SCOTTSDALE — Opening Day is two weeks out from Thursday, and the Arizona Diamondbacks continue to evaluate their options to close games this season.

The prime candidates for the role are known, and manager Torey Lovullo would prefer to rely on a closer as opposed to the committee approach. With two weeks until the season begins, this race will go down to the wire.

Conversations between Lovullo, general manager Mike Hazen and assistant GMs Amiel Sawdaye and Mike Fitzgerald are getting more serious. Soon, the group will bring pitching coaches into the discussion.

“We’ll have conversations about what we’re seeing and feeling and how the team fits together here very, very soon, but we haven’t got that far,” Lovullo said Tuesday.

The trio of Kevin Ginkel, A.J. Puk and Justin Martinez has only 43 career saves between them. They each received select opportunities to close games last year.

“It’s kind of like the number one starter thing,” Hazen told Arizona Sports’ Wolf & Luke earlier this spring. “You can’t really say you’re a number one starting pitcher until you go out, like, three years in a row and throw 200 innings, pitch into the playoffs and you become a number one. You have to prove it. The closer is the same thing.”

In the spirit of competition that has been spoken about, let’s make the argument for each case, plus a few wild cards.

Does Kevin Ginkel profile as the Diamondbacks’ closer?

Career in save situations (not only ninth inning): 68.1 innings, 4.35 ERA, 74 strikeouts, 27 walks, 13 saves

Case: Solid for years, trusted in different roles

Ginkel is the elder statesman of Arizona’s bullpen and has performed in just about every role for this club. When it comes to pitching in high-stakes games, he was at his best down the stretch of 2023 and into the postseason, where he delivered 11.2 innings without an earned run and with 15 strikeouts.

The right-hander was the go-to option for closer when Paul Sewald started the 2024 season on the injured list. The results were not perfect, but he received the experience to turn back to. Sewald said last year pitching in the ninth inning is not necessarily harder but it is different.

Ginkel remained a valuable reliever in different spots last year, finishing with a 3.21 ERA and well above average strikeout, walk and whiff rates.

After he allowed a career-high 40% hard-hit rate and his highest exit velocity since 2020, Ginkel has worked on making his lower half more efficient to improve fluidity and his fastball’s verticality. He wants more separation between his four-seamer, slider and two-seamer. This spring, he has thrown four innings with one earned run, five strikeouts and one walk.

“He’s always had that vertical. We’re just trying to incorporate a two-seam to work off his four-seam,” bullpen coach Wellington Cepeda told Arizona Sports. “So we want something not to sink but with more run, so that’s what he’s working on. The slider is his weapon, he can throw that pitch in his sleep. … and he gets both lefties and righties out.”

So far, he’s felt great this spring after he got off to a slow start last year with a sore elbow, and the stuff has been sharp. The Athletic’s Jim Bowden reported Ginkel as Arizona’s spring training standout in a recent column.

“We got some dudes in the back end, so whether it’s myself, A.J., Justin, even (Kendall) Graveman, there’s a lot of guys that can help build that role and be that dude for us,” Ginkel told Arizona Sports. “I look forward to it when I get the opportunity, but at the same time, all I care about is winning.”

GOLD STAR GINKS.⭐️ pic.twitter.com/ylRTcy9YVY

— Arizona Diamondbacks (@Dbacks) July 7, 2024

Can A.J. Puk continue run from end of 2024?

Career in save situations: 76.2 innings, 4.93 ERA, 102 strikeouts, 22 walks, 22 saves

Case: Top performer down the stretch last season

Puk was flat-out unhittable for nearly two months after the Diamondbacks got him at the trade deadline from the Miami Marlins. He allowed one run on Aug. 2 and then zero through Sept. 27.

Just looking at numbers from the start of August, when Arizona moved off Sewald as closer, Puk was in the top five among MLB relievers in strikeouts, strikeout rate and hard-hit rate. Three of the other four in among the top five for K rate were closers.

“He took off with the Marlins … and had an outstanding two or three months here with the Diamondbacks,” said Cepeda, who was Miami’s bullpen coach from 2020-24.

“He’s been confident. He’s been working his tail off right now to get back to where he was … today he was able to get his fastball to the top of the zone. That’s something he’s working on right now. And the slider is continuing to get better. So he’s on the right track right now.”

Just a reminder that AJ Puk had a 1.32 ERA and 43 Ks in 27.1 innings after being acquired at the deadline by the #Dbacks

Puk is still under team control for the next two years pic.twitter.com/xwqcIEmo1P

— Logan🌵 (@phxlogan) December 26, 2024

Puk has also thrown four shutout innings in Cactus League with five strikeouts.

Lovullo has said Puk being a lefty does not disqualify him from the role, despite the club having fewer left-handed options to mix and match than righties. Closers don’t only have to pitch in the ninth inning if the right matchups come up in the eighth, as well.

Like Ginkel, Puk has been a closer during a stretch before, doing so in 2023 with the Marlins to mixed outcomes.

When it comes to most recent regular season results, Puk has the edge.

Justin Martinez is the big-armed youngster who got his feet wet

Career in save situations: 22 innings, 2.45 ERA, 33 strikeouts, 12 walks, 9 saves

Case: Plus, plus stuff and potential

Martinez is throwing 103 mph fastballs this spring.

The stuff is overwhelming, which has been the case, but last year he corralled his arsenal to throw enough strikes to record major league outs.

As a rookie in his age 22 season, Martinez missed a lot of bats to finish 89th percentile in strikeout rate and 96th percentile in whiff rate. He also avoided barrels, as his hard hit rate was 94th percentile, barrel rate 99th percentile and ground ball rate 97th percentile.

“As J-Mart gets older, he won’t be the wild thing anymore,” Hazen said. “He’ll fine tune that command, and then the huge stuff, the swing-and-miss stuff is going to really play. … You need to get strikeouts in some of those moments.”

Puk’s slider-fastball combination was dominant last year, while Ginkel’s slider is his calling card for a reason. But when it comes to a truly devastating pitch the league has yet to figure out, Martinez’s splitter is atop the list.

Last year, opponents slugged .122 against it. Not hit .122, slugged .122.

In terms of strikeout rate, Martinez’s 65.9% using the splitter was the highest of any singular pitch in baseball, minimum 50 plate appearances.

Justin Martinez has the upside to become a Top-10 (or better) reliever for #FantasyBaseball this season.

Splitter: .098 BAA, .122 SLG, 54% Whiff
Slider: .178 BAA, .289 SLG, 45.1% Whiff
Sinker & 4-seam averaged 100+ mph

Should be the frontrunner for saves in Arizona. pic.twitter.com/jpyoZIye6G

— Eric Cross (@EricCrossMLB) January 28, 2025

Cepeda has a unique perspective having managed Martinez in the Arizona Complex League in 2019 before he was hired by Miami.

“He’s more mature now … He’s worked his tail off during the offseason to be more consistent,” Cepeda said. “Cutting the walks is something we talk about, especially against lefties, and he’s working on it.

“He’s a really confident kid and he wants the ball. He wants to pitch every day. I like those attitudes. I think he’s going to be really helpful for the team, for the goals that we have to win a World Series.

The walk rate still (11.7%) needs to come down and Martinez is a young pitcher who just received his first taste of high leverage innings last year, but the tools are there for him to take over and hold onto the ninth inning for the foreseeable future. He is not even arbitration eligible until 2027.

Wild cards

— Veteran free agent addition Kendall Graveman has been off to a slow start in spring having signed a couple days into camp and missing time with back tightness. He missed all of 2024 after shoulder surgery, but he previously went on a three-year run with a 2.74 ERA and 24 saves.

— Ryan Thompson has been a stable force in the bullpen since his introduction in 2023, drawing a near league-leading ground ball rate. He very briefly took on closing duties after Sewald last year, but it didn’t stick. He’s worked a 2.84 ERA in 79.1 innings with Arizona.

— Drey Jameson has been an intriguing arm in camp coming off Tommy John surgery. He has lit up the radar gun, hitting triple digits with the fastball that pairs with a slider and a changeup in progress. Formerly a starter, Jameson will not be stretched out at this time as the club works him back in. Whether he makes the Opening Day roster is to be determined, as the club would need confidence he can recover quickly after outings.

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Suns center Mason Plumlee and Rockets big man Steven Adams were ejected after getting into a scuffle in the second quarter of Phoenix’s 111-104 loss to Houston on Wednesday.

pic.twitter.com/aY0HHGDJXv

— Rob Perez (@WorldWideWob) March 13, 2025

With 3:12 remaining in the first half and the Suns down 50-47, Plumlee and Adams got tangled up as Phoenix was inbounding off a Jalen Green make and went to the ground.

Coaches and players had to separate the pair before referees handed out double technical fouls leading to the ejections.

According to Suns sideline reporter Amanda Pflugrad, Plumlee headed to the locker room bleeding from his head.

The center’s night comes to an end after recording four points and six rebounds in 13 minutes.

Adams contributed one point, four rebounds and one assist in 11 minutes of work.

With Plumlee sidelined, Oso Ighodaro was leaned on more in the second half.

He finished with eight points, six rebounds and four blocks in 28 minutes of work.

Bradley Beal led all Suns scorers with 25 points on 9-of-14 shooting. He was 7-for-7 from the free throw line.

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SCOTTSDALE — Arizona Diamondbacks first baseman Josh Naylor knew he had to take off from first base.

With his good friend Luke Maile catching for the Kansas City Royals at Salt River Fields on Tuesday, Naylor had his opportunity for a year’s worth of bragging rights.

His jump was perfect, and despite a strong throw from Maile, Naylor dove in safely.

“Honestly, I don’t really like to steal in spring, but Maile is one of my good friends,” Naylor explained. “We have this thing every spring where if he’s catching, I have to steal, and he’s thrown me out the last two years. So this year, I made sure I worked on my speed a little bit more to get that one bag off him.”

Diamondbacks 1B Josh Naylor got his good friend Luke Maile back today with a stolen base off the Royals catcher:

“We have this thing every spring where if he’s catching, I have to steal.” pic.twitter.com/xaHhqydcAa

— Arizona Sports (@AZSports) March 11, 2025

Naylor and Maile were teammates on the 2022 Cleveland Guardians, and Maile spent the last two seasons with the Cincinnati Reds. As neighbors playing Cactus League home games at Goodyear Ballpark, Maile earned the early upper hand.

“This year, he’s gonna get a nice, long text from me that he’s got a terrible arm,” Naylor joked. “He’s incredible. Has such a great career. He’s a great leader, great friend, incredible teammate. I could say a million things about that guy. So we have this little (competition) going on every spring if we see each other.”

Spring training traditions can be unique, and this challenge has not translated to the regular season when outs are a bit more precious. Not to say that won’t ever happen.

Naylor stole six bases last season after a career-high 10 in 2023.

When asked whether he will set a new high this year, his first with Arizona, he said, “For sure.”

Naylor has been a spring training standout after the D-backs acquired him via trade from Cleveland, as the veteran is batting .483 through his first 11 games.

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There are three ways the Phoenix Suns’ season can end in 2025:

1. Miss the play-in tournament, stigmatized as the worst super team in NBA history

2. Shamed for moonwalking into the play-in tournament with a losing record, the best of the worst in the Western Conference

3. A dramatic run to finish the season, restoring a little dignity and pride to Planet Orange.

While the team has shown better energy and competitive spirit in recent games, the last option seems patently absurd. The Suns haven’t won consecutive games since January. It would be delusional to think they could win 11 of their final 17 with the brutal schedule ahead, the record they need to get back to .500.

The season is brimming with misery and hard questions. Head coach Mike Budenholzer insists the Suns are “a good group.” He never trashes his team in press conferences or public settings, unflinchingly supportive outside closed doors.

So why are they so lacking in cohesion and effort? Why don’t they have the comprehensive buy-in you see on other teams, the ones that find a way to fight through adversity? How can a team that seems to collectively like one another be so unlikeable to the rest of us? And why are the Suns so easily punked by confrontational opponents?

Many mistakes have been made from top to bottom, from roster construction to questionable rotations to overzealous ownership. And yet nothing stings like the following:

For all their missteps, the Suns had targeted the perfect antidote. They were convinced Jimmy Butler would bring the alpha male and fierce culture the team so badly needs. Apparently, Butler was so enamored with the Suns’ interest and generosity that he made it clear to the world he wanted to play nowhere else.

In the NBA, billionaires and superstars usually get what they want. But it didn’t happen in Phoenix. It couldn’t happen. All because of the no-trade clause in Bradley Beal’s contract, negotiated by the father of the Suns’ current CEO. You can’t make this stuff up.

Making things worse, Butler has given the Golden State Warriors a new ceiling and a new sense of purpose, exactly what we are craving in Phoenix. With Butler, the Warriors are 12-1 with the second-best net rating (+12.5) in the NBA since the All-Star break, sandwiched in between the Cavaliers and Thunder.

Good news is, Booker seems inclined to stay in the Valley, especially if he gets that pricey super max contract extension that Luka Doncic didn’t receive in Dallas. And Kevin Durant is playing at such a high level that a soft rebuild might be possible with a summertime blockbuster trade.

Until then, the Suns have three options. Choose wisely.

Reach Bickley at [email protected]. Listen to Bickley & Marotta mornings from 6 a.m. – 10 a.m. on Arizona Sports.

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GLENDALE — Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher Drey Jameson unloaded perhaps the fastest pitch of his career against Los Angeles Dodgers slugger Shohei Ohtani during Cactus League action on Monday at Camelback Ranch.

Jameson let a 101.3 mph fastball fly — three pitches after hitting 100.7 mph on the radar gun, which Ohtani fouled off. The greatest hitter on the planet, as Jameson put it, then bounced a sinker to first baseman Pavin Smith for the out.

Jameson, who returned after missing all of 2024 following Tommy John surgery, averaged 97 mph on the four-seamer in 2023. The right-hander’s previous hardest recorded pitch was 100.3 mph, according to Statcast, which does not catch every pitch thrown in spring training or in the minor leagues but covers a lot of ground.

Drey Jameson’s 100.7 MPH Fastball. 👀 pic.twitter.com/t1pHwf7iEg

— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) March 10, 2025

He explained the luxury of being able to throw 101 mph by hitters, but at the same time he was adamant he’s got to focus on getting his secondary arsenal in the right spot. He’s been working to refine a changeup, in particular.

“I’m trying to dial in my stuff, so not really too focused on who was in the box,” Jameson said. “It was more of when a righty gets in to really accomplish that changeup, the four-seam getting to each side of the plate, along with letting the sinker work and then back-foot sliders.”

Jameson acknowledged having to not overlook Ohtani, no matter the setting be it spring training or the regular season. Getting the put out was a nice moment for him.

Manager Torey Lovullo credited the hurler on Monday for expanding beyond trying to blow hitters away.

“The thing I told Drey is that everything I love about him I saw on display when he was standing on the mound today,” Lovullo said after a 6-2 loss.

“He knew he was facing Shohei Ohtani, he was reaching back, threw a couple 101 mph fastballs. But then he pitched, that was the most impressive part about his outing was he didn’t just sit on 101. He started mixing secondary stuff. He got hurt by not being able to finish at-bats off. But overall, I was really proud of him for pitching instead of throwing.”

Torey Lovullo on Drey Jameson’s outing and facing Shohei Ohtani #DBacks pic.twitter.com/v6IXudIDqU

— Brandon Cadiz (@HiBranFlakes) March 10, 2025

Jameson threw 24 pitches in an inning of work, recording the first two outs swiftly before allowing his first earned run of the spring (four innings).

He continues to make progress as he competes for a role in the Opening Day bullpen. He’s healthy, but bouncing back from each outing and lowering the number of days between appearances are keys to making the big leagues again. The D-backs have been cautious with his build-up.

“I’ve been on a four day, so I think this week I go to a three day and just to see how my body reacts to that,” Jameson, who went 600 days between outings, said.

“My first outing in spring was more for myself and pride, and that I accomplished making it through the whole rehab process and actually facing hitters,” he added. “Now it’s more like put that behind me. I don’t really think about it. Now it’s like, how do I get on that Opening Day roster?”

Lovullo mentioned the last week of spring training being a time when relievers may face more realistic challenges like back-to-backs or one inning plus an up-down.

Whether Jameson participates will depend on how he continues to recover.

“I know how hard it was for him to be away from the game for that long and see him come back … I’m super happy for him,” Corbin Carroll said. “For us as well, because he could be huge for us.”

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The Arizona Cardinals are signing former Cincinnati Bengals linebacker Akeem Davis-Gaither to a two-year contract, according to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport.

Rapoport adds the deal is worth $11 million.

He marks the second outside-free-agent signing to come down the wire on Monday following the addition of former Philadelphia Eagles pass rusher Josh Sweat.

The inside linebacker just wrapped up his fifth season with the Bengals where he recorded a season high 82 tackles to go along with an interception, four passes defensed and a forced fumble across 17 games played (seven starts).

He now joins an inside linebackers room that includes Mack Wilson Sr. and Owen Pappoe.

What does Cardinals’ Akeem Davis-Gaither addition mean for Kyzir White?

The door isn’t completely shut on a Kyzir White reunion in Arizona following the Davis-Gaither addition, but it’s getting there.

Playing on a similar contract as Davis-Gaither the past two seasons, White’s future remains firmly up in the air this free agency.

That being said, his impact within the defense was evident behind 137 tackles, 2.5 sacks, an interception and eight QB hits across 17 starts.

White also served as a team captain and veteran voice within the locker room.

Arizona remains active this free agency period

Davis-Gaither and Sweat mark two of the latest signings by Arizona this week.

They’re not the only ones, though, with in-house free agents Kelvin Beachum, Evan Brown, Baron Browning, Joey Blount and Aaron Brewer re-signing with the franchise in recent days.

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As the Arizona Cardinals’ need for pass rushing remains prevalent, Pro Football Focus writer Zoltán Buday thinks free agent interior defensive lineman Milton Williams is a fit.

The Cardinals retained the services of Baron Browning, re-signing the edge rusher to a two-year deal Sunday morning. But the franchise still could beef up its pass rush whether through the draft or free agency.

Williams, who played for the Super Bowl-winning Philadelphia Eagles last season and notched two sacks in the win over the Kansas City Chiefs, could help the Cardinals’ pass rush on the interior, Buday noted.

While Milton Williams might not be a complete interior defender due to some struggles against the run, he more than makes up for it with his pass-rushing production. In fact, his 91.7 PFF pass-rushing grade in 2024 led all interior defenders in the NFL.

Williams, who was drafted by the Eagles in the third round of the 2021 draft, played under the eye of Cardinals head coach Jonathan Gannon when he was the defensive coordinator in the City of Brotherly Love, which PFF also noted as a reason that the move makes sense for both parties.

Williams totaled 24 tackles, five sacks and one forced fumble last season.

Williams could carry a hefty price tag, as Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer wrote that he could “cash in” after a solid playoff run in free agency to earn himself upwards of $20 million annually.

CBS Sports rated Williams as the top available defensive lineman in the 2025 free agent class.

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Spring is here, which means more baseball both on the real-world diamond and the virtual one.

MLB The Show 25 began releasing the top five rated players for some teams in a ratings reveal special last week ahead of the game’s March 18 release date (March 14 if you buy the deluxe edition).

Diamondbacks ratings in MLB The Show 25 we know of

Arizona has just one player with a rating above an 87 as second basemen Ketel Marte will start at a 96 — the highest at his position, one point above Los Angeles Dodger Mookie Betts. Marte gets a bit of a bump from the 92 rating he was at by the end of MLB The Show 24’s updates.

Veteran third basemen Eugenio Suarez gets an 86, putting him in a four-way tie at second among the position along with Manny Machado (San Diego Padres), Matt Chapman (San Francisco Giants) and Rafael Devers (Boston Red Sox).

The @Dbacks Top 5 are bringing some bite to #MLBTheShow 25’s Rating Reveal Special. 🐍⚾️ pic.twitter.com/RhEc3qi4VR

— MLB The Show (@MLBTheShow) March 5, 2025

Arizona’s young star Corbin Carroll, who was a 91 at the start of the MLB The Show 24, starts the latest version of the long-running video game as an 85.

He is the only outfielder at an 85 with 17 players ahead of him. New York Yankees slugger Aaron Judge and New York Mets outfielder Juan Soto are each at 99. The ratings makers did give Carroll some love with a 99 steal and a 94 speed rating, putting the speedster in a special group of players dubbed the “catch them if you can” category.

Catch these 90+ Speed & 90+ Steal players if you can in the #MLBTheShow 25 Ratings Reveal Special! 🏃🏃🏃 pic.twitter.com/1tJ8bswzLT

— MLB The Show (@MLBTheShow) March 5, 2025

New Diamondbacks ace Corbin Burnes leads the team’s pitching rotation at an 86 overall, and Zac Gallen is an 84 just behind him.

 

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Reigning WAC tournament champion GCU men’s basketball will be the No. 2 seed in this iteration, having won it three of the past four seasons.

Entering Saturday and the final regular season game, the ‘Lopes still had a shot at the top seed but needed a win at Abilene Christian and a Utah Valley loss at Tarleton State. GCU (23-7, 13-3) fell 82-81 in overtime, sealing its tournament fate.

By all indications, the WAC will be a one-bid league with neither of GCU nor top-seeded Utah Valley doing enough in the nonconference to set themselves up for an at-large bid.

As the No. 2 seed, the ‘Lopes will match up against No. 7 UT Arlington, which they swept with seven- and 14-point wins in the regular season.

When is the WAC tournament?

The WAC tournament begins on Tuesday with women’s games preceding men’s games on each day. The GCU women are the top seed after an undefeated conference season.

Where is the WAC tournament?

The tournament will be held at Orleans Arena in Paradise, Nevada, near Las Vegas. The opening round play-in between the Nos. 8 and 9 seeds will be played at Burns Arena in St. George, Utah.

WAC tournament schedule, how to watch

All games in the tournament will be streamed on ESPN+ up until the finals, which will be shown on ESPN2.

Opening round (Tuesday)

Game 1: No. 9 Utah Tech vs. No. 8 Southern Utah at 1:30 p.m. MST

Quarterfinals (Wednesday)

Game 2: Game 1 winner vs. No. 1 Utah Valley at 6 p.m.

Game 3: No. 7 UT Arlington vs. No. 2 GCU at 8:30 p.m.

Quarterfinals (Thursday)

Game 4: No. 5 Seattle U vs. No. 4 Abilene Christian at 6 p.m.

Game 5: No. 6 Tarleton State vs. No. 3 Cal Baptist at 8:30 p.m.

Semifinals (Friday)

Game 6: Game 2 winner vs. Game 4 winner at 6 p.m.

Game 7: Game 3 winner vs. Game 5 winner at 8:30 p.m.

Finals (Saturday)

Game 8: Semifinal winners at 8:40 p.m.

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Nikola Jokic sat in front of his locker, calmly scrolling through his phone, seemingly unimpressed that 30 minutes earlier he made NBA history.

The three-time NBA MVP had the league’s first 30-20-20 triple-double in the Denver Nuggets’ 149-141 overtime victory over the Phoenix Suns on Friday night. Jokic had 31 points, 21 rebounds and a career-high 22 assists.

“It’s not supposed go that way,” Jokic said. “I was talking to (Aaron Gordon) and he said to me, ‘That was a quiet 30 points.’ I didn’t do anything special, just seemed like everyone was in flow.”

Jokic tied his franchise record with his 29th triple-double of the season, and he reached it just 1:20 into the second half with his 10th rebound. He was approaching the triple-double early, finishing the first quarter with 10 points, six assists and six rebounds and had 13, nine and eight at halftime.

The 30-year-old from Serbia is averaging a triple-double with 19 games left in the season. His 28.9 points, 12.9 rebounds and 10.6 assists per game all rank in the top three in the NBA.

“I can’t describe him, so don’t ask me to,” Denver coach Michael Malone said. “The guy is just an incredible player, and when you are one of one in this league, with the tremendous history of this league, that says a lot. There’s a lot of good players in this league, but Nikola, in my opinion, is just in a class all by himself.”

His fast start to overtime lifted the Nuggets after they had blown a 21-point lead. He had five points, five assists and three rebounds in the extra period, playing nearly 45 minutes overall.

He made a 4-foot turnaround to begin overtime, fed Jamal Murray for two baskets and assisted on a dunk and layup by Christian Braun in a 13-second span.

“He’s just one of a kind,” Braun said. “You’ll never see something like this ever again – ever. You’ll never see a player that does the things he does night in and night out.”

Jokic’s previous high in assists was 19, which happened Feb. 24 at Indiana. He surpassed that on Michael Porter Jr.’s dunk that gave Denver a 139-130 lead with 1:18 left.

Jokic has 149 career triple-doubles and Friday was the seventh time this season he has had at least 15 points, 15 rebounds and 15 assists. That tied Oscar Robertson for the most in one season. His 22 assists are the most by a center in a game but he is far short of Scott Skiles’ NBA record of 30, a mark he isn’t concerned about.

“I have different problems than that right now,” he said.

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