Zach Collins To Undergo Ankle Surgery, Done For Season
Starting Trail Blazers power forward Zach Collins will undergo surgery for a stress reaction in his left ankle and has been ruled out for the remainder of the 2019/20 season, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. Collins was originally expected to be re-examined next week, but it seems the team decided to address his injury immediately.
Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports clarifies that the Collins injury is officially a hairline medial malleolus stress fracture (Twitter link).
After a surprise 100-93 victory in the first game of their 1-8 quarterfinals matchup with the Lakers, the Trail Blazers fell 111-88 to Los Angeles yesterday, tying the series at 1-1. Collins missed both contests, with rookie power forward Wenyen Gabriel starting in his stead.
This is certainly a blow for the Trail Blazers’ hopes of scoring a historic first round playoff upset against the Lakers, though it is not unfamiliar territory for the team this year. Collins missed most of Portland’s season with a left shoulder injury that kept him sidelined for all but 11 games of the Blazers’ regular season and Orlando campus seeding games.
The Blazers signed 17-year veteran Carmelo Anthony to replace Collins in November. During the season restart, Anthony shifted to the team’s starting small forward position after Trevor Ariza opted to sit out of the Disney World campus due to health concerns. Anthony may see more time at the power forward slot in the series going forward.
In Collins’ absence, the Blazers have also experimented with ultra-big lineups to counter the Lakers’ size during their series, occasionally playing centers Jusuf Nurkic and Hassan Whiteside together.
Pistons Notes: Galloway, Weaver, Draft, Wood
New Pistons general manager Troy Weaver remains excited about Detroit’s prospects in the 2020 draft, despite the team falling two slots from its pre-lottery position to No. 7, according to Keith Langlois of Pistons.com. Weaver is confident in the depth of this season’s draft lottery prospects.
“From three to 13, it’s going to be a scramble,” he said. “We have to continue to do our work and be disciplined and be ready, because this is a draft where you don’t know.”
There’s more out of the Motor City:
- Pistons free agent guard Langston Galloway and his wife Sabrina have continued to represent the Pistons for charitable events within the community this year despite 28-year-old’s impending free agency, writes Vince Ellis of Pistons.com. The 6’1″ Galloway, a sharpshooting combo guard, signed a three-year, $21MM contract with the Pistons in the summer of 2017.
- Though the Pistons fell out of the running for likely top picks LaMelo Ball, Anthony Edwards and James Wiseman, the team should still have a shot at a prospect with a high ceiling, opines Keith Langlois of Pistons.com in a separate piece. Langlois mentions that current All-Star forwards Paul George, Kawhi Leonard, and Giannis Antetokounmpo were all drafted at or below the No. 10 pick in their respective drafts.
- Promising Pistons power forward Christian Wood, a free agent this summer, could be used in a sign-and-trade if he wants to join a team without salary cap space, as we relayed earlier this week. The 24-year-old stepped into a full time starting role with the team soon after Detroit traded former All-Star center Andre Drummond.
Northwest Notes: Morgan, Millsap, Nuggets/Jazz Series, Draft
Defensive-oriented Jazz rookie swingman Juwan Morgan, who went undrafted in 2019 out of Indiana University, has already developed into a playoff starter for the West’s No. 6 seed. Tony Jones of The Athletic details Morgan’s journey.
After starting point guard Mike Conley left the NBA’s Orlando restart campus to attend the birth of his child, coach Quin Snyder elected to move All-Star Jazz shooting guard Donovan Mitchell to the point to make room for Morgan as the team’s starting power forward in their quarterfinals matchup with the Nuggets, currently knotted at 1-1.
“My main focus was the same thing any time I step on the floor,” Morgan said of his playoff debut as a starter. “I wanted to hustle hard, play defense, get offensive boards and block out. I wanted to do all the little things and then make life easier for all of the other guys.” Conley has since returned to Disney World and is probable to rejoin his Jazz teammates for tomorrow’s third game in the series.
There’s more out of the Northwest:
- Veteran Nuggets power forward Paul Millsap needs to be relegated to the bench in favor of the more athletic Jerami Grant, Mark Kiszla of the Denver Post opines. Millsap is currently the team’s highest paid player earning $30.5MM this season on an expiring deal, but Kiszla sees the 35-year-old former All-Star as a liability to the team’s success in third-seeded Denver’s playoff quarterfinals series against the Jazz.
- The outcome of the series between the Nuggets and the Jazz may be determined by which team can out-rebound the other, per Sarah Todd of the Deseret News. Because Nuggets All-Star center Nikola Jokic represents a threat to initiate his team’s offense or shoot from outside the paint, he draws his All-Star counterpart Rudy Gobert away from the basket, which leaves his Jazz teammates vulnerable to taller Nuggets players in the battle of the boards. “It’s really a point of emphasis for our team,” Gobert said. “Especially with the way [the Nuggets] crash the boards and the way my guys have been fighting. I need to go back out there and make sure I get those long rebounds.”
- In case you missed it: The Timberwolves, who entered the NBA draft lottery with a 14% chance of moving up to take the top pick, will now draft first during the 2020 draft, as we detailed earlier tonight. Anthony Edwards, LaMelo Ball, James Wiseman, and Obi Toppin are among the most-coveted players ahead of this year’s draft. The Wolves last had the No. 1 draft pick in 2015, when the team selected future All-Star Karl-Anthony Towns.
Silver No Longer Optimistic About December 1 Start For 2020/21
NBA commissioner Adam Silver told ESPN’s Rachel Nichols ahead of tonight’s draft lottery that he now expects the league’s previously-estimated December 1 start date for the 2020/21 regular season to be pushed back, per Brian Windhorst of ESPN.
In explaining his thinking, Silver indicated that he would prefer to have fans be able to attend games in person next season.
“I think our No. 1 goal is to get fans back in our arenas,” he told Nichols. “So my sense is, in working with the [National Basketball] Players Association, if we could push back even a little longer and increase the likelihood of having fans in arenas, that’s what we would be targeting.”
The ongoing coronavirus pandemic has prevented gatherings of large crowds, with fan attendance for major concerts, indoor movie theaters, and sporting events having been widely postponed until 2021. The United States saw 43,798 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 yesterday.
Until an effective vaccine is widely available to the public, it may be difficult to allow fans inside basketball arenas, though Silver remains hopeful that the anticipated development fast-response coronavirus tests may soon make in-arena attendance more feasible.
Crowd attendance makes up a significant portion of the league’s seasonal revenue. Per the Windhorst piece, Silver accredits approximately 40% of NBA revenue to fans filling arenas.
Vogel On Rondo, Starters, Waiters, Smith
Though the Lakers suffered a surprising 100-93 loss to the Trail Blazers in the first game of their conference quarterfinals series on Tuesday, head coach Frank Vogel has indicated that he will not make any adjustments to his current starting lineup ahead of tonight’s second “home” game, according to Tania Ganguli of the Los Angeles Times (Twitter link).
On Tuesday, the Lakers started All-Star forwards LeBron James and Anthony Davis, along with center JaVale McGee, and guards Danny Green and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope.
McGee played just 12 minutes on Tuesday. Backup power forward Kyle Kuzma, meanwhile, logged 30 minutes of game action, with Davis shifting to a center role when playing alongside Kuzma. Point guard Alex Caruso played 29 minutes off the bench, the same amount of time as Caldwell-Pope and six more minutes than sharpshooter Green.
Backup center Dwight Howard and power forward Markieff Morris also logged more time than McGee, a solid post defender without much offensive range. Starting Davis at center, with either Kuzma or Caruso replacing McGee in the starting lineup, could present a unique opportunity for the Lakers to spread the floor against Portland.
Backup point guard Rajon Rondo, who has been recovering from a fractured right thumb suffered five weeks ago, will remain inactive for tonight’s game. Rondo was medically cleared for action on August 17. Rondo had the thumb surgically repaired on July 16. He has yet to suit up for the Lakers during the team’s summer games.
Vogel also noted that he will find playing time for recent waiver additions Dion Waiters and J.R. Smith, per Mark Medina of USA Today (Twitter link). In the first game of the series, Waiters saw the court for just one minute, and took no field goal attempts, while Smith did not play at all.
Blazers, Grizzlies To Meet For Play-In Tournament
The Trail Blazers, the West’s eighth seed, will now face off against the ninth-seeded Grizzlies in the first of two potential play-in tournament games on Saturday at 1:30 p.m. CT on ABC.
After an injury-plagued year, the Trail Blazers rode an impressive showing during their eight Orlando seeding games to a play-in tournament appearance as the West’s No. 8 seed. Portland defeated the Nets in a 134-133 nail-biter on Thursday, bringing the club’s Disney World record to 6-2.
The Blazers’ lone All-Star, Damian Lillard, poured in 42 points on Thursday and averaged a blistering 37.6 PPG during the eight seeding games, as the team wrapped up its cumulative regular season with a 35-39 finish
Despite a lackluster 2-6 showing in the seeding games, the Grizzlies had enough of a head start going into the restart to secure a play-in tournament berth, finishing the season with a 34-39 record.
Probable Rookie of the Year Ja Morant and starting center Jonas Valanciunas each posted triple doubles in a 119-106 vanquishing of the Bucks today. A one-game suspension prevented Milwaukee All-Star Giannis Antetokounmpo from suiting up against Memphis.
Per new rules developed for the NBA’s Orlando restart, Portland will enter the play-in tournament as the No. 8 seed and will need to win just one game against Memphis to advance to a first-round playoff matchup against the top-seeded Lakers next week.
If the No. 9 Grizzlies win on Saturday, there would be a second play-in game on Sunday between the two clubs. The winner of that second contest would face off against LeBron James, Anthony Davis, and company in a best-of-seven first round series.
Lillard has been the standout for the Trail Blazers, but center Jusuf Nurkic and power forward Zach Collins have proven to be crucial contributors upon returning from season-long injuries. Additionally, despite their limitations on defense, shooting guard CJ McCollum and small forward Carmelo Anthony will be tough covers for the Grizzlies’ young wings.
Morant will need to bear the brunt of Memphis’ offensive burden after Jaren Jackson Jr. suffered a season-ending meniscus tear last week. The Grizzlies will also be without Justise Winslow (hip) for the rest of the season and didn’t have backup point guard Tyus Jones (knee) available during the seeding games.
Despite being the only team to win all eight of its Disney World seeding games, the Suns narrowly missed out on an opportunity to make the play-in tournament. Phoenix finished its season with a 34-39 record thanks to a 128-102 drubbing of the Mavericks on Thursday. All-Star Suns guard Devin Booker and promising second-year center Deandre Ayton both impressed, complemented by a stellar young roster.
The Grizzlies, having won three of four games against the Suns during the regular season, had the tiebreaker edge over Phoenix, earning the right to compete in this weekend’s play-in.
The Spurs, meanwhile, missed the postseason for the first time since 1997, ending a 22-year playoff run that was easily the NBA’s longest active streak. San Antonio entered the restart planning to focus more on player development than on making the postseason, but played well, posting a 5-3 summer record. Head coach Gregg Popovich said after Thursday’s finale that he was very pleased with his club’s performance during the restart, per Eric Woodyard of ESPN.
“I’m more excited about this than anything you guys are talking about right now, successes or non-successes, because the success for streaks or whatever the hell you’re talking about ended,” Popovich said. “I could care less about that. I’m thrilled at the way they played here.”
Once either the Trail Blazers or Grizzlies win the play-in tournament, all eight first-round playoff matchups will be finalized. Details on the other seven series can be found right here.
The Suns, Spurs, and the loser of the play-in tournament will be part of the NBA’s draft lottery next Thursday, sorted by their records as of March 11. That means Phoenix will be 10th in the lottery standings, San Antonio will be 11th, and the Portland/Memphis loser will be 14th.
Luke Adams contributed to this post. Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Bulls Notes: Offseason, Boylen, MPJ-Carter Draft, Delete Eight
New Bulls executive vice president of basketball operations Arturas Karnisovas has plenty of interesting choices to make with regards to team personnel on both the court and on the bench during the 2020 offseason. Bobby Marks of ESPN Insider examines some of the key issues Karnisovas should address.
The future of embattled head coach Jim Boylen has been the hottest topic of speculation for Bulls fans since the hiring of Karnisovas earlier this year. Boylen’s disappointing 39-84 record has been partly affected by several player injuries, including those afflicting former lottery picks Lauri Markkanen and Wendell Carter Jr., but Marks addresses just how much blame for the team’s poor finishes during the last two seasons should be placed on those absences as opposed to Boylen’s coaching approach.
The possible fates of restricted free agent Kris Dunn and leading scorer Zach LaVine during this crucial Bulls offseason are also discussed.
There’s more out of the Windy City:
- Boylen’s status is also addressed in a fairly comprehensive recent Bulls mailbag from NBC Sports Chicago’s K.C. Johnson. Johnson reiterates that Karnisovas apparently has the full green light from team owner Jerry Reinsdorf to replace Boylen, but that Karnisovas and GM Marc Eversley have been asked by ownership to “take time to get to know” the coach before making a decision. Boylen is earning $1.6MM annually, making him one of the most affordable head coaches in the NBA.
- Nuggets rookie forward Michael Porter Jr. has been enjoying a coming-out party within the NBA’s Orlando restart campus. Rob Schaefer of NBC Sports Chicago takes a look at the player the Bulls passed over in favor of Wendell Carter Jr. with the No. 7 pick in the 2018 NBA draft. Porter is averaging 22 PPG and 8.6 RPG, while shooting 55.1% from the field (including 42.2% from long range and 93.1% from the charity stripe) in Orlando. Porter’s checkered injury history gave Chicago pause at the time, and Schaefer contends that Carter’s promising future as a passing big man on the cusp of averaging a double-double in scoring and rebounding means the jury on the selection is still out.
- The Bulls rank among just eight teams bad enough to miss the NBA’s 22-squad Orlando restart. As we discussed previously, talks remain ongoing about potentially keeping the so-called “Delete Eight” clubs active. One concept touched upon during recent conference call involves bringing the Bulls and the other underperforming teams to Orlando after the first round of the NBA playoffs, when only eight of the original 22 teams would remain on the Disney World campus. However, it’s not clear whether it has gained any traction with the NBPA.
Roberts Meets With Players, Discusses 2020/21 Season Start
Michele Roberts, head of the National Basketball Players Association, consulted in person with several NBA players, across multiple groups, in Orlando yesterday, per Henry Abbott of TrueHoop (Twitter link). Meeting attendees wore masks.
According to Abbott (Twitter link), Roberts anticipates that the NBPA and the NBA will negotiate a revised Collective Bargaining Agreement with relative ease, and that the next NBA season, which the league proposed starting on December 1, will actually commence “some time between late January and early March.”
As we previously relayed, Roberts floated the concept of next season tipping off in early 2021 as opposed to December of this year in an interview earlier this week. The NBPA has yet to approve any official start date for next season.
In that chat with Chris Mannix of SI.com, Roberts indicated that cultivating some kind of campus environment for the season similar to the current 2019/20 Orlando campus model would be the most probable scenario unless something were to change with the status of the current coronavirus pandemic.
The deadline for a renegotiation of the league’s current CBA with players is December 15, 2022.
NBA Suspends Giannis For Final Seeding Game
After head-butting Wizards big man Moritz Wagner yesterday, Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo has been suspended by the NBA for the team’s regular season finale tomorrow against the Grizzlies, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link).
Antetokounmpo, the likely 2019/20 NBA MVP, head-butted Wagner with 8:50 left to play in the game’s second quarter. He was immediately ejected, with a suspension for his conduct seemingly inevitable. The Bucks would go on to tally a win anyway. Milwaukee’s 126-113 victory marked the Wizards’ seventh consecutive loss in Orlando. Washington is currently winless during the NBA restart.
The 56-16 Bucks have the best record in the NBA, and have clinched the No. 1 seed in the playoffs. But the result of Thursday’s game could have significant implications for other teams.
The 33-39 Grizzlies will almost certainly need to win their bout against the Bucks to qualify for this weekend’s play-in tournament between the West’s eighth and ninth seeds, as Tim Bontemps of ESPN notes (Twitter link). Memphis could also clinch a play-in tournament appearance if both the 33-39 Suns and 32-38 Spurs lose their final seeding games, as Marc Stein of the New York Times tweets. Given how hot those teams have been though, the Grizzlies can’t afford to count on that.
If the 34-39 Trail Blazers lose their final seeding game tomorrow against the Nets, the Grizzlies would secure the eighth seed with a win, and would need to win just one of the two play-in games to qualify for a first-round playoff matchup against the top-seeded Lakers. The Grizzlies would be the ninth seed if they and the Blazers win, but as the ninth seed they would need to win both play-in games to advance.
A Grizzlies loss tomorrow to an Antetokounmpo-free Bucks squad would likely eliminate Memphis from the playoffs. This could have interesting draft implications for the Celtics, as ESPN’s Zach Lowe reminds us (Twitter link). Boston owns the Grizzlies’ first-round draft pick if it falls outside the top six picks this season, before becoming completely unprotected in 2021.
Were Memphis to fall into the draft lottery for 2020, the team would have a slim chance at a pick within the top six. If the Grizzlies get lucky in the lottery, the Celtics would instead receive the team’s unprotected 2021 first-round pick. A play-in series loss would also theoretically keep the Grizzlies’ chances at retaining their own 2020 pick alive.
Celtics Extend Brad Stevens
Celtics head coach Brad Stevens, currently in the midst of his seventh season with the club, isn’t going anywhere any time soon. The team has announced today that it has extended Stevens’s contract. The specifics of the new deal have not been divulged.
After leading Butler to two NCAA Finals games, Stevens was brought on board by Celtics president Danny Ainge to replace Doc Rivers in 2013, initially signing a six-year, $22MM deal. The team extended its head coach’s initial contract in 2016.
Stevens sports a 318-245 (.565) regular season record for Boston. He has led the club to six playoff appearances during his seven seasons, including two runs to the Eastern Conference Finals. This season’s team is locked into the third seed in the East with a 48-23 record. The club has one Orlando seeding game left ahead of the 2019/20 playoffs.
“Brad is one of the most intelligent and hard-working coaches in the game today,” Ainge raved. “We are honored to have him with us as we continue to pursue our next championship.”
Stevens is the second Eastern Conference head coach to receive a contract extension today, as the Pacers also reached a new deal with Nate McMillan.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.