Previewing the NBA stretch run | Rick Pitino talks about his coaching future

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Happy Thursday, everyone.

Let's get right to it.

Good morning to everyone but especially to...

THE NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION

The NBA is back after a week-long hiatus surrounding the All-Star Weekend (and the underwhelming game itself), and there are storylines galore. Our Jasmyn Wimbish has the ten biggest NBA storylines to look for in what should be a compelling stretch run, starting with the trade that shocked the world:

Wimbish:[Phoenix] has enough talent to win the title this season, but there's very little time for the Suns to build meaningful chemistry. [Kevin] Durant's superstar talent immediately vaults Phoenix to the top of the list of title favorites, but just because this team is built to win now doesn't mean that it will happen.

Durant is expected to make his Suns debut March 1, and it will come at a key time: Phoenix is fifth in the West but only 1 games out of third (and 1 out of eighth, for that matter).

When it comes to the top of the standings, the West is all but decided: The Nuggets are up five games on the Grizzlies, and perhaps the most interesting storyline in Denver is how strongly Nikola Jokic finishes in pursuit of a third straight MVP.

The only players to accomplish that feat are Bill Russell (1961-63), Wilt Chamberlain(1966-68) and Larry Bird (1984-86).

Our NBA team recently ranked Jokic as the best player so far this year.

Caesars Sportsbook has Jokic as the overwhelming MVP favorite (-300), with Joel Embiid

a distant second (+425).

Speaking of Embiid, his 76ers are very much in the hunt for the top seed in the Eastern Conference, trailing the Celtics by three games. It's the Bucks, though, who are second, just a -game behind Boston. Milwaukee has won 12 straight, but Giannis Antetokounmpo will miss time with a wrist sprain.

The Greek Freak isn't the only superstar absent coming out of the break. Stephen Curry (leg) continues to rehab but won't even be evaluated again for another week or so. The Warriors are ninth in the Western Conference.

So buckle up. The next few months will be a wild ride.

Honorable mentions

The USWNT beat Brazil 2-1behind goals from Mallory Swanson and Alex Morgan to win the SheBelieves Cup for the fourth consecutive time.

Alex Ovechkin

returned

to the Capitals.

Not so honorable mentions

TheTitansreleasedlong-time left tackleTaylor Lewanas well aswide receiverRobert Woods.

No. 6 Virginia

tooka truly awful 63-48 lossatBoston College.

FormerMetspitching coachPhil Reganissuing the team for age discrimination.

Mississippi State

switch pitcher -- yes, switch

pitcher--Jurrangelo Cijntjethrew four scoreless inningsin his first collegiate start.

Brandon Miller plays for Alabama, scores 41 points and hits game-winner after connection to fatal shooting comes out

One day after being publicly tied to a fatal shooting from January,No. 2 Alabama's star freshman Brandon Miller scored a career-high 41 points -- including the game-winning basket with less than one second left in overtime -- and the Crimson Tide eked out a 78-76 win at South Carolina.

According to police testimony Tuesday, Miller brought Darius Miles' gun to Miles shortly before a Jan. 15 shooting that killed Jamea Jonae Harris. Miles and Michael Davis -- who fired the gun, according to the testimony -- have been charged with capital murder. Miller is not facing charges.

On Wednesday, Miller's attorney,

Jim Standridge, said Miller was driving to pick up Miles, who had left the gun in the car earlier. Miles had texted Miller telling him to bring the gun.

Standridge claimed Miller "never saw the gun nor handled it" and "was not involved in its exchange to Mr. Davis in any way, and never knew that illegal activity involving the gun would occur."

Alabama head coach Nate Oatssaid there would be no team discipline, and Miller's presence on the court Wednesday confirmed that. Once the game tipped off, Miller was absolutely dominant, scoring wherever he wanted and showing why he's so highly regarded as an NBA prospect

. He made six 3-pointers and not only had the game-winning layup but also the layup that forced overtime. His 41 points were most ever by an Alabama freshman and most by any Alabama player since 1978.

Could Rick Pitino take on one more big college basketball job?

Rick Pitino has over 800 career wins, a pair of national championships and one of the most impressive on-court coaching resumes in college basketball history. At 70, he still, as he told our Matt Norlander, wants to coach "five or six more years."

The question is where those last five or six years will be. Will they be at Iona, his current program which leads at MAAC? Or, after having his name cleared by the Independent Review Panel of the Independent Accountability Resolution Process, will they be at another major program? That's the question Matt set out to answer in

an awesome behind-the-scenes look at Pitino and the Gaels.

Pitino was rumored to be in the running for the Maryland job (it went to Kevin Willard -- a member of the Pitino coaching tree) and he hasn't ruled out anywhere except the Big Ten, because Minnesota fired his son, Richard.

Places will come calling, but will he bite?Here's Matt's take.

Norlander: "Over the course of a 30-minute interview, Pitino fluctuated between loyalty to Iona and openness to one more big challenge. That openness is obvious and understandable. This is Rick Pitino after all: a carnivorous competitor of the hardwood. A bona fide basketball lifer, someone who was willing to move to Greece just to keep his clasp on a whiteboard. It's all too fathomable if his desires for one more shot at the high-major level wind up changing his mind in the next few weeks or next year or the year after."

Be sure to read this look at one of college basketball's greatest and most controversial coaches.

Champions League recap: Manchester City held to draw, Inter get late winner

The final two first legs of the Champions League Round of 16 are in the books, and, unlike Tuesday's action, both matches were low-scoring, tense battles.

In Manchester:

Manchester City took a first-half lead thanks to Riyad Mahrez's perfect strike, but Josko Gvardiol responded with a header in the second half to help RB Leipzig earn a 1-1 draw.

Of the four Premier League teams in the Round of 16 -- Manchester City, Tottenham, Liverpool and Chelsea -- none won their first leg.

When it comes to City in particular, Kevin de Bruyne's absence due to illness loomed large, and Erling Haaland's quiet nightshowed just how important de Bruyne is to the entire operation, writes our Jonathan Johnson.

In Wednesday's other game, Romelu Lukaku played hero with a late goal to lift Inter Milan to a 1-0 home win over Porto. Lukaku, who has struggled and dealt with injuries of late, has scored in each of his last two appearances. He can be a huge part of a team that can challenge for a title, writes our Francesco Porzio.

Who will replace Nate McMillan in Atlanta?

For the time being, Joe Prunty is the Hawks' head coach after they fired Nate McMillan.For the long term, Atlanta is casting a wide net -- a net that recently expanded to includeformer Celtics coach Ime Udoka.

The Celtics suspended Udoka for the entire 2022-23 season in September for a reportedinappropriate relationship with a female staff member.Our Sam Quinn took a look at the coaching market and ranked his top five candidates for the Hawks opening.

At the top is...

Quinn: "Quin Snyder tops this list because Quin Snyder is going to top every coaching candidates list this cycle. That's what happens when you win nearly 59 percent of your games for the small-marketUtah Jazz. Snyder has built winners around multiple perimeter ball-handlers in Utah, and his pick-and-roll heavy system is a match made in heaven for Trae Young. If the Hawks can land Snyder, they probably should."

As Sam notes, though, most, if not all, teams with an opening this summer will go after Snyder. Good thing for Atlanta there are plenty of other good options for a talented-yet-inconsistent bunch.

What we're watching Thursday

No. 1 South Carolina at Tennessee, 7 p.m. on ESPNGrizzlies at 76ers, 7:30 p.m. on TNT No. 21 Northwestern at Illinois, 9 p.m. on Big Ten Network Warriors at Lakers, 10 p.m. on TNT

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