The Trail Blazers started five rookies in tonight’s game against Denver, writes Aaron Fentress of The Oregonian. The lineup consisted of Scoot Henderson, Kris Murray, Rayan Rupert, Toumani Camara and Duop Reath, marking only the second time that a team has started five first-year players since the NBA began tracking starters in 1970/71. The 2012 Warriors were the first, according to a tweet from the Blazers.
The move was necessitated by the team’s lengthy injury list, which grew even longer when guard Anfernee Simons had to leave Friday’s game in the third quarter after hurting his left knee. Coach Chauncey Billups told reporters that Simons will undergo an MRI on Sunday.
Deandre Ayton missed Friday’s game with tendinitis in his left elbow, which is also keeping him out tonight. Jerami Grant is already sidelined with a hamstring issue, and Malcolm Brogdon has been out of action since early February with elbow tendinitis. Billups expressed hope that Grant and Brogdon can return before the end of the season.
There’s more from the Northwest Division:
- Friday marked Henderson’s best performance since suffering a groin injury during the Rising Stars game at All-Star Weekend, observes Sean Highkin of Rose Garden Report (subscription required). The No. 3 pick in last year’s draft, who posted 24 points, five rebounds, 10 assists and two steals in the Trail Blazers‘ loss to the Clippers, talked about his experience with the “rookie wall.” “It’s a longer season now, so you kind of get that wall a little later,” Henderson said. “After 50 games in the G League, you’re like, ‘OK, let’s play another one.’ But when you hit 50 or 60 [in the NBA], it’s a little tougher now.”
- Timberwolves center Rudy Gobert is determined to not let the pain from a sprained rib keep him out of the lineup, per Johnny Askounis of Eurohoops. “You got to embrace the pain sometimes. Sometimes the pain of watching hurts more than the pain of the injury itself,” Gobert said. “It is all about playing through that. As long as I can move, able to impact the game, I am going to be out there.”
- The Timberwolves fired a team employee this week for stealing thousands of files, some of which contained “strategic NBA information,” according to Baxter Holmes of ESPN. Somak Sarkar was charged with felony third-degree burglary.
- Andy Larsen of The Salt Lake Tribune examines the high turnover rate for Jazz rookie guard Keyonte George and how it might impact his NBA future.
Gobert: “You got to embrace pain sometimes.”
99% of the rest of the players in the NBA: ” Sit down and shut up Rudy, you’re gonna ruin it for the rest of us!”
Summary of the Keyonte George article: George has 7th-highest turnover rate among PGs, behind Scoot, Lowry, Nembhard, Harden, Garland, and Trae. But his assists portend a potential star in the making. Takeaway: Don’t overreact to his high turnovers.
I honestly think Gobert would be sitting if it weren’t for Edwards. Ant’s refusal to ever sit because something hurts is starting to spread to the rest of the team. This is definitely Ant’s team now. Depending on what the Wolves do in the playoffs, I can really see KAT being traded this off-season. Yes, Naz Reid is not as dynamic as KAT is, but he has more than held his own as a starter. And I think the difference in salary between the 2 starting next year will be about $36 million. That money can/will be used to shore up the rest of the roster.