Hornets’ Gordon Hayward Set To Return On Saturday
With the Hornets in the midst of a battle for play-in positioning, veteran forward Gordon Hayward is poised to make his return from an ankle injury that has sidelined him for nearly two months, writes Rod Boone of The Charlotte Observer.
According to Boone, Hayward has been listed as probable for Saturday’s game in Philadelphia vs. the 76ers and will be available for the Hornets.
Hayward, who last played on February 7, has missed Charlotte’s last 22 games after spraining ligaments in his left ankle. Prior to the injury, he has been his usual productive self, averaging 16.1 PPG, 4.6 RPG, and 3.6 APG on .460/.390/.846 shooting in 48 appearances (32.2 MPG).
The Hornets have held their own without Hayward and have been particularly hot as of late, winning eight of their last 10 games to pull in a three-way tie with Brooklyn and Atlanta for the East’s No. 8 seed. Claiming that spot in the standings would put Charlotte in a stronger position to a earn a playoff spot in the play-in tournament, but it won’t be easy — both the Nets and Hawks have more favorable schedules over the next 10 days, per Tankathon.
After playing in Philadelphia on Saturday, the Hornets will head to Miami to face the Heat on Tuesday. Their regular season schedule will conclude with a a visit to Chicago on April 8, sandwiched by a pair of favorable home matchups vs. Orlando (April 7) and Washington (April 10).
Injury Notes: Randle, Bucks, Pistons, Jazz, Simmons
Knicks forward Julius Randle, still dealing with a quad injury, has been ruled out for Saturday’s game against Cleveland, according to Fred Katz of The Athletic, who tweets that the team is considering Randle day-to-day. For the time being, there are no plans to shut down Randle for the rest of the season, Katz adds. He missed three games with the same injury last week.
Here are a few more injury updates from around the NBA:
- The Bucks will be without several key players on Friday vs. the Clippers on the second night of a back-to-back set. According to the team (via Twitter), Giannis Antetokounmpo (right knee soreness), Jrue Holiday (left ankle sprain), Khris Middleton (left wrist soreness), and Brook Lopez (return to competition reconditioning) are among the players who will be inactive.
- Cory Joseph (left lumbar spine strain), Marvin Bagley III (left hip strain), and Kelly Olynyk (rest) won’t play for the Pistons on Friday against Oklahoma City, tweets James Edwards III of The Athletic. The two teams are neck-and-neck in the lottery standings, so neither front office will be particularly motivated to win the game.
- The Jazz got some reinforcements on Thursday when Bojan Bogdanovic returned from a nine-game absence and Danuel House played after missing eight consecutive games, writes Eric Walden of The Salt Lake Tribune. Both forwards had positive plus-minus ratings in a win over the Lakers that snapped Utah’s five-game losing streak.
- Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium (video link) provided another minor update on Ben Simmons, reporting that the Nets guard has resumed “light” on-court workouts and still hopes to return in time for the playoffs. Charania’s colleague at The Athletic, Joe Vardon, reported earlier today that Simmons is unlikely to be ready for the start of the playoffs.
Latest On Stephen Curry’s Recovery
Warriors guard Stephen Curry is progressing well in his recovery from a left foot sprain and will begin individual on-court activities next week, the team announced today (via Twitter). Curry has spent the last two weeks “performing various rehabilitation exercises in the training and weight rooms under the guidance of the team’s performance staff.”
Prior to the Warriors’ announcement, Adrian Wojnarowski and Kendra Andrews of ESPN (via Twitter) reported that the possibility of Curry playing in a single regular season game hadn’t been ruled out, but the team’s statement said the next update on the former MVP will be issued on April 11, a day after the regular season ends.
In other words, it sounds like the Warriors expect Curry to miss the remainder of the regular season.
The expectation remains that Curry will be ready for the start of the playoffs, according to Wojnarowski and Andrews. For teams not involved in the play-in tournament, the postseason will begin on April 16 or 17, so Curry would have nearly a full week of extra recovery time between the Warriors’ regular season finale and first-round opener.
Golden State is in a battle with the Mavericks for the No. 3 seed in the West — the two teams are currently tied with matching 48-29 records. Barring a major change in the standings during the next 10 days, the Warriors will likely face either Denver or Utah in the first round, as those two clubs are tied for the No. 5 seed at 46-31.
Trevion Williams, Jalen Williams, Others Entering 2022 Draft
Purdue forward/center Trevion Williams will forgo his final year of college eligibility and sign with an agent, the school announced today in a press release. After testing the draft waters a year ago, Williams will go pro this time around.
The No. 45 prospect on ESPN’s big board, Williams came off the bench for the Boilermakers for most of 2021/22, averaging 12.0 PPG, 7.4 RPG, and 3.0 APG in 37 appearances (20.1 MPG). In his scouting report on Williams, Mike Schmitz of ESPN said the senior is one of the best passing big men in the country.
Another Williams, Santa Clara junior guard Jalen Williams, is also entering the 2022 NBA draft, according to Jonathan Givony of ESPN, who notes that Williams will maintain his college eligibility. Jalen is ranked just three spots behind Trevion on ESPN’s board, at No. 48.
Jalen Williams earned First-Team All-WCC honors after leading the conference in scoring, with 18.0 PPG on .513/.396/.809 shooting. His defensive versatility, passing feel, and shooting potential all intrigue NBA teams, says Givony.
Here are some of the other prospects recently declaring for the draft:
Expected to remain in the draft:
- James Akinjo, G, Baylor (senior) (Instagram link)
- Harrison Ingram, F, Stanford (freshman) (Twitter link)
- Mike Miles, G, TCU (sophomore) (Twitter link)
Testing the draft waters:
- Johni Broome, F/C, Morehead State (sophomore) (Twitter link)
- Jaelen House, G, New Mexico (junior) (Instagram link)
- Nate Laszewski, F, Notre Dame (senior) (link via Patrick Engel of BlueAndGold.com)
- Aminu Mohammed, G/F, Georgetown (freshman) (Twitter link via Jake Weingarten of StockRisers.com)
- Lester Quinones, G, Memphis (junior) (Twitter link via Givony)
- Courtney Ramey, G, Texas (senior) (Twitter link via his father)
- Jahmir Young, G, Charlotte (junior) (Twitter link)
Pacific Notes: DiVincenzo, Paul, Hartenstein, Curry
Kings guard Donte DiVincenzo has played better in Sacramento than he did earlier this season in Milwaukee. However, he said he’s not thinking about how his recent play may boost his value entering restricted free agency, per Jason Anderson of The Sacramento Bee.
“I don’t go into any game thinking about my contract,” DiVincenzo said. “I go into every game trying to be the hardest-playing player and the best teammate I can be. Wherever the chips fall at the end of the year, that’s where they fall, but when I go into the game, I’m not thinking about my contract. I’m not thinking about the situation. I’m just trying to either win that game, or, like I said, as long as I’m a good teammate and I play with the most energy I possibly can, good things will happen for me.”
DiVincenzo has knocked down 36.6% of his three-point attempts since joining the Kings and is averaging 3.4 assists per game, which would be a career high. Sacramento will have to extend a $6.6MM qualifying offer to the 25-year-old this offseason to officially make him a restricted free agent. The team would then have the ability to match any offer sheet he signs with another club.
Here’s more from around the Pacific:
- Chris Paul‘s thumb injury may have had some silver linings for the Suns, who watched other players step up in Paul’s absence and should have a fresher version of their All-Star point guard entering the postseason. Still, Paul is relieved that his time in the sidelines didn’t last any longer than a month. “I’m just happy that’s behind me. I go to a dark place a lot of times when I can’t play,” Paul told Mark Medina of NBA.com. “Some people like to play basketball. I need to play. This is my happy place.”
- Isaiah Hartenstein, who signed a one-year, minimum-salary contract with the Clippers in 2021, has become the team’s secret weapon, says Ethan Fuller of BasketballNews.com. While he still has work to do on the defensive end, Hartenstein’s passing and interior scoring have proven valuable this season, Fuller explains. The veteran center could be in line for a raise as a free agent this summer.
- Warriors guard Jordan Poole has played some of his best basketball of the season since Stephen Curry went down with a foot injury, averaging 28.1 PPG in those seven games. Seerat Sohi of The Ringer takes a closer look at the recent play from Poole, who will be eligible for a rookie scale extension this offseason.
What To Watch For In NBA Season’s Final 10 Days
The NBA’s 2021/22 regular season will wrap up on April 10, which means we now have just 10 days left in the season. Here are a few things worth keeping an eye on during those 10 days:
Play-in races and playoff positioning
Eastern Conference
You could make a case that the Eastern Conference playoff race would be more exciting without the addition of the play-in, since three teams – the Nets, Hawks, and Hornets – are now tied at 40-37 for the No. 8 seed. But that race is still a fascinating one, since the team that finished the season at No. 8 will get two chances to win one game in order to earn a playoff spot — the No. 9 and No. 10 teams would have to win twice to make the playoffs.
The No. 7 Cavaliers, who have slipped 2.5 games behind the No. 6 Raptors, now appear headed for the play-in after spending most of the season in the top six. The Cavs, losers of five of their last six games, have been slumping so badly that we shouldn’t necessarily pencil them in for a home game yet — at 42-35, they only have a two-game cushion on the next three play-in teams and could be caught within the next 10 days.
Further up the Eastern Conference standings, there are plenty of tight seeding races involving the likes of the Heat, Bucks, Celtics, and Sixers. Close races in the bottom half of the playoff/play-in field mean that it’s been hard for those top teams to determine whether it makes more sense to push for a top seed or to angle for a lower seed.
Important intra-conference games:
- 4/2: Heat at Bulls, Nets at Hawks
- 4/3: Heat at Raptors, Sixers at Cavaliers
- 4/5: Bucks at Bulls, Hawks at Raptors, Hornets at Heat
- 4/6: Celtics at Bulls
- 4/7: Celtics at Bucks, Sixers at Raptors
- 4/8: Cavaliers at Nets, Hawks at Heat, Hornets at Bulls
- 4/10: Bucks at Cavaliers
Western Conference
Over in the West, all eyes are on the 31-45 Lakers, who are currently tied with the Spurs for the final play-in spot and would lose out on a tiebreaker if they don’t pass San Antonio in the standings. Frankly, the Lakers have been so bad this season that it’s hard to imagine them advancing to the playoffs even if they do clinch a play-in spot, but finishing outside of the top 10 would be a further indignity for a team that entered the season as a title favorite. L.A. hopes to get some reinforcements on Friday in the form of stars LeBron James and Anthony Davis.
The Timberwolves have a pretty safe hold on the No. 7 spot, while the Clippers are virtually locked into No. 8 and the Pelicans have a bit of breathing room at No. 9, so there may not be a ton of drama elsewhere in the Western play-in picture.
A pair of tight seeding races are ongoing in the top six though — the Mavericks and Warriors (both 48-29) are tied for the No. 3 seed, while the Jazz and Nuggets (both 46-31) are tied for No. 5. Dallas and Utah control those respective tiebreakers.
Important intra-conference games:
- 4/1: Pelicans at Lakers, Timberwolves at Nuggets
- 4/2: Jazz at Warriors
- 4/3: Nuggets at Lakers, Pelicans at Clippers
- 4/5: Grizzlies at Jazz, Lakers at Suns, Spurs at Nuggets
- 4/7: Grizzlies at Nuggets, Lakers at Warriors, Spurs at Timberwolves
- 4/9: Pelicans at Grizzlies, Warriors at Spurs
- 4/10: Lakers at Nuggets, Spurs at Mavericks, Warriors at Pelicans
Lottery positioning and traded draft picks
There are important races happening at both ends of the standings as the season winds down. At the bottom, the Magic and Rockets (both 20-57) are tied for the top spot in the lottery, with the Pistons (21-56) and Thunder (22-54) rounding out the top four.
The full reverse standings can be viewed right here, while the lottery odds for each team in the top 14 can be found here.
Additionally, a handful of traded draft picks remain up for grabs as the season winds down. For instance, the Cavaliers will trade their first-round pick to the Pacers if it’s not in the top 14 — in other words, if they can’t clinch a playoff spot in the play-in, the Cavs will hang onto that pick.
The Pelicans‘ first-rounder is another one worth watching closely. It’ll stay with New Orleans if it’s in the top four, go to Portland if it’s between 5-14, and go to Charlotte if it’s between 15-30. So the Hornets will be rooting for the Pelicans to earn a playoff spot via the play-in, moving that pick out of the lottery. If the Pels miss the playoffs, the Trail Blazers will be in position to receive the pick as long as New Orleans doesn’t get lucky in the lottery.
Finally, the Lakers‘ first-rounder will be a major prize this spring for either the Pelicans (if it lands between 1-10) or the Grizzlies (if it’s between 11-30). Los Angeles is currently tied for the NBA’s eighth-worst record, which bodes very well for New Orleans, but there’s still time for that to change.
Award races
Often at this time of year, a number of NBA award races have long been decided, with just one or two still up in the air. In 2021/22, it’s the opposite.
Yeah, we can probably safely assume that Tyler Herro will win Sixth Man of the Year, and Ja Morant looks like a clear favorite for Most Improved Player.
But there’s no clear frontrunner for Defensive Player of the Year; Scottie Barnes is putting pressure on Evan Mobley in the Rookie of the Year race; Nikola Jokic, Joel Embiid, and Giannis Antetokounmpo remain engaged in an electrifying three-way race for MVP honors; and All-NBA voting looks like a nightmare (one with major implications for several super-max candidates).
Even though there are only 10 days left in the regular season, given how close these races are, the performances in those final 10 days could legitimately flip certain awards from one player to another.
Roster moves
With just 10 days left in the season, this year’s period of standard 10-day contracts is essentially over. A team filling its final open roster spot will sign a player to a rest-of-season or multiyear deal at this point, rather than a 10-day pact.
The one exception is 10-day hardship deals, which can still be completed during the final week-and-a-half of a season by teams dealing with COVID-19 cases or several injuries.
Why wouldn’t those hardship contracts just take the form of rest-of-season deals too? Well, this way, teams can’t gain certain offseason rights to more players than the standard roster limits allow. A rest-of-season contract would give the club a player’s Bird, Early Bird, or Non-Bird rights for the offseason, whereas a 10-day deal won’t.
Here are the teams that still have an open roster spot with 10 days left in the season:
- Atlanta Hawks
- Boston Celtics *
- Detroit Pistons *
- Indiana Pacers *
- Milwaukee Bucks
- Minnesota Timberwolves
- Orlando Magic *
- Sacramento Kings ^
- Utah Jazz *
* The Celtics, Pistons, Pacers, Magic, and Jazz each have a player on a 10-day contract filling their 15th roster spots. Those deals will expire before the season ends.
^ The Kings have a full 15-man roster but have an open two-way spot.
Atlantic Notes: Simmons, Embiid, A. Brooks, R. Williams
Nets guard Ben Simmons is unlikely to be ready for the start of the playoffs, according to Joe Vardon of The Athletic. Although Simmons has been at practice more since receiving an injection last month to address a recurring back issue, he’s still not close to being ready, Vardon adds.
Moke Hamilton of BasketballNews.com wonders if it’s just a matter of time before the Nets formally rule out Simmons for the season. The team continues to talk about the possibility of a return, but if Simmons can’t play during the regular season, throwing him out there to make his Nets debut during the postseason may not be a great idea — especially given the nature of his exit from Philadelphia and the playoff disappointment that led to it.
Here’s more from around the Atlantic:
- Speaking to Chris Mannix of SI.com, Sixers star Joel Embiid shared some insight into what he was thinking in the weeks and months leading up to February’s trade of Simmons. If Simmons was going to be dealt, Embiid wanted it to be for a win-now return. “If he comes back, we got to take him back and try to go win a championship. If he still wants to get traded, we got to do whatever is necessary to make sure that we don’t go and trade for, I don’t know, a first-round pick, or a second-round pick, or whatever, because what does that do for me?” Embiid said. “I’m not going to be able to work with a bunch of first-round picks or second-round picks. So, to me, I always looked at the bigger picture.”
- When they signed him last weekend, the Raptors used a portion of their mid-level exception to give Armoni Brooks at $250K salary for the rest of 2021/22, tweets Keith Smith of Spotrac. A minimum-salary deal for Brooks only would’ve paid him about $137K for the remainder of this season. Brooks has a $50K partial guarantee on his minimum salary for next season — that guarantee would increase to $250K on August 1, and the deal would become fully guaranteed if he makes the opening-night roster.
- After undergoing meniscus surgery on Wednesday, Celtics big man Robert Williams didn’t require much recovery time at home — he was back at the team’s facility on Thursday, tweets Chris Forsberg of NBC Sports Boston. “He’s in the meetings, in the gym, in good spirits,” head coach Ime Udoka said. “And so getting him around and just getting that flexibility back in, off top. And then we can kind of build up pretty quickly from there.”
Bulls Notes: DeRozan, Williams, Ball, Vucevic
With Nikola Jokic, Giannis Antetokounmpo, and Joel Embiid putting up monster numbers on a near-nightly basis and the Bulls struggling in recent weeks, DeMar DeRozan isn’t getting the same level of MVP buzz he was earlier in the season. However, his 50-point outburst on Thursday in a win over the Clippers was a reminder of how important he has been to the Bulls this season, writes Paul Sullivan of The Chicago Tribune.
DeRozan said after the game that he was more focused on getting the victory than on becoming the sixth player in team history to score 50 points in a game, since Chicago can’t afford to risk falling into play-in territory.
“The win is more meaningful,” DeRozan said, per Sullivan. “I just wanted to win this game, badly. You see how tight the (Eastern Conference) race is. Every game is extremely important. We have no more room to be dropping any more games.”
The Bulls’ 45-32 record puts them in fifth place in the East, 1.5 games behind the No. 4 Sixers and just a half-game ahead of the No. 6 Raptors. Chicago has a three-game lead on the No. 7 Cavs, so barring a disaster down the stretch, the team should secure a top-six seed and a guaranteed playoff spot.
Here’s more out of Chicago:
- Patrick Williams admitted to reporters on Thursday that he was fined by the Bulls after being late to the team’s morning shootaround, as Rob Schaefer of NBC Sports Chicago writes. Williams, who hadn’t made much of an impact since returning from a wrist injury on March 21, made up for his tardiness with his best game of the season on Thursday, putting up 10 points on 4-of-4 shooting to go along with 12 rebounds.
- After having his rehab process paused for 10 days, Lonzo Ball will resume the ramp-up process toward full-speed sprinting and cutting, head coach Billy Donovan said on Thursday (link via Schaefer at NBC Sports Chicago). Time is running out for Ball to return this season, but the Bulls haven’t considered shutting him down. “Certainly every day that goes by and time that passes by, you know, you’re moving closer and closer to the end of the season,” Donovan said. “But I have not gotten anything from the doctors that said to me, like, ‘Listen, there’s just not enough time, we can’t get him back.’ They’re gonna do everything they can to try to get him back. But a lot’s gonna be depending on how he responds to this.”
- In his latest mailbag, K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago discussed several Bulls-related topics, including Williams’ development and ceiling and Nikola Vucevic‘s future in Chicago.