Nuggets’ Aaron Gordon To Return On Sunday
Nuggets forward Aaron Gordon is expected to make his return to action on Sunday in Dallas, reports NBA insider Chris Haynes (Twitter video link).
Gordon has been sidelined since Christmas Day, having missed Denver’ past nine games due to a right calf strain. The injury was an aggravation of a strain he suffered in the same calf earlier in the season — that ailment cost him 10 games in November.
As we noted earlier today, Gordon was upgraded to doubtful for Friday’s game vs. Brooklyn before being ruled out, then was listed as questionable for Sunday’s contest against the Mavericks.
A key part of Denver’s starting lineup, Gordon has been his usual effective self when he has been healthy this season, averaging 13.7 points, 5.8 rebounds, and 3.1 assists in 28.8 minutes per game across 17 outings (16 starts). He has also made 52.3% of his shots from the field, including 44.0% of his three-pointers.
The Nuggets have a +8.0 net rating during Gordon’s 489 minutes so far this season; that marks dips to +2.4 when he’s not on the floor.
Russell Westbrook has replaced Gordon in the starting lineup over the past nine games. It’s unclear if Gordon will immediately reclaim his spot — following his 10-game absence in November, he came off the bench in his return before starting his second game back.
Heat Notes: Butler, Herro, Jovic, Highsmith
When the Heat announced that they’d suspended Jimmy Butler for seven games, they explained the decision by stating that the veteran forward had engaged in “multiple instances of conduct detrimental to the team.” However, Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel hears from a source close to the situation that the club at one point sought to suspend Butler for a “failure to render services.”
The difference wouldn’t have just been a matter of semantics. As Winderman outlines, a standard suspension for conduct detrimental to the team costs a player 1/145th of his full-season salary per game. In Butler’s case, that works out to $2,355,798 over seven games. However, when a player is suspended for a failure to render services, it costs him 1/91.6th of his salary per game — that would’ve resulted in $3,729,157 in lost salary for the 35-year-old.
Based on Winderman’s reporting, it’s unclear whether the Heat reconsidered taking that route or were prevented from doing so — it presumably would’ve required the club to prove that Butler, who had been playing in games leading up to the suspension, had refused to render the services required by his contract.
Hours after the Heat initially announced the seven-game ban, the National Basketball Players Association put out a statement indicating it intended to file a grievance. It’s safe to assume the NBPA’s objections to the suspension would’ve been even more vociferous if the team had accused Butler of a failure to render services and attempted to recoup more of his salary.
Here’s more on the Heat:
- After suffering demoralizing losses to Utah and Sacramento in the first two games of Butler’s suspension, the Heat have righted the ship, beating Portland on Saturday for their third straight victory. As Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald points out, two players who were believed to be part of Miami’s 2023 trade offer for then-Blazers guard Damian Lillard led the way in the victory, as Tyler Herro scored a game-high 32 points and Nikola Jovic contributed a personal season-high of 21 points to go along with eight rebounds and five assists. “I like his improvement,” head coach Erik Spoelstra said of Jovic. “He’s playing with more consistency. He’s preparing with more consistency.”
- Jackson notes within the same Herald story that starting Haywood Highsmith at power forward has been a winning formula for Miami this season — the club is 17-11 when he starts and just 3-6 when he doesn’t. “He was great tonight,” Spoelstra said after Satuday’s win. “He gives us, when he’s at his best, point of attack defense, harassing other teams’ better guards and wing players. It’s a thankless job except in our locker room.” Highsmith re-signed with the Heat as an unrestricted free agent during the 2024 offseason on a two-year, $10.8MM deal.
- Road wins in Golden State, Utah, and Portland this week show that the Heat aren’t unraveling without Butler, Jackson writes in a separate article for The Miami Herald. Highsmith told reporters that “the vibes are great,” while Herro said the club has rediscovered its identity. “Just rallying around each other, making it about the guys that are here now, the guys that are in this locker room,” Herro said. “We’ve got enough, and that’s all that matters. This is what we wanted to get back on the road, get away from all the chaos and come out here and compete and get back to who we are and get to our identity.”
- The Lakers‘ and Clippers‘ home games on Saturday were postponed due to the wildfires in the Los Angeles area, but the Heat flew to L.A. on Saturday and are expecting for now to play the Clippers on Monday and Lakers on Wednesday, says Jackson.
Nuggets Notes: Jokic, Westbrook, Gordon, MPJ, Fernandez
Nuggets center Nikola Jokic and point guard Russell Westbrook recorded triple-doubles in the same game on Friday for the second time this season, leading the team to a victory over the shorthanded Nets.
As Bennett Durando of The Denver Post writes, the duo made NBA history by become the first pair of teammates to have 25-point triple-doubles in the same regular season game. Jokic put up 35 points, 15 assists, and 12 rebounds, while Westbrook contributed 25 points, 11 rebounds, and 10 assists.
“(Jokic) does a hell of a job making the game easy for everyone,” Westbrook said. “And since I’ve been here, I’ve been trying to do the same thing and find ways to be able to make the game easy for him and other guys. When we’re both doing that, our team is really good.”
Denver is 10-5 this season when Jokic registers a triple-double and 3-0 when Westbrook does so.
Here’s more on the Nuggets:
- Westbrook has been an ideal fit so far in Denver, according to Tony Jones of The Athletic, who suggests that both the point guard and the team are benefiting from the arrangement — the Nuggets got a veteran leader who can take some pressure off of Jokic with his ball-handling and play-making, while Westbrook got a chance to play more like himself under a coach who believes in him. “I told him that I wanted him to challenge himself to be the best version of himself,” head coach Michael Malone said. “No offense to any of his past coaches, but if you put Russell Westbrook in the corner, you’re not getting the whole package. We’ve made an effort to get the ball into his hands quite a bit this season.”
- Nuggets forward Aaron Gordon appears to be on the verge of returning from the calf strain he aggravated on Christmas Day. After being upgraded to doubtful for Friday’s game, Gordon has been listed as questionable to suit up on Sunday afternoon in Dallas.
- Nuggets forward Michael Porter Jr. is having arguably the best season of his career, with averages of 19.0 points, 6.6 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game on .521/.415/.708 shooting through 37 contests (34.5 MPG). With that in mind, Durando explores in a Denver Post story (subscription required) whether trading Porter would help or hurt the club’s roster. The 26-year-old, who is earning $35.9MM this season, is considered Denver’s most logical trade chip if the team makes a bigger in-season deal, since the other Nuggets with eight-figure cap hits – Jokic, Jamal Murray, and Gordon – aren’t going anywhere.
- Friday’s game between the Nets and Nuggets was the first time that former Nuggets assistant Jordi Fernandez returned to Denver to face his old team as a head coach. As Durando details for The Denver Post, Fernandez said that every year he spent with the Nuggets helped prepare him for his current position with Brooklyn, and his former players are happy to see him succeeding in his new role. “I think he’s doing a good job. I think guys are listening. Guys are playing hard for him,” Jokic said. “I think that’s really important for a coach. … They are trying to do the right thing. They are trying to do what he is probably telling them. So they have some kind of system, and it’s really cool to see. They’re in the beginning of the process, of course. Hopefully, they can grow.”
Jazz Notes: Juzang, Williams, Harkless, Markkanen
The Jazz‘s matchup with the Heat on Thursday gave them a first-hand look at the sort of player they envision as a model for third-year wing Johnny Juzang, writes Kevin Reynolds of The Salt Lake Tribune.
Head coach Will Hardy referred to Heat forward Duncan Robinson as the “poster boy” for the type of unheralded prospect who earns a spot in the NBA with his reliable three-point shooting and length on defense. Like Robinson, Juzang went undrafted out of college, and Hardy said this week that he spoke to the former UCLA standout when he arrived in Utah about how he could stick in the NBA.
“We had a pretty honest conversation about what I felt like he needed to do to make it,” Hardy said. “He was sort of an all-around scorer in college, had the ball a lot. Johnny has two really great gifts. He can really shoot and he is in really good shape. We felt like him becoming a real threat from the three-point line, and making that the centerpiece, would allow him to stick.”
Juzang played sparingly while on a two-way contract during his first two seasons with the Jazz, appearing in just 38 total contests. But he showed enough to earn a multiyear deal this past offseason that includes a guaranteed $3.1MM salary in 2024/25.
The remaining three seasons on the 23-year-old’s contract are non-guaranteed, so he’ll have to continuing proving to Utah’s front office that he deserves his roster spot. He’s off to a promising start this season, having averaged 7.3 points per game with a .400 3PT% through 32 appearances (17.8 MPG), including 9.2 PPG with a .446 3PT% since the start of December.
Here’s more on the Jazz:
- Juzang missed Saturday’s game in Phoenix due to a fracture in his right hand, but the club doesn’t believe that injury will require a lengthy absence. As Andy Larsen of The Salt Lake Tribune relays (via Twitter), the Jazz stated that once the inflammation subsides, they “anticipate he will be able to play with the fracture as pain tolerates.”
- Saturday’s 13-point performance against Phoenix was a promising sign for rookie Cody Williams, who has badly struggled offensively in the first half of the season, Larsen writes for The Tribune (subscription required). Williams’ ball-handling and footwork still need work, but he has shown good touch near the basket out to about 15 feet, Larsen observes. His 13 points on Saturday represented a career high and he was a plus-7 across 22 minutes in a game Utah lost by eight points.
- Elijah Harkless, who signed a two-way contract with Utah at the start of January, made his NBA debut on Saturday vs. the Suns, Larsen notes in the same story. While Harkless has been shooting the ball well this season in the G League, making 40.8% of his three-pointers, he’s best known for his defense. Asked last week by Larsen to introduce his game to Jazz fans, Harkless replied, “I’m competitive. Best on-ball defender on the planet.” He went scoreless with four rebounds in nine minutes on Saturday.
- In case you missed it in our Community Shootaround discussion on Saturday, Jazz forward Lauri Markkanen was among the players labeled by scouts and executives who spoke to Tim Bontemps and Brian Windhorst of ESPN (Insider link) as one of the season’s disappointments so far. “He’s probably not super motivated because the team is tanking,” one executive said of Markkanen, who signed a long-term extension with Utah in August. “But his numbers and his overall level is down across the board.”
Suns Notes: Nurkic, Plumlee, Ighodaro, T. Jones, Dunn, Beal
Suns center Jusuf Nurkic received his second straight DNP-CD in today’s win over Utah, writes Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic. Nurkic started the first 23 games he appeared in, but he lost that job when coach Mike Budenholzer decided to shake up his starting lineup earlier this week. He played 14 and 19 minutes in the next two games, but now appears to be out of the rotation entirely in favor of Mason Plumlee and Oso Ighodaro.
“He’s a pro,” Budenholzer said about Nurkic following the game. “He’s got to be ready. Everybody is earning their minutes. Everybody is earning their opportunities. We’re going to need everybody as we go through the season.”
The minutes at center were split almost evenly on Saturday, with Plumlee posting six points and 10 rebounds and Ighodaro producing nine points, two rebounds, two steals and two blocks. Rankin notes that Nurkic is the best rebounder of the group, and Utah collected 21 offensive rebounds without him in the game. However, Plumlee and Ighodaro provide increased mobility on both ends of the court and are more likely to keep the ball moving.
Devin Booker told reporters that Ighodaro is “bringing energy and that’s something we’ve been lacking the past couple of weeks.”
There’s more from Phoenix:
- Booker has been running the offense more frequently, which means Tyus Jones is often being used in an off-ball role, Rankin states in the same piece. That’s an unexpected twist for the offseason addition, who appealed to Phoenix because of his elite assist-to-turnover ratio. Rankin notes that Jones’ minutes have declined since he returned from a recent one-game absence due to illness, and he’s no longer in the team’s closing lineup. The Suns have been successful with the new approach, so Rankin expects it to continue.
- After falling to the 28th pick in last year’s draft, Ryan Dunn never expected to be a starter so soon, Rankin adds. Dunn’s defensive skills bring balance to a lineup loaded with scorers. “I didn’t, you now, as much with me being in a starting lineup in getting a lot of minutes, I didn’t expect that for myself,” Dunn said. “I didn’t come here with a lot of expectations. I was coming to work and doing whatever I had to do to play.”
- Bradley Beal, who was also moved to the bench this week, is excelling in his new role as a sixth man, Rankin notes in a separate story. Beal can be more aggressive in providing instant offense as he no longer has to settle for being the third option. “When you look at the whole game, he’s playing a lot of minutes, still getting his shots up,” Kevin Durant said. “So now coming into the games, I feel like he’s just comfortable understanding where his shots are going to come from. Sometimes that’s a struggle not understanding exactly what the role is at that point.”
Latest On Jimmy Butler
As Jimmy Butler serves out his seven-game suspension, the Heat don’t appear any closer to finding someone to take him off their hands, writes Steve Bulpett of Heavy. Numerous executives and other league sources who talked to Bulpett expressed skepticism that Miami will be presented with a deal to its liking before the February 6 trade deadline.
It’s partially due to Butler’s age and desire for a contract extension this summer, but it’s also because of his history of disrupting teams whenever he’s unhappy.
“It’s more difficult than people think,” said one team’s head of basketball operations. “First of all, Jimmy’s 35 and doesn’t have much value. And then the team that would like him the most is probably Phoenix, because they’re so bad and they have the worst contract in (Bradley) Beal. Other than that, I don’t know of any teams that would want to take on Jimmy Butler, other than teams that just want to dump contracts — and Miami won’t go for that. I just don’t know how it’s going to work.
“But all this stuff with Jimmy — all the stuff in Miami and Minnesota and Chicago and Philly — all of it is because he wants to get paid. That’s where he’s at right now. He wants to be paid for what he’s done for Miami.”
Butler, who’s in his sixth year with the Heat, has only appeared in 22 of the team’s first 36 games. Coming into this season, he had vowed to be more available after being challenged by team president Pat Riley when Miami was eliminated from the playoffs last spring. Butler has played 58, 52, 57, 64 and 60 games the past five seasons, and his frequent absences have made the organization reluctant to offer the extension he wants.
Butler is scoring 17.6 PPG so far this season — his lowest mark in more than a decade — although his shooting splits remain strong at .552/.375/.788. At age 35, there’s plenty of doubt around the league about whether he can still play at a level to justify an expensive new contract. Butler has stated that he plans to turn down his $52.4MM player option for next season and test free agency, but that may not be his best financial move if he’s still in Miami past the deadline.
“You’d have to say Jimmy’s been good for Miami overall, but he’s also been very difficult,” a league source told Bulpett. “I think it’s just reached an end. It’s like he’s in charge; he doesn’t play all the time, and he’s had injuries that always seem to come up. He’s not as good as it was. He got a lot of mileage out of being a leader, a go-to guy, a big game player, but he wasn’t there night in and night out.”
Rival executives were skeptical about Riley’s commitment to Butler when he announced in late December that the Heat were taking him off the market, Bulpett adds. The feeling was that Riley was responding to what he viewed as inadequate trade offers.
“I really believe (the Heat) had discussions (with other teams) about Jimmy before Pat said, ‘We’re not trading Jimmy Butler.’ At the very least, they went through every single team and what was realistic — like, there’s only a handful of teams that are trying to win right now and that Jimmy would want to go to,” one executive said. “And Miami looked at everything and basically said they weren’t doing any of that crap. So Pat says they’re not trading him, and Jimmy says what he says. So maybe now Jimmy will be open to more teams that he’d be willing to go to.”
Butler has been working out at Kaseya Center with assistant coach Octavio De La Grana and two other staff members while the Heat are on a road trip, but coach Erik Spoelstra declined to comment on those proceedings before tonight’s game at Portland, according to Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald.
“Of course I’ve talked to him. I’m very close to coach,” Spoelstra told reporters. “That’s between me and coach O, with all due respect.”
Trade talks regarding Butler are ongoing, but the Heat still haven’t received an offer they consider acceptable, a source tells Jackson, who adds that they remain willing to bring him back for a January 17 home game if he’s not traded by then.
Jackson also hears that Miami wouldn’t be opposed to keeping Butler on the roster for the rest of the season and dealing with the situation this summer.
Trail Blazers Notes: Clingan, Sharpe, Thybulle, Grant
Rookie Donovan Clingan posted his first double-double in nearly two months during the Trail Blazers‘ loss at Dallas Thursday night, writes Aaron Fentress of The Oregonian. With Robert Williams resting, Clingan served as Portland’s primary backup center and played more than 24 minutes off the bench.
“I thought DC played great,” coach Chauncey Billups said. “I really did. His minutes were good. … He had some big finishes around the basket and he played really tough.”
Fentress notes that Clingan hasn’t put up those type of numbers since November 13 when he had 17 points and 12 rebounds while starting in place of an injured Deandre Ayton. He suffered a knee strain later that month that sidelined him for seven games and affected his conditioning, but he appears to be fully back in game shape.
“It was good to see him back to being DC again,” Billups added. “That was extremely positive.”
There’s more from Portland:
- Even though the Blazers remain near the bottom of the West at 13-24, they’re coming off a promising five-game road trip, Fentress adds in a separate story. Portland went 2-3, but could have been 4-1 if two big leads hadn’t slipped away. “Learning how to play down the stretch of games,” Billups said. “What’s important. How to take care of the ball. How to get the right shots. Getting the ball in the right guy’s hands. We can preach it until they’re blue in the face, but until you’re actually in the hit, in the moment, is when you actually learn it.”
- A potential rookie-scale extension for Shaedon Sharpe will be one of the most important decisions facing Blazers management this summer, Sean Highkin of Rose Garden Report states in a mailbag column. Current projections have the max for Sharpe’s 2022 draft class at nearly $247MM over five years. Highkin expects a new deal for Sharpe to be more in line with the Pelicans’ Trey Murphy at $112MM over four years or the Magic’s Jalen Suggs and the Hawks’ Jalen Johnson, who each got $150MM over five years. Sharpe would become a restricted free agent in 2026 if he doesn’t reach an extension before the start of next season.
- Swingman Matisse Thybulle will be reevaluated in two weeks as he works his way back from a sprained right ankle, the Trail Blazers announced (via Twitter). Thybulle, who appeared in 65 games last year, has yet to play this season.
- Jerami Grant will miss his sixth straight game tonight with a face contusion. Billups said Grant continues to experience jaw and neck soreness, but he will start ramping up soon in preparation for a return, Highkin tweets.
Southwest Notes: Zion, Murphy, Tate, Jackson, Williams
The Pelicans sent a message to Zion Williamson by making his one-game suspension public, writes Rod Walker of NOLA. Walker explains that the team could have opted to simply keep Williamson on the bench for another night, just as it did for Wednesday’s game, without providing an explanation.
Instead, Williamson was suspended for Friday’s contest at Philadelphia, reportedly after showing up late for Thursday’s flight. There have also been reports of other violations, such as being late for multiple practices.
“There were several occasions that led up to this,” coach Willie Green confirmed. “That’s how we got to this decision.”
Walker adds that New Orleans needs a strong second half of the season from Williamson, who provided hope with 22 points, five rebounds, four assists, three steals and a block in 28 minutes as he returned Tuesday following a lengthy absence. Williamson seemed to be in excellent physical condition, which Walker notes has often been an issue during his six NBA seasons.
“The focus I had during this rehab was a bit more extreme,” Williamson said. “That’s why my legs are already under me. I feel like I didn’t miss a beat, but gained a beat. Now I don’t have to worry about trying to find a rhythm. … Just learning more and more about my body and how my body reacts to certain things.”
There’s more from the Southwest Division:
- After missing the past three games with a sprained left ankle, Trey Murphy is expected to play Sunday at Boston (Twitter link from the Pelicans). Assuming they’re all active, it will be the first game for Murphy, Williamson and Dejounte Murray together as teammates, tweets Will Guillory of The Athletic. Murray is listed as questionable due to right elbow tendonitis and a right shin contusion.
- Injuries to Jabari Smith and Tari Eason have opened up rotation minutes over the past two weeks for veteran forward Jae’Sean Tate, per Danielle Lerner of The Houston Chronicle. Tate, who has been with the Rockets since the start of their rebuild, enables the team to keep a strong defensive lineup on the court at all times. “It’s definitely always fun to play, but at the end of the day, we want to win as many games as we can,” he said. “We are dealing with a couple injuries right now, and we just have to have that next man up (mentality) until we get our guys back. So until that happens, I’m ready, and we’ll see what happens.”
- Grizzlies coach Taylor Jenkins said at today’s pregame session with reporters that he’s hoping to have both GG Jackson and Vince Williams back before the end of the month (Twitter video link from Michael Wallace of Grizzlies.com). Jackson hasn’t played this season as he recovers from foot surgery, while Williams has been out with a sprained right ankle since mid-November.
Celtics Notes: Brown, Home Losses, Porzingis, R. Williams
The Celtics had a relatively smooth path to last year’s NBA title, claiming the top spot in the East by a wide margin with 64 wins, then cruising through four rounds in the playoffs. Things have been different this season as the defending champs are just 8-7 in their last 15 games and may face a tough fight to hold onto the second seed. After Friday’s home loss to Sacramento, Jaylen Brown talked to reporters, including Brian Robb of MassLive, about what has gone differently.
“Teams have adjusted to how we kind of played early in the season and we’re making adjustments back,” Brown said. “We’ve gotta be better at protecting the basket and we gotta figure out how to win games in different ways. I think that we’ve been injured for a good majority part of the year. Now a lot of our guys are all healthy all on the same floor at the same time, so just figuring that rhythm out. So, like I said, I believe in this group. We’re going to figure it out.”
Friday marked just the third game all season that Boston has entered with a fully healthy roster, although it didn’t seem to matter in the 17-point rout. Robb notes that the Celtics have struggled to adjust to Kristaps Porzingis after he missed the first few weeks while recovering from offseason surgery, as he and Jayson Tatum tend to prefer a slower pace than the rest of the team.
Brown still believes the players will figure things out.
“It’s basketball at the end of the day and we got a bunch of talented and intelligent basketball minds,” he said. “We just have to think the game and I think just our pace has a lot to do with it, just get into our spacing, I think we posted a lot tonight and it kind of slowed things down. It kinda gets guys out of rhythm. We gotta keep the pace and keep everybody engaged, and I think how we get the ball up the floor, how we get to get to the corners and all that stuff has an effect on our offense.”
There’s more from Boston:
- The Celtics heard some boos from the home crowd during the final quarter of Friday’s game, per Souichi Terada of MassLive. They were a result of increasingly common struggles at TD Garden, where the team is just 13-7 after going 37-4 last season. “Honestly, I like it,” Porzingis said. “It’s kind of deserved. They expect high level from us, high level based off our talent and what we’ve shown in the past. … I think when we’re not giving our all, I think that’s the most deserved boos. So it’s normal and that’s just a sign of them wanting us to bring up our level, bring up our energy. And we have to respond to that.”
- Adam Himmelsbach of The Boston Globe examines some of the reasons for the Celtics’ recent downturn, including poor fourth-quarter numbers, inconsistent three-point shooting and slow pace of play. He also points to a disappointing start by Porzingis, who addressed his performance Friday night. “I haven’t been at, like, my top shape yet,” he said. “It’s been tough to have this kind of a summer and the surgery and everything. Not to make an excuse, but obviously I just haven’t been able to get back into that really top, top shape for playing. And then these small things [like ankle sprains] obviously derail you a little bit again.”
- In a video produced by the Trail Blazers (YouTube link), center Robert Williams talks about the shock of being traded by the Celtics shortly before the start of last season, Terada relays in a separate story. “I was in my basement in Boston and my agent texts me like, ‘It’s tough, but we gotta let you go,’ whatever, whatever,” Williams recalls. “I respect that always. It’s always love on that side for the opportunities. I was sad. It was my first trade. I was sad for like two or three days.”
Mavericks Notes: Hardy, Dinwiddie, Grimes, Irving, Doncic, Exum
Jaden Hardy is giving the Mavericks the offensive lift they need with their two stars sidelined by injuries, writes Mike Curtis of The Dallas Morning News. The third-year guard is coming off a season-high 25-point performance in Thursday’s win over Portland, and Curtis notes that since December 28, Hardy is leading the NBA in three-point field goal percentage at 55.6%.
“He’s starting to get into a groove,” coach Jason Kidd said. “You see that on the offensive end. Defensively, he’s competing and giving it everything we’re asking him to do. … I think the more minutes he’s playing, he’s becoming more comfortable with what we’re asking him to do. We need that with everybody out.”
Hardy is becoming the scoring threat the Mavs envisioned when they gave him a three-year, $18MM extension in October. He has scored in double figures in the last five games — the longest stretch of his career — and Dallas is 10-4 when he posts at least 10 points.
“Just sticking to what I’ve been doing,” Hardy said. “Extra work. Extra film. Asking the coaches questions. ‘What can I do better to help the team?’ Just trying to bring energy whenever I get out there and bring a spark.”
There’s more from Dallas:
- Spencer Dinwiddie has also been playing an important role while Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving are out of action, per Eddie Sefko of Mavs.com. Dinwiddie, who has become the primary lead guard, had 17 points, five rebounds and five assists against Portland after compiling 19 points, six rebounds and eight assists Tuesday against the Lakers. “The pick and roll, the tempo of getting downhill, the ball touching the paint and being able to make plays,” Kidd said in describing what Dinwiddie brings to the offense. “We need that while those two are out, and even when those two come back we need him to continue to play that way.”
- Quentin Grimes talks to Grant Afseth of Dallas Hoops Journal (Substack link) about a number of topics, including the adjustments he needed to make after being traded from Detroit to Dallas over the summer. “Being on a new team, I’ve had to learn the system and all the nuances defensively,” he said. “I try to keep everyone focused on building good habits, even when things are going well. We want to be in the playoffs and compete for a championship, so I’m trying to help keep us on that path.”
- Irving is making progress in his recovery from a bulging disc in his back and was able to do some spot-shooting drills after today’s practice, Afseth adds in a separate story. Doncic did some light shooting without jumping, but Kidd cautioned that there are several steps to be cleared before a timetable can be set for his return. Kidd is optimistic about Dante Exum, who has been sidelined since hurting his right wrist in training camp. “He’s doing a great job with his rehab,” Kidd said. “I think he’s out to the three-point line shooting now, so a lot of positives there. And then it’s just a matter of getting the scheduled appointment to check to see how the wrist is doing and then go from there. But he’s in great shape. He’s done a lot of solo workouts.”