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Atlanta takes on New York following Gray's 32-point game

Atlanta takes on New York following Gray's 32-point game

Fox Sports7 hours ago

Associated Press
Atlanta Dream (8-3, 5-3 Eastern Conference) at New York Liberty (9-1, 6-1 Eastern Conference)
New York; Tuesday, 7 p.m. EDT
BETMGM SPORTSBOOK LINE: Liberty -8.5; over/under is 163
BOTTOM LINE: Atlanta Dream faces the New York Liberty after Allisha Gray scored 32 points in the Dream's 89-56 victory against the Washington Mystics.
New York finished 32-8 overall and 16-4 in Eastern Conference play last season. The Liberty averaged 85.6 points per game last season, 14.0 on free throws and 30.3 from beyond the arc.
Atlanta went 15-25 overall and 7-13 in Eastern Conference play during the 2024-25 season. The Dream gave up 79.8 points per game while committing 16.9 fouls last season.
INJURIES: Liberty: None listed.
Dream: None listed.
___
The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
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Winners, losers from Desmond Bane trade to Orlando Magic
Winners, losers from Desmond Bane trade to Orlando Magic

NBC Sports

time3 hours ago

  • NBC Sports

Winners, losers from Desmond Bane trade to Orlando Magic

While the NBA rumor mill has been focused on Kevin Durant trade destinations and the Knicks' coaching search, the Orlando Magic and Memphis Grizzlies just pulled off a massive trade, sending Desmond Bane to Florida. It's a trade that could see Orlando in the Eastern Conference Finals next season, but did they overpay for Desmond Bane? Four firsts are a lot. However, whether they overpaid will depend on how Bane fits. Is this a first-year Mikal Bridges with the Knicks fit, where the big haul feels like an overpay now? Or, is it more of a Pascal Siakam with the Pacers fit? Time will tell. We're going to break down the winners and losers from this trade, but let's start by breaking down the trade itself: Orlando receives: Desmond Bane Memphis receives: Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Cole Anthony, the No. 16 pick in the 2025 NBA Draft, a 2026 pick swap (the highest spot of the Magic, Suns, and Wizards), two more unprotected first round picks (2028 and 2030), and a 2029 first-round pick with Orlando. Winner: Orlando's offense Everything you need to know about Orlando was on display in its first-round playoff loss to Boston: Its elite defense kept the Magic in games, Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner averaged 29.4 and 25.8 points per game, respectively, but did so inefficiently, with true shooting percentages well below the league average. As a team, they shot just 26.3% from 3 for the series. They couldn't score enough to keep up (Boston having a quality defense was part of that). Desmond Bane is an underrated player and a perfect fit for what the Magic need. First and foremost, he is a knock-down shooter, converting 39.2% of his 3-point shots on 6.1 attempts per game last season. That volume was his fewest attempts per game in four years. He will give the Magic some spacing that Caldwell-Pope did not. Bane also evolved into the secondary playmaker in Memphis behind Ja Morant (and when Morant missed time, Bane was the guy at the top of the scouting report). He checks all of Orlando's boxes. The idea of a Bane/Banchero pick-and-roll is devastating. If the Magic can maintain a top-five defense (Bane is a solid defender) and improve their offense from 27th to just league average, this team will quickly become a top-10 net rating team, potentially securing a top-four spot in the East. Given that we are expecting a down Eastern Conference following Jayson Tatum's injury, Orlando picked the right time to go all-in. The Magic making the Eastern Conference Finals (at least) next season does not seem crazy at all, and adding Bane could be the missing piece to making that leap. Winner: Desmond Bane Bane is an underrated player, a guy who, over the last three seasons combined, has averaged more than 20 points and five assists per game. The Orlando Magic are a team on the rise that lacked the shooting and guard play that Bane brings to the table. Desmond Bane will wear #3 🪄 Bane is a winner because this is a better situation for him — he is now going to get that recognition. He's plug-and-play in Orlando, he doesn't have to change who he is, and who he is could well make him an All-Star and more. It doesn't hurt that this trade raised his profile. Loser: NBA Finals Adam Silver does not like trades during the NBA Finals and Sunday was a good example of why: On a day the league would like the focus on a pivotal Game 5 between the Pacers and Thunder, in an exciting series tied 2-2, the talk instead was whether Orlando overpaid to get Bane. Focused moved away from the game on the court to the transaction market. There was already a lot of that with the Kevin Durant saga and the Knicks coaching search, but this trade ramped it up. The Finals took a back seat for the day, not the narrative the league wants to see. Winner: Memphis' optionality This feels like the first of a few bold moves by Memphis this summer. Memphis realized that the plan and roster they had weren't good enough. Now, largely thanks to those four first-round picks, they can go a lot of different directions in the future. For example, in the wake of the trade, there was considerable speculation online that the Grizzlies might use this as an opportunity to tear down and rebuild: Trade Ja Morant and Jaren Jackson Jr., pick up more young players and picks, and start the rebuild process from the ground up. Memphis could go that route, and other teams are watching to see what happens next, but the expectation around the league is more that this is a retooling in Memphis, not a teardown. Memphis has plenty of other options. They can use those picks — particularly the 2026 pick swap that gives them the best of the Suns and Wizards next season — to add talent through the draft. Or, they can trade some of those picks to go after another star they think would be a better fit than Bane. This trade, on the face of it, makes a Jaren Jackson Jr. extension less likely because the Grizzlies reduced their cap space in the short term. Now, with those picks, they could make another trade to offload salary, giving them the space to raise JJJ's salary now and then extend him off that number. (Jackson, for his part, may want to play out the year on his $23.4 million contract and then hit free agency, hope he can make All-NBA — he was 17th in the voting this past season — and be in line for a supermax.) Winner: Phoenix Suns The Phoenix Suns are seeking a massive haul to trade 37-year-old, future Hall of Famer Kevin Durant. The belief around the league was that they would not get near the return they sought. Now, if Desmond Bane is worth four first-round picks, what is Kevin Durant worth? It's unlikely to be enough to get the Suns what they're asking — different market, different teams, different situation — but it gives them a little leverage.

WNBA power rankings: Why the Indiana Fever's small lineup is working
WNBA power rankings: Why the Indiana Fever's small lineup is working

New York Times

time4 hours ago

  • New York Times

WNBA power rankings: Why the Indiana Fever's small lineup is working

The undefeateds are no more. After they started the season 9-0, New York and Minnesota both suffered their first losses in dramatic fashion. Nine teams in league history have won their first nine games; six of the previous seven advanced to the WNBA Finals, but only half of those six ended up capturing the title. Therefore, even though the Liberty and Lynx have separated themselves in the standings, hope is not lost for the rest of the pack. Advertisement Let's start in Seattle, where the Storm have been among the most up-and-down teams in the league. They've gone 2-1 against the Phoenix Mercury and split with the Las Vegas Aces as well as with Minnesota. Seattle has scored in the 50s, 70s, 80s, 90s and the 100s through 11 games, winning with its defense and its offense. What it hasn't been is consistent, which is worrisome in a long playoff series. But in a three-game set? Count out the Storm at your own peril. Seattle accomplished a feat no other team has this season: flustering Napheesa Collier. She has shot below 40 percent in both of their meetings. She has been below 50 percent only once in her other seven games. Ezi Magbegor and Dominique Malonga have been effective in disrupting Collier in isolation, Malonga especially so in the second half of the Storm's win. Seattle's overall body of work doesn't scream contender, and the Storm followed up their best win with a loss to the surging Golden State Valkyries. But their ceiling is high enough, as is the other team that played giant-killer this week: the Indiana Fever. It shouldn't come as a surprise that Caitlin Clark's return sparked a return to form for Indiana. Considering how much Clark improved over the course of her rookie season, the heights she showcased against New York are potentially the baseline for what she can accomplish as a WNBA sophomore. The Liberty were without starters Jonquel Jones and Leonie Fiebich, which eliminated most of their margin for error, and the Lynx were without backup center Jessica Shepard. Jones' impending return keeps New York atop the rankings for now, but with other teams starting to approach full strength — in addition to Clark coming back, Kahleah Copper made her season debut for Phoenix on Sunday — a shakeup in the near future seems more likely now than last week. Here is this week's ranking: One of the more befuddling outcomes of the offseason was the Fever choosing to fill out their roster with six bigs and five guards. This is a team that wants to play up-tempo and one that should run and spread the floor. That's easier to accomplish when waves of players can come in and play at high energy for shorter stints, not unlike what Indiana's NBA counterpart, the aptly-named Pacers, have accomplished. Advertisement In their win against New York, the Fever elected to play starting power forward Natasha Howard for 14 minutes and leave one big on the court for most of the game. The Liberty were missing Jones and 6-foot-4 Fiebich, so they didn't have the size to punish Indiana the way they've done to other opponents during the regular season, but most teams aren't as big as New York anyway. Instead, the Fever spaced the floor with Sophie Cunningham or Lexie Hull as the nominal four, forcing the Liberty to defend in space. Indiana attempted 35 3-pointers, its most of the season (the previous high was 28), and outscored New York by 33 points from beyond the arc. The Fever lost the points-in-the-paint battle by only eight and outrebounded the Liberty, making it a worthy trade-off. Indiana coach Stephanie White went with Sydney Colson off the bench instead of another frontcourt player, getting Colson her second-most minutes of the game, many of them next to Clark when she'd previously been a direct replacement for the star guard. Sydney Colson uses the ball fake and hits her second triple of the day 🏹🏹 — Indiana Fever (@IndianaFever) June 14, 2025 It should be clear that this identity works for Indiana, not a mashing, two-big unit that is more physical than its opponents. The Fever play fast and shoot early in the clock, and it would behoove the front office to balance the roster in that direction. They can trade a big for a small or simply sign another wing later in the season when they have the cap space for a 12th player. Even against a team as big as New York, Indiana should play to its strengths and not try to match those of its opponent. The Wings led the Aces 82-71 with less than four minutes to play in Las Vegas on Friday. They proceeded to commit 10 fouls and six turnovers (though some of those overlapped as offensive fouls) in the final 3:55, ultimately losing the game 88-84. The cherry on top of the disaster sundae was a possession with 22 seconds left, with Dallas down two. Paige Bueckers and Arike Ogunbowale made the same cut to come to the ball, and the Wings turned it over before even getting to attempt a game-tying shot. Dallas had called a timeout with 28 seconds remaining in the game. This would have been the Wings' second win of the season. Instead, it was their seventh consecutive loss to fall to 1-11. When a double-digit lead is blown so quickly, there are many contributing factors. In this case, Dallas getting outrebounded 6-0 by the Aces' lineup of four guards and Kiah Stokes is the most damning, especially since the Wings were playing two bigs during that stretch. The first-shot defense was good enough to win the game, but Dallas didn't box out, letting perimeter players make plays on the glass. The Wings attempted only one field goal during that stretch, excluding Bueckers' meaningless jumper at the buzzer. Advertisement From a point-differential perspective, Dallas hasn't been terrible in 2025, especially when compared to Chicago and Connecticut. The Wings have been competitive in losses to Seattle, Minnesota and Atlanta. But Chicago and Connecticut have at least stacked a couple of wins alongside their blowout losses. The Wings, on the other hand, can't figure out that part; a team trying to make the playoffs can't have rookie Aaliyah Nye beating five players to an offensive rebound or leave Jewell Loyd open in the corner in the final minute. The young core in Los Angeles was quickly reduced to Jackson, and Jackson alone, to start the year. Cameron Brink was already out with a torn ACL and Rae Burrell injured her knee seconds into her season debut. And then Jackson suffered a concussion in the second game and was understandably not herself when she made her way back. The problem is that the Sparks don't really have a shot at success without Jackson playing well. They need another perimeter creator to take some of the defensive pressure off of Kelsey Plum, and Odyssey Sims and Julie Allemand are not that type of player, at least not consistently. L.A. also hasn't done a great job of featuring Jackson; those habits can be learned only through more reps together. The Sparks made every effort to feature Jackson early against Las Vegas on Wednesday, and they were rewarded for it. Jackson was confident in her jumper, attempting five 3-pointers in the first quarter and sinking four as L.A. built a double-digit lead. Jackson likes to work to get to her pull-up but fired off the catch when the defense gave her an opening for 14 first-quarter points. As the Aces worked to run her off the line later in the game, Jackson attacked the basket, scoring six paint points in the fourth quarter to close out the win. She ended with a career-high 30 points. Rickea Jackson had her way vs. the Las Vegas Aces 😤 30 PTS (career-high) 7 REB 4 3PM 11-17 FG WNBA Commissioner's Cup presented by @coinbase — WNBA (@WNBA) June 12, 2025 'Rickea hit a couple 3s that made everybody feel really confident and that set the tone,' coach Lynne Roberts said. 'Her confidence and aggressiveness, I think that everyone fed off of it.' The Sparks laid an egg against Minnesota the next time out, but Jackson had another solid individual outing with 18 points and three 3s. L.A. needs her to maintain that level to stay afloat until Brink can return. Even in a bad week for the Wings, Bueckers still impressed in her return from concussion protocol, setting aside her late-game box-out failures against Las Vegas. In Phoenix, Bueckers looked like a seasoned All-Star, repeatedly getting to her sweet spots in the midrange against a top-five defense. She became the first rookie since A'ja Wilson to score at least 35 points on 65 percent shooting, per Across the Timeline. Only Bueckers and Cynthia Cooper have done so while making at least five 3s. Bueckers is third in the league in assists per game and seventh among guards in assist-to-turnover ratio. Paige Bueckers 35 points on 19 shots last night. This bucket was nice. [image or embed] — Steph Noh (@ June 12, 2025 at 9:10 AM On the other end of the court, Bueckers is collecting steals and blocks at nearly the same rate as in college. Dallas is having her defend multiple positions, and she's held up reasonably well against guards. Look at how she sticks with Chelsea Gray on the three-time champion's patented free-throw jumper. The Wings have been much worse than expected, but Bueckers is coming in as advertised. Although the Washington rookies have taken the early lead in rookie of the year, Bueckers is right on their tails. Tuesday is the final day of Commissioner's Cup games, and the WNBA has 12 of 13 teams playing, so for this week, there are a few extra games to circle. In the East, Dream versus Liberty is the cream of the crop. Atlanta controls its destiny and can earn a spot in the championship game with a win at New York. A loss puts Indiana in pole position, and the Fever can win the bid by beating Connecticut. If both the Dream and Indiana lose, the Liberty make the final for the third straight season. Advertisement On the other side of the draw, reigning Cup champion Minnesota is in control, needing a win over Las Vegas to get back to the final. If the Lynx lose, Seattle can take the Western Conference bid with a victory in Los Angeles. If A'ja Wilson returns from concussion protocol by Tuesday, the Aces' game in Minnesota will have top billing. (Photo of Indiana Fever: Brian Spurlock / Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

How the Pacers plan to keep Game 4's disappointment from costing them Game 5 vs Thunder
How the Pacers plan to keep Game 4's disappointment from costing them Game 5 vs Thunder

Indianapolis Star

time5 hours ago

  • Indianapolis Star

How the Pacers plan to keep Game 4's disappointment from costing them Game 5 vs Thunder

OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. -- At this stage of the season, Tyrese Haliburton said, simply moving on from defeat is not an option. The Pacers can't try to avoid the sting of what they gave away on Friday night in Game 4 of the NBA Finals when they entered the fourth quarter with a seven-point lead and seemingly all the momentum pushing them toward a 3-1 lead in the series. They were instead outscored 31-17 in the final period to lose 111-104, evening up the series heading toward a pivotal Game 5 in Oklahoma City on Monday night. Between Friday's game and Sunday's media availability, they had no choice but to relive it in excruciating detail. "I think once you get to the playoffs, I don't think it's so much about flushing things," Haliburton said. "You've really got to take every game, see where you did well and see where you can do better and learn from that. I think in the regular season, it's different. You play 82 games. You play a team in Game 10 that you don't see again until Game 60. So, all right, flush it and move on to the next. In the playoffs, it's different. You don't get the right to flush games. You have to learn from everything and watch film and see where you can get better." The Pacers have proven to be very good at that process, which is why they haven't lost two games in a row at any point in these playoffs and why they have a 14-6 record overall in the postseason. In each of the first three series en route to their Eastern Conference championship, they immediately followed a double-figure loss with a double-figure win, yet another data point that speaks to the resilience that has allowed the Pacers to go from being a 25-win lottery team in 2021-22 to an NBA Finals team just three seasons later. "When your back is against the wall, that's typically, I guess, when we show what we're made of," veteran center Myles Turner said. "That's typically where we get our best basketball." The Pacers' backs aren't against the wall quite yet with the series even, but to keep it from getting there they have to find a way to beat the team with the NBA's best regular season record at their place. They pulled it off in Game 1 with a late-game rally that culminated in Haliburton's game-winning jump shot with 0.3 seconds to go. However, the Thunder have lost just two home games in these playoffs and they were 35-6 in the regular season. Counting the regular season and playoffs, they have lost exactly one home game in each calendar month since November, which was the last time they lost two games in the same month. The Pacers' loss in Game 4 means they have to find a way to beat the Thunder a second time in June, either in Game 5 or Game 7 or both, and that will obviously require better offense than they had in the fourth quarter of Game 4. After starting the game on fire with a 35-point first quarter, they wilted in the fourth with 17 points on 5 of 18 shooting including 0 of 8 from 3-point range. It was their lowest scoring quarter since the Eastern Conference semifinals as they posted a horrendous efficiency figure of 0.70 points per possession. The Pacers were fairly guarded about pointing out what exactly went wrong in the period, but repeatedly mentioned the lack of tempo. "Keep playing fast," Turner said. "Keep playing with pace. That's how we play, and that's how we made our mark. It's not coming off our principles." Pacers coach Rick Carlisle noted that their lack of ability to play with pace on offense came in part because of issues on defense. They committed 10 fouls in the fourth quarter that led to 14 Thunder free throws and they also allowed four offensive rebounds that turned into eight second-chance points including a pair of put-back dunks by Thunder center Chet Holmgren. "The problems that hindered us in the fourth quarter were an inability to rebound the ball, unnecessary fouls," Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said. "Those things have us taking the ball out of bounds after they score or having to take it out after a free throw, and then they can really set their defense. Then the game becomes slower. Doing better in those two areas, the rebounding and the fouls, that will help us. But it's a challenge. They put a lot of pressure on you in the fourth quarter. They have got some great, great players that cause major problems." They also have to find a way to better involved one of their best players. All-Star forward Pascal Siakam scored 20 points in the game, but took just one field goal attempt in the fourth quarter and that came with more than 10 minutes remaining. Siakam led the Pacers with 20.2 points per game in the regular season and is averaging 20.6 points per game in the playoffs. He's a threat to score inside and out and is clearly the Pacers' best isolation scoring option because of his ability to score out of the post, either by turning and getting to the rim or hitting turnaround jumpers. "That can't happen," Carlisle said. "He is a guy that if we are not playing through him, he needs to touch the ball more." That's been driven into their heads for two days and on Monday they get a chance to apply it. Neither of the two teams involved in this series has lost back-to-back games in these playoffs and the Pacers are trying not to be the first.

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