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In-Season Tournament Updates: Pacers Clinch Top-Two Seed, Six Teams Eliminated

November 25th, 2023 at 11:23am CST by Tristan Tucker

The Nuggets, Bulls, Raptors, Thunder, Clippers and Mavericks were all eliminated from the NBA’s inaugural in-season tournament in the group stage following Friday’s game results, marking 12 total teams out of contention.

The Pacers and Lakers remain the only two teams to clinch spots in the quarterfinals so far, with six more spots up for grabs. The final day of group stage play is Tuesday, Nov. 28 and the quarterfinals will take place on Dec. 4 and 5.

ESPN’s Tim Bontemps took a look at all the action from Friday, which featured numerous upsets that set the stage for some interesting scenarios to play out. By beating Detroit on Friday, Indiana won East Group A and guaranteed a top-two seed in the Eastern Conference. The Bucks–Heat game on Tuesday dictates who earns the top overall seed in the East. If the Bucks win, Milwaukee is the conference’s top seed, but if Miami wins, it will be the Pacers. A Miami loss eliminates the Heat.

If the Heat and Knicks win, there will be a three-way tiebreaker between Miami, Milwaukee and New York that is determined by point differential. In that scenario, the Heat would have to beat the Bucks by eight more points than the Knicks beat the Hornets on Tuesday in order to have a chance.

Orlando defeated Boston on Friday, meaning the Magic‘s chances of winning East Group C are bolstered. With the Raptors and Bulls eliminated, the Celtics, Magic and Nets are competing for that group.

The Suns‘ win over Memphis in their final group stage game helped them take steps toward securing a wild-card spot, finishing their games at 3-1 with a plus-34 point differential. The Lakers play in West Group A alongside the Suns and, given the wild card team plays the top seed, it’s likely they’ll face off against each other in the quarterfinals. The only way the Lakers don’t earn the West’s top seed is if the Kings beat the Warriors on Tuesday by 46 or more points.

West Group B got shaken up with the Rockets upsetting and eliminating the Nuggets on Friday, and the Pelicans are now the runaway favorite to win the group, according to Bontemps. The Pelicans beat the Clippers, eliminating them, and improving to 3-1. The Pelicans are not in front of the Suns for the wild card spot and will need the Rockets to lose in order to clinch the group.

The Kings are looking like a top contender for the tournament title, sitting at 3-0 and plus-29. If the Kings beat the Warriors on Tuesday, they advance. If both Sacramento and Minnesota lose, the Warriors win the group. If both Golden State and Minnesota win, it sets up a three-way tie to be decided by point differential. The Warriors are plus-5 and the Timberwolves are minus-3.

Any team that makes the quarterfinals clinches per-player bonuses worth at least $50K. The value of those bonuses would increase to $100K if they advance to the semifinals, $200K if they make the final, and $500K if they win the entire tournament.

The full in-season tournament standings can be found here.

Holiday Making Impact With Thompson Out

November 24th, 2023 at 8:17pm CST by Rory Maher

Rockets guard Aaron Holiday, a free agent addition over the offseason, has been playing a regular role with No. 4 overall pick Amen Thompson sidelined due to an ankle sprain, writes Danielle Lerner of The Houston Chronicle (subscription required). “He’s a guy that can play on and off the ball,” head coach Ime Udoka said of Holiday. “Stronger, tougher than his size and then also shoots the ball well, so he’s been invaluable to us with the guys out. He’s been really good lately.”

Thompson May Be Able To Practice Next Week

November 22nd, 2023 at 11:18pm CST by Rory Maher

Rockets head coach Ime Udoka said first-round pick Amen Thompson has been able to do more individual on-court work in recent days and may be able to practice in the next week or two, according to Danielle Lerner of The Houston Chronicle (Twitter links). Thompson, the fourth pick in June’s draft, has been battling a Grade 2 right ankle sprain.

Southwest Notes: Vassell, Spurs, Udoka, Gilyard

November 22nd, 2023 at 12:21pm CST by Luke Adams

Spurs wing Devin Vassell, who has battled a left adductor injury in the season’s first month after signing a lucrative long-term contract extension in the offseason, told reporters that he’ll return for Wednesday’s game vs. the Clippers (Twitter video link via Tom Orsborn of The San Antonio Express-News).

The groin injury has sidelined Vassell for five of the Spurs’ first 14 games, including the past three. He has been effective when he has played, averaging 17.3 points in just 28.9 minutes per night through nine appearances, with career highs in field goal percentage (49.6%) and three-point percentage (43.1%).

Here are a few more notes from around the Southwest:

Although the Spurs have a talented young core headed by No. 1 overall pick Victor Wembanyama, they’re the NBA’s youngest team and are still in search of leadership, writes Jeff McDonald of The San Antonio Express-News (subscription required). “When a team is that young, each is hesitant to play that role,” head coach Gregg Popovich said. “Usually your leaders are your best players, and they’re usually All-Stars. We don’t have that right now.”
Rockets head coach Ime Udoka spoke to Kelly Iko of The Athletic about the defensive system he brought to Houston, Popovich’s influence on his coaching style, and whether the expectations with his new team are different than they were in Boston. “For me, the expectation is the same, the standards are the same,” Udoka explained. “You want to play at a certain level, and it doesn’t matter if it’s a championship-level team or a young team. You want to build those habits and fundamentals from day one.”
Damichael Cole of The Memphis Commercial Appeal takes a look at Jacob Gilyard‘s journey from undrafted free agent to G League standout to two-way player to Grizzlies‘ starting point guard. While injuries and Ja Morant‘s suspension have forced Gilyard into the rotation, his teammates have been impressed with how he has handled the opportunity. “I knew he was a hooper from the minute I watched him,” Jaren Jackson Jr. said. “I felt comfortable playing with him, like I have been playing with him for years.”

Southwest Notes: Brooks, Grizzlies, McCollum, Nance, THJ, Osman

November 21st, 2023 at 4:02pm CST by Luke Adams

Dillon Brooks, who has been lauded by Rockets coaches and teammates alike for the grit and toughness he has brought to his new team in Houston, believes his former club in Memphis has missed the edge he brought to the court, as Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle (subscription required) writes. Ahead of his first meeting against Memphis on Wednesday, Brooks said the Grizzlies “have no swagger” this season without him.

“It’s like the girlfriend that you used to have,” Brooks said of his departure from the Grizzlies, who have a 3-10 record. “You don’t know how good she is until she’s gone.”

Asked about Brooks’ comments, Grizzlies wing Desmond Bane said he “hasn’t seen anything that he’s said,” while Grizzlies head coach Taylor Jenkins took the high road, saying that he’s “really happy for (Brooks’) early-season success,” per Wynston Wilcox of The Memphis Commercial Appeal.

Although they weren’t willing to get dragged into a war of words with Brooks, it sounds like there are certainly some Grizzlies players who are looking forward to facing their former teammate.

“I want to play against him,” Jaren Jackson Jr. told Wilcox. “I’ve been talking trash to Dillon for five years, so it’s great.”

Here’s more from around the Southwest:

While it remains unclear exactly when they’ll return to game action, injured Pelicans veterans CJ McCollum (collapsed lung) and Larry Nance Jr. (rib fracture) are trending in the right direction. Both players were full participants in practice on Tuesday, according to head coach Willie Green (Twitter link via Will Guillory of The Athletic). McCollum, who said he also fractured a rib, told reporters that he feels good and is awaiting medical clearance from his pulmonologist, per Christian Clark of NOLA.com. “I should be cleared here pretty soon,” he said.
Even without McCollum and Nance available, the Pelicans have been playing good basketball lately, winning three of their last four games, including a 36-point blowout over Sacramento on Monday. As Clark details for NOLA.com, star forward Zion Williamson said a team meeting helped spark the turnaround. “We weren’t on the same page before,” Williamson said. “Now we’re all on the same page. … We talked about what we wanted to do as a unit. That’s what we are going to live and die with. Since we are all on the same page, I think we have been gelling together a lot better.”
Mavericks wing Tim Hardaway Jr. had started more often than not in his previous four-plus seasons in Dallas, but he has embraced a sixth man role this season, writes Eddie Sefko of Mavs.com. Hardaway’s 18.2 points per game and .405 3PT% would be career highs. “I said before, first and foremost, in order for you to know that you’re going in that role, you have to embrace it and accept it,” Hardaway said. “That’s what (Jamal Crawford) did. That’s what (Lou Williams) did. That’s what J.R. Smith did. And that’s what I’m trying to do is have that same mentality.”
When the Spurs acquired Cedi Osman as part of the three-team sign-and-trade deal sending Max Strus to Cleveland, it wasn’t clear whether the veteran forward would even be in their plans. However, Osman is playing well in a regular role off the bench and has earned praise from head coach Gregg Popovich, who called him “a competitor of the highest order,” according to Tom Orsborn of The San Antonio Express-News (subscription required). “He’s been really good for us,” Popovich said of the 28-year-old, who is on an expiring contract.

Eason Struggling To Regain Rhythm

November 20th, 2023 at 10:57pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Rockets rookie Amen Thompson, who has been out since Nov. 1 due to a right ankle sprain, is not close to returning, Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle tweets. Thompson has not been cleared to practice and the Rockets will gradually ramp up his activity until he’s ready to play.
Rockets forward Tari Eason is still being eased back into action after suffering a stress reaction in his left leg during the preseason, Feigen reports. He’s playing an average of only 17.2 minutes per night and has been limited in practices. That has prevented him from getting into a rhythm in the games he has played. “I feel all right,” said Eason, who sat out Monday’s game against Golden State. “Right now, we’re going to do injury prevention, stuff like that. So for me, it’s just been hard to get my groove, not be able to get certain extra reps and being able to play and practice. My only time to really be able to play basketball is in games.”

Southwest Notes: Sochan, Alvarado, Rockets, Mavs

November 20th, 2023 at 12:01pm CST by Luke Adams

The Spurs‘ efforts to turn forward Jeremy Sochan into a point guard have been a bit bumpy so far, but the team has shown a willingness to stick with it and Sochan has been open to learning, writes Andrew Lopez of ESPN.com. The 20-year-old admits it’s “going to be a process” to adapt to the new position, but he’s been getting advice from last season’s starter Tre Jones and said the transition has been “fun.”

“There have been moments where it’s like, ‘Yo, I don’t want to.’ It’s like, ‘f–k this s–t.’ I’m going to be honest,” Sochan said earlier this month. “There have been moments where there isn’t confidence. But there are moments of being confident and just working. Knowing the trust I have from the coaches and players, it helps.”

As Lopez details, the Spurs didn’t have Sochan watch film of any specific point guards when he moved into the role, since they still want him to play like himself rather than trying to emulate someone else.

“He can’t play like Chris Paul or he can’t play like John Stockton,” Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich said. “He’s got to be Jeremy.”

Grizzlies coach Taylor Jenkins, who said his team “studied” Sochan ahead of the 2022 draft, referred to him as a “Swiss Army Knife-type player” with strong play-making skills, according to Tom Orsborn of The San Antonio Express-News (subscription required). Jenkins isn’t surprised that Popovich is thinking outside of the box by experimenting with Sochan at the point.

“When you have been around Pop, competed against Pop, he is very open-minded to trying a lot of different things,” Jenkins said. “In the eras he has been here, playing big, playing small, emphasizing the three-ball, emphasizing the paint, emphasizing faster pace, slower pace, not a surprise.”

Here are a few more notes from around the Southwest:

Pelicans guard Jose Alvarado said today during a media session that he’ll make his season debut on Monday night vs. Sacramento, per Christian Clark of NOLA.com. “I’m back,” Alvarado said. “I feel good. I will go through pregame. But I’m back. That’s the plan.” Alvarado has yet to play this fall due to a right ankle sprain.
Mark Medina of Sportsnaut spoke to Rockets head coach Ime Udoka about the strides his team has made so far this season, the impact that newcomers like Fred VanVleet and Dillon Brooks have had, and the improvement he’s seen from youngsters like Alperen Sengun. “We knew what he was offensively in a lot of ways and how he impacts the game for us,” Udoka said of Sengun, who is averaging a career-best 20.1 PPG, 8.4 RPG, and 5.7 APG. “He can control things there. But defensively, he has taken a huge step. He’s bought in and has improved on that side of the ball.”
While the Mavericks are off to a strong start this season, losses like Sunday’s to Sacramento show that they’re still very much a work in progress on the defensive side of the ball, writes Kevin Sherrington of The Dallas Morning News (subscription required). Rookie center Dereck Lively II has exceeded expectations but has struggled to slow down star bigs such as Domantas Sabonis, who had 32 points on Sunday. “If we’re not scoring 130, it’s hard to win,” head coach Jason Kidd acknowledged.

Southwest Notes: D. Jones, Rockets, Spurs, Grizzlies

November 19th, 2023 at 9:17pm CST by Tristan Tucker

At 9-4, the Mavericks are among the top teams in the Western Conference, and forward Derrick Jones Jr. has become the surprise player of the year so far, writes The Dallas Morning News’ Brad Townsend.

Known more for his athleticism and defense than his scoring or shooting, Jones is currently averaging a career-high 8.9 points through his first 13 games, which have all been starts. He’s also taking a career-high 3.9 three-point attempts and connecting at a 35.3% clip.

“I really don’t care [about outside opinions],” Jones said. “If you want to label me as a dunker and leave me open, then please, by all means, leave me open. I’m gonna keep shooting the shots that I take and I promise you, they’re gonna fall.”

According to Townsend, the Mavericks have had their eye on Jones since at least 2019, when they tried to acquire him and Kelly Olynyk in a package deal. Jones wound up joining the Mavericks this offseason on a minimum-salary contract after Portland matched the $33MM offer sheet that Matisse Thybulle signed with Dallas.

While Jones is ultimately making less money this year than he would have on the player option he declined from the Bulls ($2.7MM compared to about $3.3MM), he’s capitalizing on his expanded opportunity with the Mavs. Townsend writes that he may very well hold onto his starting spot if his play keeps up.

“I have put in a lot of work behind the scenes,” Jones said. “I feel that thus far in my career, I haven’t gotten the recognition that I think I deserve. And I feel like this year is just going to be the year.”

We have more Southwest Division notes:

The Rockets suffered a close loss to the Clippers on Friday, showing room for improvement on the defensive end, The Athletic’s Kelly Iko writes. Still, Houston is one of the surprise teams in the Western Conference behind a young core and some former Rockets are impressed. James Harden said Houston has “a good thing going on.” Current Clips forward P.J. Tucker said the young team plays similar to some of his old Rockets teams. “Switching slows down offenses and makes guys have to play iso,” Tucker told The Athletic. “You have guys that can guard multiple positions, obviously a lot of similarities in that. That’s something that if you got weapons at the four and five that can switch, it makes it tough on guys.“
The Spurs have now lost eight games in a row after allowing a 19-point comeback to Memphis on Saturday. While Cedi Osman said everyone is upset after going through a stretch where they’re 1-6 in games they’ve led by 10 or more points, rookie sensation Victor Wembanyama isn’t worried about it impacting the locker room, according to Tom Orsborn of San Antonio Express-News. “We have very healthy locker room, healthy relations between each other and, no, this is not an issue at all,” Wembanyama said. “We are losing. We’re losing together. If someone puts their head down, we go help him. Someone falls on the court, all of us rush to help him up.“
While dealing with a plethora of injuries, the Grizzlies opted for a new, super-sized starting lineup on Sunday against the Celtics, putting Santi Aldama in over Jacob Gilyard, playing him alongside Jaren Jackson Jr. and Bismack Biyombo in the frontcourt (Twitter link via Damichael Cole of the Memphis Commercial Appeal). Aldama responded with career highs of 28 points and six assists in a two-point loss to the Celtics. Second-year two-way wing Vince Williams got some rotation run and looked impressive on defense, according to Cole (Twitter link). Chris Herrington of the Daily Memphian tweets that Williams should get some extended run in subsequent games.

Community Shootaround: Early Season Surprises

November 19th, 2023 at 6:43pm CST by Tristan Tucker

For the most part, it’s easy to tell who the NBA’s contenders and bottom-feeders are before the season. Similarly, fans can usually predict what a large part of a team’s given rotation is going to look like. But every year, there are several instances of unexpected players and teams breaking out or disappointing.

This season is no different and, through the first portion of the season, there are already some surprising trends and storylines.

In my view, the most disappointing start to the season for any team has to be the Grizzlies. Teams like the Pistons, Wizards, Spurs and Trail Blazers were expected to trend toward the bottom of the standings with young cores and growing pains. But the Grizzlies were the No. 2 seed in the Western Conference last year and acquired former Defensive Player of the Year Marcus Smart. Of course, Memphis has been dealt an incredibly difficult hand with the 25-game suspension of Ja Morant and injuries to Brandon Clarke, Steven Adams and Smart, along with many more, and any team would be hard-pressed to overcome that.

Seasons are all about hot and cold streaks, and both the Clippers and Warriors are going through slumps after respective strong starts to the year. The Clippers began the year 3-1 and have gone 1-6 since acquiring James Harden, including losing six straight. The Warriors began the year 6-2 but have now also lost six in a row. I didn’t anticipate there to be as many growing pains with the Clippers and Harden from the jump, but I still expect they’ll get into form.

Not all surprises are bad though, and there have been plenty of pleasant ones to begin this year. The Timberwolves share the top spot in the west with the defending-champion Nuggets, which is eye-popping at first until you consider their elite defensive play and Anthony Edwards‘ unsurprising breakout.

The Rockets and Thunder look well ahead of the development curve, and hold two of the top six spots in the west. Chet Holmgren immediately looks like a star in his first NBA season for Oklahoma City while the Rockets have been aided by the additions of their veteran players and coach Ime Udoka.

For my money, the most surprising early season development is Dereck Lively II‘s immediate importance to the 9-4 Mavericks. In his one season at Duke, Lively averaged just 20.6 minutes per game, though his role grew exponentially as the year went on. Still, when Dallas drafted him, I expected the franchise to bring him along slowly and allow him to get adjusted to the NBA.

Instead, Lively surged to the top of the depth chart, taking a choke-hold on the starting center position at just 19 years old. He’s averaging 8.8 points, 7.3 rebounds and 1.7 stocks (steals plus blocks) in his first 12 games. His rise to the top has opened up so many things for the Mavs’ offense and Lively is a huge part of what looks like a top dog in the conference.

That brings us to our topic of the day: What early season trends have most surprised you the most? Do you agree with any of our choices? What players and teams have most exceeded or fallen short of expectations?

Take to the comments to weigh in on this topic. We look forward to reading your input.

Jabari Smith Talks Offseason, Rockets’ Start, Defense

November 19th, 2023 at 1:58pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Rising young Rockets power forward Jabari Smith Jr. had an active summer. His offseason included workouts alongside three current NBA greats, he said during an extensive conversation with Mark Medina of Sportskeeda.

Smith got in some summer run next to Suns forward Kevin Durant, Celtics forward Jayson Tatum, and Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard. Smith met up with Durant in Los Angeles.

“Before a pickup, (Durant) was working out and I just jumped in with him and his trainer,” Smith said. “It was pretty good. He pays a lot of attention to detail. It was good for me to see with just how hard you got to work, how consistent you got to be and how important it is to focus on the little things.”

He worked out with Tatum and Leonard separately from Durant.

“We played some one-on-one,” Smith said of Tatum and Leonard. “It was good to compete against them and learn from them. Like it was with KD, it was about observing their attention to detail. Everything that they do is the same.”

Through 10 games this season with Houston, the 6’10” big man is averaging 12.0 PPG on .467/.354/.556 shooting, along with 7.0 RPG and 1.2 APG.

Medina and Smith touched on a wide variety of topics, and their full conversation is well worth reading in full. Here are some highlights:

On what compelled him to explore yoga as part of his offseason prep:

“Recommendations from older players and people that also play in the league. It also came from players that are out of the league now that say they wish they would’ve done it earlier. I wanted to take the initiative to do it now. It’s made a big difference with my flexibility, my mobility and my overall recovery.”

On how head coach Ime Udoka and his staff has already impacted Smith and the Rockets, who are off to a fast 6-4 start:

“Just helping me learn the game and learn it fast. I take all that I can that I can learn from them. They’ve been around the game for a long time. It’s about the consistency and having a routine. They always preach routine. They tell me to trust in my work and trust in who I am and not to lose any confidence.”

On how he approaches defense against smaller star players:

“Just stop them, make it hard with them and be physical with them. Just try to go out with our principles and tendencies and make it tough on them. It’s going to be hard to shut them down with how good they are. So you just try to slow them down and make it hard for them.”