Donte DiVincenzo Undergoes Left Ankle Surgery
The Bucks have announced (via Twitter) that starting shooting guard Donte DiVincenzo underwent successful left ankle surgery for a torn ligament today in Wisconsin.
DiVincenzo suffered the season-ending ailment during the third game of the Bucks’ first-round playoff series sweep of the Heat. The Bucks are missing his offense thus far in their second-round matchup with the Nets. The team has been outscored by 47 points across its two losses in Brooklyn.
The third-year swingman out of Villanova had been enjoying his best season as a pro prior to the injury, his first as a full-time starter. For the 2020/21 regular season, he averaged 10.4 PPG, 5.8 RPG, 3.1 APG, and 1.1 SPG across 66 games with Milwaukee, with shooting percentages of .420/.379/.718.
The Bucks have the ability to extend DiVincenzo during the summer, ahead of the last year of his rookie deal in 2021/22.
James Harden To Miss Game 2 Due To Hamstring Injury
All-Star Nets guard James Harden will miss the second game of his team’s second-round playoff series against the Bucks tomorrow due to his hamstring injury, tweets Vincent Goodwill of Yahoo Sports.
The team has listed the injury as right hamstring tightness, per Goodwill. Harden exited Game 1 of the series after just 43 seconds, when he re-aggravated the right hamstring injury that had kept him out for much of the second half of the 2020/21 season, his first in Brooklyn.
Harden’s absence did not have an adverse impact on the ultimate result of the game, as the Nets beat Milwaukee in Brooklyn 115-107. The final margin does not reflect how one-sided the contest really was during most of its 48 minutes. The Nets were leading 115-101 with 1:26 of game action remaining when head coach Steve Nash took out his rotation players and emptied his bench.
Guard Bruce Brown started the second half in Harden’s stead, and should get extended run while the bearded one remains sidelined. Reserve point guard Mike James is expected take on more ball-handling duties now alongside All-Star Kyrie Irving. The Nets have not indicated how long Harden will be absent, tweets Mark Medina of USA Today.
Adam Zagoria of Forbes writes that an MRI on Harden’s injured hamstring did not indicate any structural damage to the ligament.
“James has high hopes and he wants to be back ASAP… but it has to be right to take those risks,” Nash told reporters during a Zoom call Sunday. “Only time can tell where he’s at in the coming days.”
Magic Notes: MCW, Ennis, Fultz, Coach Search
Veteran Magic guard Michael Carter-Williams provided helpful on-court production and off-court leadership during the first season of his two-year, $6MM deal with the club, writes Roy Parry of the Orlando Sentinel.
After missing the first half of the year due to a foot injury, Carter-Williams stepped in as the starting point guard on February 12 with Markelle Fultz and Cole Anthony both injured for much of the season. He started in 25 of his 31 games for the club, averaging 8.8 PPG, 4.5 RPG and 4.2 APG.
Carter-Williams’ 2021/22 salary is guaranteed, though it remains to be seen what sort of role he’ll have with a team that has shifted into rebuilding mode.
There’s more out of Orlando:
- Veteran Magic wing James Ennis helped supply 3-and-D contributions when healthy during a difficult 2020/21 season in Orlando, per Roy Parry of the Orlando Sentinel. Ennis is a free agent, having signed a one-year, $3.3MM contract with Orlando in the offseason after the team traded for him while he was finishing up his prior contract with the Sixers in February 2020. Various injuries (most persistently, a calf ailment) limited Ennis to just 41 total games (37 starts) with the Magic, averaging 8.4 PPG, 4.0 RPG, 1.5 APG and 0.8 BPG. He boasted a solid shooting line of .473/.433/.805. Parry notes that the Magic currently do not have a small forward signed for the 2021/22 season, and may look to the 30-year-old Ennis to fulfill that position in the immediate future.
- Magic point guard Markelle Fultz was frustrated by yet another injury-abbreviated season, the final under his rookie-scale contract, reports Roy Parry of the Orlando Sentinel. Fultz, who underwent surgery for a torn ACL in January, signed a three-year, $50MM extension with Orlando in the 2020 offseason. He helped power the team to a 5-2 start to kick off the 2020/21 season before suffering his injury. A solid finisher and defender, Fultz has yet to develop his outside shooting. Parry notes that rookies Cole Anthony and R.J. Hampton could compete for the long-term starting point guard position in the years ahead, and cautions that an exact timeline for Fultz’s anticipated return next season remains unclear. A standard 12-month ACL recovery would push Fultz’s return to January 2022.
- The Magic’s newly-opened head coaching job should appeal to candidates eager to develop young players, writes Josh Cohen of Magic.com. The Magic have an intriguing core of under-24 youth, and will add to that tally in a hurry, with possibly two lottery selections and one early first-rounder (the No. 33 selection) in next month’s draft. “This job has tremendous growth potential, which is very attractive,” team president Jeff Weltman said. “It has organizational strength and ownership behind it. We are moving into a new practice facility next year. There are a lot of good things happening here. Most importantly, we have a lot of bright young talented players.”
Southwest Notes: Winslow, Mavs, Wood, Marshall
Grizzlies executive VP of basketball operations Zach Kleiman has until August 1 to make a decision on the team’s $13MM option on Justise Winslow, and may still see the forward as part of the team’s future, writes Evan Barnes of the Memphis Commercial Appeal.
“There’s a lot of encouraging things that we saw from Justise,” Kleiman said. “I think he’s a player who can be very valuable and could potentially fit with what we’re doing.”
The oft-injured 25-year-old appeared in just 26 of a possible 72 games this season for Memphis due to a variety of maladies. He was out of the Grizzlies’ rotation in their first-round playoff series loss to the Jazz.
There’s more out of the Southwest Division:
- Mavericks head coach Rick Carlisle acknowledged that, after a 45-point outburst from Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard in Game 6 of the teams’ first-round series, Dallas will need to get creative in a crucial Game 7, writes Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN. “We have done everything in this series, and we’ll have to be ready with the kitchen sink in Game 7.” The Mavericks’ lone All-Star, Luka Doncic, has pushed his team to the brink of an upset thanks to his incredible play. Thus far in the series, he is averaging 40.8 PPG, 9.7 APG, 9.5 RPG, and 1.5 SPG.
- When he was available, Rockets center Christian Wood proved his mettle during his first season with the club, says Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle. The 25-year-old Wood, who has two years and $28MM left on the three-year contract he signed with Houston before the season, averaged 21.0 PPG (shooting 51.4% from the field and 37.4% from deep) and pulled down 9.6 RPG in 41 games.
- Undrafted Pelicans rookie small forward Naji Marshall grew up as an underdog, which has served him well on his journey to the NBA, writes Christian Clark of NOLA.com. Clark notes that the Pelicans are hoping that Marshall could prove to be a sharpshooting swingman capable of fulfilling a variety of needs. Last month, New Orleans inked Marshall to a four-year contract (including the rest of the 2020/21 season). The deal is non-guaranteed for the 2023/24 season.
Celtics Notes: Allen, Stevens, Lawson/Hammon, Ainge
Current Celtics assistant coach Jerome Allen will interview for the vacancy left by Brad Stevens when the latter opted to step into a front office role with Boston, writes Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer. Allen has been an assistant on Stevens’ staff for the last six seasons. Stevens will be leading the search for his replacement.
Pompey notes that Allen had an opportunity to become an assistant coach with the Mavericks during the 2020 offseason, but opted to remain in Boston, hoping to one day become the next Celtics head coach.
“For six years, I either sat behind [Stevens] or next to him and watched him not only work, I watched him prepare,” Allen said. “I watched him show-in to other people. Watched how he operated.”
Pompey writes that Allen has developed strong relationships with current Celtics Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Robert Williams, and Marcus Smart. Before transitioning to the NBA, Allen was previously the head coach at the University of Pennsylvania.
There’s more out of Boston:
- In a new piece, Adam Himmelsbach of the Boston Globe details how Brad Stevens emerged as the replacement for departing Celtics team president Danny Ainge. Ainge officially informed Celtics ownership of his intentions after the March 2021 trade deadline. Upon hearing this, owners Wyc Grousbeck and Steve Pagliuca approached then-head coach Stevens about transitioning into the team president role.
- There are several viable female candidates who could become the Celtics’ next head coach, writes Steve Buckley of The Athletic. Buckley examines the potential fits of former Celtics assistant coach Kara Lawson, as well as longtime Spurs assistant coach Becky Hammon.
- Outgoing Celtics team president Ainge has outfitted the team with plenty of promising players, but new president Stevens will need to make some key adjustments to bring Boston back to title contention, writes Jay King of The Athletic. “These last two years have been tough,” Ainge acknowledged. “In the [2020 NBA restart] bubble and all the rules and scrutiny and protocols that we had to go through has not made the job as much fun.” King notes that the 62-year-old Ainge may yet join another team’s front office in some capacity. Ainge drafted current Boston All-Stars Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, but Stevens will need to figure out how to navigate his way around the league’s luxury tax while improving the roster around the Celtics’ two best players, writes King.
Southwest Notes: Hayes, Pelicans, Grizzlies, Mavericks
Pelicans center Jaxson Hayes was ultimately able to benefit after head coach Stan Van Gundy made him the third-string center in February, writes Christian Clark of NOLA.com.
“Just being benched,” Hayes said. “That’s what made things click. I got to make sure I come to work every day and make sure I’m professional about everything. Just make sure I’m getting it in every day, getting better and just only controlling the things I can control.”
As Clark writes, after Hayes returned to his role as chief reserve center behind starter Steven Adams in March, he went on to provide stellar defense while averaging 9.6 PPG (on 61.7% shooting from the floor), 4.8 RPG and 0.8 BPG across just 18.5 MPG.
There’s more out of the Southwest Division:
- William Guillory of The Athletic estimates that there’s about a 40-50% chance of Lonzo Ball sticking with the Pelicans in restricted free agency. Guillory is more confident that Ball’s fellow RFA-to-be Josh Hart (60-70%) will be back
- Now that their offseason has officially commenced, the Grizzlies could begin reshaping their roster around star point guard Ja Morant and promising big man Jaren Jackson Jr., writes Chris Herrington of the Daily Memphian. Morant took his play to the next level during Memphis’ series against Utah, averaging 30 PPG (on 49% field goal shooting), 8 APG, and 5 RPG. Though Morant is still honing his defense and outside shooting, he showed off his brilliance as a ball handler and interior scorer, Herrington contends. Assessing the long-term fits of Morant’s supporting cast, including Jackson, Dillon Brooks, Desmond Bane, Grayson Allen, De’Anthony Melton, and veteran center Jonas Valanciunas, Herrington suggests that Morant and Jackson may be the only two guaranteed mainstays on the roster.
- Though the West’s fifth-seeded Mavericks have the fourth-seeded Clippers on the ropes with a 3-2 advantage in the two teams’ first-round rematch, the team is wary of celebrating too early, per Brad Townsend of the Dallas Morning News.
Anthony Davis To Return For Game 6
8:33pm: Lakers team doctors have medically cleared Davis ahead of the team’s must-win Game 6 against the Suns this evening, tweets Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports.
7:54pm: Lakers head coach Frank Vogel has clarified that Davis wants to play through his groin strain if given the green light by team doctors ahead of Game 6, tweets Kyle Goon of the Orange County Register.
7:37pm: All-Star Lakers big man Anthony Davis hopes to return to the floor for LA ahead of the club’s must-win Game 6 in its first-round playoff series tonight against the Suns, per John Gambardo of Arizona Sports 98.7 FM. Kyle Goon of the Orange County Register cautions (via Twitter) that Davis’ return has yet to be medically cleared by a team doctor.
Davis hopes to start tonight should he complete his warm-ups without any issue, tweets Shams Charania of The Athletic.
Davis did not play in Game 5 after suffering a groin strain in Game 4. The Lakers lost both contests, and are now down 3-2 in the best-of-seven series.
Power forward Markieff Morris started in Davis’s stead for Game 5, a 115-85 Lakers loss. Across 10 minutes of game action, Morris notched four points, a rebound and an assist. Morris, a valuable floor-spacing reserve during L.A.’s title run last season, will be an unrestricted free agent this summer.
In comments made on Wednesday, Davis indicated that his groin injury was in part a result of a hyperextended knee he incurred in Game 3. “[Team doctors] told me everything is connected and that’s exactly what happened,” Davis said. “The groin happened because of the tightness in the knee from the hyperextension.”
Mild Right Hamstring Strain Leaves Mike Conley Day-To-Day
All-Star Jazz point guard Mike Conley left the fifth and final game in Utah’s first-round series against the Grizzlies after having played just 12 minutes with what was described as right hamstring soreness.
Following an MRI today, the team has determined that Conley suffered a mild right hamstring strain, tweets Tony Jones of The Athletic. Jones says that Conley is day-to-day with the injury, and the top-seeded club will reassess his status ahead of the first game of the team’s Western Conference semifinals series against the winner of the Clippers-Mavericks series.
The 33-year-old Conley will be an unrestricted free agent this season. He has expressed a desire to remain with the Jazz for his next contract, but is sure to have a variety of suitors as he enters free agency.
The 6’1″ veteran has enjoyed a stellar 2020/21 season with the Jazz when healthy, averaging 16.2 PPG, 6.0 APG and 3.5 RPG in just 29.4 MPG across 51 regular season games, while posting a shooting line of .444/.412/.852. Conley has proven to be an excellent backcourt mate for All-Star Jazz shooting guard Donovan Mitchell. The Jazz are one of the West’s deepest playoff clubs, and before Conley’s injury had been one of its healthiest.
Pat Riley Talks Free Agency, 2021 Rookies, Bam, Oladipo, Future
Heat team president Pat Riley addressed the club’s present and future during his yearly season-ending press conference today, as Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald details.
Following a surprising NBA Finals run within the 2020 restart season’s Orlando “bubble” campus last year, expectations were high for Miami this season. However, many of the team’s key players battled injuries and COVID-19 exposure, and the Heat suffered a first-round playoff sweep at the hands of the Bucks. The loss of forward Jae Crowder in free agency, plus some compensatory signing missteps, also contributed to a disappointing 2020/21 season.
When asked about how he wants to build around the team’s two best players, wing Jimmy Butler and big man Bam Adebayo, this summer, Riley kept things fairly open-ended.
“We’ll see,” he said. “We are going to have a lot of [cap] room if we want to use it. You can’t continue to defer your room… We like our core.”
Here’s more from the presser:
- It sounds like Riley fully expects to replicate the success the club has enjoyed in recent seasons when scouring the market for undrafted rookies. The Heat traded away their first-round draft pick for 2021. “We will get a couple good players out of this year’s draft, I’m sure,” Riley said.
- Riley was questioned about Adebayo potentially rounding out his offensive game by developing three-point range soon. “It doesn’t need to happen quickly,” he said. “[Head coach Erik Spoelstra] likes to use Bam with a stretch five or four. You might have to change. You might have to think about what’s next thing in the NBA to require you to stay with that kind of play. I’ll leave that to Spo and we will talk about it.”
- New Heat guard Victor Oladipo, an unrestricted free agent this offseason, had an underwhelming tenure with the team, appearing in just four games after being acquired from the Rockets at the trade deadline. He was felled by a quadriceps injury that required season-ending surgery. “When we made the trade, we knew there was a risk,” Riley acknowledged. “He’s like any other free agent on the team who sustained an injury; he will be rehabbing with us until he’s healthy enough to get out of that cast. … We will monitor him, work with him, and then see what happens in August when we sit down to talk to him.”
- The 76-year-old Riley would not address his long-term outlook with the club as team president beyond the upcoming season. “I’m getting ready for the [draft combine] and then the summer league,” Riley said. “I’m ready to move forward and try to make this team better. For all of our fans out there, it was so great to see the place packed and I’m really disappointed our fans didn’t get to see what the Heat really are like.” Riley is one of the most decorated personalities in NBA history, having won once as a player, once as an assistant coach, five times as a head coach, and three times as an executive.
Magic Notes: Anthony, Bacon, Bamba, Weltman
The offensive play of Magic rookie point guard Cole Anthony during the 2020/21 season proved he could be a valuable long-term addition for Orlando, writes Roy Parry of the Orlando Sentinel.
Anthony, who stepped into the role of starting point guard after Markelle Fultz tore his ACL early in the season, averaged 12.9 PPG, 4.7 RPG, 4.1 APG, and 0.6 SPG across 27.1 MPG for the year. Anthony was an inefficient shooter, with a first-season slash line of .397/.337/.832, but that’s generally par for the course with rookie guards.
Depending on where the Magic land in the upcoming draft, there is a chance that Anthony could get extended run as a starter for at least part of the 2021/22 season while Fultz recovers. He will enjoy his first true offseason with the club this season, as COVID-19 precautions precluded a Summer League and limited offseason activies last year.
There’s more out of Orlando:
- Do-everything Magic swingman Dwayne Bacon helped stabilize the Magic amid injuries and roster churn during his first season with the club, writes Roy Parry of the Orlando Sentinel. Bacon was the sole Magic player to suit up for all 72 games for the team. Parry wonders if, thanks to the addition of rookie guard R.J. Hampton at the trade deadline and the possibility that the Magic could draft a high-upside young wing this summer, Orlando’s front office will opt to guarantee the second year of Bacon’s deal. Bacon’s limitations as an off-ball shooter could factor into this decision.
- Magic center Mohamed Bamba finished the season on a high note, following the trade of Nikola Vucevic and the release of Khem Birch, writes Roy Parry of the Orlando Sentinel. Operating as the primary backup behind new Orlando starting center Wendell Carter Jr., Bamba exhibited intriguing flashes of his offensive upside, plus some defensive promise as a rim protector.
- Magic team president Jeff Weltman is reluctant to speculate about how long it will take his youth-heavy rebuilding club to develop, writes Roy Parry of the Orlando Sentinel. “I don’t apply timelines,” Weltman said. “I don’t know what one person’s development is going to look like juxtaposed next to another, but I just believe that we have a lot of talent on this team, and a lot of character and a lot of guys that want to win and we have a lot of ways to add more of those guys.” Weltman will get to add some exciting new additions this offseason, with the Magic expected to net two lottery picks (their own and the Bulls’ selection, provided it does not move into the top four in the draft lottery).