#jrue-holiday

#jrue-holiday

The 2023 NBA Draft is less than two weeks away and there still is no clear indication of who the Washington Wizards are going to select with their no.8 pick.New team president Michael Winger and general manager Will Dawkins didn't provide any clues regarding how the front office is leaning leading up to the draft.

The New York Knicks' run to the second round of the NBA postseason might prompt the front office to be even more aggressive in acquiring a star.The Toronto Raptors, a team who is expected to change the fundamental shape of their roster, might be able to help them out with an OG Anunoby trade.Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report mentioned that many around the league expect Karl Anthony-Towns, a New Jersey native and CAA client who could be jettisoned by a Timberwolves team looking to build around Anthony Edwards, to eventually end up in New York via a trade.

It's been a wild ride for Russell Westbrook through his two seasons in Los Angeles.Alternating between homecoming hero to villain to homecoming hero (kind of) once again, Westbrook has hardly had smooth sailing with the Lakers.His latest upswing could hardly have come at a better time.With the situation long, long past the breaking point and Westbrook's departure feeling inevitable, his change to a sixth man has perhaps saved him from being traded.

Jimmy Butler has long pushed back on the notion of "Playoff Jimmy," and he reemphasized that on Tuesday when asked about his modest scoring output during these NBA Finals."This Playoff Jimmy narrative is not a thing," Butler said."I'm not a scorer.I don't press to score.I only press to win."
Butler is averaging 17 points on 39.4% shooting through the first two games of the Miami Heat's Finals matchup against the Denver Nuggets and hasn't scored 30 points since Game 1 of the East finals.

The Miami Heat host the New York Knicks tonight with a 3-2 lead and a chance to end the series and advance to the Eastern Conference finals.Here are three burning questions that could determine the Game 6 outcome.Will "Playoff Jimmy" return?Late in the fourth quarter, Miami Heat down six with under two minutes left to play, Jimmy Butler with the ball in his hands saw an opportunity to take advantage of a Knicks weakness.

While the Toronto Raptors search for their next coach after the firing of Nick Nurse, the Milwaukee Bucks find themselves in a similar situation.Mike Budenhozler (who the Raptors may end up considering) was let go after the No. 1 seed Bucks lost in the first round of the playoffs.With the Detroit Pistons excluding him from their final three candidates and the Houston Rockets moving quickly to snatch up Ime Udoka, Nurse is running out of options if he wants to get right back in the coaching game.

The Miami Heat beat the Milwaukee Bucks in overtime to eliminate the No. 1 seed in the East and advance to the second round.Here are 15 thoughts from a stunning Heat win:
1. Amazing.
2. The Heat came back from 16 points down in the fourth quarter and Jimmy Butler uncorked another classic performance to beat the No. 1 seed Milwaukee Bucks in overtime, 128-126.

8:00 AM ET



Zach LoweESPN Senior Writer



In this week's 10 things, we highlight trends at the top of the East, two MVP favorites, a true-blue superstar in Oklahoma City, a rising top pick and much more.The Indiana Pacers somehow blew out Milwaukee Thursday, but the most important general trend lines are pointing up.

In a schedule loss to end all schedule losses, the Lakers - depleted by both LeBron James' injury absence and an extremely active NBA trade deadline - fell to Milwaukee on Thursday night, 115-106.L.A.did their best to keep up with Milwaukee, but in the second half, the Bucks' talent was too much to handle, as Giannis Antetokounpo went off with 38 points on the night and Jrue Holiday picked up steam in the second half to give Milwaukee their ninth win in a row and drop the Lakers to 25-31.

Game 6 isn't a must-win, but the Miami Heat would prefer to avoid a Game 7 scenario in New York if they can help it.So while this team isn't desperate to close out the Knicks on Friday at Kaseya Center, it could be a game in which they exhaust all of their options, including playing Jimmy Butler for the full 48 minutes.

Miami Heat center Bam Adebayo was named to the 2022-23 NBA All-Defensive second team, the league announced Tuesday.It marks Adebayo's fourth consecutive All-Defensive team selection.Adebayo, who finished fifth in Defensive Player of the Year voting this season, helped anchor a defense that ranked ninth in the league in defensive rating.

By record, the New York Knicks owned the Miami Heat this season, winning three of the four games.It only takes a little bit of drilling down, however, to realize this matchup is much closer.The final point differential for the regular-season series?Knicks by a measly six points.Two of the four games came down to a game-winning (Julius Randle's improbable 3-pointer in Miami) or potential game-winning basket (Tyler Herro's missed 3-pointer at Madison Square Garden).

SAN FRANCISCO -- Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry brought the ball over midcourt with Jevon Carter of the Milwaukee Bucks right in his face.Curry accelerated, and then quickly stopped at the top of the 3-point arc, making Carter skid a few feet away.Curry had just enough space to launch a three.

The Miami Heat are coming off two pretty good wins for them.Always looking to stack up victories, they just beat the Milwaukee Bucks in consecutive matchups Thursday and Saturday.And yes, though the Bucks didn't have Giannis Antetokounmpo or Khris Middleton going for them, you take the wins you can get them.

A Jalen Brunson masterpiece was overshadowed by another late meltdown by the Knicks as the Milwaukee Bucks came from 17 points down to defeat New York 111-107 on Monday night at Madison Square Garden.Brunson led the way for the Knicks with 44 points, seven rebounds and four assists in one of his best performances at any level of his basketball career.

The Wizards' Kristaps Porzingis blocks a shot by the Bucks' Jevon Carter in the first half Sunday in Milwaukee.(Aaron Gash/AP) MILWAUKEE - With his surging team moving closer to a spot in the Eastern Conference play-in tournament, Washington Wizards Coach Wes Unseld Jr. spoke over the past few days of the need to play with urgency, to make up for lost ground quickly.

In their New Year's Day game against the Milwaukee Bucks, the Washington Wizards popped off across the board.There wasn't a single aspect of the game that was not controlled by the Wizards throughout the entire 48 minutes of action.This win is their fifth straight victory and sixth win in their last seven games.

Giannis Antetokounmpo had 37 points, 13 rebounds, and seven assists, then Grayson Allen made the tiebreaking 3-pointer with 30 seconds left after his superstar teammate fouled out to lead the Milwaukee Bucks to a 109-103 victory over the New York Knicks on Wednesday night.Allen made only one 3-pointer - a game after going 7 for 7 behind the arc in the first half of a victory over Dallas.

Are the Toronto Raptors to the Milwaukee Bucks what the Detroit Pistons are to the Raptors?For several seasons, Milwaukee has fielded a better team than Toronto.During the championship year, the Bucks won three of four in the regular season and finished atop the East.But they lost four of six when it mattered.

They handed him cigars, gave him giant hugs and greeted him with smiles.Good luck walking the back hallways of Fiserv Forum looking for someone to say something bad about Lakers coach Darvin Ham because here, where he won a championship as an assistant on coach Mike Budenholzer's staff, he's beloved.

Coming off of a perfect homestand, the Knicks (3-1) take a three-game winning streak with them to Milwaukee to try and hand the 3-0 Bucks their first loss of the season on Friday night.New York was able to take a Western Conference favorite to overtime on opening night in Memphis and now will try to get an early marquee win against an Eastern Conference favorite.