In a game that saw LeBron James catch fire from beyond the arc and the Golden State Warriors build a 14-point fourth-quarter lead, Kyrie Irving made the ending about him.

Golden State opened the fourth with a 7-0 blitz, extending its lead to a game-high 14. That felt like the end.

Kevin Durant (36 points, 15 rebounds) was in rhythm. Klay Thompson (24 points), seldom idle, kept the Cavaliers defense on its toes away from the ball. Stephen Curry (15 points, three assists) could barely buy a bucket, but he set quality screens, and the Warriors didn't seem to need him.

That should have been the story coming out of this game: the impossibility that is Golden State.

Curry was quiet offensively, but it didn't matter. The Warriors shot under 40 percent on wide-open looks, but whatever. They were going to leave Cleveland with a victory anyway.

The ability to win imperfectly, if ugly, is part of the reason signing Durant was so huge, as Yahoo Sports' Dan Devine noted:

— Dan Devine (@YourManDevine) December 25, 2016

But then the Cavaliers happened.

More specifically, Irving happened.

Irving shot 6-of-11 from the field and scored 14 of his 25 points in the fourth. He dished out two assists, picked up three steals and then, with Cleveland trailing by one inside 10 seconds to play, drilled the game-winning bucket over Thompson:

— NBA TV (@NBATV) December 25, 2016

Irving's Christmas Day heroics are a lower-stakes callback to his championship-clinching three-pointer in Game 7 of the NBA Finals last season. Only this time, instead of working against Curry on the perimeter, he was attacking Thompson—a 6'7" wing recognized for his defensive chops across multiple positions.

Moments like this are not foreign to Irving. They're a part of his everyday job description this side of Cleveland's improbable title upset.

Indeed, Irving is shooting just 41.7 percent inside two minutes to play in games being decided by five points or fewer. But the Cavaliers are going to him more than anyone else. He has a higher usage rate than James in these situations, and his crunch-time plus/minus is second only to the four-time league MVP.

It's not a late-game transition that feels forced. It's organic. It even makes sense.

Defenses won't pack the paint when Irving goes one-on-one, because the threat of James still exists. And James' first instinct, for the most part, has always been to defer; playing off the ball, almost as a decoy, profiles as just another assist for him.

"That kid is special," James said of Irving's Christmas game-winner, per the NBA on Twitter. "It was never in doubt. That's what he do."

None of this means the torch is being passed in Cleveland. Irving is having a fantastic season; he is the only player on the team averaging more than 23 points and five assists while shooting better than 40 percent from downtown. But James is still the alpha.

Nor does the Cavaliers' four-game winning streak against the Warriors, keyed by Irving's performance in the clutch, give them an irrevocable edge. 

"The way we lost that game," Thompson said Sunday, per the Bay Area News Group's Anthony Slater, "we gave them a gift."

He's right.

Cleveland will be hard-pressed to win another best-of-seven bout with Golden State if it needs to erase double-digit fourth-quarter deficits while sticking to an eight-man rotation. Depth will be an issue even with a healthy J.R. Smith (thumb surgery), and the Warriors won't shoot 30 percent from long range every time they're forced to play at the Cavaliers' speed. 

Still, as ESPN.com's Zach Lowe pointed out, there is a been-there, done-that feel to the way Cleveland plays Golden State:

— Zach Lowe (@ZachLowe_NBA) December 25, 2016

James is the primary author of the Cavaliers' poise under pressure. He is putting down more than 37 percent of his threes for the third time in his career and can make any given play, at any particular moment, no matter how implausible.

— NBA TV (@NBATV) December 25, 2016

The Cavaliers, remember, are statistical sewage whenever James takes a seat. Irving's absence has no such effect on their performance.

There is no wholesale transformation taking place in Cleveland. James is the team's best player, and Irving isn't on the verge of poaching MVP votes from his partner.

But where the Cavaliers once needed James to be the guy with the ball in hands at the end of close games, Irving is, shot-by-shot, moment-by-moment, becoming a crunch-time safety net all his own.

        

The Knicks Are a Mirage

Do not let the New York Knicks' winning record (16-14) and proximity to the Eastern Conference's No. 3 seed fool you: They are not a good basketball team.

That much became clear during a 119-114 loss to the Boston Celtics. In fact, that much becomes clear anytime they match up with squads that don't stink, per Posting and Toasting's Joe Flynn:

— Joseph Flynn (@ChinaJoeFlynn) December 25, 2016

Losing by five points doesn't usually imply anything sinister. And there will be those who point to an unlikely contested three in crunch time from Marcus Smart (15 points, seven assists) as the difference:

— NBA (@NBA) December 25, 2016

But the Knicks defense was terrible from wire to wire. Almost half of the Celtics' field-goal attempts went unchallenged, and Isaiah Thomas' (27 points, four assists) pick-and-rolls kept torching New York.

Isolation sets ruled the day on offense; the Knicks dished out 11 assists on 41 made baskets. Derrick Rose scored 25 points but dropped just three dimes while routinely forgetting Kristaps Porzingis existed. Carmelo Anthony, who was ice-cold save for a 15-point third quarter, got pick-pocketed by Avery Bradley when trying to go one-on-one during a crucial possession down the stretch.

New York is now 2-10 against outfits with winning records. And it has a lower net rating (minus-3.0) than last year (minus-2.8) when it collected a pitiful 32 victories.

Chemistry can still be an issue with the Knicks on the offensive end, and their 25th-place defense might improve as Joakim Noah sheds that final layer of rust and Porzingis learns to defend in space.

By no means, though, are these Knicks special. They're a low-level playoff unit, speeding toward a probable first-round exit, and nothing more.

Here Comes Santa Claus LaMarcus Aldridge

LaMarcus Aldridge hasn't always been a star for the San Antonio Spurs, but you'd never know that during the team's 119-100 victory over the Chicago Bulls. 

The power forward gave his troops an early Christmas present by making his first 11 shots from the field, and he finished with a sensational line: 33 points, nine rebounds and an assist on 15-of-20 shooting. Not only was this the most he'd scored in 2016-17, but it was one of the highest point totals Chicago had allowed this year.

— Jeff McDonald (@JMcDonald_SAEN) December 25, 2016

The San Antonio Express-News' Jeff McDonald is referring to a 2006 contest against the Phoenix Suns in which Fabricio Oberto exploded for 22 points on an 11-of-11 performance. But that's not who we should be comparing Aldridge to, because while Oberto's performance was an opportunity-aided anomaly, these Spurs kept feeding their big man. 

We have to compare him to himself. 

Aldridge hasn't been able to match what he did during his first season in San Antonio, when he gained comfort down the stretch and became a featured offensive option for the playoffs. NBA Math has the details: 

— NBA Math (@NBA_Math) December 26, 2016

Aldridge's numbers are down in 2016-17. He's had a worse showing in plenty of counting stats, and his percentages have followed suit. San Antonio's net rating has even declined by 6.6 points per 100 possessions with him on the floor. 

But this game showed that trend may not be sustainable. 

The Spurs kept pounding the ball in to Aldridge, letting him knock down jumpers and finish plays around the rim. And their offense didn't suffer for it; they outscored Chicago by 14 points while he was on the court, per ESPN.com. 

Momentum and confidence are unpredictable things in the NBA, and Aldridge's cementing those intangibles would make one of the Western Conference's front-runners more dangerous. Kawhi Leonard is still thriving and living on the fringes of MVP consideration, and this deep team is coalescing—as always—under head coach Gregg Popovich's supervision. 

Add in another All-Star contributor to this 25-6 powerhouse, and nightmares will follow. 

— B/R's Adam Fromal

              

Russell Westbrook's Giving Spirit

It's easy to focus on Russell Westbrook's scoring. 

The dynamic point guard can rocket by virtually any defender and explode toward the rim for a thunderous finish. His pull-up jumpers are athletic marvels, even when they clang off the iron. His gaudy point totals are quickly becoming nothing short of legendary. 

But on Christmas, Westbrook was in a giving mood. He still recorded 31 points and seven rebounds during the Oklahoma City Thunder's 112-100 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves at Chesapeake Energy Arena, but his 15 dimes were even more notable. Especially in the third quarter.

As you can see below, Westbrook carved apart the Minnesota defense with ease:

But it didn't stop there. 

This feed to Steven Adams was fantastic: 

Ditto for the highlight-reel pass below, which led to Westbrook's exhorting the crowd and high-fiving a young fan sitting in the front row: 

This wasn't a game that featured Westbrook feasting on easy opportunities; his assists sparked the OKC offense. He consistently pushed the Wolves back onto their heels and then capitalized with his fantastic vision. Often operating a half-second ahead of the opposition, he routinely squeezed the ball into tight spaces and showed no compunction sharing the rock. 

Add it to the ever-growing list of 2016-17 heroics from this MVP front-runner.

What can't he do? 

— B/R's Adam Fromal

            

The Streak Is Over

With a 111-102 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers at Staples Center, the Los Angeles Lakers beat their geographic rivals for the first time in a dozen games, per Elias Sports Bureau. And it's amazing how different the rosters looked the last time the Lakers emerged as the superior squad, all the way back on Oct. 29, 2013. 

A little over three years ago, the Clippers rolled out Jared Dudley, J.J. Redick, Blake Griffin, Chris Paul and DeAndre Jordan for the opening tip. This time, they were missing Griffin and Paul to injuries, and we know that's not good news for the organization.    

In 2013, the Lakers featured Pau Gasol, Steve Blake, Nick Young, Steve Nash and Shawne Williams, with Jordan Farmar, Xavier Henry, Jodie Meeks and Wesley Johnson coming off the pine. This time, a horde of youngsters and veteran role players managed to score in double figures, including each member of the starting five:

• Nick Young: 19 points
• Timofey Mozgov: 19 points
• D'Angelo Russell: 14 points
• Luol Deng: 13 points
• Julius Randle: 13 points
• Brandon Ingram: 10 points off the bench

However, don't assume a new era has begun. 

The Lakers may be on the rise, but they've struggled immensely after a hot start to the season and still have plenty of growing to do before emerging as legitimate contenders. As for the Clippers, this game wasn't representative of their lofty abilities when Paul and Griffin are healthy. 

But enjoy the end of the streak all the same. The NBA is better with a more subtle delineation between Los Angeles' two outfits. 

— B/R's Adam Fromal

       

Sunday's Scores

• Boston Celtics 119, New York Knicks 114
• Cleveland Cavaliers 109, Golden State Warriors 108
• San Antonio Spurs 119, Chicago Bulls 100
• Minnesota Timberwolves 100, Oklahoma City Thunder 112
• Los Angeles Clippers 102, Los Angeles Lakers 111

             

Stats courtesy of Basketball-Reference.com and NBA.com. Salary commitments via Basketball Insiders.

Dan Favale covers the NBA for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter: @danfavale.

The Cleveland Cavaliers earned an impressive win over the Golden State Warriors on Christmas Day, but it came with some controversy.

The review also stated LeBron James should have been called for a technical foul for hanging on the rim with 1:43 remaining.

Cleveland overcame a 14-point fourth-quarter deficit to defeat the Warriors in a rematch of the last two NBA Finals. The game could have been a preview of a third championship battle between the two squads, which lead their respective conferences.

However, the result sparked debate as to what happened on the final play of the game.

"I fell, and I didn't fall on my own," Durant said afterward, per Chris Haynes of ESPN.com.

Jefferson, who didn't deny making contact, countered, per Jason Lloyd of the Akron Beacon Journal: "We all think we're fouled on every play in every single game."

The other controversy stemmed from this dunk and reaction by James, which didn't lead to a technical foul:

While the play gave the Cavaliers a two-point lead with less than two minutes remaining, the ensuing celebration was excessive.

The Cleveland Cavaliers got the Christmas present they were looking for Sunday: a 109-108 victory over the Golden State Warriors at their home of Quicken Loans Arena.

LeBron James must be happy he's on the winning side of this treatment. 

Joel Embiid entered the NBA with the tools to rule the paint.

But after missing what would’ve been his rookie season with the Philadelphia 76ers not once but twice on account of a tricky foot injury—and adding height and muscle to his body during that interminable wait—Embiid wanted more. He wanted to own the league inside and out.

This past summer, in preparation for his pro debut, Embiid enlisted the help of NBA skills trainer Drew Hanlen to sharpen his shot.

They hopped from gym to gym around Los Angeles, watching film of Hakeem Olajuwon and working the Dream Shake into Embiid’s repertoire. But by and large, Hanlen had Embiid, at 7’2” and a chiseled 250 pounds, study the game’s greatest scoring wings—Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant and Carmelo Anthony, among other subjects—to become a face-up force with three-point range.

“A lot of big guys lack natural touch, so it’s harder for them to shoot from further distance,” Hanlen told Bleacher Report. “He had natural touch when he came to me and we started working, so it was easy to make little mechanical tweaks to improve his numbers.”

Look around the league, and you’ll find giants like Embiid venturing out into what was once the domain of their smaller, quicker counterparts in greater numbers than ever. They’ve co-opted the three-point shot—a tool intended, in part, to dull their advantages in size and strength—as another weapon to assert their hardwood hegemony.

 

The Arc of History

Any list of the best bigs in basketball today is littered with guys who can beat you from way outside.

Anthony Davis went from taking 27 threes during his first three seasons combined to attempting 108 in 61 contests last season and 65 through 31 games in 2016-17. DeMarcus Cousins, a low-post bully of the highest order, takes 4.7 threes per game—up from 3.2 last season and 0.1 the season before that. In his first 27 games this season, Brook Lopez nearly quintupled his total three-point output from his first eight campaigns.

Perhaps no center’s success from beyond the arc has surprised more than Marc Gasol's. The Memphis Grizzlies’ man in the middle is now stepping out 3.5 times per game and knocking down threes at a 42.6 percent clip—a top-15 mark.

And he’s doing it with the range of a 7-foot Stephen Curry. According to NBA Savant, Gasol has hit 45.5 percent (5-of-11) of his shots from 27 feet and beyond, compared to 34.3 percent (23-of-67) for Curry.

“It’s definitely becoming a big part of what he’s doing,” said Portland Trail Blazers big man Meyers Leonard, who got burned by Gasol at the FedEx Forum in early December.

According to B/R Insights, players whose primary or secondary position is center have shot the ball nearly as well from three (35.4 percent) as those playing guard (35.9 percent). They’re also on pace to zoom past last season’s marks for three-point attempts and makes among 5-men, which were the highest in at least a decade.

“I think that’s where the game is going,” Indiana Pacers head coach Nate McMillan said. “Teams are encouraging their players to shoot the three, encouraging everybody to shoot the three.”

In some respects, having centers shoot threes can tilt the tables in one team’s favor more than, say, asking guards and wings to take more shots from deep. If a big is hanging around the perimeter, he’s probably pulling the opponent’s rim protector away from the paint and opening up the floor for his own teammates to attack.

“It doesn’t even have to be behind the three[-point line],” Los Angeles Clippers coach Doc Rivers said. “Just a 5 that’s picking and popping now. Being behind the three puts an extreme amount of pressure on the defense.”

 

Young Guns

Myles Turner had the makings of a pick-and-pop phenom from the get-go for the Indiana Pacers. As a rookie, he canned shots inside the arc at clips close to or above the league average.

Turner had tested his range as a freshman at the University of Texas, hitting 17 of 62 threes (27.4 percent) while playing predominantly power forward. The Pacers pulled him in a bit, to the point where he finished 3-of-14 on long-range looks in 2015-16 between both big-man spots.

After a summer spent sharpening his three-point shot—Turner estimates that he launched 800-1,000 shots per day during the offseason—he’s taking (1.6 per game) and making them (37.3 percent) at higher rates than he did in college.

“I’ve always played in the post, but I’ve always worked on my shot,” Turner said. “When I was in high school, AAU and all that kind of stuff, I always took outside shots because it’s what came naturally to me. I put a lot of work into my shot as well.”

Kristaps Porzingis can go a step further: He’s been dancing around the arc for as long as he’s played the game. It wasn’t until he was “15 or 16” that he started to play inside.

“A lot of tall kids might want to shoot more from outside than inside now, seeing the way I play and the way Dirk [Nowitzki] played, who affected me,” Porzingis said.

Few tall kids grow up to be 7’3” like the New York Knicks’ young star. Fewer still move around the floor and shoot as effortlessly as he does.

“I’d give him the green light to shoot it,” said Los Angeles Lakers coach Luke Walton, before watching New York’s Unicorn drain 3-of-4 from deep during a 118-112 Knicks win.

Porzingis, who’s hit 40.3 percent of his 5.3 threes per game, is the new posterchild for young bigs coming into the league ready to launch. Not far from the front of that pack is Karl-Anthony Towns, last season’s unanimous Rookie of the Year, a 33.6 percent shooter on 3.8 tries. And there are so many more like them, from Denver’s Nikola Jokic and Phoenix’s Dragan Bender to Charlotte’s Frank Kaminsky and Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo.

“I think it’s probably the way kids grow up nowadays,” Knicks head coach Jeff Hornacek said. “They’ve seen this league transform with bigs shooting threes, so these guys are 12, 13 years old, they’re 6’5” and they’re out there shooting threes. It’s not surprising. At 7’3”, it might be a little bit surprising, but Manute Bol used to shoot threes. He was 7’7”.”

 

Stepping Back

In Portland’s practice gym, you’ll find a bell on the wall. If you take five shots from five different spots and hit at least 20 of them (80 percent), you get to ring it.

“That was always like a goal of mine,” Leonard said. “I would always get really close.”

Some 18s here, some 19s there, with the occasional 20 mixed in. Eventually, Leonard was ringing the bell regularly. He started showing off his stroke in practice and added three-pointers to his pregame routine. By the end of his third season, he was a fixture in the Trail Blazers’ rotation, taking two treys per game.

Now, Leonard’s so comfortable on the perimeter that he takes jump shots from three-point range, rather than the flat-footed set shots that other centers tend to deploy.

“All the guys in the NBA are strong enough to get the ball to the rim,” Leonard said.

For most bigs, it’s a matter of making mechanical adjustments, testing out tweaks frequently enough to etch them into their muscle memory and building confidence from beyond the arc.

Marreese Speights was never shy to let it fly from inside the line—hence the “Mo Buckets” moniker. It wasn’t until Steve Kerr and his Golden State Warriors staff encouraged him to take another step back last season that his long twos turned into threes.

“I’ve always been able to shoot,” Speights said, “but I never shot it in games because I never wanted to get subbed out of games.”

That fear disappeared with the Warriors’ support—and with a bit more arc on his shot. His confidence from that distance is one of the main reasons the Los Angeles Clippers were so pleased to snag Speights from Golden State this summer, and why he quickly became a staple of Doc Rivers’ stellar second unit.

“He’d rather me shoot it than turn it over,” Speights said, “so I shoot it.”

 

How To Be Big

Not all bigs gets that kind of encouragement to shoot. If you’re one of the bigger kids rising through the basketball ranks, chances are, coaches have told you to stay inside, where your size and strength can be put to better use.

“When I was coming up, the big man was taught to be in the paint, rebound and score in the paint,” Pacers center Al Jefferson said. “Now, it shows you how much skills these young guys coming up with them now. They’re able to dribble the ball like guards and shoot the three. So I think it just shows how much better that we got as players.”

Jefferson insists he has no interest in venturing out beyond 15-17 feet, where he’s been lethal for most of his pro career. Nor do the Pacers seem inclined to push his limits.

“I’m an antique,” he said. “You don’t see much of what I do no more. I think that makes me who I am. I don’t think coach want me to shoot threes.”

“Coach, can I shoot threes?” Jefferson asked McMillan, who chuckled at the question. “See?”

Even if he did, Jefferson would have to cope with the same physical challenges that make big men feel as comfortable inside as they often are uncomfortable outside.

“I feel like it’s more of a disadvantage when you’re higher up and you’re shooting more flat than anything,” Turner said. “That’s why a lot of big guys struggle to shoot free throws and whatnot, I believe.”

To Hanlen, it has less to do with height than hand size.

“The hardest thing is big guys have bigger hands, so their hand placement is completely different,” he said. “They usually have to have their hands closer together. And also, that means they have to release the ball differently because otherwise, their non-shooting hand would block their shooting hand’s path for a clear shot.”

 

Stay In Your Lane

Some NBA giants aren't ready, willing or able to join the league’s three-point revolution.

Rudy Gobert doesn’t mind competing with Utah Jazz teammate Trey Lyles in three-point contests behind closed doors. But when it comes to games, he knows where his bread is best buttered.

“I’m working on my mid-range a lot, but right now, I think the main thing for me is helping my team winning,” Gobert said. “I’m not going to do things I haven’t mastered yet. I just do things to help my teammates like set good screens and go to the rim and put pressure on the rim. I think when I do that, it’s the way that helps my team the most.”

Joakim Noah hasn’t shot threes since high school and hasn’t straightened out his crooked stroke, even after playing next to stretchy bigs like Pau Gasol and Nikola Mirotic in Chicago and Porzingis in New York.

“At this point, it is what it is,” he said. “Everybody has a role to play.”

The New Orleans Hornets tried to convince David West to swap out some of his patented 18-footers for threes, to no avail. The Indiana Pacers made a similar pitch, only to see it fall on deaf ears.

“I just never could get, not necessarily confident enough,” West said, “but I never felt like that would be an effective way for me to play.”

Zaza Pachulia, West’s Golden State teammate, gave it some thought while playing with Nowitzki and for Rick Carlisle in Dallas last season. He didn’t follow through, but after making his first official three over the summer with the Georgian national team, Pachulia has some hope.

“I’m just following the game plan,” he said, “but it’s something good to think about for the future. I’m glad you reminded me.”

 

Just Keep Shooting

Shooting threes in live action isn’t for everybody. Nor is it in every team’s best interest to consistently pull its centers away from the hoop. If a big is best at using his size to bully opponents inside, having him step outside can be a disservice to his own squad—especially if he’s not particularly proficient from the perimeter.

“There’s some centers that, if they want to shoot threes, I’m all for it,” Walton said. “If they want to stay out there and not be in the paint scoring on us and getting rebounds, I encourage them to do that.”

Walton wasn’t willing to name names, though there was one that popped up elsewhere in L.A.

“Guys like Marc Gasol shooting threes, he ain’t down low because he’s a killer down low,” Speights said. “So it’s sometimes good for the opposing team.”

Still, there’s nothing wrong with a big guy giving it a try, at least in an empty gym. Practicing threes can benefit a frontcourt player’s game in other ways, even if his full range never sees the light of day.

“David Lee in workouts shoots about 80 percent from NBA three, but he hasn’t made a traditional NBA three-pointer in his career,” Hanlen revealed. “He’s made like last-second shots, but the reason we work on and perfect his three-point shot is just so that his ability to knock down mid-range jump shots is a lot easier.”

No matter how tall or small you may be, it can’t hurt to work on your three-point shot. In today’s shooting-obsessed NBA, you never know when or how it might come in handy.

“I encourage everybody to be a better shooter because it helps your game, obviously,” Rivers said. “I wish someone had encouraged me [to do] that.”

 

All stats accurate as of games played Dec. 26 and via NBA.com and Basketball Reference unless otherwise noted. All quotes obtained firsthand.

Josh Martin covers the NBA for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook, and listen to his Hollywood Hoops podcast with B/R Lakers lead writer Eric Pincus.

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Discussions regarding the use of marijuana as a safer pain-relief alternative have become more prevalent in the NBA since Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr acknowledged in early December he tried using it to treat chronic back pain, and former NBA All-Star Chauncey Billups spoke up on the topic Friday.

Billups also disclosed that marijuana helped some of his former teammates relax when they were dealing with pregame anxiety.

"I had teammates. … I actually wanted them to smoke; they played better like that," he said. "It helped them focus in on the game plan. … I needed them to do that. I would rather them [smoke] sometimes than drink."

In May 2015, TMZ Sports polled 10 anonymous NBA players who were unanimously united in their support of medical marijuana legalization for players in the Association.

While the league has yet to indicate it's ready to legalize medical marijuana for players as a pain-relief alternative, the NBA does have one of the more lenient marijuana policies among major professional sports leagues.

Players are fined $25,000 for a second positive marijuana test and suspended for five games for a third positive test, according to Yahoo Sports' Kelly Dwyer.

Following the passage of several November ballot measures, medical marijuana is legal in 28 states, while recreational weed is legal in eight.

The Sacramento Kings and Philadelphia 76ers agreed to a makeup date for their Nov. 30 game that was postponed as a result of excess moisture on the floor at Wells Fargo Center. 

The Associated Press' Aaron Bracy reported the arena housed a Philadelphia Flyers hockey game the night before the Kings and 76ers were set to play in November. With the ice under the court, unseasonably warm weather may have caused the condensation.

"With our ice surface, sometimes humidity is our biggest opponent when we prepare for a game," said John Page, president of the Wells Fargo Complex. "We've never had an issue before, but we need to make sure we don't have this issue again."

Arena personnel did their best to dry the court off, and they received a helping hand from Kings big man DeMarcus Cousins, courtesy of the team's official Twitter account:

— Sacramento Kings (@SacramentoKings) December 1, 2016

Rescheduling the game will cause a bit of congestion for both teams at the end of January.

The Kings play the Houston Rockets on Jan. 31, and when they take on Philadelphia, they'll be just two days removed from the second half of a back-to-back on Jan. 27 and 28.

The 76ers, meanwhile, will now have three games in four nights. They play the Chicago Bulls on Jan. 29 and the Dallas Mavericks on Feb. 1, with Sacramento sandwiched in between.

Rumor: Tom Thibodeau expected to trade young Timberwolves player for established veteran

Some NBA statistics make sense.  The two-time reigning Defensive Player of the Year is such a smart player that he's making a positive impact on the San Antonio Spurs' team defense by jumping passing lanes and rotating perfectly. But he's having individual trouble for the first time. Before the season began, The Crossover ran a roundtable asking five Sports Illustrated NBA experts for their Finals prognostications. Three predicted the Golden State Warriors and Cleveland Cavaliers would meet for their third consecutive battle. Andrew Sharp had the Warriors beating the Boston Celtics, and Lee Jenkins was the odd man out.  The Los Angeles Lakers struggled for the last few years, trying desperately to overcome a lack of talent and their commitment to a lesser version of Kobe Bryant. Meanwhile, the San Antonio Spurs continued performing like a juggernaut, seamlessly blending in new stars to account for the declines of long-time stalwarts. Quarters should be largely irrelevant. Rotations change between periods, but the teams are playing the same sport against the same opponent during each of the four 12-minute segments.  "We could all be digging ditches," Rick Carlisle said about how to keep the Dallas Mavericks' morale up, per Eddie Sefko of the Dallas Morning News. Through his first 14 appearances, Dwyane Wade has taken 3.5 triples per game and connected at a 38.8 percent clip. That means he's hit more three-pointers during his average outing than he did during 2011-12, 2012-13, 2013-14, 2014-15 and 2015-16...combined.  Let's stick with the Bulls for one more shocking statistic.  Heading into this season, just four different qualified players had recorded at least 10 assists per game while providing dimes on no fewer than 50 percent of the shots made by their teammates while they were on the floor: Normally, the men leading the pack in true shooting percentage are either dominant interior presences who can hold their own at the free-throw line or tremendous all-around shooters in the mold of Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant. That's who fills up the majority of the top 20, but the contributor on top is a different animal.  Last season, not a single player faced at least four shots per game at the rim and suited up in half of his team's games, per NBA.com's SportVU data. Those closest were the names you might expect—Rudy Gobert, John Henson, Jeff Withey, Festus Ezeli, Serge Ibaka, Bismack Biyombo and Andrew Bogut led the field. 

Please don't be surprised DeMarcus Cousins is near the top of the leaderboard for technical fouls. 

But other stats are...strange. 

Those are the ones we're interested in here as we play around with small samples. You couldn't possibly have seen these 10 coming. 

According to NBA.com, that hasn't been the case so far this season, which stands in stark contrast to his recent defensive history: 

Season	Typical FG% of Defensive Assignments	Defended FG%	Difference
2013-14	45.1	39.9	Minus-5.2
2014-15	44.6	44.2	Minus-0.4
2015-16	44.8	39.2	Minus-5.6
2016-17	44.2	47.0	2.8

It's not that Leonard is suddenly taking on tougher individual assignments; if anything, he's facing the worst opposition of his career, based on the typical field-goal percentages of his matchups. But for the first time in the last four years, he's not having any success slowing them down. 

Maybe this is just an early-season fluke. Perhaps it's a sign Leonard's offensive role has grown unwieldy and is holding him back elsewhere. 

Either way, it's strange. And based on his reputation and skill set, it shouldn't last too much longer. 

    

Will This Change?

Yes, we should still expect Leonard to finish the year with a difference in the negatives (a good thing here). 

Even the bet on the Clippers was, in part, a bet against the Warriors. After all, both Golden State and Cleveland entered the year as such overwhelming favorites that it bordered on insane to think the Clippers would look like the NBA's best team. 

And they haven't just done that.

Led by a crazily accurate, Lasik-inspired Chris Paul and a fully healthy Blake Griffin, the Clippers have played so well that NBA Math's Team Rating has them on pace to be the best team in NBA history. It shows them stacking up against historical giants as such, based on how their offensive and defensive ratings compare to the league average:

1. 2016-17 Los Angeles Clippers, 106.67 Team Rating
2. 1995-96 Chicago Bulls, 106.38
3. 1996-97 Chicago Bulls, 105.71
4. 1970-71 Milwaukee Bucks, 105.65
5. 2007-08 Boston Celtics, 105.61

The Warriors (104.84) and Cavaliers (103.4) have been the next best this year, but the Clippers are running away with the top mark. 

    

Will This Change? 

Yes, both because the Warriors defense should improve and the Clippers should eventually run into bench inconsistencies. 

Sure, the Spurs remain the better team. With an 11-3 record, they're right up near the top of the Western Conference. 

But the Lakers continue to surprise the world with their success under new head coach Luke Walton, and they've been particularly deadly at home. Whereas San Antonio has been outscored by 0.5 points per 100 possessions within the friendly confines of the AT&T Center, Los Angeles has protected the Staples Center with a 2.1 net rating, per NBA.com.  

The last time the Lakers had the superior home net rating was 2008-09, and they would go on to win the first of their back-to-back titles. 

Are we saying the Lakers are due for a championship? Of course not. But they're finally clawing their way back to respectability and doing so in impressive fashion while performing for their own fans. 

    

Will This Change? 

Yes, because it's impossible to bet against the Spurs while they're playing so well. Their struggles at home feel more like a schedule fluke than a consistent trend. 

Quarter	1	2	3	4
Net Rating	16.6	25.3	Minus-30.9	Minus-6.4

It defies logic. And now, it's bleeding over into the final period after the Wolves allowed the Boston Celtics to embark upon a 31-12 fourth quarter that included the game's last 17 points on Monday.

The preponderance of youth on the roster is more susceptible to swings in confidence, and the team is now engaging in a self-fulfilling prophecy. Minnesota has heard so much about the third-quarter woes that it believes they're real and plays as such. 

To be fair, how could it not? No other team has had this big a discrepancy between its best and worst quarters: 

Team	Net Rating, Best Quarter	Net Rating, Worst Quarter	Difference
Minnesota Timberwolves	25.3 (Second)	Minus-30.9 (Third)	56.2
Charlotte Hornets	30.4 (Third)	Minus-8.2 (Second)	38.6
Indiana Pacers	12 (First)	Minus-20.9 (Second)	32.9
Brooklyn Nets	6.3 (Fourth)	Minus-25.1 (Third)	31.4

    

Will This Change? 

Yes, because this dichotomy between quarters is entirely unsustainable. Just look at the above table to realize how much of an aberration Minnesota has been. 

It flies in the face of everything we know about Carlisle. 

For years, he's been the coach capable of taking a bunch of role players and washed-up veterans to the playoffs. A master of in-game adjustments and out-of-timeout plays, he squeezes every iota of talent from his troops and maximizes their effectiveness on both ends. 

But that hasn't been the case this year. In fact, only three players on the roster have positive offensive box plus/minuses: A.J. Hammons (played just 15 minutes), J.J. Barea (out for weeks with a calf tear) and Jonathan Gibson (67 minutes over the course of three games). 

Harrison Barnes has put up gaudy per-game numbers, but his inefficiency from beyond the arc and lack of passing chops have betrayed him. Dirk Nowitzki has been uncharacteristically inaccurate during the three games for which he's been healthy. Wesley Matthews can't shoot. The guards are incapable of creating much offense. 

Dallas in general has been disastrous. 

    

Will This Change? 

Yes, and not just because of Carlisle's pedigree. When this team gets healthy and learns how to use all of its new pieces, it should at least become somewhat competent on offense. Finishing dead last in offensive rating would be a monumental surprise. 

As he told K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune, this is something he's always been able to do. He just hasn't needed to: 

He needs to this year for a Chicago Bulls squad that requires more floor-spacers. 

And it's worked. 

    

Will This Change? 

No. Wade is a supremely talented offensive player who's getting shots in rhythm. Given his abilities and the Bulls' needs, there's no reason to expect him to stop firing away or hitting at an above-average rate. 

This isn't normal.

Over the last five years, offensive rating has been extremely correlated with both measures of shooting ability, as you can see here and here. In fact, we can use a best-fit linear regression to predict offensive rating based on either effective field-goal percentage or true shooting percentage, and my calculations show just how much of an aberration Chicago has become. 

If we use their true shooting percentage as the predictive factor, we should expect the Bulls' offensive rating to stand at 105.2, which would rank No. 19 in the current NBA. If we rely on true shooting percentage, the team's expected offensive rating would be 104.0 and rank No. 22. 

Either way, it's shocking that the Bulls offense has verged on elite, especially in a modern NBA that leans so heavily on shooting prowess. 

    

Will This Change? 

Yes, because numbers don't lie. Over the last five seasons, no team has finished with a top-six offensive rating while ranking worse than No. 11 in true shooting percentage or No. 14 in effective field-goal percentage. The Bulls are well outside those bounds. 

• Chris Paul (twice)
• John Stockton (seven time)
• Steve Nash (four times)
• Rajon Rondo

Russell Westbrook and James Harden are both on pace to join them while leading their respective one-man shows, but the bearded guard—note: he's no longer the bearded 2-guard—can actually join an even more exclusive club.

He's set to match Stockton as one of only two men to average 12 assists with an assist percentage north of 55. In fact, no qualified player has ever logged an assist percentage higher than Harden's current mark of 57.6, though it's worth noting Westbrook's score of 59 is even better. 

Still, we're focusing on the Houston superstar here because it was so hard to see this coming. We knew he was going to throw up dominant individual numbers, but no one could have predicted he'd be this good while making the transition to point guard. 

During his previous seven NBA seasons, he'd never spent more than 2 percent of his minutes at the 1. This year, 98 percent are coming at the position, and he hasn't even needed a transition period. 

He's simply become the league's most important point guard, responsible for an insane amount of his team's offensive production. 

    

Will This Change? 

No, because Harden is in the perfect spot to thrive. The Houston Rockets depend on him for everything, and head coach Mike D'Antoni's offensive schemes fit his talents in ideal fashion. He's going to set more than a few records. 

He's shooting nothing like he has in previous seasons:

Season	FG%	3P%	FT%	TS%
2014-15	36.5	32.2	85.9	49.2
2015-16	38.5	32.6	77.1	51.7
2016-17	53.8	46.0	82.6	69.2

As Stauskas told the Philadelphia Daily News' Bob Cooney, he's finally playing with confidence: 

He's been at his best, and then some. 

    

Will This Change? 

Yes, because Stauskas didn't even shoot this well in college. During his last year at Michigan, he slashed 47.0/44.2/82.4—worse numbers across the board than what he's currently posting. 

Hassan Whiteside and Meyers Leonard aren't shocking, considering their size and skill set. But LaMarcus Aldridge and Mike Muscala's presences both defy logic when you look at their history in this metric, which dates back to 2013-14: 

Season	FG% At Rim Allowed by Muscala	FG% At Rim Allowed by Aldridge
2013-14	55.7	49.1
2014-15	43.3	45.2
2015-16	53.5	48.4
2016-17	39.5	36.1

How is this happening?

Honestly, we have no clue. Your guess is as good as ours.

    

Will This Change? 

Yes. Yes, it will. 

    

Adam Fromal covers the NBA for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter: @fromal09.

Unless otherwise indicated, all stats are from Basketball-Reference.com, NBA.com or NBA Math and are current heading into games on Nov. 23.

New Orleans Pelicans forward Dante Cunningham suffered a nondisplaced right proximal fibula fracture and will miss an extended period of time, the team announced on Thursday. 

---

Latest on Cunningham's Status

Thursday, Nov. 24

The Pelicans added that Cunningham is expected to miss four to six weeks, which would create a possible return date around New Year's. 

For a player who once looked destined to spend his career as a journeyman after stints with four different teams in five years, Cunningham looks to have found his place in New Orleans. 

The 29-year-old is in his third season with the Pelicans, where he's become a rotation player within the frontcourt. 

Through 15 games this season, he's averaged 5.6 points and 3.9 rebounds per game, which isn't far off from his career averages of 6.0 and 3.7. 

As a rotational player, those are decent stats to have, but he is one of a myriad of players who have failed to provide much support for star big man Anthony Davis on a 6-10 Pelicans team. 

With Cunningham now sidelined, Solomon Hill will likely have the starting 3 role all to himself, while Anthony Brown could also be called into action. 

For a team that's already without Quincy Pondexter, who is recovering from knee surgery, Cunningham's absence is a tough blow for New Orleans' depth in the frontcourt. 

                    

Stats courtesy of Basketball-Reference.com.  

Kevin Durant is no stranger to Twitter scraps.

— Bulto (@brandizz3l) November 24, 2016

KD was quick to fire back:

— Kevin Durant (@KDTrey5) November 24, 2016

Another fan chimed in after Durant praised Pittsburgh Steelers stud running back Le'Veon Bell. Again, he countered:

— Dom (@_Lordswaggy1) November 25, 2016

— Kevin Durant (@KDTrey5) November 25, 2016

The Warriors visit the Los Angeles Lakers at 10:30 p.m. ET on Friday.

[Twitter]

Veteran guard Kevin Martin has retired after 12 NBA seasons. 

Martin last appeared in an NBA game on May 12 in Game 6 of the Western Conference Semifinals as a member of the San Antonio Spurs. He grabbed two rebounds in just under six minutes. 

The 33-year-old Martin played for five teams during his NBA career. The Sacramento Kings originally selected him 26th overall in 2004, and he spent five-and-a-half years with the franchise before it traded him to the Houston Rockets in 2010. 

In three seasons with the Rockets, Martin had the most successful stretch of his career, averaging 21.3 points, 3.0 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game. Following his stint in Houston, he also spent time with the Oklahoma City Thunder and Minnesota Timberwolves before joining the Spurs in March. 

Prior to debuting in the Association, Martin emerged as a dynamic talent during his college career at Western Carolina. During his junior season in 2003-04, he averaged 24.9 points per game and notched 44 against Georgia. 

Martin never emerged as a superstar in the NBA, but he was a valuable role player who carved out a terrific career for more than a decade because of his ability to score. He's hanging up his basketball shoes without much fanfare but has a lot to look back on fondly. 

Atlanta Hawks big man Tiago Splitter will be sidelined for an extended period of time due to a calf injury. 

---

Latest on Splitter's Diagnosis

Friday, Nov. 25

Per Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta Journal Constitution, Splitter is expected to miss six more weeks recovering from a strained right calf. 

Splitter has been hounded by injuries over the past few seasons, so news of his latest ailment comes as a disappointment. He has yet to appear in a game this season after only playing in 36 contests during the 2015-16 season. 

Splitter was supposed to serve as a backup behind starting center Dwight Howard, though Mike Muscala has filled that role so far this season. 

Muscala has been an effective backup through 15 games, posting 9.5 points and 4.5 rebounds per game.

The Hawks are off to a hot start, owning the Eastern Conference's second-best record at 10-5. Given the lengthy injury history for Splitter, the team was well-prepared for his absence coming into the season and will continue to make do without him at least until the new year begins. 

Chicago Bulls guard Michael Carter-Williams has not played since he suffered a bone bruise in his left knee against the Brooklyn Nets on Oct. 31. He is also battling a bone chip and sprain in his wrist, which he sustained at an undisclosed time. It is unclear exactly when he will return.

---

Latest on Carter-Williams' Timeline to Return

Friday, Nov. 25

The Bulls announced Carter-Williams is out at least four-to-six more weeks with a bone chip and significant wrist sprain, per Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today.

---

Carter-Williams Continues Up-and-Down Tenure with Bucks

In his fourth NBA season, Carter-Williams is coming off the worst season of his career. He averaged 11.5 points, 5.1 rebounds and 5.2 assists with the Milwaukee Bucks in 2015-16, losing his starting job on multiple occasions.

The Bucks shipped the former Rookie of the Year to Chicago during the preseason in exchange for forward Tony Snell. 

“I think the biggest thing for me is I’ve done some pretty good things in this league,” Carter-Williams said, per Vincent Goodwill of CSN Chicago. “I’ve shown what I can do in this league. I’ve had some unlucky bumps in the road, traded after winning rookie of the year, going to Milwaukee, which wasn’t the best situation for me.”

Carter-Williams was averaging 20 minutes a night through Chicago's first two games. The Bulls have a glut of guards on their roster, so they shouldn't really miss him much. Isaiah Canaan should see the biggest boost in playing time with Carter-Williams out.

Anthony Davis and Karl-Anthony Towns can both still have shares of the NBA's future, but the present clearly belongs to just one.

Taking a 21-2 first-quarter scoring edge over Towns and never looking back, Davis finished with 45 points, 10 rebounds and three assists on 17-of-27 shooting. It was the fourth time AD pumped in at least that many points in a game, and he's now the proud owner of three of the season's six highest-scoring outputs.

He had it all working, according to Justin Verrier of ESPN.com:

— Justin Verrier (@JustinVerrier) November 24, 2016

And it was almost as though Davis was trying to send a message—or perhaps respond to one delivered by the league's general managers before the season began:

— David Fisher (@DavidFisherTBW) November 24, 2016

Towns managed nine points and 11 rebounds, and his night wasn't without its highlights:

— A Wolf Among Wolves (@AWAWBlog) November 24, 2016

Plays like that made it a little strange to hear Towns, interviewed on the ESPN broadcast, saying he wished he had "the ability to play a little faster as (Davis) does...He's a little more athletic than I am, and I wish I was as athletic as he was."

And though Davis soundly outplayed Towns, encouraging signs remain that the Timberwolves young star will one day equal or surpass the Pelicans' stud. For example, a quick scan of Basketball-Reference.com's shot tendencies for both players shows Davis relying increasingly on those tricky in-between looks, getting a larger and larger portion of his field-goal attempts from outside the restricted area and inside the arc.

Towns, meanwhile, is condensing his attempts to everyone's favorite high-percentage zones: point-blank and three-point range.

Those are trends that'll warrant monitoring in the future. More immediately, Towns' Timberwolves must deal with their predictable collapses.

New Orleans roared to a 36-18 third-quarter advantage that swung this game, and the post-halftime implosion was all too familiar to the Wolves, as this graphic from NBA on ESPN illustrates:

— NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA) November 24, 2016

Minnesota has been outscored in 12 of the 14 third quarters it's played this season.

Flaws and all, you'd still take Towns' surrounding cast over Davis' because nobody on New Orleans' support staff has the promise of Andrew Wiggins or Zach LaVine, and nobody is out there doing things like this:

But oddly, you can tie some of Minnesota's failures to its glut of talented kids. Part of the Wolves' problems in dealing with adversity (and third-quarter slumps) is that in addition to lapses in focus and commitment, these young players who rightfully believe they'll be stars someday try to fix everything on their own, as NBA analyst Britt Robson pointed out with respect to Wiggins:

— brittrobson (@brittrobson) November 24, 2016

What's more, the coexistence of a handful of potential alphas—even if Towns is clearly the real top dog—complicates things for Towns in a way Davis has never seen. AD has it tougher, sure, but he's been forged by his circumstances, forced to develop into his team's be-all, end-all precisely because the Pelicans have never had anyone else to challenge him for the role.

Or get in his way.

So while Towns has to develop in concert with others, Davis, by necessity, turned into the godly force he is today:

— ☕netw3rk (@netw3rk) November 24, 2016

The idea of adversity spurring development isn't a new one.

Ultimately, anyone in their right mind should still buy as much stock in Davis and Towns as possible. Both are going nowhere but up.

If Wednesday taught us anything, though, Davis' stock is already booming, while Towns' remains more of a speculative play.

   

The Sixers Have Some Learning to Do

The Memphis Grizzlies outlasted the feisty Philadelphia 76ers in double overtime, prevailing 104-99 behind Mike Conley's 25 points, nine rebounds and nine assists. Memphis earned its sixth consecutive win, though it's worth wondering what would have happened if Joel Embiid's minutes limit hadn't sidelined him for the second overtime period.

Maybe in addition to the 12 points, 11 rebounds and three blocks we'd seen to that point, we would have also witnessed another eye-opening sequence like this:

Per Derek Bodner of Philadelphia Magazine, Embiid is as eager as everyone else to get past the kid-gloves stage:

— Derek Bodner (@DerekBodnerNBA) November 24, 2016

In addition to Embiid sitting out the decisive final stanza, Nik Stauskas also made sure the Sixers' lottery odds didn't get too slim. He passed up a clean look at a triple, dribbled in and missed a two when Philly was down three in the closing seconds.

If this game taught us nothing else, it was that it takes time to learn how to win. I sure hope some established and universally respected pro takes the time to school Embiid on what it takes.

— Anastasio Ríos (@Tasio93) November 24, 2016

Oh, good.

   

The Spurs Are Not Pathetic

The San Antonio Spurs heard Gregg Popovich's transmission, but the Charlotte Hornets did their best to interfere.

"I thought we showed a lack of humility, a lack of respect for the opponent," Popovich told reporters after the 96-91 win over a Dallas Mavericks team that started four undrafted players. "A very pathetic performance on both ends of the court, in execution and in grunt, in fiber, in desire."

Bouncing back from those negative reviews, the Spurs handed the Charlotte Hornets a 119-114 loss, the third straight defeat for the struggling bugs. Though beaten, Charlotte gave the Spurs all they could handle, as Kemba Walker continued his brilliant season and nearly decided a tight game with 15 points in the fourth quarter.

And while San Antonio may have been galvanized by Pop's well-timed and delightfully expressive curmudgeonry, it probably helped that LaMarcus Aldridge and Tony Parker were back in the lineup after resting against the Mavs.

Having Kawhi Leonard set a career high for made field goals (14) on the way to 30 points didn't hurt, either.

He earned raves from Mike Prada of SB Nation and Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express News:

— Mike Prada (@MikePradaSBN) November 24, 2016

— Jeff McDonald (@JMcDonald_SAEN) November 24, 2016

Fighting hard on the road against a game Hornets club, the Spurs proved they don't stay pathetic for long.

   

The Blazers Need to Level Up

The Portland Trail Blazers have talked a lot about fixing their defense, along with upping their effort and finding themselves lately.

Jason Quick of CSNNW.com got a representative quote from Damian Lillard:

— Jason Quick (@jwquick) November 23, 2016

What happened Wednesday suggests something more than talk is in order.

The Cleveland Cavaliers and, more specifically, Kevin Love torched the Blazers' beleaguered D, pouring in 137 points, their season high, in a 12-point win.

Kevin Love set an NBA record with 34 first-quarter points, part of the Cavs' 46 in the period.

— NBA (@NBA) November 24, 2016

For Love, the 34 points (he finished with 40) represented a personal best since coming to Cleveland.

Lillard posted 40 points, 11 assists and seven rebounds on 13-of-21 shooting, so he delivered on his pregame goal.

It was Portland's D, now ranked dead last in the NBA, that wasn't ready to level up with him.

Losers in five of their last six, the Blazers desperately need Al-Farouq Aminu's calf to heal. The defensive collapse isn't entirely due to his absence, but redistributing his minutes to Ed Davis, Evan Turner and Meyers Leonard has played a major role in this slide.

Lillard can only do so much.

   

 

The Hawks Take a Deep Breath, Suffocate Opponents

The Atlanta Hawks badly needed a course correction coming off three straight losses to the Hornets, New York Knicks and Pelicans, and they leaned on their defense to get one against the Indiana Pacers.

Dwight Howard contributed 23 points and 20 rebounds in the Hawks' skid-stopping 96-85 win, helping hold the Pacers to 40.5 percent shooting and leading a dominant 56-37 advantage on the glass. And whenever Atlanta's finicky offense hit a dry spell, its pressure D did enough to keep Indy from getting its own attack going, as John Schuhmann of NBA.com observed:

— John Schuhmann (@johnschuhmann) November 24, 2016

Two weeks ago, the Hawks seemed ready to join the East's true upper class. Now, after stabilizing themselves with the defense that defined them in their best stretches of the young season, they can start working back to that status.

   

The Pistons Rebound...and Rebound

Theory: Knowing Andre Drummond is a human rebound vacuum, the rest of the Detroit Pistons have all decided they don't need to do anything on the glass.

Nobody's saying there's a placard on the wall of Detroit's home locker room that says "Screw it, 'Dre will handle the boards," but nobody's not saying that, either. How else do you explain the Pistons ranking 23rd in rebound percentage?

Out-rebounded in 11 of the first 15 games they played this season, the Pistons got 15 pulls from Drummond and managed to outwork the Miami Heat on the boards by a margin of 49-37 overall. Result: a 107-84 win against a Heat team that, admittedly, couldn't get out of its own way.

If the Heat are ever going to get themselves right, they have to stop letting their woeful offense (they shot 36 percent from the field) drain the life of a generally strong defense, says Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel:

— Ira Winderman (@IraHeatBeat) November 24, 2016

The Heat have the rest of a likely tank-focused season to sort themselves out. Detroit, a team with playoff aspirations, is just happy to grab a few boards and stop a four-game losing streak.

   

The Man Bun of Doom Destroyed the Nets

Coming off a historically bad defensive stretch that saw them give up at least 120 points in four straight games, the Brooklyn Nets did not need to see Kelly Olynyk's man bun.

Chris Forsberg of ESPN.com explained why that mattered:

— Chris Forsberg (@ESPNForsberg) November 22, 2016

Somehow, the Nets held Boston to just 111 points in a 19-point loss, and Olynyk only managed 10 points.

So...progress?

The Celtics are getting healthier, Olynyk's going with his optimal hairstyle and Isaiah Thomas keeps finishing games with ruthless scoring. After Brooklyn's surprising start and Boston's stumbles to start the season, these two teams are headed in the directions we expected.

That's doubly good news for the Celtics, who own the Nets' first-round draft-pick rights for (give or take) the next 75 years.

    

DeMar DeRozan Is Efficient in His Own Way

To be clear, DeMar DeRozan still takes way too many shots from the inefficient mid-range area, and he's bound for regression eventually.

But in another way, he flashed some very cost-effective scoring in the Toronto Raptors' 115-102 win over the Houston Rockets on Monday, grabbing 21 of his 24 points in a decisive third quarter. All points count the same, but when you pile them up in bunches, they can demoralize a struggling opponent.

"I’ve never been a person where you could sway me just because everybody is doing something, or something is changing," DeRozan told Tim Bontemps of the Washington Post earlier this week.

With results like he's had so far (DeRozan has scored at least 30 points in 10 of Toronto's 15 games), it's hard to argue with his methods.

   

DeAndre Jordan Is Clairvoyant

Any guesses as to what happened when the team with the league's best record met the one with the worst?

The Los Angeles Clippers rolled, trouncing the Dallas Mavericks by a final of 124-104.

Dallas, at least, got Dirk Nowitzki and Andrew Bogut back in the lineup, which had to feel pretty good after starting four undrafted players against the Spurs earlier this week. But the Mavs got just 10 points from Nowitzki, and Bogut, though he grabbed a dozen boards and dished six assists, got himself into foul trouble that hampered his effectiveness in the second half.

Though the Mavs are getting healthier, it's hard to be confident about their chances of keeping vets on the floor—both because guys like Nowitzki and Bogut don't have the cleanest health records and because this is feeling increasingly like a lost season.

Things have never been worse for Dallas under current ownership, according to ESPN Stats & Info:

— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) November 24, 2016

Seeing these two teams rocketing toward opposite ends of the NBA hierarchy has to make DeAndre Jordan feel pretty good about his decision to ditch the Mavs two summers ago.

   

Never Ever Beat the Warriors by 20 Points

The Los Angeles Lakers knocked off the Golden State Warriors 117-97 on Nov. 4, and it is now safe to assume the Dubs didn't quickly forget it.

And while there are many, many things we could say to contextualize the Warriors' 149-106 victory—like how Golden State set a franchise record with 47 assists and scored the 10th-most points in a regulation game ever—I think it's best to just use this:

— Tim Cato (@tim_cato) November 24, 2016

Why?

Hard to say, actually. Maybe seeing a team score 149 points makes me a little loopy.

Happy Thanksgiving.

Follow Grant on Twitter and Facebook.

Stats courtesy of NBA.com and Basketball-Reference.com. Accurate through games played Nov. 23.

It's been a few years since Kentucky produced its last big-name NBA point guard. Everything about De'Aaron Fox's flair and look suggests he's the next one up. 

It was only a matter of time before the John Wall comparisons would start popping up for the exciting playmaker with next-level size, athleticism and speed.

— Evan Daniels (@EvanDaniels) October 26, 2016

"They're reasonable," the scout said, citing "physical tools and skills" as the core similarities.

"I don’t feel like it’s ever bad to be compared to someone like that," Fox told the Courier-Journal's Fletcher Page. "It just gives you really high expectations."

Stylistically, there is an obvious resemblance. The question is whether Fox can follow in the former No. 1 pick's steps and develop into an All-Star-caliber floor general. 

Physically, Wall is significantly longer. A second scout noted Wall's superior strength/explosiveness and commented on Fox being "more about extending around smaller point guards than exploding over them." 

Still, Fox packs a potent punch of size, quickness and bounce. 

                                          

Strengths 

He reminds one of Wall in transition more than any other area. Alarms should sound whenever he grabs a defensive rebound—Fox has made a habit of taking them coast to coast and picking up buckets before defenses can set. 

Fast and shifty, he flies with the ball, showing the ability to turn on the jets and weave between traffic while maintaining the body control to finish the break. He's also become proficient with a Eurostep that's now a regular weapon. 

There's also vision on the move and a willingness to set the table for teammates, an aspect of his game that holds more value in the half court. If Fox were to step on an NBA floor tomorrow, he'd have better success distributing than scoring. 

Out of pick-and-rolls, he creates passing lanes to the roll man by confusing and drawing both defenders with change of speed and inside-out dribbles. He uses his elusiveness to create quality looks for dunkers, divers and shooters, whether it's off ball screens or drive-and-kicks. 

His ability to shake and keep the defense on its heels leads to assists. 

Among the fast breaks, secondary breaks and Fox's first step, he constantly puts pressure on the defense and rim. When attacking, he covers ground and airspace with long strides, precise cuts and springs, which results in frequent finger rolls and layups. 

Fox has also demonstrated the coordination to adjust midair and convert at tough angles. 

As a freshman, bank on the majority of his scoring coming from inside 15 feet, though Fox is a threat to pull up from around the arc if he's run off the three-point line or given space off a ball screen. He's not consistent from deep but is capable when left free. 

One of Fox's biggest selling points is the fact he can impact a game with defense, a rare strength among guards. Extreme foot speed and aggressive, active hands translate to ball pressure and forced turnovers. 

His reactions are equally as effective: He contains dribble penetration with both lateral quickness and instincts. Fox does a great job of anticipating his man's move, when the pick is coming and how to avoid it.  

He makes it difficult for opposing ball-handlers to comfortably operate, turn the corner or get into their sets. And he's made the pickpocket steal at half court a signature play. 

It's difficult to imagine a point guard having a higher defensive ceiling. And it should buy him some time and wiggle room with scouts when it comes to his offensive development.

                                    

Weaknesses  

The dunks and acrobatic layups will be there, but don't be surprised if Fox struggles to consistently finish through rim protection.

He doesn't climb the ladder as well as when given an open runway to lift off. He's had trouble separating from shot-blockers and defenders who are still attached. Fox also doesn't generate much power from his skinny legs, while his thin frame can crumble after contact. 

It's led to some questionable shot selection: He's shown a tendency to either drive hard into traffic instead of tossing up a floater, or he'll prematurely stop short for a low-percentage runner to avoid the trees.  

Though capable of firing off the dribble, he hasn't been a reliable shooter, either. He also doesn't create his own shot well with jab steps or step-backs on the perimeter, making him somewhat predictable to defend. Opponents are bound to sag, go under screens and take away Fox's drive until he starts beating them from outside.

He's also shown limited confidence and comfort playing off the ball; Fox doesn't appear interested in wasting field-goal attempts on spot-up jumpers unless they're in rhythm. Even then, he's had mixed results. 

                                                        

Final Takeaways 

The spotlight tends to gravitate toward Kentucky point guards, but Fox won't need it to draw attention. He'll generate his own buzz with playmaking, athleticism and highlights that continue to remind fans of Wall. 

Fox's challenges include remaining efficient without a dependable jumper or much muscle around the basket. And though a fine facilitator, he can stand to improve his decision-making as lead guard of an offense. 

The eye test, however, indicates Fox's transition game, setup ability and defense are poised to translate from high school to college to the pros. He will blow up if he can make the strides Wall has as a perimeter scorer and orchestrator.

The New York Knicks have strayed from the triangle offense in 2016-17 under head coach Jeff Hornacek, which is a decision that reportedly hasn't sat well with team president Phil Jackson. 

The Knicks are 2-4, and they rank 13th in the NBA in offensive efficiency at 104, per ESPN's Hollinger stats.

Per Marc Berman of the New York Post, Jackson recently sat in on Knicks practice and helped teach some triangle principles, particularly to shooting guard Courtney Lee.

According to Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News, Hornacek said after that practice the players are becoming more comfortable with the triangle:

One of the issues with running the triangle has been point guard Derrick Rose's unfamiliarity with the system.

Following New York's season-opening loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers, Rose admitted adjusting to the offense was a struggle, per Steve Popper of USA Today:

The Knicks are allowing 109.8 points per game, which ranks 27th in the league, so their defense looks like an even bigger issue on paper.

While the triangle offense helped Jackson win 11 NBA titles as a head coach with the Chicago Bulls and Los Angeles Lakers, the league has gone away from that style and is now focused on individual play and isolation. With alpha dogs such as Rose, Carmelo Anthony and Kristaps Porzingis on the team, it is fair to wonder if the triangle is the best fit for the Knicks.

                   

Follow @MikeChiari on Twitter.

At least some good came out of this election cycle.

— Metta World Peace (@MettaWorldPeace) November 8, 2016

— Metta World Peace (@MettaWorldPeace) November 8, 2016

He understands that far too many Americans are working long hours without earning a livable wage:

— Metta World Peace (@MettaWorldPeace) November 8, 2016

He also took a stance on education and public service:

— Metta World Peace (@MettaWorldPeace) November 8, 2016

— Metta World Peace (@MettaWorldPeace) November 8, 2016

Don't forget about preserving the fine arts:

— Metta World Peace (@MettaWorldPeace) November 8, 2016

Perhaps most importantly, he vowed to spare voters the long wait until Westeros' winter arrives:

— Metta World Peace (@MettaWorldPeace) November 8, 2016

Then there's this:

— Metta World Peace (@MettaWorldPeace) November 8, 2016

This was the best edition of Metta World News ever.

[Metta World Peace]

It does not appear as though the separation between Chicago Bulls guard Dwyane Wade and his former employer, Miami Heat President Pat Riley, is going well. 

Wade spent 13 years with the Heat, the team that drafted him fifth overall in 2003 out of Marquette, and his name is littered throughout the franchise's history books:

After helping the team win a title in 2006 and two more in 2012 and 2013 alongside LeBron James and Chris Bosh, Wade signed a two-year deal with his hometown Bulls after his contract demands were not met by Riley and the Heat at the end of last season.

Yet, his departure wasn't a surprising one after knowing Riley for so long, although he did say he's been in contact "with everyone else" in Miami:

After Wednesday night's game against the Atlanta Hawks, Wade and the Bulls will travel to Miami to take on the Heat on Thursday for the first time since his departure from South Beach. 

While he has to contend with a back-to-back schedule upon his arrival, Wade doesn't know what to expect in the city in which he still has roots:

The 34-year-old Wade has averaged 16.9 points in seven games with Chicago this season, which is 4-3 and currently in sixth place in the Eastern Conference. 

Considering everything he's done for the franchise, Wade should receive nothing short of a warm welcome upon walking into the AmericanAirlines Arena. 

      

Stats courtesy of Basketball-Reference.com. 

The NBA fined Washington Wizards point guard John Wall $25,000 for an "inappropriate interaction with an official and failing to leave the court in a timely manner" after he was ejected during the team's 114-106 loss to the Houston Rockets on Monday, CSN Philly's Jessica Camerato reported Wednesday.

Although Davis' decision appeared harsh at first glance, he explained the actions that precipitated Wall's ejection after the game. 

"I felt that there was contact and that [Wall] bumped me," he said, per the Washington Post's Candace Buckner. "I wasn't certain of his intent. I told him to watch himself. He looked over his shoulder and used vulgarity and inappropriate language and was ejected on his second technical foul."

The start of the 2016-17 season has been anything but pleasant for the Wizards. They've stumbled out of the starting blocks under new head coach Scott Brooks, and their record dipped to 1-5 with Monday's loss. 

"Nobody is happy," guard Bradley Beal said, according to CSN Mid-Atlantic's J. Michael. "Everyone's emotions are a little high. Everybody is mad. We are 1-5. We did not expect to be like this. We just have to figure it out."

The Wizards may be frustrated, but they'll have to weather the storm and try to make it through the rest of the week without tensions boiling over. 

Washington will play host to the Boston Celtics on Wednesday and Cleveland Cavaliers on Friday before traveling to the Windy City for a showdown with the Chicago Bulls on Saturday.

Welcome to the NBA's Overreaction City. Population: You. Stats courtesy of Basketball-Reference.com and NBA.com and are accurate leading into Tuesday's games. Salary information via Basketball Insiders.

Focus lies with those who joined new teams over the offseason, because it's easier to spot changes, both good and bad, when players are in new digs. Our scope will be further limited by free agents who negotiated themselves one of this year's top-50 salaries in their new deal.

While this is a tongue-in-cheek exercise, it is not without merit. These exaggerations are rooted in truths and areas of actual concern.

For example (and spoiler alert): When we say the Golden State Warriors made a mistake by letting Harrison Barnes go instead of trading Klay Thompson into the Philadelphia 76ers' cap space, we're merely nodding to the former's onset success with the Dallas Mavericks.

Get it? Good. Let's hyperbolize.

       

Ryan Anderson, Houston Rockets

Contract: Four years, $80 million

First Impression: James Harden deserves another raise.

Houston Rockets head coach Mike D'Antoni is taking the "Never, ever, ever, ever play him without James Harden" approach to Ryan Anderson's minutes. And it's working...in a manner of speaking:

Anderson is not alone in his dependence on Harden. Houston's net rating plummets by 36.6 points per 100 possessions when the latter steps off the floor. But more of Harden's passes go to Anderson than any other teammate, and he has assisted on three times as many of the power forward's buckets (18) as the rest of the team...combined (six). 

This isn't a problem so long as Anderson keeps shooting 50 percent on Harden's dishes. Or maybe it is. Who the heck knows?

For now, D'Antoni just needs to make sure Anderson is attached at Harden's hip.

       

Harrison Barnes, Dallas Mavericks

Contract: Four years, $94.4 million

First Impression: Golden State almost ruined Harry B's career.

Barnes leads the Mavericks in scoring with 20.8 points per game. His usage rate is six points higher than it ever was with the Warriors. He has hit more three-pointers (eight) than Draymond Green and Andre Iguodala have combined to make (seven). His effective field-goal percentage (52.9) is way better than that from Thompson (45.8).

He has a higher player efficiency rating (17.7) than Patrick McCaw (15.9).

And to think, the Warriors never let Barnes be more than a glorified fourth option during the Steve Kerr era.

Granted, Barnes is putting up numbers, as an offensive minus, for a one-win Mavericks squad that plays two of its starters more than 37 minutes per game. But let's not trifle ourselves with (wholly applicable) counternarratives just yet.

       

Bismack Biyombo, Orlando Magic

Contract: Four years, $68 million

First Impression: This is so not fine.

Most of us spent the offseason wondering whether it was a good idea for the Orlando Magic to make Bismack Biyombo one of their two highest-paid players when Serge Ibaka and Nikola Vucevic were already on the dole.

Fewer than 10 games into the season, we have our answer: Orlando needs to break up its frontcourt logjam.

Biyombo is playing fewer minutes than he did with the Toronto Raptors, and the offense, a general disaster, self-destructs with him in the game. The Magic don't have the requisite shooters to use Biyombo as the rim-runner he needs to be, and that, by default, mitigates the value of his shot-blocking and rebounding.

All the "Give it time, and they'll be fine" caveats don't apply here. There isn't a workable scenario in which the Magic make something of this season, let alone Biyombo, without offloading one of their three primary bigs.

        

Luol Deng, Los Angeles Lakers

Contract: Four years, $72 million

First Impression: W-A-S-H-E-D.

Luol Deng is averaging career lows in minutes, points, overall field-goal percentage and assists. Even this early, that's not a statistical anecdote the Los Angeles Lakers want to hear about for their highest-paid player.

Perhaps the strain of playing roughly one bajillion minutes for Tom Thibodeau in Chicago is catching up with him. Looking back at that part of his career, Deng could easily be 31 going on 49. Or maybe per-game numbers don't tell the story.

Shouldn't it matter that his usage rate has plunged by design, as head coach Luke Walton bestows more responsibilities upon the kiddies? Or that playing fewer minutes because of those young 'uns, namely Brandon Ingram and Larry Nance Jr., will keep Deng fresher for longer?

Or that, according to NBA Math, Deng still profiles as an extremely valuable defender (first column)?

— NBA Math (@NBA_Math) November 7, 2016

Yes, it should matter. It won't unless Deng's numbers improve a tick, but it should.

        

Kevin Durant, Golden State Warriors

Contract: Two years, $54.3 million

First Impression: Kevin Durant is the most efficient scorer of all time.

Durant is posting a true shooting percentage—cumulative measurement of two-point, three-point and free-throw accuracy—north of 68 to start the season.

The last player to clear this benchmark while averaging 20 or more points per game? That would be no one.

Seven appearances with the Golden State Warriors is all we need to know that Durant will become the first. That almost makes up for the adverse impact his arrival is thus far having on Golden State's once-stingy defense.

       

Al Horford, Boston Celtics

Contract: Four years, $113.3 million

First Impression: Bring back Evan Turner!

The Al Horford-era Boston Celtics are supposed to be both offensive and defensive powerhouses. But something's amiss here, per Bleacher Report's Michael Pina:

— Michael Pina (@MichaelVPina) November 7, 2016

The Celtics fielded a top-five defense in 2015-16. Clearly, the Horford addition has come at its expense, and yet he's proved statistically replaceable on offense. What gives?

Injuries.

Jae Crowder, Marcus Smart and Horford, who is currently going through the NBA's concussion protocol, have yet to be healthy at the same time. Kelly Olynyk is still slogging through shoulder issues, too. The death knell cannot be sounded for Boston's defense until this implosion survives the play of all these important pieces.

In the meantime, to get through the nostalgic pangs you feel when thinking about Evan Turner's defense under head coach Brad Stevens, remember that the Celtics are playing like a top-seven squad on both sides of the floor whenever Horford is actually in the game.

       

Dwight Howard, Atlanta Hawks

Contract: Three years, $70.5 million

First Impression: Dwight Howard, reborn.

Howard is once again fronting one of the NBA's two best defenses. All is right with the world. It's good to see he's no longer playing like trash, as he did in Houston.

Except:

Could it be that Howard wasn't actually bad with the Rockets? That he's just more comfortable and healthier with the Hawks? That he's basically the same player with a larger role?

Nah.

Saying that he transitioned from Dwight Howard in Orlando, to a poor man's Hasheem Thabeet in Los Angeles and Houston, then back to Dwight Howard in Atlanta, gets more #clickz.

       

Ian Mahinmi, Washington Wizards

Contract: Four years, $64 million

First Impression: Already Washington's defensive savior.

How is Ian Mahinmi already the Washington Wizards' defensive knight in shining armor when he has yet to play a game while recovering from meniscus surgery? 

Well, you see, the Wizards rank 24th in points allowed per 100 possessions, and Mahinmi placed 10th among all centers in points saved on the less glamorous end last season, according to NBA Math. It doesn't take a pre-teen genius to connect the dots.

The Wizards are a cool fourth in shot attempts allowed inside the restricted area per game. But teams needn't attack the rim to hurt them; the three-point defense is terrible. Besides, opponents are shooting better than 61 percent around the basket. (That's not good.) 

Fortunately for Washington, Mahinmi is more than halfway through a four-to-six-week timetable. Unfortunately for Washington, he won't solve collapses beyond the arc.

       

Timofey Mozgov, Los Angeles Lakers

Contract: Four years, $64 million

First Impression: Wait, four years and $64 million? That was a real contract?

The Lakers are paying Timofey Mozgov a top-50 salary to barely play 20 minutes per game and let opponents shoot better than 55 percent at the rim.

It's still early and all that, but as of now, there is no overreacting to how horrible this deal looks—unless, of course, you thought his contract was a prank in the first place.

      

Joakim Noah, New York Knicks

Contract: Four years, $72.6 million

First Impression: Best point guard on the Knicks roster.

Joakim Noah, not Derrick Rose, has the highest assist percentage among New York Knicks starters.

Noah, not Rose, is a net plus when playing beside Kristaps Porzingis.

More Knicks players are shooting 50 percent off Noah's passes than Rose's dishes.

And it's Noah, not Rose, who owns New York's best offensive rating.

Nevermind that Noah is averaging under 25 minutes per game as the supposed face of the league's worst defense. The Knicks have needed a legitimate floor general for years and finally found one—and he's only costing them double what the Brooklyn Nets are paying Jeremy Lin over the next three seasons.

       

Chandler Parsons, Memphis Grizzlies

Contract: Four years, $94.4 million

First Impression: Are the Grizzlies actually paying him as much as Harrison Barnes?

Chandler Parsons' Memphis Grizzlies tenure isn't off to a good start. He missed the first six games of the season while working his way back from meniscus surgery that prematurely ended 2015-16's campaign. Then, in his Nov. 6 debut against the Portland Trail Blazers, he missed all eight of his shots and was a team-worst minus-11.

Ah, well. At least he said his knee wasn't an issue, per the Commercial Appeal's Geoff Calkins:

Parsons' shooting and playmaking will come in time. He won't always be the injury liability he became during his time with the Mavericks. He is worth a Barnes-level investment, and Memphis has no reason to worry itself.

Right?

       

Evan Turner, Portland Trail Blazers

Contract: Four years, $70 million

First Impression: His three-point shot is cured!

As it turns out, players really do shoot threes better in Rip City. Take Evan Turner: He was shooting triples at a 30.5 percent clip before signing with Portland; now he's putting down a personal 42.9 percent.

Sure, he's only launched a total of seven three-pointers, but who cares? After all, it's more than six! It doesn't matter that he has the worst net rating on the team, or that he's taking fewer shots without attacking the rim as much.

And it most certainly doesn't matter that he, as Portland's third-highest-paid player, ranks seventh on the team in total minutes.

Because, quite obviously, he's a legitimate three-point sniper now.

       

Dwyane Wade, Chicago Bulls

Contract: Two years, $47 million

First Impression: Chicago (finally) has Kyle Korver's replacement.

The Chicago Bulls haven't deployed a shooting guard who can catch fire from long distance for seasons at a time since they sold—yes, sold—Kyle Korver to the Hawks.

Until now.

Some people questioned spacing with Dwyane Wade. He plays next to three other non-shooters—Taj Gibson, Robin Lopez, Rajon Rondo—in the starting lineup. And entering this season, Stephen Curry hit more threes in 2015-16 (402) than Wade drained for his 13-year career (386).

But the joke's on all those haters, because Wade is shooting a totally sustainable, not-at-all-skewed 43.5 percent from downtown amid near-career volume. And he's doing this for the Association's third-best offensive team. The Bulls are pumping in more points per 100 possessions without him, but that just proves stats are stupid when they don't perfectly align with our arguments.

Korver, the scrub that he's become, is putting down a paltry 43.3 percent of his three-balls. Hopefully he'll consider taking jump-shot lessons from Wade this summer.