Kings stars hint at uncertain futures entering pivotal offseason originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

SACRAMENTO – All good things must come to an end. So must all bad things.

The Kings missed the playoffs for the 18th time in 19 years with an NBA play-in loss to the Dallas Mavericks on Wednesday night at Golden 1 Center. It marked the end of their unfathomable 2024-25 season but also a sign that major change is on the horizon.

Well, more change.

Sacramento’s lone playoff appearance since 2006 came two seasons ago during its magical 2022-23 “Beam Team” run. The starting five for that historic campaign consisted of: De’Aaron Fox, Kevin Huerter, Harrison Barnes, Keegan Murray and Domantas Sabonis. Three of those players no longer are part of the team, and the future for the other two in Sacramento also is cloudy.

Sabonis will seek clarity on the organization’s future plans, per a report from The Athletic last month, after major changes included parting ways with their head coach and franchise player midseason. 

While discussions will be had this summer, the Kings center made it clear where his mind is moving forward.

“First of all, I want to say I love it here,” Sabonis said Thursday morning during his end-of-the-season exit interviews. “I want to stay here. I want to win here. I also do want to know what’s going to happen. 

“All these things are happening so quick. I want to get together with the new people, whoever comes in, and really try to get this right and get it back to what it was.”

Sabonis will make $43.6 million next season, $46.7 million in 2026-27 and $49.9 million in the final 2027-28 year of his contract. That’s $140.3 million over the next three years. The three-time NBA All-Star and two-time All-NBA member has proven his worth, but after the Kings missed the playoffs two years in a row and Sacramento needing to shed some salary, a potential divorce could be best for both sides.

Sacramento acquired Sabonis in the blockbuster trade that sent Tyrese Haliburton to the Indiana Pacers in 2022. Sabonis has averaged 19.2 points, 13.2 rebounds and 7.1 assists in a Kings uniform.

Perhaps the biggest question marks surround DeMar DeRozan and Zach LaVine’s futures with the team. Both were first-time Kings this season, with LaVine’s tenure limited to just 32 games after Sacramento traded for him midseason.

An emotional DeRozan was very candid while speaking to the media after the Kings’ season-ending loss Wednesday night. Even 12 hours later, speaking at the same podium, the 16-year vet didn’t shy away from his truth after missing the playoffs for a third consecutive season.

“Watching other teams still play, that sucks,” DeRozan said Wednesday night. “For me, just the realization of going into my 17th season. That’s the reality of it for me. You don’t have many opportunities left to get yourself a chance to compete in the playoffs. And that’s all you want at this stage of your career, just a chance to get in there and see what happens.

“To know that window is closing, it ain’t like this job is like being a teacher or being a reporter, when y’all can do this as long as you can. So for me, that’s where frustration and the emotional side come from.”

DeRozan, who turns 36 this summer, said he doesn’t want to play another five years. He knows his clock is ticking, and that will be top of mind while deciding for Year 17.

The six-time NBA All-Star is under contract with the Kings through the 2026-27 season after agreeing to a three-year, $73.9 million contract last July. While DeRozan averaged 22.2 points on 47.7 percent shooting, with 3.9 rebounds and 4.4 assists in 77 games during his first Kings season, his individual success didn’t lead to the team success the organization had hoped for.

Sacramento could explore trading DeRozan to retool its roster. If both sides decide to stay united, organizational stability is a key factor for DeRozan.

“You always want a foundation that’s stable and understanding going forward,” DeRozan said. “I’m pretty sure a lot of decisions got to be made from top to bottom. Just a structure and a foundation of a compete level. I think all year we had such an uncertainty of everything. You can’t really operate in any successful environment if you have so much uncertainty. 

“I think for me, just the certainty of what it’s going to be going forward. I can always work with that. As long as you put something on the table, I can work with that. But the uncertainty for me has always been the frustrating part.”

While the season admittedly was frustrating for the NBA veteran, he doesn’t regret coming to Sacramento, and he acknowledged from his July 9 introductory press conference to nine months later just how special it feels to be wanted.

It was a similar sentiment shared by LaVine, who doesn’t imagine being anywhere but Sacramento for the years to come. When asked about his long-term prospects with the team, LaVine made his stance unequivocally clear.

“I’m very happy with where I’m at right now,” LaVine said Thursday. “The team that just traded for me obviously is the team that values me. So that’s something I’ve always put very high. If this is going to be an organization that’s going to build with me and with us, then we’re going to go in the right direction. Why wouldn’t I want to be in a great place like this? 

“From what I’ve seen in these 35 games, even if we didn’t end the season the way we wanted to, I’d be crazy if I said I wouldn’t want to be in Sacramento.” 

LaVine pieced together his most efficient shooting season this year, and in 32 games with the Kings, he averaged 22.4 points on 51.1 percent shooting from the field and 44.6 percent from 3-point range, with 3.5 rebounds and 3.8 assists.

Despite the career shooting splits, it took LaVine some time to adjust to Sacramento’s offense. He often looked out of place, but to be fair, the Kings lost their offensive identity when they traded Fox.

Nonetheless, LaVine is ready to move forward with the Kings. Maybe adjustments around him are what’s needed, but he wants to leave that up to the front office. Whatever team they assemble around him is the team he’ll be prepared to compete with. And more than anything, he’s looking forward to a full season in Sacramento to make things right again for the basketball-loving city.

“This city loves basketball. I’ve known that for a long time, growing up in Seattle and watching basketball,” he said. “Sacramento fans are some of the best. I’ve seen that since being here and how devoted they are. As players, especially with the situation I’m in, you want to give them what they deserve and the product that they deserve. 

“So it’s something I’m looking forward to going into the offseason. We want to go out there and compete and be ready.”

Like LaVine, Malik Monk’s stance is clear. The always-straightforward guard shared his perspective after a calf injury abruptly ended his third season with the Kings.

“I’m all in. I’m all in,” Monk said Thursday. “Yeah, no question. Don’t question that.”

While Monk acknowledged some of the challenges of the up-and-down season, noting he felt like he had to be “four different players” with the constant role changes, he is confident he has found a long-term home in Sacramento.

“I signed here because I feel at home,” Monk said. “They treat me like home. Everybody’s welcoming. Fans are crazy, I love that. Why not be all in?”

Monk showcased a career year in his eighth NBA season, averaging 17.2 points, 5.6 assists and 3.8 rebounds. Last offseason, he signed a four-year contract worth a reported $78 million to remain in Sacramento.

Another foundational piece of Sacramento’s past success and potential future fortune will surround Keegan Murray, whom the Kings drafted No. 4 overall in 2022. He enters the final year of his rookie contract next season and will become a restricted free agent in 2026-27.

Murray said he wants to be in Sacramento and will talk to his agent and the Kings about a potential extension this summer.

Keon Ellis, after a full season of proving he belongs in the NBA, wants to leave his complicated contract talks to his agent.

“Honestly, I don’t know. I’ll leave all that up to my agent and let him do his job on that one,” Ellis said of his future with the Kings. “But I definitely would love to be back. One, I hate moving. The fans here are great. The hype, the love the fans have given me since I’ve been here and where I started out at, everything’s been great.

“So it would definitely be good to remain here.”

The Kings reportedly are hiring Scott Perry as their new general manager after mutually agreeing to part ways with Monte McNair. Perry is a longtime, respected NBA executive, but the task at hand waiting for him in Sacramento is a tall one, even for him.

A roster rebuild could be in store. Who stays and who goes will be top of the to-do list for Perry, and make all the difference in bringing winning basketball back to Sacramento.

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Dillon Brooks not-so-subtly leaving Warriors-Rockets ejections to somebody else originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

The Warriors’ upcoming first-round NBA playoff series against the Houston Rockets will be spicy.

That’s the safest bet on the planet.

The second safest bet? There will be ejections.

Golden State and Houston don’t like each other, and each team has combustible players, so there surely will be fireworks as the best-of-seven series progresses.

Rockets forward Dillon Brooks, who earned 16 technical fouls during the 2024-25 regular season, was asked by reporters Thursday if there will be ejections during the series, which starts Sunday at Toyota Center.

“I don’t know,” Brooks said. “I’m not going to get ejected. I’ll leave that to somebody else.”

That “somebody else” Brooks is referring to likely is Warriors forward Draymond Green, who has his own history of arguing with referees and fiery antics with opponents.

Green picked up 13 technical fouls during the recently completed season, three fewer than Brooks.

Ironically, Green and Brooks were each ejected just once this season. But Houston guard Fred VanVleet was ejected three times this season, while second-year guard Amen Thompson was disqualified early twice.

So while Brooks might be insinuating that he’ll leave the ejections to Green, the eight-year NBA veteran is more likely to see one of his teammates get an early shower.

The fact that ejections are a topic of conversation leading into the series speaks to everyone’s expectations for the Warriors and Rockets.

So, get your popcorn ready.

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Kerr shares blunt reasoning for Kuminga's reduced Warriors role originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

While there are plenty of buzzworthy stories surrounding the Warriors as they enter the 2025 NBA playoffs, Jonathan Kuminga’s reduced role in Golden State’s two biggest games of the season continues to remain a sticking point among fans.

The fourth-year veteran registered a DNP in consecutive contests after not seeing the floor in the Warriors’ pivotal matchups with the Los Angeles Clippers and Memphis Grizzlies.

Golden State coach Steve Kerr offered very blunt reasoning for why the 22-year-old seemingly has fallen out of the Warriors’ rotation at the most critical juncture of their season during an interview with 95.7 The Game’s Mark Willard and Dan Dibley.

“Mostly, I feel for JK, because I like him. He’s been here for four years, he’s a talented guy. Sometimes things go in a different direction. I think what happened here is pretty obvious; I’ve talked about it. Jimmy Butler came in,” Kerr told Willard and Dibley. “When JK was out, we traded for Jimmy and they play the same position. Our whole team changed. We became an ISO team with Jimmy. Movement with Steph [Curry] and iso with Jimmy. Jimmy is one of the best players in the league, so it’s not as simple as just saying, ‘Oh, OK we’ll just play them together.’ Basketball doesn’t work that way.

“The puzzle has to fit. We found a really good formula when JK was injured and we got Jimmy, I think we went 18-2 or something right away. So we found lineup combinations that have clicked, and we’re winning and we have to stick with that. It’s brutal for JK, it really is. He’s a young player, he wants to play and he’s absolutely talented enough to play. He still may be a part of the equation in this series and maybe the next series after that. So we just have to keep plugging away and keep moving forward and he’s doing a good job of that, and I definitely feel for him.”

Kuminga averaged 15.3 points, 4.6 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game in 47 appearances during the 2024-25 NBA season, playing a critical role in the Warriors’ rotation before being sidelined for over two months with an ankle injury.

The No. 7 overall selection in the 2021 NBA Draft, Kuminga already has first-hand experience with what the NBA playoffs entail after helping the Warriors secure their 2022 championship as a rookie.

While his role this season appears to be much different, Kuminga still could end up playing a crucial role for Golden State during the Warriors’ upcoming postseason run.

But for now, the 22-year-old wing appears to be entrenched near the bottom of the pecking order as Kerr and Co. pursue another piece of hardware for the franchise’s trophy case.

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DeMar DeRozan, Kings stars stunned by ‘rollercoaster' 2024-25 NBA season originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

SACRAMENTO – Seven hundred and forty-nine days separated the beginning of an exciting new voyage for Kings basketball and the volatile ending of a sinking ship in Sacramento.

The Kings clinched their first playoff berth in 17 years on March 29, 2023, as the Western Conference’s No. 3 playoff seed. A first-round playoff exit at the hands of the then-defending champion Golden State Warriors was far from disappointing, as it signaled what was supposed to be the start of sustainable success in Sacramento.

The Kings would not make the playoffs in the two seasons following.

General manager Monte McNair and coach Mike Brown helped bring a winning culture back to the state’s capital two years ago. As of Thursday morning, neither remains with the organization as Brown was fired midseason and McNair and the Kings mutually agreed to part ways after Wednesday’s season-ending NBA Play-In Tournament loss to the Dallas Mavericks.

Somewhere in between, Doug Christie stepped in as interim coach, franchise point guard De’Aaron Fox was traded midseason to the San Antonio Spurs, which meant implementing new pieces such as Zach LaVine and Jonas Valančiūnas with the clock ticking on the season, and an assistant coach and assistant general manager leaving midway through the season.

It was a season DeMar DeRozan, a 16-year NBA veteran who has seen just about everything the league has to offer, still is trying to wrap his head around.

“I think it really won’t hit me for the next couple of days,” DeRozan said Wednesday night after the Kings’ 120-106 loss. “It’s probably the most I’ve been through in my 16-year career. The season that we had, it was a lot. It’s too hard to kind of fathom right now, but I’m pretty sure over the next couple of days it will kind of hit, the reality of everything that we all went through.”

DeRozan and his Kings teammates spent Thursday morning talking to the media during end-of-the-season exit interviews, each trying to find the right words to articulate the season they just endured.

DeRozan explained the year, his first with the Kings, as difficult, frustrating and emotional. Having missed the playoffs the previous two seasons during his time with the Chicago Bulls, DeRozan sought a fresh start and figured Sacramento was the perfect place.

The No. 9 seed and a win-or-go-home play-in game probably wasn’t what he expected, especially when the result was the latter.

“I put so much time, effort, preparation, sacrifice into the game of basketball,” DeRozan said Thursday. “As much as I care for it, it’s hurtful when you just don’t give yourself the opportunity to play for what matters, and that’s to make it to the playoffs, give yourself a chance, and then not knowing what could have happened. It sucks.”

DeRozan’s veteran leadership was believed to benefit a mostly inexperienced team. It was. But all the moving parts weighed on the team’s production on the court. And even as a respected, well-established NBA vet, this Kings season was like no other he’s endured.

“I mean, first time in my career I dealt with the firing of the coach in the middle of the season. I’ve never had that before. So that alone was a first,” DeRozan said. “You have a GM leave. Throughout the season, an assistant coach leaves in the middle of the season. A lot of those things were definitely a first. A lot of stuff that people on the outside may not understand what we go through internally, what we see every day, the people we got to deal with every single day, see them here and then all of a sudden see them gone.

“The aura of so many changes like that could change internally that people don’t get to see so that can make it definitely difficult.”

Domantas Sabonis, part of the original “Beam Team” two years ago, labeled the past season as “crazy.” He said he wasn’t consulted on the team’s decision to part ways with McNair, nor the decision to hire Scott Perry as the new general manager. The Lithuanian big man made it known that he wished he could be more involved in those discussions, but added he understands his role as a player and to leave those moves to the front office.

Another player who has seen the ins and outs of the association is LaVine, who was brought to Sacramento from Chicago as part of the deal that sent Fox to San Antonio.

He refused to make excuses for how the season ended, simply stating all the moving parts are “the nature of the business.”

Malik Monk, as expected, was a bit more straightforward with his assessment of the turbulent season. He has had a fair share of adversity over his eight-year career. From the rock-bottom lows in Charlotte to getting a fresh start with the Los Angeles Lakers to finding a place he loves to call home in Sacramento, Monk is no stranger to change and adaptation. 

Still, nothing compares to what he experienced this year with the Kings.

“Not s–t like this,” Monk said when asked if he’s seen anything like this Kings’ season. “Nothing at all. I haven’t seen anything like this before.”

Like the Kings’ season, Monk’s role this year changed sporadically. He went from a top Sixth Man of the Year candidate to the starting shooting guard to the starting point guard and then back to the bench in that sixth-man role before injuring his calf and missing the season’s final four games.

Monk said he felt like he had to “four different players” this season but wouldn’t complain. He doesn’t know which role he’ll play next season, though he admitted feeling most comfortable at the starting two-guard position.

Whatever role, whichever coach, players, or executives are around him, all he longs for is a little stability moving forward.

“I feel like NBA players, we go off routine and stability,” Monk said. “And when you tweak that a little bit, something can happen. So yes, it’s always good to have stability in life, man. Because if you’re going up and down, life is not fun. So having stability, it just makes it level out and makes everything go smoother. So I feel like we need that for sure.”

Keegan Murray labeled his junior year “a whirlwind of a season.” Keon Ellis seconded that notion: “The whole season has been crazy.”

It was a similar theme echoed by most players, including Trey Lyles, who believes the inconsistencies affected his performance this season.

“I’d say this season in a nutshell has been a rollercoaster,” Lyles said. “From teammates leaving, teammates coming in, coaches leaving, coaches coming in, and that type of thing, it was a pretty up-and-down season. For myself, I told Doug I feel like when I got consistent minutes, my game was consistent. When it wasn’t consistent, I wasn’t consistent.

“So that’s just where it was going into games, not knowing how much I was going to play, sometimes being told I wasn’t going to play. So just all over the place with that. As a player, it’s hard to stay consistent with those things going on.”

Players spoke to the media from 10:45 a.m. PT to 1 p.m. on Thursday. Over that two-hour-and-15-minute span, the one consistent talk point was the lack of consistency within the organization.

Before reporters could finish their questions asking the players to evaluate the up-and-down season, several players’ facial expressions said everything for them before actual words came out of their mouths.

But after the twists and turns, loops and sudden drops, this rollercoaster ride officially has come to an end. The ride will undergo a major makeover and construction might take some time, but eventually, it’ll be time to sit down, buckle up and brace for yet another journey of Kings basketball.

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Jimmy Butler channels Steph Curry by rocking custom Warriors jersey in workout originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

Everyone wants to shoot like Steph Curry, including Warriors teammate Jimmy Butler III.

As Golden State prepares to face the Houston Rockets in their first-round NBA playoff series, Butler held a private workout and rocked a custom Warriors jersey featuring his name and Curry’s No. 30.

While media members and portions of Dub Nation might want Butler to shoot more 3-pointers, he’s fully aware of his strengths.

“I can shoot,” Butler told reporters after the Warriors’ NBA play-in game win over the Memphis Grizzlies on Tuesday. “I just choose not to shoot 3’s. I’d rather drive into the paint, get me a layup, a middy or pass the ball to somebody that’s probably a much better shooter than I am.

“I think you and everybody else wants me to shoot more 3’s but I like shooting some layups.”

Since joining the Warriors after the Feb. 6 NBA trade deadline, Butler is shooting just 27.9 percent from 3-point range, but he’s shooting 52.6 percent on 2-point field goals.

But the six-time NBA All-Star does know the impact of his occasional 3-pointers.

“I think it’s deflating whenever I hit a three because everybody thinks that I can’t shoot,” Butler told reporters Tuesday. “Love it. Keep backing off.”

If Butler takes — and makes — more 3-pointers during the Warriors’ NBA playoff run, channeling Curry’s superpowers might have been the magic touch.

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The time is now for Mikal Bridges. Acquired from the Nets for five first-round picks, Bridges was brought in to be an integral piece of the Knicks’ (51-31) title contention hopes. Known as a two-way player, the idea was for Bridges to complement the star tandem of Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns.

Bridges experienced an uneven debut season, averaging 17.6 points, 3.2 rebounds, and 3.7 assists. The playoffs are where he can change the narrative. As the Knicks enter a first-round matchup with the Detroit Pistons (44-38), the main priority will be slowing down Pistons star Cade Cunningham.

Bridges should be the Knicks’ X-factor for the first round. Bridges defended Cunningham more than anyone else on the team during the regular season. It’s likely he takes on the Cunningham assignment when the series commences on Saturday night.

Detroit took three of four games against the Knicks in the regular season and Cunningham was at the center of the Pistons’ strong play. In four games against the Knicks, Cunningham was brilliant, averaging 30.8 points on 56 percent from the field and 8.3 assists.

Cunningham is a nightmare for all opponents. Standing 6-foot-8, the guard is a maestro in the pick-and-roll. Cunningham gets to his spots and has developed an array of floaters, hook shots, and an effective mid-range jumper when he’s unable to get all the way to the rim. He’s also a good enough three-point shooter to keep the defense honest. The Knicks defend the pick-and-roll in drop coverage where the defender of the screener drops back into the paint, which can allow Cunningham to get into his comfort zone.

Defending Cunningham isn’t a one man job. OG Anunoby, Josh Hart, and Miles McBride have all taken turns guarding the Pistons All-Star along with Bridges. Individual defensive stats can be noisy, but Cunningham shot 8-for-21 (38 percent) with Bridges defending him.

One weakness of Cunningham is turnovers. He was second in turnovers per 36 minutes (4.5). If the Knicks can be disruptive and bring occasional help, they could force a few turnovers and create easier scoring opportunities.

This has not been Bridges’ best defensive season. A former runner-up for Defensive Player of the Year in 2022, the Knicks looked to Bridges to be a great point of attack defender. That was not the case this season. Bridges got caught up on screens and couldn’t stay in front of guards as the likes of Trae Young, Tyrese Haliburton, and Jayson Tatum lit up the Knicks at various moments.

Bridges has a 7-foot-1 wingspan and there’s a chance he can turn up the aggression on the defensive end and be a pest for Cunningham. But it won’t work if he doesn’t navigate screens better and get physical with the Pistons guard.

Offensive advantage

Though the main focus for Bridges will be on the defensive end, the Knicks will also need him to contribute on offense. He shot 35.4 percent from the three-point line, the lowest percentage of his career since his rookie season. Bridges gradually improved as a passer late in the season. He averaged 5.1 assists in his final 19 games, not including his season finale cameo.

Bridges excels in the midrange, but the Knicks also have to find ways to get him easy opportunities on timely cuts and corner threes. Though Detroit has a stout defense, there are some soft spots to pick at from the hard shell of a defense. The club plays smaller guards in former Knick Tim Hardaway Jr. and Malik Beasley. Though both players are capable of heating up from three, they are vulnerable on defense.

With the Pistons’ best perimeter defender Ausar Thompson locked in on Brunson, there’s opportunity for Bridges to feast. In the four games against Detroit, Bridges averaged 19.8 points on 56.6 percent from the field and 52 percent from behind the arc.

The Bridges that is aggressive on defense and constantly in motion and attacking on offense is just what the Knicks need in the first round.

Can Magic push Celtics? Four big questions entering first-round series originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston

The Celtics haven’t been shy about their quest to repeat and have openly discussed what it would mean to become the first Boston squad to win back-to-back titles since 1969.

But they also know they can’t skip any steps, and that any quest for Banner 19 must start with full attention on their first-round opponent: the Orlando Magic.

The Magic finished the 2024-25 season at an even .500 (41-41) and drew the Celtics by ousting the Atlanta Hawks in the No. 7 vs. No. 8 play-in matchup Tuesday night. And while Boston is heavily favored, there’s still plenty of intrigue around an Orlando group that features a stifling defense and a blossoming young star.

Here are four questions we have about the Magic ahead of Sunday’s Game 1 at TD Garden:

1. Can Orlando score enough to hang with Boston?

The Magic are undeniably talented on the defensive end, posting the second-best defensive rating in the NBA (109.1 points per 100 possessions) this season. And yet they were almost equally inefficient on the offensive side. The Magic ranked 27th in the NBA with a 108.9 offensive rating, leaving them at a -0.2 net rating overall. 

Orlando made an NBA-worst 11.2 3-pointers per game while shooting a league-worst 31.8 percent beyond the arc. (Even the 29th-ranked Wizards were at 33.5 percent.) The raw numbers might be even more jarring. The Celtics, who set an NBA record for 3-pointers made in a season (1,457), connected on 536 more 3-pointers overall than Orlando. 

The Magic were the best team in the NBA in limiting opponent 3-pointers. Their opponents shot just 31.4 attempts per game — three fewer than the next-best mark in the league (Houston, 34.5) — and made just 11.4 per game. The Celtics average 17.8 3-point makes on 48.2 attempts per game, and have been twisting teams in a “2s vs. 3s” math-problem pretzel all season long.

Orlando posted a 10-18 record against the top 10 offenses in the NBA this season. The team’s 106.9 offensive rating in those games ranked 29th in the league, though the defense held steady at second overall, allowing 112.7 points per 100 possessions. 

Injury woes make the numbers a little murky, but even in the second half of the season with stars Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner both healthy after oblique issues, the Magic still only ranked 21st in the NBA in offensive rating.

2. Can Cole Anthony be a consistent X-factor in this series?

Celtics fans don’t need any reminders of the sort of jolt that Cole Anthony can deliver off the bench. And if they did, they saw it first-hand in Orlando’s win over Atlanta in the 7 vs. 8 play-in matchup, where Anthony helped stiff-arm the Hawks’ third-quarter charge.

Teams lean more heavily on their cores in the playoffs, and yet Anthony feels vital to Orlando’s success. The Celtics will need solid bench contributions from soon-to-be Sixth Man of the Year Payton Pritchard, top-3 net rating leader Luke Kornet, and 3-point connoisseur Sam Hauser. But Anthony has a way of changing the tempo and tenor of a game in a way that his stat line might not suggest.

Anthony was in the crowd at the Garden during Game 5 of the NBA Finals last year and got an up-close at Boston’s postseason dominance. The Magic are going to need a big series from him to compete, particularly in delivering an offensive jolt in a way that other defensive-minded role players like Jonathan Isaac and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope might not dent the box score.

3. Is Paolo Banchero ready for the spotlight?

It’s jarring that Banchero won’t turn 23 until next season. The former No. 1 pick has obvious star potential and showed that off during last year’s playoffs while averaging 27 points, 8.6 rebounds, 4 assists, and 1.1 steals over 37.4 minutes per game in the seven-game slugfest with Cleveland. 

The question is, how will he perform on a playoff stage against the defending champs? We know there’s a Duke connection with Jayson Tatum which gives both players a little extra fuel. Tatum went so far as to remind everyone that there are “no friends out there” in the playoffs during his media session on Wednesday.

Tatum logged the most matchup time against Banchero of any Boston player during the regular season, limiting Banchero to 0-of-2 shooting in just four minutes of matchup time. The Celtics fed him a steady diet of different defenders otherwise.

Banchero needs to shoulder a hefty offensive burden if Orlando is going to make this a series, and it certainly feels like Tatum vs. Banchero could become an annual event in the NBA playoffs.

4. How do the Celtics react to what the Magic do well?

The Magic have endless size. They rebound. They defend. Only the Oklahoma City Thunder created more turnovers this season. Only the Los Angeles Lakers were more efficient at getting to the free throw line.

The Celtics thrived in many of the areas where the Magic compromised other teams. Boston ranked No. 1 in opponent free-throw rate and were second in the NBA in turnover rate. The Celtics’ offensive rebound rate surged in the second half of the season (thanks, Kornet!) and they were seventh in defensive rebound percentage for the season.

Still, matchups with Orlando featured two of Boston’s worst turnover percentages of the season (albeit both without Tatum). The Celtics’ offensive efficiency plummeted in both of those games. 

The Celtics simply have to be ready for Orlando’s length and ability to disrupt the way that Boston prefers to play. Joe Mazzulla’s beloved margins appear vital to this series. And the Celtics will get pushed if they lose their focus.

They’re called free throws for a reason. Opponents aren’t supposed to be able to affect them. But Los Angeles Clippers owner Steve Ballmer devised a plan to make his team’s fans an obstacle at the charity stripe.

In their first regular season playing in the brand new $2 billion Intuit Dome, Clippers’ home opponents shot 74.8% from the free throw line, the second-lowest rate in any NBA arena, ahead of only the Houston Rockets’ Toyota Center (74.0%).

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One unique feature of the Clippers’ building is The Wall: an unusually steep section with 51 rows of seats behind the basket adjacent to the away team’s bench. Only certified Clipper fans are permitted to sit there, and cheering for another NBA team is forbidden. There are no suites, and there’s a Supporters Section reserved for diehards who are expected to stand throughout the game. Season passes are sold at an accessible price point.

Shooting against The Wall, specifically, visitors made just 73.4% of their foul shots, which would have ranked last in the NBA and is notably lower than the 76.1% they made on the other end of the floor.

“Yeah, it was crazy,” Phoenix Suns’ Kevin Durant said of The Wall in October after missing two fourth-quarter free throws facing in its direction. “I was just staring at it the whole time. You’re not used to that.”

The 3.3% disparity between opponent foul shooting at the Intuit Dome and the average NBA arena isn’t abnormal. A comparable or greater decline has been seen in at least one arena during each season since 2011.

The 4.7% dip versus The Wall, however, is an eye-opener. Comparing percentages on one end of a court with overall percentage isn’t apples to apples, but a larger drop in accuracy has only happened once in any home arena since 2000: when opponents visiting the Oklahoma City Thunder in 2014 made 69.8% of free throws from both ends combined, a wacky 5.8% below the league average.

The next season, though, in 2015, Oklahoma City’s foes completely reverted to the mean. In fact, over the past 20 years, there is nearly zero correlation between away teams’ free throw percentage in an arena and their percentage in that same arena the following season. This suggests that home teams don’t have control over how well visitors shoot from the stripe.

Being on the road at all has a minimal impact, at best. A study by Mike Beuoy showed that home teams shot just 0.2% better on free throws than away teams over the 20-year period between 1995 and 2015.

A deeper dive into the numbers does reveal some patterns. Since Ball Arena opened in 1999, the Denver Nuggets’ home opponents have shot 1.1% below league average from the line, the biggest disparity of any team, over a massive sample of more than 20,000 attempts. This data point tracks with Sportico’s previous analysis regarding Denver’s outsized home court advantage due to opponents’ difficulty acclimating to the mile-high altitude. Beuoy also found other results that “appear to be more than just statistical fluctuation” indicating that certain arenas, such as the Toyota Center, may have an anti-shooter bias.

So it is possible that Ballmer has defied the odds and actually created an arena with a legitimate, built-in competitive edge. Potential alternative explanations—that the Clippers happened to face worse shooting teams, or that they selectively avoided fouling elite shooters—fall short upon scrutiny.

Furthermore, the Clippers’ edge extends beyond free throws. Road teams shot 33.5% on 3-pointers in the Intuit Dome this year, which also ranked second-lowest among all arenas. Once again, opponents shot worse when facing The Wall—a meager 32.9% from beyond the arc.

Overall, the Clippers had just the 11th-best net rating (i.e. pace-adjusted point differential) on the road (+0.4), but the third best at home (+9.4). That 9.0 boost in net rating at home, although not an outlier by any means, was the largest in the NBA this season.

Head coach Tyronn Lue feels that the team’s home court advantage is greater than in past years. “We have our own building. We don’t have to worry about other banners hanging up. We don’t share an arena. This is home,” Lue told reporters last week. “The Wall has been great. Our fans have been great.”

The idea for The Wall was born many years ago when folks from the Bundesliga soccer team Dortmund asked to meet with Clippers president of business operations Gillian Zucker and other executives. The Clippers became interested in the Yellow Wall, Dortmund’s standing fan section with a capacity of nearly 25,000. “They were picking our brains, and then we decided to pick theirs a little bit,” Zucker said.

The organization devoted a team to research fan sections across college sports, European leagues and around the world, which eventually led to the concept for The Wall.

Helping the team win was a primary motivator for the new arena project. “[Ballmer] went from believing that being a tenant in a building was a great asset to believing that the only way truly to field the most competitive team possible is to have your own arena,” Zucker said.

The Clippers believe other features of their venue provide additional advantages. The 44,000 square foot LED “Halo” scoreboard gives the franchise a huge canvas with which to engage fans. The ability to show multiple replay angles concurrently can also help the coaching staff decide whether or not to challenge calls.

Decibel readers in the rafters of the arena can measure the loudest seats in the building, and the Clippers reward those fans with prizes to incentivize more fervent cheering.

The facility as a whole is designed to keep fans in their seats during the action, from frictionless commerce to an abundance of restrooms to countdown clocks that tell people how much time they have to get back to the game.

Interestingly, the Clippers’ opponent in the first round of the playoffs is the one team with a well-documented exceptional home court advantage over multiple decades: the Nuggets. Denver has the league’s second-best home winning percentage this century as well as the largest differential between home and road net rating. And it’s not a fluke—Denver’s abnormally strong performance in Colorado extends to MLB and the NFL and NHL.

Time will tell if the Clippers’ advantage is real. One season is still a miniscule sample size. If opponents had made just seven more free throws against The Wall this season, their percentage on that basket would have risen above 75% and this story would probably have been moot.

With a few more years of data, we’ll have a better idea of whether the Intuit Dome is a precedent-setter for professional sports venues or simply Ballmer’s folly.

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