NBA Notebook: Defense will earn Jayson Tatum an NBA MVP

In the weeks before Gordon Hayward broke his ankle in his Celtics debut -- allowing Jayson Tatum to start during his first NBA season -- Marcus Smart approached the rookie with some defensive pointers. Smart, 23 years old at the time and not the all-defensive starter he'd become, remembered being unable to reach Tatum in training camp. That mindset quickly changed once another veteran approached him, as Tatum learned his playing time on a veteran roster under Brad Stevens would be tied to his production on the defensive side of the ball, not shot-making. 

"(Tatum) ain't wanna listen, he felt like he knew everything," Smart told Boston Sports Journal earlier this month. "He felt like, I'm not going to be playing too much defense."

"He's grown from that little, how old is he still, 19? Are we still calling him 19? Is that what we're still doing? That little 19-year-old kid who came in with no muscle, scared to get touched," Smart said, referencing a running social media joke about Tatum's youth. "Now, he's embracing every contact on both offense and defense. He's really taking that challenge and taking pride ... I like that attitude and mentality. You have a guy who can go out and get you 40 (points), then also play the defense and tries to stop this guy from getting 40. It just makes us that much better."

As Tatum begins his sixth NBA season, his offense overshadows one of the league's most underrated defensive talents. The 6-8 shooter looks taller due to a massive wingspan and frame that's grown annually. He emerged as a force under Ime Udoka last season and carried his aspirations to make an NBA All-Defense team into this year. The Celtics recorded historic results on the defensive end that they're trying to reestablish through a 14th-ranked start in defensive rating. Tatum helped set a tone, averaging 1.3 blocks, 0.9 steals and 5.7 contested shots per game with a 19.2 DREB% in Boston's 13 wins in 16 games. His availability and defensive production could prove as impactful to his MVP candidacy as his 30.3 points per game. 

Udoka stressed Tatum finding other ways to impact the game when he began last season in a shooting slump. Defense became his easiest path to productivity in a switching scheme that benefited him. He can be a menace on-ball, ripping it loose from opponents like he did to set a tone against Bruce Brown in the first round last postseason, but at his best, he utilized his length to contest shots around the rim and joined forces with Al Horford and Robert Williams III as one of the more intimidating shot blocking front courts in the league. 

His defensive growth came as some surprise to evaluators, some diminishing his draft standing relative to Markelle Fultz, Lonzo Ball and Josh Jackson due to Tatum's defensive questions. The Celtics sounded equally intrigued by Fultz and Jackson after winning the NBA lottery. DraftExpress deemed Tatum adequate at that end, falling short of fellow wing prospect Jonathan Isaac, while needing intensity to overcome some physical and technical flaws. Kevin O'Connor acknowledged a poor stance and mentality. The intentionality prognosticators expected Tatum would need to survive playing NBA defense carried him to ninth in 2022 All-Defense voting among forwards.

"They don't make the turnaround last year without everybody buying in," Nuggets head coach Michael Malone said last week. "They're under .500 at Christmas and they finish the season on a head of steam, and a lot of that was, give Ime credit, getting those guys to buy in and understand the importance of, 'hey fellas, we can't try to outscore teams.' We're going to win and we're going to win big with our defense and getting a great player like Jayson to buy in and commit to that, and go out there and understand the importance of it, that's a huge sign of growth for a player of his talent ... I know their defensive numbers will improve probably to where they were last season, but we understand that we're going to have a hard time scoring tonight, especially with the half court game. That's why it's so important to get out in transition before they can get set and implement their game plan, but yeah, (Tatum's) size, his length, his strength and now his wont make him a very, very capable defender."

Tatum, who teased Sam Hauser in training camp that he's truly the best shooter on the team considering the pressure he draws, wouldn't go there with Smart, the reigning defensive player of the year. Tatum did tell Smart this preseason that if the guard wasn't on the roster, he'd claim the title of best defender on the Celtics. Smart, shaking his head at the notion Tatum could surpass him, accepted the star's compromise as No. 2 in the hierarchy. 

Tatum recently gave Horford credit for holding him accountable, playing next to him during his first two NBA seasons. Horford wasn't a natural center before the league moved smaller into his first stint with Boston, so he needed to turn up his motor on the boards and grow spry enough to defend a number of positions. That versatility, with good anticipation and the ability to recover in the paint made up for some of his limitations against taller big men and post bangers like Tristan Thompson. Tatum and Horford share a similar physical stature, switching ability and disruptive hands. 

"Al is for sure, one of the best teammates I've ever had at any level," Tatum said this month. "I think about being 19 and coming in my first year and him kind of taking me under his wing from a professional standpoint. I remember the first training camp, every day after practice he would encourage me and ask me how I was feeling, good days and bad days, he just kind of always seemed to check up on me. Al is the ultimate professional, ultimate teammate, extremely selfless, always wants what's best for the team ... he takes care of his body every single day, and even if he's not the most vocal guy, he's someone I've kind of learned from at how to go about things. It's not a given you're going to play 16 years in this league, and he's still at the top of his game." 

Tatum gave up fried food this past offseason after facing fatigue in the NBA Finals to lose body fat and gain muscle, hiring a chef to gain another edge. Jaylen Brown and Tatum prepared to move back to the forward spots they played earlier in their career, guarding some more physically imposing opponents and affirming their need to double down on the boards after a poor preseason showing against Toronto. He made a statement minutes into opening night against Philadelphia after three scoring players, switching onto Tyrese Maxey on the drive and swatting his shot out-of-bounds. He soared into help position on James Harden and Joel Embiid throughout the game, before finishing with a steal and slam in transition on Boston's decisive run. 

In Orlando, he picked up Paolo Banchero during his statement run to begin the NBA season, stripping the ball off the rookie and out-of-bounds as he raced downhill toward the basket. His recovery block on Cody Martin halted a 12-point Heat comeback in the third quarter of Boston's win in Miami after the Heat went ahead by two points. Tatum did the same to Caris LeVert in the road overtime loss to Cleveland, picking up his third stuff of the night to keep the Celtics within one point midway through the fourth quarter. If Tatum isn't one of the league's best defenders, he's one of the timeliest. 

He stripped Patrick Williams to seal a win over the Bulls on the final possession, piled up three steals and three blocks in Monday's comeback win over the Thunder and against the Grizzlies, one week earlier, he took on something similar to the roaming role Williams III played last year. Tatum ignored Brandon Clarke and other Memphis spot-up shooters to get involved in the lane against Ja Morant and drivers. He also switched onto Morant for a late block in the fourth with Boston ahead by nine points. 

"He's MVP," Grant Williams told BSJ. "He's a guy that's done a phenomenal job on both ends of the court. He's done a good job moving his feet laterally, meeting guys at the rim and making plays. Being a guy in the passing lanes, being a guy that's creating playmaking on offense. He's been phenomenal, so keeping it up with that, that tenacity he's bringing every single night, is going to be huge for us and our success. We all know that he can carry us on his back."

Williams insertion into the starting lineup alongside Tatum, Horford, Brown and a mix of Smart, who missed the last two games with an ankle injury, and Derrick White, who's holding opponents to 39% FG rejuvenated the Celtics' defensive spirit in recent weeks. They're switching more often and picking up opponents higher in the half court, an adjustment Joe Mazzulla saw himself in the comeback against the Thunder to force 15 steals. 

The Celtics rank last in opponent turnovers after forcing the second-most last season. They've boasted the No. 7 defensive rating (108.5) since Mazzulla changed the lineups. 

"I definitely don't discourage (the MVP conversation)," Mazzulla said this month. "I think it comes down to what he's doing as a player, and right now he's committed on both ends of the floor."

The Celtics want to lure opponents into mid-range shots, which they've done as effectively as any team in the league so far and a regression from a scorching hot opponent shooting start back toward the league average settled things down. Still, Malcolm Brogdon wasn't happy after the team allowed 132 points to Cleveland. Tatum and Brown, both stressing the need for individuals to emerge in isolation on defense, have used that All-Defense award as motivation. All five starters received votes last year with Smart earning first-team and Williams second-team honors. 

Most of the team acknowledges they'll improve in their own end when Williams III returns. In the meantime, Tatum has provided some percentage of Rob's impact while powering to one of the best offensive starts in the NBA. It's a mindset Udoka helped Tatum achieve consistently that he's carried forward under Mazzulla. 

"(Tatum's) grown a lot," Horford told BSJ. "I started noticing it last year, he really was challenged and he accepted it, and he's done great. His feel, to continue to figure out tendencies, guarding different guys, he has a really good feel for that, especially guys in his position that he has to guard, and he's usually pretty good at sharing those things with us and helping us in those ways. His growth has been steady, and last year we saw it and this year, I feel like, it's continued. He accepted the challenge of everybody buying into having that defensive mindset last year, and I feel like when we all did that, everything changed for us last season, and now we're again building those habits and we're in a much better place." 

Here's what else happened around the NBA this week... 

Atlanta (9-6): Blasted by the Celtics at home, 126-101, while John Collins fell to 49.3% from the field and 22.7% from three in a 12-point performance. The Hawks will reportedly again explore trading the 25-year-old, who's signed for three more seasons beyond this one at $25-million average annual value. Teams have engaged Atlanta on Collins, Shams Charania reported, but his long-term salary continued to scare them away from agreeing to a deal. It could take weeks or months to develop a trade, he added. The Hawks await Bogdan Bogdanovic's return as the least frequent three-point shooting team in the NBA (30% of their FGA). He underwent right knee surgery in May and remains without a timetable since his three-month prognosis passed. 

Boston (13-3): Malcolm Brogdon (hamstring tightness) returned from a four-game absence as Marcus Smart (ankle) went down for the Celtics' previous two games. Robert Williams III reached the eight-week mark since surgery on Friday and continued to travel with the team, work out and progress toward a return, which A. Sherrod Blakely reported could be sooner rather than later. As for Joe Mazzulla, who's impressed Boston's front office since taking over, Adrian Wojnarowski reported he'll likely become Boston's permanent head coach with Ime Udoka doubtful to ever return to the team. 

Brooklyn (7-9): The Nets scrapped out a win over the Trail Blazers to wrap their 2-2 west coast trip, hanging on in the east playoff race due to an improved defensive posture and some emerging depth like Yuta Watanabe, who scored 20 points and hit a crucial late three in Portland. Royce O'Neale won the game with a last-second put back following Kevin Durant's miss in a tie game. 

Kyrie Irving will return from an eight-game suspension due to posting an antisemitic film earlier this month on Sunday against the Grizzlies. Shams Charania reported Irving went above-and-beyond in his efforts to meet with community leaders and meet the team's requirements to return to the floor, though recent comments by Joe Tsai indicating that Irving hadn't done enough bothered Jaylen Brown and other NBAPA executives. Kevin Durant spoke with Bleacher Report about his trade demand and Brooklyn's early-season struggles, sounding off about the personnel the Nets court.

"Look at our starting lineup," Durant said. "Edmond Sumner, Royce O’Neale, Joe Harris, [Nic] Claxton and me. It’s not disrespect, but what are you expecting from that group? ... You expect us to win because I’m out there. So if you’re watching from that lens, you’re expecting us to play well because No. 7 is out there." 

Charlotte (4-12): LaMelo Ball injured his left ankle again in the final minutes of his first home game this season, a loss to the Pacers. He tried to save a ball from going out-of-bounds along the sideline and stepped awkwardly on a fan's foot before limping to the locker room. Ball, who missed 13 games with his initial ankle injury, averaged 19.3 PPG, 3.7 RPG and 7.0 APG on 41.5% shooting in three games since returning. Gordon Hayward (shoulder), Dennis Smith Jr. (ankle) and Mark Williams (ankle) remain out too as this season continues to slip away from Steve Clifford's squad.

Chicago (6-10): Lost their fourth straight game to a Magic team already haunting them with the first-round pick they owe them from the Nikola Vucevic trade next summer. Zach LaVine shot 1-for-14, Vucevic missed crunch time free throws and they host the scorching Celtics on Monday. Billy Donovan benched LaVine for the closing minutes of Friday's loss, frustrating the guard who started the season continuing to struggle with knee pain that plagued him last season too. Meanwhile, Lonzo Ball, who initially underwent meniscus surgery in January, still can't run after a fall follow-up procedure. 

Cleveland (9-6): Lost their fifth straight game and J.B. Bickerstaff called the team out for a "fat cat mentality," already mixing up the starting lineup by inserting Lamar Stevens for Caris LeVert for a key setback against Milwaukee, 113-98. They were the worst defense in the NBA over those five games, giving up 122 points per possession and losing by 7.7 points per 100 possessions despite ranking in the top-10 offensively. Jarrett Allen (illness) missed two games, forcing Evan Mobley to move to center against big Wolves and Bucks front lines, allowing Brook Lopez 29 points. They bounced back with a 132-122 overtime win on Friday, but blew a 10-point lead in the final minute of regulation to end up there. 

“We went out and won eight games in a row," Bickerstaff said. "Everyone was giving us love and praising us. We got really comfortable. We are the team that won those eight games though. We are a really good basketball team. This is about maturation and growth from a team as a whole."

Dallas (9-6): Bounced back from a two-game lapse against the Wizards and Magic to beat the Blazers and Clippers at home, but fell to the Rockets and only scored 92 points with Luka Doncic out on Wednesday. Dallas shot 30.4% from the field, seeing their scoring decrease by over 15 points per 100 possessions when Doncic isn't on the floor this season. Beyond those splits, the Mavericks rank 30th in rebounds per game despite a fifth-ranked defense continuing to progress overall under Jason Kidd. Michael Pina wrote about the Christian Wood conundrum, as he and Doncic form a dynamic pick-and-roll pair when they play together, but Kidd's insistence on bringing the defensively-challenged big man off the bench limits the time they can play together.

Denver (9-6): Nikola Jokic entered COVID protocols and Aaron Gordon (illness) missed the Nuggets' 106-103 loss where they blew a 10-point lead with under eight minutes remaining. Jokic's absence gave Jamal Murray, who shot 7-for-20 with six assists and three turnovers, scoring 21 points, but missing the potential game-tying three at the buzzer. He joined Jokic and Bones Hyland in protocols on Monday, missing the team's loss to the Mavs. 

Detroit (3-13): Cade Cunningham (shin) already had a difficult week, missing losses against the Knicks, Celtics, Raptors, Raptors and Clippers, all by fewer than 10 points to extend the Pistons' losing streak to five. When BlockFi declared bankruptcy following the cryptocurrency collapse this month, Cunningham lost a significant amount of his signing bonus that he invested in cryptocurrency through the company. 

The Pistons, reportedly keeping an eye on free agent Miles Bridges, according to Shams Charania, do not have cap space to make an offer and an in-season sign-and-trade isn't possible. Detroit would, however, free up enough space to pursue the star in unrestricted free agency next summer, who pleaded no-contest to multiple domestic violence charges. The NBA is investigating his case ahead of potentially needing to suspend the star if he signs. 

Golden State (7-9): Klay Thompson shook off a frustrating start to the season to score 20 points alongside Steph Curry's 24 to beat the Knicks and end a stretch of seven losses over their prior 10 games. Their defense is as big of a lingering concern as Thompson's 36.3% field goal percentage, ranking 27th with a 114.1 defensive rating. Only the Spurs, Pistons and Rockets fared worse so far. Golden State assigned former No. 2 overall pick James Wiseman to the G-League after committing 6.4 fouls per 36 minutes in 11 games. Steve Kerr called out the team after a 130-point blasting at the hands of the Suns on Wednesday, and Moses Moody, Jonathan Kuminga and even Jordan Poole appear too early in their development to carry the second unit. JaMychal Green, one of the team's new veterans, revealed the Warriors had the always-infamous team meeting prior to Friday's win. 

“We lack collective grit. We’re playing a Drew League game right now. I’ve always felt the game rewards you if you commit to the game," Kerr said. "If you really compete together, shots go in, calls go your way, breaks fall your way, and we’re not earning any of this stuff. That’s why we are winless on the road. It’s a pick-up game.”

Indiana (8-6): After a lottery season, they look like they're a rung above the worst teams in the league, handling the Hornets and Rockets this week. Friday's win extended their streak to three. Buddy Hield and Myles Turner, once inevitable to leave in a trade this year, both started the season strong and could swing whether this team makes the postseason or not. They're one of many teams that may need to decide soon if they want to compete in the middle of the league, or if they want to trade high on their succeeding veterans. The Pacers, unlike other rebuilding teams, haven't stacked up multiple future picks through selling and the Malcolm Brogdon pick from the Celtics looks like it'll be a borderline second-round pick. Tyrese Haliburton, who isn't going anywhere, is averaging a double-double with 20.5 PPG and 10.2 APG while shooting 40.6% from three. 

Clippers (9-7): Kawhi Leonard returned from a 12-game absence with knee stiffness to score six points, five rebounds and four assist on 2-for-8 shooting in a win over the Pistons. Leonard shied away from explaining what he dealt with after the game, saying that ACL recovery is a longer process than a one-year layoff. LA outscored Detroit by 26 points in Leonard's limited minutes. The 29th-ranked Clippers offense needs Leonard to boost them, as they've already achieved a No. 2 defense mostly without him. Ty Lue also needs to solidify a rotation, as he's largely juggled wings Terrance Mann and Robert Covington between those ancillary minutes so far this season. Having only one big man in Ivica Zubac also limits their flexibility on offense. 

"Like I said, it's a two-year process," Leonard said of whether he is past what held him out for the previous 12 games," Leonard said. "Everybody thinks it's a one-year process, but we don't know. We'll see what happens once we keep moving forward."

Lakers (4-10): Beat the Nets and Pistons to wrap up a week that started with them competing with the Kings' scorching hot offense in a 120-114 loss. They're behind schedule, but they climbed back into a tie for 29th in offense while remaining 15th in defense. Dennis Schröder (finger) made his season debut in Friday's win, scoring two points in 16 minutes, while Russell Westbrook continued to thrive off the bench with 10 points and 12 assists. LeBron James (adductor strain) missed his fourth game over the team's last five, while a healthy Anthony Davis emerged as a player reminiscent of his championship self averaging 25.3 PPG and 11.5 RPG on 54.8% shooting despite struggling from three. They're getting closer and play the Spurs three times this week. 

Memphis (10-6): Ja Morant left Friday's 121-110 Grizzlies win over the Thunder after rolling his left ankle in the closing minutes of the game. Taylor Jenkins described the injury as a tweak, but one that would require additional evaluation before Memphis' game on Sunday in Brooklyn. The Grizzlies lost Desmond Bane (toe) for 2-3 weeks during last Friday's win over Minnesota. Jaren Jackson Jr. (foot) returned from offseason surgery on Tuesday, scoring seven points with five blocks on 3-for-14 shooting in a loss to the Pelicans before blocking three more shots with 25 points and 12 rebounds on Friday. He shot 7-for-16, aided by Morant's 11 assists following Charles Barkley's criticism that the star guard doesn't make teammates better.

“I feel like nobody can tell me what I do and don’t do besides my teammates,” Morant said. “Those guys said it. An outsider who never been in our locker room, never played in a game with us said I don’t make my teammates better, but my teammates say it all the time. There you go. Knee pads.”

Miami (7-9): Jimmy Butler shined with 16 points and 13 rebounds, along with the game-sealing block on Devin Booker in a badly-needed 113-112 win over the Suns. Then, the Heat struggled offensively again in a loss to the Raptors before Butler sat with knee soreness for Friday's overtime loss to the Wizards. Erik Spoelstra tightened his rotation to seven players with Tyler Herro (ankle), Bam Adebayo (knee), Dwayne Dedmon (plantar) and Butler sitting, two-way signings Orlando Robinson and Jamal Cain played extended minutes while Haywood Highsmith and Nikola Jovic started. The looming possibility, if Kyle Lowry can't turn it around, is that this team just might not be that good. They rank 14th in offense and 18th in defense (-0.2). 

Milwaukee (11-4): Lost to the 76ers on Friday, 110-102, as a frustration free throw shooting stretch continued for Giannis Antetokounmpo. The star tried to practice some after finishing 4-for-15 at the line, but Montrezl Harrell snatched the ball from him and refused to give it up as Philadelphia assistant Jason Love kept them separated. Antetokounmpo returned to the floor with a ball as arena workers tried deconstructing the basket, trying to clear a ladder from the floor before knocking it over on a second try. Harrell emphatically asserted a rule that doesn't exist while Antetokounmpo expressed confusion and some remorse for his exchange with the Wells Fargo Arena workers. Milwaukee ranks 27th in true shooting percentage (54.9%) while Jrue Holiday (ankle) missed four straight games before returning to shoot 5-for-12 in the loss to Philadelphia. 

“I never try to disrespect anyone, in any way shape or form,” Antetokounmpo said. “I feel like today was just unfortunate event that took place. I think people did not respect the fact that sometimes players want to get some extra work in. I think it’s unprofessional to kick somebody off the court or take the ball or whatever the case might be. Or put the ladder in front of somebody while he’s trying to do his job. We get paid to do this. They didn’t just pick us. We get paid.”

Minnesota (7-8): Scored 126 points in back-to-back wins over the Cavaliers and Magic, a sign of a sporadic nature on both ends of the court that plagued this team last year. Karl-Anthony Towns scored 59 points combined, but D'Angelo Russell and Anthony Edwards traded big games while the rest of the rotation didn't share in Towns' consistent success across the two victories. The Wolves are stuck in neutral, scoring and allowing 112 points per 100 possessions. The scariest part for Minnesota is that the Jazz, succeeding early this season, own the Wolves' 2023 first-round pick outright with as many as five more to come through 2029. Walker Kessler, the Wolves' 2022 first-round pick, is playing well in Utah and doing things they acquired Rudy Gobert to do. He's posting his worst stats since the 2017-18 season while seeing his shot-blocking production diminish. They face Philadelphia tonight. 

New Orleans (9-7): They're surprisingly a top-10 defense that held the Blazers, Rockets, Grizzlies and Bulls to 110 points or fewer in the four games leading up to their 117-109 blasting at the hands of the Celtics. Zion Williamson (foot) sat out of the Pelicans' three previous games with a bruise in the same foot he broke last summer while Trey Murphy III (foot) left Friday's loss. Williams injured his foot driving to the rim in the team's win over the Rockets. New Orleans is 6-5 when Williamson plays this season and 3-2 when he sits, with the star posting a +5.0 net rating. They rank No. 6 in offense. 

New York (8-8): Reportedly listening to offers for Derrick Rose and Immanuel Quickley following an uneven start as they struggle to play consistently night-to-night. Jalen Brunson is averaging 19.6 PPG and 6.8 APG on 47.7% shooting with his new team, but Julius Randle's fit remains awkward into his third season with the team. He's playing well to begin the team's west coast trip, but a three-point shooting and defensive regression leave him far behind his 2020-21 All-NBA glory. They need to get patient with their relatively young team and it's worth wondering if Tom Thibodeau is the right coach for this team's developmental trajectory. Fans can fire up the Shai Gilgeous-Alexander dream if they'd like, but it's not happening anytime soon. At least Cam Reddish is playing and shooting 45.4% from the field. 

Oklahoma City (7-9): Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (31.1 PPG, 53.4% FG) had his coming out party on an east coast swing where he definitively entered the league's top-25. SGA torched the Knicks and Celtics for 37 points each before pouring in 42 against the Wizards, including the game-winning shot. He's carrying the Thunder, who are outscoring opponents by 39 points when Alexander-Walker plays. He doesn't have a strong veteran running mate and a parade of Josh Giddey turnovers doomed the team's 15-point second half lead in Boston on Monday, but they're a .500 worthy team without injuries or front office interference. Is it worth making a playoff push for this group's more ready veterans, or is another trip to the lottery mandatory? It's a big question. Also, don't look now, Aleksej Pokuševski blocked 14 shots over his last five games and legitimately made life difficult for Jayson Tatum. 

Orlando (5-11): You'll hear plenty about how the Celtics let Bol Bol go in a February salary dump to keep the team below the luxury tax line. Bol, who arrived in the cap-maneuvering Juancho Hernángomez trade weeks earlier with the Nuggets and Spurs, sat in on Celtics team meetings while he recovered from a foot injury and the team initially planned to eventually integrate him before opportunities like Derrick White and Daniel Theis became possible at the trade deadline. 

Bol couldn't help Boston last season, entered free agency this past summer and avoiding the tax could become important after the Celtics dove in deep this year, setting up repeater tax payments once Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum enter their new, potentially super-max deals they could earn in coming seasons. Losing the 23-year-old, 7-2 center isn't any easier to watch as he's averaging 12.8 PPG, 8.0 RPG and 2.0 BPG for the Magic, who kept him on a two-year, $4.4 million contract. He scored 26 points with 12 rebounds and three blocks agains the Wolves on Wednesday.

Philadelphia (8-7): James Harden shot and ran on the treadmill on Thursday, exiting his boot as he remains on track for a return one month after straining his right foot. Joel Embiid and company have started to play better without him, posting a ridiculous 42, 59 and 32 points in wins over the Hawks, Jazz and Bucks. Another injury hit the team in Friday's win though, Tyrese Maxey entering a boot of his own after landing awkwardly on his left foot just before halftime and not returning. He had shot 9-for-12 in the game prior, scoring 24 points and helping set up a key win over the east's best defense. Maxey will undergo an MRI on Saturday. Tobias Harris (hip), who the team has reportedly explored trading, missed the win with soreness. 

Phoenix (9-6): Reportedly neared a Jae Crowder trade to the Bucks this week in a three-team deal that would've sent Grayson Allen to Houston and Eric Gordon to Phoenix. Pairing a sharpshooting Gordon, who can also handle the ball, to relieve Devin Booker and Chris Paul in the back court while replacing Cam Johnson's (torn meniscus) shooting would've made a ton of sense. It's unclear why the deal didn't come together, but Jake Fischer also indicated that the Suns nearly traded Crowder, who's sat out the entire start to the season after losing his starting role, before the team's win over the Warriors. Crowder also posted a clock emoji to his Instagram story around that time. Gordon is averaging 12.0 PPG on 35.4% shooting from three. 

Portland (10-5): Gary Payton II (abdominal surgery) will miss at least two more weeks before joining the west's best team, suffering additional soreness during his recovery that forced him to step back off his progression. The Blazers narrowly lost to the Nets to round out a .500 week despite 69 points from Damian Lillard, Anfernee Simons and Shaedon Sharpe in the loss, who's emerging in the rookie of the year race averaging 10.1 PPG on 55.4% FG. 

Sacramento (8-6): Now we're talking. Domantas Sabonis and the Kings blasted the Nets for 153 points and sent the beam, the NBA's newest craze, into the sky following a fourth straight win where Sacramento scored at least 120 points. The Kings now own the league's No. 2 offense, averaging 117.5 points per 100 possessions and passed the Celtics as the top shooting team (58.3 eFG%). Sabonis hit all six shots, scored 17 points and served seven assists in the win over the Nets, averaging a double-double and shooting 58.3% to begin his first full season in Sacramento. He grabbed 22 boards against the Warriors and extended the team's win streak to five with 16 of the team's 130 points over the Spurs. De'Aaron Fox is shooting 55.4% too. 

San Antonio (6-10): They've slid from a strong start as Devin Vassell (ankle), Doug McDermott (calf), Keldon Johnson (ankle) and Jakob Poetl (knee) picked up nagging injuries. Brian Windhorst indicated the Celtics could become a suitor for Poetl, who's in the final season of his contract, worth $9.4 million, as he's averaging 13.2 PPG and 9.9 RPG. He's only 25 this season and Boston could match salaries by trading Payton Pritchard and numerous smaller salaries on the team. They could also turn the 2028 swap they gave the Spurs in the Derrick White deal into an unprotected first. 

Off the floor, the organization and a former team psychiatrist who accused waived Spurs guard Josh Primo of exposing himself to her nine times during private sessions settled a lawsuit against the team and Primo. Dr. Hillary Cauthen accused the team of ignoring Primo's conduct before not renewing her contract in August. The Spurs released Primo on Oct. 28 after picking up his team option for the 2023-24 season. His legal team denied the accusations.

Toronto (9-7): Still an intriguing player in the east since Dalano Banton and Chris Boucher can lead them on one night, combining for 47 points in a win over the Pistons, before Fred VanVleet and O.G. Anunoby jumped back into the driver's seat with 55 against the Heat. They're the league's most prolific transition team and still rank No. 9 in offense and No. 10 in defense. Gary Trent (hip) and Pascal Siakam (adductor strain) remained out late this week, nearing a return while Otto Porter Jr. sat against Miami with a dislocated toe and Precious Achiuwa (ankle) sits weeks from a return from his sprain. 

Utah (11-6): Won a 134-133 thriller over the Suns to break a three-game losing streak that appeared to be lowering the Jazz back to earth. Lauri Markkanen, who looks like a 2023 all star more with each passing game, dropped a career-high 38 points while Malik Beasley stepped up off the bench this night with 27 to overcome Devin Booker's 49 points and 10 assists. Utah ranks sixth in net rating (+3.8) even after their recent slide and improved to 9-0 when Markkanen scores at least 20 points. Rudy Gay (hand) will miss at least two weeks with a left MCP joint sprain.  

Washington (9-7): Won 5-of-6 and nearly made it a full win streak if not for Shai Gilgeous-Alexander's greatness in Washington on Wednesday due to a rise to No. 2 in defense over that stretch. They're still 23rd in offense and 24th in net rating overall, making this uptick difficult to buy into after Bradley Beal already missed five games in COVID protocol. He's shooting 7-for-13 in two games since, combining for 52 points against the Thunder and Heat while Kristaps Porzingis added 47 with 26 rebounds. Kyle Kuzma neared a triple-double against Oklahoma and forced overtime against the Heat. They're a talented trio, but like the Bulls have to start wondering what they can accomplish with this middling collection of talent.