Basketball

The Denver Nuggets are looking to add a defensive wing to come off the bench ahead of the NBA's February 9 trade deadline, according to The Athletic's Sam Amick.

"They want to get longer, more athletic, versatile, defensive-minded and bigger in that department. The Gordon trade with Orlando in March 2021 continues to pay big dividends, and adding another player with that sort of skill set would be the dream scenario here," Amick wrote.

The Nuggets already have one of the best offenses in the NBA. They rank second in the league with a 116.4 offensive rating, behind only the Boston Celtics (117.3).

MVP candidate Nikola Jokić is leading Denver offensively, averaging 25.7 points and 9.4 assists while shooting 61.9 percent from the floor and 32.4 percent from deep. The Nuggets also have six other players averaging double digits in scoring—Jamal Murray, Aaron Gordon, Michael Porter Jr., Bones Hyland, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Bruce Brown.

While Jokić isn't the best defensively, the Nuggets have been even worse on that end of the court without him. The 22-12 club is 24th in defensive rating with a 114.1 overall mark, per NBA.com. That number is 112.1 with Jokić on the court, which would give the Nuggets a top-10 overall defensive rating, but it rises slightly to 114.2 with him absent.

Following the 2021-22 season, the Nuggets acquired Caldwell-Pope in a trade with the Washington Wizards and signed Brown away from the Brooklyn Nets in hopes of improving their defense.

Back in October, Nuggets head coach Michael Malone told reporters that one of his goals in 2022-23 was to mold his team into one of the top five defensive teams in the NBA.

"We understand that you can't be 15th in the NBA in defensive efficiency and be serious about winning at a high level," Malone said at the team's media day. "You look at the two teams in the NBA Finals; they were (No.) 1 and 2."

The Nuggets are far from being one of the best defensive teams in the league, though. If Denver wants to win an NBA title, it's going to have to improve defensively. The Celtics, for example. have the NBA's top offense and rank seventh defensively. They currently sit first in the East with a 26-10 record after reaching the Finals last season.

To their credit, the Nuggets are still second in the West, but if they can improve their frontcourt defense off the bench, they will take a big step forward in contending for an NBA title.

The New Orleans Pelicans currently occupy the top seed in the Western Conference with a 22-12 record, and a lot of that has to do with the return of 2019 first overall pick Zion Williamson.

The Duke product, who missed the entire 2021-22 season because of a nagging foot injury, has returned to being mostly healthy this season, picking up right where he left off when he last took the court.

The 22-year-old is averaging 25.8 points, 7.0 rebounds, 4.7 assists and 1.2 steals in 26 games while shooting 60.7 percent from the floor and 36.8 percent from deep.

According to CJ McCollum, the team's game plan this year is to run the ball through the 6'6" forward.

"Get the ball to Z and get the f--k out of the way," McCollum said when asked to describe the team's strategy late in the game, per The Athletic's William Guillory.

If Williamson can stay healthy, the Pelicans will be a real threat to capture the Western Conference crown for the first time in franchise history. Additionally, the team is hoping to make a run to the NBA Finals for the first time ever.

In the same city where Reggie Miller became one of the greatest shooters in NBA history, Indiana Pacers guard Buddy Hield broke one of his NBA records on Thursday night.

Hield made a three-pointer three seconds into the Pacers' game against the Cleveland Cavaliers. He caught the opening tipoff right in front of the three-point line and in one motion fired up a shot that hit nothing but net.

Per ESPN Stats & Info, Hield's shot three seconds into the game broke the previous mark of four seconds set by Miller on March 5, 2000.

The record has been tracked since the play-by-play era began with the 1996-97 season.

Miller's record-setting moment came in an otherwise forgettable game by his standards. The Pacers' legend scored 15 points on 4-of-14 shooting in a 114-95 win over the Golden State Warriors.

Hield had one of his most efficient games of the season on Thursday. He scored 25 points on 10-of-14 shooting and made five of his six attempts from behind the arc.

The Pacers put together a fantastic performance, particularly in the second half, in their 135-126 win over the Cavs. They scored 71 points after halftime to earn their fourth victory in the past five games.

Indiana has been a pleasant surprise so far this season with a 19-17 record. It moved into sixth place in the Eastern Conference standings after beating the Cavaliers.

The Cleveland Cavaliers are concerned that point guard Darius Garland could miss some time after suffering a thumb injury late in Thursday's 135-126 loss to the Indiana Pacers, according to Cleveland.com's Chris Fedor.

Garland sustained the injury in the fourth quarter after getting hit on the right hand by Indiana's Oshae Brissett while driving to the paint. He immediately grabbed his thumb before falling to the court in pain.

Garland, in obvious pain, remained in the game before head coach J.B. Bickerstaff called a timeout so he could get his thumb examined. He returned several minutes later with his thumb wrapped, though he didn't attempt a single shot after returning.

Garland is expected to undergo further testing to determine the extent of the injury. After the game, he said his thumb was "bothering" him:

I was just trying to go out there and compete as much as I could. The last two free throws, I looked at J.B. and I was like, 'Ah, I really don't want to shoot these.' But I got fouled and just tried to make two. They didn't go in. Everything hurt. I was playing with a wrapped thumb. I couldn't really do anything. I wasn't going to be effective with that. It was already throbbing and swollen at that point.

Garland has been taking shots all season, and the Cavaliers "believe the increased physicality is purposeful—a result of opponents determining that's the only method to slow the shifty, crafty and quick guard," Fedor wrote.

Garland discussed the physicality against him further following Thursday's loss:

"Just getting hacked all season. Nothing has changed. The physicality isn't a factor at all. It's the whistle not being blown at the right time when it's a foul, an obvious foul. Some of this stuff we should be reviewing."

During Cleveland's season-opening loss to the Toronto Raptors on Oct. 19, Garland suffered an eye injury that knocked him out of the team's next five games. Raptors guard Gary Trent Jr. accidentally whacked Garland across the eye, and he suffered a vision-impacting laceration to his eyelid.

The 6-foot-1 point guard has gotten hit in the face so many times this season that he has suggested the team get him a mask or goggles "because it's getting out of hand."

"I'm just tired of getting hit in my face. But I like the aggressive defenses. It's kind of a statement to me and my game," Garland said, per Fedor. "It's super cool that people are just trying to tighten up their shoelaces for me."

Garland eventually returned to the court for a Nov. 2 win over the Boston Celtics, but sat out the next game with a sprained left knee. He has played every game since returning from that knee ailment in a Nov. 6 win over the Los Angeles Lakers.

The 22-year-old has emerged as a significant contributor for the Cavaliers on offense, and losing him for any period of time won't be good for Cleveland, which is mired in a three-game losing streak.

Through 30 games this season, Garland is averaging 21.3 points, 2.6 rebounds, 7.8 assists and 1.3 steals while shooting 45 percent from the floor and 40 percent from deep. If he misses time moving forward, Caris LeVert and Raul Neto would be in line to see more playing time alongside Donovan Mitchell

Cleveland is fourth in the Eastern Conference with a 22-14 record, four games behind the first-place Celtics. The Cavs are back in action on Saturday against the Chicago Bulls.

Thursday's game between the Boston Celtics and Los Angeles Clippers featured a battle between two of the best dynamic duos in the NBA, and the young Celtics stars Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown managed to outlast the veteran Clippers pair of Kawhi Leonard and Paul George.

Tatum and Brown scored 29 points apiece to lead the Celtics to a 116-110 victory in front of home fans at TD Garden. Tatum also finished with a team-high 11 rebounds. Leonard had 26 points and George notched 24 for the Clippers in the loss.

Boston's tandem appeared to be amped up for Thursday's clash of superstar wings and answered the bell with strong play on both ends of the floor. Tatum and Brown are players on the ascent, and they continued to prove their prowess with a statement victory over a Clippers team that beat them by 20 earlier this month.

NBA Twitter liked what it saw from Tatum and Brown, praising the duo for another impressive showing:

After improving to 25-10, Boston maintains its spot atop the Eastern Conference. With Tatum and Brown leading the way, the Celtics look primed for another run to the NBA Finals.

Boston will look for a fifth straight win when it visits the Denver Nuggets (22-12) on New Year's Day.

Lakers star LeBron James made it clear following Wednesday's loss to the Miami Heat that he doesn't want to continue playing losing basketball.

Those comments have led Lakers columnist Bill Plaschke of the Los Angeles Times to write that the Purple and Gold should trade James instead of meeting his demands to upgrade the roster in a meaningful way, which almost surely would cost the franchise its 2027 and 2029 first-round draft picks.

Plaschke wrote:

It has long been believed the Lakers wouldn't have the brashness to make such a deal. But now he's given them a reason. They're not dumping a legend, they're simply abiding by his request, which changes the scenario completely.

Seriously, how much longer can they believe that James is still capable of leading a young core into the playoffs? When are they finally going to admit that James is a wasted talent without contributions from Davis, and when are they going to realize Davis might never be a consistent star again?

Continuing to build a team around James with the expectation that he is still capable of carrying a team of role players to a title is the definition of insanity.

The Lakers dropped to 14-21 with Wednesday's loss, and they sit 13th in the Western Conference as they continue to plummet in the standings in the absence of star center Anthony Davis.

After the game, James told reporters he doesn't want to finish his career "playing at this level from a team aspect." He added:

I'm a winner, and I want to win. And I want to win and give myself a chance to win and still compete for championships. That has always been my passion. That has always been my goal since I entered the league as an 18-year-old kid out of Akron, Ohio.

And I know it takes steps to get there, but once you get there and know how to get there, playing basketball at this level just to be playing basketball is not in my DNA. It's not in my DNA anymore. So we'll see what happens and see how fresh my mind stays over the next couple years.

This is the second straight season the Lakers have underperformed. During the 2021-22 campaign, the Purple and Gold finished 11th in the Western Conference with a 33-49 record and missed the playoffs.

James, who will turn 38 on Friday, might feel like the Lakers are wasting what little time he has left in the NBA. The four-time MVP is looking to win his fifth NBA title, and that doesn't look like it's going to happen in L.A.

James, in his 20th NBA season, has played well, averaging 27.8 points, 8.1 rebounds, 6.6 assists and 1.1 steals in 27 games while shooting 49.8 percent from the floor and 29.7 percent from deep.

However, the Lakers couldn't build a contending roster around James and Davis during the offseason because of their contracts and that of Russell Westbrook. So, the Purple and Gold was left with mediocre talent to fill out the remaining spots.

That being said, James isn't solely to blame for L.A.'s struggles. When the team had a solid roster in 2019-20, James delivered, helping lead the Lakers to their first NBA title since 2010.

If the Lakers were going to entertain the idea of trading James, it's unclear what the franchise would expect for him. Typically, a player of James' caliber would fetch a haul, but if he demands a trade, the franchise won't have much leverage.

Additionally, James is under contract through the 2024-25 campaign after agreeing to a two-year, $97.1 million extension with the Lakers in August. That contract would be a lot for many contending teams.

Alex Rodriguez and Marc Lore reportedly have taken another step toward assuming ownership of the Minnesota Timberwolves and Minnesota Lynx.

According to The Athletic's Jon Krawczynski and Shams Charania, Rodriguez and Lore exercised their option to purchase the next 20 percent of the franchises, which is a continuation of their three-step plan.

Rodriguez and Lore reached an agreement in 2021 to buy the teams in installments. They faced a Saturday deadline to inform majority owner Glen Taylor that they exercised the option, and now they have until March 15 to secure the next 20 percent. They will then have until Dec. 31, 2023, to purchase another 40 percent of the team.

If either of the next two payments are missed, Taylor will have the right to "nullify the succession plan" while retaining Lore and Rodriguez as limited partners, per Krawczynski and Charania. The duo reportedly has been in regular contact with Taylor, who acts as a mentor to them as he prepares to relinquish control of the Timberwolves, a team he's been the majority owner of since 1994.

For their part, Lore and Rodriguez have "privately expressed confidence to people within the organization, Taylor included, that everything is on track to be completed."

Krawczynski and Charania noted that Lore and Rodriguez have already undertaken more influence than limited partners usually do since they joined the ownership group last year, pointing to their roles in recruiting Tim Connelly away from the Denver Nuggets to become Minnesota's president of basketball operations. They also reportedly were consulted on the contract extension for Lynx head coach and president Cheryl Reeve.

The Timberwolves are in 11th place in the Western Conference with a 16-19 record. Minnesota will return to action on Friday against the Milwaukee Bucks (22-12). The Lynx finished the 2022 season with a 14-22 record and fell short of the playoffs.

Victor Wembanyama hasn't even hit an NBA court yet, but he's already being labeled a generational talent.

Because of the Frenchman's insane talent that has drawn rave reviews from the likes of LeBron James and Stephen Curry, the idea of teams tanking to improve their chances of selecting him with the No. 1 pick in the 2023 NBA draft has been a hot topic this year.

Wembanyama, however, expressed confusion about the tanking approach in an interview with Le Parisien.

"Tanking? It's a weird strategy," Wembanyama said. "I find it unreasonable, and I try not to think about it. I also heard that the NBA considered changing a few rules for me, but that doesn't concern me."

Wembanyama is expected to be the No. 1 pick in the 2023 NBA draft, topping the likes of Scoot Henderson and Amen Thompson.

The 19-year-old is 7-foot-2, has a wingspan of nearly eight feet and can play any position on the court. His combination of size, shooting and skill makes him one of the most desirable prospects the league has seen in a long time.

Wembanyama's talents were on full display in the United States for the first time in October when Metropolitans 92 met the G League Ignite in the Las Vegas showcase. He finished the first matchup with 37 points, four rebounds, one steal and five blocks, and the second game with 36 points, 11 rebounds, four assists, one steal and four blocks.

In an interview with Tim Reynolds of the Associated Press in October, Wembanyama stated that while he has drawn inspiration from some of the NBA's best players, such as Kevin Durant and Giannis Antetokounmpo, he's excited to carve out his own path at the next level:

I'm gonna tell you something that's been going on in my life, like for my whole life, since I've been a kid, even before I played basketball. I've always tried to do [something] different. I'm not even talking about sports, whatever. Any field, I'm always trying to be original, something original, something one of one, something that's never been done before. And this is really how it worked in my life. I don't know where it comes from. I think I was born with it. I've always been trying to be original. Unique, that's the word.

Entering Thursday's slate, the Detroit Pistons (9-28), Charlotte Hornets (9-26), Houston Rockets (11-23), and San Antonio Spurs (10-24) had the best odds of winning the NBA draft lottery.

There's still plenty of season left, and the odds for those teams could obviously change. But if the NBA finds out teams are deliberately losing games in an attempt to secure the No. 1 overall pick and a shot at Wembanyama, there's a chance it can hand down some significant punishment.

Though fans might worry about Victor Wembanyama's injury risk because of his slender 7'2" frame, NBA scouts aren't concerned about the clear top prospect in the 2023 NBA draft.

"Some people compared his physique with Chet Holmgren, but Victor's shoulders and frame are better," a scout told Michael Scotto of HoopsHype. "You don't pass on him [at] No. 1 because you're worried about an injury at his size."

Wembanyama has caught the attention of nearly everyone in NBA circles, with even current stars like LeBron James, Kevin Durant and Giannis Antetokounmpo praising the top prospect. The versatile player has an impressive handle for his size and can score in different ways while remaining an elite shot-blocker.

The upside is enough to overlook nearly any risk, making him a near-lock to go No. 1 overall in the June draft.

At just 229 pounds, durability could still be an issue in his career. Chet Holmgren (7'0", 195 lbs) will miss the entire 2022-23 season because of a foot injury after being taken No. 2 overall in the last draft. Kristaps Porziņģis (7'3", 240 lbs) has also been limited by injuries throughout his career, playing fewer than 60 games in six straight years.

Wembanyama will hope for better injury luck once he reaches the NBA.

The NBA's hottest team resides in Philadelphia.

Joel Embiid had 35 points and James Harden added a 29-point, 13-assist double-double as the 76ers came from behind to earn a 119-112 win over the New York Knicks on Christmas Day at Madison Square Garden.

The Sixers have reeled off eight straight wins, tied with the Brooklyn Nets for the longest streak in the NBA.

Sunday's Christmas matinee did not start the way Philly hoped, as the Knicks got off to a red-hot start and led by as many as 14 points in the first half. Embiid sleepwalked through a quiet first quarter before finally turning it on late in the second, scoring seven points in the final two minutes, nine seconds to help the Sixers pull within three at the break.

The margin closed to one by the end of the third quarter, with Harden taking on a starring role thanks to a series of jaw-dropping threes. His 29 points were his most in more than two months, while his five threes tied a season high.

Dreadful over the first three quarters, the Philadelphia defense finally locked in during the fourth, limiting the Knicks to just 16 points.

New York has dropped three straight since its own eight-game winning streak. The Knicks are now just 0.5 games from dropping back into the play-in picture.

The Sixers (20-12) would be the East's No. 5 seed if the season ended today.