Category: NBA

With 5:53 left in the second quarter, Dallas Mavericks center Daniel Gafford grabbed an offensive rebound, dunked it home, and screamed at his home crowd. The energy play gave the Mavs a 49-43 lead, despite missing several key starters like Cooper Flagg and Kyrie Irving. That play prompted a timeout from San Antonio Spurs head coach Mitch Johnson.

At that point, all of the doom and gloom about the Spurs’ first two games seemed warranted. The team looked sluggish and disengaged in a genuinely worrisome way. What happened to the fire and spunk this team played with last season? Johnson may have asked them the same question in the huddle during that second-quarter timeout. A different team emerged from the bench after the pep talk.

San Antonio responded with a 25-11 run after the timeout, leading to their first win of the season, 122-106.

So what changed after that point? It started with defensive pressure at the point of attack. Stephon Castle, Devin Vassell, and De’Aaron Fox all had multiple steals as the team forced 21 turnovers, leading to 26 points off them. The energy and intensity on defense changed after the timeout. The Mavericks’ backcourt mistakes led to easy runouts for the Spurs, igniting a scoring explosion that inevitably won the game. Just a tweak in intensity and aggression made a major difference on the scoreboard.

To start the season, San Antonio’s players and coaches have talked a lot about effort and focus. Fox cited a bad preseason, and Mitch Johnson talked about playing up to a standard and not being a team that just flips the effort switch on and off. It’s concerning that a team coming off an NBA Finals in which they blew multiple winnable games is still showing inconsistent effort. But maybe a dominant win against a team they are supposed to beat will wake them up from this early-season stupor.

San Antonio is entering an easier part of their early-season schedule with games against teams that failed to make the playoffs last year. Some dominant wins would be the type of continued response this team needs, and could signal this game as a turning point for this year’s squad.

Takeaways:

• San Antonio is still struggling to figure out its new rotation. The four-guard starting lineup has forced Johnson to change how he staggers his guards. The results thus far have been mixed. The starting lineup has a +1.8 net rating in 28 minutes, with the defense looking great and the offense shaky. Johnson has then taken Fox out first and brought him back in to run the second unit with Keldon Johnson, Julian Champagnie, Carter Bryant/Harrison Barnes, and Luke Kornet. Small sample size here, but that lineup has a net rating of -77.8 in 9 minutes. The group simply needs more playmaking to succeed. It ultimately turns into Fox dominating the ball with limited movement, and no offensive flow. The bench lineup was on the floor for most of Dallas’ scoring runs on Saturday.
• Part of what has made those second-unit lineups look so bad, and what killed San Antonio in the playoffs last year, has been the play of Kornet. Plus-minus is not usually a great stat, but it can be helpful when it matches the eye test. Kornet was -18 in 14 minutes, going 0-2 from the field, grabbing 4 rebounds and recording 2 turnovers. He has not finished in the paint, nor protected the rim well to start this season. His offensive limitations are exacerbated by the Spurs’ lack of second-unit creation, and if he’s not crushing the glass or holding down the paint, it’s hard to find a lot of positives in having him out there.
• With Kornet struggling, the Spurs went to the rookie, Tarris Reed, to start the third quarter. The rookie helped the team go on an 11-4 run in his 4-minute stint. Reed scored his first NBA bucket on a lob from Vassell, and snatched an offensive rebound that eventually led to a Champagnie three-pointer. He had 2 points, 3 rebounds, and a turnover in 7 total minutes. That performance, and Kornet’s struggles, should earn the rookie some more minutes moving forward. We’ll see if the coaching staff gradually increases his opportunities as they did for Bryant last season.
• Victor Wembanyama had a much better game by keeping things simple against Dallas. He led the team in scoring with 23 points on 9-for-18 shooting, making 2 of his 6 three-pointers. He mainly served as a lob threat in the pick-and-roll, particularly thriving when running the action with Fox. He still took some frustrating three-pointers, but the ones he made genuinely came within the flow of the offense. He was also one of the players who benefitted from Johnson’s second-quarter pep talk. Wembanyama looked a step slow and lethargic in the first half, but responded with improved defense in the second. It was a step in the right direction, but we still haven’t seen Wembanyama put it all together this season.
• Fox was the Spurs MVP on Saturday night. He had 19 points on 6-for-11 shooting, adding 9 assists and 3 steals. He was fantastic in the pick-and-roll, developing chemistry with Wembanyama. He’s taking and making shots within the flow of the offense. He may be thriving more than any of Spur in these new guard-heavy lineups.
• Castle’s shooting may be real. The third-year guard is now shooting 37.9% from three on 9.7 attempts to start the season. He went 3-for-8 from deep on Saturday. Teams are leading him open for the most part, and he still struggles to shoot threes off the dribble, but when his feet are set, his shot looks good. If he becomes a 36%+ shooter this season, he’ll make it easier for the Spurs to play him alongside Harper and Fox.
• Keldon Johnson was back to playing the high-energy role that made him so successful last season. He had 7 points and 6 rebounds, 4 of them offensive, in his 26 minutes. Johnson continues to be at his best when he is driving hard to the cup in transition and crashing the boards.

Having completed a remarkable comeback to knock off the Pelicans on Saturday night, Nikola Jokić shifted his attention toward his unexpected next opponent: Nuggets fans who had booed the team.

The superstar center heard the jeers of an unhappy, home crowd at Ball Arena, who witnessed the Nuggets getting stomped through the first half. After leading a rally that ended in a 141-135, overtime victory, Jokić used his postgame news conference to state that those disbelieving and venting fans are not welcome in the Denver arena.

“We get booed in the first home game,” Jokić told reporters after the Nuggets’ first victory of the season. “I think those fans who booed us, they don’t need to come anymore. Because if you guys follow us, you know that we never quit. And we came back from much worse or similar situations.

“If they ask me, they are not welcome anymore.”

The Nuggets had trailed, 45-26, in the second quarter when the boos began to rain down, according to the Denver Post. Coming off a season-opening defeat in Oklahoma City, the Nuggets dug a hole as great as 23 and were losing by 16 points at halftime against a New Orleans team that is not expected to be good.

Nuggets head coach David Adelman told reporters his team’s first-half effort was “dismal.”

“I didn’t expect our team to come out the way they did,” Adelman told reporters. “It was a horrendous first half for us. But I liked the fight back.”

Perhaps motivated and clearly angered by the boos, Jokić scored eight of his 35 points in overtime and added 15 rebounds and 10 assists for his 222nd triple-double of his regular-season and playoff career, passing Russell Westbrook for the most combined in NBA history. It was the 199th of Jokić’s regular season, second to Westbrook’s 209.

As Jokić made history and led the comeback, Nuggets fans cheered. Afterward, though, Jokić remembered the boos during an odd start to his 12th season with the team.

With the Bucks going 2-3 in the preseason—beating the Thunder and Pacers and losing to the Wolves, Hornets, and Bulls—we wanted to take the fans’ pulse on whether their optimism had changed for this week’s survey. As the graphic shows, a plurality (48%) of fans were neutral, voting that they felt “about the same” as before preseason, while 38% felt worse. This left 14% of fans voting that they felt better.

VoltantheDestroyer: “About the same. Ware is worse than expected. Others non-Herro players from Miami look marginally better than expected. Burries/Ament better; Dieng worse. All in all a wash. Plus it’s preseason.”

naveed2000s: “Worse. Our key guys often looked pretty bad out there, but our overall depth makes us a great garbage time team. I had a lot of opinions on who should stay and who should go, who should be featured or not. But I’m settling into the idea of this being a complete retool season, and am not getting too attached to anyone. We may be really bad, but let’s introduce concepts and a general identity, and continually clean up the roster. See what (probably few) players emerge as keepers, trim the fat where needed, and make an impactful trade or two to set the tone.”

Nate O: “I went with Better: I’m definitely worried about Ware. I was hopeful he would slot right into a Jenkins’ run system, and there’s still time, but the early returns were disappointing. Jaquez Jr. in my opinion was “meh”- not worried, not thrilled, saving any judgements until I can see way more minutes from him regularly. He played sporadically during the preseason as many did so the hot and cold, up and down here doesn’t worry me too much for now. So the “better” is coming from Burries and Co. appearing to be ahead of schedule. I really thought he looked impressive on his drives and his court vision, but I sort of expected the pieces to look sloppier than they have been. Ament showed more promise than I ever originally gave him credit for, and Jakucionis really looks comfortable with the ball in his hands.“

The Toronto Raptors are off to a hot start so far this season, with two double-digit wins, albeit against opponents of…let’s say “uncertain” quality. Still, they’ve been more or less as advertised, especially on defence, where they’ve given up just 97 points per game and held players like Anthony Davis and Josh Giddey to to horrible shooting nights. Now, they’re hitting the road to take on the new-look Minnesota Timberwolves, who have had nothing but good vibes lately. Will the Raptors pick up another win? Let’s take a look at how the two teams match up.

On the last episode

Last year’s Raptors lost both matchups against Minnesota, both by single digits. Both teams have made notable changes since then, which could make for an exciting early-season game.

Know thy enemy

There’s a new kid in town! After a couple of seasons of hoping an aging Mike Conley can turn back the clock and buoy them at the point guard position (not to mention their point guard of the future, Rob Dillingham, not working out and already on his second team), the Wolves shocked the league by trading the jettisoning the talented-but-mercurial Julius Randle and the locally adored Naz Reid while bringing in a walking highlight reel in LaMelo Ball.

For all of his goofiness, Ball is one of the league’s premier playmakers, a rare tall guard with a dangerous handle, real creativity, and the ability to make any pass with either hand. His shot selection can be, um, optimistic, and his defensive focus has come and gone, but he’s looked like a surprisingly natural fit in his first-ever stint on a serious team with serious aspirations, even stepping up on the defensive end so far.

But Anthony Edwards’s new backcourt partner isn’t the only thing that’s changed the look of these Wolves. Jonathan Kuminga is also new in town, and starting at Randle’s old power forward spot. He’s smaller, but one of the most explosive athletes at his position. Like Ball, if the Wolves can hone in on what makes him dangerous and hide some of his weaknesses, they’ll be hell to play against. The defensive foundation in Minnesota was already strong, but the added offensive dynamism and juice in transition (Ball is electric on the break and Kuminga will no doubt get tons of alley-oop opportunities) could propel them to another level, especially if Kuminga keeps shooting like he has been this year.

Depth could still be an issue, though. Ayo Dosunmu is one of the best bench players in the league, but there aren’t exactly a ton of reliable players outside of him and Terrence Shannon Jr. Toronto’s a much deeper team and could feast if the Wolves are forced to play bench-heavy units.

Key matchup(s)

The Wolves can put up points in bunches, as they demonstrated when they dropped 131 on the road against the Miami Heat in their season opener, but the Raptors match up pretty well defensively against anyone not featuring an elite scoring centre. That being said, Rudy Gobert’s size could cause them problems as an offensive rebounder, especially if the Raps play a lot of small-ball.

Speaking of Gobert, he’s the key on the other side of the floor, as always. He’s pretty good at defending on switches (despite what viral clips of elite scorers cooking him would lead you to believe), but he’s at his best when he can organize a defence in drop coverage against teams that feature non-shooting bigs, which is exactly what the Raptors are. It’s tough to score in the halfcourt against any Gobert-led defence, but there could be opportunities to take advantage of unproven defenders like Ball and Kuminga off the ball.

This game will be the both teams’ first real test of the new season, and it’ll be must-see TV for anyone curious about how two teams at the centre of some of the NBA’s biggest offseason moves will shape up this year.

The San Antonio Spurs have big goals this season, so finally getting in the win column after an 0-2 start must have felt cathartic, especially against a rival like the Dallas Mavericks. Luckily, there wasn’t too much to complain about on Saturday.

Divisional matchups are always fun but the first half was all gas and not much brakes as both teams laid a stack of bricks from deep. The game was decided by three things: the Spurs’ offensive rebounding (which turned into 26 second-chance points) scoring off turnovers, and the defensive intensity of the fourth quarter, holding the Mavericks to 31.8 percent shooting.

Let’s check out the cool stuff.

Carter Bryant has looked lost at times to start his second season, but moves like this baseline dunk are reminders of what we can expect when his composure matches his athletic abilities.

Are the Mavs for real? Perhaps an assistant should have told coach Dusty May that it’s a terrible idea to play a zone against someone like Wemby who can stack up rebounds and jump higher than everyone else on the court. This was just too easy.

Stephon Castle is a hunter on defense and this was one of his three steals.

Alley oops get lots of great PR, but the next most exciting play in basketball is the pick-6 in the opponent’s territory and it might be the most deflating one for them. Castle gets extra points on this one for the mean mug after the dunk.

I present the Showtime Spurs. This was the second time Devin Vassell blew up a pass and started the break.

The thing about this Wemby lob is that it is only getting taken away with a big gamble at the expense of the arc or if the on-ball man makes a miraculous play because he grew a longer, third arm. The Spurs should be running more of these. 

Yeah, this is year four of Victor doing this stuff, but it’s still hard to get over the novelty of him being that big and making this look so smooth. I must whisper “Oh my gosh” to myself a handful of times per game.

The rook, Tarris Reed Jr., is going to remember this moment for life and it’s cooler since the game was up for the taking at this point. He had been hovering by the dunker spot, which is a good idea for others to get open on this team. He showed some moves at school, and might be an option to turn to if a backup big needs minutes. 

I’ve said it a million times: Wembanyama post ups are gold because few in the league have the minerals to stop it, and in this instance, he had four players looking at him, making it easier for De’Aaron Fox to get loose on a curl. This arguably could’ve been a foul because Wembanyama didn’t have much landing space and got it to go anyway. 

Julian Champagnie took eight shots, which is what’s needed from him, but whoever said shooters are unwilling to go to the body had clearly never heard of him. Aside, Wemby’s screen is the MVP of this play because look how wide he is standing. 

This would probably get a head nod from Nikola Jokić.

Welcome to Winners & Sinners, our new weekly feature that reflects on the week that was. With Giannis wearing enemy colours and a new, youthful Bucks corps leading the charge, this season presents the unique opportunity to see just who is the Most Valuable Buck (MVB). But that’s not the only “award.” Each week, we’ll hand out the following:

• Defensive Belt: Ring the bells, this one’s a fight! Want to take home the belt? Get stops. But it’s more than just that. The “Defending Champion” wears the belt until a “Contender” takes it.
• The People’s Champ: Awarded to the Brew Hoop commenter of the week. Win it because of a wry comment in a game thread, an insightful fan post in The Feed, or simply in acknowledgement of all your hard work posting. It’s our shoutout to you.
• Run That Back: If this was a magazine, Run That Back would be a tear-out poster. It’s the highlight of the week.
• Sinner(s): Think of this as Brew Hoop’s Razzies. It’s a chance for catharsis, calling out what needs it.
• If… Then…: A forward-looking conditional statement. If you continue to read this article, then you’ll see what I mean (please do).

Now that you know the categories, let’s see the recipients!

MVB

It’s got to be Jaime Jaquez Jr., right? Tyler Herro has certainly put up a great argument, posting 23.7 PPG, 4.3 RPG, and 5.3 APG—and he’s quickly converting this writer into a fan. But after exploding against the Bulls he was relatively quiet against the 76ers. Meanwhile, Jaquez has been Milwaukee’s most consistent player. In addition to his 20.7 PPG (on 61% shooting!), Jaquez is contributing 8.7 RPG and 3.7 APG while playing with the sort of effort that Taylor Jenkins has preached all offseason.

Defensive Belt

Defending Champion: Vacant.

The Contenders: Kyle Kuzma, Jaime Jaquez Jr.

The Decision: Look, there haven’t exactly been any All-Defensive pushes to start the season, but the Bucks’ starting forwards have shown the most grunt (I’ll leave GRIT to retired janitor). Kyle Kuzma was the only semblance of a roadblock against Anthony Davis and has hit the glass hard, pulling down a team-leading 27 rebounds, including 21 on the defensive glass. He gets the nod.

The People’s Champ

naveed2000s takes the cake for this one, putting on a Woj Shams mask to drop news of the Golden State Warriors’ interest in trading Kristaps Porziņģis to the Bucks—before we could even think about getting a newser out. Kudos to you, naveed. Catch the scoop and join the conversation here:

Run That Back

Herro curls around a Myles Turner screen, catches and rises up—fluid, like Lake Michigan. Splash! And the harm. He converts on the two-to-make-one flagrant free throw too. It should’ve been the momentum moment to spur the Bucks to victory; the first of a long list in Herro’s Bucks lore. Instead, it’ll have to settle for this week’s highlight moment.

Sinner(s)

Meat Loaf said two out of three ain’t bad but in the NBA it’s a prerequisite—you need at least two of talent, smarts, or effort to truly succeed. At the moment, Ware has the talent. The know-how and the motor are works in progress. Thankfully, Jenkins is a teacher. Then again, so is Erik Spoelstra. The real question, then: does Ware know the difference between hearing and listening? If his performance against the 76ers is anything to go by, the answer is a resounding “Yes!”

Myles Turner, on the other hand, has been flat-out bad—7.7 PPG and 4.3 RPG, shooting below 40% from the field—to go along with 3.0 turnovers per game, while coming last on the team in plus/minus (-11.0) and offering little in the way of a paint presence. It’s time to hit the confessional.

Otherwise, the fourth quarters have been capital “R” Rough for the Bucks. Through three games, they’ve been outscored 98-73. Turn that around and they’d be sitting pretty.

If… Then…

If Ryan Rollins doesn’t start finding his offensive groove soon—which includes turning off the blinders so that he can run the team more effectively—then Taylor Jenkins might be wise to turn even more to Kasparas Jakučionis. The young Lithuanian has starting point guard written all over him.

Did I win the tip or am I running back on defence? Share your winners and sinners in the comments.

In an effort most fans would be proud of, the Milwaukee Bucks fell to the Philadelphia 76ers, 127-116, in a game that was much closer than the final score suggests. In the second leg of their back-to-back, the Bucks went to Philadelphia and took it to a team many believe will contend for a title. Every time Philly looked to take control, Milwaukee made a huge play—offensively or defensively—to keep them in the hunt. In the end, though, the 76ers’ talent became too much to overcome. Read our full summary of the game here and catch a six-minute audio recap on the Bucks+ podcast, Bucks In Six Minutes, below.

Player Grades

Ryan Rollins

25 minutes, 15 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 turnovers, 4 PF, 6/14 FG, 2/5 3P, 0

Certainly trending in the right direction, but still not quite at the production level we expect from Ryan Rollins. Kudos to Rollins for getting into an aggressive mindset from the jump, though, with two early attacks on Tyrese Maxey to get him going. I also thought Rollins was pretty damn solid as Maxey’s primary defender, making him work for everything. He’s getting there.

Grade: C+

Tyler Herro

31 minutes, 13 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 turnovers, 6/14 FG, 2/5 3P, -15

I mean, Herro still shot relatively efficiently, but his floor game was much worse in this one. Whether it was fatigue from the back-to-back—especially after spending so much energy getting the Bucks back into the game against the Bulls—or facing better defenders, Herro was pretty muted last night. The only reason I didn’t put Herro in the D-band is that he wasn’t forcing shots.

Grade: C-

Jaime Jaquez Jr.

27 minutes, 21 points, 8 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 turnovers, 7/13 FG, 2/3 3P , 5/7 FT, -15

Jaquez did much of his usual work inside again, with another efficient night, but as we flagged in the offseason, his ability to make spot-up threes will determine his next contract—4/6 over his last two games. He also proved to be one of the Bucks’ best defenders on Jaylen Brown, even though he was at a speed disadvantage.

Grade: B+

Kyle Kuzma

35 minutes, 14 points, 12 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 turnovers, 6/11 FG, 0/3 3P, -3

An OK game from Kuzma overall. In particular, I liked Kuz’s cutting; he made a really nice diagonal cut in semi-transition to get a layup off a drive by Herro in the first quarter.

Grade: C+

Myles Turner

20 minutes, 0 points, 5 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 block, 3 turnovers, 0/4 FG, 0/2 3P, -16

I mean, where do you even start with Turner? This was maybe the worst game I’ve seen Turner play in a Bucks uniform; he was actively detrimental to the team for most of the game. To sum it up, MT had a sequence late in the second quarter that went as follows:

1. Jaylen Brown missed from the right elbow, the ball bounced right in front of Turner, and he let Brown run in and grab his own rebound to put it in;
2. a minute or so later, Turner caught the ball on the left wing and telegraphed a pass right into the waiting help defenders;
3. Tyrese Maxey ran in front of him in transition, receiving the ball for the layup;
4. he telegraphed the ensuing inbound pass, which was stolen by the 76ers;
5. he fouled Jabari Walker, but not hard enough that Walker couldn’t get the and-one.

Suffice it to say, the big man found himself on the bench to close the half.

Grade: F

Kel’el Ware

29 minutes, 19 points, 13 rebounds, 2 blocks, 3 turnovers, 6/11 FG, 2/5 3P, 5/5 FT, +4

As Michael Corleone says in The Godfather, “Just when I thought I was out, they pull me back in.” Ware had some great defensive moments containing drivers in the drop defence, along with blocking shots both in the half-court and in transition. He also ran the floor hard, set good screens, and I thought he took the right three-point shots. I also want to add that Ware sealed smaller players well multiple times, but his teammates didn’t get the ball to him, which was annoying.

Grade: B+

Kasparas Jakucionis

24 minutes, 12 points, 3 rebounds,2 assists, 3 turnovers, 4/8 FG, 0/3 3P, -15

Yet another strong game from Jakucionis, who is cementing himself as a key cog on this team. Showed some great craft and touch around the rim, and maybe most surprisingly, was not scared one bit of challenging Joel Embiid. That said, three turnovers for just two assists isn’t ideal.

Grade: B-

Brayden Burries

17 minutes, 10 points, 5 rebounds,2 assists, 3/7 FG, 1/4 3P, +6

A solid bounce-back game for Burries, who struggled the night before. When he can get a step on his defender and go to the hoop with a head of steam, good things usually happen—he also hit a nice transition three.

Grade: C+

AJ Green

19 minutes, 11 points, 2 turnovers, 4/7 FG, 3/6 3P, +5

Green made his open threes and mixed in some tough ones, but that wasn’t the news of the day. Did anyone see his hesitation move on the wing, where he exploded to the rim and finished with the same-hand-same-foot finish? Whewwww.

Grade: B-

Nate Ament

11 minutes, 1 point, 3 rebounds, 1 steal, 5 PF, 0/1 FG, 1/4 FT, -6

Look, clearly this wasn’t the debut Ament was hoping for. He got called for three fouls in what felt like a minute, then two more for boxing out with the wrong technique. His minutes were just so choppy that it would have been tough to find a rhythm. Ament must learn that his size and length let him defend with a slight buffer and still contest shots; he doesn’t need to get so close to guys or try to steal the ball. That said, we should acknowledge that Ament was tasked with guarding Jaylen Brown, and he did have some nice possessions, including a steal (which was followed by a double-dribble, unfortunately).

Grade: D+

Taylor Jenkins

Again, there’s very little Jenkins can do about 22 turnovers. Maybe you could criticise his decision to throw Nate Ament out there against that team, but Ament needs to get experience somehow, and this season is about development over winning (also, it wasn’t like Ous was lighting the world on fire). Closing with Ware was absolutely the right move. Maybe Herro could have been more of a focal point; he did feel a little too much like an afterthought for my liking, but others may disagree. Overall, though, it’s incredibly impressive that Jenkins had the Bucks push Philly to the brink on the second night of a back-to-back—that’s the story.

Grade: B

DNP-CD: Ousmane Dieng, Caris LeVert, Bogoljub Markovic, Jericho Sims, Gary Trent Jr.

Inactive: Kam Jones, Cormac Ryan, Pete Nance

What We Learnt

The Bucks will win these games if they can just fix their damn turnover problem. They had another 22 in this game, currently ranking seventh-worst in the league.

Bonus Bucks Bits

• Jenkins: “Obviously, the record is the record, but we’re making progress on how we want to play. This was a better reflection of what we want to do defensively… I thought we got great looks, just missed some shots. Turnovers put us in a bind, but overall, I love the competitive juice. Just came up short in the end.”
• Finally, the Bucks won the paint battle, and did so in a major way, beating Philly 58-26. They also killed the 76ers in fast break points (31-13).
• Listen, I’m no Joel Embiid stan, but when healthy, that dude is legitimately unstoppable; easily one of the most skilled big men in NBA history.
• Tyler Herro seems to have a cap of around 30 minutes per game. So far, he’s played 32, 32, and 31 minutes. I suspect the Bucks might be doing what the Hornets did last season with LaMelo Ball, where you cap their minutes in the hope that doing so keeps them healthy, thus increasing their value, and then you trade them.

Up Next

The Bucks get a day off before returning Monday night at home to play the Indiana Pacers at 7:00 p.m. CDT. Catch the action on MY24.

A win is a win, and in the NBA, they can be hard to come by. You take them however you can get them, up to and including when the opposing team decides to sit the majority of its roster. That’s how the Phoenix Suns earned their first win of the season in their home opener, and it ended up being a pretty important one when you consider they have the Thunder and Nuggets on the schedule next week. Starting 0-2 and heading into those matchups would’ve added even more pressure to a team that’s still trying to figure out who it is.

Because that’s where we are right now, isn’t it? We knew who the Suns were last season. We don’t know who this version of the team is yet. While continuity remains, there’s still plenty of room for players to learn where their teammates are going to be and how they’re going to operate together on both ends of the floor. We witnessed that multiple times Saturday night against the Warriors.

Countless defensive rotations were missed, leading to wide-open shooters. Lackadaisical inbound passes resulted in turnovers. And rebounding? Oh boy, it appears that’s going to be a significant issue for this team throughout the season. When you’re surrendering 16 offensive rebounds to what essentially amounts to the Santa Cruz Warriors, that’s not a talent issue. That’s a size issue. The undersized Suns were getting owned on the glass by a team considered one of the smallest in the NBA. In fact, per Salary Swish, Golden State is the shortest team in the league, while Phoenix sits right in the middle at 17th. It certainly didn’t feel that way Saturday night.

They say you can’t truly know who and what a team is until 20 games into the season, and I believe that. But I also believe each game leading up to that 20-game mark serves as a little quiz, giving us another opportunity to understand the attitude and aptitude of a team.

The good news from Saturday night is that the Phoenix Suns won. Their star stepped up and performed like one, and the team shot the basketball well. Collectively, Phoenix shot 37.8% from beyond the arc and 58.1% from the field. For a team that was anemic offensively against the Portland Trail Blazers, that’s an encouraging sign and a step in the right direction. Defensively? Allowing 122 points to that version of the Warriors is concerning. Getting outrebounded 19–9 on the offensive glass is equally troubling, as is being outscored 26–9 in second-chance points.

So we’ll continue compiling the results of these little quizzes over the next 20 games until we have a clearer understanding of what this version of the Phoenix Suns looks like. Because we knew what last season looked like. And thus far this season? It ain’t that.

Bright Side Baller Standings

The season opener left us with but one real option as the Bright Side Baller. And true to form, the community stepped up and got the vote right. That winner? Mariah Carey. She has become our beacon when everything else is dark, for her 5-octave vocal range is that of a Hero. It’s no Fantasy that Anytime You Need a Friend, after dealing with a Heartbreaker like the Suns did against Portland, she’ll help with those Emotions.

Bright Side Baller Nominees

Game 2 against the Warriors. Here are your nominees:

Devin Booker
43 points (17-of-25, 2-of-7 3PT), 7 rebounds, 7 assists, 1 block, 4 turnovers, +2 +/-

Miles Bridges
16 points (6-of-11, 2-of-5 3PT), 7 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal, 0 turnovers, +1 +/-

Collin Gillespie
11 points (4-of-7, 2-of-5 3PT), 4 rebounds, 9 assists, 2 steals, 2 turnovers, +16 +/-

Dillon Brooks
15 points (6-of-12, 1-of-3 3PT), 2 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 turnovers, -2 +/-

Khaman Maluach
9 points (2-of-3, 1-of-2 3PT), 9 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal, 2 blocks, 2 turnovers, +8 +/-

Luke Kennard
11 points (4-of-6, 3-of-5 3PT), 4 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal, 0 turnovers, +15 +/-

It’s your turn now. Vote away!

CONTINUATION OF THE “WHAT IF” WOLVES SERIES. IN THIS SERIES, I PLAY THE ROLE OF TIMBERWOLVES OVERLORD AND GO BACK IN TIME AND RIGHT SOME OF THE WRONGS OF OUR FAVORITE FRANCHISE. SINCE THIS IS THE TIMBERWOLVES, THERE ARE A LOT OF WRONGS. THIS SERIES MAY GO ON FOREVER.

“What If” Wolves Volume 5: From no playoff success to title favorites. This one crushed me.

With the addition of LaMelo Ball to the Minnesota Timberwolves, my fandom has gone to another level. A level that I have not experienced since the spring of 2004. Let’s take a trip down the old memory lane for a history lesson on how we could have prevented the biggest heartbreak in my life – well, the biggest heartbreak since I got turned down during the couples skate at CheapSkate way back in the early 90s.

The Timberwolves’ first season started in 1989. They were terrible and didn’t even make the playoffs for their first seven seasons. The Wolves’ best record during this stretch was 29-53. 29-53!

The first playoff appearance for this woeful franchise came at the end of the 1996-97 season. Kevin Garnett would go on to lead the Wolves to seven straight first-round exits. It was painful. Then the magical 2003-04 season happened.

The 2003-04 season was the best time to be a Wolves fan. They finished the season as the best team in the Western Conference with a record of 58-24. KG was named the NBA MVP in a landslide. The roster was much improved with key additions of defensive specialists Trenton Hassell and Ervin Johnson, key bench guys in Fred Hoiberg and Michael Olowakandi, the sharp-shooting Wally Szczerbiak, crazy wing Latrell Sprewell (editor’s note: name your kids after him and they’ll become editors!), and the motor that ran everything, point guard Sam Cassell.

Best record, MVP, solid role players, and Flip Saunders doing some coaching magic on a nightly basis. Rolled through the regular season and marched through the playoffs, this team was destined to raise the Larry O’Brien.

Then, Sam Cassell decided to do a little dance in honor of Perdro Cerano and share with everyone that he had the largest cajónes in the NBA.

Rumor was that the “Big Balls Dance” that Cassell performed led to a hip avulsion fracture. This “fracture,” along with a previous back injury, caused Sam to miss most of the Western Conference Finals versus the Los Angeles Lakers.

Wolves got rinsed 4-2. Title dreams gone. The team would then fall apart, leading to the Wolves missing the playoffs for the next 13 straight seasons.

I was absolutely crushed when the Wolves lost to the Lakers. But I can’t wait for Ant and Melo to lead us to the championship (even though they will win it all this year!), so the “What If” Wolves will right this wrong and take away Cassell’s dancing shoes.

Like the tiny town in Footloose, dancing is hereby outlawed for this franchise.

The real Timberwolves acquired Sam Cassell along with center Ervin Johnson from the Milwaukee Bucks for Anthony Peeler and previous “What If” Wolves subject Joe Smith. Spree was acquired from the Knicks for Terrell Brandon (who would never play ball again due to his knee issues) and Marc Jackson, who would be rerouted to the Philadelphia 76ers. To round out the roster, Trenton Hassell would be signed as a free agent after being waived by the Bulls.

This team was a monster. Nobody could score on this group. KG barked defensive orders, and everyone followed along. Hassell lived up to his defensive stopper moniker. Sprewell flew around the court grabbing steals that lead to vicious breakaway dunks.

Offensively, they were no slouches either. Cassell ran the show, KG hit turnaround jumper after turnaround jumper, and Fred Hoiberg came off the bench with his form-perfect jump shot.

They were top ten in both offense and defensive ratings. Again, this team was a monster.

The regular season was a breeze for this group despite a bunch of injuries to key players in Wally, Troy Hudson, and others. KG finished his MVP year with averages of 24.2 points, 13.9 rebounds, 5 assists, 1.5 steals, and 2.2 blocks. Cassell joined Garnett on the All-Star team. Hoiberg even got some Sixth Man of the Year votes.

Previous Wolves teams would have folded in the playoffs. But something about this group was different. The Wolves made quick work of the Denver Nuggets, beating them in 5 games. Cassell (20.6 pts), Sprewell (19.8 pts), and Garnett (25.8 pts, 14.8 rebs, 7 asts) could not be stopped.

The Wolves finally won a playoff series.

I cannot explain how it felt to finally get a playoff win. It wasn’t excited or joy, mostly just a type of relief.

The second round would turn into one of the greatest series in NBA history (don’t argue with me on this one). The Sacramento Kings were the fourth seed, but they were far better than that number suggested.

The Kings finished with a 55-27 record. A lot of NBA pundits even thought they could win the whole thing as their roster was stacked with All-Stars, an All-Defensive player, and a crazy solid bench. The series would go back and forth leading up to a historic Game 7. Do yourself a favor and go watch this game right now. KG had a career defining game with 32 points, 21 rebounds, 4 steals, and 5 blocks. KG would not be denied in this game. But the Wolves playoff run would be altered in the second game of this series.

With just under 30 seconds left in Game 2, the score is 89-88, Wolves up one. Cassell drives baseline against defensive stalwart Doug Christie, pulls up for his patented mid-range jumper, and nails it.

Wolves go up three with 24 seconds left. Sam Cassell is overjoyed and proceeds to do his dance. Cassell scored 59 points in the first two games against the Kings. After the dance, he averaged just 13.2 points per game, with his lowest total of three coming in Game 5.

Something wasn’t right with Sam. That’s what happened in real life. But we do revisionist history around here with the “What If” Wolves. Here is how it would have gone down if I was in charge.

During the routine physical to complete the trade for Cassell and Johnson, our medical staff discovered that Cassell is running a bit low on testosterone. Now don’t ask me how I know, but increasing your Guy Fuel can have some adverse effects. Cassell was already bald (like me), so no worry about hair loss, but injecting some Power Potion can shrink up your boys (again, don’t ask me how I know this). With Cassell on the gender-affirming treatment to return his testosterone levels to normal, he has been experiencing some shrinkage.

Now, of course, Sam still hits that baseline jumper. But instead of attempting his “big balls dance” and possibly causing an injury, Sam simply high 5’s Ervin Johnson and maybe gets a chest bump from KG. No big balls, no injury. Simple fix.

The players and coaches from this Timberwolves squad were all convinced that they would have beaten the Lakers if Cassell wasn’t hurt and I fully agree. The Wolves beat the Lakers three out of four times during the regular season (all wins were by at least 10 points) and had the size in Johnson and Michael Olowokandi to match up with Shaq, and Hassell could limit Kobe somewhat.

Conversely, there was nobody on the Lakers who could contain KG or Cassell. LA had Karl Malone and Gary Payton on the team, but both were shells of their former selves. When Cassell went down with his injury in real life, the Wolves were forced to play third-string PG Darrick Martin, or play Hoiberg out of position. The Wolves even had KG bring the ball up on occasion, which I am sure wore him down a bit. This was an absolute worst-case scenario for the Wolves, but since we have Cassell juicing, the injury from the “Big Balls Dance” never occurred.

With a healthy Cassell taking pressure off KG, the “What If” Wolves would defeat the Lakers in five games. Shaq would still have a great series against the Wolves, but he would be the lone bright spot for the Lakers. Kobe Bryant would struggle against the Wolves with Hassell and Sprewell hounding him all series long, plus I am sure that his sexual assault case in Colorado at this time would limit his effectiveness (Kobe would score 42 points against the Spurs after spending all day in court). This loss to the Timberwolves would end up being the true reason why the Lakers broke up the combo of Shaq and Kobe.

Lakers destroyed, on to the NBA Finals versus the Detroit Pistons.

The Pistons were a great defensive team (second-best in the NBA), led by Defensive Player of the Year winner Ben Wallace, but they truly lacked firepower offensively (18th).

I don’t want to dwell on this matchup too much because I believe that this series would have been over in five games. Plus, Coach Flip agreed with me. The lack of offense by the Pistons would be highlighted by the Wolves’ defensive game plan. This Wolves team was just too good on both ends to be denied. KG would go on to win Finals MVP, most likely by averaging a triple-double, and the Wolves would win their first NBA Championship.

After winning the first Championship, free agents would see that the Wolves are no longer the dregs of the NBA and start to see Minnesota as a great destination. The Timberwolves go on to win title after title. Sprewell still would leave in the offseason so he could “feed his family”. Cassell finishes his career with the Wolves and takes over as head coach when Flip retires. KG continues to dominate the league, finishes his career in “Minny”, his jersey gets put up in the rafters, and a statue of him dunking on the Kings’ Brad Miller from Game 7 sits outside of Target Center.

Hell, maybe a second statue of him yelling at a teammate gets put up at the practice facility. After all, he is the new owner of the Wolves, so he can do whatever he wants as long as nobody dances.

The game turned out to be more of an adventure than seemed likely when the Wizards took a 21-point lead early in the fourth quarter, but they prevailed in the end, outlasting the Chicago Bulls, 124-120, for their first road win of the season.

The Wizards built that lead with a heady third quarter blitz in which they outscored the Bulls 40-20. After falling behind by 21, the Bulls cut into Washington’s lead, but the Wizards maintained what seemed to be a comfortable double-digit advantage. Chicago rallied over the final three minutes. Washington’s lead dwindled to as little as three points with 23 seconds to play.

Trae Young and Anthony Davis made their free throws at the end to ice the game and escape the Windy City with a victory.

Thoughts & Observations

• It’s only three games, so it’s too soon to worry (or celebrate) just about anything, but…I have my eye on Davis’ inefficient offense. He’s been efficient throughout his career and almost certainly will be again. I don’t love the subpar shooting (which might be at least partly attributable to his shot selection) and turnovers.
• Last night’s game generated a pace factor of 112, which is pretty doggone high. Washington averaged 101.4 possessions per 48 minutes last season. The only game with more possessions was when Bam Adebayo went for 83 points, and there were shenanigans deployed to help him get there.
• This was the best game of the season for Kyshawn George because of 9 rebounds, 5 assists, and 4 blocks. The offensive efficiency wasn’t there (101 offensive rating — about -10 points per 100 possessions relative to league average), and he did have three turnovers (too many). But he defended without fouling excessively and contributed all over the floor.
• Bilal Coulibaly is a menace to opposing ball handlers. Or passers. Or those who attempt to shoot near the basket.
• There’s a not small part of my brain that thinks when the team is playing its most important games this season, the guy who will be out there with Young, Davis, Alex Sarr, and AJ Dybantsa will be Justin Champagnie. He’s tough, physical, and relentless. Last night, he had 14 rebounds in 26 minutes.
• If Tre Johnson ever finds a magic lamp, I hope he uses one of his wishes on an all-around game. His offensive package looks good, and I think he’s going to be a helluva good shooter. I worry that his lack of non-scoring contributions will keep him nailed to the bench.
• This was Young’s most in-control and steady all-around game despite getting a technical for flopping. (Which he didn’t deserve, in my opinion. He did fall intentionally, but it looked to me like he was trying to be sure he landed safely with a defender close to him than foul grifting.) Still, 4-10 from deep, 4 rebounds, 9 assists, and just 2 turnovers.
• Caleb Wilson looks like he’s going to be terrific soon and have a great career. His score in my stat-based pre-draft analysis was consistent with being the No. 1 pick in nearly any draft. It just so happened that he was in a historically good draft, so he landed fourth. I can’t recall the last time I saw one player attempt so many dunks on opponents, and I loved his athleticism, effort, and joy. The biggest thought I had watching him: I can’t wait to see Dybantsa in action.
• The Chicago Bulls were -21 in Isaac Okoro’s 14 minutes.
• Just think: The Bulls were +14 in Wilson’s 38 minutes. A bit of math shows the team was -18 in his 10 minutes off the floor.

Four Factors

Below are the four factors that decide wins and losses in basketball — shooting (efg), rebounding (offensive rebounds), ball handling (turnovers), fouling (free throws made).

The four factors are measured by:

• eFG% (effective field goal percentage, which accounts for the three-point shot)
• OREB% (offensive rebound percentage)
• TOV% (turnover percentage — turnovers divided by possessions)
• FTM/FGA (free throws made divided by field goal attempts)

Stats & Metrics

PPA is my overall production metric, which credits players for things they do that help a team win (scoring, rebounding, playmaking, defending) and dings them for things that hurt (missed shots, turnovers, bad defense, fouls).

PPA is a per possession metric designed for larger data sets. In small sample sizes, the numbers can get weird. In PPA, 100 is average, higher is better and replacement level is 45. For a single game, replacement level isn’t much use, and I reiterate the caution about small samples sometimes producing weird results.

POSS is the number of possessions each player was on the floor in this game.

ORTG = offensive rating, which is points produced per individual possessions x 100. League average so far this season is listed in the Four Factors table above. Points produced is not the same as points scored. It includes the value of assists and offensive rebounds, as well as sharing credit when receiving an assist.

USG = offensive usage rate. Average is 20%. Median so far this season is 17.7%.

ORTG and USG are versions of stats created by former Wizards assistant coach Dean Oliver and modified by me. ORTG is an efficiency measure that accounts for the value of shooting, offensive rebounds, assists and turnovers. USG includes shooting from the floor and free throw line, offensive rebounds, assists and turnovers.

+PTS = “Plus Points” is a measure of the points gained or lost by each player based on their efficiency in this game compared to league average efficiency on the same number of possessions. A player with an offensive rating (points produced per possession x 100) of 100 who uses 20 possessions would produce 20 points. If the league average efficiency is 115, the league — on average — would produced 23.0 points in the same 20 possessions. So, the player in this hypothetical would have a +PTS score of -3.0.

Players are sorted by total production in the game.

In just the second game of the season for the Dallas Mavericks, former Duke star Cooper Flagg picked off a steal and headed downcourt for an easy basket. However, Indiana’s Aaron Nesmith was closing fast on Flagg, and caught up to him at the basket, where he dispatched a hard foul that sent the young Dallas star to the floor, holding his shoulder and grimacing.

Here’s the video of the play, which sparked a scrum that got pretty heated.

As it turned out, Flagg left the game and later got an MRI. It looks like he has a mild shoulder sprain, and will probably miss a few games.

Fortunately, it’s not all that serious, but he’ll join his former Duke roommate Kon Kneuppel on the sidelines. The runner-up to Flagg for last year’s Rookie of the Year Award, Knueppel is getting over a hamstring issue. He’s expected to return to the court fairly soon.

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The Atlanta Hawks took on the Houston Rockets in their first home game of the 2026-27 NBA season. Both teams entered the contest 2-0 and were on the second night of back-to-back. Both teams have done a great job of scoring, as Atlanta defeated Charlotte by 47 points, and Houston defeated the Spurs 114-110 the night prior. Fatigue was possibly going to be a factor, but both teams appeared fresh throughout the game. Here’s the breakdown:

Offensively: The Hawks had good looks for shots from the wing and deep, but they failed to be consistent. Shooting from three was a hindrance for them as they went 13/49 for 26.5%. They also went 15/21 from the free throw line, which isn’t bad, but not good enough to beat a team like Houston. Making the most out of offensive possessions is a key component and the Hawks didn’t quite do much of that.

Shooting was a struggle during the night, but they did well down in the post, getting the ball to open guys and capitalizing. Atlanta’s back court really kept them in the game with players such as Dyson Daniels, Nickeil Alexnader-Walker, Jalen Johnson and Aaron Wiggins in double figures. Johnson led the team in scoring with 26.

Defensively: The Rockets athleticism and size was an issue for the Hawks. Houston was able to get open looks from three, shooting 40 percent. Houston was also able to take advantage of matchups near the paint. Kevin Durant led the team in scoring with 22. Alperen Sengun was a problem as well, scoring 17 to go along with 10 rebounds.

Mainly the Hawks had issues with shooting from three, they had a few miscues that could have led to points. They struggled to defend the wing and get through screens.

Atanta will face the Houston Rockets again on Monday, October 26th.

After spending the greater part of four season with the San Antonio Spurs, Jeremy Sochan fell out of rotation and left the team that drafted him. Shortly thereafter, he joined the New York Knicks and won an NBA Championship.

Over the summer he signed with the Portland Trail Blazers, but was waived just before the season tipped off. Coincidentally, he was released on the same day Blake Wesley and Malaki Branham, his draft mates.

But Sochan has bounced back. He went #1 overall in the G-League draft on Saturday.

While the G-League may be a step down for a lottery pick with less than five seasons, staying in America with an NBA affiliate keeps him closer to the action. No telling where his career could go as the twists and turns of an 82-game NBA season rolls on.

For now, the former Baylor Bear will stay in Texas.

Best wishes, Jeremy.

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Joe Mazzulla has used 11 players in each of the Celtics’ first two games, which sounds democratic until you inspect the timecards.

Everybody has checked in, but that doesn’t mean everybody has a full-time job.

Jayson Tatum, Derrick White and Paul George have predictably played the most. Payton Pritchard is fourth in total minutes despite coming off the bench. Sam Hauser has logged more minutes than Jordan Walsh and Mitchell Robinson, two members of the starting lineup. Hugo González has played just 13 minutes.

Two games are not enough to settle Boston’s rotation, but they do give us some clues about how Mazzulla is sorting it.

The same five players started against Detroit and New York: White, George, Tatum, Walsh and Mitchell Robinson. Everything after that has been more fluid. The first week has already exposed a few levels of trust. Pritchard’s bench designation looks increasingly cosmetic. Hauser may be the cleanest solution to Boston’s spacing issues. Among the young wings, meanwhile, the minutes have not been distributed equally.

Here are my biggest takeaways from Joe’s rotations through the first two games.

Pritchard is a bench player in name only

Pritchard explained his definition of a starter after practice last Sunday.

“To me, a starter is the amount of minutes you play,” he said. “Do you finish games? Are you playing 30-plus minutes? Then you are a starter.”

By his own math, Pritchard is starting.

He has played 57 minutes and 56 seconds through two games. Only Tatum, White and George have played more. Against the Knicks, Pritchard scored a measly four points on 1-for-6 shooting, but still remained on the floor for more than 30 minutes.

I’m not going to try and spin his four points as a secretly great performance. He missed five of his six shots and never found an offensive rhythm. But cold shooting nights can reveal more about a coach’s confidence than another three-point avalanche. Any reasonable person would leave Pritchard on the floor while he’s setting fire to the net. Mazzulla stayed with him even when he wasn’t.

Single-game plus-minus can tell lies with a straight face, but Boston still outscored New York by eight points during Pritchard’s 30 minutes. It wasn’t Pritchard’s night, but it wasn’t a problem large enough to lose a game, which is probably the distinction Mazzulla cares about most.

The Celtics opened the second quarter with Pritchard, White, George, Hauser and Luka Garza. Tatum rested while George carried the star responsibilities. Boston started the fourth with almost the same construction, swapping Robinson in for Garza.

Pritchard was the constant. He is becoming the connective tissue between Boston’s different versions of itself.

His closing role was more situational. Mazzulla initially went with Tatum, George, White, Hauser and Queta during crunch time. Pritchard returned for Hauser with 1:11 remaining, giving Boston another ball handler and free-throw shooter. He made one at the line, then was replaced by Queta for the final defensive possession.

That wasn’t one permanent closing five we saw Friday night. Mazzulla was changing the group possession by possession, which is probably how this roster should work.

Pritchard may not always be standing on the court when the game ends, but he’s made it clear that he’ll be plenty involved in getting Boston there.

Hauser keeps solving lineup problems

Hauser has played 40 minutes and 52 seconds, six seconds more than Robinson. That isn’t a meaningful statistical gap, but it’s a pretty useful reminder of how little the starting label matters to Mazzulla.

He has made five of his first 10 three-point attempts after shooting 39.3% from deep last season, the worst mark of his career and still a percentage most players would happily tell their grandkids about down the road. His shooting stretches the floor in ways Boston needs, particularly when Mazzulla uses Queta or Robinson at center.

Those big men provide vertical spacing, offensive rebounding and rim protection. Neither one is naturally dragging a defender away from the paint. Hauser gives those groups oxygen.

The best example came against Detroit. White, Hauser, Tatum, George and Queta turned a 39-39 game into a 57-43 Celtics lead in roughly five minutes. That lineup produced a 172.7 offensive rating and a 136.4 net rating, which are hilarious numbers that should not be treated as remotely sustainable. The part worth taking seriously was the fit. Four shooters surrounding Queta gave everyone room to operate.

Mazzulla returned to the same idea against New York.

Hauser opened the fourth quarter alongside Robinson, Pritchard, White and George. Later, with the Knicks threatening, Mazzulla used Hauser next to Queta in a lineup with Tatum, George and White.

The shooting explains why Hauser fits, but his defense might be why Mazzulla can keep turning to him.

Hauser still gets hunted occasionally because opposing stars see a white guy with a sensible haircut and make certain assumptions. Those assumptions have not produced easy baskets as often as expected. According to NBA tracking data from last season, opponents shot 0.7 percentage points below their expected field-goal percentage when Hauser was the closest defender.

He is sturdy enough to survive switches, rarely wanders away from the scheme and has become good at forcing scorers into shots the defense can live with. Nobody is asking him to turn into Scottie Pippen. He just can’t be the loose thread every offense tries to pull.

That combination of competent defense and elite shooting allows Mazzulla to place him almost anywhere without creating an obvious problem at either end.

Queta did make his only three-point attempt against New York, so Hauser should probably keep an eye on his job. Queta is currently shooting 100% from deep, and I refuse to entertain any small-sample-size arguments at this time.

Until Queta starts receiving the same treatment behind the arc, Hauser gives Mazzulla a proven shooter without handing opposing offenses an obvious place to attack.

The young wings are not receiving equal auditions

Walsh, Scheierman, González and Ron Harper Jr. entered the season as Boston’s collection of young wings. The first two games have not treated them as interchangeable.

Walsh has started both games and played 33 minutes and 45 seconds. His offense remains a work in progress, but Mazzulla has given him difficult defensive assignments, including Cade Cunningham in Detroit and Jalen Brunson against the Knicks, and allowed him to play through mistakes. He also rewarded that patience against New York, hitting a three and scoring on a nice cut during Boston’s third-quarter run.

Scheierman has played 29 minutes and 22 seconds. He scored eight points in the opener, made both of his threes and already looks more willing to make a quick decision when the ball finds him. Mazzulla has used him in both halves of both games, including alongside Tatum during the third quarter Friday.

González has played just 13 minutes and 18 seconds. Only Garza has played fewer. Harper has yet to see the floor at all.

González checked in midway through the first quarter against New York, stayed on the court for three minutes and 35 seconds and never returned. His 13 total minutes are less than half of Scheierman’s and well below Walsh’s.

That isn’t a verdict on a 20-year-old two games into his second NBA season. González had a really encouraging preseason, and his size, defensive instincts and fearlessness should get him onto the court plenty as the season wears on. Boston’s first back-to-back arrives Monday and Tuesday, which may create an opportunity almost immediately.

For now, Mazzulla appears more comfortable with Walsh’s defense and Scheierman’s…Scheiermanning. The gap is worth noticing without declaring it permanent. These first two games show Mazzulla’s initial preferences with a healthy roster. They don’t tell us what the rotation will look like after a difficult back-to-back, an injury or the first time somebody ahead of González stops giving the Celtics what they need.

Garza provided a useful reminder that the bottom of the rotation can still change quickly. He entered against New York, scored eight points in three and a half minutes, made two threes, drew a charge and returned to the bench like a man who had broken into the game, emptied the register and disappeared before anyone could identify him.

Garzilla behavior.

Mazzulla will need those little bursts over 82 games, but every player producing one doesn’t suddenly move into the permanent rotation.

Right now, Walsh and Scheierman have the longer runway. González is waiting for his next opening. Harper is waiting for his first.

Tatum and George are sharing the floor, and the workload

The Celtics did not acquire George so he and Tatum could alternate isolations while everyone else watched. Through two games, Mazzulla has started working on a more useful kind of staggering.

Against the Knicks, Tatum rested to begin the second quarter while George played with Pritchard, White, Hauser and Garza. Tatum played the entire third, with George sitting for the final four and a half minutes. George then opened the fourth while Tatum rested.

At the 6:53 mark, Tatum replaced George. Just over two minutes later, George returned and the two stars finished the game together.

The basic rhythm is beginning to emerge. Tatum and George overlap at the beginning and end of halves, then take turns anchoring the middle. Pritchard moves between both groups. White can run the offense with either. Hauser gives each of them another outlet when the defense loads up.

The arrangement should keep Boston from living through too many possessions without a high-level creator. It also gives George stretches where he can operate as the primary option instead of trying to fit his touches around Tatum’s.

There will be nights when the rotation gets smaller. Injuries, foul trouble and matchups will rearrange all of this. If we have learned anything about Mazzulla, it’s that he will happily abandon Tuesday’s rotation by Thursday and seem mildly irate that anyone expected otherwise.

Still, his first two games have given us a working hierarchy.

Tatum, White and George are the foundation. Pritchard is a starter, his words, not mine. Hauser and the two centers give Mazzulla different ways to build around them. Walsh and Scheierman have received meaningful auditions. González, Garza and Harper are waiting for the game that calls for them.

There are still 80 games left. Roles will change, new lineups will emerge and Mazzulla may render half of this article obsolete by Thanksgiving. For now, we get to study two games far more closely than any reasonable person should, because Celtics basketball is finally back.

CLEVELAND — The Cleveland Cavaliers have lost the two fourth quarters they’ve played this season by a combined 24 points. Their poor late-game execution kept them from delivering a statement win over the Philadelphia 76ers on opening night, and it almost cost them again two days later in their home opener against the Brooklyn Nets.

The culprit behind both collapses was the same.

“We lost the possession game by 16,” head coach Kenny Atkinson said after his team narrowly defeated the Nets. “We got to clean up the turnovers.”

Turnovers lead to bad offense. Bad offense leads to bad defense. You combine those together, and 22-point leads can evaporate in a heartbeat, even against an inexperienced Nets team.

“Good offense [is important] because it really helps you guard the ball,” Mario Hezonja said. “Our rhythm is imposed onto the opponent, so it’s much easier to go both ways. The moment you start to have bad turnovers or bad possessions or even bad shots…that impacts a lot of the mental aspect for a player, and it impacts a lot of the defensive side.”

It’s easy to look at the poor fourth quarter in Game 1 last postseason against the New York Knicks and the start of this season, and believe that there’s a mental barrier keeping the Cavs from closing out games. Maybe there is, but at least in these first two games, the Cavs’ issues are very much basketball-related. As was the case in Philadelphia, the Cavs once again struggled to handle ball pressure.

It’s a copycat league. Teams see what works, and then try to replicate it. One wave we’re seeing now is a drastic increase in blitzing defenses. Defenses are more aggressive in how they’re sending doubles and jumping passing lanes than before. That is especially true late in games, when opponents are trailing and are desperate to get back into games. Hence the reason the Cavs are struggling with this so much down the stretch.

“There’s an unpredictability to it,” Donovan Mitchell said. “I think it’s random. The NBA has turned into that as a whole. Indiana really did a great job of it two years ago, and I think everybody followed suit. It was just like, just cause chaos and figure it out. … When you’re picking up full court and randomly trapping, there’s really no scheme for that. It’s like AAU basketball.”

Atkinson has emphasized the need to just “pass to the open man.” That sounds simple enough and is what needs to happen. The problems come when the team isn’t currently capable of doing that.

There are a couple of issues preventing the Cavs from doing so. First, their starting lineup only has two players they trust to operate in these situations with the ball in their hands. Second, there isn’t a good feel for where guys should be on the court when the traps come.

“It’s a different five,” Mitchell said. “[We’re] calling different plays.”

For as frustrating as these first two games have been, the sky isn’t falling — at least not yet. These are things that can be cleaned up.

“There’s no excuses, but we are working on it,” Hezonja said. “There are some new pieces that we added to the team, so this unfortunately takes a little bit of time, but we are working on it. Everything started to mesh better and better, and I hope [that] soon it’s going to look good.”

Time is on the Cavs’ side. The regular season is where you build habits and problem-solve for how teams are going to attack you.

Right now, the book is out on how to disrupt the Cavs: be physical with them at the point of attack and send random double teams at their guards. That is how teams will defend them until the Cavs show they can beat that kind of defense. And from a certain perspective, going through these struggles now instead of in April should benefit them.

“It’s not always going to be perfect,” Mitchell said, “but I think for us, having these first two games…similar but different ways, I think is definitely going to help us in the long run.”