ENEMY LINES

AN OPPOSING SCOUT SIZES UP THE DIVISION

I CAN SEE the Jazz being the No. 1 seed again. A big question: Can Rudy Gobert stay on the floor in the playoffs? He couldn’t against the Clippers. He is going to have to prove he can against smaller lineups. But he’s such an elite defender and rim protector that you just live with his weaknesses. With more teams playing big again, Gobert is going to see his value rise . . . . Losing Jerami Grant hurt the Nuggets, and they went into scramble mode, trying to get a wing similar to him. I didn’t love the Aaron Gordon trade. He’s not going to be the five, because Nikola Jokic´is the five. You could play him as a small-ball four, but he’s not a great defender. He doesn’t do anything great for me . . . . I’m a fan of the Damian Lillard–cj Mccollum backcourt. The Trail Blazers’ struggles say more about the guys around them. You need size around them, with [the 6' 3"] Mccollum at the two. You need defenders, shooters, guys really, really set in their roles. And Jusuf Nurkic´, he’s been inconsistent. Zach Collins, they missed on that pick. They’ve missed a lot on guys . . . . The talent with D’angelo Russell is there. I just don’t see the impact. He can put up numbers. For a guy you’re paying that type of money, you expect to count on him every night. He’s not proved that in Minnesota . . . . I’m a huge fan of [OKC’S] Shai Gilgeous-alexander. He’s as good a young point guard as we have in the NBA. His pace is great. He’s an improved shooter. He’s special.

TRIPLE DOUBLES FOR NIKOLA JOKIĆ LAST YEAR; THE ONLY CENTER WITH MORE IN A SEASON IS WILT CHAMBERLAIN.