Blazers Lose Jusuf Nurkic With “Devastating” Injury
2:55pm: Nurkic underwent surgery to repair his compound fractures today, tweets Shams Charania of The Athletic. While Nurkic has been ruled out indefinitely, the good news is that there was no nerve or muscle damage in his leg, league sources tell Charania.
8:57am: Trail Blazers center Jusuf Nurkic suffered compound fractures to his left tibia and fibula last night, putting him out of action for the rest of the season and probably well into next season, writes Joe Freeman of The Oregonian.
The injury occurred in the second overtime of a win over the Nets as Nurkic landed on several players after jumping for a rebound. The crowd went silent before chanting Nurkic’s name in a show of support. Teammates turned away because of the gruesome nature of the injury.
“It made me sick to my stomach,” Damian Lillard said.
After a long examination by trainers and team doctors, Nurkic received a huge ovation as he was carried off on a stretcher. Coach Terry Stotts called the injury “devastating” as it casts a shadow over the rest of the season for a Portland team that clinched a playoff spot with the victory.
“It’s terrible,” Zach Collins said. “Obviously you never want to see that happen, especially with your own teammate that you go to war with every night. Nurk, he’s been having a hell of a season. He had an amazing game tonight. And for it to end like that for him, it’s just tough. All we can do is be there for him and hope he’s in as little pain as possible and knows that we’ve got his back.”
At age 24, Nurkic was putting together his best season, averaging career highs with 15.6 PPG and 10.4 RPG. He is signed for nearly $25MM over the next two seasons and has a non-guaranteed $12MM salary for 2021/22. His absence should create a greater role for Enes Kanter, who signed with Portland last month after reaching a buyout with the Knicks.
Players from around the NBA sent messages of support on social media last night, while the Trail Blazers struggled to deal with the impact of losing a beloved teammate and a vital part of their hopes for the postseason.
“I’m going to go home and pray for him because this is way bigger than basketball,” Kanter said. “We clinched a playoff spot and we’re not even celebrating. He was a big part of our family — not our team, our family — and I just don’t know what to say. It’s definitely tough.”
NBA Scouts Discuss NCAA Tournament Prospects
Central Florida’s Tacko Fall stepped into the national spotlight with Sunday’s game against Duke, but he may not have improved his draft status, relays Sam Amick of The Athletic. Amick talked to three unidentified NBA scouts about their impressions after the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament and found opinions have changed on a lot of players, but not necessarily on Fall.
“I don’t think (it helped his cause), on the whole,” one scout said of the 7’6″ center, who had 15 points, six rebounds and three blocks against the Blue Devils before fouling out. “I think most scouts, most teams, are going to evaluate him based on (what came before). … Now if you liked Tacko Fall before the game against Duke, then you’ll probably like him a little bit more maybe. And if you didn’t, then I don’t think it’s going to sway you one way or another. He’s so unique that I think he’ll get a chance in some capacity. I don’t know if he gets drafted in the second round, or whatever it is, but I do think he gets a chance.”
The scouts’ consensus is that Murray State point guard Ja Morant has helped himself with his March performances and would likely be the second player taken if the draft were today. He held up well against larger schools and has been consistently good from game to game.
Duke’s Cam Reddish may have fallen the most, not only because of his March Madness games, but his output throughout the year. Once projected as a possible No. 3 pick, Reddish may be slipping out of the top five. “Even when Zion (Williamson) was out, he had opportunities where he could really take a step forward and take advantage of the opportunity,” one scout said. “And he did on a couple of games, but it wasn’t as consistent as you’d like him to be. He’s a tough one, man.”
Here are a few more takes from the scouts on prominent players:
- Duke forward R.J. Barrett — “Yeah, I do think Barrett has the third spot. … I do think Barrett, the fact that he competes (is good). He’s got a little more, to me, obvious flaws in terms of shot selection. Obviously he has some tendencies, in terms of being all left and dominant where he’s going to have to get the right hand at the next level to be as good as he can be. The one thing about Barrett is that he competes and he gets after it and he wants to win, but there are moments when he falls asleep.”
- Oregon forward Kenny Wooten — People know about (Wooten), but this is the time where owners start watching and other people — even GMs who don’t get a chance (to see them) — they start seeing these guys and (the prospects) start to jump off the page because they have a good game or they play well.”
- North Carolina forward Nassir Little — “There are still question marks with his game, but it was the Washington game where he made a three and he was efficient, right? And he was efficient for multiple games. He didn’t have any assists or anything like that, but there are some signs there where if you want to find a reason to like Nas. I think you can go look at those two games and say, ‘Oh, ok.’ This guy is doing well.”
- Michigan guard Jordan Poole — “He’s a good player, man. He knows how to play. He’s skilled. I think (an NBA team) could work on his efficiency. If he continues to play well, I think he could help himself throughout the rest of the tournament as well and be one of those guys who’s a late riser.”
Pelicans’ Jrue Holiday Out For Season After Surgery
Pelicans guard Jrue Holiday had surgery this morning to repair a core muscle injury, the team announced on Twitter. He will be sidelined for about six weeks before returning to basketball activities, well past the end of the regular season.
Holiday hasn’t played since March 6 after being diagnosed with a lower abdominal strain. The Pelicans had considered ruling him out for the rest of the season, but no official announcement was made before today’s operation.
The 28-year-old was having his best NBA season, posting career highs in points (21.2), rebounds (5.0) and assists (7.7). He is under contract for two more years, with a $26.865MM player option for 2021/22.
Southwest Notes: Spurs, Poeltl, Pelicans GM, Llull
Gregg Popovich has the Spurs on the verge of another playoff appearance in a season that could have been a disaster, writes Chris Mannix of Sports Illustrated. Early-season injuries forced Popovich to use a point guard committee until Derrick White was healthy, Bryn Forbes, Davis Bertans and Jakob Poeltl all had to step into important roles and the retirement of Manu Ginobili and the departure of Tony Parker cut the last ties to the Spurs’ glory days. Still, with a 43-31 record, the franchise is on the verge of its 22nd straight trip to the playoffs.
“For guys that have been elsewhere, they come in and they can sense it’s a different environment,” Patty Mills said. “They can notice the difference. It takes some time for players to adjust to how different it is. People have always said you needed to be a certain type of person to be in this environment and to be coached by Pop, and it’s true. The way he coaches his players is a certain way. You’ve seen the way he’s coached Tim (Duncan) and Manu. You see that interaction between coach and player, and everyone else falls in line after that. You know if he yells at you, you can’t say anything back. It’s those little things you have to get guys to understand.”
There’s more from the Southwest Division:
- Popovich would like to make Poeltl the Spurs‘ starting center for the rest of the season, but matchups may keep that from happening, notes Jeff McDonald of The San Antonio Express-News. With so many teams playing non-traditional lineups, it’s not always wise to put two big men on the floor. “We like to play big because we do a pretty good job of locking down the paint with myself and (LaMarcus Aldridge) on the court,” Poeltl said. “We’ve got to find the right matchups and the right situations where we can do that.”
- Interim GM Danny Ferry will be among the candidates as the Pelicans conduct their GM search, according to Fletcher Mackel of WDSU in New Orleans (Twitter link). Owner Gayle Benson said Monday that the franchise will consider five or six candidates to become the replacement for Dell Demps, who was fired in February. Based on what he has heard, Mackel believes that Ferry will be on that list, along with former Cavaliers GM David Griffin, Nets assistant GM Trajan Langdon and Rockets VP of basketball operations Gersson Rosas.
- As the NBA marks its 13th annual Latin celebration, Rosas talks with Marc J. Spears of The Undefeated about the need to get more Latin Americans involved in management.
- Spanish guard Sergio Llull, whose rights have been held by the Rockets since 2009, hasn’t ruled out coming to the NBA someday, his agent, Ernest Berenguer, says in an interview with NBA Spain (translated by Sportando). Llull will be 34 when his contract with Real Madrid expires in 2021.
Rockets’ Gerald Green Out 7-10 Days
Rockets forward Gerald Green will miss 7-10 days with an adductor strain, tweets Tim MacMahon of ESPN. He suffered the injury during warmups before Sunday’s game.
Green is a valuable bench player for Houston, which is fighting to hold onto third place in the West. He is averaging 9.4 PPG and shooting 35.2% from 3-point range in 69 games.
The 33-year-old was out of the league before signing with the Rockets midway through last season. He will be a free agent again this year after agreeing to a one-year, veteran’s minimum contract last July.
Miles Plumlee To Have Surgery, Miss Rest Of Season
Hawks center Miles Plumlee has opted to undergo arthroscopic surgery on his left knee and won’t be available for the rest of the season, tweets Chris Vivlamore of The Atlanta Journal Constitution. Plumlee will have the procedure on April 2 and the team expects him to be ready for training camp in September (Twitter link).
Knee problems limited Plumlee to 18 games in his second year in Atlanta, averaging 4.4 PPG and 2.2 RPG in less than 10 minutes per night. He underwent a pair of non-surgical procedures in December, but was never able to get the knee back into playing shape.
Plumlee is under contract for one more season at $12.5MM. The Hawks were hoping to trade his contract prior to this year’s deadline, but couldn’t find any takers.
Knicks Offered Porzingis To Kings For Fox
With Luka Doncic on the draft board, the Kings received several offers for De’Aaron Fox last June, including one from the Knicks that included Kristaps Porzingis, according to Zach Lowe of ESPN. Sources tell Lowe that New York was asking for additional assets along with Fox or would have required Sacramento to take on some unwanted salary.
That trade and others never materialized because the Kings didn’t want to move down and risk losing Marvin Bagley III. They also weren’t interested in taking Doncic because they didn’t want to interfere with Fox’s development as a playmaker.
“I like Luka,” GM Vlade Divac said, “but we didn’t want to overload with players who — maybe they don’t have the exact same characteristics, but if you want to develop the guys you have, you have to make sure they have room to develop.”
Fox has rewarded their confidence, posting a 17.4/3.8/7.2 line in his second NBA season and putting himself in the running for Most Improved Player. He also sparked a turnaround for the Kings that had them in contention for their first playoff berth in more than a decade before tailing off.
Sacramento’s front office will face some important decisions soon about how to build for the future, Lowe notes. Fox, Bagley and Harry Giles are all in their early 20s. Bogdan Bogdanovic, Buddy Hield and Harrison Barnes, who was acquired from the Mavericks last month, are all 26 with free agency looming next summer. Willie Cauley-Stein will be a restricted free agent in July, and Lowe suggests that his defensive shortcomings should make the Kings pass on matching any offer that exceeds the mid-level exception of about $9MM.
Divac isn’t concerned about the gap in the timeline or the danger of losing any key pieces in free agency.
“I would be if Foxy, Harry and Marvin weren’t better than people think,” he said. “They will be ready earlier. And if they are not, they are still the core. We will surround them with players who will help them get to the next level.”
Pacific Notes: Cousins, Fredette, Kokoskov, McGee
The Warriors won’t use center DeMarcus Cousins in back-to-back games for the rest of the season, according to Nick Friedell of ESPN. Cousins returned to action in mid-January after a severe Achilles injury last season and has expressed frustration over the slow progress of his recovery. The Warriors have two back-to-backs left on the schedule.
Coach Steve Kerr told reporters tonight that the team will prioritize having a healthy roster heading into the playoffs over trying to capture the top seed in the West. Kerr talked with Rick Celebrini, the team’s director of sports medicine and performance, about the need to rest several players over the final two and a half weeks.
“With DeMarcus, we made the decision based on Rick’s assessment [that] he should just not play back-to-backs this season, so he’s not going to,” Kerr said. “Andre [Iguodala] and Shaun [Livingston], both periodically we’ve been given rest to the last several years, based on the age and wear and tear. Every once in a while, it’ll just come up that Rick will recommend let’s give somebody a rest. Last night it was [Stephen Curry]. He’s been going a couple months straight. Has looked a little tired the last couple of weeks, so it made perfect sense. I think we’ll be better for it in the long run.”
There’s more tonight from the Pacific Division:
- Jimmer Fredette played four minutes and went scoreless in his return to the NBA last night and said he’s thankful to the Suns for giving him a chance, relays Cody Cunningham of NBA.com. “I was just excited to get back out there and try to help the team in any way that I can,” Fredette said. “Obviously, it’s towards the end of the year. My job is to come in and try to keep these guys positive, be a veteran guy and go in there and try to be aggressive.”
- First-year Suns coach Igor Kokoskov is staying focused on the end of the season instead of his shaky future with the team, writes Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic. Despite having a three-year contract, Kokoskov isn’t certain to return after leading Phoenix to the worst record in the West.
- Although the Lakers are out of the running for the playoffs, JaVale McGee had the best night of his 11-year career on Friday, notes Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times. McGee, who will be a free agent again this summer, lit up the scoreboard with 33 points and 20 rebounds in a win over the Nets. “Get wins and play hard,” he said of his philosophy for the rest of the season. “That’s what our mentality is. There is no slacking. As a team that’s not making the playoffs, I’m planning on playing teams that are supposed to make the playoffs and knocking them out too. Might as well.”
NBA G League Assignments/Recalls: 3/24/19
Here are Sunday’s assignments and recalls from around the NBA G League:
- The Rockets recalled Gary Clark from Rio Grande Valley after he played in last night’s regular season finale, tweets Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle.
- The Spurs recalled Chimezie Metu and Lonnie Walker from their Austin affiliate, the team announced on its website.
- The Magic recalled Melvin Frazier from their Lakeland affiliate, according to a tweet from the team.
- The Warriors recalled Jacob Evans from Santa Cruz, the team announced in an email. The rookie guard is averaging 11.3 points, 3.4 rebounds and 2.5 assists in the G League.
Atlantic Notes: Monroe, Lowry, LeVert, Sixers
Greg Monroe is ready to contribute right away after signing a 10-day contract with the Celtics earlier today, relays Taylor Snow of NBA.com. The deal was finalized this afternoon after being first reported Friday and delayed amid rumors that Boston wanted to give the final roster spot to Thomas Robinson. An injury to Robert Williams last night, with Al Horford and Aron Baynes already sidelined, may have convinced the Celtics to add another center.
“Obviously those guys were having a few little injuries and have been missing a few games,” Monroe said. “So it’s definitely about helping them out and getting ready for the playoffs. That what it’s about, trying to get those guys fully healthy to make a run.”
The 28-year-old spent the first part of this season in Toronto, but has been out of the NBA since being acquired and then waived by the Nets at the trade deadline. Monroe hopes to help out the Celtics the way he did last year when he averaged 10.2 PPG and 6.3 RPG after joining the team in February.
“We’ve always thought highly of Greg,” coach Brad Stevens said. “… He’s a bright guy and when you put him through our stuff, he knows it right after he gets here. Doesn’t take him long.”
There’s more from the Atlantic Division:
- Raptors guard Kyle Lowry returned to the court tonight even though his right ankle isn’t fully healed, tweets Josh Lewenberg of TSN Sports. Lowry missed back-to-back games after a scary incident Monday night, but said he felt like he needed to start playing again. “I could sit out until the playoffs with the type of injury I have but I want to play, keep a rhythm, get out there with the guys and play some basketball,” he said. “If I can get out there and play, I’m going to go play.”
- Nets players aren’t waiting for summer to start recruiting Kevin Durant, writes Brian Lewis of The New York Post. Durant’s new video series “Fly By” will include a tour of Brooklyn from D’Angelo Russell. Teammate Caris LeVert, who serves as Durant’s summertime workout partner, isn’t shy about making his pitch. “I don’t think superstars, especially Kevin, want to be the one who has to carry the whole team, the full load on his own,” LeVert said. “He’s in his 30s now, so he definitely wants to go to a team that has a good core, has a good culture, has good guys on the team, and we fit all those categories.”
- The Sixers‘ blockbuster trades could backfire if they can’t keep the starting five together after this season, warns Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer. The front office will likely have to give max deals to both Jimmy Butler and Tobias Harris, and J.J. Redick will be a free agent as well.