Shai Gilgeous-Alexander returned to the Oklahoma City Thunder on Feb. 27 after missing nine straight games with an abdominal injury, and his squad looks like the best in the league. Keep in mind they are still missing All-Star Jalen Williams, who has been out with a right hamstring strain since Feb. 11. The San Antonio Spurs closed most of the gap with them for the first seed, but the Thunder’s proven depth gets tons of credit for maintaining it. 

 

The Spurs beat them four times this season, giving them the tiebreaker, and whichever team gets the first seed will have an advantage because of the extra night at home in a seven-game series.

 

The Thunder went into Madison Square Garden on Wednesday and showed themselves a class above their hosts. The New York Knicks weren’t concerned with guarding the arc, and their visitors turned it into target practice in the first half. On the other end, the Knicks had trouble getting the looks they wanted.

 

The game got tighter due to a home resurgence in the third quarter, but the Thunder prevailed because of contributions from multiple members, including the key strip by Cason Wallace on Jalen Brunson to make the last shot much harder when it was inbounded after that. And still, the Knicks got two 3-pointers off to tie in the last six seconds and the last one by OG Anunoby was a good look. 

 

The champs don’t hurt themselves, averaging the lowest turnover percentage in the league. Yet they aren’t some unbeatable juggernaut since their biggest weakness is allowing too many 3-pointers. Still, their physicality inside the arc permits the lowest two-point field goal percentage (49.1). Additionally, while they are only 24th in transition frequency, they are tied with New York as the most efficient team when raising the pace, scoring 1.19 points per possession. 

 

All of that is nice, but most importantly, SGA is the real deal. His ability to get to his spots late, as he did against Anunoby for a pull-up trey as the game hung in the balance, is what separates him from other All-Stars and All-NBA players. It’s special how he takes over a quarter (27.7) of his shots at 10-16 feet, making 59.1 percent of them, and is an above-average scorer in the in-between area (3-10 feet), logging 49.7 percent. 

 

He can go off like Rambo against a defense, and is good enough to make the right reads when added pressure comes. SGA and the crew have championship confidence so they’ll never be rattled. 

 

They are looking to be the first team to repeat since the Golden State Warriors did in 2017 and 2018.   

 

The Cavaliers’ front office doesn’t lack boldness, but did they make the right move?

 

Darius Garland was a beloved player in Cleveland. They drafted him fifth in 2019, and he made two All-Star teams. Now he’s a Los Angeles Clipper at age 26, and James Harden is a Cav. 

 

There’s a lot Harden does offensively that still makes him a high-impact player at age 36. Two advantages he has over Garland are his size and strength, being four inches taller and significantly heavier. 

 

He’s rarely gotten the credit for being the guy who took the Kevin Durant-led Warriors further than anyone, yet one questions Harden’s basketball character. He’s got a rap sheet of playoff letdowns and he wanted to leave the resurgent Clippers for guaranteed money two years from now, as if he hasn’t made a fortune already.

 

Combining him with Donovan Mitchell gives the Cavs two real hubs of offense. The latter being the superior player also takes pressure off Harden, but the latter can’t be a turnover machine or have games shooting in the 30s to low 40 percent range in the playoffs. 

 

This year has turned out favorably because they got out of the mud and now the Cavs have a solid opportunity to get back to their first Finals since 2018. They won’t catch the Detroit Pistons for the first seed, but it remains to be seen how the latter lacking a second big-time shot creator will factor in to the playoffs, presuming they vanquish the eighth seed. 

 

After flaming out in round two last year, it’s all or nothing for the Cavs.

 

The Miami Heat’s difficult quest for the sixth seed:

 

The Miami Heat have six games left against the league’s worst teams, and they can’t afford to lose any of them if they want the sixth seed to avoid going through their fourth Play-In Tournament. They have to be on point because the Charlotte Hornets are on their tail, and are the superior team plus the Orlando Magic have the tiebreaker after beating them four times.

 

They’ll need to tighten up their 3-point defense in the final regular-season stretch since they give up the most open attempts. The Heat are not good enough to get by on the strength of their offense and must commit to being the nastier team in the trenches.  If they don’t, their top-four defensive rating is not as good as it sounds.

 

It helps that Bam Adebayo has picked up his play since mid-January, averaging 21.7 points and 10 rebounds on 45.2% shooting. He needs to finish the year like that while keeping up his high level of defense. On top of that, Tyler Herro and Jaime Jaquez Jr. can’t fail to deliver on nights the team needs their scoring and playmaking as this will affect the defense. The more efficient they are, opponents will have to play the Heat more in the half-court because the ball will need to be checked in.

 

The Heat have 20 games left but two remain between them and Hornets, both being in Charlotte 11 days apart. The latter has a 19-6 record since Jan. 10,  and the Heat’s best 25-game spurt was 14-11. The Heat are one game out of the sixth seed, but are separated by 1.5 games in the standings with the Hornets.

The two-game losing streak was snapped against the team with the league’s fifth-best record, thanks in major part to the defense making them inefficient in the paint. 

 

The Rockets took an early 10-point lead, but stalled the rest of the first quarter despite Kevin Durant getting stronger after exchanging unfriendly words with Tyler Herro. The Heat went on a 28-14 run to close it, with big contributions from Jaime Jaquez Jr. in the restricted area, plus Bam Adebayo and Davion Mitchell had multiple baskets apiece. 

 

The Heat led by as much as 13 points early in the second quarter, yet they went colder than freezing temperature. Their zone was active at times, but they went to halftime down one after conceding four 3-pointers at the wings and corner. 

 

They subsequently came out of the break, getting to the heart of the defense four times before the first timeout. Herro started pressing, but the Heat got a bit of help from Alperen Şengün, Houston’s All-Star center, picking up his fourth foul and having to come out. The period saw eight lead changes as the Heat did their best to survive Durant’s playmaking, plus his scoring at mid and short distances. 

 

Then Jaquez carried them early, slashing into the lane for a pair of floaters, and Kel’el Ware also got loose in the square. Yet, the defense was the biggest factor, holding the Rockets to 32.1% shooting.

 

The Heat won 115-105.

 

Takeaways:

• Norman Powell didn’t play, yet they still had seven double-figure scorers log between 10 and 24 points. Herro stepped up in the third quarter, making five shots in the lane, including a floater from mid-range that got a friendly bounce. Additionally, the Heat run the least amount of screen rolls this season, but they went to it in the fourth quarter to create separation against Houston’s length.

 

• The defense held the Rockets to 108.2 points per 100 possessions, good enough for the 28th percentile, per Cleaning the Glass. 

 

• Adebayo and Ware closed the game together and were a big reason why the Heat could go to the zone. To boot, Adebayo had his second-straight double-double and was the team’s best 3-point shooter (3), plus six of his baskets came in the paint. He’s had an up-and-down season, but he’s been more assertive since mid January, and the team needs more of it. There’s not that many players who can counter his athleticism, when playing forcefully, with their length and strength. 

 

• Amen Thompson and his twin, Ausar, are the top athletes in the league. The former was carving up the Heat on cuts and showed some of his pull-up jumper early. He scored six of Houston’s first nine points and finished with 20 on 50% shooting, but he missed three critical freebies in the fourth quarter and six for the game.

 

• Wiggins’ lip was busted, catching an elbow while trying to guard Şengün on a post-up in the third quarter. He went to the locker room to get stitches in his mouth and came back in time for the fourth, and even finished a fastbreak soft jam through contact.

The short, two-game road trip concluded fruitlessly for the Heat in Philadelphia. They got torn up in the open court and refused to guard the arc.

 

Coach Erik Spoelstra estimated that his team hit the deck six or seven times in the second half in the pursuit of loose balls after hardly any of that before intermission. “They ran us out of the gym in the first half… we got back into it, took a lead, and then it became [a] possession game from there. They made some plays down the stretch where we couldn’t.”

 

The first quarter was the Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey show as the former swarmed the lane and the latter drained five 3-pointers, taking the lead from Allen Iverson for most in franchise history. Yet the Heat were somehow down one by nearly matching them in baskets. 

 

The Heat subsequently couldn’t keep up with Philadelphia’s speed, force, deep shooting plus rebounding while they raised their turnover count to 10. Bam Adebayo did everything he could with a double-double (16 points & 10 rebounds) to carry them, but they went to halftime down 16 points with only an edge in bench scoring.  

 

Then a 3-point eruption from Adebayo and Tyler Herro dragged them back, and they briefly took the lead. Yet the 76ers countered with a late run that included two treys against the Heat’s weak coverage. 

 

The Heat’s deep shooting stayed hot in the fourth quarter, and the pendulum momentarily swung back to their side as Herro curled behind a flare screen to get inside for a floater, and then hit a step-back triple at the top of the key. But the 76ers responded with eight-straight points in crunch time, which included two corner 3-pointers.

 

The Heat lost 124-117, and conceded 17 3-pointers. 

 

“The beat is at our game,” Spoelstra said. “That speed game, 27 in transition. That’s what we do.”

 

 

Takeaways:

 

• It will always sting the latter extra whenever Maxey, who they passed on for Precious Achiuwa at 20th, abuses them and makes it look easy like a pro fighter on the speed bag. He had a season high in first-quarter scoring (20) and finished with 28. On top of that, it was a back breaker that Cam Payne had two second-half 3-pointers, and V.J. Edgecombe nailed multiple pull-up jumpers in the fourth.

 

• The Heat flashed a zone late in the third and in the fourth. It wasn’t perfect, but it got some key stops. They let go of the rope when they unnecessarily helped off the left corner, giving up two huge late baskets.

 

• Aside from getting burned on the break, the Heat also suffered 20 second-chance points and 21 points off turnovers. The second quarter was their sloppiest spurt, getting outscored by 15 and being unable to defend without fouling as Philly took 10 freebies, making nine.

 

• Even 70% of Embiid is dangerous. He has a rare combination of size, power, and agility that the Heat has few answers for. It’s a surprise when his jumper doesn’t fall at mid-range. He even briefly went to the locker room to get checked out after inadvertently catching a knee midway through the second quarter, and slowed down in the second half. 

 

• Nights like this highlight how much of a guppy Kasparas Jakičionis is because it looked like he was in the right spot, but Maxey didn’t see him.

 

• Norman Powell didn’t return because of a right growing strain in the second quarter. Spoelstra said he would be reevaluated when they get back to Miami.

 

• The 76ers came into the game as the sixth seed. The Heat’s loss dropped them to 2.5 games out of that position, which is the last spot that bypasses the Play-In Tournament. Additionally, the Heat and 76ers are 1-1 in the season series, and the final matchup between them is on March 30 in Miami.

Both of the Magic City’s women’s college basketball teams notched impressive wins at home this past weekend, putting them in a better position with their respective conference tournaments on the horizon.

The Miami Hurricanes defeated the California Golden Bears 69-60 on Sunday behind Ra Shaya Kyle’s 16 points and 14 rebounds. Gal Raviv scored 13 points, Vittoria Blasigh added 12 points, and Ahmad Adams chipped in 10 points.

The Hurricanes were efficient from the three-point line (7-of-10) while defending the Bears to an 8-of-33 clip from behind the arc.

Much like Jai Lucas in his first year, Tricia Cullop shuffled the roster through the transfer portal entering her second season.

Kyle, a graduate student who transferred to Miami after three seasons in Florida and two in Purdue, is enjoying a career year with the Canes, averaging 16 points and 10.1 rebounds per game entering Sunday.

Raviv transferred to Miami after averaging 17.9 points per game at Quinnipiac. In a tougher conference, she is still contributing with 13.5 points and 4 assists per game. Amarachi Kimpson was coming off a 14.5 PPG season at UNLV before coming to Miami, where she is averaging 12 PPG.

Blasigh was a starter for two years at South Florida before becoming a key role player off the bench in Miami. Her 12 points off the bench were her highest since Feb. 5 against Virginia. She also averaged 12.3 points per game during an eight-game stretch from Dec. 3 to Jan. 15.

With three straight wins to rebound from a four-game skid, the Hurricanes have the opportunity to finish with a 9-9 conference record with favorable matchups against Pittsburgh and Georgia Tech. The ACC is currently projected by Bracketology to send nine teams to March Madness. It just so happens that nine teams in the ACC have 10 conference wins.

The Hurricanes missed their chance to have 10 wins when they lost to their rivals on the road. Ending the regular season on a five-game winning streak and notching a couple of wins in the conference tournament may give Miami a chance to crash the party.

Can FIU take C-USA?

Record-wise at 17-9, Florida International is the best women’s basketball team in South Florida.

The Panthers concluded the home slate of their schedule with a 66-45 win over Liberty to improve to 10-5 in conference play, which is good for second place in C-USA behind Louisiana Tech (21-5, 14-1). The friendly confines have been kind to the Panthers, who went 12-4 at the Ocean Bank Convocation Center.

The Panthers are led by Rhema Collins, who went from a bench player from Ole Miss to a full-time starter averaging 18 points and nine rebounds, and two steals per game. She turned in a 16-point-10 rebound double-double against Liberty after two straight games of 20+ points.

Parris Atkins is averaging 17 points per game in her second season at FIU. She scored 25 points with 3-of-5 clip from the three-point line against Liberty on Sunday after dropping a 17-point-10 rebound double-double against Delaware on Thursday before.

The Panthers are 5-5 on the road and will finish the regular season with three straight road games, at Missouri State, Middle Tennessee, and Western Kentucky. Louisiana Tech may be the only team in C-USA that could potentially make the NCAA Tournament as an at-large bid should they not win the conference tournament.

FIU will have to win the C-USA Tournament if the Panthers are going to have a shot at making their first March Madness appearance since 2002.