A weekly dive into the NBA’s hottest topics.
The Lakers don’t need space to score in the paint
Dallas Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle, in defense of Kristaps Porzingis, his 7-foot-3 center who spots up from three instead of posting up in the paint, called posting up “counter-intuitive.” Charles Barkley and Shaquille O’Neal would probably call it a shame. It’s the Milwaukee Bucks’ present, and maybe the NBA’s future: If you want to score in the paint, clear it. If you want to shoot open threes, get in the paint. To determine what a coach believes to be the court’s most fertile scoring opportunities, don’t look where his players are standing.