And-Ones: Maldonado, Holmgren, Banchero, Fieldhouse
Team Dynasty Academy guard Emmanuel Maldonado has decided to sign with the Overtime Elite League, he announced on social media.
Maldonado, who stands at 6’4″, is the sixth player to sign with the league thus far, according to Jonathan Givony of ESPN (Twitter link). He’s also a candidate to represent Puerto Rico at the FIBA U19 World Cup in July.
The Overtime Elite league serves as an alternative pathway for players to turn pro. Top recruits Matt and Ryan Bewley became the first prospects to commit to the league last month, as we relayed in a separate story.
Here are some other odds and ends from around the basketball world:
- Top 2022 prospect Chet Holmgren has been named the Gatorade National Player of the Year, ESPN’s Myron Medcalf writes. Holmgren, a Gonzaga commit, averaged 20.8 points, 12.6 rebounds and 4.7 blocks last season for Minnehaha Academy. As Medcalf notes, LeBron James, Kobe Bryant and several other high-profile players have won the award in the past.
- Paolo Banchero is unable to join Italy for the Olympic Qualifying Tournament this summer, according to Emiliano Carchia of Sportando (Twitter links). Banchero, a Duke prospect, will reportedly miss the tournament due to school-related issues despite receiving his passport.
- Renovations are ongoing at Bankers Life Fieldhouse, home of the Pacers and the WNBA’s Fever, Scott Agness of FieldhouseFiles tweets. As a result, the Fever will be forced to play the remainder of their season at Indiana Farmers Coliseum — the original home of the ABA Pacers.
Atlantic Notes: Griffin, Stevens, Williams, Green
Nets big man Blake Griffin has been happy, healthy and productive since signing with the team in March, as NetsDaily.com details.
Griffin, an 11-year veteran, has averaged 6.8 points and 5.8 rebounds in 24.1 MPG through the team’s first eight playoff games, starting at center in every contest. He’s shot an impressive 52.5% from the floor and 37.5% from deep during those outings.
“Every time I talk to Blake, one of the things that always comes up is how much fun he’s having, playing in meaningful games and making an impact,” said Jeff Capel, Griffin’s college coach.
Griffin is seeking his first NBA championship, earning a starting role on a contending team at 32 years old. The Nets are currently tied with the Bucks 2-2 in the second round of the postseason.
There’s more from the Atlantic Division tonight:
- A. Sherrod Blakely of the Boston Sports Journal ponders whether Celtics fans will be ready to “trust the process” now that Brad Stevens is the team’s lead decision-maker. Boston dealt with numerous injury and COVID-19 issues this season, never getting a fair chance at developing chemistry and competing. The team finished with an underwhelming 36-36 record and lost to the Nets 4-1 in the first round.
- Justin Leger of NBC Sports Boston explores the factors that would go into a potential Robert Williams extension this offseason. Williams is eligible for a rookie scale extension after becoming the Celtics‘ top big man in the final stages of the season. He averaged 8.0 points and 6.9 rebounds in 18.9 minutes per game this year.
- The Sixers sent Danny Green home to Philadelphia to get treatment on his right calf strain, but hope to get him back around the team as quickly as possible due to his veteran leadership, head coach Doc Rivers said on Sunday (Twitter link via Kyle Neubeck of PhillyVoice.com). Of course, the team would love to welcome a healthy Green back on the court too, but he’s expected to miss at least two or three more weeks due to his calf injury.
Kyrie Irving Suffers Right Ankle Sprain
4:57pm: The X-rays on Irving’s ankle came back negative, head coach Steve Nash said, as relayed by ESPN’s Malika Andrews (Twitter link). He will undergo further treatment and testing for the injury. Rachel Nichols of ESPN reported that Irving left the arena in a walking boot and crutches.
3:53pm: Nets All-Star point guard Kyrie Irving severely rolled his right ankle when he landed on the foot of Bucks All-Star forward Giannis Antetokounmpo during a floater attempt during the second quarter of Game 4 of their second-round series on Sunday.
Malika Andrews of ESPN tweets that Irving will miss the second half of a crucial contest in Milwaukee. The Nets lead the series 2-1, as of this writing.
Irving joins fellow All-Star ball handler James Harden among the growing list of injured Nets as these playoffs continue. Harden remains sidelined with a right hamstring strain that kept him out of 18 games during the regular season and has kept him out of all but 43 seconds of this Bucks series.
The recovery timelines for Irving and Harden are currently murky, though Nets head coach Steve Nash said ahead of today’s game that Harden was “progressing in the right direction,” per Malika Andrews of ESPN. Nash stated that Harden has moved on to on-court workouts and shooting drills.
“When he’s able to get up to full speed and do it for two or three days without recurrence or setback … then I think that’s kind of the marker,” he said of establishing a recovery timeline.
Reserve point guard Mike James started in the place of Irving during the game’s second half. Another second-half starting adjustment came from head coach Steve Nash in the form of forward Jeff Green getting the nod ahead of shooting guard Bruce Brown, to provide more two-way firepower around incumbent starters Joe Harris (now the nominal starting shooting guard) and Blake Griffin (center), plus lone remaining healthy Nets All-Star Kevin Durant.
Rachel Nichols of ESPN tweets that Nash suggested to his team during the halftime break that the club would need to compensate for Irving’s scoring “by committee.”
Clippers Notes: All-Star Duo, PG-13, Jackson, Jazz Series
Clippers All-Star forwards Kawhi Leonard and Paul George are starting to exhibit their full potential as a tandem in these playoffs, writes Mark Medina of USA Today. The two stars made key contributions on both sides of the ball in the Clippers’ victory over the Jazz at the Staples Center yesterday to improve their second-round series record to just 2-1 in favor of Utah.
“They are two of the best in the league,” Clippers head coach Tyronn Lue said last night of Leonard and George. “I don’t go to Mastro’s (an upscale L.A. restaurant) to order a ketchup. I go there to order a steak. And tonight, our guys want steak.”
Medina notes that both players have improved their scoring efficiency and remained healthier than they did last season. A lot is riding on how the Clippers fare in the playoffs this year. Leonard is anticipated to decline his $36MM player option for the 2021/22 season and sign a new long-term deal with the club this summer, while George inked a four-year, $190MM extension with L.A. during the 2020 offseason. Medina wonders if Leonard may reconsider or George may become a trade candidate should the Clippers flame out in the postseason for the second consecutive season.
There’s more out of Los Angeles:
- George’s terrific three-point shooting in the first half helped spark a crucial 132-106 Clippers victory over the Jazz on Saturday night, writes Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN. He connected on four triples in the first half and shot 6-of-10 from deep overall.
- Clippers starting point guard Reggie Jackson has evolved into a reliable third scoring option during this postseason, writes Royce Young of ESPN. The 31-year-old’s three-point shooting and ball handling have helped open up scoring options for stars George and Leonard. Across 10 playoff games thus far, Jackson is averaging 16.3 PPG (on 48.3% shooting from the floor), 2.8 RPG, and 2.7 APG in 29.3 MPG. Jackson appears to have outplayed the $1.6MM veteran’s minimum contract he inked with the club during the 2020 offseason, when he was slated to be a reserve behind original starting point guard Patrick Beverley, who is scheduled to earn $14.3MM in 2021/22, his age-33 season.
- With the Clippers securing a pivotal Game 3 win Saturday against the top-seeded Jazz, the team may have found a method for winning the whole series, writes Tony Jones of The Athletic. L.A.’s switch-everything defense and impressively effective offensive shot diet made for one of the club’s best games this postseason, Jones writes.
Jeff Green Available For Nets
1:32pm: Green will be available to play for the Nets in Game 4 of their second-round matchup against the Bucks this afternoon, tweets Malika Andrews of ESPN. Andrews notes that Green will be suiting up for the first time since the second game in Brooklyn’s first-round contest against the Celtics on May 25.
1:22pm: Nets forward Jeff Green, still dealing with a left plantar fascia strain, will be a game-time decision for this afternoon’s crucial Game 4 contest against the Bucks, tweets Vincent Goodwill of Yahoo Sports. The Nets lead the series 2-1.
The 6’8″ tweener forward has been an effective role player for the Nets this season, averaging 11.0 PPG, 3.9 RPG, and 1.6 APG during 27.0 MPG. He boasted a slash line of .492/.412/.776. Across the Nets’ first two games in the postseason, Green averaged 4.5 PPG, 2.0 RPG, and 1.5 APG over 19.3 MPG.
Per Goodwill, Brooklyn head coach Steve Nash indicated that Green would need to successfully complete his pregame warmups and get a green light from team physicians before he’d be able to take the floor.
Brooklyn is of course still missing guards James Harden, out with a right hamstring strain for the third straight game, and Spencer Dinwiddie, recovering from a partially-torn ACL incurred during the first week of the 2020/21 regular season. Word recently surfaced that Dinwiddie still hopes to return to the floor for Brooklyn at some point during the playoffs, possibly during the NBA Finals.
Northwest Notes: Conley, Micic, Beasley, Newman-Beck
The Game 3 loss to the Clippers showed that the Jazz will likely need Mike Conley to win the series, writes Christopher Kamrani of The Athletic. Conley hasn’t played since suffering a strained hamstring on June 2 in the first round against Memphis.
Conley has experienced hamstring issues throughout the season, Kamrani adds, and the Jazz avoided playing him on back-to-back nights to minimize the risk of a serious injury. Utah was able to beat L.A. twice at home without its All-Star point guard, but it will be tough to close out the series without him on the court.
Before Game 3 on Saturday night, Jazz coach Quin Snyder dismissed the notion that Conley was being kept on the sidelines because his team had a 2-0 lead.
“It has nothing to do with us feeling any form of accomplishment, having won a couple of games. Mike’s not ready to go yet,” Snyder said. “He’s working hard every day to try to get back. But, in no way are we feeling even some small form of success. Obviously, you’re glad you won a couple of games, but seeing we lost Game 1 against Memphis last series, and the Clippers obviously lost against Dallas and then won the series — we know how difficult a series this is going to be. And when Mike’s ready, he’ll be back.”
There’s more from the Northwest Division:
- The Thunder own the draft rights to Vasilije Micic, who was named MVP of the EuroLeague last month, but a decision on his NBA future will have to wait a few weeks, according to Joe Mussatto of The Oklahoman. The 27-year-old Serbian point guard may be ready to consider the NBA this summer, but Oklahoma City isn’t willing to commit a roster spot until after the July 29 draft, when it could have two picks in the top five. Micic is much older than the Thunder’s core and the team is already set at point guard, so his draft rights could become a valuable trade asset, Mussatto adds.
- Timberwolves guard Malik Beasley, who is serving a 120-day jail sentence for a gun incident last year, posted a letter to fans on his Instagram account this week, relays Jeff Wald of Fox 9. “I’m not looking for sympathy or anything like that, just to understand I could easily fold and I won’t,” Beasley wrote.
- The Timberwolves won’t bring back Sam Newman-Beck as head coach of their G League affiliate in Iowa, tweets NBA writer Dane Moore. Newman-Beck was hired at the same time as former Wolves coach Ryan Saunders, but coach Chris Finch wants to build a new coaching staff all the way to the G League.
Nets Notes: Durant, Griffin, Harris, Game 4
Two significant anniversaries occurred this week for Nets star Kevin Durant, notes Jerry Brewer of The Washington Post. Thursday marked two years since he suffered a ruptured Achilles tendon during the 2019 NBA Finals, and Saturday was the second anniversary of his surgery.
Durant has made a full recovery after sitting out last season and has returned to his spot among the NBA’s elite players. He’s averaging 30.3 points and 8.0 rebounds in the first three games of the Eastern Conference semifinals, and his Brooklyn team is favored to capture its first NBA title.
“Yeah, it’s really hard to tell the difference,” coach Steve Nash said. “He’s not only executing at that level, but he’s able to play the minutes and able to sustain such a high level of efficiency. So it’s hard to say that he has any dip at this point. And his game has picked up as we go.
“He’s gotten more reps, more comfort, especially defensively and on the boards. … When you’re a player that hasn’t played for a long time and you’re a scorer like that, you’re going to focus on trying to get that back first. So he did that, and then he started to pick up the other parts of his game. So it’s very difficult to distinguish him now opposed to before the surgery.”
There’s more on the Nets:
- The toughest defensive assignment of the second round has been given to Blake Griffin, who is charged with slowing down Giannis Antetokounmpo, writes Paul Schwartz of The New York Post. The two-time MVP scored 33 points in Game 3, but he shot just 14 of 31 from the field and was 1 of 8 from three-point range as Griffin gave him plenty of space to shoot from outside. “I know he’s got points here and there,” Griffin said, “he had points in the last game, but we’re just trying to make it tough on him.”
- Joe Harris called it “a shooter’s dream” to be surrounded by so much offensive talent in Brooklyn, and Ian O’Connor of The New York Post looks at how he has benefited from the presence of his Big Three teammates.
- Today’s Game 4 in Milwaukee will be a chance for the Nets to prove that they’re really a great team, O’Connor contends in a separate piece. He states that Brooklyn needs to bounce back from the Game 3 loss, just as it did after Jayson Tatum‘s 50-point outburst when the Celtics won Game 3 in the first round.
Donovan Mitchell Leaves With Sore Ankle, Says He’ll Be OK For Game 4
Jazz star Donovan Mitchell had to leave Saturday’s game midway through the fourth quarter because of pain in his right ankle, but he says it won’t keep him out of Game 4, writes Tim MacMahon of ESPN.
Mitchell has been dealing with discomfort throughout the playoffs after suffering an ankle sprain that forced him to miss the last 16 games of the regular season. It hasn’t affected his performance, though, as he has averaged 32.2 points per game during the postseason, including 30 in Saturday’s loss.
“It’s when I land,” he told reporters after the game. “It’s been just trying to manage it. I don’t really know what else to tell you; I don’t want to say too much. It was just the landing, but I’m good. I’ll be ready for Game 4.”
Mitchell limped toward the locker room with 7:05 left in the quarter, then returned to the sidelines and talked to coach Quin Snyder. Mitchell said he could have returned to the game, but the score had gotten out of hand and a decision was made not to risk further injury.
Snyder confirmed that Mitchell would have been able to play if the game had remained close.
“He’s in good shape,” Snyder said. “He could have gone back in the game, but at that point, the lead had stretched. In fact, while we were talking, I think Kawhi (Leonard) hit a 3. That was my decision not to put him back in at that point. The game had gotten away from us at that point, but he’s fine.”
Instead, Mitchell watched the final few minutes with ice on his ankle. Even with the loss, the Jazz are up 2-1 in the Western Conference semifinal series and have a chance to take a commanding lead with a victory in Monday’s Game 4.
“Obviously, it’s not going to be 100 percent, but you go out there and you try to compete,” Mitchell said. “Things like this are going to happen. You just got to find ways to manage it and get out there and get ready. It’s not going to be perfect, but it is what it is.”
And-Ones: Nets Security, Zipser, Mannion, Mozgov, TBT
A Nets security official who made contact with Bucks forward P.J. Tucker during a Game 3 skirmish has been barred by the NBA from working any more games in Milwaukee for the rest of the series, according to Joe Vardon, Eric Nehm and Alex Schiffer of The Athletic. The official, Antjuan Lambert, also won’t be allowed at courtside during the games in Brooklyn.
Lambert is employed by the team, but he has also been working for Kevin Durant since the star forward signed with Brooklyn in 2019. When Durant had an altercation with Tucker in the third quarter of Game 3, Lambert intervened and bumped into Tucker.
“In the heat of the moment you know people are coming to de-escalate things and try to get things under control and not bump and escalate and have things become a problem than what we’re trying to address or de-escalate,” Milwaukee coach Mike Budenholzer said. “And, in the 24-48 hours since, if it’s a Nets security guy and he’s bumping our player and things like that, that doesn’t seem like that’s the protocol and what we’d expect from any type of security.”
Here are more odds and ends from around the basketball world:
- Former Bulls forward Paul Zipser had to undergo emergency surgery for a brain hemorrhage this week, writes Emiliano Carchia of Sportando. Zipser is now playing for FC Bayern in Germany.
- Warriors guard Nico Mannion will be part of the Italian team for the upcoming Olympic qualifying tournament in Belgrade, notes Ennio Terrasi Borghesan of Sportando. Duke prospect Paolo Banchero, who received an Italian passport several months ago, hasn’t made a final decision on whether he’ll join Mannion.
- Former NBA center Timofey Mozgov is expected to represent Russia in its upcoming Olympic qualifying tournament, Borghesan adds in a separate piece. Injuries limited Mozgov to six games this season for his Khimki team, but he recently returned to action.
- Veteran NBA big man Amir Johnson will participate in The Basketball Tournament this summer, tweets J.D. Shaw of Hoops Rumors. Also playing will be Bruno Caboclo, who appeared in six games for the Rockets this season (Twitter link).
Clippers Notes: Rivers, George, Batum, Ibaka
This year’s condensed season offered little time to rest between games and was played under the threat of pandemic postponements, but the consensus among players and coaches is that it was much easier than the restart last summer in Orlando, writes Mark Medina of USA Today. Former Clippers coach Doc Rivers called it “1,000 times worse” to be stuck for weeks at the Disney World complex.
“Half the players didn’t want to be there,” said Rivers, whose L.A. team squandered a 3-1 lead in the second round last year. “The bubble almost depended on the teams that committed to being there and teams that didn’t. I had a team that obviously was not happy with being in the bubble.”
Clippers forward Paul George spoke for most of the players when he talked about the difficulties of being confined to a strange environment. Players had to remain on a limited portion of the Disney campus and had little contact with the outside world for fear of bringing COVID-19 into the environment.
“This year has been easier because I have outlets,” George said. “I’m able to live a normal life. I can go home. I can see my family, spend time with my family and interact with people outside of this team. That alone has been a big difference to be back to some normalcy.”
There’s more from Los Angeles:
- The Clippers are facing a 2-0 series deficit just as they did in the first round, but the Jazz may be tougher to overcome, suggests Mark Medina of USA Today. No team has ever been able to climb out of multiple 0-2 holes in the same postseason, and the top-seeded Jazz are a much deeper team than the Mavericks squad that L.A. defeated in the first round. “They weren’t ranked No. 1 in the West for no reason. This is a tough team. But we’re approaching this the same way Dallas was,” George said. “As good as they’re playing and as tough as this matchup is, we still feel like there’s moments throughout this game and this series that we’re making plays that are self inflicted. It’s a lot of uphill. But we’re optimistic that we can get this under control.”
- For tonight’s Game 3, the Clippers are reverting to the smaller lineup that was successful against Dallas, tweets Chris Mannix of Sports Illustrated. Nicolas Batum was back in the starting five, with Ivica Zubac coming off the bench.
- In case you missed it, Serge Ibaka will miss the rest of the playoffs after undergoing season-ending surgery on his back.