end and will be looking at Doc Rivers and Quin Snyder as possible replacements.

Fischer: LA expected to fire Frank Vogel, have replacements in mind

<a href="https://marcstein.substack.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">According to Marc Stein</a>, Quin Snyder is a rumored candidate to succeed Gregg Popovich when Coach Pop's time is done with the San Antonio Spurs.
Snyder's head-coaching resume with the Utah Jazz speaks for itself, as his record is 365-256.
ANALYSIS:&nbsp;For any of this to happen, Snyder would have to move on from the Jazz. Even though Utah hasn't made the noise that they wanted to in recent years, they're in a much better place currently than San Antonio. Still, the opportunity to be named Popovich's replacement after what he's done for the Spurs organization would be a huge honor.

With Gregg Popovich's retirement inching closer and closer, Jazz head coach Quin Snyder has been rumored as his successor.

Stein: Quin Snyder to be Gregg Popovich's successor in San Antonio?

I feel like I've learned a quarter of a million things this year as I've gotten deeper and deeper into basketball. Pace is critically important as a ball-handler, defense is way more complicated and complex than I grasped even last season, and development is about as linear and predictable as the stock market.
Add another detail to the list: We need to appreciate screening more! I keep coming back to this. It's an essential part of the game that tends to get overlooked and, in some ways, I've felt its impact more this season.
Sure, I've noticed a nice bone-crunching screen time and time again, the kind that makes you go, "How is that legal?!" Like, when Nikola Pekovic destroyed Brandon Knight simply for being Brandon Knight.
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This isn't the kind of screen we need to appreciate, but please don't tell Pek I said that!
Pick-and-roll has notably grown as an offensive staple and foundation over the last decade, but what's the first thing that you think of when someone says pick-and-roll? I don't mean to assume your thoughts, but I bet you probably thought about a ball-handler canning a pull-up three or getting downhill off the screen.
The action is all about creating an advantage, kickstarting the offense and either creating a shot directly or forcing the defense into rotation until a better opportunity presents itself. As the screen-and-roll has continued to dominate in relevance, something that seems to have gotten lost in the sauce is that the screening part is pretty darn important! It's a means of amplifying creation, exacerbating an advantage; the best screens are creating an even better advantage. In a way, the highest levels of screening could&nbsp;be viewed as a means of self-creation when factoring in other aspects.
Defenses have really adapted this season. Coverage versatility has become a must for the majority of teams, throwing some funk into the mix to make easy offense a bit harder. Teams are more comfortable blitzing ball-handlers &mdash; sending two to the ball against ball-screens &mdash; to try to negate the initial advantage and force secondary options to beat them.
The Minnesota Timberwolves built their defense on it (less recently), the Chicago Bulls routinely play with their 5-man high on screens and the Milwaukee Bucks have made it a near automatic response. It's hard to get by playing defense just being solid in one way because offenses are just that good.
Rudy Gobert, screen-assist royalty, is doing so much more as a roller than he gets credit for routinely. For starters, he sets hard screens. Defenders feel them and don't often get through them. While he doesn't necessarily roll fast, his downhill gravity is a key matchstick that ignites the Utah Jazz's offense.&nbsp;
More importantly, on top of that, he can make solid reads and decisions on the roll once he receives the ball.
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It's not perfect. Gobert can show some clunkiness if he has to put the ball on the deck, but he's threatening enough with his roll presence and capable enough of a decision-maker that defenses have to respect the process (don't ask about post-ups).
Gobert passes the threshold required of a screen-and-roll player, which has only risen over the past few years, and I feel, particularly, this season. If you can't make quality decisions off an action or finish the advantage efficiently yourself, that's a win for the defense. It's extremely hard to strictly be a finisher at the basket or a lob threat. You need more juice now! Even if you are capable of the decision-making, can you put the ball on the floor once or twice and craft an efficient look? More importantly, can you make the defense care?
We've hardly even gotten into the meat of the screening yet, but it's so important to point out just how difficult it is to be a big in the current NBA. There's often a train of thought along the lines of "screen-and-roll bigs grow on trees," and sure, it's reductive, but I guess not entirely incorrect. However, how many bigs can you just go pick up in the free-agency pool that can meet all the requirements? Being at least a neutral on both ends is extremely hard, especially as a starter!
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Bulls center Nikola Vucevic is one of the best screeners in the league, and shows his versatility and dynamic ability to loosen things offensively for both himself and others. While he's drawn ire from many a Chicago fan for his shooting inconsistency, this offense would not be what it is without Vucevic. We know he can score in a variety of ways, we know he can pass and we know he can screen. The way he blends the trio is what makes him a special offensive player and vital to the Bulls.
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While Vucevic doesn't screen Zach LaVine completely open for the action, watch how he tracks and moves with Jrue Holiday, toeing the line of legality. He screens initially and re-screens again before using his forward momentum and footwork to open himself on the roll.
So while LaVine isn't cleanly open &mdash; largely due to Holiday cheating the action and dodging the first screen from Javonte Green &mdash; Vucevic salvages space with screening. Holiday can't fully reconnect before LaVine starts his way downhill, occupying Serge Ibaka's attention before hitting Vucevic with the pocket pass; the Chicago big man then rumbles into a mesmerizing balletic hook shot. It's quick, Ibaka was already off-kilter and Vucevic takes advantage.
While you could reduce the possession down to a screen and a slow roll, so much more goes on in that space that makes it impressive.
Per Second Spectrum Tracking, Vucevic averages 1.58 seconds per touch, the third-lowest mark amongst players who receive 50 or more touches per game. He touches the ball often, but not for long. He gives the ball energy, adds zest to the possession and serves as a turnkey for the offense.
Send two to one of Chicago's All-NBA candidate guards, and Vucevic slips into space to quickly hit cutters as the defense adjusts to him.
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Or he'll throw in a timely slip when the drop defender is committed to the ball-handler, sure to use his arms to generate some contact with the defender, adding some slight oomph before flipping his hips into a lightning-quick touch shot or jumper. The quickness with which he gets his shots off along with the downhill threat of Chicago's drivers gives the defense headaches.
Speaking of slipping screens, look no further than John Collins!
Trae Young's threat as an elite pull-up shooter, terrifying downhill quickness and immaculate court vision are already a nightmare for defenses. Teams have to often sell out due to Young's advanced craft. Collins slips seemingly every ball-screen, and uses his own explosive downhill dynamism to put the low-man in a torture chamber.
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Rotations are extremely important to executing defense but, man, how do you stop someone like Collins coming down the lane full force even with a perfect rotation?
He creates sinkholes on the perimeter at times with even the mere thought of a slip, as a game has progressed. Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, dear God please don't do it again.
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While this is largely a byproduct of bad defense and miscommunication, in the end it's happening because of Collins. Good defensive teams will try to find ways to neutralize the slip and more effectively handle the perimeter, but silencing the slip is easier said than done. Young needs but a sliver of space to be dangerous.
His verticality and touch are nutty. The ball skills have come along, and he's improved greatly on his passing reads.
Next up is one of my favorite possessions in basketball over the past year. Indiana Pacers rookie Terry Taylor screens Khris Middleton into the abyss and makes getting over a screen an absolute terror.&nbsp;
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Buddy Hield is a very good off-ball mover and one of the best shooters in basketball, but this shot is not clean without Taylor.
He screens Middleton just before Tyrese Haliburton passes the ball to Hield. He moves and re-screens with a flip of his hips, as Hield sets up Middleton to his right. He just stays active and makes Middleton work &mdash; which sounds simplistic, but that's the point... it's not. It's the continuous little efforts to open a half-foot of space that can make a significant difference acquiring said real estate.
Next up, the quintessential Jakob Poeltl possession!
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Dejounte Murray isn't a pull-up shooter like that, and the Orlando Magic know, so they go under the screen. But here's the nice subtlety &mdash; so does Jakob.
Like, of course he knows that teams don't go over on screens for Dejounte, but the quick flip and re-screen allows for the Murray snatch-back and an open lane. I can feel that thudding hip check through my laptop.
But we are not done yet folks!
Poeltl rolls and throws in some more trickery, sealing Mo Bamba with yet another "Is this legal?" (Jakob Poeltl, habitual line-stepper) screen. It's the Daniel Theis/Al Horford seal, but Jakob does it better, so it deserves a cooler name. (I'm not sure what, but think on it!)
Murray is a really nice player (an All-Star, of course), but without Poeltl there is no advantage being created here. He eases the burden of primary creation for Murray and amplifies the offense.
As good as Poeltl is as a dribble-handoff operator, there may not be a more explosive and fluid artist at the elbow and slot than Bam Adebayo.
Adebayo sprints into early offense DHO's with the Miami Heat's movement shooters.&nbsp;
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He's another non-stationary screener. He keeps his arms down to try and blur the lines of legality, making it harder to call a moving screen. I absolutely love it.
Try and sell out to stop the quick hitter? Well, Adebayo might have the most fluid hips and change-of-direction ability of any big in the NBA. He flips screens and thuds you for the audacity to try and cheat the action.
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If you're wondering why Miami had an open three even without Adebayo handling the ball &mdash; rewind, and look for the chaser who gets taken out along the way. He cracks back on off-ball defenders like a wide receiver excited to dole out punishment for a change.
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Ja Morant is one of the most punishing drivers in the NBA, with an absurd guile and vertical pop. His audacity is unfathomable.&nbsp;
While Steven Adams certainly has some drawbacks as an offensive player and limitations defensively, he's been a very nice fit for the Memphis Grizzlies. He paves wide open lanes for Morant in a way that few players can. Often when I watch the Grizz, I see Ja wide open in space, gunning towards the rim with a big on his heels and say to myself, "Where is the fifth defender?"
Well, Steven Adams might play a significant part in that!
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He just erases the defender from the picture with his frame.&nbsp;
More on those driving lanes &mdash; Adams will set interior screens on the roll as well, taking the rim-defender out of the picture, parting the sea in the paint for Morant and guiding to easy buckets at the rim.
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Don't forget about impromptu screens!
Oshae Brissett is a joy to watch, as he takes note of ball-watching defenders and sets up wide-open shots for teammates or generates an unwanted matchup for the defense.
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I don't quite know how to quantify screening, but it is&nbsp;something&nbsp;and it's so much more valuable and complex than it generally is made out to be. As the season winds down, take note and appreciate some of the really cool things happening both on and off the ball &mdash; the impact on play, and why it's happening.
I'm still learning more and more about the game each week, and that's awesome to me. Screening is a whole new world this season, and I can't wait until the next realization that opens my eyes even more about the game!
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As the NBA has continued to evolve on both ends, it's worth taking a minute to appreciate the art of screening, writes Mark Schindler.

An explanation of why we need to appreciate screening more

The Orlando Magic are competing. It might not show in the standings, where they have the worst record in the NBA at 12-41. It won't show in most of their catch-all metrics, where Orlando is 28th in Offensive Rating and 26th in Defensive Rating, per Cleaning the Glass. But this team is a quiet 4-3 over the past two weeks, and its young core has inspired faith &mdash; particularly surrounding the starting lineup.
Cole Anthony, Jalen Suggs, Franz Wagner, Wendell Carter Jr. and Mo Bamba have logged 503 possessions on the court together, the 11th-most in the NBA this season according to Cleaning the Glass. These players have received attention individually; Anthony is having somewhat of a breakout second season, Wagner is a contender in the Rookie of the Year race, and Suggs was the subject of a fantastic <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/dont-forget-about-jalen-suggs" target="_blank" rel="noopener">recent breakdown by our Nekias Duncan</a>. But their synergy together is important to note.
The quintet is the centerpiece of Orlando's currently healthy roster and the barometer for its future potential. They're far from perfect together, but some of the numbers hint at enticing upside in the young squad. In 21 games played, the five have helped the Magic go 8-13 &mdash; not too bad for a pretty rough overall team.
Among 59 lineups with at least 200 possessions played, Orlando's starters have the fourth-best DRTG, giving up 95.4 points per 100 possessions. That's the best of any group on a sub-.500 team; in fact, only four lineups on sub-.500 teams rank in the top-20. Opponents have a 44.3% Effective Field Goal percentage against this group &mdash; the lowest among any qualifying lineup.
The two-big pairing of Carter and Bamba appears to be stamping its presence. Opponents are getting 25% of their shots at the rim (92nd percentile) and making just 51% of those shots (93rd percentile). There's unreal length in the frontcourt; Bamba has a 7-foot-10 wingspan, Carter boasts a 7-foot-5 wingspan and Wagner 's hovers around 7 feet.
Instead, opposing teams typically settle for long twos and three-pointers. They've yet to make the Magic pay, and are shooting just 33.2% from beyond the arc this season. If the Magic starters get into their half-court defense, good luck. They have the third-best DRTG on half-court plays among any lineup with at least 200 possessions played.
Unfortunately, the half-court offense is on the other end of the spectrum. Orlando's starting lineup ranks 53rd out of those aforementioned 59 groupings, avering just 86.1 points per 100 half-court possessions.&nbsp;
This simply isn't a sweet-shooting group at this stage. The squad ranks in the 53rd percentile or worse in every single shot zone recorded by Cleaning the Glass. They also turn the ball over on more than 16.1% of their possessions, which ranks in just the 19th percentile.&nbsp;
However, I personally believe the lineup contains plenty of upside. Anthony has cooled off after a hot start to the season, but he's a capable three-point shooter and pull-up player. Bamba (35.3% from deep) and Carter Jr. (33.3%) are both developing stretch bigs who average at least one made three per game in addition to strong numbers at the basket. Wagner's 35.0% three-point clip is one of the better rookie rates this season. Suggs might be the biggest question mark as a shooter, and he's still a rookie.
Is this a group built to last? I don't know. Orlando will likely have at least a top-five pick in an upcoming draft with three bigs and a lead guard in the top tier. The franchise also waits on perhaps its best player to return from injury in Jonathan Isaac.&nbsp;
First-year head coach Jamahl Mosley at least deserves credit, though, for developing a starting lineup with an average age of 21.2 into a certified-positive defensive unit. As the Magic trudge through a rebuilding season, these five players have built a solid foundation of hope.
THE OUTLIERS (a.k.a. other random interesting numbers I find in the void):
<ul>
<li>According to Celtics writer Taylor Snow, Robert Williams III set the franchise's single-season record for dunks with his 95th deposit last Saturday. He did so in just 40 games!</li>
<li>Here's an extremely interesting graphic and fact from Peter Zanca. After an onslaught of new players in December and early January, we're in a crazy dry spell for NBA debuts.</li>
</ul>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
After setting a record for the # of players in a season, the NBA hasn't seen any new players debut over the last 20 days. That plateau is pretty much unprecedented and likely means the COVID spike gave FOs a look at more than enough players to fill slots for the rest of the year. <a href="https://t.co/WAbSK94zAM">pic.twitter.com/WAbSK94zAM</a>
&mdash; Peter Zanca (@Peter_Zanca) <a href="https://twitter.com/Peter_Zanca/status/1489075264193810434?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 3, 2022</a></blockquote>

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<ul>
<li>Another really cool graphic from Synergy's Todd Whitehead on how different coaches utilize late-game timeouts:</li>
</ul>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
Was interested to check out the relationship between last-minute timeouts and close games situations with this cool timeout data from Mike and the high/very high leverage possession counts from <a href="https://t.co/NgjzyXILD2">https://t.co/NgjzyXILD2</a> &ndash; not as correlated as I would have guessed! <a href="https://t.co/yGsc0gWvGe">https://t.co/yGsc0gWvGe</a> <a href="https://t.co/Pf3mFmmn1x">pic.twitter.com/Pf3mFmmn1x</a>
&mdash; Todd Whitehead (@CrumpledJumper) <a href="https://twitter.com/CrumpledJumper/status/1487620306944495616?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 30, 2022</a></blockquote>
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Ethan Fuller looks at a young Magic lineup that has been surprisingly effective on the defensive end.

Stats Notebook: Analyzing Orlando's sneaky-interesting starting five

<div>
After the Wizards endured a 115-95 thumping at the hands of the Grizzlies, <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/dinwiddie-says-his-leadership-wasnt-necessarily-welcomed-by-wizards" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Spencer Dinwiddie was pretty candid with reporters</a> about his leadership approaches not really working out in the early going of the season. That comes after a previous report from <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/dinwiddie-says-his-leadership-wasnt-necessarily-welcomed-by-wizards-a-john-wall-westbrook-trade-really-help-lakers" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Bleacher Report's Eric Pincus</a> on the imperfect chemistry between Dinwiddie and Bradley Beal.
So that, plus a five-game losing streak with some epic moments of failure, gives Washington the edge in this week's Sour Rankings.&nbsp;
If you're new to the Sour Rankings, here's a refresher: Unlike the typical "power rankings" that repeat themselves throughout sports media, Sour Rankings are a bizarro-world counter. These rankings highlight the top-10 most frustrating NBA franchises throughout the season, and they will be updated every week to match the twists and turns of the league.&nbsp;
This is not merely a bottom-10 of your typical best-to-worst power rankings. You will see championship contenders and playoff hopefuls mixed in with struggling squads. Teams well under .500 may never touch the Sour Rankings because they are on track with their respective processes. Injuries, drama, transactions and generally underwhelming play will earn you a spot on this list.
</div>
<div>
The central question is ultimately this: How good should you feel about the direction of each franchise? Let's get going:
Escaping the Sour Rankings:&nbsp;The Atlanta Hawks have taken flight and won their last seven straight games to vault back into the Play-In race. The Los Angeles Clippers have not reeled off a winning streak, but continue to fight hard with an undermanned cast and have snuck up to seventh in the Western Conference standings. They're a fun team to watch and a fun team to root for with this ragtag bunch.
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10. New Orleans Pelicans (18-31)
The Pelicans are mired in a three-game skid, though all three of those losses came without Brandon Ingram and Jonas Valanciunas. They're still one of my personal favorite squads to watch in the NBA and still worth praising for how they've remained competitive. But we're hitting the NBA trade deadline on Feb. 10, and that brings some anxiety for a squad that is too far outside the Play-In race as things stand but too good of a team to fold.
New Orleans could certainly make a splash to push to the postseason, but is that the right move? What happens if they don't? Every loss makes the claw toward contention more challenging.
(Last week: Unranked)
9. Boston Celtics (26-25)
The Celtics do not break out of the Sour Rankings because there's too much of a roller-coaster track record. But the past week is a massive confidence-builder for fans of the current starting lineup. The Marcus Smart-Jaylen Brown-Jayson Tatum-Al Horford-Robert Williams III group is outscoring opponents by 23.7 points per 100 possessions, according to Cleaning the Glass. They helped Boston eviscerate some lesser teams this past week. The real tests begin on Monday against Miami.
(Last week: 6)
8. Brooklyn Nets (29-20)
This is the first Sour Rankings appearance for Brooklyn since the early weeks of the season. The Nets have lost four games in a row to the Minnesota Timberwolves, Los Angeles Lakers, Denver Nuggets and Golden State Warriors, all while Kevin Durant rehabs an MCL injury. James Harden also missed Sunday's defeat at Golden State with a hand sprain.
Harden <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/james-harden-interested-in-exploring-other-opportunities-in-free-agency" target="_blank" rel="noopener">dominated headlines this week</a> after reports surfaced that he would consider "exploring other options" outside of the Nets this offseason with significant ties to Philly. That's simply not the news Brooklyn wants with the Big Three finally (partially) back together.
(Last week: Unranked)
7. Portland Trail Blazers (24-27)
The Blazers went 1-3 this week, but maintain a comfortable hold on 10th in the West because the teams behind them fared poorly as well. Portland got beat out narrowly by Minnesota and less closely by the Dallas Mavericks and Chicago Bulls, though it did take care of business against the lowly Houston Rockets. Sadly, much of the week gets overshadowed by the season-ending shoulder injury to Nassir Little, who was having a breakout third year with the team.
(Last week: 8)
6. Utah Jazz
Yes, the Jazz have missed Donovan Mitchell over the last six games, and also Rudy Gobert for the last four. Yes, they've played a brutal recent schedule that included the Warriors, Phoenix Suns and Memphis Grizzlies. However, this current five-game losing streak has only exposed how serious the depth question is for Utah ahead of the trade deadline.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
This has pretty easily been the most difficult month for the Utah Jazz in Quin Snyder&rsquo;s tenure as head coach
&mdash; Tony Jones (@Tjonesonthenba) <a href="https://twitter.com/Tjonesonthenba/status/1487971479790796800?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 31, 2022</a></blockquote>

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The team is 1-7 with bottom-10 efficiency ratings on both ends over the past two weeks. Now, according to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski, Utah fears Joe Ingles has torn his ACL. When the Jazz inevitably deal with injuries in the postseason, is there enough confidence that the next man up can help them win?
(Last week: 10)
5. New York Knicks (23-27)
It was just a two-game week for the Knicks and they got smacked in both with two double-digit losses to the Heat and Bucks. <a href="https://bleacherreport.com/articles/10025155-knicks-trade-rumors-ny-open-to-dealing-kemba-walker-evan-fournier-alec-burks" target="_blank" rel="noopener">According to ESPN's Brian Windhorst</a>, New York is open to trading Kemba Walker, Evan Fournier and Alec Burks. "Open to" feels like some generous phrasing at this stage. It can't feel great that the two marquee offseason additions are both on the block. Oh, and <a href="https://www.slamonline.com/nba/knicks-coach-tom-thibodeau-reveals-why-cam-reddish-isnt-in-rotation/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Cam Reddish isn't in the rotation, either.</a>
(Last week: 5)
4. Indiana Pacers (18-33)
The Pacers are 4-14 dating back to Christmas. A mediocre defense has fallen apart, and that probably isn't helped by Myles Turner's extended absence due to a foot fracture. But you know what? Isaiah Jackson's been interesting. The 2021 first-round rookie most recently had 12 points, 6 rebounds, 3 blocks and a made three-pointer against the Mavericks.
Did the Pacers lose that game by 27 and did Jackson also foul out? Who's to say? But there's a nice little silver lining for a team that has very little going for it right now.
(Last week: 4)
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3. Los Angeles Lakers (24-27)
I'm glad Russell Westbrook had a fun second half in what ended up being a three-point Laker loss to the Charlotte Hornets. The discourse around him will never be fair, so it feels good to see him be successful through all the criticism.&nbsp;
... And that'll do it for this week's positive Lakers talk! They lost all three games this week to the Hornets, Atlanta Hawks and Philadelphia 76ers. Anthony Davis is shooting 18.0% from long range on the season, by the way.
(Last week: 1)
2. Sacramento Kings (18-33)
Kings-related conversations are rapidly turning from "How good is Tyrese Haliburton?" to "Free Tyrese Haliburton!" and that's not a great sign. The second-year combo guard put up 38 points on Saturday and Sacramento still lost that contest to the 76ers. He's built off a stellar December and is averaging 16.3 points, 8.4 rebounds and 3.8 assists per game while shooting 42.0% from beyond the arc in January. Yet, the Kings are 3-11 this month.
(Last week: 2)
1. Washington Wizards (23-26)
I listened to a couple of different social media conversations after the Wizards lost in meltdown fashion against the Clippers last Tuesday. In that game, Washington had a 30-point halftime lead before giving up 80 second-half points to the Clippers and ultimately losing on Luke Kennard heroics, 116-115. Those poor fans circled around the same phrase: "Why does this always happen?"&nbsp;
Washington had a three-day layoff and then promptly lost by 20 to the Grizzlies. The Wizards' upcoming schedule? In order: Milwaukee, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Miami, Brooklyn. This is going to get really ugly.&nbsp;
(Last week: 1)
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Washington blew a 30-point halftime lead to the Clippers in a spectacular collapse. Ethan Fuller updates his Sour Rankings.

NBA Sour Rankings: Wizards hitting new rock bottom

Tuscaloosa, AL&nbsp; -&nbsp; The Crimson Tide take down No. 4 Baylor today at home by a score of 87-78. They played great team defense and were led in scoring by Jahvon Quinerly with 20 points. Jeremy Sochan led Baylor with 17 points.&nbsp;
Led by the No. 7 defense in the country in Adjusted Efficiency, Baylor (18-3, 6-2 Big 12) is again one of the top teams in the nation. Their three guards, LJ Cryer (out with foot injury), James Akinjo and Adam Flagler drive the offense and combine for 39.6 points and 10.9 assists per game. Freshman Kendall Brown is also having a strong season and is currently projected as a lottery pick in June&rsquo;s NBA draft.
The Crimson Tide (14-7, 4-4 SEC) has been up and down. After five &ldquo;Quad 1&rdquo; wins they hit a rough patch in conference play, losing 4 of their last 6 contests. Junior guard Jaden Shackelford leads the team in scoring with 17.1 points per game. Freshman JD Davison is as electric as any at the guard position and also projects as a lottery pick.
In an incredible environment in Tuscaloosa in which the fans put on a &ldquo;White Out,&rdquo; Shackelford and Davison got started early as the Tide jumped out to an 11-3 lead. Baylor responded with some big shots of their own, taking a 19-17 lead halfway through the period. Quinerly would get hot soon after which allowed the Tide to take back the lead at 29-22.
Alabama took a 38-34 lead to the break and had 20 points in the paint in the first half alone. They did so by attacking the lane with purpose and converting at the free-throw line. Quinerly led all players with 12 points. Jeremy Sochan scored 8, while Flagler and Davison each had 7 points.&nbsp;
Alabama remained in control the first few minutes of the second half as the score moved to 43-38. Quinerly and Akinjo were tagged for offsetting technical fouls at the 16:42 mark, and Baylor immediately responded with a cut and alley-oop from Matthew Mayer. By the 13:13 mark, Alabama had gotten back on track and taken a 57-42 lead, thanks to some stifling defense and big shot-making from Keon Ellis.
Things got interesting when Dale Bonner and Flagler connected on triples to cut the lead to 65-60. Shackelford hit a three-pointer with just under five minutes to go, off a beautiful inbound set as the shot clock expired, making the lead 75-66 Tide. With just under three minutes to go, JD Davison made a huge steal and dunk in transition to give Alabama a 10-point lead.&nbsp;
The Tide would hold on for the 87-78 win.&nbsp;
Shackelford ended with 19 points, and Davison posted 14 points, 4 rebounds, 5 assists and 2 steals in another big-time performance. Flagler added 16 points for Baylor, while Matthew Mayer scored 12 on 4 of 8 from the field.
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UPCOMING
Baylor hosts West Virginia on Monday night.
Alabama visits No. 1 Auburn on Tuesday.
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The Crimson Tide take down No. 4 Baylor today at home by a score of 87-78.

Alabama knocks off No. 4 Baylor, 87-78

Tommy Beer is back with his latest version of BasketballNews.com's NBA Power Rankings. To read last week's version, <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-power-rankings-grizz-and-cavs-continue-to-climb" target="_blank" rel="noopener">click here</a>.
The Phoenix Suns, who have at least three more wins than every other team in the league, retains the top spot in this week's BasketballNews.com Power Rankings.
1. Phoenix Suns (37-9) &harr;️ Last Week: 1
Phoenix has won 37 of its first 46 games this season, matching the 2006-07 squad for the best start in franchise history. And while LeBron James has been lavished with praise for what he's been able to accomplish this season (and rightfully so), Chris Paul's play has been equally incredible. CP3 poured in a season-high 27 points to go along with 14 assists and 9 rebounds in Monday's win over the Utah Jazz. The 36-year-old Paul is on pace to become the first player in NBA history over the age of 30 to average more than 10 assists and fewer than 3 turnovers per game.
2. Golden State Warriors (34-13) ⬆️ Last Week: 3
Even the greatest shooter of all-time can fall into a slump. After missing 12 of the 13 three-pointers he attempted in Sunday's victory over the Jazz, Steph Curry's shooting percentage from behind the arc fell below 30% for the month of January. Over his last 10 games, Curry is just 29 of 105 from downtown (27.6%).
3. Memphis Grizzlies (32-17)&nbsp;⬇️ Last Week: 2
The Grizz have lost 3 of their last 5 games, but all five contests have come against teams well above .500. Their two wins during this stretch were impressive (a blowout victory over the Chicago Bulls and a win vs. the Denver Nuggets at altitude). Ja Morant was on fire last week, averaging 35.3 points, 9.0 rebounds and 8.7 assists per contest.
4. Miami Heat (30-17) &harr;️ Last Week: 4
Despite again being forced to play without Kyle Lowry (personal matter) and Tyler Herro (health and safety protocols), the Heat beat the Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday, catapulting Miami to the top of the Eastern Conference. The fact that Heat have the East's best record even though Lowry, Bam Adebayo and Jimmy Butler have played just 14 games together is a testament to the phenomenal coaching job Erik Spoelstra has turned in.
5. Milwaukee Bucks (30-19) ⬆️ Last Week: 8
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
34 PTS from <a href="https://twitter.com/Khris22m?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Khris22m</a> 26 PTS from <a href="https://twitter.com/Jrue_Holiday11?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Jrue_Holiday11</a> The <a href="https://twitter.com/Bucks?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Bucks</a> make it three-straight wins as Khris &amp; Jrue combine for 60 🔥 <a href="https://t.co/CL6OhZH6ZM">pic.twitter.com/CL6OhZH6ZM</a>
&mdash; NBA (@NBA) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBA/status/1485254751772188674?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 23, 2022</a></blockquote>

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Jrue Holiday returned from injury last week, and the Bucks (who had lost 4 out of 5 with Holiday on the shelf) promptly went on a three-game winning streak. We shouldn't have been surprised, as the Bucks have been deadly when they've had their Big Three healthy and active. Milwaukee is now 18-3 in the 21 games Giannis Antetokounmpo, Khris Middleton and Holiday have all played.&nbsp;
6. Cleveland Cavaliers (29-19)&nbsp;&harr;️ Last Week: 6
Kevin Love scored a team-high 20 points in the Cavs' victory over the New York Knicks on Monday night. It was Cleveland's seventh victory in its last eight games. Love embracing his role off the bench has been a significant factor in the Cavs' success this season. Over Cleveland's last 20 games, Love is averaging 16.6 points, 7.3 rebounds and 3.0 treys, while shooting 41.4% from downtown and 82.6% from the free-throw line.&nbsp;
7. Utah Jazz (30-18) &harr;️ Last Week: 7
The Jazz have lost 8 of their last 11 games. However, Utah was missing Donovan Mitchell, Rudy Gobert and Mike Conley on Monday night in Phoenix; Quin Snyder's bunch still fought tough and actually led the Suns by four points in the fourth quarter before running out of gas.&nbsp;
8. Chicago Bulls (29-17) ⬇️ Last Week: 5
Nikola Vucevic had been mired in a nasty slump heading into Monday night, but he powered the Bulls past the Oklahoma City Thunder on Monday. It was a much-needed win for Chicago, who had lost 6 of 7 and was coming off an embarrassing blowout loss to the Orlando Magic. Vooch racked up 26 points (on 10 of 18 shooting), 15 rebounds, 4 assists, 4 treys, 3 blocks and a steal in 39 minutes. With Lonzo Ball (left knee) and Alex Caruso (fractured wrist) sidelined for the foreseeable future, the Bulls are going to need Vucevic to continue playing well.
9. Philadelphia 76ers (27-19) ⬆️ Last Week: 11
Unfortunately for Joel Embiid &mdash; who has scored at least 25 points in 14 straight games &mdash; Sixers president of basketball operations Daryl Morey may be content to hold onto Ben Simmons until the offseason. According to Shams Charania and Sam Amick of The Athletic, Morey <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/sixers-could-wait-until-offseason-for-possible-james-harden-trade" target="_blank" rel="noopener">hopes to use Simmons as a trade chip to land James Harden or another superstar</a>. It really would be a shame if the Sixers waste a year of Embiid's prime, especially when the big man is playing arguably the best basketball of his career.&nbsp;
10. Dallas Mavericks (27-20) &harr;️ Last Week: 10
The Mavs have won 5 of their last 6, with two of those wins coming against the Grizzlies. And according to Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report, Dallas is <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/report-wizards-are-frontrunner-for-jerami-grant-may-deal-dinwiddie" target="_blank" rel="noopener">a potential "dark-horse" candidate to land Pistons forward Jerami Grant</a> at the deadline. The Mavs' offer would reportedly start with a combo of Dorian Finney-Smith and Dwight Powell.
11. Brooklyn Nets (29-17) ⬇️ Last Week: 9
Kyrie Irving has played well for the Nets, but Brooklyn continues to be sieve-like on the defensive end. It's been more than two months since the Nets held an opponent below 99 points. And they've been especially porous in January. In fact, Brooklyn has been the worst defensive team in the NBA this month, allowing 117.3 points per 100 possessions. The only other team in the league with a defensive rating higher than 117 is the Houston Rockets.
12. Denver Nuggets (24-21)&nbsp;⬆️ Last Week: 13
On Monday, Nikola Jokic was <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nikola-jokic-trae-young-take-home-player-of-the-week-for-jan-1723" target="_blank" rel="noopener">named the Western Conference Player of the Week</a> after averaging a mind-boggling 36.3 points, 11.3 rebounds, 10.0 assists and 2.3 steals per game. Oh, and he shot 65.0% from the floor, 40.0% from downtown and 86.2% from the charity stripe. Remarkably, it's the first time he's won a Player of the Week award this season.
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13. Charlotte Hornets (26-21)&nbsp;⬇️ Last Week: 12
The Hornets had won 7 of 8 before going ice cold in a loss to the Atlanta Hawks on Sunday, as Charlotte shot just 4 of 36 (11%) from downtown. The Hornets have a tough road back-to-back (at Toronto and Indiana) on Tuesday and Wednesday.&nbsp;
14. Minnesota Timberwolves (23-23)&nbsp;⬆️ Last Week: 17
On Sunday, Anthony Edwards racked up 25 points, 4 assists, and 4 triples in the Wolves' victory over the Nets. In the process, he knocked down his 300th career three-pointer, making him the youngest player in league history to achieve that feat and breaking the record previously held by Luka Doncic. However, Ant-Man limped off the floor and into the locker room late in the game after colliding with a defender. Fortunately, Wolves coach Chris Finch said the injury was not serious after the game.
15. Los Angeles Lakers (23-24) ⬆️ Last Week: 18
Let's take a step back for a second and appreciate what LeBron has been doing this season. In 2011-12, when LeBron was 27 years old, he averaged 27.1 points (on 55.6% Effective Field Goal percentage), 7.9 rebounds, 6.2 assists, 0.9 made threes and 0.8 blocks per game. He would be named NBA MVP and lead the Heat to a championship, where he was named Finals MVP. Well, in 2021-22, at age 37, James is averaging 29.0 points (61.6% eFG), 7.7 rebounds, 6.3 assists, 2.8 made threes and 1.1 blocks a night. Somehow, he's posting better numbers 10 years after playing at his "peak" in the heart of his prime.
16. Boston Celtics (24-24) &harr;️ Last Week: 16
Jayson Tatum had been brutal from downtown (having missed all 17 of his three-point attempts over his three previous games) heading into Sunday's matchup with the Washington Wizards, but the Celtics superstar knocked down career-high 9 triples in Boston's latest win en route to a season-high 51 points. On top of that, he chipped in 10 rebounds and 7 assists for good measure. We'll see if Tatum and the Cs can find some semblance of consistency going forward.&nbsp;
17. Toronto Raptors (22-22) ⬇️ Last Week: 15
This Raptors team remains frustratingly inconsistent. Thus far this month, they have beaten the Bucks twice (including once in Milwaukee) and the Jazz. Yet, they've also been blown out by the Detroit Pistons and were down 34 points to the Portland Trail Blazers on Sunday. The loss to Portland was Toronto's fifth loss in its last seven games. &nbsp;
18. Washington Wizards (23-24) ⬇️ Last Week: 14
The Wiz began an eight-game homestand on Jan. 11 (tied for the longest homestand by any team this season) and won their first two contests. However, Washington has dropped three in a row and 4 of their last 5. Their biggest issue has been on the defensive end, where the team is allowing 113.6 points per 100 possessions in January.
19. New York Knicks (23-25)&nbsp;⬆️ Last Week: 20
The Knicks are struggling, but New Yorkers have to be encouraged by the strong play of RJ Barrett in 2022. Over the 13 games the Knicks have played dating back to New Year's Eve, Barrett is averaging 23.2 points, 6.6 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 2.2 treys, while shooting 45.6% from the floor and over 39% from downtown.&nbsp;
20. Atlanta Hawks (21-25)&nbsp;⬆️ Last Week: 21
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Trae Young hit 8 three pointers tonight. 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥 <a href="https://t.co/JDWJqomWh9">pic.twitter.com/JDWJqomWh9</a>
&mdash; Everything Georgia (@GAFollowers) <a href="https://twitter.com/GAFollowers/status/1485464198914220037?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 24, 2022</a></blockquote>

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Heading into MLK Day, the Hawks were riding a five-game losing streak. However, Atlanta registered four impressive wins last week, beating the Bucks, Timberwolves and Heat at home before smashing the Hornets in Charlotte on Sunday. "We are definitely headed in the right direction," Trae Young said after Sunday's victory. "Right now it's more about consistency and keeping it going. We're not satisfied. We know what to do and what we are capable of doing."
21. Los Angeles Clippers (23-25)&nbsp;⬇️ Last Week: 19
The Clips have lost 7 of their last 10 games and just don't have enough firepower to compete on a nightly basis with both Paul George and Kawhi Leonard sidelined. Those two superstars are making more than $78 million in salary this season (which is more than the combined salaries of the entire OKC Thunder team). Late last week, it was reported that PG-13 would miss at least another few weeks as he continues to rehab the torn ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow.
22. Portland Trail Blazers (20-26)&nbsp;&harr;️ Last Week: 22 
Two weeks ago, when the Blazers embarked on a six-game road trip, Portland had been just 2-13 on the road over its first 15 road contests this season. However, by beating the Raptors on Sunday in Toronto, the Blazers wrapped up their six-game swing with an impressive 4-2 record.
23. New Orleans Pelicans (18-28)&nbsp;⬆️ Last Week: 25
Playing without leading scorer Brandon Ingram (right ankle sprain), Devonte' Graham carried the Pels to a victory over the Indiana Pacers on Monday night. Graham erupted for 25 points (on 8 of 14 shooting) and added 6 assists, 5 triples, 3 rebounds and a steal. Josh Hart also posted a strong double-double, finishing with 22 points and 10 boards.
24. Indiana Pacers (17-31) ⬆️ Last Week: 26
Domantas Sabonis has missed each of the Pacers' last three games after suffering a left ankle sprain during the fourth quarter of last Wednesday's win over the Lakers. Goga Bitadze has stepped in the starting lineup for Indy and averaged 13.7 points, 8.3 rebounds and 3.3 assists in 29.5 minutes since Sabonis went down.
25. Sacramento Kings (18-30)&nbsp;⬇️ Last Week: 23
De'Aaron Fox sat out Saturday's loss to the Bucks due to left ankle soreness and is listed as questionable for Tuesday's game vs. the Celtics. Last week, Shams Charania of The Athletic reported that the Kings are not planning to trade Fox before the February deadline, instead "informing teams in the marketplace that they want to build around Fox and second-year guard Tyrese Haliburton." This may well be posturing by the Kings; we shall see.&nbsp;
26. San Antonio Spurs (17-30)&nbsp;⬇️ Last Week: 24
Dejounte Murray has <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/making-the-allstar-case-for-dejounte-murray" target="_blank" rel="noopener">quietly been establishing himself as one of the league's elite young point guards</a> this season. Over the Spurs' past three games, Murray &mdash; who is among the league's steal leaders &mdash; is averaging 22.3 points, 10.3 rebounds and 12.0 assists (vs. just 2.0 turnovers). &nbsp;
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27. Houston Rockets (14-33)&nbsp;⬆️ Last Week: 28
Houston, who recorded an impressive victory over the Jazz last week, has turned down multiple trade offers for veteran shooting guard Eric Gordon, according to Kelly Iko of The Athletic. With the Rockets in rebuild mode, it's somewhat surprising, considering the 33-year-old Gordon is owed $19.6 million in guaranteed salary next season and is signed for $20.9 million in 2023-24 (although that season's salary is non-guaranteed).
28. Detroit Pistons (11-35)&nbsp;⬆️ Last Week: 29
Jerami Grant has been one of the most popular names bandied about in trade rumors over the last few weeks, but James L. Edwards III of The Athletic writes that there is a "real possibility" that Pistons sit tight over the next few weeks. General manager Troy Weaver is reportedly comfortable holding onto Grant and dangling him in trade talks over the summer if they don't get an offer that knocks their socks off before the February 10 deadline.&nbsp;
29. Oklahoma City Thunder (14-33)&nbsp;⬇️ Last Week: 27
The Thunder are currently riding a six-game losing streak and have posted a 1-11 record in the 12 games they've played since the calendar flipped to 2022.&nbsp;
30. Orlando Magic (9-39)&nbsp;&harr;️ Last Week: 30
Jalen Suggs is struggling with his efficiency (shooting just 36.5% from the floor and 22.4% from downtown this season), but he's coming the most productive week of his rookie campaign. Over Orlando's last three games, Suggs is averaging 17.0 points. 7.0 assists, 6.0 boards and 2.0 steals. Marc Stein wrote Monday that the Magic are looking to trade Terrence Ross and/or Gary Harris before next month's trade deadline.
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Tommy Beer checks in with an installment of BasketballNews.com's NBA Power Rankings.

NBA Power Rankings: Suns remain red-hot, Bucks continue to climb

Quin Snyder on center position tonight: "Well, it's a position."
Source: <a href="https://twitter.com/andyblarsen/status/1481421209434656768?s=20">Andy Larsen/Salt Lake Tribune</a>
ANALYSIS:&nbsp;
The Jazz are without centers Rudy Gobert, Hassan Whiteside, and Udoka Azubuike tonight.
They are currently projected to start the 6'6" forward Eric Paschall at center tonight.&nbsp;

Quin Snyder on center position tonight: "Well, it's a position."

Quin Snyder on center for Jazz tonight: 'Well, it's a position'

The NBA announced that Memphis Grizzlies head coach Taylor Jenkins and Miami Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra have won Coach of the Month honors for the month of December.
Here is the official release from the NBA:
"Miami Heat coach Erik Spoelstra and Memphis Grizzlies coach Taylor Jenkins have been named the NBA Coaches of the Month for December.
Spoelstra guided the Heat to a 10-5 record, while Jenkins and the Grizzlies posted a 12-4 mark in December. Both squads are currently the 4th seed in their respective conference standings."
Other nominees included:
West: Steve Kerr (Golden State Warriors) and Quin Snyder (Utah Jazz)
East: J.B. Bickerstaff (Cleveland Cavaliers), Mike Budenholzer (Milwaukee Bucks) and Steve Nash (Brooklyn Nets)
&nbsp;

Taylor Jenkins and Erik Spoelstra have been named the coaches of the month for December.

Taylor Jenkins, Erik Spoelstra named Coaches of the Month for December

Thus far this season, Golden State Warrior losses have been a lot like blue moons &mdash; seldom seen, and as a result, quite conspicuous.
Notwithstanding the team&rsquo;s 89-86 loss to the Denver Nuggets on Tuesday night, the Dubs have been the NBA&rsquo;s best team this season. They enter play on Dec. 29 with the league&rsquo;s top record of 27-7 and the second-best plus-minus (+10) among their peers. They also happen to lay statistical claim of being the best defensive team in the league, as they allow the fewest points per game (100.9) and yield the fewest points per 100 possessions (102.1).
Offensively, they&rsquo;ve been led by Steph Curry, who, in case you haven&rsquo;t noticed, is doing big things.
With the other half of the Splash Brothers lurking in the shadows, one can&rsquo;t help but to wonder whether the Warriors have been so good that they&rsquo;ve created a Klay Thompson conundrum.
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The assumption has always been that Golden State would become a better team once Thompson returns to the lineup, but, in the words of Jay-Z...
How you gon' upgrade me?
What's higher than number one?
Nothing immediately comes to mind.
That the Warriors have arrived here is a surprise &mdash; at least to yours truly. Their championship window <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/dynastic-demise-warriors-have-far-to-go-to-become-contender-out-west" target="_blank" rel="noopener">seemed to be closing</a> as their core aged out, but a reinvigoration of youth and their development has changed everything.
A combination of an improved Curry and a rejuvenated (and effective) Draymond Green have anchored a team that has seen auxiliary pieces like Andrew Wiggins, Jordan Poole and Damion Lee become fairly efficient shot-makers who compete defensively. 
Wiggins, in particular, has found his game in California.&nbsp;
A career 44.8% shooter from the field, he is knocking down a career-best 48.7% of his attempts, including a blistering 42.5% from three.
With players shuttled in and out of the lineup, Golden State&rsquo;s appreciable depth has been on display. Otto Porter Jr., Andre Iguodala, Gary Payton II and Juan Toscano-Anderson have each played impactful minutes when called upon, and the recurring theme for the Warriors has been finding ways to win.
And again, all of this has occurred without Thompson.
As a player &mdash; assuming he can revert to form &mdash; Klay should be expected to regain his place in the rotation and help the Warriors on both ends of the floor. At least on paper, adding a talent like him, with his specific gifts, could make the Warriors virtually unbeatable.
Nonetheless, it&rsquo;s interesting to comprehend just how good the team has been without him, and why.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
Keeping Up With The Canadians 🇨🇦 Andrew Wiggins | vs. Denver 21 POINTS 3 THREE POINTERS 8 REBOUNDS 2 STEALS<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/DubNation?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#DubNation</a> | <a href="https://twitter.com/warriors?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@warriors</a> <a href="https://t.co/SYkr43VM9d">pic.twitter.com/SYkr43VM9d</a>
&mdash; NBA Canada (@NBACanada) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBACanada/status/1476203855046086656?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 29, 2021</a></blockquote>

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According to <a href="http://www.82games.com/2122/2122GSW2.HTM" target="_blank" rel="noopener">82games.com</a>, the team&rsquo;s best five-man unit is Curry, Poole, Wiggins, Green and Looney. The quintet has played 264.5 minutes together, boasting a net-rating of +21 and outscoring opposing five-man units 65% of the time.
The second-best combination replaces Looney with Porter. The group has played only 36.6 minutes together, but has a net rating of +15 and has outscored opposing five-man units 55.5% of the time. Others deployed by Kerr have smaller sample sizes, meaning that these two lineups are the ones he relies upon most heavily.&nbsp;
What becomes evident from these two, however, is that both Poole and Wiggins have been instrumental to the Warriors&rsquo; success &mdash; and that is a pair whose minutes will be reduced most dramatically once Thompson returns.
Klay is best as a catch-and-shoot player, so it&rsquo;s easy to imagine scenarios where he&rsquo;s playing alongside Poole. It&rsquo;s also easy to imagine five-man units where Green plays center with Curry, Poole, Thompson and Wiggins.
Still, reincorporating a piece &mdash; especially one who&rsquo;s expected to play starter&rsquo;s minutes &mdash; is going to cause rotational demotions. Young players don&rsquo;t always handle those well.
The last time Thompson played in an NBA game, Kevin Durant was still his teammate. Wiggins was in Minnesota, and had only recently been separated from Tom Thibodeau and Jimmy Butler. Poole was a sophomore Wolverine at the University of Michigan whose hoops dreams had yet to fully materialize.
Lots has changed.
Assuming he is able to take the floor at some point before the All-Star break, it will have been nearly three years since Thompson last set foot on an NBA court. Many things, including those he will call teammates, will have changed. So too may be the extent upon which the Dubs will rely on him.
There&rsquo;s no reason to believe that either Thompson or the Warriors will have any issue reincorporating the other, but there&rsquo;s no question that Klay will be hungry to prove that he is still as capable a player as he was when we last saw him.&nbsp;
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When he takes the court for the first time, Klay will have seen all but five of the teammates he last played with replaced. Curry, Green, Looney, Lee and Iguodala will be the familiar faces.
There will only be one constant &mdash; the Warriors will still be the bully on the NBA&rsquo;s block.&nbsp;
Only this time, they will have attained that status without Klay.
Sure, Poole, Wiggins and the rest of the team&rsquo;s pieces may willingly yield back the reps and shots they earned by scratching and clawing their way through the rotation. But just as they will have to get used to the idea of yielding to Klay, he too will have to accept the fact that 2019 was a long time ago.&nbsp;
Despite his absence, the Warriors haven't stopped being the Warriors.
In some ways, it&rsquo;s good. In most ways, in fact.
But in others, it&rsquo;s a conundrum.&nbsp;
The Klay conundrum &mdash; perhaps the league&rsquo;s most interesting storyline as we head into 2022.

After nearly three years, Klay Thompson is inching toward his return. Both he and the Warriors will need to adjust to a few changes.

The dominant Warriors may have created a Klay Thompson conundrum

Stephen Curry scored 46 points and made eight 3-pointers, Gary Payton Jr. added a clutch 3-pointer late in the fourth quarter and the Golden State Warriors held off the Memphs Grizzlies 113-104 on Thursday night.
Payton finished with 22 points and Draymond Green had nine assists to help the Warriors improve an NBA-best 16-2 record at home. The Warriors (26-6) remain one-half game behind the Suns (26-5) for the best record in the NBA, with the teams set to meet on Christmas in Phoenix.
&ldquo;That&rsquo;s about as good as it gets against a very physical defense with great size,&rdquo; Golden State coach Steve Kerr said. &ldquo;Over the last 10-12 games, Memphis had the best defensive rating in the league. For Steph to go out and get 46, he showed every bit of his talent tonight. This was his most efficient game in a couple weeks, for sure.&rdquo;
The Warriors led comfortably most of the second half before the Grizzlies made a late push and tied it at 102-all on De&rsquo;Anthony Melton&rsquo;s layup. But Juan Tosco-Anderson scored on a reverse, Payton made his fourth 3 and Curry scurried past three defenders in the key for a layup to help Golden State pull away.
Curry and Green both noted the significance of the win, citing the Grizzlies victory over the Warriors in the play-in game last season.
&ldquo;Definitely wanted this one,&rdquo; said Curry, who twisted his ankle in the fourth quarter but noted he was OK. &ldquo;Definitely felt like it was one (we) cant let slip by because of the history but also because knowing what it&rsquo;s going to take to win a game like this. You carry that chip on your shoulder and understand this is our home court.&rdquo;
Ja Morant had 21 points for Memphis, which had won its previous six road games.
&ldquo;We got a ton of good looks in the paint, missed 30 shots, couldn&rsquo;t get our 3-ball going,&rdquo; Grizzlies coach Taylor Jenkins said. &ldquo;They&rsquo;re a hard team to beat. They played really well tonight.
With MVP chants ringing throughout the night, Curry made 13 of 22 shots (8 of 14 beyond the arc) and was 12 for 12 on free throws to top the 30-point mark for the 12th time this season and the 225th of his career.
&ldquo;He had a great offensive night,&rdquo; Green said. &ldquo;He found space tonight. Guys did a good job of trying to get him the ball and not forcing it. You let a guy like that get clean looks, it starts an avalanche.&rdquo;
The Grizzlies got off to a fast start, connecting on 13 of their first 19 shots to take a 10-point lead.
Golden State, which blew a 19-point lead when the two teams played in October, came back to tie it at 51 following Tosco-Anderson&rsquo;s one-handed dunk and two free throws from Curry.
Curry got the Warriors rolling in the third, making three 3s, including one as he fell flat on his back. The NBA&rsquo;s 3-point king also made four free throws, fed Payton with a no-look pass for a 3-pointer then added a steal and layup.
&ldquo;Greatest shooter of all time,&rdquo; Morant said. &ldquo;We know he&rsquo;s going to make shots. We just have to make it very tough for him to get it off. We had some mental lapses during the game and he made us pay for it.&rdquo;
TIP-INS
Grizzlies: Brooks was whistled for a technical late in the second quarter and Kyle Anderson got one while sitting on the Memphis bench early in the second half. &hellip; Jarrett Culver has entered into the NBA&rsquo;s COVID-19 health and safety protocols. &hellip; Brandon Clarke missed his 11th game with right knee soreness. &hellip; Santi Aldama (right calf soreness) sat out his fourth consecutive game.
Warriors: Curry was four points shy of his season-high of 50. &hellip; Green got his sixth technical of the season in the fourth quarter. &hellip; Golden State had assists on 16 of its first 19 made shots. &hellip; Andrew Wiggins, Jordan Poole and Damion Lee went into the COVID-19 health and safety protocols. &hellip; Golden State signed free agent guard Quinndary Weatherspoon to a 10-day contract.
UP NEXT
Grizzlies: Face the Kings in Sacramento on Sunday.
Warriors: Play the Suns in Phoenix on Saturday. The two teams have split a pair of games this season, with the home team winning each.

Stephen Curry scored 46 points and made eight threes and Gary Payton Jr. added a clutch triple late in the fourth quarter.

Curry scores 46, Warriors hold off pesky Grizzlies 113-104

Saturday afternoon, I had a great time at the Syracuse-Georgetown men's basketball game. It was great to see all the alumni in the house from both schools. I took pictures with Rony Seikaly, Dikembe Mutumbo, Patrick Ewing and Louis Orr, who was my assistant coach at Syracuse.
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Great seeing the OG Rony Seikaly 🍊🍊🍊 <a href="https://t.co/eBacr6RKtC">pic.twitter.com/eBacr6RKtC</a>
&mdash; Etan Thomas (@etanthomas36) <a href="https://twitter.com/etanthomas36/status/1469797832676806661?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 11, 2021</a></blockquote>

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My man Coach Orr and Coach Patrick Ewing. It&rsquo;s all love after the game. They got this one today though, good job coaches <a href="https://t.co/tl8D4WMOW8">pic.twitter.com/tl8D4WMOW8</a>
&mdash; Etan Thomas (@etanthomas36) <a href="https://twitter.com/etanthomas36/status/1469793363469783047?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 11, 2021</a></blockquote>

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The Syracuse fans all showed love. (We have the best fans in college basketball by the way.) This rivalry has so much history, and although Georgetown unfortunately came out with the win, I had an overall wonderful time watching the game.
I reached out to some Syracuse alumni &mdash; Lazarus Sims, Arinze Onuaku, Ryan Blackwell and Preston Shumpert &mdash; to get reactions after the two-game, old-Big East matchups against Villanova and Georgetown. It still pains me that we are no longer in the Big East, and yes, I am still holding out hope that, one day, we will return to the conference we belong.
Here is what all four Orange alum had to say on the team.
Lazarus Sims&nbsp;
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Etan Thomas: How do you think we played against Villanova and Georgetown?&nbsp;
Lazarus Sims: "They were both great games, but we didn&rsquo;t have a consistent true point guard on the floor who put everyone in the right position. I&rsquo;ll go back to when they won the championship in '03. Many people will say it was 'Melo [Anthony], it was Gerry [McNamara] &mdash; but really if you go back and watch the tournament, when they played their best, it was Billy Edelin who was the key. He put Gerry in his right position, the 2. In contrast to this team, against Villanova and Georgetown, when they put Symir [Torrence] in &mdash; who is a pass first point guard &mdash; it puts your shooters and your scorers in the right position. It puts Buddy [Boeheim] at the 3. It puts Joe Girard at the 2, and allows them to do what they do best. What we&rsquo;re doing is forcing the 2-guard into [being] a point guard, so the flow isn&rsquo;t there. It lasts for awhile, but it&rsquo;s not sustainable."
Etan: I couldn&rsquo;t agree more, and I like Symir. It&rsquo;s crazy, I was watching [Seton Hall guard and 'Cuse transfer] Kadary Richmond play against Rutgers. And the way he was running the team, [he] put everyone in their positions first, then it opened it up for him especially in the first half.... then the second half, he focused on putting everyone in their positions. He should be in a Syracuse uniform. But I see him how I see Symir in [that] we need what he brings to the team and he needs to play more. What do you think?&nbsp;
Sims: "Definitely, and you have to let him play through certain mistakes like you do with Joe [Girard]. We need what he does. The offense flows better with a Symir-type of point guard running the team. That&rsquo;s no knock on Girard, it&rsquo;s just not playing him to his strength."
Etan: Symir should be playing more, the same way Kadary should&rsquo;ve been playing more last year. 
Sims: You&rsquo;ll get no argument from me.&nbsp;
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Etan: I saw the press conference after the Georgetown game, and Coach [Jim] Boeheim was saying the guys are worn down and they&rsquo;re tired. And I&rsquo;m thinking 'Well, you got guys on the bench ready to go.' The starters don&rsquo;t have to play ironman minutes.
Sims: "You saw with Symir, he got in [the game] at Georgetown. [He] made one mistake, and you didn&rsquo;t see him anymore for the rest of the game. It&rsquo;s hard to play like that. But we need what he brings, so we need to let him play through mistakes like we do the starters. I mean, let&rsquo;s be honest, sometimes Girard struggles to get the ball up the floor because that&rsquo;s not his strength. Well, we have someone on the bench whose strength that is, just like we did last year with Kadary. We gotta play guys to their strengths."
Arinze Onuaku&nbsp;
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Arinze Onuaku: "It&rsquo;s totally different from when we were there because obviously, our responsibility was solely the paint area, so it&rsquo;s odd seeing Jesse Edwards run from corner-to-corner. I know they switched the defense to the 1-3-1 [zone] at times and we know it&rsquo;s the bottom man&rsquo;s job to run corner-to-corner, but to have Jesse be that person, it does take him out of rebounding position."
Etan Thomas: And that&rsquo;s the part that I question. I can see [that] if we had Quincy Guerrier still, but it&rsquo;s seems like quite a bit to ask of the Boeheims to be the ones to crash the boards, but that&rsquo;s our strategy. And we&rsquo;ve been getting beaten pretty badly on the offensive rebounds, which is one of the reasons why I&rsquo;m not the biggest fan of that strategy.
Onuaku: "Yeah, for sure and [Jesse] is exerting a lot of energy sprinting from corner-to-corner, three-point line to three-point line. That&rsquo;s a lot to ask of the big man."
Etan: Now, I would like to see him get the ball more, and I feel he has earned the right to get the ball more with the way he has been converting. I want them to play inside-out, and that may be a lot to ask, but the entire half shouldn&rsquo;t go by and he only gets the ball two times. That&rsquo;s ridiculous.
Onuaku: "I agree. Any good team has to have balance, and he has been doing a much better job of finishing as well. I think it may take guys a little more time to trust him. He started off slow last year, and this year, so that trust factor from the guards is a factor. But as he continues to improve, I would expect that trust factor to increase."
Etan: But my problem with the trust issue is, they can jack up three-pointers and they can brick 90% of them and nobody loses trust in them. The big men get two or maybe three opportunities, and if you don&rsquo;t convert or catch their pass, they don&rsquo;t trust you?
Onuaku: "Yeah, the game is always gonna be unbalanced for big men. Jesse is going to have to speak up more, and as he produces more, they will have no choice but to give him the ball."
Etan: Yeah, that&rsquo;s the story of being a big man. It was like that when I played and when you played. But that drag screen he does in early offense situation and [when] he rolls, I think that&rsquo;s an easy high pass to him and he finishes. They just do that a few times every half.&nbsp;
Onuaku: "I agree, and he has shown that he can catch it off the run and he does a great job of keeping the ball high and he has been scoring. So you&rsquo;re right &mdash; they should definitely utilize him much more. And shout out to Frank Anselem, who came in and really attacked the rim and provided a spark off the bench. He&rsquo;s someone we&rsquo;re definitely going to need him down the stretch." 
Ryan Blackwell&nbsp;
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Etan Thomas: You watched both the Villanova game and the Georgetown game. What was your assessment?&nbsp;
Ryan Blackwell: "The Villanova game, we were right with them the first half. We were making shots, being aggressive, playing defense. Then the second half, it seemed like we just ran out of gas. Same thing with Georgetown; we were up [by] 10 at half, and we let them back in it. We&rsquo;re gonna have to shoot lights out to win games. I know Buddy was struggling a little, but if he&rsquo;s off and we&rsquo;re gonna rely on Jimmy Boeheim to post-up or go 1-on-1 or Joe Girard to go 1-on-1, it&rsquo;s gonna be tough. And if we&rsquo;re not gonna get much from the bench... I mean, the first half against Georgetown we got good production, but [in] the second half, for whatever reason, the production just wasn&rsquo;t there. Coach felt more comfortable going with his starters. And we faltered at the end, and that was unfortunate because it was a very winnable game."
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Etan: I heard Coach Boeheim at the press conference say that the guys looked tired and worn down, but then I&rsquo;m looking at the bench and they look pretty fresh to me. So I&rsquo;m thinking, well coach, there&rsquo;s a remedy for that. If the guys are tired and their shots [are] not falling, [they're] not closing out on defense, not getting back in transition, not rebounding, whatever &mdash; you have people on your bench who can help. 
Blackwell: "You and I both know, coach relies heavily on his starters and that&rsquo;s never going to change. And we know Benny Williams is extremely talented, but for whatever reason, he&rsquo;s not getting the minutes. Yes, he&rsquo;s young and he&rsquo;s a rookie, and with coach, he has a formula that he has always stuck to. But yeah, it&rsquo;s gonna be a real struggle for our starters to carry the full load."
Etan: I&rsquo;m at the Georgetown game &mdash; you can see it better in person &mdash; and I saw Georgetown literally wearing our guys down. And then, utilizing their bench and getting fresh legs in there to wear our guys down even more. Aminu Mohammed, who is just a freshman, was a holy terror against us. And he would get a break, then come back in fresh and terrorize us some more. I mean, you can&rsquo;t be surprised if guys are tired if they are playing ironman minutes, right?&nbsp;
Blackwell: "Yeah, it&rsquo;s tough. And yes, Buddy has improved so much, but he is being asked to do so much and carry the load offensively. And you&rsquo;re right, it&rsquo;s gonna wear on them as we get into the season. And you&rsquo;re right, Georgetown was getting in our shorts and wearing us down. I can&rsquo;t disagree with anything you said. And I worry about when we get into conference play, because it&rsquo;s not going to get any easier for us at all. And it&rsquo;s tough to knock down shots when you&rsquo;re worn down, no matter how great of a shooter you are, and we have great shooters. But yeah, you&rsquo;re right &mdash; hard to shoot threes when you&rsquo;re worn down. We may need to look to incorporate some other options and alternatives to go along with that."
Preston Shumpert&nbsp;
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Etan Thomas: The secret&rsquo;s out now with Buddy. Everyone knows he can shoot, and teams are devising schemes to make sure he doesn&rsquo;t get open shots. What would be your advice to him, as the elite shooter you were, as to how he can get open and get his shot off?
Preston Shumpert: "It&rsquo;s so different once you&rsquo;re on the other team&rsquo;s scouting report. It&rsquo;s great that he had the success he had last season, but now, like you said, teams are going to try to come up with a game plan to stop you from doing what you do best, which in Buddy&rsquo;s case, is knocking down shots. He&rsquo;s been doing a good job of moving without the ball; he just has to do more of it. Be a little more creative on getting open and what he does once he catches the ball."
Etan: You said move without the ball, so let&rsquo;s talk specifics. Do you mean off screens? Running the baseline?
Shumpert: "I think it&rsquo;s a combination of both. He&rsquo;s getting pin-down screens and curls. I just think he needs to stay consistent with it and know he&rsquo;s going to be hounded and [that] guys are gonna be on him, because he&rsquo;s an elite shooter. But at the same time, if he comes off a screen and two guys jump him, it&rsquo;s the point guard&rsquo;s job to find the open man. Once you start taking advantage of those situations, then you will be more open. But he&rsquo;s gonna have to fade, curl, post up &mdash; he&rsquo;s gonna have to do a lot of different things to get his shot off, and that&rsquo;s really a compliment to him because of how good of a shooter he is. On every scouting report, I&rsquo;m sure it says, 'No open shots for him.'" 
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Etan: That&rsquo;s definitely true. What is the best way to come out of a slump? With shooters, you&rsquo;re going to go through times where the ball just doesn&rsquo;t go in the hole. What would your advice be to Buddy or Cole [Swider] when they are not shooting well?&nbsp;
Shumpert: "My favorite quote is, 'Shoot when you&rsquo;re making it, and shoot when you&rsquo;re missing it.' You've gotta continue to be aggressive and have confidence in your shot. Now, your shot selection is definitely important, but if it&rsquo;s a wide open shot, and that&rsquo;s your shot, fire that 'thang up. That&rsquo;s what you do. If you&rsquo;re a shooter, you've gotta shoot the ball. Shoot 'til you make it, shoot 'til you miss. That&rsquo;s a shooter&rsquo;s mentality. No conscience."
Etan: One thing that you started to develop through your years was the one-dribble, two-dribble pull-ups because they were playing you so tight for the three-point shot, and Buddy has been doing good with that. Do you think he should keep doing that more especially if the outside shot isn&rsquo;t falling?&nbsp;
Shumpert: "Definitely, that&rsquo;s what I meant by being a little more creative and taking what they&rsquo;re giving you. Like you said, guys are gonna be pressing up on you and running out on you. They&rsquo;re not going to let you get a free look. So that&rsquo;s when you go to the pump fake, one-dribble, two-dribble pull-up. But another thing &mdash; which I&rsquo;m sure you&rsquo;re gonna like this &mdash; throw it up to the big [man] or give him that little pocket pass, when they hedge on him or after he sets the pick a little more often, and let the big [man] hammer a few down and get all riled up like you used to. It will open you up more. And the more you involve the big man, the better your screens will be. The big man will have you wide open if you treat him right. I learned that myself when we played together. Keep the big man happy, and he&rsquo;ll rebound better, block shots better and work harder to get you open, and will roll harder which will ultimately help everyone."
Etan: That should be on the wall in every locker room (laughs).

Etan Thomas spoke with four Syracuse alum after the Orange took on Georgetown and Villanova this past week to get their thoughts.

Orange alumni react to Syracuse-Georgetown game

Coming off of one of the greatest regular seasons in both franchise and NBA history, culminating in a disappointing early exit in the playoffs, the Utah Jazz entered the 2021-22 season searching for answers.
While inopportune injuries played a part in the off-note Jazz, notable issues that plagued them in past playoff campaigns persisted. Utah lacks size on the wings and defensive versatility, and the ramifications are heavily felt in the playoffs. In spite of Rudy Gobert&rsquo;s defensive prowess, the holes he covers throughout the regular season are magnified and targeted.
In an effort to revamp the bench and bulk up the roster, the front office traded for Eric Paschall and signed Hassan Whiteside and Rudy Gay. Paschall and Whiteside factored into the rotation immediately this season, but Gay&rsquo;s impact has been felt to a larger degree, as he&rsquo;s returned from an offseason surgery to remove bone spurs from his heel.&nbsp;
Some of his limitations have been put on full display in recent games. The Portland Trail Blazers and New Orelans Pelicans routinely targeted him with off-ball actions and pin-downs to force him into screen navigation.&nbsp;
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While it&rsquo;s fair to reason that he may not still have his legs under him (he didn&rsquo;t play in the preseason and hasn&rsquo;t even logged 200 minutes yet), getting over a screen is not the 35-year old Gay&rsquo;s strongsuit.&nbsp;
While he isn&rsquo;t the answer to all of Utah&rsquo;s problems, he&rsquo;s an option to strengthen current options and open new avenues of play.
Rudy^2
The minutes with Gay and Gobert together in the frontcourt have been absurdly productive. Per Cleaning the Glass, lineups with both players are outscoring opposition by 24.3 points per 100 possessions, and are among the most effective five-man units in basketball.
As noted above, Gay does have some struggles at the point of attack, particularly against smaller players. But, when playing against larger forwards and bigs, he can capably stay in front of them with his lateral quickness and length. Gay&rsquo;s also very strong with his size, and the Jazz have lacked players with size, length, and strength; Joe Ingles and Bojan Bogdanovic both have limitations defensively, and have struggles guarding up on bigger 4s and most 5s.
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Playing both Gay and Gobert together has led to much more effective and secure switching on 4/5 pick-and-rolls. Gobert has been a capable switch defender for quite a few seasons, and many of the issues that have occurred when he switches (due to prior years) happen on the back end &mdash; when he&rsquo;s out on the perimeter or on a different assignment. Gay can credibly keep some 5s off the glass and jostle for position, and through 10 games maintains the highest rebound percentage of his career (14.8%); lineups with the duo in the frontcourt are in the 99th percentile for defensive-rebound percentage.
The offense between the pair has also been incredibly effective, creating some interesting dynamics. While it would be far-fetched to expect Gay to hold up 43% shooting from deep, he&rsquo;s fit in well with Quin Snyder&rsquo;s scheme and is at a career-high 67.9% three-point attempt rate! He still has off-the-dribble juice attacking closeouts, moves the ball well and doesn&rsquo;t pass up open looks (and will even nail some contested or off the bounce).
The most enticing flashes have been 4/5 pick-and-roll or pop, which the Jazz used heavily against the Cleveland Cavaliers recently.
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Gay is still quick enough to take bigger players to the rim off the dribble, a good enough shooter to punish hesitation on the closeout, and a capable enough passer to make the right play if Gobert slips the screen or if the action is well defended.
Gay at the 5
While the 4 is Rudy Gay&rsquo;s natural position at this stage, the Jazz have tinkered with looks with him at the 5 (he played sparingly there in San Antonio). There&rsquo;s less lineup data and film, but the early returns have been encouraging.
Gay at the 5 has strictly been used with Donovan Mitchell as the lead ball-handler in the hopes of keeping Gobert and Conley&rsquo;s pick-and-roll craft together, and also to open up driving lanes for one of the most explosive guards in basketball.
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He&rsquo;s not the screener or roller that Gobert is, but there are about four players in that stratosphere! What he does bring is a top-notch pick-and-pop threat.&nbsp;
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The Cavs greatly struggled with this look, as they have two bigs on the floor nearly every possession. The scramble Utah put Cleveland's defense through felt unfair at times.
Where I have pause is how well these lineups can work defensively. While there isn&rsquo;t technically rim-protection on the court, it&rsquo;s less about that, and more about uh... getting any sort of stops. The Jazz could switch most small-to-small actions and switch 4 and 5 to prevent unfavorable perimeter matchups for Gay.
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For instance, Rudy Gay can do his job completely on defense, but he can&rsquo;t prevent or deter Darius Garland dusting Jordan Clarkson. It&rsquo;s still early in the season, and the Jazz have 58 games to experiment and find what works. However, the roster still quite clearly has limitations. Can lineups with him at the 5 stay above water defensively and play well enough offensively to become a consistent look outside of their base style of play?
Rudy Gay has added versatility to the frontcourt, and provides a punch that makes you think &ldquo;maybe if...&rdquo; That infuses the Jazz with a modicum of randomness the team lacked in years prior. It remains to be seen how Quin Snyder will get the most out of his skills and whether the roster allows him to be fully maximized, but the early returns have been encouraging.

Mark Schindler digs into Rudy Gay's effectiveness at both the 4 and the 5, and how the Jazz have a new element with their team.