Le Journal

The Suns have shocked many NBA fans by being the underdog story of the year. After trading away Kevin Durant and stretching and waiving the remainder of Bradley Beal’s contract, many thought this team was doomed. Yet the players and coach Jordan Ott did not listen to the outside hate. They invested and ground it out this offseason to prove those doubters wrong, and they have done so in every category. Now over halfway through the season, a team most outsiders thought was a lottery team once again sits as the sixth seed, 10 games over .500 in a tough Western Conference. The best part? This has all been accomplished despite Jalen Green being out for most of this season. With him just returning in their last game vs the Philadelphia 76ers, we got to see what he can add to this team. Some great playmaking and downhill attacking, while working nicely with the bigs in this lineup. He came off the bench in his return to action, but coach Jordan Ott has stated that he will eventually be in the starting lineup. Just landed in Miami.In regards to what Dillon Brooks said about Jalen Green.He's saying Green will start, be 1st starter to check out game and check back in later in 1st quarter to lead 2nd unit.Coach Jordan Ott already said Green will start when he returns. Hope that…— Duane Rankin (@DuaneRankin) January 12, 2026 So who comes out of the lineup, and how does this new bench lineup work as a successful unit? Well, there are two options, and it all depends on the balance you want in the starting lineup. If you take out Collin Gillespie and put in Green, that would leave the Suns with two guards, two wings, and a center, compared to a three-guard lineup if you replaced Green with Royce O’Neale. I know the league has gone positionless, but I do think that, without a true playmaker/initiator for the secondary unit, it troubles them. Personally, even though I am the Big East Believer and have agreed that Gillespie has earned this starting spot, he is more valuable as the lead offensive guard for the secondary unit than as the third-best scorer in the starting lineup. That would then leave the Suns with an exciting bench unit, and one that can show some great success, like the starters once fully healthy. The lineup that I think would be the bench is Collin Gillespie, Jordan Goodwin, Grayson Allen, Ryan Dunn, and Oso Ighodaro. Based on the statistics and the fits of these players, this bench unit will be one of the best by the end of the year. Just as I was discussing it, it makes sense. Gillespie and Allen are the offensive guards who are going to rain three pointers, which the Suns have succeeded in this year. They will be the main offensive focal points, while also being relentless on defense, making key hustle plays. Dunn and Goodwin are going to be the scrappy defenders who take those defensive assignments to heart. They both crash the boards relentlessly, and can both get hot from three at specific points that make you think they should be in a three-point contest. Last but certainly not least is Oso Ighodaro, the man in the middle, the actual connective engine that would keep this unit going with his solid ability to do it all, rebound, score, and defend when you need it most. Now, looking at the stats, all those words are proven true. Looking at the stats from Databallr, we can see that this lineup is very successful. An almost +30 net rating is just ridiculous, especially given their very low offensive turnover percentage. This bench unit would prove lethal not only from three-point land, where they shoot 46% from beyond the arc, but also at limiting opponents to 27% from three. That aggressive on-ball nature from Goodwin and Dunn would be prevalent here, but you also have the hustle and hard work from both Allen, Ighodaro, and Gillespie. Everyone on this lineup has that bruiser mentality of outworking you and having to do that their whole career. This is what brings out the scrappiness and relentless effort on both…

by Suzette Smith If you appreciate the Mercury's interesting and useful news & culture reporting, consider making a small monthly contribution to support our editorial team. Your donation is tax-deductible. You can also subscribe and have our papers delivered! Good Morning, Portland! The cold continues this week and into next with low lows of 24 and 25 degrees possible. When it gets more reasonable, we get more rain. You've got two options, cold and bright or dank and wet. I know that I prefer dank and wet—let's hit the news! IN LOCAL NEWS:• Multnomah County leaders announced in a memo on Wednesday that they do not plan to install metal detectors in the Multnomah County's Central Library downtown. The library's research does not indicate metal detectors would meaningfully impact the "most frequent security incidents or alleviate community concerns,” County Chair Jessica Vega Pederson wrote. • Today in homegrown true crime horror: A jury in Clark County found 52-year-old Kevin West guilty of his wife's murder, after swift deliberation on Tuesday. Medical evidence suggested that West strangled his wife, but he tried to explain away the bruising around her neck and the back of her head as the result of a “deep and firm” massage that the Wests’ 22-year-old son gave to his mother the day before her death. At the time of Marcelle West's murder, Kevin West was battalion chief at Camas-Washogual Fire Department, and he made several strange remarks to some of his firefighter colleagues around the time of his wife's death, which they testified about in court. • Today in LOGS ON LAKE, heavy flooding of the Clackamas River has left the North Fork Reservoir, above the Faraday Dam, cluttered with logs and log-adjacent debris. Portland General Electric has made plan to clear the logs in February. That's leaves plenty of time before the boat docks reopen, you waterways weirdos. • No one has been awaiting this, but I AM PERSONALLY EXCITED that Art Snack is back. Portland's art, culture, and food scenes are super messy, and they get all over one another. Could one ambitious culture editor round-up stuff you should know about? I made a newsletter like this during the pandemic, and now I'm doing it again here. This week we've got three artsy and two foodsy—and one of the foodsy is paczki. • Women's basketball team Portland Fire (not Portland Fire and Rescue) announced its game schedule for its 2026 season, with an opening game at Moda Center on May 9. They'll face off against the Chicago Sky. Wait, are all the Women's Major Basketball Association names like... ponderous? View this post on Instagram A post shared by Portland Mercury (@portlandmercury) • Table tennis is an allegedly deep and entertaining sport that's popular overseas, but in the US it's been relegated to mere club enthusiasm. Earlier this month—infused with enthusiasm from viewing Marty Supreme—writer and photographer Corbin Smith attended a Major League Table Tennis event in Portland, which attracted players from all over the world. • The James Beard Awards has announced businesses and chefs that made its semifinalist round for the competition's annually awarded titles. While semifinals are still two rounds away from winning an actual award, this is your early early warning that an already busy restaurant in Portland could become impossibly busy very soon (June). This could also be a romance win, if you can get reservations at one of these spots for Valentines or the night of the month we set aside to picture Timothée Chalamet in our minds and manifest his greatness or whatever the kids are doing. Like notorious fuckboi Enya always says, "it could impress bae." The Portland restaurant semifinalists are (find the complete list here): Le Pigeon - semifinalist for outstanding restaurantCoquine - semifinalist for outstanding wine and other beverages program Scotch Lodge - outstanding barJoel Gunderson, Heavenly Creatures - outstanding professional in beverage service There are 20…

AI has taken center stage in financial services, automating the research and execution behind algorithmic trading and helping banks more accurately detect fraud and money laundering — all while improving risk management practices and expediting document processing. The sixth annual “NVIDIA State of AI in Financial Services” report, based on a survey of more than Read Article

When Luka Doncic and Anthony Davis were traded for each other in the most shocking and controversial deal in NBA history, there was (understandably) little focus on the others included in the six-player, three-team deal. Sure, fan favorite Maxi Kleber and salary filler Markieff Morris were headed to Los Angeles, but Mavericks fans had other things on their mind. Along with the oft-injured and past-his-prime Davis, Dallas netted just one first-round pick for Doncic’s services. Apart from that, the only other asset Dallas received for the most talented player in franchise history was a young flyer, a throw-in guard named Max Christie. Many in Dallas couldn’t have picked him out of a lineup. Since that fateful night almost a year ago, Christie has done everything in his power to endear himself to the beleaguered Maverick faithful. Unlike Davis, he’s played in nearly every game for Dallas. Christie got to work right away after arriving, scoring 15 points or more in each of his first six games post-trade. Though he cooled down to end the season, there were plenty of flashes to indicate that he could be an intriguing piece for the future. This season, Max Christie is in the midst of a meaningful leap. On a Mavericks team woefully devoid of 3-point shooting, he’s been a godsend. Christie is shooting 45.9% from deep on 5.5 attempts per game. That percentage is sixth in the NBA and first among players with at least 200 3-point attempts. He’s been a spot-up marksman, shooting 47.7% on 172 total attempts (per Synergy Sports). And Christie has even mixed in 47 pull-up threes, hitting a perfectly respectable 38.3% on those. Coach Jason Kidd praised Christie’s growth while encouraging him to shoot even more, a great vote of confidence for a player who’s become essential to the Mavericks’ success. Christie has established himself as one of the premier shooters in the league, and that alone, coupled with his 22-year-old youth, would make him a player worth hanging onto. But Christie has taken big steps in other areas of his game, too. When you shoot the ball like Christie has this season, you become a fixture on opposing teams’ scouting reports. Defenses see Christie’s three-point percentage and want to run him off the line and force him to put the ball on the floor. And to his credit, Christie has responded well to this. Attacking closeouts is an essential counter for great shooters, and Christie looks comfortable doing so. The pull-up middy has been a weapon for him in these situations, as Christie is shooting a sparkling 52% on pull-up two-pointers this year. When he’s not finding the midrange, he’s attacking the basket and putting more pressure on the defense. And, most importantly, there have been signs that indicate growth for Christie beyond great shooting. Among all NBA players with at least 50 possessions as a pick-and-roll ball handler, Christie ranks first in both points per possession (1.23, per NBA.com) and effective field goal percentage (65.1%). Though Christie barely meets this arbitrary threshold with 53 possessions, and it’s an admittedly small sample size (Shai Gilgeous-Alexander leads the league with 354 such possessions), it’s still impressive. Since December 1st, Christie has taken the pick-and-roll creation to a new level, averaging 1.50 PPP on 18-28 shooting from the field (75% eFG, per Synergy). For a guy who doesn’t have the ball in his hands a lot, he’s made the most of his opportunities in creating for himself. Where Christie really thrives is in transition. Among all players with at least 80 transition possessions, Christie ranks first in PPP (1.52, per NBA.com) and second in eFG% (78.5%). Christie sprints down the floor off misses, turnovers, and even makes, constantly looking for the ball and making good decisions when he gets it. He leverages his above-average athleticism to beat defenders down the court and finish at the rim. Watching Christie and Flagg run the break together has been a joy, and their…