The Milwaukee Bucks defeated the New York Knicks to advance to the semifinals of the NBA’s In-Season Tournament.
Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo, who finished the game with 35 points as well as 10 assists and eight rebounds during the win, was asked about the prize money that the advancing players will receive.
Antetokounmpo seemed surprised that there was money involved in any capacity and told TNT’s Jared Greenberg: “The rich get richer.”
Giannis, who just earned $100,000 for making it to the In-Season Tournament semifinals: "Are we getting money now? We got some money? The rich get richer." đpic.twitter.com/oNitKKHg14
The two-time MVP is currently signed to a five-year contract worth more than $228.2 million for an average annual value exceeding $45.6 million.
He will earn at least an additional $100,000 by making the semifinals of the NBA Cup but the former NBA Finals MVP could receive up to $500,000 if the Bucks win the In-Season Tournament.
Fun fact: Antetokounmpo, who will turn 30 years old while in Las Vegas, said that he only bets on “34 red” in roulette if he is gambling.
It actually wasn’t the worst advice from Josh Hart to Brook Lopez.
During the quarterfinals of the NBA’s In-Season Tournament, Knicks wing Josh Hart had a funny message for Bucks big Brook Lopez.
Hart, who is 6-foot-4, approached the 7-foot-1 center to offer him some strategic advice. Hart said that when Lopez gets the ball near the basket, the Milwaukee big shouldn’t feel “scared” to pass it out to his teammate to avoid the mismatch.
According to Hart, despite the obvious height difference that favors the Milwaukee big by several inches, the mismatch favors the shorter player any time that he is guarding Lopez.
âI know when you got the ball in the post against me itâs a mismatch. Donât be scared if you gotta pass it out!â
Hart was joking, but let’s look into this one! For what it is worth, using the matchup database via NBA.com, Hart has defended Lopez on 31.5 partial possessions since 2018-19.
The big man is shooting 3-of-7 (42.8 percent) on these opportunities and has scored eight points. Lopez has also recorded three assists and three turnovers on these matchups. Not bad!
While the advice from Hart about a mismatch is tongue-in-cheek, it is also actually not the most awful observation. Lopez is averaging just 0.1 passes per game after post-up possessions this season, via NBA.com.
Last season, his pass percentage on post-ups ranked as the second-lowest (minimum: 40 post-ups) in the league. So perhaps, no matter who is assigned to guard Lopez, he should consider Hart’s suggestion.
Good morning, Winners! Thanks so much for reading the Morning Win today! We appreciate you.
Adam Silver needs to call for an emergency press conference at some point today and just do the Gladiator thing the entire time. “ARE YOU NOT ENTERTAINED?!?” Because that man deserves to take a victory lap around the success of the NBA’s In-Season Tournament.
Adam Silver has done a lot of good things for the NBA. Players are raking in obscene amounts of cash now. The league is making more money than ever before. He’s also managed to ditch not just one, but two, problematic owners through his tenure as commissioner.
But, as far as basketball goes, the In-Season Tournament has got to be Silver’s crowning jewel as a commissioner. Whenever he chooses to step down, this tournament will be the thing he leaves behind.
There’s something about single-elimination sports tournaments that just works so well. Every single time. There are automatically stakes and drama, even without an extra $500,000 on the line.
Oh, and by the way, enough with saying the players won’t care about that. Look at how excited some of these dudes on the Pacers’ bench are knowing they’re about to advance. Tell me they don’t care about that money.
look at that bench. the Pacers have 10 players on the books who make less than $3 million in salary this season (3 two-way contracts). $500k per player to the winner of the tournament. get nuts. https://t.co/B4jPrZlPuR
The courts are wonky. The jerseys are goofy. But this basketball is good, man. It was great to watch Tyrese Haliburton and the Pacers get excited about cooking against one of the best defenses in the league. It was fun to watch the Pelicans put together a complete win without an incredible game from Zion Williamson. That’s the stuff the fans need to see. It’s the most important function of this tournament.
Earlier in October when the season started, Adam Silver said he wanted to change the way the NBA is covered. There wasn’t enough talk about the game â at least not compared to all the fluff around it.
This tournament changes that. It brings the focus back to basketball again. Honestly, watching it has been extremely refreshing.
I don’t know how the rest of this thing is going to go throughout this week. But I’m confident enough in what we’ve seen already to say this: The NBA In-Season Tournament works.
When this is over, can we do this again in March? Please, NBA?
Jake Browning just earned himself a contract, didn’t he?
I had no idea who Jake Browning was before last night, but I absolutely know who he is now. And so does the NFL after his stunning performance against the Jaguars on Monday night.
Browning kept the Bengals’ playoff hopes alive in a 34-31 win over the Jags that came down to a last-second field goal. Browning was brilliant in this one, completing 32 of his 37 passes for 354 yards and a touchdown. He’s the first undrafted player to put up numbers like this at quarterback since 1967, per ESPN.
Per ESPN Stats & Info: Bengals QB Jake Browning is the first undrafted player since 1967 (Common Draft Era) to throw for 350 passing yards and complete 85% of his passes in a game.
Like I said, the NFL knows who he is now. It’s just one game, so he’ll have to keep this up. But I totally expect this dude to get the Matt Flynn treatment down the line.
Speaking of backup QBs, the Jaguars seem to have a situation on their hands now with Trevor Lawrence spraining his ankle. C.J. Beathard is the current backup and seemed decent. But will he be able to keep the Jaguars afloat at the top of the division? We’ll see.
Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-USA TODAY Sports
Apparently, the Jets want to name Zach Wilson the starting quarterback for the team. But, in a wild twist, he doesn’t appear to want the job? Even after Aaron Rodgers tried to convince him to take it, he said no.
But Wilson â outside of contractual obligations, of course â owes the Jets nothing. Never mind that at seemingly every turn, theyâve been determined to undermine the former No. 2 overall pick: why would Wilson want to play and risk his personal health for a team thatâs demonstrated it probably doesnât care all that much about him?”
It’s hard to blame Wilson here, honestly. He stinks. We know that. Wilson playing won’t make a difference. His future isn’t with this team and we learned that when Robert Saleh went in a different direction with Tim Boyle. From Wilson’s perspective, that’s the choice the organization made and it’ll have to live with it now.
This was so far from actually hurting Valanciunas that Lyles was barely punished.
During the NBA’s In-Season Tournament, Kings forward Trey Lyles and Pelicans big man Jonas Valanciunas shared a tense moment.
As the Pelicans hustled back on defense in the second quarter of the game, Lyles and Valanciunas were visibly upset at one another. Lyles then threw what was nearly a punch toward the head of Valanciunas, but the strike did not connect.
The broadcasters described what they saw from Lyles as a “modified swing” toward the big man. Here is a video of what happened:
Later in the game, New Orleans wing Naji Marshall approached Lyles and may have shared his thoughts about the incident.
Overall, the refs seemingly allowed more of a playoff-like atmosphere during the quarterfinals of the NBA Cup to allow that type of physicality without an ejection.
Time to flex some games so we can all watch the Pacers more often.
Tyrese Haliburton and the Indiana Pacers defeated the Boston Celtics to advance to the semifinals of the NBA’s In-Season Tournament.
Haliburton had the first triple-double of his career recording 26 points, 10 rebounds, 13 assists, zero turnovers and one steal. It’s worth noting that the rising star had not played a game on TNT before this victory, per ESPN.
After the dominant performance, the Pacers will move on to the semifinals of the NBA Cup in Las Vegas. The next round of the tournament, which will be a combined broadcasting effort by ESPN and TNT, will give Haliburton and his teammates yet another chance to play on national TV.
Otherwise, the Pacers only have one other game scheduled on national TV this season: Jan. 30 against the Celtics on TNT.
But fans aren’t satisfied with just getting to see the Pacers, who now have the best offensive rating of all-time so far this season, in just those games. Many expressed a genuine interest in seeing the national TV schedule flexed as the season continues so they can watch Indiana more often.
The cup was designed by Tiffany & Co. in collaboration with artist Victor Solomon.
Welcome to Layup Lines, For the Winâs basketball newsletter. Subscribe here to get it delivered to your inbox every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Have feedback for the Layup Lines Crew? Leave your questions, comments and concerns through this brief reader survey.Â
Some standout performers have already separated themselves as potential MVP candidates during group play of the tournament. As we head into the quarterfinals, teams are one step closer to becoming the inaugural champions of the NBA Cup.
Here are some key details you should know about the actual trophy they will receive, per NBA.com:
The cup was designed by Tiffany & Co. in collaboration with artist Victor Solomon. It was crafted at the Tiffany hollowware workshop in Rhode Island.
The base of the cup has 30 openings in the net to represent all of the teams in the league.
The base has three tiers, which represent how many games each team must win during the knockout rounds to win the tournament.
Eight prongs flow into the channels of the ball, which symbolize the eight teams that made the knockout rounds of the tournament. These are inspired by the prongs of a diamond ring.
The trophy is 23 inches tall, which is a tribute to the inaugural year of the tournament.
The trophy is five inches wide because there were five teams in each group during the seeding games.
The trophy, which weighs 35 pounds, is coated in 24-karat gold vermeil and black ceramic. The weight represents the three groups of five teams in each conference during group play.
This is a beautiful trophy and the attention to detail is fascinating.
Boston’s Jayson Tatum is currently considered the favorite to take home the trophy. Based on play during the seeding games during group play, however, the best players to advance to the knockout rounds included Phoenix’s Devin Booker and Kevin Durant as well as Sacramento’s De’Aaron Fox.
Indiana’s Tyrese Haliburton is an interesting choice as well if he is healthy. So, too, are Lakers teammates LeBron James and Anthony Davis.
Shootaround
HoopsHype
â Short Kings, rejoice! HoopsHype’s Frank Urbina ranked the greatest players in NBA history who are 6-foot-and-under.
â LeBron James coyly said the heated exchange that led to Ime Udoka’s ejection was about Thanksgiving. Prince Grimes has more.
â It’s becoming clear what the Lakers’ biggest weakness is this season, per LeBron Wire’s Robert Marvi.
This was a week to forget for Notre Dame’s NBA representation. Both players saw action in only one game apiece, albeit for very different reasons. Whatever the reason though, it had to be frustrating for Irish fans who want to track what program alumni are up to.
[autotag]Pat Connaughton[/autotag] played 15 minutes in the first half of the Milwaukee Bucks’ Nov. 28 road win over the Miami Heat. He scored seven points, his most in a game in almost two weeks. However, he left with an ankle injury and hasn’t seen any game action since. He missed the Bucks’ next two games and remains day-to-day, making his availability for the Bucks’ In-Season Tournament quarterfinal Tuesday unknown.
[autotag]Blake Wesley[/autotag] remains on the outside looking in as far as the San Antonio Spurs’ location. He only could find a few minutes in garbage time of a Dec. 1 road loss to the New Orleans Pelicans, dishing out two assists.
Contact/Follow us @IrishWireND on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Notre Dame news, notes, and opinions.
Good morning, Winners! Welcome back to TMW. Thanks so much for reading today. We appreciate you.
Let’s chat a bit about the NBA in-season tournament. I’ll admit when the idea was first announced last season, I was certainly one of the skeptics out there. The tournament seemed like a gimmick â a simple attempt at juicing up numbers in the middle of the NFL season.
But it’s worked perfectly through one month. On Tuesday the group play action wrapped up and now we’re on to the quarterfinals.
Here’s what we have:
East: Bucks (1) vs. Knicks (4), Pacers (2) vs. Celtics (3)
West:Â Lakers (1) vs. Suns (4), Kings (2) vs. Pelicans
I don’t think things could have shaken out any better for the league. It’s having its cake and eating it, too.
The purpose of this tournament was to get more eyeballs on the league’s up-and-coming stars in smaller markets. Mission accomplished. The next generation is all over this tournament. Tyrese Haliburton’s Indiana Pacers are the No. 1 seed in the East. Zion Williamson’s Pelicans will take on De’Aaron Fox’s Kings in the West. The point of this tournament was to get more eyeballs on stars in smaller markets. Mission accomplished there, too.
Meanwhile, the NBA has its bluebloods involved. The Lakers, Celtics and Knicks are all good simultaneously (for once!). The Lakers made their way into the tournament fairly easily. The Celtics and Knicks had to obliterate teams to make it happen on their end, but alas. Here they are. The cash cows for the NBA made it to the party.
Ultimately, we’ll have to see what the ratings look like behind this thing. But right now, it feels like the NBA has something cooking with this tournament.
Has it been a bit silly at times? Sure. Could the league raise the stakes a bit more? I think so. But there’s no doubt that the league has something cooking with the NBA Cup.
I can’t wait til this thing gets to Vegas.
Speaking of Vegas …
(AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)
Adam Silver has made it clear that the NBA wants to bring a team to Las Vegas. It feels more like a matter of “when” and not “if” at this point. Mark Cuban’s recent move might lay a path down to making that “when” sooner rather than later.
The NBA may have just found its path to getting a team to the city. It might just come at the expense of another franchise.
Cuban is reportedly selling his majority stake in the Mavericks but keeping control of the team’s basketball operations. My colleague Bryan Kalbrosky has more here.
“The news was first reported by league insider Marc Stein, who added that Cuban would âcontinue to retain operational controlâ of the Mavericks. The longtime majority shareholder will reportedly sell ownership of the franchise to the Adelson family, per reports.
Shams Charania noted that based on the sale, the valuation of the franchise is now $3.5 billion. Charania added that this is âone of the most unique setupsâ in league history because Cuban will retain his shares in the organization and he will also maintain âfull control and final sayâ when it comes to basketball operations.”
Cuban is still there with the Mavericks and controls basketball operations. I don’t know if he’d ever allow the team to move without a fight. The team has been there for 43 years. Cuban has owned it for 23 years and built it into one of the league’s most notable franchises. Just upending that would be tough.
Plus, I don’t even know if that’s something the NBA would actually want â especially not after the debacle with the SuperSonics.
But the dots are connecting here. There’s no disputing that. Hopefully, Mavericks fans, this is nothing to worry about.
How in the world is Bobby Petrino back?
Mandatory Credit: Beth Hall-USA TODAY Sports
I know the College Football Playoff rankings were announced on Tuesday, but the biggest story in college football yesterday had to be Bobby Petrino somehow going back to Arkansas … as an offensive coordinator.
“This comes after more than a decade after Arkansas fired Petrino. Yes, remember this? The school fired the former head coach in 2012 for hiring the woman he was having an affair with and trying to hide the fact multiple times from Arkansas leadership.
Former Arkansas athletic director Jeff Long excoriated Petrino at the time of his April 2012 firing, per a report from ESPN at the time.”
College football gets wacky. SUPER wacky, sometimes. But this? Man, this goes beyond that. This falls squarely into the “I can’t believe somebody thought this was a good idea” territory. It’s hilarious.
Welcome back, Bobby Petrino. I guess.
Quick hits: This extremely weird Corey Perry story … NFL quarterback rankings … and more
Charles Barkley had some thoughts about Jordan Clarkson’s seafaring outfit and captain’s hat.
Ahead of the Utah Jazz taking on the Los Angeles Lakers in the group stage of the NBA In-Season Tournament on Tuesday night, guard Jordan Clarkson showed up to the game in a very interesting outfit.
Clarkson sported what looked like a captain’s hat and coat like he was about to set off to sea for an adventure, and former NBA star Charles Barkley wasn’t about to let Clarkson slide for his fashion choice without a little trolling.
On the pregame coverage for NBA on TNT, Barkley joked about Clarkson’s outfit, rhetorically asking him if he knew Halloween had already come and gone.
âWhat the hell is that? Halloween was two weeks ago!â
Ouch! Clarkson’s seafaring hat and outfit was a bold choice for the pregame attire, and Barkley didn’t miss the opportunity to get in a very funny roast.
Maybe Clarkson’s captain’s hat would inspire a great performance on the court? If it did, perhaps Barkley would give him credit for his outfit.
