This week's eight things I liked and disliked include Tyrese Maxey's All-Star ascension on the revamped Philadelphia 76ers, LaMelo Ball's first steps at becoming a half-court floor general and the genius of Draymond Green.
Jump to Lowe's Things:
Maxey's All-Star ascension | 'OK' Nurkic not enough
LaMelo's next step | The genius of Draymond
Why Utah struggles on D | Ausar's all-around game |
Sengun's vision | Johnson making things happen
1. Tyrese Maxey and the Sixers are ... fine?
Every few weeks, one security guard at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia reminds Maxey of the unlikely series of events that led Maxey to the 76ers -- a rare stroke of strange luck for a franchise that has suffered some of the weirdest NBA melodramas: "Shout out Mike Muscala!" the guard chants, according to Maxey.
It is an inside joke, Sixers lore -- code that identifies a hardcore fan. The Sixers selected Maxey with the 21st pick in the 2020 NBA draft -- a pick that belonged to the Oklahoma City Thunder. The Sixers acquired it in 2016, traded it away, and then got it back in the deal that sent Markelle Fultz to the Orlando Magic. It contained a twist: Philadelphia would receive it only if it fell 21st or later; otherwise, the Thunder would send two second-rounders.
It came down to the wire in the Orlando, Florida, bubble. Muscala hit two 3s in the final 35 seconds of the Thunder's second-to-last game to help their deep reserves complete a comeback that meant nothing to that specific Thunder team and everything to these current Sixers. With that win, the Thunder pick was capped at No. 21.
Four years later, Maxey's ascension toward his first All-Star nod has the Sixers well positioned to pivot away from a spasm of deals that saw Ben Simmons and then James Harden come and go as would-be co-stars for Joel Embiid. Maxey is that guy now, averaging 25 points and 7 assists on nearly 50/40/90 shooting splits -- taking care of the ball and developing deeper pick-and-roll chemistry with Embiid every game. Maxey being this good is the most important positive thing to happen to the Sixers since drafting Embiid. If the rumblings around Embiid quiet -- if he chooses to ride out his career with the franchise that drafted him -- Maxey will be a big reason.
Philly is 6-1 after edging the Boston Celtics on Wednesday, with the league's second-best net rating. The Sixers' passing numbers are almost identical to last season's. Harden's assists and touches have been redistributed across the roster in a faster and more democratic offense under new coach Nick Nurse.
The Sixers appear much closer to title contention without Harden than perhaps even they projected during the Harden stalemate. If that sustains -- if their championship-level No. 2 option is already in-house -- the pool of players the Sixers can target with the draft picks they received for Harden becomes much wider. Their play may also afford patience: Do they have to burn assets now if they are confident the same player -- or someone better -- might be available later, or even sign into their cap space in July?
Two players the Sixers nabbed in the Harden deal -- Nicolas Batum and "Process" favorite Robert Covington -- are contributing already. The Sixers can slot three switchable wing shooters between Maxey and Embiid in combinations involving Batum, Covington, Tobias Harris, Kelly Oubre Jr. and De'Anthony Melton. Patrick Beverley and Paul Reed round out the core rotation.
The formula is working, but the Sixers need one more ball handler to fortify them. They will spend the months before the trade deadline looking, with one eye on the maximum cap space they can carve out this summer.
They have extricated themselves from the Harden morass as cleanly as possible, if not with quite the asset haul they craved. This outcome is better than either losing Harden for nothing or re-signing him to a massive multiyear contract. They have optionality and hope.
"I was prepared for one role if James came back, and if he didn't, I was prepared to be a lead guard," Maxey told ESPN.
He worked and watched film in the offseason with Embiid and Drew Hanlen, Embiid's longtime trainer. When Hanlen visits Embiid in Philadelphia for what are intended to be individual workouts, Maxey volunteers to help as the passer feeding Embiid -- leading to jokes that Maxey is an "intern."
"Joel is the most important player on our team, and I need to know how he likes to catch the ball," Maxey said. "That means post entries, when he's the trail man, everything." (Maxey is a very good entry passer, and he and Embiid love a little pitch-back action when Embiid trails Maxey in transition.)
It means lots of pick-and-roll, and Maxey is a much different sort of partner there than Harden. He has worked on slowing down, giving Embiid time to find pockets in the lane. In the opening two games of this season, Maxey was passing early -- with Embiid catching 20-plus feet from the rim. With every game, Maxey hits Embiid more in his sweet spots near the foul line.
The two are honing a mean empty-side pick-and-roll game on the left wing. Maxey loves to reject picks -- zooming away from them -- and does so much more often than Harden. It is a way for him to occupy Embiid's defender, maybe force a switch, and give Embiid daylight for pick-and-pop actions. Maxey is learning to stay in touch with Embiid on those actions -- to not outrun him. Embiid is learning how to make himself available -- when to cut, when to fade for 3s.
Maxey can punish switches with step-back 3s, but he has made a concerted effort to roast bigs off the dribble -- to reorient Philly's offense toward the rim and open up drive-and-kick chances:
Maxey is happy to make the first simple play -- the easy kickout or swing pass that keeps the machine moving. (The Sixers could stand to shoot more 3s.)
He is shooting 54% from floater range on a dizzying variety of runners -- bank shots, high-arching moon balls, hot-potato floaters Maxey flicks even before jumping. That is an important weapon against defenses that sell out to take away any pass to Embiid -- something Boston did in last season's conference semifinals.
"They say the midrange game is a lost art, but it's big for small guards -- especially in fourth quarters," Maxey said.
He has helped stabilize the Sixers when Embiid rests; Philly has outscored opponents by nine points per 100 possessions when Maxey plays without Embiid, per Cleaning The Glass.
Challenges await -- blitzes, complex help schemes, offenses that hunt Maxey. But Maxey seems up to it. He has given the Sixers a chance at stability -- something this franchise has not known for far too long.
"I work so hard every summer to get 1% better," Maxey said. "I'm ready."
2. Jusuf Nurkic, scattershot around the rim
What a relief it must have been for the Phoenix Suns to see Nurkic plop in that game-winning layup in traffic against the Chicago Bulls on Wednesday -- Nurkic's second crunch-time flip shot this season. (He sealed the opener against the Golden State Warriors.) His shot Wednesday capped his best all-around game as a Sun: 20 points, 17 rebounds, 8 dimes.
Swapping Deandre Ayton for Nurkic was one of the most consequential offseason wagers any contender made, and the bet extends beyond those two -- even beyond Nassir Little and Grayson Allen, who came to Phoenix along with Nurkic. Phoenix turned Ayton's giant contract into three medium-size ones in the last season in which mega-salary teams can aggregate contracts in trades.
Nurkic is a more instinctual passer on the move than Ayton -- a critical skill given how often defenses will blitz Kevin Durant, Devin Booker and Bradley Beal. But Ayton has the edge just about everywhere else, plus he's younger and more durable. Even if the relationship between Ayton and the Suns was irreparable -- and it appears to have been, despite a new coach in Frank Vogel and massive roster turnover -- the deal was still a risk.
Nurkic has been a reliable drop-back defender most of his career, with anticipation and soft hands. He has been ... just OK in Phoenix. The Suns need better than OK. Drew Eubanks has closed some games over Nurkic. Eubanks is a nice backup, but he shouldn't be closing on a contender.
Nurkic is dishing 4.8 dimes per game, second on the team behind Booker. That number will come down when the big three plays, but the Suns are comfortable running some offense through him.
Nurkic has always been below-average finishing around the basket, but a foible is turning into a mini-crisis. Nurkic has missed half his shots within the restricted area, per Cleaning the Glass -- his lowest mark in seven years. Worse yet, he's passing out of some layups:
That's Cade Cunningham! And he's not even directly in front of Nurkic!
It's nice to spread touches around, and even a pass like this can create a good look. Keita Bates-Diop is open, but the ball arrives at his ankles. Bates-Diop almost makes a layup anyway.
Nurkic has to either finish this or get hacked trying.
3. LaMelo Ball, making an effort
Ball is shooting a hideous 45% at the basket, and I barely care because he's getting there more -- the crucial next step for both Ball and the Charlotte Hornets' half-court offense.
About 32% of Ball's shots have come in the restricted area, the highest share since his rookie year -- and up from a too-low 23% last season. The worst thing would be for Ball to grow discouraged at his issues finishing and revert to lofting floaters or kicking to shooters before really sucking in the defense.
Keep prodding, and results will follow: layups and free throws for Ball, easier shots for Ball's teammates -- open 3s for shooters, and dunks galore for breakout second-year center Mark Williams.
That is a bit meandering, and Ball might miss the pocket pass to Nick Richards. He also picks up his dribble pretty far from the hoop, leaving himself an awkward extended layup. But Ball draws a foul, and he just wasn't pinning defenders on his hip and keeping plays alive like this enough in the past two seasons.
There we go. Ball rejects P.J. Washington's screen, freezes the defense with a hesitation dribble and then burrows around Luka Doncic. Ball is pulling the Steve Nash under-the-rim dribble way more often, unlocking juicy rim-to-corner passes.
The Hornets are not good. Even after back-to-back productive games, Ball is shooting 39% overall and 32% on 3s. His defense is all over the place. The Hornets are minus-34 with Ball on the floor. There is a long way to go for both player and franchise. But if the Hornets are ever to be a serious team, they need Ball to become a serious half-court floor general. These drives are the first steps.
4. The magical impatience of Draymond Green
The Golden State Warriors are 6-3 and actually winning on the road, but there is a strange dissonance to them -- even within games. For five minutes, they look like a juggernaut contender -- fully formed, confident in their identity and in their whirring style that is so hard for defenses to grasp. And then in a snap, that coherence slips away from them. They haven't racked a signature win yet; close shaves against the Sacramento Kings and Thunder came with opponents missing superstars (De'Aaron Fox and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander).
It's early. The Warriors are asking much more of their young players and incorporating a very different sort of ball handler in Chris Paul, both as part of a newfangled five-man bench mob and in lineups with the Warriors' core stars. Klay Thompson has been up and down, Andrew Wiggins mostly down -- and lethargic. If those two don't reach their peaks, the Warriors can't win four playoff series.
They are also searching for that one skeleton key small-ball lineup with Green at center. Some iterations are too small. Others have two non-shooters -- Green and either Gary Payton II or Jonathan Kuminga. All those versions can work in bursts, but none are the kind of heavy-minutes failsafe that helped drive those four recent title runs.
In the meantime, cherish every magical only-the-Warriors moment from Curry, Green and Thompson -- the defining trio of the past decade in basketball. Curry's audacious shotmaking is still the NBA's best show. You can't glance at your phone when he's playing. He's averaging 30 points on a shooting line so outrageous, I hesitate to print it lest it singe your eyebrows.
But these three -- Curry and Green in tandem especially -- gift us a dozen bits of genius every game. A personal favorite: When another Warrior has the ball but doesn't see the correct pass -- the one Green, standing somewhere else, has already spotted. If Green is nearby, he wants the ball with desperation you can almost feel radiating through your screen. He vibrates with impatience: Give it to me before it's too late!
Kevon Looney rebounds that Green miss but doesn't see Curry, ever in motion, relocating from corner to corner. The defense doesn't see him, either. Green does. He runs toward Looney. The catch and pass are all part of one motion; Green even catches the ball with his hands on the left side of it, so he can slingshot it to his right, to Curry, immediately.
5. Utah's offense, killing its defense
This is the price of trading Mike Conley: a collection of combo guards with minimal experience organizing NBA offenses, gacking up heaps of turnovers that knee-cap Utah's already blah defense.
The Jazz are last in turnover rate and have yielded 11 more steals (!) than any team. The hazy decision-making of their shoot-first, shoot-second ballhandling brigade -- Jordan Clarkson, Collin Sexton, Keyonte George, the pinballing Talen Horton-Tucker and sometimes Kris Dunn -- compounds Utah's baked-in floor balance issues. The Jazz start three big men and fill the corners. When one of their guards flings himself toward the basket, four Jazz men often end up below the foul line as the ball changes hands. Their transition defense is dead on arrival.
Utah's emphasis on crashing the offensive glass plays into this, but at least it is reaping the benefits; the Jazz are neck-and-neck with the burly New York Knicks for No. 1 in offensive rebounding rate. (Mitchell Robinson is No. 1 in offensive rebounding rate. He is everywhere.) Take out the hideous turnovers, and Utah's risk-reward likely nets out positive.
Alas: Very bad things are happening when Utah's guards pierce the lane, leap without a plan or an advantage, and try to pass out of trouble:
There are more bizarre bloopers: passes into the third row, dribbles off feet, inbounds passes to the other team, outlets to no one. Utah must lead the league in pick-sixes allowed, and in somehow turning their own fast breaks into instant points for the other team.
This flaw was obvious, and doesn't matter much in the big picture. George has major upside; he started over Horton-Tucker on Wednesday against the Indiana Pacers. Clarkson has leaned into playmaking over the past two seasons. Lauri Markkanen is humming -- 24 points on solid shooting, though his playmaking has stalled out. There probably hasn't been enough of Ochai Agbaji considering Utah isn't exactly chasing a top-four seed. The Jazz are loaded with extra first-round picks.
Realistically, this Utah rebuild needs another high lottery pick, and Utah's own selection in 2024 is one of its best chances at it.
6. Ausar Thompson's all-around game
Thompson looks to be a lockdown multiposition defender for the Detroit Pistons. The focus now will turn to his shooting: Thompson is 4-of-24 on 3s (ouch!) and just 47% on 2s. Yes, those numbers must improve. We all get that. He's 20.
The most exciting stuff about Thompson so far is everything between and outside the 3-and-D archetype. He is way ahead of schedule reading the game, with some nifty high-speed moves and good feel as both passer and cutter. He's a fierce rebounder.
Coolly burning a 3-and-D wing with a spin and step-through? Yes, please.
One quarter later:
Thompson fakes the handoff, takes one hard dribble baseline, and spins back to the middle against Eric Gordon. Nurkic comes to help. That appears an overreaction from Nurkic, and perhaps it is; Gordon might stay in front of Thompson. But Thompson has opened a small advantage and had already established his one-on-one bonafides. Nurkic swarms; Thompson is ready for the dump-off to Jalen Duren.
You rarely see such quick decision-making in space from a rookie wing. Thompson steps up into a screen for Cunningham, slips out of it and then notes in a nanosecond that both Phoenix defenders are coming at him -- leaving Cunningham open.
The Pistons have lost six straight after a 2-1 start, and the Jaden Ivey situation -- he's coming off the bench in a bit of tough love from new coach Monty Williams -- is worth monitoring. They are young and raw. But the Cunningham-Thompson-Duren trio has the outlines of an interesting roadmap.
It might already be time to add Marcus Sasser -- the 25th pick in the 2023 draft -- to that core, and perhaps to the starting five over Killian Hayes. Sasser is 17-of-34 on 3s, and his jitterbug ballhandling has defenders stumbling over their own feet.
7. Alperen Sengun is one step ahead
Sengun looks like a flat-out star: 18.3 points, 8.3 rebounds and an almost-Jokician 6.6 assists on 60% shooting -- including 64% on 2s. He is the hub of the Houston Rockets' offense and a force in the post.
He's working harder on defense, too; the Rockets have allowed a minuscule 102 points per 100 possessions with Sengun on the floor -- and 114 when he rests. Some of that -- maybe a lot of it -- is luck in the form of awful opponent jump-shooting, but Sengun is grinding. The Rockets are plus-68 with Sengun on the floor and minus-27 when he rests. He sits at the head of the table among Houston's sextet of intriguing young players.
Sengun is an ingenious passer who has yet to see an opening too small for him to fit a basketball. He manipulates layers of help defense, goading them one way -- with fakes and nods -- and then whipping the ball elsewhere.
That is one of my favorite genres of pass, but few big men chance it -- and have the touch and precision to execute it. With that cagey second screen, Sengun forces a painful switch: Jalen Suggs onto Sengun and Wendell Carter Jr. toggling onto Jalen Green. Sengun then waits to see how the Magic respond.
Suggs and Carter decide to try to reswitch assignments and rescue Suggs from Sengun's low-post wrath. The reswitch is always a gamble. Both offensive players flash open as the defenders crisscross.
Those corridors close fast. The available pass is tricky -- close range, at a weird angle, with defenders scrambling into the void.
For Sengun, this is fun. He loves dangling the ball in this spot, making the defenders guess, seeing if they will attempt the reswitch. He holds them in delicious, excruciating purgatory.
The Magic act fast here, but Sengun outduels them with an arching pass placed where only Green can catch it.
The next 20 games will be a nice test for Sengun, because he is about to become item No. 1 in opposing scouting reports.
8. Jalen Johnson, manufacturing points
Johnson brings new speed, power, defense, rebounding and bouncy unpredictability to the Atlanta Hawks -- changing the look and feel of the team regardless of whether coach Quin Snyder starts Johnson or brings him off the bench. Pairing Johnson -- 29% career on 3s -- with a rim-running center should cramp the Hawks' spacing, but the pluses outweigh the minuses so far.
Atlanta has outscored opponents by 13.6 points per 100 possessions with Johnson on the floor. He fits with both Atlanta's starters and in bench-heavy lineups alongside Bogdan Bogdanovic and Onyeka Okongwu. (The Johnson-Bogdanovic-Okongwu trio has walloped opponents by 17.2 points per 100 possessions.) If Snyder wants, he can swap Johnson and Saddiq Bey in and out of the starting five depending on matchups. Johnson should probably just start; his 3-pointer appears to be coming around.
Johnson just makes things happen. That includes a surprising ability to scrounge points one-on-one -- with softer-than-expected touch:
You can never have enough guys capable of creating something from nothing.