NBA Notebook: Derrick White crossed the country to become a Celtics starter

Marcus Mason left his phone as he prepared to pack for a trip in February and returned to texts from Derrick White, the Spurs guard Mason trained with and mentored since the seventh grade. White's agents, family and more followed, adding up to over 40 messages. San Antonio traded White to the Celtics right before the deadline, and a routine-oriented White scrambled to make the move.

Mason rerouted his flight plans to Boston, and started looking for homes while assessing the basketball situation White entered. Richard White, Derrick's father, checked in repeatedly with Derrick's camp in prior weeks and didn't think he'd be dealt. Then, Richard received the news from his son. He hung up excited, as Derrick prepared to play for the team Richard grew up rooting for as a Boston native, but uneasiness hit his son immediately. 

"He's a guy who lives his life in order," Mason told Boston Sports Journal this week. "Some players just hoop. I wouldn't say that's Derrick White. Derrick White lives his life in order, so his life was, without a doubt, out of order and it took some time to get it in order." 

White struggled to separate the process of finding storage units, a new house and keeping in touch with Hannah, his wife who was pregnant at the time with his first son, from his basketball acclimation with Boston. Beyond that, he moved to the bench, off the ball and into a role where his ability to hit open shots away from the pressure Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum received dictated much of his success. Ime Udoka repeatedly said the little things White provided made a large impact on the team and they weren't worried about his scoring. White shined for moments during the Celtics' NBA Finals run and he fit perfectly on defense, but he shot 27.3% from the field over the final five games of the Finals and 31.1% from three for the entire postseason. 

"He knew his shot wasn't going well and he could feel that in the crowd," Richard said. "Where it's like, 'oh god, now he's shooting again.'" 

Mason needed to stop White from returning to the gym the day after the Celtics lost Game 6 of the Finals. He knew the work that laid ahead to adjust White's shot, but thought 48 hours wasn't enough time to get his mind off the season. White returned to Colorado to spend time with Hendrix, who was born in May before Game 2 against the Heat, forcing White on a plane back to attend his birth and miss that win. Mason found another trainer to work on White's physique and researched shooting adjustments by looking at releases around the league, settling on a greater arc and less lean in White's motion. Now, White is shooting 44.9% from three and starting on what's statistically the best offense in NBA history, and finally feeling comfortable in the city and locker room.  

Richard understood that turbulence as a child, living in Boston then Sharon, long enough to become a Red Sox, Bruins and Patriots fan, and a Celtics die-hard, before moving throughout his young life. Jo Jo White, the 1976 NBA Finals MVP, became Richard's favorite player. He met Satch Sanders. George, Richard's father, brought him to a barber shop where the team got their hair cut, and later told Richard he cried during his cut when the Celtics arrived. 

The Whites moved to Maryland, then Georgia, where Richard could easily buy tickets at The Omni when Larry Bird and company came to town, and he drove to a game in Washington, where he ran into Bird and Kevin McHale in a food court. George's government job moved the family, again, to Colorado where Richard met his future wife Colleen. They stayed and had Derrick and his sister Brianna. 

Richard became a Broncos fan, a compromise, while a young Derrick also loved the Rockies and Nuggets, playing three sports and wearing a Raymond Felton jersey. He loved Ty Lawson and Juan Pierre, and grew from kicking a soccer ball against the couch into youth football, playing cornerback, second base in the spring and basketball, which eventually became his passion. Derrick teased his father with a Bill Buckner Halloween costume idea, pivoting toward a Pedro Martinez one that Richard liked much more. 

White wrote in elementary school he wanted to make the NBA, but as quick and shifty as he played across his sports, his friends grew into scholarship opportunities, like Cory Calvert, who went on to room with Cooper Ainge, the son of the former Celtics GM. White, who stood 6-0 at the time, didn't receive offers, but he always wanted to play, so while Richard unsuccessfully canvased colleges around Colorado, Derrick attended some runs in front of D-III Johnson & Wales coach Jeff Culver. 

"Everybody talks about the D-III Johnson & Wales, the cooking school, it's one of those things where they said, do you want to come and play against these guys? We weren't doing anything, so (Derrick) likes to play, so he went. He did very good, and one of the assistant coaches said he can get 15 minutes on the Johnson & Wales team, but that's as far as it went," Richard remembered. "But then their coach got the job at (Colorado Springs), which was a big thing, because UCCS was perfect in what we had looked for. They had sports management. It's an hour and 35-45 minutes away from the house ... the original coach wasn't interest interested in Derrick at all, then when Jeff Culver got the job, he said 'oh, is he signed anywhere?' ... I had already put in the $50 registration for an application to the school, so we were already in." 

White took out a loan and planned to redshirt his first season at D-II University of Colorado, Colorado Springs, but he sprouted to 6-4 and Culver decided to pull White's redshirt and start him. The team struggled, finishing 5-21 due to mistakes by White and other young players in close games. Richard remembered White passing too much and not asserting himself. He shined as a defender and his athleticism overtook the competition. 

Culver put White in an off-ball roaming position defensively to rotate into help position and pulverize shots. White called Mason and described his defensive strategy two days before a game Mason planned to attend, showing his mentor how easy the game came to him. 

"You know what I do now on defense?"

"What?" 

"I let my guy go by me on purpose, and then I blocked his shot off the glass from behind like LeBron,'" White said. 

"I remember saying, 'that's the dumbest F-ing thing I've ever heard in my life," Mason said. "Two days later, I was sitting about three rows up and his guy was in front of him, and I could just tell how relaxed he was on defense, that he was gonna let his guy blow by him, and the guy blew by him and he jumped up and pinned the ball on the glass with two hands. That's just hard to witness." 

White hasn't changed much from the shy, humble player who fit in on every team he played on. Culver thought he could've reigned in a loose UCCS group that didn't always match his seriousness, though. Speaking up was a challenge for him at the time. White refined his game from a versatile defender who can pass and shoot into a scorer, when needed, and turned up his intensity in ways teammates couldn't. Like others, he became his harshest critic as a shooter and Culver talked him through moments where he struggled with body language.

Tad Boyle at D-I University of Colorado, Boulder started to hear about the guard at UCCS from different coaches around the state soon, one telling him he was the best shot-blocking guard he'd seen before Boyle dove into the tape. He stayed for a third season before making the leap to his Colorado program, a decision Richard, Mason, Colleen and others in close to him voted on. Richard lost, 5-2, as he attempted to keep his son in D-II. 

White sat out one season at Colorado and lived in the weight room and worked on his jump shot during that year off. He shot 39.6% from three and averaged 18.1 points, 4.4 assists, 1.2 steals and 1.4 blocks per game. Boyle looks back on 2016-17 and regrets not making White the focal point of the offense during his lone season in Boulder. Other seniors stood in front of him upon arrival and Boyle later told White did a bad job with a roster he saw as worthy of making the NCAA Tournament that didn't. 

NBA personnel had already been in touch with Culver about White though and his successful leap to D-I solidified him as a first-round pick in 2017 to Gregg Popovich's Spurs, spending time in G-League Austin and sitting behind legends Tony Parker, Manu Ginobili and Kawhi Leonard. Several trainers, Will Hardy and Udoka also coached on his first staff, who'd eventually accompany White once he arrived in Boston. 

Popovich told White, if he didn't guard, he wouldn't play. Mason needed to refine the guard's stance to keep dribblers in front of him and showed him with a brief drill in his first apartment after getting drafted. Dejounte Murray tore his ACL and opened up opportunity for him, and White forced the Nuggets to seven games in his first postseason, averaging 15.1 PPG, before rounding out five years in San Antonio with 11.6 PPG and 3.9 APG as they veered further toward a rebuild into 2022. Richard isn't certain White would've emerged next to Murray if he didn't get that opportunity in 2018-19. 

When Popovich brought him into a room to announce he'd been traded three years later, White sat stunned. Mason worked to make the transition and smooth as possible, and convince White the enormity of the opportunity in front of him. White had already played with Tatum, Brown and Marcus Smart on Team USA. Mason remembered braving snow looking for White's next home while he found his own on the floor, thrown into a game against Denver with no practice to score 15 points.

"Mason and Hannah came to Boston and started looking at houses and stuff in areas and stuff, not knowing what's what," Richard remembered. "Where to live. How to get to places. How to bring the dogs, shipping the cars, packing up the house, putting stuff in storage, finding a pediatric doctor. It's not like, 'oh, I'll just go and play basketball.' Sure you'll play basketball, but is this stuff being taken care of? Is everybody else ok?" 

Hendrix' birth put White at ease, and by that point, White and Luke Kornet became close to the point where they shared some car rides to the practice facility since they lived near each other. The Kornets delivered food to the Whites in the early days after Hendrix' birth, his name an ode to Hannah's father's first name, and an idol of White, who took a history of rock-and-roll class at UCCS and had a Jimi Hendrix poster. The White tradition of seven-letter names lived on too. Robert Williams III had his first son, Hendrix, in January. White apologized for the coincidence ahead of time, but Rob wouldn't argue. It's a nice name, Williams III said, still trying to make White feel welcomed on his new team. 

The fans helped White, too, showing him love in public and at a recent Special Olympics event he hosted. White still loves baseball, and attended several Red Sox games in the spring to watch Bobby Dalbec, who played on his youth basketball team in Colorado. Mason noted Dalbec was actually a better shooter than White then. White's improvement since ascended him and the Celtics' offense to unseen heights in NBA history through the first quarter of the season. All five players on the floor for Boston can typically dribble, shoot, pass and make reads.

"Derrick's a good shooter on the catch and on the dribble, so it takes him a little bit more reps and times to perfect both shots," Mason said. "So he's shooting threes off the pick-and-roll, he's shooting them on the catch. Those are two different types of feel with the ball in your hand and the hand placement on the basketball is different, so his workouts take a lot longer, because his skillset is really high. I don't let him off the hook. He trains for everything."

White's career always shifted between those different jobs, solidifying his fit on the Celtics as a prospect they once eyed in the draft themselves. He doesn't have the typical preparation others do, and Mason called him to remind White to stay into his shot after the Celtics' win over the Wizards on Sunday. He returned to form on Monday, finishing 3-of-4 from deep. Mason gave Richard credit for White's knack for taking charges. That's not what they pay him to teach. 

Richard, who saw his Twitter follower count rise from 1,000 to more than 3,000 since White's arrival in Boston, live tweets the game like a fan, and can be critical too. He analyzes the entire team, pulling stats and keeping a spreadsheet with goals he touches base with Derrick on, a habit he built while coaching Derrick in Colorado. 

The notes can be statistical or boil down to something simpler, like Richard telling Derrick his mom would like to see him dunk. White threw down a vicious one in October during the closing minutes of a win over Orlando, stunning Grant Williams and a locker room that's grown to love the subtle addition to their team. 

"I see a guy who's gotten really comfortable," Celtics assistant Damon Stoudamire said. "I always told people this, it's hard to get traded to a team mid-season. I got traded to Portland back when I played mid-season, and once the excitement and everything wears off and everything kind of settles in, as a new player, you're trying to find yourself and I think Derrick had him moments for us, for sure, but I think that he's just way more comfortable. Why? Because his family is here, he has a house, different things. He knows which way he's driving to work every day. He knows his teammate's tendencies, things of that nature. You can see that in his game, and I think that everybody in the gym has more confidence in him from that standpoint, and that's why he's had success here early on."

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

Atlanta (13-10): Bogdan Bogdanovic returned from offseason knee surgery against Denver, but his arrival followed injuries to De'Andre Hunter (right hip flexor strain) and John Collins (ankle). Both players will miss at least a week, with Collins expected to be out longer, both exiting a win over the Magic before halftime. Trae Young missed Friday's win over the Nuggets, Dejounte Murray stepping up with 34 points and eight assists. 

Boston (18-5): Extended Al Horford for two years, $19.5 million in a deal that avoids unrestricted free agency this summer and keeps him with the Celtics through 2025, his 38-year-old season. He wanted to get the deal over with as the team focuses on contending for a championship. They split a two-game mini-series with the Heat after Jimmy Butler and Tyler Herro downed the Celtics in overtime on Friday with 51 combined points. Jaylen Brown scored 37 points on Jayson Tatum's roughest night of the season, which followed one of his best -- a 49-point masterpiece on Wednesday.

Brooklyn (13-11): TJ Warren (foot) returned for his first game since Dec. 29, 2020, scoring 10 points in 17 minutes on 5-of-11 shooting in a win over the Raptors. Ben Simmons (calf) exited Monday's game against the Magic with a sore knee and missed the team's wins over Washington and Toronto, and will remain out through Sunday's game against the Celtics. Yuta Watanabe (hamstring), who last played on Nov. 20, will also be reevaluated next week. The Nets have won 6-of-8 since Kyrie Irving returned from suspension, as he's combined with Kevin Durant to average 51.1 PPG on 56.6% shooting. 

“As soon as I checked in it kind of hit me like this is real,” Warren said. “Like I said once I got up and down [the court], it was just like ‘Alright, this is basketball.’ So it was just super fun to be out there competing with the guys.”

Charlotte (7-15): Terry Rozier, LaMelo Ball (ankle) and Gordon Hayward (shoulder) all missed Monday's loss in Boston, a ghastly showing where the Hornets went down by almost 30 points in the opening minutes and lost, 140-105. Rozier returned from illness to lead the team to a win over the Wizards on Friday, but each passing week draws this team closer to a reset. Steve Clifford laid out his team's chances plainly before the Celtics game.

"We could never beat them right now 4 out of 7 with the rosters that we're going to throw out there tonight," he said. "But could we win tonight? Sure. We're going to have to play really well, and maybe get some breaks, but you never know in this league."

Chicago (9-13): Zach Lowe indicated the Lakers discussed the parameters of a trade for DeMar DeRozan and Nikola Vucevic internally. There's no indication the Bulls are any closer to a move after two more losses to the Suns and Warriors this week, but Lonzo Ball (knee) is no closer to a return as he still feels pain and progresses slowly, remaining without a timetable according to Billy Donovan. He moved Patrick Williams to the bench after he shot 46.4% and averaged 10.0 PPG in November, promoting Javonte Green to the starting lineup for a shakeup. They ranked 24th in offense in November, but an average defense dipped and allowed 56 points to Klay Thompson and Jordan Poole in Friday's loss on the west coast. 

The Bulls announced this week that they extended Donovan in a deal that previously went unreported, perhaps showing their support for the group. 

Cleveland (15-8): Finished November firmly in control of the East's three seed behind Boston and Milwaukee, beating the Sixers and Magic handily to round out the month. The Cavs have won 7-of-9 and rank No. 7 in offense and No. 1 in defense, passing the Suns to move into second in net rating behind the Celtics (+7.1), who they've defeated twice. Kevin Love (thumb) returned from a five-game absence to play a limited role against Orlando and get his feet under him, while Donovan Mitchell notched his 12th 30-point game in 23 appearances to start his Cavaliers career. He averaged 26.8 PPG on 48.7% shooting in November.

Dallas (10-11): Lost an overtime debacle to the Pistons where Dorian Finney-Smith and Spencer Dinwiddie combined for eight points next to Luka Doncic's 35. They've dropped 5-of-6 and only narrowly escaped the Warriors game with a win on Tuesday thanks to a Doncic 41-point triple-double. Their reliance on the star is catching up to them and GM Nico Harrison sent a less-than-encouraging preview of Kemba Walker's knee health upon arrival as he prepares to make his debut and relieve some of that pressure.

“It’s not good,” Harrison said. “It’s not good at all. But he’s rehabbed it and it’s the best he’s felt in the last two years so, we’ll see how long that lasts.”

Dallas finished November 25th in offense while only Christian Wood, who remains in a bench role, and Dinwiddie joined Doncic in double-figures.

Denver (14-8): Finished November in second place in the west, riding their offense to a 10-4 record in the month and 118.1 points per 100 possessions, which went only surpassed by the Celtics. Nikola Jokic averaged 23.7 PPG and 9.3 APG on 65.4% shooting while Jamal Murray bounced back to 20.0 PPG in 11 appearances. Bones Hyland returned from a four-game absence with COVID to score 16 points in 22 minutes in Friday's loss to Atlanta after struggling to breath in his recovery. Michael Porter Jr. (heel) missed his fifth straight game with an ailment that could be linked to his back surgeries.

Detroit (6-18): Willing to take little victories in what's become a difficult season, like Killian Hayes scoring 22 points in an overtime win over Dallas to mark the best game of his young career. The Pistons have remained relatively patient with the 2020 No. 7 overall pick through immense offensive struggles at 21. Bojan Bogdanovic added 30 points, shaking off a knee ailment, while Marvin Bagley III scored 19 points with 13 rebounds. Saddiq Bey, who struggled in November shooting 37.4% from the field, moved to the bench against Detroit in favor of Isaiah Livers. 

Golden State (12-11): Back over .500 and winners of 4-of-5, where they received 18.0 PPG and from Andrew Wiggins, Klay Thompson and Jordan Poole, the latter two shooting over 44%. Draymond Green is cleaning up baskets and hitting a handful of threes, and the Warriors offense is taking a turn for the better around MVP candidate Steph Curry. It's hard to rule this team out, however thin they are, finishing November sixth in offense and playing top-three defense over this recent stretch. Anthony Lamb averaged only 6.5 PPG last month, but gave the team steady minutes. James Wiseman will continue to play with G-League Santa Cruz this weekend, averaging 15.0 PPG and 9.6 RPG in his first five games with them. 

Houston (6-16): Jalen Green's 30 points, combined with 32 from Kevin Porter Jr. and Jabari Smith Jr., overpowered Devin Booker's 41 points and the Suns in a 122-121 win on Friday. Houston answered Stephen Silas' challenge after a 20-point loss to the Nuggets, as the Rockets lagged at 26th in defense, but managed a top-10 offensive output over the past five games. Green averaged 22.8 PPG on 46.9% shooting with 5.1 APG in November. Keep an eye on their continued ability to trade Eric Gordon in trades, like the widely-reported Jae Crowder trade to the Bucks that fell apart last month. 

Indiana (12-10): Overpowered a tough Lakers defense and Anthony Davis' 25 points and 13 rebounds, overcoming a 17-point fourth-quarter deficit to win at the buzzer on a Tyrese Haliburton offensive rebound that he served to Andrew Nembhard with a perfect pass for a game-winning three. Haliburton leads the league in assists after dishing 40 with 0 turnovers across a three-game stretch to begin this week where he averaged 20 PPG. The Pacers melted down defensively on Friday against the Jazz in a slower offensive effort from Haliburton, but the star looks like he'll surge toward a most-improved player candidacy this year. Bennedict Mathurin won rookie of the month and led the team with 18.5 PPG in November on 42% shooting. 

Lakers (9-12): Anthony Davis scored 44 points with 10 rebounds to edge out Giannis Antetokounmpo and win a crucial game that kept the Lakers within 1.5 games of the 10th seed. It sounds like a low bar for a team built around three former superstars, but Davis regaining that form in November, where he averaged 27.2 PPG, 13.5 RPG and 2.5 BPG, gives this group hope for a resurgence. They improved to top-10 in offense last month and still rank No. 9 in defense after some slippage last month. Games like their collapse against the Pacers are gut punches for a team that's already behind.

They waived former Celtics two-way guard Matt Ryan to clear a roster spot ahead of the Dec. 15 unofficial kickoff to trade season. 

Clippers (13-10): Ivica Zubac scored 31 points and grabbed 29 rebounds, nearly matching Kevin Love's 2010 mark as the only 30-30 games since 1982, but he fouled out in the closing minutes of the Clippers' win over the Pacers. Norman Powell and Reggie Jackson led a win over Powell's former Blazers with 56 combined points, but John Wall's 26 weren't enough in a loss to the Jazz. Kawhi Leonard (ankle) and Paul George (hamstring) practiced on Friday after missing the past five games together and could return on Saturday against the Kings.

Memphis (13-9): Won 3-of-4 into December after an awkward month where Ja Morant got hurt, returned and shot 43% through an uneven return. Jaren Jackson Jr. blocked 3.0 shots per game in his first six appearances since offseason foot surgery and shot 46.3% from the field. Desmond Bane (toe) missed his ninth straight game in Friday's win over the 76ers. Memphis still won 3-of-4 and finished 12th in offense and seventh in defense in November.

Miami (11-12): Jimmy Butler (knee) worked overtime in his first appearance after a seven-game absence, scoring 25 points with 15 rebounds and hitting pull-up two-pointers to end regulation and the extra frame to beat the surging Celtics. Boston blasted their zone defense while Butler and Dewayne Dedmon sat on Wednesday, scoring 134 points despite Tyler Herro's best efforts to keep pace. They've won 4-of-5 and ranked No. 8 in defense over that stretch. Horrid shooting nearly cost the Heat Friday's game in spite of a cold Celtics night and Butler's greatness, Jaylen Brown forcing overtime with a three-point bomb from near half court in the final seconds of regulation. That left Kyle Lowry, who's playing together, less excited in the aftermath. 

"They got their average didn't they? I don't think we got in the mud that much," Lowry said. "They played their offense. I think for us, we played our game."

Milwaukee (15-6): Khris Middleton made his season debut on Friday, scoring 17 points with seven assists in a loss against the Lakers where he shot 6-for-11. The Bucks star last appeared in the first round of the playoffs before an MCL sprain forced him to miss the team's second-round loss to Boston. Offseason wrist surgery lengthened his return. Anthony Davis blasted the Bucks' interior in the LA win, but they were thrilled to reintegrate Middleton.

"He makes the game look so easy," Jrue Holiday said. "The way he plays, it's kind of like nobody is out there, just him. It's like a drill. It's definitely good to see him back out there, wish we could've got the win for him. But he makes the game look effortless." 

Minnesota (11-11): Anthony Edwards' 29 points edged out the Grizzlies on Wednesday, but a nightmarish Monday saw the Wolves allow 142 points in their loss against Washington, marking three straight. Karl-Anthony Towns avoided a far more serious injury than the right calf strain that'll still cost the star at least one month he suffered it in the loss. Rudy Gobert scored nine points with one rebound in Wednesday's win and a team struggling to gel around its new identity will receive less time together through the new year. The new Wolves sound like the old ones, inconsistent, immature and unable to build anything sustainable. The Jazz sitting above them in the standings presents a scary thought for their connected futures. 

New Orleans (14-8): The Pelicans have the No. 1 defense in the NBA over their last 10 games, allowing 104.7 points per 100 possessions and bolstering their season standing to third. They also rank sixth in offense and only trail the Suns by one game for the top seed in the west. They've won three straight, 5-of-6 and still get to watch each Lakers loss in delight as LA remains in the lottery. Zion Williamson averaged 23.6 PPG in November on 63.2% shooting, but battled hip and foot ailments in his continued battle to stay healthy. Herb Jones helped change their old identity, which lacked defense, and their future assets and current standing as a top-five team make them as dangerous as anyone entering 2023. 

New York (10-12): Lost an offensive game to the Grizzlies before dropping a low-scoring affair to the Bucks, showing this team's flexibility when it comes to ways to lose. They're not an impressive group, riding the Julius Randle and R.J. Barrett waves night in and night out without a definitive trajectory forming for any of their young players. Jalen Brunson's contributions make the offense a bit more potent, but it's clear they aren't a competitor in a loaded east. Miles McBride and Jericho Sims got sent to the G-League and heavy starter minutes means only a considerable role for Quentin Grimes among the young supporting cast. This could be a make-or-break month or two for Tom Thibodeau before the trade deadline. 

Oklahoma City (9-13): They've lost 5 of 6, signaling the end of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and this group's east coast breakout from last month. They ranked 22nd in offense over this recent stretch and defend at an average level, but if young players like rookie Jalen Williams, the west's rookie of the month, continue to thrive it'll be intriguing to see if Chet Holmgren can make a surprise push toward playing this season. Don't count on it. 

Orlando (5-18): Lost seven straight games to fall to the bottom of the east behind Detroit as the tanking race takes shape into December. Markelle Fultz (toe) returned with 18 points and 10 assists combined across his first two games of the season. Veteran Gary Harris (meniscus) shot over 43% from deep in his first six appearances back from injury, before sitting in Friday's loss to Cleveland with a hamstring ailment. Cole Anthony, returning from a right oblique tear, scored 30 points across the team's losses against Atlanta and Cleveland. 

Philadelphia (12-11): Lost a second straight game to the Grizzlies as James Harden's return from a month-long absence with a foot sprain looms on Monday against Houston. The 76ers finished No. 1 in defense, going 8-6 so far without their star and falling to 28th in offense over that stretch where Tyrese Maxey and Joel Embiid also missed some time. Embiid scored 35 points with 12 rebounds and eight assists in his third game back from his own foot ailment. Maxey, who suffered a foot fracture, remains off the court with an original timeline of 3-4 weeks entering week three. 

Phoenix (15-7): The Rockets narrowly ended their six-game win streak capped by 81 combined points from Devin Booker and Deandre Ayton in the Suns' win over the Bulls. Booker scored 51 of them in three quarters, capping a seven-game stretch on Friday averaging 32.7 PPG on 52.1% shooting, all without Chris Paul (heel). James Jones recently signaled the star will return soon after a 12-game absence where Phoenix still ranked No. 3 (+5.5). 

Portland (11-11): Their slide continued with losses to the Nets, Clippers and Lakers. Damian Lillard (calf) played only six games in November and plans to return on Sunday against the Pacers. Nassir Little (hip) will miss at least six weeks with a fracture and the Blazers finished November 17th in offense and 25th in defense. That sounds more in line with the Portland teams of recent years rather than this team's hot start.

Sacramento (11-9): Seven Kings scored double-figures and Domantas Sabonis neared a triple-double as his Kings battered his former Pacers, 137-114, holding old friend Tyrese Haliburton to nine points. Buddy Hield and Haliburton sensed a new energy in Sacramento evident in the team's No. 4 finish in offense in November. De'Aaron Fox averaged 23.8 PPG on 51.6% shooting while the Kings won 9-of-13. Still, they lost three straight before Wednesday.

San Antonio (6-17): They've lost 10 straight and finished November 29th in offense and 30th in defense as it appears they're as good at trying to lose as they are trying to win. They kept Jakob Poetl, Josh Richardson and Doug McDermott even as they've moved on from other veterans, and they'll inevitably be on the move closer to the trade deadline if this team continues on this trajectory. Zach Collins' return is all that intrigues me here.

Toronto (11-11): Pascal Siakam returned from a groin strain, but the Raptors lagged behind the Pelicans and Nets' offenses to round out the week after a gritty win over the Cavs in Siakam's return. Fred VanVleet and Scottie Barnes struggled in both losses as the offense remains heavily reliant on both of their creation abilities, and Toronto ranked only 18th in offense and 11th in defense. They host the Celtics on Monday. 

Utah (14-11): Rose above the 120-point mark they seemingly need to race ahead of other dynamic offenses in the league. They beat the Clippers and Pacers to get back on track after a five-game losing streak. Lauri Markkanen averaged 22.0 PPG in November and Jordan Clarkson averaged 21.1 PPG as they emerge as the team's offensive focal points. They're hanging on in the west standings, but Towns' injury in Minnesota could potentially bring some elite draft pick compensation early in the Minnesota Rudy Gobert era. 

Washington (11-12): Their results, losses in five of their last six games, have started to line up with some of their statistical production. The Wizards rank 18th in offense and defense for a slight negative net rating. The team could look to capitalize on reported interest in Kyle Kuzma if their slide continues, but Kristaps Porzingis' resurgence and Bradley Beal starting to come around give this group hope, if not much.