Jazz Notes: Favors, Neto, Stayward
After missing an entire month with a knee injury, Jazz big man Derrick Favors returned to the court Friday and looked excellent in his debut. Tim MacMahon of ESPN said that the 25-year-old’s play was extremely encouraging.
It’s been a relative down year for Favors, at least compared to the last two seasons, but lingering knee issues could be to blame for the statistical downfall. Now Favors is back with an explosiveness that MacMahon notes he’s lacked in 2016/17.
Favors added 13 points and 5 rebounds in his 17 minute return to action on Friday and averages 9.6 points and 6.1 rebounds per game on the season. If the forward continues to play free of knee woes, we could see those averages climb higher come playoff time.
There’s more from the Jazz:
- Backup Jazz point guard Raul Neto injured his left ankle Saturday and was forced to miss the remainder of the contest, an Associated Press report says. Neto was playing in his first game back after a five-game absence related to a groin injury.
- The Jazz formally clinched the Northwest Division Friday, the team said on its official website. This is their first division title since 2007/08.
- Fans are pulling out all the stops to keep Gordon Hayward in Utah. A billboard with the phrase “Stayward” emblazoned across it has been installed locally as the Jazz small forward nears free agency. “Will it have any influence? Of course it will have influence,” Hayward told Aaron Falk of the Salt Lake Tribune. “It’s always nice to be loved.”
- The Jazz deserve credit for how they’ve managed to contend despite the rash of injuries they’ve endured this season, writes Randy Hollis of the Deseret News.
NBA D-League Assignments/Recalls: 4/9/2017
Here are Sunday’s D-League assignments and recalls from around the league, as the NBADL postseason continues:
- The Rockets have recalled Chinanu Onuaku and Isaiah Taylor from the Rio Grand Valley Vipers, according to the team’s Twitter feed. Both players were sent to Houston’s D-League affiliate on Saturday for the team’s tilt against the Los Angeles D-Fenders.
Hoops Links: Joseph, Lowry, Lillard
On Sundays, we link to some of the very best work from around the basketball blogosphere. Do you have a link to a great basketball blog post – either your own or someone else’s – that you want to see featured on Hoops Rumors? Send it to us at HoopsLinks@gmail.com. Here’s this week’s rundown:
- Brian Boake of Raptors Rapture takes a look at Toronto’s cap situation and believes the team needs to shed salary this offseason in order to re-sign its own free agents. Boake believes Cory Joseph is expendable and Denver would be a good place to send the point guard.
- The Jump Ball discusses the Clippers, Sam Hinkie and the league’s awards in its latest podcast.
- South of the 6ixth talks Kyle Lowry‘s return and playoff seeding in its latest podcast.
- RealGM passes along notes from the 2017 Nike Hoop Summit.
- SLC Dunk examined how Damian Lillard‘s recent 59 point game stacks up against previous Jazz opponents.
Suns Sign Elijah Millsap To Multiyear Deal
1:55 PM: Phoenix will sign Millsap to a multiyear contract, according to the team’s website.
12:52 PM: The Suns will sign Elijah Millsap for the rest of the season, tweets Shams Charania of The Vertical.
The 28-year-old shooting guard spent this season with the Northern Arizona Suns in the D-League, averaging 19.8 points per night in 50 games. He has previous NBA experience with the Jazz, spending parts of the 2014/15 and 2015/16 seasons in Utah. Millsap, the younger brother of the Hawks’ Paul Millsap, played in Israel and the Philippines after being waived in January of 2016.
The Suns have been carrying an open roster spot since the trade deadline, so they won’t have to make a corresponding move to add Millsap.
Cavaliers Waive DeAndre Liggins
Cleveland has waived DeAndre Liggins, according to the team’s website. The Cavs’ roster now sits at 14 players.
If another team claims Liggins off waivers, it would save the Cavs approximately $2.5MM in luxury tax payments, per Bobby Marks of The Vertical (Twitter links). If that happens, each of the 28 teams below the tax line would receive roughly $44K less from the tax distribution than they would if Liggins went unclaimed. Marks notes that each of the 28 franchises is currently slated to receive $552K from the distribution.
The team plans on adding another player, though it hasn’t made a decision on who it will be, Jason Lloyd of The Athletic tweets. They must sign someone by Wednesday for the player to be playoff-eligible.
Liggins played in 61 games this season, starting 19 of them. He saw 12.3 minutes per contest and averaged 2.4 points per game.
Atlantic Notes: Brown, Simmons, Fultz, Oakley
Aside from the mercurial debut by Joel Embiid, the most important thing to happen for the Sixers this season has been the development of young players, Derek Bodner writes on his website. Dario Saric, Robert Covington, Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot, Richaun Holmes and T.J. McConnell have all seen significant playing time and should be important components of the team going forward. Bodner adds that coach Brett Brown is living up to the reputation that he had as a player development specialist when former GM Sam Hinkie hired him in 2013.
There’s more from the Atlantic Division:
- Brown is dismissing rumors that rookie Ben Simmons has grown two inches during the season, relays Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer. That story apparently started with a comment made by World B. Free on a Cavaliers broadcast last month. “I can feel comfortable saying no, he has not grown to 7 feet,” Brown said. “I wish he had.” The first pick in last year’s draft, Simmons missed the entire season after breaking a bone in his right foot during training camp.
- University of Washington guard Markelle Fultz, a possible top pick in this year’s draft, is visiting Madison Square Garden today to watch the Knicks, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical. New York, which occupies the sixth spot in our latest Reverse Standings, is hoping for some lottery luck to have a chance at Fultz.
- Former Knicks star Charles Oakley will appear in court Tuesday for charges stemming from his February run-in with team owner James Dolan that resulted in his ejection from the arena. Oakley, who is charged with three counts of misdemeanor assault and one count of criminal trespass, told Dan Gelston of The Associated Press that he has no regrets about the incident. “I would have done everything just the same way,” Oakley said. “I didn’t do nothing. I was only in the arena five minutes. I didn’t know you could get in that much trouble in five minutes. I’d take my chances and do the same thing again.”
Doctor Assesses Derrick Rose’s NBA Future
A New York-based knee specialist warns that Derrick Rose‘s style of play will make him vulnerable to injuries for the rest of his career, writes Marc Berman of The New York Post.
Dr. Armin Tehrany of Manhattan Orthopedic Care said the meniscus tear that resulted in Rose’s fourth knee operation was a result of repeated strain, rather than one specific incident. Tehrany identifies the problem as degenerative cartilage that has eroded over nine years in the NBA.
“If I was a betting man I’d say it happens again,’’ he added.
Long-term health will be a concern as the 28-year-old enters the free agent market this summer. Rose managed to play 64 games this season [and 66 a year ago in Chicago], but he has now had two surgeries on each knee and has to be considered a health risk going forward.
“When I watch him and see how he plays, I think it’s because [of] how incredibly explosive he is,’’ Tehrany added. “He drives to the basket so much. The speed that he’s able to move, his explosive style, that puts a lot more pressure on his knees and his body. That could lead to a breakdown. The mind can be much more powerful than the body. What the mind wants to do and what the body can accommodate unfortunately isn’t the same.”
With just two games remaining, it’s possible that Rose’s time with the Knicks is finished. New York will host Toronto today and the Sixers on Wednesday, and coach Jeff Hornacek isn’t sure if Rose will attend either one. He has been rehabbing in Chicago since having surgery on Wednesday.
Rose began doing yoga last year and spent the summer working out with New York Jets trainer Sal Alosi. Before the meniscus tear ended his season, Rose frequently talked about how good his knees felt.
Rose should be able to resume basketball activities in four to six weeks, and barring another mishap will be 100% when training camp opens in the fall. While Tehrany believes he has the ability to get back to an MVP level, the risk of recurring knee problems will always be present.
“He’s quote, unquote an old 28 because he’s been through so many injuries,’’ the doctor said. “You think about LeBron [James], early 30s, and he’s very fortunate genetically. I think actually you can argue [Rose] can get back even faster because unfortunately he’s a veteran at rehab, knows the protocol, understands what he has to do and at 28 doesn’t want to give up right now.’’
Warriors Notes: Durant, Barnes, Green
Kevin Durant showed few effects from a knee injury as he returned to the court Saturday night, according to Janie McCauley of The Associated Press. The former MVP had 16 points, 10 rebounds and six assists and seemed to move fine on his left knee after suffering a Grade 2 MCL sprain that sidelined him for 19 games. Golden State originally feared he would be lost for the season when he the injury occurred February 28th. “I think he looked great. It’s going to be hard for anybody to take off a month and come back and put on a great show,” said teammate Klay Thompson. “It was great to see that first play, him attacking the rim like that.”
There’s more this morning from the Pacific Division:
- Durant’s return solves the Warriors’ depth problem at the wing and makes them clear favorites to win the West, writes Ethan Sherwood Strauss of ESPN.com. Seven Golden State players reached double figures Saturday in a blowout of the Pelicans. Having Durant in the lineup puts the Warriors’ “super team” at full strength heading into the playoffs. “It felt normal again,” Durant said. “I’m a basketball player. I love playing basketball; that’s my favorite thing to do. So to feel like I’m part of the team, to feel like I’m a part of this energy that we have, it feels great.”
- One concern that came out of Saturday’s game was a right ankle sprain suffered by forward Matt Barnes in the second quarter. However, Barnes said he expects to be ready when the playoffs start next weekend, tweets Marc J. Spears of ESPN.com. The 36-year-old signed with the Warriors in early March in the wake of Durant’s injury.
- Draymond Green, one of the favorites to be named Defensive Player of the Year, had an in-depth talk about his defensive philosophy with Tim Kawakami of The San Jose Mercury News. Green has finished second in the balloting for the award the past two seasons.
NBA D-League Assignments/Recalls: 4/8/2017
- The Rockets sent Chinanu Onuaku, Isaiah Taylor and Kyle Wiltjer to their Rio Grande Valley affiliate, posts Calvin Watkins on ESPN Now. The Vipers had a D-League playoff game tonight against Los Angeles.
Southwest Notes: Romo, Cuban, Popovich, Anderson
Mavericks owner Mark Cuban is taking some heat for his plan to honor Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo by letting him fill a roster spot for the team’s final home game. Brian T. Smith of The Houston Chronicle calls the proposed move a “pitiful little circus” and says NBA Commissioner Adam Silver should block it. However, Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle told The Dallas Morning News that he is looking forward to hosting Romo, who frequently sits behind the bench at Mavs games.
There’s more tonight from the Southwest Division:
- Cuban offered a solution to the NBA’s problem of star players being rested, relays Eddie Sefko of The Dallas Morning News. Cuban, who attended the board of governors meeting this week, suggests shortening the preseason and setting up the schedule so that teams in nationally televised games have days of rest built in. “It really comes down more to a scheduling issue than anything else, and my contribution was that, when you schedule marquee games for TV, look at the schedule first and don’t put somebody who has been on a long trip, traveled a lot of miles or obviously going to be less than fresh, because when we schedule those games, it’s on us,” Cuban said. “I remember [years ago] we were on TNT on the fourth game in five nights. Who’s dumb enough to schedule that? That’s just stupid.”
- Spurs coach Gregg Popovich won’t rest anyone during the team’s final two games, tweets Jabari Young of The San Antonio Express-News. Popovich made the comments after tonight’s loss to the Clippers, adding that he was upset that his team wasn’t physical enough.
- Rockets forward Ryan Anderson, who returned to the court Friday following an ankle injury, plans to use the rest of the season to get in rhythm for the playoffs, writes Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle. In his first season with Houston after signing as a free agent last summer, Anderson is averaging 13.5 points and 4.7 rebounds in 69 games. “It’s real important to be playing at your highest level coming into the playoffs,” he said. “This is a year we can do something special. I want to be prepared.”