Demons

Prather Coliseum

This article is part of a two-part series preview for the upcoming 2023-2024 NBA Playoffs.
With the 2023-2024 NBA Playoffs starting, all eyes will be on all teams competing for the championship as fans and players look on for a taste of postseason action. As eight playoff teams in each conference gear up for what promises to be an intense battle for the title, each team faces its own set of unique challenges. In this article, we take a closer look at the biggest question facing each Eastern Conference team heading into the playoffs, from injuries and roster changes to key matchups and strategic decisions.
<h3>Boston Celtics - Who&rsquo;s stopping them?</h3>
The Boston Celtics have been the best team in the regular season as evidenced by their 64-18 record. They have also been one of the most dominant regular season teams of all time, having the third-highest net rating in NBA history (11.8) which would rank just behind the 1996 and 1997 Chicago Bulls. If it were of any significance, those Bulls teams had 72-10 and 69-13 records and won it all in both years.
It&rsquo;s all written on the wall &ndash; the Celtics are in title or bust mode, which even just a conference finals appearance would probably be marked as a disappointment. Considering how dominant they have been throughout the season, a Finals appearance would be the minimum achievement.
This team is built almost as completely as they could ever be &mdash; offense, defense, bench, two stars that lift each other&rsquo;s game up, roster construction of players that complement them, and even the fans that are some of the most passionate in the league. These are things that are all you could ask for in a championship team, and with that being said &ndash; the pressure is on for Boston.
A big possible answer to that question is whether the Celtics would be the only ones who&rsquo;ll stop themselves from achieving and realizing their full potential &ndash; and there&rsquo;s only one way to find out.&nbsp;
The playoffs are a different story and looking at what we&rsquo;ve seen over the years, the Celtics have tendencies to underperform in the playoffs. With a new supporting cast featuring 2021 champ Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porzingis, a question lingers on the team: will it be different this time around?
They have had a history of flaming out in the past, and whether or not that continues this season remains to be seen. Time is the ultimate truth teller, and these Celtics hope to exercise their playoff demons when the time comes and their opportunities present themselves.
Will they be able to capitalize on a dominant regular season and take on the task at hand once and for all? They certainly hope with all the pieces they have now, they have enough to close it out and take it all the way and finish the job this time around to end the allegations against them once and for all.
<h3>New York Knicks - How far will they go without Julius Randle?</h3>
As we all know by now, health is the biggest factor in the playoffs. You always want to be complete and your best players to be healthy and ready to go when it matters most.
Unfortunately, this will not be the case for the New York Knicks this season, after losing all-star Julius Randle to a season-ending surgery to his injury.
Randle has been the Knicks&rsquo; best player for the past 3 seasons (before Brunson&rsquo;s ascension to King Knick this year). He brings that size and physicality along with that sneaky speed at the 4. On offense, Randle is a secondary creator and playmaker who can make plays for himself and his teammates. His improving three-point shot is now a weapon for teams not to sag off of him as much which could only help the Knicks in the playoffs.
Simply put, Randle is a matchup problem against traditional power forwards. Without him, the Knicks would not be able to tap on another gear that would only be possible with Randle out there on the floor.
Now, all eyes will be on Jalen Brunson as he tries to carry New York all by himself. It will be expected to see all possible defensive schemes thrown against him to try and contain the all-NBA caliber player in this season that he is.
<h3>Milwaukee Bucks - Can they hold the fort without Giannis?&nbsp;</h3>
The hits just keep on coming for the Bucks. After starting the season 30-13, they fired their head coach Adrian Griffin, and replaced him with Doc Rivers. They&rsquo;ve had their fair share of struggles with Rivers, losing to lottery teams like the Wizards, Grizzlies, and Raptors in one stretch, and they&rsquo;ve finished only a disappointing 19-20 the rest of the way to end the season.&nbsp;
Just recently, they received brutal news that superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo will miss the beginning of their series against the Indiana Pacers after injuring his left calf with three games left in the regular season. The upstart and young Pacers have been 4-1 against them during the year and it will be a tough battle without one of the five best players in the world playing. Will Damian Lillard and Co. step up to the plate?
<h3>Cleveland Cavaliers - Is this the &lsquo;last hurrah&rsquo; for Donovan Mitchell as a Cavalier?</h3>
All eyes are on the Cavaliers&rsquo; playoff run this season to gain ground after a disappointing finish last year. Can they keep soon-to-be free agent Donovan Mitchell happy enough? Or will another disappointing playoff exit lead him to bolt out of town to find another opportunity to win elsewhere?&nbsp;
Much of this will be attributed to the growth of their current core to gauge their improvements from last season. Will Darius Garland have enough juice to handle the scoring load outside of Mitchell as well as holding his own defensively? Will Evan Mobley display or unlock another offensive level in his game to be able to contribute on the offensive end to complement his defensive capabilities? Will Jarett Allen beat the allegations of lights were too bright in the playoffs in his second time around and bounce back from what has been a bad series against the Knicks last year? And is Max Strus the answer for the Cavs to advance into the second round with his spacing and shooting at the wing to give space for Mitchell to attack?
With his impending free agency, Donovan Mitchell has a big decision to make during the offseason. Will he stay and extend with this Cavaliers team who gave up assets for him? The Cavaliers have made some strides from being a young team with potential to a top 4-5 team in the East when they acquired Donovan Mitchell two years ago from the Utah Jazz. Since then, Mitchell has elevated their play and in turn, they got back to their first playoffs without LeBron James on the team.
However, rumors have been swirling that Mitchell wants to achieve postseason success, whether in this team or not. Some of these reportedly said that if the Cavs do not make the Finals this season, he might find another home elsewhere to chase that goal. Throughout his career, Mitchell has been to the first round multiple times but has been in the second round just twice. He has yet to make a conference finals appearance, and this postseason with the Cavs will determine if he falls short of that goal again.
Helping Mitchell this time around are shooters that the Cavs lacked a year ago, with Max Strus, Sam Merill, and Georges Niang now in the fold for the team. Cleveland got exposed by New York in just five games last year and it was basically because of their inability to space the floor around Mitchell and point guard Darius Garland. Now with an improved Garland, Evan Mobley, and Jarrett Allen all having a year to work on their games for this stretch, the Cavs aim to make the conference finals &mdash; before Mitchell&rsquo;s impending big decision in free agency.
<h3>Orlando Magic - How far can their youth and inexperience take them in the playoffs?</h3>
Being the youngest playoff team in the East's playoff field, the Magic come in with no expectations at hand. This young group has overachieved for the season having the fourth-best defense despite them being the 4th youngest team in the league. Making the playoffs has already been a huge accomplishment, but winning a series would not be so bad and would be a welcome sight for the team.&nbsp;
Nobody expected them to be in the hunt for the top seeds in the East, but here they are in their first playoff experience as a group as the fifth seed. This is only year 2 and 3 for young stars Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner and they could only get better as years progress. This is only the beginning for Orlando and they could be a difficult fixture in the East for years to come.
<h3>Indiana Pacers - How big of an impact will Pascal Siakam be in the postseason?</h3>
Right after the trade to bring Siakam to Indiana, fans and basketball analysts alike mentioned how the trade was a win for Indiana and that Siakam&rsquo;s value would be seen through in the playoffs. When the game slows down and teams are more equipped and prepared for their defenses, teams would need solid execution on their half-court offense.
This was where Siakam was supposed to come in, and now that it&rsquo;s here, will he be able to step up and lead the Pacers to a series win? The 2019 champion with the Raptors has played 41 games with Indiana this season after the trade, and he has averaged 21.3 points, 7.8 rebounds, and 3.7 assists on 55/39/70 shooting splits and he has given the Pacers a new dimension on offense. The Pacers who will go up against the Bucks for their first-round playoff series, have gone 4-1 against them &ndash; but it was all without Siakam. The question for them now is, how will they maintain the level of success they had vs the Bucks now that Siakam is in the rotation? Will Siakam end up being the ceiling-raiser for the postseason for them? Or could he end up disrupting the rhythm that the team had in the regular season vs the Bucks?
<h3>Philadelphia - Is this finally the year they advance with Nick Nurse at the helm?</h3>
The Sixers have had a lot of heartbreak over the years, from not being able to make the Conference Finals in Joel Embiid&rsquo;s career to choking multiple times in the playoffs, it's just disaster after disaster when it matters the most in the City of Brotherly Love.
However, they hope the outcome is going to come out differently this year due to one factor: Nick Nurse.
The 2019 champion coach has given the Sixers a lot to hope for with a breath of fresh air surrounding the team on offensive and defensive execution. This year, with Embiid being better than ever (being even better than last year&rsquo;s MVP campaign) and with the help of Nurse&rsquo;s diverse offensive sets, the Sixers&rsquo; title chances have increased significantly. Coach Nurse having the ability to make adjustments on the fly and push the right buttons will be a major weapon for the Sixers for their upcoming playoff run.
When healthy this year, Embiid has had one of the most dominant regular seasons in NBA history, averaging 34.7 points, 11 rebounds, and 5.6 assists. The Sixers have a 31-8 record when he plays, which would equal the best win-pace mark in the league. He now has a dynamic sidekick in Tyrese Maxey who has been named an all-star this year, and general manager Daryl Morey has surrounded them with capable role players to complement their skill sets. Will Nurse be the final piece that puts all of the Sixers together?
<h3>Miami Heat - Can they rediscover their old magic against the Celtics, but this time without Jimmy Butler?</h3>
At this point, people got to understand and realize that playoff Jimmy is a real thing. The dude just turns it up when it matters the most and the lights are at their brightest, and has carried Miami every time in the postseason.
However, this year figures out to be an entirely different scenario with Butler being out with an injury. According to reports, Butler could be sidelined for multiple weeks due to an MCL sprain &mdash; devastating news for Miami ahead of their upcoming playoff matchup vs Boston.&nbsp;
The Heat have faced the Celtics three times over the past four seasons, and they have beaten them twice. All those games and series featured a lot of Butler carrying them to wins.
Without Butler though, things have changed dramatically fast. Now, the question stands: will they have enough to defeat their old nemesis (who&rsquo;s become the most dominant team in the league) sans their best player?

As eight playoff teams in each conference gear up for what promises to be an intense battle for the title, each team faces its own set of unique challenges.

2024 Eastern Conference Playoffs: Each team’s biggest question heading into the playoffs

Over the last week, I have been very active on social media voicing my views on the Kyrie Irving situation, which prompted quite a few active NBA players to reach out to me privately to express that they too shared the view that the six requirements laid out for Irving to end his indefinite suspension were not only way over the top and excessive, but insulting.&nbsp;
Let&rsquo;s do a quick recap of the events that have led us to this point.&nbsp;
Irving shared a link to the documentary &ldquo;From Hebrews To Negroes: Wake Up Black America" without context, which caused a firestorm, as many viewed this as an endorsement of the film.&nbsp;
At his initial press conference, he expressed his reasoning for sharing the doc, saying, &ldquo;When I post, it does not mean that I support everything that&rsquo;s being said or everything that&rsquo;s being done or [that] I&rsquo;m campaigning for anything. All I do is post things for my people and my community.&rdquo;&nbsp;
He also said:&nbsp;&ldquo;I&rsquo;m not a divisive person when it comes to religion. I embrace all walks of life. You see it on all my platforms. I talk to all races, all cultures, all religions. And my response would be, it&rsquo;s not about educating yourself on what antisemitism is. It&rsquo;s really about where the root words come from and understanding that this is an African heritage that is also belonging to the people. Africa is in it, whether we want to dismiss it or not. So the claims of antisemitism; who are the original chosen people of God? And we go into these religious conversations and it&rsquo;s a big no-no, I don&rsquo;t live my life that way. I grew up in a melting pot, and I say a melting pot of all races: white, black, red, yellow, Jewish, Christian, Muslim. You see the way I live my life now, I&rsquo;m not here to be divisive."
This was prior to his spat with ESPN's Nick Friedell.&nbsp;
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This was met with criticism, condemnation and accusations that Kyrie was antisemitic, since people felt he was endorsing and promoting antisemitic propaganda (which he said wasn&rsquo;t his intention).
The media as a collective began taking turns bashing Kyrie, attributing beliefs to him that he did not express, and since he didn&rsquo;t vehemently denounce these ideas, many took that as an endorsement. It's not uncommon for athletes to be attacked by certain media talking-heads who shall remain nameless, but what we saw was a unified, non-stop, public lashing of Kyrie across the board.&nbsp;
He deleted his tweet. Then, during another press conference, he was asked if he was antisemitic and his answer was, "I cannot be antisemitic if I know where I come from." He also explained that he meant no harm, while adding that he wasn&rsquo;t the one who made the documentary.
This drew the ire of Brooklyn Nets governor Joe Tsai, as Irving was swiftly suspended for a minimum of five games and given six steps that had to be completed before he would be allowed to return.
The Nets released a press release that stated: "We were dismayed today, when given an opportunity in a media session, that Kyrie refused to unequivocally say he has no antisemitic beliefs, nor acknowledge hateful material in the film. This was not the first time he had the opportunity &mdash; but failed &mdash; to clarify. Such failure to disavow antisemitism when given a clear opportunity to do so is deeply disturbing, is against the values of our organization, and constitutes conduct detrimental to the team. Accordingly, we are of the view that he is currently unfit to be associated with the Brooklyn Nets."
Many people (including some who strongly condemned Kyrie for posting the link to the documentary) viewed this as a blatant attempt to emasculate and dehumanize Irving in front of the entire world.&nbsp;
Irving eventually posted <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/Ckhj8iIu0HN/?hl=en" target="_blank" rel="noopener">a lengthy apology</a> to the entire Jewish community on Instagram.
As I voiced my personal disproval of the six steps he had to complete to return &mdash; which is unprecedented for an NBA suspension &mdash; that&rsquo;s when I started receiving messages from active players who were also outraged by the treatment Kyrie was receiving. However, they didn&rsquo;t feel comfortable saying anything out of fear that a similar outrage would be directed toward them or that an objection to Kyrie's punishment would be interpreted as supporting him posting the movie. They didn't want to be lumped in with Kyrie and face the same backlash. Their apprehension was very understandable.&nbsp;
This caused me to ponder the question: what if this Kyrie backlash causes athletes to go silent again? After all, besides Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf and Craig Hodges, athletes were pretty quiet back in the 1990s. That continued through my era in the early 2000s. Only recently, since Colin Kaepernick's protest, has there been a resurgence of athletes using their platforms and voices, and it&rsquo;s been beautiful to see. But it&rsquo;s also important to note that since Kaepernick took his stance, he has not played a single snap in the NFL. In addition, all of the protests have stopped and, for the most part, NFL players speaking out has significantly reduced almost to a whisper. Could that happen in the NBA?&nbsp;
Over the last 24 hours, both NBA commissioner Adam Silver and Joe Tsai said that they have met with Kyrie and can report that, in their opinion, he is not antisemitic, which has led many to believe that Irving will be returning to the court soon. But has the damage already been done?
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I reached out to Emerald Garner, the daughter of Eric Garner who has a newly-released book that I co-wrote called <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Finding-My-Voice-Grieving-Pushing/dp/1642598313/ref=nodl_?dplnkId=163ffcc0-f0f3-4ecf-b8fa-907636f54c3f" target="_blank" rel="noopener">"Finding My Voice,"</a> to discuss this situation. We talked about what it meant to her personally when athletes used their voices and platforms to support her family and whether the Kyrie backlash might scare players into being silent going forward.
Etan: Do you think the backlash that Kyrie Irving is currently receiving has the potential to silence athletes?&nbsp;
Emerald: "I hope not. Listen, I don&rsquo;t know anything about the film, and don&rsquo;t support antisemitism in any form or fashion, but I didn&rsquo;t actually hear Kyrie say anything antisemitic. And correct me if I&rsquo;m wrong, but he didn&rsquo;t produce the documentary, did he? They&rsquo;re acting like it&rsquo;s his film."
Etan: No, he didn&rsquo;t produce it, but to be fair, he did share it without context. But he also cleared up his reasoning for sharing it in his initial press conference. He said he was just sharing it for the information and wasn&rsquo;t endorsing or promoting the film.
Emerald: "So, he apologized and deleted it, right?"
Etan: Yes, he did.
Emerald: "But he still has to go through all of these hoops before he gets to play again?"
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Etan: Yes, the six steps he has to complete are:
1) He has to apologize and condemn the film
2) Make a $500,000 donation to anti-hate causes
3) Complete sensitivity training
4) Complete antisemitism training&nbsp;
5) Meet with the Anti-Defamation League and Jewish leaders
6) Meet with Joe Tsai to &ldquo;demonstrate an understanding of the situation.&rdquo;
Emerald: "Wow, that&rsquo;s really a lot. So let me say it like this: officer Daniel Pantaleo murdered my father in broad daylight on video and he didn&rsquo;t have to do anything before he returned to active duty. I wrote about it in my book how traumatizing it was to see him laughing and joking with other cops on the street like nothing happened. He didn&rsquo;t have to do anything. He didn&rsquo;t even have to apologize to the family of the man he murdered. But they&rsquo;re gonna make Kyrie do all this before he can play basketball?"&nbsp;
Etan: Wow, that&rsquo;s a great point.
Emerald: "Listen, Kyrie and LeBron and all of the players on the Brooklyn Nets at the time and Kobe and all of the Lakers team supported my family after my father was choked to death by the NYPD. Back then, every time I turned on the TV, all I saw were people justifying his murder and saying why my father deserved to die. I will forever be thankful to him and all the athletes who stood with us for that."
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Etan: Yeah, a lot of people were quiet then, but athletes weren&rsquo;t. That started a new boom of athletes using their voices and platforms. That&rsquo;s why I wrote my book <a href="https://www.amazon.com/We-Matter-Athletes-Activism-Sports/dp/1617755915/ref=nodl_?dplnkId=3aa7746c-b367-4e3f-b314-48164e0e4144" target="_blank" rel="noopener">"We Matter: Athletes And Activism"</a> and interviewed so many athletes and impacted family members. I wanted to encourage the next generation of athletes to continue to use their voices and show the impact it has. My fear now is that after this, athletes may start being quiet again or people may advise them to be quiet again in fear of the Kyrie Irving treatment.
Emerald: "And that would be tragic. You have done an amazing job promoting that concept and, yes, there is great power in their voices. When I turned on the TV and saw all of the NBA players wearing 'I Can&rsquo;t Breathe' shirts&hellip; I&rsquo;m getting emotional right now..."
Etan: I&rsquo;m sorry, I don&rsquo;t want to trigger you.
Emerald: "No, it&rsquo;s ok. You know I always get emotional when we talk, and we talked about this in my book, but when I saw them wearing those shirts, it made me feel seen. That someone actually cared about what happened to my father. It didn&rsquo;t feel like anyone cared. The police definitely didn&rsquo;t show any remorse. They all stood around and watched as Officer Pantaleo choked my father to death, then they all supported Pantaleo, not one of them condemned anything. So many people supported Pantaleo like they always do when the police murder someone. But it was Kyrie and NBA players who supported me. And my father loved basketball. He loved every New York team that existed. Even sports he wasn&rsquo;t even that into, if they were [a team in] New York, he supported them. He would&rsquo;ve been so proud how they all supported him. I can see his big smile now. I can&rsquo;t tell you how much I miss seeing that big smile of his."&nbsp;
Etan: It&rsquo;s so important that people know this, and understand this. I&rsquo;ve gone on multiple programs recently and said that silencing athletes that you disagree with isn&rsquo;t the answer. Instead, have an actual dialogue. And I really believe that.
Emerald: "Listen, we have done enough speaking engagements for me to fully understand and be a supporter of dialogue. Of course it&rsquo;s important. And not lectures but actually listening to because, correct me if I&rsquo;m wrong, but I didn&rsquo;t hear Kyrie say anything bad or anti-anything. He said I love everyone, I respect all religions. It&rsquo;s like they&rsquo;re trying to make him believe things that he didn&rsquo;t say he believed. At least that&rsquo;s how I see it."
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Etan: I definitely agree. I didn&rsquo;t hear him actually say anything antisemitic. I&rsquo;m just worried about the effect it will have on athletes moving forward. When I was playing, I had so many people warn me to be careful (including David Stern). I had other people who literally said you don&rsquo;t want to get done like Craig Hodges or Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf. I heard Shannon Sharpe initially say that on his show "Undisputed." I see people putting that notion out there.
Emerald: "Well, that would be tragic if athletes did 'shut up and dribble.' I&rsquo;mma be honest, I didn&rsquo;t realize the impact y&rsquo;all have until I started working with you and talking to other impacted families who had athletes stand up for them. How Russell Westbrook spoke up for Terence Crutcher, how Stephen Jackson spoke up for George Floyd, how LeBron speaks up for a lot of families, how the whole Milwaukee Bucks [team] spoke up for Jacob Blake, how the whole NBA spoke up for Breonna Taylor and I can go on and on and on. It&rsquo;s important. Take it from me, it means everything."

Could this Kyrie Irving situation silence athletes going forward? Etan Thomas discusses this with Eric Garner's daughter, Emerald.

Emerald Garner hopes Kyrie Irving backlash doesn’t silence athletes

Recently, the John Wall Foundation hosted an event at The Salvation Army, where John Wall opened up about how difficult the last few years have been for him. The five-time All-Star described the last few years as &ldquo;the darkest place I&rsquo;ve ever been in.&rdquo;&nbsp;
&ldquo;At one point in time, I thought about committing suicide,&rdquo; Wall admitted. &ldquo;I mean, just tearing my Achilles, my mom being sick, my mom passing, my grandma passing a year later &mdash; all of this in the midst of COVID at the same time&hellip; me going to the chemotherapy and sitting there, seeing my mom take her last breath, wearing the same clothes for three days straight and laying on the couch beside her. My team, the mother of my kids has been great, my two boys, it's my motivation for me. Looking at all that, I'm like, 'If I can get through this, I can get through anything in life.'
"Everybody goes through something, we all went through tough times, nobody's got it easy. But I don't think a lot of people could get through what I went through. To me, to be back on top where I want to be and see that the fans still want me to play, having support from my hometown, their support means a lot in a time where I had to go find a therapist.
"A lot of people think, 'I don't need help, I can get through it,' but you gotta be true to yourself, find out what's best for you, and I did that. I'm just happy to have this opportunity to play basketball again. I think everything I have been through has all been a part of God's plan&hellip; Even though I was in a dark place the last couple of years, I'm super excited... to play the game that I love."
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This admission sent shock waves throughout the entire sports world.&nbsp;
I reached out to former Washington Wizards center Marcin Gortat, who played with Wall for five seasons, to have a discussion about his former teammate.
Etan Thomas: What were your thoughts when you heard John Wall&rsquo;s interview detailing everything he has been through?&nbsp;
Marcin Gortat: &ldquo;First of all, I was shocked. I didn&rsquo;t know that he was going through so many different issues. I was a witness a couple years ago while we were teammates and there was this little 6-year-old girl, Miyah Telemaque-Nelson, who <a href="https://twitter.com/johnwall/status/537085825767735296?s=21&amp;t=isslghfV3tQMWGH-SXWKbg" target="_blank" rel="noopener">he had really connected with</a> who passed away from cancer. He had been raising money for her and doing charity work for her, and I remember the big impact her death had on him. He literally broke down during a postgame interview where he dedicated the game to her.&rdquo;
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Thomas: Yeah, I remember seeing that video. He really took that hard.
Gortat: &ldquo;Even harder than most people know. He was really down for a couple of weeks after that. So when I heard that he lost his mom and then his grandmother, I thought back to how hard he took [it] when little Miyah passed away. After hearing this past interview, I felt bad. Like as a former teammate, I should&rsquo;ve been supporting [him] more. Yeah, I texted with him a couple of times while he was in Houston. I knew he was struggling with the situation as far as the team and them pushing him to the side, so I knew that alone was catastrophic for him because I know how much he loves basketball. But couple that with losing people as close to you as your mother and grandmother [and that] had to have been just devastating.&rdquo;
Thomas: He mentioned that he has a positive outlook now and feels optimistic with his new situation with the Los Angeles Clippers, so that was good to hear.&nbsp;
Gortat: &ldquo;Yeah, I&rsquo;m hoping that basketball will be something that can help him since he seems to be in a much better situation with the Clippers so that will occupy his mind and his emotions somewhat, but I really hope he heals and gets all of the support toward his healing.&rdquo;
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Thomas: I definitely agree. One of the things that bothers me is when I hear different fans or people on social media or in the sports media reporting on rumors that are just inaccurate. They cast a negative light on an athlete based on these rumors. Stephen A. Smith <a href="https://www.si.com/nba/clippers/news/stephen-a-smith-apologizes-to-john-wall" target="_blank" rel="noopener">publicly apologized</a> to John for his role in demonizing him last season in Houston. I was glad to see him do that because the media really went after John Wall and swayed public opinion on him in a very cruel and uninformed way.&nbsp;
Gortat: &ldquo;Yeah and that&rsquo;s very unfortunate that that happens a lot in the media nowadays, but this is how it is in this league. A lot of people owe John Wall an apology. I understand the media has to write something or say something on their shows that&rsquo;s controversial and that gets all of the people&rsquo;s attention because that&rsquo;s what they are paid to do. But people who know John know that they were unfairly demonizing him. Not that he&rsquo;s perfect, nobody is perfect. Did he make mistakes? Yes, but everybody makes mistakes. But he is not the person they were making him out to be, and it&rsquo;s terrible how much that happens.&rdquo;
Thomas: I had a debate with David Aldridge and Marc Spears about the power of the media. Marc came out publicly and said that he regretted doing the interview, but I was trying to explain to them the power that the media has to sway public opinion, and how the media should be held accountable when they talk recklessly. And they just weren&rsquo;t willing to accept that the media has that kind of power. But this is a prime example. It&rsquo;s good that Stephen A. publicly apologized, but hopefully that changes the way he and many others in the media target players and demonize them because it happens too often. Just here with the Wizards, I saw it happen with Kwame Brown and with Chris Webber after he got traded (back when they were the Bullets). It really happens way too much.&nbsp;
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Gortat: &ldquo;I definitely agree. So let me say, as someone who played with John Wall for many years: When he is healthy, he is one of the best point guards in the league &mdash; hands down. The guy is a beast. I don&rsquo;t know what Houston was doing with him. That was completely absurd. Here you have a guy of his caliber and you have him sitting at home? Not even on the bench, but at home? I can&rsquo;t imagine how he felt going through that for [an entire] season? And to have these prominent people in the media vilifying him while he is going through all of this, as he&rsquo;s dealing with injury after injury and losing his loved ones?&rdquo;&nbsp;
Thomas: Yeah, I don&rsquo;t care if anyone says there wasn&rsquo;t any cruel or malicious intent behind their reporting &mdash; that doesn&rsquo;t mean that it wasn&rsquo;t still cruel and malicious.&nbsp;
Gortat: &ldquo;Exactly! Many people think athletes are like robots &mdash; like video game characters who just perform, and that&rsquo;s not true. We are human beings with emotions and we go through tragedies and hardships in life, but are still expected to push all that to the side and perform at the highest level every night. I remember seven or eight years ago when DeMar DeRozan was in Toronto and he was going through depression and he said that he was going to the games, but he wasn&rsquo;t really thinking about the games because he was dealing with so much personally.&nbsp;
&ldquo;The NBA is getting better at helping players now when they are going through tragedies, but we still have a long way to go. I remember my fourth year and definitely my fifth year playing in Washington &mdash; specifically when things with me and John were not the best &mdash; there was a lot that I was dealing with and I didn&rsquo;t have too much help. But honestly, it wasn&rsquo;t a concern. Many people just wanted me to perform and push my personal life to the side, and sometimes that&rsquo;s hard to do.&rdquo;
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Thomas: &ldquo;I can definitely attest to that. I lost my grandmother, who I was really close with, while I was playing with the Wizards. And I remember our trainer, Eric Waters, trying to rush me back and I was like, &ldquo;Can you give me a minute please?&rdquo; When I came back, that&rsquo;s when I had the first issue with Brendan Haywood. Normally, I would&rsquo;ve ignored him throwing tantrums over not getting enough playing time, but that day just wasn&rsquo;t the day, so I flipped on him. The team actually formed a human barricade and escorted him out of the locker room. Then, everyone &mdash; Ernie Grunfeld, Eric Waters, Coach Eddie Jordan &mdash; was like, &ldquo;What&rsquo;s wrong? Why did you get so upset?&rdquo;&nbsp; And I was like, &ldquo;I told y&rsquo;all I needed a minute!&rdquo;
Gortat: &ldquo;Yeah, and my issues with John kind of formed in a similar way, to be honest &mdash; because I was holding so much in and suppressing what I was going through and reacting to different things on the court like not getting the ball as much as I wanted to or us losing games I felt we should&rsquo;ve won. Interesting, I didn&rsquo;t know that&rsquo;s what started y&rsquo;all&rsquo;s issues.&nbsp;
&ldquo;Let me tell you this quick story. I went to Cleveland and I was on this stupid streak of 250 or 280 or something games [in a row] without missing a game, so I was playing like three seasons straight. And all of a sudden in December, my mom had a stroke. I got the message while I was in Cleveland and I was shocked. I broke down crying. They had found my mom after like a day-and-a-half, laying at home unconscious; my friend found her. So when I came back to the locker room that morning, I was there physically but I wasn&rsquo;t really there. But John and Brad [Beal] were the first people who said, &lsquo;Give him some space, let him go deal with what&rsquo;s going on with his family because that&rsquo;s bigger than basketball and he has our support.&rsquo; So, Coach [Randy] Wittman came down and told me, &lsquo;Go to Poland, don&rsquo;t worry about the team for now.&rsquo;
&ldquo;That meant a lot to me. They knew what I was going through. And when you&rsquo;re so close to a teammate, you feel their pain. And in turn, I know how close John was with his mom. He talked about her all the time. When we finally sat down and squashed our issues, we had a real &lsquo;kumbaya moment.&rsquo; We talked about all of our personal struggles, all that we were dealing with and had been dealing with. We cleared the air and connected on a whole &lsquo;nother level as teammates, and it was exactly what we needed. So, hearing last week that my teammate contemplated suicide was devastating. Yeah, we had our issues in the past, but none of that matters now. I am cheering for John and want him to be successful both on and off the court.&rdquo;
Thomas: I&rsquo;m glad we did this interview, to have us &mdash; two former Wizards &mdash; encourage our brotha. You know, once a Wizard, always a Wizard. I really want to see him do well too. I was already rooting for him to really have a new beginning with the Clippers and shine like the old John Wall, but now I&rsquo;m rooting for him times 1,000.&nbsp;
Gortat: &ldquo;I couldn&rsquo;t agree with you more! I wanna see John demolish every other point guard in the league. Just go on a tear. I remember seeing him battle every game &mdash; Kyrie Irving, Derrick Rose, Chris Paul &mdash; and people forget how good he was, how fast he was end to end, how explosive he was. John was special, and I want to see him get back to that. But more importantly, I want him to heal because he has literally gone through hell over these last years.&rdquo;

John Wall recently opened up about his struggles. Former Wizards centers Etan Thomas and Marcin Gortat discuss his comments.

Marcin Gortat: 'A lot of people owe John Wall an apology'

On April 28, Shaquille O'Neal kept his weird vendetta against Donovan Mitchell alive on his podcast, "<a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-big-bacon/id1558354780?i=1000558986005" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Big Podcast with Shaq.</a>" O'Neal was discussing James Harden's postseason struggles and managed to turn the conversation toward Donovan Mitchell's candidacy as an NBA superstar.
&ldquo;Y&rsquo;all be giving out a lot of these awards to some of these bums and I&rsquo;m like, &lsquo;What?&rsquo;" O'Neal said. "For example, what did I say about Donovan Mitchell two years ago? Everybody jumping on me and hating and I be quiet. What&rsquo;s he doing now?... Is that what superstars do?&rdquo;
O'Neal then <a href="https://fadeawayworld.net/nba-media/shaquille-oneal-claps-backs-after-being-accused-of-slandering-donovan-mitchell-i-could-say-what-i-say-brother-how-many-rings-do-i-have-4-brother" target="_blank" rel="noopener">defended his comments in another recent episode</a>. This slander obsession dates back over a year to a <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GFmk7kzDbiA" target="_blank" rel="noopener">bizarre postgame interview on TNT</a>. Unfortunately, it's also become part of a larger narrative working against Mitchell's NBA career.&nbsp;
Mitchell's superstar credentials have gone under the microscope as trade rumors erupt around the 25-year-old this summer. The Utah Jazz have failed to surpass the second round of the playoffs with Mitchell running the show. He's a smaller combo guard at 6-foot-1 with run-of-the-mill, basic shooting splits. He played pretty poorly in this year's first-round series loss to the Dallas Mavericks.
Is this a player worth mortgaging the future to acquire?
In a word: Absolutely.
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Regardless of what O'Neal or any other detractors might say, Mitchell is a certified superstar, a number one scoring-and-playmaking option and a tier-altering presence for any NBA franchise. He is not without his flaws, but this type of gravitational offensive force rarely becomes available.
Let's start with the scoring and get the "inefficient" buzzword out of the way.
Mitchell has never been among the elite shooters in the league, but he's made strides throughout his career. Last season he sported a 50.9% Effective Field Goal percentage on pull-up shots. That's very good; it placed him 15th among 107 players who attempted at least 150 such shots, per Second Spectrum.
Mitchell shot the fourth-most pull-up threes in the NBA last season (413) and hit 35.6% of them, which was in the ballpark of guys with better reputations like Luka Doncic, Khris Middleton, Devin Booker and CJ McCollum. Mitchell has improved his eFG% in each subsequent year of his career, with last year being his best yet.&nbsp;
His overall three-point clip was just 35.5%, but that's because he had a bizarre, outlier year where he hit just 34.6% of his catch-and-shoot treys. Mitchell has never been below 40% off the catch in any other season. It's reasonable to call 2021-22 an unfortunate down year when he has four prior seasons of success.&nbsp;
Mitchell's average three-point shot distance was a whopping 26.4 feet from the basket, per BBall Index. A remarkable 52% of his three-point makes were unassisted, which is in the 98th percentile among combo guards, per Cleaning the Glass. He has one of the toughest perimeter shot diets in the league, and has maintained a quality mark from deep.
Then, we zoom in closer to the basket. Mitchell made a strong 65% of his shots at the rim this season, according to Cleaning the Glass, and 80% of those makes were unassisted. In total, Mitchell created 71% of his buckets without an assist last season, the 12th-highest rate in the NBA. Mitchell has had to manifest so much for himself in Utah, and still manages to cobble together solid shooting splits.
Mitchell's volume should not diguise him as a pure scorer. He's demonstrably better at finding shooters on the floor, in addition to his synergy with Rudy Gobert. According to Second Spectrum, 16.3% of Mitchell's passed led to assists or free throws last season, good for 14th in the entire NBA.
That rate was also his best of the last three seasons, and while it's partially dependent on teammates making shots, it also shows Mitchell is finding his guys in good positions. BBall Index also tracks a stat called Box Creation (initially made by Ben Taylor), which estimates how many open shots a player creates for teammates. Mitchell's score this season was 10.3, ranking in the 97th percentile.
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The vision is apparent. Mitchell is such a dangerous downhill threat that defenses simply have to collapse on him. He knows how the second level will step up to contain him and where the next defensive rotation will be, as seen in the first and third clips. He has improved at making the corresponding reads without significantly altering his turnover rate.
Is Mitchell one of the best and most willing facilitators in the NBA? No; he averaged a pretty mediocre 41.7 passes last season to go with 5.3 assists per game. But there's a clear pattern of growth that bodes well for his future in Utah or with another team.
Mitchell's volume of difficult shots often gets warped as a ball-hog tendency. But look at who Utah has as actual well-rounded offensive engines. Mike Conley still provides solid moments and moves the ball well, but he has not been an attacking threat for several years now. Jordan Clarkson is a pure scorer with jarring peaks and valleys. Bojan Bogdanovic is transitioning to more of a spacer role. Mitchell is wholly in another category as a player who can both create a shot for himself while being a threat to pass.
With all of that said, we can't gloss over the defense &mdash; particularly in the latter stages of last season.
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Donovan Mitchell's defense was better the last few games IMO, but he still has some really rough lapses. Seems to totally misplay this coverage: <a href="https://t.co/MKahyif9ch">pic.twitter.com/MKahyif9ch</a>
&mdash; Jackson Frank (@jackfrank_jjf) <a href="https://twitter.com/jackfrank_jjf/status/1520579287002148864?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 1, 2022</a></blockquote>
Mitchell really faltered on a national stage. As he struggled to find an offensive rhythm, he continually played behind the play on defense. Whether it was a lack of effort, confusion or something else, he was clearly out of position and not extending himself on several possessions against the Mavericks. And the concerns had been rising before the postseason too.
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I see Donovan Mitchell's off-ball defense continues to be suspect. (He ain't the only at fault though. Seems like House failed to communicate a switch. Which seems to be a team-wide problem at times.) <a href="https://t.co/g5RXNfcZJo">pic.twitter.com/g5RXNfcZJo</a>
&mdash; Joe Viray (@JoeVirayNBA) <a href="https://twitter.com/JoeVirayNBA/status/1512629596029857793?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 9, 2022</a></blockquote>

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Outside of Gobert, Utah was in a rocky defensive state by the playoffs despite finishing the regular season with a top-10 Defensive Rating. The Jazz's defense was 4.6 points per 100 possessions better without Mitchell on the court, per Cleaning the Glass.
But if there's a bright spot, it's in his 1.9% steal rate. Steals and steal rates tell only a tiny picture of overall defensive impact, but within those steals, we can see promising moments.
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It's not like Mitchell is constantly losing the plot as a team defender. In these plays, he recognized who was going to be open of the drive, and shut off the faucet to pick up two steals. Mitchell is strong and active with his hands to the point where he can be a tough individual matchup for smaller guards. It's just about consistency right now. He has the tools to be a neutral or slight positive, and has shown defensive ability in the past. For whatever reason, it fell apart last season.&nbsp;
Lastly, it's worth dispelling the notion that Mitchell does not impact winning basketball. The Jazz boasted the best Offensive Rating in the NBA last season. They were third in the metric in 2020-21 en route to the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference, and it's no coincidence that Mitchell was the offensive catalyst in both years.&nbsp;
And, even with last season's playoff dud, Mitchell's career postseason stats include 28.3 points, 4.9 rebounds and 4.7 assists per game to go along a 55.8% True Shooting percentage. He's not even two years removed from a 57-point postseason onslaught in the bubble. And he's still only 25 years old.&nbsp;
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The Athletic's&nbsp;Shams Charania reported Monday morning that the Washington Wizards, Miami Heat, Toronto Raptors, Atlanta Hawks, Sacramento Kings and Charlotte Hornets have expressed interest in trading for Mitchell along with the <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-trade-rumors-offseason-donovan-mitchell-new-york-knicks-utah-jazz-danny-ainge-leon-rose-rudy-gobert-quentin-grimes" target="_blank" rel="noopener">well-documented New York Knicks rumors</a>. Though teams should obviously do their due diligence and look at roster fit and outgoing talent, it's hard for me to see why any of these teams should outright balk at the chance to acquire a sure-fire All-Star and perennial All-NBA player.
Do Fred VanVleet and OG Anunoby's defensive talents outweight the chance to bring Pascal Siakam one of the best possible long-term partners in crime? Should the Knicks hold up at the chance to add by far their greatest offensive talent since Carmelo Anthony? Are future picks going to be the impasse when Mitchell could conceivably keep a team in playoff contention for several years?
I'm not here to be the judge. But if a blockbuster trade does materialize, it's worth remembering just how special this type of 25-year-old superstar can be.

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Donovan Mitchell has been one of the biggest names to appear in NBA trade rumors this offseason.

Resetting the conversation around Donovan Mitchell's superstar stature

Over the past few years, nobody has been more vocal about Kyrie Irving than Stephen A. Smith.
&ldquo;Kyrie Irving is saying basketball is not a priority to me&hellip;..Kyrie Irving until you want to play, you should retire," Smith <a href="https://youtu.be/z81VQBtWnYU" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said on ESPN's First Take on Jan. 13, 2021</a>. "Forfeit every penny you make, retire and go do what you wanna do in regard to these issues that are clearly most important to you.&rdquo;&nbsp;
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&ldquo;We are witnessing one of the most delusional athletes in American history," Smith doubled down on April 29. "He&rsquo;s lost&hellip;What it comes down to Kyrie is you don&rsquo;t want to show up to work. You wanna do what you wanna do, when you wanna do it, how you wanna do it, and then you have your hand out for somebody else&rsquo;s money."
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These takes &mdash; which have been repeatedly expressed by Stephen A. and those of his ilk for the past few years &mdash; have sparked a nationwide demonization of Kyrie Irving.&nbsp;
To debate this and the ongoing rift between the NBA players and the media, I sat down with two media giants that I have a great deal of respect for in The Athletic's David Aldridge and Marc Spears of ESPN's Andscape. We discussed the contrast between the old media and new media, what the role of the media should be and what real effects talking heads like Stephen A., Skip Bayless, Nick Wright and those of their ilk have on the entire basketball world.
Although we disagreed for the majority of the discussion, this was a healthy debate with different perspectives presented &mdash; the way discussions/debates should be.
(Editor's Note: Watch the entire exchange below on BasketballNews' YouTube channel and subscribe to Etan's podcast "The Rematch.")
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Etan Thomas: I&rsquo;ll agree with both of you that the majority of the media, whatever bucket you want to include everyone in, does not conduct themselves like Stephen A. Smith, or Skip Bayless or Nick Wright or those of that ilk. But they are the loudest voices. And those are the voices that you hear everyday. And those loud voices drive not only the masses of sports fans, but it also impacts the way that journalists write their articles. 
Marc Spears: "Let me stop you right quick. You mentioned (Fox News) earlier &mdash; they present their misinformation as facts, whereas [Nick] Wright and [Stephen A.] Smith, they&rsquo;re just speaking on sports and giving their opinion."
Etan: But they are presenting their opinions as though they are facts. Honestly, Stephen A. Smith has the same power over the masses that Tucker Carlson has over the Right. They&rsquo;ll say all the time that Tucker Carlson is not a real journalist, he&rsquo;s not a real member of the media, but he still has the same media power over the minds of the masses&nbsp;
Spears: "Stephen A. doesn&rsquo;t conjur racism."
Etan: I&rsquo;m not talking about the topic, I&rsquo;m talking about the level of power and influence.&nbsp;
David Aldridge: "Etan for the sake of the discussion, I&rsquo;ll accept your comparison. If the argument is these people are on TV everyday (and) therefore, they have a lot of power, therefore, their opinions carry weight. But I will come back to again: With who? (Laughing) Who do they carry all of this weight with?"
Etan: With the entire sports world.
Aldridge: "But Etan, I would have to disagree with you because it&rsquo;s not the entire sports world. Because the entire sports world would include team owners, team general managers, head coaches, players. And nobody has gotten more bad criticism as of late than Kyrie. Let&rsquo;s use Kyrie Irving as an example.
"Kyrie just opted in for $37 million, and guess what? When he&rsquo;s a free agent next year, somebody else is going to give him a big contract. Might be Brooklyn, might not be. But somebody is going to give Kyrie some more paper to play."
Etan: You don&rsquo;t think the narrative that has been repeated by those like Stephen A. Smith and those of that ilk has hurt the entire image of Kyrie? Going from this past year, let&rsquo;s examine why he was sitting out. During the pandemic and he didn&rsquo;t want to take the vaccine. He was uncomfortable with the vaccine, which a large portion of the country was as well. I had a different conclusion than he had, but I respect his conclusion. Everybody was ok with it until... he started missing games. Then it was like, 'Wait a minute now, we can&rsquo;t have this.' Then, you had Stephen A Smith saying, 'Oh he doesn&rsquo;t want to play, oh he doesn&rsquo;t respect the game,' and that started creating a narrative where the entire pendulum started to shift completely on Kyrie. 
Aldridge: "Do you believe Etan, if I say I can agree with you on Stephen A. Smith voicing his opinion, do you think nobody on the Brooklyn Nets had the same opinion? Do you think the Brooklyn Nets were saying to themselves, 'Yeah, we would love for Kyrie to play, but we respect his position on the vaccine?'"
Etan: But nobody on the Brooklyn Nets was carrying the narrative publicly that he was abandoning his team. So once you have a Stephen A. Smith, who says that repeatedly, then you have journalists who start repeating what Stephen A Smith said in their articles. Then, you have an entire narrative that permeates throughout the entire country.
Aldridge: "Etan, I will humbly submit to you that there were a lot of people within the Brooklyn organization who had the exact same position."
Etan: I&rsquo;m not talking about that, I&rsquo;m saying they weren&rsquo;t saying it publicly.
Aldridge: "Their focus was they needed Kyrie to win. They were trying to win championships."
Etan: Of course. 
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Kyrie Irving is 100% correct and spot on with this and the media members who fall into this category will be quick to take offense because they know it applies directly to them <a href="https://t.co/ItgLF5N0eg">https://t.co/ItgLF5N0eg</a>
&mdash; Etan Thomas (@etanthomas36) <a href="https://twitter.com/etanthomas36/status/1520000279747387392?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 29, 2022</a></blockquote>

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Aldridge: "Okay, so that&rsquo;s my point. They didn&rsquo;t want to say it publicly, but that didn&rsquo;t mean they didn&rsquo;t have the opinion. The inference is that only journalists had this opinion (and that) not a lot of people had this opinion. (The talking heads) said it (publicly), yes, but that doesn&rsquo;t mean that other people didn&rsquo;t have the same opinion."
Spears: "A lot of people had the same opinion, I just think Stephen A. was just probably loudest with it."
Aldridge: "So if lots of people had the same opinion..."
Etan: I think you&rsquo;re still discounting the power of the pen, whether it&rsquo;s the power of the pen or the microphone that Stephen A. Smith and those of that ilk have. There is power in it, so when you repeat something over and over again, there is power in it.
Aldridge: "Okay there&rsquo;s power in it; I&rsquo;m saying the impact of the power I believe is far less. And look, we all love sports &mdash; we all make our living in sports, all of us love writing, talking, thinking about sports, we&rsquo;re all fans of sports. But, it&rsquo;s not the same... I don&rsquo;t believe the power of say, the political media, the political press to shape agendas, whereas a legacy media like the New York Times has an outsized influence on the way the rest of the political press covers things, because people still read the New York Times everyday.
"That&rsquo;s way different than, I would suggest, any talking head on one of the sports debate shows. Do they have influence? Yes. Do they have some ephemeral type of power and influence over a certain segment of the population? I would agree. I would again say, 'What is the impact of that power on a player?' I would say, 'Does it help shape perception of a player?' Yes it does. I would agree with you. It does help shape perception of a player."
Etan: But you don&rsquo;t think the perception of a player has any impact on a GM, or a President or a team? That&rsquo;s what you&rsquo;re telling me?
Aldridge: "I would ask you, if you were talking about who has the worst reputation in pro basketball right now &mdash; I don&rsquo;t have an answer, I&rsquo;m asking you. Based on the 'media&rsquo;s' shaping of their perception, who has the worst reputation right now? Kyrie? Maybe it&rsquo;s Kyrie. Let&rsquo;s say for the sake of the discussion it&rsquo;s Kyrie Irving, because of people have killing him because of the vaccine and a lot of other things.
"Let&rsquo;s just say Kyrie has the worst reputation right now in the NBA. He&rsquo;s going to be a free agent next year. I defy you to tell me that he&rsquo;s not going to get paid next year, regardless of this perception of him. If you&rsquo;re gonna tell me that Kyrie is going to have to take the minimum next year, I would tell you that you are incorrect. Kyrie will not be playing for the minimum."
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Etan: That's fair enough, but if you tell me that if he was an unrestricted free agent this year and the narrative that has been created around him wouldn&rsquo;t have impacted what teams sign him for, I would have to respectfully disagree.
Spears: "If he can play, he can play and will get paid period."
Aldridge: "Talent wins out Etan, you know that."
Etan: But listen, Stephen A. Smith has been drumming, 'Only sign him for a year, one year contract, don&rsquo;t sign him long-term, teams beware,' etc. So you&rsquo;re gonna tell me that if Kyrie was an unrestricted free agent after hearing this (hot take) constantly from people like Stephen A Smith, that teams would not be a little more hesitant to sign him for a long-term deal than they would for a year? (Which Stephen A. Smith has been repeating over and over and over again.) That&rsquo;s what you&rsquo;re telling me? It would have no effect whatsoever?
Aldridge: "At some point Etan, the player has to have some responsibility. Yes, it&rsquo;s the vaccine this time, and I&rsquo;m not questioning his motivation or reasoning, but let&rsquo;s be honest: He took off games the year before. He just took games off. Now, maybe he needed to; I&rsquo;m not saying he&rsquo;s wrong to do it. I&rsquo;m just saying in the middle of the season, he said, 'I need to take a few games off.' Okay, that&rsquo;s fine, but there is impact with that Etan."
Etan: But you do understand the double-edged sword here when you have an NBA who is embracing mental health in certain aspects&nbsp;
Aldridge: "I&rsquo;m not saying he was wrong to do it."
Etan: But this is what I&rsquo;m saying: There&rsquo;s a narrative that is created by the media. If the narrative created was that Kyrie was a champion for mental health, and why it&rsquo;s so important to take care of your mental health to continue the longevity of your (career)... if that whole narrative was pushed that way, then the entire perception would&rsquo;ve been different around the games that he took off because he said he needed a break.
Aldridge: "But it works both ways Etan. When Kyrie said that we shouldn&rsquo;t go to the (Orlando) Bubble, I think a lot of people in the media applauded him for that. A lot of journalists applauded him for thinking about something other than basketball. He was saying we should use this platform that we have in the wake of George Floyd, maybe we should use that for something else other than playing games. Now, I&rsquo;m not saying that everyone agreed with that, but a lot of people in 'the media' as you put it, applauded him."
Etan: But also, a lot of people in the media &mdash; and I actually <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-rumors-boycott-stephen-a-smith-espn-etan-thomas-protest-kyrie-irving-avery-bradley-dwight-howard-charles-barkley" target="_blank" rel="noopener">wrote about this</a> &mdash; but a lot of media talking heads called Kyrie dumb (and) said it was the stupidest thing they ever heard. And this is exactly what the players' issue is when they say 'new media/old media. It&rsquo;s the specific language that is used in order to critique someone.
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The Athletic's David Aldridge and Andscape's Marc Spears and Etan Thomas on the media's perception of Kyrie Irving and its effect.

David Aldridge, Marc Spears, Etan Thomas on Kyrie Irving's demonization

It's unfortunate that the treasure-hunting roller coaster of business in the NBA often leaves player development in the dust.
A rumor, a ping-pong ball or a phone call can accelerate a franchise's competitive life cycle out of nowhere. With just about every major leap, however, comes a squeeze, where young players suddenly find their professional lives dramatically altered.
Every fan has a "What if?" story of a player who felt close to figuring things out, but simply ran out of time as the next big move packed him up and sent him away. Maybe it's the Los Angeles Lakers and Brandon Ingram, or the Lakers and Lonzo Ball, or the Lakers and Josh Hart, or &mdash; you get it. My personal wistful regret is the Minnesota Timberwolves dealing specifically Kris Dunn (along with Zach LaVine and Lauri Markkanen, of course) in the 2017 trade that returned Jimmy Butler. Even if the trades and draft picks made sense, we still wish we could have just a small peek at the alternate universe.
It feels like Mo Bamba is about to fall into that category. The 2018 No. 5 pick struggled to find his place in the NBA while wading through myriad injuries over his first few years. Then, this past season, he finally started to lay down a pattern of production with his flashes of potential, even as the Orlando Magic languished at the bottom of the league.
The problem: Orlando has the No. 1 pick in a <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/nba-draft" target="_blank" rel="noopener">2022 NBA Draft</a> with three game-changing bigs ranking among the consensus top prospects. Bamba, Wendell Carter Jr., Franz Wagner and *insert top pick* cannot all share a starting frontcourt now, in three years or in 10 years. Someone is probably getting squeezed out.
According to Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report, Bamba appears to be on the outside looking in. And regretfully, it's understandable. Wagner had a <a href="https://twitter.com/NBA_University/status/1536109881853218816?s=20&amp;t=-gBn7I0iLjpdqhaqWAM2hQ" target="_blank" rel="noopener">phenomenal All-Rookie First Team season</a> and Carter appears fully entrenched as a <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/wendell-carter-jr-dont-publish-yet" target="_blank" rel="noopener">cornerstone big man</a>. Still, Bamba truly took a leap in his own right, and it's worth reestablishing what makes him such a promising young player.
Bamba appeared in a career-high 71 games and averaged a career-high 25.7 minutes per game in 2021-22. He started 69 of those contests after earning six combined starts across his first three seasons. The availability alone is a major positive; just look at <a href="https://www.foxsports.com/nba/mohamed-bamba-player-injuries" target="_blank" rel="noopener">all of the injuries Bamba battled through four years.</a> With the increase in playing time came corresponding career highs in practically every major box-score category. But Bamba's most notable leap by far came from his deadeye perimeter shooting.
Bamba canned 38.1% of his 4.0 three-pointers per game, including a scorching 44.6% clip after the All-Star break. All of the sustainability indicators are there; Bamba hit 78.1% of his free-throws, improved from the arc as the year went on and proved himself on high volume.
According to Synergy, over 26.6% of Bamba's offensive plays last year were spot-ups. He also demonstrated comfort on pick-and-pop actions, where he cashed in plenty of open threes.
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Defenses dared Bamba to make them pay because he hadn't yet in his career, and the 24-year-old fired away. Opponents will likely pay more attention to him next season, but if you were to pair Bamba with scoring guards who can create advantages with his screens, he'll find open shots.
Bamba is a better screener than he gets credit for. The screen-assist stats from this season (1.7 per game) won't show it because Carter was the chief impediment, but Bamba averaged 3.0 screen assists per game in 2020-21 despite playing just 15.8 minutes per game. He's not a brick wall, but Bamba has greatly improved his build and strength since entering the league.
As a paint presence, Bamba is essentially a pure finisher at this stage. He made 70.4% of his shots in the restricted area, which is fine, but he doesn't create chances on his own and hasn't shown nearly enough as a passer or connector.
Then, you flip to the defensive end and you see why Bamba was so high-regarded before the 2018 draft. He contested over 46.7% of opposing shots at the rim this season, ranking in the 96th percentile at his position, according to The BBall Index. A whopping 29.5% of those contests resulted in blocks (93rd percentile), and opponents shot over 6% worse than expected at the rim when facing him (92nd percentile). Questions still remain about how he guards on the perimeter and how he handles 1-on-1 drives and post-ups. The bottom line is that few intimidate at the rim more than Bamba.&nbsp;
Despite the dissonance on paper, Bamba and Carter fared pretty well as a tandem. Together, they anchored Orlando to the 13th-ranked defense during the regular season. The five-man lineup of Cole Anthony, Gary Harris, Wagner, Carter and Bamba was a plus-5.8 per 100 possessions, according to Cleaning the Glass. Not bad for a lineup that played a lot together on a 22-win squad.
The final pitch for Bamba is that he is an efficient low-usage scorer who you can trust to boost teammates as a screener and cash in on his perimeter and lob chances. He's not quite an "anchor" yet on defense, but he is a pillar. Do teams buy that he can grow as a switching player, and do they buy that he can stay on the floor enough to stack his bright moments into a foundation? Those are the major question marks.
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Fortunately, several NBA teams should take interest in a 7-foot center with valuable traits and an untapped ceiling. Bamba is a restricted free agent, which means a pursuing team has to overwhelm Orlando with a contract and, most likely, a trade package. But loads of avenues exist for a deal that benefits Bamba, the Magic and his possible new franchise.
So, let's look at where Bamba could end up this summer.
ORLANDO MAGIC
The Magic hold all the power at the end of the day. They can match any contract opposing teams try to throw at Bamba, and maybe they want to. Orlando isn't a probable playoff contender, so why lose a young talent when the current objective is to amass young talent? The guessing game comes down to what the contract extension looks like.&nbsp;
Bamba has the pedigree of a No. 5 overall pick and the trajectory of a sturdy starting center with a concerning injury history and still-unrealized potential. it's pretty difficult to estimate what his next salary could look like.&nbsp;
If&nbsp;(and it's a big if) I had to compare, the most similar scenario would be the Boston Celtics inking Robert Williams III to a four-year, $48 million deal last summer. Like Bamba, Williams had a prior history of ailments and flashed starter ability. Williams had shown a lot more for a competitive basketball team &mdash; but also didn't carry the same stature Bamba does. So I'd say those cancel out, and for visualization's sake, we can estimate his extension would look something like $12 million per year .
Should Bamba stay in Orlando, he likely won't have long as a starter if Jabari Smith, Chet Holmgren or Paolo Banchero are waiting in the wings. But he'd absolutely continue as a high-end back big for an Orlando roster that boasted a pretty solid defense last year.&nbsp;
BROOKLYN NETS
Nic Claxton (restricted free agnet), Andre Drummond, Blake Griffin and LaMarcus Aldridge all hit free agency this summer. This is Brooklyn's chance to mold a center rotation that complements Kevin Durant, Ben Simmons and (most likely?) Kyrie Irving. Those three, plus Bruce Brown (also a free agent), are all excellent playmakers and passers. Bamba would simply be asked to finish his looks, be it as a stretch-5 or a lob threat. He'd have no burden to create on offense and could fill similar rim-protecting roles as his predecessors on defense.
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How could a trade work? Let's stick with Bamba's current salary estimate of $12 million for at least next season. Fanspo's trade machine says a deal exchanging Bamba for Joe Harris, Kessler Edwards and a future first-round pick works financially.
I think this is a fair starting point. Harris is making just over $18 million for the next two years, but Orlando shouldn't be concerned with cap space, and I actually love the idea of the Magic adding a movement shooter on the wing. Orlando is going to have a tough defense again next season; this is an easy way to give its slashing guards an outlet.
DALLAS MAVERICKS
Bamba is absolutely not Kristaps Porzingis, but he can take on some of the same responsibilities as an above-the-break shooter, screener and rim-protector while playing as a more versatile defensive center than Porzingis has ever been. The Mavericks desperately need size on the glass as well, and Bamba can grab rebounds while fitting into the team's overall spacing.
Dwight Powell is a solid NBA player. His minutes also decreased in every subsequent playoff series this spring, and he played just 9.8 minutes per game in the Western Conference Finals. Does Bamba have the two-way versatility to stick in these matchups against Golden State Warrior-like squads? It's difficult to say for certain, but I think he can get there.
Trading Bamba for Powell, Josh Green and/or the No. 26 overall pick works in the trade machine. It would be a complicated move to pull off because Bamba's restricted free agency begins after draft night, but this would be my guess at the framework.
MIAMI HEAT
How does Miami feel about Bam Adebayo as its long-term center? Obviously, he's a <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/pat-riley-like-most-of-us-wants-more-bam-adebayo-offense-too" target="_blank" rel="noopener">core piece to the overall team</a>, but is he best-equipped anchoring a smaller lineup or working alongside another big man? Bamba might be the ideal test.
Adebayo can operate as his All-Defensive self, taking on any matchup on the floor, while Bamba lurks as a shot-blocker and helper. Then, on offense, Bamba can space for Adebayo and Jimmy Butler. If the move doesn't work out, Bamba would at least be a significant upgrade over Dewayne Dedmon in a worst-case development scenario.&nbsp;
This deal, like with the Nets, starts with trading an elite movement shooter in Duncan Robinson. The Heat also have the No. 27 overall pick at their disposal and could add another flier prospect like Omer Yurtseven.
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OKLAHOMA CITY THUNDER
The Thunder have an exciting backcourt duo in Josh Giddey and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who could both use a pick-and-pop big to heighten their impact. OKC does not yet (though the draft could change things) have a certified stopper in the frontcourt. Enter Bamba, who plugs the on-paper hole at center and could reasonably fit alongside any of the top picks in the draft.
With picks and prospects galore, OKC can kind of take this deal in any direction that gets Bamba to the city. Lu Dort and Aaron Wiggins seem to fit some Magic needs at first glance.
PORTLAND TRAIL BLAZERS
The Trail Blazers surprisingly have oodles of cap space this offseason and a vacant starting center spot with Jusuf Nurkic hitting free agency. It's certainly possible Portland re-signs Nurkic, extends Anfernee Simons and heads on its merry way. But we've all expected some roster overhaul, as the franchise tries to throw one last contender together around Damian Lillard. Bamba won't vault Portland to the playoffs on his own, but he might be a suitable replacement for Nurkic on a manageable contract with room to grow.
Keon Johnson feels like an obvious return target for the Magic as a long, athletic wing with two-way upside. Perhaps the trade conversations start there and include an additional rotation player, plus some draft compensation.
I do ultimately hope that Bamba lands in a situation that is willing to be patient with his development. He's hit some rotten luck with injuries and deserves a extended chance to shine &mdash; whether that's in Orlando or somewhere else.&nbsp;
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The Nets, Mavericks, Heat and Trail Blazers could be possible, logical landing spots for Mo Bamba. Ethan Fuller explains.

Examining potential destinations for Mo Bamba

The 2022 NBA Draft is still two months away, but that&rsquo;s when the dominoes around the Association begin to fall for player activity. In a shallow class of free agents, the trade market will be the best way for teams to make win-now moves. So many teams are in flux, stuck between pushing for the postseason or rebuilding. When scouring the potential trade marketplace, five names stand out from the rest.
Malcolm Brogdon
The Tyrese Haliburton era is in full swing for the Indiana Pacers, which showed immediate long-term promise for a star-starved organization. With Haliburton in place as the primary building block for the Pacers, it&rsquo;s time to say adios to the failed Malcolm Brogdon partnership.
Pacers GM Kevin Pritchard is on record as saying Haliburton is their point guard of the future, and he even compared acquiring him to former Indianapolis Colts quarterback Andrew Luck. If that doesn&rsquo;t say they&rsquo;re all-in on Haliburton, then I don&rsquo;t know what to tell you.
Although Brogdon put together career-best scoring numbers during his time in Indiana, availability continued to be a serious problem for the veteran combo guard. During the 2021-22 campaign, Brogdon missed 46 games due to nagging injury issues.
Another interesting angle to monitor from the Pacers&rsquo; point of view is losing a first-round pick they expected to receive via the Caris LeVert trade back in February. After the Cavaliers&rsquo; collapse post-All-Star break, Indiana lost out on a top-20 pick they were planning on using for further draft ammunition.
Moving Brogdon would help recoup that asset, now deferred to next season. Brogdon&rsquo;s trade market could be robust thanks to his two-way versatility, despite his injury woes.
If there&rsquo;s any player in the Association who feels like a lock to be dealt, it&rsquo;s Brogdon, thanks to the Haliburton era beginning in Indianapolis.
Christian Wood
Christian Wood is seemingly on the way out in Houston. The Rockets&rsquo; rookie big man Alperen Sengun shined in a limited role, which increased later on as Wood&rsquo;s minutes diminished. Wood was shopped by the Rockets before the trade deadline, but they weren't able to move him. That may change this offseason.
As an expiring contract making only $14 million, Wood offers any contender a ready-made stretch four who provides intriguing upside. For Houston, there&rsquo;s no reason to keep Wood around. He simply doesn&rsquo;t fit their timeline with a young core spearheaded by Jalen Green, Kevin Porter Jr. and Sengun.
Wood originally signed with the Rockets to be a pick-and-roll partner with James Harden, but Harden is no longer with the team. With a potentially fresh opportunity on the horizon, Wood has the chance to cash in if he lands in the right situation.
One team who continues to make sense for Wood as a long-term fit is the Miami Heat. Miami reportedly offered the Rockets Duncan Robinson for Wood, which Houston rebuked. With the Heat&rsquo;s 2023 first-round pick now available, could that change the Rockets&rsquo; mind on this swap? If Houston can offload Wood while obtaining a sharpshooter and a future first, it makes way too much sense.
Whether it be Miami or elsewhere, Wood&rsquo;s market has the chance to catch fire in a few months. He feels like another shoo-in to be on the move.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
CHRISTIAN WOOD ARE YOU SERIOUS! 39 POINTS AND THIS RIDICULOUS SHOT 😱 <a href="https://t.co/rqWDA2NS4z">pic.twitter.com/rqWDA2NS4z</a>
&mdash; SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) <a href="https://twitter.com/SportsCenter/status/1506094094698774528?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 22, 2022</a></blockquote>

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Jerami Grant
Another player who has been stuck in trade rumors for the past calendar year is Jerami Grant, who bet on himself and signed a long-term deal with the rebuilding Detroit Pistons. Grant sought out a role where he would be more of a focal point offensively, and he&rsquo;s shown now over a large sample size he can get it done in that area.
However, Grant&rsquo;s best fit for any contending team is how he was used with the Denver Nuggets. As a third or fourth option who also handles the best scorer on the defensive end, Grant would fit onto any team looking to take a significant leap forward next season.
Grant is another player who doesn&rsquo;t fit the timeline of his current team. With the Pistons projected to have another top pick in this year&rsquo;s draft, plus an enticing young core led by 2021 No. 1 overall pick Cade Cunningham, the youth movement is in full effect in the Motor City. The Pistons would be wise to shop off Grant to the highest bidder around the draft or in early July.
Grant&rsquo;s elite versatility provides him a strong role anywhere he lands. And don&rsquo;t be shocked by the price tag for a Grant trade this offseason. Contenders will get into a bidding war to secure the services of a strong plug-and-play wing who will raise their ceiling immediately.
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John Collins
What&rsquo;s next for the Atlanta Hawks? After a disappointing first-round exit in the postseason thanks to the Heat, Atlanta&rsquo;s roster has a few interesting decisions looming ahead. One of those revolves around dynamic power forward John Collins, who has continued to hear his name floated in trade rumors since signing a five-year extension last offseason.
Collins let it be known this season he was frustrated with his role on the offensive end, and soon after we once again heard trade winds blowing around the former Wake Forest Demon Deacon. If the Hawks begin fielding offers on Collins this offseason, expect Atlanta to net a significant asset (or assets) in return.
Trae Young is obviously the straw that stirs the drink in Atlanta&rsquo;s system, but take a look at all of the young pieces in place within their organization: Onyeka Okongwu, Kevin Huerter, DeAndre Hunter, Jalen Johnson, and you can even throw in the more experienced veteran in Bogdan Bogdanovic to the mix thanks to his strong fit with Young. Huerter already signed his rookie-scale extension, but Hunter and Okungwu will soon be due. The same goes for Bogdanovic, if he wants to stay in Atlanta past the 2022-23 season.
From a financial standpoint, Collins feels like the easiest piece to move in order to keep everyone else intact. Don&rsquo;t be surprised if the Hawks use Collins&rsquo; contract alongside Danilo Gallinari&rsquo;s expiring salary ($21.4 million) to go star hunting.
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Trae Young finds John Collins in the corner for 3 🎯<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NBAPlayoffs?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NBAPlayoffs</a> presented by Google Pixel on ESPN <a href="https://t.co/pGchqDhGyW">pic.twitter.com/pGchqDhGyW</a>
&mdash; NBA (@NBA) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBA/status/1517668614333210634?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 23, 2022</a></blockquote>

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Julius Randle
What a disaster this season was for the New York Knicks. After a surprising surge in the 2020-21 campaign, the Knicks felt inclined to run it back with their veteran-heavy core. Looking back on it now, that decision has left egg on the face of New York&rsquo;s front office.
After winning Most Improved Player, Julius Randle may have been the winner of &ldquo;Most Disappointing Player,&rdquo; if such an award actually existed. Randle seemed out of it for most of the season, not utilizing his special motor to help the Knicks consistently. Whether Randle&rsquo;s incredible run was a flash in the pan or the fit has worn itself out, something has to give this offseason.
We should also note the emergence of former lottery pick Obi Toppin, who continued to flash when given more playing time for the Knicks. Toppin makes Randle more expendable, and that should be the primary plan for New York this offseason.
Randle&rsquo;s contract is very movable, too. Making $26.1 million next season, Randle would help present a strong trade market for New York to scour for the best offers. And who knows? Maybe Randle bounces back to his 2020-21 form in a different environment.
For Randle and the Knicks, it&rsquo;s in the best interest of both parties to split up.
While we're still a couple of months away from the trade market opening back up, there are plenty of big names who could be moved. These players should find themselves at the top of that list, as any of them would prove a huge boost for the organization acquiring them.
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Looking ahead to the offseason, here are five names to monitor as potential trade targets.

Five NBA players who feel destined to be traded this offseason

For a third of the NBA, summer break comes early.&nbsp;
Though 10 teams didn't make the playoffs, it's not all doom and gloom. Several NBA bottom-feeders took tangible steps forward in their rebuilding efforts, while others &mdash; well, they're not supposed to be here.
Every franchise enters the offseason with summer plans. As teams get eliminated from the postseason, I'll be rounding up every team's offseason outlook and posing one question they must answer over the summer. You'll see each squad's 2022 NBA Draft chest, plus their potential free agents, along with the central question.&nbsp;
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Let's get started!
DETROIT PISTONS 
Draft assets: First-round pick (14.0% chance at No. 1), Second-round pick (via Brooklyn)
Potential free agents:&nbsp;Marvin Bagley III (restricted), Cory Joseph (player option), Hamidou Diallo (team option), Frank Jackson (team option), Luka Garza (team option), Carsen Edwards (team option), Rodney McGruder 
Central question: How do the Pistons build an offense around Cade Cunningham?
This was a pretty solid season for Detroit as far as rebuilding efforts go. Cade Cunningham emerged as a Rookie of the Year front-runner and two-way centerpiece who has fans ecstatic about his ceiling. The Pistons finished a solid 10-14 after the All-Star break, and have shown flashes of an improving defense. They did still finish with the 28th-ranked offense, per Cleaning the Glass, and one of the worst shooting rates in the NBA.
Cunningham had to carry a ridiculous offensive load in the latter stages of the season. Detroit has the power to change that in 2022-23, starting with its high draft pick. Maybe Jabari Smith's lights-out scoring means he's an ideal secondary option? Perhaps Paolo Banchero thrives as an additional creator, or maybe Chet Holmgren makes sense as a finisher and spot-up threat? The fun part about Cunningham is that his versatility creates so many pathways for the Pistons in the draft &mdash; whether or not the ping pong balls fall their way.
Detroit wields a cap hold of approximately $28 million on Bagley, and once that lifts (either via a new contract or letting him walk), the Pistons should have a solid chunk of cap space to add to the supporting cast.
HOUSTON ROCKETS
Draft assets: First-round pick (14.0% chance at No. 1), better of Brooklyn/Miami first-round picks
Potential free agents: John Wall (player option), Dennis Schroder, Bruno Fernando (restricted), Jae'Sean Tate (team option), Anthony Lamb (qualifying offer), Trevelin Queen (qualifying offer)
Central question: How patient is the front office willing to be?
Houston's 2021 draft strategy of "draft talent, figure out the fit later" appears to be working out. Jalen Green demonstrated an Anthony Edwards-esque leap post-All-Star break, Alperen Sengun is already one of the NBA's best passing bigs, and guys like Josh Christopher and KJ Martin routinely hinted at upside. Houston gets another prime shot at a franchise cornerstone this draft cycle. We're approaching Stage 2 of the strategy, though: figuring out how the pieces fit.&nbsp;
The Rockets were one of two NBA teams with bottom-five ratings on offense and defense. They led the league in rim frequency and were fourth in three-point frequency, but posted mediocre shooting clips. Houston evokes memories of the rebuilding Nets, who played a similarly extreme brand of ball for a few years as the team slowly reshaped into a fun playoff squad. Does the front office have the foresight to let head coach Stephen Silas work things out with his roster of young guns?&nbsp;
INDIANA PACERS
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How is there a &ldquo;rebuild&rdquo; to afraid of if it isn&rsquo;t a rebuild? <a href="https://t.co/0pDD7E6Mss">pic.twitter.com/0pDD7E6Mss</a>
&mdash; Caitlin Cooper (@C2_Cooper) <a href="https://twitter.com/C2_Cooper/status/1512127632758001664?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 7, 2022</a></blockquote>

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Draft assets: First-round pick (10.5% chance at No. 1), First-round pick (if 15-30, via Cleveland), Second-round pick (via Houston), Second-round pick (via Phoenix)
Potential free agents: Ricky Rubio, T.J. Warren, Jalen Smith, Lance Stephenson, Nate Hinton (restricted), Oshae Brissett (team option)
Central question: How extreme is the incoming rebuild, and what veterans mesh with the future vision?
Notably unlisted among the potential free agents are Malcolm Brogdon, Myles Turner, Buddy Hield and T.J. McConnell. All range from solid starters to rotational complements, and 3 of the 4 (not Turner) will be 30 next season. The Pacers are clearly retooling, as evidenced by their trade-deadline fireworks and Tyrese Haliburton's subsequent high usage. They also have publicly flip-flopped regarding the direction of the team; see the above Tweet.
Indiana doesn't have the pure depth of talent to straddle the line. The Pacers can trade many of these talented players and build up a chest of draft picks and young pieces, or they can charge ahead, turn their picks into win-now players and hope Haliburton is ready for the playoff push. But a middle ground doesn't exist in an Eastern Conference where just about every team has solidified its direction.
LOS ANGELES LAKERS
Draft assets: None
Potential free agents: Russell Westbrook (player option), Kendrick Nunn (player option), Austin Reaves (team option), Stanley Johnson (team option), Carmelo Anthony, Avery Bradley, Wayne Ellington, Dwight Howard, Kent Bazemore, Malik Monk, D.J. Augustin, Wenyen Gabriel, Mason Jones (restricted)
Central question: What does team-building around two injury-prone superstars look like?
LeBron James <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/lebron-james-i-dont-have-a-cap-on-how-long-i-want-to-play" target="_blank" rel="noopener">turns 38 next season</a>, and has played 60-plus games just once in the past four seasons. Anthony Davis has now missed more than half the season in back-to-back years. Sure, the Lakers were a mess regardless of their stars' health, but going forward, is pursuing fits next to James and Davis even worthwhile if the two won't consistently be on the court?
With just three players under contract (the aforementioned stars, plus Talen Horton-Tucker), the Lakers enter another offseason of a roster overhaul. This time, I'd recommend almost entirely forgetting about James and Davis when building the squad and simply try to assemble units that make sense together.&nbsp;
NEW YORK KNICKS
Draft assets: First-round pick (2.5% chance at No. 1, could change based on Play-In results), Second-round pick via Boston and Charlotte (if 56-60)
Potential free agents: Mitchell Robinson, Ryan Arcidiacono 
Central question: What's going to happen with the veterans?
The top six moneymakers for the Knicks next season are all 27 or older, and I think many fans would say that out of the group, only Julius Randle should have started &mdash; and he seriously regressed this season. The young Knicks <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/explain-one-play-young-knicks-playing-chess" target="_blank" rel="noopener">clearly showed they're ready to take the mantle</a>.
So what happens with Randle, Evan Fournier, Derrick Rose, Alec Burks, Nerlens Noel and Kemba Walker? Is Tom Thibodeau prepared to reduce their (their meaning Burks specifically in this case) minutes and usage, will trades be coming, or will Madison Square Garden burn when Immanuel Quickley opens the season by playing 16 minutes off the bench? New York has drafted extremely well in recent seasons, but the ceiling of the young core is capped if these youngsters don't get a chance to prove themselves in meaningful situations.
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OKLAHOMA CITY THUNDER 
Draft assets: First-round pick (12.5% chance at No. 1), First-round pick via Clippers, First-round pick via Phoenix, Second-round pick
Potential free agents: Derrick Favors (player option), Mike Muscala (team option), Lu Dort (team option), Isaiah Roby (team option), Melvin Frazier (restricted)
Central question: What is the pathway in the frontcourt?
I've stanned Sam Presti's team-building strategy for years now, and I still think it's on track for a serious payoff. Josh Giddey slots in somewhere on your All-Rookie ballot, and draft classmates Tre Mann, Jeremiah Robinson-Earl and Aaron Wiggins flashed rotation-caliber play as well. It is simply a joy to watch a random young player have a breakout game on any given night, and OKC has already shown the <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/the-oklahoma-city-thunders-emerging-defensive-identity" target="_blank" rel="noopener">early stages of a prominent defense</a>.
Next up: Capitalize on a draft loaded with intruiging frontcourt players. Banchero, Holmgren and Smith are obviously the best of the best. But even if the Thunder slide in the lottery, they could pounce on an athletic shot-blocker like Jalen Duren, or use one of their later picks on a center like Mark Williams. I'm just spit-balling, but the point is that OKC has plenty of chances to find its big-man anchor and further flesh out its core.
ORLANDO MAGIC
Draft assets: First-round pick (14.0% chance at No. 1), Second-round pick, Second-round pick via Indiana
Potential free agents: Gary Harris, Robin Lopez, Bol Bol (restricted), Ignas Brazdeikis (restricted), Admiral Schofield (restricted)
Central question: How do the offensive pieces fit together?
Orlando quietly logged a 17th-ranked defense this season, and an 11th-ranked unit since Feb. 1. A dismal offense ultimately doomed the Magic, who were riddled with inconsistent shotmaking and poor team efficiency marks throughout the half-court. We don't need to sound any player alarms; it takes time for young guards in particular to grasp the responsibilities of running NBA offenses.&nbsp;
But what if I told you Orlando has wielded bottom-10 offensive ratings every season for the last decade?&nbsp;
Change can start in the draft, again with some of the top offensive forward options like Banchero or Smith. Adding another ball-dominant guard in Jaden Ivey might be overkill, but AJ Griffin and Bennedict Mathurin feel like good wing fits at first glance. Spotrac estimates the Magic could have up to $30 million in practical cap space, leaving plenty of room for veteran players to accentuate the young talent.
PORTLAND TRAIL BLAZERS
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
THE D IN DREW STANDS FOR DUNK DO NOT GOOGLE THIS <a href="https://t.co/2AojdAskYV">pic.twitter.com/2AojdAskYV</a>
&mdash; Portland Trail Blazers (@trailblazers) <a href="https://twitter.com/trailblazers/status/1508636734900166659?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 29, 2022</a></blockquote>

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Draft assets: First-round pick (9.0% chance at No. 1), First-round pick via New Orleans (if 5-14), Second-round pick, Second-round pick via Memphis
Potential free agents: Joe Ingles, Jusuf Nurkic, Ben McLemore, Anfernee Simons (restricted), CJ Elleby (restricted), Elijah Hughes (restricted), Keljin Blevins (restricted)
Central question: Is Portland actually trying to win "now" or win soon?
Some really great development happened for the Blazers during the "wash" portion of the season in the form of players like Trendon Watford, Keon Johnson and Drew Eubanks. Add them to Anfernee Simons, Nassir Little and the incomng draft picks, and Portland suddenly has... kind of a sneaky-deep prospect pool? There's real potential to mold this group into a rotation cast that gives Portland one of its deepest rosters in years.
That's why these <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/jerami-grant-trade-rumors-portland-is-still-the-frontrunner" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Jerami Grant trade rumors concern me</a>. Giving up a possible lottery pick to try and piece together a short-term playoff team risks too much and keeps the Trail Blazers in the limbo they have lounged in for several years. Understandably, the franchise wants to build a contender while Damian Lillard is invested and in his prime. With some patience, Portland can without sacrificing sustainibility.
SACRAMENTO KINGS
Draft assets: First-round pick (7.5% chance at No. 1), Second-round pick, Second-round pick (via Chicago)
Potential free agents: Jeremy Lamb, Josh Jackson, Damian Jones, Donte DiVincenzo (restricted), Neemias Queta (restricted), Trey Lyles (team option)
Central question: How does Sacramento turn into a competitive NBA defense?
The Kings have trotted out lackluster defenses for as long as I can remember. In fact, they haven't ranked above 20th in Defensive Rating since 2005-06 &mdash; notably, the last time they made the playoffs.
And that didn't change under interim head coach Alvin Gentry. (Gentry will not return as head coach next season, but is <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/shams-alvin-gentry-no-longer-interim-coach-of-the-kings" target="_blank" rel="noopener">in talks for a front-office role</a>, per ESPN.) However, the on-paper roster actually shines some hope. Davion Mitchell made highlight reels out of his "Off-Night" defense. Justin Holiday is a solid individual defender, as is Harrison Barnes, and even De'Aaron Fox has his sporadic moments.&nbsp;
Can Sacramento find a head coach who turns a group of intriguing players with defensive potential into even an average squad? What draft and free agency options exist? Of course, the Kings would like to end their NBA-leading playoff drought. That'll come with changing the culture on defense.
WASHINGTON WIZARDS
Draft assets: First-round pick (2.5% chance at No. 1, depends on Play-In results), Second-round pick (via Dallas)
Potential free agents: Bradley Beal (player option), Thomas Bryant, Raul Neto, Tomas Satoransky, Anthony Gill (restricted), Cassius Winston (restricted)
Central question: What style of guard play is a feasible best fit?
Okay, so obviously the biggest question mark surrounds Bradley Beal's free agency. But from a conceptual standpoint, Washington has tried and failed over the past few seasons to find Beal's best-fitting partner in crime. John Wall, Russell Westbrook and Spencer Dinwiddie were each supposed to provide the downhill juice Beal lacks. The Wizards either did this at serious expense of another skill area (Wall, Westbrook), or it just didn't translate their at-rim ability (Dinwiddie). All battled injuries as well.
"I think we need bigger guards," <a href="https://www.nbcsports.com/washington/wizards/bradley-beal-outlines-what-wizards-need-build-contender" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Beal said in March</a>. "We need more guys that can get in the paint for us, more ball-handlers, more guys that can really create and get two feet in the paint, but also who can knock down threes."
I mean, Beal's needs make total sense. The problem is that every other basketball team on Earth also wants this type of guard.
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Ethan Fuller sets the offseason stage for each team that missed the NBA playoffs.

Summer plans for the NBA's 10 non-playoff teams

The Detroit Pistons, as SNY reported, are among the teams with a degree of interest in&nbsp;Mitchell Robinson. Robinson can be an unrestricted free agent this offseason.
Source: <a href="https://sny.tv/articles/knicks-cam-reddish-trade-requests" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Ian Begley/SNY</a>
ANALYSIS:&nbsp;Robinson is averaging 8.6 points, 8.7 rebounds and 1.6 blocks per game for the Knicks this season. New York has been seriously struggling, though, dropping its last four to fall to 24-31 on the season. At 23, he'd still fit the timeline of a rebuilding Pistons franchise.

Robinson is averaging 8.6 points, 8.7 rebounds and 1.6 blocks per game for the Knicks this season.

Pistons demonstrating trade interest in Mitchell Robinson

The Hawks have zero interest in being a lottery team, especially after making it to the Eastern Conference finals last season, so they&rsquo;re going to continue to be aggressive on the trade market. That&rsquo;s why they&rsquo;re one of the consistent teams that come up in trade conversations. They&rsquo;re heavily linked to Philadelphia&rsquo;s&nbsp;Ben Simmons, have been linked to Detroit&rsquo;s&nbsp;Jerami Grant&nbsp;and have interest in Boston&rsquo;s&nbsp;Marcus Smart&nbsp;and Portland&rsquo;s CJ McCollum, sources say.
Source: <a href="https://theathletic.com/3114627/2022/02/07/evaluating-your-hawks-trade-proposals-who-says-no-to-ben-simmons-cj-mccollum-and-more/?source=nbatw" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Chris Kirschner/The Athletic</a>
ANALYSIS:&nbsp;Kirschner said he's heard word of a trade framework involving Smart and Bogdan Bogdanovic in recent days, though nothing has advanced as of yet. Smart is averaging 11.3 points, 5.4 assists, 4.0 rebounds and 1.8 steals per game with the Celtics this season as the team's starting point guard. McCollum, meanwhile, has been heavily involved in rumors with several teams, including the Pelicans and Knicks.

Smart is averaging 11.3 points, 5.4 assists, 4.0 rebounds and 1.8 steals per game with the Celtics this season.

Hawks demonstrating interest in Marcus Smart, CJ McCollum trades

Multiple sources tell The Sacramento Bee the Kings have shown interest in both&nbsp;Ben Simmons&nbsp;and&nbsp;Pascal Siakam, the two most prominent names linked to Sacramento since the trade and free agency frenzy began. Some remain skeptical the Kings can pull off that kind of deal, but McNair wants to make an impact move as pressure to win begins to build within the organization 11 months after he was hired, sources said.
Source: <a href="https://www.sacbee.com/article253337543.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Jason Anderson/Sacramento Bee</a>
ANALYSIS:&nbsp;The Kings have the longest playoff drought in the NBA, so it's understandable that pressure exists to end that streak. Simmons and Siakam have both been embroiled in trade rumors over the past couple of weeks. It remains to be seen what a Kings trade package could look like.
Anderson also added that the Warriors and Clippers have demonstrated interest in Siakam as well, However, per Anderson, "A trade is possible, but not likely, the source said, adding Siakam has no desire to be moved despite the possibility of a rebuilding situation in Toronto."

The Warriors and Clippers are also demonstrating interest in Siakam.

Kings showing interest in Ben Simmons, Pascal Siakam

Let's start here: We don't know if Damian Lillard wants out of Portland.
There have been recent reports, notably from Henry Abbott of the True Hoop network, that Lillard is <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/report-damian-lillard-plans-to-request-trade-from-blazers-in-next-few-days" target="_blank" rel="noopener">on the verge of asking out</a>. The Blazers' stretch of good-but-not-good-enough productivity has begun to weigh on Lillard; a first-round loss to the injury-riddled Denver Nuggets may very well have been the final nail in the coffin.
Lillard has denied wanting to leave, for the most part. Following a recent Team USA practice, Lillard <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/damian-lillard-says-report-he-plans-to-request-a-trade-is-not-true" target="_blank" rel="noopener">denounced the wanting-out rumors</a>. What he didn't do, however, was give the Blazers a strong vote of confidence.
"The best way to put it is be more urgent about our next step and how we move forward,&rdquo; Lillard <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/damian-lillard-says-report-he-plans-to-request-a-trade-is-not-true" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told reporters</a>.
&ldquo;We made [the] playoffs a lot of years in a row. We&rsquo;re not a bad team. We&rsquo;re a winning team. We got a great environment, great city, great fans. But we&rsquo;ve reached that point where it&rsquo;s not enough. Do we actually want to win it all? Is that what we&rsquo;re shooting for? We have to do things to show that. We got to put action behind that desire to win at that level."
Lillard has been steadfast in his desire to stay in Portland throughout his career, but it does seem that the wall the Blazers hit this past postseason is weighing on him. If the Blazers aren't able to follow through with a strong summer, they risk falling (further) behind in the Western Conference hierarchy. Any slip may be enough for Lillard to push his way out.
In the event that Lillard does ask out, you'd be hard-pressed to find many teams that wouldn't check in on his availability. We're talking about one of the most dynamic pull-up threats the NBA has ever seen, a strong finisher and a proactive passer with the vision necessary to make scrambling defenses pay.
Shot creation reigns supreme in today's NBA, particularly in a playoff setting. Adding a guy like Lillard, an offense in and of itself, could boost quite a few teams into legitimate contention.
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Beyond that basic premise, The Ringer's Kevin O'Connor <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/sixers-knicks-heat-among-five-aggressive-suitors-for-damian-lillard" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a> that five teams in particular -- the Miami Heat, Philadelphia 76ers, New York Knicks, Houston Rockets (I would assume they're more likely to be a third team than a landing spot, but who knows?) and Sacramento Kings -- have been the most aggressive in their pursuit of Lillard.
None of this guarantees that the Blazers will make a move, but there's enough smoke to examine what a potential Lillard deal would look like. Here are a few teams that are -- or at least should be -- in the mix for the six-time All-Star.
PHILADELPHIA 76ERS
We can dub this, "the Ben Simmons section." Simmons-to-Portand has been a popular rumor for a while now; the quibbling is over which backcourt mate he'd be moved for.&nbsp;
If it's for Lillard, more than Simmons would be required. One of Tyrese Maxey or Matisse Thybulle. One of Seth Curry or George Hill. Multiple firsts. It'd take a haul, but it'd be difficult to think of many better duos than Liillard and Joel Embiid.
The half-court scoring prowess of Lillard, Embiid and Tobias Harris could go toe-to-toe with just about anyone in the Eastern Conference. Replacing what Simmons brings defensively would be tough; honestly, it's been a bit undersold when brought up on the interwebs. Retaining Thybulle would help. Bringing back Danny Green, slip as he may, would also help. Scouring the free-agent market for wings and bigs would become a priority.
<img style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" src="https://cdn.basketballnews.com/images/story/body/usatsi_15563151_lg.jpg" alt="" width="575" height="383" />
For the Blazers, you'd get a strong building block in Simmons. That's slightly different than being a centerpiece; Simmons may not be as bad as his showing in the Atlanta series, but his half-court limitations are real. Still, he remains a transition demon, a strong finisher, one of the best passers in the sport and an elite multi-positional defender.&nbsp;
The Sixers could replicate the James Harden/Brooklyn Nets package in terms of draft picks and swaps with the Blazers. In Maxey or Thybulle, you're either getting a speedy guard with budding pull-up and point-of-attack chops, or one of the most absurd off-ball defenders to hit the league in quite some time. Curry could replace a portion of Lillard's pull-up/movement shooting equity, while Hill could provide a steadying presence on both ends.
NEW YORK KNICKS
The Knicks have all of their picks, plus an extra first from the Mavericks (2023 top-10 protected, extends thorugh 2025 before turning into two second-rounders). They have interesting prospects, headlined by burly wing RJ Barrett.&nbsp;
If they <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/the-knicks-should-prepare-to-go-allin-for-damian-lillard-new-york-trade-rumors" target="_blank" rel="noopener">want to go all in</a>, they very well could: picks and swaps through 2027, Barrett, Immanuel Quickley, Obi Toppin. Kevin Knox if the Blazers want him. A literal all-in move could make fans and the front office alike a bit queasy, but that can be alleviated by the cap space the Knicks would still have this summer.&nbsp;
A Randle-led team gritted its way to a first-round appearance, then sputtered when forced to play more half-court basketball. Adding Lillard would change the math in a very real way. With those two in tow, I find it hard to believe that the Knicks would struggle to attach vets to fill things out.
Barrett began to pop this season, improving as a rim threat while making incredible strides as a spot-up shooter. Being able to force close-outs will only complement the rim pressure he already provides; that added rim volume will open more windows to showcase his underrated passing chops. The Blazers can work with that.
Beyond that, Quickley has already flashed #FloaterGawd potential, and a quick-trigger from deep if defenders don't track him closely enough over screens. I'm intrigued by Toppin playing one, with more pull-up shooters, and two, playing the 4 -- his best position. His upside is a bit lower to me because of where he is defensively, but there's a productive NBA player in there with a better roster construction around him.
OTHER LANDING SPOTS
MIAMI HEAT
The Heat are always sniffing around these kind of rumors, even when they don't have the assets on the surface.
If Portland wants to blow things up, the Heat will be at a massive disadvantage in terms of pick capital. They could get creative and work out a side deal with the Oklahoma City Thunder to try to free up some of their future picks.
Beyond that, the Heat are a bit stuck. Tyler Herro is intriguing, but falls a bit short of "blue chip" status. Precious Achiuwa had an uneven rookie season, though some of his Olympic exhibition flashes should raise some eyebrows.
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What makes the Heat intriguing in the Lillard sweepstakes is that they have the true trump card. They may be stuck if their goal is to create a Big Three with Lillard, Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo.
If the Heat prioritize maximizing Butler's window, however, then the option of using Adebayo as a centerpiece becomes available. And if that big red button is pressed, it's hard to imagine there being a better centerpiece on the table.
DENVER NUGGETS
The Nuggets are likely content with their core. They have the MVP in Nikola Jokic, an All-Star caliber guard with high-level playoff flashes under his belt in Jamal Murray and a bona fide shot-creator in Michael Porter Jr. that can't really be defended when he has it going.
They're mentioned here because Lillard is flat-out better than Murray, and you'd need a 99th percentile outcome from Porter Jr. to reach Lillard status. With Murray coming off an ACL injury and Porter Jr. having questions about his back -- and quietly approaching his pay day -- this would be a unique opportunity for the Nuggets to cash in those chips for a legitimate All-NBAer.
Of course, those health (and money) concerns could turn off the Blazers.
Also, hey, the Nuggets just beat the Blazers and potentially pushed the Lillard situation to the brink to begin with. It's probably nothing; I'm just intrigued by this possibility.
TORONTO RAPTORS
It's worth the call if you're the Raptors. They have their picks moving forward, including the No. 4 pick in this year's draft. The fourth pick, two of Pascal Siakam, Fred VanVleet or OG Anunoby and swaps is a (starter) package that could be eclipsed by... how many teams, exactly?
BOSTON CELTICS
The Celtics don't have the pick bounty they had a couple of years ago. They do, however, own their picks from 2022 onward. They also have Jaylen Brown, one of the best wings in the NBA on a contract that would classify as a steal at this point.&nbsp;
Portland would ask for more -- I'd guess one of Marcus Smart or Robert Williams plus Payton Pritchard at least -- but the Celtics have enough to make talks interesting.

Nekias Duncan explores potential landing spots for Damian Lillard if he's officially put on the trading block.

Examining potential trade destinations for Damian LIllard

The Los Angeles Clippers are reportedly exploring trade avenues for Lonzo Ball.
Source: Marc Stein/The New York Times
ANALYSIS:&nbsp;The Clippers have suggested that they are hunting a playmaking guard to add to the roster. They were rumored to be interested in Derrick Rose before his trade to the Knicks, and also have been linked in recent rumors to George Hill and others. Ball could make sense here as a ball-moving point guard. He's averaging 14.2 points and 5.6 assists per game with the Pelicans. Ball has also improved his perimeter game tremendously, and is now shooting 38.5 percent from long range on 7.8 attempts per game.

Ball is averaging 14.2 points and 5.6 assists per game with the Pelicans.

Clippers demonstrating interest in Lonzo Ball

The Minnesota Timberwolves have demonstrated interest in John Collins of the Atlanta Hawks and Aaron Gordon of the Orlando Magic.&nbsp;
Source: <a href="https://theathletic.com/2425373/2021/03/04/nba-trade-news-rumors-blake-griffin-p-j-tucker-andre-drummond-shams/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Shams Charania/The Athletic</a>
ANALYSIS:&nbsp;The Wolves have been lacking a long-term partner for Karl-Anthony Towns, almost since he entered the league as the first overall pick in 2015. Collins has been involved in trade rumors for over a month, as the Hawks deal with a tumultuous situation.
According to Charania, the Wolves had meaningful talks with the Magic about Gordon before he dealt with an ankle sprain, and those talks could pick back up as he recovers.

The Timberwolves are looking to upgrade at power forward.

Timberwolves have shown interest in John Collins, Aaron Gordon

The Boston Celtics have reportedly demonstrated interest in Miagic center Nikola Vucevic, as well as Pistons forward Jerami Grant.
Source: <a href="https://theathletic.com/2425373/2021/03/04/nba-trade-news-rumors-blake-griffin-p-j-tucker-andre-drummond-shams/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Shams Charania/The Athletic</a>
ANALYSIS: Both would be high-value trade targets for Boston. Vucevic is averaging 24.6 points and 11.6 rebounds per game in Orlando, and is reportedly still a coveted asset for the Magic. Meanwhile, Grant is one of the leading candidates for Most Improved Player this season. In his first year as a Piston, Grant is averaging a career-high 23.4 points per game as one of the bright spots on a struggling team.

Both Vucevic and Grant are having career years this season.

Celtics interested in Nikola Vucevic, Jerami Grant?

The Los Angeles Lakers have reportedly demonstrated interest in Houston Rockets forward P.J. Tucker.
Source: <a href="https://www.silverscreenandroll.com/2021/2/20/22293444/lakers-trade-rumors-pj-tucker-rockets-draft-picks" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Adrian Wojnarowski/ESPN</a>
ANALYSIS:&nbsp;Miami, Milwaukee and Brooklyn have also shown some interest in the 35-year-old Tucker, a glue-guy player who has taken on a variety of roles with the Rockets. Tucker is currently averaging 4.7 points and 4.6 rebounds per game this season.
According to Wojnarowski, the Rockets would prefer to get a player that is rotation-ready back in a trade versus draft picks and future assets.

Miami, Milwaukee and Brooklyn have also shown interest in Tucker.

Lakers reportedly interested in trading for P.J. Tucker

Ethan Fuller evaluates the NBA landscape at the quarter mark of the season.

NBA Sour Rankings: Back to the rumor mill

The New York Knicks and Los Angeles Clippers, among other teams, have demonstrated interest in Detroit Pistons point guard Derrick Rose.
Source:&nbsp;<a href="https://theathletic.com/2347020/2021/01/26/nba-trade-rumors-news-pelicans-lonzo-ball/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Shams Charania/The Athletic</a>
ANALYSIS:&nbsp;Rose played for the Knicks back in 2016-17. He also won his 2011 MVP award with the Chicago Bulls under current Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau. This season, Rose is averaging 14.8 points and 4.6 assists per game for the Detroit Pistons, who are mired at the bottom of the East with a 4-13 record.
&nbsp;

Rose has played for the Knicks previously, and also won an MVP with the Chicago Bulls under current Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau.

Knicks, Clippers have interest in Derrick Rose

Ethan Fuller breaks down the NBA hierarchy and analyzes some way-to-early Cade Cunningham fits.

NBA Sour Rankings: Introducing the Cade-O-Meter

Ethan Fuller takes a look at how the James Harden trade and other weekly events have affected the NBA landscape.

NBA Sour Rankings: Life After a Blockbuster

Ethan Fuller breaks down the general direction of all 30 NBA teams in his weekly Sour Rankings.

NBA Sour Rankings: New Year, New Problems

Ethan Fuller breaks down the biggest takeaways from the NBA preseason.

NBA Sour Rankings: Preseason Overreactions

This year&rsquo;s NBA Draft was always going to be a fun one. There was no clear-cut superstar prospect in the class, which led to a lot of uncertainty at the top. There was plenty of noise that virtually every team in the top five was looking into trading their pick, though ultimately none of those rumors came to fruition.
Still, we had plenty of movement in terms of trades, and we got the usual brand of surprise swings (hi, Jalen Smith to the Phoenix Suns at No. 10) and somewhat inexplicable slides from players that will outperform their draft slot (more on that shortly).
Is it too early to dub teams winners and losers of a draft that we won&rsquo;t have a real handle on for half a decade?&nbsp;
Yes.
Will that stop me from doing so?
Absolutely not.
Without further ado, here are some of the winners and losers from last night&rsquo;s action:
Winner: Philadelphia 76ers
Have yourself a night, Daryl Morey.
It&rsquo;s hard to argue that any team addressed their needs in the manner that the Sixers were able to. They land Tyrese Maxey, one of the best guard defenders in the draft with some on-ball chops. He had an underwhelming shooting season during his lone stint at Kentucky, but his lower-level sample -- AAU, high school, etc -- leaves room for optimism that his Kentucky year was the outlier, and that he should settle in as a plus-shooter in the future.
It doesn&rsquo;t stop there, of course.
Isaiah Joe was a steal at No. 49, even more so considering the Sixers basically told anyone who would listen (and even those who wouldn&rsquo;t) that they planned on taking Joe at some point. Joe is one of the best shooters in the class, so his role on a team with Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons couldn&rsquo;t be more obvious.
The big move was turning Josh Richardson -- a talented defender and jack-of-all-trades offensive piece that has been miscast into a somewhat heavy creation role for two consecutive seasons -- and the pick that became Tyler Bey into Seth Curry, one of the league&rsquo;s most lethal shooters and an underrated pick-and-roll initiator. The dribble-handoff sets that JJ Redick and Embiid infuriated defenses with should be replicated easily with Curry, with even more on-ball creation available.&nbsp;
The Sixers are dangerous - on paper, at least - and there&rsquo;s still time for them to make moves this offseason.&nbsp;
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Loser: New York Knicks
It&rsquo;s fun to crack jokes at the Knicks&rsquo; expense. I do it, and you probably do too. Your favorite tweeter probably does it. It&rsquo;s low-hanging fruit, but an apple a day keeps the doctor away. You know the vibes.
And as much as I would like to give the Knicks a little leeway with their draft, I just can&rsquo;t get there with the Obi Toppin pick. There are ways to talk yourself into it. He&rsquo;s an absurd pick-and-roll finisher, decent enough shooter, and has shown hints of short-roll passing ability. Mitchell Robinson is one of the best rim protectors in the sport; surely he can cover for some of Toppin&rsquo;s defensive shortcomings, no?
Well &hellip; I kinda lean no.
Toppin is an incredible offensive talent. Most of his skills should translate. But to be a pick-and-roll menace, you need someone to feed you the ball; at the very least, you have to have someone that can draw attention so somebody else can feed you the ball. The Knicks don&rsquo;t really have that. RJ Barrett has a ways to go as a lead ball-handler, and teams are going to duck under his picks until he proves he can shoot anyway.
I don&rsquo;t really see any upside with Toppin defensively. He doesn&rsquo;t have the length to play small-ball 5; his hip movement is awful (to be kind), which limits how well he moves laterally. What exactly is the hope there, playing almost exclusively ICE defense (hi, Thibs) and hoping he can funnel drivers to Robinson, who famously doesn&rsquo;t have issues with fouls whatsoever?&nbsp;
Can you feel the sarcasm?
I like the addition of Immanuel Quickley, a solid shooter with some defensive upside. But the Knicks desperately need to get someone that can set up their offense. Free agency is going to be huge for them. Address that need, and their draft selections will look a little better. For now, though, it&rsquo;s hard to be a fan.
Winner: Tyrese Haliburton
Haliburton not going in the top five isn&rsquo;t a surprise. His lack of scoring aggression and physical strength made his statistical profile a little less impressive than it looks on the surface. There are real questions about him being a lead guard or a top-end on-ball defender because of those limitations. Landing on a team with an actual point guard would be huge for Haliburton, because it would allow him to slot in as a secondary creator and defend wings, unlocking his strength as an off-ball/team defender.
Enter the Sacramento Kings, who have their franchise point guard in De&rsquo;Aaron Fox.
Fox can get to the rim whenever he wants. Haliburton is a reliable spot-up threat, and has the passing chops to beat an already-bent defense as a close-out attacker or someone that can navigate a secondary pick-and-roll. The Kings still have work to do on the perimeter; it doesn&rsquo;t appear Buddy Hield wants to be there, and there&rsquo;s no telling where Bogdan Bogdanovic is going to end up at this point (if the sign-and-trade with the Milwaukee Bucks is, in fact, dead). But for Haliburton, it&rsquo;s hard to think of a much better on-court fit among teams in the lottery.
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Loser: Patrick Williams
Williams going No. 4 to Chicago was the first surprise of the draft. He was a late riser in the process, with his age (the youngest guy in the draft), physical tools and versatility on both ends providing plenty of intrigue to evaluators. The Bulls taking a swing is very good for Williams&rsquo; bank account, but I&rsquo;m not sure if I love the basketball fit.
The frontcourt is a bit jumbled with Wendell Carter Jr., Lauri Markkanen, and vets like Otto Porter Jr. and Thaddeus Young that will have a claim to minutes at the 4 as long as they&rsquo;re on the roster. Williams doesn&rsquo;t quite have the ball skills or defenses-have-to-account-for-you shooting ability to survive at the 3. There also isn&rsquo;t a true tablesetter to get Williams easy looks; Zach LaVine and Coby White are talented scorers, but they aren&rsquo;t the kind of gravitational forces to make life easier on their frontcourt partners.
Winner: San Antonio Spurs
The Spurs did pretty darn well for themselves, landing Devin Vassell at No. 11, then snagging Tre Jones at No. 41.&nbsp;
Vassell can slot in now as a genuine 3-and-D piece, though he&rsquo;s shown enough flashes at Florida State with the ball in his hands to believe he could grow into a more complete player. Jones is a tremendous decision maker and point-of-attack defender. How you feel about his jumper - improving but still a tad underwhelming - will shape how you feel about his long-term prospects, but he adds point guard depth to a team that has to make some decisions pretty soon.&nbsp;
Patty Mills&rsquo; name has been swirling in trade rumors over the past couple of weeks. Bryn Forbes is set to hit free agency. Derrick White is going to be up for a payday pretty soon, and the extension of Dejounte Murray just kicked in. If the Spurs decide to make some changes, there will be room for Jones to provide value in Year 1.&nbsp;
Loser: Lonzo Ball&rsquo;s future at point guard
If acquiring Eric Bledsoe and George Hill as part of the Jrue Holiday package wasn&rsquo;t enough to seal Lonzo&rsquo;s fate as a lead ball handler, drafting Kira Lewis Jr. at No. 13 was surely the last blow. During <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-draft-2020-basketball-news-show-live-stream-alex-kennedy-matt-babcock-fran-fraschilla-derek-murray-jason-filippi-doc-martin">BasketballNews.com&rsquo;s NBA Draft Show</a>, our Matt Babcock said that the Pelicans view Lewis Jr. as their point guard of the future and that the team will likely trade Ball.
Lewis Jr. is an absolute speed demon with complementary passing and off-the-bounce shooting chops. The common De&rsquo;Aaron Fox comparison falls apart because they use their speed to win in different ways - Lewis Jr. with his shot, Fox with his rim finishing - but Lewis Jr. has the profile of a half-court creator that Lonzo just doesn&rsquo;t.
I&rsquo;m not sure what Lonzo&rsquo;s future in New Orleans is, but he&rsquo;ll definitely be off the ball more if he stays. That should be good for him, should he accept it. He&rsquo;s at his best as a connector in the half-court, making the first swing in a swing-swing sequence, or capping off possessions with catch-and-shoot opportunities. If he still fancies himself as an actual point guard, it wouldn&rsquo;t shock me to see him push for greener pastures elsewhere via trade, or once he hits restricted free agency next summer.
Winner: Draft Twitter&nbsp;
And by Draft Twitter, I mean the Memphis Grizzlies for apparently being secret members of Draft Twitter.
Their 2019 draft saw them land the electric Ja Morant, then nab Brandon Clarke late in the first (HOW DID THIS HAPPEN). Morant would of course go on to win Rookie of the Year, while Clarke had a strong case for being the second-most productive rookie in the league last season. Clarke&rsquo;s slide was infuriating to watch during last year&rsquo;s draft. He was arguably the best non-Zion player in college basketball that year, showcasing elite movement skills, vertical pop, intermediate and paint touch, and IQ on both ends of the floor. But because of his age and wingspan, teams talked themselves out of him. Memphis swooped in and the rest was history.
Desmond Bane and especially Xavier Tillman fit the bill as upperclassmen with NBA-ready games that had no business sliding to the 30s in terms of their skill level. They went a step further after the draft, adding the super talented but oft-injured Killian Tillie.&nbsp;
The Grizzlies now have Morant, Jaren Jackson Jr., Clarke, Tillman, Bane, Tillie, John Konchar (post-draft addition), Jontay Porter, and other funky guys like Justise Winslow and DeAnthony Melton on their roster or books. They are very, very high on my League Pass list this year and moving forward.
Loser: LaVar Ball
I mostly like the LaMelo Ball pick for Charlotte. He has arguably the highest ceiling in this year&rsquo;s class, a virtuosic passer at 6&rsquo;8 (!!!!) who can and will fling shots from anywhere on the court. The Hornets need star talent and a star personality; Ball can provide both.&nbsp;
It was also pretty clear that LaMelo&rsquo;s father, LaVar, was, uh, less than enthused about ending up in Charlotte. I&rsquo;m not sure he&rsquo;s unfolded his arms yet. As someone that basically lives in the area, I think the Hornets have a pretty underrated and devout fanbase. They&rsquo;ll take to the Ball Family if the family takes to them. One trip to Cook Out should boost morale for everyone.
<img style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" src="https://basketballnews-media.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/images/story/body/draft_hampton_lg.jpg" alt="" width="540" height="AUTO" />
STRAY THOUGHTS
<ul>
<li style="font-weight: 400;">I love that the entirety of the Precious Achiuwa-to-Miami analysis was some variation of &ldquo;this is a Heat pick.&rdquo;&nbsp;</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;">Provided he stays healthy, Josh Richardson will probably have the best season of his career next year. He&rsquo;s never been surrounded by this level of playmaking and shooting, and should slot in rather easily as Dallas&rsquo; best perimeter defender.</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;">Malachi Flynn to Toronto is a fun selection, with a smidge of writing on the wall about the Fred VanVleet free agency. Let&rsquo;s say the writing is in pencil; the Raptors are still the favorites to bring him back.</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;">Simply can&rsquo;t believe Grant Riller almost went undrafted. The College of Charleston guard will head a couple hours north to Charlotte, finally giving them a guard who CAN GET TO THE FREAKING BASKET</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;">I was honestly surprised the Thunder didn&rsquo;t cash in some of their chips to move up for LaMelo, but landing Aleksej Pokusevski (Poku!) is still quite the upside swing. There&rsquo;s no telling how bad the Thunder will be next season, if at all, but they&rsquo;re set up nicely for the Cade Cunningham Sweepstakes next year.</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;">Seriously, how the heck did Xavier Tillman not go Round 1?</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;">RJ Hampton to Denver is one of my favorite on-court pairings in the draft. Hampton being coached by Mike Malone is something I&rsquo;m a little uneasy about. I wonder how much leeway he&rsquo;ll get to make some mistakes and grow. If he&rsquo;s afforded a little freedom, the rim pressure he can provide in lineups alongside Jamal Murray could be pretty darn valuable.</li>
</ul>

Nekias Duncan shares his early winners and losers from the 2020 NBA Draft (including the Knicks, Spurs and 76ers among others).

Early winners and losers from the 2020 NBA Draft

Right now, all eyes are on the Brooklyn Nets.&nbsp;
Fans were already excited to watch Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving this upcoming season, and now the team is getting even more attention after hiring Steve Nash as their head coach and bringing in Mike D&rsquo;Antoni, Amar&rsquo;e Stoudemire, Ime Udoka and Jacque Vaughn as assistants. Players are clearly intrigued by the Nets and what they&rsquo;ve built, too. One offseason after adding Durant and Irving, James Harden is reportedly <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-rumors-harden-wants-out-houston-rockets-philadelphia-76ers-brooklyn-nets-wish-list" target="_blank" rel="noopener">trying to force his way to Brooklyn</a> as well.
When Jarrett Allen was drafted by the Nets in 2017, the organization was in a very different place. The team was still recovering from the Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce trade, which sent three-first round picks (and an additional pick swap) to the Boston Celtics. The Nets didn&rsquo;t have a single All-Star during Allen&rsquo;s rookie campaign. Now, three years later, there&rsquo;s talk of Brooklyn forming the next super-team with Durant, Irving and Harden.
The 22-year-old had a strong finish to the 2019-20 season, averaging 13.7 points, 14 rebounds and 3.4 assists in 10 &ldquo;bubble&rdquo; games. Allen finished last year averaging career-highs in points (11.1), rebounds (9.6), assists (1.6), field goal percentage (64.9%), steals (0.6), Win Shares (8.2), Box Plus-Minus (+2.3), VORP (2.0), Rebounding Percentage (18.7%) and PER (20.7).&nbsp;
Allen spoke to BasketballNews.com about the Nets&rsquo; roster, the recent trade rumors, how Durant has looked behind the scenes, the Nash hire and much more. He also discussed his fourth annual &ldquo;Meals + Math&rdquo; Thanksgiving event. On Monday, he provided 25 kids and their families with Thanksgiving groceries. On Zoom, he walked the families through an at-home workout, a cooking demonstration and some math problems focused on budgeting (so they&rsquo;re prepared to do their Thanksgiving shopping). The families also received a sample grocery list, math packet, calculator and a $100 gift card to Key Food.
When you first joined the Nets, the team didn&rsquo;t have an All-Star that season. Now, you have Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving and there are rumors of a third superstar wanting to join. What&rsquo;s it been like seeing this organization&rsquo;s transformation and how much has changed over the last three years?
Jarrett Allen: &ldquo;Man, it&rsquo;s pretty amazing how they were able to turn the franchise around like that, especially just in [these] three years. Even looking back [further], it&rsquo;s been, what, seven years for the Nets since the KG era? [In 2009-10] Going 12-70&hellip;Since then, it&rsquo;s been amazing how they&rsquo;ve turned things around and it&rsquo;s been amazing to be a part of it.&rdquo;
What is it about this organization that is appealing to players? Every organization would&rsquo;ve loved to sign Durant and Irving last summer, and now there&rsquo;s rumors of other superstars wanting to join Brooklyn. Why do you think players are attracted to the Nets?
Allen: &ldquo;I think it&rsquo;s just how the team is built -- how the front office wants to build the Nets. Even looking off the court, you look at how they take care of [each player&rsquo;s] family and loved ones. And on the court, they preach grit and playing basketball the right way and playing together and going out there and giving your all every night.&rdquo;
There&rsquo;s been a lot of trade rumors involving the Nets recently, as I mentioned. I know you can&rsquo;t discuss those specific rumors or the players in question, but just in general, do you pay attention to trade rumors? Some players read all of them, while others block them out entirely. What&rsquo;s your approach to trade rumors?
Allen: &ldquo;I hear about them. It&rsquo;s hard not to hear about them in this technological age with social media. But at that point, it&rsquo;s like, what can you do about it? I&rsquo;m not really focused on it. Either way, I&rsquo;m going to have to play basketball and I&rsquo;m just&hellip;like I said, it&rsquo;s in the back of my mind.&rdquo;
Have you had any conversations with the Nets about the trade rumors or your status?&nbsp;
Allen: &ldquo;No. No, I haven&rsquo;t.&rdquo;
KD didn&rsquo;t play last season and Kyrie was hurt at times too, but you guys still spent time together and developed chemistry off the court. How did bonding last season help you guys as you get ready to play together for the first time this season?
Allen: &ldquo;I think it was good. I think it got us to be used to each other off the court. I don&rsquo;t think a lot of people realize how big the connection and chemistry off the court is needed to build that stronger chemistry on the court. We all got to know each last year and this summer, we were all close -- but socially distant -- and we all got to know each other more, so we&rsquo;re all ready to play [together] this year.&rdquo;
There have been some questions about KD as he returns from his Achilles injury. You&rsquo;ve seen KD working out and seen how he looks behind the scenes. What can we expect from Durant this upcoming season?
Allen: "I&rsquo;ll just keep it short and simple: KD is back again."
What was your reaction to the Nets hiring Steve Nash as their new head coach? And not only that, but also adding Mike D&rsquo;Antoni, Amar&rsquo;e Stoudemire, Jacque Vaughn and more to his staff?
Allen: &ldquo;I was like everybody: I was surprised. I didn&rsquo;t know who they were going to be hiring. I didn&rsquo;t know what was going on and was in the dark just like everybody else. And then I was like, &lsquo;Oh, Steve Nash?! That&rsquo;s actually, like, an amazing pick up!&rsquo; A lot of people -- myself included -- weren&rsquo;t thinking of him. We ended up hiring him, D&rsquo;Antoni -- who&rsquo;s another great pick up -- and a lot of people who can help move Brooklyn forward in the right direction.&rdquo;
With Amar&rsquo;e Stoudemire being part of this staff, what are some things you can learn from him given his NBA experience? And what memories do you have of watching him play?
Allen: &ldquo;Some memories I have are of him and, I guess now my head coach, [Steve Nash] playing together, running the pick-and-roll. I remember him playing on the Suns and a little bit of him on the Knicks, and him just going up strong to dunk everything. Going up and being fearless to grab every rebound. I remember seeing those Suns-Lakers game, that series in particular. So far, it&rsquo;s been great working with him. He&rsquo;s just pointing out little things that I can change and telling me what mentality to have as I try to go get rebounds and just how to be on the court and how to elevate my game.&rdquo;
Coach Nash recently said, "We&rsquo;re playing for a championship." Do you feel like this team has the pieces to potentially win a championship as early as next season?
Allen: &ldquo;Absolutely. No. 7 is coming back. That&rsquo;s what I call him, No. 7, but we have KD coming back. We still have Kyrie here. And we have just a bunch of pieces around everybody that can bring this team to a whole [new level] and push for a championship.&rdquo;&nbsp;
I was so impressed with your play in the NBA bubble and you continue to get better each season. What are some individual goals that you&rsquo;ve set for yourself for this upcoming season?
Allen: &ldquo;I&rsquo;m hoping to continue doing what I did in the bubble, keeping up that strong play, keeping my rebounds up and trying to keep my assist numbers up. I&rsquo;ll be in a position to be able to dish out the ball to my teammates, so all in all, I just want to continue that [level of] play.&rdquo;
<img src="https://basketballnews-media.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/images/story/body/allen3_lg.jpg" alt="" width="785" height="AUTO" />
This is your fourth Meals + Math Thanksgiving event. How did you initially come up with this idea?&nbsp;
Allen: &ldquo;Around the time I got drafted, I was looking for ways that I could help the community that adopted me, that drafted me and took me in. It was around Thanksgiving time, so it was the first thing we thought of. We realized we had the opportunity to help some kids out, so we decided to part with Key Food and give the gift cards away.&rdquo;
Can you share the details of this event and what you&rsquo;ll be doing with the 25 kids and their families?
Allen: &ldquo;As we all know, COVID is around and that kind of transitioned us into a Zoom [event], so we&rsquo;re going to have the kids on there. We&rsquo;re going to ask them how they&rsquo;re doing, do some math problems, talk about what they can do [to stay active] inside, do some meal prep and someone is going to come on and show how to make a dessert and things like that.&rdquo;
When you were a kid, did you ever have a chance to meet any professional athletes or heroes that you looked up to?&nbsp;
Allen: &ldquo;No, the only professional athlete that I really interacted with was George Gervin, of all players (laughs). He was in San Antonio and I had the opportunity to go to one of his camps and got selected to play a couple of games down there.&rdquo;
Where did your desire to get involved in the community and make a difference come from? Was that just how you were raised?
Allen: &ldquo;It was. It came from my grandmother, who is no longer with us. She passed along what she needed to and every day we&rsquo;re thankful for that. She always had us doing food drives. Before I can even remember, I was hauling boxes into the back of a truck. We were always trying to give back to the community and always do our part. For what I&rsquo;m given, I want to give a certain percent back to the community.&rdquo;
Do you feel like it strengthens your bond with Nets fans and allows you to connect with them more too?
Allen: &ldquo;Definitely. I think it makes it more personal, with them actually see someone doing these things out in public. You always hear about these things and see it on TV, but to actually interact with a basketball player in the NBA -- someone that kids might look up to -- I think that only makes the bond stronger and they become more than fans at that point."
Do you have any other upcoming events planned or ways to help the community?
Allen: &ldquo;It&rsquo;s going to be a cold winter; you already see if snowing up north in some places, so I&rsquo;d like to do a drive where we get coats to give to kids. I know a lot of people do it, but there are always kids that need help, so I&rsquo;d like to hop on that train and see what I can do there."

Jarrett Allen discusses how the Nets became such an attractive destination, trade rumors, Kevin Durant's health, Steve Nash's hire and more.

Nets' Jarrett Allen on trade rumors, Steve Nash hire, KD's health, more

If the kiss of death in the NBA is being under 6-feet tall, Markus Howard of Marquette is a dead man walking. 
No matter that he led the NCAA in scoring last season at 27.8 points per game, or that he finished last season with five-straight games scoring at least 30 points, or that he dropped 51 on USC last Thanksgiving and had two other games with at least 40.
He measured just 5-foot-9 &frac12; without sneakers and weighed 170 pounds at the NBA Draft Combine, which hurts his stock because NBA scouts shy away from little guys.
Howard is currently ranked No. 62 on ESPN&rsquo;s latest draft board, which means he could go undrafted on Nov. 18. If so, that would make it two years in a row that the NCAA&rsquo;s leading scorer was not selected.&nbsp;Last year, Chris Clemons from Campbell University was not drafted, but he was signed afterward by the Houston Rockets and eventually had his two-way contract converted into a regular NBA contract.
<img style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" src="https://basketballnews-media.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/images/story/body/usatsi_13965486-1_lg.jpg" alt="" width="860" height="AUTO" />
Trae Young of Oklahoma was the last No. 1 NCAA scorer to get drafted, going fifth overall to the Atlanta Hawks in 2018. He finished last season as the No. 4 scorer in the league (29.6 PPG), and he is the most untouchable player on Atlanta&rsquo;s roster -- despite being 6-foot-1, short by NBA standards.
James Daniel III led the nation in scoring as a junior at Howard in 2016. He transferred to Tennessee, but got injured, went undrafted in 2018 and ended up playing professionally in Cyprus.&nbsp;
As we count down the days to the 2020 NBA draft while simultaneously <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-news-nbpa-players-association-executive-director-michele-roberts-2020-2021-season-collective-bargaining-agreement-cba-revenue-meetings-black-lives-matter" target="_blank" rel="noopener">wondering what the 2020-21 season will look like</a>, front-office executives around the league are in the difficult position of having to make judgments on players without seeing them at an in-person NBA Draft Combine (as they would under normal circumstances).&nbsp;
That makes most of the mock drafts we are all seeing even more of an educated guessing game than usual, and more astute front offices are seeking diamonds in the rough who will drop lower than they should, often for fairly benign reasons (like not being 6-feet tall).
Simply being able to put up points is not enough when it comes to playing in the NBA, where what you can do defensively is almost as important as what you can do offensively. And if a first-rate scorer is someone an opponent is going to exploit on the other end of the court, the guy will probably end up eating pasta (basketball parlance for playing professionally in Europe) before too long.
We are now in early November, and there will be more than two weeks of risers and fallers in a variety of mock drafts found on the Internet, some better than others. (Our Matt Babcock, for example, knows what he's doing and posted his <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-2020-draft-rumors-mock-draft-projection-top-pick-trade-matt-babcock-anthony-edwards-lamelo-ball-timberwolves-warriors-hornets-bulls-cavaliers-hawks-lakers-pistons-knicks-lottery-analysis-select" target="_blank" rel="noopener">latest mock draft today</a>). But keep in mind that front offices often leak misinformation to draft pundits in order to confuse opposing teams. If "Team X" is said to be especially intrigued by "Player Y," take it with a grain of salt.
With that being said, here are three players that NBA consultant Ryan Blake of "Marty Blake and Associates" believes may be undervalued on draft night. All three players will have their phone ringing off the hook with training-camp invites right after the draft if they are not selected 1-60.
Markus Howard, Marquette
He spent four seasons at Marquette, and his junior season included a 53-point night against Creighton, and 45-point nights against Kansas State (ranked 12th at the time) and Buffalo (ranked 14th at the time). He also went for 38 points against 14th-ranked Villanova. The prior season, as a sophomore, he had a 52-point game against Providence.&nbsp;
&ldquo;He&rsquo;s an unbelievable athlete, has a fire in his belly and plays hard on both ends of the floor,&rdquo; Blake said of Howard. &ldquo;He has a fearless mentality, and scouts will not ignore that. 
"He shot over 42 percent for his career in a big-time conference, but he is going to have to prove that he can defend NBA guards and is not prone to turning the ball over.&rdquo;
Babcock&rsquo;s prediction: Drafted in the 50s or undrafted. 
<img style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" src="https://basketballnews-media.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/images/story/body/usatsi_14017688-1_lg.jpg" alt="" width="860" height="AUTO" />
Sam Merrill, Utah State
As somewhat of a combo guard for the Aggies, Merrill started all 32 games and averaged 19.8 points while shooting 41 percent from the three-point line. A four-year starter, he led the Aggies in assists all four seasons and was named &ldquo;Best Defender&rdquo; by his teammates as a freshman. Merrill also won Mountain West Tournament MVP in back-to-back seasons. A graduate in business administration, he has been married for two-and-a-half years and spent two years in Nicaragua as a Mormon missionary.&nbsp;
&ldquo;He has a calm intensity, which is sort of an oxymoron, but you watch for someone like this who truly competes for 40 minutes whether his team wins or loses," Blake said. "Coaches know he wants the ball in his hands at the end of games and will either shoot or make the right play."
Babcock&rsquo;s prediction: Drafted in the low 50s or undrafted. 
Paul Reed, DePaul
Coming out after his junior season, the 6-foot-9 power forward averaged 15.2 points, 10.7 rebounds and nearly three blocks per game for the Blue Demons. Reed shot nearly 52 percent from the field while also averaging almost two steals per game. 
&ldquo;He makes a huge impact at both ends of the floor, although he didn&rsquo;t shoot it great from deep (30.8 percent),&rdquo; Blake said. &ldquo;But he made plays for others and defended, and he just crashes the glass. But he can immediately come into the league and make an impact, because everyone knows you can&rsquo;t play NBA basketball if you can&rsquo;t play defense. He has an awkward jumper, but he can become a better shooter in time because he has the work ethic. And at 22 years old, he is mature.&rdquo;
Babcock&rsquo;s prediction: &ldquo;A good intangibles guy. A motor guy. I have him going No. 45 (to Orlando)."

Chris Sheridan takes a look at three undervalued NBA Draft prospects that could be picked late or go undrafted in 2020.

Top 2020 NBA Draft sleepers: Markus Howard may be undervalued

Nekias Duncan breaks down the Denver Nuggets' offense and what the Los Angeles Lakers must do defensively to beat them.

Scouting Report: How the Lakers can stop the Nuggets

Ryukyu Golden Kings 96, Macau Black Bears 93
The Ryukyu Golden Kings extended their undefeated run in Group B of the East Asia Super League (EASL) with a thrilling 96-93 victory over the Macau Black Bears. Ryukyu showcased their resilience and ability to perform under pressure, surviving a late-game push from the Black Bears to secure the win.
Keve Aluma made a significant impact in his season debut, scoring 29 points and providing a crucial spark in the fourth quarter. Jack Cooley also played a pivotal role, contributing 24 points and grabbing 19 rebounds, demonstrating his dominance on both ends of the floor.
Macau fought valiantly, led by Damian Chong Qui, who scored 24 points, and William Artino, who secured 20 rebounds. Despite their efforts, they fell short as Ryukyu&rsquo;s defense held strong in the closing moments.
The game&rsquo;s turning point came when Ryukyu launched an 8-2 run late in the fourth quarter, ultimately keeping the Black Bears at bay. This victory keeps the Golden Kings at the top of Group B standings with a 2-0 record​
Hiroshima Dragonflies 88, Hong Kong Eastern 75
In the second matchup of the day, the Hiroshima Dragonflies cruised to a 88-75 victory over Hong Kong Eastern, earning their second consecutive win in the EASL. Hiroshima displayed a balanced offensive attack and tenacious defense, overwhelming Eastern from start to finish.
Kerry Blackshear Jr. led the Dragonflies with a stellar performance, scoring 25 points, 10 rebounds, and 5 assists, solidifying his position as a standout player in the tournament.&nbsp;
Hiroshima's three-point shooting was particularly impressive, connecting on 9 shots from beyond the arc, while Hong Kong struggled significantly, managing only 4 successful three-pointers throughout the game.
Christopher McLaughlin was the bright spot for Eastern, scoring 24 points, but the team was unable to overcome the Dragonflies&rsquo; defensive pressure, which forced 14 turnovers​.
This commanding win keeps Hiroshima undefeated in the tournament, and they look poised to continue their success as the season progresses.
Both Ryukyu and Hiroshima have established themselves as frontrunners in the EASL, setting the stage for an exciting continuation of the season. The Golden Kings will aim to maintain their momentum, while Eastern will seek to regroup and find their footing in the upcoming matches.

Both Ryukyu and Hiroshima have established themselves as frontrunners in the EASL for an exciting continuation of the season.

EASL Game Day #4 recap: Ryukyu Edges Macau; Hiroshima Soars Past Hong Kong

Bam Adebayo and Anthony Davis are already one of the best big men in the league with the variety of skills they offer on the basketball court. Both bigs are considered top 5 in the position by being the best of the best defensively along with a deep offensive bag. However, if there was one hole in their games that both needed to fill up, it is their three-point shooting.&nbsp;
Both Adebayo and Davis have demonstrated their shooting forms and technical abilities, suggesting they could excel as 3-point shooters. However, neither has historically attempted threes as often as their talent might allow. Now, entering the 2024-25 season, both stars are increasing their 3-point volume as seen in the preseason, and this shift could be the key to elevating their teams to new heights.
Bam Adebayo&rsquo;s ability to impact a game is undeniable. He is one of the best defenders in the league, being known for his defensive versatility and ability to guard all five positions. Adebayo brings value to the Heat with his offensive playmaking from the center position, and over the years he has been the main engine of Miami&rsquo;s offense. But what he&rsquo;s rarely done is consistently shoot from deep. In the 2023-24 NBA season, Adebayo averaged just 0.6 3-point attempts per game, preferring to stick to his mid-range game and finish inside.
However, Adebayo&rsquo;s shooting took a noticeable step forward during the 2024 Olympics, where he averaged 1.5 attempts per game from beyond the arc for Team USA. His confidence seemed to soar after the tournament, and that momentum has carried into the 2024-25 preseason, where he&rsquo;s now taking 3.3 3-point attempts per game.
This increase in volume shows that Adebayo is ready to fully integrate the 3-point shot into his game, something he&rsquo;s always been capable of given his shooting form. With his smooth mechanics and growing confidence, Adebayo&rsquo;s expanded range could be the key to unlocking the Miami Heat&rsquo;s full offensive potential.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
BAM-ing it from downtown 🎯 Bam Adebayo has significantly upped his 3-point attempts from last season to this preseason 😲 2023-24 season ➡️ 0.6 2024 Paris Olympics ➡️ 1.5 2024-25 Preseason ➡️ 3.3 Stretch Bam incoming? 👀 (h/t <a href="https://twitter.com/statmuse?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@statmuse</a>) <a href="https://t.co/OxX6yP8v72">pic.twitter.com/OxX6yP8v72</a>
&mdash; BasketballNews.com (@basketbllnews) <a href="https://twitter.com/basketbllnews/status/1846751205386780929?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 17, 2024</a>
<script src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script>
</blockquote>
Similar to Adebayo, Anthony Davis has always had the ability to shoot from deep but hasn&rsquo;t consistently utilized it. Davis proved his 3-point prowess throughout the younger years of his career&mdash;but most notably during the 2019-20 season when he helped lead the Lakers to a championship by shooting 33% from beyond the arc. However, injuries and shifting roles have seen Davis shy away from shooting threes in recent seasons.
In the 2023-24 campaign, Davis averaged just 1.4 3-point attempts per game, a sharp drop from the 3.5 attempts he averaged during that 2020 title run. Like Adebayo, Davis has the form and touch to be a consistent 3-point threat but hasn&rsquo;t taken as many shots from deep as he&rsquo;s capable of.
For the Lakers, a healthy and confident Anthony Davis shooting more threes could be a game-changer. His ability to stretch the floor would open up the lane for LeBron James and the Lakers&rsquo; slashing guards, creating a more dynamic and less predictable offense. If Davis can regain his 3-point shooting form from his championship run, the Lakers will be far more difficult to defend.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
4 THREES FOR AD IN THE FIRST QUARTER 😱<a href="https://t.co/8PxKpnr4ZQ">pic.twitter.com/8PxKpnr4ZQ</a>
&mdash; BasketballNews.com (@basketbllnews) <a href="https://twitter.com/basketbllnews/status/1847103115394535893?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 18, 2024</a>
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</blockquote>
<h3>Why Does Adebayo and Davis Increasing Their 3-Point Attempts Matter?</h3>
<ol>
<li> Floor Spacing and Offensive Flexibility Both Adebayo and Davis shooting more threes could radically improve their respective teams' floor spacing. For Miami, Adebayo&rsquo;s ability to pull opposing big men out to the perimeter will open up driving lanes for Jimmy Butler and Tyler Herro, giving the Heat more room to operate. For the Lakers, Davis stretching the defense would allow LeBron to work in a more open paint, while also freeing up shooters like Austin Reaves and Rui Hachimura.</li>
<li> Deeper Pick-and-Pop Potential Adebayo and Davis could both become elite pick-and-pop players. Their ability to shoot from mid-range has already made them dangerous in these situations, but adding 3-point range would make them even more difficult to guard. Forcing defenders to decide between contesting their shot or stopping a drive could lead to easy points for their teams.</li>
<li> Defensive Dilemmas for Opponents With both big men capable of hitting threes, opposing defenses will be forced to make tough choices. Typically, teams like to sag off big men who are stationed at the perimeter, allowing them to pack the paint. However, if Adebayo and Davis can hit threes at a consistent rate, defenses will be stretched thin, making it harder to defend both the perimeter and the paint effectively.</li>
</ol>
It&rsquo;s important to note that neither Adebayo nor Davis are bad three point shooters. Both have had excellent shooting forms since early in their careers, but for various reasons&mdash;be it team strategy or personal preference&mdash;they haven&rsquo;t leaned heavily into their perimeter game and added it to their shot diets. Adebayo&rsquo;s shooting mechanics are smooth, and Davis has long been recognized for his soft touch from deep.
The difference now is volume and confidence. Both players have shown they can make threes, and now, with their respective teams needing more floor spacing and offensive versatility, the time is right for them to fully embrace their perimeter games.
While the increased 3-point attempts from Adebayo and Davis are promising, consistency here will be the major factor. Both players will need to prove that they can not only take more threes but also hit them at an efficient rate throughout the long NBA season. Shooting in the preseason or during international competition is one thing; doing so under the pressure of regular-season games and in the playoffs is another.
There&rsquo;s also the question of how this shift in offensive focus will affect their defensive roles. Both Adebayo and Davis are the anchors of their teams&rsquo; defenses, often patrolling the paint and protecting the rim. If they spend more time on the perimeter, it could pull them away from their defensive responsibilities, potentially impacting their teams on that end of the floor. They could also potentially exert more energy on offense when taking these types of shots, and could affect their games on the other end of the floor.
If Bam Adebayo and Anthony Davis can fully integrate the 3-point shot into their games, the Miami Heat and Los Angeles Lakers could be looking at major improvements in their offensive efficiency and flexibility. For Miami, Adebayo&rsquo;s ability to space the floor and create more room for Butler and Herro could make them a more dangerous and unpredictable team. For the Lakers, Davis hitting threes at a consistent rate would allow LeBron and the rest of the roster to play more freely and dynamically.
Both players have always had the skill to shoot from deep, but this season may finally be the year where they embrace it fully. And if they do, the Heat and Lakers could be poised for deep playoff runs, with their star big men leading the charge in this new era of positionless basketball.

Bam and AD are increasing their 3-point volume and this shift could be a key to elevating their teams to new heights.

Bam Adebayo and Anthony Davis shooting more threes should elevate Heat, Lakers

The first move of the NBA offseason is here.
On Friday afternoon, ESPN&rsquo;s Adrian Wojnarowski reported the Chicago Bulls are trading guard Alex Caruso to the Oklahoma City Thunder for guard Josh Giddey in a one-on-one swap.
A two-time All-NBA Defensive selection, Caruso now goes to a team that just recently fell short in the Western Conference semifinals in six games. As one of the most coveted role-players in the league, Caruso could fit right into the Thunder&rsquo;s schemes with their five-out offense and guys who can pass, dribble, and shoot. Aside from being a demon defensive player, Caruso also shot 41% from three last season, fitting perfectly the 3-and-D bill.
Caruso also provides the Thunder with another primary defender alongside Lu Dort and Cason Wallace, which practically makes the Thunder one of the best (if not the best) perimeter defenses in the league.
Reportedly, Chicago was offered by several teams before the trade deadline passed multiple picks for Caruso but the team was adamant to keep him for the Bulls to contend and make the playoffs. But with his impending contract extension this offseason, Chicago negotiated with OKC about a potential player of need in Giddey.
The 21-year-old from Australia who was the 6th pick in the 2021 NBA Draft was often benched in the Thunder&rsquo;s series against Dallas as he was exposed for his suspect shooting from outside the arc. Although the Thunder viewed him as one of the building blocks for the future, their sudden rise atop the West has them speeding up their rebuild and making this win-now move for a veteran in his prime that also fit the needs of the team.
Despite his stagnant shooting, Giddey is an impressive playmaker and at 6-foot-9 is one of the most intriguing PGs that could possibly pan out once he&rsquo;s given the reigns to a team and the ball in his hands.
This could very well work in Giddey&rsquo;s way in Chicago as the move likely implies that the Bulls are ready to move on from Lonzo Ball, who&rsquo;s been out for about three years now due to injury.
This move also signals Chicago breaking up their roster as stars Zach LaVine and DeMar DeRozan the ones to be moved next as the franchise enters into a full rebuild.

ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported the Chicago Bulls are trading guard Alex Caruso to the OKC Thunder for guard Josh Giddey.

Bulls send Alex Caruso to Thunder in exchange for Josh Giddey

As the Los Angeles Lakers gear up for a pivotal transition, the franchise sets its sights on a trio of distinguished coaching candidates&mdash;JJ Redick, Sam Cassell, and James Borrego. Tasked with steering not only the twilight of the LeBron James-Anthony Davis era but also shaping the future trajectory of one of the NBA&rsquo;s most storied franchises, the Lakers&rsquo; search is defined by a focus on strategic innovation, leadership, and a deep commitment to player development.
JJ Redick
JJ Redick, renowned for his articulate analysis and deep understanding of basketball dynamics, brings a fresh, data-driven approach to coaching. Though he lacks formal coaching experience, his extensive work as a broadcaster and podcaster, especially on "Mind The Game" co-hosted with LeBron James, showcases his ability to dissect and communicate complex basketball strategies effectively. Redick's proficiency in analytics could revolutionize the Lakers' approach, emphasizing efficiency metrics like true shooting percentage and player efficiency rating to enhance player and team performance.
Redick's pre-existing relationship with LeBron James could prove pivotal in establishing immediate rapport and buy-in from the team. His ability to connect on a peer level with players would foster a collaborative and respectful environment, facilitating the smooth implementation of new strategies and fostering a culture of mutual respect and accountability.
Sam Cassell
Sam Cassell's illustrious NBA career as both a player and coach is marked by his strategic thinking and ability to perform under pressure. His track record includes significant contributions to player development, particularly with young guards, evidenced by improved performance metrics&nbsp;such as shooting percentages and assist-to-turnover ratios. Cassell's experience would bring a seasoned perspective to managing crucial game moments, enhancing the Lakers' performance in clutch scenarios through detailed situational analysis and tactical adjustments.
Cassell has demonstrated a strong capability in developing players' skills and understanding of the game, aligning with the Lakers' needs for nurturing talent and optimizing game strategies. His mentoring approach would be instrumental in maximizing the potential of players, particularly in high-pressure game situations, through focused training and strategic gameplay enhancements.
James Borrego
James Borrego's coaching tenure, highlighted by his role in significantly improving the offensive output of his teams, demonstrates his strategic acumen. His recent success with the New Orleans Pelicans, elevating them from 20th to 11th in offensive efficiency, showcases his ability to&nbsp;effectively implement offensive systems that maximize player strengths and team capabilities.
During his time with the Charlotte Hornets, Borrego displayed a knack for year-over-year team improvement, culminating in multiple play-in tournament appearances. His focus on developing a fast-paced, efficient offensive system could be particularly beneficial for the Lakers, aiming to revitalize their offensive playbook to align with contemporary NBA strategies.
Getting advice from the legendary Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski
The advisory role of Mike Krzyzewski in the Lakers' coaching search suggests an emphasis on leadership, basketball IQ, and player development. The candidates' alignment with Coach K's philosophies indicates the Lakers' commitment to a coaching style that combines strategic game management with strong leadership and developmental skills.
Each candidate brings distinct strengths and a strategic approach that could guide the Lakers through a pivotal transition period in the franchise&rsquo;s history. The final decision will likely hinge on which candidate&rsquo;s vision and methodology best align with the Lakers' long-term objectives, including fostering player development and implementing a robust strategic framework suited to modern NBA challenges.

As the Lakers gear up for a pivotal transition, the franchise sets its sights on a trio of distinguished coaching candidates.

Analyzing the Lakers' Top Head Coaching Candidates

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?

Following a slow start to this season, the Los Angeles Clippers have had an incredible turnaround.
 Immediately after acquiring star guard James Harden, the Clippers lost seven of 10 games, leading to some questions about Harden's fit and whether the team could right the ship.
However, since Harden&rsquo;s infamous &ldquo;give us 10 games and we&rsquo;ll figure it out&rdquo; statement, the Clippers have been one of the hottest teams in the NBA. They have the best record in the NBA since Dec. 1, and they have won 15 of their last 18 games and 20 of their last 26.&nbsp;
Los Angeles has the fourth-best record in the Western Conference (23-13), while boasting the NBA's seventh-best offense (scoring 116 points per 100 possessions) and ninth-best defense (allowing 110.4 points per 100 possessions).
The Clippers have been rolling as of late, and here are several reasons for their recent success.
Kawhi Leonard is healthy again and having an MVP-caliber season
The Clippers&rsquo; undisputed best player is currently having his healthiest season in years, playing 31-of-35 possible games. Leonard is currently shooting a career-best 52% from the field and is the biggest reason for Los Angeles' surge. The Clippers have registered 12-straight wins with Leonard in the lineup, and he ranks 10th in the league in scoring over that stretch. Leonard's numbers &ndash; 28.1 points, 6.4 rebounds and 3.9 assists &ndash; are impressive, and he recently became the first player in NBA history to shoot 60% from the field, 50% from three-point range and 90% from the free-throw line over a 13-game span &ndash; an astounding demonstration of his dominance and efficiency this season.
Paul George is playing as a second &lsquo;Batman&rsquo; rather than being a &lsquo;Robin&rsquo;
Rather than being Robin to Leonard&rsquo;s Batman, Paul George has proven he&rsquo;s more than just a second fiddle this season. The 6-foot-9 forward has a solid All-Star case so far, averaging 23.2 points, 5.5 rebounds, 3.8 assists, 3.4 threes and 1.6 steals, while shooting 45.8% from the field, 40.8% from three-point range and 92.4% from the free-throw line. George has taken it upon himself to carry more of the offensive load thus far even when Leonard is playing, scoring at least 20 points in nine-straight outings. This aggressive approach has done wonders for the Clippers.
James Harden is playing efficiently and making sacrifices
With the Clippers, James Harden isn't in a primary-scorer role. Although his resume speaks for itself, the 10-time All-Star and three-time scoring champ has deferred the scoring duties to Leonard and George. Instead, Harden&rsquo;s main job is to distribute the ball and keep the offense running, which makes scoring a secondary goal at this stage of his career. Also, he's constantly finding center Ivica Zubac for lob opportunities and even Norman Powell off catch-and-shoot actions.
This has led to one of Harden's most efficient seasons, as he's shooting a career-best 42% from three and a True Shooting percentage of 65%. Harden has been at his best when he's playing alongside the Clippers&rsquo; All-Star forwards, as the three-man lineup of Harden, Leonard and George has a net efficiency rating of plus-17.8 and has outscored opponents by 143 points.
Furthermore, the trio ranks first among the NBA's three-man lineups in several different categories including net rating (25.6), offensive rating (131.7), defensive rating (106), three-point percentage (43%), True Shooting percentage (65%) and turnovers (10.6).
Tyronn Lue finally playing bigs and shying away from center-less lineups
But perhaps the biggest difference between this year&rsquo;s Clippers and previous versions of the team might be Tyronn Lue finally playing his centers and using them to their full extent. His usual obsession with small-ball lineups &mdash; with wings at the 4 and 5 spots &mdash; has been non-existent this season, particularly since the team moved Nicolas Batum and Marcus Morris as part of the trade that netted Harden.
In previous seasons, Lue would close out games with Batum at the 5, or even at times playing George or Leonard there (which was kind of outrageous). Now, he utilizes his centers much better. On offense, Harden uses Zubac as a roller and rim threat for lobs, with Zubac catching and finishing easy buckets. Also, Russell Westbrook has good chemistry with backup center Daniel Theis in the second unit. Defensively, the Clippers no longer have a size disadvantage that leads to offensive rebounds by opposing players, as Zubac and incoming Mason Plumlee command minutes and bring physicality.
Using bigs has certainly changed the way Los Angeles plays. Everything seems to be going right for the Clippers, who will try to continue their strong play and contend for a championship.

The Los Angeles Clippers have been rolling as of late and Anthony Valmoria breaks down several reasons for their recent success.

The Los Angeles Clippers are rolling, and here are 4 reasons why

The NBA today announced its celebrations of the first-ever World Basketball Day.&nbsp;
Established by the United Nations on August 23 during the FIBA World Cup, World Basketball Day will be observed annually on Dec. 21 &ndash; the day Dr. James Naismith first introduced the game of basketball at the Springfield YMCA in 1891.&nbsp;
&ldquo;The NBA family is thrilled to join the global basketball community in celebrating the first World Basketball Day,&rdquo; said NBA Commissioner Adam Silver. &ldquo;More than 130 years after Dr. James Naismith invented the game at the Springfield YMCA, World Basketball Day is a reminder of basketball&rsquo;s ability to transcend borders, cultures and languages and unite people around the world.&rdquo;
Nearly 600 million people across the globe play basketball annually and basketball is the second-most popular sport in the world, while the number one team sport to play in the United States.&nbsp;
Alongside the National Basketball Players Association (NBPA), the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), USA Basketball and the International Basketball Federation (FIBA), the NBA family will honor the game and celebrate World Basketball Day through various programming such as youth clinics and respective social media campaigns &ndash; all demonstrating basketball&rsquo;s societal contributions.
This year the NBA will host the following global celebrations in observance of World Basketball Day:
Domestic
<ul style="font-weight: 400;">
<li>United Nations&rsquo; World Basketball Day Panel: As part of World Basketball Day, the Philippines will host a panel discussion to share the significance of the day and highlight the impact the game brings to everyone around the world at the United Nations on Dec 21.&nbsp; Panelists include Professor David Hollander, founder of World Basketball Day; a representative from the Philippine Embassy; John Doleva, Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame President; and Julius Erving, Naismith Basketball Hall of Famer.</li>
</ul>
<ul style="font-weight: 400;">
<li>United Nations&rsquo; World Basketball Day Diplomats Pick-Up Games: On Dec. 21, friendly games between 30 diplomats from 20 different countries at the Vanderbilt YMCA in New York City. </li>
<li>Jr. NBA Clinic: In celebration of World Basketball Day, the Jr. NBA will host a clinic at the Harlem PAL Center, uniting 80 youth participants, ages 6-14, to learn the fundamentals of the game at the Harlem Police Athletic League in New York City.</li>
</ul>
International
<ul style="font-weight: 400;">
<li>NBA Cares Packing Project: On Dec. 15, as part of the first-ever Republika ng NBA Month, the NBA hosted an NBA Cares packing project at the NBA Community Court presented by TITAN in Mandaluyong City.&nbsp; NBA staff and partners assembled care packages for high school students from select public schools around the NBA Community Court ahead of World Basketball Day.&nbsp; Each package included a "Republika ng NBA" t-shirt, a pair of socks and slippers, Gatorade bottle, and vivo-branded backpack and water bottle. </li>
<li>NBA Basketball School Virtual Conversation: On Dec. 15, NBA Basketball School, a network of basketball development programs around the world for youth ages 6-18, held a virtual conversation with former WNBA player Mery Andrade and former NBA player Zaza Pachulia, who spoke about how basketball has positively impacted their lives, why they are excited about the inaugural World Basketball Day, and answered questions from the attendees. </li>
<li>NBA Egypt Hoops: On Dec. 21 at the Al Sadat School Gharbia in Egypt, NBA Egypt is setting out to provide public schools with the basic infrastructure which would allow students to practice and experience basketball.&nbsp; This includes installing two basketball hoops, providing three basketballs and doing basic refurbishments in some of the courts where national school competitions take place.</li>
</ul>

The NBA today announced its celebrations of the first-ever World Basketball Day.

NBA joins celebration of first-ever World Basketball Day

When San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich chose to rest four starters during a nationally televised game back in 2012, he likely didn't think much of it.
Little did he know, this decision to sit Tim Duncan, Tony Parker, Manu Ginobili and Danny Green would go on to create a massive ripple effect, with the NBA creating rules about resting players and terms like "load management" entering the lexicon.
At the time, NBA commissioner David Stern fined Popovich and the Spurs $250,000 and said this decision was "a disservice to the league and our fans."
Nearly 12 years later, the NBA is still trying to combat this issue, implementing a new Player Participation Policy in order to prevent teams from resting their best players.
This new policy could conceivably be named the Coach Popovich Rule, but it&rsquo;s not. The NBA&rsquo;s Player Participation Policy specifically governs how teams are allowed to rest their stars. Current NBA commissioner Adam Silver put a very fan-friendly spin on the new rule.
&ldquo;This is ultimately about the fans,&rdquo; Silver recently told reporters following two days of Board of Governors meetings in New York. &ldquo;And that we&rsquo;ve taken this [load management] too far. This is an acknowledgement that it has gotten away from us a bit.&rdquo;
The league&rsquo;s perceived intention seems fair: reverse the load-management trend, which has seen a rise in star players voluntarily missing games &ndash; an admittedly bigger problem now than in the recent past. During the 2022-23 season, the average games played by the league's top-10 scorers was 65 games per player. Comparatively, the average games played by the top-10 scorers in 2012-13 was 75 games!
Ultimately, this move will benefit the fans, but was this really done with the fans&rsquo; interests in mind? By limiting how often stars rest, the NBA&rsquo;s on-court product will inevitably be more compelling. While that's good for fans, it's also good for the NBA itself (but more on that in a moment). Stars sitting out nationally televised games was never a good look, so putting an end to that trend is important.
But digging a bit deeper, I believe it becomes clear that this move is more about business than fan satisfaction. Let's consider, for a moment, that the league&rsquo;s current broadcast rights deal expires following the 2024-25 season. The current TV deal is worth a total of $24 billion over 10 years. The NBA hopes to double &ndash; or even triple &ndash; that number in its next deal, according to <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2021/03/22/nba-is-next-up-for-a-big-rights-increase-and-75-billion-is-the-price.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Jabari Young of CNBC</a>. It is entirely possible that the league is looking to demonstrate increased value for its bidders, which will likely include the usual suspects like Turner Sports and ESPN as well as streamers like Amazon and Apple.
For what it&rsquo;s worth, Apple recently inked a deal with Major League Baseball, paying $85 million annually to air Friday Night Baseball games over the next seven years. Meanwhile, Amazon reached an agreement with the NFL to pay $1 billion annually for 10 years for exclusive rights to Thursday Night Football games. The NBA is trying to entice these same companies to bid for their broadcast rights.
It's important to note that the Player Participation Policy isn't the league&rsquo;s first attempt to improve its televised product. The NBA also recently announced its <a href="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-announces-details-for-inaugural-inseason-tournament-&amp;sa=D&amp;source=docs&amp;ust=1695515248097037&amp;usg=AOvVaw0mEzpohBfg-49Qyl7iKxR6" target="_blank" rel="noopener">inaugural in-season tournament</a>, conveniently beginning this season, which is likely to be marketed differently and, therefore, viewed more regularly. Furthermore, the new Collective Bargaining Agreement, which was ratified in April 2023, dictates that players must participate in at least 65 games to qualify for in-season awards. In total, these are major changes in order to ensure that the NBA's best players are suiting up more often than not.
This could ultimately be a win-win for the league and its fans. Players will probably need more convincing. But if the league plans to continue with an 82-game season &ndash; which it should &ndash; star players must lead the way, meaning they need to be front and center as often as possible. Rest is, of course, an important part of the process, which is likely to be an area of frustration for star players. But the medical advancements, health-oriented amenities and teams of on-staff trainers should ultimately translate to more games played for modern players &ndash; not fewer.
And considering how aggressively maximum salaries have increased, stars will understand. In 2012-13, the highest salary in the NBA was $30.5 million (Kobe Bryant). In 2022-23, it was up more than 50% to $48 million (Stephen Curry). By 2026-27, the highest salary will be at least $63 million (Damian Lillard). Of course, a big reason for these monster salaries is the NBA's TV money. This was never more apparent than during the summer of 2016, when the NBA's new broadcasting deal caused the salary cap to spike and teams went on a spending spree (handing out massive contracts that some would quickly regret).
But for the league&rsquo;s TV partners to also benefit monetarily, star players must be available as often as possible as a means of driving interest &ndash; especially since more and more fans are pledging their allegiance to stars rather than teams. The league clearly understands this fact. Just look at how the NBA structures its Christmas Day games, which are normally among the most-viewed games of the season. Last year, we saw LeBron James, Stephen Curry, Jayson Tatum, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Luka Doncic, Devin Booker and Ja Morant, who represent seven of the top-10 players in jersey sales.&nbsp;We also saw Joel Embiid and Nikola Jokic, the two finalists for 2022-23 NBA MVP award.
Like most major changes, the new Player Participation Policy will inevitably ruffle feathers, especially among some players. But it should also improve the NBA&rsquo;s viewership numbers and result in more competitive games. There will probably be some bumps along the way, but fans will benefit as much as anyone. I only wish the league would have referenced the TV deal in announcing the rule as a means of transparency. But regardless of whether the league, owners and players get richer, it&rsquo;ll be refreshing to see stars more frequently &ndash; and that&rsquo;s probably the point.

The NBA introduced rules to combat load management just as their TV deal is set to expire. That's no coincidence, writes Drew Maresca.

NBA’s new Player Participation Policy may lead to even larger TV deal

New York Liberty guard Courtney Vandersloot is the recipient of the August WNBA Cares Community Assist Award, which recognizes her efforts to raise awareness and support research for multiple myeloma.
In July 2022, Vandersloot&rsquo;s mother was diagnosed with multiple myeloma, a form of cancer.&nbsp; Vandersloot has since made it her purpose to spread awareness and support those in the fight against multiple myeloma.
This season, Vandersloot has taken part in several events to support finding a cure for multiple myeloma. In May, Vandersloot joined the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation (MMRF) in the TD Five Boro Bike Tour.
On Aug. 6, during the Liberty&rsquo;s Women&rsquo;s Health Game, the team donated $500 for every assist by Vandersloot in New York&rsquo;s 99-61 win over the Las Vegas Aces, followed by $100 for each Vandersloot assist at home for the remainder of the regular season. Vandersloot and the Liberty raised over $6,500 for MMRF.
In addition, Vandersloot and the Liberty put together a team for the upcoming MMRF Walk in October to continue to raise awareness and involve WNBA fans in Vandersloot&rsquo;s mission to support research for multiple myeloma.
In recognition of Vandersloot&rsquo;s efforts, the WNBA will make a $5,000 donation to the&nbsp;<a href="https://themmrf.org/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://themmrf.org/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1695502030440000&amp;usg=AOvVaw1Q_F7kiP3rK3USXaWPCY_D">Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation</a>.
Each month during the season, the WNBA Cares Community Assist Award recognizes a player who best demonstrates the passion that the league and WNBA players share for giving back to their communities.

New York Liberty guard Courtney Vandersloot is the recipient of the August WNBA Cares Community Assist Award.

Courtney Vandersloot wins WNBA Cares Community Assist Award for August

Today, the NBA Board of Governors approved a new Player Participation Policy, which is intended to prevent teams from resting players during the NBA&rsquo;s regular season.
The <a href="https://pr.nba.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/46/2023/09/NBA-Player-Participation-Policy.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://pr.nba.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/46/2023/09/NBA-Player-Participation-Policy.pdf&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1694714208060000&amp;usg=AOvVaw3e6h1969SP0HnACYwk7Bmc">new policy</a> will take effect with the start of the 2023-24 regular season and replace the Player Resting Policy, which was implemented prior to the 2017-18 season.
The Player Participation Policy will focus primarily on star players. A star player for purposes of the policy is any player who was selected to an All-NBA team or an All-Star team in any of the prior three seasons. Following a given season&rsquo;s All-Star game, this will also apply to any player who is named an All-Star during that season.
Under the new policy, unless a team demonstrates an approved reason for a star player not to participate in a game, then, among other things, the team must:
<ul>
<li style="font-weight: 400;">Manage its roster to ensure that no more than one star player is unavailable for the same game.</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;">Ensure that star players are available for all national television and NBA In-Season Tournament games.</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;">Maintain a balance between the number of one-game absences for a star player in home and road games.</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;">Refrain from any long-term &ldquo;shutdowns&rdquo; in which a star player stops playing games.</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;">If resting a healthy player, ensure that the player is present at the games and visible to fans.</li>
</ul>
The policy includes exceptions for injuries, personal reasons and pre-approved back-to-back restrictions based on a player&rsquo;s age, career workload or serious injury history.
As first reported by <a href="https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/38380166/sources-nba-likely-pass-tougher-rules-resting-stars" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski:</a> "The NBA will incorporate a fine system for teams that begins with $100,000 for first offenses, $250,000 for second offenses and $1 million more than the previous penalty for each additional fine, sources said."

Today, the NBA Board of Governors approved a new Player Participation Policy to prevent teams from resting star players.

NBA Board of Governors approves new Player Participation Policy

Dallas Wings guard Arike Ogunbowale is the recipient of the WNBA Cares Community Assist award for July. The award recognizes Ogunbowale&rsquo;s efforts towards education reform and dedication to using her platform to uplift female athletes around the world.&nbsp;
As the daughter of two educators, Ogunbowale is passionate about education reform and supporting schools locally and nationally. In July, Ogunbowale led the 2023 Dallas Wings' Teacher Appreciation and Back to School initiatives.
Ahead of the Wings&rsquo; Back to School Night, she surprised teachers at Speer Elementary School &ndash; a public school with 95% of enrolled students from economically disadvantaged backgrounds &ndash; in Arlington, Texas with a renovated teacher&rsquo;s lounge, in partnership with Dwell with Dignity. The refurbished lounge included new furniture and appliances, as well as signed Ogunbowale jerseys. Additionally, one teacher was selected through a contest to have their school supplies list cleared by the Dallas Wings Community Foundation.
Throughout the year, Ogunbowale has supported education reform through a variety of initiatives. Last fall, she served as principal for a day at a local middle school to learn more about the challenges Title I schools experience. She also provided lunch to teachers at a local school during Teacher Appreciation Week.
In recognition of Ogunbowale&rsquo;s efforts, the WNBA will make a $5,000 donation to the Kay Yow Cancer Fund.
Each month during the season, the WNBA Cares Community Assist award recognizes a player who best demonstrates the passion that the league and WNBA players share for giving back to their communities.

Dallas Wings guard Arike Ogunbowale is the recipient of the WNBA's Cares Community Assist award for July.

Arike Ogunbowale wins WNBA Cares Community Assist award for July

DENVER (AP) &mdash; The Miami Heat are searching for inspiration anywhere they can find it, including a tennis great&rsquo;s record-setting win at the French Open and even their&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/heat-mascot-conor-mcgregor-nba-finals-097557b5dd00685bb5cdc6d418f9bbe9">mascot&rsquo;s quick rebound</a>&nbsp;from a few punches to the face.
Jimmy Butler and the Heat might be down 3-1 in the NBA Finals against the Nuggets heading into Game 5 on Monday night in Denver, but they hardly consider themselves out.
&ldquo;(Our belief) is at an all-time high,&rdquo; said Butler, whose team is hoping to avoid watching the Nuggets celebrate their first NBA title. &ldquo;It always has been all year. It always will be.&rdquo;
From Day 1, the Heat have demonstrated their scrappiness. At first, it was in scrimmages against each other in training camp and later in earning the No. 8 seed into the postseason through a second chance in the play-in tournament. They knocked out Giannis Antetokounmpo and Milwaukee in the first round, then the New York Knicks, and rebounded in Game 7 in Boston after squandering 3-0 lead in the Eastern Conference finals.
Bottom line: They&rsquo;re used to doing things the hard way.
&ldquo;They love the ultimate challenges and the ultimate competition,&rdquo; Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. &ldquo;The narratives are not going to decide it. Whatever the analytics are about 3-1, that ain&rsquo;t going to decide it. It&rsquo;s going to be decided between those four lines, whose game can get to whose game and ultimately win at the end. That&rsquo;s what our guys love.&rdquo;
A little motivation goes a long way, too. They drew encouragement from Serbian great Novak Djokovic&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/djokovic-ruud-french-open-roland-garros-final-d7bda9f570b010ea48cf8a05b397291e">earning his men&rsquo;s-record 23rd Grand Slam singles championship</a>&nbsp;Sunday with a victory over Casper Ruud.
The Heat are trying to channel the inner belief Djokovic displayed as they face another&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/nba-finals-french-open-jokic-djokovic-serbia-3a0349ae24e0c113869ee4d6df70fe7f">Serbian standout in</a>&nbsp;Nuggets big man Nikola Jokic.
&ldquo;(Djokovic) has talked about that mental side of the game,&rdquo; said Spoelstra, who had no update on the availability of Tyler Herro, the sharpshooting guard sidelined by a hand injury. &ldquo;We have a very stubborn and defiant group, and I think it&rsquo;s good to have a little bit of defiance from time-to-time.&rdquo;
For tenacity, the Heat don&rsquo;t need to look any farther than their mascot, Burnie, who took two punches from former UFC champion Conor McGregor in a skit that led to the person in the costume seeking medical attention. Burnie could be back on the court, though, should the Heat force a Game 6 in Miami on Thursday.
&ldquo;That&rsquo;s the Miami Heat toughness that we&rsquo;re talking about,&rdquo; Spoesltra said of the mascot&rsquo;s return. &ldquo;He should have been allowed to take the first swing. We won&rsquo;t reveal who that is, but yeah, he can take a punch and get back up.&rdquo;
The Nuggets have the Heat down on the canvas, with no desire to let them back up. Still, they realize it won&rsquo;t be easy.
Closeout games rarely are.
&ldquo;Obviously, they&rsquo;ve been doubted the whole year and they made it this far for a reason,&rdquo; said Nuggets guard/forward Bruce Brown, whose team is 9-1 at home, with the lone blemish in Game 2 against Miami. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s going to be crazy. It&rsquo;s going to be loud. The fans are going to be here probably early. But I can&rsquo;t wait. I feed off their energy, so hopefully it&rsquo;s going to be a big night.&rdquo;
The Nuggets have history on their side. Of the 36 teams&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/nba-finals-2023-heat-nuggets-b0f83f7baccd425dbf8aba440e3e210c">that have fallen behind 3-1</a>&nbsp;in the NBA Finals, the lone one to come back to win the title was the 2016 Cleveland team led by LeBron James against Golden State.
On that Cavaliers squad was Kevin Love, the 34-year-old Heat forward who&rsquo;s been preaching that anything can happen.
&ldquo;You really just have to take it one possession at a time,&rdquo; Love said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s just one possession, one quarter, half-to-half. Just get it done by any means necessary and figure the rest out.&rdquo;
Butler couldn&rsquo;t agree more. Just don&rsquo;t mention moral victories and how much they&rsquo;ve accomplished.
It&rsquo;s ring or bust.
&ldquo;All the odds, 8-seed &mdash; nah, none of that matters,&rdquo; Butler said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s just two really good basketball teams. One has to get one win, and one has to get three. Let&rsquo;s just hope that the other that has to get three, gets three.&rdquo;

The Miami Heat are searching for inspiration anywhere they can find it, including a tennis great’s record-setting win at the French Open.

Down 3-1 in NBA Finals, Miami Heat looking for inspiration

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) &mdash; In an empty gym on a small campus deserted for spring break, one of the NBA&rsquo;s top future prospects receives shooting guidance from coaches on Stephen Curry&rsquo;s training team.
Scoot Henderson goes through some of the same drills as the Golden State superstar himself &mdash; one-footed free throws, catch-and-shoots from around the perimeter, two dribbles between the legs then let it fly from the top of the 3-point arc.
On the other end of the court in the Laney College arena is Henderson&rsquo;s younger sister, Moochie, who has committed to play guard for Georgia State.
The Hendersons, teenagers and the youngest of seven children, are receiving a one-of-a-kind opportunity partnering with Curry&rsquo;s company, SC30 Inc., to gain support and guidance as the family develops its brand &mdash; on and off the court.
&ldquo;Just getting this early training and early knowledge from Steph mentoring me and the people around him, it&rsquo;s a blessing,&rdquo; Scoot Henderson said. &ldquo;Me just turning 19, just getting that knowledge early, it&rsquo;s really cool.&rdquo;
Curry is helping Henderson build his business model and will offer his resources to the rising star and his family as the point guard makes the transition to the next level. He finished his high school coursework more than 1 1/2 years early to play two seasons for the G League Ignite and has established himself as a projected top-three draft pick.
Curry&rsquo;s involvement includes opening his network to connect Henderson with shooting coaches, the two-time MVP&rsquo;s strength and conditioning team and others leading up to the NBA draft next month.
They spent some time getting to know each other in late March, when Scoot and Moochie went through a training session with Curry&rsquo;s coaches for a morning at Laney College.
What appeals to Curry beyond Henderson&rsquo;s talent, which makes him one of the most athletic point guards in the 2023 class, is the commitment to community he has demonstrated at home in Marietta, Georgia.
&ldquo;They&rsquo;ve developed a perspective on the blessings from the game of basketball and the doors that it&rsquo;s opened and the platform that you&rsquo;re given. The resources you have access to can all lead to a sense of purpose outside of just putting the ball in the basket,&rdquo; said Curry, whose&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/nba-playoffs-2023-warriors-lakers-lebron-curry-470bae4da1526ce6b86be6b1bfb1b442">Warriors were eliminated Friday by the Lakers in Game 6 of the Western Conference semifinals</a>. &ldquo;They&rsquo;re obviously wise beyond their years on that front and understanding that you can do both.&rdquo;
Henderson is grateful he can lean on Curry, whose off-court work with children and aiding the less fortunate includes his Eat. Learn. Play. Foundation focused on fighting childhood hunger, supporting education and providing safe places for kids to be active.
Five years ago, Henderson&rsquo;s parents, Chris and Crystal, opened a&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://www.nextplay360.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">gym called Next Play 360</a>&nbsp;near their home to offer an inclusive space with an emphasis on academics, athletics, leadership and community outreach.
Henderson himself has helped plan holiday gift and food drives &mdash; aiding 75 families last year with the next goal being 360 families, then 3,600 and eventually 36,000 &mdash; among other projects, and he hopes to keep doing more.
The Hendersons partner with schools in Cobb County to identify those in need.
&ldquo;Helping my community strive, that was always the vision,&rdquo; Henderson said. &ldquo;If I was going up, my family was going up with me. That was the vision for all my siblings.&rdquo;
Moochie is also benefiting from having access to Curry&rsquo;s team of experts, acknowledging, &ldquo;Being a 17-year-old coming out here and getting this experience is really important.&rdquo;
The Hendersons realize how fortunate they are to be getting a head start thanks to Curry&rsquo;s resources.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s almost unreal, actually, Steph Curry is probably my favorite player in the world,&rdquo; said Chris, who has coached Moochie&rsquo;s teams teams for years. &ldquo;They benefit from it but I benefit, too. It&rsquo;s a blessing for my kids just to be a part of it.&rdquo;
They got connected through some of Curry&rsquo;s longtime colleagues who thought the two might make great partners given their shared commitment to balancing basketball and philanthropy.
&ldquo;To be a support system for that and how that&rsquo;s going to evolve over time, that&rsquo;s the exciting part and it reinvigorates another energy to what we&rsquo;re doing because you understand &mdash; I&rsquo;m the old guy &mdash; the next generation is about that life as well,&rdquo; Curry said.

Stephen Curry and his company, SC30 Inc., are providing support and guidance to top NBA prospect Scoot Henderson and his family.

Steph Curry offers support, resources to top NBA prospect Scoot Henderson

On Thursday afternoon, the NBA G League announced their team business awards for the 2022-23 season, with the Wisconsin Herd earning Franchise of the Year honors and Iowa Wolves president Ryan Grant receiving the Team Executive of the Year Award.
The Wolves were also named the recipients of the President&rsquo;s Choice Award, which recognizes the team that embodies and demonstrates excellence in business performance across key areas of focus. This award is chosen by NBA G League president Shareef Abdur-Rahim, who presented the awards during the league&rsquo;s annual Sales and Marketing Meetings.
The Wolves became the second G League team to earn this honor, as the President's Choice Award was established prior to the 2021-22 season.
A selection committee comprised of league executives determined the winner of the Franchise of the Year Award, evaluating all 30 teams on the league&rsquo;s core pillars ("compete with intensity, lead with integrity and inspire play"). The Team Executive of the Year Award was selected by a vote of the league&rsquo;s team presidents.
In addition to these honors, the Cleveland Charge earned the&nbsp;Social Responsibility Award,&nbsp;the Wisconsin Herd won Promotion of the Year and the Mexico City Capitanes won Retailer of the Year&nbsp;as well as the Digital Engagement Award.
<a href="https://gleague.nba.com/news/nba-g-league-announces-2022-23-team-business-awards" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://gleague.nba.com/news/nba-g-league-announces-2022-23-team-business-awards&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1683367909915000&amp;usg=AOvVaw30RSERXw97_KzCP3PBaAf0">Click here</a> for more information on this year&rsquo;s award winners. Below is a full list of honorees:
<ul type="disc">
<li class="m_5323285108427817689MsoNoSpacing">Franchise of the Year: Wisconsin Herd</li>
<li class="m_5323285108427817689MsoNoSpacing">Team Executive of The Year: Ryan Grant, President, Iowa Wolves</li>
<li class="m_5323285108427817689MsoNoSpacing">President&rsquo;s Choice Award: Iowa Wolves</li>
<li class="m_5323285108427817689MsoNoSpacing">Social Responsibility Award: Cleveland Charge&rsquo;s &ldquo;Barbershop Banter&rdquo;</li>
<li class="m_5323285108427817689MsoNoSpacing">Promotion of the Year: Wisconsin Herd&rsquo;s &ldquo;Be the Light&rdquo;</li>
<li class="m_5323285108427817689MsoNoSpacing">Retailer of the Year: Mexico City Capitanes</li>
<li class="m_5323285108427817689MsoNoSpacing">Digital Engagement Award: Mexico City Capitanes</li>
</ul>

The NBA G League announced their team business awards for the 2022-23 season on Thursday afternoon.

NBA G League announces team business awards for 2022-23 season

In their latest effort to invest resources, raise awareness and build a safe space for the wellness of the professional athlete community, the NFL Players Association (NFLPA), National Basketball Players Association (NBPA), NHL Players&rsquo; Association (NHLPA), MLB Players Association (MLBPA), MLS Players Association (MLSPA) and Women&rsquo;s National Basketball Players Association (WNBPA) announced a collaborative campaign on Monday for May&rsquo;s Mental Health Awareness Month. &nbsp; The emotional well-being and mental challenges of athletes have often been ignored or swept under the competitive fabric of sports. By coming together in the name of mental health and wellness, these six professional sports unions are demonstrating their ongoing, unified commitment to prioritize this important issue among their players while empowering the broader community to do the same. The month-long initiative aims to normalize mental health as a vital component to our general, physical health that touches people in all walks of life, including athletes. Through player quotes from members of the various sports unions as well as tips and resources shared by wellness experts, several themes will thread together the social media-driven campaign: mental health is a driver of performance; mental health is a team game; mental health is about recovery and resilience; and how to be a mental health advocate. &nbsp; Along with championing inspirational stories of hope from athletes, these sports unions will also highlight the various mental-health undertakings led by them and their player members. This demonstration of shared support for mental health will not only reinforce the human side of sports but also further the push to provide both athletes and their communities with the necessary wellness resources.
&ldquo;In the spirit of solidarity, the National Football League Players Association, National Basketball Players Association, National Hockey League Players&rsquo; Association, Major League Baseball Players Association, Major League Soccer Players Association and Women&rsquo;s National Basketball Players Association have come together for the first time in collaboration to recognize the importance of our players&rsquo; mental health and wellness,&rdquo; the six sports unions said in a joint statement.&nbsp;
&ldquo;&lsquo;MentalHealthisMAYnstream&rsquo; will advance the national and global conversation around mental health and wellness and relate it to the experiences of athletes at every level of competition.&rdquo;

The NBPA, NFLPA, NHLPA, MLBPA, MLSPA and WNBPA are collaborating on a campaign for Mental Health Awareness Month.

NBPA and 5 other sports unions team up for mental-health awareness

LOS ANGELES (AP) &mdash; Anthony Davis had 16 points and 14 rebounds while blocking five shots in a spectacular defensive performance, D&rsquo;Angelo Russell scored a career playoff-high 31 points and the Los Angeles Lakers completed their first-round upset of the Memphis Grizzlies with a 125-85 victory in Game 6 on Friday night.
LeBron James scored 22 points on 9-of-13 shooting for the seventh-seeded Lakers, who emphatically clinched a playoff series in their own arena for the first time since 2012.
The Lakers won all three of their home games in the series, and the final victory was a scary demonstration of their capabilities when James and Davis are both healthy. Davis&rsquo; imposing defensive presence largely shut down Memphis&rsquo; offense in Game 6, while Russell&rsquo;s five 3-pointers highlighted an impressive offensive effort from a late-blooming team with championship aspirations.
The Lakers took a 20-point lead in the first half and went up by 36 in the third quarter before coasting to victory&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/lakers-jack-nicholson-7a5e4d2543c4c462b3aedbdede832059">before superfan Jack Nicholson</a>&nbsp;and a roaring crowd. James and Davis even got to sit out the entire fourth quarter, preserving their legs for the second round.
The Lakers had to win a play-in game just to reach a playoff series, although this star-studded team is no ordinary seventh seed. Los Angeles opens its next series on the road Tuesday against the winner of Sunday&rsquo;s Game 7 between Sacramento and defending champion Golden State.
Ja Morant scored 10 points on 3-of-16 shooting for the Grizzlies, who won 107 games and two Southwest Division titles in the past two seasons, but just one playoff series.
Morant&rsquo;s injured right hand appeared to hamper his shot, and he seemed unwilling to drive the paint with his usual fearlessness while Davis loomed in the middle. Morant&rsquo;s teammates couldn&rsquo;t pick him up: Desmond Bane, who guaranteed a Game 7, had 15 points on 5-of-16 shooting, while Jaren Jackson Jr. had 14 on 3-of-12 shooting.
Dillon Brooks, the Memphis agitator who dismissed James as &ldquo;old&rdquo; after Game 2 and then got ejected from Game 3 for striking James in the groin, finished a dismal series performance with 10 points in Game 6 while Lakers fans booed his every move.
The Lakers hadn&rsquo;t won a playoff series outside the Florida bubble in 11 years, enduring a dismal decade-plus for a 17-time champion franchise with a fan base used to excellence.
James and Davis have won a title together, but they had done little to remember in front of their home fans before the past two months, when their supporting cast markedly improved at the trade deadline with several additions headlined by Russell. The dynamic duo improved to 5-0 in playoff series in which they both appeared in every game together.
The Grizzlies had the second-worst road record among the NBA&rsquo;s 16 playoff teams in the regular season, and they lost their first four road games against the Lakers this season. They fell into a 3-1 hole in this series with back-to-back losses in Los Angeles, but staved off elimination by winning in Memphis on Wednesday.
Lakers fans sensed the enormity of the moment and turned out in force, highlighted by the return of the 86-year-old Nicholson to his courtside seats after a nearly two-year absence. Their team delivered, jumping to a 20-point lead in the first half and stretching it to 36 in the third quarter.
The Grizzlies played without 3-point threat Luke Kennard due to a sore shoulder, further hurting the depth on a roster already missing injured regulars Steven Adams and Brandon Clarke.
JACK&rsquo;S BACK
Nicholson watched his beloved team for the first time since October 2021, returning to his usual seats alongside his son. The Lakers&rsquo; most famous fan has been a fixture at courtside for the last half-century, and the Oscar-winning actor got a huge ovation from his fellow supporters whenever his face appeared on the scoreboard.
TIP-INS
Grizzlies: Kennard went through a pregame workout before getting ruled out. He got a stinger in Game 5. ... Xavier Tillman scored two points in 18 minutes.
Lakers: Nicholson&rsquo;s return was the highlight of a celebrity-studded night at courtside, where the fans included Larry David, Dr. Dre, Adele and Kyrie Irving, who got a big hug from James before the game. Irving is a free agent this summer, and he has been linked to a reunion with James repeatedly in recent years. ... Austin Reaves had 11 points, eight assists and six rebounds.

The Los Angeles Lakers completed their first-round upset of the Memphis Grizzlies with a 125-85 victory in Game 6 on Friday night.

Lakers obliterate Grizzlies 125-85, advance to 2nd round

In January, the NBA and NBPA launched <a href="https://apps.apple.com/us/app/nba-all-world/id1632344574" target="_blank" rel="noopener">NBA All-World</a> &ndash; an officially licensed geolocation augmented-reality basketball game with Niantic, the creators of Pok&eacute;mon Go.&nbsp;
Just like with Pok&eacute;mon Go, users are encouraged to explore neighborhoods around the world and encounter today&rsquo;s NBA stars. Users can challenge the NBA players one-on-one, add them to their team, level them up and compete to become the ruler of real-world courts, while also collecting gear from well-known brands (such as adidas, Puma and Todd Snyder).
BasketballNews recently caught up with Marcus Matthews, the senior producer of NBA All-World. Prior to joining Niantic, Matthews spent the last few decades working on various sports video games including the original NBA 2K, NFL 2K, NHL 2K and NBA Action 98.
In this Q&amp;A, Matthews opened up about the inspiration for the game, lessons that Niantic learned from Pok&eacute;mon Go, the future of video games, advice for anyone who wants to work on video games and more.
How did this idea come about and what was the inspiration behind NBA All-World?
Marcus Matthews: &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve been at Niantic for about two years now and the inspiration for the game came from our CEO, John Hanke, who is an avid basketball fan. He played high-school basketball in Texas and he&rsquo;d play pick-up regularly in college at Berkeley, and even now since he joined Google and Niantic. At NBA All-Star Weekend, we had a couple of pick-up games with Hanke and other employees. Overall, he&rsquo;s a huge basketball fan. And with Hanke&rsquo;s experience with Google Earth and map-based, location-based gaming, he was always just trying to find a way to bring his love and passion for basketball to this new platform. My background in sports games goes back more than 20 years including being the senior producer on the original NBA 2K and NFL 2K on the Sega Dreamcast. I&rsquo;ve always tried to look at the cutting edge with sports games and not just copy what&rsquo;s already here, but try to move the industry forward.&nbsp;
&ldquo;So when I heard about this opportunity, I was like, &lsquo;Wow, this is amazing.&rsquo; Here we are with this new way of gaming, of turning the real world into a gaming board, literally, and that&rsquo;s the future: connecting the real world with digital bits and integrating them and having all of these novel experiences. And I was like, &lsquo;Nobody has done that in sports. This is an opportunity to once again create a ground-breaking sports gaming experience.&rsquo; And those kinds of opportunities only come around every blue moon, with the right technology, funding, resources and team. And I was like, &lsquo;Yeah, let&rsquo;s jump in. Let&rsquo;s see what we can figure out.&rsquo; So I came in and it was in gestation for probably about a year or two before I got there. My role was just to bring that sports-gaming, basketball experience and merge that with what was already existing, so we could create a novel experience.&rdquo;
When Niantic created Pok&eacute;mon Go, it was a huge success and introduced AR games to a lot of people. Since this game is similar, were there any lessons that you all learned from Pok&eacute;mon Go that helped you while working on NBA All-World?
Matthews: &ldquo;Absolutely. Pok&eacute;mon Go was an absolute overnight success, but there were still some challenges that they ran into. We wanted to make sure that we took the good learnings (from Pok&eacute;mon Go) and try to avoid upfront the negative learnings that come with building something outdoors. Probably the biggest challenge of building any kind of outdoor experience is trying to break that obvious habit of just playing games where you&rsquo;re at. It&rsquo;s not a console, it&rsquo;s mobile, so you have access to the whole world and environment right there on your screen. And our game isn&rsquo;t really a screen-only experience, so we were just trying to get users out of the habit of just doing everything on the screen. We&rsquo;re really trying to connect real-world places with authentic experiences for your player. If there&rsquo;s a bank or ATM in your area, you can go get money for your player in our game. If there&rsquo;s a shoe store near you, you can go get shoes for your character. If there&rsquo;s a clothing store or department store near you, you can go get apparel, shirts and pants for your player. If you&rsquo;re out and about, you want to remember to open up this game because there may be some unique things out in the world that may not be available at your home or your job. There are different things you may discover. That&rsquo;s the main thing: (helping users understand that) it&rsquo;s a whole new way of interacting with the world. We really want to enhance and improve users&rsquo; experience by tying real-world locations to virtual-world locations. We just think that&rsquo;s so novel, so different and so new. I think that&rsquo;s going to be the foundation of a lot of games moving forward.
&ldquo;And the other biggest challenge that we had was probably just the randomness of the real world. With traditional games, when you lay out a world or environment, you have total control over where every object goes and how users are going to interact in it. We had to kind of abstract that out, like, &lsquo;Okay, well we&rsquo;ve got this city that has a lot of real-world game objects that we can use. But when you&rsquo;re in the suburbs or rural areas, there are fewer items for us to tag and for you to interact with &ndash; whether it&rsquo;s a court or a shoe drop or a boost or an energy or an arena pass. Now, we&rsquo;ve got to get a little more creative. How do we balance out the experience for people who live in different kinds of environments in terms of density? We&rsquo;ve been learning a lot and pulled a lot from Pok&eacute;mon Go on those items like real-world game boarding, how to (get) our players out into the world and how to balance that all out. There was definitely a lot that we learned from our other games.&rdquo;
<div class="mceNonEditable"><spike>&nbsp;</spike></div>
NBA All-World hosted some real-world events at All-Star Weekend like a pick-up game and meet-up, where attendees were able to access special content and drops in the game. In the future, I could see this becoming a cool way to reward users who attend NBA games and events. Are you planning to do more stuff like that in the future?
Matthews: &ldquo;Absolutely! That&rsquo;s an automatic in the playbook that we&rsquo;re going to use because that&rsquo;s what makes our game different &ndash; the fact that you can play our game in the world and you can get unique experiences. We can control the drops, and we can allow the user to do all kinds of cool things that you wouldn&rsquo;t normally be able to do in other locations. We want people to go outside and explore and game, so the more live events we can host and get people to engage in, the more powerful it&rsquo;ll be for our game and our audience.&rdquo;
Do you think these augmented-reality games are the future of video games? What do you see as the future of gaming?
Matthews: &ldquo;That&rsquo;s an awesome question. I think it is by far the most realistic, tangible new area of gaming. I think Pok&eacute;mon Go is a perfect example of what can be done because it can be well-monetized and create a great experience that literally hundreds of millions or even a billion people can enjoy. I really feel like AR is proving to be the next wave. But just like there were only console games before mobile games came out, console games are not going away (even though) mobile gaming is growing into its own thing. I think this will be like the third big wave or area of gaming, so we&rsquo;ll have console gaming, more mobile gaming and then this area that&rsquo;s going to expand over the next decade around exploration and connecting digital to the real world, and gaming is going to lead that charge. There will be other apps and experiences that will fall out of that, but the big, main utility that makes business sense is going to be gaming and it&rsquo;s going to become its own vertical. I don&rsquo;t see (AR) replacing anything or eliminating the other categories, I just think it&rsquo;s going to be its own thing alongside the other existing categories.&rdquo;
I know the game is still relatively new, but what&rsquo;s been the reception from the audience?
Matthews: &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve been actually pleasantly surprised with the initial media response and consumer response. We've been in the top five on the app stores for free-to-play sports games and we have a 4.8 rating in the app stores. There are numerous things and features that are coming in the future, and we&rsquo;re going to make a big push for next NBA season to really round out the experience, but we&rsquo;re very, very pleased with the initial response. For me, I think the biggest thing is that people realize that the sports-gaming world is different from the Pok&eacute;mon world. We&rsquo;ve made a game that was organically built from the ground up around basketball fans and basketball players, and we&rsquo;ve made that world work. It&rsquo;s not just a straight copy of another game; we&rsquo;ve built this game organically and from the ground up around that.
"And the beauty of basketball is that A) it&rsquo;s played outside and B) it&rsquo;s naturally played in groups of friends. Our game does both very well. When I was growing up in Jacksonville, FL, as a kid, me and my friends would walk to the neighborhood park and go play basketball for a few hours in the summer and hang out. Now, my son does that with his friends. But now, not only is there an opportunity to play real basketball, you can also play this game while you happen to be at the court and see what&rsquo;s around and maybe gain some new players. What we&rsquo;re hoping to do is get people, especially kids, back out to real-world courts to play not just our game but also real basketball. That would be the ultimate impact that I hope this game could have.&rdquo;
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Are you ready to ball? Get into the gameplay of NBA All-World in episode 2 of &ldquo;Beyond The Game.&rdquo; <a href="https://twitter.com/nbaallworld?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@NBAAllWorld</a> 🏀 <a href="https://t.co/6Q55ogVuAR">pic.twitter.com/6Q55ogVuAR</a>
&mdash; Niantic (@NianticLabs) <a href="https://twitter.com/NianticLabs/status/1617684389089136641?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 24, 2023</a></blockquote>

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You mentioned that some new features will be rolled out next season. Can you share any new features that are coming or things that you hope to add to the game?
Matthews: &ldquo;We have a lot of things on the list, but it&rsquo;s too early to say (when they&rsquo;ll be added) in the second half of the year, so I don&rsquo;t want to get into any specifics. We&rsquo;re working through all of the feedback and different ideas that didn&rsquo;t make it at launch. But one feature that we&rsquo;re going to ramp up before next season that&rsquo;s going to be a major push is camera-based AR experiences in the game. We&rsquo;re going to have some things coming down the pike later on this year that are going to expand what I like to call our &lsquo;basketball theme park.&rsquo; This is a platform that can be built on top of, so just like Disney World, we&rsquo;re always going to be expanding the experiences in our park. This game is really a virtual-world game at its core, so we&rsquo;re going to be adding on more pieces and just building on the experience as we go.&rdquo;
This is Niantic&rsquo;s first officially licensed sports game. Are there any plans to launch similar games with other sports leagues?
Matthews: &ldquo;I mean, I wouldn&rsquo;t rule out any expansion of this sports-gaming experience that we developed. To your point, expansion could include other sports. Right now, we&rsquo;re totally focused on making the basketball experience as great as possible, but we&rsquo;re definitely open to future opportunities and expansion.&rdquo;
I saw that Karl-Anthony Towns, Jordan Poole and other players were part of the game&rsquo;s launch. What has been the response or reception from NBA players?&nbsp;
Matthews: &ldquo;I think they&rsquo;re interested. Games like 2K and Madden have been around for 20+ years and the players who grew up on those are always looking for the next thing, and everyone was aware of Pok&eacute;mon Go and its success. So, yeah, Jordan Poole, Karl-Anthony Towns and those guys have been really interested in how their player looks, what their player&rsquo;s moves are, when we&rsquo;re going to update it to add more moves, so they&rsquo;re really interested in the world and how they&rsquo;re represented. Today, not only do people care about their real-world representation, they really care about their virtual representation. They want to make sure that the player looks and moves like they move. We&rsquo;ve gotten really good buy-in (from players) and I&rsquo;m very confident that as we add onto this game, we&rsquo;re going to get more and more players engaging and wanting their likenesses and movements to be part of the experience. And that&rsquo;s the beauty of this, it&rsquo;s a system that&rsquo;s set up to scale and be built upon, and we&rsquo;re going to relish that.&rdquo;
<div class="mceNonEditable"><spike>&nbsp;</spike></div>
You&rsquo;ve had a very successful career and worked on some incredible games. What advice would you give to someone who wants to work on video games?
Matthews: &ldquo;I give talks at high schools and colleges about breaking into the video-game industry and I went to Georgia Tech, even though Atlanta isn&rsquo;t known as a video-game hub. But ever since middle school, I was coding with friends and trying to make games on my own. When I got to college in the early &lsquo;90s, there wasn&rsquo;t any kind of video-game major or anything like that. This was actually before the internet really kicked in. But I was really passionate about making games, it was just something innate in me. So whenever I had a class project or assignment that was flexible, I would try to do it around video games. In my spare time, I would start designing sports video games because I love sports, I love games and technology. I would just play around with my own gaming ideas. Luckily, in Atlanta, there was an education games company there, so after I graduated, I figured, &lsquo;That&rsquo;s close enough. I&rsquo;d rather do that than be a consultant or an engineer at a plant or something.&rsquo; So I went with my passion; I didn&rsquo;t know where it was going to take me. Then, after work, I&rsquo;d just work on my own sports-game designs and I started working on a prototype with some friends.
"This is an entertainment business, so it&rsquo;s kind of like movies and music where you kinda have to do short films or demos to showcase your talent. And when people see that, they see that you can help them. So I was working on my designs and saw that there were some weaknesses with the current sports games. They didn&rsquo;t feel like the folks who actually played sports were programming and designing them. So, I did a lot of work and then got lucky. A friend of mine went from IBM to Sega and a couple years later, they needed a sports producer and he reached out: &lsquo;Hey Marcus, I know you&rsquo;ve been working on these sports-game designs and doing all of this stuff on the side.&rsquo; I sent my resume to the head of sports and got flown out for an interview. We talked for two-and-a-half hours and I told him everything that was wrong with the games and how I would improve them, and two weeks later, they hired me.
"But it took five or six years or more of working on designs on my own time and just diving into the space and waiting for the right opportunity. I was going to all of the conferences back then like GDC (when it had just started) and E3 and just networking to try and get that big break. It&rsquo;s a tough business to break into &ndash; especially being in Atlanta &ndash; but you have to do the extra work. Don&rsquo;t think you can just go to school, get your degree and then work on sports games. It&rsquo;s going to take more than that &ndash; whether you&rsquo;re an artist, a programmer, a producer or a designer.&rdquo;
<a href="https://apps.apple.com/us/app/nba-all-world/id1632344574" target="_blank" rel="noopener">NBA All-World</a> is available now in the app store and it's free to play.

NBA All-World senior producer Marcus Matthews opens up about the game, lessons from Pokémon Go, the future of gaming and more.

NBA meets Pokémon Go: Inside the augmented-reality game NBA All-World

Women&rsquo;s college basketball believes it has the makings for a hit reality TV show with star power driving a marketable product that has a growing audience.
So they&rsquo;re taking the ensemble on the road for the Sweet 16.
The NCAA changed the format of the tournament this year, featuring two regional sites instead of the traditional four. The games in Greenville, South Carolina, and Seattle are the latest step to grow the sport and show the ladies can stand on their own.
South Carolina coach Dawn Staley believes the question of whether women&rsquo;s hoops merits its own March Madness TV contract has already been answered, even though the women&rsquo;s tournament loses money under the current deal.
&ldquo;Somebody&rsquo;s watching women&rsquo;s basketball,&rdquo; Staley said. &ldquo;Somebody feels like we&rsquo;re in high demand, and obviously the decision-makers that put us on now realize that they&rsquo;ve got to keep putting us on.&rdquo;
The women&rsquo;s title game will be broadcast on ABC &mdash; the first appearance on network television since 1995. Women&rsquo;s basketball is part of a current contract that bundles all NCAA championships under one deal except for men&rsquo;s basketball and football.
The NCAA is expected to decide by the fall if the women&rsquo;s tournament will become a separate entity after hiring Endeavor, a consulting firm, to determine how to take championships to market.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s an exciting time. Year over year, we continue to demonstrate the value that women&rsquo;s basketball brings to that space,&rdquo; said Lynn Holzman, the NCAA vice president of women&rsquo;s basketball. &ldquo;It&rsquo;ll be exciting to see what the results are of this for the sport itself, but also for the NCAA more broadly in our championships.&rdquo;
TV ratings have been trending up over the last two years. This year&rsquo;s regular season was the most viewed on ESPN networks in eight years and was up 11% from last season. That came on the heels of last season&rsquo;s title game between South Carolina and UConn that averaged 4.85 million viewers &mdash; the most for a women&rsquo;s championship game since 2004. The first round had a 27% ratings increase from last year.
&ldquo;People enjoy watching close games. They like the fact that there&rsquo;s some semblance of uncertainty of who&rsquo;s going to win,&rdquo; UConn coach Geno Auriemma said. &ldquo;There&rsquo;s been so many changes in the top 10 all year long. ... Teams are in, they start out at the top they go out they come back in. I think all that creates a level of excitement.&rdquo;
People aren&rsquo;t just tuning in during March Madness, they have also been showing up.
Attendance at the NCAA Tournament has continued to rise the past five seasons, growing by 60% in the first two rounds from an average of 4,464 in 2016 to 7,240 this year. This season had the highest attendance ever for the first two rounds.
&ldquo;It makes us very bullish on women&rsquo;s basketball,&rdquo; Holzman said. &ldquo;It is demonstrative of the growth we&rsquo;ve been seeing in the sport.&rdquo;
Now the NCAA hopes that growth is reflected in increased television revenue.
ESPN pays $34 million per year for the championships package, which it agreed to in 2011, including women&rsquo;s basketball. But the law firm the NCAA hired to investigate equity issues in 2021 said in its report that estimated women&rsquo;s basketball annual broadcast rights would be worth $81 million to $112 million.
The NCAA said the 2019 women&rsquo;s tournament lost $2.8 million and those losses have multiplied the last two years since the the sports governing body increased spending after disparities between the men&rsquo;s and women&rsquo;s tourneys were pointed out.
If the NCAA can get close to the numbers projected in the 2021 report, it might be able to offer revenue shares &mdash; known as financial units &mdash; to women&rsquo;s teams in the tournament in a structure similar to what the men receive from their March Madness tournament.
Men&rsquo;s teams earn a slice of the money pie for their conference for every game they play excluding the championship. Each unit is paid by the NCAA over a six-year cycle. This year the NCAA will dole out $170 million to conferences from the men&rsquo;s tournament.
It&rsquo;s fair to say the women have a lot riding on this weekend at the two regional sites.
The NCAA is hoping the success of the Final Four &mdash; which sells out every year &mdash; translates to its new &ldquo;mini Final Fours.&rdquo;
Holzman believes the new format gave fans a better chance to know where their teams would be headed. The NCAA vice president of women&rsquo;s basketball also anticipated greater economic impact on host cities would lead to more bids to host in the future.
But for some coaches, it&rsquo;s all about location.
The regional sites the next two years will again be held in cities on opposite coasts. The closest team playing in Seattle this year is Colorado, located 1,300 miles away.
Texas coach Vic Schaefer is &ldquo;a little concerned&rdquo; about the distance some teams will have to travel, but eager to see how the tournament unfolds.
&ldquo;The powers that be believe it&rsquo;s going to be great, and I&rsquo;m hopeful that it will be,&rdquo; Schaefer said. &ldquo;Those are two opposite ends of the spectrums, west and east, three time zones between both of them. And there&rsquo;s just nothing in the Midwest. And we have a lot of teams in the Midwest. We&rsquo;ll see.&rdquo;

The NCAA is expected to decide by the fall if the women’s tournament will become a separate entity.

Women hope Sweet 16 next step to own March Madness TV deal

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) &mdash; Tyus Jones had 22 points and 11 assists, Jaren Jackson Jr. added 21 points and nine rebounds and the Memphis Grizzlies beat the Golden State Warriors 131-110 on Thursday night.
The Grizzlies played their third game without Ja Morant, the star guard who is away from the team after posting a video last weekend in which he appeared to be displaying a gun at a Denver-area strip club. The Grizzlies have announced Morant will miss at least the next three games.
Demond Bane also had 21 points for Memphis.
Stephen Curry had 29 points and seven rebounds for Golden State.
Jordan Poole had 22 points, Draymond Green added 16 points and seven assists and Klay Thompson had 14 points.
The teams met in Memphis for the first time since their heated Western Conference postseason that Golden State won 4-2.

Tyus Jones had 22 points and 11 assists, and the Memphis Grizzlies beat the Golden State Warriors 131-110 on Thursday night.

Ja Morant-less Grizzlies rout Stephen Curry, Warriors 131-110

The Brooklyn Nets and head coach Jacque Vaughn have agreed to a multiyear extension <a href="https://twitter.com/wojespn/status/1628046700098256897" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reports ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski</a>. The team has also confirmed the news and <a href="https://www.nba.com/nets/news/brooklyn-nets-and-head-coach-jacque-vaughn-agree-to-contract-extension" target="_blank" rel="noopener">issued a press release</a>.&nbsp;
The terms of the new contract aren't yet known but Wojnarowski states that's it's for "multiple years part the 2023/24 season".
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
🗣 It's official, <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NetsWorld?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NetsWorld</a>! The Brooklyn Nets and Coach Vaughn have agreed to a multi-year contract extension. <a href="https://t.co/Gw3ZHxoPxh">pic.twitter.com/Gw3ZHxoPxh</a>
&mdash; Brooklyn Nets (@BrooklynNets) <a href="https://twitter.com/BrooklynNets/status/1628047460743405570?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 21, 2023</a></blockquote>

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&ldquo;Jacque has made an immediate and immeasurable impact on our entire organization since assuming the role of head coach earlier this season,&rdquo; said Nets General Manager Sean Marks.
&ldquo;On the court, he&rsquo;s clearly demonstrated his leadership through his ability to connect and communicate at a very high level while displaying tremendous instincts for the game. As a person, they don&rsquo;t come any better than Jacque. His character is impeccable, and there is not a better representative for our team and our borough. We are thrilled to have Jacque lead the Nets for years to come.&rdquo;
Vaughn took over as the Nets head coach in November after Steve Nash's dismissal. Since taking over, the Nets have gone 32-19 and are currently in the No. 5 spot in the NBA's Eastern Conference.&nbsp;

The Brooklyn Nets and head coach Jacque Vaughn have agreed to a multiyear contract extension.

Nets, Jacque Vaughn agree to multiyear extension

OXFORD, Miss. (AP) &mdash; Zia Cooke scored five of her 24 points in overtime to help No. 1 South Carolina remain unbeaten with a 64-57 victory over Mississippi on Sunday.
The defending national champion Gamecocks (27-0, 14-0 Southeastern Conference) got one of their biggest scares of the season before winning their 33rd straight game. The Rebels (20-7, 9-5) never trailed by more than six points in regulation and flirted with their first win over a No. 1 team in 46 years.
Cooke had six rebounds and four assists to help off-set a 7-of-18 shooting performance. Aliyah Boston added 13 points and 11 rebounds on 4-of-14 shooting and didn&rsquo;t score in the first quarter.
The deep Gamecocks didn&rsquo;t get their usual supply of scoring help for the two stars, though Kamilla Cardoso had eight points and 11 boards.
Angel Baker led Ole Miss with 17 points.
No. 2 INDIANA 83, PURDUE 60
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. (AP) &mdash; Mackenzie Holmes scored 20 points, Grace Berger added 14 points and 10 assists and Indiana beat Purdue to clinch a share of its first Big Ten regular-season title in 40 years.
The Hoosiers (26-1, 16-1 Big Ten) won their 14th straight, matching the second-longest winning streak in school history, before cutting down the nets in front of the program&rsquo;s first home sellout. Indiana has broken the single-game attendance mark four times this season, this time celebrating its 18th straight home win in front of 17,222.
Lasha Petree led Purdue with 23 points and Abbey Elliss added 12. The Boilermakers (17-8, 8-7). have lost nine straight in this rivalry.
No. 4 UTAH 74, ARIZONA STATE 69
TEMPE, Ariz. (AP) &mdash; Gianna Kneepkens scored 22 points and Jenna Johnson added 15 to push Utah to a Pac-12 victory over stubborn Arizona State.
The Utes (23-3, 13-3), who had a seven-game winning streak stopped at No. 18 Arizona on Friday, struggled to put away Arizona State without post player Alissa Pili.
Pili, the Pac-12&rsquo;s leading scorer at 20.7 points per game, did not play after suffering an apparent right ankle sprain the final minutes of the loss at Arizona. Her ankle was re-taped on the bench after the first quarter but she never entered the game.
Sydney Erikstrup had 15 points, Treasure Hunt had 13 and Kayla Mokwuah had 11 for the Sun Devils (7-18, 0-16), who lost their 16th straight game despite leading most of the way.
No. 5 LSU 90, FLORIDA 79
GAINSVILLE, Fla. (AP) &mdash; Angel Reese had her ninth first-half double-double, Jasmine Carson had a career-high five 3-pointers before the break, and LSU raced past Florida.
Reese finished with 25 points and 16 rebounds for her 25th double-double of the season, two shy of Sylvia Fowles&rsquo; LSU single-season record. She also had five assists, three blocks and two steals.
Carson also scored 25 points, a career-high, as the graduate transfer from West Virginia went 7 of 14 behind the arc, helping the Tigers (25-1, 13-1 Southeastern Conference) to a season-best 11 3s on 20 attempts. The last time LSU had a player hit seven 3-pointers was in 1997.
KK Deans, a West Virginia transfer, matched her career high with 30 points, for the Gators (14-13, 3-11), who have lost five straight.
No. 9 DUKE 56, VIRGINIA 52
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (AP) &mdash; Elizabeth Balogun scored 12 points, Taya Corosdale had 10 and Duke survived a stern test from Virginia.
The Blue Devils (22-4, 13-3 Atlantic Coast Conference) led only 47-45 with just over eight minutes left, but Celeste Taylor hit a 3-pointer from right in front of the Duke bench to make it a five-point game, starting a 7-2 run that gave them some breathing room and they held on.
Taylor Valladay led Virginia (15-12, 4-12) with 19 points and McKenna Dale had 10. The Cavaliers had split their last six meetings with the Blue Devils after ending a 26-game losing streak in the series, but still lost for the 30th time in the last 33 meetings.
No. 10 NOTRE DAME 83, PITTSBURGH 43
PITTSBURGH (AP) &mdash; Maddy Westbeld and Sonia Citron scored 13 points each and Notre Dame used a huge first-quarter push to race by Pittsburgh.
The Fighting Irish (22-4, 13-3 ACC) went on an 18-3 burst over the final 6:47 of the opening frame to build a 16-point lead that the Panthers (10-17, 3-13) never really threatened.
Ten days after avoiding an upset at home against Pitt and three days after Olivia Miles hit a game-winning jumper at the buzzer to top Louisville, the Fighting Irish made sure no such heroics were necessary this time around.
No. 11 VIRGINIA TECH 75, N.C. STATE 62
BLACKSBURG, Va. (AP) &mdash; Roommates Elizabeth Kitley and Georgia Amoore both had double-doubles and Virginia Tech won its fifth straight, defeating North Carolina State.
Kitley had 24 points and 10 rebounds for her 50th career double-double and had six blocks. Amoore had 15 points and 11 assists, which tied her career high.
Virginia Tech (22-4, 12-4 ACC) has won six straight, the previous three against ranked teams, starting with a 73-61 win over the Wolfpack. That marked the Hokies&rsquo; first-ever win in Raleigh and now they have their first-ever sweep of NC State.
Aziaha James scored 20 points in her first start for the Wolfpack (18-9, 8-8), who are out of the poll for the first time in 96 weeks dating to February of 2018.
No. 15 OKLAHOMA 86, KANSAS 80
LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) &mdash; Madi Williams scored 23 points, Liz Scott had a double-double, and Oklahoma held off Kansas.
A free throw by Zakiyah Franklin drew Kansas within 82-80 with 3:12 remaining. Neither team would score another field goal as Kansas missed its last nine shots and Oklahoma&rsquo;s last field goal came with 5:12 remaining.
Williams made two free throws with 37 seconds left and Ana Llanusa added two more with nine seconds left to wrap up Oklahoma&rsquo;s sixth consecutive victory.
Scott had 15 points and 10 rebounds for the Sooners (22-4, 12-3 Big 12).
The Jayhawks got 73 of their 80 points from the trio of Franklin, Holly Kersgieter and Taiyanna Jackson. Franklin led with a career-high 30 points, Kersgieter added 24 and Jackson 19 for Kansas (16-9, 6-8). Jackson added 13 rebounds.
No. 17 TEXAS 74, WEST VIRGINIA 48
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) &mdash; Shaylee Gonzales had 18 points, Rori Harmon scored 16 and Khadija Faye added a double-double to power Texas to a romp over West Virginia.
Gonzales made half of her six 3-pointers and all seven of her free throws for the Longhorns (21-7, 12-3 Big 12 Conference). Harmon sank 10 of 12 fouls shots and added six rebounds and six assists. Faye finished with 12 points on 6-of-8 shooting and 11 rebounds.
Ja&rsquo;Haiya Quinerly had 16 points before fouling out to pace the Mountaineers (16-9, 7-7). Madisen Smith hit three 3-pointers and scored 12. Jayla Hemingway pitched in with nine points and seven rebounds.
No. 18 ARIZONA 61, No. 21 COLORADO 42
TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) &mdash; Shaina Pellington scored 19 points with five assists and Arizona smothered Colorado, ending the Buffaloes&rsquo; five-game winning streak.
The Wildcats (21-6, 11-5 Pac 12 Conference) held the Buffaloes to their lowest total of the season and their worst shooting game, 28.3% overall (15 of 53), 1 of 12 from 3-point range (8.3%).
Esmery Martinez had 14 points on 6-of-9 shooting and seven rebounds for the Wildcats, who were coming off a 10-point win over No. 4 Utah and have won five of six.
Tameiya Sadler led the Buffaloes with 12 points and Quay Miller added 10 with 10 rebounds.
No. 19 NORTH CAROLINA 71, WAKE FOREST 58
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (AP) &mdash; Deja Kelly had 24 points, five rebounds and six assists to lead North Carolina to a victory over Wake Forest.
Destiny Adams added 11 points off the bench and Kennedy Todd-Williams scored 10 for the Tar Heels (19-8, 10-6 ACC).
North Carolina went up by 20 midway through the fourth quarter and cruised from there, making just two field goals and three free throws over the final 6 1/2 minutes.
Wake Forest (14-13, 5-11) shot 3 for 14 in the third quarter and was outscored 16-6. The shooting slump came after the Demon Deacons shot 50% in the first half and trailed just 40-36 at halftime.
No. 24 FLORIDA STATE 80, GEORGIA TECH 66
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) &mdash; Ta&rsquo;Niya Latson scored 31 points on 10-of-16 shooting and 9-of-10 free throws, leading Florida State to a victory over Georgia Tech.
Latson scored 24 points through three quarters and the Seminoles took a 63-57 lead into the fourth. Latson, a freshman averaging 21.8 points per game, had gone nine games without reaching 20 points.
Georgia Tech got within four points early in the fourth quarter, but the Seminoles responded with an 8-0 run that gave them a 73-61 lead with 4:11 remaining. Florida State added 3-pointers from Latson and Erin Howard to close out the victory. The Yellow Jackets made one of their last 12 shots from the field.
Sara Bejedi scored 14 points and O&rsquo;Mariah Gordon added 10 off the bench for Florida State (22-7, 11-5 ACC).
Cameron Swartz scored 17 points, Kara Dunn 16, and Kayla Blackshear 10 for Georgia Tech (13-13, 4-11).
CALIFORNIA 81, No. 25 USC 78, OT
BERKELEY, Calif. (AP) &mdash; Jayda Curry scored 27 points and Michelle Onyiah had six points in overtime as California upended USC.
The Trojans (19-8, 9-7 Pac-12), back in the rankings for the first time since 2016, had their chances to win this one after falling to No. 3 Stanford 50-47 on Friday.
From the final four minutes of regulation until Destiny Littleton hit a 3-pointer with 1:08 to go in overtime, USC missed eight straight shots. After Littleton tied the game at 78 and Leilani McIntosh put the Golden Bears (13-14, 4-12) on top with two free throws with 44 seconds to go, the Trojans came up empty on their next possession despite two offensive rebounds.
Onyiah made 1 of 2 from the line with eight seconds to go and Littleton&rsquo;s late 3 was off the mark.

A recap of a busy Sunday in top-25 women's action includes a thriller between the Gamecocks and Rebels that had to go to overtime.

Top-ranked South Carolina edges Ole Miss in OT

LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) &mdash; Sir&rsquo;Jabari Rice scored 20 of his game-high 24 points in the second half and overtime, and No. 6 Texas held off Oklahoma 85-83 on Saturday.
Rice&rsquo;s fourth 3-pointer of the game gave Texas an 84-77 lead with 2:26 left in overtime.
Oklahoma, however, had a chance to tie or win when Texas&rsquo; Tyrese Hunter missed one of two free throws with 6.8 seconds left. But Sam Godwin missed a shot from near the rim, and Texas extended its winning streak against Oklahoma to five games.
Marcus Carr added 17 points for Texas (21-6, 10-4 Big 12), and Timmy Allen had 15 points, nine rebounds and four assists.
Grant Sherfield led Oklahoma (13-14, 3-11) with 18 points, including a 3-pointer that sent the game to overtime. Milos Uzan scored 15 for the Sooners.
NO. 1 ALABAMA 108, GEORGIA 59
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (AP) &mdash; Brandon Miller scored 21 points, Nick Pringle had 19 points and 12 rebounds and Mark Sears made five 3-pointers in the first half to lead Alabama.
The Crimson Tide (23-4, 13-1 Southeastern Conference) rebounded from their first SEC loss by racing to a 54-25 halftime lead and a season scoring high. Alabama was coming off a 68-59 loss at No. 10 Tennessee on Wednesday night after rising to No. 1 for only the second time in program history and first in 20 years.&nbsp;
ustin Hill led Georgia (16-11, 6-8) with 17 points. Terry Roberts scored 11 and Braelen Bridges 10.
NO. 4 UCLA 78, CALIFORNIA 43
LOS ANGELES (AP) &mdash; Jaime Jaquez Jr. scored 20 points and UCLA routed last-place California to improve to 15-0 at Pauley Pavilion this season and extend the nation&rsquo;s longest home winning streak to 23 games.
Amari Bailey added 16 points and nine rebounds for the first-place Bruins (23-4, 14-2 Pac-12), who clinched a first-round bye in next month&rsquo;s Pac-12 Tournament with their 11th win in a row over last-place Cal.
Kuany Kuany scored 14 points to lead the Golden Bears (3-24, 2-14), who dropped their 11th in a row. They fell to 0-3 against top-5 teams this season, having also lost a pair against No. 8 Arizona.
NO. 5 KANSAS 87, NO. 9 BAYLOR 71
LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) &mdash; DaJuan Harris scored all 14 of his points in the second half as Kansas stormed back from a double-digit halftime deficit.
The Jayhawks (22-5, 10-4 Big 12) outscored the Bears 55-26 in the second half. Jalen Wilson led Kansas with 21 points and 13 rebounds. KJ Adams added 17 points and Gradey Dick had 16.
The Jayhawks are tied with Texas for the top spot in the Big 12 Conference.
Baylor (20-7, 9-5) got nearly all of its scoring from its three-guard combo of Adam Flagler (22 points) Keyonte George (20 points) and LJ Cryer (15 points).
NO. 7 VIRGINIA 57, NOTRE DAME 55
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (AP) &mdash; Kihei Clark scored 15 points, including a pair of critical free throws with 22.6 seconds left, and became Virginia&rsquo;s career assist leader in the narrow win over Notre Dame.
With Notre Dame closing to 55-54, Clark converted both ends of a one-and-one. Trey Wertz made the front end of a one-and-one with 3.9 seconds left for the Fighting Irish, but missed the second after a timeout. The ball was tipped out to Dane Goodwin for a potential game-winning 3-pointer, but his shot bounced off the rim.
Armaan Franklin added 12 points and Reece Beekman had 11 for Virginia (21-4, 13-3 Atlantic Coast Conference). Nate Laszewski led Notre Dame (10-17, 2-14) with 18 points and Goodwin had 12.
NO. 8 ARIZONA 78, COLORADO 68
TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) &mdash; Oumar Ballo had 18 points and 16 rebounds, Cedric Henderson Jr. added 15 points and Arizona dominated inside to beat Colorado.
The Wildcats (24-4, 13-4 Pac-12) opened with a rash of turnovers, falling into an early 12-point hole. Arizona righted itself quickly with a big run and slogged through a slowed-down second half by shutting down the Buffaloes.
Tristan da Silva had 18 points the Buffaloes (15-13, 7-10), who shot 38%.
KENTUCKY 66, NO. 10 TENNESSEE 54
LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) &mdash; Cason Wallace and Oscar Tshiebwe each scored 16 points and Kentucky rushed to a big lead and beat Tennessee.
The Volunteers (20-7, 9-5 SEC) trailed by 20 points at halftime and lost in their first game since toppling No. 1 Alabama.
The Wildcats (18-9, 9-5) earned their first regular-season sweep of Tennessee since the 2011-12 season. Kentucky defeated the Volunteers 63-56 on Jan. 14 in Knoxville.
Wallace had totaled nine points in the Wildcats&rsquo; previous two games. Chris Livingston added 12 points and Jacob Toppin had 11.
NO. 12 KANSAS STATE 61, NO. 19 IOWA STATE 55
MANHATTAN, Kan. (AP) &mdash; Markquis Nowell hit a 3-pointer from near midcourt with 2:42 remaining to help Kansas State over Iowa State.
Nowell finished with 20 points. Keyontae Johnson had 15 points for the Wildcats (20-7, 8-6 Big 12).
Aljaž Kunc led Iowa State (17-9, 8-6) with 15 points. Without their 3-point leader Caleb Grill in the lineup, the Cyclones worked inside the paint. They had 24 points inside and relied on a balanced scoring line led by Kunc.
NO. 13 GONZAGA 97, PEPPERDINE 88
MALIBU, Calif. (AP) &mdash; Drew Timme scored 22 of his 34 points in the second half and Julian Strawther added 28 points to help Gonzaga extend its winning streak over the Waves to 45 games.
The Bulldogs (23-5, 12-2 West Coast Conference), who haven&rsquo;t lost to Pepperdine (9-10, 2-12) since Jan. 18, 2002 and have won 20 straight on the road against the Waves.
Timme moved past Bill Cartwright, who scored 2,116 points for San Francisco (1975-79), into eighth on the West Coast Conference&rsquo;s career scoring list with 2,117.
Houston Mallette led the Waves with 22 points. Jevon Porter and Maxwell Lewis added 20 points apiece.
NO. 14 INDIANA 71, ILLINOIS 68
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. (AP) &mdash; Trayce Jackson-Davis finished with 26 points and 12 rebounds, Jalen Hood Schifino made two free throws with 30.7 seconds left, and Indiana rallied from a nine-point second-half deficit to beat Illinois.
Hood-Schifino had 13 points for the Hoosiers (19-8, 10-6 Big Ten), who have won nine of 11 overall and 15 straight on their homecourt.
Matthew Mayer scored 24 to lead the Fighting Illini (17-9, 8-7), who were without injured leading scorer Terrence Shannon.
NO. 15 MIAMI 96, WAKE FOREST 87
CORAL GABLES, Fla. (AP) &mdash; Isaiah Wong scored 27 points and Nijel Pack finished with 24 in Miami&rsquo;s win over Wake Forest.
Norchard Omier had 17 points on 7-of-8 shooting while Jordan Miller added 14 points for the Hurricanes (22-5, 13-4 Atlantic Coast Conference), who won their sixth straight and improved to 15-0 at home.
Tyree Appleby scored 15 points and Damari Monsanto and Cameron Hildreth had 14 each for the Demon Deacons (17-10, 9-7). Andrew Carr and Mathew Marsh finished with 12 points each.
NO. 16 XAVIER 82, DEPAUL 68
CINCINNATI (AP) &mdash; Jack Nunge had 18 points and 10 rebounds as Xavier bounced back from a pair of narrow losses to beat DePaul.
The Musketeers (20-7, 12-4 Big East) reached the 20-win mark for the 34th time in school history, 32 of which have come since the 1982-83 season. It was the 17th career double-double for Nunge, eighth this season. Adam Kunkel scored 16 points and tied a career-high with eight assists for Xavier.
Umoja Gibson had 17 points and De&rsquo;Sean Nelson 16 for DePaul (9-18, 3-13), which lost its eighth in a row.
NO. 17 ST. MARY&rsquo;S 71, BYU 65
MORAGA, Calif. (AP) &mdash; Logan Johnson scored 27 points and Aidan Mahaney delivered once again in the second half to lead Saint Mary&rsquo;s to its 15th win in 16 games.
Mahaney scored 14 of his 16 points in the second half and Mitchell Saxen added 13. The Gaels (24-5, 13-1 West Coast Conference) won their 16th straight conference home game to maintain a one-game lead over Gonzaga in the standings.
Fousseyni Traore scored 16 points to lead the Cougars (16-14, 6-9). BYU has lost four straight and was swept in the season series by the Gaels.
NO. 18 CREIGHTON 77, ST. JOHN&rsquo;S 67
NEW YORK (AP) &mdash; Arthur Kaluma hit three straight 3-pointers down the stretch and Creighton overcame a second-half scoring drought to pull away from St. John&rsquo;s.
Creighton (18-9, 12-4) remained in a three-way tie for second place in the Big East after Providence and Xavier won earlier in the day. Marquette holds a one-game lead in the conference standings.
Ryan Nembhard scored 16 points for the Bluejays. Kaluma finished with 13 points and Ryan Kalkbrenner added 12 as Creighton won for the ninth time in 10 games.
Joel Soriano led St. John&rsquo;s with 15 points and eight rebounds. David Jones added 14 points off the bench but the Red Storm (16-12, 6-11) were unable to get their third straight win.
NO. 20 UCONN 64, SETON HALL 55
STORRS, Conn. (AP) &mdash; Jordan Hawkins scored 20 points and UConn used a big second-half run to beat Seton Hall.
Andre Jackson had a career high 15 points and grabbed 10 rebounds for UConn (20-7, 9-7 Big East).
Al-Amir Dawes and Tyrese Samuel each had 16 points for Seton Hall (16-12, 9-8), which trailed by 16 points with six minutes to play before a late run that fell short.
NO. 22 TCU 100, OKLAHOMA STATE 75
FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) &mdash; Mike Miles Jr. had 15 points in his first game in three weeks, five other TCU players also scored in double figures, and the Horned Frogs snapped a four-game losing streak by beating Oklahoma State.
Emanuel Miller had 18 points to lead TCU (18-9, 7-7 Big 12), which shot a staggering season-high 68.4% (39 of 57) from the field. Damion Baugh had 16 points with 11 assists. Shahada Wells had 15 points, Chuck O&rsquo;Bannon 12 and Micah Peavy 10.
Bryce Thompson had 18 points and John-Michael White 15 for the Cowboys (16-11, 7-7).
NO. 24 PROVIDENCE 85, VILLANOVA 72
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) &mdash; Ed Croswell scored 21 points and grabbed 10 rebounds and Providence earned its 20th victory of the season.
Bryce Hopkins added 19 points and 12 rebounds. Noah Locked finished with 16 points. Croswell connected on two late free throws to notch the 1,000th point of his career.
The Friars (20-7, 12-4 Big East) have recorded 20 or more wins in seven of coach Ed Cooley&rsquo;s 12 seasons. They improved to 15-0 at home, including 8-0 in conference play.
Eric Dixon had 18 points and eight rebounds and Justin Moore added 17 points for the Wildcats (13-14, 7-9)&nbsp;

A recap of Saturday's action in men's college basketball includes a full slate of top-25 teams in heavy competition.

No. 6 Texas needs OT at home to hold off Oklahoma 85-83

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) &mdash; In the 1990s, Dallas Mavericks point guard Derek Harper famously shot down an offer to be traded to the Jazz, quipping to ESPN: &ldquo;You go live in Utah.&rdquo;
Two decades later, members of the Golden State Warriors squad&nbsp;mocked Salt Lake&nbsp;as a nightlife-free city that could &ldquo;lull you to sleep.&rdquo;
And two months ago, former Jazz star Donovan Mitchell,&nbsp;reflecting on his time in Utah, said it was &ldquo;draining&rdquo; being a Black man in the mostly white, deeply religious state.
As the spotlight turns toward Salt Lake City and Utah during&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/107533176444f092fed0c7996a8e328f">this weekend&rsquo;s NBA All-Star Game</a>, business and political leaders are seeking to chip away at long-held notions &mdash; in basketball circles and elsewhere &mdash; of the state as a peculiar, boring and homogenous place that lags behind on LGBTQ- and race-related issues.
Their push to showcase the city and state as increasingly diverse and vibrant has been complicated by Utah&rsquo;s enduring legacy as a religious conservative stronghold, coupled with recent political developments at the intersection of race, gender and sports.
Just a year ago, a statewide ban implemented on transgender kids playing girls&rsquo; sports raised&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/utah-jazz-nba-sports-adam-silver-north-carolina-64a3f0f2d3b33bf9ccc806bcd6293997">worries</a>&nbsp;that organizers of some events like the All-Star Game would think twice about coming to Utah.
Still, political leaders see efforts to make businesses and tourists feel welcome as key to Utah&rsquo;s continued growth and ability to attract profitable trade shows and the&nbsp;Winter Olympics, which it is seen as likely to bid to host again in 2034.
&ldquo;What happens with those oddities that people think is, they&rsquo;re very quickly dispelled when people actually come to Utah,&rdquo; said Gov. Spencer Cox, a Republican and avid Jazz fan.
Downtown, a pop-up liquor store has been erected to serve fans this weekend between The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints&rsquo; flagship temple and the Jazz&rsquo;s home arena. Team owner Ryan Smith is&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/utah-jazz-nba-sports-salt-lake-city-f458ade6c498f9d9e729b25f9e5a7ebb">telling</a>&nbsp;anyone who will listen about the state&rsquo;s robust tech sector and progressive thinking. And the NBA is heavily advertising a pregame performance featuring&nbsp;Post Malone, a Utah-based, heavily face-tattooed rap star popular among residents.
Salt Lake City has long been more liberal and religiously diverse than the rest of Utah, a blue island in a sea of red. A majority of members on the current left-leaning city council&nbsp;identify as LGBTQ and are people of color.
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In the three decades since 1993, the last time the All-Star Game last was here, the population has diversified and almost doubled, transforming it into a thriving metropolis complete with the politics and problems that plague many midsize cities including pollution, housing shortages and&nbsp;homelessness.
A skyline dense with apartments, office buildings and two downtown malls has sprung up between Temple Square and the nearby mountains. The 2002 Olympics brought an influx of funding that helped build a light rail system many visitors will use during All-Star festivities.
Mayor Erin Mendenhall said The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and the counterculture that rose up in response and continues to thrive both contribute to the city&rsquo;s social fabric.
&ldquo;We may still be peculiar, but we&rsquo;re&nbsp;minority Mormon&nbsp;now,&rdquo; she said.
The extensive influence of the faith known widely as the Mormon church will still be apparent, yet changes within its culture and the influx of thousands of secular residents may complicate how the expected 150,000 All-Star visitors perceive Salt Lake City, said Patrick Mason, a professor of religious studies at Utah State University.
&ldquo;Anybody who visits &mdash; especially for the first time &mdash; is going to be immediately struck by the Salt Lake Temple and the church&rsquo;s holdings right downtown very close to the arena. This is, as a lot of people say, &rsquo;Mormonism&rsquo;s Vatican,&rdquo; he said.
High-profile church members also demonstrate how the image the faith projects has remained distinct while also becoming more assimilated into the mainstream, he said.
&ldquo;That really gets reflected in the younger generation of entrepreneurs and politicians,&rdquo; Mason added. &ldquo;People like Cox and Smith are Latter-day Saints who are committed to their faith but also are savvy people who grow up with the internet, plugged in to a global culture.&rdquo;
Hosting All-Star Weekend is a major opportunity in particular for Smith, who purchased the Jazz in 2020 after selling the survey-software provider company that he founded, Qualtrics, for $8 billion.
&ldquo;This is just a chance to really have a moment together. People definitely know that there&rsquo;s something here,&rdquo; Smith said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s absolutely unique in all the positive ways. I think the one thing that is beautiful about Utah, that the people keep telling me from a wellness standpoint, &lsquo;Utah is like where I&rsquo;m at my best.&rsquo;&rdquo;
Since Smith attended part of 1993&prime;s All-Star Weekend as a member of the Jazz&rsquo;s youth basketball program, the NBA has cultivated a reputation for embracing progressive politics and social justice to a greater extent than most other professional sports leagues.
The ban on transgender athletes in girls&rsquo; sports didn&rsquo;t end up costing Utah the All-Star Game. But some fear marketing efforts could face challenges as the state doubles down on socially conservative stances on matters of race, gender and sports. Last month lawmakers&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/politics-health-children-utah-surgery-9d8b304aef5060a1e033416558c9d6f8">banned</a>&nbsp;gender-affirming care for transgender youth, a policy being considered by lawmakers in a number of states across the country.
Utah has among the highest white populations of any state at 78% of its 3.3 million residents, and less than 2% are Black. That lack of racial diversity is long believed to have hurt efforts by the Jazz to lure free agents and retain players.
Mitchell, after being&nbsp;traded&nbsp;to the Cavaliers last offseason, said it took a lot of energy to confront a&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/north-america-nhl-ut-state-wire-utah-nfl-758cb7968d564893b57ca6d0a19777ce">series</a>&nbsp;of highly public race-related experiences and the pushback he received in response. They included incidents of bullying against Black students in Utah schools that he&nbsp;called&nbsp;&ldquo;demoralizing&rdquo;; a&nbsp;dustup&nbsp;between him and the state Senate president over new restrictions on how race and history could be taught; and the time Mitchell said he was pulled over and &ldquo;got an attitude from the cop&rdquo; until the officer saw Mitchell&rsquo;s ID and realized he was the Jazz player.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s no secret there&rsquo;s a lot of stuff that I dealt with being in Utah, off the floor. ... I took on a lot because I felt like I could do it. But at some point, it became a lot to have to deal with,&rdquo; he&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://andscape.com/features/donovan-mitchell-thinks-the-cavaliers-can-be-a-pretty-scary-group/">told</a>&nbsp;the ESPN publication Andscape in December.
Some see All-Star weekend as a means of elevating social justice initiatives and changing Salt Lake City&rsquo;s image through showcasing oft-overlooked pockets of diversity. Sheena Meade, CEO of the Clean Slate Initiative, helped organize a expungement clinic with the NBA&rsquo;s social justice arm in the lead-up to the game, a year after Cox signed legislation to clear low-level convictions from people&rsquo;s criminal records. She said the NBA&rsquo;s presence in places regardless of the prevailing local politics has had&nbsp;tangible&nbsp;impacts.
&ldquo;They are doing more than lip service. They&rsquo;re putting out a host of events,&rdquo; Meade said. &ldquo;What it means for the All-Star Game to come to a state like Utah is it brings an immersion of culture and diversity and lifts up what&rsquo;s happening on some social issues.&rdquo;
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With the spotlight on Salt Lake City for the NBA All-Star Game, local leaders are looking to chip away at long-held notions of the state.

In NBA All-Star spotlight, Utah looks to change perceptions

MILWAUKEE (AP) &mdash; Jrue Holiday demonstrated just why he&rsquo;s heading to the All-Star Game for the first time in a decade.
Holiday matched a career high with 40 points and&nbsp;made a go-ahead 3-pointer with 25.2 seconds left in overtime&nbsp;as the Milwaukee Bucks edged the short-handed Boston Celtics 131-125 on Tuesday for their 11th consecutive victory.
The 32-year-old Holiday shot 8 of 12 from beyond the arc &mdash;&nbsp;including one from behind midcourt that beat the third-quarter buzzer&nbsp;&mdash; to set a career high for 3-pointers.
&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t really, I guess, care for how I&rsquo;m playing as long as we&rsquo;re winning,&rdquo; said Holiday, who also had seven assists. &ldquo;For me, as long as we get the win, I&rsquo;m OK. The only stat I look at is turnovers. That&rsquo;s kind of how I determine if I had a good or bad game. Tonight, what did I have, five turnovers? To me, that hurts my soul.&rdquo;
Holiday will join Bucks teammate Giannis Antetokounmpo at Sunday&rsquo;s All-Star Game at Salt Lake City. It&rsquo;s the first time Holiday has been selected since he was playing for Philadelphia in 2013, which marks the longest gap between All-Star appearances in league history.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve said since the season started that he&rsquo;s an All-Star,&rdquo; Antetokounmpo said.
Antetokounmpo added 36 points, 13 rebounds and nine assists as the Bucks (40-17) moved within a half-game of the Celtics (41-17) in the Eastern Conference standings.
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Boston was playing without both its All-Stars &ndash; Jayson Tatum (non-COVID illness) and Jaylen Brown (facial fracture) &ndash; as well as Marcus Smart (sprained right ankle) and Al Horford (swelling in right knee).
The Celtics still nearly earned their fifth straight win.
&ldquo;We expected to win that game,&rdquo; said Malcolm Brogdon, who scored 26 points. &ldquo;We went into that game like we were going to win, like we were supposed to win. We believe we are the best team on the floor every single night.&rdquo;
Boston&rsquo;s Sam Hauser, a Wisconsin native who had 40 friends and family members in the stands,&nbsp;made a game-tying 3-pointer&nbsp;with three seconds left in regulation to force overtime. Boston&rsquo;s Derrick White then scored the first five points of overtime.
The Celtics still had a five-point lead with two minutes left, but the Bucks scored the final seven points of the game. The game-ending spurt started with Holiday&rsquo;s go-ahead 3-pointer.
&ldquo;On both ends of the court, he was phenomenal,&rdquo; Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer said. &ldquo;I think his ability to create some turnovers and create pressure helped flip it. We went down and he made a few big-time plays that just are very Jrue-like. Special performance by him.&rdquo;
Grant Williams lost the ball on Boston&rsquo;s next possession, Grayson Allen got the steal and a clear-path foul was called on the Celtics with 3.2 seconds left.
Antetokounmpo made the ensuing two free throws and capped the scoring with a dunk at the buzzer.
SCARY MOMENT
Antetokounmpo landed awkwardly after an unsuccessful drive to the basket late in the fourth quarter and lay on the floor for a while before walking slowly back to the bench, but he never actually left the game.
&ldquo;They gave me a quick update just saying that they think he just banged knees with somebody,&rdquo; Budenholzer said. &ldquo;We&rsquo;ll check him in the morning, but I&rsquo;d say the initial kind of report was positive.&rdquo;
TIP-INS
Celtics: White, the reigning Eastern Conference player of the week, led Boston with 27 points. ... Boston lost despite having a 27-10 edge in points off turnovers. ... Mike Muscala got his first career technical foul for saying something to the Bucks bench after dunking in the third quarter.
Bucks: Antetokounmpo&rsquo;s nine assists increased his career total to 3,271. He&rsquo;s one behind Paul Pressey for the career franchise lead. ... Holiday&rsquo;s other 40-point game came for the&nbsp;Bucks against New Orleans on Dec. 17, 2021.&nbsp;... Antetokounmpo and Holiday won&rsquo;t be the only Bucks representatives at the All-Star Game this weekend. Johnny Watson, the Bucks&rsquo; executive producer for arena and event presentation, will direct and produce in-game entertainment at the All-Star Game for an eighth time. Bucks disc jockey DJ Shawna and in-game host Melanie Ricks will handle those same roles at the All-Star Game.
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Jrue Holiday scored 40 points and made a go-ahead 3-pointer in overtime as the Milwaukee Bucks edged the Boston Celtics 131-125.

Bucks edge Celtics 131-125 in OT for 11th straight win

When you hear "security blanket" within a sports context, you might think of a tight end in football.
A quarterback has his top target. A speed demon on the outside like Tyreek Hill; a route technician like Stefon Diggs; a YAC (yards after catch) machine like AJ Brown; a "Yes" build like NFL Offensive Player of the Year Justin Jefferson.&nbsp;
But then, there's the check. Your hot read. Your if-all-else-fails option if the primary or even secondary look isn't there. That guy can be your running back, but my mind goes to the tight end. Releasing to the flat in play action. Sitting down in the middle of the zone for the eight yards you need on third-and-six.&nbsp;
In all the ways I thought about breaking down Kevin Durant's fit with the Phoenix Suns, whenever he makes his return following an MCL sprain, I kept coming back to the tight-end angle.
Durant is Phoenix's very-large, very-skilled, frankly-overqualified security blanket.
(Is the upcoming Super Bowl, particularly the participation of the Philadelphia Eagles, a factor in why I landed on a football analogy? Who's to say, really. But we rally on, friends.)
If we're extending the analogy, it's worth reiterating that Durant is overqualified for this. He is more George Kittle or Travis Kelce than he is [insert run-of-the-mill possession tight end here]. You can build the boat around Durant much like you can with those two.
On the field, their teams enjoy deploying them all over the place. On the line, split out wide, in the slot. Their presence alone forces the defense into checks; demands a level of attention that is both necessary and uncomfortable in light of the talent around them.
Durant will be moved all over the chess board, used in a multitude of ways.
Directly, he can operate as the screener or ball-handler in pick-and-rolls. He will be a hub in the middle of the floor, as part of their Elbow sets &mdash; read a detailed breakdown <a href="https://thefourpointplay.substack.com/p/vol2-iss8-the-peoples-elbow" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here</a> &mdash; or the recipient of clear-outs following an off-ball screen.
I can't emphasize how important Durant's screen work will be, and how seamless of a fit he'll be in the Suns' offense because of it.
His off-ball work is the stuff of legends. Guys his size shouldn't be able to navigate traffic the way he does. Throughout his career &mdash; in Seattle (RIP), Oklahoma City, Golden State and Brooklyn &mdash; Durant has made a living flying off screens and raising up for easy (for him) ones.&nbsp;
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Pick-and-rolls involving Durant, on either side, have been dominant. Possessions featuring a Durant-led pick-and-roll are generating 1.12 points per possession (PPP) this season, which ranks second behind Luka Doncic (1.123 PPP) among 76 players who have received at least 500 on-ball picks this year, per Second Spectrum.
With Durant as a screener in pick-and-roll, that mark drops to 1.09 PPP, which is "only" a top-10 mark in the NBA among 150 players who have set at least 200 picks. A majority of those were screens set in the half-court, with the purpose of forcing a mismatch before going one-on-one.
A fun wrinkle to keep an eye on with Durant: drag screens in early offense or transition, especially when set for Chris Paul.
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Mikal Bridges would set-and-slip those suckers as a way to draw the eyes of defenders. If it was played poorly enough, Paul (or Devin Booker) could slip a pass to Bridges for a paint touch &mdash; something the Suns don't generate all that much. This is&nbsp;a team that has ranked 30th, 30th and 29th (this year) in rim rate during the Paul Era.
Durant set them in Brooklyn, but not only were those instances less frequent, he'd also fade to the perimeter or simply cut his path short to set up a mid-post touch. Much like the screens set in half-court situations, he'd operate in a way to help set up his jumper.&nbsp;
Here's an example from Bridges. He doesn't get the ball on this rep, but peep his path after the slip, how open he is, and the attention he draws from the weakside corner defender because of it. This is the threat those screens can pose.
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And now here's a rep from Durant. Again, it's less about the result and more about Durant's ideal pattern and how he reacts to openings.
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It'll be a fun dichotomy to keep track of. On one hand, you could see even more of a dip in paint pressure with Durant in the fold. If those slips turn into isolations, the pace could also drop further; <a href="http://stats.inpredictable.com/nba/ssnTeamPoss.php?season=2022&amp;po=0&amp;frdt=2022-10-18&amp;todt=2023-02-10&amp;view=off&amp;sort=aotopdr&amp;order=ASC" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Per Inpredictable</a>, the Suns rank 19th in seconds per possession (14.6), and that falls to 26th (11.6) on trips following a defensive rebound.
On the other hand, the degree of difficulty may be lowered. Paul or Booker hitting Bridges on those slips are impressive. Fruitful, even. You still have to wait for the window, get the right angle and hit Bridges in the pocket &mdash; early enough to where Bridges has time to gather the pass and make a decision, but not too early where the defense has time to load up in front of him.&nbsp;
With Durant, you have a 7-foot target &mdash; a security blanket, if you will &mdash; to toss the ball to before getting the heck out of the way. During his Nets tenure, possessions featuring a Durant isolation generated 1.1 PPP, putting him in a virtual tie with Doncic. On post-ups, he was even more effective (1.13 PPP).&nbsp;
Beyond that, think about how teams have tried to stifle the ball-screen brilliance of Booker and Paul over the past two seasons. I've <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/explain-one-play-how-the-suns-create-without-chris-paul" target="_blank" rel="noopener">written about</a> Booker's need for growth when seeing traps. Paul pick-and-rolls are being switched at a higher rate than they've ever been, per Second Spectrum &mdash; part of why Paul has passed the ball on a career-high 59.1% of his PnRs this year.
Can you afford to trap Booker if Durant is the screener? Do you want to switch Paul-Durant ball screens?
On the Paul front, I think about how teams have felt increasingly comfortable putting size &mdash; sometimes 4s &mdash; on Paul so they can switch the Paul-Ayton pick-and-roll. The Warriors have thrown Draymond Green and Andrew Wiggins at him. Ben Simmons got the Paul assignment earlier in the week.&nbsp;
What does that gambit look like with Durant in the fold?&nbsp;
Also, Durant doesn't just provide safety on the offensive end.&nbsp;
Defensively, Durant is &mdash; or I guess, "was" before the injury &mdash; arguably in the midst of his best defensive season. He's <a href="https://www.nba.com/stats/players/defensive-impact?CF=PLAYER_NAME*E*durant&amp;Season=2022-23" target="_blank" rel="noopener">challenging more shots</a> at the rim than he ever has, holding opponents to roughly 56% shooting inside, and blocking 1.5 shots per game to boot.&nbsp;
Among the 50 players to defend as many isolations as Durant has this season (125), only six of them &mdash; headlined by OG Anunoby (0.81 PPP allowed) and Patrick Williams (0.69 PPP) &mdash; have been stingier than Durant (0.88 PPP), per Second Spectrum.
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The amount of ground Durant covers is so important to this group. While not the perimeter defender Bridges is, he can approximate some of the off-ball danger he poses. Durant's arms are hard to avoid when sinking down to help on a drive; they're even harder to avoid when attempting a shot inside.
Oddly enough, the Suns may have gotten a little worse on the perimeter while becoming&nbsp;better&nbsp;equipped to deal with some of the mismatch hunting Paul has dealt with the past couple of seasons. At the very least, they can afford to get more aggressive.
Think back to the second-round loss the Suns suffered at the hands of the Dallas Mavericks last year. Bridges got the primary assignment on Doncic, but didn't guard him as long as he probably could've. The Suns would sometimes switch Bridges out of the assignment when Doncic called for a screen, only to have Bridges zone up and provide (the illusion of) relief afterwards.
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There are subtleties to keep in mind here. The Mavs didn't just go after Paul; they made sure Bridges had to navigate a screen first. Throwing him off balance early made it easier for him to concede the switch later.&nbsp;
Bridges was navigating that screen because 1) he's really freaking good but 2) Ayton was in a deep drop. Of the 150 instances Ayton was involved in a Doncic-led pick-and-roll, he hedged or blitzed on five of them, per Second Spectrum. Five! The switch count was barely above 20.&nbsp;
And this is what interests me about the Durant move: The Suns may be willing to ramp up the pressure in a series like this, against mismatch hunting like that, with Durant capable of patrolling a back-line.
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It could be Ayton playing closer to the level or blitzing more often. It could be as simple as the help defenders themselves &mdash; namely the defender one pass away from a Doncic or Kawhi Leonard isolation &mdash; getting more aggressive, knowing they've got reliable backup behind them.&nbsp;
That's certainly the case through the lens of rim protection, but it also tracks in terms of rebounding. The Suns should be better at it with Torrey Craig and Durant on the floor more than the Bridges-Craig duo. That's important considering they've fallen to 22nd in defensive rebound rate this season.
Durant is one of the most versatile superstars the NBA has ever seen. An elite scorer. Elite shooter. Opportunistic playmaker. Post hub. Isolation specialist. A walking mismatch. A 7-foot-0 backspace button on the defensive end.
You simply can't cover him. But most importantly for the Suns, Durant provides so much cover for their roster shortcomings.

How does Kevin Durant fit with the Phoenix Suns? Nekias Duncan examines Durant's film and what to expect from the new-look Suns.

How Kevin Durant provides cover for the Phoenix Suns

Kyrie Irving, who was just named an All-Star starter for the Eastern Conference, shocked the NBA world this week when he reportedly asked for a trade. He informed the Nets that he prefers to be traded ahead of the Feb. 9 deadline or he will plan to leave via free agency in July, causing Brooklyn to lose him for nothing.&nbsp;
This trade demand was reportedly prompted by the fact that the two sides were unable to agree to the terms of a contract extension.&nbsp;
The Nets reportedly offered an extension to Irving; however, it included unprecedented &ldquo;guarantee stipulations&rdquo; tied to the team winning an NBA championship, according to <a href="https://twitter.com/ChrisBHaynes/status/1621650393083281408" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Chris Haynes of Bleacher Report</a>. This appeared to offend Irving and his camp, thus resulting in the trade demand.&nbsp;
This trade demand has been met with much criticism throughout the entire NBA world.&nbsp;
While discussing Irving&rsquo;s trade request with Malika Andrews on NBA Today, Stephen A. Smith <a href="https://www.si.com/nba/2023/02/04/kyrie-irving-trade-request-stephen-a-smith-comments" target="_blank" rel="noopener">called</a> Kyrie &ldquo;idiotic&rdquo; and added that &ldquo;he cannot be trusted; he just reminded the basketball world of that.&rdquo;
Kendrick Perkins <a href="https://www.si.com/nba/2023/02/03/kyrie-irving-kendrick-perkins-comments-nets" target="_blank" rel="noopener">went on a tirade</a> on ESPN when asked about the situation.
&ldquo;This is Kyrie Irving, a guy that you cannot trust,&rdquo; Perkins said. &ldquo;Didn&rsquo;t Kyrie Irving just say that Kevin Durant was his best friend? Right? So where is the loyalty? Right? If that&rsquo;s your best friend, I don&rsquo;t want that. Give me an enemy. For the simple fact that when you look at how Kevin Durant has been riding for Kyrie Irving since they arrived in Brooklyn&hellip; standing behind him through whatever his beliefs were, whatever he was doing, riding with him over James Harden.&rdquo;
I caught up with Caleb from <a href="https://twitter.com/BrooklynNetcast" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Brooklyn Netcast</a>, a site dedicated to covering the Nets, to discuss this situation, how the Nets handled this, the media backlash toward Kyrie and much more.
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Etan Thomas: I appreciate your content. I was one of the former players who retweeted your tweets after this story broke. You all do a great job of covering the Nets. To your knowledge, can you explain what exactly led to this trade request from Kyrie irving?&nbsp;
Brooklyn Netcast: I think it&rsquo;s more of a leverage move than anything. Mostly what led up to it were disagreements in the contract extension and certain details not being agreed upon as well as guaranteed money being a big issue in this whole thing. Chris Haynes reported yesterday about how there was a championship stipulation &mdash; like if you win a championship, then you receive X amount of dollars &mdash; and that&rsquo;s really where the disagreements and feeling of disrespect came. I definitely don&rsquo;t think there is a shared respect overall between Joe Tsai and Kyrie Irving and [there are] ethical disagreements, which is another huge issue that is being glossed over, as a point of contention between the two.&nbsp;
Etan: A few months ago, Joe Tsai and Kyrie Irving had the sit down and Tsai came out publicly and said, &ldquo;No, Kyrie is not anti-semetic, he&rsquo;s not a horrible person, etc.&rdquo; But do you think there was still friction between the two behind closed doors and that statement was mostly for show?
Brooklyn Netcast: There is definitely quite a bit of friction behind the scenes. I would say that it&rsquo;s a bit for show. I do believe that Joe Tsai and Adam Silver were both 100% correct when they said that Kyrie was not anti-semitic, but there is definitely a lot of friction that still exists between the two as far as values, who they are as people and, of course, the contract.&nbsp;
Etan: It was reported that the Nets wanted Irving&rsquo;s contract to be tied to winning a championship, and I don&rsquo;t know if I&rsquo;ve ever really heard a stipulation like that before in an NBA contract. So, he will only get X amount of money if they win a championship? To my knowledge, that&rsquo;s really unprecedented.
Brooklyn Netcast: I haven&rsquo;t seen any specifics, but just seen reports that this was a point of contention for Kyrie and his team. There are leaks coming from both sides and it&rsquo;s hard to see the exact details of what exactly was disagreed upon because there are so many different leaks and takes. But it is clear that it does center around guaranteed money and that a championship would bring a substantial amount of money into the picture, and that&rsquo;s not something that Kyrie or his representatives feel is fair because a championship is a team achievement. Hypothetically, Kyrie could average 40, 5 and 5, but if they lose in the playoffs, then he wouldn&rsquo;t receive whatever amount of his contract? I don&rsquo;t see how any player would agree to something like that.&nbsp;
Etan: One of the tweets that I retweeted from Brooklyn Netcast, and again you all have done a great job in covering this, was: &ldquo;The annoying part too is the media is just gonna paint Kyrie Irving as the bad guy here while Marks and Tsai don&rsquo;t get trashed at all.&rdquo; And that&rsquo;s exactly what happened.
Brooklyn Netcast: It&rsquo;s important to note that Kyrie has had some things happen off the court in the past; you can go into the whole documentary thing and missing time throughout the years, so there is already a lot stacked against him and who he is. I think it&rsquo;s abundantly clear right now that Kyrie Irving is a very good person, and a charitable and giving human being, but for some reason the media as a whole consistently ridicules and demonizes Kyrie. But they don&rsquo;t even loosely examine or question the character of someone like Joe Tsai. They would rather attack Kyrie&rsquo;s character, but that shows the bias of many in the media.&nbsp;
And the media only tells one side of the story. They focused on, &ldquo;Oh, Kyrie requested a trade,&rdquo; or, &ldquo;Kyrie wants out,&rdquo; or, &ldquo;Kyrie is abandoning KD,&rdquo; or, &ldquo;He said he would never leave his friend,&rdquo; and they frame it as if it&rsquo;s all Kyrie&rsquo;s fault. But they won&rsquo;t go into the details of the insulting championship stipulation the Nets put in the contract.&nbsp;
Etan: Stephen A. Smith jumped out and his response to Kyrie requesting a trade was that he is &ldquo;idiotic&rdquo; and &ldquo;cannot be trusted&rdquo; and that he &ldquo;reminded the entire basketball world of that.&rdquo; I responded:
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No Stephen A Smith smh It&rsquo;s simple, if you feel you&rsquo;re not being paid what you&rsquo;re worth at your current place of employment or you&rsquo;re being disrespected, it&rsquo;s time to move on. Just like when you voiced that ESPN wasn&rsquo;t compensating you properly. It&rsquo;s not &ldquo;idiotic&rdquo; just business <a href="https://t.co/k08L7SL8hr">pic.twitter.com/k08L7SL8hr</a>
&mdash; Etan Thomas (@etanthomas36) <a href="https://twitter.com/etanthomas36/status/1621889146368266241?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 4, 2023</a></blockquote>

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And that&rsquo;s how I look at this situation. It&rsquo;s just business. It&rsquo;s not Kyrie being a &ldquo;diva,&rdquo; which many have called him, or him being &ldquo;idiotic.&rdquo; They didn&rsquo;t want to give him the number that he felt he had earned as an All-Star, and they added stipulations that he wasn&rsquo;t happy with such as the championship stipulation &mdash; which, again, I don&rsquo;t recall ever being done in the NBA &mdash; so he wanted to look for other options. But the media, people like Stephen A. Smith for example, immediately went to bashing Kyrie before they even knew the details.
Brooklyn Netcast: I agree with everything you just said. I wasn&rsquo;t surprised to hear Stephen A. Smith and Kendrick Perkins and so many others in the media jump to bash Kyrie. I know Stephen A. says that he is a fan of Kyrie&rsquo;s, but there has been a consistent bashing of Kyrie that he does and it seems almost personal and definitely unprofessional. This summer, Kendrick Perkins said he would not bash Kyrie as long as he was in the media, and he went back on his word is less than a few months. Dave Portnoy, who is a member of the media, <a href="https://twitter.com/stoolpresidente/status/1621585952752672768" target="_blank" rel="noopener">tweeted</a>: &ldquo;You can make a legit argument Kyrie is the worst pro athlete who ever lived and top 100 worst human.&rdquo;&nbsp;
Etan: Lou Williams responded, &ldquo;Nah, we don&rsquo;t agree with you,&rdquo; and I retweeted that.
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Na. We don&rsquo;t agree with you. <a href="https://t.co/WyfQ17ODst">https://t.co/WyfQ17ODst</a>
&mdash; Lou Williams (@TeamLou23) <a href="https://twitter.com/TeamLou23/status/1621620298532495363?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 3, 2023</a></blockquote>

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Brooklyn Netcast: Right! I saw that, and I&rsquo;m glad Lou Williams did that. That was really a disgusting tweet. Requesting a trade because of a contract dispute makes you the worst human being to ever walk the planet? And the amount of people who agreed with his asinine statement is just crazy. But yeah, that shows how Kyrie has been consistently painted as this horrible person by the media, and that&rsquo;s just irresponsible.&nbsp;
Etan: What are you hearing about the Brooklyn Nets and how they view Kyrie? I&rsquo;m sure some of the fans are split &mdash; some love Kyrie and some hate Kyrie, some are swayed by the media and some see through how the media portrays him &mdash; but what are you hearing from the team as far as their reaction to this? And I ask because I noticed that after the recent suspension, it seemed as though the team supported him &mdash; or at least didn&rsquo;t publicly bash him. I saw people in the media trying to almost coerce the players into ridiculing him. I saw them try to get Nic Claxton to say they were better off without Kyrie, and they tried to get KD to express frustration with Kyrie. It was like they went down the list, but none of them took the bait. Where do you think they are with Kyrie and if he were to come back &mdash; say they don&rsquo;t trade him &mdash;would they welcome him back with open arms?&nbsp;
Brooklyn Netcast: That&rsquo;s tough to say. I feel like it would vary from player to player. I&rsquo;m sure they understand the business aspect of this all and they don&rsquo;t look at this as a personal abandonment of the team or anything like that. I do think they are all well aware that their chances of being successful greatly diminish if Kyrie is not on the floor. But at the same time, from what I&rsquo;m hearing, or at least what they are expressing publicly, is that they understand that this is a business. But they know at the same time, they need him to be successful.&nbsp;
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Etan: I want you to expound on the media coverage of Kyrie. And of course not all media are covering him the same way, but I will say that there are quite a few in the media who are really taking turns bashing him. Do you feel that it&rsquo;s a little bit unfair or unwarranted or unprofessional? (Besides Stephen A. Smith; in his case, it definitely does appear to be just that). How would you describe the majority of the media&rsquo;s coverage of Irving?
Brooklyn Netcast: I think that a lot of it is personal and a lot of it is a collection of how they feel about past events, and that taints how they examine this current event. They aren&rsquo;t separating the two. For example, when James Harden asked for a trade, he didn&rsquo;t get bashed as heavily, and his was more of a giving up on the team. He had gained weight, was playing very bad basketball at the time and reportedly never wanted to be in Brooklyn in the first place as his first choice. Kyrie&rsquo;s request was definitely covered differently, and he has a valid financial reason to want out, in my opinion at least. And there have been other players who were just disgruntled or just unhappy with the system or not [getting] enough shots or playing time who asked for a trade, and they weren&rsquo;t bashed anywhere near as much as Kyrie. But like I said, a lot of that has to do with past situations that many people are lumping in with this situation, and one has nothing to do with the other. I&rsquo;m hoping the media, later on after he has retired, will look back and say, &ldquo;You know what, this was unfair treatment of a player and we viewed him incorrectly.&rdquo;
Etan: Yeah&hellip; I would say don&rsquo;t hold your breath on Stephen A. Smith or Charles Barkley ever coming to that realization.&rdquo;
Brooklyn Netcast: Oh, well not those two (laughing).
Etan: Oh ok (laughing), you just mean the media as a whole.
Brooklyn Netcast: Yeah, just collectively. But no, those two are probably not going to come to any realization.
Etan: I couldn&rsquo;t agree more. There is nothing wrong with having a professional critique of an athlete. I have no problem with that. But often, Stephen A. Smith&rsquo;s comments about Kyrie Irving are nothing more than personal attacks and attempts to disparage his character. He lobbies for him not to be signed to a long-term deal and puts notions out there that he can&rsquo;t be trusted. It comes across as a personal vendetta instead of a professional critique. And although my friend David Aldridge didn&rsquo;t agree with me when I debated him and Marc Spears about the impact of what the media says, it&rsquo;s been confirmed to be true.
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What the media says does affect the business side for players when it&rsquo;s time for teams, GMs, presidents, etc. to sign them &mdash; whether those notions are accurate or not. It&rsquo;s not about &ldquo;hurting a player&rsquo;s feelings.&rdquo; It&rsquo;s about having a direct impact on their professional career. I actually <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/former-nba-gm-confirms-false-narratives-hurt-kwame-brown-others" target="_blank" rel="noopener">interviewed a former NBA GM, Pete Babcock</a>, who confirmed that false narratives put out by the media and Stephen A. Smith, in particular, did in fact hurt Kwame Brown financially. He discussed how NBA executives were, in fact, influenced by those narratives.&nbsp;
But thanks again for your content and covering this in a way that is different than many others in the media. This was a good discussion.
Brooklyn Netcast: Thanks for having me.

Etan Thomas examines how the media has covered Kyrie Irving's trade request from the Brooklyn Nets.

After trade demand, media bash Kyrie Irving but silent on management

PHILADELPHIA (AP) &mdash; Joel Embiid won the battle of MVP candidates with 47 points and 18 rebounds as the Philadelphia 76ers extended their winning streak to seven games with a 126-119 win over Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets on Saturday.
Jokic and Embiid have finished first and second in voting for the NBA&rsquo;s Most Valuable Player award over the last two seasons. Both are among the top candidates for MVP as this season hits the halfway mark, although Embiid was not named among the All-Star starters from the Eastern Conference.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;m used to it and it&rsquo;s not the first time,&rdquo; Embiid said. &ldquo;I think it&rsquo;s more of a motivation to go out there and try to win the whole thing. That&rsquo;s the only way that I&rsquo;ll get that respect.&rdquo;
Jokic gave Embiid a nod for his play.
&ldquo;He&rsquo;s really talented,&rdquo; Jokic told the Denver Post of Embiid. &ldquo;Really shifty.&rdquo;
James Harden had 17 points and 13 assists, and Tobias Harris scored all 14 of his points in the second half after being shut down by Denver&rsquo;s defense in the first half.
&ldquo;We were able to figure some things out and get some stops,&rdquo; Harris said. &ldquo;Guys stepping up and making shots was huge for us to cut the deficit in the fourth quarter to try and make something happen.&rdquo;
Jokic had 24 points, eight rebounds and nine assists for Denver, which has lost three of its last four games. Jamal Murray chipped in 22 points and Michael Porter added 20.
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&ldquo;We turned it over and they just turned up the pressure on us,&rdquo; Nuggets coach Michael Malone said. &ldquo;They got to the basket way too easy with their attack mentality. And we just got way too careless with the basketball.&rdquo;
Embiid has scored 40 or more points nine times this season and 35 times in his career. In addition to the All-Star snub, Embiid was also given a $25,000 fine by the NBA on Friday for an on-court demonstration after-basket celebration during Wednesday night&rsquo;s win over Brooklyn.
&ldquo;Let&rsquo;s keep offending Joel by fining him and not putting him among the All-Star starters,&rdquo; Philadelphia coach Doc Rivers said sarcastically.
The Nuggets began the day with the second-best team field goal percentage at 50.7% and tops in 3-point percentage at 39.5%. In the first half, they overwhelmed Philadelphia&rsquo;s perimeter defense, shooting 65.9% (29 for 44) from the floor and 10 of 17 (58.8%) from beyond the 3-point line. The hot shooting helped the Nuggets to a 73-58 lead at halftime.
Embiid started to take over toward the end of the third quarter, putting together a 16-point quarter on 5-of-6 shooting that keyed a 14-0 run that allowed the Sixers to close within 99-98 early in the fourth.
In the final quarter, Philadelphia wore down a Nuggets team playing the final game of a three-game, week-long trip. P.J. Tucker- who had switched defenively to Jokic and slowed him down in the second half- followed a Harden missed 3-pointer with a tip-in with over a minute left to stretch the lead to five. Embiid then hit a 3-pointer to restore an eight-point lead.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve always like to think I am a closer and I am,&rdquo; Embiid said. &ldquo;Taking the last shot or taking a last second shot with the clock ticking is fun for me. I love getting into those types of possession where you have to make the plays. That&rsquo;s where you find out who is who and who is made up for those kinds of moments.&rdquo;
TIP-INS
Nuggets: Jamal Murray did start after being listed as questionable with a left hip sprain. Murray missed the game at Milwaukee on Wednesday night. There were times in the third and fourth quarter where Murray appeared to try to stretch things out, but remained in to score 22 points.
76ers: For the second straight game, Embiid did start after being listed as a game-time decision with left foot soreness. Embiid had missed the final game of Philadelphia&rsquo;s five-game trip in Sacramento last Saturday night. .. Philadelphia was issued a third-quarter technical foul for only having four players on the floor.
UP NEXT
Nuggets: Start a three-game homestand against New Orleans on Tuesday.
76ers: Play the first of back-to-back home games against Orlando on Monday.

Joel Embiid had 47 points and 18 rebounds as the 76ers got a 126-119 win over Nikola Jokic and the Nuggets on Saturday.

Joel Embiid scores 47 as 76ers beat Nikola Jokic, Nuggets 126-119

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) &mdash; Anthony Edwards scored 13 of his 25 points in the third quarter as Minnesota extended its lead, D&rsquo;Angelo Russell added 19 points and the Timberwolves topped the short-handed Memphis Grizzlies 111-100 on Friday night.
The Grizzlies took the court minutes after v&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/tyre-nichols-video-memphis-police-e3ee8e6698faae16df3f41d09234b09f">ideo footage was released of 29-year-old Tyre Nichols being beaten by Memphis police officers</a>.
There was a moment of silence prior to the game but no demonstration by the Grizzlies or Timberwolves.&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/memphis-grizzlies-nba-sports-basketball-national-players-association-1c295604b23aea893cfa58fd48eabf24">Both teams offered thoughts to Nichols&rsquo; family and friends</a>&nbsp;in messages tweeted before the video was released.
&ldquo;There&rsquo;s way harder things going on in the city versus what&rsquo;s going on with our basketball right now,&rdquo; Memphis coach Taylor Jenkins said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m proud of our guys going out there. As I said before the game, we&rsquo;re playing with heavy hearts, but we&rsquo;re also playing for our city that&rsquo;s going through a lot right now.&rdquo;
&ldquo;So, it&rsquo;s hard, but our guys went out there and competed. I told them the last two games, as we&rsquo;ve been talking about everything that&rsquo;s been going on in Memphis with the tragedy to Tyre Nichols, we&rsquo;ve been staying together.&rdquo;
Jenkins said he had not watched the video footage of the incident when speaking after the game and didn&rsquo;t think the team had a chance to watch before the game. The Memphis locker room was closed to media after the game and no players were made available.
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Kyle Anderson had 23 points for Minnesota, which has won four of five. Nathan Knight added 10 points off the bench. The Timberwolves scored 58 points in the paint
&ldquo;I thought we were pretty decisive, drawing a crowd and then making the right play,&rdquo; Minnesota coach Chris Finch said. &ldquo;They were pretty heavy in the gaps and do a good job of having multiple bodies at the rim. So, I thought we generated a lot of really, really good looks.&rdquo;
Ja Morant had 27 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds for Memphis. Dillon Brooks scored 17 for the Grizzlies.
Minnesota established a double-digit lead in the first quarter and made it stand. Memphis&rsquo; only lead was 7-6.
Edwards had eight points during a 12-4 run in the third to give the Timberwolves a game-high 17-point lead.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;m not worried, I know it&rsquo;s going to come,&rdquo; Edwards said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m going to keep making the right play until they loosen up, and then when they loosen up, that&rsquo;s when I&rsquo;m going to go. And that&rsquo;s what I did tonight.&rdquo;
PRAISE FOR ANT
Edwards came in averaging 27.8 points, 5 rebounds, 4.8 assists and 1.8 steals per game over his previous 10 games. He&rsquo;s scored at least 20 points in 10 of his last 11 games.
Anderson told the Target Center crowd after the game that Edwards could be in the MVP conversation every season.
&ldquo;He&rsquo;s playing as an All-Star starter, like and All-Star starter right now, like one of the best 10 players in the league these last few games,&rdquo; Anderson said later in the locker room. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s shown it. And he has a higher ceiling, a lot more room to grow, it&rsquo;s scary.&rdquo;
ROUGH TRIP
Memphis finished its season-long road trip 0-5 during which it lost Steven Adams, Desmond Bane and John Konchar to injuries. Three of the losses were by a combined five points, but there was also a 33-point loss at Sacramento and Friday&rsquo;s showing at Minnesota.
&ldquo;I called it the road trip of revelations,&rdquo; Jenkins said. &ldquo;We&rsquo;re just learning a lot about ourselves, meat of the season. Told the guys at the end of the game, we&rsquo;ve put ourselves in a still really good spot. We&rsquo;ve got 30-plus games left and this happens during a season where you have ups and downs.&rdquo;
TIP-INS
Grizzlies: Bane, who&rsquo;s second on the team with 21.6 points per game, was held out with right knee soreness. Adams (right knee PCL sprain) missed his third straight game. Konchar (concussion protocol) was out for the second straight game. &hellip; Ziaire Williams started for Bane and had seven points.
Timberwolves: Taurean Prince missed his third straight game with a left ankle sprain. &hellip; Minnesota had 20 turnovers leading to 21 points for the Grizzlies. The Timberwolves scored 12 points on Memphis&rsquo; 21 turnovers.
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Anthony Edwards scored 13 of his 25 points in the third quarter as the Minnesota Timberwolves topped the Memphis Grizzlies 111-100.

Timberwolves top Memphis after moment of silence for Nichols

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) &mdash; Billy Packer, an Emmy award-winning college basketball broadcaster who covered 34 Final Fours for NBC and CBS, died Thursday. He was 82.
Packer&rsquo;s son, Mark, told The Associated Press that his father had been hospitalized in Charlotte for the past three weeks and had several medical issues, and ultimately succumbed to kidney failure.
Packer&rsquo;s broadcasting career coincided with the growth of college basketball. He worked as analyst or color commentator on every Final Four from 1975 to 2008. He received a Sports Emmy for Outstanding Sports Personality, Studio and Sports Analyst in 1993.
&ldquo;He really enjoyed doing the Final Fours,&rdquo; Mark Packer said. &ldquo;He timed it right. Everything in life is about timing. The ability to get involved in something that, frankly, he was going to watch anyway, was a joy to him. And then college basketball just sort of took off with Magic Johnson and Larry Bird and that became, I think, the catalyst for college basketball fans to just go crazy with March Madness.&rdquo;
Packer played three seasons at Wake Forest, and helped lead the Demon Deacons to the Final Four in 1962, but it was his work as an analyst that brought him the most acclaim.
He joined NBC in 1974 and called his first Final Four in 1975. UCLA beat Kentucky in the title game that year in what was John Wooden&rsquo;s final game as coach.&nbsp;
Packer was also part of the broadcast in 1979 with Dick Enberg and Al McGuire when Magic Johnson&rsquo;s Michigan State team beat Larry Bird&rsquo;s Indiana State squad in the title game. That remains highest-rated game in basketball history with a 24.1 Nielsen rating, which is an estimated 35.1 million viewers.
Packer went to CBS in the fall of 1981, when the network acquired the rights to the NCAA Tournament. He remained the network&rsquo;s main analyst until the 2008 Final Four.
In 1996 at CBS, Packer was involved in controversy when he used the term ``tough monkey&Prime; to describe then-Georgetown star Allen Iverson during a game. Packer later said he ``was not apologizing for what I said, because what I said has no implications in my mind whatsoever to do with Allen Iverson&rsquo;s race.&Prime;
Sean McManus, the chairman of CBS Sports, said Packer was &ldquo;synonymous with college basketball for more than three decades and set the standard of excellence as the voice of the NCAA Men&rsquo;s Basketball Tournament.&rdquo;
&ldquo;He had a tremendous impact on the growth and popularity of the sport.&rdquo; McManus said. &ldquo;In true Billy fashion, he analyzed the game with his own unique style, perspective and opinions, yet always kept the focus on the game. As passionate as he was about basketball, at his heart Billy was a family man. He leaves part of his legacy at CBS Sports, across college basketball and, most importantly, as a beloved husband, father and grandfather. He will be deeply missed by all.&rdquo;
Packer was inducted into the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame in 2008.
ESPN broadcaster Dick Vitale took to Twitter as word of Packer&rsquo;s death spread. &ldquo;So sad to learn of the passing of Billy Packer who had such a passion for college basketball,&rdquo; Vitale tweeted. &ldquo;My (prayers) go out to Billy&rsquo;s son Mark &amp; the entire Packer family. Always had great RESPECT for Billy &amp; his partners Dick Enberg &amp; Al McGuire-they were super. May Billy RIP.&rdquo;
College basketball analyst Fran Fraschilla tweeted: &ldquo;We fell in love (with) college basketball because of you. Your voice will remain in my head forever.&rdquo;
Packer was viewed as a controversial figure during his broadcasting days, often drawing the ire of college basketball fans, particularly on North Carolina&rsquo;s &ldquo;Tobacco Road.&rdquo;
&ldquo;As a kid, I was a big NC State fan growing up, and I would watch a game and the next day I&rsquo;d be like, &lsquo;Boy you sure have it out for NC State, don&rsquo;t you?&rsquo; And he would just laugh,&rdquo; Mark Packer said.
The younger Packer, who is the host of ACC PM on the ACC Network, said it didn&rsquo;t matter what school &mdash; most fans felt the same way about his father.
&ldquo;He would cover North Carolina game and Tar Heels fans would be like, &lsquo;you hate North Carolina,&rsquo;&rdquo; Mark Packer said. &ldquo;Wake (Forest) fans would be like, &lsquo;you hate us.&rsquo; And Billy just sort of got a kick out of that.&rdquo;
Mark Packer said that while most fans will remember his father as a broadcaster, he&rsquo;ll remember him even more for his business acumen. He said his father was a big real estate investor, and also owned a vape company, among other ventures.
&ldquo;Billy was always a bit of a hustler &mdash; he was always looking for that next business deal,&rdquo; Packer said.
___
AP Sports Writer Joe Reedy contributed to this report.

Billy Packer, an Emmy award-winning college basketball broadcaster who covered 34 Final Fours for NBC and CBS, died Thursday.

College basketball broadcaster Billy Packer dies at 82

Phoenix Suns guard Cameron Payne has won the NBA Cares Community Assist award for the month of December, the NBA announced today.
The monthly award recognizes a player who best demonstrates the passion that the league and NBA players share for giving back to their communities.&nbsp;
"Payne has focused much of his community engagement around mentoring and often speaks about how much his mentors helped him growing up throughout his journey to the NBA," the NBA's press release states. "In addition to mentoring, Payne is passionate about helping families during the holidays and giving back to his hometown of Memphis. During NBA Cares' Season of Giving, Payne adopted 15 families for Christmas as part of his second annual &lsquo;Cam Payne&rsquo;s 15 families of Christmas&rsquo; initiative where he provided gifts and fulfilled the wish lists of 15 families from Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Arizona. Payne invited the families to have Christmas dinner followed by gift-giving at the Footprint Center. Payne concluded the evening by providing a $250 gift card to Fry&rsquo;s Food Stores for each family, and spent time taking photos and signing autographs.&nbsp;
"Also, during the holiday season, Payne participated in &lsquo;Christmas Shopping with the Suns&rsquo;, when 20 kids from Arizona Friends of Foster Children Foundation and Solano&rsquo;s No Limit Hoops took a shopping spree with Phoenix Suns players at a local Target. In his hometown of Memphis, Payne donated $10,000 to Le Bonheur Children&rsquo;s Hospital on Dec. 26. In November, Payne hosted a Thanksgiving celebration for 50 mentors and mentees from Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Arizona to encourage youth mentorship and recruit more mentors of color. Mentors and mentees were invited to Footprint Center for Thanksgiving dinner and dessert, served by Payne and his family, and an evening of fun games, including pop-a-shot, arcade games and NBA 2K on the arena&rsquo;s videoboard."
Payne will be recognized during an on-court ceremony before the Suns&rsquo; home game against the Dallas Mavericks tonight. Also, the NBA will donate $10,000 to Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Arizona.
&ldquo;I have so much gratitude for the communities that have done so much for me and am trying my best to do whatever I can to give back. I&rsquo;m thankful to the NBA for this recognition and to Phoenix Suns Charities for all the work they do,&rdquo; Payne said. &ldquo;We&rsquo;re not going to stop here; my hope is to continue to uplift these kids and to inspire the Valley to get involved themselves.&rdquo;
Payne has <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/cam-payne-ready-for-next-chapter-of-improbable-journey-lifes-crazy" target="_blank" rel="noopener">an incredible story</a>, as he was out of the NBA not too long ago and even got cut by a team in China. He thought his professional-basketball career might be over. However, he worked hard, signed with a G League team and played great. This earned him a spot on the Suns, and he hasn't looked back since.

Phoenix Suns guard Cameron Payne has won the NBA Cares Community Assist award for the month of December.

Suns' Cam Payne wins NBA Cares Community Assist award for December

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) &mdash; Caitlin Clark had 28 points, 15 assists and 10 rebounds for her eighth career triple-double, and No. 10 Iowa handed No. 2 Ohio State its first loss of the season, 83-72 on Monday night.
Monika Czinano added 22 points on 11-of-13 shooting for the Hawkeyes (16-4, 8-1 Big Ten), who won their fifth straight game, three of those on the road.
Cotie McMahon scored 21 points and Taylor Thierry added 20 for the Buckeyes (19-1, 8-1), who had been 4-0 against ranked opponents.
Ohio State trailed by 12 points midway through the third quarter and rallied within three early in the fourth, but the Hawkeyes responded by holding the Buckeyes scoreless for 2 1/2 minutes to pull away.
Clark, a preseason All-American who leads the Big Ten in scoring, extended her conference record for triple-doubles by women or men. She went 8 of 19 from the field &mdash; including 3 of 10 from 3-point range &mdash; and 9 of 10 on free throws.
NO. 4 LSU 89, ALABAMA 51
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (AP) &mdash; Jasmine Carson scored 20 points and Angel Reese had 14 points and 14 rebounds for her school-record 20th consecutive double-double to lead No. 4 LSU to an 89-51 victory over Alabama on Monday night.
The Tigers (20-0, 8-0 Southeastern Conference) extended the program&rsquo;s longest winning streak to 20 games. The Crimson Tide (15-5, 4-3) had a three-game win streak snapped and produced a season low in points.
Carson made four first-half 3-pointers and fell one point short of her season high. Reese surpassed Sylvia Fowles&rsquo; previous school record of 19 double-doubles in a row set during the 2006-07 season.
Alexis Morris had 17 points, made three 3-pointers and had seven assists for LSU. LaDazhia Williams had 17 points and 10 rebounds.
Brittany Davis led Alabama with 11 points on 5-of-15 shooting.
NO. 5 UCONN 94, DEPAUL 51
STORRS, Conn. (AP) &mdash; Aaliyah Edwards had 23 points and 10 rebounds, leading UConn to its 11th straight win, a rout of DePaul.
Lou Lopez Senechal scored 20 points and Dorka Juhasz had 19 for the Huskies (18-2, 11-0 Big East), who remained undefeated in conference play. Aubrey Griffin registered her fourth double-double of the season, scoring 18 points and grabbing 11 rebounds.
Edwards also the individual battle between two of the nation&rsquo;s top post players, outscoring Aneesah Morrow, who led the Blue Demons with 20 points and 12 rebounds. It was her 17th double-double this season and eighth in a row.
DePaul (11-10, 4-6) has lost three in a row and six of its last seven.
The game was supposed to be played on Jan. 8, but had to be postponed after injuries left UConn with only six healthy scholarship players.
NO. 6 INDIANA 92, NO. 13 MICHIGAN 83
ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) &mdash; Mackenzie Holmes had 25 points and 10 rebounds as Indiana beat Michigan.
Sara Scalia added 19 points, Chloe Moore-McNeil and Sydney Parrish each scored 12, and Yarden Garzon and Grace Berger each had 10 points for the Hoosiers (17-1, 7-1 Big Ten), who won their sixth straight.
Leigha Brown scored 31 points to lead Michigan (16-4, 6-3). Laila Phelia added 21 points and Emily Kiser had 11 for the Wolverines, whose three-game winning streak ended.

A recap of Monday night's action in women's college basketball includes a top-10 upset on the road by the Hawkeyes.

Clark’s triple-double leads No. 10 Iowa women past No. 2 OSU

LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) &mdash; Shahada Wells scored 17 points as No. 14 TCU beat No. 2 Kansas 83-60 on Saturday in one of the worst losses in Bill Self&rsquo;s 20-year coaching career with the Jayhawks.
The loss snapped a 16-game winning streak at home for Kansas and was the second-largest home loss under Self. The Jayhawks (15-3, 5-2 Big 12), who lost 83-82 in overtime at Kansas State on Tuesday, had not lost consecutive games in the state since 1989 &mdash; against K-State and Missouri.
Kansas trailed by 10 at halftime and never closed the gap within single digits. TCU extended the lead to as many as 24 points. The Jayhawks shot only 32.1% in the second half.
TCU (15-4, 4-3 Big 12), which shot 54.4% (31 of 57) from the field, got 15 points from Mike Miles Jr. and 11 from Damion Baugh.
NO. 4 ALABAMA 85, MISSOURI 64
COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) &mdash; Noah Clowney and Mark Sears each scored 17 points, and Alabama remained undefeated against unranked teams this season.
Freshman Brandon Miller added 15 points and eight rebounds for Alabama (17-2, 7-0 Southeastern Conference), and reserve Jahvon Quinterly scored 13 points. Clowney also had 14 rebounds, and Sears finished with eight rebounds and three steals.
Isiaih Mosley led Missouri (14-5, 3-4) with 19 points. Mohamed Diarra had eight points and 12 rebounds.
NO. 11 ARIZONA 58, NO. 5 UCLA 52
TUSCON, Ariz. (AP) &mdash; Oumar Ballo scored 16 points, Azuolas Tubelis had a double-double and Arizona withstood a late rally to end UCLA&rsquo;s 14-game winning streak.
The Wildcats (17-3, 5-3 Pac-12) took a 56-44 lead on Ballo&rsquo;s alley-oop dunk with 2:07 left. But the Bruins (17-3, 8-1) fought back, creating four straight turnovers to pull within 56-52. UCLA then blocked consecutive shots but couldn&rsquo;t convert on two shots of its own. Arizona&rsquo;s Pelle Larsson hit two free throws with 0.9 seconds to close it out.
Tyger Campbell led the Bruins with 13 points and Jaime Jaquez Jr. added 12 with 11 rebounds.
NO. 6 GONZAGA 99, PACIFIC 90
STOCKTON, Calif. (AP) &mdash; Drew Timme scored 24 of his career-high 38 points in the second half, including 18 straight points during one stretch, and Gonzaga pulled away in the closing minutes.
Timme made 17 of 23 shots and almost all of them within a couple feet of the rim. Anton Watson added 16 points and 13 rebounds for Gonzaga (17-4, 6-1 WCC). Rasir Bolton added 16 points for the Bulldogs, who had won their previous three road games in conference play by a combined eight points, and Julian Strawther had 15.
Jordan Ivy-Curry led five Pacific players in double figures with 17 points. Nick Blake scored 16 before fouling out. Keylan Boone finished with 15, Luke Avdalovic added 13 and Judson Martindale finished with 12. Pacific (10-12, 3-4) made eight 3-pointers in the first half and was tied at 47 at halftime, but the Tigers were just 1 of 8 from deep in the second half.
NO. 7 TEXAS 69, WEST VIRGINIA 61
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (AP) -- Marcus Carr scored 19 of his 23 points in the second half to lead Texas.
Dylan Disu added 13 points before fouling out, and Christian Bishop and Tyrese Hunter scored 11 apiece for the Longhorns (16-3, 5-2 Big 12), who bounced back from a double-digit loss at No. 12 Iowa State on Wednesday.
The Mountaineers (11-8, 1-6) had several players in early foul trouble. Kedrian Johnson had a career-high 22 points, but his teammates fell flat in the second half against the Longhorns.
NO. 8 XAVIER 95, GEORGETOWN 82
CINCINNATI (AP) &mdash; Zach Freemantle tied a career-high with 30 points and Colby Jones had 20 as Xavier handed Georgetown its 29th straight Big East loss.
Adam Kunkel scored 14 points to help the Musketeers (16-4, 8-1 Big East) bounce back from a 73-72 loss at DePaul on Wednesday.
Primo Spears scored a career-high 37 points and Akok Akok had 14 for the Hoyas (5-15, 0-9 Big East), who have lost 10 straight. Spears&rsquo; previous high was 34 against LaSalle on March 5, 2022.
NO. 9 TENNESSEE 77, LSU 56
BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) &mdash; Josiah-Jordan James scored a season-high 22 points and Tennessee defeated LSU, which has lost six straight.
James, who missed eight games in November and December due to injury, made his second straight start for the Volunteers (16-3, 6-1 Southeastern Conference). Playing 31 minutes, James was 9-of-16 from the field and matched his career-high with four 3-pointers.
Tennessee point guard Zakai Zeigler had 12 points and 10 assists, which tied his career high. Julian Phillips and Tyreke Key each had 10 points.
KJ Williams led LSU (12-7, 1-6) with 16 points. Trae Hannibal added 10 points. The Tigers committed 19 turnovers which resulted in 33 Volunteers points.
NO. 10 VIRGINIA 76, WAKE FOREST 67
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. (AP) &mdash; Armaan Franklin scored 18 of his 25 points during the first half and Virginia survived blowing nearly all of a 19-point lead to beat Wake Forest.
Kihei Clark added 12 points despite getting into foul trouble for the Cavaliers (15-3, 7-2 Atlantic Coast Conference). But it was a day of wild swings for Virginia, who went from missing its first eight shots to suddenly being unable to miss to go up 34-15 &mdash; only to see the Demon Deacons push back to within a single point with 8 1/2 minutes left.
Damari Monsanto had a career-high 25 points for the Demon Deacons (14-6, 6-3), highlighted by making 7 of 15 3-pointers.
OKLAHOMA STATE 61, NO. 12 IOWA STATE 59
STILLWATER, Okla. (AP) &mdash; Avery Anderson scored 18 points, including the go-ahead free throws, and Oklahoma State defeated Iowa State for its first win over a ranked team this season.
Kalib Boone added 13 points for the Cowboys (11-8, 3-4 Big 12), who won their second straight game.
Osun Osunniyi scored 15 points and Gabe Kalscheur added 14 for Iowa State (14-4, 5-2), which had won seven of its last eight games. Cyclones sharpshooter Caleb Grill spent most of the second half on the bench wearing a back brace and wasn&rsquo;t in the game in the closing minutes.
NO. 13 KANSAS STATE 68, TEXAS TECH 58
MANHATTAN, Kan. (AP) &mdash; Markquis Nowell had 23 points, eight rebounds and five assists in Kansas State&rsquo;s win over Texas Tech.
Keyontae Johnson had 15 points and 11 rebounds for the Wildcats (17-2, 6-1 Big 12), who won for the 11th time in 12 games. Ismael Massoud scored 12 points.
Pop Isaacs and De&rsquo;Vion Harmon each scored 13 points for Texas Tech (10-9, 0-7), which shot 32.4% (23 for 71) from the field.
NO. 16 AUBURN 81, SOUTH CAROLINA 66
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) &mdash; Johni Broome had a season-high 27 points and 11 rebounds as Auburn took control late in the opening half to run past struggling South Carolina.
Broome&rsquo;s performance helped the Tigers to their fifth straight win and offset a career-best 30 points from Gamecocks&rsquo; freshman Gregory &ldquo;GG&rdquo; Jackson II.
The 6-foot-10 Broome took full advantage of South Carolina&rsquo;s undersized interior for the Tigers (16-3, 6-1 Southeastern Conference). He hit 12 of his 17 shots in 30 minutes for his sixth double-double this season and fifth against an SEC opponent.
Meechie Johnson was the only other player for South Carolina (8-11, 1-5) in double figures with 11 points.
DUKE 68, NO. 17 MIAMI
DURHAM, N.C. (AP) &mdash; Kyle Filipowski had 17 points and 14 rebounds and Jeremy Roach scored 14 points in his first game in more than two weeks to lift Duke over Miami.
Tyrese Proctor had 11 points and Dariq Whitehead added 10 points for the Blue Devils (15-4, 5-3 Atlantic Coast Conference), who played their first game of the season without a national ranking.
Jordan Miller&rsquo;s 19 points and Nijel Pack&rsquo;s 18 were tops for Miami (15-4, 6-3), which has lost three of its last five games.
NO. 18 CHARLESTON 87, NORTHEASTERN 61
BOSTON (AP) &mdash; Ben Burnham scored 15 points, Pat Robinson III added 14 and Ryan Larson had 12 to lead Charleston to its 20th win in a row.
The Cougars (21-1, 9-0 Colonial Athletic Association) scored 13 straight points in the first half to pull away and extend the longest active winning streak in the nation. They have not lost since the second game of the season, to then-No. 1 North Carolina on Nov. 11, climbing to their highest ranking in The Associated Press Top 25 since 1999.
Chris Doherty had 11 points and 13 rebounds and Jared Turner also scored 11 for Northeastern (8-11, 4-4). The Huskies haven&rsquo;t beat a Top 25 team since 2015.
NO. 19 CLEMSON 51, VIRGINIA TECH 50
CLEMSON, S.C. (AP) &mdash; Hunter Tyson&rsquo;s 3-pointer with 12 seconds left lifted Clemson to a dramatic victory over Virginia Tech.
Tyson caught a pass just left of the key, took a look at at the basket and let it fly. The crowd exploded as the ball went through and the Tigers (16-4, 8-1 Atlantic Coast Conference) continued their unexpected run atop the ACC.
PJ Hall led Clemson with 20 points and eight rebounds.
Grant Basile led the Hokies (11-8, 1-7) with 13 points.
NO. 20 MARQUETTE 74, SETON HALL 53
NEWARK, N.J. (AP) &mdash; Kam Jones scored 22 points, Oso Ighodaro had 18 on 7-for-7 shooting and Marquette beat Seton Hall.
Marquette (16-5, 8-2 Big East) shot 54% (29 for 54) from the field in its second straight win since an 80-76 loss to Xavier last weekend.
Kadary Richmond led Seton Hall (12-9, 5-5) with 10 points and five assists. The Pirates committed a season-high 26 turnovers.
NO. 21 BAYLOR 62, OKLAHOMA 60
NORMAN, Okla. (AP) &mdash; Jalen Bridges scored 11 points and hit a trio of game-turning 3-pointers in the final five minutes as Baylor rallied to hold off Oklahoma.
Adam Flagler had 16 points and five assists, and Keyonte George added 11 points as Baylor (14-5, 4-3 Big 12) won its fourth straight game after opening conference play with three straight losses and briefly dropping out of The Associated Press Top 25.
Jalen Hill had 17 points and nine rebounds, while Tanner Groves added 16 points, nine rebounds and three blocked shots for the Sooners (12-7, 2-5).
NO. 22 PROVIDENCE 75, DEPAUL 64
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) &mdash; Noah Locke had a career-high 29 points, including seven 3-pointers, to help Providence fend off DePaul.
Bryce Hopkins added 20 points and 11 rebounds as the Friars (15-5, 7-2 Big East) snapped a two-game losing skid and improved to 11-0 at home. They are 2-2 without point guard Jared Bynum, who missed his fourth consecutive game with a torso injury.
The Blue Demons (9-11, 3-6) came in fresh off a home victory over eighth-ranked Xavier. But they dropped their sixth straight road game and are now 0-4 in conference games away from home. Umjoja Gibson had 16 points and five assists for DePaul and Da&rsquo;Sean Nelson added 13 points.
NO. 24 FLORIDA ATLANTIC 67, UTEP 59
EL PASO, Texas (AP) &mdash; Johnell Davis scored 20 points on 6-for-9 shooting and Florida Atlantic extended its program record for consecutive wins to 18.
Davis hit 2 of 3 attempts from 3-point distance and was perfect on six shots from the line for FAU (19-1, 9-0 Conference USA). Vladislav Goldin finished with 11 points, six rebounds and three blocks for the Owls.
Calvin Solomon finished with 16 points and 10 rebounds, and Tae Hardy also scored 16 points for UTEP (11-9, 4-5). Mario McKinney Jr. added 11 points, seven rebounds and two steals.
NO. 25 ARKANSAS 69, OLE MISS 57
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (AP) &mdash; Anthony Black scored 17 points, reserve Joseph Pinion had 13 and Arkansas snapped a four-game losing streak by topping Mississippi.
Only nine teams in Division I had made fewer 3-pointers than Arkansas (13-6, 2-5 Southeastern Conference) this season, but the Razorbacks tied a season high by making eight from beyond the arc. They led by as many as 21 points.
Pinion and Devo Davis each made three 3s. Davis had 16 points and Jordan Walsh finished with 13.
Ole Miss (9-10, 1-6) committed 17 turnovers. The Rebels had six giveaways in the first six minutes of the second half, helping Arkansas extend its three-point halftime lead to 11 at the first media timeout after the break.

A roundup of Saturday's top-25 action in men's college basketball includes a TCU rout of the second-ranked Jayhawks on the road.

No. 14 TCU blows out No. 2 Kansas in Allen Fieldhouse

NEWARK, N.J. (AP) &mdash; KC Ndefo grabbed a rebound and made a follow-up layup with 1.6 seconds remaining to give Seton Hall a 67-66 come-from-behind win over No. 15 UConn on Wednesday night.
Ndefo grabbed his eighth rebound of the game and scored the decisive points as he was fouled on the play. He missed the ensuing free throw, but helped Seton Hall rally from a 17-point first-half deficit. He finished with 14 points.
Kadary Richmond had a game-high 18 points and 10 rebounds for Seton Hall (12-8, 5-4 Big East)
Adama Sanogo had 16 points and five rebounds and Jordan Hawkins added 13 points and six rebounds for UConn (15-5, 4-5), which was without coach Dan Hurley and associate head coach Kimani Young due to the coronavirus.
DEPAUL 73, NO. 8 XAVIER 72
CHICAGO (AP) &mdash; Umoja Gibson scored 22 points, Javan Johnson added 16 and DePaul surprised Xavier.
The Musketeers (15-4, 7-1 Big East) came in rolling with 11 straight wins &mdash; their best run since the 2015-16 team got off to a 12-0 start. But they came up short against the Blue Demons (9-10, 3-5).
DePaul led by seven with about eight minutes remaining and made just enough plays to come away with its first win over a top-10 team since beating No. 5 Butler exactly three years earlier at Wintrust Arena.
Zach Freemantle had 18 points and 12 rebounds for Xavier. Jack Nunge finished with 16 points and 13 rebounds. But Big East scoring leader Souley Boum scored a season-low four.
NO. 10 VIRGINIA 78, VIRGINIA TECH 68
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (AP) &mdash; Kihei Clark had 20 points and became Virginia&rsquo;s career victories leader as a player with No. 111 as the Cavaliers handed Virginia Tech its sixth straight loss.
Armaan Franklin added 15 points and Jayden Gardner 12 for the Cavaliers (14-3, 6-2 Atlantic Coast Conference). Clark was tied with Mamadi Diane (2017-20) on the overall victories list and with 64 career ACC wins.
Darius Maddox led the Hokies (11-7, 1-6) with 13 points and Grant Basile had 12. Virginia Tech&rsquo;s losing streak has come winning 11 of its first 12 games.
WEST VIRGINIA 74, NO. 14 TCU 65
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (AP) &mdash; Kedrian Johnson scored 20 points and West Virginia built a big early lead and outlasted TCU.
Jimmy Bell Jr. added 15 points and 12 rebounds for West Virginia (11-7, 1-5 Big 12), whose players slapped hands with the student section after breaking a five-game losing streak.
Mike Miles Jr. scored 21 points while Emanuel Miller and Damion Baugh had 13 apiece for TCU (14-4, 3-3), which has lost three of its last four after starting the season 13-1.
NO. 16 AUBURN 67, LSU 49
BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) &mdash; Wendell Green Jr. and Jaylin Williams each scored 14 points to lead Auburn to its fourth straight victory.
KJ Williams and Trae Hannibal scored 16 points apiece for LSU (12-6, 1-5 Southeastern Conference), which dropped its fifth straight conference game.
Auburn (15-3, 5-1) never trailed in the game and was only seriously threatened in the early minutes of the second half.
LSU never trailed by fewer than 12 points over the last 10 minutes of the game. After reducing its deficit to two points at 37-35, LSU made four field goals the rest of the game.
NO. 20 MARQUETTE 83, NO. 22 PROVIDENCE 75
MILWAUKEE (AP) &mdash; Kam Jones had 21 points and Tyler Kolek scored 19 as Marquette defeated Providence for its sixth victory in seven games.
Olivier-Maxence Prosper added 13 points for Marquette (15-5, 7-2 Big East). Kolek also had eight rebounds and six assists.
Bryce Hopkins had 19 points and 10 rebounds for the Friars (14-5, 6-2), who lost their second straight after a nine-game winning streak. Ed Croswell led Providence with 20 points, and Devin Carter had 18.
MISSOURI 79, NO. 25 ARKANSAS 76
COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) &mdash; Kobe Brown scored 17 points and hit two free throws with 29 seconds to lift Missouri over Arkansas.
DeAndre Gholston added 16 points and Sean East II added 12 for the Tigers (14-4, 3-3 SEC), who avenged a 74-68 loss in Fayetteville on Jan. 4.
Davonte Davis scored 18 points and Ricky Council IV had 13 for Arkansas, which has lost four in a row. Anthony Black added 15 points for the Razorbacks (12-6, 1-5).

A recap of Wednesday night's men's college basketball action includes three top-15 upsets.

Seton Hall rallies from 17 down, beats No. 15 UConn 67-66

MANHATTAN, Kan. (AP) &mdash; Kansas State coach Jerome Tang grabbed a microphone and stood amid a sea of purple, moments after delirious fans had flooded the floor to celebrate the No. 13 Wildcats&rsquo; 83-82 overtime win over second-ranked Kansas on Tuesday night.
&ldquo;You have one court-storming,&rdquo; the Wildcats&rsquo; first-year coach told them over the din. &ldquo;After this, we expect to win.&rdquo;
Expectations are sure to soar in the Little Apple now.
After blowing a 14-point first-half lead, the Wildcats responded to every haymaker Kansas threw down the stretch. And when their game went to overtime, and players kept fouling out, Keyontae Johnson delivered for Kansas State, throwing down a go-ahead alley-oop dunk with 25 seconds left that ultimately proved to be the difference.
&ldquo;In order to elevate,&rdquo; Johnson said later, &ldquo;we have to beat teams like Kansas.&rdquo;
Johnson and Desi Sills finished with 24 points apiece, and Nae&rsquo;Qwan Tomlin had 15 points and 10 boards, as the Wildcats (16-2, 5-1 Big 12) bounced back from a blowout loss to TCU by beating the Jayhawks for the first time since Feb 5, 2019.
Jalen Wilson tried to take over in overtime for Kansas, converting a three-point play, knocking down a 3-pointer and making a pair of free throws for an 82-80 lead with just over a minute to go. But after Johnson made a free throw at the other end, Wilson missed a deep 3-pointer as the shot-clock expired to give the Wildcats another chance.
After a timeout, Markquis Nowell threw the lob that Johnson slammed down for an 83-82 advantage.
Kansas (16-2, 5-1) also called a timeout to set up its own finishing play, but normally sure-handed Dajuan Harris Jr. lost the ball in traffic, and the Jayhawks never got a chance to put up a potentially winning shot.
&ldquo;If you told me we&rsquo;d have the ball with a chance to win twice, that&rsquo;s something I&rsquo;d probably sell out for,&rdquo; Kansas coach Bill Self said. &ldquo;That last possession is one possession I probably wish we could take back.&rdquo;
Wilson played all 45 minutes and finished with a career-high 38 points for the Jayhawks. KJ Adams had 17 points and Gradey Dick had 16, though both of the key players were riding the bench at the finish after fouling out.
Both teams had chances to win in the final 30 seconds of regulation.
Kansas had possession first with 23 seconds to go and the game tied at 72, only to watch Harris lose control near the midcourt line &mdash; much like he did at the finish to overtime. The Wildcats grabbed the loose ball and pitched it ahead to Johnson, but the star forward missed a wild shot at the rim just before the buzzer sounded.
Johnson wouldn&rsquo;t miss when he got another winning chance in overtime.
It was the most anticipated Sunflower Showdown in years, drawing a capacity crowd that snaked around Bramlage Coliseum hours before tipoff as it waited to get in. and it was the less-regarded Wildcats rather than the defending national champions that demonstrated early poise and precision.
Kansas State made its first five 3-pointers and shot 52% from the field in the first half. It stuffed Wilson, the Big 12&prime;s top scorer, three times before he made a basket. And at one point, the Wildcats led by as many as 14 points.
&ldquo;They were shooting lights-out,&rdquo; Adams said.
Yet there&rsquo;s a reason the Jayhawks entered the night 29-5 in Bramlage Coliseum.
They always seem to deal with the pressure there.
Wilson finally got on track, scoring 12 in the first half, and Adams found success with floaters in the lane, pouring in 15 by the break. The Jayhawks eventually closed down the perimeter, forcing Kansas State to unsuccessfully drive to the basket, and they slowly trimmed away at their deficit, closing within 44-39 by halftime.
Despite foul trouble, the Jayhawks eventually made it all the way back, taking their first lead since the opening minutes at 59-57 with just under 8 minutes to go. But neither team was willing to give up down the stretch.
That&rsquo;s why 40 minutes wasn&rsquo;t enough to decide it.
&ldquo;The great thing about basketball is we&rsquo;ll have another game in two days, three days. We can&rsquo;t dwell on this,&rdquo; Wilson said quietly. &ldquo;We have another good team coming up and we&rsquo;ll see them again. That&rsquo;s the beauty of the Big 12.&rdquo;
THE TAKEAWAY
Kansas hung around despite foul trouble, going 24 of 34 on free throws and shooting 6 of 29 from the 3-point arc. The Jayhawks did it by turning around early turnover trouble and effectively getting to the rim on offense, though they weren&rsquo;t able to do that given one last chance in overtime.
Kansas State relies heavily on Nowell to make things happen, particularly on offense, and his worst games have led to losses. He was held to 13 points by Butler and committed five turnovers against TCU. But despite scoring just four points against Kansas, he piled up seven assists with none more important than the last.
UP NEXT
Kansas returns home to play No. 14 TCU on Saturday. Kansas State plays Texas Tech the same day.

Keyontae Johnson and Desi Sills finished with 24 points apiece as the Wildcats bounced back from a blowout loss to TCU.

No. 13 Kansas State defeats No. 2 Kansas 83-82 in overtime

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) &mdash; Walker Kessler had career-highs of 20 points and 21 rebounds, Jordan Clarkson added 21 points and the Utah Jazz rallied from a 10-point deficit in the fourth quarter to beat the Minnesota Timberwolves 126-125 on Monday.
Collin Sexton added 19 points off the bench for Utah, which had seven players score in double-digits in its third win in four games.
Anthony Edwards scored 17 of his 29 points in the third quarter and D&rsquo;Angelo Russell added 21 points for Minnesota, which struggled inside against Kessler, the big rookie center traded from the Timberwolves to the Jazz in July.
Kyle Anderson had 13 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists for the Timberwolves, who lost Rudy Gobert to lingering groin soreness early in the game.
Russell tied the game at 125 with 13.5 seconds left. Clarkson made one of two free throws for the winning margin, and Jaden McDaniels' 3-point attempt at the buzzer missed the mark.
Minnesota acquired Kessler, the Naismith defensive player of the year in 2022 for Auburn, in a draft night trade. Two weeks later, he was sent to Utah as the Timberwolves sought a difference-maker down low in Gobert.
Monday, it was Kessler demonstrating his ability to affect opponents inside. He started his fourth game in a row in place of Kelly Olynyk and is averaging 13.5 points, 13.25 rebounds and three blocks as a starter.
Gobert&rsquo;s transition to Minnesota hasn&rsquo;t been smooth, but he has begun to become more effective defensively as the Wolves have put together their recent run of success.
Edwards has been the offensive equivalent to Gobert&rsquo;s defensive performance.
After Utah took a lead midway through the third quarter, Edwards answered. Minnesota went on an 18-8 run to end the third, with Edwards scoring nine.
On three straight possessions, Edwards went right at Kessler at the hoop, getting a pair of free throws and two lay-ins.
SHORT STAY
Gobert was listed as questionable before the game with right groin soreness. He started against his former team, but only played five minutes before being leaving again due to the injury. Gobert was injured in the last game when he played only 13:25.
TIP-INS
Jazz: Lauri Markkanen missed his second straight game with a left hip contusion. Olynyk missed his fourth straight game due to a left ankle sprain. &hellip; Rudy Gay returned after missing one game with a left low back spasm. Sexton was back after missing six of the previous games for maintenance of a hamstring injury. &hellip; Kessler added four assists and two blocks.
Timberwolves: Edwards became the youngest player in NBA history to reach 500 3-pointers made. &hellip; Minnesota only had six turnovers to Utah&rsquo;s 18.
&nbsp;

Walker Kessler had career-highs of 20 points and 21 rebounds, and the Utah Jazz rallied to beat the Minnesota Timberwolves 126-125.

Kessler's 20 points, 21 rebounds help Jazz beat T-Wolves

Springfield, Massachusetts has been offering glimpses into the future of basketball since James Naismith put some peach baskets on a YMCA wall in 1891. Every MLK weekend, the town gives us another in the form of the HoopHall Classic, where dozens of the best high-school players in the country descend on Blake Arena.
The HoopHall Classic is also one of three high-school showcases this season that was given the green light for NBA scouts to attend. It's a prime opportunity for the elite talents to separate themselves from the pack &mdash; or for less heralded names to put themselves on the map.
I checked into the arena at noon and spent 11 hours inside, sticking around until the penultimate contest. These standouts, among many others, caught my eye:
Boys &mdash; IMG Academy (FL) 61, Newton (GA) 52
Khani Rooths, IMG Academy &mdash;&nbsp;A 2024 wing, Rooths' impact on IMG's win far outshone his box score (11 points, 9 rebounds, 6 assists). The 6-foot-6 wing kept the ball moving with some savvy passing versatility, making the right skip reads and interior decisions. He went 2-for-3 beyond the arc and seemed more comfortable spotting up and passing from a standstill versus attacking off the dribble.
Rooths also defended Newton star Stephon Castle for large portions of the game and made the 5-star guard's life pretty challenging. He can slide with relative success and deal with physicality without fouling. Rooths, a 4-star guard who is uncommitted, fits in all sorts of contexts and is a player who can thrive with today's direction of basketball.
Marcus Whitlock, Newton &mdash;&nbsp;Whitlock was one of the early head-turners of the weekend. He's a 6-foot-2 guard who plays with relentless confidence. The senior only made 4-of-12 threes but looked poised shooting off movement and spot-up attempts, finishing with 22 points.
He's not a half-court creator, but Whitlock did get chances to run and finish at the rim in transition. He also dove for loose balls on defense and wound up with three steals. Whitlock isn't ranked by most sites and hasn't chosen a school yet, so this effort might have put him on some college radars.
Girls &mdash; Sierra Canyon (CA) 67, Sidwell Friends (DC) 55
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The legend of Juju Watkins at Sierra Canyon continues to grow, as well. She missed a big stretch of the first half after tweaking her ankle, went down for a few moments again late on, and still put up 29/14/5/3/3 in 26 mins. Her physicality never wavered either. Generational. <a href="https://t.co/VGuq1TuqcT">https://t.co/VGuq1TuqcT</a> <a href="https://t.co/wVUIgv0fHd">pic.twitter.com/wVUIgv0fHd</a>
&mdash; Wilko (@wilkomcv) <a href="https://twitter.com/wilkomcv/status/1614365704995868673?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 14, 2023</a></blockquote>

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Juju Watkins, Sierra Canyon &mdash; The No. 1 senior in the country had the performance of the day. Watkins missed time twice with injuries to both ankles, but you wouldn't notice from her final stat line: 29 points, 14 rebounds, 5 assists, 3 blocks and 3 steals. (She said postgame that she's feeling alright).
Watkins relished the chance to beat another nationally-ranked opponent and the challenge of matching up against 6-foot-1 junior Kendall Dudley.
"It's definitely an adjustment playing against other players my size, learning how and when to get to my spots," Watkins told Basketball News in her postgame presser. "I just had to make that adjustment mentally, but when I made it, it was easier."
Though Watkins battled for rebounds and showed off limitless range, she also demonstrated a unique blend of speeds and gears, often warping time around her defenders and finishing with a teardrop floater. That's one of the young star's newest weapons.
"I worked on it a lot this summer &mdash; just learning how to change pace better and get my defender on their heels. I've been working on that a lot, and I went out there and showed it today," Watkins said.
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Mackenly Randolph, Sierra Canyon &mdash;&nbsp;The 5-star junior finished with 22 points and 14 rebounds and was critical in helping Sierra Canyon close out a 67-55 win. Randolph dominated on the glass against a physically imposing Sidwell Friends squad; it's no surprise that her dad is Zach Randolph. She also slashed through the lane for some impressive interior buckets.&nbsp;
Kendall Dudley, Sidwell Friends &mdash;&nbsp;Dudley is the No. 13 player in ESPN's 2024 rankings and she showed off the versatility that earned her the billing. The 5-star talent was cool and collected driving the basketball and kicking out. She can play physically at 6-foot-1, but doesn't need to, and her comfort off the bounce was apparent. She also led the defensive attack and did about as well guarding Watkins as her team could ask.
Dudley hasn't chosen a college yet and should be one of the most highly-anticipated commits in the coming year. She finished with 15 points, 10 rebounds and 3 steals in the loss.
Boys &mdash; Long Island Lutheran (NY) 64, Oak Hill Academy (VA) 56
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FLOOR GENERAL 👏 Jayden Reid always in control as LuHi beats Oak Hill 64-56 <a href="https://twitter.com/LuHiBasketball?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@LuHiBasketball</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/jaydenreid0?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@jaydenreid0</a> <a href="https://t.co/PzVFy12thm">pic.twitter.com/PzVFy12thm</a>
&mdash; NIBC (@NIBCOfficial) <a href="https://twitter.com/NIBCOfficial/status/1614391132728836097?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 14, 2023</a></blockquote>

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Jayden Reid, Long Island Lutheran &mdash;&nbsp;A 5-foot-10 playmaker who shined is going to land on this list all day. Reid, a 3-star senior point guard, showed total command of the offense with wraparound dimes and pocket passes in the pick-and-roll. He knocked down a pair of threes and finished off one fast break with an impressive double-clutch layup. The guard play from both squads was really excellent, but Reid stood out with 16 points, 7 assists and 4 steals.
Kaden Magwood, Oak Hill &mdash; Magwood caught fire off the bench, going for 22 points on 9-of-13 shooting. He made both of his threes and finished <a href="https://twitter.com/NIBCOfficial/status/1614385220500725760" target="_blank" rel="noopener">a stunning layup on the fast break</a> to help keep Oak Hill in the game. Magwood is only a sophomore and not in the early class frontrunners yet; I expect that to change pretty soon. He plays with a ton of fight for a guard listed at 6-foot-2 and 160 pounds.
Boys &mdash; Montverde Academy (FL) 85, La Lumiere (IN) 63
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Cooper Flagg is that guy 😎 (No. 2 ESPN 25) put on a show in Montverde&rsquo;s 85-63 win over La Lu <a href="https://twitter.com/MVABasketball?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@MVABasketball</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/CooperFlagg?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@CooperFlagg</a> <a href="https://t.co/VGOxQpkMy7">pic.twitter.com/VGOxQpkMy7</a>
&mdash; NIBC (@NIBCOfficial) <a href="https://twitter.com/NIBCOfficial/status/1614417408323723265?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 15, 2023</a></blockquote>

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Cooper Flagg, Montverde &mdash;&nbsp;It's remarkable how polished Flagg plays despite being just a sophomore and in his first year with one of the most successful programs in the country. Flagg had 21 points in 25 minutes on 8-for-10 shooting (3-4 3PT). The shots came in all types: cutting via baseline out-of-bounds plays, spacing the floor in the corner and initiating the attack himself.&nbsp;
Then you add the defense, which included five steals and a few ticky-tack fouls that could have been blocks. Flagg is aware and active on both sides of the ball, and it's easy for him to string productive plays together regardless of whether he's getting buckets.&nbsp;
Flagg certainly matched the hype as one of the top players in the 2025 class. After leaving his hometown Nokomis High in Maine and transferring all the way to Florida, he's fit right in with the Eagles. He said approximately 100 friends and family made the four-hour drive down to western Massachusetts.
"I think it's kind of similar to my team back in Maine. We all trust each other. I think that's helped to elevate me too, is playing at the highest level and having a team [where] everybody trusts each other," Flagg said after his performance. "We know that every night it's gonna be someone else [stepping up]."
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KJ Evans, Montverde &mdash;&nbsp;The Oregon-bound senior quietly worked his way to 19 points, 8 rebounds and 4 assists, but punctuated his effort with a powerful putback slam. Evans found most of his success around the basket and demonstrated syngergy with Flagg and other playmakers when cutting. The 5-star forward thrived in his role as Montverde tore apart La Lumiere with its decisive passing.
Boys &mdash; Centennial (CA) 66, Camden (NJ) 62
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Off the screen. A little head fake frees up Jared McCain for a deep 3ball. It&rsquo;s his fifth 3 of the night. Corona Centennial leads Camden (NJ) 50-45 after three quarters. <a href="https://t.co/me3L1dEpYo">pic.twitter.com/me3L1dEpYo</a>
&mdash; Tarek Fattal (@Tarek_Fattal) <a href="https://twitter.com/Tarek_Fattal/status/1614435225085304838?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 15, 2023</a></blockquote>

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DJ Wagner, Camden &mdash;&nbsp;It is all-but impossible to stop Wagner at this level when he bombards the basket. The 5-star senior slithered his way through space and sliced open double-teams with jump-stop attacks, finishing with 27 points. Though he struggled to shoot it from outside, his craft and touch around the rim are superb, and his functional strength is light-years from when I first got the chance to watch him at HoopHall as a freshman.&nbsp;
Wagner will team up with fellow 5-star classmate Aaron Bradshaw (15 points, 8 rebounds) at Kentucky, and he's excited to keep the momentum rolling with his 7-foot teammate.
"It's great. We've been playing together for a long time now," Wagner told reporters postgame. "Off the court, that's like my brother, so it's just fun to be able to go to the next level and play on the same floor with him in college."
Jared McCain, Centennial &mdash;&nbsp;McCain was money as a shooter and finished with 27 points, including six made threes. Centennial used him off of creative screening actions and as a spot-up threat, but the Duke commit also pulled up for a couple of self-created makes. He added an impressive driving layup and a fadeaway make from the free-throw line. A 4-star guard, McCain brought a really positive energy to Centennial's win with his confidence.
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Boys &mdash; Christopher Columbus (FL) 74, San Ysidro (CA) 67
Cameron Boozer, Christopher Columbus &mdash;&nbsp;Boozer was the second top sophomore to look far beyond his years on Saturday. The son of Carlos Boozer, Cameron finished with an effortless 33 points, 15 rebounds, 5 assists, 3 steals and 2 blocks &mdash; and still showed displeasure with his squad's defense &mdash; as Christopher Columbus led wire-to-wire. His twin brother Cayden, a guard, also had 14 points, 7 rebounds and 7 assists.
Boozer is listed at 6-foot-9, 215 pounds online. He seems even more physically imposing in person. Yet he's not a bowling ball; Boozer calmly settled into three-pointers (3-for-5) and comitted just one foul while still battling around the basket.&nbsp;
"When I was younger, I got in foul trouble a lot swiping down," Boozer told Basketball News in his postgame scrum. "It's something I've learned: just stay vertical and contest guys so it's kind of tough to finish over me &mdash; using my size and my length to my advantage."
Boozer mentioned in the scrum that his favorite player is Anthony Davis, and he admires the Brow's full arsenal of two-way weapons.
"I feel like he can do it all," Boozer said. "He can rebound, he can pass, he can shoot it, he finishes well... When he's healthy, he's one of the best players in the league."

Ethan Fuller shares his scouting report from Saturday's action at the HoopHall Classic.

HoopHall Highlights: Top performances from Saturday's action

LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) &mdash; Kentucky All-American forward Oscar Tshiebwe is wondering whether the Wildcats&rsquo; walk-ons should play at this point in a frustrating season, just to show some fire.
For college basketball&rsquo;s reigning player of the year to challenge his talented teammates speaks volumes of the crisis within one of the sport&rsquo;s most prestigious and successful programs.
&ldquo;Play the people who are willing to fight, even some walk-ons,&rdquo; the usually affable senior said after Tuesday night&rsquo;s 71-68 home loss to South Carolina. &ldquo;Put the people who try to look cute on offense where they don&rsquo;t want to play defense, put them on the bench. We&rsquo;re here to fight and to try to do something.&rdquo;
Kentucky began the season No. 4 and was favored to win the Southeastern Conference &mdash; along with its own usual high expectations of a national championship. At this point, the Wildcats have some work to do to even just get on the NCAA Tournament bubble.
The team&rsquo;s passionate fan base has unleashed hurt and anger on talk shows and social media, even calling for coach John Calipari&rsquo;s exit. Reports that Texas has reached out to the Hall of Famer for its coaching vacancy have only fueled that once-unthinkable sentiment to the point that one fan was escorted from Rupp Arena on Tuesday night because of a sign that said, &ldquo;Please go to Texas.&rdquo;
Yes, it has come to that within Big Blue Nation.
Calipari will earn $8.5 million this season with $53 million remaining on a &ldquo;lifetime&rdquo; contract through the 2028-29 season that doesn&rsquo;t have a buyout. He said this week he has not spoken with Texas, and insisted that he ignores the noise.
But Calipari knows the discontent is there and getting louder with each discouraging defeat.
&ldquo;And are fans mad? They should be,&rdquo; he said Tuesday after Kentucky&rsquo;s 28-game home winning streak was snapped. &ldquo;We lost at home. We don&rsquo;t lose at home. We lost at home.&rdquo;
Calipari also addressed the obvious: a 10-6 Kentucky team that&rsquo;s 1-3 in the SEC must improve, starting with himself.
The Wildcats are struggling with chemistry and consistency on both ends of the floor. Calipari&rsquo;s strategy and recruiting are enduring harsh scrutiny. Injuries haven&rsquo;t helped, though Tshiebwe is averaging 16 points and 13.1 rebounds per game after a preseason procedure on his right knee. Still, a physical Alabama squad limited him to six rebounds and four points in a 78-52 shellacking in which Kentucky&rsquo;s starters tallied just 27 points against the now-No. 4 Crimson Tide.
ESPN analyst Jay Bilas believes it&rsquo;s too soon to panic, but noted that the Wildcats must step it up in the second half of the season.
&ldquo;This is not an X-and-O issue, this is a player issue,&rdquo; Bilas said in a phone interview. &ldquo;And the players have to bring more, do more collectively and individually than they&rsquo;ve done. Some players are going to be more capable of doing more than others. But this isn&rsquo;t an issue of run a different offense and all of a sudden everything gets better.&rdquo;
Whatever needs to be done, Kentucky athletic director Mitch Barnhart expressed faith in Calipari&rsquo;s ability to fix it during an interview Friday on Kentucky Sports Radio.
&ldquo;We&rsquo;ve battled some injury bugs, we&rsquo;ve battled some confidence bugs and hopefully we can get those things put behind us,&rdquo; Barnhart said. &ldquo;We&rsquo;ve got 14, 15 games left in the regular season and get where we want to get to postseason and make a run. We&rsquo;re famous for doing that and Cal&rsquo;s teams are famous for doing that.&rdquo;
In a hoops-mad state that expects championships and annual top-three recruiting classes, the problem is that Kentucky hasn&rsquo;t won an NCAA championship since 2012, made a Final Four since going 38-1 in the 2014-15 season or been a serious national title contender since an overtime loss to Auburn in the Elite Eight in 2019. The COVID-19 pandemic wiped out the Big Dance in 2020, and 9-16 collapse the next year left the Wildcats out altogether.
Tshiebwe&rsquo;s phenomenal breakout keyed last season&rsquo;s rebound, but the team was upset in the first round of the NCAA Tournament by No. 15 Saint Peter&rsquo;s &mdash; considered Kentucky&rsquo;s worst NCAA loss ever.
With the 6-foot-9 Tshiebwe returning, there were, again, high expectations. As of now, Kentucky&rsquo;s tournament resume lacks a Quad 1 victory after losses to Michigan State, Gonzaga, UCLA, &rsquo;Bama and now-No. 20 Missouri by double digits.
This week&rsquo;s loss to the Gamecocks demonstrated everything Kentucky has done wrong. The Wildcats never led against the SEC&rsquo;s lowest-rated team, and it took a furious rally to get within a point before missing attempts to tie it up in the final seconds. Afterward, Tshiebwe lamented.
&ldquo;Some of us coming in are taking things for granted,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I just tell them, (that) the coaches, they cannot do it for us. They just come out with the game plan with who we are going to depend on and how we are going to play offense.
&ldquo;We come to Kentucky for a very good reason, we come chasing greatness. And if you come not willing to fight, it&rsquo;s going to be tough.&rdquo;
Kentucky&rsquo;s immediate outlook looks dire with a visit Saturday to No. 5 Tennessee, which won last year&rsquo;s meeting 76-63 in Knoxville and four of the last six matchups overall. Volunteers coach Rick Barnes nonetheless expects the Wildcats&rsquo; best this weekend and beyond with Calipari.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;m not sure he&rsquo;s had his whole team together all year,&rdquo; Barnes said Thursday. &ldquo;One thing I do know is his teams always get better and play their best basketball late in the year.&rdquo;
Then the Wildcats host No. 2 Kansas, the reigning national champions, on Jan. 28 in the SEC/Big 12 Challenge. The Jayhawks no doubt will aim to avenge last season&rsquo;s 80-62 rout at Allen Fieldhouse.
Kentucky also has two meetings against No. 15 Arkansas and a home rematch with the Volunteers.
Considering the Wildcats lost to a South Carolina team that got drilled by 43 at home by Tennessee, they can&rsquo;t afford to look past any SEC opponent. But right now, the concern is whether the Wildcats can beat one.
&ldquo;Every game we play is going to be a dogfight with us being Kentucky,&rdquo; forward Daimion Collins said. &ldquo;We just have to fight, work hard, rebound and defend. If we do those things we&rsquo;ll win some games.&rdquo;

Once a preseason No. 4 and SEC favorite, this point, the Wildcats have some work to do to even just get on the NCAA Tournament bubble.

Kentucky, Calipari frustrated by season-long struggles

With the Brooklyn Nets&rsquo; win at Miami on Sunday, they have won a franchise record 18 of their last 20 games, which represents the best 20-game stretch at any point in a season in the organization's history.
Kyrie Irving is leading the Eastern Conference guards in All-Star voting, and Kevin Durant is having an MVP-level season, averaging 29.7 points, 6.7 rebounds and 5.3 assists per game.
But unfortunately, last night, Durant had to exit the game in the third quarter after Jimmy Butler fell into Durant. On Monday morning, the Nets announced that he was diagnosed with an isolated MCL sprain of the right knee and that he'll be out for at least the next two weeks before being reevaluated. It's devastating news for Nets fans, as the team has been taking the league by storm for the past 20 games.&nbsp;
To discuss Durant's injury, Irving's strong play and more, I sat down with Nets great and Basketball News contributor Kenyon Martin to discuss his former team.&nbsp;
Etan Thomas: The Nets are on a great run. They&rsquo;ve been proving a lot of people who had completely written them off wrong. How do you think they&rsquo;re playing overall right now?&nbsp;
Kenyon Martin: "I think they&rsquo;ve been playing great. Once you get your two stars on the same page in KD and Kyrie &mdash; and they&rsquo;re playing off each other and going to each other when the other one is hot and they&rsquo;re healthy &mdash; they are a tough team to beat. I saw KD went down last night and I&rsquo;m hearing he may be out for a few weeks, which definitely hurts, but he&rsquo;ll bounce back. They&rsquo;ll just have to hold down the fort until he gets back, and when he returns, they&rsquo;ll take off again just like they did when Kyrie returned.
"And Kyrie is playing as free as I&rsquo;ve seen him since he was with Cleveland in the Finals. It's like he&rsquo;s playing with no pressure and nothing holding him back from being one of the top guards in the league. And the team is benefiting from that relief."
Etan: Let me ask you this, because I think Jacque Vaughn has done an excellent job since he&rsquo;s taken over, and I don&rsquo;t think it&rsquo;s being talked about as much as it should be. No knock on Steve Nash because I don&rsquo;t know the ins and outs of why it wasn&rsquo;t working with him, but there is definitely a visible difference. Would you agree?&nbsp;
Kenyon: "Let&rsquo;s be honest, E &mdash; Steve Nash is a hell of a basketball player and had great athletes around him. I&rsquo;ve never thought of Steve Nash as a vocal guy, never thought of him as that kind of a leader. I&rsquo;ve never heard him get after anybody. I&rsquo;ve never heard him put anybody in their place or call anybody out or chastise anyone who needed to be chastised. I just heard of him as a nice guy who is a great pass-first point guard who guys really enjoyed playing with. That&rsquo;s not to say that he couldn&rsquo;t have done a good job coaching; I just think it was a little premature to put him in that position.
"Jacque Vaughn, on the other hand, has proven that he could be a head coach down in Orlando. He just got a bad deal. But he showed that he could do all of the things that a head coach needs to do in order to be successful in this league. He&rsquo;s not afraid to be honest with guys, to call guys out or to challenge guys, but still not turn into the enemy. But (he'll) be like, 'We&rsquo;re in this together, but this is how we have to do things.' He wasn&rsquo;t a two-time NBA MVP, he wasn&rsquo;t an All-Star year-in and year-out, but he commanded a respect from the jump."
Etan: That&rsquo;s very true. One person who has <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-feature-interview-nic-claxton-approach-reaping-rewards-with-surging-brooklyn-nets-kevin-durant-jacque-vaughn-kyrie-irving-royce-oneale-georgia-bulldogs" target="_blank" rel="noopener">really stood out this season is Nic Claxton</a>. He won&rsquo;t get the praise that KD and Kyrie get of course, but he has been doing a tremendous job and is really vital to this team.&nbsp;
Kenyon: "I&rsquo;ve been a big fan of his since he got to the Nets. I love the energy he plays with, his effort, his motor, his athleticism, his defense, (he's a) rim protector. And when you have a guy who is surrounded by superstars, understands and embraces his role, and plays it to the best of his ability, the team is going to be successful, and that&rsquo;s what he does night-in and night-out."
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"He&rsquo;s a big piece for us and we need him every night." Kyrie Irving, Kevin Durant and Jacque Vaughn reflect on Nic Claxton's impact on the Nets and his development into an everyday starting center. STORY: <a href="https://t.co/U1odBzLCHT">https://t.co/U1odBzLCHT</a> <a href="https://t.co/v4Meeb8B7V">pic.twitter.com/v4Meeb8B7V</a>
&mdash; Spencer Davies (@SpinDavies) <a href="https://twitter.com/SpinDavies/status/1607867619347931137?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 27, 2022</a></blockquote>

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Etan: I always admit I do have big-man bias, and I know the game has transitioned into a more of a guards game &mdash; more people play small ball &mdash; but I&rsquo;m surprised players like Dwight Howard and (DeMarcus) Boogie Cousins aren&rsquo;t in the league right now. But specifically with the Nets, couldn&rsquo;t they use them? Especially in the playoffs when they have to face Milwaukee or Boston, or Philly with Joel Embiid and Montrezl Harrell off the bench?
Kenyon: "I&rsquo;m a big fan of both of those guys and their entire body of work. The way Boogie has adjusted his game and what people have thought of him over the years, he&rsquo;s channeled the energy that people were saying was negative into his game and on-court passion, tenacity and physicality that every team needs.&nbsp;
"And what Dwight brings to the table is similar to what we were talking about before with Nic Claxton. He knows his role and does it to the best of his ability. Shot-blocker, rebounder, physical play, athletic, rim-protector, and we all know he&rsquo;s strong as hell. Why wouldn&rsquo;t you want someone like that on your team? (Think about) what the Lakers got out of the combination of him and JaVale (McGee) a couple of years ago."
Etan: Uh huh, when they won the championship.&nbsp;
Kenyon: "Yup, I just think more teams should follow that. If you don&rsquo;t have a dominant Joel Embiid or a dominant (Nikola) Jokic, you need to play by committee at that position. And I think what a lot of teams are missing is exactly that. I think either one of them could be that missing piece for a lot of teams. But yes, specifically for the Nets this season."
Etan: I even <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-los-angeles-lakers-anthony-davis-etan-thomas-injury-achilles-recovery-heal-patient-robert-griffin-III-rgIII-frank-vogel-lebron-james" target="_blank" rel="noopener">wrote about it</a>. I was surprised, going back to JaVale and Dwight, that the Lakers didn&rsquo;t keep them. I&rsquo;m not a GM, but If it ain&rsquo;t broke and just won you a championship, don&rsquo;t fix it, right?
Kenyon: "Who&rsquo;d they get, Marc Gasol?"
Etan: Yeah, that&rsquo;s who they got.
Kenyon: "Yeah I just have a problem with the league as a whole when you have guys that have proven what they can bring to the table, talking about Dwight and Boogie Cousins. It makes no sense for them not to be on an NBA roster right now."
<div class="mceNonEditable"><spike>&nbsp;</spike></div>
Etan: Another player I&rsquo;ve really been impressed with is Royce O'Neale. I don&rsquo;t know if people were expecting him to play as well as he&rsquo;s been playing this season. Was he a pleasant surprise for you or did you foresee that?
Kenyon: "Honestly, I thought it was a little weird of a trade at first because of the position that he plays. But you can never have enough guys that you can count on. I think Royce is a solid pro. He&rsquo;s proven that he can be successful in this league and you can count on him. And here&rsquo;s the thing &mdash; when players are surrounded by greatness and a role is asked of you, it should be easy for you to fill that role. You know what I mean? It shouldn&rsquo;t be a hard thing for professionals to do. People can really find success on good teams by simply doing what&rsquo;s asked of you."
Etan: (Laughing) Doesn&rsquo;t seem like a hard concept.
Kenyon: (Laughing) "Shouldn&rsquo;t be hard at all."
Etan: It&rsquo;s interesting with Kyrie, because really just a few weeks ago &mdash; after the entire fiasco when he shared the documentary "From Hebrews To Negroes," got suspended, had backlash, was assigned six steps to return and everything that transpired after that &mdash; there was this loud uproar among the media and fans on social media proclaiming definitively that the Nets would be better off without Kyrie Irving, and even that he may be out the league soon.
Kenyon: (Laughing) "How crazy is that?"
Etan: It&rsquo;s crazy, but that was the overall sentiment, especially from a lot of the media for a while. So he comes back and they are playing great. They go on a 5-0 winning run and Kyrie is averaging 30, then a 10-0 run, then a 14-1 run. Now, they&rsquo;ve won 18 of 20 games, setting a franchise record. Kyrie&rsquo;s hitting game-winners and shining, and you've seen all of those people just get quiet. None of those people have offered any retraction to their previously loud statements. They just act like they weren&rsquo;t just saying the Nets were better off without him. And I&rsquo;m just like, keep that same energy you had to demonize someone to also praise them when they are doing well.
Kenyon: "But the key word in what you just said is the media. Who cares what the media says? I took all that criticism and uproar and outrage the media had as all performative. They were just putting on a show and jumping on a bandwagon, which many of them get paid to do. I didn&rsquo;t buy into any of that. It&rsquo;s not like he wrote the book or made the doc. He said he didn&rsquo;t agree with all of it and was sharing it for the information. But if those media people who were saying the Nets were better off without Kyrie don&rsquo;t know how special of a player he is &mdash; aside from the documentary and whatever else &mdash; then they don&rsquo;t need to be writing or commenting on anything.
"It&rsquo;s like a fumble in football. Everybody in the media, fans (and) social media started jumping on top of the dog pile, and Kyrie emerged from the bottom of the pile carrying the football and holding it high in the air for everyone to see. The backlash didn&rsquo;t break him. The team still needs Kyrie Irving. They wouldn&rsquo;t be where they are without him. And if anybody thought the Nets didn&rsquo;t need him, they just don&rsquo;t know the game."
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
Kyrie Irving scored 29 PTS &amp; the Nets have won 18 of their last 20 games! <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NetsWorld?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NetsWorld</a> <a href="https://t.co/6SobtaV7MI">pic.twitter.com/6SobtaV7MI</a>
&mdash; Ballislife.com (@Ballislife) <a href="https://twitter.com/Ballislife/status/1612422254607958016?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 9, 2023</a></blockquote>

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Etan: I hear you, but the piling on just bothered me. I was like... y&rsquo;all are making him out to be Hitler himself. He <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dns9B0ypwk0" target="_blank" rel="noopener">specifically said</a>, like you mentioned earlier, "I don&rsquo;t agree with everything in this documentary, I&rsquo;m sharing it for the information, I don&rsquo;t hate anyone, I respect all religions." And they wanted to make him Public Enemy No. 1. and the face of antisemitism.
Kenyon: "Yeah, that&rsquo;s exactly what they tried to do, but it didn&rsquo;t work because that&rsquo;s not who he is and (he) has never been that. You can&rsquo;t make someone be something they&rsquo;re not, and that&rsquo;s not who he is."
Etan: But what was really bothering me is that I was seeing a lot of media people who look like me and you literally running to jump on that bandwagon and bashing him the most. That really bothered me.
Kenyon: "One-thousand percent. That bothered me as well seeing that because that&rsquo;s not the way it&rsquo;s supposed to be. And we&rsquo;re talking about Black media who are in high positions."
Etan: Yes, the ones you see if you turn on ESPN or FOX Sports or HBO Sports or the main Black sports journalists. And I don&rsquo;t have to single anyone out in particular because they all were doing that. It was really disappointing to see.
Kenyon: "For them to do that... I know you don&rsquo;t want to call names and I&rsquo;ll respect your platform, but some of them are some high paid."
Etan: Don&rsquo;t even say it.
Kenyon: (Laughing) "I won&rsquo;t say it but you know what I&rsquo;m thinking." (laughing)
Etan: (Laughing) Yes I do.
Kenyon: "And the guy you expected to join the piling on actually took up for Kyrie &mdash; talking about Jason Whitlock."
Etan: Him and Candace Owens did. How crazy is that? It was like we were in the Twilight Zone.
Kenyon: "They usually can&rsquo;t wait to say something negative about a Black athlete, or a Black person or the entire Black community."
Etan: They made an entire career out of it.
Kenyon: "Absolutely, and they are where they are because of that."
Etan: One-hundred percent.
Kenyon: "So yeah, I&rsquo;m with you, it was definitely disappointing to see the piling on from Black media people in particular on the platforms they have and not one guy said something even remotely in this man&rsquo;s corner. They were calling for his career."
Etan: And very loudly too. Jay Williams did say something, so shout out to him.
Kenyon: "Yeah that&rsquo;s right he did, but he was the only one, at least that I saw. But let me say this &mdash; you&rsquo;ve done a great job in providing perspective on this whole topic. I&rsquo;ve been following everything you posted. The interview with your guy from your show (Dave Zirin), you <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/podcasts/the-rematch/episodes/basketballnews-com-episode-60-rabbi-harry-rozenberg-on-antisemitism,-kyrie-irving-s-suspension,-nets-6-steps-to-return,-adl,-more" target="_blank" rel="noopener">sat down with a Rabbi</a>, you had the <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/podcasts/the-rematch/episodes/basketballnews-com-episode-61-former-nba-players-craig-hodges-and-mahmoud-abdul-rauf-discuss-the-kyrie-irving-backlash,-more" target="_blank" rel="noopener">convo with Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf and Craig Hodges</a>. Even how you <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-nike-employs-adl-tactics-as-they-officially-drop-kyrie-irving-etan-thomas-torraine-walker" target="_blank" rel="noopener">wrote about Nike after they dropped him</a>.
"That&rsquo;s why what you do is important, for that very reason of what we saw all the other media do with the piling on and one-sided bashing. You actually had discussions about it."
<div class="mceNonEditable"><spike>&nbsp;</spike></div>
Etan: Thanks. Well, shout out to Basketball News for giving me the flexibility to cover different aspects of this topic in different ways. Most platforms wouldn&rsquo;t have allowed that. They would&rsquo;ve shut all that down.&nbsp;
Kenyon: "Censorship is crazy. Not even to have a discussion?"
Etan: Sometimes, media platforms want you to follow a script and you have to stick to the talking points. And with this, the script was: Bash Kyrie, label him antisemitic, denounce, condemn and bash some more.&nbsp;
Kenyon: "That&rsquo;s just wrong, but I&rsquo;m happy that Kyrie can put all of that behind him and the team&rsquo;s playing well, and he&rsquo;s rolling and being the Kyrie we all know him to be on the court. And you have to give a shout out to his teammates, who also didn&rsquo;t buy into all of the bashing and the talk of them being better without Kyrie. Because if you saw, they were trying to get them to co-sign that, but none of them did. They didn&rsquo;t say a bad word about Kyrie, and that&rsquo;s also a reason why they are playing so well right now. Because that kind of stuff can ruin the entire chemistry of a team if you let the outside noise seep into the locker room."
Etan: That&rsquo;s a great point. Last question: The Nets are playing really well, clicking on all cylinders and they have a rhythm with each other. They also have so many weapons we didn&rsquo;t even talk about like Seth Curry, Joe Harris, Ben Simmons, Yuta Watanabe and TJ Warren. How well can the Nets do this season?&nbsp;
Kenyon: "I would like to see them go out and get another big because you might have to play Philly. I love Nic Claxton, but dealing with Embiid by yourself for a whole playoff series is a lot to ask. But other than that, they have enough shooting, enough playmakers &mdash; they have a solid shot, they are definitely a contender. (It's about) learning how to win now, and win consistently like they have been doing &mdash; close games, ugly games, games where your main people are off because everything isn&rsquo;t going to be clicking every game. But still finding ways to win consistently, they are really preparing themselves for a very good playoff season."

Etan Thomas speaks with Kenyon Martin about the Nets' surge, Kevin Durant's latest knee injury and Kyrie Irving's recent play.

Kenyon Martin talks Nets, Kevin Durant's injury, Kyrie Irving backlash

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) &mdash; The final play had been drawn for Bojan Bogdanovic, then Saddiq Bey suddenly found the ball in his hands with no time to think, so he just let it fly.
Bey hit a 3-pointer falling backward as time expired after Golden State's Klay Thompson tied it on a 3 with 2.3 seconds left, sending the Detroit Pistons past the Warriors 122-119 on Wednesday night.
&ldquo;It was tough, I don&rsquo;t even remember I kind of blacked out a little bit,&rdquo; Bey said. &ldquo;I had one second so I didn&rsquo;t have that much time to think, so I had to shoot it so I&rsquo;m just grateful it went in.&rdquo;
Detroit ended the injury-plagued defending champions' season-best winning streak at five. Reigning NBA Finals MVP Stephen Curry missed his 10th straight game with a partially dislocated left shoulder and is set to be re-examined Saturday at the two-week mark from his last evaluation.
&ldquo;I just told the guys how proud I am of them for holding down the fort these last couple weeks,&rdquo; coach Steve Kerr said.
Bey made another key 3 late and wound up with 17 points, Bogdanovic hit his first five 3-pointers and one with 3:42 left on the way to 29 points to lead six Pistons in double figures.
&ldquo;Saddiq popped back to get open and had the presence of mind to get it off quick enough,&rdquo; Pistons coach Dwane Casey said.
Thompson secured a defensive rebound with 27 seconds left but Jordan Poole turned the ball over before the Warriors could attempt a shot. Thompson scored on a layup with 40 seconds left to pull Golden State to 117-116 then delivered again &mdash; and the Warriors appeared headed to overtime for a second straight game after holding off Atlanta 143-141 in double-OT on Monday night.
&ldquo;It never feels good,&rdquo; Thompson said. &ldquo;I thought we fought very hard tonight.&rdquo;
Extra basketball might have been welcome with an atypical severe winter rain and windstorm hitting the Bay Area to greet fans afterward.
Thompson missed his first six 3-point tries then hit two big ones down the stretch on the way to 30 points, but the Warriors couldn't make the key defensive plays late on the perimeter against Detroit's shooters. Thompson made a go-ahead dunk with 7:33 to play and finally hit his first 3-pointer with 5:15 remaining coming off his season-best 54-point performance against the Hawks.
Draymond Green was ejected with 1:24 to play for his second technical of the game.
Poole added 24 points in his seventh straight 20-point game to go with six assists and five rebounds as the Warriors dropped to 17-3 at home as their six-game winning streak at Chase Center ended.
Jalen Duren added 18 points and 11 rebounds for the Pistons, coming off a 135-106 loss at Portland on Monday night.
Undermanned Golden State again demonstrated its amazing depth &mdash; Ty Jerome scored 18 points off the bench and Anthony Lamb added 17.
Lamb credited Bey for getting through the Warriors' switching defense: &ldquo;He had just enough time to get it off, a turnaround shot, a great shot by him."
Killian Hayes hit a key 3-pointer with 6:21 left and contributed 13 assists and nine points while returning to Detroit&rsquo;s starting lineup following a three-game suspension for his actions scuffling against Orlando last week.
TIP-INS
Pistons: F Marvin Bagley III missed the game after breaking a bone in his right hand. ... F Isaiah Livers went through some drills Wednesday with the training staff as he rehabs a right shoulder sprain. &ldquo;He's coming along well,&rdquo; Casey said. ... The Pistons improved to 6-17 on the road. ... Detroit had lost the last two on the Warriors' home floor and 10 of 12 before prevailing.
Warriors: Durable Kevon Looney, whose tip-in at the buzzer sealed the double-OT victory against Atlanta, played his 150th consecutive regular-season game, second-longest active streak behind Suns forward Mikal Bridges. It&rsquo;s 172 in a row for Looney including playoffs. ... Donte DiVincenzo's streak of at least one steal ended at 13 games.
&nbsp;

Saddiq Bey hit a 3-pointer falling backward as time expired, sending the Detroit Pistons past the Golden State Warriors 122-119

Bey beats buzzer with 3, Pistons beat Warriors 122-119

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) &mdash; Bojan Bogdanovic scored 28 points, including 17 in the third quarter as Detroit erased a double-digit deficit, and the Pistons got 65 points from their bench in a 116-104 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Saturday night.
Marvin Bagley Jr. had 18 points and 10 rebounds off the bench for Detroit, which had lost seven of eight and trailed by 18 points in the first quarter. The Pistons stayed within range and burst ahead with a 32-9 run at the end of the third and start of the fourth.
Reserve Alec Burks added 13 points for Detroit. The Pistons lead the NBA in bench points since the start of December.
&ldquo;Our energy was very good in the third quarter, especially from our second unit,&rdquo; Bogdanovic said. &ldquo;The second group played great. When we play defense like we played in the second half, then our offense is kind of playing faster and we are moving the ball better.&rdquo;
Anthony Edwards scored 30 and D&rsquo;Angelo Russell added 25 points in a lackluster performance from Minnesota, which returned home after a winless four-game road trip and lost its sixth in a row.
&ldquo;Tonight was the first time, I think, I saw them frustrated with each other through this stretch, through a lot of different ins and outs of the lineup, and tough losses on the road,&rdquo; Timberwolves coach Chris Finch said. &ldquo;Tonight, I think it manifested itself in a lot of frustration, guys not making the right, simple play.&rdquo;
Russell scored 13 of the Timberwolves&rsquo; first 21 points and Minnesota used a 26-8 run early in the first to take an 18-point lead.
Detroit&rsquo;s reserves entered and got back within 10 and the teams traded blows for the next two quarters.
Bogdanovic then hit three 3s midway through the third to spark the Pistons, who tied the game before the end of the quarter. Another reserve, Hamidou Diallo, supplied Detroit with its first lead with 10:37 left in the fourth.
&ldquo;We know what we need to do, what we&rsquo;re bad at,&rdquo; Minnesota forward Jaden McDaniels said. "We watch it every day in film, so I feel like it&rsquo;s a care factor.&rdquo;
The Wolves tied the game before the Pistons scored 11 in a row to take control.
&ldquo;A lot of it was about our defense,&rdquo; Detroit coach Dwane Casey said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s about the second unit&rsquo;s character. We have a lot of character guys in the group that hadn&rsquo;t been getting a lot of run, but they came in and played with pure heart, pure mind and won the game for us.&rdquo;
READY RESERVES
All five reserves that played for the Pistons scored in double digits. While rookies Jaden Ivey and Jalen Duren are starters, the bench consists of veterans such as Burks and Cory Joseph, both with 11 years in the league.
&ldquo;I think that was the key to that second unit tonight is just communication and effort,&rdquo; said six-year veteran Rodney McGruder. &ldquo;We were all over. Even when we made mistakes, we talked it out and the effort made up for it.&rdquo;
OLD DEMONS
Finch said &ldquo;old demons&rdquo; hurt Minnesota on Saturday, including rebounding. The Wolves were outrebounded 52-39. Finch also said he maybe needs to look at playing time as the team tries to solve its issues.
The third-year coach was also asked if there was a sense of entitlement with his team.
&ldquo;There&rsquo;s a lot of guys out there that maybe think we&rsquo;re a lot better than we are,&rdquo; Finch said. &ldquo;Maybe it is a sense of entitlement or whatever. Certainly tonight we got what we deserved with the way we approached this game.
TIP-INS
Pistons: Diallo returned after his one-game suspension for his part in the altercation with the Orlando Magic on Wednesday. Killian Hayes served the second game of his three-game suspension. &hellip; Detroit held Minnesota to 40 points in the second half and 16 in the fourth quarter.
Timberwolves: Rudy Gobert returned after missing one game with an illness and had nine points and 10 rebounds. He was scoreless in the first half. &hellip; Edwards had 14 and Russell added 13 in the first.
UP NEXT
Pistons: Play the second game of a five-game road trip Monday in Portland.
Timberwolves: Host Denver on Monday.

Bojan Bogdanovic scored 28 points, and the Pistons got 65 points from their bench in a 116-104 win over the Wolves on Saturday.

Bogdanovic, bench send Pistons to 116-104 win over Wolves

The NBA's 2022 Christmas games delivered record engagement across social media, generating 250 million views across the NBA's social accounts and app (up 190% from 2021). Also, the NBA had Instagram's most-viewed account on Christmas Day.
In addition to the social-media buzz surrounding these games, ratings were up 5% compared to last year &mdash; with an average of 4,271,000 viewers across the five games.
The Philadelphia 76ers' victory over the New York Knicks averaged 4,036,000 viewers, up 38% from the noon ET window last season (when the Atlanta Hawks faced the New York Knicks). Sixers-Knicks was the NBA's most-watched Christmas game in the noon window since 2011 (when the NBA season began on Christmas).
The Boston Celtics' victory over the Milwaukee Bucks drew the largest average audience of the day, with 6,033,000 viewers. It peaked with 6,828,000 viewers from 7:30-7:45 p.m. Viewership was up 16% from last season&rsquo;s 5 p.m. window when the Golden State Warriors squared off with the Phoenix Suns.
The Denver Nuggets' overtime win over the Phoenix Suns at 10:30 p.m. averaged 2,485,000 viewers, making it the most-watched Christmas late game since 2015.
Also, the NBA's holiday slate generated 3% year-over-year viewership increases in key demos, including ages 18-to-49 and 25-to-54.
The 2:30 p.m. matchup between the Los Angeles Lakers and Dallas Mavericks averaged 4,333,000 viewers, while the 8 p.m. game between the Warriors and Memphis Grizzlies generated 4,700,000 viewers.&nbsp;

The NBA's 2022 Christmas Day games delivered record engagement across social media and multi-year highs in television ratings.

NBA's Christmas games deliver record social engagement, high ratings

STORRS, Conn. (AP) &mdash; Joey Calcaterra scored all of his 14 points in the second half to help second-ranked UConn rally from its first second-half deficit of the season for an 84-73 victory over Georgetown on Tuesday night.
Tristan Newton had 17 points and seven assists, while Adama Sanogo added 14 points and seven rebounds for the Huskies (13-0, 2-0 Big East). Jordan Hawkins scored 15 points and Andre Jackson finished with seven points, eight assists and six rebounds.
Primo Spears had 19 points and Qudus Wahab 16 points and nine rebounds for Georgetown (5-8, 0-2).
UConn led by seven at halftime, but a dunk by former UConn forward/center Akok Akok gave Georgetown a 51-49 lead with 16:35 left to play. It was the first time this season that the Huskies have trailed in the second half this season.
NO. 5 ARIZONA 85, MONTANA STATE 64
TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) &mdash; Kerr Kriisa scored 18 points, Cedric Henderson Jr. added 16 and Arizona pulled away in the second half to beat Montana State.
Arizona (11-1) pulled it out by wearing down Montana State and hitting 10 of 25 3-pointers for its 26th straight home win. Oumar Ballo had 11 points and 10 rebounds, and the Wildcats scored 20 points off Montana State&rsquo;s 20 turnovers. Kriisa went 6 of 9 from 3.
Jubrile Belo had 18 points and RaeQuan Battle added 17 for the Bobcats (7-6), who shot 3 for 24 from the 3-point arc.
NO. 22 MIAMI 66, NO. 6 VIRGINIA 64
CORAL GABLES, Fla. (AP) &mdash; Isaiah Wong scored 24 points and Miami held on during a frantic finish to beat Virginia.
Jordan Miller finished with 11 points while Norchad Omier had 10 for the Hurricanes (12-1, 3-0 Atlantic Coast Conference), who snapped a six-game losing streak against the Cavaliers.
Miami led 61-51 on a free throw by Wong with 1:56 to play. Virginia (8-2, 1-1) went on an 8-0 run from there. Kihei Clark&rsquo;s layup with 26 seconds left made it 61-59, and Clark made three free throws with 5 seconds remaining to get the Cavaliers within 65-64, but Virginia couldn&rsquo;t finish it off and lost its second straight.
Ohio University transfer Ben Vander Plas scored 15 of his 20 points in the second half, his highest-scoring game for the Cavaliers. Clark had 13 points and Beekman finished with 10 points, nine rebounds and nine assists.
NO. 9 ALABAMA 84, JACKSON STATE 64
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (AP) &mdash; Noah Gurley scored a season-high 16 points and Mark Sears had 15, all in the second half, to Alabama past Jackson State.
The Crimson Tide (10-2), coming off a 100-90 loss to No. 11 Gonzaga, struggled much of the way and even trailed a minute into the second half against the Tigers (1-11).
Nick Pringle had 14 points and nine rebounds for Alabama after coming into the game scoring less than one per game.
Ken Evans led Jackson State with 18 points.
NO. 11 GONZAGA 85, MONTANA 75
SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) &mdash; Drew Timme scored a season-high 32 points and grabbed 11 rebounds, and Gonzaga won its 72nd straight home game.
Gonzaga&rsquo;s home win streak is tied with UNLV (1974-78) for the ninth-longest in NCAA history. It&rsquo;s the longest streak since Lamar&rsquo;s 80-game run from 1978-84.
Timme started 4 for 9 from the free throw line but went 4 for 4 down the stretch to seal the game for the Bulldogs (10-3) after a late Montana rally. The Grizzlies (6-6) cut a 17-point, second-half deficit to five with 3:06 to play on Josh Bannan&rsquo;s jumper but couldn&rsquo;t get any closer.
Bannan scored 19 points for Montana.
NO. 12 BAYLOR 58, NORTHWESTERN STATE 48
WACO, Texas (AP) &mdash; Jalen Bridges scored 12 of his 13 points in the second half, and Baylor pulled away from Northwestern State.
LJ Cryer and Dale Bonner added 11 points apiece for the Bears (9-2), who have won four in a row.
Baylor went on a 14-0 run to take control for good after Northwestern State&rsquo;s DeMarcus Sharp made a jumper to open the second-half scoring and tie the game at 24.
Sharp had 17 points and 10 rebounds to lead Northwestern State (8-4).
WAKE FOREST 81, NO. 14 DUKE 70
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. (AP) &mdash; Tyree Appleby had 18 points and eight assists as Wake Forest ended Duke&rsquo;s eight-game road winning streak.
Cameron Hildreth added 16 points and nine rebounds for the Demon Deacons (9-4, 1-1 Atlantic Coast Conference), who led nearly the entire game. Wake Forest led 39-30 at halftime, then pushed that margin to as many as 15 points. Wake Forest shot 49.1% and had five double-figure scorers.
Jaylen Blakes scored a career-high 17 points to lead Duke (10-3, 1-1), which never got closer than seven after the break.
DRAKE 58, NO. 15 MISSISSIPPI STATE 52
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) &mdash; Roman Penn scored 19 points, Sardaar Calhoun made four of his career-high five 3-pointers in the second half, and Drake handed Mississippi State its first loss.
Calhoun finished with 17 points and Tucker DeVries added 15 for Drake (9-3), which beat a ranked opponent for the first time since 2013.
Eric Reed Jr. scored all of his team-high 11 points in the first half for Mississippi State (11-1).
DeVries&rsquo; floater in the lane put Drake up 52-50 with 1:51 left in the neutral-site game, and Penn hit a jumper for a four-point lead with just over a minute left. Penn made four free throws in the last 10 seconds to secure Drake&rsquo;s first win over a Power Five opponent since it beat Kansas State in the 2020-21 season opener.
NO. 18 INDIANA 96, ELON 72
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. (AP) &mdash; Race Thompson had 18 points and 11 rebounds, and short-handed Indiana beat Elon.
The Hoosiers were missing their two leading scorers. Center Trayce Jackson-Davis (16.4 points per game) sat for precautionary reasons with nagging back and hand injuries, and point guard Xavier Johnson (9.9 points) was sidelined by a foot injury.
But the Hoosiers (9-3) had too much depth against the visitors from the Colonial Athletic Association as they ended a two-game skid. Freshman Jalen Hood-Schifino had 17 points and seven assists for the Hoosiers.
Max Mackinnon led Elon (2-11) with 19 points and Sean Halloran added 15.
PROVIDENCE 103, NO. 24 MARQUETTE 98, 2OT
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) &mdash; Bryce Hopkins had 29 points and 23 rebounds &mdash; both career highs &mdash; and grabbed the offensive board on a missed free throw with 15 seconds left in the second overtime to help Providence run out the clock and beat Marquette.
The Friars (10-3, 2-0 Big East) won their fourth straight game and improved to 4-0 in overtime this season. Devin Carter and Ed Croswell scored 20 points apiece for Providence, which beat a ranked team for the fourth straight season.
Native Rhode Islander Tyler Kolek scored a career-high 29 points before fouling out in the second overtime, and Kam Jones added 24 points for the Golden Eagles (9-4, 1-1).
Marquette blew a nine-point lead in the final minutes of regulation and rallied from an eight-point deficit in the first overtime.

A recap of Tuesday night's men's college basketball slate features a handful of top-15 upsets and a close one for the Huskies.

Calcaterra, No. 2 UConn pull away in second half to beat Hoyas

NEW YORK &ndash; The NBA today announced Boston Celtics guard Marcus Smart as the NBA Cares Community Assist Award winner for the month of October in recognition of his ongoing support for pediatric cancer patients and commitment to creating access to opportunity for inner-city student-athletes. Each month of the regular season the award recognizes a player who best demonstrates the passion that the league and NBA players share for giving back to their communities.
Since joining the Boston Celtics in 2014, Smart has made it a priority to visit the Boston Children&rsquo;s Hospital to spend one-on-one time with kids undergoing cancer treatments. As part of this effort, he also works to donate mobile charging stations loaded with tablets and video game consoles called &ldquo;Smart Carts&rdquo; designed to serve as entertainment hubs, as well as portals for communication and diversion during patients&rsquo; treatment and recovery. Over the past year and a half, Smart and his foundation, the YounGameChanger Foundation, have made &ldquo;Smart Carts&rdquo; available in seven different children&rsquo;s hospitals throughout New England, one in his hometown of Dallas, TX, and two in collaboration with the JLH Social Impact Fund founded by Jrue (Milwaukee Bucks) and Lauren Holiday to support virtual programming at Children&rsquo;s Wisconsin Hospital.
Smart primarily engages with his community through the YounGameChanger Foundation, a 501c3 he founded in 2014 to serve as a source of guidance, motivation, encouragement and empowerment for inner-city student-athletes to become game changers both on and off the court or field. The organization creates opportunities through education, sports and mentorship with emphasis on science, technology, engineering, art and math (STEAM) and also seeks to provide inspiration and life-changing experiences for pediatric cancer patients and their families. Earlier this month on Nov. 10, Smart hosted his biggest fundraiser of the year, the Bowling Bash, to help further support his foundation&rsquo;s donation of &ldquo;Smart Carts&rdquo; and laptops to children&rsquo;s hospitals and communities in need.
&ldquo;I started my YounGameChangers Foundation to serve as a source of guidance, motivation and empowerment for youth to be game changers on and off the court,&rdquo; said Marcus Smart. &ldquo;You never know what people are going through, so giving back to make their lives better in any way and letting them know they are not alone is important to me. I am honored to receive this award and will continue prioritizing serving my community.&rdquo;
Smart will be recognized during an on-court ceremony before the Celtics&rsquo; home game against the Charlotte Hornets on Nov. 28 at 7:30 p.m. ET. Steve Pagliuca, Boston Celtics co-owner and president of the Boston Celtics Shamrock Foundation, will present him with the award. The NBA will donate $10,000 to the YounGameChanger Foundation.
The NBA Cares Community Assist Award presented honors the standard set by NBA Legend David Robinson, who improved the community piece by piece. To learn more, please visit https://communityassist.nba.com/.

Smart's had ongoing support for pediatric cancer patients and a commitment to creating access to opportunity for inner-city student-athletes.

Northwestern State Demons