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Every now and again, for fun, we ask regular guest David Thorpe a Seinfeld trivia question. Grantland writer Zach Lowe has straight up talked trash about the level of difficulty. So we invited him on for our first-ever all-Seinfeld episode.

He's the Indiana University professor who got young Mark Cuban interested in advanced analytics, a pioneer of adjusted plus/minus, and a man who says some coaching moves in these playoffs have been flat wrong.

• Mike Wells of The Indianapolis Star: So you think Indiana Pacers coach Frank Vogel had a difficult time getting over taking Roy Hibbert out in the third quarter of Game 2 against the New York Knicks in the Eastern Conference semifinals? What he did in Game 1 — with Hibbert again — against the Miami Heat should have caused him to toss and turn in his hotel bed, pace the floor in his room and look at himself in the mirror most of the night. Vogel put Hibbert on the bench in the final seconds of overtime. But wait, it gets better. The coach did it twice. And both times the Heat, well LeBron James, scored. The last one cost the Pacers the opportunity to take the first game of the Eastern Conference finals.
• Bob Kravitz of The Indianapolis Star: This was the game the Pacers had to have, nearly had, should have had. They controlled the tempo. They held the edge on the boards. They turned Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals against the Miami Heat into an MMA muscle-fest, replete with bloody noses, harsh words, knees to the nether regions and flying elbows ... And still lost. They had it where they wanted it, how they wanted it, slow and methodical and punishing. They limited Dwyane Wade, kept Chris Bosh under control, led by a point with 2.2 seconds remaining in overtime ... And still lost. Miami 103, Indiana 102. In overtime. On a LeBron James drive and layup at the buzzer. This one hurts. “This one really hurts,” Paul George said later. Because it was right there. Because the Pacers let it get away, and they let it get away in part because of a curious coaching move, one that was more curious than Vogel’s ill-considered timeout in the Knicks series. … After the game, Vogel looked shell-shocked. “We’ve got to play better,” he said. “... You have to play a near-perfect game to beat this team. We played a very good basketball game, but we have to play better.” They need to coach better, too.
• Dave Hyde of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel: This is how this night went: Punch. Counter-punch. Heat take a small, second-half lead. Indiana battles right back. Indiana goes ahead. The Heat fight their way back. One lesson learned is if you give Indiana any room, any room at all, you will pay. Ray Allen, the Heat's best foul shooter, stood at the line with just over 17 seconds left in regulation and a chance to seal the game. In the previous seconds, Wade ran down the lane to break the tie and Indiana's George threw the ball out of bounds. So here was Allen, ready to seal the game. He put up the first free throw and … Missed? He missed. … Remember, Wednesday night was supposed to be the start, the actual start, of the Heat's playoff push, too. Their first-round opponent, Milwaukee, was the weakest team in the field. Last round, Chicago could barely field a team it was so hurt. Indiana has enough pieces to be dangerous, if allowed. But if the Heat are who most of us think they are — "We're a great team," LeBron said a few days ago — then Indiana can provide some tense nights without a dramatic series. All you know is the Heat won an unwinnable game this first meeting. LeBron took the ball to the basket and a night that would have sat ugly for the Heat has them up 1-0. On to Game 2 we go.
• Dan McCarney of the San Antonio Express-News: Tony Parker’s three-day layoff between Games 2 and 3 of the Western Conference finals will include a precautionary MRI on Thursday to track the progress of his bruised left calf. Parker was initially injured 12 days ago in Game 3 of the conference semifinal series against Golden State, resulting in what he described as “by far” the biggest bruise he’s ever had. “The calf is doing better,” he said. “Doing the MRI…just to make sure. It definitely limited me in the limit me in the last (three) games against Golden State and those two games (against Memphis). “But slowly and surely I’m turning the corner. Those three days arrive at a perfect time for me, so I’m definitely going to use them wisely. I’ll be ready to go on Saturday.” Parker is averaging 18 points in five games since the injury, alternating two strong shooting performances (9 for 16 and 9 for 14) around three poor ones (6 for 17, 3 for 16, 6 for 20).
• Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News: An ESPN report said Howard devoted part of a separate meeting with Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak following his formal exit interview three weeks ago to lament how Lakers coach Mike D'Antoni made him feel "marginalized." Kupchak said that didn't happen. "Criticism of a coach did not come up," Kupchak said Wednesday in a phone interview. "Our coach did not come up." … Kupchak won't have clarity on Howard's future anytime soon. A source familiar with Howard's thinking says he plans to test free agency and has considered the Lakers, Dallas, Houston, Atlanta and Golden State. Nothing remains binding, though. The source added Howard's main concern involves "what team he feels has the best chance to win championships, has the best team and system around him." The source also stressed Howard has not and will not ask the Lakers to make any moves on his behalf. Kupchak acknowledged the team has made unspecified contingency plans in case Howard leaves. Either way, Howard can't officially re-sign until July 10 when a moratorium on NBA business is lifted.
• Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times: The Clippers have begun their search for a new coach to replace Vinny Del Negro, with the hope that they can find someone who is capable of molding the team into a championship contender. But it will not be an easy task to find someone of that stature. Currently, there are only four active NBA coaches who have won an NBA championship — San Antonio's Gregg Popovich, Boston's Doc Rivers, Dallas' Rick Carlisle and Miami's Eric Spoelstra. Not only that, but only nine coaches have won an NBA championship dating back to 1987. Of course, Phil Jackson has 11 of those NBA rings, Popovich four and Pat Riley three during that span. That's how difficult it is to win an NBA championship. It will be up to the Clippers' front office to compile a list of potential coaching candidates, vet them, narrow the list down and then give the names to owner Donald Sterling.
• Bob Finnan of The News-Herald: Nerlens Noel is ranked No. 1 on most teams' draft boards. He's 6-foot-11 3/4, 206 pounds and is long. He has a 7-3 3/4 wingspan and a 9-2 standing reach. One can see why he led the NCAA in blocked shots at 4.4 per game. The Cavs were the only team in the NBA last year that didn't have a player average at least 1.0 block per game. Center Tyler Zeller was the team leader at 0.91 per game. Noel could be added to Anderson Varejao and Tristan Thompson to form a decent group of post defenders. Noel wouldn't be a starter, at least early on, but could be an energy player off the bench. There are drawbacks. First of all, he tore his ACL on Feb. 12. He said he's been told he could return to the court in December, but even that could be pushing it. … His weight of 206 pounds is slight for a shooting guard, much less a post player. Twenty-five pounds would need to be added once he comes to the NBA. Can he hold his spot on defense? Not at 206 pounds. Offensively, there's not much there. He can dunk and run the floor. Teams view him as a blank slate. Many believe he can be taught to shoot and score around the basket. For what it's worth, Gilbert and Grant both say the Cavs are not leaning toward anyone with the No. 1 pick.
• Eddie Sefko of The Dallas Morning News: Because of their clear intentions of making a huge run at Dwight Howard, the Mavericks will have to consider all options when it comes to assets on their roster. That includes the possibility of trading their draft pick to save the roughly $1.7 million that the pick counts against the salary cap. Doesn’t mean they will trade it. But they have to clear a few more million to make sure that they can offer Howard the maximum contract allowed under the collective bargaining agreement. It would be painful to give up the pick, but there’s a way the Mavericks could do it with a minimal amount of hurt. They owe the Oklahoma City Thunder a first-round pick before 2018. That pick is protected through the first 20 picks of the draft. But if the Mavericks don’t convey it by 2017, the Thunder gets the pick no matter when it is in the 2018 draft. The Mavericks are drafting 13th this year, which means it won’t go to OKC. But what if they went to the Thunder and said, we’ll give you that pick to complete the roundabout set of trades that ended up giving Oklahoma City the Mavericks’ pick (it went through the Lakers and Rockets). The Mavericks could get back a future second rounder and maybe a spare part off the OKC roster like the expiring contract of Ronnie Brewer. What comes back in return isn’t important. The key is the Mavericks would have satisfied that trade requirement by shipping the pick to OKC, wouldn’t be taking back any salary for this season and therefore would clear a nice hunk of cash to apply toward Howard’s salary.
• Darnell Mayberry of The Oklahoman: And on a warm Wednesday afternoon, the second day of rebuilding, the people within this Westmoore subdivision of Moore welcomed a much-needed symbol of hope. Oklahoma City Thunder star Kevin Durant. One day after donating his money, Durant traveled back to Oklahoma to give his time. He did anything and everything he could to bring a smile to as many faces as possible. He shook hands and gave hugs. He posed for pictures and signed autographs. Not once did Durant turn down a request, graciously scribbling his signature on anything he was handed. A pair of shoes. A hat. A Thunder mug. A team program. “I just feel for these families, man,” Durant said. “They don't have a home. All their things are gone. I'm just lost for words, to be honest.” … After giving $1 million to relief efforts, Durant, in that moment, turned and walked away as if he wanted to give $1 million more. His generosity, however, had served its purpose. “What he immediately said to everyone around him is ‘We got to do something,'” said Emmanuel Bailey, president of the Kevin Durant Family Foundation. “And so he, on his own, decided that he wanted to give $1 million. And, really, that was designed to motivate others to give. I think we're up to about $7.5 million now as a result of Mr. Durant's gift.” Durant said giving his time was a direct reflection of how the Thunder is a part of the community.
• Frank Isola of the New York Daily News: Amar'e Stoudemire’s agent said the veteran forward is unhappy with the way the season ended for him and the Knicks, but that Stoudemire believes he’ll play a bigger role next year. “You know Amar’e, he’s going to work as hard as he can during the offseason,” said Happy Walters, Stoudemire’s agent. “It was a tough year, but Amar’e is already looking forward to next season. He’ll be ready.” Woodson would not commit to making Stoudemire a starter next season. Carmelo Anthony’s best position is power forward and he finished third in the MVP race playing Stoudemire’s natural position. The Knicks shopped Stoudemire last summer and will likely try to do it again. But with two years remaining on his contract, Stoudemire may be the toughest Knick to trade.
• Marc Berman of the New York Post: The Knicks’ 1-2 scoring tandem was truly hurting in the ill-fated Pacers series. Not only did Carmelo Anthony play with what an MRI exam Wednesday revealed was a partial tear in his left shoulder, but The Post has learned J.R. Smith’s nightmarish playoff performance was partly because of a swollen left knee that contained fluid buildup. According to a league source, Smith likely will have his knee drained of the fluid in the next two weeks — the same procedure Anthony underwent in March. So Smith’s struggles weren’t only about his sharp elbow in the Celtics series, alleged hangover and viral infection. Meanwhile, Anthony’s MRI exam showed he had played in the playoffs with a small, partial tear in his shoulder, but the Knicks don’t expect him to need surgery, according to a league source. Anthony has been prescribed rest and physical therapy for a month to allow the shoulder to heal. Had the shoulder sustained a full labrum tear, surgery would have been required. Now it’s unlikely.
• Bill Oram of The Salt Lake Tribune: Enes Kanter's recovery from April shoulder surgery is ahead of schedule, his agent said Wednesday, but the Utah Jazz center may not be cleared to play until August. That means Kanter will not participate in the Orlando Summer League July 7 through 12, although Kanter's agent, Max Ergul, said it was unlikely the Turkish big man would have played that week even if healthy. The second-year center underwent surgery on April 10 to repair a tear resulting from a dislocated left shoulder suffered against Phoenix two weeks earlier. Kanter, who turned 21 on Monday, is in his native Turkey this week visiting family, Ergul said.
• Michael Lee of The Washington Post: The Wizards initially stated that he would be out for at least six weeks, but Beal is anxious to have another update in the next week or two, so that he can get back to doing what he loves most. He had his last X-ray almost a month ago, “so I’m probably due for a checkup real soon. I feel no pain, but the [stress reaction] is still there.” “It’s always frustration,” Beal said of being out. “But at the same time, I have to stay positive, make sure I’m doing what I’m supposed to do. Making sure I’m able to take care of myself and just stay on top of it. Basically just being patient and when I get out there, I’ll get out there.” Beal has been spending his time mostly in St. Louis, relaxing and hanging out with family and friends. He stays fit by lifting with a personal trainer, riding a bike and swimming, and continues to maintain his shooting form by tossing up standstill free throws. “I’ll be hard-headed and shoot threes, but I still don’t jump,” Beal said. “Either my mom’s school or my school. I pretty much have access to any gym in St. Louis. They welcome me with open arms.”
• Gary Dzen of The Boston Globe: James Pallotta, president of the soccer team AS Roma and a minority owner of the Celtics, presented a Celtics jersey to Pope Francis at the Vatican Wednesday. Pallotta was there to represent Roma in the Coppa Italia, a match pitting the team against city rival Lazio. The Pope was given Roma gear but also a Celtics jersey with the No. 1 and "The Pope" written on the back. Can banner No. 18 be far behind?
• Vincent Goodwill of The Detroit News: It doesn't appear the Pistons will wait on the Eastern Conference finals to finish to formally interview anyone else, although talking to candidates by phone shouldn't be ruled out. "That's not all we've talked to, those are the names you've gotten," said Dumars, before adding, "We've talked to a lot of people. I'm waiting on you to get the names out there." One intriguing name where there could've been mutual interest was current Hawks coach Larry Drew, with "current" being a day-to-day term, considering he's a coach in name only. The Pistons were impressed with how Drew took a team with nine expiring contracts to the playoffs, factoring in guard Lou Williams' season-ending injury and Josh Smith's impending free agency not affecting how the team performed. Drew's contract expires at the end of June, but Hawks management hasn't approached him about an extension and is talking to other teams. Drew doesn't have the luxury of reaching out to the Pistons and they would need permission from the Hawks to interview him, a different proposition than interviewing a team's assistant coach.
• Ryan Lillis and Tony Bizjak of The Sacramento Bee: Thousands of Kings fans - plus a few former team legends and the core of the franchise's new ownership group - are expected to converge on downtown's Cesar Chavez Plaza Thursday afternoon for a rally celebrating the team's future in Sacramento. The rally will build off a big week for Kings fans. Team officials said Wednesday that their sales staff sold more season tickets on Tuesday than on any other day in Sacramento team history, other than day one, nearly 30 years ago. … The Kings also announced that seven members of the new ownership group - including managing partner Vivek Ranadive - are scheduled to attend the free Long Live the Kings Rally, which runs from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. Ranadive will be joined at the rally by partners Paul Jacobs, Raj Bhathal, Mark Mastrov, Mark Friedman, Andrew Miller and Chris Kelly. Kings legends Mitch Richmond and Chris Webber will attend, along with current Kings Tyreke Evans and Isaiah Thomas. Former players Scot Pollard and Bobby Jackson are also slated to be there.

What can’t LeBron James do?

Score 30 points? Check.

Triple-double? No problem.

Game winner at the buzzer? Sure.

LeBron is the first player in NBA postseason history with a triple-double and a buzzer-beater game winner in the same game.

Magic never did it. Jordan never did it. Bird never did it. Not even Oscar or Wilt. Only LeBron.

Not too long ago, the discussion was about how LeBron wasn’t clutch. That no longer seems to be a discussion.

Since LeBron came into the league in 2003-04, nobody in the NBA has made more game-tying and go-ahead shots in the final 24 seconds of playoff games than LeBron, who is 7-of-16 on those shots. His 43.8 field goal percentage on those clutch shots ranks the best in the NBA since his rookie season among players with at least 10 attempts. The league average is 28.3 percent on those shots.

Along with his buzzer-beater layup to defeat the Pacers in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals, LeBron also made a go-ahead layup with just under 11 seconds remaining in overtime.

The buzzer-beater was LeBron’s first game winner in the final 10 seconds of a playoff game since his buzzer-beater against the Magic in Game 2 of the 2009 Eastern Conference finals.

Coincidentally, that shot came exactly four years ago to the day -– May 22, 2009.

The last time any NBA player made a buzzer-beater to win a playoff game was Paul Pierce for the Celtics in 2010 against the Heat.

LeBron and Ralph Sampson are the only players in NBA history with at least 30 points, 10 rebounds, 10 assists and three blocks in a playoff game, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.

Sampson did it in 1986 for the Rockets against the Nuggets. Blocks became an official statistic in 1973-74.

Since the 2006 postseason, a player has had a playoff triple-double with at least 30 points four times. All four of those players are named LeBron James.

The last player other than LeBron to accomplish that feat was Steve Nash, for the Suns in 2005 against the Mavericks.

LeBron and Oscar Robertson are the only players in NBA history with at least 30 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists in a playoff game four times, according to Elias. LeBron has done it four times, while Robertson has done it eight times.

LeBron now has nine career postseason triple-doubles, which ties him with Wilt Chamberlain for fifth on the all-time list, according to Elias. Only Magic Johnson (30), Jason Kidd (11), Rajon Rondo (10) and Larry Bird (10) have more.

No, the Grizzlies didn't figure the Spurs out late in Game 2. The Spurs just made a series of mistakes they're unlikely to repeat. Ethan Sherwood Strauss and Graydon Gordian break it down.

Experience advantage rests with the Heat
Players on the Miami Heat roster have combined for 194 games of Conference Finals experience.

The Indiana Pacers roster features one game of Conference Finals experience -- Ian Mahinmi played one minute for the Dallas Mavericks in 2011.

Best offense vs best defense
During the regular season, the Heat had the best offensive efficiency and the Pacers had the best defensive efficiency. This is the first playoff meeting between the most efficient regular-season offense and defense since the San Antonio Spurs and Phoenix Suns met in the 2005 Western Conference Finals. The Spurs, the team with the most efficient defense, won in five games.

The Heat ranked second in transition points per play and first in isolation points per play, but the Pacers ranked second in transition points per play allowed and fourth in isolation points per play allowed.

Inside the Heat’s struggles
The Heat were 1-2 against the Pacers during the regular season and really struggled to score.

Miami averaged 90.3 points per game against the Pacers, its lowest scoring average against any opponent. The Heat were unable to score effectively in the paint and in transition, two things they excelled at all season.

Miami struggled to get easy baskets, averaging 30.7 paint points per game against Indiana, its fewest against any opponent.

That's no surprise -- Indiana allowed the fewest paint points per game (35.5) and the lowest paint field goal percentage (48.1) in the league and was the only team to hold opponents under 50 percent shooting in the paint.

LeBron vs the Pacers
LeBron James played 121 minutes against the Pacers in the regular season and Paul George was on the court for 116 of them.

James averaged 21.0 points per 40 minutes with George on the court in those three games, down from his regular season average of 28.3 points per 40 minutes.

The Pacers also did a nice job keeping James away from the basket -- only 12 of his 46 shots came within five feet of the basket with George on the court.

During the regular season, James took 41 percent of his shots from that close.

James actually shot the ball well when specifically guarded by George (16-for-27), but getting his shot was a challenge. George forced James into 11 turnovers.

James averaged 21.0 points per game in three games against the Pacers, his fewest against any Eastern Conference opponent.

The Pacers were the only team that James averaged fewer than 10 paint points per game against during the regular season.

The Transition Game
The Heat shot 60.5 percent in transition this season, second in the NBA, but averaged only 9.3 transition plays per game against the Pacers (14.5 plays per game against all other teams).

The Pacers shot 63 percent in transition in the three regular-season meetings and outscored Miami 32-25.

The Heat have been dominant in transition during the playoffs, averaging 15.6 transition points per game, the most of any team remaining in the postseason.

Pacers could slow it down
No team played a slower pace against the Heat than the Pacers did this season (87.3 possessions per game). Indiana had the second-highest rebound percentage of any team against the Heat this season (58 percent), outrebounding them in all three meetings.

The Pacers played a slower pace, rebounded better and scored more efficiently against the Heat than they did against all other teams this season.

Once in a while a measurement can change everything.

For instance, if you were born since the middle of the last century, the beginning of your life was changed by a metric. he most essential and timeless human act (or, at least one of them) changed globally and instantly in the middle of the last century when a doctor named Virginia Apgar thought to score newborns on their health, as described by Atul Gawande in The New Yorker:

The Apgar score, as it became known universally, allowed nurses to rate the condition of babies at birth on a scale from zero to ten. An infant got two points if it was pink all over, two for crying, two for taking good, vigorous breaths, two for moving all four limbs, and two if its heart rate was over a hundred. Ten points meant a child born in perfect condition. Four points or less meant a blue, limp baby.

The score was published in 1953, and it transformed child delivery. It turned an intangible and impressionistic clinical concept—the condition of a newly born baby—into a number that people could collect and compare. Using it required observation and documentation of the true condition of every baby. Moreover, even if only because doctors are competitive, it drove them to want to produce better scores—and therefore better outcomes—for the newborns they delivered.

I think hoops is due for an Apgar moment.

We have lots of new measures, and they are changing the game bit by bit. PER has liberated us from a lot of dumb conversations about which boxscore stats matter more. Plus/minus, in its various forms, has started to shed light on the value of individual defense and 100 other tough-to-measure things.

But the real basic thing, the way that a measurement could change every NBA game for the better, every night, is to measure this one thing: Was that shooter open?

That's the thing I want to know.

Introduce that to the equation, and all of a sudden things get very interesting:

• It'll quickly become obvious that who's open matters more than making sure the most famous players shoot. Covered guys usually miss. Open guys usually hit.
• It'll help separate the very few players who are at all efficient when covered from chuckers.
• Like doctors competed with each other to have good Apgar scores, so will coaches compete to have teams with good open shot percentages -- after all, this is the measure of an offensive tactician. That's the antidote to Scott Brooks and Mike Woodson essentially saying "get it to the star" all through losing playoff series.
• I'm dying to know this about point guards: How likely are their teammates to get open looks?

There are some challenges. What is and is not open is open to debate. And the data is tricky to collect for other reasons too.

But the fact is that it's already tracked in various ways. Many teams dig into such things with their internal numbers. SportVu dabbles in it, as do other startups peddling data packages to teams. It's kind of knowable. What we need, though, is for it to be part of the boxscore, part of the daily dialogue, part of how every game is judged and discussed from the bar stool to talk radio.

Then we'll get quick and instant pressure on every team to play better, more effective basketball.

 

• Dan McCarney of the San Antonio Express-News: As well as the Spurs played in Game 1, a letdown was almost inevitable. It didn’t happen until the fourth quarter, but happen it did with a 15-2 Memphis run — fueled by Manu Ginobili’s flagrant foul on Tony Allen (see below) — that forced overtime. The collapse prevented them from crushing the Grizzlies’ morale, but the fact remains: They lead the series 2-0, a point at which teams have won best-of-7 series 94 percent of the time, and the Spurs are 19-2. … So how to grade Tony Parker? From the standpoint of shooting, he suffered through a nightmare similar to the one that wakes Kevin Durant and Dwyane Wade in cold sweats in that Gatorade commercial: 6 for 20, including misses on his last five attempts. He was otherwise sublime, dishing out a playoff career-high 18 assists against just two turnovers. He was especially good in the third quarter, scoring or assisting on 24 of the team’s 30 points. … It was a generally quiet performance from Tim Duncan, who struggled with foul trouble late in regulation. He still amassed nine rebounds, three assists, four blocks, two steals and 17 points, including the first three baskets of overtime to carry the Spurs home — a driving layup, a putback and a Parker-esque floater that bounced high off the rim and in, , Don Nelson in the 1969 Finals style, for a 91-87 lead.
• Chris Herrington of the Memphis Flyer: The Grizzlies saved Saturday. Wait, I’ve used that lead before? Through two games, this series feels an awful lot like the first-round series against the Clippers: A discouraging 20-plus-point loss in Game 1 followed by a disappointing but ultimately encouraging close loss in Game 2. In that series, the Grizzlies then won four straight. That’s very unlikely here, but the Grizzlies seem to have regained some confidence and made some adjustments and certainly can return home with more hope than seemed possible at halftime of this one. … They couldn’t pull it out, but the Grizzlies really got into the Spurs for the first time in that fourth quarter, giving home fans a reason to believe that the growth pattern the team followed in the first and second rounds may yet be viable.
• Ethan J. Skolnick of the Palm Beach Post: LeBron James speaks of restraint as if it were a skill he has needed to perfect, little different from his passing, perimeter shooting or post moves. “It took a while, honestly,” James said. “I just think it’s a maturity, leadership. I can’t afford to get out of my game and get unfocused if the play out on the court becomes more than basketball.” That’s because he recognizes his importance. “I have to continue to know what’s the task at hand,” James said. “It’s difficult at times, for sure. There’s times where I want to retaliate, but, you know, I can’t. I just stay the course, and just play the game. I’m here to just play basketball and that’s it.” That’s what he will attempt to do in this series, whatever the Pacers’ intentions or distractions. Last spring, Danny Granger, not known as an enforcer, oddly embraced the role of agitator, repeatedly confronting James and Dwyane Wade following fouls, earning technicals for his antics. James called the ploy “stupid,” adding that “whatever he’s trying, it’s not working.” Granger won’t be working in this series, sidelined after knee surgery. Still, others, notably Tyler Hansbrough and Lance Stephenson, figure to try James’ patience. He must respond as he did in the just-completed series against Chicago, after Nazr Mohammed shoved him or Nate Robinson hit his chin with a hand in transition. … Chris Bosh spoke of being a skinny kid in Texas and accepting the reality that lesser players would try to rough him up, that “if they can’t hold you, they want to make it about everything but basketball. You just continue to play basketball.” Opponents still try to bounce Bosh around. But someone else gets more of opponents’ attention. “I’m not the best player on the floor every night,” Bosh said. “I know that. He is.” He, as in James. The best player, who again must show he has the toughest skin.
• Bob Kravitz of The Indianapolis Star: This does not qualify as any great insight heading into Game 1, but here it is anyway: Hibbert is absolutely central to the Pacers’ chances against the mighty Miami Heat. If he’s as big against the Heat as he was against the Knicks, both defensively and offensively, the Pacers have a chance to scare the life out of Miami. The key is doing what he has done in these playoffs, and that’s to be a defensive force without fouling. Once upon a time, Hibbert was a walking foul. Over the years, he has painstakingly learned how to go straight up and, in the process, he has gained the respect of officials, who now seem to be giving him the benefit of the doubt. That goes for all the Pacers, who were 29th in the league last season in fouls and have improved to 14th. Foul trouble killed them in the last year’s Miami series. Along with the bench. “I think he’s the best in the league in terms of going up with verticality,” Vogel said. “I think he’s been that way the last two, three years.”
• Terry Pluto of The Plain Dealer: Yes, the Cavs grabbed the No. 1 pick in the NBA lottery, but it's a lousy draft. OK, it is a lousy draft ... so would you rather have the No. 6 pick in a bad draft? That was the worst the Cavs could have finished in this lottery. Nope, if you're a fan, you should be thrilled that your team has the top pick. Maybe they will end up taking Nerlens Noel, the 6-11 shot-blocking machine from Kentucky. Noel also is a thin 206 pounds, coming off knee surgery that may keep him out of action until Christmas. … The player best suited in terms of need is Georgetown small forward Otto Porter. He's projected as a top three pick. Is there a way the Cavs can trade with No. 2 Orlando, and still grab Porter while adding a future first rounder? You can be sure that will be discussed. Or perhaps the Cavs will think big. Real big. Huge as in the No. 1 pick and a player on the roster for a veteran forward who can score. They have the salary cap room to make that kind of move. At this point, I'm not sure what the Cavs should do. There is a certain appeal to Noel because he won't be 20 until next April. He can gain weight and strength and may keep growing. New coach Mike Brown wants defense, and Noel can deliver that because of his shot-blocking and leaping ability. But I'm positive the Cavs also are thinking trade. They have long liked Minnesota's Kevin Love. Golden State may have David Lee available, although his defense is "challenged," to be nice about it. Nonetheless, he can score. Even in a supposed bad draft, there are good players available. Remember, the Cavs also have the 19th, 31st and 33rd picks.
• Mike Bianchi of the Orlando Sentinel: Here's all you need to know about the quality of this year's draft: The No.1 pick might well be Nerlens Noel, the Kentucky center recovering from a torn ACL who might not even be healthy enough to play next season. For all of you Christmas carolers scoring at home, Nerlens would indeed be the Magic's first Noel, but he is far from a messiah. Who knows, he could be the franchise's next Dwight Howard -- or he could be the franchise's next Grant Hill. Is this really a chance you want to take with an early first pick in the draft? The Magic's young GM Rob Hennigan doesn't seem like the type to roll the dice with the team's future. If he were, he would have traded Dwight for Andrew Bynum and the Magic would be stuck with Bynum, who sat out this entire season with bum knees. … The upcoming draft will be just another way for Hennigan to add another young building block to a team that will most likely be right back here at the draft lottery next year. The fact is, there are no surefire saviors coming in this draft to rescue the Magic from another lackluster season. Unlike the past – when the Magic truly were built on lucky charms and pixie dust -- this overhaul is going to be slower and more methodical. Maybe it's a good sign that the Magic didn't win the draft lottery Tuesday night. Hennigan, after all, doesn't seem like the type who believes championships are built on a wing, a prayer and a bouncing pingpong ball.
• Mike Wise of The Washington Post: The worst thing the Washington Wizards could do at this moment is give in to public sentiment and view their unexpected surprise of a No. 3 pick in the NBA draft lottery as a nameplate above a cubicle in their locker room next season. The Wizards got lucky, moved up five picks from where they were projected to choose in the draft, and drew the third selection Tuesday night for the second year in a row. Their good fortune could allow them to keep a local college or high school kid close to home. But they should resist the temptation. … They have next season. Postseason or bust. That’s it. And as much as I think Porter could be an all-star within three years and Oladipo could be sixth man of the year off the Wizards’ bench in 2015, I’m not sure either one makes their mark next season. And if Ernie Grunfeld can secure an established veteran now for that pick, someone who could even help take this franchise to the second round for the first time since 2005, he’s got to take that chance.
• Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer: You can change the name, but apparently you can’t change the Charlotte Bobcats’ lottery luck.Roughly three hours after the Bobcats announced their intent to switch to “Charlotte Hornets,” the team got bad news in the draft lottery. They will pick fourth on June 27 after finishing last season with the NBA’s second-worst record at 21-61. This is the second year the Bobcats slipped in the lottery after a bad season. In 2012 they went 7-59 – worst record in NBA history – but drafted second behind the New Orleans (no longer) Hornets. … Bobcats executives Rod Higgins and Rich Cho met with the media following the lottery selection. They didn’t offer much detail on players available, except to say they’d likely work out at least six or seven for the fourth spot. The Bobcats have no second-round pick this draft. General manager Cho said the Bobcats’ current roster shouldn’t be relevant to who they select. “Ideally you take the best player available – my philosophy has always been you draft for talent, trade for need,” Cho said. Cho mentioned size, rebounding and shooting as the areas that need the most improvement.
• Paul Coro of The Arizona Republic: No. 5 is a thrill for new Suns General Manager Ryan McDonough, whose draft work in the Boston front office has not for a pick higher than No. 19 in the past eight drafts. “The guy who goes there might not be much different, or any different, than guys who go in the top three,” McDonough said. This will be the highest the Suns have drafted since 1987, when they took Armen Gilliam with the No. 2 pick after David Robinson had gone first. Like then, the Suns are in dire need of a young talent infusion. “I think generally we need to get more athletic,” McDonough said. “I think we need more shooting. My philosophy is always to draft the best available player. There are some good pieces in place here. But at the same time, we won 25 games here, so we need to get better across the board.”
• John Reid of The Times-Picayune: Pelicans General Manager Dell Demps hasn't ruled out the possibility the Pelicans could trade the pick in attempt to obtain more veterans. ``You never know,'' Demps said. ``There are trades, there's other opportunities that may present themselves. We're going to look at every angle to give ourselves the best possible chance to make our team better.'' The Pelicans interviewed 15 prospects during last week's NBA draft combine in Chicago, according to league sources. The Pelicans could be looking to improve the small forward spot with Al-Farouq Aminu becoming a free agent this summer. Aminu struggled to be a consistent scorer but improved as a rebounder. Williams said after Tuesday's lottery that any prospect the Pelicans select at No. 6 is capable of providing immediate help to improve their team. "Obviously, the higher that pick is, the better,'' Williams said.
• Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee: Last season, five of the top prospects refused to work out for the Kings. New ownership and stability might cause more players to be willing to embrace being a King. Regardless of who the selection is or who makes the final decision, the new ownership group could overhaul the roster, coaching staff and front office. The Kings also own the sixth pick in the second round, 36th overall. Players who could be available at No. 7 include point guards Trey Burke and Michael Carter-Williams and small forward Shabazz Muhammad. After projected top pick Nerlens Noel, Alex Len is viewed as the second-best center. Petrie noted that the draft has its limitations. "The idea that – except in certain cases that the draft is the stairway to success – except when you get that exceptional guy, (the draft) isn't necessarily the most important thing," he said.
• David Mayo of MLive.com: Joe Dumars said he still has no timetable for hiring a new Detroit Pistonshead coach but insisted the search would not extend into the opening of NBA free agency July 1. Dumars made his first public remarks on the coaching search in a conference call with local media Tuesday night, from New York, where the Pistons gotbumped down one spot in the NBA Draft Lottery and will pick No. 8 overall. The Pistons president of basketball operations did not dismiss any of the names reported to have interviewed for the vacancy created by Lawrence Frank's firing but seemed to delight in noting some interviews have escaped public scrutiny. "We've talked to a lot of people," Dumars said. "I'm waiting on you guys to get the names out there but you haven't gotten them out yet." Those known or reported to have interviewed with the Pistons include Mike Budenholzer, J.B. Bickerstaff, Lindsey Hunter, Maurice Cheeks, Nate McMillan and Darrell Walker.
• Tom Powers of the Pioneer Press: Congratulations to Kevin Love, who helped the Timberwolves hold onto their No. 9 position AND didn't get hurt at the NBA lottery. The Wolves now sport a lottery record of 0-7-8. They've never moved up, have drafted right where they should based on their record seven times and have tumbled backward eight times. Love, who on Tuesday represented the franchise at the event, brought enough good karma to allow the Wolves to hold serve at No. 9, which is just where they should be. Yippee. The lottery was created to prevent teams from tanking in order to improve their position in the draft, but it's a flawed system because it penalizes teams that consistently lose without subterfuge. For example, the Timberwolves always have been naturally good at losing basketball games. And for years, we all knew what to expect at the lottery: If there were, say, two impact players coming out of college, the Wolves would end up with the third pick. If there were four impact players, they'd draft fifth. It got to the point where the goal was just to survive the lottery.
• John Canzano of The Oregonian: Good organizations have a congruency of vision, and overcome mistakes. Bad organizations are disjointed, refuse to be accountable and are quick to accept failure as being unlucky. And if the Blazers want to distance themselves from the Kings, Raptors, Pelicans, Wizards and Bobcats/Hornets of the NBA world, the only way to do so is to make a solid series of wise decisions. The selection of Lillard -- No. 6 overall last June -- was a good start. But it can't end there. The burst of confidence Allen has demonstrated this season in allowing Olshey to work some is encouraging, but it must continue. Changing general managers six times in the decade has more to do with the lottery streak than coaching, bad knees or sad-story luck. And it's why Tuesday, a day this city may have wished for the No. 1 pick, instead ended with the sobering reality that a single player in this draft won't turn a flawed franchise into a champion. A change of vision will, though.

It’s a weird kind of party, the NBA draft lottery.

The 2013 version began on the Good Morning America’s repurposed Times Square set (complete with test kitchen) with an NBA staffer welcoming everyone by saying: “For those of you who are new to this, my condolences.”

Then they confiscated our cell phones.

Woohoo!

We were in the secret inner sanctum with the high ceilings, exquisite air conditioning and fake wood paneling. A collection of team representatives and a few others were gathered to witness the drawing of the pingpong balls that would decide who among the NBA’s worst teams got the first few picks of June’s NBA draft. The results would be determined here, but publicly revealed an hour or so later on national TV.

In the interim, we were not free to leave, even for the bathroom, lest we ruin the fun.

Just upstairs, in a different TV studio, the picks are revealed with the celebratory air of a Powerball drawing. But even that room is anxiety-ridden. Sitting in nervous silence is the essential task of the NBA draft lottery. The vibe’s beyond tense.

Once deputy commissioner Adam Silver had revealed the picks, however, at least one corner of the room went bananas.

The Cavs know how to party

The noisy posse in bowties, they’re screeching and hollering and pumping fists in the air. That’s Cavs owner Dan Gilbert and the many spirited people who traveled on his private jet for the occasion.

They won the NBA draft lottery again, they’re color coordinated and they don’t give a damn who knows it.

But even for Gilbert, in this moment of glory, with the TV cameras in his face to collect his acceptance speech, the lottery is bittersweet.

“We were hoping,” he said of his team’s potentially franchise-defining victory, “this would be our last.”

That’s the thing about the lottery. It’s nobody’s idea of perfect, and it's getting less so.

It’s some office building off the Turnpike, by day

Just as a run-of-the-mill Hollywood shopping mall can be transformed into the glamorous home of the Oscars, so did the NBA’s offices in Secaucus, N.J., used to become a wonderland of hoops glitz on the night of the NBA draft lottery. Gloved security men crowded the entrance, welcoming a steady procession of limos and fancy cars pulling up one at a time, dumping out a who’s who of NBA faces: players, owners, GMs.

The NBA, bless them, puts on a lot of buffet meals for the media, but this was the one that was a hell of a buffet. The fish was peppered to taste, the roast beef sliced to order, the gorgonzola crumbled and ready to cascade across your chopped romaine. You have never seen cookies like these, and if you’re not big into cookies, please consider the finest fresh fruits, still shiny with a fresh coating of dark chocolate.

This was how the lottery used to run, back when it was easier to forget the lottery was about losers, not winners.

Sure, it wasn't all showbiz. It was tough to hide some of the workaday details. Most of the party took place in a rented tent out back, the kind you’d more commonly see used for weddings. The walk there from the front door was a long one, much of which bordered a drab cube farm.

But a half-decade ago, say, as then-Blazers GM Kevin Pritchard made the walk, he made it like a prize fighter. People emerged from all angles, offering high-fives and attaboys. Pritchard beamed, a proud man representing a basketball-mad city, entering the ring to do his job saving the Trail Blazers.

Pritchard’s shoulder was one of the few tapped early in the evening that night. Along with a who’s who of NBA front office personnel, he was invited upstairs to witness the pingpong reveal.

Every team in the lottery sent two representatives: One to take care of the real business with the pingpong balls, and another to be the face of the franchise on TV. The back room, as usual, had the power brokers.

Please come with me, sir. Up these stairs. Place your cell phones and all personal electronics in this sealed envelope.

Pritchard had even more pep in his step a couple of hours later, when the pingpong digits delivered him a dreamy choice between Greg Oden and Kevin Durant. (This was before the off-road portion of Pritchard’s freeway-to-the-top career.) Pritchard walked out of that building a front office champion.

Who knows how many times he told the story of what happened in that room, on how many radio shows and local TV shows. Hell yes, he circled up Blazers staff to inspire them with thoughts about the great ride that franchise was about to take. He talked about character, he talked about fortune, and it was hard not to get the feeling some Higher Power was smiling on the Portland Trail Blazers, thanks in no small part to the magic Pritchard mustered in some stuffy Secaucus boardroom.

New York, New York

A couple of years ago, the NBA downsized the Secaucus offices and the draft lottery has packed up for TV studios in Times Square. It’s ostensibly as nice. The roast beef is still delicately cooked, and is accompanied by mild horseradish, but it’s no longer sliced on demand and the chocolate chip cookies in the back room were all gone by 8:15.

The bigger change comes from the crowd. Sure, there’s a Damian Lillard or Andre Drummond here or there to enliven the proceedings, but in the big picture, to put it bluntly, this event is getting less cool by the minute.

My guess is that trend will continue, not because of how anything is run, but because of what everybody knows.

At the highest levels of running a team these days, on smart teams at least, are masters not just of basketball, but of decision-making. It's a different kind of person.

These are people who gather and process information professionally, from all angles, and turn it into strategy. People who read books about optimal decision-making. People who are obsessively connected with reality.

Getting excited about the draft lottery, meanwhile, requires divorcing yourself from reality, in one key way: You have to forget how you got here. To celebrate here means detaching from the fact that the team you’re charged with making great actually stinks.

In the days when NBA brain trusts were thick with grocery store magnates and retired players, maybe that was more doable, especially with a beer or two on board. In the era of smartphones, Twitter and non-stop information parsing, reality thickens the air, even after they confiscate your smartphone.

The NBA draft lottery might have the trappings of a Powerball drawing, but it’s different in a key way. A real lottery is a windfall for some lucky schmuck who happened to buy a ticket.

This?

This is a mindless game of chance open only to losers.

And, increasingly, they know it.

You know who was not on hand? Most of those with the most on the line. Michael Jordan, for instance, who owns the Charlotte “we’re betting the farm on the lottery” Bobcats. Same goes for his GM, Rich Cho, as well as most of the front offices of most of the teams represented.

New Sixers GM Sam Hinkie? Absent. Mark Cuban? Joe Dumars?

It’s not the event to be seen at. Not if you’re into winning.

Many teams sent a PR person. But very few sent the brain trust, because there’s nothing for them here.

Nobody has gotten more from the lottery than Gilbert, whose team just added another top overall pick to a collection that already included LeBron James and Kyrie Irving.

He of all people must love this system, right?

“There’s no perfect way to do it,” Gilbert told me, literally minutes after winning. “I think of all ways it’s probably one that is not optimal. But there isn’t an optimal one. It’s probably the best of the worst you can do. You’ve got to give it to the guys at the NBA to even come up with something like this.”

And if all goes well, he won’t be back anytime soon.

He's 6-5. He shoots like Ray Allen. He dunks on people. He's a candidate to be the top overall pick in the 2013 NBA draft. And yet, he still gets confused, now and again, with that guy who raps about thrift stores.

The Los Angeles Clippers lost the most successful coach by winning percentage in the franchise’s history when they dismissed Vinny Del Negro, whose contract was due to expire June 30. Del Negro compiled a 128-102 record during his three seasons with the Clippers and for the better part of the past 14 months, had a strong case for a long-term extension, at least ostensibly. The Clippers beat the Grizzlies in the first round of the 2012 playoffs, then finished with a club-record 56 wins this season. No locker room outside of Bexar County, Texas, is perfect, and there were certainly frictional elements in the Clippers’ camp, but the overall culture was decent.

Del Negro was confident in what he was building, and turned down a one-year extension from the team last October. Yet despite the regular-season success, Del Negro could never shake the perception that he lacked the tactical feel for the game required to become an NBA championship-level head coach. Del Negro’s biggest fans during his five-year career have been owners, Jerry Reinsdorf in Chicago and Donald T. Sterling in Los Angeles. Basketball operations people have always been more skeptical of him.

Del Negro is charismatic away from the microphone and well-liked personally. He charmed Sterling at a dinner with the Clippers' brass at the Montage Beverly Hills in late June of 2010. The mood at the table was festive; Del Negro was a pleasure to be around and the spouses had a nice rapport. Del Negro exuded exactly what the Clippers felt they needed to fumigate the place after the final tumultuous seasons of the Mike Dunleavy era -- a happy warrior, both confident and communicative. Charm is infectious, but if it's a person's No. 1 personal attribute, it can also raise suspicions if not accompanied by success.

When Chris Paul arrived in Los Angeles, expectations soared far more quickly than either the Clippers or Del Negro anticipated. The bar was set at contender, and Del Negro would have to prove himself as not only a morale booster but as a coach who could design a plan that delivered.

Del Negro never claimed to be a tactician. He maintained that everyone in the league ran the same basic stuff. He summed up his philosophy best during the winter of 2012 when the Clippers were playing well. "I think it's important for guys to go out there and play off instinct instead of, 'Go here, go there,' or whatever," he said. "I like guys to play. I like guys to get a feel for what we're doing and how we're doing it and work off the instinct and play. I think guys enjoy the game that way a little bit better.”

Paul certainly appreciated his coach’s sentiment, as Del Negro happily ceded most of the play calling. It was also nice to have Del Negro go to bat for Paul’s personnel causes -- free-agent signings, potential trades and the like. But having never reached a conference finals eight years into a Hall of Fame career, even Paul realizes he needs a little help in the final five minutes of a basketball game.

Del Negro’s approval rating has privately been described by those in the locker room as running about 50-50. He had his loyalists, players like Matt Barnes who were grateful for Del Negro’s faith. There were also a few players who felt his strategic shortcomings were tolerable given his affable demeanor. For others, those flaws ran too deep. Then there were the detractors, guys who not only didn’t care to have their minutes reduced, but felt Del Negro was disingenuous in his management and inconsistent in his willingness to communicate. Ballplayers also don’t react kindly when they learn their head coaches advocated trading them midseason. That was one of the unintended consequences of Del Negro assuming a spot at the table as a member of the management team last summer.

Despite falling short in the first round and a desperate coaching performance in Game 6 of the first-round series loss to Memphis, Del Negro still looked as if he might survive. The Clippers aren’t an organization predisposed to spend huge money on a head coach, and as decision-makers took an early survey of the coaching pool, they didn’t find many candidates they considered a dramatic upgrade from Del Negro. For all his imperfections, Del Negro was a known quantity.

Still, the series loss to Memphis confirmed all the lingering doubts that Del Negro was a schematic lightweight. He got better this past season, but the growth trajectory wasn't steep enough, and fell off when it mattered most. Ultimately, the Clippers decided risk aversion carried its own risks. Opportunities are precarious in the NBA, and conservatism doesn’t have a strong track record. Better to explore possibility than embrace certainty.

The Clippers will now have to set a budget, one that will determine the direction of their search. Stan Van Gundy is the best available coach on the market, but he’d give the Clippers sticker shock, assuming he’s even interested. Sterling is currently in San Antonio, scouting Memphis coach Lionel Hollins, the hottest candidate on the coaching market. The Clippers could win the news conference with a Hollins hire, the man who outwitted them in the first round, and someone who’d likely meet Paul’s approval. But Hollins has coached his way into some serious money. Given the number of suitors for his services, he would figure to earn in the neighborhood of $5 million per year, and the Clippers won’t be a favorite in any bidding war. Alvin Gentry would bring the right temperament, along with whiteboard skills and, most importantly, a solid quality-price ratio for a coach with that experience.

Whoever lands the job will encounter a bar even higher than the one Del Negro failed to clear. The Clippers’ job might be desirable, but it’s fraught with pitfalls. The most treacherous of those used to be history. Now it’s expectations.

There will be plenty of time to project picks as the draft nears, but here is a quick capsule on each lottery team’s biggest needs from an advanced stat perspective.

Charlotte Bobcats
Need: Defensive presence
The Bobcats were the worst defensive team in the league during the regular season, allowing the most points per play. The Bobcats were especially poor defensively in the half court, allowing opponents to score 44% of the time, worst in the league.

Cleveland Cavaliers
Need: One-on-one defender, post defender
The Cavaliers allowed the highest field goal percentage when defending isolations during the regular season. Cleveland’s opponents scored on 44 percent of isolation plays, the highest rate during the regular season. The Cavaliers allowed the highest field goal percentage on post-ups during the regular season.

Dallas Mavericks
Rebounding/transition defense
The Mavericks had a 21.8 percent offensive rebounding percentage (nearly five percentage points below league average). They were also fourth from the bottom of the league with 10.7 second-chance points per game during the regular season.

Despite committing the fifth-fewest turnovers, the Mavericks allowed 17.1 points off turnovers per game, ninth-most in the league.

Dallas’ opponents averaged 1.22 points off each Mavericks turnover, the highest rate in the league. Of the 10 teams that allowed the most points per turnover, eight failed to make the playoffs.

Detroit Pistons
Perimeter defender/playmaker
The Pistons were 29th in the league defending the pick-and-roll ball handler, allowing opponents to score on 40% of such plays.

Pistons guards Brandon Knight, Rodney Stuckey and Will Bynum, who faced this play most frequently for the team, ranked in the bottom third among 125 players who defended the pick-and-roll ball handler on at least 100 plays.

The Pistons ranked in the bottom third of the league with 21.2 assists per game this season. Detroit turned the ball over on 20% of its pick-and-roll plays, the fifth-worst rate in the league.

Minnesota Timberwolves
Interior defender
Timberwolves opponents converted 58.1 percent of their field goal attempts from inside 10 feet, the second-highest rate against a team in the league.

New Orleans Pelicans
On-Ball defender
The Pelicans’ defense allowed a league-high 0.90 points per play in isolation during the regular season, allowing opponents to shoot better than 40% on such plays.

Oklahoma City Thunder
Inside scoring
Post-up plays made up seven percent of the Thunder’s offense this season (the NBA average was nine percent).

Kevin Durant and Serge Ibaka are the only Thunder players who rank in the top half of the league in post-up points per play.

Orlando Magic
Ball handler/transition scorer
The Magic bottomed out in two notable statistical areas. They averaged 1.01 points per play in transition, scoring on only 49 percent of their transition plays. That ranked last in the NBA. They also ranked third-worst in the NBA in how often their ballhandler scored in the pick-and-roll (34 percent of the time).

Philadelphia 76ers
Transition scorer
The 76ers averaged 1.08 points per play in transition during the regular season, the fifth-lowest rate in the NBA. Philadelphia scored on 51% of its transition plays, the fourth-lowest rate in the league.

Phoenix Suns
Defensive presence
Opposing teams ran plays off screens 449 times versus the Suns this season and scored 1.03 points per play on 45.7 percent shooting, both of which ranked worst in the league from a defensive perspective.

Portland Trail Blazers
Interior offensive and defensive presence
The Trail Blazers scored 38 percent of their points in the paint, the third-worst mark in the league.

J.J. Hickson accounted for nearly one-quarter of those and will be a free agent this summer.

The Trail Blazers allowed the most points in the paint in the league during the regular season –- by 100 points more than the next team. Opponents shot 47.4 percent from this area, second-highest against a team in the league.

Sacramento Kings
Interior defender
Sacramento’s opponents shot 58.5 percent in the paint, the highest opponents’ shooting percentage in the paint in the league.

The Kings allowed the most points and second-highest effective field goal percentage in transition during the regular season.

Toronto Raptors
Playmaker
During the regular season, 33 percent of all Toronto’s made field goals were unassisted.

Despite having the most field goals attempted off the dribble in the league, the Raptors were 20th in both points per play and effective field goal percentage off the dribble

Utah Jazz
Playmaker/post defender
The Jazz used plays involving the pick-and-roll ball handler eight percent of the time, the second-lowest rate in the league (league average was 13 percent).

When using this type of play, the Jazz ranked last in field goal percentage and second-last in how frequently they converted plays into points (score percentage.

Al Jefferson and Paul Millsap, who are both set to be unrestricted free agents, excelled at defending post-ups, limiting opponents to a 43.4 percent shooting. Their two primary back-ups, Derrick Favors and Enes Kanter, combined to allow opponents to shoot 46.5 percent from the field when defending post-ups.

Washington Wizards
Outside shooter
The Wizards struggled to shoot and opponents knew it. Despite being unguarded in catch-and-shoot attempts at the third-most frequent rate, the Wizards made 38.7 percent of such attempts, fourth-worst in the league.