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Indianapolis Star
3 days ago
- Sport
- Indianapolis Star
What do Pacers, Thunder have in common? Trading Paul George helped build their rosters
Who is most responsible for the Indiana Pacers and Oklahoma City Thunder reaching the 2025 NBA Finals? There are All-Star and All-NBA players, of course. Tyrese Haliburton and Pascal Siakam are the Pacers' anchors, while the Thunder have league MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Jaylen Williams. Coaches Rick Carlisle of Indiana and Mark Daignault of OKC have made the right moves, as have roster builders Kevin Pritchard of the Pacers and Sam Presti of the Thunder. But both teams owe a sliver of thanks to the same person: Paul George. The 35-year-old nine-time All-Star helped both franchises — by being traded away. "I don't mean this facetiously or in a mean way: A very large part of Paul George's NBA legacy is going to be all the great teams that were created in his wake," NBA reporter Zach Lowe said this week on Bill Simmons' podcast. The Pacers selected George 10th overall in the 2010 NBA Draft. He became a full-time starter in his second season, and earned Most Improved Player honors in his third. He made the All-Star team four times in Indiana, was voted third-team All-NBA three times and earned All-Defense honors three times. Indiana traded him to the Thunder in 2017, getting Victor Oladipo and Domantas Sabonis in return. The Pacers sent Sabonis to the Sacramento Kings on Feb. 8, 2022, and the key piece coming to Indiana was Tyrese Haliburton, who has two All-Star nods and two third-team All-NBA teams since. He has often been spectacular in these playoffs. Also, draft picks that became Andrew Nembhard (31st overall, 2022) and Ben Sheppard (26th overall, 2023) came to the Pacers in deals related to Indiana's 2021 trade of Oladipo to the Houston Rockets. George played two seasons in Oklahoma City, making the All-Star team both years, All-NBA third team in his first and All-NBA first team in his second. In the summer of 2019, OKC sent George to the Los Angeles Clippers for a two-player, seven-draft pick package that included Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who had just finished his rookie season. One of those draft picks, a 2022 first-rounder, yielded Jalen Williams. SGA has led the Thunder for six years, earning All-Star berths and first-team All-NBA honors the past three. In 2024-25, he led the league in field-goal attempts (21.8), made free throws (7.9) and points (32.7) per game and was named league MVP. In his third season, Williams was an All-Star and third-team All-NBA selection, averaging 21.6 points, 5.3 rebounds and 5.1 assists per game. Little-used Dillon Jones also came in the George deal, along with two 2025 first-round picks and a 2026 first rounder. The nod goes to OKC. The Thunder's move brought in their best player directly, and one indirectly with a draft pick. The Pacers needed more moves post-George to complete their Finals roster.
Miami Herald
22-05-2025
- Sport
- Miami Herald
Heat's Adebayo bypassed for All-Defense first or second team for first time in six years
For the first time this decade, Bam Adebayo has been bypassed for All-NBA Defensive team honors. Adebayo was named to the All-Defense second team in 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023 before being named to the NBA's All-Defense first team, for the first time, last season. In voting conducted before the end of the regular season, Adebayo finished with the 12th most points, which placed him second in the 'also receiving votes' category, behind the Knicks' OG Anunoby. Among 100 ballots cast, Adebayo received one vote for the first team and 16 votes for the second team. The NBA's All-Defense first team includes Cleveland's Evan Mobley, Golden State's Draymond Green, Atlanta's Dyson Daniels, Oklahoma City's Lu Dort and Houston's Amen Thompson. The NBA's All-Defense second team features Portland's Toumani Camara, Minnesota's Rudy Gobert, Memphis' Jaren Jackson Jr., OKC's Jalen Williams and the Clippers' Ivica Zubac. Gobert received the 10th most points (65), which made him the last player to make the All-Defense second team. Adebayo, with 18 points, was well behind Gobert. Adebayo was third in voting for NBA Defensive Player of the Year in 2023-24, the highest finish of his career. This season, he finished tied for 10th for the award, with no first or third place votes and one second place vote. Cleveland's Mobley won the award for this season. Adebayo, a three-time NBA All-Star, and Alonzo Mourning (made first team twice with the Heat in 1998-99 and 1999-00) and LeBron James (made first team three times with the Heat in 2010-11, 2011-12 and 2012-13) are the only three players in franchise history to be named to the NBA's All-Defensive first team while with the Heat. Adebayo is the only player in franchise history to make one of the league's All-Defensive teams in five different seasons while with the Heat. Among all NBA centers that defended at least 500 shots, Adebayo slipped to 26th this season in defensive field-goal percentage allowed at 47.4, compared to the 49% those players shoot overall. But that metric does not reflect his unique ability, as a 6-9 player, to guard any position. Adebayo ranked second in the league in defending isolations this season. And he was the anchor of a Heat defense that finished ninth in points allowed per 100 possessions. The Heat allowed 110.3 points per 100 possessions when Adebayo was on the court, which was second best among Heat rotation players behind only Kel'el Ware's 108.3. That 110.3 would have tied Houston for fifth best in the league if compared to every team's defensive rating this season. Last season, Adebayo's defensive rating was 109.3. Adebayo, who turns 28 in July, averaged 18.1 points, 9.6 rebounds and 0.7 blocks this season, his eighth in the league. Ware was named to the NBA's All-Rookie second team earlier this week.
New York Times
24-03-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
How to watch LSU vs. Florida State: Odds, storylines for women's NCAA Tournament matchup
Two of the best and fastest offenses in the field go to work Monday evening, with LSU's 'big three' hosting Ta'Niya Latson and Florida State. The Tigers will tip off as a double-digit favorite, but the Seminoles have the firepower to hang tough in The Jungle. Dive into March Madness with The Athletic Projecting the bracket | March Madness 2025 | Players to watch Florida State finished the regular season fourth in offensive rating. No ACC member made more 3s, and no one in the country scored more points per game than Latson at 25. Four regulars shot at least 35 percent from behind the arc. On the other end of the floor, three-time All-ACC and All-Defense Makayla Timpson averaged five stocks (steals + blocks) per game. Advertisement The program has lost in the First Four or the Round of 64 in four consecutive dances. With Saturday's thorough demolition of George Mason, Coach Brooke Wyckoff earned her first NCAA tourney win. Texas A&M transfer Sydney Bowles was a perfect 5-for-5 on the deep shot. FSU's problems lie on the other end. It lost the foul and rebound margins in conference play and finished 172nd in defensive rating. That makes LSU a particularly tough second-round draw. The Tigers have three certified bucket-getters in Flau'jae Johnson, Aneesah Morrow and Mikaylah Williams. Johnson is a magnetic three-level scorer, and Morrow has been humiliating opposing bigs with more than five offensive rebounds per game. Williams is a gifted distributor and a confident heaver who was the No. 1 recruit of her 2023 high school class. Kim Mulkey's team scored more this season than their 2022-23 national title group. Williams hit all three of her 3s in the first-round cakewalk past San Diego State, and Johnson had an efficient 22 points in 22 minutes of floor time. The Seminoles are a tougher opponent than the Aztecs, but LSU should still have no trouble lighting up its home scoreboard. This matchup can also be streamed on ESPN+. Streaming and Betting/Odds links in this article are provided by partners of The Athletic. Restrictions may apply. The Athletic maintains full editorial independence. Partners have no control over or input into the reporting or editing process and do not review stories before publication. (Photo of Mikaylah Williams and Sa'Myah Smith: Tyler Kaufman / Getty Images)
New York Times
13-03-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
Heat bottom out with five-game losing skid: ‘We just have to continue to get better'
There is no ideal time for a five-game losing streak, but the Miami Heat's recent skid couldn't come at a worst time. Once-bright playoff hopes have dimmed to a flicker as Miami (29-36) remains locked into the Eastern Conference's ninth spot with a Play-In Tournament ceiling. The team seems out of new answers to a season-long pattern of indiscriminate losses. Advertisement Miami has struggled to maintain big leads against quality opponents, experienced seemingly inexplicable defeats to inferior foes and often has trouble carrying strong play from one half to the next. It has become a team hard-pressed to hone an identity, so the versatile notion of loss will define its season. The team hasn't been at .500 since sitting at 25-25 on Feb. 7 and has just a two-game lead over the Chicago Bulls, who are 10th in the East. Jimmy Butler's departure left a void big enough to create an opportunity for the Heat to lean on young talent, but promising glimpses have been unsustainable. Since Jan. 22, the day after Butler's final game in a Heat uniform, Miami is only 8-15 and ranks 21st among all teams in net rating (minus-3.9), according to The team often leans on defensive principles, but it's bled points in the paint all season, which has been a key culprit in routinely yielding corner 3s and inevitably blowing big leads. Miami's 17 blown double-digit leads trail the Utah Jazz for the NBA lead and will ultimately be the reason fans wonder 'What if?' when reflecting on the season, even if championship hopes — with or without Butler — were farfetched. At this point, the Heat are stuck in the frustrating purgatory of being a playoff hopeful without being a conference cellar-dweller. The roster is led by a player enjoying the finest all-around season of their career (first-time All-Star Tyler Herro) and a versatile defensive anchor capable of taking over the game in myriad ways (five-time All-Defense selection Bam Adebayo), but the team's identity beyond its two biggest names seemingly varies by the game. Whether Erik Spoelstra is relying on veterans (Duncan Robinson, Andrew Wiggins, Davion Mitchell) or young players still finding their way (Kel'el Ware, Jaime Jaquez Jr., Nikola Jović), Miami's biggest challenge is assessing a sustainable vision for climbing back into East contention next season and beyond. Two potential first-round draft picks in a loaded class should help matters, but time will tell if they actualize into new roster additions (we'll touch on potential prospects in the coming days and weeks) or act as trade bait for a bigger fish. Advertisement Until then, though, the team is hoping to simply stop the bleeding from a difficult season that has included impressive wins over formidable foes (the Cavaliers, Lakers, Rockets and Timberwolves, to name a few) mixed in with missed opportunities against the defending champion Celtics, West-leading Thunder and division-rival Knicks. As Miami's latest skid has grown, losses against the Hornets and Bulls are critical indicators of a team seeking direction, both in the interim and for the long term. For the latter to have true glimmers of hope, the Heat must salvage what remains of their season, whether it means maintaining big leads or performing better when the game is close. They're only 13-21 in clutch-time situations, leaving them ahead of only the lottery-bound Wizards, Raptors and Jazz in that category. That happening begins with Miami's new leading man paving the way. Herro leads the NBA in clutch-time shot attempts (99) but is shooting only 29.3 percent in those scenarios, including an 18.3 percent clip on 3s. A team's fortune rarely settles on the shoulders of one player, so it's plenty fine for Herro to have growing pains while adjusting to a more prominent role. Given what the team has dealt with for much of the season, it's clearly in need of time to reassess how to pave a new path forward. That begins with putting an end to one of its longest streaks in years. 'We just gotta stay with it. I know it's getting old hearing that,' Herro said after Wednesday's 119-104 loss to the LA Clippers. 'But that's our job, is to stick with it. I think, in these last couple games, our spirit hasn't been at the level it needs to be. 'Obviously, wins and losses can affect [you] emotionally. But right now, I feel like this is a time we need to come closer and be as close as we've ever been, from top to bottom. Being able to come in and lean on each other, try to turn this thing around. There's obviously a little over 15 games left. We still have an opportunity to get in a position to get in the Play-In and then get back in the playoffs. That's what we want, and everyone in the locker room feels confident about a first-round matchup. We just have to continue to get better and don't let these last five games really define who we are or the season we've had.'
USA Today
24-02-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
6 best candidates for NBA's Most Improved Player beyond just Cade Cunningham
Now that we are past the NBA All-Star break and trade deadline, we can get a clearer picture of what the awards may look like at the end of the season. One of the most interesting awards is the NBA's Most Improved Player and while Cade Cunningham is the name that is coming up the most often, there are at least a few other names fans ought to consider before placing a bet. Using analytics, including some help from our friends at a few names immediately pop up. Let's start with the one that is perhaps most intriguing When examining performance across all metrics, the player who has shown the most improvement this season is actually Cleveland's Darius Garland. But this is a slightly unusual case because the last two years were a regression for Garland and now, as you can see in the chart below, he is playing more like the caliber of player he was when he made the 2022 NBA All-Star Game. Another player in a similar situation who would have otherwise made our leaderboard is Memphis forward Jaren Jackson Jr. While last year represented a dip for Jackson, he is also back to the same player he was when he was named an NBA All-Star in 2023. Other players who have some betting momentum but did not make an appearance on our rankings include New Orleans Pelicans forward Trey Murphy and Houston Rockets guard Amen Thompson (who should earn consideration for other awards like Sixth Man of the Year and All-Defense). A few other intriguing candidates who are not currently making waves with sportsbooks but deserve attention include Cleveland Cavaliers guard Ty Jerome (who barely played last season and may not meet the required minutes threshold this season) and L.A. Clippers big man Ivica Zubac (who is yet another All-Defense candidate). Some other honorable mentions include New York Knicks wing Josh Hart, Portland Trail Blazers guard Scoot Henderson, Memphis Grizzlies forward Santi Aldama, and Boston Celtics guard Payton Pritchard (who is the favorite to win NBA's Sixth Man of the Year).
