Right here is yet another batch of 10 things — really, 12 things — I like and don’t like as we attain the finish of seeding video games throughout the strangest season in NBA historical past.

1. Michael Porter Jr. and math

Porter has been the breakout star of the bubble, averaging 22 factors on 55/42/93 capturing. Porter is a capital-S scorer, however not like most younger scorers, he does not drive it — or battle math. About 76% of his pictures have come at the basket or from deep. Monitoring information has recorded solely 43 Porter isolations — about the identical as PJ Washington, Dorian Finney-Smith, and Shaquille Harrison, per Second Spectrum.

Porter hunts environment friendly pictures inside the circulate. He cuts for dunks, and flies inside for putbacks. He vehicles little guys:

You already know who’s good at tossing these entry passes? The perfect huge man passer in historical past — Nikola Jokic.

Jokic’s sport cries out for Denver to encompass him with capturing, however the Nuggets have by no means fairly managed that. Gary Harris has hit 33.5% from deep mixed over the previous two seasons. Will Barton is common. Paul Millsap, stretch power ahead, by no means occurred. Jamal Murray, ace gunner, most likely will occur however did not but; Murray is at 34% on 3s this season, and 35.7% for his profession.

Give Jokic the ball at the high whereas the different 4 guys display and reduce, and somebody will pop open. Jokic will discover him. Denver can be deadly with extra catch-and-shoot marksmen.

Porter seems prepared. Michael Malone has deployed him as the lone starter in bench-heavy lineups, and Porter in these minutes has labored extra as the screener in pick-and-rolls. He likes fading for nook 3s:

A number of screen-setters drift into lengthy 2s. Porter already looking for the coffin nook is a nice signal.

Early in the season, the query was whether or not Malone would belief Porter with postseason rotation minutes. Porter modified the query: Is it time for him to start out full-time? If that’s the case, ought to he substitute Harris, Barton, and even Millsap? Malone informed ‘s Doris Burke on Wednesday that Porter is the workforce’s beginning small ahead now, however it’s unclear what would possibly occur if each Harris and Barton return.

2 Associated

The Nuggets ought to begin Porter regardless, as I mentioned with Jeff Van Gundy on the Lowe Post last week.

Denver with its normal starting five was a good team, but the Nuggets were missing something ineffable — some oomph and high-octane unpredictability. Porter injects that. It might come at the expense of Denver’s defense, but Porter’s size and rebounding compensate for some positional mistakes of youth.

The safest bet would be starting Porter in Barton’s place. Denver needs defense from Millsap (and Jerami Grant) at power forward. Harris is their best wing defender. His jumper was finally coming around in March. Barton’s slashing is tailor-made for the role of bench sparkplug who still plays a ton of crunch time.

MORE: Everything to know about every NBA playoff team

2. Austin Rivers’ first step

I’ve always felt sympathy for Rivers. For some reason — his last name, Duke hype, his general disposition — critics reveled in Rivers’ early struggles and branded him a bust by the time he was 22.

Rivers is a useful hybrid bench guard who has hit 36% or better from deep in three of the past four seasons. He has drained at least 36.7% of pull-up 3s in three of those seasons. He defends hard.

He has a nasty first step, and he showcased it with Eric Gordon, Russell Westbrook, and James Harden missing games. He sets it up with twitchy shoulder fakes:

Yeah, that’s Marco Belinelli, but Rivers dusted the rising Keldon Johnson with this same move a few minutes later.

His acceleration out of hesitation dribbles has the same effect:

Rivers is good at finding Houston’s shooters when the defense converges.

The Rockets become a different team if they get 15 good bench minutes from Rivers or Ben McLemore — and a real threat when both play well.

3. Deandre Ayton, rolling

Gimme more of this next season, when the rising Suns will reasonably hope to crash the postseason party for the first time since 2010:

Ayton set about 49 ball screens per 100 possessions during Phoenix’s scorched-earth run — up from 42.8 before, per Second Spectrum. That makes sense: With Cameron Johnson starting as the nominal power forward, Phoenix has a readymade spread pick-and-roll attack. It has been nice to see Ayton mix in more rim-runs.

Ayton loves little half-rolls, where he catches at a standstill around the foul line. He can do stuff there. He’s a decent midrange shooter and smart passer.

Ayton does little of everything, which makes him tricky to evaluate. There is a tendency to shoehorn centers into archetypes. Ayton doesn’t have to become prime Tyson Chandler or present-day Brook Lopez — rim-runner or stretch 5 — to hit his apex on offense. That would be a waste of some skills. There is also a human element. To get Ayton’s best on defense — where he has made incredible strides in Year 2 — the Suns need to indulge him on offense a bit. Potential All-Stars get that sort of leeway.

Just tilting Ayton’s game 5% or 10% in the right directions — more rim-runs, gradually trading pick-and-pop 2s for 3s — would put him on a starrier trajectory. Hunting tin would bump up his free-throw rate — the weakest part of his game.

4. The next step for New Orleans’ two young centerpieces

What a bubble disaster. New Orleans was a mess on both ends. Lonzo Ball’s jumper deserted him (again) until it was too late.

Even so, this roster is primed to rise next season provided good health, time to coalesce, and more coherence on both ends. (Whether the latter requires a coaching change is a decision New Orleans may face soon. Alvin Gentry has a year left on his contract, per ‘s Adrian Wojnarowski, who also mentioned Ty Lue and Jason Kidd as potential replacements.) Zion Williamson’s explosion as a No. 1 option should slot everyone into their appropriate places on offense.

Answer questions on the NBA playoffs and compete for $30,000 of guaranteed prizes! Make Your Picks

If Ball remains in New Orleans — and remains engaged — he could evolve into a tweener guard specializing in kick-aheads, extra passes, lobs to Williamson, and (basketball gods willing) just enough spot-up 3s. Jrue Holiday will find his water level as an on-ball creator. Brandon Ingram can channel his game a little less toward Kobe Bryant, and a little more toward Scottie Pippen (not that Ingram will reach those levels).

But the Pelicans are not making any real jump unless they commit to defense. That starts with establishing some bedrock principles, and getting buy-in from their two young centerpieces.

Williamson was awful in the bubble — lead-footed, lacking any urgency. Given the circumstances — the long hiatus, Williamson leaving and returning — he should probably get a mulligan.

New Orleans was an unthinkable minus-58 in 104 bubble minutes with Williamson on the floor. They allowed almost 130 points per 100 possessions — not quite the level where you’d be better off fouling the worst opposing free throw shooter, but not all that far away. It appears New Orleans’ improvement on defense with Williamson on the floor in February and March was part illusion — built on (among other things) random bricky opponent shooting.

As hoops savant Mo Dakhil noted on Twitter, some guys simply transfer quicker on offense than protection. (Karl-Anthony Cities involves thoughts.) Perhaps it is the varieties of actions required. Perhaps it is that the sport unfolds in a totally different means on every finish relying on their position on offense.

The dissonance interprets to rebounding. Williamson is a fiend on the offensive glass, however his defensive rebounding charge is frankly pathetic. Monitoring information signifies Williamson is dynamite at snaring defensive boards when he begins off with a positional benefit, and inactive in any other case.

Williamson has fast ft. His passing tells you he reads the sport effectively. He ought to develop into a succesful defender. The Pelicans should decide what scheme suits Williamson finest, and that query is tethered to the bigger considered one of which place — power ahead or middle — he performs inside every lineup. Can he defend the rim in any respect? Can be he higher off switching? Regardless, the first steps are conditioning and effort.

Ingram is not ok on that finish, both. In New Orleans’ most dispiriting bubble loss — an Aug. 6 blowout towards the Kings — Sacramento focused Ingram through very impolite Harrison Barnes bully-ball. Ingram wilted.

Ingram is skinny. Larger forwards overpower him. That is not altering. However Ingram has to combat. His arms are so lengthy, he may give floor and nonetheless problem pictures.

He has proven he can navigate screens and be a menace disrupting passing lanes. He must hit that gear extra typically. I guess he can.

5. Jrue Vacation’s one flaw

Vacation is a fantastic all-around participant, however his penchant for unusual passing turnovers has at all times made it onerous to lean on him as main ball handler.

Vacation coughed up 26 turnovers in six bubble video games. New Orleans had no margin for that. The Pelicans ranked 29th in turnover charge, forward of solely the Cleveland Cavaliers, and their transition protection leaked oil all season.

Vacation tries to squeeze passes that are not there.

One thing is a hair off at the intersection of imaginative and prescient and timing.

The Pelicans confronted a thorny resolution final summer time with Vacation: Preserve a excellent participant 10 years older than Williamson and seven years older than Ingram, or commerce him for property that higher match the timeline of their younger stars. The Pelicans wagered they might be able to chase the playoffs, and despite the fact that they face-planted in Orlando, they have been proper. They most likely would have made the playoffs had Williamson been wholesome all season.

They could face the identical query once more now. Vacation suits this roster effectively. He’s by far the Pellies’ finest defender. They’re geared up to play him extra off the ball on offense.

The Pelicans with Vacation profile as a playoff workforce subsequent season, however nothing is assured in the West — the place rosters stand now, all 15 groups would possibly harbor playoff ambitions.

6. Ja Morant towards switches

The 29 different head coaches should have organized a Zoom assembly and agreed to deal with Morant like Ben Simmons. Groups in Orlando are ducking a number of ft beneath picks for Morant, walling off the paint, begging him to launch 3s.

It is working. Solely about 39% of Morant’s pictures have come at the basket in Orlando, down from 51% earlier than, per Cleansing The Glass. He is 9-of-40 on 3s.

The Grizzlies counter the go-under technique by rescreening for Morant; it is onerous to duck two or three screens with out falling behind. Defenses resort to switching, and in what looms as a extra troubling signal, Morant has struggled horribly towards switches.

Huge males again away, inviting Morant to hoist jumpers or dribble proper into them. Morant doesn’t need these 3s; he typically steps in for lengthy contested 2s. He is athletic sufficient to rev up and end by some huge males, however that’s powerful sledding towards good defenders.

The Grizzlies have scored a putrid 0.799 factors per possession when Morant shoots towards a swap, or passes to a teammate who fires immediately — 114th amongst 129 ball handlers who’ve confronted no less than 50 switches this season, per Second Spectrum. Opponents in the bubble are switching towards Morant on about 10 screens per 100 possessions, up from 6.2 earlier than.

That is the scouting report now. Morant will clear up it — possibly quickly. He was capturing 37% on 3s earlier than the hiatus. His kind seems to be superb.

7. Boston channeling Stephen Curry

Boston has been the dominant non-Suns workforce of the bubble, including an absolute thumping of the Raptors which will have revealed clues about a potential second-round collection between the two. (Additionally enjoyable: Boston taking part in its full roster Tuesday towards Memphis, and bumping up the Grizzlies’ possibilities of lacking the playoffs. Boston owns Memphis’ first-round choose offered it falls exterior the high six. If Memphis misses the playoffs and strikes up in the lottery, the choose rolls to subsequent season — unprotected.)

Boston ranks second in factors per possession in the bubble, trailing solely the determined Portland Path Blazers. The Celtics’ drive-and-kick sport seems to be crisp. They’re producing about two extra nook 3s per sport, with the trade-off coming principally from midrange pictures.

The Celtics seem like searching the sort of pass-and-relocate 3s Stephen Curry made well-known:

I love Jayson Tatum’s response to that Kemba Walker triple. The Celtics introduced a sure spirit to that sport: steely, cocksure, discovering pleasure in the success of others. Tatum erupted in one other celebration — snarl and fist pump — when Jaylen Brown fired a 45-foot bounce move on the cash to Gordon Hayward for a layup.

It sounds hokey, however that stuff issues. Tatum started the season urgent to ascertain himself as an All-Star. He is now safe sufficient in his standing as one to revel in performs that don’t contain him.

In fact, that is straightforward whenever you’re forward by 20. Postseason adversity is the actual take a look at of workforce tradition. Boston appears prepared.

8. Thomas Bryant’s bubble protection

An enormous query for Washington’s medium-term plans: Can Bryant be a beginning middle on a workforce with second-round ambitions? He ought to get there on offense. Bryant is a ferocious rim-runner who dunks like he needs to tear the basket down. He has a good perimeter contact, and he is turning extra lengthy 2s into pick-and-pop 3s; eight of his 11 highest-volume 3-point video games got here in Orlando.

He is a surprisingly nifty passer given his (considerably deserved) status as a chucker. He picks out cutters and has good handoff chemistry with Bradley Beal.

It can come down as to if Bryant can defend the lane towards good groups. His efficiency in Orlando was encouraging. He was nimbler corralling ball handlers on the pick-and-roll, extra alert to the place the offense would possibly go subsequent, and means, means extra prepared to make onerous a number of efforts:

Bryant challenged extra pictures at the rim in Orlando, and opponents hit solely 53% of them with Bryant close by — a stingy mark, down from about 60% earlier than, per NBA.com.

Washington’s protection nonetheless stunk, however that had much less to do with Bryant.

There’s a lot (like, a lot) of labor left. (The Wiz ought to most likely signal a defensive-oriented veteran middle simply in case.) Bryant’s footwork can go haywire when he alters angles in tight areas; he nearly seems to be as if he will journey over his personal ft. He is unreliable on the glass, overeager chasing blocks.

However Bryant simply turned 23 and has logged solely 2,700 NBA minutes. We’re speaking about the hardest a part of any huge man’s job. Washington stole Bryant from the Lakers; the Wiz mainly grew to become L.A.’s Triple-A affiliate, solely they will maintain the gamers. They retained Bryant on a three-year, $25 million deal that has a probability to essentially repay.

9. A pleasant factor for Kings followers

The Kings went #Kangz, extending their playoff drought to a humiliating 14 seasons — which is de facto onerous to do when 16 of 30 groups make the postseason. In a vacuum — and the NBA will not be a vacuum, however nonetheless, that is enjoyable — the possibilities of that occuring are about 1 in 40,000, our Kevin Pelton confirmed.

I’m inclined towards forgiveness. The coronavirus hit the Kings onerous. Richaun Holmes, their beginning middle, needed to miss a number of practices after breaking quarantine (#Kangz) to order supply (#KANGZ!) — ensuing in a Twitter scolding from his mother that also may be the Tweet of the Bubble.

Holmes was precisely what the Kings envisioned once they signed him to a two-year, $10 million deal. He had a profession season throughout the board. This 21-second sequence is emblematic:

That’s high-level middle goodness: corral one pick-and-roll; keep in entrance on a swap; disrupt that layup; dash for an early seal; sling a laser to the nook. Holmes is ultra-fast for his place. He is a lob-catcher, and he shot a scorching 51% from floater vary — principally together with his patented push shot. Holmes ended with the finest web ranking of all Sacramento regulars; the Kings outscored opponents with Holmes on the ground.

Holmes does not have the bulk to bang with Joel Embiid/Jokic varieties, however he established himself as a viable starter.

10. Workforce announcer affection for ex-‘teammates’

It’s so distasteful when native announcers discover a participant’s flaws solely as soon as that participant is on one other workforce — and then exit of their option to poke enjoyable at them.

Monday by Friday, host Pablo Torre brings you an inside take a look at the most attention-grabbing tales at , as informed by the high reporters and insiders on the planet. Hear

That is why I smiled each time Chris Marlowe, Scott Hastings, and Katy Winge — Denver’s trio — referred to Jusuf Nurkic as “Nurk” throughout final Thursday’s Portland-Denver sport. They nonetheless have affection for the huge fella, despite the fact that Nurkic’s tenure in Denver didn’t finish effectively.

They have been evenhanded evaluating Nurkic’s sport — simply as they have been when he was a Nugget. It is a small factor, but it surely issues.

11. Talking of Nurkic …

Nurkic is a rock-solid two-way participant. He’s gentle on his ft and can actually move — from a standstill, and on the transfer. Nurkic’s presence fully modifications the Blazers.

He seems to have misplaced nothing over a yr of rehab — and that sadly consists of his maddening behavior of bonking layups:

Come on, huge fella! Go up robust!

Give Nurkic credit score for consistency. Nurkic has by no means transformed greater than 61% of pictures at the rim in a season — or ranked above the 21st percentile amongst facilities in that metric.

I don’t know what is going on on. It isn’t like Nurkic lacks contact. Does he not need to get fouled? (He is a profession 67% foul shooter, although he is 31-for-35 in the bubble.) Is he doing a bit? Does he have selective yips? Does he simply get pleasure from a problem? Fortunately for the Blazers, Nurkic completed nearly every thing in crunch time of Thursday’s thrilling season-saving win. They wanted each level.

12. For instance good things about a man on the Nets’ B-team

Did anybody discover Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot hit 38% of his 3s this season on respectable quantity — nearly seven makes an attempt per 36 minutes? That is a actual factor! Luwawu-Cabarrot punctuated a significant season with a 5-of-9 efficiency from deep in Brooklyn’s spirited loss to Portland Thursday.

Luwawu-Cabarrot has appeared like an attention-grabbing NBA wing from Day 1 — lengthy, quick, bursting with athleticism. He is a sneaky cutter. He can rebound, and run the wing in transition. However earlier than this season, he had been a little too wild for anybody to belief with actual rotation minutes. His jumper merited no consideration from defenses.

Perhaps that 38% mark will show a fluke. However TLC didn’t compile it solely on wide-open 3s. He chanced some contested ones — some beneath such tight stress, it was legitimately stunning to note Luwawu-Cabarrot was the one flinging them up. A number of them went in. If that is actual, the Nets might have discovered one thing.

MORE: All the pieces to find out about each NBA playoff workforce