Cavaliers, Warriors Have Changed Since Finals
Only six months have passed since Golden State defeated Cleveland in the NBA Finals, but both teams will have a different look when they square off today, writes Tim Kawakami of The Athletic.
In a preview of the game, Kawakami examines the changes both teams have undergone since June. The most obvious differences involve the Cavaliers, who were radically altered by the trade of Kyrie Irving to the Celtics. Irving was a tough matchup for the Warriors, scoring 23, 26, 30, 40 and 41 points in Cleveland’s five Finals victories over the past two years, and the Cavaliers haven’t developed a similar secondary scoring threat to complement LeBron James.
That could change with the return of Isaiah Thomas, which may happen this week, but for now Jose Calderon mans the point guard spot. Calderon was technically a Warrior for a brief time last season, agreeing to sign with the team before being replaced by Matt Barnes after Kevin Durant‘s knee injury. The Cavs have been close to unbeatable since Calderon took over as the starting point guard after Dwyane Wade and then Derrick Rose held the position early in the season.
The addition of Jae Crowder, another part of the Irving trade, will change the defensive assignments, Kawakami adds. The Cavs wanted a player like Crowder to match up better with the Warriors, and he is expected to be the primary defender on Durant, with James switching to Draymond Green. Jeff Green, Durant’s former teammate in Oklahoma City and a free agent addition for Cleveland in the offseason, should also see time guarding the Finals MVP.
Kawakami contends the gap between the teams may be greater now than it was in June. He notes that the Warriors added a pair of valuable free agents in Omri Casspi, who is contributing far more than Barnes did, and Nick Young, who has been a more explosive scorer off the bench than Ian Clark. Golden State also found a gem in rookie Jordan Bell, who matches up better than any other Warriors center against a smaller Cavs lineup that has Kevin Love in the middle.
With Thomas still sidelined and Stephen Curry missing time with an injured ankle, today’s game and a rematch January 15 in Cleveland may not determine which of these superpowers is better. But it could give us some hints of what to expect if they meet in a fourth straight Finals next June.
Bulls’ Nikola Mirotic Would Still Accept Trade
Despite the Bulls’ improved play since Nikola Mirotic‘s return, he remains willing to waive his no-trade clause to join a contender, reports Joe Cowley of The Chicago Sun-Times.
His relationship with Bobby Portis, who hospitalized Mirotic in an October 17 altercation, is still strained and they haven’t spoken apart from team business, Cowley adds. The organization isn’t trying to force them to resolve their differences as long as they communicate effectively as teammates.
Because he didn’t re-sign until late September, Mirotic isn’t eligible to be traded until January 15. His representatives have told the Bulls’ front office that he would accept a deal if it puts him on a contending team. There will be a 24-day window to trade Mirotic before the February 8 deadline, and it’s an option the team is considering, according to Cowley, who says there’s a good chance he will be moved if Chicago can get a mid- to late first-rounder in return.
Privately, the front office is concerned that Mirotic is messing up its rebuilding plans, Cowley adds. The Bulls appeared headed for a high lottery pick with a 3-20 start, but won their first seven games with Mirotic in the lineup. They are now 10-22, the fourth worst record in the league but just seven games out of a playoff spot, with Zach LaVine expected back in January.
Mirotic is putting up the best numbers of his career since returning from facial fractures. Through nine games, he is averaging 17.9 points and 7.6 rebounds while shooting 51% from the floor and 48% on 3-pointers. With a $12.5MM salary and a team option for the same amount next season, he could be an inexpensive pickup for a contender, but for now he’s enjoying his success in Chicago.
“We are playing fun basketball,’’ he said. “There are a lot of young guys, not many guys that want to play iso [isolation], so it’s simple basketball, fun basketball, and I think this is an area [coach Fred Hoiberg] feels comfortable. He’s going to put all the pieces in the right situation and find the best role for guys, and he’s been figuring out how we can play with each other. I give Fred a lot of credit. This is how he’s wanted to play.’’
Spend Christmas With Us
One of the many great things about Christmas is a full slate of NBA games that begins at 11am Central and stretches throughout the day. We at Hoops Rumors welcome our readers to use this post to comment on all of today’s action.
The games tip off with a showcase of some of the league’s brightest young stars as the Knicks host the Sixers. Philadelphia center Joel Embiid has been medically cleared to play, joining teammate Ben Simmons and New York’s Kristaps Porzingis and Frank Ntilikina in a look at the NBA’s future.
The spotlight game of the day comes next as the Warriors host the Cavaliers in a rematch of the past three NBA Finals. Both teams come into the contest near the top of their conferences and a fourth straight Finals clash seems likely, if not inevitable. Even though Stephen Curry will be sidelined and Isaiah Thomas isn’t quite ready to return, Cleveland-Golden State games are always special.
The Wizards and Celtics are next in a rematch of their thrilling series in last year’s Eastern Conference semifinals. It’s a battle of two of the league’s best point guards as John Wall faces Kyrie Irving in Boston’s first home Christmas Day game in 69 years.
Following that, last year’s top two vote-getters in the MVP race will be on display as Russell Westbrook and the Thunder host James Harden and the Rockets. The addition of Chris Paul has helped Houston post the league’s best record at 25-6. The additions of Paul George and Carmelo Anthony were supposed to do the same for Oklahoma City, which may be coming together with four straight wins after a slow start.
The night will end at Staples Center as the Lakers host the Northwest Division-leading Timberwolves. Lonzo Ball will miss the game with a sprained left shoulder, but Rookie of the Year candidate Kyle Kuzma is still worth watching as L.A. faces Jimmy Butler and the new-look Wolves.
The staff of Hoops Rumors extends Merry Christmas wishes to all our readers. Thank you for your loyalty throughout the year and please consider spending part of your holiday with us.
Isaiah Thomas Could Play This Week
Cavaliers fans who have been waiting for Isaiah Thomas won’t get their wish granted at Christmas, but it could happen soon, according to Dave McMenamin’s ESPN Now post.
Coach Tyronn Lue reported that Thomas felt “a little sore, but nothing serious” after participating in a full-court scrimmage Thursday with Cleveland’s G League affiliate, the Canton Charge. Thomas practiced with the Cavaliers Saturday, which Lue said involved “a lot of shooting drills live, full court,” then ran through plays with the coaching staff Sunday in a half-court setting with no defenders.
Thomas definitely won’t play in today’s showcase game with the Warriors, but he could be activated for Wednesday’s contest in Sacramento. Lue responded, “I’m not sure. Just got to see,” when asked about that possibility. Cleveland is starting a three-game road trip that concludes Saturday in Utah, and it appears likely that Thomas will play at some point.
Thomas’ wife posted a video on her Instagram account of him dunking at Sunday’s practice. He bounced the ball high off the floor before slamming it in.
One of the key pieces in the August trade that sent Kyrie Irving to Boston, Thomas will miss his 34th game today while recovering from a hip injury that he suffered last season and aggravated during the Eastern Conference finals. He is coming off a career-best year with the Celtics in which he averaged 28.9 points per game and finished fifth in the MVP voting.
Central Notes: Dunn, LaVine, Oladipo
The Bulls have every reason to be pleased with the production they’ve gotten out of point guard Kris Dunn but that doesn’t mean that the second-year player is necessarily satisfied, K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune writes.
“My offensive game is getting there, but that can be polished,” Dunn said, noting that his top priority for improvement is on the defensive side. In 11 December games for the Bulls, Dunn has averaged 15.0 points, 7.7 assists, 4.8 rebounds and 2.0 steals per contest.
Dunn credits Bulls head coach Fred Hoiberg for putting the pressure on him to compete with Jerian Grant for the starting gig, a role that he didn’t formally take over until late November.
There’s more from the Central Division:
- There may finally be a timetable for the return of Zach LaVine. Vincent Goodwill of NBC Sports Chicago tweets that the guard will try to make it through six consecutive Bulls practices after December 30. If he does so without issue, he’ll play.
- The Cavaliers will tip off against the Warriors on Christmas Day but don’t get it twisted, LeBron James‘ favorite place to play after Santa Claus comes is a bit further south at the Staples Center, Joe Vardon of Cleveland.com writes. Queue another onslaught of LeBron-to-L.A. hype.
- The trade that sent Victor Oladipo from the Thunder to the Pacers appears to have motivated the 25-year-old, even if he doesn’t say so himself. “He’s come into the season with confidence, I think, to prove himself,” head coach Nate McMillan told Buddy Grizzard of Basketball Insiders. “After a couple moves from Orlando to OKC and then to Indy, there was a lot of conversation out there that the Pacers didn’t get enough in that trade. I think he is proving to the league that he does have talent. We are still learning what he’s capable of.“
Heat Notes: Adebayo, Injuries, Dragic
The Heat have been impressed with how quickly rookie big man Bam Adebayo is able to learn and improve, Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel writes.
“He’s a computer,” head coach Erik Spoelstra said, “So every single game he’s putting it, every experience, into that computer and he’s learning at such a rapid pace.”
The rookie out of Kentucky has been a solid replacement for injured star Hassan Whiteside, who has missed the last 13 games with a knee injury. During that span, Adebayo has posted 9.3 points and 5.5 rebounds per contest in just under 25 minutes of action.
Of course Adebayo’s ability to learn on the fly is just one of the many appealing characteristics of the 14th-overall draft pick, the 20-year-old’s athleticism is still a sight to behold.
There’s more from the Heat this evening:
- The 16-15 Heat are confident that they can build a winner without a traditional star, Chris Mannix of Yahoo Sports writes. “That’s our belief,” head coach Erik Spoelstra said. “I like living in a world where there are only possibilities, not absolutes. In any fields, there can be a thinking that, ‘This is the only way to get it done.’ There are a lot of ways to get to the top. However unrealistic it may seem to people on the outside, those are the kind of challenges that we like.“
- The Heat have been besieged by injuries so far this season and will need to get a handle on them if they hope to truly reach their peak, Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel opines. The team is above .500 but a laundry list of injured players continues to haunt them.
- Although he returned from a three-game absence on Saturday, Goran Dragic‘s elbow injury continues to plague him, Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel writes. “I talked to the doc and the pain is there. It is what it is,” Dragic said. “It’s not the first time I’m playing through the pain. I’m going to try to be there for my teammates and try to do what I can and that’s it, end of story — try to do treatments and be professional.“
Shoulder Sprain Sidelines Lonzo Ball
The Lakers will be without rookie point guard Lonzo Ball when they tip off against the Timberwolves on Christmas Day, the team has announced. Although Ball played 36 minutes for Los Angeles in their Saturday night loss to the Trail Blazers, he actually injured his left shoulder in the second quarter.
Results of an MRI conducted today show that the guard suffered a sprain in that shoulder and will be sidelined for the club’s prime time tilt under the national holiday spotlight. He’ll be re-evaluated in a week’s time, leaving his status for the team’s Wednesday and Friday night tilts up in the air. The guard hasn’t been definitively ruled out for those games but there’s reason to believe that he would sit them.
The setback comes at an unfortunate time for the rookie as Ball had started to turn around his infamous shooting woes of late. As Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN tweeted on Saturday, Ball has averaged 17.2 points, 7.2 rebounds and 6.4 assists per game on .469 shooting over the course of his last five games.
Northwest Notes: Anthony, Crawford, Plumlee, Mitrou-Long
Carmelo Anthony‘s struggles this season have mirrored that of the Thunder: struggling to find consistency. Anthony has been primarily a ball-dominant player in his career but he has changed that approach recently, helping the Thunder in the process, Royce Young of ESPN writes.
In recent games, Anthony has hovered around the perimeter, waiting for catch-and-shoot situations. In Oklahoma City’s win over the Hawks on Friday, Anthony netted seven three-pointers, allowing Russell Westbrook to facilitate plays. Anthony admitted that he can find sustained success in that role once he gets adjusted.
“I think for me it’s just a matter of accepting that role. That’s all it is,” Anthony said. “Realizing that’s what it’s going to be, these are the type of shots I’m going to get, this is the type of offense we’re going to be running and accepting that, and working on that role. That’s something that I’ve kind of been doing over the past week, is allowing myself to accept that role and do whatever I gotta do to make this team win.”
Anthony, 33, is averaging a career-worst 17.5 PPG this season through 32 games. With Westbrook and fellow All-Star Paul George, Anthony is not required to shoulder the load the way he did in New York the past six seasons. Head coach Billy Donovan said he and the team appreciate Anthony’s willingness to change his style for the betterment of the team.
Read up on other news out of the Northwest Division:
- The Timberwolves signed three-time Sixth Man of the Year Jamal Crawford to be instant offense off the bench and to be a veteran presence on a young, promising team. While his minutes and production were down through the first third of the season, he is still capable of putting up points in a hurry for Minnesota, Kent Youngblood of the Star Tribune writes.
- Injuries to Paul Millsap and Nikola Jokic have allowed Mason Plumlee to receive more playing time and the Nuggets’ center is becoming a trusted vocal leader for the team, Gina Mizell of The Denver Post writes.
- Naz Mitrou-Long finished up a game in the G League and after a long flight home learned the Jazz were signing him to a two-way deal. As he gets the chance to suit up for Utah in the NBA, Mitrou-Long is appreciative of the opportunity, Eric Woodyard of the Deseret News writes. “I obviously don’t presume to come in here and play a substantial amount of minutes or even play at all,” he said. “If I get any opportunity, it’s going to be to learn and take advantage of it.”
NBA G League Assignments/Recalls: 12/24/17
Here are the G-League transactions from around the NBA today:
- The Hawks have recalled guard Tyler Dorsey and big man Mike Muscala from the organization’s G League affiliate, the Erie BayHawks, the team announced in a press release. Dorsey has appeared in 10 games for the Hawks this season while Muscala has played in nine contests.
- The Wolves announced that the 18th overall pick from this year’s NBA Draft, Justin Patton, has been recalled from the team’s G League affiliate, the Iowa Wolves (via Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune). Patton had been sidelined with a broken left foot to start a season before starting a G League assignment earlier this month. Patton, 20, appeared in six games with Iowa.
- The Magic have recalled center Khem Birch from their G League affiliate, the Lakeland Magic, the team announced (via Twitter). Birch, 25, has appeared briefly in four games for Orlando this season.
Knicks Notes: Beasley, Jack, Hardaway, Schedule
Michael Beasley has been a pleasant surprise for the Knicks this season, capped off by a pair of 30+ point performances in the team’s last two victories. Less than two years ago, however, Beasley — who had solidified himself as a star in the Chinese Basketball Association — started accepting the fact that he may never play in the NBA again, Jeff Zillgitt of USA TODAY Sports writes.
Beasley, still just 28 years old, said interest in him two springs ago was limited not due to his talent but issues with his maturity and questionable off-the-court incidents. A call from the Mavericks did not amount to much and it was not until the Rockets — a team Beasley said was not on his radar — agreed to take a look at him in 2016. After an impressive 20-game cameo in Houston followed by a productive season in Milwaukee last year, Beasley proved he can be a useful asset in the NBA.
“If you love to do it, do it. That’s why I play basketball,” Beasley said. “That’s why being in China was so important. When the NBA was no longer a realistic dream, basketball kept me sane. It’s ironic. You have to go halfway across the world to a place you’ve never been to find yourself.”
In 26 games (six starts) this season, the man who dubbed himself a “walking bucket” in the preseason is averaging 10.9 PPG and 4.1 RPG. It has not been an easy road back to success for the former second overall pick; having a wife and kids has changed Beasley’s priorities, which he said motivates his on-court effort.
Check out other news from the Knicks organization below:
- Much like Beasley, veteran point guard Jarrett Jack has been a welcome addition to a Knicks team currently occupying the eighth seed in the Eastern Conference. Jack, 34, will play in just his second Christmas Day game on Monday when the Knicks face the Sixers at Madison Square Garden. After a torn ACL in January 2016 put his career in jeopardy, Jack appreciates every game he plays in, Newsday’s Al Iannazzone writes. “Every day,” Jack said of his appreciation, “because I understand in one game, it could be taken away from you for a substantial amount of time. That’s what happened to me. I don’t take none of it for granted.”
- While he nurses a stress injury to his left leg, Knicks guard Tim Hardaway Jr. has not received enough credit for his strong play this season, his father, Tim Hardaway Sr., said to Marc Berman of the New York Post.
- Stan Van Gundy voiced a theory this week that the NBA purposely organized the Knicks schedule to include more home games than road games in the early going to help the franchise build confidence. However, an industry source tells Marc Berman of the New York Post the scheduling had to do with the Grammys being hosted at Madison Square Garden in January.