Nuggets Notes: Murray, Nnaji, Jokic, MPJ
Nuggets point guard Jamal Murray has been dealing with shooting issues, but is trying to find other ways to chip in, writes Mike Singer of The Denver Post. Singer notes that Murray’s left knee, which went under the knife in April 2021 after he tore his ACL, was sore during a 119-115 victory over the Hornets Sunday, but Murray did his best to play through the pain. He did not shoot well, but chipped in 11 dimes while only turning over the ball three times.
“I didn’t want to sit out,” Murray said. “I can not score and (still) have a decent game.”
As Singer observes, Murray made an impact through setting good screens, passing, being a threat from deep, and staying in touch with teammates on defense.
The 6’3″ guard is averaging 17.5 PPG on .437/.338/.765 shooting splits. Those shooting numbers mark a bit of a dip since Murray’s last healthy season in 2020/21. He is also chipping in 5.4 APG, 3.7 RPG and 0.8 SPG.
There’s more out of Denver:
- Nuggets head coach Michael Malone believes third-year power forward Zeke Nnaji deserves more playing time, per Harrison Wind of DNVR Sports (Twitter link). “When he’s gotten a chance, he’s done a really good job for us,” Malone noted. “We have to find out if Zeke Nnaji can be a part of this team… Now it’s my job to get him out there and play him – not just one game and sit five. No one can do that. It’s almost like Zeke needs an extended chance to show what he can do to help this team. He deserves that opportunity.”
- Two-time Nuggets MVP center Nikola Jokic is playing at an exceptionally high level for the third straight season, writes Sopan Deb of The New York Times. The big man has emerged as one of the best passers and scorers in the league, and Malone considers him to be a “generational talent.” The 6’11” All-Star is averaging 24.7 PPG, 11 RPG, 9.2 APG, and 1.5 SPG across 27 contests for the 19-11 Nuggets. He also boasts a shooting line of .617/.328/.798 this year.
- The Nuggets are convinced small forward Michael Porter Jr. can help the team on the defensive end, writes Harrison Wind of DNR Sports. Wind writes that the team’s starting five of Porter, point guard Murray, shooting guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, power forward Aaron Gordon and Jokic is posting a defensive rating of 101.6 in 2022/23. Though smaller fill-in starting small forward Bruce Brown is nominally a superior defender, Wind postulates that the sheer size of Porter (6’10” with a 7-foot wingspan) helps positively impact that starting lineup defensively.
Desmond Bane Upgraded To Questionable For Friday
After an extended absence, Grizzlies shooting guard Desmond Bane has been upgraded to questionable to play in Friday’s matchup against the Suns, Memphis reports (Twitter link). The 6’5″ swingman out of TCU suffered a Grade 2 sprain of his right big toe on November 11 and has been unavailable ever since.
Michael Wallace of Grizzlies.com notes (via Twitter) that, should Bane become available, this would mark the first time all season that the team has been able to play all of its preferred starting five of Bane, All-NBA point guard Ja Morant, small forward Dillon Brooks, power forward Jaren Jackson Jr. and center Steven Adams.
Through his first 12 games of 2022/23, Bane had been performing at an All-Star level for the ascendant Grizzlies, averaging a career-high 24.7 PPG on .465/.451/.912 shooting splits. He was also logging 4.9 RPG, 4.8 APG and 0.6 SPG.
With Bane sidelined, the Grizzlies have gone 10-7. Overall, the team sports a 19-11 record on the season, good for the second seed in the Western Conference as of this writing.
Bulls Notes: Dosunmu, Caruso, Donovan
Second-year Bulls reserve combo guard Ayo Dosunmu made his first NBA buzzer-beater in a 110-108 victory over the Hawks Wednesday, but continues to be a work in progress, writes Joe Cowley of The Chicago Sun-Times.
Cowley notes that Dosunmu has had something of a rocky trajectory with the 13-18 Bulls thus far this season. He initially was pressed into service as Chicago’s starter at the point due to the lingering recovery of Lonzo Ball from knee surgery, was then replaced by Alex Caruso in the starting lineup, and more recently has been losing rotation minutes as a backup to 36-year-old vet Goran Dragic.
“It’s all about your approach, your mental approach,’’ Dosunmu said. “You’ve got to be mentally strong in this league, definitely. I pride myself on being a great teammate, being there for my teammates. [In Miami] I didn’t play the minutes I ideally want to play, just me being a competitor, you know, but I can’t take that out on my teammates… I knew that whenever my time did come I would be ready for it. I always say brick-by-brick, and sometimes you can’t always keep stacking ‘em. Sometimes you gotta take bricks away. That’s part of the journey.’’
“He has always been able to hang onto his competitiveness and competitiveness has always gotten him through,’’ head coach Billy Donovan said of Dosunmu. “But I think the further you go up the ladder from high school, to college and now to the NBA, that is a huge component that you have to have, but there’s also the detailed part, too. In terms of understanding who he is really guarding, trends, what the opponent likes to do, how he’s being guarded, what they’re doing to him.”
There’s more out of the Windy City:
- Caruso has entered the NBA’s concussion protocol after he collided with Atlanta forward De’Andre Hunter while scrambling for a loose ball in the second quarter of the Hawks game on Wednesday, writes Rob Schaefer of NBC Sports Chicago. Schaefer notes that the Bulls also diagnosed the 6’4″ guard with a sprained right shoulder. The next opportunity for Caruso to suit up will arrive Friday against the Knicks, who have gone 8-2 across their last ten games, including two wins against the Bulls last week.
- Donovan believes the Bulls’ reportedly heated locker room exchange, during halftime of an eventual 150-126 loss to the Timberwolves, could ultimately be a positive for the team’s season going forward, Cowley writes in a separate piece. “I think you hope so,’’ Donovan said of the conversation. “I’m a big believer in confrontation. Communication, them trying to relay what they need from each other is a good thing.’’ After that Minnesota defeat on Sunday, the Bulls have now won two straight games against playoff hopefuls.
- In case you missed it, the Bulls are being eyed carefully by several front offices across the league as potential sellers by the trade deadline, should their season continue to crater.
Northwest Notes: Gordon, Alexander-Walker, Sexton, Edwards
Nuggets power forward Aaron Gordon has proven to be a reliable role player this season in perhaps his best year as a pro thus far, writes Patrick Saunders of The Denver Post. Gordon is averaging 16.9 PPG on a career-high 61% shooting, along with 6.3 RPG and 2.1 APG, for the 17-11 Nuggets.
“I’m looking to be the glue guy,” Gordon said. “I think I’m using my physicality down on the block… And I like running and scoring in transition. But I have another level to get to — and so does this team.”
“You can see how he’s developed,” two-time MVP center Nikola Jokic said of the 6’8″ forward this week. “He can screen and roll, he can play one-on-one, facing the basket. He can run and rebound. He’s a complete player. He doesn’t have a weak spot. He’s probably one of the top-five, two-way players in the league now.”
There’s more out of the Northwest Division:
- Jazz shooting guard Nickeil Alexander-Walker has emerged as a key rotational component, which he credits to trying to be more effective by focusing on improving more limited elements of his game, writes Eric Walden of The Salt Lake Tribune. “When guys have fun, guys enjoy it, guys are in the flow state, there’s less tension and force; like the laws of attraction — the harder you try, the more it sometimes presses away from you,” Alexander-Walker said. “So I’ve just learned to let things take their course and be patient.”
- Following a reassessment of his strained right hamstring, Jazz reserve point guard Collin Sexton is now considered day-to-day, per Andy Larsen of The Salt Lake Tribune (Twitter link). The Jazz have indicated that the evaluation included imaging. Sexton has been sidelined for the team’s last five contests with the injury. For the season, his first with Utah, the 6’1″ vet is averaging 14.3 PPG, 3.0 APG and 2.4 RPG mostly as a backup.
- Timberwolves shooting guard Anthony Edwards has had to adjust quickly to serving as Minnesota’s (short-term) main playmaker with guards D’Angelo Russell and Jordan McLaughlin both sidelined in consecutive recent games, writes Kent Youngblood of The Star Tribune. “I think these last couple games have been good for him to be on the ball,” head coach Chris Finch opined. “One thing we’ve been preaching to him a lot, the essence of offense in the league, is when they put two on you, create an advantage. No matter how you do it, pick-and-roll, trap, early gap help, all that stuff is a gravity that he creates.”
Raptors Notes: Barnes, FVV, Brown, Flynn
Second-year Raptors forward Scottie Barnes, the reigning Rookie of the Year, has been solid if unspectacular this season for Toronto. Toronto point guard Fred VanVleet spoke at length about the 21-year-old’s development in 2022/23 and his long-term outlook, per Josh Lewenberg of TSN.ca (Twitter link).
“I think you guys are waiting for him to hatch into some beautiful butterfly, but again, that’s up to him,” VanVleet said. “It’s our job to try to support him in that and tell him the truth and keep him honest and hold him accountable. But at the end of the day, when he plays great we’re happy for him and when he plays bad we’re there for him. The outside noise is always just noise.
“… He’s a hell of a player,” VanVleet continued. “That’s why everybody is so excited about him, which is why the expectations are so high but it’s good for him. There’s gonna be ups and downs, there’s gonna be challenges, but the magic is in making it through that and persevering and fighting through adversity, and he’s done that.”
Eric Koreen of The Athletic notes that Barnes has been somewhat inconsistent this season for the 13-16 Raptors, and seems at times to be an awkward fit alongside Toronto’s best player, All-NBA big man Pascal Siakam.
Through 26 games this season, the 6’9″ Barnes is averaging 14.9 PPG, 6.8 RPG, 4.7 APG, 0.8 BPG and 0.8 SPG. He is posting solid shooting splits of .482/.309/.737.
There’s more out of Jurassic Park:
- After signing a G League contract, veteran NBA swingman Sterling Brown is joining the Raptors’ NBAGL franchise, Raptors 905, reports Blake Murphy of Sportsnet.ca (via Twitter). Brown still holds intrigue as a high-level shooter. The 27-year-old, a 6’5″ shooting guard out of SMU, has five season of NBA experience under his belt between stints with the Bucks, Rockets and most recently the Mavericks last season. He holds career averages of 5.4 PPG and 3.3 RPG. Brown is also a career 36.4% shooter from long range on 2.6 attempts, which could appeal to a Toronto team in need of help from beyond the arc. As of this writing, the Raptors rank 29th in the league with a 32.4% three-point conversion rate and 22nd in attempts at 31.7 per game.
- Though a sound, versatile defensive unit, the Raptors have struggled on the other end of the floor. When Malachi Flynn was pressed into starting service due to the injury absence of Gary Trent Jr., in an eventual 119-116 loss to the Nets Friday night, he and VanVleet looked like a potent scoring pair, opines Doug Smith of The Toronto Star. Against Brooklyn, Flynn scored 13 points while VanVleet poured in 39. Smith notes that the two guards, both listed at 6’1″, cumulatively went 6-for-14 from long range. Flynn has been nailing 37.6% of his modest 2.5 treys a night. “(If) we can keep finding ways to be effective defensively — I think that’s the number one concern from the coaching staff with both of us out there,” VanVleet said. “I thought we found ways (Friday) and found lineups that can make it work. He was a huge spark plug in making shots, just creating things, and just having another guy that can get in the paint and make plays.”
- In case you missed it, Raptors defensive stalwart OG Anunoby is set to miss at least a week as a result of a sore left hip.
Joe Ingles Talks Impending Bucks Debut, ACL Rehab, Teammates
Bucks forward Joe Ingles is scheduled to play his first game for his new club on Monday against the Pelicans, after missing the team’s first two months of games while finishing up his rehabilitation from a January 30 ACL tear. Ingles departed the Jazz in free agency this summer to link up with the 2021 champs on a one-season, $6.48MM deal.
The 35-year-old sat down with Eric Nehm of The Athletic for an extensive conversation about his ACL recovery and upcoming return to the hardwood, his new teammates, his expectations for himself, and his incessant chattiness.
Ingles is already made a positive impression on his teammates and coaches away from the court. Milwaukee is hoping that on the court he can help the team with floor spacing and frisky defense. For his career, he’s averaging 8.6 PPG on .449/.408/.768 shooting, plus 3.8 APG and 3.2 RPG.
“He’s just, he’s a good basketball player,” head coach Mike Budenholzer said. “That’s just an all-encompassing thing. His passing is probably the thing that stands out most. We always need 3-point shooting and guys that can knock it down in different environments, in different situations. So, his 3-point shooting, I think is going to be really helpful for us. We feel like he’s smart, tough, a little bit edgy defender.”
Here are a few quotes from Ingles from the Nehm piece, well worth reading in full.
On his extended rehab from his first major NBA injury:
“It’s brutal, man, to be honest. I would look at other guys getting injured in the NBA and it’s not that you don’t feel something for them, but I don’t know what they’re going through. You hope they’re well, you hope they’re good mentally, physically, all that, but yeah, I mean, it was brutal. It’s f—ing brutal. I had some bad days.
“Obviously, some really good days. The good days were good because I was able to tick a lot of boxes and kind of keep moving forward with my knee, but the fact of like missing the game, missing my teammates. I was living in Utah but had been traded, so I really didn’t have a team. It was the first time in my life that I hadn’t been in a text group with the guys. You miss that stuff and that was the stuff that I probably didn’t realize as much.”
On his support system while recovering:
“I mean, [wife] Renae and the kids were like the backbone of everything. I rehabbed as much as I rehabbed and it’s probably why I’m back a bit soon like Renae was the backbone. I was out of the house eight-to-five most days; it was a brutal day-to-day process as you’re ticking those boxes, but you get to a certain point and kind of see the light at the end of the tunnel a little bit and it still hasn’t hit home yet, probably not until Monday when I’m out there warming up.”
On his feelings ahead of his return:
“I’ll be excited. It will be fun to get back out there and nervous because, like I said, playing with new guys, guys I’ve never played with, in a real game. New Orleans is not going to give a f— that it’s my first game. That part of it is the nerves and stuff, but also, once I get out there, I think I’ll be fine. It’s that natural, it’s like riding a bike once I’m back out there. I’ll be fine, but there will be nerves.
“But at the end of the day, I know I’ve done the work. I was telling someone earlier, I’ve worked my ass off for the last 11 months. I’m very lucky that I have a wife and kids that have told me to get out the door and spend as much time as you need and do it, rehab, recovery. And I think that is part of getting back a bit earlier. There is a process to it and I’m lucky that I’ve had that. I don’t know other people’s situations, but it’s tough. She’s got three kids and she’s at home alone, but she’s still like, ‘Keep going, keep going. Keep getting out of the house. Keep doing more and more.’ If I wanted to do some extra work with the staff, I was able to.”
Stephen Curry Will Miss Multiple Weeks With Shoulder Injury
4:50pm: Curry has been officially diagnosed with a left shoulder subluxation, the Warriors announced (via Twitter). The team hasn’t provided an official return timeline yet, but Charania said on The Rally (Twitter video link) that Curry is not expected to need surgery and will likely miss around a month with the injury.
Anthony Slater of The Athletic reports (via Twitter) that the “prevailing sense” is that Curry will miss around three-to-four weeks, noting that the Warriors play 10-to-12 games during that period of time.
4:00pm: Imaging has revealed that Curry suffered a labral left shoulder injury, reports Shams Charania of The Athletic (via Twitter). Charania reveals that his status will be reassessed in two weeks.
2:51pm: Warriors All-NBA point guard Stephen Curry will be sidelined for at least a couple weeks with a left shoulder injury, sources inform Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link).
Curry injured the shoulder against the Pacers on Wednesday during the third quarter of a 125-119 loss, and was set to undergo imaging on Thursday. The Warriors are in Philadelphia tonight ahead of a Friday matchup against the Sixers. Per Dalton Johnson of NBC Sports Bay Area (via Twitter), Curry will be getting an MRI today and the team is set to announce further information on the exact nature of the ailment by tomorrow morning.
Golden State, the defending league champion, has gotten off to a relatively lackluster 14-15 start thus far in 2022/23. Without its best player, the 2022 NBA Finals MVP, for multiple weeks, the team will need further offensive output from key backcourt players like Klay Thompson and Jordan Poole to stay afloat.
As Kevin O’Connor of The Ringer notes (via Twitter), the Warriors sport a stellar 118.9 offensive rating and a +7 net rating with Curry on the court, while those numbers fall to a 99.9 offensive rating and a -11.1 net rating without him. Six of the Warriors’ next 10 games come against teams with winning records, though a majority of them will be home matchups. Golden State boasts a 12-2 record at Chase Center, but of course most of those wins have come with a healthy Curry.
Clint Capela Out 1-2 Weeks With Calf Strain
Hawks starting center Clint Capela has suffered a strained right calf and will be unavailable for the next one-to-two weeks, the team announced today (Twitter link).
Backup big man Onyeka Okongwu, the sixth pick in the 2020 draft out of USC, will most likely start in Capela’s stead while the vet recovers from his calf injury.
Capela, 28, has enjoyed a solid individual season for what has proven to be a tense interpersonal 2022/23 start for the Hawks. The 6’10” Swiss big man is averaging 12.1 PPG, 12.0 RPG, and 1.3 BPG through 26 games this year. He is connecting on 63.3% of his field goals, mostly in and around the post.
At 14-15, the Hawks are currently the ninth seed in an Eastern Conference loaded with middle-of-the-pack clubs within a few games of one another. Atlanta is just three games behind the fourth-seeded Nets, but also a mere two games clear of the East’s No. 11 seed, the Bulls.
Essentially, even making the play-in tournament will require a decent amount of injury luck, and the Hawks have not quite had that yet, thanks to a two-week absence for starting power forward John Collins, who remains out at present with an ankle injury, and now this Capela ailment.
Nets Fined $25K For Injury Reporting
The NBA has fined the Nets $25K as a result of what it deems to be inadequate reporting of player injuries, the league announced today in a press release (Twitter link).
Brooklyn has been penalized for “failing to comply with league policies governing injury reporting,” the NBA stated.
According to Brian Lewis of The New York Post (via Twitter), Brooklyn was fined as a result of the team’s decision to sit eight players in what turned out to be a surprise 136-133 win over the Pacers on December 10.
The absences for that contest included stars Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving, plus big-minutes rotation players like guard Ben Simmons, swingman Joe Harris, starting forward Royce O’Neale and starting center Nic Claxton.
This lack of timely transparency with regards to player availability is an approach that doesn’t always endear itself to the NBA, which has targeted teams’ wallets in the past for these incursions.
2023 NBA All-Star Voting To Commence Tuesday
Voting for the 2023 NBA All-Star Game in Salt Lake City will begin this coming Tuesday, December 20 at 10:00 a.m. CT, per a league press release.
Fan voting will run till Saturday, January 21 at 10:59 p.m. CT. All-Star Game starters, voted on by a combination of fans, players and media, will be unveiled during a TNT broadcast on Thursday, January 26.
All-Star reserves, as voted on by head coaches, will be subsequently revealed on Thursday, February 2.
Fans will be permitted to vote once per day, either by accessing NBA.com or the league’s new NBA App. The NBA also indicated that it will feature six days during which fan votes count for triple their normal value: December 25, January 1, January 6, January 13, January 16 and January 20.
As has been the case in recent years, fan voting will be weighed as 50% of the cumulative All-Star starter voting tally, while the other 50% will be split between players and media. Two guards and three frontcourt players will be elected starters in each conference.
The two players who receive the most votes in either conference will serve as team captains. In recent years, captains have drafted their teams during a live TNT broadcast.
All-Star Weekend will tip off in Utah on Friday, February 17, while the All-Star Game itself will take place on Sunday, February 19.