Community Shootaround: Nets’ Title Chances
The oddsmakers and NBA bettors have spoken and they’re sold on the James Harden trade.
With the addition of Harden, the Nets are now a 3-1 proposition to win the NBA title, according to VegasInsider.com. Only the defending champion Lakers have lower odds at 5-2. In terms of the Eastern Conference, the Nets are a clear favorite over the other main contenders, the Bucks (7-1 to win it all), Sixers (14-1) and Celtics (18-1).
The trio of Harden, Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving makes the Nets nearly impossible to guard, as long as they’re willing to make some sacrifices. The early returns on the Harden-Durant combo were promising, as they led the team to a two-point win over Milwaukee on Monday. They combined for 64 points, 18 assists and 15 rebounds.
Irving is expected to return to action on Wednesday after missing several games for personal reasons. No one quite knows what to expect from Irving at this point or his level of commitment. Just a few days ago, there was speculation he might even retire.
If Irving is focused on pursuing a championship, the Nets can overcome a number of other issues. They have no depth in the middle at the moment, with DeAndre Jordan being the only experienced hand on deck. Their defense could be suspect – Jordan is the only veteran who has been named to the league’s All-Defensive First or Second Team and his most recent appearance was five years ago.
Brooklyn’s bench looks a lot less imposing than it did at the start of the season. They gave up Jarrett Allen and Taurean Prince in the trade and lost Spencer Dinwiddie to a season-ending injury.
There’s also the volatility factor – will three headstrong stars like Durant, Harden and Irving be able to mesh their skills and leave their egos at the door during crunch time in the playoffs? And what happens when they face some adversity – will there be finger pointing or cohesiveness?
If the Nets win at least one championship with this group, the Harden trade will be considered the final piece to the puzzle and worth all the assets Brooklyn surrendered in the deal. If they come up short, they’ll be paying the price for the next decade with all the draft picks and players they sacrificed to bring in the former Most Valuable Player.
That leads us to our topic of the day: Will the addition of James Harden result in a Nets championship? Or will the combination of Harden, Durant and Irving turn out to be a toxic mix?
Please take to the comments section to weigh in on this topic. We look forward to your input.
COVID-19 Roundup: Silver, Vaccine, Restrictions, Flights, Postponements
The NBA has held discussions about players receiving COVID-19 vaccines in order to influence the general public, and the African-American community in particular, to do the same, Brian Windhorst of ESPN reports. Commissioner Adam Silver hopes the league can set an example and foster the belief that the vaccines are safe and effective.
“Several public health officials — and this is operating state by state right now — have suggested there would be a real public health benefit to getting some very high-profile African Americans vaccinated to demonstrate to the larger community that it is safe and effective,” Silver said.
Right now, NBA athletes are not eligible to receive the vaccines until they become more widely available. It has been suggested that players could volunteer at public distribution centers and receive the vaccine in that setting while encouraging the public to follow suit. Michele Roberts, the executive director of the National Basketball Players Association, has said that numerous players are hesitant about getting the vaccine.
We have more COVID-19 related news:
- There’s been a mixed reaction to the recently-tightened health and safety protocols, according to Sean Highkin of Bleacher Report. Some players and coaches are resistant to the notion of having little to no contact with the outside world. Others say they have little choice. “If we don’t accept that that’s the way it has to be, we lose out on a lot of things. Our season, our health, our contracts, everything goes downhill if we don’t play by these rules,” Suns coach Monty Williams said.
- In the same article, Highkin noted that 28 of the NBA’s 30 teams have a partnership with Delta Airlines, which has not mandated that its flight crews get tested for COVID-19 despite lobbying from the league’s medical leadership. Delta crew members must wear masks and can’t come within six feet of any NBA personnel, but several teams still refuse to eat on team planes.
- The league is determined to continue playing despite a rash of postponements due to virus-related issues, Chris Hine of the Minneapolis Star Tribune writes. An unnamed Western Conference executive told ESPN’s Baxter Holmes that resistance to playing in another bubble-like environment made these issues inevitable. “Nobody wanting to go back to a long bubble period of play has put us in this position,” he said. “It is doable but sub-optimal.”
Jusuf Nurkic Undergoes Wrist Surgery
Trail Blazers center Jusuf Nurkic underwent surgery on Tuesday to repair a fracture in his right wrist, according to a team press release.
Nurkic will wear a splint for four weeks and be re-evaluated in six weeks. The timeline offered by the team suggests that the snakebit Portland big man will not return until March at the earliest.
The procedure was performed by Dr. Steven Shin at the Cedars-Sinai Kerlan-Jobe Institute in Los Angeles.
Nurkic suffered his latest major injury during the fourth quarter of Thursday’s game against the Pacers while attempting to block a shot.
He missed nearly the entire 2019/20 season due to a major leg injury suffered late in the previous season. Nurkic is averaging 9.8 PPG, 7.7 RPG, and 2.8 APG in 12 games (23.3 MPG) this season. He enjoyed a career year, averaged 15.6 PPG, 10.4 RPG and 3.2 APG, in 2018/19 before fracturing his left leg.
Nurkic has a partially guaranteed base salary of $12MM next season. The Trail Blazers will have to decide whether to give him a full guarantee this summer.
Enes Kanter started in his place on Monday against San Antonio with Harry Giles backing him up. The Trail Blazers have a spot open on the 15-man roster as well as a two-way slot to add another big man if they wish. According to ESPN’s Bobby Marks, they are $1.87MM below the luxury tax line (Twitter link).
Southwest Notes: Ball, Richardson, Oladipo, Ingram
Lonzo Ball is listed as probable to play Tuesday against Utah after missing three games due to a knee injury, the team’s PR department tweets. Ball practiced in full on Monday, Christian Clark of the New Orleans Picayune Times writes. The Pelicans point guard said he “definitely” plans to play Tuesday, the first of two straight games against the Jazz. In nine games this season, he’s averaging 12.4 PPG and 4.4 APG.
We have more from the Southwest Division:
- Mavericks guard Josh Richardson has returned to Dallas after being quarantined in Denver for 10 days, ESPN’s Tim MacMahon tweets. Coach Rick Carlisle says there’s no timetable for Richardson’s return, MacMahon adds. One of several Dallas players sidelined by a COVID-19 positive or contact tracing, Richardson has not played since January 7.
- The Rockets appear to be in rebuild mode in the aftermath of the James Harden blockbuster. Victor Oladipo, the most prominent player they acquired in the four-team swap, isn’t buying into that thinking, MacMahon writes at ESPN.com. Oladipo, who will be a free agent after the season, expressed optimism after his 32-point debut with the club on Monday. “I know that better days are ahead for the Houston Rockets, and I’m looking forward to being a part of those special days,” Oladipo said.
- The Pelicans re-signed Brandon Ingram to a five-year max contract in late November and ESPN’s Zach Lowe takes an in-depth look at Ingram’s development and desire for greatness. Ingram is averaging 23.3 PPG, 6.3 RPG and 5.1 APG this season.
Atlantic Notes: Embiid, Celtics, Nets, McCaw, Knicks
The Celtics and Sixers have, at times this season, found themselves shorthanded due to the NBA’s health and safety protocols, which have required a number of players on both teams to quarantine for positive COVID-19 tests or contact tracing. Heading into their games on Wednesday and Friday of this week, both teams should be a little closer to whole.
As Tim Bontemps of ESPN details, Sixers center Joel Embiid, who missed Saturday’s game due to a sore right knee, is expected to be good to go on Wednesday, per head coach Doc Rivers. And while Seth Curry didn’t practice today, he’s in the final stages of the health and safety protocols and hasn’t yet been ruled out for Wednesday’s game, per Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer (Twitter link).
Meanwhile, Celtics head coach Brad Stevens said today that Kemba Walker‘s knee responded “great” after his season debut on Monday, and he practiced in full today (Twitter link via Bontemps). Robert Williams, who has been cleared following a positive COVID-19 test earlier this month, also practiced today, per Stevens, and will be available on Wednesday.
Still, the Celtics aren’t at full strength yet. Jayson Tatum and Carsen Edwards both remain in the health and safety protocols and won’t play on Wednesday, though Stevens left the door open for Tatum to return as soon as Friday (Twitter link via Bontemps).
Here’s more from around the Atlantic:
- John Hollinger of The Athletic expects the Nets to take their time filling their open roster spots so as not to unnecessarily increase their projected luxury tax bill, which is already substantial. Hollinger also suggests that promoting Reggie Perry from his two-way contract would be a good way to fill one of those slots, since Perry – a 2020 second-round pick – would only count for the prorated rookie minimum for cap and tax purposes.
- Raptors guard Patrick McCaw hasn’t played at all this season as he continues to recover from knee surgery, and it doesn’t sound like he’s close to returning. Head coach Nick Nurse said on Monday that he hoped McCaw would be much further along by this point, but the recovery progress has been slow (Twitter link via Josh Lewenberg of TSN.ca).
- The Westchester Knicks – New York’s G League affiliate – issued a press release confirming the previously-reported hiring of Jaren Jackson Sr. as an assistant coach and announcing that Ryan Borges has been promoted to assistant general manager.
Nuggets’ Whittington Out At Least 4-6 Weeks After Knee Arthroscopy
Nuggets forward Greg Whittington underwent a successful knee arthroscopy on Tuesday morning, the team announced today in a press release. According to the Nuggets, Whittington will be re-evaluated in about four to six weeks.
Whittington, who went undrafted in 2015 out of Georgetown, has played in the G League and a handful of international leagues since then before getting a shot in Denver this past fall. He signed a two-way contract with the Nuggets in November, but has been unable to make his NBA debut so far due to his left knee issues.
The Nuggets have had relatively good luck so far this season when it comes to injuries and COVID-19, so even if Whittington had been healthy, there may not have been many opportunities for him yet. Fellow two-way player Markus Howard has logged just seven minutes across five games for Denver.
Players on two-way contracts are limited to being active for 50 of their team’s 72 games. Because Whittington will have missed more than 22 games by the time he gets healthy, the Nuggets will be able to activate him for any and every game down the stretch, if needed.
Raptors Waive Alex Len
The Raptors have waived veteran center Alex Len, the team announced today in a press release. The transaction opens up a spot on Toronto’s roster, leaving the club with 14 players on standard contracts and a pair on two-way deals.
The fifth overall pick in the 2013 draft, Len had only played in seven of the Raptors’ 13 games so far this season, and was averaging 2.3 PPG in 10.9 MPG — both marks were his lowest since his rookie season. With Chris Boucher enjoying a breakout year and Aron Baynes also in the mix, Len was third on the depth chart at center.
Although Len hadn’t been playing regular minutes for the Raptors as of late, it’s still a somewhat unexpected move, since he signed a guaranteed contract with the team in free agency less than two months ago.
The 27-year-old recently missed multiple games for personal reasons and was listed as out due to the NBA’s health and safety protocols on Monday, but there has been no indication that his release was related to his recent absence.
Len’s $2.258MM salary will remain on Toronto’s cap unless he’s claimed on waivers, which seems unlikely. Assuming he clears waivers, he’ll become an unrestricted free agent on Thursday afternoon and will be eligible to sign with any team.
The Raptors, meanwhile, won’t be required to fill their open roster spot, but could eventually use it to sign a veteran free agent, to accommodate a trade, or to promote two-way player Yuta Watanabe to the 15-man roster.
Kyrie Irving Practices With Nets, Expected To Play Wednesday
Nets guard Kyrie Irving, who hasn’t appeared in a game since January 5, returned to practice on Tuesday and is expected to be back in action on Wednesday when Brooklyn takes on the Cavaliers, head coach Steve Nash told reporters today (Twitter link via Ian Begley of SNY.tv).
Irving was required to quarantine for several days after violating the NBA’s health and safety protocols, and more recently has been going through workouts in an effort to get his conditioning level back to 100%. Before that, he had been away from the team on personal leave.
Asked today about his absence, the star point guard declined to go into much detail, telling the media – including Malika Andrews of ESPN (Twitter link) – that he’s had “a lot of family and personal stuff” going on during the last two weeks.
“I’m happy to be back, I’m happy to be with these guys,” Irving said, per Adam Zagoria of Forbes (Twitter link). “I addressed the team and ready to move on.”
Irving also apologized to the fans he disappointed by not playing, explaining that he “just needed a pause,” according to Andrews (Twitter link). He added that he’s excited about joining the Nets’ new-look lineup alongside James Harden, and is looking forward to letting his “game speak for itself.”
Assuming Irving returns to the court on Wednesday, it’ll be the first time we see Brooklyn’s new Big Three (Irving, Harden, and Kevin Durant) in action, as well as the first time Kyrie has played a game in Cleveland since October 17, 2017, as Marc Stein of The New York Times notes (Twitter link). A longtime Cavalier, Irving played in his first game for the Celtics on that date over three years ago.
Myles Turner Has Avulsion Fracture In Right Hand
1:06pm: The Pacers have issued an update on Turner, confirming in a press release that he has sustained an avulsion fracture in his right hand. However, the big man won’t require surgery and is being considered day-to-day for now.
While we still don’t know exactly when Turner will be back on the court, it sounds like he won’t miss much – if any – time. Head coach Nate Bjorkgren said that Turner participated in practice today, as J. Michael of The Indianapolis Star tweets.
As a point of reference, when Gordon Hayward suffered a similar injury during the preseason, he was good to go for the Hornets’ regular season opener just over a week later.
10:34am: Pacers center Myles Turner has been diagnosed with a slight fracture in his right hand and will be re-evaluated in the coming days, reports Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link). It’s not yet clear how much time he’ll miss.
Turner suffered the injury last Thursday in a game in Portland against the Trail Blazers. It appeared to happen on a dunk attempt with about five minutes left in the fourth quarter, as Scott Agness of Fieldhouse Files relays (video link). Turner was subsequently ruled out for Indiana’s game on Sunday vs. the Clippers.
Turner, 24, was off to a strong start this season, averaging 12.4 PPG, 6.8 RPG, 1.5 SPG, and a league-leading 4.2 BPG in 12 games (31.7 MPG). In his absence, Doug McDermott slid into the Pacers’ starting lineup on Sunday.
If Turner is forced to miss an extended period, he’ll become Indiana’s third key rotation player who is expected to remain on the shelf for the foreseeable future — T.J. Warren (foot surgery) and Caris LeVert (small mass in his kidney) have been ruled out indefinitely. On the plus side, Jeremy Lamb is reportedly close to making his season debut after being sidelined since last February as he recovers from an ACL tear.
Nets Notes: Harden, Durant, Kyrie, Allen, Prince
The superstar duo of James Harden and Kevin Durant has looked terrific in Harden’s first two games with the Nets, wins over Orlando and Milwaukee.
Durant has averaged 36.0 PPG in those two victories, while Harden has contributed 33.0 PPG, 13.0 APG, and 9.0 RPG. Their 138 combined points are the highest total since 1961 for any two teammates in their first two games with a franchise, according to Malika Andrews of ESPN.
Harden and Durant, of course, played together with the Thunder earlier in their respective NBA careers, and Nets coaches and management have said they’d lean on the two stars’ previous chemistry in the early going this season. As Andrews details, Harden believes the increased maturity level of the two former MVPs has helped them quickly reestablish that chemistry.
“We were young in Oklahoma City,” Harden said. “We are grown men now. We know what we want. We really know the game of basketball now. We are not those young guys that want to run around and just shoot and dunk all day. And then for me, I sit back and I know what player Kevin Durant is. He’s one of the best players to ever touch a basketball.”
While Durant said the Nets still have “room to improve,” he told reporters after Monday’s game that incorporating Harden into the lineup has been “pretty seamless,” per Andrews.
Here’s more on the Nets:
- Head coach Steve Nash said that Kyrie Irving will “hopefully” be available to return to the Nets’ lineup on Wednesday against Cleveland, tweets Andrews. Irving is back with the team and has been cleared from COVID-19 protocols, but is still ramping up his conditioning. “What you want to see is him to get some time in his legs so he’s more able to adapt back to playing,” Nash said.
- Asked on Monday if they would have pulled the trigger on the trade that brought Harden to Brooklyn if they were running the Nets, both Jarrett Allen and Taurean Prince admitted they would have, writes Brian Lewis of The New York Post. “Look at what happened with the Lakers, they did the same thing,” Allen said, referring to the Lakers’ 2019 acquisition of Anthony Davis. “The next year they went and got their ring. So take myself out of it, I’d love to stay in Brooklyn, but I understand in the opportunity like that you have to go do it.”
- Both Allen and Prince also said on Monday that while they understand the business side of the NBA, that understanding didn’t necessarily make it easier to be traded. “It was definitely rough on me,” Allen said, according to Lewis. “Even though you say it’s the business of basketball, it never makes it easier. But it’s the business and I had to move on.”
- In case you missed it on Monday, we relayed a report indicating that the Nets shopped Landry Shamet in an effort to avoid including Allen in the Harden blockbuster. We also passed along a series of NBA franchise valuations that estimate the Nets’ worth to be $3.4 billion, fourth-highest in the league.