NBA Notebook: Celtics have multiple paths to a Ben Simmons trade

Shams Charania explained his Ben Simmons and Celtics trade reporting in an appearance on the Pat McAfee Show, a scenario that already played out in the minds of many Boston fans. Brad Stevens halted talks when Daryl Morey demanded Jaylen Brown's involvement in any potential deal, Charania said. 

Boston's reported interest this week made sense from a due diligence perspective. With little traction and high turbulence ongoing between Simmons and the Philadelphia organization, the Celtics likely saw an opportunity to buy low. Morey's inclination remains selling high, even if it takes years, and landing Brown certainly would spark a preemptive championship parade among Philadelphia fans outside Wells Fargo Arena. 

Simmons will not be a Boston Celtic -- for now. If Morey's position changes later, the Celtics have multiple avenues to a deal, as Stevens envisioned Boston being able to do in the offseason. It'll come down to timing. 

The Sixers started 8-2 as the NBA's top offense, reasonably one major piece away from championship contention. With Joel Embiid older and at times injury prone, the prerogative to compliment him with a star that fits next to him better than Simmons could become urgent. That doesn't correspond with the team's current desire to reintegrate Simmons into a locker room that's largely moved on, especially after Simmons appeared at practice reportedly unwilling to participate and getting kicked out.

Any debate over the validity of Simmons' more recent addressing of his mental health matters less than the obvious fact that Simmons wants to leave. Both can be true: Simmons getting help to prepare to play and hoping it'll be elsewhere. It's easy to forget this situation stems back to Philadelphia reportedly trying to trade Simmons for James Harden roughly one year ago. 

Rich Paul's commentary about Philly worsening Simmons' recovery process reflects a team trying to reconstruct a relationship long over, and in their heart of hearts would officially end themselves if on favorable terms. Enter: the Boston Celtics. 

If the 76ers truly wanted to acquire Brown for Simmons, a starting point in negotiations would be making it the Brown trade instead of the Simmons trade. Brown is the better player, evident in the scoring, shooting and career success difference between two of the top picks in the 2016 NBA Draft. That means the 76ers should be trading additional assets with Simmons to address the current uncertainty around him, the $113-million remaining on his contract after this season and acquire an all-star. 

A Simmons deal should almost resemble a salary dump, sending a reliable rotation player like Seth Curry and a young prospect like Tyrese Maxey to Boston. To make all that money work, the Celtics could divert salary like Al Horford's to a third team, or send a contract like Josh Richardson's to Philly. This would only become realistic if the Celtics sink well below .500 before the trade deadline and their roster situation going forward becomes untenable. It would be less about Jayson Tatum and Brown being unable to mesh, and more about the roster around them not going anywhere. 

Tatum would assume Philly's excellent depth, and the C's would take on the Simmons flier. The Sixers would add their desired star to Tobias Harris and Embiid. Note: Kanter can't be traded until Dec. 15. Josh Richardson could be included in a potential incarnation of this deal beginning Jan. 7, with his $11.6-million allowing the Sixers to take less money back. 

The Celtics' insistence on keeping Brown and the Sixers' adamance to see this process through until a star like Damian Lillard becomes available likely won't change and prevent such a deal. Even if one or both of their premises prove faulty long-term. 

"That was good for Brad (Stevens) to reassure (Brown)," Ime Udoka said on 98.5 The Sports Hub this week. "That stuff can come from the other side as well, nothing to do with us. Other people trying to ramp up rumors and get value for certain guys. Obviously, we know what Jaylen means to the organization, he's obviously one of the pillars as I've mentioned several times. We let him know he's in good shape here and has nothing to worry about."

That could be true, and would mean Al Horford, Robert Williams III and Richardson become the primary salary matching options for the C's in any deal. Embiid's stature makes returning any bigs less valuable for the Sixers than any other team and Richardson unsuccessfully played in Philly two years ago. Pass. 

Marcus Smart remains ineligible for trades until Jan. 20 following his extension. Dennis Schröder can become available in deals on Dec. 14. Smart's salary matching makes him more likely involved in any non-Brown deal, but his extension makes Boston's involvement in any Simmons deal all about timing. And it may be on the Celtics' side. 

Other potential Simmons returns, like Terry Rozier, don't become trade-eligible until the same week as Smart due to extension and recent free-agent signing restrictions. A team like Detroit can't package Jerami Grant and Kelly Olynyk together until December, having just signed Olynyk. 

Malcolm Brogdon's extension excluded him from deals this season, leaving only bigs as significant salary on the Pacers, with discussions already behind the two sides. The Heat probably don't have a package. The Raptors will roll with Pascal Siakam for now and Bradley Beal's happy in Washington. John Wall never seemed to catch traction as an idea, while Brooklyn and Philly haven't talked Kyrie Irving. 

Nothing appears imminent, but trade chips like Cam Reddish, Jalen Johnson, Bogdan Bogdanovic and Delon Wright make the Hawks intriguing, as Nekias Duncan wrote this week. Simmons last posted a 106 defensive rating, and can protect Trae Young, who's currently posting a 115 DR (-4.3 net rating). Clint Capela's 118 mark is astonishingly bad in a league averaging 107 points per 100 possessions. 

Would John Collins need to be Atlanta's Brown? It's not possible until Jan. 14. Philly is probably stuck until around that time. 

Some packages out west like Dillon Brooks, Kyle Anderson and Jaren Jackson Jr. in Memphis may make some sense. Minnesota could eventually fold back to the table with D'Angelo Russell. As could Portland with C.J. McCollum, or the Kings with De'Aaron Fox or Buddy Hield. San Antonio could've made the deal already, and every other team doesn't make sense for some reason or another.

That could open a door closer to the deadline for the Celtics. Would a winning Philly team embrace what Smart, Williams III, Romeo Langford and Aaron Nesmith could bring instead of an empty salary in Simmons to try to make an NBA Finals push? 

Without any other suitors at the deadline for Philly, it would provide Boston an immediate chance to cash in on the flexibility the team created during the offseason, and Simmons should excite fans as a possible redemption story with the Celtics. He'd have ample opportunity to enact revenge on Philly. His arguably defensive player of the year campaign in 2020 and stretches like 19.7 PPG, 8.0 RPG and 8.3 APG recall his status as something of a LeBron Lite less than one year ago. 

The Celtics should embrace the opportunity to consolidate the roster, and acquiring a player signed long-term actually helps a team with Brown and Tatum already extended. Simmons' free throw shooting (34% in the playoffs), lack of progression beyond his college game and this latest drama all legitimately became major concerns after a rocky year. The Celtics need some confidence they can overcome those issues, which is what makes trading Brown so precarious. Losing his reliability for someone who's anything but reliable. 

The prospect of Horford and Simmons reuniting also raises concern, dispelled by having two all-star wings. It could be ball movement heaven, though not without the same spacing concerns already facing the team. 

It's hard to imagine Morey moving off his current position, seeing success as leverage to wait rather than an incentive to act and maximize a championship window. If that changes, it could benefit the Celtics more than anyone. 

"Hey, your name’s all over the place, as you know," Stevens recalled telling Brown, on 98.5. "Obviously, from our standpoint, you’re a Celtic and a guy that we obviously we think exceptionally high of, and, you know, nothing doing." 

“I just wanted to make sure he had that peace of mind.”

Here's what else happened in the NBA this week  

Atlanta (4-9): Steph Curry became the latest opposing guard to light up the Atlanta defense, for 50 points alongside 10 assists, before the Hawks dropped their fifth straight game to Utah the next night. Their defensive woes tie the Hornets, Grizzlies and Pelicans at the bottom of the league, and remind of the lackluster attention to detail on that end that preceded Nate McMillan's arrival in Atlanta.

"I think a lot of people are frustrated,” Kevin Huerter said. "I don’t think we expected to be in this position. We’ve put ourselves in a hole obviously. We have nobody to blame but ourselves. We have to be better defensively. We have to finish games better."

Boston (6-6): Beat the Raptors wall-to-wall to wrap up a 4-1 turnaround week where the Celtics posted a 94 defensive rating. Ime Udoka's squad now ranks fourth in defensive rating (101.3). Analytics and eye test darling Robert Williams III leads the team in net rating (+8.0) after 16 points, 13 rebounds, two steals and a block in Boston's win on Wednesday. He's averaging nearly double his minutes per game over last year (18.9 to 32), while fouling less (1.5 per game) and actually increasing his offensive efficiency (72.3%). Most importantly, he's remained healthy.  

Jayson Tatum's drawing more blitzes with Brown (hamstring) out 1-2 weeks. That led to a seven-assist effort over Toronto, though his 39% FG, lagging free throw attempts, scoring and assist drops continue to baffle. He's riding a bike during his bench time, down to start this season, which Udoka said is precautionary to keep the star warm along with shorter bench stints. This team is also still struggling to shoot.

Dennis Schröder scored 38 points against Milwaukee on Friday, increasing his scoring average to 16.5 PPG with 5.6 APG.

Boston plays in Cleveland twice, before a visit to Atlanta, then host the Lakers, Schröder's last team, on Friday. 

Brooklyn (9-4): Dominated by the Bulls then unloaded on Orlando by 33 where Kevin Durant shot a mesmerizing 11-for-12 from the field, marking only the fourth performance that efficient at that volume since 2020 began. The Nets wrap up a relatively soft opening schedule before a potential NBA Finals preview against the Warriors on Tuesday. James Harden posted his third triple-double of the season in the win, attempting only eight free throws over the past two games. He averaged 3.7 FTA/G since the 19 he drew against Indiana six games ago, before drawing 15 on Friday. He's also turning the ball over more and scoring his fewest points per game since 2011-12 in OKC. 

Harden refuses to speak about the officiating's impact on his early output, clearly accustomed to embracing contact currently being allowed around the league. Damian Lillard spoke for the most frustrated stars instead, with foul calls per game still at an all-time low 18.9, though ranking only narrowly lower than last season. 

"I feel like the way the game is being officiated is unacceptable," he said. "I don’t wanna go too deep into it so they make a big deal out of it, but the explanations, the shit that’s getting missed. I mean, come on. I felt like coming in the rule change wouldn’t affect me because I don’t do the trick the referees, I don’t do the trick plays. It’s just unacceptable."

Charlotte (7-7): Escaped a five-game losing streak through their west-coast swing. A win at the Grizzlies salvaged some pride, thanks to 37 points from Kelly Oubre, but the collapse against the Lakers into overtime solidified this defensive group as the worst in the NBA. Mason Plumlee's free-throw shooting makes him a difficult player to court in key situations, with little size in rotation behind him to solidify Charlotte's interior. Opponents shoot 49% against P.J. Washington, now nearly unplayable as a small-ball five. 

Terry Rozier shot 11-for-22 against the Lakers and Gordon Hayward posted back-to-back efficient 20 point games. Offense isn't the issue with this group, as it almost begins to raise prospects of Simmons here too. Would Michael Jordan move on from James Bouknight, Rozier and Oubre? They won't be able to assess that until closer to the trade deadline, when more Charlotte players become trade-eligible. 

Chicago (8-4): Scottie Pippen sounding off about Jordan and The Last Dance would lead Bulls news many years. Not anymore. Chicago sat at the top of the east with Washington after wrecking the Nets and Mavericks by double-digits, before getting torched by Golden State on Friday, a team Demar DeRozan called the best in the league. 

More bad news struck the team in the health department, with Nikola Vucevic entering COVID protocol. That would've projected to devastate Chicago inside after the Thad Young loss and Patrick Williams' season-ending ailment. Instead, Tony Bradley's leading dominant minutes off the bench alongside Ayo Dosunmu, Alex Caruso, Javonte Green, Derrick Jones Jr. and more. 

"The Bulls are back," Tim Hardaway Jr. declared after the Bulls beat Dallas. 

They face the Clippers, Lakers, Blazers and Nuggets on the west coast this week. It's possible Coby White (shoulder) returns during the latter portion of it, as he approaches five months since his surgery. 

Cleveland (8-5): Life without Collin Sexton began with a stagnant shooting effort against Cleveland, with only Darius Garland delivering more than one three. Dean Wade moved into the starting lineup, while the team awaits Lauri Markkanen's (COVID protocol) return. Isaac Okoro returned from injury to shoot 1-for-4, among the options J.B. Bickerstaff will explore to fill in for Sexton. Sexton tore his meniscus on Sunday and awaits further assessment on the best treatment.

“It’s huge,” Bickerstaff said. “The threat that he is, games come down to getting a bucket. A lot of teams switch, and you’ve got to be able to beat your man. Collin is one of our guys who can beat his man and force teams to make different decisions on how they want to play their coverages and things like that. The competitive nature that he plays with, how hard he competes and all those things, we’re gonna miss them for sure.”

Cleveland hosts Boston for a mini-series this weekend, before playing the Nets and Warriors.

Dallas (8-4): Lost to Bulls and beat Pelicans, with the Nuggets and a mini-series in Phoenix coming up as something of a barometer for this group through an uneven start that still settled them in the top-half of the east. A strong Kristaps Porzingis stretch back to the win over Boston, averaging 21.8 PPG over Dallas' last three, further aided Luka Doncic as he rises from a sluggish start (27 PPG, 8.1 RPG, 8.1 APG last seven games). He'll need the same from a laboring Dorian Finney-Smith, Reggie Bullock and a depth guard like Frank Ntilikina. Maybe long-shots to turn it around. 

"Luka was average tonight," Jason Kidd said after the Bulls loss, commenting on the team's reliance on the All-NBA guard. "We always expect him to be super-human."

Denver (8-4): Nikola Jokic‘s back check on Markieff Morris cost him a game to suspension and planted the seeds of a brotherly feud involving Marcus Morris and Jokic’s brothers, Strahinja and Nemanja, following a blowout Denver win. Morris had just leveled a hard foul on Jokic's midsection.

"I think it was a dirty play," Jokic said after the ugly scene. "And I just needed to protect myself. I felt bad, I am not supposed to react that way but I need to protect myself."

The league fined Jimmy Butler and Morris for the incident, as Butler gestured and reportedly shouted at a Denver staffer to go outside while a stretcher arrived for Morris the forward ultimately didn't use. The Nuggets beat Indiana without Jokic, a rare feat for a team almost entirely dependent on the reigning MVP without Jamal Murray and now Michael Porter Jr., who's out for the foreseeable future with back soreness. Then, Jokic poured 22 points, 19 rebounds and 10 assists on Atlanta like he never left. 

Detroit (2-9): Kelly Olynyk will miss at least six weeks with a MCL sprain as life gets harder for the NBA’s worst offense, enough that Marc Stein highlighted the Pistons as a possible Marvin Bagley III suitor given his untenable position in Sacramento. Detroit scored a win between fellow one-win team Houston behind Jerami Grant's 35 and the best Cade Cunningham performance of his young career -- 20 points, four rebounds, three assists and two steals on 8-of-18 shooting. 

Jalen Green received a technical foul during the game for a trash talk-laden dunk that didn't impress the No. 1 pick. Green notably believes he should've been taken at the top of the 2021 draft. 

"Nothing that I heard tonight held any weight," Cunningham said. "It was all for the cameras."

Golden State (11-1): The best team in basketball once again. Steph Curry arguably leads the early MVP race with 28.4 PPG, 6.3 RPG and 6.4 APG on 40% three-point shooing. Golden State's defense tops basketball, with a 98.7 rating on that end. Their second-place offense boasts a 70 assist percentage, while they once again lead the league in three-pointers made per game, thanks to Jordan Poole and Andrew Wiggins, who poured 35 on his former Timberwolves on Wednesday. Oh, and Klay Thompson reportedly could return Dec. 20. 

Draymond Green, who exited the game with a thigh contusion, argued with Poole in an incident GM Bob Myers downplayed. Green, who admitted he wasn't all-in on the Warriors' lost 2020, locked-in last year and the spat resembles the intensity he flashed during the Durant years. They're back. 

Houston (1-11): Even considering the rebuild, a horrible start seems to have fans split on Stephen Silas. It's hard to fault him given the roster mismanagement stemming from the Harden trade. This is life leaning on five young players as the core of the rotation. Slow starts from Christian Wood and Daniel Theis haven't helped either.

John Wall's reported willingness to sit out this season, and next, rather than taking a buyout could give the Rockets some time to get something for him, but their insistence on keeping him sidelined doesn't make much sense. Like the Sixers realized with Simmons, it may be beneficial to have Wall play, support the young player's growth and build his value. The Kevin Porter Jr. point guard experiment hasn't gone smoothly. 

They play the Suns, Grizzlies and Thunder this week. 

Indiana (5-8): Handled the Kings and Jazz, and narrowly lost their game in Denver they probably should've had with Jokic sitting. Rudy Gobert and Myles Turner beefed in a more dance-inspired standoff than the brutality we saw between Jokic and Morris. 

Caris LeVert entered Saturday questionable as he continues to battle back pain. Malcolm Brogdon, one of the league's most underrated talents, carried Indiana through its slow start and ailments with career-best 23.6 PPG, 6.9 RPG and second-best 6.4 APG early this season. 

Clippers (7-4): Rallied down 17 to beat the Heat and hanging in there on defense, perhaps galvanized by that continuously open door left by Ty Lue and others for a Kawhi Leonard return this season. They've won five straight, scoring over 110 in four of the games, with Terance Mann, Reggie Jackson, Nic Batum and even Eric Bledsoe pushed 20 points at different times during this run. Ivica Zubac and Luke Kennard regularly give them double-figures. Lue continues to impress me as a head coach. 

Lakers (7-6): Narrowly escaped overtime games with wins over the Hornets and Heat at home, then got annihilated by the reeling Wolves. Russell Westbrook finally put it together in the second game, with 25 points, 12 rebounds and 14 assists as he takes over playmaking duties from injured LeBron James, then posted a -32 on Friday. James' abdominal strain may not keep him out for as long as originally thought, which is welcome news considering a string of new hamstring injuries to Rajon Rondo and rookie Austin Reaves. 

They play the Spurs and Bulls to begin this week, before an east coast swing takes them to Milwaukee and Boston into next weekend. 

Memphis (6-6): Dillon Brooks' return assisted a Memphis team Ja Morant and Desmond Bane continue to carry in spite of their defensive shortcomings. Brooks dropped 20 in his debut, while the Grizzlies' -6.4 net rating should cast a shadow over a .500 start. Morant likely won't be able to keep this ship afloat forever, as Wednesday's loss to a reeling Charlotte squad at home showed. 

Poor shooting downed Memphis in the game, while the offense doesn't rank among the juggernauts (20th). Their 53.6% TS entered Friday tied with the Celtics for 23rd. 

Miami (7-5): Slipping after a red-hot start. They narrowly edged the Jazz before losing to Denver, the Lakers and Clippers to wrap their west coast trip. Jimmy Butler tweaked his ankle while the team slipped to fourth in net rating. A reliance on transition scoring alongside troubles in the half-court spell concern for this group offensively, as Tyler Herro, Kyle Lowry and Bam Adebayo became the only hubs for offensive creation in the loss to the Clippers. 

Duncan Robinson and the three-point attack aren't rolling, Miami ranking 21st in made threes, while free throw makes constitute 16.7% of this group's points. Lowry's struggles from the field, P.J. Tucker's lack of a consistent offensive tool and Herro's inconsistency (42.1% on the three-game losing streak) all raise questions on that end too, while I wouldn't hold my breath on Victor Oladipo overhauling it all whenever he returns. 

Milwaukee (6-7): Giannis Antetokounmpo (ankle) missed Friday's game against the Celtics, as did Brook Lopez and Khris Middleton. It's impossible to gauge this team right now without their regulars, beyond the fact that the depth isn't great here. The three-point shooting makes them dangerous even down multiple starters, shooting 52% behind the arc thanks to Grayson Allen and Pat Connaughton. They cooled down during Friday's overtime loss to Boston, but Allen hit a pair of threes in the final 90 seconds to force the extra period down by six points. 

Minnesota (4-7): Bounced back from a bad week with a romping of the Lakers on Friday night. Anthony Edwards emerged as a volcanic scorer, dropping 27 and 48 in consecutive games before regressing to nine against the Lakers. Karl-Anthony Towns picked him up, outscoring LA 18-12 in a 28-point rout of the Lakers in that frame. 

Minnesota had lost six straight games, allowing 120 points in three of them, erasing a promising start to the season as the Wolves still rank in the top half in defense. The offense lags at 26th, with a 49.4 eFG%, and their 16.8 turnover percentages is tied for the third-worst in the league. 

''Desperately needed this one,'' Chris Finch said. ''The more desperate team usually wins in the NBA on any given night. We've been playing well. We just haven't been playing well often enough. Felt good to watch some shots go in finally.''

New Orleans (1-12): Without Brandon Ingram and Zion Williamson they're proving they're the worst team in the NBA. The Pistons at least play some defense. After a horrific start, Zion's injury and weight debacle, along with a strange exchange with former NOLA head coach Alvin Gentry, Pelicans GM David Griffin could reportedly be let go soon -- which would be another significant reset for a franchise reeling in every way. The run of bad moves rivals any other team in the past two year, even though Anthony Davis trade was actually decent. 

New York (7-6): Stumbling after a solid start, with arguably the least-effective starting unit among playoff contenders. Kemba Walker sat on the front-end of a back-to-back after New York signaled he'd play in those situations, returning to shoot 29% over the next three games. He lambasted his own energy early in games before Friday's loss to his former Hornets, then exploded for 20 points in the first half before a 58-41 second-half collapse for the Knicks' fifth loss in seven games.

Evan Fournier and Walker units get outscored by 11 points per 100 possessions, while the starting lineup with R.J. Barrett, Julius Randle and Mitchell Robinson post a 119 defensive rating that would rank last in basketball by six points for a team. The bench crew, led by Derrick Rose and Immanuel Quickley fares much better (+19). 

Should Tom Thibodeau tighten the rotation? He plays 11 players more than 10 minutes per game. 

"You know what they say, when it's 10 games, you say you need 20," Thibodeau said on Wednesday. "When you get to 20, you say 30. And you get to 30, you say 40. And then before you know it, the season's over. So it's a bunch of bullshit." 

Oklahoma City (5-6): The Thunder are on their way to meeting their 23.5 over-under already, with Lakers, Spurs, Pelicans and Kings after playing the Clippers close to open November. Lu Dort stripped De'Aaron Fox in the final seconds of a tied game on Friday, running the other way for the game-winning layup. A 29th-ranked offense should eventually sink them, along with any injuries or 2021-style sit downs. Shai Gilgeous Alexander and Dort have this group competitive through defense for now, with Dort shooting 17-of-31 over the past two. 

Erline Mortel, Dort's mother and a Montreal native, watched Friday's win in-person for the first time due to COVID travel restrictions.

“It felt great,” Dort said. “We've been through so much and today she was here to enjoy me having a game where it's just so big and I'm just happy she’s here and got to enjoy some good time watching OKC.”

Orlando (3-9): They're as bad as advertised despite some encouraging play from Franz Wagner. Cole Anthony dropped 33 points and Wendell Carter posted a 22-point, 15-rebound and six-assist in a home upset over Utah this week, before the pair slowed into a blowout loss against Brooklyn. The Magic play Washington at home, before a string of road games in Atlanta, New York and Brooklyn this week. 

Anthony's averaging 19.3 PPG, 7.2 RPG, 4.9 APG and 1.3 SPG while shooting 39% from deep, an arguable most-improved candidate if you believe second-year players should contend. For what it's worth, Boston passed on him the pick before Orlando grabbed him in 2020. 

Philadelphia (8-5): Lost to the Knicks, Bucks and Raptors as their offense dipped into this week, with Joel Embiid and Tobias Harris unavailable for the first two. Harris returned cold on Thursday, with Tyrese Maxey's 33 points not enough against hot nights from Fred VanVleet and Gary Trent. The unresolved Simmons situation combined with Philly unsuccessfully diving into its depth recalls how important it could become to get this situation settled before the deadline, or risk letting a $33-million cap slot go to waste that could become several helpful role players in a trade. Or will Daryl Morey continue to await a star like Lillard? 

For the league's top offense, a Simmons return doesn't project to help much. Rich Paul and the Sixers continued to spat into this week, with that and multiple COVID protocol appearances this week overshadowing an 8-2 start for this group. Seth Curry still boasts an incredible 63.8 eFG%. 

Phoenix (8-3): Won seven straight games after the schedule softened up following a 1-3 start. Devin Booker averaged 22.4 PPG and 5.7 APG during the streak, with Mikal Bridges rising as the team's second-leading scorer at 14.6 PPG. The Suns rank eighth in offense and third in defense, with a +10.5 net rating second to only Golden State since Oct. 30, when the win streak began. 

The Robert Sarver controversy does not appear to be hanging over the team's head for now, with more winnable games against Houston, Minnesota and a Dallas mini series ahead this week. Monty Williams said weeks ago when rumors first emerged about the story that nothing would infiltrate the team. 

Portland (6-7): Continued to allow too many points during a 1-2 week, as the defense ranks 24th through early hopes Chauncey Billups would improve that end of the floor. They typically win when they hold opponents to under 110 points, given their team's scoring ability. As that's also slipped, they're relying more on defense, with Lillard frustrated at the officiating and not yet at the situation which appears to be deteriorating without much flexibility to change. 

President Chris McGowan resigned amid a team investigation into Neil Olshey's culture built during his time as GM. His admiration for C.J. McCollum and Jusuf Nurkic kept this team together in recent years through some disappointing results. If Olshey walks, it could open the door to a shakeup depending on his successor. 

Sacramento (5-8): They lost to the Thunder thanks to a maddening live ball Fox turnover seconds before overtime would've began. Harrison Barnes leads the offense many nights, they rank 20th in defense and somehow would be out of the playoff picture for a record 16th straight season if the playoffs started tonight. Some kind of shakeup is due here, right? 

Both Sacramento and LA must wonder what that potential Buddy Hield trade could've led to for both sides. 

San Antonio (4-8): Dallas beat them three times during their first 12 games, Friday marking the worst yet, 123-109. Dejounte Murray remains a quality lead scorer for a team leading the league in twos made and taken. Second-year shooter Devin Vassell posted double-figures in three of the Spurs' last five, as a fairly balanced +1.4 net rating speaks to an overall balanced team losing a few close games to one team, and another to Oklahoma City.

Jakob Poetl is in COVID protocol, with no return expected in the near future. San Antonio visits the Lakers, Clippers and Wolves this week. 

Toronto (7-6): The Celtics exposed their game plan a bit in their second meeting, attacking the offensive boards to keep Toronto out of transition and forcing the Raptors to beat them in the half court, which they couldn't. The Raptors take the third-highest percentage of twos out of a team's total offense, many of them awkward 12-footers in the lane. They shoot the third-fewest threes.

Pascal Siakam returned 8-for-21 from the field in two games back from shoulder surgery, turning the ball over four times in Boston, and missed the team's win over the Sixers on a back-to-back. Their start remains impressive, but it's hard to ignore how this team is scrapping together offense without a consistent playmaker. 

Utah (8-4): Lost three of their last four after a hot start. All three came down to flat three-point shooting, as Utah shoots a greater percentage of its shots from three than any other team. The team ranks only 10th in eFG% (53%) despite their volume, with a 27th ranked efficiency from three (32.1%). Only Mike Conley and Joe Ingles began the year providing consistent outside shooting. 

Utah hosts the Heat, Sixers and Raptors this week. 

Washington (8-3): Beat the Grizzlies, Bucks and Cavs to remain atop the east, providing a heartening stand behind Bradley Beal in the aftermath of his grandmother's death. He scored 15 points on 4-for-19 shooting, with Kyle Kuzma, Spencer Dinwiddie and Montrezl Harrell's double-figure scoring nights enough for a narrow win over Cleveland. 

"I wasn’t in (the game) mentally, emotionally," Beal said after. "My granny, she’s like my mom 2.0. She’s super special. I know the one thing she would have wanted was for me to fight and play."