Poets

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

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

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

The Philadelphia 76ers have had yet another crazy offseason, with James Harden essentially pulling a Ben Simmons as he has been away from the team for the past week. While this has been annoying for Sixers fans, something even worse could happen as a result.
Joel Embiid, the 2023 NBA MVP, has been mentioned in the rumor mill throughout the offseason. While the 76ers obviously aren't looking to move Embiid right now, rival teams are closely monitoring Embiid and whether he'll eventually want out of Philadelphia. 
One team that's keeping an eye on Embiid is the New York Knicks, who are preparing an offer for the Sixers' big man in the event that he becomes available.
<a href="https://www.inquirer.com/sixers/sixers-joel-embiid-james-harden-trade-nba-20231024.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Keith Pompey of </a><a href="https://www.inquirer.com/sixers/sixers-joel-embiid-james-harden-trade-nba-20231024.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Philadelphia Inquirer</a> reports that the Knicks are willing to give up &ldquo;three key players&rdquo; and multiple first-round picks for the reigning MVP. 
Among the players available for trade are Julius Randle, R.J. Barrett, Mitchell Robinson and Evan Fournier. Despite the fact that this offer includes a former All-Star and rising star, it's very unlikely that the Sixers would accept any package that doesn&rsquo;t include Jalen Brunson. Other teams would likely be able to beat this offer from the Knicks.
However, if the offer included Brunson, perhaps a deal could make sense. The new starting five in Philly would be Brunson, Tyrese Maxey, Barrett, Tobias Harris and Robinson. But with the Sixers already losing Harden in the near future, the Sixers likely won't give up Embiid and completely dismantle their core in one year. 
If the Sixers look to move anyone other than Harden, it&rsquo;s more likely going to be Harris, who is in the final year of his contract and earning $39,270,150 this season. 
With that said, given Harden's inevitable exit and everything going on in Philly, it wouldn&rsquo;t be surprising to see Embiid request a trade by next season. He hasn&rsquo;t seen any real postseason success with the Sixers and could eventually get tired of their inability to make it past the second round. 
As of now though, there&rsquo;s no real concern about the Sixers losing Embiid.&nbsp;

Hunter Simpson breaks down the report from Keith Pompey that the Knicks are preparing an offer for Joel Embiid.

Report: Knicks willing to offer multiple players, pick for Joel Embiid

After months of scrolling through countless Damian Lillard trade rumors, the <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/bucks-shock-nba-world-by-acquiring-damian-lillard-in-blockbuster-trade" target="_blank" rel="noopener">news finally broke</a> on Wednesday afternoon that the Portland Trail Blazers' long-time franchise cornerstone was headed to the Milwaukee Bucks. In one of the more surprising blockbuster trades in recent memory, the seven-time All-Star guard will pair with Giannis Antetokounmpo to form one of the best duos in the league.&nbsp;
Now, the new big fish in the trade market is none other than the player Lillard was dealt for: Jrue Holiday. The Blazers' return featured Holiday, former No. 1 pick Deandre Ayton, Phoenix Suns second-rounder Toumani Camara, an unprotected Bucks 2029 first-rounder, and 2028 and 2030 first-round pick swaps from Milwaukee. The circumstances of Lillard&rsquo;s trade request and his desire to be dealt specifically to the Miami Heat dampened his trade value, but the Blazers were able to come away with a &ldquo;palatable&rdquo; return.
 However, Holiday is unlikely to stay in Portland for long as he does not fit their rebuilding timeline around core players Scoot Henderson and Shaedon Sharpe. <a href="https://twitter.com/BobbyMarks42/status/1707100851880259810" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ESPN&rsquo;s Bobby Marks</a> graded Portland&rsquo;s trade return as &ldquo;incomplete&rdquo; pending the potential assets the team receives for Holiday when they flip him.
Many contending teams are reportedly rushing to the phones to make moves in reaction to the Lillard blockbuster, with several expressing serious interest in Holiday. These possible suitors include the Philadelphia 76ers, Boston Celtics, Los Angeles Clippers and Heat. Teams must factor in Holiday's potential free agency next summer and the possibility of signing him to a long-term extension, which he becomes eligible for on Feb. 22. Perhaps the Blazers will have some urgency to deal Holiday prior to Media Day on Oct. 2 in order to avoid questions and logistics about bringing him in for training camp.&nbsp;
For any team over the luxury-tax apron ($171,294,000) to trade for Holiday, they need to trade away at least $33,175,536 (90% of Holiday&rsquo;s 2023-24 salary) in salaries in order to legally execute a trade. The rest of the league will only need to send out $27,646,280 (75% of Holiday&rsquo;s 2023-24 salary) in order to make a deal.&nbsp;
Another important CBA note with any Holiday trade is that his $36,861,707 salary cannot be aggregated with other contracts for two months. While Holiday is still eligible to be immediately rerouted elsewhere, he cannot be traded with other players. For example, just a few months back, Chris Paul was traded to the Washington Wizards and then quickly rerouted in a separate deal to Golden State. Because Paul was the only salary going back to the Warriors, he was legally allowed to be traded. This must be taken into consideration when proposing potential trade ideas.
With Holiday potentially on the move in the coming days, let&rsquo;s take a look at some potential deals for the 33-year-old.
Realistic Trade Destinations
BOSTON CELTICS
Celtics receive: Jrue Holiday
Trail Blazers receive: Malcolm Brogdon, Al Horford, Dalano Banton (salary guarantee increased to $1,009,853 to satisfy trade rules), 2024 GSW top-4 protected first-round pick, 2025 BOS first-round pick, 2026 BOS first-round pick swap, 2024 CHI/DAL/NO (most favorable) second-round pick, 2026 MIN/NO/NYK/POR (most favorable) second-round pick
By trading away Marcus Smart this summer, the Celtics lost the key cog to their juggernaut defense. Despite not having a Defensive Player of the Year award, Holiday would probably serve as an upgrade to Smart on both the offensive and defensive ends of the floor, helping the Celtics compete against the new-look Bucks in the East. If they wish to enter the Holiday sweepstakes, they would need to trade Malcolm Brogdon ($22,500,000), whom they were close to dealing to the Clippers in July. Along with Brogdon, they would have to sacrifice either Al Horford ($10,000,000) or Robert Williams III ($11,571,429) to make the salaries work. They have all of their own draft picks to trade as well as the Golden State Warriors' pick in 2024, which they got from the Smart trade.
MIAMI HEAT
Heat receive: Jrue Holiday
Trail Blazers receive: Kyle Lowry, Nikola Jovic, Haywood Highsmith, 2027 MIA first-round pick, 2029 MIA top-14 protected first-round pick, 2028 MIA first-round pick swap, 2024 MIA top-50 protected second-round pick, 2026 LAL second-round pick, 2027 HOU/IND/MIA/OKC/SA (least favorable) second-round pick
Missing out once again in their pursuit of a star third option to pair with Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo, Miami could use an upgrade like Holiday to their seemingly incomplete roster. Holiday would provide a must-needed scoring punch and would fit seamlessly in Miami&rsquo;s hard-working culture. While their Lillard trade package was highlighted by Tyler Herro, they likely wouldn&rsquo;t use him in any trade for Holiday. Their salary going out in a deal would come from Kyle Lowry&rsquo;s expiring salary ($29,682,540) and some combination of younger players like Jaime Jaquez Jr. ($3,510,533), Nikola Jovic ($2,352,000) and Haywood Highsmith ($1,902,137). While they are somewhat restricted in terms of draft assets, they can offer up to three first-round picks if they amend their 2025 first-round pick they owe the Oklahoma City Thunder. They have three second-rounders to offer as well.&nbsp;
NEW YORK KNICKS
Knicks receive: Jrue Holiday
Trail Blazers receive: RJ Barrett, Reggie Bullock, Khem Birch, 2024 DAL top-10 protected first-round pick, 2024 DET top-18 protected first-round pick, 2024 WAS top-12 protected first-round pick
Spurs receive: Evan Fournier, 2026 MEM top-42 protected second-round pick, 2027 NO/POR (less favorable) second-round pick
The Knicks may be holding out for when the next superstar &ndash; i.e. Joel Embiid, Donovan Mitchell or Giannis Antetokounmpo (although maybe not anymore?) &ndash; asks for a trade. While New York may be focused on further down the line, acquiring a player like Holiday could allow them to boost their roster right now without giving up enough capital to harm their future superstar pursuits. A Knicks trade that would not harm their trove of draft assets would have to send out RJ Barrett ($23,883,929), who potentially fits Portland&rsquo;s rebuilding timeline. Jrue could line up as the team&rsquo;s starting shooting guard alongside Jalen Brunson, while Josh Hart would play more minutes at small forward to mitigate the loss of Barrett. Evan Fournier&rsquo;s large salary ($18,857,143) would also have to be in any deal for the Knicks to take in Holiday. Portland wouldn&rsquo;t want to acquire both Fournier and Barrett as that would push them over the luxury tax, therefore they would likely route Fournier to another team (like San Antonio).
LOS ANGELES CLIPPERS
Clippers receive: Jrue Holiday
Trail Blazers receive: Marcus Morris Sr., Robert Covington, Amir Coffey, Jason Preston (salary fully guaranteed), 2028 LAC first-round pick, 2030 LAC first-round pick, 2029 LAC first-round pick swap
The Clippers may have been given an olive branch with a player like Jrue Holiday becoming available, as he's an impact player at a price they can afford. It also provides an alternative for the Clippers to land a third star while avoiding the potential drama/issues that could come with acquiring a player like James Harden. The Clippers have a lot of high-salary veterans they could use to get to Holiday&rsquo;s number like Norman Powell ($18,000,000), Marcus Morris Sr. ($17,116,279), Nicolas Batum ($11,710,818) and Robert Covington ($11,692,308). They would probably like to keep Terance Mann, who they seem to not want to include in a potential Harden trade, although his $10,576,923 could be useful. Portland could view their unprotected picks in 2028 and 2030 as some of the best draft assets they could receive due to their aging stars and lack of postseason success.
PHILADELPHIA 76ERS
76ers receive: Jrue Holiday
Clippers receive: James Harden, 2024 NYK second-round pick, 2029 PHI second-round pick, 2030 PHI second-round pick
Trail Blazers receive: Marcus Morris Sr., Robert Covington, Amir Coffey, Jason Preston (salary fully guaranteed to satisfy trade rules), 2028 LAC first-round pick, 2029 PHI first-round pick, 2029 LAC first-round pick swap
Amidst the James Harden debacle, Daryl Morey has remained steadfast in getting a formidable return if they choose to trade the disgruntled All-Star. A reunion with Jrue Holiday, who played in Philadelphia from 2009 to 2013, certainly should get Morey and the Sixers' attention. Holiday would certainly upgrade their defense while being a good support and influence on Tyrese Maxey. The Trail Blazers would have little interest in taking a direct package from Philadelphia, which would almost certainly be headlined by Harden ($35,640,000). Harden's desired destination, the Clippers, should still be interested in acquiring him, but may be more interested in trading for Holiday directly. Portland would likely get a similar package to what they would receive if they traded directly with the Clippers, potentially leaving Philadelphia out to dry. The Sixers would have to incentivize the Clippers by trading some draft capital to take Harden instead of Holiday.
Honorable Mentions
GOLDEN STATE WARRIORS
The Warriors are a logical Holiday destination in terms of fit and trade assets. A trade package would have to send the newly acquired Chris Paul back to Portland or a third team along with a young player like Jonathan Kuminga, Moses Moody or Brandin Podziemski, plus a draft pick. Given that coach Steve Kerr has talked all summer about bringing Paul into the fold, it would be pretty surprising if the team pivoted from the future Hall-of-Famer just before training camp. If the Warriors do choose to jump in the Holiday waters, they could quickly move to the front of the line.&nbsp;
TORONTO RAPTORS
Toronto was considered the favorite to acquire Lillard at one point, with a package that was likely headlined by OG Anunoby and draft assets. In order to acquire Holiday, they would need to use a similar package, albeit with less draft capital involved. It seems as though the Raptors were being coy about potentially dealing Anunoby for Lillard, according to <a href="https://torontosun.com/sports/basketball/nba/toronto-raptors/options-for-raptors-with-damian-lillard-trade-dream-done" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Ryan Wolstat of the Toronto Sun</a>. If Masai Ujiri was unwilling to include Anunoby in trade discussions before, it&rsquo;s unlikely he will do so for a player like Holiday.&nbsp;
MINNESOTA TIMBERWOLVES
Holiday would be a near perfect fit alongside Anthony Edwards in the Wolves' backcourt and would greatly improve their defense. However, Minnesota simply doesn&rsquo;t have the right salaries or draft assets to realistically get to Holiday&rsquo;s number unless they are willing to part ways with Karl-Anthony Towns. Even if Tim Connelly was willing to deal Towns for Holiday, the trade may not be what Portland is looking for with the 2015 No. 1 overall pick&rsquo;s five-year supermax extension beginning next season. The idea of paying supermax money to Towns will likely be a turn off for Blazers GM Joe Cronin.
ORLANDO MAGIC
Orlando is probably the most fun dark-horse destination for Jrue. While Markelle Fultz has been a suitable lead guard when healthy, Holiday would bring a championship-level veteran presence that could be useful for Orlando&rsquo;s young squad. The question with the Magic is whether they would actually pursue a deal that would accelerate their timeline with Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner, as well as whether they would part with draft capital that they could potentially use down the line in future trades.

With the Blazers looking to flip Jrue Holiday, Blake Stern breaks down several teams that make sense as a trade suitor.

NBA trade rumors: Examining potential destinations for Jrue Holiday

This year's NBA trade deadline challenged the glut of Western Conference contenders to test how far they would go to separate themselves from the pack.
Some teams, like the Phoenix Suns in their Kevin Durant blockbuster or the Dallas Mavericks in their Kyrie Irving acquisition, swung for the fences. Others &mdash; such as the Denver Nuggets, Memphis Grizzlies and New Orleans Pelicans &mdash; only nabbed a rotation player or two, opting to bet on their current core.
The Los Angeles Clippers appear to fall in the latter group, but we should not overlook their trade-deadline moves. With three separate trades, all in the final hours of dealmaking on Thursday, the Clippers added Bones Hyland, Eric Gordon and Mason Plumlee. They took calculated risks and changed three important spots in their rotation, hoping the current stalwart defense insulates a boost of offensive juice.
Hyland was one of the hottest names in the rumor mill last week after his <a href="https://www.denverpost.com/2023/02/09/nuggets-trade-deadline-bones-hyland-thomas-bryant-analysis/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">falling out with the Nuggets</a>. Los Angeles pounced and dealt two second-round picks for the former No. 26 overall selection in the 2021 NBA Draft.
Hyland quickly becomes the most promising developmental talent on the roster at 22 years old. But more immediately, he brings a high-charged dose of long-range shotmaking to the Clippers' bottom-10 offense.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
Bones Hyland hit a career-high 7 three-pointers to lead the <a href="https://twitter.com/nuggets?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@nuggets</a> to the win! <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/MileHighBasketball?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#MileHighBasketball</a><a href="https://twitter.com/BizzyBones11?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@BizzyBones11</a>: 26 PTS, 7 3PM <a href="https://t.co/IkJU5Ajf0U">pic.twitter.com/IkJU5Ajf0U</a>
&mdash; NBA (@NBA) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBA/status/1586207446678138883?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 29, 2022</a></blockquote>

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The combo guard profiles as one of the most extreme perimeter creators in the entire league. Some evidence: Hyland has attempted 118 self-created threes this season, according to PBP Stats, which would rank second on his new team behind Paul George (164) and far above the third-place guard he's replacing (Reggie Jackson, 66), in only 820 minutes this season. His 39.8% clip on those attempts ranks 13th among 81 players who have attempted at least 50 such shots.
To this point of his career, however, Hyland's primary impact has come from distance. He can attack the basket, but he's no more than a mediocre rim-pressure threat, and he's a very limited playmaker. Microwave shooting is an important skill that can swing a playoff series if active; it's unclear if Hyland can consistently impact the game this way.
That's why the Eric Gordon trade adds another level of intrigue. Gordon, a 34-year-old shooting guard, finally leaves a rebuilding Houston Rockets situation after years in and out of reported trade talks. He rejoins the franchise that drafted him seventh overall way back in 2008.&nbsp;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
Ty Lue on the <a href="https://twitter.com/LAClippers?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@LAClippers</a> new editions of Bones Hyland, Eric Gordon &amp; Mason Plumlee. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/LAClippers?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#LAClippers</a> <a href="https://t.co/yxsD8SyutK">pic.twitter.com/yxsD8SyutK</a>
&mdash; Hoops &amp; Brews (@HoopsNBrews) <a href="https://twitter.com/HoopsNBrews/status/1624289182775656448?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 11, 2023</a></blockquote>

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Gordon has a 15-year history of solid, albeit streaky, pull-up shooting, and he can still slice his way to the rim with ease. Gordon has converted 67% or more of his shots within three feet of the hoop in each of the last three seasons, per Basketball Reference &mdash; and that's in a Houston offense that has looked pretty wonky at times.&nbsp;
The Clippers acquired Gordon in a three-team deal with the Rockets and Grizzlies that ultimately sent John Wall to Houston and Luke Kennard to Memphis. They now have a reshaped guard rotation that includes Hyland, Gordon, Terance Mann and Norman Powell &mdash; four complementary scoring threats next to Kawhi Leonard and Paul George.&nbsp;
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Entering Saturday, L.A. took just 30.2% of its shots at the rim, a 23rd-ranked rate, per Cleaning the Glass. Gordon's talents should directly help, and Hyland's perimeter prowess ideally opens up lanes for others to attack.
The four-man crew allows for some interesting lineup flexibility. Does head coach Ty Lue opt to keep Mann in the starting lineup and let Hyland bombard off the bench, knowing Gordon can also keep teams honest? Or can Hyland eventually work his way up to start and provide a more powerful perimeter impact than Reggie Jackson ever could &mdash; also leaving Mann to keep the heat on with the second unit?
With just those two, we already see that the Clippers want to apply more pressure from more angles, versus the stagnation that can arise with just Kawhi plus PG plus floor-spacers. Mason Plumlee continues the theme in his own way as a passing hub.
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Pretty easy to see how Mason Plumlee's playmaking would fit seamlessly into Sacramento's offense. Lots of CHA's sets are similar to SAC's. Plumlee is averaging 4.6 assists per 36 mins and would probably be fairly cheap considering his expiring $9M deal. Davis + Len + two 2nds? <a href="https://t.co/U52qzH2vnd">pic.twitter.com/U52qzH2vnd</a>
&mdash; Brenden Nunes (@BrendenNunesNBA) <a href="https://twitter.com/BrendenNunesNBA/status/1617660314237145088?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 23, 2023</a></blockquote>

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Los Angeles added the veteran center in a trade with the Charlotte Hornets that sent Jackson and a 2028 second-rounder to Charlotte. During our <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/watch-basketball-news-2023-nba-trade-deadline-show" target="_blank" rel="noopener">2023 NBA Trade Deadline Show</a>, Nekias Duncan and I both commented on the parallels between Plumlee and the team's 2021-22 backup center, Isaiah Hartenstein.&nbsp;
Last year, <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-stats-notebook-isaiah-hartenstein-is-the-clippers-secret-weapon" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Hartenstein showed off his facilitation chops</a> by hitting cutters from the arc and operating out of some roll actions. He's in the sub-Nikola-Jokic tier of best big man passers in the NBA, and so is Plumlee.
For several seasons, the 32-year-old has consistently posted some of the best passing numbers in the league; his 18.0% assist rate is in the 92nd percentile among bigs this season, per Cleaning the Glass. Plumlee is assisting on 12.6% of his total passes, per Second Spectrum, which is the third-highest rate among centers.
Add in his stellar presence around the rim (73% shooting in that zone) and solid track record on the glass, and Plumlee seems about as ideal a fit at backup center as feasible. The healthy Clippers are looking at a Hyland-Gordon-Powell-Robert Covington-Plumlee second unit, with Nic Batum and Amir Coffey as additonal options. That is deep.
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The overarching worry: L.A. is tweaking the components of its top-10 defense &mdash; the backbone of its current fifth-place standing in the Western Conference. Hyland has serious defensive question-marks, Gordon is strong but undersized and Plumlee, while fundamentally sound, is by no means a rim-protector. Can the system and the prowess of the remaining players provide a stable floor? And if not, do the new pieces just fall out of the rotation, or do they unearth a new problem?
We likely won't know the final answer until the postseason. But the Clippers pointedly targeted several needs on Thursday, and the moves have more reward and more risk than they appear to at first. Even without adding a star, the Clippers have become another must-track team in the reshuffled West playoff race.

Ethan Fuller breaks down the Los Angeles Clippers adding Bones Hyland, Eric Gordon and Mason Plumlee prior to the trade deadline.

Evaluating the Clippers' three NBA trade deadline moves

The 2023 NBA trade deadline is just a few days away!
Teams have between now and Thursday at 3 p.m. ET to wheel and deal. For some teams, there's a bit more urgency to make a trade. We asked our Basketball News writers:
Which NBA team desperately needs to make a trade?
Alex Kennedy: The Toronto Raptors have been one of the biggest disappointments this season, as they are currently 24-30 (which is the 12th-best record in the Eastern Conference). They have a number of talented individuals on their roster, but the pieces just aren't fitting together. Recent reports have indicated that Toronto isn't sure whether to be a buyer or seller prior to the trade deadline, but it's clear that standing pat isn't an option.
Will the Raptors part ways with O.G. Anunoby, who's been one of the top players surfacing in trade rumors? Will they move Fred VanVleet and/or Gary Trent Jr. before they can opt out and hit unrestricted free agency this summer? Will Masai Ujiri try to restart talks with the Brooklyn Nets on a potential Kevin Durant blockbuster? All eyes will be on the Raptors over the next few days.
Nekias Duncan: I think the Toronto Raptors are the obvious answer here, so I&rsquo;ll set them to the side. It&rsquo;d be nice if the Miami Heat could do something here. It may not be big-game hunting &mdash; they&rsquo;ve been mentioned on the periphery of the Kyrie Irving sweepstakes &mdash; but more reliable depth would help them.
Caleb Martin is in the midst of a career-year, but it hasn&rsquo;t hit like it could because he&rsquo;s a bit overtasked at the 4. The depth behind Bam Adebayo has been shaky; I&rsquo;ve liked the play from Orlando &ldquo;Big Lando&rdquo; Robinson, but his play being *this* important underscores how dire it&rsquo;s been for the Heat. Any deal that could land them a bigger 4 could balance things out, especially if that 4 could moonlight as a 5 in small-ball lineups.
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Brian Fritz: Despite LeBron James continuing to play at an unbelievable level at 38 years old and in his 20th NBA season, the Los Angeles Lakers find themselves at No. 13 in the Western Conference standings with a 25-29 record. Everyone knows that this team desperately needs to make a trade. The Lakers need to do something &ndash; anything &ndash; or else they are just wasting another season of LeBron&rsquo;s greatness. And he&rsquo;s starting to voice his frustrations again; after a recent loss, James said, "Playing basketball at this level just to be playing basketball is not in my DNA.&rdquo; Even if it's just a deal to improve around the edges, something needs to be done.
Ethan Fuller: The Los Angeles Lakers and Toronto Raptors are probably popular answers here, so I'll throw in the Portland Trail Blazers as well. Damian Lillard is leading the league in scoring since January 1 (34.9 PPG) and is playing absolutely out of his mind right now. But Portland is only 7-9 in that span and continues to be weighed down by its atrocious defense, even with some capable individual pieces.
The West is wide open and ripe for a team to capitalize. This is less about keeping Lillard happy (just take him at his word, please) and more about maximizing a career-year from a 32-year-old, high-usage point guard. If the Trail Blazers can rally and form something near a league-average defense, their chances to make a surprise postseason run suddenly skyrocket.
Spencer Davies: The Dallas Mavericks desperately need to get Luka Doncic another ball-handler and/or a better shooter. It is clear and obvious that Jalen Brunson's departure has made things twice as difficult on the Slovenian sensation, yet he's still delivering. I previously mentioned Terry Rozier, DeMar DeRozan, Fred VanVleet, D'Angelo Russell, Kyle Kuzma, Doug McDermott and Josh Richardson as possible targets. Now, Kyrie Irving is also a potential solution to Dallas' biggest problem.
The Mavericks have contracts to float around, none more obvious than Tim Hardaway Jr.'s &nbsp;deal. They could also fetch a valuable player with Dorian Finney-Smith's four-year, $55 million extension that is in Year 1. In addition, Reggie Bullock is another veteran option who's earning $10,012,800 this season and $10,489,600 next season. And if you need a filler for a bigger contract coming back, Davis Bertans is making a boatload on money ($16 million, then $17 million and an ETO in 2024-25).&nbsp;
[UPDATE: <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/mavericks-acquire-kyrie-irving-from-nets-in-blockbuster-trade" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Mavericks acquired Kyrie Irving shortly after this was published</a>.]
On Thursday, the Basketball News staff will be reacting to every rumor and completed trade during our 2023 NBA Trade Deadline Show! Tune in from 1 p.m. ET to 4 p.m. ET!

Which NBA team desperately needs to make a move before the Feb. 9 trade deadline? We asked our Basketball News writers to weigh in.

NBA roundtable: Which team desperately needs to make a trade?

The Los Angeles Lakers franchise never seems to have a dull moment, and you can bet the roller coaster will continue in 2023.
With another year gone by and 2022 officially in the rearview mirror, it&rsquo;s time for the purple and gold to look ahead. Similar to the <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-trade-rumors-7-possible-deals-for-the-los-angeles-lakers-charlotte-hornets-washington-wizards-indiana-pacers-san-antonio-spurs-pistons-magic-knicks-lebron-james-anthony-davis-rob-pelinka" target="_blank" rel="noopener">seven trade scenarios we looked at in last week's article</a>, I've decided to predict five things that could happen with the Lakers in the new year.
Let's take a look.
LeBron James will break the NBA's all-time scoring record sooner than expected
The Lakers season has been underwhelming so far, but LeBron has not been as he continues to play at an ultra-high level even in his 20th season. And now, he&rsquo;s on the verge of making history by surpassing Kareem Abdul-Jabbar as the NBA&rsquo;s all-time leading scorer.
The question wasn&rsquo;t if he would break the record this season, but when. LeBron has stayed healthy for the most part this year (only missing a handful of games so far) and finds himself just 484 points away from Kareem's mark of 38,387.
If James' scoring binge continues &mdash; he&rsquo;s averaging 36.6 points per game since Christmas, and Darvin Ham has said he will continue to ride him until Anthony Davis returns from injury &mdash; LeBron is going to top Kareem BEFORE the All-Star break.
Here are two dates to target, with both games at home:
<ul>
<li>Oklahoma City Thunder on Feb. 7</li>
<li>Milwaukee Bucks on Feb 9.&nbsp;</li>
</ul>
The Lakers finally make a trade... just not the big one
Going back to before the season started, Lakers' fans have been clamoring for Rob Pelinka and the front office to make a deal. And while LA has talked to a lot of teams, the franchise has yet to pull the trigger.
That will change before the Feb. 9 trade deadline, but it won&rsquo;t be that big, potential-game changer that some are hoping for.
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The Lakers have been clinging onto their oh-so-precious, tradeable 2027 and 2029 first-round picks, and the team doesn&rsquo;t seem anxious to include either in a deal at this point. Instead, they&rsquo;d rather count on good returns for minimum-contract players like Dennis Schroder and Thomas Bryant, and the return of Anthony Davis before the end of January.
LA will do something, but it will be around the edges that will involve the expiring contract(s) of Kendrick Nunn ($5.2M) or Patrick Beverley ($13.0M) and some second-rounders. Think of Josh Richardson, Cam Reddish, or Mason Plumlee &mdash; players who can help now, but also are on expiring deals so the team can preserve its cap space and reset the repeater luxury tax (something owner Jeanie Buss loathes to continue paying).
The Lakers will get into the Play-in Tournament
Somehow, someway, this team will get into the postseason. Right now, LA sits at 17-21, but is just one game back of the sliding Utah Jazz &mdash; losers of five straight &mdash; for the 10th spot in the Western Conference.&nbsp;
The schedule is tough, and they'll need LeBron and Davis to stay/get healthy, but this group won&rsquo;t melt down the stretch like last season; they&rsquo;ll find an avenue into the Play-In. Maybe the Lakers could get as high as the No. 9 spot if things break their way, but that&rsquo;s probably their ceiling at this point. From there, they&rsquo;ll cross their fingers and toes that the LBJ-AD combo can do some damage. Good luck.
LeBron will remain with Lakers next season and beyond
Sure, LeBron is a bit frustrated with this season, and he already sounded off on his &ldquo;playing basketball at this level just to be playing basketball is not in my DNA&rdquo; salvo. And it&rsquo;s not wrong to think that he could get fed up with the situation in La La Land and demand a trade after the season.
(Remember, he cannot be traded during the season because he signed an extension in September and cannot be moved for six months, which is after the trade deadline.)
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lebron james is shooting 72.7% on drives&mdash;and 84.9% at the rim&mdash;since the anthony davis injury <a href="https://t.co/ji0u4Wt2kY">pic.twitter.com/ji0u4Wt2kY</a>
&mdash; Dan Favale (@danfavale) <a href="https://twitter.com/danfavale/status/1611105868736614426?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 5, 2023</a></blockquote>

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LeBron has every right to be upset. Anyone would be, especially a 38-year-old, still-near-his-prime superstar who is chasing one more ring to tie him with Laker greats Kobe Bryant and Magic Johnson.
With that being said, he&rsquo;s not going anywhere. His sons Bronny (18) and Bryce (15) are entrenched at Sierra Canyon High School, his off-the-court businesses have thrived since moving to California and his family really enjoys the west-coast lifestyle.
LeBron doesn&rsquo;t seem interested in moving his family or being away from them during an NBA season. While he&rsquo;ll continue to put pressure on the front office when it comes to the roster, the bet here is that he&rsquo;s not going anywhere. Well, at least not for the next few seasons.
LA goes big-name hunting and lands one
Nothing says &ldquo;Lakers exceptionalism&rdquo; like the team always looking to add another superstar. And unless the organization makes a trade taking on salary for future years (don&rsquo;t hold your breath), LA is set to have around $30 million in cap space this upcoming offseason. That&rsquo;s not enough to get a star on a max deal, but it could be enough to get a distressed one.
I give you Kyrie Irving.
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While Irving has been a big part of the Brooklyn Nets turning their season around &mdash; now in the No. 3 position in the Eastern Conference at 25-13 &mdash; he&rsquo;s a free agent at the end of the season, and the Nets would still have to make a commitment to him. That could come down to how far they go in the playoffs. Even then, Nets governor Joe Tsai and general Sean Marks could decide they&rsquo;ve had enough of the Kyrie experience.
Of course, the Lakers wouldn&rsquo;t shy away from Irving despite the off-court attention that comes with him. LA is desperate for another big name player. He&rsquo;s probably a much better fit that Russell Westbrook. He definitely is a better long-range shooter. But will his actions off the court get him in trouble? That&rsquo;s a big gamble for most teams.
The Lakers aren&rsquo;t one of them. They embrace chaos. LeBron has <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TYeEyAqkw_c" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reportedly already indicated he would welcome playing with Irving again</a>, and the <a href="https://www.nj.com/nets/2023/01/how-has-kyrie-irvings-recent-stellar-play-with-the-streaking-nets-impacted-his-free-agency-situation.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">feeling seems mutual</a>. Despite his sometimes jaw-dropping offensive talent, most teams will steer clear of him. That would allow the Lakers to offer him a good, but less-than-max deal of around two-years, $62M.
Is that enough for Irving? It might be the best deal he gets offered.

Brian Fritz predicts five scenarios that could happen regarding the Lakers in the new year.

Making 5 predictions for the Los Angeles Lakers in 2023

Basketball News highlights the reporting, analysis and podcasts that defined a year of basketball in 2022.

Best of Basketball News: Spotlighting our top content from 2022

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

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

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

Nekias Duncan previews the Hawks, Hornets, Heat, Magic and Wizards ahead of the 2022-23 NBA season.

2022-23 NBA Season Preview: Southeast Division

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

2022-23 NBA Season Preview: Pacific Division

NEW YORK (AP) &mdash; Jalen Brunson has the New York Knicks believing the search for a point guard is over at last.
Never mind that he was never even a full-time NBA starter until last season, or that the quest to find the long-term answer at point guard in New York seemingly never ends.
The former second-round pick has the keys at Madison Square Garden, and the Knicks appear sure it's going to be a smooth ride.
&ldquo;I think Jalen can provide whatever you need,&rdquo; coach Tom Thibodeau said. &ldquo;So if you need him to do more scoring, he can do that. If you need more playmaking, he can do that. If you need him to create pace and create movement, he can do that. You need a big 3, a big shot, he can do that. I love the way he can control and manage the game, and to me that&rsquo;s the No. 1 function of a point guard.&rdquo;
Thibodeau said all that after coaching Brunson for just one preseason game, though he had been building intel on the 26-year-old long before then. Brunson would visit the Knicks as a boy in the late 1990s when his father, Rick, played for the team and Thibodeau was an assistant coach. Thibodeau later followed Brunson's accomplishments in high school ball in the Chicago area, where he coached the Bulls, and then as a two-time national champion at Villanova.
So perhaps Thibodeau knew something when the Knicks seemed to lock in so early on Brunson as their priority in free agency, even before his strong playoff run for the Mavericks last season.
&ldquo;He&rsquo;s a winning player that would fit with any team, really, at any level,&rdquo; said Rick Carlisle, who coached Brunson in Dallas before moving to Indiana. &ldquo;He just figures it out and he&rsquo;ll be great here.&rdquo;
Brunson broke out last season after Jason Kidd replaced Carlisle, averaging a career-best 16.3 points. That number grew to 21.6 per game in the postseason, including a 41-point performance in a first-round victory over Utah, as the Mavericks made a surprising run to the Western Conference finals. The New Jersey native then left Dallas for a $104 million contract in New York.
Brunson &mdash; whose father is on Thibodeau's staff &mdash; will need help, though. RJ Barrett, rewarded with a big offseason extension, must continue the growth he showed last season. And Julius Randle has to play closer to his 2020-21 form, when he won the NBA's Most Improved Player award.
If so, the Knicks could challenge for a playoff spot after falling from the No. 4 seed in the Eastern Conference in 2021 to out of the postseason entirely last season &mdash; provided Brunson is everything they believe he is and the game manager Thibodeau thinks he can be.
&ldquo;It's a difficult job, but it's something that I think I'm capable of doing,&rdquo; Brunson said. &ldquo;I've been a leader my entire life and I lead by example, I lead vocally. It's not easy. I'm continuing to get better as a leader, so I still have strides to take in that category, but we're moving in the right direction.&rdquo;
LEFTY LOOK
With Brunson, Randle and Barrett, the Knicks will have three left-handed players in their starting lineup.
BARRETT BACK
Barrett was mentioned in trade rumors for Donovan Mitchell during the summer before the Knicks signed the the No. 3 pick in the 2019 draft to an extension of his rookie contract. He averaged 20 points last season, the youngest player in franchise history to do so.
RETURNING ROSE
Derrick Rose is healthy again after being limited to just 26 games last season by ankle injuries, and the former NBA MVP figures to be Brunson's backup at the point.
SECOND UNIT STRENGTH
With Rose, fan-favorite Obi Toppin and Immanuel Quickley, joined by newcomer Isaiah Hartenstein, Thibodeau believes the Knicks can again get the bench boost that was a strength of their playoff team two seasons ago.
50-YEAR WAIT
This season will mark 50 years since the Knicks won their second and most recent NBA championship in 1973.

Jalen Brunson has the New York Knicks believing the search for a point guard is over at last.

With Jalen Brunson aboard, Knicks feel they have their point guard

NBA Media Day is typically a wellspring of optimism and excitement for teams across the Association. But in Boston, Celtics players have simply been trying to collect their bearings.
Ime Udoka's sudden one-year suspension as the team's head coach has rocked the organization and sent unprecedented questions toward a roster trying to rebound from falling two wins short of an NBA title. While Monday's press conference still included on-court questions, most of the dialogue revolved around Udoka, interim head coach Joe Mazzulla and the players' ability to even process this past week.&nbsp;
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Here's what we did learn about the Celtics' muddled circumstances, plus some unanswered questions that will hopefully be answered before the season:
WHAT DO THE PLAYERS KNOW ABOUT IME UDOKA'S MISCONDUCT?
Based on their answers, very little.
Jayson Tatum said he found out about Udoka's suspension on Twitter. Grant Williams said he learned "same as everyone else." <a href="https://theathletic.com/3617945/2022/09/22/celtics-ime-udoka-discipline/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Shams Charania of&nbsp;The Athletic</a>&nbsp;reported that members of the Celtics franchise first learned of Ime Udoka's relationship with another woman in the organization in July.
Marcus Smart said that Udoka visited him and other players in Los Angeles over the summer, and he noticed nothing unusual about the suspended head coach.
"I think that's why (the news is) so off-guard for us, because everything just seemed so normal," Smart said.
Since the announcement, the players have obviously met and had conversations. But several indicated that, as of Monday, the players don't know much more information than the public. Tatum has not spoken with Udoka since the suspension.
"It's been hell for us, caught by surprise. Nobody really knows anything. So we're just in the wind just like everybody else. So the last couple of days, as far as this, have been confusing," Smart said.
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"It's been hell for us... these last couple days for us have been confusing." Marcus Smart reacts to Ime Udoka's suspension, and Joe Mazzulla stepping in as interim head coach <a href="https://t.co/IwD4YJCDco">pic.twitter.com/IwD4YJCDco</a>
&mdash; Celtics on NBC Sports Boston (@NBCSCeltics) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBCSCeltics/status/1574455058460282880?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 26, 2022</a></blockquote>

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"I wish we had more details," Jaylen Brown said. "From what we know, it's hard to make a decision based upon whether it's consensual or not in the workplace or whatever is going on &mdash; which we've known has happened before in the workplace &mdash; but I guess there's more to it possibly, which we don't know. I don't know. I don't have all the details; [they're] not being shared with me. So it's hard to really comment on something that you're not filled in with all the details. So I don't really have a feeling or comment on my emotions about it because I don't have the details."
Celtics players generally seemed to understand that legal and privacy reasons have slowed the information process. That doesn't mean it's easy being left in the dark on the full story.
"If you read the statement, and if you watched the press conference [Friday], obviously, apparently there's a lot of things that they can't, can't speak about," Tatum said. "So I think I'm kind of in the same boat, as &mdash; I don't know. So it's hard for me to answer if things were handled the right way [or] if they weren't because I guess for a lot of reasons, I don't know all the details."
Added Smart: "We don't know what the organization knows. So it's kind of hard to say that &mdash; we don't know what they know, so we don't know what they are supposed to tell us or what we're supposed to know. And I think this is where this is at and why it is what it is, because literally, no one knows anything. We're still waiting just like everybody else. As a player, you would like it to be known, but at the same time, that's none of our business. It's their lives. It's the people involved, it's between them, you know, and we should respect their privacy and we understand, just like we want our privacy respected. So, although, as a player, you would like to know, like I said, it's it's not an obligation."
DOES JOE MAZZULLA HAVE THE BACKING OF THE PLAYERS?
Like <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/breakingnews/celtics-udoka-suspended-for-multiple-policy-violations" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Brad Stevens and Wyc Grousbeck did on Friday,</a> the players gave positive reviews of Mazzulla. The 34-year-old was hired as an assistant on the C's staff in 2019, and is a holdover from the Stevens coaching era.
"He knows and understands us as players. He's built relationships with us. So we love Joe; we're excited to be able to work with him in this opportunity that he has," Smart said.
Payton Pritchard and Sam Hauser have both played under Mazzulla when he was at the helm of the Summer League Celtics.
"I think he's gonna be an unbelievable coach," Pritchard said. "He's intelligent, he knows the game and I think he is the right amount of, like, pushing players, but also understanding [them]."
"I think he is a hard-nosed type of coach," Hauser added. "He kind of says it how it is, but he also really cares about you as a person &mdash; not only a basketball player, but he really cares about the off-the-floor stuff. I'm excited for Joe, and I can't wait to see how he takes advantage of this opportunity."
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Malcolm Brogdon certainly didn't expect this past week to happen when he <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-malcolm-brogdon-qa-fit-boston-celtics-basketball-without-borders-africa-camp-egypt-jayson-tatum-jaylen-brown-danilo-gallinari-ime-udoka" target="_blank" rel="noopener">joined Boston as a high-profile trade acquisition</a>. Brogdon said the Indiana Pacers gave him a few options for trade destinations, and he picked Boston because, "I want to win."
In his short time knowing Mazzulla, Brogdon has admired his discipline. Mazzulla often lifts weights with Brogdon early in the morning. One time he approached Brogdon, who was doing a breathing exercise, and started explaining the theories behind different techniques. Brogdon has also heard of Mazzulla's reputation for putting together quality opponent scouts.
"He's a guy that is so detail-oriented; I am like-minded with people that are detail-oriented, that care about the small things, the little things that get you through the day," Brogdon said.
WHAT WILL MAZZULLA CHANGE FROM UDOKA'S SYSTEM?
Of course, the Celtics have all the on-court pieces to replicate and even improve upon last season. Mazzulla does not want to drastically change course from Boston's success under Udoka.&nbsp;
"It's about carrying on the identity of our players," Mazzulla said. "We had our struggles early last season, but at our best, we knew what our identity was. It was our defense, it was our buy-in from a defensive standpoint, and then it was sharing the ball and moving quickly on the offensive end. So as much as we can stick to the things that we were great at last year, and then find small areas to improve in, is the right way to go."
The Celtics' coaching staff now has two openings with Udoka's suspension and Will Hardy's departure for the Utah Jazz head coaching gig. Mazzulla has not thought about replacements yet and would work with Stevens on filling out the bench. He believes the foundation of existing relationships should help the Celtics build solid chemistry early in the season.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
Joe Mazzulla talks about the strong endorsement he received from Brad Stevens for interim head coach <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Celtics?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Celtics</a> <a href="https://t.co/hCuynuUdoR">pic.twitter.com/hCuynuUdoR</a>
&mdash; Celtics on NBC Sports Boston (@NBCSCeltics) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBCSCeltics/status/1574435350465990657?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 26, 2022</a></blockquote>

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WHAT HAPPENS TO THE CENTER ROTATION WITH ROBERT WILLIAMS III OUT?
Amidst the off-court bombshell, the Celtics also announced that Robert Williams III will miss 8-to-12 weeks as he recovers from arthroscopic knee surgery. This puts additional strain on an already-thin big rotation for a Boston team that sent Daniel Theis out in the trade for Brogdon this summer.
Luke Kornet could step into major minutes. The 7-foot-2 center spent most of last season with the Maine Celtics in the NBA G League, but has four seasons of experience at the top level. Kornet said that with the door for minutes certainly open, his mindset naturally changes, but not his approach to the game.
"There definitely is a bit of a switch in that, but in terms of still being a basketball player and conditioning and [wondering] how am I going to help this team do the best they can &mdash; a lot of those things stay the same. But there's some change," Kornet said.
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A larger burden falls on Al Horford, now age-36 and older than his head coach, to shoulder some of the two-way responsibilities Rob Williams wields.
"For me, I have to step up a little more, Grant's gonna have to step up a little more, Luke, whichever one of our bigs, we just have to step up and do a little more," Horford said. "Even some of our guys, whether it's you know, [Tatum] playing more at the 4 or whatever it may be, I'm not sure about all that. But we all just have to do more until he gets back."
Williams, meanwhile, will start a road to recovery that began as he battled knee injuries throughout last spring's playoffs. Despite eventually needing surgery, he doesn't regret playing through the injury to compete in the NBA Finals.
"I'm playing the Finals, you know what I'm saying?" Williams said. "You win some you lose some, but I don't regret my decision at all. I was 24 years old, my dream was to play in the Finals, dawg. I can't regret that sh**."
UNANSWERED QUESTIONS
What is the extent of Udoka's misconduct? &mdash; Ultimately, the players and public need more details as to the forces behind a year-long suspension and potential firing. Grousbeck said Friday that Udoka committed multiple violations of multiple team policies, suggesting the punishment came down for much more than the singular act of being in a workplace relationship. While the woman's privacy must be respected, there must be some level of clarity on the wrongdoing.
What has Mazzulla done to atone for his past arrests?&nbsp;&mdash; Mazzulla answered two questions relating to <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nba/celtics/2022/09/22/joe-mazzulla-boston-celtics-new-coach-ime-udoka-suspension/8087114001/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">multiple arrests between 2008 and 2009</a>, including a domestic violence charge in '09. Here were his quotes:&nbsp;&nbsp;
"Listen, I've made mistakes. I'm not perfect. I've hurt people, and I've had to use the situations I put myself in as a younger man, I've had to use to learn from and to become a better person," Mazzulla said. "And that's what I've tried to focus on is: 'How can I recreate my identity as a person? How can I rely on my faith? And how can I just have a positive impact on the people around me?' And I've always had good people around me...
"...I can't talk about specifics of [the incidents]. But what I can talk about is: I'm not the same person that I was, and I think as you grow as a person, you're constantly having to build an identity, and you know, I didn't have an identity at a certain point in my life for whatever reason. And I think it's [about]: 'How can I develop an identity? How can I find a foundation which for me, is my faith, and then, how can I impact people positively around me? And that's something that I really learned throughout my life.'"
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&ldquo;That made him who he is today&hellip; I&rsquo;ll be the first to tell you, I believe in him.&rdquo; Brad Stevens on Joe Mazzulla after being asked about Mazzulla&rsquo;s domestic battery charges from his college days. <a href="https://twitter.com/ABC6?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@abc6</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/bleedgreen?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#bleedgreen</a> <a href="https://t.co/s5ia1rYvnY">pic.twitter.com/s5ia1rYvnY</a>
&mdash; Ian Steele (@IanSteeleABC6) <a href="https://twitter.com/IanSteeleABC6/status/1573338669007704064?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 23, 2022</a></blockquote>

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Mazzulla did not dodge any questions and he did acknowledge his past wrongdoing. But he also did not explain what led to his behavior, what in his faith prompted the change and how he has shown other people he has progressed.
Player and front-office endorsements are not enough in an NBA that has hired at least two other coaches with domestic-violence and sexual-assault histories in the last year-and-change &mdash; not to mention the recent reminders of troubling workplace environments in Boston and Phoenix. We need more assurance that this behavior does not have a tolerable place in the league.
How will Mazzulla manage his starters in the early goings of the regular season? &mdash; Among the many, many questions Mazzulla will face as he acclimates to the head-coaching gig is the impending usage for Tatum, Brown and others. Tatum played through a fractured wrist down the stretch of the postseason (he said he feels good on Monday).
Can Mazzulla give the high-usage players more rest to hopefully prepare them for another deep playoff run? Or will the Celtics have to go all-out just to stay on top of a stacked Eastern Conference?
ADDITIONAL NOTES
<ul>
<li>Brown's name popped up in trade rumors surrounding Kevin Durant this offseason, and the 25-year-old said he discussed those rumors with members of the Celtics, but did not elaborate.</li>
</ul>
"I've talked to my teammates, I talked to ownership, the organization, etc. I'll keep those conversations between us," Brown said. "All I can say is now that I'm here, I'm ready to play basketball. I'm in great shape, probably the best shape of my life. So I'm excited to start the journey."
<ul>
<li>With Brogdon bolstering a stellar guard rotation, his addition leaves room to wonder about Pritchard's playing time. Pritchard is embracing the competition for minutes in training camp.</li>
</ul>
"Obviously, we have a lot of tremendous players. But I don't go through all summer and all year working on my game to just ride the bench," Pritchard said. "So for me, I'm just looking forward to the opportunity to go out there and compete, and earn minutes and see where that lies. Ultimately, we just want the team success though."
<ul>
<li>Grant Williams will soon be eligible for a contract extension, but said he hasn't let that distract him. &nbsp;</li>
</ul>
"When it comes to that, I just let my agents and everybody handle it, because if you become too overwhelmed or concerned with it, that's when you start focusing on your play or you start doing things that aren't necessarily characteristic of yourself," Williams said. "For me, my number one focus and goal is allowing and helping this team to win a championship. Everything else takes care of itself."

Celtics players addressed the upcoming season and head coaching change on Monday at Media Day.

2022 Boston Celtics Media Day Notebook: What did we learn?

Spencer Davies recaps Donovan Mitchell's introductory press conference in downtown Cleveland with the Cavaliers.

Donovan Mitchell ecstatic to bring experience to young, 'fun' Cavaliers

The Cleveland Cavaliers have acquired All-Star guard Donovan Mitchell from the Utah Jazz for Collin Sexton, Lauri Markkanen and Ochai Agbaji in a sign-and-trade, multiple sources confirmed to Basketball News. Sexton and the Jazz agreed to terms on a four-year, $72 million contract agreement, per Yahoo's Chris Haynes.
The Cavs will also send three unprotected first-round picks (2025, 2027, 2029) and two future pick swaps (2026, 2028) in the deal. The news was first reported by Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN. 
Sources told Basketball News that the deal "all came together in the last 24 hours." This is a swing-for-the-fences type of move by the Cavs, who clearly believe that they had to add another superstar to complement their up-and-coming star in Darius Garland, along with the team's promising two young bigs in Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen. With a majority of the Eastern Conference improving with huge offseason moves &mdash; such as Dejounte Murray heading to the Atlanta Hawks and Malcolm Brogdon going to the Boston Celtics &mdash; Cleveland joined the party by bringing in a bona fide superstar in Mitchell.
Fit shouldn't be too much of an issue for "Spida," as he'll slide into the 2-guard role that Sexton occupied for the last two seasons (before getting hurt early last year). For a number of months now, the Cavs have discussed taking some of the playmaking burden off of Garland so he can get loose and work away from the ball. Mitchell's ability to create for others has improved year-by-year, and there's no worrying about him creating space to get his own shot off. We definitely know how well Garland and his new backcourt partner can score the ball, but watching them work in sync could be poetry in motion. And while delegating between the two might be shaky at first, once some cohesiveness is established, it'll be on.
If you're into simple counting numbers, Mitchell adds about 26 points per game to this roster that was missing. (Sexton's absence was very much felt last season.) Donovan's True Shooting percentage was the highest of his career to boot (57.2%), and he also contributed a career-high 27.7% assist rate.
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Defensively, we know Mitchell had his flaws last season; however, the personnel Cleveland has in place with Mobley and Allen should take some of that pressure off of him. They are both rim-protecting (and switching, in Evan's case) monsters in their own unique way, which should cover for both smaller guards if they get beat, as we've seen in the past.
It will be interesting to see what Cavs head coach J.B. Bickerstaff does with his rotation, as Cleveland lost its starting small forward in this deal as well. Will he elect to try Mobley at the 3 and possibly go back to Kevin Love at the 4 to keep "big ball" going? Will there be a three-guard lineup between Garland, Mitchell and Caris LeVert? Does the team trust Isaac Okoro enough offensively to give him his starting spot back?
Those are likely the most prominent questions on everybody's minds with Cleveland.
As for the Jazz, they have slammed the reset button. It started with the Rudy Gobert trade to Minnesota, and ended by sending Mitchell packing to Cleveland. Now, they've got some intriguing young pieces to work with.
Kudos to Utah general manager Justin Zanik and executive Danny Ainge for bringing in two solid starters and a lottery-pick rookie in this move. Sexton is a straight-up dog as a scorer, an intense competitor and one of the best culture pieces the Jazz could bring in. He's improved as a three-point shooter, has become a better passer over the years and will never shy away from crunch time. While he must improve defensively, the desire and ball pressure are there.
Markkanen is a stretch 4 who can spread the floor, attack off the dribble in an unorthodox manner and is long enough to be disruptive on defense. His biggest issue to overcome is his inconsistency. Agbaji hasn't even stepped foot on the floor yet, but at Summer League in Las Vegas, he had a pair of games where he was lights out from distance and was well balanced with his shooting form.
We'll see how the new-look Jazz operate under head coach Will Hardy. Utah also recently brought in Talen Horton-Tucker and Stanley Johnson, while also trading for Jarred Vanderbilt and Malik Beasley. One thing is for sure, Zanik and Ainge retooled this roster in a big way, and with all of those guards and veterans, they're probably not done. It'll be intriguing to see how this team comes together at the end.
Even with Cleveland growing organically, step-by-step, the team obviously felt this was an opportunity it couldn't pass up. This front office is quite meticulous when it comes to the importance of chemistry and not messing with a good thing, and that showed last season by how fun this locker room truly was.
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Cavs president Koby Altman and general manager Mike Gansey have shaken things up with a colossal blockbuster, and were successful in keeping their core three pieces together. For that, they should be commended. Mitchell and Sexton are similar in some aspects of their game and their stature; with that said, the former is further along into his career with plenty of memorable playoff moments and experiences, as well as three All-Star appearances.
On paper, Cleveland is boasting a deep, talented roster with some solid balance. Barring any health setbacks, the 26-year-old Mitchell should fit like a glove offensively. Yes, Garland's usage will take a bit of a hit; maybe that's a good thing. He was out of gas when the Play-In Tournament came around. Honestly, the whole team was.
But adding a talent like Mitchell to the fold means you can trust two incredible ball-handlers and stagger them, if need be, and let the chips fall where they may.
Mitchell is locked in for the next three years of his contract, with a player option in 2025-26. Garland just inked a rookie max extension. Allen is in it for the long haul. You'll have to imagine Evan Mobley will be in line to sign the dotted line. The Cavs are not messing around and have a loaded core going forward.
Maybe that'll finally quiet the LeBron James rumors, huh?

Spencer Davies offers his instant reaction to the shocking trade of Donovan Mitchell to the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Instant reaction: Cavs swing for fences with Donovan Mitchell trade

As the Kevin Durant saga reaches its latest chapter, both sides are digging in for what could be an even more drawn-out process. He's already told Brooklyn Nets owner Joe Tsai to either trade him or fire head coach Steve Nash and general manager Sean Marks, so his desires to leave Brooklyn are clear.
There's a lack of trust in the organization&rsquo;s direction moving forward, but the Nets already have shown they won&rsquo;t bend to every demand the future Hall-of-Famer makes.
But unless Brooklyn eventually lowers its asking price &mdash; which is presumably what many interested teams are betting on &mdash; there&rsquo;s no reason to believe this process won&rsquo;t drag into the regular season. If so, the next step will be Durant sitting out games away from the team until his next destination is found.
From the beginning, Durant&rsquo;s desired destination was the Phoenix Suns to team up alongside Devin Booker and Chris Paul. Six weeks later, we don&rsquo;t know whether Durant has backed off that stance. If not, that could be the reason why this is dragging out even longer. Phoenix is seemingly falling off many radars, but we shouldn't rule them out of the sweepstakes just yet. Brooklyn holds power, but so does Durant to keep this tug of war going as long as possible.
As the Suns' noise quieted down, new suitors emerged &mdash; the Miami Heat and, most recently, the Celtics. SNY&rsquo;s Ian Begley mentioned the Celtics and Philadelphia 76ers as new choices atop Durant&rsquo;s updated wishlist.
&ldquo;Our front office and coaching staff have my support,&rdquo; Tsai wrote on Twitter in response to his meeting with Durant. &ldquo;We will make decisions in the best interest of the Brooklyn Nets.&rdquo;
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Our front office and coaching staff have my support. We will make decisions in the best interest of the Brooklyn Nets.
&mdash; Joe Tsai (@joetsai1999) <a href="https://twitter.com/joetsai1999/status/1556791235427405824?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 8, 2022</a></blockquote>

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With Tsai picking his side, we'll all wait to see what offers are truly in the best interest of the Nets&rsquo; murky long-term outlook. In the meantime, it&rsquo;s hard not to let the mind wander on what that could entail.
What if the Nets look back upon the Pacers&rsquo; situation with Paul George in 2017, taking the best offer on the table for their disgruntled superstar in a non-preferable destination? While it seems far-fetched, anything at this point seems possible within this ongoing battle at the bargaining table for who gets what in the end.
When it was over, Indiana acquired two blossoming All-Stars in Victor Oladipo and Domantas Sabonis, even when it felt like leverage wasn&rsquo;t on its side. George wanted to go to the Los Angeles Lakers, but the Pacers stood firm on getting a proper return for their star forward.
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Who could come out of nowhere and surprise us all as the Nets' possible trade partner a la the Thunder to the Pacers five years ago? Excluding the known top contenders for now &mdash; Phoenix, Miami, Boston and the Toronto Raptors &mdash; let's try to find a potential team lurking in the shadows who would also check off both parties' boxes.
Philadelphia 76ers
This all comes down to the possibility of including Tyrese Maxey. If you&rsquo;re in the position of Sixers president Daryl Morey, with your chips already all-in on winning a championship with Joel Embiid and James Harden, Durant certainly makes you think for a moment. Knowing Morey&rsquo;s aggressive nature, a blockbuster centered around Maxey for Durant works well within their win-now time frame. The allure of Maxey is there (only 21 years old and blossomed upon Harden&rsquo;s arrival midseason), but this is arguably the greatest three-level scorer ever we&rsquo;re talking about.
Forming a trio consisting of Durant, Embiid and Harden is simply unfathomable to envision. The possibilities are endless, and hopefully the third time would be the charm when it comes to the former Thunder teammates reuniting less than a year removed from their split.
Philadelphia can quickly make salaries work for Durant by adding in Tobias Harris, who reportedly has been on the trading block since Morey&rsquo;s arrival. According to Shams Charania of The Athletic, Brooklyn&rsquo;s asking price for Boston was a young player on a star trajectory (Jaylen Brown), a solid starter (Marcus Smart), another role player and multiple draft picks. The Sixers check every box in that scenario, which should automatically make them a viable dark-horse candidate.
Would a package centered around Maxey, Harris, Matisse Thybulle and Philadelphia&rsquo;s 2029 first-round pick with little to no protections be enough for the Nets to accept? For the Sixers, there&rsquo;s a real pathway to getting a top spot at the table once the dust settles sometime on Durant.
New Orleans Pelicans
In any superstar-type trade rumor, the Pelicans tend to pop up one way or another because of their newly assembled war chest of assets. Following the Anthony Davis and Jrue Holiday trades, New Orleans sits on a treasure trove of draft capital spanning the next five years.
At any point, Pelicans executive vice president David Griffin could decide to cash in on the last piece of the Pelicans&rsquo; puzzle to become the next version of the Suns &mdash; acquiring an established veteran star to take a talented young core over the top. CJ McCollum could qualify as such following the Pelicans&rsquo; deadline move for him, but what if Durant was intrigued enough to play alongside Zion Williamson in the Bayou?
Boston putting a player of Brown&rsquo;s caliber on the table makes this debate even more interesting. In my opinion, Brandon Ingram would be a better return in comparison to Brown for Durant. Both are on the same tier, but Ingram gets the slight edge for me. Witnessing his ascent on the postseason stage, Ingram is poised to take another step forward in his rapidly climbing career.
If the Nets desire a player who meets or exceeds Brown in trade talks, Ingram is the one who'll get the job done. The question in the end, of course, would be Durant&rsquo;s blessing. If Durant doesn&rsquo;t want to play the next four years in New Orleans, these thoughts would quickly dissipate into fantasy.
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However, you can&rsquo;t deny the Pelicans as a legitimate jaw-dropping destination because they have the list all checked off for Brooklyn&rsquo;s needs as well. Ingram is the young star, and Larry Nance Jr. qualifies as the ideal veteran role player. Maybe New Orleans would have to throw in either Herb Jones or Trey Murphy III on top of draft picks too. It's a massive asking price, but one that would be necessary to make something like this go down.
Until the Pelicans eventually cash in on what they've worked so hard to build, they will always be a sneaky contender for any eventual disgruntled superstar. And if the Pelicans rise as expected in 2022-23, they will become a destination anyway for win-now veterans.
Chicago Bulls
Outside of Philadelphia and New Orleans, we now reach the organization that would truly shock everyone. What about the Bulls? Would they be willing to throw an All-NBA player into another superstar deal?
DeMar DeRozan is only 11 months younger than Durant, but he is the best chip they could bring forward to Brooklyn. On top of DeRozan &mdash; whose salary wouldn&rsquo;t be enough in a straight-up swap &mdash; Chicago would presumably include a key piece of its young core. The obvious candidate is Patrick Williams; the former No. 4 overall pick flashed promising two-way potential before sustaining a wrist injury early last season, reentered the fold in late March and became a crucial component in the postseason. Then, Chicago would probably need to throw a solid role player into the mix. Either Lonzo Ball or Alex Caruso fit the Smart type of role we discussed previously.
Although Chicago gutted its draft capital in separate deals for DeRozan and Nikola Vucevic, the organization still owns a future pick from the Portland Trail Blazers that could convey as early as next season. The Bulls&rsquo; next eligible draft pick that can be included in a trade is their own 2027 first-round selection.
As I wrote earlier this offseason, the Bulls feel one big splash away from truly taking the next jump in the Eastern Conference. Rudy Gobert made so much sense to complete their defensive overhaul, but Durant represents a roster upgrade of seismic proportions &mdash; a bump that might be necessary to become a Finals contender the next few years. Why not push the chips in and see what happens with Durant and Zach LaVine as a 1-2 punch?
For a team that has to remain in win-now mode because of its draft picks being sent elsewhere, Brooklyn might be intrigued enough to listen to something centered around DeRozan, Williams and other assets.
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Atlanta Hawks
Fresh off making their own blockbuster trade to improve before the new league year, could the Hawks make sense as a Durant out-of-nowhere landing spot? There are very slim odds on that possibility, but it's a scenario worth exploring because Atlanta's roster still feels a move or two away.
Trae Young and Dejounte Murray will bring fireworks to the Hawks' backcourt on a nightly basis, but is the core right now strong enough to take the necessary steps forward in the reloaded East? We know at this point what John Collins and Clint Capela bring to the table. Bogdan Bogdanovic is a solid third guard for Atlanta, but injuries have become a problem as of late.
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Atlanta's young collection of players is what makes this thought interesting, at least for a moment. Would the Nets be intrigued by De'Andre Hunter, Onyeka Okongwu, A.J. Griffin and one of Collins, Capela or Bogdanovic to make salaries match? Compared to the other known suitors and ones already listed, it really isn't in the same stratosphere unless Brooklyn bets big on Hunter taking a huge leap. Based on Hunter's postseason performance, don't rule out the 24-year-old becoming more of a two-way focal point in Atlanta.
It might not be enough to be a real threat to swoop in for Durant, but it'd be wise to keep an eye on the Hawks as we get closer to February's trade deadline. If the Young/Murray backcourt gets off to a hot start, maybe Atlanta will go for broke and decide the time is now for a Finals push.
Milwaukee Bucks
Milwaukee is not a destination market for superstars, but Giannis Antetokounmpo brings enough pull to make it such. Giannis is nowhere close to escaping the prime of his career, but could you imagine him playing next to Durant? My goodness, that's basketball heaven right there.
Before we go too deep down that rabbit hole, though, it feels almost impossible regarding the actual odds of this happening. Not only are the Bucks starved of draft capital because of the Holiday trade, but Brooklyn would need to believe Middleton could replace Durant long-term. Only a few years younger than KD and deserving of a max contract next offseason, it might not make much sense for either side to even explore this potential thought.
For the Bucks to even bring a respectable offer to the table compared to everyone else, they would likely have to include Middleton and Holiday in a massive blockbuster that sends back both Durant and Kyrie Irving.
Yeah, that's for sure fantasy land right there, but I do appreciate the few minutes we had talking about Durant and Giannis playing on the same basketball team.
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With no end in clear sight right, who knows how long this standoff between Durant and the Nets lasts? As time continues to drag on, maybe some front office executives from teams we're not even thinking of decide to call Brooklyn to inquire about an all-time great.
George wanted the Lakers, but he ended up in Oklahoma City. Kawhi Leonard's desired destination was Los Angeles upon asking out of the San Antonio Spurs franchise, but he was sent packing to Toronto instead. There is a precedent where a superstar doesn't get what he wants in the end, but a player of Durant's caliber takes it up a whole new level.
The best interest of the Nets might not be what Durant wants, and vice versa. The next steps are falling into place regarding how this could all end, and a new pseudo deadline of training camp looms around the corner.
Whether Kevin Durant remains in Brooklyn by then remains to be seen, but one thing is for certain: The NBA has shown us time and again that anything is possible when it comes to superstar movement.

As the Kevin Durant trade saga reaches six-plus weeks, could teams come out of nowhere in potential negotiations? Evan Sidery dives in.

Identifying 5 sleeper NBA teams to trade for Kevin Durant

As we officially put the finishing touches on &ldquo;Bet Week&rdquo; here on BasketballNews.com, NBA over/under win total projections have been released for every team.
Which numbers stand out most to hammer one way or another from a betting perspective? In this piece, I unveil my over/under predictions for every team in the Western Conference. All odds are provided by DraftKings Sportsbook.
Phoenix Suns: Over 52.5 (-110)
Even if the Suns don&rsquo;t acquire Kevin Durant, they remain in an advantageous position to finish near the top of the Western Conference standings. Phoenix still has a stacked rotation, with the biggest difference being Dario Saric&rsquo;s return to the backup big role in place of JaVale McGee. If Devin Booker and the Suns&rsquo; formidable young core continue taking steps forward, it&rsquo;s hard to envision much of a drop-off occurring in the win-loss column.
Phoenix&rsquo;s postseason exit was one of the ugliest we&rsquo;ve seen in recent memory, but a loss like that could rattle this group enough to come back similarly to the team's Finals experience in 2021. I&rsquo;m hammering the over here, as the Suns remain one of the most dangerous squads in the Association. If Durant comes, that&rsquo;ll be the ultimate cherry on top.
Los Angeles Clippers: Over 52.5 (-110)
A fully healthy Clippers squad with Kawhi Leonard and Paul George will always stay in the conversation among the league's elite tier. Last season, we were all robbed of seeing this dynamic duo in action together, but all the time off leads me to believe we should see them play more than usual. If so, the over/under of 52.5 wins is one I&rsquo;m comfortable placing the over wager upon.
Los Angeles not only has a loaded rotation similar to Phoenix, but it has a historically potent wing tandem ready to go on a revenge tour. As one of my favorite bets in the West, lock in the Clippers&rsquo; over with the utmost confidence.
Golden State Warriors: Over 51.5 (-115)
The defending champions check in third in the West, which feels like an undersell of what they just accomplished. Stephen Curry is still playing at an all-time level, and Klay Thompson began to find his footing throughout the Warriors&rsquo; run to a championship.
Feeling confident in the over also has to do with the development of the team's younger, up-and-coming players. Though dependent upon how much more Golden State will go into the luxury tax long-term, Jordan Poole and Andrew Wiggins look to be entrenched long-term pieces. Jonathan Kuminga, Moses Moody and James Wiseman are the ultimate wildcards for Golden State. Even if only one takes off from a development perspective in 2022-23, 51.5 wins is a number to hit the over on.
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Denver Nuggets: Over 49.5 (-140)
Nikola Jokic enters this season as a trendy dark-horse selection for MVP as the back-to-back award winner, which is incredible to even think about. The Nuggets have stayed competitive amidst their countless injury issues because of Jokic&rsquo;s greatness.
Now, with Jamal Murray and Michael Porter Jr. eventually expected back at 100%, Denver is a team many bettors are hammering the over on with -140 moneyline odds on 49.5 wins. Frankly, I&rsquo;m in lockstep with the sportsbooks because Denver was a team that sneakily improved on the margins this offseason. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope was an underrated acquisition from the Washington Wizards, and he&rsquo;s earned a new multi-year extension upon his arrival.
If Murray and Porter&rsquo;s health cooperate alongside the all-world talent that is Jokic, 50 wins for the Nuggets just feels right to say. Even above that mark is an appropriate projection, because Jokic elevates the floor that much on his own.
Memphis Grizzlies: Under 48.5 (+105)
Ja Morant qualified as our <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/best-bets-for-202223-nba-most-valuable-player" target="_blank" rel="noopener">under-the-radar MVP selection</a> during &ldquo;Bet Week,&rdquo; but the loss of Jaren Jackson Jr. early on looms large for the Grizzlies. Although he flies under the radar a little bit too often, JJJ is an anchor to a defense that&rsquo;s done a complete 180 over the last year.
A lot will be on the plate of Morant, which he won&rsquo;t have a problem with, but what about the rest of the West? The Clippers and Nuggets are healthy now, plus the Suns and Warriors will remain in the title race as well. If Morant can carry the Grizzlies in similar territory without JJJ, his MVP argument could become very valid.
I&rsquo;m going to tread lightly on Memphis and select the under here with plus-money value. Morant will put up spectacular numbers once more, and Desmond Bane should continue to emerge in the backcourt. For my current projection, the Grizzlies will slot in as a No. 5 or No. 6 seed.
Dallas Mavericks: Under 48.5 (-105)
The argument against the Mavericks is almost identical to the one I just presented for Memphis. Luka Doncic enters as the heavy betting favorite for MVP, but will he alone be enough to lift Dallas into truly elite territory? That&rsquo;s one of my biggest questions entering 2022-23, because players like Doncic and Morant fit the billing of talents who can lift teams all on their own.
Months away from it now, it&rsquo;s still stunning to think back to the Mavs&rsquo; Game 7 shellacking of the Suns in the West semifinals. Once Doncic figured out Phoenix&rsquo;s defense, it was game over. Could Doncic do this to the rest of the league? There&rsquo;s no doubt he will put up monster numbers, but the Mavericks fit into the same tier as the Grizzlies right now around 47-48 wins.
Minnesota Timberwolves: Over 47.5 (-140)
I&rsquo;ll continue to bang the Minnesota drum until proven otherwise because I&rsquo;m all-in on the Timberwolves taking a huge step forward. Anthony Edwards checks every box for a young superstar, and their new addition in Rudy Gobert will augment a talented rotation. Karl-Anthony Towns being flanked by Gobert makes up one of the most unique frontcourt combinations we&rsquo;ve ever seen in the modern NBA, but this type of move is a risk an organization like Minnesota must take. Towns and Edwards are ready to win big soon, so adding an elite rim-protector like Gobert allows those gifted scorers to focus on that end.
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Bookmark this if you want, but here&rsquo;s perhaps my biggest hot take: Minnesota will win the Northwest Division and become a top-four seed. With how everything stacks together for Minnesota, this is a team well-positioned to take a leap similar to the one we&rsquo;ve seen from Phoenix and Memphis in recent years.
Los Angeles Lakers: Under 45.5 (-105)
Unless Kyrie Irving is walking through the door anytime soon, I&rsquo;m taking the money and running as quickly as possible on the Lakers' under here. LeBron James and Anthony Davis will do their usual damage, but this roster is nowhere close to being finished. Also, there&rsquo;s no way anyone can truly believe the Lakers are a Finals contender with their ongoing saga surrounding Russell Westbrook. From the very beginning, Westbrook&rsquo;s fit was super clunky alongside LeBron and AD. Now, the triple-double king continues to be the main target of trade rumors, many of which are linking him to the Indiana Pacers and San Antonio Spurs as a pure salary-dump option.
Indiana is <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/lakers-would-be-foolish-not-to-accept-pacers-lifeline-to-extend-their-title-window" target="_blank" rel="noopener">offering the Lakers a lifeline to fix the Westbrook situation</a>. The Pacers are willing to take on the $47 million owed to Westbrook while also sending Los Angeles back two starters in Myles Turner and Buddy Hield. The current hold-up in trade negotiations reportedly is draft pick compensation. Los Angeles refuses to offer its 2029 first-round pick on top of the 2027 selection, which the Pacers believe is more than a fair price to pay.
In the meantime, I&rsquo;m going to take the Lakers under 45.5 wins while it remains at plus value. Until any resolution is reached on the roster, I&rsquo;m betting against L.A.
New Orleans Pelicans: Over 44.5 (-140)
Compared to almost any other team in the NBA, New Orleans projects supremely well long-term if Zion Williamson&rsquo;s health cooperates. Williamson and Brandon Ingram have each shown on separate occasions they can be the No. 1 option for New Orleans. CJ McCollum and Jonas Valanciunas are ideal veteran pieces in the starting unit as well. Well-balanced on both ends of the court, the Pelicans have completely bought into what head coach Willie Green brought over from Monty Williams in Phoenix.
With Williamson, Ingram and McCollum, the Pelicans should be a team projected closer to 50 wins. I absolutely love the over here on 44.5 wins, so don&rsquo;t be surprised if New Orleans finishes as a playoff lock instead of a Play-In Tournament competitor.
Portland Trail Blazers: Under 40.5 (-110)
Kudos to Damian Lillard because he will not leave the Blazers hanging anytime soon. He&rsquo;s all-in on winning in Portland, which reminds me so much of Reggie Miller with the Pacers a few decades back. Portland re-signed Jusuf Nurkic and Anfernee Simons, but two notable splashes occurred this offseason. Jerami Grant is the Blazers&rsquo; first true wing threat in years, and the ultimate wildcard from the 2022 NBA Draft fell into their laps at No. 7 overall. What if Shaedon Sharpe hits his ceiling? That&rsquo;s something Portland has in their back pocket, because Sharpe&rsquo;s scoring prowess forecasts very well alongside Lillard. They'll just have to hope he can get healthy and stay healthy.
The West remains a tough customer though. So, with that being said, the Blazers fall into the category of a feisty team that&rsquo;s competitive most nights on their way to a sub-40-win campaign. It's certainly not the outcome Blazers fans hope for, but there&rsquo;s a large number of teams ahead of them at the moment.
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Sacramento Kings: Over 32.5 (-120)
The Kings actually had a good offseason. Yes, you&rsquo;re reading that right. Keegan Murray at No. 4 overall looks to be a lights-out scorer with an extremely high floor. Ideally, Murray can become the third piece to a long-term trio in Sacramento alongside De&rsquo;Aaron Fox and Domantas Sabonis. Also, don&rsquo;t forget about the Kings adding much-needed help on the perimeter with Kevin Huerter via trade and Malik Monk via free agency.
I had to double-take upon finding this fact, but the Kings have only exceeded 33 wins once over the last 14 years (2018-19 was that season).
Luckily for Sacramento, I&rsquo;m projecting them to finish with at least 33 wins for 2022-23. If the Kings underachieve once more, I wonder what the future looks like for an organization that stays in topsy-turvy mode.
Utah Jazz: Under 31.5 (-110)
Assuming Donovan Mitchell is eventually traded, this number will crumble down into the 20s. Utah is in the midst of a full-scale rebuild attempt for the first time in over a decade, and all signs point to Mitchell&rsquo;s exit soon enough from Salt Lake City. Gobert being dealt within the division to Minnesota for a historic amount of draft capital shook up the trade market for good, as it&rsquo;s holding up potential blockbusters revolving around Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving and Mitchell.
Moving forward, there&rsquo;s no reason why you should feel confident about betting the Utah over unless Mitchell keeps them above water staying around until February. If not, you&rsquo;re putting an awful lot of faith into the hands of Bojan Bogdanovic and Jordan Clarkson to carry the roster. (If they're there.)
The smart route is to go with the under for the Jazz. Lock in with extreme confidence that Jazz executive Danny Ainge eventually tears it all down within a few months.
Oklahoma City Thunder: Under 26.5 (+100)
Until the Thunder stop their tanking ways, I can&rsquo;t willfully bet an over on them. Following their aggressive draft night &mdash; obtaining three lottery picks headlined by No. 2 overall selection Chet Holmgren, who many viewed as the best overall player &mdash; maybe that "tanking" buzzword is in their rearview mirror.
OKC&rsquo;s roster is young, but the talent screams out as a team that could propel itself forward in a huge manner. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Josh Giddey profile as a super fun long-term backcourt pairing. Luguentz Dort is a pitbull defender who continues to improve his outside shot, which earned him a lucrative five-year extension.
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The Thunder could easily make me look foolish selecting the under, but something along the lines of 25 or 26 wins feels spot on. Can Sam Presti resist the temptation of not tanking for Victor Wembanyama or Scoot Henderson in 2023?
Houston Rockets: Over 23.5 (-125)
The Rockets have one of the most interesting young cores to monitor heading into next season. Jalen Green began to turn the corner over the last month of the season, averaging 22.3 points on a 59.9% True Shooting percentage. Jabari Smith Jr., Houston&rsquo;s No. 3 overall selection from the 2022 draft, projects as a score-first wing/big hybrid who should excel alongside Green and Kevin Porter Jr. Alperen Sengun, a throwback Turkish big man, is an underrated prospect with an unlimited ceiling once the small aspects of his game are figured out.
Houston is nowhere close to being competitive, but that&rsquo;s totally okay. The team controls the Brooklyn Nets&rsquo; draft for the next season years, so the Rockets are set up arguably as well as anyone right now with the chaos surrounding that whole situation. If the youth jells together and the organization obtains another top pick in next year&rsquo;s draft, be on the lookout for this core to ascend.
For the over/under, 23.5 wins feels a little low, in my opinion. I&rsquo;m projecting the Rockets with 25 victories, so give me the over at -125 odds on DraftKings.
San Antonio Spurs: Under 22.5 (-110)
Once Dejounte Murray was traded to the Atlanta Hawks, it sounded the alarm that the Spurs are finally waiving the white flag on competing for wins effective immediately. San Antonio obtained three future first-round picks for Murray, a haul for a team pressing the reset button at the perfect time.
Las Vegas projects the Spurs with the worst over/under for next season, and there&rsquo;s no real reason to go against them there. Keldon Johnson will put up numbers following his long-term extension, but inexperience is the main theme for San Antonio. The Spurs should be on their way to 20 wins or less, so hammer the under.

Evan Sidery goes over win totals for the Western Conference. Who stands out?

Best Bets: NBA Western Conference over/under projections

As we begin to officially put the finishing touches on &ldquo;Bet Week&rdquo; here on BasketballNews.com, NBA over/under win total projections have been released for every team.
Which numbers stand out most to hammer one way or another from a betting perspective? In this piece, I unveil my over/under predictions for every team in the Eastern Conference. All odds are provided by DraftKings Sportsbook.
Boston Celtics: Over 54.5 (-130)
The defending Eastern Conference champions headline the best win total of any team in the league on DraftKings, checking in at an impressive 54.5 projected wins. Boston not only improved its roster following a Finals loss to the Golden State Warriors, but the team added some real contributors who will hold immense value with Malcolm Brogdon and Danilo Gallinari. Also, Robert Williams staying healthy all season long would be a huge boost for an already elite defensive unit.
We&rsquo;re hammering the over here because the Celtics have all the necessary ingredients in place to finish with 55 or more wins. Not only can their rotation easily go 10 players deep, but Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown are two dynamic stars at the most important position on the court. Even if the Celtics were to swing a jaw-dropping trade sending out Brown for Kevin Durant, this team should be in a magnificent spot to hit this projected mark with ease.
Milwaukee Bucks: Over 52.5 (-115)
It&rsquo;s never wise to bet against Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Bucks. More often than not, they always hit their overs when the roster is fully cooperating from a health perspective. Giannis is a player I&rsquo;ve highlighted over the last week who is in prime position to make a serious push for multiple awards like Most Valuable Player and Defensive Player of the Year. If that indeed comes to fruition and Giannis sets a rampage throughout the NBA, Milwaukee will be one of the most dangerous teams entering postseason play.
The Bucks&rsquo; team-building job is a lot easier with Giannis onboard, but Khris Middleton and Jrue Holiday are bona fide sub-stars who showed their true value during the team's 2020-21 title run. Also, re-signing Bobby Portis to a long-term deal was huge for the Bucks because he fits so well alongside Giannis as their complimentary stretch big.
Once more, I love the over to hit here at -115 odds on DraftKings. If Giannis stays healthy, the Bucks should cruise to 50-plus wins while posing a real threat to upend Boston atop the East standings.
Philadelphia 76ers: Over 49.5 (-140)
Joel Embiid and James Harden joining forces was always Daryl Morey&rsquo;s dream vision in Philadelphia. Following a rough and quick postseason exit, it feels like the light finally turned on for good with Harden. All offseason long, Harden has reportedly stayed in shape while re-signing a team-friendly, one-plus-one contract, and two of his former teammates in Houston have joined the fray.
The Sixers signing PJ Tucker, albeit at age-37, is a massive move to bring aboard much-needed physical toughness to a roster sorely lacking it. Danuel House Jr. will also provide some two-way versatility off Philadelphia&rsquo;s bench. Also, the draft night trade with the Memphis Grizzlies for De&rsquo;Anthony Melton continues to be overlooked. Arguably the perfect complementary third guard to place alongside Harden and Tyrese Maxey, Melton should thrive within this role, as he mastered it next to Ja Morant.
Health is a huge question mark when examining the long-term gains of this over/under of 49.5. Will Embiid play most of the season? If so, this is another simple nod to the over. However, with an already deep history of injuries, tread lightly here on Philadelphia. Rolling the dice, I&rsquo;m taking the over while praying Embiid puts together another fully dominant campaign.
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Miami Heat: Over 48.5 (-125)
As always, the Heat are flying under the radar entering another season. It was an offseason filled with little to no activity for Miami outside of re-signing Victor Oladipo and Caleb Martin. Plus, they seem like massive long shots to ever enter the potential trade race for Durant after originally being a preferred destination alongside the Phoenix Suns.
Miami is returning a loaded rotation, although losing Tucker to a conference rival will sting a little bit. This is an over/under bet where you simply trust the system in place. Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo are top-30 players in the Association. Tyler Herro is an emerging young star who is the betting favorite to win Sixth Man of the Year in consecutive seasons. Erik Spoelstra remains one of the game&rsquo;s elite-tier tacticians too.
Add it all together, and Miami should flirt with a 50-win season in 2022-23. Trust the process and &ldquo;Heat Culture&rdquo; for the team to slide its way into a top-three seed in the East.
Atlanta Hawks: Under 46.5 (-105)
What a splashy offseason it was for Atlanta following its embarrassing postseason exit at the hands of Miami. The Heat exposed the Hawks&rsquo; lack of ball-handling help to take pressure off superstar point guard Trae Young. Now, with an all-in move for Dejounte Murray, Atlanta wants to surge up the East ladder. Can the Hawks recapture the 2020-21 magic with an All-Star backcourt pairing? Paying the heavy price the team did for Murray, Atlanta better hope this meshes as well as it looks on-paper.
For our projection, though, we&rsquo;re going with the under at a slight underdog value at -105. Similarly to the Western Conference, the East is setting up to be a war, so the top eight could all be mixed together by season&rsquo;s end. Teams such as Atlanta could be the prime example here, because 46.5 wins truly feels right on the money. In the end, a 45 or 46-win season for the Hawks would be a success, while also cashing plus money for those who bet the under.
Brooklyn Nets: Under 45.5 (-105)
I truly have no clue how this team should be viewed right now. With Kevin Durant still holding firm on his trade request, the 45.5 number here just feels like too much. If Durant is off the Nets anytime soon, Kyrie Irving would probably soon follow him out. It&rsquo;s a ticking time bomb right now, so avoiding this bet entirely is the smartest play possible.
Brooklyn did a fantastic job outside of the Durant and Irving fiasco to add more depth to a team ready to push for a title. However, because of all the uncertainty, getting the under on 45.5 wins at plus money odds is simply too good to pass up.
Toronto Raptors: Over 45.5 (-110)
One of my favorite teams projected to take a massive leap forward in 2022-23, the Raptors finished the regular season off strong before their postseason exit against Philadelphia. Scottie Barnes established himself as a true building block. Pascal Siakam and Fred VanVleet are entrenched core pieces. With OG Anunoby and Gary Trent Jr. as the team's fourth and fifth-best players, it goes to show how loaded Toronto can become. The Raptors added more depth and remain a top contender to secure Durant&rsquo;s services, if the Nets indeed decide to trade him.
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Whether Durant comes to Canada or not, I absolutely love the Raptors as a team who should be pushing closer to 50 wins compared to 40. Hammer the Raptors over here to oblivion as they establish themselves as a real Finals threat this season.
Chicago Bulls: Under 43.5 (+100)
As I wrote earlier this offseason, Rudy Gobert felt like the missing piece to the puzzle for the Bulls to become a real threat in the East long-term. Now, with Gobert on the Minnesota Timberwolves, where does Chicago realistically go to pivot? It&rsquo;s hard to see a clear answer right now, which is concerning over an extended window. The Bulls backed up the Brink&rsquo;s truck for Zach LaVine, who definitely deserved the lucrative payday. LaVine and DeMar DeRozan form a dynamic scoring combination, but who else can help take this team into another tier?
Patrick Williams is a potential name to watch develop, but the real questions loom in the backcourt, for me. Goran Dragic signing in Chicago was very interesting, because the team already has a glut of guards on its roster: Lonzo Ball, Alex Caruso, Ayo Dosunmu and Dalen Terry. With Ball&rsquo;s shoulder sidelining him last season, how concerning is that moving forward? For those wanting to monitor the betting lines for Chicago, Ball is an underrated piece to its early-season success as a connective two-way presence.
With the East even tougher, plus some looming concerns in the short and long-term view, I&rsquo;m hammering +100 value on the Bulls to finish as a Play-In Tournament team vs. being a playoff lock.
Cleveland Cavaliers: Over 42.5 (-135)
Similarly to Toronto, this is another squad I'll love to slam the over on. The 42.5-win number here is too small for Cleveland, especially with its young core jelling together even further. Darius Garland, Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen make up one of my favorite young trios in the Association, and I&rsquo;m betting big on the three taking another huge step forward.
Don&rsquo;t forget, the Cavaliers were rolling before injuries to countless rotation members begin to be too much to overcome. Caris LeVert, a midseason acquisition, should look much more comfortable in J.B. Bickerstaff&rsquo;s system. Collin Sexton&rsquo;s status remains unclear, but he&rsquo;s a spark-plug scorer who would take immediate pressure off Garland.
Las Vegas is leaning towards projecting the Cavs as a playoff team, and I&rsquo;m siding with them as well.
New York Knicks: Over 39.5 (-110)
Just like their cross-town rivals in the Nets, betting on a Knicks over/under win total right now isn&rsquo;t smart. Wait to see how the dust settles for Donovan Mitchell in Utah first before deciding upon any Knicks-related props.
However, for my projection on Aug. 8, I&rsquo;m betting on Mitchell to eventually land in New York before the regular season begins. With Mitchell, New York feels like a real playoff contender. However, even after signing Jalen Brunson, this Knicks team feels rather incomplete compared to other squads.
This one is simple: If Mitchell arrives, it&rsquo;s a yes on the over. If not, stay away and hit the under instead.
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Charlotte Hornets: Under 36.5 (-105)
Here's another organization that feels incomplete at the moment, especially with the ongoing legal situation surrounding Miles Bridges. As currently constructed, the up-and-coming Hornets feel further away than they did last season. Although Gordon Hayward and Terry Rozier are solid veterans for Charlotte, I don&rsquo;t put them on the same tier as the Cavaliers or Knicks. LaMelo Ball is approaching full-blown superstardom, but who else around him will be able to help consistently? This may be a hot take, but it might be in the Hornets&rsquo; best interest to bottom out for a year hoping to land a top pick for a stacked 2023 NBA Draft.
If there&rsquo;s one team poised to regress from Play-In contender to lottery team, Charlotte certainly stands out, and I&rsquo;ll take the under at plus value.
Washington Wizards: Under 35.5 (-115)
Are the Wizards in win-now mode? It certainly seems that way after Bradley Beal signed the dotted line on a supermax deal. The time to put together a winner in D.C. is throughout Beal&rsquo;s hefty contract, but this team still isn&rsquo;t close to being a real threat. In my opinion, Washington continues to stand out as the premiere &ldquo;blow it up&rdquo; squad because of Beal&rsquo;s uncertain status. Now, with a no-trade clause, Beal pretty much runs the entire show now.
Washington added a starting point guard in Monte Morris, but that&rsquo;s not enough to really make a sizable improvement unless Beal bounces-back with authority. The team's young players also need to take much-needed steps forward. At this moment, I&rsquo;m betting against all of that occurring next season. As a slight favorite, feel comfortable selecting the under on the Wizards.
Detroit Pistons: Under 28.5 (-105)
It&rsquo;s hard to argue against the Pistons possessing one of the most promising young cores in the East. Jaden Ivey and Jalen Duren are ideal pieces to put alongside former No. 1 overall pick Cade Cunningham, who began to flash superstar potential during the second half of his rookie season.
While the Pistons added foundational pillars this offseason, the team is still ripe with inexperience. The rebuild remains ongoing in Detroit, but the exit signs are approaching. In the meantime, the young core is prioritized over wins this upcoming season.
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Although a 30-win campaign sounds fun, another top selection in 2023 could really take this team to heights it hasn't experienced in decades. Bet on the under here, especially as the tank race hits overdrive post-All-Star break.
Orlando Magic: Over 26.5 (-120)
Paolo Banchero brings an alpha mentality that&rsquo;s been missing forever in Orlando. The No. 1 pick has the ultimate runway to produce immediately, which is why he&rsquo;s the <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/best-bets-on-202223-nba-rookie-of-the-year" target="_blank" rel="noopener">betting favorite to win Rookie of the Year</a>. Banchero could be a 20-plus point scorer right away, but don&rsquo;t forget about some other enticing young talent in Orlando. Franz Wagner established himself as a core piece, producing excellent all-around numbers. Wendell Carter Jr. is a double-double machine with playmaking chops for a big man. Jalen Suggs hit the rookie wall, but if he can round into form it'll add another aggressive scorer to the equation. Plus, there's the returning Markelle Fultz as well.
Orlando owns one of the youngest rosters in the NBA, but it consistently showed heart by keeping a lot of games close. If Banchero&rsquo;s adjustment is smooth, I actually like betting the favorite option here on the over. Something along the lines of a 27-55 season feels spot-on for Orlando.
Indiana Pacers: Under 24.5 (-115)
Rounding out the East&rsquo;s over/unders list is the Pacers, who are now creating a noticeable difference at the bottom. With two games separating Indiana from Orlando, it shows how little faith Vegas has in this team winning a lot of games next season.
Tyrese Haliburton is the face of the franchise in Indiana now, as the team begins a rebuild over 30 years in the making. Bennedict Mathurin, the No. 6 overall pick in the 2022 NBA Draft, brings a score-first approach that should mesh seamlessly in the backcourt next to Haliburton. Isaiah Jackson and Jalen Smith are two young bigs who have flashed two-way potential in addition.
Outside of that, trade rumors are the main subject ongoing in Indiana. According to The Athletic&rsquo;s Bob Kravitz, Indiana would prefer to trade Myles Turner and Buddy Hield this offseason. Neither player fits the organization&rsquo;s new timeline, and the Pacers should be able to fetch some real value in return.
Indiana is a team that really stands out as a prime contender to enter a full-on tank. For an organization that has never drafted No. 1, it would change everything for the Pacers to have some good fortune. Finally embracing a rebuild, maybe lady luck is finally on their side for good.
With that being said, my most confident play is the Pacers under 24.5 wins cashing.

Evan Sidery goes over win totals for the Eastern Conference. Who stands out?

Best Bets: NBA Eastern Conference over/under projections

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

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

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

Resetting the conversation around Donovan Mitchell's superstar stature

LeBron James has once again caused a stir throughout the sports world.
No, I&rsquo;m not talking about his 42-point performance at The Drew League, or the rumors of him being in favor of a reunion with Kyrie Irving with the Los Angeles Lakers. Instead, I'm referencing the apparent outrage he caused for the city of Boston and its sports fan base
During the most recent episode of UNINTERRUPTED&rsquo;s The Shop, LeBron was asked, &ldquo;Why do you hate Boston?&rdquo; He responded, &ldquo;Because they&rsquo;re racist as f**k."
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Upon hearing news of LeBron&rsquo;s statement, many people didn&rsquo;t exactly consider this &ldquo;breaking news," as Boston has historically had a rich history of being exactly what LeBron described. However, there were a large amount of Boston fans who took to social media to take exception to LeBron&rsquo;s generalization of the entire city. But was he wrong?
You don&rsquo;t have to get Dr. Emmett Brown to fire up his <a href="https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&amp;rct=j&amp;q=&amp;esrc=s&amp;source=web&amp;cd=&amp;cad=rja&amp;uact=8&amp;ved=2ahUKEwjhoPPz5YL5AhUDhIkEHS9JCd4QwqsBegQIAxAB&amp;url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DI5cYgRnfFDA&amp;usg=AOvVaw3yzsh2Y3Z5nk0s22_1_2pU" target="_blank" rel="noopener">DeLorean time machine with the 1.21 gigawatts</a> to revisit the 1960s, as Bill Russell has long described his racist encounters with Boston fans. And over time, plenty of professional athletes from every sport have made their racist encounters in Boston publicly known.&nbsp;
Let's look at some of those examples.
In his rookie season with the Celtics, Dee Brown was <a href="https://apnews.com/article/a34620ecfa0605c35908d7f1b858b427" target="_blank" rel="noopener">physically snatched out of his car and ordered to lay on the ground with a gun pointed at him by Boston police</a> while driving in a white neighborhood. The police later claimed that he &ldquo;resembled a suspect."
This falls right in line with <a href="https://www.wgbh.org/news/local-news/2020/06/12/black-people-made-up-70-percent-of-boston-police-stops-department-data-show" target="_blank" rel="noopener">recent data collected from the Boston Police Department</a> in June 2020. It unveiled that "70% of people stopped by Boston police officers through the department&rsquo;s 'Field Interrogation and Observation' program throughout were Black &mdash; even though Black residents comprise less than one quarter of the city&rsquo;s population."
In May 2014, Montreal Canadiens defenceman P.K. Subban of the National Hockey League was vocal about <a href="https://thehockeynews.com/news/habs-bruins-denounce-fans-who-made-racist-comments-towards-subban-on-social-media" target="_blank" rel="noopener">racist tweets and comments from Boston fans on social media</a> after his double-overtime game-winning goal in a playoff win over the Bruins. This wasn&rsquo;t a case of fans simply being upset that their team lost; these were racial epithets being specifically targeted against a Black player.
Over in Major League Baseball, Baltimore Orioles outfielder Adam Jones told reporters in May 2017 that Boston fans <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/mlb/2017/05/01/orioles-adam-jones-berated-racist-taunts-fenway-park-peanuts/101187172/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">hurled racial epithets at him for an entire game</a>.
&ldquo;A disrespectful fan threw a bag of peanuts at me,&rdquo; Jones said via <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/mlb/2017/05/01/orioles-adam-jones-berated-racist-taunts-fenway-park-peanuts/101187172/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">USA Today&rsquo;s Bob Nightengale</a>. &ldquo;I was called the N-word a handful of times tonight. It&rsquo;s unfortunate that people need to resort to those type of epithets to degrade another human being. I&rsquo;m trying to make a living for myself and for my family.&rdquo;
Former Celtic and current Brooklyn Nets point guard Kyrie Irving has been vocal about various encounters he has had with the fans of Boston. Irving didn&rsquo;t give any specific examples to reporters, but rather imported fans at TD Gardens to keep it &ldquo;strictly basketball."
Further, Celtics guard Marcus Smart seemingly supported Irving&rsquo;s comments. Back in October 2020, he <a href="https://www.theplayerstribune.com/posts/marcus-smart-nba-boston-celtics-covid-racial-injustice" target="_blank" rel="noopener">penned an article for The Players' Tribune</a>, detailing an encounter with a white woman in Boston.
Smart wrote about a time he attempted to be a good Samaritan and told a white woman, who was actually wearing a Celtics jersey, to be careful walking in the street as she was in the direct line of oncoming traffic. Instead of thanking him, the woman turned around and hurled a racial epithet directly at Smart.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve heard a couple of them,&rdquo; Smart <a href="https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&amp;rct=j&amp;q=&amp;esrc=s&amp;source=web&amp;cd=&amp;cad=rja&amp;uact=8&amp;ved=2ahUKEwj66pnd9IL5AhXskIkEHX_ECb0QtwJ6BAgcEAI&amp;url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DyE0VVQova78&amp;usg=AOvVaw0jg8MlJ31eU3VDMJsz0FAs" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said in the middle of the Celtics-Nets playoff series in May 2021</a>. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s kind of sad and sickening because even though it&rsquo;s an opposing team, we have guys on your home team that you&rsquo;re saying these racial slurs and you&rsquo;re expecting us to go out there and play for you.&rdquo;
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So to those who were unaware, yes, racism is definitely alive and thriving in the city of Boston &mdash; but is it fair to label the entire city of Boston as racist?&nbsp;
I interviewed Celtics legend Bill Russell for <a href="http://www.akashicbooks.com/catalog/we-matter-athletes-and-activism/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">my book</a>, "We Matter: Athletes And Activism," to try to answer that question, and this is what he told me:
"Well, one thing you have to always remember is that the majority of the country are decent folks. The majority of white people are decent folks. And I was always very careful not to stereotype people based on the actions of a few, or a little more than a few, as was the case in Boston," Russell said. "... A lot of the stuff that went on, I knew they were individual acts and not a reflection of everybody in Boston. I see many people today who who really believe that Black folks are responsible for all of the actions of other Black folks, and that&rsquo;s just ridiculous. And it&rsquo;s just as crazy for me to think that all white people were responsible for the ones that treated me and my family so poorly, broke into my house and destroyed my property for no reason at all...
"But just because I said that I don&rsquo;t put all white people in the same boat doesn&rsquo;t mean I don&rsquo;t still recognize that too many white people looked at me as less than, and no matter what they thought, I wasn&rsquo;t about to allow them to treat me as less than."
Powerful words by a giant in NBA history and one of the great athlete-activists the game has ever seen.&nbsp;
Celtics guard Jaylen Brown has addressed Irving&rsquo;s comments as well, but also brought light to the fact that racism extends far beyond the borders of athletics in Boston. During Brown&rsquo;s media availability prior to Game 3 against Brooklyn in May 2021, he <a href="https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/31529162/boston-celtics-jaylen-brown-spotlights-systematic-racism-says-bigger-basketball" target="_blank" rel="noopener">spoke about systemic racism in the city of Boston and, to Russell&rsquo;s point, that every Boston fan isn&rsquo;t racist</a>.
&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t think we should have to put up with that, and I don&rsquo;t think that&rsquo;s okay," Brown said. "I think that racism should be addressed, and systemic racism should be addressed in the city of Boston and also the United States... The constructs of racism in our school system, inequality in education, lack of opportunity, lack of affordable housing, lack of affordable health care, tokenism &mdash; the list goes on.
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&ldquo;I know that every Celtics fan in our arena is not a racist. We have people of all walks of life, ethnicities, colors, that are die-hard Celtics fans. So I think painting every Celtics fan as a racist would be unfair. However, Boston, we&rsquo;ve got a lot of work to do, no question.&rdquo;
So, in conclusion, yes, Boston has a very long history &mdash; past and present &mdash; when it comes to racism, but it&rsquo;s not everybody.
Hopefully, the non-racist white people of Boston will be inspired to prove LeBron wrong, displaying the moral courage and feeling obligated to no longer remain silent in the face of being surrounded by prevalent racism (both systemically and on a personal level, such as Boston fans yelling racial epithets at players).
Hopefully, the non-racist white people of Boston will become agents of change, equality, justice and unity.
As Angela Davis said, &ldquo;In a racist society, it&rsquo;s not enough to be non-racist, we must be anti-racist.&rdquo;&nbsp;
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Etan Thomas reacts to LeBron James' latest comments on "The Shop" about city of Boston and its sports fan base.

LeBron isn’t wrong about Boston fans' racist history — past or present

Back on Jan. 11, I listened to The Dunker Spot and thought long and hard about this insight from Steve Jones Jr.:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
More really really good stuff that I&rsquo;m still reflecting on. They talk about a ton. Here&rsquo;s the pod link: <a href="https://t.co/4h3Uj97ATE">https://t.co/4h3Uj97ATE</a> <a href="https://t.co/559XmwNp7M">pic.twitter.com/559XmwNp7M</a>
&mdash; Ethan Fuller (@ethman43) <a href="https://twitter.com/ethman43/status/1480920588768133122?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 11, 2022</a></blockquote>

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On that date, the Boston Celtics had a 20-21 record and were tied for 10th in the Eastern Conference standings with the New York Knicks. A couple of weeks later, everything started to change for a squad that would go on to reach Game 6 of the NBA Finals.
Yet, <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-stats-notebook-theres-a-3point-standoff-between-the-celtics-and-bucks" target="_blank" rel="noopener">I noticed a similar pattern</a> during Boston's second-round playoff series. The Golden State Warriors were content to help off perimeter shooters in the Finals as well, putting their defensive focus on Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown's drives to the basket.
Grant Williams, Al Horford, Marcus Smart and (later) Derrick White could catch fire all they wanted, but defenses didn't respect them in the winter, and they still didn't respect them in the NBA Finals. If Boston wants to draw help away from its primary initiators, it needs off-ball pests that opponents cannot afford to forget about.
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According to several reports, the Celtics plan to sign Danilo Gallinari when he clears waivers after being bought out by the San Antonio Spurs. The rumored deal is for two years and $13 million, making him a value addition using the taxpayer mid-level exception.&nbsp;
Gallinari has a clear objective: To be that pest.
Second Spectrum categorizes a "wide open" shot as an attempt with no defender within 6 feet of the shooter. Here's a look at how frequently the Celtics' complementary shooters attempted wide-open threes in the regular season (playoffs in parentheses). At the end, I added Gallinari's regular-season numbers with the Hawks.
(Note: Mobile users scroll right to view the full table)
<table style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 100%; height: 198px;" border="1">
<tbody>
<tr style="height: 44px;">
<td style="width: 23.9515%; height: 44px;">Player</td>
<td style="height: 44px;">Total 3PA/Game</td>
<td style="height: 44px;">Wide Open/Game</td>
<td style="width: 28.129%; height: 44px;">Freq. of Wide-Open 3PA </td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 22px;">
<td style="width: 23.9515%; height: 22px;">Marcus Smart</td>
<td style="height: 22px;">5.1 (6.5)</td>
<td style="height: 22px;">2.6 (3.0)</td>
<td style="width: 28.129%; height: 22px;">51.4% (46.7%)</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 22px;">
<td style="width: 23.9515%; height: 22px;">Al Horford</td>
<td style="height: 22px;">3.8 (4.3)</td>
<td style="height: 22px;">3.0 (3.2)</td>
<td style="width: 28.129%; height: 22px;">76.2% (74.5%)</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 22px;">
<td style="width: 23.9515%; height: 22px;">Grant Williams</td>
<td style="height: 22px;">3.4 (3.7)</td>
<td style="height: 22px;">2.6 (2.3)</td>
<td style="width: 28.129%; height: 22px;">67.8% (70.8%)</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 22px;">
<td style="width: 23.9515%; height: 22px;">Derrick White</td>
<td style="height: 22px;">4.3 (3.6)</td>
<td style="height: 22px;">2.7 (2.5)</td>
<td style="width: 28.129%; height: 22px;">59.5% (74.7%)</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 22px;">
<td style="width: 23.9515%; height: 22px;">Payton Pritchard</td>
<td style="height: 22px;">3.5 (3.0)</td>
<td style="height: 22px;">1.9 (1.2)</td>
<td style="width: 28.129%; height: 22px;">54.7% (38.9%)</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 44px;">
<td style="width: 23.9515%; height: 44px;">Danilo Gallinari</td>
<td style="height: 44px;">4.5</td>
<td style="height: 44px;">1.5</td>
<td style="width: 28.129%; height: 44px;">33.6%</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
Look at that far right column. Gallinari was covered much more frequently than any other Celtic (except Pritchard in the postseason) while playing for an Atlanta Hawks team with several proven perimeter threats.&nbsp;
Defenses don't want Gallinari getting open looks. They will keep tabs on him and try to impede his shot. And not only is Gallinari a career 38.2% marksman from long-range, but his shot diet feels like an elixir for Boston's young stars.
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In the first, second and fourth clips here, you see Trae Young either draw wing defenders over to help or draw full-on double-teams. Gallinari is perched one pass away as an easy outlet. His range is apparent, and he's unbothered by late contests. Gallinari historically launches tons of these above-the-break threes, and he's been efficient from that zone throughout most of his career.
Opposing defenses planted a target on Tatum whenever he drove to the basket in the playoffs. In this video series below, watch how defenders are cheating to the nail or helping off the strong-side corners. It doesn't matter who the nearest shooting outlet is; they perceived Tatum as the primary threat and lived with the consequences.
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If Gallinari is positioned one pass away from Tatum on these drives, opponents have to change their calculus.
The montage centered on Tatum because he is the centerpiece of Boston's offense. Gallinari won't always share the floor with him, but the advantages remain the same whether it's Brown, Smart, White or <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-trade-offseason-news-boston-celtics-malcolm-brogdon-fit-brad-stevens-jayson-tatum-jaylen-brown" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Malcolm Brogdon driving that basketball</a>. Having that shooter one pass over makes the defender pause just a smidge longer and keeps those driving lanes just a tad wider. And if the defense doesn't adjust, Gallinari makes them pay.
No, Gallinari does not buzz around the perimeter like Stephen Curry or Duncan Robinson. But he's a proven sharpshooter who moves well enough to be a weapon for Ime Udoka unlike anyone else on the roster. As a well-built 6-foot-10 forward, Gallinari is also big enough to be used occasionally as a screener and on pick-and-pop plays.
He's even a solid post-up scorer; per Second Spectrum, Gallinari's 56.1% clip on shots out of a post touch ranked ninth out of 68 NBA players to log at least 30 such attempts last season.
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However, as past Celtics have shown, three-point firepower alone won't prop a player up in this rotation. Gallinari has two questionable areas worth addressing up front.
First: What happens when the defense effectively contests him?
Gallinari has a soft spot for the mid-range pull-up off a catch.
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Age has sapped much of his downhill speed, and he didn't play with the same level of physicality driving last year. Gallinari too often settles for these undesirable shots. In fairness, he can knock these down when in rhythm, and has hovered in the low-40s with his long mid-range field goal percentage in recent seasons, per Cleaning the Glass.&nbsp;
But he's rarely attacking closeouts to get to the rim, and isn't a particularly proficient passer. In that last clip, he misses an easy kick-out to an open De'Andre Hunter. Boston creates advantages when its perimeter players attack open space and make the right play &mdash; shot or pass. Williams, for example, grew leaps and bounds driving out of the corners last season. Gallinari will need to exhibit similar traits to maintain the offensive flow.
An even larger hurdle will be Gallinari's defense. In polite terms, it's not a natural fit.
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The 33-year-old was a target in Atlanta. He's just severely limited in his mobility. Gallinari works as hard as he can with his foot speed, but once a defender gets his weight going backward, it's over. He doesn't have the length or bounce to recover, or even be a deterrent when contesting shots.&nbsp;
Because he can't use his size effectively, Gallinari often struggles to navigate screens. He's generally got a solid grasp of positioning and awareness, but smaller lapses become magnified with his limited athletic tools. Gallinari is a lot like Pritchard in the sense that their physical makeup sets the standard of technique and focus so much higher.
Barring mass injuries, the Celtics will bring Gallinari off the bench, keeping him out of the scopes of today's top NBA scorers who he faced in the above reel. However, "hiding" players on defense is far easier said than done &mdash; no matter their playing time. Udoka will need to find coverages that keep Gallinari away from the ball, and Gallinari will need to sync up with the communicative, quick-thinking requirements of playing in Boston's schemes.&nbsp;
We've seen past players get off to slow shooting starts, fail to keep up on defense and disappear from the rotation. Aaron Nesmith and Juan Hernangomez faded during the regular season, and even Pritchard was hanging onto minutes by a thread during the Finals. Gallinari must meet a certain threshold on defense to keep himself afloat in the rotation.
But if he can do that, he's not just a necessary perimeter presence &mdash; Gallinari could hold a cure-all for Boston's offense.

Danilo Gallinari's perimeter shooting prowess gives Boston an offensive weapon it sorely needs.

Could Danilo Gallinari hold a cure-all for the Boston Celtics' offense?

The New York Knicks have high hopes for the 2024-25 season after a series of offseason moves to bolster their roster. Boasting a revamped starting lineup of Jalen Brunson, Josh Hart, Mikal Bridges, OG Anunoby, and Karl-Anthony Towns, Coach Tom Thibodeau has leaned heavily on this five-man unit by relying on their defensive versatility and scoring prowess to carry the team night after night. Yet this dependency raises questions about sustainability, with risks of fatigue, injuries, and late-game breakdowns looming over a long NBA season.&nbsp;
The Knicks&rsquo; starting five are logging heavy minutes early in the season. Jalen Brunson, in particular, is averaging over 35 minutes per game as the team&rsquo;s primary playmaker and scorer. Meanwhile, Mikal Bridges and OG Anunoby are also averaging significant playing time, tasked with balancing offensive responsibilities while handling tough defensive assignments on opposing wings. Towns, who is crucial on both ends by providing floor spacing on offense and size on defense, is also averaging close to 35 minutes per game. These players are giving their all each night, but the mileage can add up as the season moves along.
NBA history shows that overextending starters early in the season can lead to burnout, and Thibodeau is no stranger to this trend. In his previous coaching stints, especially with the Chicago Bulls and Minnesota Timberwolves, Thibodeau&rsquo;s teams experienced both early success and, ultimately, the cost of fatigue and injuries. During those stints, key players who logged high minutes often missed time later due to injuries or wore down in critical playoff moments.
The Knicks&rsquo; reliance on their starters has led to noticeable fatigue in the fourth quarter. The high-minute load impacts shooting accuracy, defensive effectiveness, and overall energy levels down the stretch. In recent games, the Knicks&rsquo; fourth-quarter stats reflect a slight decline in scoring efficiency, with players missing more shots and committing more fouls late in the game. This is particularly concerning in close matchups, where even minor drops in performance can shift the game&rsquo;s outcome. Opposing teams, with fresher players, often capitalize on the Knicks&rsquo; tired legs, exploiting gaps on defense and taking control in the final minutes.
If the Knicks are to reach their potential, Thibodeau may need to expand his rotation to preserve the health and effectiveness of his starters.
A balanced rotation could alleviate these issues. However, it doesn&rsquo;t help that starting center Mitchell Robinson is still yet to come back from an injury, as well as regular contributor Precious Achiuwa. The Knicks&rsquo; bench is shallow as of the moment with only Cameron Payne, Miles McBride, and at times Jericho Sims as players who can step in to relieve starters and bring fresh energy. Rookies Tyler Kolek, Pacome Dadiet, and Ariel Hukporti have had good summer league performances and showed something interesting in the preseason, but Coach Thibs has yet to commit to trusting rookies during the regular season. However, by giving a little bit more minutes on their reserves, the Knicks would have the flexibility to keep their starters fresh, reducing the risk of late-game lapses and helping maintain energy throughout the season.
High minutes also correlate with an increased risk of injury, a risk that only compounds as the season progresses. For players like Brunson and Anunoby, who play physically demanding roles, the toll of heavy minutes can lead to strains and nagging injuries. Towns and Bridges, though durable, have histories of minor injuries, and prolonged wear could increase their risk as well. If any starter were to miss time, it could disrupt the team&rsquo;s chemistry and potentially derail their season.
The Knicks have already invested heavily in this core, both financially and strategically, so ensuring their health and longevity is critical. Coach Thibodeau&rsquo;s emphasis on conditioning may help, but even the best-conditioned athletes can fall prey to injuries when overworked.
One solution lies staggering the starters with the bench guys. An expanded rotation would also provide versatility and unpredictability, as the Knicks could mix lineups to create favorable matchups and keep opponents off-balance.
Last season, teams with deep rotations generally fared better in the later months and into the playoffs. The Denver Nuggets, for example, leaned on a nine-man rotation that kept players fresh and ready for postseason intensity. The Knicks have the personnel to replicate this approach, but it requires a willingness to let the bench play through mistakes and grow into their roles.
The Knicks&rsquo; high-minute starters have impressive stats, but the numbers suggest potential pitfalls. Brunson and Towns lead the team in points, yet their fourth-quarter shooting percentage has dropped as games wear on. Hart, Bridges, and Anunoby rank among the league leaders in defensive metrics, but all three have seen dips in effectiveness late in games. These stats underline the wear on the Knicks&rsquo; starting five, and without adjustments, the team could face challenges maintaining performance over the long haul.
Thibodeau&rsquo;s strategy has yielded early success, but balance is the key to a sustainable season. By trusting his bench and managing his starters&rsquo; minutes, he can preserve the team&rsquo;s health and performance for the playoffs. The Knicks have the depth to make this adjustment, and doing so would likely pay dividends as they aim for a deep postseason run. In a grueling 82-game season, longevity and resilience are paramount, and a balanced rotation could be the key to the Knicks realizing their potential.

Heavy minutes for the Knicks’ starting five could lead to fatigue, injuries, and late-game struggles.

Knicks’ Overreliance on Starting 5 a Double-Edged Sword

Team USA players came inside the Kerry Sports basketball facility one by one, each sporting their preferred and comfortable gear from the blazing heat of the Philippine weather they were not so accustomed to. They were about to hold their first practices in Manila for the FIBA World Cup 2023, the sport&rsquo;s world championship meet.
Anthony Edwards was one of the last ones to enter the gym along with fellow NBA no.1 overall pick Paolo Banchero. He had his Adidas Adilette comfort slides put on with black Team USA jogger pants and an Adidas triple-colored hoodie. Edwards was fixated on his phone, walking past whispering reporters onto the team&rsquo;s huddle at center court, clearly being the center of attraction for the young Team USA squad.
&ldquo;That&rsquo;s who they call the Ant-Man.&rdquo;
Once upon a time, Edwards&rsquo; name was held in a much lower regard. The 22-year-old is considered to be one of the best and brightest young players in the league but has yet to establish himself as one of the staples and premier superstars with an iconic and deep playoff performance that cements him in that tier.
Until these playoffs.
Edwards has separated himself from the pack of young superstars leading their teams and entered the upper echelon of basketball royalty in the NBA. With the league anticipating the &lsquo;changing of the guard&rsquo; as current faces LeBron James, Stephen Curry, and Kevin Durant eventually diminish their shining glories as the league&rsquo;s best of the best, Edwards comes in as one of the hopefuls to take the mantle when that inevitable day comes.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve been saying that he (Edwards) is the face of the league but he hates it when I say it &ndash; but it&rsquo;s true. The future&rsquo;s so bright you gotta put the sunglasses on when you&rsquo;re walking around him,&rdquo; Karl-Anthony Towns said, in their post-game interview after their first-round series with the&nbsp;Phoenix Suns.
Edwards glanced briefly at Towns, who was beside him at the podium. He had that little smile on his face while bowing down his head as his teammate praised him in front of the listening reporters. He looked at Towns again, this time shaking his head in disbelief, but it had the element of confidence. There was obviously a focus on what Towns was talking about but with Edwards&rsquo; elite level-headedness through it all.&nbsp;
&ldquo;You&rsquo;re a young superstar in the league and you have to face it,&rdquo; the statement emphasized on Edwards as he&rsquo;s trying to soak it all in.
Ever since Edwards has been adamant about not calling himself anything until he wins in the playoffs. Now that his Wolves beat the Suns to win the franchise&rsquo;s first playoff series since 2004, Edwards certainly has all the right in the world to give himself even the tiniest bit of praise.
He thought for a good three seconds, glancing at the reporter and the horizon for a moment. He was just asked if he was now able to give himself some grace in that regard when people call him that &lsquo;young superstar&rsquo; label. A small grin emerged onto his face, clearly oozing with confidence albeit a controlled one. He looked back with that smile on his face while nodding, he said:
&ldquo;Nah, not yet a man. Not yet.&rdquo;
Behind this usual brash, confident, and charismatic Edwards is a hungry side that never gets contented and satisfied until he achieves his ultimate goal: winning a championship. Maybe he&rsquo;ll have the guts to call himself one when they reach the Finals and end up going all the way. But that remains to be seen.
He&rsquo;s got the swagger, the personality, and the charisma to be marketable by the league. Edwards mentioned wanting to go kill everybody that&rsquo;s in front of him, and boy, he did.&nbsp;
Edwards swept the Suns featuring his childhood idol and favorite player of all time Kevin Durant, who he has been jawing back and forth at several times in the series. This was him going at his childhood hero, taking on the challenge and never backing down. However, the play of the series happened in Game 4 when Minnesota was trying to put the nail in the coffin for Phoenix.&nbsp;
With 2:18 left on the clock in the 4th quarter, Edwards blew by Beal and rose through the air as high as he could. Durant made the right business decision by not going up together with a rampaging bull as he should For a brief moment, he looked like the second coming of a certain Michael Jordan &ndash; yet again &ndash; after he&rsquo;s been labeled as such throughout the course of the season after each jaw-dropping spectacular play. Edwards threw down a ferocious poster slam dunk that might have literally blown the roof over the Footprint Center as the play signaled the beginning of the end for the Suns.
Durant and Edwards will play together in Team USA in August for the Paris Olympics, and these two for sure would go head to head making their practice sessions much more interesting. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s definitely a good feeling because he&rsquo;s my favorite player of all time, and I can tell him that I was the one who sent him home. It&rsquo;s gonna be a fun summer for sure,&rdquo; Edwards said.
First game of the Western Conference Finals and up against the Nuggets, Edwards scored a playoff career-high 43 points. He dissected their entire defense, scoring in all types of ways imaginable for a superstar. Edwards hit threes, blown by some of the toughest defenders in the NBA Aaron Gordon, and hit fadeaway mid-range jumpers reminiscent of Jordan. More importantly, Edwards displayed the level of maturity a superstar has to make in the playoffs &ndash; playing off of your teammates and playmaking for the entire team. He has done it so far with relative ease and that&rsquo;s why the Timberwolves have found their early success in this postseason.
He&rsquo;s doing it against supposedly their biggest challenge &ndash; the defending champions &ndash; who sent them home a year ago. &ldquo;Last year we didn&rsquo;t have Jaden (McDaniels) and Naz (Reid) against them so it was quite frustrating. Now that we have both I think we can definitely do better,&rdquo; Edwards said about their biggest thing in this rematch series vs Denver is being healthy.
Before the season started, Edwards was this up-and-coming 22-year-old star leading his nation at the World Championships for a chance at glory. Although the Americans ended up not medalling after losing to eventual world champions Germany in the semifinals and to neighboring Canada in the third-place game, Edwards was clearly the best player on the team filled with young American talent. He led Team USA in scoring, and at 22 years old, this was only the start of a big year ahead.
Edwards then was the clear-cut best player for the third-best team in the West, with Minnesota having a 56-26 record. Those 56 wins were the most since 2004 when they had 58 and went to the Western Conference Finals. They were led back then by legend Kevin Garnett but that was also their last time seeing the playoffs.&nbsp;
20 years later, Edwards is now shouldering all the burden by taking this Wolves team back to relevance, basking in all the glory he&rsquo;s worked so hard to attain. He&rsquo;s one of the bonafide young rising superstars in the league, and he intends to take them all the way.
Edwards&rsquo; huge season and ascension to superstardom could be attributed back to something you see coming even from a mile away. And it all started in that summer lengthy yet productive summer in 2023.
While most players use their summers to recuperate, have a vacation somewhere, and spend time with families and loved ones, Edwards took a privileged yet opportunistic route: play with the National Team at the FIBA World Cup. Usually, NBA superstars all express their willingness to play with the National Team at the Olympics. For no definite reason, somehow the FIBA World Cup does not seem appealing to play for the older/senior superstar guys, so it&rsquo;s usually the juniors/young guys who represent Team USA. Anthony Edwards took up that challenge and became the best player for the team and in turn, he&rsquo;s reaping the benefits of it in the playoffs.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve put in work this summer. Big shoutout to the USA team, man. They got me ready for the season.&rdquo;
That killer mentality that Edwards has is something that&rsquo;s never seen often and has been with only a select few in the history of the game, particularly Jordan and Lakers great Kobe Bryant. Behind all that bold and tough personality, however, is a side of himself that genuinely enjoys playing with his teammates.
When asked about the prospect of having his Wolves&rsquo; teammates, the first thing out of his mouth was how he was excited to meet them while playing for their respective countries (Rudy Gobert for France, Karl-Anthony Towns for Dominican Republic, Kyle Anderson for China, and Nickeil Alexander-Walker for Canada). He looked forward to playing against them, citing how much fun he would have once it happened.
Despite his clear burgeoning superstardom, however,&nbsp; Edwards still deflected every credit thrown towards him. When asked what he feels as one of the guys being billed as one of the next faces of the league, Edwards dismissed the idea faster than a Math teacher dispersing students after giving out a tough assignment due &ndash;&nbsp; immediately answering without hesitation that he does not make anything of it.&nbsp;
&ldquo;I&rsquo;m just gonna keep working, man. I make nothing of it, yeah. I just hope that I keep getting better.&rdquo;
It was clear all along among all the people in the gym that fateful day: Edwards had the most aura out of them all. It was just oozing, something you can feel when you&rsquo;re around certain people. It&rsquo;s kind of intimidating, but only to a certain extent. You can just feel the energy brewing and that certain look when you come across one of the ones. The underlying factor before the season was Minnesota only having five national TV games all season long. With most of their games out of the eyes of the majority, Edwards assured one thing going into the season sternly and convincingly.
&ldquo;We just gonna try to keep playing, man. We&rsquo;re not really worried about the national TV games. As long as we win, we&rsquo;ll be on TV when we make it into the playoffs. The world will know about us.&rdquo;
As their playoff mantra suggests, the Timberwolves have been waiting for this moment since 2004. From the annals of the great Kevin Garnett&rsquo;s era to ushering this new one paved by superstar-in-the-making, young Anthony Edwards, the Minnesota Timberwolves have arrived.

The underlying factor before the season was Minnesota only having five national TV games all season despite having Anthony Edwards.

‘WOLVES BACK’: Anthony Edwards introduces the Timberwolves back to the world

The Boston Celtics and the Miami Heat renew their playoff rivalry when they meet yet again in the playoffs. The two teams have faced each other three times (2020, 2022, 2023) over the past four postseason actions, with Miami having the advantage overall (2-1).
This year, the Celtics come in as the no.1 overall seed in the East while the Heat match them up as the no.8 seed. However, coming into these playoffs, there will be no expectations for Miami after learning their superstar Jimmy Butler would be out for at least several weeks following his knee injury in their play-in game against the Philadelphia 76ers.
They will be up against a dominant Celtics team that finished the regular season with a 64-18 record and the third-highest net rating of all time at 11.8, just behind the legendary Chicago Bulls teams led by the one and only Michael Jordan.
The Heat have faced the Celtics multiple times over the years and they now probably know some ways to effectively stop them, having schemes to try and limit their offensive executions as well as throwing some counters on offense to have their defense off-balanced.
Without Butler, this would be an uphill climb for Miami after what has been a roller coaster season for them and now facing their rivals who have become overwhelming favorites in this series.
However, there might be some things the Heat could do to make the dominant Celtics bleed a little for them to win some games (or even eventually win the series). Here&rsquo;s a look at those moves:
Duncan Robinson should play more
Along with Butler, Miami is coming into the series also without guards Terry Rozier and Josh Richardson due to their respective injuries. Without those three, the Heat&rsquo;s guard rotation has taken a significant hit with Tyler Herro, Delon Wright, and even forward Caleb Martin having to take a much bigger load offensively.
Enter Duncan Robinson.
Despite his usual suspect defense that has him riding the bench in the playoffs, coach Erik Spoelstra and the Heat could use his gravity as a shooter against the Celtics. Robinson has also steadily improved his playmaking this season, averaging a career-best 2.8 assists for the year. A better effort defensively has also made him a passable team defender, and he can hold his own against some players.
Gone are the days when the only option for Robinson was dribble handoffs for his threes as he has now shown the ability to attack off the catch and even developed the ability to make plays out of those dribble handoffs. Robinson is not the same player that he was before, expanding his game from being just more than a shooter to now being a secondary or third playmaker.
To further hide his defensive deficiencies and lessen the possible mishaps when he&rsquo;s on the floor, Robinson can be set up to match some of the Celtics&rsquo; easiest covers like Sam Hauser for both of their minutes. Robinson could come in at the same time as Hauser to match him up shot for shot, match his production from the three-point line, and try to see it from there.
The Heat should matchup-hunt and punish the Celtics&rsquo; average at-best defenders&nbsp;
Another thing that the Heat could do to tarnish the Celtics&rsquo; seemingly impenetrable team is to target their average-at-best defenders Payton Pritchard, Sam Hauser, and Luke Kornet. The Heat should hunt for Pritchard and Hauser on switches when they&rsquo;re on the floor and make them near to unplayable. They should also ask for switches on the high pick and roll with Kornet to leave him on an island at the top of the key. If they do this, the Heat could create two on-the-ball advantages that would be very useful in getting other guys open.
Miami has lineups that can exploit these players. Rookie Jaime Jaquez Jr., a prolific post-up player, could hunt Pritchard for post-ups, and then the Heat could surround him with shooters and short-roll decision-makers. If Boston sends two to the ball to help, it is an easy kick out to the open man and now the Heat have a chance to hit their wide-open looks.
If these players do end up getting played off the floor, the Celtics&rsquo; rotation will shrink and their top six guys will have to work as much as they can, exerting more effort than they should and usually do, and then maybe they&rsquo;ll tire out &ndash; which could be largely beneficial for the Heat in the long run. This is when the Heat&rsquo;s depth could come in handy &ndash; when Boston would need to rely only on their top six guys to win games.
Jaime Jaquez would need to be big
Despite being a rookie, Jaquez is about to shoulder a bigger load than he should be, and even with the daunting expectations, he should &ndash; or at least he needs to &ndash; match them.&nbsp;
Will he be able to exceed expectations and perform what&rsquo;s expected of him? That remains to be seen. But if there&rsquo;s any indication from this season with the way he played and carried himself throughout the year, this rookie would step up to the plate.&nbsp;
In the final play in vs Chicago, Jaquez had 21 points on 6 rebounds and 6 assists, leading the Heat to the 8th seed. He scored in a variety of ways, including threes, hard drives to the rim, post-ups, and fadeaway jumpers &ndash; reminiscent of Butler&rsquo;s game.
However, without Butler, Jaquez would have to carry a much bigger load as he will be asked to be one of the main threats. Last year Butler&rsquo;s masterclass saved them vs the much-favored Bucks and Celtics, but now that they don&rsquo;t have him, the Heat would need production from everyone in this series with little to no room for errors or any mental mistakes.&nbsp;
It might be too much to ask for a rookie to handle these kinds of situations, but Jaquez should be equipped and ready for the challenge as Miami enters this series vs Boston.

There will be no expectations for Miami after learning Jimmy Butler would be out for at least several weeks following his knee injury.

2024 NBA Playoffs: How the Heat could make the Celtics bleed

This article is part of a two-part series preview for the upcoming 2023-2024 NBA Playoffs.
With the 2023-2024 NBA Playoffs starting, all eyes will be on all teams competing for the championship as fans and players look on for a taste of postseason action. As eight playoff teams in each conference gear up for what promises to be an intense battle for the title, each team faces its own set of unique challenges. In this article, we take a closer look at the biggest question facing each Western Conference team heading into the playoffs, from injuries and roster changes to key matchups and strategic decisions.
<h3>Oklahoma City Thunder - How far can their youth and inexperience take them in the playoffs?</h3>
The Thunder got away through the regular season with historic from MVP frontrunner Shai Gilgeous Alexander, an impressive rookie season by Chet Holmgren, a star sophomore leap by Jalen Williams, and a coaching masterclass in a genius coach Mark Daigneault.
However, the playoffs as we know it is a different beast &ndash; will Mark Daigneault be able to sustain the good coaching he has done with his team throughout this regular season?
How much of this youth and inexperience be a factor for them to advance deeper in the playoffs; will they be able to use it to their advantage? Or will it be a hindrance against other experienced teams when they face each other in these tight situations? Most of the time, these situations require patience and discipline &ndash; teams with playoff experience have shown over time and have done it time and time again on their way to a deep playoff run.
<h3>Denver Nuggets - Can they go back to back?</h3>
There&rsquo;s really no other question for a team like the Nuggets at the peak of their powers: Can they win back-to-back titles? There has not been a back-to-back champion in the NBA for the past 5 years, with the last one coming in 2017 and 2018 when the Warriors won it all.
Like Boston, it is a title or bust status with Denver as of now. They have been fairly healthy throughout the regular season, have a mostly intact roster that won it all last year, and have the best player in the world in Nikola Jokic in his absolute prime. Denver this year has again all the necessary pieces to win &ndash; the right amount of shooters, defensive guys, scoring in the paint &ndash; which are all the makings of a championship team.
A couple of questionable factors though would be how much of an impact the loss of Bruce Brown would have in these playoffs. Brown was arguably the 5th, or 4th best player in their championship run last year &ndash; maybe even the 3rd in some games. He was essential on offense and defense, guarding the opponent&rsquo;s best perimeter threats while providing off-ball scoring and cuts that fit perfectly with Jokic.
Second, they&rsquo;ll be facing championship-caliber teams with hunger and drive to defeat them, and all have been competitive with the Nuggets this season. The Lakers, although the Nuggets swept them last year in the Western Conference Finals, still have LeBron James and Anthony Davis, and they won&rsquo;t take that lightly &ndash; likely coming back with a vengeance.
The Suns have won the season series with the Nuggets 2-1 and they pose a threat to the Nuggets with their formula of having three elite shotmakers that can explode anytime &ndash; which the Nuggets may not cover all at the same time.&nbsp; The Wolves, who perhaps have the best lineup suited to defeat them, are lurking in the same bracket waiting to pounce on them at sight.&nbsp;
These are all challenges a defending champion must go through to achieve a rare feat because the playoffs are supposed to be hard.
<h3>Minnesota Timberwolves -&nbsp; Will they finally break through after years of heartbreak?</h3>
This has already been a win of a season for the Timberwolves, achieving their second most wins in franchise history (56) since 2004 when they won 58 wins and reached the conference finals.
However, this has not stopped them from wanting more, and the wolfpack is not satisfied nor contented with just this achievement &ndash; they want more.
Minnesota wanting to go win that first playoff series like a hungry pack of wolves has been evident since trading for 3-time Defensive Player of the Year Rudy Gobert. Although they fell short last season due to untimely injuries to key players, the Wolves ran it back and have proven their little experiment with two bigs in star Karl Anthony Towns and Gobert would work.&nbsp;
Led by their resurgent young superstar Anthony Edwards equipped with the best defense in the league, Minnesota certainly hopes this team would be the one &ndash; the one to end the longest playoff series win droughts in the league for quite some time now.
<h3>Los Angeles Clippers - Will they be able to meet the expectations this time around?</h3>
The Clippers trading for James Harden signaled one thing for the franchise: They are going all in with Kawhi Leonard and Paul George and surrounding them with all the help they can get. They are far from a perfect team, but the Clippers want to have the best possible results this season before transferring to their new arena next year.
The Clippers have only appeared in the conference finals once in the Leonard-George era after being plagued by several injuries during their different playoff runs. Due to that, people haven&rsquo;t been able to see what the team is capable of when their two stars are fully healthy in a playoff run.
However, this year might just be their year. Their core of Harden, George, and Leonard have been mostly healthy all season long. The front office has also surrounded them with complementary pieces to help them win. LA now has usable bigs in Zubac, Plumlee, and Theis; they have Terrance Mann as their designated stopper; Norman Powell being the sixth man off the bench microwave scorer; a 3-and-D wing in Amir Coffe; and Russell Westbrook as the spark plug that gives them the boost and the energy off the bench.
After being just the &lsquo;second team in LA&rsquo; and &lsquo;that other team in LA&rsquo; for years, the Clippers aim to prove the doubters wrong and change the perception that surrounds the team as they pivot into a new era of Clippers basketball.&nbsp;
<h3>Dallas Mavericks - Will Luka finally fulfill the promise he has been showing so far in his career?</h3>
Throughout his young NBA career, Luka Doncic has had one of the best starts since LeBron James statistically. He has been in constant range of breaking or matching LeBron&rsquo;s records in points scored, triple-doubles, assists, and rebounds. However, this has not always translated into wins with Doncic just appearing in just one conference finals in the first six years of his career. But that might change this season.&nbsp;&nbsp;
This year, the Mavericks have put up arguably the best roster on paper that Luka has had in his career &ndash; arguably even better than the 2022 team that made the conference finals.
Alongside Doncic&rsquo;s MVP act is a true partner in crime in Kyrie Irving; shot-blocking and rim-rolling vertical threats in Daniel Gafford and Lively; rugged forwards that can shoot in PJ Washington, Dante Exum, Josh Green, and Derrick Jones; a microwave off-the-bench scorer in Tim Hardaway Jr; and veteran bigs that have been in Dallas for quite some time now and you can count on in always with Maxi Kleber and Dwight Powell.
Can Luka finally overcome the Clippers? This season was one for the books with an MVP caliber and worthy year by averaging close to 34 points a game with 9 rebounds and 9 assists per game. Doncic has taken his game to another level in the regular season &ndash; this time, can he take his playoff game to another level as well?
All great young players have to go through someone as the stepping stone to reach newer heights &ndash; and Luka has lost to this Kawhi Leonard and Paul George-led Clippers team twice already in his career in the playoffs.
LeBron had to go through the Celtics, Jordan had to go through the Pistons. Could it be Luka&rsquo;s turn to get through this Clippers team that has tormented him for two playoff series?
<h3>Phoenix Suns - Will this new formula take them over the top?</h3>
The Suns have experienced substantial playoff success over the past three years by having a Finals appearance and reaching the conference semifinals twice. However, those groups fell short, with the feeling of something lacking or something missing that could take them over the top.
So lo and behold, Phoenix scrapped it and took a different approach this season &ndash; ditching the point guard spot and getting a rugged and physical big that could set screens and not demand the ball much on offense.
In its place came through as the Suns traded for Bradley Beal &ndash; going with a new formula by having three shot creators and shotmakers on the floor at the same time &ndash; pairing him with Kevin Durant and Devin Booker. They also traded away former no.1 overall pick DeAndre Ayton for Jusuf Nurkic, a wide-bodied center whose job is to set screens, rebound, and get their three creators open in the lane or for jump shots.
They added an elite shooter in Grayson Allen to space the floor alongside those three, or sometimes Royce O&rsquo;Neale comes in for more defense against the opposing perimeter threats.
The Suns&rsquo; new approach and formula to the game make it incredibly hard to defend because you have to have three elite defenders to contain those three shot-creators, who can explode and get buckets at any point in the game. Although their defense is still suspect at times, the main point of this lineup is not to outscore &ndash; but to out-create teams and have a variety of options to dissect and defeat defenses.
If this new strategy works and could take the Suns to the promised land in these playoffs remains to be seen.
<h3>Los Angeles Lakers - Will they have enough this time around?</h3>
Despite a strong run to the Western Conference Finals as a 7th seed, the Lakers fell short last year vs the Nuggets after being swept 4-0. Throughout the season, the Nuggets&rsquo; dominance of the purple and gold continued, and now they have lost eight straight games against this Denver team.&nbsp;
However, there is optimism that the Lakers will turn it around and have a different result vs the Nuggets. Superstar LeBron James, even at 39 years old, looks to prove that he still has something left in the tank. Although they got outplayed and outcoached last in that series by the Nuggets, James can make those adjustments being the cerebral and high IQ player that he is.
James is perhaps one of the best if not the best tactically sound players of all time, so it would make sense &ndash; if they were to defeat Denver, he needs to be able to outsmart Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets this time around. Superstar tandem Anthony Davis will also be vital to the series having to defend the &lsquo;Joker&rsquo; and producing buckets himself.
The Lakers will also feature some new bench pieces this year that could be difference makers in the series Taurean Prince, Spencer Dinwiddie, and Gabe Vincent, all of whom could defend and hit those spot-up threes if needed.
Then there&rsquo;s a hungry D&rsquo;Angelo Russell who had a bad series vs Denver last year raring to bounce back along with an always-solid Austin Reaves to be the stabilizer.
<h3>Pelicans - How will they fare without Zion Williamson?</h3>
The New Orleans Pelicans start and end with their young star Zion Williamson. After going out with what is to be believed a left hamstring strain, everything now hinges on his health.&nbsp;
The Pelicans obviously need him no matter what and whether or not he&rsquo;s healthy for their first-round series vs the Thunder will likely be the answer if they win it or not.
We&rsquo;ve seen what Williamson is capable of doing, scoring 40 points and grabbing 11 rebounds in his first taste of postseason action in their play-in game vs the Lakers. The burly forward bullied the Lakers&rsquo; defense and he showed his once generational type of body and scoring prowess come together after finally being healthy for a full season in his five years in the NBA.
New Orleans has fallen short a lot of times in the playoffs, either failing to make it or to win a series, and it is clear that Zion is the difference that separates them from winning or losing a playoff series.

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

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

There has been a level of dominance the Boston Celtics have had this season that not a lot of teams in the history of the league have reached or come close to. The team&rsquo;s mixture of star power, depth, and chemistry within the tight-knit group of guys has been the source of power for the historically dominant regular season team.&nbsp;
In their March 17 game vs Washington, Jayson Tatum, Jrue Holiday, and Al Horford combined to destroy the Wizards, 130-104. Bench player Sam Hauser, who started the game, led the team in scoring with 30 points built on 10 three-point shots.&nbsp;
Then on their next game, in came Jaylen Brown, Derrick White, and Kristaps Porzingis, who then annihilated the Detroit Pistons 119-94 on the second night of a back-to-back. Another bench player, Payton Pritchard starred with 23 points and 7 assists as the Celtics earned yet another win.&nbsp;
This speaks to their depth as a team as well as the adaptability of each player to play with either of their core six guys with relative ease and without skipping a beat. The Celtics are a machine that keeps going with pieces and parts that are versatile enough to keep their brand of basketball going no matter who you sub in or slot onto the floor whenever someone is out.
With their dominant regular season coming down to a close, one question awaits the rest of the league as the playoffs arrive.&nbsp;
Who is stopping the Boston Celtics?&nbsp;
The guys in green have been far away the best team in the league by a wide margin, racing past ahead of all the other teams.
The Celtics just speedrun through everything, especially in the East, where they were far away the best team and are just cherry-picking to wait and see whoever will finish second behind them. The only disappointment thus far was not winning the In-Season Tournament title, which probably wasn&rsquo;t the championship they wanted to win anyway.
They have the league&rsquo;s best record at 64-18 and they never lost more than two straight throughout the year. They blew out three teams by 50 or more points and they have only lost four games at the Boston Garden, and have only just lost to an Eastern Conference team at home for over a year &ndash; since March of 2023. The only team to win two and claim the season series over Boston are the defending champions Denver Nuggets, which makes sense considering they&rsquo;re the team all teams in the NBA are chasing after.
The Celtics will be the only team that will finish in double-digits in plus/minus efficiency (+11.3) and they rank 1st in offensive rating (120.4) and 5th in defensive rating (110.5) in the entire league. This level of dominance in the regular season makes it one of the most impressive ones in recent NBA history.
The Boston Celtics might go all the way this year and take that coveted 18th championship title, but what makes them so good?
'The Jays' superstar duo: Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown&nbsp;
The Celtics start and end with their star forward duo. They would not be near where they are right now without these two. The way they complement each other and play off of each other has been spectacular, and their chemistry has been built since 2016-2017 when Boston drafted both guys back to back with the no.3 pick. With the Celtics having two dynamic two-way guys in Tatum and Brown, they have the foundation to allow them to surround the team with guys that complement their skills, which president Brad Stevens and coach Joe Mazzulla have done an incredible job of doing so over the past couple years.
Roster construction
After trading away mainstays Marcus Smart, Robert Williams, and Grant Williams this season, Brad Stevens built the roster with some awesome replacements in Kristaps Porzingis and Jrue Holiday.
Porzingis just fits the Celtics&rsquo; scheme so much as he gives them a stretch big that can space the floor for their 5-out offense. On defense, his towering 7&rsquo;3 frame can alter and block shots. Porzingis is also the perfect Al Horford replacement who has been key to the lineups the Celtics run in the previous years. Although Horford is now 37 and is nearing the end of his career, he's still bringing that veteran leadership and the floor spacing to give the Celtics more options on offense.
Holiday&rsquo;s transition into the team has been seamless, filling in the place of Smart. A 2022 champion with the Milwaukee Bucks, Holiday brought the championship mindset along with his trademark defensive versatility and a plug-and-play offensive repertoire that has elevated the Celtics&rsquo; play all season long.&nbsp;
Around Tatum and Brown and their new acquisitions Porzingis and Holiday, the ever-consistent Derrick White and the ageless Al Horford come into place to complete their starting five and their fearsome six-man lineup. Solid bench pieces led by Payton Pritchard and Sam Hauser provide quality backup minutes to ensure Boston does not lose a single step whenever their mainstays rest during the games. Depending on the matchup, big men Xavier Tillman and Luke Kornet will see some minutes and both have proven they can play the style of basketball the Celtics need to win. Overall, this team is arguably the best the Celtics have in years, and they have all the makings to have a deep playoff run.
However, Boston knows the job is not done yet and the real test is at hand. No matter how good they have been in the first six months of the year, it all comes down to how they will perform and execute in the season&rsquo;s final three months when it matters the most. And they certainly hope they can reach the pinnacle again and this time, come out on top in June.
To further strengthen that point, it isn&rsquo;t a guarantee to win all the time, especially in the playoffs. Although it is an indication of good habits built throughout the season, the playoffs are a different beast. According to NBA.com, only five teams in the last 20 years had the best record winning the title that season. The last best-record champions were the 2016-17 Warriors as teams deal with a variety of challenges throughout the postseason.&nbsp;
As the road to the 18th banner looms close, the Celtics have themselves as their biggest obstacle &ndash; only they can stop themselves from achieving their full potential.&nbsp;

As the road to the 18th banner looms close, the Celtics have themselves as their biggest obstacle.

Who’s stopping Boston? Dissecting the Celtics’ juggernaut after their dominant season

The Los Angeles Lakers are currently the No. 9 seed in the Western Conference with a record of 41-32. They are also one of the conference's most polarizing teams with the postseason right around the corner.
The West&rsquo;s Play-In Tournament currently includes the Phoenix Suns, Sacramento Kings, Lakers and Golden State Warriors. Assuming L.A. makes it out of the loaded entry tournament, the No. 1 and 2 seeds should hope to avoid them. They are one year removed from a Western Conference Finals appearance, where they were swept by the eventual-champion Denver Nuggets.
On Tuesday, the Lakers took down Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks in a 128-124 double-overtime thriller. With superstar LeBron James sidelined, big man Anthony Davis tallied 34 points and 23 rebounds through left knee pain, while guards Austin Reaves and D&rsquo;Angelo Russell combined for 58 points and 22 assists on 17-of-42 shooting. The Lakers have proven that they can compete with the league&rsquo;s top contenders when they play to their full potential.
&ldquo;He assured me he was gonna push through. [The medical staff] said it was OK," head coach Darvin Ham <a href="https://theathletic.com/5371897/2024/03/27/anthony-davis-lakers-bucks-nba-standings/">said of Davis' performance, according to The Athletic</a>. "Just tolerance &mdash; whatever he could tolerate. And kudos to him, man. He played his ass off.&rdquo;
The Lakers followed up this rollercoaster win with a comfortable victory over the Memphis Grizzlies in the absence of Davis. This matchup was highlighted by a 30-point triple-double from James, along with a 32-point performance from forward Rui Hachimura. With nine games remaining in the regular season, LA hopes to continue their five-game win streak to obtain a higher seed.
James and Davis are no strangers to finding triumph in the playoffs, winning a ring together in the 2020 NBA Bubble. Consistency is the tandem&rsquo;s greatest rival, whether it&rsquo;s health concerns for James or mediocre scoring games for Davis. However, both superstars rise to the occasion in the postseason.
The Nuggets and Oklahoma City Thunder hold the top two seeds in the West, meaning the Lakers will likely match up against one of them in the opening round. James and the Lakers are familiar with coach Mike Malone and the Nuggets&rsquo; style of play and strategy, which is one of their few hopes of winning. 
However, if they find themselves facing off with the inexperienced Thunder, their chances of victory skyrocket. Led by MVP candidate Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, OKC is a powerhouse team. However, the differences in experience could be OKC's downfall. A battle-tested Lakers squad might end their season much earlier than expected.
The Lakers' next matchup comes on Friday night against Tyrese Haliburton and the Indiana Pacers (41-33).

The Los Angeles Lakers are getting hot at the perfect time, led by superstars LeBron James and Anthony Davis.

Lakers’ LeBron James, Anthony Davis catching fire ahead of NBA playoffs

Don&rsquo;t look now, but the Houston Rockets are back in the Western Conference playoff picture.&nbsp;
With the Golden State Warriors&rsquo; loss against the Minnesota Timberwolves and their win over the Portland Trail Blazers, the Rockets now sit just a half-game behind the 10th and last play-in spot in the Western Conference.
After looking to be nowhere near the play-in tournament range with just a 25-34 record, the Rockets have found a semblance of life again by winning 11 of their last 12 games, including rattling off a nine-game winning streak (and counting) to go above .500 on the season.
What makes the Rockets&rsquo; run even more impressive is they have done it even without young star center Alperen Sengun, who went down with a lower leg injury. Sengun has been leading the team in points (21.1), rebounds (9.3) and assists (5.0) for a young Rockets team that's hungry for some postseason action under first-year head coach Ime Udoka after rebuilding for the past four years.&nbsp;
In Sengun&rsquo;s absence, the Rockets have been rejuvenated with a different style of play. They are playing up and down the court, running and gunning and spacing the floor as coach Udoka is making the most out of the roster in without their playmaking hub.
Much of this can be credited to Jalen Green&rsquo;s increased level of play. Before the streak, Green was struggling with his shot all year long, only averaging 17.9 points, 4.8 rebounds and 3.3 assists on just 40/31/80 shooting splits. Over his past 12 games, Green has amped up his level of play, significantly increasing his numbers by tallying 27.8 points, 5.8 rebounds and 3.4 assists per game, while shooting 49.6% from the field and 40.4% from three. And this has translated to wins for Houston.&nbsp;
In those 12 games, Green has been relentlessly attacking the rim and playing with pace. Green has also been shooting more threes, and he has been making them at a respectable mark to force defenders to respect his shot. This has allowed him to create opportunities in the paint as well as facilitating for his teammates.
Due to his efforts, Green was awarded a Western Conference Player of the Week award and he certainly hopes to keep this up for the Rockets as they continue to trend upward and eventually catch the Warriors.
Another thing that has been huge in Houston&rsquo;s hot stretch is unlocking Amen Thompson. The rookie out of Overtime Elite has struggled to start the season with a slew of injuries and a lack of playing time enough to contribute. This has hampered him and his ability to contribute.
However, when Sengun was injured, Thompson was inserted into the starting lineup and has shone since the streak has started. The 6&rsquo;7 guard/forward leads the Rockets in fastbreak opportunities, and uses his athletic abilities to get out on transition. He has also proven to be a good cutter when he is off the ball to get easy buckets underneath the basket. His athleticism also gives him an advantage in finishing off plays, particularly on dunks and layups.&nbsp;
On defense, Thompson is disruptive as a point-of-attack defender, using his length and size to bother opposing smaller point guards. Thompson uses his long limbs to swipe at the ball, creating deflections and steals that lead to easy transition baskets. At 6&rsquo;7, Thompson is also an excellent rebounder at his position and gives the Rockets plenty of chances to run and leak out.
Finally, the Rockets have scored more and seemingly increased their level of play. This might be directly in correlation with Sengun being out, with other guys like Fred VanVleet, Dillon Brooks, Jabari Smith and even their bench guys doing more scoring to compensate for Sengun&rsquo;s production. This collected effort has been the key to their resurgence this season, and the Rockets hope to sustain it for the final stretch of the season in which eight of their remaining 11 games are against playoff teams.

Don’t look now, but the Houston Rockets are back in the Western Conference playoff picture.

Surging Rockets inch closer to West Play-In Tournament spot

The best basketball teams in the world now know their opponents in this year&rsquo;s Paris Olympics Games after the groups were determined in the Olympic Basketball Tournament Draw on Tuesday at the Patrick Baumann House of Basketball in Mies, Switzerland.
A total of 12 nations will compete in the <a href="https://fiba.us11.list-manage.com/track/click?u=7033084a6897e1c399b667eb5&amp;id=2aeb9ce7cc&amp;e=7d02dacd0c" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Men's Olympic Basketball Tournament</a> in Paris, which is scheduled to run from July 27 to August 10. There are currently eight national teams from five different continents that have already qualified either as the host nation or based on their respective results at the <a href="https://fiba.us11.list-manage.com/track/click?u=7033084a6897e1c399b667eb5&amp;id=cc108e313f&amp;e=7d02dacd0c" target="_blank" rel="noopener">2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup</a>.
The remaining four tickets will be punched by the winners of the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournaments (OQTs) that will be held between July 2 and 7 in <a href="https://fiba.us11.list-manage.com/track/click?u=7033084a6897e1c399b667eb5&amp;id=2f0cad3128&amp;e=7d02dacd0c">Piraeus</a> (Greece), <a href="https://fiba.us11.list-manage.com/track/click?u=7033084a6897e1c399b667eb5&amp;id=108dc70c0e&amp;e=7d02dacd0c">Riga</a> (Latvia), <a href="https://fiba.us11.list-manage.com/track/click?u=7033084a6897e1c399b667eb5&amp;id=5cac1dc6c1&amp;e=7d02dacd0c">San Juan</a> (Puerto Rico) and <a href="https://fiba.us11.list-manage.com/track/click?u=7033084a6897e1c399b667eb5&amp;id=a63d6170c3&amp;e=7d02dacd0c">Valencia</a> (Spain).
Aiming to win their fifth-straight Olympic Basketball gold medal, undisputed favorite Team USA is slated to be in Group C along with 2016 silver medallists Serbia, Africa&rsquo;s best finishing team in the 2023 FIBA World Cup South Sudan, and the winner of the OQT in Puerto Rico.
Host nation France was drawn into Group B with FIBA World Champions Germany, Asia&rsquo;s best-finishing team in the 2023 FIBA World Cup Japan, and the winner of the OQT in Latvia.
Finally, 2021 bronze medallists Australia, 2023 FIBA World Cup bronze medallists Canada, and the winners of the OQTs in Greece and Spain are grouped in Group A.
<img src="https://cdn.basketballnews.com/images/story/body/draw.jpg" alt="" width="518" height="518" />
Women&rsquo;s basketball legend Penny Taylor and NBA legend Carmelo Anthony helped in administering the draw.
The Olympic Basketball Tournament Draw had the teams divided into four pots based on the FIBA World Ranking. In each of the final three groups drawn, there was a minimum of two and a maximum of three teams from Europe. For Africa, the Americas, Asia and Oceania, there had to be no more than one team per continent in each group.
You can watch the full draw below:
<iframe title="YouTube video player" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/XgA8wWJpAtY?si=3JkCMQs_OdoxTq7W" width="100%" height="325" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe>

The groups for the Paris Olympics Games were determined in the Olympic Basketball Tournament Draw on Tuesday.

2024 Olympics Basketball Tournament Draw: Team USA grouped with Serbia

The Cleveland Cavaliers are aiming to make noise in the NBA playoffs behind superstar Donovan Mitchell, but they have also impressed without him in the lineup.
Mitchell is dealing with a knee injury, which has caused him to miss Cleveland&rsquo;s last six games. In this span, the team has won three games against the Detroit Pistons, Boston Celtics and Minnesota Timberwolves. Taking down the Celtics and Timberwolves is no small task, as both sit near the top of their respective conference. Due to these wins, the Cavaliers are currently the No. 3 seed in the Eastern Conference (and just a half game back of the Milwaukee Bucks for the No. 2 seed).
Friday&rsquo;s overtime victory against Minnesota came thanks to tremendous outings from guard Darius Garland and center Jarrett Allen. Garland tallied 34 points and 8 assists on 13-of-26 shooting, while Allen recorded 33 points, 18 rebounds, 2 steals and 2 blocks on 47.4% shooting. It&rsquo;s important to note that the Cavs were also missing key contributors Max Strus and Evan Mobley in this matchup. This game further pushes the agenda that the Cavaliers&rsquo; greatest weakness is health.
Meanwhile, the win over Boston stemmed from a miraculous fourth quarter from forward Dean Wade. The 27-year-old exploded in the final 12 minutes, scoring 20 points on 7-of-7 shooting to push the Cavs to a one-point victory. Social media even began comparing the Cavs forward to Miami Heat legend and Hall-of-Famer Dwyane Wade through the nickname &lsquo;D-Wade.&rsquo; It&rsquo;s becoming crystal clear that the organization has the depth to compete regardless of the adversity its faced.
There&rsquo;s no doubt that Mitchell is the leader of the team, but Cleveland&rsquo;s starting lineup as a whole can contend regardless. The five-time All-Star is averaging 28 points, 6.2 assists (career-high) and 5.4 rebounds (career-high) on 47.2% shooting in 47 appearances.
Mitchell is accustomed to his role as a No. 1 option from his time on the Utah Jazz alongside former Defensive Player of the Year Rudy Gobert. The Jazz would often find themselves as a prominent seed when the postseason came around but lacked the depth and talent to reach the NBA Finals.
The Celtics, Bucks and New York Knicks highlight the East's championship contenders, and Cleveland has defeated all three teams this season. In a seven-game series against a top contender, Mitchell will be heavily relied on but he'll also have plenty of help thanks to the Cavs' depth.
In Cleveland, Mitchell finds himself in a situation where he can rely on his teammates to uphold a certain standard when he is struggling or unable to perform.

The Cavs are aiming to make noise in the NBA playoffs behind star Donovan Mitchell, but they have also impressed without him.

Cavaliers' strong play without Donovan Mitchell should scare East teams

Miami Heat guard Duncan Robinson has had his fair share of ups and downs in the NBA. 
After going undrafted and becoming a key player in the 2020 NBA Finals, he got paid the big bucks and then was unplayable at times in the playoffs. Now, Robinson has once again emerged as a vital piece in Miami&rsquo;s offense under Erik Spoelstra.
At 6-foot-7, Robinson can shoot the lights out. The threat of his shooting from beyond the arc stretches the defense out, allowing Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo to operate from inside the paint.
However, over the past two seasons, Robinson was close to unplayable (especially in the postseason) as teams exploited his inability to put the ball on the floor by running him off the three-point line and attacking him on defense.&nbsp;
Robinson made it a point in the offseason to develop his in-between game and how to attack closeouts off the catch (either getting to the rim or dishing to teammates). This work paid off, as Robinson is currently averaging a career-high 2.8 assists in addition to his 13.2 points and 40.6% shooting from deep.
By improving his ability to put the ball on the floor on dribble handoff actions &ndash; a staple of the Heat&rsquo;s offense &ndash; Robinson is earning significant playing time again. He now makes it a point to find his rim-running teammates and make kick-out passes to the wings.
On Monday against the Sacramento Kings, this was on full display as Robinson dished out a career-best 11 assists as the Heat played without their main playmakers Butler, Terry Rozier and Tyler Herro Robinson&rsquo;s previous career-high in assists was 7 (which he did four times -- three of which came this season). This is a testament to his incredible growth as a facilitator, and he deserves credit for correcting his biggest weakness.
Most of Robinson&rsquo;s assists were from Adebayo&rsquo;s dribble-handoff actions, finding him multiple times by going downhill and dropping it off in the paint. When Adebayo wasn&rsquo;t available for the roll, Robinson kicked it out to Caleb Martin for a corner three.&nbsp;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560">
Duncan Robinson dribble handoffs <a href="https://t.co/f2WFMAfWa7">pic.twitter.com/f2WFMAfWa7</a>
&mdash; Mon Anthony Valmoria (@Morval_) <a href="https://twitter.com/Morval_/status/1762495914915377268?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 27, 2024</a></blockquote>
On these couple of possessions, Robinson connected with Kevin Love in another dribble handoff that flowed into a pick-and-pop three as well as finding Love on the run for a transition triple.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560">
Duncan Robinson connecting with Kevin Love <a href="https://t.co/XnmluzNFXJ">pic.twitter.com/XnmluzNFXJ</a>
&mdash; Mon Anthony Valmoria (@Morval_) <a href="https://twitter.com/Morval_/status/1762496414628958336?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 27, 2024</a></blockquote>
Robinson is giving Miami's offense a different look and an additional option. Rather than just shooting off of screens, he's looking to set up his teammates by picking his spots and playing at his own pace.
Gone are the days when teams can run Robinson off the three-point line because he can't attack closeouts, and that's great news for Miami come playoff time.

Duncan Robinson worked hard to fix his biggest weakness, which has added a new dimension to the Miami Heat's offense.

Duncan Robinson’s evolution gives Miami Heat another dimension on offense

The Cleveland Cavaliers are the hottest team in the Eastern Conference, winning 14 of their last 15 games. The Cavs are currently 32-16, which is their best record through 48 games in five years.
With Monday night&rsquo;s win over the Sacramento Kings, the Cavaliers have climbed past the Milwaukee Bucks for second place in the Eastern Conference standings and first place in the Central Division. They are now just five games behind the Boston Celtics for first in the East.
This is somewhat uncharted territory for &lsquo;The Land&rsquo; as they have not been on any kind of streak like this before. Since 2024 began, they have the league&rsquo;s best record at 15-2 to surpass the franchise record for the best start to a calendar year. LeBron James&rsquo; 2008, 2010 and 2016 Cavaliers teams previously held the record with 12-3 marks.
Two of those James-led teams lost to the Finals-bound Celtics (2008 and 2010) while the 2016 squad won it all, which bodes well for this version of the Cavaliers with championship aspirations.
Their next 10 games to close out February include six teams below .500 and two games against a Philadelphia 76ers team without reigning MVP Joel Embiid, meaning this hot streak could continue. Their upcoming schedule is at Washington, at Brooklyn, at Toronto, vs. Philadelphia, vs. Chicago, vs. Orlando, at Phildelphia, at Washington, vs. Dallas and at Chicago.
The key to Cleveland&rsquo;s hot streak has been their main cog, Donovan Mitchell. Recently named to his fifth straight All-Star Game, the 6-foot-3 guard is averaging 28.2 points, 6.4 assists, 5.5 rebounds and 1.9 steals per game this season. The superb Mitchell has been willing the Cavs to win. What&rsquo;s more impressive is that Mitchell started this hot streak without fellow centerpieces Darius Garland and Evan Mobley in the lineup (although they have since returned from injuries).
Now, with Garland and Mobley back in the fold, the Cavaliers are even more lethal offensively and defensively as they look to contend in the Eastern Conference. Mobley&rsquo;s return has been impactful for Cleveland as they are tied for the best defense in the league in 2024, having a defensive rating of 105.4 along with the new-look New York Knicks.
The Cavaliers also filled a big need in the offseason by adding shooters Max Strus and Georges Niang in free agency. In last year&rsquo;s playoffs, they were exposed by the Knicks as they lacked outside shooting to complement Mitchell and Garland&rsquo;s drives and pick-and-roll actions with non-shooting big men Mobley and Jarrett Allen.&nbsp;
This season, the Cavs&rsquo; offseason signing of Strus has been huge, with the 6-foot-6 wing providing the necessary spacing. Strus was immediately inserted into the starting lineup over mainstays Caris LeVert and Isaac Okoro and it has done wonders for Cleveland.
Off the bench, Niang also provides the same threat from outside in certain situations. The Cavs also rewarded Sam Merrill with some playing time, and he&rsquo;s been balling and shooting the ball at a high clip as of late, helping the team go on this amazing run.
Speaking of LeVert and Okoro, both wings have made noticeable improvements from last season with each playing a specified role suited to their strengths. LeVert comes in as a secondary playmaker and shotmaker to ease the burden on Garland and Mitchell, while Okoro plays lockdown defense on the opponent&rsquo;s best perimeter player as well as providing timely cuts to the rim and knocking down the occasional three-pointer.
Moreover, head coach J.B. Bickerstaff has found his ideal rotation now that they&rsquo;re fully healthy again. Garland, Mitchell, Strus, Mobley and Allen are the team&rsquo;s usual starting five, and then off the bench comes Dean Wade, Okoro and LeVert. The Cavs always leave one big on the floor at all times (either Mobley or Allen) when the bench players come in while Garland and Mitchell&rsquo;s minutes get staggered in the middle of quarters. Niang and Merrill are their ninth and 10th men, providing a deep bench whenever they need extra shooting on the floor or when Strus struggles from outside.
Now, the Cavaliers will try to finish the season strong and hope that their regular-season success will translate to the postseason.

The Cleveland Cavaliers are the hottest team in the Eastern Conference, winning 14 of their last 15 games.

The Cavs are playing their best basketball of the Donovan Mitchell era

For a team that has endured losing for almost a decade, the Minnesota Timberwolves sure are savoring the early-season success they&rsquo;re experiencing right now.
After a series of underlying factors such as bad management, poor roster construction and player fallouts, the Wolves' success has been unprecedented (and sweeter than ever).
They are currently 30-12 at the halfway point of the season, which is the best mark in the West. They are the first team in the Western Conference to reach 30 wins, trailing only the Boston Celtics for the best record in the NBA.&nbsp;
Minnesota is on a 60-win pace, and they have the easiest schedule remaining in the entire league.
They are also on pace to surpass the franchise record of 58 wins in a season, which occurred in 2004 when they were led by Kevin Garnett (the best player in franchise history), Sam Cassell and Latrell Sprewell.
The next goal for this Wolves team? Win their first playoff series since that 2004 season.
After two decades of struggles, what changed for the Wolves? Let's break down their turnaround.
DEFENSE
The Wolves currently have the best defense in the league by a wide margin, allowing 105.8 points per 100 possessions (the runner-up is allowing 108.3 points per 100 possessions). 
They guard opponents unlike any other team in the NBA led by three-time Defensive Player of the Year Rudy Gobert at the rim. Surrounding Gobert are potential All-NBA-caliber defenders at the wings in Jaden McDaniels, Kyle Anderson, Anthony Edwards and Nickeil Alexander-Walker.
Although their offense is still suspect and a work in progress, the team knows how to lock down the opposition.
ALL-STAR-CALIBER TRIO PLAYING WELL
The Wolves' trio of Gobert, Edwards and Karl-Anthony Towns have been terrific.
The team is led by Edwards, a charismatic and burgeoning young superstar who has drawn comparisons to all-time great shooting guards Dwyane Wade (due to their similar build and playing style) and Michael Jordan (due to some eerie resemblances in their aerial capabilities, footwork and bank shots).
Edwards constantly wows the crowd with highlight-reel plays, and he gives the Wolves a true alpha, leader and closer. He's someone they can count on in the clutch, delivering when it matters the most.&nbsp;
Bruce Brown, an adversary of the Wolves during their last playoff run when he was on the top-seeded Denver Nuggets, said that Edwards was the toughest guy he had to guard all postseason. He also added that Minnesota was the toughest team that Denver faced on their way to their championship.
The Wolves followed up this praise by beating the Nuggets in November and climbing to the No. 1 seed in the West.
The 22-year-old credited his stint with Team USA in the FIBA World Cup for being able to play in a system rather than just relying on isos all the time. Edwards was the leading scorer of the USA squad that finished just fourth, but the experience was invaluable for Edwards and prepared him for the season.
Gobert is thriving once again after a down season a year ago. The 31-year-old is turning heads and serving as the anchor of the best defense in the league. He is one of the front runners for the Defensive Player of the Year award, which would be his fourth (and tie him with Ben Wallace and Dikembe Mutombo for most all-time).
It wasn't long ago that fans were dubbing Minnesota's deal for Gobert as one of the worst trades in NBA history, but Gobert has bounced back beautifully as the front office&rsquo;s vision of playing him with Towns came to fruition.&nbsp;
Like Edwards, Towns is building off a strong stint in the World Cup and has been rock solid for the Wolves. The No. 1 overall pick in the 2015 NBA Draft is taking a backseat to Edwards for the good of the team.&nbsp; After plenty of losing seasons, Towns will do whatever is takes to win. He set his ego aside and committed to being the best second option in the league, which has had a huge impact on the Wolves.
There have been times when Towns is asked to shoulder more of the offensive load (such as when Edwards was struggling or absent) and he's stepped up in those moments. He has also been incredibly efficient, averaging 21.6 points while shooting 51.1% from the field and 43% from three-point range.
HIGH-LEVEL ROLE PLAYERS
The Wolves' trio is surrounded by quality role players, including starters McDaniels and Mike Conley. Both are nice supplementary pieces, with Conley providing stability as a floor general and shooting to space the floor and McDaniels giving them elite perimeter defense as well as spot-up shooting and occasional shot-making.
Minnesota arguably has the best eight-man rotation in the league, likely rivaled by just Boston and Denver.
In the playoffs, where rotations shrink and coaches tend to play their most trusted players, that's usually seven or eight players.
Off the bench, the Wolves have big man Naz Reid, a 6-foot-9 super scorer who&rsquo;s become a Sixth Man of the Year candidate by providing instant offense. There&rsquo;s also Anderson, a reliable Swiss army knife and point forward who is a playmaker on offense. Alexander-Walker does a little bit of everything, serving as a back-up ballhandler to Conley, lockdown wing defender and three-point shooter.
COMPETENT ORGANIZATION
A huge credit for the Wolves' success this season goes to president of basketball operations Tim Connelly, who is the engineer of this roster. His vision and willingness to swing for the fences have paid off in a major way.
Chris Finch, who was hired as the team's head coach in 2021, has done a terrific job and is currently garnering some Coach of the Year buzz for his efforts.
The same goes for new owners Alex Rodriguez and Marc Lore, who went all in and weren&rsquo;t afraid to spend for a win-now team that wants to win.&nbsp;
After years of mediocrity, the Timberwolves are finally heading in the right direction. A small-market team that has exceeded all expectations, Minnesota has been one of the feel-good stories of the season &ndash; and they are just getting started.

The Minnesota Timberwolves have the best record in the West. What has changed for the Wolves and led to this turnaround?

The Wolves are reaching new heights, and they're just getting started

The halfway point of the 2023-24 NBA regular season has arrived, offering the perfect opportunity to analyze this year's Most-Valuable-Player race.
The favorites include Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid, Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic and Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.&nbsp;
The OKC superstar is the lone player in the group who has not received the accolade, making him the most exciting to discuss.
Gilgeous-Alexander is leading the Thunder to one of their most impressive seasons in recent memory. The 25-year-old has Oklahoma City sitting as the No. 2 seed in the Western Conference with a 27-13 record. He is having his best statistical season yet, averaging 31 points, 6.3 assists and 2.3 steals on 55.2% shooting from the field and 32.6% from beyond the arc.
His ability to score at all three levels at 6-foot-6 is what separates him from the superstar big men. While Embiid and Jokic can knock down a three-pointer on a consistent basis, they lack the ability to create their own shot from beyond the arc. Gilgeous-Alexander uses his speed to create for himself inside the paint, which leads to opportunities away from the rim due to expectations of an attack.
NBA legend Shaquille O&rsquo;Neal believes that SGA has surpassed Dallas Mavericks superstar Luka Doncic.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;m gonna have to take [SGA]. Luka is a fabulous player, but this kid? He plays the right way [and] gets his teammates involved,&rdquo; O&rsquo;Neal said on TNT. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m taking him right now. He&rsquo;s a hell of a player right now.&rdquo;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560">
Shaq says he'd take SGA over Luka right now 👀 &ldquo;I&rsquo;m gonna have to take [SGA]. Luka is a fabulous player but this kid? He plays the right way [and] gets his teammates involved. &hellip; I&rsquo;m taking him right now. He&rsquo;s a hell of a player right now.&rdquo; <a href="https://t.co/apYBmLT5Am">pic.twitter.com/apYBmLT5Am</a>
&mdash; NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBAonTNT/status/1747418615383572970?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 17, 2024</a></blockquote>

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

There&rsquo;s no denying that SGA is leading his team to a more successful year on paper. It remains to be seen if Gilgeous-Alexander can emerge as the MVP frontrunner over his 7-foot competitors.
Embiid&rsquo;s downfall may be the newly implemented 65-game rule, where a player must take part in a minimum of 65 games to be eligible for major awards. He has missed 10 of Philadelphia&rsquo;s 39 games this season. Not to mention, the six-time All-Star may have to deal with voter fatigue.
Expectations for Jokic are higher due to the fact that he consistently posts phenomenal box scores. Not to mention, he&rsquo;s already a two-time winner of the award (so voter fatigue is also a factor with him). His situation is similar to that of LeBron James. The 19-time All-Star has received MVP four times in his career, but the Los Angeles Lakers superstar has arguably been the NBA's top player for more than a decade throughout his career.
The second half of the season will act as the determining factor, but right now, SGA is performing on par with the other MVP favorites.

Where does Shai Gilgeous-Alexander rank in the NBA's MVP race at the midway point of the season?

Where does Shai Gilgeous-Alexander rank in the NBA MVP race?

This season, there's no NBA team that seems poised to breeze through the postseason. However, there are a number of legitimate championship contenders and a multitude of organizations that are a single piece away from joining that tier.
As the NBA's Feb. 8 trade deadline approaches, the most intriguing target for these teams is Utah Jazz star forward Lauri Markkanen. The All-Star is averaging 23.6 points, 8.4 rebounds and 3.2 threes on 49.4% shooting from the field and 38.5% from three-point range in 27 games this season.
The Jazz are reportedly willing to have conversations involving Markkanen, although their asking price is significant. Expect plenty of front offices to express interest in the forward over the next month.
If Utah decides to move Markkanen, the Oklahoma City Thunder would be a perfect landing spot. With the second-best record in the Western Conference, OKC is already seen as a contender, but the reigning Most Improved Player could put them over the hump. Their core is highlighted by superstar Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, center Chet Holmgren and forward Jalen Williams. This trio fuels one of the highest-powered offenses in the league, ranking in the top five in many statistical categories. The addition of Markkanen would provide scoring and size to one of the NBA&rsquo;s biggest lineups. Not to mention, he fits their timeline perfectly since he's only 26 years old.
The Miami Heat could make sense as a trade partner for Utah as well. Miami&rsquo;s roster is filled with a mix of veterans and young talent. Forward Jimmy Butler is past his prime at 34 years old, while Bam Adebayo (26 years old), Tyler Herro (23 years old) and Jaime Jaquez Jr. (22 years old) are significantly younger. Markkanen could balance their eras, excelling them into Eastern Conference contention with the Milwaukee Bucks and Boston Celtics this season while also fitting alongside Adebayo, Herro, Jaquez and Co. going forward. Pat Riley is constantly star hunting, so this kind of move wouldn't be a surprise.
There are quite a few contenders that could use Markkanen, as his skill-set allows him to fit seamlessly with virtually every team.
One non-playoff team that could be a fascinating destination for Markkanen is San Antonio, where he would be paired with No. 1 overall pick Victor Wembanyama. The 20-year-old from France is one of the most exciting prospects in NBA history. He has not disappointed early in his career, as he is averaging 19.2 points and 10.1 rebounds. The Spurs have a history of developing big men into superstars, including Tim Duncan and David Robinson. Getting Wemby some help could speed up the Spurs' plan and allow them to maximize the final years of Gregg Popovich's coaching career.
Markkanen is a diverse offensive weapon who thrives on all three levels. His height allows him to finish inside the paint without a strength-based style of play. A minimal amount of his shots come in the mid-range, but he has the talent to knock them down efficiently. He's a 7-footer who can knock down threes at a near-40% clip, which is somewhat rare for someone his size.
He uses his various methods of scoring to his advantage by exhibiting a balanced approach on offense. This season, 41.7% of his points come from two-pointers, while 40.9% are three-pointers. Markkanen tends to perform better as an off-ball scorer, with 82.7% of his points coming off assists. This ability to play alongside other stars makes him even more attractive to playoff teams, as they already have studs who demand the ball in their hands.
While his stats have slightly decreased this year because of fewer minutes and a lower usage rate, it's worth pointing out that Markkanen still accounts for more than a fourth of Utah&rsquo;s made field goals.
It remains to be seen if the Jazz will seriously consider moving Markkanen, but plenty of playoff teams will pick up the phone if he's put on the trade block.

As the NBA's Feb. 8 trade deadline approaches, Utah Jazz star forward Lauri Markkanen is an intriguing target for teams.

Lauri Markkanen could be game-changing acquisition for NBA contender

Every year, there&rsquo;s a huge debate surrounding the NBA&rsquo;s Most Valuable Player race. There&rsquo;s no clear-cut criteria for MVP, which begs the question:&nbsp;
How do you define Most Valuable Player?
We asked our BasketballNews.com staff to share their thoughts.
Ethan Fuller: The MVP award should recognize the best regular-season performance. That means the best statistical season, with some extra weight put on winning -- not necessarily the best player on the best team. The MVP award doesn't have to go to the best player in basketball. If that were the case, LeBron James would have swept the decade -- and that's not really an award to savor. If a player is putting up monster numbers on a playoff team that clearly needs them, they're an MVP candidate.
Nekias Duncan: For me, MVP is the most impactful player on the floor for a great team. There is a statistical baseline that should also be reached &mdash; this is what knocks a guy like, say, Rudy Gobert down a peg or two for me &mdash; but it&rsquo;s a blend of impact, traditional stats, and wins.
Moke Hamilton: Ahhh, the age-old debate about the MVP award. I think, over the years, it&rsquo;s changed. When Steve Nash won his two MVP awards, that&rsquo;s around the time that we began hearing people use &ldquo;team success&rdquo; as the major barometer for value. Personally, I&rsquo;d define the MVP as a two-way matrix that measures an individual&rsquo;s productivity with the success of their team. In other words, the more incredible the player&rsquo;s statistical production is, the less I&rsquo;d be concerned about their team's success. I&rsquo;d have no problem voting for Bradley Beal if he averaged 42 points per game, so long as the Wizards made the playoffs. On the other hand, I&rsquo;d be hard-pressed to not vote for Chris Paul if he led the Suns to, say, 68 wins and the West&rsquo;s top record -- even if his statistical contributions weren&rsquo;t &ldquo;incredible.&rdquo; (For what it&rsquo;s worth, if I had a vote this year, my top three would be Nikola Jokic, Chris Paul and Joel Embiid, and I think I&rsquo;d be inclined to give it to Paul, though I wouldn&rsquo;t make my final decision until the regular season ends). Again, for me, it&rsquo;s an equation that takes both the team&rsquo;s success and the player&rsquo;s statistical contributions into account.
Alex Kennedy: The NBA will never provide a clear definition for MVP because they love the fact that we spend so much time debating who deserves the award every year. Since everyone is grading from their own rubric, there are typically a handful of candidates that have a compelling case for the award each season. For me, I define MVP as a combination of individual production, team success, and availability.&nbsp;
<div class="mceNonEditable"><spike>&nbsp;</spike></div>
Chris Sheridan: I have always made "value" the operative word when voting for NBA postseason awards. "Value" is quantified in different ways in different years, but the default is something along the lines of: The player whose team was much, much better than everyone expected, and he was the main reason why.
Spencer Davies: Defining MVP should be simple: what does the team look like when that player is not on the floor? Forget the statistics and the record; if you&rsquo;re an MVP talent, those two things should come along with it. The key word here is &ldquo;valuable,&rdquo; meaning the player that has the most value to his particular team. Think of it like this -- if you took away that individual&rsquo;s contributions and production, would the squad be in the same position? Another note I&rsquo;d like to make on the MVP debates: it should not matter who the player&rsquo;s teammates are, whether they are stars or not. It is wrong to disqualify a player who&rsquo;s on a super-team if they&rsquo;re performing at the highest level. (No, I&rsquo;m not suggesting James Harden should win the award. But should he be considered? Sure.)
Jonathan Concool: In today&rsquo;s NBA, I think numbers play a big role in determining the league&rsquo;s MVP. If you look at recent MVPs, each had absurd per-game averages, so I think statistics have a lot of say in today&rsquo;s MVP races. The Thunder were the West's sixth seed in 2016-17, but Russell Westbrook still won MVP because of his stats (31.6 PPG, 10.7 RPG, 10.4 APG). I think MVP used to be awarded to the most impactful player in the league, like when Steve Nash beat out Kobe Bryant for the 2006 MVP award. Bryant clearly had better numbers, but it was hard to overlook Nash&rsquo;s impact that year. To me, the team&rsquo;s record, the number of games played, and the individual performance all factor into the MVP decision.
Mark Gunnels: For me, a MVP is someone who elevates his team past expectations. For example, a guy like Chris Paul should get more MVP consideration because the Suns are top-two in the West when most people had them barely making the playoffs before the season
This article was originally published on April 24, 2021. Check out our other roundtables including:
<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/which-active-nba-player-head-coach-someday-retire-roundtable" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Which active NBA player would make a great coach someday?</a>
<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-biggest-draft-steal-of-last-10-years-roundtable" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Who's the biggest draft steal of the last 10 years?</a>

Every year, there’s a debate surrounding the NBA’s MVP race. Since there’s no clear-cut criteria, how do you define Most Valuable Player?

NBA Roundtable: How do you define Most Valuable Player?

Former NBA GM Pete Babcock opens up to Etan Thomas about how the media's false narratives can greatly influence NBA front offices.

Former NBA GM on how media coverage, false narratives impact players

This article was initially published on BasketballNews on October, 29, 2020.
I take pride in my defense. I&rsquo;ve always enjoyed guarding the best scorer on the other team. I look forward to it. When I&rsquo;m assigned one of those match-ups, I know it&rsquo;s gonna be a fun night.
In my 13 years as an NBA player, I guarded many perennial All-Stars and future Hall-of-Famers. I&rsquo;m talking about the best of the best. I tried to contain them and get under their skin. I'd constantly poke my hands in to try to get a pick or at least throw off their rhythm. If I could get scorers to think and worry about my hands, that was a win for me. But for these guys, it was basically impossible. They were always locked in.
What is it like to guard these superstars? In part one, I shared <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-corey-brewer-guarding-stars-lebron-james-giannis-antetokounmpo-james-harden-kevin-durant-stephen-curry-damian-lillard-russell-westbrook-kawhi-leonard-carmelo-anthony" target="_blank" rel="noopener">my experiences defending current elite scorers</a>. Today, I&rsquo;ll break down some of the retired legends that I matched up against:
Kobe Bryant
You never forget the first time you played against Kobe Bryant. For me, it was in my rookie year in Minnesota and he dropped 30 on us. When he stepped on the court, just his swag, his whole demeanor, made me feel like, &ldquo;Damn, this is Kobe Bryant!&rdquo;&nbsp;
Kobe was a nightmare to guard. Seriously. He knew what he wanted to do, and I couldn't make him do anything different. It was like the game was a script to him; it was really a Hollywood script, and he was going to put me in his movie. I can&rsquo;t explain it any other way except that I was in Kobe&rsquo;s movie. When I was in the mid-post with him, he knew what he was about to do. It was: &ldquo;I'm gonna fake left and then fade over my right shoulder,&rdquo; or, &ldquo;I'm gonna pump-fake you, make you foul me and get the and-one,&rdquo; or &ldquo;I&rsquo;m gonna pump fake and go dunk on your head.&rdquo; He had a plan and he executed it. He was amazing, man. Unbelievable. Kobe would make so many difficult shots and I&rsquo;d just be amazed.
<img src="https://basketballnews-media.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/images/story/body/brewer_kobe_2_lg.jpg" alt="" width="796" height="AUTO" />
He was a no-nonsense killer, and that's why I'm glad I got to play him in the playoffs a couple of times. Just to see him in that environment, playing at that level and being the way he is on the basketball court, that's why everybody respects him so much. He was that good, and he was really a student of the game. That's why he played for 20 years. He worked his tail off, and he was that good for so long because he was such a hard worker in all the nuances and technical aspects of the game. He was everything. He was relentless and steadfast in his plan: from his footwork to his bank shots to getting fouled--everything he did, I knew he had thought about it, worked on it and watched film on it. He loved the game. That's why Kobe Bryant was Kobe Bryant. Rest in Peace.
Dirk Nowitzki
I actually used to get to guard Dirk a lot. Dirk's tough, man -- the one-leggers! He's a "footer" meaning he's at least 7 feet tall, so I'm not gonna block his shot, and I'm not gonna speed him up no matter what. Like Kobe, he had a plan and I just hoped I could try to do something that made him get out of a rhythm. When I guarded Dirk, I just tried to deny him in his favorite spots or front the post. I just tried to be a little 6-9 pest. It felt like the only thing I could do guarding Dirk was be a nuisance because when he got the ball, it was over. He might miss, but he was typically going to get the shots he wanted. If I could just force him to shoot 12 inches away from where he most wanted to go, I did my job.&nbsp;
Dirk is one of the best scorers I've seen in the NBA. Ever. I played with him in 2011, when he had that incredible postseason and got us a Championship ring when we defeated the Miami Heat in the NBA Finals. It didn&rsquo;t matter who they put out there, he wasn't going to be stopped during our run to the championship.&nbsp;
<img style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" src="https://basketballnews-media.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/images/story/body/brewer_dirk_1-1_lg.jpg" alt="" width="860" height="AUTO" />
Dirk is for sure the reason we have all these stretch-fours now. The trail three, that was his bread and butter! At the time, bigs used to run back into the paint, but Dirk Nowitzki trailed in, stopped at the three-point line and let it fly -- and it would splash. Dirk was a bad boy, man.&nbsp;
While we all revel in how he shot the ball, it was the tireless work he put into his craft that made him that kind of shooter. He worked on the one-leg jumper so much. It wasn&rsquo;t just some random move he would do sometimes; he worked on it a lot, and that's why he made so many and why it became his go-to. He changed the game and evolved the big man position we all see now.&nbsp;
Dwyane Wade
I hated guarding D-Wade because his pump fake was just unbelievable. He was so athletic. Going to the rim, he&rsquo;d dunk on people. Then he'd go and just stop on a dime, pump fake, then draw a foul. I knew his plan so I'd try not to foul him, but that&rsquo;s when he had me right where he wanted--not as aggressive as I normally am. He was just tough with the way he approached the game, the way he played the game and how good he was at getting to the basket and finishing.&nbsp;
<img style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" src="https://basketballnews-media.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/images/story/body/brewer_wade_1-1_lg.jpg" alt="" width="860" height="AUTO" />
And, seriously, Dwyane Wade's pump fake has to be up there as one of the greatest ever. I hated that pump fake. My goal there was just to stay down and make him shoot a jump shot over me. I feel like if I did that, I did my job -- which, a lot of times, it still wasn't good enough. But hey, I did my job; I'd rather him pump fake, shoot a jump shot and make it than him pump fake and draw a foul or dunk on me or my teammate -- because his dunks would always get his team and the crowd going. My job wasn't to stop scorers like him, it was to get them to take shots they were less likely to make than they otherwise would if I didn't do my job. Fouling was the worst thing I could do--most scorers shoot free throws well.&nbsp;
Gilbert Arenas
If Gilbert Arenas didn&rsquo;t get hurt, we&rsquo;d be talking about him on a different level. I feel like people don't realize how good he was and how well he played during his prime. When he got that big contract, he deserved it. He just got hurt and had bad luck. That's all you can say. But he was a tough guard with the way he could shoot it.&nbsp;
I wanted him to pass. I would try to send him to my help and get the ball out of his hands because when he had that ball in his hands, he could get going. They didn't call him "Hibachi" for nothing! When he got going, he got going. He heated up fast when his confidence soared.
Gilbert Arenas was actually one of the first dudes to be coming off the pick-and-roll and pull it from deep. He used to pull from deep, and he had the ball on a string; when he went to the basket, that was his thing. Gilbert was tough, and I feel like if he didn't get hurt, we're talking about him in a different sense. But I have to show him love because he was that good.
Tracy McGrady
I caught T-Mac toward the end of his time with the Houston Rockets. T-Mac was tough. I remember the first time I played T-Mac, he'd catch it and he'd jab step. He'd jab me off, and it was a thing of beauty. I&rsquo;d be thinking, &ldquo;What is he gonna do? Is he gonna pull up? Is he gonna try to get by me?&rdquo; His jab step was one of the best ever. I wish I could&rsquo;ve faced off against T-Mac more.
Check out Corey&rsquo;s <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-corey-brewer-guarding-stars-lebron-james-giannis-antetokounmpo-james-harden-kevin-durant-stephen-curry-damian-lillard-russell-westbrook-kawhi-leonard-carmelo-anthony" target="_blank" rel="noopener">article breaking down what it&rsquo;s like to guard current superstars</a> such as LeBron James, Kevin Durant, James Harden, Giannis Antetokounmpo and more.

Corey Brewer details his experiences defending the legends of the past in the NBA.

Guarding Legends: Corey Brewer on defending Kobe, D-Wade, Dirk, more

On Wednesday, the Las Vegas Aces defeated the New York Liberty 70-69 in Game 4 of the WNBA Finals to secure their second-straight championship.
Even with starters Chelsea Gray and Kiah Stokes injured, the Aces were able to close out the series thanks to a terrific performance from superstar A'ja Wilson, who finished with 24 points, 16 rebounds, 1 block and 1 steal on 52.4% shooting from the field. Wilson earned the WNBA Finals MVP award after averaging 21.3 points, 12.5 rebounds and 1.3 blocks on 50% shooting throughout the series.
Several other Aces stepped up including Cayla George (11 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 steals and 3 threes) and Alysha Clark (10 points, 8 rebounds and 2 assists on 57.1% shooting). Kelsey Plum struggled with her shot (making just 2-of-12 attempts from the field and missing all four of her three-pointers), but she found other ways to impact the game and finished with 7 points, 8 rebounds, 5 assists and 1 steal.
Courtney Vandersloot led the Liberty with 19 points, 7 rebounds, 6 assists, 4 threes and 1 steal, but it wasn't enough to lift New York to victory. The Aces deserve credit for shutting down Breanna Stewart, who had just 10 points while shooting 3-of-17 (17.6%) from the field and 0-of-3 from three-point range.
The Aces dominated all season, winning a WNBA-best 34 games during the regular season and losing just one game during their playoff run (to the Liberty in Game 3 of the WNBA Finals).&nbsp;
Las Vegas had the WNBA's top-ranked offense (scoring 113 points per 100 possessions) and top-ranked defense (allowing 97.7 points per 100 possessions) during the regular season. That continued during the postseason, as they led all teams in offensive rating (108.1 points per 100 possessions) and defensive rating (92.7 points per 100 possessions).&nbsp;
Las Vegas becomes the first WNBA team to win back-to-back championships in 21 years (when the Los Angeles Sparks accomplished the feat). The Aces, 2001-02 Sparks and 1997-2000 Houston Comets are the only teams in WNBA history to win consecutive titles.

The Las Vegas Aces defeated the New York Liberty 70-69 in Game 4 of the WNBA Finals to secure their second-straight championship.

Whittier Poets