Hawks

LOS ANGELES (AP) &mdash; Jaime Jaquez Jr. had 15 points and 10 rebounds, Amari Bailey scored 13 points and No. 9 UCLA beat Washington 70-61 on Thursday night.
UCLA completed a season sweep of Washington and stopped a two-game skid that had followed a 14-game winning streak. The Bruins (18-4, 9-2 Pac-12) won their 20th straight home game dating to last season and remained in first place in the conference standings.
UCLA dominated inside and defensively in the first half, scoring 26 of its first 30 points in the paint. However, the Bruins were sloppy, finishing with 18 turnovers. Tyger Campbell and Bailey each had five giveaways and Jaquez had four.
&ldquo;Eighteen turnovers to me, would be like to other coaches what is 25,&rdquo; UCLA coach Mick Cronin said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s beyond unacceptable. Our supposed best two players had nine turnovers. ... Those two single-handedly let the other team back in the game with their carelessness with the ball.&rdquo;
Keion Brooks Jr. led Washington (13-11, 5-8) with 23 points.
The Huskies &mdash; who finished with 20 turnovers of their own &mdash; cut the lead to seven points several times in the second half but never got closer.
&ldquo;If you turn the ball over they get out in transition and you don&rsquo;t have a chance to get back and get your defense set up,&rdquo; Jacquez said. &ldquo;Ball security dictates a lot of your offense and defense in the second half. We just didn&rsquo;t have that.&rdquo;
Washington fell behind early and didn&rsquo;t score for a six-minute stretch. Braxton Meah dunked to end that drought and pull his team within 26-10 with 6:44 left in the first half.
&ldquo;In the second half I thought we shared the ball, and Keion Brooks did a great job on isolations and moving the ball,&rdquo; Washington coach Mike Hopkins said. &ldquo;You have to make shots. In the first half, we were 2 for 14 from the 3-point line. You&rsquo;re not going to win too many games shooting that percentage.&rdquo;
UCLA&rsquo;s Jaylen Clark caught the opening tip between two defenders and scoring on an uncontested layup 5 seconds into the game.
UCLA beat Washington 79-49 last month and has won eight straight in the series.
STARS IN THE SEATS
Singer Lance Bass, actor Jaleel White and former UCLA and NBA star Trevor Ariza were all in attendance. ... Former NFL defensive back Carnell Lake, who played at UCLA from 1985-88, was honored during the game.
HE SAID IT
&ldquo;They do happen in the course of the game, but when you&rsquo;re throwing passes at people&rsquo;s feet and Nolan Ryan fastballs off the glass, you think you&rsquo;re going to win anyway, in my opinion, tonight, you&rsquo;re screwing around. And in doing that, all you do is make yourself look bad. Really bad.&rdquo; &mdash; Cronin on UCLA&rsquo;s turnovers.
BIG PICTURE
Washington: The Huskies will need to figure out how to run their offense more effectively against tough defenses if they want to make a run in the Pac-12 Tournament in Las Vegas.
UCLA: The Bruins held the Huskies to 22 first-half points.
UP NEXT
Washington: At USC on Saturday.
UCLA: Hosts Washington State on Saturday.

UCLA completed a season sweep of Washington and stopped a two-game skid that had followed a 14-game winning streak.

Jaquez leads No. 9 UCLA past Washington to end 2-game skid

LAHAINA, Hawaii (AP) &mdash; Ryan Nembhard drove the lane for an authoritative dunk in the closing minutes and scored a career-high 25 points for No. 10 Creighton, which survived a tense second half to beat No. 9 Arkansas 90-87 on Tuesday and advance to the championship game of the Maui Invitational.
Trey Alexander made two free throws with 1.9 seconds left for Creighton, which will play for the title Wednesday against either No. 14 Arizona or No. 17 San Diego State.
The Bluejays (6-0) and Razorbacks (4-1) played an electrifying second half worthy of a March Madness matchup. Arkansas has reached the Elite Eight in consecutive seasons and Creighton got to the second round last year after advancing to the Sweet 16 in 2021.
Ryan Kalkbrenner scored 21 points, Baylor Scheierman 20 and Alexander 12 for the Bluejays, who had a 12-point lead late in the first half.
Anthony Black scored 26 points, Ricky Council IV 24 and Trevon Brazile 17 for the Razorbacks.
There were 10 lead changes and the game was tied 10 times in the second half.
Nembhard made two free throws after the Arkansas bench was whistled for a technical foul with 13:57 to go for a 53-53 tie. Creighton was in the double bonus for the final 13 minutes.
Nembhard, the shortest player on the floor at 6 feet, drove for a dunk and a 79-76 lead with 2:34 to go. Brazile answered with a 3-pointer the next time down the floor to tie it at 79.
Kalkbrenner made a reverse jam with 1:20 left to give the Bluejays the lead for good at 83-81.
After Scheierman made two free throws for an 87-84 lead with 16 seconds left, Council missed a corner 3 and Nembhard rebounded and was fouled. He made one of two free throws and Black came down the floor and drained a straight-on 3 to pull Arkansas within one. Alexander then made his two insurance free throws.
Creighton ran to a 12-point lead with 1:43 to go in the first half before the Razorbacks closed with a 6-0 run, capped by Trevon Brazile&rsquo;s thunderous dunk on an alley-oop pass from Anthony Black.
BIG PICTURE
Creighton: The Bluejays&rsquo; free-flowing offense produced three players in double digits by halftime: Nembhard with 13 points, Scheierman 11 and Kalkbrenner 10.
Arkansas: This was a big step up in competition for the Razorbacks. They opened the season with easy home wins against North Dakota State, Fordham and South Dakota State, and then beat winless Louisville by 26 points in their Maui opener.
UP NEXT
Creighton will face either the Wildcats or Aztecs in what should be another March Madness-worthy game for the title.
Arkansas will face the SDSU-Arizona loser for third place.&nbsp;

Creighton survived a tense second half to beat No. 9 Arkansas 90-87 and advance to the championship game of the Maui Invitational.

Nembhard’s 25 carry Creighton past Arkansas in Maui thriller

Shams Charania of&nbsp;The Athletic&nbsp;released his latest <a href="https://theathletic.com/3526628/2022/08/22/kevin-durant-donovan-mitchell-trade-talk-shams/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">NBA trade slop drop Monday morning</a>, and it restated several points on the Boston Celtics' involvement in the Kevin Durant sweepstakes. Notably, according to Charania, Boston has not made Marcus Smart or Robert Williams III available.
Smart is entrenched in the Celtics franchise as its longest-tenured player, emotional leader and reigning Defensive Player of the Year. But the withholding of Williams also speaks to how highly regarded he is on the roster and how critical he was to Boston's NBA Finals run last season.
Williams broke out big time in 2021-22, averaging 10.0 points, 9.6 rebounds and 2.2 blocks per game with a stunning 73.6% clip from the floor. He landed on the All-Defensive Second Team and anchored one of the best defenses in the league. A year ago this Wednesday, Williams signed a four-year contract that could be worth up to $54 million. He's already made that look like a massive bargain.
The 2018 first-round pick thrives in his classically-defined archetype as a rim-protecting center, two-way rebounder and lob finisher. Williams has already showcased elite traits in that role &mdash; traits that, if he never improved even fractionally, would still be among the best in the world for the next several years.
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However, Williams' role also clouds viewers' visualizations of his next steps. At age 24, and, with one healthy-ish season under his belt, Williams still has plenty of room to grow with the Celtics. But if he's already so good at what he does, and Boston rarely asks him to do anything else, what is the trajectory for his impact?
Fortunately, between Williams' additional skills and his functional areas of improvement, he can continue to shoulder more responsibility as a young big man.
Celtics fans have continuously marveled over Williams' passing flashes during his first few seasons in the league. His assist-to-usage rate has been in the top 20% among centers in each of the past three years, per Cleaning the Glass. And, despite receiving few touches outside of play-finishing chances, Williams can dazzle with his vision.
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I love watching Robert Williams pass the basketball. Always makes such rapid decisions for the Celtics. These are two assists from today, the one-handed midair redirect to Pritchard after the rebound is silly <a href="https://t.co/bWf4V9Rf3a">pic.twitter.com/bWf4V9Rf3a</a>
&mdash; Kevin O'Connor (@KevinOConnorNBA) <a href="https://twitter.com/KevinOConnorNBA/status/1497657823945060355?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 26, 2022</a>
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When Boston tapped into Williams as a passer, they often set him up at the top of the arc or slightly offset on the wings. It's amazing how imposing he is from that range despite posing zero threat as a shooter or driver. Having Williams quarterback the offense from here also opens up opportunities for Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown to move off the ball and use their strength and speed to get open instead of ball-handling and creating.
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It's almost like Tatum is running a wide receiver option route in the above clips. In the first two plays, Jayson is slipping screens and cutting to the basket while Williams rifles passes in for layups. In the third clip, Tatum is using a Payton Pritchard flare screen and hitting a three. The fourth clip is another flare screen, but Williams and Tatum both recognize the open space, and the former leads the superstar into a driving layup. For good measure, the last clip is Brown faking off a similar pindown and cutting to the basket.&nbsp;
With "Timelord" running the show, off-ball defenders have to key in on Boston's dynamic duo, and it opens up easy reads for him to make, like this one to Grant Williams:
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Letting Robert Williams direct from the arc is a great way for the Celtics to leverage Jayson Tatum off-ball. He drew three Bucks defenders with his cut and that created an open three for Grant Williams <a href="https://t.co/Mw3K2qqorL">pic.twitter.com/Mw3K2qqorL</a>
&mdash; Ethan Fuller (@ethman43) <a href="https://twitter.com/ethman43/status/1521891105486352385?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 4, 2022</a>
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The gripe here isn't with Williams III; rather, I wish the Celtics would put him in these positions more often. He has a high overall turnover rate, but rarely gives the ball away in these situations. It places less of a load on Tatum and Brown as self-creators and gets more players moving around the half-court in general.
There's also untapped intrigue with him at the high post. According to PBP Stats, Williams III had 84 elbow touches across the entire 2021-22 regular season. His 16.7% assist rate ranked second among the 99 players with at least 75 elbow touches, behind only Memphis Grizzlies big man Steven Adams. Now, some of these touches are mere handoffs. But others are Williams connecting with shooters on a short roll, or directing traffic out of a post touch.&nbsp;
Jared Weiss of&nbsp;The Athletic&nbsp;detailed how <a href="stories" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Boston's offense drifted away from post-ups</a> as the season went on, and how adding more back with Williams involved could make sense. Given Williams' vision and the success that comes when players orbit around him, I would agree.
Any individual scoring development like a mid-range jump shot would be icing on the cake, as <a href="https://www.celticsblog.com/2022/8/16/23302020/robert-williams-boston-celtics-center-jump-shot-analysis-what-if-week-celticsblog" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Trevor Hass of Celtics Blog wrote.</a> But head coach Ime Udoka already has untapped potential right in front of him in the form of Williams as a passing hub. Manifesting more touches for a tertiary option is much easier said than done, but integrating Williams further could seriously juice a Celtics offense that often stagnated.&nbsp;
Defensively, however, the onus is on Williams to improve his switchability.&nbsp;
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The 6-foot-9-inch center is a remarkable roamer and shot-blocker &mdash; in the highest echelon of rim-warping players across the league. He hit his defensive stride strongly down the stretch because Udoka and the coaching staff put him in defensive positions to be successful. Sporting News writer Stephen Noh intricately broke down <a href="https://www.sportingnews.com/us/nba/news/hidden-gems-robert-williams-celtics/zw4cxlj1httzlmdwnkyw6ayz" target="_blank" rel="noopener">how the Celtics kept Williams out of the on-ball limelight</a> whenever possible and made his job all about rotating and swatting.&nbsp;
That's great, and it proved to be successful enough to get Boston to within two games of a championship. It also required some luck and some heavy lifting from Al Horford, who used a stretch of good health to play some of the best switching defense we saw all season at age 35.&nbsp;
Horford, now 36, can't be expected to carry the same burden throughout another title push, and the Celtics only have one other center in line for possible rotation minutes in Luke Kornet. Williams will have to defend in ball-screen coverage and switch onto guards at certain points.
Last year, it didn't go so well. Boston started out switching 1-through-5 on defense and changed that as the year went on. Who knows if it was Williams who caused the shift, but his struggles certainly played a part.
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As shown in the clip above, Williams can't move with the necessary lateral quickness to stop drives at the root. He has to rely on his length to catch up when he gets beat, and while that leads to some highlight-reel recovery blocks, it's not a fail-safe he should want to lean on. Williams is also historically a foul-prone perimeter player who bites on pump-fakes far too often, though he tempered those temptations last year.
I'd claim that Williams improved in the moments he did have to switch onto isolations later in the season. It seemed he played those possessions more conservatively and was willing to give up the three-ball, knowing he has the vertical pop to reach shots like this:
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Don't expect Williams to become some unicorn-like defender who can smother players all over the court. If Williams can at least contain drives and keep defenders thinking about the threat of a block, that's a win for Boston. He's got the all-world rim-protection in his pocket already.
Williams is already a high-end starting center whose talents can help Boston get back to the Finals. If he breezes through a heavier passing workload and makes some progress as an on-ball defender, we could be talking about a sub-All-Star type of center next season.
Robert Williams III only underscores that the Celtics, even after reaching June, still have room for progress.

Ethan Fuller breaks down the next phases of growth for Celtics center Robert Williams III.

What the next level looks like for Celtics big man Robert Williams III

Is the NBA ready to add an expansion team? Evan Sidery explores what kind of team you could build in a present-day expansion draft.

NBA Expansion Mock Draft: What would a new expansion team look like?

Even though Friday's NBA Summer League slate techincally began at midnight, the second full "day" of competition brought 14 more teams into the mix as the week picks up steam.&nbsp;
The Chicago Bulls and Dallas Mavericks set the tone early by taking each other to overtime, with Chicago hanging on for an exciting 100-99 win. Three players from that contest are highlighted below, along with several other standouts, plus players who left something to be desired.
I can't get to every notable performance; Cam Thomas and Blake Wesley, for example, did not make the cut, though they are listed as honorable mention at the bottom of the Studs section. Six players particularly caught my eye as outstanding, while four guys noticeably struggled in their first Vegas contests of the week.
STUDS
Marko Simonovic, Chicago Bulls
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Marko Simonovic led the <a href="https://twitter.com/chicagobulls?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@chicagobulls</a> to the victory while dropping 27 points including the game-tying bucket and the game-winning free throw in OT! 🔥 27 PTS | 13 REB | 3 BLK <a href="https://t.co/0fA8yxCF2O">pic.twitter.com/0fA8yxCF2O</a>
&mdash; NBA (@NBA) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBA/status/1545542839915929602?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 8, 2022</a></blockquote>

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Box score stats: 27 points, 13 rebounds, 3 blocks, 10/19 FG
I'll be honest, after the first half, I was considering marking this game as a "dud" effort from Simonovic. He was missing easy at-rim attempts and failing to impact the game defensively in the early goings. But man, did things change. Simonovic finished through contact several times, dominated the glass to the tune of six offensive rebounds and took a step up with his defense.
The pivotal play for Chicago in overtime was Simonovic's screen coverage that led to a steal, followed by him running the floor and converting the and-one to take a 99-96 lead. What an effort for the No. 44 pick.&nbsp;
AJ Lawson, Dallas Mavericks
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AJ Lawson poured in 28 PTS for the <a href="https://twitter.com/dallasmavs?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@dallasmavs</a> to open up their <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NBA2K23SummerLeague?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NBA2K23SummerLeague</a> schedule! 28 PTS | 5 REB | 6 3PM <a href="https://t.co/HSe8qYldF4">pic.twitter.com/HSe8qYldF4</a>
&mdash; NBA (@NBA) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBA/status/1545544957099909121?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 8, 2022</a></blockquote>

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Box score stats: 28 points, 5 rebounds, 10/16 FG, 6/11 3PT
Jaden Hardy stole most of the show in the Mavericks' overtime loss, but Lawson was simply fantastic as an off-ball irritant on Friday. He had this one bucket that really wowed me where he cut across the middle of the paint, went to set a pindown, faked it and cut back to the basket to receive a pass and convert the layup. It was one of the highlight plays of the day for me.
Lawson also impressed with his shooting off movement and spaced the floor extremely well as Hardy and others drove to the basket. The 21-year-old went undrafted in 2021 and played 13 games with the College Park Skyhawks, but has not made his NBA debut yet. Hopefully that changes.
Jaden Hardy, Dallas Mavericks&nbsp;
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Jaden Hardy dropped BUCKETS in his <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NBASummer?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NBASummer</a> debut with the <a href="https://twitter.com/dallasmavs?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@dallasmavs</a>! <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/MFFL?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#MFFL</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/JadenHardy1?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@JadenHardy1</a>: 28 PTS, 4 REB 🔥 <a href="https://t.co/3meMrPUnho">pic.twitter.com/3meMrPUnho</a>
&mdash; NBA (@NBA) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBA/status/1545541921279549442?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 8, 2022</a></blockquote>

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Box score stats: 28 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, 9/19 FG, 2/7 3PT
Hardy has social-media buzzing after his performance and demonstrated the easy scoring confidence that has propelled the combo guard since high school. He had defenders guessing with how he changed speeds and directions attacking the rim. Hardy's body took contact extremely well, and if his opponent cut off a driving lane, he could turn it into a step-back or pull-up.&nbsp;
It wasn't an efficient performance by any stretch, but the poise was certainly there for Hardy in his Mavericks debut. He turned the ball over six times while trying to do too much at points, but also made some nice reads as a passer when he drew defensive attention. This was a great starting point for the bucket-getter to work from.
Josh Minott, Minnesota Timberwolves
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Josh Minott showed out for the <a href="https://twitter.com/Timberwolves?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Timberwolves</a> tonight, notching 22 PTS, 10 REB, and 3 AST 🔥 <a href="https://t.co/Ilsr5maEWI">pic.twitter.com/Ilsr5maEWI</a>
&mdash; NBA (@NBA) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBA/status/1545611466845437953?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 9, 2022</a></blockquote>

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Box score stats: 22 points, 10 rebounds, 3 assists, 8/15 FG, 2/3 3PT
Minott entered the NBA Draft billed as a player with intriguing physical measurables and tools, but in need of serious development time. On Friday, he was much more polished than I anticipated. Minott attacked off the bounce, pulled up over defenders for three-pointers and pushed the pace in transition. The rebounding activity was awesome for someone with his size and experience. Minott has already canned as many threes in Las Vegas as he did his entire freshman year at Memphis.
Quentin Grimes, New York Knicks
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Quentin Grimes showed off his playmaking and scoring ability as he powered the <a href="https://twitter.com/nyknicks?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@nyknicks</a> to the win in their <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NBASummer?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NBASummer</a> opener!<a href="https://twitter.com/qdotgrimes?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@qdotgrimes</a>: 24 PTS, 8 AST, 2 STL, 4 3PM <a href="https://t.co/YeEMtOfE4c">pic.twitter.com/YeEMtOfE4c</a>
&mdash; NBA (@NBA) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBA/status/1545616354849456128?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 9, 2022</a></blockquote>

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Box score stats: 24 points, 8 assists, 4 rebounds, 2 steals, 8/21 FG, 4/14 3PT
We know Grimes can shoot it, and while he wasn't the most efficient as a scorer on Friday, that wasn't what caught my eye. The second-year wing dished out eight assists against one turnover with a variety of reads. Grimes connected multiple times with 2021 draft classmate Jericho Sims, both in the pick-and-roll and on dump-offs. I know I've got my own hopes for Deuce McBride-Grimes-Sims bench units this upcoming season, and I imagine Knicks fans feel similarly.
Moses Moody, Golden State Warriors
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Moses Moody going OFF in the first three quarters 👀 32 PTS 8/11 FG 3/5 3PT (via <a href="https://twitter.com/NBATV?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@NBATV</a>)<a href="https://t.co/7a6sRM5mLz">pic.twitter.com/7a6sRM5mLz</a>
&mdash; Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) <a href="https://twitter.com/BleacherReport/status/1545587910027739136?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 9, 2022</a></blockquote>

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Box score stats: 34 points, 5 rebounds, 2 blocks, 8/13 FG, 3/6 3PT
The 2021 No. 14 pick never really took over the game against the Knicks, but Moody consistently capitalized on his moments in all the right places. He drew eight fouls and made 15-of-17 free throws, calmly knocked down some threes and tossed in a couple of putback buckets. Moody's two blocks came courtesy of impressive help defense and recover efforts that led to swats on Trevor Keels and Jean Montero.
The ease with which Moody impacted the game signaled that this second-year Summer Leaguer might have graduated from the competition. I'd also like to give a hat-tip to Joe Viray, who <a href="https://www.goldenstateofmind.com/2022/7/8/23201290/warriors-knicks-summer-league-moses-moody-film-breakdown" target="_blank" rel="noopener">throughly broke down Moody's first game</a> for Golden State of Mind.
Other performances I liked: Dalen Terry (Bulls), Ochai Agbaji (Cavaliers), Blake Wesley (Spurs), Josh Primo (Spurs, RJ Nembhard (Cavaliers), Bryce McGowens (Hornets), Bennedict Mathurin (Pacers), Cam Thomas (Nets), Lindell Wigginton (Bucks), Feron Hunt (Knicks), Scotty Pippen Jr. (Lakers), Ish Wainright (Suns)
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DUDS
Robert Woodard II, San Antonio Spurs
Box score stats: 2 points, 5 rebounds, 1/7 FG, 0/3 3PT
I've been a believer of Woodard since he entered the 2020 Draft, but yesterday showed he hasn't made the requisite offensive strides to be an impact player yet. He has yet to hit threes at a clip close to his last collegiate season with Mississippi State. Against the Cavaliers, Woodard didn't really impact the game off the ball other than as a spacer.
He did receive some reps initiating and attacking off the dribble. But Woodard doesn't have the burst to beat defenders and he doesn't use his strength to initiate contact. There was one play where he turned a corner and used a crossover to get downhill and finish a layup. But it's hard to imagine Woodard receiving these chances in whatever setting he joins next season.
Jonathan Kuminga, Golden State Warriors
Box score stats: 4 points, 2 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals, 2/10 FG, 0/4 3PT
Unlike Moody's night, it seemed like everything went wrong for Kuminga. The 2021 No. 7 pick made several bad passing decisions and got stripped twice by Quentin Grimes when he tried to take Grimes off the dribble. He missed all of his perimeter looks and went 0-for-3 near the basket (props to Jericho Sims for the defense).&nbsp;
I do want to be fair to Kuminga. Golden State had him initiating the offense frequently, a role he scarcely played during the regular season. The Warriors clearly want to use this summer session as a trial-by-fire experiment for Kuminga on the ball. He's already proven himself as a valuable cutter with the full roster.
Kai Jones, Charlotte Hornets
Box score stats: 12 points, 9 rebounds, 5/15 FG, 0/10 3PT
The long-range goose egg is particularly egregious, and some attendees on social media even posted that fans were cringing by the end of the game. Pacers defenders did not close out on Jones, yet his misses were inconsistent and sometimes downright ugly. Jones shot seven of his 10 threes from a standstill, yet his landings were erratic.
Inside the arc, Jones was better than the final line shows. He had three impressive unassisted driving layups, and another hesitation drive that ended with a powerful slam dunk. The flashes of creativity off the dribble are there for this 6-foot-11 big. However, the perimeter game is not, yet.
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Kessler Edwards, Brooklyn Nets
Box score stats: 5 points, 2 rebounds, 1/6 FG, 1/3 3PT
Edwards' offensive performance felt disjointed. He would sometimes hesitate to make a decision with the ball in his hands. Other times, he'd drive hard, but he doesn't have the strength or vertical leap to be a threat around the basket. Edwards also missed one floater in the Nets' loss to the Bucks and didn't receive much time with the ball in his hands to dribble around. At this stage, the three-ball comprises a large part of his offensive strength, and the rest of his on-ball game remains a work in progress.

Moses Moody, Jaden Hardy and Quentin Grimes are among Day 2's NBA Summer League standouts.

10 studs and duds from Day 2 of NBA Summer League in Las Vegas

With the 2022 NBA Draft less than a week away, our Senior NBA Draft Analyst shares his updated his 2022 NBA Mock Draft.

2022 NBA Mock Draft: 6/17/22

Does anyone actually think Kenny Atkinson deserved to be let go from the Brooklyn Nets when he was?&nbsp;
Sure, it was the first season after the &ldquo;<a href="https://twitter.com/wojespn/status/1145435852476243968" target="_blank" rel="noopener">clean sweep</a>&rdquo; in the summer of 2019, which immediately placed Atkinson under a national microscope. However, the spotlight wasn&rsquo;t then what it became the following season because Kevin Durant (torn Achilles recovery) hadn&rsquo;t been playing yet. Atkinson was in his fourth year leading the Nets in 2019-20. Kyrie Irving had been playing, albeit sparingly, and those times it was due to injury, not yet other stuff.
In any event, the Nets were still competitive. They were 28-34, COVID hit America just days later and the team subsequently finished 35-37, making the playoffs as the No. 7 seed &mdash; as they did this year &mdash; and were swept by the Toronto Raptors... as they were by the Boston Celtics this season.
Yahoo&rsquo;s Vincent Goodwill reported that <a href="https://sports.yahoo.com/kenny-atkinsons-tenure-with-nets-comes-to-its-natural-conclusion-as-kd-kyrie-era-nears-014215773.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Atkinson wasn&rsquo;t &ldquo;fond&rdquo; of coaching Durant and Irving</a>, Irving had &ldquo;soured&rdquo; on him and that Irving <a href="https://sports.yahoo.com/kenny-atkinsons-tenure-with-nets-comes-to-its-natural-conclusion-as-kd-kyrie-era-nears-014215773.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">wanted Los Angeles Clippers coach Tyronn Lue to take over the team</a>. Ironically, L.A. is where Atkinson went last season before becoming a top assistant with the Western Conference champion Golden State Warriors currently.
Atkinson <a href="https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/34047327/charlotte-hornets-owner-michael-jordan-meet-head-coaching-finalists-mike-dantoni-kenny-atkinson-week-sources-say" target="_blank" rel="noopener">is reportedly a finalist for the Charlotte Hornets' head coaching job</a>, and it builds as the perfect meeting between both sides from a basketball standpoint if they&rsquo;re on the same page otherwise. Having covered Atkinson during those Nets years, this potential pairing with the Hornets makes so much sense.
The pre-super-team Nets had a distinct charm about them, even though they sucked in the beginning by NBA standards. Atkinson was introduced in April 2016, two months after Sean Marks was announced as the team&rsquo;s new general manager.
Brooklyn surprisingly drafted a kid named Caris LeVert at No. 20 overall in the draft that June, a pick acquired after trading Thaddeus Young to the Indiana Pacers. Jeremy Lin and Trevor Booker were the big offseason signings, overshadowing lesser acquisitions at the time (like current longest-tenured Net Joe Harris). In December, the Nets controversially released Yogi Ferrell for Spencer Dinwiddie, whom Net fans didn&rsquo;t fully accept, especially after Ferrell showed up with the Dallas Mavericks <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KMQq3lmMUBM" target="_blank" rel="noopener">and had a 30-ball on national TV</a>.
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Caris LeVert just shattered Wayne Ellington's ankles <a href="https://t.co/P8hJv0JK9J">pic.twitter.com/P8hJv0JK9J</a>
&mdash; The Crossover (@TheCrossover) <a href="https://twitter.com/TheCrossover/status/824440554029195264?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 26, 2017</a></blockquote>

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And even though it was a miserable 20-62 first campaign, you saw flashes from a team devoid of talent and saddled by injuries. Brook Lopez <a href="https://www.netsdaily.com/2017/3/16/14943966/changing-course-how-kenny-atkinson-turned-brook-lopez-into-a-three-point-threat" target="_blank" rel="noopener">became a three-point shooter</a>, Rondae Hollis-Jefferson <a href="https://www.netsdaily.com/2017/4/21/15383034/rondae-on-playing-the-4-put-me-anywhere-ill-do-my-job" target="_blank" rel="noopener">went from a 2 to a 4</a>, Lin <a href="https://www.netsdaily.com/2017/3/17/14955954/the-difference-maker-jeremy-lin" target="_blank" rel="noopener">was impactful in the 36 games he did play</a> (they only won 7 of the 46 games he didn&rsquo;t), and formally fringe guys like Harris and Dinwiddie appeared like they belonged, as did LeVert.&nbsp;
In 2017-18, they played even harder. And damn it, they had to. Lin ruptured his Achilles on opening night, never to play again for the Nets. Lopez turned into D&rsquo;Angelo Russell via trade, but he had arthroscopic knee surgery one month into the season, throwing off his rhythm. They again struggled with injuries, but more games were within reach.
Dinwiddie was a Most Improved Player candidate and kept hitting game-winners all season long. Hollis-Jefferson developed into a reliable, mid-range hitting (47.7% from 10-to-16 feet), two-way 4 with point-forward skills that his assist numbers will never do justice. LeVert remained healthy and showed high-level starter flashes.
Allen Crabbe and DeMarre Carroll came from elsewhere, and bought in immediately while leading the team in minutes. A rookie and No. 22 overall pick named Jarrett Allen <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/making-the-nba-all-star-case-for-cavs-big-man-jarrett-allen" target="_blank" rel="noopener">was just scratching the surface of what Atkinson saw as massive potential</a>. (He&rsquo;d probably still be in Brooklyn instead of DeAndre Jordan if Atkinson was. And if you don&rsquo;t believe that, look at who was starting at center before and after he was fired.)&nbsp;
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The Nets went 28-54 in the 2017-18 campaign, an eight-win improvement, and 15 of their losses came within 5 points or less.
The season following was when they shocked much of the NBA world.&nbsp;
Brooklyn had built a culture legitimately. They were, without their own first-round picks, manufacturing creative ways to add players who were viable and fit their desired mold. It included second-round castoffs like Dinwiddie and Harris, role players seen as salary dumps like Carroll and Crabbe and developing late first-rounders like Allen and Hollis-Jefferson. The organization found a new-home-needing future All-Star in Russell right before his ascent, surrounding youth with leadership in Jared Dudley and Ed Davis.
They hit all the right notes in 2018-19. There was a 14-win leap to 42-40, as the Nets <a href="https://www.netsdaily.com/2019/2/14/18224545/how-dangelo-russell-became-king-of-new-york-not-brooklyn-new-york" target="_blank" rel="noopener">manufactured an All-Star in Russell</a>, &nbsp;a fringe one in Dinwiddie <a href="https://www.netsdaily.com/2018/10/30/18040128/what-is-pressure-to-spencer-dinwiddie">who made another massive jump</a> and a possible one in LeVert, who was at that level before breaking his leg early in the season. No. 6-seeded Brooklyn even won a fun Game 1 against the Philadelphia 76ers before losing in a mostly completive five-game series to Jimmy Butler, Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons.
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Why Atkinson works with the Hornets is simple: What Michael Jordan&rsquo;s team needs more than anything else from within is someone who emphasizes ball movement, playing in space and excels in player development (in particular, with guards, though he was clearly influential on Allen too). Watch what Atkinson did with Russell, Dinwiddie, and LeVert; now, picture that man, after an additional year under Lue and Steve Kerr, being responsible for LaMelo Ball&rsquo;s ascent in Year 3 and beyond.
Elsewhere on the roster, it&rsquo;s tough to say because, realistically, Ball seems to be the only untouchable Hornet this summer. Though, Charlotte should probably keep Terry Rozier since that combination of shooting and playmaking in the backcourt is tailor-made for Atkinson, who navigated a labyrinth of young, coachable talent in Brooklyn.
If pending free agent Miles Bridges is also retained this summer, <a href="https://www.si.com/nba/hornets/free-agency-2022/hornets-intention-is-to-keep-miles-bridges-long-term" target="_blank" rel="noopener">which is the plan</a>, then that&rsquo;s even better. James Bouknight, Kai Jones (a University of Texas alum like Allen), JT Thor and Jalen McDaniels are among the young talents who need harnessing. It makes Atkinson the perfect fit to lead the Hornets back into the playoffs, where they haven&rsquo;t been since 2016, even after making the Play-In Tournament in two straight seasons.&nbsp;
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Terry Rozier and LaMelo Ball combine for 60 points in the <a href="https://twitter.com/hornets?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@hornets</a> win! 🐝<a href="https://twitter.com/T_Rozzay3?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@T_Rozzay3</a>: 32 PTS, 8 3PM, 2 STL<a href="https://twitter.com/MELOD1P?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@MELOD1P</a>: 28 PTS, 13 REB, 7 AST, 3 STL <a href="https://t.co/T3ldOUfAIH">pic.twitter.com/T3ldOUfAIH</a>
&mdash; NBA (@NBA) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBA/status/1463139199817818119?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 23, 2021</a></blockquote>

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All in all, Atkinson has shown enough to prove he&rsquo;s the guy to establish a legitimate culture and will develop your team &mdash; if allowed to do so &mdash; into a hard-charging pain in the ass who we&rsquo;d expect to be competitive next season.
Is he the desired coach for your super-team? With the Nets, it didn&rsquo;t appear so, but we also weren&rsquo;t allowed to find out. (By the way, with all due respect, is Steve Nash that guy? Or was he just chosen by the stars on that team, for better or worse?)
Just cross that bridge if you get there, Charlotte.
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Bryan Fonseca praises Kenny Atkinson for building the Nets' culture and reasons that he'd be a fit with the Hornets because of it.

Kenny Atkinson coaching the Hornets would make so much sense

After everything the Brooklyn Nets went through this season, they still entered the playoffs with the third-best championship odds (+600), which is a testament to this team's talent on paper. However, though they were considered a favorite to hoist the Larry O&rsquo;Brien trophy and boasted the NBA&rsquo;s second-highest payroll ($174,811,922), the Nets failed to win a single playoff game. &nbsp;
Multiple players blamed Brooklyn&rsquo;s lack of continuity. Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving played just 17 games together this season after playing only 27 games together last year. Irving couldn&rsquo;t suit up in home games until late March due to New York City&rsquo;s vaccine mandate. A number of key contributors were acquired halfway through the campaign, including Seth Curry, Andre Drummond and Goran Dragic, making it even tougher for the team to get everyone on the same page.&nbsp;
Injuries also impacted the team&rsquo;s ability to play at full strength and develop chemistry, as Durant missed 27 games with a sprained MCL, Joe Harris suffered a season-ending ankle injury in November and Ben Simmons dealt with a herniated disc in his back after being traded to Brooklyn as the centerpiece of the James Harden blockbuster.
Now, after being swept by the Boston Celtics on Monday night, what&rsquo;s next for the Nets?
&ldquo;This summer is gonna be a very, very important summer for our organization,&rdquo; Durant said after the Game 4 loss. &ldquo;We'll see where we go next year."
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Durant is correct, as the Nets will be one of the most interesting teams to watch this offseason, and it&rsquo;s possible that their roster could look very different entering the 2022-23 season.
The Nets have only six players with guaranteed contracts for next season: Durant, Simmons, Harris, Curry, Cam Thomas and Day'Ron Sharpe. Brooklyn already has $144,555,667 in guaranteed money on their books for 2022-23. Next year&rsquo;s salary cap is projected to be $122 million and the luxury tax is expected to be $149 million, so they&rsquo;ll likely have one of the NBA&rsquo;s most expensive payrolls once again.
The Nets are already close to being a tax-paying team before factoring in any of their potential free agents such as Irving, Drummond, Dragic, Bruce Brown, Patty Mills, Nic Claxton, Blake Griffin, LaMarcus Aldridge, Kessler Edwards and David Duke Jr.&nbsp;
Irving has a player option worth $35,328,700. On Monday night, Irving was asked about his future and said, &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t really plan on going anywhere... There's no question where I'm going: I'm here with 7 (Durant)."
Either Irving will opt-in and cost quite a bit, or he&rsquo;ll opt-out and potentially cost even more if he signs a new, multi-year deal with the Nets.
Mills also has a player option, which is worth $6,184,500. He could opt-in, but it&rsquo;s also possible that the 33-year-old will prioritize his long-term security and try to ink a multi-year contract elsewhere. He's coming off a productive season, averaging 11.4 points, 2.8 threes and 2.3 assists while shooting 40.0% from three, so he will likely have other suitors.
Claxton and Duke will hit restricted free agency, assuming the Nets extend qualifying offers to both players ($2,228,276 for Claxton and $1,576,305 for Duke). Also, Edwards has a team option worth $1,563,518.
The rest of Brooklyn's players are unrestricted free agents including Brown, Drummond, Dragic, Aldridge, Griffin and Johnson.&nbsp;
Brown earned $4,736,102 this season, but he's going to get a significant raise after his career-year, averaging 9.0 points, 4.8 rebounds, 2.1 assists, 1.1 steals and 0.7 blocks on .506/.404/.758 shooting splits. He was one of the Nets' most dependable and versatile players all season long. He stepped up in the playoffs, averaging 14.0 points, 4.8 rebounds, 2.8 assists, 1.3 steals and 0.8 blocks on .568/.429/.800 shooting splits. This is a relatively weak free-agency class, so don&rsquo;t be surprised if some team makes a big offer to the 25-year-old.
When asked about the possibility of re-signing with the Nets, Brown responded, &ldquo;Yeah, hopefully. The season just ended. I&rsquo;m not thinking about it. If there's a chance to stay, we'll talk about it. But we'll see."&nbsp;
It remains to be seen if Drummond, Dragic, Aldridge and Griffin will return.&nbsp;
Drummond played well as the Nets' starting center, averaging 11.8 points, 10.3 rebounds, 1.4 assists, 1.0 block and 0.9 steals (while shooting 61.0% from the field) in 22.3 minutes per game. When Drummond signed a one-year deal last offseason, it seemed like he wanted to showcase his value and then ink a larger contract this summer, so if he gets the kind of offer he&rsquo;s anticipating, he&rsquo;ll likely be too expensive for Brooklyn to retain.
In a shockingly candid moment back in March, Drummond <a href="https://twitter.com/krisplashed/status/1506663720931500046" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told reporters</a>: "If we're all being honest, I'm only here &lsquo;til the rest of the season. Who knows what&rsquo;s gonna happen in the offseason? So they need a guy like [Claxton].&rdquo;
Last season, the NBA world was outraged that a super-team like the Nets was able to add Griffin and Aldridge for nothing via the buyout market, putting them alongside their Big Three of Durant, Irving and Harden. At one point, Brooklyn&rsquo;s roster had a combined 41 All-Star appearances and 32 All-NBA selections. However, it didn't translate to postseason success. It remains to be seen if Griffin, Aldridge or Dragic will return. It&rsquo;s possible that Brooklyn will be able to attract other ring-chasing veterans to take their places.
After all, despite their first-round flameout, the Nets will once again enter next season as a top contender. If Simmons is able to return his All-NBA, Defensive-Player-of-the-Year-candidate form, it would be a huge addition that makes the Nets much scarier. And the more Durant and Irving play together, the more dangerous they&rsquo;ll become as a duo. Also, with Harris and Curry, the Nets will have two outstanding shooters to put around their Big Three. If this team is able to stay healthy and develop chemistry, Brooklyn has the talent to go on a deep postseason run.
Using the taxpayer mid-level exception and minimum deals, Brooklyn shouldn&rsquo;t have trouble surrounding its core with decent veterans.
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When asked specifically about who might be back and what the Nets need to add to their roster in order to contend, Durant shrugged.
"We just got done playing. You know I don't know the answer to that question right now,&rdquo; Durant said. &ldquo;I don't know the situations with the contracts. I just don't know. Obviously when you lose in the playoffs, you&rsquo;re looking toward next year and who may be on the team, and there's a lot of high expectations around the Nets so people want to have some hope of what may happen in the future. But at this point, an hour after the game, it's hard for me to say.&rdquo;
Another avenue for the Nets to improve is through the 2022 NBA Draft, where they&rsquo;ll have the No. 23 overall pick via the Philadelphia 76ers. In <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/draft" target="_blank" rel="noopener">BasketballNews.com's latest 2022 NBA Mock Draft</a>, Brooklyn is projected to take Jaden Hardy of the G League Ignite with its late-first-round selection.
The Nets can try to find a diamond-in-the-rough with that selection, or they can attempt to trade that pick for a win-now piece. Since the Nets will be above the luxury tax and the rookie will be a relatively cheap contributor, it may make sense to keep the pick. Remember, this year&rsquo;s roster featured four rookies: Thomas, Sharpe, Edwards and Duke.
In recent years, players such as OG Anunoby, Darius Bazley and Rodney Hood have been selected at No. 23 overall. Other notable players drafted at that spot include Tayshaun Prince, A.C. Green, Wesley Person, Wilson Chandler, Bobby Jackson, Trevor Booker, DeShawn Stevenson and Tyronn Lue.
While the roster could look very different, don&rsquo;t expect the Nets to make a coaching change. Steve Nash expressed that he hopes to return as the team&rsquo;s head coach, and Durant got annoyed and shot down a question about whether Nash is still the right coach to lead the Nets.
&nbsp;&ldquo;Come on, man. Yeah,&rdquo; Durant said. &ldquo;Steve has been dealt a crazy hand the last three years. He&rsquo;s had to deal with so much stuff as a first-time head coach &mdash; trades, injuries, COVID, just a lot of stuff he had to deal with. I&rsquo;m proud of how he just focused and of his passion for us. We'll all continue developing over the summer and see what happens.&rdquo;
Durant did express that he wants to have some input over this offseason&rsquo;s personnel decisions.
&ldquo;Yeah, of course! I want to know who I'm playing with out on the floor. I want to know what we're thinking,&rdquo; Durant said. &ldquo;[Nets general manager] Sean [Marks] and the front office, we all just talk basketball regardless because we all enjoy basketball; sometimes our team may come up and what we need and what I see from a player&rsquo;s perspective. We always have conversations and that&rsquo;s what makes great organizations.&rdquo;
Irving made it clear that he wants to be involved in &ldquo;managing this franchise&rdquo; as well.
&ldquo;When I say I&rsquo;m here with Kev, it really entails us managing this franchise together alongside [Nets governor] Joe [Tsai], Sean and our group of family members that we have in our locker room and organization,&rdquo; Irving said.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s not just about me and Kev. We're cornerstones here, but we have Ben and a few other guys who are under contract [too]. I think we've just gotta make some moves this offseason and really talk about it and really be intentional about what we&rsquo;re building, and have some fun with it and make it enjoyable.&rdquo;
After a disappointing season, all eyes will be on the Nets to see how their decision-makers attempt to right the ship.
If the last year has been any indication, there won&rsquo;t be a dull moment.&nbsp;
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After getting swept by the Celtics, the Nets are poised for a very interesting offseason. What's next for the team?

2022 NBA offseason preview: What's next for the Brooklyn Nets?

In perhaps one of my favorite matchups of this basketball season and scouting cycle, Duke ousted Texas Tech 78-73 in the Sweet 16. It was quite literally a &ldquo;tale of two halves&rdquo; as Tech and Duke exchanged jabs and pot shots for the opening 20, with the Blue Devils struggling to consistently find a weak spot in Tech&rsquo;s no-middle leviathan. 
According to KenPom, Texas Tech&rsquo;s first-ranked defense, allowing just 85 points/100 (adjusted for schedule), was the best defense in DI basketball since&hellip; Tech in 2018-19 (84.1 pts/100), Virginia in 2017-18 (85.6 pts/100, 31-3 record) and Kentucky in 2014-15 (84.4 pts/100, 38-1 record).
In the second half, Duke scored 49 points. That's the most Tech allowed in a half this season &mdash; in fact, Tech held its opponent below 49 points in the entirety of a game multiple times this season. They allowed 45 in a half to Oklahoma earlier this season, and held them to 42 points the next game. Duke&rsquo;s 78 final points was the second-most allowed by the Red Raiders all year, and most in regulation.
This Texas Tech defense was a juggernaut all season, which puts into context the performance Paolo Banchero put together in the second half.
The first time you watch a no-middle defense (what Tech thrives upon), it's vexing. It's odd to watch a team welcome baseline drives, but it makes sense when an unsuspecting guard takes the open lane and runs into well-timed help and back-line rotations in the paint. The communication required to fully execute a scheme so reliant on switching, timeliness and aggression cannot be undersold.&nbsp;
Just watch this possession.
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Duke opts into a high-aligned horns set to draw out the defense. Look at how much space is presented along the baseline.
Now, watch how Tech slowly shows you that the space just doesn't actually exist!
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Terence Shannon Jr. shades Wendell Moore, presenting the baseline drive, denying the potential of a middle pick-and-roll with Paolo Banchero.
Bryson Williams helps down off of Mark Williams, preparing to time his slide with a Roach drive.
Kevin Obanor pre-rotates off of AJ Griffin to help at the rim.
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Williams rotates and the ball is stopped.&nbsp;
Kevin McCullar fronts Mark Williams, preventing any quick lobs or interior passes opened up by Bryson helping off his man.
Adonis Arms (great name) is glued to Banchero to take away any immediate outlet.
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Moore tries to split the double and passes out to Roach in the slot as he stumbles.
Obanor closes hard and forces the pass to Griffin who takes an initially open, but at least late-contested shot from deep, as Williams screams to the corner.
This possession wasn't even a perfect showcase of the difficulty of trying to break down a defense this in-sync &mdash; with length, court awareness and athleticism throughout the 5-man unit.
Throughout the first half, Duke attempted to get Paolo open in different ways, but Tech made it near-impossible to get him downhill. If a dribble hand-off was called, Tech switched, but the defender who just switched off would keep a hand on Paolo, sticking to him as the next defender took him on, giving a more open look from deep &mdash; but also not affording Paolo a slip or quick post mismatch. Also, it should be said that there just isn't really anyone you can post-up against and take advantage of on the Tech team. If he did catch the ball outside the arc, the Red Raiders would soft-close, refusing to give him a lane to the rim and forcing him to either drive and post into help on his pivot, or take a pull-up two.
These are the three baskets Paolo made in the first half:
<ul>
<li>And-one layup on the break</li>
<li>Catch-and-shoot three in early offense</li>
<li>Wide-open two-handed slam on blown switch with 15 seconds before the half</li>
</ul>
Tech's defense clung to Paolo like an overblown life jacket. Duke started to use him as a screener for pin-downs from the low/mid-post to try and get him more to the middle of the floor away from action, and able to attack off the catch &mdash; attempting to get his vision in the heart of the defense (precisely where Tech did not want him).
That last basket in the first from Paolo felt like a bit of a parting of the Red Sea, the "we-need-this-more" moment for Duke.
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Griffin is by and large one of the best shooters in college basketball this season, so Tech sells hard on his cut to the arc off an elevator screen. However, the quick dive from Mark Williams frees up Paolo due to Tech's overplay and miscommunication on the switch. To be fair, that is a hard play to cover when factoring in the gravity in-play. You have one of the best shooters (Griffin), a great roll-man and lob threat (Williams) and then maybe the most dynamic scorer in Division I (Banchero).
It's sort of like guarding a Spain pick-and-roll without the actual pick-and-roll.
While this isn't an action you can just spam over and over against a great defense, it showed the key for Duke &mdash; the team needed to set up more interior screening actions to force the defense to think more and get them into more precarious situations.
To open the second, they started to look for high-lows to find Williams off dummy actions. After Duke caught Tech the first time, they started selling out harder to front. Duke also slipped in more off-ball lifting from the corners to make it harder on the taggers.&nbsp;
Even then, Tech's defense was so stout, and was able to flounder most of those actions. However, it freed up Paolo Banchero to find cracks in the defense. The man who was glued to him at all times earlier... well, the early actions and off-ball movement were enough of a solvent to pry him loose.
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Shannon is ball-watching a bit and prepared to help on Williams, but Moore lifts, gets the kick, is stifled himself, and then... Paolo.
The ability to jut into space, and tight space at that, shimmy through unbothered, and then place a perfectly timed lob... that's special. It seems basic watching, but make no mistake, this sort of play is backbreaking.
Then, a few minutes later, a play breaks down. Duke starts swinging and trying to find an answer, and the ball reaches Paolo's hands with 10 seconds on the shot clock.
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He looks to Theo John, fakes a chest pass to Trevor Keels, then jabs and rips left as soon as Kevin Obanor plants his foot, but then spins back on the pivot.
This is really solid defense from Obanor, but the body control and composure from Paolo beats solid defense.&nbsp;
Paolo's drive commands Shannon's attention, but so does Griffin lifting to the slot. Paolo keeps his eyes on the rim as he jumps for a fleeting moment, keeping Shannon's eyes on him in the process, adding a sliver of time and space for Griffin to plant and fire.&nbsp;
This possession and this pass are far from perfect, but in a game like this against this level of opposition, the ability to make imperfect plays work in your favor is part of what sets apart good and great players.
Remember that elevator play from earlier? Well, it's back!
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Tech remembers what happened last time that play went down, switching everything, keeping the screeners from getting open, but now with the Arms rotation, Keels is wide open in the weak corner. The shot doesn't fall, but attacking the middle is opening up plays on the perimeter.
Here comes another variation.
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What else is Texas Tech supposed to do? The action from Paolo is too quick to front, you can't really just give him a baseline shade when you're that close to the rim. Williams honestly helps about as well as he can given positioning and how the play develops. Paolo just hits a ridiculous baseline floater/push shot that's been setup by his utilization as the game's gone on.
Again, the offense looks late to Paolo off-ball as the clock winds down off multiple stuffed actions.
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Williams can't finish inside, but again, they get a great look. Paolo catches, dips left, and rips to his right &mdash; drawing two while also freezing Arms in the middle of the floor, opening Williams for the lightning quick pass to the dunker spot (<a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-dunker-spot/id1547857052" target="_blank" rel="noopener">listen and subscribe!</a>).
Getting to the middle of a no-middle defense is, as the name implies, the way to best defeat it.
Next play down, Roach kicks the ball to Banchero early in the clock and he attacks immediately, driving baseline.
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Here's the fun wrinkle. He spins as soon as help comes, essentially rendering it useless as he fires the ball out to the top of the key. He draws two to where the ball no longer is!
Griffin attacks the paint and kicks to the corner as Paolo relocates and gets the wide-open three, because of the attack he set in motion seconds earlier.
Again, Paolo stirs the drink later down the floor, attacking off the close, getting deep in the paint and forcing rotations and a wild close-out as Moore attacks off his pass for the bucket at the rim.
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Duke has the pace pushing now.
Tech's on their heels and it's palpable through pixels.
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It's hard to find players who can spin with regularity, but also with control.&nbsp;
Paolo's drive game has entered 'the deal zone' and there's not an offer that Tech can put forth to stop it. Sell out for the drive, and a dump-off or lob is headed to the dunker.
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Mark Williams throws down an emphatic exclamation point on a dominant offensive half from Duke.
I could go on and on about their play as the minutes wound down &mdash; a methodic and metronomic bucket precipitated by an attack on the middle of the floor. Paolo Banchero wasn't the primary ball-handler for the Blue Devils, but he was certainly the primary difference maker.
Credit to Duke's coaching staff for putting their players in the right positions to succeed, but Banchero's decisiveness, awareness and gravity put Duke over the top and into the Elite Eight. Just an absolutely electric offensive showing and one of the best games I've seen from a collegiate player this year. Remember this game, as it highlights a great deal of what makes him so intriguing at the next level.
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After Texas Tech stifled Duke's offense in the first half, they were unleashed in the second, spurred by freshman Paolo Banchero.

How Duke's Paolo Banchero picked apart the best defense in basketball

After an eventful start to the 2022 NCAA Tournament, the Sweet 16 tips off on Thursday. While some top 2022 NBA Draft prospects have already been eliminated &mdash; such as Auburn's Jabari Smith, Iowa's Keegan Murray and Memphis' Jalen Duren &mdash; there are still quite a few upcoming draft picks worth watching.
Our Sr. NBA Draft Analyst Matt Babcock has been scouting these players for years, so he helped put together this guide of 2022 NBA Draft prospects to watch in the Sweet 16. This list only includes prospects who are expected to enter this year&rsquo;s draft and who are currently included on <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/draft" target="_blank" rel="noopener">BasketballNews.com's 2022 NBA Draft Big Board</a>.
<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/draft/2022-big-board/players/jaden-ivey" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Jaden Ivey, Purdue &mdash; No. 2 ranked prospect</a>
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This season, Ivey shot career-highs across the board and propelled himself into top-3 consideration. Ivey is a phenomenal athlete and a promising on-ball defender who has flashed great potential on the defensive end of the floor. His offense has taken a huge leap, as he's shown the ability to create space for himself, score on multiple levels and attack the rim at an elite level. Purdue is one of the best teams in America, and Ivey is a huge component of their success. He's one to keep an eye on near the top of the 2022 class.
<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/draft/2022-big-board/players/chet-holmgren" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Chet Holmgren, Gonzaga &mdash; No. 3 ranked prospect</a>
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At 7-foot tall with a 7-foot-6 wingspan, Chet Holmgren is a playmaker on both ends of the floor. He is comfortable with the ball in his hands, is a reliable shooter, and he can score on all levels. On the defensive end, Holmgren greatly affects the game as a rim protector. He will need to add weight to maximize his potential, as he is rail-thin, but he is one of the most unique prospects we've ever seen nonetheless. Holmgren is projected to be a top-five pick in the 2022 NBA Draft.
<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/draft/2022-big-board/players/paolo-banchero" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Paolo Banchero, Duke &mdash; No. 4 ranked prospect</a>
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At 6-foot-10 and 250 pounds, Paolo Banchero is incredibly versatile. He excels in the post, can create off the dribble and continues to improve as a face-up shooter from deep. He lacks elite athleticism on the defensive end, but has flashed a great feel and discipline to counter that. Players with his build and skill set don't come around very often. Banchero is widely considered as a top-four pick in the 2022 NBA Draft.
<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/draft/2022-big-board/players/aj-griffin" target="_blank" rel="noopener">AJ Griffin, Duke &mdash; No. 7 ranked prospect</a>
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AJ Griffin is 6-foot-6 and possesses a 7-foot wingspan. He is <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/2022-nba-draft-prencaa-tourney-look-at-dukes-aj-griffin" target="_blank" rel="noopener">a powerful and versatile wing</a> with a tremendous physical profile and promising skill set. Griffin has also shown the ability to create for both himself and others. After missing the early part of this season due to injury, he has solidified himself as one of the best shooters in the country. AJ is the son of former NBA player and current Toronto Raptors assistant coach Adrian Griffin, and he has made a case for himself to become a top-10 pick.
<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/draft/2022-big-board/players/bennedict-mathurin" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Bennedict Mathurin, Arizona &mdash; No. 9 ranked prospect</a>
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After a strong freshman campaign for the Arizona Wildcats, Bennedict Mathurin has made a jump in his second year in Tucson. Mathurin's size, athleticism, defense and shot-making ability make him an intriguing NBA prospect. Standing at 6-foot-6 and 210 pounds, he is an explosive athlete and a capable slasher and finisher. Mathurin has solidified himself as one of the best wings in the 2022 NBA Draft and continues to make his case as a top-10 selection.
<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/draft/2022-big-board/players/ochai-agbaji" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Ochai Agbaji, Kansas &mdash; No. 14 ranked prospect</a>
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Ochai Agbaji is a versatile wing who has shown promise as a defender, slasher and shooter. Early in his career, he was known for his athleticism and defense. However, this season, he has emerged as one of the best shooters in America, making giant leaps as a scorer in both volume and efficiency. Agbaji has solidified himself as a viable 3-and-D option at the NBA level and is a candidate for National Player of the Year.
<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/draft/2022-big-board/players/mark-williams" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Mark Williams, Duke &mdash; No. 18 ranked prospect</a>
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Mark Williams is one of the best shot-blockers and inside scorers in the country. Utilizing his size, length and interior presence, Williams shows flashes of dominance on both ends. This season, he has been solid for Mike Krzyzewski and the Duke Blue Devils, which could lead to him being a first-round pick in the 2022 NBA Draft.
<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/draft/2022-big-board/players/wendell-moore-jr" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Wendell Moore Jr., Duke &mdash; No. 31 ranked prospect</a>
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Moore is having a breakout season, finally coming into his own during his junior year. At 6-foot-5, he has good positional size, strength and athleticism at guard. While Moore remains streaky as a three-point shooter, he has proven to be a reliable three-level scorer this year for the Blue Devils. He will still be 20 years old on draft night with more room to develop, making him a solid option this June.
<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/draft/2022-big-board/players/trevor-keels" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Trevor Keels, Duke &mdash; No. 33 ranked prospect</a>
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A physical and slashing guard capable of shooting the ball from outside, Trevor Keels came to Duke after being a consensus five-star high school recruit. His physicality and natural ability to score the ball should generate interest from NBA teams. Although he can be streaky as a shooter, he has a beautiful release and has proven to be a tough shot-maker. With positional size and a knack for scoring, Keels is one to follow.
<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/draft/2022-big-board/players/christian-braun" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Christian Braun, Kansas &mdash; No. 35 ranked prospect</a>
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At 6-foot-6, Braun has positional size and has shown the ability to score from anywhere on the floor. He has a smooth release from three and can pick his spots off the dribble. He is reliable on and off the ball on offense, while providing intelligent defense on the other end. Braun is a well-rounded player and makes a strong case for the 2022 NBA Draft.
<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/draft/2022-big-board/players/christian-koloko" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Christian Koloko, Arizona &mdash; No. 36 ranked prospect</a>
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One of the best rim-protectors in the country, Christian Koloko can anchor a defense in the half-court. As much as his 7-foot-4 wingspan helps on defense, it also allows him to be effective on the other end. His hands, post moves and awareness continue to improve, and he is an efficient finisher in the dunker spot. While his role won't ever be to carry a large load on offense, he can still make a significant impact as a rebounder, shot blocker and rim runner.
<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/draft/2022-big-board/players/trevion-williams" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Trevion Williams, Purdue &mdash; No. 42 ranked prospect</a>
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Trevion Williams may be the best low-post scorer in the country. He has incredible footwork and craftiness at the rim, and he is always thinking a step ahead with the ball in his hands. He is also an impressive athlete at 255 pounds, as he's quick off the ground and runs the floor well. Williams is old-school in the way he provides points, but he does the little things well. He has good vision out of the post, plays with a great motor and is the kind of player you want in your locker room. Williams has a great chance of earning a shot at the NBA level.
<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/draft/2022-big-board/players/johnny-juzang" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Johnny Juzang, UCLA &mdash; No. 47 ranked prospect</a>
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After a stellar NCAA Tournament run last season, Johnny Juzang tested the NBA Draft waters, but ultimately returned to UCLA for his junior season. At 6-foot-7, Juzang is an exceptional outside shooter, especially off the dribble in the half-court. He has continued his efficient scoring as a shot creator and cutter this season. He projects as a wing shooter and capable facilitator at the next level, and will be considered a solid option for teams picking in the 2022 NBA Draft.
<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/draft/2022-big-board/players/jaime-jaquez-jr" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Jaime Jaquez Jr., UCLA &mdash; No. 49 ranked prospect</a>
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Jaime Jaquez Jr. is intelligent and crafty, using defensive manipulation and footwork to create for himself and others. He excels in the post against smaller defenders, and can stretch the floor as a reliable shooter from three-point range. In addition, Jaquez is a hard-nosed competitor, and also provides adequate defense and rebounding. He continues to build on the momentum he established last March during UCLA's impressive tournament run, and he's proving to be a consistent three-level scorer and a viable option in the 2022 NBA Draft.
<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/draft/2022-big-board/players/drew-timme" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Drew Timme, Gonzaga &mdash; No. 53 ranked prospect</a>
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If there's anyone who can give Trevion Williams a run for his money as the best-low post scorer in the nation, it's probably Drew Timme. With tremendous footwork, touch and an ability to manipulate defenders, Timme was dominant last season and has been highly effective again as a junior. He needs to improve his lateral quickness and pick-and-roll defense, as he can often get taken out of the play with ease on the perimeter. If he is able to address some of those concerns, he could solidify himself a solid draft pick in the 2022 NBA Draft.
<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/draft/2022-big-board/players/collin-gillespie" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Collin Gillespie, Villanova &mdash; No. 58 ranked prospect</a>
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Collin Gillespie will enter the 2022 NBA Draft as one of the more accomplished college players in the class. He already has three Big East Championships and a national championship on his resume, and he'll look to duplicate that success at the NBA level. At 6-foot-3, he is intelligent on and off the ball, and is a reliable scorer at multiple levels. He's also disciplined and instinctual on defense, providing real value on both ends of the floor. Gillespie has the tools to be a backup point guard at the next level, so it will be interesting to track if an organiziation gives him that opportunity.
Be sure to <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/draft" target="_blank" rel="noopener">check our complete 2022 NBA Draft Big Board and click each prospect's name for more info</a> (including their highlights, measurements, projected role and more).
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Who are the notable 2022 NBA Draft prospects to watch during the Sweet 16? Here is a guide, with a scouting report for each player.

March Madness: 16 NBA Draft prospects to watch in the Sweet 16

The Sweet 16 field is official!
The final eight tickets to the Sweet 16 were punched yesterday, wrapping up the round of 32. Here's a recap of Sunday's action.
Iowa State defeats Wisconsin 54-49, will face Miami The 11th-seeded Cyclones pulled off another upset, defeating Johnny Davis and Wisconsin. Iowa State took the lead with 16:16 to play and were in control the rest of the way. Gabe Kalscheur had an incredible game, scoring 22 points on 10-of-19 shooting. After a couple years of real struggles, head coach TJ Otzelberger, Tyrese Hunter and Co. continue their phenomenal season and advance to the Sweet 16.
Duke defeats Michigan State 85-76, will face Texas Tech The final score here does not reflect the course of the game. Potential No. 1 pick Paolo Banchero led all players with 19 points in a strong outing, as Gabe Brown led the Spartans with 18. Sparty led by two with 2:50 to play, but Trevor Keels and Jeremy Roach hit some massive shots down the stretch. Coach K and the Blue Devils advance to the Sweet 16, where they have a date with the Red Raiders.&nbsp;
Miami defeats Auburn 79-61, will face Iowa State Miami led wire to wire in a game that, quite frankly, wasn&rsquo;t close. The starters carried the load in this one as they scored 75 of the team's 79 points. Isaiah Wong scored 21 points and Kam McGusty had 20 for the Canes as they outscored Auburn 46-29 in the second half. This was an incredible statement win for the Canes; they will meet Iowa State in the Sweet 16 for a shot at the Elite Eight.&nbsp;
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Purdue defeats Texas 81-71, will face Saint Peter&rsquo;s Purdue held a 14-point lead in the first half, but the Longhorns battled back and took a 44-42 lead of their own in the second. The Boilermakers would slam the door shut late in the contest, led by Trevion Williams' 22 points. Jaden Ivey also posted 18 points in the win. They move on to the Sweet 16 where they'll take on the red-hot Peacocks.&nbsp;
Houston defeats Illinois 68-53, will face Arizona This one was tied at 40-40 with 11:26 to play, but Houston would put on a clinic for the remainder of the game. Taze Moore scored 21 points to lead the charge as the Cougars played tremendous team basketball, especially in the second half. Head coach Kelvin Sampson mentioned &ldquo;Culture Play&rdquo; while alluding to the nature of the win, a method they&rsquo;ll no doubt need to win again in the Sweet 16.
Villanova defeats Ohio State 71-61, will face Michigan Villanova appeared in total control early in the second half, but the Buckeyes stormed back. After Ohio State had cut the lead to two points, the Wildcats hit some big threes and clutch free-throws, and they were able to hold on. Collin Gillespie led the way with 20 points, while Caleb Daniels provided 11 big points off the bench. Villanova now has a big matchup with the Michigan Wolverines in the Sweet 16.
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Texas Tech defeats Notre Dame 59-53, will face Duke This one went down to the wire as the teams traded leads for much of the second half. Kevin McCullar knocked down a pair of free throws with 40 seconds to play, extending his team's lead to 57-52, and they would hold on from there. The Red Raiders added a transition dunk just moments later and the celebration began. Kevin Obanor led all with scorers 15 points to go with 15 rebounds. Duke awaits, in a highly anticipated matchup.&nbsp;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
WOWOWOWOWOW This end to regulation was WILD 🤯<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/MarchMadness?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#MarchMadness</a> <a href="https://t.co/4gihUvpVCq">pic.twitter.com/4gihUvpVCq</a>
&mdash; NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) <a href="https://twitter.com/MarchMadnessMBB/status/1505760901063852032?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 21, 2022</a></blockquote>

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Arizona defeats TCU 85-80 in OT, will face Houston This one was wild. After a huge Bennedict Mathurin three, they headed to overtime where Mike Miles Jr. and Mathurin traded buckets. The Cats would hang on to win 85-80, thanks to 30 points from Mathurin and 28 from Christian Koloko. They will look to continue their potential championship journey in a huge matchup with Houston. This will be must-see action.
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Derek Murray takes us through the final games of the round of 32, and looks ahead to the matchups that await in the Sweet 16.

March Madness Recap: Sweet 16 is set

Who are the notable prospects to keep an eye on during the 2022 NCAA Tournament? Here's a complete guide with scouting reports.

NBA Draft guide to March Madness: Notable prospects to watch

March Madness is underway!
Across the country, teams are competing in conference tournaments and trying to punch their ticket for the NCAA Tournament. Selection Sunday is almost here, and then the tourney starts next Tuesday.
If you missed any of the Day 2 action, here's a recap of what went down on Thursday.
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Games of the Day
Indiana def. Michigan 74-69 &mdash; B1G Second Round
With 11:03 remaining, Michigan led 60-43 and appeared to be in complete control. The Hoosiers would go on a 20-2 run and took the life right out of the Wolverines, completing the comeback by winning 74-69. Trayce Jackson-Davis led all players with 24 points and 4 blocks in a stunner. Indiana faces No. 1 Illinois next.
Texas A&amp;M def. Florida 83-80 in OT &mdash; SEC Second Round
This one was wild. The Aggies dominated all afternoon and held a 9-point lead with 1:07 to play, but the Gators went on a 12-3 run of the next 50 seconds to tie it at 70-70, forcing the game into overtime. They stayed deadlocked at 78-78 with 1:10 left in overtime when Hassan Diarra hit a triple with one second on the clock to win 83-80. A huge win for a true Bubble Team in A&amp;M.
Arizona def. Stanford 84-80 &mdash; Pac-12 Quarterfinals
The largest lead either way today was 7 points &mdash; in a game where Stanford was given a whopping 5% chance of victory. The Cardinal took a 75-74 lead with just over three minutes to go, but the Wildcats had answers. Kerr Kriisa exiting with injury is important to monitor, but Christian Koloko led the team with 24 points as Arizona survives and advances.
Miami (FL) def. Boston College 71-69 in OT &mdash; ACC Quarterfinals
Kam McGusty led the Canes with 16 points in the nail-biter, as they avoided the upset in overtime. Only one basket was scored in the final 2:30 of the contest &mdash; a Jordan Miller layup that sealed the deal. A big save by Miami.&nbsp;
Villanova def. St. John&rsquo;s 66-65 &mdash; Big East Quarterfinals
The Red Storm let a 17-point second half lead slip away to end their season. Villanova was carried by its starting five, with only 7 points coming from the bench unit. Caleb Daniels led the way with 19 points and 7 rebounds. Justin Moore added 15 points of his own.&nbsp;
Toledo def. Central Michigan 72-71 &mdash; MAC Quarterfinals
In a game where the largest lead was 7 points for each team, Toledo held on for the 1-point win. Harrison Henderson scored with 20 seconds remaining to make it 71-70 Central Michigan, but a RayJ Dennis layup with 10 seconds left would seal the deal. Setric Milner Jr. led the way with 22 points for the Rockets. It's a big win for Toledo who currently projects a No. 13 seed.
Providence def. Butler 65-61 &mdash; Big East Quarterfinals
This one was back-and-forth from the tip, as the teams traded leads the entire contest. Tied at 55 with 3:06 remaining, Simas Lukosius hit a big pair of free throws for Butler to take the lead, but Al Durham hit a huge triple with 43 seconds to go for the Friars to take a 61-59 lead. Durham would follow with a dunk at the end of the game to seal the deal at 65-61. Despite the loss, it was a hard-fought game by the Bulldogs.&nbsp;
Wyoming def. UNLV 59-56 &mdash; Mountain West Quarterfinals
The Cowboys held a 9-point lead in the second half, but allowed the Rebels to fight their way back into it. Xavier DuSell hit a huge three with 30 seconds, and then, Brendan Wenzel iced the game with a pair of free throws. A great game from UNLV&rsquo;s Bryce Hamilton comes up just short.&nbsp;
Akron def. Buffalo 70-68 &mdash; MAC Quarterfinals
This was a fight from start to finish. Led by Ali Ali&rsquo;s 19-point effort and a pair of Greg Tribble free throws with four seconds remaining, the Zips survive and advance. They will face No. 1 seed Toledo on Friday afternoon in the MAC semis.
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The Upsets, the Madness
Oklahoma def. Baylor 72-67 &mdash; Big 12 Quarterfinals
The Sooners took the lead with 11:51 to play and never gave it back. With a balanced offensive attack of five players in double-digits, Oklahoma shocked the Bears. Jacob Groves led the way with 15 points, while Marvin Johnson provided 12 off the bench.&nbsp;
Vanderbilt def. Alabama 82-76 &mdash; SEC Second Round
Bama led by 10 points at the break but Scotty Pippen Jr. and Co. had other plans. Vandy roared back to take a 68-67 lead with 4:26 to play, and was able to hold the Crimson Tide off the rest of the way. Jordan Wright hit a pair of free throws late to ice the game, and the Commodores advance. Pippen Jr. ended with 26 points and 7 assists.
TCU def. Texas 65-60 &mdash; Big 12 Quarterfinals
The Horned Frogs had a win probability of 29.3% entering this one, and that&rsquo;s all they needed. After being down 40-20 in the first half, TCU did a complete 180 and outscored the Longhorns 45-20 the rest of the way. Mike Miles and Co. are setting themselves up well, and will take on the Kansas Jayhawks in the Big 12 semis.
Penn State def. Ohio State 71-68 &mdash; Big Ten Second Round
The Nittany Lions were given a 24.2% chance of winning today, and they did just that behind Sam Sessoms' 18 points off the bench. Jalen Pickett also had a huge game with 16 points, 8 rebounds and 5 assists. Penn State moves on to play No. 3 Purdue.&nbsp;
Grambling def. Southern 60-58 &mdash; SWAC Quarterfinals
Led by Tra&rsquo;Michael Moton&rsquo;s 12 points, 11 rebounds and 9 assists, Grambling took the lead with 10 minutes left in the game and never gave it back. The Tigers will face Texas Southern next.&nbsp;
Tulsa def. Wichita State 73-67 &mdash; American First Round
The Golden Hurricane had four players with 10 or more points, including two with at least 20. After an 11-19 season, this was a nice win for Tulsa as it tries to make a late push in the conference. Tulsa will move on to face No. 2 SMU.&nbsp;
Portland State def. Southern Utah 77-65 &mdash; Big Sky Quarterfinals
The Vikings entered this game under .500 on the season, but put up 77 points on 51.9% shooting from the floor. They held Southern Utah to a lowly 36.8% from the floor and are able to advance.
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Standout Performers
Noah Fernandes (UMass): 29 points, 7 assists
Spencer Jones (Stanford): 28 points, 8 rebounds
Jimmy Boeheim (Syracuse): 28 points, 7 rebounds, 3 steals, 2 assists
Keegan Murray (Iowa): 26 points, 8 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal
Grant Sherfield (Nevada): 25 points, 6 assists, 3 rebounds
Joel Murray (Long Beach State): 25 points, 4 assists, 3 rebounds
Trayce Jackson-Davis (Indiana): 24 points, 8 rebounds, 4 blocks, 10-17 FG
Wendell Moore Jr. (Duke): 26 points, 8 assists, 3 rebounds, 1 block, 1 steal
Nate Watson (Providence): 26 points, 7 rebounds, 9-14 FG
Scotty Pippen Jr. (Vanderbilt): 26 points, 7 assists
Tristen Newton (East Carolina): 26 points, 9 rebounds, 6 assists
Jordan Walker (UAB): 26 points, 5 steals, 3 rebounds, 3 assists
EJ Liddell (Ohio State): 25 points, 8 rebounds, 2 blocks
Orlando Robinson (Fresno State):&nbsp;25 points, 11 rebounds, 3 assists
Christian Koloko (Arizona): 24 points, 9 rebounds, 10-12 FG
Dillon Jones (Weber State): 23 points, 11 rebounds, 3 steals
Julian Champagnie (St. John&rsquo;s): 23 points, 9 rebounds, 4 steals, 3 assists
Jaime Jaquez Jr. (UCLA): 23 points, 11 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals
Prentiss Hubb (Notre Dame): 23 points, 5 assists
Zyon Pullin (UC Riverside):&nbsp;23 points, 5 assists, 4 rebounds
Amadou Sow (UC Santa Barbara): 21 points, 16 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 blocks
Bryce Hamilton (UNLV): 22 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists
Mahki Morris (Abilene Christian): 22 points, 4 assists, 2 rebounds
Chuba Ohams (Fordham): 20 points, 16 rebounds, 2 steals
Darien Jackson (Tulsa): 20 points, 10 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 blocks
Brady Manek (UNC): 21 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists
Malique Jacobs (Kent State): 21 points, 10 rebounds, 2 assists
Kowacie Reeves (Florida): 21 points, 6 rebounds
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2022 NBA Draft: Prospect Watch&nbsp;
Keegan Murray (Iowa): 26 points, 8 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal
Wendell Moore Jr. (Duke): 26 points, 8 assists, 3 rebounds, 1 block, 1 steal
EJ Liddell (Ohio State): 25 points, 8 rebounds, 2 blocks
Orlando Robinson (Fresno State):&nbsp;25 points, 11 rebounds, 3 assists
Christian Koloko (Arizona): 24 points, 9 rebounds, 10-12 FG
Jaime Jaquez Jr. (UCLA): 23 points, 11 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals
Tari Eason (LSU): 19 points, 5 rebounds, 2 steals, 2 blocks
Justin Lewis (Marquette): 17 points, 7 rebounds, 2 steals
Ochai Agbaji (Kansas): 18 points, 3 rebounds, 2 steals
Trevor Keels (Duke): 14 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists
Jabari Walker (Colorado): 18 points, 16 rebounds
Iverson Molinar (Miss. State): 19 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists
Julian Champagnie (St. John&rsquo;s): 23 points, 9 rebounds, 4 steals, 3 assists
Collin Gillespie (Villanova): 14 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists
David Roddy (Colorado State): 13 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 blocks
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March Madness is underway! If you missed any of the Day 2 action, here's a recap of what went down during Thursday's games.

March Madness: Conference tournament Thursday recap

In a game where emotions were high and tickets were going for just shy of $80,000, the North Carolina Tar Heels were able to walk in and come away the victors over their rival Duke Blue Devils, 94-81.
Behind a strong team effort on the offensive end, UNC's starters scored 92 of their 94 points, and Armando Bacot led the way with 23 of them.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
Armando Bacot 23 Pts (10-11 FG) 7 Rebs vs DUKE!!! Quick playing with bro and put him in the Lottery&hellip; ACC Player of the year!!! <a href="https://t.co/P1yNPVAQru">pic.twitter.com/P1yNPVAQru</a>
&mdash; Frankie Vision (@Frankie_Vision) <a href="https://twitter.com/Frankie_Vision/status/1500288472329949194?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 6, 2022</a></blockquote>

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Trevor Keels got the scoring started for Duke (26-5, 16-4 ACC), but the Tar Heels (23-8, 15-5 ACC) jumped out to an 11-4 lead. Bacot picked up a quick foul and was put on the bench, and Paolo Banchero responded by leading Duke on a 10-2 run. Jeremy Roach would contribute 6 quick points off the bench, as Duke took the 16-15 lead. UNC's Brady Manek answered with his second triple to make it 26-23.&nbsp;
The Blue Devils were up 41-39 heading into halftime, with Banchero leading the way with 15 points. RJ Davis led Carolina with 11, and Manek was 3 for 6 from deep with 9 points.
Duke extended the lead to 50-44 just minutes into the second half, but Bacot went on a run and cut the Tar Heels' deficit back to two. By the under-12 TV timeout, Duke held a 56-54 advantage.&nbsp;
The Tar Heels went on top 65-61 at the 8-minute mark in part to Bacot really getting things going, plus a tough bucket from Caleb Love. Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski called a timeout at 2:58 after a Wendell Moore Jr. three cut the Blue Devils' deficit to 79-74.&nbsp;
Manek would connect on another triple following the timeout to make it 82-74 in favor of UNC, and things started to get tense. Leaky Black and Bacot quickly scored baskets of their own, and that about did it. The Tar Heels came into Cameron Indoor and spoiled Coach K&rsquo;s finale.
Love scored 22 for the visitors, while Manek hit 5 of 10 from deep for 20 points of his own. Davis had a great game for the Tar Heels with 21 points.&nbsp;
Banchero led Duke with 23 points. Blue Devils center Mark Williams posted 16 points and 13 rebounds. Roach had a strong showing, too, with 15 points off the bench.&nbsp;
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The Blue Devils rank No. 6 in the NET and No. 5 in Adjusted Efficiency, making them one of the favorites to win the National Championship. Banchero, the potential No. 1 overall pick in this coming NBA Draft, continues to play well with 16.9 points per game. AJ Griffin, Williams, Keels, and Moore also have strong cases as first-round picks.
The Tar Heels entered this one as winners of four straight, and have moved up to No. 8 in the NET Rankings. They have the No. 25 ranked offense in the nation behind Bacot (16.4 PPG), Love (15.5 PPG) and the Oklahoma transfer, Manek (14.2 PPG). They will need a positive showing in the ACC Tournament to ensure a visit to the Big Dance.
Next up for Coach K and the Blue Devils? It's time to refocus and gear up for the ACC Tournament, where Duke will enter as the top seed. In March Madness, the Blue Devils currently project as a No. 2 seed.
North Carolina sits on the &ldquo;Last Four Byes&rdquo; line and is considered a Bubble Team &mdash; although this win will play huge with the committee.&nbsp;
Pregame Celebration
While he ends his Duke career at home on a sad note, Mike Krzyzewski will be remembered for the game of basketball and his accolades, yes, but also for how he left his mark on people.&nbsp;
Krzyzewski entered this one with a career record of 1,196-365 (.766). His list of accolades includes:
<ul>
<li>35 NCAA Tournament appearances</li>
<li>12 Final Four appearances</li>
<li>5 NCAA Championships</li>
<li>Three-time Naismith College Coach of the Year</li>
<li>Five-time ACC Coach of the Year</li>
<li>An induction into the Basketball Hall of Fame</li>
</ul>
Before the game, there was a beautiful ceremony from over 80 former Duke players who made the trip to honor Coach K.
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Some of those former players spoke to our BasketballNews.com staff.
A couple of weeks ago, Luke Kennard <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/luke-kennard-letting-it-fly-with-a-quicker-trigger-for-game-clippers" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told our Spencer Davies</a>:
<blockquote>
He meant a lot [to my career]. Coach, he gave me an opportunity to play at the best university in the world, play for the best coach to ever coach the game," Kennard said. "It was a lot of fun. I mean without going there, [there's] no way I would be where I am today. He's great. He's such a family guy. Anytime I have a big game, he's always texting me like after the game. He keeps in touch with a lot of his players. I'm happy for him. He's done everything he's wanted to do while coaching the game. There's no better guy or coach for everything that's happened to him &mdash; he deserved it all. Happy retirement to him. He's gonna enjoy it now, he's gonna enjoy his family and grandkids. I'm happy for him though. I keep in touch with him all the time, and hopefully they can go out with a bang and try to get him a national championship this year. It's been fun to watch.
</blockquote>
Nolan Smith <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/duke-assistant-nolan-smith-on-coach-ks-retirement-jon-scheyer-more" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told our Chief Content Officer Alex Kennedy</a>:
<blockquote>
When a legend says "It&rsquo;s time," then it&rsquo;s time&hellip; His legacy comes down to winning. He consistently won in four different decades; that right there is unheard of. There are so many big-time coaches that have been in this game, but a lot of them most likely [won] in one or two decades. Not many have gotten to four decades and had the continued success that he&rsquo;s had. I think another part of that legacy is that he&rsquo;s created these relationships with players over and over again, so players continually wanted to play with Coach K. A lot of coaches get old; he never got old, he&rsquo;s still not old. Even heading into his last season, he stays up-to-date, he&rsquo;s adjusted to the times and he&rsquo;s adjusted to the game. I think that right there is part of his legacy, the fact that he&rsquo;s been able to change with the times of this game and not let it pass him up.
He&rsquo;s helped me tremendously in so many different ways. First, I&rsquo;ll start with basketball; he helped me be the best basketball player that I could be. The way he challenged me every day, the way he taught me to prepare every single day, how to approach the game every single day -- those were all lessons that helped me as a player. A lot of those lessons ended up helping me when I transitioned into my coaching career, too. All of those lessons that he was teaching are things that he does as a coach: he prepares better than anybody, he puts the time in, he watches film and he dedicates himself fully to his craft as a coach. That&rsquo;s probably something that a lot of people don&rsquo;t know about coaches: you put that same time in. And Coach puts in more time than anybody when it comes to his craft. Just being able to watch him and take notes... I&rsquo;ve made sure to have a notepad and a pen in every single meeting with him because he&rsquo;s always going to give you some kind of gem, some kind of lesson, that I can take with me and use in my coaching career when I deal with my players and, one day, have my own program.
</blockquote>
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In a game where emotions were high and tickets were going for just shy of $80,000, UNC was able to beat its rival Duke on the road.

North Carolina spoils Coach K’s last home game, beats No. 4 Duke 94-81

LeBron James and Russell Westbrook both had triple-doubles and the Los Angeles Lakers snapped a season-high, five-game skid with a 132-123 victory over the Houston Rockets on Tuesday night.
&ldquo;The hardest thing to do in this league is win," James said. &ldquo;So when you win you never take it for granted."
James had 32 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists for his third triple-double this season, and it was his fifth consecutive 30-point game. Westbrook scored 24 points with 12 rebounds and 10 assists for his seventh of the season.
Houston stuck around for most of the night, but James took over late to allow the Lakers to pull away and hand the Rockets their fifth consecutive loss.
&ldquo;For us to battle through this together and to finish the way we did with LeBron and Russ doing it together, bringing it home, I think that&rsquo;s a big step forward in this," said assistant coach David Fizdale, who was filling in for a fifth straight game for coach Frank Vogel because of COVID-19 protocols.
The Rockets trailed by one when James was called for goaltending on a layup by Jalen Green that would have put Houston on top with 2 &frac12; minutes left. But the Lakers challenged the call, and it was overturned. Carmelo Anthony made a 3-pointer a few seconds later to extend the lead to 120-116.
James added two free throws after that and his one-handed dunk after a turnover by Houston made it 124-116 with less than 90 seconds to go.
Kevin Porter Jr.&rsquo;s 3-pointer got Houston within five before James struck again, making a layup to extend the lead to 126-119 with less than a minute remaining. James made four free throws after that to secure the victory.
&ldquo;I just feel like I&rsquo;m in a really good offensive zone right now," he said.
Green, the second overall pick in this year&rsquo;s draft, led the Rockets with 24 points after missing 15 of the last 16 games with a strained left hamstring.
&ldquo;We expected to win," Houston coach Stephen Silas said. &ldquo;We had no problems standing up to those guys, not backing down. They had some great players out there that played very well. Russ with the triple-double, LeBron with the triple-double and Melo doing his thing. It was tough."
Anthony had 24 points off the bench on a night James started at center and big men Dwight Howard and DeAndre Jordan didn't play.
James said it was the first time he'd started at center at any level of basketball.
&ldquo;I never played center in my life before," he said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve always been on the wing or handling the ball."
Fizdale raved about the versatility James showed in his role Tuesday night.
&ldquo;This guy is unbelievable," he said. &ldquo;We&rsquo;re all very lucky as basketball people to get to watch what we&rsquo;re watching with this man."
The Lakers took the lead by scoring the last five points of the third quarter and opened the fourth with a 6-0 run to make it 103-92 with 11 minutes to go.
Green got Houston going after that, making two 3-pointers during a 10-2 spurt that cut the deficit to 105-102.
Porter had 22 points and nine assists in his return after missing the last 12 games with a bruised thigh. Christian Wood also scored 22.
Josh Christopher tied it on a layup with less than a minute left in the third quarter. But the Lakers scored the last five points of the quarter, capped by a 3 from Westbrook, to take a 97-92 lead into the fourth quarter. Westbrook pointed at the L.A. bench and smiled broadly as he walked off the court after the shot.
TIP-INS
Lakers: Fizdale, said that Vogel was getting close to returning but he wasn&rsquo;t sure exactly when he could rejoin the team. ... Trevor Ariza, Kent Bazemore, Austin Reaves and Rajon Rondo missed the game because of health and safety protocols. ... Wayne Ellington missed the game for an illness that the team said was not COVID-19 related.
Rockets: D.J. Augustin, Kenyon Martin Jr., Garrison Mathews and Jae&rsquo;Sean Tate were out because of health and safety protocols.
BILES AT BASKETBALL
Olympic gold medal-winning gymnast Simone Biles took part in the team's first shot promotion for charity before the game. Biles didn't make the free throw but Rockets owner Tilman Fertitta still donated $1,000 to the team's foundation in her name for the effort.
UP NEXT
Lakers: Visit Memphis Wednesday night.
Rockets: Host Miami Friday night.

LeBron James and Russell Westbrook both had triple-doubles and the Los Angeles Lakers snapped a season-high, five-game skid.

LeBron, Westbrook have triple-doubles, Lakers' skid ends at 5

Here are the five best fits with T&mdash;nah, just kidding. This isn&rsquo;t going to be that simplistic.
But a handful of teams should value Orlando Magic swingman Terrence Ross, who is being made available for trade, <a href="https://twitter.com/TheAthleticNBA/status/1470457239097987084" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according to a report from The Athletic</a>. To the surprise of absolutely no one, the desired compensation is highlighted by a first-round pick.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
Terrence Ross had the bench going wild 😳 <a href="https://t.co/qXkFA7bWVy">pic.twitter.com/qXkFA7bWVy</a>
&mdash; NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA) <a href="https://twitter.com/ESPNNBA/status/1468805359896719363?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 9, 2021</a></blockquote>

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Maybe the Magic could get one, but who knows? The 6-foot-6 wing and 10-year pro will turn 31 years old in February and will make $11.5 million next season &mdash; the last of a <a href="https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2811230-report-terrence-ross-re-signs-with-magic-on-4-year-54m-contract#:~:text=Orlando%20Magic-,Report%3A%20Terrence%20Ross%20Agrees%20to%20Re%2DSign%20with%20Magic%20on,4%2DYear%2C%20%2454M%20Contract&amp;text=The%20Orlando%20Magic%20maintained%20a,according%20to%20ESPN's%20Adrian%20Wojnarowski." target="_blank" rel="noopener">$54 million four-year extension signed in July 2019</a>. Ross&rsquo; salary for this current campaign is listed at $12.5 million.
Additionally, the University of Washington alum is statistically having his worst season since 2017-18, averaging <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/players/terrence-ross-31">10.8 points on 39/30/86 shooting splits</a>, save for his free-throw percentage; it&rsquo;s well below his 13.9 points on 41/35/86 splits in now six seasons with the Magic. But, in fairness, the Magic are 5-23 as of this writing, and you may remember how motivated PJ Tucker looked while toiling away on last season&rsquo;s nomadic Houston Rockets.
Riiight, so let&rsquo;s give Ross a break here.
Ross provides shooting that is consistently streakier than it is sharp. Anyone who never averaged more than 16 points per game in a season but <a href="https://youtu.be/mX03ZWmiwzI" target="_blank" rel="noopener">managed to go for 51</a> before might be one of the reasons there is a microwave badge in every NBA 2K game.
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That said, there are several playoff (and maybe even championship) teams with high aspirations who may want to add an affordable, athletic veteran swingman to bolster their offense.
Boston Celtics
Orlando receives: Juancho Hernang&oacute;mez ($6.9 million), Romeo Langford ($3.8 million) and draft capital
Boston receives: Terrence Ross
Josh Richardson makes $11.6 million this season and $12.2 million next, making for a perfect match... but what for? Juancho Hernang&oacute;mez, like Richardson, is signed through next season, but at only $7.4 million. If you package him with 2019 No. 14 overall pick Romeo Langford, who makes $5.6 million next season, the financial end is taken care of. From there, the Celtics have their <a href="https://www.prosportstransactions.com/basketball/DraftTrades/Future/Celtics.htm" target="_blank" rel="noopener">own firsts and a ton of second-rounders</a> to play with. The Magic would also get a buy-low option in Langford, which reflects much of what they&rsquo;ve been accumulating in their rebuild anyway.
Denver Nuggets
Orlando receives: JaMychal Green ($8.2 million), Bol Bol ($2.2 million) and draft capital
Denver receives: Terrence Ross
Will Barton ($15.6 million) and Monte Morris ($8.5 million) are the closest to Ross&rsquo; $12.5 million, but neither should be included in this deal. With injuries to Jamal Murray and Michael Porter Jr. &mdash; both of whom could be out for the season &mdash; the Nuggets do need massive help offensively. They signed Davon Reed last week, <a href="https://www.numberfire.com/nba/player-news/186824/davon-reed-starting-for-nuggets-saturday-in-place-of-inactive-will-barton">who has already started a game</a>, and the team is currently 24th in scoring, 27th in pace, and dead last in free-throw attempts.
Even with injuries, a healthy JaMychal Green only sees 14.4 minutes per contest, and Bol Bol is in Year 3 of waiting, only having logged 47 minutes in 10 appearances so far. Green has a player option for $8.2 million next season, and Bol is in the final year of his rookie deal. If any team is inclined to finally free Bol, it&rsquo;s Orlando. <a href="https://www.prosportstransactions.com/basketball/DraftTrades/Future/Nuggets.htm">Regarding draft picks</a>, the Nuggets shouldn&rsquo;t give a first, but they have control of most of their own, save for two. Their 2023 pick is lottery protected and in Oklahoma City, and their 2025 first is top-five protected in, of all places, Orlando. Denver controls its second-rounders from 2024 through 2026 and every year from 2028 onward.
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Phoenix Suns
Orlando receives: Dario Sarić ($8.5 million), Jalen Smith ($4.5 million) and draft capital
Phoenix receives: Terrence Ross
Again, Orlando is 5-23: Why would the Magic care if Sarić &mdash; who tore his ACL during the NBA Finals &mdash; can&rsquo;t play, so long as they could get some sort of draft relief for Ross? Saric is even due $9.2 million next season. Smith, who was drafted No. 10 overall in 2020, is the ultra-rare lottery pick whose <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/suns-admit-mistake-drafting-jalen-smith-no-10-overall-in-2020-declining-thirdyear-option-rare-is-phoenix-suns-declining-jalen-smiths-third-year-option#:~:text=The%20Suns%20declined%20Jalen%20Smith's,this%20season%20at%20%244.4%20million." target="_blank" rel="noopener">third-year option was declined;</a> he will be a free agent in 2022. That said, the Magic could talk themselves into throwing him out there and seeing if he&rsquo;s worth keeping on a team-friendly deal.
To this point, the 21-year-old Smith has logged 213 career minutes over just 35 appearances. This trade package will likely be offered for a Ross-type of player (in salary, not necessarily style), and it works here if you think he&rsquo;s an upgrade in the spot currently occupied by Landry Shamet. The Suns control <a href="https://www.prosportstransactions.com/basketball/DraftTrades/Future/Suns.htm" target="_blank" rel="noopener">all of their upcoming picks</a> except for their 2022 first-rounder, which is top-12 protected and in OKC, and will likely convey.
THREE-TEAM DEAL CANDIDATES 
When you go through NBA rosters, you realize that the league has a problem related to financial classes. There are a bunch of max or near-max players, and numerous others making sub-$5 million, with a thinning middle-class. Therefore, trades are harder to construct than they seem, even though Ross&rsquo;s salary isn&rsquo;t exorbitant by league standards. That said, other teams could make a play for Ross, but it&rsquo;ll need to be aided by at least one other team&rsquo;s participation.
The Los Angeles Lakers have 10 players on minimum contracts, none higher than the $2.6 million slots occupied by Carmelo Anthony, Trevor Ariza, Rajon Rondo, DeAndre Jordan, Wayne Ellington, Avery Bradley, and Dwight Howard. Kendrick Nunn, who still hasn&rsquo;t played yet, is getting $5 million this season, with a player option for $5.3 million next year. Talen Horton-Tucker is at $9.5 million this season, followed by $10.2 million and an additional $11 million player option afterward, but he most likely isn&rsquo;t getting moved for Ross.&nbsp;
The Philadelphia 76ers can&rsquo;t trade Furkan Korkmaz until March (which is really after the season because the deadline is in February), but it would be ideal to give Ross his minutes. Korkmaz is getting, on average, $5 million a year between now and the 2023-24 season. Danny Green is getting $10 million, but don&rsquo;t count on it. The Sixers will need some help, which will be hard to find mid-season. (Bad enough that they can&rsquo;t <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/examining-potential-trade-destinations-for-ben-simmons-7" target="_blank" rel="noopener">figure out that whole Ben Simmons thing</a>, huh?)

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On "The Daily Social Distancing Show" with Trevor Noah, Chris Bosh shared the motivations behind his new book, titled Letters to a Young Athlete. Bosh reflected on his unique NBA journey, which included an abrupt ending due to blood clots, and the mental side of retirement.
"From the moment I was born, and from the moment I could understand what it was, all I wanted to do was play basketball," Bosh said. "It gave me friends, mentors, fun, all the highs and lows -- that's how I did everything. That's how I identified myself as a person. And as I continued to go, I started to understand that there were so many valuable lessons that I learned on my way to the top, and in getting to the top and losing [it] so quickly, there were more lessons after that. And at the end of the day, we all have that inner voice inside of us, right, that's telling us that we can do things, or we can't do things. I just wanted to let people know that it's normal."
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Part of that battle includes Bosh's discovery of a blood clot in his leg in 2016, which ended up sidelining the star power forward for the rest of his career. It was a sudden and shocking end to what had become Bosh's entire life.
"Basketball was everything for me, so to hear the fact that I can't play anymore at a time when I'm trying to redefine myself as one of the top players in the world -- it just couldn't be at that time," Bosh said. "It just couldn't be. But one thing I learned through basketball is that you have to keep going, regardless of the circumstance; we can't control what happens to us. So those are things that are out of our control.
"But what I can control," he added, "is what my reaction is going to be to that environment -- how I'm going to get up the next day and say, 'I don't know what I'm doing. I don't know what's going to happen, but I know it's going to be okay because now I'm going to put the shift to something else.'"
Bosh was also asked about his 2020-21 NBA title pick. He said he has the biggest rooting interest in the Phoenix Suns, and mentioned Chris Paul, Monty Williams, and former teammate and general manager James Jones as notable connections.
"Phoenix, they have been clamoring for a championship for a long time. So to see them have an extended playoff run and maybe even get one -- if I were to vote, that's who I vote for," Bosh said.

Chris Bosh opens up on the uncertain road that lay ahead after his retirement from the NBA.

Chris Bosh reflects on his unique NBA journey in 'Letters to a Young Athlete'

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Pressure points: Battles that will decide the first round of the NBA Playoffs

A basketball lifer, New York Knicks general manager Scott Perry was no stranger to long hours and circuitous road trips. But not even he could&rsquo;ve known that he&rsquo;d fall in love in Los Angeles.
Merely months after being hired to his post, in 2018, Perry accompanied the Knicks on a January road trip to L.A.
It ended up being quite consequential &mdash; just like most of the moves made on his watch.
As the Knicks prepare to make their first playoff appearance since 2013, credit has rightfully been in abundance. From Leon Rose and William Wesley to Tom Thibodeau, RJ Barrett and, of course, Julius Randle, the national media has bestowed praise upon the franchise.
But of all the names that have been associated with the team&rsquo;s turnaround, nary a soul mentions Perry, the one who set off the chain of events that brought the team where it is and the one who is in the final year of his contract.
Indeed, Perry fell in love in Los Angeles.
In Tinseltown, the lights shine quite brightly, and Randle knew it.
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***
Hungry for an opportunity to call a franchise his own, when Kristaps Porzingis checked him on the first possession of the afternoon, the lefty knew that it was feeding time.
Los Angeles Lakers head coach Luke Walton called Randle&rsquo;s number, and the big man took residence in his office on the right elbow. With Porzingis on his back, Randle received an entry pass from Tyler Ennis. He felt Porzingis leaning to his right, so Randle gave a subtle jab before spinning to his left. All he needed was a half-step.
He threw down a thunderous two-handed dunk, as he wore Porzingis like a shirt. It was the first of 27 points on what was a long day at the office for the Knicks. Randle led the Lakers to a 20-point victory.
That night at Staples Center &mdash; Jan. 21, 2018 &mdash; Perry was among those in the Knicks&rsquo; contingent that spent some quality time with Lakers president of basketball operations Magic Johnson, sources told BasketballNews.com. Long an ally of the front office in New York, Johnson tipped his hand and foretold a scenario in which Los Angeles may not re-sign the big man.
Perry was all ears.
After LeBron James opted to take his talents West a few months later, Randle, frustrated by a lack of opportunity, requested that the Lakers renounce his rights so he could pursue his potential elsewhere. They did, and perhaps ironically, it was Anthony Davis&rsquo; recruitment that helped steer Randle to New Orleans.
Randle enjoyed a career-year during which Davis himself asked out of New Orleans, and the Pelicans improbably won the draft lottery. For Randle, that meant splitting time with Zion Williamson. No thanks.
The big man packed his aspirations back into his bags and opted to take his mighty shoulders back into free agency. Being proactive, Perry had learned that Kevin Durant wouldn&rsquo;t be coming to the Knicks as hoped, and the GM became determined to not let the lefty slip through his fingers again.
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Rather than sulking, prior to free agency officially beginning, Perry began making arrangements so that the Knicks&rsquo; first free-agency meeting was with Randle. As they did in 2018, he grabbed a small contingent that included former president of basketball operations Steve Mills and former head coach David Fizdale, and plopped them on a plane to Los Angeles.
By the time free agency officially began, New York was in L.A., sitting across the table from Randle and his agent, Aaron Mintz. From their first meeting, Randle understood exactly what was being asked of him, and it was music to his ears. According to one source, he agreed to join the Knicks &ldquo;on the spot,&rdquo; although the details of what eventually became a partially-guaranteed three-year deal worth $63 million had to be ironed out.
Perry may not deserve credit for Randle blossoming into an All-Star and a cornerstone &mdash; he wasn&rsquo;t in the gym shooting shots with the lefty &mdash; but he does deserve credit for the decisive pivot that brought the Knicks to Randle&rsquo;s doorstep when free agency began. Just like he deserves credit for doubling down on the decision to stay put at No. 3 in the 2019 NBA Draft.
According to one Knicks source, several members of the team&rsquo;s scouting department advocated for trading down; the belief in Barrett wasn&rsquo;t unanimous. According to the source, the Knicks had &ldquo;multiple opportunities&rdquo; to exercise trades for the third pick that would&rsquo;ve yielded multiple picks within the first 15. The Atlanta Hawks owned the eighth and 10th overall selections, while other teams, including the Boston Celtics and Washington Wizards, had opportunities to execute deals that would have netted the Knicks additional draft capital.
Among the players Perry was urged to consider targeting in those trade-back scenarios, according to the source, were Darius Garland and Cam Reddish.
&ldquo;Sure, it ended up being a &lsquo;no brainer,&rsquo; but there were multiple opportunities to trade down and get two top-15 picks,&rdquo; the source said. &ldquo;Scouts in the organization wanted to trade down, but [Perry] felt strongly about RJ. Scott gave them opportunities to sell him, but he ultimately decided to stay put.
&ldquo;Scott knew there was no way Barrett would allow himself to fail.&rdquo;
Good call.
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***
A little more than three years after Perry saw Randle that fateful afternoon at Staples Center, Randle is now wearing orange and blue and leading a revival. But <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/the-knicks-are-finally-winning-but-theyre-positioned-for-longterm-success-too" target="_blank" rel="noopener">it&rsquo;s New York&rsquo;s future that &mdash; for the first time in a long time &mdash; appears bright</a>.
Shortly after Perry took over in New York, he sat down with Carmelo Anthony and attempted to smooth things over with the future Hall-of-Famer. Anthony told Perry that he wanted a fresh start and that Houston was his destination of choice. New York drew a line in the sand with then-Rockets general manager Daryl Morey &mdash; Eric Gordon, Trevor Ariza and multiple future draft picks, including at least one first. The Rockets were willing to send Ryan Anderson to New York and some future draft considerations, but no first-rounder.
Perry stood his ground, and eventually got Anthony to buy in on a trade that sent him to Oklahoma City. The Knicks maintained future cap flexibility by not taking on any long-term deals, while also netting the second-round draft pick that eventually became Mitchell Robinson. Although out for the remainder of the season, Robinson is one of the team&rsquo;s more promising prospects, and with a $1.8 million team option for next season, he is signed to one of the most team-friendly deals in the entire league &mdash; a deal that Perry&rsquo;s front office negotiated.
And when the time came to deal Porzingis, Perry made the unpopular move to trade the fan favorite after it became clear that Porzingis no longer wanted to be in New York. The cap space that resulted from that trade &mdash; aside from being used to sign Randle &mdash; also yielded Marcus Morris, who would eventually be traded for the pick that became Immanuel Quickley.
In other words, the Porzingis trade directly led the Knicks to Randle, Quickley and two first-round draft pick credits, the first of which will vest this year, unprotected.
Like any other general manager, some of the moves that were made on Perry&rsquo;s watch haven&rsquo;t exactly panned out &mdash; drafting Kevin Knox among them. But in relatively short order, after taking over in New York, Perry had to trade his team&rsquo;s best player twice. Improving a roster while doing that is incredibly difficult. Yet, here the Knicks are.
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There&rsquo;s never one reason for anything in the NBA. A tough loss, a great win, a Finals appearance, a lottery showing &mdash; there are always multiple reasons why things go right or wrong.
To put it simply: Perry deserves some credit for where the Knicks are today, and truth be told, he hasn&rsquo;t gotten it.
When one takes a look at the roster that the club will bring into the 2021 NBA Playoffs, four of the team's starters &mdash; Randle, Barrett, Elfrid Payton and Reggie Bullock &mdash; were acquired by the GM.
As Coach Thibodeau and his newly-minted All-Star improbably vie for the fourth seed in the Eastern Conference, without question, Rose and Wesley are in possession of a promising situation in New York &mdash; a young, talented and hard-working team, cap-friendly contracts, cap space and future draft assets.
For the first time in a long time, it&rsquo;s easy to imagine what the Knicks would look like if free agents once again consider them a destination. Could they land one of the top players in this upcoming class such as Lonzo Ball, John Collins or Lauri Markkanen?
In New York, it&rsquo;s okay to believe in the future again.
But it&rsquo;s important to remember that the bright future was once snuffed out by an endless night.
Scott Perry is the spark that lit the lantern. Salvation draws near.
Three years ago, what seemed an inconsequential road trip and rendezvous with Magic Johnson has made all the difference. And whether or not Rose decides to re-sign arguably the Knicks&rsquo; most deserving free agent this summer, one thing has become abundantly clear...
As general manager, Scott Perry has done more than his part.

As he nears the end of his contract as general manager of the New York Knicks, Scott Perry deserves praise for the job he's done.