While Bam Adebayo is probably a long shot to be named the NBA’s Defensive Player of the Year for this season, the Heat big man is one of the finalists for the first time in his career, writes Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald. Prior to this spring, Adebayo had never finished higher than fourth in Defensive Player of the Year voting. “They’re actually watching games, they’re actually looking at games,” Adebayo said of the award voters. “They’re paying attention to what I do. It’s not only what shows up in the stat book.” As Chiang writes, Adebayo blocked just 0.9 shots per game in 2023/24, wel ..read more

After the NBA playoffs tipped off on Saturday with a handful of one-sided contests, things got a little more interesting on Sunday and Monday, with the Thunder, Knicks, and Nuggets among the teams to pull out victories in games that went down to the wire. All three days of the playoffs so far, however, have had one thing in common: The home team has won. The road teams have an 0-11 record entering Tuesday’s action. It’s not necessarily surprising that the home teams are controlling the eight series so far. Those clubs are the higher seeds, and home-court advantage is often a difference-maker i ..read more

Lakers forward Jarred Vanderbilt, who hasn’t played since February 1 due to a right midfoot sprain, is targeting a Game 3 return, a source familiar with the situation tells Dave McMenamin of ESPN. According to McMenamin’s source, Vanderbilt has been ramping up his workouts in the past couple weeks and had one of his most intense on-court sessions yet on Monday. His availability on Thursday will be determined based on how his body responds to that increased intensity. As previously reported, Lakers big man Christian Wood (left knee surgery) is also aiming to make it back for Game 3 vs. Denver ..read more

Game 1 between the Magic and Cavaliers had an edge to it and it could get even more chippier as the series goes along, The Athletic’s Josh Robbins opines. Orlando’s Markelle Fultz was assessed a Flagrant-1 foul and the Cavs’ Georges Niang received a technical foul for an altercation during the series opener. “Either he was going to hit me first or I was going to hit him,” Fultz said. “So, I just took the initiative to body up, not trying to hurt nobody or anything like that but just deliver a hit, make it be known that we’re not soft.” Cleveland’s Isaac Okoro received a technical foul for shov ..read more

Tiebreakers among teams with identical regular-season records were broken on Monday through random drawings to determine the order for this year’s draft prior to the lottery. The results are as follows, according to a press release from the league: Charlotte Hornets (No. 3) over Portland Trail Blazers (No. 4). Note: The Hornets will get one more lottery ball combination (out of 1,000) than the Trail Blazers. Sacramento Kings (No. 13) over Golden State Warriors (No. 14) Note: The Kings will get one more lottery ball combination (out of 1,000) than the Warriors. Note: The Warriors will send ..read more

Mavericks guard Luka Doncic, Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Nuggets center Nikola Jokic were revealed on Sunday as the finalists for the Most Valuable Player award, according to the NBA (Twitter link). Doncic led the league in scoring (33.9 points per game) and finished second in assists (9.8) while also grabbing 9.2 rebounds per contest. Gilgeous-Alexander led the Thunder to the top seed in the Western Conference by averaging 30.1 points, 5.5 rebounds, 6.2 assists and 2.0 steals per contest. Jokic, who is widely considered the favorite to win his third MVP trophy, averaged 26.4 poi ..read more

The pool of bonus money for NBA playoff teams this season will be worth approximately $33.7MM, according to Kurt Badenhausen and Lev Akabas of Sportico, who say the figure represents a 25% increase over last year’s total playoff bonuses. The top six teams in each conference earn bonuses based on their regular season records, while the 16 playoff teams will also receive a chunk of money from the playoff pool, increasing the value of their payout with each series win. That bonus money will be divvied up among the players on each club’s roster. Teams eliminated in the play-in tournament won’t be ..read more

The NBA announced all of the major All-NBA G League teams on Thursday (All Twitter links found here), including the First Team, Second Team, Third Team, All-Defensive Team, and All-Rookie team. Several current and former NBA players are among the honorees. Here is the full list of winners for the 2023/24 season. All-NBA G League First Team: Mac McClung, G, Osceola Magic (McClung was NBAGL MVP) Alondes Williams, G, Sioux Falls Skyforce (Heat‘s affiliate) * Jason Preston, G, Salt Lake City Stars (Jazz‘s affiliate) * Kenneth Lofton, F/C, Salt Lake City Stars ^ Oscar Tshiebwe, C, Indiana Mad Ants ..read more

With 11 of 12 roster spots reportedly locked in for USA Basketball’s 2024 Olympic roster, the program could go in a number of different directions with the 12th and final slot. The list of players in contention for that final roster spot includes plenty of big names, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic, who reports that Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard is currently viewed as the leading candidate. Leonard’s teammate Paul George, Knicks guard Jalen Brunson, Magic forward Paolo Banchero, and Nets forward Mikal Bridges are also in the mix, sources tell Charania. Leonard hasn’t represented T ..read more

It came down to a blown DeMar DeRozan overtime buzzer beater attempt, but the Knicks finally clinched the Eastern Conference’s No. 2 seed by winning a nationally broadcast ESPN clash against the Bulls this afternoon. Earlier in the day, several other East playoff and play-in clubs wrapped up their 2023/24 regular seasons, thus cementing the conference’s top 10 heading into the postseason. Six teams won between 47 and 50 games, with three clubs sporting identical 47-35 records. Obviously the Nos. 7 and 8 seeds will be determined by the play-in tournament, which will tip off mid-week. That will ..read more