NBA and NCAA Game Notes: NBA Cup and college holiday hoops

Notes from: MIL-MIA, HOU-MIN, PHX-LAL, Kansas-Duke, Auburn-North Carolina

NBA Cup play is winding down. The next last day delivered a couple of terrific finishes and a couple of runaways.

Thanksgiving week is also one of the best times of the year for college hoops. There are countless tournaments and events featuring big-time programs and major draft prospects.

Here’s what I saw in both the NBA and NCAA on Tuesday!

Milwaukee Bucks - 106 at Miami Heat - 103

• With Giannis Antetokounmpo a late scratch, the Bucks went to a very Damian Lillard-centric offense, and it worked well. The game was played at a snail’s pace, which fit the somewhat limited Bucks personnel. Lillard was a big part of that pace adjustment.

  This play was a good example of Lillard controlling the game. The initial action is a pick-and-roll with Brook Lopez, but Lillard doesn’t have the angle to get the ball to Lopez. Instead of forcing it, the veteran point guard backs it out, runs a second action with A.J. Green and it ends up in Green being wide-open:

• Andre Jackson Jr. has taken a couple more three-pointers per game since being inserted into Milwaukee’s opening lineup. But this feels more like his offensive game. Jackson is good in the open floor and on cuts or while stationed in the dunker spot. On nights when Giannis Antetokounmpo isn’t available, or simply when Antetokounmpo is out of the game, it would be nice to see Jackson get some work as a short-roll passer.

• I liked this process from the Bucks. The Heat started blitzing Damian Lillard to get the ball out of his hands, especially when the shot-clock went under 15. A.J. Green makes the nice flash cut to the nail here. Andre Jackson Jr. makes a baseline cut from the corner, which kept Bam Adebayo from jumping to Green. From there, Green makes a nice read to find Brook Lopez for the three:

• Jimmy Butler said postgame that the Heat are “very far” from being the team they want to be. This game was kind of a nice summation of that. Despite the game being slow-paced and deliberate, which Miami usually loves, it was a very clunky outing for the Heat. Only Butler and Tyler Herro were overly involved in the offense. Both Terry Rozier III and Bam Adebayo looked good and should have seen more involvement.

• Injury-related fits and starts to the season haven’t helped Jaime Jaquez Jr. He just hasn’t been able to find that same impactful rhythm he had as a rookie.

Houston Rockets - 117 at Minnesota Timberwolves - 111 OT

• The Rockets offense is pretty limited. They can get really messy and ugly. That’s a big part of how they blew a big lead before rallying to win in overtime.

  But Houston also plays really hard every night, and they get after it on defense. That’s what kept them going and why this success seems sustainable.

• Related to the above: Houston is at their best when they play through Alperen Sengun, as opposed to Jalen Green and Fred VanVleet. The guards still need to be involved, but Sengun should be the hub for every action when he’s on the floor.

  It doesn’t even need to be overly complicated. This is a simple pick-and-roll play where Sengun gets it and sets up Dillon Brooks for an open three. More of this!

• Amen Thompson is starting to level up in real time. He was terrific in this game, on both offense and defense. The latter is expected now, but the former is great to see. Here’s a quick compilation of big-time plays by Thompson. The baseline cut is becoming a staple of his game. He reads the play like a point guard, but as a cutter. (Bonus: Alperen Sengun hub again!) The steal on Rob Dillingham was just mean! And the confidence to pull the corner three in overtime is something we love to see.

• Jabari Smith is still pretty far down in the pecking order for the Rockets offense. He’s often the fifth option, especially within the starting group. That leads to him having a very inconsistent role. However, there are signs Smith is figuring out how to have an impact. I especially liked this off-the-dribble pullup that he knocked down. (Bonus again: Alperen Sengun operating as the Rockets hub on the pitch play!):

• Minnesota’s offense becomes a stagnant mess without Mike Conley to keep them organized and flowing. It’s either Anthony Edwards holding it and then trying to make something happen late-clock, or Julius Randle doing the same thing. There’s very little crispness and not a lot of flow.

• Related to the above: Edwards is so good, that sometimes it works. And when he catches fire, he’s an offensive system unto himself.

• I don’t know what happened to Jaden McDaniels’ offensive game, but let’s get back to where we were somehow.

• Another strong game for Rob Dillingham. He’s earning more minutes, even when Mike Conley does return. The Wolves can use Dillingham’s juice on the second unit. Next up: Dillingham/Naz Reid two-man game. That action can carry Minnesota’s bench lineups.

Los Angeles Lakers - 100 at Phoenix Suns - 127

• The Suns were whole for one of the few times this season and they absolutely rolled the Lakers. This was as closed to the idealized version of Phoenix’s offense as we’ll probably get. Shooting, spacing, movement, passing. It was all working.

• Tyus Jones did a nice job with everyone back of just getting Phoenix into something and then floating. He knows how to set the play and get out of the way. That’s an underrated part of being a floor general.

• OSO!!! This little push shot/floater is becoming a big part of Oso Ighodaro’s offensive game. He makes it at a pretty good clip too. It’s a nice weapon to have when he can’t get all the way to the rim.

• The Lakers looked lifeless. The got crushed in transition once again. The halfcourt defense wasn’t much better. The Suns are good, but the Lakers are supposed to be a lot better than this.

• Really looked for something positive to take from this game for Los Angeles, but there really wasn’t anything. Just a bad night all around.