Bradley Beal and the Washington Wizards are left feeling impressed with rising Philadelphia 76ers star Tyrese Maxey.
PHILADELPHIA–The Washington Wizards may have come away with a 121-111 win over the Philadelphia 76ers on Wednesday night on the road, but they were left feeling impressed with third-year guard Tyrese Maxey following the home-and-home series.
Maxey had 32 points on 11-for-20 shooting and he drilled five triples on Wednesday night and this comes after he scored 28 points in Philadelphia’s Halloween win on Monday night on the road. The young star is catching a ton of attention around the league and he earned the respect of Wizards star Bradley Beal and his teammates after these two games.
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Monté Morris had 24 points for the Nuggets in their first playoff victory of the postseason. He needed just 11 attempts to notch his season-high.
This may surprise those who don’t follow Morris, who has filled in for Jamal Murray as Denver’s starting point guard in 2021-22. However, the 26-year-old has been a long-time positive-value contributor. During each of the four seasons in which he got playing time, his turnover percentage has ranked in the 94th percentile or better among all players at his position.
Morris is also a three-level scorer whose field-goal percentage at the rim and from mid-range both rank in the 90th percentile, and his 3-point percentage ranks 83rd percentile. He’s rarely going to beat his defender one-on-one or hit nasty pull-up jumpers off the dribble, but he’s reliable shooting off the catch.
A low usage floor spacer like that is exactly the kind of guard you need in an offense built around a ball-dominant player in Nikola Jokic.
The Tip-Off
(AP Photo/John Minchillo)
Ben Simmons could have become the first player to get eliminated from the playoffs in two consecutive games, as noted by Twitter’s @sreekyshooter.
Maybe we never should have believed any reports indicating Simmons would come back. It was never going to happen! But nonetheless, when news dropped that the former No. 1 pick will not play in Game 4 of the opening round against the Celtics, people shared some thoughts.
“That led to the entirety of Twitter — including some big names — to pile on Simmons, despite the fact that the guard coming back to what probably would have been limited minutes wouldn’t have done much to help a Nets team on the ropes.”
Our own Charles Curtis made a roundup of some of the best reactions, including roasts from Shaq and Stephen A. Smith. Check them out here.
One to Watch
Winslow Townson-USA TODAY Sports
Nets (-1.5, -120) vs. Celtics (+100), O/U 219.5, 7:00 PM ET
The Nets are down 3-0 against the Celtics in this series, and yet, somehow, they’re still favored to win Game 4 against Boston.
I guess the oddsmakers believe it’s improbable a team with Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving get swept in the first round, but you know you want to watch. If the Nets go down in four straight, what happens next? Is this the last time we see Steve Nash as Brooklyn’s head coach? Does Kyrie decline his option and become a free agent?
You know you’re going to want to watch, no matter the results of this one.
Who’s in and out?
(Photo by Cole Burston/Getty Images)
Raptors: Fred VanVleet (hip) is out against the Sixers tonight
Heat: Kyle Lowry (hamstring) is questionable on Tuesday
Bulls: Alex Caruso (concussion) is questionable on Wednesday
Shootaround
Kevin Jairaj – USA TODAY Sports
— Vince Carter gives a heartfelt message to ROY winner Scottie Barnes
—A photo of Ben Simmons watching Celtics dunk became a hilarious meme
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The duo shifts focus beyond the deadline for Boston in a recent article.
While there is plenty of reporting about trade rumbles at this time of the season — just a few weeks ahead of the 2022 deadline for teams to exchange players with each other — there is also no shortage of speculation about which players ought to be dealt to which teams, too.
And given the Boston Celtics are widely seen to be among the NBA’s most active franchises on the 2022 NBA trade market, it should not surprise to see plenty of such speculation. Some are even extending the window of projection beyond the deadline to include potential offseason moves.
Not all such prognostication is created equal, however, and those with an intimate knowledge of how front offices run ought to be considered a little more closely.
Report: Atlanta Hawks discussed swapping Marcus Smart for Kevin Huerter, Cam Reddish; will take ‘significant value’ to move Boston guard https://t.co/9zBVav2pSz
After earning a spot in the 2020 Western Conference Finals, the Denver Nuggets made a huge splash during the 2021 NBA trade deadline.
After earning a spot in the 2020 Western Conference Finals, the Denver Nuggets made a huge splash during the 2021 NBA trade deadline.
Hungry to build on the success they had last season, Denver’s front office made a push to land Aaron Gordon from the Orlando Magic as well as two-time NBA champion JaVale McGee from the Cleveland Cavaliers. They also acquired Gary Clark, a sneaky good role player, to the mix.
While the organization surrendered longtime starter Gary Harris as well as promising prospect RJ Hampton in the deal, they maintained much of the depth necessary to make another run in the postseason later this year.
Denver came into the season with some excellent star power behind MVP candidate Nikola Jokic and a stellar guard in Jamal Murray. They maintain excellent upside with the firepower of Michael Porter Jr. as well.
With all three on the floor, the Nuggets have outscored opponents by 13.1 points per 100 possessions this year. That ranks as the second-best among three-man groups in the Western Conference that have played at least 600 minutes together thus far in 2020-21.
But they also have Will Barton, Paul Millsap and Monte Morris – all of whom are reliable veterans who play well within their roles. So when you add Gordon and McGee to that already strong core, you suddenly have one of the deepest rosters in the NBA.
As such, below, we have broken down the new group for the Nuggets as they prepare to make a playoff push.
The league is moving more and more towards positionless basketball. Note that we define “guards” as the playmakers and primary initiators, “wings” as the versatile athletes who can typically play somewhere between two through four and “bigs” as the main frontcourt threat.
As the Utah Jazz now resume basketball activities, there are major issues they need to fix regarding stars Rudy Gobert and Donovan Mitchell.
As the Utah Jazz now resume basketball activities, there are major issues they need to fix regarding stars Rudy Gobert and Donovan Mitchell.
After so much time off due to the coronavirus pandemic, there will be a lot to iron out for all rosters. But the recent gap also exposed some harsh truths about the two best players on the Jazz.
In a recent story, Tim MacMahon reported that Gobert feels he should receive more lobs from Mitchell (via ESPN):
“Gobert rarely hesitates to let teammates know if they miss him when he is open around the rim. He’ll occasionally point up during play in animated fashion, sometimes as he is running back on defense, to note that a lob should have been thrown … Gobert knows his lobbying for lobs wears on teammates to the point of being counterproductive, like the wide receiver who gripes at the quarterback after every play when a pass isn’t thrown his way, regardless of the pass rush.”
Gobert led all NBA players with 306 dunks recorded last season, according to Basketball-Reference. But even when including alley-oops layups, the big man paired with Mitchell for only 28 lob connections during their 2018-19 campaign.
Considering that Gobert attempted 125 alley-oops in 2018-19 (17.6 percent of his total attempts from the field), this is certainly a major offensive focal point for the two-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year.
As such, McMahon continued, the two players have specifically worked on their “lob chemistry” in individualized practice sessions to further avoid the blunders like the one seen above during their game against Denver back in January:
“Utah coach Quin Snyder and his staff have attempted to help facilitate that trust, especially between Mitchell and Gobert. That duo have had dozens of two-man workouts under the watch of coaches, with a focus on ironing out intricacies of their pick-and-roll partnership and lob chemistry. They also occasionally join coaches – usually some combination of Snyder, Jensen and Johnnie Bryant, the assistant who works most with Mitchell – for small-group film sessions at the team’s facility.”
Gobert made 16 alley-oops following passes from Mitchell, per NBA.com. This accounted for 4.5 percent of his total field goal count, down from 5.9 percent last season. This would average out to approximately 0.36 connections per 36 minutes when looking at their total time spent (1607 minutes) on the court together, down from 0.48 last season.
For a better understanding of how that compares to other lob threats around the league, we looked at the top combinations on this play type. Brooklyn’s Spencer Dinwiddie assisted DeAndre Jordan on 46 alley-oop opportunities this season. This means they averaged 2.76 alley-oops per 36 minutes shared (599 minutes) on the floor.
(Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)
While these two players are no longer on the same roster, Houston’s James Harden and former teammate Clint Capela were also successful on 46 of their alley-oop possessions. Capela, now on the Atlanta Hawks, was able to catch 1.53 alley-oops per 36 minutes that he played alongside Harden (1,082) in 2019-20.
Other prolific pairings in the NBA this season include Dinwiddie-to-Jarrett Allen (40), Trae Young-to-John Collins (36), LeBron James-to-Anthony Davis (34), Chris Paul-to-Nerlens Noel (33) and Elfrid Payton-to-Mitchell Robinson (33).
The data makes it clear that there is certainly room for more lob connections between the two players. However, considering how rare these opportunities are even for the most prolific duo, perhaps there are other aspects of offense to worry about in Utah.
HoopsHype’s Alberto de Roa contributed research to this report.
The Warriors couldn’t hold on to a 19-point lead against the Denver Nuggets, losing their tenth straight game. Golden State is still winless since the start of 2020.
For the first 46 minutes of the Warriors home contest against the Denver Nuggets, the game felt like it was leaning towards a Golden State upset. However, a strong final quarter from Nuggets erased the Warriors 19-point lead, sending the game into overtime.
In the extra period, the Warriors were overwhelmed by the Western Conference playoff hopeful. Malik Beasley, Michael Porter Jr and Nikola Jokic all added 10 points in the fourth quarter, enough to take the struggling Warriors into deep water.
Denver handled business in overtime, sealing the comeback win in San Francisco, 134-131. The loss marks the Warriors tenth straight loss and the team is still winless since the start of the 2020 new year.
Seven different members of Golden State scored in double digits, with Damion Lee and Alec Burks leading the way with 21 and 25 points, respectively. Golden State’s collective scoring effort wasn’t enough to slow down the Nuggets duo of Beasley, 28 points and Will Barton, 31 points.
Golden State will have an opportunity to end the losing streak when the Orlando Magic travel to Chase Center.
Starting fast
A primary source of the Golden State Warriors’ struggles throughout the 2019-20 season has been their sluggish first quarters. Golden State has come out of the gate slow in many contests this season, but against Denver, it was the opposite.
Damion Lee, D’Angelo Russell and Jordan Poole combined for 21 points to outscore the entire Nuggets roster alone in the opening quarter. The team shot 50 % from the field and added seven 3-pointers to blitz Denver off the jump The Warriors roared to a 34-19 lead in the first period to set the tone for the remainder of the bout.
As fast as the Warriors started the game, the Nuggets turned things on when it mattered at the end. Denver dropped 40 points in the final period to cut Golden State’s 12 point fourth-quarter lead.
In the fourth quarter, Russell couldn’t find the ice in his veins, only scoring four points and turning the ball over once ina critical situation.
The Warriors shot a miserable 30 % from the field, while Denver punished Golden State while they were down, shooting 68.2 %. Rookie, Eric Paschall knocked down a late three-pointer to give Golden State the lead, but it wasn’t enough to close out Denver. The Warriors’ sloppy final period opened the door for the Nuggets to stretch the game into overtime.
A highlight in a disappointing night was rookie Jordan Poole putting together another solid game. Poole registered his third straight double-digit scoring night, dropping 10 points on 4-of-9 shooting from the field. Poole was a significant factor in the Warriors’ fast start, adding two makes from beyond the arc in the first quarter off the bench.
