While Luka Doncic‘s 32 points and nine assists in Tuesday’s Game 2 win over the Clippers were nearly right in line with his regular season numbers, he may have been even more impactful on the other end of the court, according to Tim MacMahon of ESPN. Doncic has never been known for his defense, but he played a key role in limiting L.A.’s shooting percentage on the night to just 36.8%. “I think his defense has been great this whole series,” head coach Jason Kidd told reporters after his Mavericks evened the series at 1-1. “We know they’re going to put him in pick-and-roll. A couple years ago we ..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

2023 No. 1 overall pick Victor Wembanyama just completed one of the most impressive rookie seasons in league history, becoming just the 10th player to ever average at least 20 points, 10 rebounds and three blocks, writes Kevin O’Connor of The Ringer. The other nine players are all Hall of Famers, and Wembanyama was the first to accomplish the feat in fewer than 30 minutes per game (29.7). In a lengthy interview with O’Connor (YouTube link), the Spurs big man said he wasn’t surprised by his performance in 2023/24. “It’s impossible to be surprised by your own performance, good or bad,” Wembanyam ..read more

Zach Collins dislocated his right shoulder in the Spurs‘ season finale on Sunday and a subsequent MRI revealed a torn labrum, the team announced in a press release. Collins will undergo surgery and is expected to be fully healed to open the 2024/25 season, per the Spurs. A 6’11” big man, Collins dealt with multiple major ankle injuries earlier in his seven-year career, playing just 39 total games from 2019-22. However, he was relatively healthy in 2023/24, appearing in 69 games while averaging 11.2 points, 5.4 rebounds and 2.8 assists in 22.1 minutes per contest. The 26-year-old opened ’23/24 ..read more

After averaging 26.4 points in 36.5 minutes per game during his first 51 contests this season, Hawks guard Trae Young scored 15.0 PPG while playing 26.6 MPG in three games last week upon returning from hand surgery. Having gotten a few appearances under his belt down the stretch, Young is hoping to see his usual playing time – and provide his usual production – in Wednesday’s play-in game vs. Chicago, according to Charles Odum of The Associated Press. “I feel a lot better,” Young told reporters after practicing on Monday. “I’m just trying to make sure I can play at least close to my minutes th ..read more

The Rockets’ 2023/24 season, their first under new head coach Ime Udoka, is now in the books. Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle breaks down how the team showed plenty of promise en route to a 41-41 finish, diminished slightly by the lack of a playoff or play-in berth. The Rockets finished as the No. 11 seed in the Western Conference. “Happy wouldn’t be the word,” Udoka said. “We are disappointed we didn’t meet our goal. When you are a few games behind, you think of all the tough … games we’ve given away, we understand where we could have been. The goal always was to make the playoffs an ..read more

Confirming prior reporting from Forbes, Marc Stein (Substack link) cites sources who say that Mark Cuban‘s sale agreement with Miriam Adelson and Patrick Dumont stipulates that the Mavericks‘ new majority owners have the option to buy an additional 20% of the franchise in four years. For the time being, Cuban has retained control of 27% of the team and reportedly still maintains a voice in the personnel decisions, though he’s no longer the final decision-maker. However, if Adelson and Dumont exercise that option a few years from now, the extra shares would come out of Cuban’s stake in the team ..read more

The Grizzlies will be without 13 of their 15 standard contract players when they take on the Lakers on Friday (Twitter link via Memphis Commercial Appeal’s Damichael Cole) and it’s the latest development from an injury-mired and disappointing season. Memphis dealt with long-term injuries to almost everyone on the roster and continues to cycle through 10-day contract hardship players to see what sticks. Two-way players have started over 50 combined games for the team that has seen an NBA record 33 individual players suit up this year. That leaves Memphis, a team that is widely expected to be a ..read more

Rockets center Alperen Sengun, who has been sidelined since March 10 due to knee and ankle injuries, had hoped to get back on the court in the season’s final week, but it doesn’t look like it’ll happen, writes Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle (subscription required). “I would say (it’s) unlikely,” head coach Ime Udoka said. “Alperen still has swelling. A lot was going to be based on our results and how we finished the season. No need to really rush him back.” Sengun enjoyed a breakout year for the Rockets this season, averaging 21.1 points, 9.3 rebounds, and 5.0 assists in 32.5 minutes ..read more

Mavericks guard Kyrie Irving has been named Western Conference Player of the Week, while Celtics big man Kristaps Porziņģis has claimed the Eastern Conference’s weekly honor, NBA Communications tweets. Irving averaged 31.8 points and 5.3 rebounds while shooting 52.4% from the field as Dallas went 3-1 last week. Porzingis averaged 19.8 points, 10.0 rebounds and 3.0 blocks in four Boston victories. Irving has gained Player of the Week honors five times in his career but this is his first since the 2014/15 season. The Suns’ Devin Booker, Lakers’ Anthony Davis, Mavs’ Luka Doncic, Timberwolves’ Rud ..read more