#devin-booker

#devin-booker

Wednesday's ESPN doubleheader has snuck up on you again.There are two excellent games on the docket with the Dallas Mavericks (36-39) facing the Philadelphia 76ers (49-25), and then the NBA champion Minnesota Timberwolves (39-37) taking on the Phoenix Suns (40-35).These are four professional basketball teams and both games should be competitive late into their fourth quarters.

Gary Payton II's imminent return could turn the Warriors back into a defensive juggernaut just in time for the playoff push.Can one player change an entire defense?In Payton's case, yes.We all know what GP is capable of on the defensive end, Draymond Green said on his podcast last February.Can plug GP right in, and he knows the system like the back of his hand.

The NBA is nearly down to its elite eight of teams that will be competing for this year's championship, and every team still alive now has a somewhat realistic path to the Finals.The first round was eventful in both the predictable outcomes and a splash of upsets thought to be unrealistic at the end of the regular season, most notably the eighth-seeded Miami Heat knocking out the top-seeded Milwaukee Bucks in the Eastern Conference.

For the first time in almost two years, the Lakers finally beat the Suns in a basketball game.It was a span of 11 games that included the postseason, regular season and even the preseason.No matter the stakes, Phoenix bested the purple and gold at every turn until Wednesday's effort.The win was possible because for a handful of reasons from balanced scoring to a strong second half from Anthony Davis.

Last offseason, the Washington Wizards made Bradley Beal the 6th highest-paid player in the league with a contract value of over $43 million per year.The only five players with a larger annual salary are Steph Curry, Russell Westbrook, Lebron James, Kevin Durant, and John Wall.It is no coincidence that it was also the Washington Wizards that signed Wall to his contract, which was one of the worst contracts in the league for the last few years.

Payton Pritchard's recent decision to replace his current representation with Creative Arts Agency signals the point guard will most likely move on from the Boston Celtics during the upcoming offseason.Pritchard called it a 'business decision.'"At the end of the day, it's a business decision," he told MassLive's Souichi Terada.

Here are this week's national NBA survey results from SB Nation Reacts.Our Washington Wizards team survey results were released yesterday.A decisive majority think the NBA's single game record COULD be broken again

Forty-two percent of our national respondents believe that Wilt Chamberlin's single game scoring record will never be broken again.

The Miami Heat are coming off a good win against the Utah Jazz on Monday night.A high-scoring affair, it would come down to the very end, as both teams made the plays that needed to be made to win the game.However, the Miami Heat came out victorious and on the back of a team effort, with a few of their key guys making big plays such as, of course, Jimmy Butler, all the way to the returning Kyle Lowry, who is now playing off the bench.

James Harden averaged 36 points a few seasons ago.Devin Booker once scored 70 in one game.There are many more players doing much more scoring now than when LeBron James began his NBA career in 2003-04.Tracy McGrady led the league with 28 points per game that season, a mark that nine players would currently be surpassing.

LeBron James is all but assured to be a captain in the All-Star Game yet again this year after the penultimate voting returns show his commanding lead in the Western Conference.LeBron's 6.5 million votes are nearly 1.5 million more votes than second place Steph Curry and over 500,000 more than Giannis Antetokounmpo for the most in the league.

Four Wizards are left in the wake of the Pelicans' Jonas Valanciunas, who dunks for two of his 27 points during New Orleans's 132-112 win Monday night at Capital One Arena.(Katherine Frey/The Washington Post)Zion Williamson, dressed in street clothes with a diamond-encrusted hoop dangling from his ear, leaned back from his courtside seat and raised his eyebrows, impressed.

The initial returns on All-Star voting were released on Thursday morning by the NBA with multiple Lakers scattered around the top 10 in frontcourt and backcourt.Most notably, LeBron James was the leading vote-getter in the Western Conference and overall with Kevin Durant trailing behind him as the leader in the Eastern Conference.

The numbers on the scoreboard weren't predetermined, but they were definitely predictable.Even with Devin Booker out because of a groin injury, the imbalance between the Lakers and their division rival was always going to be severe.Chris Paul, Mikal Bridges and Deandre Ayton were in the Suns' beautiful purple throwback uniforms.

Jim McIsaac/Getty Images Kevin Durant's exit from Brooklyn was a lock from the second Kyrie Irving was sent to Dallas.That said, some around the NBA were surprised at the swiftness of the Nets' moves ahead of last week's trade deadline.NBA insider Marc Stein reported many around the league believed the Nets would wait until the summer to begin actively shopping Durant.

The YES Network cameras panned over to the Nets bench several times after Mikal Bridges hit a big shot against the Miami Heat and you could tell his new teammates were feeling the vibes he was putting out there.Bridges' signature celebration - one he borrowed from San Diego Padres' star Manny Machado - had quickly caught on as Nets players were seen smiling and flashing the "finger point."

When someone scores 71 points in an N.B.A. game, that's remarkable, of course.Scoring 71 points is hard.Doing it against professional defenders is harder still.But there have been so many high-scoring games in the league recently that Damian Lillard's 71-point performance in the Portland Trail Blazers' 131-114 victory over the Houston Rockets on Sunday night wasn't even the first of its kind this season.

For their first contest of the new year, the New York Knicks (19-18) will host the injury-depleted Phoenix Suns (20-17) in a Monday afternoon game.The Suns will be without Devin Booker and Cameron Johnson, while Cameron Payne and Landry Shamet are regarded as probable.Payne lit up the Knicks for 21 points, seven boards, and nine dimes in their last meeting, so here's hoping that his sore foot is not game-worthy just yet.

The Golden State Warriors have been the definition of sustained success and excellence over the last decade as they have, outside of a couple of injury-riddles years, consistently won or have contended for championships.But things may get a bit harder for the Warriors going forward as they may be on the verge of losing Bob Myers, the mastermind who is often credited for constructing the behemoth that is the Warriors.

SAN FRANCISCO -- Heading into Tuesday night's game, the Golden State Warriors were confident Stephen Curry's return would be just what they needed to build on the momentum they had established earlier on their homestand without him.They finally had their best player back.Their starting lineup -- the league's best five-man unit -- was whole for the first time since Dec. 3.

One of the league's most exciting players will finally get the chance to showcase his talents north of the border.Ja Morant is in his fourth season with 215 regular season games under his belt, but none of those were played in Toronto.There was no visit in his rookie year because that part of the 2020 schedule was regulated to the bubble.

The Toronto Raptors are struggling to get any sort of consistency in the win-loss column lately, as they can't seem to overcome their defensive flaws.The latest Raptors odds don't seem to think that a victory heading into the new year is on the horizon against a contender.Ja Morant has the Memphis Grizzlies operating at near peak efficiency once again, as this team has built such a deep, dynamic roster that even the best teams in the Western Conference are struggling to overcome their high-octane offense.

After lacerating his finger two minutes into Tuesday's loss against the Dallas Mavericks, RJ Barrett will now be sidelined for "a week or so"  as he waits for the injury to heal.The injury comes at a poor time for Barrett, who was playing some of his best basketball, and the Knicks, who are also dealing with Jalen Brunson's hip injury and Obi Toppin's fractured fibula.

Both Phoenix and Toronto could use some positive vibes to carry over into 2023.It's the last game of 2022 for both teams and the second leg of a back to back for the Raptors.Toronto has lost eight of its last 10 games while the Suns have dropped four of five and took five straight L's earlier this month.

The Miami Heat got a pretty decent road win on New Year's Eve.With four quarters of exciting basketball capped off by a huge Tyler Herro buzzer-beater to end the fourth and win the game for the Heat, it was definitely something to build on for the remainder of this Miami Heat road trip.Speaking of "building on" things though, the Miami Heat have been a relatively successful bunch over the last several seasons, only coming up short in situations where it seemed as if not enough of his teammates stepped up to give Jimmy Butler consistent help when it mattered the most.

Expectations shape reality, but for the Warriors, a new reality needs to shift their expectations.The Baby Dubs  namely Jordan Poole and Jonathan Kuminga  have thrived since the Warriors' Christmas Day win over the Grizzlies, the first game of the team's eight-game home stand.Following that win over Memphis with strong performances in the clutch against the Hornets, Jazz, and the Blazers have given the Warriors their first four-game winning streak this season.

That was easy.With Jalen Brunson making his return to the lineup, the Knicks steamrolled the Suns on Monday afternoon, 102-83, getting another monster performance from Julius Randle.Randle, who is surging into the All-Star conversation after a fantastic December, heard MVP chants as he dropped 28 points with 16 rebounds.

8:00 AM ET



Brian WindhorstESPN Senior Writer

Close
     ESPN.comNBA writer since 2010
     Covered Cleveland Cavs for seven years
     Author of two books




When Devin Booker and his Phoenix Suns teammates were gripped by adversities at times in recent months, he found himself thinking about long road trips during the 2017-18 season.