Boston is rounding into playoff form at just the right time. The Celtics have won 14 of their last 15 road games with their only loss coming against the Pistons on Feb. 27.

Another encouraging sign, according to Brian Robb of MassLive.com, is that Jaylen Brown looks healthy, In his second game back after missing three with a knee injury, Brown had 24 points in 29 minutes.

We have more from the Atlantic Division:

• The Sixers are desperately trying to retain a top-six selection so that they don’t have to forward their first-round pick to the Thunder. That made Wednesday’s 119-114 loss to the woeful Wizards a key one, Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer writes. The Sixers have lost six straight and 23 of their last 27 games. They remain tied with the Nets for the league’s fifth-worst record with nine games remaining. Philadelphia has a home back-to-back against Miami and Toronto this weekend.
• While Sixers coach Nick Nurse believes Tyrese Maxey will play again this season, Pompey argues that there’s no reason to bring him back under the current circumstances. Maxey hasn’t played since March 3 due to back and finger injuries.
• The Knicks‘ point guard depth took another hit on Wednesday. Cameron Payne, who started with Jalen Brunson (ankle) and Miles McBride (groin) sidelined, rolled his ankle in the first half against the Clippers and did not return. Rookie Tyler Kolek played 19 scoreless minutes with seven assists but was exploited defensively, ESPN’s Chris Herring notes. “They kept coming at us with that high two-man game, and I’ve got to be better about defending that,” Kolek said.
• Mitchell Robinson is hopeful he can play in both ends of a back-to-back before the end of the regular season. He has not yet been cleared by the Knicks medical staff to play in back-to-back games. Robinson didn’t play in Tuesday’s win over Dallas, then logged 13 minutes against the Clippers. Robinson told SNY’s Ian Begley that he’ll “probably” be cleared soon.

Brunson is feeling “a lot better” and has been able to do more rehab work every day, per Thibodeau, who referred to his point guard as “day-to-day, basically.” The team announced on Saturday that Brunson was expected to remain sidelined at least one more week.

“(He’s) doing a lot of shooting, working the pool, working the bike. Stuff like that. “So his conditioning is pretty good actually,” Thibodeau said, adding that getting clearance to take part in practice is “probably” the next step in Brunson’s recovery process.

While Begley has heard that Brunson’s rehab is moving faster than initially expected, he stresses that the Knicks have no intention of bringing back the 28-year-old until he’s 100% healthy. Still, according to Begley, there has been no consideration that Brunson will remain out for the rest of the regular season.

Here’s more on the Knicks:

• In an in-depth story for The Athletic, Mike Vorkunov digs into the adversarial relationship that Knicks owner James Dolan has established with the NBA. Dolan’s long list of grievances with the league include the way in which the new media deals devalue teams’ regional sports networks (including Dolan’s MSG Networks) and the NBA’s revenue sharing system. “Dolan hates the idea of giving money on revenue sharing,” one former team owner told Vorkunov. “He’s been totally against it from the beginning.”
• With Miles McBride ruled out for a second straight game on Tuesday vs. Dallas due to a left groin contusion/strain, rookie Tyler Kolek may be in line for a rotation role again after registering eight assists in 18 minutes in Saturday’s win over Washington. Thibodeau believes the first-year guard is up to the task, referring to him as a “gym rat” who’s getting better every day, as Bridget Reilly of The New York Post details. “He’s worked hard all year. The things that he needed to do, he did,” Thibodeau said. “He works, he’s a tireless worker. Performed well in the G League. So when the opportunity came, he was ready. And there’s still obviously a lot of work to be done but he keeps getting better and better and that’s a good sign.”
• Knicks forward Josh Hart is averaging just 9.9 points per game on 40.8% shooting during Brunson’s absence, compared to 14.5 PPG on 54.7% shooting up until that point of the season. He spoke to reporters on Monday on how his role changes with Brunson – and now McBride – not on the floor. Reilly has the story and the quotes for The New York Post.

Tim MacMahon of ESPN also revisits the Brunson contract saga in Dallas, sharing an excerpt from his new book ‘The Wonder Boy’ about how the Mavericks’ unwillingness to offer the guard a four-year, $55.6MM contract when they were first eligible to do so cost them a chance to retain the budding star at a bargain price through 2026. According to MacMahon, while that $55.6MM extension was the maximum deal Brunson could have received entering the 2021/22 season, he would’ve been open to accepting even a little less than that, perhaps $50MM over four years.

However, the Mavericks reportedly didn’t offer Brunson an extension before the season and then didn’t put his max extension on the table until February 2022, at which point he had outplayed it. When the guard reached unrestricted free agency later that year, Dallas had the ability to tack on a fifth year to its offer or simply to outbid the Knicks‘ four-year, $104MM proposal, but did neither, allowing him to leave for New York.

“I tell you this, this is a conversation we had,” Brunson’s father Rick Brunson told MacMahon. “If Dallas offers the same money or more, I don’t know if he leaves. Come with the money. Make it hard! You didn’t. You made it easy.”

Here’s more on the Mavs:

• Tuesday’s game in New York or Thursday’s contest in Orlando have emerged as the target dates for Anthony Davis‘ return from his adductor strain, reports NBA insider Marc Stein (Twitter link). Stein said over the weekend that there’s increasing optimism about the possibility of Davis, who has been out since February 8, playing during this road trip. He’s listed as doubtful for Monday’s matchup with the Nets in Brooklyn.
• Daniel Gafford, who is recovering from a right knee sprain, spoke to MavsTV about his experience practicing with the Texas Legends in the G League on Friday, as Grant Afseth of Dallas Hoops Journal relays (via Twitter). “Practice was good — getting a lot of range of motion in the knee, getting my body right, and getting my cardio back,” Gafford said. “I’ve got to get the lungs going again, get the leg conditioning back, just working through everything. But everything went well (on Friday). It was just another step in the process and the progress, trying to get back on the floor with the guys. Good vibes, great atmosphere, great attitude — just trying to get better and feel better too.”
• Mavericks point guard Spencer Dinwiddie said the team is just hoping to stay afloat until its injured players – especially Davis – start to return, according to Mike Curtis of The Dallas Morning News. “I think it’s just trying to keep the pulse, the heartbeat going, waiting on obviously the big dogs to get back,” Dinwiddie said. “That’s all we’re trying to do right now. … It’s a hold-down-the-fort mentality. Stay in striking distance. You get a top-75 guy back. Who knows what can happen?”
• Christian Clark of The Athletic takes a look at the impact that assistant coach God Shammgod has had in Dallas, including on Kyrie Irving. “I feel like he’s just one of my uncles just from Harlem, New York, that’s there to give me a little s–t when I need it, but be honest all the time,” Irving said of Shammgod.

“You are not replacing Jalen individually,” head coach Tom Thibodeau said. “It’s impossible. We have to do it collectively with our defense and rebounding and playing together.”

With Brunson’s usual backup Miles McBride a late scratch ahead of Saturday’s Washington clash due to a groin issue, veteran Cameron Payne drew the starter, while rookie Tyler Kolek logged a career-high 18 minutes and handed out eight dimes. Kolek often fed forward Mikal Bridges, who was in the midst of a solid shooting run.

“It was big-time for us having Ty out there finding ’Kal constantly,” Payne said.

There’s more out of New York:

• Kolek’s big night has made him an intriguing possibility for backup minutes behind Brunson going forward. Dexter Henry and Bryan Fonseca of The New York Post wonder if he could wind up being the Knicks’ best reserve option for Brunson sooner rather than later, and what his path to a consistent rotation role might look like.
• Kolek will probably get another shot at major minutes for the Knicks again on Tuesday, as McBride is considered likely to sit out Tuesday’s showdown with Dallas due to his groin injury, per Stefan Bondy of The New York Post (via Twitter). When healthy, McBride has been solid for New York this season. In 59 available bouts, he’s averaging 9.4 points per game on .407/.371/.817 shooting.
• At 44-26 on the year, the Knicks seem to be more or less locked into the Eastern Conference’s No. 3 overall seed. Three clubs are jockeying for the right secure home-court advantage and the No. 4 seed behind them. The 41-29 Pacers are currently in that slot, just one game up on the 40-30 Bucks, and 2.5 games ahead of the 39-32 Pistons. James L. Edwards III of The Athletic evaluates the pluses and minuses of each of those clubs as potential first-round playoff foes for New York, identifying the team that should ultimately be the Knicks’ preferred matchup (Milwaukee).

Tonight will mark the eighth game that Brunson has missed since suffering the injury in the closing minutes of an overtime loss to the Lakers. New York has gone 3-4 since then and remains in third place in the East, three games ahead of Indiana.

With their playoff position virtually set, there’s no reason for the Knicks to bring back Brunson before he’s fully healed. A report earlier this week said he’s out of his walking boot and has been cleared to do some “light shooting.”

ESPN’s Shams Charania stated last Saturday that the severity of Brunson’s ankle injury make it “more of a three- to four-week minimum return time frame.”

Brunson is in the midst of another stellar season, averaging 26.3 points, 3.0 rebounds and 7.4 assists per night and making his second straight All-Star appearance. He’s a strong contender for All-NBA honors, but he’ll have to play four more times to meet the NBA’s 65-game criteria.

“Obviously it’s a lot of fun when [the game] slows down and it feels like you’re just out there playing free, playing loose,” Scheierman said. “Coach [Joe Mazzulla] has got a lot of confidence in you, players have got a lot of confidence in you. That’s what the game is all about, and that’s how I enjoy playing.”

Scheierman hasn’t played much at the NBA level this year, but he’s contributed to a pair of wins in the past couple weeks. The 2024 No. 30 overall pick is getting more comfortable by the day.

“Confidence is kind of an overused term,” Mazzulla said. “I think in reality, it’s like, this kid just got here. He’s been here for three months. Like, what do you expect him to look like 10 games in playing sporadically? He’s always had that confidence. I think a lot of it is a matter of timing. A lot of it’s a matter of opportunity. And a lot of it is the moments that you get, you’ve got to deliver and you’ve got to impact winning.”

We have more from the Atlantic Division:

• Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau said Jalen Brunson was out of his walking boot and has progressed to doing “light shooting,” according to Newsday’s Steve Popper (Twitter link). New York is hoping to get him into some game action before the playoffs begin. He hasn’t played since March 6 due to an ankle injury.
• New York wing Josh Hart ripped the Knicks after they lost to the 18-win Hornets on Thursday, according to the New York Post’s Stefan Bondy. “The way we’re losing games is embarrassing,” Hart said, “… It’s extra effort, and we’re not doing that, and that’s what’s embarrassing, especially for this team, especially for a Thibs-coached team, a New York-based team. That’s not what we should be doing. That’s not what we’re supposed to be built on.” New York is 3-4 without Brunson during this stretch.
• Sixers guard Lonnie Walker IV hasn’t played since March 12 after suffering a concussion. He’s probable for Friday’s game against the Spurs, Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer tweets. Walker is averaging 8.2 points and 3.3 rebounds this season.

However, as Mark W. Sanchez of The New York Post details, Robinson saw an uptick in his playing time in Monday’s victory over Miami. His 10 points, nine rebounds, two steals, and 24 minutes all represented season highs, and he said after the game that he’s “getting the rhythm back a little bit.”

“I think the rim protection,” head coach Tom Thibodeau said when asked about the positive signs he’s seeing from Robinson. “His ability to get out on the perimeter, defend pick-and-rolls, challenge shots, cover a lot of ground and make a second or third effort to be up on a pick-and-roll and still get back to rebound and change shots. You’re seeing more and more multiple-effort plays from him. I think his timing is coming around. He’s moving great. He feels great.”

The Knicks’ two centers, Robinson and Karl-Anthony Towns, had played just nine minutes together in Robinson’s first seven games back, but shared the court for 10 minutes against the Heat. Thibodeau liked what he saw from the twin-towers look.

“When you have two seven-footers out there, if you get by one, you’ve got another waiting at the rim,” Thibodeau said. “I think that has a huge impact on the game.”

Here’s more on the Knicks:

• In an interview with Michael Scotto of HoopsHype, Knicks teammates Jalen Brunson and Josh Hart spoke about a wide range of topics, including how Brunson has adjusted to being the “face of the franchise” in New York, why Hart is having a career year, and how Thibodeau compares to their former Villanova coach Jay Wright.
• Fred Katz of The Athletic takes a look at how the Knicks are attempting to “steal points” in transition as they play without Brunson, the organizer of their half-court offense, who remains sidelined due to a sprained ankle.
• After cameras captured them shouting at one another during a timeout in Golden State on Saturday (Twitter video link), Hart and Thibodeau both downplayed their sideline disagreement, according to Stefan Bondy of The New York Post. “You’re not going to find a more loyal player. I love Thibs. I think that was just my frustration coming out with the flow of the game, my own individual performance,” Hart said. “… It doesn’t affect our relationship. It doesn’t show anything of what’s going on. It’s just two extremely competitive people in a fiery moment. I love Thibs. I love what he’s doing. And he’s putting us in the best position to be successful.”
• In case you missed it, Knicks owner James Dolan made some rare public comments about the team last week, indicating that he plans for the current core to “be together for a while.”

As Stefan Bondy of The New York Post relays, Dolan expressed a willingness to be patient with the current Knicks core, making it clear that he believes continuity will be an important factor in maximizing the upside of the roster.

“We have a team that’s going to be together for a while,” Dolan said. “(President of basketball operations) Leon (Rose) has done a good job of lining up the contracts and everything else. So this isn’t our only season. We’re going to play a bunch of seasons together.

“You take a look at teams like Boston that have played together, they get to draw off of something that they built over that period of time. And for this team, that’s the challenge, really – today, going into the playoffs, etc. – is to build that inside of the team. Something we can draw on.”

The Knicks made significant changes to their roster during the 2024 offseason, sending a package heavy on future first-round picks to Brooklyn in exchange for Mikal Bridges, then completing a blockbuster deal in the fall to acquire Karl-Anthony Towns in exchange for a package headlined by Julius Randle and Donte DiVincenzo.

Entering the summer of 2025, Towns, Brunson, Hart, and OG Anunoby are all locked up for multiple seasons, and there’s hope that Bridges will sign an extension that pushes his current contract beyond its 2026 expiration date. Sizable contracts for those players will likely leave the organization operating in apron territory for the next few years, reducing New York’s ability to continue making significant major in free agency or on the trade market.

After advancing to the second round of the playoffs in each of the past two years, it will be a challenge for the Knicks to get any further than that this spring, given that it would likely mean upsetting the defending champion Celtics. However, Dolan expressed optimism about the group’s future, lauding Rose for the way he has put the roster together and indicating that the front office has his full support, along with full autonomy to continue making personnel decisions.

As Bondy notes, Dolan also admitted that the patient, hands-off approach he’s taking now hasn’t always been the management style he’s employed in the past.

“There were times when (we’ve) sort of reached for that shiny, sparkly object. ‘Maybe this is what we need.’ Especially when things weren’t going well,” he said. “‘Let’s bring in this guy and maybe he’ll turn it all around for us.’ Sometimes it’s players, sometimes it’s a coach.

“What I learned over time is that doesn’t work. It really doesn’t. You really have to do the fundamentals, the basics. You’ve got to build a team, you’ve got to build an organization. There is no waving a wand over a team and all of a sudden make it a great team. It doesn’t happen.”

The Knicks announced that Brunson would be reevaluated in two weeks after he suffered the injury while driving to the basket late in a March 6 game against the Lakers. However, sources tell Charania that the sprain involves “more of a three- to four-week minimum return time frame.”

“The key for the Knicks and Jalen Brunson is keeping that swelling down in that ankle, getting it lower, and then increasing the mobility in the ankle,” Charania said. “They know they need to get him right for the playoffs. That’s of the utmost importance.”

New York is managing to get by without Brunson, going 2-1 since the injury as a five-game road trip wraps up tonight at Golden State. The Knicks appear locked into the third seed in the East — five games behind Boston and five games ahead of Milwaukee and Indiana — so there’s no need to rush Brunson back until his ankle is fully healed.

Brunson made his second straight All-Star appearance this year and is a strong contender to again earn All-NBA honors, although he’ll have to play four more times to reach the 65-game requirement. He’s averaging 26.3 points, 3.0 rebounds and 7.4 assists per night with a .490/.384/.825 shooting line.

Charania also touched on a mini-controversy this week involving Mikal Bridges and Tom Thibodeau. Bridges stated that he had talked to his coach about reducing the minutes for the starters, but Thibodeau denied that such a conversation ever took place.

Charania confirms that Bridges and Thibodeau held a “closed-door meeting” before Wednesday’s game, which he described as a “productive” session in which both sides were “able to hash things out.” A source told Charania that the situation is now “history.”

“We never had a conversation about it,” Thibodeau told reporters, including Stefan Bondy of The New York Post and James L. Edwards III of The Athletic.

Bridges, Josh Hart, and OG Anunoby are all among the top six in the NBA in terms of minutes per game, with Hart and Bridges occupying the top two spots on that leaderboard. Jalen Brunson ranks 19th, while Karl-Anthony Towns is 24th. Thibodeau, who has faced criticism over the years for the heavy workloads he assigns his top players, defended his approach ahead of Wednesday’s game in Portland.

“The facts are the facts. When you look at our team, and the way it works, Jalen plays 35 minutes, and I think he’s 20th or 21st in average minutes played,” Thibodeau said. “(Towns), who is a primary scorer, plays less than Jalen. He’s like 25th in the league in average minutes.

“Your wings play more, right? They’re matched up with primary scorers. The way it works, if Jayson Tatum is in the game or Jaylen Brown is in the game, OG will be in the game and Mikal will be in the game. When those guys go out, (our) guys go out. When they come back, (our guys) come back. We try to keep them matched up. If you look at the league, all those guys are playing 36, 37 minutes — whether it’s Durant, Tatum, Brown. The wings are going to play more. They are primary wings defenders. That’s the way it works.”

Thibodeau also pointed out that Bridges’ minutes have come down as of late. The veteran forward played 39.3 minutes per night through his first 35 games of the season; entering Wednesday, he had averaged 35.5 MPG in his previous 21 outings. While Wednesday’s contest vs. the Trail Blazers represented the seventh time Bridges has played 40-plus minutes since February 1, five of those games went to overtime.

According to Thibodeau, his starters’ playing time will likely remain a little below where it was during the first couple months of the season because the reserves are healthier at this point, with Mitchell Robinson and Landry Shamet among those now playing rotation roles.

“We’ve started the season with Landry hurt and (Miles McBride) not 100 percent. So our wings did play more,” Thibodeau said. “So are they playing a little bit more than I would like? Yeah. Probably 35 or 36 (minutes), and that’s where Mikal is if you look at the last 10 games — he’s playing 35 minutes per game and four of those games are overtime games. So that’s the reality. Now that Deuce is healthy, those minutes are going to come down. So that’s the way it is.”

Although Thibodeau didn’t sound thrilled to have to revisit the discourse about his player usage, the day ended on a positive note for both him and Bridges, who scored a team-high 33 points on 13-of-21 shooting and nailed a buzzer-beating three-pointer in overtime to give the Knicks a 114-113 win (Twitter video link).

“He was huge, huge,” Thibodeau said, per Edwards.

While Bridges acknowledged that the starters’ significant workload is one reason he broached the subject, he suggested it was more about his belief that the Knicks’ reserves are worthy of more playing time.

“Sometimes it’s not fun on the body,” Bridges said. “You’ll want that as a coach but also talked to him a little bit knowing that we’ve got a good enough team where our bench guys can come in and we don’t need to play 48, 47 (minutes). We’ve got a lot of good guys on this team that can take away minutes. Which helps the defense, helps the offense, helps tired bodies being out there and giving up all these points. It helps just keeping fresh bodies out there.”

Bridges has been an iron man since entering the NBA in 2018, playing in 538 out of 538 possible games, so it’s not as if he’s an advocate for load management.

But all five Knicks starters are among the top 25 NBA players in minutes per game, with Josh Hart and Bridges tied for first at 37.8 MPG. OG Anunoby (36.6 MPG) ranks sixth, while Jalen Brunson (35.4) is 20th and Karl-Anthony Towns (35.0) is 25th.

Miles McBride (24.1) and Precious Achiuwa (21.9) are the only reserves averaging more than 15 minutes per night, and Achiuwa has been in and out of the rotation since Mitchell Robinson made his season debut.

Thibodeau’s minutes distribution has long been a subject of debate, with his critics arguing that heavy workloads for his starters has caused those players to break down earlier in the season and made them more susceptible to injuries. Thibodeau’s own players have frequently defended his usage of them.

As for Bridges’ suggestion, the Knicks forward said his head coach was willing to take it into consideration.

“I think he’s not arguing about it. Sometimes I think he just gets in his ways and he gets locked in. He just wants to keep the guy out there,” Bridges said. “Sometimes you’ve got to tell him, like Landry (Shamet), for example or somebody, keep him out there, they’re playing well.”

8:18 am: Knicks star Jalen Brunson badly rolled his right ankle when he landed on Austin Reaves‘ foot with 1:24 remaining in overtime during Thursday’s road loss to the Lakers (YouTube link).

While Brunson was able to stay in to shoot (and make) two free throws after being fouled on the drive, he left the game immediately afterward, slowly and carefully limping off the court.

According to NBA insider Chris Haynes (Twitter link), there’s optimism that Brunson sustained a sprained ankle and not something more serious.

Still, it’s worth noting that the severity of ankle sprains can vary drastically — a mild sprain might cause a player to only miss a game or two, while a major sprain can see a player sidelined for months. Brandon Ingram has missed four months and counting with a “significant” sprain, with no timetable for a return.

Former teammate Luka Doncic checked in on Brunson after the game, according to Steve Popper of Newsday (subscriber link). While Doncic said Brunson told him he’d be OK, Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau said the team’s point guard was still being evaluated.

“He’s being examined,” Thibodeau said. “I haven’t spoken with him. He was back with the medical people. … His mental toughness is through the roof. It doesn’t surprise me (that he stayed in to shoot free throws). The way he played the whole game, they were loaded up on him the whole game.”

Close friend Josh Hart expects Brunson to miss some time due to the injury, per Stefan Bondy of the New York Post.

“Obviously it’s a bummer of an injury. We’ve got to expect him to be out for a little bit,” Hart said. “We’ve got guys. Now we have to step up. Other guys’ roles are going to be bigger. There’s more opportunity. Keep it afloat until he comes back, be aggressive, go out there and compete.”

Brunson, who finished with 39 points and 10 assists, is New York’s team captain. He has made All-Star appearances each of the past two seasons, leads the team in points and assists per game, and is the Knicks’ go-to option in crunch time.

As James L. Edwards III of The Athletic writes, any type of extended absence for Brunson would clearly be detrimental to the club, especially on offense, even if it has all but secured a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. The team has looked a little shaky over the past few months, according to Edwards, who points out that Brunson has frequently bailed out the offense late in games.

In a subscriber-only story for The Post, Bondy argues that Miles McBride and Karl-Anthony Towns will need to step up while Brunson is out. Cameron Payne is among the other candidates for an increased role.

“(The trade) just kind of followed up on what they’ve been talking about, well, really, for the past year, year and a half, which is like, ‘No, we don’t want to tank and go through the draft.’ They wanted to get back to winning quickly. Obviously,” he said. “Yes, you got to try and build up a new team. You got to build on some young guys, and you got to go through some more difficult times, but they’ve always communicated that they want to be aggressive, making moves like that. And so, yeah, I think it’s really good, and it’s good for us as a team.”

The Raptors are also being careful with Poeltl, who is operating under a minutes restriction due to a hip injury he suffered last month and frequently doesn’t play beyond the third quarter. He would prefer to be challenging for a playoff spot, but he understands why the team has dedicated the final few weeks of the season to developing its young talent.

It has been a few weeks since the NBA handed out Player of the Week honors due to the All-Star break, which resulted in multiple shortened weeks. Brunson and LaVine won for games played between February 24 and March 2.

Brunson and the Knicks went 3-0 during that stretch, with victories over Philadelphia, Memphis, and Miami. The star point guard led the way by averaging 29.3 points, 6.3 assists, 5.0 rebounds, and 2.0 steals in 38.4 minutes per game, with a shooting line of .477/.364/.857.

It’s the second time this season that Brunson has been named the East’s Player of the Week — he also won the award on December 2. This time around, he beat out a group of nominees that consisted of Giannis Antetokounmpo, Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum, Tyrese Haliburton, Pascal Siakam, and De’Andre Hunter, per the league (Twitter link).

LaVine, meanwhile, hit his stride last week after an up-and-down start with his new team in Sacramento. The former Bull helped lead the Kings to a 3-0 week that included wins over Charlotte, Utah, and Houston. He posted a scorching-hot .623/.636/.667 shooting line, averaging 28.0 points, 5.7 rebounds, and 3.0 assists per game. Sacramento outscored opponents by a total of 67 points during his 106 minutes on the floor.

Stephen Curry, Luka Doncic, LeBron James, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams, and Shaedon Sharpe were also nominated in the West, according to the NBA.

Williams would be playing in his first game since the Hornets-Lakers trade was rescinded after he failed to pass Los Angeles’ physical due to “multiple issues.” The probable status is due to “return to play reconditioning.”

The Lakers front office thought it had solved their starting center issue by acquiring Williams. They had agreed to give up rookie wing Dalton Knecht, forward Cam Reddish, an unprotected 2031 first-round pick and a 2030 first-round pick swap. Knecht and Reddish returned to the Lakers along with the draft capital when the team decided to void the deal.

Williams, who has battled injuries throughout his young career, is averaging 16.0 points, 9.8 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 1.2 blocks and 0.7 steals per game in 22 contests this season.

We have more Eastern Conference news:

• While the Nets gave all the appearances of tanking earlier this season, their young core isn’t cooperating. They are within range of a play-in spot, trailing the 10th-place Bulls by just 1.5 games. They’ve gotten a boost from D’Angelo Russell in his second stint with the organization. Russell led them to an unlikely postseason berth five years ago and it could happen again, Brian Lewis of the New York Post writes. Russell is averaging 14.5 points and 5.8 assists in 16 games since he was acquired from the Lakers. “Last time it just … kind of happened,” Russell said. “So I think if it’s gonna happen, it will. We definitely have the chance. We definitely have a nice group, definitely have all the coaches and everything to give it that. So we’ll keep preparing like that’s in the plans. But as far as getting ahead of myself and trying to do things out of the ordinary, that’s not really … it’s kind of out of my control, I would say. So [we’ve] just got to go one game at a time, one win at a time.”
• Even with added rest and recovery time, Jalen Suggs is still not 100 percent. Head coach Jamahl Mosley told Jason Beede of the Orlando Sentinel (Twitter link) on Tuesday that the Magic guard was “able to go through running portions of practice but no contact still.” Suggs missed the last nine games before the All-Star break due to a left quad contusion.
• Expect better results from Paolo Banchero after the All-Star break, Beede opines as he examines five storylines to watch for the remainder of the Magic‘s season. After missing 34 games due to a torn right abdominal muscle, Banchero has averaged 20.6 points, 6.6 rebounds, 4.8 assists and 3.4 turnovers per game while shooting 28.9% from 3-point range over the past 18 contests. Banchero said his main issue after recovering from the injury was getting back into top shape to play with the same energy and effort on a nightly basis.
• The Knicks got good grades on their midseason report card. The New York Post’s Stefan Bondy gives Josh Hart an A-plus, with Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns earning As.