An NBA MVP has a new best friend. A surprise squad is living in extremes. And a fancy move that has even more substance than flash.

Let’s open up the notebook to run through three trends that have caught my eye over the past week:

Milwaukee’s favorite duo

The Milwaukee Bucks looked in an obvious direction when they needed a win: Not just at their two-time MVP but also at the man who has helped unleash him.

Earlier this week, Giannis Antetokounmpo drained the biggest shot of his young season, a twisting turnaround buzzer-beater to down the rival Indiana Pacers. But before Antetokounmpo even made his move, AJ Green was there to free him.

With 10 seconds to go and the score tied, Milwaukee’s most dangerous shooter darted from the left corner, swerving through the paint and to Antetokounmpo, who squared up his man, Pascal Siakam, at the top of the key. Green laid a pick on Siakam, who switched onto him with Green’s defender, Aaron Nesmith, taking Antetokounmpo.

Nesmith is as physical as they come, but Antetokounmpo was too big. He backed him down, then splashed a miraculous jumper.

Even by Antetokounmpo’s standards, the numbers this season are glaring — 32 points, 13 boards and six assists on can’t-miss efficiency, which has helped Milwaukee to a 5-3 start. The Bucks are giving him space. Antetokounmpo is powering through it. And Green has been a catalyst.

Coach Doc Rivers has paired the two together often. Green is nailing more than half of his long balls. Antetokounmpo is shooting 80 percent at the rim and is taking more shots at the basket than ever. When they share the floor, Milwaukee averages an unstoppable 128 points per 100 possessions, according to Cleaning the Glass. For context, that’s more efficient than a Stephen Curry 3-pointer.

The Pacers were bound to switch on the above play, a strategy anyone would have deployed between like-sized defenders on the final possession of a game. But switching also leaves a second-choice defender on the best player in the Eastern Conference, a dangerous proposition.

Just before the Pacers game, Antetokounmpo and Green scrambled the Sacramento Kings. At first, Sacramento ventured under Green’s screens, hoping to take away Antetokounmpo’s drives. Of course, that left the Kings susceptible to Green popping to the wings, where he’s automatic, especially if no one is around.

Check out this early-game possession, where the Bucks take advantage of Zach LaVine, whom Sacramento placed on Green. Both defenders follow Antetokounmpo, whose passing (not just his vision but also his accuracy) has reached another level this season.

It would have been heartless not to pray for the Kings here.

By the next quarter, Sacramento had edited its coverage.

Milwaukee runs the same action below, but this time, LaVine steps up on Green’s screen, then freezes as Antetokounmpo takes off for the paint. Domantas Sabonis turns to stone, too. The coverage is imperfect. Whatever prayers the viewers released for the Kings did not work. And it’s two free throws for Antetokounmpo.

The Bucks’ starting unit has played the second-most minutes of any lineup in the NBA. Rivers is keeping this crew together. Shooting is surrounding Antetokounmpo. He has no greater deep threat than Green. And the two are making each other better.

The running of the Bulls

A few weeks into the season, one question dominates NBA circles: What are we to make of the Chicago Bulls, who sit atop the East after winning six of their first seven games?

The Bulls’ frantic pace has become their trademark. They take only 5.3 seconds to get into their first actions, third in the league, according to Second Spectrum. Point guard Josh Giddey is continuing the breakout that began this past February. Second-year forward Matas Buzelis looks like a potential star. Fellow guard Ayo Dosunmu is better than ever.

And yet, the Bulls’ extreme defensive style could determine if they stay in the top six or fall back into the Play-In Tournament, where they’ve resided since just after the breakup of Pangea. Chicago’s defenders glue themselves to possible shooters on the perimeter, which takes away 3-pointers but also opens up lanes to the hoop.

Through seven games, the defense has survived, treading into the top half of the league in points allowed per possession despite the lack of defensive personnel. The Bulls’ jamming up against perimeter threats keeps them afloat — and their speed is throttling the rest of the NBA.

In an era when offenses obsess over creating 3-pointers, the Bulls are allowing the fewest wide-open 3s per game in the league. However, because they hug shooters and don’t deploy a classic rim protector, opponents stampede to the paint. Chicago gives up more attempts and more makes in the restricted area than anyone.

The Bulls have manufactured capable defenses under head coach Billy Donovan before. The best example came in 2022-23, when a flawed group missing its top defender, Lonzo Ball, somehow climbed to fifth in points allowed per possession.

This team’s greatest test will come Friday, when it takes the hour-and-a-half hop to Milwaukee. Antetokounmpo has finished first or second in the NBA in restricted-area baskets nine years in a row. Somehow, in his age-30 season, he’s reached another level.

He’s making 10.6 restricted-area shots a game, which would be the highest single-season average for any player since the NBA started tracking such data in 1996-97. And yes, that timespan includes prime Shaquille O’Neal. Antetokounmpo has at least doubled up every guy in the league, save for two: the Atlanta Hawks’ Jalen Johnson (6.0) and the Houston Rockets’ Amen Thompson (5.6).

Can the Bulls survive Antetokounmpo’s onslaught of the paint? Does their persistence in sticking to his teammates beyond the arc mute the effect of a star? And what do the results say about the future of this ragtag squad?

Wicket passing

Isaiah Hartenstein is keeping flashy passes practical.

Tuesday night, with his Oklahoma City Thunder up double digits, he dug into his bag. Ajay Mitchell drove to the hoop, then kicked to the 7-footer, who noticed his teammate, Alex Caruso, cutting behind him on the baseline. Without skipping a beat, Hartenstein flicked a touch pass between his legs to Caruso for a corner 3.

But while this pass deserved all of its oohs and most of its ahhs, it presented for more than just through-the-wickets fun. These types of bounce passes that only a few big men are capable of making are particularly indefensible, not just because of the surprise but also because of where they direct defenders.

Every once in a while, you’ll see a center try a dish like this on a dribble handoff. Joel Embiid, when he’s at his best, has mastered the art. Embiid will hold onto the basketball as fellow All-Star Tyrese Maxey scampers around him. But instead of placing the ball in Maxey’s palms, he bounces it to him through spread legs.

The trick on these plays is to watch the defender — because snapping a dime between the legs makes the simultaneous screen far more devastating.

The natural inclination for any defender is to follow the ball. Hold it out on a dribble handoff, and you’re showing the opponent a line to veer around you. But look at how they react when the pass cruises through the legs, meaning the ball stays in the center of the passer’s torso.

Bogdan Bogdanović launches directly into Hartenstein’s chest.

And thus, this pass isn’t just about the vision or the pinpoint accuracy or the 3-pointer that Caruso nails. It’s also about the screen.

It’s a double highlight.