Trolls

Now in his eighth season with the Indiana Pacers, Myles Turner is easily the team&rsquo;s longest-tenured player. In fact, no other Pacer on the current roster has been in town longer than four seasons.
Turner arrived in Indiana as a wide-eyed teenager who was selected with the No. 11 overall pick in the 2015 NBA Draft. In the years that followed, Turner would watch as the team continually changed around him. He has played for four different head coaches &mdash; Frank Vogel, Nate McMillan, Nate Bjorkgren and Rick Carlisle &mdash; and witnessed a ton of roster turnover. But despite Turner&rsquo;s name surfacing in trade rumors annually, he has been the one constant in Indiana.
As a rookie, Turner suited up alongside stars like Paul George and Monta Ellis. During his sophomore campaign, he called Al Jefferson, Thaddeus Young, Jeff Teague and Lance Stephenson teammates. The following year, Victor Oladipo, Domantas Sabonis, Bojan Bogdanovic and Darren Collison joined the squad. Turner has also played with veterans such as Tyreke Evans, Ty Lawson, Rodney Stuckey, Caris LeVert, Doug McDermott, T.J. Warren and C.J. Miles over the years.
However, one could argue that no teammate has had a greater impact on Turner&rsquo;s game than his current star running mate: Tyrese Haliburton.
When the Pacers <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-interview-tyrese-haliburton-indiana-pacers-chad-buchanan-bennedict-mathurin-myles-turner-sacramento-kings-domantas-sabonis-trade-drew-hanlen" target="_blank" rel="noopener">acquired Haliburton from the Sacramento Kings</a> prior to last year&rsquo;s trade deadline, Turner was ecstatic. He was a fan of Haliburton&rsquo;s game and potential, and couldn&rsquo;t wait to team up with the pass-first point guard. Unfortunately, Turner wasn&rsquo;t able to play alongside Haliburton in the second half of last season due to a stress reaction in his foot.
This year, the Pacers&rsquo; one-two punch of Haliburton and Turner has been on full display, and they have become one of the most productive pick-and-roll duos in the NBA.
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pretty.😍 Tyrese Haliburton to Myles Turner for two. <a href="https://t.co/TupiSM909t">pic.twitter.com/TupiSM909t</a>
&mdash; Indiana Pacers (@Pacers) <a href="https://twitter.com/Pacers/status/1629656051175026688?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 26, 2023</a></blockquote>

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Turner has set 814 picks for Haliburton, which is the third-most of any pick-and-roll duo in the league, per Second Spectrum. The only tandems who have run the pick-and-roll more are Philadelphia&rsquo;s James Harden and Joel Embiid (893 picks) and Phoenix&rsquo;s Chris Paul and Deandre Ayton (897). Possessions featuring a Haliburton-Turner pick-and-roll have generated 1.063 points per possession &mdash; the fifth-best PPP of the 24 duos with at least 500 picks.
&ldquo;This has been a wonderful opportunity for Myles to play with a playmaking guard of Tyrese&rsquo;s caliber,&rdquo; Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle told Basketball News. &ldquo;A couple weeks ago, we checked and they were top-five or top-six in the league as a successful pick-and-roll connection, and that&rsquo;s pretty amazing. Myles is getting all different kinds of stuff &mdash; he&rsquo;s getting rolls for dunks, he's getting a little bit of mid-range, he's getting good looks for threes and he's getting some late passes underneath for dunks as well.
"I just love the force that he&rsquo;s playing with. Tyrese has had a wonderful impact on Myles and certainly the rest of the team, but the connection those two guys have has been special.&rdquo;
The partnership has been mutually beneficial. Turner gets easy looks from an elite floor general who ranks second among all players in assists per game (10.2) and assist percentage (46.9%), while Haliburton gets a unique big-man partner who can score inside (62.8% on twos) and out (40.3% on threes). It&rsquo;s no coincidence that both players are having career years.&nbsp;
Turner is averaging career-highs in points (18.2), rebounds (8.0), field-goal percentage (54.9%), three-point percentage (40.3%) and made threes (1.7), while also contributing 2.3 blocks, 1.4 deflections and 0.6 steals per game. Turner's dominance shows up in his analytics too, as he's posting personal bests in win shares per 48 minutes (.157), Box Plus/Minus (+2.6), True Shooting percentage (65.8%), Player Efficiency Rating (20.6) and total rebound rate (14.7%).
&ldquo;Myles has blossomed this year. We've seen the relationship with him and Ty; they're one of the best pick-and-roll [duos] in the league right now,&rdquo; Pacers president of basketball operations Kevin Pritchard said recently. &ldquo;This is the beginning of a nice core &mdash; no, a great core.&rdquo;&nbsp;
Meanwhile, Haliburton <a href="bit.ly/3AyPKHC" target="_blank" rel="noopener">became a first-time All-Star</a> after averaging career-highs in points (20.1), assists (10.1) and threes (2.8), while also contributing 3.7 rebounds and 1.7 steals per contest. Haliburton is also posting personal bests in advanced stats like assist percentage (46.9%), PER (23.0), VORP (3.8), BPM (+6.9) and WS/48 (.189).
&ldquo;It was unfortunate that I didn&rsquo;t get a chance to play with him last year and really start to develop that synergy, but I think we&rsquo;ve really picked it up quickly,&rdquo; Turner told Basketball News. &ldquo;Ty is someone who&rsquo;s easy to play with. Obviously, he sees the floor well. And as the season has progressed, we&rsquo;ve done a better job of communicating with each other. It&rsquo;s been a fun experience.&rdquo;
Despite the fact that they&rsquo;ve only played 44 games together, they have developed a strong connection and can often anticipate each other&rsquo;s next move.
&ldquo;I think I know what he&rsquo;s going to do before he does it in a sense,&rdquo; Turner said. &ldquo;I think that just comes with playing with him.&rdquo;
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this sequence.🔥 a huge block by Myles Turner followed by a huge dunk by Tyrese Haliburton.👀 <a href="https://t.co/4MpAf4Kp0B">pic.twitter.com/4MpAf4Kp0B</a>
&mdash; Indiana Pacers (@Pacers) <a href="https://twitter.com/Pacers/status/1630770909442191360?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 1, 2023</a></blockquote>

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&ldquo;We just needed time together, that&rsquo;s all,&rdquo; Haliburton told Basketball News. &ldquo;I feel like I&rsquo;ve had pretty good chemistry with my bigs throughout my NBA career, and I knew that playing with Myles wasn&rsquo;t going to be any different. He brings a different dynamic than what I&rsquo;m used to, with his ability to space the floor. And he&rsquo;s the best shot-blocker that I&rsquo;ve ever played with, so that gives me confidence on the defensive end to be able to take more risks and get into the ball a little bit more.
"I think it&rsquo;s a mutual relationship where he&rsquo;s got my back and I&rsquo;ve got his.&rdquo;
Not too long ago, Turner&rsquo;s days in Indiana seemed numbered. After all, the team traded away nearly all of its veterans last season (including Sabonis, LeVert, Torrey Craig, Justin Holiday and Jeremy Lamb), and Turner&rsquo;s name continued to pop up in trade rumors. However, since Turner is only 26 years old, the Pacers&rsquo; brass felt that he could be on a similar timeline as Haliburton, who is 23.
It certainly seems that the Pacers are building around this duo, especially after Turner was given a two-year, $60 million extension in January.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;m glad that we got it done. I think it was a win-win for both sides,&rdquo; Turner said. &ldquo;I think I have a good relationship with (Pacers owner) Herb Simon, and I think he has a big belief in what I&rsquo;m capable of as well. I&rsquo;m glad that we were able to come to terms on an agreement. Behind the scenes, for me personally, I was open to the idea of free agency, but I also wanted to at least give Indy a fair chance, and both sides came to an agreement.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;m comfortable. I&rsquo;m where I want to be. I&rsquo;m growing with a young team that&rsquo;s hungry. I think we&rsquo;re just trying to get better and better every day, and that&rsquo;s the main goal of this whole thing. I have a lot of belief in this city, a lot of belief in this program and a lot of belief in the guys in this locker room, so that was a big initial factor in me wanting to stay here.&rdquo;
Since Turner was a popular trade candidate, many fans of other teams got excited about the possibility of him joining their favorite squad. When Turner inked his extension with the Pacers, some of these fans reacted negatively &mdash; upset that he was no longer on the market.&nbsp;
&ldquo;What fans don&rsquo;t realize is that this is a business, and both sides have to do what&rsquo;s best for them,&rdquo; Turner said. &ldquo;Sometimes it doesn&rsquo;t work out where you&rsquo;re able to stay with the same team, but I&rsquo;ve been blessed and fortunate enough to be with the same team for my entire career. That&rsquo;s not something that happens a lot, and I never take that for granted. That was obviously something that went into my decision as well. For the casual fan, they have to realize that while basketball may be a fun game, the business aspect of it will always reign supreme.&rdquo;
As Turner mentioned, not many players stay with one NBA team for the entirety of their career. He admits that retiring in Indiana would mean a lot to him.
&ldquo;Yeah, obviously, it&rsquo;s something that would be very special,&rdquo; Turner said. &ldquo;Like I always talk about, the business of basketball always reigns supreme, but my loyalty is with the organization that drafted me and the city that took me in, and hopefully it&rsquo;s able to stay that way for years to come.&rdquo;&nbsp;
Turner has been a part of many different iterations of Pacers basketball. Now, looking at the current pieces around him, he&rsquo;s excited about the team&rsquo;s promising future.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve seen the growth in a lot of our young guys throughout the entire year,&rdquo; Turner said. &ldquo;The best thing for them was getting a chance to play early. For <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-feature-interview-indiana-pacers-rookie-andrew-nembhard-rick-carlisle-tj-mcconnell-gonzaga-florida" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Drew [Nembhard]</a>, Ben [Mathurin] and those guys, playing heavy minutes early was big for their development, and not every rookie has a chance to do that. The fact that they&rsquo;re getting battle-tested so early is going to bode well for them.
"I&rsquo;ve just enjoyed the overall spirit and fight of this team. We&rsquo;ve got a lot of guys who clock in and work hard day in and day out, and they&rsquo;re coming in here and getting a chance to compete after working their whole life to get here.&rdquo;
While playing alongside Haliburton has certainly helped Turner, the big man does deserve a lot of credit for the leap he has taken this season. He&rsquo;s put in a lot of hard work behind the scenes to maximize his potential and make the most of his opportunity.
&ldquo;I attribute [my career year] to patience and obviously the hard work I put in over the offseason to prepare for these moments,&rdquo; Turner explained. &ldquo;I also attribute it to just the years that I&rsquo;ve been in the league, where I&rsquo;ve been able to play out on the perimeter at the 4 position and now I&rsquo;m able to play my natural position (the 5).
"I&rsquo;m thankful that I was able to just stick it out those years that I was here and see what the other side of basketball was like, outside of just getting what you want when you want it. I think I waited my turn and, obviously, I&rsquo;m thriving now, and I&rsquo;m only hoping to get better from here.&rdquo;
Nekias Duncan contributed to this article.

Alex Kennedy catches up with Pacers big man Myles Turner to discuss his extension, playing with Tyrese Haliburton and more.

Pacers' perfect pairing: Turner, Haliburton form dominant 1-2 punch

The biggest domino of the WNBA offseason has fallen.
Breanna Stewart &mdash; with a resume that includes two titles and Finals MVPs, an MVP, five All-WNBA selections (four-time First Team, one-time Second Team), four All-Defensive Team selections, four All-Star appearances and a Rookie of the Year award &mdash; plans to sign with the New York Liberty.
The source on that blockbuster news? Well, a video posted by Breanna Stewart.
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🗽 <a href="https://t.co/6Sg28YnCPz">pic.twitter.com/6Sg28YnCPz</a>
&mdash; Breanna Stewart (@breannastewart) <a href="https://twitter.com/breannastewart/status/1620829634349928450?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 1, 2023</a></blockquote>

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It's hard to overstate how big of a shift this is for the league &mdash; and for the Liberty.
Stewart is, at the absolute worst, the second best player in the league right now. She led The W in scoring last season (21.8 points per game), while also grabbing 7.6 rebounds, dishing out 2.9 assists and racking up 2.5 stocks (1.6 steals, 0.9 blocks) a night.&nbsp;
Stewart is an offense onto herself, able to generate good shots for herself from anywhere, while also being a good enough passer to punish defenses for sending extra help. She can bend defenses as the ball-handler or screener in pick-and-rolls, feast on size mismatches on the block and fly off screens and let it rip from three. (It's worth mentioning she drained nearly 38% of her threes on career-high volume [5.2 attempts] last season.)
This is all while being one of the best defenders in the sport. Stewart had a legitimate case for Defensive Player of the Year last season. Her massive wingspan and instincts as a help defender allow her to toggle through multiple assignments&nbsp;and&nbsp;clean up messes with ease. There's enough lateral quickness to defend 1-through-3, and enough length and strength to battle with 4s and some 5s.&nbsp;
Stewart's two-way prowess would make virtually any team an instant contender. That the Liberty are adding her two weeks after <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/wnba-trade-rumors-news-connecticut-sun-star-jonquel-jones-traded-to-the-new-york-liberty-sabrina-ionescu-dallas-wings-natasha-howard-kayla-thornton" target="_blank" rel="noopener">trading for another MVP</a> in Jonquel Jones is patently absurd.
Games aren't played on paper, but there's only one frontcourt in The W that could conceivably match the collective talent that Stewart and Jones have &mdash; A'ja Wilson and Candace Parker, now (<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/the-aces-are-signing-candace-parker-though-its-hard-to-be-excited-right-now" target="_blank" rel="noopener">and somewhat controversially</a>) in Las Vegas.&nbsp;
Stewart's ability to space, shoot or attack closeouts should vibe well with Jones' interior dominance. And Jones' ability to shoot from multiple platforms should unlock plenty of space for Stewart to work with.
Both of them can serve as how-do-you-guard-this screening partners for Sabrina Ionescu, who's fresh off the first All-WNBA (second team) and All-Star season of her young career. A big three of Stewart, Jones and Ionescu is unheard of and, at least among Eastern Conference teams, unrivaled.
If this team is able to stay healthy and gel, it's hard not to envision a deep playoff run for this group &mdash; this year, and for many years to come.

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Nekias Duncan breaks down the news of Breanna Stewart joining Jonquel Jones and Sabrina Ionescu on the New York Liberty.

WNBA Free Agency: Breanna Stewart to sign with the New York Liberty

With 6:45 left in the first quarter, Terance Mann brings the ball up the right side of the floor.
Kawhi Leonard (yeah, he's playing) attempts to set a flat screen on Tobias Harris to help pry Mann open, but mostly whiffs on the pick. Mann finds himself in the right corner, staring down Harris as the clock ticks.&nbsp;
Ivica Zubac steps up to set a screen this time, this time to Mann's left. With the right side emptied, Mann could run Harris off a bruising screen and force Joel Embiid to defend the 2-on-1 with minimal help.&nbsp;
Instead, Mann rejects the screen and continues driving to his right. He's able to get two feet in the paint, <a href="https://youtu.be/WwY__zWQArs" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Nashing around</a> while drawing the attention of Embiid and (a trailing) Harris. That opens up a window for a dump-off pass to Zubac, leading to two points.
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It's a simple possession that takes half the shot clock to complete. It features three things we haven't seen enough of from the Los Angeles Clippers this season: Kawhi as a screener, a paint touch from a guard and easy, efficient offense being created.
The Clippers have been disjointed all season long. Their 23-23 record and minus-0.7 net rating screams "mid," not "sure-fire title contender." There's obvious bail to shoot; of the 46 games the Clippers have played, their best three players &mdash; Kawhi, Paul George and Zubac &mdash; have only appeared in 15 games together. Even with that, the Clippers have <a href="https://www.nba.com/stats/lineups/advanced?CF=GROUP_NAME*E*leonard:GROUP_NAME*E*george:GROUP_NAME*E*zubac&amp;GroupQuantity=3&amp;TeamID=1610612746&amp;slug=advanced" target="_blank" rel="noopener">barely won those minutes</a> &mdash; plus-14 (+2.6 NET) in 260 minutes.
That's probably the most concerning portion of this Clippers season for me. It's one thing to be searching for continuity; everyone was already banking in maintenance days for Kawhi, specifically. I am not here to argue about the merits of that; do it on your timeline, if you must.
But it's another thing to be searching for&nbsp;answers. It's felt more like the latter from the Clippers this year. That's baked into some of the lineup choices of course, but you've also seen it with the&nbsp;roles&nbsp;on the roster.
No player speaks to this dynamic quite like Mann. His rise in the rotation has been a joy to watch. From energy piece, to connector, to "Hey, he's kinda baking Rudy Gobert right now" to connector-plus-defensive-stopper to... point guard? To point guard!
Mann has started the last five games as the nominal point, and he's mostly produced. His box-score numbers are up: 15.4 points (59.4% from two, 45.8% from three on 4.8 attempts), 5.0 rebounds and 3.4 assists (0.8 turnovers) per game.
Naturally, his usage <a href="https://go.nba.com/zu548" target="_blank" rel="noopener">is way up</a>: Mann ranks second on the team in touches per game (68.6), time of possession (4.8), and fourth in seconds per touch (4.2) and dribbles per touch (3.4).
Mann has done a solid job of mixing in his snappy nature with more on-ball patience. He's served as&nbsp;the&nbsp;rim threat among the Clippers' starters, parlaying that gravity into reads like the one above.&nbsp;
To that point: On trips featuring a Mann-led ball-screen during this stretch, the Clippers are generating 1.13 points per possession (PPP) &mdash; a mark on par with Luka Doncic's league-leading clip.
(Of course, the volume and responsibility isn't close between those two &mdash; Mann's at 13 picks per 100 possessions during this stretch, while Luka's at nearly 69 per 100 on the year &mdash; but the point is that the Clippers have been getting good stuff from Mann as of late.)
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Pick-and-rolls aren't the only part of half-court offense though. And zooming out, the Clippers have posted a 95.7 offensive rating in the half-court; that ranks 21st over the last five games, and is only slightly better than their season-wide mark (94.8, 24th).&nbsp;
The idea of Mann kicking off possessions has a similar feel to Marcus Smart (or Derrick White) with the Boston Celtics. If Mann (Smart/White) is tilting the defense with a drive, that means he's kicking it out to Kawhi and George (Jayson Tatum/Jaylen Brown). The theory is sound.
Mann doesn't have the kind of passing chops that Smart does, which lessens the overall impact of that gambit. Beyond that, Smart's role in that dynamic is a bit of a luxury. The Clippers currently&nbsp;need&nbsp;Mann to shoulder that kind of load right now.
That speaks to the growth Mann has shown throughout his young career, but it also signals a problem team-wide. And this is where we put on our glasses and look at what the Clippers have gotten out of John Wall and Reggie Jackson lately.
It ain't good.
Let's take a cursory glance at the box-score numbers since the beginning of December, shall we?
<ul>
<li>John Wall (16 games): 9.6 points (37% on twos, 36.2% from three), 4.9 assists (2.4 turnovers), -68 in 351 minutes</li>
<li>Reggie Jackson (18 games): 9.1 points (40.8% on twos, 33.8% from three), 2.6 assists (1.8 turnovers), -58 in 430 minutes</li>
<li>Terance Mann (22 games): 9.8 points, (55.8% on twos, 39.1% from three), 2.2 assists (0.8 turnovers), +32 in 530 minutes</li>
</ul>
The efficiency isn't really close. Narrow it down to the latest five-game sample, and the gap <a href="https://www.nba.com/stats/players/traditional?LastNGames=5&amp;TeamID=1610612746&amp;PerMode=PerGame&amp;DateFrom=" target="_blank" rel="noopener">is even wider</a>.
On drives specifically, you really start to see difference between the three. Per Second Spectrum, here are the numbers on drives that feature a paint touch since Dec. 1:
<ul>
<li>Wall: 81 drives, 0.82 PPP on direct plays (Wall shoots, or passes it to a player who immediately shoots)</li>
<li>Jackson: 82 drives, 1.01 PPP</li>
<li>Mann: 82 drives, 1.08 PPP</li>
</ul>
Add in just how much better Mann has been defensively, and you start to understand why we're getting close to recycling the "Do the Clippers need a point guard" question from the past two seasons.&nbsp;
It's undeniable that they've gotten underwhelming results from their point guard stable this season, so much that Mann has had to shoulder more of that load as of late. The Clippers could certainly benefit from better point guard play.
Do they need an actual point guard? I'm still not sure I'd press that button, though it's worth mentioning they've <a href="https://www.cbssports.com/nba/news/nba-trade-rumors-clippers-interested-in-mike-conley-suns-a-fred-vanvleet-suitor-jazz-eyeing-john-collins/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">recently been linked</a> to Mike Conley, per the reporting of Substack's Marc Stein. Maybe they think so.
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Conley could help some of the half-court quarterbacking. He's averaging a career-high 7.5 assists this year, and can still get busy behind the arc. On the flip side, he's in the midst of his worst inside-the-arc season; he's converting a career-low 42.9% of his twos, with a lot of that due to a career-low 50% clip inside of three feet.
If they're interested in Conley, would they be willing to kick the tires on a reunion with Chris Paul? Like Conley, he could provide some structure in the half-court. There's a similar aversion to the rim, and uptick in volume from beyond the arc. Both have partial guarantees for next season (and beyond, for Paul). I'm just sayin'.
Before he was eventually moved to the New York Knicks, the Clippers were <a href="https://www.si.com/nba/clippers/news/report-clippers-still-interested-in-acquiring-derrick-rose" target="_blank" rel="noopener">linked to Derrick Rose</a> as a potential suitor. Rose currently finds himself outside of the Knicks' rotation; I'd doubt it would take much to acquire him if there was still interest there.
The answer could be another wing to operate as the tip of the spear. Maybe the perpetually-available Eric Gordon, since we're on the topic of reunions.
Regardless of which pathway is chosen, the current setup feels untenable. They haven't done enough from beyond the arc, in terms of volume (12th in three-point rate) or efficiency (37.3%, 10th), to compensate for the lack of juice they're getting at the rim &mdash; 23rd in rim rate, 26th (63.8) in efficiency.
Until we see change in one or both of those areas, the Clippers' title hopes will be just that: Hope.

Nekias Duncan highlights Terance Mann's recent success at point guard and what the Clippers need to do to get back on track.

With the Clippers searching for direction, where should they turn?

I'll open with a bit of transparency: I don't know if I'll have more fun writing a piece than I will with this one.
It's easy to get lost in Xs and Os talk, rotation suggestions, or transaction rumors. It can be easy to be bogged down by off-court nonsense &mdash; looking at you, Josh Primo, and the Brooklyn Nets, as a concept. But there are certain teams, certain players and certain stories that bring me back to the ground floor.&nbsp;
At its core, basketball is a beautiful game. It is art; it is music. It's poetry. It's freakin'&nbsp;fun,&nbsp;man. Watching players make the impossible look mundane is what drew me to the sport. I wouldn't care about the intricacies of Spain pick-and-rolls without having "whew, what a fun/easy bucket" as my foundation.&nbsp;
There isn't a player in the league that breaks my "whew" scale &mdash; or makes me laugh uncontrollably &mdash;&nbsp; quite like the Orlando Magic's Bol Bol does.&nbsp;
He's broken my brain virtually; you're not having fun in an online 2K league without having him on your roster. The flashes he showed at Oregon broke my brain in real life. A guy that tall isn't supposed to have the shooting touch and handle capabilities that he does.&nbsp;
There were always valid concerns. The frame was an issue, as were the injuries he's had to work through because of it. There were questions about the motor, among other things. He slid to the second round of the 2019 draft due to a combination of those questions.
But my word, the Bol Experiment may be working in Year 4.
Through eight games, Bol is averaging career highs in points (11.1), rebounds (7.4), and blocks (2.6, 4th in the NBA) in a shade under 22 minutes a night. This has been more than the occasional flash that I freak out about on Twitter; he legitimately looks like a productive rotation player.
Injury and opportunity have thrusted Bol into the Magic's starting lineup over the last three games. He's responded strongly, averaging 13.3 points, 10.0 rebounds, and 2.7 blocks in 29.1 minutes per contest.
HOW IT'S WORKING
Honestly, "opportunistic" may be the best way to describe Bol's play to kick off the year. He's averaging nearly 2 offensive rebounds a game. Overall, 48.5% of his two-point attempts &mdash; that he's converting at an absurd 71.7% clip by the way &mdash; have been unassisted. You can think a combination of putbacks and grab-and-go sequences for that.
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The grab-and-go possessions really stand out. One, it's just wild to see someone like him bringing the ball up. Beyond that, the drives have actually been fruitful. The sample isn't large; the good folks at Second Spectrum have him pegged for 17 drives on the season. But the Magic have generated over 1.3 points per possession (PPP) on trips featuring a Bol drive.&nbsp;
The real fun is that the drives have featured some kick-outs. If he shifts from one-track minded to 1.3-track minded, you consider that a win if you're the Magic. These aren't Luka-like reads, but this is growth worth keeping an eye on.
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Defensively, I find myself in awe of Bol's length and range.&nbsp;
You will often see Bol in an off-ball role, either defending a weaker opponent or defending an area as part of Orlando's zone. If he isn't directly involved in the action, he's able to sink down to disrupt drives and spray back out to bother (or dissuade) catch-and-shoot opportunities. Even when he isn't in great position (more on that shortly), his massive wingspan allows him to alter or block shots anyway.
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Among 77 players that have defended at least 75 shot attempts, Bol's contest rate (92.59) ranks 12th on the list, per Second Spectrum. That puts him right behind players like Anthony Davis (93.59) and slightly ahead of guys like Giannis Antetokounmpo (92.51).
ROOM FOR IMPROVEMENT
Aside from the grab-and-go potential, the shooting was the primary calling card for Bol offensively entering his draft year. He hasn't knocked down triples at a high clip (33.3%) or with much volume (1.1 attempts).
To the volume portion, a lot of that is because of Bol's limitations. Because of his struggles to deal with physicality, opponents are comfortable stashing perimeter players on him. What would be pick-and-pop situations are typically switches, negating much of the benefits for Bol.
There's a ton of room to grow as a screener. Again, the frame limits him from being a Steven Adams-esque bully, but it still doesn't feel like he has a firm handle on timing or angles to pry guys loose. I've been on a <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-screen-time-vol-1-steven-adams-best-worst-screeners-anthony-davis-fred-vanvleet" target="_blank" rel="noopener">screening kick lately</a>, and it should come as no surprise that Bol grades poorly in terms of contact rate &mdash; meaning how often he generates contact on his screens.
It's not a situation like Brandon Clarke, where he's good at screening but ranks low in generating contact because he's so good&nbsp;at slipping; Bol just has to get better at screening as a concept.
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If he's able to do that, more scoring opportunities should rise. Pick-and-pops will open up. The Magic could further explore his usage as a handoff hub if he generates contact better; he already has enough of a handle to fool opponents with fake handoffs. But before that can be a present threat, he has to be able to pry his handoff partner open and force rotations.&nbsp;
On the other end, Bol's spatial awareness still needs work. While his length can help cover his mistakes, it's still worth noting some of the mistakes he makes, particularly when he's tasked with tracking multiple actions at once.
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Bol is often stashed on weaker perimeter players, and that weakness speaks to that player's scoring prowess&nbsp;and&nbsp;literal strength. Bol simply doesn't have the strength to deal with 5s. Even some guards have been successful in getting into his chest on drives and pushing him backwards.
He still struggles sliding laterally, and has bigger issues flipping his hips and changing direction. That's led to some pretty ugly "contain" sequences from him. It's telling that he's among the league leaders in blocks, but opponents have converted nearly 67% of their shots at the rim against Bol to this point of the season.
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But for now, the positives are outweighing the problem areas for the first time in his career. The Magic have a plus-4.6 net rating in Bol's 173 minutes, and have been dusted (minus-13.8) in their 211 minutes without him. The split looks even better if <a href="https://www.pbpstats.com/wowy-combos/nba?TeamId=1610612753&amp;Season=2022-23&amp;SeasonType=Regular%2BSeason&amp;PlayerIds=1629626&amp;Leverage=VeryHigh,High,Medium" target="_blank" rel="noopener">you remove garbage time</a>.
Cheers to Bol for producing, and an even bigger hat tip to him for being fun while doing it.

Nekias Duncan breaks down, and celebrates, the fun and productivity of Bol Bol with the Orlando Magic.

Magical start: Celebrating Bol Bol's early productivity in Orlando

Nekias Duncan previews each of the Pacific division teams ahead of the 2022-23 NBA season.

2022-23 NBA Season Preview: Pacific Division

The 2022 NBA Draft is only 10 days away. How will it all play out for teams hoping to change their long-term fortunes? Not only will the draft selections bring intrigue, but so will the endless amounts of trade rumors.
Buzz is already picking back up, but who are some players that are flying a little too far under the radar from a potential trade standpoint? Let&rsquo;s go ahead and dive into five names who make a lot of sense as potential movers on draft night.
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Buddy Hield
Buddy Hield was a revelation within Rick Carlisle&rsquo;s system in Indiana, posting a career-high 4.8 assists per game for the Pacers. Hield was already known as one of the NBA&rsquo;s most dangerous sharpshooters, but added offensive equity makes him even more of an attractive trade chip for the rebuilding Pacers to consider moving.
Every contender needs additional three-point shooting, and there&rsquo;s not a better potential option out there this offseason than Hield. With $39 million remaining over the final two years of his contract, it could be tough trying to find the ideal trade partner. However, some teams can get creative to fit the veteran into their salary sheet.
A potential fit for Hield that makes way too much sense is Philadelphia. Armed with the No. 23 overall pick they didn&rsquo;t plan on using, alongside Danny Green&rsquo;s expiring non-guaranteed $10 million contract, the Sixers could be an under-the-radar team to monitor over the next few weeks. Getting involved for someone like Hield, who adds even more gravity with Joel Embiid and James Harden, checks a lot of Daryl Morey-related boxes.
Hield doesn&rsquo;t fit the Pacers&rsquo; timeline, so don&rsquo;t be stunned if he&rsquo;s on the move after building back up his value for a few months in Indianapolis.
Pacers receive: Danny Green, Furkan Korkmaz, Shake Milton, No. 23
76ers receive: Buddy Hield, No. 58
Gary Trent Jr.
Toronto has been sniffing around on the top prospects in this year&rsquo;s draft, including names such as Arizona wing Bennedict Mathurin and G League Ignite playmaker Dyson Daniels. Both are projected to go within the first 10 picks, but the Raptors won&rsquo;t be on the clock until No. 33 overall. Whether it be OG Anunoby or Gary Trent Jr., Toronto has its trade chip available to move up the board.
It&rsquo;s been reported that it would take a hefty offer in order for the Raptors to even consider dealing Anunoby. Operating under that assumption, Trent feels like the more realistic bargaining chip on draft night. GTJ is a certified bucket-getter who is nowhere even close to his prime years. In a top-heavy class, Toronto could move into the late lottery by parlaying the former Duke Blue Devil as the price.
How about a hypothetical scenario involving the Washington Wizards? Washington is in win-now mode, especially with the future of Bradley Beal seemingly always up in the air. How would D.C. feel about Trent and Beal as a scoring combination paired with the inside duo of Kristaps Porzingis and Daniel Gafford? It&rsquo;s at least a start, and the board could be rather thin for Washington by the time No. 10 rolls around.
Raptors receive: Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, No. 10 overall
Wizards receive: Gary Trent Jr., No. 33 overall
Bogdan Bogdanovic
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After reporting Landry Fields' promotion to general manager, ESPN&rsquo;s Adrian Wojnarowski relayed on Monday that the Atlanta Hawks are expected to be <a href="https://twitter.com/KLChouinard/status/1536466951832317959?s=20&amp;t=h-2FroyKYxbsEcKv3zAKfg" target="_blank" rel="noopener">one of the most active teams in trade talks</a> between now and free agency. Rumors of potential draft-night deals involving John Collins are out there, but there&rsquo;s also some smoke billowing around the future of Bogdan Bogdanovic in Atlanta. Having already paid Kevin Huerter, and with De&rsquo;Andre Hunter soon due a lucrative extension, could now be the right time to let go of Bogdanovic?
If the Hawks indeed plan on being aggressive, Bogdanovic and the No. 16 overall pick could get them a strong return package. The Athletic&rsquo;s James Edwards III shared that he&rsquo;s heard the Hawks have shown recent interest in Jerami Grant, which includes Bogdanovic and their first-round pick going to Detroit. Honestly, that&rsquo;s a fair, win-win trade for both the Hawks and Pistons.
Expect a lot of changes for the Hawks&rsquo; roster as they retool around Trae Young. Collins feels like he could soon be out the door, but watch out for Bogdanovic as well.
Hawks receive: Jerami Grant
Pistons receive: Bogdan Bogdanovic, No. 16 overall
Bojan Bogdanovic
Everyone around the NBA is waiting to see what domino falls next in Salt Lake City as the Jazz enter a <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/an-awkward-offseason-looms-for-the-jazz-as-they-try-to-avoid-rebuild" target="_blank" rel="noopener">tumultuous offseason</a>. Uncertain futures of Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert cloud what has been an impressive run over the last few years. Now, it seems to be reaching a decision point one way or another between Mitchell and Gobert. Going off multiple reports, if Mitchell gets his way, New York Knicks associate head coach Johnnie Bryant will be the new lead voice in Utah while Gobert is shipped off elsewhere.
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Outside of the star angles in Utah, the team's roster has a lot of talent that could net value for executive Danny Ainge. Bojan Bogdanovic immediately stands out as one of those premier assets to flip on a $19.2 million expiring contract. Entering his age-33 season, Bogdanovic could be the main piece utilized by the Jazz to bring in more all-around versatility and/or youth.
In this scenario, Utah and Atlanta strike a deal involving Bogdanovic for Danilo Gallinari&rsquo;s barely-guaranteed $21 million salary and Atlanta's first-round pick at No. 16 overall. The Jazz net a top-20 pick while Atlanta gets a win-now piece to surround its superstar point guard.
Jazz receive: Danilo Gallinari, No. 16 overall
Hawks receive: Bojan Bogdanovic
Luguentz Dort
Oklahoma City is already making moves before draft night arrives a little over a week from now. The Thunder acquired veteran forward JaMychal Green from the Denver Nuggets in a salary dump. OKC sent the Nuggets the No. 30 overall pick in exchange for a 2027 protected first-rounder and Green. With so many future draft picks at their disposal as they embark on this historic rebuild attempt, the Thunder need to consolidate some of them due to current roster construction. With so much young talent already on the roster, it was going to be impossible to fit in more than a few extra rookies.
Rumors have been picking up steam around Shaedon Sharpe, which easily could be a smokescreen because of OKC&rsquo;s history. Sharpe&rsquo;s fit with the Thunder actually makes a lot of sense, though, plus ESPN&rsquo;s Jonathan Givony said the interest is mutual. Operating under the assumption that Chet Holmgren is selected by them at No. 2, imagine if the Thunder could also snag Sharpe as well in a trade-up? Instantly, OKC would be a major draft-night winner.
Sharpe&rsquo;s arrival would probably mean Lu Dort could be sent out in the same deal, especially to make Portland move back five spots in this scenario. Dort is entering the final year of his deal and is extension-eligible. Although losing Dort would be a major blow, getting Holmgren and Sharpe to go with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Josh Giddey would bring immense hope to Oklahoma City.
Thunder receive: No. 7 overall, Keon Johnson
Trail Blazers receive: No. 12 overall, Luguentz Dort
Trade speculation is only beginning with the offseason cycle now picking up full steam. Stay tuned to BasketballNews.com as we&rsquo;ll have you covered all offseason.
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With the NBA Draft less than two weeks away and buzz picking up, are there any names who could be trade candidates?

Analyzing 5 players who could be traded during the 2022 NBA Draft

Nekias Duncan breaks down the 2022 NBA Finals between the Celtics and Warriors from a multitude of angles.

2022 NBA Finals Scouting Report: How the Celtics and Warriors match up

May 5, 2006. That was the last time the Sacramento Kings <a href="https://www.basketball-reference.com/boxscores/200605050SAC.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">played in a playoff game</a>. That contest took place 5,863 days ago.&nbsp; To put that into context: During that 2005-06 season, Chris Paul was a rookie and Bruce Bowen, who was born in 1971, was named to the NBA's All-Defensive First Team. Steve Nash won his second consecutive MVP award and Boris Diaw was named the league's Most Improved Player.
The Kings made history last month, the type of history that no organization wants to be known for. Sacramento, who finished the 2021-22 campaign with a 30-52 record, failed to qualify for the postseason for the 16th straight season, breaking the NBA record for the longest playoff drought. (The Kings had been tied with the Buffalo Braves and Los Angeles Clippers prior.)
So, while <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-draft-lottery-teams-who-should-trade-to-win-now-or-at-least-sooner" target="_blank" rel="noopener">many teams in this year's draft lottery</a> are rumored to be interested in potentially trading their pick, arguably no team is more motivated to add an established player (as opposed to an unproven rookie) in hopes of avoiding a return trip to the all-too-familiar lottery dais next May than the Kings.
As proof of their urgency to win now, the Kings shocked pundits back in February by trading away Tyrese Haliburton, one of the league's most promising young point guards, to the Indiana Pacers in exchange for a package that included Justin Holiday, Jeremy Lamb and two-time All-Star Domantas Sabonis.&nbsp;
Thus, it isn't shocking to learn that Sacramento, who jumped up to land the No. 4 overall pick in last week's lottery, is reportedly willing to wheel and deal if presented with the right offer.&nbsp;
<a href="https://bleacherreport.com/articles/10036369-nba-draft-buzz-insiders-explain-why-chet-holmgren-makes-sense-at-no-1" target="_blank" rel="noopener">According to Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report</a>, "there's a strong belief among rival teams that Sacramento will explore trading the fourth selection, either out of the draft entirely for an impact veteran or down later in the lottery to net a contributing rotation player in the process."
The other issue likely factoring into the Kings' thought process is that the top tier of the <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/draft" target="_blank" rel="noopener">2022 NBA Draft</a> consists of three players (Jabari Smith, Chet Holmgren and Paolo Banchero), with a bit of a dropoff after those elite prospects. Nonetheless, "the uncertainty of the fourth selection could prompt eager teams to leap up to secure their prized prospect" which puts the Kings' front office in a "<a href="https://bleacherreport.com/articles/10036369-nba-draft-buzz-insiders-explain-why-chet-holmgren-makes-sense-at-no-1" target="_blank" rel="noopener">strong trade position</a>," per Fischer.&nbsp;
Additionally, Mike Scotto of HoopsHype recently <a href="https://hoopshype.com/lists/aggregate-nba-mock-draft-lottery-jabari-smith-chet-holmgren-paolo-banchero-trade-rumors/">reported</a> that NBA executives "are monitoring the Sacramento Kings" as a team that could trade their pick "in search of player(s) that can help immediately." Scotto added that after acquiring Sabonis, the Kings have "made it clear the goal is to end the franchise's playoff drought" and that "rival teams are keeping an eye on Sacramento to trade this pick."
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So, let's examine some deals that might make sense for both the Kings and a potential trading partner.
Detroit Pistons send Jerami Grant, Saben Lee, Isaiah Livers and a second-round pick (No. 46 overall) to the Kings in exchange for the No. 4 overall pick, Richaun Holmes, Maurice Harkless and Alex Len
Earlier this offseason, Sacramento general manager Monte McNair <a href="https://account.sacbee.com/paywall/subscriber-only?resume=260358905&amp;intcid=ab_archive">conceded</a> that the team needs to add players who can knock down shots and fit in alongside the franchise's cornerstones, Sabonis and De'Aaron Fox.
"I think shooting, we can clearly acknowledge, will be a huge priority," McNair declared. "Length, athleticism, versatility &mdash; we've talked about all that as well. Obviously, you want the whole package, but shooting will be a big priority for us."
Grant most certainly checks those boxes. During his two years in Detroit, he has averaged 20.9 points, 4.4 rebounds, 2.6 assists, 2.0 made treys and 1.1 blocks per game. He has shot over 37% from downtown on 4.5 attempts over the past four seasons and is a versatile, plus defender. As a stretch-4, Grant &mdash; who just turned 28 and is in the heart of his prime &mdash; could conceivably fit in well in the frontcourt alongside Sabonis, who likes to operate on the low block and is a good passer from the post. Moreover, Fox-Grant pick-and-rolls would be difficult to defend.&nbsp;
The issue in this potential trade is that Grant has just one season left on the three-year, $60 million deal he signed in 2020. However, as long as Grant is traded before Aug. 9, he is eligible to sign an extension with his new team for up to $112 million over four years. After previously spurning the Nuggets to sign with the Pistons, we know that Grant is not afraid to join a team that hasn't enjoyed recent success. Would he be willing to commit to Sacramento long-term? If so, a Big Three of Fox, Grant and Sabonis might be talented enough to finally push the Kings into the postseason.&nbsp;
For the Pistons, they would add Holmes (a quality center on a team-friendly contract) and enter next month's draft with 2 of the top 5 picks, which would allow them to add a pair of promising prospects to a core centered around Cade Cunningham, Saddiq Bey, Isaiah Stewart and Killian Hayes. 
Washington Wizards send Kyle Kuzma and the No. 10 overall pick to the Kings for the No. 4 pick, Justin Holiday and Terence Davis
After a disappointing end to his tenure as a Los Angeles Laker, Kuzma bounced back with a very productive season for the Wizards in 2021-22. He averaged 17.1 points and 1.9 made three-pointers while setting career-highs in rebounds (8.5), assists (3.5) and blocks (0.9) per game. He led the Wiz in double-doubles with 24 (which ranked tied for the sixth-most among all forwards in the NBA). Adding Kuzma's offensive versatility would provide Sacramento with some much-needed depth at forward. In addition, the Kings would still have a lottery pick, dropping back just six spots, which would allow them to add another young asset to the roster.&nbsp;
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The Wizards would likely entertain such a deal if they fell in love with a prospect &mdash; such as Keegan Murray, Jaden Ivey or Shaedon Sharpe &mdash; whom they feel relatively sure won't still be on the board at 10.
Kuz has two years left on his current contract but can opt out in the summer of 2023. However, he will be eligible to sign a four-year extension for up to $70 million this October if his $13 million player option for 2023-24 is declined.&nbsp;
A similar package featuring one of the Wizards' other young forwards (Rui Hachimura, Deni Avdija or Corey Kispert) instead of Kuzma might also be feasible, depending on the value the Kings/Wizards place on the respective players.&nbsp;
Houston Rockets send the No. 3 overall pick and Eric Gordon to the Kings for the No. 4 pick, a (protected) future first-round pick, a 2022 second-round pick, Richaun Holmes and Justin Holiday
Is it possible that Sacramento views Smith, Holmgren or Banchero as talented enough to make a substantial impact as a rookie? If so, would the team be willing to pony up sufficient capital to move up one spot?
The Kings would snag one of this draft's three most prized prospects in this hypothetical scenario. The 7-foot Holmgren is one of the most versatile prospects to enter the draft in recent history. Banchero possesses a freakish combination of size, strength and athleticism. Smith projects as a lethal stretch-4 who could fit in nicely alongside Sabonis.&nbsp;
Gordon is a respected, established veteran with just one year of guaranteed money left on his contract. He shot a scorching 41.2% from three-point territory this past season, the second-best mark of his career.&nbsp;
Such a deal would make sense for the Rockets if they feel whichever of the top-tier prospects that falls to them isn't significantly better than the next highest-ranked player on their board. During a post-lottery press conference last week, Rockets general manager Rafael Stone said Houston is <a href="https://twitter.com/MarkBermanFox26/status/1526739178557517824?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1526739178557517824%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&amp;ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fbleacherreport.com%2Farticles%2F10036145-rockets-open-to-trading-3rd-pick-in-2022-nba-draft-if-a-deal-makes-sense-gm-says" target="_blank" rel="noopener">open to trading the No. 3 pick</a>.
"I'm definitely not gonna block them out," Stone <a href="https://twitter.com/MarkBermanFox26/status/1526739178557517824?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1526739178557517824%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&amp;ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fbleacherreport.com%2Farticles%2F10036145-rockets-open-to-trading-3rd-pick-in-2022-nba-draft-if-a-deal-makes-sense-gm-says">told reporters</a>. "If they wanna talk, I'm always available to talk... If it's the case that they're interested in doing something, we're always available to listen. If there's something that makes sense for both teams, something will get done."
Adding a quality young center in Holmes would give the Rockets leverage in negotiations with Christian Wood, or potentially enable them to trade him out of Houston.&nbsp;
New York Knicks trade Julius Randle and the No. 11 overall pick to the Kings for Harrison Barnes, the No. 4 pick and a second-round pick (No. 37 overall)&nbsp;
Randle playing alongside Sabonis could be viewed as a clunky fit, but Sabonis did play 80% of his minutes at center for Sacramento after arriving via the midseason trade. The pairing would undoubtedly be problematic defensively, but the duo would be dynamic on the offensive end. Over the past two seasons, Randle and Sabonis were 2 of only 4 NBA players to average double-digit boards and more than 5 assists per contest. (The other two players in this club were Nikola Jokić and Giannis Antetokounmpo.)
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After being named to the All-NBA Second Team in 2020-21, Randle's offensive inefficiency regressed dramatically this past season. In addition, <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/julius-randle-and-the-knicks-should-part-ways-this-summer" target="_blank" rel="noopener">the relationship between Randle and Knicks fans turned toxic</a> at various points during the year. Yet, even in a "down year," he averaged 20.1 points, 9.9 boards and 5.1 dimes per game. A fresh start in California might help Randle regain his All-Star form. Also, he is under team control for at least three more years (he has a player option for 2025-26), which means the Kings wouldn't have to worry about their key players entering free agency anytime soon.&nbsp;
From the Knicks' perspective, this move would allow them to jump up and snag a highly-touted prospect, possibly combo guard Jaden Ivey, who New York was rumored to be interested in. And, <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/julius-randle-and-the-knicks-should-part-ways-this-summer" target="_blank" rel="noopener">as I wrote last month</a>, moving Randle would enable the Knicks to insert Obi Toppin (who averaged 27.2 points, 6.2 rebounds and 3.8 made three-pointers per game in April) into the starting lineup while also clearing Randle's contract off their books. Barnes will celebrate his 30th birthday next week, but is still playing at a high level and has just one year left on his current deal.&nbsp;
Atlanta Hawks trade John Collins and the No. 16 pick to the Kings for Harrison Barnes and the No. 4 pick
After signing a massive five-year contract worth $125 million last summer, Collins struggled with injuries and inconsistency in 2021-22. His disappointing production was one of the reasons Atlanta failed to meet lofty expectations this season. One year after advancing to the Eastern Conference Finals, the Hawks spent much of this past season below .500 and were easily eliminated by the Miami Heat in the first round.
Would they be willing to part way with Collins (and his contract) to jump 12 spots in the draft?&nbsp;
Much like the aforementioned Randle/Knicks deal, the Kings would have to decide if Collins could mesh with Sabonis and Fox.&nbsp;
Charlotte Hornets trade Gordon Hayward, the No. 13 pick and the No. 15 pick (via NOLA) to the Kings in exchange for Harrison Barnes, Maurice Harkless, Alex Len and the No. 4 pick
Attempting to determine Hayward's value league-wide is difficult. When healthy, he's been remarkably productive throughout his career. However, he's been plagued by injury issues and has missed 58 games since signing a four-year, $120 million pact with the Hornets in 2020. He has two years and $61.5 million left on his current contract, which also contains a 15% trade kicker.&nbsp;
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Tommy Beer highlights a number of possible trades that the Kings could execute to improve their roster this summer.

Breaking down 6 hypothetical trades for the Kings' No. 4 draft pick

The Utah Jazz&rsquo;s 2021-22 season is officially over. The Jazz believed they were a championship contender, but this marks another season ending in disappointment and heartbreak. Now, looking ahead at what&rsquo;s to come in Salt Lake City, massive changes seem to be on the horizon. Whether it be Donovan Mitchell or Rudy Gobert on the move, something&rsquo;s gotta give. Other veterans such as Mike Conley and Bojan Bogdanovic could be on the move too.
While our Bryan Fonseca recently broke down <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/examining-potential-trade-desinations-for-donovan-mitchell-2022" target="_blank" rel="noopener">possible trade destinations for Mitchell</a>, it's seems likely that the Jazz will try to appease their young star shooting guard. Gordon Hayward already broke Utah&rsquo;s heart a few years ago when he left in free agency. If Mitchell requested a trade, it would send shockwaves throughout Utah. Unlike Hayward, Mitchell has star power that transcends Utah and he could potentially lead the team to heights they haven&rsquo;t reached since the 1990s with John Stockton and Karl Malone.
If the Jazz have to move their homegrown three-time Defensive Player of the Year in order to keep Mitchell, I'm almost certain it would happen. It&rsquo;s an unfortunate twist of fate for Gobert, but leaving the Jazz&rsquo;s system might be the best thing for him so he can truly blossom into a true two-way presence.
As seen throughout Utah's first-round series against the Dallas Mavericks, Gobert was ignored or simply used as a decoy more often than not. If Gobert is used on a more consistent basis in a different environment, who knows what he could accomplish as one of the NBA&rsquo;s premier lob threats?
Gobert hitting the trade market would result in a feeding frenzy around the Association. Whether it be title contenders or rebuilding teams who feel close to a massive leap, Gobert could be viewed as the missing piece to the puzzle.
Without further ado, let&rsquo;s dive into five realistic destinations for a Gobert blockbuster deal this offseason.
Chicago Bulls
Chicago knows they&rsquo;re in desperate need of a defensive jolt. Adding Lonzo Ball and Alex Caruso in the backcourt already brought a new identity to the Bulls, who were seemingly allergic to defense before their arrival. Myles Turner has been mentioned as a possible target for Chicago, but the Indiana Pacers are <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/despite-trade-talks-the-pacers-want-to-keep-myles-turner-longterm" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reportedly</a> expected to keep him long-term. Why not swing for the fences with Gobert? Acquiring the 29-year-old would be a crown-jewel moment for the organization.&nbsp;
Imagine the possibilities for Chicago with Gobert patrolling the paint with Ball and Caruso hawking the perimeter. It&rsquo;s the perfect complement to offensive dynamos Zach LaVine and DeMar DeRozan. Chicago&rsquo;s new starting lineup of Ball, Caruso, LaVine, DeRozan and Gobert would seemingly have no holes in it from a two-way perspective.
I absolutely love this idea for Chicago, and they should be blowing up the Jazz&rsquo;s phone this summer if it seems plausible.
Jazz receive: Nikola Vucevic, Patrick Williams, Coby White, draft compensation
Bulls receive: Rudy Gobert
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New York Knicks
The Knicks are bound to blow it up one way or another soon enough. Julius Randle feels like <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/five-nba-players-who-feel-destined-to-be-traded-this-offseason" target="_blank" rel="noopener">one of the most obvious trade candidates</a> to potentially hit the market this offseason. If the Knicks are done with Randle, could they parlay him and other young pieces to acquire Gobert? While <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/examining-potential-trade-desinations-for-donovan-mitchell-2022" target="_blank" rel="noopener">New York would love to land Mitchell</a>, the Knicks should seriously explore a Gobert trade since the organization needs some sort of game-changing move.
The 2022-23 season feels like a make-or-break year for the current Knicks regime. Head coach Tom Thibodeau&rsquo;s seat is red-hot, plus the Knicks&rsquo; front office has to be itching to make some sort of move to change course from a stale build.
Gobert&rsquo;s arrival would signal New York is ready to finally ascend the Eastern Conference standings. Sure, Gobert isn&rsquo;t a true &ldquo;superstar,&rdquo; but he&rsquo;s far and away the most impactful player the Knicks could realistically reel in this offseason. Gobert being the adult in the room for an accelerated rebuild in the Big Apple is a fun scenario, especially as it provides a high-floor outcome immediately.
New York&rsquo;s current roster has ample flexibility to turn it all over again by 2023. If the Knicks clear out all of their contracts with team options and expiring deals, sans the young core, they will have a max slot open for the loaded 2023 free-agent class. Would Gobert and RJ Barrett be able to sell a star on New York? If Barrett takes the leap forward that many expect, that&rsquo;s a fun big/wing duo to build around long-term.
Utah will likely want at least another young asset or two in return as part of this projected blockbuster, but the framework is strong enough to build off it.
Jazz receive: Julius Randle, Alec Burks, Quentin Grimes, draft compensation
Knicks receive: Rudy Gobert
Atlanta Hawks
Want to find the perfect fit for Gobert outside of Utah? The Hawks are the ideal destination for Gobert, who would be able to shine outside of the Jazz&rsquo;s system. Trae Young pick-and-rolls with Gobert would simply be unfair to try to guard, and it would help insulate their star point guard in a better situation.
Atlanta also has the right amount of assets to make this compelling for Utah to pull the trigger. Whether it be John Collins or Bogdan Bogdanovic, either one could be the centerpiece to a Gobert deal. Also, Atlanta has an upcoming expiring salary in Danilo Gallinari with only $5 million guaranteed on his contract. If you throw together Collins, Gallinari and future draft compensation, it could be enough for the Jazz to take negotiations more seriously. Clint Capela could also be re-routed to another team to free up further cap flexibility as well.
For Atlanta, they are ready to win right now with Young leading the way. With Young, Kevin Huerter, De&rsquo;Andre Hunter, Onyeka Okongwu and Jalen Johnson, they have a young core that's ready to take the next step. Gobert brings a star piece to an organization that has the urgency to compete right now in the East, and they'll want to bounce back after how they crashed and burned to end their 2021-22 season. Also, the Hawks had the NBA's 26th-ranked defense this season (allowing 112.1 points per 100 possessions), so adding a three-time Defensive Player of the Year could be just what they need.
It wouldn&rsquo;t be a surprise to see a player of Young&rsquo;s caliber push for Gobert to join him in Atlanta too. With all the trade rumors swirling around Collins since he signed a five-year extension, this deal makes a lot of sense for both sides to explore further.
Jazz receive: John Collins, Danilo Gallinari, future draft compensation
Hawks receive: Rudy Gobert
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Golden State Warriors
Smoke is already forming around this possibility, if the Jazz indeed decide to blow it up in a few months. For the Warriors, it&rsquo;s an all-in move to create another dynasty in the final prime years of Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green. With so much young talent climbing the ladder in the reloaded Western Conference, the time is now for the Warriors to make a splashy move to keep themselves atop the standings.
This will be the last time the Warriors can explore potential deals revolving around Andrew Wiggins&rsquo; bloated salary as well. Next season, Wiggins will be on an expiring contract making $33.6 million. With Wiggins, Golden State can immediately enter the conversation for Gobert while also having some intriguing young pieces that could appeal to Utah.
Jonathan Kuminga is likely off limits from the Warriors&rsquo; perspective, flashing real two-way potential throughout this season. However, what about a combination of Moses Moody and James Wiseman? Instantly, Utah can replenish their young core with two immediate contributors to place alongside Mitchell long-term. Throw in some future draft picks and the Jazz might be the ones who are ready to press &ldquo;accept&rdquo; on this hypothetical trade.
Golden State&rsquo;s new-age lineup of dominance would simply be unfair. Take a look at the Warriors&rsquo; projected lineup with Gobert: Curry, Jordan Poole, Thompson, Green and Gobert. With all of the versatility on display here, it could vault Golden State into a different stratosphere entirely.
Jazz receive: Andrew Wiggins, James Wiseman, Moses Moody, future draft compensation
Warriors receive: Rudy Gobert, Rudy Gay
Detroit Pistons
Here&rsquo;s a surprise team that could become very aggressive in the Gobert sweepstakes if the chips fall their way this offseason. No. 1 overall pick Cade Cunningham flashed superstar potential for the Pistons during his rookie campaign, especially after the All-Star break.
If the Pistons get lottery luck once more with a top pick in this year&rsquo;s draft, could they decide to push some chips into the middle of the table for Gobert? Imagine if the Pistons had a trio of Cunningham, Gobert and a top prospect (Jabari Smith or Paolo Banchero?) to build around for the next five-plus years.
For the Pistons, acquiring stars via the draft or trades is the only realistic route to obtaining a game-changing talent. We already saw it on display with their former regime when they traded for Blake Griffin, which led to little progress long-term. Unlike Griffin, Gobert actually fits into the organization's long-term calculus.
From the Jazz&rsquo;s perspective, they would be asking for a heavy return from a team like Detroit. We&rsquo;re talking two key pieces to their core as well as veteran wing Jerami Grant. Would the Pistons feel comfortable moving Saddiq Bey and Isaiah Stewart for Gobert? That may be Utah's asking price.
Jazz receive: Jerami Grant, Saddiq Bey, Isaiah Stewart, Kelly Olynyk, future draft compensation
Pistons receive: Rudy Gobert, Nickeil Alexander-Walker
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Entering a pivotal offseason, will the Utah Jazz blow it up? If so, which teams make sense as a landing spot for Rudy Gobert?

Examining potential trade destinations for Rudy Gobert

NBA players have become some of the most marketable celebrities in the world. These days, it&rsquo;s not uncommon for players to earn significantly more from their off-court opportunities than they do from their NBA contract.&nbsp;
While many companies are lining up to work with NBA players, not all of these stars have the same reach, engagement or consumer appeal. Some are far more influential than others, and <a href="https://www.actionnetwork.com/nba/most-marketable-popular-nba-players" target="_blank" rel="noopener">a new study from The Action Network</a> wanted to find out which NBA stars give companies the best bang for their buck.
To determine each player's "influence score," they analyzed 20 different metrics (each weighted as one point) that fell into three categories: Social performance (which measured their followers, engagement rate, yearly social growth, audience quality score, etc.), audience ratings (which factored in certain demographic and economic factors) and overall likeability (which measured monthly Google searches, online buzz and positive vs. negative sentiment). When everything was added up, 20 was the highest possible score that a player could receive.
LeBron James led all players with an overall score of 14.18, in large part because he ranked first in both social performance and likability. While James <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-most-trolls-trolled-negative-tweets-study-rumors-twitter-positive-mentions-stephen-curry-lebron-james-carmelo-anthony-joel-embiid-russell-westbrook-kevin-durant-kyrie-irving-klay-thompson-kevin-love" target="_blank" rel="noopener">has some haters</a>, he also has a ton of supporters. LeBron has plenty of endorsements and <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-lebron-james-the-businessman-fenway-sports-group-springhill-entertainment-uninterrupted-blaze-pizza-ladder-athletes-companies" target="_blank" rel="noopener">off-court endeavors</a>, which is why his 2021 off-court earnings ($65 million) more than doubled his NBA salary ($31.5 million).
At No. 2 was Stephen Curry with a score of 10.67. He has lucrative endorsement deals with Under Armour, Callaway and CarMax, and his $40 million in off-court earnings ranked eighth-highest among all athletes in 2021.&nbsp;
This is where things get interesting, as Derrick Rose rounds out the top-three with a score of 9.29. The 33-year-old beat out Devin Booker (8.96), Luka Doncic (8.83), Giannis Antetokounmpo (8.59) and Kevin Durant (8.55) among others. Even though Rose isn't the MVP-caliber player he once was and mostly comes off the bench these days, he has one of the most passionate fan bases in all of professional sports.
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After Durant, Kyrie Irving (8.17), LaMelo Ball (8.04) and Russell Westbrook (7.78) round out the top-10.
The Los Angeles Lakers (3), Brooklyn Nets (3), Golden State Warriors (2) and Phoenix Suns (2) were the only teams to have multiple players crack the top-20. Notable omissions from the top-20 include Joel Embiid, Nikola Jokic and Donovan Mitchell.
Here&rsquo;s a look at the complete top-20 list from <a href="https://www.actionnetwork.com/nba/most-marketable-popular-nba-players" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Action Network</a>:
<table>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td>
Rank
</td>
<td>
Full Name
</td>
<td>
Team
</td>
<td>
Influence Score
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
1
</td>
<td>
LeBron James
</td>
<td>
Lakers
</td>
<td>
14.18
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
2
</td>
<td>
Steph Curry
</td>
<td>
Warriors
</td>
<td>
10.67
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
3
</td>
<td>
Derrick Rose
</td>
<td>
Knicks
</td>
<td>
9.29
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
4
</td>
<td>
Devin Booker
</td>
<td>
Suns
</td>
<td>
8.96
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
5
</td>
<td>
Luka Doncic
</td>
<td>
Mavericks
</td>
<td>
8.83
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
6
</td>
<td>
Giannis Antetokounmpo
</td>
<td>
Bucks
</td>
<td>
8.59
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
7
</td>
<td>
Kevin Durant
</td>
<td>
Nets
</td>
<td>
8.55
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
8
</td>
<td>
Kyrie Irving
</td>
<td>
Nets
</td>
<td>
8.17
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
9
</td>
<td>
LaMelo Ball
</td>
<td>
Hornets
</td>
<td>
8.04
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
10
</td>
<td>
Russell Westbrook
</td>
<td>
Lakers
</td>
<td>
7.78
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
11
</td>
<td>
Ja Morant
</td>
<td>
Grizzlies
</td>
<td>
7.67
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
12
</td>
<td>
James Harden
</td>
<td>
Sixers
</td>
<td>
7.56
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
13
</td>
<td>
Anthony Davis
</td>
<td>
Lakers
</td>
<td>
7.52
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
14
</td>
<td>
Damian Lillard
</td>
<td>
Blazers
</td>
<td>
7.52
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
15
</td>
<td>
Chris Paul
</td>
<td>
Suns
</td>
<td>
7.51
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
16
</td>
<td>
Klay Thompson
</td>
<td>
Warriors
</td>
<td>
7.47
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
17
</td>
<td>
Jayson Tatum
</td>
<td>
Celtics
</td>
<td>
7.40
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
18
</td>
<td>
Ben Simmons
</td>
<td>
Nets
</td>
<td>
7.32
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
19
</td>
<td>
Zach LaVine
</td>
<td>
Bulls
</td>
<td>
7.31
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
20
</td>
<td>
Zion Williamson
</td>
<td>
Pelicans
</td>
<td>
7.18
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
Which players get trolled the most on Twitter? <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-most-trolls-trolled-negative-tweets-study-rumors-twitter-positive-mentions-stephen-curry-lebron-james-carmelo-anthony-joel-embiid-russell-westbrook-kevin-durant-kyrie-irving-klay-thompson-kevin-love" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Check out this other study</a> that determined which players receive the most negative tweets each day (and who has the most positive mentions).
&nbsp;
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A new study from The Action Network analyzed 20 different metrics to find out which NBA stars are the most marketable.

New study ranks the top-20 most marketable NBA players

The past month saw Talen Horton-Tucker's name get thrown around far more as a bargaining chip than as an actual basketball player.
Horton-Tucker, according to most reports, was the "centerpiece" of many attempted trades by the Los Angeles Lakers. He was involved in swaths of rumored deals, including one from <a href="https://fadeawayworld.net/nba-trade-rumors/lakers-and-rockets-discussed-a-blockbuster-trade-christian-wood-and-john-wall-for-russell-westbrook-talen-horton-tucker-and-2027-first-round-pick" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ESPN's Brian Windhorst</a> that could have brought back Christian Wood and John Wall from Houston. The gossip goes back all the way to last season's trade deadline, when he was supposedly the primary holdup in a potential Kyle Lowry trade.
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Of course, the Lakers didn't make any moves. Horton-Tucker remains on an ill-fitting roster that is lost at a critical juncture of the season. Many fans are probably wondering why he's still on the team and not headed elsewhere with a future draft pick.
It feels like we've been forgetting about who Talen Horton-Tucker actually&nbsp;is as a player. He's 21 years old and playing a role that far exceeds his age and draft slot. Now that THT's short-term future is certain, it's worth pulling some numbers to help describe his unique nature as a young talent.
There are 28 second-round draft picks averaging at least 25 minutes per game over at least 25 games this season. Horton-Tucker is the youngest. Open it up to all players drafted outside the top-20 and THT is still&nbsp;the youngest.&nbsp;Among all players drafted outside the top 10, only Isaiah Stewart is younger.&nbsp;
Horton-Tucker was drafted No. 46 overall in 2019. He was not supposed to be here this quickly, and especially not for a team trying to contend in the postseason. He's receiving almost seven more minutes per game in what I imagine is a more stressful team environment compared to last season.&nbsp;
Now, I'm not going to sugarcoat anything: Talen Horton-Tucker has been one of the most inefficient rotation players on offense in the NBA. Almost every stat points this way, including Cleaning the Glass' Points per 100 Shot Attempts rate, where Horton-Tucker is in the 15th percentile (100.8 PSA) at his position. He turns the ball over at an extremely high rate (13.5%) and has below-league-average efficiency clips from nearly every zone on the floor.
But hidden between the brick houses are some positive indicators. He's a great driver. According to The BBall Index, Horton-Tucker averaged 10 adjusted drives per 75 possessions (82nd percentile) and 3.4 unassisted rim attempts per 75 possessions (86th percentile). He's extremely well-built for a 6-foot-4 21-year-old at 230 pounds, and you see that in how he gets to the basket.&nbsp;
Horton-Tucker's assist rate (14.7%) and assist-to-usage rate (0.77) are both in the top 20%. This is a little misleading; Cleaning the Glass has him listed as a wing this season, but I don't think that's his long-term position &mdash; despite the weird nature of Lakers rotations. Still, those are both solid numbers, and BBall Index supports a case for THT as a passer. Horton-Tucker gets an A+ grade from the database in their "Passing Versatility" metric and an A- grade in their overall "Playmaking Talent" impact estimator. You can read more about how those are calculated <a href="https://www.bball-index.com/glossary/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here</a>.
And if you want a small carrot to chase, Horton-Tucker is making close to 80% of his limited free-throw attempts. That can often be positive foreshadowing of some shooting improvement.&nbsp;
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On defense, THT's block and steal rates are both well above average. He tallies 2.66 deflections per 75 possessions (74th percentile) and turns them into 1.31 steals per 75 possessions (87th percentile). These don't mean he's a "good defender," but they are definitely positives. His wingspan, which is somewhere around seven feet, is ridiculous proportionally.
The Lakers give Horton-Tucker some tough assignments. Per BBall Index, THT spends 21% of the time guarding the opponent's primary ball-handler. He has extremely high marks in "Matchup Difficulty" (80th percentile) and "Positional Versatility" (94th percentile) which essentially means that, from these trackers, Horton-Tucker is asked to handle good offensive players in a variety of contexts. And on the whole, he's been at least passable when doing so.&nbsp;
That's a lot to digest. All of the advanced stats should be taken with a grain of salt &mdash; there's no film here to capture how THT does what he does, and discern if the numbers line up with his fit in a team context. Again, this also isn't meant to overshadow his extreme current negatives on offense and the fact that his defense isn't helping the Lakers enough to make them, well, good.&nbsp;
The point is: Talen Horton-Tucker is interesting for a reason. He's a third-year pro who is only 21 and was expected to be a "project" out of the draft. He's in a larger role than anyone could have anticipated from someone on his career path. His current contract will end in 2024 and he'll still be just 23 years old.&nbsp;
Should the Lakers have traded him in a deal for, say, Kyle Lowry? Definitely. But that doesn't mean Horton-Tucker isn't himself worth betting on in the long-term.
THE OUTLIERS (a.k.a. other random interesting numbers I find in the void):
<ul>
<li>From <a href="https://www.thenexthoops.com/features/daily-briefing-feb-7-2022-caitlin-clark-history-michigan-big-ten-baylor-florida/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Em Adler of </a><a href="https://www.thenexthoops.com/features/daily-briefing-feb-7-2022-caitlin-clark-history-michigan-big-ten-baylor-florida/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The</a><a href="https://www.thenexthoops.com/features/daily-briefing-feb-7-2022-caitlin-clark-history-michigan-big-ten-baylor-florida/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"> Next</a>&nbsp;on one of the world's most dominant basketball players, Caitlin Clark (stats as of Feb. 7): "Since New Year&rsquo;s, Clark leads the country in points, assists, points in the paint, usage, attempts from both the field and the line, and nearly leads the country in defensive rebounds. She&rsquo;s also in the 98th percentile in true-shooting and in the 93rd in blocks and ranks third overall in fouls drawn (all per CBB Analytics)." My goodness.</li>
<li>Our Nekias Duncan wrote a super insightful piece on <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/on-the-block-minnesota-timberwolves-surging-post-attack" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Karl-Anthony Towns' post-up presence</a> and how the Wolves are using it more successfully. My favorite stat from that: Minnesota is averaging 1.02 points per possession on plays with a Towns post-up in 2022, compared to just 0.84 PPP in the 2021 part of the season.&nbsp;</li>
<li>Another plug: Mat Issa opened my eyes to <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/steven-adams-the-gatekeeper-of-the-grizzlies-offense" target="_blank" rel="noopener">the greatness of Steven Adams</a> this past week. It's crazy the effect he's partially had on pick-and-rolls where he plays:</li>
</ul>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
Check this out: Pick &amp; Roll Ball Handler PPP Pelicans 19-20 (w/o Adams): 30th Pelicans 20-21 (w/Adams): 16th Pelicans 21-22 (w/o Adams): 28th Grizzlies 20-21 (w/o Adams): 25th Grizzlies 21-22 (w/Adams): 17th A lot of other variables at play in all of this, but wow🤯🤯
&mdash; Mat Issa (@matissa15) <a href="https://twitter.com/matissa15/status/1489639468835422212?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 4, 2022</a></blockquote>

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Ethan Fuller provides some stats as a baseline to assess Talen Horton-Tucker after trade rumors swirled around him.

Stats Notebook: Resetting the dialogue around Talen Horton-Tucker

With rumblings surrounding the availability of Atlanta Hawks big man John Collins, BasketballNews.com's Evan Sidery and Nekias Duncan teamed up to come up with possible destinations prior to the NBA's Feb. 10 trade deadline.
John Collins is growing increasingly frustrated with his role. Carrying his lowest usage rate since his rookie campaign in 2017-18, Collins feels <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/stats-notebook-has-john-collins-role-with-the-hawks-really-changed" target="_blank" rel="noopener">he's more than deserving of being a more featured piece within the Hawks&rsquo; offense</a>. Even with Collins still only holding a 19.9 USG%, he&rsquo;s averaging an impressive stat line of 17.0 points, 7.9 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.1 blocks at an above-average efficiency clip.
Collins is excellent at what he does for Atlanta, but would he look like in a different role elsewhere away from Trae Young?
He is only on the first year of his new deal, which drew lines in the sand during a tough restricted free agency period last offseason.
With extremely high expectations in Atlanta following its Eastern Conference Finals surprise, the team has been unable to clear the first bars. The Hawks already dealt promising young wing Cam Reddish to the New York Knicks in order to avoid paying him a big-figure contract. Meanwhile, if Collins is indeed available to the highest bidder around the Association, Atlanta could receive an extremely high amount of resources.
Below, Nekias and I dove into the film room, as well as five destinations that make the most sense for Collins in a trade scenario.
WHAT COLLINS BRINGS
Collins has become one of the NBA's most versatile pick-and-roll partners. Because of his speed, soft hands and impressive vertical pop, Collins is able to sky for just about anything you throw his way after he rolls to the basket. And because of his improved shooting ability &mdash; he's converted north of 40% of his above-the-break threes in each of the past three seasons &mdash; you can't afford to completely sell out against rim attempts.
It's that combination of skills that makes him deadly. Pairing that with Young &mdash; a guy that can pull from 30, make every pass in the book, and #FloaterGang you to death &mdash; is patently unfair. It's unsurprising that trips featuring a Young-Collins ball screen has generated over 1.05 points per possessions over the last three seasons, per Second Spectrum.
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Collins' quick-leaping ability also makes him a menace on the offensive glass when he's allowed to hover around the paint. The gradual decline in offensive rebounding has more to do with his positioning within the offense than some lack of instinct or physicality.
LIMITATIONS&nbsp;
There are some questions defensively.
There are fewer questions to answer than in years past, to be fair. Collins' activity level and awareness have improved throughout his career. You could especially sense a shift from him during last year's playoffs, and that has seemingly carried over into this year.&nbsp;
Collins looks a little more comfortable on the perimeter, holding his own in switches and in the rare times the Hawks have asked him to trap this year. He has the feel needed to clean up messes as a weak-side helper, especially if he's allowed to roam against a non-shooter.
It's still largely unclear if Collins has made enough strides to serve as a primary rim-protector for extended periods of time. Among 75 frontcourt players that have defended at least 150 picks in drop coverage this season, Collins ranks in the bottom five in points allowed per Second Spectrum.
The added activity is nice, but he's still suffering from the too-little-too-much problem. Sometimes he's giving up too much of a gap, which allows the ball-handler or roll man (if he receives a pass early enough) to build momentum and launch into Collins' chest. Other times, he's playing the gap a little too high, which allows the big to get behind him for easy lobs.
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It's fair to question how much of that is Collins trying to figure things out, and how much of it is him not trusting the point-of-attack defenders he's had to play with over the past couple of seasons. Let's be kind and say Young and Lou Williams leave quite a bit to be desired.
The boring answer: Collins has clear strengths and weaknesses, and a stronger defensive infrastructure could bring the best out of him.
Sacramento Kings
Rumors <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/kings-making-buddy-hield-richaun-holmes-harrison-barnes-available" target="_blank" rel="noopener">continue to billow out of Sacramento</a> right now pointing towards a massive roster overhaul soon in store. Everyone on the Kings, except reportedly De&rsquo;Aaron Fox and Tyrese Haliburton, is available in trade talks. It shows the urgency is rising in Sacramento, and someone like Collins could be the perfect remedy.
Kings receive: John Collins
Hawks receive: Harrison Barnes, Davion Mitchell
This feels like a very fair trade for both sides, especially if Collins malcontents his way out of Atlanta. Barnes would provide beautiful floor-spacing acumen for the Hawks&rsquo; guards, plus Mitchell would be a bulldog defender who'd had heavy spot minutes alongside Young.
For Sacramento, it&rsquo;s easy to sell yourself on the idea of switching things up and inserting a potential 20-and-10 machine in Collins. Haliburton would be spoon-feeding easy looks for Collins, plus Fox provides a steady scoring partner as well.
Resetting around a trio of Fox, Collins and Haliburton in Sacramento could actually be a fun scenario to watch unfold. And from Atlanta&rsquo;s standpoint, this feels like a win-win deal in the short and long-term.
Charlotte Hornets
An intra-division trade, huh? With the way the Hornets have played lately, showcasing a complete turnaround on the defensive end, could they be positioning themselves to make a big push at February&rsquo;s trade deadline. Don&rsquo;t rule it out, because Charlotte&rsquo;s upside is already massive with a young superstar like LaMelo Ball running the show offensively.
Nabbing Collins from Atlanta would cost significant assets, but the payoff could be absolutely massive. Could you imagine Collins and Miles Bridges catching lobs from Ball with reckless abandon?
Hornets receive: John Collins
Hawks receive: Kelly Oubre Jr., P.J. Washington, James Bouknight
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For Atlanta, Oubre would fill a similar energizer role as Collins, but with much less consistency and pop. Oubre has flashed at times brilliance this season we saw from him during his years with the Phoenix Suns; could that jump be intensified playing with Young as his point guard?
Washington and Bouknight are two former lottery picks for the Hornets who simply haven&rsquo;t been able to carve out a consistent role. If Charlotte decides the time is now, relinquishing these two enticing prospects likely is the going rate to seriously upgrade. Bouknight would provide a promising young building block who could turn into a 20-plus point-per-game scorer. Washington has the makeup similar to Collins where he can feast around the rim and pick-and-pops in Atlanta&rsquo;s scheme.
I would grade this one as doubtful on the potential scale of realism, but the construct of this certainly makes plenty of sense on paper.
Minnesota Timberwolves
The Timberwolves are so much fun to watch when they&rsquo;re clicking on all cylinders. Anthony Edwards and Karl-Anthony Towns have been the dynamite scoring duo Minnesota had hoped for. D&rsquo;Angelo Russell is also finding his footing with the Timberwolves, showcasing a strong ability to bounce-back and fit within what&rsquo;s required of him.
It&rsquo;s long been known the Timberwolves have really been one more piece away from taking another serious jump in the Western Conference hierarchy. That&rsquo;s why Ben Simmons has been floated around Minnesota for months now.
What about Collins landing in Minnesota to play alongside Towns, Edwards and Russell? It wouldn&rsquo;t provide the defensive security blanket Minnesota is in desperate need of, but he makes an already scary offense absolutely terrifying.
Timberwolves receive: John Collins
Hawks receive: Jarred Vanderbilt, Leandro Bolmaro, Malik Beasley, draft compensation
The Hawks check plenty of boxes in this scenario where they send Collins off to Minnesota, bringing back an immediate impact scorer in Beasley, a super versatile rebounder with flashes of elite defense in Vanderbilt; plus, they would get a potentially beautiful backcourt fit with Bolmaro as a jumbo-sized playmaker. Throwing in some picks to the equation makes this so enticing for Atlanta as well.
This would be one to watch out for as a real fit for Collins, if it reaches that point in Atlanta anytime soon.
Portland Trail Blazers
Portland is in an odd spot right now. Damian Lillard is out indefinitely due to an abdomen injury that has plagued him for a while. With the Trail Blazers far out of competing for a serious playoff push, especially with no Lillard, now is the perfect time to reset a little bit and try something different.
The pressure is on for the Blazers to find another competent scoring punch to keep Lillard happy in Oregon long-term. Could Collins be the answer here? It&rsquo;s a very intriguing fit for both player and team.
Hawks receive: Larry Nance Jr., Robert Covington, Nassir Little
Trail Blazers receive: John Collins
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I have to admit, Collins teaming up with Lillard would be so much fun for everyone to watch. Instantly, Collins would provide an inside scoring jolt that&rsquo;s been missing for the Blazers. Also, Collins would be feasting consistently playing off the gravity of Lillard and CJ McCollum.
For the Hawks, they would receive three pieces to insert into their frontcourt to replace Collins&rsquo; production. Nance would be a strong bounce-back candidate playing with Young as his point guard in Atlanta. Covington isn&rsquo;t who he used to be, but can still provide winning attributes on a hopeful contender. Little is the wildcard who provides real intrigue here. Beginning to flash more consistently this season, could Little&rsquo;s rise become a full-on ascension with the Hawks?
Another scenario where this feels like a win-win for both sides. Maybe Portland throws on some draft compensation to make the return more eye-opening for Atlanta.
San Antonio Spurs
The dots have already been connected around Collins to San Antonio. As Collins entered restricted free agency, the Spurs were the one team we continuously heard as a team who was seriously interested in pursuing him for a lucrative offer sheet.
San Antonio&rsquo;s core has been overachieving a little bit this season, thanks in large part to Dejounte Murray becoming a key building block. It&rsquo;s really almost a blank slate for the Spurs, so maybe Collins could be the piece to really augment another era of strong basketball in San Antonio?
Hawks receive: Derrick White, Lonnie Walker IV
Spurs receive: John Collins
White has been thrown around in trade rumors throughout his career, but his fit next to Young is nothing short of excellent. White&rsquo;s all-around ability would cover up a lot of holes and help strengthen Atlanta&rsquo;s backcourt depth. Walker is a home-run swing, but an athlete like that to catch lobs every game from Young could lead to some magic happening.
San Antonio has been floating around as a potential shocking buyer at the trade deadline, including its name being thrown into the Simmons sweepstakes. Collins would boost up a Spurs core in desperate need of another strong piece.
Collins would cause a feeding frenzy in the NBA, if the Hawks are indeed shopping him around to the highest bidder anywhere. The Hawks&rsquo; big man has displayed he&rsquo;s deserving of a bigger role. Whether it&rsquo;s in Atlanta or elsewhere, Collins would change the dynamics of a lot of organizations.
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John Collins is growing increasingly frustrated with his role in Atlanta. If the Hawks decide to move on, where could he end up?

Examining potential trade destinations for John Collins

After a dismal 1-16 start followed by a 9-4 stretch&nbsp; &mdash; sandwiched with rumors of cutting loose head coach Stephen Silas midseason &mdash; the Rockets have gone awry yet again. They're sporting a 2-10 mark since then. Houston is young, they're certainly imperfect, and they're in store for significant change during the season if they maintain their current trajectory.
To stop and take stock of the youth movement during the first full rebuilding year post-James Harden, <a href="https://twitter.com/matissa15" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Mat Issa</a> and I teamed up to gauge the development and future of the young players on the roster.&nbsp;
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Jae'Sean Tate
There are few players in the NBA I enjoy watching more than Tate. At 26, it's hard to necessarily consider him part of the young core and rebuild, but complementary role players are an absolute must in developing high usage players.&nbsp;
Tate possesses stellar defensive versatility and efficacy &mdash; many players can do a lot of things, but doing a lot of things well is where Tate manifests his value on both ends, whether it be:
Playing the passing lanes.
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Holding his own in isolation.
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Rotating in help.
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Or hounding ball-handlers at the point of attack.
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Tate is on the shortlist of players who are in a "when" not "if" category when looking to future All-Defensive team ballots. He can still clean up his off-ball defense, and he overshoots at times on switches, but many of these issues can be linked to communication &mdash; which this Houston team strongly lacks.
His offense requires more digging, as his box score doesn't leap off the page and understates his impact. He's one of only four Houston players that rates as a positive in Offensive Estimated Plus Minus, and the only Rocket who rates positive in both offensive and defensive EPM.&nbsp;
Tate is a solid finisher, but a poor shooter on low volume. He derives the majority of his positive play on offense through his decision-making and court vision. The Rockets at times take advantage of his frame and ability to bully smaller guards in the post, in order to create passing opportunities or easy scoring looks if he doesn't draw a double team.
He's excellent when grabbing and going, with timely kick-ahead passes and pacing to jumpstart the break. He's a really solid screener, which opens up intriguing small-small ball-screen actions that allow him to operate as a dribble-handoff facilitator and occasional roll man.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Was going back through my notes and realized I forgot to clip this. One of my favorite little plays from the week Jae'Sean Tate's been awesome <a href="https://t.co/FIdwDa28US">pic.twitter.com/FIdwDa28US</a>
&mdash; Mark Schindler (@MSchindlerNBA) <a href="https://twitter.com/MSchindlerNBA/status/1474041808363655171?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 23, 2021</a></blockquote>

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He just does everything to an extent.
His lack of shooting does hold him back from becoming one of the truly elite role-players in the league, but make no mistake, finding Tate last season has proven a vital building block for the Rockets.&nbsp;
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Kenyon Martin Jr.
KJ Martin was another pleasant surprise for the Rockets last year, far outplaying his draft value and contributing at a relatively high level much earlier than expected as a professional. That's what made his start to the season all the more perplexing. He started the year mostly out of the rotation and accruing a DNP before being reinserted to the regular rotation, albeit in a smaller role than last season (non-coincidentally, that fact can be linked with Houston's first losing streak). Fortunately, his minutes have evened back out (23 minutes per game in January) and he's played productively.
KJ has shown the foundation to become an elite play-finisher, part of what makes him so tantalizing alongside the burgeoning high usage creators on the team. He's 6'6, but one of the best leapers in the NBA &mdash; his verticality has&nbsp;boosted his gravity as a roller and cutter.&nbsp;
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He has solid counters already around the rim, with some touch on his hook shots. He's a quality passer on the roll already and makes quality decisions, although I'd even like to see him attempt some more risky passes.
To make the most of himself as a margins-based prospect, he'll need to improve as a screener and get a little stronger, but that describes almost any young player.
He's still coming along as a shooter (34.9% on threes for his career) and that's perhaps the biggest area for his improvement. If he was more willing to take his open shots, and some contested ones as well, he'd be able to flex with more opportunities as a ball-handler from the perimeter. He's not yet comfortable coming off of screens or operating with much movement, and has room to improve his footwork and shot preparation overall.
Part of what's so difficult in evaluating KJ is trying to perceive the upside he has. He's had some bright flashes as a ball-handler, primarily off of cuts where he gets room to gather himself, or attacking close-outs, but the results have been fairly mixed. His handle is quite clunky right now, but if he's able to make some real improvement there &mdash; along with his shot &mdash; he'll be cooking with grease.
KJ has some creases to work out defensively, but offers legit weakside rim protection and makes quality vertical plays at the rim &mdash; he's already a solid rotational defender with room for improvement that would be bolstered by additional strength and reps. I love his game and can't wait to see what the future holds for him, he just does good things on court!
Alperen Sengun
I cannot say enough positive things about Alperen Sengun's rookie season. I saw it with him offensively during the draft cycle, but I have been quite impressed with how he's adapted to the NBA game defensively already &mdash; and in a way I wasn't sure he'd be able to.
He's shown himself capable of playing more aggressive coverages, utilizing his wingspan and solid lateral quickness in ICE coverages to prevent drives, and using quick hands to stifle them altogether and force steals. His hands around the rim are extremely active, and in spite of some of his back-foot leaping limitations, he has a knack for tips and deflections in the paint. I absolutely love his ability to use his hips to force defenders into his contests as well. He certainly has limitations, but his ability to toe the line and expand on the margins has been tremendous to see.
Playing straight-up drop pick-and-roll defense or more in centerfield has given him some issues, if he's not able to force the defender to gather or hesitate. Straight-line bursts can hurt him due to his hip fluidity. However, that just doesn't matter very much to me. He's already shown some coverage versatility and his offensive abilities make playing a more aggressive defense worth trying.
Where do I even begin with Sengun as an offensive player, man.
Quite frankly, I've felt that Sengun is underutilized by the Rockets. I need him to start expeditiously! He's currently out with an ankle injury, so just getting back to playing at all will be a win, but the point remains: start Alperen Sengun, I beg of you.
The Rockets lack a true primary ball-handler. Kevin Porter Jr., Starting Point Guard, has been rough. Jalen Green is ideally an off-ball creator who flows into actions with his movement skills (more on that later). Sengun is pretty easily the best passer on the Houston Rockets who isn't currently sidelined by the organization (I just want to see John Wall play somewhere please).
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Like I wrote about with <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/trevion-williams-thinking-outside-the-box" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Trevion Williams recently</a>, playing five-out doesn't really mean that you are getting guarded five-out. So often, Sengun is spaced to the slot or above the break, and while he has shown flashes as a shooter and has indicators to hint at future growth there, he is not guarded like a floor-spacer the majority of the time he's tasked with being one in Houston's offense.
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I'm not saying those need to be cut out entirely, as he's intrigued me with his loping drives off the catch.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Sengun is so fun man. He's had some really impressive moments this season <a href="https://t.co/WiCAG1KbAl">pic.twitter.com/WiCAG1KbAlf</a>
&mdash; Mark Schindler (@MSchindlerNBA) <a href="https://twitter.com/MSchindlerNBA/status/1460384809964953612?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 15, 2021</a></blockquote>

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What he could be if he opens up his game as a shooter and from the perimeter is part of his intrigue. However, he could be better optimized if used more often in the middle of the floor, or more regularly being tasked with running dribble-handoffs.&nbsp;
He's shown dynamic ability as a stout screener and as a roller. Affording him more opportunities where the offense flows through him could open up even easier scoring avenues for Jalen Green and Kevin Porter Jr. Screening and handoffs are a form of creation, even if they're not often considered as such, due to the levels one has to hit as a screener and passer to actually make them viable forms of self-creation. Sengun surpasses the marks required to create in those areas, and making him a larger part of the offense is something I really hope to see once he returns from injury.
Sengun does have limitations as a finisher that currently hinder his upside as a scorer &mdash; and therefore his gravity &mdash; but his craft shown in the post and on touch shots in the paint but outside the restricted area are encouraging. I'm not sure what the ceiling is for him, but his improvements as a finisher and eventually a shooter are essential to maximizing his potential.
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Jalen Green
Jalen Green had a very rough start to his rookie season, understandable given his environment and the woes of the Rockets early on. However, his efficiency from the floor has greatly improved after a 14-game absence due to a hamstring injury: 49.8% True Shooting in his first 18 games, compared to 58.2% across his last 10, a remarkable uptick.
He's starting to get a better grasp on the finer aspects of becoming a higher usage offensive player, going through the growing pains of on-ball development. I particularly have enjoyed some of the subtleties he's started to develop in pick-and-roll.
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Green stares down the oncoming screen from Christian Wood and rejects it as soon as Russ shifts ever so slightly onto his right foot in anticipation. Jalen's downhill burst and first step were second to none in the 2021 draft class, and this play is a showcase.&nbsp;
He hasn't yet consistently unearthed some of the low hanging fruit, like using his handle in conjunction with the screen to lull his man into it, or to set up a dribble-drive that opens him an even wider lane. He uses slight screen set-up and devastating power to draw a quick foul here (4.9 FTA per game over his last 10, that's good folks!). Imagining what he'll be able to do to the rim and opposing defenses as he starts to develop more on-ball counters and craft is ridiculous to think about.
Finding easier buckets as he develops counters at the rim and on drives would be beneficial as well. Green has the essential tools that allow him to get there, but his frame and relative lack of craft around the rim has been an issue thus far. While he's shooting pretty well at the rim this season (60% per Cleaning the Glass), he's only shooting 34.8% on layups per InStat, and has really struggled when tasked with converting against good rim protectors &mdash; and against contact and length in general.
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That's partially why I want to see even more with Jalen flowing off the ball. His gravity largely comes from his athleticism and ability to leverage it. Optimizing him more in a Bradley Beal mold (think from prior years before the mid-30s usage you see today), coming off pindowns, floppy actions, staggered screens, Iversons, etc. to get the most out of his quickness, and then work his way into easier isolations or secondary pick-and-rolls, would do him wonders. Especially for younger ball-handlers, making things easier &mdash; to simplify reads and what's required of them to create offense &mdash; is ideal.
Working in tandem with Sengun's gravity from the middle of the floor could get the most out of Green as a cutter and allow the gravitational pull between the two to warp defenses. He still has a great deal to learn as a passer &mdash; honing his vision, his progressions through reads, as well as ball placement.&nbsp;
The Rockets aren't in a great place this season, but their outlook moving forward is full of intrigue due to the young talent on the roster. I'm not sure how it all fits together yet, or if it does at all. Nevertheless I'm greatly encouraged by the individual players who comprise their core and what their development has looked like even in a sub-optimal situation. I'm cautiously optimistic about the future in South Texas and what it could hold for Rockets fans moving forward.
Read <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/rocket-revival-evaluating-houston-rockets-young-core-part-i" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Part 1</a> of Rocket Revival, where Mat Issa broke down the rest of Houston&rsquo;s young core.

Mark Schindler breaks down four of Houston's brightest talents in Part II of his Rocket Revival series with Mat Issa.

Rocket Revival: Evaluating Houston's promising young core — Part II

After being sidelined for more than two-and-a-half years &mdash; 941 days to be exact &mdash; Klay Thompson finally made his long-awaited return on Sunday as the Golden State Warriors faced the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Thompson was productive in his season debut, scoring 17 points and even <a href="https://twitter.com/basketbllnews/status/1480366067436433408" target="_blank" rel="noopener">throwing down a dunk</a> over several Cavaliers at one point in the Warriors&rsquo; 96-82 win.
Warriors fans were obviously thrilled to get the five-time All-Star back, but fans across the country were also excited to see Thompson healthy again. After all, Klay is one of the most beloved players in all of professional sports.&nbsp;
So, perhaps it&rsquo;s no surprise that Thompson&rsquo;s return delivered huge numbers in terms of television ratings and social engagement.&nbsp;
On NBA TV, the game averaged 844,000 viewers, making it NBA TV's most-viewed regular-season game since 2016. Locally, NBC Sports Bay Area had a 12.7 household rating for the Warriors-Cavaliers game, which was their highest-rated regular-season game since 2016 as well.
On social media, Klay-specific content generated more than 110 million video views across the NBA&rsquo;s social platforms, making his return the most-viewed regular-season moment ever.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
He's BACK! 👀 After an electric season debut, Klay Thompson laces up again TONIGHT as the <a href="https://twitter.com/warriors?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@warriors</a> take on Memphis at 8pm/et on NBA TV! <a href="https://t.co/cHVWKAvQhK">pic.twitter.com/cHVWKAvQhK</a>
&mdash; NBA (@NBA) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBA/status/1480977820998373381?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 11, 2022</a></blockquote>

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On Sunday, the NBA&rsquo;s Instagram received 103 million views, which is a new regular-season record for the account. The posts that generated the most views were:
<ol>
<li aria-level="1"><a href="https://www.instagram.com/reel/CYiCTLxLOFE/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Klay Thompson Intro: 22.3 million</a>&nbsp; (the NBA&rsquo;s second-most-viewed IG video ever)</li>
<li aria-level="1"><a href="https://www.instagram.com/reel/CYiBYqvPdfm/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Klay and Steph Curry Pregame: 16.4 million</a></li>
<li aria-level="1"><a href="https://www.instagram.com/reel/CYinFvGJUYO/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Ja Morant&rsquo;s Block: 13 million</a></li>
</ol>
Content involving Thompson always seems to perform well on social media (even off-court stuff), and his first game back was no exception.
Thompson is clearly a fan favorite, as evidenced by the 367,743 All-Star votes he received this season without playing a single game (which ranked fourth-best among Western Conference guards, putting him ahead of Devin Booker, Chris Paul, Donovan Mitchell, Damian Lillard, etc.).&nbsp;
This lines up with a <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-most-trolls-trolled-negative-tweets-study-rumors-twitter-positive-mentions-stephen-curry-lebron-james-carmelo-anthony-joel-embiid-russell-westbrook-kevin-durant-kyrie-irving-klay-thompson-kevin-love" target="_blank" rel="noopener">recent study</a> that showed Thompson&rsquo;s Twitter mentions are overwhelmingly supportive, with only 14.6% of tweets directed at him classified as negative &mdash; the fewest of any NBA star.
After some horrible luck in recent years, suffering a torn ACL and then a torn Achilles, it's great to have the three-time NBA champion back.

Klay Thompson's return after two-and-a-half years delivered huge television ratings and broke social-engagement records.

Klay Thompson's return delivered huge TV ratings, social engagement

These days, nearly every NBA star has an Instagram account &mdash; aside from a few exceptions such as Kawhi Leonard and Nikola Jokic. Monitoring each player&rsquo;s following (and whether it&rsquo;s increasing or decreasing) is an interesting way to track their popularity and relevance.&nbsp;
<a href="https://manyspins.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ManySpins.com</a> did a recent study to find out which professional athletes have added the most followers this year. They plugged hundreds of athlete accounts into <a href="https://socialblade.com/instagram" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Social Blade&rsquo;s</a> gained-followers tool and tracked how their following has changed since Jan. 1, 2021.&nbsp;
Some players gained a ton of followers, while others have fewer followers than when 2021 began. After filtering out the non-NBA athletes in the study, here&rsquo;s a look at which NBA players have gained the most Instagram followers so far this year and who had the biggest percentage increase in folllowers:
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<tr style="height: 22px;">
<td style="width: 36.7277%; text-align: center; height: 22px;">PLAYER</td>
<td style="width: 27.5573%; text-align: center; height: 22px;">FOLLOWER INCREASE</td>
<td style="width: 30.2545%; text-align: center; height: 22px;">PERCENTAGE INCREASE</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 22px;">
<td style="width: 36.7277%; height: 22px; text-align: center;">LeBron James</td>
<td style="width: 27.5573%; height: 22px; text-align: center;">25,376,750</td>
<td style="width: 30.2545%; height: 22px; text-align: center;">25%</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 22px;">
<td style="width: 36.7277%; height: 22px; text-align: center;">Stephen Curry</td>
<td style="width: 27.5573%; height: 22px; text-align: center;">4,104,774</td>
<td style="width: 30.2545%; height: 22px; text-align: center;">13%</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 22px;">
<td style="width: 36.7277%; height: 22px; text-align: center;">Giannis Antetokounmpo</td>
<td style="width: 27.5573%; height: 22px; text-align: center;">2,039,709</td>
<td style="width: 30.2545%; height: 22px; text-align: center;">23%</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 22px;">
<td style="width: 36.7277%; height: 22px; text-align: center;">Russell Westbrook</td>
<td style="width: 27.5573%; height: 22px; text-align: center;">2,000,831</td>
<td style="width: 30.2545%; height: 22px; text-align: center;">13%</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 22px;">
<td style="width: 36.7277%; height: 22px; text-align: center;">Klay Thompson</td>
<td style="width: 27.5573%; height: 22px; text-align: center;">1,564,736</td>
<td style="width: 30.2545%; height: 22px; text-align: center;">19%</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 22px;">
<td style="width: 36.7277%; height: 22px; text-align: center;">Kyrie Irving</td>
<td style="width: 27.5573%; height: 22px; text-align: center;">1,047,997</td>
<td style="width: 30.2545%; height: 22px; text-align: center;">7%</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 22px;">
<td style="width: 36.7277%; height: 22px; text-align: center;">LaMelo Ball&nbsp;</td>
<td style="width: 27.5573%; height: 22px; text-align: center;">1,030,957</td>
<td style="width: 30.2545%; height: 22px; text-align: center;">17%</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 22px;">
<td style="width: 36.7277%; height: 22px; text-align: center;">Damian Lillard</td>
<td style="width: 27.5573%; height: 22px; text-align: center;">807,452</td>
<td style="width: 30.2545%; height: 22px; text-align: center;">9%</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 22px;">
<td style="width: 36.7277%; height: 22px; text-align: center;">Luka Doncic</td>
<td style="width: 27.5573%; height: 22px; text-align: center;">690,347</td>
<td style="width: 30.2545%; height: 22px; text-align: center;">13%</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 22px;">
<td style="width: 36.7277%; height: 22px; text-align: center;">Chris Paul</td>
<td style="width: 27.5573%; height: 22px; text-align: center;">630,340</td>
<td style="width: 30.2545%; height: 22px; text-align: center;">6%</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 22px;">
<td style="width: 36.7277%; height: 22px; text-align: center;">Kevin Durant</td>
<td style="width: 27.5573%; height: 22px; text-align: center;">549,216</td>
<td style="width: 30.2545%; height: 22px; text-align: center;">5%</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 22px;">
<td style="width: 36.7277%; height: 22px; text-align: center;">Joel Embiid</td>
<td style="width: 27.5573%; height: 22px; text-align: center;">530,947</td>
<td style="width: 30.2545%; height: 22px; text-align: center;">12%</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 22px;">
<td style="width: 36.7277%; height: 22px; text-align: center;">James Harden</td>
<td style="width: 27.5573%; height: 22px; text-align: center;">501,406</td>
<td style="width: 30.2545%; height: 22px; text-align: center;">5%</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 22px;">
<td style="width: 36.7277%; height: 22px; text-align: center;">Ben Simmons</td>
<td style="width: 27.5573%; height: 22px; text-align: center;">364,480</td>
<td style="width: 30.2545%; height: 22px; text-align: center;">7%</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 22px;">
<td style="width: 36.7277%; height: 22px; text-align: center;">Jimmy Butler</td>
<td style="width: 27.5573%; height: 22px; text-align: center;">287,076</td>
<td style="width: 30.2545%; height: 22px; text-align: center;">5%</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 22px;">
<td style="width: 36.7277%; height: 22px; text-align: center;">Anthony Davis</td>
<td style="width: 27.5573%; height: 22px; text-align: center;">206,762</td>
<td style="width: 30.2545%; height: 22px; text-align: center;">3%</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 22px;">
<td style="width: 36.7277%; height: 22px; text-align: center;">Bradley Beal</td>
<td style="width: 27.5573%; height: 22px; text-align: center;">196,320</td>
<td style="width: 30.2545%; height: 22px; text-align: center;">16%</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 22px;">
<td style="width: 36.7277%; height: 22px; text-align: center;">Paul George</td>
<td style="width: 27.5573%; height: 22px; text-align: center;">124,962</td>
<td style="width: 30.2545%; height: 22px; text-align: center;">1%</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
- This year, LeBron James' account has grown the most based on followers added (25,376,750) and percentage increase (25%) &mdash; even though he was already the most-followed NBA player by a wide margin. James started the year with 74,632,713 followers and now he's at 100,009,463. LeBron has the 31st-largest IG following; he's ahead of celebrities such as Drake, Billie Eilish and Chris Brown. James has more followers than the NBA, NFL, MLB, NHL and MLS combined (as noted by <a href="https://twitter.com/FOS/status/1445856639807074308" target="_blank" rel="noopener">FOS</a>).
- Stephen Curry has the second-largest account among NBA players with 36,731,331 followers. (That is 63,278,132 fewer than James). Since Jan. 1, 2021, Curry has added the second-most followers (4,104,774), which is a 13% increase.
- Giannis Antetokounmpo gained the third-most followers (2,039,709) and saw the second-largest percentage increase (23%), which is a nice boost after winning his first NBA championship.
- Several players who gained a lot of followers experienced a change of scenery over the last year, which likely isn't a coincidence. When Russell Westbrook joined the Los Angeles Lakers, he absolutely gained a ton of new followers. Westbrook (+2,000,831), LaMelo Ball (+1,030,957), Chris Paul (+630,340) and James Harden (+501,406) all cracked the top-15 after joining a new team.
- Considering Klay Thompson has missed back-to-back seasons due to injuries (a torn ACL and Achilles) and hasn&rsquo;t played an NBA game since June 13, 2019, it&rsquo;s pretty surprising that he added the fifth-most followers (1,564,736) and had the third-largest percentage increase (19%). However, he&rsquo;s beloved among NBA fans in large part due to his laid-back personality, so it does make sense.
- Interestingly, Zion Williamson has actually lost 110,720 followers so far this year. He had 5,082,675 followers as of Jan. 1, 2021, but he&rsquo;s currently at just 4,971,955. It&rsquo;s unclear why he's lost so many followers over the last nine months; it's possible that a lot of bots were following his account and they've since been deleted.&nbsp;
- Bradley Beal earned some new fans after averaging a career-high 31.3 points last season, as his following grew by 16% (from 1,221,167 to 1,417,487). The fact that Beal consistently surfaced in trade rumors over the last year probably helped his numbers since many different fan bases likely followed as they hoped for a trade and analyzed every caption. Damian Lillard (+807,452), James Harden (+501,406) and Ben Simmons (+364,480) likely got a boost from their trade rumors too.
- It&rsquo;s impressive that LaMelo Ball cracked this list as a 20-year-old rookie, adding 1,030,957 followers for a 17% increase. Prior to entering the NBA, he already had many followers since he&rsquo;s been in the spotlight for a while, but he solidified himself as a household name in 2021.
- Among all professional athletes tracked in this study, Cristiano Ronaldo saw his Instagram following increase the most, adding 103,308,517 followers this year. He now has a whopping 353,403,553 followers, which is the second-largest IG following (behind only Instagram's own account). Ronaldo gained more followers over the last nine months (103,308,517) than LeBron has accumulated in nearly a decade.
- The only teams with multiple players on this list are the Los Angeles Lakers (LeBron James, Russell Westbrook and Anthony Davis), Brooklyn Nets (Kyrie Irving, Kevin Durant and James Harden), Golden State Warriors (Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson) and Philadelphia 76ers (Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons).&nbsp;
Whether it&rsquo;s with their outstanding play, lovable personality, change of scenery or something else entirely, it&rsquo;ll be interesting to see which players are able to win over fans and gain followers throughout the 2021-22 NBA season.
<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-most-trolls-trolled-negative-tweets-study-rumors-twitter-positive-mentions-stephen-curry-lebron-james-carmelo-anthony-joel-embiid-russell-westbrook-kevin-durant-kyrie-irving-klay-thompson-kevin-love" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Which players receive the most negative tweets? Who gets the most positive tweets? Check out this other study that tracked NBA players&rsquo; mentions over the course of four months.</a>

These days, nearly every NBA star is on Instagram. A new study tracked which players added the most followers since Jan. 1, 2021.

Which NBA players have gained the most Instagram followers this year?

LaVar Ball, the boisterous father of Lonzo and LaMelo Ball, found himself in the news again.
While doing a radio interview with ESPN LA last Thursday, he was asked about Lonzo&rsquo;s play and future in New Orleans. He didn&rsquo;t hold back, <a href="https://lonzowire.usatoday.com/2021/03/18/lavar-ball-lonzo-trade-new-orleans-pelicans-rumors/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">expressing his displeasure</a> and ultimately stating his hopes for a trade.
To be clear, this was LaVar calling for movement, not Lonzo. But that interview did nothing but add fuel to the trade-rumor fire. Lonzo has been mentioned in the rumor mill for most of the season, and those rumblings have picked up over the past couple of weeks. Most recently, The Ringer&rsquo;s <a href="https://twitter.com/KevinOConnorNBA">Kevin O&rsquo;Connor</a> reported some of the offers the <a href="https://www.theringer.com/nba/2021/3/21/22343488/nba-trade-deadline-rumors-kyle-lowry-lonzo-ball-john-collins" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Pelicans have received</a> for the fourth-year guard.
In a vacuum, LaVar&rsquo;s comments should be taken with a grain of salt. He doesn&rsquo;t really speak for his sons, at least not in the way that he wants to. While the &ldquo;I hope he&rsquo;s traded&rdquo; portion of his comments understandably got the most traction in the media, I do think there&rsquo;s another portion of his comments that are worth digging into.
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WHO IS LONZO BALL? 
We know what Lonzo brings on the defensive end. He&rsquo;s able to defend 1-through-3 and can wreak havoc on the weak side of actions due to his feel and length. Offensively, there seems to be a split in thinking.
&ldquo;Lonzo&rsquo;s always been a playmaker,&rdquo; LaVar said during the interview. &ldquo;Why are you trying to change him into a defensive specialist that stays in the corner and shoots threes? And you&rsquo;re trying to change Zion [Williamson] and Brandon Ingram who, all through their careers, have never been playmakers. [They&rsquo;ve always been] scorers! Now you want to put the ball in their hands and be playmakers?&rdquo;&nbsp;
The frustration makes sense on the surface. Lonzo was one of the most electrifying college guards in recent memory, flipping full-court darts, tossing lobs and making advanced reads against shifting defenses. His play style drew comparisons to Jason Kidd, though Kidd himself <a href="https://www.nba.com/news/jason-kidd-not-buying-comparisons-between-lonzo-ball-and-himself" target="_blank" rel="noopener">pushed back against those</a>.&nbsp;
It&rsquo;s... more than fair to say that Ball isn&rsquo;t on a Hall-of-Fame trajectory right now. And there is a reason Lonzo has shifted to more of an off-ball role during his NBA career, and especially in New Orleans.
In order to earn primary initiator reps, you have to bend defenses in some way. You can stress defenses with the threat of deep pull-ups -- think Steph Curry, Damian Lillard, Trae Young. You can stress defenses with constant rim pressure -- think Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Russell Westbrook, De&rsquo;Aaron Fox. The best players in the sport can do both, but you need at least one of those skills to warrant a lead role.&nbsp;
Lonzo hasn&rsquo;t done that to this point of his career. He&rsquo;s averaging 5.8 drives per 36 minutes, according to NBA.com&rsquo;s <a href="https://www.nba.com/stats/players/drives/?CF=PLAYER_NAME*E*lonzo&amp;Season=2020-21&amp;SeasonType=Regular%20Season&amp;PerMode=Totals" target="_blank" rel="noopener">tracking data</a>, down from his 6.5 average attempts in the same category last season. He&rsquo;s never converted higher than 37.5% of his field goal attempts on drives in a season, which is problematic for obvious reasons.
The threat of the pull-up isn&rsquo;t there yet. Though his percentages have risen over the past couple of seasons -- Lonzo ranks in the 65th percentile in dribble jumpers this season, per Synergy -- teams still largely guard him the same way, ducking under picks and daring him to shoot. It&rsquo;s a positive that he&rsquo;s gotten better at knocking those shots down, but defenses are dictating that shot for him, not the other way around.
Compare that to the growth of his off-ball shooting -- he&rsquo;s drilled 38% of his threes on nearly seven attempts over the past two seasons -- and it&rsquo;s easy to see why a secondary role makes sense for him. When you have rim threats like Zion and Ingram forcing rotations, Lonzo is able to feast on easier catch-and-shoot looks or &ldquo;one-more&rdquo; passes.
<img style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" src="https://basketballnews-media.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/images/story/body/lonzo-connector-pass.gif" alt="" />
At this point, Lonzo is more of a play connector or finisher (on the perimeter) than he is an initiator. That makes him a great fit alongside the Pelicans&rsquo; franchise pillars, but it&rsquo;s understandable for them to be a bit squeamish about paying him north of $20 million per year. Any team looking to pry Lonzo out of New Orleans will need to be willing to shell out that kind of dough, but also have a true primary guy on the roster to fully maximize what Lonzo can do.
WHO COULD USE HIM?
Per <a href="https://www.theringer.com/nba/2021/3/21/22343488/nba-trade-deadline-rumors-kyle-lowry-lonzo-ball-john-collins" target="_blank" rel="noopener">O&rsquo;Connor&rsquo;s report</a>, the Chicago Bulls and Atlanta Hawks have sent in offers. Both teams have a dynamic lead guard (Zach LaVine, Trae Young) that Lonzo could play off of. There are other teams that could, or at least should, toss their hats into the ring too.
The Memphis Grizzlies have the picks and young players needed to make a real run at Lonzo, though they&rsquo;d have to think pretty hard about the contract this offseason. Still, it&rsquo;s fun to imagine what a Ja Morant-Lonzo backcourt would look like. Something like De&rsquo;Anthony Melton, Gorgui Dieng (who is available, per O&rsquo;Connor), and the 2021 first-round pick they received from Utah could be a package worth building on in order to land Lonzo and JJ Redick for a playoff push.
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The Miami Heat have been linked to guards all year long. They were in the hunt for James Harden, though the seriousness of those talks has been debated. They&rsquo;ve been linked to Victor Oladipo for what feels like two years now. They&rsquo;re currently in talks with the Raptors for Kyle Lowry; heck, Yahoo&rsquo;s Chris Haynes recently reported that they could be a landing spot for Spencer Dinwiddie.
It&rsquo;s clear the Heat want to add to their guard room to complement the Jimmy Butler-Bam Adebayo duo. Why not aim for Lonzo, someone who can shoot, make quick decisions and give them more &ldquo;oomph&rdquo; at the point of attack defensively? A package headlined by Duncan Robinson, one of the NBA&rsquo;s best shooters, could be of intrigue. The Pelicans have already experimented with inverted pick-and-rolls with Zion and JJ Redick; swapping out the older (and likely to be gone at some point) Redick with Robinson would be a solid long-term play.
The Knicks have two players in Julius Randle and RJ Barrett that make their living at the rim. What the Knicks don&rsquo;t have is a multitude of spacers; Lonzo could be a fit there. They&rsquo;re also equipped with cap space to absorb Lonzo into, as well as plenty of pick capital. Tossing in one or both of the Dallas first-rounders from the Kristaps Porzingis trade -- an unprotected 2021 first and a top-10 protected 2023 first (that extends to 2025) -- could be a framework worth exploring.

Nekias Duncan looks at Lonzo Ball's season with the Pelicans to this point and where he could fit if he's traded to another team.

Where does Lonzo Ball go from here? On his development, possible destinations

Which NBA player receives the most negative tweets on a daily basis? Whose mentions are predominantly positive? Thanks to a new study by <a href="https://www.topratedcasinos.co.uk/">TopRatedCasinos.co.uk</a>, we have the answers.&nbsp;
They compiled roughly 3,000 tweets that were sent to various NBA players between October 2020 to January 2021, and each tweet was analyzed for positive, negative and neutral words using the online analytics tool <a href="https://www.semrush.com/">SEMrush</a>.&nbsp;
They found that Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry is the most-trolled NBA player on Twitter. Of all the tweets sent to Curry, 27.9% had a negative tone, which was the highest percentage of any player.
Washington Wizards guard Russell Westbrook received the second-most negative tweets, with 24.6% of his mentions categorized as negative.&nbsp;
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In third place is Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid, with 22.3% of tweets mentioning him reflecting a negative tone. In tweets about Embiid, the most-used emoji was the garbage-bin emoji, per the study.
Rounding out the top-six were Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James (22.1% negative tweets) and Brooklyn Nets stars Kevin Durant (21.7%) and Kyrie Irving (20.7%).
Which players had the lowest percentage of negative tweets?&nbsp;
Warriors guard Klay Thompson doesn&rsquo;t get many trolls in his mentions, as just 14.6% of tweets directed at him were negative. Jamal Crawford (15.7%), Chris Paul (16.4%), Isaiah Thomas (16.9%) and Anthony Davis (16.9%) also don&rsquo;t get as much hate as their NBA peers.
Interestingly, despite receiving the most negativity, Curry also received the most positive tweets of all the players analyzed (1,325). Of the 2,789 tweets to Curry that were analyzed, 1,325 were positive, 778 were negative and 686 were neutral. While he may have haters, he has plenty of diehard fans as well.
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The study also tracked which players received the highest percentage of positive tweets.
Curry (47.5%) and LeBron (46.7%) received the most positive tweets, showing that there's plenty of love mixed in with the hate. Brooklyn Nets forward Blake Griffin (46.7%) and Portland Trail Blazers forward Carmelo Anthony (46.1%) also got a lot of positive tweets.
The big takeaway from this study is that professional athletes can&rsquo;t please everyone. Even the players whose mentions were mostly positive still had negative tweets directed at them roughly 15% of the time. 
Once you reach a certain level of fame, you&rsquo;ll inevitably deal with haters and trolls.

Which NBA players receive the most negative tweets? Whose mentions are predominantly positive? A new study has the answers.

Study: Which NBA players get trolled the most on Twitter?

A month before the 2019-20 NBA season started, Kendrick Nunn made some bold predictions. Despite being an undrafted player on a non-guaranteed contract, he told me that he wanted to compete for the NBA&rsquo;s Rookie of the Year award. He shared some lofty long-term goals too.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;m an All-Star player. I&rsquo;m a Hall of Famer,&rdquo; Nunn <a href="https://twitter.com/AlexKennedyNBA/status/1197921431532687360">told me</a>. &ldquo;That&rsquo;s my goal and I know that&rsquo;s what I&rsquo;m going to reach.&rdquo;
Fans saw these quotes and started cracking jokes. Many of them had never even heard of Nunn and they thought he was delusional. How could a 24-year-old undrafted prospect compete with the likes of Zion Williamson, Ja Morant and R.J. Barrett in the Rookie of the Year race?
Ten months later, Nunn finished second in Rookie of the Year voting behind Morant -- the best ROY finish for an undrafted player in NBA history -- and became the first undrafted player to win the Rookie of the Month award multiple times (in November, December and January).&nbsp;
Nunn emerged as a key contributor for the Heat, averaging 15.3 points, 3.3 assists, 2.7 rebounds, 2.0 threes and 0.8 steals on 43.9/35.0/85.0 shooting splits. And while his minutes decreased at the start of the playoffs, Nunn stayed ready and played a significant role for Miami during the NBA Finals (averaging 10.5 points, 3.5 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 1.5 threes in 22.7 minutes). When asked about silencing those preseason doubters, Nunn smiles.
&ldquo;It be like that; it always has to come from within first and you have to show people and prove it to them,&rdquo; Nunn said. &ldquo;That&rsquo;s what I&rsquo;m all about.&rdquo;
Now, Nunn is heating up again. His minutes dropped off to start the 2020-21 NBA season, but he&rsquo;s been playing more recently. Last night, he delivered one of the best performances of his NBA career to beat the Toronto Raptors, finishing with 28 points, 8 rebounds, 5 assists, 4 threes and 1 steal while shooting 9-12 from the field, 4-6 from three and 6-6 from the free-throw line.
Over the last two contests (both of which Miami won), Nunn averaged 23.0 points, 6.5 rebounds, 4.0 assists, 3.0 threes and 1.5 steals on 63.0/60.0/100.0 shooting splits.&nbsp;
BasketballNews.com recently sat down with Nunn to discuss his development, what he learned from the Heat&rsquo;s Finals run, trade rumors, living in Miami, his relationships with teammates and more.
You finished as the runner-up in the Rookie of the Year race, and the other two finalists were the No. 1 and No. 2 picks in the draft (Zion Williamson and Ja Morant). What did it mean to you to get the second-most votes?
Kendrick Nunn: &ldquo;It meant a lot. To even be in that position, it just showed all of the hard work that I put in - the things that I did and the belief I had in myself. [It felt good] just to show the world, just to prove to everyone what kind of player I am and what I can do.&rdquo;
Do you feel like you should&rsquo;ve won the Rookie of the Year award over Ja Morant?
KN: &ldquo;Of course! Of course I should&rsquo;ve won. I mean, if you think about it, [when have we seen] someone who was under the radar and who nobody knew and then they win multiple Rookie of the Months and has a season like that? It&rsquo;s really rare for an undrafted player to perform like that and have the kind of season that I had. Obviously, it&rsquo;s expected that a lottery pick -- the No. 1 pick or No. 2 pick or No. 3 pick -- will win that award. So, just from a &lsquo;shocking-the-world&rsquo; thing, I feel like I should&rsquo;ve won.&rdquo;
I don&rsquo;t think people realize how hard it is to make it as an undrafted player. You&rsquo;re fighting to get noticed and land on a team; then, you have to battle for your roster spot and a guaranteed contract. What were some of the challenges you faced as an undrafted player? 
[Note: Nunn slipped on draft night in large part because he <a href="https://www.freep.com/story/sports/college/2018/02/23/oakland-basketball-kendrick-nunn-greg-kampe/331983002/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">plead guilty to a misdemeanor battery charge</a> after an incident with an ex-girlfriend. Because of this incident, he was dismissed from the University of Illinois' basketball team and transferred to Oakland University. If you or someone you know needs help, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-SAFE.]
KN: &ldquo;I mean, there are a bunch of challenges. You need to have confidence in yourself and then you need to prove yourself every day. You can&rsquo;t slack; you have to show up every day and be elite at that level. I mean, the challenges come from all over the place. Adversity can hit at any time, so the thing is just fighting it and overcoming that.&rdquo;
<img src="https://basketballnews-media.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/images/story/body/nunn_44_lg.jpg" alt="" width="798" height="AUTO" />
What advice would you give to the guys in this class who just went undrafted?&nbsp;
KN: &ldquo;I would just want to tell them that the journey isn&rsquo;t over. This could be the beginning of your journey. You&rsquo;re going to get a chance to go to training camp with a team and to try to make that roster. I would also tell them: Don&rsquo;t put your head down, just continue to work. Opportunities come left and right, so just be ready for them.&rdquo;
What did you learn from playing in the NBA Finals last season?
KN: &ldquo;That was a crazy experience. I mean, that&rsquo;s the highest level of basketball -- it don&rsquo;t get any higher-level than that. And I learned a lot. Just the style of play, what it takes to [produce] in the playoffs, what it takes to win a game in the playoffs, what it takes to win a series&hellip; The pace is different. You have to really lock into personnel and the tendencies of different players. The style of play is a lot different than the regular season too, so just getting used to that and comfortable with that will help me in the future, for sure.&rdquo;
What was it like to play on basketball&rsquo;s biggest stage, knowing that millions of people were watching?&nbsp;
KN: &ldquo;It was fun, man. It was fun. The entire world was watching. That was the only basketball that was being played at the time, so you know that the entire world is watching, and you just want to play well and you want to win. That&rsquo;s the only thing that was going through my mind, just trying to lock in, focus, pay attention to details, try to win every possession and play my best. But I love [playing on that stage]. I&rsquo;m in an empty gym working on my game and practicing so that when the lights are on and everybody&rsquo;s watching, everything becomes easy -- it&rsquo;s second nature.&rdquo;&nbsp;
At the start of the playoffs, you fell out of the rotation for a bit and there were some games you didn&rsquo;t play. That&rsquo;s happened again at times to start this season. What did you learn from that experience and how are you handling that?
KN: &ldquo;There was definitely some adversity there. It was tough. As a young guy, my first year in the NBA, after starting throughout the majority of the season and then having to come off the bench during the playoffs and things like that and then almost not playing at all during the first series, it was definitely tough, mentally. But I think I&rsquo;m just a different type of player and have a different type of mental toughness where I can get through things like that. I just see where I can improve and not get down on myself and just continue to try to stack good days on top of each other and just continue to get better.&rdquo;
It can be difficult for players to transition from starting and knowing what minutes you&rsquo;ll be playing every night to coming off the bench and not knowing when you&rsquo;ll check in or how long you&rsquo;ll be out there. And when you check in off the bench, you&rsquo;re cold too. I&rsquo;ve talked with Jamal Crawford about this: it&rsquo;s not easy to provide instant offense off the bench and deal with your minutes fluctuating.
KN: &ldquo;It&rsquo;s different. You just have to know what type of situation you&rsquo;re in. Being ready is the most important thing. If you get thrown in, you can&rsquo;t get out there and not be aggressive. Once you get out there, if you aren&rsquo;t getting as much time, as soon as you&rsquo;re out there you&rsquo;ve gotta be aggressive and play the right way. If you do that, things will fall in line. &hellip; I&rsquo;m just doing everything I can [to stay ready] and whatever Coach needs me to do, I&rsquo;m doing that. I&rsquo;m bringing my strengths to the table and I think things will fall in line.&rdquo;
Your name has popped up in trade rumors a bit over the last year. Do you keep up with trade rumors or do you try to block them out?&nbsp;
KN: &ldquo;I pretty much block them out unless my agent contacts and tells me that there&rsquo;s a possibility that I could get traded. Anything on social media and stuff, obviously I&rsquo;m on there so it comes up and I read it, but I try to just ignore it and stick to what my team tells me.&rdquo;
There&rsquo;s been a lot of talk about the Heat&rsquo;s culture and how they do things. Since arriving in Miami, what do you think of their culture and how you&rsquo;ve fit in with it?
KN: &ldquo;I think it&rsquo;s a perfect spot for me. I think I landed in the place where I needed to be and where I&rsquo;m most comfortable. I love to work hard. I&rsquo;m a worker, and that&rsquo;s what we do here. That&rsquo;s what the coaches are all about, just working hard and getting better. So, I fit perfectly.&rdquo;
What aspects of your game were you focused on improving over the offseason?
KN: &ldquo;Just tightening my game all around -- ball-handling and shooting because you can never get enough of that; I&rsquo;m constantly trying to get better at that. Pick-and-rolls, extending my range at the three-point line, getting stronger, getting my body more intact. Just becoming more elite, that&rsquo;s really what I&rsquo;ve been working on.&rdquo;
What are some of your goals for this season - individually and as a team?
KN: &ldquo;This season, my No. 1 goal is I want to run it back to the NBA Finals. We gotta get that Finals win. (smiles) That was kind of upsetting to me that we didn&rsquo;t get that win, and we could have. Personally, I just want to become better in all areas of the game -- all of my stats, how I contribute to the team and just be better. I definitely want to be an All-Star this season, and I&rsquo;m working hard to do it.&rdquo;
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You went from playing in the NBA Finals in October to starting a new season in late-December. How did the condensed offseason impact you and this team as a whole?&nbsp;
KN: &ldquo;Well, this was really my first offseason in the NBA, so I really haven&rsquo;t experienced a &lsquo;full&rsquo; NBA offseason, which is usually four or five months, I think. So, the short offseason didn&rsquo;t feel too bad to me. I took a couple weeks off after the season and then I just got right back to work, and my body felt good. So, I felt like I was ready to go.&rdquo;
You and Tyler Herro are both terrific scorers and up-and-coming players in Miami. What&rsquo;s your relationship with Tyler like?
KN: &ldquo;Man, Tyler, that&rsquo;s my brother. Me and him talk every day, and we challenge each other every day too. I love that relationship with him because we&rsquo;re so close, but we&rsquo;re also so competitive. You know what I mean? We&rsquo;re both always looking to win or get an advantage over the other, so it&rsquo;s a fun relationship. We have a lot in common. He&rsquo;s from Milwaukee and that&rsquo;s not too far from Chicago, so he&rsquo;s got some [of that] DNA in him, you know what I mean?!&rdquo;
Jimmy Butler had been labeled as a tough teammate and his leadership was questioned in the past (perhaps unfairly), but he&rsquo;s been a terrific fit in Miami. You guys seem to love his leadership style and it works to bring the best out of this team. What&rsquo;s been your experience with Jimmy and how is your relationship with him?
KN: &ldquo;It&rsquo;s been great. Jimmy has been very helpful for me and he just feeds confidence to everyone on the team. And the way he plays and his unselfishness, you don&rsquo;t see that in many top-tier guys in the league. There aren&rsquo;t many stars who are unselfish like that and play the way he does and lead the way he does, so I&rsquo;m not sure where people got that &lsquo;bad-teammate&rsquo; narrative from. He&rsquo;s a great leader and I&rsquo;m very thankful for him.&rdquo;
I feel like he&rsquo;s very misunderstood.
KN: &ldquo;Yeah, definitely. I mean, if you&rsquo;re, like, sensitive, maybe he comes off [a certain way] and you wouldn&rsquo;t like him. I mean, he&rsquo;s very straight-forward. But if you&rsquo;re about winning and you want to get better, Jimmy is one of the guys you&rsquo;d love to have on your team.&rdquo;
Over the offseason, there was <a href="https://www.espn.com/nba/insider/story/_/id/30335854/nba-free-agency-winners-losers-wild-week">a report from ESPN</a> that some people around the NBA viewed Miami&rsquo;s Finals run as a fluke and that you guys aren&rsquo;t viewed as a threat to contend this season now that you&rsquo;re no longer playing in the bubble and benefitting from that set-up. What would you say to that?
KN: &ldquo;There&rsquo;s always going to be haters. When we came to the bubble, we knew that there was an opportunity to win a championship. That&rsquo;s our mentality every year -- that we&rsquo;re going to try to win the championship. Fluke or not, we went to the Finals and we&rsquo;re going to try to do it again this year.&rdquo;
How have you enjoyed living in Miami? KN: &ldquo;I love Miami. It&rsquo;s been very different to get away from the cold weather because, as you know, I&rsquo;m from Chicago. The weather here is perfect year-round. I can go down to the beach in December and get a workout in. That&rsquo;s the best part of why I love living here. It&rsquo;s just a great workout spot. Like, who doesn&rsquo;t want to go out to the beach and work out in the sand year-round?! You can go outside and enjoy yourself whenever!&rdquo;

Kendrick Nunn opens up about his development, finishing second in ROY voting, trade rumors, lessons from Miami's Finals run and more.

Kendrick Nunn Q&A: 'My No. 1 goal is running it back to the NBA Finals'

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

2020-21 NBA Season Preview: Southwest Division

Nekias Duncan previews the Southeast Division (the Hawks, Hornets, Heat, Magic and Wizards) ahead of the 2020-21 NBA season.

2020-21 NBA Season Preview: Southeast Division

Nekias Duncan previews the Central Division's five teams (the Bulls, Cavs, Pistons, Pacers and Bucks) ahead of the 2020-21 NBA season.

2020-21 NBA Season Preview: Central Division

Two days removed from the NBA Draft, we have made it to free agency! At 6 p.m. ET tonight, the moratorium period officially opens, which means negotiations can begin between players and teams.
BasketballNews.com has ranked the top free agents available by position:
<ul>
<li><a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/ranking-top-10-nba-free-agent-point-guards-2020" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Point Guards</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/ranking-top-10-nba-free-agent-shooting-guards-2020" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Shooting Guards</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/ranking-top-10-nba-free-agent-small-forwards-2020" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Small Forwards</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/ranking-top-10-nba-free-agent-power-forwards-2020" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Power Forwards</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/ranking-top-10-nba-free-agent-centers-2020" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Centers</a></li>
</ul>
Stay up to date with <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-news-2020-free-agent-agency-tracker-offseason-trades-player-movement-teams" target="_blank" rel="noopener">BasketballNews.com's offseason tracker</a> for all player movement as well.
In this piece, we're going to rank the top-10 free agents overall.
10. Davis Bertans, Washington Wizards -- <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-free-agency-davis-bertans-agrees-to-five-year-80-million-return-washington-wizards" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Back with Wizards</a> 
STATS: 15.4 PPG, 4.5 RPG, 0.6 OREB, 1.7 APG, 0.6 BPG 
Few players boosted their stock as much as Bertans did in his first season with the Wizards. Playing nearly 30 minutes per game for the first time in his career, he took advantage. A dead-eye shooter, the Latvian sniper has one of the quickest releases in the league and he made 3.7 three-pointers per game (while shooting 42.4 percent from long range). He has no problem pulling up on the break from any spot on the floor, which is his specialty. Good luck cooling this man off when he&rsquo;s hot.
9. Bogdan Bogdanovic, Sacramento Kings -- Restricted
STATS: 15.1 PPG, 3.4 RPG, 3.4 APG, 1 SPG, 37.2% 3P 
Well, we thought Bogdanovic was headed for the Milwaukee Bucks via a sign-and-trade, but that <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-news-free-agency-Bogdan-Bogdanovic-sacramento-kings-milwaukee-bucks-trade" target="_blank" rel="noopener">move is currently under investigation</a>. Reports suggest that he is entering restricted free agency as he planned before the supposed deal was struck this week. Since Bogdanovic joined the Kings three years ago, he&rsquo;s been the poster child of consistency. The Serbian guard has a quick first step and a tendency to create for his teammates. His three-point shooting is above-average as well. With Sacramento, he&rsquo;s done most of his damage with the second unit, but he always finishes games. In a dry free-agent class, a team could come with a significant offer. Luke Walton seems to like his game, though, so it&rsquo;ll be up to the Kings on whether to match a deal or not. 
8. Goran Dragic, Miami Heat -- <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-news-free-agency-miami-heat-goran-dragic" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Back with Heat</a> 
STATS: 16.2 PPG, 5.1 APG, 3.2 RPG, 0.7 SPG, 36.7% 3P
At 34 years old, Dragic is getting up there in age, but he produced exceptionally for the Heat. Unfortunately, he tore his plantar fascia in his left foot, so he wasn't able to make his usual impact in the NBA Finals. We'll see how that injury affects his status in free agency. But as a sixth man for the first time since the early part of the decade, the Slovenian vet accepted his role and thrived (and eventually regained his starting job). He establishes a strong rapport with everybody he plays with. He&rsquo;s difficult to defend as a ball-handler in pick-and-roll situations, either dropping the perfect pass to a rolling big, darting toward the bucket with conviction or jacking up a three to punish the defense. 
7. Danilo Gallinari, Oklahoma City Thunder -- <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-news-free-agency-Danilo-Gallinari-atlanta-hawks" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Agreed with Hawks</a> 
STATS: 18.7 PPG, 5.2 RPG, 1.9 APG, 0.1 BPG, 0.7 SPG
Perhaps the most overlooked player in the NBA, Gallo is always going to put the basketball in the bucket. As a three-level scorer, he can hurt you by penetrating the defense, getting to the free-throw line and, most noticeably, draining triples. What he lacks in lateral ability, he makes up for with his length as a defender. As somebody who&rsquo;s gone through a ton of injuries and trades in his life, Gallinari is a sure bet to stay the course and produce. Several teams tried to acquire Gallinari prior to this year's trade deadline, which was likely a preview of the interest he'll receive in free agency.
6. Gordon Hayward, Boston Celtics -- <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-news-free-agency-gordon-hayward-charlotte-hornets" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Agreed with Hornets</a> 
STATS: 17.5 PPG, 6.7 RPG, 4.1 APG, 0.4 BPG, 0.7 SPG 
About three years after a gruesome leg injury left him on the sidelines for his debut season with the Celtics, Hayward returned to form and is confident in what he&rsquo;s doing on the floor. He&rsquo;s no longer hesitating to drive the lane, and he can take contact and finish as strong as he did pre-injury. He was super efficient this season, shooting 50 percent from the field, 38.3 percent from three and 85.5 percent from the free-throw line. And he was able to score all over the floor, with <a href="https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/h/haywago01.html#shooting::none" target="_blank" rel="noopener">impressive shooting percentages</a> whether he was finishing at the rim, shooting mid-range jumpers or attempting three-pointers. On defense, he held his own next to some of the best young guards in the league. It's unfortunate he missed a good chunk of the postseason with an ankle injury, but he bounced back nicely for Boston when he came back. Hayward ultimately decided to opt out and test free agency, leaving nearly $35 million on the table.
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5. Serge Ibaka, Toronto Raptors -- Unrestricted
STATS: 15.4 PPG, 8.2 RPG, 2.1 OREB, 1.4 APG, 0.8 BPG 
While Ibaka&rsquo;s defensive prowess got him noticed early in his career, it's been his scoring uptick that should catch the eye of teams around the league now. He was a major cog in Toronto's playoff run, soaking up a lot of minutes in favor of Marc Gasol off the bench. The Raptors utilized his improved ability to stretch the floor and allowed him to fire up shots from distance, as he shot 38.5 percent from three this year. Additionally, he sets good screens and rolls to the basket well. 
4. Montrezl Harrell, LA Clippers -- <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-free-agency-rumors-los-angeles-lakers-agree-two-year-deal-montrezl-harrell" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Agreed with Lakers</a> 
STATS: 18.6 PPG, 7.1 RPG, 2.6 OREB, 1.7 APG, 1.1 BPG 
At 6-foot-7 with a 240-pound frame, Harrell plays much bigger than his size. His nose for the ball is up there with anybody in the NBA, he knows how to find room to get into the paint and he uses his strength to his advantage. He was one half of the deadliest second-unit duo in the league with Lou Williams. Harrell won this year's Sixth Man of the Year award because of his terrific two-way contributions. Yeah, the NBA bubble didn't do him any favors -- and there were a number of factors that played into his struggles in Orlando -- but he's still at the top of the food chain among centers in this free-agent class. Harrell should still get paid handsomely.
3. Fred VanVleet, Toronto Raptors -- <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-free-agency-fred-vanvleet-agrees-four-year-85-million-toronto-raptors-return" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Back with Raptors</a> 
STATS: 17.6 PPG, 6.6 APG, 3.8 RPG, 1.9 SPG, 39% 3P
Can you believe the crown jewel of the 2020 point-guard class went undrafted four years ago? VanVleet might be the smoothest operator in the league at the one. You can credit smart decision-making, aggressiveness and stellar defensive IQ as the reasons for his rise to the top. Learning from one of the best in the league, Kyle Lowry, certainly didn't hurt, but VanVleet got here on his own volition. There's no question that he&rsquo;s been a key piece for last year's champions; he's incredibly consistent and he just does his job at an extremely high level. There&rsquo;s a good chance that some team is going to break the bank for VanVleet this offseason. Long-term security is going to be the key, and, despite his public desire to re-sign, that might hurt the Raptors&rsquo; chances of retaining him.
2. Brandon Ingram, New Orleans Pelicans -- Restricted
STATS: 23.8 PPG, 6.1 RPG, 4.2 APG, 0.6 BPG, 1 SPG 
Ingram adapted well to a change of scenery and found a niche with the fast-paced Pelicans, winning the Most Improved Player award. The 22-year-old quickly became the focal point of the team, notching magnificent performance after magnificent performance before ZionMania came around. He&rsquo;s put in the work to freely take looks instead of being timid to do so, improving his shot selection in the process. He effectively finds different angles to get to point-blank distance. A first-time All-Star, Ingram&rsquo;s development curve is rising quickly. It&rsquo;d be wise for New Orleans to match any offer that comes his way because we could be looking at a max-contract player.
1. Anthony Davis, Los Angeles Lakers -- Unrestricted
STATS: 26.1 PPG, 9.3 RPG, 2.3 OREB, 3.2 APG, 2.3 BPG 
Will AD stay or will he go? Well, he and LeBron James just led the Lakers to their 17th NBA championship, so you'd think staying with the Lakers would be his top option. They&rsquo;re the <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/ranking-best-one-two-punches-in-NBA" target="_blank" rel="noopener">most dangerous duo in the NBA</a> today. Davis can score from anywhere, and he's one of the nastiest finishers in the game. He&rsquo;ll take your lunch money on the defensive end too. When healthy, he&rsquo;s one of the best all-around players in the league. He declined Los Angeles&rsquo; max extension after the New Year and declined his player option recently in favor of earning a maximum contract offer this offseason. 
Head over to BasketballNews.com's offseason tracker for all of the latest player movement.
In addition, check out our ranking of the top <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/ranking-top-10-nba-free-agent-point-guards-2020" target="_blank" rel="noopener">point guards</a>, <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/ranking-top-10-nba-free-agent-shooting-guards-2020" target="_blank" rel="noopener">shooting guards</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/ranking-top-10-nba-free-agent-small-forwards-2020" target="_blank" rel="noopener">small forwards</a>, <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/ranking-top-10-nba-free-agent-power-forwards-2020" target="_blank" rel="noopener">power forwards</a>&nbsp;and <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/ranking-top-10-nba-free-agent-centers-2020" target="_blank" rel="noopener">centers.</a>&nbsp;Stay tuned to BasketballNews.com for in-depth coverage of the 2020 NBA offseason!

Spencer Davies ranks his best available players in the 2020 NBA free-agent class.

NBA free-agent rankings: Top 10 players available in 2020

The Athletic&rsquo;s Shams Charania <a href="https://twitter.com/ShamsCharania/status/1326678884226658311" target="_blank" rel="noopener">dropped a bombshell of a tweet</a> on Wednesday night, reporting that Rockets star Russell Westbrook wants out of Houston.
It&rsquo;s a bizarre and abrupt request on the heels of Big-Mouth-styled changes going on in the organization. Head coach Mike D&rsquo;Antoni is gone, replaced by Stephen Silas. Daryl Morey, the architect of the smaller-than-smallball Rockets, left for bluer pastures in Philadelphia. Westbrook, reportedly frustrated with the direction of the organization and the lack of offensive rhythm, now wants to take his talents elsewhere.
If the Rockets decide to move him, his market will be a tough one to navigate. On one hand, Westbrook remains one of the most talented players in the sport. He can get to the rim when he wants and finish at a high level. There aren&rsquo;t many players who create as many threes or lobs as Westbrook does. He&rsquo;s still a triple-double machine, for whatever that&rsquo;s worth to you.
On the other hand, the lack of off-ball value really hinders his effectiveness in playoff situations. The Lakers flat-out ignored him during their second-round series whenever he didn&rsquo;t have the ball. He also failed to capitalize on advantage situations whenever the Lakers trapped James Harden -- a massive indictment on Westbrook&rsquo;s decision-making in high-leverage spots, though it&rsquo;s fair to note that Westbrook was trying to work himself into playoff shape after dealing with COVID and injuries.
Further complicating matters is Westbrook&rsquo;s age (32) and contract (three years, $132 million left). It&rsquo;s hard for teams to swallow that much money on the back-9 of Westbrook&rsquo;s career. But from a talent perspective, the Rockets will rightfully want a good young piece and more for a guy of Westbrook&rsquo;s status. In order for a deal to work, there will have to be some compromise on both sides.
Let&rsquo;s take a look at several potential suitors.&nbsp;
<img src="https://basketballnews-media.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/images/story/body/terry4_lg.jpg" alt="" width="745" height="AUTO" />
Charlotte Hornets
The Hornets are in a weird spot. They&rsquo;re clearly a bad team, but one with some useful vets and intriguing young talent that falls a tier (or two) below &ldquo;blue-chipper&rdquo; status. They&rsquo;re technically in position to land a high-profile youngster in this year&rsquo;s draft, but let&rsquo;s just say the merits of that distinction can be heavily debated.
In short: the Hornets are in position to make a move for a less-than-desirable star if they want to.&nbsp;
For a guy like Westbrook, who is still good enough to raise the floor of a team to playoff-level, and for a team like the Hornets that have little hope in nabbing a big name in free agency, a marriage could make some sense.
Starter Offer: Terry Rozier, Nicolas Batum
There was mild controversy around Rozier&rsquo;s acquisition last summer, though most of that was no fault of his own. The Hornets either failed or flat-out decided not to re-sign franchise cornerstone Kemba Walker, depending on who you talk to. Losing him hurt on and off the floor; losing him then immediately handing Rozier a three-year, $57 million deal&hellip; the optics didn&rsquo;t look great.&nbsp;
To Rozier&rsquo;s credit, he put together a solid season alongside Most Improved candidate Devonte&rsquo; Graham. Rozier averaged 18 points while shooting north of 40 percent from three on nearly seven attempts per contest. He also provided his usual brand of pesky defense at the point of attack. If the jumper proves to be real, he&rsquo;d be an ideal fit next to Harden as a secondary playmaker.
The Batum signing has mostly been a failure. Since signing his five-year, $120 million deal in the summer of 2016, Batum has waved between injuries and inconsistent play. At his best, he&rsquo;s a versatile forward capable of shooting, finishing, operating secondary pick-and-rolls and defending three positions credibly. It&rsquo;s just been difficult for him to put things together for extended stretches.
In Houston, he can enjoy easier looks playing off of the brilliance of Harden. Flanked by defenders like Robert Covington and PJ Tucker, Batum&rsquo;s defensive workload could also be a little lighter. A one-year flier on Batum could be a worthwhile gamble -- and we&rsquo;ve seen Contract-Year Batum before.
Last Ditch Offer: Terry Rozier, Cody Zeller, Malik Monk
If Batum isn&rsquo;t appealing, swapping him out for the Zeller/Monk combo could make things work. That may require the Rockets to throw in another piece -- Ben McLemore? Danuel House? -- depending on how confident the Hornets are in Monk moving forward.
Zeller has dealt with injury woes over the past three seasons, but has proven to be a reliable screener and lob threat when upright. Adding a screen-and-dive big back to Houston&rsquo;s arsenal would be a positive.&nbsp;
The jury remains out on Monk. He&rsquo;s a bucket-getter at his best, able to use a shifty handle and quick trigger to flow into pull-ups whenever he wants. The issue is that his shooting ability is more theoretical at this stage of his career. There&rsquo;s enough raw talent there to argue that a change of scenery would benefit him; maybe providing bench relief for a better team and occasionally playing off of Harden can lead to a mini-breakout.
<img src="https://basketballnews-media.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/images/story/body/tim2_lg.jpg" alt="" width="796" height="AUTO" />
Dallas Mavericks
The Luka Doncic-led Mavericks made their return to the postseason behind, statistically, the greatest offense in NBA history. Doncic pick-and-rolled his way into rim forays and stepback jimmies; Kristaps Porzingis pick-and-popped his way into triple after triple. Gunners like Tim Hardaway Jr. and Seth Curry thrived off of the open looks created by the Doncic-Porzingis tango.&nbsp;
The next step for Dallas is finding someone to take some on-ball pressure off of Doncic, which is where a Westbrook deal could make some sense for them. There&rsquo;s rightful concern about Westbrook&rsquo;s value and/or inactivity without the ball in his hands, as well as how Westbrook&rsquo;s contract could affect their eventual pursuit of Giannis Antetokounmpo in 2021. The counter there is that Dallas shouldn&rsquo;t get in an all-out bidding war for Westbrook&rsquo;s services. Beyond that, Westbrook could likely be moved again next offseason, with a year less on his contract at that point, if they received word that Giannis was interested in joining.
First and Final Offer: Tim Hardaway Jr., Delon Wright, Dwight Powell
Hardaway Jr. is coming off his most efficient season as a pro, posting career highs in three-point percentage (39.8) and True Shooting percentage (58.1). With new head coach Stephen Silas looking to add more variety to Houston&rsquo;s offensive attack, having an off-ball mover like Hardaway Jr. could make them more dangerous in the half-court.
Wright had a smaller role than anticipated in his first year in Dallas, only starting five games and averaging a shade under 22 minutes a night. Still, he provided solid perimeter defense across multiple positions, and showcased some improved craft in pick-and-roll.&nbsp;
Wright pick-and-rolls (including passes) generated a little over 1.08 points per possession, per Synergy. Wright can slot in nicely alongside Harden or help anchor the second unit with Eric Gordon. There would be enough size for Houston to go with three-guard lineups with any three of Harden, Hardaway Jr., Gordon, or Wright if the situation called for it.
Powell is one of the more underrated bench bigs in the league, an elite roll option in ball screens and solid positional defender. There may be some hesitancy in taking on the remainder of his contract, especially with him coming off an Achilles injury, but I think it&rsquo;s fair to say that his deal is an easier pill to swallow than Westbrook&rsquo;s.&nbsp;
<img src="https://basketballnews-media.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/images/story/body/vic__lg.jpg" alt="" width="793" height="AUTO" />
Indiana Pacers
The Pacers are in the suburbs of purgatory: good enough to not only make the playoffs, but to host a playoff series, but not good enough to make legitimate noise in the postseason. There is no capital-s star, though Domantas Sabonis comes the closest. The player that did occupy that role has dealt with injuries and is set to hit unrestricted free agency next summer. This may be the time for the Pacers to make a swing that could vault them into the next tier.
Starter Offer: Victor Oladipo, Jeremy Lamb, Goga Bitadze
Any offer from the Pacers would likely start with Oladipo, a recently-oft-injured-but-talented guard that may be <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-trade-rumors-possible-destinations-victor-oladipo-indiana-pacers">on his way out</a>. He may not be able to be the focal point of an offense at this point, but still has the driving and spot-up shooting skills necessary to operate as a secondary option. That, combined with his still-rugged perimeter defense, makes him an ideal fit next to Harden.
Lamb is a silky two-dribble attacker that can beat rotating defenses with pull-ups or tough finishes at the rim. He&rsquo;s also an active defender, if not an especially good one.&nbsp;
Goga Bitadze is an intriguing big prospect that didn&rsquo;t see much daylight last season. The former Serbian League MVP has enough shooting touch to feast off pick-and-pops, and he built a reputation overseas as a stout rim protector and shot blocker. The Pacers may not want to part with him, especially if the smoke around Myles Turner being on the block is true. If they&rsquo;re willing to move Bitadze, though, he&rsquo;d have a clear-cut path to playing time in Houston.
Last Ditch Offer: Myles Turner, Victor Oladipo, TJ Leaf
Turner is a good, albeit frustrating player. In theory, he&rsquo;s the type of 3-and-D center you want. Silky jumper that he launches into the freaking sun before it kisses through the net; a ridiculous rim protector that can swat shots from just about anywhere; enough of a handle and straight-line speed to pump-and-go against overeager defenders. Turner just hasn&rsquo;t managed to put it all together. That reality, combined with the emergency of Sabonis as the team&rsquo;s best player, and the presence of Bitadze makes a Turner move a more realistic outcome.
Leaf would be filler in a move like this. The shooting ability he flashed at UCLA hasn&rsquo;t really translated on the NBA level, and that&rsquo;s made it difficult for him to carve out consistent playing time to this point of his career.
<img src="https://basketballnews-media.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/images/story/body/lou_trz_lg.jpg" alt="" width="785" height="AUTO" />
Los Angeles Clippers
The clock is definitely ticking in Los Angeles.
Fresh off of an embarrassing playoff collapse, the Clippers now find themselves in a dangerous spot. Their title window is wide open for next season -- having Kawhi Leonard and Paul George as your top two will do that -- but both players have the ability to hit free agency in 2021. It would be an outright disaster if even one of them leaves considering the capital it took to bring them in last offseason. Changes are needed, and fast.
Starter Offer: Montrezl Harrell (S&amp;T), Patrick Beverley, Lou Williams
Making the money work in a deal like this is tough without including Leonard or George. It is possible, though, by utilizing a sign-and-trade with Montrezl Harrell, last year&rsquo;s Sixth Man of the Year. TradeNBA&rsquo;s trade machine allows you to give players custom contracts. I gave Harrell a 3-year, $57 million deal -- quick hat tip to this <a href="https://www.dangerc.art/contract-structures">NBA contract generator</a> -- to make things work.
(Also, can I just say that it&rsquo;s ridiculous that the Clippers had two players as finalists for the Sixth Man award? By definition, one of Harrell or Lou Williams had to be the seventh man, which would eliminate them from contention. Come on, man. The math just ain&rsquo;t mathin&rsquo;.)
Beverley remains one of the most annoying players in the league to dribble against. He&rsquo;s also turned himself into one heck of a shooter, draining 39.3 percent of his threes over the past five seasons.
Williams is a multi-time Sixth Man of the Year award winner, a slithery pick-and-roll guard that wins with a variety of shoulder, head and pump fakes. There&rsquo;s obvious regular-season value with him, though he&rsquo;s never really put it together in the postseason.&nbsp;
Last Ditch Offer: Paul George
Ideally, if the Clippers are going to make a move for Westbrook, it&rsquo;ll be to create a Big 3 with him, Leonard and George.&nbsp;
The Hail Mary here would be to flip George, who reportedly <a href="https://sports.yahoo.com/disappointment-frustration-lack-of-chemistry-portrait-of-the-clippers-collapse-172338674.html">played a role</a> in the Clippers&rsquo; ruffled locker room last season. His playoff struggles have been a little overblown -- people have really lost sight of what he was able to do in Indiana, and an argument can be made that he was OKC&rsquo;s best playoff performer during his stretch there -- but they can&rsquo;t completely be ignored.&nbsp;
If the Clippers prioritize the playmaking and rim pressure that Westbrook -- and they might, considering Leonard reportedly <a href="https://nba.nbcsports.com/2020/10/19/report-kawhi-leonard-wants-clippers-to-add-point-guard/">wants some help</a> in that regard -- there&rsquo;s room for a swap. That may require the Rockets to toss in an extra piece like House, but it&rsquo;s easy to see the on-court benefit from both sides.&nbsp;
Westbrook could help push the pace, create lob opportunities for Ivica Zubac, and take some of the creation burden off of Leonard. George can flow off of pindowns and attack bent defenses in Houston, or float around the perimeter to create driving lanes for Harden, Gordon and others.

Nekias Duncan breaks down four possible trade destinations for Russell Westbrook since the former MVP reportedly wants out of Houston.

Breaking down possible trade destinations for Russell Westbrook

Nekias Duncan breaks down what the Miami Heat need to do to slow down LeBron James and Anthony Davis in the NBA Finals.

Scouting Report: How the Heat can stop the Lakers

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

Nekias Duncan breaks down what the Boston Celtics must do defensively to beat the Miami Heat in the Conference Finals.

Scouting Report: How the Celtics can stop the Heat

The 2025 NBA Finals have been a back-and-forth chess match between two young, hungry teams. And with the series tied at 1-1 heading into Game 3, it was Indiana's turn to punch back &ndash; this time led by a new name under the spotlight.
In each Finals game so far, an unexpected hero has emerged. In Game 1, Lu Dort and Obi Toppin each hit five threes in a jaw-dropping display. In Game 2, it was Aaron Wiggins who erupted off the bench for Oklahoma City. Game 3, however, belonged to Bennedict Mathurin.
Here are our takeaways from Game 3&rsquo;s electric finish:
The Bennedict Mathurin Game
Every Finals series features a breakout game &ndash; the kind of moment that lives forever in a player&rsquo;s career highlight reel. Game 3 was that for Bennedict Mathurin. The second-year guard played with fearless aggression, attacking mismatches and knocking down big shots in rhythm.
Mathurin poured in a playoff career-high 27 points on 9‑for‑12 shooting in just 22 minutes off the bench &ndash; the first 25+ point performance by a Finals reserve since Jason Terry in 2011, providing the kind of offensive spark that shifted the energy of the game. His slashing, transition pace, and ability to finish through contact gave Oklahoma City&rsquo;s defense fits.
What made it even more impressive was the stage. In a chance to go up at home, Mathurin didn&rsquo;t blink. He embraced the moment &ndash; and owned it.
Turnovers tilt the game
Turnovers have been a recurring theme throughout these Finals. Game 1 saw the Pacers lose control with sloppy passes. In Game 2, they cleaned that up &ndash; and it was OKC who capitalized. But in Game 3, the Thunder once again found themselves sabotaged by their own mistakes.
Oklahoma City committed 17 turnovers &ndash; matching their season high &ndash; leading to easy runouts and momentum-shifting plays for the Pacers. Indiana turned those giveaways into, which made a huge difference in a tightly contested game.
For a young team built on pace and rhythm, turnovers are especially costly. They don't just stop your offense &ndash; they fuel the opponent&rsquo;s.
Indiana&rsquo;s bench strikes again
The Pacers' bench has been a massive factor in this series, and Game 3 only reinforced that. Led by Mathurin, T.J. McConnell, and Obi Toppin, Indiana&rsquo;s second unit outplayed OKC&rsquo;s reserves for the second time in three games.
McConnell controlled tempo, picked his spots, and brought his usual scrappy defensive presence. Toppin continued to provide floor spacing and timely cuts. The Pacers&rsquo; bench finished with 49 points, outscoring the Thunder&rsquo;s second unit and shifting the game&rsquo;s momentum every time they checked in.
For Indiana, this kind of depth has been a differentiator all postseason &ndash; and it&rsquo;s showing up again on the biggest stage.
Pacers tweak defensive coverage on SGA
One of the most critical adjustments Indiana made in Game 3 was its defensive coverage on Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. The Thunder star had dominated the first two games by manipulating pick-and-roll coverages with surgical precision. But Indiana threw him a different look this time.
&ldquo;They were higher tonight in the pick and rolls. They were above the screens,&rdquo; SGA noted after the game.
That higher positioning took away some of his downhill driving lanes and forced him into tougher midrange pull-ups. While Shai still found ways to impact the game, scoring 24 points, the defensive tweak clearly disrupted his rhythm early and helped Indiana build momentum.
Final thoughts
Game 3 proved once again that no moment is too big for these young Pacers. Between the bench depth, defensive adjustments, and Mathurin&rsquo;s coming-out party, Indiana has seized a 2-1 lead in the series, and the upper hand heading into Game 4, still in Indianapolis.
For Oklahoma City, it&rsquo;s back to the drawing board. The Thunder will need to take better care of the ball and find new counters for Indiana&rsquo;s evolving game plan if they want to tie things up again.
With each game rewriting the narrative, this Finals continues to deliver &ndash; and Game 4 is already shaping up to be another classic.

Bennedict Mathurin scored 27 off the bench and turnovers doomed OKC in a 116–107 Game 3 Pacers win. Indiana leads series 2–1.

Thunder-Pacers Game 3 takeaways: Bennedict Mathurin breaks out

The Indiana Pacers struck first in the 2025 NBA Finals, taking Game 1 against the Oklahoma City Thunder after an improbable comeback in the 4th quarter clinched by a game-winning jumper from Tyrese Haliburton. While the series is far from over, Game 1 offered plenty of early lessons and adjustments to look out for in the coming games.
<h3>Turnovers, turnovers, turnovers</h3>
If there&rsquo;s one thing you can&rsquo;t do against the Thunder, it&rsquo;s turn the ball over. Oklahoma City isn&rsquo;t just elite in forcing turnovers &ndash; they&rsquo;re historically good. Game 1 was a harsh introduction for Indiana, who coughed up possession far too many times against a team designed to feast off mistakes &ndash; 24 of them to be exact.
OKC&rsquo;s perimeter defenders, from Alex Caruso to Jalen Williams to Lu Dort and Cason Wallace, excel at reading passing lanes and applying pressure without fouling. The Thunder swarmed Indiana&rsquo;s offense, collapsing on drives and disrupting flow. Their rotations were sharp, their closeouts disciplined, and their ability to generate live-ball turnovers turned defense into instant offense.
Given that this was Indiana&rsquo;s first Finals appearance in decades, some early jitters were expected. The energy inside Paycom Center was relentless, and the Pacers' miscues snowballed under pressure. Although they won Game 1 by a hair, moving forward the Pacers need to prioritize clean possessions and limit turnovers if they want a real shot at winning the series. Because let&rsquo;s be real, the Thunder are still heavy favorites despite squandering Game 1. Improved composure and better decision-making, especially from their lead ball handlers, will be key.
<h3>Too much space for the MVP</h3>
Indiana&rsquo;s defensive game plan allowed Shai Gilgeous-Alexander far too much room to operate. The newly crowned MVP carved up the defense with his signature patience, gliding into open mid-range jumpers and attacking downhill with minimal resistance. Time and again, he found the pockets of space he thrives in. SGA scored an astounding 38 points in his Finals debut, and Indiana should do a better job in crowding him and showing him bodies.
SGA&rsquo;s ability to control tempo is what makes him so difficult to guard. He's never rushed. He plays at his own pace, decelerating into stepbacks or slithering into floaters. In Game 1, Indiana gave him too much cushion and failed to show enough help at the point of attack.
To slow him down, the Pacers must adjust their coverage. They need to crowd his space, get physical, and throw multiple bodies at him. Blitzing pick-and-rolls, shading help early, and forcing the ball out of his hands should be top priorities. OKC&rsquo;s supporting cast is capable, but Indiana has to be willing to gamble by making others beat them. As it stands, SGA is getting exactly what he wants.
<h3>Bench scoring advantage</h3>
One area Indiana clearly won in Game 1 was bench production. Obi Toppin led the way with 17 points, including five made threes, providing crucial spacing and energy. His timely shooting helped the Pacers keep pace, particularly during stretches when their starters were stagnant.
TJ McConnell was equally impactful, igniting the Pacers&rsquo; second unit with relentless pace and dribble penetration. Whether pushing off makes or misses, McConnell kept OKC on their heels and helped Indiana stay within striking distance. His ability to find seams in the defense and collapse the Thunder&rsquo;s perimeter gave Indiana a much-needed offensive spark.
The Thunder, on the other hand, didn&rsquo;t get much juice from their reserves offensively aside from Isaiah Hartenstein. While their rotation depth helped defensively, the scoring disparity off the bench could be something to monitor as the series progresses. If Indiana&rsquo;s bench can continue to outperform OKC&rsquo;s, it could swing the momentum in tighter contests.
<h3>Rotation chess match</h3>
Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault made some eyebrow-raising rotation decisions in Game 1. Most notably, he started Cason Wallace over Isaiah Hartenstein, opting for a smaller, switch-heavy group designed to disrupt Indiana&rsquo;s ball movement and prevent easy driving lanes.
The Thunder rarely used their double-big lineups, instead rotating between Hartenstein and Chet Holmgren at center while leaning into versatility and perimeter defense. At times, Daigneault even deployed a one-forward, four-guard setup &ndash; and in a few stints, a full five-guard lineup. The strategy prioritized switchability and speed, key components in disrupting Indiana&rsquo;s flow.
Daigneault went deep into his bench, using 11 players in total. The most surprising cameo came from rookie Ajay Mitchell, who logged a 4&ndash;5 minute stretch early in the second quarter. Mitchell went scoreless on 0-of-3 shooting and finished with a -3, which showed Daigneault&rsquo;s willingness to trust his young talent &ndash; even on the Finals stage. While it didn&rsquo;t pay dividends on the scoreboard, the experience could prove valuable if Mitchell&rsquo;s number is called again later in the series. However, with everything on the line and at stake, Daigneault must choose between developing and going all in and trust the veterans to win games for OKC.
On the other side, Rick Carlisle pushed all the right buttons. Thomas Bryant and Ben Sheppard delivered timely contributions, defending well and knocking down big shots. Carlisle staggered minutes well, ensuring McConnell and Toppin had favorable matchups. His ability to read the game and make real-time adjustments helped Indiana stay competitive despite the turnover woes.
<h3>Final thoughts</h3>
Game 1 gave us a glimpse of how Oklahoma City&rsquo;s swarming defense and MVP-led offense can control the tempo of this series. Their blend of length, athleticism, and discipline on defense creates chaos, while SGA&rsquo;s poise and scoring gravity center everything on offense. But it also showed Indiana has the bench depth, coaching flexibility, and offensive firepower to respond.
Expect the Pacers to clean up their turnovers and tweak their coverage on Gilgeous-Alexander heading into Game 2. They'll need to impose more physicality on defense and continue winning the bench battle. If they can take better care of the ball and throw OKC off rhythm, this series has the potential to get very interesting.
The chess match has only just begun.

Discover key takeaways from Game 1 of the 2025 NBA Finals between the Thunder and Pacers, what we learned from each team.

Thunder-Pacers Game 1 Takeaways: What we learned from the NBA Finals opener

Minnesota ends LA&rsquo;s season in 5-game shocker despite being huge underdogs going into the series
The Minnesota Timberwolves weren&rsquo;t supposed to be here.
According to ESPN&rsquo;s panel of 10 analysts, not one picked them to win their first-round series against the Los Angeles Lakers. Most had the Lakers in five, six, or seven games. On paper, the Timberwolves were outmatched: LeBron James and Luka Doncic led a top-heavy but star-studded Lakers team expected to steamroll their way to the second round.
Instead, Minnesota didn&rsquo;t just win the series &ndash; they dominated it. Minnesota capitalized on team chemistry and strategic execution to control the series.
The Timberwolves' victories were marked by consistent performances:
<ul>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Game 1: 117&ndash;95 win in Los Angeles</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Game 3: 116&ndash;104 win in Minnesota</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Game 4: 116&ndash;113 win in Minnesota</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Game 5: 103&ndash;96 win in Los Angeles</li>
</ul>
Their only loss came in Game 2, a 94&ndash;85 defeat.
The Timberwolves dismantled the Lakers in five games, closing them out with a tough Game 5 win on the road. Minnesota outplayed Los Angeles in every area of the game: they were quicker in transition, stronger on the glass, sharper in their sets, and more connected defensively. It was a comprehensive, no-doubt-about-it series win &mdash; the kind that turns skeptics into believers.
<h3>&ldquo;Nobody picked us. We saw everything.&rdquo;</h3>
That&rsquo;s what Anthony Edwards said after Game 5, and he wasn&rsquo;t exaggerating. The Timberwolves were largely disrespected in national discourse heading into the playoffs, viewed as a feel-good story after an up-and-down regular season rather than a real threat. But inside the locker room, that doubt was fuel. The Timberwolves took it personally, and they responded with purpose.
In five games, the Timberwolves held the Lakers to just 103.2 points per game, the second-lowest mark of any team in the first round. They crushed them on the boards (+8.4 per game), generated more fastbreak points (+6.6 per game), and executed cleaner offensive sets, often using misdirection to manipulate LA&rsquo;s defense and create clean looks.
Minnesota&rsquo;s identity &ndash; defensive toughness, ball movement, and unselfish play &ndash; never wavered. And it overwhelmed a Laker team that relied too heavily on isolation from LeBron and Luka.
Julius Randle flips the narrative
No Timberwolf had more to prove entering this postseason than Julius Randle.
Traded for Karl-Anthony Towns at the deadline, Randle arrived in Minnesota with a cloud of playoff failure hovering over him. His previous stints with the Knicks were marred by inefficient scoring and defensive lapses. But this time, the moment didn&rsquo;t swallow him.
Randle was tremendous throughout the series, averaging 22.6 points and 7.8 rebounds on 49% shooting. He scored 20+ points in four of the five games and was particularly vital when Edwards got blitzed in pick-and-rolls or trapped off the catch. He became Minnesota&rsquo;s release valve &mdash; someone who could isolate against mismatches, hit midrange shots, and punish switches.
In Game 5, Randle posted 23 points and 5 boards, matching the Lakers&rsquo; physicality and responding to every mini-run with a tough bucket. It was a performance that not only helped close the door on LA but also redefined how people talk about him as a playoff performer.
Jaden McDaniels: From role player to a solid 3rd option
Jaden McDaniels has always been known for his defense. But in this series, he showed off the other side of his game.
McDaniels averaged 17.4 points in the five games &ndash; a significant jump from his regular-season average of 10.1. His 30-point outburst in Game 3 was the breakout moment, but it was the consistency that stood out more. He hit spot-up threes, attacked closeouts, and even created off the dribble when needed.
Defensively, he was the primary Luka Doncic defender in most matchups and made life difficult for the 26-year-old superstar. McDaniels&rsquo; ability to be a two-way presence gives Minnesota a third dynamic option &ndash; something every championship team needs.
The bench unit made its mark and proved itself
Minnesota's bench unit, featuring Naz Reid, Donte DiVincenzo, and Nickeil Alexander-Walker &ndash; arguably the best in the league &ndash; came through for Minnesota.
Reid, DiVincenzo, and Alexander-Walker formed the best second unit in the series &mdash; and perhaps in the league. Reid chipped in 11.6 points per game in all 5 games off the bench, providing floor spacing and physicality as the backup big. DiVincenzo, the 2022 NBA champion, brought his usual defensive energy, three-point shooting, and smart cuts, while Alexander-Walker hit timely shots and proved to be an elite on-ball defender.
All three could start for most NBA teams. Together, they gave Minnesota an edge that the Lakers simply couldn&rsquo;t match when their stars sat. Their collective impact underscored the Timberwolves' depth and resilience, and together with veteran starter Mike Conley (who also hit a big shot late in Game 5), the Timberwolves ended up winning the series.
Gobert finds his moment
Rudy Gobert was quiet in the first four games of the series, which was borderline ineffective at times.
But in Game 5, with Edwards struggling and LA blitzing every ball screen, Gobert reminded everyone why Minnesota traded for him. He finished with 27 points, 21 rebounds, and three blocks on 11-of-13 shooting. It was his best playoff performance in years, and it couldn&rsquo;t have come at a better time.
Gobert&rsquo;s physicality in the paint overwhelmed the Lakers&rsquo; smaller frontcourt, and his offensive rebounding (eight) created second-chance opportunities that swung the game. While he may not be the focal point every night, this was a reminder that when locked in and depending on matchups, he can still change games.
Anthony Edwards, the flamboyant superstar
Even with a 0-for-11 night from three in Game 5, Anthony Edwards was the best player in the series.
He averaged 26.8 points, 8.4 rebounds, and 6.2 assists &ndash; but stats don&rsquo;t tell the whole story. He controlled the tempo, made the right reads when doubled, and never let the moment get too big. His Game 4 masterpiece &mdash; 43 points, 10 rebounds, 6 assists on the road &ndash; was the most dominant single performance of the series.
This wasn&rsquo;t just a great young player having a good stretch. This was a future face-of-the-league moment. In a series featuring LeBron James and Luka Doncic, Edwards looked like the best player on the floor. The passing of the torch isn&rsquo;t always clean or scripted. But it felt like it happened here. Edwards, over his last 2 playoff runs, has knocked out Kevin Durant, Devin Booker, Nikola Jokic, LeBron James, and Luka Doncic. Now that&rsquo;s an impressive playoff resume at just 23 years old, and he&rsquo;s likely going to add more in the years to come.
&ndash; &ndash; &ndash;
Beating the Lakers wasn&rsquo;t just about advancing to the next round. It was about validation. It was about shedding the underdog label. It was about proving that this Timberwolves team isn&rsquo;t some overachieving feel-good story &ndash; they&rsquo;re a legitimate contender that can go deep into the playoffs this season.
Minnesota&rsquo;s identity is strong, their chemistry is undeniable, and their defense travels. With Edwards emerging, Randle stepping up, McDaniels evolving, and the bench thriving, the Timberwolves just sent a loud howl to the rest of the NBA.

The Timberwolves stunned the Lakers in a dominant 5-game series win, behind Anthony Edwards, Julius Randle, and a deep bench unit.

Underdog Timberwolves upset Lakers behind Edwards, Randle, and elite bench

The Oklahoma City Thunder has made NBA history this season, becoming the first team to open 7-0 with an average winning margin exceeding 10 points. This impressive start has been fueled by a groundbreaking defensive strategy: an innovative 5-guard lineup. This approach prioritizes speed, versatility, and relentless switching, allowing the team to disrupt opponents in ways that go against traditional defensive methods.
One key factor in OKC&rsquo;s early dominance has been their exceptional play in the fourth quarter. The Thunder are not just building leads; they&rsquo;re closing games in commanding fashion. Across their seven wins, they&rsquo;ve consistently outperformed their opponents in the final period. In several games, they&rsquo;ve maintained or extended leads in the fourth quarter with clutch defensive plays and quick scoring bursts. 
For instance, in a recent victory over the Atlanta Hawks, the Thunder outscored their opponents by 21 points in the final quarter, sealing a 128-104 win. This ability to finish games has allowed OKC to consistently earn their double-digit margins of victory.
The defensive intensity ramps up at times in game, as the Thunder bring their unique 5-guard defensive setup into high gear, forcing turnovers and pushing the pace, leaving little room for opponents to make a comeback.
The foundation of OKC's success lies in their creative defensive scheme, where size is replaced with speed and agility. The 5-guard defense allows the Thunder to switch on nearly every play, minimizing mismatches that often arise from pick-and-rolls. Without traditional big men occupying the paint, the Thunder focus on positioning, quick rotations, and high basketball IQ. Alex Caruso, known for his defensive prowess, plays a key role as a perimeter stopper, using his length and quick hands to disrupt opposing offenses.&nbsp;
Cason Wallace and Jalen Williams also thrive in this system, as they both possess long wingspans and the ability to guard multiple positions. Williams is particularly effective at disrupting passing lanes and using his quickness to stay in front of ball handlers. Aaron Wiggins, another versatile guard, rounds out the lineup, providing both perimeter defense and additional length. Together, these four guards, along with the defensive-minded Lu Dort and superstar Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, create a defensive wall that is difficult to penetrate, especially in transition.
OKC&rsquo;s defense isn&rsquo;t just about stopping opponents&mdash;it&rsquo;s about creating offense from their defensive stops. The Thunder are among the league leaders in fast-break points, capitalizing on turnovers to get out on the break before defenses can set. With players like Gilgeous-Alexander, Caruso, and Wallace leading the charge, the Thunder can push the ball upcourt quickly and attack before opposing teams can recover. This high-speed transition game has been a critical factor in their 10+ point average margin of victory, as they use turnovers and missed shots to fuel easy scoring opportunities.
The ability to turn defense into offense has allowed OKC to put pressure on opposing teams throughout the game, not just when the score is close. Their quick strikes in transition often lead to open 3-pointers or alley-oops, and their ball movement creates wide-open looks on the perimeter.
Furthermore, the Thunder&rsquo;s guards play with an aggressive edge that allows them to make up for any potential rebounding shortcomings, often by crashing the boards as a unit and using their length to block or alter shots.
Of course, one of the biggest reasons for the Thunder&rsquo;s impressive defense to start the season is because of Chet Holmgren. The second-year player has provided rim protection, currently averaging 3 a game. His quickness and high defensive IQ allow OKC to disrupt offensive schemes, as well as his well-timed rotations to close out on shooters and contest shots in the paint.
The Thunder&rsquo;s defensive scheme is only going to get stronger with the eventual return of Isaiah Hartenstein. Although he has yet to play this season due to an injury, Hartenstein&rsquo;s presence in the paint will give the Thunder another body at center, which adds vital depth to the team&rsquo;s frontcourt. His size, rebounding ability, and shot-blocking will provide a crucial safety net for the Thunder&rsquo;s defense. 
Once he is cleared to play, Hartenstein will be able to contribute both in the post and in helping to protect the rim, giving OKC more flexibility in how they approach matchups with larger lineups. His return will bolster an already strong defense and add another dimension to their overall game plan, with two-big lineups with Holmgren already being schemed upon.

The Thunder has made NBA history this season with their defense and this has been fueled by an innovative 5-guard defensive lineup.

OKC Thunder’s defense powers historic 7-0 start

The USA Men&rsquo;s National Basketball Team finished off its group stage play at the Paris 2024 Olympics on a strong performance by overpowering American neighbors Puerto Rico, 104-83, at the Pierre de Mauroy Stadium in Lille, France.&nbsp;
Team USA quickly disposed of Puerto Rico with a barrage of three-pointers, fastbreak points, and tenacious defense to go undefeated in their group. Along with the largest point differential out of all teams in the competition, the Americans also secured the top overall seed and assured themselves of facing the worst +/- team in the quarterfinals.&nbsp;
After not seeing any playing time at all vs South Sudan, Joel Embiid returned to the starting lineup to score 15 points and block 2 shots. Embiid also had fun trolling the French fans who were constantly booing him all tournament long by shushing the boos when he scored and letting them hear it once Team USA had it going.&nbsp;
Anthony Edwards led the Americans in scoring with 26 points off the bench, and he treated the fans in Paris a huge highlight when he threw down a windmill dunk in the third quarter that left fans out of their seats to appreciate Edwards&rsquo; skill.&nbsp;
LeBron James was once again solid in manning Team USA with a solid 10-8-6 stat line while Kevin Durant, Jayson Tatum, and Anthony Davis each chipped in with 10+ points in Team USA&rsquo;s 21-point victory.
Team USA will have two days rest before starting their gold medal run in the knockout rounds when they face Brazil in the quarterfinals.

Team USA finished off its group stage play on a strong performance by overpowering American neighbors Puerto Rico, 104-83.

Team USA goes undefeated in pool play after overpowering Puerto Rico

The USA Men&rsquo;s National Basketball will face arguably their biggest threat in the Olympics in Team Canada on July 10 in Las Vegas. This Canadian team features a multitude of NBA talents, just like Team USA. Led by 2024 NBA MVP finalist Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and 2023 NBA Champion Jamal Murray, Team Canada is poised to give Team USA all the headaches and possible roadblocks in its pursuit of gold.&nbsp;
With all things considered, here&rsquo;s what Team USA could do to stamp their dominance against their neighboring rivals up North and send a message to the rest of the world eager to challenge their throne.
Dump the ball to Joel Embiid and let him go to work
Perhaps the most dominant basketball player in the world right now, there&rsquo;s probably nobody who could guard Joel Embiid one-on-one today on God&rsquo;s green earth. A 7-foot-2 big man blessed with skill, size, finesse, and power, Embiid&rsquo;s complete game will be a main problem for Team Canada. Among the frontliners they could throw at Embiid are Dwight Powell, Kelly Olynyk, and Trey Lyles but none of them - on paper and quick eye test - are quick or strong enough to deter Embiid and his dominance. Embiid dominated some of the league&rsquo;s best defensive players, putting up 50 points on 4-time DPOY Rudy Gobert and scoring 70 points in phenom Victor Wembanyama&rsquo;s head last season.
Team USA should quickly take advantage of this opportunity and run the offense through Embiid and make Team Canada send double teams at him. That&rsquo;s when advantages and opportunities will open up to the rest of the guys like LeBron cutting to the rim or Durant and Curry spotting up for wide-open threes. It could be a pick-your-poison type of game where Team Canada could let Embiid play one-on-one and destroy them inside the paint or double him and risk putting two on the ball creating opportunities for the rest of Team USA.
Get into lots of screening actions to create advantages and confuse the defense
Team Canada&rsquo;s biggest strength will be their on-ball perimeter defense. Among Dillon Brooks, Gilgeous-Alexander, Lu Dort, and Nickeil Alexander-Walker, they will have long wings that could disrupt passing lanes and wreak havoc on the perimeter, creating easy baskets in transition. Canada&rsquo;s a relatively young team with most players in their athletic prime so they would definitely take advantage of their biggest strength and make it their main style of play.
To counter this, Team USA could involve their players in more screening actions to create advantages on offense and confuse Canada&rsquo;s defense. They should also incorporate slips and slides in those screens and in the pick and rolls for cutters and shooters to get open shots. By doing this, Team USA will negate Canada&rsquo;s biggest strength and create easy and quality looks against their vaunted perimeter defense.
Play defense
It&rsquo;s no secret that Team USA&rsquo;s core players are aging and nearing the end of their athletic peaks. Although being the superstar basketball players that they are and still being at the top of their offensive games, Team USA&rsquo;s defense will be suspect here and would probably be the main attacking point of their opponents. Jrue Holiday, Anthony Edwards, and Derrick White will have their work cut out for them in the perimeter right from the get-go as Team USA could be punished by a guard-heavy offensive team like Team Canada.&nbsp;
Team USA might outscore everyone, but you can make them work on the other side of the floor, and this could be Canada&rsquo;s main mindset coming into the game. Despite the top-end talent and superstar-level shot-making on offense, Team USA should put more effort on the defensive end of the floor if they want to win this game.

The USA Men’s National Basketball will face arguably their biggest threat in the Olympics in Team Canada on July 10 in Las Vegas.

USA vs CAN preview: 3 things Team USA could do to win exhibition game against Canada

The Philadelphia 76ers are in a state of dilemma right now.&nbsp;
As Philadelphia enters Game 2 in their best-of-7 series against the New York Knicks on the road at the Madison Square Garden, it has them wondering for adjustments and key plays with hopes of tying the series.
Although Nick Nurse&rsquo;s defensive scheme on the Knicks&rsquo; Jalen Brunson, his buddy Josh Hart happened and knocked down three crucial three-pointers in the 4th quarter of Game 1 to bury the Sixers. Brunson was held to 22 points on 8-26 shooting, but Hart had 22 points himself as well.
That&rsquo;s bad news for the Sixers. The Knicks star point guard have been playing at an all-NBA level this season thus far and it is clear that the game plan is to send guys at Brunson for him to see bodies and make him work for his points. However, when someone else has a performance as big as Hart&rsquo;s in Game 1, that would be difficult for the Sixers to overcome.
On offense, Tyrese Maxey shouldered most of the offensive load in the 4th quarter after reigning MVP Joel Embiid injured his knee in the first half. Embiid came to play in the second half, but was visibly not his usual self physically, missing his patented midrange jumpers and some layups around the basket. He ended up finishing the game with 29 points but shot an abysmal 8-22 from the field. Maxey himself scored 33 points but played a game-high 43 minutes for the game. This is something the Sixers should monitor because as young and spry as he is, Maxey is essential for them down the stretch especially if this extends down the line.
How could the Sixers bounce back? Heading into tonight&rsquo;s Game 2 and moving forward into the series, here are some of the things the Sixers could do to steal one on the road and possibly win the series.
Play Buddy Hield more
The Sixers&rsquo; midseason acquisition only played for 10 minutes and did not score at all. That is uncharacteristic for someone you brought in for this exact reason: to have more weapons around Embiid in the playoffs. Although a defensive liability at times, Hield&rsquo;s gravity as a shooter and threat from the outside is more than enough to compensate for those.&nbsp;
Hield is a proven knockdown shooter who can only help space the floor for Embiid when he&rsquo;s in the middle of the floor. If given the opportunity and he hits his shots, the paint will open up even more which will give Embiid and Maxey more room to operate.
&ldquo;Buddy [Hield] didn&rsquo;t get much of a chance last game,&rdquo; Nurse said on Sunday. &ldquo;He did have a couple of plays there. He didn&rsquo;t play good. It&rsquo;s a game where you can&rsquo;t extend minutes when a guy has three or four mistakes, but I do say this he&rsquo;ll be a factor in the series. He could have just as easily made that wide-open 3, and then hit another one the next time down the floor like he does, but he didn&rsquo;t. We kind of gave him this chance to impact it and we had to get back to somebody else, but he&rsquo;ll be a factor.&rdquo;
Involve Tobias Harris on more offensive actions and build up his confidence
As it stands right now, Tobias Harris&rsquo; confidence has looked to be cooked and nowhere to be found. He has been playing out of sorts over the past few games, oftentimes getting lost in translation within the flow of the Sixers offense at times. With Embiid demanding the ball and the attention most of the time and Maxey setting the offense up, this leaves Harris with little to no opportunities to have any sort of offensive rhythm.
Harris is also not the role player specialist like Kelly Oubre who brings defensive toughness, hits the occasional threes, and provides the timely cuts, or Nic Batum&rsquo;s lockdown one-on-one defense coupled with his three-point marksmanship. Harris is someone you make plays for to set him up. He has shown that capability over his career, being the third option on offense. Harris&rsquo; skill set allows him to attack off the catch, hit some catch-and-shoot threes here and there, and run some pick-and-rolls with certain guys.
If the Sixers want to have a chance to bounce back in Game 2, Harris should be more involved on offense no matter how Nick Nurse and his staff would do it. A 30-million-dollar player like Harris can&rsquo;t just camp in the corner or wings ball-watching and watch the ball come to him, he should be utilized in a way his strengths as a player can help the Sixers.
Bench production is a must
In Game 1, the Sixers only had 5 bench points. That can&rsquo;t happen again. Even though they are down two key rotation players in DeAnthony Melton and Robert Covington, both the coaching staff and the players themselves need to do a better job involving players on offense and stepping up to the plate. This is the playoffs and everyone has to contribute something. 
After scoring 20 points against Miami, Batum only had 3 points in Game 1. Hield wasn&rsquo;t even able to score a point. Backup big Paul Reed has to be more aggressive especially now that Embiid is not 100%. Cam Payne has to hit one or two shots when he comes in, just to change the complexion of the game a little bit. Maybe Nick Nurse could reach a bit deeper into his bag of tricks and activate someone like Ricky Council for an energy boost after the rookie played a good stretch to end the season. 
The bench has to help the starters at some point in the series. But it has to start in Game 2 &ndash; because it takes everyone to win a playoff basketball game.
&nbsp;

How could the Sixers bounce back? Here are some of the things the Sixers could do to steal one on the road and win the series.

2024 NBA Playoffs: 3 adjustments for Sixers to bounce back vs Knicks

This article was originally published on Jan. 16, 2021.
We&rsquo;ve all been here before.&nbsp;
It&rsquo;s a random Wednesday. Full slate of games, hard to keep track of everything. Maybe you&rsquo;re peeping an ESPN matchup. Perhaps you&rsquo;re watching your favorite team on the local channel if you&rsquo;re in the market, or you&rsquo;re streaming it LEGALLY ON NBA LEAGUE PASS BECAUSE THAT IS THE ONLY WAY YOU ARE ALLOWED TO DO IT. WINK.&nbsp;
But anyway, you&rsquo;re watching a game. You&rsquo;re roaming Twitter. And then a tweet catches your eye: PLAYER X HAS DUNKED ON LEBRON JAMES.
Your brow raises. You see a few tweets from your online pals big-upping the play. You&rsquo;re really interested now. You click on the video from a Big Social Media Account. And this is the dunk:
<img src="https://basketballnews-media.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/images/story/body/brr.gif" alt="" width="512" height="AUTO" />
The excitement drops a little bit. That&rsquo;s a nice dunk from Wendell Carter Jr. LeBron James is underneath the basket, and there&rsquo;s a challenge. But something doesn&rsquo;t feel right about it.&nbsp;
Then you see a different angle of the Dunk Heard &lsquo;Round The World.
<img src="https://basketballnews-media.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/images/story/body/wendell-w-lebron-in-the-area.gif" alt="" width="512" height="AUTO" />
You feel betrayed. LeBron didn&rsquo;t get dunked on; LeBron&rsquo;s arm got dunked on as he jumps out of the darn play! This isn&rsquo;t <a href="https://youtu.be/xtOUpybXmzo" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Scottie Pippen on Patrick Ewing</a> or <a href="https://youtu.be/6kBWO82HUa4?t=28" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Vince Carter on Alonzo Mourning</a>! I can yell at these clouds if I want to!
If you&rsquo;re anything like me, you&rsquo;re tired of being misled. If I hear or read that a player got baptized, I want to see some Holy Water coming out of the rim after the aerial duel. And if you are like me, this is the piece for you. This is the guide of all guides, breaking down the different types of dunks. A universal standard of slams, if you will, so we can finally get on the same page about poster dunks.
A brief note before digging in. I am using a tier system so it&rsquo;s easier to separate the types of dunks. Like many things in life, the scale can slide on a case-by-case basis. For example, breakaway dunks are generally uncontested, which makes them the lowest tier of dunk for me. However, a breakaway dunk from 360-enthusiast Zach LaVine is different -- and much cooler -- than the two-handed flushes we see from Jimmy Butler. Each dunk is still its own thing.&nbsp;
Disclaimer: Alley-oops can fall under virtually all of these categories, with the obvious exception of put-backs.
TIER 10: BREAKAWAYS
Break-away dunks are pretty self-explanatory. There&rsquo;s a long rebound after a miss. A player leaks out early, and gets a dunk with no resistance. They&rsquo;re pretty basic with a few exceptions. LaVine, Paul George or Glenn Robinson III may bust out a 360 or windmill on occasion. LeBron has made the one-handed tomahawk a staple of his repertoire.
<img src="https://basketballnews-media.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/images/story/body/lebron-tomahawk.gif" alt="" width="512" height="AUTO" />
It&rsquo;s basic, but it&rsquo;s so darn cool. Power, a little bit of flair, the hang time. All that good stuff.
TIER 9: TIP SLAMS
I like the timing, positioning and coordination it takes to pull off a putback slam. The lower-level ones are uncontested, but can be rated higher depending on the work a player puts in before the ball comes off the rim. Take this multiple-effort possession from Larry Nance Jr. as an example:
<img src="https://basketballnews-media.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/images/story/body/larry-nance-jr-putback.gif" alt="" width="512" height="AUTO" />
TIER 8: BUSINESS DECISIONS
The OG: Shaquille O&rsquo;Neal
Also popularized by: LeBron James, Blake Griffin, Zion Williamson
This is for the power dunkers. Whether it&rsquo;s in transition, flowing off of a broken play or rumbling down the lane after a high-ball screen, it&rsquo;s hilarious to watch players actively decide, &ldquo;Nope, I don&rsquo;t get paid enough for this.&rdquo; Take this play from the 2016-17 season, featuring Blake Griffin:
<img src="https://basketballnews-media.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/images/story/body/willy-hernangomez-business-decision.gif" alt="" width="512" height="AUTO" />
The key actor here is Willy Hernangomez (No. 14). He is watching this snug pick-and-roll all the way through. His man, noted three-point marksman DeAndre Jordan, is chilling above the break. Not only can Hernangomez make the rotation to cut off Griffin at the rim, he should make that rotation because Jordan is not a threat at all. Instead, he begins to load up, quickly realizes that Griffin will put him in the gulag, and decides against challenging the shot.
Hilarious sequence.
TIER 7: FLY-BYS
This is where having a discerning eye is important. When you think about it, this kind of dunk -- and the praise that these types of dunk typically generate -- is about deception.
A defender jumps across a player to make it look like he&rsquo;s legitimately challenging the dunk. There&rsquo;s no real threat of a block or swipe. The dunk happens because, again, there&rsquo;s no real threat to it otherwise. And somehow both players end up looking good. The dunker gets &ldquo;poster&rdquo; equity they don&rsquo;t deserve; the defender gets a slight pat on the back for giving effort instead of making a business decision.
<img src="https://basketballnews-media.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/images/story/body/hhh.gif" alt="" width="512" height="AUTO" />
It&rsquo;s all a darn farce. A cool-looking farce at times, but a farce nonetheless.&nbsp;
TIER 6: SELF-LOBS
We&rsquo;ve reached the coolest of the non-contact dunks. It doesn&rsquo;t get much better than throwing the ball to yourself for a slam, man. Look at Jamal Murray getting himself out of trouble.
<img src="https://basketballnews-media.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/images/story/body/jamal-murray-self-lob.gif" alt="" width="512" height="AUTO" />
TIER 5: &ldquo;IN THE VICINITY&rdquo; SLAMS (Also known as ITVs)
Folks, the rubber is starting to reach the road. The ITVs involve actual attempts at a contest and/or a little contact, a step up from the Fly-bys. This is where I&rsquo;d say the Wendell-on-LeBron dunk falls, though I wouldn&rsquo;t be mad at anyone that would classify it as a Fly-by. A better example would be this slam from Matisse Thybulle last season.
<img src="https://basketballnews-media.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/images/story/body/mfff.gif" alt="" width="512" height="AUTO" />
There&rsquo;s an attempt at a challenge, but Thybulle still gets the better of Mason Plumlee. But Plumlee doesn&rsquo;t get dunked on. There isn&rsquo;t enough contact to call it a poster of the highest order.&nbsp;
This is also where failed chasedown blocks come in. With guys flying in from behind, the dunk-on element just isn&rsquo;t there most of the time. Take the famous Kobe-on-LeBron dunk from the 2011 All-Star game.
<img src="https://basketballnews-media.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/images/story/body/kobe-on-lebron.gif" alt="" width="512" height="AUTO" />
TIER 4: PUTBACK POSTERS
I&rsquo;ve always gone back and forth with myself about where to place these types of dunks. On one hand, the blindsided nature of it makes it a bit unfair to defenders. You can&rsquo;t defend against what you can&rsquo;t see. However, there&rsquo;s enough contact at play, and a player Mossin&rsquo; a dude and flushing it down is generally some high level stuff.
<img src="https://basketballnews-media.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/images/story/body/gerald-green-putback-poster.gif" alt="" width="512" height="AUTO" />
Yes, that is the #BASED and #RARE Gerald Green in a Celtics uni. And yeah that&rsquo;s Mason Plumlee again. Sorry, man.
TIER 3: DUNK-ONS/CHARGE CRUSHERS
We&rsquo;ve reached the portion of the program where dudes are getting legitimately yammed on, but there are a couple of factors that keep it from ranking higher.
First, the level of contest still matters. A lot of these dunks feature dudes sliding over in an attempt to take a charge (hence the alternative name). The higher level posters feature someone trying to actually block the dunk. Sure, a charge and blocked dunk are functionally the same in terms of the result the defense wants -- taking away two points -- but we&rsquo;re talking about highlights here.&nbsp;
Secondly, and I admit we&rsquo;re splitting hairs a bit, size also matters. The first dunk I thought of was Nuggets-era J.R Smith yamming it over Gary Neal:
<img src="https://basketballnews-media.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/images/story/body/jrs.gif" alt="" width="512" height="AUTO" />
Objectively a good dunk, but Gary Neal is ground bound and short. You have to dock some points there. I&rsquo;m sorry. The famous DeAndre Jordan-on-Brandon Knight flush, while iconic, also falls in this category.
The higher end of this would be another classic involving the Spurs: LeBron dunking on Tim Duncan.
<img src="https://basketballnews-media.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/images/story/body/lebron-on-tim-duncan.gif" alt="" width="512" height="AUTO" />
That&rsquo;s more like it.
TIER 2: THE THROW-IN
THE OG: Blake Griffin
ALSO POPULARIZED BY: Derrick Jones Jr.
DUNK TRUTHERS DON&rsquo;T READ THIS!
***
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***
***
***
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Dunk Truthers are stupid poopyheads.&nbsp;
Yes, we&rsquo;re well aware that dunks that involve the rim being grabbed -- or at least touched -- are more pure, whatever the heck that means. But you look at Blake Griffin embarrassing the life out of Timofey Mozgov and tell me it isn&rsquo;t one of greatest athletic feats you&rsquo;ve ever seen.
<img src="https://basketballnews-media.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/images/story/body/blake-over-mozgov.gif" alt="" width="512" height="AUTO" />
Derrick Jones Jr. has some gnarly ones in his bag as well, highlighted by this lob he converted against the Raptors that still doesn&rsquo;t make much sense to me.
<img src="https://basketballnews-media.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/images/story/body/hyyy.gif" alt="" width="512" height="AUTO" />
TIER 1: THE PURE POSTER
Pippen on Ewing. Carter on &lsquo;Zo. <a href="https://youtu.be/tYpwjB0IzoU" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Baron Davis on Andrei Kirilenko</a>. Michael Jordan on, well, name almost any big man you can think of that played in the '90s.&nbsp;
We can go more modern, like Larry Nance Jr. doing this to pre-DPOY-candidate Brook Lopez:
<img src="https://basketballnews-media.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/images/story/body/lrrr.gif" alt="" width="512" height="AUTO" />
Another hidden gem: young DeMar DeRozan throwing the hammer down over Rudy Gobert:
<img src="https://basketballnews-media.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/images/story/body/derozan-on-gobert.gif" alt="" width="512" height="AUTO" />
The constant for these dunks: full-on, body-to-body contact with a legitimate attempt for a contest. You&rsquo;ll know it when you see it.
BONUS TIER: THE VINCE CARTER
Yeah, this is still the best dunk I&rsquo;ve ever seen.
<img src="https://basketballnews-media.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/images/story/body/vince-carter-dunk-of-death.gif" alt="" width="512" height="AUTO" />
You clear a seven footer, you get your own dunk tier. Those are the rules.

Nekias Duncan has put together the guide of all guides, breaking down the different types of dunks and rating them on a tier system.

The Dunk-tionary: The official guide to ranking dunks

The word got out about the most recent Mal Mundy Hoops Fest Tour Statement Session.
Over 30 college coaches came down to South Side High in Youngsville, LA, to scout over 40 prospects on the last Sunday before school starts up. South Coast scout Chris Dodson was in the gym and came away impressed with a few players still looking for offers.
Most Impressive:&nbsp;I've got&nbsp;Jaylen Peters (Liberty) as the best player in the gym for long stretches, and it wasn't particularly close at times. The two-man game with&nbsp;Chris Birden (Newman) was clicking, but Peters was the player who made folks stop taking notes and just watch. It helps that it seemed the rest of the team started deferring to his leadership pretty quickly, and that the other teams seemed to want to avoid Peters. Yet he still erased mistakes, could correct actions on the fly, and made some impressive instinctual plays on pure athleticism.
You'll hear if Peters is on the court. A defensive leader, smart with instant energy; anyone recruiting on winning attitude alone should offer Peters immediately. He called plays for others and was a step ahead on both ends. Peters disrupted almost every action on defense and found ways to score without the ball on offense. Peters said his favorite part of the game is playing in transition because of all that can happen on a fast break.
&ldquo;When I&rsquo;m alone on the court, I like to work on tougher shots," Peters said. "I'm not the quickest with the ball so shooting, finishing over or through a defender is a big part of my game.&rdquo;
Self-aware and credited teammates without prompting, Peters says he is ready to run as senior, &ldquo;especially at Liberty where I have great guards who can find me at the rim.&rdquo; Social media is full of highlights. Now, I need to see a full game.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
Some highlights from AAU this summer <a href="https://t.co/gLXzsCkJV1">pic.twitter.com/gLXzsCkJV1</a>
&mdash; Jaylen Peters (@JaylenJaylen0) <a href="https://twitter.com/JaylenJaylen0/status/1686481786631569409?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 1, 2023</a></blockquote>

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Most Overlooked:&nbsp;Clayton Blackledge (St. Louis Catholic) bossed in the first game, just a solid performance knowing the situation. Not going to get a lot of shots early and was the only available big man; no one else on team above 6-foot-5 or 6-foot-6.
I talked to him about cardio afterwards. Somewhat stiff, he needs to take some yoga classes to get more speed and flexibility in the hips. Get him a new desk in class or stretching bands with a mat in the back for plyometrics. It would also help his second jump on the boards. He missed a few rebounds trying to reload and get balance. However, when he is fresh, there is some dominate tape.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
Big fella has been extremely efficient and effective today. Great opportunity for Clayton Blackledge! <a href="https://twitter.com/LHSBCANOW?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@LHSBCANOW</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/RecruitLouisiana?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#RecruitLouisiana</a> <a href="https://t.co/EoOkflDDvP">pic.twitter.com/EoOkflDDvP</a>
&mdash; St. Louis Catholic Boys Basketball (@slchsboysbball) <a href="https://twitter.com/slchsboysbball/status/1673027017774710784?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 25, 2023</a></blockquote>

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He moved opposing bigs completely out of the paint, then won the race back down the floor more than a few times. He held positions on offense, giving the perimeter-heavy roster room to work. Blackledge understands and enjoys the dirty work of basketball. He smiled after setting a solid screen, the same as he did after a short jumper.
Blackledge rolls to the rim well, with purpose. He sealed defenders with force and finished second chances on the first try with no trouble. He&rsquo;d be a winning culture staple in low D1 practice and could become a starter. He finished with both hands and hit a 14-footer after tossing something off the court. He wasn&rsquo;t fazed, just came back into focus for a pass and hit the shot in rhythm.
He had another pick and short-roll floater off glass that looked on purpose. If it was a fluke, the kid might have a career in poker if hoops doesn't work out. He talked more on defense when tired. No big man subs were available. but he was still doing work. He seemed to get a lot out of the run, but still wanted more when interviewed.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
Ok #130 - we 👀 you! <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/RecruitLouisiana?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#RecruitLouisiana</a> <a href="https://t.co/RCbqi9nPt3">pic.twitter.com/RCbqi9nPt3</a>
&mdash; St. Louis Catholic Boys Basketball (@slchsboysbball) <a href="https://twitter.com/slchsboysbball/status/1672659460337147908?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 24, 2023</a></blockquote>

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Notables Needing Longer Looks:
Jordan Comanche (Wossman) works back on defense. Helps cover mistakes and runs the floor. Beats his man to spots, gets space. Shot-form consistency seems off but making me a believer with every made shot. The jumper form fluctuates, but he hits the open shots. A contested floater was wildly off the mark. Need to see more, but there are plenty of reasons to be more curious about Comanche.
Chris Shiflett Jr. (Evangel) has hands slower than head, but the talent to catch up. Sees passes but sometimes telegraphs because he sees that play so early. Needs a bit more deception to pull off the flashy stuff at 5-foot-9 or it seems more like trying to force plays even in traffic. Talent is there though. Can finish crafty layups. Nice touch on high-arcing floaters.
Javon Johnson (Bossier)&nbsp;will go chest-to-chest with anyone. Gets downhill, tough handles with someone on the hip. Attacks lazy defense, gets to the rim, stays in rhythm. Seemed a solid shooter.&nbsp;
Jeremiah Lucas (Bonnabel)&nbsp;and&nbsp;Gavin Lucas (Bonnabel) are similar to Johnson in that both play like they are comfortable on concrete courts outside in the heat. Handles, passing vision, anticipation and can shoot. Bonnabel's two-guard tandem will be a pair to watch.

On Sunday, over 30 college coaches came to Youngsville, LA, to scout over 40 prospects. Chris Dodson shares his scouting report.

Statements Made: LA Hoops Fest Scouting Report

BOSTON (AP) &mdash; As the Celtics&rsquo;&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/celtics-76ers-tatum-nba-playoffs-record-game-7-767dffb9877cfc54d55c9f58c8fa8866">112-88 Game 7 rout</a>&nbsp;of the 76ers began to crystallize late in the third quarter, a Boston fan toting a neon pink inflatable flamingo held up a sign that read, &ldquo;See you in Miami!&rdquo;
Celtics-Heat: The rematch is now officially set for the Eastern Conference finals.
Last season the Celtics had a 3-2 series lead over Miami in the NBA&rsquo;s version of the final four before losing in Game 6. Boston then came within a late missed jump by Miami&rsquo;s Jimmy Butler of seeing its season end in Game 7 before eventually holding on to advance to the NBA Finals.
Following a championship-round loss to Golden State, this season was themed &ldquo;Unfinished Business&rdquo; for this latest incarnation of the Celtics as they long to get another shot at the franchise&rsquo;s 18th title.
They&rsquo;re hoping to carry the momentum and lessons from Sunday&rsquo;s blowout win over Philadelphia into what they expect to be another slugfest with the Heat. The teams split their four regular-season matchups.
&ldquo;We had another opportunity today, as a team and for myself of just to kind of bounce back,&rdquo; said Jayson Tatum, whose 51 points were the most ever in a Game 7. &ldquo;I was relieved, I was happy about that, just to get another chance because our season could have been over in Game 6. Just being in another Game 7. ... I was really excited, just for the moment.&rdquo;
Tatum&rsquo;s heroics topped the mark set by the Warriors&rsquo; Stephen Curry in the Warriors first-round win over Sacramento just two weeks ago.
It also silenced critics who began to doubt Tatum following back-to-back games in which he had trouble locating the scoring punch that put him in the MVP conversation this season.
&ldquo;When he plays a well-rounded game, our team is different,&rdquo; Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla said.
Boston entered just 7-9 in its last 16 home playoff games, but outscored Philadelphia 33-10 in the third quarter. That 23-point margin was the largest in any Game 7 quarter in league history.
The Celtics, who have played in more Game 7s than any team in NBA history, improved to 27-9 in those winner-take-all contests.
League MVP Joel Embiid, who became a force for the 76ers in the second half of the season after Tatum had been among the frontrunners in the first half, had nothing but praise for Tatum and the potential for the Celtics to represent the East again in the finals.
&ldquo;I think they&rsquo;re probably the best team in the league,&rdquo; Embiid said. &ldquo;They&rsquo;re so talented and they got a lot of guys who can play great basketball.&rdquo;
What might have been the most impressive about getting past Philadelphia was how the Celtics adjusted to claim the final two games of the series.
First, Boston benefitted from pleas from the players and the ultimate decision by Mazzulla to insert Robert Williams III into the lineup to play alongside fellow big man Al Horford. Then, the Celtics made tactical adjustment to use Williams as a third defender on the pick-and-rolls between Embiid and James Harden, forcing tougher looks for both in Game 7 in particular.
Now the Celtics will look to formulate a game plan to stop a Miami team that has fought its way back to the conference finals thanks to some epic performances by their biggest star in Butler.
It&rsquo;s a challenge Tatum said the team feels ready to embrace.
&ldquo;A team that we&rsquo;re extremely familiar with, third time in four years I think playing them in the playoffs,&rdquo; Tatum said. &ldquo;Very well-coached team. They compete with the best of them. They play hard. They defend. They make plays. And they figure out a way to win games. It&rsquo;s going to be fun. It&rsquo;s going to be highly competitive. And I&rsquo;m looking forward to it.&rdquo;

The Boston Celtics and Miami Heat will square off in the Eastern Conference Finals once again.

Run it back: Celtics to face Heat in Conference Finals rematch

Professional basketball players are in a constant state of data collection. Al Horford's been logging tricks of his trade for 16 years, and it's helped him reinvent his game to suit a team in the title hunt.
Horford, age 36, will be the fourth-oldest starter and fifth-oldest rotation player in the 2023 NBA playoffs, behind only LeBron James, Chris Paul, PJ Tucker and Kyle Lowry. He has dramatically transformed his game to suit the era and needs of today's league, and the Celtics have taken note.
After a March 1 win against the Cavaliers, coach Joe Mazzulla alluded to Horford's evolution, heightened by his experience and attention to detail.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s massive,&rdquo; Mazzulla said postgame. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s done a great job this year in recognizing coverage and screening. ...And he recognized the coverage [the Cavaliers] were in and popped and shot it. The second time they tried to switch him, he created an advantage. He&rsquo;s constantly trying to find small ways to reinvent his game.&rdquo;
Horford is averaging his highest minutes per game (30.6) of the last five seasons, but his on-ball role has diminished to career-lows according to practically every go-to metric (usage rate, touches, touch time, etc.). He's played five total seasons with the Celtics across two stints; comparing his usage across those years is fascinating. Here's some touch data from PBP Stats highlighting three such years: his All-Star season in 2017-18, his first season back in Boston in 2021-22, and this current one.
<table style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 100%; height: 110px;" border="1">
<tbody>
<tr style="height: 44px;">
<td style="width: 14.84579%; height: 44px;">Year</td>
<td style="width: 14.84579%; height: 44px;">Touches/game</td>
<td style="width: 14.84579%; height: 44px;">Frontcourt touches/game</td>
<td style="width: 14.84579%; height: 44px;">Elbow touches/game</td>
<td style="width: 14.84579%; height: 44px;">Post touches/game</td>
<td style="width: 14.84579%; height: 44px;">Seconds per touch</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 22px;">
<td style="width: 14.84579%; height: 22px;">2017-18</td>
<td style="width: 14.84579%; height: 22px;">63.5</td>
<td style="width: 14.84579%; height: 22px;">40.0</td>
<td style="width: 14.84579%; height: 22px;">3.1</td>
<td style="width: 14.84579%; height: 22px;">5.2</td>
<td style="width: 14.84579%; height: 22px;">2.20</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 22px;">
<td style="width: 14.84579%; height: 22px;">2021-22</td>
<td style="width: 14.84579%; height: 22px;">49.2</td>
<td style="width: 14.84579%; height: 22px;">29.4</td>
<td style="width: 14.84579%; height: 22px;">2.2</td>
<td style="width: 14.84579%; height: 22px;">1.9</td>
<td style="width: 14.84579%; height: 22px;">1.73</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 22px;">
<td style="width: 14.84579%; height: 22px;">2022-23</td>
<td style="width: 14.84579%; height: 22px;">45.7</td>
<td style="width: 14.84579%; height: 22px;">25.4</td>
<td style="width: 14.84579%; height: 22px;">1.1</td>
<td style="width: 14.84579%; height: 22px;">0.9</td>
<td style="width: 14.84579%; height: 22px;">1.53</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
It makes sense that Horford would take a back seat in his return to the Celtics given that Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown had risen to stardom. But the elbow and post touch volume in particular is stunning &mdash; Horford is getting the ball in those spots not even half as much as last year, and fractionally compared to his last All-Star appearance. His days of facilitating and scoring out of the post are over.
We all know Horford has laid down a transcendant shooting year, but the scale of his shift to the arc cannot be overstated. Per Cleaning the Glass, a whopping 67% of Horford's total shot attempts have come from distance. That is a mind-boggling 23% increase from last year; to put that in context, Horford had never increased his three-point frequency by more than 12% year-over-year since he first started shooting them often in 2015-16.&nbsp;
To make this type of leap &mdash; and match it with a career-high 44.6% clip (an 11% jump from last year) &mdash; is one of the more astounding developments I've seen from a veteran in some time.&nbsp;
Boston needs Horford at this level for the playoffs. Last year, the Warriors gunked up the Celtics offense in the NBA Finals by shutting off driving lanes for Jayson Tatum and Jaylen. They were unafraid to let Horford and Grant Williams bomb away above the break, even as both shot the ball well, if it meant Tatum and Brown could not penetrate the defense.&nbsp;
But this year could be different. Horford can punish as a reliable outlet on his own or force opponents to stay home on him. He's also more than doubled his shot frequency in the corners and added an area defenses have to track.
Horford's evolving role means we see less of him as the facilitating big that has helped define his game in the past. But he's still a very good passer and the numbers (and tape) back this up.
The NBA Underground has a set of <a href="https://thenbaunderground.com/analytics/better-passing-stats" target="_blank" rel="noopener">statistics that help us understand passing impact</a> beyond basic assists per game. One interesting number: passing turnover to potential assist ratio, which basically says that for every 100 potential assists (pass leading to a shot attempt), a player is logging X amount of passing turnovers.
Horford is averaging 3.9 passing turnovers per 100 potential assists, putting him seventh-best among 364 players. It's not a perfect assessment of passing, but it shows he's making quality decisions when he does have the ball. Just under 10% of his total passes this year turned into assists or free throws, a mark that ranks ninth among bigs this year, per Second Spectrum.&nbsp;
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Plays like this are meaningful because Boston should want to get Tatum cutting and running without the ball. It keeps him from being the sole defensive focus and allows him to get up to speed more easily. Horford and Robert Williams III are both capable high-low passers, and while this isn't a jaw-dropping dime, it shows how either big can be leveraged effectively.
Horford isn't put in this position as often anymore, but he still gets plenty of assists by swinging the ball around at the arc and dishing short passes to Celtics guards and wings who use screens off the ball. There's schematic creativity on display around Horford and he's tasked with making the advantage pay off.
We could say the same for his defense. Derrick White has been Boston's best defender this season. Robert Williams is the team's most dynamic shot-blocker and Marcus Smart is the intense tone-setter. But I truly don't think this is a top-5 unit without Horford holding down his role as an individual stopper.
The Celtics typically task Horford with handling the opponent's best scoring forwards or bigs. Among the 20 players he matched up against for 20 or more possessions per game this season (per NBA Stats): Bam Adebayo, Deandre Ayton, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Evan Mobley, Jarrett Allen, Joel Embiid, Nikola Jokic, Paolo Banchero, Nikola Vucevic, Myles Turner.
Many of these players are also heavily involved in pick-and-rolls, where the Celtics usually ask Horford to play some form of shallow drop coverage while the guard goes over the screen. The shallow drop big man is one of the toughest responsibilities in today's NBA; they have to contain the drive from a guard while keeping the roll man in front to remove a lob threat.
And that's not all he's doing &mdash; Boston switches a lot away from the ball, so Horford then has to slide onto wings and occasionally guards. He actually spoke about this a couple weeks ago with JJ Redick on The Old Man and the Three (start at 31:30).&nbsp;
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Horford's impact shows up in several of the defensive stats I've come to trust. BBall Index has created estimates for defensive positional versatility and role versatility based on what positions and usage rates players are guarding. Horford ranks in the 92nd and 85th percentiles at his position, respectively.&nbsp;
Also from BBall Index: Horford is contesting 38.1% of opponents' shots at the rim while he is on the court (89th percentile) and holding opponents to an at-rim efficiency 6.2% lower than expected (91st percentile). Those are particularly impressive numbers considering Horford is 36 and not a volume shot-blocker.
It will certainly help to have Rob Williams by his side. The two bigs have only played 330 minutes together this season, but the Celtics are outscoring opponents by 15.1 points per 100 possessions when they share the floor.
Still, Horford is going to take the primary frontcourt assignments before Williams. And this postseason run could be a gauntlet. The Celtics start by facing the Hawks' trio of John Collins, Clint Capela and Onyeka Okongwu. Win that series, and there's a good chance they meet Embiid in the second round. An Eastern Conference Finals trip could see Antetokounmpo and Brook Lopez, or Mobley and Allen. Then, should Boston make a return Finals run, they might run into any of Jokic, Domantas Sabonis, Jaren Jackson Jr., Deandre Ayton, or others at the big positions.&nbsp;
That's a monster workload for a 36-year-old trying to play into June for the second consecutive year.&nbsp;And&nbsp;he carries pivotal pressure as a spacer and ball-mover.&nbsp;
Horford's evolution has been commendable and his value to the Celtics far outweighs his spotlight. If Boston wants to win a championship, he can't let up on either end.

Horford will hold down key two-way roles for however far the Celtics advance in the postseason.

NBA Stats Notebook: Why Al Horford is the Celtics' playoff X Factor

After monitoring the NBA awards races all season, Nekias Duncan shares his final selections for DPOY, ROY, MIP, 6MOY and more.

Nekias Duncan's 2022-23 NBA award selections: DPOY, 6MOY, MIP, more

Heading into the weekend, I figured I'd followed the same script as the other two award pieces. Fill out and&nbsp; complete my (fake) ballot, sprinkle in some extra details or stray thoughts to account for questions that may pop up, then go about my business.
I dropped my "final rough draft" on Friday's episode of <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/podcasts/the-dunker-spot" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Dunker Spot</a>, though I gave myself a weekend's worth of wiggle room to make any last-second changes. In typical fashion, I watched, researched and ultimately thought myself into a headache. The result of that is this piece: A separate article detailing where and how I landed on the 2022-23 NBA Most Valuable Player, with a follow-up article coming to reveal the rest of my (fake) ballot.
Throughout MVP discourse, many people &mdash; voters or people like me who wish they could vote &mdash; have made it a point to mention how tough it is. To highlight how the top three &mdash; Nikola Jokic, Joel Embiid and Giannis Antetokounmpo &mdash; are all worthy candidates to win, and that we shouldn't be all that upset by who wins. There's truth to that.
(You, savvy reader and/or listener, can also tell when someone is genuinely perplexed vs. when they're throwing in that platitude in an effort to avoid smoke for his/her opinion. We can be real here.)
I landed in the former camp. To refresh your memory, this is where I landed at the <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/2022-23-nba-award-picks-mvp-dpoy-rookie-sixth-man-most-improved-all-league-defensive-teams-volume-2" target="_blank" rel="noopener">beginning of March</a>:
Previous order (through Mar.1): 
<ol>
<li>Nikola Jokic (Previously No. 3)</li>
<li>Giannis Antetokounmpo (Previously No. 2)</li>
<li>Joel Embiid (Previously Honorable Mention, Record)</li>
<li>Jayson Tatum (Previously No. 1)</li>
<li>Luka Doncic (Previously No. 5)</li>
</ol>
This is where I am right now on April 11 with the regular season over:
<ol>
<li>Joel Embiid (Previously No. 3) </li>
<li>Giannis Antetokounmpo (Previously No. 2)</li>
<li>Nikola Jokic (Previously No. 1)</li>
<li>Jayson Tatum (Previously No. 4)</li>
<li>Domantas Sabonis (Previously Honorable Mention, Not As Good As Luka Doncic)</li>
</ol>
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With all due respect to Tatum and Sabonis, there isn't much to discuss with their placements.
Tatum was a two-way ironman for a team that flirted with the best record in the NBA. At full tilt, the Boston Celtics may very well be the best team in the league. Tatum became the first Celtic to average over 30 points per game for a season &mdash; a mind-blowing stat considering their history. Career-high averages in rebounds (8.8) and assists (4.6) are also nice. If you'd like to use Tatum's availability (and overall malleability) to argue for him to be higher, you can; it just wouldn't be my&nbsp;case.&nbsp;
Sabonis was the best player on the Western Conference's most (surprisingly) consistent team, acting as the hub of the NBA's most dangerous offense. He became just the fourth player in NBA history to average at least 19 points, 12 rebounds and 7 assists in a season; add in his 61.5% clip from the field (63.9% on twos, 37.3% on a low volume of threes), and the list shrinks to him and Wilt Chamberlain.&nbsp;
The battle for MVP ultimately became a three-man race in 2023 &mdash; if you recall, Tatum was my MVP <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/2022-23-nba-early-season-award-picks-mvp-dpoy-rookie-sixth-man-most-improved-all-league-defensive-teams" target="_blank" rel="noopener">in my first check-in</a> from mid-December &mdash; between Embiid, Giannis and Jokic.
There's more to discuss with Jokic, who nearly became the first center in NBA history to average a triple-double. Even that sells his season short; Jokic just logged the most efficient season in NBA history among players to average at least 20 points.
If Jokic and the Denver Nuggets hadn't, by their standards, sputtered to the finish line, he likely would've maintained the lead he had in my second check-in and gotten my fictitious vote. That he was already having a (much) worse defensive season than Embiid and Giannis and managed to go backwards over this recent stretch &mdash; particularly the <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/how-concerned-should-we-be-about-the-denver-nuggets" target="_blank" rel="noopener">middle portion of March</a> &mdash; made it tough for me in a race this close.
There was even a quieter dip in Jokic's production offensively, though he was still absurd overall.
<ul>
<li>Dec. 14 through Feb. 28 (32 games): 25.2 points on 71.2% True Shooting, 10.7 assists (3.7 turnovers)</li>
<li>From March 1 onward (14 games): 24.0 points on 69.6% True Shooting, 9.1 assists (3.6 turnovers)</li>
</ul>
That being said, it was a ridiculous season from Jokic. He was still the best offensive player in the league for me. The Nuggets showcased, on multiple occasions, that they didn't quite know how to function without him. Even with the recent "slippage," he paced the league in many advanced metrics. A worthy choice, just ultimately not my choice.
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From here, let's talk about Embiid vs Giannis for a bit. Here are a handful of Embiid's stat lines since the beginning of March:
<ul>
<li>52-13-6 (plus 2 blocks) in a win vs. the Celtics</li>
<li>46-9-8-2-1 in a loss vs. the Warriors</li>
<li>36-18 (plus 4 blocks) in a win vs. the Cavaliers</li>
<li>31-6-10 in a win vs. the Bucks</li>
<li>39-7-4-1-3 in a win vs. the Timberwolves</li>
</ul>
This ignores the 37 and 16 against Chicago; the 42-on-16-shots affair against the Pacers; the 38-14-5 he slapped up against the Hornets. Of the 18 games Embiid played during this stretch, he scored 30 or more 12 times and the Philadelphia 76ers went 12-6 in those contests. He fell below 20 points once &mdash; 12-7-7 in 16 first-half minutes against the Bulls before sitting the second half of that blowout for precautionary reasons. There's a rule about assuming, but it'd be fair to project him putting up a nutty stat line in that game had he played the second half.
There just hasn't been a consistent answer for this guy all year. Crowding the paint only does so much when he's willing to shoot over you &mdash; and do so at a high clip. Doubling can only do so much when he's grown as a passer &mdash; the Sixers scored at an elite rate on possessions that Embiid passed out of a post-double team (1.17 PPP) or isolation double (1.14 PPP), per Second Spectrum &mdash; and can <a href="https://www.theringer.com/nba/2023/3/31/23664110/joel-embiid-76ers-mvp-race" target="_blank" rel="noopener">brow-beat them</a> when necessary.&nbsp;
He's taken over half of his shots from mid-range this season and drilled them at a 49% clip. He drew 104 fouls in the mid-range area, per Cleaning The Glass; do you know how hard it is to have Embiid's shot profile and manage to get fouled as often as he does? It's insane stuff and speaks to the guard-like ability he has in this range.&nbsp;
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The defense has waxed and waned over the closing stretch, but the Sixers ended the year with a 94.5 half-court defensive rating with Embiid on the floor, per Cleaning The Glass; that's equivalent to the second-best half-court D in the NBA, and is a mark that shouldn't be that high considering Philly's overall roster construction.
Even "Lax Embiid" can goad opponents into pull-ups &mdash; though that's something worth keeping an eye on as the postseason hits. Engaged Embiid &mdash; the guy that can blow stuff up at the level of the screen and still strut back to challenge shots at the rim &mdash; is, and has been, a world-ender.
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The TLDR summary: Embiid had a heavy load to carry on both ends of the floor, <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-news-feature-philadelphia-76ers-sixers-joel-embiid-mvp-race-james-harden-tyrese-maxey" target="_blank" rel="noopener">dominated offensively and anchored a high-level defense while flashing an even higher level when fully locked in</a>. Having a 65% win rate in his games helped; the advanced metrics also paint him in a favorable light.
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Of course, we can't lose sight of the work Giannis did in a less-than-ideal context at the beginning of the year. He was without his best pick-and-roll partner in Khris Middleton and didn't always have Jrue Holiday by his side. It's not a coincidence that, once those two were in the lineup with Giannis more consistently, the Milwaukee Bucks (and Giannis) took off.
Giannis remained a battering ram at the rim, drawing shooting fouls on a career-best 24.6% of his shot attempts this year, per Cleaning The Glass. His mark of 12.3 free throw attempts per game led the NBA. Giannis' downhill passing also remained a legitimate weapon; his rate of kick-out passes rose to career-high levels (17.1 per 100 possessions), while his turnover rate on total passes (1.57%) was his lowest in three seasons, per Second Spectrum.
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There was an obvious gap between Embiid and Giannis in points (33.1 vs. 31.1) and a larger one in efficiency (Embiid's 65.5% TS vs. Giannis' 60.7% TS). Again, it's hard to overstate the difference in shooting ability that the two displayed. Embiid was a monster from mid-range compared to Giannis' clip (31.8%), knocked down a higher percentage of threes (33.0% vs. 27.5%) and shot much better from the line (85.7% vs. 64.5%).
Milwaukee faithful would likely point to the context for the two, particularly what Giannis dealt with at the beginning of the year sans Middleton &mdash; and at times, with no Holiday. There's some credence to that.&nbsp;
How's this for a did-you-know: The Sixers logged a paltry 111.4 offensive rating in 333 minutes with Embiid on the floor without James Harden and Tyrese Maxey; the Bucks were slightly better &mdash; a 113.8 offensive rating in nearly double the sample (643 minutes) &mdash; with Giannis on the floor without Holiday and Middleton.
The scoring breakdown in those minutes:
<ul>
<li>Giannis: 608 points (34.0 points per 36 minutes), 57.7% on twos, 26.2% on threes, 60.3% TS</li>
<li>Embiid: 302 points (32.6 per 36), 51.4% on twos, 22.2% on threes, 58.4% TS</li>
</ul>
The playmaking still leans towards Giannis:
<ul>
<li>Giannis: 145 assists (8.1 per 36), 94 turnovers (5.3 per 36)</li>
<li>Embiid: 63 assists (6.8 per 36), 44 turnovers (4.8 per 36)</li>
</ul>
If you only filter for the minutes the two played with and without their primary ball-handler &mdash; <a href="https://www.pbpstats.com/wowy-combos/nba?TeamId=1610612755&amp;Season=2022-23&amp;SeasonType=Regular%2BSeason&amp;PlayerIds=203954,201935" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Harden for Embiid</a>, <a href="https://www.pbpstats.com/wowy-combos/nba?TeamId=1610612749&amp;Season=2022-23&amp;SeasonType=Regular%2BSeason&amp;PlayerIds=203507,201950" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Holiday for Giannis</a> &mdash; some fun stuff is revealed, namely:
<ul>
<li>The Bucks' offense burned a little brighter with Giannis and Holiday (123.9 ORTG) compared to the Sixers pairing (123.2 ORTG).</li>
<li>The Sixers still operated at a top-10 rate when Embiid played without Harden (117.8, would rank No. 7); the same could not be said for Giannis without Holiday (113.0, would rank No. 26).</li>
</ul>
Zooming out, the defense is where things got tight for me.
Full disclosure: On Friday's pod, I listed Embiid as my choice. By Sunday morning, I was ready to flip to Giannis. And that was before Bleacher Report's Chris Haynes <a href="https://twitter.com/ChrisBHaynes/status/1645111264623095808?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noopener">dropped his exclusive sit-down interview</a> with the 2021 NBA champion, surprisingly (and honestly, refreshingly) dipping into his, "Let's not get carried away, I still do this" bag. The Sixers tailing off defensively over the past couple of weeks really opened the door.
Giannis has been elite this year, an omnipresent deterrent lurking around the weak side. When challenged at the rim, opponents haven't had much success; they converted just 55.4% of their shots at the rim against Giannis, <a href="https://www.nba.com/stats/players/defensive-impact?CF=GP*GE*49:DEF_RIM_FGA*GE*4&amp;dir=A&amp;sort=DEF_RIM_FG_PCT" target="_blank" rel="noopener">which ranks 10th among 51 players</a> to defend at least four shots per contest.
But of that 51-player group, Giannis ranked 40th in shots defended per game. Embiid was third and Jokic was fourth; that obviously speaks to how willing teams were to attack the latter, but the discrepancy is at least kinda funny when considering the scheme differences between the two.&nbsp;
Embiid ranked 12th in contested shots per game (10.3). Giannis ranked 44th (6.6); his teammate, Brook Lopez, was first (17.5) by a comically large margin.
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That led me down the Giannis-at-the-5 rabbit hole, which revealed that the Bucks were a middling defense (114.2 DRTG, would rank 13th) with Giannis on the floor without Lopez, per Cleaning The Glass. When you also&nbsp;remove Bobby Portis from the equation, however, that drops to a would-be-league-leading 104.5 DRTG in nearly 850 possessions.
There were other searches I did that I won't bore you with, such as Giannis without Holiday and Lopez (116.7 DRTG in 1,034 possessions) compared to Embiid without De'Anthony Melton and PJ Tucker (111.8 DRTG in 561 possessions).
(It's worth noting that such a query left the Jevon Carter minutes on the table for Giannis, as it did the pre-trade Matisse Thybulle minutes for Embiid.)
Ultimately, the fundamental question became this: Do you value Giannis being better in a secondary rim-protecting role than Embiid with his primary responsibilities, or do you give Embiid the edge for having to carry more responsibility on that end?
You're more than welcome to disagree, but I landed on the responsibility angle.
Embiid getting this&nbsp;team to a top-10 finish defensively was impressive. Having the offensive year he had, on the shot diet he lived on, was also wildly impressive. Only Stephen Curry and 22 games of 1982-83 Adrian Dantley have posted more efficient 30-point seasons than Embiid, and the Sixers big man averaged more points than both of them.
I geniunely don't think you could go wrong with any of these three. Jokic's team performed better with him on the floor than Giannis or Embiid; Giannis paced both guys in wins and win percentage in addition to his excellence.
The combination of production, efficiency, winning and responsibility gave Embiid the narrow win for me.

Nekias Duncan narrows down his final candidates for the 2022-23 NBA MVP and picks the league's most valuable player.

Nekias Duncan's 2022-23 NBA award selections: Who wins MVP?

On Monday morning, the WNBA announced the decision to expand its charter flight program ahead of the 2023 season. The expansion doesn't quite reach complete coverage yet, though a meaningful step has been taken.&nbsp;
Starting this season, the league will charter flight for all postseason games through the WNBA Finals, the Commisioner's Cup Championship Game and select regular-season games when teams have back-to-backs on the schedule.&nbsp;
It's a welcome improvement, especially in light of the regular season expanding from 36 to 40 games this year. That will naturally lead to some condensed scheduling in certain parts of the season, further highlighting the need for better travel accomodations.&nbsp;
You can read the full press release below:&nbsp;
NEW YORK, April. 10, 2023&nbsp;&ndash;&nbsp;The Women&rsquo;s National Basketball Association (WNBA) will be expanding its charter flights program for players this season, it was announced today by the league.&nbsp;
The charter program will include flights for all postseason games beginning with the start of 2023 WNBA Playoffs through the WNBA Finals, the WNBA Commissioner&rsquo;s Cup Championship Game, and select regular season games where teams have back-to-back games on the schedule.&nbsp;
&ldquo;We continue the hard work of transforming the business of the league, and the ability to expand this program is a direct result of that,&rdquo; said WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert. &ldquo;Since joining the league a few years ago, a goal of mine has been to enhance the overall player experience and, in that regard, make incremental improvements where we are able to do so and when we believe the economic model would support it for the long-term. I&rsquo;m pleased that we are able to broaden the program this year for the players. As the league continues to grow, we will look to do more in the future.&rdquo;
Previously, the WNBA approved charter flights in specific instances during select games in recent years and in 2022 expanded the program to include the WNBA Commissioner&rsquo;s Cup Championship Game and all WNBA Finals games.
About the WNBA
The WNBA, which will tip off its 27th&nbsp;season on May 19, is a bold, progressive basketball league that stands for the power of women. Featuring 12 teams, the W is a unique sports property that combines competition and entertainment with a commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion and social responsibility. Through its world-class athletes, the in-game fan experience, TV and digital broadcasts, digital and social content and community outreach programs, the league celebrates and elevates the game of basketball and the culture around it.&nbsp;
In 2020, the WNBA and the Women&rsquo;s National Basketball Players Association (WNBPA) signed a groundbreaking eight-year CBA that charts a new course for women&rsquo;s basketball &ndash; and women&rsquo;s sports overall &ndash; with a focus on increased player compensation, improvements to the player experience, expanded career development opportunities and resources specifically tailored to the female professional athlete.
Key elements of the agreement are supported through the league&rsquo;s partnership platform, WNBA Changemakers, with AT&amp;T, the WNBA&rsquo;s Marquee Partner and inaugural Changemaker, as well as fellow inaugural Changemakers Deloitte and NIKE, Inc, and subsequent additions Google and U.S. Bank. During the 2020 season, the WNBA and WNBPA launched the WNBA Justice Movement forming the Social Justice Council with the mission of being a driving force of necessary change and continuing conversations about race and voting rights, among other important societal issues.

The WNBA will charter flight for all postseason games through the Finals, the Commisioner's Cup Championship Game and more.

WNBA announces expansion of charter flights program

The Milwaukee Bucks clinched the top seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs Wednesday, but they had to do so without Giannis Antetokounmpo on the second night of a back-to-back.
No problem &mdash; Bobby Portis exploded for 27 points and 13 rebounds, Jrue Holiday racked up 20 points and 15 assists, and Brook Lopez tossed in 26 points to handle the Chicago Bulls. One neat postgame statistic from ESPN's Kane Pitman caught my eye:
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Brook Lopez now has 26 games with 20+ points this season. He had 26 games with 20+ points across his first four regular seasons in Milwaukee. He will be a DPOY finalist but his scoring has wound back the clock during his age 35 season.
&mdash; Kane Pitman (@KanePitman) <a href="https://twitter.com/KanePitman/status/1643788843479621635?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 6, 2023</a></blockquote>

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Lopez is putting up 15.9 points per game, his highest since his All-Star days with the Brooklyn Nets, at the most efficient scoring clip of his career. He's helped the Bucks retake the top of the conference while remaining square in the middle of the Defensive Player of the Year race.
The award's front-runner, Jaren Jackson Jr., has also quietly ascended on the offensive end. Jackson is averaging a career-high 18.3 points per game (20.9 since the All-Star break) with a career-best 58.5% two-point shooting clip. He dropped 40 in Wednesday's overtime loss to the Pelicans and has helped the Grizzlies go 12-4 since March 9.&nbsp;
While the two bigs are duking it out for DPOY, their steps forward as scorers have put each team in the championship conversation.
Starting with Lopez, his output this season hasn't come with increased touches. A cursory glance through PBP Stats' tracking data shows the 35-year-old is hovering at similar rates in touches and volume touch time relative to his entire Milwaukee tenure. His low 16.7% usage rate follows the same trend. But Lopez has received a significant green light; his mark of 11.5 field goal attempts per game is the most in the last six years.
Those extra shots have been distributed relatively evenly across different spots on the floor, but Lopez's paint presence is perhaps the most notable change. Here's a look at his impact of scoring inside since joining the Bucks in 2018, using data from PBP Stats (scroll right to view full table on mobile):
<table style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 100%; height: 154px;" border="1">
<tbody>
<tr style="height: 44px;">
<td style="width: 10.2766%; height: 44px;">Year</td>
<td style="width: 15.2376%; height: 44px;">Touches/100 poss.</td>
<td style="width: 18.501%; height: 44px;">Paint touches/100 poss.</td>
<td style="width: 16.4124%; height: 44px;">Paint touches FG% </td>
<td style="width: 15.1069%; height: 44px;">At-Rim FGA/game</td>
<td style="width: 13.5403%; height: 44px;">At-Rim FG%</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 22px;">
<td style="width: 10.2766%; height: 22px;">2018-19</td>
<td style="width: 15.2376%; height: 22px;">59.6</td>
<td style="width: 18.501%; height: 22px;">2.8</td>
<td style="width: 16.4124%; height: 22px;">65.3%</td>
<td style="width: 15.1069%; height: 22px;">1.8</td>
<td style="width: 13.5403%; height: 22px;">75.5%</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 22px;">
<td style="width: 10.2766%; height: 22px;">2019-20</td>
<td style="width: 15.2376%; height: 22px;">57.5</td>
<td style="width: 18.501%; height: 22px;">5.2</td>
<td style="width: 16.4124%; height: 22px;">61.7%</td>
<td style="width: 15.1069%; height: 22px;">2.5</td>
<td style="width: 13.5403%; height: 22px;">66.9%</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 22px;">
<td style="width: 10.2766%; height: 22px;">2020-21</td>
<td style="width: 15.2376%; height: 22px;">49.4</td>
<td style="width: 18.501%; height: 22px;">7.0</td>
<td style="width: 16.4124%; height: 22px;">70.3%</td>
<td style="width: 15.1069%; height: 22px;">2.7</td>
<td style="width: 13.5403%; height: 22px;">74.4%</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 22px;">
<td style="width: 10.2766%; height: 22px;">2021-22*</td>
<td style="width: 15.2376%; height: 22px;">51.3</td>
<td style="width: 18.501%; height: 22px;">9.7</td>
<td style="width: 16.4124%; height: 22px;">62.8%</td>
<td style="width: 15.1069%; height: 22px;">3.4</td>
<td style="width: 13.5403%; height: 22px;">77.3%</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 22px;">
<td style="width: 10.2766%; height: 22px;">2022-23</td>
<td style="width: 15.2376%; height: 22px;">54.2</td>
<td style="width: 18.501%; height: 22px;">9.1</td>
<td style="width: 16.4124%; height: 22px;">71.2%</td>
<td style="width: 15.1069%; height: 22px;">3.6</td>
<td style="width: 13.5403%; height: 22px;">74.7%</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
*Note that Lopez played just 13 games in 2021-22 due to injury.
Lopez's current paint diet builds off of his abbreviated 2021-22 campaign, and this time, he's consistently converting on his greatest volume as a Buck. In addition to the strong marks at the rim, Lopez is also hitting a blistering 56% of his short-mid-range shots, per Cleaning the Glass.
The 35-year-old scored his 26 points on Wednesday despite a quiet 0-for-2 night from distance. He made 10 of 17 attempts inside the arc. Some were confident driving layups where he powered through Nikola Vucevic and Andre Drummond. But this play highlights how his roll (heyo!) is changing:
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With the amount of drop coverage in today's NBA, plus the different downhill playmakers Milwaukee employs, Lopez has windows available as a roller. Here he stays in the passing lane during Joe Ingles' drive, seals off Derrick Jones Jr. and finishes the layup.&nbsp;
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This earlier bucket was the second of two near-identical makes in a row. Chicago sets its drop early in the action, but Vucevic is tighter on Holiday given the guard's threat to pull up. The window is open quicker for a short-roll pass that Holiday easily makes. Lopez then knocks down the soft-touch floater that the smaller DeMar DeRozan can't really contest.
According to play-type data from Synergy, Lopez is spending 21.2% of his possessions this season as a roll man. That's the highest frequency of his Bucks career, and it's steadily increased in each subsequent year from 14.1% in 2018-19. "Roll man" in Synergy terms can also include pick-and-pop plays, where Lopez often thrives, but he's also adding more classic rolls.
Tack on a career-high 37.4% clip from beyond the arc, and Lopez has found the pockets for him to excel within Milwaukee's offense without taking on a significantly larger workload.
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Lopez is making teams pay for how they defend guys like Holiday and Antetokounmpo. His buckets still mostly come via assists. Jackson, meanwhile, is stepping up as a self-creator.&nbsp;
The 23-year-old has cleared the 60% True Shooting mark for the first time in his five-year career. Yet, he's not shooting threes particularly well (34.4%) and his volume of attempts is down (4.5 per game). Jackson has instead boosted his two-point percentage to a career-best 58.5%. He can attribute that spike to a consistent assertion of getting to the basket.&nbsp;
According to PBP Stats, more than 40% of Jackson's total shots this year have been self-created twos within 10 feet of the basket. His 53.2% conversion rate on those looks is a whopping nine percentage points better than last season. Jackson's overall 67% clip at the rim is a serious bounce-back from a dreadful 2021-22, and his 47% mark in the short-mid-range area is another career high.
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In his monster 40-point outing, Jackson showed off how he's leveraging his length and strength with confidence. He posted up Larry Nance Jr. twice for scores, and was unfazed even when plowing into Nance on the above drive. Jackson still had the balance to turn the moment into a floater. There are also these Giannis-esque moments with Jackson where he uses his long strides and length to glide past defenders. The overall quick decision-making has elevated his attacks.
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The lanky forward has traded in some perimeter looks for more aggressive attacks. In fact, Jackson ranks third in points per drive (0.94) among 180 high-volume drivers this season. He's scoring at a decent 50.5% clip and drawing fouls on 18% of his drives, which also ranks third.
Jackson didn't shoot particularly well (13-for-28) en route to his 40-burger on Wednesday, but did draw nine fouls and made 11 of 12 free throws.
Perhaps the most surprising stat: Jackson is one of 100 NBA players who have logged 50 or more isolation possessions this season, per Synergy. He's drawn shooting fouls on a whopping 32.1% of those possessions; that is the highest in the eight-year history of Synergy's play-type tracking.
With his foul-drawing and reliable free-throw shooting, Jackson has created a floor-raiser with his length and athleticism against opposing bigs. As his scoring efficiency comes along, he's looking more and more like a matchup nightmare.
THE OUTLIERS (a.k.a. other random interesting numbers I found in the void):
<ul>
<li>Two extremely important concepts in today's NBA: Creating and preventing advantages. From SIS Hoops:</li>
</ul>
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In the stretch run of the MVP race, Joel Embiid has stepped up his advantage creation to separate himself as the favorite for the award. <a href="https://t.co/6lThkqTKVC">pic.twitter.com/6lThkqTKVC</a>
&mdash; SIS Hoops (@SIS_Hoops) <a href="https://twitter.com/SIS_Hoops/status/1644003730205843458?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 6, 2023</a></blockquote>
<ul>
<li>Post-NCAA men's tournament reflection. FAU baby!
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</li>
</ul>
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Take good shots ✅ Force tough shots ✅ Win more games ✅ <a href="https://t.co/xHczgYjpfo">pic.twitter.com/xHczgYjpfo</a>
&mdash; Todd Whitehead (@CrumpledJumper) <a href="https://twitter.com/CrumpledJumper/status/1643379899129040897?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 4, 2023</a></blockquote>

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<ul>
<li>A few league-wide notes I saw as this season is wrapping up:</li>
</ul>
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Some NBA leaguewide trends as we approach the end of the season 🧵 - The NBA is shooting a base 47.5% from the field, which is its highest since 1989-90 - eFG% is 54.5%, which is the highest ever - 114.8 offensive rating is a massive all-time high, 2nd place is 112.3 (2020-21)
&mdash; Ethan Fuller (@ethman43) <a href="https://twitter.com/ethman43/status/1644020710753333249?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 6, 2023</a></blockquote>

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Jackson and Lopez are leading the Defensive Player of the Year race, but have also made important offensive strides.

NBA Stats Notebook: Lauding Jaren Jackson Jr. and Brook Lopez's offense

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It's almost play-in and playoff time, folks!
This season has felt more jumbled than ever, which has led to more teams in some sort of contention. Naturally, most conversations around the league will focus on the contenders and the various seeding battles still happening.
It's easy for the teams at the bottom to get lost in the shuffle. They generally reach a point where lottery odds take precedence; in some instances, important young pieces are getting shut down like veterans.
<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/views-from-the-bottom-young-players-to-keep-an-eye-on" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Much like last year</a>, I wanted to take a moment to highlight some players who are likely flying under the radar. You have to take post-All-Star break stretches with at least two grains of salt, but this is a time for unheralded players to stretch themselves. In a best-case scenario, they wind up showing you something that transfers to the next season.
</div>
<div>
Here are a few players &mdash; just a few! &mdash; who have caught my eye recently.
All stats are updated through games played on April 4.
JALEN GREEN, HOUSTON ROCKETS
The Stats: 23.4 points, 3.2 rebounds, 3.8 assists (2.2 turnovers) since the All-Star break&nbsp;
The Skill: Foul-Drawing Craft
For the second year in a row, Jalen Green is popping off the screen after the All-Star break.&nbsp;
He represents a rare blend of athleticism &mdash; slippery and explosive &mdash; and skill. Watching him try to harness that has been equal parts fun and frustrating, depending on how invested you are in his growth.&nbsp;
Drives from Green have been an adventure since he set foot in the league. He's blessed with a handle that can get him most places, a first step that only a handful of guys can slide with and vertical pop that nobody can really deal with if he has a launching pad.&nbsp;
Green hasn't had much issue accessing the paint in his career. How he's gotten there, and what he does once there, has been the work in progress.
Quietly, he's become a little more selective with the turbo button when putting his head down. He's taking advantage of defenders scrambling to stay attached to him. He's feeling out the defender more in a literal sense; if he senses a defender out of position or leaning towards him, he's going right into their shoulder or chest, absorbing the blow and getting a shot up.&nbsp;
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Green is living at the line these days. He's averaging nearly seven free throw attempts per game since the break. Per Cleaning The Glass, Green is drawing fouls on 14.5% of his shot attempts during this stretch, a mark that ranks in the 97th percentile among his position group.
Filter specifically for drives, and Green is still drawing shooting fouls on 14.5% of them &mdash; 10th among 100 players with at least 100 drives, per Second Spectrum.
There's still growth to be had inside the arc. There's a little Anthony Edwards there, where he feels like he can defeat anyone &mdash; or any amount of bodies &mdash; at the rim when easier kicks are available. There's more comfort to be developed as an inside-out passer versus the interior feeds he likes.&nbsp;
But, man, being able to generate freebies at this rate is a welcomed sight. We're not that far away from teams not having a real answer for him as a scorer.
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SVI MYKHAILIUK, CHARLOTTE HORNETS
The Stats: 16.2 points, 3.7 rebounds, 5.2 assists (1.5 turnovers), 1.3 steals over last six games&nbsp;
The Skill: Avoiding Danger
Mykhailiuk is in the midst of one of his most productive stretches. He's provided a healthy dose of shooting, converting 44.4% of his threes (6.0 attempts) over his last six games. Due to the injuries around him, he's gotten to do more with the ball in his hands. Nothing particularly wild on the playmaking front, but he's proven compentent as a second-side creator.&nbsp;
None of the offensive productivity surprises me. The fact that we're even getting to see it to this degree speaks to his work on the other end. I am not here to argue that Mykhailiuk is an elite defender; in fact, most of the numbers I'd use to highlight defensive growth don't paint him in a favorable light. As <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-film-breakdown-charlotte-hornets-defense-steve-clifford-dennis-smith-jr-theo-maledon-gordon-hayward-jt-thor-mark-williams-nick-richards" target="_blank" rel="noopener">I wrote recently</a>, the Hornets aren't afraid to switch-and-double against matchups they deem unfavorable to them; they've done so with Mykhailiuk.
I'd just like to say that man is&nbsp;working&nbsp;defensively. He's had to take up defensive assignments well above his pay grade as of late: Zach LaVine, Scottie Barnes, some Luka Doncic possessions during their two-game series and it hasn't been a disaster.
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The shift from "obvious weak link" to "best option to attack available" is a subtle, yet important mark of growth. It feels like he's starting to land in the latter camp. All the Hornets, or any team moving forward, needs from him is for him to hold his own. If he can do that, he'll have more opportunities for the shooting and ball skills to pop.&nbsp;
SANDRO MAMUKELASHVILI, SAN ANTONIO SPURS
The Stats: 13.0 points, 6.8 rebounds, 2.9 assists (1.9 turnovers), 2.8 steals over last eight games&nbsp;
The Skill: Passing Chops
I am an absolute sucker for tall players with passing ability. I gravitate towards playmaking wings, and I especially enjoy watching actual big men dice up defenses with nifty feeds.&nbsp;
Insert Mamu, whom the Spurs have thankfully given room to do stuff with the ball in his hands.
That simply wasn't going to happen in Milwaukee, who needed Mamu to either space or defend &mdash; preferably both, of course &mdash; at a certain level in order to garner consistent playing time. He isn't there yet on either end, and the rest of the roster was too good to justify letting him run things with the second unit.
Because that isn't the case with the Spurs, we've gotten to see stuff like this:
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For those keeping track at home, that was:
<ul>
<li>a transition push after a board, then a kick to a three-point shooter on the move</li>
<li>a slip against a switch, followed by a no-look pass to the corner in an attempt to manipulate Steph Curry's weakside responsibilities</li>
<li>a leaping lay-down pass to Zach Collins</li>
<li>a quick feed to Collins versus a fronting defender, conveniently timed as Talen Horton-Tucker is leaning the wrong way</li>
<li>A pass fake into a skip to Tre Jones for a three</li>
<li>A pump-and-drive, followed by a Haliburton-esque jump-pass for a dunk</li>
<li>A baseline drive against&nbsp;Brook Lopez,&nbsp;puncutated by a kick to the corner</li>
</ul>
There's still plenty of work to be done, particularly on the non-glamour end of the floor. The Spurs, or whoever commits to him moving forward, has to find a coverage for him, have a strong defensive infrastructure around him or both.&nbsp;
If nothing else, though, there's some Hartenstein-lite potential here as a second-unit hub. The passing pops. The screens are good. Being able to credibly drive as a 5 is valuable stuff. More Mamu, please!
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MARKELLE FULTZ, ORLANDO MAGIC
The Stats: 16.5 points, 4.0 rebounds, 6.3 assists (2.4 turnovers), 1.5 steals since the All-Star break&nbsp;
The Skill: Big Man Things
It's been a joy watching Markelle Fultz graduate from the "really good redemption story" arc to the basic reality that he's good at basketball. Period. Full stop.
A smooth operator in ball screens; a crafty finisher at the rim; he's quietly reliable as a pull-up option inside the arc &mdash; did you know he's canned <a href="https://www.nba.com/stats/player/1628365/shots-dash?Season=2022-23" target="_blank" rel="noopener">45.1% of his pull-up 2s</a> this season? He remains a dogged point-of-attack defender.
&nbsp;What's popped for me in a few matchups &mdash; against the Utah Jazz and Washington Wizards, in particular &mdash; is his willingness to do the little things. Or rather, the "big" things. Both teams stashed their centers on Fultz &mdash; the Jazz with Walker Kessler, the Wizards with Kristaps Porzingis &mdash; in a way to keep them near the basket.
Fultz countered by setting screen, after screen, after screen, creating opportunities for his teammates and himself.&nbsp;
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Fultz has set 131 on-ball screens this season, after setting 77 over his first five seasons combined, per Second Spectrum.&nbsp;
STRAY THOUGHTS
<ul>
<li>Though the Jazz are techincally still in the play-in hunt, It's worth noting the heater that Talen Horton-Tucker has been on since becoming a starter after the All-Star break. He's averaging 31-5-7 over his past four games, shooting 36% from deep on a heavy diet of pull-ups and getting to the line nearly nine times per contest. It's still hard to have faith in the jumper, and he remains a little tunnel vision-y for my sensibilities, but this has been a nice stretch for him. </li>
<li>Corey Kispert has slotted in nicely as a starter. I've enjoyed his usage under Wes Unseld Jr., running him <a href="https://twitter.com/NekiasNBA/status/1638566356005146626?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noopener">through staggers</a> or, when spaced, often being the <a href="https://twitter.com/NekiasNBA/status/1638567273832095747?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noopener">only player on his side of the floor</a> to stress out help defenders. It helps that Kispert's been shooting the leather off the ball too: 21.3 points while converting 49.1% of his threes (9.2 attempts) over his last six games is nothing to sneeze at.&nbsp; </li>
<li>Hawks legend Skylar Mays is averaging 17 points and 7.3 assists across three starts with the Blazers. Not quite sure what it means, but I've enjoyed his pacing inside the arc. I also don't think I've seen him miss a floater or a pull-up middy, so that's fun.</li>
</ul>
</div>

Before focusing on the NBA playoffs, Nekias Duncan breaks down young players on lottery teams who have caught his eye lately.

Views from the bottom: 5 young NBA players to keep an eye on

I'd like to workshop a take: The Cleveland Cavaliers are the NBA's preeminent "but" team.&nbsp;
Think about your ideal makeup of a contender. You want a team that can dominate &mdash; or wall off &mdash; the paint. Preferably both. You want a stingy defense, period. You want scheme-breaking shot creators &mdash; guys who can attack a drop, pass against more aggressive coverage, and boogie against defenders 1-on-1 when the situation calls for it. You want proper spacing around those guys to make their jobs easier.
The Cavs check a lot of those boxes.
There's a reason they've been near or at the top of the league in net rating all year long. Per Cleaning The Glass, they're one-tenth of a point behind the Memphis Grizzlies for the best defense in the NBA, headlined by their menacing frontcourt. In fact, the Cavs are one of four teams &mdash; joining the Grizzlies, Boston Celtics and Philadelphia 76ers &mdash; that rank in the top 10 in offensive and defensive rating.&nbsp;
Donovan Mitchell and Darius Garland certainly pass the bust-your-defense smell test. Mitchell will, at worst, make the All-NBA Second Team; Garland doesn't have the same momentum, but he's played at an All-NBA level.&nbsp;
There are enough questions, enough "buts" (grow up), to generate some unease:&nbsp;
<ul>
<li>How versatile&nbsp;is this defense &mdash; especially with only one of the twin towers on the floor?</li>
<li>They're skilled enough to beat most coverages,&nbsp;but, do we trust their process late in games?</li>
<li>Are there enough&nbsp;spacers to accentuate the skills of Mitchell and Garland?</li>
</ul>
Smack dab in the middle of these questions, figuratively and literally, is second-year forward Evan Mobley. Mobley doubles as a budding young star and, arguably, Cleveland's biggest X-factor <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-news-cleveland-cavaliers-open-up-on-tough-road-back-to-playoffs-jb-bickerstaff-jarrett-allen-evan-mobley-darius-garland-lebron-james-cavs" target="_blank" rel="noopener">this postseason</a>.&nbsp;
After narrowly missing out on Rookie of the Year last season, Mobley showcased growth along the margins. His screening got better; he shaved tenths of a second off of his post-catch moves, unlocking more shot opportunities, short-roll playmaking windows and more half-court continuity as a handoff hub. While still wiry, Mobley's added strength helped foster growth as a rebounder.
In 2023, Mobley has exploded.
Over his past 41 games, he's averaging 17.9 points while converting roughly 60% of his twos, grabbing 9.2 rebounds, dishing out 3.0 assists (1.8 turnovers), swatting 1.8 shots and snagging nearly a steal (0.8) per game.&nbsp;
The scoring has popped in a real way. After having 12 games of 20 or more points last season, he's up to 20 this year. He's racked up 13 since the turn of the calendar, including big performances <a href="https://youtu.be/Hm-DPTmydgw" target="_blank" rel="noopener">against the Milwaukee Bucks</a> (38 and 9) and Denver Nuggets (31 and 9).
What Mobley can do as a lob threat or cleanup man on the offensive glass is well-documented. But the self-creation flashes? We're moving away from "flashes" and into this-is-what-he-does territory.
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We're seeing a little more oomph&nbsp;before some of these shots. Subtle bows and shoulder nudges into the chest of defenders create *just* enough space for him to get off clean looks.&nbsp;
Beyond that, it's hard not to marvel at Mobley's patience when operating below the free-throw line. He doesn't mind pump faking once, twice, sometimes three times to get a defender off-balance. It's been fun watching Mobley almost realize in real-time, "Hey, teams really can't&nbsp;do anything with me inside of 10 feet, huh," as he flips in a mix of jump hooks, push shots and turnaround jumpers.&nbsp;
While Mobley has been assisted on more of his shots overall, he's showcased growth when creating on his own. He's converted 48.4% on self-created shots &mdash; which PBP Stats defines as "shots on which the player held the ball for two or more seconds before the shot" &mdash; inside of 10 feet this season, a slight bump from last year's number (47.7%).
Mobley's trending in the right way, but, naturally, he isn't there&nbsp;yet. He's well-below league average (53.1% FG) on those self-created looks inside of 10 feet. Though he's looked more comfortable on the block, the efficiency hasn't followed.
The Cavs are generating 0.85 points per possession (PPP) when Mobley shoots out of a post-up, ranking last among 26 players with at least 75 reps. And that efficiency actually drops&nbsp;when he's been defended by a smaller player (0.76 PPP).
I wouldn't be concerned long-term; the film is littered with some uncharacteristic misses up close, and he's been much better in 2023 (0.94 PPP) than the 2022 portion of the season (0.59 PPP). Smaller players being able to get under him and bother his better-but-still-loose handle &mdash; while also&nbsp;reading where bigger help is coming from &mdash; is something worth keeping an eye on.&nbsp;
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The jumper remains a work in progress, though it's important that the shot is less of a break-glass-in-case-of-emergency thing and more of something he's comfortable taking. It's helped him become more fluid in short-roll situations, and there's a head-shaking effect on nights where he has the three-ball going on top of his interior exploits.
Mobley has gotten better defensively as well. He's already much better than any player his age has any business being in drop coverage. His timing feels preternatural when contesting shots &mdash; inside the arc or outside of it. I don't think enough is being made of the fact that Mobley <a href="https://www.nba.com/stats/players/hustle?PerMode=Totals" target="_blank" rel="noopener">leads the NBA</a> in three-pointers contested, ranks in the top 10 in blocks per game (1.5) and still fouls fewer than three times per contest.
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And of course, his unique blend of length and mobility makes him quite the space defender. Only Nic Claxton has defended more isolations than Mobley, and Evan's efficiency-allowed number (0.895 PPP when a player shoots against Mobley) isn't far off Claxton's (0.852 PPP) or Bam Adebayo's (0.856 PPP). It's Year 2 and he's firmly in elite company.
The quieter portion of Mobley's growth has been his work as a rebounder. His overall rebound rate has improved by nearly two percentage points from last season (13.5% to 15.4%). His defensive rebound rate has jumped nearly three percentage points (19.8% to 22.7%). He snagged 1.8 contested defensive boards per game last season; that's up to 2.4 this year, a mark just outside the top 10 this year.&nbsp;
This growth has allowed him to anchor more minutes at the 5 this year. The Mobley on/Allen off minutes were essentially neutral (-0.2 NET, per Cleaning The Glass) last season; the Cavs are flat-out winning those minutes (plus-4.4 NET) this year behind a stingy defense (110.9 DTRG, would rank No. 1 in the league).&nbsp;
I don't think Mobley was quite ready to anchor solo minutes last year; he looks firmly prepared to do so now. The bigger question may be if the&nbsp;Cavs&nbsp;are equipped for him to do so.
They've trended smaller as of late, finding more minutes for their stable of wings at the 4 alongside Mobley. I'd worry about what happens when opponents are intentional about engaging him.
Engaging him directly, or pulling him away from the action by spacing him, puts strain on the weaker defenders around him. More worrisome, it exposes the Cavs on the glass behind him. Even when he's down there, there's only so much Mobley can do by himself. He's improved, but he isn't quite Moses Malone.
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Look no further than the four-game stretch in mid-March while Allen was out, where Cleveland logged a 70.3 defensive rebound rate (20th during that stretch), grabbing only 45.7% of available rebounds (28th).
It's fair to argue it won't always be&nbsp;that&nbsp;stark, and it's worth noting the Cavs did go 3-1 in those games. On the flip side, the three wins came against Charlotte (twice) and Washington, while the loss came against Philadelphia &mdash; a team they could see in the Eastern Conference Finals if they make it that far.
More pressing: In Round 1, they're slated to face the New York Knicks, who rank third in <a href="https://www.nba.com/stats/teams/advanced?dir=A&amp;sort=OREB_PCT" target="_blank" rel="noopener">offensive rebound rate</a> (31.6) and <a href="https://www.nba.com/stats/teams/misc?dir=A&amp;sort=PTS_2ND_CHANCE" target="_blank" rel="noopener">second-chance points</a> (16.1). The Cavs are 1-3 in the season series with a rebound rate of 45.7% in those games. There's context to be added, but still enough to be concerned about.
The good news, and something worth reminding folks of, is that it's okay for them not to have all the answers now. This is a&nbsp;young&nbsp;group with easy-to-see growth pathways for at least three-fourths of the team's core.
Mobley in particular is looking scarier by the week. If nothing else, this postseason should give us a clearer picture of where he is, where he's going and what the Cavs have to provide to facilitate that path.&nbsp;

Nekias Duncan analyzes the growth of Evan Mobley in the second half of the Cavaliers' season and how he's Cleveland's X-factor.

Evan Mobley's evolution is upon us — is it enough for the Cavaliers?

Friday night's Final Four matchup between Iowa and South Carolina lived up to the hype. Honestly, I'd argue that it surpassed it.
There were storylines aplenty in this one. Chief among them: what exactly would Iowa star Caitlin Clark look like against South Carolina's elite defense?
Not many teams in basketball, period, are able to turn the water off for opponents the way the Gamecocks can. They're stacked with length and mobility on the perimeter, headlined by the work of Brea Beal. There's no shortage of size and ground coverage in the frontcourt, headlined by Naismith Women's Defensive Player of the Year Aliyah Boston.
Clark would have her work cut out for her. But the same was true for the Gamecocks.
There are players who can dictate games with their playmaking, players who can do that with shooting, players who can do that off the bounce, and players who can do all of those things.
Then there's Clark, who can do all of those things to such a ridiculous level that she can render virtually any scheme irrelevant.
With players like Clark &ndash; and historic players before her &ndash; you have to choose a poison. Take one thing off the table and, if they beat you in another way, you tip your cap.&nbsp;
For the Gamecocks, it was clear early on that they were going to make Clark topple them. There wouldn't be aggressive doubles, nor would there be much help on the back end.
To the latter point, it's worth noting that Iowa ranked seventh in the country in three-point percentage. Aside from Clark (38.7% from three on 9.2 attempts), McKenna Warnock (38.8% on 4.4 attempts), Gabbie Marshall (37.3% on 4.3 attempts) and Kate Martin (40.2% on 2.9 attempts) have all proven themselves to be knockdown shooters.
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The Gamecocks didn't want to get burned from deep, especially in light of their own shooting limitations. If threes were going to be taken, they would come off the bounce in isolation. And in ball screens, they would keep things a 2-on-2 affair to prevent Clark from dishing out for catch-and-shoot opportunities.&nbsp;
In theory, the poison they chose made sense. In practice, it put a spotlight on everything that makes Clark special.&nbsp;
If there's a particular area of Clark's game that popped in this one, it was the driving. It's easy to get lost in her pull-up and movement shooting &ndash; and buddy did she knock down some shots&nbsp;in this one. But her ability to beat single coverage off the bounce, against&nbsp;this&nbsp;stable of perimeter defenders, was pretty darn impressive.&nbsp;
Take Iowa's first bucket, for example:
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It's worth noting the spacing, as it proved to be an important battleground. To Clark's left, Iowa was setting up a stagger for Martin to occupy help defenders. To her right, Marshall was the lone shooter, practically being face-guarded. That left Kierra Fletcher on an island against Clark, who was able to gain leverage from a standstill.&nbsp;
A little bit later, we got another drive from Clark &ndash; this time attacking Boston off the bounce after a switch. Again, the Gamecocks wanted to keep ball screens 2-on-2 so they wouldn't open up three-point shots.&nbsp;
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Even off the ball, the Gamecocks didn't want to provide extra help. Below, Iowa goes to "Wide" action &ndash; an early off-ball screen set above the break &ndash; to get Clark a catch on the move. Again, peep the right side of the floor with Marshall being face-guarded &ndash; meaning no help is coming.&nbsp;
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Another ball screen &ndash; two ball screens, even! &ndash; where you can see the Gamecocks keeping things 2-on-2. You'll also notice that center Kamilla Cardoso (#10, tremendous game from her overall) is at the level of the screen &ndash; more proof that they didn't want Clark to have pull-up pockets to attack. But with no help on the back end &ndash; Marshall's in the weak side corner &ndash; you see what that opens up.&nbsp;
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One of my favorite possessions from the opening quarter and, honestly, the game itself, was this dart. Iowa goes to "Ricky" action &ndash; consisting of a player receiving an off-ball screen, reversing course and immediately&nbsp;coming off another off-ball screen from the same player &ndash; that puts two players on Clark, leading to another open layup for Monika Czinano.&nbsp;
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Whew.&nbsp;
The Gamecocks did attempt to sprinkle different things in, like more traditional drop coverage. That, of course, opened up shots like this.
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And then there were the possessions where you just humbly ask, "What the heck am I supposed to do with this?"
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All in all, it's hard to fault the gameplan from the Gamecocks. She went 5-of-17 from deep, one of her <a href="https://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/players/caitlin-clark-1/gamelog/2023" target="_blank" rel="noopener">worst high-volume shooting games</a> of the season. Iowa as a team attempted went 7-of-23, and their 30.4% clip represented the lowest mark since their 96-68 loss to Maryland back in February.
But Clark diced them up inside (10-of-14 on twos), racked up 8 high-value assists, and finished with her second-straight 41-point game. More importantly, Iowa came out with a 77-73 victory.

Nekias Duncan breaks down how Caitlin Clark took advantage of South Carolina's game-plan and lifted Iowa into the title game.

South Carolina dared Caitlin Clark to beat them – and she did

The white flag is being waved in Portland.
With the Blazers sitting at 32-43, five games behind the Oklahoma City Thunder for the final play-in spot, it's fair to say the playoffs probably aren't in the cards this season. That reality has reportedly led the Blazers to shut down their superstar, Damian Lillard, for the rest of the year.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
With injury-plagued Portland Trail Blazers out of the playoff picture, superstar guard Damian Lillard will be held out the remainder of the season, league sources tell <a href="https://twitter.com/NBAonTNT?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@NBAonTNT</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/BleacherReport?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@BleacherReport</a>.
&mdash; Chris Haynes (@ChrisBHaynes) <a href="https://twitter.com/ChrisBHaynes/status/1640819291783323648?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 28, 2023</a></blockquote>

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

Lillard had already missed the last three games (all losses) with a calf injury. In light of the Blazers' place in the standings &mdash; and the benefit that could be gained by juicing their lottery odds &mdash; it makes sense that the Blazers would take a forward-thinking approach with Lillard.
It's a somber end to what's been, at least statistically, <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-news-damian-lillard-making-claim-as-nba-most-dangerous-offensive-player-portland-trail-blazers-71-point-game-joel-embiid-luka-doncic-michael-jordan-nikola-jokic-tracy-mcgrady" target="_blank" rel="noopener">the best offensive season in Lillard's career</a>. He posted career-highs in points (32.2), 2PT% (57.4), True Shooting percentage (64.5), three-point rate (.547) and attempts (11.3), free-throw rate (.464) and attempts (9.6), and assist rate (35.1).
The rest of his box score numbers &mdash; 7.3 assists, 4.8 rebounds, a 37.1% clip from three and 91.4% mark from the free throw line &mdash; certainly pass the smell test.&nbsp;
He currently leads the NBA in DunksAndThree's Offensive Estimated Plus-Minus (oEPM) metric (+8.1), narrowly ahead of MVP shortlist candidate Nikola Jokic (+8.0). He ranks fifth in Estimated Wins (EW), the cumulative version of EPM, with 14.0. He only trails Jokic (17.2), Joel Embiid (14.8), Jayson Tatum (14.4) and Luka Doncic (14.3) in that stat.
Lillard was a worthy All-Star and, in the games he appeared in, a no-brainer selection for an All-NBA team. With him only appearing in 58 games (27-31 record), I'm curious to see where the voters land with his case. There's no question Lillard played well enough, but there's room to argue against his candidacy depending on how highly availability and winning rank in a voter's mind.
Bigger picture, the Blazers enter the offseason with the same set of big questions. Can they build a contender around Lillard? How, with their current asset pool, can they do so? And considering what the rest of the conference looks like right now, does it make sense to cash in their chips to build around Lillard, or would it make more sense to use Lillard as&nbsp;the&nbsp;chip to jumpstart a rebuild?
If it's up to Lillard &mdash; and please, please stop asking him, he's been clear about his desires! &mdash; the Blazers will continue trying to build around him. That'll start with landing on an acceptable number with Jerami Grant, then likely move to evaluating the market for upgrades in the frontcourt.
We have plenty of time to dig into potential offseason moves. For now, Lillard deserves his flowers for an incredible year.
He stretched defenses to their limits with long-distance bombs. He parlayed that shooting gravity into his most efficient season as a driver. Those drives allowed him to further lean into the foul-drawing tricks he's developed throughout his career. And the constant attention he drew opened up passing windows for him to access when necessary.&nbsp;
Oh, right: he also dropped the most efficient 70+ point game in NBA history this year. Can't forget that.
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Hopefully Lillard is able to rehab and recharge. I have no idea how you&nbsp;build&nbsp;on a campaign as ridiculous as Lillard's, but he's proven to be someone you can't comfortably bet against.&nbsp;

The Blazers are sitting Damian Lillard for the rest of the season. Nekias Duncan breaks down Lillard's great season and what's next.

Blazers guard Damian Lillard ruled out for remainder of season

It's December 14, and Charlotte Hornets head coach Steve Clifford has already had enough.&nbsp;
Normally a willing interviewee and giving orator, Clifford sets the stage early.&nbsp;
"You don't have to ask questions," he says, before laying down the law for nearly two full minutes.&nbsp;
The heart of the message: The Hornets won't win games &mdash; and certainly nothing of consequence &mdash; if they don't nail the little things. And they'll have no shot if they don't nail the big thing: Defense.
"We are playing no defense, not one guy. There's no bright spot," Clifford says.&nbsp;
"We don't run back on defense. We don't guard the ball. Our pick-and-roll stuff &mdash; all stuff that was good. I think we were as high as 12th or 13th in defense about 10 games ago, and we're right back where we started: Ground Zero, where all we want to be is, "Let's try to outscore the other team." It doesn't work that way. "
Quotes don't really do it justice &mdash; you can watch the whole thing <a href="https://youtu.be/DnWSEJypz5A" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here</a> &mdash; but Clifford was right on all accounts. Well, mostly all accounts.&nbsp;
Through Dec. 14, the Hornets ranked 26th in half-court defense per Cleaning The Glass. Opponents generated 1.083 points per possession (PPP) on trips featuring a drive against the Hornets, the worst mark in the NBA. Only five teams allowed more points on a per-possession basis than the Hornets when defending pick-and-rolls.
The lone bright spot&nbsp;was&nbsp;the transition defense, ranking fifth in PPP allowed (1.165) and second in transition frequency allowed (13.7% of possessions). Honestly, it made sense for Clifford to be paranoid overseeing any slippage in that area, considering how woeful everything else had been.&nbsp;
Fast forward a few months, and we're singing a different tune.&nbsp;
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The Hornets have a 110.6 defensive rating since the All-Star break, making them, statistically, the stingiest defense in the league right now. And it's not like their numbers are juiced by feasting on awful offenses. Nearly half of their games have come against top-10 offenses.
Here are their splits, per Cleaning The Glass:
<ul>
<li>Against top-10 offenses (7 games): 115.3 DRTG (3.6 lower than league average), 8th in the NBA</li>
<li>Against middle-10 offenses (4 games): 107.6 DRTG (-9.3), 1st</li>
<li>Against bottom-10 offenses (5 games): 106.7 DRTG (-6.5), 5th</li>
</ul>
It's important to emphasize the "statistically" part. A large portion of what's driving Charlotte's success is opponent three-point shooting. Teams have shot just 31.6% from deep against them since the All-Star break, nearly two percentage points lower than the second-ranked Denver Nuggets (33.1%).
Per Second Spectrum's Quantified Shot Quality (qSQ) metric, teams have&nbsp;underperformed&nbsp;their expected field goal percentage from deep against the Hornets by nearly six percentage points (-5.87) &mdash; the largest gap in the league.&nbsp;
That's not to say the Hornets have&nbsp;only&nbsp;gotten lucky. They've been pretty intentional about limiting fruitful three-point attempts; between their off-ball switching, an uptick in space-limiting ball-screen coverages (more on that shortly) and more aggressive closeouts, teams are struggling to win the math battle in a way they weren't earlier this season.&nbsp;
You can see that reflected in the actual shot profile. Before the All-Star break, 36% of the opposition's shots were coming from deep against the Hornets, a mark that ranked No. 21 in the league. Since the break, that's fallen to 32.9% (No. 7).
But even when fruitful threes are given up &mdash; their corner three rate allowed has remain unchanged (9.6%) &mdash; they're at least making those tougher. Their contest rate on corner threes has improved throughout the year, ranking 12th before the break and sixth after it, per Second Spectrum.
The Hornets have asked their bigs &mdash; rookie Mark Williams when available, and <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-feature-interview-nick-richards-charlotte-hornets-bench-mason-plumlee-steve-clifford-jamaica-basketball-dennis-smith-jr-kelly-oubre-lamelo-ball" target="_blank" rel="noopener">quietly-solid reserve Nick Richards</a> &mdash; to play closer to the level against ball-screens. When trending smaller with PJ Washington or Kai Jones (he's been fun!) at the 5, they're more inclined to (late) switch.
If opponents attempt to target a weaker defender in ball-screens or with a clear out, or are able to force an unfavorable switch, the Hornets are willing to send doubles to get their guys out of perceived trouble.&nbsp;
Either gambit puts two on the ball, creating openings on the back end. But this is where you tip your cap to the length, athleticism and overall ground coverage this group has.&nbsp;
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Only two players in the Hornets' rotation are shorter than 6-foot-7 &mdash; Terry Rozier (6-1) and Dennis Smith Jr. (6-2). Rozier has missed the last two games, and has been replaced by Theo Maledon; Maledon keeps the quota at two, while also offering more size (6-4) than Rozier.&nbsp;
Smith has been one of the best guard defenders in the NBA on a per-minute basis. He's physical at the point of attack and combines that ruggedness with some real feistiness at the rim. He isn't afraid to challenge shots. He's currently <a href="https://www.nba.com/stats/players/defensive-impact?CF=BLK*GE*25&amp;Height=LT%206-4&amp;PerMode=Totals&amp;TeamID=0&amp;dir=D&amp;sort=MIN" target="_blank" rel="noopener">one of 10 players</a> listed at 6-4 or shorter with 25 blocks to his name; everyone on the list has appeared in more action than Smith.
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On a team that's willing to send a bunch of help, it's a breath of fresh air to have someone like Smith who doesn't need&nbsp;it all that often.&nbsp;
To that point: 47 players have defended at least 200 on-ball picks at the point of attack since the All-Star break. At 0.78 PPP, no player has "allowed" a lower clip than Smith. On the year, Smith ranks second in Dunks And Three's Defensive Estimated Plus-Minus (dEPM) metric (+3.6), narrowly edging out OG Anunoby (+3.4) and trailing only Alex Caruso (+4.5).&nbsp;
Beyond him, I've been impressed with the wings. JT Thor and Gordon Hayward have taken turns picking up top-tier elite wing assignments, and have mostly held their own. Hayward's been surprisingly spry chasing dudes around off-ball screens. I enjoyed the work he put in against Luka Doncic over the weekend, even if he got dotted a couple of times.
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Thor has used his rare blend of size and mobility to stick with different types of assignments on the ball. He's also provided us with some fun rim-protection flashes; you always have to be aware of where he is.&nbsp;
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As for the bigs, many will point to rookie Williams' insertion into the starting lineup as a real turning point. There's some credence to that; the Hornets rank third in defensive rating since Feb. 10th, the date marking the rookie's first start.
His size is valuable, particularly on the glass. He's had nice flashes of rim protection during this stretch, averaging 1.1 blocks while contesting <a href="https://www.nba.com/stats/players/hustle?CF=G*GE*10&amp;DateFrom=02/10/2023&amp;Height=&amp;PerMode=Per36" target="_blank" rel="noopener">13.1 shots per 36 minutes</a>, a number in the range of guys like Jakob Poeltl (13.4), Kristaps Porzingis (13.0) and Rudy Gobert (12.6).
I'd argue they've gotten more juice out of Richards, whose growing comfort on the perimeter has really popped. He isn't the mountain to dribble around or pass over that Williams is, but the gap in mobility and understanding of angles make him a more effective at-the-level defender. He's gotten better at contesting shots vertically, which gives him a chance to alter shots in light of his limitations as a leaper.
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Neither big is ready to be a true defensive achor right now, but that's okay. Williams is still trying to navigate space at the NBA level, period. Having to defend multiple actions within a possession can get dicey for the young man.
Richards' attempts at being a late leaper &mdash; waiting for the offensive player to leave his feet before challenging the shot, in hopes of avoiding fouls &mdash; can end with the ball going in the basket as Richards' hand is slapping the backboard.
On the positive side, Williams has shown enough to be encouraged by his potential to get there. Richards will likely never be an anchor, but he's made enough strides from last season to feel comfortable with him executing multiple coverages. In 24 or fewer minutes &mdash; and I'd guess he'd be in the 18-ish range on a better team &mdash; that's all that's needed for him to be a valuable role player.&nbsp;
Are the Hornets&nbsp;actually&nbsp;the best defensive team in the NBA? No, they are not. It is, however, worth celebrating the strides they've made as the season has gone on. With the collective size and mobility this roster has, it's also worth getting excited about the foundation that could be built.&nbsp;
(And hey, with enough lottery luck, they could be set in the paint for years to come.)

Nekias Duncan explores what's happening with the Hornets' suddenly-elite defense.

What's the buzz with the Charlotte Hornets' defense?

Isaac Mourier is the director of performance nutrition and sports science at Impact Basketball, one of the most prestigious independent training organizations for elite pro basketball players. He's spent time as a consultant for the Sacramento Kings and as a nutritionist for Georgia athletics, and he played pro basketball in Germany.
So while Mourier cannot speak for everyone in the NBA, his next statement carries weight:
"I've never met a player that doesn't want to play," Mourier told Basketball News. "Never, in my career as a player, as a practitioner, have I ever met a player that does not want to play. So that's a myth."
The NBA's perceived "load management crisis" has only sparked louder outrage this season from fans, some media and even former players. Charles Barkley has <a href="https://awfulannouncing.com/nba/charles-barkley-load-management-steel-mill-first-take.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">called the trend</a> "disrespectful to the game."&nbsp;Kendrick Perkins has <a href="https://fadeawayworld.net/kendrick-perkins-rips-load-management-its-starting-to-get-beyond-disrespectful" target="_blank" rel="noopener">labeled the mental toughness of today's players</a> as "softer than funeral music." While these two are certainly controversial voices at the very least, they are significant influences in the sport's discourse.
Barkley and Perkins, among many others, are also warping the true hows and whys of load management.&nbsp;
Today's NBA game is more physically taxing than ever, and among those in the league, it's barely a debate.&nbsp;
"I was part of the physical era, where you could hand-check and grind, post up and all that," Mike Conley told <a href="https://www.foxsports.com/stories/nba/load-management-draymond-green-warriors-kevon-looney-technology-mike-conley-jerami-grant" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Fox Sports in January.</a> "We were a physical team. It&rsquo;s who we were. That was taxing in a whole other way. You played through injuries, but it was more bumps and bruises because you were being physically assaulted.
"Now it&rsquo;s like, imagine running as fast as you can for 48 minutes and having to do that every night. There are more possessions, more opportunities to get these non-contact injuries. Guys are having more calf strains, more hamstrings and stuff like that. We weren&rsquo;t getting those as much (before)."
Kevon Looney backs Conley up in <a href="https://www.foxsports.com/stories/nba/load-management-draymond-green-warriors-kevon-looney-technology-mike-conley-jerami-grant" target="_blank" rel="noopener">that article</a>, and Mourier supports them both. He says that the "physicality" of the old-school, post-centric game is much different from today's fast pace that wears out the body with more muscle contractions.
"What may look less physically taxing to the eye, in terms of less bumps and bruises and people getting knocked over &mdash; I think you're actually having the opposite effect on the body, where these distances covered, the speed at which they're covered and the changes of directions are far more taxing on the body," Mourier said.
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Today, teams can quantify those stresses. Mourier explains that players often jump on force plates and see how their power generated will change with fatigue throughout a season. Hormones and proteins found in blood testing can signal muscle damage or inflammation. Teams use GPS tracking and camera systems to monitor players' wear and tear even in practices. The data paints a collective picture of an athlete's overall load during the season.
Importantly, this data isn't hidden by doctors &mdash; it typically is part of an ongoing conversation throughout the year. Building trust between players and medical staffers is crucial to injury management. That way, players can trust the data and doctors can respect the athlete's motivations.
"There's a number of data points that you will track until it gets to the point where we have to stop," Mourier said. "It's not like, 'Hey, we've just noticed something and you're not gonna play tonight.' It will be something that's been in the works &mdash; overall wellness scores, looking at that force plate data &mdash; it will be a trend, which is happening over time, and it's got to a point where it's like, 'Okay, we really have to do this.'
"It's not taken lightly because, ultimately, everybody's job there is to make sure that people can play every night."
Fans often want to ask: Who's in control? And the difficult answer is that the power dynamics change in different organizations.
Mourier says that superstars' voices will naturally have more influence, but that college staffs have more control over player rest than NBA teams. Others in the NBA have observed that teams do hold serious decision-making power.
"I do know on occasion that it&rsquo;s not the player&rsquo;s choice [to rest]," New Orleans Pelicans forward Larry Nance Jr. told Basketball News.
"On the whole, I think people are on the same page, especially when it comes to our [Impact Basketball] guys on [NBA] teams," Mourier said. "I've never come across someone saying, 'They made me sit down; I wanted to play and I couldn't.'"
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Seth Partnow works for StatsBomb and writes for The Athletic, and was formerly the Milwaukee Bucks' director of basketball research, working adjacent to the sports scientists within the organization. He said in his general experience, trust in both data and relationships is a huge part of reaching decisions to rest.&nbsp;
"I think that the impetus for resting overwhelmingly comes from the medical and front-office side," Partnow told Basketball News. "I think that part of the increased comfort players have with revealing that information is maybe an increased willingness to take that advice."
Partnow explained that teams often boil down decision-making for rest to a "risk versus reward" scale. Does Player X need to play this specific game for the sake of the team, and is it worth the risk of a potential injury that could threaten playoff availability?&nbsp;
"We're going to be judged on how well we do in the playoffs," Partnow said. "And more of a bigger factor than a regular-season win or two is, 'Are my good players able to play?'"
That balance does not include the weight of the fan experience &mdash; a valid criticism within the conversation. Mourier, originally from England, remembers attending his first NBA game in person between the Miami Heat and Washington Wizards and being disappointed when LeBron James and Dwyane Wade didn't suit up. NBA tickets can be a significant investment for fans and families; understandably, they would be bummed when a star rests.
But "risk vs. reward" applies to the league's approach too, as evidenced by its lack of action on anything surrounding load management. Others, including <a href="https://theathletic.com/4272209/2023/03/03/load-management-nba-injuries/?source=user_shared_article" target="_blank" rel="noopener">a recent conversation between The Athletic's staff members</a>, have clamored for more transparency around injuries as at least a starting point.
&ldquo;This isn&rsquo;t a new issue. There&rsquo;s nothing particularly happening this season that we haven&rsquo;t seen happening over the last several seasons," Adam Silver <a href="https://www.bostonglobe.com/2023/02/25/sports/sunday-basketball-notes/?p1=BGSearch_Overlay_Results" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said in February</a>. "I understand it from a fan standpoint that if you are particularly buying tickets to a particular game and that player isn&rsquo;t playing. I don&rsquo;t have a good answer for that other than this is a deep league with incredible competition."
One motivator gaining traction is the idea of minimum-games-played requirements for season awards. Shams Charania has reported that <a href="https://theathletic.com/4302514/2023/03/13/the-bounce-lakers-cba-games-played-minimum-shams/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">both the league and the National Basketball Players Association like the idea</a>. But many do not, including Mourier.
"I think that opens up a pretty dangerous can of worms, because if you have somebody that's really not in a position where they're ready to play &mdash; we have to start looking at them as humans as opposed to just athletes," Mourier said. "If they're in a position where they are really not ready to play, they're feeling sore or there's an injury, and they're creeping up on that cut-off for games and they're about to play, and it's gonna mean that they're not going to get home, they can't put food on the table for their family or can't support the the different needs that they have, then we have a human issue."
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
Warriors head coach Steve Kerr explains his position of protecting his players on the second night of a back-to-back, empathizes with the fans who are affected by load management and shares how a 72-game NBA season would be equally as rewarding as it&rsquo;d be safe. <a href="https://twitter.com/basketbllnews?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@basketbllnews</a> <a href="https://t.co/osTyhqxNyd">pic.twitter.com/osTyhqxNyd</a>
&mdash; Spencer Davies (@SpinDavies) <a href="https://twitter.com/SpinDavies/status/1616581456658108416?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 20, 2023</a></blockquote>

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

Another common suggestion is to simply shorten the schedule, be it to 70 games, 65 games or whatever makes sense. It would lighten the workload for players and possibly address some of the concerns about the value of the regular season along the way. But Silver didn't seem excited.
&ldquo;If we thought it made sense to reduce the number of games, we would. But there&rsquo;s no data right now that suggests, as I said, based on some prior experiments or even as we look at the data over the course of the season and when players get injured, it isn&rsquo;t... You would think that it would be the case that injuries would increase as the season goes on, and that&rsquo;s not necessarily it either," Silver said.
Partnow echoes Silver's stance as a reason for the league shrugging its shoulders. There just isn't hard proof that the change wouldn't lead to an obvious loss of revenue from dropping 200-plus contests.
"Measuring how that sort of loss of &mdash; I don't know, if you want to call it loss of trust &mdash; might longer-term affect the per-game revenue, that's tough math to do, but I think that's the concern," Partnow added.
And even if the league did shrink the schedule, games are not the only way athletes are physically taxed during the year.
&ldquo;I think the biggest thing [fans don't notice] would just be trying to manage injuries and inflammation while traveling via airplane," Nance Jr. said. "That always seems to exacerbate most problems.&rdquo;
&ldquo;Fans can&rsquo;t imagine playing 82 games in different cities all across the country and the physical toll it takes on your body, even without injuries," added NBA veteran Etan Thomas. "It&rsquo;s difficult for most fans to really understand.&rdquo;
Mourier says that pros need at least 48-to-72 hours between high-level competition for their bodies to replenish with proper nutrients. That's not consistently happening under the current schedule, and travel doesn't help.
"All of the factors which are not directly related to after the ball is thrown up at the tip-off &mdash; so sleep, travel, all of that other stuff &mdash; how can we influence those things to put the players in a more favorable spot to be able to go and perform every night? I think that's where we start," Mourier suggested.
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Load management is the best strategy NBA teams have to contain injuries, but it isn't stopping them from happening. <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0263354" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Studies are showing</a> that NBA players get hurt more than ever. Partnow warns not to assume rest every time a star is out briefly; many of the smaller cases are still legitimate injuries.&nbsp;
The findings hint at a scarier truth: What if the NBA can't do anything about it? As <a href="https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/27125793/these-kids-ticking-bombs-threat-youth-basketball" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ESPN's Baxter Holmes uncovered</a>, AAU and youth sports are taking major tolls on players' bodies before they even reach the pro level. Current pros are torn on if the grind of year-round youth basketball was worth it.
"I agree that kids are being overworked at a young age,&rdquo; <a href="https://hoopshype.com/2019/11/08/does-aau-lead-to-load-management-in-nba-kids-are-being-overworked/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Chicago Bulls big man Nikola Vucevic told HoopsHype in 2019</a>. &ldquo;Parents push kids too hard to succeed and hire all these fake basketball coaches who don&rsquo;t teach them how to play the game the right way. Kids have to have fun first while they play, and not [have someone] make it a business for them right away."
The NBA doesn't supervise the entirety of American youth hoops, which means it can't stop one of the root problems.
"Yes, absolutely [it's worrisome]," Partnow said. "I mean, on some level, it's not just that youth sports are out of our control. Youth sports are out of control."
So, NBA teams and players have more data than ever to manage a sport that is more physcially demanding than ever. But the league doesn't have the data to comfortably make a big change, and the frustration only grows.
At what point does the NBA stop waiting for numeric proof to force change, and take the risk for the sake of its players and fans?
"That's a political question. I don't know," Partnow said. "The longer [load management] becomes front and center of the conversation, the shorter that timespan is. But if something intervening happens that takes the focus off, and now we're talking about this other thing, then it loses salience and it kind of subsides...
"It seems like this [conversation] has been pretty continuous for the last couple months, which is probably the longest I can remember it being sort of a constant."

Ethan Fuller talks to figures around basketball to understand why load management happens and what can be done about it.

Here's the reality of the NBA's perceived 'load management crisis'

After gaining a dominant lead over the Western Conference over the past couple of months, the Denver Nuggets have come back down to earth.
They've lost five of their last seven games, including a four-game skid featuring the Chicago Bulls at home, an 8-point loss to the San Antonio Spurs on the road, a tightly contested home loss to the Brooklyn Nets and a road loss to the Toronto Raptors, who dropped 49 first-quarter points on the Nuggets' head.
That four-game losing streak was their longest of the season, and only the second time they've lost three straight.
The big problem has been their defense. The Nuggets logged a defensive rating of 125.2 during the losing streak, with that dropping to 120.5 when accounting for the entire seven-game run. Either mark would easily be the worst in the league if extrapolated across the entire season.
The defense has almost always been the reason they've lost games this year; their defensive rating is nearly 13 points worse in losses (122.4) than wins (109.5), representing the sixth-largest gap in the NBA.
(Brief aside: Cleveland &mdash; at 16.6 points worse in losses &mdash; is kinda lapping the field in that stat. When the defense gets hit, it gets hit.&nbsp;Worth keeping an eye on, at least.)
WHAT'S UP WITH THE DEFENSE?
Before digging in, let's set the appropriate framing for the struggles of the Denver Nuggets: they may be recent, but they're not new.
Naturally, we have to start with Nikola Jokic here. I hate most of the conversations around his defense because I feel it devolves into &ldquo;HE SUCKS!&rdquo; a little too quickly. But I don&rsquo;t think his defense can be at the level it was in the Bulls game, and it especially can&rsquo;t be at the level it was in the Spurs game.
Jokic doesn't offer much scheme versatility; at the very least, he isn't&nbsp;effective&nbsp;at multiple coverages. He's at his best &mdash; and, in turn, the Nuggets are at their&nbsp;best &mdash; when he's operating at the level of the screen or higher.&nbsp;
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Because of that, they absolutely can't afford slippage within that coverage.
Heading into this stretch, the Nuggets were allowing 0.916 points per possession (PPP) on trips featuring a ball screen defended by Jokic at the level or higher, per Second Spectrum. That was in the vicinity of guys like Jarrett Allen (0.898 PPP) and Draymond Green (0.905 PPP), and better than Joel Embiid (0.927 PPP) on much higher volume.
During this stretch, that number has risen to 1.018 PPP &mdash; a below-average mark.&nbsp;
It's inherently a higher-risk style of defense, which was covered <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-examining-the-denver-nuggets-poor-defense-nikola-jokic-michael-malone-bruce-brown-michael-porter-jr" target="_blank" rel="noopener">earlier this year</a>. The margin for error is smaller because of the rotations required. It's even harder to pull off if Jokic doesn't do&nbsp;his&nbsp;job by getting to the level on time and serving as a deterrent to the ball-handler, or if he takes his sweet time recovering.
Possessions like this can't happen:
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On top of the timing and rotations being off, teams have also attempted to mess with Denver's rotations by sprinkling in cuts and relocations as the ball screen occurs.
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The slippage at the level feels worse because of how vulnerable they've been with Jokic in a drop this season. He's shown growth within that coverage over the past two seasons, but still remains a negative overall. His contests don't bother attackers all that much &mdash; and that's if he's actually contesting shots versus swiping down in hopes of getting a strip.
It's worth noting that, surprisingly enough, the drop with Jokic has been much better statistically (0.887 PPP) during this stretch of games. I'd attribute that more to the point-of-attack defense perking up over the past three games than anything Jokic is doing. That's not to say he's made no adjustment &mdash; it feels like he's picking up ball-handlers a little higher within the drop, for example &mdash; but he's getting real help up top.
Bruce Brown, in particular, has stepped up.
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It's unlikely that Denver's drop is as good as the numbers reflect during this stretch &mdash; one littered with teams without elite&nbsp;pull-up chops. But it's at least encouraging that the point-of-attack defense has looked a little better.
There also seems to be more intention with insolating Jokic.&nbsp;
The Nuggets have seen their "ICE" or "weak" calls &mdash; forcing the ball-handler down the sideline (ICE) or shading them towards their off-hand (weak) &mdash; increase from 12.3 picks per 100 possessions (18th) before this run, to 15.5 per 100 over the past seven, a mark that would rank fifth in the NBA if extrapolated across the entire season.
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Keeping things 2-on-2, with Jokic picking up the ball-handler around eight feet or so, is Denver's way of trying to limit the amount of shots they give up from the corners and directly at the rim. It's worth keeping tabs on.&nbsp;
WHAT'S UP WITH THE OFFENSE?
It's&nbsp;mostly&nbsp;been business as usual here. They've logged a 116 offensive rating over the past seven games &mdash; off their world-beater path, but a mark that would still rank seventh in the league.&nbsp;&nbsp;
The largest issue doesn't involve Jokic. Literally: this team is scary (derogatory) without Jokic on the floor.&nbsp;
They've gotten very little from their midseason additions, Reggie Jackson and Thomas Bryant. Jackson hasn't been able to knock down shots, while Bryant's defense has been harmful enough for head coach Michael Malone to call on Jeff Green's number more consistently.&nbsp;
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Jamal Murray has been tasked with spearheading non-Jokic lineups, but it's a lot of pressure on him. And as my Dunker Spot cohost Steve Jones has noted, the Nuggets don't have pressure points aside from Murray in those lineups to truly bend&nbsp;defenses. It turns into "Murray save us" too frequently for my sensibilities.
There are adjustments to be made, like flanking Murray with another starter whenever Jokic gets rest. They're already doing that by keeping Murray and Aaron Gordon together &mdash; I'm a little intrigued with Gordon-at-5 minutes. Maybe keeping Murray and Michael Porter Jr. together would work. It could have the secondary benefit of unlocking Brown as a screener again.
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Ultimately, the goal should be to take some pressure off Murray. The Nuggets need his shotmaking once playoff time comes; they can't afford for wear-and-tear to get to his knee while trying to carry second units during the regular season. It's concerning that he's only made 39.7% of his shots over the past seven games, with only 23% of those coming at the rim.
If there's a Jokic-related thing to poke at, I'd keep an eye on who&nbsp;gets the Jokic assignment moving forward. It's something that really popped for me during the Sixers-Nuggets showcase game late in January, but PJ Tucker drew the Jokic assignment, allowing Joel Embiid to lurk around the rim and muck things up.&nbsp;
Other teams have tried it. The Wolves have given Kyle Anderson that assignment. The Raptors, as they tend to do, tossed OG Anunoby on Jokic with Jakob Poeltl nearby. The Nets threw forwards at Jokic in their first meeting, with Nic Claxton roaming around.&nbsp;
There's no way to&nbsp;stop&nbsp;Jokic, really, but using mobility to stifle some of the juicy stuff he creates on the perimeter is worth trying. Per Second Spectrum, the Nuggets have seen a dip in efficiency with dribble handoffs and ball screens when Jokic is defended by a forward instead of a center.
<ul>
<li class="p1">Jokic handoffs (center defender): 541 handoffs, 1.073 PPP</li>
<li>Jokic handoffs (forward defender): 241 handoffs, 1.058 PPP</li>
<li>Jokic PnR screener (center defender): 722 picks, 1.12 PPP</li>
<li class="p1">Jokic PnR screener (forward defender): 354 picks, 1.026 PPP</li>
</ul>
Not everyone has the personnel to pull it off, but the Nuggets may want to find counters regardless. It may be as simple as&nbsp;Gordon knocking down enough shots, or creating enough openings as a handoff hub or screener, to render the crossmatch obsolete. We'll have to see.

Nekias Duncan breaks down the Denver Nuggets' recent struggles and how Nikola Jokic and Co. can get back on track.

What's up with the Denver Nuggets, and should we be concerned?

The Milwaukee Bucks continue to roll.
With their 118-111 win over the Toronto Raptors on Sunday night, the Bucks hold a two-and-a-half-game lead over the Philadelphia 76ers for the best record in the NBA. It's been an insane stretch for the Bucks, who, when zooming out, have won 21 of their last 24 games. <a href="https://www.nba.com/stats/teams/advanced?DateFrom=01/23/2023&amp;SeasonSegment=&amp;dir=A&amp;sort=OFF_RATING" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Since Jan. 23</a>, the start of this 24-game stretch, the Bucks rank No. 7 in offense and No. 2 in defense.
At the forefront of this run is Giannis Antetokounmpo, who's averaging 31.7 points on 63.4% True Shooting, 11.8 rebounds and 6.0 assists (3.8 turnovers) per contest. Those are his box-score stats while including the two games he left early due to injury, logging a combined 15 minutes in those contests.
It's easy to marvel at his relentless drives to the basket, his passing on the move, the rebounding prowess and the weak-side rim protection. He's showcased all of that during this run while quietly shooting well from deep (37% on 2.6 attempts) in the process. But we're not here to dig deep into that.
We're going to get weird &mdash; because Giannis' Sunday was weird.&nbsp;
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It was yet another box-score-filling night for him against the Raptors. He finished with 22 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists (3 turnovers) &mdash; giving him his fourth triple-double of the season. It was a historic one for him though; he shot 100% from the field, making him the second player this season &mdash; and the 10th player in NBA history &mdash; to record a triple-double without missing a field goal.
(On a related note: Had Giannis not gone 3-for-7 from the free throw line, he would've joined Nikola Jokic and Evan Turner &mdash; yeah, that Evan Turner! &mdash; as the only players to shoot 100% from two, from three and&nbsp;the free-throw line.)
Giannis' game stands out for another reason. Since we don't have plus-minus data for Wilt Chamberlain or Wes Unseld in the late 1960s and early 1970s, Giannis became the first player in (recorded) NBA history to log a triple-double and shoot 100% from the field, while his team was outscored in his minutes.&nbsp;
Despite Giannis' excellence, the Bucks lost his minutes by 10 points; I let out an audible cackle when I first saw that. It's here where I pause and state the obvious: The Bucks being outscored in Giannis' minutes doesn't mean he was bad or stat padding or doing anything inflammatory.&nbsp;
But it is&nbsp;odd. It's never been done in a triple-double like this. And while there have been triple-doubles where a team has lost that player's minutes by double digits &mdash; Domantas Sabonis just had one in a loss to the Bucks last week &mdash; to do so in a win&nbsp;is even more odd.
The reasoning behind the disparity on Sunday is simple, though: The Raptors were able to flourish after misses and turnovers, and also knocked down some incredibly tough shots during the Giannis minutes.&nbsp;
Nothing highlights that quite like Giannis' stint from the end of the first quarter (1:42 mark) to late second quarter (3:07 mark). Giannis checked back in with the Bucks up 31-24 and checked out with the Raptors up 56-55.&nbsp;
Let's take a look at five made shots from the beginning of that run.
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A pull-up two against drop, a contested lob finish from Precious Achiuwa, an isolation jumper from OG Anunoby, a Gary Trent Jr. three off a scramble drill and another triple from Anunoby against a soft switch. Of those five, you can quibble about Giannis on one of them; he failed to grab the rebound over Chris Boucher that led to the Trent three.
Giannis played the entire third quarter, in which the Raptors outscored the Bucks by eight points. Again, a blend of early offense and tough shots helped swing the tide. I mean, we got&nbsp;this&nbsp;from Fred VanVleet, for crying out loud.
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There's not much you can do with that.

Nekias Duncan lays out his thoughts on Giannis Antetokounmpo's latest triple-double against the Raptors and why it was odd.

Breaking down Giannis Antetokounmpo's historic-but-weird triple-double

LOS ANGELES (AP) &mdash; When the Los Angeles Lakers reached the final minutes of a tight game they desperately needed to win, the player with the ball in his hands on every possession Sunday night wasn&rsquo;t one of their superstars, but an undrafted second-year reserve guard who has made a career out of surpassing expectations.
Austin Reaves took over, scoring the Lakers&rsquo; last 10 points during the final 93 seconds of a 111-105 win over the Orlando Magic that breathed life into Los Angeles&rsquo; flickering playoff hopes while LeBron James is out with a foot injury.
Reaves ended up with a career-high 35 points, and Lakers fans serenaded him with chants of &ldquo;M-V-P! M-V-P!&rdquo; each time he stepped to the free-throw line down the stretch.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s special,&rdquo; Reaves said. &ldquo;I grew up a Lakers fan, so to do it for this organization especially is surreal. Sometimes I&rsquo;ve got to stop and really think about what I am doing. Obviously, I think all the odds were stacked against me from where I&rsquo;m from.&rdquo;
Reaves has become something more than another interesting find by the Lakers&rsquo; scouting department: The unsung prospect from rural Arkansas who played more baseball than basketball growing up is now a versatile, vital part of Los Angeles&rsquo; rotation. He&rsquo;s in line for a huge pay raise in free agency this summer &mdash; after he helps the Lakers into the playoffs, he hopes.
&ldquo;He carried us tonight with his play,&rdquo; Anthony Davis said after Reaves added six rebounds and six assists while hitting nine of his 14 shots against Orlando. &ldquo;He got whatever he wanted, pick-and-rolls, 3s, got to the line 18 times. We know what we have in Austin. We&rsquo;re very confident in him.&rdquo;
Reaves became only the seventh player in franchise history to score at least 35 points in a reserve role, but the way he got his points was particularly impressive. Driving to the hoop and shooting with confidence, he also repeatedly baited the Magic into fouls and then made 16 of his 18 free throws, both career highs.
&ldquo;He gets a lot of those calls,&rdquo; Davis said. &ldquo;Me and Bron joke about it, like, &lsquo;Man, we wish we could get some of those.&rsquo; As a guard, he&rsquo;s able to &mdash; I don&rsquo;t want to say manipulate the game &mdash; but to see how the game is being called and use it to his advantage, like guys who get a lot of free throws.&rdquo;
Reaves said he has studied how James Harden and Trae Young draw fouls and attempted to incorporate their strategies into his game. Between his penchant for getting fouled and his physical approach on defense, Reaves regularly ends up moderately bloodied or bruised after games.
Reaves sees it as a way to help the Lakers without relying on superior strength or world-class speed. Lakers coach Darvin Ham calls him a daredevil, while James describes him as fearless.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve said many times I&rsquo;m not the most athletic person in the world,&rdquo; Reaves said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m not the best at anything, but I think I&rsquo;m really good at a lot of things.&rdquo;
Reaves jokes about his limited athletic ability, yet he would be the most athletic person in almost any room in the world &mdash; except the room where he spends most of his life.
And basketball is in his blood: Both of his parents were accomplished players at Arkansas State, his mother a high-scoring 6-footer and his father a playmaking guard. He grew up idolizing Kobe Bryant, his grandmother&rsquo;s favorite player.
He was modestly recruited out of high school, and he headed to the pros after five years in college at Wichita State and Oklahoma. He started out on a two-way contract with the Lakers last season but played his way into a firm NBA role as a rookie.
Reaves will be a restricted free agent this summer, and Lakers fans are already fretting about his future two years after they lost Alex Caruso, another undrafted find who played his way into a major role on the 2020 championship team. Los Angeles allowed Caruso to leave for Chicago apparently to avoid adding to its luxury tax bill, even though Caruso said he would have given a discount to stay.
The Lakers can match any contract offer given to Reaves, and it&rsquo;s clear how their superstars feel about him: James cheered for Reaves&rsquo; big finish from the bench before tweeting about Reaves postgame: &ldquo;You toooooo TOUGH!!&rdquo;
Reaves smiled when he was shown the tweet, briefly looking like a star-struck Lakers fan once again.
&ldquo;I felt like there was a really good chemistry IQ-wise from day one,&rdquo; Reaves said of his bond with James. &ldquo;Stuff like that (tweet) means a lot to me. Looking back in 20 years when I&rsquo;m hopefully retired, playing golf every day, I can tell my kids, my grandkids.&rdquo;

Reaves has become something more than another interesting find by the Lakers’ scouting department.

Austin Reaves rising to challenges in Lakers’ playoff push

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) &mdash;&nbsp;Jaime Jaquez Jr. scored 17 points&nbsp;and UCLA raced out to a fast start and never looked back in a 86-53 victory over UNC Asheville in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Thursday night.
The second-seeded Bruins (30-5) scored the first 14 points of the game and rolled from there. Amari Bailey also scored 17 points and David Singleton had 11.
UCLA advanced to play seventh-seeded Northwestern in the second round of the West Region. The&nbsp;Wildcats beat Boise State 75-67&nbsp;earlier in the day.
Drew Pember scored 13 points for the 15th-seeded Bulldogs (27-8). UNC Asheville, which won the Big South regular-season and tournament titles, has now lost all five times the school has advanced to the round of 64.
The Bruins apparently took notice of what happened earlier in the day at this site when fellow Pac-12&nbsp;No. 2 seed Arizona was ousted by Princeton 59-55.
UCLA made sure this game was never in doubt, making its first five shots and&nbsp;taking a 14-0 lead&nbsp;on a 3-pointer by Singleton just 3:06 into the game.
Jaquez scored inside to give the Bruins their biggest lead of the first half at 34-11 and they coasted from there.
BIG PICTURE
UNC Asheville: The Bulldogs came into the game on a nine-game winning streak and with a school-record 27 wins but were once again overmatched against a major opponent. Four of their five losses in the first round of the tournament have come by at least 20 points, with their only close game being a 72-65 defeat to Syracuse in 2012.
UCLA: The injuries that hit the Bruins in the Pac-12 tournament didn&rsquo;t hurt them in this game. Defensive stopper Jaylen Clark (Achilles tendon) is out for the season and freshman big man Adem Bona sat out his second straight game with as shoulder injury. Bona could return for the second round.
UP NEXT
With a win on Saturday, the Bruins will advance to the Sweet 16 for a third straight season for the first time since 2006-08, when they went to the Final Four each year.

Jaime Jaquez Jr. scored 17 points and UCLA dominated in a 86-53 win over UNC Asheville in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

UCLA rolls past UNC Asheville 86-53 in March Madness

Let's have an awards debate.
No, no, not&nbsp;<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/2022-23-nba-award-picks-mvp-dpoy-rookie-sixth-man-most-improved-all-league-defensive-teams-volume-2" target="_blank" rel="noopener">that&nbsp;one</a>. We've already been through enough nonsense, goalpost-moving, half-baked arguments and general toxicity in that debate. Let's zoom out a bit. Let's take a step back.
While most focus on what the criteria should be for winning an award like MVP &mdash; oops, I said it &mdash; and what makes one candidate more valuable than the other, I always find myself going back to a more simple question: what should be the parameters for even qualifying&nbsp;for the award?&nbsp;
Or put another way: how many games should a player have to participate in to garner consideration for that award, or any award?
There's been an unwritten-rule feel to the question in the past. There are qualifications for stat leaderboards; you must appear in at least 58 games to qualify for the scoring title, for example. But we don't have anything firm for awards &mdash; at least not yet.
Per Shams Charania of The Athletic, it would appear the league and its players are <a href="https://twitter.com/ShamsCharania/status/1635292461743628289?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noopener">at least in agreement</a> that something firm should be in place. From Charania:
The NBA and National Basketball Players Association are&nbsp;<a class="c-link" href="https://theathletic.com/4254429/2023/02/27/nba-nbpa-collective-bargaining-agreement/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-stringify-link="https://theathletic.com/4254429/2023/02/27/nba-nbpa-collective-bargaining-agreement/" data-sk="tooltip_parent">in advanced discussions on a new collective bargaining agreement</a>&nbsp;and the two sides are getting closer to agreeing on a stipulation that&nbsp;a player must play in a minimum number of regular season games&nbsp;to be eligible for major awards, sources tell&nbsp;The Athletic.
Top league and players union officials held a Competition Committee meeting on Friday to discuss an issue both sides are jointly motivated on: star players playing in more games, and staying healthy enough so that the NBA can display its best talent on a night-to-night basis. Both sides are in agreement on tying major awards to games played over the course of the season, sources said, <a class="c-link" href="https://theathletic.com/4197919/2023/02/14/nba-awards-games-players-cba/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-stringify-link="https://theathletic.com/4197919/2023/02/14/nba-awards-games-players-cba/" data-sk="tooltip_parent">a possibility&nbsp;The Athletic&rsquo;s Mike Vorkunov first reported on Feb. 14</a>.
According to sources with knowledge of both sides of the discussions, while both sides still need to come to an agreement on the number of games that players would need to play in order to qualify for awards,&nbsp;the two sides do agree on the concept.
It makes sense that there's an amount of time you're on the floor to qualify as the best or most valuable something&nbsp;in the league. Some voters have their own cutoffs, or at least use games played (or minutes played) as a tiebreaker. Having a firm number in place gives players clarity and, to a nod of convenience, gives voters an objective measure to help trim their lists before sorting through their own criteria.
Finding that minimum is going to be interesting. There's a balance to be struck between setting the bar high enough to truly reward players for getting out there, but having it low enough to safeguard against injuries, team absences due to personal matters or even season maintenance (we won't use l*** mana****** in here).&nbsp;
I've landed on 60% of games in recent years &mdash; 49 in an 82-game schedule &mdash; as a barometer, but 1) I'm not an official voter (hi, NBA) and 2) even that falls below the scoring title requirement, which is probably a sign to consider raising my personal bar higher.
"I know for me, it's pretty hard to justify voting for someone who hasn't gotten into at least 50-55 games," Chris Herring of Sports Illustrated told Basketball News.
Some of ESPN's most notable analysts think the bar should be higher.
"I think 65 games is reasonable now. Maybe even 60 if someone is just overwhelmingly better," ESPN's Zach Lowe told Basketball News. "I mean, we should just put 70 games in as the expected number of games for a healthy player at this point anyway."
"I want to examine the effects of the schedule, the back-to-backs or the stretches of three-games-in-four-nights," ESPN's Doris Burke tells Basketball News. "But off the top of my head, I'd say 65 games, or maybe even 70 to be honest with you."
Former head coach and current TNT analyst Stan Van Gundy (in)famously sets his bar at 80% of games, which is right in line with the 65-game suggestion from Lowe and Burke.
When I <a href="https://twitter.com/NekiasNBA/status/1633253408869064706?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noopener">tossed the question out to social media</a>, specifically in regard to the MVP, the most common answers I got were 65 and 70 games.&nbsp;
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(On a related note, I do think there should be a separate, higher requirement for MVP. It's the most prestigious individual award, and thus should be more difficult to qualify for. If a 60-game mark is required for Rookie of the Year, I'd be okay with 65 or 70 being the requirement for MVP. Having a bar for win rate &mdash; say, 60% of games played &mdash; would open the door for some lower-seeded players if they're dominant enough, but still lend itself toward the top-four seed precedent that's been set across NBA history.)
There's another question worth considering within this context: should there be a minutes minimum as well? Heck, should there only&nbsp;be a minutes minimum?
As some have noted, there could be ways for players to "game" the system, particularly late in the season, by appearing in a game and subbing out after a couple of possessions. That could go against the "spirit" of the requirement, though that player would also run the risk of altering some of their averages by pulling off this gambit.
But back to the heart of the question. What's more valuable, how often you're on the floor or how long you're on the floor?
<a href="https://twitter.com/BlakeMurphyODC" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Blake Murphy of Sportsnet</a> brought up the All-Defense battle between then-Sixers wing Matisse Thybulle and Raptors do-everything defender OG Anunoby from a couple of seasons ago to highlight a potential flaw in the games-played debate.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
E.g. OG Anunoby v Matisse Thybulle All-Defense debate in 2020-21. OG only played 43 games but 1433 minutes Thybulle played 65 but only 1298 Why does it make sense Thybulle clears artificial usage cutoff but not OG? Who spent more possessions impacting defense?
&mdash; Blake Murphy (@BlakeMurphyODC) <a href="https://twitter.com/BlakeMurphyODC/status/1635294070074658817?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 13, 2023</a></blockquote>

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Anunoby arguably impacted games to a higher degree than Thybulle did; Thybulle impacted more games than Anunoby did. Who's right?&nbsp;
The answer may just be "yes", which is why it'd make sense to factor in both games and minutes.&nbsp;
"I have to figure out where I land minute-wise," Herring said. "But I&rsquo;m guessing it&rsquo;ll end up somewhere in the 1700-1800 range, minimum. And if most or all things are equal, then I generally go with someone who&rsquo;s been available most. It's definitely getting harder to have a staunch line in the sand for a number of reasons."
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Murphy noted in another tweet that he'd like the bar to be set at 1600 minutes. Going with 1800 minutes &mdash; or 30 minutes per game across 60 games &mdash; does seem like a reasonable starting place.
There are still more pressing matters in award discussions, like positional requirements for the All-NBA and All-Defensive teams; if the teams aren't going to be positionless, there's no reason we shouldn't at least have the two-backcourt, three-frontcourt template that we have for All-Star teams.&nbsp;
Ultimately, I do think adding a minimum &mdash; with games, minutes or both &mdash; is a solid starting place for making things better. It's a first step, not a save-the-ship move.

The NBA is exploring a games-played minimum for end-of-season awards. Nekias Duncan asks voters what the minimum should be.

What should be the games-played minimum for NBA awards?

Kansas and Alabama are no strangers to playing for national championships.
For the Jayhawks, another high-expectations trip to March Madness is a rite of spring. For the Crimson Tide, well, this path to glory travels through some unfamiliar ground &mdash; the basketball court.
Alabama rolls in as the top overall seed in an NCAA Tournament that feels both familiar and foreign this season. Yes, there are plenty of heartwarming stories and unbelievable upsets to come when the action begins Tuesday with the first of four play-in games.
But this was also a season clouded with police blotters at Alabama and Texas, injuries at Houston and UCLA, some unsightly losses at Kansas, and enough twists and turns at the top of the field to make this as unpredictable a bracket as ever.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;m not sure we would&rsquo;ve predicted this,&rdquo; Alabama coach Nate Oats said of the top seeding that belongs to the Crimson Tide for the first time.
Alabama&rsquo;s ability to set aside distractions &mdash; namely, the inevitable questions that will be directed at its star, Brandon Miller, and others about an ongoing murder case against a former member of the team &mdash; could have as big an impact on the Crimson Tide&rsquo;s chances as anything.
But all these teams, especially at the top, have their issues.&nbsp;
It starts with Houston, the 1 seed in the Midwest, which was cruising along until Saturday, when its star guard, Marcus Sasser, fell awkwardly and left the game with a groin injury.
Sasser didn&rsquo;t play in his team&rsquo;s conference title game and Houston lost. How quickly he gets back to form could dictate whether the Cougars make the Final Four, which will take place at NRG Stadium, not far from their home arena.
Or take the Jayhawks, who looked like the top overall seed for a time. Two double-digit losses to Texas knocked them down a few notches. They are top seeded, but will play in the West, not the Midwest &mdash; one of those rare teams that might have preferred a possible trip down the road to Kansas City over a flight to Las Vegas for the Sweet 16. Not helping the situation was the recent illness of coach Bill Self, who was feeling chest tightness and checked himself into the hospital before the Big 12 Tournament. He was released Sunday and is expected to be with the Jayhawks this week.
&ldquo;They mark it how they feel and we&rsquo;re just going to do what we need to do to get where we need to be,&rdquo; Kansas forward KJ Adams said.
There are issues one notch down the bracket, too.
No. 2 UCLA has been dealing with injuries all season. Most recently, guard Jaylen Clark (Achilles) and big man Adem Bona (shoulder) have gone down. Clark won&rsquo;t be back; Bona might. It takes a hunk out of a team that still has the core of a roster that lost to Gonzaga on a buzzer-beater from near midcourt at the Final Four two years ago.
Another 2 seed, Texas, has had months to bounce back from the firing of coach Chris Beard, whose fiancee called in a domestic dispute that led to the coach&rsquo;s arrest. Charges were eventually dropped. By then, Rodney Terry had taken over the team and it found its footing, though the ugliness of the episode is bound to be rehashed during basketball&rsquo;s biggest month.
Back among the No. 1 seeds, Purdue has a 7-foot-4 playmaker, Zach Edey, leading the way and also has a little baggage of its own. Coach Matt Painter&rsquo;s program has now made the tournament 14 times in his 18 years but has advanced as far as the Elite Eight only once. This is the first time one of Painter&rsquo;s teams has come in as a top seed, though.
The coach is as aware as anyone how a trip to the Final Four might just cover up a lot of those old blemishes.
&ldquo;Obviously, I know,&rdquo; Painter said, &ldquo;you get judged on what you do in the tournament.&rdquo;

Despite their successes to get to this point, there are a number of top-seeded teams with issues heading into the NCAA Tournament.

March Madness top teams bring talent and, for some, baggage

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) &mdash; The players flooded off the Texas bench, right past interim coach Rodney Terry and to the middle of the court inside T-Mobile Center, where they couldn&rsquo;t wait to get their hands on the trophy crowning them Big 12 champions.
After the season they had, who could blame them?
It began under the darkest of clouds with their high-profile coach, Chris Beard, fired following a domestic incident. Terry was given the job and the tall task of guiding the Longhorns through a grueling schedule, and what many have called one of the toughest conferences in college basketball history.
But after finishing second to Kansas in the regular season, the seventh-ranked Longhorns proved Saturday night they were champs in their own right, blowing out the third-ranked Jayhawks 76-56 in the Big 12 finals.
Dylan Disu overcame early foul trouble to score 18 points and was tournament MVP. Marcus Carr and Sir&rsquo;Jabari Rice, who also landed on the all-tournament team, had 17 apiece. And just about everyone wearing burnt orange had a hand in shutting down the Jayhawks, who were trying to win a second straight tournament title.
&ldquo;There probably hasn&rsquo;t been a team challenged as much in terms of adversity or staying the course,&rdquo; Terry said, his voice long gone hoarse. &ldquo;There was no nights off. This tournament, we knew, was going to be tough as well, but we were excited about it, and these guys&rsquo; approach and their attitudes &mdash; they wanted to be champions, and they made it happen.&rdquo;
After going more than two decades without a Big 12 tourney title, the Longhorns (26-8) have won two of the past three, and likely wrapped up a No. 2 seed in next week&rsquo;s NCAA Tournament with their performance in Kansas City.
&ldquo;You only take this win for one night,&rdquo; said Brock Cunningham, who was on that 2021 title team that was then bounced in the first round of the NCAA tourney. &ldquo;We&rsquo;ll have this win tonight and then we&rsquo;ll get back to work.&rdquo;
The Jayhawks played once again without Hall of Fame coach Bill Self, who went to the emergency room on the eve of their quarterfinal for an undisclosed medical procedure. Self&rsquo;s longtime assistant and acting coach, Norm Roberts, said afterward that he hopes to have Self back when they begin defense of their NCAA title next week.
Jalen Wilson scored 24 points and Joseph Yesufu, pressed into the starting lineup due to injuries, finished with 11 for the Jayhawks (27-7), who had won 13 of their previous 16 trips to the Big 12 finals.
The question now is whether the defending national champs did enough before Saturday night to earn the overall No. 1 seed for the NCAA Tournament, and with it a favorable road through Kansas City in the regional round.
&ldquo;Give Texas a lot of credit. They played really well,&rdquo; Roberts said. &ldquo;They&rsquo;re very athletic; we knew that. Fast. They have some really good offensive players. I thought we did a good job early in the game, but then we missed a bunch of bunnies, easy shots and putbacks that could have kept us in the game, and then I think fatigue took over.&rdquo;
Both teams were missing starters Saturday night due to injuries &mdash; Kevin McCullar Jr. for the Jayhawks, Timmy Allen for the Longhorns &mdash; yet there was still plenty of star power on display inside T-Mobile Center.
Wilson, the league&rsquo;s player of the year, kept the Jayhawks afloat during a scattershot first half. He scored 17 points, more than half their total, while pounding the glass and even picking up a steal.
Texas, meanwhile, relied on depth and balance in forging a 39-33 halftime lead. It had to after losing Disu, a revelation in the previous two rounds, to a pair of fouls less than eight minutes into the game.
&ldquo;Everybody on the court was doing their part,&rdquo; Carr said later, &ldquo;cutting, moving, knocking down shots.&rdquo;
When Disu returned, the big man went right to work. He had a couple of baskets in the opening minutes, and a nearly five-minute drought by Kansas allowed the Longhorns to extend their lead to 53-41 with 12 minutes to go.
By that point, about 500 Texas fans sounded like 15,000. And about 15,000 Kansas fans were dead silent.
The knockout blow came moments later, when Disu&rsquo;s baskets bookended one by Rice, and Arterio Morris added an ally-oop dunk. That pushed the Longhorns&rsquo; lead to 70-50 with 4 1/2 minutes to go, and while Roberts finally called a timeout to slow the onslaught, it came far too late to make a difference.
&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t think we really thought about the game was over at any point,&rdquo; Rice said. &ldquo;We just kept playing, and whatever the outcome was going to be when the buzzer sounded, that&rsquo;s what we cared about.&rdquo;
MISSING STARTERS
McCullar, the Jayhawks&rsquo; defensive dynamo, has been dealing with back spasms that flared up again during a semifinal win over Iowa State; he watched from the bench in sweats.
The Longhorns were without Allen all tournament while the veteran leader rested a lower leg injury ahead of the NCAA Tournament.
THE TAKEAWAY
Texas shot 50% from the field but was especially good inside the arc &mdash; the Longhorns were just 4 of 17 on 3s. And rarely did they go more than a couple of minutes without a basket, preventing Kansas from getting its crowd into the game.
Kansas was forced to use some different lineups with McCullar out, playing freshman MJ Rice extra minutes. The Jayhawks rarely seemed in sync, and that was evident in Dajuan Harris Jr. turning the ball over an uncharacteristic four times.
UP NEXT
The Longhorns and Jayhawks are headed to the NCAA Tournament. They&rsquo;ll learn Sunday night who, when and where they will play in the first round.

The seventh-ranked Longhorns blew out the third-ranked Jayhawks 76-56 in the Big 12 finals on Saturday.

No. 7 Texas rolls past No. 3 Kansas 76-56 for Big 12 title

On Wednesday, the WNBA and ESPN announced that 25 national broadcasts will occur during the regular season across ABC, ESPN and ESPN2. The star-studded New York Liberty lead all teams with nine national broadcasts, with the reigning champion Las Vegas Aces not far behind with seven.&nbsp;
The two super teams will face off Aug. 6 on ABC.&nbsp;
You can read the full release below:
NEW YORK, March 8, 2023&nbsp;&ndash; The WNBA and ESPN today announced that the league&rsquo;s 27th&nbsp;regular season, set to tip off on Friday, May 19, will be highlighted by 25&nbsp;national broadcasts during the regular season across ABC, ESPN and ESPN2.
During the upcoming season, the WNBA will collaborate with ESPN to present up to 52 possible games beginning with the WNBA Regular Season presented by Google and extending through the WNBA Playoffs presented by Google, which will feature up to 27 games, including the WNBA Finals presented by YouTube TV. In addition,&nbsp;history will be made on Saturday, July 15 when the 2023 AT&amp;T WNBA All-Star Game in Las Vegas airs for the first time in primetime on ABC (8:30 p.m. ET).
Added coverage will be provided by&nbsp;WNBA Countdown presented by Google&nbsp;&ndash; ESPN&rsquo;s pregame show introduced during the 2022 WNBA postseason &ndash; which will now be available throughout the regular season with at least 10 editions immediately preceding game broadcasts.
The complete television and streaming schedule, including games on CBS Television Network, Paramount+, CBS Sports Network, NBA TV, Meta Horizon Worlds, and Twitter will be announced at a later date.
&ldquo;As we get set to tip off our 27th&nbsp;season, ESPN is once again stepping up as an incredibly engaged broadcast partner for the WNBA,&rdquo; said WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert. &ldquo;We are grateful that ESPN will provide significant opportunities to tell the stories of the incredible players across the league in 2023. From tip-off weekend through the highly anticipated postseason, ESPN and Google will continue to serve our growing fan base and deliver a robust national platform for WNBA players with game broadcasts and new, regular-season pregame shows.&rdquo;&nbsp;&nbsp;
&ldquo;As ESPN enters its 27th season with the WNBA, we continue to elevate our coverage of this exceptional league with premier broadcast windows, expanded studio programming and best-in-class storytelling,&rdquo; said Matt Kenny, vice president of programming and acquisitions, ESPN. &ldquo;Our ongoing collaboration with the WNBA resulted in unprecedented growth and success last year and we have a marquee schedule that will once again showcase the league&rsquo;s best players and teams across ESPN platforms.&rdquo;
The ABC/ESPN/ESPN2 broadcast schedule gets underway on Friday, May 19, as part of&nbsp;WNBA Tip-Off presented by CarMax&nbsp;when Brittney Griner, an eight-time WNBA All-Star selection and two-time Kia WNBA Defensive Player of the Year, and Diana Taurasi, the WNBA&rsquo;s career scoring leader and a three-time league champion now entering her 19th&nbsp;season, lead the Phoenix Mercury against the Los Angeles Sparks. The Sparks&rsquo;&nbsp;revamped roster includes&nbsp;2016 WNBA MVP Nneka Ogwumike and veteran acquisitions&nbsp;Azur&aacute;&nbsp;Stevens and Jasmine Thomas. That game will air on ESPN and stream on ESPN+ at 8 p.m. PT (11 p.m. ET), marking the first time a WNBA game will be available on the ESPN streaming service.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s been refreshing to see women&rsquo;s sports getting more of the attention it deserves over the past year and a half,&rdquo; said Kate Johnson, Director of Global Sports &amp; Entertainment Marketing Partnerships, Content and Media at Google. &ldquo;We&rsquo;re passionate about elevating coverage of women athletes and as we enter our third year as a WNBA Changemaker, continuing to work side by side with the WNBA and EPSN to air more nationally televised games is something we&rsquo;re extremely proud of. We&rsquo;ll continue to challenge ourselves and others to raise the bar for representing women&rsquo;s sports equitably.
WNBA Tip-Off Presented by CarMax&nbsp;also includes a star-studded ABC doubleheader on Saturday, May 20. Action tips off when the Atlanta Dream, led by newly acquired Allisha Gray and reigning Kia WNBA Rookie of the Year Rhyne Howard, visit Gray&rsquo;s former team, the Dallas Wings, with newly acquired WNBA All-Stars Diamond DeShields and Natasha Howard alongside Arike Ogunbowale, one of the league&rsquo;s top scorers in each of the past four seasons (1 p.m. ET).
In the second game of the doubleheader, the Seattle Storm and four-time WNBA All-Star and two-time champion Jewell Loyd host&nbsp;the defending WNBA champion Las Vegas Aces (3 p.m. ET). The Aces&rsquo; roster includes 2022 award winners Chelsea Gray (WNBA Finals MVP and Commissioner&rsquo;s Cup Championship Game MVP), Kelsey Plum (All-WNBA First Team and All-Star Game MVP), A&rsquo;ja Wilson (Kia WNBA MVP and Kia WNBA Defensive Player of the Year) and Jackie Young (Kia WNBA Most Improved Player), along with free agent acquisition Candace Parker, a two-time MVP and two-time league champion.
&mdash;
The opening weekend of WNBA Tip-Off Presented by CarMax concludes on Sunday, May 21, when Griner, Taurasi and the Mercury host 2021 WNBA Finals MVP Kahleah Copper and the Chicago Sky in a rematch of the 2021 WNBA Finals on ESPN and ESPN+ at 4 p.m. ET.
The New York Liberty, which added 2021 Kia WNBA MVP Jonquel Jones, 2018 MVP Breanna Stewart and six-time league assists leader Courtney Vandersloot to a roster that already included 2022 All-WNBA selection and 2020 No. 1 overall draft pick, Sabrina Ionescu, will play nine games across&nbsp;ESPN platforms. The 2022 champion Aces&nbsp;will appear seven times. The two teams, which feature a combined eight 2022 WNBA All-Stars, will meet four times in the regular season and go head-to-head on ABC on Sunday, Aug. 6 from New York (3 p.m. ET).
Additional Highlights of the ABC/ESPN/ESPN2 Broadcast Schedule:
<ul style="font-weight: 400;">
<li>Six teams will each be showcased four times, including the Connecticut Sun, led by 2022 WNBA All-Star Brionna Jones and fellow All-Star Alyssa Thomas, who posted a WNBA-record four triple-doubles across the 2022 regular season and postseason. Dallas, Los Angeles, Phoenix, Seattle, and Washington will also appear four times each. </li>
<li>In addition to the opening weekend broadcasts featuring Griner and Taurasi, coverage of the Mercury is set for Tuesday, July 25, when Phoenix visits Rhyne Howard and the Dream (ESPN, 7 p.m. ET) and on Sunday, Sept. 10 &ndash; the final day of the regular season &ndash; when Phoenix travels to Las Vegas to face the All-Star quintet of Gray, Parker, Plum, Wilson and Young (ESPN2, 3 p.m. ET). </li>
<li>Stewart, who starred with Seattle for six seasons from 2016-22, will face her former team in a pair of national telecasts &ndash; first when the Liberty visits the Storm on Tuesday, May 30 (ESPN2, 9 p.m. ET), and on Saturday, July 8, when the Storm travels to New York (ESPN, 1:30 p.m. ET). </li>
<li>New York&rsquo;s Courtney Vandersloot, who helped Chicago to two appearances in the WNBA Finals presented by YouTube TV, including a WNBA championship in 2021, will square off against her former team when the Liberty visits the Sky on Sunday, Sept. 3 (ESPN2, 3 p.m. ET). </li>
<li>ABC will air star-studded doubleheaders across two weekends in June beginning on Sunday, June 11, when the Liberty host the Wings (1 p.m. ET) and the Storm host two-time MVP Elena Delle Donne, two-time WNBA All-Star Ariel Atkins and the Washington Mystics (3 p.m. ET). On Sunday, June 25, New York hosts Washington (1 p.m. ET) and the Sparks welcome the Wings (3 p.m. ET) to Los Angeles. </li>
<li>Connecticut and Las Vegas, which met in the 2022 WNBA Finals presented by YouTube TV, will play on Saturday, July 1 (ABC, 3 p.m. ET). </li>
<li>In advance of the 2023 AT&amp;T WNBA All-Star Game on July 15, the WNBA&rsquo;s Skills Challenge and the Starry Three-Point Contest will air on ESPN on Friday, July 14 at 4 p.m. ET. </li>
<li>All games across ESPN platforms during the regular season and postseason will stream live on the ESPN App.</li>
</ul>
The 2023 regular season will include a record-high 40 games per team, providing fans with more opportunities to see the best players in the world compete at the highest level. The third year of the Commissioner&rsquo;s Cup presented by Coinbase also brings added excitement and intrigue to the first half of the season for players, teams and fans.&nbsp;
Following the conclusion of the 2023 regular season on Sunday, Sept. 10, ESPN will once again collaborate with the WNBA to broadcast all playoff games. Wall-to-wall coverage of the WNBA Playoffs presented by Google and the WNBA Finals presented by YouTube TV will feature up to 27 nationally televised playoff games across ESPN platforms.&nbsp;
With the tip-off of the WNBA season set for May 19, ESPN Fantasy Women's Basketball is back and now open for the season. Fans can&nbsp;<a href="https://fantasy.espn.com/womens-basketball/welcome?addata=digital_gameopen_wnba" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://fantasy.espn.com/womens-basketball/welcome?addata%3Ddigital_gameopen_wnba&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1678467569267000&amp;usg=AOvVaw0q8LjBe7Mah1dS2mGg4w9c">lock in their spot</a>&nbsp;for free today and get ready to dominate with their favorite WNBA stars in May.&nbsp;Go to&nbsp;<a href="http://espn.com/fantasywomensbasketball" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://espn.com/fantasywomensbasketball&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1678467569267000&amp;usg=AOvVaw0TaJVvZNTg1SCNS6_knO07">espn.com/fantasywomensbasketball</a>&nbsp;or download the ESPN Fantasy App to get started.

The star-studded Liberty will have nine national appearances, with the reigning champion Aces not far behind with seven.

WNBA, ESPN announce 2023 national broadcast schedule

♪ Your time is up, my time is now ♪ 
♪ You can't see me, my time is now ♪ 
The beat is booming, trumpets blaring. The crowd is hyped &mdash; anticipation of something amazing will do that to you.
Normally, this would be the paragraph where John Cena is described. How he plays to the crowd, the message he gives to the camera conveniently zoomed in on him <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S7cqG9wQxLU" target="_blank" rel="noopener">before he flashes the "Never Give Up" towel and runs to the ring</a>.&nbsp;
Instead, the music just happens to be playing during the fourth quarter of the Toronto Raptors-Los Angeles Clippers game on Wednesday night.&nbsp;
Kawhi Leonard trots up the left side of the floor with OG Anunoby, the best perimeter defender in the league by many (read: my) accounts, waiting for him near half-court. Eric Gordon steps up to set an early drag screen, but Leonard rejects it to continue his leftward path.
Leonard gains inside leverage &mdash; doing that a lot, these days &mdash; and meets Jakob Poeltl at the rim. Well, more accurately, he gets to the rim and Poeltl just happens to be in his way. It sucks for him, because he wasn't stopping the funk coming his way.&nbsp;
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"You can't see me, my time is now" works for Cena. Try as you might, you're not on his level. You're distant. He's better and he knows it. He's better and his fans know it. He's better and you probably know it, deep down inside.
Leonard is different. You can see him; he just doesn't care that you can. It may be more accurate to say he can't see&nbsp;you.&nbsp;Is this the face of a man that thinks he's overcome insurmountable odds?
<img src="https://cdn.basketballnews.com/images/story/body/screen-shot-2023-03-09-at-1-14-42-pm.png" alt="" width="657" height="369" />
Absolutely not.
If a dunk like that is the Attitude Adjustment (the old name was better, cowards), his middy might be the shoulder charge before the Five Knuckle Shuf &mdash; okay, I've done enough with the wrestling analogy.
(Psst, he's knocked down 50.1% of his mid-range shots this season, per Cleaning The Glass. That feels like a typo, especially when you factor in how contested they've been.)
Anyway...
What shouldn't be lost in all the hoopla surrounding the Clippers &mdash; Russell Westbrook talk, rotation talk, <a href="https://twitter.com/PodcastPShow/status/1630946315659251713?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noopener">podcast talk</a>, Western Conference standings talk &mdash; is the metronomic, inevitable nature of Kawhi.
He's both a source of friction and a reason for optimism. The Clippers aren't here without him being on the recovery plan he's been on; conversely, the Clippers wouldn't be a reasonable playoff pick without his two-way dominance.
The further we get away from his initial return, the more terrifying he looks. Just look at his season in 10-game intervals.
First 10 (8 starts): 13.7 points on 51.7% True Shooting, 5.8 rebounds, 3.5 assists in 26.0 minutes
Next 10: 23.2 points on 61.1% True Shooting, 6.6 rebounds, 4.2 assists, 1.5 steals in 33.4 minutes
Following 10: 29.2 points on 63.2% True Shooting, 6.3 rebounds, 4.2 assists, 2.0 steals in 37.1 minutes
Last 10: 27.0 points on 67.6% True Shooting, 6.8 rebounds, 3.7 assists, 1.5 steals in 36.9 minutes
You can't erase portions of the season for a player &mdash; at least not in good faith &mdash; but a 30-game sample of 26.5 points on 64.0% True Shooting, 6.6 rebounds, 4.0 assists (1.8 turnovers) and 1.7 steals per game certainly qualifies as elite production. It's nasty stuff, even.
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I often find myself cackling at the casual nature of Leonard's approach. No matter the arena &mdash; isolating, posting up, running ball-screens, bringing the ball up in transition &mdash; it feels like he's in total control of what's happening.
Different defenders are tossed at him. Opponents oscillate between aggressive ball pressure, switching to flatten two-man actions and all-out traps to get the ball out of his hands. Their helpers do what they can to crowd the middle of the floor.
None of it matters, really.&nbsp;
Wednesday night's "revenge game" against the Raptors felt like one of those "it doesn't matter" games. His stat line was good enough: 24 points on 15 shot attempts, a season-high 12 rebounds, 4 dimes and three gimme-dats with the Clippers winning his minutes. But how he accumulated some of those? It's like, what do you do with him?
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You can see him; he just doesn't care that you can.
To the versatility point on offense: The Clippers have scored at an elite level when Leonard is involved in the action.&nbsp;
On trips featuring a Leonard-led ball screen, the Clippers are generating 1.085 points per possession (PPP). Among 96 players to run at least 500 ball-screens this season, that ranks No. 5 in the NBA. With Leonard setting an on-ball screen, that number rises to nearly 1.12 PPP &mdash; seventh among 209 players to set at least 150 picks.
Related: Keep an eye on the Leonard-Westbrook partnership. The sample must grow, but Westbrook screening for Leonard (1.82 PPP) and Leonard screening for Westbrook (1.00 PPP) has been pretty fruitful so far. The latter scenario has mostly been used for mismatch-hunting to get to isos or post-ups &mdash; "reverse-engineering" as expertly stated by <a href="https://twitter.com/stevejones20" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Steve Jones Jr.</a> &mdash;&nbsp; but there's real juice behind inverting the action.&nbsp;
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We can keep going. He's sixth in post-up PPP (1.18) among 37 players with 100 reps under their belts; seventh in PPP (1.13) among 51 players with at least 200 isolation possessions.
It simply has not mattered.
Flip the court, and the efforts to best Leonard have also been futile. He's not 2014 Kawhi anymore as an on-ball defender. The screen navigation isn't the same, nor is his lateral quickness at this stage. He remains incredibly difficult to deal with, though.&nbsp;
It's hard to move him. His prep work before the screen gets set is still superb. Even quieter, his sense of when to pursue after getting screened vs. when to peel-switch and take away a passing window is still strong.&nbsp;
At this point, it's less about what Leonard can do defensively and more about his opponents fearing what he's capable of. If he's in your face, you have your work cut out. If you get him off of you, you still have to be wary of where he is.
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It's been 40 games, which puts him a little behind the 8 Ball in terms of award talk. He isn't winning MVP. He's not winning Defensive Player of the Year, nor should he. An All-Defensive Team may also be out of the question, considering how deep the class is.
I'd keep an eye on his All-NBA case, though.
It feels like three spots are written in pen (Giannis Antetokounmpo, Jayson Tatum, Julius Randle), and another two are in pencil (Kevin Durant and LeBron James, who would easily be inked without their injuries, and still might be). Between Leonard, Jimmy Butler, Lauri Markkanen, Pascal Siakam and Kawhi's co-star Paul George, we may be in for a furious debate.
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Leonard is No. 10 in the league (+6.1) in DunksAndThree's Estimated Plus-Minus (EPM) metric, which estimates a player's total impact per 100 possessions. That would place Leonard sixth among forwards, trailing Butler (third, +7.1), Durant (seventh, +6.6), Giannis (eighth, +6.2) and LeBron (ninth, +6.2). Markkanen trails behind in 23rd (+4.8).
The cumulative version of the metric, Estimated Wins, places Leonard outside of the top 30 because of minutes played, putting him on par with Anthony Edwards (8.2) and slightly ahead of Siakam (8.0).
Of course, those are just two metrics out of the many in the public sphere. The most important thing is that Leonard looks like a two-way force getting close to peak form. That should terrify everyone.

Nekias Duncan analyzes how Kawhi Leonard is back to being a two-way force who is nearing his peak form with the Clippers.

His time is now: You can see Kawhi Leonard, but he doesn't care

It's hard not to be impressed by the growth of Miami Heat center Bam Adebayo.
He's gotten better every year &mdash; somewhat of a rarity, despite the expectation for linear growth among young players. That really shines through on the offensive end of the ball, where Adebayo has transformed from screen-and-dive man, to handoff hub, to an increasingly comfortable bucket-getter.
Adebayo has never been more self-sufficient: 40.3% of his made field goals have been unassisted this year, marking the first time his assisted mark has fallen under 60%. Per Second Spectrum, the Heat are generating 1.08 points per possession (PPP) on trips featuring an Adebayo isolation, and roughly the same clip on post-ups (1.075 PPP).
Among high volume scorers &mdash; a minimum of 150 isolations&nbsp;and 150 post-ups &mdash; only Luka Doncic and DeMar DeRozan match Adebayo's efficiency in both situations. That's pretty good company to be in; honestly, that's company I'm not sure anyone outside of the Heat organization ever expected Adebayo to be in. At least not this early.
"The growth speaks for itself, the work speaks for itself," Adebayo told Basketball News after another 30-point performance of the season, his 11th, in Saturday's win over the Atlanta Hawks.
"Another year expects, you know, more growth from you, after every year. Nobody wants to get complacent in this league &mdash; I sure don't. The goal for me is to keep getting better, and I feel like I've done that."
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As Adebayo has been given &mdash; no, earned &mdash; more hats to wear within the offense, there's one in particular that's been left on the rack with increasing frequency: Pick-and-roll reps.&nbsp;
We know what Adebayo can do as a screener, laying the lumber before jetting down the lane for lobs or short-rolling into mid-range attempts &mdash; something he's doing more often than ever. You would think, with the Heat being more comfortable with the ball in his hands, they'd follow the trend of bigger creators running more ball-screens.
We've seen them sprinkled in at random moments. Adebayo's bringing the ball up the floor more than ever &mdash; roughly 11 possessions per game, per Second Spectrum &mdash; opening the door for some early screens to be set for him.
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Then there's the random set piece, like this possession against the Hawks on Saturday.
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The play ends with an incredible recovery and block from Clint Capela, but look at how tantalizing the setup is for Adebayo.&nbsp;
He gets a touch in his comfort zone. The defense has to worry about him posting up or facing up. They have to worry about the Heat flowing into split action or, with the left side only being occupied by Adebayo, the possibility of this turning into a handoff with limited help available.&nbsp;
Instead, it's Tyler Herro running his man (Jalen Johnson) into Capela, creating a path for Adebayo to get to the rim. With Adebayo taking a career-low 40% of his shots at the rim this season, finding ways to scheme that up would make sense.
One would think a potential solution would be those kind of ball-screen sets. Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra notes that while Adebayo "has been initiating for us for years," he's careful not to put too many eggs into the pick-and-roll basket.
"That's part of bringing a little bit more diversity to our offense, but we also have some specific things that he has to do for us," Spoelstra told Basketball News.
"As a screener, as a big, putting pressure on the rim. That's vital for our offense. He has to do a lot of different things, and that's not easy to balance. If you do one of the things&nbsp;too&nbsp;often, that's not great for us."
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To Spoelstra's point, the Adebayo-led ball screens haven't been efficient &mdash; though that comes with a small sample caveat.&nbsp;
Adebayo has only received 63 on-ball picks this season, or 1.5 per 100 possessions, the lowest rate since becoming the undisputed starter in 2019-20. On those possessions, the Heat have only generated 0.83 PPP. That ranks 214th among 243 players to run at least 60 ball-screens this season.
The Heat may not have the ecosystem to give Adebayo a meaningful bump in frequency either. Going back to the Hawks example, it makes sense to empty a side and allow Herro &mdash; Miami's best (movement) shooter &mdash; to put extra strain on defenses. But even with it making sense on paper, this is how it looked in practice.
<img src="https://cdn.basketballnews.com/images/story/body/screen-shot-2023-03-06-at-12-43-10-pm.png" alt="" width="650" height="367" />
Bogdan Bogdanovic is peeled in early, with two feet in the paint. Saddiq Bey is sagging off Max Strus, a step away from the paint. Dejounte Murray doesn't affect the play in a meaningful way, but he's also sagging off of Victor Oladipo and can provide help at the nail if he wants.&nbsp;
Spoelstra noted that Jimmy Butler and Kyle Lowry (currently out) have been screening partners for Adebayo in the past. They make more sense than Herro as partners right now. Lowry's one of the best (and willing) <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/changing-of-the-guard-the-future-of-screening-is-here" target="_blank" rel="noopener">guard screeners in NBA history</a>. Butler is rugged in his own right, and has the dual benefit of mitigating his own issues as a spacer by being directly involved in the action.
Ultimately, if Miami is going to run a ball-screen, Butler, Herro and healthy Lowry will remain higher on the pecking order. They should&nbsp;remain higher on the pecking order.
And until the context in Miami improves, you can expect it to remain that way.&nbsp;

Nekias Duncan examines how Bam Adebayo's growth as an offensive player has changed the way the Heat have used him.

Bam Adebayo's game is expanding for the Heat in all but one way

The Brooklyn Nets are bolstering their frontcourt depth by signing Nerlens Noel for the reason of the season, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Free agent center Nerlens Noel is signing a deal with the Brooklyn Nets, his agent <a href="https://twitter.com/GeorgeLangberg?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@GeorgeLangberg</a> tells ESPN. After completing buyout with Pistons, Noel joins a Nets team needing some size off the bench.
&mdash; Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) <a href="https://twitter.com/wojespn/status/1632006501287055360?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 4, 2023</a></blockquote>

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

Noel, 28, only appeared in 14 games for the Detroit Pistons this season, with his last appearance coming on February 8 against the Cleveland Cavaliers. He found himself buried in a frontcourt rotation featuring younger bigs like Jalen Duren, Isaiah Stewart, Marvin Bagley and most recently James Wiseman.
Due to the roster crunch, Noel posted career-lows in minutes (10.9), points (2.3), rebounds (2.6), blocks (0.6) and two-point percentage (39.3% on 2.0 attempts).&nbsp;
There's still an element of event creation to Noel's game, particularly on the defensive end. In a three-start stretch in mid January, Noel accumulated seven blocks and five steals (12 "stocks") in 61 minutes. He remains rangy, able to play higher up against ball screens and disrupt things with his quick hands and length.
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The Nets hope that Noel can help add some stability to their center room without having to tone down their activity. They may just be searching for more reliable backup center play, period.&nbsp;
The Day'Ron Sharpe minutes have been uneven, particularly since the All-Star break. The Nets have experimented with lineups featuring Ben Simmons as the backup 5. Not only has that alignment failed to work, Simmons has missed the last five games (and counting) with knee and back issues.&nbsp;

The Brooklyn Nets are bolstering their frontcourt depth by signing Nerlens Noel for the reason of the season.

Brooklyn Nets to sign center Nerlens Noel

The Kevin Love addition has mostly been fine for the Heat.&nbsp;
Love has been a complement to the starting group. He's kicking off transition possessions with UCLA-esque outlet passes, prying guys open on and off the ball with screens, and helping on the offensive glass -- the Heat's offensive rebound rate has increased by 6.9% with Love on the floor, per Cleaning The Glass.
The shot hasn't fallen &mdash; Love is now 6-of-24 (25%) from three &mdash; which is a big part of why he fell out of favor in Cleveland to begin with. If it's unrealistic to expect a bounceback to the 39.2% three-point shooter he was a year ago, or the 41.5% shooter he was during his last All-Star year in 2017-18, the Heat would surely take him knocking down 35% of his looks like he was during his Cleveland stint this year.&nbsp;
Quietly, there may be room for slight optimism. Love's converting 35.3% of his catch-and-shoot 3s, still below the level we're accustomed to, but slightly higher <a href="https://www.nba.com/stats/player/201567/shots-dash?PerMode=Totals&amp;DateTo=02%2F15%2F2023" target="_blank" rel="noopener">than his Cleveland stint</a> (34.6%) this year. Frankly, Love hasn't found the rhythm on his pump fake-dribble-fire sequences. He's yet to make any of his six attempts after taking one dribble for the Heat, after converting those shots at a 37.2% clip during his Cleveland career, per Second Spectrum.
Like, this ain't Love.
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The defense has been more interesting to track with Love. While the Heat have been among the switchiest teams in the league since Bam Adebayo took over as full-time starter, they've employed a more aggressive coverage for Love. Instead of switching with him or having him in a drop, they've asked him to hedge and recover against ball screens.
When executed well, Love's size presents a wall for ball-handlers to navigate. At best, the opposing offense is forced to burn more time within their possession, making it more likely that the shot they eventually get will be contested.
At worst, the two-on-the-ball nature on the coverage will lend itself to forced reads; with Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo on the back end, that often means forcing turnovers &mdash; something the Heat have excelled at this season.&nbsp;
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The Heat had fared well with Love in that coverage. Heading into Friday's matchup with the New York Knicks, Love had defended 38 ball screens with aggression (hedging, blitzing), with the Heat allowing 0.63 points per possession (PPP) &mdash; a better-than-elite number, per Second Spectrum.&nbsp;
The Bucks (12 picks) and Hornets (12) went after Love often without much success. He defended 14 across both of the Philly matchups.&nbsp;
Enter the Knicks on Friday, who tested Love more than he had ever been.
On 15 different occasions, Love was called into the action. The Knicks generated an eye-popping 1.73 PPP on those trips &mdash; a number you'd have difficulty achieving if you were shooting alone in your backyard.&nbsp;
The Knicks oscillated between showing patience &mdash; simply waiting out the hedge from Love before getting into what they were planning to &mdash; and using that early aggression against him. To further complicate matters for Love and the Heat, they were intentional about emptying the corner before flowing into their ball screens.
Of those 15 screens Love defended, 10 of them came with an empty corner. It was the highest number of empty corner ball screens Love had faced since ... an early December matchup between Love's Cavaliers and the New York Knicks.
Surely that's just a coincidence.
I'd point to this first quarter possession to highlight the small margin for error within this Love-specific coverage.&nbsp;
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With Love playing that high against ball screens, it requires the Heat's help to be locked in.
More specifically, the weakside corner defender&mdash; Max Strus in this case, though the early guard screen from Quentin Grimes complicates things &mdash; is tasked with peeling over early to account for the screener's roll to the paint. From there, the defender on the wing (Victor Oladipo) is tasked with "splitting the difference" &mdash; zoning up between two players (Grimes and Josh Hart) &mdash; to take away a potential skip pass.
Brunson, as he did for most of the night, did a great job of diagnosing and handling the pressure from Love. As Love retreats, he attacks to his right. Hart earns a gold star by setting a pin-in screen on Oladipo, freeing Grimes for a triple.
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Because Strus is in the paint accounting for Isaiah Hartenstein, he can't provide relief. And because Adebayo is accounting for Julius Randle, he can't (nor should he be expected to) sprint out to Grimes for any sort of relief. With Love and Butler on Brunson, the Knicks simply won the numbers game.
It was a simple, yet effective counter from the Knicks to take advantage of how Love was defending ball screens.

Miami has been using Kevin Love aggressively in defensive coverages, but the Knicks took advantage on Friday.

Explain One Play: How the Heat, Kevin Love came up empty

Nekias Duncan checks back in with this year's NBA award races with an in-depth look at who leads the pack through the end of February.

2022-23 NBA award front-runners Vol. 2: MVP, DPOY, ROY, more

It's January 6, and Damian Lillard sits in the corner of the visitor's locker room.
He's absorbing the questions that are being tossed his way concerning another tough loss, toeing the line between urgency and understanding; it's not a lack of effort, he says, but maybe too much&nbsp;effort and desire leading to pressing at the wrong times.&nbsp;
The result is the result: A 108-99 loss to the Indiana Pacers headlined by poor shooting. Lillard wasn't himself, dropping just 19 points on 7-for-24 shooting (6-for-16 from two, 1-for-8 from three). As a whole, the Portland Trail Blazers scored a paltry 17 points in the fourth quarter. They missed their last 13 field goal attempts in the game.
"You're not gonna win if you can't make a field goal," Lillard says, matter-of-factly.
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It would appear that statement, and that game, represented something. It'd be too strong, too narrative-y, to consider it a turning point. But Lillard hasn't fallen under 20 points since then. To be frank, he's been absurd in the 21 games since.&nbsp;
We're in the midst of the most impressive stretch of Lillard's career. Not only is he scoring at a high clip (38.7 points per game), but he's also doing so on otherworldly efficiency.&nbsp;
The three-point shooting immediately stands out with Lillard. The basic numbers &mdash; 40.1% on 12.0 attempts a night during this stretch &mdash; are ridiculous on their own. He's one of five players taking at least eight threes and hitting them at a 40% clip, joining Klay Thompson (44.7% on 11.6 attempts), Buddy Hield (41.7% on 9.0), the currently-injured Steph Curry (41.2% on 10.9) and Michael Porter Jr. (40.4% on 8.1).
But the way Lillard is going about it is what makes this run special.
He's been <a href="https://www.nba.com/stats/player/203081/shots-dash?DateFrom=01%2F07%2F2023" target="_blank" rel="noopener">torching the nets on spot-ups</a> (44.6% on 3.1 attempts), getting busy off movement &mdash; an absurd 16-for-22 (72.7%) on threes off screens, per InStat tracking &mdash; and doing a ton of damage off the bounce (38.6% on 8.8 attempts).
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No player has taken (35) or made (16) more threes from 30 or more feet than Lillard during this stretch. His 45.7% clip on those bombs leads the NBA among the 23 players who have attempted at least five (5!) of those shots.
Think about that. The only players aside from Lillard to make at least 40% of those attempts are Desmond Bane and Talen Horton-Tucker &mdash; and they're a combined 4-for-10.
It's insane.&nbsp;
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What has continued to go somewhat under the radar is the work Lillard has done inside. He's converting 64.3% of his two-pointers &mdash; the third-best mark among the 50 players averaging <a href="https://www.nba.com/stats/players/shots-general?CF=FG2A*GE*10&amp;DateFrom=01/07/2023&amp;dir=D&amp;sort=FG2_PCT" target="_blank" rel="noopener">at least 10 attempts inside the arc</a>. The two players ahead of him are centers &mdash; the somehow-underrated Jarrett Allen (70.8% on 10.1 attempts) and MVP frontrunner Nikola Jokic (70% on 12.2 attempts).
Lillard's been the best driver in the league over the past month. He's fifth in volume (376) and, again, has made good things happen when attacking. On trips featuring a Lillard drive at any point of the possession, the Blazers are generating a blistering 1.29 points per possession (PPP) per Second Spectrum.
That's the best mark in the NBA among 114 players with at least 100 drives under their belt. Beyond that, the difference between Lillard and second-place James Harden (1.222 PPP) is larger than the gap between Harden and 13th-ranked Tyler Herro (1.158 PPP). He isn't just leading &mdash; he's kinda lapping the field right now.
If you limit the parameters to direct plays &mdash; meaning Lillard finishes the possession, or passes it to someone who immediately finishes the possession &mdash; that number rises to 1.39 PPP. That, again, leads the NBA by a wide margin.&nbsp;
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There's no real way to defend Lillard. Give him too much space, and he's proven comfortable to pull from quite literally anywhere. Press up too much, and he's fine gaining inside leverage and finishing through contact, around contact or absorbing enough to get to the free throw line. Oh, right: He's averaging 11.4 free throw attempts during this run, too.&nbsp;
That duality has made Lillard the most dangerous scorer in the league as of late.
He's fresh off a <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/damian-lillard-has-71-points-and-13-threes-blazers-beat-rockets" target="_blank" rel="noopener">71-point performance</a> against whatever the Houston Rockets are. He converted 9 of his 16 shots inside the arc, drilled a career-high 13 triples and made all 14 of his free throw attempts. The 80.4% True Shooting mark made his outburst the most efficient 70-plus-point game in NBA history.
And this is roughly a month removed from Lillard dropping 60 points on the Jazz on 89.8% TS. This may shock you, but that happens to be the most efficient 60-plus-point game in NBA history.
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Lillard has been cooking <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-damian-lillard-is-flying-off-the-ball-and-under-the-radar-portland-trail-blazers-all-star-voting-anfernee-simons-jerami-grant-josh-hart-steph-curry-marcus-smart" target="_blank" rel="noopener">for most of the season</a>, but this 21-game stretch is something else entirely. Through Jan. 6, Lillard ranked 14th in the league in scoring (27.1). Because of this run, he now ranks third (32.3) with a realistic chance at passing Joel Embiid and Luka Doncic (33.1) for the top spot.&nbsp;
Lillard (+8.4) has also shot past Jokic (+7.9) for the lead in Offensive Estimated Plus-Minus (OEPM). He may not be the playmaker Jokic is &mdash; and that distinction is probably what gives the edge to Jokic as an overall offensive force when you zoom out &mdash; but Lillard deserves his flowers in that regard too.&nbsp;
To have a 35.4% assist rate and a turnover rate under 10 (9.8) while carrying this sort of usage (36.3%) is almost unheard of. In fact, only two players &mdash; Michael Jordan and Tracy McGrady &mdash; have recorded seasons with an assist and usage rate over 30%, and a turnover rate below 10.
Lillard isn't just efficient as a scorer; he's just doing efficient work with the ball in his hands.

Nekias Duncan puts Damian Lillard's month-and-a-half-long scoring binge and the most dominant stretch of his career into perspective.

Damian Lillard making claim as NBA's most dangerous offensive player

COLLEGE PARK, Md. (AP) &mdash; No matter what the postseason holds for the Maryland Terrapins, they&rsquo;ll be able to point to some real accomplishments in Kevin Willard&rsquo;s first season as their coach.
For example, they won all their Big Ten home games.
Jahmir Young scored 18 points and Don Carey added 13 to help Maryland wrap up an undefeated home season in conference play with a 75-59 victory over No. 21 Northwestern on Sunday.
&ldquo;Going 10-0 in this conference at home, that&rsquo;s pretty impressive for this group,&rdquo; Willard said. &ldquo;I just think it shows you how great of a program this is, how great of a fan base it is.&rdquo;
The Terrapins (20-9, 11-7) finished 16-1 overall at home, and they used unusually impressive 3-point shooting to turn back the Wildcats (20-9, 11-7). Maryland&rsquo;s win also clinched at least a share of the Big Ten title for No. 5 Purdue.
The Boilermakers (24-5, 13-5) now have a record 25 Big Ten championships, three more than Indiana, which is one of several teams that can still tie Purdue at the top this year. Remarkably, Maryland and Northwestern also are in that group. The Terps have made huge strides since Willard arrived from Seton Hall, and Chris Collins&rsquo; Wildcats entered the AP Top 25 this week before losing to Illinois and Maryland.
&ldquo;This league is hard. You play good teams,&rdquo; Collins said. &ldquo;We&rsquo;re not down in any way. We&rsquo;re still excited. We&rsquo;ve got a big week coming up again, and you&rsquo;ve just got to learn from these games and go home and try to make it right when you get another opportunity to play.&rdquo;
The Terrapins have not been a good 3-point shooting team this season. They entered their game Sunday at 31% from beyond the arc but went 14 of 22 against Northwestern. Young and Carey made four each.
The 6-foot-1 Young threw down an emphatic dunk to give Maryland a 35-32 lead. He later made a 3 at the buzzer to put the Terps up 41-39 at halftime.
&ldquo;I was feeling it from 3 early on, so just trying to get a shot up,&rdquo; said Young, who scored 16 of his points before halftime.
Maryland was 8 for 11 from long distance in the first half, and both teams were shooting around 60% from the field. The Terps didn&rsquo;t regress much in the second. A 3 by Carey capped a 12-2 run that put Maryland up 67-51, and it was smooth sailing from there.
Chase Audige led Northwestern with 16 points.
BIG PICTURE
Northwestern: Purdue&rsquo;s recent struggles gave the Wildcats a shot at their first Big Ten title since 1933, but those chances took a big hit Sunday in front of a packed house at Maryland.
&ldquo;We haven&rsquo;t been good enough the last couple years probably to kind of warrant that kind of spirited crowd,&rdquo; Collins said. &ldquo;They knew this was a high-level game. They knew there was a lot on the line for both teams here late in the season.&rdquo;
Maryland: The Terps went unbeaten at home in Big Ten play for the second time. They also did it in 2014-15, their first season in the league. Maryland made more than 10 3s in a game for only the second time this season. The Terps had 13 in a win over Saint Louis in November.
SENIOR SENDOFF
Willard said he tried to stay loose on a day Maryland honored its senior class.
&ldquo;I wanted to have fun. I never have fun on senior night. I&rsquo;m an emotional wreck, and that goes off onto my players,&rdquo; Willard said. &ldquo;So the only thing I told them was I just wanted to have fun today. ... I was going to have fun no matter what. We got blown out by 20, I was going to enjoy the fact that this group has worked really hard, and I was going to be appreciative of what they&rsquo;ve given us.&rdquo;
UP NEXT
Northwestern: The Wildcats host Penn State on Wednesday night.
Maryland: The Terps play at Ohio State on Wednesday night.

Jahmir Young scored 18 points and Don Carey added 13 to help Maryland wrap up an undefeated home season in conference play.

Maryland rolls in second half, beats No. 21 Northwestern 75-59

If you missed Friday night's fever dream between the Los Angeles Clippers and Sacramento Kings, I highly recommend finding a way to catch up. Fire up League Pass, see if NBA TV is showing a re-run soon, go to YouTube. Do something.&nbsp;
We're not seeing another 176-175 in double overtime anytime soon. At the very least, I find it hard to believe we will.
That game had everything: Kawhi Leonard (44-4-4-3-2) going off, De'Aaron Fox (42-5-12-5) <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-sacramento-kings-deaaron-fox-early-frontrunner-nba-clutch-player-of-the-year-award-race-kevin-huerter-domantas-sabonis-luka-doncic-nikola-jokic-jalen-brunson-demar-derozan-shai-gilgeous-alexander" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reaffirming his lead in the Clutch Player of the Year race</a>, a career-night from Malik Monk (45 points and 6 assists), Paul George (34-10-5) losing his mind before losing the ball over and over and over again. A Russell Westbrook debut befitting of the future Hall of Famer: 17 points, 14 assists (7 turnovers) and 6 fouls with the Clippers winning his minutes by three points.&nbsp;
Insane three-point shooting, bully-ball post-ups, transition exploits, and ultimately, history. It's the second-highest scoring NBA game of all-time, and the first time in NBA history that a game went into overtime with both teams having at least 150 points beforehand.&nbsp;
The Kings probably aren't in position to potentialy force overtime without the Clippers' turnover-fest &mdash; and Fox's defensive masterclass &mdash; within the last three minutes of the game. And we certainly don't get the overtime without Monk's three from the right corner with 1.1 seconds left.&nbsp;
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It's a tremendous mix of "what a play call" and "what are the Clippers doing" &mdash; enough that it warrants a breakdown of the play. Let's talk about what happened, and why it happened.
As Mark Jones expertly calls out during the mayhem, the Kings are trying to set up a "Hammer" on the weakside for Monk. The tell for the "Hammer" would be the late screen being set by Keegan Murray as Monk flows to the corner. The setup beforehand, however, is pretty important.&nbsp;
Monk tests the Clippers early by setting a brush screen for Fox right after the inbound. On three occasions before this moment, Monk set early-in-the-clock screens for Fox, with the Clippers opting to switch. Even in the second instance &mdash; a Fox triple &mdash; you can see Terance Mann dropping down in anticipation of a switch.&nbsp;
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As Monk comes across, George subtly grabs Monk. Westbrook turns and hovers around the nail at that moment. A favorable (but ultimately inexcusable) interpretation of Westbrook's actions would be him viewing Paul's grab as a sign he was getting ready to switch, thus making Fox the priority of Westbrook.
But even with Westbrook ultimately making the wrong read, the Clippers had chances to avoid disaster. With Westbrook at the nail, Nicolas Batum had the opportunity to pick up Monk as he made his way around the right wing.&nbsp;
More pressing is what Norm Powell does. He drops down from the weakside corner, showing help against the empty corner ball screen being "ran" by Fox and Domantas Sabonis. If he does that in the second quarter, you don't really blink. Doing so when the Kings are down three, with no timeouts, is an unfortunate lapse in judgment.&nbsp;
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From here, you have to give credit to Monk. On a basic level, he drills the most important shot of the game to that point. What's going under the radar was the read he made in space.
Instead of mindlessly following the playcall and pumping the brakes in the corner, he reads Fox. He drifts back to his left as Fox continues his drive on the baseline, creating the passing window needed for Fox to find him. His movement also makes it impossible for Powell to recover, and puts him in a spot where Westbrook can't really bother him with a contest.&nbsp;
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It was a brilliant play call from the Kings that, intentionally or not, targeted the most questionable off-ball defenders the Clippers had on the court at that time. Westbrook had to defend the inbound pass and the first action of the play; Powell had to navigate things on the back end, with him ultimately going gameplan over time and score.&nbsp;
For more on Monk's impact on the Kings, <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-feature-interview-malik-monk-infectious-energy-breathing-life-into-sacramento-kings-mike-brown-chimezie-metu-deaaron-fox-harrison-barnes-davion-mitchell" target="_blank" rel="noopener">check out this excellent feature</a> from our Spencer Davies where he sat down with Monk and his teammates.

Last night's Kings-Clippers game made NBA history. Nekias Duncan breaks down the most important play: Malik Monk's OT-forcing three.

Explain One Play: How Malik Monk extended a wild Kings-Clippers game

The most important word in NBA All-Star break might actually be "break."
For one week, the entire league recalibrates itself for the home stretch of the regular season and catches up on the aches, pains and more significant injuries that stem from competing hard every single day. Rookies can also breathe after being thrown into the fires of their first year as a pro.
Young talent can thrive coming out of the break. Bottom-feeding teams are ready to turn minutes over to those with less experience and more upside after the trade deadline. Contenders have a better understanding of how rookies could slot into a playoff-seeking rotation. And regardless of the ethics, a stellar final impression can heavily impact All-Rookie narratives.
So who might surprise us with a strong close to the season?
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Here are five under-the-radar rookies worth monitoring for a leap forward &mdash; "under-the-radar" excluding lottery draft picks and players already firmly in the Rookie of the Year conversation (i.e. Walker Kessler):
Malaki Branham, San Antonio Spurs
Malaki Branham is barely under the radar at this point; he's leading all rookies with 18.1 points per game in February. But he is one of my favorite players in this rookie class, and since he fits my criteria, I'm seizing the chance to spotlight him.
According to PBP Stats, 136 players have attempted at least 50 "self-created" mid-range shots this season (attempts after possessing the ball for at least two seconds). Branham is converting on a ridiculous 56% of those shots, ranking third behind only Kevin Durant and Seth Curry.
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Malaki Branham logged his sixth consecutive start Monday at Cleveland and played well, scoring 18 points on 8-of-11 in the loss. Branham is a natural shot-creator who is also excellent moving off-ball. He&rsquo;s going to be a very good NBA player and an important piece for the Spurs. <a href="https://t.co/kbfm5KivkL">pic.twitter.com/kbfm5KivkL</a>
&mdash; Brett Usher (@UsherNBA) <a href="https://twitter.com/UsherNBA/status/1625337236152799232?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 14, 2023</a></blockquote>
The No. 20 overall pick hardly wastes time and effort when he attacks off the dribble. While Branham has showcased his chops as an on-ball scorer, he's also 26-for-29 on assisted shots within 10 feet of the rim this season, per PBP Stats, and Synergy says Branham is shooting 76.5% on cutting field goal attempts.&nbsp;
Branham's relatively low output from the perimeter at Ohio State drew question marks around the NBA Draft. Could he stretch his mid-range prowess beyond the arc? This season, Branham has made just 33.3% of his catch-and-shoot threes, but since February, he's at a scorching 18-for-41 (43.9%) on 4.6 &nbsp;attempts per game.&nbsp;
Right now, he's purely been a bucket. We're still waiting to see a bit more of the off-dribble playmaking, which I believe was underrated in college. Branham also is, well, a contributor to the Spurs' league-worst defense. But the 6-foot-5-inch wing is playing in a low-stakes environment by NBA standards and is clearly growing more comfortable with each passing game. If you told me he would lead rookies in post-All-Star scoring, I'd believe you.

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Christian Braun, Denver Nuggets
The No. 21 overall selection in this past year's draft hung around the back end of the Nuggets' rotation for most of the season, but has received 23.3 minutes per game this month. Christian Braun is averaging 7.8 points, 4.6 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 1.3 steals across nine February contests on a scintillating 64.5% True Shooting clip.&nbsp;
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Holy crap Christian Braun! The <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Nuggets?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Nuggets</a> rookie summoning his inner Nikola Jokic, on the baseline cut takes the entry pass from Joker and instantly dishes it back out to Michael Porter Jr. for the corner 3-pointer. Such a damn impressive heads up play.<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/MileHighBasketball?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#MileHighBasketball</a> <a href="https://t.co/p01V1g6PIi">pic.twitter.com/p01V1g6PIi</a>
&mdash; Joel Rush (@JoelRushNBA) <a href="https://twitter.com/JoelRushNBA/status/1625539664571699201?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 14, 2023</a></blockquote>

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Braun is a quintessential connector for the Nuggets right now. Over 53% of his shots have come at the rim, mostly off of secondary drives or cuts, and he'll also spot up from the corners frequently. He's not a lead playmaker, but he'll keep the ball moving; plus, he's had just six bad-pass turnovers all season, per PBP Stats.&nbsp;
The Nuggets also like to use Braun's size at 6-foot-7, 218 pounds to guard up the lineup. According to BBall Index, the Kansas product has spent over 62% of his playing time defending point guards and shooting guards. And, while he's not the point-of-attack defender, he's useful in taking away complementary options and being an additional pest.
Denver's lack of trade-deadline additions on the wing (and top billing in the West) means Braun is expected to contribute to a deep playoff run. A stable three-point shot would go a long way (46.7% in February, 37.1% on the season), along with continued growth on defense. But Braun is the rare rookie on a pressure-packed team, and thriving would say a lot about his impact.
Tari Eason, Houston Rockets
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Per Cleaning the Glass: only 5️⃣ NBA players have block and steal rates both above 1.5% 🏀 - Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (OKC) - Jaren Jackson Jr. (MEM) - Larry Nance Jr. (NOP) - Kyle Anderson (MIN) - Tari Eason (HOU) <a href="https://t.co/Fi0pGOHnbL">pic.twitter.com/Fi0pGOHnbL</a>
&mdash; BasketballNews.com (@basketbllnews) <a href="https://twitter.com/basketbllnews/status/1628828512206348291?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 23, 2023</a></blockquote>

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Tari Eason's 1.5% block rate and 2.2% steal rate place him in an elite group of defensive havoc-wreakers this season. He's averaging 4.52 bad-pass steals or deflections per 75 possessions, per BBall Index, which puts him in the 95th percentile at his position.
Eason is already a unique event-creator on defense with his length and mobility. He also inhales rebounds on both ends of the glass. The former LSU forward secures offensive boards on 10.6% of Houston's misses, a rate that ranks second among all non-bigs in the league.&nbsp;
Those two impact areas carry the weight for Eason's All-Rookie case; he's still finding his niche on offense. He has to create more for himself than expected, and he's making a paltry 40.7% of his unassisted shots at the rim. The Rockets' offense has been a mess all season long. Ideally, Eason could start his career capitalizing on more cuts, lobs and spot-ups, but it's unclear if he'll find that balance this season.
Still, his defensive impact and rebounding activity warrant a prime spot in the rotation of a young, losing team, and Eason is talented enough to make it work.
Jaylin Williams, Oklahoma City Thunder
The pesky Thunder continue to stick around in the playoff race, and Jaylin Williams &mdash; not to be confused with Jalen &mdash; has been the most recent young head-turner with his charge-taking. Check out this graphic from Dom Samangy:
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Former Razorback, Jaylin Williams, is currently LEADING THE NBA in charges drawn per minute played and has the highest charge rate in 7 years since the NBA started tracking &ldquo;hustle stats&rdquo; in 2016. He currently draws a charge every 22 minutes of play! <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/ProHogs?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#ProHogs</a> // <a href="https://twitter.com/Jay_MWilliams_?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Jay_MWilliams_</a> <a href="https://t.co/bOM9XcqynU">pic.twitter.com/bOM9XcqynU</a>
&mdash; Dom Samangy (@DSamangy) <a href="https://twitter.com/DSamangy/status/1628448922770329601?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 22, 2023</a></blockquote>

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Williams is such a fun, unique player. He's not racking up blocks or steals as a rim-protector, but he rebounds, takes charges and positions himself well on defense for a rookie.
Then, on offense, he's warped his impact from the pre-draft projections coming out of Arkansas. Williams' perimeter shot-making was more of an intriguing developmental pathway than a bread-and-butter skill entering the 2022 NBA Draft. The second-rounder is shooting a red-hot 47.7% from long range this season, including (checks notes) 55.6% since Jan. 1. In contrast, he's barely scoring around the rim; just 29% of his shots are coming within 4 feet of the basket.
Add in an 11.1% assist rate (66th percentile among bigs) and 3.1 screen assists per 75 possessions (80th percentile), and Williams is upending a lot of the traditional images for low-usage young centers.&nbsp;
OKC moved on from Mike Muscala and forward Darius Bazley at the trade deadline. Williams' playing time has fluctuated this season, but he's averaging 21.8 minutes per game in February and has started 11 of 17 games in the new year. He'll be a big part of this stretch run for a Thunder team capable of contending.
Mark Williams, Charlotte Hornets
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mark williams size blk + lob radius, good stuff <a href="https://t.co/8lVqlyksUH">pic.twitter.com/8lVqlyksUH</a>
&mdash; ben pfeifer (@bjpf_) <a href="https://twitter.com/bjpf_/status/1627041357041897472?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 18, 2023</a></blockquote>

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The Hornets traded away Mason Plumlee and are well out of the playoff picture. It's time to give the young guys some runtime, and that begins with Mark Williams, who has started the last four contests. The No. 15 overall pick is averaging 7.6 points, 5.6 rebounds and 1.2 blocks in 15.9 minutes per game this season.
Williams has thrived in more of the traditional finishing-center archetype. He's tallying 4.4 screen assists per 75 possessions (88th percentile) and posting a monster 3.7% block rate and 2.0% steal rate. (He missed the minute qualifier for Eason's previously mentioned stat). The 7-foot-1-inch center takes 78% of his shots around the rim, the majority via assists, and he makes 70% of those attempts.&nbsp;
Let's expand on the interior defense a bit because Williams' small-sample impact numbers are insane. Pulling from BBall Index's data, here's a look at how he's affecting shots around the basket.
<table style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 100%; height: 132px;" border="1">
<tbody>
<tr style="height: 22px;">
<td style="width: 48.6251%; height: 22px;">Category</td>
<td style="width: 16.3185%; height: 22px;">Value</td>
<td style="width: 35.0481%; height: 22px;">Percentile rank (among C's)</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 22px;">
<td style="width: 48.6251%; height: 22px;">% of teams' at-rim shots contested by Williams</td>
<td style="width: 16.3185%; height: 22px;" data-sheets-value="{&quot;1&quot;:3,&quot;3&quot;:0.4714}" data-sheets-numberformat="{&quot;1&quot;:3,&quot;2&quot;:&quot;0.00%&quot;,&quot;3&quot;:1}">47.14%</td>
<td style="width: 35.0481%; height: 22px;" data-sheets-value="{&quot;1&quot;:3,&quot;3&quot;:0.96}" data-sheets-numberformat="{&quot;1&quot;:3,&quot;2&quot;:&quot;0%&quot;,&quot;3&quot;:1}" data-sheets-formula="=percentrank('Data Pull'!C[134]:C[134],R[0]C[-1])">96th</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 22px;">
<td style="width: 48.6251%; height: 22px;">At-rim contests per 75 poss.</td>
<td style="width: 16.3185%; height: 22px;" data-sheets-value="{&quot;1&quot;:3,&quot;3&quot;:10.82}">10.82</td>
<td style="width: 35.0481%; height: 22px;" data-sheets-value="{&quot;1&quot;:3,&quot;3&quot;:0.987}" data-sheets-numberformat="{&quot;1&quot;:3,&quot;2&quot;:&quot;0%&quot;,&quot;3&quot;:1}" data-sheets-formula="=percentrank('Data Pull'!C[135]:C[135],R[0]C[-1])">99th</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 22px;">
<td style="width: 48.6251%; height: 22px;">Blocks per 75 poss.</td>
<td style="width: 16.3185%; height: 22px;" data-sheets-value="{&quot;1&quot;:3,&quot;3&quot;:2.63}" data-sheets-numberformat="{&quot;1&quot;:2,&quot;2&quot;:&quot;0.0&quot;,&quot;3&quot;:1}">2.6</td>
<td style="width: 35.0481%; height: 22px;" data-sheets-value="{&quot;1&quot;:3,&quot;3&quot;:0.97}" data-sheets-numberformat="{&quot;1&quot;:3,&quot;2&quot;:&quot;0%&quot;,&quot;3&quot;:1}" data-sheets-formula="=percentrank('Data Pull'!C[136]:C[136],R[0]C[-1])">97th</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 22px;">
<td style="width: 48.6251%; height: 22px;">% of Williams' contests that become blocks</td>
<td style="width: 16.3185%; height: 22px;" data-sheets-value="{&quot;1&quot;:3,&quot;3&quot;:0.2429}" data-sheets-numberformat="{&quot;1&quot;:3,&quot;2&quot;:&quot;0.00%&quot;,&quot;3&quot;:1}">24.29%</td>
<td style="width: 35.0481%; height: 22px;" data-sheets-value="{&quot;1&quot;:3,&quot;3&quot;:0.857}" data-sheets-numberformat="{&quot;1&quot;:3,&quot;2&quot;:&quot;0%&quot;,&quot;3&quot;:1}" data-sheets-formula="=percentrank('Data Pull'!C[137]:C[137],R[0]C[-1])">86th</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 22px;">
<td style="width: 48.6251%; height: 22px;">Opponent FG% at rim vs. expected FG%</td>
<td style="width: 16.3185%; height: 22px;" data-sheets-value="{&quot;1&quot;:3,&quot;3&quot;:-0.116}" data-sheets-numberformat="{&quot;1&quot;:3,&quot;2&quot;:&quot;+#,##0.00%;-#,##0.00%&quot;}">-11.60%</td>
<td style="width: 35.0481%; height: 22px;" data-sheets-value="{&quot;1&quot;:3,&quot;3&quot;:0.987}" data-sheets-numberformat="{&quot;1&quot;:3,&quot;2&quot;:&quot;0%&quot;,&quot;3&quot;:1}" data-sheets-formula="=1-percentrank('Data Pull'!C[138]:C[138],R[0]C[-1])">99th</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
(Scroll right to view full table on mobile)
These are massive data points for any player, much less a rookie.
When Williams is on the court, Charlotte allows 6.6 fewer points per 100 possessions, according to Cleaning the Glass. He's already changing the tone for a squad that has historically had issues fortifying the floor. Hopefully we get to see more of that in this stretch run.
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THE OUTLIERS (a.k.a. other random interesting numbers I found in the void):
<ul>
<li>Not a stat, but I do want to give honorable mention shoutouts to AJ Griffin of the Atlanta Hawks and AJ Green of the Milwaukee Bucks. Both are talented rookies ready to join their team's rotations; I just wonder what minutes are available. Griffin now has to compete with Saddiq Bey in Atlanta's wing room in addition to the other established talents on the roster. Green seems to take a back seat when the Bucks are fully healthy.</li>
<li>Synergy's Todd Whitehead made these neat visualizations of pick-and-roll defense that I highlighted at the beginning of the year, and he's got some interesting takeaways now:</li>
</ul>
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When I made this chart back in November, I was interested to see that the teams with the best process (ones taking away opponents rolls/cuts to the rim, corner 3s, and shooting fouls) weren't necessarily the ones with the lowest PPP allowed (👀Boston, for example). <a href="https://t.co/5VVpnVCyYW">https://t.co/5VVpnVCyYW</a> <a href="https://t.co/aWBfcmOA9T">pic.twitter.com/aWBfcmOA9T</a>
&mdash; Todd Whitehead (@CrumpledJumper) <a href="https://twitter.com/CrumpledJumper/status/1626670052769669120?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 17, 2023</a></blockquote>

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<ul>
<li>Another post-All-Star stats check-in courtesy of Tom Bassine:</li>
</ul>
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Updated starter and bench majority lineup team strengths. Denver still builds their leads through starter lineups with Jokic. Chicago bench stands out. <a href="https://t.co/1Uh8HSWSfs">pic.twitter.com/1Uh8HSWSfs</a>
&mdash; Tom Bassine (@tvbassine) <a href="https://twitter.com/tvbassine/status/1629102353210126336?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 24, 2023</a></blockquote>

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Ethan Fuller highlights five under-the-radar rookies who could make an impact in the NBA season's final months.

NBA Stats Notebook: 5 players who could break into the All-Rookie race

While many are spending the NBA All-Star break getting much-needed rest, the Washington Wizards are doing a little bit of housekeeping.&nbsp;
First, per ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski, the Wizards and wing Will Barton have agreed to a contract buyout, making Barton a free agent &mdash; assuming he clears waivers.&nbsp;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Washington Wizards guard Will Barton has completed a contract buyout ahead of the March 1 deadline to become eligible to join a playoff roster on a new team, sources tell ESPN. Barton will become a free agent once he clears waivers.
&mdash; Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) <a href="https://twitter.com/wojespn/status/1628102734481358849?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 21, 2023</a></blockquote>

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As noted by Wojnarowski, it was important for the two sides to agree to something before March 1. Players must be waived &mdash; or bought out &mdash; of their deals by that date to remain eligible for playoff basketball this season. Since he was waived before that deadline, Barton can be signed at any point up until the postseason begins and still be able to play.
It's been a quiet season for Barton in Washington. He averaged just 19.6 minutes per game for the Wizards, his lowest workload since his third season in the league. In those minutes, he averaged 7.7 points on 50.5% True Shooting, 2.8 rebounds and 2.4 assists (1.1 turnovers) per contest. Barton drained a healthy 38.4% of his threes, but posted career-low efficiency inside the arc (39.5% on twos).
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To say that Barton has underwhelmed defensively would be selling it short. By virtually any measure, the Wizards suffered leaks while he was on the floor. Per Second Spectrum, possessions featuring Barton defending a ball-screen, isolation, off-screen action or drive all produced at least 1.1 points per possession (PPP). Barton's Defensive Estimated Plus-Minus (DEPM) this season is minus-6.5; it's easily the worst mark of his career, and a number that ranks in the first percentile.&nbsp;
Barton has had stretches of solid play on that end during his career; even if looking at DEPM, Barton was roughly a neutral defender across his last three seasons in Denver (plus-0.7, minus-0.9, minus-0.4). For a playoff hopeful looking to add him, it'll have to bank on a bit of rejuvenation that a winning situation can provide.&nbsp;
If the defense holds enough &mdash; or if the infrastructure around him is strong &mdash; Barton can still add value as a secondary creator. Barton has made roughly 37% of his threes over the past seven seasons on solid volume (4.8 attempts, 5.8 per 36 minutes), including a 39.0% clip on catch-and-shoot threes. His 33.7% clip on pull-up or stepback threes is slightly above league-average (33.3%) during that timeframe, per Second Spectrum.
For teams looking for a shot in the arm in terms of creation, Barton could provide that. The Milwaukee Bucks, for example, are a team that:
1) Is in contention
2) Has a strong defensive infrastructure
3) Has roster space available if they want to give it a shot.
Not long after we got word of Barton's buyout with the Wizards, The Athletic's Shams Charania reported the Wizards would be converting guard Jordan Goodwin's two-way deal into a standard contract.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
The Washington Wizards plan to convert two-way guard Jordan Goodwin to standard NBA contract, sources tell <a href="https://twitter.com/TheAthletic?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@TheAthletic</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/Stadium?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Stadium</a>. Goodwin earns new deal, emerging as a rotation player this season for Wizards.
&mdash; Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) <a href="https://twitter.com/ShamsCharania/status/1628111779464351744?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 21, 2023</a></blockquote>

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It's a smart bit of business from the Wizards, and well-deserved for Goodwin.&nbsp;
His numbers don't jump off the page: 6.3 points on 54.2% TS, 3.3 rebounds, 2.5 assists (0.9 turnovers) and 1.0 steals per game.
But Goodwin has been a breath of fresh air in the guard room this season. He's been a patient ball-screen navigator, either chewing up space to get inside or quickly swinging the ball to the next option when he doesn't have anything. There's probably room for a little more exploration on his end; he sometimes finds himself pulling up a dribble early to look for kick-outs.&nbsp;
Goodwin has knocked down nearly 39% of his threes this year, though that's come on low volume (1.7 attempts). Being able to solidify himself as a reliable shooter likely cements him as a no-doubt-about-it rotation piece in the NBA.
Goodwin's calling card for now, however, is his on-ball defense. His combination of size, strength and on-ball tenacity &mdash; watching him get in a guy's jersey right before the screener comes up is a subtle joy in his minutes &mdash; makes him an irritating player to deal with at the point of attack.&nbsp;
His workload (40 games, 18.1 minutes) and the Wizards' place in the standings (No. 9, 4.0 games out of 6th) will work against him when award talk really ramps up. On a per-minute basis, he's proven worthy of making an "honorable mentions" list due to his work.&nbsp;
For one (1) reference point: Goodwin's DEPM (plus-1.6) puts him on par with Derrick White and Marcus Smart, and slightly ahead of guys like De'Anthony Melton (plus-1.4), Jrue Holiday (plus-1.2), Jose Alvarado (plus-0.9) and Fred VanVleet (plus-0.7).&nbsp;
I'm excited to see more from Goodwin in the second half* of the year.

Nekias Duncan reacts to Will Barton's buyout and Washington's decision to convert Jordan Goodwin to a standard deal.

Wizards waive Will Barton, convert Jordan Goodwin to standard contract

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) &mdash; The Washington Wizards looked ready to start their All-Star break early, before Bradley Beal helped snap them out of their funk.
This new-look, still-adjusting team has been starting to turn a corner.
Beal had 13 of his 35 points over the final 4 1/2 minutes to help the Wizards finish their rally from a 20-point first-quarter deficit and beat the Minnesota Timberwolves 114-106 on Thursday night.
Kyle Kuzma &mdash; who had 16 points on just 6-for-21 shooting &mdash; swished a top-of-the-key fadeaway from deep for a 107-106 lead that was Washington&rsquo;s first of the game with 1:14 to go.
&ldquo;We&rsquo;ve just got to keep building these habits that we&rsquo;re doing right now,&rdquo; Kuzma said. &ldquo;I think we&rsquo;re playing great team ball right now.&rdquo;
Beal, who topped the 30-point mark for the third time in four games, followed with a 3-pointer with 37 seconds left &mdash; after a miss by Minnesota&rsquo;s Anthony Edwards &mdash; to make it 110-106.
&ldquo;Probably this is the best game for me this season so far, because of how we showed our heart, we stayed in the game, we kept playing,&rdquo; said Kristaps Porzingis, who had 14 points. &ldquo;Some guys were already like checked out a little bit. We locked back in and we pulled it out of somewhere.&rdquo;
Corey Kispert scored 15 points off the bench to offset off nights by Kuzma and Porzingis and help the Wizards (28-30) build on their recent momentum entering the All-Star break. They have won 10 of their last 14 and hold the 10th and final spot for the Eastern Conference playoffs.
&ldquo;We&rsquo;re still learning each other, but now we feel like we can take off running,&rdquo; Beal said.
Edwards had 18 of his 34 points in the first quarter to help the Timberwolves surge to a 30-10 lead. They were still ahead 99-92 with 4:38 left after three free throws by Kyle Anderson, before Beal hit a wide-open 3-pointer to spark his late surge.
Rudy Gobert had 17 points and 19 rebounds for the Timberwolves (31-30), who were derailed by their characteristic mid-game lulls and missed an opportunity to move a season-best three games above the .500 mark.
With the Wizards wearing their hot pink &ldquo;City Edition&rdquo; uniforms in an&nbsp;ode to the city&rsquo;s iconic cherry blossoms, the Wolves were the hotter team for most of the game while new point guard Mike Conley continued to help Gobert find his offensive groove with the pick-and-rolls and lob passes they perfected together in Utah.
But Edwards &mdash; who had six turnovers &mdash; began to make some rash decisions after his strong start, and the Wolves were outrebounded and outhustled down the stretch.
&ldquo;We&rsquo;ve done it time and time again,&rdquo; said Anderson, who had 18 points and eight rebounds. &ldquo;It stings like hell.&rdquo;
The Wizards have won seven straight games against the Wolves, extending the longest streak in the history of their series.
&ldquo;I feel like it&rsquo;s the same story,&rdquo; Gobert said. &ldquo;We get a lead, and then we just lose the urgency.&rdquo;
ANT GOES MARCHING
Edwards, who was added to the All-Star roster last week&nbsp;as an injury replacement, was&nbsp;headed to Utah&nbsp;for the annual in-season showcase this weekend while his teammates scattered on vacations.
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&ldquo;I think moments like that are perfectly suited for him,&rdquo; Timberwolves coach Chris Finch said. &ldquo;He enjoys that type of environment. It&rsquo;ll be fun for him in and around all of those other players. He&rsquo;ll get treated like the star that he is becoming.&rdquo;
TIP-INS
Wizards: Beal, who became the second player in franchise history to hit the 15,000-point mark for his career in a loss on Monday at Golden State, went 14 for 28 from the floor. ... Kispert went 4 for 6 from 3-point range. He was 5 for 22 over his last five games.
Timberwolves: Edwards had only one higher-scoring first quarter in his three-year career, with 19 points at Orlando on Nov. 16. ... Towns missed his 40th straight game with the right calf strain he suffered when Minnesota played at Washington on Nov. 28.
</div>

Bradley Beal scored 35 points to help the Washington Wizards rally from a 20-point deficit to beat the Minnesota Timberwolves 114-106.

Beal, Wizards overcome 20-point deficit to beat Timberwolves

Sometimes, you just know it's good.
A well-timed joke in the middle of conversation. That screen pass you've been saving for the fourth quarter in Madden because your buddy's been spamming a run blitz on early downs. A perfectly placed bass run in the midst of a groove, for my musician friends reading this.&nbsp;
There's something about sensing an opening, taking advantage of said-opening and&nbsp;immediately&nbsp;knowing you made the right decision. Said the right thing, chose the right thing. It just feels&nbsp;good.
That had to be the Derrick White trade for the Boston Celtics last season.
For a team that wants to lock you down defensively &mdash; by erasing gaps with well-timed switching, or siccing its in-your-jersey defenders on unsuspecting ball-handlers while the big hangs back in a drop &mdash; White served as a perfect target.&nbsp;
There were a handful of players in the league that could navigate screens like White; close down on ball-handlers with pesky rearview contests; switch onto bigger players and swipe the ball away, or beat them to spots to draw timely charges. The Celtics were tough enough with Marcus Smart; to add another guy like that into the fold felt unfair.
And for a team trying to fully commit to moving the ball, as elementary as that sounds, White also served as the perfect target. The Celtics were just hitting their stride as an offense that could create and&nbsp;maintain advantages in the half-court without halting the show. White's ability to fit in &mdash; heck, his willingness to fit in &mdash; made him an easy fit.
He could initiate ball-screens, come off handoffs, set pin-in screens on the weak side, set pindowns for the stars to come off of, and act as an on-ball screener to force defenses into tough decisions. The shooting would serve as a bellwether of sorts, but White fit into just about everything the Celtics wanted to do on both ends.
White integrated well last season, though inconsistent three-point shooting &mdash; and waning aggressiveness &mdash; reared its ugly head during the playoff run.&nbsp;
This season, he's been even better. More comfortable, more aggressive. More efficient. For nearly a month now, he's just been more, period.
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The Celtics have been without Smart since Jan. 21, when he turned his ankle pretty badly towards the end of the first half of their matchup against the Toronto Raptors. White was already starting, but he's had to assume lead ball-handling duties since then.
To say White has been phenomenal in this recent run would be an understatement.
Over the past 11 games, White has averaged 20.1 points while converting 54.3% of his twos and 43.6% of his threes on high volume (7.1 attempts). He's dishing out 5.8 dimes (9.2 <a href="https://www.nba.com/stats/players/passing?DateFrom=01/23/2023&amp;TeamID=1610612738&amp;dir=D&amp;sort=POTENTIAL_AST" target="_blank" rel="noopener">potential assists</a>) per game while rarely turning the ball over (1.5 turnovers). He's helped on the glass (4.6 boards), and has continued to be a menace on the defensive end.
You can really have some fun with filtering White's run too.&nbsp;
<ul>
<li>Last eight games (6-2 record): 21.5 points, 6.3 assists (1.4 turnovers), 5.1 rebounds</li>
<li>Last five games (4-1): 25.0 points, 8.4 assists (1.8 turnovers), 4.2 rebounds, 1.0 blocks</li>
</ul>
White has racked up at least 25 points and 10 assists in each of his past three games &mdash; a streak he's never had in his career. He just won <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/shai-gilgeousalexander-derrick-white-named-nba-players-of-the-week" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Eastern Conference Player of the Week</a>, another feat he had yet to accomplish until this year.
What stands out about White's play is, again, how easy it feels. That isn't meant to diminish what he's doing, but to highlight how well he fits the Celtics' ethos. He's not pounding the ball to get assists or boogying against defenders to get his buckets. He's taking what the defense gives him, and doing so without hesitation.&nbsp;
Take this possession for example:
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The Celtics flow out of HORNS and look to hit either Jayson Tatum or White with a cut. Both players are defended well, with Jaren Jackson Jr.'s ball pressure on Robert Williams III also hindering things. The second option &mdash; two-man game with Williams III and Sam Hauser, testing the screen navigation of Ja Morant &mdash; doesn't hit either. The ball swings to White, and the fun begins.
White receives a screen but doesn't take it; he just waits it out, and gets Xavier Tillman switched onto him. After swinging it to the corner, the ball finds him again with Tillman out of position after attempting a steal.
<img style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" src="https://cdn.basketballnews.com/images/story/body/screen-shot-2023-02-15-at-11-37-58-am.png" alt="" width="576" height="325" />
White immediately attacks the basket, driving right at Jackson. Because Tatum is on the left wing, the left corner is empty &mdash; meaning Dillon Brooks can't help without giving up an open shot on the perimeter. And with Williams III rolling to the basket, Jackson now has to choose between halting White's drive or taking away the roll &mdash; with no help behind him. He chooses the former, opening up the easy lob.
Quietly, White has been one of the most productive drivers in the NBA over this stretch. He's been able to finish through contact, avoid it altogether with a funky floater he can get to at weird times and angles, and feed open teammates if the defense overreacts to him.&nbsp;
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During this 11-game run, possessions featuring a drive by White have generated 1.17 points per possession (PPP), per Second Spectrum. That ranks seventh among 45 players with at least 100 drives in that time frame, putting him in a virtual tie with James Harden and ahead of All-Stars like Morant (1.15 PPP), De'Aaron Fox (1.15 PPP), Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (1.09 PPP) and DeMar DeRozan (1.05 PPP).
White's work as a screener continues to be important for the Celtics. Because he naturally draws smaller matchups than Tatum or Jaylen Brown, his inclusion as a lead blocker forces defenses into tough situations.&nbsp;
Anything less than pristine screen navigation means giving one of the stars an opening to attack. Switching a smaller guy onto either of them is asking for trouble. Trapping or hedging simply opens up short-roll opportunities for White. You can get away with daring bigs to make quick decisions in space; you can't really do that with someone as smart as White is.
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And the defense. Whew, buddy, the defense.&nbsp;
You could make the case that White has been Boston's best defender this season &mdash; a massive feat on a roster featuring last year's Defensive Player of the Year in Smart. Brown remains a strong on-ball defender; Tatum, when locked in, can provide near-elite value on and off the ball. Williams III is still rounding into form, but remains a terrifying rim protector. Horford has been sturdy in drop, and still showcases comfort venturing out in space.&nbsp;
But yet it's White pestering folks and causing the most havoc on a nightly basis.
Among the 161 players to defend at least 300 pick-and-rolls, only Desmond Bane (0.22%) has been washed out by a screen at a lower rate than White has (0.26%), per Second Spectrum.
Put another way: Of the 760 screens that have been set on White, only 20 (!) of them have taken him out of the play.&nbsp;
That, my friends, is absurd.&nbsp;
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Because of White's ability to avoid being completely taken out of the action, he's almost always in position to affect the play. He'll fight to get back in front, mirroring ball-handlers before forcing them into tough looks &mdash; or passing the ball altogether.&nbsp;He'll get rearview contests if necessary, throwing off the rhythm of pull-ups and floaters.
Then, there are the action plays. He leads the team with 11 charges taken, tied with Kyle Lowry and Herb Jones (he's back, y'all) for 10th in the league.
No guard in the East has more blocks than White (53); only Gilgeous-Alexander (55) has more in the league (and has a two-inch height advantage). That White can get on-ball blocks and&nbsp;serve as a secondary rim protector is a rarity worth celebrating.&nbsp;
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The combination of productivity and availability &mdash; he's the lone Celtic to appear in all 58 games this season &mdash; should tilt the "Boston's best defender" argument in his favor this season. And for what it's worth, White leads all Celtics in Defensive Estimated Plus Minus (DEPM) this season (+1.5), edging out Smart (+1.3), Tatum (+1.2) and Horford (+1.2).
White has been everything the Celtics have needed him to be, on both ends of the floor. A quality role piece and a quality roll piece. A willing spacer. An All-Defensive level contributor &mdash; he and Jrue Holiday would be my First Team guards if I had a ballot.&nbsp;
And when more has been required, like this Smart-less stretch, White has stepped up in the equation. More buckets, more decision-making and roughly the same level of defense.
He's further proven to be one of the most valuable role players in the NBA. Not only can he slot into the Celtics' system on both ends, he can also scale up or down depending on who's available. That portion isn't true for most role players &mdash; even the good ones. He deserves his flowers for that.

Nekias Duncan puts the recent incredible performances of Celtics guard Derrick White in perspective.

Appreciating the scale of Derrick White's play for the Celtics

LOS ANGELES (AP) &mdash; The Los Angeles Clippers have 22 games remaining to integrate their trade deadline acquisitions. They didn&rsquo;t waste any time.
Kawhi Leonard&nbsp;scored 33 points, tying his career high with seven 3-pointers, and the Clippers beat the Golden State Warriors 134-124 on Tuesday night to snap a two-game skid.
&ldquo;The Clippers just outplayed us,&rdquo; Warriors coach Steve Kerr said. &ldquo;They were great in the second half and they deserved it.&rdquo;
Norman Powell added 24 points and Paul George had 20 points and eight assists for the Clippers, who debuted newly acquired Eric Gordon, Bones Hyland and Mason Plumlee. They helped outscore the Warriors&rsquo; bench, 49-42.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s going to be different for us,&rdquo; Clippers coach Tyronn Lue said. &ldquo;We got to put this together as fast as we can.&rdquo;
Gordon finished with seven points, Hyland had six and Plumlee scored eight in the teams&rsquo; last game before the All-Star break.
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&ldquo;They did a good job of just being themselves and being aggressive,&rdquo; Leonard said.
Leonard was 12 of 17 from the floor, 7 of 9 from 3-point range and made both of his free throws in 34 minutes.
&ldquo;I kept shooting with confidence,&rdquo; he said.
Jordan Poole&nbsp;led seven Warriors in double figures with 28 points. Klay Thompson had 18 points playing the second game of a back-to-back for the first time this season. Kevon Looney had 11 points and 14 rebounds.
The Warriors fell to 29-29 at the break. They hope to have Stephen Curry back not long after the season resumes, while newly acquired Gary Payton II could be out a month.
&ldquo;We have reinforcements coming and we have a lot to look forward to,&rdquo; Kerr said. &ldquo;We have lost so many games that we should have won. We know we&rsquo;re right there.&rdquo;
Gordon&rsquo;s 3-pointer extended the Clippers&rsquo; lead to 18 points early in the fourth. The Warriors cut it to 116-106 on&nbsp;Jonathan Kuminga&rsquo;s&nbsp;3-pointer. He finished with 16 points off the bench.
Leonard hit his seventh 3-pointer in the closing minutes before leaving the game with the Clippers ahead 128-114.
The teams traded leads and were tied five times early in the third. The Clippers outscored the Warriors 19-7 over the final minutes to lead 105-93 going into the fourth. Leonard and George had just two points each while their supporting cast carried them. Plumlee had six points and Hyland had two during the run in which seven different players scored.
&ldquo;With this offense, I feel like I can create in the lane and find teammates,&rdquo; Hyland said. &ldquo;I forgot Mason can push the ball, too.&rdquo;
The Warriors had four players in double figures at halftime when they led 65-61.
TIP-INS
Warriors: Thompson missed 11 games, all second games of back-to-backs, due to right Achilles tendon injury management. ... Andrew Wiggins was out for personal reasons and will rejoin the team after the All-Star break. Donte DiVincenzo started in his place and scored 10 points. ... Kerr got a technical late in the third for arguing a call. ... Andre Iguodala (right hip soreness) missed his 16th straight game.
Clippers: Hyland will run the point for the second unit. &ldquo;Just watching him, the pop he has, running pick and rolls, getting downhill, attacking and making the right passes, making the right plays,&rdquo; Lue said.
GREEN&rsquo;S CRITIQUE
Draymond Green&nbsp;was critical of the Warriors&rsquo; defense, something that has concerned Kerr all season.
&ldquo;Defense is all about a will &mdash; a want to defend. Defense isn&rsquo;t fun. You just got to want to do it if you want to win and we haven&rsquo;t,&rdquo; Green said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m always going to try on that side, but I can be better. I&rsquo;m not going to point the finger at anyone or point blame. If you&rsquo;re a leader at something and you&rsquo;re failing, it&rsquo;s your fault.&rdquo;
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Kawhi Leonard scored 33 points, tying his career high with seven 3-pointers, and the Clippers beat the Golden State Warriors 134-124.

Leonard’s 33 points lead Clippers over Warriors, 134-124

With less than a second left on the game clock, Damian Lillard rises to his right and fires a three.
Not just a three, but a deep three from the right wing. And not just a deep three from the right wing; it's a three so deep, over the outstretched arms of a hopeless defender, that you immediately think: "How on earth is he so comfortable taking&nbsp;that shot?"
Naturally, it goes in without speaking to the rim, much less hitting it. The crowd goes crazy. The opposing team walks off the floor, demoralized. Lillard has the facial expression of someone who's been told the same joke three times in a row.
Some might even <a href="https://youtu.be/IH7Jfe-40Qc" target="_blank" rel="noopener">consider the shot a bad one</a>, but&nbsp;<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-damian-lillard-stephen-curry-are-exception-to-rule-bad-shot-trae-young-three-pointers" target="_blank" rel="noopener">is there&nbsp;a bad shot when it comes to Lillard</a>?
That was the question immediately following his 37-foot playoff series-ender against the Oklahoma City Thunder in 2019. And while Monday night's win against the Los Angeles Lakers doesn't sniff those stakes, it was a question worth asking again as Lillard drilled a fading triple from the "M" in Moda Center to close the first quarter.
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Not only was that Lillard's second made three to that point, it was the 10th make of the night from the Blazers. They'd go on to make seven more in the second, giving them 17 first-half triples on 29 attempts.
The Lakers simply couldn't match that firepower. The Blazers had more points via three-pointers (51) than LA scored all half (46). You're not winning when the math is that far on the opponent's side.&nbsp;
When asked about the splash-happy first half, Lakers head coach Darvin Ham gave a proverbial hat tip to the Blazers, citing shot quality.&nbsp;
"We checked the analytical data at halftime," Ham began. "And according to that data, our defensive shot quality would've been No. 1 in the league because they were contested."
"They moved the ball on some of them. Some of them [were open] by design, with certain guys we shifted more off the ball. But credit to them, they made shots tonight. Seventeen threes in a half, that's incredible."
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Naturally, if you're watching your favorite team's opponent burn the nets against you, one of the last things you want to hear is a variation of, "We were okay with what we gave up." But honestly, a review of the film and the numbers back that up.
Of the 17 threes made in the first half from the Blazers, eight of them were of the catch-and-shoot variety. Of those eight, four of them were made by Matisse Thybulle (2) and Trendon Watford (2). The other four were spread out between Lillard (2), Anfernee Simons (1) and Shaedon Sharpe (1).
We'll start with the Lillard-Simons-Sharpe triumvirate first. Lillard and Simons are generally treated like red-alert threats on the perimeter; Sharpe doesn't quite get that attention, but he certainly doesn't get "gapped" off the ball like a traditional non-shooter would.&nbsp;
Simons and Sharpe were the "bad" ones the Lakers gave up. The defense was tilted elsewhere, opening a pure catch-and-shoot opportunity for Simons and a clean look after a corner lift for Sharpe.
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Lillard, on the other hand, is where you shake your head as an opposing coach. On the first, Lillard acts as a trailer in transition, promptly draining a shot from nearly 30 feet. On the second, Lillard kicks off the chain with Chicago action &mdash; a pindown into a dribble handoff &mdash; before dishing, relocating and bombing away over a recovering Austin Reaves from 31 feet.&nbsp;
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I feel for Reaves on both clips. He's trying to match up with Lillard in transition while directing traffic. Nobody picks up Simons, so he finds himself toggling between him&nbsp;and&nbsp;Lillard before the shot. And on the Chicago action clip, Reaves is busting his butt trying to navigate the screen&nbsp;and&nbsp;the handoff while staying attached. All things considered, he did pretty well. It just didn't matter.
The Watford and Thybulle threes were pretty blatant gameplan calls. The Lakers simply did not care if either of them took shots from the perimeter. That's been true for the entirety of Thybulle's career; he's a 32.9% shooter from deep overall, and is only slightly better (34.4%) from the corners.&nbsp;
Watford hasn't shot nearly enough on the NBA level to shift the gameplan on him. He was shooting nearly 46% from three heading into Monday night's contest, but was averaging&nbsp;under&nbsp;one attempt per contest. When you include last night's 2-for-2 performance, Watford is 25-of-71 (35.2%) from three in 89 career games.
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Defenses will continue to live with those.
Eight of the other nine makes, including the aforementioned hail mary to cap the first quarter, came off some sort of movement.
There was a handoff triple from forward Nassir Little. Not only is he a career 34.1% shooter from deep, but Little has only taken 18 threes off a DHO in his four-year NBA career,&nbsp;per InStat tracking data. There's a reason he received "under" coverage on the handoff.
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Beyond that, the Lillard-Simons-Sharpe trio just went nuts off the bounce. Pull-ups, stepbacks &mdash; you name it, they did it. The starting backcourt specifically got busy in ball-screens, pulling up above the break with the space that was given.
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There wasn't a ton of space to operate with. Anthony Davis wasn't quite at the level of the screen, but he was a step or two higher up than your traditional deep drop. It probably would've been worth getting all the way up to the level.
Davis is still working his way back to the All-Defense form we saw earlier in the year, and deserves a little grace. We've probably, collectively, undersold just how much he has working against him, as well as the probability that he's still playing through stuff. But even with that context, that's probably the fairest criticism to levy towards Ham's defensive game plan in the first half.
And then there was this from Lillard, which... what the heck do you do with this?
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As for the actual numbers, they're pretty daunting.
Converting over 58% of your threes in a half is absurd on its own. On the type of threes the Blazers took, and considering who took them, their quantified shot quality (qSQ) was 50.61 &mdash; a mark that would rank first in the NBA across an entire season (a full point below the Miami Heat's mark of 51.87), per Second Spectrum.
Instead, they had an effective field goal percentage (eFG%) of 87.93%. Doing the simple math, that's an overperformance of 37.32%.&nbsp;
There have been 81 instances of a team taking at least 25 threes in the first half of a game this season. Nobody has outperformed the quality of their looks to the degree the Blazers did last night.
When filtering for the first&nbsp;or&nbsp;second half, that plus-37.32% mark ranks second in the NBA. The top spot belongs to the Golden State Warriors (38.83% above expectation), with the Thunder serving as their victims last Monday.

Nekias Duncan investigates the Blazers' red-hot perimeter shooting against the Lakers on Monday night and what it was a product of.

Luck or Lack? Exploring the Blazers' three-point offense vs. the Lakers

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.

Trinity (IL) Christian College Trolls