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Atlantic Notes: Bogdanovic, DiVincenzo, Tatum, Maxey

April 23rd, 2024 at 10:54pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Trade deadline acquisition Bojan Bogdanovic came up big for the Knicks in Game 2 against the Sixers on Monday despite a sore left wrist, Stefan Bondy of the New York Post notes. Bogdanovic, whose $19MM contract for next season is partially guaranteed for $2MM, hit a couple of 3-pointers and added two assists in 12 minutes.

“We had a lot of contributions from different people,” Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau said. “I thought Bogey came in, hit some big shots to start the fourth.”

We have more from the Atlantic Division:

  • Knicks wing Donte DiVincenzo was benched in the fourth quarter of Game 1 but he was prominent throughout the second half of Game 2. He wound up playing 37 minutes and hitting the decisive 3-pointer, giving him 19 points for the game. “We practice that every day: dagger 3s and second-chance 3s,” he said, per Peter Botte of the New York Post.
  • Jayson Tatum is just fine after Caleb Martin‘s hard foul in Game 1 of the Celtics’ series with the Heat on Sunday. Tatum practiced in full on Tuesday, the Boston Globe’s Gary Washburn tweets. Game 2 will be held on Wednesday night.
  • Sixers forward Nicolas Batum felt that Tyrese Maxey was a “no-brainer” for the Most Improved Player award. Maxey was named the winner on Tuesday. “This is the first award that after 30 games people were like, ‘Maxey’s the Most Improved Player.’ It was pretty much a no-brainer. I’m very happy to see him get it,” Batum told Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer. “He deserves it with the work he puts in, and the way he carried himself this year. I’m just happy for him.” Center Paul Reed added, “He deserves it for sure.” 
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Pacific Notes: Doncic, Irving, Powell, Fox, Ellis, Allen

April 23rd, 2024 at 9:13pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Clippers found a way to hold the Mavericks to 30 points in the first half of Game 1. Coach Tyronn Lue knows that keeping Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving under control for Game 2 tonight will be even tougher, Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times writes.

“It’s very challenging,” he said. “You got two of the best scorers in the league on the same team. So, when they’re both on the court at the same time, it’s kind of hard to double-team one guy and leave the other guy. So, you got to pick your poison. I thought for the most part our guys did a good job with executing the defensive plan.”

We have more from the Pacific Division:

  • Clippers forward Norman Powell is upset he wasn’t one of the finalists for the Sixth Man of the Year award, Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN tweets. “I mean, I think it’s BS, to be honest, two years in a row,” he said. “I don’t know what else you’ve got to do to be a sixth man. Last year, you’re leading the league in bench points. Don’t get nominated. This year, the most efficient off the bench, given the fact I’m playing with four Hall of Famers, limited touches. … it’s just tough.” Powell averaged 13.9 points during the regular season.
  • De’Aaron Fox says it’s impossible to think of this Kings season as anything but a major disappointment, he told Hunter Patterson of The Athletic. Sacramento was bounced in the play-in tournament. “You want to continue to play for more,” Fox said. “I don’t think we were bad this year, but obviously the West got tougher and I don’t think we stepped up to that plate. … We took a step backward a little bit as a team. We still have things we can continue to get better at as a group.”
  • In the same story, Patterson notes that Keon Ellis and Kevin Huerter could have a spirited battle for the Kings’ starting shooting guard spot next season. Ellis impressed with his defense, while Huerter is a career 38.2% 3-point shooter. “It’s definitely the season where I’ve kind of made a name for myself a little bit,” Ellis said. “We didn’t finish the way we wanted to with the injuries and all of the things that go into that, but definitely for me it’s a season I’m going to look back at and be like, ‘This is where it started for me.’”
  • Suns wing Grayson Allen suffered a right ankle injury in Tuesday’s game against Minnesota and did not return. Allen came into the game with a sore ankle, per the Arizona Republic’s Duane Rankin (Twitter link), but was deemed healthy enough to play.
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Kawhi Leonard Will Play In Game 2

April 23rd, 2024 at 7:30pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Mavericks lost Game 1 to the Clippers with Los Angeles star forward Kawhi Leonard on the sidelines. The Mavericks will now try to even the series with Leonard in uniform.

Clippers coach Tyronn Lue said Leonard will be available for Game 2 tonight, Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN tweets.

Leonard was considered questionable to play. Leonard hasn’t played since March 31 due to right knee inflammation.

“He’s done all the necessary things to get on the floor or we wouldn’t put him out there,” Lue said during the pregame press conference, Brad Townsend of the Dallas Morning News tweets.

When healthy this season, the two-time Finals MVP has looked like the same lethal two-way powerhouse he’s been for the past decade or so. Across 68 games in 2023/24, Leonard averaged 23.7 PPG on .525/.417/.885 shooting, along with 6.1 RPG, 3.6 APG, 1.6 SPG, and 0.9 BPG.

In 137 postseason games, Leonard has averaged 21.4 PPG, 7.8 RPG, 2.9 APG and 1.8 SPG.

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Sixers’ Maxey Named Most Improved Player

April 23rd, 2024 at 6:13pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Sixers guard Tyrese Maxey has won the NBA’s Most Improved Player award for the 2023/24 season, the league’s communications department tweets.

Maxey edged out Bulls guard Coby White for the award. Maxey received 51 of 99 first-place votes while recording 319 voting points. White had just 32 first-place votes, but showed up on more ballots (91) than Maxey (79) and compiled 305 points.

The third finalist, Rockets center Alperen Sengun, was a distant third with six first-place votes and 92 points.

Thunder forward Jalen Williams and Knicks guard Jalen Brunson finished fourth and fifth, respectively, according to the NBA, which revealed the full voting results on Twitter.

A total of 14 players appeared on at least one ballot, with Wizards forward Deni Avdija and Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton each earning one first-place vote.

Maxey, who is expected to sign a maximum-salary contract this offseason as a restricted free agent, ranked 11th in the NBA in points per game (+5.6 PPG from last season) and 20th in assists per game (+2.7 APG from last season). The first-time All-Star also made a career-high 212 three-pointers, up from 160 last season.

Maxey recorded three games of 50 or more points, tied for the most in the NBA. Those were the first 50-point games of his four-year career.

Maxey is the first member of the Sixers to win the award since Dana Barros was the leading vote-getter for the 1994/95 season.

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Central Notes: Allen, Lillard, Rivers, Giannis, Pacers

April 23rd, 2024 at 5:15pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Jarrett Allen has been a dominant force in the Cavaliers’ first two playoff games against the Magic. He’s averaging 16 points in the first-round series. His 38 total rebounds is just 11 less than Orlando’s entire starting lineup, Joe Vardon of The Athletic notes. Magic defensive star Jonathan Isaac only played 19 minutes due to Allen’s superiority.

Allen has drawn extra motivation from his postseason clunker against the Knicks last season. “He’s a prideful individual,” Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell said. “And I think that the way it happened last year, you could see it’s a motivating thing. I think it goes without saying. I think he’s shown it himself to us all season. I had no doubt that this is who he would be.”

We have more from the Central Division:

  • Damian Lillard erupted for 35 points in Game 1 of the Bucks’ first-round series against the Pacers. He longtime All-Star guard was itching to get back into the postseason after a two-year absence with Portland, Jamal Collier of ESPN writes. “The last two years not being in the playoffs, it (stunk),” Lillard said. “Early vacations. Last year, I went to Coachella. I ain’t never been able to go to Coachella. Just having that long summer, I was over that. Being able to be in a playoff series on a championship team, championship organization, knowing that we got an opportunity for it, that was the thing I was looking forward to most.”
  • Lillard and coach Doc Rivers had dinner together last Wednesday, where the main topic of conversation was boxing, not basketball. There’s a strong bond between coach and player, according to Eric Nehm of The Athletic. “We’ve connected,” Lillard said. “I’ve always respected how he goes about being a coach. He says what’s unpopular. He’s not afraid to address s— and I’m a fan of that. I like addressing the elephant in the room, the uncomfortable situations. My family, that’s how it’s always been. That’s how you move past stuff and grow. So I like that that has always been his style. He challenges the best players, in front of everybody. I think that’s how you get the most out of the team.”
  • Not surprisingly, Giannis Antetokounmpo won’t play in Game 2 this evening, the team tweets. The Bucks superstar had been listed as doubtful due to a calf injury suffered late in the regular season.
  • The Pacers got a big-time wakeup call in Game 1, scoring a season-low in points against a perennial playoff contender, Kelly Iko of The Athletic notes. “The first half was embarrassing,” coach Rick Carlisle said. “No excuses. We simply have got to come out better. It was ugly, and we all own it. … They looked like the experienced team. We looked inexperienced. That led to a lot of problems early. You can talk about how different (the playoffs) are, but actually experiencing it is another thing. We were very poor and have to be way better.”
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Sixers To File Grievance Over Officating

April 23rd, 2024 at 4:26pm CST by Luke Adams

4:26pm: The league acknowledged in its Two Minute Report that Brunson and Josh Hart both fouled Maxey during the last-minute scramble. It also indicated Nurse should have been granted a timeout on the inbounds play, Bontemps tweets.

7:26am: Following their Game 2 loss to the Knicks in New York on Monday, the Sixers intend to file a grievance with the NBA over the officiating, a team spokesperson told Tim Bontemps of ESPN and Kyle Neubeck of PHLY Sports.

According to Neubeck, the 76ers’ list of concerns will include (but won’t necessarily be limited to) the following:

  • Two calls in the last two-minute report from Game 1 went against the Sixers.
  • The Sixers have been the most disadvantaged team in the NBA this season based on last two-minute reports, with a report compiled in early April indicating that 22 missed calls benefited their opponents and 11 benefited them, the worst such ratio in the league.
  • The Knicks included detailed referee information in their game notes for the first two games of the series (Twitter link), which Bontemps describes as “unusual.”
  • The Sixers believe they should have been awarded a timeout at multiple points during a key inbounds play and possession late in Monday’s loss (Twitter video link). They also believe Tyrese Maxey was fouled during the play, with Jalen Brunson grabbing his jersey.

That inbounds play occurred with 27 seconds left in the game and the Sixers holding a two-point lead. Head coach Nick Nurse appeared to briefly signal for a timeout just before Kyle Lowry inbounded the ball to Maxey, who was held by Brunson. Maxey fell to the floor with the ball as Nurse attempted to call timeout again, but the Sixers lost possession before a timeout could be granted, leading to a Donte DiVincenzo go-ahead three-pointer.

“Well, the first thing is obviously they score,” Nurse said in describing the sequence after the game. “We take a look at getting it in quick. We don’t get it in quick. I call timeout. Referee looked right at me. Ignored me. Went into Tyrese, I called timeout again. Then the melee started.

“I guess I got to run out onto the floor or do something to make sure and get his attention, but I needed a timeout there to advance it. Would’ve been good. But, couldn’t get it.”

Joel Embiid was even more blunt in expressing his displeasure with the officiating.

“Everybody was trying to call a timeout on the floor,” Embiid said, per Bontemps. “Me included. Coach on the sideline. But they didn’t give it to us. But, forget about the timeout. There’s a bunch of fouls. That’s f—ing unacceptable. …That’s on the frigging referees. I hate to put the game on them. But I am sure the two-minute report is going to come out and we are going to see what happened. … We fought for 47 minutes and whatever 20 seconds. For that to happen … that’s not OK.”

The Sixers weren’t the only team with complaints about the officiating after a tough Monday loss. As Dave McMenamin of ESPN writes, the Lakers also had gripes to share after losing to Denver 101-99 on a Jamal Murray buzzer beater.

Los Angeles was upset that a Michael Porter Jr. foul on D’Angelo Russell in the third quarter, which would have led to a pair of free throws, was overturned because the contact was deemed “marginal” (Twitter video link). Russell later tweeted, “That’s a foul we all saw it on national television.”

“D-Lo clearly gets hit in the face on a drive,” LeBron James said. “What the f–k do we have a replay center for if it’s going to go [like that]? It doesn’t make sense to me. … It bothers me. … And then I just saw what happened with the Sixers-Knicks game too. Like, what are we doing?”

As Fred Katz of The Athletic tweets, the Sixers’ grievance isn’t a formal protest of Game 2, so it won’t affect the outcome of Monday’s contest. It’s presumably just an attempt at gamesmanship on behalf of the 76ers, who will be looking to regain an edge in the series as the teams head to Philadelphia for Game 3.

For what it’s worth, Embiid remains very confident in his team’s ability to pull out the series despite facing a 2-0 deficit.

“We’re good,” Embiid told reporters on Monday, according to Bontemps. “We’re going to win this series. “We are going to win this. We know what we got to fix. We did a better job today, so we are going to fix it. We are the better team. We are going to keep fighting.”

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Zion Williamson: Postseason Return Is “Absolutely Realistic”

April 23rd, 2024 at 4:00pm CST by Luke Adams

Speaking to reporters today for the first time since suffering a left hamstring strain in last Tuesday’s play-in game vs. the Lakers, Pelicans forward Zion Williamson said that he believes he has a chance to return to action this spring, per Christian Clark of NOLA.com. Williamson added that he has to “pass certain tests” in order to ramp up his basketball activity.

“That is definitely realistic,” Williamson said of playing in the postseason. “That is absolutely realistic. Like I said, I have to pass tests. Get back to baseline. Hopefully, I will be out there.”

When the Pelicans first announced Williamson’s injury last Wednesday, they said he would be reevaluated in approximately two weeks.

The Pelicans are already facing a 1-0 hole in their series against the Thunder and will play three more games before that two-week checkpoint arrives. That means Zion will likely have to count on his teammates to win at least a game or two to extend New Orleans’ season in order for him to have a chance to return.

Although Williamson admitted that the hamstring strain was “super demoralizing,” he stressed that it wasn’t nearly as bad as the right hamstring injury he sustained last season. He suffered a setback during the recovery from that injury, which ended up costing him the final 45 games of the 2022/23 campaign.

“I knew something happened,” Williamson said of last Tuesday’s injury. “It didn’t feel nothing (compared) to how it did on the right side last year. The right side was definitely sharper pain. This one didn’t really feel like that. It just felt like, ‘Something is off right now.'”

The former No. 1 overall pick had the healthiest season of his professional career in 2023/24, starting 70 regular season games and averaging 22.9 points, 5.8 rebounds, and 5.0 assists in 31.5 minutes per night. It was just the second time in five NBA seasons that he had appeared in more than 29 contests.

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Community Shootaround: First Round Playoff Series

April 23rd, 2024 at 2:37pm CST by Luke Adams

After the NBA playoffs tipped off on Saturday with a handful of one-sided contests, things got a little more interesting on Sunday and Monday, with the Thunder, Knicks, and Nuggets among the teams to pull out victories in games that went down to the wire.

All three days of the playoffs so far, however, have had one thing in common: The home team has won. The road teams have an 0-11 record entering Tuesday’s action.

It’s not necessarily surprising that the home teams are controlling the eight series so far. Those clubs are the higher seeds, and home-court advantage is often a difference-maker in the postseason.

Still, it’s somewhat rare for the higher seeds to be quite this dominant to open the playoffs, especially when we saw so much parity during the regular season. The No. 2 and No. 8 seeds in the East finished the season just four games apart, while only two games separated the No. 4 to No. 7 teams in the West.

The lower seeds are going to start picking up some wins at some point, especially in Game 3s when they get to play on their respective home courts. But will any of them actually make it out of the first round?

Currently, BetOnline.ag lists all the lower seeds as series underdogs, giving the Mavericks (+140) the best chance to erase its 1-0 deficit and win the series. Those odds aren’t surprising — Dallas finished the season strong, was only a game behind the Clippers in the standings, and seems unlikely to face a fully healthy Kawhi Leonard in the first round.

The Suns (+150) and Pacers (+195) are also viewed as viable candidates to pull off upsets over Minnesota and Milwaukee, respectively. On the other hand, despite only being down 1-0 in their series, the Pelicans (+660) and Heat (+5000!) are massive underdogs vs. the Thunder and Celtics.

Of the teams who have to climb out of a 2-0 hole, BetOnline.ag views the Sixers (+380) as the strongest candidates for a comeback, followed by the Magic (+640) and Lakers (+870).

We want to know what you think. Will any of the eight lower seeds make it out of the first round? If so, which ones do you expect to see in round two?

Head to the comment section below to share your thoughts!

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Purdue’s Zach Edey Officially Enters 2024 Draft

April 23rd, 2024 at 1:13pm CST by Luke Adams

Purdue center Zach Edey, the NCAA’s two-time national player of the year, has submitted paperwork to the NBA league office making himself eligible for the 2024 draft, he confirms to Jonathan Givony of ESPN.

Edey’s plans hadn’t been a surprise. Purdue head coach Matt Painter indicated back in February that his star center wouldn’t be returning to college for his super-senior season in 2024/25.

“I felt like it was time,” Edey said. “I showed that I’m a physical presence on offense this season. I also showed I can play defense. I can guard in space, even defend guards.”

As Givony writes, Edey is one of the most decorated players in college basketball history. He led the nation with 25.2 points per game this past season while also grabbing 12.2 rebounds and blocking 2.2 shots per contest. The 7’4″ center, whose wingspan is 7’10”, guided the Boilermakers to an appearance in the NCAA championship, where Purdue couldn’t top UConn despite Edey’s 37 points.

While there are still some questions about how Edey’s game will translate to the NBA level, he boosted his draft stock over the past 12 months after testing the draft waters in 2023, Givony notes. The big man is now the No. 14 prospect on ESPN’s top-100 list, making him a potential lottery pick.

Edey, who didn’t begin playing basketball seriously until high school, believes his game still has plenty of room to grow, as he tells Givony.

“I’m going to keep expanding my game and do things people haven’t seen from me,” the Canadian said. “Shooting is going to be a big thing in my workouts during the pre-draft process. Every day I’m getting the reps and my routine right to show off that part of my game.”

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NBA Player Option Decisions For 2024/25

April 23rd, 2024 at 1:00pm CST by Luke Adams

A number of NBA contracts include player options in the final year. Those option years give the player the opportunity to either opt into the last year of his deal and finish out his contract or to decline the option and hit the free agent market a year early.

Several factors play a part in a player’s option decision. The value of the option salary is obviously crucial, as is the player’s performance in the season leading up to his decision.

The state of the NBA’s salary cap also often becomes a necessary consideration for players weighing their decisions. If the salary cap is projected to increase only modestly, or if not many teams around the league project to have cap room, a player may be more inclined to take the guaranteed money rather than trying his luck on the open market.

This year’s player options are listed below. This list – which can be found anytime under the “Hoops Rumors Features” menu on the right sidebar on our desktop site or on the “Features” page in our mobile menu – will be updated throughout the spring and early summer to note the latest decisions as they’re reported or announced.

While some players may face earlier deadlines (as noted below), all option decisions must be finalized by June 29.

Boston Celtics

Brooklyn Nets

Charlotte Hornets

  • Davis Bertans ($16,000,000)
    • Note: Bertans’ option is technically an early termination option.
    • Note: If Bertans opts in, his salary will only be partially guaranteed for $5.25MM.

Chicago Bulls

Denver Nuggets

Golden State Warriors

  • Gary Payton II ($9,130,000)
    • Note: Payton’s decision is due by June 19.

Indiana Pacers

Los Angeles Clippers

Los Angeles Lakers

Memphis Grizzlies

Miami Heat

New York Knicks

  • OG Anunoby ($19,928,571)
    • Note: Anunoby’s decision is due by June 24.

Phoenix Suns

Washington Wizards

Decision deadline information from ESPN’s Bobby Marks was used in the creation of this post.

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