Cavs’ Wade Undergoes Knee Surgery, Out For Season
Cavaliers forward Dean Wade has undergone surgery to address the meniscus injury in his right knee, the team announced today (via Twitter). According to the Cavs, Wade will miss the rest of the 2021/22 season.
Shams Charania of The Athletic first reported last Monday that Wade sustained a partial meniscus tear in his right knee and would be out for at least several weeks. It appears the 25-year-old and the team took some time to determine the best course of action for the injury and determined that surgery was the right choice.
Wade, who has been with the Cavs since the 2019/20 season, averaged 5.3 PPG and 2.9 RPG in 51 games (19.2 MPG) for the club this season, posting a .456/.359/.667 shooting line and making 28 starts.
Wade is one of a handful of Cleveland rotation players who have gone down with injuries in 2021/22. Collin Sexton and Ricky Rubio both suffered season-ending knee injuries earlier in the season, while All-Star center Jarrett Allen has been out since March 6 due to a fractured finger. Darius Garland, Caris LeVert, and Lauri Markkanen have all had short-term absences for the team as well.
The Cavs hold a $1.93MM team option on Wade for 2022/23, which they’ll likely pick up as long as they expect him to be available for most or all of next season.
Blazers Rule Out Nurkic, Simons, Bledsoe For Season
The Trail Blazers confirmed today in a press release that center Jusuf Nurkic and guards Anfernee Simons and Eric Bledsoe won’t return for the team this season.
According to today’s announcement, Nurkic (left foot plantar fasciitis) and Simons (patellar tendinopathy in his left knee) have responded well to treatment and rehabilitation, with Nurkic’s rehab program reducing his symptoms and increasing the “overall function” of his left foot and ankle.
Nurkic will be an unrestricted free agent this summer, while Simons will be a restricted free agent. However, both players – especially Simons – are considered good bets to re-sign with Portland.
Bledsoe, who hasn’t played in a game for the Blazers since being acquired from the Clippers prior to February’s trade deadline, received a platelet-rich plasma (PRP) injection last Wednesday to address the tendinopathy in his left Achilles tendon, per the team. Bledsoe technically has one more year left on his contract, but only $3.9MM of his $19.4MM salary for 2022/23 is guaranteed, so he appears likely to be waived in the offseason.
The Blazers issued injury updates on two more players, announcing that swingman Josh Hart, who has missed the club’s last four games due to patellar tendinopathy in his left knee, will be reevaluated in a week. There will only be one week left in the season at that point, so it won’t be a major surprise if Hart doesn’t play again in 2021/22.
Meanwhile, Didi Louzada – acquired from New Orleans last month in the CJ McCollum trade – is in the final stages of his return-to-play protocol after undergoing surgery on a torn mensicus on February 4. The Blazers expect him to play before the end of the season.
Damian Lillard (abdominal surgery), Nassir Little (shoulder surgery), and Joe Ingles (ACL surgery) have previously been ruled out for the season by the Blazers, while Trendon Watford (hyperextended left knee and bone bruise) is also questionable to return within the next two weeks.
Myles Turner Won’t Return This Season
Pacers center Myles Turner will miss the remainder of the 2021/22 season, reports ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link).
Turner, who turned 26 last Thursday, has been sidelined since January 14 due to a stress reaction in his left foot. According to Wojnarowski, Turner has made “good progress” in his recovery, but the Pacers only have seven games remaining and are out of the playoff hunt, so it doesn’t make sense to bring back the big man at this point.
Prior to going down with his foot injury, Turner averaged 12.9 PPG, 7.1 RPG, and 2.8 BPG in 42 games (29.4 MPG) for Indiana. His name surfaced in several trade rumors earlier in the season, but his injury diminished his value to some extent and Indiana ended up moving its other center, Domantas Sabonis, while hanging onto Turner.
It’s still possible the retooling squad will shop Turner this offseason ahead of the final year of his contract. But with Sabonis no longer in the mix, the Pacers may be more inclined to keep Turner, perhaps envisioning him as their long-term starting center.
As Bobby Marks of ESPN observes (via Twitter), Turner is eligible for a contract extension this offseason and Indiana could theoretically use its cap room to to renegotiate the last year of his current deal, giving him a raise on next year’s $18MM salary as part of an extension agreement.
LeBron James: Ankle Injury Feels “Horrible”
Lakers star LeBron James scored 39 points in New Orleans on Sunday, but it wasn’t enough to lead his team to a win over the Pelicans, who came back from a 20-point halftime deficit to beat L.A. by a score of 116-108. To make matters worse for the Lakers, James turned his left ankle in the second quarter and said the injury felt “horrible” after the game, as ESPN’s Dave McMenamin writes.
“I mean, I have no idea how I finished the game, to be honest, after watching that replay,” said James, who played 42 minutes. “It’s pretty nasty.”
The loss dropped the Lakers to 10th in the West, and they now lead the No. 11 Spurs by just one gameand face a difficult schedule in the last two weeks of the regular season. James, who has already been battling a knee injury this season, is hopeful that his latest ailment doesn’t force him out of action at all, with L.A. battling to secure a play-in spot.
“I hope not, because I hate missing games,” he said on Sunday night, per Kyle Goon of The Southern California News Group. “That’s not in my nature, so I’ve already started the process of treatment right after the game, I got on it right away and obviously I’ll get more done on the flight and we’ll land in Dallas tonight, around the clock tomorrow and see how I feel on Tuesday.
“… I still feel like if I’m on the floor and I can make things happen then we still got a pretty good chance to make something out of this season.”
Here’s more on the Lakers and LeBron:
- James’ ankle injury felt like “the moment that might signal the end of the Lakers season,” according to Bill Oram of The Athletic.
- James referred to Sunday’s game, in which the Lakers turned a 20-point halftime lead into an eight-point loss, as a “microcosm” of the club’s season, per Andrew Lopez of ESPN. “We haven’t been able to sustain all year, and tonight was one of those instances once again,” James said. “It feels like s–t. I mean, excuse my language, but that’s what it feels like. I came in with the mindset understanding it was a playoff-type atmosphere, playoff implications and things of that nature. … It feels like a wasted opportunity, obviously, for myself and for our team. We weren’t able to get it done.”
- Head coach Frank Vogel acknowledged how precarious the Lakers’ position is, telling reporters on Sunday night that “time’s running out” on the team, writes Broderick Turner of The Los Angeles Times. “We got to get some wins. We got to put some wins together and turn the attention to Dallas,” Vogel said, referring to L.A.’s Tuesday opponent. “Whatever it takes to beat Dallas, we got to do.”
- The Lakers will play in Dallas on Tuesday and Utah on Thursday before hosting the Pelicans on Friday and the Nuggets on Sunday. It won’t get any easier from there, as they travel to Phoenix and Golden State next week.
Celtics Notes: Williams, Tatum, Brown, Seeding
Celtics big man Robert Williams will undergo further testing on his left knee after spraining it in the second half of Sunday’s victory over Minnesota, writes Tim Bontemps of ESPN.
“Don’t know exactly what happened,” head coach Ime Udoka said after Sunday’s game. “He said it wasn’t even a specific play that he remembers, but came out of the game, had some pain, obviously went back to get checked out and was in quite a bit of pain, and he’ll get scanned in the morning and we’ll know then.”
The Celtics are in Toronto on Monday night for the second game of a back-to-back set and Williams didn’t make the trip, says Bontemps. While he’ll be out for that game, it’s unclear how much longer the 24-year-old may be sidelined. As Udoka indicated in his postgame comments, the team will know more after assessing the results of today’s scans.
Here’s more on the Celtics:
- The Celtics, who now hold the top seed in the Eastern Conference, are 24-4 since being below .500 on January 21. During those 28 games, Jayson Tatum has averaged 29.9 PPG, 7.3 RPG, and 5.0 APG on .505/.414/.892 shooting. “I wish I could start the season like this and then I’d be the MVP. But I guess it’s the most important time of the season,” Tatum said on Sunday, per Jared Weiss of The Athletic. “I guess just finding my rhythm, but it’s the best time to find your rhythm, when you’re playing your best going into the postseason. I don’t really have an exact answer.”
- As dominant as the Celtics have been as of late, health problems could be a concern for the team. In addition to Williams’ knee injury, star wings Jaylen Brown (right knee soreness) and Tatum (right patella tendinopathy) are battling nagging issues of their own. As Gary Washburn of The Boston Globe writes, the club may have to decide in the season’s final two weeks whether it makes more sense to get Brown and Tatum a little rest or to push hard for the No. 1 seed and home-court advantage.
- Addressing that dilemma on Sunday, Udoka offered insight on which way the team is leaning: “I’m not really worried about [seeding]. Our [concern] is winning, health and playing the best basketball at the right time. It’s too much closeness to try to maneuver and manipulate things to pick an opponent. As far as resting, that’s the main thing. We’ve got some guys who got some nicks now and we have to be smart about it. If we can get guys one [game off] is what we’re looking at now.”
- Chris Forsberg of NBC Sports Boston poses four questions that he believes the red-hot Celtics still have to answer down the stretch and in the postseason.
Warriors Notes: Thompson, Iguodala, Kuminga, Kerr
Warriors star Klay Thompson logged 40 minutes in the team’s game against the Hawks on Friday, a major accomplishment since recovering from a torn ACL and torn Achilles’ tendon. The 32-year-old finished with 37 points, seven rebounds and three assists in the loss, shooting 9-of-16 from deep.
“That’s a big win for me,” Thompson said on recording 40 minutes, as relayed by Kendra Andrews of ESPN.com. “I can’t remember the last time I played 40 minutes … a huge milestone for me.”
Head coach Steve Kerr also complimented Thompson after the contest, calling it his best outing since returning. Thompson’s previous season-high in minutes was 38 against San Antonio one week ago, while is next highest was just under 34 against Milwaukee on March 12.
“Rick (Celebrini) may not be (comfortable with it),” Kerr said, referring to the team’s director of sports medicine and performance (as shared by Anthony Slater of The Athletic). “I may have a text on my phone. But I thought it was Klay’s best game.”
Here are some other notes out of Golden State tonight:
- Kerr is hopeful that Andre Iguodala will return against the Grizzlies on Monday, Slater shares in a separate tweet. Iguodala has been dealing with a back injury and last played on February 7. He’s appeared in 26 games this season, averaging 4.1 points and 3.8 assists in 19.9 minutes per contest.
- Golden State started Jonathan Kuminga in place of Kevon Looney on Friday, as noted by Slater (Twitter link). This allowed Draymond Green to play center, pairing Looney with Otto Porter Jr. off the bench. The team used the same starting lineup for its game against the Wizards on Sunday.
- Kerr explained his rationale behind the lineup adjustment, noting how it’s important to settle on a lineup before the playoffs come. “We’re going to have a ton of flexibility these last eight games,” he said as part of a full quote, according to Andrews (Twitter link). “Without Steph, everything changes for us in terms of the domino effect of different rotations. I decided to separate Draymond and Loon for more spacing and more shooting on the floor at the same time.” Stephen Curry remains out due to a sprained ligament in his foot and is expected to return before the postseason.
Southwest Notes: Ingram, Grizzlies, Davis, Pelicans, Green
Pelicans forward Brandon Ingram returned to the lineup on Sunday after missing 10 straight games with right hamstring soreness, as the team shared on social media (Twitter link). New Orleans started Ingram alongside CJ McCollum and Jonas Valanciunas for just the 11th time this season.
The Pelicans acquired McCollum from Portland on February 8, of course, but injuries have prevented the club from maximizing its potential. Zion Williamson also reportedly isn’t expected to play this season as he rehabs from a right foot injury.
The Pelicans own a 31-43 record, leading the No. 11 ranked Spurs by one game. By holding the No. 10 seed, New Orleans would qualify for the play-in tournament and could make the playoffs. Ingram has averaged 22.8 points, 5.7 rebounds and 5.5 assists per game, playing a key role in the team’s success.
Here are some other notes from the Southwest Division:
- Damichael Cole of the Memphis Commercial Appeal explores why the Grizzlies are 16-2 without Ja Morant this season. Morant is having an MVP-caliber season, averaging 27.6 points, 5.7 rebounds and 6.7 assists per contest. However, his supporting cast has stepped up on both ends, leading to Memphis’ unexpected jump up the Western Conference standings — the team has the NBA’s second-best record, at 52-23. “They talk about what they got to do going out there every single night to set a tone offensively, defensively, but with their spirit,” head coach Taylor Jenkins said. “It’s not just on the floor, it’s off the floor.”
- The 2019 Anthony Davis trade between the Pelicans and Lakers has never looked better for New Orleans, Jeff Duncan of NOLA.com opines. The Pelicans have a young core headlined by Ingram, while the Lakers and their veteran core sits just a half-game ahead of New Orleans in the standings. Still, the Lakers won a title in 2020 largely because of Davis. The Pelicans are seeking their first playoff appearance since 2018.
- Veteran guard Gerald Green has the option to play in Puerto Rico, but he remains focused on landing an NBA opportunity, Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle writes. Puerto Rican club Gigantes de Carolina announced Green’s signing on Saturday, but his agent cautioned it’s simply an option for after the season. Green retired from professional basketball in October, joined the Rockets‘ coaching staff, then unretired and joined the team’s G League affiliate in January.
Eastern Notes: Beal, Irving, Fultz, Thibodeau
Wizards star Bradley Beal isn’t opposed to receiving interest from rival teams, he said on Draymond Green‘s podcast, as relayed by James Herbert of CBS Sports. Beal will be eligible to sign a five-year, $245MM contract with Washington this summer if he turns down a $36.4MM player option and becomes a free agent.
“I’m kind of embracing everything,” Beal explained, “so I’m not upset about the rumors, I’m not upset about, you know, teams wanting me. I feel like that’s a good thing, right? We put in the work and we’re wanted by a lot of people, not just where we’re at.”
Beal has seen his name surface in trade rumors, but the 28-year-old hasn’t requested a trade and Washington hasn’t appeared willing to deal him. Beal’s production dipped this season, but he still managed to average 23.2 points and 6.6 assists per game on 45% shooting from the floor.
“It’s kind of funny. I’ve never been a free agent,” he said. “It’s kind of reminding me of college recruiting. Like I hear every single game somebody’s recruiting me. Someone’s like tagging on me, whether it’s another player or whether it may be a coach or whoever it may be, somebody’s chit-chatting: ‘B, what you want to do this summer? What you doing this summer?'”
There’s more out of the Eastern Conference:
- In an Insider-only story for ESPN.com, Kirk Goldsberry considers what Kyrie Irving‘s full-time availability will mean for the Nets and their title chances. As Goldsberry notes, while Irving certainly makes Brooklyn’s offensive attack more dangerous, the team’s defense remains a question mark.
- Magic guard Markelle Fultz is starting to feel more comfortable just one month after his return, Khobi Price of the Orlando Sentinel writes. Fultz missed more than a year due to a torn ACL, making his debut on February 28 against the Pacers. He most recently finished with 16 points, three assists and three steals in 19 minutes against the Kings on Saturday, showing potential on both sides of the ball.
- Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau is offended by claims that he’s stunted Obi Toppin‘s growth by not giving him enough minutes, plus that he mistreated Kemba Walker, Marc Berman of the New York Post writes. Thibodeau also lashed out at some social media critics and writers. “It’s a team, not an individual thing,” he exclaimed. “Can’t pick up a box score after and say, ‘How many people are watching to the end of the game’ to really know exactly what happened in the game. I see a lot of opinions, but I don’t see guys doing the work to actually study it.’’
Central Notes: LeVert, Sexton, Pistons, Vucevic
The Cavaliers are working to re-integrate Caris LeVert into their lineup, starting him against the Bulls on Saturday, Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com writes. According to Fedor, the team may continue starting LeVert, who was acquired in a trade last month.
“We’ve got to do the best that we can to possibly help him,” head coach J.B. Bickerstaff said. “We brought him here to be a big piece of what we were doing moving forward, and we’ve got to get him comfortable. His teammates have to be able to play with him.
“We’ve got to find longer stretches of minutes for him, where he can just go out and feel like he can be himself. His minutes have been kind of choppy. We want to find ways to get him longer stretches where he doesn’t feel like he has to press, press. press to get something done in a small amount of time.”
Cleveland owns the seventh-best record in the Eastern Conference at 41-33. LeVert has averaged 12.6 points on 41.8% shooting since joining the team after averaging 18.7 points on 44.7% shooting with Indiana earlier in the season. The 27-year-old had also been dealing with a foot injury and no longer has a minutes limit.
There’s more from the Central Division tonight:
- Cavaliers guard Collin Sexton is back in Cleveland taking shots, Fedor shares (via Twitter). Sexton, who suffered a torn meniscus in his left knee roughly four months ago, appeared in 11 games before the injury. He’ll become a restricted free agent this summer.
- The Pistons’ centers have serious potential to improve their three-point shooting, head coach Dwane Casey said, as relayed by Steve Kornacki of The Detroit News. Detroit has been playing Isaiah Stewart and Marvin Bagley III significant minutes, but neither player is a good shooter. “They have the ability, too,” Casey said, “and it doesn’t matter which one. Marvin is coming up and setting the screens and Isaiah has the space in the corner. His next evolution in his pro career is that he has to be able to knock that 3-point shot down, and he will. I have no questions at all that either one of them is going to be able to. But we have to have that spacing when they’re in the game together.”
- Bulls star Nikola Vucevic appears to be happy in Chicago and doesn’t want to discuss a potential trade, as relayed by Joe Cowley of The Chicago Sun-Times. If the Bulls underwhelm the rest of the campaign, the team may consider making some offseason moves. ‘‘That’s something that’s totally out of our control as players,’’ Vucevic said. ‘‘Our job is to try and go as far as we can, then the front office makes the decision on the team going forward. I was in a limited amount of trade rumors in my time in Orlando, so it’s something I really don’t think about very much. What’s the point of me worrying about that when it’s completely out of my control? That’s how I approach things like that.’’
Sixers Notes: Maxey, Embiid, Harden, Title Chances
While All-Stars Joel Embiid and James Harden will play larger roles, the contributions of second-year Sixers guard Tyrese Maxey could be an X-factor in determining the postseason ceiling for this star-studded Philadelphia club, writes Jared Dubin of FiveThirtyEight.
Maxey’s true shooting numbers have risen dramatically since Harden joined the team and Maxey shifted to off-ball duties more often, Dubin notes. His scoring averaged has increased, even as his usage and assist numbers have dropped a bit. Maxey, who has yet to be a net positive defender, will need to maximize his abilities on that end for Philadelphia to make a playoff push, Dubin adds.
There’s more out of Philly:
- Sixers All-Star guard James Harden thinks his teammate, All-Star center Joel Embiid, is worthy of 2022 MVP honors, per Ramona Shelburne of ESPN. “He deserves it, man,” Harden said. “I’ve only been here for a few weeks, but I already see his mindset. He wants to win. Some guys just want numbers, but he has both. He has the mentality of winning, and he scores the ball at a high level. I think he’s prepared himself, especially coming off last year, for this year to be one of his best years.” Through 60 games for Philadelphia, Embiid is averaging 29.8 PPG, 11.3 RPG and 4.3 APG. With a 46-27 record, the Sixers are currently the top-seeded team in the Eastern Conference.
- Harden continues to work through lingering left hamstring tightness, per Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer. “He’s still not there,” Sixers head coach Doc Rivers said. “But [in] three weeks, we really feel at the time, he’ll be there at 100%.” Harden has put up solid numbers in the games he has been able to play for Philadelphia, averaging 23.0 PPG, 9.9 APG, and 7.6 RPG across 13 contests.
- The Sixers now sit atop the Eastern Conference by percentage points over the Heat, losers of four straight. Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer wonders if, record aside, Philadelphia is truly ready reach the NBA Finals this year. “Our focus is getting better every single day,” Joel Embiid reflected on the team’s development throughout the season. “We are not worried about the standings. We just want to get to a point where we know what we know we are doing at all times on the court, especially on the offensive side.”