However, Miami Heat icon Udonis Haslem does not agree. "I understand the scheduling situation and that's something you can't control, " said Haslem on the NBA on Prime Video studio show. "But as players, and I've said this before, we always focus on the things that we can't control. What can we control? How we prepare for the season."

Instead of on-ball screens, Miami is relying on pace (first in the NBA), off-ball movement and drives to the hoop to score. And it has revived an offense that’s typically been one of the league’s most plodding.

The Pelicans are 26th in defensive rating and prove particularly weak at the point-of-attack and in pick-and-roll scenarios. Daniels, a former New Orleans pick, is going to have the ball in his hands, empowered to get downhill and distribute to several shooters in the Atlanta lineup.

If Portland wins, Denver has to run up the score on the Spurs on Friday to advance as the top second-place team. The Nuggets currently have a better point differential than the Clippers and Suns, but they trail the Wolves and Thunder in the tiebreaker.

The whispers started years ago in Paris, long before the world had any real proof of existence. They were half rumor, half warning—about a seven-foot teenager who moved with the ease and fluidity of a guard,

Five takeaways from the Miami Heat’s 143-107 blowout win over the Chicago Bulls (8-7) on Friday night at United Center to open a two-game grip and improve to 2-1 during the four-game group-stage of the NBA Cup in-season tournament. The Heat (10-6) closes the trip on Sunday afternoon against the 76ers in Philadelphia:

The sweeping gambling indictment that has engulfed the NBA, bringing two separate scandals together, could soon be streamlined.

DraftKings offers $200 in bonus bets if your first $5 bet wins, plus 3 months of free NBA League Pass for college football betting on Saturday

This article was originally published on www.si.com as NBA Fans Blown Away by 36-Year-Old James Harden Scoring 27 in a Single Quarter.