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Tag: Myles Turner

  • Trail Blazers beat Pacers in Lillard’s return from injury

    Trail Blazers beat Pacers in Lillard’s return from injury

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    PORTLAND, Ore. — Jerami Grant scored 28 points to lead the Portland Trail Blazers over the Indiana Pacers 116-100 on Sunday night.

    Blazers star Damian Lillard scored 21 points and had six assists in his first game since returning from a calf strain he suffered on Nov. 19. He’s missed 12 games so far this season.

    “It felt good especially coming off last night. We picked up a big win and I just wanted to encourage the team and bring that energy to get us on a win streak,” Lillard said. “I felt normal, I felt good. I think this time it wasn’t as bad as the first time.”

    Anfernee Simons had 22 points and six assists on the night, while Jusuf Nurkic had 19 points and six rebounds.

    The win helped Portland sweep a back-to-back set after winning in Utah on Saturday night.

    One night after Grant and Simons combined to score 78 points in a win at Utah, Lillard wanted to make sure his return didn’t lead to them turning down their own offense.

    “Don’t let me stop you from being aggressive,” Lillard said of Grant and Simons, who combined to score 50 in Sunday’s win. “I’m going to have the ball in my hands and I’m going to find opportunities to do what I do. That’s what I do.”

    Myles Turner led the Pacers with 24 points and nine rebounds. Buddy Hield had 22 points in support as the Pacers were without starting point guard Tyrese Haliburton.

    Lillard connected on his first field goal attempt — a step back 3-pointer from the corner. With Lillard back in uniform, Portland kept the Pacers at bay for much of the game. Although the Pacers jumped out to an early lead in the first quarter by hitting six of 10 shots, Portland was in control for most of the game.

    “I think at the start of the second half we lost some of our principles defensively,” Turner said. “We got a little too excited offensively and it hurt our defense. We need to play 48 minutes of basketball.”

    The Blazers were hot from the outside, shooting 17 of 40 (42.5%) from the 3-point line. Ball movement was key for Portland as they had 32 assists on 42 made field goals.

    “If we’re really going to win, then it has too be collective,” Lillard said. “It’s really encouraging for me to see it really unfold.”

    Lillard picked up his third foul in the second quarter and the Blazers took him out for the final 2:24 of the first half. During Lillard’s stint on the bench to close the first half, the Blazers extended their lead to 54-49.

    A 3-pointer by Grant extended the lead to 69-53 with 8:54 left in the third quarter and a 3-pointer by Simons pushed the lead to 89-67 with under two minutes in the quarter. Portland took a 93-74 lead into the final period.

    Portland held 22 point leads several times on Sunday night.

    The Pacers showed some grit to start the fourth quarter, cutting the Portland lead to 11 a few times but that was as close as they would get in the final period.

    HALIBURTON OUT

    Haliburton missed his first game of the season with a groin injury on Sunday.

    Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said he also expects Haliburton to sit out when the Pacers travel to the Bay Area to face off against the Golden State Warriors.

    UP NEXT

    Indiana: At Golden State Warriors on Monday night.

    Portland: Host the Denver Nuggets on Thursday night.

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    AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba and https://twitter.com/AP—Sports

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  • Why The Los Angeles Lakers Need To Go All-In As Soon As Possible

    Why The Los Angeles Lakers Need To Go All-In As Soon As Possible

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    Russell Westbrook and two first-round draft picks for Myles Turner and Buddy Hield.

    The above deal has been rumored for months, with the Lakers seemingly unwilling to include both their remaining tradeable draft selections in 2027 and 2029, and Indiana refusing to relinquish that caliber of talent, and taking on the contract of Westbrook, for anything less.

    The mexican standoff is likely to spill into the regular season until someone caves. But with the emergence of Victor Wembanyama as arguably the most hyped draft pick over the past two decades, an interesting subplot has entered the narrative.

    The ghost of the Anthony Davis trade

    When the Lakers traded for Anthony Davis in 2019, they gave up the farm. Virtually all their draft capital went to the New Orleans Pelicans, along with Brandon Ingram who developed into an All-Star in the Big Easy.

    In that package was a 2023 swap option, that gives the Pelicans the right to swap first-round picks. The swap is entirely unprotected, meaning the Lakers could – in theory – win the NBA Draft Lottery, and thus the right to select Wembanyama, only for the Pelicans to exercise that right, swoop in, and pick off the generational talent with the Lakers forced to watch.

    Some might point to the Lakers having a certain player on the roster by the name of LeBron James, and argue that with him around, it’s impossible for the franchise to ever be that bad to be in contention for the first overall pick.

    That logic is, however, highly flawed. The Lakers conveyed their 2022 first-rounder to the Pelicans, which ended up being the eight overall selection, as a result of a 33-win season. Even if they finish at the same spot this season, the lottery is still a lottery, meaning they could potentially win it.

    If Davis has another injury-riddled season, and they don’t find a solution to the Westbrook conundrum, it won’t really matter if they have a soon-to-be 38-year-old James.

    The level of control the Lakers do have is pulling the trigger on the Indiana trade, and thus drastically improving their chances of making it to the playoffs. That way, they could avoid forking over a lottery selection to the Pelicans.

    The logic of going all-in

    It’s understandable if the Lakers look at that trade as a lost cause, and wish to not let it dictate future moves. However, that would be dangerous.

    If the Lakers do end up winning the lottery, and thus be forced to send the rights to Wembanyama to the Pelicans, consider for a moment the change in power dynamic in the NBA.

    The Pelicans, with Wembanyama, Zion Williamson, Ingram, CJ McCollum, Herb Jones, Trey Murphy, Dyson Daniels, and whoever they can get for Jonas Valanciunas will likely enter Wembanyama’s rookie season as a legitimate championship candidate, and quickly turn into the championship favorites by the next season, which is a status that could last for a decade.

    Not only would the Lakers themselves, who are still trying to win, have no chance of beating that Pelicans team; they’d have built a powerhouse within their own conference that would have instant dynasty upside.

    (They’d also add a reported $500 million to their franchise value, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.)

    What incentive would James or Davis have to stay in that conference, knowing they stand a better chance of getting back to the Finals by joining a team in the East?

    Granted, this is long-term, worst-case thinking. But given the flattened lottery odds, the worst three teams stand just a 14% chance to win the lottery. The ten worst teams all stand at least a 3% chance of winning the lottery. So this isn’t inconceivable.

    There would be an incredible ripple effect should the above scenario play out, one that would essentially remove the Lakers, and most other Western Conference team, from serious contention for a long time.

    As such, it would actually be in the best interest of the Lakers themselves to be proactive, and not block their future path towards the Finals. That means caving, and forking over the two selections to Indiana.

    Heck, it might even be in the best interest of most Western Conference teams to further help the Lakers avoid the Wembanyama scenario, as to not help them build a generational team in New Orleans that would compete against them for the next decade. That is how absurd a situation this could become.

    As for the Pelicans, they’re just biding their time and hoping the Lakers implode once again. General manager David Griffin would want for nothing more than the Lakers to insist upon their stubbornness, and for this to drag out for as long as possible, solely for the Lakers to dig themselves as deep a hole as they can, before they wake up and realize what they stand to benefit by making that Pacers trader sooner than later.

    Unless noted otherwise, all stats via NBA.com, PBPStats, Cleaning the Glass or Basketball-Reference. All salary information via Spotrac. All odds via FanDuel Sportsbook.

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    Morten Jensen, Contributor

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