Copyright The Boston Globe
⋅ Josh Minott, Celtics: Minott played little in his first three seasons with the Timberwolves and was signed to a two-year, $5 million contract to become a reliable rebounder and energy player for the Celtics. Of course, perhaps not even Joe Mazzulla would have expected Minott to produce as well as he has in the early going. He has 27 rebounds in the first four games this season after collecting 47 all of last season with Minnesota. He has already worked his way into the starting lineup and his individual defense against the likes of Joel Embiid, Tobias Harris, Trey Murphy, and Evan Mobley has been exemplary. His contract could become of the league’s bigger bargains as he has a team option for next season. ⋅ Ryan Rollins, Bucks: Rollins has bounced around the league and experienced some off-court issues but stuck with his vision and is now a main contributor on the Bucks, his third team in three-plus seasons. With all of the Bucks’ injuries last season, the shooting guard carved out a bench role, averaging 6.2 points in 56 games. That scoring number has exploded to 18.6 in six games this season, including a 32-point outing in a victory against one of his former teams, the Warriors. Rollins had played just 25 NBA games before last season and now has become a mainstay for one of the league’s surprising teams. ⋅ Ajay Mitchell, Thunder: As if the Thunder needed any more young talent, Mitchell has developed into a dependable scorer with Jalen Williams out indefinitely with a wrist issue. Mitchell was a second-round pick out of UC-Santa Barbara in 2024 and traded by the Knicks to the Thunder on draft night. He played just 36 games as a rookie on the championship team but has turned into an overnight sensation in his second season, drawing the attention of opposing teams and fantasy owners by averaging 18.5 points off the bench, having scored in double figures in all six games. The Thunder have become the league’s best at developing talent and Mitchell’s emergence is another example. ⋅ Matas Buzelis, Bulls: Buzelis was drafted as an athletic project who may take a few years to develop but Billy Donovan has inserted the second-year forward into the starting lineup and he’s flourishing as a playmaker and dunker. He’s an early candidate for Most Improved Player, doubling his scoring average to 16.8 along with 51 percent shooting. The Bulls have become one of the league’s early surprises by winning their first four games and Buzelis has paired with Josh Giddey to give them some much-needed excitement after years of languishing. ⋅ Deni Avdija, Trail Blazers: The Trail Blazers have already been through enough drama this season with coach Chauncey Billups being accused of illegal gambling and also passing injury information to potential bettors. But the team has taken a step forward under interim coach Tiago Splitter and Avdija is proving to be a gem at small forward after languishing in Washington. He’s averaging 22.6 points and 6.4 rebounds as the Blazers are off to a positive start. Portland acquired Avdija for Malcolm Brogdon, the rights to Bub Carrington, and a future first-round pick. So far the Trail Blazers have won that trade as Avdija has turned into a No. 1 option. ⋅ Keyonte George, Jazz: The Jazz are finally a respectable team and George has been one of the catalysts as he has become a steadier scorer. George has played heavy minutes in his first two seasons but he’s being more aggressive attacking the rim and getting to the free throw line. His scoring average has jumped to 22.3 points and he’s averaging nearly 10 assists as he is capitalizing on playing point guard full time with the departure of Collin Sexton to the Hornets. George has a chance to be a premium scorer and he’s taking a step toward that status in the early season. ⋅ Jake LaRavia, Lakers: The Lakers nabbed LaRavia in free agency from the Kings and it was considered an under-the-radar signing but Los Angeles general manager Rob Pelinka knew he could fill the shooter’s role as Austin Reaves becomes more of a prominent part of the offense. LaRavia has begun the season averaging 10 points on 50 percent shooting from the 3-point line and provided reliable bench help for a team that needs something more from its reserves. Gabe Vincent is now out for a month and the club is down on second-year forward Dalton Knecht, leaving an opportunity for LaRavia to play a considerable role and even make an occasional start. ⋅ Kon Knueppel, Hornets: The Duke product has worked his way into the Hornets’ starting lineup and is shooting 50 percent from the 3-point line and averaging 13.8 points. His importance to the lineup increased as former third overall pick Brandon Miller suffered yet another injury and could be out for weeks with a shoulder issue. The Hornets drafted Knueppel to become a knockdown shooter and steady presence for a team that’s battled health and maturity issues and he’s delivering in the early season. Charlotte is off to a decent start and Knueppel’s role should only expand as the season progresses. ⋅ Kyshawn George, Wizards: The Wizards may not win a lot of games but they’ll be fun to watch with all the young and talented players they have. George, a small forward, was known more for his blowout hairstyle as a rookie, George has proven to be the most developed on the team’s recent first-round picks. He’s leading the team in scoring (18.6) along with 8.8 rebounds and 5.2 assists. Washington is still in a total rebuild but is looking to develop talent and then chase major free agents with the salary cap space created by the expiring contracts of CJ McCollum, Khris Middleton, and former Celtic Marcus Smart. George is definitely proving to be a reliable long-term piece. ⋅ Cedric Coward, Grizzlies: A rookie who started his college career at Division 3 Willamette University in Salem, Ore., Coward also played at Eastern Washington and then six games with Washington State before committing to Duke. He instead passed on the Blue Devils and entered the draft, where he was taken 11th overall. Coward has come off the bench for the Grizzlies and averaged 16 points in 24 minutes per game, immediately becoming a reliable scorer for the injury-ravaged club. Coward climbed up draft boards during the workout process because of his strength and athleticism for a shooting guard. Coward arrived in the league with an NBA-ready body and he’s proven to be a polished scorer. ⋅ Quentin Grimes, 76ers: What’s fascinating about Grimes is the 76ers waited until training camp to agree to a deal with the sharpshooter after an impressive stint last season following his acquisition from the Mavericks. The 76ers didn’t agree to a long-term deal with Grimes because they were unsure of his role when the team became healthy. With Paul George and Jared McCain still out, Grimes has cemented a role, averaging 17.8 points, 5 rebounds, and 3.8 assists with 48.1 percent shooting. He is one of the reasons why the 76ers entered Friday’s matchup with the Celtics undefeated. Grimes has developed into an early Sixth Man of the Year candidate. The Pistons are in the unusual position of being the hunted this season. After making it to the first round of the playoffs with a youthful roster and coming precariously close to beating the Knicks before that youth cost them late in two games, the Pistons have high hopes of pushing favored New York and Cleveland in the East. With All-Star Cade Cunningham back along with strongman Jalen Duren, Ausar Thompson, and Tobias Harris, the Pistons are expected to win most nights but there is another challenge to flourish with new expectations and coach J.B. Bickerstaff said his team is prepared for the next level. “We have a standard that we live to and we don’t depend on outside conversations to hold ourselves to a standard,” he said. “We believe in our guys immensely. They have a ton of talent. We have to play Pistons basketball and hold ourselves to that standard. If we do that, we’re confident that the results will be what we want them to be and not based on what outside pressures are. And it’s always easier said than done, right? “Because we do listen. ... The noise is out there. But we do have to do a great job of just focusing on the process, what our guys’ strengths are, and them doing the same thing.” With Malik Beasley basically unavailable to sign because of his impending NBA investigation for gambling, the Pistons pivoted to former Williams College and Heat standout Duncan Robinson, who played his final college season at nearby Michigan. Robinson is playing a similar role in Detroit, running around screens or capitalizing on doubles on Cunningham to get open 3-point looks. He’s shooting nearly 39 percent in small sample size as the starting small forward. “There’s a maturity that he plays the game with, and an understanding of all the little things that matter,” Bickerstaff said. “As far as the intangibles, being able to understand the system quickly and help teach the system quickly, obviously the shot making. But he is elite at moving without the ball and helps your ball keep moving as well. He doesn’t hold onto it, he doesn’t stop it. He helps your offense keep ticking so teams have to keep chasing you throughout the clock. He’s been really, really good as a team defender — being in his right spots and being able to communicate from those spots.” What’s interesting about the Pistons is they are still waiting for the return of shooting guard Jaden Ivey, who missed most of last season with a broken leg and then underwent knee surgery on Oct. 16. He is expected to miss another three weeks. And like most teams, the Pistons are still getting used to each other. With the heightened expectations comes different roles and transition periods. A night after beating the Celtics, the Pistons were trounced at home by the Cavaliers, a game Cleveland led by as many as 35 points. Add Detroit to the list of East contenders who have started roughly. What’s more, the Pistons, Cavaliers, Knicks, and Magic are entering Friday’s game a combined 10-10. “I think we’re trying, for the most part, to do the things we ask,” Bickerstaff said. “But we’re still learning. We’re learning each other. It is a bit of a different group out there that’s playing together. We’re learning the triggers, how we create rotations, put advantage situations. … It’s been choppy at times, for sure. You’re not seeing it wrong. But again, just more time together, more reps at it. This is the thing, like we always try to do, we’re trying to make this our climb. So, we got a starting point that we’re at right now, and then we’ll continue to figure it out and get better.” What will endure is the defensive and rebounding of Duren and Thompson, who basically combined to beat the Celtics with their work on the glass. Thompson is one of the league’s best on-ball defenders while Duren is developing into a rebound-gobbling big man with touch around the rim. “We aim to win the possession game, and that’s both sides of the ball,” Bickerstaff said after the Celtics win. “That means you have a defensive rebound; that means you have an offensive rebound. I thought both of those guys [Thompson and Duren] did a tremendous job on both ends. That’s what this game comes down to. Hopefully, we can get better at taking care of the ball, but if we can take care of the ball and outrebound our opponents, we’re going to give ourselves a chance every night.” The Pistons will be an elite team when their younger players become more consistent. Thompson entered the league as a plus defender and the goal is to develop him into a secondary scorer. “[Thompson is] not one dimensional as an offensive player,” Bickerstaff said. “Getting offensive rebounds and putbacks helps our offense, making cuts when other guys have the ball, buying the vision, catching the ball in the paint helps our offense. When he makes sprays, when he attacks the paint, that helps our offense. There’s so many different ways that he can help us offensively. He’s just going to continue to grow and get more comfortable, but I think he’s in a really good place right now.” Jarrett Allen was effective in the Cavaliers’ 125-105 loss to the Celtics on Wednesday, reaching the free throw line eight times and scoring 16 points. But he also sustained a displaced fracture on his left ring finger during the game and was out for a Friday matchup with the Raptors. The Cavaliers are besieged with injuries with Darius Garland, Sam Merrill, and Max Strus all out for several weeks. Coach Kenny Atkinson is digging deep into the bench, getting production out of players such as Tyrese Proctor and Craig Porter Jr. … Oklahoma City’s 2024 first-round pick Nikola Topic missed last season with a torn ACL and after showing promise in summer league, he was expected to be a contributor on this year’s club. The Thunder announced that Topic is being treated for testicular cancer but is expected to make a full recovery … The Lakers bested their Celtics rivals in value when Mark Walter, majority owner of the Dodgers and the WNBA’s Sparks, was approved as the majority owner of the Lakers for a price of $10 billion, exceeding the $6.1 billion equity firm officer Bill Chisholm paid for the Celtics. The Lakers agreement has similarity to the Celtics’ purchase in that previous majority owner Jeanie Buss will still have control of the day-to-day operations of the franchise because she owns at least 15 percent of the club. Previous Celtics majority owner Wyc Grousbeck remains involved in the Celtics’ operations … The Maine Celtics chose swingman Vance Jackson with their first pick of the G League draft. Jackson started his college career at UConn in 2016-17 where he started 21 games, he then transferred to New Mexico and Arkansas before finishing at East Carolina. He played last year in Mexico. Maine’s roster includes Wendell Moore, Hayden Gray, R.J. Luis, Jalen Bridges, and Kendall Brown, all of whom spent time in Boston’s training camp. Boston does not have the NBA rights to G League players who are not on standard or two-way contracts.
