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Lakers

Despite losing to the Milwaukee Bucks, 129-118, on Saturday night, the Golden State Warriors left the game with a silver lining: Their young guys outran and outhustled the contending Bucks, giving them a hard time all game long.&nbsp;
The Warriors even led 56-54 at the half, and it wasn't until the fourth quarter that the Bucks were able to pull away completely. Milwaukee used their veteran savvy in the fourth to defeat the youthful Warriors squad, who were playing without their captain and superstar Stephen Curry (rest).
Even though they came up short, the young guns showed they have the ability to compete against an elite team, which the Warriors can possibly build upon once Curry and Draymond Green return to the lineup. This showing also gives Golden State's front office a number of things to consider as the Feb. 8 trade deadline approaches.
With that said, let's break down how the Warriors' young core performed and how they nearly managed to upset the Bucks without their leading scorer.
First, the youthful Warriors ran the old Bucks off the floor. Without Curry, head coach Steve Kerr started rookie Brandin Podziemski at point guard. With Podz at helm, the Warriors pushed the pace. Save for some early sets for Klay Thompson, Golden State was up and running and tried to beat Milwaukee in transition all game long. Even slow-footed power forward Dario Saric was leading the break at some points, trying to turn up the tempo and outrun the Bucks.
If there was one possession that encapsulated what the Warriors tried to do, it was this one in the second quarter. Following a made basket by the Bucks, Jonathan Kuminga ran the length of the floor, beat Giannis Antetokounmpo and challenged Brook Lopez at the rim in the process to make a quick counter:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560">
I like the mindset here. Bucks' Achilles heel on defense this season has been in transition. Off of a made bucket, JK pushes the pace and lays the ball over Brook. <a href="https://t.co/PK8KkPUocJ">pic.twitter.com/PK8KkPUocJ</a>
&mdash; Joe Viray (@JoeVirayNBA) <a href="https://twitter.com/JoeVirayNBA/status/1746349742576312799?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 14, 2024</a></blockquote>
Kuminga breezed through the entire Milwaukee defense and jumped in the air before Lopez could get there. The Dubs just ran and ran, putting pressure on the Bucks (the NBA's oldest team).
Secondly, the young Warriors played hard; they deserve credit for their effort and energy. Without their best player and the hub of their system, the Warriors leaned on their youth and athleticism to challenge the Bucks, who were coming off their biggest win of the season (drubbing the Boston Celtics).
It started with Podziemski, who was playing in his home state of Wisconsin. He had a great game, recording a double-double of 23 points and 10 rebounds on impressive 10-of-14 shooting.&nbsp;
The No. 19 overall selection was active off the bounce, blowing by opponents and squeezing his way through the defense. He was also brilliant off the catch, where he got a couple of baskets off of stampede runs to the rim:
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Interesting that the Bucks are actually hard hedging here w/ Portis as their 5. Puts them in rotation, Podz takes advantage w/ a face cut. <a href="https://t.co/QDTFb7q9XZ">pic.twitter.com/QDTFb7q9XZ</a>
&mdash; Joe Viray (@JoeVirayNBA) <a href="https://twitter.com/JoeVirayNBA/status/1746344669464916419?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 14, 2024</a></blockquote>
The 20-year-old out of Santa Clara also exhibited uncanny can't-teach instincts. In one play in the fourth quarter, he knew exactly what fellow rookie Andre Jackson Jr. would do, intercepting his pass to get an easy transition dunk on the other end. Podziemski&rsquo;s feel as a rookie has been impressive and he fits nicely with the Warriors' core.
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The Warriors&rsquo; other rookie, Trayce Jackson-Davis, also contributed by scoring 12 points in 18 minutes and making his presence felt inside for Golden State.
The No. 57 overall pick used his quick first bounce to freeze Bucks defenders on the floor and get easy baskets at the rim, scoring on plays like these:
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Also, Jackson-Davis has been developing chemistry with Thompson, and he's often the beneficiary of their pindown screens when two defenders blitz Thompson. In the previous game against the Chicago Balls, he had four easy buckets off of passes from Klay alone.
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The Klay-to-TJD tandem produced four easy baskets, including three dunks. <a href="https://t.co/Y8uUr7m1Gb">pic.twitter.com/Y8uUr7m1Gb</a>
&mdash; Marcus Thompson II (@ThompsonScribe) <a href="https://twitter.com/ThompsonScribe/status/1746043482916217244?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 13, 2024</a></blockquote>
In this instance, Klay and TJD had a nice give-and-go in a little two-man game for an easy bucket underneath.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560">
Klay to TJD two-man game <a href="https://t.co/Ai3JItodo1">pic.twitter.com/Ai3JItodo1</a>
&mdash; Mon Anthony Valmoria (@Morval_) <a href="https://twitter.com/Morval_/status/1746710126709669943?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 15, 2024</a></blockquote>

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The 6-foot-9 center/forward has been a much better play-finisher than starting center Kevon Looney. He uses his athleticism to factor in on offense and serves as a lob threat. The 23-year-old gives the Warriors a new outlook at the big position. While Green and Looney are screeners and their main priority is getting guys open, Jackson-Davis is someone who looks to score and put pressure at the rim.
Finally, Jonathan Kuminga is becoming more and more polished as a scorer. Although there are ways he can still improve (like his feel for Golden State&rsquo;s system), he&rsquo;s finally arrived as a dependable scorer.&nbsp;
Off the bounce, Kuminga uses his body and strength to shield the ball away from defenders and utilizes his quick first bounce to get to the rim first before his defender can challenge him up top. The third-year player from the G-League Ignite is explosive, and he never gives his defender a chance to react.
Kuminga has also added a developing three-point shot to his arsenal, which forces defenders to respect his shooting and opens up his game even more. 
The 21-year-old had arguably the best two-game stretch of his young career recently, scoring 24 points and 28 points in back-to-back games. This is the best he has played in his three years in the league, looking like a reliable scoring option who could get buckets at will.
Kuminga is looking more and more comfortable, and he has scored in double digits in his last 19 games.
***
The absence of Curry in this game unlocked the Warriors&rsquo; young guys and showed what they are capable of. The challenge now is whether Golden State's young core can continue producing at this level once Curry and Green are back. 
The youngsters' athleticism and energy could help Golden State as they try to right the ship. The Warriors currently have the fourth-worst record in the Western Conference, so Kerr might have to tinker a bit and cater to the strengths of his current personnel rather than trying to force them to fit in his system. 
Do the Warriors think the kids can help Curry and Co. compete for a title? Or was this just an audition for other teams and a way to improve the youngsters' trade value so they can be flipped for win-now pieces?&nbsp;
Regardless, the kids can clearly play given the right environment and opportunity.

The Warriors' youngsters nearly upset the Bucks, giving Golden State's front office something to consider prior to the trade deadline.

Warriors' youth giving management something to ponder before deadline

CLEVELAND (AP) &mdash; Darius Garland has developed a knack for when it's time for him to take over a game.
On Monday, it was pretty obvious.
Garland scored 30 points and Jarrett Allen added 24 as the Cleveland Cavaliers rallied in the fourth quarter with star Donovan Mitchell injured on the bench and beat the road-weary New Orleans Pelicans 113-103.
Mitchell scored 11 points in 22 minutes before sitting out the fourth with what the team called a strained left groin. Cavs coach J.B. Bickerstaff did not provide any specifics on Mitchell's injury or its severity.
The Cavs were down 81-78 entering the final 12 minutes before Garland made a 3-pointer and fed Allen for a dunk as Cleveland blitzed New Orleans 16-2 to start the period and open an 11-point lead.
The Pelicans were still within striking distance when Garland dropped a pair of 3s &mdash; the second a 32-footer &mdash; in the final two minutes to put them away. Garland scored 25 and added eight of his 11 assists in the second half.
&ldquo;Darius is really good,&rdquo; Bickerstaff said with a smirk when asked about Garland's growth. &ldquo;He understands the game within the game. He understands when his time is. He's thinking the game at a higher level this year, for sure.&rdquo;
Evan Mobley added 19 points as Cleveland improved to 19-4 at home.
The Pelicans were once again without stars Zion Williamson (strained hamstring) and Brandon Ingram (bruised toe) due to injuries. New Orleans has managed to stay competitive despite missing 46 points per game from those two.
C.J. McCollum scored 25 and and Jonas Valanciunas had 22 and 13 rebounds for the Pelicans, who went 2-3 on a five-game, 10-day trip.
&ldquo;We&rsquo;ve not been lucky with injuries,&rdquo; Valanciunas said. "We&rsquo;re missing really important guys, missing our core. It&rsquo;s been tough, but we can&rsquo;t feel sorry for ourselves. You have to keep pushing and try to play through it.&rdquo;
McCollum has had to carry the scoring load with Williamson and Ingram out. He only had four points at half before scoring 14 in the third quarter to help the Pelicans carry a lead into the fourth.
That's when the Cavs buckled down on defense and Garland went to work.
&ldquo;I just tried to be aggressive,&rdquo; Garland said.
Allen has seen Garland take a major step forward in his fourth season.
&ldquo;He's definitely a lot more confident in his role,&rdquo; Allen said. "He's telling us where to be. Making sure his bigs are in the right spots so we can help him out. He's facilitating the offense. In timeouts he's talking.
&ldquo;Obviously, he's an amazing player on the court but off the court there are a lot more things that have elevated.&rdquo;
MINUTE BY MINUTE
While guard Ricky Rubio's return from knee surgery is a major positive for the Cavs, it also presents some challenges for Bickerstaff, who must balance getting him playing time at the expense of other reserves.
He's tinkering with rotation combinations, and that may mean someone's going to lose minutes.
&ldquo;Sometimes it&rsquo;s frustrating, all the guys want to play and they proven they&rsquo;re capable,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;But sometimes they all can&rsquo;t.&rdquo;
TIP-INS
Pelicans: Williamson has missed the past seven games, and the team hasn't given a firm timetable on his return due to the unpredictable nature of his injury. ... Ingram has only played in 15 games after missing 27 last season. ... G/F Herb Jones (lower back bruise) missed his third game in a row.
Cavaliers: Rubio played 17 minutes in his first home game in 386 days. ... F Kevin Love, whose name will undoubtedly surface in upcoming trade speculation because of his expiring contract, has been in a prolonged shooting slump. He went 0 of 4 on 3-pointers and is 3 of 21 from long range in his past six games. ... F Dean Wade (sprained shoulder) was close to returning after missing more than a month, but recently rolled his ankle when he stepped on someone's foot during a 1-on-1 drill in rehab.
&nbsp;

Darius Garland scored 30 points as the Cleveland Cavaliers rallied in the fourth quarter to beat the New Orleans Pelicans 113-103.

Garland scores 30 to push Cavaliers past Pelicans 113-103

When the Dallas Mavericks pulled off a trade for Christian Wood &mdash; sending off a bundle of not-in-the-rotation pieces back to Houston Rockets in return &mdash; my mind immediately went to three places.
1) That's all it took to get Wood, huh? The Rockets must've really wanted to clear the runway for the younger guys.
2) Oh, Christ, the pick-and-roll tandem with him and Luka Doncic is going to be unstoppable.
3) Man, Dallas better hope his defense holds up.
Yes, that's all it took to get Wood in a contract year. There were just enough question marks, on and off the floor, for the price for Wood to drop. And Wood is talented enough to make the gamble worthwhile for a Dallas team that has to get a little creative to build around Doncic.
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On the talent front, Wood is showcasing it all. He's averaging 24.3 points (.625/.615/.633 shooting splits) and 8.7 rebounds in 26.3 bench minutes. To shoot that well from three on moderate volume (4.3 attempts per game) while also living at the free throw line (10.0 attempts per game) is absurd stuff.
It's no surprise that the Mavs have been typo-good in his minutes offensively, boasting a <a href="https://www.pbpstats.com/wowy-combos/nba?TeamId=1610612742&amp;Season=2022-23&amp;SeasonType=Regular%2BSeason&amp;PlayerIds=1626174" target="_blank" rel="noopener">137.5 Offensive Rating</a>. And by the way, the Doncic-Wood ball screen pairing has been as advertised.
You can't play drop coverage against these two. You're allowing Doncic to get a defender on his hip, freeze the help and have the big at his mercy. Wood can slow-roll it and get passes in the pocket, then either take a dribble and generate a shot at the rim or sprinkle in push shots in the intermediate area. Or, Wood can simply pop out and drain triples.&nbsp;
Turning a drop into a late switch, or just switching outright, is equally devastating. Wood has the right mix of skill and power to abuse smaller players. And again, asking a big to defend Doncic on an island is cruel and unusual punishment. There is no mercy, only hope for a missed shot.
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Putting two on the ball against Doncic is the best of bad worlds, but even that is putting your team in scramble mode. Wood isn't an inventive passer, but he's shown he's capable of making basic kick-outs. And if Doncic is able to string out your trap, you're really&nbsp;in trouble.
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The numbers back up this dichotomy. On trips featuring a Doncic-Wood ball screen, the Mavericks are generating 1.38 points per possession (PPP) &mdash; the best mark in the NBA among 42 high-volume pairings (min. 30 picks) per Second Spectrum.
They've been successful against drop (1.00 PPP), flat-out abused switches (1.47 PPP) and have generated plenty of goodness when Doncic has gotten two on the ball (1.11 PPP). Even when some of Wood's shooting numbers drop, you can probably bank in Doncic raising his three-point shooting (25% on 10.7 attempts right now). Good luck to your favorite team.
The defense is still worth monitoring. The Mavs are sporting a 110.4 Defensive Rating <a href="https://www.pbpstats.com/wowy-combos/nba?TeamId=1610612742&amp;Season=2022-23&amp;SeasonType=Regular%2BSeason&amp;PlayerIds=1626174" target="_blank" rel="noopener">in Wood's minutes</a>, and it's only slightly better when he's not on the floor. That's pretty solid!
I ... would still feel queasy, though; the Mavs have had Wood in a drop more than anything, almost copy-pasting <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/how-do-the-mavericks-have-an-elite-defense" target="_blank" rel="noopener">what they did with Kristaps Porzingis last season</a>. In addition to that, pay attention to the perimeter when Wood is involved in ball-screens. They're peeling in early&nbsp;to provide Wood with extra relief, inviting kick-outs.
You'll see successful reps from the Mavs in the video compilation below, but keep tabs on what's opening up.
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About those kick-outs: Opposing teams have increased their three-point rate by over 15% in Wood's minutes so far, per Cleaning The Glass. Now, that number absolutely won't hold &mdash; that would easily be the worst mark among rotation players, probably ever, if it did. And on the flip side, the opposing rim rate has dropped 19% in those minutes &mdash; another number that won't hold.
But the theme is clear: We don't want to get beat at the rim when Wood is in. How they go about that accomplishing that &mdash; how often teams indulge in three-point hunting and what kind of shooting variance that produces &mdash; will all be worth keeping an eye on.
Though drop has been the primary coverage for Wood, they have sprinkled in other things. Against the Phoenix Suns and Memphis Grizzlies, there were instances of Wood playing at the level or outright hedging. Let's just say there's room for growth, especially in the retreat/recovery phase.
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At some point, the Mavs will probably tinker with letting Wood switch more. Per Second Spectrum, Wood has only switched four (4) of the 38 picks he's faced as the screener defender. While he won't be confused with Bam Adebayo, that's easily his most comfortable coverage. We'll see if (or when) Jason Kidd will indulge.
For now, the Wood experiment is going as expected. He's helped juice the Mavs' attack on offense, while his presence defensively has opened up some things worth questioning within a playoff context.&nbsp;

Nekias Duncan breaks down the early returns of the Christian Wood addition in Dallas.

The Mavericks' Christian Wood experiment is going as expected

Before every season, I do my best to predict how I think the season will unfold &mdash; where teams will finish and who&rsquo;ll win each individual award. Heck, I even try my hand at predicting the All-NBA/Rookie/Defensive Teams.
Those efforts are generally meaningless; you can never truly account for injuries or transactions, for example, which makes it nearly impossible to truly nail these things down. Still, it&rsquo;s incredibly fun to take a look at the landscape of the league and make educated guesses.
Normally, I&rsquo;d thread my predictions on Twitter since it&rsquo;s a quick and easy way to get those thoughts out into the world. The issue is explaining controversial picks with a character limit; if you&rsquo;ve been on the app for any amount of time, you know how quickly discussions can go left.
Instead, I&rsquo;ve turned my predictions into an article. It&rsquo;ll be easier to track my predictions, and I have the space to explain my reasoning in a more thorough manner.&nbsp;
If you want to laugh at last year's edition &mdash; in which I had the Milwaukee Bucks beating the Los Angeles Lakers in the Finals &mdash; you can do so <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/202122-nba-season-and-award-predictions" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here</a>.
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If you want deeper thoughts on your favorite team, read our season previews for the <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/2022-23-nba-season-preview-atlantic-division-boston-celtics-brooklyn-nets-new-york-knicks-philadelphia-76ers-sixers-toronto-raptors" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Atlantic Division</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/2022-23-nba-season-preview-northwest-division-denver-nuggets-minnesota-timberwolves-oklahoma-city-okc-thunder-portland-trail-blazers-utah-jazz" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Northwest Division</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/2022-23-nba-season-preview-central-division-chicago-bulls-cleveland-cavaliers-detroit-pistons-indiana-pacers-milwaukee-bucks" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Central Division</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/202223-nba-season-preview-pacific-division" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Pacific Division</a>, <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/202223-nba-season-preview-southeast-division" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Southeast Division</a> and <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/202223-nba-season-preview-southwest-division" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Southwest Division</a>.
Without further ado, here&rsquo;s how I see things going this season.
Individual Awards
Most Valuable Player: Joel Embiid (PHI)
Defensive Player of the Year:&nbsp;Bam Adebayo (MIA)
Rookie of the Year: Paolo Banchero (ORL)
Sixth Man of the Year: Jordan Poole (GSW)
Most Improved Player: Precious Achiuwa (TOR)
Coach of the Year: Ty Lue (LAC)
- This kinda has to be the year for Embiid, no? Back-to-back second-place finishes set the stage for him to grab one if he proves healthy. This is arguably the most talented cast he's had around him. If he's healthy and commits defensively like he said he wants to, an MVP-DPOY combo isn't out of the question.
- Adebayo is the&nbsp;switch big in the NBA, one of a handful of players that can legitimately defend all five positions. Missed games hurt his case last season, but I think the award is his if he plays 65-plus games.&nbsp;
- Banchero should lead all rookies in scoring &mdash; well, unless Bennedict Mathurin pulls it off. The bucket-getting, plus playmaking chops, on a team that I think will be better than most people expect should give him a clear pathway to the award.
- I have a couple of sleepers-that-aren't-sleepers; keep an eye on <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-feature-intreview-bruce-brown-feeling-secure-in-new-role-denver-nuggets-nikola-jokic-jamal-murray-brooklyn-nets" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Bruce Brown</a> and Brandon Clarke. Ultimately, Poole should lead all bench players in scoring &mdash; and do so efficiently &mdash; while racking up wins on one of the best teams in the league.
- Lue's been a top-three coach for a while now. Getting a 10-plus win improvement (even if it's health-related) while sorting out the rotation of a roster with 13 NBA-level talents would be a pretty strong case.
Team Awards
ALL-NBA FIRST TEAM:&nbsp;Stephen Curry, Luka Doncic, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Jayson Tatum, Joel Embiid
ALL-NBA SECOND TEAM:&nbsp;Trae Young, Ja Morant, Paul George, Kevin Durant, Nikola Jokic
ALL-NBA THIRD TEAM:&nbsp;Devin Booker, Jimmy Butler, Pascal Siakam, LeBron James, Bam Adebayo
ALL-DEFENSIVE FIRST TEAM: Marcus Smart, Mikal Bridges, Draymond Green, Bam Adebayo, Joel Embiid
ALL-DEFENSIVE SECOND TEAM: Jrue Holiday, Herb Jones, Jimmy Butler, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Rudy Gobert
ALL-ROOKIE FIRST TEAM: Jaden Ivey, Bennedict Mathurin, Keegan Murray, Jabari Smith, Paolo Banchero
ALL-ROOKIE SECOND TEAM:&nbsp;Jalen Williams, Jake LaRavia, Jeremy Sochan, Tari Eason, Jalen Duren
- For the All-NBA Teams, apologies are due, but not limited to: Kawhi Leonard (rest days, deep class), Rudy Gobert (deep class), Karl-Anthony Towns (deep class), Anthony Davis (injury, deep class), Chris Paul (deep class, likely regression), Kyrie Irving (deep class), Brandon Ingram (deep class), Zion Williamson (missed time), Bradley Beal (team record), Jaylen Brown (deep class) and Anthony Edwards (deep class).
- Until the ballot becomes positionless &mdash; or at least until they give us two backcourt and three frontcourt options like the All-Star ballot &mdash; a center will get screwed. I think Embiid gets MVP this year, so Jokic falls to the Second Team. They aren't forwards, and won't be played as forwards. I'm not goin'.
- This will be the Herb Jones year if he's healthy. Should've been last year, but I'll save that rant for another day. While we're on second-year players, it wouldn't shock me at all if Evan Mobley makes serious noise in this regard too.
- The All-Rookie First Team seems pretty straightforward. A solid mix of talent and opportunity on the board.
- The LaRavia pick might be spicy, especially if the defense doesn't come along quickly enough. I do think there's enough shooting and connective playmaking there that he could earn consistent ticks in Memphis.
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Eastern Conference
TOP SIX
<ol>
<li>PHILADELPHIA 76ERS</li>
<li>BOSTON CELTICS</li>
<li>MILWAUKEE BUCKS</li>
<li>MIAMI HEAT</li>
<li>CLEVELAND CAVALIERS</li>
<li>TORONTO RAPTORS</li>
</ol>
- This should be a darn good year for the Sixers. Talented top-four &mdash; I'm really here for this decisive version of Tobias Harris &mdash; and more defensive talent on the roster.
- I get the depth/age concerns for the Bucks, but, like, Giannis. Top-10 offense and defense should be in play for them.
- Questions at the 3 aside, the Cavs should be incredibly annoying to deal with. All that size defensively, then the pull-up chops on the other end from Darius Garland and Donovan Mitchell? Whew.
PLAY-IN TERRITORY
<ol start="7">
<li>BROOKLYN NETS</li>
<li>ATLANTA HAWKS</li>
<li>CHICAGO BULLS</li>
<li>NEW YORK KNICKS</li>
</ol>
- Seventh feels right for Brooklyn considering the strength of the conference and the early absences of Joe Harris and Seth Curry. I must say, though, I like what they're establishing scheme-wise. A top-four seed wouldn't surprise me at all.
THE REST
<ol start="11">
<li>ORLANDO MAGIC</li>
<li>WASHINGTON WIZARDS</li>
<li>DETROIT PISTONS</li>
<li>CHARLOTTE HORNETS</li>
<li>INDIANA PACERS</li>
</ol>
- I'm prepared to take my L, but I'm high on the Magic this year. There's so much skilled size on the roster. The defense should be solid, and there's enough playmaking and shot creation to make things interesting offensively.
- Already making a change from the <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/podcasts/the-dunker-spot/episodes/basketballnews-com-episode-145-southeast-division-preview" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Southeast Division preview pod</a>; I think the Hornets will be worse than the Wizards. Post-pod, I felt I was too harsh on Washington. Since then, we've gotten a LaMelo Ball ankle turn and a James Bouknight arrest, and we've still heard nothing on the Miles Bridges front (he shouldn't be there). They're closer to the bottom for me now.
- I entered training camp ready to plant the "Pistons make the Play-In" flag, but I feel really uneasy about their switching scheme. That, and the half-court offense is going to take some time to come together. Next year, though!
Western Conference 
TOP SIX
<ol>
<li>GOLDEN STATE WARRIORS</li>
<li>PHOENIX SUNS</li>
<li>DENVER NUGGETS</li>
<li>LA CLIPPERS</li>
<li>MEMPHIS GRIZZLIES</li>
<li>DALLAS MAVERICKS</li>
</ol>
- An uptick of shooting from Curry, a healthier version of Klay Thompson and growth from the youth should lead to bundles of regular-season wins.
- Despite the ugly postseason ending and offseason hoopla, the Suns have a formula (and talent, obviously) to churn out regular-season wins. Let's not overreact.
- Early spoiler: I think the Clippers have the most talented roster in the league. I think star maintenance and lineup tinkering have them closer to No. 6 than No. 1 in the standings.
PLAY-IN TERRITORY
<ol start="7">
<li>MINNESOTA TIMBERWOLVES</li>
<li>NEW ORLEANS PELICANS</li>
<li>LA LAKERS</li>
<li>PORTLAND TRAIL BLAZERS</li>
</ol>
- The Pels! They should be electric offensively. Defensively, they have pieces I like &mdash; hello Mr. Jones, Jose Alvarado and Larry Nance Jr. &mdash; but we'll see how they hold up as a unit.
- I have some real questions about the Lakers' shooting talent and the Westbrook fit &mdash; and how long he'll even be there. There's an obvious upside for more if things break right.
- It hasn't been from a lack of effort, but trying to build a defense around a Damian Lillard-Anfernee Simons-Jusuf Nurkic core is just a tough thing to do.&nbsp;
THE REST
<ol start="11">
<li>SACRAMENTO KINGS</li>
<li>HOUSTON ROCKETS</li>
<li>OKLAHOMA CITY THUNDER</li>
<li>UTAH JAZZ</li>
<li>SAN ANTONIO SPURS</li>
</ol>
- If the Fightin' KZs Kings are able to defend well enough &mdash; and by that, I mean, like 21st in Defensive Rating &mdash; don't be surprised if they nab 10th. The offense should be good enough to make a push.
- The Rockets are a year of development (and roster consolidation) away from making a Play-In push, I think.
Eastern Conference Playoffs
PLAY-IN TOURNAMENT
Nets &gt; Hawks for 7th.
Bulls &gt; Knicks for 9th.
Hawks &gt; Bulls for 8th.
- A sad end for the Bulls here, but this is simply the strength of the conference. It'll be tremendous fun watching Young try to create space against Alex Caruso or Ayo Dosunmu at the point of attack.
FIRST ROUND
(1) Sixers &gt; (8) Hawks in 5.
(4) Heat &gt; (5) Cavs in 6.&nbsp;
(2) Celtics &gt; (7) Nets in 7.
(3) Bucks &gt; (6) Raptors in 6.&nbsp;
- With the Sixers adding to their defensive personnel and the Hawks looking a little worse in the shooting department, I think the chances of an(other) upset are pretty slim.
- The Nets fare better the second time around against Brooklyn, but I still don't think they have enough defenders to deal with Boston. Should be the best series of the first round, though.
- Bucks-Raptors will be a slugfest; ultimately, I don't know if the Raptors will have the half-court juice to pull things out.&nbsp;
SECOND ROUND
(1) Sixers &gt; (4) Heat in 6.
(3) Bucks &gt; (2) Celtics in 7.
- A pair of second-round sequels with the results flipped! Having Khris Middleton back &mdash; and a little more size, shooting and playmaking with Joe Ingles &mdash; gives the Bucks the boost they need to squeeze by. If Philly's healthy, I struggle to see Miami containing all three of Embiid, Harden and Maxey.
EASTERN CONFERENCE FINALS
(3) Bucks &gt; (1) Sixers in 6.
- Bucks steal home court in Game 1 and close the deal at home in Game 6. They have the size to make Embiid think and a defender in Holiday to either hound Maxey or absorb some of Harden's strength-based drives.
Western Conference Playoffs
PLAY-IN TOURNAMENT&nbsp;
Pelicans &gt; Wolves for 7th.&nbsp;
Lakers &gt; Blazers for 9th.&nbsp;
Wolves &gt; Lakers for 8th.
- I went back and forth on the Lakers-Wolves game. Still don't feel great about it, but I think the Wolves take care of business at home.
FIRST ROUND
(1) Warriors &gt; (8) Wolves in 4.
(4) Clippers &gt; (5) Grizzlies in 6.
(3) Nuggets &gt; (6) Mavericks in 6.
(2) Suns &gt; (7) Pelicans in 6.
- Clippers-Grizzlies feels like Storm-Mystics from this year's WNBA playoffs; there's no way one of these teams should be knocked out of the first round. I'd worry about the Grizzlies' half-court offense against LA's defense.
- Sign me up for all the half-court goodness Luka and Jokic would provide. Denver's just better if they're healthy.
-&nbsp;I wouldn't be shocked at the Suns/Pelicans result being flipped, but I have too many questions about New Orleans' defense right now to give them a series win.
SECOND ROUND
(4) Clippers &gt; (1) Warriors in 6.
(3) Nuggets &gt; (2) Suns in 7.
- Might be the most controversial pick on the board, but I trust the Clippers' length and switchability to make life a little difficult in the half-court. With Kahwi in the fold, they should be able to mismatch hunt late and eke out a close series.
- Deandre Ayton has defended Jokic well in the past; I think the added/healthy firepower around him may make the Nuggets' offense too much to deal with.
WESTERN CONFERENCE FINALS
(4) Clippers &gt; (3) Nuggets in 6.
- A bubble rematch! Jokic likely wrecks havoc, but I think the depth and shooting of the Clippers shine through.
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NBA Finals
(3) Bucks &gt; (4) Clippers in 6.
- Deepest team in the league facing an experienced group headlined by the best player in basketball. I think interior size swings it for Giannis and the Bucks.

Nekias Duncan gives his way-too-early predictions for the 2022-23 NBA season.

Nekias Duncan's 2022-23 NBA season and award predictions

Nekias Duncan thoroughly breaks down all five teams in the Northwest Division ahead of the 2022-23 season.

2022-23 NBA Season Preview: Northwest Division

NBA basketball in 2022 is centered around the ability to create advantages on offense and minimize advantages on defense. Players and teams can space the floor, collapse it and warp it at myriad levels with the freedom to drive &mdash; and dish and shake and cut &mdash; all over the place. It's part of the reason guys like <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/jokic-antetokounmpo-doncic-explain-why-europe-is-harder-than-nba" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Giannis Antetokounmpo and Nikola Jokic think EuroBasket is a harder environment.</a>&nbsp;
The modern game all but requires NBA offenses to have at least one (and probably more than one) player on the court who can collapse an opposing defense with a 1-on-1 drive. Defenders who can snuff out those advantages, meanwhile, earn high esteem; just look at how players like Andrew Wiggins, Draymond Green, Marcus Smart and Derrick White helped get their teams to the NBA Finals.&nbsp;
Guys rarely excel in both dimensions of the fire-and-ice combination, spark offense and freezing foes on defense. Sacramento Kings point guard Davion Mitchell was one of those rarities as a rookie:
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Two important avenues to player impact are advantage creation on offense and prevention on defense. Here are where players stacked up last season in these two on-ball measures: <a href="https://t.co/Jp5yVdWMnn">pic.twitter.com/Jp5yVdWMnn</a>
&mdash; SIS Hoops (@SIS_Hoops) <a href="https://twitter.com/SIS_Hoops/status/1570455340566646785?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 15, 2022</a></blockquote>
Mitchell didn't make an All-Rookie team last season and feels somewhat lost in the crowd of an exciting 2021 draft class. But the former No. 9 overall pick, even at 24 years old, should be considered just as poised for a second-year surge as any of his competitors. He's smack-dab in the middle of the above graphic from SIS Hoops, sitting near dynamic two-way catalysts like Smart, White, Justin Holiday and Fred VanVleet.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
The Kings got shellacked last night, but Davion Mitchell really stood out early. Thought he bothered Trae a good deal in the first quarter, tracked him well off-ball and in screen navigation Got his shot off and was aggressive early. Good stretch for him <a href="https://t.co/JIv534iqcM">pic.twitter.com/JIv534iqcM</a>
&mdash; Mark Schindler (@MG_Schindler) <a href="https://twitter.com/MG_Schindler/status/1486687309076512768?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 27, 2022</a></blockquote>

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Mitchell has earned the "Off Night" moniker for his hounding individual defense, and new Kings coach Mike Brown is already a witness.
"I can honestly say at this point in his career he is one of the best on-ball defenders I&rsquo;ve been around," Brown told <a href="https://theathletic.com/3625126/2022/09/26/sacramento-kings-season-preview/?source=emp_shared_article" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Anthony Slater of The Athletic</a>. "Some of the things I&rsquo;ve seen in the summertime remind me of a Gary Payton II type of on-ball defender.&rdquo;
The offensive end took a bit more time to flash. Mitchell averaged 11.5 points and 4.2 assists per game with a lackluster 48.9% True Shooting percentage in 2021-22, but those cumulative numbers don't tell the whole story.
<div class="mceNonEditable"><spike>&nbsp;</spike></div>
After the All-Star break, the rookie put up 14.1 points and 5.9 assists per game across 19 contests. Eleven were starts, in which he averaged 18.8 points and 9.3 assists per game. De'Aaron Fox and Domantas Sabonis dropped out of the season due to injuries after March 20, leaving Mitchell to run the show as the Kings trudged along, out of the playoff picture.&nbsp;
Those who stuck it out with Sacramento saw Mitchell settle in as an advantage-finder on the ball. Check out how his aggression increased post-All-Star, after the Kings traded Tyrese Haliburton and amidst injury struggles amongst their stars.
<table style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 100%;" border="1">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="width: 15.5964%;">Category</td>
<td style="width: 13.5075%;">Pre-All-Star</td>
<td style="width: 14.291%;">Post-All-Star</td>
<td style="width: 18.0636%;">Post-ASB NBA Rank</td>
<td style="width: 19.6302%;">Post-ASB Rookie Rank</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 15.5964%;">Drives/Game</td>
<td style="width: 13.5075%;">8.7</td>
<td style="width: 14.291%;">12.1</td>
<td style="width: 18.0636%;">17th</td>
<td style="width: 19.6302%;">2nd</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 15.5964%;">FG% on Drives</td>
<td style="width: 13.5075%;">49.2%</td>
<td style="width: 14.291%;">52.0%</td>
<td style="width: 18.0636%;">35th</td>
<td style="width: 19.6302%;">4th</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 15.5964%;">AST% on Drives</td>
<td style="width: 13.5075%;">14.2%</td>
<td style="width: 14.291%;">16.1%</td>
<td style="width: 18.0636%;">5th</td>
<td style="width: 19.6302%;">1st</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 15.5964%;">TOV% on Drives</td>
<td style="width: 13.5075%;">6.0%</td>
<td style="width: 14.291%;">5.2%</td>
<td style="width: 18.0636%;">t-26th</td>
<td style="width: 19.6302%;">4th</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
(Scroll right to view full table on mobile. Stats courtesy of NBA Stats/Second Spectrum)
Mitchell already posted decent numbers as a driver early in the season, but with more on his plate without Haliburton and an intermittent Fox, he impressively boosted both his volume and efficiency.
As a passer, Mitchell formed an interesting tandem with Damian Jones... who is now a Laker. The two were the fourth-most frequent assist combo on the Kings last season. By spring, Jones was Mitchell's favorite target; he passed to the play-finishing center seven times per game.
<div style="width: 100%; height: 0px; position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.250%;"><iframe style="width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute; left: 0px; top: 0px; overflow: hidden;" src="https://streamable.com/e/wi10qu" width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" data-mce-fragment="1"></iframe></div>
We see how Mitchell is growing past straight-line drives. He dipped into his bag of herky-jerky crossovers and hesitation moves a bit more, exploded off of those plays, and then, zipped passes into Jones for finishes. The second clip against the Los Angeles Clippers particularly impressed me. Mitchell probed and engaged Ivica Zubac long enough to create a window for Jones, saw Reggie Jackson was backing out of the paint to cover Trey Lyles, and then, hit Jones for the easy dunk.
Of course, Mitchell won't be syncing up with the 7-footer next season. He might have Neemias Queta as a big-bodied dunker, but Davion will most likely be in tandem with either Sabonis or Richaun Holmes at center. Mitchell still flashed potential for a promising connection with those two based on his rookie work.
<div style="width: 100%; height: 0px; position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.250%;"><iframe style="width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute; left: 0px; top: 0px; overflow: hidden;" src="https://streamable.com/e/zean5t" width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" data-mce-fragment="1"></iframe></div>
This trio of assists all came to Jones in the same April contest against the Suns. Mitchell hit him on a beautiful high-low feed in the first clip, and then broke two aggressive screen coverages later on. This type of success is exciting if you imagine Sabonis feasting as an interior hub, fed by Mitchell through aggressive defenses &mdash; or Holmes sealing down low and getting rewarded with a Davion dime.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
Domantas Sabonis talks about working with Davion Mitchell, the next level of his &amp; De'Aaron Fox's partnership, and Mike Brown. <a href="https://t.co/svedS5LtWL">pic.twitter.com/svedS5LtWL</a>
&mdash; Matt George (@MattGeorgeSAC) <a href="https://twitter.com/MattGeorgeSAC/status/1574517940048695296?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 26, 2022</a></blockquote>

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On the flip side, these bigs could also keep defenses from sending two at Mitchell &mdash; giving him more breathing room to create advantages. His mix of burst and patience allows him to explore more space, even in Steve Nash dribble-esque situations like these:
<div style="width: 100%; height: 0px; position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.250%;"><iframe style="width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute; left: 0px; top: 0px; overflow: hidden;" src="https://streamable.com/e/9nmfkq" width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" data-mce-fragment="1"></iframe></div>
Mitchell slinks around the baseline and hits Harrison Barnes twice in this reel, once on a well-timed cut and another after drawing in Barnes' defender from the corner. These are two more examples of an NBA rookie maximizing his advantage and creating an advantageous setup for his teammate.
To truly unlock all of the driving and passing lanes, Mitchell needs to take a step forward as an efficient finisher and scorer.&nbsp;
Mark Schindler <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/davion-mitchell-is-finding-balance-and-thriving-on-the-margins" target="_blank" rel="noopener">checked in on Mitchell's scoring progress</a> for Basketball News last February, and I highly recommend the read since many of his observations still apply and are worth remembering as a starting point for this season. Since the article, Mitchell stayed in the ballpark as an overall shot-maker. He finished 60% of his shots at the rim on the season (about league average), but concluded as a 30.8% shooter from deep (not very good).&nbsp;
<div class="mceNonEditable"><spike>&nbsp;</spike></div>
However, there's an intriguing silver lining in the weeds of his shooting splits.
Mitchell made only 40.0% of his pull-up shots all season and struggled mightily behind the arc (28.4%). But rookies typically struggle as individual pull-up scorers. This rookie, however, found a rhythm in the mid-range later on in the season.
According to Cleaning the Glass, a quarter of Mitchell's shots after the All-Star break came in the "long mid-range" area between 14 feet from the basket and the three-point arc. That put him in the 96th percentile for frequency at his position. Mitchell canned an impressive 47% of those shots (86th percentile), which were mostly pull-up attempts.&nbsp;
It's almost an old-school flashback to how teams used to generate mid-range looks. Mitchell often took screens at the elbow like these and, knowing the bigs would sag off because of his reputation as a shooter, he could easily settle into a more comfortable shot.
<div style="width: 100%; height: 0px; position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.250%;"><iframe style="width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute; left: 0px; top: 0px; overflow: hidden;" src="https://streamable.com/e/szc85b" width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" data-mce-fragment="1"></iframe></div>
Mitchell also can stop on a dime like a madman. That already helped him to change speed and direction when driving; it also means he needs less time to jack up a rhythm mid-range shot.&nbsp;
<div style="width: 100%; height: 0px; position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.250%;"><iframe style="width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute; left: 0px; top: 0px; overflow: hidden;" src="https://streamable.com/e/wvday5" width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" data-mce-fragment="1"></iframe></div>
No, this is not the most desirable shot from a game-planning perspective. But as dozens of players around the NBA can show, having a rhythm mid-range look is valuable and threatening. It also marks a starting point for long-range shooting potential, something Mitchell will obviously look to improve.
The former Baylor guard has past indicators of plus-shooting too. Mitchell built himself up to a 44.7% three-point clip in his final year of college. Per InStat Scouting, that included shooting 38% on pull-ups and 46% in catch-and-shoot situations. Sure, that was with a shorter arc, and Mitchell was probably due for some regression anyway. But let's not toss that year away as an outlier when he's still young and growing.&nbsp;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
Davion Mitchell is getting in some work with Sacramento Kings assistant coach Doug Christie. <a href="https://t.co/rfZvTwilxi">pic.twitter.com/rfZvTwilxi</a>
&mdash; Cameron Salerno (@cameronsalerno1) <a href="https://twitter.com/cameronsalerno1/status/1574858190700748801?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 27, 2022</a></blockquote>

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We don't know how the Kings' rotation will shake out under Brown yet, but from reports I've read, it seems Mitchell will at least begin the year as a third guard behind Fox and trade acquisition Kevin Huerter. Kings assistant coach Doug Christie told Hunter Patterson of The Athletic&nbsp;that <a href="https://theathletic.com/3627997/2022/09/26/davion-mitchell-kings-offseason-trust/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">his goal for Mitchell is to be Sixth Man of the Year.</a>&nbsp;
If Mitchell were to ride the bench all season, that award is absolutely within reach. But I think the second-year guard could certainly challenge for a starting spot. "Off Night" is too valuable to what the Kings are trying to build on defense, and his budding talent as a creator will only help Sacramento ignite its offense.
Don't forget about Mitchell in the sea of 2022-23 breakout candidates.
THE OUTLIERS (a.k.a. other random interesting numbers I found in the void):
<ul>
<li>Go look at this thread from Synergy's Todd Whitehead, who continues to be a data visualization artist:</li>
</ul>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
Tinkering with a 🚨new chart🚨 to show 1-on-1 tendencies. From 3 iso zones outside &ndash; is the player more likely to take a quick shot or drive right or left? In the post &ndash; are they more likely to turn over the left shoulder or the right? Some 2022 NCAA examples in the 🧵 <a href="https://t.co/8xf91Ng18V">pic.twitter.com/8xf91Ng18V</a>
&mdash; Todd Whitehead (@CrumpledJumper) <a href="https://twitter.com/CrumpledJumper/status/1575575231946596352?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 29, 2022</a></blockquote>
<ul>
<li>Nekias Duncan is back with division previews! In his <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/2022-23-nba-season-preview-atlantic-division-boston-celtics-brooklyn-nets-new-york-knicks-philadelphia-76ers-sixers-toronto-raptors" target="_blank" rel="noopener">breakdown of the Atlantic</a>, he gave us a gem on Marcus Smart's ball-screen impact last season that I will be using in a future article:</li>
</ul>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">The Celtics generated 0.992 points per possession (PPP) on trips featuring a Smart-led ball-screen &mdash; a mark that ranked 22nd among 62 high-volume pick-and-roll players (min. 1,000 picks), and one that placed him ahead of names like Darius Garland (0.987), Damian Lillard (0.978) and Ja Morant (0.972). Those ball-screens were more dangerous when Smart set the pick (1.04 PPP), a top-10 mark in the NBA.</blockquote>
<ul>
<li>Another neat set of visuals from Dom Samangy:</li>
</ul>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
🧵 Analytics 🤝 Player Development 🧵 Showcasing this part of the game is one passion of mine &amp; is an area where I see there is still much room to grow in both application &amp; acceptance! So here&rsquo;s a thread on ways I visualize strengths &amp; weaknesses of a player&rsquo;s game ⬇️ <a href="https://t.co/DEP9Amx7da">pic.twitter.com/DEP9Amx7da</a>
&mdash; Dom Samangy (@DSamangy) <a href="https://twitter.com/DSamangy/status/1572264237052952577?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 20, 2022</a></blockquote>

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Ethan Fuller breaks down how Davion Mitchell is creating advantages as a driver and passer to pair with his lockdown defense.

NBA Stats Notebook: Why Davion Mitchell could make a big step in Year 2

The NBA has completed the process of changing the transition take foul rule, ending years of discussion about what to do with the long-maligned tactic.
And, also as expected, the play-in tournament is going to be around for the foreseeable future.
The league&rsquo;s board of governors finalized those two matters Tuesday, approving a plan to award one free throw when teams are disadvantaged by the take foul &mdash; as well as removing the &ldquo;experimental&rdquo; designation from the play-in element to the postseason.
&ldquo;Generally, it was upbeat coming out of our meeting," NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said. &ldquo;People are thrilled that as we head into next season, it looks like we&rsquo;ll be on our normal track in terms of when the season starts, in terms of our protocols around the game, particularly around the health and safety of our players."
It wasn't a surprise that the league changed the penalty on take fouls; <a href="https://apnews.com/article/nba-sports-basketball-adam-silver-37d2184d33dd03487ee33c5ff5d7f470">Silver told The Associated Press in early June</a> that it would change, though he cautioned that the new rule might still be tweaked in future years.
The take foul &mdash; in which the defender does not make a play on the ball &mdash; is what the league classifies as one that occurs either &ldquo;during a transition scoring opportunity or immediately following a change of possession and before the offensive team had the opportunity to advance the ball.&rdquo; The exception is in the final 2 minutes of the fourth quarter or overtime.
The new penalty for such a foul is one free throw, which may be attempted by any player on the offended team in the game at the time the foul was committed, along with continued possession.
Silver addressed a number of other topics, including:
REVENUE
The NBA is coming off a massive financial year, with revenue topping $10 billion for the first time and basketball-related income reaching $8.9 billion, another record.
Silver said the numbers are particularly strong considering the league is still dealing with a pandemic, and it wasn't that long ago when some questioned whether sports could survive the coronavirus &mdash; at least in the sense of whether people would want to gather again.
&ldquo;The numbers did surprise me to a certain degree because it exceeded projections, and the projections represent where we think our business is going," Silver said. &ldquo;I think it's quite remarkable from where we came 2 1/2 years ago."
KEVIN DURANT
Kevin Durant is under contract for four more years with the Brooklyn Nets, and his <a href="https://apnews.com/article/brooklyn-nets-nba-sports-basketball-kevin-durant-da572379d0eabc5025a2106344695f6f">trade request</a> has been one of the biggest stories of the offseason.
It hasn't been one that Silver has particularly enjoyed.
&ldquo;This needs to be a two-way street," Silver said. &ldquo;Teams provide enormous security and guarantees to players, and the expectation in return is that they&rsquo;ll meet their end of the bargain. There's always conversations that go on behind closed doors between players and representatives and teams, but we don&rsquo;t like to see players requesting trades and we don&rsquo;t like to see it playing out the way it is."
PLAY-IN TOURNAMENT
The play-in tournament has generally been considered a success, so it was no surprise that the league is keeping it around.
The play-in tournament &mdash; in its current form &mdash; has been used in each of the last two seasons, where the teams that finish seventh, eighth, ninth and 10th in the East and West meet to determine the final two playoff spots in each conference.
The No. 7 team plays the No. 8 team, with the winner clinching the No. 7 seed in the playoffs. The No. 9 team plays the No. 10 team, with the loser eliminated and the winner moving on to face the team that lost the 7-8 game. The winner of that matchup is the No. 8 seed.
It&rsquo;s been a hit, primarily because it tends to give a March Madness feel &mdash; four elimination games before the playoffs even begin &mdash; and gives more teams incentive to not tank for better odds in the draft lottery.
There was a play-in element in 2020 as well in the restart bubble at Walt Disney World, when Portland beat Memphis for the No. 8 seed in the Western Conference. Memphis could have gotten the No. 8 seed that year by beating Portland twice; the Blazers had to win only one game to claim the spot.
LOAD MANAGEMENT
Load management &mdash; the fancy term given now when a player gets to sit out a game to rest &mdash; has been a challenge for the league and its teams in recent years. Silver said it will continue to be discussed with the players' association as the sides get more into negotiations for the next collective bargaining agreement.
The league has taken steps, driven by sleep science and other data, to try to make the schedule more player-friendly in recent years. The stretches of four games in five nights have been eliminated, instances of back-to-back games have dropped and the league has even tinkered with keeping teams in the same road city for consecutive games in an effort to limit travel over the course of a season.
That said, sometimes, a player still sits. Silver suggested it might be time to consider adding money as an incentive for playing more often.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;m all in favor of guaranteed contracts," he said. &ldquo;But maybe that on top of your typical guaranteed contracts, some incremental money should be based on number of games played and results of those games. I mean, it&rsquo;s that&rsquo;s how most industries work, where there&rsquo;s financial incentives &mdash; even among highly paid executives for performance."
ABA PAYMENTS
The NBA and the NBPA announced a new program &mdash; jointly funded &mdash; to provide payments to approximately 115 ABA players who played at least three seasons but didn&rsquo;t qualify for NBA pensions. They&rsquo;ll get &ldquo;recognition payments&rdquo; of $3,828 per year of service.
&ldquo;Our players have a genuine sense of appreciation for those who paved the way and helped us achieve the success we enjoy today,&rdquo; NBPA Executive Director Tamika Tremaglio said. &ldquo;We have always considered the ABA players a part of our brotherhood and we are proud to finally recognize them with this benefit.&rdquo;
Silver said the league and the players &ldquo;felt a need to act on behalf of these former ABA players who are aging and, in many cases, facing difficult economic circumstances.&rdquo;

“Generally, it was upbeat coming out of our meeting," NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said of the Board of Governors.

NBA stiffens take foul penalty, will keep Play-In tournament

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) &mdash; When the Golden State Warriors made their fourth-quarter push to get back into the NBA Finals, Draymond Green had the unusual role as spectator.
The versatile Green, who has been one of the stalwarts of Golden State&rsquo;s dynasty, got pulled in crunch time of Game 4 in what was both a shocking &mdash; and effective &mdash; decision by coach Steve Kerr.
Now with the series shifting back to California tied heading into Game 5 on Monday night, Kerr said he has no concerns about what he&rsquo;ll get out of Green the rest of the way.
&ldquo;Draymond is Draymond. He&rsquo;s going to bring it every night,&rdquo; Kerr said Sunday. &ldquo;I think the thing that maybe got lost the other night is how good he was down the stretch. He ends up in the game with four steals. He was brilliant defensively. He did what we needed to do to win the game.&rdquo;
Green said he wasn&rsquo;t &ldquo;thrilled&rdquo; by Kerr&rsquo;s decision in Game 4 on Friday night in Boston to send him to the bench with the Warriors down four points with 7:32 to play.
But the move worked well, with Golden State going on an 11-4 run behind a lineup featuring Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Jordan Poole, Andrew Wiggins and Kevon Looney.
Green returned with 3:41 to play and the Warriors ahead 97-94, then shuttled in and out with Poole as Kerr mostly used Green when Golden State was on defense. The plan worked and&nbsp;<a class="" href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/turnovers-doom-celtics-once-again-as-warriors-win-game-4-of-nba-finals" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Golden State won 107-97</a>&nbsp;to tie the series at two games apiece.
&ldquo;I think I made an impact on the game the whole game,&rdquo; Green said. &ldquo;I think you can get caught up in everything that&rsquo;s going around, but those that watch and understand basketball, I made an impact the entire game. So I don&rsquo;t think there was a switch last couple minutes.&rdquo;
Green has been one of the key cogs on the Warriors ever since Kerr arrived in the 2014-15 season and immediately elevated Green into a starting role ahead of Andre Iguodala.
Green&rsquo;s versatility defensively was key to Golden State&rsquo;s small-ball lineups and his playmaking skills helped take advantage whenever opponents tried to double-team Curry.
Kerr has had to tinker more with his lineups this year instead of finding which center &mdash; if any &mdash; worked best with his stars.
&ldquo;This feels a little bit different this year,&rdquo; Kerr said. &ldquo;There&rsquo;s been a little bit more mixing and matching. Really proud of the group, everybody, for staying ready and staying prepared and not allowing that to sort of change and alterations from game to game to bother them.&rdquo;
While Green has remained a defensive stalwart, his offensive game his fallen off as he has almost stopped taking three-pointers and rarely even looks for his shot.
After setting the tone defensively in a Game 2 win at home, Green was almost invisible on the offensive end in the two games in Boston and was even exploited at times defensively in a Game 3 loss.
Green scored just 4 points on 2-for-11 shooting for the two games in Boston but did contribute 9 rebounds, 8 assists and 4 steals in Game 4.
Green is shooting just 23% in the series and averaging 4.3 points, leading Kerr to go with Looney in his place in key moments when he only wanted one non-shooter on the court.
If the Warriors are going to take two more games and win a fourth championship during this run, they likely will need to find more offensive help for Curry.
Curry has scored 32.5% of Golden State&rsquo;s points this series, the third-highest total in the NBA Finals in the past 15 seasons behind only two years for LeBron James in Cleveland.
Curry said the key the next few games will be adjusting to how the Celtics have handled Golden State&rsquo;s &ldquo;pet plays&rdquo; and that Green is the perfect player to help make that happen.
&ldquo;I think he is going to do an amazing job of adapting and figuring out where he can find his angles, his ways to impact on the offensive end,&rdquo; Curry said. &ldquo;That will, again, feed off the way he impacts the game on the defensive end every game. So usually the high-IQ guys figure it out, and he&rsquo;s at the top of that list when it comes to understanding the game of basketball.&rdquo;

Draymond Green had the unusual role of spectator at the end of Game 4, but the Warriors will need him to step up to beat Boston.

Draymond Green looks to make impact for Warriors even without scoring

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

The energy in The Bay was palpable, a crowd starved for its team's first Western Conference Finals berth since 2019. The dominant rule of this Golden State dynasty had been rudely interrupted by a once-in-a-generation global pandemic, a slew of untimely injuries and a superstar migrating across the country to skyscraping lands. Even the Chase Center flooring glimmered in anticipation.
The only thing that gleamed more was the twinkle in the eye of the Warriors' team defense.
The Warriors faced a new challenge in the West Finals, going from containing the quick-twitch athleticism strewn across the Memphis Grizzlies' roster to now containing the pick-and-roll craftsmanship of Luka Doncic, arguably the best player of the 2022 postseason. Luka's a nightmare to deal with, to say the least. He can attack your bigs or smalls on switches in isolation. He makes passes that only a select few across the globe can make should he even gain the slightest bit of an advantage. Most of all, he's a true-blue three-level scorer, geared up with step-back threes, post-ups with Dirk Nowitzki-legged fadeaways, sikly floaters and elongated layups at his disposal.&nbsp;
Containing a player of that ilk is not as simple as just throwing one perimeter player his way and hoping for the best. And while Luka's primary defender, Andrew Wiggins, did an admirable job on Wednesday of holding Doncic to 4-of-10 shooting, it was Golden State's medley of defensive coverages that kept Dallas at bay during the 25-point evisceration.&nbsp;
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Steve Kerr's crew threw out six different coverages in the first half &mdash; blitzes, hedge-and-recovers, a shallow drop coverage, pick-and-roll switches, a 3-2 zone and even a Box-and-1 &mdash; to stifle Dallas' second-ranked playoff half-court offense to a crawl. Golden State's coordinated chaos worked effectively, as Dallas put up just 78.8 points per 100 possessions in the half-court during Game 1 (10th percentile, yikes!), well below the 101.3 Offensive Rating that Dallas normally averages in this setting.&nbsp;
We'll touch on a few of those coverages momentarily, but it was Golden State's zone looks that were particularly interesting. The Mavericks haven't seen a ton of zones this postseason, especially coming off a series against the Phoenix Suns that featured mostly drop coverage or the occasional switch with Deandre Ayton manning the middle.
Interestingly, Golden State aligned its 3-2 zone so that Stephen Curry was atop the formation, meaning that he was typically Luka Doncic's primary defender. This goes against conventional thinking; normally, you'd expect the Warriors to hide Curry in the corners on one of Dallas' non-threatening options (think: how Miami deployed Duncan Robinson and Tyler Herro in the 2020 postseason) instead of guarding the best mismatch-hunter on the floor. The Warriors, however, felt confident about shuttling defensive possessions to Curry at the point-of-attack, trusting their superstar to <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/stephen-currys-defense-continues-to-shine-for-the-warriors" target="_blank" rel="noopener">utilize his best defensive attribute</a> &mdash; his quick hands&mdash; to frustrate Maverick ball-handlers.
Of course, it helps with Wiggins and Draymond Green situated at the nearby wings, able to sink down and contain should Doncic bullrush his way past the slighter Curry. That's exactly what happened during this first-quarter possession below; Curry bothered Doncic's dribble by sticking in an arm, and when Doncic gathered himself and prepared his attack, Wiggins provided assistance at the nail to erase the driving lane and coerce the kick out. Jalen Brunson, of course, misses the spot-up three (a trend on Wednesday night), and Golden State gets its desired result from the 3-2 zone.
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There's some irony in the Warriors &mdash; the same team that once complained about Toronto's "junk defenses" in the 2019 NBA Finals &mdash; throwing out Box-and-1s to fluster Dallas' heliocentric offense. And yet, a minute later, Golden State busted out that janky look, with Curry, Jordan Poole, Green, and Otto Porter Jr. spread across the lane lines to form the "box," and Wiggins smothering Luka from basically the mid-court line.
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When Maxi Kleber comes to set a screen for Doncic, Poole and Wiggins trap Luka and use the sideline as a third defender to force the pass. Dallas hot-potatoes the ball across the perimeter, frantically searching for a vialble option, and eventually the Mavs are left with a 27-foot three from Kleber. A result the Warriors will live with.
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The Mavericks mustered up just 18 total points in the first quarter, which effectively set the tone for the rest of Game 1. Looking ahead after the brutal loss, it begs the question: Where can the Mavericks go next?
Well, there's the obvious answer, for one: Make more friggin' threes. Duh. The Mavericks whiffed on 37 of their 48 total outside looks, with some of those misses being <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OT-vnjKYwf0&amp;ab_channel=MattBrooksNBA" target="_blank" rel="noopener">pretty dang brutal</a>. But there's more to the game than just blindly hoping for better results.
Thinning Out the Hedges
As mentioned, one of the coverages that Golden State threw at Luka was hedging and recovering on pick-and-rolls. Typically, this was done when Doncic and the Mavericks looked to target Curry in screening actions. Dallas would have Curry's defender &mdash; Reggie Bullock in the first clip; Spencer Dinwiddie in the second&mdash;set a screen on Luka's defender, Wiggins.
Rather than having Curry switch outright onto Doncic, Steph would instead jump out toward the 6-foot-8 ball-handler to buy Wiggins time as he recovered back to his assignment. Though it goes in, a tightly contested step-back three &mdash; which Luka is shooting just 32.1% on in the postseason &mdash; is a result the Warriors can stomach, especially with one of its smallest defenders (Curry) involved in the play.
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Thus, going at Curry with a slew of straight pick-and-rolls wasn't particularly profitable in Game 1. Golden State is too experienced, too disciplined and too even-tempered to be caught off-guard by opponents repeatedly targetting its superstar. After all, that's been the game plan since, what, 2015? Steph is well-versed in evading such narrow offensive game planning.
But Dallas has some unexplored avenues.
One such way could be to mix in more slips to the rim. Below, after Golden State pre-switches to initially neutralize the Doncic-Bullock pick-and-roll, Luka calls for a second screen from Brunson to bring Curry into the fold. When Steph hedges, Brunson then cuts to the rim instead of flaring out to the perimeter. And although the possession is smothered by Draymond Green audibling a switch with Curry and playing some free safety (goodness was he ever incredible in Game 1!), Dallas was able to get two feet into the middle of the paint to make decisions.&nbsp;
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Flipping the angle of the screen at the very last second, which is something the <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/grizzlies-flattening-out-the-warriors" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Grizzlies did against the Warriors</a> in the second round, is a counter yet to be tested by the Mavericks' offense. When Dallas did elect to re-screen in Game 1, it was only because the initial screen failed to connect.&nbsp;
Dallas could also add some intricacy to its pick-and-rolls by forcing Golden State to navigate secondary screens. Screen-the-screener (STS) plays were, once again, something the <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/memphisminnesota-game-5-was-a-masterclass-in-playcalling-wizardry" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Grizzlies tinkered with</a> in the earlier rounds of the postseason, and forcing Curry to navigate an off-ball screen before being dragged into a ball-screen for Luka could put him behind the play, thus throwing off the timing of his hedge.
All Doncic needs is a moment of hesitation to create for himself or others, so mixing in each of the following&mdash; re-screens, slips to the rim, ram screens and/or STS plays and straight pick-and-roll&mdash;to keep the Warriors on pins and needles could prove to make the difference going forward.
Sniffing Out the Proper Switches
So yes, scoping out Curry on pick-and-roll-induced switches didn't go as planned for Dallas in Game 1 given his comfort level with hedging those plays into oblivion; but that's not to say that Dallas failed to get any sort of traction when Golden State swapped assignments after ball screens.
Here's something that should keep Mavericks fans up at night: Dallas was hunting the wrong Warrior guard. Poole was tested by both of Dallas' secondary and tertiary options (Brunson and Dinwiddie), and he looked like a fish out of water on switches. Collectively, Dinwiddie and Brunson went 2-for-3 from the field when defended by Poole in Game 1.
Dinwiddie is both too tall and too quick to be even slightly bothered by Golden State's prolific 22-year-old, and Brunson's veteran craft left Poole stumbling. Jalen's portfolio of pump-fakes, B-Boy dancer pivots and up-and-unders was one hell of a handful for the third-year player.
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Even when Golden State attempted to hide Poole with hedges, he just wasn't disciplined enough to masterfully pull off this coverage with regularity. Here, he "shows" (or hedges) way, way too high up the floor against Brunson, who has yet to burn Golden State with pull-up threes, and Poole ends up getting flamb&eacute;d in isolation.
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Dallas' one-two punch of Doncic and Brunson also got off some pretty clean looks when served up Kevon Looney on a platter. Look, Looney had himself one hell of a Wednesday evening and was maybe the Game 1 MVP, but his lateral mobility was tested by Dallas' lead options. Take a look for yourself:
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Dallas should continue to hammer this home in the series. Though it's admirable that Looney feels empowered to pick up individual creators of Doncic and Brunson's ilk so high up the floor, his hip flexibility doesn't afford him the requisite oomph when changing directions on either player's array of dribbling moves. Doncic found relative consistency in forcing Golden State rotations and passing to open shooters after beating Looney off the dribble; Brunson, meanwhile, danced and jitterbugged his way to his spots to go 3-of-4 when defended by the Warriors' starting center.
It's integral that Dallas continues to exhaust Curry by involving him in a never-ending loop of pick-and-rolls. The more mileage put on his body defensively, the better. But there's also some value in getting some easy ones against guys like Looney and Poole.
Other notes:
<ul>
<li>Testing Klay Thompson, still fresh off two major injuries, is inherently not a terrible idea. Doing so by posting him up and allowing him to use his strong base and 6-6 frame, however, is not so brilliant. Doncic wasn't able to gain any ground against Golden State's sturdy wing, and the Mavericks would be better suited having the bursty Dinwiddie or even the guileful Brunson go at Thompson in space.</li>
</ul>
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<ul>
<li>Speaking of Brunson, how often he can make Golden State pay via pull-up threes should be a major theme in the West Finals. Golden State regularly went under ball-screens against Brunson, daring him to shoot, and he responded with a whole bundle of record-scratch moments. Brunson has shot a combined 30.4% on pull-up three-pointers in the regular season and the postseason on just 105 total attempts, and if he continues to feign at chucking them up when the defense drifts underneath screens, Dallas' offense will sludge itself to death.</li>
</ul>
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<li>The Mavericks are one of those teams where you just wish they'd incorporate a little more movement into their offense. Dallas leaves food on the table with screening actions on the weak side of the floor, and it allows the low man to stay engaged when helping over should Doncic (or Brunson or Dinwiddie) discover a crack in the defense. That's particularly problematic against a team like the Warriors and Green, a hellish secondary defender to tangle with. Notice how Golden State preoccupies Luka, the low man in the clip below, with screening action between Wiggins and Thompson. When Looney slips to the rim, Doncic is late on his rotation because of the ensuing traffic on the weak side.&nbsp;</li>
</ul>
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It'd be great if Dallas could incorporate some of&nbsp;that&nbsp;stuff into their pick-and-roll heavy offense.
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Matt Brooks goes in-depth to break down what the Mavericks can improve on offensively against a stout Warriors defense.

How the Warriors' defense flummoxed Dallas, and where the Mavs go next

Ja Morant had one of those nights. His 47 points, 8 rebounds and 8 assists led the way for a young Grizzlies team fighting to avoid a 2-0 series deficit versus the Golden State Warriors in the second round. He was, in a word, invincible out there on Tuesday evening.
That said, it'd be a disservice not to mention that Golden State lost its best Morant defender, Gary Payton II, due to an elbow injury within the first three minutes of the game. That's more than just a small footnote; 'GPII' is one of the best point-of-attack defenders in the sport, a helacious screen sniffer-outer with the speed and physicality to stay epoxied to players of Morant's ilk as they bob and weave into the paint. There was a reason Payton II was promoted to Steve Kerr's starting lineup for each of the first two games. His job was to defend Morant at all costs.
Payton's injury left Golden State high and dry without any reliable options for the superstar Grizzly guard. Golden State's primary scheme versus pick-and-rolls is to simply switch assignments, so Morant went deep into his bag by targetting weaker Warrior options on PnR switches for a steady diet of downhill isolations.
Jordan Poole got the worst of it, diced up like a smoothie in a Ninja blender in a highlight that made rounds on social media almost instantaneously. Poole just doesn't have the experience nor the diligence to stick with Morant's wide array of moves&mdash;the fake-spins, the earth-shaking crossovers and through-the-legs dribbles&mdash;and was regularly left stumbling on his heels. Per NBA matchup stats, Morant went 3-for-5 when guarded by Poole, and the most shocking part about this stat is that he actually missed twice.
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Andrew Wiggins was Morant's primary defender, and while he did fare better than Poole by holding Morant to 33.3% shooting, Morant scored what ended up being the game-sealing floater by driving full force and then tapping his brakes to decelerate and get to his preferred right hand. Speed and change of pace appear to be Morant's most notable attributes when guarded by Wiggins. He basically Thanos-snapped the All-Star wing into dust with a helacious drive to close the third quarter.
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Golden State also gave Klay Thompson some reps against Morant, which, um... didn't go well. Morant shot a perfect 4-for-4 when guarded by Thompson, who very much looked like a player attempting to reclaim his former two-way greatness while coming off a two-year injury absence. It's probably too early to say Thompson has lost a step after ACL and Achillies tears in back-to-back seasons, but Tuesday night didn't necessarily help dispel that notion. Meanwhile, his backcourt buddy Steph Curry might be Golden State's best option going forward with Payton II on the mend. Not only did Curry record the game-sealing block against Morant in Game 1, he also held him to just 1-of-4 shooting in Game 2. Even on Morant's solo bucket, Curry does a nice job sending Morant to his weaker left hand before cutting off the driving lane. Ja just hits a ridiculous bank-shot through contact.
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Looking ahead, what are Golden State's options when attempting to contain this Tazmanian Devil of a power-guard? For one, disallowing Morant from attacking ill-suited defenders in isolation is certainly an idea worth exploring. Trapping pick-and-rolls by sending two defenders Morant's way just to get the ball out of his hands and forcing his teammates to finish possessions would also make sense. Per The Ringer's <a href="https://www.theringer.com/2022/5/4/23056681/ja-morant-grizzlies-warriors-nba-playoffs">Kevin O'Connor</a>, the Warriors trapped just one Grizzlies pick-and-roll, which eventually resulted in a three-pointer from a sub-32% shooter, Ziaire Williams.
Here's the problem: Late in the fourth quarter, Memphis may have already stumbled upon a possible counter should Golden State start blitzing pick-and-rolls.
Below, the Grizzlies run pick-and-roll by having Williams initially approach the left side of Wiggins' body to generate a drive going right for Ja Morant. Knowing this, Jordan Poole jumps in front of Williams to be in position to either switch or hedge the ball screen.&nbsp;
But it's all a ruse. At the last second, Williams flips his ball-screen to the right side of Wiggins' body, and because Poole was so eager to thwart Morant's preferred right-handed drive, he's now positioned poorly. Morant gladly takes the free lane to the basket down the left side of the floor for a gorgeous&nbsp;hanging layup.&nbsp;
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This wasn't the first time that Memphis preyed on Poole's inability to mask his intentions when guarding the pick-and-roll. Just one minute later, the Grizz went to the same action&mdash;this time with De'Anthony Melton faking and flipping his screen&mdash;and Poole is once again woefully out of position when he jumps out to contain the right-handed drive.
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These same principles of flipping ball screens could be applied if and when Golden State starts trapping pick-and-rolls. Imagine if, in each of the two clips above, Poole had taken a few steps higher to blitz the ball-screen from the right side of the floor. Williams would still have had a small window to set a screen on Wiggins' hip to send Morant left for the drive. It's worth mentioning that Morant is in that rarified class of athletes with a monstrous first step to beat traps with regularity.
Flat screens could also be something the Grizzlies could tinker with in lieu of the threat of a blitzing defense. Flat pick-and-rolls are when the screener sets the pick with his back completely parallel to the baseline. Because he isn't setting the screen on either side of the ball-handler defender's body, it makes it tough for the defense to tell which direction the ball-handler intends to go. It'd be at Morant's discretion to go left or right depending on which way the trapping defense was leaning.
(A brief tangent: Memphis could also experiment with snug pick-and-rolls should Golden State sag deep into the paint and dare Morant to shoot, a la Russell Westbrook. Snug pick-and-rolls, or PnRs closer to the basket, were how the Miami Heat countered the Los Angeles Lakers' paint-packed defense versus Jimmy Butler in the 2020 Finals. Setting screens closer to the rim puts the defense in a perilious situation with less time to recover, and all an explosive guard like Ja Morant needs is a slight advantage to take a few leaps and bounds to the rim to bust out his breathtaking athleticism.)
In Game 2, 21 of Ja Morant's 47 points came off drives, with most of those downhill attacks in isolation against grusomely underprepared Golden State defenders. It'll be interesting to see how Golden State responds. If the Dubs do indeed go the trapping route, Memphis already has displayed a few counters of their own with even more in their back-pocket. But ultimately, it all comes down to just how special of a driver Ja Morant is. He's fully equipt to beat aggressive schemes with pure athleticism. It turns out things get a lot easier when you boast the best downhill player of the last half-decade.
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Ja Morant single-handedly flipped the script in the Grizzlies-Warriors series, so how will Golden State respond defensively?

How the Grizzlies flipped the script on the Warriors

Even though the NBA Playoffs present the highest stakes in basketball, the postseason is still akin to its own set of laboratories.
Within a seven-game series, teams are tinkering with strategies and toggling the risk-versus-reward dials on points of emphasis. They also have more data at their disposal, which means more information to sway decisions &mdash; and make those decisions more complicated.
We're onto Game 3 of the Eastern Conference semifinals between the Boston Celtics and Milwaukee Bucks after two of the more radically divergent results of the postseason so far. But one thing hasn't changed: Boston, through its own creation and the Bucks' defensive scheme, is letting the three-ball fly.&nbsp;
The Celtics have attempted a whopping 93 three-pointers across the first two games in this series. They hoisted up 50 in Game 1 and 43 in Game 2; those totals rank second and seventh among all 2022 playoff games to this point. A mammoth 45 of those 93 perimeter tries (48.4%) have been categorized as "wide open" by Second Spectrum, meaning no defender is within 6 feet of the shooter.
Digging deeper, those 45 wide-open threes make up 27.4% of Boston's overall field goal attempts &mdash; the highest frequency of any team in the second round. (For some context, only 18.8% of the team's shots were wide-open threes during the regular season.)
That frequency is second among all NBA playoff series so far. Not coincidentally, it's just barely behind Milwaukee's first-round opponent, the Chicago Bulls (27.7%).
This isn't some playoff crumbling. The Bucks allowed a league-high 20.3 wide-open threes to opponents in the regular season. They've ranked in the top two for most such shots allowed in each season since Mike Budenholzer took over as head coach in 2018-19. But Milwaukee tailors what it allows opponents to take, hoping to funnel those threes to the most volatile shooters. It worked during the regular season; teams shot 36.3% on wide-open threes against the Bucks, tied for the third-worst percentage in the NBA. Chicago didn't make them pay either, knocking down just 30.4% of those shots.
However, against the Celtics, we've seen the double-edged sword to this approach.
Milwaukee lives with these three-point shots because it wants to fortify the paint with its lineup of big, long, physical defenders. The help defense is so aggressive because the Bucks want to keep Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown and Marcus Smart from establishing any kind of momentum getting to the basket. Driving lanes are a pillar of today's NBA offenses, and I highly recommend you read <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/offensive-organics" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Mark Schindler's recent piece</a> that explains how drives make the league much more than a game of twos and threes.
The Celtics have made a mind-numbing 20% of their shot attempts on drives to the basket this series, per Second Spectrum. They have attempted 40 shots within 5 feet of the rim and finished just 50% of those looks, which is last among the second-round teams. Boston is also bottom-two in shot volume and efficiency from the 5-to-9-foot range and 10-to-14 feet. Milwaukee appears to have built a fortress.
Such an emphasis on paint protection means the Celtics have plenty of three-point chances. This isn't to say the Bucks don't care &mdash; one, that's not how NBA defense works, and two, they have several great recovery defenders on the roster. If Boston moves the ball with purpose, its players can find openings. However, they might be just the players Milwaukee wants firing away.
Here's a breakdown of Boston's three-point shooting volume by rotation player, and the frequency of wide-open looks with data from the NBA's stats site. No efficiency rates yet.
(Scroll right to view full table on mobile)
<table style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 100%; height: 198px;" border="1">
<tbody>
<tr style="height: 44px;">
<td style="width: 23.1682%; height: 44px;">Player</td>
<td style="width: 17.0894%; height: 44px;">Total 3PA/Game</td>
<td style="width: 21.8959%; height: 44px;">Wide-Open 3PA/Game</td>
<td style="width: 20.4272%; height: 44px;">% of 3PA Wide Open </td>
<td style="width: 17.3251%; height: 44px;">Wide-Open 3P%</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 22px;">
<td style="width: 23.1682%; height: 22px;">Jayson Tatum</td>
<td style="width: 17.0894%; height: 22px;">9.5</td>
<td style="width: 21.8959%; height: 22px;">2.0</td>
<td style="width: 20.4272%; height: 22px;">21.1%</td>
<td style="width: 17.3251%; height: 22px;">50.0%</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 22px;">
<td style="width: 23.1682%; height: 22px;">Jaylen Brown</td>
<td style="width: 17.0894%; height: 22px;">9.5</td>
<td style="width: 21.8959%; height: 22px;">3.0</td>
<td style="width: 20.4272%; height: 22px;">31.6%</td>
<td style="width: 17.3251%; height: 22px;">16.7%</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 22px;">
<td style="width: 23.1682%; height: 22px;">Al Horford</td>
<td style="width: 17.0894%; height: 22px;">7.0</td>
<td style="width: 21.8959%; height: 22px;">6.5</td>
<td style="width: 20.4272%; height: 22px;">92.9%</td>
<td style="width: 17.3251%; height: 22px;">30.8%</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 22px;">
<td style="width: 23.1682%; height: 22px;">Grant Williams</td>
<td style="width: 17.0894%; height: 22px;">6.5</td>
<td style="width: 21.8959%; height: 22px;">4.0</td>
<td style="width: 20.4272%; height: 22px;">61.5%</td>
<td style="width: 17.3251%; height: 22px;">87.5%</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 22px;">
<td style="width: 23.1682%; height: 22px;">Marcus Smart (1 game)</td>
<td style="width: 17.0894%; height: 22px;">6.0</td>
<td style="width: 21.8959%; height: 22px;">3.0</td>
<td style="width: 20.4272%; height: 22px;">50.0%</td>
<td style="width: 17.3251%; height: 22px;">0.0%</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 22px;">
<td style="width: 23.1682%; height: 22px;">Payton Pritchard</td>
<td style="width: 17.0894%; height: 22px;">6.0</td>
<td style="width: 21.8959%; height: 22px;">2.5</td>
<td style="width: 20.4272%; height: 22px;">41.7%</td>
<td style="width: 17.3251%; height: 22px;">40.0%</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 22px;">
<td style="width: 23.1682%; height: 22px;">Derrick White</td>
<td style="width: 17.0894%; height: 22px;">3.5</td>
<td style="width: 21.8959%; height: 22px;">2.5</td>
<td style="width: 20.4272%; height: 22px;">71.4%</td>
<td style="width: 17.3251%; height: 22px;">40.0%</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
The big numbers that stand out: Al Horford, Derrick White and Grant Williams have found a&nbsp;lot of open three-point attempts. Meanwhile, Tatum and Brown have captured the attention, and Payton Pritchard has garnered the defense's respect to a lesser extent.
Importantly: This isn't the Bucks simply leaving Horford, Williams and White open without any closeouts. Boston has worked to find these players on the perimeter, and speficially made adjustments in Game 2 that helped these three get in position. <a href="https://theathletic.com/3292733/2022/05/04/celtics-beat-bucks-game-2/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Jared Weiss of&nbsp;The Athletic</a> wrote a fantastic postgame analysis of what changed, so keep it in mind.
The point is that the Bucks have not locked a target on Horford or Williams when they move around off the ball, and it's come with mixed results. Horford actually made 4 of his 9 three-point attempts in the Game 1 loss, but went 1 of 5 from long range in Game 2. Williams, meanwhile, has been on a heater in the series and made 6 threes en route to a career-high 21 points in the Celtics' blowout win.&nbsp;
All of these numbers comprise a miniscule two-game sample size though. What can fans reasonably expect from the Celtics' shooters if things stayed the same? Here's how the non-Jay rotation players fared in desirable settings during the regular season.
(Scroll right to view full table on mobile)
<table style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 100%; height: 132px;" border="1">
<tbody>
<tr style="height: 22px;">
<td style="width: 19.1094%; height: 22px;">Player</td>
<td style="width: 17.2402%; height: 22px;">Wide-Open 3P%</td>
<td style="width: 20.0439%; height: 22px;">Catch-and-Shoot 3P%</td>
<td style="width: 13.3685%; height: 22px;">Corner 3P%</td>
<td style="width: 21.112%; height: 22px;">Above-the-Break 3P%</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 22px;">
<td style="width: 19.1094%; height: 22px;">Al Horford</td>
<td style="width: 17.2402%; height: 22px;">35.6%</td>
<td style="width: 20.0439%; height: 22px;">32.8%</td>
<td style="width: 13.3685%; height: 22px;">39.7%</td>
<td style="width: 21.112%; height: 22px;">31.0%</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 22px;">
<td style="width: 19.1094%; height: 22px;">Grant Williams</td>
<td style="width: 17.2402%; height: 22px;">44.6%</td>
<td style="width: 20.0439%; height: 22px;">41.7%</td>
<td style="width: 13.3685%; height: 22px;">46.9%</td>
<td style="width: 21.112%; height: 22px;">35.2%</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 22px;">
<td style="width: 19.1094%; height: 22px;">Marcus Smart</td>
<td style="width: 17.2402%; height: 22px;">38.9%</td>
<td style="width: 20.0439%; height: 22px;">35.2%</td>
<td style="width: 13.3685%; height: 22px;">37.1%</td>
<td style="width: 21.112%; height: 22px;">31.7%</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 22px;">
<td style="width: 19.1094%; height: 22px;">Payton Pritchard</td>
<td style="width: 17.2402%; height: 22px;">44.0%</td>
<td style="width: 20.0439%; height: 22px;">42.3%</td>
<td style="width: 13.3685%; height: 22px;">57.1%</td>
<td style="width: 21.112%; height: 22px;">37.6%</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 22px;">
<td style="width: 19.1094%; height: 22px;">Derrick White</td>
<td style="width: 17.2402%; height: 22px;">28.8%</td>
<td style="width: 20.0439%; height: 22px;">30.8%</td>
<td style="width: 13.3685%; height: 22px;">42.3%</td>
<td style="width: 21.112%; height: 22px;">27.4%</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
My takeaways: It's pretty clear that Williams is a certified sharpshooter at this point and capable of killing the Bucks if he keeps receiving these open shots. The same goes for Pritchard, though the Bucks seem to know it already. Meanwhile, Horford appears to make more sense as a perimeter gamble, as do Smart and White.
However, let's not forget the importance of location. Just look the stark differences in efficiency from... well, everyone, when they shot from the corners vs. above the break in the regular season. Milwaukee has done its homework. The Celtics have put up 12.5 corner threes per game in the series, shooting a scorching 56.0%. But it's outweighed by their 33.0 above-the-break attempts per game, which have fallen just 34.8% of the time.
The Bucks recognize that eliminating paint chances means dampening the playmaking chops of Tatum, Brown, Smart, White and Robert Williams III. The Celtics understand that they have to bet on their shooters, which can open up close-out attacks, extra passes and more open shots &mdash; as we saw in Game 2.
It's a game of risk analysis within a game of prioritization within a game of tendencies, and that's what makes the NBA Playoffs so captivating.
THE OUTLIERS (a.k.a. other random interesting numbers I found in the void):
<ul>
<li>Staying in the vein of team-wide shot creation, here's an SIS Hoops graphic detailing which remaining squads are getting what most would categorize as ideal attempts:</li>
</ul>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
The value of rim attempts and threes is widely understood, but not all shots within those buckets are created equal. Here&rsquo;s a look at which remaining playoff teams produce the most &ldquo;high-quality&rdquo; shots at the basket and from beyond the arc: <a href="https://t.co/4735x1mF5T">pic.twitter.com/4735x1mF5T</a>
&mdash; SIS Hoops (@SIS_Hoops) <a href="https://twitter.com/SIS_Hoops/status/1521889891809865728?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 4, 2022</a></blockquote>
<ul>
<li>Go read this thread from Div, who expertly explains why the analytics stereotype has already been left in the dust by today's actual NBA:</li>
</ul>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
Really interesting chart. But I think a better way to frame this might be - MoreyBall already won, and so the easy gains from it are already baked in for every team. /mini-thread <a href="https://t.co/wO3W8Yz8H2">https://t.co/wO3W8Yz8H2</a>
&mdash; Div B (@statcenter) <a href="https://twitter.com/statcenter/status/1521488176644304897?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 3, 2022</a></blockquote>

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

<ul>
<li>Nekias Duncan whipped out a ton of eye-popping stats in his <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/there-are-no-good-answers-for-the-chris-pauldeandre-ayton-duo" target="_blank" rel="noopener">analysis of the Chris Paul-Deandre Ayton pairing</a>, but it's perhaps best captured with this one:&nbsp;</li>
</ul>
<blockquote>
During the regular season, defenses surrendered a shade under 1.22 points per possession (PPP) to them on direct plays. That isn't just the best mark in the NBA among high-volume pairings (min. 300 picks); they're over 5 points per 100 possessions better than second place (Atlanta's Trae Young-Clint Capela, 1.16 PPP). That Paul-Ayton number has gone up during the postseason (1.24 PPP), a remarkable feat considering they've run 48 more&nbsp;picks against drop than any other duo.
</blockquote>
Definitely go read his breakdown.
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The Bucks have been content to let the Celtics shoot threes, but is this strategy too risky to maintain?

NBA Stats Notebook: The Celtics and Bucks' three-point standoff

A perfectly orchestrated out-of-bounds set is a thing of beauty.&nbsp;
Plays ran after timeouts, or ATOs as they're commonly referred to, are by far the most intricately designed sets in any NBA game.
We hear the phrase "read and react" quite frequently, but that's truly the best way to describe the typical flow of NBA offenses. Possessions in the half-court without any sort of stoppage regularly feature some sort of pick-and-roll or handoff action, maybe with 1-to-2 additional tinkerings depending on the team you're watching. But the point is: There is a great deal of freelancing going on out there. These guys are pros for a reason &mdash; they don't need a guy in a suit telling them exactly&nbsp;what to do for every second of the game.
ATOs, however, are quite different. They allow head coaches to step in, sit down with their players for a full minute and 15 seconds, precisely rehearse and recall a scripted action from practice, and, most of all, tactically prey on the weaknesses of an opponent.&nbsp;
And when they're executed well? Sheesh, there's truly nothing better.&nbsp;
<div class="mceNonEditable"><spike>&nbsp;</spike></div>
Now, just for size, imagine watching two back-to-back successful ATOs in the final eight seconds of a playoff game. That'd be crazy, right? Huh?! For all my play-by-play geeks out there?
Alas, that is what happened during Tuesday's Game 5 between the Minnesota Timberwolves and the Memphis Grizzlies.
Let's set the stage a little bit: This contest was not a gorgeous showing of pristine execution. It was a back-and-forth, frenetic affair, with both teams streaking up-and-down the floor like the Gatorade coolers had been spiked with C4 pre-workout. All of that speed didn't necessarily equate to production; collectively, both teams turned the ball over a ghastly 39 total times, and Memphis couldn't hit the broad side of a barn from deep at just 25.0% (7 of 28).
Minnesota controlled the tempo for most of Tuesday's game, building a lead as large as 13 in the second half. The Grizzlies looked dead in the water on their home floor, unable to get much of anything going in the halfcourt. Then, Ja Morant did this, and the mood completely changed...
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
Chasing History -Episode 12 🏆 A jaw-dropping dunk&hellip;.a clutch late 3&hellip;.a game-winning shot. Ja Morant did it all in game 5, leading the Grizzlies to victory over the Timberwolves to take the 3-2 series lead. <a href="https://t.co/pKbwxriEws">pic.twitter.com/pKbwxriEws</a>
&mdash; NBA (@NBA) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBA/status/1519677816828313601?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 28, 2022</a></blockquote>

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

(Seriously, it's tough to get enough of this freakin' dunk. BBN's Mark Schindler even <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/ja-morants-jadropping-dunk" target="_blank" rel="noopener">wrote an entire article on it</a>! I mean, what the actual HECK, Temetrius Jamel Morant.)
That audacious poster lit something inside of Morant, who went on <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/how-the-grizzlies-helped-ja-morant-find-himself-as-a-scorer-in-game-5" target="_blank" rel="noopener">an absolute tear in the final period of the game</a>, eventually boosting his fourth-quarter point total to 16 after a pair of free throws. This put Memphis up by 3 with just eight seconds remaining.
With the first-round series hanging in the balance at 2-2, Minnesota needed a three-pointer more than ever to even things up at 109 apiece. And gosh darn it, Wolves head coach Chris Finch delivered.&nbsp;
Minnesota sets things up with Jordan McLaughlin inbounding, its two strongest offensive players &mdash; Karl-Anthony Towns and Anthony Edwards &mdash;on the strong side of the floor and D'Angelo Russell and Jaden McDaniels on the weak side.
<img src="https://cdn.basketballnews.com/images/story/body/screen-shot-2022-04-27-at-4-24-57-pm_lg.png" alt="" width="699" height="373" />
McLaughlin inbounds the ball to Towns at the left slot to initiate things. All the while, McDaniels streaks toward the left dunker spot and Russell brushes a backscreen for McDaniels. Then, Russell proceeds to "ghost" or fake a secondary back-screen for Edwards cutting up from the low block to the right slot.
Here's a video of that specific action involving that trio of players:
<iframe title="YouTube video player" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/cIxs0UZKxKU" width="100%" height="325" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe>
In the end, it was a simple exchange of positioning; McDaniels had replaced Russell in the right dunker spot, Edwards had taken McDaniels' place as the lifted shooter on the weak side of the floor, and Russell was now in Edwards' spot on the strong side. But most importantly, Brandon Clarke, the largest Grizzly available, was now tasked with manning rim-protection duties as the "low man."
Now, let's zoom out a bit. Minnesota inbounds the ball to its most dangerous offensive player, Towns, who at this point has scored a team-high 28 points on the night. Yet as the inbounder, it's McLaughlin who is technically the most dangerous player on the floor, and so Towns immediately returns the rock to give the zippy backup a running start. As such, McLaughlin gains a step on his defender, Kyle Anderson, and this causes Clarke to hesitate for a second, unsure if he's supposed to protect the rim or track the weak-side shooters.
Because Clarke decides to hold his ground in the paint, Morant then becomes responsible for "zoning up" and guarding the two weak-side offensive players, Edwards and McDaniels. So, Edwards drifts down to the baseline for deep positioning to create a brutally tough angle of recovery, and McDaniels sets a back-screen on Edwards' man (Morant).
This specific screening setup is known as "exit" action, where one offensive player pins the "zoned-up" defender with a screen to generate a corner three for his teammate. (Finch loves&nbsp;his exit-screen plays, I tell ya.)
<img style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" src="https://cdn.basketballnews.com/images/story/body/screen-shot-2022-04-27-at-5-03-55-pm_lg.png" alt="" width="699" height="360" />
McLaughlin flicks a ridiculous bounce pass to the corner like he's skipping rocks across a pond, and Edwards&mdash;quietly shooting ~42% on catch-and-shoot threes in the regular season and postseason&mdash;nails the corner jumper over an excellent closeout from Clarke.
Here's Finch's pi&egrave;ce de r&eacute;sistance in full:
<iframe title="YouTube video player" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Qxrbo9dRmFw" width="100%" height="325" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe>
Tie game at 109.
Which meant it was Taylor Jenkins' time to cook for the Grizzlies' response.
Unlike Minnesota, Memphis set up by overloading one side of the floor with Desmond Bane, Anderson and Morant all sharing the strong side, and Tyus Jones on the weak side.
<img style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" src="https://cdn.basketballnews.com/images/story/body/screen-shot-2022-04-27-at-5-24-36-pm_lg.png" alt="" width="700" height="376" />
Morant sets a cross-screen for Jones to cut across the paint, only to have Ja then come off a pindown screen from Desmond Bane. This specific action is known as "screen the screener," in which a player (Morant here) sets a screen for one teammate (Jones) and then receives a screen from another (Bane). Meanwhile, Anderson cuts across the paint from the left corner to the right slot to drag Minnesota's only rim-protector, Towns, completely out of the play.
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Memphis' screen-the-screener setup, or STS, forces Morant's defender (Edwards) to navigate not one, but two&nbsp;off-ball screens while tracking the hottest player on the floor. Edwards falls slightly behind the lightning-quick Morant, and exasperates things by gambling for the steal. Ant giveth, Ant taketh.
Now, Morant has the advantage with a free lane to the rim and Clarke in the right dunker spot. Jarred Vanderbilt rotates over to the stop the drive, and Towns inexplicably (??) turns his body away from the ball instead of rotating down to Clarke. This effectively leaves Vanderbilt in no man's land, forced to defend perhaps the best downhill dude in the league and&nbsp;a premier lob-threat... and, well, you know the rest.
Let's see the full play.
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Game. Set. Match. The Grizzlies went on to win Game 5 by a final of 111-109, and took an emphatic 3-2 lead in the series all behind Morant's 18 fourth-quarter points.
And sure, the night was dominated by the highlights (again, whew, that dunk), but it's sequences like the final eight seconds that make this NBA game what it is &mdash; great.
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&nbsp;

Matt Brooks gives kudos to both Chris Finch and Taylor Jenkins for their ATOs in the crucial moments of Game 5 in Memphis.

Applauding Chris Finch and Taylor Jenkins' ATO play-calling wizardry

When Rick Carlisle started job hunting last summer, Indiana quickly emerged as a favored destination.
The Pacers had an experienced roster, playoff aspirations and a hungry group eager to fulfill its full potential.
Eight months later, a rash of injuries, COVID-19 absences, and a flurry of trade-deadline moves changed the plan. Expectations were lowered dramatically with a suddenly fresh-faced team hovering near the bottom of the Eastern Conference standings and trying to rebuild on the fly.
It's forcing everyone to embark on a new journey..
&ldquo;You kind of scale down the menu of things you're doing offensively. You get to the core of what's most important and you kind of rebuild based on personnel," Carlisle said. &ldquo;It's been a little bit of a whirlwind for these guys, but it's a great opportunity for them and for us."
This is not uncharted territory for Carlisle, the Dallas Mavericks career wins leader.
Coaches who stick around the league for two decades, like Carlisle, have been down this course multiple times. They've endured the midseason swaps, the changing philosophies, the mixing and matching of rotations as each game becomes a new audition &mdash; and survived..
For Indiana, though, this is a stark departure from standing operating procedure.
Since the early 1990s. Indiana's decision-makers &mdash; Donnie Walsh, Larry Bird and president of basketball operations Kevin Pritchard &mdash; largely kept the cornerstones in place and tinkered around the edges to stay competitive.
But multiple injury-riddled seasons, a franchise-record nine straight playoff losses, no playoff series victories since 2013-14 and the likelihood of a second straight postseason absence convinced Pritchard to pull the plug. Sagging attendance and the possibility of a second straight losing season at home only expedited it.
So Pritchard sent two-time All-Star Domantas Sabonis to Sacramento and starting guard Caris LeVert to Cleveland. Guards Justin Holiday and Jeremy Lamb and forward Torrey Craig also were dealt away.
They&rsquo;ve been replaced in the rotation by 3-point specialist Buddy Hield and two recent first-round draft picks, forward Jalen Smith and an emerging star in 21-year-old point guard Tyrese Haliburton.
&ldquo;I think there's a journey starting here, a journey with some younger players, a journey with some existing players, but I do feel the best I've felt in a long time about the direction of this team," Pritchard said after also adding two potential top-40 draft picks. &ldquo;We have the point guard of our future and if you've been in this business for a long time, you know getting a point guard who is young with upside who you feel like you can build around for the next 10 years, those don't come around very often. We feel like Tyrese is that guy.""
Trying to piece it together over this final 22-game run won't be easy. It begins Friday against Oklahoma City.
Pacers fans got a brief preview of coming attractions before the All-Star break, but with eight days between games, Carlisle, his staff and players have had time to map out a new strategy.
How exactly the Pacers intend to play it remains uncertain.
Carlisle remains hopeful that veterans Malcolm Brogdon and two-time blocks champion Myles Turner will return from injuries soon. Brogdon has missed 27 of the past 30 games with a sore right Achilles tendon and made his last appearance Jan. 19, though he told reporters he expects to play Friday. Turner, meanwhile, has been out since Jan. 14 because of a stress reaction in his left foot.
While Smith and Hield have been solid since arriving two weeks ago, Haliburton has become the feature attraction. Despite practicing sparsely with his new teammates, he averaged 20.8 points and 11.0 assists in his first four games &mdash; before leaving the All-Star weekend festivities so he could retrieve his clothes from Sacramento. It didn't deter his focal point.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve gotten more unsolicited messages about this kid as an amazing person, an amazing player, how joyful he is &mdash; it&rsquo;s been a little bit overwhelming,&rdquo; Carlisle said. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s a pass-first guy that&rsquo;s always looking to involve all of his teammates and yet he finds a way to get the ball in the basket. He&rsquo;s a special young player.&rdquo;
Brogdon and Turner will have to adapt, too. They&rsquo;ll need to work their way into game shape, learn the nuances of their new teammates, and get reacquainted with an offense designed to run through Haliburton.
It won't be easy and it might not be pretty as Carlisle pieces the Pacers back together with an eye toward making a playoff run in 2022-23. But it will give the Pacers two months to recast their future plans &mdash; and find a new landing spot with a revamped roster.
&ldquo;The whole week&rsquo;s been crazy, but what can you do?&rdquo; Haliburton said before leaving town. &ldquo;You&rsquo;ve just got to go out there and hoop.&rdquo;

The Pacers will have two months to recast their future plans — and find a new landing spot with a revamped roster.

Pacers' revised roster faces different challenge after break

Physical length and height seem to be what NBA draft darlings are made of these days. Coming into the league as a part of the 2020 class, Desmond Bane didn&rsquo;t have either. At 6-foot-6 and 215 pounds, the former TCU standout was more chiseled and built than lanky and wide.
Heck, that still rings true today... but here&rsquo;s the catch: It hasn&rsquo;t mattered one damn bit, and those old concerns are being put to bed with each lights-out performance and accompanying Memphis Grizzlies win.
&ldquo;It was obviously a question mark coming in. But you can't measure somebody's heart,&rdquo; Bane told BasketballNews.com over the phone. &ldquo;You can measure wingspan, you can measure hand-width, vertical, all that stuff. But you can't measure how bad somebody wants to accomplish something. So for all the people out there that said I wouldn't make it because of whatever reason, that's just [adding] more fuel to the fire.
Taken with the No. 30 overall pick and traded away by the Boston Celtics in the 2020 NBA Draft, Bane recently <a href="https://theathletic.com/3049343/2022/01/06/were-talking-about-wingspan-desmond-bane-was-overlooked-now-he-and-ja-morant-are-leading-a-memphis-revival/?source=nbatw" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told the Athletic that he will not forget those that passed on him</a>. Following up on that, Basketball News asked him when he began counting.
&ldquo;Realistically, I didn't think that I'd be a top-10 pick,&rdquo; Bane said. &ldquo;We had a little bit of interest with Phoenix at 10; they had 10 or were going to trade back from 10 or whatever. But we had a little bit of interest there. So really once we started getting to 10 and a little bit beyond is when I started really taking notice."
Well, fast forward to now, and Bane isn&rsquo;t just on the verge of a breakout; he&rsquo;s already broken out. In one year&rsquo;s time, the bulky swingman has gone from a rookie figuring things out to an everyday starter, nearly doubling both his shot attempts (14.3) and scoring (17.7) averages. Somehow, someway, he&rsquo;s maintained an almost-identical 46.8% field-goal percentage despite a significantly increased usage rate (23.0).
"I learned a lot [from my first season]. I learned just how to be a pro first and foremost,&rdquo; Bane said. &ldquo;The schedule last year was grueling due to all the games being canceled and so forth, so I had to learn how to just continue my habits more than anything. Stack good habits on top of each other and let the good days stack up, and learn how to be a pro essentially.
&ldquo;I mean, last year I knew that I'd have a chance to play in the league for a while. I knew that I had a role that I could play in the NBA. But you know, after this year and how we've won and how I've played, I have different goals and a new mindset on how I can really impact not only our team, but the league."
Competing in his first game in nine days following a stint on the COVID health and safety protocol list on Wednesday, Bane scored 11 first-quarter points on 7 attempts and finished with 20 points total in a Grizzlies victory in San Antonio. However, despite that production, he noticed that his opponents were defending him a little differently than usual &mdash; a sign that he&rsquo;s gaining respect as a real nightly threat.
&ldquo;The Spurs were running a box-and-one on me. That's a testament to my hard work and how far I've come as a player,&rdquo; Bane said. &ldquo;Last year, I was a guy who was probably on the bottom of the scouting report, and [Wednesday night] teams are game-planning to take me out of the mix. So it's a good feeling, but also, new challenges ahead."
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The city of Memphis is fully embracing GRZ NXT GEN, and for good reason. The Grizzlies have built on their coming-out party a season ago with a 34-17 record, standing tall and in pursuit of the Golden State Warriors and Phoenix Suns for top playoff positioning. Recognizing that he&rsquo;s contributing to that success on both ends, along with developing as an individual in the process, is &ldquo;hard to put into words&rdquo; for Bane.
&ldquo;I'm a kid from a small town in Richmond, Indiana with 30,000 people, and now I'm playing on one of the best teams in the Western Conference, and playing a big part in that. So it's definitely something to be proud of,&rdquo; Bane said.
"I think [why it clicks] has to do with our culture, with our locker room. We don't have any egos. I mean, I think it starts at the top with Ja Morant, Jaren [Jackson Jr.], Dillon Brooks, myself &mdash; we're all on one agenda, and that's winning basketball games. Nothing really gets in the way of that mentality and that mindset. It's always about winning."
That includes when Grizzlies superstar Ja Morant went down with a significant knee sprain in late November. While many on the outside were expecting Memphis to drop down without the face of its franchise, the team responded by going 10-2 in his absence.
&ldquo;It was on all of us. Obviously my role changed a bit with Ja going down, but it was on all of us,&rdquo; Bane said. &ldquo;That's what stays true with us. That's the reason why we're in the position that we're in is because it's been a next-man-up mentality all year long.&nbsp;
&ldquo;We've had guys who were on two-way contracts previous to the year beginning step up and even play big minutes and earn themselves a full contract. So it's been great to see. But honestly, it hasn't been too big of a surprise given the culture and the guys that we have here in this program."
At first glance, the first thing you notice about Bane is his willingness to let the three-ball fly. Dating back to his high school days and his run in college with the Horned Frogs, he&rsquo;s always tickled the twine from downtown as a high-volume sniper (career 43.3% perimeter clip over four years at TCU).
Nothing has changed on the big stage, as Bane is drilling 41.9% of his 6.8 triple tries per contest. He can spot up on either elbow (&ldquo;definitely one of my favorite spots&rdquo;) or pull up with a quick side-step when he&rsquo;s in rhythm &mdash; in transition or in halfcourt. As to why he&rsquo;s been able to nail down his jumper so consistently, it just comes down to reps in his eyes.
&ldquo;I just put the time in. There&rsquo;s no other way to explain it,&rdquo; Bane said bluntly.
Don&rsquo;t dare put Bane into a specialist category though. He&rsquo;s been able to put more tricks of his trade on display this year, as he&rsquo;s found a balance between firing away from distance and putting it on the deck. He points to the experience he had at NBA Summer League, where he was featured more on the ball, and that carried into training camp and on.
And off the ball, he&rsquo;s as cunning as he is dangerous, often using his Mountain Man teammate Steven Adams as a catalyst for easy looks. Bane tends to sit back ever-so-patiently... until he burns his assignment on a curl for a quick mid-ranger or finds a hole in the defense to zoom-in from the perimeter to create a point-blank look, to which Adams will feed him.
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Steven Adams- great pass Desmond Bane- great finish Memphis Grizzlies- great team <a href="https://t.co/5DAzDwq5D0">pic.twitter.com/5DAzDwq5D0</a>
&mdash; GRIZZ TIME&trade; (@WillisMemphis) <a href="https://twitter.com/WillisMemphis/status/1483184190518669313?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 17, 2022</a></blockquote>

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According to NBA.com, <a href="https://go.nba.com/24ypw" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Adams has the most assists to Bane</a> on the team with 58 helpers, and the second-year wing has made 58.1% of his shots off his passes.
&ldquo;We've got a great relationship,&rdquo; Bane said of Adams. &ldquo;He seems like he's always finding me &mdash; whether it's backdoor cuts or handoffs or whatever the case may be. Steve-O's a great teammate to play with... You obviously gotta use your mind and use your smarts to your ability. I watch a lot of film and study a lot of different players and just try to pick up on some of their tendencies that work [against] them."
There&rsquo;s also that Morant guy, who is right behind the Grizzlies big man with 52 assists to Bane. Those connections tend to be more of the draw-defenders-in-and-kick variety, which has worked like a gem almost instantly.&nbsp;
&ldquo;We've got a lot of chemistry,&rdquo; said Bane, who&rsquo;s also racked up a team-high 24 dimes to Morant in return. &ldquo;Last year, we just didn't really have those minutes on the floor together as much. We had Grayson [Allen], who was playing the majority of those minutes with Ja. But I feel like Ja and I's chemistry and relationship has evolved."
Morant&rsquo;s campaign to his first All-Star starter selection is well-deserved. He is the unequivocal head of the snake in Memphis, dancing, and spinning his way into crunch-time buckets like it&rsquo;s nothing. There is no taking away the magician-like capabilities of &ldquo;12&rdquo; when the chips are down, or when closing time arrives.&nbsp;
Believe it or not, however, it is Bane who leads the Grizzlies in clutch shooting by the league&rsquo;s standard metric (ahead or behind by 5 points with 5 minutes or less left in the game).
Albeit on less volume, the big-time shots from Bane fall 53.6% of the time. Going by those who have played at least 50 minutes and attempted at least 20 field goals total (min. 20 games), Bane <a href="https://go.nba.com/fufso" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ranks fourth in clutch-time percentage</a> behind Patty Mills, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and, unsurprisingly, Chris Paul.
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A career night for Desmond Bane! He came up clutch against the <a href="https://twitter.com/jazz?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@jazz</a> tonight to help the <a href="https://twitter.com/memgrizz?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@memgrizz</a> pick up a great win ‼️ 28 Points (Career High) 4 Rebounds 4 Assists 4 3PTS 2 Steals 60% FG<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/GrzNxtGen?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#GrzNxtGen</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NBA?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NBA</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NBATwitter?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NBATwitter</a> <a href="https://t.co/KGObN1zTsc">pic.twitter.com/KGObN1zTsc</a>
&mdash; Vendetta Basketball (@VendettaHoops) <a href="https://twitter.com/VendettaHoops/status/1463043727694385159?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 23, 2021</a></blockquote>

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Self-described as &ldquo;hungry,&rdquo; delivering when the team needs it most has become second nature.
&ldquo;It's just basketball,&rdquo; Bane said. &ldquo;I've played in so many games throughout my career, been in so many different situations. I think I would credit my four years in college and just all the basketball experience that I had coming into the NBA is what kinda made me ready for these moments."
Bane should be adding another moment to his list in a few weeks at All-Star Weekend. He&rsquo;s <a href="https://sports.yahoo.com/desmond-bane-believes-hes-most-improved-player-candidate-plans-to-win-3-point-contest-if-invited-190708203.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">already expressed his desire to be in the Three-Point Contest</a> (and to win Most Improved Player), but participating in the Rising Stars game would &ldquo;mean the world to me and my city.&rdquo; His ambitions don&rsquo;t just end there.
"I'm not a guy that really has like concrete goals. But I mean obviously, I'm a team-first guy and I want to be a champion before anything&hellip; Maybe becoming an All-Star at some point in my career &mdash; those are all things that I think are possible,&rdquo; Bane said.
If (or when) Bane ends up in Cleveland on the weekend of Feb. 18, he&rsquo;ll have the chance to link up with his former TCU teammate R.J. Nembhard, who is currently on a two-way contract with the Cavaliers trying to carve his own path.&nbsp;
Both Bane and Nembhard were teammates of Kenrich Williams, and the former recently tweeted about him: Without this dude, ain&rsquo;t no way I&rsquo;m in the league.&nbsp;
"Just seeing somebody accomplish what I wanted to accomplish,&rdquo; Bane said of what Williams means to him. &ldquo;When you think about the NBA, you think about as being something that is almost unattainable just because so few people get to do it and get to attain that goal. Him doing it at a high level now, seeing that [he's] kinda making a name for himself, making a career for himself is huge for me and my confidence."
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Perhaps it&rsquo;s the fact that all three of these guys played four years of college ball in Fort Worth. Williams was the first of the trio to get to the NBA despite being undrafted, and now, teams are coveting him at the trade deadline. Nembhard is the most recent to make it to the next level, but he too was not selected in the draft and has had to earn his keep on a two-way contract.
Bane is the lone member of that group to have made it as a draft pick. For whatever reason, upperclassmen tend to take a backseat to blue-chip prospects with potential and one-and-dones when it comes to the current landscape.&nbsp;
He thinks that his immediate impact on a winning team should help those more experienced at the collegiate level with NBA aspirations earn some more love with organizations when it comes to the draft process.
&ldquo;Everybody's situation is a little bit different, but I don't see why not. It all depends on where the organization's going. Everybody has a different timeline. Some people want younger guys to develop them, and some people want guys who are more ready that they can kind of plug-and-play. I wouldn't necessarily say there's a bias, but it's all about preference.&nbsp;
&ldquo;Usually guys are looking to hit home runs in the draft rather than singles or doubles."
Looking at what Bane has done on a consistent basis as quickly as he has, it&rsquo;s time front offices start going for those base hits in addition to knocking one out of the park.
Zach Kleiman and the Grizzlies have found that happy medium, and judging by this trajectory, Bane is about to cross home plate anyways.
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Spencer Davies chats with Grizzlies swingman Desmond Bane about his breakout second year and what his next goals are.

Desmond Bane cementing himself as essential part of next-gen Grizzlies

I have a terrible habit of going to the grocery store without a list, something my mom's scowled at me for since I was in high school. I'd pick out all the coolest brands I could find, parse through the best produce, and by the time my mom was rummaging through the family's food for the rest of the week, I'd be getting an earful about how I spent $143 without actually being to construct a meal for four. Planning has never really been my thing.
"You bought rice, oyster sauce, and chicken, but no veggies or eggs to actually make stir fry!"
And that sentence my friends, sums up where I'm at with the Brooklyn Nets at the moment. Few contenders have flummoxed me more than Brooklyn this season, as I routinely feel a push-pull among the Nets' line-ups and roster construction that <a href="https://theanalyst.com/na/2021/10/will-a-deeper-frontcourt-lift-the-brooklyn-nets-to-the-top-in-2021-22/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">I've found intriguing since free agency ended</a>.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
The Nets have shuffled their guys minutes a lot this year, with injuries and illness often forcing changes. Lately, rookies Kessler Edwards and Day'ron Sharpe have been getting an opportunity. <a href="https://t.co/xlwWKGSCwI">pic.twitter.com/xlwWKGSCwI</a>
&mdash; Tom Bassine (@tvbassine) <a href="https://twitter.com/tvbassine/status/1484939670802735112?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 22, 2022</a></blockquote>

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Inconsistency is the new consistency for the 21-22 Nets, as Tom Bassine shows.
(He makes tremendous data visualizations and is a great dude, <a href="https://twitter.com/tvbassine" target="_blank" rel="noopener">strongly recommend following him</a> if you don't already.)
The Nets are <a href="https://twitter.com/JoeVirayNBA/status/1484586445486850049" target="_blank" rel="noopener">tied for first</a> with the Lakers in total number of different starting lineups used this season (22), and while they have certainly been impacted heavily by injury and COVID absences, so have the majority of the teams in the league.
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NBA injury plot. Games missed by injured players versus team wins. Bubble size represents cumulative quality of players lost (Lost-ws metric) <a href="https://t.co/suz6bCvQy8">https://t.co/suz6bCvQy8</a> <a href="https://t.co/BznwVXNt84">pic.twitter.com/BznwVXNt84</a>
&mdash; Man Games Lost NBA (@ManGamesLostNBA) <a href="https://twitter.com/ManGamesLostNBA/status/1483204710131814403?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 17, 2022</a></blockquote>

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The struggles to blend the roster existed prior to Joe Harris' injury, which only complicated matters a bit further. With Kevin Durant now out for roughly the next month, things get a bit murkier.
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Brooklyn started the year winning with staunch defense, as they sought to work out the kinks of the offense and James Harden's post-injury rust. While shot-luck and variance was notably in Brooklyn's favor early in the year, their seventh ranked defense up until Christmas wasn't a mirage. Outside of the top two and sometimes three stars that Brooklyn hinges upon, the roster is built largely with a defensive-slant. However, with Kyrie Irving's return, and continued efforts to help James Harden find his rhythm, Brooklyn has leaned more heavily into some of their offensive role players and shifted rotations.
The Nets are second in offense since Dec. 26, but also have plummeted to 27th in defense over that same stretch per Cleaning the Glass.
So much of this revolves around their frontcourt. I wasn't fully sure what to make of the team prioritizing the 4 and 5 spot as much as they did, and in the way that they did this offseason, but I was intrigued nonetheless. They built out a big rotation full of utility, but the versatility seemed questionable and we've seen how that has played out.
<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nets-paul-millsap-agree-to-find-new-home-for-fourtime-allstar-" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Paul Millsap</a> never really got the run I was hoping for, but he also just didn't quite play well enough to warrant a bigger role. But, that's part of the issue. So many of the Nets' frontcourt players can play positive NBA minutes, but finding ways to play them together and get them all going &mdash; while maintaining a modicum of stability in lineups &mdash; has been an adventure.
Let's just run through some things that have been weighing heavily on my mind thinking about this team.
Blake Griffin not being last year's Blake Griffin really hindered this team early, and took away one of their few guys they could rely on as a short-roll playmaker, shooter, screener, and dribble hand-off operator. He's been better in the new year, but he's hitting 26% of his threes since entering the rotation again in early December, and defenses are playing him accordingly. He was absolutely scorching against Milwaukee in the playoffs &mdash; and they were still pretty comfortable sagging off or late contesting him. Without defenses giving him solid close-outs that he can attack, it's a lot harder for him to get the most out of his skill set at this stage, so TBD on Blake as part of the rotation.
Bembry and Brown
Starting the season without Kyrie and subsequently losing Joe Harris has been extremely destructive for Bruce Brown's role this season. His floater hasn't hit in quite the same way either, partially due to the spacing of the team. I'm not inside Steve Nash's head, but he has seemed overall a bit reluctant to rely on Brown as a release valve, do everything quasi-big &mdash; again influenced by the spacing issues already present. But really it's a confluence of events that have been both vexing and frustrating from a viewing perspective.
"Play Bruce Brown, he's good!"
"We don't have the spacing required to play him!"
"But, what about his defense and finding a way to get him going again?"
"We need to get three bigs on the roster going too!"
Outside of Harris, Irving, Durant and Mills, there is one player on the roster shooting above league average from three on one or more attempts per game (Kessler Edwards). Harden is shooting below average from three, but is still defended like he's shooting 45% from deep. Irving only plays in half the games, Harris is out as previously mentioned; the team routinely has two non-shooters on the court.&nbsp; More importantly, their players who aren't shooting well are guarded like it, which matters more than the percentages to a degree.
Last season, Bruce Brown was playing in lineups with Irving, Harden, Harris and one of Jeff Green or Blake Griffin (41% and 38% three-point shooters on volume). It was a much more inhabitable environment for a fringey, margins-based offensive player &mdash; and that environment just doesn't exist right now.
Add in Bembry who has had some really quality stretches, but largely brings the exact same things as Brown: ball-handling, some playmaking chops, perimeter defense and opportunistic scoring.&nbsp;
It's not as simple as saying "pick one," but to an extent, it feels like Brooklyn needs to prioritize which player they most believe in, in the rotation moving forward. The offense has opened up a bit more, and it's just so difficult to actually make the duo work together when there's really only room for one of them.
Rolling, Screening, and Lobs Oh My
One of the trends I've absolutely loved to follow over the past few weeks has been the budding chemistry between James Harden and rookie Day'Ron Sharpe. Sharpe is already the best and most dynamic screener on the team, in regards to his ability to screen open teammates, run DHO's and flow into the lane after setting solid screens.
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Despite it looking better and more consistent lately, James Harden's burst has just not routinely been what it was. Setting screens that actually generate separation and give him a runway are huge in the success of his pick-and-roll possessions. Sharpe is capable of that, making decisions on the roll with the ball, and is solid around the rim. However, he doesn't quite give Harden a lob threat (he can catch lobs, but he needs to load up first), which makes it easier for opposing bigs to get into his grill and play up on him in coverages.&nbsp;
It's a small gripe, but it's noticeable and makes me question a bit what his playoff utility might look like &mdash; if there is any this season for him. I've quite liked his defense and activity as well, just a really fun player, but again, his emergence makes things murky for Brooklyn again!
Nic Claxton had a really rough stretch to start the year, missing the entirety of November. Now he's out again with a hamstring injury. But he may be the most important big on the roster. His ability to not just switch on defense, but switch with purpose at a high level, unlocks what proved to be one of Brooklyn's most important looks in the postseason.
His offense has largely been lobs and putbacks, but he started to really put together intriguing stuff as a decision-maker in December and early January, looking the part of a starting center for Brooklyn. Claxton had 14 assists in 9 games from Christmas Day to Jan. 10 when he was injured, a small number and sample size. However, 14 assists is 22% of his career totals and tracked with what was visible on the court &mdash; much improved decision-making and some capability to dish the ball on the roll.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Another clip in the bag of short roll Nic <a href="https://t.co/Dc8VgD8vUr">pic.twitter.com/Dc8VgD8vUr</a>
&mdash; Mark Schindler (@MSchindlerNBA) <a href="https://twitter.com/MSchindlerNBA/status/1475119575704522765?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 26, 2021</a></blockquote>

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This is a minor showing in a major area, one that's vital for Claxton unlocking himself as a roller, and in helping to smooth out the offense when he's out there. Whether or not he can continue to execute in that area once he returns is huge for his ability to solidify his rotation spot, and paper over some of the roster inflexibility.
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Moving Forward
So where does that leave the Nets?&nbsp;
Durant, Harden and (sometimes) Irving are of course locks in the rotation. Patty Mills has cemented himself as has LaMarcus Aldridge, although his utility in the playoffs is probably going to be match-up dependent to a degree. Joe Harris is a lock when he returns from injury and Claxton likely is as well.
Kessler Edwards has already solidified his spot in my mind, as he's capable of linking together lineups in a way that very few players on the roster are capable of right now. He moves the ball, will take his threes (and make them at a high level), and plays very good defense with size at the 3 and 4 spots.&nbsp;
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Oh, hello Kessler Edwards! <a href="https://t.co/dDbCp3spAY">pic.twitter.com/dDbCp3spAY</a>
&mdash; Mark Schindler (@MSchindlerNBA) <a href="https://twitter.com/MSchindlerNBA/status/1481626183641047046?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 13, 2022</a></blockquote>

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His flashes have been extremely encouraging, and I'm not really sure how his blend of skill and size don't keep him from playing 20+ minutes per game the rest of the regular season. While I'm unsure how to feel about a rookie being a 7th or 8th man on a contender in the postseason, he's playing well enough at the moment to really make you go hmmmm.
Outside of that, I'm just not really sure what to make of this team's rotation, and I'm not sure Steve Nash does either considering how much tinkering he's been doing throughout the season.
(Not at all to discredit him, I think he's done a very good job this year; this is such a hard roster to figure out.)
Cam Thomas really looks to be a year or two away barring some substantial growth as he gets comfortable operating off the ball. James Johnson does wily veteran things and is a capable defensive option when switching everything, but he has similar offensive drawbacks to Brown and Bembry. I have loved the David Duke Jr. experience, but he's not there yet consistently as a contributor on offense. Outside of a stretch in November, Jevon Carter's jumper has just died and I have no idea what happened there.
 I'm just not really certain where the Nets go to figure out who they are as a playoff team. We know they can slant towards defense as Kevin Durant and James Harden shoulder the load at home. We know they can run opposing teams off the court with shot-making when Irving plays away games. How do they figure out a way to blend the two &mdash; and can they, given the personnel on the roster?
The best version of the Nets last year found themselves in the playoffs. It's fair to reason that the Big 3 will be more locked in and active defensively come playoff time yet again (James Harden, please move your feet, or contest, or something), but they need to find their backbone before then.
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The Brooklyn Nets are a contender, but their rotations are anything but cemented as they search for stabilization on an imperfect roster.

What exactly DO the Brooklyn Nets have?

Go ahead, pick out the meme if you want.
Matter of fact, I'll do it for you. Please hold.&nbsp;
[elevator music]
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We've got our funnies out of the way, I hope. Let's dig into the heart of this.
After a Jazz practice, Utah center Rudy Gobert was asked about some things. His health and pending return was at the top of the list.&nbsp;
Gobert was also asked about the state of the Jazz as title contenders. He <a href="https://twitter.com/tribjazz/status/1482075141374758915?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noopener">was pretty honest</a>, though still hopeful that the Jazz could turn things around. The major hold-up in his eyes: a lack of "winning habits" being established, particularly on the defensive end.
His stance, per Eric Walden of <a href="https://www.sltrib.com/sports/jazz/2022/01/14/rudys-return-utah-jazz/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Salt Lake Tribune</a>:
<blockquote>
"When I watch some of these other teams, like the Suns or the Warriors, those guys are a step ahead of us in terms of winning habits. They take every game personally,&rdquo; Gobert said. &ldquo;Devin Booker is playing his a-- off defensively. I&rsquo;ve been watching him compared to two years ago. Guys like that, they buy in, and you can tell they take pride in playing defense and stopping their man, doing whatever they can defensively to stop the other team and be part of a winning culture. I just think we&rsquo;re not there yet, but I think we&rsquo;re gonna get there."
</blockquote>
First part of that seems pretty nondescript, right? The Suns and Warriors &mdash; two teams ahead in the standings, and two teams that have represented the Western Conference in six of the last seven Finals &mdash; seem to have a handle of the little things than the Jazz do.
Then it gets fun.
&nbsp;
That Devin Booker mention? The subsequent "you can tell they take pride in playing defense" line? I find it hard to believe that wasn't intentional phrasing from Gobert. At bare minimum, it reads as a shot at Donovan Mitchell, Gobert's teammate and Booker's peer among the premier shooting guard group. And if it is, it's well deserved.
Mitchell, as dynamic as he is offensively (psst,<a href="https://www.one37pm.com/strength/sports/donovan-mitchell-jazz-ceiling"> read this</a>), leaves quite a bit to be desired defensively. He remains poor as a screen navigator, either taking I-simply-cannot-recover wide angles or being wiped out by picks entirely. Dialed-in Mitchell is fine &mdash; he's finding comfort with a spin move when ducking under picks, for example &mdash; but we don't consistently see that on a per-possession basis. Combine that with struggles to stay attached to ball-handlers, and you get film that looks like this.
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But this gripe of Gobert's goes beyond Mitchell. 
At this point, Mike Conley and Royce O'Neale (bless his heart) might be the only defenders on the roster that Gobert can trust to stay solid on-ball, give multiple efforts, and communicate a switch in a timely manner. That simply isn't good enough if the Jazz want to reach their ceiling.&nbsp;
The last five games without Gobert have highlighted his value. The Jazz have the second worst defense (120.3 defensive rating) in the league during this stretch. Opponents are generating nearly 1.14 points per possession on trips featuring a ball screen, the worst mark in the NBA by a decent margin per Second Spectrum.
All drop-defenders aren't created equal &mdash; Hassan Whiteside is no Gobert. But Gobert's absence further exposed just how much he was cleaning up, and how poorly the Jazz are doing the little things. It's been especially clear when they've had to go small, with Whiteside on the bench or with him simply not being available (take a look at the Cleveland game).
Without Gobert (and Whiteside), the Jazz have leaned further into switching. The gambit makes sense &mdash; flatten out the offense, keep the action in front, stay solid &mdash; but good lord have they done a poor job of it. To put a number on it: opponents are scoring over 1.19 points per possession on trips featuring a Jazz switch, per Second Spectrum.
There's only so much the Jazz can do from a personnel perspective. But they aren't even giving themselves a chance on most possessions.
If you're going to switch, there has to be some semblance of physicality. Against deadly pull-up shooters, you have to push up when switching so they don't have a gap to waltz into. Against dynamic rollers or post threats, it helps to get under them and cut off their roll &mdash; or you can go the other way entirely, getting on top early and fronting to take away an easy entry pass.
Lo and behold, the Jazz are doing [checks notes] neither of those things. Let's look at one glaring example from that Cavs game, shall we?
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Brandon Goodwin isn't a high level pull-up shooter, but this is a pretty clear demonstration of the lack of detail the Jazz are switching with. Mitchell and Bojan Bogdanovic switch this screen between Goodwin and Kevin Love. Mitchell isn't a good match-up against Love, of course, but look at the angle Love is able to take as he sets the screen.
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Mitchell doesn't get under him at all; Love has the inside track the entire way through. This is why, despite switching out to Goodwin, Bogdanovic sinks back to Love. He wants to cut off the flashing-red-sign passing window that Love has. But because of that, Goodwin is essentially given a practice jumper. You simply can't give an NBA guard that kind of space.
So, talk about Gobert The Personality all you want. Criticize the lack of offensive impact he's had against smaller units if that tickles your fancy. But he's 100% on the money about the Jazz defensively.
Their recent outings in the postseason have had more to do with their defense than their offense. And as convenient as it's been to put those shortcomings on Gobert, he's far from the primary cause.

Nekias Duncan digs into Rudy Gobert's recent comments about Utah's "winning habits."

Rudy Gobert has a point about Utah's defense

Off to one of their hottest starts in school history, including their <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/boiler-up-purdue-is-no-1-in-ap-top-25-for-the-first-time" target="_blank" rel="noopener">first No. 1 ranking</a> in the AP Top 25, the Purdue Boilermakers have been scintillating up to the halfway point of the NCAA season. Jaden Ivey's ascendance as a <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/draft/2022-big-board/players/jaden-ivey" target="_blank" rel="noopener">premier draft prospect</a> has headlined much of Purdue's success, and Zach Edey's dominant play has also turned heads routinely.
Purdue has the top-rated offense in the country &mdash; and one of the most dynamic in recent memory &mdash; in no small part due to the star duo. However, the play of senior big man Trevion Williams is seemingly lost in the sauce at times when discussing the Boilermakers.&nbsp;
Oft serving as a second-unit creator and change-of-pace option for the offense, Williams elevates the team from good to great with his versatility and impact. Three assists per game undersells the playmaking ability of Williams, who I would consider not just the best passer on his own team, but among the upper echelon of passers in Division I basketball.
(This is one of the most insane passes I've seen at any level of basketball this past year)
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The velocity that Williams is able to put on the ball is remarkable. Precise passing with a purpose matters! Trevion is excellent with delivery, often utilizing one-handed whip passes as he palms the ball, both shielding himself from having the ball knocked loose, and also keeping himself free to escape dribble (more on that later).
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One of the main knocks/drawbacks that's brought up with Trevion is where his playmaking comes from, primarily out of the post. While I do understand that concern to a degree, there's a tendency to really miss the forest through the trees when looking at where the playmaking is coming from and misdiagnosing its purpose. Yes, Trevion Williams operates out of the post quite often, but rarely is it for the purpose of pounding the ball and clogging the lane. It's quite the opposite!
Look at how he's able to manipulate the defense with ball fakes and his eyes. Again, he's not just a good passer, he's an extraordinary passer. A lot of good passers are ones who react to what the defense gives them; great passers can manufacture their own looks.
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Williams utilizes his frame and gravity as a scorer on the block to draw double teams with regularity and force the defense into rotation. Coupled with his incredibly quick decision-making and expert ball delivery, the defense is in motion at Williams' will. Five-out spacing is fantastic with the right personnel, but running 4-out, 1-in sets can generate equal and at times better spacing. Spacing and gravity is earned by the offense, not inherently given. How your offense is defended is dictated in a consistent game of tug of war between both sides, with the defense ever-determining and gauging what can be allowed or used as to better extrapolate positive results. Spacing a center who is a shaky shooter will not be rewarded!
Calling Trevion a shaky shooter would be incorrect; he is a non-shooter at this stage, having taken 22 threes in his career and only seven jumpers outside the paint this season according to InStat. He is a relatively poor, but not awful free-throw shooter as well (59% this season) &mdash; something he'll undoubtedly need to work on in the league. (He has improved each of the past three years.)
So while Trevion can't really shoot and doesn't shoot, I don't think that matters in the way that it may be painted. As noted above, quickness in his decision-making is huge, as he is an elite processor of the game. He sees things unfold quickly, constantly scans the floors and maneuvers himself incredibly well in space to shift the defense or find better angles.
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Williams has <a href="https://twitter.com/MSchindlerNBA/status/1472377510478368772" target="_blank" rel="noopener">an elite handle for his size</a> that allows him to toy with the margins, bending the defense almost because they allow him to, if that makes sense. By inherently acting like he doesn't have gravity, and having the ability to manipulate that, he does have gravity. In each of the sets in the clip above, you can see Trevion afforded space; a quick dribble into it, the defense adjusts, and Williams has a new set of angles along with great motion from his teammates to set up quality offense.&nbsp;
If the cuts aren't there or don't open up angles, Trevion has really superb finishing craft. Despite poor shooting touch at the line and from deep, he has a wide array of push shots and floaters that he utilizes to punish defenses with the space afforded to him inside the arc (he's shooting 50.9% on floaters and hook shots this season per InStat).&nbsp;
It's fair to question how he may fair at the rim against NBA length and opposition, as he's not a great leaper. He has struggled a bit with sizable/lengthy frontcourts when around the rim, but his physicality and ability to draw fouls (currently a higher free-throw rate than Jaden Ivey) have me fairly confident that he'll be able to buoy struggles that he may face on the interior along with his touch in the paint.
Defensively, Williams has impressed from a prospect evaluation standpoint. He's not a traditional primary rim protecting 5-man, but he has remarkably quick feet and slides well laterally for his size.
Williams is very effective showing at the level and recovering or playing centerfield. He has really active hands and can blow up plays routinely before the ball-handler penetrates the paint. He's restricted as a leaper off his backfoot, but can makes good plays with his length at and around the rim when crowding shooters or drivers and is a solid weakside shot-blocker. Williams has versatility as a defender in spite of limitations.
Our Sr. NBA Draft Analyst Matt Babcock shared how Williams' weight loss has helped him move more fluidly:
"When I first saw Trevion Williams play at a USA Basketball Minicamp after his freshman season, he was 280 pounds and primarily a low-post scorer. As a result, I questioned whether his game would translate well to the modern NBA. Since then, he has lost 25 pounds, making him significantly more mobile, a crucial part of his development."
The recent spark in coverage versatility at the NBA level this year makes me extremely excited about the prospects of Trevion at the next level. Less of an adherence to former pro norms has opened the door for more inventive forms of production.
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While they are not one in the same, I view last year's version of <a href="https://premiumhoops.org/2021/02/03/thad-youngs-anti-gravity-role-fluidity/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Thaddeus Young</a> as a very clear comparison for Williams and his NBA potential. He likely doesn't have the ceiling of an upside star swing, but again: see the forest through the trees! An organization would have to be willing to adapt its bench lineups to playing around Trevion, but why is that a bad thing? Bench lineups in the NBA, especially when top-usage players sit, can lack structure and creation. I really think there's viability moving forward in buying into bench players (not to box them in, they can certainly be more, but to begin with; bench), especially ones with high feel and utility as playmakers.
The Boilermakers rarely run pick-and-roll, one of my few drawbacks with their team in regards to evaluating their prospects; however, that's part of the intrigue! We really haven't seen what Trevion could do as a short-roll passer. He excels as a dribble handoff partner and is a dynamic screener with excellent hip fluidity that allows him to flip screens and rescreen to really open up teammates he screens for, another sly marginal aspect of creation. Considering how much teams run pick-and-roll in the league, Trevion has definite impact there, and his court vision, scoring prowess on the interior and decision-making all lend credence to ability to create off the roll.
While teams looking to develop a youthful roster may find it more fundamental to tinker with bench lineups and find ways to develop on the fringe, Williams could perhaps offer another way to develop on the fringe for teams that aren't lottery-bound. He certainly is not the norm among draft prospects, but that's kind of the point. He exceeds in many areas to an extent that matters enough to adapt philosophy, or even rethink it.
Regardless of where he does or doesn't go in the 2022 NBA Draft, Trevion Williams is an incredibly exciting, enticing and fun player. Don't be too shocked if a smart team thinks outside the box and takes a shot on him, and he shows his mettle at the next level.
Williams is currently ranked 40th on the <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/draft" target="_blank" rel="noopener">BasketballNews.com 2022 NBA Draft Board</a>.

Purdue big man Trevion Williams has dazzled on one of the best teams in the country this season.

Outside of the box: Purdue's Trevion Williams has an enticing nature

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

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

Rudy Gay is injecting the Jazz with funk

So, we&rsquo;re 19 games in and the Los Angeles Lakers will enter play on Nov. 24 below .500 
Who had that in the office pool?
By virtue of a 106-100 loss to the New York Knicks on Tuesday night, the Lakers will celebrate Thanksgiving Day as one of the Western Conference&rsquo;s non-winning teams, and you&rsquo;ve gotta kinda wonder not when they&rsquo;ll get it together, but if.
LeBron James was missing in action and Anthony Davis was under the weather, but the Lakers were noticeably missing the necessary pep in their step, as they fell behind New York by 25 points in the first half on Tuesday. They battled back valiantly in the game&rsquo;s second, but simply didn&rsquo;t have enough to overcome a determined Knicks team.
&ldquo;They jumped out, made some shots, we weren&rsquo;t playing hard enough. Simple,&rdquo; Russell Westbrook said after the contest.&nbsp;
&ldquo;When we decided to play harder, you saw a significant difference.&rdquo;
One can only wonder what on earth the Lakers are waiting for.
A team full of proud veterans, thus far, the Lakers have been anything but inspiring. They enter play on Nov. 24 at 9-10 and ranking 28th in the league in points allowed (113.1), 24th in Net Rating (-3.5) and 20th in Defensive Rating (108.9).
Said differently: the Lakers are not good.&nbsp;
Head coach Frank Vogel is obviously still trying to figure out his rotation and help the team form an identity, but that&rsquo;s something every coach grapples with. And in the Western Conference, every game counts. The Lakers learned that the hard way last year.
If there is a silver lining in the Lakers&rsquo; 1-3 road trip &mdash; which will conclude on Wednesday night &mdash; it&rsquo;s that Westbrook himself has at least shown that he can in fact be productive under Vogel.
From an individual standpoint, he&rsquo;s put together one of his better five-game stretches of the season and will be coming off of a 31-point, 13-rebound, 10-assist triple-double against the Knicks. He shot 10-for-18 from the field, including 3-for-6 from three-point territory. In his last five games, Westbrook is averaging 22.6 points, 7.2 rebounds, 9.8 assists and 1.4 steals on 46% shooting.
If nothing else, the Lakers at least hope that it represents a light at the end of the tunnel, because any chance of a championship this season starts and ends with Westbrook, LeBron and AD all figuring out how to be productive alongside one another. We know that Davis and LeBron are an awesome tandem. Westbrook&rsquo;s addition has long been the question mark.
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Thus far, James has missed 11 of the team&rsquo;s 19 games, limiting him and Westbrook&rsquo;s on-court opportunities together, but the point guard does believe that he is at least developing some chemistry with Davis.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s a process for everybody, including myself,&rdquo; Westbrook said after the Knicks loss.&nbsp;
"The pace, the speed. As the season goes along, I tell the guys, for me, my pace picks up 'cause I just want to keep going and going. And for the guys in the locker room, it&rsquo;s my job to be able to read them as well and make the game easier for them as I&rsquo;m playing.&rdquo;
As far as his synergy with Davis specifically, the duo had an opportunity to play off of one another more than they have with LeBron in the lineup. That partnership seems especially important since, in theory, Westbrook&rsquo;s presence should allow James to play off the ball more as a means of conservation. Obviously, though, Westbrook and Davis need to prove that they can flourish together.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s a lot better,&rdquo; Westbrook said of his ability to play off of Davis.&nbsp;
&ldquo;We&rsquo;re figuring out how teams are guarding both of us when me and him are in the pick-and-roll, and figuring out how to make the game easier for him, as well as he&rsquo;s doing for me.&rdquo;
Against New York, Davis was 7-for-17 from the field, ending the night with 20 points, 6 rebounds and 3 assists. He was limited by his illness, but did play a role in the Lakers rallying and nearly pulling off what seemed to be an insurmountable comeback.
With the loss, the Lakers dropped to just 4-7 in the 11 contests James has missed this season. And with only three returning players from last season&rsquo;s team, the Lakers can&rsquo;t really afford to continue to tinker with their lineups in the name of &ldquo;figuring things out.&rdquo;
The real quandary for the Lakers is the fact that time is not necessarily on their side. The Western Conference is being paced by the Golden State Warriors and the Phoenix Suns, but there are at least 12 teams that have legitimate hopes of earning one of the eighth playoff seeds. As usual, the fight for the higher playoff seeds will be intense and competitive.&nbsp;
Recall that last season, the Lakers finished up 42-30 &mdash; the same record as both the Dallas Mavericks and Portland Trail Blazers. However, by virtue of losing the tiebreaker, Los Angeles ended up with the No. 7 seed. As a result, they had to go to the play-in and ended up drawing the Suns in the first round. One could reasonably argue that if health had been on their side, the Lakers could&rsquo;ve come out on top against Phoenix. But they didn&rsquo;t.&nbsp;
What&rsquo;s more important is this: had the Lakers won just one more game and ended the season at 43-29, they would&rsquo;ve been the No. 5 seed and played the Los Angeles Clippers in the first round.&nbsp;
Though no walkover, a first-round series with the Clippers would&rsquo;ve been much more preferable than their date with the Suns. The lesson learned from last season for Vogel and his club is that every single game counts.&nbsp;
So yes, it&rsquo;s a process, but the Lakers need to view every loss as a missed opportunity to avoid the lower seeds. With nearly 25% of the season complete, Vogel&rsquo;s team should start resembling a conference contender with an identity, not one still trying to figure out who it is.
Every game counts. And at this point, in Los Angeles, that might start to qualify as bad news for the new look Lakers.

At 9-10, the Lakers trail the field out West. Will they be able to make up ground and earn a top seed by playoff time? Clock's ticking.

Tres