By NBA insiders | ESPN, 2024-11-29 21:00:00
由生成式人工智能翻译，译文内容可能不准确或不完整，以原文为准。
2024 年 NBA 杯小组赛正式接近尾声，淘汰赛的对阵形势将在未来几天变得更加明朗。
金州勇士队在西部 C 组占据统治地位后，已经锁定了淘汰赛席位。休斯顿火箭队在周二的西部 A 组加时赛中击败明尼苏达森林狼队后，也将加入他们的行列。
记住，净胜分在本次锦标赛中至关重要，尤其是对洛杉矶湖人队而言。湖人队在周二比赛前净胜分为 +12 分，但在以 100-127 的比分惨败给菲尼克斯太阳队后，现在在西部 B 组中追赶太阳队。勒布朗·詹姆斯(LeBron James)和卫冕赛季锦标赛冠军的晋级之路变得异常艰难。
小组赛将于 12 月 3 日结束，四分之一决赛将于 12 月 10 日和 11 日举行，各队将争夺第二个赛季锦标赛冠军奖杯，更不用说每位球员 50 万美元的奖金了。
我们邀请了我们的 NBA 内部人士来回答这场高风险锦标赛中一些最重要的问题，包括谁是小组赛 MVP，以及到目前为止最大的惊喜是什么。
到目前为止，哪个小组的竞争最为激烈？
莱特(Michael Wright): 西部 C 组。本周开始时，有三支球队排在西部联盟前七名：勇士队、丹佛掘金队和孟菲斯灰熊队。更不用说卫冕西部冠军达拉斯独行侠队当然也不是弱旅。灰熊队和新奥尔良鹈鹕队本赛季都受到了伤病的困扰，这就是为什么他们在 NBA 杯和常规赛中都表现挣扎的原因。然而，勇士队在成为第一支获得 NBA 杯淘汰赛资格的球队后，正在轻松地从小组赛中突围，并在此过程中淘汰了新奥尔良。
蒂姆·麦克马洪(Tim MacMahon): 西部 B 组的表现符合预期。预计将是最艰难的小组，它包括三支上赛季进入季后赛的球队（卫冕赛季锦标赛冠军湖人队、俄克拉荷马城雷霆队和太阳队）以及圣安东尼奥马刺队，他们在维克多·文班亚马(Victor Wembanyama)身边提升了阵容配置后，本赛季正在取得巨大飞跃。所有这四支球队在 NBA 杯比赛中都只输了一场，所以这个小组的淘汰赛资格争夺将持续到最后一刻。
戴夫·麦克梅纳明(Dave McMenamin): 东部 C 组。它包括卫冕冠军波士顿凯尔特人队、联盟中最炙手可热的球队克利夫兰骑士队，以及芝加哥公牛队和亚特兰大老鹰队——当然，他们都是胜率低于 50% 的球队，但无论怎样，要战胜他们都不容易。此外，所有这四支球队都足够强大，可以忽略惨淡的华盛顿奇才队，他们在周二晚上被公牛队淘汰。
奥姆·扬米苏克(Ohm Youngmisuk): 由于克利夫兰的火热开局，东部 C 组的竞争比最初预期的要激烈得多。卫冕冠军凯尔特人队也在同一组，东部 C 组拥有联盟中战绩最好的两支球队。然而，在周二的比赛之后，芝加哥、亚特兰大和波士顿都并列第三，周五的比赛将决定哪支球队更接近淘汰赛。
克里斯·赫林(Chris Herring): 西部 B 组。是的，犹他爵士队真的很糟糕。但该组的其他四支球队——雷霆队、太阳队、湖人队和马刺队——都有胜率超过 50%，如果赛季今天结束，他们都将进入季后赛。就太阳队而言，考虑到他们在凯文·杜兰特和布拉德利·比尔遭受小腿伤病之前是联盟中最炙手可热的球队之一，他们可能比他们的战绩要好得多。
哪支球队的表现最令人惊喜？
麦克梅纳明: 密尔沃基雄鹿队。雄鹿队在小组赛中表现出色，取得了 3 胜 0 负的战绩——包括战胜了上赛季的东部决赛球队印第安纳步行者队，以及在扬尼斯·阿德托昆博缺席的情况下在客场战胜迈阿密热火队——而且在所有其他比赛中都表现平平。雄鹿队看起来有点像上赛季的 NBA 杯冠军湖人队。
扬米苏克: 虽然他们目前只打了 NBA 杯的两场比赛，但在周五的比赛开始前，底特律活塞队在杯赛中以令人惊讶的 2 胜 0 负的战绩领跑。是的，活塞队需要埃里克·斯波尔斯特拉在没有暂停的情况下叫暂停的罕见失误才能在加时赛中战胜迈阿密热火队。但活塞队在一个赛季只赢了 14 场比赛后，现在有机会进入淘汰赛，这令人印象深刻。
赫林: 把他们称为最大的惊喜感觉不公平，仅仅是因为他们所做的事情看起来如此合法。但很难不选择火箭队。从统计数据来看，他们紧随雷霆队历史性的联盟领先防守之后，这令人印象深刻。他们通过防守端确立了一个真正的身份，而且他们可能有额外的优势，考虑到当他们用防守悍将阿门·汤普森换下得分手杰伦·格林时，他们的统治力有多强。
麦克马洪: 伊梅·乌多卡可能会因为火箭队是我的选择而感到不快。毕竟，他在媒体日上坚称休斯顿将进入季后赛，所以乌多卡不会认为火箭队在 NBA 杯早期的成功是一个惊喜。但你认为火箭队会成为小组赛中最具统治力的球队吗？在周二客场加时战胜森林狼队后，火箭队以 3 胜 0 负的战绩锁定了西部 A 组的头名，他们拥有联盟中最好的净胜分（+49）。
莱特: 湖人队赢得了首届 NBA 杯，所以他们本赛季的表现并不令人意外。奥兰多魔术队、纽约尼克斯队和火箭队也给人留下了深刻的印象。但考虑到勇士队进入本赛季时的预期有些低，金州勇士队必须算得上是最大的惊喜。很多人都在怀疑这支球队在聚光灯下的时光是否终于结束了。显然，还没有。有趣的是，这支球队采用的是集体作战的方式。一个晚上是斯蒂芬·库里(Stephen Curry)领衔，下一个晚上是巴迪·希尔德(Buddy Hield)或安德鲁·威金斯(Andrew Wiggins)。金州勇士队的防守排名联盟第四，这是他们成为第一支获得淘汰赛资格的球队的重要原因。
你预测的总决赛对阵是哪两支球队——谁会赢得冠军？
扬米苏克: 来一场 2022 年 NBA 总决赛的复仇之战如何？凯尔特人队和勇士队在拉斯维加斯相遇不仅会很有趣，还会有一丝戏剧性。除了库里对阵塔图姆的超级巨星对决外，还有塔图姆对阵史蒂夫·科尔。两队在 11 月 6 日的第一次交锋以勇士队在波士顿获胜告终，伴随着当地球迷的嘘声。虽然金州勇士队最近表现有点挣扎，但如果库里已经走到这么远，他不会空手而归的。
赫林: 我可以看到太阳队和雄鹿队一路过关斩将，给我们带来一场（看起来非常不同的）2021 年 NBA 总决赛的复仇之战。这两支球队在本赛季早期都经历了艰难的时期，但似乎都渴望证明自己配得上竞争者的称号。谁不想看到杜兰特和德文·布克与扬尼斯和达米安·利拉德争夺冠军呢？
莱特: 如果湖人队与凯尔特人队对决，勒布朗·詹姆斯和安东尼·戴维斯对阵卫冕冠军杰森·塔图姆和杰伦·布朗，那么星光熠熠的总决赛将不会缺少看点。从这个角度来看，唯一担心的是，这些球队是否会为了赢得 NBA 杯而消耗如此多的精力，以至于影响他们本赛季后期争夺更重要的拉里·奥布莱恩奖杯的表现。
麦克马洪: 再来一场上赛季的 NBA 总决赛，凯尔特人再次击败独行侠如何？凯尔特人队在最近终结了骑士队 15 连胜后提醒我们，他们再次成为了联盟中最好的球队。独行侠队在本赛季初表现不佳，但达拉斯队在获得西部外卡席位方面处于领先地位。卢卡·东契奇本赛季还没有打出 MVP 候选人的水准，但这种状况似乎很快就会改变。
麦克梅纳明: 我们可以看到一场东西海岸对决，尼克斯队在 NBA 杯总决赛中对阵勇士队。勇士队已经获得了淘汰赛的资格，而尼克斯队与魔术队（2 胜 0 负）在东部 A 组并列，这两支球队将于下周二在小组赛的最后一周进行一场比赛。
哪支至少有两场失利的球队最令人失望？
麦克马洪: 森林狼队未能利用看似有利的小组赛程，他们在 NBA 杯的首场比赛中客场惨败给正在重建的波特兰开拓者队，并且在主场加时输给火箭队后，他们晋级的任何现实希望都破灭了。联盟当然不介意让冉冉升起的超级巨星安东尼·爱德华兹(Anthony Edwards)参加拉斯维加斯的盛会，但森林狼队没能完成任务。森林狼队在常规赛第一季度也是最令人失望的球队之一，在过去的九场比赛中输掉了七场，胜率跌破 50%。
赫林: 现在判断 NBA 杯的球队表现是否应该有年度延续性还为时过早。尽管如此，我们有理由对步行者队有更高的期望，他们在上赛季进入决赛后，在今年的 NBA 杯前两场比赛中都以两位数的劣分输掉了比赛。即使你抛开他们上赛季杯赛中的出色表现，他们也是一支刚刚打进东部决赛的球队。
麦克梅纳明: 森林狼队。森林狼队在 11 月 8 日的一场常规赛中以 25 分的优势击败了开拓者队，但当他们在 11 月 12 日的小组赛首场比赛中对阵开拓者队时，他们却令人失望地以 14 分的劣势输掉了比赛。更不用说他们在周二加时输给火箭队，这对他们在西部 A 组的排名是一个打击。无论是在常规赛还是在赛季锦标赛中，他们都还没有接近重现上赛季西部决赛的魔力。
莱特: 掘金队。NBA 杯输给人员不整的鹈鹕队和没有卢卡·东契奇的独行侠队，只会加剧主教练迈克尔·马龙(Michael Malone)最近对球队的严厉批评。在周一在主场以 145 分的比分输给尼克斯队后，马龙批评了他的球队。马龙批评中最令人惊讶的部分是，他呼吁更多的领袖站出来发声。别忘了丹佛在 2023 年获得了 NBA 总冠军，球队的核心阵容依然存在。因此，马龙不应该觉得有必要挑战像三届 MVP 尼古拉·约基奇(Nikola Jokic)和贾马尔·默里(Jamal Murray)（他的第八个赛季）这样的老将。
扬米苏克: 有几个候选者，但明尼苏达应该表现得更好。是的，森林狼队仍在适应卡尔-安东尼·唐斯和朱利叶斯·兰德尔的交易，但对于一支有季后赛愿望的球队来说，以 14 分的劣势输给正在重建的波特兰令人失望。对于一支上赛季距离 NBA 总决赛只有一步之遥的球队来说，森林狼队在本赛季初应该处于一个更好的位置。
你认为谁是小组赛 MVP？
莱特: 萨克拉门托国王队的德阿隆·福克斯(De’Aaron Fox) 在小组赛的前两场比赛中表现出色，场均得到 44.5 分、7 次助攻和 2 次抢断，投篮命中率为 58.2%，三分球命中率为 41.2%。但这些比赛最终都以国王队的失利告终，国王队仍在寻找他们的第一场杯赛胜利，目前在西部 A 组垫底。然而，雄鹿队控球后卫达米安·利拉德(Damian Lillard)在周二没有扬尼斯·阿德托昆博的情况下对阵热火队的比赛中的表现，最终让他获得了小组赛 MVP。他场均得到 30.5 分和 12.5 次助攻，三分球命中率高达 52.4%（场均出手 10.5 次）。
麦克马洪: 魔术队的小组赛只进行了一半，但弗朗茨·瓦格纳(Franz Wagner)正在为这个虚构的 MVP 奖项积累一个相当有力的理由。在奥兰多魔术队取得的两场 NBA 杯胜利中，瓦格纳场均得到 31.5 分、9.5 个篮板、5.5 次助攻和 2.5 次抢断。这是 22 岁的瓦格纳全明星级别的赛季的一部分，他在得分（23.4 分）、篮板（5.5 个）、助攻（5.6 次）和抢断（1.8 次）方面都创下了职业生涯新高，在保罗·班凯罗(Paolo Banchero)从斜肌伤势中恢复期间，他是魔术队取得成功的关键。
麦克梅纳明: 迪伦·布鲁克斯(Dillon Brooks)。火箭队以 3 胜 0 负的战绩领跑，并且拥有所有球队中最好的净胜分（+49），而布鲁克斯到目前为止表现出色。他在小组赛中场均得到 23.3 分，投篮命中率为 58.5%（三分球命中率为 62.5%），场均还有 3.3 个篮板——比他的赛季平均水平高出 10 多分——而他的防守能力帮助休斯顿火箭队的防守效率排名联盟第二。
扬米苏克: 安东尼·戴维斯(Anthony Davis)的开局令人难以置信。在 NBA 杯中，这位湖人队的大个子场均得到 30.3 分、13.7 个篮板、4.3 次助攻、2.0 次盖帽和 1.3 次抢断。虽然湖人队以 27 分的劣势输给了太阳队，但戴维斯仍然得到 25 分、15 个篮板和 4 次盖帽。如果洛杉矶回到拉斯维加斯，他将是任何对手的难敌。
赫林: 可怜的德阿隆·福克斯，他场均得到近 45 分和 7 次助攻，但考虑到他的球队在小组赛中 0 胜 2 负的开局，他甚至不会接近这个奖项。那么奥兰多的弗朗茨·瓦格纳呢？在保罗·班凯罗缺席的情况下，他打出了全明星级别的赛季，其中包括在 NBA 杯比赛中场均 31.5 分、9.5 个篮板和 5.5 次助攻，投篮命中率为 50%。
点击查看原文：2024 NBA Cup group play: Biggest surprises and disappointments
2024 NBA Cup group play: Biggest surprises and disappointments
We’re officially nearing the end of group play in the 2024 NBA Cup, and the matchups for the knockout round will become much clearer in the coming days.
The Golden State Warriors have already claimed their spot in the knockouts after dominating West Group C. The Houston Rockets will also be joining them after defeating the Minnesota Timberwolves in overtime on Tuesday in West Group A.
And remember, point differential matters in this tournament, especially for the Los Angeles Lakers, who entered Tuesday with a plus-12 point differential but are now chasing the Phoenix Suns in West Group B after being blown out by the Suns 127-100. LeBron James and the defending in-season tournament champions face a tough road back to even making the knockout round.
After group play concludes on Dec. 3, the quarterfinals will take place on Dec. 10 and 11 as teams battle it out to claim the second in-season tournament trophy ever, not to mention $500,000 for each player.
We asked our NBA insiders to answer some of the biggest questions in this high-stakes tournament, including who the group-play MVP is and what’s been the biggest surprise so far.
Which group has proved to be the toughest so far?
Michael Wright: West Group C. There are three teams that entered the week sitting in the top seven in the Western Conference: the Warriors, Denver Nuggets and Memphis Grizzlies. Not to mention the defending West champion Dallas Mavericks certainly aren’t a slouch. The Grizzlies and New Orleans Pelicans have both been decimated by injuries this season, which is why they’ve struggled in the NBA Cup and the regular season. The Warriors, however, are cruising through the group after becoming the first team to clinch a spot in the NBA Cup knockout round, eliminating New Orleans in the process.
Tim MacMahon: West Group B has lived up to its expectations. Anticipated to be the toughest group, it features three teams coming off playoff appearances (defending in-season tourney champ Lakers, Oklahoma City Thunder and Suns) and the San Antonio Spurs, who are making a massive leap this season after improving the supporting cast around Victor Wembanyama. All four of those teams have one loss in NBA Cup action, so this group’s bid to the knockout stage will go down to the wire.
Dave McMenamin: East Group C. It features the defending champs in the Boston Celtics, the hottest team in the league in the Cleveland Cavaliers, plus the Chicago Bulls and Atlanta Hawks – sub-.500 teams, sure, but not easy wins by any means. Plus, all four of those teams are strong enough to ignore the miserable Washington Wizards, who were eliminated Tuesday night by the Bulls.
Ohm Youngmisuk: East Group C has turned out to be much tougher than originally expected due to Cleveland’s red-hot start. With the defending champion Celtics in the same group, East C has the teams with the two best records in the league. After Tuesday’s slate of games, however, Chicago, Atlanta and Boston were all tied for third, and Friday will clear up which one of these teams makes it closer to the knockout rounds.
Chris Herring: West Group B. Yes, the Utah Jazz are flat-out bad. But the group’s other four clubs – the Thunder, Suns, Lakers and Spurs – all have winning records and would reach the postseason if the campaign ended today. And in the case of the Suns, they might be far better than their record, given that they were one of the hottest teams in the league before Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal suffered calf injuries.
Which team has made the biggest surprise run?
McMenamin: The Milwaukee Bucks. Milwaukee has been great in group play, going 3-0 – including a win against last season’s East finalist in the Indiana Pacers and a road win in Miami without Giannis Antetokounmpo – and has been pretty pedestrian in all its other games. The Bucks look somewhat reminiscent of last season’s NBA Cup champions, the Lakers.
Youngmisuk: While they’ve played only two NBA Cup games so far, the Detroit Pistons are a surprising 2-0 in the tournament entering Friday’s games. Yes, the Pistons needed a rare gaffe by Erik Spoelstra calling a timeout when he didn’t have one to escape with an overtime win over the Miami Heat. But the fact that the Pistons have a shot at the knockout rounds after winning just 14 games a season ago is impressive.
Herring: It feels unfair to call them the biggest surprise, only because what they’re doing appears so legit. But it’s hard to go against the Rockets. From a statistical standpoint, they’re right on the heels of the Thunder’s historic league-leading defense, which is wildly impressive. They’ve carved out a legit identity through that end of the floor, and they might have additional upside, given how dominant they’ve been when they swap in defensive stud Amen Thompson for scorer Jalen Green.
MacMahon: Ime Udoka might be offended that the Rockets are my choice here. After all, he was adamant on media day that Houston would make the playoffs, so Udoka won’t consider the Rockets’ early NBA Cup success a surprise. But did you think the Rockets would be the most dominant team in group play? Houston, which clinched West Group A with Tuesday’s road overtime win over the Timberwolves, is 3-0 with the best point differential (plus-49) in the league.
Wright: The Lakers won the inaugural NBA Cup last season, so their production this season has been no surprise. The Orlando Magic, New York Knicks and the Rockets have been impressive, too. But Golden State has to be the biggest surprise given the somewhat low expectations for the Warriors entering this season. Plenty of people wondered whether this squad’s time in the sun was finally over. Clearly, it’s not. What’s been fun to watch is this team’s by-committee approach. One night it’s Stephen Curry leading the charge, the next it’s Buddy Hield or Andrew Wiggins. Golden State’s defense, ranked fourth in the league, is a big reason it was the first team to punch its ticket to the knockout rounds.
What is your championship matchup – and who will win?
Youngmisuk: How about a rematch of the 2022 NBA Finals? The Celtics and Warriors meeting in Vegas would not only be fun but would have a tinge of drama. Besides getting a superstar matchup of Steph versus Tatum, there’s also Tatum against Steve Kerr. The first meeting between the two on Nov. 6 finished with the Warriors winning in Boston to the sound of the local crowd’s boos. While Golden State has struggled a little of late, Curry is not going to come away from Vegas empty-handed if he has gotten this far.
Herring: I could see the Suns and Bucks making a run to give us a (very different-looking) rematch from the 2021 NBA Finals. Both teams have experienced rough patches early on this season but seem eager to show that they’re worthy of being seen as contenders. Who wouldn’t want to see KD and Devin Booker square off with Giannis and Damian Lillard with hardware on the line?
Wright: There won’t be any shortage of star power if the Lakers face off against the Celtics with LeBron James and Anthony Davis taking on defending champions Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown. The only concern from this vantage point is the question of whether the teams will expend so much energy to win the NBA Cup that it affects their performance later in the season in the quest to capture an arguably more important Larry O’Brien Trophy.
MacMahon: How about a rematch of last season’s NBA Finals with the Celtics beating the Mavericks again? The Celtics reminded us that they’re the best team in the league again after recently ending the Cavaliers’ 15-0 start. The Mavs have sputtered a bit early in the season, but Dallas is in pole position to get the West’s wild card bid. Luka Doncic hasn’t played up to his MVP-candidate standards yet this season, but the odds appear that will change soon.
McMenamin: We could get a coast-to-coast matchup with the Knicks taking on the Warriors in the NBA Cup final. The Warriors have already claimed a spot in the knockout round, and the Knicks are tied with the Magic (2-0) in East Group A with a matchup between these two teams coming next Tuesday in the last week of group play.
Which team with at least two losses has been the most disappointing?
MacMahon: The Timberwolves failed to take advantage of what seemed to be a favorable group, opening NBA Cup play with an ugly road loss to the rebuilding Portland Trail Blazers and having any realistic hope of advancing halted with an overtime loss to the Rockets at home. The league certainly wouldn’t have minded having ascending superstar Anthony Edwards to be part of the Las Vegas festivities, but the Wolves weren’t up to the task. Minnesota has been one of the biggest disappointments in the first quarter of the regular season, as well, losing seven of its past nine games to dip under .500.
Herring: It’s too soon in the NBA Cup’s life cycle to know whether we should expect any sort of year-to-year carryover from teams in terms of performance. Still, it would’ve been fair to expect more of the Pacers, who have lost their first two NBA Cup games by double digits after making it to last season’s final. Even if you throw out their electric play during last season’s tournament, they were also coming off a trip to the Eastern Conference finals.
McMenamin: The Timberwolves. The Wolves beat the Trail Blazers by 25 on Nov. 8 in a regular-season game, but when it came to playing the Blazers in their group-play opener Nov. 12, they lost by a disappointing 14 points. Not to mention their overtime loss to the Rockets on Tuesday, a blow to their West Group A standings. In both the regular season and in-season tournament, they haven’t come close to recapturing the magic from their Western Conference finals run yet this season.
Wright: The Nuggets. NBA Cup losses to the depleted Pelicans and Luka Doncic-less Mavericks only bolster coach Michael Malone’s recent harsh words for his team. Malone called out his squad Monday after it gave up 145 points in a non-Cup loss to the Knicks at Ball Arena. The surprising part of Malone’s criticism was that he called for more vocal leadership. Let’s not forget Denver captured an NBA title in 2023 and the core of the team remains. So, Malone shouldn’t feel the need to challenge vets such as three-time MVP Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray (in his eighth season).
Youngmisuk: There are several candidates for this, but Minnesota should be better. Yes, the Wolves are still getting adjusted to the Karl-Anthony Towns-Julius Randle trade, but losing to a rebuilding Portland by 14 is disappointing for a team that has playoff aspirations. For a team that was one step away from reaching the NBA Finals last postseason, the Wolves should be in a much better spot this early in the season.
Who is your group-play MVP?
Wright: The Sacramento Kings’ De’Aaron Fox was on fire in his first two games of group play, averaging 44.5 points, 7 assists and 2 steals while shooting 58.2% from the floor and 41.2% from deep. But those contests ended in losses for a Kings team still looking for its first Cup victory and sitting at the bottom of West Group A. However, Bucks lead guard Damian Lillard’s performance against the Heat on Tuesday without Giannis Antetokounmpo sealed the deal for him to take group-play MVP. He has averaged 30.5 points and 12.5 assists, shooting 52.4% from deep on high volume (10.5 attempts per game).
MacMahon: The Magic are only halfway done with group play, but Franz Wagner is putting together a pretty strong case for this mythical MVP award. Wagner averaged 31.5 points, 9.5 rebounds, 5.5 assists and 2.5 steals during Orlando’s two NBA Cup wins. It’s part of what’s been an All-Star-caliber campaign for the 22-year-old Wagner, who is averaging career highs in scoring (23.4), rebounds (5.5), assists (5.6) and steals (1.8), keying the Magic’s success while Paolo Banchero recovers from his oblique injury.
McMenamin: Dillon Brooks. The Rockets are 3-0 with the best point differential out of any team (plus-49) and Brooks has been spectacular so far. He averaged 23.3 points in group play on 58.5% shooting (62.5% from 3) and 3.3 rebounds per game – more than 10 points above his season average – while his defensive prowess has helped Houston to the No. 2 defensive rating in the league.
Youngmisuk: Anthony Davis is off to an incredible start. In the NBA Cup, the Lakers big man is averaging 30.3 points, 13.7 rebounds, 4.3 assists, 2.0 blocks and 1.3 steals. While the Lakers dropped a disappointing game to the Suns by 27, AD still had 25 points, 15 rebounds and 4 blocks. He will be a tough matchup for anyone if Los Angeles makes it back to Vegas.
Herring: Poor De’Aaron Fox, who’s averaging almost 45 points and seven assists, and won’t even sniff the award, given his team’s 0-2 start in group play. But how about Orlando’s Franz Wagner? With Paulo Banchero out, he has had an All-Star-caliber campaign, which includes averages of 31.5 points, 9.5 boards and 5.5 assists in 50% shooting in NBA Cup play so far.
By NBA insiders | ESPN, via ESPN