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Hawks

NEW YORK (AP) &mdash; Donovan Mitchell scored 36 points and the Utah Jazz finished strong to start their road trip, beating the New York Knicks 108-93 on Sunday night.
Jordan Clarkson came off the bench to score 18 of his 23 points in the first half for the Jazz, who opened a six-game road trip with the first of two games in two nights in New York. Rudy Gobert and Royce O'Neale each had 14 points.
Mitchell, a New Yorker who got a nice ovation before the game, made seven 3-pointers and threw down a powerful dunk midway through the fourth quarter when the Knicks were getting back in the game.
RJ Barrett scored 24 points and Evan Fournier had 17 for the Knicks, who had won two straight and five of seven. Julius Randle was 6 for 21 for 13 points and 11 rebounds as the Knicks shot 37% from the field.
Missing some key offensive players, Utah controlled much of the game with its defense before New York trimmed it to 93-89 on Obi Toppin's dunk with 5:19 left. But the Jazz answered with a 12-0 run, holding the Knicks scoreless for nearly four minutes to pull away to a 105-89 lead with just under two minutes remaining.
Utah only had two baskets during that stretch, punishing the Knicks by getting inside and drawing fouls before Rudy Gay capped the stretch with a 3-pointer and Mitchell later added another.
Mike Conley rested his right knee ahead of the game Monday night in Brooklyn and Bojan Bogdanovic missed his fourth straight with a left calf strain. So the Jazz turned up their defense, allowing just 44 points combined in the middle two quarters of their third straight victory.
The Knicks led 31-26 after one, but Clarkson played the entire second and scored 10 points. He and Mitchell both had 18 at halftime as Utah led 60-53.
The Jazz held the Knicks to 24% shooting in the third quarter, blocking almost as many shots (5) as the Knicks had baskets (6).
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TIP-INS
Jazz: Mitchell missed the last game with bruised right calf. ... Hassan Whiteside returned after a one-game absence with an illness not related to COVID-19 but Trent Forrest missed his fifth straight game with a sprained right wrist.
Knicks: Immanuel Quickley scored 16 points. ... Coach Tom Thibodeau said he'd been using a nine-man rotation at the moment to allow plenty of minutes for players such as Obi Toppin and Quentin Grimes, though might extend at times for rookie Miles McBride. McBride did get in as the 10th late in the third quarter.
LONG ROAD AHEAD
Coach Quin Snyder was asked if there were any positives in having such a long road trip so late in the season. The Jazz don't play at home again until March 31.
&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t know. We&rsquo;re going to some cities that have great restaurants,&rdquo; Snyder said. &ldquo;We anticipated this stretch for a while obviously and we&rsquo;re not healthy right now. But sometimes when we&rsquo;ve gone on the road and we&rsquo;ve found adversity, whether it be internal or your opponent, I think there&rsquo;s opportunity there.&rdquo;
UP NEXT
Jazz: Visit Brooklyn on Monday night.
Knicks: Host Atlanta on Tuesday night.

Donovan Mitchell scored 36 points and the Utah Jazz finished strong to start their road trip, beating the Knicks 108-93 on Sunday night.

Mitchell scores 36 points, Jazz beat Knicks to open trip

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) &mdash; Donovan Mitchell tries to keep his cool with the officials.
In a tie game against Chicago, Mitchell protested a non-call with an especially vocal and demonstrative outburst in the third quarter. He got a technical foul and the switch was flipped.
&ldquo;I was hot," Mitchell said about his anger.
Mitchell went on to score a Utah-record 25 of his 37 points in the third quarter, Jordan Clarkson added 26 and the Utah Jazz beat the Bulls 125-110 on Wednesday night.
Feeling nostalgic before the game, Mitchell was watching Game 6 of his first playoff series against Oklahoma City his rookie season. He remembered that level of confidence and how big the hoop seemed when he led the Jazz to the win. Then he replicated it against Chicago.
&ldquo;Once I saw the 3 on the wide pin go down, it was on,&rdquo; Mitchell said. &ldquo;From there, I just started getting to my spots and do what I do. Sometimes you just gotta go to that place inside you.&rdquo;
Mitchell made a franchise-record seven 3-pointers in the third period on nine attempts. He broke Karl Malone&rsquo;s team mark of 22 points in a third quarter. Mitchell finished with nine 3-pointers, besting his previous career best of seven.
&ldquo;He just got really hot. That&rsquo;s the type of player he is. We know that. We could have tried to do a better job of trying to take him out of that (rhythm) and get the ball out of his hands,&rdquo; Zach LaVine said.
In the fourth quarter, Bulls coach Billy Donovan said &ldquo;we did trap him some to try to slow him down&rdquo; but that just opened the door for other players like the seldom-used Nickeil Alexander-Walker, who scored 14 of his 16 points in the fourth quarter.
Alexander-Walker, who came to Utah in a Feb. 9 trade from New Orleans, had only nine total points in his first seven games with the Jazz. So what happened?
&ldquo;Don happened! The gravity he pulled to himself because of the shots he was making &hellip; they were so hyper-focused on him,&rdquo; Alexander-Walker said.
LaVine, who has been affected by a sore left knee, made five 3s and had 33 points in tying his highest scoring output in four months. DeMar DeRozan added 25 points. The Bulls have dropped seven of nine.
&ldquo;We had a really hard time controlling the ball. Our guards could not get the ball under control at all from Clarkson and Mitchell and Conley. They kind of really had their way with (us) and they&rsquo;re great off the dribble,&rdquo; Donovan said on the Bulls&rsquo; second-half defensive struggles.
Ayo Dosunmu&rsquo;s layup trimmed Utah&rsquo;s lead to 103-99 before the Jazz responded with a clinching run.
Alexander-Walker had two 3-pointers from the corner in a 14-0 run that featured suffocating defense and floor-spacing offense. Rudy Gobert&rsquo;s free throws capped the run and lifted the Jazz to a 117-99 lead with 4:38 to play.
&ldquo;We raised our level and did a great job defensively, especially with the scorers they have,&rdquo; Gobert said.
Mitchell&rsquo;s huge third quarter pushed the Jazz ahead 89-81 entering the fourth quarter.
Gobert had 14 points, 20 rebounds and three blocks while Mike Conley had in 14 points and seven assists.
The Jazz played without second-leading scorer Bojan Bogdanovic (left calf strain), along with key reserves Trent Forrest (right wrist sprain), Danuel House (left knee bone bruise) and Udoka Azubuike (right ankle sprain).
BREAKFAST CLUB
Alexander-Walker, Juancho Hernangomez (who got his first start with Utah) and other Jazz players who rarely get meaningful time in the games are the first ones to practice on game days.
&ldquo;I was really happy for Nickeil because people don&rsquo;t see that every morning before shootaround those guys are in there at 8 o&rsquo;clock working out and going hard too,&rdquo; Mitchell said.
Sometimes they get on the court again after the starters leave and then come early before the game starts. That makes three sessions whether they get game time or not.
&ldquo;Since being here, I can&rsquo;t even count the number of corner 3s and other stuff we have been working on in practice,&rdquo; Alexander-Walker said. &ldquo;That work with the Breakfast Club is paying off. Gotta trust it.&rdquo;
TIP-INS
Bulls: Chicago had 22 fast-break points to seven for the Jazz. &hellip; DeRozan had seven of the Bulls&rsquo; 28 assists. &hellip; Dosunmu had 15 points and six assists.
Jazz: Mitchell picked up a technical in the third quarter. He was especially animated at a non-call and followed the official while shouting. &hellip; The Jazz reserves outscored their Chicago counterparts, 49-22.
UP NEXT
Bulls: At Phoenix on Friday night.
Jazz: Host the Los Angeles Clippers on Friday night.

Donovan Mitchell scored a Utah-record 25 of his 37 points in the third quarter as the Utah Jazz beat the Bulls 125-110.

Mitchell scores 25 of 37 points in 3rd, Jazz beat Bulls

With the 2022 NCAA Tournament right around the corner, it's time for conference tournaments to begin so teams can begin punching their ticket to The Big Dance in March.
Mid-major tournaments have already gotten underway, on Wednesday, five Power Five tournaments will have begun theirs to join the club.
(Editor's note: Check out our breakdowns of the <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/top-2022-nba-draft-prospects-big-ten-tournament" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Big Ten</a>, <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/top-2022-nba-draft-prospects-big-12-tournament" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Big 12</a>, <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/top-2022-nba-draft-prospects-pac12-tournament" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Pac-12</a> and <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/top-2022-nba-draft-prospects-sec-tournament" target="_blank" rel="noopener">SEC</a>.)
Since everyone will have their eyes on the best players in these conferences over the next few weeks, BasketballNews.com has highlighted each Power Five and its top 2022 NBA Draft prospects.
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Here are the names to look out for in the Atlantic Coast Conference.
<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/draft/2022-big-board/players/paolo-banchero" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Paolo Banchero</a>
Forward | Duke
Height: 6-10 Weight: 250 Wingspan: 7-1
Class: Freshman Draft Day Age: 19.6 Nationality: Italy, USA
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At 6-foot-10 and 250 pounds, Paolo Banchero is incredibly versatile. He excels in the post, can create off the dribble and continues to improve as a face-up shooter from deep. He lacks elite athleticism on the defensive end, but has flashed a great feel and discipline to counter that. Players with his build and skill set don't come around very often. Banchero is widely considered as a top-four pick in the 2022 NBA Draft.
<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/draft/2022-big-board/players/aj-griffin" target="_blank" rel="noopener">AJ Griffin</a>
Guard-Forward | Duke
Height: 6-6 Weight: 221 Wingspan: 7-0
Class: Freshman Draft Day Age: 18.8 Nationality: USA
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AJ Griffin is 6-foot-6 and possesses a 7-foot wingspan. He is a powerful and versatile wing with a tremendous physical profile and promising skill set. Griffin has also shown the ability to create for both himself and others. After missing the early part of this season due to injury, he has solidified himself as one of the best shooters in the country. AJ is the son of former NBA player and current Toronto Raptors assistant coach Adrian Griffin, and has made his case as a top-10 pick.
<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/draft/2022-big-board/players/mark-williams" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Mark Williams</a>
Center | Duke
Height: 7-0 Weight: 242 Wingspan: 7-7
Class: Sophomore Draft Day Age: 20.5 Nationality: USA
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Mark Williams is one of the best shot-blockers and inside scorers in the country. Utilizing his size, length and interior presence, Williams shows flashes of dominance on both ends. This season, he has been solid for Mike Krzyzewski and the Duke Blue Devils, which could lead to him to first-round pick status in the 2022 NBA Draft.
<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/draft/2022-big-board/players/wendell-moore-jr" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Wendell Moore Jr.</a>
Guard-Forward | Duke
Height: 6-5 Weight: 213 Wingspan: 6-11
Class: Junior Draft Day Age: 20.8 Nationality: USA
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Wendell Moore Jr. is having a breakout season, finally coming into his own as a junior. At 6-foot-5, he has good positional size, strength and athleticism at guard. While Moore remains streaky as a three-point shooter, he has proven to be a reliable three-level scorer this year for the Blue Devils. He will still be 20 years old on draft night with more room to develop, making him a solid option this June.
<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/draft/2022-big-board/players/blake-wesley" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Blake Wesley</a>
Guard | Notre Dame
Height: 6-5 Weight: 185 Wingspan: 6-11
Class: Freshman Draft Day Age: 19.3 Nationality: USA
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Blake Wesley came to Notre Dame as the No. 100 RSCI high school recruit,, but has quickly cemented himself as one of the more productive freshmen in the country. He has positional size and excellent length with a knack for scoring at all three levels. He'll need to improve his overall efficiency before unlocking his full potential, but he has the tools and skill set to develop into a capable NBA player.&nbsp;
<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/draft/2022-big-board/players/trevor-keels" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Trevor Keels</a>
Guard | Duke
Height: 6-4 Weight: 221 Wingspan: 6-7
Class: Freshman Draft Day Age: 18.8 Nationality: USA
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A physical and slashing guard capable of shooting the ball from outside, Trevor Keels came to Duke after being a consensus five-star high school recruit. His physicality and natural ability to score the ball should generate interest from NBA teams. Although he can be streaky as a shooter, he has a beautiful release, and has proven to be a tough shot-maker. With positional size and a knack for scoring, Keels is one to follow.&nbsp;
<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/draft/2022-big-board/players/alondes-williams" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Alondes Williams</a>
Guard-Forward | Wake Forest
Height: 6-5 Weight: 210 Wingspan: N/A
Class: Senior Draft Day Age: 23 Nationality: USA
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After two seasons at both Triton College (NJCAA DII) and Oklahoma, Alondes Williams transferred to Wake Forest and truly came into his own. Leading the team in points, rebounds and assists, he is versatile and reliable in all facets of the game. His shooting has been inconsistent, but he makes a strong case for this June's NBA Draft. He is one of the older players in the class, but projects as a player worthy of an opportunity at the next level.
<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/draft/2022-big-board/players/caleb-love" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Caleb Love</a>
Guard | North Carolina
Height: 6-4 Weight: 195 Wingspan: 6-9
Class: Sophomore Draft Day Age: 20.7 Nationality: USA
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After being a highly-touted recruit out of high school, Caleb Love had a somewhat underwhelming freshman season for the North Carolina Tar Heels. However, this season, he is scoring well from deep and the free-throw line, promising a scoring punch at the next level. Love is a solid athlete with a quick first step and knack for playmaking, and has taken a step forward this season. Love could be a viable option in the 2022 NBA Draft if he can continue trending in the right direction.
<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/draft/2022-big-board/players/dereon-seabron" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Dereon Seabron</a>
Guard-Forward | NC State
Height: 6-7 Weight: 180 Wingspan: 6-11
Class: Sophomore Draft Day Age: 22.1 Nationality: USA
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After redshirting in 2019 and only playing 17 minutes in 2020, Dereon Seabron has exploded onto the scene as a sophomore. Leading NC State in multiple statistical categories, he excels in attacking and finishing in the lane with his long wingspan. He isn't much of a floor stretcher at this point in his career, but adds significant value in other areas such as rebounding and facilitating. He is older for a sophomore (22.1 on Draft Day) but continues to make a strong case for himself in this June.
Others worth noting:
Armando Bacot | North Carolina
Buddy Boeheim | Syracuse
Matthew Cleveland | Florida State
Kameron McGusty | Miami
Jake LaRavia | Wake Forest
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Matt Babcock highlights the top 2022 NBA Draft prospects in the ACC Tournament.

2022 NBA Draft: Top prospects in the ACC Tournament

With one week to go before the 2022 NBA trade deadline, talks are heating up around the league. In a year that seems very wide open, many teams could be enticed to make a win-now move and push some chips to the middle of the table. According to the rumor mill, we could see deadline deals involving a number of significant contributors who can swing potential playoff series.
So, which teams and players make the most sense together? Let&rsquo;s go dive into the moves that could swing the Western Conference standings despite Phoenix already creating noticeable distance up top.
Phoenix Suns: Eric Gordon
Will the rich get even richer? Phoenix may try to make a bold move and remove all debate over who's the West's No. 1 seed. As I mentioned previously, it&rsquo;s no secret that the <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/why-the-suns-are-an-underrated-team-to-watch-at-the-trade-deadline" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Suns have inquired about Eric Gordon and Thaddeus Young</a> as midseason upgrades. Gordon would be via trade, while Young could be scooped up via the buyout market if no trade happens in San Antonio.
If the Suns were to accomplish this, their rotation would be absurd heading into a postseason as title favorites:
Starting Lineup: Chris Paul, Devin Booker, Mikal Bridges, Jae Crowder, Deandre Ayton
Second Unit: Cameron Payne, Eric Gordon, Cameron Johnson, Thaddeus Young, JaVale McGee
That right there is a dominant playoff rotation with no holes presented. On top of that, it&rsquo;s the type of trade teams make when they know how close they are to the ultimate goal. Phoenix checks all the boxes, and so do the fits of Gordon and Young in the Valley.
Gordon would immediately step in as a reliable third guard, with way less volatility than what Payne and Landry Shamet have presented this season. Gordon&rsquo;s versatility and sharpshooting would bring another boost to an already elite offense for the Suns.
Phoenix would have to send out Dario Saric, Jalen Smith and a cheap expiring contract (i.e. Elfrid Payton, Abdel Nader, Frank Kaminsky). The Houston Rockets have also let it be known they want a future first-round pick in any Gordon deal. Phoenix shouldn&rsquo;t feel concerned about relinquishing a protected 2024 first-round pick, especially with its championship window being right now.
Keep an eye on Phoenix, folks. They are positioned well to make a few notable splashes through different avenues.
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Dallas Mavericks: Myles Turner
Does Dallas really want to lock in this core around Luka Doncic? The answer should be "No," although Jalen Brunson and Dorian Finney-Smith have provided strong chemistry alongside the Mavs&rsquo; young superstar point forward. Maybe the Mavs decide to keep Brunson around, but it&rsquo;s going to be a tough pill to swallow paying both him and Finney-Smith this summer.
With that being the case, now is the perfect time to strike on one of those assets to bring aboard a game-changing piece. Enter Myles Turner, who instantly jolts an already-recharged Dallas defense.
Turner instantly provides an elite rim-protector to take pressure off Doncic and Kristaps Porzingis. The Mavs might take a small step back in rebounding with this move, but Doncic should be more than capable of taking on those duties.
The Indiana Pacers would receive Dwight Powell&rsquo;s salary, Finney-Smith as a looming restricted free agent and a first-round pick. With Turner&rsquo;s value down due to a foot injury &mdash; which could have him back on the court next month &mdash; this might be the best offer available for the Pacers.
With the sudden emergence of Isaiah Jackson and Terry Taylor, Indiana would be wise to move off Turner immediately. The Pacers are in a rare position to focus on the internal player development of their young core and simultaneously lose their way into a top draft pick. Focus on the young guys and take a flier on how Finney-Smith could fit next to Domantas Sabonis long-term.
Memphis Grizzlies: Kenrich Williams
One of the most underrated wings on the trade market resides in Oklahoma City. Kenrich Williams is a key glue guy for the Thunder, but imagine how much more valuable his presence would be on a real championship contender this postseason.
Williams is a name that checks a lot of boxes for wing-hungry contenders. I thought about sending Williams to Phoenix for this exercise, but settled upon how brilliant his fit would be in Memphis. The Grizzlies need another versatile wing to keep up in the West. Williams helps bring their strong start even more stability.
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Oklahoma City reportedly is looking for a future first-round pick in exchange for Williams. Memphis can provide that, plus an intriguing flier on a former lottery pick who hasn&rsquo;t panned out yet in Jarrett Culver.
It&rsquo;s not a star-type move, but Williams is one of those under-the-radar pieces that could thrive in the postseason.
Utah Jazz: Harrison Barnes
It&rsquo;s time for the Jazz to push those chips all-in, especially with their slump as of late with multiple core pieces out due to injury. Utah has fallen off its earlier pace trying to keep up with the Suns and Golden State Warriors. Now, they&rsquo;ve been leapfrogged by the Grizzlies, and multiple teams loom over the Jazz slipping even further in the standings.
Three-time Defensive Player of the Year Rudy Gobert can&rsquo;t do everything by himself in Utah. The Jazz have been exposed on multiple occasions for not having more versatile defenders surrounding Gobert to make his job a little bit easier.
Now, with Joe Ingles out for the season with a torn ACL, Utah needs to find an immediate contributor on the wing who can help bring the team much-needed, two-way versatility. Harrison Barnes makes so much sense as what the Jazz need to make the jump. Barnes and Jerami Grant have both been linked to the Jazz, so this has some serious smoke behind it.
Barnes is an excellent floor-spacing option who wouldn&rsquo;t take touches away from Donovan Mitchell. Also, the veteran forward is versatile enough to handle tough assignments on the wing, especially envisioning how it would look against Phoenix and Golden State.
Swapping out Ingles&rsquo; contract, Royce O&rsquo;Neale and a first-round pick for Barnes would be an instant upgrade for the Jazz. It brings them back into the conversation as real Finals threats atop the West with the Suns and Warriors.
How would you grade this rotation for the Jazz if it actually came to fruition?
Starting Lineup: Mike Conley, Donovan Mitchell, Bojan Bogdanovic, Harrison Barnes, Rudy Gobert
Second Unit: Trent Forrest, Jordan Clarkson, Rudy Gay, Eric Paschall, Hassan Whiteside
That bench is a little thin for Utah, but the potency of the starting five completely outweighs that. Utah needs to make a big move, and the time is now.
Welcome to the Wild West, folks. This trade deadline is going to be a very interesting one for the Western Conference's true title contenders.
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The Western Conference feels wide open. How could the trade deadline have an impact? Here are four potentially massive moves.

4 potential NBA trade-deadline deals that would shake up the West

Here&rsquo;s a question: Why isn&rsquo;t anyone talking about the Phoenix Suns?&nbsp;
Look, maybe that line of questioning is a tad bit too hyperbolic, but is it fair to say the general discourse around them hasn&rsquo;t exactly been in line with a team off to a historically great start? Have the Suns entered that &ldquo;We don&rsquo;t care what you do until it&rsquo;s playoff time&rdquo; tier already? In just Year 2 of the Chris Paul and Devin Booker era?&nbsp;
The Suns are on pace to win 67 games this season. Read that again. 67 games. Only 10 teams in NBA history have won 67 games or more since the NBA merger in 1976. Of those teams, seven won the NBA championship that season. Phoenix is somehow soaring in rarefied air while flying deeply under the radar.
That said, the Suns haven&rsquo;t completely oozed that &ldquo;we&rsquo;re going to decimate you at all costs&rdquo; machismo that teams like the 1996 Chicago Bulls (72 wins) or the 2017 Golden State Warriors (67 wins) have flaunted in the past. If the season ended today, Phoenix&rsquo;s Net Rating of plus-7.9 would be the lowest of any team with a .805 winning percentage or better.&nbsp;
Winning games with that margin of victory places the Suns in a <a href="https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1DAjxnZZzGQTPQptxsNWRxfDCgUOMVazPeJ6kQUTrgJY/edit#gid=0">different threshold</a>, one that accrues around 64 to 65 wins in a single season. (Think, the 2018 Houston Rockets or the 2006 Detroit Pistons.) That is to say &mdash; though the Suns haven&rsquo;t necessarily profiled as a historically dominant juggernaut (at least according to this specific metric) &mdash; they&rsquo;re still an extremely dangerous squad, and a rightful favorite to hoist the Larry O&rsquo;Brien in June. They&rsquo;ve somehow improved in every facet after nearly squeaking out a title last season. This team doesn&rsquo;t mess around.
Balance is the first thing that comes to mind when musing about this talented Suns group. Phoenix is the only team in the NBA that ranks in the top-five in both offense and defense, per Cleaning the Glass, and is currently on the longest winning streak in the league with 10 straight. They&rsquo;ve weathered the storms that have formed from the rocky seas of the 2022 season; whether it was Devin Booker&rsquo;s hamstring strain in early December, the <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/evansidery/2021/12/31/phoenix-suns-roster-ravaged-by-covid-19/?sh=e602a12ac869" target="_blank" rel="noopener">COVID-19 protocols</a> at the turn of the new year or Deandre Ayton&rsquo;s extended absence. Nothing seems to faze these dudes; they've got the confidence of a college senior strutting around campus during syllabus week.
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So, about that straightjacket-tight defensive unit, which currently sits at second-best overall &mdash; Phoenix&rsquo;s defense adheres to the analytical rule of the land: minimizing at-rim shots (No. 3 in the NBA) and corner threes (No. 4) while allowing boatloads of shots from the midrange (No. 28). Schematics fuel such a sharp and pronounced analytical profile, as Phoenix has settled into running mostly drop coverage with Ayton on the mend.&nbsp;
Phoenix&rsquo;s guards and wings have taken a liking to &ldquo;ICE-ing&rdquo; ball-screens and funneling opponents toward its bigs; JaVale McGee, who remains submerged in a deep drop coverage where he can thwart opponents with his 7-foot-6 wingspan, and newcomer Bismack Biyombo, who plays slightly closer to the level of screens to flash his quick hands for an average of 2.9 stocks (steals and blocks) per 36 minutes.&nbsp;
It makes perfect sense for Phoenix to allow its smaller players to dictate defensive possessions in the pick-and-roll. Chris Paul is as pesky and persistent of a point-of-attack defender as ever. Devin Booker has taken a stupendous defensive leap, playing up into dudes with proclivity while showcasing increased attentiveness away from the action. Cam Johnson, Jae Crowder and Mikal Bridges form a nearly unrivaled cadre of wings, each player bringing size (Crowder), length (Johnson), guileful cunningness or a combination of the traits mentioned (Bridges).
Phoenix has found its blueprint to defensive success thanks to feisty screen navigation, switchability 1-through-4 and sturdy defensive anchoring. The Suns rank second at neutralizing isolations, defend the half-court better than all but two teams and smother enemy-transition opportunities with more proficiency than anyone in the Association.
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Here&rsquo;s a great example of Phoenix&rsquo;s defensive fluidity from the first of the two games against the Utah Jazz. To start, Paul and Booker exchange like-sized matchups (Danuel House Jr. and Trent Forrest) to keep the ball up front. Rudy Gay then sets a screen for House to cut to the rim, which Johnson and Paul expertly snuff out with a switch. Utah then flows into Gay setting a pindown screen for Jordan Clarkson, and so Phoenix trades assignments yet again to place Paul on Clarkson and Bridges on Gay. When Gay comes to set a ball-screen for Forrest, the Suns &mdash; yup, you guessed it &mdash; switch once more for Phoenix&rsquo;s fourth matchup exchange in 10 seconds.
Utah now has 5 seconds to make something happen. Knowing this, McGee hedges the pick-and-roll to slow Clarkson in his tracks and force a pickup of his dribble. Rather than hitting Hassan Whiteside in the short roll, Clarkson lofts a skip pass to Forrest in the weak-side corner. Booker spots Bridges camped out in the paint to tag Whiteside, so Book bumps down to the corner to cover for his teammate while Bridges instinctively "X&rsquo;s out" and grabs Booker&rsquo;s man, Gay. Phoenix&rsquo;s holistic team effort is fittingly awarded with a shot clock violation.&nbsp;
Together, you&rsquo;re looking at a well-oiled machine of whirring gears and gizmos that produces turnovers on an assembly line; the Suns are currently the eighth-best team at generating opponent giveaways and are scoring 1.30 points per possession after doing so, fifth-best in the NBA, per InPredictable.
Phoenix&rsquo;s offense operates with similarly devastating exactitude, capable of evaporating defenses in almost any setting. There&rsquo;s a certain level of precision to the flow of Monty Williams&rsquo; group, like using a ruler to draw a straight line, his players unified with the purpose of discovering corridors of opportunity against skittish defenses. The Suns&rsquo; half-court offense ranks No. 3 in the NBA behind only Atlanta and Utah (hello, shot creation!), and they terrorize in transition with the fifth-best fastbreak efficiency in the NBA. There&rsquo;s simply no hiding from Phoneix, and not a second spared for defenders to catch their breath.&nbsp;
Phoenix&rsquo;s spacing is among the league&rsquo;s best, with six rotation players shooting better than league-average (36.1%) on catch-and-shoots &mdash; two of which are Johnson and Booker, each posting career-highs in such situations at 42.9% and 41.9% respectively. The Suns have the luxury of consistently featuring multiple plus-shooters on the weak side of the court, which stresses help defenders tasked with covering up for defensive leaks.&nbsp;
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Here, the Suns run an empty-side pick-and-roll with Paul, Johnson and Landry Shamet flanking the weak side. When Lance Stephenson shades over to stop the drive, it opens up the easy kick-out to Shamet in the corner. Note: Because Johnson is such a hellishly-effective marksman, Chris Duarte feigns at sinking down to the corner to cover for Stephenson.
It helps that the Suns are helmed by perhaps the best, most versatile playbook practitioner in Monty Williams. Here, take a gander at arguably the most aesthetically-pleasing offense in the NBA:
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To open the game against the Jazz on Jan. 24, the Suns used Booker in some &ldquo;Hawk&rdquo; action by having him screech off a back screen from Johnson to the basket. Phoenix then flows into double pick-and-roll for Paul with Johnson and McGee screening. Meanwhile, on the weak side, Bridges sets an exit screen (or &ldquo;pin-in&rdquo; screen) for Booker to scurry to the corner.&nbsp;
Utah panics for a second, as Clarkson and House are unsure if they&rsquo;re supposed to switch; and so, Bridges tactically slips to the rim. Meanwhile, Whiteside, Utah&rsquo;s rim protector, is preoccupied with the action on the strongside &mdash; Johnson flying off a "veer" screen from McGee. Thus, an open layup for Bridges.
40 seconds later, Phoenix went to the exact same play, with Booker first streaking off a Hawk screen, and the Suns fluidly moving into a double ball-screen for Paul with an exit screen on the weak side. This time, however, instead of hitting Bridges with a pass, CP3 finds Johnson tearing off that veer screen from McGee while Forrest inexplicably goes under (??) the pick. Three points to the Valley Boyz.
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Now, think about the plethora of options that Phoenix has at its disposal at any given moment with this specific set.&nbsp;
Paul can hit Booker on the Hawk cut to the basket. He can also find McGee rolling to the rim or Johnson popping to the three-point line after the double pick-and-roll. Paul has the option to pass to Booker coming off the exit screen in the corner, or he has room to sling the ball to Bridges slipping the exit screen. Dishing the ball to Johnson cutting off the veer screen is also an option, and if the defense plays up higher, a lob to McGee after setting the veer screen is definitely imaginable.&nbsp;
From just one play, that&rsquo;s seven different possible options to pick from, with one of the best passers in the league leading the charge. Now do you see why this Suns team is such a nightmare to deal with?
Speaking of which, man, oh man does Phoenix have Paul&rsquo;s fingerprints all over it once again. The Suns have continued to caretake the basketball better than all but five teams in the league, a hallmark of any team helmed by CP3; though, this year they&rsquo;re playing faster than any Paul-led offense ever relative to the competition, slotting in at No. 7 in the NBA&rsquo;s pace ranking.
Phoenix is absolutely blitzing teams in the clutch, yet another telltale sign of Paul&rsquo;s basketball DNA. Actually, &ldquo;blitzing teams&rdquo; is putting it lightly. In the last 5 minutes of games decided by 5 points or less, Phoenix is winning those minutes by a blistering 44.7 points per 100 possessions. For context, second in crunch-time NET are the Washington Wizards with 22.6 points per 100 possessions. Yup, you&rsquo;re reading that correctly. Phoenix is nearly doubling the productivity of its nearest competitor in close games. So yeah, maybe &ldquo;eviscerating opponents with no regard for human life&rdquo; is a better way to put it.&nbsp;
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Hold up.
For a second, can we stop to appreciate what Chris Paul is doing in his 17th season? Seriously, it doesn&rsquo;t make a lick of sense. Just thinking about it scatters my brain in every direction like hitting the shuffle button on your entire music library. For all the chatter about LeBron James&rsquo; productivity in Year 19, it&rsquo;s Paul &mdash; a 36-year-old and a barely 6-foot point-guard &mdash; that is breaking any and all parameters for what is possible for players of his ilk.
For starters, he&rsquo;s just one of 11 players in NBA history to even play an NBA game at his age and height. Oh, and he&rsquo;s yet to miss a single contest this NBA season. But Paul isn&rsquo;t just suiting up for games with Cal Ripken Jr. consistency; he&rsquo;s by far having the most productive season of all-time for a smaller, older guard. He&rsquo;s the only non-big-man player in the NBA to rank within the top-seven in Basketball Reference&rsquo;s win shares, which measures the estimated number of wins contributed by a specific player. (This statistic tends to favor larger-sized players, for reference).
Here&rsquo;s another fun stat: Paul is also the only player this season who's racked up at least 500 assists and 50 steals. (He&rsquo;s got 507 dimes and 92 swipes entering play on Feb. 1.)
Nothing emblematizes the Chris Paul effect&trade; more than the recent surge from Bismack Biyombo, who was originally acquired on Jan. 1 via a 10-day hardship deal. The dude has been finishing literally everything in the pick-and-roll while being spoon-fed a consistent diet of pinpoint passes from CP3, and the Suns are averaging 1.29 points per possession when Biyombo is involved as a ball-screener (81st percentile). The Suns are plus-4.6 points per 100 possessions better as a team when Biyombo shares the floor with Paul versus with him off it. Phoenix&rsquo;s profitable pairing has produced a plethora of plucky highlights.&nbsp;
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The Suns appear to be without a weakness, not even a soft spot in the armor. Their defense ranks among the elites at containing fastbreaks and half-court attacks, and they&rsquo;re just as proficient at creating buckets with an advantage in transition or against set defenses. Phoenix&rsquo;s depth is rivaled by few in the league, with the lineup flexibility to ooze and conform to a bushel of opponents. The biggest questions may pertain to the team's ceiling &mdash; namely, can the Suns win a championship without a bona fide Tier-1 star or a top-seven NBA player? (That said, a pair of Tier-2 guys isn&rsquo;t exactly a bad consolation prize).
Still, in a league that&rsquo;s plagued with questions about availability (howdy, Brooklyn and Golden State!), the Suns appear to be the surest bet to finish the season as the last team standing. Shoot, even if Brooklyn and Golden State manage to get healthy, Phoenix could still very well be the correct answer.
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Matt Brooks dives into the film to illustrate what makes the Suns so dangerous and why we should be talking about them more.

Are the Phoenix Suns somehow flying under the radar?

When Chris Paul joined Devin Booker on the Phoenix Suns after a trade last season, it wasn&rsquo;t always easy to decide who would be the finisher when games got tight.
These days, it&rsquo;s just intuitive. Such as Wednesday night, when Booker fueled the Suns through three quarters and Paul sealed the deal.
Booker had 43 points and tied a career high with 12 rebounds, Paul scored 15 of his 21 points in the fourth quarter and the Suns extended their winning streak to eight with a 105-97 victory over the Utah Jazz on Wednesday night.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s a good feeling now, but it came with a learning curve,&rdquo; Booker said. &ldquo;There was a lot of trial and error, but now we&rsquo;ve been in enough situations where we know what to expect.&rdquo;
Booker paced the Suns through three quarters, but didn&rsquo;t get a shot in the fourth until he missed a runner with 3:45 to play. Paul took over the offensive burden with his mid-range jumpers and drives to the basket.
&ldquo;You only build that trust by playing together in games, close games like that,&rdquo; Paul said.
The Jazz trailed 98-94 when Hassan Whiteside committed an offensive foul and a technical. Booker made two technicals around a jumper that beat the shot clock to give the Suns the cushion they needed.
Playing without Donovan Mitchell (concussion) and Rudy Gobert (left calf strain), the Jazz got a boost from Jordan Clarkson, who scored 16 of his team-high 26 points in the fourth quarter. Whiteside had 16 points and 11 rebounds, and Mike Conley also scored 16 points and added 10 assists for the Jazz, who dropped their ninth game in the last 11.
&ldquo;We&rsquo;re playing without Rudy and Donovan right now. But it doesn&rsquo;t mean we can&rsquo;t run back. ... This is about committing to the things consistently that allow you to (grow),&rdquo; Utah coach Quin Snyder said of his team&rsquo;s inconsistent effort.
The Suns were also missing two starters in Jae Crowder (wrist) and Deandre Ayton (ankle), but Bismack Biyombo had 12 points in his first start of the season.
He said it was just &ldquo;a gut feeling&rdquo; to decide on Phoenix when he had suitors trying to bring him back to the NBA, but playing with Paul and Booker made his choice easy.
&ldquo;They&rsquo;re good at closing games. ... Believers have wills, not wishes. Those guys have wills,&rdquo; Biyombo said.
Early on, the Suns simply outhustled and outran the Jazz, turning turnovers and missed shots into easy points in transition. Booker, with 21 points, outscored the Jazz by himself in the first quarter and the Suns blocked five shots on their way to a 39-18 lead after one period.
&ldquo;Chris can read the game and when Book has it going like that, he typically goes to sets where he can get him in catch-shoot environments," Phoenix coach Monty Williams said. "But when he&rsquo;s in a groove like that, I think our team feeds off it.&rdquo;
Booker had 26 points in the first half &mdash; a season high for the Suns &mdash; but they collectively went 5 for 17 in the second period.
It took 35 field goal attempts on Monday to score 33 points, but he was far more efficient this time around, going 16 for 28 and adding nine free throws. Booker became the Suns&rsquo; career leader in games scoring 40 or more points with 16.
&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t take these moments for granted," Booker said. "Coming into a tough Utah building and it being rowdy here and us only having nine men and still coming up with a win &mdash; that&rsquo;s why you see a smile on our faces.&rdquo;
The Suns&rsquo; top-ranked defense frustrated the Jazz until Clarkson started hitting some perimeter shots.
&ldquo;We&rsquo;re just trying to find our way. Regardless of the losses, I think we&rsquo;re heading in the right direction as far as staying connected,&rdquo; Conley said, despite Utah&rsquo;s worst stretch of the season.
The same teams played a tight one Monday with Phoenix prevailing over an extremely short-handed Jazz team, 115-109. Conley, Ingles, Bojan Bogdanovic and Royce O&rsquo;Neale sat out in Phoenix, but returned for Wednesday&rsquo;s rematch.
ALL-STAR STARTER SNUB?
The most recent release for NBA All-Star voting tabulations showed Booker fifth among guards in the Western Conference. His coach thinks that is a joke.
&ldquo;So many guys are getting so many more votes than him &mdash; it&rsquo;s laughable," Williams said. "When you look at what he&rsquo;s done not just lately but all season long and the wins we have, you know he should be a starter on the All-Star team. Tonight was one of those games where I think he proved that point.&rdquo;
Booker, who heard chants of &ldquo;M-V-P!&rdquo; from the Utah crowd at times, says he&rsquo;s not worried about votes anymore.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;m in a different phase of my career now ... and I&rsquo;ll let the politics and media popularity contest figure itself out,&rdquo; Booker said.
The starters are scheduled to be announced Thursday.
TIP-INS
Suns: JaVale McGee (knee), Frank Kaminski III (knee) and Cameron Payne (wrist) were other primary Phoenix contributors out with injury. ... Booker got a technical foul in the second quarter. ... The Suns outscored the Jazz 22-3 on fast-break points and scored 22 points off Utah&rsquo;s 14 turnovers.
Jazz: Bogdanovic, frustrated with a scoreless first quarter with a pair of turnovers, threw the splint that was protecting his left ring finger avulsion fracture but had it on again when he returned in the second quarter. ... Trent Forrest turned his ankle after making a twisting baseline jumper in the fourth quarter. ... The Jazz only led once in the game by two points.
UP NEXT
Suns: Host Minnesota on Friday night.
Jazz: Visit Memphis on Friday night.

Devin Booker had 43 points and tied a career-high with 12 rebounds in a 105-97 Suns victory over the Jazz on Wednesday night.

Booker leads Suns past Jazz 105-97 for 8th straight win

Gregg Popovich took Saturday off, for good reason. There was no way he was going to miss Tim Duncan&rsquo;s enshrinement into the Basketball Hall of Fame.
The Spurs played Saturday afternoon without their head coach, after Popovich made the decision to fly to Connecticut to see Duncan &mdash; with whom he won five NBA championships &mdash; officially go into the Hall alongside Kobe Bryant, Kevin Garnett and six others.
The bond between Popovich and Duncan started getting forged in 1997, when the Spurs were about to use the No. 1 pick in that year&rsquo;s draft on the forward who was coming off a stellar career at Wake Forest. Popovich flew to the Virgin Islands, Duncan&rsquo;s home, and wanted to learn everything about him.
The chemistry was immediate, and it has lasted.
&ldquo;It started there, it started with him going out of his way to want to know who I was as a person, wanting to meet my friends, wanting to meet my father, sit down and speak with him,&rdquo; Duncan said. &ldquo;It started there. And he built that trust from early on, just trying to understand who I was &mdash; not just as a basketball player, but as a person and beyond.&rdquo;
Popovich said earlier this month that he still marvels at Duncan&rsquo;s story, how a kid from the islands just happened to become one of the best players to touch a basketball.
&ldquo;I do, especially since he was a swimmer and wanted to be an Olympian, as far as that goes. So, it&rsquo;s a pretty incredible story. Everybody knows the story, but it&rsquo;s true. That&rsquo;s something that we&rsquo;re all very happy about. We still toast him when we have dinners; as we&rsquo;ve said before, &lsquo;Thank you, Timmy.&rsquo;&rdquo;
Popovich had another compelling reason to attend. He quietly championed the Hall candidacy of Rudy Tomjanovich for years; Tomjanovich, the two-time champion coach of the Houston Rockets in 1994 and 1995, also finally will be enshrined as part of this Hall class.
&ldquo;I never really understood why he was continually overlooked,&rdquo; Popovich said of Tomjanovich. &ldquo;I mean, as much success as he had, year in and year out, and the championships he won were really hard-fought. He came from the lower end of the rankings in both situations to just gut it out. He was the coach of the Olympic teams and got a gold medal. He was a class act. His players loved him. He has the game in his blood. I always thought he was an obvious choice. So, for it to finally happen, is just a wonderful thing for him and his family and all of us who are his friends.&rdquo;
Popovich is not in the Hall of Fame, though it is widely assumed that his call is coming in the not-too-distant future. He is not a finalist for the 2021 class, which will be announced on Sunday and enshrined in September.
The enshrinement ceremony for this year was moved to the Mohegan Sun Casino in Connecticut largely because of the additional space it provides for a socially distanced event that adheres to protocols put in place for gatherings during the coronavirus pandemic. The 2021 enshrinement ceremony, scheduled for September, is tentatively scheduled to return to the Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Massachusetts -- with some parts of that weekend back at Mohegan Sun as well.
The Spurs&rsquo; game Saturday didn&rsquo;t mean much to San Antonio standings-wise; the Spurs will be the No. 10 seed and be on the road for a play-in tournament game at either Memphis or Golden State on Wednesday. For their opponent, the Phoenix Suns, it still meant something &mdash; which is why Suns coach Monty Williams didn&rsquo;t hop on a plane like Popovich did.
Williams has never chartered a private jet. He almost did, just so he could be there with Duncan as well.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;m really happy for Tim,&rdquo; said Williams, a former Spurs assistant. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s meant so much, not just to the community of basketball, but meant so much to me. He&rsquo;s one of my best friends. I&rsquo;ve been able to live vicariously through him. Some of the highs of his career, I&rsquo;ve been able to watch when he&rsquo;s able to achieve something or had something cool going on.&rdquo;
The last time Popovich missed an entire Spurs game was March 3, 2020 &mdash; a matchup when Duncan, who spent last season as a San Antonio assistant, filled in against Charlotte. Duncan got the role that night because he was the assistant coach in charge of that game&rsquo;s scouting report; for the same reasons, Mitch Johnson got to fill the head coach role Saturday against Phoenix.
&ldquo;We approach it the same way we always do &mdash; collaborate, work as a team, approach the game as a group in terms of what can help the guys and try to put them in positions to be successful,&rdquo; Johnson said.
Popovich is expected back in San Antonio for Sunday&rsquo;s regular-season finale, also against Phoenix.
___
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The Spurs played Saturday afternoon without their head coach, after Popovich made the decision to fly to Connecticut to see Duncan.

Gregg Popovich misses game to attend Tim Duncan's Hall-of-Fame ceremony

A few weeks ago, on an idyllic afternoon in Northern California, Tom Konchalski crossed my mind.
I hadn&rsquo;t spoken with Tom in a year, but the air was crisp, the sun was shining and the tree branches were vibrating in the breeze. I was holding my young son&rsquo;s hand as we walked to a local pond to see the ducks. The serenity made me think of Tom. Without hesitation, I took out my phone and called him.&nbsp;
Tom Konchalski, the rail-thin 6-foot-6 patron saint of basketball, a lifelong native of Queens, New York and a devout Catholic who attended mass daily, is regarded as the most respected evaluator of high school basketball talent in history. He nurtured countless New York City ball-players and helped change countless lives through basketball. My dad, Ernie, was one of the first New York City kids Tom discovered. He was like family to us. He looked after me as a young player just like he had looked after my dad.
Last week, Tom was transitioned to hospice care as he privately battled cancer. The basketball community was rocked by the news. On Monday, amidst an outpouring of prayers, Tom passed away, leaving the basketball world heartbroken and leaving behind one of basketball&rsquo;s holiest legacies.&nbsp;
Since Tom&rsquo;s death, condolences have poured in from every corner of the globe. Friends and admirers have shared stories of Tom&rsquo;s kindness, grace and humanity. He&rsquo;s been affectionately referred to by his nickname, &ldquo;The Glider,&rdquo; a moniker given by college coaches for how quietly Tom moved in and out of gyms. Tom&rsquo;s quirks have been described with love &ndash; that he didn&rsquo;t own a cell phone or answering machine, that he never learned to drive, that he didn&rsquo;t use a computer, that he produced his iconic scouting newsletter on a typewriter, that he had a photographic memory and a legendary handshake.
When the Naismith Basketball Memorial Hall of Fame Class of 2021's eligible candidates were announced in December, Tom Konchalski&rsquo;s name was on the list. He was a first-time nominee eligible to be inducted as a contributor to the game of basketball. Tom Konchalski may be a first-time nominee, but he belongs in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, period.
He is deserving both for what he did for the game and for how he did it. Tom&rsquo;s greatness as a basketball scout is unquestioned, but more importantly, his goodness as a human being was unparalleled. It is the latter &ndash; the supreme quality of his character &ndash; that made Tom the most beloved man in basketball. I&rsquo;ve never known someone as universally respected and adored. I&rsquo;ve never known someone whose opinion of players was so widely esteemed. I&rsquo;ve never known a contributor to the game more worthy of sanctification in the Hall.
I&rsquo;m fortunate to belong to a family that has experienced firsthand the sacred standard that Tom set in the world of basketball for the last five decades.
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Tom first saw my dad play basketball in the mid-1960s during a local CYO game at The Church of the Ascension on Grant Avenue in Queens. Tom had been an altar boy at the church and was by then a hoops-obsessed college student at Fordham. My dad was in sixth grade, a Jewish immigrant who had just fled Communist Romania for New York City. He was still learning English and had just started playing basketball.
As would become Tom&rsquo;s custom, he saw talent in a New York ball-player when no one else was looking. Tom became my dad&rsquo;s guardian angel -- a confidante, mentor and friend, a constant source of guidance for navigating the perils of big-city basketball. He&rsquo;d put my dad on teams to play against top players across the boroughs, he&rsquo;d attend his junior high games and give pointers on his jump shot, he&rsquo;d help him with recruiting once colleges descended. My dad would turn into an All-American at Forest Hills High School in Queens, an All-American at the University of Tennessee and a top NBA draft pick in 1977. Tom was the first person to sense it was possible. He was there every step of the way.
There are thousands of basketball players in New York City who, like my dad, have had their lives changed by Tom&rsquo;s presence. He had a special eye for basketball ability, but that&rsquo;s not enough to make a permanent impact on a person&rsquo;s life. Tom did that by getting to know the players he evaluated, by asking them questions, by talking to their families, by investing his time in them, by caring about them. Tom not only supported my dad, but he also became one of my grandpa&rsquo;s best friends. Even after my dad was out of the house, Tom and my grandpa would travel around New York together watching high school basketball, whether at Archbishop Molloy High School, at Forest Hills High School or at Long Island Lutheran High School.
In an impersonal world, Tom created real interpersonal connections. In a world without time to waste, Tom never treated people like a waste of his time. Tom sat at the top of the bleachers with a yellow legal pad during games so he could concentrate on the action, but there was never anything transactional about his approach. When my dad&rsquo;s jersey was retired at the University of Tennessee in 2008, Tom was one of the only non-family members invited as a guest. That&rsquo;s how much he&rsquo;s meant to the players he&rsquo;s touched.
Everyone who knew Tom has a story about his memory &ndash; he remembered the starting lineup of my dad&rsquo;s junior high team, he remembered how many points my dad scored against Bryant High his senior year, he remembered the name of my dad&rsquo;s freshman year Math teacher in college &ndash; but it was not merely a feat of extraordinary mental acuity. More than anything, Tom&rsquo;s recall was a further demonstration of his commitment to other people. His incredible recollections were almost never about himself. He was always focused on others. He had programmed himself to listen, to absorb and to serve. He was giving of his energy and helpful to anyone who needed it. &nbsp; Though my grandpa passed away in 1986, Tom still called my grandma several times a year. In fact, he had called her every Yom Kippur for the last 50 years. Not every other Yom Kippur and not 48 out of 50 Yom Kippurs. He called her on that day every single year for half of a century. It&rsquo;s telling that, as a true man of God, Tom made a point to check in on my Holocaust-surviving grandmother on the year&rsquo;s most important Jewish holiday. It&rsquo;s also telling that, over such a long period of time, he did not once miss an opportunity to do so.
Tom&rsquo;s love for the game of basketball, its people and its places was divine. He was basketball&rsquo;s heart. His positive spirit was the lifeforce that bound together a complex system of players, coaches, fans, media, scouts and so many others. He is a man the world needs to honor. He is a man who belongs in basketball&rsquo;s most hallowed hall for eternity. He is a Hall-of-Famer in every sense of the word.
When Tom answered my call a few weeks ago while I was out walking with my son, it was as if we&rsquo;d spoken yesterday. Our chat lasted 20 minutes. He asked if my wife was still enjoying her job. He was able to conjure up the addresses of my dad&rsquo;s childhood apartment in Queens and my grandparent&rsquo;s old fabric store in the Bronx. He casually mentioned some health issues he was having, but said he was doing what he could.
When we hung up, I had no idea he&rsquo;d soon be in hospice care and that I&rsquo;d have no way to get in touch with him. I would not have believed that, in a matter of weeks, he&rsquo;d be gone.
Looking back, I wish I would have told him that I love and appreciate him. I wish I would have told him that I admire him. I wish I would have told him that his memory will always be a blessing, far beyond the game of basketball, and that the rightful last stop of his remarkable journey here on earth should be the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.

Dan Grunfeld pens a touching tribute to the late, great Tom Konchalski and shares his favorite memories of the legendary scout.