Clippers’ Paul George Likely To Miss Entire First Round
Clippers All-Star Paul George is now expected to miss Los Angeles’ entire first-round playoff matchup against the Suns, sources inform Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.
This news isn’t completely unexpected. Even in late March, soon after George initially sprained his right knee during a regular season game against the Thunder, word trickled out that the Clippers anticipated they might need to advance beyond the first round to give the star forward a chance to return.
Rumors continued to persist earlier this week suggesting that George could sit out the Phoenix series as he continues to rehabilitate the knee.
Across his 56 healthy contests this season, the 32-year-old posted typically stellar numbers, averaging 23.8 PPG on .457/.371/.871 shooting splits, along with 6.1 RPG, 5.1 APG, and 1.5 SPG.
Without one of their two best players, the Clippers will have their work cut out for them against a healthy Suns club that could be much better than its 45-37 record suggests.
Phoenix has gone 8-0 in its games when newly-added All-Star small forward Kevin Durant has been available, and will start an intimidating lineup featuring Durant and fellow All-Star Devin Booker, along with future Hall of Fame point guard Chris Paul and maximum-salaried center Deandre Ayton. Josh Okogie rounds out the Suns’ healthy first five.
LA will hope that its remaining star forward, Kawhi Leonard, can help hold the line against Phoenix. The first game of the series tips off tonight.
Cavaliers Notes: Mitchell, Allen, Mobley, Playoff Test, Green
The stink of last year’s 4-2 first-round postseason Jazz loss to the Mavericks lingers with All-Star Cavaliers shooting guard Donovan Mitchell, writes Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com.
Now, Mitchell is looking to prove himself anew with Cleveland during its first-round matchup against the Knicks. The 6’1″ swingman spent his boyhood as a Knicks fan in Elmsford, New York.
“I’ve felt that way the whole year. That’s just been kind of my M.O. throughout my career — trying to prove my caliber of play,” Mitchell said ahead of the two teams’ first playoff meeting this weekend.
“I know who I am and these guys know who I am and what I’m capable of and I just go out there and be leader,” Mitchell continued. “This is a team game and we’re not going to win if I just tried to shoot every single time. Got to do this as a group collectively. That’s what got us to this point. Just continue to do that.”
There’s more out of Cleveland:
- The Rockets played an outsized role in helping build the Cavaliers’ current starting frontcourt of center Jarrett Allen and power forward Evan Mobley, as Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports details. When trying to accommodate star guard James Harden‘s 2021 trade demand, Houston preferred to acquire a first-round pick instead of Allen, who was slipped to the Cavs. In that summer’s draft, the Rockets selected Jalen Green with the No. 2 pick, clearing the way for Cleveland to grab Mobley with the third pick.
- In their first game hosting the fifth-seeded Knicks Saturday, the Cavaliers couldn’t close out New York and fell 101-97 at home. Fedor writes in a separate piece that Cleveland failed to effectively respond to a late Knicks rally, and that New York’s advantages in offensive rebounding and second-chance points helped put the Knicks in the driver’s seat.
- The Cavaliers need to explore whether veteran marksman Danny Green can still contribute some of his signature playoff shot-making, opines Jason Lloyd of The Athletic. The three-time champ may not be the same defender he was in his prime, but the 36-year-old can still help Cleveland in one very critical area: corner triples. Cavs swingmen Isaac Okoro and Caris LeVert, ahead of Green in the team’s rotation, combined to go a lackluster 0-of-7 from deep.
Atlantic Notes: Randle, Maxey, Gray, Mazzulla
Injured All-Star Knicks power forward Julius Randle is now out of the protective walking boot he had worn since spraining his left ankle on March 29, writes Steve Popper of Newsday.
“Yeah, just the next step, following the protocol progression,” New York head coach Tom Thibodeau said of Randle’s departure from the boot. “So making good, steady progress.”
Popper notes that the team is hopeful Randle can return at some point during the postseason. The first game of the Knicks’ Eastern Conference quarterfinals matchup against the Cavaliers is scheduled for this Saturday.
There’s more out of the Atlantic Division:
- Sixers guard Tyrese Maxey has had a 2022/23 season filled with peaks and valleys. At one point, he was demoted to a bench role in favor of De’Anthony Melton due to Melton’s defensive play. Gina Mizell of The Philadelphia Inquirer unpacks how Maxey bounced back to once again becoming the team’s starting shooting guard. Maxey missed roughly six weeks of action due to fracturing a foot in November, and was relatively unaggressive upon his return. A pair of no-nonsense chats in February with All-NBA Philadelphia center Joel Embiid, who encouraged the third-year guard to look for his own shot more often, helped galvanize his resurgence. Maxey rejoined the club’s starting five on March 2. “I was just in a weird space mentally,” Maxey said of the slump. “Once I got out of that, I think I’ve helped us try to win games and came back to being myself. I feel like this was the same type of pace I was on at the beginning of the year, before I got hurt.”
- The Nets’ new two-way signing, RaiQuan Gray, enjoyed a terrific debut game with Brooklyn on Sunday, scoring 16 points on 50% shooting, pulling down nine rebounds, dishing seven dimes and rejecting one shot. Net Income of Nets Daily unpacks potential next steps for the 23-year-old rookie. Net Income believes Brooklyn will extend a qualifying offer to Gray by the June 29 deadline and anticipates he will suit up for the team’s Summer League club in July.
- First-year Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla is looking forward to facing Boston’s playoff challenges head-on, writes Steve Bulpett of Heavy.com. “Listen, you can’t run away from the fact that the playoffs have a different consequence,” Mazzulla told Bulpett. “But the bigger things are, the more simple they are. So my goals are to do the same things I’ve done all season — rely on my staff, rely on the players and rely on the experience that I’ve had, because I’ve worked for great people… Our locker room is really intact, and I think that’s just as important as anything else.”
Raptors Notes: Barnes, Shooting Struggles, Strange Season, Anunoby
The evolution of second-year Raptors forward Scottie Barnes, the reigning Rookie Of The Year, is ultimately more important than how the team performs in this year’s playoffs, opines Michael Grange of Sportsnet.ca.
“I’m not super different [that last year],” Barnes said following Toronto’s last game of the regular season. “I do the same things, just a little bit better.”
“The biggest thing is [Barnes] is still really, really young,” head coach Nick Nurse said. “We like a lot of things about him, a lot about his approach. He’s competitive. He’s big. He’s strong. He loves to play. Those skills and things, I think, are what he has to continue to work on and improve. You know how it is: If you’re gonna be an All-Star or a great player in this league, you’ve got to score.”
There’s more out of Toronto:
- The Raptors have had an underwhelming shooting regular season from long range, Grange writes in another article. “I think, listen, for us to really hit another level I think our shot-making still has to get a little better,” Nurse said. “I think we’re creating really good shots for guys that are pretty good historical shooters, and those numbers still have some room to go up.” Toronto will square off against the Bulls in a must-win play-in game Wednesday.
- The Raptors’ disappointing 41-41 2022/23 season was marred by inconsistent play including an unsustainable defense, an ill-fitting roster, and perhaps some coaching issues, writes Doug Smith of The Star.
- Versatile defender OG Anunoby could serve as the key to the Raptors’ efforts against the Bulls during their play-in matchup, per Josh Lewenberg of TSN.ca. Anunoby will most likely be tasked with stopping Chicago’s lone All-Star, ex-Raptor DeMar DeRozan, a former teammate of Anunoby’s. “He’s a very patient player,” Anunoby said. “When I came in I was definitely over-aggressive, biting on his head fakes and stuff, just little tricks he had. I definitely learned from him.”
Rockets Notes: Martin, Stone, Rookies, Next Coach
Rockets small forward Kenyon Martin Jr. has endeared himself to Houston with his play this season. As we’ve previously noted, the team has a variety of options for how it can retain the 6’6″ swingman into next season.
The Rockets hold a $1.93MM team option on Martin for the 2023/24 season that they could opt to exercise, though that would put him on track for unrestricted free agency in 2024. Turning down the option would allow Houston to make him a restricted free agent this summer. Martin is also extension-eligible.
As Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle (subscription required) writes, while the Rockets are weighing their various options, Martin is trying to focus only on what he can control.
“If there’s a conversation that happens between us, that’s the most that can happen,” Martin said. “There’s nothing I can really do to control that side of it. Whatever they want to do, whether it’s this year or next year, whatever it may be, that’s on them. I’m just here to play basketball and hope it happens for the future.”
“Obviously, it’s important to me, contract extension and stuff like that,” Martin said. “There’s a lot of stuff that goes into it, the draft, a lot of stuff in the summer that goes into it. I can’t determine whether they’re going to … just wait until my fourth year is done. I’m just here to play and whether it’s this year or next year, I’m excited.”
There’s more out of Houston:
- The future of Rockets general manager Rafael Stone may be on the line depending on how he performs during the 2023 offseason, according to Kelly Iko, Shams Charania, and Sam Amick of The Athletic. Stone will need to hire a new coach, draft well, and figure out how to use over $60MM in available cap space. “It could be a make or break summer for [Stone],” a source told The Athletic.
- Rockets rookies Jabari Smith Jr., Tari Eason, TyTy Washington Jr. had an intense first NBA season with Houston, writes Feigen in another piece. “Just the ups and downs of it — I don’t think anything prepares you for it,” Eason said. “You know it’s 82 games, so you’re not going to have a great night every night, whereas in college, there was a third of that. So you know, you could kind of dwell on your losses and things like that a little bit more.” Smith responded similarly when asked about his thoughts on what stood out from his first pro season. “Just the long grind, the ups and downs of the season,” Smith said. “The bad things, the quick turnarounds, how important it is to stay in the gym, really work on your craft, don’t take days off, just get better every day.”
- Stone revealed that the next Rockets head coach will have the opportunity to select their own staff, Iko reports (via Twitter). “That’s not gonna be my decision,” Stone said. “I think it’s important that the new coach picks that.”
Pacers Notes: Hield, Smith, Nesmith, Hill, Turner, Offseason
Speaking to reporters on Monday, Pacers starting shooting guard Buddy Hield unpacked his resurgent season in Indiana, as Dustin Dopirak of The Indianapolis Star writes.
“I wanted to come in this year and put a stamp on what I’ve been doing my whole career in the NBA and even next year take the next big jump too,” Hield said. “Staying locked in. Credit to my teammates each and every day, getting me open and finding me in the right spots.”
Dopirak notes that Hield’s volume three-point shooting was his biggest attribute for a rebuilding Indiana club. His 288 made three-pointers in 2022/23 represented both a career best and the second-most in the league this year.
There’s more out of Indiana:
- Pacers power forward Jalen Smith had an uneven first full season with Indiana. He began the year as the team’s starting four, and was later moved to a reserve role before being benched altogether. After the club shut down starting center Myles Turner for the year, he played well upon being reintegrated into the team’s rotation. Smith spoke about his year, as Dopirak relays. “Every challenge and every obstacle helped me grow and helped me become a better person and better basketball player,” he said. “Nobody likes falling out of the rotation. Everybody wants to play basketball. That’s something we grew up loving. It’s tough as a young player still finding a place in the league and a niche and still trying to prove themselves. But everything happens for a reason. I take on challenges head on. It’s not going to deter my work ethic. It’s not going to deter my team aspect.”
- Pacers wing Aaron Nesmith was promoted to a role as the team’s small-ball starting power forward midway through the season, and responded well to the task. He reflected about how he hopes to develop during the offseason. “This summer as opposed to previous summers, I have more of a game-plan for my summer, things I have to get better at on and off the floor,” Nesmith said, according to Dopirak. “In the weight room, body wise stuff, on and off the court. Things I really want to hone in and be better at. … It’s having the minutes, figuring out what my role is here, how I can help the team and how I can expand on that role in a positive way.”
- Turner sounds relieved to have inked a new extension to remain in Indiana. He spoke with Pat Boylan of Bally Sports Indiana (Twitter video link) about his decision to stick around. “I’m so glad I was able to stay here, come to the city that fully embraced since I’ve been here,” Turner said. “I’m just hoping to build for years to come. … I’m at home, man.”
- Veteran reserve point guard George Hill once again has reiterated his own desire to return to the floor for Indiana next season, as he told Boylan in a separate interview (Twitter video link). “You never know what the future holds for you,” Hill said. “If this is my last game, I can say I went out putting the ball in the basket a couple of times. I would love the opportunity to come back with these fans and this team.” Hill, 36, is an unrestricted free agent. His ties to Indiana basketball may help convince the front office to bring him back for another run.
- The lottery-bound Pacers will have an intriguing offseason focused on building towards a brighter future. Bobby Marks of ESPN provided an in-depth guide to the team’s offseason (YouTube video link).
Jazz Sign Vernon Carey Jr. To Multiyear Deal
9:07pm: The signing is official, the Jazz announced in a press release.
1:01pm: Free agent center Vernon Carey Jr. has agreed to a new deal with the Jazz, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link), who reports that the agreement will run through the 2023/24 season.
It’s unclear at this time how much – if any – of next season’s money is guaranteed. Woj notes that Carey will also get in reps with Utah’s Summer League team this July.
The 6’9″ big man most recently played for the Wizards, though he failed to crack the club’s rotation before being waived last month. He appeared in just 11 games this season for the Wizards and 14 overall after joining the team at the 2022 trade deadline in the Montrezl Harrell deal with Charlotte.
The former Duke standout, who was drafted 32nd overall by the Hornets in 2020, played in 37 total games for Charlotte and Washington, with career averages of 1.9 PPG and 1.4 RPG in 5.1 MPG.
Carey enjoyed a far more expansive role with Washington’s G League affiliate, the Capital City Go-Go. He averaged 20.7 PPG on 61.9% field goal shooting, along with 8.3 RPG, 1.9 APG, 0.9 SPG and 0.9 BPG. Utah will be hoping that some of that promise translates to the NBA level.
The Jazz had an open spot on their 15-man roster, so no corresponding move will be necessary to sign Carey.
New Details Emerge On NBA’s In-Season Tournament Plans
The NBA’s newly announced Collective Bargaining Agreement with the NBPA included several fascinating new developments for the next six or seven years of league action.
Most bold among these various changes is the addition of an in-season tournament, tentatively set to begin in 2023/24. Ben Rohrbach of Yahoo Sports unpacks some new revelations about the impending tournament.
Rohrbach writes that there will be six intra-conference pools, containing five teams each, and while he doesn’t clarify exactly how they will determined, he notes that teams won’t necessarily be separated by division.
During the season’s first six weeks, teams will play against each of the other four clubs in their respective intra-conference pools as part of the regular season schedule. Each club will play two home games and two road games in these designated group matchups.
Following these first four games, two wild-card clubs will join the six pool play victors in a single-game elimination tournament. This is all so new that the NBA is still determining how to figure out tiebreakers, Rohrbach writes. A neutral site will host the tournament’s last two rounds.
The round robin, quarterfinal, and semifinal tournament games would count toward the regular season’s results, but the final (which would represent an 83rd game for the two teams involved) wouldn’t count toward the regular season, per Rohrbach.
Every player on the tournament-winning champion is set to earn a $500K bonus for their victory. Given the rate of high-end annual salaries at present, it’s not certain that such coin would incentivize the top players on a hypothetical winner, but it would be a boon for younger players whose salaries are in the low seven figures.
NBA Investigating Mavericks’ Decision To Rest Key Players
After the Mavericks opted to rest five players during their penultimate game of the season last night, the NBA has announced today that it will be looking into Dallas’ conduct, Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press reports.
“The NBA commenced an investigation today into the facts and circumstances surrounding the Dallas Mavericks roster decisions and game conduct with respect to last night’s Chicago Bulls-Mavericks game, including the motivations behind those actions,” league spokesman Mike Bass said.
On Friday against the Bulls, Dallas sat All-Star point guard Kyrie Irving and key role players Tim Hardaway Jr., Josh Green, Maxi Kleber and Christian Wood. The Mavericks entered that game tied with Chicago for the league’s 10th-worst record. All-Star guard Luka Doncic, meanwhile, played in just the game’s first quarter before exiting a minute into the second quarter.
By benefit of losing the contest 115-112, Dallas has been eliminated from a potential play-in berth.
Head coach Jason Kidd revealed after the game that he would sit Doncic and Irving again for Sunday’s season finale, and added that other key role players would probably also be shelved. Dallas would possess sole ownership of the 10th-worst record in the NBA if the team loses its last game.
The Mavericks owe a top-10 protected draft pick to the Knicks, and sitting these key players gives them a better chance of retaining their own first rounder this year.
It is fascinating that the NBA is going after Dallas specifically. The Bulls in the same game sat healthy starters DeMar DeRozan, Zach LaVine, and Patrick Beverley, having locked up the East’s tenth seed and a play-in berth, and a handful of other play-in contenders haven’t exactly been going all-out to secure playoff appearances in recent weeks.
Grizzlies Promote Lofton, Waive Chandler, Sign Gilyard
1:48pm: The Grizzlies have officially announced their series of roster moves, including a two-way deal for guard Jacob Gilyard, which was first reported by Wojnarowski (Twitter link).
An undrafted rookie in 2022, Gilyard spent the season with the Memphis Hustle in the G League and led the NBAGL in assists per game (9.7). He’ll occupy the two-way slot previously held by Lofton, while Lofton moves into the 15-man roster spot that had been held by Chandler.
12:39pm: The Grizzlies are promoting rookie two-way forward Kenneth Lofton Jr. to their standard roster, and will sign him to a four-year, $7MM contract, Lofton’s agent Mike George informs Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (via Twitter).
Lofton was recently named the 2022/23 G League Rookie of the Year. With the Grizzlies’ G League affiliate, the Memphis Hustle, he averaged 20.2 PPG, 10.5 RPG, 3.9 APG, 1.2 SPG and 0.6 BPG across 17 games, including 15 starts.
The 6’7″ power forward has appeared in 23 games for the Grizzlies proper, posting modest averages of 3.4 PPG, 1.6 RPG and 0.9 SPG in 5.9 MPG.
Woj notes that Lofton is being inked to Memphis’ standard 15-man roster in part to address the absence of center Steven Adams, who is reportedly likely to miss the entire 2023 postseason due to the lingering effects of his right knee injury. Adams is one of two key big men unavailable for the Grizzlies — reserve power forward Brandon Clarke tore his Achilles in early March.
Chris Herrington of The Daily Memphian tweets that Lofton, who would have entered restricted agency this summer if not for his new deal, has impressed the Grizzlies with his development thus far this season.
To carve out roster space for Lofton, Memphis is releasing rookie guard Kennedy Chandler, sources inform Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).
Chandler, 20, was selected with the No. 38 pick in the 2022 draft out of Tennessee. As Charania notes, Chandler had been on a long-term agreement with the club, and should now garner significant attention on the waiver wire or as a free agent if he manages to clear waivers.
Herrington adds (via Twitter) that Chandler flashed promise with his ball-handling and defense this season, and may be a better fit on a team that will have more patience as he develops. The 51-30 Grizzlies are clearly prioritizing win-now pieces.
Memphis will be on the hook for Chandler’s guaranteed cap hits in 2023/24 ($1.72MM) and ’24/25 ($2.02MM) if he goes unclaimed on waivers.