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USA Today
30-03-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Who should win 6th Man this year - Boston's Payton Pritchard, or Minny's Malik Beasley?
Who should win 6th Man this year - Boston's Payton Pritchard, or Minny's Malik Beasley? Who ought to win the NBA's 2025 Sixth Man of the Year award -- Boston Celtics backup guard Payton Pritchard, or Minnesota Timberwolves reserve guard Malik Beasley? Both of the two backcourt menaces have been having themselves breakout seasons, starring in their role if not quite stars coming off the bench. One cane make a solid case for Beasley, but from where we stand, it is a clear case for Fast PP to take home this particular piece of coveted full-season hardware given the impact he has on his already-championship caliber roster. And despite his shorter status, Pritchard has learned how to leverage his strength on defense, with some rebounding craftiness mixed in for good measure. The folks behind the "No Dunks" YouTube channel put together a clip taking a closer look at the race between the two. Take a look at the clip embedded below to hear what they had to say! If you enjoy this pod, check out the "How Bout Them Celtics," "First to the Floor," "Celtics Lab," and the many other New England sports podcasts available on the CLNS Media network. Listen to the "Celtics Lab" podcast on: Apple Podcasts: Spotify:
New York Times
25-02-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
What to watch in the NBA this week: Celtics-Cavs, Doncic vs. Dallas, new-look Warriors
The first weekend back from the All-Star intermission was a generally good hang. Luka Dončić had his first signature showing as a Los Angeles Laker. Tyrese Haliburton went Harlem Globetrotter on Saturday night. OKC and Minny put on a show in primetime, and the Detroit Pistons played meaningful basketball games. We can dig it. Advertisement This week's schedule is loaded, with a half-dozen national TV looks and some sneaky bangers on League Pass. We broke down some matchups below in a format befitting Oscars week. In the words of Bill Murray in the original Space Jam (1996): 'Here's how I see it!' Tuesday, 10 p.m. ET, TNT Best Supporting Hooper: Max Christie. He was understandably overshadowed amid the most stunning superstar swap in league history, but the third-year wing is really coming on strong at Dallas' reconstruction site. Christie started 25 times with the Lakers, serving as a respectable 3-and-D plug-and-play option. But he's leveling up with the Mavs, averaging over 15 points in 32 minutes across his first eight games. He's up to the 97th percentile in points per shot attempt on Cleaning the Glass and has soared beyond his career assist rate. Christie is still 21 years old, and the good vibes are bountiful. 'When you talk about defense and me being tasked with the point of attack or the best perimeter player, if I set the tone on the guy to start, it just trickles down into everybody else,' he told The Athletic's Jovan Buha in a December Q&A. Best Original Game Plan: JJ Redick. LA's noogie of the Denver Nuggets was wholly impressive. The hosts at Mile High lost by 23 points and snapped their nine-game winning streak. The otherwise-otherworldly Nikola Jokić was held to his worst game of the season. JJ Redick flashed some inspired coaching here, sticking 6-foot-8 Rui Hachimura on the mountainous three-time MVP. Hachimura was a gravelly irritant, checking Jokić all around the half-court and denying ball entry in the post. Redick admitted that he couldn't sleep in anticipation of this game plan. He nailed it Saturday night. Wednesday, 7 p.m. ET, FDSN, NBCS, League Pass Advertisement Best Source Material: 'The Town' (2010). For real, the Joe Mazzulla program is working. If the team's lead strategist wants to watch Ben Affleck rob Fenway Park multiple times a week, well, how can we non-Ball Knowers possibly protest? Neither loud nor surprising, the defending champs are still having an excellent season thus far. Everyone appears to have bought into the title defense; egos are fully sublimated. That December mini-lull has been casually brushed aside, and Kristaps Porziņģis has been reintegrated. Boston starts the week third in net rating and top-five on both offense and defense. Best Director: J.B. Bickerstaff. Detroit has averaged 18.8 wins per season in the past half-decade. Wipe the screen off and collect yourself if necessary. It's really been that bad. Maybe the cure for societal loneliness is rooting for the competent, super-endearing Pistons, who are winners of seven straight. Since the New Year: an 18-8 record, seventh in plus-minus and net rating. Bickerstaff is getting so much out of his veteran journeymen (Malik Beasley, Tim Hardaway Jr.) and has shepherded the ascents of the youth (Cade Cunningham, Jalen Duren, Ausar Thompson). The Pistons are now on pace for their first finish above .500 since 2015-16. Wednesday, 7 p.m. ET, ESPN Best Documentary Feature: Whatever this 2024-25 Sixers season is. Perhaps Philly is giving us one huge exercise in horror-noir. It's increasingly sad and uncomfortable for a group with championship aspirations just a few months prior. Joel Embiid is clearly not healthy. The 76ers lost at home to the Bulls by 32 points Monday night. Best Returning Hooper: Mitchell Robinson. Fair or not, the hopes of a sudden clampdown in New York will be pinned to the seven-footer returning from ankle surgery. The Knicks' offense is Finals-worthy; the defense is absolutely not, as evidenced by last weekend's blowout losses to Cleveland and Boston. Tom Thibodeau's team has the league's worst defensive rating this month. Robinson is expected to join the rotation this week, a much-needed mood booster from a sobering few days on the floor. This iteration is certainly fun but far from elite, incongruent with a front office that gave up five first-round picks to compete at the highest plateau. From The Athletic's James Edwards III: 'The weekend reaffirmed what was already out there: the Knicks aren't there yet. The issues start defensively, where the Knicks have continuously been up-and-down all season. New York's pick-and-roll coverage, poor communication in transition and inability to guard across the board puts them behind the league's best. And for a New York offense that has been upper-tier all season, it looks mortal against these championship contenders because they are capable of doing things the Knicks haven't been able to.' Advertisement Wednesday, 9:30 p.m. ET, ESPN Best Adapted Screenplay: Brian Wright. This was never going to be the Spurs' year. It's Victor Wembanyama's age-21 season, and the Western Conference is loaded with win-now competitors. The organization has taken a few wrenching health scares, such as Wemby's blood clots and Gregg Popovich's stroke. Yet time will not render this season fully lost because De'Aaron Fox has been installed as the long-term table-setter in silver and black. San Antonio has had a top-five assist rate and turnover ratio since the Fox move. The eight-year veteran is only 27 years old and has ample time to acclimate to his new digs. GM Brian Wright did his thing here. Best Supporting Hooper: Amen Thompson. The rangy second-year is unassumingly fifth in defensive win shares this season. He's ahead of stalwarts like Rudy Gobert, Evan Mobley, Jaren Jackson Jr. and Dyson Daniels. Thompson has been playing with elasticity and fearlessness on the other end, putting up around 16 points, 10 rebounds and five assists since becoming a starter. He may only be a 'supporting' hooper for so long: NASTY AMEN THOMPSON CROSS & POSTER 😤 — Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) February 4, 2025 Thursday, 7 p.m. ET, FDSN, NBC Sports Bay Area, League Pass Best Music: 'Only Wanna Be with You,' Hootie and the Blowfish (1994). Let Jimmy Butler sing to his heart's content. The arrival in Golden State has clearly galvanized Stephen Curry and Draymond Green. 'This team all year has been kind of like, 'Man, we're right there, but can't quite get over the hump.' But there's a reason that you feel like you're right there but can't quite get over,' Green told The Athletic's Marcus Thompson II and Sam Amick. 'And the reason I think we all thought we couldn't quite get over was because there was a missing piece. That piece isn't missing anymore. That piece is him.' The Warriors look renewed, but there's still much ground to make up if they hope to avoid the play-in. Thursday, 8 p.m. ET, TNT Best Lead Actor: Nikola Jokić. The singular Serbian talent is somehow having the best stretch of his NBA career. He hits this week ranking: Jokić is the league's Daniel Day-Lewis: He's won the top individual hardware three times, seems almost bored by his prodigiousness and will absolutely drink your milkshake. Best Editing: Doc Rivers. Milwaukee staved off disaster warnings with an inspired (if cosmetic) run for the NBA Cup. The All-Star break relieved them of an uninspired 4-7 stretch. Basketball Reference has them with the lightest strength of schedule to date. The random sequencing of this season has somewhat obscured a wildly underwhelming campaign. Advertisement Friday, 7:30 p.m. ET, ESPN Best Picture: The East-leading Cleveland Cavaliers. With the best offense in the sport, the best record in the conference and the best attendance at the gates, this Cavs season has been a feel-good story in the province of Steven Spielberg or Nora Ephron. The core is intact and under contract for the next three seasons. From The Athletic's Jason Lloyd: 'The Cavs' previous championship era, believe it or not, more closely resembles the model the league was trying to extinguish of hastily assembling stars in one market. LeBron James returned, the Cavs got lucky in the lottery, swung a big trade for Kevin Love and poof! A four-hour parade on a 100-degree day. As a reference point, the Cavs would've been considered a second-apron team under these current rules during James' final three years in Cleveland. These Cavs have grown together much more organically. They will reach repeat offender status on the luxury tax scale, regardless of the aprons, for the first time after the 2028-29 season.' Best Production Design: The Boston '3-party.' There's been a whirring carousel of complaints and grievances around modern basketball's 3-point reliance. No matter the validity of it all, these Celtics have the numbers to justify their style. The reigning champs are No. 1 in 3s made and attempted … and that has them winning games (third-best record in the league) without sacrificing integrity (fifth in defensive rating and defensive rebounding rate). Boston is ignoring the noise and sticking to its beliefs. Friday, 8 p.m. ET, FDSN, MSG, League Pass Best Cinematography: 'Friday Night Knicks.' We don't know if New York harbors a title contender just yet, but we definitely know it has a championship-level presentation. The Knicks are a League Pass delight for many reasons — Mike Breen's eternal elegance, Walt 'Clyde' Frazier's velvet wardrobe and linguistic innovation, and Madison Square Garden's overall historic aura. But regional Knicks games are particularly sublime on this day of all days, thanks to Robert Randolph and the Family Band's 'Friday Night Knicks' jam. Christen your weekend appropriately: Best New Hooper: Jaylen Wells. The 39th pick in last spring's draft is leading his rookie class in win shares and starts for the West's second-winningest team. Only Jaren Jackson Jr. has played more minutes for the 37-20 Grizzlies this season. Wells is averaging 14 points in his last four games and drilled four 3s in Cleveland on Sunday. Advertisement Friday, 10 p.m. ET, ESPN Best International Feature: Ivica Zubac's career year. The old-school Bosnian big man has charmingly muscled his way to the best NBA run of his nine-year career. It's always fun to see a veteran player commit to steady improvement, especially in less-glamorous departments like post passing, paint defense and boxing out. Zubac is averaging over 15 points and 12 rebounds, anchoring a Clippers defense that's fourth in scoring against. Best Casting: Rob Pelinka. Yeah, landing a 25-year-old Luka Dončić to play the 'Lakers' next generational global superstar' role was a good move. (Photo by Ronald Martinez / Getty Images)
