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Editors:

To help you with planning for the NBA Draft in Dallas on June 21 in New York Calvin Munson Jersey , here are some of our coverage plans. Please direct questions to Oscar Dixon (odixon(at)ap.org). Plans subject to change. This digest will be updated. All times Eastern.

TUESDAY, JUNE 19

BKN–NBA DRAFT-YOUNG

Trae Young’s numbers in his lone season of college were ridiculous. He led the nation in scoring and assists. He had NBA stars tweeting about his every move. But where he’s going to end up in the draft on Thursday night remains a bit of a mystery, for reasons that Young doesn’t fully understand. By Basketball Writer Tim Reynolds. UPCOMING: 700 words, photos by 2 p.m.

BKN–NBA DRAFT-BIGS

RALEIGH, N.C. – Arizona one-and-done 7-footer Deandre Ayton headlines the list of big men in the NBA draft. Ayton was a dominating force in college and could be the No. 1 overall pick. He leads a position that includes top-10 prospects in Michigan State’s Jaren Jackson Jr., Texas’ Mo Bamba and Duke’s Wendell Carter Jr. By Aaron Beard. UPCOMING: 675 words and photos by 3 p.m.

BKN–NBA DRAFT-HAWKS-TRADE TALKS

ATLANTA – With four picks in the top 34, including No. 3 overall, the Atlanta Hawks are in position to move up or down in Thursday’s NBA draft. GM Travis Schlenk says he’s getting a lot of calls but says there is space on the rebuilding Hawks roster to carry four rookies next season. By Charles Odum. UPCOMING: 550 words, file photos by 3 p.m.

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 20

BKN–NBA DRAFT

NEW YORK – Luka Doncic may have the best resume in this year’s draft. He won a Euroleague championship and MVP award last season, and a European championship with Slovenia last summer. Sometime early Thursday night he’ll add to that resume when he becomes an NBA lottery pick. By Basketball Writer Brian Mahoney. UPCOMING: 700 words, photos.

– Sidebars on merit

THURSDAY, JUNE 21

BKN–NBA DRAFT

NEW YORK – The Phoenix Suns have the No. 1 pick in the NBA Draft, with big men Deandre Ayton, Marvin Bagley III and Michael Porter Jr. among the top prospects along with Luka Doncic, Jaren Jackson Jr. and Trae Young. By Basketball Writer Brian Mahoney. UPCOMING: 750 words Josh Sitton Jersey , photos. Developing from 7 p.m. draft.

With:

– BKN–NBA DRAFT-THINGS TO KNOW. By Brian Mahoney. UPCOMING: 650 words, photos by 5 a.m. on draft day.

– BKN–NBA DRAFT-THE LATEST, real-time updates on draft day/night.

– Individual stories from each NBA team.

FRIDAY, JUNE 22

BKN–NBA DRAFT-HUERTER’S NIGHT

CLIFTON PARK, N.Y. – The Associated Press spends the NBA draft with early entrant Kevin Huerter, as he waits for the phone to ring and the next step in his basketball life to be decided. By Basketball Writer Tim Reynolds. UPCOMING: 750 words, photos, video planned by 6 p.m.

SENT PREVIOUSLY:

Features:

BKN–NBA DRAFT-THE INTERVIEW

CHICAGO – When teams are deciding who to take in the NBA draft, the off-court interview still carries enormous weight. What happens on the floor obviously is of great importance as well, but the half-hour chats at the draft combine might be just as critical to teams that need to choose which players merit multi-million-dollar investments. By Basketball Writer Tim Reynolds. SENT: 800 words, photos on June 18.

BKN–NBA DRAFT-UNDRAFTED LIFE

There’s going to be dozens of players left out in the cold at next week’s NBA draft, players who will not hear their names called by the time the night is over. Udonis Haslem knows how they’ll feel. Undrafted in 2002, Haslem – a Miami native who has spent his entire NBA career with his hometown Miami Heat – has been in the league longer than just about any other active player. Next season will be his 16th in the NBA. By Basketball Writer Tim Reynolds. SENT: 850 words, photos on June 14.

BKN–THE OFFSEASON

There are a slew of questions that need to be answered in the NBA this offseason. There’s the obvious one: What will LeBron James do? But there are plenty of others, including the future for Kawhi Leonard, the next moves for Chris Paul and Paul George Johnny Townsend Jersey , and whether the league has seen the last of Dwyane Wade. By Basketball Writer Tim Reynolds. SENT: 950 words, photos on June 9.

Profiles:

BKN–NBA DRAFT-PORTER

Someone is going to gamble on Michael Porter Jr., and he insists it’ll pay off. There is an element of danger involved with every NBA draft pick, in that nothing is guaranteed. There isn’t a player that epitomizes the risk versus reward thinking in this draft more than Porter Jr., who some think could get taken as high as No. 2 by Sacramento and others forecast could go several picks lower because of uncertainty surrounding his health. By Basketball Writer Tim Reynolds. SENT: 750 words, photos on June 17.

BKN–NBA-DRAFT-DIVINCENZO

Donte DiVincenzo’s plan was to come out and test the NBA draft waters this spring, with the expectation that he would be returning to Villanova for another season. And then the national championship game happened. The hero of Villanova’s win over Michigan picked the perfect moment to play the game of his life. And the intrigue surrounding how his game might translate to the NBA has been growing since. By Basketball Writer Tim Reynolds. SENT: 750 words, photos on June 16.

BKN–NBA-DRAFT-ANTETOKOUNMPO

Kostas Antetokounmpo has a famous brother, a great bloodline and soon, he hopes, an NBA job. Giannis Antetokounmpo’s younger brother is an early entry candidate for next week’s

PORTLAND, Ore. — The Portland Trail Blazers must try to slow down Anthony Davis. The New Orleans Pelicans must do what they can to control Damian Lillard.

The seemingly impossible task becomes the ultimate challenge as each player leads his team into a first-round playoff series that opens Saturday night at Moda Center.

Portland (49-33) is the No. 3 seed in the Western Conference and New Orleans (48-34) the No. 6 seed. Only one game separated the teams through a wild, competitive regular season, with spots going down to the final day.

The 6-foot-11 Davis and the 6-foot, 3-inch Lillard play different positions, but they’re both likely first-team All-NBA selections this season. Davis is in the conversation for the Most Valuable Player Award Corey Linsley Jersey , too.

Davis finished second in the NBA in scoring at 28.1 points per game, was fifth in rebounds (11.1) and led the league in efficiency rating at 33.0. After fellow “Twin Tower” DeMarcus Cousins was lost for the season in late January with an Achilles tendon injury, Davis carried the load for a New Orleans team that went 20-8 since Feb. 10, winning its last five games.

“Losing a player like DeMarcus changes your team, but they still have Anthony Davis out there,” Lillard said. “That’s a good problem to have. He’s one of the very best players in our league. Anybody guarding him is going to have a tough time. He can handle the ball, shoots the 3, hit pull-ups and floaters and go coast to coast.”

Portland coach Terry Stotts is expected to use both 7-foot center Jusuf Nurkic and 6-foot-9 Al-Farouq “Chief” Aminu to defend Davis, who had 36-point games in the two full contests he played against the Blazers this season. Davis and Aminu played two seasons together in New Orleans in 2012-13 and 2013-14.

“Chief has the height and length to do a good job on (Davis),” Lillard said. “Plus he has the understanding how to guard guys, and he played with him, so he’s familiar with his tendencies. But it’s going to take a team effort. We’re going to have to be ready to play physical with him.”

“There are a lot of good players in this league,” Nurkic said. “He’s one of them. I’m not worried about Anthony Davis. He’s going to make his shots. He’s probably going to get his points. We need to worry about the rest of the team. Some of the other guys, like (Nikila) Mirotic, can have an impact. I’m more worried about one of those guys getting hot, because they have a lot of shooters.”

Lillard tied for fourth in the NBA in scoring at 26.9 points a game Roger Craig Jersey , was 10th in assists (6.6) and 11th in efficiency rating at 25.0. He combines with CJ McCollum (21.4-point average, 19th in the NBA) to form one of the most potent backcourt combinations in the league.

“You have to work as hard as you can defensively and hope they are not having one of those great nights they’re capable of having,” New Orleans coach Alvin Gentry said. “Dame is one of the best clutch players in the league. I feel like he’s been an All-Star the last five, six years. He has a way about him, a confidence about him, that he feels like when his team needs a basket the most, he can go get it.”

Davis said he holds great respect for the Blazers but isn’t just happy to be in the playoffs.

“It starts with their guards,” he said. “They are a handful. They can score at will. They’re a good defensive team. We have to make sure we don’t turn the ball over, take care of the defensive boards and play defense.

“Our goal is to not just get in the playoffs, but to make some noise. We want to try to get one, maybe both, of the games (in Portland), then go back home and take care of business.”