Eastern Notes: LeVert, Simmons, Embiid, Lamb, Bulls
With Kevin Durant set to return on Sunday and Kyrie Irving potentially returning next week, Nets head coach Steve Nash has to figure out what to do with Caris LeVert, Brian Lewis of the New York Post writes. Durant had been sidelined due to the league’s health and safety protocols, while Irving continues to miss time due to personal reasons.
LeVert, widely considered to be the team’s third-best offensive option behind its star duo, has averaged 18.1 points and six assists in 27.2 minutes per game this season. The 26-year-old recently acknowledged that it’s easier to get into sync as a starter, though he hasn’t been given a consistent role to date.
“Yeah, the roles are definitely different when those guys are playing,” LeVert said, naming Irving and Durant. “Yeah, I think so. But for me, just working off the ball is definitely something I’ve worked on a lot this offseason, playing off of players, playing off the ball, playing that 2-man spot, that 3-man spot. That’s where I’ve really improved, and as the season progresses, I’ll be able to show that.”
Here are some other notes from the Eastern Conference tonight:
- Sixers star Ben Simmons will miss Monday’s game against the Hawks due to a knee injury, Shams Charania of The Athletic tweets. He’ll continue receiving treatment and be listed as day-to-day going forward. Meanwhile, star center Joel Embiid (back soreness) is listed as probable, according to ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne (Twitter link).
- Pacers guard Jeremy Lamb will travel with the team on its upcoming road trip, Michael McCleary of the Indianapolis Star writes. Lamb, who’s recently been a full-practice participant, suffered a torn ACL in February of 2020, with head coach Nate Bjorkgren waiting for the “green light” to play him. “He’s getting close,” Bjorkgren said, “he’s getting very close to playing.” Indiana has upcoming games against the Kings on Monday, Warriors on Tuesday, Blazers on Thursday and Suns on Saturday.
- The Bulls are hoping to return several protocol-impacted players soon, Rob Schaefer of NBC Sports Chicago writes. As Schaefer notes, Chandler Hutchison, Tomas Satoransky, Lauri Markkanen and Ryan Arcidiacono haven’t been active in almost two weeks. “There’s nothing normal,” head coach Billy Donovan said. “Guys are pretty much just locked up in their rooms, there’s very very little anybody can do. The days are long for these guys. It’s just a lot different.”
Bogdan Bogdanovic Suffers Fractured Knee
Hawks guard Bogdan Bogdanovic has sustained an avulsion fracture in his right knee, along with associated soft tissue inflammation and a bone bruise, the team announced in a press release. The fourth-year guard underwent an MRI earlier today.
Bogdanovic suffered the injury during the second quarter of Saturday’s game against Charlotte, later being listed as “doubtful” to return. He was ruled out a short time later.
While a recovery timeline for Bogdanovic has yet to be announced, an extended absence seems likely. His treatment plan will be reviewed and updated later this week, the team said.
Bogdanovic, 28, has averaged 9.9 points, 3.8 rebounds and 23.7 minutes per game this season, shooting 38.5% from the floor and 36% from deep in nine contests. He signed a four-year, $72MM offer sheet to join the Hawks in free agency after spending his first three seasons with Sacramento.
One of several veteran free agents signed by Atlanta in the fall, Bogdanovic has now joined most of his fellow newcomers on the injury list. Kris Dunn (ankle), Danilo Gallinari (ankle), and Rajon Rondo (knee) are also out.
Atlanta has upcoming games scheduled against the Sixers on Monday and Suns on Wednesday. The team currently holds a 4-5 record through nine contests, having dropped four straight games.
Atlantic Notes: Rivers, Durant, Irving, Fall, Knicks
Knicks guard Austin Rivers shined light on the importance of having available players this season, particularly as the league continues to navigate through a pandemic.
New York has mostly received good luck with COVID-19, while several teams (including the Heat and Celtics, who saw their game be postponed on Sunday) are unable to say the same. It’s a major reason why the team has a 5-4 record through the first nine contests of the season.
“The number one skill is availability,” Rivers said, as relayed by Steve Popper of Newsday. “If we can remain doing the things that we’re supposed to do — a lot of it has to do with just bad luck and good luck in terms of getting it. Some guys aren’t taking all the precautions. It’s a crazy thing. Some people touch something and end up getting it.
“With that being aside, if we do our job and we remain available, it gives us a chance to win every night and it gives us an advantage because you see a lot of teams having star players [out]. Just saw Tatum today with Boston go down. You get to see some of these teams missing some of their guys and if we’re fully loaded, it just gives us another advantage. So we’ve got to try to do our part.”
There’s more from the Atlantic Division tonight:
- Nets superstar Kevin Durant (health and safety protocols) will be available to play today against the Thunder, the team announced on social media. Star guard Kyrie Irving will miss another game due to personal reasons. A Nets win would give them a 6-5 record, while Oklahoma City is seeking its third straight victory.
- Celtics center Tacko Fall has shown the team he’s ready for an increased role, Jared Weiss of The Athletic writes. Fall, 25, finished with four points, eight rebounds and three blocks off the bench in the team’s victory against Washington on Friday, logging 19 minutes. “Tacko’s gotten better since the first day that he got here,” teammate Jaylen Brown said. “He’s gotten better. His body has improved. His timing has improved. And he’s ready, as you’ve seen today. He came out, had a great game for us, defended, protected the rim, did everything we asked for, and that was just his first game. I think it’s only going to get better the more opportunity he gets.”
- The Knicks have hired Nick Restifo to manage coaching analytics, according to Mike Vorkunov of The Athletic (Twitter link). Restifo worked with head coach Tom Thibodeau in Minnesota as a basketball operations assistant, Vorkunov notes.
And-Ones: G League, Allen, Harden, Icons
The G League draft will be held on Monday at 1 PM ET, Adam Zagoria of The New York Times tweets. Michael Beasley, Mario Chalmers, Shabazz Muhammad, Quincy Pondexter, Lance Stephenson and Allonzo Trier are among the NBA veterans who will be eligible for the draft, Tim MacMahon of ESPN tweets. The full list of draft eligible players can be found here. The G League season will begin in Orlando next month.
We have more news from around the basketball world:
- Former Knicks player Kadeem Allen has departed JL Bourg, according to the French club’s Twitter feed. Allen agreed to join the French team over the summer. The 53rd overall pick of the 2017 draft, Allen had been on a two-way contract with New York before being cut earlier in the summer. In two seasons with the Knicks, Allen saw limited action, averaging 8.2 PPG and 3.3 APG in 29 total games (18.4 MPG).
- What are the pros and cons for each Eastern Conference contender to acquire James Harden? ESPN’s Insiders take a closer look at what each of those teams might have to surrender in order to trade for the former Most Valuable Player and whether Harden would be a good fit.
- Which current players are the biggest icons for their franchise? Eric Koreen of The Athletic uses a numerical system to rank those players, with Stephen Curry of the Warriors coming out on top.
Heat-Celtics Game Postponed Due To COVID-19 Protocols
The NBA has postponed the Heat–Celtics game scheduled for Sunday, Shams Charania of The Athletic tweets.
Both teams were dealing with COVID-19 related issues. A Heat player returned an inconclusive test on Sunday, and the team does not have required eight players to proceed with game due to contact tracing, Charania adds. Avery Bradley was ruled out by the Heat earlier in the afternoon due to the league’s health and safety protocols.
Boston was already down to the minimum eight players, mainly due to those same regulations. They had seven players listed as out due to health and safety protocols, including top scorers Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown. They also had two injured players on their roster.
However, the NBA plans to trudge on despite increasing issues with the coronavirus. The league has no plans to pause this season, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN tweets.
Central Notes: Bey, Grant, Garland, Bickerstaff
Saddiq Bey is making the Pistons look wise after they engaged in a three-team deal to land the No. 19 pick in the draft, James Edwards of The Athletic writes. The rookie forward from Villanova was averaging 10.4 PPG and 45.7% from 3-point range entering Sunday’s action, though he needs to do a much better job finishing around the rim, Edwards notes. Bey has also display uncommon maturity and has elevated his play in crunch time, Edwards adds.
We have more from the Central Division:
- Jerami Grant has impressed fellow Pistons forward Blake Griffin with his expanded offensive role, according to Omari Sankofa II of the Detroit Free Press. Grant inked a three-year, $60MM contract in a sign-and-trade with Denver in large part because he wanted to be a go-to scorer. He’s posted back-to-back 31-point games. “I’m very impressed with his patience and his decision-making in games. He doesn’t settle,” Griffin said. “He’ll size somebody up. Seems like he can get to the hole whenever he wants and he does a great job of finishing.”
- Prior to suffering a shoulder sprain, Cavaliers guard Darius Garland was emerging as the most improved player of the NBA’s sophomore class, Garrett Brooks of Basketball Insiders opines. Garland, the No. 5 pick of the 2019 draft, is averaging 17.2 PPG and 6.3 APG and shooting 46.9% from 3-point range.
- Cavaliers coach J.B. Bickerstaff has been forced to improvise due to a number of injuries, especially to his backcourt, and he’s using an old-school scheme, Chris Fedor of the Cleveland Plain Dealer writes. “It’s a flashback to the 80s,” Bickerstaff said. “We try to slow the game down. We try to make it half court. We’re calling sets and running plays that literally they ran into the early’ 90s, late ’80s when they played with those bigs.”
Avery Bradley Sidelined By Health And Safety Protocols
Heat guard Avery Bradley is the latest player to be sidelined due to the league’s health and safety protocols. He’ll miss Sunday’s game against the Celtics for that reason, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN tweets. Bradley is expected to miss more games beyond Sunday’s tilt, Wojnarowski adds in another tweet.
Last week, Bradley was listed on Heat injury report due to health and safety protocols because of a stomach illness. His new status is related to COVID-19 contact tracing protocols, Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel tweets.
Bradley departed the Lakers and signed a two-year, $11.6MM contract with Miami in November. Thus far, Bradley is averaging 10.0 PPG and 1.7 APG in 22.9 MPG with the Heat. He opted out of last summer’s restart.
The Celtics will be even more shorthanded and might be down to the league’s minimum of eight players, Marc Stein of the New York Times tweets. They have three players listed as out due to COVID-19 protocols and another, star forward Jayson Tatum, listed as doubtful for that reason. Three other players are listed as questionable, including Jaylen Brown, due to those protocols. They also have two injured players on their roster.
Pacific Notes: Curry, Leonard, Matthews, Haliburton
Stephen Curry could be in contention for a third MVP award if he keeps playing the way he has this week. After scoring 62 points last Sunday, Curry sparked the Warriors to a shocking comeback win over the Clippers Friday night. He hit nine 3-pointers, had 11 assists and went 13-for-24 from the field in the 38-point performance, leaving some teammates in awe, writes Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN.
“He’s making shots that you be like, ‘Whoa!'” Andrew Wiggins said. “There’s not a lot of shots that he can’t make. As soon as he steps over half, he’s a threat, so he causes a lot of attention. So when he gets rolling, you just sit back and watch and let him roll.”
Curry continues to add to his historically great numbers, Youngmisuk notes. Among the 78 players in NBA history with at least 100 30-point games, Curry has a .783 winning percentage, which ranks third all-time behind Larry Bird and Hal Greer.
“There’s not too much you have to say beyond it’s just who Steph is,” coach Steve Kerr said. “He’s been doing this for many, many years and one of the reasons he’s a two-time MVP and he’s a phenomenal basketball player. And usually with Steph when he has a tough game he bounces back [in] the next one. That’s part of his character, part of his competitiveness.”
There’s more from the Pacific Division:
- Clippers star Kawhi Leonard called for the team to change its mindset after letting that game against Golden State slip away, according to Andrew Greif of The Los Angeles Times. L.A. was outscored 64-40 in the second half while taking just 12 shots in the paint. “I don’t feel like we took any, pretty much, good shots in that fourth quarter,” Leonard said. “Some of us didn’t know the play we were running but, yeah, we have to know what we’re running, execute it and then live with the make or misses.”
- The Lakers‘ deep lineup creates a challenge for coach Frank Vogel, who has to find minutes for a variety of players, notes Kyle Goon of The Orange County Register. Wesley Matthews, who is being used as a reserve for the first time in nearly a decade, said Vogel has made that transition easier. “When you know when you’re coming in, when you’re coming out, you can start usually preparing yourself and you can get ready and then you can start watching the game a little bit differently,” Matthews said. “He’s a great communicator so far with me and that really helps my curve here.”
- Kings rookie Tyrese Haliburton made his first career start Saturday with Richaun Holmes sidelined, tweets James Ham of NBC Sports. Coach Luke Walton and his staff have discussed using Haliburton as a starter, but haven’t committed to making the move permanent.
Thomas Bryant Suffers Torn ACL
An MRI performed this morning on Wizards center Thomas Bryant confirmed that he suffered a torn ACL in his left knee, tweets ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. Thomas was injured during the first quarter of Saturday’s game with Miami and had to be helped off the court by trainers.
Bryant, 23, was averaging a career-best 14.3 PPG, along with 6.1 rebounds and 0.8 blocks through 10 games. He will probably need nine to 12 months to recover and will be heading into a contract year, notes Chase Hughes of NBC Sports (Twitter link). Bryant will make $8,666,667 in 2021/22 and will be a free agent following that season.
Veteran Robin Lopez will probably take over as the starting center, Hughes adds (Twitter link), and the injury creates an opportunity for Moritz Wagner, who was recently removed from the rotation. Wagner has gotten into just four games this season and is averaging 11.5 minutes per night.
Washington will likely apply for a disabled player exception to offset the loss, tweets Bobby Marks of ESPN. It would be valued at roughly $4.2MM, which is half of Bryant’s salary for this season. Marks notes that the Wizards are currently $842K below the luxury tax line and don’t have a roster spot open. The deadline to apply is March 3 and it can be used until April 19.
The DPE can be used to sign a free agent, to claim a player off waivers, or to acquire a player in a trade. However, it can only be used on one player and can only accommodate a player on a one-year deal. A free agent signee can’t get a multiyear contract, and any trade or waiver target must be in the final year of his contract.
Maxi Kleber To Miss Time Due To COVID-19 Protocols
11:15am: The Mavericks have closed their practice facility after a second positive COVID-19 test in three days, sources tell Tim MacMahon of ESPN (Twitter link). He adds that Kleber began self-isolation this morning.
10:48am: Mavericks forward Maxi Kleber is the latest player to be placed in the NBA’s health and safety protocols, which will keep him out of action for 10 to 14 days, tweets Shams Charania of The Athletic.
A league source confirms the report to Brad Townsend of The Dallas Morning News (Twitter link), but says the exact amount of time Kleber will have to be isolated remains unclear.
Kleber becomes the fourth player on Dallas’ roster to be sidelined for coronavirus-related reasons. Josh Richardson, Dorian Finney-Smith and Jalen Brunson were all placed under quarantine earlier this week. One of those players reportedly tested positive for the virus, while the other two are in contact tracing.
Kleber, now in his fourth NBA season, has been a valuable part of the Mavericks’ rotation. He is averaging 7.4 points and 5.3 rebounds through nine games, while making three starts.