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Eastern Conference’s Top Six, Play-In Tournament Set For 2024

April 14th, 2024 at 3:23pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

It came down to a blown DeMar DeRozan overtime buzzer beater attempt, but the Knicks finally clinched the Eastern Conference’s No. 2 seed by winning a nationally broadcast ESPN clash against the Bulls this afternoon.

Earlier in the day, several other East playoff and play-in clubs wrapped up their 2023/24 regular seasons, thus cementing the conference’s top 10 heading into the postseason. Six teams won between 47 and 50 games, with three clubs sporting identical 47-35 records.

Obviously the Nos. 7 and 8 seeds will be determined by the play-in tournament, which will tip off mid-week. That will thus dictate the 1-8 and 2-7 matchups of the first round.

Here is the finalized order of the Eastern Conference’s top 10 for the 2024 postseason:

Boston Celtics (64-18)
New York Knicks (50-32)
Milwaukee Bucks (49-33)
Cleveland Cavaliers (48-34)
Orlando Magic (47-35)
Indiana Pacers (47-35)
Philadelphia 76ers (47-35)
Miami Heat (46-36)
Chicago Bulls (39-43)
Atlanta Hawks (36-46)

Two matchups are now locked in, while two are yet to be determined.

The No. 3 Bucks will square off against the No. 6 Pacers. Indiana owns a 4-1 season record against Milwaukee (they faced off during the semifinals of this year’s inaugural in-season tournament). Milwaukee’s two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo sat out the team’s final three games of the regular season due to a left calf strain, and his status for the beginning of the playoffs is unclear.

The No. 4 Cavaliers will play the No. 5 Orlando Magic. Those two teams have split their season series, 2-2.

Per the NBA, here is the breakdown of this year’s Eastern Conference play-in tournament schedule, slated to start this Wednesday, April 17 via ESPN:

No. 7 Philadelphia will host No. 8 Miami at 6 p.m. CT. The victor will advance as the No. 7 seed to play the Knicks, who will be without All-Star power forward Julius Randle for the duration of the playoffs.
No. 9 Chicago will host No. 10 Atlanta at 8:30 p.m. CT. The winner will advance to play whichever team loses the 7-8 matchup.
The loser of the Sixers/Heat matchup will host the winner of Bulls/Hawks on Friday, April 19. That contest’s winner will move on to play the Celtics as the East’s No. 8 seed.

The first round of the playoffs will officially tip off on Saturday, April 20.

Magic Notes: F. Wagner, Carter, Banchero, FA Targets

April 12th, 2024 at 7:20pm CST by Rory Maher

Magic forward Franz Wagner, who has missed the past two games with a sprained right ankle, returned to action on Friday in Philadelphia in a matchup with major playoff implications (Twitter link via the team).

Wagner is a critical piece for Orlando, having averaged 19.6 PPG, 5.3 RPG, 3.8 APG and 1.0 SPG through 70 games (32.4 MPG). Orlando has a 43-27 record with the 22-year-old in the starting lineup, but has gone just 3-7 in games he has missed.

The No. 8 overall pick of the 2021 draft, Wagner will be eligible for a rookie scale extension this summer.

Here are a few more notes on the Magic:

While Wagner’s return was a positive development, center Wendell Carter Jr. picked up a pair of early fouls defending Joel Embiid and was wincing when he exited the court in the first quarter, tweets Tim Bontemps of ESPN. Carter is questionable to return to the game due to back spasms, according to the Magic (Twitter link).
2022 No. 1 overall pick Paolo Banchero achieved his preseason goal of becoming an All-Star, and he would be thrilled if he earns a spot on an All-NBA team, he told Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports. “Honestly, this year was more … I was trying to be an All-Star,” Banchero said. “But if (All-NBA) was to happen, that would be awesome. It’s an exclusive club, you know what I mean?“
As Fischer writes, Banchero has developed nicely in his second season, becoming a better screen-setter both on and off the ball as well as a more advanced play-maker. “That was something that really took on itself this year. Understanding that it starts with me, it starts with Franz,” Banchero said. “Just everyone understanding their role and how important their role is. We need everybody. There have been games where (Jonathan Isaac) has single-handedly shut down a guy, and it’s lifted us to get a win. There’s been times where I’ve had to score the last 18 points of the game just to keep us afloat. There’s been times where Franz took over. Where Jalen (Suggs) took over. We just need everybody. I think it’s translating into a lot of success.”
In the same story, Fischer cites league sources who say rival teams expect Orlando to target shooters and scorers like Warriors wing Klay Thompson or Kings guard Malik Monk in free agency. Tim Kawakami of The Athletic, who covers Golden State, recently said it was “one of the worst-kept secrets in the league” that the Magic may offer Thompson “a ton of money” this offseason.

Southeast Notes: Bertāns, Micić, Wizards, Wagner

April 11th, 2024 at 5:58pm CST by Tristan Tucker

Hornets forward Dāvis Bertāns joined the team alongside Tre Mann and Vasilije Micić at the February trade deadline, but wasn’t viewed as a centerpiece of the deal that sent Gordon Hayward out of Charlotte. However, as The Charlotte Observer’s Roderick Boone points out, Bertāns is performing well for the Hornets after working his way into the rotation, averaging his most points (8.8) and minutes (20.8) per game since he was with the Wizards in 2020/21.

Bertāns quickly became one of former head coach Steve Clifford‘s trusted reserves, with the team running set plays for the dangerous three-point scorer. In his 27 games with the Hornets so far, he’s shooting 37.3% from deep on 6.3 attempts per night. In fact, he has 18 games with multiple three-pointers made off the bench, marking the most in the NBA during that stretch.

“He’s a terrific shooter, obviously, but he creates a lot of problems for the defense just with his movement,” Clifford said. “And he never holds the ball. He either shoots it or moves it, which is the play.”

Bertāns’ play provides a glimpse into what could be next season when LaMelo Ball is healthy, with the 6’10” allowing the star guard more room to maneuver with his floor-stretching capabilities. However, Boone ponders whether Bertāns will remain with the team next season. Bertāns has an early termination option for next season worth $16MM and could get multiyear offers from contending teams if he hits the open market, Boone writes.

For what it’s worth, Bertans seems to have enjoyed his time in Charlotte so far this season.

“I’ve always loved shooting in [Spectrum Center], so it’s good to have more games [there] than before,” Bertāns said. “And definitely the crowd. Even though the season hasn’t been great winning-wise, the fans have been great and it’s a lot more people in [that] arena than other teams that are not making the playoffs. So, I think a bright future is ahead for the organization.”

We have more from the Southeast Division:

Like Bertāns, Micić didn’t play much for the Thunder after coming over from Europe to begin his NBA career this season. However, he has turned a corner after earning playing time with the Hornets, averaging 11.3 points and 6.4 assists in his first 28 games (19 starts) with Charlotte. “I’m more comfortable every day,” Micić said this week, according to Eurohoops.net. “… I’m trying to play more relaxed, at my own rhythm, without chasing anything. It’s hard when you don’t have enough minutes, but at this moment, with these circumstances, I have these minutes, and I’m just hoping it looks good from the outside.” Micić is in the first year of the three-year, $23.6MM deal he signed last offseason. He’s under contract for about $7.7MM next year and has a team option worth $8.1MM in 2025/26.
At 15-65, the Wizards are wrapping up what will be the worst season in franchise history in regard to record. ESPN’s Dotun Akintoye explores Washington’s rebuild and how the Wizards have gotten to this point. Akintoye cautions against the ritual of losing and expecting to lose, along with the lack of cohesion that can follow.
Magic head coach Jamahl Mosley said Franz Wagner is “progressing slowly” from his right ankle sprain, according to Orlando Sentinel’s Jason Beede (Twitter link). “He’ll go through some work tomorrow as well and we’ll continue to see how he responds to those treatments,” Mosley said.

And-Ones: Australia, McLemore, York, Jerebko, Calipari, Klutch

April 11th, 2024 at 8:15am CST by Luke Adams

The Australian national team has revealed its preliminary roster for the 2024 Olympics, announcing a list of 22 players that are in the mix to play in Paris. That group will have to be cut down to 12 players ahead of this summer’s tournament.

Australia’s preliminary roster includes several NBAers, including Thunder guard Josh Giddey, Mavericks guard Dante Exum, Trail Blazers forward Matisse Thybulle and big man Duop Reath, Mavericks wing Josh Green, Pelicans guard Dyson Daniels, Magic forward Joe Ingles, Heat guard Patty Mills, Rockets center Jock Landale, and Grizzlies forward Jack White.

As Olgun Uluc of ESPN notes, the newest addition to the Boomers’ roster is 19-year-old Johnny Furphy, who played for the Kansas Jayhawks in 2023/24 and is projected by ESPN to be a potential first-round pick in this year’s draft.

The most notable absence is Ben Simmons, as the Nets guard underwent back surgery last month that will sideline him for the Olympics. Simmons doesn’t have much history with the Australian national team, so it’s unclear if he would’ve been part of the Boomers’ roster in Paris even if he’d been healthy.

Here are more odds and ends from around the basketball world:

Former NBA guard Ben McLemore was arrested and jailed this week in Oregon and faces multiple felony sexual assault charges, reports Baxter Holmes of ESPN. The charges, which include first-degree rape, stem from an alleged incident in 2021, when McLemore was a member of the Trail Blazers.
Former NBA guard Gabe York, who appeared in five games for the Pacers across two seasons from 2021-23, has signed with Basquet Girona, the Spanish team announced this week in a press release. York played for the G League Ignite earlier this season.
Following a two-year hiatus from basketball, Swedish forward Jonas Jerebko is making a comeback, having signed with Puerto Rican team Santeros de Aguada, according to Eurohoops. Jerebko, who turned 37 last month, appeared in 635 NBA regular season games for four teams from 2009-19. He last played professionally for CSKA Moscow in 2022.
Shams Charania and Kyle Tucker of The Athletic take an in-depth look at John Calipari‘s decision to leave Kentucky for Arkansas after 15 years with the Wildcats, detailing how Calipari’s deal with the Razorbacks came about.
One Legacy Sports Management, led by veteran agent Mike George, is becoming part of Klutch Sports, CEO Rich Paul tells ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link). Jamal Murray, Dillon Brooks, and Shaedon Sharpe are among George’s clients, per RealGM.

Southeast Notes: F. Wagner, Rozier, Butler, Hayward

April 8th, 2024 at 8:47pm CST by Rory Maher

The Magic got good news on Monday, according to Jason Beede of The Orlando Sentinel, who reports (via Twitter) that Franz Wagner will be questionable for Tuesday’s contest in Houston. An MRI confirmed the initial diagnosis of a right ankle sprain, Beede adds, but the fact that the third-year forward has a chance to suit up tomorrow after exiting Sunday’s contest with the injury is a positive development.

Wagner, who helped Germany win a gold medal at last year’s World Cup, will be eligible for a rookie scale extension in the offseason. The 22-year-old has averaged 19.6 PPG, 5.3 RPG, 3.8 APG and 1.0 SPG through 70 games (32.4 MPG) for Orlando, which is currently 46-32, the No. 3 seed in the East.

Here’s more from the Southeast:

Heat guard Terry Rozier said he hurt his team by suiting up in Sunday’s loss to Indiana due to a neck injury that limited his effectiveness and caused him to sit out the entire fourth quarter. He’s questionable for Tuesday’s game vs. Atlanta, per Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald (subscriber link).
Wizards guard Jared Butler was recently promoted from a two-way deal to a three-year standard contract. His new contract pays him $1.25MM for 2023/24, but it doesn’t feature any guaranteed money beyond this season, tweets Michael Scotto of HoopsHype. Washington, which completed the signing using a portion of its mid-level exception, will hold a team option on Butler for ’25/26, Scotto adds.
Sunday marked a homecoming of sorts for Gordon Hayward, who signed a lucrative long-term deal with the Hornets four years ago before being traded to the Thunder in February, writes Roderick Boone of The Charlotte Observer. Perhaps fittingly in an unfortunate sort of way, the oft-injured veteran sat out the game with a lower left leg injury. Boone argues Hayward’s $120MM contract should be a cautionary tale for the new front office to spend wisely when signing free agents going forward.

Wagner Sprains Ankle, X-Rays Negative

April 7th, 2024 at 8:27pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Magic have a major injury concern as the playoffs approach. Franz Wagner, who is averaging 19.7 points, 5.3 rebounds and 3.8 assists, suffered a sprained right ankle during the third quarter tonight against Chicago, the team’s PR department tweets.

Initial X-rays were negative, but Wagner didn’t return to the contest. The Magic are battling for home court advantage in the opening round.

NBA’s 20 Postseason Teams Set For 2024

April 7th, 2024 at 5:57pm CST by Luke Adams

The 20 teams that will compete in either the playoffs or the play-in tournament (or both) have officially been set following the Rockets‘ loss to Dallas on Sunday, per the NBA (Twitter link).

There’s still much to be decided in the season’s final week, including exactly which six teams in each conference will secure playoff spots without having to win one or two play-in games. However, with the Rockets’ elimination, we at least know which teams from both the West and East will play beyond the end of the regular season next Sunday.

The Nuggets, Timberwolves, and Thunder have already clinched playoff berths in the West, while the Clippers‘ magic number for a playoff spot is down to 1. The Mavericks are also well positioned to claim a top-six seed following their win on Sunday. They’re followed in the standings by the Suns, Pelicans, Lakers, Kings, and Warriors.

Four of those teams will compete in the play-in tournament for two playoff spots, but the exact play-in participants and matchups remain very much up in the air. Of the Western clubs in the back half of the top 10, only Golden State is a virtual lock to be a play-in team, since the Dubs are currently four games out of sixth place.

Over in the Eastern Conference, the Celtics are the lone club to secure a playoff berth so far and have also clinched the No. 1 seed. They’re followed by the Bucks, Magic, Knicks, Cavaliers, Pacers, Heat, and Sixers, with the Bulls and Hawks well out of eighth place and locked into the No. 9 vs. 10 play-in game.

The East’s playoff race remains tight, with No. 2 Milwaukee and No. 8 Philadelphia separated by only 4.5 games at the time of this writing.

Haliburton, Adebayo Now Eligible For Postseason Awards

April 5th, 2024 at 9:27pm CST by Rory Maher

Pacers point guard Tyrese Haliburton met the 65-game criteria on Friday against Oklahoma City, making him eligible for postseason awards, such as All-NBA.

Counting the in-season tournament final, it was technically Haliburton’s 66th game, but the one on January 8 — when he sustained a hamstring injury against Boston — didn’t count toward the 65-game rule because he played fewer than 15 minutes.

It’s a noteworthy benchmark for both Haliburton and Indiana, which gave the 24-year-old a five-year, rookie scale max extension last summer. That deal, which begins in 2024/25, features Rose rule language — if he makes one of the three All-NBA teams, he’ll earn 30% of next season’s salary cap instead of 25%.

Haliburton’s extension is currently projected to be worth $204.5MM over five years. If he makes an All-NBA team, the projection would increase to $245.3MM.

As Dustin Dopirak of The Indianapolis Star writes, Haliburton has a legitimate shot at All-NBA, with averages of 20.3 PPG, 3.9 RPG, a league-best 11.0 APG, and 1.2 SPG on .476/.368/.861 shooting through 64 games (32.2 MPG). He holds the third-best assist-to-turnover ratio in the NBA at 4.85-to-1, and is the best player on a team that is currently the No. 6 seed in the East at 44-34.

At one point, it seemed like the Haliburton would be a shoo-in for All-NBA, as he was averaging 24.2 PPG, 4.3 RPG and 12.7 APG on .496/.404/.868 shooting in 32 games prior to the injury. While he’s played better recently, his post-injury numbers aren’t on the same level, with averages of 17.0 PPG, 3.6 RPG and 9.4 APG on .449/.324/.850 shooting in 31 games.

In addition to facing stiff competition amongst his backcourt peers, 2023/24 is the first season that All-NBA teams will be voted on without regard to position, Dopirak notes. It remains to be seen whether that will impact Haliburton’s case.

As ESPN’s Bobby Marks tweets, Heat center Bam Adebayo and Magic guard Jalen Suggs also met the 65-game criteria on Friday.

A three-time All-Star who has finished fourth or fifth in Defensive Player of the Year voting each of the past four seasons, Adebayo would be eligible for a super-max extension if he makes an All-NBA team or wins DPOY, though both scenarios seem fairly unlikely.

Suggs is a strong perimeter defender, though he won’t be financially impacted — at least not by CBA rules — even if he makes one of the two All-Defensive teams. The No. 5 pick of the 2021 draft will be eligible for a rookie scale extension this offseason.

Mac McClung Wins G League MVP Award

April 5th, 2024 at 1:55pm CST by Luke Adams

Mac McClung hasn’t been on an NBA roster since October, but the 25-year-old won a second straight Slam Dunk contest in February and has now earned another notable honor: McClung is this season’s NBA G League Most Valuable Player, the league announced today (Twitter link).

McClung spent the 2023/24 season playing for the Osceola Magic, Orlando’s NBAGL affiliate. In 27 regular season games, he averaged a league-high 25.7 points to go along with 6.6 assists, and 4.7 rebounds in 35.4 minutes per contest, with a shooting line of .509/.396/.843. Osceola finished as the No. 1 seed in the East at 22-12 and will face the Long Island Nets on Friday in the Eastern Conference Semifinals.

McClung also appeared in 14 Showcase Cup games for the Magic’s G League team earlier this season, averaging 25.2 PPG, 6.4 APG, and 4.3 RPG on .464/.357/.851 shooting.

McClung has only appeared in four career NBA games since going undrafted out of Texas Tech in 2021. However, he has made a name himself as a Slam Dunk champion and has had stints with some of the league’s marquee franchises, including the Lakers, Sixers, and Bulls.

McClung’s G League MVP award is also the latest addition to an increasingly decorated NBAGL résumé — he was the G League’s Rookie of the Year in 2022 and won a title with the Delaware Blue Coats in 2023.

Sioux Falls Skyforce guard Alondes Williams, who is on a two-way contract with the Heat, was the runner-up in the NBAGL MVP vote, which was conducted by the league’s 31 head coaches and GMs.

The third-place finisher was forward Kenneth Lofton Jr., who played for the Grizzlies and Sixers earlier this season and is now a member of the Jazz. He suited up for the Memphis Hustle in the Showcase Cup and the Blue Coats and Salt Lake City Stars during the G League’s regular season.

Magic Continue To Win With Defense

April 3rd, 2024 at 7:37pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Magic continue to rely on defense as they fight for home-court advantage in the first round of the playoffs, notes Jason Beede of The Orlando Sentinel. Orlando posted a 103.1 defensive rating during its just-completed eight-game homestand, which was the best in the league during that time. The Magic limited opponents to 99.4 PPG over those eight games.