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      An N.B.A. Star Who Can’t Watch N.B.A. Games? It’s About Bad Habits.

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      “I have principles when it comes to this game,” Phoenix Suns center Deandre Ayton said. So when others don’t seem to, he said, “I don’t watch it at all.”Do not ask Phoenix Suns center Deandre Ayton to watch the N.B.A. away from work. He doesn’t want to see other teams play.“I just can’t watch it because I have principles when it comes to this game,” Ayton said in a recent interview after practice. “And, you know, I’ve just seen too many principles and bad habits that it messes with me. So I don’t watch it at all.”This is a far cry from early in Ayton’s career. He was selected with the first pick in the 2018 N.B.A. draft and was, at first, receiving attention for not matching the production of two players drafted soon after him: Luka Doncic at No. 3 and Trae Young at No. 5. It didn’t help that in his second season, Ayton was suspended for 25 games for testing positive for a diuretic, a violation of the league’s antidrug program.Since then, Ayton has blossomed into one of the best centers in the N.B.A. and a key part of Phoenix’s quest to win a championship. Ayton is one of the few throwback big men who have thrived in the contemporary N.B.A. by focusing on post-ups and rebounding, one who could’ve fit in just as well in the 1990s as he does now.The Suns raised eyebrows by not offering Ayton a maximum contract before the season, making him a restricted free agent this summer, one year after he helped them make the N.B.A. finals. Outwardly, Ayton shrugged it off and went on to have the best regular season of his four-year career, averaging 17.2 points and 10.2 rebounds on a career-high 63.4 percent shooting. He has expanded his offensive game beyond just dunks and has been a key partner for Chris Paul, the team’s All-Star point guard.Ayton, right, sets a screen for Chris Paul against the Pelicans during the first round of the playoffs.Gerald Herbert/Associated PressAyton, who grew up in the Bahamas, has been a fixture in the Phoenix area since he was a teenager at Hillcrest Prep Academy for part of high school. He then went to the University of Arizona, in Tucson, for one year. Now the Suns are facing the Dallas Mavericks in the second round of the N.B.A. playoffs.In an interview, Ayton discussed his impending free agency, one particular challenge of chasing a championship with Paul and how fatherhood has changed him.This conversation has been condensed and edited for clarity.Are there watch parties going on in the Bahamas right now? How is your playoff run being viewed at home?Some of my friends that are still back home down there, they have their watch parties. Everybody gets together and watches some of the games during work. They send you pictures of newspapers, so they’re definitely tuned in, for sure, because I represent the Bahamas everywhere I go.How does this playoff run mentally compare to last year’s run for you?It’s a lot more different. At first, last year, I was building confidence as we got further and further in the playoffs and going to the finals. But this, confidence isn’t a thing no more. That’s out the window. I’ve seen it all. I know what I can do.How much, if any, extra motivation do you have going up against Luka Doncic, given that you were both drafted in the same class and that you’re constantly being compared to him?There’s not motivation. I’m happy for the man, regardless of wherever it takes us, because I take pride in being a part of this class and us being the best draft class of all time. Obviously, through the competing, we’re trying to beat each other up, but at the end of the day I’m never motivated by somebody else’s success.You became a father last year. What has fatherhood taught you about yourself?I definitely stopped a lot of bad habits early.Like what?Like the way I eat. The way I sleep at night. Just being mindful of time. I’m very, very cautious about time and knowing time and place, especially with a child. And just representing myself the best way I can, on and off the court.Is your son going to play ball like you?Oh, yes! Once he sees a ball, he’s looking for his hoop, like: “Where’s the hoop? Where’s the hoop? I’m ready.” Then you pass it to him. I say: “Go to alley oop. Go to alley oop.” And he catches it and dunks it at 1 year old.Do you ever see Jayson Tatum and go, “Listen, my kid’s going to be a better baller than Deuce?” [Deuce — Jayson Tatum Jr. — is the toddler son of the Boston Celtics star.]I say that about all the dudes. All the players’ kids: “My son, we’re going to see your son. Regardless, you’re going to see him. You’re going to have to see him, man.”Devin Booker, left, Ayton, Paul and Suns Coach Monty Williams are the core of the team’s new identity as a tough, disciplined team.Gary A. Vasquez/USA Today Sports, via ReutersYou’ve talked in interviews about how pride is an identifying feature of being from the islands and how much confidence you have in yourself. Honestly, how upset were you that the Suns weren’t willing to give you a maximum contract before the season?I’ve been at the bottom of the barrel in my life so many times, and I’ve been through so many disappointments. And it wasn’t nothing to me. I was more motivated with my back against the wall, knowing who I truly am. And the decision they made, it was out of my control, and all I can do is really just continue to play because at the end of the day, you can be mad all you want. But negotiating, that’s a business at the end of the day. So what? You’ve still got to go play.I had teammates around me that put a smile on my face every day. Coaches would put a smile on my face every day. Front office, it was still the same energy. Nothing changed. It didn’t happen. All right. On to the next one. Now we’re here. No. 1 team in the league. And now we’re on a mission.Given how you played this year, what is your optimism on getting the contract that you feel that you deserve from Phoenix?I put that in God’s hands and my agent’s hands. I’ve just got to do my part and make sure we’re the last team standing in this thing when it is all said and done. The only thing I can control is getting a dub.How has your relationship with Chris Paul evolved now that you’re more experienced in the league?That’s big bro. That’s my brother because we come to each other with anything, to be honest, and we have a huge chemistry going on in the pick-and-roll and to where we don’t even have to talk.Let me ask it this way: Does he yell at you less now?Oh, hell yeah, he still yells. What?! He yells. He yells, man. He’s yelling with you more than at you, but he’s yelling for sure. You’re going to hear what he has to say, period. Nothing changes about C.P.Is there anything you want to do off the court outside of basketball?I’m a gamer.Who’s the best gamer on the Suns? Is it you or Devin Booker?Me. Book doesn’t play games I play. Book plays “Call of Duty.” I play the game we play in real life. I play basketball. I play NBA 2K. He wants to freaking jump out of airplanes and have parachutes and shoot.Do you play as yourself in 2K?I have imagination. I’m playing as a 6-foot-3 point guard who got unlimited dribble moves and beyond shooting like Steph Curry, period.You’re, at this point, a pillar of the franchise. With the allegations that were made against the owner of the team, Robert Sarver, do you have any discomfort with remaining for the franchise if it is owned by him going forward?[Sarver, the owner of the Suns, is under investigation by the N.B.A. after several current and former employees accused him of saying racial slurs and making other inappropriate comments.]I’ve never had any problem with Sarver. He’s never shown me any of those ways, to be honest. He’s always treated me well. And I’ve been to his house for dinner and, you know, just sometimes he’ll call me over his house just to chop it up and see how I’m doing. He always asks about my family. So, I mean, Sarver has never done me wrong. Me, I was just blinded by all that stuff that came out, to be honest. More

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      Chris Paul’s ‘Revenge Tour’ Is No Fun for Luka Doncic

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      The second-round playoff series between Paul’s Suns, who lost in the N.B.A. finals last year, and Doncic’s Mavericks has at its center two of the game’s best point guards.Chris Paul had already started the fourth quarter by draining a long 3-pointer and passing to Cameron Johnson, his Phoenix Suns teammate, for another. It was a bad sign for the visiting Dallas Mavericks, because Paul hadn’t even called for the defensive matchup he really wanted.His next time up the court, Paul was dribbling against Reggie Bullock when Johnson set a high screen on Bullock, dragging his defender with him. That defender was Luka Doncic, who found himself guarding Paul after the switch — and even managed to poke the ball away. But after Paul regained possession, he needed about 3 nanoseconds to blow past Doncic for a layup.It was the sort of scene that kept repeating itself in the closing stages of the Suns’ 129-109 victory in Game 2 of their Western Conference semifinal series on Wednesday. The Suns were determined to force Doncic onto the ball, and then they were eager to capitalize. Doncic, who has the meaty build of a tight end at 6-foot-7 and 230 pounds, is an all-world offensive player. But his defense? For one game, at least, he went from hunter to hunted against shifty guards like Paul and Devin Booker.“Just have to play better defense,” Doncic said, “that’s it.”No one has been surprised to see two point guards take center stage in this series, which the Suns lead, 2-0, as it heads to Dallas for Game 3 on Friday. But in the process, Paul and Doncic have offered contrasting approaches. Paul has picked his moments to take charge, a luxury given the talent that surrounds him, while Doncic has tried to do it all, in large part because he has no choice.“We believe, man,” Doncic said, adding: “We’re going to believe until the end.”The Suns have been able to frustrate Doncic in many ways, even as he manages to pour in points as the driver of the Mavericks’ offense.Matt York/Associated PressDoncic has been putting up preposterous numbers, even by his gaudy standards. In Game 1, he finished with 45 points, 12 rebounds and 8 assists. In Game 2, he had 35 points, 5 rebounds and 7 assists. Mavericks Coach Jason Kidd put the pressure on Doncic’s supporting cast to assert itself in Game 3.“He had a great game,” Kidd said of Doncic, “but no one else showed. So we’ve got to get the other guys shooting the ball better. We can’t win with just him out there scoring 30 a night, not at this time of year.”For Paul, the playoffs are another opportunity — arguably his best one yet — to win his first championship, one season after the Suns fell to the Milwaukee Bucks in the N.B.A. finals. Phoenix, Booker said, is on a “revenge tour,” which Paul seems to be steering from his personal time machine. Paul finished with 28 points and 8 assists on Wednesday, a tour de force two days before his 37th birthday.“He can tell you better than I can,” Booker said, “but he’s feeling younger by the day.”In his own way, given his size and approach, Paul is unapologetically old school. Growing up in North Carolina, he was the prototypical point guard: a dazzling scorer, to be sure, but someone who was responsible, first and foremost, for involving teammates. Now, he has the institutional knowledge of 17 N.B.A. seasons informing each of his decisions.Doncic, on the other hand, is one of the league’s new-age players, a 23-year-old prodigy with a multidimensional game that was informed by his childhood in Slovenia, where children, no matter how big or how small, learned the fundamentals of shooting and passing.In this playoff series, the throwback has the edge. It helps, of course, that the Suns are a deeper team and that Paul plays alongside Booker, a three-time All-Star and one of the league’s most gifted scorers.For three quarters of Wednesday’s game, Paul largely created for his teammates, attempting just nine shots. He exploded in the fourth quarter, scoring 14 points while shooting 6 of 7 from the field.“It’s amazing,” the Suns’ Jae Crowder said. “For the first two quarters, he’s relaxed, chilling. He’s not too aggressive, just reading the game. And then he has a switch where he just turns it on.”Booker, 25, thought back to his childhood when he would watch games with his father, Melvin Booker, a former N.B.A. guard who shaped his son through daily workouts. In front of the TV, they would study Paul together. Devin was 5 years old, he said, exaggerating modestly.“See how he makes sure everyone’s involved?” Booker recalled his father asking him. “And then he picks his times when he’s going to take over the game?”Booker added: “I’ve always admired the way he does that. He’s just in control at all times. He’s two, three steps ahead of what the other team is doing.”Paul has long been known as one of the N.B.A.’s best passers.Joe Camporeale/USA Today Sports, via ReutersAs Paul surged in the fourth quarter, Doncic, having already carried such an enormous load for his team, seemed to tire — especially on defense. Kidd said he would need to concoct a plan to ensure that Doncic’s teammates “do a better job of helping him.” Perhaps the Mavericks need to avoid switching on screens so frequently, or perhaps they need to send more double-teams at Booker and Paul. Easier said than done.Paul joined Booker at his postgame news conference in time to answer a question about the importance of making Doncic work at both ends. Booker glanced at Paul and seemed to smirk, as if to say they had done their job picking him apart. Paul, forever the cagey veteran, chose the diplomatic route.“We just try to play,” he said. “Take what the defense gives us.”It was an exhausting night for Doncic. As he made his way off the court at halftime, he wheeled around to bark at a heckler.“He was just saying something reckless,” Doncic said. “If it’s something normal, I would not even look because I don’t care. But sometimes you’re in a bad mood and they say some bad stuff. It’s normal. We’re people, man. It’s normal to turn around.”Ahead of Game 3, Doncic had a chance to plot some revenge of his own. More

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      As the N.B.A. Turns, the Phoenix Suns Keep Chugging Along

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      The uncertainty surrounding the Lakers and interpersonal dramas among the Sixers, Nets and others have obscured the Suns’ steady pursuit of the N.B.A.’s best record.Think about how the N.B.A. is consumed these days. Think about what draws buzz and eyeballs, and social media clicks.The league doubles as a soap opera and a business transaction wire. For many fans, that’s the allure: All the hype about who hates whom, what star player wants to force his way to another team, which front office executive has the boldest plan to resurrect a franchise and is willing dish to reporters — without attribution, of course.Hence this year’s fascination with James Harden’s trade demands, Joel Embiid’s beef with Ben Simmons, Zion Williamson’s injured foot and eating habits, and whether Mayor Eric Adams will allow unvaccinated Kyrie Irving to play home games in Brooklyn.Hence the speculation about every member of the Los Angeles Lakers, the parsing of each utterance by LeBron James, the job security of Coach Frank Vogel. What’s wrong with Russell Westbrook and Jeanie Buss? At this rate, it will not surprise me to see television hype merchants frothing about whether the Lakers should trade the team’s cook.In a sports ecosystem that places such a high value on sizzle, where does this leave the Phoenix Suns? The N.B.A. is currently investigating allegations of racism and misogyny against the team owner Robert Sarver, a high-stakes conflict that seems to have been lost beneath the churn of minor dramas.Amid all that, Phoenix’s fuss-free players and coaches have been impeccable. And underappreciated.The Suns have compiled the N.B.A.’s best record despite losing Chris Paul to a hand injury and playing without Devin Booker, who has been in Covid-19 protocols.Stacy Revere/Getty ImagesIt would not have seemed odd if Phoenix had struggled to shake last season’s N.B.A. finals meltdown against the Milwaukee Bucks. Coughing up a two-game lead on the sport’s biggest stage isn’t exactly easy to put in the past. But Phoenix — led by the head-down coach Monty Williams, the unrelenting will of Chris Paul and the grit and grace of his mentee, Devin Booker — has done just that.After hammering the Portland Trail Blazers by 30 points last week, the Suns became the first team in the league to reach 50 victories, which shouldn’t be a surprise since they’ve had winning streaks of 18 and 10 games this season and were undefeated in November.Their 51-13 record through Sunday is eight and a half games better than the Eastern Conference-leading Miami Heat.In the West, they stand seven and a half games better than the second-place Memphis Grizzlies.Even with Paul sidelined most likely through the end of the month with a broken thumb, even with their leading scorer, Booker, out with Covid-19 — and even after a rare, stumbling loss on Sunday when the Suns were defeated, 132-122, by the Bucks — there appears little chance Phoenix will lose its grip on the top seed and home-court advantage when the playoffs begin in April.But unless you’re a die-hard N.B.A. watcher, you probably are either unaware of how the Suns have dominated this season or you see them as a plucky team of overachievers with no way on earth to actually walk off with a championship.We’re just over a month away from the start of the N.B.A. playoffs, where we’ll find out if the Suns can puncture the public consciousness.During Tuesday’s game against the Trail Blazers in Phoenix, the Suns honored their longtime radio announcer, Al McCoy, the dean of N.B.A. broadcasters, who at 88 has been calling Suns games since 1972. Think of all the memorable Suns players whose on-court brilliance he has witnessed: Charles Barkley and Kevin Johnson, Paul Westphal and Alvan Adams, Steve Nash and Amar’e Stoudemire on the “Seven Seconds or Less Suns,” who helped revolutionize the modern game.Phoenix has come startlingly close to a championship, making the N.B.A. finals three times, beginning with the “Shot Heard Round the World” series against the Boston Celtics in 1976. (If you’re too young to remember, check YouTube for a treat.)What other N.B.A. franchise boasts Phoenix’s pedigree while lacking championship hardware? They are pro basketball’s version of the N.F.L.’s Buffalo Bills and Minnesota Vikings, destined always to come oh-so-terribly close to winning it all.Coach Monty Williams’s even-keeled approach has helped the Suns bounce back from a collapse in last season’s N.B.A. finals.Morry Gash/Associated PressBut this version of the Suns can write a new chapter. This squad has a special mojo. “These guys all like one another and they just enjoy having fun playing the game together, and you just don’t see that in sports anymore,” McCoy said when we spoke last week. “A lot of teams, there’s always one or two guys that are upset about something — salary or playing time or something else. But these guys just hang together, and that’s the way they play.”It’s the sports world’s natural order: Winning can undoubtedly draw attention even in today’s hype-besotted world, but that means winning it all. That’s part of the reason we know more about the Lakers this season than the Suns: 17 championship trophies can make a franchise important to people.The same is true of Golden State, a titan of the 21st century grooved into our collective synapses on the strength of three N.B.A. titles and five straight trips to the finals. (It doesn’t hurt to have must-see stars like Steph Curry and Klay Thompson and a walking hype machine like Draymond Green, three players whose every other move and machination seem ready to go viral.)Those championship squads each had a discernible style that each member seemed to uphold. To win it all, the Suns will need to stay true to theirs: a team-first style that Williams, a former Spurs player who learned to coach under the watchful eye of Gregg Popovich, could’ve cribbed straight from San Antonio’s glory years.Like those Spurs, everyone on the Suns has a role, everyone follows the script. The ball moves and moves and moves some more. Seven Suns are averaging double digits in scoring this season. Two others are scoring 9 points per game.Those Spurs of old weren’t flashy and filled with angst, drama and uncertainty. There was no soap-opera narrative.They just got the job done. Tellingly, the Spurs’ last championship was a stunning win over the Miami Heat in 2014. It came the season after losing a heartbreaker to the Heat in the finals — courtesy of Ray Allen’s miracle step-back 3-pointer.The Suns are now trying to do something similar to those title-winning Spurs. Capturing an N.B.A. championship after suffering a searing loss is as tough a task as there is in sports.Should the Suns finally win it all, don’t expect them to receive the attention and respect they are due. More likely, a week later, fans will talk more about Zion Williamson’s weight, James Harden’s nightlife and whether LeBron James will soon be taking his talents back to Cleveland. More

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      NBA Christmas Day Games 2021: What to Know

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      A coronavirus outbreak across the league has cast a shadow over Saturday’s highlight slate of games, with several key players unavailable to compete.The N.B.A. has long looked to Christmas Day as a highlight of the young season, a made-for-TV spectacle that brings together many of the best teams and best players for a daylong extravaganza of basketball fireworks.This year? Not exactly.Dozens of players have been cycling through the N.B.A.’s coronavirus health and safety protocols in recent days, forcing teams to improvise by signing scores of replacement players to 10-day contracts. So if you’re expecting to see Kevin Durant lead the Nets into their game against the Los Angeles Lakers on Saturday, you’ll be disappointed: On Friday, Durant remained in the protocols. But fans should be able to catch the surprise return of Joe Johnson, whom the Boston Celtics signed on Wednesday to shore up their own battered roster — the same Joe Johnson who is now 40 and had last appeared on an N.B.A. court in 2018.The pandemic has wrought havoc on the holiday season, and the N.B.A. has not been immune. The league even issued a memo this week to the teams scheduled to play on Saturday that their tip times could be tweaked if any of the prime-time games are postponed. (The Nets, for example, have already had three games scuttled over the past week because of low roster numbers.)For now, and keep in mind that this is subject to change, here is a look at the five games penciled in for Saturday:All times Eastern.Atlanta Hawks (15-16) at Knicks (14-18), Noon, ESPNKnicks forward Julius Randle is having an up-and-down season, but his short-handed team will need him against the Hawks on Saturday.Mary Altaffer/Associated PressSurprising runs to the playoffs last season led to these teams meeting in the first round, spurring talk about the two franchises resurrecting. The Hawks easily dispatched the Knicks then, with the Hawks’ star player, Trae Young, delighting in quieting abrasive Knicks fans, while the Knicks’ top player, Julius Randle, had a terrible series.The matchup looked like it would start a rivalry between two up-and-coming teams on their way to the Eastern Conference’s elite.But this season, both teams, far from being resurrected, have been two of the more disappointing teams in the league. The Knicks’ new additions, Evan Fournier and Kemba Walker, have been mostly underwhelming, though Walker, after being benched for several games, has been on a tear in a recent return to the lineup. And while Atlanta had one of the N.B.A.’s worst defenses, its stellar offense hasn’t been enough to compensate for it. Young, already one of the league’s best offensive players, is having the best year of his career, while Randle has struggled.The good news is that the same thing happened last season, and both teams had impressive second half turnarounds to make the playoffs.The Christmas game will undoubtedly lose some of its luster with several key players likely to miss the game as a result of the N.B.A.’s health and protocols, including Young, Clint Capela and Danilo Gallinari from Atlanta, and Nerlens Noel from the Knicks. Derrick Rose, one of the Knicks’ lone bright spots against Atlanta in the playoffs, is slated to miss several weeks with an ankle injury.Boston Celtics (16-16) at Milwaukee Bucks (21-13), 2:30 p.m., ABCJayson Tatum’s shooting percentage is down slightly this season, but he is still Boston’s leading scorer with 25.6 points per game.Charles Krupa/Associated PressFresh off their first N.B.A. championship since 1971, the Bucks knew the early part of their schedule would pose some challenges. For starters, last season’s playoff run extended into late July. Then, two of the team’s best players, Khris Middleton and Jrue Holiday, helped the United States men’s basketball team win gold at the Tokyo Olympics in August. The Bucks subsequently reconvened for the start of their season and lost eight of their first 15 games.Despite a shifting roster — Middleton and Giannis Antetokounmpo are among the players who have missed games after landing in the league’s health and safety protocols — the Bucks seem to be finding their footing as they eye another title. That’s no great stretch, thanks to the presence of Antetokounmpo, a two-time winner of the Most Valuable Player Award who still seems determined to expand his game. He is expected to play on Christmas after missing the past five games.The Celtics, meanwhile, are enduring growing pains under Ime Udoka, their first-year coach. From the start of training camp, Udoka has stressed the need for his players to pass more willingly around the perimeter. But too often, the ball still sticks — frequently in the hands of Jayson Tatum, a talented young player who has struggled with his shooting this season. The Celtics have also been hindered by injuries to Jaylen Brown.Boston needs to play a much more complete brand of basketball to have a shot of landing in the postseason, let alone to challenge the likes of the Bucks.Golden State Warriors (26-6) at Phoenix Suns (26-5), 5 p.m., ABCChris Paul leads the league in assists per game, which has helped his Phoenix Suns stay among the West’s best despite injuries.Ezra Shaw/Getty ImagesThis game features the top two teams in the Western Conference. The Suns are hoping to improve upon their trip to the finals last year, while Golden State looks to continue its resurgence.In November, the N.B.A. began investigating Robert Sarver, the Suns’ owner, after ESPN published accusations of racism and sexism against him from what ESPN said were current and former Suns employees. If the specter of that investigation has affected the team, it hasn’t shown on the court.Phoenix has looked formidable in Coach Monty Williams’ third year with the franchise. After a 1-3 start to the season, the Suns went on an 18-game winning streak, which set a franchise record for consecutive wins. That included a win over Golden State and ended with a loss to Golden State. Aided by point guard Chris Paul’s steady veteran hand (he leads the league in assists per game), they’ve weathered injuries. Deandre Ayton missed eight games with a leg injury and illness, and Devin Booker missed seven games with a hamstring injury.Golden State awaits the return of Klay Thompson, Stephen Curry’s sharpshooting counterpart, who has been absent for more than two years with two serious injuries. He could return soon, but not in time for this game. The team has rocketed to the top of the conference even without him.Curry set the N.B.A. record for career 3s last week and has been playing well enough to merit consideration for his third M.V.P. Award. Role players, such as Jordan Poole and Gary Payton II, have made major contributions as well.Nets (21-9) at Los Angeles Lakers (16-17), 8 p.m., ABC and ESPNThe Nets have been hit hard by the virus recently, with so many players, including James Harden, unavailable that three games were postponed.Carmen Mandato/Getty ImagesIdeally, this would be a matchup of the Nets’ Kevin Durant against his longtime elite contemporary, LeBron James of the Lakers. And in theory, there would be other stars, too, like Kyrie Irving for the Nets and Anthony Davis for the Lakers.But it’s not to be. Davis is out for several weeks because of a knee injury. And the Nets are missing so many players as a result of the league’s health and safety protocols — including Durant and Irving — that their last three games have been postponed. On Thursday, Nets Coach Steve Nash announced that James Harden had left protocols, making him available against the Lakers.For this matchup, the Nets, who are in first place in the Eastern Conference, are taking on a Lakers team fighting just to stay in the conversation to make the playoffs.The Lakers’ supporting cast around James and Davis, thus far, has proved to be ill-fitting, and the roster has dealt with a scourge of injuries. Russell Westbrook, the Lakers’ most high-profile off-season addition, has struggled at times. James is putting up exceptional numbers for a 36-year-old, but appears to be finally slowing down: He’s more reliant on his jumper than ever before, averaging a career high in 3-point attempts per game, and a career low in free-throw attempts per game. James is still one of the best players in the league, but it’s not apparent that he can carry an offense by himself like he used to.With the Nets slated to be without so many key players, this should have been marked as an easy win for a James-led team. But not this year. These Lakers, even at full strength, are mediocre and prone to coast through games. Right now, it’s a tossup.Dallas Mavericks (15-16) at Utah Jazz (22-9), 10:30 p.m., ESPNDonovan Mitchell, left, and the Utah Jazz will face a Mavericks team that has been dealing with injuries all season.Rick Bowmer/Associated PressWhat’s regular-season dominance without playoff success? The Utah Jazz found themselves confronting that question last season when they finished the regular season with the best record in the N.B.A., but only reached the second round of the playoffs.That’s meant so far this season their game-to-game focus is on not just their early wins and losses, but on what lessons they can take into the postseason.“If you’re perfect in November, no one’s going to care come playoff time,” Jazz guard Donovan Mitchell said.Mitchell has led the Jazz offense with more than 25 points per game, while Bojan Bogdanovic and Jordan Clarkson, the league’s reigning sixth man of the year, have also been important pieces.Defensively they are led by Rudy Gobert, who is the league’s best with 15.1 rebounds per game and also contributes more than 2 blocks per game.They’ll face a Mavericks team that has dealt with injuries all season, including to guard Luka Doncic, their best player, who is expected to miss this game because of the league’s health protocols.Although Doncic leads the team with 25.6 points per game, the Mavericks are not dramatically different statistically when he’s on the court. But they are more fun to watch. If Doncic misses the Christmas Day game, a Dallas team ravaged by the virus and injuries will have a tough time making a game against the Jazz interesting. More

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      Brilliance, and Heartbreak: The Story of Chris Paul’s Career

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      Paul, the veteran Phoenix Suns point guard, ends this N.B.A. season the same way he has 15 times before: without a championship. The question is whether that should define him.In defeat, Devin Booker said that the youthful Phoenix Suns had hoped to skip many of the brutal roadblocks that can quickly vanquish a team with championship aspirations. More

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      The Milwaukee Bucks Win the N.B.A. Championship

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      The Bucks defeated the Phoenix Suns in the N.B.A. finals in six games for their first title in 50 years. It’s the first championship for Giannis Antetokounmpo.MILWAUKEE — A half-century ago, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar — a young goliath then known as Lew Alcindor — led the Milwaukee Bucks to their first championship. For decades, it was the only time the franchise had reached that height. More

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      In Game 3, Antetokounmpo Didn’t Do All of the Work

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      The Bucks played well even without their star on the floor, and cut the Suns’ lead to two games to one.With about 3:44 left in the first half on Sunday night, the Bucks were leading by 8 after a basket by Giannis Antetokounmpo. With a crucial opportunity to build momentum heading into halftime, Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer pulled him from the game to try to buy his superstar some rest. More