NBA Game Notes: Randle beats the buzzer and more!

Notes from MIN-PHX, POR-ATL, DAL-OKC, LAC-UTA

Weekends in the NBA are always nice, because they often come with an afternoon game or two. That allows you to really dial in on one game at a time. This Sunday had a nice stagger of games.

Here’s what I saw in the games I focused on!

Phoenix Suns - 117 at Minnesota Timberwolves - 120

• The Wolves have been scuffling a long a bit this season. Making a big trade right before the season put them a bit behind on building chemistry. But there are signs it’s starting to come around. Guys aren’t getting in each other’s ways on offense as much, and defensive rotations are looking cleaner in most lineups.

• Julius Randle had his first big Minnesota moment. After playing one of his best all-around games for the Timberwolves, Randle got the call at the end of the game. He delivered big-time:

• Minnesota’s other part of that trade package seems to be settling in too, as Donte DiVincenzo had one of his best games of the season. In his first 10 or so games with the Wolves, DiVincenzo seemed almost tentative to let in fly. In this one, he looked like the unconscious gunner (a compliment!), which is what makes him a special player.

• The Suns went double-big with Jusuf Nurkic and Mason Plumlee starting together. It was a little clunky, but by no means bad. When Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal are back, it could be a combination worth looking at more, given the spacing Durant, Beal and Devin Booker would provide.

• (clears throat) OSO!!!

  With that out of the way, let’s show some love to one of my favorite players in the NBA. Oso Ighodaro is again getting minutes for the Suns, and he’s earning more of them with his play. Nothing Ighodaro does physically will really overwhelm you, but he’s an incredibly smart player. In the montage below, you can see the Wolves plan is to play way off Ighodaro when he’s outside. But he doesn’t stay there. The minute his defender is engaged by the ballhandler, Ighodaro is off to the rim on the backdoor cut. The last clip is simply A+ ball movement. Such a fun player!

• Not exactly news, but the Suns offense is pretty limited without Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal. Devin Booker was awesome throughout this game, but unless he’s going to take 40 or 50 shots, things will bog down for Phoenix at times. This is where Mike Budenholzer and staff need to scheme guys open more. One other option is to let Tyus Jones and Monte Morris do more with the ball. Both veteran point guards did well with that in this game.

Atlanta Hawks - 110 at Portland Trail Blazers - 114

• Shaedon Sharpe is a terrific talent…when he’s healthy. That’s the key for Sharpe and Portland. He was dominant down the stretch in this game, as Sharpe scored 11 of his 32 points in the fourth quarter. That included a couple of big late-clock shots for the Blazers.

• This was a tough one for Donovan Clingan. The stat-line looks ok, but the rookie center struggled with defending the Hawks pick-and-roll actions. Trae Young, Jalen Johnson and Dyson Daniels all had good success attacking Clingan on those plays. The Trail Blazers were also asking Clingan to play a half-drop/half-hedge type of coverage. It’s all about learning at this point.

• On the flip side of the above, Robert Williams III was awesome. He executed the defensive scheme better than Clingan, because he’s seen all this stuff before. And Williams was a perfect 6-for-6 from the floor, which brings him up to robust 84% shooting on the season.

• Dalano Banton continues to thrive in Portland. The big improvement for Banton so far, albeit in a small sample size? His three-point shot. Banton has never been above 30% from behind the arc in his first three NBA seasons. This year, the scoring wing is hitting 43.8% from deep. It’s only been 32 attempts, so we need to see a lot more, but so far, so good!

• The Hawks have made a subtle rotation shift. Very few minutes are being played without one of Trae Young or Jalen Johnson on the floor. That shows how much Atlanta believe in Johnson as being able to carry the offense. Next up? Johnson needs to rein in the turnovers a bit. But they are mostly errors of trying to make something happen. That’s better than pure sloppiness.

• Zaccharie Risacher has been better early than I think most of us thought he would be. It’s time to start playing with a bit more force. Too many minutes are played with Risacher just sort of out there. Quin Snyder can help by drawing up more actions that force Risacher to make a play.

• Dyson Daniels came back to earth. The good news? He never got passive, even when things weren’t going his way. Daniels stayed on the attack all game.