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Injury Notes: Knueppel, Adebayo, Bailey, Blazers

December 28th, 2025 at 10:05pm CST by Eli Cohen

Hornets‘ standout rookie Kon Knueppel left Friday night’s game against the Magic early with a right ankle sprain, but he appears to have avoided serious injury, writes Rod Boone of the Charlotte Observer.

“Kon, he’s an insane competitor — he wants to come back for practice,” coach Charles Lee said on Sunday. “But I do think that he’s made good progress so far. He’s been able to do a little bit on the court, but we will continue to see how he responds every day. As of now, it’s a right ankle sprain, and we’ll kind of work day-to-day to see how he responds to treatment.”

Knueppel has been a key part of the Hornets’ rotation this season, averaging 19.3 points, 5.1 rebounds, and 3.5 assists on .478/.428/.897 shooting splits while starting 30 of the 31 games he’s played.

We have more injury notes from around the league:

Bam Adebayo needed to take some time to let his body rest before returning to the Heat, writes Anthony Chiang of the Miami Herald. “He really needed this time,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. “He was dealing with some deals because of overcompensation. I think he’s feeling a lot better each day.” Adebayo is considered probable for Monday’s game against the Nuggets after missing the previous two matchups.
Ace Bailey missed Saturday’s Jazz win against the Spurs after leaving Utah’s previous contest against the Pistons early due to a left hip strain, as reported by ESPN. Kevin Love sat out against San Antonio due to rest, as Andy Larson of the Salt Lake Tribune (Twitter link).
The Blazers have been particularly hit by injuries this season, and it’s dragging their play-in aspirations down, Sean Highkin writes for the Rose Garden Report (subscriber link). Jrue Holiday has missed nearly six weeks with a right calf strain that was supposed to keep him out for 1-to-2 weeks. Jerami Grant and Matisse Thybulle have both also missed time, and Scoot Henderson still has yet to play a game this season. “It’s the injuries, my friend,” head coach Tiago Splitter said Friday.

Knicks Notes: McCullar, Kolek, Towns, Schedule

December 28th, 2025 at 9:01pm CST by Eli Cohen

Kevin McCullar Jr. was the surprise of the game in the Knicks‘ victory over the Hawks on Saturday, writes Kristian Winfield of the New York Daily News.

After playing just under six minutes coming into Saturday’s game, he finished the matchup against the Hawks with 13 points, eight rebounds, two assists, and two steals on 3-6 shooting from three in 23:29 minutes of gameplay. Stefan Bondy of the New York Post notes that Trae Young went scoreless when defended by the second-year guard.

“[McCullar] was scheduled on my little minutes sheet to come in at the 8-minute mark of the first quarter. I was going to throw him on Trae just to see what happens,” coach Mike Brown said. “Kev’s a young, really good defender, has a great feel on both ends of the floor, but especially that end of the floor. I wanted to give him a chance. I threw him out there a few minutes and he was fantastic. So, he just earned more minutes. I didn’t have him down for that many minutes, but he definitely earned those minutes as the game went along.”

McCullar noted that the young players on the team were given a warning by Josh Hart that they needed to be ready in case of injury, and on Saturday, he delivered.

“Just staying ready until my number’s called, and happy we got the W,” McCullar said.

We have more from around the Knicks:

Tyler Kolek got his opportunity in part due to an injury to Miles McBride, and he has taken that chance and run with it, writes Stefan Bondy of the New York Post. “[Assistant coach Rick Brunson] came over to me and was like, ‘Get ready,'” Kolek said. “And I’m like, ‘Are you talking to me?’ Cause I didn’t play for two weeks.” Brown has tasked Kolek with studying Pacers guard TJ McConnell as an example of how to succeed without major athleticism or outlier three-point shooting. “I said to Tyler, ‘If there’s anybody in this league you need to take a look at, it’s him,” Brown said. “Because you have a superpower offensively — you can score. You have a second superpower — you can pass. You have some quickness, too. You have a good feel. But defensively, you got to develop a superpower for your size. And you got good feet. Now it’s about using those and being physically tough every single possession.'” There have been ups and downs to Kolek’s first real stint in the Knicks’ rotation, but he has shown during big moments why the coaches trust him to be out there.
Karl-Anthony Towns knows that he might have to change his game a bit to stop piling up offensive fouls, Bondy writes. Towns leads the league in charges by a large margin and has taken himself out of the Knicks’ gameplan several times by piling up charges early. “I’m going to keep doing my thing. Maybe I’ll have to change my game up a little bit, if that’s what they’re trying to tell me I need to do,” Towns said. “[The refs] didn’t tell anyone else that, but they’re telling me that. Maybe I have to do that.“
The Knicks’ schedule is about to get more difficult, Winfield writes. That includes a stretch of eight of 11 games on the road to kick off the new year. The team currently holds a 5-7 road record and will need to win while dealing with injuries to key rotation players like McBride, Hart, and Landry Shamet,

NBA Suspends Alvarado, Williams

December 28th, 2025 at 8:10pm CST by Eli Cohen

The NBA announced today that Jose Alvarado has been suspended for two games without pay for his role in Saturday night’s fight during the Pelicans‘ game against the Suns (Twitter link). Suns center Mark Williams has been suspended for one game.

Both players were ejected during the third quarter of the game after a hard foul from the Pelicans guard led to Williams shoving Alvarado, leading to an altercation between the two players.

Bobby Marks notes (via Twitter) that the suspensions will cost Alvarado approximately $62K and Williams approximately $36K.

The Suns ultimately won the game 123-114 behind 20 points from Devin Booker.

Alvarado will miss games on Monday against the Knicks and Wednesday against the Bulls, while Williams will miss the Suns’ Monday night contest against the Wizards.

Mo Bamba To Sign With Raptors

December 28th, 2025 at 6:29pm CST by Eli Cohen

Mo Bamba is signing a one-year deal with the Raptors, according to ESPN’s Shams Charania (Twitter link).

This move comes on the precipice of Toronto getting an update on the health status of starting center Jakob Poeltl, according to Blake Murphy of Sportsnet (Twitter link). Murphy reports (via Twitter) that the deal is non-guaranteed.

Keith Smith of Spotrac notes (via Twitter) that this move puts Toronto $475K over the first apron and about $2.1M over the tax line, but adds that he doesn’t expect the team to operate in the tax by the end of the season, making them a clear candidate for further moves.

With Poeltl in-and-out of the rotation due to injury, the Raptors have relied on Sandro Mamukelashvili for frontcourt depth, but Bamba gives them a different look due to his length and shot-blocking ability.

Bamba started his career with the Magic, playing 4.5 seasons in Orlando after being drafted 6th overall in 2018. He holds career averages of 6.8 points and 5.4 rebounds over his seven-year career.

The 27-year-old center played 14 games for this year’s Salt Lake City Stars G League team, averaging 16.5 points, 11.9 rebounds, and 2.7 blocks.

And-Ones: Izzo, Thomas, Damion Lee, Saben Lee

December 28th, 2025 at 6:00pm CST by Eli Cohen

Michigan State coach Tom Izzo is not a fan of the recent report that Knicks’ prospect James Nnaji has been granted eligibility to play for Baylor University, writes Jared Schwartz for the New York Post.

“Now we’re taking guys that were drafted in the NBA and everything?” Izzo said. “I said it to you a month and a half ago — c’mon, Magic (Johnson) and Gary (Harris), let’s go baby, let’s do it. Why not? I mean, if that’s what we’re going to, shame on the NCAA. Shame on the coaches, too. But shame on the NCAA, because coaches are gonna do what they gotta do, I guess.”

Nnaji was the 31st pick in the 2023 Draft and has played overseas since being drafted. He joined the Knicks’ Summer League team this offseason but struggled to make an impact, averaging 3.2 points in 12.9 minutes per game.

“What we’ve done in the NCAA has been an absolute travesty to me,” Izzo said. “We’re just worried about getting sued and we’re not gonna fight anybody. And I think leadership means you fight and you make decisions that are sometimes unpopular.”

We have more from around the world of international basketball:

Isaiah Thomas is considering heading overseas to continue his career, according to the Eurohoops team. “Thinking about slidin’ to the EuroLeague,” Thomas posted to Twitter. “I just want to HOOP.” Thomas most recently played six games for the Suns in the 2023/24 season, as well as playing 14 games for the Salt Lake City Stars G League team in 2024/25, with whom he averaged 29.1 points and 5.5 assists in 30.8 minutes per game.
Damion Lee is expected to part ways with Ironi Ness Ziona, writes Dario Skerletic of Sportando. Lee played in just three games for the Israeli club, averaging 7.0 points in 22.7 minutes while shooting 29.2% from the field and 9.1% from three. Lee played 25 games for the Suns last year after missing the previous season with a knee injury.
Saben Lee is finalizing a move from Olympiacos to Anadolu Efes, writes Stavros Barbarousis for Eurohoops. Barbarousis writes that Lee struggled to meet the Greek team’s need at point guard and that Anadolu Efes will cover his contract for the rest of the season. Lee has averaged 3.4 points and 1.4 assists during EuroLeague play so far this season.

Southwest Notes: Eason, Fox, Bey, Flagg

December 28th, 2025 at 5:03pm CST by Eli Cohen

After missing 14 games in November and December, Tari Eason‘s return has allowed the Rockets to try a new-look starting five.

Eason replaced Josh Okogie in Houston’s new, jumbo-sized lineup in the last two games and has made an impact on both ends of the floor in the back-to-back wins over the Lakers and Cavaliers, amassing six steals and three blocks while shooting 3-for-8 from three.

“It was amazing to be out there. [Head coach Ime Udoka] finally trusted me to go out there. I just had to do what I do best,” Eason said, per The Athletic’s Will Guillory (via Twitter). “We had to get back to being dogs defensively, and I knew I could come out there and set the tone.”

When asked if he valued being in the starting lineup after spending the last few years as a reserve, Eason responded: “Yes, I do.”

We have more from around the Southwest Division:

De’Aaron Fox missed the Spurs‘ game Saturday against the Jazz with left adductor tightness, but the team is optimistic that he won’t miss much time, according to Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express-News. “Not too many big concerns,” said head coach Mitch Johnson. “Obviously he’s out, so it’s real. But hopefully it will be short-term.” Johnson said that he started Julian Champagnie over Dylan Harper in order to keep Harper in a more consistent role. “It goes a long way for players to expect if they’re going to play, when they’re going to play, when do they come out,” Johnson said. “They are creatures of habit from when they wake up to when they go to bed. I think being able to help provide consistency where you can (is important).” The Spurs have gone 17-5 in games that Fox has played this season.
Saddiq Bey was something of an afterthought coming into this season for the Pelicans, having not played a game since March, 2024, when he tore his ACL. But following a trade from the Wizards to the Pelicans this summer, Bey knew he had been given a second shot at establishing himself, writes Rod Walker of NOLA.com. “Just to be wanted at that time after not playing in a year and a half meant a lot to me,” Bey said. “New Orleans was showing that they still believed in me and that meant the world to me.” Bey has responded to the opportunity by averaging 14.7 points, 5.9 rebounds, and 2.2 assists while starting 24 of the 32 games he played this season. “He’s been incredible all year,” said coach James Borrego. “He’s built for these moments. He doesn’t shy away from it.” Bey said that the experience has given him a new perspective on his career. “I feel like I owe it to the front office, the city and this organization for believing in me,” Bey said. “Every single game, I’m literally thanking God for letting me finish that game. Win or lose. I’ll never take another game for granted.”
Mavericks‘ coach Jason Kidd went back to an early-season strategy in an attempt to grind out a win over the Kings without Anthony Davis: using Cooper Flagg as the de facto point guard, Christian Clark writes for The Athletic. “Once we had to sub, it went back up to 18,” Kidd said. “Just understanding the change — we talked about it at halftime — it gave us an opportunity to get us back in the game.” The effort ended up coming in a 113-107 loss, but Flagg was able to turn around a slow start and end with 23 points, six rebounds, and five assists, though he had five turnovers as well.

Grizzlies Notes: Morant, Iisalo, Jackson, Landale, Koloko

December 28th, 2025 at 4:00pm CST by Rory Maher

The relationship between Ja Morant and head coach Tuomas Iisalo looked rocky after the Grizzlies‘ starting point guard was suspended by the team for one game early in the season, but it seems to be in a better place at the moment, according to Damichael Cole of The Memphis Commercial Appeal (subscriber link).

Iisaslo criticized Morant’s “leadership and effort” following an October 31 loss to the Lakers, while Morant — who questioned Iisalo’s unorthodox substitution patterns — responded to his coach in a “tone deemed inappropriate.”

Morant had 17 points, 10 assists and four rebounds in 25 minutes during Friday’s win over Milwaukee, his first game back following a four-game absence, Cole writes. Iisalo said the Grizzlies and Morant are still trying to find an ideal balance as the team monitors the 26-year-old minutes.

“I think both of us were very happy that he was able to express himself fully and then still not have those long stretches where he’s off the court or on the bench,” Iisalo said after Friday’s game.

Here’s more from Memphis:

Star big man Jaren Jackson Jr. struggled mightily to open the season, but he has caught fire of late, Cole adds. Jackson thinks his slow start was a result of beating his projected return timeline from offseason turf toe surgery. “I think I was still just recovering from surgery, honestly,” Jackson said. “That probably took a bigger toll on me than I even knew of. I think my whole goal was to just be healthy, so when I got back playing, I didn’t really think anything of it, and I just kind of assumed that I would be exactly who I was immediately.”
Center Jock Landale was a late scratch for Friday’s game vs. Milwaukee due to right calf soreness, notes Chris Herrington of The Daily Memphian (via Twitter). Landale, who is averaging career highs of 11.0 points, 5.9 rebounds and 22.3 minutes per game on a one-year, minimum-salary deal, will likely miss his second straight contest on Sunday in Washington — he has been downgraded to doubtful ahead of tip-off, the Grizzlies announced (via Twitter).
With big men Zach Edey, Brandon Clarke and Landale out with injuries Friday, Iisaslo gave Christian Koloko extended playing time and the 25-year-old center responded well, Cole writes in the same subscriber-only story. “He wasn’t scheduled for this type of minutes,” Iisalo said. “We were thinking more in terms of what happened in Utah, and it was a complete surprise that Jock wasn’t able to go. … I was very impressed with his ability to step out and guard different type of guys. Christian has made a good impression on us.” Koloko, who is on a 10-day hardship contract with Memphis, finished with four points, three rebounds, three steals and one block and was a game-high plus-23 in 28 minutes.

Kristaps Porzingis Out Monday, Now Considered Day-To-Day

December 28th, 2025 at 2:50pm CST by Rory Maher

While Hawks center Kristaps Porzingis will be out again for Monday’s contest at Oklahoma City, his return shouldn’t be far off. According to the team (Twitter link), Porzingis is progressing in his return from an illness and is now considered day-to-day.

This is the first official update on Porzingis since Atlanta ruled him out for two weeks on December 14. Porzingis’ new status was first reported by Ohm Youngmisuk and Shams Charania of ESPN (via Twitter).

Monday will mark the Latvian big man’s 10th straight absence due to the unspecified illness. Overall, he has missed 14 of the past 15 contests with the ailment. After his lone game earlier this month, Porzingis admitted he was frustrated by the illness, which he said wasn’t related to postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS), the condition he was diagnosed with after missing extended time in 2024/25.

Porzingis, who will be an unrestricted free agent next summer if he doesn’t sign an extension before then, has been very productive when available in his first season with Atlanta, averaging 19.6 points, 5.6 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 1.6 blocks on .497/.364/.855 shooting in a career-low 25.9 minutes per contest. The Hawks are plus-3.4 points per 100 possessions with Porzingis on the court and minus-2.3 when he’s not.

However, availability has been a significant issue, with the 30-year-old only appearing in 13 of the team’s 33 games to this point.

Porzingis, who was sent from Boston to Atlanta in the offseason, has popped up in several trade rumors to open ’25/26. Our Luke Adams listed the former All-Star as the Hawks’ most likely trade candidate earlier this week.

The Hawks have been sliding down the Eastern Conference standings for weeks, having lost six straight games and 10 of their past 12. They held a players-only meeting following Friday’s loss to Miami, tweets Lauren L. Williams of The Atlanta Journal Constitution.

“We kind of had like a real sit-down with the whole group, and said, ‘We need to be better.’ And I think you can feel it in the presence of the game,” Nickeil Alexander-Walker said Saturday.

Atlanta made a late rally in Saturday’s game vs. New York, but ultimately came up short, losing by three points.

“We told each other what we needed to say yesterday,” Jalen Johnson added after the team’s latest loss (Twitter link via Williams). “A lot of guys spoke, so I think that was a good sign. So yeah, and I think it reflected today.”

Nets Notes: Thomas, Winning Streak, Bench, Demin

December 28th, 2025 at 1:23pm CST by Rory Maher

Nets guard Cam Thomas admitted a couple days ago that there would likely be an adjustment period when he returned to action on Saturday, per Brian Lewis of The New York Post. After a terrible 0-7 start to the season with Thomas in the lineup, Brooklyn had been playing better in the 24-year-old’s absence, going 9-12 over the past several weeks, including the November 5 win over Indiana in which Thomas was limited to just six minutes after straining his left hamstring.

“Every team adjusts when a certain player goes out,” said Thomas. “We’ll figure it out. Just go out there and play ball. It’s not rocket science. We just go out there, figure out who’s out there together and figure out how to play amongst each other.

“It’s been a while. … Obviously, it’s going to be a learning curve for a few games, but we’ll figure it out quick. We’re pros, we’ll figure it out. So, just going to make it back on the court and play, figure it out and just try to keep stacking wins.”

However, Thomas showed zero signs of rust — or trouble fitting in — as he lit up the Timberwolves for 30 points in 20 minutes off the bench in Saturday’s win at Minnesota, Lewis writes in another story. The impending free agent shot 9-of-15 from the floor and was 9-for-9 at three throw line while chipping in four assists (against zero turnovers) and three rebounds.

Thomas, who was a game-high plus-27, said he was happy to be playing again and to help the team get a win, Lewis notes. Head coach Jordi Fernandez praised Thomas’ performance.

“[I liked] his mindset. He let the game come to him. He assisted, zero turnovers being a simple play every time. And I’m pretty sure the potential assists were high because he made the right play over and over and over,” Fernandez said. “Sometimes you cannot control if those are going to be assists, but you just play the right way. And going to the free throw line, and as efficient as it was, it was just really impressive.

“We have to be careful with the amount of minutes we play him. And knowing that he had a short amount of minutes and using them efficiently, efficiently for the team. He just played, once again, the right play every time: whether it was to score against the line or pass waters. So, very clean game, very connected to his teammates, talking to them, telling them what to do. That’s it.”

We have more from Brooklyn:

The Nets have now won a season-high three straight games and seven of their past 10 after picking up a road victory against a Minnesota team that had gone 10-3 in its last 13 contests, according to Lewis. The Nets surprisingly have the league’s top-ranked defense in December, Lewis notes. “When you’ve got Mike [Michael Porter Jr.] playing the level he’s playing out right now, throwing a Cam Thomas in the fold, and you have us defending the way that we are, we’re extremely [tough],” Nic Claxton said. “We’re going to be an extremely tough team to beat every night. We’re gonna compete, because those are two extremely gifted scores. And we’ve got shooters around. We’ve got me, Day’Ron [Sharpe] at the rim. So we’ve got a lot of different options, a lot to build off of.”
While Thomas was the top performer, Brooklyn’s bench also received solid contributions from first-round picks Nolan Traore, Drake Powell and Danny Wolf as well as fifth-year center Sharpe in outscoring Minnesota’s second unit 62-33, as C.J. Holmes of The New York Daily News relays.
Fernandez has been pleased with the lottery pick Egor Demin‘s progress so far this season, but he’s constantly pushing the 19-year-old to keep improving, per Holmes. “I think he’s more comfortable,” Fernandez said. “I think he always played like he belongs, and that’s been great. I remember since that preseason game in Toronto. He played and showed right away why we were so high on him and how he handled himself. It’s not just about the shot making but also seeing the floor and his ability to get deflections and rebounds and all those things. We’ve seen how much better he’s gotten from Day 1… We still want to see more and better. And that goes not just for him, but everybody else on the roster.”

Raptors’ Barrett Returning Sunday; Poeltl Update Coming Monday

December 28th, 2025 at 12:56pm CST by Rory Maher

Raptors wing RJ Barrett will return to action on Sunday against Golden State, tweets Blake Murphy of Sportsnet.ca. Barrett will be on an unspecified minutes restriction in his first game back since November 23, Murphy adds.

As Josh Lewenberg of TSN.ca observes (via Twitter), the Raptors were 12-5 with Barrett in the lineup but have gone just 6-9 without him. They have worst offensive rating in the NBA over that 15-game span.

Barrett, 25, averaged 19.4 points, 4.8 rebounds and 3.8 assists on .506/.356/.725 shooting in his first 17 games of the season. On Friday, the Raptors provided an encouraging update on the former No. 3 overall pick, who was initially listed as questionable for Sunday’s game.

Toronto is expected to announce an injury update on Jakob Poeltl on Monday, per Josh Lewenberg of TSN.ca (Twitter link). The Raptors’ starting center will miss his third straight game Sunday due to a lower back issue the team has recently called a strain. He has been dealing with back problems since training camp.

In a full story for Sportsnet, Murphy discusses his takeaways from Friday’s disappointing 21-point loss to Washington, which has the second-worst record in the league at 6-23. While some of Toronto’s young players have made individual progress this season, others have taken a step back, and the team’s ability to put pressure on the rim has been sorely lacking with Barrett out, Murphy writes.