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Heat center Bam Adebayo centerstage this season

The most high-profile member of this season’s Heat is Jimmy Butler, but do-it-all forward/center Bam Adebayo, who enjoyed this past weekend playing in the All-Star game Sunday and winning the Skills Challenge competition Friday, is on the national stage this season. Both he and the Heat are doing bigger things than expected. They’re a serious contender in the East.

Here’s the South Florida Sun Sentinel reporting:

It’s not as if Miami Heat center Bam Adebayo lacked confidence before All-Star Weekend after having a stellar first half of the season.

He’s averaging 15.8 points, 10.4 rebounds and 4.9 assists — statistical benchmarks only three other players in the league have achieved this season.

The 22-year-old big man has received praise from legends and other top players for his impact on the Heat’s strong play before the All-Star break, with the team’s 35-19 record only four wins away from last year’s win total.

But being on center stage against the NBA’s best players has pushed Adebayo’s belief in himself to greater heights.

“My confidence is definitely through the roof right now,” Adebayo said after making his first All-Star appearance on Sunday.

The Bucks have been the East’s best squad this season, but the Heat are a serious contender in the conference, and they should only be better for the remainder of the season after bulking up their bench shortly before the trade deadline.

Jazz center Rudy Gobert did big things in the All-Star game

Defensive-minded Jazz center Rudy Gobert did big things in a very offensive-minded event, the All-Star game. He was fantastic on both ends of the floor, though. Here’s the Deseret News reporting:

If ever there was a doubt that Rudy Gobert belonged on an NBA All-Star team, that doubt was dashed away and forgotten on Sunday night.

Amid the big names and plethora of talent jammed onto the All-Star team rosters, the Utah Jazz center shined like a diamond in the rough in his All-Star debut, scoring 21 points on 10-of-11 shooting to go with 11 rebounds, two assists and a block as a reserve for Team Giannis.
“He hears all the negative and all that stuff and he enjoys and embraces it and wears it like a cape,” his fellow Jazz and Team Giannis teammate Donovan Mitchell said. “He just goes out there and hoops. He didn’t get too much out of his comfort zone. He just went out there and did what he does and I really respect that about him.”

The Jazz are currently 8th in the league in both offense and defense, and at 36-18 they’re 4th in the West.

Zach LaVine doing his thing for Bulls

Here’s the Chicago Sun-Times discussing Zach LaVine and the Bulls:

Going into the break, LaVine was averaging 28.3 points over his last four games, while shooting 56.3 percent from the field and 51.9 percent from three-point range. And oh by the way, also averaging 5.5 assists and five rebounds per game.

The problem is the Bulls also went into the All-Star Weekend losers of six straight.

“I’ve been able to deal with ups and downs really well this year, like a roller coaster,’’ LaVine said. “I feel I’ve been able to be pretty even keeled and not get too high on the highs or too low on the lows, and just lock in and be prepared for each game.’’

At 19-36, the Bulls sit 10th in the Eastern conference. It’s tough for their offense to improve until additional big-time scorers emerge, or get added to the roster. This season, power forward Lauri Markkanen is putting up 15.0 points per game, but nobody else on the roster is even scoring 12 PPG.

Perhaps Otto Porter Jr., who has played in his nine games this season, can add a boost when he returns to action, which could happen later this month.

All Sixers talk starts with Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid

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Here’s NBC Sports Philly with an overview of the Sixers as we prepare for the final third of the NBA season:

Let’s start where everything starts with the Sixers: Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons. We can debate fit and clashing skill sets all we want. The bottom line is the Sixers need the All-Star duo to be peaking down the stretch and into the playoffs.

Their win over the Clippers before the All-Star break represents exactly the type of performances needed. What was most impressive is that neither player sacrificed their aggressiveness to accommodate the other. Embiid took 17 shots — but also got 13 free throws — while Simmons took a season-high 22 attempts.

While he’s played at an elite level the last 20 games, Simmons’ last 11 may represent the best stretch of his career. The 23-year-old has averaged 12.5 field goal attempts in that span. When he takes at least 13 attempts from the field this season, the Sixers are 17-5. While the jumper may not be there, his improved shot is visible from the line, where he’s hit 73.9 percent on 8.4 attempts during that stretch.

There’s no denying Embiid and Simmons’ importance, but having all of your top-five players is also pretty darn important. The Sixers have only had Embiid, Simmons, Tobias Harris, Josh Richardson and Al Horford together for 21 of 55 games. That’s just 38.1 percent.

A big season-long question with the Sixers, beyond Simmons and Embiid, is the play of veteran power forward Al Horford. When you watch the Sixers, keep an eye on Horford’s role when Embiid is on the floor vs. when he’s off it.

Of course, that same point can be made about Simmons and Embiid.

This team’s offensive spacing has been a season-long chemistry experiment that is still being figured out.

Time for Celtics to really lock in, says Kemba Walker

All-Star Weekend was loads of fun. The regular season resumes Thursday.

The Celtics so far this season haven’t stood out in a mix of good Eastern conference teams who as a group are a level or so below the East-leading Milwaukee Bucks.

Boston certainly has the ability to rise up. All-Star guard Kemba Walker says it’s time. Here’s the Boston Herald reporting:

“It’s time to lock in even more,” said Walker as he paused amidst the work gear. “It’s time to get to … well, we’re going to get to the playoffs. It’s time to get there though and really just focus in. We’ve got to lock in. It’s about that time.”

The Celtics sit at 38-16, third in the Eastern Conference and just a loss-column game behind No. 2 Toronto. They have the fourth-best record in the NBA.

Not bad. But not enough.

“It’s been real, but now it’s definitely, definitely real,” said Walker. “We’ve got, what, 26 games left (28)? It’s go time.”

Earlier in a room with other players, fellow Celtic and fellow All-Star Jayson Tatum had a similar sentiment.

There is very clear reason to believe the Celtics are better than their place in the standings suggests. They’re a top five team in the league in both offense and defense. Add it together and you’d think their record would be better than it is. That’s a nice problem to have. And it bodes well for the final third of the season, and the postseason.

Hawks TV ratings update

Here’s the Atlanta Journal-Constitution with an update on Atlanta Hawks TV ratings for the 2019-20 NBA season:

Ratings have increased 49% in the Atlanta TV market for Hawks telecasts on Fox Sports Southeast, compared to the same point last season — the third largest percentage increase in the NBA, according to a Sports Business Journal analysis of Nielsen data.Nevertheless, the Hawks’ average rating of 0.89 in their home market is the seventh lowest among the 27 teams included in the study. The Hawks’ rating means 0.89 of every 100 TV households in the Atlanta market, or slightly more than 20,000 homes, watch the team’s telecasts on average.

While star guard Trae Young has gotten the Hawks extra attention this season, the recent addition of center Clint Capela, who forms an interesting frontcourt alongside power forward John Collins, should create additional interest in the squad.

The NBA regular season resumes Thursday.

Ben Simmons having excellent defensive year for Sixers

The Sixers are a work in progress this season, but mostly on the offensive side of the floor. Defensively, they’re a success. Oversized point guard Ben Simmons is a big part of that. Here’s PhillyVoice.com discussing his defense in 2019-20:

Simmons has been the team’s most consistent defender on one of the league’s best defenses, and it is his versatility that helps him separate from the pack. Think of all the players he has guarded this season and how different each challenge is. To be able to jump from Kawhi Leonard to Trae Young to LeBron James to Jimmy Butler and often do it well is a hell of a feat.

Night-to-night, Simmons has been asked to jump between positions and shoulder a heavy workload, playing upwards of 40 minutes whenever the Sixers have needed it. Yet he never seems to tire, and some of his biggest moments of the season have come on defense in crunch-time — his back-to-back steals to seal a win against Indiana remain a highlight of the year for Philly.

There are too many mentions of Simmons’ lack of a bigtime outside shot (this mention doesn’t count!) There should be more discussion on how good he is at almost everything else. Including defense.

Celtics will retire Kevin Garnett’s jersey

The Boston Celtics announced tonight that Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame Nominee and 2007-08 NBA Champion Kevin Garnett’s number 5 will be retired, joining other Celtics legends to receive the team’s ultimate honor. Garnett’s number will be elevated to the TD Garden rafters during the 2020-21 season.

“I’m honored and thankful to have my number retired with the Celtics,” said Garnett. “I will always have immense respect and appreciation for ownership, Danny Ainge, Doc Rivers, my past teammates and Celtic Nation!”

“From the moment he arrived in the summer of 2007, Kevin changed everything for us,” said Wyc Grousbeck, Celtics Co-Owner. “His complete commitment to winning was a decisive factor in our 2008 championship. He will always be one of my very favorite Celtics.”

“KG arrived in Boston as a quintessential Celtic who embraced the ‘team first’ ethic and brought a competitive fire,” said Steve Pagliuca, Celtics Co-Owner. “We will be forever grateful for his extraordinary contribution to bringing the 17th championship banner to Boston, and we will always remember him as a leader on and off the court. He was the true embodiment of Celtics pride.”

“Kevin gave everything he had to the Celtics in every practice, in every game, and his unique blend of energy, intelligence, and talent brought out the best in his teammates and coaches,” said Danny Ainge, Celtics President of Basketball Operations.

Andrew Wiggins off to good start for Warriors

Are you mentally prepared to read something nice about Andrew Wiggins?

Hopefully so, because it’s about to happen. Here’s NBC Sports Bay Area reporting:

In his first week as a Warrior, Wiggins is averaging 23 points per game on an incredibly efficient 57.5 percent from the field and 53.3 percent from deep. His 23 points have come on 13.3 field goal attempts per game, rather than the 22.4 points on 18.8 field goal attempts he put up in the first 42 games this season with the Minnesota Timberwolves.

He has shown an impressive ability to make quick moves off the dribble to attack the hoop, and slash through the lane off the ball. Unlike his days with the Timberwolves, Wiggins is buying into Kerr’s free-flowing, ball movement offense, and avoiding unnecessary dribbling and stagnant iso-ball. Per Kerr’s wishes, he also is sprinting in transition and using his athleticism and size to beat his defender down the court.

Of course, this is all well and good, but the real test for Wiggins’ long-term prospects this squad is how he looks alongside a full-strength squad that includes a healthy Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson. But we won’t know the answer to that for quite a while.

For now, after one mere week, Wiggins hasn’t disappointed.

Wizards not far from playoffs in East

The Wizards haven’t gotten many mentions this season. That’s what happens when you aren’t playing particularly hot basketball. But lately, the team has been solid on the floor. Here’s the Washington Post with an update:

At the NBA all-star break, Wizards are making outsiders look closer. Washington compiled the fourth-best record in the conference over the last 10 games and are heading into the midseason respite with a 20-33 record. On some nights the Wizards have caught the attention of the Szczerbiaks of the world — beating playoff-caliber opponents such as the Brooklyn Nets and Dallas Mavericks. However, over that same stretch, they’ve also lost to the worst team in the NBA, the Golden State Warriors…

Despite the up-and-down stretch, the Wizards remain three games behind the Orlando Magic for the eighth seed…

A major reason for the Wizards’ good position has been Beal’s play. Since Jan. 22, Beal has ranked second in the league with a 35.2 points per game average. Although Beal was not voted as an all-star reserve by Eastern Conference coaches, he will enter the break as the lone NBA player to have scored at least 25 points in 12 consecutive games.

Sure, being a few games out of the playoffs isn’t anything to write home about. But a team doing that is playing respectable basketball. Which for this season’s Wizards deserves a nod.