Jaime Jaquez Jr. names most the difficult challenge of his rookie year

Jaime Jaquez Jr. has emerged as one of the top rookies, but his success hasn’t come without numerous challenges throughout the year.

Jaime Jaquez Jr. has emerged as one of the top rookies this season with the Miami Heat, but his success hasn’t come without numerous challenges throughout the year.

Jaquez missed two weeks in the preseason and another 10 days last month with a hamstring injury. He sat on Sunday with an ankle injury, though has mostly been available for the Heat as a starter or a contributor on the second unit.

Speaking with JJ Redick and Tommy Alter on the “Old Man & the Three” podcast, Jaquez cited the higher competition level and improving his on-ball defense as some of his biggest adjustments this season.

The lengthy schedule, though, stands out the most to him.

I think there have been a lot of challenges, although I think those are also extremely fun. I’ll say this: I think the longevity of a season can really get to you. I remember at the beginning of the year, there was a point in time where I thought there was going to be no way in hell I was going to make it to 82 games.

To make it this far and start to see the light at the end of the tunnel, I know I can do this now. The sheer longevity of just game after game, back-to-backs and never really getting a break and it is always just basketball, was a big adjustment from college having just two games a week.

Jaquez is averaging 12.3 points, four rebounds, 2.6 assists and 1.1 steals on 48.6% shooting from the field in 64 games. He ranks fifth in total scoring among all rookies and is one of eight first-year players with a 30-point game this season.

The 18th pick became the first Heat rookie since Dwyane Wade in 2003 to score in double figures in 13 straight games earlier this season. He is also one of five rookies in franchise history to record four 20-point games off the bench.

Jaquez projects to be a lock to make an NBA All-Rookie team after his stellar season. With his energy and scoring, he has contributed at a high level throughout the year in various roles and should be a key player in their postseason run.

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Meet Creighton’s Mason Miller, the son of a 2-time NBA championship winner

If Creighton’s Mason Miller seems familiar, it’s because you remember his dad’s NBA days.

If you watched the Creighton men’s basketball team defeat Akron in the first round of the 2024 NCAA tournament, you got to watch the son of an NBA legend in action.

Mason Miller, a sophomore forward for Creighton, is the son of former NBA player Mike Miller, a 17-year retired veteran who won two NBA titles with the Miami Heat in 2012 and 2013.

The elder Miller played college ball at Florida before being drafted by the Orlando Magic in 2000. He coached Houston High School in Germantown, Tennessee, to a TSAA Class AAA state title in his only season as a coach, where Mason Miller played for his dad before joining Creighton.

Now, the younger Miller will keep playing on in the 2024 men’s NCAA tournament with Creighton, where he scored 10 points for the Bluejays in that team’s opening-round victory.

*This post previously stated that Mike Miller was still the coach of Houston High. He left after the 2020-21 season.

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Former Vols’ NBA results for March 18

A look at how former Vols performed in the NBA on Monday.

One former Vol competed in the NBA one Monday, while three players did not play due to injury.

Boston defeated Detroit, 119-84, at TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts.

Jaden Springer totaled six points, four rebounds, four assists and two blocks in 23 minutes for Boston.

He converted 2-of-5 field goal attempts and 2-of-2 free throw attempts.

Philadelphia defeated Miami, 98-91, at Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Tobias Harris did not play for the 76ers due to a right ankle sprain. Josh Richardson was inactive for the Heat due to a shoulder injury.

Chicago defeated Portland, 110-107, at United Center in Chicago, Illinois. Julian Phillips was inactive due to a right foot sprain.

Full injury report for Friday’s Heat vs. Thunder matchup

Full injury report for Friday’s Heat vs. Thunder matchup.

The Oklahoma City Thunder start a four-game homestand when they welcome the Miami Heat on Friday. It’ll be the final matchup between the two teams this season; OKC picked up a road win on Jan. 10.

The Thunder (43-19) enter the contest with a clean bill of health. Despite getting kneed on the thigh during the last game, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander wasn’t listed on the injury report.

Jaylin Williams is set to make his return from a three-game absence due to a knee sprain. Only Adam Flagler (G League two-way) is out.

Meanwhile, the Heat (35-27) have a few notable names on their injury report. Tyler Herro (foot medial tendinitis), Kevin Love (heel bruise) and Josh Richardson (shoulder surgery) are out.

Miami is on the second night of a road back-to-back. It lost to the Dallas Mavericks on Thursday.

Tip off from Oklahoma City is set for 7 p.m. CT.

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How many statues will LeBron James have after his NBA career is done?

When it is all said and done, how many statues has LeBron earned?

LeBron James is inarguably one of the greatest players in basketball history and whenever his career is over, he will get honored like no other.

But inspired by a recent question posed by our friends at USA TODAY Sports, we recently wondered how many statues James will have around the league when it is all said and done.

James has won championships with the Cleveland Cavaliers, Miami Heat, and Los Angeles Lakers. He won NBA Finals MVP while playing for each team as well. Is that enough, however, for each organization to eventually put up a statue to tribute his accomplishments?

James will definitely have a statue in Cleveland, the city where is from and where he brought the first and only NBA championship in 2016. It was the only professional title the city had won since 1964.

But will James also get immortalized in Miami and Los Angeles? That is a much harder question to answer.

Miami is the only city where James won multiple championships. But he also did not play for the team for very long, spending just four of his seasons with the Heat.

No one in franchise history has a statue for the Heat, though Dwyane Wade will soon become the first. ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith believes that James did enough to warrant a statue in Miami.

We can expect Wade will have the solo honor of immortalization in South Beach for a bit before the team considers the same treatment for his former teammate.

Perhaps a tougher task for James is earning a statue in Los Angeles.

There are currently six former players (Shaquille O’Neal, Magic Johnson, Jerry West, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Elgin Baylor, and Kobe Bryant) who have statues for the Lakers.

James didn’t spend nearly as much time with the team as any of the players listed above, but he did break the NBA’s all-time scoring record previously held by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar while wearing a Lakers jersey.

Should he win another title with Los Angeles, perhaps the possibility will become more realistic. Otherwise, though, it seems most likely that James has just one statue outside an NBA arena once his career is over.

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Recap: Strong second half leads OKC Blue to 129-120 win over Sioux Falls Skyforce

Recap: Strong second half leads OKC Blue to 129-120 win over Sioux Falls Skyforce.

The G League’s OKC Blue had a strong second half to pick up a 129-120 win over the Sioux Falls Skyforce on Tuesday. The home win improved the Blue to 14-12.

It was a high-scoring first quarter as the Blue built a 38-32 lead. A 35-point second quarter by the Skyforce helped it trim its deficit to one, 68-67.

The Blue outscored the Skyforce by 13 points in a 35-point third quarter. OKC entered the final frame with a 14-point lead and came away with the nine-point win.

The Blue shot 44% from the field and went 13-of-44 (29.5%) from 3. They dished 32 assists on 43 baskets. Six Blue players scored double-digit points.

Meanwhile, the Skyforce shot 47% from the field and went 12-of-36 (33.3%) from 3. They dished 30 assists on 44 baskets. All five Skyforce starters scored double-digit points.

Some notable individual performances from both sides:

  • Ousmane Dieng: 18 points on 7-of-19 shooting, 3-of-8 from 3, seven assists, seven rebounds
  • Keyontae Johnson: 24 points on 8-of-15 shooting, seven rebounds, three assists
  • KJ Williams: 17 points on 7-of-15 shooting, 1-of-5 from 3, 10 rebounds, four assists, two steals
  • Hunter Maldonado: 23 points on 6-of-9 shooting, 3-of-5 from 3, six rebounds, three assists
  • Jamal Cain: 39 points on 15-of-22 shooting, 2-of-5 from 3, 13 rebounds, six assists, two blocks
  • Olin Carter III: 23 points on 7-of-16 shooting, 6-of-14 from 3, two rebounds
  • Alondes Williams: 21 points on 8-of-18 shooting, 1-of-8 from 3, 16 assists, eight rebounds
  • Malik Williams: 15 points on 6-of-14 shooting, 11 rebounds, three assists

The full highlights from the Blue’s nine-point win over the Miami Heat’s G League affiliate can be watched below:

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NBA Rookie of the Month: Victor Wembanyama, Brandon Miller win for February

Victor Wembanyama and Brandon Miller for the second straight time were named the NBA Western and Eastern Conference Rookies of the Month.

San Antonio Spurs forward Victor Wembanyama and Charlotte Hornets forward Brandon Miller for the second straight time have been named the NBA Western and Eastern Conference rookies of the month for February, respectively.

Wembanyama became the first Spurs rookie to win in consecutive months since Tim Duncan in March and April 1998. Wembanyama averaged 21.3 points, 10.7 rebounds, 4.5 assists, 3.9 blocks and two steals in 12 games. He led all rookies in scoring, rebounding, blocks and steals in the month.

Miller averaged 20.5 points, 4.5 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.8 steals in 13 games. He became the sixth player in franchise history to win the award multiple times, and he was the first rookie this season to have back-to-back 30-point games in the month.

Utah Jazz guard Keyonte George, Oklahoma City Thunder forward Chet Holmgren and Houston Rockets guard Amen Thompson were also nominated for the award in the West. Toronto Raptors guard Gradey Dick, Miami Heat guard Jaime Jaquez Jr. and Detroit Pistons guard Ausar Thompson were nominated in the East.

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Rookie Wire Power Rankings: Victor Wembanyama remains No. 1 post-All-Star break

Rookie Wire took a look at the top first-year players over the last two weeks of the 2023-24 season.

The NBA enters the last two months of the regular-season schedule with teams positioning themselves for the playoffs entering .

The rookie class continues to impress nightly with players contributing at a high level on playoff contenders and other teams in the hunt. The group has been one of the most memorable in recent memory, headlined by Victor Wembanyama and Chet Holmgren.

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They have established themselves as the top rookies and are the front-runners for Rookie of the Year as a result. The two 7-footers have dazzled seemingly every time they step onto the court and have had some strong performances.

To make sense of it all, we looked at the best recent performances of these first-year players and ranked them in the Rookie Wire Power Rankings. The rankings are not for Rookie of the Year purposes but to illustrate the best players week to week.

Is the longtime feud between the Boston Celtics and the Miami Heat the best rivalry in the NBA right now?

When it comes to a good rivalry in the league, this one has it all.

Is the longtime feud between the Boston Celtics and the Miami Heat the best rivalry in the NBA right now? While the seeds of the rivalry go back to the last Celtics’ era of contention, when LeBron James was a part of the team, things have only gotten spicier with the two Eastern Conference colliding in the Eastern Conference Finals several times in recent seasons.

Those series, often coming down to a handful of plays, have been some of the most intense in any playoffs in recent memory, and the ire has carried over into the regular season matchups. When it comes to a good rivalry in the league, this one has it all — and might be the best in the league right now.

The hosts of WEEI’s “Slammed” podcast had plenty to say about it on a recent episode.

Check it out above!

Listen to the “Celtics Lab” podcast on:

Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3zBKQY6

Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3GfUPFi

YouTube: https://bit.ly/3F9DvjQ

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1 question all 30 NBA teams must answer coming out of the All-Star break

Here’s 1 critical question for all 30 NBA teams as we get ready for the 2024 playoff push.

The NBA’s 2024 All-Star break is over.

This means we’ve only got just about two months of regular-season basketball left before an intense and dramatic postseason. Goodness, where does the time go? Hmm, don’t answer that. (For a look at where the league stands right now, check out our latest NBA power rankings.)

Not everyone in the NBA is thinking about the playoffs or competing for a title like the reigning champion Denver Nuggets or top contender Boston Celtics. There are some otherwise dreadful rebuilding teams (hello, Washington Wizards!) who are already looking to the future and who have different goals to accomplish over the last third of this season. In a 30-team league, most squads are on entirely different timelines for competition. That’s just the nature of the beast.

As we enter what should be a thrilling stretch run, here’s one question all 30 NBA teams must answer before their respective 2023-2024 season comes to a close.