Rockets Notes: Wood, Mathews, Fertitta, Injury Timetables
Rockets center Christian Wood discussed his role in Houston’s recent turnaround, writes Kelly Iko of The Athletic. The Rockets, winners of six straight games, have moved their way up to a still-bad 7-16 record on the 2021/22 season, in no small part thanks to Wood becoming the lone big man for much of his time on the floor. The 26-year-old is currently averaging 16.5 PPG, 11.1 RPG, and 1.1 BPG, with a shooting line of .466/.368/.574. In the win streak, Wood has boosted those counting stats to 19.3 PPG, 11.3 RPG and 1.8 BPG.
“So my job is just to make sure everybody touches the ball,” Wood said of his role as a calming influence in the Rockets offense. “Make sure everybody’s not going to so many isos and it’s not as contagious. Because once you start getting contagious, it gets a little bad, gets a little stagnant. We start taking bad shots, and my job is just to make sure everybody’s cool, everybody’s touching the ball and tapped in.”
There’s more out of Houston:
- The Rockets appear to have uncovered a new floor-spacing threat in their win streak, thanks to the emergence of Garrison Mathews, writes Rahat Huq of the Houston Chronicle. The 6’5″ shooting guard is averaging 11.9 PPG and 3.1 RPG across 10 games with Houston and owns a shooting line of .488/.420/.800. The three-point percentage is particularly encouraging, as the 25-year-old is taking a volume 6.9 triples per game. Beyond simply excellent percentages, Mathews also has helped open up the club’s offense as the team’s only real catch-and-shoot threat who can operate on the run. Huq observes that Mathews now boasts the best efficiency differential for the Rockets, meaning that the team’s offensive output is better with him on the floor than without him at a level beyond anyone else on the team.
- Rockets owner Tilman Fertitta has discussed how the team’s approach to a full-on tank will help the club re-shape its roster for the long haul, per Rahat Huq of the Houston Chronicle. “We don’t want to be one of those building programs that are just mediocre for four years or five years,” Fertitta said of the team’s plans going forward. “And when you’ve been as good as we were for so many years, yeah, we could have had the eighth seed in the playoffs or the ninth seed. But it’s better to tear it apart and start over and build up again. It will last for many years to come.” Huq praises Fertitta for acquiescing to deals that sent out veteran win-now players like P.J. Tucker and Victor Oladipo last season. Along these lines, Huq wonders if the team will look to ship out current veterans like Wood and Eric Gordon in exchange for either young players with upside or future draft equity.
- There is no return timeline yet for the starting Rockets backcourt of Kevin Porter Jr. and Jalen Green, writes Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle. Green continues to recuperate from a hamstring injury that has kept him on the shelf for the Rockets’ five previous games, all victories. Porter suffered a thigh injury and missed Sunday’s contest. “Kevin, we’re still kind of evaluating what is necessary but he is doing his treatment and we’ll have an update sooner or later,” head coach Stephen Silas said.
Atlantic Notes: Siakam, Sixers, Barrett, Thibs
Raptors forward Pascal Siakam continues to struggle through foul trouble, writes Dave Feschuk of The Toronto Star. As NBA referees across the league strive to limit calling fouls against “non-basketball” offensive flop plays, looks at the charity stripe in general are taking a significant dive. Siakam, however, continues to be whistled for fouls. The 2020 All-Star has averaged a career-worst 3.5 fouls per contest across 12 games this season and has already fouled out of two games.
“We can’t go through this (foul trouble) every night like this,” Raptors head coach Nick Nurse said of Siakam. “It seems to me he’s just getting himself just a half-count late on some stuff.”
Siakam himself appears to be trying to be more sensitive to fouls called against him as the year progresses for the 10-13 Raptors. “If I’m going to have a foul I would rather it be an actual foul preventing someone from scoring or a foul I actually want to give,” Siakam noted. “Just staying away from the cheap ones and hopefully the gods will be on my side one of these days and I won’t foul out.”
There’s more out of the Atlantic Division:
- Determining a reasonable expectation for this strange Sixers season is proving difficult, opines Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer. The team has been felled by various injuries, extended COVID-19 absences, and of course the continuing Ben Simmons drama. Philadelphia is currently 12-11, good for the ninth seed in the East.
- Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau sounded optimistic when addressing the recent shooting slump of RJ Barrett, per Ian Begley and Phillip Martinez of SNY.tv. “I have a lot of confidence in [Barrett] being able to work his way out of it,” Thibodeau said after Saturday’s game. “When you throw in he’s been sick, and to me you get rhythm when you work. Last year, he got going when he started coming in every night to shoot. So there’s no notion that you (work on your shot in the gym at night) sometimes, you got to do it all the time. So get back in the gym, get back to grooving your shot. Shoot a lot of threes and you’ll start making more.” The 21-year-old Barrett is connecting on just 39.6% of his field goal attempts in his third NBA season.
- Thibodeau has opted to give the slumping Knicks, losers of three straight, a day off to regroup, writes Steve Popper of Newsday. “[Who] we are as a team, how we built this team and this culture is just fighting defensively, the togetherness, just the effort, the hustle plays,” reflected New York forward Julius Randle of the club’s ethos. “And I think sometimes, we’re too lax. We might think the little details don’t matter sometimes or whatever it is, but we’ve just got to understand to get out of this we’ve got to do it together.” The Knicks are currently 11-12 on the young 2021/22 season.
Central Notes: Johnson, Donovan, Dosunmu, Pistons
Spurs forward Keldon Johnson was apparently almost drafted by the Cavaliers. Johnson discussed his near-selection in an interview with Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter video link). The Cavaliers instead opted to draft Dylan Windler with the No. 26 pick in the 2019 draft, while Johnson was ultimately drafted by San Antonio with the No. 29 pick.
Injuries have limited Windler’s availability across two NBA seasons. Windler missed his entire 2019/20 rookie season with a leg injury. In just 48 games, Windler holds career averages of 4.3 PPG, 2.9 RPG, and 1.1 APG over 14.5 MPG.
“I was expecting to go the Cavs,” Johnson said. “Going back to draft night, I just feel like it’s a blessing I landed with the Spurs.”
The 22-year-old small forward out of Kentucky is averaging 14.9 PPG, 6.5 RPG and 2.0 APG for the Spurs. He boasts a slash line of .469/.410/657.
The 13-10 Cavaliers have enjoyed a breakout 2021/22 season, currently good for the sixth seed in the Eastern Conference. One can only imagine what Cleveland would look like had the club selected Johnson instead of Windler, though in so doing the team may have played its way out of the third pick in the 2021 draft that netted them breakout rookie big man Evan Mobley out of USC.
There’s more out of the Central Division:
- Bulls head coach Billy Donovan expects the NBA will adopt stricter COVID-19 policies with the winter holidays on the horizon, writes Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times. Chicago is currently missing guard Coby White and forward Javonte Green due to COVID-19 diagnoses. ‘‘I think that’s happening,’’ Donovan said. ‘‘I don’t think there’s any question that’s happening. My guess is stricter policies than there have already been this year. ‘‘[The holidays], people are going to be around family. The way it’s moving right now, it’s getting a little stricter. For us right now it’s a lot stricter because we have two players that are positive.’’
- Bulls rookie guard Ayo Dosunmu, a second-round draft pick out of Illinois, has earned rotation minutes in the season’s first quarter. K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago examines how Dosunmu is adjusting to playing at the NBA level. “I think I’m getting better each game,” the rookie said. “One thing I love about Coach Donovan is he shows so much tough love to me. After every game, whether I play a lot or I don’t play a lot, he always calls me over and gives me words of encouragement. Sometimes it may be good. Sometimes it may be bad. I take the constructive criticism and try to help myself become a better player because I know that he obviously sees something in me if he’s coaching me hard.”
- The end result of the 2021/22 season for the Pistons will be measured more by player improvement than by the year-end win-loss tally, opines Rod Beard of the Detroit News. The youth-oriented club, led by forward Jerami Grant and 2021 top pick Cade Cunningham, is currently the bottom seed in the East with a 4-18 record.
California Notes: Thompson, Payton II, Lue, Kings Guards
Warriors shooting guard Klay Thompson, who has not suited up for Golden State since the 2019 NBA Finals due to an ACL tear and an Achilles tear incurred in two separate seasons, provided new insight into his expected return timeline this season. Per Kendra Andrews of NBC Sports Bay Area (via Twitter), Thompson revealed on a recent Instagram Live stream that he’s looking to return to action from anywhere between a few weeks to a month.
The Warriors have been doing just fine without Thompson, a five-time All-Star, thus far this season, sporting a 19-4 record, tops in the Western Conference. The 6’6″ Thompson, who will be turning 32 this season, holds career averages of 19.5 PPG, 3.5 RPG, and 2.3 APG, with a sparkling shooting line of .459/.419/.848.
There’s more out of California:
- 6’2″ Warriors guard Gary Payton II appears to have finally found a permanent NBA role as a do-everything perimeter defender for Golden State this season, writes Monte Poole of NBC Sports Bay Area. “He’s so dynamic defensively,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said. “And when he’s scoring as well – he made a few 3s tonight but also scored around the basket as he does – it’s hard to take him off the floor because of what he does for us… He’s really earned all these minutes.” The 29-year-old out of Oregon State is averaging 14.6 MPG across 22 games with Golden State this year.
- Clippers head coach Tyronn Lue has explained that whether or not he opts to start two traditional big men – 7’1″ center Ivica Zubac and 6’10” power forward Serge Ibaka – will be contingent on matchups, per Mirjam Swanson of the Orange County Register. “I think it helps us with our rebounding,” Lue said. “It’ll be different on a night to night basis; if teams start a small four then it’d be tough to put Serge out there at the four. With this team starting the way they’re starting tonight then we can try to do it again tonight and get away with it.”
- A four-guard crunch-time Kings lineup of De’Aaron Fox, Tyrese Haliburton, Terence Davis and Davion Mitchell, playing alongside traditional center Richaun Holmes, has proven to be effective for Sacramento, observes Chris Biderman of the Sacramento Bee. This rotation was trotted out against a small-ball Clippers lineup in an eventual 104-99 Sacramento victory this weekend. “It was just about pushing the pace, making them play at our pace and running,” Haliburton said. “So I thought we did a really good job of that.”
Atlantic Notes: Durant, Walker, Kanter, Riller
Ahead of the Knicks‘ eventual 112-110 loss to their cross-town rival Nets on Tuesday night, New York All-Star forward Julius Randle praised Brooklyn All-Star forward Kevin Durant, per Peter Botte of the New York Post.
“He’s the best player in the league, for sure,” Randle raved on Monday. “[I’ve] never seen a 7-footer that skilled… [He can] do anything, everything, on the court. No weakness. That’s him. He’s tough. Great player, but I love competing against him.”
In an MVP-level season for the Nets, Durant is averaging 28.6 PPG, 7.5 RPG, and 5.6 APG in 35.8 MPG, with a shooting line of .539/.389/.863.
There’s more out of the Atlantic Division:
- The demotion of Kemba Walker from starting Knicks point guard to a DNP-CD serves as clear evidence of head coach Tom Thibodeau‘s zeal to win, per Ian O’Connor of the New York Post. Though the move for the 31-year-old hometown hero may not be a popular one, Thibodeau knows it will help the club’s defense significantly. “I just don’t like the way we’ve been trending, the inconsistency of our team,” Thibodeau said. “I want to get bigger. I want our defense to get bigger at the point of the attack.” The six-foot Walker, never a good defender, has seen his efficacy on both sides of the ball decline following knee injuries while with the Celtics. Fred Katz of The Athletic notes that the disparity in points per possession when Walker plays as opposed to when he sits represents the difference between what would be the best defensive efficiency in the NBA (when he sits) and what would be the worst (when he plays).
- Upon becoming a US citizen on Monday, Celtics reserve center Enes Kanter has officially changed his name to Enes Kanter Freedom, per Tim Bontemps of ESPN (Twitter link). “It was really important to me” to acknowledge the freedom that the Turkish native gets to enjoy as an American citizen, the freshly-anointed Kanter Freedom said.
- Sixers two-way player Grant Riller injured his right shoulder during a contest for Philadelphia’s NBA G League affiliate, the Delaware Blue Coats, this past Sunday, tweets Derek Bodner of The Athletic. Bodner adds that Riller’s health status will be reassessed in a week. The No. 56 pick in 2020 out of the College of Charleston, Riller has yet to appear in a game for the Sixers this season. The 6’2″ point guard is averaging 5.5 PPG, 2.3 APG and 1.5 RPG across four games for Delaware.
Lakers Notes: Ariza, Vogel, Bradley, Westbrook
As Lakers forward Trevor Ariza continues to recover from an October 6 scope of his right ankle, he will remain unavailable for Los Angeles for the immediate future, per Kyle Goon of the Orange County Register (Twitter link). Goon notes that an Ariza reincorporation into lineups for L.A. would help the club use big man Anthony Davis at the center position more frequently.
Head coach Frank Vogel said that Ariza remains “a ways away” from suiting up for Los Angeles, Goon writes. Without an explicit timeline for Ariza’s 2021/22 season debut, the 6’8″ veteran will soon be re-assessed by team doctors when he officially has been out for eight weeks, writes Mike Trudell of Lakers.com.
“I don’t have a definite date or anything like that,” Ariza said. “It’s all on when the doctors clear or the way my body feels and responds to more loading, more work. That’s kind of the gauge on when I’ll be able to be out there safely.”
There’s more out of the soon-to-be-Crypto.com Arena:
- With the Lakers having sputtered to an 11-11 start, Chris Mannix of Sports Illustrated contends that blaming head coach Frank Vogel for the team’s problems is short-sighted. The team’s significant roster churn appears to be the prime culprit. The Lakers’ main errors this season, Mannix writes, appear to have been the front office’s trade for pricey former All-Star point guard Russell Westbrook and the decision to let guards Alex Caruso and Dennis Schröder depart in free agency.
- An MRI has revealed that Lakers combo guard Avery Bradley has suffered a UCL sprain in his right thumb, according to Mike Trudell of Lakers.com. As a result of the injury, Bradley will miss tonight’s contest against the Kings. The 30-year-old has started 16 games of the 21 games he has played for the Lakers this year, averaging 5.0 PPG and 2.5 RPG over 22.2 MPG.
- New Lakers starting point guard Russell Westbrook has put up typically impressive, albeit inefficient, counting stats during his first two months with his hometown club, but Malika Andrews, Richard Jefferson and Kendrick Perkins of ESPN’s NBA Today (video link) wonder if L.A. might already be regretting its decision to go all-in for the aging vet.
Spurs Notes: White, Young, Three-Point Shooting, COVID Testing
Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich said this week that guard Derrick White, in the first year of his new four-year, $68MM contract, is showing significant improvements thanks to his newfound confidence after injuries and the coronavirus derailed his 2020/21 season, writes Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express-News. White, 27, dealt with a toe surgery, an ankle sprain, and a COVID-related absence last year.
“With those injuries, it really wrecked his confidence,” Popovich said of the fifth-year guard. “He had to sit around for a long time. When he came back, he just had no rhythm and wasn’t really confident.”
The 6’4″ White, selected with the No. 29 pick out of Colorado in 2017, is averaging 12.1 PPG, 5.2 APG, and 3.4 RPG in 19 games this season.
There’s more out of San Antonio:
- New Spurs forward Thaddeus Young spoke with Alex Kennedy of Basketball News on Kennedy’s podcast about his surprise at being traded from the Bulls to the Spurs, as well as several other topics. “Definitely caught me off guard for the simple fact [that]… my agent had just talked to everyone in Chicago, and we were being told that I was coming back,” Young said. “The only thing I had wished was that I had [gotten] the heads-up before [finding out on] social [media].” When asked about how long he hoped to continue playing in the NBA, the 15-year vet remained open-minded. “For me, it’s just a matter of just getting minutes,” Young said. “So far this season I haven’t really played as much as I’ve played in the past, but with the time I have been given I’ve been productive.”
- San Antonio continues hoping to improve its three-point shooting, several years removed from the tenure of ex-Spur and three-point specialist Davis Bertans, writes Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express-News. McDonald notes that the Spurs are last in the NBA in triples for the second consecutive season thus far. Having made 9.9 three-pointers per game last season, the Spurs are currently converting even fewer threes than that in 2021/22, at 9.7 a night. “You have to keep up with threes or you are in trouble,” Popovich said. “In today’s game, that’s the deal.”
- The Spurs have been receptive to the league’s more frequent COVID-19 testing around the Thanksgiving holiday, writes Tom Orsborn of the San Antonio Express-News. “I don’t want to get my kids sick,” said Spurs shooting guard Bryn Forbes. “I don’t want to get my family sick. I would never want to risk any of their lives or any of their health for anything. I think it’s important we test.” Spurs big man Drew Eubanks echoed these concerns. “I don’t go out too often … trying to wait until things die down a little bit to go shopping and stuff,” Eubanks said of exercising caution due to the ongoing pandemic. “I just got my (COVID) booster (shot) the other day and am just trying to stay up to date on what to do and what the new developments are.”
Pacers’ Holiday In COVID-19 Protocols, Out Several Games
Pacers wing Justin Holiday has entered the NBA’s COVID-19 health and safety protocols, per Scott Agness of Fieldhouse Files (Twitter link). Agness adds that Holiday will be sidelined for at least 10 days of action with Indiana, which will cover the club’s next four contests.
A player in the league’s health and safety protocols for 10 days or more has typically tested positive for the coronavirus, though no official confirmation of Holiday’s health status has been confirmed. Holiday has been in and out of the starting lineup this season, most recently replaceng rookie Chris Duarte as the club’s starting small forward.
The 6’6″ swingman, 32, is averaging 9.9 PPG, 2.8 RPG, and 1.7 APG for the Pacers. He is boasting a .398/.357/.727 shooting line, relatively comparable to his career numbers of .399/.364/.819, besides the notably lower free-throw percentage.
Holiday is in the second year of a three-season, $18MM contract he signed with the Pacers in the 2020 offseason.
LeBron James Enters COVID-19 Protocols
6:24pm: Shams Charania of The Athletic tweets that James will be sidelined for at least 10 days unless he tests negative for COVID-19 twice within a 24-hour span. Though it’s not confirmed, this timeline generally indicates a positive test.
5:39pm: Lakers All-Star forward LeBron James looks set to miss even more time in this young 2021/22 NBA season. Shams Charania of The Athletic reports (Twitter link) that James has entered the league’s COVID-19 health and safety protocols and will be unavailable for Tuesday’s contest against the Kings.
With this absence tonight (and potentially more to come, depending on his coronavirus testing status over the ensuing days and weeks), James will have now been sidelined for 12 of the Lakers’ 23 contests already this season, and it’s still only November.
The 36-year-old future Hall of Famer has put up gaudy numbers when available this year, his 19th in the league. He is averaging 25.8 PPG, 6.8 APG, and 5.2 RPG on .484/.344/.755 shooting across 11 games this season. The shorthanded Lakers are also without combo guard Avery Bradley and forward Trevor Ariza tonight.
Entering coronavirus protocols does not necessarily mean James, who is vaccinated, has tested positive for COVID-19. It does, however, at least indicate exposure to someone else who registered a positive test. Tim Bontemps of ESPN notes (via Twitter) that, should a player have a confirmed positive test, they will be sidelined for at least 10 days. During that timeline, the Lakers are set to play only four games, though three of those will be against playoff-caliber clubs in the Clippers, Celtics and Grizzlies.
Lakers Waive Sekou Doumbouya, Add Chaundee Brown
NOVEMBER 17: The Lakers have issued a press release confirming the signing of Brown and the waiving of Doumbouya.
NOVEMBER 16: Two-way Lakers forward Sekou Doumbouya is set to be waived by L.A. as he recovers from a foot ailment, per Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).
The banged-up Lakers are replacing the injured Doumbouya with the healthy Chaundee Brown, a 6’5″ wing currently with the team’s NBAGL affiliate, the South Bay Lakers. Brown will now occupy Los Angeles’ second two-way roster slot, alongside Jay Huff.
Brown, 22, went undrafted out of Michigan this summer. He was initially inked to an Exhibit 10 contract and logged time on the Lakers’ preseason roster before being waived and subsequently added to the club’s South Bay affiliate. Brown, the 60th-ranked prospect on ESPN’s 2021 predraft big board, averaged 8.0 PPG and 3.1 RPG with a .419 3PT% during his senior season in 2020/21.
The 6’8″ Doumbouya, still just 20, was selected by Detroit with the No. 15 pick in the 2019 NBA draft. After not establishing himself as a cornerstone for a rebuilding Pistons club during his first two NBA seasons, Doumbouya signed a two-way deal with the Lakers this year. He appeared in two contests, averaging 7.0 PPG and 3.0 RPG.
Ramona Shelburne of ESPN notes (via Twitter) that Doumbouya’s foot injury is fairly minor. Meanwhile, Dave McMenamin of ESPN tweets that Brown is not traveling with the Lakers, who are set to kick off a five-game road jaunt tomorrow against the Bucks.