NBA campus intel: Schedule and live updates for Day 5 of seeding games

The NBA is back, and so are back-to-backs. Three teams who played Sunday -- the Washington Wizards, Memphis Grizzlies and San Antonio Spurs -- are back in action on Monday. Each of the 22 teams in the NBA bubble has one set of back-to-backs, which are already causing lineup adjustments. The Indiana Pacers will hold Victor Oladipo out of Monday's game because they play again on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, there is a clinching scenario in play again. The Los Angeles Lakers can clinch the West's top seed with a win over the Utah Jazz tonight.

Here's the latest on the standings, the games to watch Monday and Tuesday, plus everything you need to know. Check back here for highlights and updates throughout the day.

PAST BUBBLE INTEL: July 30| July 31| Aug. 1| Aug. 2

Latest buzz

The Michael Porter Jr. performance you've been waiting for

Michael Porter Jr. was a highly-ranked recruit coming out of Seattle when he arrived at the University of Missouri in the fall of 2017. But back injuries limited Porter to only 53 minutes in three games at Missouri, and he scored only 30 points in college.

Porter slipped to the 14th pick in the 2018 NBA Draft, where the Denver Nuggets selected him -- and then the Nuggets effectively redshirted Porter, keeping him out of NBA games for the entire 2018-19 season.

This is Porter's rookie season, and it has been one that saw his role fluctuate on a strong team. Entering Monday's game against the Oklahoma City Thunder, Porter averaged 7.5 points in 14.2 minutes per game this season, with a high of 25.

Porter came out and put buckets all over the Thunder, scoring a career-high 37 points on 12-of-16 shooting from the field in a 121-113 overtime victory for the Nuggets. Porter also made 4-of-6 3s and all nine free throws, adding 12 rebounds, a steal and a block to his performance. As ESPN's Mike Schmitz details, he always had this kind of performance in him:

Ball-to-Williamson long distance connection resumes

The tandem of New Orleans Pelicans point guard Lonzo Ball and rookie power forward Zion Williamson has already established themselves as one of the most dangerous alley-oop duos in the league. And if you needed a reminder, they obliged and provided one in the second quarter of their matchup against the Memphis Grizzlies, as Ball found Williamson for another long alley-oop. Memphis Grizzlies power forward Anthony Tolliver might as well have not even been there.

Fred VanVleet drops career-high 36 on Heat

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. -- Over the weekend, as the Toronto Raptors were going through practice, head coach Nick Nurse wanted his guards to work on operating out of traps when teams try to double-team them.

There was just one problem: Fred VanVleet didn't want to do it.

"I think he made that comment that 'I don't get blitzed,'" Nurse said of VanVleet. "And I said 'You're gonna start getting blitzed.'"

It turned out Nurse was right.

The Miami Heat tried just about everything to slow down VanVleet Monday afternoon -- including, after VanVleet went off for 16 points in the third quarter, throwing multiple blitzes at him to try to get the ball out of his hands.

While it worked a few times, including when VanVleet was forced into a charge late in the game, it wasn't enough to prevent him from finishing with a career-high 36 points -- and that doesn't account for VanVleet making what proved to be the game-winning steal in the closing seconds of Toronto's 107-103 win.

VanVleet's size and stature wouldn't have him out of place if he walked into local pickup game. He doesn't play with incredible athleticism or speed. All of those things were reasons why he wasn't drafted after a stellar career at Wichita State.

But the things he does have -- incredible toughness, a brilliant basketball mind and strong lateral quickness -- have helped him become a key cog in Toronto's title defense after losing Kawhi Leonard last summer.

"We can see the big picture," VanVleet said, "and understand that it's not really about everything leading up to it. The ultimate goal is to win a championship."

That both serves as a statement on what the Raptors have accomplished over the past 18 months, and how VanVleet has gone from an undrafted free agent to a starter for the defending champs.

-- Tim Bontemps

MORE:Why the NBA should still be worried about these Raptors

Bol Bol vs. The Point God

The Denver Nuggets' 7-foot-2 center tried to check Chris Paul in one of the Oklahoma City Thunder guard's favorite spots on the court. It didn't go well for the rookie:

Victor Oladipo out Monday, will play Tuesday

Initially listed as doubtful to play, Indiana Pacers guard Victor Oladipo was officially ruled out of today's contest against the Washington Wizards as he continues to recover on his right knee injury.

However, the two-time All-Star guard is expected to be available for Tuesday's matchup versus Orlando.

"Victor will not play in back-to-backs so we've decided to sit him tonight," Pacers coach Nate McMillan said ahead of the Wizards game.

Pacers guard Malcolm Brogdon (cervical strain) missed the first game of the restart but suited up against the Wizards. Although Brogdon isn't under a minutes restriction, McMillan will pay close attention to his workload since conditioning could be factor with him after he joined the NBA bubble late following his positive coronavirus test.

"We certainly will be watching all of our guys," McMillan said. "All of these guys are pretty much going in with the same kind of condition in a sense that this is a restart. You know that guys are not in basketball shape right now, they have to play themselves into that conditioning and Malcolm playing his first game here in the restart, we certainly will be watching him." -- Eric Woodyard

Player names added to jerseys with social justice messages

Players' jerseys once again have a new look for the seeding games. For the first four days, any player who chose to have a social justice message on his jersey had that message appear above the number with nothing underneath, while players who eschewed the messaging had their names appear under their number. Now all players have their names under the number, with the social justice messaging still appearing above for players who've chosen to wear it.

That created a unique situation for Denver Nuggets forward Paul Millsap, who now appears to be campaigning for political office (or maybe just an All-NBA spot).

Tacko Fall has got some moves