NBA Notebook: Celtics aiming higher with their 3-point rate

Joe Mazzulla looked at Boston's shot profile when the Celtics took a 28-point lead against the Nets last weekend and knew his team stood in a worrisome position. He already heard Nets coach Jacque Vaughn intended to ramp up his team's number of 3-point attempts to close the offensive gap between the two teams, Vaughn previously admitting it's Brooklyn's key to beating the Celtics during previous matchups and after this one. 

The Nets started 2-for-11 from deep, 6-for-21 in the first half, and launched 23 triples in the second half, hitting eight to the Celtics' two and handing Boston its worst loss of the season last Friday. 

"They are very analytically sound team, and so I knew the tide was going to shift, because they were going to continue to shoot threes, and if we didn't play at a level of shooting threes and getting offensive rebounds and taking care of the ball, that was going to cost us," Mazzulla said. "We're getting a lot of easy twos ... they kept shooting (threes) ... a team that plays that fast and shoots that many threes, if you relax even for six possessions, that could potentially be 12 points, that could be 15 points and I know you guys all think it's funny, but the three-point attempt rate is the most important stat in the game of basketball because of the pace of play, because of the shot selection and because of the ability to go on runs. When you get out-shot by 14 threes, the potential points there are crucial, because it gives you way more shots and way more opportunities. To me, I'm not really that surprised." 

The Celtics built a third-ranked offense in terms of that three-point attempt rate (47.6%), a marker of the percentage of total field goals a team takes that come behind the three-point line. Mazzulla recently quipped about the fact that, for all the questions the Celtics receive about their three-point reliance, the Mavericks and Warriors surpass them by taking closer to half of their shots from three. It's a figure Boston aspires to reach as the team perfects the right screening angles, reads against the defense and shot output to return to the offensive dominance they achieved early this season. 

There's little doubt the three helped the Celtics' offense, the reason they lost the NBA Finals one year ago, in various ways, whether through quick attempts into the half court preventing turnovers, floor spacing allowing Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum to finish at the rim at a 70% rate and creating an unpredictability offensively that bodes well in the playoffs. Boston likes what the three-point attempts create as well as much as the threes falling themselves. One of those factors is the total amount of shots and their corresponding expected points that each team takes over the course of a game. 

Like Ime Udoka before him, Mazzulla prefers to give his players read options rather than steer the wheel of the offense from the sideline. That places pressure on the team to recognize coverages, what the offense needs to run against them, while managing the analytical side of the game that Mazzulla values immensely. Derrick White said the Celtics want balance help from the sideline and handling business themselves, Mazzulla even admitting he wished he called a few plays to withhold Brooklyn's furious comeback in the second quarter. Those finishing stretches earlier in games, where the Nets went on a 32-13 run, decide games as much as the fourth quarters, where the Celtics statistically slowed down on offense recently. 

"It's on the guys to know who's guarding them and they know who we're trying to get into the matchups," Mazzulla said this week. "So just having an awareness of what the matchup is and then make the read out of the concept that we call. They have the ability to do that, they're really good at that. It depends on what the coverage or the matchup is, so they have to diagnose the coverage and then make the right read from it." 

The Celtics returned to those principles by attempting 59 threes in the double overtime loss to the Knicks and 48 the next night against Cleveland, which featured the layers of ball movement that Boston thrived offensively through on their way to a 21-5 start. The Celtics scored 119.9 points per 100 possessions in those games, which would've surpassed the NBA record for a season, after falling to 110.3 last postseason. Part of that improvement stemmed from increasing the team's three-point late from 42.5% (eighth) last year. 

Since the hot start, they rank 20th in offense over a longer stretch of games (114.3), a 25-16 stretch placing them in a pack of contenders rather than ahead of the field. Their three-point attempt rate remained at 47.7% during the beginning of the season and 47.6% since, even figures that keep Mazzulla at ease as he continues to highlight the four factors impacting their total shot diet, including offensive rebounds, turnovers and free throw attempts handed to opponents.

Still, the 9-for-42 night in New York underscored concerns about relying on the three when Brown acknowledged nights later, after missing the loss for personal reasons, he thought the Celtics took too many threes early in the game. Shooting percentage falls into those four factors too, and the comment reflected a joke Tatum texted the team after missing their last loss in Milwaukee, watching on TV making him realize how many threes they launch each night. 

"It’s a balance,” Brown later said. “I think that any time a team gets more shots than you, with more turnovers and all the above, it’s a recipe for disaster. No matter what the shot is, as long as we shoot more shots, we’ll be in good shape to win. Tonight wasn’t that case. I think they got a lot more shots than us and outplayed us and out-toughed us a little bit, but it is a balance trying to find a rhythm between taking threes and getting to the basket. A couple of plays in the second half, I felt like I could’ve gotten to the basket and I shot a three when I probably could’ve gotten to the basket, so I’m just trying to find that rhythm and make the best decisions.”

Boston is shooting 36.2% from three over its last 41 games, in line with the league average for the season and above the line that typically decides their wins and losses. The margins shrunk since their offense started to hit fewer shots from deep (+9.2 per 100 to +3.3) without outlets at the basket in the half court or ability to score five-on-five to save them. Al Horford, shooting 45.4% from three and taking over the screening game in Robert Williams III's absence, is saving the offense by leading their urgency from three, reading and recognizing matchups and altering defenses with screens. Though Mazzulla assured Grant Williams his play isn't leading to reduced minutes, he hasn't produced three-point volume against pressure.

"(New York is) bottom five in the league in above-the-break threes given up,” Mazzulla said after the poor shooting night at the Knicks. “If their No. 1 job is to protect the paint, what’s the plan on running into the paint? So, can you get easy ones early in the shot clock off layups, cuts? But when you’re in that half court setting because of ... our fouling, because they made shots in the half court setting, you gotta take the ones that are there and a huge strength of ours is the ability to generate a really good open look. And so off the top of my head, I feel like every three we took was a good shooter and a good shot.”

The Celtics improved to 32-4 with wins over the Cavaliers and Blazers when they hit over 36% from three. Their three-game losing streak in-between dropped them to 14-17 when they fall below that mark. Since Dec. 8, the demarcation line for their dominant and bottom-half stretches offensively this season, they've fallen below 36% in 25 games (9-16) and hit above that mark in only 17 (16-1). Wednesday's win against the Blazers fell into the latter column, reaching just over the line at 36.7% from three. 

The Trail Blazers' defense stretched out trying to guard Tatum spot-up threes, which played a critical role in the win and reflect a message the Celtics realize inconsistently. It isn't just about the percentage of threes they hit, which more often than not decide NBA games now, the total can change how defenses guard. Tatum shot 0-for-8 against the Nets, then threatened the Blazers with a 3-for-4 third quarter by pulling up way behind the line. 

Like Damian Lillard's threes forced Boston to stretch out on the other side, Portland adjusted and opened the lane for Celtics layups -- Boston finishing 19-for-26 at the rim and 3-for-8 on other misses in the paint. After the win, Mazzulla, calling timeouts more often lately as he emphasizes key principles late in the season, posed a question.

"When we shoot a lot of threes and miss, everybody asks me questions, but when we shoot a lot of layups and miss, nobody asks me that," Mazzulla said. "Just because you're close to the basket doesn't make it easier to score. We missed a lot of layups. We have to do a good job making those. I thought our shot profile was really good. I thought on that stretch where we didn't shoot the ball well, we continued to guard. I thought when we missed layups, we did a decent job of sprinting back in transition. But I've always wondered that, we missed 10 layups today, how come? I don't know. That's what I want to find out." 

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

Atlanta (34-33): Host a potential first-round opponent in the Celtics on Saturday at 7:30 EST after losing back-to-back games to a play-in tournament rival in Miami. Quin Snyder is 3-3 as Hawks head coach, but the Hawks scored 121.3 points per 100 possessions in the games he coached and posting a +1.2 net rating despite facing their long-running defensive issues building around Trae Young. Young ranks third on the team in defensive rating recently, progress, but Jalen Johnson and Onyeka Okongwu's bench minutes have produced great results. Johnson praised his new coach. 

"Building confidence and me just playing more,” Johnson said. “He tells me, ‘on to the next play’. He’s giving me advice, I’m going to half court to talk to him at a free throw or something. He’s giving me pointers on what to do. So, just having that communication has been great and I’m looking forward to keep building and having a strong relationship too.”

Boston (46-21): Grant Williams missed back-to-back free throws with a chance to beat the Cavaliers in the final seconds of regulation while Jayson Tatum rested the back-to-back, and Cleveland went on to win in overtime to send Boston a three-game losing streak. Milwaukee moved 2.5 games ahead of the Celtics while the 76ers rallied 2.0 games behind Boston. Williams sat for most of their bounce-back win over the Blazers, underscoring unsettled rotation questions while Robert Williams III (hamstring) and Payton Pritchard (heel) recover from new injuries. Williams III will likely return during the team's six-game road trip, beginning this weekend, while Pritchard may miss the entirety. Blake Griffin called Williams a key for the team's playoff run. 

"You can’t control any of that,” Williams told Boston Sports Journal. “You can only control your approach and how you respond. That’s something that you’d have to ask Joe and those guys. They have their reasons and their focus, so for me, it’s just a matter of maintaining that perspective and understanding that it’s not necessarily on the floor that I get to prove myself, you just prove yourself in the work that you put in, working out, playing as hard as you can, practices that the other guys don’t necessarily do, you do.”

Brooklyn (38-29): Set the NBA record for bench points with 98 in a loss to the Bucks, reflecting how much talent top-to-bottom this roster now features. Jacque Vaughn faces uncertainty over which of those players take the floor, save for emerging star Mikal Bridges, each night. He played 12 players double-digit minutes in the game, receiving 0 points from starters Joe Harris, Dorian Finney-Smith and new addition Nerlens Noel. Patty Mills scored 23 points in 23 bench minutes and Cam Thomas added 21 in 26 after playing fewer than 10 minutes in each of the last three games, all wins for the No. 6 seed maintaining the cushion Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving provided before their departures. They're 2.5 games above Miami and the play-in line.

Charlotte (22-46): Ended the Knicks' nine-game win streak and stopped the Pistons in the next game to extend to winners in 7-of-10. Gordon Hayward scored 23 points with nine rebounds and eight assists, string together 19 games played in a row and 21-of-22. Mark Williams (thumb), averaging 8.6 PPG and 7.6 RPG In March, exited the win over Detroit and is questionable to play against the Jazz on Saturday. Steve Clifford praised Williams and Nick Richards' roles in raising the Hornets' defense to No. 4 this month, but they still rank last in offense. 

Chicago (30-36): Lonzo Ball (knee) will likely need a third surgery on his left knee that's sidelined him since tearing his meniscus last January, limiting his ability to even run as the outlook on his career grows increasingly bleak. Chicago remains out of the play-in race by 1.0 game behind Washington as losers of 6-of-10, but they shocked the Nuggets in Denver on Wednesday by slowing Nikola Jokić to 18 points and eight rebounds and receiving 29 points from Zach LaVine. The Ball news, which could extend his recovery period by at least six months, darkens the cloud already hanging above them.

"I just feel bad for him," Billy Donovan said. "He's 25 years old and here he is missing this entire year and next season is uncertain of whatever he elects to do if he does have the surgery. You just feel bad that he hasn't been able to play."

Dallas (34-33): The Kyrie Irving numbers still look amazing -- 27.5 PPG, 5.1 RPG and 6.6 APG on 51.2% FG while shooting 41.4% from three in Dallas. Their team reflects the identity they adopted by trading for him, No. 4 in offense and No. 25 in defense over that stretch. Unless Irving, Luka Dončić and Christian Wood dig deeper defensively than any of us imagine them capable of, it's hard to imagine a team this bad in their own end contending. They could produce mesmerizing series like them and the Clippers did in recent seasons. Mavericks-Kings round one anybody? Dallas is tied for the six seed.

Denver (46-21): The west's top seed by 6.0 games with 67 in the books. They'll likely secure home-court advantage in the coming weeks, but they trail Phoenix by 2.0 points per 100 possessions in net rating due to the Suns' top-six defensive play over the last month. The Nuggets rank No. 10 in offense and No. 11 in defense over their last 16 games, no pushover. Only Boston, Cleveland and Philadelphia exceed their +4.0 net rating for the season. A manageable path to the west finals in a conference that looks likely to produce a bloodbath between the middle seeds is a real advantage. Reliance on Nikola Jokić's minutes, everlasting Michael Porter Jr. health concerns and past playoff losses spell concern, but they deserve favorite status after Kevin Durant's injury and Ja Morant's uncertain status. 

Detroit (15-52): Crunch time approaches in the race for a bottom-three seed and a 14% chance at Victor Wembanyama. Jaden Ivey and James Wiseman pushed Washington to the last possession, but the Pistons lost one of four more games this week to extend their season-worst losing streak to 10. A mini series looms against Indiana, before a trip to Washington and home game against Denver finish the week. Their loss to Charlotte on Thursday placed them behind Houston for the league's worst record, and with Bojan Bogdanovic (achilles) possibly out for the season, more losses will come.

Golden State (34-33): If you still believe in them possibly repeating as champions approaching the 70-game mark, don't look at their road statistics following a three-game losing streak capped by a 131-110 loss at a Memphis team lacking Ja Morant. The Warriors are 16th in offense on the road, losing games by 7.1 points per 100 possessions due to a 28th-ranked defense allowing the most points per 100 (119.3) of any team not named Houston or San Antonio. Steph Curry plays fine, shooting well and only posting a -2.6 net rating, while the Warriors get outscored by 7.0 points per 100 or more while Klay Thompson and Jordan Poole take the floor. Draymond Green's minutes don't help much defensively and they're 7-26 away from home. Weird. Eight of their final 15 games come on the road and they're only 2.0 games above No. 11 Utah in a tie with Dallas for the sixth seed. Jonathan Kuminga (ankle) fell during pre-game warmups on Friday and reportedly left the arena with a boot on his right foot. 

Houston (15-51): No. 3 overall pick Jabari Smith Jr. didn't receive much attention through rookie struggles and a horrible Rockets season, and he achieved his first 30-point game nearly midway through March on Thursday in 47 minutes at Indiana. Primary scoring never defined his game coming out of Auburn, rather floor spacing and defense, but it's hard to imagine the player once ranked ahead of Paolo Banchero on some draft scouting reports currently averages 12.1 PPG on 39.3% shooting with a 30% mark from three. Smith couldn't have landed in a worse situation, but he's only 19 until May. 

Indiana (30-37): Their No. 26 defense sent them to overtime with the Rockets and probably will prevent them from sneaking into the play-in tournament on the ground floor of their rebuild. They probably won't receive as much fanfare as the Jazz at the end of the season, whether or not Utah makes its own appearance in the west tournament, the Pacers pulled off a similar season while missing Tyrese Haliburton often and without the Jazz' amount of veteran presences and production. Bennedict Mathurin (ankle) needed to be carried off the floor against Houston and will likely miss the first games of his rookie season on Saturday and Monday after 67 straight appearances, Rick Carlisle said. The Pacers likely won't rush him back in March. 

Lakers (33-34): Survived multiple Raptors runs and 30 points each from O.G. Anunoby and Scottie Barnes, scoring another impressive win, their seventh over their last 10 and third in a row after LeBron James fell injured six games ago. Anthony Davis only eight points in 33 minutes in the win, LA going small with Wenyen Gabriel playing the five off the bench while D'Angelo Russell and Dennis Schröder scored 20 points each. Mo Bamba (ankle) left their win on Sunday over the Warriors and will miss at least four weeks, according to the team, adding pressure on Davis to close out the season. LA's third-ranked defensive play since James went down vaulted them to ninth from 13th in the packed west standings. They're only 1.5 games back of No. 5. 

Clippers (35-33): In a dead heat with their rivals down the hallway who never projected to play in the same league as the Clippers if Kawhi Leonard and Paul George played regularly. Depending on your definition of that word, the Clippers' stars only built a 21st-ranked offense, 15th-best defense and a negative rating so far as the playoffs near. It's possible the Lakers finish with a better record than them, and Russell Westbrook's fit is now the story on the other LA team. 

“It’s a 100 percent buy-in and he’s been great,” Ty Lue said. “Even last game when he didn’t go back in just talking to (Terance Mann), talking to the guys, staying engaged, cheering for his teammates and it was huge. And so what he’s brought to our team has been great just far as we’ve been asking to do a lot of different things and trying to learn on the fly, not a lot of time to really have time to really practice it and go over it. So he’s been doing a lot of things on the fly, but he’s been great.”

Memphis (39-26): Re-signing Tyus Jones, the ever-reliable Ja Morant backup looks like a season-saving move after Morant left the team to address concerns raised by him appearing on Instagram in a Denver club last weekend flashing a gun. The Grizzlies initially announced Morant would miss the following two games, before following that on Wednesday by announcing he'd miss the next four games. It's possible that we don't see Morant again this season following a string of incidents, including Pacers officials stating they felt in grave danger in a post-game altercation with the guard and several associates, a Washington Post story revealing police reports into multiple alleged altercations from last summer and the latest one in Denver. Police in Colorado declined to charge Morant with a crime, citing a lack of evidence. The NBA announced it will investigate, with a gun policy punishment possible. 

“I take full responsibility for my actions last night," Morant said in a statement. "I’m sorry to my family, teammates, coaches, fans, partners, the city of Memphis and the entire Grizzlies organization for letting you down. I’m going to take some time away to get help and work on learning better methods of dealing with stress and my overall well-being.”

Miami (36-32): Kyle Lowry (knee) traveled with the Heat to Orlando for Saturday's game after missing 15 straight and shot around on the court before an important Heat comeback win over the Cavaliers. Miami is still only 7-9 since February began with a worse net rating (-3.8) than the Pacers. While Lowry is only shooting 39.6% from the field, his organization skills provide the only remaining hope the Heat can rise above their 26th-ranked position on offense. Udonis Haslem provided his own attempt to spark the group, calling his 20th NBA season his final while discussing the frustrations of it. 

Milwaukee (48-18): On a new three-game win streak atop the NBA with wins over the Wizards, Magic and Nets where eight Bucks averaged double-figures with Jae Crowder and Pat Connaughton close behind. Their depth looks like it now rivals the Celtics', but Khris Middleton joining their top-end talent and playing like himself remains the key to them winning the east. He shot 10-for-28 in his first two starts of the season this week and is now 41.2% from the field and 29.2% from three this season. Brook Lopez solidified his defensive player of the year case by blocking nine shots against his former Nets. Heavy reported Celtics frustrations over Milwaukee adding Goran Dragić, who hasn't appeared in a game for them yet, after the Bulls waived him.

Minnesota (34-34): Failed to reach 100 points against the 76ers before Anthony Edwards and Rudy Gobert's 58 points failed to top the Nets in overtime. They're approaching the time Karl-Anthony Towns hoped to return for, getting a final stretch of games in before the playoffs and Chris Finch acknowledged a growing desire from the star to take the court despite medical limitations. Only 14 regular season games remain for the Wolves. 

“Regardless of what happens between here and the rest of the season, getting KAT with this group is such a priority just to see what we have,” Finch said. “I wouldn’t say it’s not worth it unless we were to fall completely out of the race. But even at that point, we need to discover for offseason evaluation, tweaking, strategy, game plan, whatever it might be, we got to see what this thing looks like.”

New Orleans (32-34): Scored only their third loss over their last 10 games as their playoff hopes start to fade entirely, along with dreams of attaining a top draft pick from the Lakers through Anthony Davis trade swap rights. New Orleans now sits 0.5 games behind LA and with news this week of Zion Williamson (hamstring) remaining at least two weeks away from a return to the floor, a lottery trip might be this group's best bet of competing into the future. They've lost 21-of-30 since their 23-13 start that placed them amongst the contenders in the west. Brandon Ingram, also struggling to stay on the floor this season, left Wednesday's win with a right ankle sprain and is questionable to play against the Thunder on Saturday. They're 10th in the west. 

New York (39-29): Cracks formed after their smash hit February, with a Julius Randle heave keying wins over the Heat and Celtics, who had an opportunity to beat the Knicks on a last-second Al Horford three-pointer in double overtime. The Knicks went on to lose to the Hornets at home and end their nine-game win streak, then struggled to chase the Kings' offense in Sacramento. Jalen Brunson (foot) returned from a two-game absence and aggravated the injury, leaving the eventual loss at halftime before the Knicks nearly rallied from behind by 21 points. He's out again on Saturday.

Oklahoma City (31-35): It's amazing how many layers of scoring this team can pile on during their best nights. Josh Giddey strings them all together, dishing a career-high 17 assists in a win over the Warriors to keep the Thunder alive in the play-in race. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (injury management) scored 71 points against the Jazz and Warriors in his return from COVID, abdominal and ankle injuries, before missing the back-to-back in Phoenix with Jalen Williams where the Thunder lost by 31 points. They trail the Pelicans by 1.0 game for the final west playoff spot and face them on Saturday night. 

The (abdominal strain) is a tricky area," Mark Daigneault said. "It’s a situation where if this happened earlier in the season, the (solution) for it is rest. So if this was October, we would be resting him and getting it completely healed. It’s not October, we only have (19) games left. So what we’re going to do is manage it, which will be a little bit tricky, and it’s going to require us modifying some things. So we’re going to have to look at back-to-back’s and we’re going to have to look at his rotation. So you’re gonna see a little bit of a different approach on our end of things with him." 

Orlando (27-40): Scored at least 119 points against the Blazers, Bucks and Jazz in close losses that showed they'll compete until the season ends, but officially won't pull close enough to participate in the east play-in tournament. It's perhaps for the better for this group that just acquired Paolo Banchero last offseason by winning the lottery and needs to decide this summer which pieces it wants to build around, including another pair of potential lottery selections. Chicago's decline, owing them a first-round pick, would've allowed for a playoff push, but the Magic now trail by 4.0 games with 15 left.

Philadelphia (44-22): James Harden and Joel Embiid combined for 69 points and 20 assists to topple the Bucks' win streak last Saturday. Harden doubled his assist total to 20 in a 47-point pummeling of the Pacers that the 76ers extended into wins over the Wolves and Blazers, a 21-point comeback. Philadelphia won 20-of-31 in the new year, leaning into offense to score 120.9 points per 100 possessions since (second) a mark that rivals the Kings. The Sixers sit at 130.0 points per 100 in March, but their defense lags at 27th. They trail the Celtics by 1.5 games with 16 to play for the two seed. Matisse Thybulle, returning with Portland in a loss after Philadelphia traded him at the deadline, discussed playing with fear on the Sixers. 

Phoenix (37-29): Devin Booker scored 44 points to keep the winning going after stunning news struck them during pregame warmups. Kevin Durant slipped in the layup line and turned his left ankle, suffering a sprain that will sideline him for the rest of the regular season and possibly into the playoffs after playing just three games with his new team. The win over the Thunder should've marked his first home game with the Suns. He'll be re-evaluated in three weeks, according to the team, which sits in the fourth seed in the west by 3.0 games over the Clippers. They've won 7-of-10. 

Portland (31-36): They competed early against Boston and Philadelphia, who Anfernee Simons scored 34 points against in his return from an ankle injury, suffering bad losses to both as they keyed in on Damian Lillard with crowds of defenders. Jerami Grant, who scored at least 20 points in three out of the team's four games this week, looked back at Syracuse head coach Jim Boeheim's career after his retirement this week, Grant one of the most successful eventual NBA players who Boeheim coached through 47 years with the Orange. 

"It's amazing what he's been able to accomplish in the amount of time that he's been there," Grant told BSJ. "It's legendary, the impact that he's left on the city of Syracuse and the players and the people ... he knew what it took to win and he knew he was going to get that out of any and everybody on the team. So for me, it's more his mentality and what he was willing to do to come up with wins ... it's been a great run, excited to see what's up next for Syracuse." 

Sacramento (39-26): Tied for the No. 2 seed in the west as winners of 8-of-10, 20-of-31 in the new year, the same mark as the Celtics over that latter stretch. De'Aaron Fox and Domantas Sabonis combined for 47 points in a rout of the Knicks, holding on against a fierce late comeback attempt by one of the hottest teams in the league. Sabonis secured a triple-double, his ninth this season, as the once-criticized trade completely transformed the Kings. 

Toronto (32-36): Cooled to 6-6 since the Jakob Poetl despite the big man's dominant contributions inside, averaging 14.9 PPG and 9.2 RPG on 69% shooting, but he's struggling to shoot free throws. Their defensive lapses remain far more puzzling in a continuously disappointing season, spotting the Lakers 70 first-half points on the road with LeBron James out and Anthony Davis struggling. They've lost three straight, falling to the No. 9 seed in the east only 1.0 game ahead of the Bulls for the final playoff spot in the east. Fred Van Vleet, after losing to the Clippers, unleashed an all-time rant. 

"I don't mind, I'll take a fine, I don't really care," he said. "I thought (referee) Ben Taylor was f***ing terrible tonight. I think that on most nights, you know out of the three [officials], there's one or two that just f*** the game up. It's been like that a couple of games in a row."

Utah (32-35): Don't forget Will Hardy in the coach of the year race despite Kings coach Mike Brown building a deserved lead in the race. The Jazz only sit 0.5 games behind the Pelicans despite a trade deadline sale, which they're 5-6 since, probably setting up for a lottery appearance rather than play-in one, but still marking a successful first rebuild year for the franchise. Lauri Markkanen is the most-improved player favorite, something he discussed not being a goal, while Kris Dunn is rejuvenating his NBA career in hopes of securing a long-term deal with the team.