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It was a busy February on the buyout market, with 10 different players giving up money as part of agreements to be released by their respective teams.

All 10 of those players have since found new homes, though one (Leandro Bolmaro) returned to Europe and one (Nerlens Noel) may have a new home only temporarily, since he’s still on a 10-day contract for now.

That leaves eight players who have signed rest-of-season contracts with potential contenders or playoff teams, and several of them have already claimed rotation roles with their new clubs.

Veteran point guard Reggie Jackson, for instance, has stepped into the role of second unit play-maker that Bones Hyland previously occupied with the Nuggets. In his first seven games with Denver, Jackson has struggled with his shot (.300/.324/.667) but is averaging 21.0 minutes per night and setting up his teammates (3.4 assists per game) while taking care of the ball reasonably well (1.1 turnovers per game).

Kevin Love, like Jackson, is once again playing regular minutes after being demoted from his role with his old team. And like Jackson, he has struggled to score efficiently so far, shooting just .396/.242/.875 in seven appearances (all starts; 22.1 MPG) for the Heat. Both Love and Jackson appear to have found good fits with their new teams, though they’ll need to boost their respective shooting percentages if they hope to keep playing 20-plus minutes per night.

Love isn’t the only buyout-market signee to immediately step into a starting role. Russell Westbrook has done the same with the Clippers and has become a major part of their rotation, averaging 30.4 minutes per game in his first seven contests. He’s still struggling with turnovers (4.1 per game) and hasn’t exactly been a defensive stopper, but has put up 14.1 PPG and 8.1 APG on 51.9% shooting.

While Terrence Ross and Justin Holiday weren’t brought into be difference-makers, they’ve played pretty well so far for the Suns and Mavericks, respectively. Ross is averaging 11.2 points in just 20.2 minutes per contest (five games) while making 39.3% of his 5.6 three-pointers per night; Holiday has made threes at the exact same clip (39.3% on 4.0 attempts per game) and has started two of his seven games with Dallas.

Patrick Beverley (Bulls), Will Barton (Raptors), and Goran Dragic (Bucks) are some of the other notable buyout market additions, but Beverley and Barton are on teams battling for play-in spots, and Dragic has yet to make his debut for his new team, so it remains to be seen how much impact they’ll be able to have.

Beverley, at least, is playing pretty big minutes in Chicago, starting all seven of his games so far and logging 28.0 MPG. And Dragic’s team appears well positioned to make a deep postseason run, so he should have plenty of time to get healthy and chip in. Barton hasn’t earned much of a role yet in Toronto, however.

Expectations are relatively low for players signed as free agents in February or March, so we shouldn’t count on any of these players to swing a playoff series — if they can be productive rotation players into the spring, that’ll constitute a win.

We want to know what you think. Which of this year’s buyout market additions will end up being the most impactful down the stretch and in the postseason?

Vote in our poll, then head to the comment section below to share your thoughts!

The Western Conference, where the No. 3 and No. 10 seeds are separated by just four games, may feature a more wide-open playoff race than the Eastern Conference, but things aren’t nearly as tight at the top of the West, where the top-seeded Nuggets have a five-game lead on the No. 2 Grizzlies and an eight-game cushion on the No. 3 Kings.

In the East, there has been a perception for much of the season that the Celtics and Bucks are in their own tier as the conference’s top teams, but their lead in the standings isn’t nearly as big as the one held by Denver in the West.

Heading into the All-Star break, the 42-17 Celtics and the 41-17 Bucks are separated by a half-game, while the 38-19 Sixers are only three games out of the East’s top seed and the 38-23 Cavaliers are within five games of Boston.

The Celtics opened the season by winning 21 of their first 26 games and haven’t slowed down much since then. Even during their less dominant 21-12 stretch following their 21-5 start, Boston has a top-five net rating. For the season, they own not only the NBA’s best record but the best net rating (plus-6.2).

The Bucks have made the Celtics sweat for that No. 1 seed though, winning their last 12 games in a row. Milwaukee’s defense, headed by Brook Lopez and former Defensive Player of the Year Giannis Antetokounmpo, has the NBA’s second-best rating, and the Bucks still haven’t really gotten a look at their lineup with a fully healthy Khris Middleton. If Middleton is back to 100% or close to it by the spring, Milwaukee will be an incredibly tough out in any playoff series.

The Sixers‘ star duo of James Harden and Joel Embiid has hit its stride in its first full year together. After an up-and-down start to the season that saw them at .500 (12-12) in early December, Philadelphia has gone 26-7, with Harden and Embiid leading the way — the 76ers have a plus-8.7 net rating when they’re on the court together.

Although they’re the last of the East’s top four teams and own the least playoff experience, the Cavaliers shouldn’t be overlooked. Their defensive rating (109.3) ranks first in the NBA, and only Boston has a better full-season net rating than Cleveland’s plus-5.8 mark. The Cavs were on a roll just prior to the All-Star break, winning seven straight games before dropping one in Philadelphia on Wednesday.

Those four clubs look like the best bets to represent the East in the NBA Finals this season, especially since the revamped Nets at No. 5 probably lack the star power to make a deep postseason run. But there could be some dark horse contenders further down the Eastern Conference standings.

The Knicks at No. 6 won’t make things easy on any playoff opponent; the No. 7 Heat made the Eastern Conference Finals a year ago with a similar roster to the one they have now, and have the conference’s fourth-best record against teams that are .500 or better.

The Hawks, Wizards, Raptors, and Bulls – who currently rank between No. 8 and No. 11 – have been too inconsistent so far to consider them real threats to win the conference, but each roster features at least one or two stars.

We want to know what you think. Which Eastern team will represent the conference in the NBA Finals this season?

Vote in our poll, then head to the comment section below to explain your pick.

The NBA’s 2023 three-point contest will take place on Saturday night as part of All-Star weekend in Salt Lake City.

The league’s announcement of this year’s participants resulted in a few raised eyebrows, since none of the eight players who will take part in the contest ranked among the top 10 shooters in the league – based on 3PT% – when they were selected.

Sharpshooters like Isaiah Joe (45.2%) and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (45.0%) were among the league leaders not believed to have received an invite, while stars like Stephen Curry (42.7%) and Desmond Bane (42.7%) presumably turned down invitations.

The NBA’s picks for the event reflect the league’s focus on stars over role players and its preference for volume three-point shooters over those who have high percentages but only attempt three or four shots per game from beyond the arc. The resulting field is as follows:

• Buddy Hield (Pacers): 42.6% on 9.0 attempts per game
• Lauri Markkanen (Jazz): 41.2% on 7.4 attempts per game
• Tyrese Haliburton (Pacers): 39.9% on 7.2 attempts per game
• Kevin Huerter (Kings): 39.2% on 6.8 attempts per game
• Damian Lillard (Trail Blazers): 37.2% on 11.2 attempts per game
• Tyler Herro (Heat): 36.9% on 8.1 attempts per game
• Jayson Tatum (Celtics): 35.7% on 9.3 attempts per game
• Julius Randle (Knicks): 33.8% on 8.0 attempts per game
  • Note: Randle is an injury replacement for Trail Blazers guard Anfernee Simons.

None of the eight players taking part in this year’s event participated in last year’s three-point contest, so there won’t be anyone defending his title — last year’s champion, Karl-Anthony Towns, is on the shelf due to a calf injury.

There is one former champion in the field, however, as well as two other players who have competed in this event in the past. Lillard and Tatum have each been in previous contests, while Hield took home the hardware in 2020.

The highest-percentage shooter among this year’s eight-man group, Hield is the co-favorite to win this year’s event, along with Lillard, per BetOnline.ag. Huerter has the third-best odds, followed by Herro and Haliburton. Tatum and Markkanen are tied for the second-worst odds, while Randle is a significant underdog.

But the three-point contest is unpredictable, since one well-timed hot streak – or poorly-timed cold stretch – can be the difference between winning and losing. So we want to know what you think.

Who will win this year’s three-point contest? Do you expect one of the favorites to come out victorious, or are you riding with an underdog?

Vote in our poll, then head to the comment section to share your thoughts!

Every team in the Western Conference was involved in at least one trade prior to last week’s deadline. With so much activity and the standings so jumbled together (except at the top and bottom), now is a good time to take stock of where things currently stand out West for the teams that have a chance at making the postseason.

1. Nuggets, 40-18 (28-11 vs. West)
   • In: Thomas Bryant, Reggie Jackson (free agent addition after buyout)
   • Out: Bones Hyland, Davon Reed
2. Grizzlies, 34-22 (16-16)
   • In: Luke Kennard
   • Out: Danny Green
3. Kings, 32-25 (20-13)
   • In: Kessler Edwards (had an open roster spot)
4. Suns, 32-27 (21-14)
   • In: Kevin Durant, T.J. Warren, Darius Bazley, Terrence Ross (free agent addition after buyout)
   • Out: Mikal Bridges, Cameron Johnson, Jae Crowder (wasn’t playing), Dario Saric
5. Clippers, 32-28 (18-16)
   • In: Eric Gordon, Mason Plumlee, Bones Hyland
   • Out: Luke Kennard, Reggie Jackson, John Wall
6. Mavericks, 31-28 (23-15)
   • In: Kyrie Irving, Markieff Morris, Justin Holiday (free agent addition after buyout)
   • Out: Spencer Dinwiddie, Dorian Finney-Smith
7. Pelicans, 30-28 (19-14)
   • In: Josh Richardson
   • Out: Devonte’ Graham
8. Timberwolves, 31-29 (22-19)
   • In: Mike Conley, Nickeil Alexander-Walker
   • Out: D’Angelo Russell, Bryn Forbes (waived)
9. Warriors, 29-29 (17-14)
   • In: Gary Payton II (injured)
   • Out: James Wiseman
10. Jazz, 29-30 (19-17)
    • In: Russell Westbrook (away from team), Damian Jones, Juan Toscano-Anderson
    • Out: Mike Conley, Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Malik Beasley, Jarred Vanderbilt
11. Trail Blazers, 28-30 (20-16)
    • In: Cam Reddish, Matisse Thybulle, Ryan Arcidiacono, Kevin Knox
    • Out: Josh Hart, Gary Payton II
12. Thunder, 27-29 (14-17)
    • In: Dario Saric, Eugene Omoruyi (promoted from two-way deal)
    • Out: Darius Bazley, Mike Muscala
13. Lakers, 26-32 (13-20)
    • In: Rui Hachimura, Davon Reed, D’Angelo Russell, Malik Beasley, Jarred Vanderbilt, Mohamed Bamba
    • Out: Kendrick Nunn, Russell Westbrook, Damian Jones, Juan Toscano-Anderson, Thomas Bryant, Patrick Beverley

Phoenix made the biggest splash, trading for superstar forward Durant (MCL sprain), who won’t make his Suns debut until after the All-Star break. The Mavericks got a second star to pair with Luka Doncic in Irving, though he can be mercurial. The Clippers bolstered their guard depth and added a traditional backup center in Plumlee.

Golden State dealt away its former second overall pick and brought back a familiar face to try and defend its title, but discovered that Payton was injured and will miss a significant amount of time. The Wolves swapped out point guards, preferring Conley’s veteran leadership and additional year of team control to Russell’s expiring deal.

The Lakers completely reshaped their roster, but with only 24 games remaining, they’re running out of time to make up ground in the standings. The Jazz were a seller, but they have exceeded expectations all season and hold a half-game lead on the Blazers and Thunder for the final spot in the play-in tournament.

The top three seeds were all relatively quiet at the deadline, particularly the Kings, who only made one very minor trade. It’s understandable why the Nuggets and Grizzlies were confident in their teams, given their respective places in the standings.

After starting the season 14-10, the Nuggets have gone 26-8 over their past 34 games. They hold a five-game lead over Memphis for the top seed in the West and currently have a 26-4 home record in 2022/23 — home court advantage could be a big deal for Denver in the playoffs.

We want to know what you think. Which team will represent the Western Conference in the NBA Finals?

Vote in our poll, then head to the comment section to weigh in with your predictions.

In the Eastern Conference, only three games separate the No. 6 seed (the 18-16 Knicks) from the No. 11 seed (the 14-18 Bulls). Both the Magic and Wizards are just 13-21, yet they’re only two-and-a-half games back of the play-in tournament, with the Raptors (15-18) currently holding the No. 10 seed.

Out West, the Warriors have struggled to this point, currently holding a 15-18 record and the No. 11 seed, yet they’re only four games back of the Suns (19-14), the current No. 4 seed. The Lakers dropped to 13-20 on Sunday after giving up a league-high 51 points in the third quarter to Dallas (Twitter link via ESPN’s Tim MacMahon), yet they’re still only three games back of the final play-in spot (currently held by the 16-17 Timberwolves).

The bunched-together standings are a major reason why relatively few sellers have emerged on the trade market with the February 9 deadline just six weeks away. In the West, the Rockets and Spurs are obvious candidates to deal away veterans, while the Pistons, Magic and Hornets figure to make some of their veterans available in the East, though Charlotte hasn’t been mentioned in any real rumors yet.

A couple teams are in a sort of awkward middle ground. The Pacers (17-16, No. 8 in the East) and Jazz (19-16, No. 7 in the West) were viewed as sellers entering the fall and were not expected to have a record above .500 roughly 40% of the way through the regular season, and yet they’re right in the mix for a playoff spot.

Several teams with playoff ambitions have been inconsistent thus far: the Knicks, Hawks, Heat, Raptors, Bulls, Wizards, Mavericks, Blazers, Timberwolves and Warriors (you could even throw in the Clippers and Kings). Out of that group, the Raptors, Bulls and Wizards are eyed by rival teams as possible sellers if they continue to have subpar results.

That leads us to our poll: Which teams will emerge as deadline sellers? Vote and then head to the comments and let us know what you think!

The wild thing is, it’s possible that any (or all) of the five teams listed in our poll could become buyers instead of sellers, and it could be an entirely different group that emerges as sellers in several weeks! That’s both exciting and confusing for trying to get a read on the market.

The G League revamped its overtime format this season, as we detailed earlier in the week, replacing a traditional two-minute overtime period with a seven-point target score. Instead of simply tacking on another two minutes to the clock, the G League turns the clock off entirely once overtime begins, with the first team to score seven points winning the game.

ESPN’s Kevin Pelton (Insider link) suggested earlier this week that it’s a tweak we could eventually see make its way to the NBA, and John Hollinger of The Athletic wrote today about that possibility too. According to Hollinger, the rule change has received “generally positive” reviews and NBAGL staffers seem to love it.

The target score – also known as the “Elam Ending” in honor of creator Nick Elam – has been used in the fourth quarter of the NBA All-Star Game in recent years. However, as Pelton observes, it’s a better fit in overtime, since the two teams start the period tied — that simplifies the target score, since both clubs need to score the same amount of points, instead of one team needing, say, 40 points, while the other team needs 27.

Since the NBA’s overtime period runs for five minutes instead of just two minutes like in the G League, an overtime target score at the NBA level would likely have to be higher than seven points — Pelton believes that something around 11 might work.

There would be some drawbacks if the NBA instituted such a change. We’d lose the drama of double- or triple-overtime games, and there would be no possibility of a game ending on a buzzer beater.

However, coaches and front offices may welcome the elimination of those double- or triple-overtime contests, which can result in top players playing huge minutes. With teams more concerned than ever about managing players’ workloads, they could favor the relative certainty of the target-score ending.

As for the lost buzzer beaters, it’s worth noting that the Elam Ending requires every game to end on a made shot, so if the score stays tight throughout overtime, there should still be plenty of excitement in end-game scenarios.

There would likely still be plenty of anticlimactic endings, with games ending via a free throw or by one team pouring in 11 points before the other team has scored more than a basket or two. But that’s an issue with the current overtime format as well.

We want to know what you think. Our poll below simply asks whether or not the NBA should adopt the Elam Ending for overtime, but if you have suggestions for potential variations (perhaps a standard five-minute overtime period followed by a target score in double overtime?), we want to hear them.

Vote in our poll, then head to the comment section below to share your thoughts!