One of the trends we’ve come to understand is muscle watch, when players will post workout pictures around August or September, showing a physical transformation of sorts. This is usually accompanied by a caption somewhere along the lines of “Career year inbound? 👀” and the career year is almost never, in fact, inbound.

The one involving a Suns player, however, has been alongside actual basketball footage. Dare we say, intentional basketball footage that is worth bringing up.

Phoenix Suns center Jusuf Nurkic is online. He does not shy away from a reply here or there, as well as blocking someone in a way that triggers a “what did I say badly about the big fella?” response. Nurkic is a bit of a poster! Do not take this negatively. He is a refreshing, thoughtful guy to talk to in a media environment. This is to preface the fact that he is very likely aware of the on-court narrative that started formulating for him once new head coach Mike Budenholzer arrived.

With Brook Lopez and Bobby Portis used as stretch 5s under Budenholzer in Milwaukee, it has been asked if Nurkic will take on that role for Phoenix as well. In Budenholzer’s last year with the Atlanta Hawks, Al Horford went from 65 total 3-point attempts in his first eight seasons to 256 that year. Horford has since gone on to shoot over 40% from 3 for the Boston Celtics each of the last two seasons on great volume for a big.

Nurkic has been posting a fair share of his workouts overseas on Instagram, and the overwhelming majority of them involving a basketball play are him taking/making a 3-pointer.

Jusuf Nurkić is coming different next season 👀🔥

(h/t @Iceman_34 )

pic.twitter.com/ifsb64ki8p

— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) August 22, 2024

Ah, I forgot the fire emoji earlier. That’s on me.

Wouldn’t you know it, even Budenholzer himself came to visit Nurkic too.

👋🏻 ☀️ pic.twitter.com/hMQCJrrC3E

— Jusuf Nurkić 🇧🇦 (@bosnianbeast27) August 4, 2024

Jusuf Nurkic doing more stretch 5 things can help the Suns

Going off some admittedly mislabeled positional designations on NBA Stats, the Suns ranked 22nd last year in 3s made by centers. Take out Bol Bol’s 22, a player that almost never was featured at the 5, and Phoenix drops to 23 total and 26th. The teams it shares the bottom-five with all ranked top-five in alley-oop dunks from centers, while the Suns themselves were 29th there with just 23 as well.

This was another topic of conversation inside the Suns’ offseason, how there was a need for them to add a center with a more pronounced skill set in that singular dimension. The new additions don’t exactly solve this. Mason Plumlee is not the lob threat anymore that he was in the prime of his career. Rookie Oso Ighodaro will snag a few but it’s not the focal point of his offensive role. Both do not shoot.

Nurkic used to!

Two seasons ago, his last with the Portland Trail Blazers before arriving in Phoenix, Nurkic shot 36.1% across 119 attempts. That’s a solid 2.3 per game and a solid knockdown rate for a big.

Nurkic would relocate to the corner when a possession saw its sunset. The mechanics of his jumper are fine and dandy.

There’s also the obvious pick-and-pop situations, which can be used on or off the ball with how Nurkic will be utilized.

To put it bluntly, this was expected to be a thing in Phoenix, one of Nurkic’s talents that would help offset all his limitations in areas Deandre Ayton thrived in, such as finishing around the rim.

And it was. Until it wasn’t.

Nurkic attempted a 3-pointer in 33 of his first 35 games with the Suns, a total of 77 and an average of 2.2 a night that was right along with that frequency in Portland. The problem is he only made 27.3% of ’em and that was the point Phoenix cut off his water.

In Nurkic’s 46 remaining appearances, he took just 13, eight of which were in late-clock scenarios.

The question is, should he next season? Yeah! Probably!

The value trade-off of swapping out Nurkic’s susceptible efficiency around the basket in exchange for getting more 3s up as a team is there, especially if Nurkic can get back around the mid-30s on his percentage. Budenholzer can figure that out in real time much better, assessing the pros and cons as the season progresses. And if Nurkic isn’t making them again, the Suns can adjust again.

This all goes back to the core point when Nurkic was acquired. He provides value in other areas since he is not a traditional rim-rolling big or rim protector. The playmaking was there last year, as was the top-tier rebounding. A sprinkle of triples would be a welcome added bonus to push that value over the top for the Suns.

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Arizona had that advantage in the seventh inning when Kevin Ginkel gave up a solo homer to tie the game, Ginkel’s eighth earned run across 4.2 innings pitched in September.

The D-backs went with Ryan Thompson for the last out of the eighth to have him as the guy responsible for holding the door in the ninth. A leadoff single and intentional walk later, a broken bat grounder to second had the D-backs in a hurry to turn a double play. The forceout was applied at second but shortstop Geraldo Perdomo tossed a bad throw to first that went out of Christian Walker’s range and behind him to score the game-winning run.

Rockies walk it off on a Geraldo Perdomo throwing error! pic.twitter.com/qE0qjfWqTt

— Talkin’ Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) September 17, 2024

The D-backs had four at-bats with runners in scoring position, a slight stall-out for their offense that has been ultrareliable all year, and all three at-bats ended in meaningful results.

Arizona’s offense got started immediately with a Corbin Carroll triple setting up a two-RBI bomb via Ketel Marte that traveled 460 feet.

Three innings later, a Walker single and Pavin Smith base on balls put Arizona in a spot for some potential damage to begin the inning before Jake McCarthy lined into a double play.

The third at-bat with runners in scoring position came again three innings later. And once again with runners on first and second and nobody out, the D-backs hit into a double play. This put Gabriel Moreno up with two outs and a runner on third but he grounded out.

Merrill Kelly had his first outing since exiting a start with cramping that has been a problem for him at Chase Field. He didn’t run into many issues, giving up two hits and two walks for one earned run across six innings. One of his two hits was a solo homer, and both walks were in the bottom of the fifth inning but he avoided danger with one out in the only problem spot of his night.

Arizona was fortunate to see the Atlanta Braves lose on Monday, meaning it did not lose any ground on potentially slipping out of a playoff race. That gap remains at two games, with Atlanta holding the tiebreaker.

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While Arizona was an underdog by a touchdown, it was expected to compete at the top of the Big 12 alongside its opponent, as well as other teams like No. 13 Oklahoma State and No. 12 Utah. This game did not provide much confidence that first-year head coach Brent Brennan has his Wildcats ready to do that.

Arizona’s lack of discipline was a huge problem, committing nine penalties for 74 yards. A 14-7 halftime deficit felt like it could have been a lot worse, and that seven-point advantage getting tripled by Kansas State to 28-7 through three quarters pretty much cemented the game’s fate.

Missed opportunities in the first half defined the offense’s day. Quarterback Noah Fifita on a third down in the early second quarter had star wideout Tetairoa McMillan in the slot running a route with multiple options. But an unexpected misunderstanding for the duo praised for its chemistry led to an incompletion instead of what could have been a long gain McMillan could have turned into a touchdown.

On the next play, a poor punt by filling-in kicker Tyler Loop aided Kansas State’s Dylan Edwards, who ran it back 71 yards for a touchdown. It was very well a two-touchdown swing in just two plays.

The next drive saw Fifita have an open receiver in the slot breaking for the endzone but his slightly late read plus the ball sailing a bit gave Kansas State defensive back Keenan Garber enough time to break on it for an interception.

Stylistically, the matchup was an Arizona squad going primarily through the air against a fearsome Kansas State rushing attack, and it wasn’t close which strength was, erm, stronger. Kansas State was +179 in rushing yards while Arizona was +112 in passing yards, thanks largely to the fourth quarter. Kansas State averaged 5.7 yards per carry.

McMillan was back to being a large factor in the game after a perplexing two-catch outing the previous week. He grabbed 11 passes for 138 yards, the only successful element of Arizona’s offense.

Arizona will take a week off before playing again on the road, this time against the Utah Utes on Sept. 28.

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They are now out of time, traveling to face No. 14 Kansas State on Friday in a ranked matchup for No. 20 Arizona in the start of a two-game slate that will determine how the Wildcats’ season goes.

The Tucson squad will have a week off after the trip before challenging No. 12 Utah in Salt Lake City. If Arizona loses both games, the trendy College Football Playoff pick almost certainly is out of it already.

Split ’em and it’s still a possibility. Win ’em and it has defeated its two toughest on-paper conference foes this season with a clear path toward winning the Big 12.

It’s all on the line for Arizona vs. Kansas State

It is a strange coincidence of a meeting, as this was a nonconference series scheduled before Arizona’s move to the Big 12 and both schools had to settle on keeping the matchup after being unable to find suitable replacement games.

Arizona was favored by five touchdowns against both New Mexico and Northern Arizona before sleepwalking through both affairs. New Mexico was within three points at halftime before things got out of hand to a 61-39 final score. NAU actually led 10-6 at halftime in a 22-10 Arizona win it has its defense to thank for.

Outside of the generally sluggish execution, the biggest concern heading into facing Kansas State was receiver Tetairoa McMillan following up 10 catches for 304 yards and four touchdowns in the opener with two catches for 15 yards.

McMillan is the best wideout in the country and could very well go as far as proving himself as the best offensive player too, so any single-game performance like that is perplexing already — let alone after what he did to begin the year.

This would make sense if McMillan was new to the team or Arizona had a new quarterback. But as Kansas State head coach Chris Klieman put it, McMillan’s chemistry with Noah Fifita is as good as any QB-WR combination he’s ever seen.

Kansas State hasn’t been on point, either

Klieman’s team also had recent issues defending the pass, making this even more of an ultimate get-right game for McMillan.

Tulane mustered 342 yards through the air on just 19 completions against Kansas State in a game that went down to the wire last week. Kansas State outscored Tulane 24-7 in the second half to pull off a 34-27 victory.

The positive for Arizona’s offense last week was running back Quali Conley, who rushed for 17 carries and 112 yards versus NAU. The San Jose State transfer has been in a bit of a position battle with Jacory Croskey-Merritt, and Croskey-Merritt after 13 carries for 106 yards against New Mexico didn’t play due to eligibility concerns, concerns that still have his status as an unknown heading into Friday.

That puts an emphasis on the ground game. On the other side of the football, that’s where it lies for Kansas State. Running back DJ Giddens has 32 carries for 238 yards in two games, a yards per carry average of 7.4. His backup, Dylan Edwards, is at 10.8 on his nine carries for 97 yards.

As a whole, Kansas State’s 498 rushing yards far surpass its 347 passing at this point in the season.

Arizona junior linebacker Jacob Manu will have to be a focal point. He racked up a career-high 14 tackles against the Lumberjacks and takes on a good amount of the responsibility in meeting that duo in the gaps on Friday.

On the other side of the ball, KSU allowed Tulane’s top back, Makhi Hughes, to rush 21 times for 128 yards and a score last week.

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Since then — and ahead of the teams’ two-game series in Phoenix that begins Tuesday — the D-backs have rebounded into contending form with a 55-36 record to reach 80-64. The Rangers have not.

They went 45-45 and now sit at 70-74 overall, 6.5 games out of a Wild Card playoff spot with 18 games remaining. Thus, a World Series rematch will not be in the cards.

A fall-off for Texas was not expected, with a preseason over-under win total in the high 80s. If any team of last year’s two biggest surprises was predicted to miss the postseason, it was the D-backs.

So what happened to the Rangers?

To start, their offense has seen major individual regression.

OPS+ provides a solid indicator of how close or far players are from hitting league average, for better and for worse. With 100 as the middle ground, only four current Texas regulars (90-plus games played) sit north of that. Last year, 10 of the 12 Rangers with at least 90 games played were above league average.

Shortstop Corey Seager has been the lone constant this year, but even then, his OPS has dipped from 1.013 to .864, a 149-point drop-off.

Their two other star players have also seen major downticks. Right fielder Adolis Garcia (166 points to .670) and second baseman Marcus Semien (131 points to .695) are below-average hitters this year.

In simpler terms, the 2023 Rangers were third in catcher OPS and second baseman OPS, first in shortstop OPS and fifth in right fielder OPS, per Baseball-Reference. Only Seager has held within range this year at third.

At catcher with Jonah Heim (158 points to .597) and without Mitch Garver (signed with Seattle), Texas has dropped all the way to 26th, nearly rivaling right field’s fall with Garcia plummeting to 28th. Second base with Semien is down to a respectable 11th.

Texas’ lineup was really going to get pushed over the top by 2023 starlet Evan Carter and top prospect Wyatt Langford, but Carter has only played 45 games due to injury and Langford has been just fine, putting up a 101 OPS+ and .703 OPS.

Injuries have been significant in both departments, beyond just Carter. Third baseman Josh Jung was terrific in the World Series but played just four games before missing four months. He just returned at the end of July.

The pitching staff was already working from behind heading into the season with lengthy delays set on Jacob deGrom, Tyler Mahle and Max Scherzer. deGrom is nearly back from Tommy John Surgery and should pitch this season, Mahle didn’t pitch until Aug. 6 and Scherzer’s season debut was June 23.

Left-hander Cody Bradford missed nearly three months after making only three starts. Those four have combined for just 20 starts.

Texas still has Nathan Eovaldi (3.55 ERA, 1.06 WHIP), Andrew Heaney (3.84 ERA, 1.20 WHIP) and Jon Gray (4.47 ERA, 1.31 WHIP) putting up decent numbers. That’s not including trade deadline departure Michael Lorenzen, who had a 3.81 ERA in 18 starts before going to Kansas City.

All of that adds up to a perennially mid baseball team this year, sitting slightly below average in most basic statistical categories. There was no random major development to supplant this, like a D-backs batting lineup that was expected to be serviceable and instead is one of the best in MLB.

Texas should be back in the hunt next year, should the Rangers choose to be. Their key position players don’t have any major contract extensions coming up and Semien is the only one beyond his early 30s.

But Eovaldi, Heaney and Scherzer in the rotation are going to be on expiring deals in 2025. deGrom still has three pricey guaranteed years left, and there’s major long-term money spent on Seager and Semien too, so the Rangers will surely at least see out the first half of next year before some tough decisions could arrive.

Regardless, they serve as a lesson on the importance of capitalizing on your window when it’s there. Arizona’s window is open, while Texas’ is not.

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In the bottom of the fifth inning with one out, Astros designated hitter Kyle Tucker swung and missed at a Brandon Pfaadt sweeper. At the backend of Tucker’s swing, his bat hit Herrera on the head.

Herrera spent about a minute on the ground before getting evaluated by D-backs trainers and manager Torey Lovullo. Herrera initially looked like he could be OK once he collected himself, but the D-backs played it safe with a potential head injury and replaced Herrera with Adrian Del Castillo. Herrera was able to walk off under his own power.

Arizona is currently without starting catcher Gabriel Moreno, who is on the 10-day injured list. Lovullo said on Arizona Sports’ Burns & Gambo on Friday there is no return date set for Moreno as the catcher continues to make progress.

Lovullo said afterward that Herrera should be fine.

Torey Lovullo said catcher Jose Herrera is fine and went through protocols ok, and will even be in the lineup tomorrow.

He was hit on the head by a backswing from Kyle Tucker

Great news for Herrera and the #Dbacks.

— Jack Sommers (@shoewizard59) September 7, 2024

Herrera and Del Castillo have managed a platoon at catcher in Moreno’s absence. Herrera entered Friday hitting .217 with 10 RBIs.

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The Astros are 42-25 since June 19 while the D-backs across that span are 43-25. Houston, however, is 7-8 in its last 15 games and Arizona is 4-6 in its previous 10.

Because of where they were before mid-June, both teams require some level of consistency still in the last month of the season to make the postseason. Houston is 4.5 games up on the Seattle Mariners for an AL West that will likely champion only one playoff squad while Arizona is only 2.5 games ahead of the Atlanta Braves and New York Mets, who are tied for the last NL Wild Card spot.

Diamondbacks-Astros pitching probables

Friday, 5:10 p.m. — RHP Brandon Pfaadt (9-7, 4.32 ERA) vs. LHP Framber Valdez (13-6, 3.11)

Saturday, 1:10 p.m. — LHP Eduardo Rodriguez (2-1, 5.33 ERA) vs. LHP Yusei Kikuchi (7-9, 4.24)

Sunday, 4:10 p.m. — RHP Ryne Nelson (10-6, 4.15 ERA) vs. RHP Justin Verlander (3-5, 4.52)

Valdez has emerged in the last half-decade as one of baseball’s best southpaws, and Arizona is up to the task with a .777 OPS against lefty starters this year, slightly higher than its mark versus righties (.771). Kikuchi and Verlander are later arrivals in 2024 that are in theory supposed to round out a strong rotation led by Valdez and Ronel Blanco (3.03 ERA, 1.092 WHIP).

Kikuchi was acquired at the trade deadline from the Toronto Blue Jays and has a WHIP under one with Houston while Verlander’s return from nearly three months out has yielded 11 earned runs in 14.2 innings.

For the D-backs, Nelson’s stellar form will continue to push for consideration in the playoff rotation, as Pfaadt’s solid season has tailed off a bit in the last couple of weeks while Rodriguez is like Verlander in struggling coming off an extended absence.

Diamondbacks-Astros hitters to watch

D-backs: All eyes will be on if Ketel Marte is back in the lineup after missing a few weeks due to an ankle injury. Arizona’s offense has surprisingly held up through injuries but the feeling is the dam will eventually start showing major cracks, so the sooner its best player is back, the better. Catcher Gabriel Moreno is still not due back anytime soon, so Adrian Del Castillo has to rediscover some ability at the plate. Del Castillo is one for his last 13, all while his weaknesses defensively have become more pronounced.

Astros: Yordan Alvarez is on a Hall-of-Fame trajectory at 27 years old and is coming off a 1.178 OPS in August. His career OPS in 612 games is .975. One of the guys who has starred alongside him the last few years and held it down before he arrived was Alex Bregman, but the third baseman has largely been average at the plate this season, that is until he clocked a .947 OPS in August. On that note, their long-time franchise player Jose Altuve did not join Bregman in finding his rhythm during the stretch run, and his .784 OPS is a drop of 131 points from 2023.

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The largest decision looming over the Cardinals heading into Tuesday was how many quarterbacks they would be putting on the roster and if the loser of the QB2 battle would make the cut. Desmond Ridder, the offseason acquisition from the Atlanta Falcons, was the odd man out there.

The running back room did indeed prove to be too crowded. Michael Carter was cut despite impressing at the back-half of last season, clearing the way for Emari Demercado to battle with Trey Benson for RB2 touches behind James Conner. DeeJay Dallas remains on the roster for his special team duties in the return game.

On Monday night, part of the Cardinals’ position battle at edge rusher was solved when third-year pro Cameron Thomas was traded to the Kansas City Chiefs in exchange for a seventh-round pick. Tyreke Smith was also cut, leaving Arizona with five edge rushers on the initial 53-man roster.

Arizona’s roster does not include Zay Jones, who was suspended for the first five games of the season. His absence allowed undrafted rookie Xavier Weaver to slip in and take the fifth wideout spot after an impressive string of preseason performances while being buzzed about all training camp long.

Injured reserve placements for Christian Jones and Darius Robinson opened up two roster spots for borderline hopefuls like offensive lineman Trystan Colon and defensive back Joey Blount get nods. In addition, veteran linebacker Krys Barnes was cut and Arizona opted to carry only three inside linebackers, stacking up on another safety in Darren Hall. The Cardinals also have four tight ends on the roster, with Travis Vokolek making the team too.

The Cardinals could still choose to alter the 53-man roster after other cuts across the league are made, getting in on waiver wire claims. Arizona has the fourth-highest priority. The Cardinals could keep an eye out on any veteran quarterbacks becoming available, as well as any additional talent to add to an edge rushing group that was a weakness coming into the season and then lost B.J. Ojulari for the season.

Arizona Cardinals initial 53-man roster for 2024 season

QB — Kyler Murray, Clayton Tune

RB — James Conner, Trey Benson, Emari Demercado, DeeJay Dallas

WR — Marvin Harrison Jr., Michael Wilson, Greg Dortch, Zach Pascal, Xavier Weaver, Chris Moore (Zay Jones suspended)

TE — Trey McBride, Elijah Higgins, Tip Reiman, Travis Vokolek

OL — Paris Johnson Jr., Jonah Williams, Hjalte Froholdt, Will Hernandez, Evan Brown, Isaiah Adams, Kelvin Beachum, Jon Gaines II, Trystan Colon (Christian Jones on IR)

DL — Bilal Nichols, Justin Jones, Roy Lopez, Khyiris Tonga, L.J. Collier, Dante Stills (Darius Robinson on IR)

OLB — Zaven Collins, Dennis Gardeck, Xavier Thomas, Jesse Luketa, Victor Dimukeje

ILB — Kyzir White, Mack Wilson Sr., Owen Pappoe

CB — Sean Murphy-Bunting, Max Melton, Garrett Williams, Starling Thomas V, Kei’Trel Clark, Elijah Jones

S — Budda Baker, Jalen Thompson, Dadrion Taylor-Demerson, Darren Hall, Joey Blount

K — Matt Prater

P — Blake Gillikin

LS — Aaron Brewer

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Arizona has gone 50-24 since the start of June, the best in the bigs, while New York is 44-30. The D-backs went from hanging around on the outside-looking-in portion of the National League Wild Card race to holding the top spot, seven games clear of the first team out — the Mets. A race that looked like it would be defined by a handful of teams fluttering around .500 has seen everyone else remain in that holding pattern except for the D-backs (75-56), San Diego Padres (74-58) and Mets (68-63).

The, erm, Wild Card in the Wild Card has been the Atlanta Braves, who are 70-60 when it was widely presumed that the second-best team in the NL East would be out of reach. The Mets, though, could not only make the playoffs but could do so as that aforementioned runner-up in the NL East when it seemed destined to be the Braves and Philadelphia Phillies.

A three-game series at Chase Field against Arizona serves as the Mets’ potential last opportunity to keep another Wild Card spot in play, likely requiring a sweep of the D-backs to yank them back down into orbit again. Arizona on the other hand can continue icing out its extreme likelihood of making the playoffs, and to take it a step further, is just three games back of the Los Angeles Dodgers for the NL West lead to get a bye in the postseason bracket.

Diamondbacks-Mets pitching probables

Tuesday, 6:40 p.m. MST — RHP Brandon Pfaadt (8-6, 4.08 ERA) vs. LHP Sean Manaea (9-5, 3.48 ERA)

Wednesday, 6:40 p.m. PST — LHP Eduardo Rodriguez (2-0, 3.94 ERA) vs. RHP Luis Severino (9-6, 3.84 ERA)

Thursday, 12:40 p.m. PST — RHP Ryne Nelson (9-6, 4.29 ERA) vs. TBD

Allow this series to serve as the beginning of auditions for the last two positions in the D-backs playoff rotation.

Rodriguez was surely penned in before missing four months, and the next five weeks will be about seeing if he can find a rhythm before October. His last outing featured only one earned run against Miami but five of the Marlins’ six hits were off middle-middle misses over the heart of the plate. Pfaadt will have a serious case based off 1) how he pitched last postseason, 2) how he has been the single healthy mainstay this season and 3) if he can locate trustworthy form to round out the year. In his last five starts across 29.2 innings, Pfaadt has allowed 18 earned runs on 35 hits and four walks.

Nelson has pitched the best of any D-back over the last seven weeks, and if those two can’t show serious sharpness while Nelson keeps dealing, D-backs manager Torey Lovullo will at least be forced into a decision that Nelson factors into.

The Mets entered play on Monday 19th in starter ERA (4.19) and tied for 20th in starter WHIP (1.29). Those numbers trend away from above average due a lack of depth beyond Manaea, Severino and Jose Quintana, which inspires a “what could have been?” if All-Star Kodai Senga was healthy. Instead, he’s just made one start this year. The TBD on Thursday was the position of Paul Blackburn, who was placed on the 15-day injured list and is expected to get replaced by Tylor Megill. In 10 appearances, Megill has a 5.17 ERA.

Diamondbacks-Mets hitters to watch

D-backs: Eugenio Suarez has 47 RBIs since July 1, six more than any other player in MLB. And the crazy part is, while Suarez has been doing his job in August, he is eighth on the team in OPS for the month (.851). Others making up for the absences of Ketel Marte, Gabriel Moreno and Christian Walker include Joc Pederson (1.070 OPS), Adrian Del Castillo (1.011), Geraldo Perdomo (.925), Corbin Carroll (.914) and Jake McCarthy (.900). This team is mashing right now.

Mets: The surge since June has been led by Francisco Lindor, a superstar hiding in plain sight in New York of all places. He’s got a .922 OPS with 21 doubles, 18 homers and 49 RBIs in 56 games across that span.

Two unaccounted for bats in the preseason outlook have really aided his cause. Mark Vientos began the year in the minors and had one more stint down there that will be his last for a while. The 24-year-old is clocking an .885 OPS with 20 doubles, 21 homers and 55 RBIs on the season. His Triple-A Syracuse teammate was 12-year veteran Jose Iglesias, a man that was called up right before the calendar struck June for his first MLB experience since the end of the 2022 season. The 2015 All-Star has batted .325 in 57 games.

How to watch Diamondbacks vs. Mets

All three games are televised on DBACKS.TV through channel 34 on COX, with a radio broadcast on 98.7.

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Tier 4 — How are we not in an automatic playoff spot

7. Memphis Grizzlies

This should be a 50-win team again like it has been in the past. We’ve been deprived of Ja Morant for so long that Anthony Edwards took his place in the superstar hierarchy and we forget Morant is just as fun to watch. Desmond Bane and Jaren Jackson Jr. got to expand their offensive roles during the mess of last season while Memphis got to discover potential rotation finds like Vince Williams Jr. and G.G. Jackson.

Oh yeah, Marcus Smart is on this team! He’s great too! And Brandon Clarke! Then there’s rookie Zach Edey, who slips into the starting center role and should be a plus player in a limited role of 20-25 minutes a night immediately.

But there’s something not quite right here.

Jaren Jackson Jr. has had an odd career. We all know he is a very good player. He also can’t rebound and fouls a lot, which relegates him to the 4 where he is shooting 32.6% from 3 the last four seasons. Bane is a large variable too, someone with All-Star upside entering Year 5 after missing significant chunks of the last two seasons due to injury.

Edey will surprise you with how well he runs the floor and moves defensively in his drop coverage zones. The scoring touch around the rim is as advertised and a two-man game with Morant will be money from the jump. Edey is also not Steven Adams, a master at what he did over the years in all the little nuances that make great big men great. Replacing all that with a rookie is tough sledding.

Williams is absolutely ready to be a playoff-caliber wing. G.G. Jackson was a terrific story and can really score, while the other stuff remains to be seen. Memphis is lucky it hit on Bane because everyone else it has drafted since to play off Morant has been underwhelming. Maybe Jake LaRavia defies that trend in his third season?

All that before getting to Morant, a story that speaks for itself. There’s just the ask of needing to see it to believe it. The same was asked in this space a year ago of Dallas and Minnesota.

Oftentimes the tiebreaker is coaching. Taylor Jenkins is great and has a connection with his guys. With that, we’ll give Memphis the benefit of the doubt.

6. Sacramento Kings

(Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)

The Kings were a delightful story two years ago, nearly upsetting the Golden State Warriors in the first round and putting Sacramento back on the map.

Then, last year happened. They were slightly worse, got mostly bad contributions from the supporting cast around their two stars and that was enough to miss the playoffs.

Sacramento took a responsive swing by acquiring DeMar DeRozan, the most underrated player of his generation. DeRozan’s career has unfortunately withered away since he was traded by Toronto six years ago. There’s another version of his time where he’s made seven or eight All-NBA teams by now instead of just three. He’s a phenomenally great offensive player and gets a chance on a good team here to show everyone what he’s about.

The Kings will love his injection of half-court scoring and creation off of De’Aaron Fox, Domantas Sabonis and Malik Monk. DeRozan and Fox in crunch time is as deadly of a pairing as any.

The defensive fit is not ideal. Kevin Huerter had a weird season and presumably moves to the bench so Keon Ellis, the lone bright spot out of last year’s role player exploration crew, can get his defense involved more prominently. It’s a huge year for Keegan Murray to go from, “Hey, he’s not bad!” to a legitimately great complementary wing player. Trey Lyles has been pretty reliable for Sacramento and he all of a sudden becomes a lot more needed with Harrison Barnes’ departure.

The challenge for Mike Brown is getting the most out of Fox, Monk and electric factory rookie Devin Carter while still letting DeRozan and Sabonis do what they do. If Ellis was 6-foot-8 that’d be awesome but he’s the size of a point guard just like that trio. This is a small team. If Brown figures that out, this is a top-3 offense again and a squad firmly in the top-six. If not, it’s play-in time again.

I’m betting on them figuring it out and DeRozan pushing them over the top.

Tier 3 — Trust issues (but I still trust you for some reason)

5. Phoenix Suns

Phoenix gets bumped up to this tier because it should be a very, very good team in the regular season. None of those other teams offer the same assurance they will finish top-six.

Mike Budenholzer deserves all the hype for his ability to rack up victories and while “we still won 49 games” turned into an offseason meme it’s easy to see how that number gets to the mid-50s. If the Suns are a below-average team in the fourth quarter, that’s a few on its own. Add in a full season of Royce O’Neale, Bradley Beal being healthy to start the year and Tyus Jones’ implementation notching down the turnovers while notching up the offensive organization for a few more. If Bol Bol or Ryan Dunn can add something, this is suddenly a deep team too.

And then imagine if this team looks like it enjoys basketball again! Oh boy!

The problems have more to do with projecting for the postseason but aren’t any bigger than the next two teams.

With Jones, Phoenix is tiny. Denver, Minnesota and Oklahoma City are the MonStars in comparison. Dallas offers its own size issues too when you remember Luka Doncic is 6-foot-8 and 240 pounds. You can’t get to the Western Conference Finals before facing one of those four squads. The Suns majorly lack on-ball juice to defend the big-time weapons on any team, so that plus rebounding concerns is a recipe for a very bad defensive team.

Offensively, the Suns still have to show they can form a cohesive rhythm around Beal, Devin Booker and Kevin Durant. Jones will help, as will Budenholzer. That doesn’t mean they alone can completely fix it. It’s on those three and now those three have to shoot even more 3s after they didn’t listen to the coaching staff last season. A low-key concern here is removing Grayson Allen from the starting lineup. You know, the expert launcher of triples and the unsung connective piece who busted his ass last year more than anyone on the team. Finding Beal his touches gets even more difficult with Jones in there for Allen as well.

4. Denver Nuggets

(Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images)

Disclaimer: I understand how irrational it would appear to put these two teams in the same range. But let me explain!

Blahblahblah, the Nuggets were cheap in letting Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Bruce Brown go. Blahblahblah, no one can reasonably trust their young players to replace those guys (just like last year).

What’s more interesting here is the remaining core beyond the best player in the world, Nikola Jokic.

Jamal Murray is a pretty good NBA point guard who transforms into a superstar for the postseason. But he didn’t hatch this last go-around, shooting 40% and looking bothered by his latest injury. Two-and-a-half months later, Murray was still not moving well at the Olympics for Team Canada, bad enough for speculation to begin if he’s lost his burst entirely. The lack of explosiveness and space creation was quite alarming. While it’s not what defines his game, every guard requires some level of that, even the slower ones. Is he still that guy, pal?

In his last three full seasons, Michael Porter Jr. has had a notable bump in his scoring averages after the All-Star break. It seemed like that breakout was coming, Porter morphing into a 25-point-per-game guy and the third All-Star of this group. It just hasn’t happened yet and he’s 26 years old now. Either this is who he is, a great complementary piece to stars, or an elite enough talent to be mentioned right alongside Jokic and Murray.

Remember thinking that to a lesser degree with Aaron Gordon? He wound up getting to Denver and accepting a lesser role to become one of the most valuable role players in all of basketball.

The real question is if any of those three guys can be better next season in a way to supplant the lack of depth given how this is now a more top-heavy roster. Jokic doesn’t have any more new heights to reach. That’s the three-time MVP, brother. Murray is going in the wrong direction while Porter and Gordon have understandably stagnated. This did not matter when the Nuggets were armed with a balanced, lethal top of the rotation. It matters now.

To be clear, Denver should still win a whole lot of games. It’s just that the ice will crack as soon as a somewhat significant injury comes, and we’re talking about Murray and Porter. The Nuggets will now remain a step behind the next three teams come playoff time unless Christian Braun, Julian Strawther or Peyton Watson emerges as more than just a reliable rotation player. Braun knows how to impact games in an all-around way, Strawther can really shoot and Watson can really defend. Keep an eye on how that trio does.

Tier 2 — The third elite team

3. Dallas Mavericks

(Photo by Joshua Gateley/Getty Images)

Crafting an argument for regression is difficult. The foundation of Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving is stronger than it has any right to be. P.J. Washington’s seamless transition into an agitator who takes defense seriously while making every energy play he can was one of the pleasant surprises of last season. A center rotation of Dereck Lively II and Daniel Gafford is as good as any.

Naji Marshall will ease the impact of losing Derrick Jones Jr. with a slightly different skill set. He’s been quietly good behind some not-as-quietly really good wings in New Orleans the past three seasons and Dallas noticed. But he’s going to have to shoot it. Jones did enough and while Marshall is coming off a 38.7% knockdown rate from 3, his career numbers are 31.3% on 2.4 attempts per game. Jones, not a volume shooter, squeaked out 34.3% on 3.1 a night. Marshall is a better connector and that will help a lot.

The overarching question is if Dallas needs a great version of Klay Thompson to win the West. Thompson can score and shoot off the bench in bunches, as he did at the tail-end of the regular season when he fully immersed himself into a reserve role. And to the previous point on Marshall, Thompson will really help heighten the decision-making by the guys catching the kick-outs from Doncic and Irving. But his days as a serviceable defender are behind him and it’s not like there’s much shot creation left in the tank, either.

It doesn’t feel like the Mavericks require all that. Unlike Phoenix, Dallas won’t be in a position where it has no choice but to close with Thompson and play three perimeter players who bring red flags defensively. He will be in the Sixth Man of the Year running.

Two names to monitor are Olivier-Maxence Prosper and Quentin Grimes, with either’s trusted inclusion into the rotation giving the Mavericks enough depth to really compete.

Prosper is a 6-foot-8, 230-pound wing with a 7-foot-1 wingspan who was a first-round pick last year. He wasn’t ready for NBA minutes right away. Dallas would be perfectly set on the wing if it could sprinkle him in with Marshall and Washington. It surprised us with Lively last year. Maybe the Mavericks can do it again.

Dallas got back Grimes from Detroit when it salary dumped Tim Hardaway Jr. to Detroit, a move that surprised a lot of people. Grimes was legitimately good for the New York Knicks two years ago and the key player coming to the Pistons when it moved Bojan Bogdanovic and Alec Burks. Perhaps Detroit knows something we don’t on Grimes but bad teams tend to repeatedly do stupid things and you can’t help but get a whiff of that here for letting go of a sturdy defender and good shooter at guard.

These guys can win the West again. The foundation is just less concrete than the two top dogs.

Tier 1 — Complete and excellent basketball teams

2. Minnesota Timberwolves

Minnesota is really damn good. And young. We know Anthony Edwards, Jaden McDaniels and Naz Reid aren’t done getting better yet. On top of that, it quietly had the best NBA Draft night.

We spent months in the Valley speculating what an unprotected 2031 first-round pick could fetch and the T-Wolves turned it into the No. 8 pick and Kentucky guard Rob Dillingham, a bucket collector with lots of sauce to his game. Then they got Illinois’ Terrence Shannon Jr. in the late first round, one of the best fits for a contender in the entire draft (and he absolutely looked the part in Vegas). Both those guys add tons of juice to areas on the second unit that were lacking in explosiveness and big-play ability to the degree of Reid.

But this is more of a win-now situation than you’d think at first glance.

Mike Conley is crucial to what makes this team work and is 37 years old. We watched him control portions of that first-round series against Phoenix when Edwards was struggling to make the right reads in half-court looks. Rudy Gobert just turned 32 and is two years away from unrestricted free agency, just like Reid. And prized reserve guard Nickeil Alexander-Walker will go from making $4.3 million this year to a whole hell of a lot more from whoever he signs with next summer.

This team is about to get a whole lot more expensive and is already on pace to pay the second-highest luxury tax bill in the league. Did I mention they are going through ownership drama?

This is not to say Minnesota is about to make some crazy trade because of this but the clock is ticking already and the pressure of knowing that can affect teams sometimes, so it’s worth a mention. The key is again those two rookies because everyone else is absolute nails. If Dillingham and Shannon are good right away, the T-Wolves will threaten for 60-plus wins. They think Dillingham is and should feel just as certain Shannon is. If not, the signing of 37-year-old Joe Ingles starts to get a little too important to their liking.

1. Oklahoma City Thunder

(Photo by Sam Hodde/Getty Images)

Oklahoma City is the most complete team in the NBA.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander headlines as a certified star, the closest thing we’ve had to Ken Griffey Jr. since The Kid in terms of how cool, effortless and smooth an athlete makes greatness look. Jalen Williams and Chet Holmgren were better than expected last year and will make multiple All-Star teams. The league’s best trio of perimeter defenders is arguably Alex Caruso, Luguentz Dort and Cason Wallace. All six of those guys shoot it well, and that’s before getting to the sharpshooter on the team Isaiah Joe.

The Thunder overpaid massively for Isaiah Hartenstein in a *shrug* “Well, we’ve got the money, might as well use it” move to fill their only real need of size. Hartenstein defined himself in New York as a rugged, reliable player around the basket but actually was known as a versatile playmaking big coming out of the draft. Don’t be surprised if his passing pops and that he even starts knocking down some 3s, too.

He and Holmgren are the best rim-protecting duo around, supported by that aforementioned hydra on the perimeter. This team is going to be a monster defensively. An absolute monster.

Aaron Wiggins and Kenrich Williams are solid enough to round out the wing depth. Don’t forget about Jaylin Williams as well, a luxury of a third big. All three of them hit triples, too. While opponents will feel comfortable leaving some of the Thunder’s shooters open, namely Dort and Wiggins, they go 11 deep without an inefficient one popping up outside of Hartenstein (for now).

All that is stopping OKC is the young guns adapting to the postseason. There were a handful of moments in the second round when it was Gilgeous-Alexander’s time to step up and take over a game in the second half. The results were mixed. Jalen Williams was OK but never anything above that. Ditto for Holmgren.

Maybe this is a year early. Then again, that’s how it felt picking them to finish top-five last season and then they nearly won the West. As the Boston Celtics showed with their five-out style of play, basketball is trending in the direction of versatile rosters like this one becoming the standard. Oklahoma City has been ahead of the game for years and it’s getting rewarded for it.

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This season requires a major asterisk. The story would have gone up by late July had it not been for the obvious chess pieces we are waiting for on the board. Bruce Brown is still on the Toronto Raptors, somehow.

There are a few teams here that feel incomplete, clearly still in the midst of trade negotiations while battling through the limitations of these apron rules that have ruined flexibility for that thing that garners a fair amount of interest — trades! Those wrinkles in the latest collective bargaining agreement were a gigantic fail from an entertainment perspective.

For now, there aren’t any potential moves in the West that should drastically shift the pecking order, so these spots should be relatively close to where they would land regardless.

With Part 1, we begin in that unknown space to whet your appetite for potential wheelin’ and dealin’ that could be on the way.

Tier 7 — The perfect time to suck

15. Portland Trail Blazers

Congratulations to Portland for landing in last for the second straight season! There are both short- and long-term questions with the roster to monitor.

In drafting Donovan Clingan seventh overall, the Blazers indicated neither Deandre Ayton nor Robert Williams II is the ideal starting center for the present or future. For those in the Valley lower on Ayton, last season went about as expected. There were major lulls before a surge late in the season reignited the “if we can get that version of him” consistency conversation for a player entering his seventh NBA season.

Williams was hurt again, and even on a deal with only two years left on it, he’s got some major medical hoops to jump through before a team would consider acquiring him.

Ayton makes $34 million this year and is an expiring $35.5 million contract the year after. His career has suddenly entered a mercurial state now that it appears a second team is giving up on him. His contract is drastically overpriced for any team that still may have interest in him as a starting center. Williams is at a more affordable $12.4 million.

Jerami Grant is one of the central players we are waiting for to get traded, but he’s on the Bradley Beal paradigm. He’s definitely overpaid, with four years and over $130 million left on his deal. Can any contender or fringe play-in team make that work?

Keep an eye on Anfernee Simons. He’s a legitimately great offensive guard with two years left on his deal and is fairly redundant playing alongside Scoot Henderson and Shaedon Sharpe. Again, like Grant, a price tag of $25.8 million this season probably complicates the ability to move him, but both he and Portland have to decide if he’s the guy the rebuild is centered around.

Anyway, this team will be very, very bad again. That is no slight to some of the fun complementary players they have like Deni Avdija and some of the possible nuggets discovered on the back-half of the bench like Dalano Banton, Toumani Camara and Duop Reath.

14. Utah Jazz

The Lauri Markkanen variable was the one seemingly a handful of teams were waiting on. Because of the date he just signed his extension, Markkanen cannot be traded until next offseason, which is when he will have more value.

For back-to-back years, the Jazz have essentially declined play-in opportunities. They were 35-36 and 25-26, respectively, at points in those seasons before a mix of sitting injured guys and selling at the deadline led them to crater out.

Utah will be competitive again. Markkanen is a stud and there’s still enough Collin Sexton and Jordan Clarkson around to keep the Jazz in games. Both of those guards have two years left on their deals and the odds both are still on the roster by the end of the year are low. There is no reason to rank Utah any higher because of its clear intent to hop in its bomb shelter and wait out the storm while nearly everyone else in the West is good.

What could theoretically change things as soon as this year would be breakouts for their recent draft selections like Keyonte George, Taylor Hendricks, Cody Williams, Isaiah Collier and Kyle Filipowski. All of them have some level of fandom from smart basketball folks to believe there is high-end upside there. George is absolutely headed toward becoming a solid pro while Hendircks and the three rookies will get more opportunities than the Jazz previously allotted to show something.

Tier 6 — Attempting to transfer to the Eastern Conference

13. Los Angeles Clippers

There is a feint sentiment not to bet against the Clippers being a reliably great NBA team in the regular season before they fizzle in the playoffs. The Clippers are also averaging just under 46 wins per season over the last three, hardly giving confidence to suggest they are not immune to falling into the play-in pit.

It was great to see Kawhi Leonard look like Kawhi Leonard again and he played 68 games last year. James Harden took a major step back, attempting only 11.4 shots per game, and still remained rather effective as an initiator. The star power punch of that pair has some sting left in it, even as the two are in their mid-30s.

The concern is what exactly this team is supposed to be beyond that after losing Paul George in free agency. Here’s an alarming question: Who is the third-best player on this team? I think it might be Ivica Zubac? The third-highest paid is Norman Powell.

We have arrived at an age-old problem in roster construction when a collection of seventh-to-ninth men make up all of the rotation after one or two All-Stars. You like Terance Mann just like me and Nic Batum always finds a way to impact games. The signings of Derrick Jones Jr. and Kris Dunn were smart defensive additions. If this is the team to figure out Mo Bamba, the second unit might border on being fun to watch, at least on one end of the court.

But they are screwed when Leonard and Harden miss a week or six. When they don’t, it’s probably a fairly scrappy bunch. That’s not nearly good enough in this conference.

12. Golden State Warriors

I have never liked a team’s offseason more in a way that did not affect their standing at all.

The Warriors rebounded from the loss of Klay Thompson by bringing in De’Anthony Melton, Kyle Anderson and Buddy Hield — a trio of trustworthy veterans who will provide more as a combination than Thompson did individually. Jonathan Kuminga is definitely good and could be really good. Brandin Podziemski is at least going to be a great glue guy. Based on the way the Warriors kept him out of trade talks, they believe he will be much more than that.

The hesitation lies with Draymond Green and Andrew Wiggins. Green can still be a very effective version of what he was in his prime. It’s the increasingly volatile nature of his shenanigans plus the fact that he is not the player he once was that makes him unable to act as a true co-star alongside Stephen Curry. Wiggins’ career is one of the strangest for a No. 1 pick, ever. He at long last figured out what he is in the league and did so as an incredible supporting cast member on a championship team before regressing significantly the last two seasons.

This team goes 12-deep. While Curry is 36 years old, he remains one of the best players in the world. And all of that can’t fix what is a wholly uninspiring 2-7 of the rotation to compete.

11. Houston Rockets

Last year, our hypothesis on the Rockets was an upside of the 2018-19 Clippers, a 48-win squad without an All-Star that was loaded with really great ancillary pieces. Some version of that unfolded. Houston went 13-9 to begin the season and 16-7 to end it. It’s just that the Rockets were 12-25 between that to land at .500.

The Kevin Durant trade speculation was entirely about the Rockets wanting to trade for a star and nothing about Durant. It did perk up the ears on if something else is at play here. If there is, they can really certify themselves in the next echelon of the conference, confidently a play-in team. Without a deal, it’s mostly the same story, a very fun roster lacking star power.

Center Alperen Sengun will be an All-Star in the near future. But he’s not going to be an absolute force capable of carrying this team, a team that requires some real oomph elsewhere. A season later, we are largely in the same position we were with Jalen Green and Jabari Smith Jr., two players who are obviously good. But we have no idea about how good. There are a few really smart folks who think Reed Sheppard should have been the No. 1 pick. Maybe he’s that guy.

The rest of the roster is ready if any of those three have a big-time jump in them. Tari Eason and Amen Thompson make up the most fun role-player wing duo around. Eason only played 22 games last year and Thompson was a rookie, so expect to see far more of them in highlight packages this season. Former Sun Jock Landale was a key cog in the push across the stretch run, and if Steven Adams is healthy, that’s an awesome bash brothers from Down Under tandem.

If the offense led by Fred VanVleet can find some viability from those young-ins, this is a playoff team. They immediately established an identity around defense and grit last year, a dangerous combination for others to deal with given the amount of athleticism and length on the roster.

Tier 5 — So close yet so far

10. Los Angeles Lakers

I was a huge believer in this team last season. They got 70-plus games out of both Anthony Davis and LeBron James. Both got All-NBA nods. And yet, all of *motions around the room* this didn’t work. A supporting cast that seemed fairly complementary never found a balance. The only real spurt was an 11-3 finish to the season and they couldn’t even get a real series out of a totally wounded Denver Nuggets group even with some tremendous sequences from James sprinkled in.

There’s a good chance this was a version of what happened in Phoenix, a group submarined by a disconnect between the coaching staff and players. On paper, it’s five players most teams would love to have around two superstars. A pair of those, Jarred Vanderbilt and Gabe Vincent, combined for 40 games played. Dalton Knecht slipping to them in the draft was a heist, gifting a roster ready to launch under J.J. Redick the best NBA-ready shooter in the draft.

The problem is that’s where the improvements stop. It does not seem like nearly enough. Do we really want to talk ourselves into this being the year for D’Angelo Russell? A breakout for Rui Hachimura or Austin Reaves? It seems like the ship has done sailed on James’ chances at a title here. That’s why they seemed like an obvious candidate to make a fairly substantial trade this offseason. But nothing has come and the front office sounds OK with not going all-in. The needle gets moved a bit with acquiring someone in that Bruce Brown or Cam Johnson range. Until then, doubts persist.

9. New Orleans Pelicans

This is almost certainly not the final roster and I reserve the right to move them up a peg or two depending on what the trade is. You know the “MINE!” birds in Finding Nemo? Imagine those saying “behind!” in the The Bear’s kitchen. That’s how many cooks there are here.

Right now, two of C.J. McCollum, Dejounte Murray, Brandon Ingram, Zion Williamson, Herb Jones and Trey Murphy II will come off the bench. That is for a group with a center rotation consisting of rookie Yves Missi and journeyman Daniel Theis. Unless there’s some funky small-ball tomfoolery afoot, which would be completely bonkers and amazing to watch.

Either way, math ain’t math-ing. Let’s assume it’s McCollum or Ingram on the move and the return is decent. Then it will be much easier to forecast a really good basketball team. A strange pitstop in Atlanta halted Dejounte Murray’s ascent drastically after it took a while to get going in the first place with San Antonio. He is fantastic and this should serve as the best thing to happen to his career if New Orleans gives him room to work. Honestly, that should mean moving away from both McCollum and Ingram.

Here is the craziest prediction I will make all year: This will be the year for Zion Williamson. Last season was about staying healthy. And then he was incredible at the end of the season, including a spectacular performance in Phoenix that felt like one of those moments when you realized you are seeing a big one unfold in real-time. Yes, this ended with him getting hurt. But! This will be the year it all comes together! New Orleans is already financially committed to him so it might as well do so with its roster construction instead of loading up on scoring in case Williamson is hurt again. Maximize it!

That’s easy to do because Jones and Murphy are terrific, a 3-and-D wing duo that very well could be the best in basketball to offset star-level talent. Outside of putting some stock in a Year 2 arrival for Jordan Hawkins as a concrete part of the rotation, the supporting cast feels a little light. It’s almost like … a trade is on the way! *gasps*

8. San Antonio Spurs

Let’s establish three things.

One, there is little to no result for Victor Wembanyama’s second season that would be surprising individually. All-NBA and Defensive Player of the Year seem more likely than not. He got better so fast as a rookie that becoming an MVP candidate is on the table. The way he stepped up as a 20-year-old versus Team USA in a gold medal game overflowing with pressure in front of his home crowd was telling.

Two, Wembanyama was on the court with a few properly functioning NBA players last year. The 22-60 Spurs were good in small pockets. The foursome of Wembanyama, point guard Tre Jones, two-guard Devin Vassell and wing Jeremy Sochan outscored teams by 6.7 points per 100 possessions in 626 minutes. Take out the non-shooter Sochan and funnel it down to just the trio, the only three legitimate rotation-level players on the roster, and you got a 9.0 net rating in 806 minutes.

Three, Chris Paul has won just about everywhere he’s been. The combined record of Paul’s teams over his career is 946-576. That is an average of 50 wins per season even with three shortened seasons. He hasn’t finished below .500 since 2010 when the iPhone 4 was released.

Paul is not the player he once was. In both Oklahoma City and Phoenix, two situations you wouldn’t have expected to see him in, he proved he was still one of the best in the world. This will not be Round 3 of a renaissance to that level. But he’s still effective and is still the Point God. Even in 28 minutes a night, Paul is going to completely change how San Antonio operates and show an aimless group of mediocre talent how to win. And for goodness sake, he will set up Wembanyama in positions to succeed.

San Antonio prioritized the future over the present in the offseason. There was no use of long-term money in free agency or trading any draft capital to upgrade a roster sorely in need of more capable hands. Harrison Barnes was more of a salary dump, with the prize of that acquisition being a pick swap. Paul comes in on a one-year deal conveniently just under the mid-level exception, allowing him to be a buyout candidate if the ship sinks.

A bounce-back year for Keldon Johnson and No. 4 overall pick Stephon Castle being solid right away would still only give the Spurs eight reliable players. And the gap between their top guy and second-best player is bigger than any in the league.

But man, we all know what Wembanyama is and will soon be. And we all know what Paul does in these situations. We saw both up close. There’s something here.

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As a way to cover some of the main themes surrounding the team coming into the season, here are five matchups that should highlight those.

Suns games we’re most excited for in the 2024-25 schedule

Minnesota Timberwolves — @ Nov. 17, vs. Jan 29, vs. March 2, @ March 29

There is more here than any other Western Conference foe when it comes to storylines. It’s a rematch of the first-round sweep last year, a team that Phoenix looked mighty comfortable with in during the regular season. Some chippiness always carries over and the Suns will want to get their licks back. Then there is the relationship between Anthony Edwards and his idol, Kevin Durant, which is coming off the Olympic stage. It’s one that Devin Booker thrived on in a starting role ahead of Edwards in the Team USA pecking order.

There is also the stylistic items on the court itself. This will be even more pronounced than last year, especially with size. With a Tyus Jones/Mike Conley savvy point-guard-off covered, that leaves Bradley Beal or Booker to defend 6-foot-9 Jaden McDaniels and the other to take Edwards.

Mike Budenholzer will certainly get the Suns taking more 3s and presumably with a decent amount of pace. Minnesota is an opponent that Phoenix should get more out of with those two factors considering Karl-Anthony Towns has to defend Kevin Durant or one of the other two-guards, and the Suns letting Minnesota get away with that in the first round is the exact thing that can’t happen this time around.

New York Knicks — vs. Nov. 20, @ April 6

Elaborating on the size questions, the Knicks might be the tallest test of all (sorry). Beal and Booker will be mirrored by 6-foot-8 Mikal Bridges and 6-foot-7 OG Anunoby. The frontcourt includes 260-pound bruiser Julius Randle. How much of the concern is overblown and how much of this is actually a huge detriment to the Suns that will lose them games gets pushed to the limits by teams like New York. There really isn’t a choice with hiding the 6-foot-1 Jones on any of those three, thus he now has to mark All-NBA Second Team guard Jalen Brunson.

New York provides a great challenge for the Suns’ depth as well, which will be much improved. It’ll bring Donte DiVincenzo, Josh Hart and Miles McBride off the bench, three difference-makers to offset the Suns’ own in Grayson Allen and Royce O’Neale. The Knicks will also mix in either former Suns fan favorite Cam Payne or former Suns draft fan favorite Tyler Kolek at backup 1, where we may or may not see Phoenix’s other point guard signing Monte Morris. On the topic of reserves and with the Knicks’ athletes on the wing, this is when a heavy sprinkle of Bol Bol and Ryan Dunn would help matters if both prove reliable.

Most of all, the Knicks reach Tom Thibodeau’s desired level of physicality and grit, the type of traits combined with all the size and length that should punish the roster construction Phoenix has. With that said, if the Suns match it, they can maximize advantages elsewhere given their edge in talent on the ball. Last year, Phoenix did well in Madison Square Garden for Booker’s tremendous game-winner before giving up a buck thirty-nine at Footprint Center two weeks later, a shellacking that included a 50-burger for Brunson.

Sacramento Kings —- vs. Nov. 10, @ Nov. 13, vs. March 14, @ April 13

Consider this last trio as a litmus test for the play-in line. The Suns, on paper, clear that quite easily. But that’s before taking in how last year went and all of the hesitations built up based off that. Expect Budenholzer to clean that up and have this squad rolling in the regular season, thus avoiding a fate below top-six. So in bounding off that, these are three teams that have enough intrigue to reach beyond the muck of that and approach a squad like Phoenix attempting to hold down a spot in the 4-6 range.

Sacramento is in a similar position as Phoenix when analyzing its roster and how there is a vision for a really great team, but only if they can properly utilize it. The Kings are also small like the Suns, deploying Keegan Murray as a 4 and are heavily reliant on a guard rotation of De’Aaron Fox, DeMar DeRozan, Malik Monk, Kevin Huerter, Keon Ellis and Devin Carter. In all likelihood, this should be the most entertaining opponent over the course of the regular season. Track meets will ensue for two of the league’s best offenses.

Memphis Grizzlies — vs. Dec. 31, vs. Feb. 11, @ Feb. 25, @ March 10

Think of this as more of a lil’ check-in to see if Memphis has indeed snapped back into place, rebounding from a 27-win season to return to the form of a group that won 107 games the two years before that. If it is, the top-six will get more crowded.

No team has an individual on-ball answer for defending Ja Morant. But he’s an example of a hyper-explosive lead ball-handler to see how the Suns attempt to scheme against. Even at their best, Beal and Booker have little chance at keeping him in front. The Grizzlies will likely start Zach Edey (a non-shooter) and Jaren Jackson Jr. (a 33% 3-point shooter since 2020-21) together, allowing teams like Phoenix to help off and recover from there. Budenholzer is an underrated defensive coach and seeing how he plans for Morant will be interesting.

On the other end, Edey will be a pick-and-roll target from the jump, which is where Phoenix can exploit him via four different very good options handling the ball. With Desmond Bane and Marcus Smart presumably taking the matchups of Booker and Beal, that leaves Jackson to get the most out of his perimeter skills on Durant. Even a team like Memphis with two former Defensive Player of the Year winners still reaches the point of running into matchup problems against the Suns, something they have to be far better at getting the most out of this year.

San Antonio Spurs — vs. Dec 3, @ Feb. 20, vs. April 11

If you don’t remember the initial Victor Wembanyama experience, that’s understandable because the World Series was happening across the street. A quick synopsis is that Wembanyama majorly flashed his long-term potential everyone had been hyping up, his first real showcase moment in the NBA.

Wembanyama alone makes San Antonio worth a mention on this list. If you passed up seeing him live last year, don’t make that mistake again. It’s indescribable. There is also the Chris Paul effect to consider on a team coached by Gregg Popovich. Apologies if I just made you shudder. This team is going to be good, and like Memphis, getting a quick look at potentially how good will be nice. Are the Spurs going to be more frisky, or like a legitimate playoff team? Don’t rule out the latter.

Watching Paul and Booker compete against each other is worth the price of admission too. This was their first time doing so since the trade. Paul knew Booker’s shoulder lean in transition was coming, pulled the chair on him and made fun of him for it after.

Knew the shoulder was coming! pic.twitter.com/DiKWeMLrQu

— Kellan Olson (@KellanOlson) October 25, 2023

He’s the best. Hang that dude’s number up.

Lastly, San Antonio is not a deep team. It will be lucky to get to seven or eight trustworthy rotation players. While the Suns have a juggling act on their hands to get everyone proper minutes in the backcourt, they’ve got a great top-seven and a few others that have a chance at making a real impact this season. That is a difference-maker in the regular season that will win Phoenix a whole lot of games if it can find some consistency versus less talented competition. The Suns went 1-3 against the 22-60 Spurs last year.

And in a fun side note, the Feb. 20 matchup will actually take place at the Moody Center, home to Durant’s Texas Longhorns.

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Reddick has been a holdout in training camp with New York since the Jets traded for him from the Philadelphia Eagles in exchange for a conditional third-round pick in April. The 29-year-old had made the Pro Bowl back-to-back seasons with 27 total sacks, and with Reddick on an expiring contract, he is due for a big extension. The Eagles appeared to be unwilling to pay that and the Jets have joined that list as well.

The Jets issued a statement shortly after the reports, stating they told Reddick they will not trade him.

pic.twitter.com/jH8BGIbdsv

— New York Jets (@nyjets) August 12, 2024

The Cardinals originally drafted Reddick 13th overall in the 2017 NFL Draft. Arizona used the versatile linebacker in a myriad of ways over his four years in the Valley, a decision that wound up being a detriment to his development. He showed the most promise as a pass rusher, recording 12.5 sacks in 2020 after Arizona declined his fifth-year option in free agency.

Cc. @AZCardinals https://t.co/jZCl35DG1O

— Justin Pugh (@JustinPugh) August 12, 2024

The Carolina Panthers then signed Reddick to a one-year deal worth up to $8 million, a prove-it deal that he indeed proved with 11 sacks. That made Reddick a much hotter commodity in free agency a year later, which is when the Eagles gave Reddick a three-year contract totaling $45 million, the deal he is now in the last season of.

Reddick’s availability could interest the Cardinals, who went into the offseason with a need at pass rusher but didn’t add any impactful names and then lost starter B.J. Ojulari for the season due to a torn ACL. Arizona is now looking at Zaven Collins and Dennis Gardeck to take the bulk of the work a season after the same group chipped in on an effort of 33 total team sacks that ranked 30th in the NFL.

The question, of course, is if the Cardinals would be willing to pay Reddick in the way both Philadelphia and New York were not. Reddick turns 30 years old in September and Arizona has its own older Pro Bowler to commit long-term money to in 28-year-old safety Budda Baker, who is also on an expiring contract. Arizona also signed 28-year-old defensive linemen Justin Jones and Bilal Nichols to long-term deals that run through the 2026 season.

Reddick, though, could be maximized in Arizona this time around. When Reddick was a Second Team All-Pro in 2022, he did so under Cardinals head coach Jonathan Gannon as his defensive coordinator in Philadelphia.

Haason Reddick’s contract situation as of his Jets holdout

He’s scheduled to make $14.25 million in base salary in the final year of his deal. By missing the first three weeks of camp, Reddick is facing more than $1 million in mandatory fines. He also forfeited a $250,000 workout bonus for not attending the Jets’ offseason workouts. None of Reddick’s salary for this season is guaranteed.

During an introductory video call at the Jets’ facility on April 1, Reddick was eager to get started with his new team and wasn’t thinking about his contract situation.

“All options are open, but right now, currently, I’m just worried about being here, meeting everybody’s that in the building today,” Reddick said. “Contractual stuff, I’m leaving that up to my agent and Joe to figure out. Whatever happens, I’m going to be happy for and I’m going to give my all, no matter what. That’s just who I am as a person.

“So, no matter how it goes, how many years, I’m going to be here for however long I’m here for and I’m going to give the team, the fans everything that I have.”

Reddick was a first-round pick by Arizona in 2017 and has double-digit sacks in four straight seasons, including 27 during the past two years with the Eagles.

He was expected to boost the Jets’ pass rush after the team allowed Bryce Huff to leave in free agency and traded John Franklin-Myers to Denver. Micheal Clemons and Will McDonald are seeing increased snaps at defensive end opposite Jermaine Johnson in training camp, but New York will be hard pressed to match the sack production Reddick would be expected to provide.

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Booker finished with 15 points, six rebounds and three assists. He played the entire fourth quarter for the second straight game, a testament to his importance on this team. The trio of Booker (+18), LeBron James (+17) and Stephen Curry (+20) was the stabilizing force across a game that could have gone either way.

Durant added 15 points, four rebounds and four assists, drilling a couple of key shots in the second half. He becomes the all-time leader in the history of the men’s program with four Olympic gold medals while Booker now has two.

The competitiveness of this game rivaled the NBA Finals. Don’t define that word by the score line as much as the fire and spirit on the floor. It was absolutely through the roof, amped up further by a unbelievable crowd making serious noise for both sides.

The signature shooting barrages of Curry’s marvelous career capped what was a magical two final contests to watch for the Americans.

France hung around enough through some turnover issues for Team USA to be down just three with under three minutes to go. Curry then went bonkers, downing France with back-to-back-to-back-to-back 3s, ended by a dagger that was such a storybook ending it must be etched with a Song of Ice and Fire.

"THE GOLDEN DAGGER!"

Steph Curry that is utterly ridiculous. 🤯#ParisOlympics | 📺 NBC and Peacock pic.twitter.com/8hIN8tgmfK

— NBC Olympics & Paralympics (@NBCOlympics) August 10, 2024

Curry and Durant actually began 1-for-8 from three-point range and another stagnant offensive spurt from the second unit affected what should have been a double-digit lead for the United States. Instead, it was a slight France advantage early in the second quarter as the starters trickled back into the game.

That’s when James could sense he needed to take over when he got back in the game. It began with an isolation on Victor Wembanyama in which he boldly failed an attempt at a T-Mac, lobbing the ball to himself off the backboard, before he got himself and the squad rolling. James had a grab-and-go finish, Booker drilled a 3, Curry knocked one down from Booker on a sweet extra pass and then a Bam Adebayo dunk was followed by another James transition masterclass for an and-1.

That had Team USA up six to quickly regain control of the game in a 13-6 run over two-plus minutes. Durant then finally got another 3 to fall, as did Curry, and then a Booker transition and-1 finish completed a tremendous effort from the starters to buffer the lead to 10 late in the first half.

It was an eight-point edge for the Americans at halftime with 16 assists and 20 made field goals.

The balance of their effort began to overwhelm the French. Joel Embiid established himself on the block to get to the line and Curry hit his fourth triple of the night when he set a screen for James, a nightmarishly impossible defensive scenario to consider. Durant converted two midrange jumpers to relocate his rhythm as well.

The only way Team USA was going to fumble away its grip on the game was becoming its own worst enemy. Seven turnovers in the last 6:18 of the third quarter let France and its crowd to get back in it. The lead was only six going into the fourth.

The Americans widened the gap midway through the fourth quarter but the unforced errors persisted and France climbed back to a 82-79 margin at under three-and-a-half minutes to go, setting the stage for the Curry explosion.

Curry’s 24 points were a special moment for him in his first Olympics and something we as basketball fans have to consider might be the last time we ever see him at these heights again. The Golden State Warriors dynasty is over and he’s 36 years old. Appreciate what we saw from him even more if you weren’t already.

Ditto for James. He did get careless with his decision-making in a second half. He was trying to close out before Curry’s heroics but was still great in this game, particularly in a spectacular first half. It was 14 points, six rebounds and 10 assists to cap off a tremendous tournament in which FIBA crowned him MVP.

Anthony Davis had his best game of the Olympics and was an awesome bench big. In 20 minutes, he produced eight points, nine rebounds, an assist, two steals and four blocks.

Wembanyama was absolutely up for his moment, an omen for what is to come over the rest of his career. The 20-year-old scored a game-high 26 points and Guerschon Yabusele added 20 to also meet the moment as one of the best players in the tournament.

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If the Americans play in a high-level contest, like Thursday’s thrilling semifinals finish against Serbia, that phrase enters the discourse. That is not catching up. That is just being good enough to be competitive. Catching up would be playing Team USA 50-50 and defeating them a handful of times over a short period of time instead of once or twice a decade in Olympic play. We’re not there yet. Maybe we are in the future. But we’re not there yet.

That tees up Saturday’s gold medal matchup with France, because what the Serbians showed is that if Team USA plays an average to below-average brand of basketball, it will lose. The gap is not large enough anymore to scoot by on lengthy incompetent stretches of games. Thursday required an unbelievable fourth quarter to eek out a victory.

Saturday will require consistency and poise in a rematch of the 2021 Olympic final in Tokyo.

Head coach Steve Kerr closed the semifinals with a lineup of Stephen Curry, Devin Booker, LeBron James, Kevin Durant and Joel Embiid. This was effectively the starting lineup with Durant swapped in for Jrue Holiday, and given Durant’s calf injury had him start the Olympics on the bench, we can presume this was the planned five and the one we’ll see on Saturday.

The secret sauce in the comeback was rebounding and running. Serbia finally cooled off from 3 and the United States crashed the glass with real desperation that it extended to getting going in transition.

Team USA’s halfcourt reliance on off-ball motions for Curry, and Embiid’s individual scoring was too heavy on Thursday, which is why keeping the game out of that space as much as possible will benefit the Americans.

Kerr attempted to get away with a deep rotation but he went one game too long. The closing five, plus Holiday, Anthony Edwards and Anthony Davis should be the eight. Edwards had a rough go on Thursday in the few minutes he was initiating the offense, proving incapable of the decision-making process, but his emphatic on-ball defense and scoring in other areas should be given another chance. France will play three bigs, so we’ll probably see Bam Adebayo too, a fair call to make given he’s been good like Davis.

James has been pretty incredible as a jumbo playmaking floor general. With Durant out there, that should bring some big-time relief to the offense and the duo should balance it back out. Durant has maintained his intent to score despite the superstar squad, a key part of the adjustment guys naturally lose when they’re trying to be unselfish. That was Booker in the semifinal, passing up a few decent looks. Let it fly, Book.

There is not a continuity advantage here for the French side that you might expect.

France returns seven players from the 2021 matchups while it is five for the Americans. Both teams play completely differently from the Tokyo matchup. Evan Fournier no longer leads the French attack, which is instead prioritized around Victor Wembanyama, while James is the head of the American snake.

Wembanyama has not had the star-making tournament it looked like the night sky was aligning toward. He has largely struggled to establish himself as a scorer, shooter and playmaker, instead putting points on the board where he can inside the gaps while defending supremely well.

The Frenchman is shooting 37.5% from the field and 27.6% from 3 with only four free throw attempts per game, a surprising mark considering how much larger he is and how aggressive he has been trying to score.

It’s easy to forget Wembanyama is only 20 years old when we have been so quick to anoint him with future greatness.

While playing Team USA allows opponents to play free and feel like there’s no pressure on them, that does not apply when an Olympic gold medal is on the line. And it sure as hell does not apply when you are playing that game in the country across the front of your jersey.

Speaking of that, the crowd will be a huge advantage for France. Think of it as a boost for them instead of something that will rattle Team USA. Maybe it can shake up one American or two. But LeBron James? Stephen Curry? Kevin Durant? Nah.

When Germany dominated France in pool play, it was primarily because it took the crowd out of the game right away. A more competitive semifinals surprisingly saw a confident German side tighten up.

The message in USA’s pregame locker room will be to get out to a fast start and hijack the crowd’s enthusiasm. The opening 10 minutes will play a giant role in the whole game.

This is a really, really good French squad. It nearly lost to the massive underdogs Japan in pool play, a suggestion that the group wasn’t jelling and it wouldn’t be France’s year. But a fantastic effort in a physical war against Germany in the semifinals was all of France’s potential coming through.

Diehards of the NBA Draft process might know this: Do not use a lack of name recognition across France’s roster as a way to minimize the amount of NBA-quality talent.

Isaia Cordinier, Mathias Lessort and Guerschon Yabusele are all former selections with NBA athleticism and ability who are having fantastic tournaments. Cordinier can shoot and handle with great speed, Lessort is an undersized power big who cleans up around the basket while Yabusele is a high-end combination of strength and agility. All three of their agents are probably having conversations with NBA front offices right now.

In the opposite vein of Team USA not trying to upset anyone with the aforementioned deep rotations, France has shockingly moved Rudy Gobert to a bench role. The postgame of a quarterfinals win after this first occurred led to some confusion. Gobert and his teammates referred to surgery he had on his finger as a reason for the move, while the coach didn’t go that far and also noted the matchup aspects played into his decision.

However the injury is or isn’t playing into this, Gobert is hardly playing at all so France can maximize spacing with Wembanyama at the 5 while also still finding Lessort minutes he has earned. Gobert has played four and five minutes in the last two games, respectively. Team USA has too much shooting, especially if Durant starts, for Gobert to see much of the floor.

Fournier has moved to the bench in favor of Cordinier but is still capable of absolutely torching a FIBA game at any moment. He was unreal in 2021 and is the premium shot-maker on this squad. Fellow NBA veteran Nic Batum will be nails and impact the game everywhere, as he has for over a decade. Frank Ntilikina was a more high-profile prospect who recently made the transition to playing overseas and brings his pesky defense. France will also mix in Andrew Albicy and Matthew Strazel at guard, as well as 37-year-old Nando de Colo, who also spent time in the NBA.

When Albicy, de Colo, Fournier and Strazel are on the floor, Team USA has to maximize the advantages of hunting those mismatches. There is a real lack of either size or speed from those guards, and the USA attacking them is what having a superstar roster is all about. France can’t hide those guys anywhere. Certainly, the cerebral James will be eyeing that.

Lessort, Wembanyama and Yabusele are going to be physical on the offensive glass. Once again, eliminating those second chances and sparking the transition game is the name of the game for Team USA.

Lastly, Olympic final Kevin Durant is the final boss of all basketball. In three gold medal games, he is averaging 29.6 points per game. Toss in the 28 points against Turkey in the 2010 FIBA World Championships, too, if you want. Expect to see him at his best.

What time is the USA-France Olympic basketball gold medal game?

Saturday, 12:30 p.m. MST

TV: NBC, Peacock, NBCOlympics.com

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Team USA’s legendary 32-15 fourth period comeback over Serbia decided a 95-91 final that was the basketball gods gifting us one final moment to appreciate this current generation of the game.

Stephen Curry’s go-ahead 3, LeBron James’ unbelievable transition finish and a Curry transition layup was a 7-0, 42-second run that went from the Untied States being down one to up five in the late fourth quarter.

STEPHEN. CURRY. TEAM USA LEADS.#ParisOlympics | 📺 NBC, USA Network and Peacock pic.twitter.com/C4MUUl1v78

— NBC Olympics & Paralympics (@NBCOlympics) August 8, 2024

LECAPTAIN AMERICA!

Team USA extends their lead over Serbia. #ParisOlympics

📺 NBC, USA Network and Peacock pic.twitter.com/FvYRv6Mw8f

— NBC Olympics & Paralympics (@NBCOlympics) August 8, 2024

After a timeout call, Durant forced a backcourt violation on a phenomenal defensive possession. Then with 45 seconds left and Team USA up two, we all knew who to give the ball. Durant isolated and drilled a middy to effectively ice the game.

pic.twitter.com/MJSpIAgmzE

— Hated (@HatedzsMedia) August 8, 2024

Booker had six points in 24 minutes while Durant added nine points in his own 24 minutes. The duo and their squad advances to the gold medal game on Saturday at 12:30 p.m. MST against France in what will be an absolutely unglued atmosphere from Paris.

Curry was out of this world with 36 points, the savior of this game. Right behind him was Joel Embiid’s best outing for the Americans by far with 19. James had a triple-double of 16 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists.

In what we talked about for the preview to this matchup, Serbia cashed in its tickets from the 3-point line on being due for a scorcher after multiple poor shooting performances. It knocked down five of its first six 3s and 10 overall in the half it led by as many as 17.

A few offensive rebounds here, a few missed US free throws there and four turnovers that were unforced errors were all it took to trail by 11 at halftime. And it should have been much more if it wasn’t for a 17-point first quarter out of Curry.

If Team USA cruising through its first four games lulled you into a false sense of the Americans suddenly expanding the gap on their competitors, that gap just isn’t there anymore. Yes, the United States has the best squad by a sizable margin. But against the best of the rest, it is still not enough of a margin to avoid vulnerability. Team USA played a mediocre half, Serbia played an awesome one and that was the deal.

Serbia was going to leave a few windows in the second half and it was just a matter of if the Americans could capitalize. The first came in the mid-third quarter when the Serbians got cold but the United States turned it over on three out of four possessions and the other was Durant missing an open 3. It looked like it was shut before Curry and Jrue Holiday knocked down triples to make it 72-66. Serbia showed serious composure and got the lead back to 11 early in the fourth quarter.

Durant and Booker then hit back-to-back 3s to cut the Serbian lead to five, the lowest it had been since the late first quarter. A disastrous three offensive rebounds giving Serbia four free points was offset by five points from Embiid to bring it to 84-80 at under five minutes remaining. Embiid answered a Jokic bucket with his own and-one before another Embiid jumper and James layup tied it at 84 with 3:41 to go, setting the stage for that unforgettable closing sequence.

Bogdan Bogdanovic was miraculous, leading the Serbians with 20 points. Durant defended him for most of the fourth quarter and locked him up a few times to cool him off. Serbia’s undoing was an offense not primarily centered around Jokic and the two-man actions with point guard Vasilije Micic were handcuffed by Booker on multiple possessions as well. Jokic ended up with 17 points, five rebounds and 11 assists.

Serbia’s hot shooting continued in only the third quarter, as it failed to knock down a 3 in the final period after notching 15 in the opening 30 minutes.

The United States closed with Curry, Booker, James, Durant and Embiid during the rally, which has to be the 5 we will see start on Saturday.

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Rodriguez gave up three runs in 5.2 innings on four hits and two walks against the Cleveland Guardians in the second game of a doubleheader. After Arizona won the first 7-3, this one was a 5-3 victory for a series sweep.

Cleveland had only one plate appearance with runners in scoring position versus Rodriguez and it ended in a sac fly.

It was a great sign for how Rodriguez could contribute for the stretch run after he had missed the entire season up to this point due a shoulder injury sustained back in mid-March.

The first three innings couldn’t have gone much better, even if Cleveland’s David Fry clocked a solo homer off Rodriguez. That’s because the lefty only threw 27 pitches compared to 58 for Guardians starter Carlos Carrasco.

Brandon Pfaadt getting through 6.1 innings in the first affair gave Arizona some wiggle room in the bullpen for what would be a limited showing out of Rodriguez on a strict pitch count. Rodriguez only threw a total of 65 pitches. The D-backs would have the long relief of Slade Cecconi and called-up-27th-man Humberto Castellanos available, as well as the more trusted options of Kevin Ginkel, Justin Martinez and Ryan Thompson later on.

Rodriguez found his first obstacle in the fourth when a four-pitch, one-out walk to Josh Naylor was followed by a single to put runners on the corners. Naylor scored on a sac fly and then a groundout ended the inning without anything else building back up. Rodriguez tossed a 1-2-3 fifth before a Jose Ramirez solo shot in the sixth represented that third run off the left-hander.

The D-backs held a 4-3 lead when Rodriguez exited.

Josh Bell homered in his first two plate appearances for three total runs, his second multi-dinger game in five starts since joining the D-backs.

Rookie catcher Adrian Del Castillo made his MLB debut after he was called up from Triple-A when Gabriel Moreno was moved to the 10-day injured list earlier in the week. Del Castillo, who is particularly known for hitting doubles, has been raking for the Reno Aces, and he showed what he was all about right away with an RBI double in his first major league at-bat.

A lifetime of hard work all led to this moment. 👏

Adrian Del Castillo has his first @MLB hit and RBI! pic.twitter.com/Vj2Sbt6JLC

— Arizona Diamondbacks (@Dbacks) August 7, 2024

Randal Grichuk added another run on a homer in the seventh. Ginkel wrapped up the sixth and seventh without any more damage. Ryan Thompson, who sacrificed earned runs in all three of his outings since Paul Sewald lost the closer job, was demoted to the eighth inning. Thompson only faced three batters, recording two outs and leaving a runner on third before he was pulled.

With the All-Star Naylor coming up, The D-backs turned to lefty Joe Mantiply for the second straight time on the day in that type of situation. In Game 1, Naylor had runners on the corners with two outs in the bottom of the eighth inning and Mantiply forced a groundout in his only batter faced.

This time around, Mantiply struck Naylor out.

Justin Martinez got the save opportunity in the ninth. When Thompson blew the save on Monday and the game went to extras, Martinez completed an electric 10th for his first career save. Arizona chose to carry that momentum over to Wednesday.

Martinez was more eclectic than electric, missing his spots and showing his inexperience on a come-backer with one on and one out. The righty made a great play to stop the ball and bobbled it briefly, which based on everyday baseball timing made the clear decision to slowly take the guaranteed out at first. Martinez, however, seemed to change his mind at the last millisecond and tried to rifle one into second and threw it in the dirt. It would have been a close play anyway and he was lucky no runners were able to advance.

The 23-year-old wasn’t convincing the rest of the way but made Bo Naylor look foolish on a swing at a pitch way out of the zone for the second out and then had Daniel Schneemann in a 2-2 count before walking him on a wild pitch to load the bases. Martinez then struck out Lane Thomas on three pitches, earning a save that was a whole lot different than the last one but was worth the same as his first.

The D-backs are now 38-20 since June began and 14-4 since the All-Star break.

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It was luck of the draw for the D-backs to have Pfaadt cued up in the rotation for the second game of the doubleheader, with manager Torey Lovullo logically flipping him to the first contest.

The right-hander has gone six innings 16 times this season, six more than any other D-back. While injuries have played a factor in that separation, Pfaadt has reached that mark in 73% of his outings while Zac Gallen is at 53% and Jordan Montgomery sits at 38%. Merrill Kelly’s 75% beats Pfaadt but he has the benefit of only four total starts this year.

Point is, either starter racking up their pitch count and requiring an early exit would have put the other bullpen at a disadvantage in the follow-up game.

Pfaadt tossed 6.1 innings and allowed two earned runs on four hits and a walk. Two-run homers for Geraldo Perdomo in the second inning and Corbin Carroll gave Pfaadt a cushion to work with.

The pattern of Pfaadt’s young career has been well documented to this point. For the majority of his starts, he will look sharp throughout, only to find trouble in one particular inning that changes it from a great day to just a fine one. Sometimes it’s the fifth or sixth inning and sometimes it’s earlier. Wednesday was a prime example of this phenomenon.

Pfaadt was perfect through four innings and it was convincing. The Guardians looked hopeless. Then, as if the clock struck midnight, Cleveland’s Josh Naylor homered off him to begin the fifth. Andres Gimenez singled to kick off three straight hits, with Daniel Schneemann and Brayan Rocchio smashing the next two to score the second run of the inning.

With one out and runners on second and third, Bo Naylor hit a tricky fly ball to right field that Carroll tracked well through the wind and adjusted to at the last second for the catch. Carroll was attentive and immediately fired a throw home, a beauty on the money for an inning-ending double play.

WHAT A PLAY. pic.twitter.com/09CV10M8au

— Arizona Diamondbacks (@Dbacks) August 7, 2024

Carroll’s known for having a weak arm in right and has had some shaky moments defensively this year, so it was a great moment for him and the team that if going the other way could have decided it.

Pfaadt still turned this into a pretty darn good day overall by leveling off in the sixth inning and getting one out in the seventh before he made way for A.J. Puk at a 4-2 scoreline.

All eyes continue to be on how Lovullo chooses to go about the closer role following Paul Sewald’s transition into middle relief. Ryan Thompson got the first few nods but entered the day with an earned run on his record in three straight appearances, the first time Thompson had done that in consecutive appearances as a D-back let alone three in a row.

Justin Martinez’s electric 10th inning for his first career save on Monday after Thompson notched a blown save the inning prior could perhaps be some momentum in the youngster’s direction but after Puk it was Dylan Floro with a three-run lead. He was smooth in his first two D-backs appearances previously and was on his way to replicating that before allowing three straight two-out singles that scored one run. Lovullo didn’t want to risk it with two on for All-Star Josh Naylor, so the other lefty Joe Mantiply came in.

Mantiply through a tough at-bat forced Naylor to ground out and hold a 5-3 D-backs lead. After Ketel Marte’s latest insurance home run in the ninth inning brought home two and no longer put a save situation on the board. Sewald then got the ninth and now has three scoreless innings since the move.

Eugenio Suarez added an RBI double in the eighth.

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Bradley Beal was sitting on a trainer’s table at the Phoenix Suns facility after practice April 4, having what looked like less of a conversation and more of a listen to an elongated message from then-head coach Frank Vogel. At a distance, Beal did not seem engaged nor thrilled.

Who could blame him?

Beal has been through some challenging seasons, but last year surely tops the list.

A back injury in training camp turned into him missing 19 of 22 games to start the season. He arrived in the Valley fully aware of the narratives swirling about his inability to stay healthy, attached to him and hanging over his head like a HUD indicator on 2K. He wouldn’t be fully ready to play until two weeks before Christmas. In his third game back, New York Knicks guard Donte DiVincenzo undercut a Beal jumper five minutes into the game, twisting Beal’s ankle.

He sits for five games, working fine enough on a bum ankle in ways we’ve all watched NBA players do before at long last locating a groove. Beal is slipping into his role. He’s figuring out when he can be 30-point-per-game scorer Bradley (expletive) Beal and also when to step to the side, doing the dirty work.

To some, the highlight may have been a 37-point outburst in L.A. against the Lakers. For everyone, it should have been his 13-7-5 stat line while guarding Zion Williamson in a road win versus the New Orleans Pelicans.

In the very next game, Indiana Pacers center Myles Turner inadvertently elbows Beal in the face.

Beal plays through that too, this time with a mask. It again takes him time to adjust. Eight contests later, he rampages for 43 at his old stomping grounds in D.C. before following it up with a 25-piece and a 30-burger. Two games later, he plays 4:39 and tweaks his hamstring. He’s out five more games.

But no ramp-up period is required this go-around. Beal labors through 20 minutes in Houston and then proceeds to post an eight-game stretch over two weeks of 22.6 points and 6.1 assists per game on 54.6% shooting. Devin Booker is out for the first week and Beal keeps it rolling upon his return.

Until he didn’t. At some point at the turn of the new year, Beal is appointed the “point guard” of the team — or at least it was vocalized as such. On the surface level, it looks like an effort for the Suns to make their third banana feel valuable. While he’s bringing the ball up a fair bit and playmaking, it is still Booker’s show and everyone knows the Suns reach the tallest heights that way. Hell, Beal himself probably knows that.

Through injuries and a team just attempting to figure out how to co-exist, Beal is trying his best with this role. He’s even buying in. But the balancing act is understandably too much. Being Bradley (expletive) Beal and Point Guard Bradley Beal on the flip of a dime is affecting him. Beal starts to get passive and less connected to the core of the offense. After that two-week flurry, Beal goes on to attempt less than 15 shots in each of the next nine games. The last time that happened was 2013 when he was a 19-year-old rookie.

Teammates and coaches are urging Beal to be more aggressive. They know they can’t win with just Point Guard Bradley Beal and without Bradley (expletive) Beal. But after going in and out of the lineup due to injury with his role ever-changing — all while receiving inconsistent messaging from the coaching staff — Beal is likely exasperated.

That’s what it looked like on his face during that post-practice talk with Vogel, a moment in the middle of that unassertive string of games.

Beal reels up one more surge to end the year, 26.8 points per game in the final five, and then the playoffs were what they were.

That is not the story most of you remember for Beal this past season. It’s understandable. The lasting image for many fans of his first Suns season will be the most recent one they got, an awful Game 4 performance in the sweep at the hands of the Minnesota Timberwolves, an outing that surely is placed at the bottom of Beal’s career.

And now, one season after the Suns tripled down on committing to the second tax apron we’ve watched a handful of teams avoid with purpose this offseason — doing so by trading for Beal on a bad contract that cemented his place in Phoenix for four years — they’ve added a starting point guard.

All of this inspires the proclamation: What are the Phoenix Suns doing with Bradley Beal?

The short term is obvious. They are punting on the idea that Beal and Booker could work together as an initiating backcourt, using two extremely well-rounded two-guards and Kevin Durant to make up for not having a point guard. It’s less about the direction the league and moreso about the evolution of the game that certainly made this a half-decent gambit to attempt when there were little to no appealing options left to do with Chris Paul.

It didn’t work, “it” being the thing the Suns committed four years to. And they’re bailing on it in a year.

Is it the right decision? Impossible to say. Those of you who were clamoring for a floor general just scoffed, a valid response. But how much of this was on Beal’s health ruining continuity; how much of this was on Vogel’s inability to get buy-in ruining connectivity; how much of this was on how Beal and Booker work together; and how much of this was on not having a point guard?

It can’t be fully answered next year.Three of those four factors have been too significantly altered to make a rock-solid claim.

So to get back to Beal: Now what?

Signing Tyus Jones for $3.3 million was like seeing a misplaced sticker price and winning a dispute for it at customer service. It’s a no-brainer. That is, until it bumps either Booker or Beal to the third guard position in the starting lineup. And let’s be honest, that is going to be Beal. Jones brings value with the ball in his hands and then there’s Booker and Durant. Where does that leave Beal in the offense?

Jones is listed at 6-foot-1. Who is defending the star ball-handlers? Beal showed a penchant for it in the back half of the season, including a great effort on Anthony Edwards he got hardly any credit for in the postseason. Booker is the most capable of the three but is coming off his lowest defensive season in nearly a half-decade.

All of that is to say Beal is going to go from getting asked to become a point guard to become a 3-and-D wing.

A much-offered solution here is to transition Beal into a bench role. Perhaps a patch of Beal struggling as other parts of the team thrive sparks at least the beginning of a dialogue. That, however, is the point we will have to reach first. A 31-year-old three-time All-Star making $50-plus million a year over the next three seasons does not turn into a sixth man after one shaky season. The NBA has never worked like that and will not anytime soon.

The most damning part of it all is while Jones’ inclusion makes the Suns deeper and fixes some other issues it also creates a log jam with guard-sized players. There are 144 minutes to give out at the 1, 2 and 3. Let’s toss 32 each on the Mike Budenholzer Program™ to Booker and Beal. Let’s limit Jones to 25. That leaves 55 minutes to go between Grayson Allen, Monte Morris and Royce O’Neale. It’s already not enough for Allen and O’Neale as it is. Morris surely signed with some sort of expectation to play. And before you mention playing O’Neale at the 4, my goodness look at the size of this team.

Trade one of them then, right? If it’s Allen, there goes the best complementary shooter on the team and the one guy with consistent and impactful high-end energy last season. If it’s O’Neale, is there a bigger and better 3-and-D wing for a pretty good 3-and-D wing? Using that logic would mean the Suns made a move that forces them to make another move, which is always a bad recipe. Remember, a lot of the optimism for next year spawns from starting to build some continuity.

Maybe this is just ignorance. The Suns are going to work around Beal, behaving like this is all part of some new step in his career when in all actuality this is just the best they feel they can do, steps that would ignore how they need Beal at his best to win a championship. Maybe the Suns are right and this is what Beal needs.

Who knows. Worst of all, Beal probably doesn’t either.

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Booker was masterful in the quarterfinals victory over Spain in 2021 and it was the quarterfinals again three years later that brought the best out of him. He was arguably the best player on the floor, and while his 18 points led the way, it was everything else as usual that stood out more.

His nine-point surge over seven minutes of the first quarter included a few plays that won’t show up in the box score, like tipping out a defensive rebound away from a Brazilian player and deflecting a lob pass around the basket. That is the type of impact he has brought with the USA jersey in both Olympics and why he is vital to its success as “the perfect FIBA guy.”

“You just never know when you’re night is going to be,” Booker told NBC postgame. “You always have to be prepared for it. Locking into the details of the game is the important part (and) defending at a high level is what the team needs.”

Kevin Durant wasn’t required of much and contributed 11 points, passing Lisa Leslie on the all-time Team USA Olympic scoring leaderboard.

Booker and Durant remained in their roles from pool play, with Booker starting and Durant coming off the bench. Booker has been an irreplaceable glue guy for two straight Olympics while Durant’s scoring punch as a reserve with Anthony Edwards is a special dynamic head coach Steve Kerr is looking to maintain as long as he can afford to. And that opens a starting lineup spot for Jrue Holiday, who has formed an awesome one-two with Booker in role player duties from All-Stars.

Kerr took advantage of a blowout by giving Booker only 15 minutes ahead of the semifinals on Thursday and medal round on Saturday. Playing three games in five days is a typical NBA workload but Kerr rested Booker ahead of two games in three days when the two-guard could play 30-plus minutes in each.

Brazil briefly got within eight points early in the second quarter before a 15-0 run led by LeBron James closed out the first half and put the Americans in the driver’s seat with cruise control activated, up 27. James as the point guard has taken charge of a few furious flurries in the middle quarters that have blown the game open to keep the fourth quarter uncompetitive. James had 10 of his 12 points and eight of his nine assists in the opening two quarters while a 14-point first half for Joel Embiid was not only a big boost for him but the team too.

Team USA’s ball movement might not be popping off the screen but it has been incredibly efficient and concise thanks to a star-loaded group that all understands basic passing rotations off lopsided defensive alignments. It was a dozen assists on 13 made field goals in the first quarter and the Americans ended up with 31 dimes on 45 buckets.

Brazil wasn’t expected to be much of a test and the only acceptable result was a procedural result like Tuesday to continue building confidence for the more significant matchups. The United States now advances to the semifinals against Serbia, with the winner of Germany and France on the other side of the bracket. Germany has separated itself as the second-best team in the tournament while France was underachieving until a spirited handling of Canada on Tuesday in front of its home fans put everyone on notice.

Team USA-Serbia Olympic semifinals preview

Thursday will be the third meeting between Team USA and Serbia in the last month. Both have been convincing American wins, with the second in pool play featuring a Durant scoring explosion in the second quarter and a huge third period that made the result formulaic in the end. Out of respect to the quality of the Serbian side, the odds are low that it will be three straight finishes lacking any real drama. But then again,  maybe that’s just how good this Team USA squad is.

The Serbs are led by Nikola Jokic, the best player in the world who completely dominated the overtime period in the quarterfinals against Australia after a tremendous comeback in regulation. He might be the favorite for player of the tournament. Former Suns draft pick Bogdan Bogdanovic is a terrific FIBA player and has been having a great tournament through his deep scoring arsenal.

The supporting cast, though, struggles to knock down 3s. Serbia is shooting 32.4% from deep in four games. Despite that and an offense that doesn’t come close to orbiting around Jokic as much as it should, it is averaging 95.5 points per game, so we should see a shootout on Thursday.

America’s largest advantage in the matchup is athleticism and pace. Serbia lacks the type of length and quickness on the wing that defines a lot of what modern basketball has become. So if Team USA keeps the game in the half-court defensively by limiting turnovers offensively, it will be in prime position to cruise once more. The engagement has to be there on defense to seize this advantage or else Serbia, second in the tournament in assists per game, has the connectivity and passing chops to find the right gaps.

Jokic impressively had a plus-minus of zero in a 26-point loss to the Americans while Serbia shot 9-of-37 (24.3%) on 3s. Booker and Holiday were both called upon in the pool play victory to pester Serbian guards Aleksa Avramovic and Vasilije Micic, capable playmakers that spark the ball movement beyond Jokic. We should see some of Anthony Edwards and perhaps Derrick White on those two as well.

Expect Serbia to start drilling 3s. FIBA tournaments often feature March Madness-esque spurts from underdogs of unbelievable shot-making and a parade of triples. With how little Team USA has been tested, it feels like it is due and Serbia’s numbers indicate it is in its own right. How Kerr decides to tighten up his rotation, if at all, when this occurs against either Serbia or another team is the fascinating wrinkle everyone is curiously waiting on.

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