The Pacers signed swingman Justin Anderson to a 10-day deal on Thursday in part as a response to his efforts with their NBAGL club, the Fort Wayne Mad Ants, and to give him a chance to prove he deserves to stick in the NBA going forward, writes Scott Agness of Fieldhouse Files. He certainly has his fans around the league.
“I don’t know what else Justin can do at the G League level to prove to teams he deserves to be back in the NBA,” a source that was not Anderson’s agent informed Agness. The 28-year-old previously inked two 10-day deals this season, one with the Cavaliers and another with Indiana earlier this year.
“He’s been the best player on the [Mad Ants],” Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle said, “and probably the best player in the entire [G League]. He’s earned this opportunity, he knows our stuff, he’s kept himself ready. And the one thing about him, he’s appreciative of the opportunity and he’s really fought for these chances to be back in the NBA.”
There’s more out of the Central Division:
- Cavaliers forward Dean Wade, who has already dealt with some inconclusive imaging on his sore right knee, is set to undergo further testing on the knee this week after missing Cleveland’s last three games, writes Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com. Fedor notes that there is “growing concern” about a meniscus tear.
- The Cavaliers have exhibited strong mental toughness down the stretch of the regular season as they push for their first postseason berth since 2018, per Kelsey Russo of The Athletic. “For us, it’s a mental thing,” head coach J.B. Bickerstaff said. “Our guys are pretty confident and pretty sound in our schemes. … And if you’re never in this position, you don’t gain that experience. You never are able to figure it out.”
- The Bulls are struggling to find much of a response whenever opposing defenses opt to double-team All-Star forward DeMar DeRozan, opines Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times. “Probably the most [double-teams] I’ve seen in my career, to be honest with you,’’ DeRozan said. “For me, it’s one of those things that we got to figure it out. It’s on me to help the guys figure it out as well… The best way to learn is to be knocked in the mouth like we doing. Now it’s a matter of us responding, letting it click. Once it clicks, we be fine.’’
Which young duo would you rather have for the next 5yrs, Killian Hayes/Saddiq Bey, Coby White/Patrick Williams, Grayson Allen/Pat Connaughton, Isaac Okoro/Moses Brown or Chris Duarte/Isaiah Jackson & why? Rank a top 3 if possible…
1. Bush/Quayle
2. Simon/Garfunkel
3. Scott Steiner/Rick Steiner
1. Coby White/P Will
2. Duarte/Jackson
3. Hayes/Saddiq
4. Connaughton/Allen (IDK if I’d classify Connaughton as young)
5. Okoro/Brown (I think Moses’s 10-day expired today so he’s technically not on the roster)
Connaughton is also in rehab I’m not sure when he’s getting out. Agree though calling him young is like calling a newborn baby “Old Ebenezer Caveman”
Wow. That is not the correct #1 choice
@Sankara
Why even mention Moses Brown? He’s unlikely to stay on the roster with Mobley and Allen on the squad.
Sankara : dificult to answer coz i dont like ur option. To me the best from this option are
1 duo buck (honestly i hate allen)
2.duo pistons (to me pistons should trade away
hayes for real sg coz cade is their pg)
3. Duo bulls (as bulls fan,i want bulls trade away coby for good big)
I really like the make up of this team. They’ve really shown the ability to beat the teams they should beat and stay competitive for 4 quarters with the better teams. Mobley, Markkanen and Allen really make Garland’s job easier. I would love them to extend Sexton and go with a 3 man rotation of him, Garland and Levert. The offense slows down a lot when Garland isn’t on the floor plus he seems likely to have nagging back issues in the future. Sexton can score independent of the others if needed and can run the offense for 10 to 15 minutes of a game if needed.