NBA Notebook: Malcolm Brogdon and Domantas Sabonis thriving with Celtics and Kings after trades

Malcolm Brogdon and Domantas Sabonis shared a playful shove and hug with each other after Brogdon's Celtics trounced Sabonis' Kings, 122-104, on Friday. Sabonis turned and pointed toward Jayson Tatum, mimicking one of the star's shimmy moves he flashed on his way to 30 points. 

The old friends are on opposite coasts now, working toward different goals with rosters in different places, but helped each other prepare to fit into the league's best two offenses. 

"(Brogdon) comes off very serious, he's with the NBPA and all that stuff, but he's a very funny guy," Sabonis told Boston Sports Journal before the game. "He's a very funny guy, he has a nice joke side to him a lot of people don't see."

Brogdon and Sabonis parted ways after the brief greeting, only scheduled to face off one more time this season in Sacramento. Both players reflected on their three seasons in Indiana that fell short of expectations after a promising start in 2019-20. The Pacers traded Sabonis in February to the Kings for Tyrese Haliburton to jump-start their rebuild before Brogdon became trade-eligible this summer after his extension blocked the team from moving him last year. The Celtics benefited, acquiring Brogdon in July for several players and a first-rounder as Indiana prepared to offer Deandre Ayton a contract. Both Pacers stars shifted toward new goals. 

Brogdon later revealed he could've chosen between the Raptors and Celtics. Nick Nurse wasn't aware of Toronto's pursuit of the star guard, telling BSJ he woke up one morning and thought Boston made a great move. He's now averaging 13.3 PPG, 3.7 RPG and 3.7 APG on 46.4% shooting, seeing a resurgence from three (42.9%), in his health, aside from a four-game absence with hamstring tightness, and in a new role, helping the Celtics' bench outscore opponents by 8.5 points per 100 possessions in his minutes. Brogdon tried the primary creator role with Indiana and decided he wanted to win. 

"He's loving it here," Sabonis told BSJ. "He's always wanted to be part of something very special, a part of all the history that Boston has and I feel like this is the perfect place for him, and he's loving it." 

Victor Oladipo and Sabonis formed a foundation with the Pacers in 2017, arriving from the Thunder as slow risers in the Paul George trade who'd soon explode into their own stardom. Oladipo averaged 23.1 PPG and the Pacers pushed LeBron James' Cavaliers to seven games in the first round. A string of quad injuries and surgeries began next season and Indiana fell to Boston in a first-round sweep. The team caught Brogdon's eye as a player who almost joined Brad Stevens' Butler Bulldogs for college and enjoyed the basketball scene in the state. With Oladipo injured, Brogdon saw a chance to expand the on-ball, point guard role he couldn't play in Milwaukee next to Eric Bledsoe and Giannis Antetokounmpo. 

Brogdon served 7.1 APG and Sabonis emerged as a double-double star who could make secondary plays away from his point guard. They finished fourth in the east with 45 wins, TJ Warren, acquired in a Suns cap dump, had a superstar stint inside the NBA Bubble, but fell injured as the team got swept by the Heat. It'd become the high mark of their time together, as Nate McMillan stunningly got ousted as head coach in favor of Raptors assistant Nate Bjorkgren, who'd never gain the approval of the room. Oladipo and Warren never got healthy again. Then, the team stunningly fell into a rebuild under Rick Carlisle last year right as Brogdon and Sabonis hit their stride as a pick-and-roll pair, albeit with Myles Turner awkwardly mixed in after the team failed to acquire Gordon Hayward in a sign-and-trade with Boston after the Bubble. 

"(Brogdon's) a leader on and off the court, he made my job easier, I tried to make his job easier and I feel like we really worked good together as a point guard and a center ... I think we had a great three years," Sabonis said. "That first year with McMillan, getting the four seed and then obviously Bubble happened and then the next two years we had two new coaches. So obviously it was different, we had a lot of injuries, so that always plagued us, but our time together, me and Malcolm were mostly available. I loved playing with him."

The Indiana turbulence prepared Brogdon well after he spoke to Ime Udoka throughout the summer planning to play for the coach of the year candidate before, like everyone else, he found out days before training camp Joe Mazzulla would take over after Boston suspended Udoka for the season. That change marked Brogdon's seventh since 2017, from Jason Kidd to Mike Budenholzer, McMillan, Bjorkgren, Carlisle, Udoka and now a relative unknown assistant in Boston. Brogdon stayed calm, already having seen drastic swings in style in Indiana and sensing that Mazzulla would mostly maintain most of Udoka's initiatives. He told his teammates to put their head down and focus on their goal through the confusion and frustration. 

Brogdon already had to adjust individually to a bench role, coming into games cold and switching more than ever defensively, but his sacrifice allowed Marcus Smart and Derrick White to start, setting a stable tone after a chaotic offseason. There hasn't been any back court controversy through 19 games and the Celtics have already meshed to create the most efficient offense in NBA history, averaging 119.6 points per 100 possessions. 

It's what Brogdon envisioned as a secondary contributor, firing passes to shooters all over the floor and knowing anybody can make a play. It's what he hoped to achieve with Indiana, but overworked himself trying to accomplish. Entering each season stronger than the year before, not pacing himself enough and eventually falling to injuries. This year, he feels fresh, averaging only 22.7 minutes per game compared to over 30 in Indiana. He's used his voice too, already calling the team out twice for their defensive lapses in losses to Cleveland and Chicago. They haven't lost to anyone else. 

"We have five guys on the floor that can do everything at a pretty high level," Brogdon told BSJ. "They can shoot, pass, dribble, the basics of the game. I think everybody is pretty versatile on the offensive end, which makes us really hard to guard." 

While Brodgon took a step back to thrive in Boston, Sabonis, 26, ascended into a bigger role in Sacramento's offense and chase to end their NBA record 16-year playoff drought. Warriors assistant Mike Brown took over the team and implemented much of the movement and shooting through Sabonis that won Golden State the championship playing through Draymond Green to free Steph Curry. 

Separating De'Aaron Fox and Haliburton, last week's players of the week in their respective conferences, shocked many and marked the opposite approach that Boston took in keeping young wings Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum together. Sacramento didn't even make the play-in tournament and finished 10-16 after Sabonis arrived, but after a full training camp, he's averaging 16.9 PPG, 11.1 RPG, 6.1 APG and shooting 57.4% while helping Fox achieve a career-high 25.1 PPG on 53% shooting. The Kings, who won seven straight shortly before their loss to Boston, rank No. 2, scoring 116 points per 100 possessions, a top-15 mark of all time. 

"I'm not saying (Sabonis is) Draymond Green at all, but even before I had a chance to coach him, you see him get the ball off the glass and push the ball in transition, and before, when guys pushed the ball in transition that were bigs, they were taught to maybe take one, two dribbles at best, cross half court and come to a jump stop, and then find a guard," Mike Brown said pre-game on Friday. "Sabonis is one of the guys, like Draymond, where he can get the ball off the glass, they're dribbling it to make a play like a point guard, and if you're guarding somebody on the wing and you get overplayed, he's gonna hit that guy back door for a layup, then when you're scoring that quick, it puts a lot of pressure on a defense that's not set to try to react to a guy cutting back door, which is almost impossible to do. Having Sabonis' ability to make plays in transition, make plays at the elbow, make plays at the top of the floor and then turn around, and we can throw him the ball into the post, has been very beneficial to us." 

Al Horford provides some percentage of that impact for the Celtics, a great outlet passer and improved rebounder who's different from Sabonis given his ability to hit threes at a 36.5% rate in his career. Brogdon saw similarities between the two that further helped him integrate successfully into the Celtics. While the Kings lag behind at 27th in defense, lacking rim protection and perimeter defenders who could stand in front of Brown and Tatum, Boston negated some of Sabonis' impact by switching aggressively and forcing 18 turnovers. 

Sacramento hit the Celtics hard in the second quarter, though, shooting 12-for-15 around the rim and scoring 40 points as Sabonis finished with 18 points, 10 rebounds, six assists and three giveaways. He threw down a hard cutting slam on Grant Williams' head and forced Boston to race around his dribble handoffs all night. 

Boston proved they're far better than the Kings' next-best offense in the league, now 3.0 points per 100 possessions above them, but Brogdon and Sabonis are in different places. Brogdon's trying to win a championship at 29. Sabonis is laying the groundwork, hitting the button after each win that sends a purple beam into the sky at Golden 1 Center in Sacramento after each win. 

A bold move for a team that hadn't earned many in recent years already starting to pay off. 

"(Sabonis is) a great player, he's an all-star, he works and he wants to win," Brogdon told BSJ. "He wants to impact the game in every facet, whether it's assists, whether it's rebounding, whether it's scoring, defending. He's versatile and skilled, and we had great years together in Indiana. He'll always be a great friend." 

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

Atlanta (11-8): Mixed bag week saw them knock off the Raptors in overtime and end the Kings' seven-game win streak, and score only 102 points in a loss to the Cavs before allowing 128 in a setback against the 4-14 Rockets. Jabari Smith Jr. went after Trae Young for Atlanta being disrespectful, he said, Dejounte Murray patting Smith on the head after a third-quarter shot. While Young averaged 34.3 PPG this week, Murray fell to 40% from the field across the four games, John Collins to 37.5% and De'Andre Hunter shot 15.4% from three in three games while Atlanta got outscored by 2.7 points per 100 possessions. Jake Fischer reported Utah remains interested in Collins, but not for Lauri Markkanen, who the Hawks wanted. 

Boston (15-4): The best offense in NBA historically, statistically, scoring 119.6 points per 100 possessions, over one full point better than the 2020-21 Nets. Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum scored 68 points and the Celtics led by as many as 27 points while blowing away MVP candidate Luka Doncic's Mavericks despite his 42-point effort. Payton Pritchard and Luke Kornet helped power a 34-4 run to beat the Kings, 122-104, and the only teams capable of solving them have been the Bulls and Cavaliers, who both defeated them twice. Robert Williams III is on track to make his season debut before Christmas, Adrian Wojnarowski reported, as it seems possible this group will run away from most of the league when healthy. 

Brooklyn (9-10): Ben Simmons posted 11 points, seven rebounds and 11 assists on 4-for-7 shooting in his first game playing in Philadelphia since sitting out most of last season in pursuit of a trade the team granted in February. The Nets lost, 115-106, despite the 76ers playing without James Harden, Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey, but Simmons managed 14.6 PPG, 7.0 RPG and 6.4 APG on 78.6% shooting, taking 8.4 attempts per game in his best string of play since returning from offseason back surgery. 

“I expect this from (Simmons)," Durant said. "So when he plays well, I'm not gonna get excited about it.”

He scored 20 points on Friday in a loss to Indiana, the team's continued uneven play positioning them at 13th in the league on offense and 20th in defense, a slight -0.2 net rating. Kyrie Irving returned from an eight-game suspension and averaged 21.5 PPG on 54% shooting. Simmons shook off boos at Wells Fargo Arena, and recently directed his own fire at Kevin Durant, urging him to dunk the ball. 

Charlotte (6-14): Found out Gordon Hayward (left shoulder fracture) will be out indefinitely, marking the third significant injury in three seasons since the former Celtics star joined the Hornets. Hayward had averaged 16.3 PPG, 4.3 RPG and 4.4 APG on 44.5% shooting, hitting his threes and inching back to his full form that made the team a playoff contender when he was available. Now, even with wins over the 76ers and Timberwolves this week, they're far from the play-in line and have to be asking themselves what they want to make of this season and their future. Terry Rozier, Kelly Oubre Jr. and impending free agent P.J. Washington could all become trade targets for other teams. Hayward, owed another year at $31 million, probably will not. 

Chicago (8-11): Fell to the Thunder and lost a two-game losing streak despite receiving 57 points from DeMar DeRozan and Zach LaVine. LaVine got back on his feet this week after an uneven start to the season, beating the powerhouse Celtics with 22 points, including nine in the fourth quarter on Monday. Six Bulls scored in double-figures that night before six more did, including LaVine with 18 and DeRozan with 36, to beat the Bucks. As Chicago tries to stay in the playoff race in case Lonzo Ball (knee) can return this year, Ball remains without a timeline. 

Nikola Vucevic, often criticized by Bulls fans since his arrival, addressed his adjustment to Chicago and play alongside DeRozan and LaVine with the Chicago Sun Times. 

"This team wouldn’t work if I tried to play the same way I did in Orlando," he said. "I can’t help it if people don’t see that. We have two big-time scorers [in DeMar DeRozan and Zach LaVine], so it’s about me adjusting my game to them."

Cleveland (12-7): Lost a four-game win streak where they scored at least 113 points in each game by falling flat with 102 to the Bucks. Jarrett Allen left the game after 12 minutes with a right hip injury before Giannis Antetokounmpo finished with 38 points and six assists. Kevin Love fractured his right thumb last week and has been out since while Caris LeVert sat in three straight after suffering a left ankle injury on Sunday against Miami. 

Dallas (9-8): Lost 3-of-4, including to the Rockets, Nuggets without Nikola Jokic or Jamal Murray, and the Celtics, 125-112. Luka Doncic takes 23.1 of their shots per game, with Christian Wood the next closest at 10.9. Jason Kidd lauded Doncic's defensive progress before the loss to Boston, but only Dorian Finney-Smith could hope to stand in front of Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum as they blew up the Dallas defense for 68 points. 

Tim Hardaway Jr. has struggled in his return from injury, Josh Green's emergence provided only a minor bump, Reggie Bullock is shooting below 30% from three and JaVale McGee averages less than 10 minutes per game. The odd Kidd-Wood dynamic continued with Kidd failing to challenge an obvious foul on the big man in the second quarter against Boston, while Kidd sounded frustrated when the topic of losing Jalen Brunson came up again. Doncic (38.3%) has the fifth-highest usage rate ever among qualifiers right now. 

Denver (12-7): Nikola Jokic almost netted a triple-double, falling one assist short on a night where he scored 39 points against the Thunder and helped Bruce Brown score 17 points with 13 rebounds and 10 assists to secure a triple-double. Brown again helped Denver beat the Clippers in a spot start as Michael Porter Jr. (heel) sat out the past two games. The Nuggets secured their eighth road win, which leads the NBA, and rank No. 7 in offense and No. 25 in defense as some of Jokic's rim protection numbers would limit his ability to win a third straight MVP award if the season ended today. 

Detroit (5-16): The Pistons reportedly prefer Cade Cunningham (left shin soreness) undergo season-ending surgery on his leg as their season fades early and hopes of landing French prodigy and likely No. 1 pick in 2023, Victor Wembanyama. Cunningham missed Detroit's last eight games, James Edwards III noting that he suffered a stress fracture and his deciding between rest and the surgery. He'd miss 4-6 months, compared to 8-12 weeks. Detroit has lost 8-of-10 with Bojan Bogdanovic keeping them competitive with his shot-making, beating the Nuggets and Jazz with 45 points across the two wins this week. He's signed through 2025 now and could become a trade candidate immediately if the team decides to go that route. 

Golden State (10-10): Steph Curry, Klay Thompson and Andrew Wiggins poured in 73 of the Warriors' 129 points in an offensive outburst more reminiscent of what we used to know this now-flat group as. Curry would be the MVP winner today for keeping this group afloat while Thompson and others like Jordan Poole figure things out. The reigning Finals MVP is averaging 31.7 PPG and 7.1 APG on 44.5% three-point shooting (11.7 att.). Wow. 

Houston (4-14): Jalen Green scored 30 points, Kevin Porter Jr. fell three rebounds shy of a 12-point triple-double while Bruno Fernando returned to his starting center role in a shocker over the Hawks. Jabari Smith Jr. and KJ Martin combined for 42 points, while Eric Gordon (injury maintenance) and Alperen Sengun (groin) remained out. Reports continued to link Gordon as a possible facilitator to a Jae Crowder trade. The Bucks, Hawks and Warriors have all inquired in Crowder recently. Martin could also factor in a Crowder deal, Eric Pincus wrote. 

Indiana (11-7): They keep winning, pouring 120 points on the Magic and Nets in wins this week as Myles Turner averaged 21.3 PPG, 6.7 RPG, 2.0 APG, 1.7 SPG and 2.0 BPG while shooting 60% from three. It wouldn't be stunning to see Turner return to the Pacers beyond this year as he blends well with their young core, and keeping either Turner or Domantas Sabonis always seemed like part of the plan even if they listened to offers for both. Tyrese Haliburton leads the league with 11.1 APG and Bennedict Marthurin continues to average 19.4 PPG while shooting 42.3% from deep through 18 games. The Pacers, like the Jazz out west, almost look too good to get into the top echelon of tanking this year, making a playoff push more likely. 

Clippers (11-8): Won three straight games with Kawhi Leonard in the lineup before the star sprained his ankle on Monday and missed the last two games, losses to Golden State and Denver. Paul George (hamstring) also sat out of the defeats and both players remain without a timeline to return, Ty Lue said. Lue faces one of the toughest coaching jobs in the league this year, trying to ramp up a loaded roster and form a rotation with his stars rarely available. Luke Kennard (right calf strain) also missed his fourth straight game, with the Clippers stuck at 27th in offense. They're reportedly pursuing a center, but only own their first-round pick starting in 2027 due to the George trade with Oklahoma City. 

Lakers (6-11): The NBA suspended Patrick Beverley for three games for shoving Deandre Ayton after he and Devin Booker stood over Austin Reaves in the closing minutes of a chaotic loss to the Suns. Anthony Davis joined Bob McAdoo alone in the history books with 37 points, 21 rebounds, five steals and five blocks as LeBron James (groin) missed his fifth straight game before returning to help LA beat the Spurs for a second time this week. A softer schedule arrived to help the Lakers this week, but it's unclear if this team can muster any real aspirations shooting 18.2% from three in a loss. James, who returned on Friday, turned the ball over nine times in the team's win over the Spurs to continue his uneven start to his season. 

Memphis (11-8): Ja Morant (ankle) returned to form quickly over the past two games, averaging 28.5 PPG on 54.1% shooting while serving 8.5 APG. Jaren Jackson Jr. blocked eight shots between the team's loss to Sacramento and win over the Pelicans, generating 132 points against New Orleans' sturdy defense. Dillon Brooks' weird season continued with 25 points in the win, with the volume scorer only shooting 40.1% from the field. 

Miami (9-11): Tyler Herro (ankle) returned from an eight-game absence to help the Heat sweep the Wizards in a home mini-series. He shot 10-for-33 in his return to the starting lineup, but dished 13 assists to help the team overcome Jimmy Butler's (knee) absence for the fifth straight game. Caleb Martin scored 44 points across the two wins while Bam Adebayo added 53 points and 23 rebounds. Bam credited the team for positioning him to score. 

Milwaukee (13-5): Brook Lopez worried me entering this season after he struggled to shoot in the Celtics series and missed much of the regular season with a back injury. Few big men have performed better early on this season. He's averaging 15.9 PPG, 5.9 RPG and 2.8 BPG while shooting 40.4% from three. 538's RAPTOR rating ranks him as the best defender in the NBA this season. Opponents shoot 43.9% on 23.3 attempts per game against him. 

Minnesota (10-9): Beat short-handed Cavs before extending a five-game win streak over the Magic, 76ers, Heat and Pacers before losing to the Hornets on Friday. Rudy Gobert returned to his imposing efficiency and defense inside, 14th in the RAPTOR ratings in defense, but 209th in offense. Scoring depth remains a challenge, with Anthony Edwards probably representing their best marksman. They boast a top-10 efficiency from the field (54.7 eFG%) though, hurting themselves most with a 24th-ranked turnover rate. They host the Warriors on Saturday at 3:30 EST. 

New Orleans (11-8): Zion Williamson (foot) returned and helped the Pelicans score a pair of wins over resting Warriors and tanking Spurs teams as the schedule softened up. They fell to the Grizzlies on Friday, with Williamson and Brandon Ingram combining for only 22 points. Zion is averaging 18.3 PPG since his return on 62.2% shooting, while the Pelicans' No. 6 offense and No. 7 defense quietly average out to No. 6 in the NBA. Jose Alvarado, an undrafted, second-year guard from New York City, has keyed their turnaround in their own end with relentless on-ball play. 

New York (9-10): Jalen Brunson's Knicks stint has gone as they would've hoped, adding 32 points and four assists on 10-for-22 shooting to a 129-point effort against Portland, but the team lost in overtime and continues to float around .500. RJ Barrett shot 6-for-22 in the loss and fell to 39.4% from the field and 26.4% from three, sitting at 246 out of 250 qualifying players in defensive RAPTOR rating (-4.7). Mitchell Robinson (knee), playing his most minutes with 23 since returning from an eight-game absence, continued to share minutes with Isaiah Hartenstein and Julius Randle in a crowded frontcourt. They're now 16th in offense and 24th in defense, with a much worse net rating than the struggling Clippers, Lakers, Warriors and Heat. 

Oklahoma City (8-11): The Shai Gilgeous-Alexander tour came home for a 30-point effort that neared a triple-double to down the Bulls in overtime where six Thunder scored double-figures, including Darius Bazley, who shot 7-for-9 in his third game back from injury. They sit just 4.5 games outside of first in a tightly-packed west in the 12th spot, with a better record than the Lakers as December looms, 2.0 games behind the 10th-seed TWolves.  

Philadelphia (10-9): Won 2-of-3 to begin life without Joel Embiid, including an emotional one over Ben Simmons and the Nets where Tobias Harris and De'Anthony Melton combined for 46 points. Paul Reed and Georges Niang are stepping up off the bench, and the Sixers are climbing out of their early-season hole with the league's No. 3 defense. A 17th-ranked offense leaves much to be desired, as did their play with James Harden, Tyrese Maxey and Embiid in the lineup, all expected to now miss time into December with feet injuries. Shake Milton is stepping up in the backcourt, averaging 20.7 PPG and 53.5% shooting (50% 3PT) over the past three games. 

Phoenix (12-6): Back atop the west after wins over the Knicks, Lakers and Pistons this week. They've reached the Celtics' league with a +7.2 net rating, ranking No. 2 in offense and No. 4 in defense. Cam Payne and Damion Lee provided 25 PPG during the win streak with Chris Paul (heel) missing eight straight games ahead of reevaluation sometime next week. Their approach looks like it did in similar years, 15th in three-point attempts, 28th in free throws taken each night and third in mid-range tries, despite only shooting 41.3% from there. 

Eric Pincus assessed the state of the Jae Crowder trade saga as teams like the Hawks, Warriors and Bucks reportedly remain engaged with Phoenix. He noted the final deal could include as many as five teams. Players signed in the offseason can't be dealt until at least Dec. 15, a key date as this develops, with the Suns currently unmoved by players like Bogdan Bogdanovic, John Collins and Grayson Allen, according to Pincus. The Warriors grappling with past unwillingness to move their young core that's struggled.

Portland (11-8): Anfernee Simons, Jerami Grant and Jusuf Nurkic combined for 102 of the Blazers' 132 points in an overtime win over the Knicks, ending a three-game losing streak during their east coast swing without Damian Lillard (calf). The star is expected to miss at least 1-2 weeks after injuring himself in a loss to the Jazz last Saturday, an aggravating a prior injury. Portland is now 14th in offense and 17th in defense as Lillard's games missed add up. Rookie Shaedon Sharpe (22.7% FG) saw a role reduction and regression in his production over the past four games, getting replaced in the starting lineup by Justice Winslow. 

Sacramento (10-8): Lost two in a row to the Hawks and Celtics to round out a three-game road trip after winning seven in a row. De'Aaron Fox struggled, shooting 35% in the losses, including 6-for-17 in Boston as part of an 18-turnover mess for the Kings against the Celtics' switching. Their defense now ranks 27th, weighing down their No. 2 offense. Kevin Huerter slumped and rookie Keegan Murray continues to struggle, falling below 40% from the field this season. An encouraging bench effort from KZ Okpala and others guarding Jayson Tatum turned a 16-point first-half deficit into a lead late in the third quarter before Sacramento capsized, giving up a 32-4 run into the fourth. 

San Antonio (6-14): They're 29th in offense and 30th in defense during a 1-12 November. It's full tank time for the Spurs, who have sporadically sat key players for injury management, making a Jakob Poetl trade for contenders like the Celtics all the more intriguing as trade season looms. Gregg Popovich (illness) sat out Sunday's loss to the Lakers at the last minute, leaving assistant Brett Brown in charge with a health scare that turned out fine. Brown said he found out he'd be coaching the game 20 seconds before tip-off.

Toronto (9-9): Nick Nurse shared some startling perspectives on Gary Trent Jr. as the guard tries to find his footing in the team's backcourt, saying he needs to become more disruptive off the ball to fit with the Raptors. Toronto fell to 13th in defensive rating this month as they continue to stagnate, Trent lagging behind his frontcourt and Fred VanVleet, who continues to play plus defense despite his size. Kyrie Irving and Trae Young blasted the Raptors this week in wins for the Hawks and Nets. If Toronto sours on Trent Jr., it'd be intriguing to see them become a Jae Crowder team, but they need guards. 

"It's disappointing. We'd like to get him a lot more aggressive on defense this year," Nurse said. "I would say that's been a, well, I don't know what the word is — it's been a little bit of a negative. He's capable of really getting after the ball and getting his hands on the ball a lot, and that's what we want him to do ... we're gonna get him his shots and get him his points, but we want him to be a disruptor. He kinda fits us if he does that, and if he doesn't, he doesn't fit us. We need to get him back."

Utah (12-9): On another three-game losing streak to exacerbate a 2-6 stretch late in November. Lauri Markkanen, Malik Beasley and Kelly Olynyk continue to cook offensively, but the three-point shooting has fallen off elsewhere along with a number of luck-associated factors propping up their record early on. Worse, they lost to struggling Clippers, Pistons and Warriors teams missing key players and Utah ranked last in defense over that stretch. It's not too late for this group to start breaking off pieces and join the tanking race in the tight league standings. It'd be a bitter pill after a hot start. 

Washington (10-9): Enter Boston on Sunday at 6 EST tied with Philadelphia for the sixth seed, above the east's play-in line, despite losses to the Heat in a mini-series. Kristaps Porzingis is fourth in 538's RAPTOR rating, a top-10 defender who's holding opponents to 43.1% shooting from the field while guarding them. 

Bradley Beal (thigh) returned from missing the first game against Miami to score 28 points in the loss, now averaging 26.5 PPG on 51.3% shooting over his past four games and his hitting 48.6% of his threes in November. Their revolving door at the wing spot continues though, a mix of Rui Hachimura, Deni Avdija and Will Barton on a team struggling to find offensive footing placing 25th in the league.