The NBA is back, and so are back-to-backs. Three teams who played Sunday — the Washington Wizards, Memphis Grizzlies and San Antonio Spurs — are back in action on Monday. Each of the 22 teams in the NBA bubble has one set of back-to-backs, which are already causing lineup adjustments. The Indiana Pacers will hold Victor Oladipo out of Monday’s game because they play again on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, there is a clinching scenario in play again. The Los Angeles Lakers can clinch the West’s top seed with a win over the Utah Jazz tonight.
Here’s the latest on the standings, the games to watch Monday and Tuesday, plus everything you need to know. Check back here for highlights and updates throughout the day.
PAST BUBBLE INTEL: July 30 | July 31 | Aug. 1| Aug. 2
Latest buzz
Ball-to-Williamson long distance connection resumes
The tandem of New Orleans Pelicans point guard Lonzo Ball and rookie power forward Zion Williamson has already established themselves as one of the most dangerous alley-oop duos in the league. And if you needed a reminder, they obliged and provided one in the second quarter of their matchup against the Memphis Grizzlies, as Ball found Williamson for another long alley-oop. Memphis Grizzlies power forward Anthony Tolliver might as well have not even been there.
Fred VanVleet drops career-high 36 on Heat
LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. — Over the weekend, as the Toronto Raptors were going through practice, head coach Nick Nurse wanted his guards to work on operating out of traps when teams try to double-team them.
There was just one problem: Fred VanVleet didn’t want to do it.
“I think he made that comment that ‘I don’t get blitzed,'” Nurse said of VanVleet. “And I said ‘You’re gonna start getting blitzed.'”
It turned out Nurse was right.
The Miami Heat tried just about everything to slow down VanVleet Monday afternoon — including, after VanVleet went off for 16 points in the third quarter, throwing multiple blitzes at him to try to get the ball out of his hands.
While it worked a few times, including when VanVleet was forced into a charge late in the game, it wasn’t enough to prevent him from finishing with a career-high 36 points — and that doesn’t account for VanVleet making what proved to be the game-winning steal in the closing seconds of Toronto’s 107-103 win.
VanVleet’s size and stature wouldn’t have him out of place if he walked into local pickup game. He doesn’t play with incredible athleticism or speed. All of those things were reasons why he wasn’t drafted after a stellar career at Wichita State.
But the things he does have — incredible toughness, a brilliant basketball mind and strong lateral quickness — have helped him become a key cog in Toronto’s title defense after losing Kawhi Leonard last summer.
“We can see the big picture,” VanVleet said, “and understand that it’s not really about everything leading up to it. The ultimate goal is to win a championship.”
That both serves as a statement on what the Raptors have accomplished over the past 18 months, and how VanVleet has gone from an undrafted free agent to a starter for the defending champs.
— Tim Bontemps
MORE: Why the NBA should still be worried about these Raptors
Bol Bol vs. The Point God
The Denver Nuggets‘ 7-foot-2 center tried to check Chris Paul in one of the Oklahoma City Thunder guard’s favorite spots on the court. It didn’t go well for the rookie:
Bol Bol trying to guard CP3 … BBQ 🍗 ALERT! pic.twitter.com/9eT45YQ50q
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) August 3, 2020
Victor Oladipo out Monday, will play Tuesday
Initially listed as doubtful to play, Indiana Pacers guard Victor Oladipo was officially ruled out of today’s contest against the Washington Wizards as he continues to recover on his right knee injury.
However, the two-time All-Star guard is expected to be available for Tuesday’s matchup versus Orlando.
“Victor will not play in back-to-backs so we’ve decided to sit him tonight,” Pacers coach Nate McMillan said ahead of the Wizards game.
Pacers guard Malcolm Brogdon (cervical strain) missed the first game of the restart but suited up against the Wizards. Although Brogdon isn’t under a minutes restriction, McMillan will pay close attention to his workload since conditioning could be factor with him after he joined the NBA bubble late following his positive coronavirus test.
“We certainly will be watching all of our guys,” McMillan said. “All of these guys are pretty much going in with the same kind of condition in a sense that this is a restart. You know that guys are not in basketball shape right now, they have to play themselves into that conditioning and Malcolm playing his first game here in the restart, we certainly will be watching him.” — Eric Woodyard
Player names added to jerseys with social justice messages
Players’ jerseys once again have a new look for the seeding games. For the first four days, any player who chose to have a social justice message on his jersey had that message appear above the number with nothing underneath, while players who eschewed the messaging had their names appear under their number. Now all players have their names under the number, with the social justice messaging still appearing above for players who’ve chosen to wear it.
Here is a picture of the new look for players during games, with both social justice messages and names on the back: pic.twitter.com/IW1OKDBTKm
— Tim Bontemps (@TimBontemps) August 3, 2020
That created a unique situation for Denver Nuggets forward Paul Millsap, who now appears to be campaigning for political office (or maybe just an All-NBA spot).
Tacko Fall has got some moves
0:35
Tacko Fall shows off his moves as he takes part in a dance-off against Celtics teammate Semi Ojeleye.
Grizzlies, Pelicans set for must-win showdown
It has been a rough start in the bubble for the New Orleans Pelicans and Memphis Grizzlies, both sitting on 0-2 records in seeding games.
Weeks ago, when the schedule was announced, this had the chance to be a marquee matchup with serious playoff implications featuring two of the league’s brightest young stars, rookies Zion Williamson and Ja Morant.
But now, after back-to-back losses, New Orleans could be barreling out of the playoff race altogether with another defeat. Memphis looks to bounce back to hold off a charging San Antonio Spurs squad that started off with two wins, and a Portland team that already defeated the Grizzlies in Florida.
This will be the third matchup between the squads this season, with the Pelicans scoring victories in the first two — a 126-116 win in Memphis on Jan. 20 and a 139-111 win in New Orleans on Jan. 31.
In the first matchup, New Orleans shooting guard Jrue Holiday had one of his best offensive performances of the season with 36 points and a career-best seven 3-pointers. He was also key in keeping Morant quiet for most of the game (16 points on 5-of-14 shooting).
When the teams tangled in New Orleans 11 days later, Williamson was available, and Memphis was missing Jaren Jackson Jr. and Brandon Clarke. Williamson had a game-high 24 points on the way to a blowout win.
Williamson has been limited to a combined 29 minutes in the first two seeding games. Those minutes have not gone well, with the Pelicans getting outscored by 33 points with Williamson on the floor. The Pelicans are watching Williamson’s minutes since he missed all three scrimmages and a total of 13 days because of a family emergency that took him away from the campus.
It’s unclear how much Williamson will be able to ramp it up Monday. The Pelicans’ medical team will meet and make that decision prior to the game.
To get by New Orleans this time, Memphis will rely on Morant and Jackson. Morant is averaging 23.5 points, 10 assists and seven rebounds in two games in Florida, and Jackson followed up a 33-point performance in Memphis’ first game with a 21-point effort against San Antonio — complete with a ridiculous shot from the corner late in that one to tie the score.
It’s a tough spot for the Grizzlies, who played Sunday while New Orleans rested following a Saturday blowout loss to the LA Clippers. It’s as much of a logistical disadvantage as you can have without travel playing a role. But this would be the absolute worst time for the Pelicans to drop their first game to their Southeast Division rival. Something won’t hold up by the end of Monday night. — Andrew Lopez
Monday’s games
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Play-in watch
The Grizzlies aren’t the only team playing the first back-to-backs of the seeding games. The Wizards are now 0-3 in seeding games and need a lot of things to go their way to force a play-in weekend.
The Spurs, unlike the Grizzlies and Wizards, enter their no-rest game day with a 2-0 record in seeding games. They face the 76ers for a chance to stay ahead of the bubble pack.
Eastern Conference
7. Orlando Magic | 31-35 (.470) | —
8. Brooklyn Nets | 31-35 (.470) | —
9. Washington Wizards | 24-43 (.358) | 7.5 GB
Western Conference
8. Memphis Grizzlies | 32-35 (.478) | —
9. San Antonio Spurs | 29-36 (.446) | 2.0 GB
10. Portland Trail Blazers | 30-38 (.441) | 2.5 GB
11. Sacramento Kings | 28-37 (.431) | 3.0 GB
12. New Orleans Pelicans | 28-38 (.424) | 3.5 GB
13. Phoenix Suns | 28-39 (.418) | 4.0 GB
Full standings | Playoff matchups
Tuesday’s must-see games
Dallas Mavericks vs. Sacramento Kings | 2:30 p.m. ET
Two teams badly in need of a win in Florida. The Kings come into this game on the heels of two straight losses that probably cost them any chance at the postseason — so it will be interesting to see how motivated they are to play in a game against a Mavericks team that has let two winnable games slide right through their fingertips. For the Kings to get back on track, they need more from Buddy Hield. He comes into Tuesday’s game shooting just 7-for-26 over his first two games. The Mavs could use more from Tim Hardaway Jr. who was just 1-for-12 in Sunday’s loss to the Suns. — Nick Friedell
Boston Celtics vs. Miami Heat | 6:30 p.m. ET
This sets up to be one of the most intense matchups on the campus. The Celtics got a much-needed win over a rejuvenated Trail Blazers team Sunday, and the Heat have looked both hungry and deep over their first two games. Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown combined for 64 points against the Blazers, but expect Heat All-Star Jimmy Butler to help slow down Boston’s perimeter movement early on Tuesday if he is available. — Friedell
Houston Rockets vs. Portland Trail Blazers | 9 p.m. ET
There will be plenty of points — lots of points — in what figures to be one of the highest-scoring affairs of the month. These two top-five offenses score at will, but a main key will be how well Portland can use center Jusuf Nurkic and his height advantage against the Houston microball lineup. — Friedell
Additional games
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Brooklyn Nets vs. Milwaukee Bucks | 1:30 p.m. ET
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Phoenix Suns vs. LA Clippers | 4 p.m. ET
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Orlando Magic vs. Indiana Pacers| 6 p.m. ET
Analysis and intel
Real or not: Memphis’ playoff chances, Tatum’s trajectory and big restart questions
Our NBA experts weigh in on the biggest trends after the first weekend of basketball.
NBA Power Rankings: Lakers and Bucks both lose close games
The Raptors and Rockets both upset top teams, while the Spurs and Blazers fight for the No. 8 seed in the West.