Josh Green‘s sprained right ankle is expected to sideline him for at least a couple weeks or so, Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd told reporters, including Tim MacMahon of ESPN (Twitter link), on Sunday.
Green had been a key part of Dallas’ rotation in recent weeks, averaging 10.2 points per game on .522/.438/.826 shooting in his past 24 games leading up to Thursday’s contest in Oklahoma City, which he exited after just four minutes when he injured his ankle.
The Mavericks did share some more positive injury news on Sunday, announcing that Luka Doncic will be available vs. Denver this afternoon after missing Thursday’s game due to a hamstring ailment (Twitter link via MacMahon).
Let’s round up a few more items from around the Western Conference:
- Moses Moody, Kevon Looney, and Dario Saric were all DNP-CDs on Saturday for the Warriors, while Gary Payton II played just seven minutes as head coach Steve Kerr tightened his rotation, writes Anthony Slater of The Athletic. Payton figures to be “peppered into the mix” going forward, Slater says, but Moody is being pushed out of the rotation and Looney and Saric are on the outside looking in. “It is tough,” Stephen Curry said. “Loon, Moses, Dario, probably in that order — especially Loon and Moses — there’s probably going to be times where they’re going to be needed. They’ll be ready. That’s the challenge they face. But this time of year, building an identity of how we want to play, that (tightened rotation is) huge.”
- Kevin Durant said he’s “excited” for Isaiah Thomas to join the Suns and head coach Frank Vogel called the veteran guard a “hell of a player,” per Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic. Vogel noted that adding Thomas will help Phoenix preserve the four active games remaining on Saben Lee‘s two-way contract.
- Jazz head coach Will Hardy was upset by how his team played on Saturday vs. Minnesota, telling reporters after the game that there were far too many instances of players attempting to force the issue themselves when teammates were open. “Stats don’t mean s–t. I don’t care about your individual stats,” Hardy said, according to Andy Larsen of The Salt Lake Tribune. “I don’t care how many points you score. I don’t care what you post on Instagram. It doesn’t matter. It’s a team sport, play to win. And we have to nip this in the bud now because — I’ve said this before, and I’ll say it again — there will not be free minutes in this program. So you’re either gonna start learning and you’re going to start playing the right way and you’re gonna start participating with your teammates, or you’re not gonna play.”
Moody will be a DNP most of the time and then 1 guy gets hurt and somehow he’s in the starting line-up scoring 15+ PPG. Trade the guy and give him a shot somewhere else.
I am expecting him to be traded in the off season. Just don’t see much of a fit for him on the team unless Wiggins gets traded instead.
Looney, Moody, and Saric are 3 I’d project as not being with the Warriors next season. Paul probably falls into that category. The CP3, and Loon, with their non-guaranteed contracts probably look good to a team wanting to make a splash in Free Agency. The Dubs can get under the tax threshold. Hopefully, they can a veteran big man and some picks out of the deal. Santos is a replacement for Saric.
Suns sign another old guy that won’t play, his last game was April 10, 2022.
Will they finish ahead of the Kings, Mavs, GSW, and Lakers by the end of the year?
Luka come to NY. Brunson will show you how great it is to play in NYC.
I guess you haven’t seen the consecutive 30+ point games he’s been putting up in the G League. Sure the defense isn’t as physical, but you still have to make your shots. IT is a really good 3-point shooter.
He’s played 4 games out of the 28 SLC has played, and he only played 3 G league games last season.
He signed a 10 day with the Suns, do you think Vogel will give him meaningful (non-garbage time) minutes?
He’s going to win them every game he plays… okay, not really. However, I do think he can still play meaningful minutes. 35 isn’t that old, especially if he hasn’t played as much as a typical 35 year old NBA role player.
Why? How many players ever instantly average 30+ in the G League after having not played for as long he has? Not sure it’s been done that often or ever. Pretty impressive, if nothing else happens with his NBA career.
I’m glad Coach Hardy is focused on team play then getting players stats. I’m sure that’s always been a struggle to balance the two. It’s a team game but sometimes you have to lean on your star players.
P.S. The title of the Jazz page HoopsRumors was Jazz approach. That made it sound like he was talking about the front office. A bit too clickbaity for my taste, cuz it was misleading. =(
You fixed it! My faith in humanity is restored! =)
Yeah, wasn’t intending to be misleading but I can see how it could be, so I tweaked it. Thanks for the heads-up.