Fighting Knights

Alex Kennedy goes 1-on-1 with Tyrese Haliburton, who opens up about getting traded, the Pacers' future, his offseason training, etc.

Tyrese Haliburton won’t let trade 'resentment' define new Pacers era

The Milwaukee Bucks earned the right to be called NBA champions.&nbsp;
Giannis Antetokounmpo could&rsquo;ve spurned the organization that drafted him for greener pastures as the national pundits were begging him to do last fall, but he instead stuck with it and signed a super-max contract before the 2020-21 season began. For the first time in what seems like a while, loyalty has been rewarded with gold.&nbsp;
"I just I couldn't leave. There was a job that had to be finished," Giannis said after the Bucks' title win. "The Bubble did not pay us justice. Give credit to the Miami Heat. They played great. But they did not pay us justice. Everybody was feeling homesick. We are a family-oriented team and we wanted to see our families.
"But coming back, I was like, 'This is my city. They trust me. They believe in me. They believe in us.' Even when we lost, the city was still -- went outside and [supported us]. You know, obviously, I wanted to get the job done. But that's my stubborn side. It's easy to go somewhere and go win a championship with somebody else. It's easy. I could go to a super-team and just do my part and win a championship.
"But this is the hard way to do it and this is the way to do it and we did it. F***ing did it. We did it, man."
Milwaukee&rsquo;s franchise face chose to work harder, honing in on his craft as he let Bucks general manager Jon Horst make the appropriate tweaks to the roster in the offseason prior to Giannis signing the dotted line. Horst boldly acquired Jrue Holiday as a part of a massive four-team deal that sent Eric Bledsoe and a boatload of future draft capital to the New Orleans Pelicans and George Hill to the Oklahoma City Thunder, as well as Milwaukee&rsquo;s No. 24 overall pick in 2020 (which became R.J. Hampton).&nbsp;
Horst nearly added Bogdan Bogdanovic to the mix as well via trade, except the NBA nixed that effort when it was learned that talks were being had prior to the moratorium period. Still, the Bucks were able to bring in Bobby Portis and Bryn Forbes (and ironically, Finals opponent Torrey Craig) to bolster the bench bunch, and PJ Tucker and Jeff Teague joined the fray late in the season for a playoff run.&nbsp;
The point is: Milwaukee wasn&rsquo;t resting on its laurels with Giannis&rsquo; commitment hanging in the balance, and the front office&rsquo;s sense of urgency was felt in a major way. Looking back, both parties have to feel great about how the offseason was handled, especially with so many rumors linking Giannis to different teams and head coach Mike Budenholzer&rsquo;s job potentially being in jeopardy. Vibes surrounding the team, at least on the outside looking in, were pretty negative.
"What Jon Horst has done to put together a team, he's the greatest GM in the league," Budenholzer said. "I'm a little bit biased, but to be his partner, for him to go out and get Jrue Holiday, to have the guts to make that [trade], to recruit guys, to get P.J. Tucker midseason, Bobby Portis in the offseason. Stick with Khris [Middleton], Giannis and Brook [Lopez] and Pat [Connaughton] and these guys, and you go up and down the roster. Jon has done an amazing job.
"Ownership, Marc Lasry, Wes Edens, Jamie Dinan, Mike Fascitelli, they give us what we need. We keep pushing. We try to get better as coaches, players, and here we are [celebrating]. It's special."
Fast forward to now, with a Larry O&rsquo;Brien trophy to show for withstanding those bumps in the road, and those concerns have vanished. This is a group that weathered a number of storms in multiple ways, so it shouldn&rsquo;t come as a surprise that the Bucks&rsquo; identity in this 2020-21 postseason was built on resilience and mental toughness.&nbsp;
"As a whole, we used a lot of our failures as experience. We've been in a lot of situations our past years here," Middleton said. "At the beginning of the year, we had a new team, a lot of new rotation guys, different guys step into the starting lineup and we knew it was going to be challenging, but we all said it was going to be worth it to learn and find out how to adjust and figure out what we needed to do in-game to win. We knew it wasn't always going to be pretty, we knew we were going to have to win different styles of ballgames, but that's the type of team you want to be, to throw different guys out there, different lineups out there, because you can't win the same way at this level."
"It took time. You could see it," Tucker added. "Everything kind of got -- Coach has to play it the right way. It's got to flow. And mind you, we didn't have Donte [DiVincenzo]. We're missing a big piece. Donte would have been huge for this series, especially a big series. But all that mattered. Even throughout the process, me, I got hurt early and being out. It was a lot of obstacles throughout the season. So it wasn't just like, Oh, we can win it. It's like, Oh, we got a really good team, we got a strong team, we got a chance. But I think honestly, after the Brooklyn series, it was like, All right, we here now. Ain't no need -- we here, we got to go for it. This is it, fellas; this is it. So everybody bought in.&nbsp;
Aside from a payback thrashing of the Miami Heat in the first round, Milwaukee&rsquo;s back was against the wall in every series the team played in. There were 0-2 deficits and inconsistencies in performances. Donte DiVincenzo was lost three games into the playoffs. There was even a nearly-devastating knee injury to Giannis in the Eastern Conference Finals when the outcome was far from determined. Though there were so many instances when the Bucks could&rsquo;ve thrown in the towel, they refused to.
"We were down 0-2 against Brooklyn and came together as a group within our film session and talked it out. We all wanted to be on the same page and realized how we needed to play and what we needed to do. It was the same thing in this series," Middleton said. "We never got down, we're still playing, we still have a chance. That's the way we felt, no matter if we were down in the game or the series, it didn't matter. We knew each time we took the court we had a chance to win. And we have everybody in the locker room and organization that believes and that is never going to give up until it's completely over. That's who you want to play with, guys who are going to fight to the end."
"It's incredible. It's a testament to the team," Lopez said. "I'm a team guy. I've always been a team guy. And so you know, like I was saying earlier, it's something that all our guys deserve, and to see them persevere, we went 0-2 against Brooklyn, 0-1 against Atlanta and 0-2 to open the series against the Suns, and to see our guys fight back and make adjustments and keep that belief in one another, that's special and not something you get with everything team. I've seen that through my 13 years in the league that this team is absolutely one of a kind and I am just fortunate and pleased to be part of that."
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Giannis persevered through his knee setback, ensuring he did everything in his power to ready himself for the Finals after the Game 4 injury occured in Atlanta nine days beforehand. The Finals opener definitely showed that the Greek Freak wasn&rsquo;t 100%; it didn&rsquo;t stop him from progressing with each night, and Giannis imposed his will in every game from there on out.&nbsp;
It&rsquo;s almost like the injury slowed things down for him mentally, and he was able to process the game more naturally as a result. He was at his best when off the ball and used as a screener in the halfcourt, and when coming full speed like a locomotive in transition. Giannis understood when the time was right to use his size on the block and didn&rsquo;t force the issue quite as much as he did in previous series. His decisiveness was arguably the best we&rsquo;ve seen since he&rsquo;s been in the league, quickly swinging the ball without bogged-down possessions and spraying it around to his teammates on drives to the rim. And if he ever received the ball in the vicinity of the rim, it was curtains for anybody that tried to stop him.
That&rsquo;s just the offense. As a help defender, Giannis wasn&rsquo;t outdone by a single soul. He didn&rsquo;t shy away from crunch time, making his biggest impacts when the lights shone the brightest. Instinctually, he was superb, racking up deflections and starting Milwaukee&rsquo;s fastbreaks on the regular. He bodied up Deandre Ayton inside, and challenged Devin Booker and Chris Paul on switches when needed. That goes without mentioning how he erased a plethora of shots at their apex and hustled back on transition defense with every possession the Suns had numbers. All-around, he was just magnificent, and it was a 120% effort from somebody who wasn't 100%.
"I think he embraces us being great defensively. Giannis does, the whole team," Budenholzer said. "When we get stops and get out and run and get Giannis in space, get our team in space, I think he's special. He was able to put his stamp on the game in the third quarter and flip the score. And then some big plays in the fourth quarter -- big plays, big blocks. It's hard to keep finding words for Giannis."
Giannis' journey throughout the playoffs culminated with an iconic showing in the Game 6 series finale, a 50-point, 14-rebound, 5-block signature performance to send Milwaukee to the promised land and earn himself the Finals MVP award. The Greek Freak joined Shaquille O'Neal as the only other player in NBA history to record three 40-point, 10-rebound games in a Finals series.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
Giannis EXPLODES for 33 of his 50 points in the 2nd half of Game 6, fueling the <a href="https://twitter.com/Bucks?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Bucks</a> Taco Bell Comeback en route to their first NBA Championship in 50 years! 50 PTS 14 REB 5 BLK 17-19 FTM <a href="https://t.co/qDbk0nHWeb">pic.twitter.com/qDbk0nHWeb</a>
&mdash; NBA (@NBA) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBA/status/1417721768287080448?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 21, 2021</a></blockquote>

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"I don't know how many words you need to use beyond 50 points in a close out game in an NBA Finals. Pretty much sums it all up," Lopez said. "It's so indicative of who Giannis is as a player, as a person. He had to -- he has that mindset always to just take care of business and he's been our leader throughout my time. To have him as a focal point of everything we do and the way he goes about it, it's just contagious with the whole team, and he's so impressive night-in and night-out.&nbsp;
"This is stuff you don't want to take for granted. But that's Giannis. That's what he does, and it's just, I mean, completely aTwe-inspiring. His performance tonight, this whole series, this whole year, there's no words for that. You've just got to look at the numbers."
Khris Middleton had some mind-bogglingly off nights, as did Holiday, but there was never a question of what kind of effort they&rsquo;d bring on the defensive side of the ball. And the thing is, they&rsquo;d always bounce back in some way, shape or fashion. (Care to discuss the shots down the stretch in Game 7 in Brooklyn? Or the last two games of the East Finals without Giannis?)
For Middleton, he showed up when it counted most with the team in desperation mode. He was an excellent facilitator and pull-up magician, unafraid to take shots with a high degree of difficulty. There was an inherent clutch factor about his handy work as well, always seeming to come up huge in money time. As a lead handler and savant in the pick-and-roll, when Middleton turned the corner, it forced the opposition to make a swift choice to contest or stick with the roller -- oftentimes a lose-lose situation.
Yes, Holiday had head-scratching issues with finishing his layups, but he had plenty of gems as a pull-up three-baller and on-point dime man. There were just night-and-day occasions; you could tell the games he was &ldquo;on&rdquo; and the ones where he was way off. In spite of that, however, Holiday entirely flipped the momentum of the Finals with his defense on Chris Paul.&nbsp;
CP3 was a man possessed in Game 1 and Game 2, having his way with Milwaukee&rsquo;s bigs out on the perimeter and then adjusting to the extra attention that followed by involving his teammates. It didn&rsquo;t last long. Holiday started to pick up Paul from 94 feet starting in Game 2, and from that point on, everything changed. The former started to notice fatigue settling in, as he himself was exhausted. Holiday had Paul out of sorts, with the 36-year-old struggling with shot selection and offensive rhythm. Had it not been for that increased intensity, who knows where these Finals could&rsquo;ve gone?
"I think when it comes down to it, man, I guess I don't really even care what people think about my game. I think it's about the team. We have a great team," Holiday said. "How they put it together, we have two superstars who carried us this whole playoff series and the whole playoffs. We got great role players. We got the energy. We got Bobby. We got shooters. It's a great puzzle. I think every piece in that puzzle has contributed so much -- from Jordan Nwora to Giannis Antetokounmpo. So, it's been a heck of a journey."
We&rsquo;d be remiss to not mention the top to bottom contributions this team had on this run. Tucker injected the Bucks with grit and hustle, never backing down from a challenge no matter who it was. Pat Connaughton sunk a ton of critical threes, chased down 50-50 balls and rebounded his heart out. Bobby Portis fed off the Fiserv Forum&rsquo;s energy and channeled it into incredible, momentum-shifting production on the offensive glass and from long distance (and stepped up again in a huge way in Game 6). Brook Lopez had his role change with different matchups, but utilized his perimeter shooting and rim protection when the squad needed it; let&rsquo;s not forget the turn-the-clock-back post performance he had in Game 5 of the East Finals, either. Bryn Forbes played the role of a human torch in the Miami series. Just about everybody who was in the rotation, at some point of the postseason, contributed to this Finals victory.
"That's just the character of the team that we have. You know, it's the group of guys that make up the Milwaukee Bucks and not just the players but the coaches, the management, the ownership," Connaughton said. "At the end of the day, the guys that have been here for three years, we've had a taste of it, of what it looks like in the regular season, Brook and I's first year where he got a look at what it was like to get to the Eastern Conference Finals and take a lead, but some of the adversity from a four or five [game] losing [streak] we had in regular season to losing some games, the character of the team never wavered. We came together stronger and had each other's backs more and that's what makes up a championship-caliber roster and team and that's what wins you a championship.
"That is what made us better is just the character of the guys, the characters of guys like Brook, the characters of guys like P.J. and Bobby and guys that they don't really care what it looks like on the stats sheet. They just want to make winning plays. They want to be out playing and putting ourselves in the best position to win."
With a microscope on him, the oft-criticized Budenholzer showed a willingness to adapt and experiment throughout the season at the expense of a record. In the playoffs, he rode his best players and played them heavy minutes. Albeit sometimes at the last minute or in do-or-die time, there were adjustments made -- rotationally and schematically. For that, despite outcries to the contrary, Coach Bud deserves his own share of credit as well, in addition to his entire staff that's been by his side from day one.
There were countless amount of questions asked of the Bucks during the Finals about 2019, the furthest the franchise got in the postseason when it reached the Eastern Conference Finals against the Toronto Raptors. They were the ones who were up 2-0 and in the driver&rsquo;s seat before losing the eventual title-winners.&nbsp;
Giannis learned from that experience. Middleton learned from that experience. Budenholzer did, too, which is why those were the three with the strongest embrace when the buzzer sounded on Tuesday night.
"It's special for me to get the opportunity to coach those two guys," Budenholzer said. "The leadership they have shown since day one, from having breakfast together, you can see their desire to be great and their desire to push this organization to where we are tonight. To embrace those guys, and I love them. I love the players, I love the roster, I love the team. I'm incredibly fortunate to be where I am and just to be a small part of what's happening."
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"There is nobody in this world I'd rather do this journey with than that guy." - Giannis on Khris Middleton<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NBAFinals?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NBAFinals</a> presented by YouTube TV <a href="https://t.co/5cMBAZlX4p">pic.twitter.com/5cMBAZlX4p</a>
&mdash; NBA (@NBA) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBA/status/1417730585678733317?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 21, 2021</a></blockquote>

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"I love Khris to death, man. I love him to death, man. It's crazy," Giannis said. "He doesn't realize how much he pushes me to be great. He pushes me to be great. I had people push me to be great and be persistent and just be dominant and just keep coming and keep working hard. He's one of those guys. You know, there was nobody in this world that I would rather do this journey with than that guy. He's been here since the beginning. He's been since the day since we were fighting for some minutes. He was yelling to me when I was 18. He was yelling to me to pass the ball and everything. We were fighting on the court when we were kids, and now we're on this stage doing it together.
"We have to enjoy this moment. We have to share this moment. Maybe we might not have another moment like this. Who knows, we can't predict the future. But we have to live in the moment, enjoy this moment. I hope Khris enjoys it with his family. And he played amazing throughout the whole playoffs, man. He led us when I was down. He gave me a chance to come back. But once we're done enjoying this, we got to get back to work. We got to do it again. That's how me and Khris operate."
"We formed a bond, a brotherhood since that first year we've been together. We struggled. We struggled together. But we both saw in each other there was no give-up," Middleton said. "It was all motivation to be better and not be embarrassed. Year after year we challenged each other to be better. Challenged each other to be better leaders, better teammates... It was all worth it for sure. Us challenging each other to be better, me being stubborn in some ways. But the thing I like, he challenged us all. I think we challenged him in certain ways to help us, but for the main part, he challenged us every day to be leaders, to fight through adversity, to change our games a little bit. It's all worth it."
In 2021, the Bucks reversed their role, and because of that, they are the last team standing.
NBA champions.

Spencer Davies looks back on the Bucks' NBA title run and the hardships the team went through from top to bottom to get there.

Battle-tested Bucks find redemption from past with NBA championship gold

After beating the Milwaukee Bucks and Miami Heat back-to-back, the Utah Jazz are now 22-5 and they&rsquo;ve won 18 of their last 19 games. Add reigning MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo to the long list of people they have impressed, as he had nothing but praise for the Jazz after they defeated his Bucks.&nbsp;
"[They're] the best team in the West," Antetokounmpo said. "It just looks fun. Like when I watch them play, it looks fun, it looks easy. It looks simple. For sure, they look like us last year, and man, when you're at that point and you're playing with that confidence, you're hard to beat, for sure.&rdquo;
The Jazz are very well-rounded team. They had four players score 20+ points against the Bucks: Rudy Gobert and Joe Ingles each had 27 points, while Donovan Mitchell poured in 26 (plus eight assists and six rebounds) and Jordan Clarkson contributed 25 off the bench. And in their victory over the Heat, five players scored in double-figures.
Now, let&rsquo;s revisit that awkward moment between Shaquille O&rsquo;Neal and Mitchell from the Jan. 21 episode of &ldquo;Inside the NBA.&rdquo;&nbsp;
During the post-game interview on TNT, Shaq told Mitchell: &ldquo;I said tonight that you are one of my favorite players, but you don&rsquo;t have what it takes to get to the next level. I said it on purpose, and I wanted you to hear it. What do you have to say about that?&rdquo;
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For context, Mitchell had just finished lighting up the scoreboard, dropping an efficient 36 points to lead Utah to their seventh-straight win. It was a very unexpected statement (to say the least) and the entire basketball world took a collective gasp.&nbsp;
&ldquo;Alright...&rdquo; Mitchell simply replied. &ldquo;That&rsquo;s it?&rdquo; Shaq asked. After a long, awkward pause and an attempt to shrug off the odd, untimely comment, Mitchell added: &ldquo;That&rsquo;s it. That&rsquo;s it. Shaq, I&rsquo;ve been hearing that since my rookie year. I&rsquo;m just going to get better and do what I do.&rdquo;
Shaq&rsquo;s comments were met with a great deal of criticism. Why would the NBA legend stoop to that level and try to publicly embarrass Mitchell? Was he trying to tear him down? Is Shaq an undeniable hater?
Some wondered if Shaq was attempting to motivate Mitchell. Was this some kind of 4D-chess, Zen-Master, Jedi-mind-trick move to light a fire under Mitchell and the entire Jazz team? Did he actually have good intentions, but the exchange was poorly executed? Maybe. 
Regardless, Mitchell and the Jazz have been proving Shaq wrong and making him eat his words.
Mitchell, 24, is averaging a career-high 24.2 points, 5.1 assists and 4.3 rebounds per game. Not only is his team sitting atop the Western Conference, they have the best record in the league. There have even been some whispers throughout the NBA that Mitchell should <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-mvp-most-valuable-player-odds-bets-oddsmakers-donovan-mitchell-utah-jazz-gambling-fanduel-betmgm-draftkings-award" target="_blank" rel="noopener">at least be mentioned on the list of MVP candidates</a>.
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However, the Jazz are far from a one-man show. This is a balanced offensive attack, with six players scoring in double-figures: Mitchell (24.2), Clarkson (17.4), Mike Conley (16.5), Bojan Bogdanovic (15.8), Gobert (14.0) and Ingles (11.3). Utah boasts historic three-point shooting, as they are making 16.7 three-pointers per game and shooting 39.5% percent from deep. This kind of efficiency is unprecedented; not even the Splash-Brothers-led Warriors or James-Harden-led Rockets shot the ball this well! Also, their terrific chemistry and impressive commitment to ball movement have been on display this season.
On the other end, the Jazz have the NBA&rsquo;s second-best defense, allowing just 104.5 points per 100 possessions. This team is committed to stifling opposing offenses and it helps that they have the NBA&rsquo;s premier defender locking down the paint. Gobert is a two-time Defensive Player of the Year and the Jazz&rsquo;s anchor who sets the tone with his defense-first mentality.&nbsp;
Put this all together and you have a team that can dominate on both ends of the court, and that's exactly what they've done on most nights. At 22-5, this is the Jazz&rsquo;s best start in franchise history. Not bad for a team that Shaq said didn&rsquo;t have what it takes to win the championship.&nbsp;
Interestingly, during the Jazz&rsquo;s recent win over the Boston Celtics, Shaq took credit for Mitchell&rsquo;s play (although his numbers are almost identical to where they were prior to his public criticism).&nbsp;
&nbsp;"I never hate, I just try to give constructive criticism,&rdquo; Shaq said. &ldquo;My whole career I've been a leader and motivate my players a certain way. So, you're welcome Utah."
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Shaq on Donovan Mitchell "I never hate, I just try to give constructive criticism. My whole career I've been a leader and motivate my players a certain way. So, you're welcome Utah." <a href="https://t.co/0BKUZ07EXa">pic.twitter.com/0BKUZ07EXa</a>
&mdash; gifdsports (@gifdsports) <a href="https://twitter.com/gifdsports/status/1359357636433620992?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 10, 2021</a></blockquote>

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Perhaps people would've reacted differently to this exchange with Mitchell if this was the first time Shaq had done something of this nature, but he has developed quite a list of priors when it comes to hating. He has consistently taken shots at JaVale McGee, he&rsquo;s constantly bashing Dwight Howard, and he has repeatedly criticized Gobert ever since the big man signed his $200-million deal.&nbsp;
Recently, Howard was on <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-rumors-dwight-howard-los-angeles-lakers-philadelphia-76ers-free-agency-shaquille-shaq-oneal-married-championship-redemption-title" target="_blank" rel="noopener">my show, &ldquo;The Rematch,&rdquo;</a>&nbsp;and I asked him about Shaq&rsquo;s critiques. Why is Shaq always going after him? Is there some beef between them?
&ldquo;I have no clue! It's crazy,&rdquo; Howard said. &ldquo;When I first got to the [Lakers], me and JaVale was like, &lsquo;Yo, did you do something to Shaq?&rsquo; And he was like, &lsquo;Bro, I don't know, man! Like, he's always talking about us!&rsquo; And I'm like, &lsquo;Yeah, man, he is! It&rsquo;s crazy!&rsquo; Then, I was like, &lsquo;Man, let's jump him,&rsquo; and then we just laughed. (laughs) But I realize that you can't please everybody&hellip; The way you deal with that is kill him with kindness instead of going back and forth with him and saying things.&nbsp;
&ldquo;I still think he's probably the most dominant player to ever play the game. But if I had anything negative to say about him, I won't ever say that in the public eye or say it where people can hear it because I don't think it's necessary. He has family, has kids and people who love him, and I just wasn't brought up that way. So, I respect him for all the work he's done. I wish we could play each other again, so I could end this beef. (laughs) But I have a lot of love for him and the things he's done for the sport. And the way to beat him is to continue to play at a high level and not allow anything that's negative to get to my ears, and just stay focused.&rdquo;
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During BasketballNews.com&rsquo;s recent <a href="https://twitter.com/bballnewsdotcom/status/1353879647927332869">NBA Watch Party live-stream</a>, NBA All-Star Kenyon Martin shared how he would&rsquo;ve reacted if he were in Mitchell&rsquo;s position and Shaq made the same comment to him.
&ldquo;I would&rsquo;ve had a rebuttal and they would've had to go to commercial,&rdquo; Martin said. "I would've told Shaq exactly what he can do&hellip; Yeah, it would've been bad. Like, straight up: I just played my ass off out here and you got [something negative to say]? You don't know the work I put in. You don&rsquo;t know what I'm doing to enhance my game or make my team better. That&rsquo;s the problem, these dudes just be on TV [saying anything]... I don&rsquo;t need you to motivate me, Shaq. I can motivate myself. He basically told him he ain't getting it done.&rdquo;
Shaq may very well believe that he was &ldquo;motivating&rdquo; Mitchell by challenging him on live TV in front of the entire basketball world and telling him publicly that he didn&rsquo;t think he was good enough to lead the Jazz to a championship and then awkwardly asking for his reaction. But in reality, he could&rsquo;ve &ldquo;motivated&rdquo; him in a much different way. He could&rsquo;ve pulled him to the side as an OG who&rsquo;s held in high regard and respected throughout the league and challenged him behind closed doors instead of attempting to publicly embarrass him and crush his spirits on the NBA&rsquo;s biggest platform (&ldquo;Inside the NBA&rdquo;).
Best-case scenario? The Big Aristotle&rsquo;s strategy was to give the Jazz a villain or someone to hate, who they could then focus on proving wrong. But that may be giving Shaq too much credit. He may have simply transformed into the grumpy, old, get-off-my-lawn former player who gets his kicks by bashing younger players. We all hope it&rsquo;s not the latter. An apology to Donovan Mitchell and an admission that he was wrong would definitely help show that he isn&rsquo;t in that category. 
Everyone is wrong sometimes; it takes a big man to actually admit when that's the case.

Donovan Mitchell and the Utah Jazz have been making Shaquille O'Neal eat his words, writes former NBA veteran Etan Thomas.

Shaquille O'Neal owes Donovan Mitchell a public apology

Nekias Duncan looks ahead to how the five teams in the Southwest Division will fare in the upcoming NBA season.

2020-21 NBA Season Preview: Southwest Division

Two nights ago, the Phoenix Suns did something they have failed to do all season long &ndash; close out a game and win in the fourth quarter in a thrilling comeback victory over the Sacramento Kings.
The Suns, who already lost nine games this season in fourth quarters, are dead last in fourth-quarter scoring at just 24.6 points per game. They are also getting outscored by 3.2 points &ndash; worst in the league.
Phoenix tends to shrink when they are pressured in tense moments despite having talented, all-world scorers in Kevin Durant, Devin Booker and Bradley Beal. This shouldn't be happening to an aspiring championship team &ndash; it is downright uncharacteristic and unacceptable.
Tuesday night&rsquo;s game against the Kings looked like it was heading toward another inexcusable loss in the fourth, as the Kings led by 18 points, 112-94, with 5:56 to go.
The Suns have been longing to fix their fourth-quarter woes, but to no avail, as a combination of injuries, bad rotations and lackluster effort on defense have held back the team.
So, how did the Suns come back and get the win? By going on a 32-8 run to end the game.
With the Suns down 109-89 in an important game against their division rivals, Durant blocked a Malik Monk floater off a pick-and-roll, passed it out and found Chimezie Metu leaking out for an easy transition layup. The next possession, Josh Okogie made an extraordinary play that fueled the Suns&rsquo; furious comeback. On an island vs. Monk, Okogie stayed with him after a crossover and hustled back to block a floater, and it led to a wide-open transition trey by Grayson Allen that cut the lead to 17.&nbsp;
<div style="width: 100%; height: 0px; position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.250%;"><iframe style="width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute;" src="https://streamable.com/e/wqqk7c?quality=highest" width="100%" height="325" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" data-mce-fragment="1"></iframe></div>
From that point on, players started doubling down on defense &ndash; chasing blocks instead of standing around and getting beat on defense. Even Booker and Beal, who aren't known for their defense, were fighting over screens and running back in transition with a concerted effort.
Over the next five minutes, the Suns scored 25 points to the Kings' 4 with the following series of buckets:
Beal driving layup.&nbsp;
Allen three.&nbsp;
Durant dunk.&nbsp;
Durant three.&nbsp;
Beal dunk.&nbsp;
Durant three.
Gordon three.&nbsp;
Gordon three.&nbsp;
Durant makes 2 free throws.
Durant makes 2 free throws.
By the end of the fourth quarter, the Suns outscored the Kings 35-21. Phoenix had finally exorcised their fourth-quarter demons.
The Big Three of Durant, Booker and Beal are finding their groove and offensively, their potential is off the charts. But their effort on defense is what will allow them to contend for a championship.
The Suns followed up that win over Sacramento with another impressive effort, blowing out the New Orleans Pelicans (who have surged to fifth place in the Western Conference). 
Booker had a spectacular performance, dropping 52 points to pull the Suns closer in the standings. Phoenix currently holds the No. 8 seed in the West with a 23-18 record, but are now right behind Sacramento (23-18, seventh), Dallas (24-18, sixth) and New Orleans (25-18, fifth), as all four teams are now tied in the loss column.
Over the next few games, the Suns will go up against the Mavericks before going on a road trip out East. This stretch of games could be crucial down the road considering how close the standings are as of now.
 Their best basketball is still ahead of them, and perhaps this will go down as the turning point of their season.

The Suns finally exorcised their fourth-quarter demons in their recent win over the Kings. Could it be a turning point of their season?

Is this the turning point of the Phoenix Suns' up-and-down season?

After a long four-month offseason, the 2023-24 NBA season officially kicks off on October 24. Preseason action is currently underway, with teams evaluating their roster and getting ready for the start of the regular season.
There were a few roster rule changes of note this offseason that were introduced as part of the new CBA. Now, each team can sign up to three two-way players (up from two) who are able to play up to 50 games with their NBA team and spend the rest of their season in the G League. Also, offseason rosters were originally limited to 20 players but have since increased to 21.&nbsp;
Each team needs to be at 15 standard contracts prior to the start of the season, which means a few players on guaranteed deals will have to be cut prior to the season. While some teams have a pretty set roster, others (like the Oklahoma City Thunder) will be forced to part ways with talented players to reach their roster limit.&nbsp;
Looking at the Atlantic Division, let's see how each team&rsquo;s lineup is shaping up and what questions they may need to answer before the start of the season.
(This is part one of a six-part series, with more divisional previews coming soon).
<h1>BOSTON CELTICS</h1>
Outside of the top-six players, who will be the most reliable depth option?
After acquiring Jrue Holiday, the Boston Celtics may have the best top-six of any team in the league. While we can add the Holiday trade to their list of aggressive offseason transactions, their depth has taken somewhat of a step back.&nbsp;
They will have to replace four rotation players from last year&rsquo;s Conference Finals team with a few players who don&rsquo;t have much experience in playoff situations. Three players who should definitely see more minutes are Payton Pritchard, Sam Hauser and Luke Kornet. Pritchard has played well on both ends of the floor when given an opportunity, notably shooting 40% from three-point range over his first three seasons. The Celtics rewarded him with a team-friendly extension that should see him take up about 5% of the salary cap over the next four years. Hauser has also been a stellar three-point shooter, knocking down 42% since coming into the league.&nbsp;
The frontcourt is probably the most notable weakness on the team&rsquo;s depth chart. Joe Mazzulla has expressed confidence that <a href="https://www.celticsblog.com/2023/10/7/23907608/boston-celtics-depth-sam-hauser-luke-kornet-payton-pritchard-joe-mazzulla-blake-griffin-bus-one-boys" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Kornet should be successful on both ends of the floor and will be their go-to backup center to start the season.</a> The preseason will be important in determining who else (i.e. Oshae Brissett, Jordan Walsh, Svi Mykhailiuk, etc.) may stand out for Mazzulla and get an opportunity for playing time behind Al Horford and Kristaps Porzingis.&nbsp;
Roster Decisions
The Celtics have the least amount of players on guaranteed contracts in the league (10). However, their roster for opening night is likely set unless they want to open up flexibility to sign other veteran players or buyout candidates later this season. If they choose to cut someone, it would very likely be a player on a non-guaranteed deal. Mykhailiuk and Dalano Banton each have a partial $200,000 guarantee that increases to over $1,000,000 if they make the roster. Kornet, Wenyen Gabriel and Lamar Stevens all have non-guaranteed contracts.&nbsp;
Rotation
Current Roster Count: 19 players (10 guaranteed, 2 partially guaranteed, 3 non-guaranteed, 3 two-way, 1 Exhibit-10)
Projected Starters: G Jrue Holiday, G/F Jaylen Brown, F Jayson Tatum, F/C Al Horford, F/C Kristaps Porzingis
Projected Rotation Players: G Derrick White, G Payton Pritchard, C Luke Kornet (non-guaranteed), F Sam Hauser, F Oshae Brissett
Projected Reserves: F Jordan Walsh, G/F Svi Mykhailiuk ($200K guaranteed), F Wenyen Gabriel (non-guaranteed), G Dalano Banton ($200K guaranteed), F Lamar Stevens (non-guaranteed)
Projected Two-Way Players: C Neemias Queta, G JD Davison, G Jay Scrubb (Injured)
Projected Roster Cuts: G DJ Steward (Exhibit-10)
<h1>BROOKLYN NETS</h1>
What is Ben Simmons' role?
Ben Simmons has only played 42 games since being acquired by the Nets in February 2022, dealing with physical and psychological hurdles that have made him somewhat of an afterthought. Head coach Jacque Vaughn has expressed confidence that Simmons is now 100% healthy and ready to contribute again at a high level.&nbsp;
He seems to be penciled in as the team&rsquo;s starting point guard, starting in the Nets&rsquo; first preseason game. Though it was just a small 14-minute sample size, Simmons looked a lot like his former All-Star self. Having not played since February 15, he looked athletic, aggressive and confident before sitting out the second half.&nbsp;
&ldquo;He attacked the rim, I think he played with pace, looked pretty natural out there getting up and down the floor, communicating with guys into the flow of the game,&rdquo; Vaughn said, <a href="https://nypost.com/2023/10/10/ben-simmons-passes-eye-test-in-nets-preseason-opener/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">praising his $38-million man</a>. &ldquo;Really good to see.&rdquo;
Vaughn has some options when it comes to starting lineups where he could go smaller, with a backcourt of Simmons and Spencer Dinwiddie, or decide to start Dorian Finney-Smith and use Mikal Bridges as a big two-guard.&nbsp;
Roster Decisions
Darius Bazley, Harry Giles and Trendon Watford are all on non-guaranteed deals and are vying for the final two roster spots. The Nets also have an open two-way spot, which I believe they could potentially use on a player like <a href="https://www.si.com/college/tennessee/mens-basketball/kennedy-chandler-starring-in-nba-summer-league" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Summer League standout</a> and former Memphis Grizzlies second-rounder Kennedy Chandler.&nbsp;
Rotation
Current Roster Count: 18 players (13 guaranteed, 3 non-guaranteed, 2 two-way)
Projected Starters: G/F Ben Simmons, G Spencer Dinwiddie, F Mikal Bridges, F Cameron Johnson, C Nicolas Claxton
Projected Rotation Players: F Dorian Finney-Smith, F Royce O&rsquo;Neale, G Cameron Thomas, G Dennis Smith Jr., C Day&rsquo;Ron Sharpe
Projected Reserves: G/F Lonnie Walker IV, C Noah Clowney, F Dariq Whitehead, F Darius Bazley (Non-Guaranteed), C Harry Giles (Non-Guaranteed)
Projected Two-way Players: G Armoni Brooks, F Jalen Wilson, G Kennedy Chandler* (Projected Signing)
Projected Roster Cuts: F Trendon Watford (Non-Guaranteed)
<h1>NEW YORK KNICKS</h1>
Who will be the first option off the bench?
New York Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau has his fair share of options to headline his second unit. In his third year, Immanuel Quickley had his best season to date, finishing as the runner-up for the Sixth Man of the Year award behind Malcolm Brogdon. Quickley was the primary scorer for the second unit, but he shouldn&rsquo;t have to carry the entire load on offense with the addition of Donte DiVincenzo.&nbsp;
DiVincenzo impressed last season with the Golden State Warriors as a reliable bench shooter and should spot minutes for Quentin Grimes and R.J. Barrett when offensive pushes are needed. Josh Hart could also be the team&rsquo;s sixth man, just like he was during the Knicks&rsquo; playoff run. After being traded from Portland, Hart averaged 30 minutes per game despite coming off the bench most of the time. It is worth noting the Knicks-Villanova connection between Hart, DiVincenzo and Jalen Brunson, who should fit seamlessly together on the floor thanks to their pre-existing chemistry. While unlikely to be the first off the bench, Isaiah Hartenstein also deserves mention since he has been one of the league&rsquo;s better backup centers and could see more time if Mitchell Robinson gets in foul trouble. In terms of rotation issues, Thibodeau should see this as a good problem to have regardless of who he brings off the bench first.&nbsp;
Roster Decisions
The Knicks have three spots up for grabs between Ryan Arcidiacono, DaQuan Jeffries, Isaiah Roby and Duane Washington Jr. All are on non-guaranteed deals that won&rsquo;t be fully guaranteed until the league-wide guarantee date on January 10.&nbsp;
Rotation
Current Roster Count: 21 players (12 guaranteed, 4 non-guaranteed, 3 two-way, 2 Exhibit-10)
Projected Starters: G Jalen Brunson, G Quentin Grimes, G/F R.J. Barrett, F Julius Randle, C Mitchell Robinson
Projected Rotation Players: G Josh Hart, G Immanuel Quickley, G Donte DiVincenzo, C Isaiah Hartenstein, G Miles McBride
Projected Reserves: G Evan Fournier, C Jericho Sims, F Isaiah Roby (non-guaranteed), G Ryan Arcidiacono (non-guaranteed), G/F DaQuan Jeffries (non-guaranteed)
Projected Two-way Players: F/C Nathan Knight, G/F Dylan Windler, F Jaylen Martin
Projected Roster Cuts: G Duane Washington Jr. (non-guaranteed), G Charlie Brown Jr. (Exhibit-10), F Jacob Toppin (Exhibit-10)
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<h1>PHILADELPHIA 76ERS</h1>
Will Tyrese Maxey become more of a creator and how can that adjust the rotation?
The Sixers&rsquo; ceiling is contingent on how much Tyrese Maxey can improve this season. Maxey hasn&rsquo;t needed to be the team&rsquo;s primary distributor since James Harden joined the team, allowing him to blossom into a reliable 20-PPG scorer. Regardless of whether Harden&rsquo;s trade situation is resolved, Maxey will need to become a better creator and distributor if he wants to take his game to the next level. Prior to Harden&rsquo;s arrival, Maxey had an impressive 4:1 assist-to-turnover ratio despite his small frame and risk-averse tendencies.&nbsp;
Interestingly, team president Daryl Morey has held off on giving Maxey an extension this offseason, electing to wait until next summer to pay his budding young guard. Maxey will likely demand near max-level money that could harm Philly&rsquo;s flexibility to go after star players next offseason. If he can improve his ball-handling and distribution tendencies, the Sixers&rsquo; offense should benefit tremendously, helping the offensive output of players like P.J. Tucker and Paul Reed and easing the reliance on De&rsquo;Anthony Melton and Patrick Beverley.
Roster Decisions
Two players will likely be fighting for the Sixers&rsquo; final roster spot. The team re-signed veteran Danny Green, who played for the team from 2020 to 2022, to a non-guaranteed deal. They also brought over young big Filip Petrusev, who was drafted by Philadelphia in 2021. Petrusev signed a multi-year deal that was partially guaranteed for $559,782 this season and non-guaranteed next year. Although unlikely, the 76ers could also elect to waive Montrezl Harrell despite his deal being fully guaranteed, as he should miss this season with a torn ACL.
Rotation
Current Roster Count: 21 players (14 guaranteed, 1 partially Guaranteed, 1 non-guaranteed, 3 two-way, 2 Exhibit-10)
Projected Starters: G Tyrese Maxey, G James Harden, F P.J. Tucker, F Tobias Harris, C Joel Embiid
Projected Rotation Players: G De&rsquo;Anthony Melton, G Patrick Beverley, F/C Paul Reed, F/G Kelly Oubre Jr., F Danuel House
Projected Reserves: C Mo Bamba, F Furkan Korkmaz, G Jaden Springer, G/F Danny Green (non-guaranteed), C Montrezl Harrell (injured)
Projected Two-way Players: G Terquavion Smith, G Ricky Council IV, F Azuolas Tubelis
Projected Roster Cuts: F/C Filip Petrusev ($559,782 guaranteed), G David Duke Jr. (Exhibit-10), G Javonte Smart (Exhibit-10)
<h1>TORONTO RAPTORS</h1>
What style does Darko Rajakovic bring to Toronto and who will benefit the most?
New coach Darko Rajakovic inherits an interesting Raptors team with plenty of talent, but they may be facing a crossroads in terms of how successful they can be as a group. Rajakovic is in his first NBA head coaching gig after three seasons as an assistant with the Grizzlies and is known around the league as a pick-and-roll guru.&nbsp;
The idea of the Raptors being a primary pick-and-roll team became less appealing when they were unable to retain Fred VanVleet in free agency, replacing him with a less reliable shooter in Dennis Schr&ouml;der. Instead, Rajakovic will likely rely on Schr&ouml;der and his newly paid center Jakob Poeltl for more ball movement and playmaking. Rajakovic compared Poeltl to Domantas Sabonis before the Raptors&rsquo; preseason win over the Sacramento Kings on October 9 and could use him in a similar role. If Poeltl can be 70% of what Sabonis was last season, it can be a huge boost to an inconsistent offense.
Roster Decisions
The Raptors have 15 players on guaranteed deals going into the season, but also carry Jeff Dowtin Jr. on a non-guaranteed deal. Dowtin played on a two-way contract with Toronto last season, appearing in 25 games. With the roster full, Dowtin is unlikely to make the regular-season roster but he has still <a href="https://www.si.com/nba/raptors/news/toronto-raptors-praise-jeff-dowtin-jr-as-roster-decisions-await" target="_blank" rel="noopener">impressed the coaching staff this preseason</a>. If any player is in danger of losing their roster spot to Dowtin, it would likely be former first-round pick Malachi Flynn. Dowtin&rsquo;s deal becomes guaranteed for $900,000 on October 21, four days before the team&rsquo;s season opener against the Minnesota Timberwolves. I would expect the Raptors to make a decision on Dowtin before then.&nbsp;
Rotation
Current Roster Count: 21 players (15 guaranteed, 1 non-guaranteed, 3 two-way, 2 Exhibit-10)
Projected Starters: G Dennis Schr&ouml;der, F/G Scottie Barnes, F OG Anunoby, F Pascal Siakam, C Jakob Poeltl
Projected Rotation Players: G Gary Trent Jr., F Precious Achiuwa, F/C Chris Boucher, F Jalen McDaniels, G/F Gradey Dick
Projected Reserves: F Thaddeus Young, G Malachi Flynn, F Otto Porter Jr., C Christian Koloko, G/F Garrett Temple
Projected Two-way Players: G/F Ron Harper Jr., G Markquis Nowell, G Javon Freeman-Liberty
Projected Roster Cuts: G Jeff Dowtin (non-guaranteed), F Mouhamadou Gueye (Exhibit-10), C Makur Maker (Exhibit-10)
Other news from around the web: <a href="https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/other/dress-to-impress-why-barbie-and-ken-are-the-hottest-couples-costume-this-halloween/ar-AA1iaTEh" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Barbie and Ken are the hottest couples costume this Halloween</a>

Blake Stern previews the Atlantic Division, breaking down each team's projected lineup and a burning question entering the season.

NBA Atlantic Division Preview: Burning questions, rotation projections

LOS ANGELES (AP) &mdash; Jamal Murray scored 37 points, Nikola Jokic added 24 points and eight assists, and the Denver Nuggets rolled to a 3-0 lead in the Western Conference finals with a 119-108 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers on Saturday night.
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope scored 12 of his 17 points in the second half against his former team for the top-seeded Nuggets, who have never been this close to the NBA Finals in 47 years in the league.
Denver blew a big early lead in Game 3, but made a decisive 13-0 run in the fourth quarter to snap the Lakers&rsquo; nine-game home winning streak since March 26, including seven straight victories since the regular season ended.
No team has rallied from a 3-0 playoff series deficit in NBA history. Game 4 is Monday night in Los Angeles.
Anthony Davis had 28 points and 18 rebounds for the seventh-seeded Lakers, who hadn&rsquo;t lost three straight games since early February. Los Angeles&rsquo; prolonged, desperate surge ever since the trade deadline has finally run out of steam against the powerhouse Nuggets, who have won five consecutive playoff games.
LeBron James had 23 points, 12 assists and seven rebounds for Los Angeles, hitting three 3-pointers after starting the series 0 for 13 from distance. Austin Reaves added 23 points and seven rebounds, but Rui Hachimura was the only other Lakers scorer to crack double figures with 13 points.
Jokic&rsquo;s streak of four consecutive triple-doubles ended in a fairly quiet game for the two-time MVP. But Murray scored 17 points in a dynamic first quarter following his 23-point fourth quarter two nights ago, and he had 30 points by halftime of Game 3.
Bruce Brown scored 15 points and hit a key 3-pointer down the stretch for the Nuggets before Jokic all but iced it on a 3-pointer with 3:17 to play.
The Lakers&rsquo; passionate fans turned out in force for the 17-time champion franchise&rsquo;s first conference finals games at home since 2010, the year of their last title. Los Angeles tried desperately to get back in the series, with James playing 43 minutes after spraining his left ankle in Game 2 on top of his already sore right foot.
But the Nuggets&rsquo; flight to the coast didn&rsquo;t cool off Murray in the slightest: After lighting up the Lakers to close Game 2, the Canadian guard made his first five shots in Game 3 and poured in 17 points in the first quarter &mdash; even while Jokic went scoreless for the second straight quarter.
Murray&rsquo;s fourth 3-pointer of the night made him 11 of 13 from the field for 26 points midway through the second quarter, scoring more than half of Denver&rsquo;s points at an unbelievable pace. Reaves and Davis kept the Lakers in it, with Reaves racking up 15 points, three assists and three rebounds in the second quarter alone.
Hachimura&rsquo;s 3-pointer early in the fourth gave the Lakers their first lead since the opening minutes, but the Nuggets took charge again in a rally highlighted by Brown&rsquo;s 3-pointer with 7:02 to play, after which he taunted the Lakers&rsquo; bench with Los Angeles&rsquo; own &ldquo;Freeze&rdquo; 3-point celebration.
D&rsquo;Angelo Russell had another rough game for the Lakers, scoring three points on 1-of-8 shooting in 20 minutes. Russell was the Lakers&rsquo; biggest addition in their trade deadline transformation, but the point guard has just 21 points in this three-game series.
TIP-INS
Nuggets: Aaron Gordon had seven points in 32 minutes. ... Michael Porter Jr. had 14 points and 10 rebounds, capped by a 3-pointer in the final 90 seconds.
Lakers: Backup C Mo Bamba missed his ninth consecutive game with a sore left ankle. The team is hopeful Bamba can play at some point in this series. ... Fans near courtside included Jack Nicholson, Eddie Murphy, Denzel Washington, Jake Gyllenhaal, Andy Garcia, Dyan Cannon, Ken Jeong, Joel McHale, LA Kings captain Anze Kopitar and defenseman Drew Doughty, and Khalil Mack, Derwin James and Sebastian Joseph-Day from the Los Angeles Chargers&rsquo; defense.

The Denver Nuggets rolled to a 3-0 lead in the Western Conference finals with a 119-108 win over the Los Angeles Lakers on Saturday.

Nuggets on brink of NBA Finals with 119-108 win over Lakers in Game 3

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) &mdash; It&rsquo;s become a disturbing, familiar pattern for Purdue.
Another promising season. Another putrid NCAA Tournament.
For the third straight year, the Boilermakers were bounced by a double-digit seed,&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/no-16-fairleigh-dickinson-stuns-no-1-seed-purdue-in-march-madness" target="_blank" rel="noopener">losing Friday night to No. 16 seed Fairleigh Dickinson,</a>&nbsp;which doesn&rsquo;t have a player taller than 6-foot-6 but took out the Big Ten&rsquo;s best squad with surprising ease.
&ldquo;Obviously it hurts,&rdquo; Purdue coach Matt Painter said. &ldquo;It hurts bad. I don&rsquo;t want to take anything away from them. They earned it. They played better than we did.&rdquo;
Purdue was looking to make history. Not this type.
The Boilermakers are the second No. 1 seed to lose to a No. 16 seed, joining Virginia, which fell to UMBC in 2018.
This March was supposed to be different. The Boilermakers (29-6), who haven&rsquo;t made the Final Four since 1980 and have never won a title, had one of the nation&rsquo;s best players in All-America center Zach Edey, shooters to support him, experience and depth.
But Purdue, which was a top seed for the first time since 1996, buckled under FDU&rsquo;s full-court pressure and the Boilermakers couldn&rsquo;t figure out how to get the ball inside to the 7-foot-4 Edey, who spent the night sandwiched between several Knights defenders.
Last year, it was No. 15 seed Saint Peter&rsquo;s that ousted the Boilermakers, and No. 13 seed North Texas the year before that.
&ldquo;It stinks,&rdquo; said Painter, who has lost to double-digit seeds five times. &ldquo;They outplayed us. They outcoached us. That&rsquo;s the one thing as a coach that you always face it, and you&rsquo;ll get ridiculed. You&rsquo;ll get shamed. You&rsquo;ll get whatever.&rdquo;
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s basketball. You&rsquo;ve got to get better. You&rsquo;ve got to keep fighting to get yourself in this position and then be better. And that&rsquo;s what we have to do.&rdquo;
Back to the drawing board.
Edey&rsquo;s night started ominously when he short-armed a jumper in the lane that fell short of the rim. He rarely got a clean touch, and while he finished with 21 points and 15 rebounds, the Canadian nicknamed &ldquo;Big Maple&rdquo; by his mom couldn&rsquo;t lift his team to victory.
After the final horn, Edey walked glumly toward Purdue&rsquo;s locker room and an unknown future.
There&rsquo;s a chance he won&rsquo;t be back as he would likely be an early pick in this year&rsquo;s NBA draft. It&rsquo;s also possible he&rsquo;ll return after another stinging loss that has left Purdue&rsquo;s fans wondering if it will ever be their year. (If history is any solace, Virginia won the national title the year after it was embarrassed by UMBC.)
&ldquo;I have no opinion on that,&rdquo; Edey said when pressed about his next move. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ll make my decision going forward.&rdquo;
Painter is regarded as one of the country&rsquo;s best coaches. But although he graduates his players and has kept the Boilermakers among the elite for years, questions remain about whether he can get his team over the top.
He&rsquo;ll have another year to consider what went wrong and what might have been.
&ldquo;You win the league, you win your tournament,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;You fight to get into this position. We haven&rsquo;t been in this position as a 1 seed in a long time. And we get here and we don&rsquo;t take advantage of that opportunity.&rdquo;
It&rsquo;s a Purdue tradition in March.

For the third straight year, the Boilermakers were bounced by a double-digit seed, losing Friday night to No. 16 Fairleigh Dickinson.

Purdue, Painter lament another early March Madness exit

According to the <a href="https://twitter.com/tp4pt" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Transfer Portal For Playing Time</a>, the NCAA men&rsquo;s basketball transfer portal has set a new record for the most D-I and D-II entries in the first four days, with more than 1,015 players putting their name in thus far. For comparison, it took six days longer to surpass 1,000 entries in 2022. The transfer portal has created a period of unprecedented player movement across the NCAA. On "The Collision: Where Sports And Politics Collide,&rdquo; me and my co-host Dave Zirin did a deep dive into the transfer portal and what this means for college basketball going forward.
Dave Zirin: I heard your former coach, Jim Boeheim, discuss some of the things that have changed the dynamics of college basketball. He discussed NIL and the transfer portal. Has it surprised you how quickly the power dynamics have shifted in college hoops? Etan Thomas: Interesting. I was actually just listening to Coach Boeheim discuss this on the radio with Jay Williams and Keyshawn Johnson this morning after I dropped my kids off at school. For me, as far as the transfer portal (goes), I&rsquo;m kind of torn on this topic, to be honest.
<img src="https://cdn.basketballnews.com/images/story/body/be2.jpg" alt="" width="699" height="375" />
Dave: I am as well. I'm very torn, but please continue. Etan: So, on one hand, players now have flexibility and I think it&rsquo;s important for players to have that flexibility to move to a different situation if the situation they are currently in is not the best for them. So, I&rsquo;m definitely all for that. In addition, from a players perspective, you&rsquo;re no longer&hellip; how can I say this... held captive. I don&rsquo;t want to use that strong of a phrase and, of course, this is in a basketball sense &mdash; don&rsquo;t take this literal, please. Dave: I understand what you&rsquo;re saying. Etan: Yeah, so I just want to make that point clear. But in the past, no matter how bad the situation was for you, from a player&rsquo;s perspective, you were almost forced to deal with it because [the] repercussion or punishment for transferring would be that you had to sit out an entire year and lose that year of eligibility. And that is a lot; you had to really be unhappy in your situation to give up an entire year. Now, it&rsquo;s different. Players now have the flexibility to leave if the situation is not good for them and I&rsquo;m all for that, in theory. Now, from a coaching standpoint &mdash; and this was Coach Boeheim&rsquo;s point this morning &mdash; how do you build a team with that reality, [when] you have half of your team leaving every year? And I understand that issue. But should players have the flexibility to leave? I think so. I mean, coaches have the flexibility to leave anytime they get a better opportunity somewhere. I always thought &mdash; and this was way before the transfer portal was even a reality &mdash; but I thought that if your coach left, you should have the right to leave without having to sit out a year. I think that should&rsquo;ve been a rule anyway. Dave: I definitely agree with that. I mean, that definitely seems fair for so many reasons. Etan: Right. But at the same time, when you look at the transfer portal now, it just opened up and in, what, 3 days you have over 1,000 players who want to transfer? That&rsquo;s a lot, so that&rsquo;s why I&rsquo;m torn on this topic. Dave: Whew. I too am very torn on this. So, on the one hand, the checkmate argument in favor of the transfer portal is exactly what you just said: coaches can leave, so why can&rsquo;t players? Coaches don&rsquo;t have to sit out a year, so why should players? Coaches can pursue the best opportunities for themselves and for their families, so why can&rsquo;t the players make similar choices in that regard? That, to me, is the most checkmate of all checkmate arguments. But, there is another side to it, and you can&rsquo;t deny this other side. You know, you actually end up sometimes losing arguments when you don&rsquo;t grant that the other side has a point.
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Etan: That&rsquo;s very true because then you look unreasonable. It&rsquo;s okay to say, "I agree with you here, but this is where I have a different perspective." Dave: Right, so the thing that I really don&rsquo;t like about the transfer portal is: I think there is actual value in team sports of fighting your way forward, of being the person freshman year who had to bust their hump to start sophomore year. And if you&rsquo;re that unhappy that you want to leave, I don&rsquo;t mind there being a high bar for that level of unhappiness. Listen, we all know how this situation works, and we all know that young people can be a tad impulsive. So, I like the idea of there being guard rails for when players make these decisions to consider, "Okay, do you really want to leave? Is it really that bad? Or are you just having a really bad week or month? Is this something you can persevere through?"
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&ldquo;I&rsquo;m bringing my luggage with me. And it&rsquo;s Louis&hellip; The more of you that transfer, the more room there is&rdquo; Deion Sanders telling most of the team to transfer after they gave him an ovation is a WILD move<a href="https://t.co/tCbWEeJYQq">pic.twitter.com/tCbWEeJYQq</a>
&mdash; Max Chadwick (@Chad_Maxwick) <a href="https://twitter.com/Chad_Maxwick/status/1599591913560023041?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 5, 2022</a></blockquote>

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Now, with that being said, and I have to point him out because he has been the most honest about it: Deion Sanders walks in at the University of Colorado, addresses his players in full view of the cameras and says something to the effect of, &ldquo;Yeah, a third of you won&rsquo;t be here next year." And it&rsquo;s like, you&rsquo;re talking to scholarship athletes in their teens and are basically telling them, "Hey, that class you&rsquo;re taking that you really like or your girlfriend that you&rsquo;re thinking of possibly proposing to in a few years or that frat you just rushed, well good luck because those life plans are out the window! Because I&rsquo;m the new coach and I&rsquo;m in charge." And that doesn&rsquo;t seem very fair because if you&rsquo;re offered a scholarship, that should mean something." Etan: Yeah, but people still have to understand that it is a year-to-year agreement. My wife gets tired of me using her as an example, but it&rsquo;s what happened to her after she tore her ACL for the third time while she was playing at Syracuse. The doctors told my wife (who was my girlfriend at the time), Nichole Oliver, if she wanted to be able to run around and play with her children when she was in her 30s, she would have to stop playing, and the coaches tried to take her scholarship away.
Her and her mother actually had to get a lawyer and meet with the Athletic Director and threaten legal action and a ton of bad publicity for the university if they did that. And here&rsquo;s the thing, Dave: every time I tell this story, we get multiple messages from parents or players asking for advice because their university is trying to do that very same thing to them.
<img style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" src="https://cdn.basketballnews.com/images/story/body/syracuse23.jpg" alt="" width="503" height="300" /> Dave: Wow, that&rsquo;s awful. Etan: Right, it's terrible. So, people do have to put stories like that into consideration. But it&rsquo;s an example of how all of the power was always leaning to the side of the colleges, and I never liked that dynamic. But again, like we said earlier: there a thousand players in the transfer portal right now! So, what I would say is I think they should come up with a rule that you get one transfer, so make it a good one because you only get one. You have some players you see now and this is their third transfer and their third different college, and their just a junior! I&rsquo;m not sure if that&rsquo;s good either. So, that&rsquo;s why I&rsquo;m torn on this topic. Dave: I really like that idea. Thinking of my own child, if my son went to a university and the coach was super intense about recruiting him and then day one on campus, the coach leaves, [that changes things]. Here is my son as a freshman and he has to deal with the fact that he has to either [transfer] or find peace with the new coach who may or may not even value him as a player. He may not be a player he wants to play and he has no connection to him because he never recruited him, so why would he stay there? Etan: I agree, 100%. So in my scenario, if you only get one transfer, that&rsquo;s like the exception. If your coach leaves, that doesn&rsquo;t count against your one transfer because, yes, that changes everything for an athlete.
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Dave: Ah, I like that too because the new coach could have a completely different idea of what they want to do from what you were promised when they recruited you there. Etan: I agree. But with that being said, I do have to be able to acknowledge &mdash; and this is what Coach Boeheim brought up today on the radio &mdash; if he was still coaching now, he would be chasing players to see who is going to stay and who is going to leave, and it&rsquo;s a musical chairs type of thing now. You lose four players, you replace them with four new players. But how can a coach actually coach players? If they don&rsquo;t like anything, they just leave! Well, I can see that both ways. If you&rsquo;re being brutally unfair to someone, yes, they&rsquo;re probably going to leave because you can no longer hold them captive. Some coaches call it &ldquo;coaching a player hard," but I don&rsquo;t like that term because Bobby Knight in his mind thought that&rsquo;s what he was doing when it was actually abuse. So, a coach can no longer do that and hold a player captive anymore, and that&rsquo;s a good thing, in my opinion.
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But now the other side, and this is the part that Coach Boeheim brought up, sometimes it&rsquo;s simply not your turn yet. So I look at myself: my freshman year at Syracuse, it just wasn&rsquo;t my turn yet. I was playing behind a more experienced, bigger, stronger and, quite frankly, better senior center in Otis Hill, who had just been to the NCAA Finals the year before, so I had to be patient. And, of course, it was hard because I was at the bottom of the totem pole on the team. But when I came back my sophomore year, I was ready and prepared to step in as a starter, got back-to-back Big East Defensive Player of the Year and things turned around for me. But I had to wait, so I know firsthand that a bad situation can definitely change.
Dave: If they had the transfer portal your freshman year, would you have stayed? Etan: Listen, I was almost going to transfer even without them having the transfer portal how it is now (laughing). But looking back now, I&rsquo;m glad I didn&rsquo;t make that decision. But I was very close to doing it because it was not a good environment and situation for me in my freshman year. Coach Boeheim also used the example of <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/hakim-warrick-qa-2003-syracuse-championship-and-jersey-retirement" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Hakim Warrick</a>, who didn&rsquo;t play a whole lot in his freshman year but then came back his sophomore year and blocked the shot against Kansas in the championship game that really won the game for Syracuse. So his point is that things can change, and he&rsquo;s right. So, there is an argument to be made that some players are losing the lessons of perseverance, fighting through adversity, etc. because at any hint of difficulty, they transfer. But at the same time, there&rsquo;s the question of should they be able to have the flexibility and the choice to leave a situation they are unhappy in? So, that&rsquo;s why this is a complex topic. Dave: Very complex indeed.

So far, 1,015 players have entered the NCAA transfer portal. Etan Thomas and Dave Zirin discuss what this means for college hoops.

Is the NCAA transfer portal getting out of control?

College basketball is full of excitement and drama. While winning a national championship is the ultimate goal for every team, there have been many loaded squads that came up short.&nbsp;
While the teams on this list didn&rsquo;t win a title, they are still often mentioned among the best teams in the history of college basketball. Here are the best college-basketball teams that failed to win it all.&nbsp;
11. 1965-66 Kentucky Wildcats
The 1965-66 Kentucky Wildcats were coached by Adolph Rupp and their talented roster included future NBA stars Pat Riley and Louie Dampier. The Wildcats finished the season with a record of 27-2 and advanced to the national championship game, where they faced the Texas Western Miners. In a game that would later be immortalized in the movie "Glory Road," the Miners upset the Wildcats, 72-65.
10. 2006-07 Ohio State Buckeyes
Led by future No. 1 overall draft pick Greg Oden and longtime NBA point guard Mike Conley, the Buckeyes were hoping to win their second national championship in program history. Ohio State, traditionally a football school, finished the season 35-4 and ranked No. 1 in the AP poll. The Buckeyes advanced to the national championship game, where they faced a loaded Florida Gators squad that was led by future NBA All-Stars Joakim Noah and Al Horford.&nbsp;
In the national championship game, Oden avoided the foul trouble that had plagued him earlier in the tournament and put up a dominant 25 points and 12 rebounds. However, it wasn&rsquo;t enough, as the Gators defeated the Buckeyes 84-75 behind Horford's 18 points, 12 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 blocks. Four players from the Buckeyes' roster would go on to play in the NBA: Conley, Oden, Daequan Cook and Othello Hunter.
9. 2004-05 Illinois Fighting Illini
The 2004-05 Illinois Fighting Illini were a dominant force in college basketball. Coached by Bruce Weber and led by Dee Brown and Deron Williams, the Illini won their first 29 games of the season and finished with a 37-2 record.&nbsp;
Illinois advanced to the national championship game, where they faced the North Carolina Tar Heels (who were led by Raymond Felton, Sean May, Rashad McCants and Marvin Williams). Despite a valiant effort, the Illini fell just short, losing 75-70. Five of their players would go on to play in the NBA: Williams, Brown, Luther Head, Roger Powell and James Augustine.
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8. 2007-08 Memphis Tigers
Yes, John Calipari has back-to-back teams on this list. Coach Cal&rsquo;s 2007-08 Memphis Tigers were absolutely loaded and they were led by Derrick Rose, who would go on to be the No. 1 pick in the 2008 NBA Draft and the youngest MVP in NBA history in 2011. Chris Douglas-Roberts, Joey Dorsey and Antonio Anderson were also key contributors who eventually had stints in the NBA.
The Tigers finished the season with a record of 38-2 and they advanced to the national championship game, where they faced the Kansas Jayhawks. Despite a strong effort, the Tigers were unable to overcome the Jayhawks. Memphis missed a number of late free throws, which opened the door for Mario Chalmers to hit <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/march-madness-ranking-the-top11-ncaa-tournament-buzzerbeaters" target="_blank" rel="noopener">one of the most memorable buzzer-beaters in modern NCAA Tournament history</a> and force overtime. Kansas would go on to win, 75-68.
7. 1974-75 Indiana Hoosiers
Led by head coach Bob Knight, the 1974-75 Indiana Hoosiers finished the season with a record of 31-1 and advanced to the Final Four, where they faced the Kentucky Wildcats. Despite a strong effort, the Hoosiers were upset by the Wildcats, 92-90.&nbsp;
The Hoosiers would have eight players who would go on to play in the NBA: Scott May, Steve Green, Kent Benson, Quinn Buckner, John Laskowski, Bob Wilkerson, Tom Abernethy and Wayne Radford.
6. 1996-97 Kansas Jayhawks
The 1996-97 Kansas Jayhawks featured a pair of future NBA stars (Paul Pierce and Raef LaFrentz) and one of the best coaches in college-basketball history (Roy Williams). The Jayhawks finished the season with a record of 34-2 and advanced to the Final Four, where they faced the&nbsp; Arizona Wildcats.&nbsp;
Pierce put together a monster performance &mdash; 27 points, 11 rebounds, 3 threes, 2 blocks and 2 steals on 69.2/60/100 shooting splits &mdash; but it wasn't enough to defeat Mike Bibby&rsquo;s Wildcats. The Jayhawks lost 85-82 in overtime. In addition to Pierce and LaFrentz, Kansas had four other players go on to the NBA: Scot Pollard, Billy Thomas, Jacque Vaughn and Ryan Robertson.
5. 2014-15 Kentucky Wildcats
The 2014-15 Kentucky Wildcats, coached by John Calipari, featured quite the collection of young, high-upside talent. Led by future NBA superstars Karl-Anthony Towns and Devin Booker, the Wildcats finished the season with a perfect record of 38-0.
Kentucky advanced to the Final Four, where they faced the Wisconsin Badgers and were ultimately upset 71-64. In total, a whopping nine Wildcats would go on to play in the NBA: Towns, Booker, Trey Lyles, Willie Cauley-Stein, Aaron Harrison, Andrew Harrison, Tyler Ulis, Dakari Johnson and Alex Poythress.
4. 1984-85 Georgetown Hoyas
The 1984-85 Georgetown Hoyas, coached by John Thompson, were a powerhouse team that featured future NBA star Patrick Ewing. The Hoyas finished the season with a record of 35-3 and advanced to the national championship game, where they faced the Villanova Wildcats.&nbsp;
In one of the biggest upsets in college-basketball history, the Wildcats defeated the Hoyas 66-64. In addition to Ewing, Georgetown had four other players who went on to play in the NBA: Reggie Williams, Bill Martin, David Wingate and Michael Jackson.
<img src="https://cdn.basketballnews.com/images/story/body/web2.jpg" alt="" width="690" height="348" />
3. 1992-93 Michigan Wolverines
The prior season, the Fab Five took college basketball by storm, with bald heads and baggy shorts. They started five true freshmen and had a great season, making it all the way to the national championship game, where they were handled by a veteran Duke squad that was led by Christian Laettner, Grant Hill and Bobby Hurley, losing 71-51.
In the 1992-93 season, the Wolverines were widely regarded as the most talented team in the country and they were the favorites to win it all. Unfortunately, they fell short to North Carolina in the national championship game in one of the most memorable endings in sports history. Future No. 1 pick Chris Webber called a timeout that Michigan didn&rsquo;t have, as they lost 77-71. Michigan had five players who would later play in the NBA: Webber, Jalen Rose, Juwan Howard, Jimmy King and Eric Riley (plus Rob Pelinka would go on to run the Los Angeles Lakers' front office).
2. 1982-83 Houston Cougars
Led by future Hall-of-Famers Hakeem Olajuwon and Clyde Drexler, the 1982-83 Houston Cougars were known as "Phi Slama Jama" for their high-flying style of play. The Cougars were a dominant force on both ends of the court. They advanced to the Final Four, where they faced the N.C. State Wolfpack. Despite a 20-point lead in the second half, the Cougars were upset by the Wolfpack, 54-52. In addition to the superstar pairing of Olajuwon and Drexler, Houston also had two other players who would go on to play in the NBA: Michael Young and Larry Micheaux.
1. 1990-91 UNLV Runnin' Rebels
The 1990-91 UNLV Runnin' Rebels are one of the greatest college basketball teams of all-time, despite not winning the national championship. Coached by Jerry Tarkanian, the Rebels had an incredible season, finishing with a record of 34-1.&nbsp;
Led by Larry Johnson, Stacey Augmon and Greg Anthony, the Rebels played an up-tempo style of basketball that was both thrilling and effective. In the Final Four, they lost a close game to the Duke Blue Devils, who would go on to win the national championship. Johnson, Augmon and Anthony would go on to thrive in the NBA, and two other Rebels would also make it to the league (Elmore Spencer and Eyric Gray).
Would you rank these teams differently? Who is missing from this list? <a href="https://twitter.com/basketbllnews" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Tweet us your thoughts now</a>!

Jamal Shakespeare looks back on 11 all-time great college basketball teams that failed to win a championship.

Revisiting 11 loaded NCAA-basketball teams that failed to win it all

With five conference tournament finals capping a wild week of men's college hoops, Sunday afternoon officially marked the end of the 2022-23 men's college basketball regular season, which means only one thing: March Madness is upon us.
Princeton (Ivy), Virginia Commonwealth (A-10), Alabama (SEC), Purdue (Big Ten) and Memphis (AAC) punched their official ticket to the men's 2023 NCAA Tournament to round out the group of 32 receiving an automatic bid.
Those teams joined: Vermont (America East), Duke (ACC), Kennesaw State (ASUN), Texas (Big 12), Marquette (Big East), Montana State (Big Sky), UNC Asheville (Big South), UC Santa Barbara (Big West), College of Charleston (CAA), Florida Atlantic (C-USA), Northern Kentucky (Horizon), Iona (MAAC), Kent State (MAC), Howard (MEAC), Drake (Missouri Valley), San Diego State (Mountain West), Fairleigh Dickinson (Northeast), Southeast Missouri State (Ohio Valley), Arizona (Pac-12), Colgate (Patriot), Furman (Southern), Texas A&amp;M Corpus Christi (Southland), Texas Southern (SWAC), Oral Roberts (Summit), Louisiana (Sun Belt), Gonzaga (WCC), Grand Canyon (WAC).
The selection committee revealed at 6 p.m. that the No. 1 overall seed is Alabama. The other three top seeds are Houston, Kansas and Purdue.
The First Four in Dayton will consist of a 16-seed matchup between Texas A&amp;M Corpus Christi and Southeast Missouri State plus an 11-seed matchup between Mississippi State and Pittsburgh. In the other two games, there will be a 16-seed matchup between Texas Southern and Fairleigh Dickinson and an 11-seed matchup between Arizona State and Nevada.
Who else was invited to join The Big Dance on the road to the Final Four in Houston?
Following Selection Sunday, here is the official field of 68 in the men's 2023 NCAA Tournament:
South Region
(1) Alabama Crimson Tide vs. (16) Texas A&amp;M Corpus Christi Islanders/Southeast Missouri State Redhawks
(8) Maryland Terrapins vs. (9) West Virginia Mountaineers
(5) San Diego State Aztecs vs. (12) College of Charleston Cougars
(4) Virginia Cavaliers vs. (13) Furman Palladins
(6) Creighton Blue Jays vs. (11) NC State Wolfpack
(3) Baylor Bears vs. (14) UC Santa Barbara Gauchos
(7) Missouri Tigers vs. (10) Utah State Aggies
(2) Arizona Wildcats vs. (15) Princeton Tigers
Midwest Region
(1) Houston Cougars vs. (16) Northern Kentucky Norse
(8) Iowa Hawkeyes vs. (9) Auburn Tigers
(5) Miami Hurricanes vs. (12) Drake Bulldogs
(4) Indiana Hoosiers vs. (13) Kent State Golden Flashes
(6) Iowa State Cyclones vs. (11) Mississippi State Bulldogs/Pittsburgh Panthers
(3) Xavier Musketeers vs. (14) Kennesaw State Owls
(7) Texas A&amp;M Aggies vs. (10) Penn State Nittany Lions
(2) Texas Longhorns vs. (15) Colgate Raiders
West Region
(1) Kansas Jayhawks vs. (16) Howard Bison
(8) Arkansas Razorbacks vs. (9) Illinois Fighting Illini
(5) Saint Mary's Gaels vs. (12) VCU Rams
(4) UConn Huskies vs. (13) Iona Gaels
(6) TCU Horned Frogs vs. (11) Arizona State Sun Devils/Nevada Wolfpack
(3) Gonzaga Bulldogs vs. (14) Grand Canyon Antelopes
(7) Northwestern Wildcats vs. (10) Boise State Broncos
(2) UCLA Bruins vs. (15) UNC Asheville Bulldogs
East Region
(1) Purdue Boilermakers vs. (16) Texas Southern Tigers/Fairleigh Dickinson Knights
(8) Memphis Tigers vs. (9) Florida Atlantic Owls
(5) Duke Blue Devils vs. (12) Oral Roberts Golden Eagles
(4) Tennessee Volunteers vs. (13) Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns
(6) Kentucky Wildcats vs. (11) Providence Friars
(3) Kansas State Wildcats vs. (14) Montana State Bobcats
(7) Michigan State Spartans vs. (10) USC Trojans
(2) Marquette Golden Eagles vs. (15) Vermont Catamounts
THE BRACKET
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THE BRACKET 🙌<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/MarchMadness?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#MarchMadness</a> <a href="https://t.co/HZYnwD3s3x">pic.twitter.com/HZYnwD3s3x</a>
&mdash; NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) <a href="https://twitter.com/MarchMadnessMBB/status/1635049575483580416?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 12, 2023</a>
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An overview of the official men's 2023 NCAA Tournament schedule and March Madness matchups on the road to Houston.

2023 NCAA Tournament: Men's field of 68 teams announced

Just over four years ago, Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant, Klay Thompson, Draymond Green and the defending NBA champion Golden State Warriors were shooting around on a chilly morning in Cleveland. As his teammates got their shots up, Shaun Livingston was sitting nearby on the baseline.
He foreshadowed his upcoming retirement that would happen at the end of that campaign, but glowingly talked about the Warriors' player development staff and the young talents who were next in line to carry along the franchise's legacy. Unprompted, after a question about Golden State's future, Livingston looked over with a smile: "LOONEY!"
"I mean, that&rsquo;s a perfect example,&rdquo; Livingston <a href="https://www.basketballinsiders.com/news/livingston-on-remarkable-career-warriors-next-in-line/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told me, referencing Kevon in Dec. 2018</a>. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s our most important big right now with Draymond [Green] out, know what I mean? &lsquo;Cause of what he brings to the table and he knows how to play. He&rsquo;s always in the right spot.
&ldquo;So that&rsquo;s the progression of him being here these years and watching, learning from the vets &mdash; watching Andre [Iguodala], watching Draymond. And now he&rsquo;s one of the main core guys that has to be on the floor.&rdquo;
It's safe to say Livingston knew what he was talking about all of those years ago. Now in his eighth season, having played in 179 straight games (postseason included), Kevon Looney is the Warriors' ironman and a main fixture of this ball club. He's a three-time NBA champion and among the top screen-setting centers in the league, using his physicality and will to outwork his opponents (as we saw Friday evening in Cleveland).
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Outrebounding the Cavaliers' duo of Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley combined (17 boards to their 15), while also registering two steals, two blocks and four assists, Looney helped the Warriors finish their East-Coast visit with a 3-2 record despite being shorthanded.
Following the Warriors' 120-114 victory, Basketball News sat down with the 26-year-old to discuss the win, Golden State's season, his development and more:
Considering how this team has played on the road in the first half of the season, what can a 3-2 trip, especially the way it ended, do for you guys going forward?
Kevon Looney: "I think we had a good road trip. Whenever you can come out on a road trip playing against good teams like this, 3-2, it's always good. Especially since we've been struggling all year on the road, so it was a good win for us. But we felt like we should've won (Thursday in Boston), so to be able to bounce back after a tough loss like that shows our team's character, shows the growth on our team."
How do you feel like you have grown over the years, going from putting in work behind the scenes to now, playing winning basketball the way you have? It's clear that you have come a long way. 
Looney: "Yeah, I've been working on my game since I've been here. In my career, I've had a lot of great vets, a lot of great mentors to learn from. It was a struggle for me early, but all those struggles helped prepare me for now. When I'm out there, I'm just trying to provide that leadership and provide that toughness for our team that we'll be lacking sometimes. It took me a while to learn all that stuff (laughs), but now that I learned and got some experience and got that confidence, I feel really good out there and I feel like I'm playing the best basketball of my career."
In what way do you feel like you can impact the game the most, other than that leadership aspect you just brought up?
Looney: "I feel like defensively, and rebounding &mdash; that's something that we've always struggled with since I've been here, and I feel like I've been taking a leap every year in that department. And I take pride in being really physical and controlling the glass. People always say our team is undersized, so I take a lot of pride in going out there and controlling the glass. I felt last year, we had a great rebounding team. This year, we've been up and down in that area. But nights like (Friday in Cleveland), we did a great job though."
(Editor's Note: Looney is averaging 8.7 rebounds per game, a career-high, and ranks fifth in the NBA with 139 total offensive rebounds. According to Basketball-Reference, Looney is top-five in rebounding percentage at 20.3%.)
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Point Loon 📺 <a href="https://twitter.com/NBCSAuthentic?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@NBCSAuthentic</a> <a href="https://t.co/MHko3kUcno">pic.twitter.com/MHko3kUcno</a>
&mdash; Golden State Warriors (@warriors) <a href="https://twitter.com/warriors/status/1596358684963008513?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 26, 2022</a></blockquote>

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The dribble-handoff development in your game is impressive. You're also <a href="https://go.nba.com/jvbjk" target="_blank" rel="noopener">in the NBA's top 10 with 449 screen-assist points</a>. As far as gaining chemistry with your teammates, how has that come about?
Looney: "Just getting more experience and getting more reps, learning where guys like to get to on the floor and learning them guys' spots. Know when to get certain guys shots, know where these guys are going. It's something I learned from watching Draymond [Green], watching [Andrew] Bogut, Zaza [Pachulia] &mdash; some of the best screeners I've ever seen. So learning from them took my game to that level. Talking to Steph [Curry], talking to JP (Jordan Poole), talking to the guys coming off the bench, knowing where they want to be at is something that you've got to learn. Early on, it was a struggle for me, but now, I do it in my sleep."
Without giving too much strategy away, is there a difference between where Steph likes the ball and how Jordan wants it?
Looney: "Yeah (laughs). Playing with JP, he's really herky-jerky and he's kinda all over the court. He's really creative out there. I think Steph is a little bit more decisive. He kinda know where he wants to get to, I know what spots he really wants to get to. But JP's like free-flowing, he's like all over the place (laughs). We talk all the time like, 'Man, slow down. Let me do my job and I'mma get you open' (laughs). We have those talks all the time. So it's a big difference playing with both of 'em, but it's a lot of fun."
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All of those Finals and playoff experiences that you've got under your belt now &mdash; being on the floor and a part of these loud environments at home and on the road &mdash; what's the important thing you've learned both on and off the floor?
Looney: "Just how to stay poised and how to weather adversity. (Laughs) I got to experience a lot of the tough playoff games, lot of ups and downs in series. And learning that if a team goes on a run, it's not the end of the world. If you go down 3-1, 2-1, it's not the end of the world. You can come back. Different things like that. I learned playing with these guys and seeing them going down in series, never giving up. In the Houston series (in 2018), we were down 15 at halftime and nobody's worried, everybody would just keep fighting and keep playing our style of basketball. So learning that, trusting the process, trusting in your system, trusting in your teammates on and off the court, it'll really carry you a far way."
And that kind of mentality has to help in a season like this where not everything has gone perfect.
Looney: "Yes, it definitely helps you in a season like this when it's a lot of ups and downs. You just kinda lean back on our culture and what we have built, knowing that if we play our style of basketball and our brand, that we can go... it works. Just leaning back on that.
"When we start not playing team basketball, not focusing on what got us there, that's when we started losing and straying away (from it). But when you've got experience winning, you know what it takes and you start going back to the basics. We've gotta do that. We've been doing that on this road trip, and I think that's why we've been winning."

Spencer Davies sits down with Kevon Looney to discuss the Warriors' most recent road trip, his growth over the years and more.

Kevon Looney Q&A: Warriors season, 'best basketball of my career'

SOUTH BEND, Ind. (AP) &mdash; Olivia Miles had 21 points and eight rebounds for No. 7 Notre Dame, and UConn star Azzi Fudd was injured in a collision with a teammate as the Fighting Irish handed the third-ranked Huskies their first loss of the season, 74-60 on Sunday.
Fudd, who came in averaging 24.0 points per game, exited in the final minute of the first quarter following a collision with teammate Aaliyah Edwards. She returned midway through the second period to play four minutes, but sat the rest of the day, going scoreless on two shots over 13 minutes.
Maddy Westbeld added a season-high 17 points and nine rebounds for Notre Dame (7-1), which bounced back from a 74-72 loss to No. 20 Maryland three days earlier.
Lou Lopez Senechal led UConn (6-1) with 21 points. Edwards added 14.
No. 2 STANFORD 84, No. 23 GONZAGA 63
STANFORD, Calif. (AP) &mdash; Cameron Brink had 14 points and a season-high 16 rebounds and Brooke Demetre made five 3s and scored 17 points, leading Stanford past Gonzaga.
The Cardinal (10-1) have now won five straight games after falling to top-ranked South Carolina in overtime on Nov. 20.
Hannah Jump hit four 3s and scored 14 points and Haley Jones had 12 points for Stanford.
Short-handed Gonzaga (7-2), limited to seven players because of illness and injuries, had won three in a row.
No. 4 OHIO STATE 82, RUTGERS 70
PISCATAWAY, N.J. (AP) &mdash; Rebeka Mikulasikova scored a career-high 31 points and Taylor Mikesell added 30 to help Ohio State beat Rutgers, a day that the Scarlet Knights honored former coach C. Vivian Stringer.
The school dedicated the court to Stringer, who retired after last season.
Buoyed by the return of their Hall of Fame coach, Rutgers played its best game of the season against a ranked opponent. Ohio State (8-0) jumped out to a 20-6 lead after one quarter, but the Scarlet Knights (4-6) wouldn&rsquo;t go away.
They were down 18 near the end of the half before Kaylene Smikle hit a 3-pointer just before the buzzer to get within 43-28. Rutgers continued that momentum in the second half and made it 53-45 with 3:25 left in the third quarter.
Mikulasikova and Mikesell then scored the next six points for Ohio State to restore the double-digit advantage, and Rutgers couldn&rsquo;t recover.
Smikle led Rutgers with 21 points.
No. 5 INDIANA 65, ILLINOIS 61
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. (AP) &mdash; Mackenzie Holmes scored 23 points, including a go-ahead layup with 37 seconds left, and Indiana got past Illinois in their Big Ten opener.
Indiana (9-0) had not trailed in the second half of any game this season before going back and forth in the closing minutes with Illinois (3-7).
Makira Cook scored 33 points to lead the Illini.
The Hoosiers were coming off an 87-63 win over No. 6 North Carolina.
No. 9 VIRGINIA TECH 59, TENNESSEE 56
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) &mdash; Kayana Traylor scored 18 points and Virginia Tech held off Tennessee in a Jimmy V Women&rsquo;s Classic matchup.
Jordan Horston led Tennesssee (4-5) with 26 points and 11 rebounds, but missed a pair of late shots that would&rsquo;ve tied it.
Trailing 58-56 with 3 seconds left, Horston was off on a jumper. Down three with 1.1 seconds remaining, her 3-point try from the top of the key bounced off.
Cayla King scored 11 points and Georgia Amoore and D&rsquo;asia Gregg each had 10 for the Hokies (8-0).
Tennessee played without leading scorer and rebounder Rickea Jackson, who was absent because of a coach&rsquo;s decision.
No. 10 IOWA 102, WISCONSIN 71
MADISON, Wis. (AP) &mdash; Caitlin Clark had 22 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists for her seventh career triple-double to break the Big Ten record in Iowa&rsquo;s win over Wisconsin.
Clark surpassed the record of six career triple-doubles set by former Iowa player Samantha Logic, who achieved the feat from 2012-2015.
Iowa (6-3) stopped a two-game skid and beat the Badgers (3-7) for the 26th straight time.
No. 11 LSU 85, TULANE 72
NEW ORLEANS (AP) &mdash; Angel Reese scored 21 points and had 10 rebounds and Jasmine Carson scored 21 and LSU beat Tulane.
The Tigers (9-0) are off to their best since winning their first nine in the 2009-10 season.
LSU led 27-20 in a first quarter in which it made 11 of 16 shots and Tulane 9 for 17. The Tigers extended their lead to 40-27 at halftime before the Green Wave unloaded with a 30-point third in which it shot 12 for 16 including 6 for 7 from 3-point range. Dynah Jones scored 16 of her team-high 25 points for Tulane in the quarter and the Green Wave closed to 61-58.
Reese made 1 of 2 foul shots for the Tigers and Kahia Warmsley responded with a layup for Tulane to get it within two, but LaDazhia Williams made a layup and Carson a 3 and LSU kept Tulane at bay from there. Reese made two foul shots with 5:01 left to extend the lead to 73-62.
Marta Galic scored 21 points for Tulane.
ST. JOHN&rsquo;S 66, No. 13 CREIGHTON 62
NEW YORK (AP) &mdash; Jayla Everett scored 20 points and St. John&rsquo;s remained unbeaten by handing Creighton its first loss.
The Red Storm had a 47-32 lead in the middle of the third quarter before the Bluejays got it down to a one-possession deficit in the final 90 seconds.
After Emma Ronsiek&rsquo;s basket pulled Creighton within 61-59 with 1:27 to play, the Bluejays had a possession to tie or take the lead but couldn&rsquo;t score.
Kadaj Bailey and Unique Drake had 13 points apiece for St. John&rsquo;s (8-0, 2-0 Big East Conference).
Lauren Jensen scored 21 points for the Bluejays (7-1, 2-1) but couldn&rsquo;t get the tying jumper to fall with 13 seconds to go.
No. 14 ARIZONA 77, NEW MEXICO 60
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) &mdash; Jade Loville made 10 of 13 shots, including a career-best six 3-pointers, and scored 27 points to lead Arizona to a win over New Mexico.
Shaina Pellington added 19 points for the Wildcats (7-0), who had their lowest output of the year and won by less than 20 for only the second time this season.
Paula Reus scored 14 points for the Lobos (4-4).
No. 17 MICHIGAN 77, NORTHWESTERN 66
ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) &mdash; Emily Kiser and Laila Phelia scored 18 points each and Michigan shut down Northwestern with an 8-0 run in the fourth quarter.
Leigha Brown added 10 points and 11 assists for Michigan (9-0), which won its Big Ten opener.
Jillian Brown had 17 points, five rebounds, four assists and three steals for Northwestern (4-4, 0-1 Big Ten). Caileigh Walsh had 12 points and four blocks, and Sydney Wood scored 10 points.
MIDDLE TENNESSEE 67, No. 18 LOUISVILLE 49
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. (AP) &mdash; Savannah Wheeler had 23 points, six rebounds and five assists, Courtney Whitson added 16 points and 10 rebounds and Middle Tennessee beat cold-shooting Louisville.
Middle Tennessee (5-2) won its first home game against a ranked opponent since the Lady Raiders beat No. 6 Kentucky 70-58 on December 28, 2011.
Kseniya Malashka added 15 points for Middle Tennessee (5-2).
Olivia Cochran scored a season-high 14 points for Louisville (5-4).
NEBRASKA 90, No. 20 MARYLAND 67
COLLEGE PARK, Md. (AP) &mdash; Jaz Shelley scored 29 points, Nebraska dominated the second half and the Cornhuskers surprised Maryland in the Big Ten Conference opener for both teams.
Allison Weidner had 13 points and 15 rebounds for Nebraska (6-3). Isabelle Bourne had 18 points and Alexis Markowski added 14. Shelley had six 3-pointers, five assists and three steals.
Two free throws from Diamond Miller drew Maryland (7-3) to within 77-67 points with 4:03 remaining, but the Terrapins would not score again while Nebraska scored 13.
No. 21 BAYLOR 79, HOUSTON CHRISTIAN 35
WACO, Texas (AP) &mdash; Freshman guard Bella Fontleroy came off the bench to score 17 points and grab 11 rebounds and Baylor romped to a victory over Houston Christian.
Fontleroy sank 6 of 10 shots with three 3-pointers for the Lady Bears (6-2) and notched her first double-double. Jaden Owens added 14 points and six assists. Kendra Gillispie scored 10 on 5-of-6 shooting.
Marilyn Nzoiwu was the lone bright spot for the Huskies (3-4). She finished with 13 points and five rebounds, sinking 6 of 9 shots from the floor. Her teammates made 8 of 40 shots, including 2 of 15 from beyond the arc.
The Lady Bears played a fifth straight game without injured leading scorer Aijha Blackwell.
No. 22 TEXAS 92, SOUTHERN 43
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) &mdash; Shaylee Gonzales scored 22 points, Sonya Morris added 20 points, and Texas routed Southern.
Aaliyah Moore scored 11 points and DeYona Gaston had 10 for the Longhorns (4-4). Rori Harmon had nine points and 10 rebounds.
Freshman guard Sirviva Legions led the Jaguars (2-5) with 13 points off the bench.
The Longhorns rolled to a 29-10 lead through the first quarter after making 10 of 14 shots. They scored 11 points off seven Southern turnovers. Texas went on to lead 46-16 at halftime.
SETON HALL 82, No. 24 MARQUETTE 78
SOUTH ORANGE, N.J. (AP) &mdash; Lauren Park-Lane scored 17 of her 31 points in the fourth quarter, Sidney Cooks added 23 and Seton Hall knocked off Marquette.
Kae Satterfield added 12 points for Seton Hall (6-4, 2-0 Big East Conference), which has won four straight. The Pirates last beat a ranked team, No. 24 DePaul, in January 2019.
Chloe Marotta scored 30 points and had 12 rebounds for the Golden Eagles (7-2, 1-1). Jordan King added 14 points and Liz Karlen had 12 points and nine rebounds.
No. 25 VILLANOVA 79, PROVIDENCE 54
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) &mdash; Maddy Seigrist scored 20 of her 29 points in the first half and grabbed nine rebounds to lead Villanova past Providence.
Seigrist was 12-of-18 shooting, including 4 of 6 from 3-point range. The Wildcats (7-2, 1-1 Big East Conference) made 12 of 28 behind the arc and shot 52% overall (33 of 63). Lucy Olsen added 14 points and Bella Runyan 10.
Janai Crooms led the Friars (6-4, 0-2) with 16 points and 10 rebounds.

A recap of Sunday's women's college basketball slate features a top-10 battle.

Notre Dame tops UConn as Azzi Fudd gets hurt

EAST LANSING, Mich. (AP) &mdash; Tom Izzo is proud of the fact that Michigan State has played anyone, anytime, anywhere with consistently tough nonconference schedules throughout his career.
Playing challenging competition before the Big Ten season begins has prepared the Spartans for conference play and set them up in the NCAA Tournament to make eight runs to the Final Four under their Hall of Fame coach.
This year, though, even Izzo acknowledged he might&rsquo;ve bit off more than his unranked team could chew.
&ldquo;In the summer, I was nervous and scared because I&rsquo;m saying, `What am I doing?&rsquo;&rdquo; Izzo said Monday night after tuning up for tough tests with a 73-55 season-opening win against Northern Arizona. &ldquo;After spending four months, five months, with my team, I&rsquo;m now not nervous or scared. I&rsquo;m anxious and excited.
Izzo is coaching in his second game on an aircraft carrier Friday night, hoping to stay afloat against No. 2 Gonzaga in San Diego. Four days later in Indianapolis, the Spartans will play No. 4 Kentucky in the Champions Classic. Three days later, No. 16 Villanova visits the Breslin Center.
In a four-day span during the week of Thanksgiving in Portland, Oregon, Michigan State will match up with No. 20 Alabama and might face No. 21 Oregon and top-ranked North Carolina in the Phil Knight Invitational.
Since at least 2009, no other team has had a November schedule with a pair of opponents ranked in the top four and two other teams in the poll.
And just for good measure, the Spartans will play on the road against a Notre Dame team that like them is also among teams receiving votes in the AP Top 25.
Here&rsquo;s a look at other teams who are choosing to be challenged outside of their conference schedule:
GONZAGA
A week after playing Michigan State on a ship, in a five-day span Mark Few&rsquo;s team will have a true road game against No. 12 Texas and and the Wildcats just off campus at Spokane Arena.
The Bulldogs may face No. 7 Duke in Portland at the Phil Knight Legacy tournament. In a rematch of the 2021 NCAA championhip game, they will play Baylor in South Dakota. After getting a chance to catch their breath, they will travel to face the Crimson Tide in Birmingham, Alabama.
NORTH CAROLINA
The Tar Heels have five turnups before likely playing Villanova in the Phil Knight Invitational, where they could also play Alabama or the Ducks.
Three days after playing three games over four days in Oregon, North Carolina will go to one of the loudest venues in college basketball, Assembly Hall, to face No. 13 Indiana in the first of three scheduled games against Big Ten teams.
In Hubert Davis&rsquo; second season, the Tar Heels will match up with Ohio State, which received votes in the AP Top 25, in New York and then host No. 22 Michigan.
KENTUCKY
Along with the aforementioned games against Gonzaga and the Spartans, John Calipari&rsquo;s team will travel to London to tip off against the Wolverines and New York to face the Bruins.
In late January on the eve of the NFL&rsquo;s conference championship games, Kentucky will play Kansas at home in a possible Final Four preview.
VIRGINIA
The 18th-ranked Cavaliers will not have to wait long to find out how good they are, playing the Bears and then the Bruins or No. 23 Illinois in Las Vegas next week. Virginia also plays the Wolverines on their home court and No. 3 Houston at home.
TEXAS
The 12th-ranked Longhorns host Gonzaga and No. 9 Creighton before having a neutral-site game against the Fighting Illini in New York. In the SEC-Big 12 Challenge, Texas will travel to play on the Volunteers&rsquo; court.

There are many top-25 teams who are choosing to be challenged outside of their conference schedule.

Michigan State among college hoops teams facing tough tests

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) &mdash; Jerami Grant converted a three-point play with 50.4 seconds to play to give Portland the lead and the Trail Blazers spoiled Mike Brown's coaching debut in Sacramento with a 113-108 win over the Kings on Wednesday night.
Grant scored 23 points to lead Portland and Anfernee Simons added 22. Damian Lillard scored 20 in his first game back from an abdominal injury that had sidelined him since January.
&ldquo;I just like to play the game the way that the game should be played,&rdquo; coach Chauncey Billups said. &ldquo;We have a generational guy in Dame. He&rsquo;s going to have his nights. We got to have other guys be there when it&rsquo;s actually not his night and you can actually go win a game or go steal a game. That&rsquo;s exactly what happened tonight.&rdquo;
The Kings came into the season with optimism that the hiring of Brown could help end an NBA-record 16-season playoff drought.
But they were dealt a loss in the opener despite 33 points from De'Aaron Fox and and 23 from Kevin Huerter in his Kings debut.
&ldquo;I know this group should play a lot better on both ends of the floor,&rdquo; Brown said. &ldquo;I know this group can play a whole heck of a lot better on both ends of the floor.&rdquo;
Terence Davis gave Sacramento a 106-104 lead when he followed a missed shot by Huerter with an emphatic dunk with 2:18 to play. But Davis was given a technical foul after the dunk and Lillard made the free throw to make it 106-105.
After a couple of empty trips on both ends, Grant gave Portland the lead for good with his driving layup and foul shot after an apparent turnover by the Blazers was wiped off because of a kicking violation on Sacramento.
Fox missed a 3 at the other end and Josh Hart added another three-point play to make it a five-point game and the Blazers held on for the win.
&ldquo;We just grinding and fighting,&rdquo; Hart said. &ldquo;That&rsquo;s going to be the biggest thing. ... Teams are going to go on runs and we got to make sure we&rsquo;re connecting with each other when that happens. If we do that and play our game, I like our team."
The Kings fell into a 14-point hole in the second quarter as they struggled offensively and kept sending Portland to the foul line. They turned it around with a 16-1 run to move back ahead and had a 55-51 lead at halftime.
The Blazers trailed by 10 midway through the third quarter before tying it in the closing seconds on a layup by Simons.
Portland then pulled it out in the fourth.
&ldquo;We still had a chance to win,&rdquo; Fox said. &ldquo;We can&rsquo;t give up three 30-point quarters. They scored off a lot of our turnovers and I do think we were a bit sloppy.&rdquo;
TIP-INS
Trail Blazers: Shaedon Sharpe scored 12 points in 16 minutes in his NBA debut. Sharpe was selected seventh overall in the draft despite not playing last season at Kentucky. ... Key offseason acquisition Gary Payton II remains sidelined by a core muscle injury. ... Portland snapped a three-game losing streak in season openers.
Kings: Fox became the first Kings player to have at least 30 points, five rebounds and five assists in an opener since Oscar Robertson in 1966. ... First-round rookie Keegan Murray (COVID protocols) was sidelined and will have to wait to make his debut. ... Baseball Home Run King Barry Bonds rang the cowbell to open the game along with former Kings Metta Sandiford-Artest and Brad Miller. ... The Kings played a video tribute to their former coach Bill Russell, who died this summer. Russell coached one year in Sacramento following a Hall of Fame playing career for Boston.
UP NEXT
Trail Blazers: Host Phoenix on Friday night.
Kings: Host the Clippers on Friday night.

Jerami Grant converted a three-point play with 50.4 seconds left and the Blazers spoiled Mike Brown's coaching debut in Sacramento.

Grant rallies Blazers past Kings 113-108 in opener

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

How the Grizzlies flipped the script on the Warriors

In the NBA Playoffs, stars often shine the brightest, with the biggest names often delivering on the biggest stage. That's to be expected, but truthfully, games are often won and lost because of the production from key role players.
Throughout the regular season, coaches may roll out a 10- or 11-man rotation consistently, providing ample rest for everybody as the season goes, as well as ensuring the development of younger players. But as the postseason kicks off, that rotation shrinks down to about eight guys playing significant minutes.&nbsp;
For the Memphis Grizzlies, De'Anthony Melton is one of those essential bench pieces that has helped Memphis lock up the No. 2 seed in the Western Conference. In fact, Memphis is now 22-4 when Melton scores 10 or more points off the bench; last season, Memphis was 16-5 in the games Melton scored double digits. So that's a pretty good indicator of the impact he has on the team's success.
The 23-year-old guard has earned a couple of nicknames over his time in Memphis. Bally Sports Southeast analyst Brevin Knight calls him "Mr. Do Something" because Melton is always contributing, even when he is not scoring. But when he is scoring, Melton has become known as "Microwave Melt."
Melton is the prime example of a binge scorer.
From November through January, De'Anthony shot 29.5% from deep on 169 attempts. He began to turn it around in February, shooting 43.8% on 48 attempts. During the month of March, Melton was on an absolute heater, shooting 47.1% on 87 attempts.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
De&rsquo;Anthony is only the 8th NBA player since the 83-84 season to have 5 straight games with 4+ 3s without starting a a game during the streak. His 26 total 3s are one of the five highest totals by a bench player over any five game span since 83-84 as well.
&mdash; Shawn Coleman (@StatsSAC) <a href="https://twitter.com/StatsSAC/status/1508628215673368581?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 29, 2022</a></blockquote>

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Melton extended this 4-triple streak off the bench to six straight against the San Antonio Spurs on March 30. Even more impressive about this stretch is that he's shot 50% or better from deep in seven straight games and in eight of his last 10.&nbsp;
His ability to knock down the deep ball is crucial to the Grizzlies' spacing. With Steven Adams providing no ability to stretch the floor, and Ja Morant needing space to get downhill and continue his unbelievable paint scoring, Memphis needs someone other than Desmond Bane to make defenders think twice about helping.
Currently, this is how the team's three-point shooting lines up without its top two snipers (Bane and John Konchar).
<ul>
<li>Tyus Jones: 39.3%</li>
<li>Kyle Anderson: 32.4%</li>
<li>Jaren Jackson Jr.: 31.9%</li>
<li>Dillon Brooks: 30.3%</li>
<li>Ziaire Williams: 30.1%</li>
</ul>
Jones and Morant do not share the floor together often; however, their success in a small sample size this season may lead to Grizzlies head coach Taylor Jenkins playing them together in the postseason to take pressure off Morant and provide that aforementioned spacing. (Williams is likely to have his minutes diminished in the playoffs as well.) Come playoff time, Memphis is poised to run a nine-man rotation with Jones, Melton, Anderson and Brandon Clarke coming off the bench.
As the numbers suggest, the Grizzlies struggle to shoot the ball. They lead the league in a lot of categories, but simply cannot convert from downtown outside of Bane. So, quite frankly, Memphis needs Microwave Melt to carry over into the playoffs.&nbsp;
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Last season, Melton fell into one of his cold spells as the playoffs started. After winning the 9/10 game, and subsequently knocking off the Golden Warriors for the No. 8 seed, Memphis ran into a historically efficient Utah Jazz offense and simply could not keep up. Melton, at times, was unplayable due to his poor shooting in the series. Outside of Game 4 in Memphis, in which he went 3 of 6 from distance, Melton made just 3 of his 14 shots from deep and went 6 of 22 overall.
It was unexpected and certainly the worst case for the Grizzlies. In the months of March and April 2021, Melton shot 46.7% from deep on 107 attempts. But his frigid stretch hit right after. In the 10 games in May, Melton shot 30.8% on 3.9 attempts per game, and his streakiness reared its head at the wrong time.&nbsp;
For Melton, his shooting woes are almost always mechanical issues. Balance is crucial for jump shots. The ability to have a balanced base and rise straight up increases the likelihood of a made shot, so any lean towards the left or right then has to be accounted for on the trajectory of the ball.&nbsp;
Say your weight is evenly distributed (50-50 on each leg), and you rise straight up on the shot; no other adjustments on the shot must be made. If a right-handed shooter has a tendency to distribute his/her weight 60-40 in favor of the left leg &mdash; that slight lean left &mdash; it means the trajectory has to have a counter-adjustment to the right to compensate.&nbsp;
In an interview with DaMichael Cole of the Mempis Commercial Appeal, Melton <a href="https://www.commercialappeal.com/story/sports/nba/grizzlies/2022/03/30/memphis-grizzlies-guard-deanthony-melton-nbas-hottest-shooter/7184297001/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">spoke about his own adjustment</a>. "I would say for me just making sure my base is wide. Make sure I got a solid, good foundation to start there because I used to bring my feet in too close," Melton <a href="https://www.commercialappeal.com/story/sports/nba/grizzlies/2022/03/30/memphis-grizzlies-guard-deanthony-melton-nbas-hottest-shooter/7184297001/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a>.
A shoulder-width base is almost a sure-fire way to get as close to a 50-50 weight distribution as possible.
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There are a couple of things to look for on this first clip. In regards to his feet, this is what Melton had been doing for much of his career, bringing his right foot in too close to his left and fighting his own body for balance. Then, he receives the pass shoulder-high, but brings it below his waist to load, adding more action than needed. Finally, though his release does not seem to have the hitch it did in 2020-21, his timing at the apex of his jump is off a tick.
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This is another catch-and-shoot opportunity here for Melton, but it's in transition, so his momentum is carrying him forward. He overcompensates for the positive momentum, missing it on the front of the rim, attempting to take a little off of the shot. The timing of the release is better here, as he releases it just before the apex, but his knees are almost touching as he brings his right foot in too far once again.
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Fast forward to March 23 when Melton hit a career-high 6 threes against the Brooklyn Nets. This angle gives you a great picture of what his mechanics are focused on. Many coaches at the youth levels teach their players to have their "toes pointed towards the basket," or to be square. That actually complicates the shooting motion. Notice the slight left turn of the feet. This small mechanical adjustment allows for the shooting elbow to be more comfortably and naturally aligned with the rim.&nbsp;
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The adjustments with his feet are noticeable. Rather than having his left foot planted on the catch and bringing his right foot in to initiate the shooting motion, Melton receives the pass with a slight two-footed hop that centers his weight on a more even stance. This allows for him to rise straight up with a fluid release that is on time.
The playoffs are around the corner, and the Grizzlies should not expect 50% shooting on 6 to 8 attempts per game, but even 36% on 4 to 5 triple tries would go a long way throughout the gauntlet in the Western Conference.
De'Anthony Melton is an X-factor to watch when the postseason begins on April 16.&nbsp;
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Justin Lewis breaks down De'Anthony Melton's hot offensive stretch and why he'll be an X-factor for the Grizzlies this postseason.

What to make of De'Anthony Melton's recent play with the Grizzlies

In Kansas City, Missouri I had the chance to attend the Hall of Fame Classic, which featured the No. 13 Arkansas Razorbacks, No. 14 Illinois Fighting Illini, Cincinnati Bearcats and Kansas State Wildcats. The event was the stage for a handful of potential NBA and next-level prospects, so I would like to share my thoughts on players who caught my eye.
Kofi Cockburn | Illinois | Center
In his season debut, Kofi Cockburn showed immediately that he&rsquo;s a force to be reckoned with in the post. He had the opposing bigs in foul trouble early and often, and was able to throw down a powerful dunk early, which got the Illinois fans off their feet. Monday night, he posted 18 points, 7 rebounds and a block. He continues to improve his footwork and post moves on the offensive end, but the defensive versatility and mobility questions remain. Cockburn will likely test the NBA Draft waters again in 2022, and he has a chance to be a second-round selection.
Andre Curbelo | Illinois | Guard
After a fairly slow start in the first two games, Andre Curbelo showed again why, when locked in, he can be one of college basketball&rsquo;s most electric point guards. He showed both mental and physical toughness, as he played through some obvious pain in the first half. He isn&rsquo;t the biggest or most physically imposing player &mdash; which can bring some limitations &mdash; but he used his footwork, change-of-speed ability and craftiness to create opportunities for both himself and his teammates. Curbelo needs to cut down on the turnovers and improve as a shooter, but he did hit some smooth pull-up jumpers vs. Cincinnati, and ended with a stat line of 12 points, 5 assists, and 5 turnovers.
Davonte Davis | Arkansas | Guard
Davonte Davis is an athletic combo guard who excels on the defensive end and has shown flashes as both a slasher and shooter. He was averaging 6.7 points and 3.7 rebounds per game coming into the contest. He only posted 4 points, 4 rebounds, an assist and a steal Monday, but he made some really nice passes that created good looks for his teammates. The Razorback backcourt is loaded, so it&rsquo;s difficult for any of the guards to have high-volume nights. Still, Davis&rsquo; impact in transition and on the defensive end allow him to flash next-level potential.&nbsp;
Coleman Hawkins | Illinois | Forward
Averaging 14.3 points and 9.3 rebounds entering the contest, Coleman Hawkins displayed tremendous vision and ability as a passer. On the defensive end, he&rsquo;s disciplined and plays with purpose, using his length to contest shots. Listed at 6-foot-10 and 215 pounds, his ability to play both inside and on the perimeter make him a valuable player, one that has flashed next-level potential. He didn&rsquo;t fill up the box score Monday night by posting only two points, but he was still impactful.
Jaylin Williams | Arkansas | Forward
Jaylin Williams is a tough, competitive big man who continues to get better with every game. At 6-foot-10 and 240 pounds, he is a physical force who dominates the boards. While he may not do anything in high volume, he does the important things well. He&rsquo;s a solid interior scorer who is learning to stretch the floor, a great rebounder and a phenomenal passer. Monday night, he only posted 6 points and 8 rebounds in the win, but his impact was felt any time he was on the floor. (Plus, Williams had a solid stat line last week vs. Northern Iowa.)
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Jaylin Williams (6-10, 240) does it all again for the Razorbacks. 11 points, 6 rebounds, 7 assists, 3 blocks and 1 steal for the sophomore. Continues to show great vision/passing, instincts and toughness. <a href="https://t.co/Xx58P9rFeC">pic.twitter.com/Xx58P9rFeC</a>
&mdash; Derek Murray (@DMurrayHoops) <a href="https://twitter.com/DMurrayHoops/status/1461167599996260355?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 18, 2021</a></blockquote>

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Other Notables:
JD Notae | Arkansas | Guard
A quick-twitch guard with terrific speed, JD Notae was again the spark that got the Hogs off and running. He averaged 21.7 points in the first three games, and has a quick trigger as a result. Sometimes, the shot selection is questionable, and the misses can be bad, but he&rsquo;s becoming a tremendous volume scorer.
Jeremiah Davenport | Cincinnati | Guard
With good positional size at 6-foot-6, Jeremiah Davenport has the frame and tough shot-making ability to be a next-level player. He led the Bearcats at 12.5 points per game entering the event, and shot 4-of-8 from deep for a total of 19 points, leading the Bearcats to a big win Monday night.&nbsp;
Stanley Umude | Arkansas | Wing
The South Dakota transfer has played well early this season as part of a busy Razorback backcourt. Stanley Umude has good positional size and strength, allowing him to be effective and score both inside and out. Monday night he was impactful, hitting tough shots and causing multiple turnovers.&nbsp;
Selton Miguel | Kansas State | Guard
After playing with the Angolan Senior National Team, Selton Miguel enters his second season in Manhattan, KS. At 6-foot-4, he is a tough, physical and competitive guard who can impact the game in multiple ways, excelling on the glass and at getting to the rim. With his strong frame, he welcomes contact at the finish point and can be a real impact player on defense. While he&rsquo;s not a 2022 NBA Draft prospect, he&rsquo;s one to monitor as a future professional player. He finished with 14 points and 9 rebounds to go along with an assist, block and steal each.

Derek Murray shares his takeaways from the Hall of Fame Classic, which featured a number of potential NBA prospects.

2022 NBA Draft: Scouting the Hall of Fame Classic

Nekias Duncan previews the Northwest Division for the 2021-22 NBA season.

2021-22 NBA Season Preview: Northwest Division

It&rsquo;s amazing how one&rsquo;s entire career &mdash; one's entire legacy &mdash; can often be defined by being on the wrong side of fate.
How differently would we have thought of LeBron James if Ray Allen hadn&rsquo;t made that three-pointer?
Would we have completely overlooked Kobe Bryant&rsquo;s 6-for-24 performance against the Boston Celtics if Metta World Peace didn&rsquo;t make the biggest shot of his life?
What would have become of James Harden&rsquo;s legacy if Kevin Durant&rsquo;s big toe didn&rsquo;t get the last laugh? Would Brooklyn have won the Eastern Conference? Could they have defeated the Phoenix Suns?
It&rsquo;s all moot now, but those thoughts help one realize how razor-thin the line between winning and losing can be.
United in purpose they are, but of Irving, Durant and Harden, it is only the Beard who endeavors to get his name off of the &ldquo;Charles Barkley&rdquo; list. From Karl Malone to Allen Iverson and Patrick Ewing to Damian Lillard, it&rsquo;s obvious that more goes into winning a championship than desire and talent.
Harden knows that all too well.&nbsp;
So yes, while they are united in purpose, they are each divided by their motivations to take their talents to Brooklyn in the first place.
For Irving, it was about coming home and finding happiness. For Durant, it was about building an empire to go along with an already-mighty legacy.&nbsp;
For Harden... it&rsquo;s about validation.
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&mdash; James Harden (@JHarden13) <a href="https://twitter.com/JHarden13/status/1442334234765524993?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 27, 2021</a></blockquote>

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Since his Oklahoma City Thunder were slapped aside in 2012 by a LeBron possessed by his mission, Harden has been valiantly trying to get back to the NBA Finals. But just like Durant&rsquo;s left foot, Chris Paul&rsquo;s hamstring had other ideas. So did a number of failed partnerships along the way.&nbsp;
A great player in his own right, for the entirety of his basketball career, Harden has been one of the unfortunate few who was just never good enough at the right moment. He&rsquo;s fallen short more times than he&rsquo;d care to remember and, ultimately, has been squeezed between the margins as a number of his peers came out on the other side.
Between Durant and Irving, the two have three championship rings and more than twice as many Finals appearances. Best believe &mdash; that realization keeps Harden up at night.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s very important,&rdquo; Harden responded, matter-of-factly when asked about his desire to win a championship in Brooklyn.
&ldquo;As a competitor &mdash;&nbsp; I feel like as one of the best players in the league &mdash; that&rsquo;s what you train in the summer for. That&rsquo;s what you go through the tough times and grinds for, the difficult days for.&rdquo;&nbsp;
And, alas, he vowed to keep fighting.
&ldquo;I fell short a few times, but that doesn&rsquo;t stop me and it won&rsquo;t stop me,&rdquo; Harden said.&nbsp;
&ldquo;I train every single day with that mindset to be able to compete at the highest level and to be the last team standing... For me, I just want to go out there and make my teammates better [and] try to be the best player on the floor every single night...&rdquo;
While he has mostly succeeded in that quest, Harden, unfortunately, has been the best player on the floor most nights &mdash; just not those in April and May.&nbsp;
An ugly divorce with the Houston Rockets saw him eventually land in Brooklyn in January, but he would only play eight games with Irving and Durant before the playoffs began. And once they did, he and Irving couldn&rsquo;t stay on the floor.
Harden valiantly played his way back into game shape and was remarkably effective for a player dealing with his ailment. Maybe, just maybe, if Durant&rsquo;s foot found its way behind the line, Harden could&rsquo;ve found his stride in the conference finals against the Atlanta Hawks.
It turns out, that inch made all the difference.
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About three months later, feeling like it was the first day of school, Harden was confident and upbeat, yet satisfyingly realistic about where the Nets find themselves as they prepare for the challenges that await.
&ldquo;I think my job is to make sure that throughout the course of the year, we&rsquo;re all on the same page &mdash; obviously there&rsquo;s gonna be some ups and some downs and some tough times or whatever the case&nbsp; &mdash;&nbsp; but as long as we all have the same goal and that same sacrifice, it starts [Tuesday] in training camp... kinda instill that in the guys&rsquo; minds that we&rsquo;re doing this together, and to the end.&rdquo;
And together, they&rsquo;ll hope that the end is further than where it ended up being last season.
There&rsquo;s no question that the Nets will enter the season as the most-talked about team in the East, just like they were last year. But what Brooklyn discovered &mdash; and what Harden has long known &mdash; is that it doesn&rsquo;t guarantee you&rsquo;ll be the last team standing when it&rsquo;s all said and done.
Back in 2014, the San Antonio Spurs made good on their revenge tour. The year prior, a couple of missed free throws from Manu Ginobili and Kawhi Leonard left the door open for Chris Bosh to snag one of the biggest offensive rebounds in NBA history. When the Spurs began the 2013-14 season with hopes of exorcising those demons, Danny Green admitted to having nightmares about the one that got away.
They made good. Now, it&rsquo;s Brooklyn&rsquo;s turn to attempt to do the same.
Patty Mills, one of the newest Nets, happened to be on the Spurs for that two-year stretch. Although he can&rsquo;t share in the pain that the club has felt since falling short against Milwaukee, he can certainly advise as to how to channel it.
Part of the reason the offseason is so long for the NBA&rsquo;s players is because there&rsquo;s no game tomorrow. It&rsquo;s the beauty of the chase for the ring. No matter what happens on Monday or Tuesday, there&rsquo;s always a game on Wednesday. There&rsquo;s always an opponent to scout, film to dissect or a game plan to discuss. When one game ends, emotionally, players have been trained to move on immediately, because a new challenge is on the horizon.
But those months between one&rsquo;s season ending and training camp convening?&nbsp;
Those days are long and dark.&nbsp;
On Media Day, as Harden reflected on the previous chapter in Brooklyn, he looked ahead with renewed energy and cautious optimism.
Squeezed between the margins for far too long, his personal quest for basketball immorality begins anew.&nbsp;
This time, he hopes, he can crawl toward the light &mdash; and better, wiser and more humble, that he can help his team come out on the other side.

For James Harden, the long offseason has ended. With training camp convening, another opportunity to earn immortality awaits.

In Brooklyn, the quest for validation still motivates James Harden

Etan Thomas spoke with Al Harrington about Sha'Carri Richardson's suspension, marijuana in pro sports, his cannabis company and more.

Q&A: Al Harrington on Sha’Carri Richardson, cannabis company, more

The following is an excerpt of L. Jon Wertheim's book, &ldquo;<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Glory-Days-Changed-Culture-Forever/dp/1328637247" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Glory Days: The Summer of 1984 and the 90 Days That Changed Sports and Culture Forever</a>,&rdquo; which is out today <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Glory-Days-Changed-Culture-Forever/dp/1328637247" target="_blank" rel="noopener">on Amazon</a>. 
In Indianapolis, a popular 1984 parlor game entailed coming up with the best comparison for the Hoosier Dome, the white monstrosity that had sprouted to blight the city&rsquo;s skyline. It&rsquo;s like a giant biscuit made from scratch. No, it looks more like a giant pile of white deer crap. The indoor venue was built with the intent of enticing a professional football team to relocate to town&mdash;and on those grounds, it was stunningly successful. On March 28, 1984, the Colts organization had loaded up a fleet of moving vans, left Baltimore under cover of darkness, and decamped to Indianapolis.
But with the 1984 NFL season still weeks away, the first event held inside the Hoosier Dome was, appropriately, a basketball game. As Bob Knight, the unofficial emcee, told the crowd that night, July 9, 1984, &ldquo;I heard today that basketball was invented in Springfield, Massachusetts, and that is true.&rdquo; (Pause for effect.) &ldquo;God had it invented there so we could import it to Indiana.&rdquo; Deafening applause followed.
Knight and his minions had come to Indianapolis as part of a pre-Olympic summer barnstorming tour. In order to help the team coalesce into a unit, in order to simulate real competition under international rules&mdash;and in order to get them the hell out of southern Indiana in the summer&mdash;USA Basketball had arranged for a series of games against makeshift teams of NBA players. Like a summer concert tour, the circuit threaded its way through an assortment of cities, some (Minneapolis) more logical than others (Iowa City?).
Apart from offering an entertaining summer basketball exhibition, the games doubled as an exercise in patriotism. Knight had already stressed this aspect with his players. Time and again, he reminded them that they were playing as representatives of America, which, as the coach put it, was one of the great civilizations in world history. Knight also constantly reminded them of recent Olympic basketball history. Though 12 years had elapsed, Knight often invoked the gold-medal game in the 1972 Olympics, when the Russians &ldquo;won&rdquo; an atrociously officiated contest 51&ndash;50, the outcome so dubious and controversial that the American players never accepted their silver medals.
With the Soviet boycott of the 1984 Games, there would be no Cold War flashpoint or baked-in rival this time. Still, these were our boys&mdash;the same age as soldiers&mdash;going off to do battle in an international theater, representing their country and wearing uniforms emblazoned in red, white, and blue.
This patriotic strain was especially vivid in Indianapolis on this night. It was the Monday after Fourth of July weekend. And the unit was led by Knight, a man nicknamed the General, who had started his coaching tour of duty at West Point and fancied himself a military historian. The ragtag mix of NBA players forming the opposition were coaxed into interrupting their summer on the grounds that they were fulfilling a patriotic duty, serving as sparring partners for the American unit.
At the entrance to the Hoosier Dome, local Girl Scout troops handed out miniature American flags to the 67,596 fans who attended, at the time the largest crowd ever to watch a basketball game indoors. During the pregame ceremonies, Knight welcomed the crowd and then handed the stage over to none other than Ronald Reagan. The president had taped a message that played on the video board, declaring that Knight&rsquo;s collection of players was &ldquo;not just a team. They&rsquo;re the American team.&rdquo;
Amid all this patriotic (jingoistic?) fervor, few fans noticed a small interlude on the court. During the pregame warm-up, Michael Jordan, shod now in the Fastbreak model by Converse, the sponsor of the Olympic team, unspooled a series of jump shots. After one errant attempt, his ball squirted away from him, crossed the DMZ of half-court, and bounded into enemy territory, the opponent&rsquo;s side of the floor.
It found its way into the hands of Larry Bird. Fresh from winning the NBA title a few weeks earlier, Bird had, somewhat grudgingly, paused his off-season ritual&mdash;consisting mostly of beer drinking and fishing&mdash;to take part in this exhibition, a few hours&rsquo; drive from his famed hometown of French Lick, Indiana.
For Bird, though, there were no exhibition games. Only competitions. Jordan wore a sheepish, congenial My bad, Larry, smile as he came to retrieve his ball. Bird, the NBA&rsquo;s reigning MVP, was less congenial. Sneering dismissively, he kicked the ball over Jordan&rsquo;s head and back to the other end of the court, the indoor equivalent of Get off my lawn, kid. Jordan walked back, shaking his head, interpreting it as a bit of validation. He was already worthy of Larry Bird&rsquo;s mind games. See you in the NBA, pal.
That night, the U.S. women&rsquo;s basketball team served as something of a warm-up act. Led by Cheryl Miller&mdash;whose kid brother Reggie would be drafted by the Indiana Pacers three summers later and leave as the franchise&rsquo;s most decorated pro basketball player&mdash;the U.S. women cruised to a 97&ndash;54 win over a patchwork team of former college players. &ldquo;Not much to complain about,&rdquo; said the coach, Pat Summitt, who had turned 32 a few weeks before.
As for the main event, the men&rsquo;s game, Bird tricked Jordan into a pair of quick fouls and the NBA All-Stars&mdash;featuring most of Bird&rsquo;s Celtics teammates as well as the Detroit Pistons&rsquo; star guard Isiah Thomas, who had played for Knight at Indiana&mdash;took a 16&ndash;10 lead. But then the Olympians took over, benefiting from superior depth, cohesion, and ambition. They pulled away in the second half and won 97&ndash;82. Bird had 14 points. Jordan had 12. Seven months later, when Jordan next appeared at the Hoosier Dome, he and Bird would be on the same side of the court, teammates representing the Eastern Conference at the NBA All-Star Game.
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Apart from simulating battle, the barnstorming tour gave rise to a certain esprit de corps, a chemistry among the unit. Knight experimented with lineups and was intentionally vague and erratic about his rotation.
Players also experienced Knight&rsquo;s brutal, military-style authority. Within a few years, autocrats like Knight would be subject to the equivalent of court-martial&mdash;&ldquo;You can&rsquo;t handle the truth!&rdquo; we might have later said&mdash;for breaches of basic human decency. But in 1984, Knight&rsquo;s M.O. was still acceptable, perhaps especially heading into an international competition.
For Knight, basketball was never about missed shots or made shots. It was about manifestations of character. Were you tough and durable and courageous and unswerving in your convictions? Or did you play with what Knight perceived to be the twin curses of softness and indecision?
Some players recoiled from Knight&rsquo;s style. (That included Larry Bird, who, recruited by Knight in the mid-seventies, had gone home after a homesick month on campus in Bloomington and then transferred to Indiana State.) Others responded to it. Jordan was not merely unbothered by Knight; he warmed to his discipline and his combustible personality and saw value in both. It was all in service of winning. And what&rsquo;s wrong with the alpha acting like the alpha?
Patrick Ewing would later tell the story that one night he and Jordan began play-wrestling in the living quarters. Nothing malicious, just two bored and athletic kids fooling around. Though Jordan spotted Ewing six inches and perhaps 50 pounds, he got his man in a headlock. Ewing capitulated. Neither thought much of it, but the next day Ewing couldn&rsquo;t move his neck.
Worse, he had to tell Knight what had happened and that Jordan had been the culprit. &ldquo;Coach Knight was mad,&rdquo; Ewing recalled to the writer Jack McCallum in his excellent book Dream Team. &ldquo;But only at me. Michael? Nothing happened to him. Nothing ever happened to Michael.&rdquo;
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Which wasn&rsquo;t entirely true. Knight went after Jordan plenty. But sometimes it was to test Jordan&rsquo;s resolve. Other times it was to send a message: No one is above the law. (On these occasions, Knight would sometimes warn Jordan what was coming.)
Jordan&rsquo;s college coach, Dean Smith, was a strong authority figure who brooked no bullsh**. But this was at an entirely different level. Which was fine by Jordan. Asked&mdash;as he invariably was throughout the tour&mdash;to compare coaches, Jordan smiled and offered a winning line: &ldquo;The only different thing is the vocabulary. From Coach Smith I learned the four-corner offense. From Coach Knight I learned the four-letter word.&rdquo; (Wait for laughter.) &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve heard some of the words before that he&rsquo;s used, but never from a coach.&rdquo;
Referring to Knight by his first name, he continued, &ldquo;Bobby doesn&rsquo;t scare me. I&rsquo;m taller than him.&rdquo; (Wait for more laughter.) &ldquo;But I see what gets him mad, and I make sure I don&rsquo;t do it. He&rsquo;s taught us all a lot, and his way of getting a point across doesn&rsquo;t take the fun out of this. Now, if you ask me whether I&rsquo;d want to play for him for four years, I&rsquo;d have to think about it.&rdquo;
Jordan was more amused than anything else by Knight&rsquo;s eruptions. He often confided in [George] Raveling&mdash;who had known Knight since the late 1960s and counted him as a friend&mdash;jokingly referring to Knight as &ldquo;your boy.&rdquo; As in: You&rsquo;re never going to believe what your boy did today. Or: Check out what your boy called me this morning.
All bullies, though, need a target, and Wayman Tisdale, a silky lefty forward from Oklahoma, was a particular victim of Knight&rsquo;s. Confidants of Knight&rsquo;s explain that he didn&rsquo;t hold Tisdale&rsquo;s college coach, Billy Tubbs, in especially high esteem. Tubbs&rsquo;s teams played a high-scoring, defense-free style, absent of structure. (By received wisdom, Tubbs played comparably fast and loose with the NCAA rule book.) Knight was going to impose discipline and, by proxy, repudiate Tubbs and his slapdash approach to basketball.
During a practice before an exhibition in Greensboro, Knight stopped the session and demanded a black Magic Marker. He then bent down, wrote an X on the floor, and added a date. As Knight knelt on the court for this art project, the players exchanged quizzical looks. When the coach finished, he declared, &ldquo;I just wanted to mark the time and place that I first saw Wayman Tisdale take a charge.&rdquo; More than once, the General kicked Tisdale out of the gym, leaving the player in tears. Asked what he thought of Knight&rsquo;s methods, Tisdale would say, &ldquo;When I go back to Oklahoma, I&rsquo;m gonna find everyone I used to think was mean, and I&rsquo;m gonna hug &lsquo;em.&rdquo;&nbsp;
While it wasn&rsquo;t quite the Harlem Globetrotters vs. the Washington Generals, with scripted outcomes and storylines, everyone knew the rules of engagement for these exhibition games. The NBA players were expected to try hard, but not their hardest, and keep the games close. They were not supposed to win. So they didn&rsquo;t. But the games were often competitive, sometimes intensely so.
On July 12, the Olympians played an exhibition game in Milwaukee. Before the game, Tim Hallam, a young staffer in the Bulls&rsquo; public relations office, drove up from Chicago with a photographer. His task: get Michael Jordan to pose for a portrait photo in a Bulls uniform. Hallam introduced himself to Jordan for the first time and was impressed when the kid smiled, looked him in the eye, and seemed to grasp the exercise. Hey, a team needs to sell tickets. I&rsquo;m the new draft pick. This comes with the territory.
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But with tip-off looming, there was no time to set up proper lighting. So there, in the middle of the locker room in Milwaukee, surrounded by teammates, Jordan changed out of the Olympic uniform and into the Bulls uniform and sat for the damn photo. While he would later razz Hallam about this imposition on his time&mdash;this, the very first of countless requests the Bulls&rsquo; public relations staff would make over the years&mdash;on this night, Jordan could not have been more accommodating.
While Jordan was posing for the photo shoot, Knight was in the other locker room, encouraging two of the NBA stars, Mike Dunleavy and Doc Rivers, to knock his players around a lot. They obliged. So did their teammate, Mickey Johnson, of the Golden State Warriors, who took advantage of the tour&rsquo;s unlimited fouls policy, committing 13 infractions. But when the game turned from physical to violent, Knight reconsidered, screaming at the referees to get control of the game: &ldquo;Too much is at stake.&rdquo;
In the second half, Jordan went in for a breakaway dunk. Dunleavy swooped in, extended his right hand, and raked Jordan across the face. After thudding to the ground, Jordan popped up like a jack-in-the-box, glowering and looking to fight Dunleavy. By the time he was restrained by teammates, he was already cocking a fist. &ldquo;I didn&rsquo;t come out here to not play hard,&rdquo; Dunleavy said. &nbsp;(Seven summers later, Jordan would get his revenge, winning his first NBA title in 1991 as the Chicago Bulls defeated the Los Angeles Lakers, a team coached by&nbsp;.&nbsp;.&nbsp;. Mike Dunleavy.)
After the game in Milwaukee, Knight was still hot. He declared Charley Vacca, a college official, &ldquo;the most incompetent sonofabitch I&rsquo;ve seen referee. . . . What do you want me to do, sit on my ass and let a million-dollar player&rsquo;s career be ruined by some a**hole with a whistle?&rdquo;
Apart from a**holes with whistles, the tour was a smashing success that achieved its goal. Some games were blowouts, the team playing in harmony. Other games were close, and the Olympians were forced to show some mettle, scoring baskets and making critical stops on defense. But the Olympians played against the best and brightest in the NBA (Bird in Indianapolis; Magic Johnson in Minneapolis; Clyde Drexler in Iowa City; Alex English and Kiki Vandeweghe in Phoenix). In the end, the Olympians won all eight games; roles and responsibilities became more clear; collectively and individually, confidence swelled.
But the tour also did something else: it highlighted the lavish skills of Michael Jordan. The games foreshadowed just how seamlessly Jordan&rsquo;s game, his explosive athleticism, his position&mdash;for that matter, his disposition&mdash;would translate to the NBA.
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Jay Bilas had finished his sophomore year at Duke and played sporadically on the basketball team. He&rsquo;d harbored interests beyond basketball and that summer served as a production assistant for ABC for Olympic basketball telecasts. While most of his work came at the L.A. Games, Bilas was also assigned to work some of the exhibition games between the Olympians and the NBA players.
Having played against Jordan at the rival school less than half an hour away, Bilas had seen Jordan put up 20 points a game in the Atlantic Coast Conference. He was unsurprised when he attended a pregame practice in Minneapolis and it was abundantly obvious that Jordan was the best player on the team.
But then the game started. Jordan was competing against the likes of Magic Johnson, Kevin McHale, Isiah Thomas, and Mark Aguirre. &ldquo;He was still the best player&mdash;by far,&rdquo; says Bilas. &ldquo;It was pretty clear that there wasn&rsquo;t anybody in the NBA or internationally that could hang with him. Jordan did stuff where it was like Are you kidding me? And I saw him do it in college a little bit, but this was a different level. I remembered, as a kid, people used to say that when Mickey Mantle made contact, his bat made a different sound from everyone else&rsquo;s. It was like that. He was making moves and you were like It&rsquo;s just different. No one else is doing that.&rdquo;
Toward the end of the tour, the U.S. team played a collection of All-Stars in Phoenix. After Jordan dropped 27 points and the Olympians won their eighth-straight game, 84&ndash;72, the opposing coach was visibly slack-jawed. How good was Jordan? &ldquo;He&rsquo;s as gifted a player as any I&rsquo;ve ever seen play ball,&rdquo; responded Pat Riley, the Lakers&rsquo; coach&mdash;who was, bear in mind, just a few weeks removed from watching Larry Bird, Kevin McHale, Magic Johnson, James Worthy, and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar duel for seven games in a classic series. &ldquo;What happened here and then through the Olympics will only make him better. I don&rsquo;t think he realizes how good he really is.&rdquo;
<a href="https://twitter.com/jon_wertheim" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Follow L. Jon Wertheim on Twitter: @jon_wertheim</a>
<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Glory-Days-Changed-Culture-Forever/dp/1328637247" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Buy this book on Amazon: Glory Days: The Summer of 1984 and the 90 Days That Changed Sports and Culture Forever</a>
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Jon Wertheim details the ascent of Michael Jordan, who was no longer a college player and not yet a pro, in the summer of 1984.

How the summer of 1984 foreshadowed Michael Jordan's NBA greatness

The Oklahoma City Thunder have been in so many close games in February that you don&rsquo;t even need a calculator to figure out their total margin of defeat and victory. Over their last 10 contests, the team has gone just 3-7, yet they're coming up 6.5 points short on average, even with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander on the sidelines for half the time. And in the first six games of that stretch, every outcome was decided by three possessions or fewer.
Clutch time is defined as a game being within five points, ahead or behind, with five minutes or fewer left in the game. According to NBA.com, OKC has racked up 40 minutes of clutch time since Feb. 5, only trailing the Minnesota Timberwolves (41) in said scenario. It should come as no surprise that both ball clubs, two of the youngest rosters in the NBA, <a href="https://go.nba.com/q4vn" target="_blank" rel="noopener">struggle during these moments</a>.&nbsp;
Along with the Wolves, the Thunder have recorded a sub-90 offensive rating, a true shooting percentage below 51% and a turnover percentage exceeding 18% in clutch time. What seems worse is the aforementioned poor results.
It&rsquo;s a bottom-line business when all is said and done, but the truth is that the Thunder are in a development stage of a rebuild, one that, for all intents and purposes, is clearly off to a successful start. When you&rsquo;ve had the sixth-hardest strength of schedule to this point and a significantly low net rating, having a 12-18 record in spite of both is a positive sign.
In addition to the foundation -- starting with rising star Gilgeous-Alexander, brimming-with-potential Darius Bazley and fast-learning Luguentz Dort -- there are still plenty of pieces to be added down the line via the draft, all thanks to the cunning brilliance of general manager Sam Presti.
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Yet in the present, there&rsquo;s been something much more valuable than roster upgrades can provide for OKC: meaningful experience.
&ldquo;First of all, it&rsquo;s great," said Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault. "At the end of the day, most teams in the league are gonna play half their games where [there&rsquo;s] five minutes left in the game and it&rsquo;s still gonna be a really competitive game. A skill that I think every player and every team has to develop is the ability to execute on both ends of the floor in a possession game like that. When you get to the highest-stakes games, even if the playoffs, the window of time that the game is like that is even more evolved. It&rsquo;s huge to be able to go through those situations and to see how guys respond and teach from those moments.&nbsp;
&ldquo;I think we&rsquo;ve handled them pretty well. I think we&rsquo;ve put ourselves in positions to win some, and even the ones that we haven&rsquo;t come out on top, I think our execution in a lot of those [games] have been good. Our guys have taken the lessons and evolved forward and we&rsquo;re a more confident team when it comes to executing in those moments.&rdquo;
Daigneault concedes that the Thunder took their share of thumpings earlier in the season, as pretty much all of the NBA has this season already due to the nature of the campaign. However, the first-year head coach credits his players for keeping their heads up and fighting through it, which is why OKC has been involved in so many recent tight encounters.
&ldquo;We just kinda keep playing. As of late, we&rsquo;ve been really, really competitive. We keep playing through the schedule and we keep playing through the game,&rdquo; Daigenault said. &ldquo;We&rsquo;ve got a group of guys that see adversity as a challenge, so when they get knocked down they dust themselves off and they get back up -- especially when the competition is still going on. Competitiveness is a learned skill, and we&rsquo;ve got a group of guys who have that type of makeup and have sharpened that blade and have found energy from competing together in those moments. We&rsquo;re certainly fortunate to be able to coach these guys.&rdquo;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
I don't give a damn that OKC's lost 4 out of 5. This team is fighting tooth &amp; nail &amp; will benefit long-term from these close losses. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/ThunderUp?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#ThunderUp</a> Subscribe to Keepin' It 94 🎙️ Apple 🍏: <a href="https://t.co/RrwjmQqEaV">https://t.co/RrwjmQqEaV</a> Spotify: <a href="https://t.co/fcdTWlK2Bz">https://t.co/fcdTWlK2Bz</a> Stitcher: <a href="https://t.co/Sdq8uPiD3f">https://t.co/Sdq8uPiD3f</a> <a href="https://t.co/jDNwKBmShE">pic.twitter.com/jDNwKBmShE</a>
&mdash; Spencer Davies (@SpinDavies) <a href="https://twitter.com/SpinDavies/status/1362181691608096768?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 17, 2021</a></blockquote>

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Every talking point Daigneault gets across with his group comes back to the word &ldquo;compete,&rdquo; and the players follow suit. Upstart rookie Theo Maledon and breakout third-year swingman Hamidou Diallo relay that the close losses have taught them how important it is to maintain their energy for a full 48 minutes of a game. Mike Muscala, a veteran stretch big man in his seventh season, went into more detail on this concept.
&ldquo;It just comes down to treating each possession like it matters -- being focused offensively, defensively, staying aggressive,&rdquo; Muscala said. &ldquo;There&rsquo;s gonna be nights, periods of the game, periods of the season where shots are falling and things are good and vice-versa. So it comes down to having good habits, being there for each other, supporting each other, playing good defense and resting our hat on that on the effort side of it. Coach is preaching it a lot; we can always control how much we&rsquo;re competing. If you do that throughout the course of the season, you can live with the results.
&ldquo;...I think if you treat it that way, it humbles you and it balances things out so it&rsquo;s not so up-and-down. If you&rsquo;re focused on that current possession... you can look back on the film after the game and see what went well and what didn&rsquo;t. But if you&rsquo;re focused on each possession, you don&rsquo;t have as much time to dwell on what happened in the past or look too far into the future. And I think throughout this season being 72 games [with] all the COVID-related uncertainties and whatnot, just finding some solace in the game and in the present moment. Coach Mark does a great job of that, making sure we stay grateful for the opportunity to play and try to get lost in the game being there for each other.&rdquo;
Needless to say, Daigneault has been grateful for Muscala and the other veterans on his team for their commitment since the 2020-21 campaign tipped off. Guys like Al Horford, George Hill, Darius Miller and Muscala have been not only coachable, but also teachers to Daigneault himself and the team as whole when they need a guiding hand.
&ldquo;The most important thing in what they do is in terms of &lsquo;walking the walk.&rsquo; When you have a young team in the locker room, these guys are trying to figure out where they fit in, figure out how to act, how to prepare, how to play,&rdquo; Daigneault said. &ldquo;Their eyes are opened, especially with guys like Al and George and Mike and Darius. We have a lot of impressionable players because they&rsquo;re really young in their careers, so those [veteran] guys really are an unbelievable walking example of professionalism, of preparation, of maturity and then going out there and playing winning basketball. They have winning habits, they&rsquo;re highly fundamental, they&rsquo;re ruthlessly consistent. Fortunately, we never prompt guys to feel like they have to take a vocal role on, but those guys have offered that up.&nbsp;
&ldquo;They&rsquo;ve really tried to put their arm around guys. They&rsquo;re especially good in huddles in the games -- because the games can be emotional and especially for a younger team, the emotion of the game can get kinda volatile at times -- and they&rsquo;ve been through so many battles that they&rsquo;re a real calming influence in the huddles and on the court. That&rsquo;s been a secondary benefit to the fact that they&rsquo;re also really good players.&rdquo;
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There&rsquo;s been an encouraging domino effect to come out of this latest string of games. While Maledon can recollect times where he&rsquo;s been pulled aside by one of his vets for a lesson, he instead chooses to put the spotlight on how there&rsquo;s not one singular group or person who is the leader of the Thunder.
&ldquo;The good thing about this team is everyone is doing it, no matter if it&rsquo;s Al or the guy that&rsquo;s not a veteran that only has a couple years in the league,&rdquo; Maledon said. &ldquo;Every time we see something, we talk to each other, we hold ourselves accountable for mistakes... That helps us move forward and correct the things that we made mistakes on and do the right thing after.&rdquo;
Even Gilgeous-Alexander, OKC&rsquo;s superstar in the making, has to agree with that notion.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s been fun. I don&rsquo;t really see myself as the lone leader of this team,&rdquo; Gilgeous-Alexander said. &ldquo;There&rsquo;s so many guys that step up, whether it be verbally or on the court. I think we have a group of guys that are so selfless that there&rsquo;s no designated leader. We just all want the best for each other, and we all do the right thing in the right moment.&nbsp;
&ldquo;And that&rsquo;s one of the things that Coach says. A leader&rsquo;s not the oldest guy or the most talented player, it&rsquo;s the guy that&rsquo;s doing the right thing at the right time. And we have so many guys that are like that, it doesn&rsquo;t really put pressure on me to be the leader or the vocal leader or whatever it may be.&rdquo;
This rebuild is right on schedule.

Spencer Davies looks into the Oklahoma City Thunder's tendency to keep games close and how it's going to help the team in the long run.

A propensity to out-compete and keep games close sum up OKC's attitude

Nekias Duncan details his predictions for the entire 2020-21 NBA campaign.

2020-21 NBA Season and Award Predictions

In the NBA bubble, most teams haven&rsquo;t had any trouble putting the ball in the basket. 
In fact, there are shocking point totals and incredible individual performances seemingly every day. On Sunday, the Toronto Raptors scored a franchise-record 150 points in their Game 4 win over the Brooklyn Nets (and their bench combined for a playoff-record 100 points). Hours later, Utah&rsquo;s Donovan Mitchell (51 points) and Denver&rsquo;s Jamal Murray (50 points) had a shootout, marking the first time in NBA history that opposing players have each scored 50+ points in the same playoff game.
Across the board, offensive numbers in the bubble are up from the rest of the 2019-20 regular season - including combined points, made field goals, field-goal percentage, made free throws, free-throw percentage, made three-pointers and three-point percentage.&nbsp;
The NBA&rsquo;s average offensive efficiency was 110.7 points per 100 possessions, per <a href="https://cleaningtheglass.com/stats/league/summary?season=2019&amp;seasontype=regseason&amp;start=09/29/2019&amp;end=03/21/2020" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Cleaning the Glass</a>. That average <a href="https://cleaningtheglass.com/stats/league/summary?season=2019&amp;seasontype=regseason&amp;start=06/30/2020&amp;end=08/16/2020" target="_blank" rel="noopener">increased</a> to 113.2 points per 100 possessions during the seeding games. Now, scoring is <a href="https://cleaningtheglass.com/stats/league/summary?season=2019&amp;seasontype=playoffs&amp;start=08/15/2020&amp;end=08/29/2020" target="_blank" rel="noopener">up even more</a> in the NBA playoffs, as teams are averaging 114.2 points per 100 possessions through Aug. 29.
Prior to the bubble, it had been more than 32 years since every team in a slate of five or more NBA games scored at least 110 points. In Orlando, it happened twice in the span of eight days.&nbsp;
Why are offenses thriving in the bubble? Will this trend continue as the playoffs continue? There are a number of theories as to why teams are having an easier time scoring in Orlando:
TEAMS ARE PLAYING ON THE SAME RIMS AND COURTS EVERY DAY
During a normal season, players are in a different arena on most nights and they have to get acclimated to each building. Every arena is different in terms of the depth perception, lighting, how the ball bounces off the floor, how soft the rims are and so on. In the bubble, all of the courts and rims are the same, so players can get comfortable and find their rhythm easier.&nbsp;
Some players shoot better at home games because they&rsquo;re used to the rims and in a familiar setting. This is similar. Players who adjusted to their surroundings during the early seeding games can just focus on scoring now. They can even build momentum from game to game, picking up right where they previously left off.&nbsp;
THE DARK ARENA IMPROVES SHOOTERS' DEPTH PERCEPTION
Certain aspects of the game environment in Orlando may actually benefit shooters. Since the virtual stands are darker than the on-court lighting and there are black curtains surrounding each court, several players have said that it&rsquo;s easier to shoot in the bubble because their depth perception is better and the rims are more visible.
&ldquo;I feel like it&rsquo;s a hooper&rsquo;s gym,&rdquo; Phoenix Suns guard Devin Booker told <a href="https://www.theringer.com/nba/2020/8/6/21356187/nba-bubble-differences-referees-scoring-virtual-fans" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Ringer</a>. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s easier to shoot in here with [better] depth perception. I love the setup that they have for us. There&rsquo;s not much more that comes with it beyond the game of basketball.&rdquo;
&ldquo;The depth perception on the basket is a lot better, just because you can&rsquo;t see through the backboard, shooting-wise, since it&rsquo;s blacked out,&rdquo; Dallas Mavericks guard Tim Hardaway Jr. told <a href="https://www.theringer.com/nba/2020/8/6/21356187/nba-bubble-differences-referees-scoring-virtual-fans" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Ringer</a>.
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SCORERS ARE GETTING TO THE FREE-THROW LINE MORE
As FiveThirtyEight&rsquo;s Mike Prada <a href="https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/why-have-nba-offenses-been-so-good-in-the-bubble/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">has noted</a>, every type of foul is being called more in the bubble - shooting fouls, loose-ball fouls, other personal fouls, charges, technicals, etc.&nbsp;
"Teams spent nearly 30 percent of their bubble possessions in the penalty, compared with 26 percent before the break," <a href="https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/why-have-nba-offenses-been-so-good-in-the-bubble/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">wrote Prada</a>. "The average free-throw rate - free throws made per 100 field goal attempts - <a href="https://cleaningtheglass.com/stats/league/fourfactors?season=2019&amp;seasontype=regseason&amp;start=07/30/2020&amp;end=08/15/2020" target="_blank" rel="noopener">jumped from 20 before the shutdown to 22.8 in the bubble seeding games</a>, a mark unmatched over a full season since 2010-11.&rdquo;
It&rsquo;s possible that the lack of fans at games allows refs to hear more (from contact on drives to certain interactions between players) and call more fouls. Regardless of the reason, offenses are getting more easy points from the foul line than usual.
DEFENDERS USUALLY FEED OFF OF THE FANS' ENERGY
With no fans in attendance, the intensity of the moment changes. Usually, players are energized by the fans&rsquo; emotions. A player may be exhausted, but they still step up on defense down the stretch because they are feeding off of the crowd. NBA fans are incredible and they create a really unique atmosphere at playoff games.&nbsp;
In the bubble, the game atmosphere is completely different; it almost feels more like a pick-up game. It seems like this environment has led to less physicality too. As the playoffs continue, I expect these games and these series to get more intense and physical. Also, without fans, it's possible that scorers are feeling less pressure than usual. While this atmosphere isn&rsquo;t ideal for an NBA postseason, it&rsquo;s what each team has been dealt and whoever adjusts to it best will have a big advantage.
THE LACK OF PRACTICE TIME IMPACTS DEFENSES MORE
Coaches always feel like they don&rsquo;t get enough practice time with their players, but that&rsquo;s a legitimate concern this season. After the NBA suspended the season in March, players had to go home and work out on their own for several months. Teams couldn&rsquo;t do much during that four-month break. Then, once the NBA decided to resume the season, coaches didn&rsquo;t have much time to work with their team and get them prepared before things started ramping up.
This time apart could explain why some teams have taken a step back defensively. Also, there&rsquo;s limited practice time during the playoffs, which makes it tough for teams to bring back players from injuries and reintegrate them into the lineup too. It seems that pausing the season affected teams' cohesiveness, particularly on defense.
WITH NO TRAVEL, STAR PLAYERS ARE WELL-RESTED
We&rsquo;ve seen some extraordinary performances from superstar players in the bubble. In a typical postseason, they&rsquo;d be putting their teams on their back while flying back and forth across the country. However, in the bubble, they simply bus back to their hotel after each game.&nbsp;
That means these star players have plenty of time to rest, get treatment and so on. They don't have to worry about taking red-eye flights and changing time zones (all of which wears you down as a player). These are some of the best scorers in the world and they're a threat to torch the defense any time they step onto the court, especially when they're well-rested.
Now, being in the bubble isn&rsquo;t easy (by any means) because they are away from their family and friends. But if you asked each player how their body feels, I bet a lot of guys would tell you that they&rsquo;re feeling better and more energized than usual.

Former NBA head coach Vinny Del Negro breaks down several reasons why scoring has increased in the bubble.

Lynn Fighting Knights