Chanticleers

Spencer Davies tells the complex story of Eban Hyams, the first Indian-born international professional basketball player.

Setbacks and bouncebacks: On Eban Hyams, India's first pro ballplayer

Nerlens Noel, Rich Paul and Klutch Sports Group have settled Noel&rsquo;s legal case &ndash; with Noel paying full commissions owed to Klutch Sports on the $5 million Knicks deal in 2020, and Noel withdrawing all legal proceedings.
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Nerlens Noel, Rich Paul and Klutch Sports Group settle Noel&rsquo;s legal case &ndash; with Noel paying full commissions owed to Klutch Sports on the $5 million Knicks deal in 2020, and Noel withdrawing all legal proceedings. Statement: <a href="https://t.co/isMq0L3rTU">pic.twitter.com/isMq0L3rTU</a>
&mdash; Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) <a href="https://twitter.com/ShamsCharania/status/1613277994176466948?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 11, 2023</a></blockquote>

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The case stems from 2021 when Noel filed a $58 million lawsuit against Paul and Klutch, accusing them of doing "little to no work" in securing a market-value deal contract or any endorsement deals.&nbsp;
Noel claimed that he turned down a four-year, $70 million contract extension from the Dallas Mavericks in 2017 at the direction of Paul, who was recruiting him to be represented by Klutch Sports.
"Paul told Noel that if he terminated his relationship with Mr. [Happy] Walters and signed with him instead, Paul would get him that 'max deal.' As part of this, Paul advised Noel that he should cease negotiations with Dallas, accept the single year qualifying offer, and seek a max deal on the free agent market the following season," the lawsuit stated.
But no max deal came, and Noel instead signed a one-year, $4.1 million qualifying offer with the Mavericks in Aug. 2017.
Noel only made $12.7 million in the four seasons after he turned sown the Mavericks' $70-million extension offer. The difference &ndash; $57.3 million &ndash; is how he and his lawyers came up with the amount for damages they were seeking.&nbsp;
While the lawsuit was thrown out last September, Judge Jane J.&nbsp;Boyle recommend the situation be addressed within the NBPA's arbitration system.

Nerlens Noel has settled his legal dispute with Rich Paul and Klutch Sports and the center will pay the money owned in commissions.

Nerlens Noel, Rich Paul settle legal case

Oklahoma City Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault has been an eyewitness to the unique, confusing development of Aleksej Pokusevski. On Monday night against the Boston Celtics, Daigneault reveled in the symbolism of a breakthrough performance:
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Mark Daigneault quote of the year: "(Poku) had Horford tonight, which, it's a great contrast. We obviously had Horford when Poku was a rookie. If you told me that two years later Poku would be playing 37 minutes and guarding Horford ... I would've checked to do a sobriety test."
&mdash; Joe Mussatto (@joe_mussatto) <a href="https://twitter.com/joe_mussatto/status/1592357433833553920?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 15, 2022</a></blockquote>
Pokusevski, still just 20 years old, has entered his third NBA season with an increasing chorus of impatient critics clamoring for consistent outings. He's long been viewed as the wacky-gadget prospect on a Thunder team nowhere near contention &mdash; the ultimate wild card on a roster that might as well throw wild cards out on the floor while it loses.&nbsp;
Something feels different this year. Pokusevski has started 8 of his 12 contests (he started 12 of 61 last season) and OKC is a respectable 6-8 with additional valiant losses to the Celtics and Milwaukee Bucks. He's averaging career highs in points (9.9), rebounds (5.9) and blocks per game (1.7). After ranking as arguably the league's most inefficient offensive player over the last two years, Pokusevski's 54.2% True Shooting clip is pretty solid &mdash; and a massive career-best.
It isn't just about the exciting new numbers. Pokusevski has been a notoriously rough, early-season player as he adjusted to a steep learning curve. This year, he's overextending himself less and playing with more confidence and more comfort. That showed up in Monday's 126-122 loss to Boston, where Pokusevski accumulated 16 points, 14 rebounds, 3 assists and 3 blocks.
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The swats stand out as significant developments. Pokusevski's current 3.4% block rate is double his career-high and in the 87th percentile among bigs, per Cleaning the Glass (and he's barely even a big!). That second rejection on Jayson Tatum is an improbable one coming at the last possible moment before moving into goaltending territory. Few players in basketball could pull it off.&nbsp;
Oklahoma City has been using Pokusevski frequently as a drop coverage defender. It allows him to be less of a physical chaser and more intimidating with his length in space. Against Boston, he contains Jaylen Brown's drive and blocks his shot, and later shuts down a rolling Al Horford's first attempt. Pokusevski is improved at dealing with contact. I wouldn't call him "good" at it yet, and he needs to be better about some of his second efforts after an initial block &mdash; but he's exhibited demonstrable progress.
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From the Nov. 11 contest against Toronto &mdash; look at some of these rotations and help blocks! Pokusevski can contain Fred VanVleet's drive, then adjust and recover all the way to the three-point line to block a Scottie Barnes three-point attempt. As long as the opponent isn't using a center as an offensive hub, OKC should feel confident that Pokusevski can hold down the fort as a lengthy, mobile nuisance in drop coverage.
Get this: According to PBP Stats, Pokusevski had 17 blocks at the rim in 61 games last season. He has 14 in 12 games so far this year.
On offense, he's starting to manifest some of the fantastical visions of a mobile, 7-foot shooter, and getting more active on the glass. Below are his 7 makes on 12 attempts from Monday:
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The Celtics were content to leave Pokusevski open in actions where he snuck out to the perimeter, and he made them pay twice on four attempts. Poku is up to a solid 37.5% clip on catch-and-shoot treys; he finished at 31.0% last season. He also radiated composed creativity with the ball in his hands on some other makes, and even followed up that missed floater attempt with a sweet putback dunk.&nbsp;
Approximately 40% of Pokusevski's shots are coming at the rim &mdash; again a career-high &mdash; and only 44% of those attempts have been assisted by a teammate. He's working for his own shot while still fitting into OKC's offense. Per PBP Stats, Poku had 48 putback points all last season. He's got 18 now and would surpass 48 less than halfway through this year.&nbsp;
Stability is driving the overall optimism surrounding Pokusevski's start. Yes, his track record of radical peaks and valleys mean we can't say he's arrived after just 12 games. But Pokusevski doesn't look like he's being forced into the Thunder lineup as a play-test. He's legitimately a positive two-way contributor for a pretty solid basketball team.
How many 20-year-olds can say that?

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Pokusevski racked up 16 points, 14 rebounds, three assists and three blocks against the Celtics on Monday.

Aleksej Pokusevski is putting the pieces together with the Thunder

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) &mdash; Texas coach Chris Beard delivered that elusive NCAA Tournament win in his first season with the Longhorns.
That was just one of the expectations that came with hiring Beard away from Big 12 rival Texas Tech. Now come the parts about building a consistent winner and making some deep postseason runs.
He&rsquo;s got the tools to make both happen.
Texas basketball feels like it has momentum after shedding the yoke of postseason flops. The Longhorns hadn&rsquo;t advanced past the first round of the NCAA Tournament since 2014 until beating Virginia Tech in the first round last season.
The trip didn&rsquo;t last long as they were bumped out in the second round, but it hardly mattered. Texas had been starved for the smallest taste of success and savored it. Texas&rsquo; 22 wins were the most since 2014.
The Longhorns open the season ranked No. 12 and will play in a shiny new home arena with a lineup full of veteran experience boosted by key newcomers. Timmy Allen, Marcus Carr and Tristan Bishop are all fifth-year players and Beard added transfer guards Tyrese Hunter and Sir&rsquo;Jabari Rice.
Hunter was the Big 12 freshman of the year last season at Iowa State and Rice led New Mexico State to the NCAA Tournament.&nbsp;
&ldquo;Tyrese Hunter, state champion in high school, Sweet 16 as a freshman. Jabari Rice has played in championship games everywhere he&rsquo;s ever been,&rdquo; Beard said. &ldquo;You know early on if a guy is talking about winning and championships and NCAA Tournament, that&rsquo;s different than a guy that might be talking about minutes, shots and name, image and likeness.&rdquo;
PICKY PORTAL
Beard had to build most of his first lineup through the transfer portal and it was an impressive bunch that earned the Longhorns a No. 5 ranking to start last season. Fitting all those pieces together took some time and it was occasionally clunky.
This season, Beard could pinpoint specific areas of need to pursue in the portal instead of just casting a wide net. The signings of Hunter and Rice boost ball handling and athleticism in the backcourt, and should unleash Carr as a scorer.
&ldquo;We feel great about our balance between returners, experience and young new talent,&rdquo; Beard said.
SHORT ON SIZE
Texas still lacks size and that could be a problem in the Big 12.
Forward Dylan Disou is the tallest player at 6-foot-9. He led the Southeastern Conference in rebounding two seasons ago at Vanderbilt but was limited by nagging knee problems last season. Texas will need his former levels of production around the basket.
&ldquo;He needs to have his best year playing basketball for us to be the team we want to be,&rdquo; Beard said. &ldquo;I believe he will.&rdquo;
GLUE GUY
Forward Brock Cunningham is the player everyone else around the Big 12 loves to hate &mdash; a constant disrupter, chaser of loose balls and always good for a foul or a few. Cunningham averages only 1.9 points over his career but chose to return this season as a graduate student. Texas can always count on him for boost of energy off the bench by way of sheer hustle and just getting under an opponent&rsquo;s skin.
NEW DIGS
Texas has left the dusty old Frank Erwin Center where the Longhorns played for 45 years. They&rsquo;ve moved just a couple hundred yards down the road to the $300 million Moody Center next to campus.
Texas officials hope to create one of the best home court environments in the Big 12 (and eventually the SEC). Capacity at the Erwin Center was 16,500 and an average crowd of about 8,000 could make the place feel empty. The Moody Center will seat about 10,000.
SCHEDULE
The schedule starts Nov. 7 against UTEP. Top out-of-conference matchups include No. 2 Gonzaga (Nov. 16) and No. 9 Creighton (Dec. 1) at home, and No. 23 Illinois (Dec. 6) at Madison Square Garden in New York. The Longhorns start Big 12 play at Oklahoma on Dec. 31.

Texas basketball feels like it has momentum after shedding the yoke of postseason flops.

No. 12 Texas looking to build on Beard’s early success

The WNBA is somehow already a month into the season, and the Chicago Sky have shown perhaps the most growth a quarter of the way through the season. They have had success tinkering with lineups and implementing new players while attempting to build upon last year's title. Chicago is still re-integrating Finals MVP Kahleah Copper, who just played her fifth game last night against the Atlanta Dream. In that game, she put forth her best showing of the season, finishing with 21 points. The Sky are still finding their offensive flow, but each game, their footing improves.
Defensively, the Sky are putting together elite defensive stretches. Their offense clicking to the tenth degree was a large reason for their postseason success, yet their hyperactive defense deserved arguably as much focus. Through 9 games to start the year, Chicago is third in defensive rating per Her Hoops Stats.
They've given up 80 or more points just three times this season. Last night's 65-point output from the Dream is yet another feather in the cap of James Wade's aggressive scheme. The starting lineup of Courtney Vandersloot/Allie Quigley/Kahleah Copper/Candace Parker/Emma Meesseman pitched a no-hitter in essence, outscoring opposition by 18 points in the minutes they shared the court. Out of the 19 five-player lineups that have played at least 30 minutes in the W this season, only three have a higher net rating (+16).
This is Chicago's defense at its best: Active hands, ball pressure on screens, backline rotations, and timely recoveries to continually morph to each action.
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To start, Candace Parker angles herself so well on the trap, forcing Kirsty Wallce to backpedal and escape with a pass-out. Parker then recovers to Cheyenne Parker as Emma Meesseman peels back to the corner. Courtney Vandersloot is zoned up but slides back in front of Erica Wheeler. The defense is still in control, and Atlanta's first action is nullified.
Wheeler swings to Naz Hillmon in the corner to no advantage, so she kicks to Rhyne Howard sprinting up to the slot. Notice Allie Quigley actively track Wallace on the cut. It sounds minute, but this defense is so reliant on everyone being in sync and active. If one moving part falls asleep, the gaps open. Quigley takes away any sort of interior outlet for Hillmon.
Rhyne Howard sprints up to the slot and Rebekah Gardner gives chase. Howard dishes to Parker and cuts baseline for a pinch post action, but Gardner uses her length to negate that passing window. Now we're down to Cheyenne Parker taking Candace Parker one on one from the mid-post with minimal time on the shot clock.
This Sky team is adept at forcing offenses to work through progressions and into shots that are less ideal for an efficient and effective offense.
Parker, Meesseman and Azura Stevens all have the length and size to play the five, but it's the culmination of their skillsets that maximizes them defensively. Parker and Stevens are incredibly mobile and have great instincts in help. Meesseman also has good instincts and very good court vision and feel for where to be. She's always had active hands, but is sneakily 4th in the league in steals per game per Her Hoop Stats. She sniffs out plays moments before they happen and pounces.
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Playing alongside other like-sized players who have the ability to cover ground makes Meesseman's defense even more effective.
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Much like we saw with the Cleveland Cavaliers this season in the NBA, size, length and mobility across the board opens up the potential to greatly shrink the floor and squeeze the spacing of the offense. They're so good at knowing personnel and using it against opposition.
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Cheyenne Parker pops to three after the screen for Howard, but Candace Parker still sags off and heavily plays the paint. Parker has been willing to shoot the ball this season, but why give up the interior drive when you can force the ball to a shaky shooter or force difficult passes, much like the one Wallace ends up turning over?
Even if that pass goes through, Copper is reconnecting after the hard screen and Meesseman has already rotated over low to cover the rim. There's just so much length in the lane.&nbsp;
Nia Coffey is typically a solid shooter, but she has struggled to find her consistency this season. Meesseman knows that.
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Copper presses Howard fullcourt (something the Sky did much of the game to any ball-handlers), Meesseman cheats at the nail and Quigley zones up to make the weak side harder to manipulate.
The Dream opt for an empty ball-screen and a really hard set screen to try and force Meesseman into a one on one in space.
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Meesseman presents her length on the peel switch to deny an open pull-up. Quigley works to reconnect on the back end, and Azura Stevens rotates low (a staple of an aggressive defense) to meet Monique Billings at the rim and send her packing. Notice too how Gardner fights down to boxout Kia Vaughn whom Stevens helps off of to close off the rim. Without Gardner's extra oomph, that's an offensive rebound and likely putback.
Have you noticed how often Rebekah Gardner's name has popped up in this piece?&nbsp;
Rookie of the Year frontrunner Rhyne Howard finished with 5 points on 2/12 shooting last night and Gardner was a prime reason for her struggles. Gardner is so quick on her feet, and her defensive slides just never stop as her motor is always running red hot.&nbsp;
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Gardner sheds screens remarkably well, is so active at getting back in front in reconnection and uses her length to blow up plays with her quickness. She's establishing herself as one of the best off-ball chasers in the league and an incredibly fiesty on-ball defender as well.&nbsp;
If she does misstep or make a minor mistake on the perimeter, she has the recovery tools to turn errors into turnovers.
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As I <a href="https://twitter.com/MG_Schindler/status/1532877165670318088?s=20&amp;t=2Hc0cAryP9osyApoOMvGTA" target="_blank" rel="noopener">mentioned yesterday</a>, it'd be difficult to keep her off of All-Defense the way she's playing to start the year.
With a record of 6-3 a quarter of the way through the year, the Sky aren't yet firing on all cylinders, and that's part of what makes the team so exciting. The moments of defensive dynamism where they absolutely shut the water off on opponents have flashed all year. Ousting the Washington Mystics in the late game during a primetime matchup and dragging the Dream in the mud on Friday night early in the game last night are the indicators you watch for throughout a season that make you go "hmmm," and stop to consider what the future may hold.
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The Chicago Sky are finding their footing slowly but surely, and they are putting forth some dominant defensive stretches.

The Chicago Sky continue to cement their defense

What happens is the crux of any conversation. Results spur on ideology and conjecture. Wins, losses, box scores and stat lines invite slander and celebration.
Why?&nbsp;
Results are important for measuring goals, gauging success and resetting priorities or strategies. Why those results occur is what I find fascinating.&nbsp;
The 2022 Eastern Conference Finals between the Miami Heat and Boston Celtics have been difficult to parse through, akin to a redux of the 2004 series between the Detroit Pistons and Indiana Pacers. Only four of the players who played 10 minutes per game or more in that series shot 40% or better from the floor.&nbsp;
A series defined by restrained offense and amplified defense is rooted in the why. Yes, both the Heat and Celtics have exchanged slogging moments. Turnovers have been in abundance. There have been many free throws, as the physicality is ratcheted up to the 10th degree.
The Heat&rsquo;s offense is predicated on movement, screening, handoffs and maximizing their pressure points through shooting gravity to open up looks with their collective passing and intuitive play. Miami was 14th in the league in three-point attempts per game, but first in three-point percentage (37.9%). What made them more impressive was how those shots got off.&nbsp;
The Heat are chock-full of movement shooters with Max Strus, Duncan Robinson, Tyler Herro, Gabe Vincent and Kyle Lowry all capable of hitting shots off of a variety of movements and even self-created with their handles to varying degrees. Miami shot 42.9% from deep in Game 6, a far cry from the 29.2% (52/178) over the previous five games. Jimmy Butler hit four shots from distance after only hitting two all series. Tough shots fell in volume.&nbsp;
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To equate Miami&rsquo;s victory and invigorated offense strictly to shot variance would be unfair. Miami has thrived on those tough threes off movement or pull-ups all season, but they haven&rsquo;t hit the same. It&rsquo;s difficult to project another game like last night for Miami&rsquo;s shot-making, although one game throws sample size to the wind. Again, the why is so crucial here.&nbsp;
Miami&rsquo;s offense has been stuck in the mud much of the series as our own Nekias Duncan <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/the-heat-have-a-bigbig-problem-on-their-hands">recently wrote</a>. Boston&rsquo;s bigs have stifled the Heat in the paint and through their ability to toggle between the paint and perimeter. Stopping shots at the second and third level has been a large reason for Boston&rsquo;s defensive success. Miami,&nbsp; 27th in rim frequency during the regular season per Cleaning the Glass, is dependent on their ability to attack the gaps created by their shooting gravity.&nbsp;
They&rsquo;ve been constricted by their own shot profile at times this series, but mainly due to how Boston has been able shut off the release valves. Most of Miami&rsquo;s aforementioned premier spacing core, particularly the shooters off screens, has struggled throughout the series. We know the shots haven&rsquo;t fallen, but it&rsquo;s not simply a collective slump. Boston&rsquo;s defense as a whole has been swarming, but why have Miami&rsquo;s movement shooters struggled the most?
Through the lens of the Eastern Conference Finals and the league at large, few players epitomize the why quite like Derrick White. The results haven&rsquo;t always been there for White during the playoffs, although the post-baby bump has been real (congrats again to Derrick and his family).&nbsp;
Yet, so often when watching White, whether with the Spurs or Celtics, the why is consistently there. The consistency in process matters so much more than the consistency in production. That sounds counterintuitive, but it&rsquo;s strikingly true in basketball. There&rsquo;s a line in the sand that wavers among the grains, and White often has crossed the line in spite of his production simply due to his persistent process.
White has routinely neutralized Miami&rsquo;s release valves and shut off the water entirely for stretches. It&rsquo;s been like watching a naturally-rich land dry up after a dam is built up stream. That dam is Derrick White, and the Heat have employed any number and variety of players to try to take White out of the picture to free up shooters.
This play from Game 5 stood out.
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Notice the quick flip and pushoff from P.J. Tucker in a screening action that was masked with Oladipo setting up as a second screener. White immediately takes Oladipo, and Horford takes Tucker after Jaylen Brown switches onto Duncan Robinson. Brown navigates the screen well enough for the action to die out, and would you look at that... Derrick White still makes a play on the back side.
Already four games and roughly 10 minutes into the series, the Heat are throwing the kitchen sink at an off-ball chaser to free up their shooters. Whatever it takes to force switches, including some semi-illegal&nbsp; screens. Again, why?
Well, White immediately made his presence felt on Max Strus.
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He always shifts his body, scans the floor constantly, and his slight movements are impeccable. So often, chasers get beat off the ball because of too big a stride or a wrong step. White rarely crosses his feet up, and he can appear choppy at times, but it's because he's always on his toes, minimizing space given and maximizing his margins for error. Even with the majority of hard screens, White is making his recovery plays and finding his way back into the picture.
If he does get beat when running a shooter off the line, he's one of the best in the league with backtaps and strips.
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Press up that hard on a shooter, and the opposing team will try to use that against you as a pressure point. Lo and behold, Erik Spoelstra dialed up just that, using Duncan Robinson as a screener with White stapled to him, hoping to cause an error on the perimeter.
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White shoots that gap absurdly well. Not just well, like Julius Peppers is smiling somewhere watching that. White dips his shoulder back around Bam Adebayo's screen and is back in front of Herro by the free throw line. It's a ridiculous possession.
To say Max Strus hasn't had a fun series would be an understatement. Watch the way White starts to angle himself, immediately prepping to lock and trail as soon as he knew the movement was en route.
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White seemingly always has at least one hand on the man he's trailing, making it that much harder to gain separation.&nbsp;
This play is a pinnacle "What else am I supposed to do?" moment. Strus hits White with a swim move, sends him careening into the Tucker screen, and Tucker thuds White. So clearly, Strus should be open, right? Right?
Once again, White comes flying around the screen and reattaches to Strus' hip without being overly physical or fouling, funneling him into the looming Horford.
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That consistency has been unreal. While White isn&rsquo;t necessarily the player finishing possessions defensively (although he still forces his fair share of turnovers), the quietness is what stands out.&nbsp;
White&rsquo;s giving his best Darrelle Revis impression, shutting off options, isolated against the best deep threats in the game. You see Jimmy Butler struggling to find an opening, wading in the mid-range, but the why? Max Strus can&rsquo;t get separation. White&rsquo;s been glued to Duncan Robinson. Gabe Vincent is always seeing a rear contest on pull-up twos. Nothing is coming easy for Miami.&nbsp;
Derrick White has put on a masterclass of screen shedding and route mirroring. His off-ball defense and ability to make things difficult always&nbsp;is a large reason for why Nekias Duncan, Jackson Frank and I had <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/defensive-awards-and-a-celebration-of-defense" target="_blank" rel="noopener">White making an All-Defense team</a>. It's not hyperbole to say that White is among the most consistent defensive players in basketball, something that tends to go underappreciated. Regardless of whether or not the Celtics win Game 7 tomorrow and make their first NBA Finals since 2010, Derrick White's consistent ability to make things difficult deserves shine.

Derrick White has put on a defensive masterclass during the Conference Finals, shutting down Miami's shooters.

Derrick White: Eliminating release valves and shutting off the water

Even as the Boston Celtics led in the first half of Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals, it only felt like a matter of time before the scoreboard would catch up to the Miami Heat offense.&nbsp;
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Miami basically has a 105 offensive rating in the half court and the halftime show was almost entirely about offensive concerns.
&mdash; Nekias (Nuh-KY-us) Duncan (@NekiasNBA) <a href="https://twitter.com/NekiasNBA/status/1526743543942873088?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 18, 2022</a></blockquote>

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Then, the Heat exploded in the second half, opening on a 22-2 run and never looking back. They steamrolled the Celtics on both ends and Jimmy Butler took over en route to 41 points. Miami finished with an impressive Offensive Rating of 112.2 on half-court possessions, per Cleaning the Glass. That ranks in the 88th percentile of playoff games this season; according to our Nekias Duncan, the league average is 95.6 points per 100 possessions.&nbsp;
The Heat's success transcends their normal half-court production. Even with the Game 1 win, Miami is still averaging just 95.0 half-court points per 100 possessions in the playoffs, and the team's regular season rating was similarly low (97.6). And even taking the scope back to a base level &mdash; how many people expected the Heat to drop 118 points in the first game against one of the league's best defenses?
Sure, the Celtics were missing two key cogs in Marcus Smart and Al Horford, but it was still an impressive effort. It also exposed the dilemma Boston has with Payton Pritchard.
The second-year guard is the Celtics' best shooter in a rotation that sometimes needs a perimeter lifeline, and simultaneously, their worst defender in a scheme that can't afford porous perimeter defense.&nbsp;
Nekias was all over this in his pre-series scouting report and had a noteworthy stat after Game 1:
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Pritchard was targeted 16 times in PnR tonight, and the Heat scored well over 1.2 points per possession on those trips 😵&zwj;💫<a href="https://t.co/Sh3NLiMvTK">https://t.co/Sh3NLiMvTK</a> <a href="https://t.co/eTxYIQKXDI">pic.twitter.com/eTxYIQKXDI</a>
&mdash; Nekias (Nuh-KY-us) Duncan (@NekiasNBA) <a href="https://twitter.com/NekiasNBA/status/1526772020217798656?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 18, 2022</a></blockquote>

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The Heat went after Pritchard, who logged his postseason high with 30 minutes in the loss. They put him through the blender on screens and forced him to play chaser. At 6-foot-1 with a 6-foot-4 wingspan, Pritchard just doesn't have enough length to overcome falling into recovery mode.
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Prtichard also just struggles fighting through screens despite being fairly built for his size (listed around 200 pounds). That fourth clip is telling; he's pretty powerless against Butler, and it leads to an easy Max Strus three-pointer. Pritchard and Jaylen Brown could have communicated better on that play and had Brown chase after Strus, but it seems the job was supposed to be Pritchard's.&nbsp;
Miami then attacked Pritchard on the ball during its second-half surge.&nbsp;
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When Butler found 1-on-1 chances against Pritchard, the Heat superstar was able to get into his bag with relative ease. In the second clip, Pritchard stays up tight against Butler, and it looks like solid defense. But even that effort appears meaningless. Butler made one basic spin move, didn't need to counter and rose high above the contest for a confident make.&nbsp;
This isn't to say Pritchard is the primary reason for Boston's loss by any means. But he is going to be a matchup Miami hunts throughout this series. The Heat have players who are unbothered by his defense (Butler, Tyler Herro and Victor Oladipo) and players who can wreak havoc against him away from the ball (Strus, Gabe Vincent).&nbsp;
The Celtics are going to be challenged when Pritchard is defending. Their trade-off is that he is, in many cases, their spark and offensive savior from long range. Through the postseason, opponents have dared complementary players like Grant Williams, Derrick White, Horford and Smart to shoot as defenses load up on Jayson Tatum and Brown. The one supporting cast member they cannot forget about is Pritchard.
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The 24-year-old has blossomed into one of the most efficient perimeter shooters in the entire NBA. Among all postseason players with at least 20 pull-up shot attempts, Pritchard ranks fourth with a 58.3% Effective Field Goal percentage. He ranked eighth among 171 players with at least 100 pull-up attempts in the regular season at 53.6%. Then, he turned around and made 42.8% of his catch-and-shoot threes in the regular season and finished 13th in overall three-point percentage (41.2%).
Pritchard has limitless range and enduring confidence. His threes came from 26 feet from the basket on average, according to The BBall Index, putting him in the 82nd percentile at his position. Aside from maybe Tatum, Pritchard is the only Celtic who could hoist up deep triples without inciting grimaces from fans.
His overall offensive game, though, is a bit more complicated.&nbsp;
Pritchard is a rock-solid passer. He's dished out 23 assists against just 3 turnovers in the playoffs so far; that 7.67 assist-to-turnover-ratio is the best among anyone who has been in at least eight playoff games. When he drives to the basket, he's able to make the right kick-out plays. The problem is his drives aren't threatening to opposing defenses.&nbsp;
Second Spectrum says that 221 players drove to the basket at least 150 times in the regular season. Pritchard passed out of his drives a whopping 60.7% of the time &mdash; the fourth-most of any such player. When he did attempt a shot, it didn't go so well; his 37.7% field goal percentage tied for 16th-worst. In his 173 regular-season drives, he scored 45 points. That 26.0% rate is, again, the fourth-lowest of the 221 qualifying players.
Pritchard has scarcely needed to drive the ball for most of the postseason, and had actually gone 4-for-4 on driving shots in the first two rounds. Then, we got to the conference finals, where he went 1-for-4 in Game 1.
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The burst just isn't there for Pritchard, who pounds the ball hard and tries to lower his shoulder without much success. Caleb Martin is a solid defender who walled Pritchard up in the first clip. Herro wasn't fazed in the second clip, and on an empty-corner drive, Bam Adebayo has plenty of time to help. Without a strong first step, Pritchard can't use his shooting threat to successfully attack closeouts. He doesn't get the head start that others, even Williams and White, receive.&nbsp;
Speaking of White &mdash; he'll be out for Game 2. Smart's availability is still up in the air as of this writing. That's possibly two dynamic attacking guards that the Celtics won't have in a critical second game, which means even more responsibility falls on Pritchard's shoulders.
Boston needs Payton Pritchard in its rotation. The perimeter prowess and reliable passing help keep a volatile offense from falling off the rails. But Ime Udoka and the Celtics' coaching staff have to figure out how to keep Miami away from matchup-hunting Pritchard and keep him in advantageous offensive positions. He'll be an X-factor in Game 2 and a swing player for the remainder of this series.
THE OUTLIERS (a.k.a. other random interesting numbers I found in the void):
<ul>
<li>As I mentioned, Pritchard is fourth among postseason players in pull-up effective field goal percentage. Jordan Clarkson (60.9%) is first and Chris Paul (60.4%) is second, though both have been eliminated. But third place, at 59.3%, might surprise you: Marcus Smart.</li>
<li>We're in draft season!!! It's one of my favorite times of the year. Let's get excited. Here's an interesting graph of the careers of various draft picks throughout much of NBA history. There's more in the thread:</li>
</ul>
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1/ Since 1978, 2063 players were drafted (*Early draft selected more than 200 players) But, 401 draftee couldn't play a single game in NBA <a href="https://t.co/rXttO2xYRH">pic.twitter.com/rXttO2xYRH</a>
&mdash; TheNext23 (@TNext23) <a href="https://twitter.com/TNext23/status/1526959550624301056?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 18, 2022</a></blockquote>

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<ul>
<li>SIS Hoops just keeps on keepin' on with its sweet graphics. This one's interesting because it crosses over several different player archetypes:</li>
</ul>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
What can we learn from identifying who takes open shots most often in this year&rsquo;s playoffs? A combination of secondary creators, play finishers, and star initiators lead the way: <a href="https://t.co/U3LEd0LvKq">pic.twitter.com/U3LEd0LvKq</a>
&mdash; SIS Hoops (@SIS_Hoops) <a href="https://twitter.com/SIS_Hoops/status/1526986648499912704?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 18, 2022</a></blockquote>

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Payton Pritchard was a defensive target for the Heat in Game 1, but if the Celtics hope to advance, they need his long-range shooting.

NBA Stats Notebook: The Celtics and the Payton Pritchard conundrum

Las Vegas Aces point guard Kelsey Plum gave one teammate a ringing endorsement following the team's win on Friday night: "A'ja Wilson. Let's start the campaign now, people. Defensive Player of the Year."
The Atlanta Dream lept out to a surprising 2-0 start to the season, their best start since 2017, spurred on by <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/the-atlanta-dream-struck-gold-with-rhyne-howard" target="_blank" rel="noopener">the play of rookie Rhyne Howard</a>. Their defense has been cohesive, transition play has sparked their offense and the veterans they brought in via trade and free agency in the off-season have provided a rock-solid foundation.
The Aces simply had other plans Friday night.
Vegas flattened out much of what the Dream wanted to do out of ball screens, switching the majority of actions not involving the five spot, something they've done routinely this year. With former starting center Liz Cambage now a member of the Los Angeles Sparks, the Aces have restructured and shifted to Wilson as a member of the starting five.
The Aces are certainly smaller, but they've made up for it with activity and aggression on ball screens. If Wilson is facing a good interior presence, the weak-side defender digs into the post, and the rest of the defense rotates accordingly. It's a more strenuous brand of basketball, but the Aces are embracing it, something head coach Becky Hammon pointed out after last night's win.
"We're small, [Wilson[ is at our five, so we gotta scrap, and they've all really bought into not making anything easy, especially post catches," Hammon said. "Her alertness as to what's going on in the paint has been sensational. I told her, she's gotta be Tim Duncan for us, she's gotta be Draymond Green for us, where she's talking constantly and sniffing out anything that comes through her paint, and she's bought in and done a fantastic job... she's been senasational
Wilson often plays up to the level on screens, making it difficult to dice up the defense from the middle of the floor. Seemingly half of Wilson's blocks have been on jump shot contests when she plays at the level.
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Through four games in 2022, Wilson has 15 blocks, a stellar mark, and the league leader by a longshot. She blocked 55 shots her rookie season in 2018, the most she has in her career, and she did that over 33 games. She's been expert not just at getting the rejections, but at keeping the ball in play. After going back through all her swats, roughly half of them directly resulted in a transition opportunity. It sounds minor, but it's a minute skill that can make a significant difference.
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It would be unfair to expect her to keep up this pace all season, but the hot start is a notable and palpable change in her defensive approach. Hammon repeatedly has mentioned Wilson's "buy-in" on the defensive end. The activity is ratcheted up and setting the tone for the Aces.
"We've got to scrap. We're scrappers, and that's something we missed against DC (The Mystics)," said guard Kelsey Plum. "That was something that needed to be in the forefront tonight, so I was really proud initially when we came out. We had a ton of energy, we're rotating, boxing out, we're getting in transition, and that's when we're at our best."
They're getting out in transition and playing with pace often. Per HerHoopStats, the Aces are 7th in pace at 84.5 possessions per 40 minutes, right around average. Don't let that fool you, however, as the league-high pace in 2021 was 83.8 possessions per 40 minutes by the New York Liberty. That would rank only 9th this current year. It'll be interesting to see how that does or doesn't level out as the year goes on, because teams are flying.
The Aces' ability to get stops and create turnovers (they are 1st in blocks per game) has been essential in kickstarting their already potent offense.
This possession is such a great example of the Vegas defense and Wilson's impact. There aren't many bigs in the W who provide the coverage versatility and instincts that she does, allowing the Aces to get a little funky and aggressive.
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A'ja shows and recovers on the first pick and roll, allowing Jackie Young to release from her high tag early to get back out to Sue Bird in the slot.&nbsp;Bird calls for the ball screen in an empty corner from Ezi Magbegor. Wilson angles herself well to both recover or contest the shot as Young chases overtop and Magbegor quickly rolls off the brief screen. Bird throws the pocket pass, Wilson recovers and gets the block with her off hand before taking the ball up in transition herself.
In the event that a screen is more solid and it's harder to chase over for the point-of-attack defender, Wilson shows and recovers once the chaser regains connection, or she will outright peel switch if it's called for. The communication from the Aces in general has been impressive.
While the offense of the Aces has taken the league by storm early, the defense is tethered to its success. How Vegas continues to mesh and workshop on that end will be fascinating to keep up with throughout the season. Can they keep playing such a small rotation with this frenetic play style? How will it hold up against more stout post presences? Right now, it's hard not to feel good about the state of the Aces' defense, due in part to the improved defensive play of star A'ja Wilson.
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The Las Vegas Aces smothered the Atlanta Dream on Friday night, highlighted by the stellar defensive play of A'ja Wilson.

A'ja Wilson's defense takes a step forward early in Aces' season

I remember it like it was 1,561 days ago &mdash; mostly because it was. I was laying on the futon pad in my dorm, procrastinating studying for my Forensic Science exam by looking through NBA highlights on YouTube (I know, some ~ casual ~ behavior on my part).
My mindless scrolling finally ceased when I stumbled upon this gem:
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A delicious 40-burger. Aaron Gordon&rsquo;s second one in as many months. I thought to myself: He&rsquo;s finally taking that leap. A star is born.&nbsp;
Alas, the three-point shooting and on-ball creation never really materialized to the level necessary to make my prediction come to fruition. And, among his desire to be elsewhere, the Orlando Magic ultimately threw in the towel on his development in 2021, opting to rebuild their roster by trading him to the Denver Nuggets for the likes of Gary Harris, RJ Hampton and a lightly protected first-round pick.&nbsp;
Just like that, it appeared the book on Gordon had been closed. But then something fascinating happened. He transformed his game entirely.
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His New Partner in Matrimony&nbsp;
In a recent episode of the <a href="https://open.spotify.com/episode/0r4Ro79PyBlk88QHyXyjXV?si=7a6546a89c7e48cf&amp;nd=1" target="_blank" rel="noopener">DNVR Denver Nuggets Podcast</a>, co-host <a href="https://twitter.com/MiroslavCuk" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Miroslav Ćuk </a>likened the new partnership between Gordon and reigning MVP Nikola Jokic to that of a married couple. And when you spend a handful of hours alone in your home office watching the two interact on the court (as I have), you have a hard time contending with that assessment.&nbsp;
Whether it resonates through hookups on 45-degree cuts to the rim, transition outlets, entry passes into a post seal or simple handoff actions, the two have achieved a level of on-court chemistry typically reserved for lifelong companions.
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This season, Gordon is <a href="https://www.nba.com/stats/player/203932?dir=D&amp;sort=PTS_PAINT" target="_blank" rel="noopener">getting more assisted looks</a> and <a href="https://dunksandthrees.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">more shots at the rim</a>, and is scoring at the highest efficiency of his career &mdash; in large part because of his new <a href="https://www.denverpost.com/2022/03/06/nuggets-journal-aaron-gordon-seeing-the-game-differently/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">frontcourt partner.</a> With Jokic, Gordon is no longer bound by the advantage-creating ambitions the Magic had envisioned for him. He&rsquo;s now empowered to roam free as the hyper-athletic play-finisher he was always destined to be.
However, Gordon isn&rsquo;t the only one collecting benefits from this relationship. One could even argue that the symbiotic nature of their dynamic bears some resemblance to that of Steve Nash and Amar'e Stoudemire in the mid-2000s. Now, while I will concede that Gordon isn&rsquo;t nearly the offensive talent Stoudemire was during his heyday, the formula is still the same:
Prodigious playmaker + Dynamite play-finisher = Highly-efficient offense.
The pairings&rsquo; similarities don&rsquo;t end there. From 2004-10, <a href="https://twitter.com/matissa15/status/1501903698028425216?s=20&amp;t=zA1W-ku5c4z4Rhlxva7hzA" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Nash</a> averaged nearly 2 assists fewer per 100 possessions when Stoudemire was on the bench (per PBP Stats). In comparison, Jokic has lost <a href="http://www.pbpstats.com/on-off/nba/player?Season=2021-22&amp;SeasonType=Regular%2BSeason&amp;TeamId=1610612743&amp;PlayerId=203932">almost 2 assists per 100 possessions</a> in the 365 minutes he&rsquo;s played without Gordon this season.&nbsp;
Historical comparisons aside, the tandem also fulfills the marital trope of taking on aspects of your partner's personality. In the same way that dating someone for a long time might increase your appreciation for <a href="https://squishmallows.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">squishmallows</a> (wait, is that just me?), Gordon&rsquo;s time spent sharing the court with a passing savant has made him a worthy facilitator in his own right:
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Aaron Gordon plays 50 games with Nikola Jokic. All of a sudden he's one of the best passers at his position. <a href="https://t.co/PRysqnp5FS">pic.twitter.com/PRysqnp5FS</a>
&mdash; Harrison Wind (@HarrisonWind) <a href="https://twitter.com/HarrisonWind/status/1490584645456457729?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 7, 2022</a></blockquote>

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The numbers appear to back up Wind&rsquo;s observation as well. According to BBall Index&rsquo;s Playmaking Talent database, Gordon is experiencing a career year in passing creation quality, passing versatility and playmaking. He&rsquo;s still by no means the guy you want running the show, but he&rsquo;s more than equipped to connect the dots when the heavyweights start the thread.
A Defensive Swiss-Army Knife
While Gordon's strides on the offensive end have been substantial, it&rsquo;s the defensive evolution he's undergone that has been the most necessary for the Nuggets this season.&nbsp;
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Aaron Gordon Defensive Roles by year: 14-15: Perimeter Big 15-16: Perimeter Big 16-17: Chaser 17-18: Perimeter Big 18-19: Perimeter Big 19-20: Chaser 20-21: Wing Stopper 21-22: Point of Attack Per <a href="https://twitter.com/The_BBall_Index?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@The_BBall_Index</a>.
&mdash; Mat Issa (@matissa15) <a href="https://twitter.com/matissa15/status/1501689092693807104?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 9, 2022</a></blockquote>

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Initially brought in to provide additional backline support to his more floor-bound companion, Gordon has transitioned to a new seat right at the head of the table, playing the part of the Nuggets&rsquo; go-to, point-of-attack stopper. This year, Gordon has spent a whopping 45.4% of his possessions guarding point guards and shooting guards &mdash; the largest percentage of his career by a wide margin (per BBall Index).
Most of this shift in role has been out of necessity, with frailer guards like Monte Morris, Facundo Campazzo and Bones Hyland occupying backcourt minutes; the burden of mixing it up with the best offensive engines in the league has been placed squarely at Gordon&rsquo;s feet. And man, for someone that is learning this gig on the fly, is he holding down the fort.
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I implore you all to take a brief 60 seconds of your day to marvel at the defensive clips above. Take note of all the different variations of player archetypes Gordon has been tasked to go up against. Guile-based miniature guards like <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/trae-young-made-himself-the-villain-and-hes-leveled-up-accordingly" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Trae Young</a>, hyper-athletic slashers like <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/how-high-can-anthony-edwards-fly-examining-the-20yearolds-ceiling" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Anthony Edwards</a>, Earth-pushing forwards masquerading as ball-handlers like <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/will-luka-doncic-be-able-to-sustain-current-workload-for-potentially-deep-postseason-run" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Luka Doncic</a>. Gordon has managed to annoy all of them at different points in the season.
In fact, according to BBall Index&rsquo;s database dating to 2013, Gordon owns the highest <a href="https://www.bball-index.com/defensive-versatility/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Defensive Versatility</a> score of any point-of-attack defender on record, ranking 2 points higher than the next closest player (2020-21 Ben Simmons).
This versatility was on full display in a crucial possession of a late-game overtime thriller against the New Orleans Pelicans earlier this week. Here, after stonewalling Brandon Ingram from his attempt at getting to his sweet spot, Gordon picks up CJ McCollum and lands a textbook jump-shot-altering contest:
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Gordon's <a href="https://cleaningtheglass.com/stats/player/1323#tab-defense_rebounding">block percentages</a> are down from past seasons, but that&rsquo;s mostly because his new responsibilities on the perimeter make it difficult for him to consistently challenge shots in the interior. He&rsquo;s currently contesting one less shot within 6 feet of the rim per game than he was with Orlando from 2017-20 (per NBA.com).&nbsp;
However, when the moment calls for it, he&rsquo;s shown he&rsquo;s still capable of filling the void that he was originally intended to:
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Indeed, Gordon never blossomed into the sky-walking, scoring superstar the Magic and I imagined he would be after his 40-point eruption in 2017. But that&rsquo;s okay because he&rsquo;s still developed into a great player in his own right. He&rsquo;s Jokic&rsquo;s new favorite offensive partner in crime, a tissue-connecting passer, and the basketball equivalent of a multipurpose weapon of destruction on defense.
Simply put: Aaron Gordon is not the player the Magic wanted him to be, but he&rsquo;s the player that the Nuggets need him to be.
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Mat Issa details how Aaron Gordon has grown his game and fit in with the Nuggets since being traded from the Magic.

After Orlando exit, Aaron Gordon's been exactly what the Nuggets need

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

We're flipping our calendar at BasketballNews &mdash; but not before taking one look back at a memorable 2021.
Sports never cease to give us compelling storylines. Last year, they came from all places, from the pros in the U.S. and abroad, to college, to youth levels, and even off the basketball court. Below are some of our staff's best stories, arranged in several categories. Read the Best of BasketballNews 2021:
Best Features
<img src="https://cdn.basketballnews.com/images/story/body/gary-payton-ii_lg.jpg" alt="" />
<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-g-league-raptors-905-gary-payton-ii-on-growing-up-in-fathers-shadow-we-have-two-different-paths">Gary Payton II on growing up in father's shadow: 'We have two different paths'</a> &mdash; by Kelsea O'Brien
<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/high-school-basketball-former-nba-execs-aaron-ryan-brandon-williams-kevin-ollie-overtime-elite-seek-to-revolutionize-amateur-to-pro-preparation" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Former NBA execs, Overtime Elite seek to revolutionize amateur-to-pro p</a><a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/high-school-basketball-former-nba-execs-aaron-ryan-brandon-williams-kevin-ollie-overtime-elite-seek-to-revolutionize-amateur-to-pro-preparation" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reparation</a> &mdash; by Spencer Davies
<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-daniel-gafford-washington-wizards-russell-westbrook-bradley-beal-tony-falce-arkansas-razorbacks" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Daniel Gafford, Wizards surging since trade: 'When I got here, it clicked automatically'</a> &mdash; by Spencer Davies
<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/pj-dozier-took-a-whirlwind-journey-to-the-denver-nuggets-starting-lineup">Two-way threat: PJ Dozier reflects on whirlwind path to Nuggets</a> &mdash; by Ethan Fuller
<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/g-league-finals-mvp-devin-cannady-remains-focus-bigger-goals">NBA G League Finals MVP Devin Cannady remains focused on bigger goals</a> &mdash; by Kelsea O'Brien
<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/theres-plenty-of-blame-to-go-around-for-frank-ntilikinas-failure">There&rsquo;s plenty of blame to go around for Frank Ntilikina&rsquo;s failure</a> &mdash; by Moke Hamilton
<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nikola-vucevic-may-finally-get-credit-he-deserves-with-newlook-bulls">Nikola Vucevic may finally get credit he deserves with new-look Bulls</a> &mdash; by Alex Kennedy
<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/meet-juste-jocyte-15-year-old-phenom-and-professional-record-breaker" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Meet Justė Jocytė: 15-year-old phenom and professional record-breaker</a> &mdash; by Ethan Fuller
<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/kristaps-porzingis-renewed-confidence-leading-to-resurgent-season-with-mavericks">Kristaps Porzingis' renewed confidence leading to resurgent season</a> &mdash; by Evan Sidery
<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/scoot-henderson-aspirations-far-exceed-any-hype-we-can-give-him" target="_blank" rel="noopener">NBA G League star Scoot Henderson's aspirations far exceed the hype</a> &mdash; by Spencer Davies
Best Interviews and Q&amp;As
<img src="https://cdn.basketballnews.com/images/story/body/markelle-fultz_lg.png" alt="" />
<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-richaun-holmes-qa-interview-free-agency-all-defensive-team">Richaun Holmes Q&amp;A: 'I definitely feel I&rsquo;m deserving of the All-Defensive Team'</a> &mdash; with Alex Kennedy
<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-orlando-magic-rj-hampton-q-and-a-i-dont-think-you-can-put-a-cap-on-our-ceiling">Magic's R.J. Hampton Q&amp;A: 'I don&rsquo;t think you can put a cap on our ceiling'</a> &mdash; with Alex Kennedy
<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/podcasts/the-rex-chapman-show/episodes/basketballnews-com-episode-8-episode-7-stephen-curry">The Rex Chapman Show with Josh Hopkins Episode 7 - Stephen Curry</a>
<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/podcasts/the-rex-chapman-show/episodes/basketballnews-com-episode-10-episode-9-james-jones">The Rex Chapman Show: James Jones on Suns' culture change, player-to-GM leap</a>
<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-san-antonio-spurs-derrick-white-dejounte-murray-gregg-popovich-colorado-buffaloes">One-on-One: Derrick White, Spurs' youth trying to make a name for themselves</a> &mdash; with Spencer Davies
<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-one-on-one-patrick-patterson-los-angeles-clippers-tyronn-lue-paul-george-kawhi-leonard-demarcus-cousins-kentucky-wildcats-basketball">One-on-One: Patrick Patterson opens up as Clippers begin playoff run</a> &mdash; with Spencer Davies
<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/larry-nance-jr-qa-i-did-not-come-out-here-to-halfass-this-thing">Larry Nance Jr. Q&amp;A: 'I did not come out here to half-ass this thing'</a> &mdash; with Alex Kennedy
<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/jermaine-oneal-on-reconciling-with-ron-artest-i-didnt-know-about-mental-health">Jermaine O&rsquo;Neal on reconciling with Metta World Peace: 'I didn't know about mental health'</a> &mdash; with Etan Thomas
<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/markelle-fultz-reveals-what-really-happened-with-his-shot-shoulder">Markelle Fultz reveals what really happened with his shot, shoulder</a> &mdash; with Etan Thomas
<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/podcasts/the-alex-kennedy-podcast/episodes/basketballnews-com-episode-29-thad-young-on-getting-blindsided-by-trade-to-spurs,-dealing-with-recent-trade-rumors,-the-key-to-nba-longevity,-more-ep-29">Thad Young on being blindsided by Spurs trade, trade rumors, key to longevity</a> &mdash; with Alex Kennedy
Best Player Breakdowns
<img src="https://cdn.basketballnews.com/images/story/body/kyle-lowry_lg.jpg" alt="" />
<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/on-lock-how-jrue-holiday-became-the-nba-finals-xfactor-">On Lock: How Jrue Holiday became the NBA Finals&rsquo; X-Factor</a> &mdash; by Jannelle Moore
<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/enough-no-bag-talk-giannis-antetokounmpo-put-the-nba-on-notice-finals-mvp-champion">Enough 'no bag' talk: Giannis Antetokounmpo put the NBA on notice</a> &mdash; by Nekias Duncan
<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/what-kyle-lowry-brings-to-the-miami-heat">Film study: What Kyle Lowry brings to the Miami Heat</a> &mdash; by Nekias Duncan
<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/dime-fest-breaking-down-courtney-vandersloot-historic-night-wnba-playoffs">Dime Fest: Breaking down Courtney Vandersloot's historic night</a> &mdash; by Nekias Duncan
<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/all-signs-pointing-to-marcus-smart-as-the-celtics-swing-player">What does Marcus Smart at point guard look like for the Celtics? </a>&nbsp; &mdash; by Ethan Fuller
<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/rudy-gay-is-injecting-the-jazz-with-funk">Rudy Gay is injecting the Jazz with funk</a> &mdash; by Mark Schindler
<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/is-jaren-jackson-jr-a-star-in-making-or-something-else">Is Jaren Jackson Jr. a star in the making, or something else?</a> &mdash; by Matt Brooks
<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/dissecting-desmond-bane-role-memphis-grizzlies-offense">Dissecting Desmond Bane's growing role in the Grizzlies' offense</a> &mdash; by Jackson Frank
<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/is-dave-bing-right-about-cade-cunningham">Is Cade Cunningham a franchise player the Pistons can build around?</a> &mdash; by Mat Issa and Bryce Simon
<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/making-the-nba-all-star-case-for-cavs-big-man-jarrett-allen">Making the NBA All-Star case for Cavs big man Jarrett Allen</a> &mdash; by Bryan Fonseca
Best Team and League Breakdowns
<img src="https://cdn.basketballnews.com/images/story/body/jarrett-allen_lg.png" alt="" />
<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-to-tank-or-not-to-tank-analyzing-the-toronto-raptors-present-and-future">To tank, or not to tank? Analyzing the Raptors' present and future</a> &mdash; by Imman Adan
<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/the-nba-draft-lottery-is-not-rigged-and-heres-why">The NBA Draft Lottery is not rigged, and here's why</a> &mdash; by Alex Kennedy&nbsp;
<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/why-big-men-take-more-time-to-develop-in-the-nba-than-guards-and-wings">Why NBA bigs take more time to develop: 'They're used to imposing their will'</a>&nbsp;&mdash; by Spencer Davies
<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/as-the-offseason-revs-up-what-nba-teams-are-in-the-dead-money-doldrums">As NBA offseason nears, which teams are in the dead money doldrums?</a> &mdash; by Ethan Fuller
<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/suns-create-unnecessarily-awkward-situation-not-signing-deandre-ayton-to-extension">Suns create unnecessarily awkward situation by not extending Ayton</a> &mdash; by Evan Sidery
<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/in-the-nba-length-matters-unedited">Length matters: The NBA's long-ball revolution may be coming</a> &mdash; by Imman Adan
<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/grindhouse-how-the-grizzlies-are-winning-with-defense">The Grindhouse: How the Grizzlies are winning with defense</a> &mdash; by Nekias Duncan
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The Best of BasketballNews: 2021

I was asked to be a guest on Marc Lamont Hill's "Black News Tonight" program to discuss Kyrie Irving&rsquo;s Instagram Live address.
I don&rsquo;t think the conversation went exactly how it was planned, and I know that a lot of people may take issue with the comparisons I made throughout this discussion, but I stand by every word I said.&nbsp;
Watch the full segment of our exchange below:
<iframe title="YouTube video player" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/a2Kvz7YQhKQ" width="100%" height="325" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe>
Here's the transcription of the conversation in its entirety.
Marc Lamont Hill: The Brooklyn Nets have barred Kyrie Irving from all team activities. This was in response to his unwillingness to take the COVID-19 vaccine. They also will not be extending his contract at the end of the season. The point guard decided to go to Instagram live last night. He had some stuff to say, take a listen.
Kyrie Irving on B-roll: "It's just really about being true to what feels good for me. I'm still uncertain about a lot of things that, and that's okay. If I'm going to be demonized for having more questions and taking my time to make a decision with my life, then that's just what it is."
Joining me now is former NBA player Etan Thomas. He is the author of "We Matter," "Athletes and Activism." Etan, thank you for of joining me. How do you feel about this Kyrie situation? I mean, this is something that obviously has never happened in NBA history before. You got a guy who, maybe at the peak of his powers, helped put together one of the greatest basketball teams ever assembled, and he's not going to play because he doesn't want to get the vaccine. And the NBA is beholden to the New York state laws or New York city laws that say that he can't play unless he gets vaccinated as a New York employee. So he's sitting this one out for so far. What do you make of it?
Etan Thomas: I mean, it's interesting. I've been listening to a lot of commentary and reading articles over the last week or two, discussing Kyrie. And there's a lot with it. It's interesting. I noticed that a lot of the same people who praised athletes for using their platform and using their positions to stand up for what they believe in, now are sounding a little bit like "the right." They sound a little Laura Ingraham-ish. You know what I mean? To be honest with you, a lot like Tucker Carlson almost, in the ridicule part. Now, we don't have to agree with Kyrie, but just the description [of him]... I've been kind of amazed to see the way in which people are using words like stupid and foolish and ignorant and everything. And I'm like, "Wait a minute."
That's what Sean Hannity does; we don't do that. So, that's one of the main things I've seen, I've really been disappointed in. We expect it from the right; that's what they did with Colin Kaepernick. Or they purposely misrepresented what Kyrie Irving's stance was, what Jonathan Isaac's stance was, Bradley Beal &mdash; all the people who said that they were hesitant to take the vaccine. And you heard Kyrie say it in the clip, demonized them. I've got to tell you honestly, Marc, I was kind of disappointed to see that because again, that's what the right does. That's what I expect from Fox News, not from a lot of the people that I heard it from.
Hill: So specifically, the Laura Ingraham reference you're talking about is when she told LeBron to shut up and dribble. And so the idea is: Don't speak about politics, don't talk about anything, just play basketball. And we said, "Oh, wait a minute. That's wrong. Players have a right to use their platform and talk." But to your point, Kyrie's using his platform to talk. We just don't like what he's saying. Some people and myself included, I don't like what he's saying, but I wouldn't call him stupid, I just don&rsquo;t agree with him.
So he goes to IG Live and he says: I'm not going through the media, I'm not going to go call up Stephen A. Smith, I'm not going talk to Jemele Hill. No, I'm going to do my IG Live directly, people are going hear from me. He said, because he's been &ldquo;demonized,&rdquo; he wants to be heard and understood. Did he make his point on IG Live? Did he say the things that needed to be said?
Etan: I mean, he said that he wasn't retiring, which was reported all throughout the media. They said that he was going to quit and hang it up rather than take the vaccine. And he said, no, that's not true. The thing that I like about the players nowadays is &mdash; because it's not like when I was playing, we didn't have social media &mdash; they can go right to their own platform like Kyrie Irving did and say: No, everything that person reported is untrue. All of their anonymous sources, I don't know where they got them from, but that is not how I feel. And that's the part that I respect about this generation, because they're doing this so much more often. Now again, do we have to agree with what Kyrie Irving is saying? No, but do we have to demean him and belittle him and demonize him because of that? That's the part that we can't fall into that category.
And like I said, that's the Laura Ingraham category. That's the Bill O'Reilly category. And I've seen too many... I mean, we expect certain things from Stephen A. Smith. Since you brought him up, you mentioned Stephen A. Smith. We expect certain things from him. He's performative, he's going to talk very loudly. And ESPN is going to pay him even more money to talk even more loudly. That's what he does. But, Stephen A. Smith aside, why would Kyrie Irving go to some of these same reporters who've been demonizing him? I don't see why he would. So now people are saying, "Well, what is his clear message? What is his clear stance?" Well, if you really want to make somebody's stance or what they're saying seem really doubtful or demean them or discredit them, you'll do what is happening a lot in media today, all day on all different talk shows after Kyrie made his statement on Instagram Live. But the point is what he said is: I am not retiring. I'm not anti-vaccine, I'm still working through this process. I would like to play. Those are the main key points that should be the main takeaways out of everything that he said.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
Former <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NBA?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NBA</a> player and author <a href="https://twitter.com/etanthomas36?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@etanthomas36</a> joins <a href="https://twitter.com/marclamonthill?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@marclamonthill</a> to discuss <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/KyrieIrving?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#KyrieIrving</a>. "A lot of the same people that praised athletes for using their platforms and using their positions to stand up for what they believe in now are sounding a little bit like the right." <a href="https://t.co/0hhPm6NwEi">pic.twitter.com/0hhPm6NwEi</a>
&mdash; Black News Channel (@BNCNews) <a href="https://twitter.com/BNCNews/status/1448847849958133761?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 15, 2021</a></blockquote>

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Hill: So, and again, you raised some important points here, Kyrie Irving absolutely clarified it. He's not retiring. That was something we'd heard if he was going to retire. If he got traded, some people said he was going to retire not to get vaccinated. He took that off the table. He said he is not anti-vaccine, meaning he's open to the possibility of being vaccinated. That's an important point. But there were some other things he said that weren't clear.
He said he was doing his research, he expressed that he was vaccine hesitant, but it's not entirely clear to me. What will lead him to make a different choice? In other words, what does he need to find out in order to feel comfortable getting the vaccine? If he is willing to get one. Wouldn't training camp be the time? Wouldn't the preseason be the time? The season starts in [four] days. If he hasn't gotten it yet, when is he going to get it? These are the types of questions I think he didn't answer very clearly. I mean, did you walk away with a sense of whether or not he's going to get the vaccine or not?
Etan: I walked away thinking that he was still working through the process, like a large portion of this country is still working through it. You look at the vaccination numbers per state, they&rsquo;re somewhere in the 50s, some are in the 60s; we have a large portion of society who are still working through that process. I just think it's interesting that we... okay, so right now the NBA is 95% vaccinated. 95%. So you look at different states all across the country. Nobody's at 95%, but we expect the NBA to be at 100%? Why? Because we want our basketball? The only thing that matters is for NBA games to start and for everybody to be vaccinated, I think that's a little bit of an unfair expectation to have for NBA players. They're working through the vaccine concerns and questions just like the rest of the country.
But one of the things I do want to say Marc, is I want to hear more criticism toward the different people and demonization toward the different groups who are unvaccinated &mdash; like the NYPD, like the LAPD, like the Chicago Police Department. All these police departments all across the country that have said not that they're not working through their research, not that they're working through the process. They said, "We are not getting the vaccine *period*." And those are at high numbers. You have only 60-something percent of the NYPD who are actually vaccinated, but we're worrying about Kyrie? And these are people who literally are coming into contact with Americans every single day, and a lot of them, they don't want to wear masks. So, just to put it into perspective, we're making a lot over, what, one player per team that isn't vaccinated in the NBA? I mean, I know people want basketball, but we got to put it into perspective.
Hill: Well, I think it's about basketball, but it's also about what it means for a public figure and a celebrity to advance a position, or seem to be advancing a position, that some people find troublesome. So I think it's both. I think there's some selfish basketball stuff going on, then I think there's the public platform piece of it. We're going to keep this kind going about Kyrie Irving, about vaccine hesitancy and what it all means for the Black community.
Y'all, Kyrie confuses me. I mean, I'm going to start with you [Amin], since we're bringing you into the convo. In the IG Live, he said that he was being "a voice for the voiceless." Who is the voiceless in this analysis? I'm not disagreeing, this is a sincere question. Who is the voiceless here? What is his thought process? And why is he doing it?
Amin Elhassan: Your guess is as good as mine, as to who the voiceless are. He talks about people who are losing jobs because of a vaccine mandate, but that represents a sliver of the population. Also, when he says I'm a voice for the voiceless, this was a man two weeks ago, who had an opportunity on NBA Media Day; they call it "Media Day" because you have the attention of all the media. And there are questions about his availability, whether he was going to play or not due to this municipal regulation, it's not an NBA regulation. This is a New York City regulation.
And when asked about it several times, his response was, Well, this is a private matter. I don't want to discuss a private matter. Brother, you can't talk about "I didn't have an opportunity to speak for myself. They spoke for me. I didn't say anything," when there was a day dedicated for you to speak on this matter. And you chose to opt-out. You chose to say, I have nothing to say, because this is my own private business, when you knew damn well it wasn't your private business. Regardless of whether everyone else was going through it, we knew the NBA said, "Hey, if your local municipality says you cannot play in these games if you are unvaccinated." Instantly, that ceased to be a private matter and became at the very least an NBA public matter. A matter of the media had a right to ask about, a matter that he had an opportunity to expound upon. He chose not to. So when he chooses several weeks later to dress up this whole, "I really didn't have a chance. And they spoke for me." It kind of screams ingenuous.
Hill: So Etan, what do you say to that? I know you've been somewhat generous in your reading of the Kyrie Irving situation. Whether you agree with him on vaccines is a different issue. You're saying he's being somewhat unfairly assailed. that he's being demonized by folk and that some people on the left have been treating him with the same animus at the right treat black athletes telling him to shut up and dribble. But what Amin is saying is, "Wait a minute, he had an opportunity to talk. He was coy. He was difficult to reach. He bucked at the reporter's questions." He said, It's a private matter. It's a personal matter. Are you going to play? It's a personal matter. Are you going to get vaccinated? It's a personal matter, etc. What do you say to that? Has he been forthcoming? Has he even been a voice for the voiceless?
Etan: Well, I have a little bit of a different take on it. I did see where he said it was a personal matter. And I think he does have the right to be able to say that because they wanted specifics that he was not able to give them at that time, because he was still working through his process or whatever that process was in order to be able to either take the vaccine or not take the vaccine. And that's what he said. He said he was working through that. So when the reporters tried to ask in different ways about a timetable ("When do you think, by training camp?"), he just cut it off and said, It's a personal matter. But I don't think that that gives the media the right to fill in the blanks.
And that's what happened after that. Then, they had anonymous sources that were all incorrect. Then, they had reporters, journalists, commentators saying on-air and writing, "Okay, he's going to retire. He's going to refuse the vaccine. He's anti-vax." Now, I will agree that he didn't specifically answer those questions the first time, but he had to go and correct people this last time because of all of the incorrect reporting that was done. Now, the thing that happens is, when a lot of the media gets called out for reporting something that was incorrect, they immediately take offense. And we don't have to talk about the specific reporters because he was very specific on the people who said that he was going to retire&nbsp; and misreported that over and over again; he made it clear that was incorrect. The people who said that he was anti-vax, and he said that they were incorrect. And so, a lot of times when there's different things coming out and different narratives coming out, then it does kind of muddy the waters. Then, people are like, "Okay, well, where is he then?" Well, he's been where he's always been. He didn't say any of those things. He's just answering the incorrect things that were put out. And for that, I don't fault him at all.
Hill: But, just in fairness as a journalist, I can tell you there's been times where... I've done backgrounds. I've done one-on-ones. I've done off-the-records. I've done all kinds of interviews with athletes, politicians, etc. And they say one thing to me in my face, then they go out to the press conference and say they've been misrepresented, they've been lied on, etc. So I don't want to assume that because Kyrie said he didn't say it, that means he didn't say it. I also don't want to assume that the media's right, because the media also misrepresent the players say all the time.
But I don't want to take Kyrie's word as gospel. Before we go y'all, Stephon Marbury was all up in the comments on the IG. And one of the things he did was compare Kyrie Irving to Muhammad Ali. What do you make of that comparison? Is he doing something bigger than himself? Is he making a sacrifice for the people? Amin, I'll let you answer anytime, and give the last word.
Amin: I'll go real quick on this one. Muhammad Ali fought against an unjust war against other colored people in another country that had nothing to do with him or other people of color in this country, who were treated like trash, who were called all sorts of names and then expected to defend this country on behalf of its stellar background or resume. Kyrie Irving is standing up for people who are scared of science. I mean, even if you have questions about whether or not this vaccine is good or applicable or whatever, the idea that this could be compared to forcing people to go to war against people who have no quarrel with them. To me, that was one of the biggest face-palm moment, that Stephon Marbury would ever compare what Muhammad Ali did to what Kyrie is doing here...
&mdash;
This is what I didn&rsquo;t get a chance to say because we ran out of time.
Kyrie Irving is neither Muhammad Ali nor is he Candace Owens, he is Kyrie Irving. Everyone wants to make him something and lay claim to him, and I get that. The Right is working tirelessly to co-op his message and all of the NBA players' messages. (I wrote <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2021/oct/13/jonathan-isaac-vaccine-covid-nba-orlando-magic-basketball-fox-news" target="_blank" rel="noopener">an open article to Jonathan Isaac</a> a few days ago warning him of this.)
But Kyrie is just Kyrie, and I really wish people would stop trying to turn him into something else. No, we don&rsquo;t have to agree with him, and yes, if there is a mandate &mdash; which there is in New York &mdash; it&rsquo;s either he takes it and plays, or he doesn&rsquo;t take it and doesn&rsquo;t play. Only certain people like the NYPD get exceptions. That&rsquo;s unfortunate, but that is the society we live in.

Etan Thomas joined Marc Lamont Hill on "Black News Tonight" to discuss Kyrie Irving's Instagram Live post and the reaction to it.

Many are sounding Laura Ingraham-ish with criticisms of Kyrie Irving

On the dais, his shoulders looked awfully broad for a point guard who's fairly miniature in stature.
But anyone who knows Kemba Walker &mdash; as a Rice High School standout or as a young prep coming of age in the Soundview section of the Bronx &mdash; has always known the truth.
He makes up for his size with his fight. For a long, long time, that&rsquo;s been obvious.
&ldquo;The last couple years have been tough for me,&rdquo; Walker said as he looked upon the sea of reporters who attended the New York Knicks&rsquo; media day.
What an understatement.&nbsp;
In two years, Walker went from having a career-year and being named to the All-NBA Third Team, to being a player who had to have a first-round pick attached to him in order to be traded.
In some ways, the end is fitting, though. Walker&rsquo;s journey &mdash; from the Sack-Wern housing projects to the University of Connecticut &mdash; ended up being circuitous, after all.
Entering his 11th season, at 31 years old, Walker finally comes home. One of the city&rsquo;s own, he joins a Knicks team that has put itself on the radar in relatively short order. Led by reigning Coach of the Year Tom Thibodeau and Most Improved Player Julius Randle, New York will attempt to ride the talents of Randle, RJ Barrett and the rest of the club that few around the Association believe is for real.
A team that's still obviously a work in progress, the hope among those who are rooting for the Knicks is that Walker&rsquo;s tough two-year stint in Boston was a bump in the road, not a sign of what&rsquo;s to come.
Way back on draft night in 2011, when Walker became an NBA player, he hosted a post-draft party at one of Lower Manhattan&rsquo;s hotspots. Everyone from his fellow draft mates to Chris Paul was in attendance. The league and its players' union knew that the most likely outcome was that the 2011 season would be delayed due to a lockout, and the incoming class of rookies knew it too.&nbsp;
But Walker didn&rsquo;t let that dampen his mood. He'd made it. And he was especially appreciative of Michael Jordan for &ldquo;taking a chance on him.&rdquo;
It seems like ancient history, but back then, there were many who wondered whether Walker would be able to supplant D.J. Augustin as the lead guard for then-Charlotte Bobcats. In his run up to the NBA Draft, Walker heard it all &mdash; he was too small, his game wouldn&rsquo;t translate, his weaknesses were too great to overcome.&nbsp;
Those questions resulted in less-proven players being taken ahead of him, and he then realized that neither his unprecedented five wins in five nights in the Big East Tournament, nor the ensuing national championship he won at UConn would cause the questions to cease.
He had to do it in the NBA. And in the end, that&rsquo;s exactly what he did.
All his life, Walker has been proving his doubters wrong, and now, he&rsquo;ll attempt to do it in his hometown.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;m home,&rdquo; he said on Monday.&nbsp;&ldquo;I&rsquo;m already focused.&nbsp;Last couple years have been kinda rough for me, obviously with my knee, [but] I&rsquo;m locked in, ready to go, ready to play at a high level.&rdquo;
The Knicks will need every bit of it.
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"I'm home. I'm from here, born and raised. And it feels like it. I'm getting a lot of love." - Kemba Walker <a href="https://t.co/eYGG9QJ3h1">pic.twitter.com/eYGG9QJ3h1</a>
&mdash; Knicks Videos (@sny_knicks) <a href="https://twitter.com/sny_knicks/status/1442504749723443206?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 27, 2021</a></blockquote>

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Coming off of a disappointing loss to the Atlanta Hawks in the first round of last season&rsquo;s playoffs, general manager Scott Perry saw Atlanta&rsquo;s growth up close and personally. He then saw a great many of the conference&rsquo;s teams improve this past summer.&nbsp;
The Milwaukee Bucks and Brooklyn Nets are obviously entering the season as the favorites, while the Chicago Bulls and Miami Heat are expected to be greatly improved.&nbsp;
The Philadelphia 76ers are obviously <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/philadelphia-76ers-trade-seems-certain-but-we-havent-heard-last-of-ben-simmons" target="_blank" rel="noopener">dealing with the Ben Simmons saga</a>, but even without getting a king&rsquo;s ransom in return for what appears to be an eventual trade, they should be one of the top teams out East. Even the Washington Wizards are entering the season with some optimism.
The question for the Knicks this season is whether they&rsquo;ve done enough to keep up. And they&rsquo;ll be counting on Walker to provide the answer.
During their run last season, New York was ultimately undone by their lack of depth from the point guard position. Their hope is that Walker&rsquo;s ability to attack the basket and create space against his defenders &mdash; assuming he still can &mdash; will be tools that should allow him to get easy looks for his teammates. That&rsquo;s not something the Knicks got against Atlanta, and both Randle and Barrett stand to benefit from allowing Walker to create off the dribble.
Perhaps it&rsquo;s fate that now, at 31 years old and with the deck stacked against him, is when Walker will be charged with the task.
Since taking over in New York, Perry&rsquo;s modus operandi has been to buy low on players whose perceived potential was greater than the results they were believed to be able to produce as pros. Randle ended up being buried treasure. They struck oil with Rose. But Bobby Portis, Mario Hezonja and Elfrid Payton? Not so much. 
Nonetheless, overall, the strategy has worked. But at this point, we obviously don&rsquo;t know which bucket Walker will end up in.
Fittingly now, only two years removed from being an All-NBA selection, the four-time All-Star will come back to the city where it all began for him in an attempt to recapture past glory.
Peddled by Brad Stevens, the former Boston Celtics coach-turned-team-president admitted defeat. Boston made a mistake by signing Walker to a four-year, $141 million contract in 2019. At least, that was the message. Stevens attached a first-round pick to him in order to get the Oklahoma City Thunder to agree to take Walker&rsquo;s pact in return for Al Horford &mdash; a player that Boston coincidentally let go in 2019. Stevens wanted a mulligan.
Truth be told, Oklahoma City isn&rsquo;t high on any player&rsquo;s list of cities to spend the latter stages of their career. But still, it&rsquo;s hard to imagine any player not feeling a bit slighted to learn that a team would rather pay him $50 million to go away than keep him around.&nbsp;
Walker, though, obviously wasn&rsquo;t complaining. When Oklahoma City bought him out, according to the Bronx native, New York was the only option he&rsquo;d considered.&nbsp;
The upstart club, for a change, had a duo of budding stars that just led an overachieving group to a playoff berth that didn&rsquo;t seem certain a year ago. With other young players showing promise &mdash; Mitchell Robinson, Immanuel Quickley and Obi Toppin among them &mdash; any observer can truly see the Knicks from afar and wonder what they can be.
And when Walker looked around and realized he wasn&rsquo;t wanted, he probably did too.
As the Knicks began their 2021-22 season, he sat in his orange and blue jersey. The threads were unfamiliar, but ironically, he looked quite comfy.
&ldquo;I'm from here, born and raised,&rdquo; he said.
And in the end, needing one another, Walker and the Knicks united at the right time.
Defying the odds from the beginning, Kemba Walker &mdash; New York City&rsquo;s own &mdash; went back to where it all began. 
And there, in New York, a city and a franchise starved for a winner, he hopes that he can do it once again.

Kemba Walker has defied the odds his entire life. The Knicks hope that he can continue to do exactly that, writes Moke Hamilton.

Finally home, Kemba Walker hopes to turn back clock with Knicks

Gingerly, the usually nimble-footed king raised his right arm as he jogged up the floor. His gait a tad off, he dialed back before settling into a home-run trot.
His ankle throbbing, LeBron James decided he couldn&rsquo;t wait any longer. Committing an intentional foul, he abandoned the stage at Staples Center, stepped into the shadows, limped into the tunnel and scurried into the locker room. We haven&rsquo;t seen him take the floor since.
The Lakers have predictably struggled since then. They would go on to lose to the Atlanta Hawks on that night, and have since won just four of their 10 contests.
Though unfortunate for the Lakers, if we are to make anything of <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CNau5JOhTwb/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Thursday evening&rsquo;s Instagram post from James</a>, it&rsquo;s this: the four-to-six-week timetable for his return may qualify as overly conservative.
That the league is in the midst of Most Valuable Player race that is as wide-open as we&rsquo;ve seen in quite some time could reasonably lead one to believe that James realizes the Lakers need him and perhaps senses that a fifth MVP award is there for the taking.
One can&rsquo;t help but wonder whether the thought has crossed his mind.
"The weatherman says the weather is changing soon and it predicts a thunderstorm is coming," James wrote on Instagram. 
"Folks prepare and take the proper caution measures to stay safe."
Take from that what you will.
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If you ever get someone who's close to James alone in a room, you might be fortunate enough to get them to tell you something that few know &mdash; his desire to make history is insatiable. To LeBron, being universally considered the &ldquo;G.O.A.T.&rdquo; isn&rsquo;t his focus, and it hasn&rsquo;t been for a long time. He can&rsquo;t beat Michael Jordan in an NBA Finals, and he can&rsquo;t dunk on Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
There are many who see the LeBron James glass as half-empty, and always will. He&rsquo;s long ceased to care about those opinions.
But at this point in his career, there continue to be things that motivate him. He&rsquo;s already become the first player in NBA history to win NBA Finals MVP for three different teams, and entering play on April 8, he is about 3,100 points behind Abdul-Jabbar on the NBA's all-time scoring list. Although missed games will diminish his chances, James understands his place in history and the opportunity that he has to catch The Captain.
It motivates him, much in the same way that the unfathomable feat of one day sharing an NBA court with his son does. Until recently, James has publicly avoided putting any pressure on 16-year-old Bronny to be good enough to even make it to the NBA, much less to suit up alongside him. But as the years have progressed, so has James&rsquo; willingness to make an admission.
"That's definitely one of my goals, but that's a long-term goal,&rdquo; James <a href="https://twitter.com/MarkG_Medina/status/1368784478420627457?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said about that prospect</a> in March, even admitting that it would be a &ldquo;cool thing&rdquo; for his resume and legacy.
What it all means is something quite simple: LeBron is keeping score, and he has been for a long, long time.
Wanna ruffle The King&rsquo;s feathers? Just ask about him the fact that he&rsquo;s &ldquo;only&rdquo; won the MVP award four times. Many close to James will tell you that he feels like he should&rsquo;ve won the award twice as many times as he has. And he hasn&rsquo;t exactly kept those feelings to himself over the years.
As recently as last September, James admitted that he was &ldquo;pissed&rdquo; to have received only 16 first-place votes as Giannis Antetokounmpo took the award home for the second consecutive year, and pointed out that he&rsquo;s finished second in the MVP vote four times.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
"It pissed me off." &mdash;LeBron on this year's MVP voting <a href="https://t.co/K2qTY2QaRS">pic.twitter.com/K2qTY2QaRS</a>
&mdash; SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) <a href="https://twitter.com/SportsCenter/status/1307172852395892737?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 19, 2020</a></blockquote>

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Abdul-Jabbar is the only player to have won MVP six times, with Jordan and Bill Russell being the only five-time winners. James and Wilt Chamberlain have each won the award four times, but it&rsquo;s pretty obvious that LeBron thinks that he should be the G.O.A.T. -- at least when it comes to taking home that trophy.
Sure, there are many who will rightfully point out that the Lakers&rsquo; quest for an 18th championship and James&rsquo; pursuit of his fifth ring should trump any personal aspiration around his wishes for additional accolades... But why choose if you could have both?
The Lakers are understandably being conservative with James and Anthony Davis, but the truth is that the team&rsquo;s chances of coming out of the Western Conference this season will be just as much about who they play as it will be about how healthy they are. And while the final standings probably won&rsquo;t be determined until the final night of the regular season, one doesn&rsquo;t need to be a math wiz to figure out that James playing means more wins for the Lakers, and thus, a higher seed and a more favorable bracket.
It just so might mean another shot to abscond with an MVP award that's ripe for pilfer.
This season, more than any other in recent memory, the race for MVP has been like watching a group of 9-year-old children play musical chairs.
Kevin Durant, James Harden and Joel Embiid have each seen their candidacies hurt by injuries after they appeared to move out front, and you get the feeling that the voting media simply won&rsquo;t give Antetokounmpo the honor of being the first player since Larry Bird to win the award three consecutive years &ndash; not while the Milwaukee Bucks are perceived to be underachieving, anyway.
Donovan Mitchell and his Utah Jazz are inexplicably being ignored, while Nikola Jokic&rsquo;s absurd numbers and efficiency are really only just now getting some recognition. When it comes to Most Valuable Players, one would be hard-pressed to argue that Chris Paul doesn&rsquo;t belong in the conversation, so he will probably peel off a vote or two, even though his individual numbers aren&rsquo;t spectacular by his standards.
Where that has left us is with an MVP race that&rsquo;s as wide-open as we&rsquo;ve seen in some time, a Lakers team that could benefit from a few more wins, a LeBron James who&rsquo;s recently complained about being passed over for the award and the belief that a dominant 20-game stretch could seal the award for any one of the aforementioned contenders.
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Back in the Orlando bubble, as LeBron James was crowned king for the fourth time, he stood at center court flanked by Anthony Davis.
He let it be known that he wanted more than just the Larry O&rsquo;Brien trophy. He wanted more than his fourth ring and the 17th championship that he delivered to Los Angeles.
Despite being filled with glee, James was still hungry.
&ldquo;I want my damn respect,&rdquo; he said with a calm defiance.
In the form of the 2020-21 NBA&rsquo;s Most Valuable Player award that appears to be ripe for the picking, don&rsquo;t be surprised if he decides to take matters into his own hands and comes to get it.

The race for the NBA's Most Valuable Player award is wide-open, and LeBron James may be hinting that he's up to make a late run.

LeBron James could make late run to win wide-open MVP race

According to <a style="color: #ffffff;" href="https://theathletic.com/2376670/2021/02/09/dallas-mavericks-anthem-nba-mark-cuban/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Tim Cato, of The Athletic,</a> the Dallas Mavericks have ceased playing the national anthem before home games this season and do not plan to play it moving forward, a decision made by owner Mark Cuban, which he confirmed to The Athletic on Monday evening.
All of the preseason and regular-season games played at American Airlines Center this season have not featured the national anthem. Monday night, however, was the first time this season that fans/media were allowed into the arena, which brought immediate attention to the Mavs choosing to not play the national anthem before tip-off. 
According to Cato, Cuban declined to comment further on the removal of the national anthem at American Airlines Center.&nbsp;

The Dallas Mavericks have stopped playing the national anthem before home games this season.

Mavericks become first team to stop playing national anthem before games

A piece of intel came in last night: a Western Conference executive says he expects the Houston Rockets to trade James Harden to a team in the Eastern Conference. 
The last thing the Rockets need, the thinking went, is to see the bearded one four times each season, and perhaps again in the playoffs.
If that line of thinking holds, there are 15 candidates for Harden&rsquo;s services instead of 29. And though it is not incumbent upon Rockets general manager Rafael Stone to grant Harden&rsquo;s wish and trade him to a contending team (he <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-rumors-houston-rockets-james-harden-expands-preferred-trade-destination-list-milwaukee-bucks-miami-heat-philadelphia-76ers-brooklyn-nets-john-lucas" target="_blank" rel="noopener">updated his list to include the Miami Heat and Milwaukee Bucks in addition to the Brooklyn Nets and Philadelphia 76ers,</a> according to reports this morning), no Eastern Conference general manager with his head on straight will want to acquire Harden knowing that he will be disgruntled if the team isn't competing for a title.
So, that knocks out about half of the East.
Nobody can say with any certainty how long it will be before Harden is dealt, and as Harden goes through the NBA&rsquo;s COVID-19 protocol and continues to miss practice (<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-news-offseason-houston-rockets-james-harden-COVID-tests" target="_blank" rel="noopener">he needs to pass six consecutive COVID tests</a>), there&rsquo;s no way he will be in uniform tomorrow night when the Rockets play the Chicago Bulls in their preseason opener &ndash; or on Sunday, when the Rockets are again in Chicago to play them in their second exhibition game.
The Rockets have two exhibition games next week &ndash; Tuesday and Thursday at home against the San Antonio Spurs &ndash; and by then, Harden may be wearing another uniform. It depends whether a bidding war heats up among the teams trying to acquire him.
So until something breaks &ndash; and what we are hearing lately is that talks between Brooklyn and Houston have ceased &ndash; the most prudent thing to do is look at all of the Eastern Conference contenders (and a couple prominent non-contenders) and see which deals might work. And even though the discussions with the Nets are said to be on hold, let&rsquo;s start with them because they are said to be Harden&rsquo;s top preferred destination.
Harden makes $42 million, so putting together enough matching salary is tricky without gutting your team. In the case of the Nets, the most popular rumored trade would send Spencer Dinwiddie, Caris LeVert and Jarrett Allen to Houston. Those salaries only total $31.5 million, which means the trade would not work under salary-matching rules unless a fourth player &ndash; Taurean Prince or Nicolas Claxton &ndash; was added to the deal. And that seems like too much for the Nets to surrender, even for the player who has led the NBA in scoring each of the last two seasons.
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But what about Boston, who lost Gordon Hayward in free agency? Danny Ainge is overdue for a signature deal, and acquiring Harden would make the Celtics instant co-favorites along with Milwaukee and Brooklyn to come out of the East. Jayson Tatum cannot be traded because of the poison-pill provision, so in order to get the money to match, Ainge would have to package Jaylen Brown ($23.7 million) and Marcus Smart ($13.4 million), along with one or maybe two first-round draft picks. That would cost the Celtics their best perimeter defender, Smart, unless Ainge deleted Smart and instead lumped together Semi Ojeleye, Robert Williams, Daniel Theis, Romeo Langford and Grant Williams, which would put 25 players on Houston&rsquo;s roster. So that one won&rsquo;t fly.
We can assume the Milwaukee Bucks are all set, although there is the matter of that <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-news-offseason-giannis-antetokounmpo-extension-milwaukee-bucks" target="_blank" rel="noopener">supermax contract extension that Giannis Antetokounmpo has still not signed</a> despite his teammates gifting him a set of pens when camp opened. But remember that the supermax will still be available to The Greek Freak following the 2020-21 season, so swapping him for Harden makes no sense. It'd be better to play out the season, make whatever adjustments are needed around the trade deadline and see how the playoffs go.
Philadelphia is the most intriguing possible destination, but that may come down to a test of wills between Daryl Morey and his former deputy, Rafael Stone, over what constitutes fair value in a swap. Stone would likely insist on getting back Ben Simmons, but Sixers ownership is sensitive to the fact that Simmons and Joel Embiid are extraordinarily popular in Philly and deserve at least another year to prove themselves, this time under the leadership of Doc Rivers.&nbsp;
Morey was able to rid himself of Al Horford and Josh Richardson and brought in Danny Green and Seth Curry to play at the 2-guard spot. Bringing in Harden would make those two players superfluous, but that is not a bad problem to have. Morey owes a 2025 first-rounder to Oklahoma City, but has all of his own first-round picks until then, along with the New York Knicks&rsquo; 2021 second-round pick, which figures to be No. 31 or 32.
Miami, coming off an appearance in the NBA Finals in which its lack of experience was a factor, cannot lump together first-round picks because of obligations from previous deals. They do not have an All-Star who can be traded (Bam Adebayo has a poison-pill restriction after signing his extension), which means the best the Heat could offer is a package headlined by Tyler Herro and Duncan Robinson, with Andre Iguodala and Kelly Olynyk added for salary-matching purposes. Stone could do better elsewhere.
Chicago is a possibility because of the expiring contract of Otto Porter Jr., but the Bulls are in a rebuild and would have to surrender at least two of their best young players (Lauri Markkanen, Zach LaVine, Coby White), and that would leave little chance for Harden to play alongside the best they have to offer in his quest to win a title. Still, he is not driving the bus here. Stone is.
New York is rebuilding under new general manager Leon Rose and head coach Tom Thibodeau, and sacrificing multiple future first-round picks would seem risky for a franchise that plans to build around youngsters Obi Toppin, Immanuel Quickley and RJ Barrett. But Rose owns the rights to two future Dallas first-rounders, and in theory, a swap of Julius Randle, Barrett, Frank Ntilikina and Kevin Knox along with three first-round picks would give the franchise a superstar to build around. Harden might average 50 on the Knicks. Then again, Harden did not attend the University of Kentucky.
The bottom line is that if Stone and owner Tilman Fertitta want to deal Harden to a team in the East, their best chance might be with the Celtics or Sixers unless Rose loads up the wheelbarrow with future first-rounders.&nbsp;
We shall see. The start of the season is only a dozen days away, and the clock is ticking.&nbsp;

Chris Sheridan dives into what trade destinations for James Harden could make sense for both the disgruntled star and his team.

If James Harden heads East, which team is the best fit?

There are many unknowns surrounding this NBA offseason. The 2020 NBA Draft is on Nov. 18, but that's the only day that is set in stone. Bubble is over and the only thing NBA fans have to do at this time is hang onto hope.
But that is the nifty thing about the NBA, especially when it comes to the have-nots. The draft brings hope for the long-term, while free agency brings hope for the short-term.
With that in mind, let&rsquo;s take a look at the NBA teams that project to have the most salary-cap space this offseason and what they are positioned to do in terms of possible wants and needs.
Teams That Definitely Have Cap Space
Atlanta Hawks 
Despite getting nearly 30 points per game from Trae Young and more than 20 from John Collins, the Hawks were 20-47 last season. At the trade deadline, they went out and traded for Clint Capela, who is 26 years old and should anchor the middle long after Dewayne Dedmon and his two years and $26.6 million of salary eventually come off the books. If Atlanta could find a way to move Dedmon this offseason, the organization's committed salary number would drop to the $45 million range. As it is, Capela and Dedmon will be the two highest-paid players on the team next season. Jeff Teague will likely head elsewhere as a free agent, meaning a point guard should be a priority in free agency. The best young one out in the market is Fred VanVleet of the Toronto Raptors, who likely will have his choice of destinations once free agency begins sometime after the draft.
Atlanta has always been a favored destination city for a lot of NBA players because of the usual nightlife, although the pandemic has made nightlife a fond memory in most major American cities. Still, operating under the assumption that things will eventually return to normal, players and their agents who look at the Hawks see a terrific youthful trio in Young, 22, Collins, 23, and Capela, 26. The Hawks missed the postseason in each of the past three years after making it for 10-straight seasons, and general manager Travis Schlenk has stuck to a steady rebuild plan. Cam Reddish will be entering his second NBA season, and Atlanta selects No. 6 in this year's draft.
Having the most cap room in the NBA (about $40 million) will allow the Hawks to broker deals and add players without having to match salaries, so this is a franchise that should be positioned to grow into a contender over the next few years. Given the fact that they MUST spend 90 percent of the cap on somebody, it is incumbent upon head coach Lloyd Pierce and the ownership group (led by Tony Ressler) to sell perspective additions on the prospects for long-term success. The city is an easy sell. The goal of winning soon is a little more tricky.
New York Knicks
Assuming they do not pick up the Bobby Portis' player option ($15.75 million), New York's committed salary number will drop to roughly $67 million. That provides a heck of a lot of flexibility for new general manager Leon Rose (and new head coach Tom Thibodeau), and the team&rsquo;s braintrust is scheduled to meet in two weeks to map out a free agency plan. The Knicks have won exactly one playoff series in the past 21 seasons, and a significant portion of the fan base has given up on the team, believing sustained success will never come until James Dolan ceases being the owner. But since that is not happening anytime soon, Rose must become a super salesman to free agents later this year -- or a master craftsman in making trades.
There is a school of thought that trading for Chris Paul might be a way to lure Giannis Antetokounmpo in free agency after the 2020-21 season, but The Greek Freak&rsquo;s long-term plans will be impacted more by what changes Milwaukee Bucks general manager Jon Horst is able to make on the trade market this season, and he will probably kick the tires on a number of moves. Nearly every player on the Knicks' roster -- aside from RJ Barrett and Julius Randle -- will come off the cap a year from now (New York has only $21 million committed for the 2021-22 season), so free agency after another season of mediocrity is where Rose has to set his sights. But until players are convinced that the Knicks are capable of having a winning culture, they will stay away -- the same way Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving did.
Detroit Pistons
The Pistons were 20-46 last season and traded away Andre Drummond to Cleveland for John Henson, Brandon Knight and a second-round pick, creating an immediate nomination for Head-Scratcher of the Year. Drummond has led the league in rebounding in each of the past three seasons (and four of the past five), and little did the Pistons -- who expected Drummond to leave in free agency -- know how the pandemic would change everything for everyone in the NBA.
Unrestricted free agent Christian Wood should be Drummond's replacement at center if re-signed, but his market value will determine if Detroit brings him back. With Derrick Rose now trade bait on an expiring $7.68 million deal, Detroit currently has only $68 million in committed salary for next season, so there will be new faces joining the team through trades or free agency. Incoming general manager Troy Weaver has waited his whole career for this opportunity, but there is not much young talent there to build around.
The first order of business will be taking the best-available prospect with the No. 7 pick in the draft. As of now, Detroit does not have a second-round pick; it was dealt to Phoenix in the home-run deal that brought Marcus Morris, Reggie Bullock and Danny Granger to the Pistons back in 2015, but the Sacramento Kings now own that selection. Blake Griffin is on the cap sheet for two more seasons for nearly $76 million as well, so Weaver has his work cut out for him.&nbsp;
Charlotte Hornets
Michael Jordan can do better, one would think. How&rsquo;s this for preposterous: Nicolas Batum will earn $27.13 milllion next season if he picks up his player option. If there is an expression for &ldquo;no brainer&rdquo; in French, it would be fitting here, but at least Jordan can sleep tight at night knowing that Michael Kidd-Gilchrist and Bismack Biyombo will not be getting any more of his money. The Hornets went for Terry Rozier in free agency a season ago, and he responded by averaging 18 points and shooting 40 percent from three-point range.
The two best players on this roster are guards after Devonte' Graham&rsquo;s strong second season, which was largely overlooked by Most Improved Player voters (perhaps because of this franchise&rsquo;s low profile). They are building a young core with P.J. Washington and Miles Bridges at the forward spots, and they now need a center. Montrezl Harrell and Serge Ibaka are <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/ranking-top-10-nba-free-agent-centers-2020" target="_blank" rel="noopener">among colleague Spencer Davies&rsquo; top-10 free agents</a>, and landing Harrell would be a coup for Jordan. There have been reports that Harrell was among the Los Angeles Clippers players turned off by former coach Doc Rivers&rsquo; load management of Kawhi Leonard and Paul George, but the hiring of Ty Lue could be the proper fix. Ibaka would be a riskier long-term investment given his age (31). Mitch Kupchak is on the spot this offseason with Charlotte currently sitting on roughly $30 million in cap space.
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Teams That Could Have Cap Space (Depending On Moves)
Miami Heat
This is where things get very interesting, with a lot of moving parts. Already the defending Eastern Conference champions, the Heat are sitting roughly $28 million under the projected salary cap number (or $41 million if Kelly Olynyk opts out), which means they can probably entice anyone out there to join a team anchored by Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo -- and yes, Miami remains enticing in the COVID era. But that cap space is an illusion because the cap holds on Goran Dragic and Jae Crowder prohibit using it unless one or both leave in free agency.
If Dragic and Crowder leave for big money elsewhere, things get interesting because, in addition to the cap space, the Heat have trade chips in Andre Iguodala&rsquo;s expiring $17 million deal and Olynyk's expiring $13.6 million deal. Put the two of them together with a Kendrick Nunn or a Tyler Herro, and the sky is the limit in terms of what can come back in a trade. It remains to be seen what Miami has its eye on short-term (perhaps Victor Oladipo?), but the team is most certainly watching the Giannis situation for the longer-term. Pat Riley is a master recruiter, and let&rsquo;s just say that Miami is a nice place to live even during a pandemic. It should be a very interesting offseason...
New Orleans Pelilcans
First thing's first: They need to hire a coach; then comes the decision on whether to trade Jrue Holiday while his value is sky-high, having just been voted by his peers as the most desirable teammate in the league. The keeps long-term are Zion Williamson, Brandon Ingram (the NBA&rsquo;s Most Improved Player) and Lonzo Ball. There is a glaring need for a big man, which is where executive vice president of basketball operations David Griffin and general manager Trajan Langdon may look to spend with his cap number currently sitting at $83 million -- unless they makes an uneven trade salary-wise and bring in more money than he sends out in a Holiday trade (this is a scenario looked at in my <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-news-playoffs-finals-milwaukee-bucks-eric-bledsoe-khris-middleton" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Khris Middleton/Eric Bledsoe column</a>).
The Pelicans' cap situation will depend on a couple of things. The first is Brandon Ingram, who is a restricted free agent with the ability to sign an offer sheet anywhere (but New Orleans has the ability to match any deal). The Pels were also one of the NBA&rsquo;s top-six rebounding teams last season, but Derrick Favors is an unrestricted free agent after averaging nearly 10 boards per game, which led the team. If they choose to re-sign him, their cap space is illusory because Favors&rsquo; cap holds eats it all up. If he leaves, New Orleans is right behind Miami on the list of Best Cities In Which To Ride Out a Pandemic.
Phoenix Suns
The beasts of the bubble (8-0) looked fantastic in Lake Buena Vista, FL, so maintain a healthy skepticism of rumors out there that Devin Booker could be traded to Minnesota for the No. 1 pick. Suns general manager James Jones has a nice young core in place with Booker, Deandre Ayton, Kelly Oubre Jr. and Mikal Bridges; two factors that will impact their cap space is whether they tender a qualifying offer of $4.8 million to Dario Saric and whether they pick up the team option on Frank Kaminsky&rsquo;s $5 million option.
Phoenix had seven double-digit scorers last season led by Booker&rsquo;s 26.6 points per game, and their performance in the bubble made folks wonder whether the NBA should have included a play-in contingency plan for a team that outperformed expectations. As it was, they got squeezed. If Saric, Kaminsky (and Cameron Payne) are kept, the team's cap space shrinks to roughly zero when also accounting for the No. 10 pick in the draft. They are a work in progress, building to be a legit contender as this young core has another year together. Adding another piece with all or part of the $9.3 million mid-level exception, if it does not create luxury-tax problems, seems the most likely route.
Note: The cap and tax levels have not yet been set.

Chris Sheridan dives into the teams in the NBA with the most cap space and what they are positioned to do this offseason.

Analyzing the seven NBA teams with the most salary cap space

Following the Los Angeles Lakers' last-second loss to the Miami Heat in Game 5 of the NBA Finals, LeBron James was criticized by fans and pundits for passing to Danny Green on the final play rather than attempting the game-winning shot himself. James was triple-teamed on the play and passing to Green was the right decision, but LeBron's haters saw an opportunity to bash him and pounced on it.
Throughout this NBA season, I've watched as these critics have come up with absurd reasons to hate on LeBron. These takes are all over social media (especially on Facebook) as well as on various sports TV shows and sports-talk-radio programs. Nobody is above criticism; however, with James, it feels like he can't win with these people. Regardless of what he does, someone will get upset. Some of the hate he receives is outrageous and just plain ridiculous. Sometimes, the information is factual, but it's presented just to spread negativity.&nbsp;
As I saw more and more examples of this throughout the season, I started keeping a list of these critiques. These are actual takes that I have heard or read throughout this season:
BEFORE THE SEASON
<div>
1. In the Western Conference, LeBron could never accomplish what he did in the watered-down East.&nbsp;
2. How many times has LeBron been to the NBA Finals and lost?&nbsp;
3. LeBron had to form a super-team, so his Miami championships shouldn&rsquo;t be respected.
4. LeBron needed a Dwyane Wade or a Kyrie Irving by his side to win.
5. LeBron just isn&rsquo;t a killer like Michael Jordan, and he doesn't have the Mamba mentality.&nbsp;
6. LeBron doesn&rsquo;t have a go-to move like MJ or Kobe.&nbsp;
7. Unlike LeBron, MJ and Kobe stayed on the same team, overcame their rivals and then won titles.&nbsp;
8. Never forget when he disappeared against the Dallas Mavericks in the 2011 NBA Finals!
9. LeBron is too old and slow.
10. LeBron can&rsquo;t win the big games.
11. LeBron should never be put in the GOAT conversation.
12. LeBron talked the Lakers into trading away their entire team for ONE player; no one is worth that! The Pelicans won the Anthony Davis trade. GM LeBron strikes again.
13. LeBron gets all the glory and praise when his team wins and his teammates get all the blame when they lose. Then, folks say he doesn&rsquo;t have any help!&nbsp;
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DURING THE REGULAR SEASON
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14. The Lakers just lost to the Clippers on opening night! The Clippers are the better team.
15. Kawhi Leonard is the best player in Los Angeles, not LeBron.
16. The Lakers are scared of the Clippers, and LeBron is scared of Kawhi.
17. Okay... LeBron and the Lakers are winning games, but they haven&rsquo;t beaten a good team yet!
18. The Lakers are beating good teams because LeBron has a super-team! The Lakers are stacked!
19. LeBron is so narcissistic; he only cares about himself.
20. LeBron is a stat-chaser.&nbsp;
21. LeBron only scores and dominates because he&rsquo;s bigger than everyone else.
22. LeBron could never play in Michael Jordan's era.&nbsp;
23. LeBron is ranked too high on NBA 2K!&nbsp;
24. They spent too much time perfecting LeBron&rsquo;s face and mannerisms on 2K. Why didn't they put that level of detail into the other players?!
25. LeBron is smiling and joking too much on the court. He isn't serious enough.
26. LeBron doesn&rsquo;t smile enough on the court. He&rsquo;s too serious.
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<div>DURING THE PLAYOFFS</div>
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<div>27. The Blazers are dangerous. The Lakers do NOT want to see them the first round. They will be a problem.</div>
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<div>28. The Lakers lost Game 1 to the Blazers! <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CD0e9dqBALo&amp;feature=youtu.be" target="_blank" rel="noopener">"If the Lakers don&rsquo;t win a championship, let alone lose in the first round, I don&rsquo;t want to hear none of this GOAT talk no more."</a></div>
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29. LeBron&rsquo;s not dedicated to basketball because he&rsquo;s too focused on social activism.&nbsp;
30. The NBA's ratings are down because of &ldquo;woke&rdquo; LeBron, in particular. He needs to stick to sports (AKA "shut up and dribble").&nbsp;&nbsp;
31. Who does he think he is, Muhammad Ali? Why do we need to know what he is reading ?&nbsp;
32. LeBron is corrupting all of the other NBA players to be anti-American and disrespect the flag and criticize our President and be against all cops. A loss for him is a win for America.
33. Just wait until the Clippers and Lakers meet in the playoffs... The Clippers are winning easily!
34. The Rockets are dangerous! Their small-ball can really challenge Los Angeles!&nbsp;
35. The Nuggets are dangerous! The comeback kids can beat LeBron and the Lakers!&nbsp;
36. LeBron and the Lakers haven't had to face any good teams on their path to the NBA Finals!
37. The refs are giving LeBron a ton of favorable calls.
38. MJ never cried to the refs the way LeBron does.
39. My conspiracy theory: The NBA powers that be want LeBron to win this championship.&nbsp;
40. The Clippers would've defeated LeBron and the Lakers easily.
41. If Miami was fully healthy, they would be defeating the Lakers.
42. <a href="https://twitter.com/RealSkipBayless/status/1313840546016714753" target="_blank" rel="noopener">If the Lakers win this championship, it will actually&nbsp;hurt&nbsp;LeBron's legacy.</a>
43. The Lakers went on a run while LeBron was on the bench. They may actually play better without him.&nbsp;
44. LeBron jokes around all the time, but now he wants to get on his teammates for joking around on the bench during the blowout in Game 2? LeBron is a hypocrite.
45. LeBron didn't celebrate with his teammates after the Western Conference Finals. He&rsquo;s a bad teammate. A good leader would&rsquo;ve been celebrating with his teammates.
46. LeBron wouldn&rsquo;t have had the success he is having this season if it weren&rsquo;t for Anthony Davis, so LeBron shouldn&rsquo;t be getting the credit he is getting. AD should win Finals MVP!
47. <a href="https://twitter.com/stephenasmith/status/1314281041146843137" target="_blank" rel="noopener">LeBron is playing well, but it's only because this is the softest era in the history of the NBA.</a>
48. Look at LeBron walking off the floor with 10 seconds left in the game. That&rsquo;s not something a GOAT (or a good leader) would do.
49. This championship wouldn't really count for LeBron because it was in the bubble, so it should have an asterisk by it.
50. The real GOAT would have taken the last shot! Michael Jordan wouldn't have passed the ball!
So, there you have it. Did I miss anything?
</div>
The sad part is, as divided as this country is at the moment, hating on LeBron has become the unifying force that has brought many people together. I see hate from people of all races, colors, religions, nationalities, tax brackets and political parties. And, although I stopped at 50 examples, I&rsquo;m sure there were plenty more that I could&rsquo;ve listed. So, the question is: why all the hate?

Former NBA player Etan Thomas looks back at all of the hate that LeBron James has received throughout the 2019-20 NBA season.