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    Lakers Agree to Trade Russell Westbrook in a Three-Team Deal

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    Westbrook, a nine-time All-Star, would head to Utah after not fitting smoothly with LeBron James and Anthony Davis. Minnesota’s D’Angelo Russell will return to the Lakers, who drafted him in 2015.The Los Angeles Lakers have agreed to trade guard Russell Westbrook to the Utah Jazz as part of a three-team deal, according to three people familiar with the trade who were not authorized to speak about it publicly.As part of the exchange, the Lakers will receive Minnesota Timberwolves guard D’Angelo Russell, whom they drafted No. 2 overall in 2015 then traded away after just two seasons.The agreement was first reported by ESPN.The deal will end Westbrook’s tumultuous, and brief, tenure with the Lakers. The Washington Wizards traded Westbrook to the Lakers before the 2021-22 season, giving the Lakers high hopes that he would be part of a so-called superteam with LeBron James and Anthony Davis. To acquire Westbrook, the Lakers traded multiple players who were crucial to their championship run in 2020. It didn’t pan out.Westbrook, a nine-time All-Star and the 2017 most valuable player, is versatile and athletic at his best, easily able to fill up box scores. But in Los Angeles, Westbrook struggled to adjust to coming off the bench and not being the primary ballhandler. That, along with his below-average perimeter shooting, sunk the chances of him fitting with James and Davis.The Lakers (25-30) are out of the playoff picture in the Western Conference, despite their championship aspirations. Westbrook averaged 16.2 points, 6.1 rebounds and 7.7 assists per game off the bench for the Lakers this season.The Westbrook trade will also send to the Jazz forward Juan Toscano-Anderson, center Damian Jones and a first-round pick in the 2027 draft. The Jazz will mark Westbrook’s fifth team in five years, an unusual level of movement for a former M.V.P. still relatively close to his prime.The Jazz will send Malik Beasley and Jarred Vanderbilt to the Lakers, and they will trade Mike Conley and Nickeil Alexander-Walker to Minnesota.Russell, 26, who had been with Minnesota since the 2019-20 season, has had an up-and-down career. The Lakers traded him to the Nets in 2017, before his third season. He earned an All-Star selection with the Nets in 2019 but was sent to Golden State that summer as part of a sign-and-trade deal for Kevin Durant. Only months into the 2019-20 season, Golden State traded him to the Timberwolves, where he played alongside his close friend Karl-Anthony Towns. The potential was high for yet another dynamic star pairing in the N.B.A.But Minnesota, like the Lakers, has languished in the standings — battling for a playoff spot when the expectations were to be near the top of the West, especially after acquiring center Rudy Gobert, one of the best defensive players in the league, in a summer trade with Utah.Even so, Russell averaged 17.9 points and 6.2 assists per game for Minnesota this season, one of the best of his career. Crucially for the Lakers, he will provide another shooter as they attempt to salvage their season: He is shooting 39.1 percent from deep this season. For his career, he’s at 36 percent from 3-point range.The Lakers will add multiple role players as well. Beasley averaged 13.4 points per game for the Jazz this year and shot 35.9 percent from beyond the 3-point arc. Vanderbilt averaged 8.3 points and 7.9 rebounds per game on 55.6 percent shooting from the field, mostly off the bench.Russell’s replacement in Minnesota would be Conley, who started 42 games at point guard for the surprisingly resilient Jazz this season. Conley, a 2021 All-Star, averaged a career-high 7.7 assists for the Jazz, but his scoring numbers have dipped to 10.7 points per game, his lowest output since his second season in the league. He is a more traditional point guard than Russell and may fit better next to Anthony Edwards, the third-year guard who has emerged as a franchise player for the Timberwolves. More

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      Minnesota’s Rudy Gobert Talks, Criticism, Covid and Donovan Mitchell

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      Gobert had a dominant run in Utah, but now he and the Minnesota Timberwolves are struggling to find their fit together. He hears the chatter — and ignores it.Rudy Gobert, the Minnesota Timberwolves center and French basketball star, rode the same wave of emotions as many of his French compatriots during the men’s World Cup final this month. Angst. Hope. Agony.When it ended, with France losing to Argentina in penalty kicks, he reached out to his friend, the 24-year-old French star Kylian Mbappé, who had scored three goals in the championship match.“I was really proud of him,” Gobert said. “He showed the world who he is. He’s only getting better and better. That’s what I told him.”Gobert thought Mbappé must have felt like he did after he lost to Spain in the EuroBasket final with the French national team three months ago.“Obviously, it’s not as watched as the soccer World Cup, but it’s the same feeling when you lose, when you’re so close to being on top and lose in the final,” Gobert said. “So just got to use that pain to just keep getting better.”Gobert, a three-time N.B.A. defensive player of the year, has been going through a challenging period of his own.This summer, the Utah Jazz traded him to Minnesota, which bet its future on Gobert’s ability to help the franchise win its first championship. The Timberwolves gave the Jazz four draft picks, four players and the right to swap picks in 2026.“The average fan might not understand what I bring to the table,” Gobert said, “but the G.M.s in the league do.”In Minnesota, Gobert joined his fellow big man Karl-Anthony Towns, and the team has struggled to adjust to its new makeup. The Timberwolves went on a five-game winning streak in November, but Towns has been out since he hurt his calf Nov. 28 and Gobert has missed a few games. Minnesota was 16-18 entering Wednesday’s game against New Orleans.Gobert recently sat down with The New York Times to discuss his transition to Minnesota; how he handles criticism; racism in Utah; and his relationship with his former Jazz teammate Donovan Mitchell, who was traded to Cleveland in September.This interview has been condensed and edited for clarity.Gobert’s scoring is down this season, to 13.9 points per game from 15.6 per game last season in Utah.Chris Szagola/Associated PressWhat has it been like adjusting to playing with another center like Karl-Anthony Towns?I don’t really like to call him a center because I don’t think he’s a center. I think it’s more of a wing in a center’s body. But yeah, it’s been a fun process so far. Obviously, we knew there was going to be some ups and downs, and there is some ups and downs. But KAT has been a great teammate. He’s been a great human.People like to focus on the fact that it’s two big men that play together, but there is always a process of adjustment when a player like me joins another team. Building chemistry takes time.Is it hard when you’re going through that process and there are so many eyes on how it’s going?It’s not hard for me. I want to win, I’m a competitor, so it’s hard to lose. But at the same time, I’m able to understand the bigger picture and to understand that you got to go through pain to grow. I’ve said every time people ask me, it’s going to be some adversity. And when adversity hits, obviously everybody will have something to say. People are always going to have opinions.A lot of people celebrate my failures. It’s kind of like a mark of respect for me just to have people that just wait until I do something wrong or until my teams start losing. Then they become really, really loud. And when my teams do well it’s quiet again. You know, I kind of embrace that it’s part of the external noise that comes with all the success that we’ve had in Utah and over the last few years in my career.When did you first feel that people were celebrating your failures?Once I started to have success, when I started winning defensive player of the year, All-N.B.A., being an All-Star. When my team, when we started winning like 50 games and stuff. The people on social media are always the loudest. When I go outside, it’s usually all the interactions are positive.Social media is a different place, and the people that have a lot of frustration can put it out there. The fans are going to have opinions. I’m more talking about the media.A lot of people talk about Utah as being a difficult place for Black players, for Black people in general. Did you ever have experiences like that as a Black player when you were there?My family and I never had any bad experiences. I’ve always had a lot of love over there. But I can understand, for me being an N.B.A. player and for a young Black man that’s maybe the only Black guy in his school, treatment can be different. People talk about Utah, but it’s similar everywhere when there’s not a lot of diversity. It’s part of every society in the world that people that can be marginalized for being different color of skin, different religion. There’s always going to be kids at school that’s going to bully people for being different.Gobert has won three Defensive Player of the Year Awards.Alika Jenner/Getty ImagesYou went through a very strange experience a couple of years ago in Utah as the first N.B.A. player known to have tested positive for the coronavirus. You were blamed for spreading it within the league, even though no one really knew how it happened. How did that experience affect you?It was a really tough experience for me, dealing with all that, obviously, Covid, but also everything that came with it. Thanks to — yeah, it was a tough experience, but I think it made me grow.Did you say ‘thanks to media’?No, I stopped saying what I was going to say. But I remember a lot of things that happened. I won’t forget, you know. There was a lot of fear. There was a lot of narratives out there. I was a victim of that. But at the same time, a lot of people were going through some really tough moments. I had to get away from what people are saying about me. It was people that don’t even know me. And I know that when you have something like that that’s happening, people are really stressed out and it was tough for everyone.There was a lot of conversation about your relationship with Donovan Mitchell, at that time and afterward. How do you view how that relationship was?I think it was a tough situation for me, just like it was a tough situation for him. After that, we came back to have a lot of success as a team. As of today, Donovan is someone that I want to see him happy. I want to see him succeed. I want him and his family to be great. Things happen, and sometimes people can do things to you that can hurt you. A lot of times it’s out of fear, you know. So you just have to grow through that and see past that.You mentioned people will do things that hurt you. Do you mean Mitchell?I mean generally. That’s life. More

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      NBA Season Preview: The Nets and the Lakers Are the Wild Cards

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      Even for a league used to drama and headlines, the N.B.A. had a dizzying off-season.There were trade requests (Kevin Durant) and trade rumors (Russell Westbrook); injuries (Chet Holmgren) and returns (Zion Williamson). The power structure of the Western Conference could be upended by the return of Kawhi Leonard with the Clippers; the power structure of the East is again unclear.And a series of scandals at Boston, Phoenix and Golden State could have lasting implications for the league.In short: A lot is going on.Headline More

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      NBA Fines Anthony Edwards $40,000 for Anti-Gay Remarks

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      Edwards, a Minnesota Timberwolves guard, used homophobic language to refer to a group of people as they stood outdoors. A video of the remarks was posted to Instagram.The N.B.A. fined Minnesota Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards $40,000 on Tuesday for anti-gay remarks that he made in an Instagram video that circulated online this month.In the video, which has since been deleted from his account, Edwards used homophobic language to describe a group of people he was filming as they stood on a sidewalk. Edwards has 1.2 million followers on Instagram.Edwards, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2020 N.B.A. draft, used his Twitter account to apologize on Sept. 11.“What I said was immature, hurtful and disrespectful, and I’m incredibly sorry,” he said in a post. “It’s unacceptable for me or anyone to use that language in such a hurtful way, there’s no excuse for it, at all. I was raised better than that!”The N.B.A. said in a statement that Edwards had been fined for using “offensive and derogatory language on social media.”Entering his third N.B.A. season, Edwards is one of the league’s rising stars. Last season, he averaged 21.3 points, 4.8 rebounds and 3.8 assists per game while helping lead the Timberwolves to the playoffs for the first time since the 2017-18 season.On Sept. 12, Tim Connelly, the Timberwolves’ president of basketball operations, released a statement through the team, saying he was “disappointed” in Edwards’s actions.“The Timberwolves are committed to being an inclusive and welcoming organization for all and apologize for the offense this has caused to so many,” Connelly said.The league has typically fined players for using profane or homophobic language.In 2021, for example, Kevin Durant of the Nets was fined $50,000 for using homophobic and misogynistic language in a private social media exchange with the actor Michael Rapaport, who then publicly shared screenshots of some of the conversation.N.B.A. teams regularly have Pride nights to celebrate the L.G.B.T.Q. community. But Jason Collins, who came out in 2013, is still the only active N.B.A. player to have said that he is gay, feeding the perception that there remains a stigma about homosexuality in men’s professional sports.Bill Kennedy, an N.B.A. referee, said that he was gay in 2015, not long after guard Rajon Rondo, then with the Sacramento Kings, directed a gay slur at him during a game. Rondo was suspended one game for his conduct.Six months later, Kennedy represented the N.B.A. on its float at the New York City Pride March. The N.B.A. and the W.N.B.A. have since become staples of the parade, one of the largest in the world. Players, referees and officials from both leagues have taken part. More

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      The Fathers Talk Trash Courtside. The Sons Battle in the N.B.A.

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      They’re friends in real life, but Karl Towns and Tee Morant are bringing the heat for the Grizzlies-Timberwolves playoff series between their sons.MINNEAPOLIS — Karl Towns sat in his courtside seat about an hour before Game 3 of the Timberwolves’ first-round playoff series against the Memphis Grizzlies tipped off. His friend Tee Morant was pacing a few feet away, wearing reflective sunglasses, a black bucket hat, a white Polo Ralph Lauren shirt, white pants and a black jacket.Recently, a viral tweet had compared the appearance of the singer Usher to that of Morant.“Right now we’re trash-talking about how many people are going to know him when he’s in the building,” Towns said. “And I said he can’t go around calling himself Usher because that’s not right!“He walks up to people and says, ‘You know who I am?’ They don’t know who you are in Minnesota!”Towns knew that wasn’t true. The two of them had appeared together on NBA TV and on the Timberwolves’ local broadcast during Game 2. But when it comes to Morant, Towns never lets facts impede a good roast.Their sons are the two of the biggest stars in N.B.A.’s Western Conference playoffs: Grizzlies guard Ja Morant, 22, and Timberwolves center Karl-Anthony Towns, 26, who is sometimes referred to as KAT.Each team has won two games in the best-of-seven series, which continues with Game 5 Tuesday in Memphis. Their fathers have watched proudly and have inadvertently achieved minor celebrity status through television appearances highlighting their friendly rivalry from courtside seats. They’ve made wagers about the games, and rolled their eyes at each other’s boasts.“It’s not a fight; it’s never a fight,” Tee Morant, center, said. “Because right here, all of this is competition. But once the clock goes zero, you’ve got to go back to your life.”Joe Murphy/NBAE via Getty Images“Win or lose, we’re family,” Karl said. “That’s never going to change. This is my family right here. It’s just not about basketball — it’s about a family loving each other. We just have a good relationship. What people see is we’re just being genuine, we’re just being ourselves. And you know what, we’re proud of our kids, but we also enjoy our relationship.”They met three years ago when Ja was a rookie. Karl invited Tee to join a group for N.B.A. fathers, and they connected at an event in Orlando, Fla. Karl was on his way to pick up a meal for his wife, Jackie. Tee joined him and began “shadowing him,” as Tee put it. Their friendship blossomed from there.“I was like, ‘Yeah, I like this dude,’” Tee said. “He’s funny.” Unable to let a compliment lie, he added: “He’s not funnier than me.”Karl rolled his eyes.“I’m funny five days,” Karl said. “He’s got to take the weekend off.”Trash talk is a major part of their friendship, one that’s based mostly on their sons’ basketball careers. But there is a more meaningful element to it. Through basketball, they’ve gotten to know each other’s families. They aren’t vacationing together or visiting each other’s homes, but they still feel strongly about their bond.“I got genuine love for him because he takes time out of his day to think about me,” Tee said. “That’s the type of relationship we’ve built, as far as knowing that he got love for me, I got love for him. I got love for big KAT.”“I got love for Ja,” Karl said.They’ve been friends through some difficult times. When Jackie Cruz-Towns, Karl’s wife and Karl-Anthony’s mother, died of Covid-19 in April 2020, Tee called a few days later to tell Karl he was praying for the family, conscious of not wanting to burden him further.“I understood enough to give him space,” Tee said.Karl sends Tee passages from the Bible regularly, and Tee appreciates the gesture, though he doesn’t always read every word.“I want him to know that God is always on our side,” Karl said. “It’s a blessing to be on this Earth to see our kids do this.”They resist the idea that they’ve become celebrities, saying their sons are the real ones. They say they are just two fathers who are endlessly proud of their children.“I just stayed there long enough for my son to conquer his dream,” Tee said. “Just like he did.”“Just like I did,” Karl said.On Thursday morning, Ja was asked if he’d seen the interviews with his and Karl-Anthony’s fathers. He wore a serious expression.“Were they arguing?” Ja asked.He was told they were.“Like serious arguing?” Ja asked.He was told they weren’t, and his posture relaxed. In truth, their back-and-forth ribbing never gets too serious.Karl-Anthony Towns, left, and Ja Morant, right, have led their teams to a 2-2 series tie in the first round of the N.B.A. playoffs.Justin Ford/Getty Images“It’s not a fight; it’s never a fight,” Tee said. “Because right here, all of this is competition. But once the clock goes zero, you’ve got to go back to your life. Real life, this is my guy. Just because KAT had 30-something the first game and they beat us, and then Ja almost had a triple-double Game 2 and we beat them.“And then once we beat them by 20-something, he’s still going to love me. He’s going to cry a little bit.”Karl rolled his eyes again.“He slid that in real smooth, right?” Karl said. “But you know what? It’s OK. Because once we beat them, they don’t got to go far because the hotel is hooked to the place. You just walk across right to the hotel right through the tunnel.”They have said they placed a friendly wager on the series and whoever loses will have to wear the jersey of the other’s son. There are also smaller wagers.“After we beat them the first time he was supposed to take me to dinner,” Karl said. “You know what I saw? The back of his car leaving me.”Tee burst out laughing.He laughed again when Karl said the Timberwolves would win the series in six games.“No disrespect, but there’s no way you could win a game and play Prince,” Tee said, treading into dangerous territory by invoking the name of the musician, who died in 2016, one of Minnesota’s most beloved figures.“You hear this?” Karl asked. “Prince is a legend. He’s out of control right now. He’s out of control, you hear that? I’m about to revoke his ticket.”Karl began to ask every person who walked by if they wanted to trade seats with Tee.“I don’t even want to sit by him,” Karl said.One woman gave up the joke, reminding Karl he’d asked to have Tee be seated next to him.Karl-Anthony Towns, right, greets his father, Karl, left, and Tee Morant after Game 4.Joe Murphy/NBAE via Getty ImagesJa took the court for warm-ups about 45 minutes before Game 3 began. He smiled and looked over at his father in between shooting 3-pointers, teasing him about how stylish he looked.“Do you know who my son is?” Tee hollered toward Ja. “I’ve got to put this on.”Tee spent much of the game’s wild swings standing up out of either excitement or frustration. He yelled at the referees when things were going poorly for the Grizzlies. He joked with Grizzlies players when things were going well for Memphis.After the bizarre and thrilling Grizzlies victory, in which Memphis recovered from multiple 25-point deficits, Tee turned to Karl and shook Karl’s jacket affectionately. He told Karl they wouldn’t be back in Minnesota after Games 3 and 4, implying that the Grizzlies would win the series in five games.Ja — like Tee might do to Karl — poked fun at Karl-Anthony on Twitter after Memphis won Game 3.But Tee was wrong: The Grizzlies will need at least six games to win the series, because the Timberwolves won Game 4 on Saturday. Afterward Karl-Anthony found his father on the sideline to hug him. Then he approached Tee, smiling.“He wasn’t getting the ball the game before, he said,” Tee recalled. “He took control and got to show what he’s capable of.”The fathers laugh together after every game, no matter who wins.Karl told Tee he’d see him in Memphis for Game 5, and reminded Tee to get him seats. They’ll be sitting courtside, right next to each other.When this series ends, will they both still be rooting for whichever team wins?“Afterward, I’m pretty sure he’s going to root for Ja,” Tee said.Said Karl: “I sure hope he still calls me as we advance in the playoffs.” More

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      Grizzlies Deflate Timberwolves With Jaw-Dropping Playoff Comeback

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      The Memphis Grizzlies were down by more than 20 points — twice — against the Timberwolves in Minnesota but won anyway. And it wasn’t because of their biggest star.MINNEAPOLIS — The job was almost finished, and Memphis Grizzlies guard Desmond Bane looked out across the court, flashed a triumphant smile and wiggled his eyebrows.The Grizzlies had overcome not one but two deficits of more than 20 points. They had fallen behind by 26 points early in the second quarter, pushed around by a punishing Timberwolves defense, but punched back and cut the deficit to 7 at halftime. A 15-0 run that helped them do it included three 3-pointers from Bane.But it didn’t stick.The Grizzlies trailed by 25 with 3:10 left in the third quarter, and Coach Taylor Jenkins screamed “one possession” through the deafening roar in the building. He reminded his team to focus on each possession instead of the daunting deficit.With each Grizzlies stop the arena got quieter. They outscored the Timberwolves, 50-16, over the rest of the game, again with Bane’s help from deep and an unyielding defensive effort that allowed only 12 fourth-quarter points.The Minnesota crowd filed out of the building, stunned by a result they half expected from years of Timberwolves futility. The Grizzlies love to boast when they’ve earned it, and Thursday night they certainly did.“I ain’t never been down 20 twice and won,” Bane said. “It was just a weird game. It was a weird game.”The attention that comes the Grizzlies’ way often focuses on Ja Morant, the effervescent 22-year-old point guard whose dunks seem to be aided by a pogo stick. But Morant has spent all season trying to shower more attention on the rest of his team.On Thursday night, the Grizzlies beat the Timberwolves, 104-95, to take a two-games-to-one lead in their best-of-seven first-round series in the Western Conference. It was a game that gave Morant more ammunition as he campaigned for his teammates. They won even though Morant, Jaren Jackson Jr. and Dillon Brooks were 11 of 38 from the field after starting.“They deserve a lot more respect and recognition for what they do for us on the floor,” Morant said of his teammates as he sat next to Tyus Jones, his backup. “Like you said, us three struggled, but that’s why we got this guy alongside of me and the rest of our teammates to be there to pick us up. That’s why we’re really the deepest team in the league and we’re so good.”This was not the first time the Grizzlies had proved their ability to succeed even when key players were struggling or absent.Morant missed 25 games of the regular season, and the Grizzlies lost only five of them. When the team sat four starters against the league-leading Phoenix Suns on April 1, Memphis won anyway.Bane didn’t play in that game against the Suns, but he has been a major reason for the Grizzlies’ success this season. He was drafted 30th overall in 2020 and has gone from being a role player in his rookie year to a starter this year — from averaging 9.2 points a game to 18.2 points a game this regular season.“Last year I kind of felt like I was learning all year long, trying to learn, absorb as much information as I can so I could apply it in years to come,” Bane said in an interview Thursday morning. “Obviously, I’m still learning. I’m a young player, but I have a different role so I’m being extremely aggressive and having fun.”Bane scored 17 points in the Grizzlies’ Game 1 loss to the Timberwolves and 16 in their Game 2 win. On Thursday he led all scorers with 26 points. Game 4 is Saturday.The series pits against each other two young teams who are short on playoff experience but brimming with confidence. The Grizzlies had the second-best record in the league this year. The Timberwolves used a late push to force their way into the playoffs.As soon as the Grizzlies lost Game 1, a memory of last season came in handy. They had defeated the Jazz in Game 1 of their first-round playoff series last year, then Utah won the next four games.Grizzlies forward Brandon Clarke made several critical shots down the stretch as Memphis, somehow, took the lead late after being down by as many as 26 points.Brad Rempel/USA Today Sports, via ReutersWhen Morant was asked pregame if he would like to steal a win from the Timberwolves on their home court, he said, “I want to steal two.”When asked why he loved road games so much, Morant was equally succinct.“Sending their fans home mad,” he said.The Timberwolves fans booed Morant every time he touched the ball, and Minnesota’s defense prioritized stopping him. Relative to his usual performances, it did. Morant, who averaged 27.4 points a game in the regular season, scored just 16 on Thursday. But the win was enough for him. As time expired, Morant asked for the ball and threw it up into the rafters as the crowd, seeming more sad than mad, departed.Jones, whom Morant introduced as “Point God” after the game, scored 11 points with 4 assists and 5 rebounds.Brandon Clarke scored 20 points, and took the podium after Morant and Jones. As they crossed paths, Morant playfully chided him for hiding his jewelry under his shirt. Morant wanted him to shine.The early playoff baptism for this young Grizzlies team is likely to pay off as their careers progress.“This is the best player development you can get,” Memphis Coach Taylor Jenkins said. He added: “The mental focus that you’ve got to have. The attention to detail we pride ourselves on all season long. Game plan discipline, night in and night out. That’s all the work that our guys put in. When you get to this level and you’re playing high stakes game to game, ups and downs. Just staying even keeled throughout.”Bane is quite aware of how unusual his first two seasons in the N.B.A. have been. Not everyone comes into a young team where they can make an immediate impact and also go to the playoffs.“Some players go their whole career without ever making the playoffs,” Bane said Thursday morning. “And for me to be able to do it my first two years in the league, I don’t want anything else. I want to get to the playoffs every year.”A smile brightened his face as he said it and thought about such a future.In the shorter term, Bane is thinking bigger.“We want to make some noise in this postseason,” Bane said. “We want to make a run. It’s obviously exciting times, and we’re confident about where we’re at and what we’ve done, but there’s still a lot to be done.” More

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      Karl-Anthony Towns and the ‘Swaggy’ Timberwolves Are Ready

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      Towns, the Timberwolves center, said he’s never doubted himself and now he has the right team behind him. “Whatever it takes to win, we will do as a team,” he said.Karl-Anthony Towns has rarely experienced the kind of professional joy he has had this season.It hasn’t been his best year statistically, though he did score a career- and franchise-high 60 points on March 14, becoming the first center since Shaquille O’Neal in 2000 to score 60 points in a game. Nor is it the first time he’s had a shot at the playoffs in Minnesota.But it is, he said, the most supportive and unified team he’s ever been on as a pro.“We’re a swaggy team,” Towns said. “We’ve got great chemistry. We feel very confident in what we can do. We know any time we step on the basketball court, we can beat anyone in the world.”The Timberwolves (46-36) finished the regular season at seventh in the Western Conference, and will face the eighth-place Los Angeles Clippers in the play-in tournament on Tuesday night in Minneapolis. The winner will be the seventh seed in the playoffs and face the Memphis Grizzlies in the first round. The loser will play again on Friday for a chance to be the eighth seed and face the No. 1-seeded Phoenix Suns.If the Timberwolves win this week, they’ll make the playoffs for only the second time since 2004. The only other time during that stretch that Minnesota made the playoffs was in 2017-18, with Jimmy Butler.This year is Towns’s seventh in the N.B.A. since the Timberwolves drafted him first overall in 2015 from the University of Kentucky.Towns spoke with The New York Times about what he loves so much about this team and why he feels more confident in his trash talk these days.This interview has been edited for length and clarity.You’ve grown close with guard Patrick Beverley this season. What did you think of him before you played with him?I always thought of Pat Bev as a pest, you know? Someone you hate to play against but you would love to have on your team. I was right. Having him as a teammate now, you see why so many teams find such amazing value in him, because he is that valuable to a team.Towns described Timberwolves guard Patrick Beverley, right, as “someone you hate to play against but you would love to have on your team.”Andy Clayton-King/Associated PressDo you remember when you started to realize how special he was for this team?I mean, I knew how special he was before, just off his personality and hearing him on the court and everything. I already knew he was a different kind of player. I knew he was special [for the Timberwolves] early on just because the kind of energy he attracts and the kind of energy he expends out. The way he comes to work and the way he approaches work is something I very much appreciate and am very happy to see every day. It makes all of us better, it makes practices better and makes us more engaged.After your 60-point game, you said you hadn’t really been celebrated like that before. What did you mean?Never had that kind of water poured on you, that kind of thing, that kind of celebration for a player, and for it to be me, I’ve never experienced that.I’m so used to feeling like every day at work is another day; regardless of what I put up, it’s what I’m supposed to do. I was supposed to go out there and give ourselves the best chance to win and score at a high rate. So it was just another day at the office. I knew it was a special moment, but it was something I was supposed to do. That’s how I felt.[My teammates] made it more special and they made it something worth celebrating. Like I said, I’ve never been given flowers like that in my career, so it was cool to be appreciated by my teammates and respected by my teammates, but also to be celebrated.Does it help individual players’ confidence, not just yours but everyone’s, to have the kind of closeness as a team you’ve talked about?Yeah, because everyone understands we all want to sacrifice for the betterment of each other and for the betterment of this team. Whatever it takes to win, we will do as a team. I think with winning comes glory for everybody. So we’re fighting for the same thing, and that’s what makes us so dangerous.Given everything you’ve gone through from a basketball sense, did you ever wonder if you’d ever be part of a team like this?No, I never had doubt. I never doubted myself one time for what I could do. I never doubted my skill set, my competitive edge, my competitiveness. I never doubted the work I put in. I knew I just had to wait for my chance. I had to wait for my chance to have a team like this, to have a coaching staff that’s this great. And I’ve had great coaching staffs, but to have a coaching staff mesh with a group of guys the way they have, it builds wins and it builds camaraderie and chemistry. I knew I just needed some stability and a chance and I would run with it and make the most of it.“I walk on the court I feel like I’ve got 14 brothers behind me in anything I do,” Towns said.Nick Wosika/USA Today Sports, via ReutersYou guys got a lot of attention for the way you guys were ribbing and trash-talking the Los Angeles Lakers when they were in Minneapolis in March. You don’t always display that kind of swagger. What has made you feel comfortable showing that side of yourself?Just the chemistry I have with the guys to know that any situation I’m walking into — I feel, we move like a gang. To feel like we move like a gang, not even in a bad sense, in a negative connotation, but just more when I walk on the court I feel like I’ve got 14 brothers behind me in anything I do.It allows me to pull more of my Jersey side. I’m from Jersey. Have that a little bit of trash talk, but more the swag, the confidence we walk around in our neighborhoods with. It’s always great when you feel like you have a team behind you that’s there with you in the trenches, but also winning. You ain’t going to say too much when you’re losing.If the playoff system was like it had been before, you guys would just be in a first-round series. What’s your opinion on the play-in tournament?If we didn’t want to be in the play-in tournament, we should have got more wins and been the sixth or fifth seed. That’s just what it is. I’m not here to complain about any of that. Got to do what you’ve got to do.Are there any ways you’re personally different from the last time you had a shot at the playoffs?My situation is totally different. I’m happy to walk into a situation like this.Can you expand on that?Nah. I don’t want to expand on that. I’m not going back on some past [stuff]. Past is the past. I went through it already once and I’m happy I’m going to go through it this time differently. More

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      Timberwolves Pushing Toward the NBA Playoffs

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      Karl-Anthony Towns and Anthony Edwards have helped Minnesota improve over the last year, but the play-in tournament could add a fresh hurdle to their playoff bid.Minnesota Timberwolves center Karl-Anthony Towns played coy when a reporter asked if he had learned something about how to win tight, important games during his team’s 125-116 loss to the league-leading Phoenix Suns on Wednesday.“For sure, for sure,” Towns said, before pausing as if thinking about whether to reveal what exactly he’d learned.He thought better of it.“For sure,” he said, “there’s definitely something I realized.” He added, “I’ll make sure it doesn’t happen again.”Towns is an unusually forthcoming interviewee for an N.B.A. star, but these days he has to make a calculation he’s rarely had to consider before: Whatever he reveals about his process could wind up offering an advantage to a playoff opponent.After nearly two decades of dwelling in the bottom half of the N.B.A.’s Western Conference, the Timberwolves (42-32) are establishing themselves as energetic, young newcomers who might have some staying power as a playoff contender. That is, if they can avoid the traps of the league’s play-in tournament.“We know we’re in this stretch where we’re playing all these top teams,” Timberwolves Coach Chris Finch said. “We said from the beginning when we started, this is what we wanted. We’re learning about ourselves. We’re learning what we need to do at this time of year to play against these teams.”With eight games remaining in the season, Minnesota has more wins than in all but one of the previous 16 seasons (2017-18). Two of those seasons were shorter than the standard 82 games: The Timberwolves played just 64 games in 2019-20 because of the pandemic, and 66 in 2011-12 because of a labor lockout. Even so, their winning percentage this year will be better than those shortened seasons even if they lose the last eight games.That 2017-18 season, with Jimmy Butler leading the way to a 47-35 record, was also the only one in the past 17 when the Timberwolves made the playoffs.Their postseason futility often earned them favorable draft positioning, including the No. 1 overall pick twice — in 2015, when they drafted Towns, and in 2020, when they drafted Anthony Edwards.Edwards has brought energy with his play and personality, averaging 21 points per game in his second N.B.A. season and thrilling both teammates and fans with his buoyancy, particularly before injuring his knee in January.Towns has embraced his leadership role. He’s been particularly effective in March, starting the month with a 39-point effort against the Golden State Warriors, and scoring 60 points last week against the San Antonio Spurs.The Timberwolves have relied on the veteran guard Patrick Beverley for his defense and the advice he can offer as someone with extensive playoff experience. Beverley has appeared in seven postseasons, including last year, when he was with a Clippers team that reached the Western Conference Finals. Minnesota’s growth from last season is apparent, but it has also progressed since earlier this season. Minnesota lost seven of its first 10 games and had a season-worst six-game losing streak during that span.But now, in March, the Timberwolves are 9-3 and have compiled winning streaks of four and six games since the All-Star break in February. They’ve hovered close to capturing at least the sixth-best record in the Western Conference, which is now the only way to ensure a playoff berth.In the past, the league would simply include the top eight seeds in each conference in the playoffs. But last season, the N.B.A. introduced a play-in tournament for the bottom of its playoff bracket. In it, the teams with the seventh- through 10th-best records in each conference play in a mini tournament for the final two playoff spots.The league liked the change so much it kept it this year, and it has created an uncommon level of late-season intrigue in both conferences. The Lakers, who have toggled between ninth and 10th place in the West, now have a cushion that gives them a second life even if they finish outside the top eight. For the Timberwolves, though, the play-in form has added a hurdle that didn’t exist through most of their playoff drought.Anthony Edwards is averaging 21 points in his second season. His energy has been critical to Minnesota’s success this year.Andy Clayton-King/Associated PressAs the standings sit now, the Timberwolves are the seventh seed and would host the eighth-seeded Clippers in their first play-in game. If Minnesota won, it would become the seventh seed in the playoffs. If it lost, it would play the winner of a game between the ninth and 10th seeds for the right to be the eighth seed in the playoffs.Last season, the format allowed the Memphis Grizzlies to sneak into the playoffs with play-in wins over San Antonio and Golden State, despite finishing the regular season with the ninth-best record in the West.Such a fate is perhaps a rude reward for a Timberwolves team that has taken such strides this season.Against the Suns on Wednesday, the Timberwolves saw what a team looks like when it has experience with closing and imposing its will. The Timberwolves led by 15 points in the third quarter, but were outscored by 22 in the second half. Technical and flagrant fouls called against Minnesota were part of the story, but so was Phoenix’s poise in its comeback effort.With a six-game lead over the eighth-seeded Clippers, the Timberwolves are unlikely to finish lower than seventh, but they trail the sixth-seeded Nuggets by just a game and a half.Capturing that sixth seed and being safely out of the play-in tournament will be challenging given the difficult schedule that remains. The Timberwolves have now lost consecutive games to the Mavericks and Suns. They’ll face Dallas again on Friday, then the Boston Celtics, who have gone 19-3 since the beginning of February. They’ll also face Chicago, Toronto and Denver — all in the top seven in their conferences — before the end of the season.Denver would have been in contention for the Western Conference title this season if not for injuries, particularly the one to point guard Jamal Murray. In their path, Finch, who was on the Nuggets staff during the 2016-17 season, sees a point of comparison for the Wolves about what can be required to become a fixture in the postseason picture.“It just takes time,” Finch said. “Especially when you have a young team, a young core.” More

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      Who Are The NBA's Early Breakout Stars of 2021-22 Season?

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      Three players in particular have given hope to their antsy fans, despite injuries, Covid-related absences and the hiccups of being new to the league.Whether it’s because of injuries, the N.B.A.’s Covid-19 health and safety protocols or a general yearly churn, the league has seen an unexpectedly rapid ascension of young stars this season. Some of this is unique to this year: With several top stars missing in action, there is more room in the spotlight for new talents.Tyler Herro, the third-year Miami Heat guard, is helping to keep the team afloat in the face of injuries to its top players. Cole Anthony, the second-year guard for the Orlando Magic, has developed into a strong all-around player with a workable jump shot. And the 23-year-old center Jarrett Allen is scoring almost 17 points a game for the Cleveland Cavaliers on better than 70 percent shooting. Allen has a strong chance to make his first All-Star game this season.The strong play from three players in particular has given hope to their teams’ beleaguered fans: Evan Mobley, the lanky Cavaliers rookie, and Anthony Edwards, the Minnesota Timberwolves swingman in his second year. And in the case of the second-year Grizzlies guard Desmond Bane, he thrived during the injury absence of the team’s top player, Ja Morant, which could have sent Memphis into a tailspin.All three succeed in different ways — Mobley with his height and agility; Edwards with his slashing and dunking; Bane with his shooting prowess. But all of them are helping their teams be competitive and they’re — if nothing else — fun to watch.None of the three are likely to make the All-Star team this season, but making future ones is certainly within reach.Here’s what makes them three of the season’s early breakout stars.Evan Mobley, Cleveland CavaliersCleveland Cavaliers center Evan Mobley is drawing comparisons to the Lakers’ big man Anthony Davis in his rookie season.Jerome Miron/USA TODAY Sports, via Jerome Miron-Usa Today SportsAs the Cleveland Cavaliers have pulled themselves out of the league’s cellar, one of the most exciting developments for the franchise’s future has been the emergence of the rookie forward Evan Mobley.With a body type and skill set that have drawn comparisons to a young Anthony Davis, Mobley is an early contender for the Rookie of the Year Award. He was named the season’s inaugural rookie of the month, which covers October and November. During that span, Mobley’s 30 blocks were twice that of the next best rookie, Toronto’s Scottie Barnes.More important, his play is helping his team win. The Cavaliers were the only team that played a rookie more than 400 minutes through November to also have a winning record.Heading into Christmas, Mobley led all rookies in blocks per game with 1.8 and was tied with Barnes for most rookie rebounds per game. His defensive rating is among the top 10 of players who have played at least 25 games this season.The 6-foot-11 center from Temecula, Calif., was expected to shine in the N.B.A. He was a star in high school and spent one season at the University of Southern California, where he was named the Pac-12’s player of the year, defensive player of the year and freshman of the year.But rookies don’t always enter the N.B.A. quite this polished.Anthony Edwards, Minnesota TimberwolvesMinnesota Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards has become a more vocal leader in his second season.David Berding/Getty ImagesAnthony Edwards made his mark as a high-flying slasher during his rookie season with the Minnesota Timberwolves last year. He was a delight to watch, particularly because of his elite dunking. But there were some questions about his offensive efficiency as he entered his second year in the league. He shot only 32.9 percent from 3 last season and 41.7 percent overall. The N.B.A. has a long and storied list of inefficient scorers who had inflated stats, because they were on bad teams that needed someone to put the ball in the hoop.But this season, Edwards is shooting a bit better, including from 3, and keeping the Timberwolves competitive. This month, Edwards hit 10 3-pointers in a game against the Denver Nuggets. He still has work to do to become a top scorer, but at 20 years old, he’s already one of the best young players in the league. He’s also diversified his game otherwise, improving his rebounding and passing, allowing him to contribute in games even when his shot isn’t falling. If Minnesota makes the playoffs, Edwards’s leap will be one of the biggest reasons.He’s also established himself as a leader unafraid to respectfully call out teammates, like Karl-Anthony Towns, or not-so-respectfully do so to stars on other teams, like Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert. He’s a keeper for Minnesota and has an outside shot at making the All-Star team this year, as well as, you know, an actual outside shot.Desmond Bane, Memphis GrizzliesMemphis guard Desmond Bane helped the Grizzlies stay afloat when their best player, Ja Morant, went down with an injury.John E. Sokolowski/USA TODAY Sports, via John E. Sokolowski-Usa Today SportsAt the 2020 N.B.A. draft, Desmond Bane was little more than an afterthought — to nearly everyone, that is, except the Memphis Grizzlies, who traded a pair of second-round picks to the Boston Celtics as part of a three-team deal so that they could move up in the order and select Bane with the final pick of the first round.Before the draft pundits had questions about Bane, a 6-foot-5 guard who had spent a full four seasons at Texas Christian University, a red flag in an era when most top prospects are one-and-done. Would Bane merely be a spot-up shooter in the N.B.A. or would he be able to create his own looks? And weren’t his arms a bit on the short side? Bane had heard it all.As a rookie, Bane earned a rotation spot for the Grizzlies as a dependable outside threat. Now a full-time starter in his second season, he is the team’s third-leading scorer behind Ja Morant and Dillon Brooks, and he ranks among the league leaders in 3-point shooting (41.3 percent going into Christmas). His value was especially apparent when Morant went down with a knee injury at the end of November. The Grizzlies won 10 of 12 games without him, and Bane was a steadying force — and occasionally spectacular. He had a career-high 29 points in a win against the Dallas Mavericks.Morant has since returned, and the Grizzlies are in the thick of the playoff chase as one of the Western Conference’s most surprising young teams. More