Draymond Green enjoyed his return to action for the Golden State Warriors, and is now looking to add "spark to this team".
Green returned from an indefinite suspension for a history of misconduct in the Warriors' clash with the Memphis Grizzlies on Monday.
After missing the last 16 games, Green came onto the court to a chorus of boos from the Grizzlies fans during the first quarter.
He scored two 3-pointers and finished with seven rebounds and four assists in 23 minutes on the court, but the Warriors lost 116-107.
"It was fun being back on the court," Green said.
"Getting the chance to play basketball, that's always fun. It was a little weird going out of the tunnel to go shoot and do my pregame, but after that it just settled down.
"I think [the minutes] will go up pretty fast, but until it does I will try to be the best I can be in the minutes I have and bring a spark to this team."
The Grizzlies were short-handed, with Ja Morant out for the rest of the season and Desmond Bane set to miss up to six weeks due to an ankle injury.
Yet the Warriors could not get the better of their hosts as they slumped to an eighth defeat in the space of 11 games.
"Their game plan was pretty simple. Shoot as many 3s as possible and get into transition as often as possible," Warriors coach Steve Kerr said, whose team are 12th in the Western Conference.
"Then for us to foul 25 times to their 21, that's really the story. They gained belief as they went.
"All of these guys are in the NBA. We tell them that before every game like this. These guys are in the NBA for a reason.
"They knew they had to do that and we knew they had to do that. We didn't play the game that could keep them from doing that."
Green did not hold back in his thoughts on the Warrior's defense.
"Individuals make up a team. Individually our defense sucks, so in turn our team defense sucks," he said.
"If we've got guys that will take pride in themselves and play defense, one through however many guys we have, then it is solvable. If guys won't take pride in defense, then it's not. It's very simple."
Kerr demands improvements from Team USA as Olympic opener looms
United States coach Steve Kerr wants to see higher levels of intensity from his team as their Olympics campaign approaches.
Kerr was unhappy with the lacklustre displays from his side in their warm-ups against Germany and South Sudan.
Germany led 71-68 at the end of the third quarter before LeBron James conjured up 11 points in the final four minutes to give the USA a 92-88 win, while South Sudan were 20 seconds away from pulling off one of the biggest shocks in basketball history, before eventually falling to a 101-100 loss.
The USA face a dangerous Serbia side featuring reigning NBA MVP Nikola Jokic on Sunday, and Kerr is adamant that improvements are required if they are to win a fifth consecutive Olympic gold medal.
He said: "It's got to be 40 minutes of force and attention and focus, and we can't let teams outplay us effort and energy-wise like we did the other night against Germany, like we did against South Sudan.
“We have another level. I think we have another two levels that we can get to, but it's a collaboration, always.
"We can show them, 'Let's do this, let's do that. Let's learn personnel.'
"We got to know the shooters, know the non-shooters, all that stuff. So that's where we can help them. Where they can help themselves is just effort and energy play after play, after play. This is different."
Kerr is a four-time NBA champion as a coach, and was part of the triumphant Olympics team in Tokyo in 2021, but the Golden State Warriors boss knows the experience of the Games will only be enhanced if the USA were to come out on top again.
"This should be one of the great experiences of our lives. But the best way to make it an incredible experience is to win a gold medal," he said.
After facing Serbia, the USA will once again go up against South Sudan, this time in a competitive format, before ending the group stage with a match against Puerto Rico.
Durant warns Team USA 'everybody is a contender' in Olympic basketball tournament
Kevin Durant has warned Team USA they will not have an easy ride through the basketball tournament at the Paris Olympic Games, declaring: "Everybody is a contender".
The United States will go in search of a fifth straight men's basketball gold in the French capital, where they open their Group C campaign against Serbia on Sunday.
After that meeting with Nikola Jokic and company, the star-studded USA team featuring Durant, LeBron James, Stephen Curry, Joel Embiid and a host of other NBA stars take on South Sudan and Puerto Rico.
With Steve Kerr having so much talent at his disposal, the roster has been compared to that of the 1992 'Dream Team', who took gold in Barcelona behind the efforts of Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, Scottie Pippen and other great names.
However, at a press conference ahead of Team USA's 2024 opener, Curry reminded reporters that the class of 1992 only faced nine other active NBA players.
Durant is expecting a much tougher assignment this year, responding to Curry by saying: "Everybody is a contender. Everyone is here for a reason.
"We're playing against 65 or 64 NBA players in Paris. So you know they're the best in the world."
Asked to identify the main players to watch from other nations, the Phoenix Suns forward said: "Giannis [Antetokounmpo] or Jokic."
While Durant adopted a cautious tone, Golden State Warriors star Curry was more bullish regarding the USA's gold medal hopes.
Quizzed on who he was most excited about facing, Curry simply said: "Whoever's in the gold medal game."
Knicks, head coach Thibodeau agree to three-year contract extension
The New York Knicks and head coach Tom Thibodeau have agreed to a three-year contract extension through the 2027-28 season.
New York went 50-32 last season to earn the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference before losing to the Indiana Pacers in the semi-finals of the play-offs.
The Knicks were also ousted in the East semis in 2022-23 and reached the play-offs during Thibodeau’s first season in 2021-22, when he won his second NBA Coach of the Year award.
Prior to 2021-22, New York’s previous post-season appearance came in 2013.
The Knicks have gone 175-143 over the last four seasons under Thibodeau, who earned his first NBA Coach of the Year award in 2011 as a rookie head coach with the Chicago Bulls.
The 66-year-old Thibodeau owns a 527-389 record in 12 seasons as a head coach with Chicago, the Minnesota Timberwolves and New York.
His teams have gone 38-47 in the post-season, and Thibodeau’s only appearance in the conference finals came in his rookie head coach season.
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