Central Notes: Pistons, Beasley, Haliburton, Giannis, Jackson
The Pistons delivered a statement victory on Wednesday, defeating the Celtics — who entered with a six-game winning streak — by 20 points. Detroit has won eight straight, its longest streak since the 2007/08 season.
“We knew this was going to be a tough challenge for us, but we’re just focused on the process of it all,” coach J.B. Bickerstaff said, per Keith Langlois of Pistons.com. “We’re not looking past tonight or at what we’ve done in the past. The only thing we’re focusing on is every single night trying to be the best version of ourselves and tonight I think we were pretty close.”
Malik Beasley, a free agent after the season, continued to provide a huge boost off the bench with 26 points in 22 minutes.
“That shot-making ability just lifts people up,” Bickerstaff said. “When he’s hot and that ball’s in the air, you can tell when the ball leaves his hands and is taking the crowd’s breath away.”
We have more from the Central Division:
- Tyrese Haliburton looks rejuvenated after some rest and relaxation during the All-Star break, Dustin Dopirak of the Indianapolis Star notes. Over the last four games, the Pacers guard is averaging 25.8 points per game on 63.2% shooting, including 52.6% of his 3-point attempts. He’s also averaging 11.8 assists during that stretch, compared to just 1.0 turnover per game. “I’m just playing free, having fun,” Haliburton said. “It always helps to see the first one go in. You just kind of react from there. I just thought I did a good job of staying aggressive all night, doing what was needed.”
- Giannis Antetokounmpo was yanked to the floor via a hard foul by Houston’s Amen Thompson Tuesday night but the Bucks superstar said he had “no hard feelings” toward the Rockets‘ wing, according to Kristie Rieken of The Associated Press. Thompson was ejected after an officials’ review. “At the end of the day like you don’t wanna have a league that’s soft,” Antetokounmpo said. “I love guys that play hard. I love guys that they’re great competitors. I’m one of those guys. Sometimes your competitive nature gets in the way (of) making the best decision, the best judgment at the time. And I feel like he wanted to make it a hard foul, but he grabbed my neck.”
- Bucks guard Andre Jackson Jr. has seen his minutes shrink this month and coach Doc Rivers indicated that roster moves are the reason, Eric Nehm of The Athletic tweets. “Midseason trade. We brought in other guys that I think fill his role,” Rivers said. “His numbers were not great, with Giannis on the floor, those two guys together.”
Pistons Notes: Duren, Cunningham, Schröder, Chemistry
Pistons starting center Jalen Duren has not only been a double-double machine, he’s become a deft distributor. Throughout the team’s six-game winning streak entering Monday’s game against the Clippers, Duren had posted at least five assists in every game, the Detroit Free Press’ Omari Sankofa II notes.
“He’s just a dynamic offensive player and it’s interesting because of his size and strength, you don’t typically see the finesse and touch that he can play with with the ball in his hands,” coach J.B. Bickerstaff said. “Normally, guys that are built like that don’t have that type of hand-eye coordination and skill. He’s an elite passer and play-maker. We trust him with the ball in his hands.”
Duren, who is averaging 11.0 points, 10.2 rebounds and 2.6 assists per game, is eligible for a rookie scale extension after the season.
We have more on the Pistons:
- Coming off his first All-Star selection, Cade Cunningham continues to dazzle. He racked up 38 points, 12 rebounds, seven assists and three blocks against Atlanta on Sunday. “He reminds me of Luka (Doncic) a lot,” backup Dennis Schröder said, per Keith Langlois of Pistons.com. “I followed his game very closely. It’s impressive how he picks the defense apart. He’s really unselfish. A lot of people don’t do that if they’ve got it going, not shooting. I don’t know how many shots he took in the second half.” Cunningham could also gain a spot on the All-NBA team, which would increase the value of the maximum-salary extension he signed last summer. Rather than a starting salary worth 25% of the cap, he’d earn a salary worth 30% of the cap. That would push his five-year contract from $224MM to approximately $269MM.
- Schröder had his best outing since he was acquired at the trade deadline, with 16 points and seven assists in 22 minutes against the Hawks. “To be able to have another ball-handler out there, who can make plays, who has no fear, takes a lot of pressure off of Cade and everybody else out there,” Bickerstaff said. “But you need a guy who has courage and this is what we envisioned when we made the trade for him, to get him in the (closing) lineup where he can help us finish and he rose to the occasion.” Schröder has given the team another valuable rotation player with Jaden Ivey sidelined by a fractured fibula.
- Detroit’s success has been the biggest surprise of the NBA season. The Pistons are fighting for a top-six spot in the Eastern Conference and Bickerstaff praised the team’s chemistry. “I’ve said it before, you can have talent with lack of chemistry and you’re going to underachieve. You can have less talent with better chemistry and you’re going to overachieve,” he said. “When you become elite and win championships you have talent and chemistry and we’re developing into that. We’ve got young guys with high-level ceilings that we’re still working to get to because we’re not a finished product yet, but our chemistry and the vibes in our building every single day are unique that you don’t see, especially with young teams.”
Spurs Notes: Wembanyama, Biyombo, Rebounding, M. Johnson
The Spurs were “jolted” by the news that Victor Wembanyama has a blood clot in his right shoulder, according to ESPN’s Brian Windhorst (Insider link), who says the team was relieved to have caught the issue before it got more serious. While the Spurs remain optimistic about the big man’s ability to make a full recovery, his health issue is just the latest development in what has been a trying season in San Antonio, Windhorst notes.
Head coach Gregg Popovich, of course, has been away from the team since early November after suffering a stroke. And while the blockbuster De’Aaron Fox trade earlier this month was a major positive, it has had a “destabilizing” effect on a club not accustomed to major in-season roster moves, Windhorst writes. Windhorst also describes the Spurs’ trip to France last month as “emotionally taxing.”
“This has been one long, crazy season,” a team source told ESPN.
The Spurs were 18-16 at one point, but have dropped 14 of 20 games since then. With a 24-30 record and Wembanyama lost for the season, their chances of earning a play-in spot are slim, while their odds of securing a top-10 pick in this year’s draft are on the rise.
In addition to holding their own first-round pick, the Spurs control the Hawks’ unprotected first-rounder. If the season ended today, those selections would be 10th and 11th in the lottery order, with a combined 5% chance of turning into the No. 1 overall pick, according to Tankathon.
Here’s more on the Spurs and Wembanyama:
- Wembanyama’s dominance helped to hide the team’s overall lack of frontcourt depth, which became worse when Zach Collins had to be sent to Chicago in the Fox deal, Michael C. Wright observes in an ESPN overview of the effects of losing Wembanyama. Wright expects Bismack Biyombo, who signed a second 10-day contract with San Antonio on Friday, to eventually receive a standard deal for the rest of the season. Wright also states that Fox, Chris Paul and Stephon Castle are likely to share the court more often in three-guard lineups.
- The Spurs got a taste of what life without Wembanyama might be like in Friday’s 15-point loss to the Pistons, writes Jeff McDonald of The San Antonio Express-News. They defeated Phoenix on Thursday, just hours after learning that Wembanyama was lost for the season, but Detroit presented a much tougher matchup with its combination of size and physicality. San Antonio was out-rebounded by a 53-32 margin and couldn’t match up with Pistons center Jalen Duren, who finished the night with 21 points and 15 rebounds. “We knew they’re a big, physical team,” Keldon Johnson said. “Knowing that we are a little bit smaller right now, we are a little bit lacking in size right now, that we got to do it collectively and stay locked in and as a unit we get the rebound.”
- Detroit coach J.B. Bickerstaff recognized the job that Mitch Johnson has done in keeping the team competitive after Popovich’s health scare, per Tom Orsborn of The San Antonio Express-News. Bickerstaff pointed out that not only is Johnson filling in for a legend, he took over the position with no warning or time to prepare. “You can tell by the way they play he’s got them to buy into him,” Bickerstaff added. “You watch how selfless they play, how they play together, how they compete their tails off. To me, those are the telltale signs of players believing in their coach. They’re organized on both sides of the ball. So you can tell day by day they’re getting the preparation they need to build what a team should look like. He’s done a phenomenal job.”
Luke Adams contributed to this post.
Central Notes: Haliburton, Ivey, Thompson, Duren, Sims
The Pacers are trying to be strategic about getting Tyrese Haliburton to be more aggressive, IndyStar’s Dustin Dopirak writes. In their last matchup against Memphis, Haliburton was held to eight points by rookie Jaylen Wells, so in Thursday’s rematch, the Pacers made it a focus to hone in on the defensive looks their point guard would be seeing.
Haliburton responded with a 22-point, nine-assist game that saw Indiana take down the 36-19 Grizzlies. At 31-23, the Pacers are fourth in the Eastern Conference as of Saturday.
“We just did a lot in the past two days in my individual workouts and in our team practices,” Haliburton said. “They’ve been having the coaches and the interns and everybody just fouling me the whole time and we’ve gotta figure out how we get the ball and do what we do offensively.”
The Pacers are a different team when Haliburton is healthy, Dopirak writes. They’re 2-8 in games where he scores fewer than 10 points and are 17-2 when he scores 20+, like on Thursday. In wins, Haliburton is averaging 21.3 points per game; that average drops to 13.1 PPG in losses.
“The [last] game at Memphis, Ty didn’t take a shot, I don’t even know if he took one in the first quarter,” Carlisle said. “That’s not our game. He’s got to be aggressive. He’s gotta be aggressive to run the team and to get good looks.”
On the season, Haliburton is averaging 17.9 points and 8.5 assists while shooting 45.1% from the field and 36.8% from three.
“It’s been an up and down year for me offensively,” Haliburton said. “There’s been a lot of games where I might not have asserted myself enough or just overthinking, not shooting enough. Passing up good shots. I probably had a couple of incidents of it today. I watch a lot of film. My trainer Drew [Hanlen] is always on me to shoot the ball and be more aggressive. Good things happen when I’m aggressive and getting paint touches and really shooting the ball. I’m just trying to pay attention to it and try to be as good as I can and try to keep learning every game.”
We have more from the Central Division:
- While it’s easy to assume Jaden Ivey would resume a starting role when he returns from injury, it would mean tinkering with a lineup that’s helped cement the Pistons‘ place in the playoff picture. That’s one of the issues Keith Langlois of Pistons.com tackles in his latest mailbag. The Pistons are 15-8 since Jan. 1 with Tim Hardaway Jr. starting, so they’ll only alter the rotation if it benefits their playoff hopes, according to Langlois, who also takes a look at Malik Beasley‘s expiring contract and the likelihood of him returning to Detroit next season.
- Ausar Thompson and Jalen Duren have been a reliable offensive duo in February, Hunter Patterson of The Athletic writes. Entering Friday, Thompson is averaging 13.8 points, 6.3 rebounds and 4.4 assists per game this month, while Duren is recording 14.6 PPG, 12.1 RPG and 4.1 APG. Their play, along with Cade Cunningham‘s star-level production, Dennis Schröder‘s second-unit leadership, and the resurgence of Tobias Harris and Beasley are keys for the Pistons’ postseason push, says Patterson.
- Since being acquired at the deadline, Jericho Sims is serving as a primary backup big for the Bucks, having totaled 35 minutes in the two games since the All-Star break and Bobby Portis‘s suspension. Sims spoke on Thursday about being thrust into a bigger role than anticipated. “I just heard about it before shootaround and [a suspension] is not the way that you want to come in [to the rotation], but I was just excited to get my legs underneath me for the first win,” he said, per The Athletic’s Eric Nehm (Twitter link).
And-Ones: 2025 FAs, College Jobs, MCW, WNBA, More
A series of contract extensions have depleted the star-level talent in the NBA’s 2025 free agent class, but there will still be some notable names to watch this summer, as Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report and ESPN’s Bobby Marks (Insider link) detail.
Both Pincus and Marks have longtime NBA stars LeBron James, Kyrie Irving, and James Harden atop their lists of 2025 free agents, with Marks positing that no player will have more leverage this offseason than Irving, given how badly the Mavericks need to retain the veteran point guard following the trade of Luka Doncic.
After James, Irving, and Harden, who have combined for 41 career All-Star appearances, the next tier of free agents consists of players like Myles Turner, Fred VanVleet, Jonathan Kuminga, Josh Giddey, and Timberwolves power forwards Julius Randle and Naz Reid. Interestingly, Pincus has Reid ranked ahead of the three-time All-Star he backs up, placing Reid at No. 5 and Randle at No. 7 in his early FA rankings.
Here are a few more odds and ends from around the basketball world:
- As is typical at this time of year, a number of NBA coaches and executives are receiving interest for jobs at the college basketball level, notes Jake Fischer of The Stein Line (Substack link). Fischer mentions Hornets executive Buzz Peterson and veteran player agent Jim Tanner as possible candidates for UNC’s general manager job and says Heat assistant Chris Quinn, Suns assistant David Fizdale, and Bucks assistant Dave Joerger are among the names to watch for the University of Miami’s head coaching position. Fischer adds that Kings assistant Luke Loucks has been linked to Florida State’s head coaching opening.
- Former NBA Rookie of the Year Michael Carter-Williams is involved in a bid to bring an WNBA expansion franchise to Boston, according to Gary Washburn of The Boston Globe. With expansion teams lined up for San Francisco, Portland, Toronto, and Cleveland, the WNBA will have 16 clubs by 2028, so it’s unclear whether or not the league will be looking to expand beyond that number right away.
- Passing along the results of a player poll from All-Star weekend, Joe Vardon of The Athletic notes that the 14 respondents were unanimously against the idea of 10-minute quarters floated last month by commissioner Adam Silver. However, 12 of those 14 players liked the new All-Star tournament format.
- The Lakers‘ and Pistons‘ G League affiliates completed a trade on Wednesday, with the South Bay Lakers acquiring forward Cole Swider from the Motor City Cruise in exchange for Chris Silva‘s returning rights and a 2025 first-round pick, per a press release. Silva is currently playing overseas, but Swider has been active in the G League and will begin suiting up for South Bay.
Cade Cunningham Enjoys All-Star Debut; Ausar Thompson's Role Expanding
- Cade Cunningham became the first Pistons player to be selected to the All-Star Game since Blake Griffin in 2019 and the first Detroit guard to make it since Allen Iverson in 2009, notes Hunter Patterson of The Athletic. Cunningham enjoyed making his All-Star debut, but added that he expects to return many times in his career. “It’s cool, man. This is what I planned on, though,” he said. “This is what I saw for myself. To be in this position now is a great feeling, but there’s definitely more steps to climb. I’m looking forward to the rest of the season and all the things to come.”
- Pistons forward Ausar Thompson could be primed for a strong close to the season, Coty M. Davis of The Detroit News states in a mailbag column. Davis notes that Thompson had to overcome a long layoff caused by blood clots he experienced late in his rookie season. When he was cleared to play in November, he was limited to 20 minutes per game and was still dealing with fatigue. He has been used as the team’s secondary play-maker over the last eight games and is averaging 4.0 assists per night, along with 13.0 points, 5.9 rebounds, and 2.0 steals.
Community Shootaround: Most Improved Player
According to the latest betting odds (link via Kevin Rogers of VegasInsider), there are two clear frontrunners to be named 2024/25’s Most Improved Player: Pistons guard Cade Cunningham and Clippers wing Norman Powell.
Cunningham is the current favorite for the award, but Powell is a close second. Tyler Herro, Amen Thompson, Trey Murphy, Christian Braun, Evan Mobley, Jalen Williams, Dyson Daniels, Victor Wembanyama and Max Christie are among the other players in consideration, but it would be genuinely shocking if anyone from that group wins, given the current odds.
Griffin Wong of DraftKings recently weighed in on what is seemingly a two-man race, making the case both for and against Powell and Cunningham. While Wong believes that Powell has “clearly” shown more individual improvement, he thinks voters — 100 members of the media — will ultimately choose Cunningham, given the recent history of selecting rising young players and Detroit’s dramatic turnaround from a season ago.
A 10-year veteran, Powell is posting career-best numbers in virtually every major statistic in 2024/25, including points (24.2), rebounds (3.6), assists (2.2), steals (1.3) and minutes (33.6) per game. In 45 appearances, he has posted an extremely efficient shooting slash line of .496/.428/.819, good for a career-high true shooting percentage of .633. He is the leading scorer on the West’s No. 6 seed (the Clippers are 31-23).
At 31, Powell would be the oldest player to ever win MIP. That distinction currently belongs to former Magic guard Darrell Armstrong, who was 30 when he won the award in ’98/99.
Cunningham, 23, is also posting career-best numbers in several statistics in ’24/25, averaging 25.4 PPG, 6.3 RPG and 9.3 APG on .455/.351/.850 shooting (.551 TS) in 50 games (35.5 MPG). After finishing with the NBA’s worst record (14-68) last season, the Pistons have already more than doubled that meager win total and currently hold a 29-26 record, good for the No. 6 seed in the East.
Obviously, Cunningham has far more impressive rebounding and assist totals, and he’s Detroit’s best player. But as Wong writes, the first-time All-Star has been a far less efficient scorer than Powell, who also has better on/off numbers. According to Wong, Cunningham’s improvement was more or less expected — he was the No. 1 overall pick in 2021 — whereas Powell’s has been much more surprising and arguably more impactful to winning. Neither player is great defensively, so Wong views that as essentially a wash.
We want to know what you think. Should Cunningham, Powell or another player be selected as this season’s Most Improved Player? Head to the comments section to share your thoughts.
Pistons Notes: Thompson, Cunningham, Chemistry, Blaha
Pistons second-year forward Ausar Thompson hasn’t attempted a single 3-point shot in his last nine games but he’s found other ways to be an offensive threat, Hunter Patterson and Shakeia Taylor of The Athletic write. In seven February games, Thompson is averaging 14.6 points and 4.4 assists per contest while shooting 69.5% from the floor.
Thompson’s rookie season was cut short by blood-clotting issues and the start of his sophomore campaign was delayed until he was cleared to play. The No. 5 pick in the 2023 draft has now jumped into the starting lineup with Jaden Ivey sidelined by a broken fibula.
“He’s just putting it all together now and it’s great to see,” forward Tobias Harris said. “Every player has their own journey and I just think that you’re seeing him blossom into his game and really figure out his spots on the floor. … As he continues to gain that confidence in his game all around, he’s going to be a hell of a player in this league.”
We have more on the Pistons:
- Cade Cunningham, who is making his first All-Star appearance, said that undergoing season-ending shin surgery in his second season was a difficult decision that has paid off in the long run, he told Coty Davis of the Detroit News. “(The pain) got to a point where it was unbearable,” Cunningham said. “It definitely hindered my athletic development. So, getting the surgery allowed me to push myself to get my lower body strong again; all that stuff was huge for me, and now I feel better than I ever have.”
- Cunningham told Omari Sankofa II of the Detroit Free Press that he’s humbled by the accolades and support he’s received. “When I walk into arenas, really anywhere I go now, people are yelling All-Star, people are saying congratulations and telling me how cool it is and all that stuff,” he said. “It means a lot hearing that. To be amongst the All-Stars of the NBA, that’s a huge deal and I don’t take that lightly. It means a lot to me.”
- The Pistons are three games above .500 at the All-Star break, something no one outside of the organization could have anticipated. Coach J.B. Bickerstaff believes that the “vibes” among the players has played a big role, Sankofa writes in the same story. “All I can speak on is what I’ve seen since I’ve been here. The guys’ attitude, personality, chemistry, all those things has been excellent,” he said. “The vibes every day in the building are always positive, always uplifting, we’re not perfect, we have our moments, our emotions, we get into it and go back and forth but we quickly move on, and that’s the sign of a team that’s actually gelled and come together and has chemistry it takes to be successful.”
- Longtime Pistons broadcaster George Blaha has been selected to the Naismith Hall of Fame. He’s the recipient of the 2025 Curt Gowdy Media Award for electronic media, Rod Beard of the Detroit News relays. Blaha is in his 49th season as an NBA broadcaster. “I have to say, it’s thrilling to be part of that organization and truly to be singled out among the broadcasters,” Blaha said. “I’ve been to Springfield any number of times, and now I get to go back as an honoree. It’s going to be awesome.”
Central Notes: Duren, Thompson, Lillard, Middleton, Buzelis
Rising Pistons stars Jalen Duren and Ausar Thompson appear to have elevated their long-term ceilings this season, writes Keith Langlois of Pistons.com. Duren and Thompson are elite athletes, Langlois observes, but both players have also looked pretty raw at times as scorers. They look to be turning things around this month, however.
Thompson has averaged 14.6 points, 6.1 rebounds, 4.4 assists and 2.1 steals across seven contests in February. Head coach J.B. Bickerstaff is also exploring Thompson’s abilities to serve as a supplemental play-maker and get to the basket. He’s been averaging 4.7 free throw attempts per game this month.
“He’s growing into the role that this team needs him to be in,” Bickerstaff said of Thompson. “Offensively, we need him to be a threat. He’s an elite play-maker. Some of the passes he threw tonight … he’s a special passer, but now you can his confidence growing as he’s finishing at the rim.”
Duren, meanwhile, is also developing as a ball-handler. He has dished out 23 dimes against just seven turnovers in his last four contests.
There’s more out of the Central Division:
- Bucks point guard Damian Lillard, an Oakland native, is returning to the Bay Area for his ninth All-Star appearance this weekend at San Francisco’s Chase Center, writes Marc J. Spears of Andscape. Lillard observed that his hometown feels somewhat out-of-sorts as it is drained of its pro sports presence. “I feel like my childhood, a lot of the positivity was that all of the guys who are from the Bay Area we took pride in having our teams there,” Lillard said. “It gave us something to belong to us. But now with all of them leaving, it’s like a ghost town. So, I hate to see that for the city.” The Warriors have departed Oakland for San Francisco, the NFL’s Raiders left for Las Vegas, and the MLB’s Athletics are following suit.
- Former three-time All-Star Bucks forward Khris Middleton, a critical part of the club’s title run in 2021, was moved at the trade deadline to Washington. He published a social media post on Friday thanking fans in Milwaukee for the 12 years he spent with the team (Instagram link). “As I begin this new chapter, I’m excited for the opportunities ahead,” Middleton wrote in part. “But Milwaukee will always hold a special place in my heart.”
- Athletic Bulls rookie Matas Buzelis is looking to establish himself nationally in the AT&T Slam Dunk Contest on Saturday, writes Joe Cowley of The Chicago Sun-Times. ‘‘I’ve got a few dunks people have never seen before,’’ Buzelis said. ‘‘It should be fun.’’ According to Cowley, the 6’10” forward had been finessing his dunk portfolio over the last month with Zach LaVine, himself a two-time Slam Dunk champ, prior to the blockbuster deadline trade that sent LaVine to Sacramento.
Central Notes: Pistons, Cavs, Hunter, Strus, Okafor, Nesmith
The Pistons enter the All-Star break with a 29-26 record, their first winning record heading into the NBA’s annual celebration weekend since 2009. They’ll also carry a four-game winning streak into their next game on Feb. 21. Detroit recorded double-digit victories at Chicago on consecutive nights on Tuesday and Wednesday and currently hold a top-six playoff spot.
“We are pleased with what we have done,” coach J.B. Bickerstaff said. per Cory Davis of the Detroit News. “From where we came from to where we are now, there have been a lot of tough lessons learned, and that has been the enjoyable part of this. … A lot of growth. We are pleased with it, but we have a lot more work to do.”
We have more from the Central Division:
- With the acquisition of De’Andre Hunter, the Cavaliers essentially have a three-year championship window, as Jason Lloyd of The Athletic explains. The core group of the team is under contract through the 2026/27 season and the Cavs will likely have to exceed the second tax apron to keep it together. If Evan Mobley makes an All-NBA team this season, his max contract will increase and leave them above that level. The penalties for being above the second apron steadily increase if a team remains there for two or more seasons.
- In a subscriber-only story, Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com notes that Hunter may not necessarily wind up as a starter. Max Strus has been effective in the starting small forward spot and he’s averaging 15.3 points and 3.8 assists over the last three games.
- Alex Len was reportedly going to sign with the Pacers after he cleared waivers. Instead, he chose to go to the Lakers and the Pacers gave veteran big man Jahlil Okafor a 10-day contract. Okafor had been toiling in the G League with the Indiana Mad Ants. “We’re taking care of our own here. There were other options, but we elected to bring somebody on board that has been with us for the entirety of the Mad Ants season,” coach Rick Carlisle said, per Akeem Glaspie of the Indianapolis Star. “That’s loyalty to show to someone who’s shown loyalty to us, which is great. And I wish him the best.”
- Aaron Nesmith, who opened the season in the Pacers’ starting lineup, reclaimed his spot this week, with Bennedict Mathurin moving back to the second unit. Carlisle said Nesmith provides a different element to the starting five, Joel Erickson of the Indianapolis Star writes. “It creates a better balance on our team,” Carlisle said. “Benn’s a scorer, and Benn needs to get shots, and we have (Tyrese Haliburton) and Pascal (Siakam) out there to start games. This just makes it work better from an offensive standpoint.”