Suns Notes: Paul, Jones, Sarver, Ayton
Suns guard Chris Paul suffered a right shoulder contusion during the team’s Game 1 victory over the Lakers on Sunday, but he was able to return to the game and later expressed optimism about his status going forward.
Speaking to reporters after the game (video link via The Arizona Republic), Paul downplayed the injury, declaring that he’ll “be all right.” Asked about whether he thinks he’ll be available to play in Game 2, the veteran point guard replied, “Absolutely.”
Here’s more on the Suns:
- In a feature for Sports Illustrated, Rohan Nadkarni takes a closer look at how Suns general manager James Jones turned a perennial lottery team into a legit contender just two years after assuming control of the team’s front office. “You know, we talk about ceilings a lot, but the first goal was to raise the floor,” Jones said of his approach to building the roster. “I wanted us to stay grounded. It was important not to get far ahead of ourselves and have our guys thinking so far in advance. You take one step at a time, and every time you take a step you raise the floor.”
- Speaking to Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic, Suns owner Robert Sarver admitted that this year’s team exceeded his expectations. Sarver said the team entered the season hoping to vie for a top-four seed in the West, which he viewed “a challenging goal, but obtainable.” Phoenix finished with the NBA’s second-best record.
- Former No. 1 pick Deandre Ayton tells Shams Charania of The Athletic that he wants “to be certified as the best young two-way center who’s ever played the game.” However, with the Suns pushing for a title this season, Ayton – who averaged a career-low 14.4 PPG in 2020/21 – has been happy to take a step back on offense and play the role the team has asked of him. “Me playing like this, changing my play style and sacrificing certain things that I’m known for, that’s fine. Once it’s with winning, I’m perfectly fine,” Ayton said. “Everybody can eat, everybody is OK. I’m perfectly fine with it. I’m just a competitor, man, I love to compete and play with my teammates and love to be coached. Knowing what I do and what I sacrifice leads to wins, I’m happy.”
Celtics’ G League Affiliate Changing Name
The Maine Red Claws will be rebranded for the 2021/22 season. The Celtics announced today that their G League affiliate will no longer be called the Maine Red Claws and will instead be known as the Maine Celtics going forward.
The team previously known as the Red Claws has been affiliated with the Celtics since 2012. However, Boston and Maine only had a hybrid affiliation for several years before the Celtics purchased the G League team outright in 2019. Maine had been one of the last independently owned NBAGL franchises before becoming the 26th club to be owned by an NBA team.
“When we purchased the Maine franchise in 2019, we immediately made that organization a part of our family,” Celtics president Rich Gotham said in a statement today. “The decision to rename the team to ‘Maine Celtics’ is the next step in that evolution, and a nod to our diehard fan base, which extends throughout the great start of Maine.”
It has become increasingly common for an NBA franchise to rebrand its G League team by giving it the same nickname as its parent club. The Nets, Clippers, Knicks, Magic, Spurs, Raptors, Lakers, Suns, Kings, and Bulls all share their nicknames with their respective G League teams, while the Timberwolves’ NBAGL affiliate is known as the Wolves.
The Maine Celtics’ new logo can be seen right here.
Northwest Notes: Mitchell, Wolves, Thunder, Nuggets
Donovan Mitchell declared himself ready to return on Sunday from the ankle sprain that has sidelined him since April 16, but the Jazz disagreed with the All-Star’s assessment, ruling him out for Game 1.
As Tim MacMahon of ESPN tweets, Jazz head coach Quin Snyder explained before the game that the team’s medical staff met with Mitchell after shootaround and decided to hold him out. Snyder acknowledged that Mitchell wasn’t thrilled with the decision, MacMahon adds.
The last-minute change of plans also left Mitchell’s teammates confused, writes Eric Walden of The Salt Lake Tribune. Rudy Gobert said he was “surprised” to wake up from his nap and find out that Mitchell wasn’t playing, while Bojan Bogdanovic was unsure about the reason for the decision.
“I mean, I don’t know what happened, honestly, with the decision for him and the medical staff to keep him out,” Bogdanovic said. “You should ask him.”
The decision figures to face increased scrutiny due to the fact that the Jazz lost Game 1 to the Grizzlies on Sunday night. However, the good news is that Game 2 won’t take place until Wednesday, giving Mitchell two days before Utah returns to the court. It would be surprising if the 24-year-old remains active for that game — late on Sunday night, he tweeted, “Sorry y’all… I wish I could say more…. I’ll be out there soon!”
Here are a few more Northwest notes:
- Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic identifies five challenges facing the Timberwolves as their offseason begins, including filling out Chris Finch‘s staff, addressing a hole in the frontcourt, and determining Malik Beasley‘s role going forward.
- Spenser Davis of Daily Thunder passes along three key takeaways from Thunder GM Sam Presti‘s end-of-season press conference. Presti indicated that he expects Oklahoma City’s rebuild to take some time and told reporters that he’d be open to moving either up or down in the draft, depending on where the Thunder’s picks land.
- Mark Kiszla of The Denver Post contends that the Nuggets are already approaching must-win territory in Game 2 of their first-round series after dropping Game 1 to Portland.
Western Notes: Booker, Paul, Curry, Muscala
Suns star Devin Booker is ready to produce in the playoffs after Phoenix’s six-year postseason drought, Duane Rankin of the Arizona Republic writes.
“It’s been a long journey since I’ve been here,” Booker said. “A full six years to get to this point and I know it’s been even longer for the city of Phoenix and this organization to get to this point. So I don’t want to take these opportunities for granted. We gave the fans what they wanted with a playoff berth and now, we want to give them even more of what they asked for.”
Booker is looking to create something special in Phoenix, finishing with 34 points, seven rebounds and eight assists in a Game 1 victory over the Lakers on Sunday. The team will host Game 2 on Tuesday.
There’s more out of the Western Conference tonight:
- Suns guard Chris Paul sustained a right shoulder contusion in the club’s game against the Lakers, the team announced (Twitter link). Paul appeared to be in significant pain before exiting for the locker room. He later returned for a brief stint, exited again and returned to finish the game. With Phoenix up 1-0 in the series, it’s an injury to monitor as the team looks to take a 2-0 lead this week.
- The Warriors owe Stephen Curry more next season, says Marcus Thompson II of The Athletic. Golden State failed to make the playoffs despite an excellent season from Curry, who averaged a league-best 32 points per game on 48% shooting from the floor and 42% shooting from deep.
- Joe Mussatto of The Oklahoman examines why veteran big man Mike Muscala wanted to stay with the Thunder this season. Oklahoma City shut down Muscala and teammate Al Horford to focus on its young core late in the season, but Muscala had no interest in leaving the team. “I’m going to get a little emotional probably,” he said as part of a larger quote. “But coming to OKC, it was just like — I’m grateful for it, and it helped me a lot as a man and as a player.”
Atlantic Notes: Payton, Celtics, Barrett, Rivers
The Knicks still have some doubters to prove wrong in the playoffs this year, according to guard Elfrid Payton, as relayed by Alex Kennedy of BasketballNews.com. Payton, who started 63 games for New York this season, averaged 10.1 points, 3.2 assists and 23.6 minutes per contest. This will be his first playoff stint.
“I think we match up well against them,” Payton said of the team’s first-round opponents, the Hawks. “They have a lot of weapons over there, a lot of guys who can shoot the three; John Collins is playing well, (Clint) Capela is a force inside and they’ve got a good bench with Lou Will and (Danilo) Gallinari.
“I think we’re just a little bit deeper and a little bit more physical, and that’s going to make it tough for them. As far as the preparation, it’s been crazy. It’s my first playoffs, so… It’s kinda what I expected, but having so much time off, we were able to really dive into a lot of film and a lot of their tendencies.”
Here are some other notes from the Atlantic Division tonight:
- The Celtics are increasing their crowd capacity for Game 3 against the Nets on Friday, according to Chris Mannix of Sports Illustrated (Twitter link). Boston will be at “near full” capacity for Game 4, which is set to commence next Sunday.
- Knicks guard RJ Barrett revealed an interesting game plan for guarding Hawks star Trae Young, as Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News details. Barrett believes his team is better off forcing Young to score instead of making plays for his teammates (he averaged 25.3 points and 9.4 assists per game this season).
- Sixers head coach Doc Rivers has turned his star-studded team into winners, Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer writes. Rivers holds several years of coaching experience and memorably guided the Celtics to a championship in 2008. He was also named the NBA’s Coach of the Year with Orlando in 2000.
Southeast Notes: Hornets, Heat, Theis, Clifford
Hornets general manager Mitch Kupchak recently discussed a variety of topics related to his team, including free agency, head coach James Borrego, LaMelo Ball and more.
Charlotte (33-39) managed to reach the play-in tournament despite coping with several injuries this season, but lost to Indiana by a score of 144-117. Still, Kupchak believes the Hornets are on the rise and should appeal to free agents this summer.
“I think free agents around the league look at the pace we play, and players want to play that way. I think we have a player’s coach,” Kupchak said, as relayed by Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer. “And if (free agents) remember why (Ball) is so much fun to play with — his ability to pass — I don’t know why players wouldn’t want to come here to play with him.”
There’s more from the Southeast Division:
- The Heat have increased their crowd capacity to 17,000 fans for the postseason, Anthony Chiang of the Miami Herald writes. For now, that number is believed to be the highest capacity of all 16 playoff teams. Miami will host Milwaukee in Game 3 on Thursday and Game 4 on Saturday.
- The Hornets may have interest this offseason in free-agent-to-be Daniel Theis, Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer tweets. Theis figures to be one of many frontcourt targets for Charlotte this summer, as Kupchak recently admitted that he could see the team signing more than one center.
- Mike Bianchi of the Orlando Sentinel makes the case for why the Magic should offer head coach Steve Clifford a contract extension. Clifford is set to oversee a rebuild centered around the likes of Markelle Fultz, Jonathan Isaac, and Wendell Carter Jr.
Donovan Mitchell To Miss Game 1 Against Grizzlies
Jazz star Donovan Mitchell will miss Sunday’s Game 1 against the Grizzlies despite being cleared to return earlier in the day, the team announced (Twitter link). Mitchell is recovering from a sprained ankle.
“I’m ready to go tonight,” Mitchell said after the team’s shootaround. “No pain. I’m excited to get going.”
Mitchell has missed over a month due to the injury and was cleared for full practice last Thursday. While he declared himself ready to return to action, it seems the team has decided to hold him out a little longer.
“There’s always going to be soreness when you come back from an injury like this,” Mitchell acknowledged. “There are things that haven’t been activated in five weeks, but I feel good.”
Mitchell averaged 26.4 points, 4.4 rebounds and 5.2 assists per game in a career-best season this year. Despite his late-season absence, Utah still finished with the best record in the league at 52-20 and has games against Memphis on Wednesday, Saturday and next Monday in the series.
Texas Notes: Tate, Silas, DeRozan, Doncic
Rockets wing Jae’Sean Tate enjoyed being able to hone his raw defensive promise at the pro level in his rookie season, writes Kelly Iko of The Athletic.
“If you pay attention to later in the season,” Tate told Iko, “I started to play without my hands and try to beat (players he was guarding) to the spot. I think my angles have improved tremendously since the beginning of the season, just picking my angles and how to cut people off.”
Iko notes that Rockets head coach Stephen Silas has entrusted a variety of defensive assignments across a variety of positions to the 6’4″ Tate, who ranks in the top 97th percentile of league players in his ability to guard all of the NBA’s positions.
“I’ve been grateful enough to be able to play different positions throughout this year,” Tate said of his positional versatility for the depleted Rockets this season. “And for them to give me that freedom to play point guard — I played a little bit a point guard (in the past) but to actually start at the one certain games and be the floor general where I got other younger players telling me to lead us out there — that was a big eye-opener for me because I’ve never been in a position like that.”
There’s more out of the Lone Star State:
- Despite a lackluster season in Houston that will send the 17-55 Rockets to their first lottery appearance in years, new head coach Stephen Silas still has the approval of owner Tilman Fertitta, writes Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle.
- As Spurs guard DeMar DeRozan enters free agency, he is amenable to testing the market, writes Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express-News. The 32-year-old vet, a four-time All-Star during his time with the Raptors, acknowledged his appreciation for the three years he has spent in San Antonio. “It’s definitely an honor to play for this organization,” DeRozan said when the club’s season officially concluded this week. “Everything they did for me and how they treated me, it was definitely A1.”
- Mavericks All-Star guard Luka Doncic and his team are applying lessons learned during last season’s Orlando “bubble” playoffs for Dallas’ second consecutive first-round matchup with the Clippers, writes Brad Townsend of the Dallas Morning News. “I think last year helped this year,” said Mavericks forward Dorian Finney-Smith. “When the game goes down to the wire, we know we’ve got to get that one more stop or that one more rebound.” With Doncic and fellow prime Dallas scorer Kristaps Porzingis going cold in the fourth quarter, Doncic knew to turn to the team’s role players to help ice a Game 1 victory over the Clippers.
Pacers Notes: Warren, McConnell, Bjorkgren, Stanley
Pacers forward T.J. Warren, who missed all but four games this season due to a stress fracture in his left foot, discussed his lost 2020/21 season, as Scott Agness of Fieldhouse Files details. “I just know it can’t storm forever and the sun has to come out,” Warren said of his extended rehab process. Warren has one year and $12.9MM remaining on his current contract after this season.
Warren also had harsh words in response to a report claiming that he was had requested a trade because he was at odds with embattled head coach Nate Bjorkgren.
“Seeing that report was really, really terrible,” Warren said, adding that Bjorkgren has been “nothing but a great guy” since becoming the Pacers’ head coach. “Not cool.”
There’s more out of Indianapolis:
- Pacers reserve point guard T.J. McConnell appears hopeful about returning to Indiana as he reaches unrestricted free agency during the 2021 offseason, tweets J. Michael of the Indianapolis Star. “I would love to be back here,” McConnell said. “I absolutely love it here. … I don’t have a bad thing to say about anything or anyone.” McConnell signed a two-year, $7MM deal with Indiana in the summer of 2019.
- The Pacers are not expected to make an immediate decision on the future of head coach Nate Bjorkgren, writes Scott Agness of Fieldhouse Files. A report detailing locker room tensions surfaced earlier this month that appeared to put Bjorkgren’s long-term fate in doubt. “My focus is on the players right now,” Bjorkgren himself responded when asked about the situation earlier this week. “And I’m not thinking about myself, I’m really not. I want to do what’s best for these guys.” The Pacers lost Thursday’s play-in game to slide out of the postseason and into the lottery during Bjorkgren’s first season at the helm.
- Following his rookie season, Pacers first-year shooting guard Cassius Stanley will play in the Summer League, scheduled for this August in Las Vegas, tweets Agness.
NBA Remains Interested In Midseason Tournament
After the new play-in tournament proved to be something of a ratings bonanza this week, the NBA appears hopeful that it can come to an agreement with the National Basketball Players’ Association about creating a midseason tournament, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.
Woj reports that NBA commissioner Adam Silver thinks the league will be able to convince the rest of the Board of Governors (comprising Silver, the owners of all 30 teams, and their representatives) to bring the concept to a vote down the road. The midseason tournament idea had previously not made it to the voting stage when it was considered before the pandemic.
Two-thirds of team owners would need to support the measure for it to be enacted. The earliest a midseason tournament could be implemented now would be the 2022/23 season.
Silver believes a midseason tournament will be able to help keep fans invested during a lengthy regular season that has sometimes struggled to maintain interest ahead of the playoffs. The original proposal also included a pitch to reduce the NBA regular season from 82 games to 78 in order to accommodate a midseason competition.
Previously, the league had been looking to model its midseason tournament around the structure that European football currently uses. The NBA was considering an eight-game single-elimination competition. Each player on the victorious squad would be rewarded with a $1MM payout, under this original proposal.