The Pacers advanced to the second round of the playoffs for the first time in 10 years on Thursday night after dispatching the Bucks in six games. T.J. McConnell (20 points, nine assists, four steals in 23 minutes) and Obi Toppin (21 points, eight rebounds in 24 minutes) were particularly impressive off the bench. As Dustin Dopirak of The Indianapolis Star writes, the Pacers are just two years removed from a 25-57 season. And at one point, it seemed inevitable that Myles Turner would be traded. Instead, the longest-tenured member of the team renegotiated and extended his contract with the Pace ..read more

Bulls guard/forward Alex Caruso has won the Hustle Award for the 2023/24 season, the NBA announced in a press release written by Brian Martin. According to the league, the award “honors a player who makes impactful effort plays that might not appear in the box score.” The award was created eight years ago, with Grizzlies guard Marcus Smart being a three-time winner. Some of the hustle statistics that the NBA tracks include deflections, loose balls recovered, charges drawn, screen assists, contested shots and box-outs. Caruso led in the league in deflections per game (3.7) and on a per-minute b ..read more

Bucks forward Bobby Portis, who was ejected in the first quarter of Sunday’s Game 4 loss in Indiana, apologized to his teammates prior to Game 5, then matched Khris Middleton‘s game-high 29 points in Milwaukee’s home win on Tuesday, writes Jamal Collier of ESPN. “I’m an emotional player, I wear my heart on my sleeve, I give my all every night and take pride of being available for my team,” Portis said on Tuesday. “Game 4, little scuffle, maybe crossed the line. I let my team down by getting ejected and not being available for my team. I owed them an apology for sure.” With Giannis Antetokounmp ..read more

The Suns will take “a hard look” at a coaching change after being swept out of the playoffs by Minnesota, sources tell Shams Charania and Doug Haller of The Athletic. If Frank Vogel is retained, management will consider making adjustments to his staff, according to the authors, who add that general manager James Jones will be kept in his current role. Vogel still has four seasons remaining on the $31MM contract he received when he was hired last June. He was 49-33 in his first year with Phoenix and the team made a late charge to claim the sixth seed in the West, but there were concerns by the ..read more

Veteran Bulls assistant coach Chris Fleming won’t return next season as part of Billy Donovan‘s staff, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic, who reports (via Twitter) that assistant Maurice Cheeks also won’t be back in a full-time role on the bench. Confirming Charania’s reporting, K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago says that Cheeks is expected to have a position elsewhere in the organization. That decision was solely Cheeks’, Johnson adds. In other Bulls coaching news, second-row assistant John Bryant is expected to move to the front of the bench for the 2024/25 season, according to Jo ..read more

Sixers guard Tyrese Maxey has won the NBA’s Most Improved Player award for the 2023/24 season, the league’s communications department tweets. Maxey edged out Bulls guard Coby White for the award. Maxey received 51 of 99 first-place votes while recording 319 voting points. White had just 32 first-place votes, but showed up on more ballots (91) than Maxey (79) and compiled 305 points. The third finalist, Rockets center Alperen Sengun, was a distant third with six first-place votes and 92 points. Thunder forward Jalen Williams and Knicks guard Jalen Brunson finished fourth and fifth, respectively ..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

With All-NBA Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo on the shelf for tonight’s Game 1 matchup against the Pacers, the team’s second- and third-most important offensive contributors, Damian Lillard and Khris Middleton, are being expected to step up. As Eric Nehm of The Athletic writes, Milwaukee will count on Lillard and Middleton to keep the team cooking with their distribution, not just their own shooting. Both are excellent when it comes to scoring in isolation, but the team as a collective will need to be strong, too. “It’s the best team I’ve been on,” Lillard said. “So we’re capable. We can w ..read more

After watching his team get eliminated in the play-in round for the second straight season, Bulls executive vice president of basketball operations Arturas Karnisovas promised that changes are coming, according to K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago. Addressing reporters today in the wake of Friday’s loss at Miami, Karnisovas sounded ready for a major roster shake-up. “I’ve said numerous times today: This group, something doesn’t work. I have to find ways to find a group that’s going to make improvements. We’ve done it for a couple years now and it hasn’t worked,” Karnisovas said. “Everything i ..read more

The Bulls fell to the Heat in blowout fashion on Friday, ending their postseason hopes and sending the franchise into an offseason with questions centered around the long-term futures of franchise centerpieces DeMar DeRozan and Zach LaVine. DeRozan, an unrestricted free agent, has repeatedly emphasized his desire to remain in Chicago. But on Friday, DeRozan sounded like a possible return would be contingent on change, NBC Sports Chicago’s K.C. Johnson writes. “That’s still where I’m at,” he said about wanting to remain in Chicago. “But at the end of the day, I hate losing. I hate missing oppor ..read more