A real scowl peaks out behind the practiced one. He is quick to laugh, but also to anger. When he came into the league, there were suggestions that perhaps he should play as point guard, and he still has a point guard’s instinct to include his teammates. But he has had to do so much on his own.
As a rookie, he had nineteen unassisted dunks; five years later, he had more than a hundred. So far this year, he is averaging more than twenty points in the paint while playing just over thirty minutes a game. He’s making nearly eighty per cent of his shots within five feet of the rim. A lot of them, spectacularly, are driving dunks. He is a team unto himself. On Friday night, against the Chicago Bulls, he scored forty-one points, to go with fifteen rebounds, nine assists, two steals, and two blocks. No one has a greater impact on the court right now than Antetokounmpo.
The Bucks have played with math for a long time, trying to leverage Antetokounmpo’s efficiency. But, since winning that title in 2021, the team has not been back to the Eastern Conference Finals, let alone the Finals. The Bucks have been knocked out of the playoffs in the first round three years in a row. Antetokounmpo, once criticized for poor shooting, has shot better than sixty per cent from the field in back-to-back seasons. But the team’s front office has had trouble finding the right people to fit around him, and the coaches have struggled to create space on the floor for him to move.
This past off-season was an odd one for the Bucks. After the quick playoff exit, there were rumors that Antetokounmpo would be the latest N.B.A. star to ask for a trade. As training camp began, the rumors got more specific: he had been eying the New York Knicks as a possible destination, people claimed. He was forthright when asked about it: “I’ve said this many times: I want to be in a situation that I can win,” he told the press. He added, “I’m locked into whatever I have in front of me. Now, if in six, seven months I change my mind, I think that’s human, too.”
The right to change one’s mind is not a grace often afforded to pro athletes—nor to the rest of us, for that matter. The public record is what it is, and commitment is framed as an all-or-nothing proposition. But Antetokounmpo stepped into this season with a display of strength and dominance that is awesome even from him. In the off-season, the Bucks cut the high-priced All-Star Damian Lillard and shifted some of that money to Turner, and they secured a pair of guards: Ryan Rollins, a second-year second-round draft pick, and Cole Anthony, a talented player whose progress with his previous team, the Orlando Magic, had appeared to stall. Rollins has been a terrific defender and the Bucks’ second leading scorer, and Anthony has shown a feel for moving the ball to the right spot. Turner, a six-foot-eleven center who can shoot the three, flies around to create space, and the sharp-shooting A. J. Green complements Antetokounmpo’s paint game by staying outside the three-point arc. Every player has a purpose. But it only works with Antetokounmpo. When he’s on the court, the Bucks have one of the best offenses in the league. When he’s off the court, they stink.
You could say that about many stars—it’s what makes them stars. The Denver Nuggets are nothing without Nikola Jokić; LeBron James, for decades, was a team unto himself. But Antetokounmpo’s burden seems different. There is a solitariness about him that he can’t or won’t shake. Two of his brothers are now his teammates, and he defends the rest of the Bucks as if they were his brothers, too. After the game against the Pacers, he explained his response to the crowd’s derision as an act of generosity toward Turner, who had been a critical part of the team that had knocked the Bucks out of the playoffs only a few months before. “It was just me trying to show camaraderie, encouragement to my teammate,” Antetokounmpo said. “Which, if you really think about it, four or five months ago he was the one blocking my shot, pushing me on the floor.” He added, “I respect him when I played against him, and now that he’s my teammate it’s a lot of love towards him.” Maybe so. And yet, watching the other Bucks hang off of Antetokounmpo after that buzzer-beater—as he stared into the middle distance, seeming almost oblivious to the teammates clasping at his shoulders, with his fingers on his lips as the boos rained down—I couldn’t help thinking that he still looks like a man apart. ♦
Jared Dudley’s second career had already started before his first one was over. He just needed time to realize it.
Winning a championship with LeBron James helped him get there. By then, Dudley had been bouncing around the NBA for more than a dozen years. The LeBron- and Anthony Davis-led Lakers were his seventh team. “When you can sit in a room and watch film with LeBron, AD and (Rajon) Rondo and call them out,” he says, “it’s something that very few coaches have the guts to be able to do, the credibility.”
Dudley felt perfectly comfortable doing that. Enough to begin to recognize a knack for leadership that could serve him beyond his playing years, which were numbered anyway. “It’s like I’d been coaching my last four or five years in the NBA,” he realized.
In 2021, he was planning to prolong his time on the Lakers’ roster as a veteran bench presence — he and James had developed a close friendship — but a new opportunity beckoned. Former Lakers assistant Jason Kidd took over as head coach of the Mavericks, and he had a staff opening ready for Dudley.
The beloved longtime role player took the leap directly into coaching. Four years later, he’s ascending the ranks. Nuggets coach David Adelman kicked off his regime this summer by hiring Dudley to oversee Denver’s defense, which ranked 21st in the league last season.
“Word of mouth,” Adelman said. “A lot of people told me great things about him, and in this league, sometimes it’s not who you know; it’s what you hear from other people you respect and trust.”
A coaching lifer, Adelman wanted to make sure he built a staff that included former players to introduce a healthy range of perspectives. In the 40-year-old Dudley, he landed someone who brought not just schematic creativity, which has already been on display early this season, but a candid demeanor and clear understanding of NBA locker room dynamics.
“Just because you were a player doesn’t mean you can relate,” Dudley told The Denver Post in an interview this week. “It takes all those different experiences on my journey as a player to be able to know how to talk to them, when to talk to them, when to come at Jamal (Murray), when to come at (Nikola) Jokic, when to call other players out.
“… That’s what I’m trying to do (for) a team that struggled on defense but has a historically good offense. Make this team above-average defensively to give us a chance to win a championship.”
Dudley didn’t always have the “guts” to speak up as audaciously as he did late in his playing career. But that’s how it should be, he thinks. Confidence and privilege come with age in a league where status matters. When Dudley was young, observing and adapting meant survival.
“My mom always taught me a good player is one that listens. So I never had a problem,” he said. “Steve Nash told me one time, ‘When I pass you the ball, I’m passing you the ball with an advantage. So if you don’t have an advantage, pass me the ball back.’ When he says that, OK, I remember that. I believe in a hierarchy where there’s different levels, and superstars get different treatment and can say different things. I believe in that.”
Few people in the league today have worked alongside as many superstars as Dudley. He was traded to Phoenix in 2008 as a second-year bench player, teaming up with Steve Nash, Grant Hill and Shaquille O’Neal. He played with Chris Paul and Blake Griffin on the Lob City Clippers, then with a young Giannis Antetokounmpo in Milwaukee, John Wall in Washington, Devin Booker in Phoenix, LeBron and AD in Los Angeles. He coached Luka Doncic, Jalen Brunson and Kyrie Irving in Dallas.
He tried to absorb something from each experience. Nash’s instructions on what to do with the ball as a role player were a north star. Dudley also partially attributes the length of his career (14 years) to lessons learned from Nash about taking care of his body — “all the stuff he did pre and postgame: IVs, acupuncture, working on your core.” O’Neal taught him in those early years how to balance seriousness and light-heartedness.
Jared Dudley (3) and Steve Nash (13) of the Phoenix Suns during Game 2 of the Western Conference Semifinals of the 2010 NBA Playoffs against the San Antonio Spurs at US Airways Center on May 5, 2010 in Phoenix, Arizona. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
Dudley built a reputation with his IQ despite his awkward body type. He played a bit of power forward at Boston College, was drafted as a small forward, then he transformed himself into a starting two-guard with the Suns. He monitored league trends, such as the emergence of Draymond Green and downsized lineups. In Milwaukee, he asked to play the four after Jabari Parker tore an ACL. “I saw the defenses weren’t evolving fast enough for the small-ball four,” Dudley recalled. “I got ahead of it. … You have to evolve — 90% of the league is role players.”
That’s the ethos he’s trying to bring to the Nuggets, a team with a similarly heady identity. Aaron Gordon, in particular, outfitted his game to complement Jokic in 2021 when he was traded to Denver — a reinvention that echoes how Dudley changed his game to function with an all-time great passer in Phoenix.
When Dudley traveled to Denver for his interview in July, he arrived with a film project, exploring zone options and how the staff could limit Jokic’s defensive workload this season. “Even though it might be word-of-mouth,” he said, “you’ve still gotta impress.” He and Adelman had dinner together for more than four hours, talking scheme for about 35% of it (in Dudley’s estimation) and life for the other 65%. Adelman didn’t need much time to deliberate.
Dudley’s family is staying in Dallas this school year, with plans to join him in Denver before his second season. He’s been keeping up with his daughter’s high school volleyball games via live stream on Tuesday and Thursday nights when the Nuggets don’t play. Most of his time right now is spent working, though. “Next year it’ll be a little bit of a smoother and easier transition,” he said. “This gives me a little bit more time to focus, lock in and do the job that needs to be done.”
His defining principle as a defensive coordinator is directly related to his point of view on NBA superstardom: “Coming up with a defense that protects Jokic.”
In the Nuggets’ old system, the MVP center almost always played an aggressive position higher up the floor. Dudley doesn’t want him burning so much energy defensively. He would rather Denver’s guards and wings have more difficult and taxing responsibilities at that end, so Jokic’s battery can be maximized on offense.
“I can’t teach (him) anything offensively. You’re already this. You’ve got that,” Dudley said. “But defensively, I can teach you. I’ve played with different centers. I’ve played with Boban (Marjanovic), who’s bigger than you and slower than you. … I only want him to think about going back to the rim, Point A to Point B. I don’t want him having him to go guard these guards on the wings, in rotations.”
That means more zone, more man-to-man disguised as zone, more drop coverage against pick-and-rolls, more cross-matching. “There’s nothing that I won’t try,” Dudley said. Still, he is trying to hold Jokic to a certain standard. He’s been sending the big man YouTube clips representing areas of potential improvement, mostly involving Jokic’s communication.
“I need him to be louder on the court,” Dudley said. “Kind of like Kevin Garnett, so it makes bad on-ball defenders a little bit better and more confident. … He’s by far the most humble and respectful superstar that I’ve had, in that when I text him, he texts right back.”
Jokic has been game for the fresh ideas, and he seemingly appreciates Dudley’s willingness to hold him accountable.
That takes guts.
“I think when he’s speaking,” Jokic said, “everybody listens. It’s a good addition to our team.”
Although the Greek Freak appears to be starting the 2025-26 season with the only team he has ever known, ESPN’s Kendrick Perkins unleashed quite a prediction that he believes will occur for Giannis by season’s end.
“We will not see Giannis Antetokounmpo in a Bucks uniform at the end of this season,” Perkins said.
As the rumor-filled offseason comes to an end, there has been at least one report that would certainly give Perkins’ bold prediction some more substance. Earlier this month, fellow ESPN insider Shams Charania reported that despite several teams expressing interest the New York Knicks were the only team that Antetokounmpo would have played for outside of Milwaukee.
“This offseason marked the first time that Antetokounmpo truly initiated the pursuit of his best external options, and he had discussions with the Bucks that ultimately led to the conversations between the franchise and the Knicks,” Charania wrote.
The nine-time All-NBA superstar remains in his absolute athletic prime even at age 30, and is still capable of powering even a lackluster roster to a 50-ish win season all by himself. Imagine what he could do alongside Jalen Brunson.
Should the Bucks Even Make a Deal in the Wide-Open East?
With the regular season looming, there is nothing stopping the Bucks from following through with a deal that would be more conducive to their franchise ahead of February’s trade deadline, but the Eastern Conference has never looked more wide open.
Superstar Jayson Tatum of the Boston Celtics will be out for the foreseeable future as he recovers from an Achilles tear, and last year’s winners of the East, the Indiana Pacers, will be without Tyrese Haliburton as he works to return from a torn Achilles tendon of his own.
Anything can happen this season for Milwaukee, but general manager Jon Horst (the 2019 NBA Executive of the Year) will do whatever it takes to position his team to win both now and for years to come.
The Houston Rockets have been one of the most aggressive teams in the NBA throughout the 2025 offseason. Acquiring Kevin Durant was arguably the biggest blockbuster move that any team made.
While the Durant trade was a big one for the Rockets, the team was connected to another high-profile move. Houston was one of the teams talked about as a potential trade suitor for Milwaukee Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo.
Antetokounmpo has been at the top of the NBA rumor mill this offseason. He has yet to fully decide on what he wants for the future. Will he stay with the Bucks?
Giannis Antetokounmpo #34 of the Milwaukee Bucks celebrates a three pointer against the Chicago Bulls during the second half at the United Center on March 01, 2024 in Chicago, Illinois. Giannis Antetokounmpo #34 of the Milwaukee Bucks celebrates a three pointer against the Chicago Bulls during the second half at the United Center on March 01, 2024 in Chicago, Illinois. Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images
Entering the 2025-26 season, that remains one of the biggest questions in the league. It’s entirely possible that Antetokounmpo could end up wanting out of Milwaukee by the trade deadline. Next offseason would be another possibility.
With that being said, the Rockets’ general manager spoke out with a revelation about Antetokounmpo.
During a recent interview on ESPN Houston, Rafael Stone spoke out and shared that Bucks’ general manager Jon Horst and he had a conversation about Antetokounmpo. It was made clear to him that the “Greek Freak” will not be traded.
He was asked specifically about whether or not Houston could trade for Antetokounmpo before the start of the 2025-26 season.
“No,” Stone said. “I deal well with Jon Horst (Bucks GM), I really like him. Jon was very clear that they weren’t doing anything. So, that was that.”
No one should be surprised about that statement. Milwaukee is still 100 percent determined to build a championship contender around Antetokounmpo.
Antetokounmpo also seems to prefer the idea of staying with the Bucks. He simply wants to be in a position where he can compete for another ring.
It will be interesting to see what the future has in store for both Milwaukee and Antetokounmpo. Things can change in the blink of an eye when it comes to the NBA. More should be known about that situation by the end of the upcoming season.
At this point, the Rockets will not be able to acquire Antetokounmpo. But, if he is made available on the trade block down the road, Houston will be a team to watch.
For more on the Houston Rockets and general NBA news, head on over to Newsweek Sports.
With much of the Sixers’ 2024-25 roster locked in more than a month removed from the start of a franchise-altering free agency, the time has come to evaluate their opposition in the Eastern Conference: of last season’s playoff teams in the East, which ones pose the biggest threats to the Sixers, and how do the teams match up with this new-look team?
Up third is the team captained by former Sixers head coach Doc Rivers: the Milwaukee Bucks.
The Bucks made some difficult decisions following a disappointing playoff exit at the end of the 2022-23 season. They traded Jrue Holiday and plenty of additional assets to acquire superstar point guard Damian Lillard — betting on a partnership of Lillard and Giannis Antetokounmpo giving the team greater upside — and parted ways with head coach Mike Budenholzer just a few years removed from the coaching veteran leading them to a championship. Milwaukee ultimately replaced Budenholzer with longtime assistant coach Adrian Griffin Sr.
Just 43 games into the 2023-24 season, Milwaukee fired Griffin in an unprecedented move. The team was 33-10 at the time, but Bucks brass simply no longer believed Griffin was not the right person for the job and, rather than wallow in their own mistake, took action and let go the rookie head coach.
Replacing Griffin was a coach with plenty of experience… Rivers, who had spent the first half of the season calling NBA games as part of ESPN’s top announcing teams after being let go by the Sixers following three consecutive disappointing playoff exits.
Due to the sheer volume of significant changes being made and a slew of injuries hitting the Bucks at the wrong times, the franchise never found its footing in 2023-24 and fell out of the NBA Playoffs with a first-round elimination at the hands of the Indiana Pacers.
Perhaps the most important improvement the Bucks could make this offseason was stabilizing their ability, securing a cohesive coaching staff and getting all of the team’s core pieces on the same page.
Roster changes
But, because the Bucks are a second apron team, they did not have much of a choice but to hope those things contribute to significant growth. Aside from using two draft picks, the team was limited to veteran’s minimum contracts to fill out their roster. To be fair, they did find three players who are likely surefire rotation pieces on minimum deals, but they did not add any franchise-altering talent.
Added: AJ Johnson (No. 23 overall pick in NBA Draft), Tyler Smith (No. 33 overall pick in NBA Draft), Gary Trent Jr. (free agency), Taurean Prince (free agency), Delon Wright (free agency)
Retained: n/a
Extended: n/a
Lost: Malik Beasley, Patrick Beverley, Danilo Gallinari, Thanasis Antetokounmpo
Last summer, sharpshooter Malik Beasley’s market dried up and Milwaukee pounced, offering him a minimum deal and a starting spot on a team that would free him up for plenty of three-point tries and giving him the chance to hit free agency again the following summer with a strong market — even if that meant his stay in Milwaukee only lasting one season.
After Beasley departed Milwaukee for a Detroit Pistons team desperate for three-point shooting, the team used the exact same playbook to sign Trent, who will likely occupy the role Beasley has vacated.
Prince and Wright, two veterans with some defensive versatility, will help raise the floor of an extremely suspect unit of reserves.
Depth chart projection
So, after the dust has settled, what does Rivers have to work with?
PG
SG
SF
PF
C
Damian Lillard
Gary Trent Jr.
Khris Middleton
Giannis Antetokounmpo
Brook Lopez
Delon Wright
Pat Connaughton
Andre Jackson Jr.
Taurean Prince
Bobby Portis
A.J. Green
MarJon Beauchamp
Like the Sixers, Milwaukee has a massive range of possible outcomes because of the fragility of some of their key pieces. Once an iron man of sorts, Lillard has played fewer than 60 games in two of the last three years and missed most of their playoff series last season. Antetokounmpo missed the entirety of that series and is a safe bet to miss a few weeks at some point in the year, but has rarely suffered overly serious injuries. Middleton perhaps carries the biggest red flag from an availability standpoint, playing in just 88 combined games over the last two seasons.
The Bucks have plenty of young, athletic wing players who have yet to assert themselves as viable rotation pieces on a nightly basis. One of Green, Jackson, Beauchamp or Johnson emerging from the pack would be a boon for Rivers.
Matching up with the Sixers
The revamped Sixers might have more sheer talent on their roster than the Bucks have on their roster. Oftentimes, though, a playoff series between teams in the same ballpark from a talent perspective is decided by which team’s best player takes command of the series. Over the last few seasons, Joel Embiid has been a better regular season performer than Antetokounmpo. But unlike the 2021 NBA Finals MVP, Embiid has never taken a series against a fellow contender by the horns and won it by his lonesome.
In terms of the games within the (theoretical) games here, the most fascinating subplot of a Sixers-Bucks matchup is how the Sixers would defend Antetokounmpo. In the regular season, they will likely throw as many bodies at him as they can while keeping Embiid near the basket. But when the chips are down, there is perhaps no player in the entire NBA who has the perfect combination of strength, size and basketball IQ to contain Antetokounmpo like Embiid has.
Joel Embiid’s defense on Giannis was stunning. Antetokounmpo took 11 shots against Embiid. After going 2-3 in the first four minutes, he went 0-8 and was blocked twice in the remainder of the game.
Lillard is as lethal of a scoring threat the guard position as there is in the NBA, not to mention one of the most clutch shot-makers there is. The Sixers will not prevent him from getting buckets, but they do have the requisite defensive pieces to make things challenging for him, most notably Kelly Oubre Jr. and Caleb Martin.
In Brook Lopez, the Bucks have a viable foe for Embiid when the former NBA MVP looks to dominate as a scorer. Antetokounmpo roaming as a free safety likely represents the most dangerous off-ball defensive threat in the NBA. But the Bucks simply lack enough quality perimeter defenders to consistently handle Tyrese Maxey or Paul George when either is at their best, let alone both at the same time.
Embiid vs. Antetokounmpo is an enticing debate, with plenty of strong points in both directions. But even if Antetokounmpo narrowly outperforms Embiid in a hypothetical series, the Sixers might have a clear advantage as far as the rest of the teams’ rotations go.
When you think of basketball shoes, your mind instantly zooms to Nike. You think of the Greatest Of All Time. Michael Jordan has created an empire of Air Jordan sneakers with a competitive resale market behind them.
But there was a world before Michael Jordan – before Nike took the leap and offered Jordan a stake in the company for a shoe deal. Before MJ, Nike meant zero in the basketball world. They sold him on the pitch that it’s about who’s in the shoes, not the shoes themselves. But before MJ, what kicks were players wearing?
Oddly enough, Converse. Yes, the popular high-top canvas sneaker was once the instrument of that satisfying symphony of squeaking you hear on the courts. And there was one style in particular that dominated the market: the Converse Weapon.
The History Of The Converse Weapon
Converse Weapon Ads
Converse
The Converse Weapon’s slogan was fittingly “more of NBA’s big guns are wielding a new Weapon.” That was a humble nod to the players who filled the popular leather sneaker like Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, Isaiah Thomas, and Mark Aguirre (to name a few.)
In the late 80’s, every player was wearing the Converse Weapon. With NBA legend, Philadelphia 76er Julius Erving, already under the Converse belt, the Weapon was their most elevated design yet.
And of course- there’s the much-documented Larry Bird-Magic Johnson feud that helped Converse market their shoe further. Both players dominated in the Weapons, so when they faced off, billboards showed photos of the two with the tagline, “Choose Your Weapon.”
By signing so many stars to their studded roster, Converse had everyone wearing their shoes. But exclusivity wins in the end. Nike gives everything they have to Michael Jordan, and Michael Jordan alone…and they take over as the dominating basketball shoe.
In 2024, nostalgia-core is a huge trend. We love to recycle, which is why 70’s style bell bottoms are back and Y2k low-rise mini skirts are somehow still going strong. Fur vests aren’t avant-garde, neither are loose bottoms with smaller tops.
The time is right for the Converse Weapon to make its great return. Really leaning into the nostalgia, Converse shared that the shoe is dropping in familiar colorways and the same leather, chunky high-top style we all know and love.
This is a part of Converse’s CX Project, which has already re-imagined the classic Chuck Taylor canvas sneaker. Using the original 1986 blueprint for their design, CX added their foam midsole and redesigned the outsole.
Not only are they bringing back the style made popular by Magic Johnson, but they’re also using one of the most fashionable NBA All-Stars, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, as the face of the shoe’s new era.
The new slogan is “Make History, Not Hype.” It’s a not-so-subtle dig at competing brands like Under Armour who have built their brand around big names like rapper Jack Harlow (who starred in the reboot of the 1992 basketball film, White Men Can’t Jump.)
Converse wants to let performance do the talking. Legacy doesn’t hurt either. With such a historic shoe, it just makes sense to invite SGA to be the face of the resurgence.
“It’s an iconic shoe for many reasons,” Gilgeous-Alexander told GQ, “but it’s cool to bring back these ‘80s sneakers in their original look and colors. I’m all about vintage, so this silhouette coming back just feels right.”
Gilgeous-Alexander may have piqued the interest of the non-basketball-obsessed internet with his MSCHF Big Red Boots, his presence at Fashion Weeks across the world, or simply his pregame fits. But on the court, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is just as show-stopping. He’s really having himself a year.
Who Is Shai Gilgeous-Alexander?
SGA for Converse Weapon
GQ
SGA is a point guard for the Oklahoma City Thunder, a first-round draft pick in 2018 who is averaging 22 points per game in his career so far. But what’s set him apart from the rest this year despite his dominant statlines are his leadership abilities.
Shai has quickly become a frontrunner in talks for the NBA’s MVP race this year, alongside greats like Denver Nuggets’ center Nikola Jokic and Milwaukee Bucks’ Giannis Antektokounmpo.
This season alone, he’s averaging over 30 ppg and the Thunder are second in the Western Conference, with a 42-19 record.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is the perfect fit for Converse for so many reasons: he’s one of the best in the game right now, he’s one of the leading fashion entities in the sports industry, and he’s not slowing down.
Converse thinks SGA is the perfect fit to usher in a new generation of the shoe…and so do we.
SAN FRANCISCO — The cartoonish Defensive Player of the Game chain is objectively the Nuggets’ corniest tradition, a blinged-up symbol of morale and affirmation usually reserved for college football sidelines rather than NBA locker rooms. If it seems one is too many, brace for impact.
“We only travel with one. We’ve gotta change that,” Nuggets coach Michael Malone said after a 119-103 win over the Warriors on Sunday. “Because if we had two chains, Nikola would have gotten the other one.”
The lone chain couldn’t belong to anyone else but Kentavious Caldwell-Pope for his dogged efforts in trying to out-cardio Steph Curry in the half-court. But in Nikola Jokic’s trio of videogame performances since the All-Star break, his defense has stood up respectably next to his offense. He’s averaging 27.3 points, 16.7 rebounds and 15 assists on 68.7% shooting … plus three “stocks,” a combination of blocks and steals.
When he’s on the floor this season, the Nuggets are allowing 112.1 points per 100 possessions, 1.3 below their overall total as a team.
As a crowded MVP race heats up with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Luka Doncic, Jokic’s four steals against Golden State were a testament to the trickiness in evaluating his defense. He’s not always noticeably impactful — the No. 1 argument skeptics make against his annual candidacy is that he’s a liability, even — but when he’s engaged in the game plan and actively anticipating an opponent’s next move the way he does on offense, he can be a master of his role in Denver’s defensive system.
“I think I’m not bad, not good,” Jokic said Sunday at Chase Center. “I’m in the middle.”
By the same token that Jokic doesn’t dunk the basketball often, he rarely swats shots or plays above the rim defensively. Instead, the Nuggets maximize their center’s strengths by having him guard higher up against ball screens than most big men in the NBA, subsequently leaning heavily on weak-side help from Aaron Gordon and Michael Porter Jr. to contain rollers. When Jokic can play from the middle of the floor, his vision and IQ work in sync with his quick hands.
“The more he’s up in pick-and-rolls and on the ball … that’s what he’s great at,” Caldwell-Pope said recently. “Just being up. Active hands. Getting deflections when they try to make that pocket pass.”
Jokic amassed five deflections to go with his four steals in Denver’s seventh consecutive win against the Warriors. As of the 56-game mark, he was tied for eighth in the league with 2.9 per game (as many as the absurdly wingspanned Victor Wembanyama). “That speaks to activity, that speaks to a physicality, that speaks to being in that right place in the right time,” said Malone. Disrupting the pocket pass is a facet of Jokic’s innate understanding of pick-and-roll angles, the same understanding that makes his two-man game with Jamal Murray so brilliant at the other end of the floor.
It’s not Murray he’s generally teaming up with to defend the pick-and-roll, though. It’s Caldwell-Pope, who’s regularly charged with premier backcourt matchups. The experienced Caldwell-Pope is one of the best guards in the league at navigating screens. But the Nuggets have minimal off-day practice time during the season to refine two-man defensive chemistry, and Jokic and Caldwell-Pope haven’t been playing their entire careers together. So, says Caldwell-Pope, it’s a matter of “learn on the go.”
“I feel like with Jok, in a pick-and-roll with him defensively, I know he’s gonna be up,” he said. “I know he has great hands, just like I have great hands. He’s gonna try to go for the steal as well. So just us two, being in that action, it helps me out a lot. It helps him just to get back to his man and helps me stay as close as possible to my man. That’s our game plan, him being up. And it’s good for our team, for him to be up.”
Caldwell-Pope added that his individual emphasis, to hound the ball-handler through the screen while Jokic also stays up, is made easier by Jokic dropping marginally behind him and being able to see other aspects of the play unfolding. “He reads plays faster than I can sometimes,” the former Laker said.
“That’s him, to be honest,” Jokic retorted of his chemistry with Caldwell-Pope. “I’m just there to not mess up. He’s a really good defender, and I’m there to just, try to help him a little bit. As much as I can. But it’s mostly him.”
Malone places particular emphasis on the big coming up on screens against the Warriors, whose on- and off-ball actions are often predicated on freeing up Steph Curry for a 3-point attempt. Curry scored 14 points in the third quarter Sunday, but he shot 1-for-10 from 3-point range overall and scored only six points in the other three quarters combined. He turned it over three times. The Warriors did 17 times. Jokic’s active hands were clogging passing lanes.
“He’s so smart defensively,” Steve Kerr marveled.
Caldwell-Pope might be the one chasing Curry around the floor. But the way Denver defends most plays initiated by Curry requires a competent defensive big man as well. If that’s not enough to help earn Jokic a third MVP trophy, Malone will have to bring a second chain next time instead.
“You’re almost blitzing (Curry),” Malone said. “And Nikola was up every time in those pick-and-rolls to help contribute to what KCP was doing. So his engagement and his activity was off the charts.”
LeBron James #23 of the Los Angeles Lakers takes a selfie on the bench during the second half of the game against New Orleans Pelicans at Crypto.com Arena on February 9, 2024 in Los Angeles, California.
Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images
NBA All-Star Week is here. While the NBA All Stars West and All Stars East are gearing up to compete, it’s already clear that the real winners this weekend will be the fans, who have an exciting and fun slate of NBA competitions to look forward to. There’s a celebrity game that features C.J. Stroud and Jennifer Hudson. There’s a three-point competition between Stephen Curry and Sabrina Ionescu. And, of course, there’s the crown jewel of the weekend, the NBA All-Star Game, captained by Giannis Antetokounmpo and LeBron James.
If you want to watch all the NBA All-Star action — and why wouldn’t you? — we have some great news. Live TV streaming service Sling TV is offering a 50% off deal for basketball fans ahead of the game. You can sign up to stream just this game (plus future live games broadcast on TNT, ESPN and your local ABC affiliate), or add-on the discounted Sling TV NBA League Pass and enjoy live out-of-market games all season long.
We’re breaking down all the Sling TV deals ahead of the 2024 NBA All-Star Game so you can score just as big as the All-Stars this weekend. Read on to learn how to watch the 2024 NBA All-Star game, or tap the button below to sign up for Sling TV and stream the game there.
When and where is the 2024 NBA All-Star Game?
The 2024 NBA All-Star Weekend is scheduled for February 16-18, 2024. It will be held in Indianapolis, IN.
The NBA All-Star Game is scheduled for Sunday, February 18, 2024 at 8:00 p.m. ET (5:00 p.m. PT).
What channel will air the 2024 NBA All-Star Game?
The 2024 NBA All-Star Game will broadcast live on TNT and stream on Sling TV.
Sling TV deal: Watch the NBA All-Star Game without cable and save big
If your cable subscription doesn’t include TNT, or if you don’t have a cable subscription at all, Sling TV is offering deep discounts on its various programming tiers that now include the NBA All-Star Game.
The most cost-effective way to stream the 2024 NBA All-Star game this year is through a subscription to Sling TV. The streamer offers access to 32 channels with its Orange, including TNT and ESPN. But what really sets Sling TV apart is its NBA League Pass offering that gives you special access to watch every out-of-market NBA game live.
Sling TV has a special NBA Prepay Bundle offer for those interested in NBA League Pass: You can prepay for three months of the NBA League Pass basketball streaming service, and get all the channels in the Orange tier, for $135. That works out to $45 per month. (One month of Orange + NBA League Pass regularly costs $55, so this combo plan is the best value.)
NBA League Pass is available as a $15 per month a la carte offering, though you’ll pay just $10 for your first month. You can learn more by tapping the button below.
Top features of the Sling TV NBA Prepay Bundle:
There are 32 channels to watch in total with Sling TV Orange, including ESPN and TNT.
It includes a three-month subscription to NBA League Pass, which streams out-of-market NBA games.
All subscription tiers include 50 hours of cloud-based DVR storage, perfect for recording all the biggest games of the season.
If you don’t want to prepay for three months of NBA coverage, but still want to stream the 2024 NBA All-Star Game without cable, you can sign up for Sling TV Orange and save 50% on your first month of service. You’ll get nationally televised NBA games, including the 2024 All-Star Game, 50 hours of DVR storage, plus access to live games broadcast on your local ABC affiliate (where available).
Sling TV Orange normally costs $40 per month, but with this deal, you can get your first month for $20.
What is NBA All-Star Weekend?
Stephen Curry #30 of the Golden State Warriors celebrates a three-point basket during the second half against the Utah Jazz at Delta Center on February 12, 2024 in Salt Lake City, Utah.
Alex Goodlett/Getty Images
NBA All-Star Weekend is jam-packed full of events and competitions leading up to the All-Star Game on Sunday. On Friday, February 16 at 7:00 p.m. ET, the All-Star Celebrity Game will be played. Airing on ESPN, the event will feature celebrities C.J. Stroud, Lil Wayne, Jennifer Hudson, A’ja Wilson and Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson.
On Saturday, February 17, All-Star Saturday Night features fan-favorite events like the Skills Challenge, Starry 3-Point Contest, Stephen Curry vs. Sabrina Ionescu in the 3-Point Challenge and the always popular Slam Dunk Contest.
The weekend will be capped off by the seventy-third NBA All-Star Game on Sunday, February 18 at 8:00 p.m. ET, pitting the best players of the Western Conference against the best of the Eastern Conference. That game will air on TNT.
Who is playing in the 2024 NBA All-Star Game?
Each All-Star team captain is the athlete who received the most fan votes in his conference. This year, Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo will serve as captain for the East and Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James will serve as captain for the West.
The 10 starters, which consist of two guards and three front court players per conference, were chosen by a combination of fans (50% of the vote), current players (25%) and the media (25%). A total of 12 players are selected from each conference.
This year’s starters are:
Eastern Conference
Giannis Antetokounmpo, Milwaukee Bucks *
Joel Embiid, Philadelphia 76ers^
Jayson Tatum, Boston Celtics
Tyrese Haliburton, Indiana Pacers
Damian Lillard, Milwaukee Bucks
Western Conference
LeBron James, Los Angeles Lakers *
Kevin Durant, Phoenix Suns
Nikola Jokic, Denver Nuggets
Luka Doncic, Dallas Mavericks
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Oklahoma City Thunder
* team captain ^ injured, will not play
What is the format for the NBA All-Star Game?
This year, the 2024 NBA All-Star Game returns to its classic format with four 12-minute quarters of play. In past years, NBA All-Star games used an usual scoring system where teams played to a target score (determined by adding 24 to the highest team total at the end of the third quarter) with no time limit in the fourth quarter.
Teams will continue to compete for the best score in each quarter to win a charitable donation to the organization of their choosing.
Key dates for the 2023-2024 NBA season
San Antonio Spurs rookie Victor Wembanyama.
Getty Images
With the 2024 NBA playoffs on the horizon, the best part of the NBA season is yet to come. The good news: You can stream all the best NBA games this season, including the NBA Finals, on Sling TV.
Here are all the important dates for basketball fans to remember, leading up to the NBA Finals in June.
February 16-18: NBA All-Star 2024 game (Indianapolis, IN)
February 16-21: NBA All-Star break
March 1: Playoff eligibility waiver deadline
March 30: NBA G League Regular Season ends
April 2: NBA G League Playoffs begin
April 14: NBA Regular Season ends
April 15: NBA Rosters set for NBA Playoffs 2024 (3 p.m. ET)
April 16-19: NBA Play-In Tournament
April 20: NBA 2024 Playoffs begin
April 28: NBA Early Entry Eligibility deadline (11:59 p.m. ET)
May 6-7: Conference Semifinals begin (may move up to May 4-5)
May 12: NBA Draft Lottery presented by State Farm (Chicago, IL)
May 13-17: NBA Combine (Chicago, IL)
May 21-22: Conference Finals begin (may move up to May 19-20)
June 6: NBA Finals 2024 Game 1
June 9: NBA Finals 2024 Game 2
June 12: NBA Finals 2024 Game 3
June 14: NBA Finals 2024 Game 4
June 17: NBA Draft Early Entry Entrant Withdrawal Deadline (5 p.m. ET)
June 17: NBA Finals 2024 Game 5 (if necessary)
June 20: NBA Finals 2024 Game 6 (if necessary)
June 23: NBA Finals 2024 Game 7 (if necessary)
June 26: NBA Draft 2024 presented by State Farm (First Round)
June 27: NBA Draft 2024 presented by State Farm (Second Round)
July 12-22: NBA 2K Vegas Summer League (Las Vegas)
INDIANAPOLIS — No matter how many All-Stars the NBA filed into a packed room Saturday to talk over one another in simultaneous news conferences, a silence reverberated loudest. Loud enough to be heard in at least a few of the questions.
The most significant absence in Indianapolis this weekend is the one that’s shaking up the 2023-24 MVP race.
Philadelphia’s Joel Embiid was the presumptive favorite until early February when he underwent surgery to repair his lateral meniscus. The left knee injury has rendered him ineligible to repeat as league MVP under new NBA policy, which requires players to appear in a minimum of 65 games to be considered for end-of-year awards such as MVP and All-NBA.
The procedure will sideline Embiid long enough that he almost definitively wouldn’t have won MVP even without the new rule. However, his situation has still sparked debate in league circles about whether or not the 65-game minimum should have been instituted in the first place. Why? Because there was wide speculation Embiid felt pressured to play through a pre-existing knee injury in order to maintain awards eligibility, especially after getting ridiculed for missing his fourth consecutive road game against the Nuggets — and MVP adversary Nikola Jokic — in late January.
Two games later, Embiid was back in the lineup when Golden State’s Jonathan Kuminga fell on his leg and caused the injury that required surgery.
Jokic is perversely positioned to benefit from Embiid’s unfortunate situation. The Nuggets center is the new betting favorite to win his third MVP in the last four years. But he takes no joy in that. He was asked about the 65-game rule Saturday during his media session at All-Star weekend.
“Definitely forcing players to play, even when they’re injured or whatever,” Jokic said. “But we saw what happened with Joel. … I don’t know. I just don’t like it, how it forces players to play even if they’re injured, if they want to achieve something.”
Arguments against the rule largely depend on the arbitrary nature of the league’s chosen number. No data-driven evidence was provided to explain why 65 makes more sense as a games-played minimum than, say, 67 — one more than the number of games Embiid played last year when he won MVP. In 2022-23, Jokic finished second in voting with 69 games played. Giannis Antetokounmpo was third with 63.
With the door wide open now, Jokic’s biggest challenger for the 2023-24 crown is his All-Star teammate, Oklahoma City’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
The Thunder guard, who ranks second in the league in scoring (31.1 points) and first in steals (2.2), wasn’t as quick to condemn the rule as Jokic was.
“I’m not too sure. I think no matter what, there’s like a fine line,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “Like, when it comes down to it, there’s always a fine line in games played and availability. And I think the league has the right intention in trying to make that line a little bit bolder and easier to make a decision. Now, I try to be as available as I can every night, not only for that but just for the love of the game. But as far as how the rule goes, I don’t really have an opinion. I’m gonna try to be available for my team to win basketball games every night, and if I can’t be available, then I just can’t, and it is what it is.”
The last remark in Gilgeous-Alexander’s answer operates as a rebuttal to Jokic’s point: Players can and should be responsible for their own decision-making when their health is involved, regardless of what a rule incentivizes.
Beyond the MVP layer of the debate, Indiana All-Star Tyrese Haliburton has said recently that he felt rushed to return from an injury this season because his eligibility to sign a supermax contract depends on him making an All-NBA team. Boston’s Jaylen Brown, who signed a supermax last offseason after making his first All-NBA team, suggested lowering the minimum to around 58 games.
“Honestly, I do believe that if you win any type of award, I think you should have to play a significant amount of the season,” Brown said Saturday. “… But maybe 65 games might be a little too severe, you know?”
They wouldn’t shake their heads and question how much of this I deserve
What I was wearing, if I was rude
Could all be separated from my good ideas and power moves
Taylor Swift, “The Man”
When Barbie premiered in July, women felt seen in the cinema — perhaps for the first time in a long time. Greta Gerwig’s Barbie was more than a beginner’s feminist manifesto, but also a meditation on what it means to be both a woman and mother in today’s world. It was a gentle reminder that maybe we’re all just trying our best — and that our best is enough.
It also encouraged women celebrate each other more. The Barbie effect had us all wearing pink, emulating Margot Robbie’s cowboy-chic style, and referring to men as our “Kens.” And with help from Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour, her friendship bracelets, and sense of community, women were winning. It’s the first year in history that women dominated the Billboard Hot 100 twice (thanks to Swift and her Midnights and 1989 (Taylor’s Version) album). Like I said, it’s a good year to be a woman.
This celebration of women and our successes is long overdue, but the promising news is that it isn’t slowing down. Barbie’s feminist wave has shifted how we are accepting ourselves (and others) as women.
So it’s no surprise that women are raking in awards this year too, dominating the Grammy nominations and more. We hail celebrities for all sorts of achievements: Patrick Dempsey is People’s Sexiest Man Alive (deserved), Taylor Swift is the world leader (they literally projected her welcome onto Christ the Redeemer), and Austin Butler is Best Elvis (because somehow we have multiple).
And one of the buzziest celeb awards is run by GQ (short for Gentlemen’s Quarterly), whose “Men Of The Year” award is a highlight of every fall/winter. Similar to TIME’s 100 list, GQ likes to celebrate those who have taken the world by storm annually.
This year, the recipient of the Man of the Year award is none other than Kim Kardashian…and they’re not wrong.
Kim has been taking her empire to new heights in 2023: building on the 2022 launch of her SKKN-care line, breaking ground with Skims’ Men’s campaign, the Nipple Bra, and becoming the official partner of the NBA/WNBA, working on prison reform, filming The Kardashians on Hulu, starring alongside Emma Roberts in Ryan Murphy’s American Horror Story as Siobhan Corbyn, I could go on.
Calling someone “the man” has now become synonymous with “a winner.” Saying “you’re the man” is a sign of their success. And though this might have problematic roots, women are reclaiming the term — like the Taylor Swift song. And in the grand scheme of things: Kim Kardashian is the man.
Some hard working men get the title alongside Kim in the GQ issue. The other MOTY honorees include Jacob Elordi (AKA Elvis #2, who’s starring in blockbusters like Sofia Coppolla’s Priscilla and Saltburn alongside Barry Keoghan), Buffalo Bills’ safety Damar Hamlin, designer-turned-filmmaker Tom Ford, and Travis Scott. But you have to admit that Kim hasn’t come up for air this year.
It’s right there for us to see in episodes of The Kardashians: Kim flying from country to country for another event on her booked and busy schedule. She’s literally everywhere at once, officiating recently divorced Chris Appleton and Lukas Gage’s wedding, shooting countless magazine covers and promo shoots for her growing enterprise, opening a Skims popup here, and shooting an episode of AHS there.
Is there anything she can’t do?
Meet The Previous Recipients Of GQ’s Men of the Year
Kim Kardashian is one of the few women to grace the cover of GQ’s Man of the Year edition. Technically dubbed “Tycoon of the Year”, acknowledging her business successes over the past few years (and for the gender neutrality of it all)- Kardashian joins a host of some of the most famous men in the world. Let’s take a look at the past five years:
2022: Brendan Fraser, Andrew Garfield
2021: Lil Nas X, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Tom Holland
2020: Megan Thee Stallion, George Clooney, Trevor Noah
2019: Jennifer Lopez, Tyler, The Creator, Robert DeNiro, Al Pacino
2018: Michael B. Jordan, Henry Golding, Jonah Hill
Women are normally recognized during the Men of the Year ceremonies, as it is a celebration of all people who emulated pop culture that year…however, no year has celebrated women quite like 2023.
The Men of the Year Awards 2023 were held on November 15 at London’s Royal Opera House where cover stars like Jeremy Allen White, boygenius, and Kardashian were in attendance.
Other female recipients included Megan Thee Stallion and Rihanna, who have paved their own paths in both the music and fashion industry. Rihanna with her Savage x Fenty inclusive lingerie line and Fenty Beauty has been changing the makeup and underwear game for a while now. Megan Thee Stallion is coming off a high-profile trial that she won against Tory Lanez, under immense public scrutiny, has become a figure for mental health and domestic violence while still creating hit records.
It’s one of the most female-dominated GQ events we’ve seen, which is a pattern. The GRAMMY Award nominations just rolled out with so many female artists nominated, you’d think it’s a record. In the top three categories, female acts make up seven out of eight nominees.
This year, women are the man. It’s an exciting, uplifting time where we get to celebrate with each other instead of tearing one another down. Kim K is just another example of the Barbie effect.
MILWAUKEE (AP) — Giannis Antetokounmpo didn’t play for the Milwaukee Bucks in Game 2 of their Eastern Conference first-round series against the Miami Heat on Wednesday night.
Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer said at his pregame availability that Antetokounmpo wouldn’t be available due to the bruised lower back that knocked the two-time MVP out of the Bucks’ 130-117 Game 1 loss on Sunday.
“(We were) hopeful that he would play and also aware that he might not,” Budenholzer said. “The guys are ready. The group’s focused and in a good place.”
Antetokounmpo had been listed as doubtful in the injury report Tuesday but was upgraded to questionable Wednesday. Antetokounmpo left the Bucks’ Game 1 loss for good early in the second quarter.
“He’s continued to improve, but organizationally and talking and working with him and the sports performance group, the decision was made,” Budenholzer said. “He’s out. The guys that are ready and the guys that are available are good to go. We’ll continue to monitor him and expect for him to improve and still continue to be optimistic that soon he’ll be ready to play.”
Antetokounmpo was driving to the basket with a little over four minutes left in the first quarter Sunday when he collided with Miami’s Kevin Love, who got called for a blocking foul on the play.
Antetokounmpo landed awkwardly on his backside and lay on the floor before getting up slowly. He stayed in the game to attempt his free throws and didn’t leave until picking up his second foul with 1:46 left in the first quarter.
Antetokounmpo then headed into the locker room, only to return to the game with 9:56 remaining in the second quarter. He headed back to the locker room with 8:33 left in the second quarter and didn’t play again.
The Bucks went 11-8 in games Antetokounmpo missed during the regular season. That included a pair of losses in Miami, though the Bucks also beat the Heat 128-99 in a Feb. 24 game in which Antetokounmpo played just six minutes before leaving with a right knee issue.
Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said Antetokounmpo’s absence likely means the Bucks’ style of play “will be just a little bit different.” In their four regular-season matchups with the Heat, the Bucks averaged 52.5 3-point attempts when Antetokounmpo was out and 43 3-point attempts when he was in the starting lineup.
The Bucks also were missing Wesley Matthews, who was out with a right calf strain after playing 18 minutes in Game 1. Budenholzer said Matthews got hurt during Sunday’s game.
The Heat didn’t have Tyler Herro, who broke his right hand in Game 1. Herro is undergoing surgery Friday and likely won’t return unless the Heat reach the NBA Finals.
Milwaukee had Bobby Portis fill Antetokounmpo’s usual spot in the starting lineup. Miami’s Duncan Robinson started in place of Herro.
Miami’s Kyle Lowry, who was listed as questionable with a sore left knee, will be available to play Wednesday. ___
AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports
MILWAUKEE (AP) — Giannis Antetokounmpo’s absence couldn’t prevent the Milwaukee Bucks from extending the longest winning streak in the NBA this season.
Jrue Holiday scored 33 points and produced a critical steal, Brook Lopez made a tiebreaking layup with 24.8 seconds left and the Bucks edged the Phoenix Suns 104-101 on Sunday for their 14th consecutive victory.
The rematch of the 2021 NBA Finals didn’t include either Antetokounmpo or new Suns superstar Kevin Durant, but it still featured 14 lead changes and plenty of late drama.
“Both teams obviously have history,” Lopez said. “Those are the fun games, where the refs let it get physical a little bit, you can really go after each other. It was a great atmosphere.”
Durant has yet to appear in a game for the Suns and hasn’t played since Jan. 8 because of a sprained right medial collateral ligament. Antetokounmpo was out with a bruised right quadriceps after leaving in the first quarter of the Bucks’ 128-99 victory over the Miami Heat on Friday.
“It’s enough where he can’t play today, but I think we’re also confident that this is just a fairly common occurrence in our league,” Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer said before the game. “You hit knees, you knock, sometimes it takes a day or two, and it’s really nothing more than that.”
Holiday led all scorers, while Lopez had 22 points and 12 rebounds. Khris Middleton added 11 points and 10 rebounds.
Devin Booker scored 24 points, Deandre Ayton had 22 and Chris Paul added 18 for Phoenix. Ayton also had 11 rebounds.
After Booker made a game-tying jumper with 33 seconds left, the Bucks called a timeout and got the ball to Middleton, who found Lopez for the go-ahead layup.
Holiday said he initially expected Middleton to shoot the ball.
“It’s a great play,” Holiday said. “At first, I kind of saw it, but I thought that Khris was going to shoot it because that’s just what ‘K’ does. But he’s a playmaker. He’s not just a scorer.”
Phoenix called a timeout and went back to Booker, who lost possession as Holiday forced the steal and Lopez got the loose ball.
“That’s just the defender he is, the player he is,” Lopez said of Holiday. “He’s one of the top two-way players in the league, at least the top three. Just absolutely phenomenal. Just the best two-way player in the league. Those are the plays he makes just time and time again.”
Booker said there was contact on the play, but no foul was called, a reflection of the game’s physical nature.
“I was touched,” Booker said. “But I did the same thing to Jrue on the other end. On that play, he hit my arm. But it’s playoff-type basketball and refs are going to let things go. And that was that.”
Joe Ingles made the first of two free throws to extend Milwaukee’s lead to 103-100 with 11.3 seconds left. Ingles missed the second free throw and the ball initially was ruled out of bounds on Milwaukee.
But after Budenholzer challenged the call, replays determined the ball actually went out on Phoenix’s Terrence Ross. Holiday sank the first of two free throws with 10 seconds left but also missed the second, making the score 104-100.
Booker was fouled on a 3 by Ingles with 0.9 seconds left but missed the first free throw. Booker made the second and intentionally missed the third, but Lopez got the rebound to seal the victory.
TIP-INS
Suns: Booker increased his career point total to 12,143 to overtake Shawn Marion (12,134) for fourth place on the Suns’ all-time list. The Suns’ career scoring leader is Walter Davis, with 15,666 points from 1977-88. … The Suns lost for just the fifth time in their last 17 games.
Bucks: Wesley Matthews missed a second straight game due to a right calf strain. He also won’t be available Tuesday at Brooklyn. … Pat Connaughton returned after missing the Heat game with a sore left calf, but he went scoreless in 13 minutes. … Ex-Suns forward Jae Crowder had seven points. He made two 3-pointers during Milwaukee’s fourth-quarter comeback. … The Bucks’ franchise record for consecutive wins is 20 straight during their 1970-71 championship season.
UP NEXT
Suns: At Charlotte on Wednesday.
Bucks: at Brooklyn on Tuesday.
___
AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports
CHICAGO (AP) — Giannis Antetokounmpo stayed on the ground, grimacing in pain before heading to the locker room. A sprained wrist in the early going ended his night.
Brook Lopez scored a season-high 33 points. Jevon Carter had 22 against his hometown team, and Jrue Holiday added 15 points and nine assists.
The Bucks were never seriously threatened. But Antetokounmpo’s injury early in the second quarter cast a bit of a cloud over a team that otherwise has so much going for it heading into the All-Star break.
Coach Mike Budenholzer said initial reports were “hopeful” and the X-ray was “clean.”
“We’ll just see how he feels tomorrow, see how he feels the next few days and continue to evaluate it,” Budenholzer said.
He had “no idea” if Antetokounmpo would travel to Salt Lake City for the All-Star Game.
The two-time MVP was hurt trying to block a finger roll attempt by Chicago’s Coby White after the guard drove past him. He jammed his wrist when he reached out — perhaps to soften the blow — as he crashed into the padded stanchion. He continued to flex his hand and got subbed out a few seconds later before heading to the locker room.
“He’s a guy that’s attacking the basket all the time,” Budenholzer said. “He’s fearless. He takes a lot of falls so you kind of learn to just expect him to always just bounce back up, and that’s what we’re hoping for from this one.”
Antetokounmpo finished with a season-low two points and three assists, giving him 3,274 over 10 seasons to break Paul Pressey’s record of 3,272 from 1982 to 1990. He also had seven rebounds.
SETTING THE RECORD
Antetokounmpo matched the assists mark when he fed Lopez for a 3-pointer two minutes into the game and broke it when he passed to Carter for another 3 that bumped Milwaukee’s lead to 19-10 in the first quarter. He also is the Bucks’ career leader in blocks, triple-doubles, free throws made, free throws attempted and minutes.
“It’s greatness, right?” Holiday said. “Especially to do it with one franchise, to be here through the ups and the downs, to see where he started and where he is now. I’m so happy for him.”
Lopez made three 3-pointers. Carter hit four from beyond the arc, and the Bucks beat Chicago for the first time in three games this season.
SLIDE CONTINUES
The Bulls lost their sixth in a row, their worst skid since dropping six straight in the 2020-21 season. They also fell seven games under .500 at 26-33, not what they envisioned after making the playoffs a year ago.
Nikola Vucevic had 22 points and 16 rebounds. Zach LaVine scored 18, and Patrick Williams had 16 points.
“We’re not just throwing in the towel,” LaVine said. “I don’t think we have the type of team or personnel to do that. Losing hurts.”
SIDELINED STARS
Both teams were missing stars, with Milwaukee’s Khris Middleton managing a sore right knee that has kept him out for a big portion of the season and Chicago’s DeMar DeRozan sidelined for the second time in as many nights because of a strained right quadriceps.
TIP-INS
Bucks: Though Middleton’s absence was not expected, coach Mike Budenholzer said the three-time All-Star did not experience a setback against Boston on Tuesday. Middleton had 16 points and 11 rebounds in 25 minutes against the Celtics. “I think we’re overall not concerned, but we’ll see how he does over the break and just continue to work with him and make sure he’s in a good place when he plays,” Budenholzer said.
Bulls: The Bulls said DeRozan is expected to play in the All-Star Game on Sunday. … G Ayo Dosunmu was selected to replace injured Houston Rockets guard Jalen Green on fellow former Illinois star Deron Williams’ team in Friday’s Rising Stars game. The Chicago product played in the game as a rookie last year and was averaging 9.6 points and 2.9 assists in his second season after being drafted in the second round. Dosunmu called it a “blessing” to be selected again and said Williams was “a big mentor” for him in the draft process.
UP NEXT
Bucks: Host Miami on Feb. 24.
Bulls: Host Brooklyn on Feb. 24.
___
AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports
MILWAUKEE — Giannis Antetokounmpo says he wants to produce with so much consistency that it causes boredom.
That’s the only respect in which the two-time MVP has fallen shortly lately.
Antetokounmpo scored a career-high 55 points with a series of thrilling dunks and drives as the Milwaukee Bucks beat Washington 123-113 on Tuesday night, snapping the Wizards’ five-game winning streak. The spectacular forward also had 10 rebounds and seven assists to continue arguably the best stretch of his career.
“I want to get in a position … that my game is boring,” Antetokounmpo said. “I just do what I do and people don’t talk about it because it becomes boring — I do it every single night. That’s what I want to do. I want other people to feel like my game is boring. But I don’t get bored. The greats — the best players — never get bored. They go out there and they always give their best any given night.”
Antetokounmpo has at least 40 points, 10 rebounds and five assists in each of the last three games he’s played. He sat out a 118-95 loss to the Wizards on Sunday because of a sore left knee.
The only other players in NBA history to have three straight performances of 40 points, 10 rebounds and five assists are Elgin Baylor in 1961 and 1963, Wilt Chamberlain in 1963 and Russell Westbrook in 2016. The only other Bucks players to score at least 40 points in three straight appearances are Flynn Robinson in February 1969 and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in February 1972.
“He’s been kind of playing with this kind of determination, this kind of just willing us in games,” coach Mike Budenholzer said. “Tonight we were able to win it. He’s just been phenomenal.”
Bucks center Brook Lopez is in his fifth season of playing alongside Antetokoumpo. The 7-footer couldn’t recall a regular-season stretch in which Antetokounmpo has played better than this.
“He’s just constantly improving,” said Lopez, who had 21 points and 12 rebounds. “When you think where else can he go and how else can he improve, he just improves again. We’re going to have to expand the English language in some way to come up with words (to describe him). I don’t know if I’ve said that before, but I’m sure he’s going to improve again. Who knows what he’s going to do next. He’s just so otherworldly.”
Antetokounmpo’s previous career high was a 52-point effort against the Philadelphia 76ers on March 17, 2019. He just missed the single-game franchise scoring record owned by Michael Redd, who scored 57 points against the Utah Jazz in November 2006.
Bradley Beal returned for Washington after missing three games with a sore left hamstring, but he played just 13 minutes. Beal scored eight points before the hamstring issue prevented him from playing at all in the second half.
“Same area,” Wizards coach Wes Unseld Jr. said. “We just have to get it evaluated.
Kristaps Porzingis scored 22 points for the Wizards, and Kyle Kuzma added 20.
Milwaukee’s Bobby Portis had 17 points and 13 rebounds.
Jrue Holiday returned to action for the Bucks after missing three games with a non-COVID illness and scored six points in 19 minutes. Khris Middleton missed an eighth straight game with a sore right knee and also won’t play Wednesday at Toronto.
TIP-INS
Wizards: Taj Gibson missed a third consecutive game with a sore left groin. … Gaford had a double-double with 11 points and 12 rebounds. … Rui Hachimura, Deni Avdija and Corey Kispert had 12 points each.
Bucks: George Hill missed a third straight game due to a non-COVID illness. … Portis has four consecutive double-doubles. … Grayson Allen shot 1 of 9 overall and 1 of 7 from 3-point range to continue his slump. Allen is 9 of 37 on 3-point attempts over his last four games. … Antetokounmpo was 15 of 16 on free throws.
UP NEXT
Wizards: At Oklahoma City on Friday night.
Bucks: At Toronto on Wednesday night.
———
AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP—Sports
MILWAUKEE — Rui Hachimura had 26 points, Kristaps Porzingis scored 22 and the Washington Wizards defeated the short-handed Milwaukee Bucks 118-95 on Sunday night for their season-best fifth consecutive victory.
The scuffling Bucks played without Giannis Antetokounmpo, who sat out due to left knee soreness. Antetokounmpo is averaging 38 points and 14.6 rebounds over his last six games, which included a 43-point, 20-rebound performance in Friday night’s win over Minnesota that snapped Milwaukee’s four-game losing streak.
Jrue Holiday also missed the game with an illness, and Khris Middleton sat out for the eighth consecutive game due to right knee soreness.
“Your objective is to dominate whoever is in front of you,” Wizards forward Kyle Kuzma said. “If guys aren’t playing, you’re supposed to beat those teams.”
Daniel Gafford had 17 points for the Wizards (17-21), who weren’t at full strength, either. They played without leading scorer Bradley Beal, who is dealing with left hamstring soreness.
Bobby Portis led Milwaukee with 19 points and 10 rebounds. Jevon Carter had 14 points and Grayson Allen added 13 points and eight assists.
Washington led 34-17 after the first quarter, paced by Gafford’s 13 points, as the Wizards exploited a two-center lineup with Bucks big man Brook Lopez on the bench early with foul trouble.
“I was sticking with the flow of the game, having confidence and going up with the shots that I was taking,” Gafford said. “I felt comfortable taking those shots.”
Milwaukee shot 26% overall and just 3 of 14 from long range in the period, while the Wizards connected on half their shots.
“We took advantage whenever we had the chance,” Gafford said of the size advantage. “Whoever went to the basket, we got a bucket. They didn’t have too many shot blockers out there so we just attacked the basket.”
Washington had 72 points in the paint.
“That’s a little bit unusual, not the norm,” Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer said. “We usually protect the rim and protect the paint well.”
Two quick first-quarter fouls on Lopez caused problems for the Bucks.
“I think his early foul trouble threw us off a little bit,” Budenholzer said.
Washington coach Wes Unseld Jr. said his team’s effort on defense set the tone.
“We got the defense into the game early and that helped us get out to that lead,” he said.
The Wizards led by 26 in the second quarter and held a 68-50 advantage at halftime. Washington shot 57.4% in the first half, while Milwaukee connected on just 34.6% of its shots.
Washington remained easily in control throughout the second half as the cold-shooting Bucks failed to mount any sustained runs.
TIP-INS
Wizards: F Taj Gibson sat out a second consecutive game with left groin soreness. “We don’t want to push it to the point where this could be something that would last much longer than it should,” Unseld said. … Gafford, who came in averaging 7.1 points per game, scored Washington’s first eight points.
Bucks: G George Hill also missed the game due to illness. … Joe Ingles was assessed a first-quarter technical foul after exchanging words with Porzingis, who also received a technical. … Milwaukee lost for just the fourth time in 19 home games this season.
DISTANT MEMORY
With five consecutive wins, the Wizards have been able to get past a 10-game losing streak that started in November and stretched to mid-December. “By not overreacting, now we’re back and we’re putting some wins together,” Porzingis said. “We have some pretty good rhythm.”
UP NEXT
The teams face each other again Tuesday night in Milwaukee.
———
More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba and https://twitter.com/AP—Sports
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Milwaukee star Giannis Antetokounmpo argued with an arena worker and flung a ladder away from a basket, sending it toppling over as he tried to shoot practice free throws after the Bucks’ 110-102 loss to Philadelphia on Friday night.
After going 4 for 15 from the line, Antetokounmpo returned to the Wells Fargo Center floor several minutes after the game ended to shoot free throws with a small number of fans still in the building.
Antetokounmpo proceeded to miss his first five foul shots in the postgame practice. During a break in the two-time NBA MVP’s shooting, arena workers moved onto the court for their usual postgame activities.
One of the workers set up a 12-foot ladder next to the basket where Antetokounmpo was shooting. Antetokounmpo walked up to the ladder and moved it out of the way.
The employee moved it back in place, much to the ire of Antetokounmpo. He approached the staffer, had a quick, heated verbal exchange, then moved the ladder away again, sending it crashing to the floor.
Word spread quickly through the Wells Fargo Center and 76ers backup center Montrezl Harrell, who was still on the other end of the court talking to a group of individuals, including some 76ers staffers, started to walk toward Antetokounmpo, shouting at him for mistreating the arena employee.
Harrell never made it past half court, as team employees were able to get him to turn around and head to the Philadelphia locker room.
The top of the Eastern Conference looks about as expected — with Boston and Milwaukee currently neck and neck for the lead.
Those fast starts have been anything but routine, however.
The Celtics suspended their coach before the season even started, but under interim choice Joe Mazzulla, they’re now on a seven-game winning streak and have the best record in the NBA. The Bucks won their first nine games, but recently they’ve had to deal with Giannis Antetokounmpo’s occasional absences. They’ve won two of three when he’s been out.
“It just shows our depth and how good of a team we truly are,” Milwaukee’s Brook Lopez said recently. “Coach (Mike Budenholzer) — he said before, it’s like, it’s kind of exciting. Giannis gets to rest, refill his cup, and we get a chance to get better and see what we’re like without Giannis on the court, and get better in that way.”
The Celtics (11-3) and Bucks (10-3) don’t play each other until Christmas. For now, these two teams — who played a stirring seven-game playoff series in the second round last season — are bringing a bit of normalcy to the standings. That’s been largely absent in the West, where Golden State is muddling along under .500 while Utah and Portland are around the top of the conference.
The Celtics went to the NBA Finals last season in Ime Udoka’s first season as coach. Then he was suspended for at least this season for violating team rules by having a relationship with a female staffer within the organization. Mazzulla took over and has the team rolling. Boston routed Nikola Jokic and Denver 131-112 on Friday. On Monday night, the Celtics rallied from a 15-point deficit to beat Oklahoma City 126-122.
After falling just short of a title last season, Boston looks tested and ready to contend again.
“These guys have been through a ton, and it helps them in a game like tonight where they really don’t have it going, and then they’ve got to turn it on on both ends of the floor and they did,” Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said after Monday’s game. “So credit them. They went and got that one.”
Boston is No. 1 in the league in offensive rating, and Milwaukee is No. 1 in defensive rating. The first time the Bucks played without Antetokounmpo this season was a little over a week ago against Oklahoma City. Lopez scored 25 points, Bobby Portis had 21 rebounds, Jrue Holiday had 13 assists — and Milwaukee held the Thunder under 100 points to win by 14.
“I think we all knew obviously that we’d all have to chip in,” Lopez said. “Pretty much everyone came on, had an impact.”
These are the stretches that test a team over the course of an 82-game season, when injuries or just normal wear and tear leave a star player unavailable. That win over the Thunder gave Milwaukee a 9-0 record, and since then, the Bucks have played twice more without Antetokounmpo, who has dealt with left knee soreness.
The Bucks split those two games. Ironically, they’ve lost the last two games they’ve played with Antetokounmpo, including Monday against Atlanta.
Still, they’ve shown they can win without their biggest star. Another team that’s done that of late is the Washington Wizards, who have won four straight despite playing all of those games without Bradley Beal, who went through health and safety protocols.
The last game Beal played in was Nov. 4, a 42-point loss to Brooklyn. Coincidentally, that was also the first game for the Nets following Kyrie Irving’s suspension. Irving was suspended after posting a tweet with a link to a documentary that includes Holocaust denial and conspiracy theories about Jews. The Nets said they suspended him in part because he wouldn’t say unequivocally he has no antisemitic beliefs.
Brooklyn looked downright dysfunctional while losing six of its first eight games. Coach Steve Nash was replaced after the team’s seventh game, and then — with Jacque Vaughn serving as acting coach — Irving scored just four points in a loss to Chicago.
But since then, Brooklyn has won four of six, all without Irving — and the Nets decided to keep Vaughn as their head coach going forward. His team isn’t surging quite the way Mazzulla’s is, but Brooklyn is hopeful it has found the right leader after an ugly start to the season.
___
Follow Noah Trister at https://twitter.com/noahtrister
___
AP NBA: https://apnews.com/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports
Here we go: The top 10 in our 2022-2023 League Pass Rankings! We revealed Nos. 30-11 on Tuesday, and you can read about the rankings formula there.
10. DALLAS MAVERICKS (35)
Look at this soul-snatcher:
That is the smile of someone who knows he has you. The Mavs’ offense is one-dimensional — Luka Doncic walks ball up, runs two-man game — but that dimension contains multitudes. The typical spread pick-and-roll pairs ball handler and rim-runner; Doncic can do that with any of Dallas’ bigs. He can make all the passes blindfolded.
Doncic’s size and comfort in the middle of the paint — the dead zone for some ball handlers — open up endless possibilities. He’s at his most predatory dragging smaller defenders into pick-and-rolls. Switch, and he mashes them in the post with smirking cruelty. (He took sadistic pleasure brutalizing Patrick Beverley in the 2021 playoffs.) Send help, and he picks you apart.
Even against like-sized defenders and traditional coverages, Doncic is a three-steps-ahead genius burrowing inside. His high-arching step-back is borderline unblockable, and he has hit 50% from floater range over the past two seasons — and a LeBron James-esque 73% at the rim last season.
The threat of those shots unlocks Doncic’s generational passing. He understands how every up-fake, pivot, and half-spin freaks help defenders into thinking they should swarm — and which passes any slight rotation might expose. Last season, he even started throwing straight backward overhead passes to pick-and-pop bigs. Maxi Kleber and Christian Wood must be ready at all times.
This is my favorite piece of Mavs art in ages:
The navy sings against the new white-washed floor.
The Lakers ranked No. 2 last season, but the idea of them — How will Russell Westbrook fit? — turned out to be way more interesting than the experience.
The Lakers played fast, but they were boring — unorganized, dispirited, lacking any cohesive identity. LeBron James remains the ultimate chessmaster, but there’s little reason to suspect the overall product will be much different. (Darvin Ham said this week he’s considering starting Anthony Davis at center, and leaning there would boost L.A.’s watchability. You can’t play Westbrook, LeBron, Anthony Davis, and a traditional center — even one with decent range like Thomas Bryant or Damian Jones. Don’t sleep on Jones’ passing!)
They scored this high only because of their art — including the league’s prettiest court — and the comedy category. Are Beverley and Westbrook really friends? Like, really? Or will latent tension boil over? Comedy can become pathos, and we reached that point with Westbrook last season when the Sacramento Kings’ blared “Cold as Ice!” on every bonked jumper and layup.
Will James engage pout mode once he breaks the scoring record if the Lakers are toast? James achieved peak eye-rolling sulkiness ahead of the 2018 trade deadline, when he realized the Cavs were dead barring a roster shake-up. It was bizarrely enthralling.
Thumbs up to these white throwbacks — replicas of the jerseys the team wore in their first-ever game, per league officials. They even have faux belt loops! Powder blue is always welcome.
The Wolves ranked first in pace and second in scoring efficiency after Jan. 1 last season. They have one blockbuster young star in Anthony Edwards, fast becoming a three-level scorer as his confidence soars on pull-ups and step-backs.
Edwards wants to dunk people into oblivion — the bigger, the better. He flies at the rim as if he thinks he can dunk through humans — that they will disintegrate beneath him.
One of the league’s keenest offensive tinkerers — Chris Finch — must figure out how to mesh Karl-Anthony Towns and Rudy Gobert in an unusual double-center look that has to work given the Wolves traded everything short of the old Metrodome baggie for Gobert.
Finch will get creative on defense, too. On some nights, the Wolves might flip-flop matchups — slotting Towns onto centers, and stashing Gobert elsewhere so he can act as roving shot-blocker. We might see glimpses of last season’s blitzing defense as a surprise adjustment.
Kyle Anderson weaponizes his slowness; defenders stumble ahead of his elongated moves, allowing Slow-Mo to saunter through creases. He snatches some of the league’s cleanest live-dribble steals. Jaden McDaniels still seems like a blank canvas, and looms as Minnesota’s swing factor. Jaylen Nowell jacks and struts with a gunslinger’s bravado. How will D’Angelo Russell — on an expiring contract — respond if Finch yanks him for Jordan McLaughlin in crunch time again?
The Wolves relegated their gaudy neon green to the trimmings on this pristine new jersey:
Standing ovation for the fangs extending down off the “M” and “V.”
PSST: Towns’ averages in 11 postseason games: 19 points, 12 rebounds, 2 assists, 3.5 turnovers (gag!), and many, many silly fouls. He has three single-digit scoring games, plus a dud in last season’s play-in. It’s time.
Giannis Antetokounmpo is one-of-one. He evolves each season — more floaters, more screening in the pick-and-roll, snappier passing. He supplies highlights both preposterous and of the most visceral basketball violence. Antetokounmpo rising from underneath the rim, off two feet, and cramming on someone’s head is perhaps the rudest act in the sport.
I loved his recent speech about the importance of will over skill. It was once fashionable to compare Antetokounmpo and Ben Simmons — enormous, turbocharged ball handlers with rickety strokes. What might Simmons accomplish if the Philadelphia 76ers surrounded him with shooters — as the Bucks have done for Antetokounmpo?
Even five years ago, before Antetokounmpo cracked the top five in MVP voting, the comparison failed the smell test. Antetokounmpo was bigger, faster, longer — better. Most of all, he was tougher. While Simmons’ struggles at the line turned into something of a phobia, Antetokounmpo kept coming — kept drawing contact, kept risking failure, kept improving. That’s will.
The Bucks are a fast-break machine — Four Steps or Less — but their half-court offense finished dead last in points per possession in the playoffs. Even with Khris Middleton out, that raised alarms internally. I suspect the Bucks will spend the regular season honing anti-switch devices on offense and experimenting with new looks on defense — including snuffing 3s after spending years living with above-the-break triples.
Who emerges as trustworthy playoff guys among George Hill, Jevon Carter, Joe Ingles, Jordan Nwora, and Serge Ibaka? If the answer is “no one,” the Bucks could face critical depth issues. How much Antetokounmpo at center will we see?
Once every few games, an opposing player annoys Jrue Holiday — and draws out Holiday’s playoff-level defense as punishment. What a nightmare.
Marques Johnson was a five-time All-Star, nailed a supporting role in “White Men Can’t Jump,” and is now one of the best analysts in any sport. Not fair.
Boston’s stars offer different stylistic ingredients, but they don’t always synthesize on offense. The defense … holy hell. They are huge, mean, smart — a switching forcefield. (Marcus Smart and Blake Griffin have to wager on who takes the most charges, right?)
They are also strategically quirky. The Celtics clicked into place when they shifted their center — Robert Williams III — onto nonthreatening wings, unleashing him as a free safety.
Time Lord didn’t just reject shots. He obliterated them. He spiked some before they even left shooters’ hands — before they really became shots at all. Others, he smashed against the backboard with such force you almost expected them to become impaled in the glass. From mid-January on, Boston allowed 105.4 points per 100 possessions — four points stingier than the league’s No. 2 defense.
The Celtics became one of the greatest defenses of all time, even as smart opponents began exploring counters to Boston’s scheme — running Williams around off-ball screens, using more false actions. Expect more of that cat-and-mouse game now that opponents have had an offseason to study.
Boston found its flow on offense too. Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, and Smart cooperated in more two-man actions — forcing switches Tatum and Brown could exploit. Tatum’s liquid grace and Brown’s straight-line power make for a perfect contrast. Derrick White added Spursian quick decision-making. (Update: He should be part of the Griffin-Smart charge-taking wager too!)
The Celtics’ green uniforms are maybe the best in sports, and they improved their historic court by removing the chunky white circle from underneath the leprechaun:
The tribute to Bill Russell is understated and noble.
Grant Williams never shuts up. Mike Gorman and Brian Scalabrine are tremendous. Boston is under championship pressure, with a coach — Joe Mazzulla — thrust into the spotlight under bad circumstances. What is Mazzulla about? How do the players respond?
5. NEW ORLEANS PELICANS (37)
You have to be good and watchable to rise here; the algorithm sees 50-win upside.
I don’t care if these guys shoot a single 3-pointer. I just want to see Zion Williamson pinballing to the rim, bodies flying everywhere after making even glancing contact with this linebacker phenom. He gets from arc to rim faster than a camera flash, out of every action: pick-and-rolls as screener or ball handler; post-ups in which he plows through victims like shorter Shaquille O’Neal, or spins around them like wider James Worthy; end-to-end rampages you almost feel through your screen. (The Pelicans with Williamson have played at ludicrous speed.)
The roster isn’t really built for it, but please, Willie Green, give us some Williamson at center!
Forget second jumps. Williamson has the league’s quickest third and fourth jumps. Pity the fools who box out Williamson and Jonas Valanciunas. Reserve them extra time in the cold tub, maybe the hospital.
CJ McCollum might put a defender on his butt at any moment. He connects complex dribbles — hesitation, crossover, pull-back — with unusual fluidity, and cans all variety of floaters with either hand. Brandon Ingram’s midrange arsenal is simpler, but almost as effective.
Larry Nance Jr. is all flare screens and twirling handoffs, and he’ll play tons of crunch-time center. Herbert Jones’ arms actually typed this column from New Orleans; instead of shooting 3s, should he just reach all the way from the arc and plop the ball in?
Jose Alvarado’s crouching, hide-and-seek backcourt steals are incredible theater. He’ll have ball handlers looking over their shoulders even when he’s not in the game. He is Keyser Soze.
The Pelicans are due some fresh art. The bench overflows with interesting players. Here’s hoping Dyson Daniels earns run.
4. DENVER NUGGETS (38)
Nikola Jokic might be the most inventive passer in basketball history, and is for sure No. 1 all time among bigs. He dares passes everyone else is scared to try — slips to cutters where the passing window is no bigger than the basketball itself.
Jokic imagines passes no one else sees — and then makes them. As he’s gotten in better shape, he’s added occasional dunks and tornado baseline spins.
The regular season is about finding the right balance of defensive schemes for Jokic. This is perhaps the biggest season in Nuggets history; they need everything in place for the playoffs.
Jokic has his pick-and-roll mind-meld partner back in Jamal Murray. Murray’s role in their two-man devastation has long been underrated. He’s an ace pull-up shooter with a knack for slick pocket passes that lead Jokic into open space.
They have the league’s prettiest and most varied give-and-go partnership. We see the classic — Murray bolting away from handoffs, and Jokic lofting him buttery goodness:
But they also turn routine pick-and-rolls into give-and-gos within that tricky midpaint area:
That is a mini masterpiece. In terms of both shot selection and process, Denver is a nice antidote to 3s-and-dunks spread-pick-and-roll hegemony. Murray’s Blue Arrow celebration is cool.
Michael Porter Jr. is perhaps the X factor of the season. Will he accept third-banana status? Kentavious Caldwell-Pope locks the starting five into place. Bruce Brown does the same for the bench, and gives Denver crunch-time lineup flexibility. Once every 10 games and out of absolutely nowhere, Jeff Green posterizes someone.
Are you worried about Denver’s bench offense? Bones Hyland isn’t.
3. MEMPHIS GRIZZLIES (39)
Ja Morant is the new League Pass superstar. He is a hellacious rim-attacker, cocking it back and hammering pain onto larger humans; he jumped over and through Malik Beasley for the highlight of last season.
Morant’s sneering swagger set the tone for the team from day one. There is nothing fake about the Grizzlies’ puffed-chest arrogance. They do not conceive of themselves as the little guy challenging Goliaths. Trash-talking LeBron James is not, for them, unearned pluck. They believe they are Goliath, now.
Morant could chase points, dominate the ball, hunt the spectacular. Instead, he brings teammates with him — empowers them, uses the attention he draws to create shots for them. Morant is a whip-smart cutter, willing to cut as a decoy (or to catch lobs above the square). He slows down in transition, knowing trailers come open in his wake.
Memphis defends with ferocity — Dillon Brooks going chest to chest with all comers, everyone swiping at the ball. The Grizz forced heaps of turnovers, and blazed at the league’s second-fastest pace. Do not look away from the Memphis alley-oop machine.
Desmond Bane has borderline Ray Allen-level precision in his jumper. Remember when Steven Adams carried Tony Bradley — 6-10, 250 pounds — away from an altercation as if he were about to take Bradley to Suplex City? What a legend.
The young guys will get chances filling in for Jaren Jackson Jr. and departed veterans. I give it two games before an opposing announcer expresses shock at John Konchar’s leaping ability
Can you spot the subtle upgrade from last season’s court …
… to their new one?
They eliminated that silver-blue racing stripe along the baseline that always confused me.
2. GOLDEN STATE WARRIORS (40)
The Warriors came so close to reclaiming their No. 1 perch, with Draymond Green providing a new, unfortunate reason to tune in to Golden State’s basketball symphony.
Green’s punch might have been one hot-tempered man going through personal issues losing control, and slugging his trash-talking foil. It became more because we saw it, yes, but also because of the deeply human and almost literary arcs one could project onto it.
Green, in the final year of his contract, might be aging out of the dynasty he helped build. Jordan Poole, on the verge of his first massive deal, is a keystone in extending that dynasty beyond Green’s NBA lifespan. A decade ago, when this all started, Green was the low draft pick who roared — trash-talking his elders, challenging them, refusing to show deference. That is how Poole relates to Green now.
To win a title, there can be no fissures. There will be lingering tension over what happened last week. How will it manifest? How long will it last?
The potential basketball tragedy of all this — of contract realities and personality conflicts intruding upon this Bay Area basketball idyll — is that Green, Klay Thompson, and Stephen Curry should finish their careers together as Warriors. That is how it’s supposed to be. What they share is why we follow sports — an understanding of one another’s tendencies, strengths, and weaknesses so deep, they barely have to talk on the court. Every simple action between them contains a dozen counters, and they choose them in the moment, in sync, in step, always connected.
It is a bond of winks and nods that cannot form unless you share tens of thousands of reps at the highest level. And it is, still, beautiful to watch.
Andre Iguodala is part of their fabric too, and he gets another chance at a proper swan song. The army of lottery picks is in position to seize roles. Whether they are ready will go a long way to determining Golden State’s repeat chances. Jonathan Kuminga is at eye level with the rim before you even realize what’s happening.
Golden State is a top-five art team. Curry, Green, and Thompson will wear captain “Cs” on throwback jerseys — rare in the NBA.
These new alternates are nice:
The Warriors deal in bright yellow and blue. This clean navy look is a pleasing change, even it is eerily similar to the University of California, Berkeley color scheme. I like how the shorts echo the team’s bridge-wiring motif.
1. BROOKLYN NETS (41)
I considered invoking the Ian Eagle Corollary, which dates to the Joe Johnson “It’s not that bad here!” era and allows me to reduce the Nets score if the light-hearted categories — art, comedy — lift them higher than they deserve. I opted against it, and so the Nets three-peat as League Pass champions — which has really worked out for them in the Kevin Durant–Kyrie Irving era.
This team could be gone in 30 games — boring, bad, an entire era demolished. Irving could find new reasons to be the basketball player who doesn’t play basketball. Ben Simmons could melt — flinching at the threat of contact, wilting under Hack-a-Ben, holding a prolonged missed free throw contest with Nic Claxton. (Claxton is 6-of-25 from the line in the postseason.) All that could push Kevin Durant to renew his allegedly dormant trade request, at which point the Barclays Center may as well collapse into a sinkhole.
That’s the severe downside. The more likely downside is the Nets are run-of-the-mill good — a playoff team, but not strong enough to lift the stench of self-inflicted misery.
The journey to either of those bad places is disaster-movie riveting. Simmons hasn’t played a real game in 16 months; there is justified interest in every move he makes. Even that functional downside scenario features plenty of Irving and Durant, two flashbulb attractions.
Whatever your feelings about Irving, he is a show — a Maravichian dribbling magician with a bottomless bag of soft floaters and twisting layups. His lefty runner takes your breath away. Two seasons ago, when the Nets were quasi-functional, Irving was the one who got them running in transition.
Durant is one of the dozen greatest players ever, and perhaps the most well-rounded offensive force the game has ever seen. He is elite at literally every subsection of offense. He can assume any role, at any time. Even when Durant is raining pull-up fire, it might not be the classical beauty of his gangly game that draws you in. What really hits you in the gut — what mesmerizes — is the sheer invincibility of it, the way Durant exercises total dominion over everything from every place on the floor.
And that’s the upside. The soul-sapping melodrama can make you forget: This might work. They might be happy. They could be redeemed. They might be unstoppable on offense, Simmons tapping into his inner Draymond Green with endless shooting around him. They will take risks and innovate to survive on defense, and there is night-to-night joy in watching a team sink its teeth into that challenge.
The broadcast is as good as it gets, and the art is solid — including this alternate court, first revealed here, that matches the ABA-era stars-and-stripes uniforms the Nets are bringing back:
The differently colored painted areas — one blue, one red — are a gamble, but they work here.
