Brian Windhorst and a team of ESPN's Insiders sort out life and the news from in and around the NBA world, including one of the most influential people in this year's playoff push, the must-see games of the league's final regular-season week and why the Chicago Bulls are peaking at the right time.
It takes something truly special for LeBron James to feel warmth for Danny Ainge.
James, the Los Angeles Lakers superstar, and Ainge, the Utah Jazz CEO of basketball operations, are 26 years apart in age and have never played against each other on the court. But, oh, are they rivals.
Ainge, in his heart, will always be a Boston Celtic. James, in his heart, will always dislike the Celtics. It only gets edgier from there.
Ainge once built a team that beat James in the 2008 and 2010 playoffs and helped drive him from the Cleveland Cavaliers. James then beat the Celtics five straight times in the playoffs, including twice in conference finals elimination games in Boston.
James broke up Boston's Big Three by recruiting Ray Allen to the Miami Heat and then by crushing what was left, leading Ainge to trade away Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett. Ainge greased James' second exit out of Cleveland when he traded for Kyrie Irving in 2017.
Ainge was fined $25,000 by the league in 2010 for distracting James' teammates at the free throw line by throwing a towel from his baseline seat during a playoff game. Miami Heat president Pat Riley once told Ainge to "shut the f--- up" when Ainge called James' complaints to referees "embarrassing." Ainge also riled up James when he compared James to Donald Trump on a Boston radio show.
But let's not focus on just the past.
With the Jazz, Ainge -- and team general manager Justin Zanik -- have had an outsized role in the NBA's balance of power. A case could even be made for Ainge being one of the league's most influential people of the 2022-23 season.
And this is where James and Ainge have sprung up new feelings.
The deal Ainge made with the Lakers just before February's trade deadline has breathed new life into the team's season and has given James a belief that an epic playoff run could be there for him.
The Lakers are 14-7 since the deal, which finally found a trade partner to take on guard Russell Westbrook. Ainge took him -- and more relevantly the Lakers' 2027 top four first-round pick -- and quickly bought him out.
The fruits of the deal the Jazz made allowed the Lakers' to rebuild their depth, add vitally important 3-point shooting and open a bigger role for breakout contributor Austin Reaves. But perhaps most importantly, it gave James the motivation to see several specialists until he found a treatment that would allow him to return from a torn foot tendon because he believed this new roster had a chance to make a run.
The Lakers were in 13th place when the February deal was made. They start the season's final week just percentage points out of fifth place. They are the No. 1 defense in the league since the trade, largely because of the health and strong play of Anthony Davis within the new alignment, and with James back, could have the offensive firepower to make a historic run.
This is not the first time Ainge has been willing to assist a conference rival if there's something in it for him. "Trader Danny" earned that nickname because he has swung numerous blockbusters involving stars.
In 2004, Ainge joined a complicated three-team trade that enabled Rasheed Wallace to join the Detroit Pistons in a move that probably decided the title that season and assured years of Detroit dominance in the Eastern Conference.
In 2014, Ainge indirectly helped James again, partnering with the Cavaliers to help dump salary to open the cap space to sign James. It kicked off the Cavs' four-year run as East champs.
The Pistons' deal netted Ainge the draft pick that led to Tony Allen. The Cavs' deal got him the pick that landed Ante Zizic. Detroit and Cleveland got rings.
The Jazz, who sent away Mike Conley, Jarred Vanderbilt, Malik Beasley and Nickeil Alexander-Walker in the Lakers deal that also included the Minnesota Timberwolves, are now in 12th and likely headed to the lottery. (According to ESPN's Basketball Power Index, Utah has a 3.1% chance to reach the play-in tournament.)
The Timberwolves, who got Conley and Alexander-Walker in the deal for sending D'Angelo Russell to the Lakers, are also fighting for the playoffs thanks in part to Conley, whose addition undoubtedly helped Minnesota keep its postseason hopes alive while Karl-Anthony Towns recovered from a setback in his recovery from a calf injury that threatened the Wolves' season.
Helping Minnesota possibly make the playoffs was an interesting maneuver for the Jazz, who own the Wolves' first-round draft pick unprotected this year. Though, in fairness, the transaction might have helped the Jazz's own pick improve as they've sunk into the lottery picture.
The reason the Jazz have the Wolves' pick, of course, was the historic Rudy Gobert trade from last summer, a deal that rocked the NBA and set star trade negotiations on their side for the foreseeable future.
The Cavaliers have made the playoffs without James for the first time since 1998, largely because of the impact of acquiring Donovan Mitchell from the Jazz. Mitchell has 12 40-point games this season, already the second most in Cavs history behind James' 51. Mitchell's first season with the Cavs includes a 71-point game in January that broke James' single-game franchise scoring mark.
With one more win, the Cavs will secure home court in the first round, something that hasn't happened without James since 1993. Mitchell has been carrying them there, currently on a streak of three straight 40-point games.
The Atlanta Hawks have been in eighth place in the East since January but have their new coach, Quin Snyder, because the Jazz allowed him out of his contract without compensation to join the team in February. The Hawks gave Snyder a five-year deal reportedly worth $40 million after his amicable breakup with the Jazz.
After the Jazz sent Bojan Bogdanovic to the Pistons just before the start of the season, he became the team's leading scorer and best 3-point shooter. It set up a two-year, $39 million contract extension, though his season ended in March because of injury. Ainge got eight first-round picks in the Gobert, Mitchell and Lakers deals but traded away Bogdanovic for no draft picks.
None of this is to say any of these Jazz trades weren't shrewd. They got Lauri Markkanen, who could end up on the All-NBA team, and Walker Kessler, who will certainly be on the All-Rookie team, as young core players in addition to a bevy of draft picks that could transform the franchise over the next decade.
First-year coach Will Hardy has won praise for his player development, strategies and temperament. Talen Horton-Tucker, whom the Jazz got from the Lakers for Patrick Beverley in the offseason, has averaged 18 points, 5 rebounds and 6 assists per game since the All-Star break in what is looking like another coup of a deal.
One year in, the Jazz rebuild under Ainge, 64, looks beautiful, and that's before this May's draft lottery might smile on them.
But right now, the Jazz are helping a number of other teams smile, too. That's just the cost of doing business for the veteran Ainge, who has gotten the last laugh more than once over the years.
NBA reporter Tim Bontemps breaks down the biggest remaining games in the race to the postseason:
Mark these must-see games in your calendar now
After taking a one-day break to allow UConn and San Diego State to battle for the men's basketball national championship Monday night, the NBA schedule will resume Tuesday evening, kicking off a six-day sprint to the finish for one of the most unpredictable regular seasons in recent memory.
Among the teams jockeying for position, several games will feature direct competitors for seeding going head-to-head, which will play a large part in determining how the playoff picture will look.
With that in mind, here's a quick viewing guide for the final slate of regular-season games:
Kings at Pelicans | Tuesday, 8 p.m. ET
The Sacramento Kings still have a chance to grab second in the West after the Memphis Grizzlies lost to the Chicago Bulls on Sunday (the Kings hold the tiebreaker). The New Orleans Pelicans, meanwhile, could help determine that with a back-to-back against Sacramento and then Memphis at home.
Hawks at Bulls | Tuesday, 8 p.m. ET
If Chicago wins, it will control its destiny to finish at least ninth. If it loses, 10th is nearly a lock. Atlanta, meanwhile, would control its destiny for eighth, meaning winning one of two games to make the playoffs, instead of two -- with a win.
Lakers at Jazz | Tuesday, 9 p.m. ET
On the front end of a massive back-to-back -- at altitude, no less -- how will the Lakers handle this one? A Utah victory could set up a crucial game in Salt Lake City on Thursday night against the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Thunder at Warriors | Tuesday, 10 p.m. ET
Losing to a Denver team without Nikola Jokic on Sunday means the Warriors have given themselves little margin for error to avoid the play-in tournament if they do anything short of win their final three games.
Kings at Mavericks | Wednesday, 8:30 p.m. ET
Dallas has at least some chance of getting into the play-in with a win in this game. A loss, though, basically ends the Mavericks' season four days early.
Lakers at Clippers | Wednesday, 10 p.m ET (ESPN)
The winner of this game will have a massive advantage in the race to finish in the top six in the West. The loser will very likely be headed to the play-in tournament.
Thunder at Jazz | Thursday, 9 p.m. ET
If Dallas is unable to beat Sacramento, a win here would clinch a play-in spot for Oklahoma City. (The same would hold true if OKC beats Golden State on Tuesday.) Meanwhile, if Utah beats the Lakers, the winner of this game could be 10th in the West.
Warriors at Kings | Friday, 10 p.m. ET
A possible first-round playoff preview, this game could have seeding implications for both teams.
Suns at Lakers | Friday, 10:30 p.m. ET
If the Lakers beat the Clippers on Wednesday and the Suns on Friday, it would nearly clinch the first playoff matchup between LeBron James and Kevin Durant since the 2018 NBA Finals.
Pelicans at Timberwolves | Sunday, 3:30 p.m. ET
Minnesota's shocking loss to the Portland Trail Blazers likely took the Wolves out of one of the several multiteam tie possibilities in the West playoff picture, but there will certainly be significant seeding ramifications out of this game.
Clippers at Suns | Sunday, 3:30 p.m. ET
Phoenix could find itself in the fascinating situation of being able to dictate its opponent in the first round based on how this game plays out.
NBA reporter Jamal Collier explains why the Bulls could be a dangerous out in the postseason:
There's something different about this Chicago team of late
The Bulls' 128-107 win against the Grizzlies on Sunday was a microcosm of their up-and-down 2022-23 season.
The Bulls trailed by as many as 23 points in the first half before rallying to outscore the Grizzlies by 24 points in the third quarter and eventually coasting to one of their best wins of the season.
It was a fitting comeback for a team that entered the All-Star break seven games under .500 but has responded with its best basketball. Chicago has gone 12-7 since the All-Star break while ranking seventh in offensive efficiency and fourth in defensive efficiency.
The biggest differences for the Bulls: an adjusted starting lineup and a healthy Zach LaVine hitting his stride after offseason knee surgery.
The Bulls signed guard Patrick Beverley from the buyout market, inserted him and guard Alex Caruso into the starting lineup, replacing younger players such as Patrick Williams and Ayo Dosunmu. Chicago's new starting five of Beverley, Caruso, LaVine, DeMar DeRozan and Nikola Vucevic have a net rating of plus-18.2 in 240 minutes and is already coach Billy Donovan's second-most-used lineup this season.
Donovan has also leaned on increased production from LaVine. In 19 games since the All-Star break, LaVine is averaging 28.3 points and 4.6 assists on 55% shooting (43.6% from 3).
"I really felt like he was going to get his legs back at some point," Donovan said after Monday's practice. "I felt like he was going to get his bounce back. He just didn't have a normal training camp and a normal offseason. It took him some time to get to that. I had confidence that he would."
The Bulls have all but punched their ticket to the East play-in tournament with a four-game cushion for the 10-seed with four games to play -- and now have their sights set on moving up in the standings, starting with their Tuesday night matchup against the visiting Hawks.
"We've been in a must-win mentality," Caruso said after Monday's practice.