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And-Ones: Thompson Twins, Dekker, In-Season Tournament, More

May 11th, 2023 at 2:35pm CST by Rory Maher

Amen Thompson and Ausar Thompson, twin brothers who bypassed college to compete in the Overtime Elite program, are projected lottery picks in the upcoming 2023 NBA draft. Israel Gutierrez of ESPN recently caught up with the brothers during Game 3 of the first-round series between Atlanta and Boston.

While much of the hype leading up to June’s draft has centered on French phenom Victor Wembanyama, the projected top overall pick, and G League Ignite’s Scoot Henderson, a projected top-three pick, Amen says he’s confident he’s one of the top players in the world.

“They always bring up those names, ‘How you going to pass Victor and Scoot, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah,” Amen said. “And it’s just like, I’m going to do my thing. I’m going to run my race. And I think if I run my race, I’m one of the best players there is.”

The biggest question marks surrounding Amen and Ausar are the level of competition they faced at OTE and their jump shots, writes Gutierrez. Both players worked extensively on their jumpers over their two years at OTE, but it’s still a focus for improvement going forward.

“I’m improving on shooting, working on pick and roll reads, just reads in general,” Ausar said, per Gutierrez. “My ability to get paint touches, collapse the defense and kick it out for others. Then for myself, just getting open and being able to rise up over defenders and hit a jump shot, or get to the cup.”

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

  • Former NBA forward Sam Dekker, a 2015 first-round pick, has signed a long-term extension with the London Lions of the British Basketball League, the team announced in a press release. The team captain averaged 18.2 PPG, 5.6 RPG and 2.9 APG during the 7Days EuroCup last fall and is under contract through 2026, per the Lions.
  • Mike Vorkunov of The Athletic spoke to four NBA players who are Premier League fans about the NBA’s new in-season tournament, which will begin next season and was roughly modeled on European soccer tournaments. All four like the idea and believe it could be an interesting way for younger teams to get experience in a more competitive environment. “It’s gonna be really good for our league,” Pacers guard T.J. McConnell said. “Seasons can — not necessarily drag on — but adding an in-season tournament there just to like reinvigorate fan interest and give something that the players are playing for, another competitive type of environment, I think it’s going to be really good.”
  • Although the majority of the moves didn’t draw as much attention as the blockbusters over the past year, five guards acquired via trades have made a significant impact in their respective teams’ playoff runs, writes John Hollinger of The Athletic. The five players Hollinger points to are the Nuggets‘ Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (a trade he says he wasn’t a fan of at the time, but has been proven very wrong), the Knicks‘ Josh Hart, the Celtics‘ Malcolm Brogdon, the Sixers‘ De’Anthony Melton, and the Lakers‘ D’Angelo Russell.
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NBA Announces 2022/23 All-NBA Teams

May 10th, 2023 at 6:10pm CST by Rory Maher

The NBA has officially announced its All-NBA teams for the 2022/23 season.

A total of 100 media members vote on the All-NBA awards. Players received five points for a First Team vote, three points for Second Team, and one point for Third Team, for a maximum total of 500 points. This year’s three All-NBA teams are as follows:

First Team

Second Team

Third Team

A total of 37 players received at least one vote, per the NBA. The top vote-getters who wound up missing out on All-NBA spots were Lakers center Anthony Davis (65), Jazz forward Lauri Markkanen (49) and Grizzlies guard Ja Morant (44).

Morant had Rose Rule language in his rookie scale extension, meaning his five-year deal would have started at 30% of next season’s cap had he been voted in; instead, he’ll receive 25% of the cap, which is projected to be a difference of about $39MM across five seasons.

Other players receiving 20-plus points include Bucks guard Jrue Holiday (39), Suns forward Kevin Durant (35) and Knicks guard Jalen Brunson (23). The next three highest were Raptors forward Pascal Siakam (15), Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard (15) and Anthony Edwards of the Timberwolves (14), who is listed under forward but spent most of the season at shooting guard.

As we noted earlier today, both of the Celtics’ top two players will now be eligible for Designated Veteran Extensions, also known as the super-max: Brown will be eligible to sign a five-year extension this offseason that starts at up to 35% of the 2024/25 salary cap, while Tatum will be eligible to sign a super-max extension in 2024 after earning All-NBA nods each of the past two seasons.

Like Brown, Siakam would have been eligible for a super-max extension this summer had he made an All-NBA team. He finished a distant ninth, so his maximum extension will now be worth a projected $192.2MM over four years, tweets Eric Koreen of The Athletic. As Josh Lewenberg of TSN.ca observes (via Twitter), Siakam could still qualify for a super-max deal if he makes an All-NBA spot next season as an impending free agent.

This will be the last season under the current Collective Bargaining Agreement. In the new CBA, All-NBA voting will be positionless and players will be required to play a minimum of 65 games to earn major regular season awards. Five of the players honored today — Antetokounmpo, Curry, Butler, Lillard and James — played fewer than 65 this season and would have been ineligible if the new requirements had been in effect, according to ESPN’s Bobby Marks (Twitter link).

LeBron extended his own NBA record with his selection, earning a spot on an All-NBA team for the 19th straight season, per ESPN’s Dave McMenamin (Twitter link). No other player has more than 15 total All-NBA awards (Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Kobe Bryant and Tim Duncan are tied for second at 15 apiece).

Giannis was a unanimous First Team selection for the fifth straight season, per Eric Nehm of The Athletic (Twitter link), and the only unanimous choice in 2022/23. Antetokounmpo now has more First Team berths than any European-born player, tweets HoopsHype, and only trails Hakeem Olajuwon among international players (six). The Bucks superstar finished third in MVP voting behind Embiid and Jokic, but Jokic received some First Team votes over the Sixers’ MVP winner, which is why Embiid wasn’t a unanimous pick.

According to HoopsHype (Twitter link), this is the first season in league history that only one American player (Tatum) was voted to the First Team. Doncic (Slovenia) and Antetokounmpo (Greece) are European, Embiid was born in Cameroon, and Gilgeous-Alexander is Canadian.

Despite earning an All-NBA nod for the first time, Mitchell wasn’t happy that he didn’t make the First Team, sending out a tweet on the matter.

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Danuel House Finally Sees Postseason Minutes

May 10th, 2023 at 10:00am CST by Luke Adams
  • Viewed as one of the Sixers‘ key additions last offseason, Danuel House has been out of the rotation in the playoffs. However, as Gina Mizell of The Philadelphia Inquirer writes, the veteran wing logged 15 minutes in the team’s Game 5 win and played well, scoring 10 points and grabbing five rebounds. “My job is to bring energy, showcase a little something for the team, to guard the yard and make sure I’m executing plays,” House said after Philadelphia’s victory. “… It was a joy to be out there, to be honest.”
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Paul Reed Wants To Stay Put

May 9th, 2023 at 9:12pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Joel Embiid‘s backup, Paul Reed, says he’d like to stay with the Sixers, Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer writes. Reed will be a restricted free agent this summer. Reed is averaging 5.9 points and 6.6 rebounds in 16.9 minutes over eight playoff games.

“If they would like to keep me, then I would like to come back for sure,” the Sixers big man said. “I really would like to come back.”

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Sixers Notes: Harden, Embiid, Tucker, Melton

May 9th, 2023 at 11:28am CST by Luke Adams

While Sixers stars Joel Embiid and James Harden have had a tendency to occasionally fall back on “my turn, your turn” style offense this season, their chemistry in Game 4 was what the team envisioned when it acquired Harden at last year’s deadline to pair him with Embiid, as David Aldridge of The Athletic writes.

Embiid and Harden combined for 76 points on 27-of-49 (55.1%) shooting in Sunday’s crucial home win. They were also involved in the biggest offensive possession of the night, when Embiid passed out of a double team with about 20 seconds left in overtime and found Harden, who hit a three-pointer to give Philadelphia a one-point win lead. That shot proved to be the game-winner.

“When we space the floor, and we do the things we need to do, it’ll find an open shot,” Harden said. “Not just me and Joel, but just everybody who’s open. Once we did that, tonight, we did that at a high level, consistently. And that’s just great offense for us.”

Here’s more on the 76ers:

  • As Rich Hofmann of The Athletic writes, it has been a roller-coaster series so far for Harden, who has averaged 43.5 points per game on .622/.565/1.000 shooting in the Sixers’ two wins and 14.0 PPG on .179/.154/.842 shooting in the two losses. Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports takes a look at what Harden’s performance in the present could mean for his future, noting that the guard’s name up frequently during the Rockets‘ interview process with head coaching candidates.
  • The 76ers’ decision to give P.J. Tucker a fully guaranteed three-year, $33MM contract last summer raised some eyebrows, but veteran postseason leadership the club sought from the 38-year-old was on full display in Game 4, writes Eric Koreen of The Athletic. After Embiid shied away from attacking Celtics center Al Horford during the final minutes of regulation, Tucker delivered a spirited on-court message to this season’s MVP. “Nobody can guard Jo, one-on-one. There’s no way,” Tucker said. “That’s not disrespect to Al or anybody else, but I guarded him for a lot of years. When he’s aggressive and assertive, it’s impossible. And I’d seen him, two or three plays in a row, not do that. And we can’t have that. We can’t have that. Not with the season in the line. We can’t have it.”
  • After letting a 16-point lead slip away, the Sixers looked like they might be headed for another devastating playoff loss on Sunday, but they pulled out a victory that head coach Doc Rivers attributed to the group’s improved “mental toughness,” as Tim Bontemps of ESPN relays. “We’ve just got veteran presence,” Embiid told ESPN. “Guys that know how to win, that know how to play. A lot of teams could have quit. But we just stuck together. We just got a different mindset this year.”
  • De’Anthony Melton, a new addition to the team ahead of the 2022/23 season, has emerged as a consistent bright spot for the 76ers in the postseason, per Gina Mizell of The Philadelphia Inquirer. Melton went scoreless in Game 4 but had put up at last 13 points in four of the five games before that and has played strong, versatile defense.
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Sixers Notes: Maxey, Rivers, Harden, Embiid

May 6th, 2023 at 9:49pm CST by Arthur Hill

Sixers players didn’t hold back at today’s film session as they reviewed their Game 3 loss to the Celtics, writes Tim Bontemps of ESPN. There was plenty to critique as Philadelphia fell by double digits and watched home court advantage slip away. The Sixers will have to regroup for Sunday to avoid heading back to Boston with a 3-1 deficit.

“I think the biggest thing was today that we were real with each other, and that’s good,” Tyrese Maxey said. “Family has to be real with each other. Family has to express themselves. They have to express the emotions that they’re feeling and you have to get that off your chest. And I think we’ve done a great job of that all year.”

Bontemps states that Maxey shot for the entire hour that reporters were present Saturday as he tries to regain his rhythm following a 4-for-16 performance Friday night. His drills included shooting over taller defenders in the lane.

“(Coach Doc Rivers) was on me,” Maxey said. “He said he felt like I started the third quarter with confidence, and then he said he felt like after I missed a shot or two, then my confidence stopped, and I stopped being aggressive and then started trying to press the issue. I just got to be confident throughout the entire game, and keep being aggressive.”

There’s more from Philadelphia:

  • Rivers tried to get his team back in the right frame of mind following a disappointing outing, Bontemps adds. There have already been a couple of momentum swings in the series, and the long-time coach knows that more are possible. “This is part of going through a playoff grind,” he said. “It’s emotional terrorism at times, and you have to deal with it. You have to be able to handle it. Or you lose. … I thought, after watching the film, we were in a much better place than before.”
  • The Sixers’ perimeter defense is being exploited in a series that Boston could easily be leading 3-0, observes Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer. Pompey states that De’Anthony Melton, P.J. Tucker and Georges Niang have done fine, but the Celtics are taking advantage of Philadelphia’s other defenders and are especially targeting James Harden. Pompey notes that Harden’s best playoff games have come in the series openers when he had time to rest, but he hasn’t been nearly as effective otherwise.
  • Joel Embiid played 39 minutes in his second game since returning from a sprained knee, but he told Rivers he felt great on Saturday, Pompey tweets. Even so, Embiid is listed as questionable on the Sixers’ injury report for Game 4.
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Atlantic Notes: Tatum, Harden, Borrego, Nets

May 6th, 2023 at 8:01am CST by Luke Adams

Celtics forward Jayson Tatum, who finished fourth in Most Valuable Player voting this season, was motivated on Friday night by watching Joel Embiid receive his MVP trophy before Game 3 of the Sixers/Celtics series in Philadelphia, writes Jamal Collier of ESPN.

It wasn’t exactly Hakeem Olajuwon dominating David Robinson and the Spurs following Robinson’s MVP ceremony in 1995, but Tatum led the Celtics to a 114-102 win in Game 3, scoring a team-high 27 points and helping Boston reclaim home-court advantage in the series.

“It just got me really ready to play,” Tatum said of the pregame ceremony, per Collier. “You could feel the energy from the crowd and the building. I’m happy for (Embiid). He earned it, he deserved it, but I was just focused on trying to win tonight.”

In addition to his 27 points, Tatum grabbed a team-best 10 rebounds, handed out five assists, and had a a pair of steals and a block, earning praise from his teammates for a “superstar” performance.

“He played a terrific game all around, but he finished a tough game on the road in a hostile environment for us,” Celtics guard Malcolm Brogdon said. “That’s what superstars do.”

Here’s more from around the Atlantic:

  • After scoring 45 points on 17-of-30 shooting in Game 1, James Harden has totaled just 28 points on 5-of-28 shooting in his last two games, both Sixers losses. Embiid wants to see his star teammate be more assertive on offense going forward, according to Tim Bontemps of ESPN. “I mean, you just talk to him and you keep telling him to keep shooting,” Embiid said after Friday’s loss. “Be aggressive. Can’t get too high, can’t get too low. Some nights you’re going to make lots of other shots, a lot of tough ones, and some nights you’re not going to make them. So it’s about finding other ways to impact the game.”
  • After Marc Stein suggested that the Nets could be one of the teams with interest in James Borrego as an assistant coach, a league source confirms to NetsDaily that Brooklyn is “100%” in on pursuing Borrego for a spot on Jacque Vaughn‘s staff. The Nets, who are parting ways with multiple assistant coaches, also expressed interest in Borrego last year, per NetsDaily.
  • Brian Lewis of The New York Post (subscription required) poses four questions for the Nets to answer this offseason, including what their long-term plan is at point guard and what the cost will be to re-sign restricted free agent Cameron Johnson.
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Atlantic Notes: Brunson, Butler, Celtics, Embiid

May 4th, 2023 at 11:17pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Knicks star point guard Jalen Brunson continues to deal with the sore right ankle that caused him to be listed as questionable ahead of New York’s second game against the Heat.

Brunson ultimately played and performed well in the Knicks’ 111-105 Game 2 win. He scored 30 points on 10-of-19 shooting from the floor and 4-of-4 shooting from the charity stripe. His status for Game 3 in Miami, however, remains murky.

Per Fred Katz of The Athletic (Twitter link), head coach Tom Thibodeau claimed Brunson “didn’t do much” in the team’s practice Thursday, and is considered “day-to-day.”

There’s more out of the Atlantic Division:

  • Given the uncertain availability of Heat All-NBA swingman Jimmy Butler, the Knicks are gearing up to play against two iterations of Miami on Saturday, per Peter Botte of The New York Post: one with Butler and one without him. “The good thing about the situation that we just went through is we played one game where he played and one game where he didn’t play,” Thibodeau said. “So we know style of play, what he brings, how they’ll be different when he plays. We also know how they’ll play when he doesn’t play.”
  • The Celtics worked hard to earn a 121-87 blowout victory over the Sixers to even their series to a 1-1 record, writes Adam Himmelsbach of The Boston Globe. Boston point guard Marcus Smart, the 2022 Defensive Player of the Year, made it a priority to lock down Philadelphia’s backcourt. “Our defense has been slipping,” Smart said, “and we just wanted to come out and get back to what we do best.”
  • Sixers head coach Doc Rivers said today that MVP center Joel Embiid‘s knee is responding well following his return to the floor for a Game 2 loss to Boston, per Rich Hoffman of The Athletic (Twitter video link). “Just his speed that he reached, his explosions, they were very close to normal,” Rivers said. “That was great for us to see and more importantly, great for him to be able to do it and see that he can do it, and have very little swelling or anything like that.” Embiid scored 15 points, blocked five shots and pulled down three boards in 27 minutes of action, playing in his first game back from an LCL sprain.
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Atlantic Notes: Embiid, C. Johnson, Rupert, Raptors

May 4th, 2023 at 9:02am CST by Arthur Hill

Joel Embiid called his return to the court “rusty” and coach Doc Rivers said the newly crowned MVP had “growing pains.” Even so, the Sixers were happy to have Embiid back in action Wednesday night, but they’ll need him to play much better to give them a chance to get past the Celtics, writes Rich Hofmann of The Athletic.

Returning from a sprained LCL in his right knee, Embiid played nearly 27 minutes and contributed 15 points, three rebounds and five blocks, but Boston dominated the second half of Game 2 to even up the series. It was Embiid’s first appearance since he suffered the injury on April 20, and he and the team believed it was important for him to resume playing as soon as possible to help reestablish a rhythm.

Embiid added that his injury would normally keep him sidelined for about four to six weeks, and he accepts that he’s not going to be 100 percent during the series.

“I just felt like it probably would have been the same result as far as how I’m feeling if I would have come back in Game 3. Probably rusty and not myself,” he said. “But I feel like I just got this out of the way. Disappointed by the loss, but that’s a step towards getting back to myself.”

There’s more from the Atlantic Division:

  • The Rockets and maybe a couple more teams are likely to make a run at Nets forward Cameron Johnson in free agency, John Hollinger of The Athletic states in a discussion with fellow Athletic writer Alex Schiffer about Brooklyn’s offseason. Hollinger expects Johnson’s next contract to start in the $20MM range, which creates a challenging situation for the Nets, who are about $10MM below the luxury tax line. Re-signing Johnson without cutting salary elsewhere would subject Brooklyn to the repeater tax for a team that’s unlikely to be among the top contenders in the East. Hollinger believes Royce O’Neale‘s $9.6MM contract would be easy to move if they keep Johnson, or the front office could consider stretching the final-year salaries for Joe Harris or Patty Mills.
  • The Nets may not keep both first-round picks they have at No. 21 and 22, but French shooting guard Rayan Rupert is a name to watch in that range, Hollinger adds. Schiffer notes that general manager Sean Marks has traveled to New Zealand twice to watch Rupert in action.
  • Pascal Siakam and OG Anunoby are the most likely players to move if the Raptors are looking for an offseason roster shakeup, according to Eric Koreen of The Athletic. Koreen creates trade tiers for Toronto’s roster and considers Scottie Barnes to be the only player who’s “practically untouchable.”
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Joel Embiid Cleared To Return For Game 2

May 3rd, 2023 at 6:38pm CST by Luke Adams

6:38pm: Embiid will be in the Sixers’ starting lineup for Game 2, tweets Charania.

9:05am: Newly crowned Most Valuable Player Joel Embiid is on track to return to action in Game 2 of the Sixers‘ second round series against the Celtics, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link). Charania’s report suggests Embiid is expected to play on Wednesday night in Boston as long as he doesn’t experience any setbacks today.

Embiid has been sidelined since Game 3 of Philadelphia’s first round win over Brooklyn due to a sprained LCL in his right knee. He reportedly received a PRP injection last week to promote healing in the knee. Although he was ruled out for Game 1, reports at the time indicated there was “optimism” about his chances of making it back for Game 2.

According to Charania, after Embiid was officially named MVP on Tuesday night, he turned to the team during a brief celebration and announced, “I’m back.”

If Embiid does return on Wednesday and remains healthy for the remainder of the series, the 76ers have a legitimate opportunity to upset the Celtics, who entered the second round as the favorites to come out of the East.

An Embiid-less Sixers squad pulled out a Game 1 win on the road as James Harden matched a career postseason high with 45 points. That victory ensured the team will return to Philadelphia for Game 3 with no worse than a split of the first two games.

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