Let's roll with another round of 10 things, featuring some James Harden art, the slumping LA Clippers, the Los Angeles Lakers' defense and JaVale McGee ... needing to chill.
1. James Harden and the art of the pocket pass
Is Harden the best -- or at least most stylish -- pocket passer in NBA history?
The level of disguise is ridiculous. Harden's pocket passes flow right out of his dribble. He doesn't change the cadence of his strides or bounces. He is dribbling, and before you realize what is happening, some guy running beside Harden is dunking.
There is very little room for Jeff Green to knife to the rim there. Taj Gibson is barricading the paint. With the very promising Nicolas Claxton or DeAndre Jordan on the floor, the Nets don't offer pristine spacing for Harden-Green and Harden-Bruce Brown pick-and-rolls -- and it doesn't matter. Between the threat of Harden's prodigious scoring and the deception of his pocket passes, he can conjure corridors from thin air.
And the lobs are back!
That is high art. Do you know how hard that pass is -- how skilled you have to be to throw it to the perfect spot with the right arc, speed, and height? The straight north-south lob is so tricky. Passers generally prefer lobs along diagonals. They are easier to measure.
Harden has been incredible for the Brooklyn Nets. He's shooting well from everywhere, and running away with the assists crown. And please do not fall victim to the trope about Harden reinventing himself as if this dude didn't lead the league in assists way back in, umm, 2017.
Harden has always been a brilliant passer. That lob is straight out of the Harden-to-Clint Capela highlight reel. He can thread pocket passes from so many angles, with such variety in trajectory and spin, that I once compared one variation -- a low-to-the-ground bounce pass -- to someone skipping rocks across a pond.
He sees everything. Start inching toward the paint, and Harden whips the ball to your guy while you're still moving the wrong way. Every dribble has a purpose. He's pulling levers. He's also gutting out crunch-time wins; Harden is 16-of-28 in the last five minutes of close games in Brooklyn.
Like it or not, Harden has played himself into the MVP race. What Harden is doing in Kevin Durant's absence is perhaps the No. 1 reason the Nets were determined to land a third star: One star is injured, and Brooklyn still looks like a title contender.
2. Please chill, JaVale
On a bad team, JaVale McGee is having fun on offense -- and the Cleveland Cavaliers are apparently letting him do whatever he wants until they trade him or buy him out. (Several strong playoff teams have contacted the Cavaliers about McGee, but some are gauging the likelihood of a buyout before coughing up assets, league sources said.)
McGee is 5-of-19 on 3s after attempting 33 combined in 11 prior seasons. Centers jacking the occasional "What the hell?" 3 with no one near them is acceptable now. But, like, what is this?
McGee might be chasing the 2-for-1, but he goes way too late to execute it.
McGee is averaging 7.7 post-ups per 100 possessions, almost triple his career rate, and the results have been disastrous: loping hooks, off-kilter floaters, ugly misses. The Cavaliers have scored 0.824 points per possession when McGee shoots out of the post or dishes to a teammate who launches -- 83rd among 96 players with at least 25 post touches, per Second Spectrum tracking. He has traded dunks for floaters, which is like swapping gold for poop.
Every dribble is a turnover waiting to happen. McGee has coughed it up on 24.3% of possessions he has finished -- second worst overall.
On a contender, McGee will stick to being a two-way vertical threat. Opponents have hit just 48% at the rim with McGee contesting, the fourth-lowest figure among rotation bigs. For now, enjoy the wayward shots!
3. The Lakers' defense never went anywhere
The Lakers are 7-6 since deactivating Anthony Davis, and have outscored opponents in that span by 4.0 points per 100 possessions.
Panic about their initial slump without Davis (and Dennis Schroder) and its impact on LeBron James' MVP case overshadowed the real story: The Lakers' defense has sustained. The Lakers rank fifth in points allowed per possession since Davis last played.
They aren't as fearsome, of course. Their overall numbers are a tick worse. Their recent slate of opponents ranks slightly below average overall on offense. Those opponents have hit only 36% on midrangers -- second lowest in that period, per Cleaning The Glass data.
But it's way more than luck. The Lakers are flying around with calculated ferocity. Everyone has bought in. Their communication is on point.
Montrezl Harrell, barreling into the Sixth Man of the Year race, corrals Stephen Curry -- leaving James Wiseman an open lane. Wesley Matthews abandons Andrew Wiggins in the corner to body-check Wiseman. On cue, Kyle Kuzma -- playing the best all-around ball of his life -- makes the diagonal rotation from Draymond Green to Wiggins. Schroder pounces on Green. Talen Horton-Tucker finishes the job with an urgent close-out.
It's not perfect -- with more patience, the Warriors might have found Curry again -- but it's damned good. Not pictured: LeBron James, still one of the game's best and smartest help defenders -- and an on-ball menace when the Lakers need it.
LeBron, Davis, and Frank Vogel stressed defense from Day 1, and everyone -- including the two superstars -- committed all the way.
4. Clint Capela from end to end
It was a tumultuous season in Atlanta until the Hawks' recent seven-game winning streak (against an angel food cake schedule) catapulted them above the play-in fray. Injuries ravaged their rotation. The team fired coach Lloyd Pierce amid rumors of dissension. Splashy free-agent acquisitions contributed little until this streak -- convenient timing, I'm sure, from Pierce's perspective.
One constant: Capela has been an absolute destroyer on both ends. He patrols the rim with steely confidence. He's altering shots -- and swatting a career-high 2.3 per game -- without sacrificing rebounding position. He jumps only when he has to, or when he's certain he can get a piece. He knows he is a deterrent even with his feet on the ground. He is a wizard at playing both ball-handler and screener at once on the pick-and-roll without overcommitting to either or exposing any openings.
Opponents have hit only 50% of attempts at the rim with Capela around, one of the lowest marks in the league.
Capela is turning those rejections into points. This dude flies end to end.
As of Tuesday, Capela had recorded seven baskets within 24 seconds of blocking a shot -- third in the league, behind Giannis Antetokounmpo (10) and Myles Turner (8), per Elias Sports Bureau data.
That block shows the calm nuance in Capela's defense. He rotates across the paint to smother Nemanja Bjelica without flying at him. He stays balanced, and pivots back to Richaun Holmes in sync with Bjelica's pass.
Capela leads the league in offensive rebounding rate and is No. 2, behind only Andre Drummond, in defensive rebounding. He has inhaled 26.2% of all misses while on the floor. Digest that. One in every four rebounds is going to Capela. That would be the fifth-highest single-season rate in recorded league history, per Basketball-Reference.
Capela remains a voracious rim-runner on offense. Despite concerns about skill set overlap, the Capela-John Collins frontcourt has functioned just fine.
Collins is drawing heavy interest ahead of the deadline, league sources said. Trading Collins is complicated for Atlanta, even as he heads toward restricted free agency. They are under pressure to make the playoffs. Collins is one of their best players -- insurance for any Capela injury. He's earning "only" $4.1 million, so trading him for an impact player would require adding other Hawks to the deal.
5. The wandering of Elfrid Payton
Payton's failure to improve his jumper is the biggest reason he never met expectations. His defense was supposedly a given. Nope. He staganted there too, and that is the most disappointing part of Payton's career so far.
He has never shaken the habit of roving aimlessly and ball-watching in no-man's land:
That happens all the time. Payton gawks at (the very frisky!) Saben Lee, but he's not accomplishing anything. He's too far from both Lee and his original assignment -- Wayne Ellington, flitting about behind Payton's back.
What should Tom Thibodeau do when Payton returns? Immanuel Quickley, fill-in starter until missing Thursday's game, is (like most rookies) a liability on defense, but I'm not sure he's markedly worse than Payton. Quickley's range opens room for Julius Randle, Nerlens Noel, and the bulldozing RJ Barrett; the Quickley versions of New York's starting lineup -- one with Noel, one with Mitchell Robinson -- are plus-21 over 74 combined minutes.
But Payton is a Proven Veteran, and the Quickley-Derrick Rose duo has been blowing opposing second units out of the water. Can Thibodeau juggle Quickley, Rose, Alec Burks, and Reggie Bullock (playing really well on both ends) -- maybe with a small dose of Frank Ntilikina -- in a way that excises Payton? It's worth investigating.
6. Go up strong, Gordon Hayward!
Hayward's emphatic go-ahead, dunk over De'Aaron Fox on Monday stood out because it was somewhat against type. Hayward can get tentative around the rim when a strong take might at least earn him free throws.
At times, it's understandable. Hayward overflows with midrange craft; he can slam on the brakes, pivot, and spin into fadeaways. The Charlotte Hornets are clearly coaching guys to pass out of contested finishes if they see an open 3-point shooter.
But Hayward could probably exchange at least one midrange shot per game for something closer to paydirt -- a layup attempt, or one more dribble that might unlock a profitable drop-off. He sometimes appears to decide early that he's passing:
Take that over and through Harrison Barnes! (Also: Get out of the way, Cody Zeller! How fun would the Hornets be with a center who could do, like, anything with the ball? They are looking for one, league sources said.)
Give me more of the Hayward who abuses point guards on switches:
It will be interesting to see how James Borrego, Charlotte's coach, sorts things with Devonte' Graham back and Malik Monk entrenched in the rotation. Charlotte has four ball-handling guards now in Graham, Monk, LaMelo Ball, and Terry Rozier. That should in theory open up more minutes for Hayward at power forward -- where he could set more screens -- depending on whether Charlotte acquires another big.
Hayward has logged only 42 minutes with the Ball/Rozier/Graham trio, per NBA.com.
Also: Borrego has yet to play the lineup of Bridges, Monk, Ball, Rozier, and Graham -- jersey numbers 0, 1, 2, 3, and 4. The world is waiting!
7. Jae'Sean Tate, on the roll
One nice thing for beleaguered Houston Rockets fans: Tate looks like a steal -- a two-way guy who could play now on a good team, provided said team surrounded him with enough shooting. Tate is an eager, switchy defender who jostles for boards and makes a nuisance of himself around the basket -- and swipes steals and blocks. He plays bigger than his 6-4 height.
Tate's jumper is an unknown, but he has found other ways to help. The Rockets use him as a dive man on the pick-and-roll, and Tate has looked comfortable slicing for dunks and spraying passes:
He has a nifty jump hook for use against smaller defenders, and on bruising drives:
Houston has scored 1.156 points per possession when Tate shoots out of an isolation or passes to a teammate who fires -- 13th among 181 guys who have recorded at least 25 isos, per Second Spectrum tracking.
Tate can be turnover-prone, but he looks like a player.
8. It's too hard for lob-catchers to earn shooting fouls
I still think the league is stingy awarding shooting fouls on alley-oops:
These get labeled non-shooting fouls because players by rule must have control of the ball to earn those two free throws. Illegal contact on lots of lobs occurs as the lob-catcher rises or is just getting his fingers on the ball. The league does not want teams heaving wild lobs into scrums to hunt shooting fouls.
But lobs are not jump shots or floaters. By definition, the dunker does not control the ball until he's atop the rim. The leap is part of his shooting motion. If contact occurs as the player is about to snatch the ball cleanly, it reads more like a shooting foul -- doubly so in cases like the clip above, when Claxton catches and flicks a legitimate attempt.
Here's another:
You could argue that is a 50-50 ball -- that this should be a non-shooting foul. I'm not sure. That's a dunk without the contact.
These are hard calls -- shades of gray that do not lend themselves to hard-and-fast rules. But referees can (and do) make such distinctions, and the scale should tip a little more toward lob-catchers. That would discourage defenders from shoving airborne players -- a very dangerous act.
9. Jaylen Nowell, stepping into 3s
Things were never as bad in Minnesota as they seemed before Anthony Edwards erupted for 42 points Thursday night in Phoenix -- at least if you ignore the golden pick they owe the Golden State Warriors because they wildly overvalued D'Angelo Russell. Russell, Malik Beasley, and Karl-Anthony Towns have played just 80 minutes together this season. Anthony Edwards is really surging, easing the sting of LaMelo Mania. Beyond the scoring, he's taking on some tough defensive assignments and throwing a couple more nifty passes each game. I'm officially bullish. This team is now about Edwards, Towns and whomever Minnesota picks toward the top of the draft this season -- if the basketball gods allow them to keep their pick. Does Towns have the patience for that vision?
Things are still not great. That pick is a massive forfeited building block. A couple of alleged core guys -- including Jarrett Culver, the No. 6 pick in 2019 -- can barely hold down rotation spots on the league's worst team. They dipped into the luxury tax a year ago, and won't have much wiggle room until 2022-23. Rivals are, to be polite, monitoring Towns' desire to remain in Minnesota.
But things will perk up when everyone is available, and the Wolves deserve credit for hitting on Nowell, Naz Reid, and Jaden McDaniels. Nowell -- the 43rd pick in 2019 -- has been pressed into some backup point guard duty, and has not looked completely in over his head. (Having one of Towns and Edwards on the floor with Nowell at all times helps.)
He's stepping into off-the-bounce 3s:
Nowell is 12-of-25 on pull-up triples. That makes for a potent pick-and-roll partnership between Nowell and Towns, and indeed the Wolves have scored 1.48 points per possession when one of those two launches out of their two-man game -- or passes to a teammate who shoots, per Second Spectrum tracking. That is unsustainable -- it would lead all high-volume duos by a mile -- but the Wolves have something in Nowell.
He doesn't bring point guard playmaking, but Nowell looks like he can be a rotational combo guard.
10. Are the Clippers like their new gray uniforms?
First: The Clippers' gray "earned edition" uniforms are an abomination. They are beyond dull, with almost no color beyond white lettering that barely registers. They look so generic, you half expect them to read "opponent" or "team" on the front. They look like uniforms Kevin Arnold's class might have worn in gym on "The Wonder Years." Even Chuck the Condor is embarrassed.
So, umm: The Clippers are 5-8 over their past 13 games. Explain it away if you'd like. We are in the doldrums of a strange, disorienting season. Four starters -- Paul George, Kawhi Leonard, Serge Ibaka, and Patrick Beverley -- have missed multiple games in that stretch.
But the Clippers' offense has sunk to 16th in points per possession over the past month, and that should set off medium-volume alarms. The Clips' biggest red flag all season is that they put zero pressure on the rim. Only the Orlando Magic generate a lower share of attempts from the restricted area, per Cleaning The Glass data. The Clips rank 24th in free throw rate.
Both trends have shifted the wrong way. The Clips' free throw rate over the past month would rank dead last for the season, and it is even lower with both George and Leonard on the floor. The Clips have outscored opponents by 3.7 points per 100 possessions since Feb. 17 when their two superstars play together -- not good enough.
The Clippers are an elite jump-shooting team, maybe the league's best, but they are not winning the title as this sort of one-dimensional jump-shooting team. Some of this was baked into the decision to replace Montrezl Harrell with Ibaka, but the Clippers need more oomph.
George and Leonard are trying -- George has been zigzagging through lanes with determination for most of the season -- but everything is hard. Their stars are good playmakers, but not great ones. Leonard misses some quick-hitting passes when teams blitz the pick-and-roll, preferring to pull the ball out and work alone. That's fine -- Leonard is amazing -- but LA could use more instant hockey assist-style reads in those situations.
Without a reliable point guard, the only way the Clippers can find that oomph is by running every set at full throttle -- and occasionally getting out in transition. They are surely saving something for the postseason. (I trust that their defense is better than the current numbers.)
Expect the Clippers to be active over the next week with their limited remaining assets -- including a bundle of Detroit Pistons second-rounders. Patrick Patterson is making $3.1 million -- instead of the minimum -- for a reason, and it's not because of what he has done in 166 minutes of playing time. The Clips under Lawrence Frank have operated in extreme stealth. Rest assured, they are shaking trees.