Rebels

Thomas & Mack Center

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

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

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

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

Stephen Curry has once again demonstrated his massive global appeal, earning the top spot on the NBA&rsquo;s Top-Selling Jersey list for the first half of the 2025-26 regular season, the league announced.&nbsp;
Based on sales from NBAStore.com and Fanatics&rsquo; network, Curry&rsquo;s Warriors No. 30 jersey leads all players across the league on the retail front.
The announcement, made jointly by the NBA and the National Basketball Players Association, also revealed that the Los Angeles Lakers are the No. 1 team in merchandise sales, reflecting the enduring popularity of the Lakers brand and its star power among fans.
Golden State&rsquo;s sharpshooter holds the No. 1 position even amid fierce competition from other high-profile stars, including Luka Doncic and Jalen Brunson, who also rank near the top of the league&rsquo;s best-selling jerseys.
Curry&rsquo;s popularity has translated into a consistent commercial presence &ndash; and his No. 30 remains one of the most recognizable NBA jerseys worldwide. His placement atop the sales list underscores how his enduring excellence on the court continues to drive fan interest off it as well.&nbsp;
Meanwhile, the Los Angeles Lakers lead all NBA teams in merchandise sales through the first half of the 2025-26 campaign. The Lakers&rsquo; strong retail performance reflects both the global brand cachet of the franchise and the combination of star attractions on and off the court.&nbsp;
From jerseys to hats and other apparel, Lakers gear continues to fly off shelves &ndash; driven by broad fan support and the team&rsquo;s cultural influence.
Alongside Curry and the Lakers, several other top talents &ndash; including Doncic, Brunson, Victor Wembanyama, LeBron James and more &ndash; populate the league&rsquo;s best-selling jersey rankings, showcasing a mix of established icons and rising stars connecting with fans.
The data also highlights how jersey sales often mirror fan engagement and social media buzz: stars who dominate conversation and highlight reels tend to draw stronger retail demand, fueling overall league merchandise revenue.&nbsp;
Stephen Curry&rsquo;s reign atop the NBA&rsquo;s jersey sales list &ndash; combined with the Lakers ranking as the top team in merchandise &ndash; reflects not just individual star power but the broader commercial dynamics of the league. With midseason momentum building, both Curry and the Lakers remain central to the NBA&rsquo;s cultural and retail footprint heading into 2026.

Stephen Curry has once again demonstrated his massive global appeal, earning the top spot on the NBA’s Top-Selling Jersey list.

Steph Curry lead NBA in jersey sales; Lakers top team merchandise

Maybe it wasn&rsquo;t supposed to happen this fast.
When the Spurs selected Victor Wembanyama with the No. 1 pick just over two years ago, even the most optimistic observers believed this would be a process &ndash; a slow, steady climb back to contention. A rebuild, even one with a generational talent at the center, usually takes time.
But time seems irrelevant when the player redefining the game is 7-foot-5 with the coordination of a guard, the mindset of a superstar, and the work ethic of someone who refuses to lose.
The Spurs are 4-0 &ndash; their best start in years &ndash; and there&rsquo;s nothing accidental about it.
They&rsquo;re organized, confident, and locked in. More than anything, they&rsquo;re hungry.
&ldquo;I was confronted with the possibility of more losing,&rdquo; Wembanyama said recently after a win. &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t want it anymore, and I&rsquo;m not taking this for granted.&rdquo;
That declaration feels like the pulse of San Antonio&rsquo;s resurgence. A team that was once patient with its rebuild has flipped a switch &ndash; and it&rsquo;s largely because its centerpiece refuses to accept mediocrity.
The arrival of an Alien
It&rsquo;s hard to describe what Wembanyama is doing without running out of adjectives.
After a transformative offseason &ndash; one that saw him train with Shaolin monks in China to improve his balance and discipline, and later with Jamal Crawford, Kevin Garnett, and Hakeem Olajuwon to refine his offensive arsenal &ndash; the 21-year-old phenom has returned with a skillset that borders on surreal.
He&rsquo;s no longer just blocking shots, shooting threes, and dunking over smaller defenders. Now he&rsquo;s hitting fadeaway jumpers from the elbow, using up-fakes to draw fouls, bumping shoulders into defenders before finishing with thunderous dunks, and even stepping back for threes with the confidence of a seasoned perimeter scorer.
The dribbling exhibitions have become routine &ndash; behind-the-back escapes, crossovers into pull-ups &ndash; sequences that leave crowds in awe and opponents shaking their heads.
It&rsquo;s one thing for a 6-foot-6 guard to play that way. It&rsquo;s another for a 7-foot-5 unicorn to move like one.
This is why his nickname, The Alien, has never felt more appropriate. There is simply no one else on Earth doing what he does, at his size, with this level of fluidity and command.
And yet, what separates Wembanyama from mere spectacle is that he&rsquo;s winning. He&rsquo;s not just filling highlight reels &ndash; he&rsquo;s dictating outcomes, and he&rsquo;s doing it with ease and efficiency.
The Spurs are done waiting
For years, the Spurs were content to play the long game &ndash; drafting, developing, and letting the process unfold naturally. But this season, the tone has shifted.
The front office has built a roster that complements Wembanyama&rsquo;s strengths, not one that simply incubates his growth. The message is clear: San Antonio wants to win around Wemby as soon as possible.
The additions reflect that intent. Veteran big man Luke Kornet was one of the most underrated offseason signings &mdash; a versatile, high-IQ center who provides stability off the bench and, in certain matchups, can even share the floor with Wembanyama. His screening, rim protection, and feel for spacing have given the Spurs another layer of tactical flexibility.
Meanwhile, Stephon Castle has continued his rise after a Rookie of the Year campaign last season. His confidence and composure have carried over seamlessly, giving the Spurs another defensive-minded guard who thrives alongside Wembanyama in the pick-and-roll on offense.
Then there&rsquo;s Dylan Harper, the No. 2 overall pick &ndash; a rookie who already looks like he belongs. Harper plays with veteran poise, attacking downhill, creating paint touches at will, and finding teammates for open looks. His chemistry with Wembanyama is growing fast, their connection already producing a steady stream of lobs, pick-and-pop plays, and two-man sequences that feel unstoppable when in rhythm.
Around them, the Spurs have surrounded their star with players who fit perfectly within his ecosystem.
Devin Vassell continues to blossom into a three-level scorer, equally capable of spacing the floor or creating his own shot. Harrison Barnes, Julian Champagnie, and Keldon Johnson fill the wing rotation with ideal 3-and-D versatility &ndash; long, disciplined defenders who can hit shots, cut at the right times, and have enough on-ball offensive chops for stretches when needed.
And the Spurs aren&rsquo;t even at full strength yet. Both De&rsquo;Aaron Fox and Jeremy Sochan are set to return soon &ndash; the former adding All-Star explosiveness to the backcourt, the latter bringing defensive fire and playmaking to the front line. Once they&rsquo;re reintegrated, the Spurs could ascend even higher.
This is the Wembanyama Way
But make no mistake: this is Victor Wembanyama&rsquo;s team.&nbsp;
Everything &ndash; from the pace they play at to the way they defend &ndash; starts and ends with him.
He&rsquo;s become a one-man ecosystem, dictating both ends of the floor in ways few players can. On defense, he erases shots that shouldn&rsquo;t be blockable and alters possessions before they even begin. Offensively, he&rsquo;s evolved into a complete offensive engine, capable of creating advantages from anywhere on the floor.
There&rsquo;s a maturity in his approach now &ndash; a deeper understanding of timing, positioning, and patience. His body language, once cautious and learning, now carries the quiet assurance of a superstar who knows he belongs.
In many ways, it mirrors the Spurs&rsquo; transformation. The organization that once defined patience is now moving with urgency. The team that once hoped for competitiveness is now demanding it.
And it all stems from Wembanyama&rsquo;s mindset. When he said he didn&rsquo;t want to lose anymore, it wasn&rsquo;t just a soundbite, but it was a cultural shift.
The Spurs&rsquo; 4-0 start is the evidence of a young team discovering itself faster than anyone expected, and it is more than just a hot streak to start the season.
They&rsquo;re not chasing moral victories anymore. They&rsquo;re playing with the swagger of a group that knows it belongs among the elite. There will still be growing pains, that&rsquo;s inevitable for any young roster. But for the first time since the end of the glory days of their two-decade dynasty, San Antonio basketball feels alive again.
And it&rsquo;s because they have something no one else does.
A 7-foot-5 alien who moves like a guard, thinks like a veteran, and leads like a champion.
Victor Wembanyama has arrived, and this is only the beginning. The rest of the league should take notice, because Wemby and the Spurs have arrived ahead of schedule

The Spurs’ 4-0 start signals a culture shift in San Antonio — and it all begins with Victor Wembanyama, the 7-foot-5 phenom leading it all.

The Wemby Effect: Spurs’ early season rise signals shift in San Antonio

Superstardom in basketball often comes wrapped in fireworks. The game&rsquo;s biggest names make their presence known through show-stopping moves, deep three-pointers that ignite crowds, or sheer force of dominance that leaves opponents powerless. Caitlin Clark electrifies arenas with logo-range bombs and flair; A&rsquo;Ja Wilson overwhelms foes with two-way dominance that commands respect every trip down the floor; Breanna Stewart and Napheesa Collier anchor their teams with consistent excellence, night after night.
Then there&rsquo;s Paige Bueckers.
Her game does not scream &ndash; it whispers, it slices, it dissects. Watching her on the floor is less like witnessing an explosion and more like marveling at a surgeon&rsquo;s steady hand. Every dribble, every step, every release feels intentional, deliberate, and clean. The impact is undeniable, even if it doesn&rsquo;t come with the same flash. In her own quiet way, Bueckers is staking her claim as one of the league&rsquo;s next great superstars &ndash; and perhaps its most efficient.
<h3>The silent assassin</h3>
Bueckers&rsquo; style of play is surgical. For a rookie, she looks far too calm, too assured, too unbothered by the chaos around her. She is often described as a &ldquo;silent assassin,&rdquo; and it&rsquo;s easy to see why. She doesn&rsquo;t pound the ball endlessly to create a shot, and she doesn&rsquo;t force the issue. Instead, she glides to her spots, punishes defenses with midrange precision, and makes the right play look effortless.
That simplicity is what makes her lethal. There&rsquo;s no wasted motion, no overcomplication. Just a commitment to the fundamentals, elevated by elite shot-making. If Clark&rsquo;s game is fireworks on the Fourth of July, Bueckers&rsquo; is a perfectly composed symphony &ndash; less noise, more harmony.
And when the time comes, she knows how to deliver a performance that can&rsquo;t be ignored.
<h3>A record-breaking Night</h3>
The night Paige Bueckers truly announced herself to the league will be etched in WNBA history: Forty-four points. That was the most ever by a rookie in a single game. The most points scored by any player in the league this season. And she did it with surgical efficiency &ndash; 17-for-21 from the field, a perfect 4-for-4 from beyond the arc.
No rookie had ever scored 40 on 80% shooting. No player, period, had ever combined that level of volume with that level of accuracy. It wasn&rsquo;t just a scoring explosion &ndash; it was a masterclass in efficiency.
It was the kind of performance that silenced even the staunchest skeptics. The league is used to rookies flashing brilliance in spurts, maybe stringing together a few highlight games. What Bueckers did was different. It wasn&rsquo;t a fluke; it was the kind of controlled, methodical dominance that signals something greater.
For her, it was another step toward validating the superstar whispers that have followed her since her UConn days. For the league, it was the beginning of something that feels inevitable.
<h3>Rookie of the Year, but just the beginning</h3>
The accolades have already started piling up, Bueckers has won rookie of the year in a relatively loaded class. A record-breaking scoring outburst and a seat at the table with the league&rsquo;s biggest names &ndash; but what&rsquo;s more striking is how early in her career Bueckers is already shaping the narrative around her.
Unlike some rookies who burst onto the scene with loud declarations, Paige is building her case brick by brick, possession by possession. Her rookie campaign has been defined less by empty flash and more by a sustainable, repeatable style that screams longevity.
The comparisons to Clark, Wilson, Stewart, and Collier are natural &mdash; and instructive. Clark draws eyes with her audacity and range. Wilson establishes control by bending both ends of the court to her will. Stewart and Collier embody steadiness, a relentless rhythm of production.
Paige is carving her own lane. Efficiency is her weapon and precision is her calling card. Her game doesn&rsquo;t demand your attention, but it earns it.
<h3>More than just the numbers</h3>
What makes Bueckers&rsquo; rise so compelling is that her impact stretches beyond box scores. People talk about her composure, her ability to settle games when the pressure mounts. Coaches praise her basketball IQ, her uncanny ability to make the right reads. Fans, whether long-time WNBA followers or newcomers drawn by the league&rsquo;s surge in visibility, are seeing in her a different kind of star power &ndash; one that doesn&rsquo;t need theatrics to shine.
That contrast is important for the league. In an era where personalities and highlight reels often drive narratives, Bueckers provides balance. She shows there&rsquo;s room for a quieter kind of greatness, one that speaks through results rather than volume.
And yet, there&rsquo;s no mistaking the emotional pull of her story. To watch Paige play is to witness someone making the extraordinary look routine. That subtlety can be easy to overlook &ndash; until the records pile up, the accolades accumulate, and the wins keep coming.
<h3>A superstar in the making</h3>
Superstar trajectories are rarely linear, but Bueckers&rsquo; feels inevitable. She has the pedigree, the poise, and the production. More importantly, she has the unique ability to captivate audiences not by trying to be anyone else, but by leaning into exactly who she is.
The WNBA is in the midst of a golden era, with a wave of talent redefining what the league looks like. Clark, Wilson, Stewart, Collier, and others are pushing boundaries in different ways. Bueckers is right there with them &mdash; her rise just happens to sound more like a whisper than a roar.
And maybe that&rsquo;s the point.
In the end, superstardom isn&rsquo;t always about volume. Sometimes it&rsquo;s about precision. About making the difficult look simple. About showing the game in its purest form, without the extra noise.
Paige Bueckers doesn&rsquo;t need to scream to be heard. She&rsquo;s proving, possession after possession, that there&rsquo;s more than one way to define greatness. And in her own, quiet way, she&rsquo;s already making her case as the next face of the league.

Fresh off winning WNBA Rookie of the Year, Paige Bueckers is making her superstar case in her own, quiet way. Read how, here:

WNBA: Paige Bueckers is making her superstar case in her own, quiet way

The 2025 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament has reached the Sweet Sixteen stage, highlighted by Duke's commanding victory over Baylor and the elimination of reigning champions UConn.​
In their second-round matchup, the No. 1 seed Duke Blue Devils showcased their dominance against the No. 9 seed Baylor Bears. The game, played on March 23, 2025, saw Duke's offense and defense operating at peak performance, leading to a decisive win. Fans can view extended highlights of this game on the NCAA's official website.
Conversely, the University of Connecticut Huskies, aiming for a third consecutive national title, faced a narrow defeat against the No. 1 seed Florida Gators. The intense game concluded with a 77-75 victory for Florida, ending UConn's bid for a third consecutive national title.&nbsp;
The tournament now advances to the Sweet Sixteen, with matchups scheduled as follows:​
<ul>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Purdue Boilermakers vs Houston Cougars</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Michigan Wolverines vs Auburn Tigers</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Kentucky Wildcats vs Tennessee Volunteers</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Ole Miss Rebels vs Michigan State Spartans</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Arkansas Razorbacks vs Texas Tech Red Raiders</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Arizona Wildcats vs Duke Blue Devils</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Maryland Terrapins vs Florida Gators</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">BYU Cougars vs Alabama Crimson Tide</li>
</ul>
As the competition intensifies, fans eagerly anticipate the forthcoming games that will determine the teams advancing to the Elite Eight.​

The 2025 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament has reached the Sweet Sixteen stage, with the games starting today, March 28, 2025.

March Madness 2025: The Sweet Sixteen commences

The article was initially published on BasketballNews on April 6, 2022.
Anyone else love going back and looking at old box scores and falling down afternoon-long rabbit holes, or am I the weirdo?
You might&rsquo;ve read the headline and either recalled this event actually happening, or are befuddled at how such a thing could take place, even in that NBA.
This article, published on April 6, 2022, marks 25 years since the Del Harris-led Los Angeles Lakers held Jim Cleamons and his Dallas Mavericks to 2 points in the third quarter of a regular-season game.
The contest was held at the LA Forum, where a 50-24 Laker team met a 22-53 Mavs squad with two weeks remaining before the playoffs started. Staples wasn&rsquo;t that big yet, and Crypto didn&rsquo;t exist. (Some might say it still doesn&rsquo;t, but you can fight about that amongst yourselves.)
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A large-ass, Biggie verse-having, All-Star center named Shaquille O&rsquo;Neal had been <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/1997/02/14/sports/injury-to-o-neal-is-a-blow-to-lakers.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">out with a knee injury</a> suffered that February, which he returned from five days later. Something tells me, if you made it here, you&rsquo;ve heard of him. Also on the Lakers, quite famously, was a talented rookie named Kobe Bryant, who had been playing regular rotation minutes at 18 years old, but wasn&rsquo;t yet Kobe.
The Mavericks had traded a controversial-but-talented point guard in Jason Kidd earlier in the season &mdash; along with Tony Dumas and Loren Meyer &mdash; to the Phoenix Suns for a package highlighted by Michael Finley, Sam Cassell and A.C. Green. They also dealt Jamal Mashburn to the Miami Heat several weeks later for Kurt Thomas, Sasa Danilović and Martin M&uuml;&uuml;rsepp.
And right before the deadline, Dallas rerouted Cassell as part of a five-man package including Jim Jackson, George McCloud (who wound up on the Lakers retroactively), Eric Montross and Chris Gatling for Shawn Bradley, Khalid Reeves, Robert Pack and Ed O&rsquo;Bannon &mdash; famously the Most Outstanding Player of the 1995 Final Four, and <a href="https://www.primerus.com/business-law-articles/ed-obannon-shines-a-light-upon-student-athletes-right-of-publicity-624201.htm" target="_blank" rel="noopener">killer of EA's NCAA Football and NCAA Basketball video game franchises</a>. This move not only cemented Dallas&rsquo; rebuild, but it officially made way for a <a href="https://www.dallasnews.com/sports/mavericks/2018/06/06/flashback-jamal-mashburn-on-what-really-happened-between-jason-kidd-jim-jackson-and-toni-braxton/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Toni Braxton-less future in Texas</a>.
The Mavericks, <a href="https://www.basketball-reference.com/teams/DAL/1997_games.html">who came in as losers of 10 straight heading into this game</a> &mdash; a lengthy skid that never saw the team score more than 92 points &mdash; went into Hollywood and started Pack, Finley, Green, Bradley and Derek Harper. Without Shaq, the Lakers began with Derek Fisher, Eddie Jones, Jerome Kersey, Corie Blount and Sean Rooks, who played a game-high 43 minutes (33 over his season average).
<a href="https://www.basketball-reference.com/boxscores/199704060LAL.html">The Mavericks led 30-17 after the first quarter and 51-37 at halftime</a>. The teams combined to attempt 12 threes in the first half, which most teams would typically combine to do in a quarter today. The Mavericks shot 21 of 44 from the field and outrebounded the Lakers 24-16 while holding L.A. to 12 of 32 shooting.
Bryant and Robert Horry went a combined 2 of 9 off the bench, and Rooks had logged 10 points and 7 boards to that point. Harper and Finley combined for 25 points on 9 of 15 shooting, while Bradley had 9 points and 9 rebounds.
Okay, now let's get to why you&rsquo;re here.
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Not only did the Mavericks score 2 points in the entire third quarter, but the points came from a pair of Harper free throws with 1:51 left in the quarter. So it took over 10 minutes to even get on the board in this period.
Anyway, the Mavericks shot 0 of 15 from the field for the quarter and missed all 4 of their three-balls. They also had 9 turnovers and only made one substitution over the entire 12 minutes, removing Pack for Sa&scaron;a Danilović about halfway through the third. That meant Green, Harper, Finley and Bradley were each a minus-25 for the quarter, and Pack was a minus-20.
For good measure, the Mavericks third quarter could be summed up like this:
<ul>
<li>Points: 2</li>
<li>Fouls: 3</li>
</ul>
The Lakers outscored the Mavericks 27-2 and still just led 64-53 after three. L.A. shot 10 of 17 in the quarter, made 5 of 7 triples, only needed to pull down 8 rebounds and turned the ball over just twice.
The Mavs outdid their horrific third quarter only 48 seconds into the fourth with two layups. They even cut their deficit to as close as 7 points in garbage time before the Lakers pulled away with a 87-80 win.
Fisher scored 21 points &mdash; not even close to a career-high for him &mdash; but to that point, his highest point tally had been just 14. In fact, the 21 points would remain a career-best mark for Fisher until he netted 26 points on March 13, 2001 in a win over the Boston Celtics four years later.
Sean &ldquo;2019 Bam Adebayo&rdquo; Rooks ended the night with 15 points, 11 rebounds, 5 assists and 3 blocks. Bryant logged about 22 minutes off the bench, netting 13 points on 3 of 9 shooting, also finishing with 3 steals and going a perfect 5 of 5 at the free-throw line.
Harper led the Mavs with 18 points on 6 of 15 shooting. Finley only put up 9 shots in over 34 minutes of play. The next time he put up just 9 shots in that many minutes? <a href="https://www.basketball-reference.com/boxscores/200203310WAS.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">March 31, 2002</a>.
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So, what ended up happening to these two teams? Glad you asked!
The Lakers finished 56-26 and fourth in the Western Conference, sweeping the Kenny Anderson, Isaiah Rider, and Rasheed Wallace-led Portland Trail Blazers in Round 1. Then, in the West semifinals, L.A. fell to the No. 1 seed Utah Jazz, who eventually lost to the Chicago Bulls in the 1997 NBA Finals. The Lakers still had a few more years of Harris before Phil Jackson eventually came to clean things up prior to the 1999-2002 three-peat era.
The Mavericks finished 24-58 and were actually still fourth in the Midwest Division among seven teams, completing 1996-97 with only the sixth-worst record in the league. Unfortunately, they didn&rsquo;t own their own draft pick, but fortunately, the Celtics &mdash; who had it at No. 6 &mdash; used it on Ron Mercer, so it wasn&rsquo;t an egregious miss.
Tracy McGrady did go No. 9 overall, and the Mavs did settle on Kelvin Cato at No. 15, but they landed with a kid named Dirk Nowitzki in the 1998 NBA Draft after another 20-win season.
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Bryan Fonseca revisits when the Mavericks only mustered a measly 2 points in the third quarter against the Lakers.

Revisiting the time the Mavericks scored just 2 points in a quarter

For decades, the United States dominated on the hardwood. Now, that&rsquo;s changing.
Today, the U.S. still produces some of the best players in the world and certainly has the deepest talent pool, but other countries have closed the gap considerably. International superstars have taken the league by storm.
With the success of players like Giannis Antetokounmpo (Greece), Nikola Jokic (Serbia), Joel Embiid (Cameroon), Luka Dončić (Slovenia) and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (Canada), it's no surprise that people are high on international players. 
Antetokounmpo, Jokic and Embiid have combined for the last five Most Valuable Player awards, and four of the last six Defensive Player of the Year awards have gone to foreign players (Giannis and Rudy Gobert). Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks won the 2021 NBA championship, and now Jokic and the Denver Nuggets are the reigning champs.&nbsp;
Whether it&rsquo;s the FIBA Basketball World Cup or in the NBA, international players are often beating their United States counterparts.&nbsp;
Americans have been outshined as of late, but the U.S. continues to produce some of the very best players in the world. Veteran superstars like LeBron James, Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant, Damian Lillard, Kawhi Leonard, Paul George and Kyrie Irving continue to excel, while younger studs like Jayson Tatum, Devin Booker, Ja Morant, Donovan Mitchell, Zion Williamson, LaMelo Ball, Tyrese Haliburton, Anthony Edwards, are still realizing their full potential and could challenge the influx of international competition. However, Victor Wembanyama (France) enters the 2023-24 season as the most highly anticipated rookie since LeBron James.
Now, let's take a look at the numbers. A year ago, Basketball News&rsquo; Alex Kennedy <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/an-inside-look-at-how-international-players-are-taking-over-the-nba">talked with Troy Justice,</a> the NBA&rsquo;s vice president, head of international basketball development about the international takeover on basketball&rsquo;s biggest stages.
&ldquo;Thirty years ago, there were only 23 international players. Now, we have 121. And to be real honest, I think we're only scratching the surface in terms of not only talent identification but just the development of the game globally,&rdquo; Justice said. &ldquo;So, it's amazing.&rdquo;
Of the 537 active NBA players, 128 are from outside the United States (just under 25%). International players received 88% of the votes in the 2022-23 MVP race, with Embiid, Jokic and Antetokounmpo garnering 84% combined. Of the top-eight vote-getters, only Tatum and Mitchell were American.
And that&rsquo;s not just a one-off. You have to go back to the 2020-21 NBA season to find an American player in the top-three of MVP voting, which was Curry at third (closely followed by Giannis). The last American player to win the MVP award was James Harden in 2017-18. Interestingly, there were no international players in the top-five of MVP voting that year, although Antetokounmpo barely missed out.
Also, following that season, the Larry O&rsquo;Brien trophy has been very much up for grabs. Previously, the Cleveland Cavaliers and Golden State Warriors were the perennial NBA Finals matchup and no other teams really came close. LeBron and Steph were the NBA&rsquo;s poster boys, competing for a ring every year. We hadn&rsquo;t seen an international superstar lead his team to a title since Dirk Nowitzki defeated LeBron, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh in 2011.
There are many reasons for this championship diversity &ndash; with five different winners in the past five years &ndash; but a big factor is the emergence of these international juggernauts like Jokic and Antetokounmpo. However, it&rsquo;s worth noting that teams with American superstars won three-out-of-five of these championships, led by Kawhi, LeBron and Steph, respectively.
The NBA landscape is volatile and this season will be telling. Will an international player win the MVP award for a sixth-straight time? Which team will be standing after the smoke clears at the end? Can Jokic and the Nuggets repeat? Will Giannis and Dame bring another title to Milwaukee? Or will one of the other contenders win it all?
American players are no doubt still some of the best in the sport and are well ahead in terms of numbers. But, particularly at the top, international players have fully closed the gap and have begun building their own disparity.&nbsp;
Other news from around the web: <a href="https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/other/dress-to-impress-why-barbie-and-ken-are-the-hottest-couples-costume-this-halloween/ar-AA1iaTEh" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Barbie and Ken are the hottest couples costume this Halloween</a>

While the U.S. still produces some of the best NBA players in the world, other countries have closed the gap considerably.

USA vs. international basketball: Is the gap closing or opening up?

Who are these Boston Celtics?
As of late, they have consistently been a top-four team in the NBA, but rarely top-two and never No. 1. They have flashes of brilliance followed by periods of uncertainty and indecisiveness. They take games off, beating the best teams in the league while dropping games to some of the worst.
It is difficult to gauge which Celtics team will show up on any given night, or even any given quarter. For a team that is that good when they&rsquo;re on, they really are that bad when they&rsquo;re off.
It was impressive that they almost came back from a 0-3 deficit in the playoffs &ndash; something that has still never happened in NBA history. But the flip side of that coin is that they dropped three-straight games to the Miami Heat to start that series. They are a team of high highs and low lows.
Now, they could become even more volatile with the loss of their leader Marcus Smart. Smart played all nine of his NBA seasons in Boston, slowly earning a starting spot, but quickly earning the adulation of the fans. He led their defense with his tenacity and &ldquo;Smart&rdquo; plays. He also led their offense with his playmaking and shot creation. It's a big hole to fill, but at a guard position that was absolutely stacked, they do have some guys to pick up the pieces.
Derrick White will step up to fill that role and he will likely do a great job. White has elevated his game on both sides of the ball since joining the Celtics and has already proven he is a great culture fit. Malcolm Brogdon will also see increased minutes without Smart and, like White, has fit right in.
On the other hand, I am worried that Kristaps Porzingis will not be a good fit in Boston, which is ironic because they traded their glue guy (Smart) for him. Positionally and skill-set-wise, Porzingis might seem like a great fit. His numbers speak for themselves and this offense is perfect for him. Their starting lineup will be one of the best in the league with White, Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum, Porzingis and Robert Williams III.
But Porzingis isn&rsquo;t exactly battle-tested. He has never really been on a good team, playing in just 10 playoff games throughout his NBA career. Compare that to Smart, who has played significant minutes in 108 playoff games, with at least one series per year. It&rsquo;s not entirely Porzingis&rsquo; fault that he hasn&rsquo;t been on teams that could compete in the playoffs, but he&rsquo;s unproven in an area where Boston has struggled.
To add insult to injury, the Celtics also lost Grant Williams because they decided to spend their money elsewhere. It's rare for a team to have multiple glue guys, but Boston had two and decided to part ways with both of them in the same offseason. Williams was seemingly on the way out ever since he rejected their extension offer last summer. During last year&rsquo;s playoff run, he had multiple puzzling healthy scratches.
With all that being said, they still have a strong team leader in Al Horford, and Joe Mazzulla had a good first year as head coach. Brown and Tatum have emerged as leaders, despite how young they are. Even though they have yet to reach their prime, they are becoming veteran presences with seven years and six years in Boston, respectively.&nbsp;
It&rsquo;s surprising that the Celtics aren&rsquo;t more consistent given the deep playoff experience that their key pieces have. They made at least the Eastern Conference Finals in five of the past seven years, losing there in Game 7 twice while only appearing in one NBA Finals series. Two years ago, they were up 2-1 in the Finals and led in Game 4 only to lose in six games to the Golden State Warriors.
So, what&rsquo;s going wrong? Are they underperforming or are they just a step behind the best teams in the league? Do they just need to let Brown and Tatum reach their prime? Will this new-look Celtics team finally bring the Larry O&rsquo;Brien trophy back to Boston? Or has losing Smart and Co. pushed them even further away from that reality?
Only time will tell. Usually, I&rsquo;m glass-half-full before the season starts, but losing both halves of their heart &ndash; Smart and Williams &ndash; is not a good look. 
I don&rsquo;t see this team winning a championship this year or even making the NBA Finals. No, it's likely a return to Eastern-Conference-Finals purgatory for the Celtics. Many teams would be ecstatic over a Conference Finals appearance, but for a Boston team and fan base that has been there so many times before and want so much more, it's not nearly enough.

The Celtics have been a team of high highs and low lows. Jake Flynn breaks down what to expect entering the 2023-24 season.

Boston Celtics 2023-24 NBA season preview: Can the C's win it all?

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) &mdash; Shai Gilgeous-Alexander seemed like a nice pickup for Oklahoma City Thunder, a secondary piece in the trade that sent Paul George to the Los Angeles Clippers four years ago.
Gilgeous-Alexander has turned out to be more than an afterthought &mdash; much more.
He has blossomed into an All-Star, the unquestioned leader of the Thunder&rsquo;s rebuilding efforts and the centerpiece of a Canadian national team that could be a medal contender at the Paris Games next summer. He ranks fourth in the league in scoring with 31.5 points per game &mdash; behind Joel Embiid, Luka Doncic and Damian Lillard and just ahead of two-time league MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo.
He doesn&rsquo;t grab as many national headlines as the other top scorers &mdash; in part because the Thunder (38-42) haven&rsquo;t been competitive the past two years. Now Oklahoma City is battling for a spot in the Play-In Tournament with Doncic and the Dallas Mavericks heading into their game Thursday night at Utah.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s been fun,&rdquo; said Gilgeous-Alexander, 24, who was selected 11th overall by the Clippers in the 2018 draft after he spent a year at Kentucky. &ldquo;My favorite part is the team success. There is no better feeling than winning games, and that&rsquo;s all I wanted to focus on coming into the season. And with focusing on that, the individual success just followed.&rdquo;
Oklahoma City has been reeling from the long-term effects of losing Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, Carmelo Anthony, Chris Paul and George, among others, to trades and free agency. A franchise that reached the Western Conference finals four times and the NBA Finals once the previous decade hasn&rsquo;t made the playoffs since 2020.
The 6-foot-6 Gilgeous-Alexander is giving Thunder fans hope and management reasons to build around him.
While his rise has been mostly off the radar, it&rsquo;s nonetheless impressive. Two seasons ago, he scored 23.7 points per game and last season, his average increased to 24.5. He missed the final month of last season with a sore right ankle, but recovered and dominated for Canada&rsquo;s national team in the summer.
He carried that international momentum into this season and will join Durant and Westbrook as the only Thunder players to average at least 30 points for an entire season. Durant and Westbrook won MVP and the scoring title in their highest-scoring seasons for Oklahoma City &mdash; Durant averaged 32.0 points in 2013-14 and Westbrook produced 31.6 per game in 2016-17.
Gilgeous-Alexander might have to settle for the Most Improved Player award, which would be a fitting honor given his approach. Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said when a player with his talent and work ethic locks in, it naturally leads to improvement.
&ldquo;When he falls short, he looks in the mirror first,&rdquo; Daigneault said. &ldquo;That drives his next step. And then he puts the work in and he repeats that process, and he&rsquo;s always repeated that process as long as he&rsquo;s been here and as long as we&rsquo;ve known him.&rdquo;
Canada men&rsquo;s basketball general manager Rowan Barrett isn&rsquo;t surprised that Gilgeous-Alexander has made such a dramatic leap after watching him work last summer.
&ldquo;Before practice, after practice, like, constantly in the gym, in the gym, in the gym,&rdquo; Barrett said. &ldquo;And he&rsquo;s clearly made a lot of sacrifices in his personal life to live that way. And I think the world right now, many years on, is getting to kind of enjoy watching him based on all the work that he&rsquo;s put in. He wants to be great, and he&rsquo;s completely committed to it.&rdquo;
Another reason Gilgeous-Alexander&rsquo;s exploits go mostly unnoticed is the lack of highlight reels. His game doesn&rsquo;t include spectacular dunks or a lot of 3-pointers, though he makes 35% of his attempts from beyond the arc. He&rsquo;s among the league&rsquo;s leaders in free throws made and attempted and free-throw percentage.
Those stats make his coaches happy but don&rsquo;t make for viral social media moments. Still, he shoots 51% from the field. Fans have showered him with occasional chants of &ldquo;M-V-P! M-V-P! when he shoots free throws during home games at the reinvigorated Paycom Center.
NBA coaches don&rsquo;t need highlights to know how well he is playing. Golden State coach Steve Kerr was impressed after Gilgeous-Alexander scored 21 of his 31 points in the second half in a loss to the Warriors in January.
&ldquo;He just gets any shot he wants in the mid-range,&rdquo; Kerr said. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s so good with the ball. He&rsquo;s so strong, you can&rsquo;t speed him up. He just gets to his spots and calmly rises up and shoots that little 12-footer, 10-footer, 14-footer.&rdquo;
He frustrated Phoenix coach Monty Williams with one of his most impressive performances: scoring 40 points in a victory over the Suns on March 19 without attempting a 3-pointer.
Canada national team coach Nick Nurse, who also coaches the Toronto Raptors, said Gilgeous-Alexander excels at setting up his teammates. He was a strong facilitator for Canada last summer, while averaging 5.4 assists for Oklahoma City this season.
&ldquo;When you need offense, he creates it for himself,&rdquo; Nurse said. &ldquo;Tons of drive, and guys just standing there with their hands out, (Shai) hitting them right on the money for threes. I think it improved a lot of our other players because of his drawing so much defense.&rdquo;
With Gilgeous-Alexander&rsquo;s rising stock, the future looks bright for the Thunder &mdash; regardless of what happens this postseason. It looks good for Canada&rsquo;s program, too.
&ldquo;He&rsquo;s supportive of the other guys and wants to see the other guys do well as well,&rdquo; said Barrett, the Canada basketball GM. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s not just all about him somehow. As great as he is, there&rsquo;s a humility there.&rdquo;
___
AP freelancer Ian Harrison in Toronto contributed to this report.

Gilgeous-Alexander has blossomed into an All-Star, the unquestioned leader of the Thunder’s rebuilding efforts.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander leads Thunder rebuild after stars exodus

SEATTLE (AP) &mdash; Hailey Van Lith put on a show in her home state to get Louisville back to a familiar place &mdash; the Elite Eight.
Van Lith scored 21 points to help the fifth-seeded Cardinals beat No. 8 seed Mississippi 72-62 on Friday night and advance to the final of the Seattle 4 Region.
&ldquo;It was amazing to have friends and family in the whole state out cheering for us,&rdquo; Van Lith said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m a very focused player, there were no distractions before the game. After the game, I kissed all the babies and hugged all the people. After business was done, I celebrated.&rdquo;
The Cardinals (26-11) will face second-seed Iowa on Sunday for a trip to the Final Four. The Hawkeyes beat Colorado 87-77, behind the play of Caitlin Clark.
It&rsquo;s the fifth consecutive NCAA Tournament that Louisville has gotten this far, one of the few teams to accomplish the feat.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s hard to continue to get to where we are and win,&rdquo; Louisville coach Jeff Walz said. &ldquo;You have to enjoy it. It&rsquo;s too short not to enjoy these types of moments.&rdquo;
Expectations were high for the Cardinals under Walz to start the season as the team was ranked seventh in The Associated Press&rsquo; preseason Top 25 poll. With many new players, the Cardinals lost four out of six games in late November and early December.
Walz wasn&rsquo;t concerned. The team started to get more comfortable on the court and made a run to the finals of the ACC Tournament, where they lost to Virginia Tech.
&ldquo;We&rsquo;ve been playing well for the last month and a half,&rdquo; Walz said. &ldquo;We&rsquo;ll continue to roll and continue to play. We&rsquo;re going to enjoy this tonight. I&rsquo;m going to enjoy this. I&rsquo;m going to the bar. Life&rsquo;s too short.&rdquo;
On Friday, the Cardinals were met with a stiff challenge from upstart Mississippi.
The Rebels (25-9) hadn&rsquo;t advanced this far since 2007, when the team made its fifth Elite Eight in program history. They were looking to become only the second No. 8 seed to reach a regional final, joining Southwest Missouri State, which did it in 1992.
Mississippi&rsquo;s defense under coach Yolett McPhee-McCuin had been so good in the first two games of the tournament, keeping both Gonzaga and No. 1 seed Stanford under 50 points in each game.
&ldquo;The Sweet 16 is the new standard,&rdquo; McPhee-McCuin said.
Louisville reached that mark by the end of the third quarter on Merissah Russell&rsquo;s 3-pointer. That gave the Cardinals a 52-42 lead &mdash; their biggest of the game to that point. That 3 came shortly after Jones&rsquo; three-point play extended a 46-40 lead to nine.
The Cardinals played their own stout defense for the second game in a row. The Cardinals held host Texas to 51 points in the second round.
Louisville got off to a slow start against Mississippi, but then Van Lith got them going and the Cardinals led 20-15 after one quarter. After a slow start to the second quarter that saw them give up the lead, the Cardinals still managed to hold a 34-29 advantage at the half.
They couldn&rsquo;t separate themselves from the Rebels until the end of the quarter.
Ole Miss cut its deficit to 58-53 with 2:32 left before Van Lith hit a shot in the lane to stem the Rebels&rsquo; run. After Myah Taylor made the first of two free throws, Olivia Cochran had a three-point play with 2:17 left to make it 63-54 and pretty much seal the victory.
&ldquo;I didn&rsquo;t feel like we had control of the game at any point. That&rsquo;s different for my team,&rdquo; McPhee-McCuin said. &ldquo;The lights got bright. There were a lot of times I didn&rsquo;t know who I was coaching. When do we give up 20 points in a quarter? That&rsquo;s uncharacteristic.&rdquo;
Marquesha Davis and Taylor each scored 19 points to lead Ole Miss.
HOMETOWN HERO
Around these parts, Van Lith is a household name. She&rsquo;s the small-town standout from 130 miles away who grew into being one of the best prep players in the country, the all-time state high school leader in scoring and now a star for the Cardinals.
Many fans from her hometown of Cashmere that has a population of 3,200 took in the game, cheering the Louisville star on. They gave her a warm ovation during pregame introductions and every time she scored.
TIP-INS
This was the first meeting between the schools. ... This is the 19th appearance for the Rebels in the NCAA Tournament, and the first time they have earned back-to-back bids to the tournament since the 2004 and 2005 seasons. ... Louisville&rsquo;s bench outscored Mississippi&rsquo;s 27-6.

Van Lith scored 21 points to help the fifth-seeded Cardinals beat No. 8 seed Mississippi 72-62 on Friday night.

March Madness: Louisville women top Ole Miss 72-62 in Sweet 16

NEW YORK (AP) &mdash; Markquis Nowell broke the NCAA Tournament record for assists in a game with 19, his last two on spectacular passes in the final minute of overtime, and Kansas State beat Michigan State 98-93 on Thursday night in a Sweet 16 thriller at Madison Square Garden.
Playing in his hometown and fighting through a second-half ankle injury, Nowell found Keyontae Johnson for a reverse alley-oop with 58 seconds left in OT to give the Wildcats (26-9) the lead for good in this back-and-forth East Region semifinal. He then threw an inbound pass to Ismael Massoud, who knocked down a jumper with 15 seconds left for a 96-93 lead.
With Michigan State needing a 3 to tie, Nowell stole the ball from the Spartans&rsquo; Tyson Walker and drove for a clinching layup at the buzzer. The 5-foot-8, Harlem-raised Nowell finished with 20 points and five steals in a signature performance at basketball&rsquo;s most famous arena that drew tweets of praise from Patrick Mahomes and Kevin Durant.
&ldquo;That was a legendary display of controlling a basketball game Markquis,&rdquo; Durant tweeted.
Johnson scored 22 points for the No. 3 seed Wildcats, who will face either fourth-seeded Tennessee or ninth-seeded Florida Atlantic on Saturday as they seek the program&rsquo;s first Final Four berth since 1964.&nbsp;
A.J. Hoggard scored a career-high 25 points for seventh-seeded Michigan State (21-13). Joey Hauser added 18 points and Walker had 16, including a layup with 5 seconds left in regulation that forced the first overtime of this year&rsquo;s NCAA Tournament.
UNLV&rsquo;s Mark Wade had the previous NCAA tourney assists record with 18 during the Runnin&rsquo; Rebels 1987 Final Four win over Indiana.
Nowell turned his ankle early in the second half, was helped off the court and had it taped. Michigan State took the lead with him sidelined, and when he returned, he pushed off the ankle to bank in a 3-pointer that beat the shot clock and tied the game at 55-all.
Turns out he was just getting started.

Nowell broke the men's NCAA Tournament record for assists in a game with 19 in a thriller between the Wildcats and Spartans.

Markquis Nowell breaks NCAA assist record, KSU beats MSU 98-93 in OT

STANFORD, Calif. (AP) &mdash; Madison Scott hit a pair of free throws with 23 seconds left that gave Mississippi the lead for good, Angel Baker scored 13 points, and the Rebels delivered on their declaration to get defensive, stunning top-seeded Stanford 54-49 on Sunday night to reach the NCAA Tournament&rsquo;s Sweet 16 for the first time in 16 years.
Behind the entire game, Stanford called timeout with 28 seconds left then Hannah Jump turned the ball over and Scott converted. Haley Jones lost the ball out of bounds on the Cardinal&rsquo;s last possession with a chance to tie then again in the waning moments.
Marquesha Davis hit a pair of free throws with 15.4 seconds to play as Ole Miss overcame not making a field goal over the final 5:47, going 0 for 8.
These upstart Rebels (25-8) advance to the Seattle Regional semifinal next weekend, while Tara VanDerveer&rsquo;s Stanford team (29-6) is eliminated far earlier than this group envisioned &mdash; the season ending on the Cardinal&rsquo;s home floor.
GREENVILLE 1 REGION
No. 1 SOUTH CAROLINA 76, No. 8 SOUTH FLORIDA 45
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) &mdash; Zia Cooke scored 21 points and Aliyah Boston had her 81st career double double as South Carolina shook off a slow start to power past South Florida.
The Gamecocks improved to 34-0 with their 40th straight win overall and moved four victories away from a second straight national title. They&rsquo;ll head to Greenville, where they won the Southeastern Conference Tournament two weeks ago, to play for a spot in the Final Four.
Boston, the program career record holder for double doubles, finished with 11 points and 11 rebounds, coming out of her final game at home to a huge ovation.
South Florida (27-7) entered looking for a program-record 28th win this season and its first berth in the Sweet 16, but after a feisty start, couldn&rsquo;t hang with the Gamecocks.
No. 2 MARYLAND 77, No. 7 ARIZONA 64
COLLEGE PARK, Md. (AP) &mdash; Diamond Miller scored 13 of her 24 points in the third quarter to help Maryland to a victory over Arizona.
The Terrapins (27-6) advance to the Sweet 16 for a third straight year and the 11th time under coach Brenda Frese. Maryland trailed by a point after two quarters but ran past the Wildcats (22-10) in the second half.
Shyanne Sellers scored 15 points and Faith Masonius gave the Terps a lift with 12.
Frese was coaching against her alma mater. She played at Arizona and graduated in 1993.
Cate Reese led Arizona with 19 points.
No. 3 NOTRE DAME 53, No. 11 MISSISSIPPI STATE 48
SOUTH BEND, Ind. (AP) &mdash; Lauren Ebo had 10 points, 18 rebounds and four blocks to help Notre Dame beat Mississippi State.
Maddy Westbeld added nine points and 15 rebounds for the Irish, who blew an eight-point lead in the fourth quarter before making the plays down the stretch for the win.
Mississippi State scored eight straight points to open the fourth quarter and tie the game at 41. Ebo scored the first Irish basket of the final period on an offensive putback with 4:38 remaining.
The Irish regained the lead for good on a pair of KK Bransford free throws with 3:49 left in the game, which gave Notre Dame a 45-43 advantage. The Irish held onto the lead the rest of the way.
GREENVILLE 2 REGION
No. 2 UTAH 63, No. 10 PRINCETON 56
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) &mdash; Alissa Pili had 28 points and 10 rebounds to lead Utah to a win over Princeton.
Jenna Johnson added 15 points for the Utes, who made only one 3-pointer but still advanced to their first Sweet 16 since 2006.
Kaitlyn Chen scored 19 points, Grace Stone had 16 and Ellie Mitchell finished with 18 rebounds, including 10 on the offensive end, for Princeton (24-6).
Down the stretch, the game turned into an old-fashioned rockfight. The teams combined to miss 15 consecutive field goal attempts at one point, but Utah (27-4) got to the free throw line to advance and face No. 3 seed LSU.
No. 3 LSU 66, No. 6 MICHIGAN 42
BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) &mdash; Angel Reese dismantled Michigan on both ends of the court with 25 points, 24 rebounds, six blocks and three steals to help LSU beat the Wolverines.
Reese, a 6-foot-3 All-America forward, did most of her damage with gauze wedged under her upper lip after a shot to her mouth drew blood in the opening minutes of the game.
Alexis Morris scored 11 and LaDazhia Williams had 10 points and 10 rebounds for LSU (30-2), which never trailed and held Michigan (23-10) to its lowest point total of the season.
SEATTLE 3 REGION
No. 1 VIRGINIA TECH 72, No. 9 SOUTH DAKOTA STATE 60
BLACKSBURG, Va. (AP) &mdash; Georgia Amoore scored 21 points and Virginia Tech held off South Dakota State.
Elizabeth Kitley added 14 points and 14 rebounds for the Hokies (29-4), who won their 13th consecutive game, to advance to the Sweet 16 for just the second time in program history. They will play the winner of Monday&rsquo;s matchup between No. 12 seed Toledo and No. 4 seed Tennessee.
Virginia Tech also set a school record with its 29th win, breaking the mark of 28 set by the 1998-99 squad &mdash; the only other team in school history to advance to the Sweet 16.
Myah Selland led South Dakota State (29-6) with 17 points and nine rebounds.
SEATTLE 4 REGION
No. 2 IOWA 74, No. 10 GEORGIA 66
IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) &mdash; Caitlin Clark had 22 points and 12 assists while Monika Czinano added 20 points to help Iowa beat Georgia.
The Hawkeyes (28-6) advance to the ninth Sweet Sixteen in program history.
Gabbie Marshall added 15 points and McKenna Warnock had 14 for Iowa, which erased the memory of last season&rsquo;s second-round home loss to No. 10 seed Creighton.
Clark, a first-team Associated Press All-American, was held scoreless for 13 minutes in the first half, but scored 14 second-half points as the Hawkeyes finally shook off the 10th-seeded Lady Bulldogs (22-12). She made just 6 of 17 shots, but either scored or assisted on nearly every point by the Hawkeyes in the second half.
Georgia, a No. 10 seed, got within 68-66 on a 3-pointer from Audrey Warren with 2:17 left in the game, but the Lady Bulldogs would not score again, committing three straight turnovers and missing a layup.
Diamond Battles led Georgia with 21 points. Brittney Smith and Javyn Nicholson each had 12 points.

A recap of Sunday's slate of women's March Madness includes the Rebels upsetting the top-seeded Cardinal.

Ole Miss stuns Stanford, reaches first Sweet 16 in 16 years

The women&rsquo;s NCAA Tournament field is set and now the fun begins with 68 teams vying for the national championship and cutting down the nets in Dallas.
There&rsquo;s a new format to March Madness, with two regionals in Seattle and Greenville, South Carolina, instead of the usual four. Here&rsquo;s a look at what could happen over the next few weeks. This guidance will be 100% accurate &mdash; until the first round tips off on Friday.
CHALK RULES
A No. 1 seed has won the national championship the past 10 tournaments and 14 of 15. The only time that didn&rsquo;t happen was in 2011 when coach Gary Blair led Texas A&amp;M to the title as a No. 2 seed. Since 2005, at least two of the No. 1s have made the Final Four every year except for 2016. This year&rsquo;s overwhelming betting favorite is top-ranked and defending national champion South Carolina, the only undefeated team in the tourney.
LACK OF MAJOR UPSETS
There is a feeling that parity continues to find its way into women&rsquo;s basketball with 19 losses by top 10 teams in the AP Top 25 poll to unranked schools. Still, it&rsquo;s hard to pick against the top teams in the tournament as no 14 or 15 seed has ever won a game (the women&rsquo;s tournament was the first to see a 16 seed upset a top seed when Harvard beat Stanford 71-67 in 1998). Two came close last season with Jackson State falling late to LSU and UT Arlington hanging tough with Iowa State.&nbsp;
BEWARE THE 12
No. 12 seeds have had success, just like in the men&rsquo;s bracket the last few seasons, beating some of the 5s. At least one 12 has made it out of the first round in four of the last five tournaments, including two last season.
And now the picks:
GREENVILLE REGION 1
Analysis: South Carolina won&rsquo;t have to leave the state to reach the Final Four if it wins, playing its first two games at home and then traveling 90 minutes to Greenville for the regional. The Gamecocks (32-0) have been tested this season and still found a way to win every game. Dawn Staley&rsquo;s squad is looking to be the 10th team to finish a season unbeaten by winning a national championship. Second-seeded Maryland and No. 4 UCLA both played South Carolina during the season, giving them familiarity if there&rsquo;s a rematch.
Players to watch: Aliyah Boston, South Carolina; Cherita Daugherty, Southern Utah; Diamond Miller, Maryland; Charisma Osborne, UCLA.
Bracket Buster: Sixth-seed Creighton is the team most likely to spoil brackets. Last season as a 10-seed the team made the regional final before falling to South Carolina. Host Notre Dame is missing star Olivia Miles and the third-seeded Irish could fall to the Bluejays.
First-round picks: South Carolina, South Florida, Oklahoma, UCLA, Creighton, Notre Dame, Arizona, Maryland.
Second-round picks: South Carolina, UCLA, Creighton, Maryland.
Regional semifinal picks: South Carolina, Maryland.
Regional champion pick: South Carolina.
GREENVILLE REGION 2
Analysis: Indiana has been the second-best team most of the season behind South Carolina and earned the first No. 1 seed in school history. Led by Mackenzie Holmes in the middle and a dominant defense, the Hoosiers will be looking to reach their first Final Four. There&rsquo;s a lot of star power in the region including Villanova&rsquo;s Maddy Siegrist, LSU&rsquo;s Angel Reese and Utah&rsquo;s Alissa Pili.
Other players to watch: Leigha Brown, Michigan; Kaitlyn Chen, Princeton; Charlisse Leger-Walker, Washington State.
Bracket Buster: UNLV is one of three 30-win teams in the country, yet the Lady Rebels haven&rsquo;t faced many teams as good as Michigan this year. Florida Gulf Coast knocked off Virginia Tech as a 12 seed last season and could do it again this time if they beat Washington State.
First-round picks: Indiana, Oklahoma State, Florida Gulf Coast, Villanova, Michigan, LSU, Princeton, Utah.
Second-round picks: Indiana, Villanova, Michigan, Utah.
Regional semifinal picks: Indiana, Utah.
Regional champion pick: Indiana.
SEATTLE REGION 3
Analysis: No one had a worse string of injuries than UConn this season and yet Geno Auriemma has the Huskies playing their best basketball heading into the tournament. They&rsquo;ve made every Final Four since 2008 and there&rsquo;s no reason to think that streak can&rsquo;t continue if star guard Azzi Fudd keeps getting healthier. Virginia Tech is the one seed and has had a stellar year behind Elizabeth Kitley.
Other players to watch: Ashley Joens, Iowa State; Myah Selland, South Dakota State; Jacy Sheldon, Ohio State.
Bracket Buster: No. 9 seed South Dakota State ran through the Summit League and also beat Louisville and Kansas State this season. The Jackrabbits have enough talent to put a scare into the Hokies in the second round. No. 12 seed Toledo beat Michigan earlier this season and has won its last 16 games. Iowa State could be victim No. 17.
First-round picks: Virginia Tech, South Dakota State, Iowa State, Tennessee, North Carolina, Ohio State, Baylor, UConn.
Second-round picks: Virginia Tech, Iowa State, North Carolina, UConn.
Regional semifinal picks: Virginia Tech, UConn..
Regional champion pick: UConn.
SEATTLE REGION 4
Analysis: Stanford is in its usual spot as a No. 1 seed but has looked vulnerable this season, struggling on offense at times. The second-seeded Iowa Hawkeyes have had no problem scoring and are one of the hottest teams after winning the Big Ten Tournament behind star Caitlin Clark. No. 4 Texas was picked in the preseason top five before struggling with injuries and fitting transfers in. Vic Schaefer has had a lot of success in March and this could be another one of his great coaching jobs.
Other players to watch: Cameron Brink, Stanford; Rori Harmon, Texas; Ta&rsquo;Niya Latson, Florida State; Hailey Van Lith, Louisville.
Bracket Buster: No. 11 seed Middle Tennessee has won 10 straight games and had an early season victory over Louisville so Colorado should beware. Drake has been playing well lately, sweeping its way to a Missouri Valley Conference Tournament title. Louisville has been playing better lately, but needs to be sharp against the 12th-seeded Bulldogs.
First-round picks: Stanford, Gonzaga, Louisville, Texas, Middle Tennessee, Duke, Florida State, Iowa.
Second-round picks: Stanford, Texas, Duke, Iowa.
Regional final picks: Stanford, Iowa.
Regional champion pick: Stanford.
THE FINAL FOUR
Analysis: There should be some familiarity in the Final Four, which will likely see three teams from last season&rsquo;s national semifinals returning. South Carolina will likely face Stanford in a rematch of a November game that the Gamecocks won in overtime while UConn will likely face Indiana.
NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP
Pick: South Carolina and UConn will meet again and the Gamecocks will win back-to-back titles.
Analysis: The teams played in February and the Huskies gave the Gamecocks one of their stiffest tests of the season. UConn didn&rsquo;t have Fudd for that game (knee injury). Fudd is back, but she won&rsquo;t be enough for the Huskies to stop the Gamecocks from becoming only the fourth different school to win consecutive titles (USC, UConn and Tennessee).

Here’s a look at what could happen over the next few weeks in the 2023 Women's NCAA Tournament.

Chalk rules in women’s March Madness bracket picks

College basketball is full of excitement and drama. While winning a national championship is the ultimate goal for every team, there have been many loaded squads that came up short.&nbsp;
While the teams on this list didn&rsquo;t win a title, they are still often mentioned among the best teams in the history of college basketball. Here are the best college-basketball teams that failed to win it all.&nbsp;
11. 1965-66 Kentucky Wildcats
The 1965-66 Kentucky Wildcats were coached by Adolph Rupp and their talented roster included future NBA stars Pat Riley and Louie Dampier. The Wildcats finished the season with a record of 27-2 and advanced to the national championship game, where they faced the Texas Western Miners. In a game that would later be immortalized in the movie "Glory Road," the Miners upset the Wildcats, 72-65.
10. 2006-07 Ohio State Buckeyes
Led by future No. 1 overall draft pick Greg Oden and longtime NBA point guard Mike Conley, the Buckeyes were hoping to win their second national championship in program history. Ohio State, traditionally a football school, finished the season 35-4 and ranked No. 1 in the AP poll. The Buckeyes advanced to the national championship game, where they faced a loaded Florida Gators squad that was led by future NBA All-Stars Joakim Noah and Al Horford.&nbsp;
In the national championship game, Oden avoided the foul trouble that had plagued him earlier in the tournament and put up a dominant 25 points and 12 rebounds. However, it wasn&rsquo;t enough, as the Gators defeated the Buckeyes 84-75 behind Horford's 18 points, 12 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 blocks. Four players from the Buckeyes' roster would go on to play in the NBA: Conley, Oden, Daequan Cook and Othello Hunter.
9. 2004-05 Illinois Fighting Illini
The 2004-05 Illinois Fighting Illini were a dominant force in college basketball. Coached by Bruce Weber and led by Dee Brown and Deron Williams, the Illini won their first 29 games of the season and finished with a 37-2 record.&nbsp;
Illinois advanced to the national championship game, where they faced the North Carolina Tar Heels (who were led by Raymond Felton, Sean May, Rashad McCants and Marvin Williams). Despite a valiant effort, the Illini fell just short, losing 75-70. Five of their players would go on to play in the NBA: Williams, Brown, Luther Head, Roger Powell and James Augustine.
<img src="https://cdn.basketballnews.com/images/story/body/rose22.jpg" alt="" width="690" height="349" />
8. 2007-08 Memphis Tigers
Yes, John Calipari has back-to-back teams on this list. Coach Cal&rsquo;s 2007-08 Memphis Tigers were absolutely loaded and they were led by Derrick Rose, who would go on to be the No. 1 pick in the 2008 NBA Draft and the youngest MVP in NBA history in 2011. Chris Douglas-Roberts, Joey Dorsey and Antonio Anderson were also key contributors who eventually had stints in the NBA.
The Tigers finished the season with a record of 38-2 and they advanced to the national championship game, where they faced the Kansas Jayhawks. Despite a strong effort, the Tigers were unable to overcome the Jayhawks. Memphis missed a number of late free throws, which opened the door for Mario Chalmers to hit <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/march-madness-ranking-the-top11-ncaa-tournament-buzzerbeaters" target="_blank" rel="noopener">one of the most memorable buzzer-beaters in modern NCAA Tournament history</a> and force overtime. Kansas would go on to win, 75-68.
7. 1974-75 Indiana Hoosiers
Led by head coach Bob Knight, the 1974-75 Indiana Hoosiers finished the season with a record of 31-1 and advanced to the Final Four, where they faced the Kentucky Wildcats. Despite a strong effort, the Hoosiers were upset by the Wildcats, 92-90.&nbsp;
The Hoosiers would have eight players who would go on to play in the NBA: Scott May, Steve Green, Kent Benson, Quinn Buckner, John Laskowski, Bob Wilkerson, Tom Abernethy and Wayne Radford.
6. 1996-97 Kansas Jayhawks
The 1996-97 Kansas Jayhawks featured a pair of future NBA stars (Paul Pierce and Raef LaFrentz) and one of the best coaches in college-basketball history (Roy Williams). The Jayhawks finished the season with a record of 34-2 and advanced to the Final Four, where they faced the&nbsp; Arizona Wildcats.&nbsp;
Pierce put together a monster performance &mdash; 27 points, 11 rebounds, 3 threes, 2 blocks and 2 steals on 69.2/60/100 shooting splits &mdash; but it wasn't enough to defeat Mike Bibby&rsquo;s Wildcats. The Jayhawks lost 85-82 in overtime. In addition to Pierce and LaFrentz, Kansas had four other players go on to the NBA: Scot Pollard, Billy Thomas, Jacque Vaughn and Ryan Robertson.
5. 2014-15 Kentucky Wildcats
The 2014-15 Kentucky Wildcats, coached by John Calipari, featured quite the collection of young, high-upside talent. Led by future NBA superstars Karl-Anthony Towns and Devin Booker, the Wildcats finished the season with a perfect record of 38-0.
Kentucky advanced to the Final Four, where they faced the Wisconsin Badgers and were ultimately upset 71-64. In total, a whopping nine Wildcats would go on to play in the NBA: Towns, Booker, Trey Lyles, Willie Cauley-Stein, Aaron Harrison, Andrew Harrison, Tyler Ulis, Dakari Johnson and Alex Poythress.
4. 1984-85 Georgetown Hoyas
The 1984-85 Georgetown Hoyas, coached by John Thompson, were a powerhouse team that featured future NBA star Patrick Ewing. The Hoyas finished the season with a record of 35-3 and advanced to the national championship game, where they faced the Villanova Wildcats.&nbsp;
In one of the biggest upsets in college-basketball history, the Wildcats defeated the Hoyas 66-64. In addition to Ewing, Georgetown had four other players who went on to play in the NBA: Reggie Williams, Bill Martin, David Wingate and Michael Jackson.
<img src="https://cdn.basketballnews.com/images/story/body/web2.jpg" alt="" width="690" height="348" />
3. 1992-93 Michigan Wolverines
The prior season, the Fab Five took college basketball by storm, with bald heads and baggy shorts. They started five true freshmen and had a great season, making it all the way to the national championship game, where they were handled by a veteran Duke squad that was led by Christian Laettner, Grant Hill and Bobby Hurley, losing 71-51.
In the 1992-93 season, the Wolverines were widely regarded as the most talented team in the country and they were the favorites to win it all. Unfortunately, they fell short to North Carolina in the national championship game in one of the most memorable endings in sports history. Future No. 1 pick Chris Webber called a timeout that Michigan didn&rsquo;t have, as they lost 77-71. Michigan had five players who would later play in the NBA: Webber, Jalen Rose, Juwan Howard, Jimmy King and Eric Riley (plus Rob Pelinka would go on to run the Los Angeles Lakers' front office).
2. 1982-83 Houston Cougars
Led by future Hall-of-Famers Hakeem Olajuwon and Clyde Drexler, the 1982-83 Houston Cougars were known as "Phi Slama Jama" for their high-flying style of play. The Cougars were a dominant force on both ends of the court. They advanced to the Final Four, where they faced the N.C. State Wolfpack. Despite a 20-point lead in the second half, the Cougars were upset by the Wolfpack, 54-52. In addition to the superstar pairing of Olajuwon and Drexler, Houston also had two other players who would go on to play in the NBA: Michael Young and Larry Micheaux.
1. 1990-91 UNLV Runnin' Rebels
The 1990-91 UNLV Runnin' Rebels are one of the greatest college basketball teams of all-time, despite not winning the national championship. Coached by Jerry Tarkanian, the Rebels had an incredible season, finishing with a record of 34-1.&nbsp;
Led by Larry Johnson, Stacey Augmon and Greg Anthony, the Rebels played an up-tempo style of basketball that was both thrilling and effective. In the Final Four, they lost a close game to the Duke Blue Devils, who would go on to win the national championship. Johnson, Augmon and Anthony would go on to thrive in the NBA, and two other Rebels would also make it to the league (Elmore Spencer and Eyric Gray).
Would you rank these teams differently? Who is missing from this list? <a href="https://twitter.com/basketbllnews" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Tweet us your thoughts now</a>!

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

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

OXFORD, Miss. (AP) &mdash; Mississippi has hired Chris Beard as its basketball coach five weeks after his firing from Texas following a domestic violence arrest.
The Rebels announced Beard&rsquo;s hiring on Monday and will introduce him Tuesday in a public event at the SBJ Pavilion. Beard is a four-time conference coach of the year and was AP&rsquo;s national coach of the year in 2019.
But his two-year tenure at alma mater Texas ended abruptly in January, though felony domestic charges were ultimately dismissed on Feb. 15. A prosecutor said his office determined that the charge of assault by strangulation/suffocation-family violence could not be proven beyond a reasonable doubt.
Texas suspended Beard after his Dec. 12 arrest and fired him three weeks later when Texas officials told Beard&rsquo;s attorney he was &ldquo;unfit&rdquo; to lead the program. Beard was arrested when his fianc&eacute;e, Randi Trew, called 911 and told officers that Beard strangled, bit and hit her during a confrontation in his home.
She later said that Beard didn&rsquo;t choke her, and was defending himself, and that she never intended for Beard to be arrested and prosecuted.
Beard replaces Kermit Davis, who was ousted on Feb. 24 after going 74-79 in nearly five full seasons.
&ldquo;We thoroughly evaluated a number of outstanding candidates, and there is no doubt Coach Beard is one of the top coaches in the nation,&rdquo; said Keith Carter, the school&rsquo;s vice chancellor for athletics. &ldquo;After conducting due diligence and speaking to a number of individuals on and off the court, it was evident he is the right person to guide our team to greatness.&rdquo;
Beard has led three different programs to the NCAA Tournament since 2016, including an appearance in the 2019 championship game and an Elite Eight run the year before at Texas Tech. He is 237-98 as a head coach and 11-5 in the NCAA Tournament.
&ldquo;I am honored to be joining the Ole Miss family and excited to get started at this great university,&rdquo; said Beard, who was 29-13 at Texas. &ldquo;I can&rsquo;t express how grateful I am to Chancellor (Glenn) Boyce, Keith Carter and the rest of the search committee for their belief in me to lead this program. I am really looking forward to being an active part of the Oxford community.&rdquo;
Beard spent five seasons at Texas Tech, going 112-55 at a program that had endured five losing seasons in the previous six years. The Red Raiders went to their first Elite Eight in his second season and made it to the national championship game in 2019.
Beard led Little Rock to a 30-5 record and a Sun Belt Conference title in his lone season, making the second round of the NCAA Tournament.&nbsp;

Beard replaces Kermit Davis, who was ousted on Feb. 24 after going 74-79 in nearly five full seasons.

Ole Miss hires former Texas coach Chris Beard

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) &mdash; Tyler Kolek had 21 points and 10 assists, and No. 6 Marquette clinched its first outright Big East championship by beating Butler 72-56 on Tuesday night.
The victory was the fifth in a row and 10th in 11 games for the surprising Golden Eagles (24-6, 16-3), picked ninth by the league&rsquo;s coaches in the preseason poll.
Marquette, which had already secured a share of its first Big East title since 2013, had not won an outright regular-season crown since doing so in Conference USA in 2003.
Olivier-Maxence Prosper added 14 points and Oso Ighodaro had 12 for the Golden Eagles, who will be the top seed in the Big East Tournament at Madison Square Garden &mdash; an event Marquette has never won.
Jayden Taylor scored 13 and Jalen Thomas had 10 for Butler (14-16, 6-13), which finished 4-6 in Big East home games.
NO. 3 KANSAS 67, TEXAS TECH 63
LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) &mdash; Jalen Wilson scored 21 points in his Allen Fieldhouse farewell, fellow senior Kevin McCullar Jr. added 14 points and nine rebounds, and Kansas clinched a share of the Big 12 regular-season championship.
Dajuan Harris had 16 points for the Jayhawks (25-5, 13-4), who would capture the outright crown if ninth-ranked Texas loses to No. 22 TCU on Wednesday night. Otherwise, the Jayhawks &mdash; now with an NCAA-leading 64 conference championships &mdash; would need to beat the Longhorns in a head-to-head showdown Saturday in Austin.
De&rsquo;Vion Harmon had 15 points to lead Texas Tech (16-14, 5-12), which was just 3 of 16 from the 3-point line. Kevin Obanor added 14 points, Fardaws Aimaq had 13 points and 18 rebounds, and Pop Isaacs finished with 11 points.
NO. 12 TENNESSEE 75, ARKANSAS 57
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) &mdash; Olivier Nkamhoua scored 16 points and Tennessee earned its second consecutive win.
Despite the victory, the Volunteers (22-8, 11-6 Southeastern Conference) may have sustained a significant loss. Three minutes into the game, sophomore point guard Zakai Zeigler, who brings energy on offense and defense, went down with an injury to his left knee. The extent of the injury wasn&rsquo;t immediately known, but he did not return.
Santiago Vescovi, who took over the role of point guard for Zeigler, added 14 points and Josiah-Jordan James scored 11.
Anthony Black and Davonte Davis each scored 13 for the Razorbacks (19-11, 8-9). Nick Smith Jr. scored 14 and Ricky Council 11.
NO. 13 VIRGINIA 64, CLEMSON 57
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (AP) &mdash; Jayden Gardner had 12 points and nine rebounds, Armaan Franklin and Isaac McKneely each scored 12, and Virginia stopped a two-game skid.
The Cavaliers (22-6, 14-5 Atlantic Coast Conference) moved into a tie for second place in the league with No. 16 Miami with one game remaining.
PJ Hall led the Tigers (21-9, 13-6) with 19 points and Hunter Tyson had 17. Clemson got within 59-55 with 33 seconds left, but Virginia made five free throws and had a steal, sending the Tigers to their fifth loss in eight games.
IOWA 90, NO. 15 INDIANA 68
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. (AP) &mdash; Kris Murray scored 26 points, Tony Perkins flirted with the first triple-double in Iowa history and the Hawkeyes defeated Indiana.
Perkins had 23 points, 10 rebounds and a career-high eight assists for Iowa (19-11, 11-8 Big Ten).
Trayce Jackson-Davis led the Hoosiers (20-10, 11-8) with 26 points and 13 rebounds. He became the school&rsquo;s career rebounding leader with 1,096 &mdash; on a night the Hoosiers lost their fourth in a row in the series.
BOISE STATE 66, NO. 18 SAN DIEGO STATE 60
BOISE, Idaho (AP) &mdash; Max Rice scored 26 points and reeled off 12 straight points in a 14-0 run to close out the game and Boise State remained perfect at home in conference play.
The Broncos (23-7, 13-4 Mountain West Conference) avenged a 20-point loss to San Diego State on Feb. 3. It was the Broncos&rsquo; first win over a ranked team this season. Tyson Degenhart scored 14 for Boise State, while Naje Smith added 10.
San Diego State (23-6, 14-3), which had already claimed a share of the conference crown with its buzzer-beating win over New Mexico on Saturday, failed to hold onto a late nine-point lead. Matt Bradley paced San Diego State with 16 points, and Micah Parrish chipped in 11.
NO. 24 TEXAS A&amp;M 69, MISSISSIPPI 61
OXFORD, Miss. (AP) &mdash; Tyrece Radford scored 13 points as Texas A&amp;M erased an early 12-point deficit to beat Mississippi.
Wade Taylor IV added 12 points and seven assists and Julius Marble scored 10 for the Aggies, who went 13 of 16 from the free-throw line in the second half to stave off the Rebels&rsquo; attempt at a late rally.
Texas A&amp;M (22-8, 14-3 Southeastern Conference) trailed 20-8 after seven minutes but took a 29-26 lead on Taylor&rsquo;s 3-pointer with 4:06 left in the first half. The Aggies never trailed again.
Matthew Murrell made 8 of 11 from 3-point range and scored 26 points to lead Ole Miss (11-19, 3-13).

The Golden Eagles had not won an outright regular-season crown since doing so in Conference USA in 2003.

No. 6 Marquette clinches first outright Big East title

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) &mdash; Jordan Poole had 29 points, six assists and five rebounds, Klay Thompson scored 23 points and the Golden State Warriors rallied past Damian Lillard and the Portland Trail Blazers, 123-105 on Tuesday night.
Lillard had 25 points and seven assists to follow up his franchise-record and career-best 71-point masterpiece against the Rockets on Sunday night, when his 13 3-pointers were one shy of Thompson&rsquo;s NBA record.
Lillard was whistled for three quick fouls after halftime and Portland unsuccessfully challenged his fourth personal. The Warriors capitalized on every chance during their decisive 39-point third quarter, taking the lead for good on Thompson&rsquo;s 3-pointer with 1:46 left in the period on the way to winning a fourth straight at home and eighth in nine.
Poole&rsquo;s jumper with 6:14 to play in the third got Golden State within 74-67, then Thompson&rsquo;s jumper at 4:59 made it a two-point game as Golden State came back from 23 down after losing 125-122 in Portland on Feb. 8.
Jonathan Kuminga delivered a high-flying one-handed dunk down the middle late in the third certain to make the highlight reels, then another shortly after to aid the comeback. He scored 16 on 8-for-10 shooting.
Lillard had 15 points on 5-for-8 shooting in the first to help the Blazers build a quick 39-22 lead and score 41 in the opening period. He shot 9 of 21 for the night.
Thompson and Lillard were the league&rsquo;s two most prolific shooters from long range in February, Thompson averaging an NBA-best 5.6 3s per game for the month to Lillard&rsquo;s 5.3.
Thompson has been working on being a better rebounder and grabbed eight to go with four assists. He and Poole began a combined 6 for 22 as the Warriors trailed 65-48 at halftime.
It marked the first meeting since Portland dealt Gary Payton II to the Warriors ahead of the trade deadline, then Golden State expressed concerns to the NBA about how much the Trail Blazers shared regarding the guard&rsquo;s health. Payton is currently sidelined still recovering from offseason surgery for a core muscle injury.
&ldquo;Just wanna hoop!!&rdquo;&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://twitter.com/Garydwayne/status/1630739978430066691" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Payton posted</a>&nbsp;on his Twitter account.
Draymond Green returned from a two-game absence with a bruised right knee then injured his left wrist at the 9:15 mark of the second in a collision with Drew Eubanks and went to the locker room before returning about four minutes later.
He underwent an MRI exam for the knee on Monday, then participated in the shootaround before being deemed ready to play.
GPII&rsquo;S REUNION
Portland coach Chauncey Billups tried to keep the focus on basketball and none of the drama surrounding Payton&rsquo;s departure earlier this month.
&ldquo;Just another day,&rdquo; Billups said, &ldquo;I&rsquo;ll be happy to see him, embrace him and give him some love.&rdquo;
LOONEY&rsquo;S STREAK
Kevon Looney, whose 24 games with double-digit rebounds are most for Golden State since Green had 37 in 2015-16, saw the end of a stretch of six straight games with 13 or more rebounds but did score 14 points with seven rebounds.
Larry Smith is the last Warriors player with at least 13 rebounds in seven consecutive games when he twice had eight straight such games in 1980-81.
&ldquo;What Looney&rsquo;s doing on the offensive glass is incredible,&rdquo; Billups said.
TIP-INS
Trail Blazers: Portland shot 12 for 39 from deep and got outrebounded 45-33. ... The Blazers have lost the last five on the Warriors&rsquo; home court.
Warriors: Stephen Curry, the reigning NBA Finals MVP, is increasing his workload and scrimmaged earlier in the day with Golden State&rsquo;s two-way players and backups. He missed his ninth straight game with a left leg injury after getting hurt against Dallas on Feb. 4 and a formal update on his progress should come in the next few days. ... Andrew Wiggins sat out a fifth consecutive game while dealing with a family matter.
UP NEXT
Trail Blazers: Host New Orleans on Wednesday night to conclude the road-home back-to-back.
Warriors: Host the Clippers on Thursday night having won the last four in the series at home.

Jordan Poole had 29 points, Klay Thompson scored 23 points and the Warriors rallied past Damian Lillard and the Blazers, 123-105.

Jordan Poole, Klay Thompson rally Warriors past Blazers 123-105

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

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

Top-ranked South Carolina edges Ole Miss in OT

UNLV coach Lindy La Rocque was 4 years old the last time the Lady Rebels were ranked in The Associated Press Top 25 women&rsquo;s basketball poll.
Now the Las Vegas native has the team back in the Top 25 for the first time since 1994: UNLV entered the poll at No. 23 on Monday.
&ldquo;Obviously it means a lot. When I took the job I had a vision of what this place could be and what it once was,&rdquo; La Rocque said. &ldquo;That&rsquo;s what I remember and I&rsquo;m trying to put the pieces together to make that come to fruition. This is one of the small milestones that gives you a little bit of joy and you know that you&rsquo;re doing some things right.&rdquo;
South Carolina earned the No. 1 ranking for the 34th consecutive week. That is tied for the third-longest run atop the poll with UConn. Only the Huskies (51 weeks) and Louisiana Tech (36) have had longer streaks at No. 1.
The Gamecocks (25-0), who were again a unanimous choice from the 28-member national media panel, routed then-No. 3 LSU on Sunday in a showdown of unbeaten teams. The Tigers fell to fifth.
Indiana, Stanford and Utah were behind South Carolina. It&rsquo;s the best ranking in school history for the Utes, who moved up three places this week.
UConn dropped two spots to sixth after falling at Marquette, giving the Huskies their first losing streak in 30 years. Iowa fell two places to seventh after losing to Indiana.
Maryland, Duke and Notre Dame rounded out the top 10.
UNLV (24-2) has won 15 straight games, second to only South Carolina for the longest streak in the country. It is the team&rsquo;s best start since the 1989-90 team went 28-3.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s cool. If you look at our roster, the two best players are from Vegas,&rdquo; said La Rocque, who played at Stanford. &ldquo;There&rsquo;s some good karma that we got working.&rdquo;
USC joined the Lady Rebels in the Top 25, entering the poll at No. 25. It&rsquo;s the first time since 2016 that the Trojans are ranked. They visit Stanford on Friday night.
South Florida and N.C. State fell out of the poll.
STREAK BUSTED
North Carolina State is not ranked for the first time since Feb. 5, 2018. The Wolfpack had been ranked for 96 consecutive weeks, which had been the fifth-longest active streak behind UConn, Maryland, South Carolina and Stanford.
CRUISING WILDCATS
Buoyed by star Maddy Siegrist, Villanova continues to climb up the AP Top 25. Siegrist scored a Big East-record 50 points in a win over Seton Hall on Saturday to become the conference&rsquo;s all-time leading scorer. With 1,550 conference regular-season points, Siegrist surpassed former Boston College standout Sarah Behn&rsquo;s (1989-93) 1,546 points. Siegrist has the Wildcats at No. 14, the school&rsquo;s best ranking in 20 years.&nbsp;

The No. 23 Runnin' Rebels have won 15 straight games, second to only South Carolina for the longest streak in the country.

UNLV women ranked for first time in 29 years; South Carolina No. 1

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) &mdash; D&rsquo;Andre Gholston hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer to give Missouri a stunning 86-85 victory over No. 6 Tennessee on Saturday night.
With 4.2 seconds left in the game and the Volunteers (19-6, 8-4 Southeastern Conference) leading 85-83, Santiago Vescovi missed a free throw. His second attempt was waived off when Tobe Awaka committed a lane violation, setting up a final chance for the Tigers (19-6, 7-5).
Gholston took the inbounds and dribbled up the court before taking an off-balance contested 3-pointer from about 30 feet that swished through the net at the buzzer for the win. He was mobbed by his teammates after hitting the shot.
Tennessee came back from a 17-point deficit early in the second half and led the last 7:11 of the game.
NO. 3 ALABAMA 77, AUBURN 69
AUBURN, Ala. (AP) &mdash; Rylan Griffen scored 16 points, Mark Sears added 15 and Alabama held off a big challenge from its in-state rival Auburn.
The Crimson Tide (22-3, 12-0 Southeastern Conference) remained the only Power 5 team without a league loss. Sears and Griffen helped Alabama overcome an off shooting performance from star Brandon Miller, who had 13 points but missed all seven 3-point attempts.
Wendell Green Jr. had 16 of his 24 points in the second half for Auburn (17-8, 7-5).
STANFORD 88, NO. 4 ARIZONA 79
STANFORD, Calif. (AP) &mdash; Spencer Jones scored all 18 of his points in the second half for Stanford and played a key role in neutralizing Pac-12 leading scorer Azuolas Tubelis, as the Cardinal stunned Arizona.
Stanford (11-14, 5-9 Pac-12) beat a ranked team for the first time this year and a top-five team for the second time in two seasons. Arizona (22-4, 11-4), hoping to stay a half-game behind UCLA for the conference lead, had a seven-game win snapped.
Courtney Ramey scored a season- and game-high 26 points for Arizona. Tubelis was held to four points and did not have any rebounds.
Stanford&rsquo;s Michael O&rsquo;Connell scored a team-high 22 points, helping the Cardinal outshoot the Wildcats 61% to 46% from the field.
NO. 5 TEXAS 94, WEST VIRGINIA 60
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) &mdash; Sir&rsquo;Jabri Rice scored 24 points in just 17 minutes in Texas&rsquo; win over West Virginia.
Texas (20-5) remained in first place in the Big 12 at 9-3, while West Virginia (15-10, 4-8) lost for the sixth time in its last seven games against the Longhorns.
Rice, a guard who transferred this season from New Mexico State, was nearly perfect. He converted 5 of 6 field-goal attempts, including 4 of 5 3-pointers and all 10 free throws.
Emmitt Matthews led West Virginia with 13 points.
NO. 8 VIRGINIA 69, DUKE 62, OT
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (AP) &mdash; Armaan Franklin scored 23 points, including a 3-pointer with 39 seconds left, to lift Virginia over Duke in overtime.
Kihie Clark added 16 points and Ben Vander Plas 13 for the Cavaliers (19-4, 11-3 Atlantic Coast Conference), who won despite a 9 for 22 performance from the free-throw line.
Duke (17-8, 8-6) seemed poised to win when Kyle Filipowski drove on the final play of regulation and two defenders contested his shot. The officials initially whistled a foul, but waved it off after a lengthy review. Jeremy Roach led the Blue Devils with 16 points.
NO. 9 KANSAS 78, OKLAHOMA 55
NORMAN, Okla. (AP) &mdash; Jalen Wilson scored 18 points, and Kansas rolled past Oklahoma.
Wilson, who entered the day leading the Big 12 with nearly 21 points per game, bounced back from a two-point outing against Texas on Monday.
Dajuan Harris scored 16 points and Kevin McCullar added 13 for the Jayhawks (20-5, 8-4 Big 12).
Jalen Hill scored 14 points and Otega Oweh added 11 for the Oklahoma (12-13, 2-10). Grant Sherfield, who leads the Sooners with nearly 17 points per game, was held to 10 on 4-for-14 shooting.
NO. 10 MARQUETTE 89, GEORGETOWN 75
WASHINGTON (AP) &mdash; Kam Jones, Oso Ighodaro and Tyler Kolek each scored 14 points to lead a balanced scoring attack for Marquette in its win over Georgetown.
Olivier-Maxence Prosper had 11 points and Chase Ross added 10 for Marquette (20-6, 12-3 Big East), which moved into first place in the conference.
Jay Heath scored 18 points to lead last-place Georgetown (6-20, 1-14), which has lost five straight after ending their league record 29-game conference losing streak on Jan. 24.
OKLAHOMA ST 64, NO. 11 IOWA ST 56
AMES, Iowa (AP) &mdash; John-Michael Wright scored 19 points and Oklahoma State rallied past Iowa State.
The loss was the Cyclones&rsquo; fourth in five games.
Bryce Thompson added 12 points for the Cowboys (16-9, 7-5 Big 12) in their fifth straight win.
Aljaz Kunc scored 13 for Iowa State (16-8, 7-5).
TEXAS TECH 71, NO. 12 KANSAS STATE 63
LUBBOCK, Texas (AP) &mdash;De&rsquo;Vion Harmon scored 20 points, including a crucial driving basket in the final minute, as Texas Tech upended Kansas State.
The Red Raiders (13-12, 2-10 Big 12) held the Wildcats to two field goals in the game&rsquo;s final four minutes.
Kansas State (19-6, 7-5) edged as close as one point throughout the second half, but Tech answered with key baskets to maintain the lead. The Wildcats were led by Markquis Nowell&rsquo;s 18 points. Desi Sills added 12 points.
NO. 14 BAYLOR 72, NO. 17 TCU 68
FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) &mdash; Adam Flagler scored 28 points, with 16 in a row for Baylor during the stretch when the Bears overcame a 10-point deficit in the second half and then held on to beat TCU.
LJ Cryer had 23 points for the Bears (19-6, 8-4 Big 12), who on Jan. 4 at home against TCU blew a 17-point lead in an 88-87 loss. They have won nine of their last 10 games.
Damion Baugh had 16 points and 10 assist for TCU (17-8, 6-6).
NO. 15 SAINT MARY&rsquo;S 81, PORTLAND 64
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) &mdash; Logan Johnson had 34 points, six rebounds and six assists as Saint Mary&rsquo;s handled Portland on the road.
Alex Ducas added 18 points and six rebounds for the Gaels (22-5, 11-1 West Coast Conference) and Aidan Mahaney contributed 10 points and five assists.
Kristian Sjolund led the Pilots (13-15, 5-8) with 12 points, and Juan Gorosito and Tyler Robinson each added 10 points.
NO. 18 INDIANA 62, MICHIGAN 61
Trayce Jackson-Davis had 28 points and 11 rebounds, Jalen Hood-Schifino scored 21 points and Indiana held on for a win over Michigan.
Freshman Jett Howard was short on a 3-pointer just before the buzzer, leaving the Wolverines without a point for the final 5:12.
The Hoosiers (18-7, 9-5 Big Ten) trailed by 11 in the first half and for much of the second, but went ahead for good with 2:58 left when Hood-Schifino made two free throws for their last points.
Michigan (14-11, 8-6) fell to 0-4 against teams in the AP Top 25, losing each game by five or fewer points.
Hunter Dickinson scored 16 points, Kobe Bufkin had 14 points and Howard added 12 for the Wolverines.
NO. 19 MIAMI 93, LOUISVILLE 85
CORAL GABLES, Fla. (AP) &mdash; Nijel Pack scored 22 points in Miami&rsquo;s win over Louisville.
Five days following its dominant 22-point home win over Duke, Miami (20-5, 11-4 Atlantic Coast Conference) could not shake off the conference&rsquo;s last-place team until Pack&rsquo;s 3-pointer with 2:44 remaining made it 82-72. Pack shot 8 of 14, including 4 of 9 on 3-pointers.
Isaiah Wong and Norchad Omier finished with 21 points each and Jordan Miller added 10 for the Hurricanes, who are 14-0 at home.
El Ellis scored a career-high 33 points and had five assists while Jae&rsquo;Lyn Withers finished with 18 for the Cardinals (3-22, 1-13).
ST. JOHN&rsquo;S 73, NO. 20 PROVIDENCE 68
NEW YORK (AP) &mdash; David Jones scored 16 points and AJ Storr added 15 for St. John&rsquo;s, which beat Providence.
Joel Soriano had 10 points and 13 rebounds for the Red Storm (15-11, 5-10 Big East).
Bryce Hopkins equaled a career best with 29 points for the Friars (18-7, 10-4).
NO. 22 NORTH CAROLINA STATE 92, BOSTON COLLEGE 62
BOSTON (AP) &mdash; Jarkel Joiner scored 26 points and D.J. Burns Jr. added 18 with 10 rebounds to lead North Carolina State over Boston College.
Terquavion Smith scored 17 points for the Wolfpack (20-6, 10-5 Atlantic Coast Conference), giving him 1,000 points for his career.
Quinten Post scored 20 points for Boston College (12-14, 6-9).
NO. 23 CREIGHTON 56, NO. 21 UCONN 53
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) &mdash; Trey Alexander scored 17 points to lead Creighton past UConn after the Huskies had what would have been a tying 3-pointer erased on video review in the final seconds.
Creighton (17-8, 11-3) is a half-game behind Big East-leading Marquette with its eighth straight win. The Huskies (19-7, 8-7) lost for the first time in four games.
Adama Sanogo had 17 points and 10 rebounds for UConn.
ILLINOIS 69, NO. 24 RUTGERS 60
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (AP) &mdash; Coleman Hawkins scored 18 points and Illinois held Rutgers scoreless for more than 10 minutes in the second half to rally for the win.
Illinois (17-7, 8-5 Big Ten) trailed 47-41 with 14 1/2 minutes left before Hawkins&rsquo; 3-pointer started a 19-0 run. Hawkins hit four consecutive shots &mdash; including a 3 &mdash; and gave the Illini the lead for good at 48-47.
Rutgers (16-9, 8-6) missed 15 straight shots during its drought.
NO. 25 SAN DIEGO STATE 82, UNLV 71
SAN DIEGO (AP) &mdash; Adam Seiko scored all 18 points on 3-pointers and Matt Bradley added 17 points for San Diego, the Mountain West Conference front-runner that beat UNLV for its third straight win and seventh in eight games.
The Aztecs (20-5, 11-2 MWC) buried the Runnin&rsquo; Rebels in a blizzard of 3-pointers and slam dunks, including during a 14-0 run midway through the first half, to sweep the season series and top UNLV the fifth straight time. Keshad Johnson scored 11 of his 14 points in the game&rsquo;s first 6 1/2 minutes and Nathan Mensah had 11 points and 11 rebounds.
Elijah Harkless scored 24 for UNLV (16-9, 5-8) before fouling out with 2:05 to go. Keshon Gilbert added 19 for the Runnin&rsquo; Rebels, who didn&rsquo;t get their first assist until two minutes into the second half.

A recap of Saturday's action in men's college hoops includes numerous upsets in the top-15.

Three-pointer at buzzer lifts Missouri over No. 6 Tennessee

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

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

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

LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) &mdash; KJ Adams scored a career-high 22 points and No. 2 Kansas closed the game on an 18-4 run to beat Oklahoma 79-75 on Tuesday night.
Kansas (14-1, 3-0 Big 12) got 17 points from Jalen Wilson, 11 from Dajuan Harris and 10 from Zach Clemence. The Jayhawks have won 22 straight games against Oklahoma in Allen Fieldhouse, including 16 straight under coach Bill Self.
Oklahoma (10-5, 1-2 Big 12) was led by Grant Sherfield&rsquo;s season-high 25 points. Sam Godwin added 12 points, Milos Uzan had 11 and Tanner Groves had 10.
Kansas went more than 12 minutes without a field goal in the second half, but Adams ended that streak with a thunderous dunk at the 5:06 mark.
NO. 5 TENNESSEE 77, VANDERBILT 68
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) &mdash; Santiago Vescovi and Julian Phillips each scored 15 points as Tennessee recovered from a halftime deficit to pull out a win over Vanderbilt.
Vescovi scored 12 of his points in the second half to lead the recovery for the Volunteers (14-2, 4-0 Southeastern Conference), who won their 25th straight game at Thompson-Boling Arena. Uros Plavsic contributed 11 points.
Vandy&rsquo;s 7-foot Liam Robbins won the battle of the big men with 18 points off the bench. Noah Shelby had 12 points and Jordan Wright added 13 for Vanderbilt (8-8, 1-2).
NO. 11 KANSAS STATE 65, OKLAHOMA STATE 57
MANHATTAN, Kan. (AP) &mdash; Markquis Nowell scored 20 points and found Keyontae Johnson for an alley-oop dunk with 38 seconds left as Kansas State held off Oklahoma State.
Johnson added 12 points and Desi Sills had 11 for the Wildcats (15-1, 4-0 Big 12), who won their ninth straight and matched their victory total from last season. Predicted to finish last in the Big 12, Kansas State went from unranked last week to just outside the top 10 in the AP poll.
Kalib Boone scored 23 points and Caleb Asberry had 15 for the Cowboys (9-7, 1-3), who have lost three of four, all by 10 points or fewer.
NO. 13 VIRGINIA 65, NORTH CAROLINA 58
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (AP) &mdash; Ben Vander Plas had 17 points and eight rebounds and Virginia used a 17-2 second-half run to beat North Carolina, which lost leading scorer and rebounder Armando Bacot to a left ankle injury.
Reece Beekman scored 13 points and Armaan Franklin had 12 points and nine rebounds as the Cavaliers (12-3, 4-2 Atlantic Coast Conference) won their eighth straight meeting with the Tar Heels at John Paul Jones Arena.
Bacot rolled his ankle 1:18 into the game and did not return. RJ Davis led the Tar Heels (11-6, 3-3) with 16 points and Caleb Love and Jalen Washington added 13 each. Washington, a freshman, played 27 minutes in Bacot&rsquo;s absence.
NO. 14 IOWA STATE 84, TEXAS TECH 50
AMES, Iowa (AP) &mdash; Gabe Kalscheur scored a season-high 25 points to help Iowa State roll past Texas Tech.
Kalscheur made five of six shots from 3-point range and was 10 of 14 overall as the Cyclones (13-2, 4-0 Big 12) coasted to their sixth straight win.
Jaren Holmes added 15 points. Caleb Grill finished with 14 after hitting four of his first six 3-pointers. Iowa State finished 12 of 22 from behind the arc.
De&rsquo;Vion Harmon led Tech (10-6, 0-4) with 14 points.
MICHIGAN STATE 69, NO. 18 WISCONSIN 65
MADISON, Wis. (AP) &mdash; A.J. Hoggard made a tiebreaking layup with 41 seconds left and Michigan State rallied past Wisconsin for its seventh consecutive victory in a game that had 14 lead changes.
Wisconsin (11-4, 3-2 Big Ten) was playing its second straight game without leading scorer and three-year starter Tyler Wahl, who averages 13.2 points per game.
Joey Hauser had 20 points for Michigan State (12-4, 4-1), which won its first road game since Dec. 7. Tyson Walker added 13 points, Jaden Akins 12 and Hoggard 10.
Steven Crowl scored 19 points, Chucky Hepburn 14 and Connor Essegian 13 for Wisconsin.
NO. 21 AUBURN 82, OLE MISS 73
OXFORD, Miss. (AP) &mdash; Wendell Green Jr. scored 23 points, including 18 in the second half, and Auburn dominated after halftime to beat Mississippi.
Auburn (13-3, 3-1 Southeastern Conference) trailed 35-34 at the break but put together runs of 6-0, 10-2 and 9-4 in the opening 10 minutes of the second half.
Johni Broome had 19 points and 11 rebounds, Allen Flanigan added 15 points and Jaylin Williams scored 11 for the Tigers, who shot 17 of 28 (60.7%) in the second half.
Matthew Murrell led Ole Miss (8-8, 0-4) with 24 points, adding six rebounds and four assists. Tye Fagan scored 13 points and Jaemyn Brakefield added 12 for the Rebels, who lost their fifth straight.
NO. 23 SAN DIEGO STATE 74, NEVADA 65
SAN DIEGO (AP) &mdash; Matt Bradley scored 17 points and Lamont Butler added 15 and San Diego State took sole possession of first place in the Mountain West Conference.
The Aztecs (13-3, 4-0 MWC) dominated on both ends of Steve Fisher Court in a showdown between the last two undefeated teams in the conference to extend their winning streak to six games. Keshad Johnson added 11 points for SDSU, which has beaten Nevada nine straight times.
Nick Davidson scored 17, Kenan Blackshear 12 and Jarod Lucas 11 for Nevada (14-4, 4-1), whose six-game winning streak was snapped.

A recap of Tuesday's men's top-25 action includes a career night from Jayhawks forward KJ Adams.

No. 2 Kansas extends home win streak against Oklahoma to 22

If you flicked on a random Tari Eason highlight in the past two weeks, you probably wouldn't realize we're still in the thick of the NBA preseason.
Eason has been the sultan of second efforts through three exhibition contests, swooping in for offensive rebounds and shrugging off contact to get putback points. He's averaging a league-high 5.3 offensive boards per game by snaking around boxouts, like in the below clip.
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The ball just seems to find Tari Eason. <a href="https://t.co/RqRBVVR59o">pic.twitter.com/RqRBVVR59o</a>
&mdash; Nekias (Nuh-KY-us) Duncan (@NekiasNBA) <a href="https://twitter.com/NekiasNBA/status/1578614121352036352?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 8, 2022</a></blockquote>

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These types of hustle plays have garnered early respect from fans and teammates, but they're just one facet of Eason's preseason showcase. The No. 17 overall pick has put up 20.7 points and 10.0 rebounds per game with a scorching 64.1% shooting clip from the floor. Eason is the early "steal-of-the-draft" badge-wearer, and he has Rockets fans daydreaming about how he could fill some of the critical holes in Houston's young core.
Eason is an eye-popping vertical athlete for a player his size (6-foot-8) and that has shown up on some of the transition hammer dunks he's dropped so far. But that bounce, coupled with a 7-foot-2-inch wingspan, also allows him to swallow up rebounds like this.
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Tari Eason suction cups for hands. Also, this is good awareness by Mathews to balance the floor once he sees Eason go to the rim. <a href="https://t.co/jVwoqTvyTc">pic.twitter.com/jVwoqTvyTc</a>
&mdash; DJ (@ACE_ZULLO) <a href="https://twitter.com/ACE_ZULLO/status/1579812450589110274?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 11, 2022</a></blockquote>
Despite a somewhat bizarre bounce, Eason overcomes his late dash to the interior and skies over Jamal Cain for the board. Cain's no slouch; he's 6-foot-7 and has played hard for the Miami Heat this month en route to a two-way contract. But Eason timed his late jump well, and followed it with a quick second leap for the bucket.&nbsp;
This level of intensity is obviously a way for Eason to earn the respect of his coaches, and in turn, get some playing time. Houston ranked 20th in offensive-rebound rate last season.
However, Eason has also shown he's far more than a putback boss. He's knocking down catch-and-shoot threes and attacking closeouts &mdash; necessary skills alongside Houston's ball-dominant players.
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He has not been a super efficient driving finisher, but Eason covers some remarkable ground with his handle and stride size. He loves this power step-through and displays some surprising body contortion for his size. Eason has natural touch around the basket, and I wouldn't be too concerned about a touch miss in this small sample.
However, the downside to these power drives is that they often leave Eason out of juice when he goes up for a shot. Those long strides sap him of vertical pop and lead to some tough blocked shots:
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Still, they're ambitious attempts, and "ambitious" aptly describes a lot of Eason's game right now.
Though he has just three assists in three preseason games, Eason has thrown some eyebrow-raising passes, including this one:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
You won't see it in many highlight reels because of the blown finish, but this full court bounce pass by Tari Eason after securing the steal was absolutely sensational. LeBron James, Cade Cunningham-esque. <a href="https://t.co/thYTYtpZ4d">pic.twitter.com/thYTYtpZ4d</a>
&mdash; Itamar (@Itamar_17_10) <a href="https://twitter.com/Itamar_17_10/status/1578747322330406912?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 8, 2022</a></blockquote>

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He's also made some impressive reads in the half-court, though they haven't equated to scores. At the same time, Eason sometimes telegraphs his plan a bit too plainly, and it leads to turnovers like these:
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I'm optimistic about Eason becoming a better decision-maker. The fact that he's seeing these passing options is a positive, and as he acclimates to NBA pacing and spacing, his experience will naturally help his intuition.
The Rockets have to put Eason in positions where he can gamble with his physical tools and developing vision. His length and strength are already coming in handy on defense, where Eason can will himself out of bad spots and create opportunities out of thin air.
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Against the Heat on Tuesday, Eason altered shots like he was shot out of a cannon. That third clip, where he glides in to effortlessly reject a Duncan Robinson three-point attempt, still amazes me given where he was mere split-seconds before. Eason also can afford to dig at driving players, like he does against Max Strus, because he's long and agile enough to recover back and provide a quality contest.&nbsp;
The 21-year-old should get on the floor because he can grab rebounds and create havoc on defense. He can exceed expectations, perhaps to All-Rookie-type levels, by developing his jumper and syncing with the fluid lanes and pockets that come together on an NBA court. Will he have stretches of poor shooting and unwise gambling on both ends? Probably &mdash; most young players do.&nbsp;
But Tari Eason is a rookie who already has strengths in a defined role and flashes of upside in versatility. That's already pretty special, and it makes him a must-track member of this 2022 class.

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Houston Rockets rookie Tari Eason has averaged 20.7 points, 10.0 rebounds and 1.7 steals through three preseason contests.

Is Tari Eason's preseason play forecasting a breakout rookie year?

Over Alex Caruso's six seasons as a professional basketball player, he has navigated through a shifting landscape of teams, roles and expectations.
His career began as an undrafted rookie with the Oklahoma City Blue. Then, he burst into the Hollywood spotlight with the Los Angeles Lakers and played a significant role while winning his first NBA championship. And after earning a lucrative contract from the Chicago Bulls, Caruso has now taken on the responsibility of major minutes on a retooled playoff contender in the Windy City.&nbsp;
Injuries, plus the physical and mental toll of playing in the league, can jostle a player out of a rhythm. When Caruso needs to recalibrate, he often hones in on a different type of shot.
"Golf is the great analogy for anything in life to be honest," Caruso told Basketball News. "[Because of] how much stress there is on that and how much mental fortitude you have to have &mdash; patience, [and] the ability to take in a bunch of information and create or formulate a game plan and try and act on it. But the thing for golf, for me, is just really to get away. It's kind of one of my only hobbies."
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Caruso's second sport is well-documented. He's&nbsp;<a href="https://uproxx.com/dimemag/alex-caruso-bulls-interview-fashion-style-golf/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">played with his father at Pebble Beach</a>, and he competed in the American Century Championship this summer. Caruso says that, like developing a swing in golf, basketball is all about muscle memory and disciplined repetition. When your shot is off &mdash; just like in golf &mdash; sometimes you just have to lean on what works for you.
"Something that I realized, through golf swings sometimes, is if I'm poking the ball or I'm slicing it too much, getting back to the basics and just having more of a feel sometimes [works]. I apply that to my basketball games," Caruso said. "If I feel like I'm forcing something too much or things aren't going my way, I just try to get back to the basics [and] get back to what feels right. My natural abilities got me to a really good spot in life and with this game, so that's something I always kind of fall back on."
Like with his golf game, Caruso believes the Bulls have to rediscover what "feels right."
Chicago is running back a largely similar roster from their first season of an overhaul in 2021-22. Given their late-year fade, sixth-place finish in the Eastern Conference and quiet first-round exit from the playoffs, the Bulls may appear to be sitting on their hands on the surface. However, Caruso emphasized that when Chicago was healthy and locked in, as they were in the first stages of last season, the roster had palpable success.
The Bulls were on top of the East standings for 47 days, second only to the Miami Heat, and held the first seed as late as Feb. 25. They had the NBA's 10th-ranked defense through the end of the 2021 calendar year; that fell to 22nd by the end of the regular season. To Caruso, a return to the top means reemphasizing the details of what had the Bulls clicking last winter.
"Obviously, we had a little bit of bad luck with injuries last year. That doesn't help," Caruso said. "I think in the beginning of the year, we were first in the East, we had a great Defensive Rating [and the] offense was doing everything they needed to do as far as moving the ball, creating open shots. And then, through a little bit of adversity in the year, we dropped a little bit of discipline in certain areas of the game.
"I think that's something that, if you're trying to win &mdash; and win in the postseason &mdash; those are things that you got to be consistent at."
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Javonte Green and Derrick Jones Jr. are back, Patrick Williams has a full summer after an injury-riddled second season, and Andre Drummond is joining the fold to back up Nikola Vucevic. Caruso says those guys all make a defensive difference, and even leading scorers DeMar DeRozan and Zach LaVine represent an athletic presence. But when everyone's healthy, the first line of defense comes from two ex-Laker teammates in Caruso and Lonzo Ball.&nbsp;
Caruso averaged a career-high 1.7 steals per game in his first year as a Bull. Had he played enough games, he likely would have warranted All-Defensive consideration. He deflected the ball 3.4 times per game in 2021-22, tied for fourth-most among all NBA players. Chicago was 8.5 points stingier per 100 defensive possessions with Caruso on the floor too &mdash; a differential in the 96th percentile of all players, per Cleaning the Glass.
The now-veteran guard has this remarkable, innate ability to visualize a tree of outcomes on any defensive possession. He describes his defense like he's accounting for a multiverse, then whittling down the possibilities until he reaches the branch he wants. The <a href="https://www.nbcsports.com/chicago/bulls/bulls-alex-caruso-details-how-defense-fuels-his-game" target="_blank" rel="noopener">pacing of the shot clock</a>, the rhythm of an opponent's dribble and the locations of his teammates (as he alluded to in the below video) all help Caruso wade through uncertainty.
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"[In the] professional game, the more information you can have and understand before a play takes place, the better chance you have of a successful stop, or offensive possession, whatever it is," Caruso explained. "The court is so big and the three-point line's so far away. And, nowadays, everybody's playing pace-and-space offense where they're trying to spread everybody out and take advantage of 1-on-1 matchups.
"For me, it's just about creating advantages for myself. These guys are already so good; if I try to play them 1-on-1, just head-up, I could play the best defense of my life and they still might score. So for me, it's just trying to create advantages as much as I can. The best advantage you have on defense is your teammates, so I try to use them as much as possible, whether they're even aware of it or not."
Pesky screen navigation had become a tool for defenses to gunk up today's pick-and-roll-happy attacks. Caruso excels as a screen irritant, using patience and precision to read a ball-handler's choices. He revels in the finer points of defending screens and, after six seasons as a pro, has built up an encyclopedia of tricks and tendencies.
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"[It takes] a little bit of anticipation [and] being able to control the ball-handler," Caruso said. "If he has a chance to reject you, and you try to get skinny and get over the top of the screen, then it's just going to increase that 2-on-1 advantage that they're trying to get with the pick-and-roll. It's just about anticipating, but then, trying to be like a defensive back in the NFL. I'm trying to mirror what they're doing. I'm not trying to necessarily beat them to the spot. I just want to make sure that I'm in their hip pocket, moving as they're moving.
"Then, once we get to the point of the screen, I just connect to their body &mdash; hip-to-hip, chest-to-chest &mdash; and just try to get skinny and get through the screen. So, it comes with a lot of practice too. For years, I've been fighting over ball-screens trying to get better at it, and it's been useful for me."
Of course, the second challenge is literally getting through that screen, set by some of the league's most imposing physical obstacles. Caruso quickly lists Steven Adams and Jonas Valanciunas, two notorious bruisers, among the league's toughest screen-setters.
His third choice &mdash; after some thought &mdash; is Draymond Green.
"Just because he sets illegal screens and they let him get away with it," said a smirking Caruso, who concedes that he, too, tries to push referees' tolerance.
"On defense, I probably foul a little more than I should, but the refs can't call a foul every single time," Caruso added. "So it's like &mdash; Draymond's gonna get Steph [Curry] open eventually. He's gonna run into you and the refs aren't going to call it. So just his ability to be physical and get guys open is pretty good."
Caruso reunited with Ball last season, and the two immediately clicked. Ball was similarly effective when healthy and placed just behind Caruso with 3.2 deflections per game. In the 460 minutes the duo played together, it outscored opponents by 9.5 points per 100 possessions.&nbsp;
Ball is currently recovering from a torn meniscus and his return date <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/bulls-optimistic-on-lonzo-balls-injured-knee" target="_blank" rel="noopener">is still up in the air.</a>&nbsp;But Caruso can't wait to have him back on the floor, saying that they "see a lot of the same stuff on the court." After two years apart, Caruso believes Ball has rediscovered his own strengths and seems more comfortable as a pro.
"I think he started playing his game a little more, and I think he might have tried to fit into a role a little bit in L.A . &mdash; and you kind of have to when you have superstar players around you for that last year like he did," Caruso said. "I think he got the chance in New Orleans to play his game the same way he's played from high school, to college, to get into the pros.
"There's a reason he was the No. 2 overall pick and got to where he was. He's an elite player at the stuff that he does, and I think he's doing things that he does best. He's able to do those with us and the Bulls. I'm excited for him to come back and have a good year."
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While Caruso and Ball battled injuries, Ayo Dosunmu stepped into the fray as a rookie second-round pick and flashed defensive promise. The Bulls hope to further bolster the backcourt stoppage with Dalen Terry, their No. 18 overall selection from this year's draft. Caruso recognizes that learning defense in a trial-by-fire environment can be challenging, and he was impressed with how Dosunmu handled the burden.
"Ayo was, basically all last year, just playing off the feel," Caruso said of his young teammate. "Your first year in the league, you don't understand concepts really. You don't understand coverages. You're seeing guys play, and you're playing against guys for the first time. You're seeing their best moves for the first time; they're probably going to beat you most of the time. So for him to be able to compete the way he did last year on defense is a great sign for a guy in his first year."
That's the lesson Caruso is learning, and teaching, as he grapples with the pro lifestyle. There's no textbook answer to playing defense in the NBA, winning at the highest level or even maintaining a consistent golf game. Sometimes it all comes down to building a knowledge base and feeling out the right path.
Learning what "feels right" can also be an experimental process. Caruso's mastery of the on-court intricacies has already set him apart as a defender. Those nitty-gritty details are also helping him learn how to evolve his nutrition habits and stay best attuned to the wear-and-tear of the NBA schedule.
Caruso is currently teaming up with ZENB, a plant-based food brand centered in Chicago, and is competing in a cooking competition against former LA Sparks guard Te'a Cooper. The pair will make four dishes out of plant-based alternative foods, and Caruso has been taking careful notes from chef Monti Carlo.
"It's just a fun experience to learn from Chef Monti, who's been in cooking shows herself and has experience, and to just learn some, tricks and trades and figure out some stuff to help myself to be a better cook in the future," Caruso said.&nbsp;
The 28-year-old averaged 28.0 minutes per game last season, by far a career-high. Caruso's hard-nosed aggression is a signature strength; he's also in the thick of action that can (and did) result in injuries. In 2021-22, he fractured his wrist and missed six weeks, and also missed games due to a foot sprain, concussion and minor hamstring and back issues.
Caruso says he currently feels fine physically, and has gotten in some productive workouts this offseason. But his minute uptick has also forced him to reflect on his habits &mdash; be it an increased focus on recovery with massages, cold tubs and lift sessions or altering his diet. Caruso has looked at shifting toward more plant-based foods with inspiration from ZENB. He's also staying regimented with his four meals per day, and, over time, has learned to carefully monitor his hydration.
"Hydration, I think, is one of the things that I overlooked a lot as a young professional," Caruso said. "It's something now that I've realized, when I get the right sugars and salts back into my body through sports drinks [and] electrolyte packets, as well as water, I just have better sleep, [and] I have better workouts the next day... I'm already a slim guy as it is, so for me to be able to maintain weight through an 82-game-plus season, it's something that I've really tried to hone in on and perfect for myself."
In the grand scheme of the NBA, these minute details might seem insignificant. But they've helped Caruso blossom from an undrafted rookie into a defensive fulcrum, and they'll help him and Chicago reach the next tier of contention.
"It's just little things... that I've had to tweak," Caruso said. "Experience is the best teacher, so it's stuff that I've learned from and can hopefully take and put into my regimen moving forward."

Ethan Fuller chats with Alex Caruso about his strategy behind defending NBA players, his thoughts on the Bulls, nutrition and more.

Alex Caruso is nailing down the details with the Chicago Bulls

The NBA Finals and subsequent championship parade generated a record 2 billion video views across the league&rsquo;s social-media accounts. This is up 19% vs. 2021, up 45% vs. 2020 and up 56% vs. 2019. For comparison, the 2021 NBA Finals and championship parade combined to generate 1.67 billion views.
Golden State Warriors superstar Stephen Curry played a big role in these record views. During the Finals, Curry-related content generated 357 million views (or 28% of the account's total views). Throughout the 2021-22 season, Curry-related content generated over 1.6 billion views &mdash; more than double any other player (Ja Morant was the runner-up with 791 million views).
Also, Curry is the most-favorited player on the NBA App, and his player page received the most pageviews (7.5 million) this season (with LeBron James coming in second place at 6.9 million).
Of the league's 2 billion views during the Finals, the NBA's Instagram Reels accounted for 716 million views. Nearly 60% of the NBA's social views during the Finals came from Instagram Reels (which is up from 30% in last year&rsquo;s Finals).
The NBA's YouTube numbers were also up, with 88 million views during these NBA Finals (up 60% vs. 2021 and up 47% vs. 2020). Traffic on NBA.com and the NBA app increased too, with 61 million visits during the 2022 Finals (up 13% year over year).
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The 2022 NBA Finals and subsequent championship parade generated a record 2 billion video views across the NBA's socials.

NBA Finals generated record 2 billion views across league's socials

There are many paths to get to the pinnacle of basketball. There are many outstanding players who went undrafted and had to fight for a roster spot. Some of these players would eventually exceed all expectations.
On the latest episode of "The Goods," Bryan Fonseca looks back at the top-10 undrafted players throughout NBA history (in no particular order):
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Who are the best undrafted players in NBA history? Bryan Fonseca lists his top-10 players who didn't hear their name called in the draft.

The Goods: Who are the 10 best undrafted players in NBA history?

The New York Knicks are one of the primary teams linked to a potential Donovan Mitchell blockbuster trade this summer.&nbsp;
Because Mitchell is currently in a Utah Jazz situation that is likely leading to a tear down and rebuild more than seemingly any other franchise in the NBA, conventional wisdom (along with some reporting) has suggested that the team will likely part ways with either him or Rudy Gobert &mdash; <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/an-awkward-offseason-looms-for-the-jazz-as-they-try-to-avoid-rebuild" target="_blank" rel="noopener">potentially both</a> &mdash; to reshape their roster.
The Knicks have several ties to Mitchell. He&rsquo;s from Elmsford, New York, a six-minute drive from the Knicks&rsquo; training facility in Westchester. &nbsp;His father <a href="https://www.nba.com/news/donovan-mitchell-10-things-know" target="_blank" rel="noopener">works for the New York Mets organization</a>. Both are fans of some New York sports teams, including the Mets and the Rangers, <a href="https://twitter.com/NBA_NewYork/status/1526039997501022208" target="_blank" rel="noopener">whom Mitchell saw in this year&rsquo;s playoffs up close</a>. Mitchell is a CAA client, and the agency has fingerprints all over the Knicks organizationally. And, while he hasn&rsquo;t formally requested a trade publicly, the Knicks are <a href="https://twitter.com/gregsylvander/status/1482101290964504580?lang=en" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reportedly on his list if he were to do so</a>.&nbsp;
But the Knicks are honestly not a team ready for Mitchell. They&rsquo;d acquire him and do... what?&nbsp;
This is an Eastern Conference with the Boston Celtics, Miami Heat and Milwaukee Bucks at the top. It's one where the Philadelphia 76ers, Toronto Raptors, Chicago Bulls and Brooklyn Nets are possibly an offseason away from joining the tier-one group.
And with the Atlanta Hawks, Cleveland Cavaliers and Charlotte Hornets &mdash; all of whom were better than the Knicks last season &mdash; expected to build on successes within these last two seasons, acquiring Mitchell wouldn&rsquo;t elevate the Knicks enough. Unlike the Heat, where Mitchell would serve as a missing piece, the Knicks would be forfeiting much of their young talent and/or draft capital to make such a deal.
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And this is why New York should stay the course by trading up in the draft and grabbing dynamic Purdue guard Jaden Ivey.
At 6-foot-4, 200-pounds,&nbsp;<a href="https://sports.yahoo.com/nba-draft-why-jaden-ivey-with-comparisons-to-ja-morant-could-be-selected-no-2-overall-by-the-thunder-130042049.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Ivey has often been compared to Ja Morant</a>. It feels like an easy comparison, but even their college careers have some parallels. (Not a ton, but some.) Morant was a starter as a true freshman with the Murray State Racers. While he was clearly good, he hadn&rsquo;t yet been considered a top-five NBA prospect, which he became throughout his breakout sophomore campaign. Ivey started more than half of his freshman-year games and similarly showed promise, but wasn&rsquo;t yet the top-five prospect he since grew into coming off this season's strong sophomore season.&nbsp;
BasketballNews.com Sr. NBA Draft Analyst Matt Babcock notes that, while Ivey is still in development, his ceiling can rival anyone in the 2022 NBA Draft class:
<blockquote>
I don&rsquo;t think Jaden Ivey is a finished product, as he has room for improvement with his ball skills, feel for the game and consistency with his outside shooting. However, it&rsquo;s more than arguable that he possesses as much star potential as any other prospect in this year&rsquo;s draft, if not more. Ivey&rsquo;s athleticism, explosiveness and ability to get to the rim with the ball in his hands and raise above have drawn comparisons to star players like a young Russell Westbrook and Ja Morant.
</blockquote>
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More similarly, Morant and Ivey made leaps from All-Freshman (or All-Newcomer, in Morant&rsquo;s case) in their first college go-round to being Consensus All-Americans in their second years.
For the Knicks, here&rsquo;s why and how you do it, beginning with the latter.
Most mock drafts have had Ivey going No. 4 in recent weeks, including <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/nba-draft">our own at BasketballNews.com</a>. The thinking is that the top three will be Jabari Smith, Paolo Banchero and Chet Holmgren in whatever order, with Ivey following up as the best of the next group. So, barring surprise &mdash; which always&nbsp;can&nbsp;happen &mdash; a team trading for No. 4 should be in a position to snag Ivey.
The Sacramento Kings currently hold No. 4. With De&rsquo;Aaron Fox already in place and having just traded for Domantas Sabonis (using Tyrese Haliburton), they&rsquo;re probably closer to &ldquo;win-now&rdquo; (at least, in theory). This should make No. 4 available. The current 1-to-3 slots are occupied by the Orlando Magic, Oklahoma City Thunder and Houston Rockets, all of whom are rebuilding and more likely to keep their picks by comparison.
The Knicks are currently at No. 11 in this draft lottery, with an additional selection at No. 42 in Round 2. They also hold their own first-round pick in every season going forward and most of their seconds. They also still have a top-10 protected first from the Dallas Mavericks in 2023. (We&rsquo;re anticipating that will head to New York as the last remnants of the Kristaps Porzingis deadline deal of 2019.)
So it&rsquo;s very easy for the Knicks to combine another first with their No. 11 selection to throw at the Kings in hopes of this hypothetical coming together. If you&rsquo;re Sacramento, maybe a No. 11 and an unprotected or barely-protected 2024 first-rounder is enough. If not, the Knicks do still have a collection of young players to dangle, be it Quentin Grimes, Obi Toppin, Immanuel Quickley, Cam Reddish or Miles McBride, or a combination of these names. No. 11 and Quickley doesn&rsquo;t actually sound nuts as a starting point.
(Additionally, Knick fans, I know you&rsquo;d probably like it to be No. 11 and Julius Randle, but I question whether a Sabonis-Randle pairing fits. However, I get the idea &mdash; you don&rsquo;t think the Kings aren&rsquo;t above trying it out either, and I respect that.)
The last time a top-four pick was traded was in 2019 when De'Andre Hunter, picked No. 4 overall, was part of the three-team Anthony Davis deal, which sent Hunter from the Los Angeles Lakers to the Atlanta Hawks. The year before, the Hawks moved from No. 3 to No. 5, additionally acquiring another first in the famous Luka Dončić-Trae Young swap that also landed Reddish in the ATL.
If you&rsquo;re the Knicks, why do you do it? Simple &mdash; continuing to rebuild on the fly is the way to go.
And overnight, Ivey gives the Knicks their best point guard since Raymond Felton. If you fancy him as a combo guard, he&rsquo;d be their most dynamic backcourt player since... damn, is it Stephon Marbury? That far back?
Babcock shared his thoughts on Ivey's fit on the Knicks if they were to try it:
<blockquote>
Regarding his potential fit with the Knicks, I think it makes a lot of sense. The Knicks have some young budding players who have shown promise. However, they need more star power, and Jaden Ivey just might be that star in the making that the Knicks need to get over the hump.
</blockquote>
Just keep the rebuild going and continue to get better. More importantly, think of the excitement guys like Ivey, Barrett and Toppin could generate?
I&rsquo;d name other guys on the roster, but you know 85% of the league is TBD right now.
Most of all, listen to Matt if you won&rsquo;t listen to me!
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Bryan Fonseca insists the Knicks stay the course instead of going hunting for a big star, and that Jaden Ivey could be a perfect fit.

Why Knicks trading for Jaden Ivey, not Donovan Mitchell, makes sense

Stephen Curry is the NBA's golden boy on social media.
So far this season, the Golden State Warriors superstar has generated 1.4 billion video views across the NBA's social-media platforms. No other player even comes close; Ja Morant is the runner-up, but he only generated 791 million views throughout this season.
During the 2022 NBA Playoffs, Curry has generated 400 million views. That is 47% more than the second-highest player, Jayson Tatum.
In Game 4 of the 2022 NBA Finals, Curry helped the Warriors even the series against the Boston Celtics by delivering a legendary performance; he finished with 43 points, 10 rebounds, 7 threes and 4 assists, while shooting 53.8% from the field, 50.0% from three and 88.9% from the free-throw line.
In the 24 hours following this epic showing, Curry-related content drove 55 million total views across the NBA's social accounts (including 38 million views on IG Reels).
When Curry broke the NBA's all-time three-point record in December, the NBA's Instagram generated 63 million views in 24 hours. The NBA had the most-viewed account on Instagram that day.
Earlier this year, Kevin Esteves, the NBA&rsquo;s associate vice president of digital strategy and analytics, <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/an-inside-look-at-how-the-nba-became-a-socialmedia-juggernaut" target="_blank" rel="noopener">spoke with BasketballNews.com</a> about the league's social-media strategy and success across platforms.
Having a superstar like Curry who consistently generates a ton of interest is essentially a cheat code for the NBA.

This season, Steph Curry has generated 1.4 billion views across the NBA's social-media platforms, which is by far the most of any player.

Steph Curry has generated 1.4 billion video views across NBA socials

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

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

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

Kenny Atkinson coaching the Hornets would make so much sense

It&rsquo;s only a matter of time until the East Asia Super League is a household name globally.
The EASL launched in 2017 as an invitational tournament for the top-two teams from the best men&rsquo;s leagues in China, Japan, Korea and the Philippines. The East Asia Super League marked the first time that the premier teams from China&rsquo;s CBA, Japan's B.League, South Korea's KBL and the Philippines' PBA faced off against each other. These tournaments became massively popular in Asia, most recently drawing 117 million viewers over a six-day span in 2019.
Past EASL events featured notable players such as Lance Stephenson (Liaoning Flying Leopards), Shabazz Muhammad (Shenzhen Leopards), KJ McDaniels (TNT KaTropa), Jared Sullinger (Shenzhen Aviators), Jameel Warney (Seoul SK Knights) and Domantas Motiejunas (Shandong Golden Stars).
Now, for the first time, the EASL is becoming an actual league with a home-and-away season that tips off in October. Eight teams will compete over the course of six months, culminating in a Final Four tournament with a $1 million prize for the winning team. It&rsquo;s essentially the Asian-basketball version of soccer&rsquo;s UEFA Champions League.&nbsp;
With a valuation of $100 million, a 10-year exclusive deal with FIBA and high-profile investors such as Jalen Green, Baron Davis, Metta Sandiford-Artest and Shane Battier, there&rsquo;s no question that the East Asia Super League is gaining momentum.
&ldquo;I think the league is really going to be the first Asia-originated sports property that&rsquo;s going to be capturing the hearts and minds of fans globally,&rdquo; EASL Commissioner Matt Beyer told BasketballNews.com.
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In order to do that, the EASL is getting creative and taking cues from some unlikely influences. One might expect an up-and-coming basketball league to follow the same blueprint as the NBA or EuroLeague. Instead, Beyer is channeling Formula One and K-Pop as he looks to grow the East Asia Super League.
&ldquo;We&rsquo;re taking a lot of lessons from the K-Pop industry and, with our content, from Formula One and what they&rsquo;ve done with their &lsquo;Drive to Survive&rsquo; reality series,&rdquo; Beyer explained. &ldquo;We&rsquo;re trying to make the league relevant to as wide of a fan base around the world as possible.&rdquo;
After years of struggling to increase viewership and find mainstream success (particularly in the United States), Formula One racing finally took off in recent years. F1 races saw their average viewership jump from 547,722 in 2018 to 928,000 in 2021. What was the key to their success? A reality show on Netflix called &ldquo;Drive to Survive.&rdquo;&nbsp;
The show gives an inside look at the Formula One World Championship, focusing primarily on big personalities and behind-the-scenes drama. Fans became invested in these characters, which gave them a rooting interest and a reason to watch the races. It has been an absolute game-changer for Formula One, and other sports leagues have taken notice.
Soon, the EASL will launch a reality show of their own that will spotlight three-to-five players from each team, documenting their lives on and off the court.
&ldquo;We're about to announce a partnership between two really big production companies &ndash; an experienced Asian content production company and a US-basketball-storytelling production company &ndash; to do a 10-episode, 30-minutes-per-episode type reality show that we're working on distributing on one of the major global platforms such as Amazon Prime, Netflix, etc.&rdquo; Beyer said. &ldquo;For our non-core markets, we&rsquo;ve also considered distributing the reality show together with our broadcast rights. There are a lot of things that need to happen between now and when that show hits the market, but basically we want fans globally to be able to access the East Asia Super League through this type of product and use it as an inroad to hook them. Like, &lsquo;Hey, this league is pretty cool. I've never thought about Asian basketball, but these guys that are featured in the show are interesting and I want to keep following this.&rsquo;&rdquo;
As the league looks to market its players as characters and generate support from a global audience, that&rsquo;s where Beyer hopes to learn a thing or two from the K-Pop industry.&nbsp;
&ldquo;I just visited Korea right after the country opened up in April,&rdquo; Beyer said. &ldquo;As we&rsquo;re doing our media-rights deals in Korea, we&rsquo;re looking at the entertainment groups like CJ E&amp;M and YG and these groups that have manufactured the highest-grossing K-Pop bands globally. How do we take the principles of K-Pop and variety shows and put that into a sports context? The way that I look at it is we have so much to learn in terms of how to create a storyline around a player or make a fan club around a certain group of players or a certain concept. For us, it&rsquo;s really about being sponges. While our team may know a lot about basketball and making highlight reels and all of that, we need to figure out how to leverage those best practices that have been tried and true in the entertainment industry and transfer them into sports.&nbsp;
&ldquo;The reality of the situation is that Asian basketball will benefit from having this platform where the top teams get together and play on a regular basis, and that will help Asian basketball as an aggregate and help their national teams perform better in key global competitions. But at the same time, there&rsquo;s still a huge gap between the level of talent in the NBA and the level of talent in Europe or Asia, so if we want to be a globally relevant league, we&rsquo;ve gotta pick up the slack somewhere and it&rsquo;s not necessarily all on the court.&rdquo;
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Beyer, who previously worked as a player agent and a translator for NBA teams, hopes the EASL can attract all kinds of fans &ndash; whether they&rsquo;re watching because their favorite team is competing or because they really like a certain player after watching the league&rsquo;s reality show and social-media content.&nbsp;
&ldquo;We want fans to understand the personalities in the East Asia Super League,&rdquo; Beyer said. &ldquo;We want people to be able to access the league and basketball however they feel comfortable. That&rsquo;s sort of our mentality: we&rsquo;re here to serve the fans and we&rsquo;re here to add value to our commercial partners. It may not be in the same way that domestic leagues in our markets operate, and it&rsquo;s certainly not the way that the NBA operates. But we want to make sure that in our ecosystem, there&rsquo;s something for every fan.&rdquo;
The pandemic forced the East Asia Super League to shift its approach. Not only did they abandon the tournament format in favor of a home-and-away season, they started prioritizing content.&nbsp;
&ldquo;For us, it was really an opportunity to change from an events company to thinking and acting more like a media company,&rdquo; Beyer said. &ldquo;From 2017 to the end of 2019, everyone was just totally focused on preparing for a big tournament, executing said tournament, wrapping up the tournament and then we&rsquo;d start preparing for the next tournament. During COVID, we started to really focus on producing short-form content and presenting Asian basketball from a lifestyle perspective and doing storytelling around the players in a way that had never been done before in Asia. I think storytelling is really important, and we want to be the best basketball storytellers out there.&rdquo;&nbsp;
Since pivoting, the response from fans has been overwhelming.
&ldquo;From when we did our first short-form video in June 2020 to now, our engagement is up over 1,200%. Our video plays are up over 2,000% and our cumulative social-media following is right now very close to a million followers,&rdquo; Beyer said. &ldquo;We're growing at about 20,000 followers per week. So, the fans love it and they want more. And we're gonna have so much more to give the fans once our games start on October 12. I just feel like the top is gonna be blown off at that point.&rdquo;
There&rsquo;s no question that the EASL is on the rise, and Beyer is already thinking about how the league will expand going forward.
&ldquo;We're going to offer a really awesome product for fans in this first season, and then we're going to grow and expand rapidly,&rdquo; Beyer said. &ldquo;By season three, we&rsquo;re going to expand to a 16-team format and it will be four small groups of four teams playing into a Final Four competition. The city that holds the Final Four competition will rotate on an annual basis. We&rsquo;re going to keep upping the prize in subsequent seasons too. It starts at $1 million and we're going to increase it after we operate a few seasons.&rdquo;
The EASL recently made headlines when they added Jalen Green as an investor-ambassador. Green, who is of Filipino descent, became the highest-drafted Asian-American player when the Houston Rockets selected him No. 2 overall in the 2021 NBA Draft. Bringing in Green, Davis, Artest and Battier is a significant step for the EASL, and the league may add more notable investors soon since they are in the middle of another fundraise.&nbsp;
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&ldquo;To be a globally relevant sports property coming out of Asia means that these alliances with NBA players and other global superstars are really important for us,&rdquo; Beyer explained. &ldquo;I've known Metta for over 10 years from his trips to China when he was still an NBA player and when he went over to play in China [in 2014]. We've always kept in touch and I've always thought Metta is a good guy. He loves Asia so much, and he's benefited so much from China in his career, so he really wanted to be a part of this. With Baron, he was the first NBA player to sign with Li-Ning, and he&rsquo;s a guy who's always tried to sort of do things his own way and be a little bit different. He&rsquo;s also someone who has a startup ecosystem that he's really fostering with his own Baron Davis Enterprises. And then with Shane Battier, he played alongside both Metta and Yao Ming for such a long part of his career and did so many tours to Asia with Peak.&nbsp;
"They had all heard about the East Asia Super League, so it was more so just trying to explain the vision. I think they all understand the potential of the markets. And they also feel that the leagues need innovation to really take it to the next level. We&rsquo;re all thinking: how can Asian basketball become as relevant in society as the NBA is in the US?&rdquo;
Beyer is setting lofty goals for the East Asia Super League, believing that it can become one of the biggest basketball leagues in the world.&nbsp;
&ldquo;We want to be the premier basketball league in Asia,&rdquo; Beyer said. &ldquo;We want to be a pioneer in terms of true sports entertainment for the Asian fan. But we also want to be a top-three league in the world in terms of fan-base size and commercial revenue by 2025.&rdquo;
Part of Beyer&rsquo;s confidence is because of his belief in Asia overall.
&ldquo;I mean, the 21st century is really Asia&rsquo;s century,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;The growth is all in Asia and the opportunity is really in Asia; that&rsquo;s just where the money is going to be going forward, especially if you contrast that with the direction that the European market for basketball is going at the moment. Asia is on the rise; everyone knows it for pretty much every other part of the global economy, and for the sports economy, it's coming&hellip; If you're bullish on Asian markets taking more of an emphasis on experiential economy and health and wellness and that entertainment generally is growing in the region, then you should bet on the East Asia Super League.&rdquo;
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Basketball is insanely popular in Asia, which also makes the EASL a safe bet to succeed. Beyer has been blown away by the passion and support he&rsquo;s seen throughout Asia, particularly in the Philippines.
&ldquo;Just about everyone &ndash; men and women &ndash; between 6 and 60 years old in the Philippines loves basketball,&rdquo; Beyer said. &ldquo;The population is a little over 100 million. I saw a statistic that, on average, 52 million people across the country watch a live basketball game on broadcast every single week. I mean, that's half of the country! It's impressive. If you look at most NBA teams&rsquo; Facebook, I would say they have more fans from the Philippines on there than from the US. That&rsquo;s the reality of the situation. And if you look across the region, the media-rights values for basketball are growing.&rdquo;
The NBA&rsquo;s Facebook, Instagram and TikTok accounts have more than 24 million combined followers from the Philippines &mdash; the most of any country outside of the United States. And based on average viewership and reach, the Philippines draw the second-largest average audience for NBA games behind only the US.
&ldquo;The fan support we have in the Philippines, I think, is among the most amazing things I&rsquo;ve witnessed from the data side for the demographics of the NBA,&rdquo; said Kevin Esteves, the NBA&rsquo;s associate vice president of digital strategy and analytics. &ldquo;For that country to represent such a significant portion of the consumption we have on a person-to-person basis, they just love the NBA; they love the stories and the players. Our content performs exceptionally well there. We see support from countries all over the world &mdash; in Europe, Australia, Africa and so on &mdash; but the Philippines really stood out to me. I think that ties back to a lot of the globalization that the NBA has done, with some of its global games being held in Manila. That&rsquo;s been critical and we&rsquo;ve seen that show up in the numbers."
"The NBA is the most popular sports league in the Philippines, with 98% awareness among the general population," <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/mortenjensen/2022/03/06/nba-seeing-uptick-in-international-league-pass-consumption/?sh=5fa733e51d51" target="_blank" rel="noopener">added</a> Matt Brabants, the NBA's senior vice president and head of international content partnerships.
However, these fans also love the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA), which has posted incredible ratings in recent years. The PBA Governors Cup between Barangay Ginebra and Meralco recently drew 3.6 million viewers (or 17% of the total population watching TV).
Dating back to the EASL's tournaments, there's been no shortage of viewers or interest.
&ldquo;Our first tournament had 21 million viewers, and our most recent one in September 2019 had 117 million viewers over the course of a week,&rdquo; Beyer said. &ldquo;The support is really special. I think when you have any kind of start-up business, you have to see how the market reacts to it. We did a lot of due diligence prior to starting this to understand that this would be a concept that people would like and that fans would get behind, but you never really know how everything is going to go until the rubber hits the road.&nbsp;
&ldquo;We&rsquo;ve had a soccer version of this with the AFC Champions League in Asia since 1996, but there&rsquo;s never been anything in basketball that brought everyone together like this. In 2016 when we started to go out and do fact-finding on this, that was [the big question]: &lsquo;Why hasn&rsquo;t this happened already?&rsquo; And then we realized that these leagues don&rsquo;t really have much interaction and there had been no dialogue. Really, just being there to facilitate the dialogue and bring people to the table in and of itself was sort of a revolutionary thing at that point.&rdquo;
After getting all of the decision-makers on the same page, Beyer spent the last five years building trust with the leagues, teams and FIBA.
&ldquo;We had to build trust, so putting together the tournaments between 2017 and 2019 was the way to do that, and it was also a marketing tool to the stakeholders that we can make this happen,&rdquo; Beyer said. &ldquo;We have revenue-sharing deals for commercial revenue with the leagues. We have appearance fees and prize money for regular-season wins. We have this big $1 million prize at the end of the season. We handle all of the travel costs for the teams. We really derisk this for every single party involved so that participating in the East Asia Super League isn&rsquo;t something where we&rsquo;re twisting anyone&rsquo;s arm. It should be something fun for the teams and it should be an honor for the teams.
"It's really about proving yourself against your regional competition. This is exciting, it&rsquo;s different. If you're always playing against the same competition in your backyard, it becomes a bit of a vacuum, an echo chamber. Being able to go out and see a diverse group of opponents is something special, and it just hasn't happened in this environment. It has never been done before."
The East Asia Super League is demanding your attention. Soon, with an assist from Formula One and K-Pop, it very well could be the next big thing in basketball.
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With a valuation of $100 million, a 10-year exclusive deal with FIBA and high-profile investors, the EASL is gaining momentum.

East Asia Super League: Inside a basketball startup with a unique vision

Pat Riley spoke on Monday.&nbsp;
It rarely happens now, these Riley pressers. You get one after the season, you might get one before the season and you might get one after the trade deadline if something happens. But for the most part, other than seeing him sitting alongside Alonzo Mourning watching Miami Heat games, this is it for most of us. Often seen, seldom heard.&nbsp;
So, when he speaks, it sparks a gathering, especially after a season like this one. The Heat were one shot away from beating the Boston Celtics and facing the Golden State Warriors in the NBA Finals. One ballsy, controversial, &ldquo;f*** you&rdquo; shot from Jimmy Butler in the face of a backpedaling Al Horford would&rsquo;ve completed one of the greatest comebacks &mdash; and most epic collapses &mdash; in NBA playoff history. (The Celtics led 98-85 with 3:30 left, and just 98-96 when Butler pulled a three with about 10 seconds left.)
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<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/2022-nba-offseason-preview-what-takes-the-miami-heat-over-the-top" target="_blank" rel="noopener">I already previewed Miami's offseason</a> &mdash; chiefly centered around the pending decision on Tyler Herro&rsquo;s future &mdash; which Riley also spoke about on Monday. For this article in particular, our focus will be on Bam Adebayo, who drew the ire of many casual and diehard Heat and NBA observers underwhelmed by his postseason offensive consistency.
You either think he isn&rsquo;t as good as advertised or are frustrated because of your expectations for him. Or... or... or... you watch the Heat with an understanding that, while he could be better offensively, maybe he isn&rsquo;t wholly to blame for these apparent shortcomings &mdash; if we&rsquo;re calling it that.
Riley recognizes the latter.&nbsp;
&ldquo;(Adebayo&rsquo;s) been asked to do a lot of things as a young player, and he has grown into being very efficient at doing those things,&rdquo; Riley said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s almost that learning curve of being a facilitating big, either at the elbow, on handoffs, on pick-and-rolls. He&rsquo;s always getting somebody open. Duncan [Robinson] should pay him half his check, Tyler [Herro] should pay him half his check, Max [Strus] should pay him half his check.&rdquo;
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Pat Riley on Bam Adebayo: He's always getting someone open. Duncan, Tyler and Max should give him half their check. This could be a year on how can Bam be developed in a way to improve his consistent shot ability every night. Getting 15 shots every night. <a href="https://t.co/AKzCpqQgc8">pic.twitter.com/AKzCpqQgc8</a>
&mdash; Brendan Tobin (@Brendan_Tobin) <a href="https://twitter.com/Brendan_Tobin/status/1533879183482535936?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 6, 2022</a></blockquote>

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The Adebayo conundrum is layered. It requires context that may bore you, especially if you just care about the superficial, click-baity sh**. The theories might not move you, substantive as they appear, so let&rsquo;s say what&rsquo;s real.
Though Adebayo will be 25 in July, the five-year pro has only been a full-time starter for three seasons.
In his first two years, he primarily came off the bench until taking the starting role from Hassan Whiteside toward the end of the 2018-19 season. He started 22 of the last 23 games of his sophomore campaign, and the 22 were consecutively from Feb. 27 through April 9.
In the summer of 2019, <a href="https://www.si.com/nba/2022/04/06/bam-adebayo-will-never-forget-gregg-popovich-cut-team-usa-2019#:~:text=Adebayo%20was%20cut%20from%20Team,that%20won%20gold%20in%20Tokyo.">he was famously cut from Team USA&rsquo;s underwhelming World Cup team</a> that finished seventh. Still, Adebayo <a href="https://www.basketball-reference.com/awards/awards_2020.html">nearly went on to win Most Improved Player in 2020</a>, and he probably should&rsquo;ve over Brandon Ingram, who was the No. 2 overall pick just four years prior. (But anyway...)
In his three seasons as a starter, he&rsquo;s been an All-Star caliber player, has been named to the All-Defensive Second Team every year and has finished in the top five for Defensive Player of the Year all three times &mdash; a feat matched only by Rudy Gobert in that span. Offensively, he&rsquo;s grown from a rim-runner and lob threat with a &ldquo;Clint Capela&rdquo; ceiling out of the 2017 NBA Draft to a versatile hub who activates the team&rsquo;s shooters. Those shooters led the Heat to their season-best 37.9% shooting from three during the regular season. That&rsquo;s a product of multiple years of point-center work, not just this season.
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But the team&rsquo;s &ldquo;shortcomings&rdquo; &mdash; an unfair term to an awesome squad that was among the last three standing, but still &mdash; have publicly been placed on Adebayo&rsquo;s broad shoulders, to some extent.
Now, more context.&nbsp;
We&rsquo;ll ignore that Adebayo had COVID to close the regular season (<a href="https://account.miamiherald.com/paywall/stop?resume=259746525">thus, unable to join the Heat on a trip to the Bahamas</a>) because it didn&rsquo;t appear to have any long-lasting effects, sure. At one point, his availability for Game 1 against the Atlanta Hawks was in question, but he was ready. He didn&rsquo;t break 10 shot attempts until Game 4 and didn&rsquo;t have an Adebayo-like offensive game &mdash; the All-Star kind &mdash; until Game 5, the series&rsquo; closer with an injured Butler watching.&nbsp;
With Joel Embiid off the floor against the Philadelphia 76ers, Adebayo recorded 47 points, 21 rebounds and 7 assists on 15-of-21 shooting and 17-of-19 on free throws across Games 1 and 2. He, again, only broke 10 field goal attempts one time in the series&rsquo; final four games. It was Game 4, where he finished with 21-7-4 on 9-for-12. In the seven games against the Celtics, it was a bit more all over the place &mdash; but it encompassed this year&rsquo;s Adebayo-playoff experience.&nbsp;
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And yet, even with the offensive seesaw, without Adebayo&rsquo;s defense, there is no Game 7. There is no pushing the Celtics to seven. There might not even be a Celtics series. That&rsquo;s how good Adebayo is defensively, yet the offensive glimpses leave you pleading for more, because of the elite two-way possibilities. And it&rsquo;s understandable.&nbsp;
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Not to be overly simplistic, but if the Heat, I don&rsquo;t know, shot better than 31.3% from three in the playoffs &mdash; seven percentage points lower than they did when leading the league in the regular season &mdash; Adebayo isn&rsquo;t magnified to this degree. We can look at Adebayo and say: Hey, you&rsquo;ve gotten 30-plus against the Celtics&rsquo; elite defense without Butler, with heightened focus on you, and were unstoppable. Why can&rsquo;t you do this all the time? However, it&rsquo;s complicated.
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For one, when you watch the Heat, there honestly aren&rsquo;t a lot of plays drawn up for Adebayo to just go. <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/five-on-the-floor-miami-heat-nba/id1336060206" target="_blank" rel="noopener">It&rsquo;s a point made on 5 On The Floor all the time</a>, primarily by Heat reporter Alex Toledo of 5 Reasons Sports. Adebayo&rsquo;s primary offensive assignment is to activate their shooters.
&ldquo;You don&rsquo;t realize what he does to get people open,&rdquo; Riley said at his presser, speaking of Bam. &ldquo;A lot of that has to do with how other teams are playing (Adebayo), dropping way back, and we can get that shot. Maybe we look for that a little bit too much.&rdquo;
But Riley later adds a wrinkle that a portion of Heat fans and even media have been calling for since Adebayo&rsquo;s emergence.
More... simply, more.&nbsp;
&ldquo;This could be a year, and (Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra) and I will sit down a talk about it, about how can Bam be developed in a way to improve his consistent shot ability every night,&rdquo; Riley said. &ldquo;Getting 15 shots every night, quality shots that he can get, he can create &mdash; whether it&rsquo;s in the post or at the elbow. He can be very prolific at times, but it can&rsquo;t always be on effort, on running, on getting offensive rebounds, on lob dunks, on little floaters.&rdquo;
And the frustrating thing for some is, the teases and flashes are there.
The two-way versatility, the ability to be a walking mismatch to opposing bigs, the fakes, the handle, the bounce passes to cutters, the mid-range jumper when he takes it confidently; it&rsquo;s why I, personally, said he&rsquo;s a jumper away from being a Kevin Garnett remix, and that was in 2019. It&rsquo;s what we saw when Adebayo <a href="https://www.basketball-reference.com/playoffs/2020-nba-eastern-conference-finals-heat-vs-celtics.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">was the best player in the Eastern Conference Finals less than two years ago</a>, averaging 21.8 points, 11.0 rebounds, 5.2 assists, 1.7 steals, and 1.0 blocks on 60.8% shooting, while doing all he does on defense. (He would&rsquo;ve won that new Larry Bird MVP trophy had it been around.)
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&ldquo;I do think there&rsquo;s a part of him that can grow. That depends on a bit on your overall offensive philosophy and how much you want to change that," Riley continued. "I think there&rsquo;s another level at his age now that we need more consistency in his ability to get good shots, create good shots, and scoring.&rdquo;
The bottom line is that Adebayo is arguably the best defender in the NBA, and most certainly in any rational observer&rsquo;s top five as a floor. That can&rsquo;t be taken for granted, even though it clearly is, largely due to the offensive questions. As hard as he works on the defensive end &mdash; switching more than anyone, legitimately guarding 1-through-5 and being the defensive cheat code that engineers Spoelstra&rsquo;s vision &mdash; having him additionally as a No. 1 option on an NBA champion is unrealistic.
But having him as a No. 3 alongside Butler and Herro, or someone else not yet on the roster, is a place you&rsquo;d rather be. If the Heat want more of a focus on Adebayo&rsquo;s offense, they could manufacture it themselves. And he obviously has to hone his tools to prepare for, in theory, an increased role and usage.&nbsp;
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Personally, I think adding a mid-range, foul-line/elbow jumper he&rsquo;s confident enough in to pull regularly will go a long way, and it might be all he needs. Y
You start there, and a lot else could follow, especially while continuing to be an offensive hub.&nbsp;
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Bryan Fonseca reviews Pat Riley's presser to cap the Heat's season and how Bam Adebayo's offense will be a huge focus this summer.

Heat's Pat Riley, like most of us, wants more Bam Adebayo offense

In the fourth episode of "The Goods," our Bryan Fonseca revisits the best NBA Finals performances in a loss since the 1976 NBA-ABA merger, with a top five and some honorable mentions.
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<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/the-goods-with-bryan-fonseca-5-best-teams-to-never-reach-nba-finals" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Episode 3: &nbsp;5 Best Teams to Never Reach the NBA Finals</a>
<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/the-goods-with-bryan-fonseca-talent-alone-doesnt-win-nba-titles" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Episode 2: Talent Alone Doesn't Win NBA Titles</a>
<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/the-goods-with-bryan-fonseca-the-case-for-allnba-playoff-awards" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Episode 1: The Case for All-NBA Playoff Awards</a>
Be sure to subscribe to <a href="https://www.youtube.com/c/BasketballNews" target="_blank" rel="noopener">BasketballNews.com's YouTube channel</a>.
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Bryan Fonseca revisits the top five NBA Finals performances in a loss since the 1976 NBA-ABA merger.

The Goods with Bryan Fonseca: Top-5 NBA Finals performances in a loss

To even get in this position, the NBA&rsquo;s most unyielding organizational machine almost somehow, some-f***ing-how, did it again.
Down 98-85 with 3:30 left in the fourth quarter of Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals, where his team hadn&rsquo;t led once, this sh** should&rsquo;ve been over.
But, then again, it was about 48 hours removed from Jimmy Butler&rsquo;s remix of LeBron James&rsquo; famous Game 6 in Boston performance as the Heat trailed 3-2 a decade ago in the 2012 East Finals.
Again, LeBron? After you couldn&rsquo;t get it done with the Cleveland Cavaliers, after you didn&rsquo;t want to post-up JJ Barea in the 2011 Finals, you&rsquo;re crumbling again?
That's what people may have thought prior to James exploding for 45 points, 15 rebounds and 5 assists on 19-of-26 shooting on the road with Miami's backs against the wall.
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With the Celtics as 10-plus-point favorites in sportsbooks and the media ready to coronate Boston (as some of them would shamelessly do every year if they could), Butler outdid James, willing his way to 47 points, 9 rebounds and 8 assists, shooting 55.2% from the field, going 4-of-8 from three and making all of his 11 free throw attempts.
Most thought even getting to this point would be impossible. And yet, here they were &mdash; this organization &mdash; defying the public again.
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Trailing by 13 points with 3:30 left to go in Game 7, this sh** should&rsquo;ve been over. But Kyle Lowry makes a prayer of a mid-range jumper with 3:22 left and Max Strus dunks a putback after a Victor Oladipo miss with 2:40 to go. Then, off a Lowry steal on Grant Williams below the opposing basket, Oladipo finishes in transition and cuts the deficit to 98-91 as 1:23 remained on the game clock.
There&rsquo;s no way. There&rsquo;s just no f***ing way. But a mere 20 seconds later, Lowry lays it up against Williams. It&rsquo;s an 8-0 run. With about 50 seconds left, Jaylen Brown elbows Bam Adebayo in the mouth on a drive; it's an offensive foul. Five seconds later, Strus buries a three &mdash; fading away, heavily contested &mdash; and now, it&rsquo;s 98-96.
And then, it comes down to Butler&rsquo;s decision. To this point, he has 35 points and 9 rebounds on almost 60% shooting. He&rsquo;s averaged about 26-7-3 despite playing like sh**, by his standards, from Games 3-5 while battling the knee injury he was still enduring. With 18.3 seconds left, after pushing up the floor, he faces Al Horford and, with enough space, goes for the kill shot to put the Heat up one finally. He brought you here. He can do what he wants.
Butler missed. It fell short, and the Celtics mercifully hung on for the victory in the face of an all-time collapse, but the Heat were one shot from a second NBA Finals appearance in the Butler era, which is now entering its fourth season.
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The Heat don&rsquo;t just have a <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/jimmy-butler-is-a-16game-player" target="_blank" rel="noopener">16-Game Player</a>, they have one of the best playoff performers in the league. If you disagree, how many times does he have to f****ng show you? Right knee inflammation be damned &mdash; he was arguably the best two-way playoff player standing up until Sunday night. But to drag, claw and will his team to that moment was something few saw capable prior to it, even as he showed us in the 2020 playoffs what was possible.
This Heat team overcame injuries and/or COVID and/or personal issues regarding every single player on the roster. Famously, it was noted all year how little the team&rsquo;s <a href="https://twitter.com/jeremytache/status/1494520255829401628" target="_blank" rel="noopener">four best players even shared the floor</a>. After <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/the-miami-heats-blow-up-was-necessary-but-now-the-rest-is-up-to-them" target="_blank" rel="noopener">nearly spiraling out of control and f****ng each other up on the sidelines in late March</a>, the Heat gave up the No. 1 seed, rallied as only they could and secured it again before playoff time.
But still, questions linger. Turning 33 years old in September, how much of this Butler can you count on? Soon to be 25 years old, is Adebayo ready to take his much-needed next step offensively with consistency? How much does Lowry have left in the tank at 36?
And even at just 22 years old, which <a href="https://twitter.com/5ReasonsSports/status/1531703266870009856?s=20&amp;t=B2ebiuI498-FFI96iW6s6A" target="_blank" rel="noopener">he reminded us of yesterday</a>, is Tyler Herro the one who gets squeezed? Because he&rsquo;s extension eligible now after underperforming in the playoffs, having far and away the team&rsquo;s worst postseason On/Off Court rating (-22.7) even before his groin injury in the conference finals.
As Ethan Skolnick usually says on <a href="https://twitter.com/5OTF_" target="_blank" rel="noopener">5 On The Floor</a>, quoting Pat Riley, &ldquo;The playoffs tell,&rdquo; and what the playoffs told the Heat are a few things.
This Miami team has two glaring needs: Length and shot creation.
Regarding length: Adebayo is still your center, and although the Heat reached an NBA Finals with Jae Crowder as the 4 beside him and were one shot from PJ Tucker doing the same, they should be in the market for a big who can do two key things: Stretch the floor and protect the paint.
If the Heat are going to switch everything (and <a href="https://www.nba.com/heat/everything-everywhere-bam-adebayo-defensive-player-year#:~:text=When%20Adebayo%20is%20on%20the%20court%2C%20that%20number%20drops%20to,per%20100%2C%20tied%20for%20No.">Adebayo will switch more than anyone in the league</a>), you need a back line of defense when teams like the Celtics, Milwaukee Bucks and Philadelphia 76ers try to size up and attack the interior. Additionally, Tucker turned 37 during the playoffs and has a player option worth $7.35 million, which he could decline for one, last multiyear deal if he wishes. Either way, the Heat would prefer to retain him, but he shouldn&rsquo;t carry the load he did all 2021-22 season next campaign.
Here&rsquo;s the Heat&rsquo;s salary cap table going forward via Basketball-Reference.
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The Heat will not have cap space this summer, <a href="https://www.spotrac.com/nba/miami-heat/cap/">but Spotrac indicates</a> that they will have a full, non-taxpayer mid-level exception worth $10.2 million next season because the team is, as of now, not in the luxury tax. The mid-level <a href="https://www.hoopsrumors.com/2021/09/mid-level-bi-annual-projections-for-2022-23.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">could be a four-year deal up to around $43 million</a>, though most mid-level deals are shorter and may include an option. The Heat also have the bi-annual exception, in which they could use up to $4 million for the 2022-23 season. And in addition to that, Miami has a $1.8 million trade exception from the KZ Okpala deadline deal with Oklahoma City that <a href="https://www.si.com/nba/thunder/news/oklahoma-city-thunder-net-kz-okpala-future-first-round-pick-in-trade-with-miami-heat">essentially gave the Heat three first-rounders to play with this summer,</a> or whenever, as opposed to the one the franchise possessed.
Speaking of that, we did say the Heat need shot creation.
Having already noted that <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/the-heat-havent-needed-a-herro-yet-but-they-better-get-one-soon" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Herro may have been playing for his future</a> during the playoffs, one thing was made clear: Butler needs help offensively.
As frustrating as Adebayo&rsquo;s lack of aggression can be for some, it&rsquo;s important to note that without his defense, they don&rsquo;t even beat the Sixers, let alone push the Celtics to seven games. We&rsquo;re getting to the point where people are saying, &ldquo;Oh, I understand his defense, whatever, but...&rdquo; Like, no, fam. No. This is arguably, pound-for-pound, the best and most versatile defender on the planet. God forgive him for giving you world-class defense, including more switches than anyone else on earth, and not dropping 27 points a night. If he did, he&rsquo;d probably be worn down and injury-prone by his late 20s. As a contender, Bam should be your third option offensively, as he was this year, nearing 20-10 per night in the regular season and occasionally exploding in the playoffs. (That, he should do more, no doubt.)
The true question: Is Herro good enough to round out that top three with Butler and Adebayo? Unlike Adebayo, Herro isn't providing much if he isn't scoring. Do you work around them to improve the committee? Or do changes need to be made at the top?
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If it&rsquo;s the former, the Heat will need to get creative and trust that Herro&rsquo;s development will meet Butler&rsquo;s timeline in a playoff setting &mdash; not just for 82 games &mdash; as Herro finishes the last of his rookie-scale deal. If it&rsquo;s the latter, Tyler's the one that goes. You&rsquo;d be moving the good player for the great player. Even if you think Herro tops out at Devin Booker-level in three years, that doesn&rsquo;t make him a can&rsquo;t miss developmental story if the Heat are trying to win now. They can&rsquo;t afford not to have Herro get there as soon as possible; it isn&rsquo;t fair, but it&rsquo;s part of the business and the crossroad the Heat find themselves at.
Butler is 33. Lowry is 36. Tucker is 37. Erik Spoelstra, who might have more than just "head coach" in his future, is 51. And most importantly, Pat Riley is 77.
(Besides, name all the players that were traded from the Heat and improved considerably? I&rsquo;ll wait...)
The players you should most expect to see back, as of now, are Butler, Adebayo, Lowry, Strus and Gabe Vincent &mdash; the latter two will make $1.8 million each next season and made significant strides in 2021-22 as rotational pieces. Tucker should be more likely back than not, but there&rsquo;s no certainty there. Spoelstra <a href="https://twitter.com/tropicalblanket/status/1531698466921013251" target="_blank" rel="noopener">made it sound as if Oladipo will be back</a>. However, Oladipo will be a free agent this summer, so that&rsquo;s to be determined, as is the status of <a href="https://twitter.com/Anthony_Chiang/status/1531773926359048193" target="_blank" rel="noopener">pending free agent Caleb Martin, who wants to stay</a>.
Duncan Robinson and Dewayne Dedmon &mdash; both of whom lost rotation spots in the playoffs &mdash; most certainly will have new homes next year.
Robinson&rsquo;s will have to be via trade, and although his value has tanked compared to where it stood 12 months ago, no NBA deal is unmovable. The question is whether or not he&rsquo;ll be packaged with Herro as part of a blockbuster deal that further cements the Heat&rsquo;s contendership, or if Robinson's mainly a standalone in a deal, perhaps packaged with someone like Omer Yurtseven (who&rsquo;ll get over $1.7 million next season and showed flashes throughout the season of a rotational piece).
We&rsquo;ll get deeper into the weeds as the draft and free agency actually approaches. What I&rsquo;ll end on is this: If it&rsquo;s Robinson alone and/or Robinson and Yurtseven, people have thrown names out there like Christian Wood and Marcus Morris. For me, if I built someone in a lab who I&rsquo;d want to play next to Bam on the interior, he&rsquo;d be able to shoot threes and protect the paint, as outlined earlier. He&rsquo;d be around 7-foot tall since Adebayo is about 6-foot-10, maybe, with a distinct wingspan. He&rsquo;d... basically be Mo Bamba, so if I had a Heat wish list, that&rsquo;d be the first place I look if it were possible.
The Orlando Magic have the first overall pick in the <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/nba-draft" target="_blank" rel="noopener">2022 NBA Draft</a>, and given that they&rsquo;ll likely end up with Jabari Smith, Chet Holmgren or Paolo Banchero next to Wendell Carter Jr., a sign-and-trade to move Bamba makes the most sense &mdash; especially if it&rsquo;s for shooting and a backup big man with upside to play behind the oft-injured Carter.
That is, unless, you could convince Danny Ainge, Dwyane Wade and the Utah Jazz to send you Donovan Mitchell for a package in the neighborhood of Herro, Robinson, Yurtseven, and multiple first-round picks.
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Bryan Fonseca details what the Heat must do to take their franchise over the top after coming up just short in the East Finals.

2022 NBA offseason preview: What's next for the Miami Heat?

One of the breakout stars of this year&rsquo;s NBA playoffs has been Dallas Mavericks guard Jalen Brunson. He&rsquo;s old-school, unconventional, talented, savy and up for a big pay day this summer. The 6-foot-1, 190-pound guard and Villanova alum was selected No. 33 overall in the 2018 NBA Draft and is one of the better second-round draft picks over the past few classes.
Last year, he was a Sixth Man of the Year candidate, averaging 12.6 points and 5.5 assists on 52/41/80 shooting splits in this third season with the Mavericks. This season, as a full-time starter, while watching his minutes jump from 25.0 to 31.9 per game, his productivity increased to 16.3 points and 4.8 assists per game on 50/37/84 shooting. In the playoffs (35.2 minutes per contest), Brunson jumped to 21.6 points and 3.7 assists per contest on 47/35/80 shooting.
His 2022 postseason included signature performances like a 41-point game in a win over the Utah Jazz in Game 2 without Luka Dončić and a 31-point effort against the Golden State Warriors in Game 3 of the Western Conference Finals. He also had a meaningful 24 points on 11-of-19 shooting in Dallas&rsquo; shocking Game 7 romping of the Phoenix Suns.
But now, he&rsquo;s an unrestricted free agent. Dallas has a lot of questions to answer. How can they best build around Dončić? What do they do with Tim Hardaway Jr.? If they want to upgrade at center, what's the best answer at that position?
Among the most important questions is: do they extend Brunson? Here are some teams to watch in the Brunson sweepstakes this offseason.
NEW YORK KNICKS
The New York Knicks haven&rsquo;t had a reliable point guard since Raymond Felton in their famed 54-win season back in 2012-13. Since then, it&rsquo;s largely been a revolving door of meh at the point of attack at Madison Square Garden. Jose Calderon was past his peak when he got to New York. Iman Shumpert, though very talented, wasn&rsquo;t a natural point guard. Frank Ntilikina is closer to a three-and-D wing than a true floor general. Jerian Grant never panned out. Neither has Kemba Walker. Derrick Rose has arguably been the best of the bunch.
Walker, Rose, Alec Burks, Immanuel Quickley and Miles McBride make up the Knicks' point guard depth chart for 2022-23, in no particular order. Walker&rsquo;s health can&rsquo;t be trusted for an entire season. Burks isn&rsquo;t a true point guard and might be a trade chip. Quickley, if he starts, is probably better suited next to a natural point, and the same could be said for R.J. Barrett. And McBride is young, raw and inexperienced. Brunson is better than all of them, hard stop.
Because Brunson will be unrestricted, the highest-bidder has a chance. The bad news for the Knicks is that <a href="https://www.spotrac.com/nba/new-york-knicks/cap/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">they&rsquo;re pretty much capped out</a>.
That means getting Brunson to New York would require a sign-and-trade. The good thing is that the Mavericks need a Mitchell Robinson type of center, and for about two years, I've been pushing for Brunson-Robinson swap. The Knicks should throw in something else, be it draft capital and or an additional young piece to make the deal work (for cap purposes too), but that&rsquo;s the framework that can come from this. Robinson gives Luka a lob threat, gives the team a higher upside defensively, and gives the coaching staff a player who can share the floor with just about anyone on the roster.&nbsp;
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LOS ANGELES CLIPPERS
If Brunson can play with Dončić and Spencer Dinwiddie, he can share a backcourt with Reggie Jackson. Kawhi Leonard has <a href="https://nba.nbcsports.com/2020/10/19/report-kawhi-leonard-wants-clippers-to-add-point-guard/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">wanted a point guard</a>, but the Clippers still don&rsquo;t have one. It&rsquo;s Jackson, and that&rsquo;s it. Norman Powell, Luke Kennard and Terance Mann are guards, but they're all wings. 2021 second-round pick Jason Preston still hasn&rsquo;t played due to injury, and Xavier Moon was a two-way guy last year who played just 10 games. <a href="https://nba.nbcsports.com/2020/10/19/report-kawhi-leonard-wants-clippers-to-add-point-guard/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Leonard&rsquo;s been wanting a point guard for two seasons</a>, and it&rsquo;s time for the Clippers to address that spot since both Leonard and Paul George are due back next season.
Given the Clippers' cap situation, this would most certainly be a sign-and-trade. Powell, Marcus Morris, Kennard and Robert Covington all make between $12 and $16 million next season, and any of them could make sense going to Dallas. Only one or two of them would probably need to go at most, among other compensation (i.e. young players and picks).
Brunson in L.A. would join the starting line-up alongside Jackson, Leonard, George and a center. Ivica Zubac is an expiring $7.5 million contract next season, and he could actually be a piece Dallas wants in return. Assuming he stays in Los Angeles, Zubac rounds out their starting five and gives Los Angeles a true point guard, which they&rsquo;re clearly missing.
DALLAS MAVERICKS&nbsp;
The Mavericks reportedly had multiple opportunities to sign Brunson to a four-year, $55.5 million deal before and during the season, <a href="https://nba.nbcsports.com/2022/04/25/report-mavericks-didnt-offer-jalen-brunson-contract-extension-until-after-trade-deadline/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">per reports</a>, but did not. As a result, he could be looking at <a href="https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2952513-latest-nba-trade-intel-lakers-realistic-targets-myles-turner-landing-spots?share=sms" target="_blank" rel="noopener">something in the $80 million range</a>, and possibly more after these playoffs.
Clearly, the offense works with him and Luka in the backcourt, blending in Dinwiddie in a natural role as a combo guard off the bench who can finish games. Dallas can keep their core together (those three and Dorian Finney-Smith) and work around the margins.
After losing to the Warriors in Game 5, Mavericks majority owner Mark Cuban said that keeping Brunson is a priority, and damn near guaranteed that it&rsquo;ll happen.
"We can pay him more than anybody,&rdquo; Cuban said. "I think he wants to stay, and that's most important. I think [Jason Kidd] has a big part to play in that... JB blossomed as a player as much as anybody on this squad. From where he was last year to how far he came this year is a tribute to how hard he worked. And the support he got from his dad and his family and his girlfriend, but also, what he was able to learn from [Kidd]. I think he recognizes that, and I think he wants to stay."

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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
.<a href="https://twitter.com/mcuban?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@mcuban</a> reflecting on the 2021-22 Dallas Mavericks season with Marc Stein. <a href="https://twitter.com/dallasmavs?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@dallasmavs</a> | 📺 BSSW | <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/dALLasIN?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#dALLasIN</a> | <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NBAPlayoffs?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NBAPlayoffs</a> | <a href="https://twitter.com/TheSteinLine?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@TheSteinLine</a> <a href="https://t.co/YZROfVsnq0">pic.twitter.com/YZROfVsnq0</a>
&mdash; Bally Sports Southwest (@BallySportsSW) <a href="https://twitter.com/BallySportsSW/status/1530038560673435658?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 27, 2022</a></blockquote>

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Brunson didn&rsquo;t have the exact same tone, but he&rsquo;ll cross that bridge when he gets there, it seems.
"When it&rsquo;s time, it&rsquo;s time. I&rsquo;m not worried about it right now," Brunson said, <a href="https://twitter.com/sixfivelando/status/1530037759955636242" target="_blank" rel="noopener">via Landon Thomas of Mavs Fans For Life</a>. "I&rsquo;m just really happy I got to play with these guys and what we did this year. I&rsquo;ll think about that later.&rdquo;
For Dallas, this is probably the move. Keep Brunson and build around the margins, particularly on the interior. Four years in, we can now say, as long as you have Luka, you have a chance. You just have to nail what&rsquo;s around him, and Brunson is someone you should want back in Dallas.
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Jalen Brunson was a breakout star for the Mavericks this postseason and is now an unrestricted free agent. Where will he end up?

Examining potential free-agent destinations for Jalen Brunson

In the only two seasons he played after winning Big Ten Rookie of the Year at the University of Illinois, Kofi Cockburn was a two-time consensus All-American.
His scoring jumped from 13.3 to 17.4 to 20.9 points per game, and his rebounding leapt from 8.8 to 9.5 to 10.6 boards per contest. Over his three-season career, he shot 59.6% from the field, and although he isn&rsquo;t a perimeter threat, he made 62.3% of his free throws on 6.5 attempts per contest.
Basically, the former Oak Hill Academy and Christ The King center has been one of the most productive collegiate bigs in the past couple of seasons.
Unfortunately, like other traditional 5s who get theirs in the post and probably would&rsquo;ve been a first-round pick a decade or two ago, the 7-foot, 293-pound big man starting at a lottery green room in his future.
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At the NBA Draft Combine last week, Cockburn let it be known to reporters that he could be staring at being undrafted right in the face.
&ldquo;I think it&rsquo;s very unique,&rdquo; Cockburn said of his situation. &ldquo;A lot of people tell me, back then, if it was the 1990s, I&rsquo;d be drafted probably top-10. When I look at it now, the game has changed, but it hasn&rsquo;t changed that much. There are still big men that need to rebound that need to play defense, be vocal, give their guards, put their guards in better position to score.&rdquo;
<a href="https://theathletic.com/3325417/2022/05/20/illinois-kofi-cockburn-nil-nba/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">One executive told The Athletic</a> that Cockburn should&rsquo;ve stayed in school. Cockburn insists, however, that he&rsquo;s ready and people are underestimating his ability to produce in the modern NBA.
&ldquo;A lot of people doubt my ability to adapt to make the NBA,&rdquo; Cockburn said. &ldquo;(I just want) to show that you could put me in whatever situation (and) I&rsquo;ll definitely contribute &mdash; whether that&rsquo;s rebounding, setting good screens, rolling &mdash; just to show them I can do that at the next level... My motor, I&rsquo;m relentless, I&rsquo;ll give you extra possessions, definitely set good screens, I roll, I play good defense, I bring the energy, I talk.&rdquo;
BasketballNews.com's draft coverage team doesn&rsquo;t have Cockburn listed on <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/draft" target="_blank" rel="noopener">its latest 2022 NBA Mock Draft</a> as of this writing.
Our Sr. NBA Draft Analyst Matt Babcock explains that, while Cockburn&rsquo;s ability is unquestionable, the reason he&rsquo;s not registering on mock drafts is rooted in the questions he is attempting to answer to.
Though, Babcock adds that he&rsquo;s not a name to be ignored with the draft looming less than a month away:
<blockquote>
There is no denying that Kofi Cockburn had a significant impact at the college level. However, there are legitimate concerns about how he&rsquo;ll translate to the next level. He is a big-bodied 5 who is incredibly physical, but he doesn&rsquo;t have much perimeter skills on the offensive end, and it&rsquo;s questionable whether he can keep up on the defensive side in the NBA, which is more spread out and fast.
I do not currently have Cockburn projected to be selected in the draft, but he is a relevant prospect. I wouldn&rsquo;t be surprised to hear his name called on draft night.
</blockquote>
Although we might not hear his name called on draft night, it&rsquo;s likely we&rsquo;ll hear about Cockburn at some point this summer &mdash; regardless of if he&rsquo;s one of 60 picks made on June 23. (Note: It&rsquo;s actually 58 picks since the Miami Heat and Milwaukee Bucks forfeited their second-rounders this year.)
Cockburn, who also entered the draft in 2021 and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yg45tIlOdV4" target="_blank" rel="noopener">produced in the G League Elite Camp</a> before returning to school, believes that he&rsquo;ll be impactful however it shakes out for him. Sure, he probably won&rsquo;t get 20 and 10 a night in the NBA, but could he follow a model being laid out by current bigs of similar size and skill sets.
&ldquo;The NBA is changing obviously,&rdquo; Cockburn acknowledges. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s all about big guys being in shape and being able to have an impact &mdash; whatever that impact is. Not necessarily coming in and shooting threes, but always having an impact on the game.&rdquo;
For him &mdash; as is the case with at least 95% of prospects and players in the league overall &mdash; fit will be significant, as will be his own player development and work ethic.
He recognizes that, and hopes to change some minds going forward.
<a href="https://therookiewire.usatoday.com/2022/05/23/hawks-kofi-cockburn-nba-pre-draft-workout/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Getting a workout with the Atlanta Hawks</a> isn&rsquo;t a bad start.
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Bryan Fonseca takes a look at Kofi Cockburn's potential at the NBA level and why being a traditional big man shouldn't hold him back.

2022 NBA Draft: Kofi Cockburn insists he'll have impact at next level

DALLAS (AP) &mdash; Stephen Curry and the Golden State Warriors have won nine consecutive games in the Western Conference finals.
They can make it an even 10, eliminate Luka Doncic and the Dallas Mavericks and return to the NBA Finals after three years away with a victory in Game 4 in Dallas on Tuesday night.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;m not going to fast forward,&rdquo; Curry said after a <a href="https://apnews.com/article/dallas-mavericks-golden-state-warriors-nba-sports-klay-thompson-2f6a0c58ab25f6512ffe1f090224f272">109-100 victory in Game 3</a> for a 3-0 series lead. &ldquo;We can play better, but we&rsquo;re finding ways to win games. There&rsquo;s no expectation other than what&rsquo;s the challenge ahead of us, and the challenge now is to close out a series against a really good team to get back to an opportunity to win the Finals.&rdquo;
The Warriors haven't lost in the West finals since erasing a 3-2 deficit to Houston in 2018, when they won the last of their three titles in four years by beating Cleveland in the NBA Finals. Golden State swept Portland for a fifth consecutive trip to the Finals in 2019 before losing in six games to Toronto.
The Mavericks are playing beyond the first round for the first time since <a href="https://apnews.com/article/dallas-mavericks-golden-state-warriors-milwaukee-bucks-brooklyn-nets-nba-7e323815c5abcc72eefbad4c6a6b2f36">first-year coach Jason Kidd</a> was the point guard on the Dirk Nowitzki-led team that won the 2011 title.
Dallas was down 2-0 to top-seeded Phoenix in the West semifinals before winning twice as the home team took the first six games. <a href="https://apnews.com/article/phoenix-suns-dallas-mavericks-milwaukee-bucks-nba-sports-1e6827985892edd105afa343820edddb">The Mavs stunned the Suns</a> with a 33-point victory in Game 7 in Phoenix, putting Doncic a year ahead Nowitzki's schedule in reaching his first conference finals.
Golden State rallied from 19 points down to win Game 2 at home before erasing a nine-point deficit in the final four minutes of the first half in Game 3 &mdash; and ending any hope of Dallas repeating its Phoenix feat.
Instead of winning four out of five, the Mavericks have to win the last four games of the series. No NBA team has done that.
Doncic scored 21 of his 40 points in the fourth quarter, but a desperate Dallas rally never gained traction. The young superstar masked a mediocre first half by hitting a 32-footer at the first-quarter buzzer.
&ldquo;I think the first two quarters I played very bad. That&rsquo;s on me,&rdquo; Doncic said after the Mavs fell to 2-6 in three playoff years when their All-Star scored at least 40. &ldquo;But I&rsquo;m still learning. I think after this season is done, whatever we are, I think we&rsquo;re going to look back and learn a lot of things. I&rsquo;m 23, man. I&rsquo;m still learning a lot.&rdquo;
Doncic also learned what it's like to be on the wrong end of a moment that will live forever on highlight reels.
The three-time All-Star who is used to sending defenders stumbling with crossover and step-back moves was posterized on a dunk by Andrew Wiggins.
Yes, the same Wiggins was who criticized by some after being chosen as an All-Star starter in his first appearance this year. He got the nod over Doncic, who started the season poorly by his standards because of issues with weight and conditioning.
That wasn't Wiggins' only dunk on his way to a playoff career-high 27 points, and he had another off one of his six offensive rebounds, just one fewer than Dallas had as a team.
The 2014 No. 1 overall pick also has been one of the primary defenders on Doncic in a multifaceted scheme that has limited Dallas' career triple-double leader to five assists per game &mdash; three below his career playoff average.
&ldquo;He&rsquo;s a fantastic two-way player,&rdquo; coach Steve Kerr said. &ldquo;You don&rsquo;t win in the playoffs without guys like Wiggs. We&rsquo;re basically mirroring Doncic&rsquo;s minutes so that Wiggs can stay on him and he&rsquo;s another guy like Steph who just never seems to get tired. He&rsquo;s in amazing shape.&rdquo;
The Mavericks are in bad shape in this series because they've been outscored on average 62-47 in the second half. Part of the reason is the inconsistency of Doncic's supporting cast.
In Game 3, Spencer Dinwiddie scored 26 of Dallas' 28 bench points after the Mavs' reserves were outscored 36-13 in Game 2. But key 3-point specialists Dorian Finney-Smith, Maxi Kleber and Reggie Bullock combined for just nine points &mdash; all of them from Finney-Smith after Kleber and Bullock missed all 12 of their 3s and all 15 of their shots overall.
Pardon the Mavs if they sounded a bit defeated, knowing the history of 3-0 deficits.
&ldquo;When you&rsquo;re in a battle, you&rsquo;re not thinking about the big picture,&rdquo; Kidd said. &ldquo;But as we reflect this summer, whenever that starts, we&rsquo;ll understand what we did and how we can get better. And that&rsquo;s the blessing of this whole thing is, we truly believe we belong here.&rdquo;
For now, the Mavs have to believe they can prolong things.
&nbsp;

The Warriors look to eliminate the Mavericks and return to the NBA Finals after three years away with a win in Game 4.

Curry, Warriors go for sweep of Doncic, Mavs in West finals

In the third episode of "The Goods," our Bryan Fonseca breaks down the best squads to never make it to the NBA Finals stage. 
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<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/the-goods-with-bryan-fonseca-talent-alone-doesnt-win-nba-titles" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Episode 2: Talent Alone Doesn't Win NBA Titles</a>
<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/the-goods-with-bryan-fonseca-the-case-for-allnba-playoff-awards" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Episode 1: The Case for All-NBA Playoff Awards</a>
Be sure to subscribe to <a href="https://www.youtube.com/c/BasketballNews" target="_blank" rel="noopener">BasketballNews.com's YouTube channel</a>.
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Bryan Fonseca breaks down the best squads to never make it to the NBA Finals stage.

The Goods with Bryan Fonseca: 5 best teams to never reach NBA Finals

The 2022 NBA Draft Lottery was last night, so we now have our top-14 picks!
Unfortunately, many of these teams &mdash; like the Sacramento Kings, Orlando Magic, Detroit Pistons and Charlotte Hornets &mdash; have grown accustomed to picking in the lottery year after year.
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Of those top-14 teams, some should try to win now. And no, that doesn&rsquo;t necessarily mean they have to trade their first-round pick, especially after observing how Rookie-of-the-Year winner Scottie Barnes and runner-up Evan Mobley impacted winning this season. But, for some teams, you could say that if they were better at development, they wouldn&rsquo;t be in the lottery this often.
But we digress. Here are some teams who should strongly consider using their lottery pick in a win-now trade so that they&rsquo;re not back in the same position next season in an increasingly wide-open NBA.
(Did we include specific trade ideas? No, we aren't firing up the trade machine here. It's May, and what do you want? 2,500 words? On the Lottery? During the Conference Finals?)
Sacramento Kings
The Kings, who were the only team to jump in the lottery last night, have picks No. 4 and No. 37 in the upcoming draft, <a href="https://www.prosportstransactions.com/basketball/DraftTrades/Future/Kings.htm" target="_blank" rel="noopener">along with all of their pending first-rounders</a> and many of their seconds.
Absolutely no team in the NBA needs to make the playoffs more than the Kings. The team was a perennial playoff participant from 1999 through 2006, which is hard to fathom since they haven&rsquo;t reached the postseason ever since. Their eight-straight playoff trips included four consecutive runs to at least the Western Conference Semifinals, with a Western Conference Finals trip in 2002. They have not made the playoffs since 2006; they&rsquo;ve only finished above 10th place in the West once, in 2019, when they went 39-43 &mdash; their best record in 16 years, and one of only two seasons in which they&rsquo;ve had more than 33 wins.
Last season, they made the now keystone Kings-Pacers trade, dealing Tyrese Haliburton, Buddy Hield and Tristian Thompson for Domantas Sabonis (who represented them at the lottery), Justin Holiday, Jeremy Lamb and a 2023 second-round pick. With the pairing of Sabonis (26 years old) and De&rsquo;Aaron Fox (24 years old), it may make more sense to add a similarly aged starter who can help their 2022-23 presumed playoff push.
Also, expected on the roster next season is Davion Mitchell, who will enter his sophomore season but is already 23 years old and may earn an All-Rookie selection soon. Richaun Holmes saw his role take a hit once Sabonis arrived and missed much of the latter portion of the season <a href="https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/being-accused-ex-wife-domestic-010013091.html">dealing with a personal issue</a>. Otherwise, for now, Holmes, Harrison Barnes and Mitchell are among the players under contract for next season.
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Dealing the No. 4 overall pick could land them a damn good player. John Collins, Gordon Hayward, Julius Randle, Jerami Grant and Christian Wood are among those who <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/five-nba-players-who-feel-destined-to-be-traded-this-offseason" target="_blank" rel="noopener">may find a new home this summer</a>. Could the Utah Jazz look to move on from <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/examining-potential-trade-desinations-for-donovan-mitchell-2022" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Donovan Mitchell</a> or <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/examining-potential-trade-destinations-for-rudy-gobert" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Rudy Gobert</a>&nbsp;in the coming months?
The Kings will have to attach players to the No. 4 pick, but imagine if Sacramento could put another win-now piece alongside Fox and Sabonis? They should make some calls to see what a package built around the No. 4 pick could return.
Oklahoma City Thunder
Despite all of the draft picks the Thunder own, they simply can&rsquo;t draft everyone. In this year's draft, OKC owns No. 2, No. 12, No. 30 and No. 34. Over the next five years, they will have 17 first-round picks and 30 selections in total. This is something you do in NBA 2K when you plan on building a dynasty, but at some point, most virtual GMs realize that you need to start having actual players on your roster to win rather than just continually flipping players for picks while toiling at the bottom of the standings.&nbsp;
At some point, Oklahoma City needs to make its run. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is about to enter the first season of his five-year, $172 million extension, which will see him earn just under $30 million next year. SGA turns 24 years old this summer and is a cornerstone for the franchise as their best player at the moment. Last year's No. 6 overall selection Josh Giddey looks like a keeper who almost certainly will be on an All-Rookie team this season. Lu Dort, Tre Mann, Kenrich Williams, Darius Bazley, Ty Jerome and Aleksej Pokusevski are all under contractual control for next season.
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OKC could quickly assemble a package for a high-level starter or borderline star to join SGA and Giddey, particularly with whoever else is retained. They have more than enough draft capital and could probably get close to anyone they want as a result. In terms of their roster, they just need good two-way players who fit what they&rsquo;re trying to build culturally and schematically. Literally, anything goes here.
At some point, the Thunder will have to package some of these draft picks or prospects. We'll see when Sam Presti decides to flip that switch.&nbsp;
Portland Trail Blazers
The Blazers are in a tough spot with Damian Lillard, and what Lillard wants will factor in to their decision-making. He clearly wants to win but, by all accounts, he prefers to stay in Portland. It may be difficult to check both of those boxes with the Blazers as presently constructed. In the Lillard-CJ McCollum era, Portland made the playoffs every season and reached one Western Conference Finals in 2019. They were <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/a-salute-to-the-defiance-of-damian-lillard-and-cj-mccollum" target="_blank" rel="noopener">often failed by suboptimal roster construction around Lillard and McCollum</a>, and then the elite backcourt would be unfairly blamed for the team's struggles.
With the No. 7 pick in the 2022 NBA Draft, and the assumption that Lillard remains, what&rsquo;s their next move as they once again attempt to win with their elite 6-foot-3 shot creator? Lillard is due over $42 million next season, the second season of a four-year supermax that will include a player option worth close to $49 million in 2024-25.
Eric Bledsoe&rsquo;s $19 million and Josh Hart&rsquo;s $12 million are the only other big salaries on the books for next season. A decision awaits on dynamic guard Anfernee Simons, who is reminiscent of the aforementioned McCollum, as he is up for an extension this summer as he enters restricted free agency. <a href="https://nba.nbcsports.com/2022/02/25/restricted-free-agent-to-be-anfernee-simons-i-100-want-to-stay-in-portland/#:~:text=signed%20a%20three%2Dyear%2C%20%2451.8,board%20career%20highs%20this%20season." target="_blank" rel="noopener">He reportedly wants to stay in Portland</a>.
<img src="https://cdn.basketballnews.com/images/story/body/screen-shot-2022-05-18-at-11-45-07-am.png" alt="" width="650" height="494" />
Ultimately, if the Blazers decide to package the No. 7 overall with some combination of players, could they look to include Simons via a sign-and-trade? It depends how aspirational a supposed deal could get and who they are getting in return. Only $3.9 million of Bledsoe&rsquo;s deal <a href="https://www.spotrac.com/nba/portland-trail-blazers/eric-bledsoe-6900/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">is fully guaranteed until June 29</a>, making him a prime trade-and-waive candidate between now and the draft.
Here's the reality: Portland&rsquo;s roster requires a full rebuild, but if Lillard is going to remain, selecting a rookie at No. 7 might not be ideal. And given their history and Simons' fit alongside Lillard, you might want to look at a big.

Bryan Fonseca argues that there are three NBA teams who should look to trade their lottery pick for a win-now piece.

Which NBA Draft Lottery teams should make a win-now trade?

The ball bounced twice on each side of the rim before going in.
Kawhi Leonard&rsquo;s nearly impossible game-winning fadeaway jumper over the outstretched right arm of Joel Embiid ended a seven-game thriller of a 2018-19 Eastern Conference Semifinals. The series saw the Toronto Raptors escape with a 92-90 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers, in large part due to underwhelming performances from Joel Embiid, Ben Simmons and Tobias Harris all series long. <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/jimmy-butler-is-a-16game-player">Those were expounded upon here just last month</a>. In fairness to Embiid, similar to these 2022 playoffs, <a href="https://www.si.com/nba/2019/05/07/joel-embiid-76ers-injuries-illness-timeline-history-playoffs">he was injured as hell.</a> He tried his best.
Jimmy Butler wasn&rsquo;t perfect for the Sixers that spring, but he was a hell of a lot better. He averaged 22.0 points, 7.0 rebounds and 5.6 assists in the series, with by far the team&rsquo;s best offensive rating at 118, not counting Amir Johnson who played a mere (ha, get it? Never mind) 20 minutes. Yet and still, the Sixers were right there, and had Leonard&rsquo;s shot missed, who knows if the Sixers would&rsquo;ve went on to defeat the Milwaukee Bucks and Golden State Warriors as the Raptors did en route to their first NBA championship?
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Regardless, those four bounces led to Butler&rsquo;s fate: he was signed-and-traded to the Miami Heat that very summer. Instead of keeping Butler, the Sixers chose Simmons, Harris, Brett Brown and Al Horford.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
Jimmy Butler: &ldquo;Tobias Harris over me.&rdquo; <a href="https://t.co/23K3HgaA0R">pic.twitter.com/23K3HgaA0R</a>
&mdash; Hoop Central (@TheHoopCentral) <a href="https://twitter.com/TheHoopCentral/status/1524965729165901824?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 13, 2022</a></blockquote>

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Simmons and Harris both<a href="https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2843932-ben-simmons-76ers-agree-on-5-year-170m-max-contract-extension">&nbsp;received max contract extensions</a> <a href="https://www.inquirer.com/sixers/tobias-harris-signs-sixers-76ers-contract-20190710.html">in the summer Butler was dealt to Miami</a>.
Miami was where Butler wanted to go. <a href="https://www.insider.com/jimmy-butler-wanted-join-heat-dwyane-wade-conversation-2020-9">They were his top choice</a>.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
1. Since &ldquo;why&rsquo;d the Sixers let Jimmy Butler go?!&rdquo; is a big topic today, figured I&rsquo;d do a thread on what I&rsquo;ve put together from the past few years. Some of this I&rsquo;ve written before, some not. Figured would be helpful to put it all in one place. So👇👇👇
&mdash; Yaron Weitzman (@YaronWeitzman) <a href="https://twitter.com/YaronWeitzman/status/1525118168754159617?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 13, 2022</a></blockquote>

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Since Butler became a member of the Heat, the Sixers have still been a playoff team. In the 2019-20 season, which was obviously paused in March due to COVID-19 before resuming in the summer, the Sixers earned the sixth seed in the Eastern Conference and were swept in Round 1 of the playoffs by the Boston Celtics. Simmons didn&rsquo;t play in the playoffs due to injury. Those same Celtics lost to the Heat in six games during the Eastern Conference Finals, and a Butler-led Miami team reached its first NBA Finals since LeBron James&rsquo; 2014 departure. The Heat, who were a five-seed in the East and top three or four for most of the season, lost to the champion Los Angeles Lakers in six games, but not without a historical postseason from Butler.
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In 2020-21, the Sixers were the Eastern Conference&rsquo;s top seed after compiling an impressive 49-23 record in the 72-game season. Unfortunately, they were embarrassingly defeated on their home floor against the fifth-seeded Atlanta Hawks in Round 2. Simmons still hasn&rsquo;t played since, and despite Embiid&rsquo;s play, he was once again let down by those around him.
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Butler and the Heat? Well, after a little seven-week break between the end of the NBA Finals and the beginning of training camp for the 2020-21 season (as opposed to the standard three-plus months even a Finals team would get in a typical league calendar year), the team flamed out and were swept by the Bucks.
Both teams were able to properly reset heading into the 2021-22 season, and as fate would have it, the No. 1 seeded Heat matched up with the No. 4 seeded Sixers in the semifinals. Butler vs. his old team, where Simmons and then-head-coach Brown no longer resided, but Embiid and Harris were among those who remained.
With a 4-2 lead on May 12, 2022, exactly three years after Leonard&rsquo;s four bounces ended Butler&rsquo;s Sixer tenure, he led his team, in a hostile environment that once rooted for his every move, to an emphatic 99-90 victory to end the Sixers&rsquo; season. Sure, 99-90 may not sound like much, but if you watched the game, you saw the Heat grind their way to a 19-4 run to begin the third quarter, mount nine-straight points to begin the fourth and build a 20-point lead as just five minutes remained before the Sixers cut the lead in garbage time.
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In the modern NBA, organizations seem to take on the personality of their stars, for better or worse. But Miami identified one who matched their ethos, and Butler knew it would be the place for him. A place where villains are welcomed, as <a href="https://www.slamonline.com/nba/jimmy-butler-to-joel-embiid-i-know-a-place-where-villains-are-welcome/">he once told Embiid</a>. And a place that is, in their own culture, counter to what their own city is admired for. Miami, to outsiders, is revered for partying, glamour and beaches, but the Heat are respected and occasionally mocked for a culture that is driven by blue-collar work ethic. It's an identity that requires being in &ldquo;Heat shape,&rdquo; playing defense-first, developing undrafted rookies into future rotation players and adding the occasional stars who fit into that identity.&nbsp;
The Heat are also known for their persistent fight, for being a pain in the ass for whoever opposes them and for being an overlooked team that is tailored to those who prioritize winning over highlights.
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James Harden was brought to Philadelphia to lead in moments like these, but he did anything but that. Butler, who had often been compared to Harden as a byproduct of playing similar positions, dropped 32 points with 8 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 blocks and a steal in a closeout game. Harden had 11 points on 4-for-9 shooting, taking one shot in each of the final two quarters. He said the ball didn't get back to him. That's the guy who had the Sixers' second-highest usage rate in the series. Butler is now averaging 28.7 points, 7.6 rebounds, 5.4 assists, 2.1 steals and on 53/36/81 shooting splits in the playoffs.
Butler doesn&rsquo;t (yet?) have a championship. Most players don&rsquo;t, including many greats, but Butler is a winner, a leader and someone <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=amof84tDBnM">Embiid's career misses dearly for good reason</a>, even while he could look at his bench and see another all-time wing in Harden beside him. But basketball isn&rsquo;t strictly about&nbsp; numbers, or strictly in between the lines, or strictly any one thing. It encompasses everything. And that&rsquo;s what the Sixers and many have failed to realize when assessing Butler&rsquo;s greatness.
But in Philadelphia, exactly three years after it all ended, he had the last laugh.
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Exactly three years after Kawhi Leonard's shot ended Jimmy Butler's last game as a Philadelphia 76er, he returned -- with the organization people made fun of him for joining -- to lead the Miami Heat to the Eastern Conference Finals. And he did it in Philadelphia. Last laugh. <a href="https://t.co/Fzr3Ug73tT">pic.twitter.com/Fzr3Ug73tT</a>
&mdash; Bryan Fonseca 🇵🇷 (@BryanFonsecaNY) <a href="https://twitter.com/BryanFonsecaNY/status/1524925290367025172?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 13, 2022</a></blockquote>

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After falling short of postseason success with Philadelphia, Jimmy Butler showed the Sixers why it was a mistake to let him go.

In Philadelphia, Jimmy Butler gets the last laugh

Tyler Herro hasn&rsquo;t had the playoffs that Miami Heat fans were hoping for and that many others were anticipating. Even so, the Heat have gone 7-3 in their 10 playoff games, gentleman-sweeping the Atlanta Hawks with a +60 point differential in Round 1 before going up 3-2 against the Philadelphia 76ers in Round 2.
If you comparison shop, Herro&rsquo;s playoff performance is a distinct upgrade from what he displayed last year. You could say the same for the entire Heat roster given that many of them were fatigued from the year prior, <a href="https://twitter.com/BryanFonsecaNY/status/1517002610179461120">a point I&rsquo;ve made repeatedly about the bubble final four</a>. But Herro&rsquo;s production falls short compared to his rookie year postseason.
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In the bubble, Herro averaged 16.0 points, 5.1 rebounds and 3.7 assists on 43/38/87 shooting splits in 21 playoff games, logging 33.6 minutes per contest. Currently, he&rsquo;s at 14.2 points, 4.4 rebounds and 3.1 assists per contest, and he&rsquo;s averaging just 28.7 minutes per game in part because the Heat keep blowing teams out. (Six of their seven playoff wins have been by double-digit points, and the one that wasn&rsquo;t was a closeout win over Atlanta, in which Jimmy Butler and Kyle Lowry sat.)
His per-36 production is almost exactly the same: 17.1 points, 5.5 rebounds and 3.9 assists as a rookie, and 17.8 points with the same rebounds and assists now. The difference? His shooting splits are down to 42/28 from the field and from three, and while he&rsquo;s shooting 91.3 percent on free throws, he&rsquo;s only averaging 2.9 attempts per 36 minutes, barely up from 2.8 attempts per game two playoffs ago.
Let&rsquo;s not be overly dramatic and say that Herro is <a href="https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=i%27m+fighting+for+my+life+">fighting for his f*cking life</a>, but at 22 years old, he is already playing for his future. The 2019 lottery pick is extension eligible this summer, which will again be one of the most significant free agencies in Heat history regardless of how these playoffs turn out. But if Herro doesn&rsquo;t show enough in these playoffs to warrant a long-term extension, he may have to become a casualty for the team to move forward. Windows are hella fragile in #thisleague.
In the NFL, quarterbacks drafted in the early rounds have a quicker trial period than ever before, something that coincides with how little time young NBA players may have to develop while on a contender. Rookie-scale contracts in the NFL, similar to NBA first-round picks, are for up to four years at the team&rsquo;s discretion. If you&rsquo;re good enough, you&rsquo;ll play through all four years and receive an extension that would kick in immediately afterward. An NFL first-round pick typically gets a fifth-year option, which is at the heart of the controversy surrounding Baker Mayfield now.
After earning over $32 million over these last four seasons following his selection as the No. 1 overall pick in 2018, he&rsquo;s now on a fifth-year option worth under $19 million. He's still on the Cleveland Browns, even as they&rsquo;ve signed DeShaun Watson to a fully guaranteed five-year, $230 million deal, the largest in NFL history.
The point is that the Browns, after Mayfield&rsquo;s struggles, felt that they had to go through alternative means for a franchise quarterback. The Heat are nearing a similar fork-in-the-road decision this summer, in which Herro&rsquo;s current play will serve as a factor.
Here&rsquo;s the Heat&rsquo;s salary cap table going forward, per basketball-reference.com:
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A potential Herro extension wouldn&rsquo;t kick in until 2023-24, and chances are Duncan Robinson&ndash;a prime trade candidate in this summer&ndash;would no longer be on the roster. Herro and Robinson could depart in the same package if Miami deems that&rsquo;s what&rsquo;s best going forward, but would such a trade leave the Heat with enough talent to remain contenders?
Again, we're <a href="https://hoopshype.com/2022/05/11/knicks-heat-are-the-teams-that-are-closely-monitoring-donovan-mitchells-status/">seeing reports about the Heat&rsquo;s interest in Utah Jazz guard Donovan Mitchell</a>. I <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/examining-potential-trade-desinations-for-donovan-mitchell-2022">wrote about the Mitchell-to-Miami possibilities in late April</a> immediately following Utah&rsquo;s six-game first-round elimination against the Dallas Mavericks. If such a deal were to happen, Herro and Robinson would have to be included for financial reasons, and, well&hellip; never mind. I&rsquo;ll leave Utah alone this time.
But the door seems open because Herro has generally struggled this postseason. He also has, by far, the team&rsquo;s worst on-off plus-minus per 100 possessions. On the court, he&rsquo;s been a -5.7, while the only other player in the negative is Omer Yurtseven (-11.1), who has only played garbage minutes. Herro&rsquo;s on-off is a -39.8. Yurtseven has the second-worst, at -22.8, but again, he doesn&rsquo;t really play. Victor Oladipo, the only other notable rotation player, is a -6.1. All other key players are a net positive.
Now, in fairness to Herro, let&rsquo;s add more context. First, here&rsquo;s his playoff game log, again, per bball ref.
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Game 1 was a blowout, so they didn&rsquo;t need him. Game 2 was fine, and Game 3 was one of his best, including 7 much-needed fourth-quarter points and 12 in the second. In Game 4, he was completely neutralized, largely thanks to Delon Wright, <a href="https://twitter.com/BradyHawk305/status/1516564233684721666">who guarded him for much of the series</a>. In Game 5, without Butler and Lowry, Herro was still mostly limited, even if wasn&rsquo;t "bad" by any means.
In this series, Sixers coach Doc Rivers has talked about putting an emphasis on slowing Herro, who went off for 25 points on 53/67/100 shooting splits in the opener, and so far that has worked to a degree, as Herro has been held to 13.3 points per game on 42/32/90 splits ever since.
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Doc Rivers on what he told his team when defending Tyler Herro: &ldquo;Let&rsquo;s make a mistake on anybody but Herro.&rdquo; Said he&rsquo;s fine with mistakes, &ldquo;but just not him.&rdquo;
&mdash; Brady Hawk (@BradyHawk305) <a href="https://twitter.com/BradyHawk305/status/1522037933146091522?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 5, 2022</a></blockquote>

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While Herro&rsquo;s struggles have been born out of respect, he hasn&rsquo;t fully adjusted. Luckily for the Heat, it hasn&rsquo;t been quite the deciding factor since Butler has been an All-NBA Playoff Performer so far. Herro has the team&rsquo;s second-highest playoff usage rate at 24.5, leads the team in turnovers due to bad passes this post-season with 12 and hasn&rsquo;t quite been his Sixth-Man-of-the-Year self. He did, however, find some offense late in Game 5 over Philadelphia after a one-point first half. He found angles and was able to get to his floater after knifing through the lane, scoring 9 second-half points before sitting because the game was out of reach.
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Rivers alluded to adjustments necessary for stopping Butler, who is averaging about 28-8-6 in the playoffs on 54/37/82 shooting. That could mean double teams, and that could open up things for Herro in Game 6. Maybe the Heat haven&rsquo;t needed a hero in the way Nas intended, but if Butler sees increased defensive resistance in Game 6, they might. On many fronts, it would go a long way if he took advantage, both in this series, and for his career.
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Tyler Herro may have won Sixth Man of the Year, but has he done enough to make himself a staple in Miami's lineup long-term?

Is Tyler Herro already playing for his future with the Miami Heat?

On the second episode of "The Goods With Bryan Fonseca," Bryan breaks down what it takes to win an NBA championship and why talent alone is never enough.
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<a href="https://youtu.be/kCcljsPjXaw" target="_blank" rel="noopener">If you missed it, check out the first episode, where Bryan explains why the NBA needs to add an All-Playoff Team to their end-of-season awards.</a>

Bryan Fonseca breaks down what it takes to win an NBA championship and why talent alone is never enough.

The Goods with Bryan Fonseca: Talent alone doesn't win NBA titles

In the 2020 Summer Olympics, which took place in 2021 due to COVID, France matched up with Team USA in the men&rsquo;s basketball gold-medal game for the third time.
The first gold-medal meeting between the two nations took place was in 1948, with France <a href="https://www.usab.com/history/national-team-mens/games-of-the-xivth-olympiad-1948.aspx" target="_blank" rel="noopener">losing 65-21 in that final</a>.
Despite having been historically good since then, it took another 52 years for the Frenchmen to return to that stage for a second time; unfortunately, Team USA awaited again. The game was much closer in 2000 than in 1948, but the Americans &mdash; led by Vince Carter, Kevin Garnett, Alonzo Mourning and Ray Allen among others &mdash; outlasted Antoine Rigaudeau, Laurent Sciarra, Frederic Weis and France, 85-75.
(No, that wasn&rsquo;t the game Carter <a href="https://youtu.be/WihbbVEmppI" target="_blank" rel="noopener">dunked on Weis</a>; that was earlier in The Games.)
And in last year&rsquo;s gold-medal game, in the countries' third meeting on that stage, France <a href="https://www.espn.com/mens-olympics-basketball/boxscore/_/gameId/401347899" target="_blank" rel="noopener">got even closer</a>.
France's best Olympic team ever was defeated by the Americans, 87-82. Team USA started Damian Lillard, Jrue Holiday, Devin Booker, Kevin Durant and Bam Adebayo, answering the French quintet of Nando De Colo, Evan Fournier, Nicolas Batum, Guerschon Yabusele and Rudy Gobert.
Contributions from the U.S. bench came from Jayson Tatum, Zach LaVine, Draymond Green and Khris Middleton, while Timoth&eacute; Luwawu-Cabarrot, Frank Ntikilina, Thomas Heurtel and Moustapha Fall were key components of France's second unit. The Frenchmen trailed by as little as 3 points with just eight seconds remaining before Durant iced the game with two free throws.
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Now imagine that game with Joel Embiid... playing for France.
The 28-year-old NBA MVP candidate, who was born and raised in Cameroon and has never played for his home national team (despite <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/things-to-monitor-as-the-next-fiba-world-cups-next-qualifying-window-arrives">coming close in 2017</a>), is reportedly <a href="https://www.si.com/nba/2022/05/02/joel-embiid-could-change-nationality-play-french-national-team-report">eyeing an opportunity to suit up for France</a>.
Embiid has family in France, and is <a href="https://rmcsport.bfmtv.com/basket/basket-joel-embiid-superstar-de-nba-se-rapproche-de-l-equipe-de-france_AV-202205020664.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">considering changing his nationality</a> in order to play for the Frenchmen in the 2024 Olympic Games, where they&rsquo;d enter as one of the favorites to challenge Team USA again for the gold. According to French basketball general manager Boris Diaw, Embiid is <a href="https://actucameroun.com/2022/05/03/boris-diaw-manager-general-de-lequipe-de-france-confirme-les-demarches-entamees-par-joel-embiid-pour-jouer-avec-les-bleus-en-vue-des-jo-2024/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">taking the necessary steps</a>.
(Looks like we won't ever see the Embiid-Pascal Siakam tandem for Cameroon, unfortunately.)
In FIBA, each team is allowed one naturalized player on its roster. Current and recent instances of this include American-born players to suit up for different countries, such as Javonte Green (Montenegro), Matt Costello (Ivory Coast), Anthony Randolph (Slovenia) and Andray Blatche (Philippines). Non-American examples include Congolese center Serge Ibaka playing for Spain, Cuban native Ismael Romero playing for Puerto Rico and French-born Aaron Cel playing for Poland. Another famous occasion where this occurred saw Hakeem Olajuwon playing with Team USA in the 1990s.
Regarding American-born WNBA players, known examples include Bria Hartley representing France, Becky Hammon representing Russia and Leilani Mitchell representing Australia. Non-American examples in the women&rsquo;s game include Bahamian Jonquel Jones playing for Bosnia and Herzegovina and Senegal native Astou Ndour playing for Spain.
Now, it may be long before we see Embiid actually playing for France if this process gets finalized, or less than we think if he decides not to wait for the Olympics.
The next major European basketball tournament is EuroBasket 2022, <a href="https://www.fiba.basketball/eurobasket/2022">which will run from Sept. 1-18 later this year</a> across Italy, Germany, Georgia and the Czech Republic. France will be one of 24 teams competing, but seeing Embiid there would be surprising.
The 2023 FIBA World Cup, which France is <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/where-things-stand-after-the-second-window-of-fiba-world-cup-qualifiers">currently attempting to qualify for</a>, will take place from Aug. 25 through Sept. 10, 2023. Qualifying for the World Cup will run through next February before the final pool of 32 teams gets decided.
And the 2024 Summer Olympics, assuming we avoid another global pandemic, is expected to actually run that summer. The host of the Games? France, who will automatically qualify for the tournament <a href="https://www.fiba.basketball/pr-n34-brazils-national-teams-granted-automatic-places-at-2016-olympic-basketball-tournament" target="_blank" rel="noopener">by rule</a>. Embiid will be 30 years old by the next Olympics.
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Since Embiid is reportedly targeting the 2024 Games, let&rsquo;s look at some players who might be his teammates.
The oldest players from the silver-medal-winning squad last summer were De Colo and Batum, who&rsquo;ll be 37 and 35 by the 2024 Games, so expect many of the same players to run it back if possible. One name that could join the fray is Boston Celtics second-round pick Juhann Begarin, who is just 19 years old and was the No. 45 overall selection last summer. Isma&euml;l Kamagate and Hugo Besson, both of whom are 21, are in the 2022 NBA Draft pool; the same goes for 18-year-old Ousmane Dieng, who is quickly rising up draft boards. There's also plenty of hype surrounding fellow 18-year-old, ASVEL star and 7-foot-2 sensation Victor Wembanyama &mdash; a lock to be a high draft pick in 2023.
<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/draft">BasketballNews.com Sr. NBA Draft Analyst Matt Babcock</a> has Dieng going No. 21 overall, Kamagate at No. 40 and Besson at No. 51.
But really, there&rsquo;s one question we need to answer, and it has to do with a three-time Defensive Player of the Year already on the roster who holds down the 5 position. Could an Embiid and Gobert frontcourt lead France over Team USA?
If you haven&rsquo;t realized, the American pool of bigs is slighter than you think.
Many of the best centers in the NBA aren&rsquo;t American and don&rsquo;t represent America internationally. Examples include Embiid, Gobert, Nikola Jokić (Serbia), Karl-Anthony Towns (Dominican Republic), Nikola Vučević (Montenegro), Kristaps Porziņģis (Latvia), Clint Capela (Switzerland) and Jonas Valančiūnas (Lithuania).
The best centers that have represented Team USA, and/or have Team USA eligibility, have been Adebayo, Green, Jarrett Allen and JaVale McGee. Deandre Ayton (Bahamas) is a player to watch <a href="https://www.azcentral.com/story/sports/nba/suns/2021/06/22/suns-big-deandre-ayton-ideal-team-usa-2024-summer-olympics-paris/5307682001/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">who could represent Team USA in the future</a>, along with younger bigs like Evan Mobley and Chet Holmgren.
Assuming health, so the 2024 American team could start either Adebayo, Ayton or Allen, if not 2 of the 3. Team USA is generally harder to guess in advance, but your starting lineup could look like some combination of Ja Morant, Anthony Edwards, Booker, Tatum and Adebayo. Maybe, to match size, Ayton gets in there instead of Edwards.
Maybe a Trae Young, LaMelo Ball, Bradley Beal, Jaylen Brown and Donovan Mitchell sneak into the backcourt instead. Maybe someone we&rsquo;re not projecting to make another huge leap does &mdash; like Jordan Poole, Tyler Herro or Tyrese Maxey &mdash; or maybe Jaden Ivey or Jabari Smith are more ready than we think by 2024. Even so, you&rsquo;d throw, at best, Adebayo, Ayton, Allen, and Mobley at the Embiid-Gobert combo, and that tandem could be backed up by Dieng, Yabusele, and Vincent Poirier for France.
It&rsquo;s a lot to project, no doubt, but giving <a href="https://www.fiba.basketball/rankingmen" target="_blank" rel="noopener">the No. 4 team in the world</a> a top-four player in the world could be what it takes for someone to snatch the gold medal away from Team USA in the Olympics for the first time since 2004.
But a lot can happen in two years, so we'll table this... for now.&nbsp;
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Bryan Fonseca looks at the potential of Joel Embiid joining France in international competition.

We’re not talking enough about Joel Embiid possibly playing for France

In spite of Luka Dončić only playing half of the series, the Utah Jazz have been eliminated by the Dallas Mavericks in the opening round of the NBA Playoffs, which can only mean it&rsquo;s time to blow them up!
Okay, not really... but maybe? Virtually everyone is expecting organizational changes given the team's recent underachievement in the playoffs stemming from successful regular seasons. This incarnation of the Jazz was established in 2017-18, behind then-rookie Donovan Mitchell&rsquo;s quick rise to stardom and Rudy Gobert&rsquo;s emergence as an annual Defensive Player of the Year candidate.
That season, Mitchell &mdash; filling the void left by Gordon Hayward &mdash; finished his first season as a 20-point-per-game scorer despite being picked No. 13 overall and averaging just over 14 points per game in his first 19 appearances. Gobert, even having played only 56 games, was awarded his first of now three DPOY awards.
In these five years, there have been as many playoff trips &mdash; three as the No. 5 seed (including this season), one as the No. 6 in the Orlando Bubble, and another as the top overall seed in the Western Conference last year.
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In 2017-18, the Jazz overachieved, taking down the Russell Westbrook-Paul George-Carmelo Anthony-led Oklahoma City Thunder in six games before losing to the No. 1 seed Houston Rockets in five contests.
In 2018-19, Utah lost to the Rockets again in five, this time in the first round, and Houston even led 3-0 with a +55 scoring margin before dropping Game 4.
In 2019-20, the Jazz squandered a 3-1 lead to the Denver Nuggets, losing Game 7 in the final seconds of the opening round.
Last season &mdash; despite the Los Angeles Clippers losing Kawhi Leonard to a torn ACL (that he&rsquo;s still not back from) &mdash; the Jazz <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CD2yBy-EqnU" target="_blank" rel="noopener">lost in six games to the Clippers</a> in the West semifinals, and Gobert was dunked on by both Terance Mann and social media in the ending.
And finally, this postseason &mdash; in a series with Dončić missing the first three games with a calf injury, in which Utah still trailed 2-1 upon his return &mdash; Utah lost on yet another last-second heartbreaker.&nbsp;
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THE PLAYOFF DROUGHT IS OVER. THE DALLAS MAVERICKS ADVANCE TO THE SECOND ROUND SINCE 2011!<a href="https://twitter.com/dallasmavs?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@dallasmavs</a> | 📺 BSSW | <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/dALLasIN?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#dALLasIN</a> | <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NBAPlayoffs?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NBAPlayoffs</a> <a href="https://t.co/VcWGAdSOL4">pic.twitter.com/VcWGAdSOL4</a>
&mdash; Bally Sports Southwest (@BallySportsSW) <a href="https://twitter.com/BallySportsSW/status/1519896562079518727?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 29, 2022</a></blockquote>

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Given <a href="https://twitter.com/tribjazz/status/1482077811019902980">the sniping back-and-forth between Mitchell and Gobert</a>, the Jazz's inability to break through and how far behind they appear from the top teams in the West, this seems like the summer where sizeable moves will be coming.
Personally speaking, it feels like we&rsquo;re heading toward Mitchell requesting a trade and moving on, but either way, one of Mitchell or Gobert &mdash; perhaps both &mdash; may be on the move in the coming months. Our Evan Sidery <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/examining-potential-trade-destinations-for-rudy-gobert" target="_blank" rel="noopener">recently looked at five trade ideas involving Gobert</a>.
Today, let's look at where Mitchell could end up, <a href="https://fanspo.com/nba/trade-machine" target="_blank" rel="noopener">using this trade machine</a>.
Mitchell is due $30.3 million next year, $32.6 million in 2023-24, $34.9 million in 2024-25, and has a player option for $37 million in 2025-26. Keep that in mind as we embark on this journey together. (Why did I sound like Professor Oak there?)
New York Knicks
Mitchell&rsquo;s father, Donovan Sr., works with the New York Mets organization. The 25-year-old Mitchell himself is a native of Elmsford, New York. Naturally, with the New York Knicks, there will be Mitchell smoke until a deal (or something else) actually happens. Because Tommy Beer already <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/expect-the-knicks-to-make-a-real-run-at-donovan-mitchell-this-summer" target="_blank" rel="noopener">broke down the possibility of a Mitchell-to-New-York trade</a>, we won&rsquo;t stay here too long.
Regarding the Knicks&rsquo; actual proposal, the first look would be to RJ Barrett, who is extension eligible this summer, entering year four and making $10.9 million next year. The idea, for New York, should be to team Barrett and Mitchell together. If that&rsquo;s not possible, and the Mitchell deal were to have to get done, Barrett is your chief trade chip, along with first-round draft picks. The Knicks have all their own first-rounders as of this writing.
Usable salaries for the Knicks next year include Evan Fournier, who&rsquo;ll be at $18 million, Derrick Rose at $14.5 million, Alec Burks at $10 million, Nerlens Noel at $9.2 million and Kemba Walker at over $9.1 million. Rose, Burks and Noel all have team options for 2023-24, so they have ostensibly expiring deals. Walker&rsquo;s next season is his last under contract, and Fournier is signed through 2025, but that also includes a team option. Cam Reddish and Taj Gibson also enter the last year of their respective deals, at about $6 million and $5.1 million each, respectively.
The contract elephant in the room is Julius Randle&rsquo;s, which is a four-year, $117 million extension that begins next season at $26.1 million. It&rsquo;ll gradually increase until his player option for $32.4 million kicks in for 2025-26. The Knicks might try to move Randle instead, but what sense does that make for Utah? And if Utah isn&rsquo;t getting Barrett, would they want a package of the aforementioned veterans (say, Fournier and Burks), along with one or two of Immanuel Quickley, Quentin Grimes, or Miles McBride (who make between $1.6 and $2.3 million next year) and picks?
It&rsquo;ll be hard to do without Barrett, and maybe Randle gets involved in a three-team deal, but the Knicks have the picks, salaries and prospects to make it work, if that&rsquo;s the route the Jazz want to go.
Detroit Pistons
The Pistons seem like a team that could be a version of this past season&rsquo;s Cleveland Cavaliers &mdash; not in terms of play style or once being a top-four team in the Eastern Conference standings necessarily, but from the standpoint of being competitive a year sooner than we think and playing meaningful games down the stretch (like one or two in the Play-In Tournament).
Given that 20 of 30 NBA teams will have games beyond the regular season, the Pistons may (should) attempt to get one of those spots.
Last year&rsquo;s No. 1 overall pick Cade Cunningham is <a href="https://youtu.be/I9OLPXxgYWk" target="_blank" rel="noopener">someone you can build with</a>. Saddiq Bey should be a more efficient scorer with more experience and better teammates. Most of the rest is to be determined, but Detroit can start by using Jerami Grant&rsquo;s near $21 million expiring deal next summer.
What comes next depends on what stage the Jazz want to be closer to. If this is a rebuild, you can ask for a combination of Killian Hayes and Hamidou Diallo (both of whom make over $5 million next year), for example, and Hayes has a $7.4 million team option for 2023-24. If not, Kelly Olynyk has $12.8 million coming to him next year that&rsquo;s usable. Utah can in throw in, hypothetically, Royce O&rsquo;Neale&rsquo;s $9.3 million deal next year and get Olynyk anyway.
So the player framework can look something like:
<ul>
<li>Donovan Mitchell for Jerami Grant and Kelly Olynyk</li>
<li>Donovan Mitchell for Jerami Grant, Killian Hayes and Hamidou Diallo</li>
<li>Donovan Mitchell and Royce O&rsquo;Neale for Jerami Grant, Killian Hayes, Hamidou Diallo and Kelly Olynyk plus a sh*t ton of draft picks. The Pistons would be moving something like three first-rounders in the deal, and potentially multiple first-round pick swaps.</li>
</ul>
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Miami Heat
I brought this up during <a href="https://youtu.be/XBQwn0pOAa4" target="_blank" rel="noopener">BasketballNews.com's NBA Trade Deadline stream</a>.&nbsp;
The Heat didn&rsquo;t do it then, but it might still be on the table depending on how these playoffs go. The Heat might not offer the best return package because of their draft picks, but they did unlock additional firsts by moving KZ Okpala to Oklahoma City in February. And, for Miami, we&rsquo;re mainly talking about one package. But again, it depends on the results of this postseason.&nbsp;
Currently, the Heat are getting ready to face the Philadelphia 76ers in the Eastern Conference semifinals, a matchup they&rsquo;re favored to win (albeit narrowly). If they lose this particular series, or if they win and Tyler Herro continues to struggle in the playoffs, or even if Miami makes a deep run and Herro elevates from a slow start, he&rsquo;d be the primary chip in a Mitchell deal. Furthermore, the <a href="https://twitter.com/GregSylvander/status/1482101290964504580" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Heat are on Mitchell&rsquo;s shortlist</a>, according to Greg Sylvander of Five Reasons Sports.
The deal, as I mentioned on our stream, would include Herro &mdash; who is still on a rookie-scale contract ($5.7 million next year), but is extension-eligible this summer and wouldn&rsquo;t kick-in until 2023. Then comes Duncan Robinson, who&rsquo;ll enter the second year of a five-year, $90 million deal next season, which bookends with a near $20 million player option and rises to $16.9 million next season.
According to the trade machine, Omer Yurtseven&rsquo;s $1.7 million next season makes the math work, and would give Utah a Gobert backup who&rsquo;ll, if nothing else, get you 10 rebounds in 15 minutes on occasion. Would the Heat have to throw in at least one of Gabe Vincent, Max Strus or Haywood Highsmith (all of whom make between $1.7 and $1.8 million next year)? Perhaps. And from there, Miami has tradeable first-rounders in 2022, 2024 and 2026. So, in summation, it could look like this:
<ul>
<li>Donovan Mitchell for Tyler Herro, Duncan Robinson, Omer Yurtseven, one of Gabe Vincent/Max Strus/Haywood Highsmith, draft capital</li>
</ul>
But if Herro has a big playoff run moving forward, the Heat may instead opt to move Robinson in a separate, smaller deal for a worthy big man in their rotation, and mostly run it back otherwise.
Atlanta Hawks
Alright, now you saw what the Heat did to Trae Young in the first round. The Hawks clearly are not only poised to get Young some help, but make a 3-for-1-ish deal to consolidate some depth into a higher-end starter &mdash; or in the case of Mitchell, a fellow offensive starter. His teammate, Gobert, is probably the better fit, but one, I&rsquo;m not writing about Gobert (our Evan Sidery will handle that) and two, if Gobert is frustrated with Mitchell&rsquo;s defense...
But anyway, you gotta start somewhere. And for Atlanta, part of why the Heat neutralized Young is their malleability defensively, but also, the Hawks don&rsquo;t have another true star to account for on the perimeter. Mitchell would give Young a viable tag team partner offensively to spread the defensive focus. To do so, the Hawks could play this a few different ways.
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The obvious trade chip is John Collins, and there could be questions about his fit next to Gobert, but it&rsquo;s not a bad place to start if you&rsquo;re moving someone of Mitchell&rsquo;s caliber. Collins will make $23.5 million next year, and between $25.3 and $26.6 million through 2025-26. Collins has had rumored friction with Young, though they&rsquo;ve downplayed it over the years. From there, if you use Collins in a possible deal, it gets interesting.&nbsp;
De&rsquo;Andre Hunter &mdash; who makes $9.8 million next year in the last season of a rookie deal and is extension-eligible this summer &mdash; seems logical for both the Jazz to want and the Hawks to keep. Hunter was Atlanta's best player against the Heat, and has been a quality two-way wing when healthy. Is a framework of Collins and Hunter for Mitchell straight up enough of a deal for both sides? Sheeeeeiiiiit, ask them, but it sounds good to me!
<ul>
<li>Donovan Mitchell for John Collins and De'Andre Hunter</li>
</ul>
No Collins? Okay. You&rsquo;re not moving Clint Capela&rsquo;s long-term deal for Utah in a Mitchell move, so that&rsquo;s out of the picture. Kevin Huerter would absolutely have to be part of this, and no, that&rsquo;s not a white Utah joke. Hu-why would you think that?&nbsp;
Huerter begins his $65 million extension next year, the first of four, banking $14.5 million in 2022-23. Hunter probably stays in the deal because Utah has to get something really good, and the Hawks simply can&rsquo;t extend everyone. Again, Atlanta should want to keep Hunter, but this is the price of doing business. But if you&rsquo;re throwing in Huerter instead of Collins (which does work on the trade machine since different rules apply in the offseason than in-season), you&rsquo;ll need multiple first round picks &mdash; of which the Hawks have all their own &mdash; so that could get done.
Could Utah also want Onyeka Okongwu? Sure, but he seems like Atlanta's 5-man of the future, and a separate deal moving off Capela might be more likely. So the second proposal could look like this:
<ul>
<li>Donovan Mitchell for De'Andre Hunter, Kevin Huerter, draft capital</li>
</ul>
Now, the Hawks would still need to figure some things out defensively, seeing as how they&rsquo;d be led by two 6-foot-1 scorers in the backcourt. They could just became the new Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum to some extent, but <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/a-salute-to-the-defiance-of-damian-lillard-and-cj-mccollum" target="_blank" rel="noopener">the Portland Trail Blazers are as much to blame for that &ldquo;not working,&rdquo;</a> and the Hawks can learn from those team-building mistakes.&nbsp;
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Bryan Fonseca takes a look at four logical landing spots for Utah Jazz star guard Donovan Mitchell.

Examining potential trade destinations for Donovan Mitchell

This is why playoff depth matters.
We have a generally simplistic view of what makes a champion. In the NBA, people think that you need multiple stars, with one superstar as the head of the snake, in order to get into the dance. But in the annals of league history, champions haven&rsquo;t only been littered by the Michael Jordans or LeBron James&rsquo; of the world, because even they needed awesome role players and deep rosters to accompany them.
Hell, the 72-win Chicago Bulls in 1995-96 had a 1-through-7 (in terms of minutes per game in the playoffs) of Jordan, Scottie Pippen, Dennis Rodman, Luc Longley, Toni Kukoč, Ron Harper and Steve Kerr &mdash; all of whom logged at least 20 minutes per game in the postseason.
Think about this: We just saw the Brooklyn Nets &mdash; among the <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/the-202122-nets-are-arguably-the-most-disappointing-team-in-nba-history-" target="_blank" rel="noopener">betting favorites to win the title all-season long</a> &mdash; get <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-offseason-preview-2022-whats-next-for-the-brooklyn-nets" target="_blank" rel="noopener">swept in the first round</a> after playing themselves to the No. 7 seed in the Eastern Conference, despite being led by a 1-2 punch of Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving.
Why were the Nets favorites all season long? Starrrrr powerrrrr.
Why did they fall flat? A combination of things: A lack of team chemistry, lack of depth, lack of culture, lack of defense, lack of size, lack of versatility and lack of great coaching. Many thought we were just supposed to overlook that because Brooklyn was top-heavy. Granted, the Boston Celtics could end up winning the East, but honestly, the Nets were never who many (of y&rsquo;all) thought they were.
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So why does depth matter in the postseason as rotations shorten? Because rotations don&rsquo;t need to shorten if you have enough depth to carry you along.
Miami Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra <a href="https://youtu.be/qGXIQBcZdM8" target="_blank" rel="noopener">noted this</a> following the team's 97-94 win over the Atlanta Hawks in Game 5, ending the series 4-1 and outscoring Atlanta by 60 points overall across those five games.
&ldquo;Everybody that played had their fingerprints on this,&rdquo; Spoelstra <a href="https://youtu.be/qGXIQBcZdM8" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a>. &ldquo;We clearly had some adversity in this game not having Kyle [Lowry] or Jimmy [Butler], and our group doesn&rsquo;t even blink. It&rsquo;s not even something we have to address. We just pivot, put in the game plan, and everybody just gets ready, tapes their ankles and gets out there and competes.&rdquo;
In the Heat's case, Lowry was out with a hamstring injury, and Butler didn&rsquo;t play in Game 5 on Tuesday night because of right knee inflammation. So who started? Victor Oladipo, who didn&rsquo;t play in Games 1-3 and primarily played in Game 4 because the offense had trouble getting going without Lowry. Vic started in place of Butler &mdash; alongside Gabe Vincent, Max Strus, PJ Tucker and Bam Adebayo &mdash; to close out the Hawks in a gentleman&rsquo;s sweep.
&ldquo;A year ago today, I was waiting for my next surgery,&rdquo; <a href="https://twitter.com/bytimreynolds/status/1519147785546784769?s=21&amp;t=_ZTSKfrbgGYEt-IpNWqubg">stated Oladipo</a>, who poured in 23 points, scoring at least 20 in the postseason for the first time since Aug. 24, 2020. &ldquo;I was sitting in a dark room by myself and just broke down, not because I quit, but because I was at the lowest point I could be at. Now, God has put me in this position today. I made the most of it.&rdquo;
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"I've overcome a lot, so whatever happens next, I'll be ready for it." Victor Oladipo speaks about his special night in the Heat' game-clinching win. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/HEATCulture?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#HEATCulture</a> | <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/WhiteHot?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#WhiteHot</a> ⚪🔥 <a href="https://t.co/e5Df9caL1s">pic.twitter.com/e5Df9caL1s</a>
&mdash; Bally Sports Sun: HEAT (@BallyHEAT) <a href="https://twitter.com/BallyHEAT/status/1519153057724088322?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 27, 2022</a></blockquote>

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Only Butler and Adebayo are averaging over 30 minutes per game this postseason for the Heat, and now 11 guys have seen real rotation minutes across multiple games.
And no other team has someone who can come in out of nowhere, start and do what Oladipo did Tuesday night: 23 points, 3 assists and 3 steals on 6 of 12 shooting (3 of 6 from three) and 4 of 4 on free throws to go along with a 121 Offensive Rating, 9.2 Box Plus-Minus and preventive defense.
Oladipo, <a href="https://www.nba.com/stats/players/advanced/?sort=NET_RATING&amp;dir=-1">per NBA.com&rsquo;s advanced stats</a>, has put together a plus-29.7 Net Rating in the two playoff games he&rsquo;s logged minutes in.
&ldquo;Again, I&rsquo;m still improving,&rdquo; <a href="https://twitter.com/tropicalblanket/status/1519148825931403265" target="_blank" rel="noopener">he said</a>. &ldquo;I haven&rsquo;t played enough basketball to be super comfortable yet but I&rsquo;m getting there... I have no doubt I can surpass that level I was at. Even better days than that to come. This is part of the journey of getting there.&rdquo;
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Specifically on his progress, Spoelstra spoke of his adulation for Oladipo.
&ldquo;I really admire him, I do," Spoelstra said. "For this journey, really, for the last three seasons, where he&rsquo;s been dealing with injuries and frustration, and then really working to make himself available for us without a guarantee to play. And then just giving to the team. That&rsquo;s why everybody roots for him, and he always comes in with a smile on his face, and lifts people up, and that&rsquo;s even when he was going through DNP&rsquo;s. But he worked, he prepared, and it&rsquo;s true, crazy things happen, and there&rsquo;s a karma to it.
"If you do the right things and stay patient, it might not be on your terms or your timeline, but then, when your opportunity is there, you&rsquo;re able to take advantage of it, and then you have everybody enjoying his success.&rdquo;
And, to those who bought into that Sk*p B*yless &ldquo;report&rdquo; about friction between Butler and Oladipo, Vic <a href="https://twitter.com/BradyHawk305/status/1519148969108152327" target="_blank" rel="noopener">acknowledged that</a>: &ldquo;Jimmy helped me tremendously in the fourth quarter.&rdquo;
Oladipo, <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/victor-oladipo-is-coming-heres-how-he-could-help-raise-miamis-ceiling" target="_blank" rel="noopener">as was written two months ago</a>, raises this team&rsquo;s ceiling. If Duncan Robinson isn&rsquo;t hitting threes, Oladipo can create dribble penetration for others to get open looks. If Caleb Martin is making too many defensive mistakes, Oladipo&rsquo;s there to be another versatile stopper who can keep up at the point of attack. And if the overall offense lacks a scoring punch, Oladipo&rsquo;s there to provide another threat &mdash; one who specializes in nothing, but can be effective in everything.
The Lowry-Oladipo-Butler-Tucker-Adebayo &ldquo;death&rdquo; lineup is coming at some point, and if Tyler Herro doesn&rsquo;t get it going soon, it&rsquo;s one that may finish playoff games more often than we think, assuming Oladipo has earned consistent minutes going forward.
I would never tell Spo how to coach, but in the right spots, more Oladipo the rest of this run seems helpful for a team with title aspirations.
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Bryan Fonseca writes on the importance of depth in the postseason and how Victor Oladipo's big Game 5 was a perfect example of it.

Victor Oladipo has re-entered the chat in Miami

In the debut episode of "The Goods," our Bryan Fonseca breaks down a potential idea that could solve some problems for the league: adding NBA Playoff awards.
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Would postseason honors (like a playoff-specific All-NBA Team) actually help voters when it comes time to decide the regular-season awards? And would this also help us look back at players' playoff success rather than simply judging them based on their championships (or lack thereof)?
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In the debut episode of "The Goods with Bryan Fonseca," he elaborates on a potential solution to our regular-season problem.

The Goods with Bryan Fonseca: The Case for All-NBA Playoff Awards

Alex Caruso was <a href="https://youtu.be/H7E8OXQI4Ak" target="_blank" rel="noopener">so good as a defender at Texas A&amp;M</a> that he made it to the NBA despite never averaging 10 points per game... as a college guard!
In this day and age, where it&rsquo;s commonplace for Caruso&rsquo;s positional peers to be 20-point-per-game threats on a nightly basis, the 6-foot-5 Aggies alum found the NBA pipeline the long and unsexy way.
We &mdash; the societal we &mdash; haven&rsquo;t figured out how to measure defense through analytics in a way that unquestionably captures one&rsquo;s effectiveness, especially regarding guards. We&rsquo;re in a better place today than when Caruso was in college, but we still struggle to do so. This is why watching basketball is essential. (And sure, the eyes can sometimes lie depending on the beholder too.)
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But when he balled at A&amp;M between 2012 and 2016 as a four-year starter, he was never a go-to offensive option. Caruso was a two-time All-SEC defender and an astute floor general with a suspect hairline (it's coming for us all, man), coach-like leadership and the classic &ldquo;sneaky athleticism&rdquo; tag we bestow on our tall, white homies
Caruso averaged 8.0 points, 4.7 assists, and 2.0 steals during his time at College Station, sporting .455/.340/.685 shooting splits and a Defensive Rating of 93.4 with 8.6 Defensive Win Shares and a 6.1 Defensive Box Plus-Minus.
Offensively, as a senior, Caruso was the fourth option on a Sweet-16-bound Aggies team (once ranked No. 5 in the country), behind future NBA talents like Danuel House Jr., Jalen Jones and Tyler Davis.
(And yet, he helped engineer one of the nuttiest March Madness comebacks you&rsquo;ll ever see.)
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Caruso went undrafted and was one of the 64 college seniors to participate in the 2016 Portsmouth Invitational Tournament, which also hosted Bryn Forbes, Dorian Finney-Smith and Abdel Nader among others. An entire season passed before Caruso could make his NBA debut in the 2017-18 campaign, and it wasn&rsquo;t until 2019-20 that he established himself as an NBA rotation guy for a full run.
Caruso played 106 G League games between 2016 and 2019, which included All-G-League Second Team and All-G-League Defensive honors.
So, in the Chicago Bulls' 114-110 win over the Milwaukee Bucks in Game 2, it served as no surprise that Caruso was instrumental in a much-needed victory. The win evened the series at one game apiece, taking advantage of a night where Khris Middleton sprained his MCL and Bobby Portis left with an eye abrasion (hold your jokes). Even still, the Bucks fought back despite being down double-figures for the bulk of the second half, and, without Caruso, this would be a 2-0 series in favor of Milwaukee.
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The Bulls led 87-80 heading into the fourth, and if you pull up a box score, you&rsquo;ll see that Caruso finished shooting 1 of 3 (all threes) with 2 assists and 2 rebounds in over 10 minutes of play in the final period.
If you look at his 38-minute stat line for the night, Caruso had 9 points, 10 assists, 2 steals, 2 boards and 2 blocks, while shooting 3 of 7 from deep (3 of 8 overall). His plus-minus? A game-high plus-16. Like all other metrics, it's an imperfect measurement, but in this instance, it made total sense if you watched.
The dude isn&rsquo;t an All-Star, isn&rsquo;t flashy and doesn&rsquo;t produce gaudy numbers &mdash; which causes people to easily overlook certain players in this age of highlights, fantasy, gambling and "hoooooperzzz!" &mdash; but Caruso is a straight dawg who makes winning plays.
Let&rsquo;s focus on some.
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0:24 &mdash; It's a two-man defense with Patrick Williams against Middleton and Giannis Antetokounmpo orchestrating a screen-and-roll. Caruso pests Middleton until sending him over for the switch and cuts off the errant pass despite being knocked off balance due to the screen. It&rsquo;s a break and easy two the other way. This is like when, in football, you &mdash; a defensive back &mdash; lose sight of the ball on a go-route and just throw your hands up, so the receiver needs to work extra hard to secure the catch. It doesn&rsquo;t always work, but for Caruso, this time, it did. Activity, activity, activity.
1:17 &mdash; Caruso is matched up with Jrue Holiday at around 16 feet out, near the right wing. Holiday tries to face up, and as he does, he&rsquo;s attempting to read the floor and eye the rim while contemplating his move. Caruso&rsquo;s in the dude&rsquo;s grill the whole time and shoves his right palm as close to Holiday&rsquo;s face as possible without drawing contact, but keeps his left hand active and swipes once Holiday allows an opening for the ball to be stolen. Caruso never stopped being attentive, and wasn&rsquo;t even trying to steal the ball the entire time; he just capitalized on an opening as a smart perimeter defender would.
1:59 &mdash; You just love this. Caruso takes the challenge of a taller, bigger Middleton, who tries to impose his will on an attack. Caruso gets backed down, but &mdash; and this is the key &mdash; is not watching the ball. (I could totally rant right now about how too many players are watching the ball or their opponents eyes on defense, and how it's is an easy way to constantly lose someone due to being easily susceptable to fakes. But I won&rsquo;t get into why keeping your eyes on someone&rsquo;s chest/waste is better. Not today!) Anyway, Caruso perfectly times Middleton&rsquo;s spin and cleanly strips the ball loose. Some coaches might say you&rsquo;re better off swiping up than down to lessen your chances of fouling, but it worked here. He even finished the play once Middleton recovered and forced the pass.
2:31 &mdash; Look at this help block on Brook Lopez. Need I say more?
3:04 &mdash; And finally, we have the game-sealing play. The Bulls are up 114-109 with 10 seconds left, and the Bucks are desperate. Caruso tries to better position himself to outrebound Giannis, but doesn&rsquo;t &mdash; understandably. Still, as Giannis grabs the offensive board, Caruso holds the matchup and immediately tries smothering him. Giannis makes the mistake of pushing his arms/elbows forward, and Caruso drops down to smartly draw the charge, knowing he wouldn&rsquo;t get the block and would risk fouling if he went for the steal. Game over.
Here&rsquo;s a Caruso double-team, for good measure, courtesy of <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/podcasts/the-dunker-spot" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Dunker Spot's Steve Jones Jr.</a>
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Caruso causing havoc, great timing on the double here. The shift to throwing bodies at not just Giannis but Jrue/Middleton is key. Bucks can&rsquo;t find a rhythm in 1/2 court. <a href="https://t.co/585MRAXZe6">pic.twitter.com/585MRAXZe6</a>
&mdash; Steve Jones Jr. (@stevejones20) <a href="https://twitter.com/stevejones20/status/1517158473368276992?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 21, 2022</a></blockquote>

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There&rsquo;s a reason why Los Angeles Laker fans probably miss Caruso horribly right now. Watching him help lead the Bulls in a road win over the defending champs, while their team presumably is doing the same, can't be easy.
You need winning plays in winning time, and Alex Caruso gives you those.
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Bryan Fonseca examines Alex Caruso's huge contribution to the Bulls' Game 2 win in Milwaukee and why it shouldn't surprise us.

Winning plays in winning time: This is who Alex Caruso has always been

Four years ago, after winning a third title in four seasons, Draymond Green offered the Golden State Warriors' front office some advice before the 2018 NBA Draft, which included a directive to target &ldquo;16-game players.&rdquo;
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Larry Harris said Draymond Green's given the front office a piece of advice: "There are 82-game players, then there are 16-game players." Draymond's interested in the 16-game (playoff-type) players.
&mdash; Anthony Slater (@anthonyVslater) <a href="https://twitter.com/anthonyVslater/status/1009170931254624257?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 19, 2018</a></blockquote>

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And although people are sparring daily with FOX Sports personality Nick Wright over his thoughts on Nikola Jokić and LeBron James among others, he <a href="https://twitter.com/getnickwright/status/1516597337698840578" target="_blank" rel="noopener">drew the Green claim</a> as a reaction to Jimmy Butler&rsquo;s epic 45-point game performance Tuesday night in a 115-105 Game 2 victory over the Atlanta Hawks.
If you polled a consensus of NBA Twitter, media, players or front-office people about whether Trae Young is the best player in this series, an educated guess would suggest that those largely outside of Miami (and New York) would vote &ldquo;Yes.&rdquo;
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Some people very flippantly said Trae Young was *easily* the best player in the series. And, yo, I get it ... What Jimmy Butler does on *both* ends isn't flashy, doesn't make highlights, but that dude is a flat-out winner and a star, and he proved it yet again tonight.
&mdash; Bryan Fonseca 🇵🇷 (@BryanFonsecaNY) <a href="https://twitter.com/BryanFonsecaNY/status/1516598814643310592?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 20, 2022</a></blockquote>

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And that&rsquo;s understandable, right? Young is a superstar offensive talent who projects to be a perennial All-Star and an All-NBA challenger, if healthy, for much of his prime. But also in doing so, perhaps it ignores what could be brought on the other end of the floor by Butler, who is at least a candidate to make an All-Defensive Team for a sixth time in nine seasons.
(I affectionately refer to Butler as the Ed Reed of the NBA because of his elite ability at playing free safety. His running mate Bam Adebayo is Darrelle Revis, for what it&rsquo;s worth.)
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Whether you prefer an offensive-production machine who routinely offers the league&rsquo;s most tantalizing highlights, or a two-way grinder with the grit of Stone Cold Steve Austin and immense impact that often goes overlooked as a result in a world of flashier, Rey Mysterio-types, whoever you think the actual best player in the series probably doesn&rsquo;t matter.
What matters is this: It bears reminding that Butler is a 16-game player. He&rsquo;s damn good in the regular season too, but time and time again, he&rsquo;s proven it in the playoffs, and it needs to be noticed.
(Before the NBA Twitter mob comes, this is not to say Young necessarily isn&rsquo;t, especially after last year&rsquo;s postseason run. We&rsquo;re just turning our focus to Butler now for the purposes of this piece).
In Game 2, Butler finished with 45 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists and a pair of steals, He subtly patrolled the Heat&rsquo;s defensive secondary, manipulating Atlanta's guards to lob seemingly-out-of-range alley-oops that were detected and slapped toward a Miami teammate to initiate a break. In addition, the 32-year-old star bullied his way to the free-throw line to tilt the power in his team&rsquo;s favor.
Still, this was a different type of contest-controlling outburst than one we&rsquo;re accustomed to seeing from the Tomball, Texas native.
Nah, man. <a href="https://twitter.com/SportsCenter/status/1516600499759374351" target="_blank" rel="noopener">This sh*t was loud</a>.
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I read no lies <a href="https://t.co/LzHVYF274D">https://t.co/LzHVYF274D</a>
&mdash; DWade (@DwyaneWade) <a href="https://twitter.com/DwyaneWade/status/1516619165573935105?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 20, 2022</a></blockquote>

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Butler shot 15 of 25 from the field, 4 of 7 from three and 11 of 12 on three throws. When the team needed a bucket, Butler delivered, solving the Heat&rsquo;s late-game issues for the night &mdash; a question that's made many hesitant on pegging Miami as a true contender despite being the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
🔥 45 POINTS for Jimmy Buckets 🔥 A new playoff career-high for <a href="https://twitter.com/JimmyButler?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@JimmyButler</a> puts the <a href="https://twitter.com/MiamiHEAT?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@MiamiHEAT</a> up 2-0! Game 3: Friday, 7 PM ET, ESPN <a href="https://t.co/xAjzVassBk">pic.twitter.com/xAjzVassBk</a>
&mdash; NBA (@NBA) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBA/status/1516643329961771010?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 20, 2022</a></blockquote>

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As the Hawks seemed to get hot from the floor, cutting the Heat lead to 64-62 with 8:59 to go in the third quarter, Butler drilled his third three of the game two possessions later. One minute after, he extended the lead to double figures with a lay-up following a defensive board, which prompted a Nate McMillan timeout. The Hawks would again come within single digits following 6-0 run late in the third, and Max Strus found Butler for a dunk with 1:48 to go in the period.
In the fourth, Butler produced 9 points, 2 assists and a steal, and he found Gabe Vincent (who himself had a fantastic two-way effort off the bench) for a triple with 6:12 left in the game; it was a key moment to stretch a narrowing four-point lead to seven.
As the Hawks again sliced it down again with 3:53 left, Butler came out of a timeout, penetrated the lane, drew in the defense and found an open Adebayo for a dunk &mdash; his easiest bucket of the playoffs so far. Not going away, the Hawks cut it to three, but Jimmy drove into a slam with 2:16 left to bring Miami's lead back up to five. And on the ensuing offensive possession, Butler drained a fourth three to make it 109-101 Heat with 1:36 remaining in the game, essentially the dagger.
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We know about what Butler did in the 2020 NBA Playoffs and <a href="https://youtu.be/dadoOIGSkx8" target="_blank" rel="noopener">those Finals in particular</a>. And in 2019, if it wasn&rsquo;t for his performance in the seven-game East semifinals series against the Toronto Raptors, there&rsquo;s no telling how long that Philadelphia 76ers team would&rsquo;ve lasted.
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0WKid3520Ow" target="_blank" rel="noopener">In that series</a>, Butler averaged 6.9 points per fourth quarter, totaling 12 of 24 shooting and 21 of 23 on free throws and leading the team with 8.6 minutes per fourth quarter.
Joel Embiid logged 7.8 minutes per fourth and averaged 4.0 points on 8 of 16 shooting from the field and 10 of 14 on free throws. Ben Simmons played 8.3 minutes per fourth and averaged 1.7 points on 4 of 6 shooting and 2 of 4 on free throws. (Simmons took 6 shots in 50 total fourth-quarter minutes and didn&rsquo;t play the fourth at all in Game 5). And Tobias Harris? 2.0 points through 8.1 minutes per fourth, shooting 5 of 22 in the final period overall. J.J. Redick? 2.0 points in 6.0 minutes per.
That summer, Simmons and Harris were maxed, and <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/jimmy-butlers-threepoint-shooting-has-always-been-a-luxury-not-a-necessity" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Butler landed in Miami</a>.
(And if you&rsquo;d like to hold up the 2021 playoffs to detract Butler, you can. But, you must also note that the Heat and Los Angeles Lakers had a seven-week offseason between the NBA Finals and training camp, and the Boston Celtics and Denver Nuggets had nine each; they all flamed out last spring for a reason.)
Tuesday night's performance capped an imperfect offensive display from Miami, who settled for too many jump shots in favor of attacking the rim with Bogdan Bogdanović, DeAndre Hunter and Kevin Huerter all being in foul trouble throughout, but every playoff game is its own experience.
As the Heat head into Atlanta with a 2-0 lead, Adebayo and Tyler Herro &mdash; who&rsquo;ve combined for 36 points through the first two games &mdash; have yet to leave their offensive imprint on the series. If you throw in Kyle Lowry in the mix, the number only grows to 55 points.
If at least one guy is able to have a breakthrough on the road, Miami will probably not need another 45-pointer from Butler, so long as the team defends to or near its capabilities.
And if that doesn't happen, one, it'd be a surprise, but two, who else is better suited to grind you to an ugly-but-effective-ass 81-77 road victory?
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Bryan Fonseca praises the playoff prowess of Heat star Jimmy Butler and his ability to elevate his game in crunch time.

Jimmy Butler is a 16-game player

In 2012, Kevin Esteves was hired by the NBA as a part of the digital content strategy team. He worked on various social-media projects and, at the time, the league viewed its socials as &ldquo;a very big marketing platform.&rdquo; Now, a decade later, Esteves is the NBA&rsquo;s associate vice president of digital strategy and analytics, and social media has become a top priority for the league.
&ldquo;Now, social drives just about every business objective that we have,&rdquo; Esteves said.
The NBA currently has the most followers of any pro-sports-league account on Instagram (66.2 million), Twitter (36.9 million), YouTube (18.2 million) and TikTok (14.9 million). Also, the NBA had the most-viewed and most-engaged pro-sports-league account on social media in 2021, driving 24 billion views and 2.3 billion engagements across all platforms (as we <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/an-inside-look-at-how-the-nba-became-a-socialmedia-juggernaut" target="_blank" rel="noopener">covered in this article</a> about the league&rsquo;s social strategy).
The NBA continues to grow at a rapid rate too, adding a combined 18 million followers across Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, TikTok and Facebook &mdash; the most of any U.S. pro sports league.
&ldquo;[We&rsquo;re always] trying to understand where the content is going to work best, and that&rsquo;s where the data becomes so important,&rdquo; Esteves said. &ldquo;We&rsquo;re pulling in data from each of these platforms and really getting granular about trying to understand what performs best on each platform. I think part of what has made us so successful is being open to the data and leaning in to the data, and understanding what&rsquo;s performing well versus what&rsquo;s not performing well.&rdquo;
Once the 2021-22 regular season concluded, the league received some more data to dissect.
This season, the NBA&rsquo;s social-media platforms generated 13 billion video views, which is up 7% from the 2020-21 campaign. The league saw massive growth on TikTok (driving 481 million video views, up 305% vs. last season) and Instagram Reels (driving 3.3 billion views, up 259% year-over-year).
Also, the NBA surpassed 66 million followers on Instagram, which makes them the ninth-most-followed brand account on the platform.&nbsp;
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Which NBA players have generated the most video views across the <a href="https://twitter.com/NBA?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@NBA</a>&rsquo;s socials? The gap between Stephen Curry and everyone else is pretty wild. <a href="https://t.co/rXRicGtKNU">pic.twitter.com/rXRicGtKNU</a>
&mdash; Alex Kennedy (@AlexKennedyNBA) <a href="https://twitter.com/AlexKennedyNBA/status/1499177631367016451?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 3, 2022</a></blockquote>

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Part of Esteves&rsquo; job is translating the NBA&rsquo;s social-media success to ratings. This year, NBA viewership across ABC, TNT and ESPN was up 19% from 2020-21&rsquo;s full-season average.
In fact, this was the most-viewed NBA regular season since the 2018-19 campaign.
<ul>
<li>The NBA on ABC averaged 3.03 million viewers, up 13% vs. 2020-21</li>
<li>ESPN averaged 1.4 million viewers, up 17% vs. 2020-21</li>
<li>TNT averaged 1.4 million viewers, up 13% vs. 2020-21</li>
<li>NBA TV delivered its most-viewed regular season since 2017-18</li>
</ul>
On 65 of the 74 nights that NBA games aired on ESPN and TNT, the network airing the NBA game was the most-viewed cable network in primetime among males age-18 to age-49.
But it isn&rsquo;t just men tuning in to NBA games. Women now make up one-third of the NBA audience, with viewership among women up 23% this season over 2020-21&rsquo;s full-season average, and up 11% over 2019-20&rsquo;s full-season average.
In addition to ratings, Nielsen also tracks shares, which is the percentage of households watching a program among those with TVs in use. This season, the NBA&rsquo;s share was up 21% vs. last year. This season&rsquo;s average share is the NBA&rsquo;s highest since the 2010-11 campaign.
It&rsquo;s a great time to be an NBA fan, and people seem to be excited about the on-court product.
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Judging by the NBA's social-media engagement and ratings, the 2021-22 regular season was a success.

NBA generated 13 billion video views across socials in 2021-22

The 2001-02 NBA season was Michael Jordan&rsquo;s first with the Washington Wizards, a time when he decided to unretire and return to the league for the second time in his career.
Some would have you believe that MJ&rsquo;s Wizard years &ldquo;diminished his legacy," while others feel that he was still the best shooting guard in the league. Wherever he actually stood, Jordan was clearly still exceptional given his age, production and general persistence.
In that '01-02 campaign, there were plenty glimmers of &ldquo;old&rdquo; Jordan &mdash; as well as old Jordan, who turned 39 that February &mdash; but were they enough to make him a Most Valuable Player candidate at one point? It was at least discussed.
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Around this time 20 years ago, Jordan had just returned from a chronic knee injury that had <a href="http://www.espn.com/nba/news/2002/0225/1340423.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reportedly been bothering him throughout the season</a>. He even came off the bench upon being reinserted to the lineup for the final seven games of the season, and he scored more than 14 points just one time. But before missing 12 games of action between Feb. 27 and March 18, Jordan&rsquo;s comeback season had been a successful one.
When Jordan went down, <a href="http://www.shrpsports.com/nba/stand.php?link=Y&amp;season=2002&amp;divcnf=div&amp;month=Feb&amp;date=23">the Wizards were 27-27 and in the playoff chase</a>, tied for seventh in the Eastern Conference with Allen Iverson&rsquo;s Philadelphia 76ers and Baron Davis&rsquo; Charlotte Hornets. Washington was also just three games behind Paul Pierce, Antoine Walker and the Boston Celtics, who were sitting in fourth. Jordan had been averaging 24.3 points, 6.0 rebounds, 5.4 assists and 1.5 steals per game on 41.9% shooting from the field and 78.8% from the free-throw line at the time of his injury, which forced an extended absence.&nbsp;
(Just days before the setback, the Wizards were 27-23 and fifth in the East, and that was about three months following a 2-9 start to the season).
There's at least one notable story regarding Jordan&rsquo;s MVP candidacy that you can still find on the internet. Here's an excerpt of an article <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2002/01/13/sports/pro-basketball-inside-the-nba-jordan-lifts-wizards-and-his-mvp-bid.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">written by Mike Wise in the New York Times</a> on Jan. 13, 2002, for example.
<blockquote>
Who else besides Jason Kidd, Kobe Bryant, Shaquille O'Neal, Tim Duncan and Kevin Garnett has been more important to his team? O'Neal and Chris Webber have been injured, and neither Tracy McGrady nor Vince Carter has elevated his team to the top of the Eastern Conference. Allen Iverson, the reigning MVP, is muddling through a disappointing season in Philadelphia.
</blockquote>
By that point in the season, the Wizards were 18-16 and on track to not just make the playoffs, but also match the 19-win mark that the team recorded the previous season that same week. (That's how D.C. ended up with 2001 No. 1 overall pick Kwame Brown).
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Just two weeks earlier, Jordan dropped 51 points against the Hornets and 45 points (plus 10 rebounds and 7 assists) against the first-place (and soon-to-be East champion) New Jersey Nets in consecutive blowout victories. Those were his two highest-scoring totals of the season &mdash; though he did have back-to-back 40-point games in late January in wins over the Cleveland Cavaliers and Phoenix Suns.
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More importantly, that two-game, 96-point outburst against the Hornets and Nets stemmed from an uncharacteristic 6-point effort against the Indiana Pacers just days earlier. It's a time that our own Etan Thomas, then a rookie teammate of MJ's on the Wizards, specifically recalls.
&ldquo;I remember the media was ripping him to shreds,&rdquo; Thomas said. &ldquo;After that, they were like, 'He&rsquo;s too old, he shouldn&rsquo;t have come back, he&rsquo;s tarnishing his legacy,' yadda, yadda, yadda. So I remember going into the locker room, and he was sitting in this chair reading the papers. I remember seeing him rockin&rsquo; and, like, humming and biting his lip, and he was like, 'Uh huh.' So I guess he was just reading it over and over again. He was very intense.&rdquo;
On the 51-point eruption in particular, Thomas highlighted: &ldquo;In that game, it was like magic. It was electrifying, like every move, and he was on fire!&rdquo;
In Wise's aforementioned story, then-Miami Heat center Alonzo Mourning had his own <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2002/01/13/sports/pro-basketball-inside-the-nba-jordan-lifts-wizards-and-his-mvp-bid.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">thoughts on Jordan's aging process</a>.
<blockquote>
"Every player reaches a point in their career where their game starts to decline. Some earlier than others. Look at Michael. He's 38. He's not averaging 30-something points a game like he used to. He's in the low 20's now. Is he still effective? Yeah, he's very effective. Is he the old Michael? Hell no. Far from it, even with those 50-point games now and then.
"I played against the old Michael. I've seen him at that level. But he's made the adjustment. He's learned to cope with his body playing at a certain level and not expecting to play at the old level. He's raised his game in other areas."
</blockquote>
Thomas, though, explains that people didn&rsquo;t realize the severity of Jordan's ongoing ailments. Beyond nearing 40 years old, MJ was simply overcoming more than the public knew.
&ldquo;This is the part that people don&rsquo;t understand: how injured he was. I saw it firsthand,&rdquo; Thomas said. &ldquo;Somehow it leaked that he was getting his knee drained, and I was sitting there like, &lsquo;I see him do that every other day!&rsquo; Literally, his knee would swell up like the Elephant Man! I was sitting in the training room getting some treatment or whatever, and he was on the table next to me. I saw it! They came in, and they pulled out this needle and drained his knee. They drained it and this black-tar goo stuff came out and he was in excruciating pain and it looked terrible!
&ldquo;I asked him, &lsquo;Why are you even doing this?&rsquo; He didn&rsquo;t need to prove anything to anybody. And when I said it, the whole training room got quiet, and he just looked at me and kinda shook his head. He didn&rsquo;t give me an answer, he just kinda shook his head and shrugged his shoulders. He was really in pain, he just didn&rsquo;t tell nobody.&rdquo;
In the NYT piece, Sacramento Kings general manager Geoff Petrie &mdash; who won NBA Executive of the Year in both 1999 and 2001 &mdash; <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2002/01/13/sports/pro-basketball-inside-the-nba-jordan-lifts-wizards-and-his-mvp-bid.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said Jordan had a shot at MVP</a>, albeit a fringe one, saying he&rsquo;d vote for Shaquille O&rsquo;Neal and Kobe Bryant instead, who then had the Lakers at 26-8.
<blockquote>
"I'd say Shaq and Kobe, who are almost indistinguishable because both are so good. Then [Jason] Kidd, [Tim] Duncan and maybe [Kevin] Garnett. But if the Wizards keep going the way they are, Michael would have to have a shot.
"There is another reservoir of talent there with [Jordan]. He's so driven. I was reading something Grant Hill said recently, about the fact that it's so easy to get caught up in Jordan's athleticism. The level of athleticism has dropped, but the skill level is so high."
</blockquote>
Thomas adds that, while Jordan was nearing 40, you&rsquo;d still often get those glimpses of his true game in practices &mdash; and his competitiveness on a daily basis.&nbsp;
&ldquo;You saw the flashes of him being MJ MJ,&rdquo; Thomas assured. &ldquo;But his game was different, so now, it wasn&rsquo;t that explosive game that you&rsquo;re seeing on all the highlights with him coming down dunking on everybody. He started working the mid-range. And I saw him torch people with that mid-range. We had that little drop play to 'em &mdash; kinda semi-triangle &mdash; but he would work off the elbow and he would just be torching cats with it. So his game changed.
&ldquo;I was there seeing all of that. I was like, 'Man, he&rsquo;s still MJ!' It was just different. It wasn&rsquo;t like, 'Oh, come down the lane and dunk on everybody,' it was just killing everybody with the mid-range. It was like he had everybody on a string! He was making these moves and they could not stop him! They kept going for all of the fakes! And these were all top defenders!&rdquo;
Jordan subsequently finished 13th in MVP voting with 16 voter points. His finished with averages of 22.9 points, 5.7 rebounds, 5.2 assists and 1.4 steals per game on 41.6% shooting from the field and 79.0% on free throws. He led the team in points, assists and steals per game through 60 appearances.
The Wizards finished the season 37-45, but they were 7-15 in the games that MJ missed.
Tim Duncan <a href="https://www.basketball-reference.com/awards/awards_2002.html">wound up winning the MVP that year in a close race over Jason Kidd</a>. Shaquille O&rsquo;Neal, Tracy McGrady, and Kobe Bryant rounded out the top five.
But when healthy, Jordan was far better than people would have you believe that season.
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Bryan Fonseca revisits Michael Jordan's comeback season with the Wizards, with insight from MJ's former teammate Etan Thomas.

Did you know Michael Jordan was an MVP candidate with the Wizards?

Jimmy Butler was never a shooter in the way Hassan Whiteside referred to him when the Miami Heat struck a deal to land the All-Star swingman in a sign-and-trade back in July 2019.
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Hassan Whiteside extremely happy with trade news. &ldquo;We got shooters... We got shooters. We got shooters. Let&rsquo;s go!&rdquo; (via <a href="https://twitter.com/youngwhiteside?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@youngwhiteside</a> Instagram) <a href="https://t.co/eeV8Cq0JZm">pic.twitter.com/eeV8Cq0JZm</a>
&mdash; Andy Slater (@AndySlater) <a href="https://twitter.com/AndySlater/status/1145736818475843585?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 1, 2019</a></blockquote>

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That summer saw Butler touch down in Miami via Philadelphia in a wide-ranging, four-team deal. (Whiteside didn't stick around for the party and was sent away to Portland). Since then, while Butler has risen to elite player consideration, his three-point shot has worsened.
(Some cite it as a knock, but I would say his productivity in Miami in spite of that is a testament to how good he actually is as a two-way player, so let's proceed.)
On exactly 2.0 threes per game, Butler&rsquo;s shot 24.2% through 166 regular-season games with the Heat since the start of the 2019-20 campaign. With the Philadelphia 76ers, Chicago Bulls and Minnesota Timberwolves, his three-point percentage hovered between 33.7% and 35.5% wth each franchise.
And since becoming an everyday starter in the 2013-14 season &mdash; when he first attempted at least 2.0 threes per contest &mdash; the only other time he&rsquo;s shot worse than 31% from deep was that same year, where he hit just 28.3% of his triples. The jump to 37.8% from distance in 2014-15 was a significant reason why he won Most Improved Player thereafter. (We&rsquo;ll get to the playoffs momentarily.)
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This season, Butler had been reaching career-lows until recently. Before his sixth All-Star game appearance, he had been shooting 19.2% from three on 2.0 attempts per game. One especially bad stretch saw Butler go 1-of-17 (5.9%) between Feb. 1 and the All-Star Break.
(It should also be known that the Heat swingman was still putting up 20.6 points, 7.3 rebounds and 5.0 assists per game while hitting 95.1% of his 7.6 free throws per game and playing All-NBA-level defense, as Miami went 6-2 in mostly road games.)
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But since the All-Star Break, we&rsquo;ve seen Butler add a relatively reliable three-pointer, the best we&rsquo;ve seen from him beyond the arc since the Heat&rsquo;s run to the 2020 NBA Finals. Since the break, Butler&rsquo;s hitting 33.3% of his shots from deep. It's slightly below league average and his own career average, but respectable enough given that he&rsquo;s never needed to be a knockdown shooter to replicate elite two-way production.
Narrowing it down to March 5 and on &mdash; a 12-game sample size &mdash; Butler's made 11-of-30 threes, or 36.7%. In his last seven games? He&rsquo;s hit 10-of-21 (45.5%), including four games of hitting at least two made threes while never attempting more than five such shots, so he&rsquo;s being responsible.
Amid all this, Butler has still been hovering around his whole-season averages of 21.4 points, 5.9 rebounds, 5.6 assists and 1.7 steals per game while shooting 48.0% from the field and a career-best 87.1% on 7.9 free throws per contest. You also need to account for his consistent All-Defensive-Team-worthy display on the other end.
He&rsquo;s even wearing a shooting sleeve!
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Jimmy Butler is 8 of 12 on catch and shoot threes over the last two weeks Power of the shooting sleeve <a href="https://t.co/upcq3Dcqxe">pic.twitter.com/upcq3Dcqxe</a>
&mdash; Brady Hawk (@BradyHawk305) <a href="https://twitter.com/BradyHawk305/status/1511734982531817473?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 6, 2022</a></blockquote>

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The last stretch of success like this for Butler came at the Bubble. The entire 2020 playoffs saw Butler hit 34.9% of his threes, nailing 15-of-43 long-range attempts. In Miami's four-game sweep over the Indiana Pacers, a five-game gentleman's sweep over the Milwaukee Bucks and the Eastern Conference opener against the Boston Celtics &mdash; a 10-game sample size &mdash; Butler enjoyed a 10-of-19 stretch from three (52.4%) before he missed his next nine triples in the series. (By the way, Butler went 4-of-13 in the NBA Finals for a 30.8% clip, in case you&rsquo;re wondering).
Next, let&rsquo;s go to the 2018-19 season, the year Butler was famously dealt from Minnesota to Philadelphia. In the 13 games before the trade, Butler hit 37.8% of his threes, including downtown displays of 6-of-7 and 5-of-8 against the Los Angeles Lakers, and 4-of-7 against the Toronto Raptors.
He also had a strong three-point shooting start in Philly; from his Sixers debut on Nov. 14 and Jan. 17 &mdash; a 27-game sample size &mdash; Butler hit 40.3% of his 2.9 perimeter attempts per contest. He then went 1-of-6 in a game against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Jan. 19, <a href="https://www.yahoo.com/now/sources-jimmy-butlers-wrist-injury-confirmed-sprain-hell-miss-saturday-nights-game-190124252.html">and subsequently missed three games with a sprained wrist</a>. After returning from the wrist injury on Jan. 29, Butler hit only 27.7% of his triple tries on 2.4 attempts per contest. It&rsquo;s worth noting that in the first three games upon that January return, he went 1-of-2, 0-of-6 and 4-of-8, respectively.
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In the 2019 postseason &mdash; despite Ben Simmons, Joel Embiid and Tobias Harris <a href="https://www.basketball-reference.com/playoffs/2019-nba-eastern-conference-semifinals-76ers-vs-raptors.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">all flopping in the famous Raptors series that came down to a bounce</a> &mdash; Butler dragged the Sixers to a Game 7 in the East semifinals. In the playoffs, he averaged 19.4 points, 6.1 rebounds and 5.2 assists, and produced a 22.0/7.0/5.6 line against the Raptors in particular; and still, Butler shot just 26.7% from distance across both series &mdash; closer to his Miami numbers.
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Butler is actually a career 34.6% three-point shooter from deep across 80 playoff games. He was at 37.3% in his first 43 postseason contests, all of which preceded his time with both the Sixers and Heat.
Generally, since becoming an All-Star in 2013-14, he&rsquo;s been a quality playoff performer outside of a first-round series with the Wolves vs. the Houston Rockets in 2017-18 (though he had just returned from meniscus surgery, and at the time he injured his knee, <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/we-should-give-dangelo-russell-more-credit">the Wolves were fourth in the Western Conference</a>).
And then, last season, all final four teams left from the Bubble &mdash; the Heat, Lakers, Celtics and Denver Nuggets &mdash; all flamed out in the playoffs. (Maybe having only seven weeks between the NBA Finals and training camp, or nine in the case of the Celtics and Nuggets, had something to do with it.)
So should Butler need to be Allan Houston, Jason Kapono, Anthony Morrow or, hell, Duncan Robinson or Tyler Herro from three? Nah. But if he&rsquo;s making, say, 30-to-33%, it&rsquo;s a potential game-changer for the Heat amid this championship chase.
Lately, what the Heat have been doing since... <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/the-miami-heats-blow-up-was-necessary-but-now-the-rest-is-up-to-them" target="_blank" rel="noopener">that whole thing</a>... is not simply starting Max Strus over Robinson, but subbing off Butler for Herro first, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-fJQ59g3xrk" target="_blank" rel="noopener">then bringing in Butler for PJ Tucker at the 4 around other shooters in the lineup</a>. Butler will, by default, be given the chance to shoot since he&rsquo;s sharing court time with guys like Herro, Robinson, Kyle Lowry, Strus or Gabe Vincent in this instance &mdash; often three of them at a time.
Teams will live with Butler&rsquo;s threes, but if he makes them pay enough to where they have to think about guarding him a half-step closer, that slight of a threat will provide lanes to find teammates open for corner threes via drive-and-kicks. It could also open things up for Butler himself as a driver who provides rim pressure, and can do so with more space. In addition, it helps Bam Adebayo, who theoretically would have more room to operate around the rim &mdash; as a screen-and-roller, in the mid-range area, as an off-ball screener, or as whatever you want (except a three-point shooter; one day, maybe).
Butler's ability to drill threes is a good tool to have. It's not one you should need to rely on, but a sneaky weapon that could spark other productive offensive actions to defensive reactions as a result, so long as the threat of him actually hitting one or two is legitimately there.
And lately, it has been.
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Bryan Fonseca reviews Jimmy Butler's recent improvement from beyond the arc and looks at his history as a three-point shooter.

UNLV Rebels