Injury Notes: Embiid, Williams, Dosunmu, McBride
Joel Embiid has been listed as questionable for the Sixers‘ game tomorrow against the Bulls, Kyle Neubeck of PHLY Sports writes (Twitter link).
Embiid, who has been dealing with an oblique strain, hasn’t appeared in a game for Philadelphia since February 26, when he scored 26 pxoints and added 11 rebounds and four assists in a win over the Heat.
While the 7’2″ center’s stats are down from his MVP-contention years, he has had a better season than many expected, averaging 26.6 points, 7.5 rebounds, and 3.9 assists this season while leading the team to a 21-12 record when he plays.
This news coincides with Paul George sitting out the final game of his 25-game suspension, making him eligible to play in Wednesday’s game as well. Tony Jones of The Athletic says (via Twitter) that barring a setback, he expects Embiid to play tomorrow.
We have more injury notes from around the league:
- On Monday, Jalen Williams returned from a lengthy absence from the Thunder due to a hamstring injury, scoring 18 points and adding six assists. After the game, Williams said that not only was his leg feeling better, but the wrist that underwent off-season surgery is finally back to 100 percent, Tim Bontemps writes for ESPN. “It was just like one of those things that like when you have surgery and you rush into games, it’s like, I wouldn’t say rush, but I’m going into games with … I don’t know what my hands are going to look like,” Williams said. “So now I’ve had the time to actually sit down and work on it and do what I normally do throughout that process, now I’m in a really good spot with it.” His return will only make the Thunder’s attempt to repeat as champions more dangerous, according to Joel Lorenzi of The Athletic, with one reason being the added responsibility some of the role players have had to command in Williams’ absence. “You guys got to watch [Ajay Mitchell] blossom even more. [Jaylin Williams] and [Cason Wallace], they’ve had to be in spots that they didn’t think they were going to be in to start the season,” Williams said. “We’re better for it now.”
- Ayo Dosunmu has been added to the Timberwolves‘ injury report for Wednesday’s game against the Rockets, per the team’s Twitter account. He’s now listed as questionable with right calf soreness, an injury that Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic describes as “concerning” (Twitter link), likely due to how cautious teams have been this season with calf injuries and how they can impact players’ Achilles.
- Miles McBride hasn’t played for the Knicks since late January as he works his way back from a core injury that required surgery in early February, but he was back on the court going through his typical pre-game routine on Tuesday night, per James L. Edwards III of The Athletic (Twitter link). Edwards says it’s been a long time since McBride went through his customary warm-up, and speculates that his return could be “very, very soon.” Stefan Bondy of the New York Post posted a video of McBride warming up, saying that it looked like he was moving well (Twitter video link).
Knicks Notes: Playoffs, Bridges, Clarkson, Kolek
The Knicks come into Tuesday’s game against the Pelicans on a six-game win streak as they continue their push for the second seed in the Eastern Conference.
However, five of those six victories came against some of the worst teams in the league, and the sixth was against the 10th-seed Warriors. If New York is to claim the runner-up spot in the conference, they need to be ready for things to get more difficult, Stefan Bondy writes for the New York Post.
With the Thunder, Rockets, and resurgent Hornets on the horizon, Bondy says this stretch of games could impact whether or not the team has home-court advantage in a first-round Game 7.
One of the annual questions facing the Knicks’ playoff hopes is whether the bench can provide relief for the starters when it matters.
While coach Mike Brown uses his bench more than former coach Tom Thibodeau did, the Knicks still ranked just 27th in total bench minutes heading into Sunday’s win against the Wizards, James L. Edwards III notes for The Athletic.
Edwards notes that the load management plan the team has had Mitchell Robinson on seems to have helped him stay healthy this season, while top reserve Miles McBride will have to hit the ground running once he returns from injury to get his rhythm back in time to be impactful in the postseason.
One benefit of the team’s improved depth is the different amount of mix-and-matching Brown can do depending on what a particular series calls for, Edwards writes, though he ends by predicting that the ultimate playoff rotation will end up looking almost identical to last season’s.
We have more Knicks notes:
- Mikal Bridges‘ offensive struggles in recent games have drawn a lot of attention and even prompted questions about his spot in the starting lineup, but teammate Josh Hart believes that Bridges is in a difficult situation given his role in the offense, according to Bondy. “Last year, he didn’t have many plays called for him. This year, he probably has even less plays called for him,” Hart said. “So obviously there’s a mental hurdle he needs to get through and that’s something where some of us can help him. I think he gets some of that unfair flak just because he’s doing what’s asked of him. And if we were to sit there and say, go shoot 15 shots a game, he would be efficient and he could do it. But that’s not what’s been asked of him.” Brown gave his own vote of confidence, saying, “He works at it very hard. And he cares at a high level. Usually when you have that combination from a veteran guy that’s produced the way he’s produced in the NBA, it tends to lead to good results, eventually.”
- Jordan Clarkson‘s inconsistent minutes with the Knicks could have led to a destructive situation, Bondy writes in a separate piece, especially as the 33-year-old began turning to social media to respond to critics in February. Instead, the scoring guard kept his head down and worked. That professionalism and positive attitude paid off, as guards like Mikal Bridges and Landry Shamet started struggling offensively. Over the last two weeks, Bondy writes that Clarkson has been the Knicks’ most reliable shooting guard. Starting when he scored 27 points against his former Jazz teammates on March 11, he has averaged 12.7 points on .545/.438/1.000 shooting splits in 22 minutes per game. He was even named Defensive Player of the Game twice in that stretch. “When he’s doing that he’s playing with that fire and that passion he has, there’s not many players in the NBA coming off the bench you feel better about,” said teammate Karl-Anthony Towns.
- Second-year guard Tyler Kolek had a basketball day for the ages on Sunday, scoring 42 points on 9-of-14 from three for the Westchester Knicks before being recalled to the parent team and scoring 11 points on 3-of-3 from deep in the fourth quarter of the win over the Wizards. “We have a lot of guys on this team that are very high character, very good work ethic and he’s one of them,” Jalen Brunson said, per Jared Schwartz of the Post. “That’s just who he is.“
Pacers Notes: Jones, Zubac, Siakam, Draft Odds
As a result of his DNP-CD on Monday, Pacers rookie guard Kam Jones will fall short of appearing in 41 games this season, tweets Tony East of Circle City Spin. That’s notable because Jones’ salary for 2026/27 would have become fully guaranteed if he had reached the 41-game mark.
Jones’ salary for next season is just $2.15MM and it will still be 50% guaranteed for now, so the cost to retain him would be very modest. The remaining 50% of the 24-year-old’s salary will lock in if he remains under contract through June 30.
Still, the Pacers could have a crowded roster situation this offseason, especially if they’re able to hang onto their top-four protected first-round pick. Of their 15 players currently on standard contracts, 13 are under contract for next season, including 10 on fully guaranteed salaries, while a 14th has a team option on his deal. Depending on the decisions the team makes with certain back-of-the-roster players, it’s possible Jones’ spot could be in jeopardy.
We have more on the Pacers:
- Head coach Rick Carlisle provided more information over the weekend on the fractured rib that ended Ivica Zubac‘s season early, according to East. Carlisle told reporters that Zubac suffered the injury during the first quarter of last Wednesday’s loss to Portland. The veteran center had difficulty sleeping that night and underwent an MRI the next day that revealed the fracture. “If you’ve ever had rib stuff, it’s kind of the worst because breathing bothers it. Coughing bothers it. Sneezing is impossible, and laughing, you just can’t do it,” Carlisle said. “He’s going to be uncomfortable for a while, but he will make a full recovery. But it’s a tough break for us because we were looking forward to seeing as much of that core group together as possible and now it’s not going to happen.”
- Buoyed by Pascal Siakam, who had 37 points and a game-clinching block in his second game back from a knee sprain, the Pacers snapped their franchise-record 16-game losing streak on Monday by knocking off the Magic, writes Dustin Dopirak of The Indianapolis Star. As disappointing as the 2025/26 season has been in Indiana, Siakam hasn’t been the problem — he’s averaging 24.0 points, 6.6 rebounds, and 3.8 assists per game while shooting 48.4% from the floor. “Siakam was spectacular,” Carlisle said of his star forward after Monday’s victory. “Thirty-three minutes, 37 points. The guy’s a great, great player.”
- Despite Monday’s win, the Pacers are in no imminent danger of hurting their lottery odds, Dopirak observes in a separate story. At 16-56, Indiana has a three-game cushion on the league’s fourth-worst team, 19-53 Sacramento. Since the top-four-pick odds for the worst three teams are identical (52.1%) and the Pacers won’t keep their first-rounder if it lands between Nos. 5-9, they only need to worry about remaining in that three-team group rather than staying at the very top of the draft lottery order.
Moses Moody Diagnosed With Torn Patellar Tendon
After exiting Monday’s game due to a knee injury and undergoing tests on Tuesday, Warriors wing Moses Moody has been diagnosed with a torn patellar tendon in his left knee, reports Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter link).
Moody’s 2025/26 season is over and he’s facing a lengthy rehabilitation process, Charania adds. While there are no details yet on a potential timeline, the 23-year-old is unlikely to be ready for the start of ’26/27 based on the typical recovery period for this type of injury.
It’s a crushing blow for Moody, who was in the midst of the best season of his five-year NBA career. His 12.1 points, 3.3 rebounds, 1.6 assists, and 1.0 steal per game all represented career highs, as did his 40.1% three-point percentage. He started 49 of the 60 games he played for Golden State this season, averaging 25.7 minutes per night.
Moody, who was playing on Monday for the first time in three weeks after recovering from a wrist ailment, suffered the injury during the final minutes of the Warriors’ win over Dallas. He stole the ball from Cooper Flagg, dribbled up the court, and went up for a breakaway dunk, but his left knee buckled as he planted to jump. Moody lost the ball and fell to the floor, immediately grabbing at his knee. He had to be carted off the court.
A patellar tendon tear isn’t as common an injury among NBA players as an ACL or Achilles tear, but it’s certainly not unprecedented. Victor Oladipo (2023), Dante Exum (2019), Andre Roberson (2018), Jeremy Lin (2017), and David Lee (2017) are among the players to suffer similar injuries in the past decade.
Exum, who sustained his injury in mid-March, was able to get back on the court in November of the following season, but his was a partial tear. Lin was out for almost exactly one year, while Roberson estimated that he was about 85-95% recovered when he suffered a setback about eight months into his recovery period. Oladipo, who had already dealt with major leg injuries before tearing his patellar tendon, and Lee, who was 34 when he sustained the injury, didn’t play again in the NBA (though Oladipo has since attempted to make a comeback).
Moody’s injury is the latest setback for the Warriors, who have been plagued by health problems during the second half of the season and have slid down in the standings to 10th place in the Western Conference. Not having Moody available this spring will further reduce the club’s odds of making any real noise in the postseason.
In the short term, Gui Santos figures to return to Golden State’s starting lineup after coming off the bench on Monday for the first time since March 2. Looking ahead to the longer term, Moody is the second Warriors regular who will likely be on the injured list when the 2026/27 campaign tips off. Jimmy Butler, who tore his right ACL in January, isn’t expected to be available until later in the season.
Moody will be entering the second season of a three-year, $37.5MM deal this summer. He’ll make $12.5MM in ’26/27, with a guaranteed $13.43MM salary for ’27/28.
Injury Notes: George, Edwards, Suggs, Watson
Paul George‘s 25-game absence from the Sixers‘ lineup was the result of a suspension rather than an injury, but that layoff may have come with some health-related benefits for the veteran forward. According to Kyle Neubeck of PHLY Sports (Twitter link), George suggested in his first post-suspension comments to reporters today that he was still having some issues related to his knee this winter and that getting an extended recovery period was a silver lining of his 25-game ban.
“This 25 games is just what I needed, I think, for my body to kind of heal and be in a better place,” George said.
As we detailed earlier today, since George was able to remain active during his suspension, no ramp-up period will be required — he’s ready to jump back into the rotation when the Sixers host the Bulls on Wednesday.
“I’ve been feeling great, feeling explosive again, feeling strong again,” he said. “I feel like I’m back on that level of being able to perform and be the focal guy and be the scorer.”
Here are a few more health-related notes from around the NBA:
- Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards, who has been out since March 15 due to inflammation in his right knee, was spotted at Tuesday’s practice, but he’s still just doing individual on-court work and his return isn’t imminent, per Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic (Twitter link). The team announced on March 17 that Edwards would be out for at least a week or two.
- Magic guard Jalen Suggs is facing his fourth multi-game absence of the season — after missing Monday’s game vs. Indiana due to an illness, he has also been ruled out for Tuesday’s matchup with Cleveland, tweets Jason Beede of The Orlando Sentinel. Veteran reserve point guard Jevon Carter earned the start on Monday in Suggs’ place.
- After returning on Sunday following a six-week absence due to a hamstring injury, Nuggets forward Peyton Watson admitted that the altitude in his first home game since Feb. 1 “kicked my butt,” but he felt “amazing” otherwise. “I feel like I’m right back where I was six weeks ago,” Watson said, per Bennett Durando of The Denver Post (subscription required). Still, the Nuggets are managing Watson’s workload carefully. After he played 20 minutes on Sunday, he has been ruled out of Tuesday’s game in Phoenix, the first end of a back-to-back set, with an injury designation of right hamstring injury management, tweets Vinny Benedetto of The Denver Gazette.
NBPA Calls For 65-Game Rule To Be Abolished Or Reformed
With several star players, including Pistons guard Cade Cunningham, at risk of falling short of the 65-game minimum required to qualify for end-of-season awards, the National Basketball Players Association issued a statement on Tuesday calling for the rule to be adjusted or eliminated altogether, as Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press relays (via Twitter).
“Cade Cunningham’s potential ineligibility for postseason awards after a career-defining season is a clear indictment of the 65-game rule and yet another example of why it must be abolished or reformed to create an exception for significant injuries,” an NBPA spokesperson said. “Since its implementation, far too many deserving players have been unfairly disqualified from end-of-season honors by this arbitrary and overly rigid quota.”
Cunningham appeared in 61 games before being diagnosed last week with a collapsed lung that may sideline him for the rest of the regular season. Prior to that diagnosis, he was a viable candidate for a spot on MVP ballots and the All-NBA first team. However, it appears increasingly unlikely that he’ll be able to play in the 65 games necessary to qualify for those awards.
The 65-game rule requires players to appear in at least 20 minutes for a game to count toward the minimum, with each player allowed to count up to two appearances in which he played between 15 and 20 minutes. Because Cunningham played just five minutes in his final game last Tuesday, it won’t count toward his total for the purposes of the rule, which means he’s still five games away from reaching the threshold.
The rule does include an exception for a player who suffers a season-ending injury, but only if he has already logged 20-plus minutes in at least 62 games (including 85% of his team’s games to that point). Cunningham didn’t quite get there.
The NBA’s decision to implement the 65-game rule was more about discouraging “load management” than it was about preserving the sanctity of its end-of-season awards, since most media voters already took total games played into account when weighing candidates’ cases. While it’s possible that instances of load management have been reduced as a result of the rule, it has had some troubling side effects, including players pushing to come back from injuries sooner than they otherwise might have in order to preserve their award eligibility.
A player who falls short of 65 games and misses out on All-NBA honors as a result could also face significant financial ramifications, since the criteria for “super-max” and “Rose Rule” contracts are based largely on All-NBA berths. Cunningham, for example, could have become eligible for an extension starting at up to 35% of the salary cap (instead of 30%) by making All-NBA teams in 2026 and 2027. If he misses out this season, he’ll need to make an All-NBA team in 2028 or 2029 to qualify for that super-max extension.
Nuggets center Nikola Jokic and Spurs big man Victor Wembanyama are among the other MVP candidates who would be at risk of missing the 65-game cutoff if they suffer a minor injury in the season’s final weeks. Jokic must appear in nine of Denver’s remaining 10 games to qualify, while Wembanyama has to play in at least seven of San Antonio’s final 10 contests.
The NBPA also put out a statement today about the league’s player participation policy and the Bucks’ reported plan to shut down Giannis Antetokounmpo for the rest of the season.
NBPA Responds To Bucks’ Reported Plan To Shut Down Giannis
The National Basketball Players Association has weighed in on the disagreement between Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Bucks about whether the star forward should be shut down for the rest of the 2025/26 season, according to Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter link).
Reporting last week indicated that the Bucks wanted to hold out their franchise player for the next few weeks after an injury-plagued season in which he battled knee, groin, ankle, and calf issues. Antetokounmpo, however, was said to be pushing to return to action once he recovered from his left knee hyperextension and bone bruise, despite the fact that Milwaukee has fallen out of postseason contention.
The NBPA issued a statement on Tuesday that both supported Antetokounmpo and questioned whether the NBA is committed to enforcing its player participation policy.
“The Player Participation Policy was designed by the league to hold teams accountable and ensure that when an All-Star like Giannis Antetokounmpo is healthy and ready to play, he is on the court,” the statement reads. “Unfortunately, anti-tanking policies are only as effective as their enforcement; fans, broadcast partner, and the integrity of the game itself will continue to suffer as long as ownership goes unchecked. We look forward to collaborating with the NBA on meaningful new proposals that will directly address and discourage tanking.”
The NBA’s player participation policy specifically addresses a situation like this one. A team is considered to be in violation of the policy if it shuts down a healthy “star” for an extended period. The rule is designed to avoid scenarios in which tanking teams sit their best players in order to improve their draft position.
Of course, whether a player qualifies as healthy isn’t necessarily a black and white issue. It’s certainly not uncommon for players to play through minor ailments over the course of the 82-game season, and multiple medical experts may have differing opinions on whether or not a player has fully recovered from a given injury.
We still have nearly three weeks left in the regular season, so if Antetokounmpo feels as if he’s ready to return to action at some point during that window, we’ll see if the Bucks relent and activate him.
The fact that the players’ union expressed a willingness to collaborate with the league on anti-tanking measures is also noteworthy, since commissioner Adam Silver has stated in no uncertain terms that the NBA intends to implement new rules on that front ahead of the 2026/27 season.
Updated Maximum, Minimum, MLE, BAE Projections For 2026/27
The NBA issued a new salary cap projection for the 2026/27 season on Monday, adjusting its estimate for next year’s cap to $165MM.
There are a number of salary figures directly connected to the cap, including the league-wide maximum and minimum salaries, the mid-level exception, and the bi-annual exception. Those figures increase or decrease each year by the same percentage the cap does.
The NBA’s new cap projection meant we had a series of ’26/27 projections of our own in need of updating. Here are the links to those updated numbers:
Maximum salary projections for 2026/27
These are the projected earnings for players who signed maximum-salary extensions that will go into effect in 2026, including Paolo Banchero, Jalen Williams, Chet Holmgren, Luka Doncic, and De’Aaron Fox.
They also represent the projected maximum-salary figures for players who will reach free agency during the coming offseason, such as Jalen Duren and Austin Reaves.
Minimum salary projections for 2026/27
These are the minimum salaries that a player who signs a standard contract in 2026/27 will be eligible to earn. Next year’s rookie minimum is currently projected to be worth about $1.36MM, while the minimum salary for a veteran with at least 10 years of NBA experience is nearly $3.88MM.
Mid-level, bi-annual projections for 2026/27
These projections cover the various mid-level exceptions available to teams, including the full (non-taxpayer) mid-level exception, the taxpayer version of the MLE, and the “room” exception for teams that use cap space. A player who signs a four-year contract worth the full mid-level amount during the 2026 offseason would be in line to receive almost $65MM over the life of the deal, based on the NBA’s latest cap projection.
The bi-annual exception is also included in these projections — it projects to be worth a record $5,478,000 in ’26/27.
These projections can be found anytime on the right-hand sidebar of our desktop site under “Hoops Rumors Features” or on the “Features” page in our mobile menu. They’ll be updated again later this season if the NBA issues another new cap projection.
Western Notes: Udoka, LeBron, Borrego, Pelicans, Thunder
It was a frustrating Monday night in Chicago for Rockets head coach Ime Udoka, who watched his team lose 132-124 to the lottery-bound Bulls and was ejected late in the fourth quarter for arguing with the referees about flagrant and technical foul decisions, per Varun Shankar of The Houston Chronicle (subscription required).
“Flagrant was soft as hell, that’s nothing. And the techs were soft, too,” Udoka said of a flagrant foul called on Amen Thompson and techs assigned to Thompson and Kevin Durant. “Not about to complain about a soft crew, so it is what it is.”
While Udoka wasn’t thrilled about the officiating in Chicago, he was more displeased by the effort he saw from his team. Houston gave up 41 points and fell behind by 20 in the first quarter to a Bulls squad that had posted the NBA’s second-worst offensive rating since the All-Star break.
“Poor start, disrespected the game. Not prepared from the get-go,” Udoka said. “Just not aggressive, following around, watching them shoot. … You look at the records, you look at who you’re playing against … and don’t come out prepared and let them be comfortable, gain confidence.”
We have more from around the Western Conference:
- Although the Lakers had their nine-game winning streak snapped on Monday in Detroit, LeBron James has been thriving lately as the NBA’s “best third option,” according to Sam Amick of The Athletic, who wonders if the star forward could end up remaining in Los Angeles beyond this season. There was a sense entering the fall that James might have to head elsewhere if he wanted to continue his career beyond 2025/26, with Amick noting that the Cavaliers and Warriors have been frequently speculated as suitors. However, the Lakers’ recent stretch of success suggests they may have more championship upside than previously believed and could still have a place for James in his new-look role alongside Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves.
- Has James Borrego earned the full-time head coaching job in New Orleans? Management likely won’t make that decision until after the season, but Rod Walker of NOLA.com (subscription required) notes that Borrego has made a strong case since replacing Willie Green earlier this season. The Pelicans are 12-7 since the trade deadline, with nine double-digit wins during that stretch. “With the coaching change, (Borrego) just came in and tried to turn it around,” Pelicans forward Herbert Jones said. “We were in a bad spot. He just changed it with his energy and encouraged guys to show up every day with energy and be themselves and continue to cheer the guy next to you and not worry about self-accomplishments.”
- As Jeff Duncan writes in a separate NOLA.com story, the Pelicans have unveiled plans for a significant renovation project for Smoothie King Center. The hope is that the renovation will be the linchpin of an agreement to extend the team’s lease at the arena — the current deal expires in 2029.
- Elsewhere on the arena front, the Thunder announced today in a press release that their new arena, projected to open for the 2028/29 season, will be called the Continental Coliseum.
Spurs’ Victor Wembanyama Argues MVP Case
A locker room conversation on Monday night that began with Spurs wing Keldon Johnson making Victor Wembanyama‘s Most Valuable Player case to Jared Weiss of The Athletic turned into Wembanyama himself tagging in for his teammate and explaining to Weiss why he feels he deserves to be this year’s NBA MVP.
As Weiss writes, Wembanyama highlighted the impact he has on the defensive end of the court, contending that his case hinges on the fact that he’s such an outlier in terms of defensive value, especially compared to his primary competitors for MVP. The Spurs big man suggested that’s one of three primary arguments in his favor relative to current betting favorite Shai Gilgeous-Alexander of the Thunder.
“My first (argument) would be that defense is 50 percent of the game and that is undervalued, so far, in the MVP race,” Wembanyama said. “I believe I’m the most impactful player defensively in the league. Second argument would be that we almost swept OKC in the season and we dominated them three times with their real team and four times with the, you know, more rotation players. My third argument would be that offense impact is not just points.”
Wembanyama expanded on that last point by focusing on the defensive attention he commands in the pick-and-roll, adding that he has seen data showing that he ranks right alongside Nuggets center Nikola Jokic as the most effective roll man in the NBA. However, he acknowledged that voters need to weigh defensive impact more heavily in order for him to have a legitimate chance at MVP honors.
“It’s going to happen (over) time,” Wembanyama told Weiss. “If there were more players like Giannis (Antetokounmpo) in the past years, maybe defense would have been more recognized. I don’t know.”
Wembanyama is averaging 24.3 points, 11.1 rebounds, 3.0 assists, and 3.0 blocks in just 29.3 minutes per game over the course of 56 appearances this season, with a .504/.356/.818 shooting line. Those offensive numbers pale in comparison to Gilgeous-Alexander’s 31.6 PPG, 6.6 APG, and .553/.390/.888 shooting.
Still, Wembanyama’s on/off numbers reflect his value, particularly on defense. The Spurs have registered a +16.6 net rating and 103.5 defensive rating when he’s on the court, compared to a -0.1 net rating and 113.7 defensive rating when he’s not. According to Weiss, he has spoken to some voters who’ve said that they’d vote for Wembanyama if the Spurs (54-18) pass the Thunder (57-15) for the NBA’s best record.
Following his conversation with Weiss, Wembanyama told reporters in his post-game media session that he’s determined to solidify his MVP case by finishing the season strong.
“I think right now, there is a debate,” he said. “There should be, even though I think I should lead the race. And I’ll try to make sure that by the end of the season, there’s no debate.”